When Rong Lu entered the Leshou Palace, Cixi's dormitory, which was filled with the aroma of fruits, he clearly heard the sound of cannons from the southeast. After hurriedly saluting, he glanced up all night, and when he saw Lafayette's expression, he knew that Cixi had heard about last night's huge case.

"You went to the scene, did Gan Jun do it?" Cixi got straight to the point, she had swollen eyes, no makeup, and looked more than ten years old.

"Back to the Queen Mother's words, it should be."

"Pass on Dong Fuxiang!" Cixi shouted sharply.

"The Queen Mother is angry!" Rong Lu kowtowed again and again, "The Queen Mother is angry, don't do it." ”

Cixi stared at a pair of fish-soaked eyes, staring at Rong Lu deadly, panting for breath.

"Queen Mother, listen, the cannon has already sounded."

"What do you think?" Cixi calmed down.

"Let's wait until the battle is over. Can't keep Beijing__"

"Can Beijing hold on? Do you rely on Dong Fuxiang, that robber? Cixi asked sharply.

She knew that what happened last night was happening, and she was trapped internally and externally. The Qing and Zhuang mansions, especially the tragedy of the Zhuang Wangfu, definitely stimulated the Manchurian relatives and nobles, and the princes were no longer safe, so how could the face of the imperial court exist? What else do the princes and ministers have to think about fighting together?

King Qing is a different matter. King Zhuang's recent behavior has already annoyed Cixi, and it is better to die! But you can't die this way! Even if you kill that bastard yourself, it's better than having your head cut off! The trouble is in his identity as a prince, the court does not make decisions for its own people, who still follows him?

But what Rong Lu said was also right, and he was completely on his own position. For your own sake. What will happen if you anger Gan Jun at this juncture?

All the problems are because there is no army that is both loyal to the court and capable of fighting! If the Eight Banners have the courage of their ancestors, why is this so__

"You don't care about it." Cixi stabilized her mind, now is not the time to solve the case and arrest the murderer, let's take care of the war first, "You have to really control your army, understand?" ”

"The minion will arrange it." Rong Lu hadn't slept for two days, and he was fluttering when he walked.

Rong Lu just left. Li Lianying reported. Duanjun Wang Zaiyi handed over the sign and asked to see.

"Nope." Cixi hated.

"Lafayette, don't force Gan Jun to rebel." Li Lianying, who has always been good at observing words and feelings, said in a low voice.

"Huh?" Cixi stared blankly at her chief eunuch, "Call him in." ”

Yes, King Duanjun and King Zhuang are now in the same group. He definitely came for Prince Zhuang's business. Damn the Boxers. The interests of these two bastard princes are tied together. Become the best weapon against political opponents. King Zhuang was killed suddenly, and King Duan must be afraid and anxious now. If he doesn't soothe this bastard, who knows what else he's going to do? Gan's army is now on the city wall.

Think of the Boxers. Cixi is already furious, once she frees her hand, she will kill those chaotic people!

"Queen Mother, I want to avenge King Zhuang!" As soon as Zai Yi entered the hall, he lay down and cried, "Prince Zhuang died a miserable death, please ask the Queen Mother to give me an order to take the head of Dong Fuxiang's old dog!" ”

"Kill Dong Fuxiang, are you going to resist the foreigners? Or by your Boxers? Well? Didn't you say they had spells to the sky? How to let the foreigners kill the city? You said! Cixi's suppressed anger in her heart completely erupted, and she grabbed a jade Ruyi in her hand and smashed it towards Zai Yi who was kneeling on the ground, "Get back to me and stay honest!" The day the city is broken, it is the time when your dog's head falls to the ground! ”

Zai Yi subconsciously dodged, Ruyi swept his shoulder, fell to the ground and shattered.

The hall was silent. Zaiyi was frightened by Cixi's anger. Since the war, Cixi's attitude towards him has become worse and worse, and it is not the first time that she has threatened to cut off his head.

Li Lianying, who was hunched over and standing next to Cixi's throne, quietly slid to Zai Yi, helped up the unlucky county king, and said in a suppressed voice, "Lord Wang, please go back first." He dragged Zai Yi out of the hall.

"Lianying, you bring 50,000 taels of silver from Neiku, and ask Cui Yugui to go to the Gan army to work in the army. Specifically, you go and explain to him. ”

"Huh." Li Lianying bowed and agreed.

Naturally, the news could not be hidden, and one morning, half of Beijing knew about last night's murder.

Dong Fuxiang, who was commanding troops to resist the Russian army at Dongbianmen, was heartbroken.

This! Lao Tzu is desperate with foreigners here, but the court has made this move!

The news came in the morning, when Dong Fuxiang's troops had just repelled the first attack of the Russian army on Dongbianmen, killing two Russian officers, one of whom was wounded and lying on the ground struggling. This scene made Dong Fuxiang, who was commanding at the head of the city, see it, judge that it was an important person, and he was very happy, and he was thinking about how to report to Cixi. Ho, there is news that the two palaces have been washed in blood, and the people in the capital say that they are all done by Gan Jun!

Dong Fuxiang was so angry that he jumped to his feet, and immediately ran down the city wall, preparing to enter the palace to defend himself. was held by his staff, "Dashuai, you must not go at this moment." If you go, you can't come back. A few subordinates had one meaning, "Don't leave the army!" ”

Dong Fuxiang gasped for breath, and he didn't have the heart to fight anymore.

Yes, who has the ability to ransack two palaces at once, except for the army, who can do it? The flag soldiers don't do this kind of thing, and the Han army in the capital is not very good, no wonder people say that it is the Gan army, if you analyze it, you really have to think about it!

Dong Fuxiang has fought with the imperial court! Dong Fuxiang, one of the leaders of the rebel army, surrendered to Liu Songshan on the left due to the unfavorable war situation, and gained Liu Songshan's trust, which rose step by step. His more than 10,000 troops, many of which were rebels, had historical enmity with the Manchus, especially those whose relatives died at the hands of the imperial court.

Let's not talk about the past, let's talk about the recent. killed the Japanese embassy clerk Sugiyama Bin, Dong Fuxiang was called into the palace by Cixi and scolded him, denouncing him as a robber! Threatens to be removed from office for punishment. Dong Fuxiang was also very tough at that time, saying that he was dismissed, but it was difficult to protect his subordinates from a group of soldiers who did not know the etiquette of the imperial court. This sentence calmed Cixi. And that's the end of it. Now that I think about it, Cixi must have been suspicious of him.

Moreover, during this period of time, his brothers did not rarely do the deeds of prostitution and burning, and it is said that Shuntianfu complained to the imperial court more than once__

"Come, call them all to me!" Dong Fuxiang finally made up his mind and gave an order to the guards around him. Dong Hanxing, the leader of the guards who had followed him for a long time, was his nephew, and he immediately went to give the order when he knew who the Dao Commander said. After a while, several major leaders of the Gan army arrived.

"You've probably heard about the palace." Dong Fuxiang asked with a cold face. "Someone hurt me! Now what should we do? ”

"Dashuai!" A general with a northwest accent and a scar on his face said loudly, "Let's work hard for the imperial court." But someone framed us like this. No more! Handsome. Who do you say, I'm going to screw the dog's head off and give you a night pot! He is Ma Yun, the left-wing commander of the Gan Army, and one of Dong Fuxiang's absolute cronies.

"Yes. Slaughtered the dog! It's too bullying. Another battalion officer shouted.

"Dashuai, there is a eunuch in the palace, saying that there is a will for you." Xing Yaozu, Dong Fuxiang's main strategist, leaned into the master's ear and whispered, "I think it's better not to see the handsome." ”

"Nope! Then they will say that I have gone up to the wall, and you will not know where I am. Dong Fuxiang's face showed a hideous expression, "Everyone master the troops, let's kill from Guang'anmen after dark, the court suspects Lao Tzu, let's quit and go back to Gansu!" ”

In the afternoon, Cixi finally convened the Imperial Council. As far as common sense is concerned, this important meeting came too late! Prince Qing didn't show up, and everyone else who should have come came.

"How's the war going? Which of you can talk about it? Cixi asked the prince and minister who knelt on the ground.

Everyone was looking up at Cixi on the throne, but the tragedy in the palace that happened scared these princes and ministers a lot. I thought that Cixi convened the imperial meeting to study last night's big case. Now Cixi asked about the city guard, and one by one she lowered her head and said nothing.

The faint sound of cannons kept coming, and Cixi's anger came up, "You, dumb? ”

The chief soldier of the Shenji Battalion trembled and said, "It seems that the foreign soldiers have entered the city and have arrived near the Temple of Heaven." ”

"Isn't it Hui Yong from Gansu?" Cixi asked suspiciously.

The Minister of Military Aircraft resolutely replied, "No. It's a foreign soldier. The Guangqu Gate has been lost, and foreign soldiers have entered the city. ”

"Guangqu Gate is guarded by the Gan army, right?"

"Yes, Guangqu Gate, Dongbian Gate and even Dongzhi Gate are all defense areas of the Gan army." Rong Lu retribution.

The news silenced the palace ministers who were kneeling under the throne.

The news of the loss of Guangqu Gate dealt a severe blow to Cixi. She hurriedly ended the imperial meeting, leaving only Rong Lu and Zai Yi.

"Immediately find out what the battle situation is, especially the dynamics of the Gan army, understand?" This morning, Cui Yugui took Yinliang to the labor army, but he didn't see Dong Fuxiang. The silver was left behind by Gan's army. Cui Yugui's return made Cixi feel seriously uneasy. Even Cui Yugui's assurances that Dongbianmen was still in his hands and that the Gan army had just repelled the Russian attack did not bring comfort to Cixi.

Why didn't Dong Fuxiang accept the order?

Rong Lu and Zai Yi came out of the palace and did not dare to go home separately, although what they wanted most now was to go home and plan for escape. The two of them came to the headquarters of the Shenji Battalion in Cinder Hutong and heard more unfavorable news, Chaoyang Gate was also lost, and a large number of coalition troops had poured into the inner city.

Rong Lu no longer hesitated, returned to the palace again, and reported the news to Cixi, "Lafayette, you can't hesitate any longer. Gotta get out of here. ”

Where to go? Cixi stared at Rong Lu deadly.

It seemed to guess Cixi's thoughts, "The Gan army is unreliable, they must go west to Gansu, so they can't go west." You can only go north, go out of the city first by Desheng Gate. Rong Lu paused, "The minions have assembled the Wuwei Chinese army, and they can escort them to set off at any time." ”

"Well, well done. Where did Li Hongzhang go? ”

A telegram was sent to transfer Li Hongzhang to Beijing to serve as the governor of Zhili. After confirming the loss of Tianjin, Cixi made this important decision. If you can't win, you can only make peace. Now, however, a few credible ministers must be left to maintain the situation.

Rong Lu knew that this errand was going to fall on his head.

On the evening of August 14, Cixi suddenly summoned the Minister of Military Aircraft, who was going to study the matter of staying behind and retreating. But after waiting for a long time, no military plane came!

Cixi, who has always been strong and resolute, wept in despair!

It was very late, and finally three military planes came: Gangyi, Zhao Shuqiao and Wang Wenshao. Two Han ministers and one Manchu.

Cixi asked. "What are those planes doing? Are you ready to leave our mother and son and run for your life? ”

The three ministers knelt on the ground and said nothing.

Now that it is impossible to hold them accountable, Cixi said to the three of them, "Tomorrow, wait for me to go with you."

The three of them let out a long sigh of relief. The Queen Mother finally made up her mind.

Cixi wondered why Rong Lu didn't come.

It was a long night of horror. The Queen Mother, who was lying in bed and couldn't sleep, could always hear the cat's barking on the ridge of the temple. It's not uncommon for the palace to be full of wild cats. But the strange thing is that there seem to be a lot of wild cats tonight, and they always drag a long tail.

It was actually the whistling sound of a stray bullet.

Early the next morning, Cixi did something that has been passed down through the ages, and executed Concubine Zhen, the favorite concubine of Emperor Guangxu.

This happened on the morning of August 15. On the night that just passed, listening to the endless cry of the "wild cat", no one knew what Cixi was thinking. But she must have thought of Concubine Zhen. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been arranged early in the morning.

Concubine Zhen is twenty-five years old. It is the golden age of a woman. She was born with a red flag and her surname was Tatara. After she became an official eunuch, her grandfather was the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, and her uncle was a general in Guangzhou. Father's long story is the right waiter of the transfer department. are all considered to be prominent officials. When Concubine Zhen was young, she lived in Guangzhou with her sister who was also selected as the concubine of Guangxu and her uncle Changshan. He returned to his father when he was ten years old. She was 12 years old when she was selected to enter the palace in the draft, and was initially made a concubine, and five years later she was promoted to a concubine with her sister. Her name is Concubine Zhen, and her sister is Concubine Jin.

Concubine Zhen is Guangxu's favorite concubine, and she also once liked Cixi. She is gifted, cheerful, uninhibited, and defies all "rules". The development of this character, in addition to genetic factors, is related to the fact that she lived in the open atmosphere of Guangzhou when she was a child. Concubine Zhen was cultured, and it is said that when she was in Guangzhou, she studied with the famous literati Wen Ting. Because of his intelligence, he was once quite loved by Cixi, and he was allowed to accompany him in the office. Concubine Zhen only needs to look at the fold in front of Cixi a few times, she can remember the content, and she can guess what kind of will Cixi wants to make, which makes Cixi very surprised. Concubine Zhen's handwriting is very good, and Cixi gave the ministers "blessing, longevity, dragon, tiger" and other words, mostly written by her. Such talent, coupled with good looks, will naturally be loved by the emperor, but it brings another problem, that is, the empress that Cixi prepared for the emperor was snubbed, and the empress is Cixi's own niece, which went wrong.

Another reason why Concubine Zhen fell out of favor with Cixi was not that the folk rumors of supporting Guangxu's reform angered Cixi, but her own indiscretion. First of all, due to its collusion with eunuchs to favor and sell officials-Qing system, the queen's annual salary is 1,000 taels, and the concubine is only 200 taels. Concubine Zhen may have grown up in Guangzhou when she was a child, and her vision is much broader than that of those beautiful girls who are raised in the boudoir, her hands are too big, and the little monthly case is not even enough fat powder money, so she contacts the affairs office (where the eunuchs communicate with the court officials) Eunuchs and other eunuchs with real power do official things (referring to collecting money from people to run for their official positions). Concubine Zhen's task is to move Emperor Guangxu, which is the most critical, so she has the most profits. There will always be problems when this kind of thing is done too much, and the case of Lu Boyang, the governor of Liangjiang, who was impeached by Liu Kun, the governor of Liangjiang, pulled out Concubine Zhen, and Lu Boyang spent 40,000 taels of silver in order to seek Shanghai Dao, and most of this money fell into Concubine Zhen's pocket. The matter has not yet ended, and there is another case of Sichuan Yanfadao, the main culprit is called Wang Ming, who is illiterate. Because an official at this level took office, as usual to meet the second emperor, Guangxu asked Wang Ming which yamen he was on an errand for, and he actually replied that he was in the wood factory. Guangxu was shocked. Ordered him to write his resume, this person has not been able to write for a long time, because he is illiterate, of course he can't write it. Guangxu then issued another decree to dismiss him, and this matter could not be contained. Since the Ming Dynasty, it is an iron law that the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics, although it has gradually become something on paper, but once it is placed on the table, it cannot be left untreated. For this reason, Concubine Zhen and her sister Concubine Jin were demoted to nobles, claustrophobic in the cold palace, and were not allowed to meet Guangxu. This was in April of the First Sino-Japanese War, and the First Sino-Japanese War had not yet broken out, and there were still four years between the Wuxu year.

Cixi felt that Concubine Zhen had broken the rules, Cixi hated women doing men's things, and she seemed to have forgotten that she was also a woman. The Wuxu change made Cixi the most disappointed in Concubine Zhen, Cixi actually did not oppose the change, the state affairs are like this, how can it be done if it does not change? But how can Guangxu see himself as a stumbling block, and he has to put it to death and hurry up? Give Yuan Shikai a secret edict? Moreover, just relying on Kang Liang's scholars, what can be accomplished? Which of them knows this big faltering empire better than himself?

It is impossible to hide all this from Concubine Zhen, Guangxu really loves Concubine Zhen too much. It is impossible for Concubine Zhen not to participate, but she has not leaked a word about Cixi.

So, after the failure of the Wuxu Reform, Cixi put Concubine Zhen on the list of "deaths". Guangxu was imprisoned in Yingtai, but Concubine Zhen was imprisoned in the cold palace, located in the north three places of Zhongcui Palace, not far from Cixi's dormitory, which is said to be the place where the nurses lived in the Ming Dynasty palace. Concubine Zhen lived there, isolated from the world, the door of the house was locked, the eunuch sent some cold rice leftovers every day, every few days, there were always eunuchs on behalf of the Queen Mother to "apply for punishment", and Concubine Zhen had to kneel to listen to the reprimand. Perhaps Cixi just wanted the lively girl to die a natural death, and did not want to execute her, but on the morning when she was sure that the coalition forces had entered the city, Cixi decided to execute Concubine Zhen by ordering the great eunuch Cui Yugui to drag her out of the house and stuff her into a well by the gate of Zhenshun, which is still in existence and is called the Well of Concubine Zhen by later generations.

It is worth mentioning that a year later, Cixi finally returned to the palace. She immediately dismissed Cui Yugui, who executed Concubine Zhen's death. Cui Yugui's status is second only to Li Lianying, and he is one of the most powerful people in the inner palace, and many important errands, such as going out of the palace to pass the decree, are all undertaken by Cui Yugui. For what is the reason for Kai Cui Yugui, because Cixi did not really want to execute Concubine Zhen, but said "If you are disobedient, I will throw you into the well". As a result, Cui Yugui was reckless and really pushed Concubine Zhen into the well and died. Cui Yugui, who lost his life, was very unconvinced, and left many rumors about Concubine Zhen's death, because he was the person concerned, and his words were naturally authoritative. According to him, it was because Cixi was not prepared to take Concubine Zhen away - most of the concubines could not go, including Concubine Zhen's sister Concubine Jin. Concubine Zhen said, you can avoid it, you can leave the emperor to sit in the capital and preside over the overall situation. This sentence poked the heart of the Queen Mother, and Cixi was furious: When death was on the verge of death, she dared to talk nonsense, and ordered herself to drag Concubine Zhen out of the palace to be executed. Concubine Zhen shouted, I am not guilty of capital crimes! The emperor didn't let me die! Cixi said, the emperor can't save you, throw her into the well!

The truth of history is always hidden in a heavy fog. However, when Cixi returned to Beijing a year later, she was martyred as Concubine Zhen, ordered Concubine Zhen to be buried thickly, posthumously presented the precious concubine, and personally wrote a memorial for her.

For what is the reason for this plot that deviates from the main line of the book, it mainly reflects the character of Cixi. The Wuxu change is the most painful in Cixi's life, Cixi will never forgive the "sinners" of Wuxu, she may think that the root cause of the Gengzi national disaster is the Wuxu change. Since you can't take any concubines with you, you must consider the consequences if they fall into the hands of the coalition forces. Even if Concubine Zhen doesn't top Cixi's mouth, the best result is a white silk.

In fact, this woman who brought profound disasters to China is not unaware of repaying her kindness, for example, for Wu Tang, who was the governor of Sichuan, because of only 200 taels of silver, she has lifelong trust, no matter how the officials impeach, she ignored it.

After doing this, Cixi must go. But what she didn't expect was that her journey out of town would not be smooth. (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you sen-tiger, Tianjian Dance Piaoxiang and other book friends for rewarding monthly tickets. At this point, this book has deviated from the track of history and entered a new world. This is also the inevitability of alternate history. Of course, it can't be completely deviated from