Since the beginning of the war against the nations, there has been an eerie atmosphere in the city of Beijing.

Every day when the city gate is opened, there are always horse-drawn carts, donkey carts, and ox carts with luggage and parcels driving out of the city gate, and there may be the owners of the carts and parcels on them, who are worried that the war will spread to Beijing and take refuge in the city.

More people expressed contempt for these cowards. The subjects at the feet of the Son of Heaven have an inexplicable self-confidence, even if the capital was defeated by foreign coalition forces forty years ago, it cannot dispel their self-confidence.

But this time it was not Britain and France that were facing each other. When someone who understands this points it out, it is immediately ridiculed by those who are full of self-confidence, even though the reasons are not tenable at all.

We have energy, and being strong is everything! Foreigners are a dick!

They didn't care about the war in Tianjin, let alone study the generals, troops, equipment, and strategies and tactics of both sides. Self-confidence comes from a breath of air, we are the people of Jingshi, who are we afraid of?

In the summer of 1900, most of the people of Beijing and their supreme ruler were in a state of inexplicable euphoria. Especially listening to the rumbling sound of cannons in Dongjiaomin Lane and looking at the fire in that direction, my heart was as comfortable as drinking snow water in June. Every piece of news about the slaughter of foreigners will trigger sky-high applause.

In every farcical movement, there is always someone who will be the first to come to his senses. In the current "extermination" campaign, which is destined to bring great disasters to the Chinese nation, especially the people of Gyeonggi, Cixi, the supreme decision-maker of the Qing Empire, is relatively sober.

On the third day of the war. Dong Fuxiang, the commander of the Gan army, reported that the embassy had been defeated.

Naturally, this news pleased Cixi. So Lafayette, supported by the eunuchs and palace maids, climbed to the high place in the palace to look at the direction of the embassy area of Dongjiaomin Lane, and sure enough, he saw thick smoke billowing out, which confirmed that Dong Fuxiang's performance was true.

But the next day, Xu Jingcheng, who served in the Prime Minister's Yamen, played a concert and said that yesterday's fire was not burning the embassy, but the Hanlin Academy! Gan Jun couldn't beat the embassy, so he thought of a bad move, saying that the Hanlin Courtyard was next to the embassy, and setting fire from there would definitely lead the fire over. As a result. Hallymin Temple burned down. The embassy was unharmed.

The Hanlin Academy, theoretically the highest-level academic center of the Qing Empire and a sacred place longed for by the literati of the empire, made sacrifices for the "extermination of foreigners" movement. In order to destroy the foreigners in the capital. The Chinese have burned down the shops of Dashilar and the royal gates. Right now. Even the country's highest academic center was sacrificed.

This news made Cixi very angry and severely reprimanded Dong Fuxiang. I guess I still have to use him, so Cixi just reprimanded. There were no other sanctions.

Before that incident was over, Emperor Guangxu came to complain, saying that the eldest brother had insulted him, learned the tone of the Boxers, and called him a devil's apprentice. Cixi became angry when she heard this, and without even verifying the authenticity of the matter, she ordered the guards to bring the eldest brother and whipped the fat Pu Jun twenty lashes in front of Guangxu.

Cixi was not angry because Guangxu was angry, but hated the Boxers getting stronger and stronger. Now she has reacted: Zai Yi became the Boxer Rebellion, and she was on the role of Zai Yi and other princes and ministers.

I am afraid that the war with all nations will not be easy to clean up. Cixi, who has decades of ruling experience, has predicted this. Therefore, Emperor Guangxu said that Pu Jun, the son of Zaiyi, who was made the eldest brother, learned to speak in the Boxers, and immediately became angry.

Duanjun Wang Zaiyi, who came in a hurry, looked at Cixi Tieqing's face, and swallowed the words of intercession for his son into his stomach.

This incident did not teach Zai Yi enough lessons. Two days later, another thing happened. That morning, Cixi was having breakfast when she heard a commotion outside, which alerted her and sent a eunuch to see what was going on. The eunuch reported that the king of Duanjun and the prince of Zhuang brought dozens of Boxers into the palace, saying that they wanted to arrest "Ermaozi", and now they were shouting in front of Ningshou Palace, saying that the emperor was a friend of foreign devils, and the Boxers wanted to kill devil apprentices.

Cixi was furious, threw down her half-eaten breakfast, and rushed away in a rage. Seeing the queen mother coming, the group of princes and the people immediately knelt on the ground, and Cixi scolded the king of Duanjun and fined him for one year.

Rong Lu, who came in a hurry, cut off the head of the Boxer Rebellion, who thought he had a big backer, outside the noon gate. Originally, the execution ground was at the entrance of the vegetable market, which is the old rule. But these are extraordinary times, and there is no need to go through the judicial process and choose the place of execution.

This incident was very stimulating to Cixi. Completely lost his trust in the king of Duanjun. A prince can actually enter the Great Inner with the Boxer Rebellion and kill the emperor! The situation seems to be in danger of spiraling out of control. She called Rong Lu and sent an order to stop the attack on the embassy immediately, and asked Rong Lu to negotiate peace with the embassy. Rong Lu immediately rushed over with his troops and set up a sign outside the embassy area, on which were written the four big characters "Ordered to Protect".

The gunfire in the embassy area stopped. However, after a few hours of rest, the attack on the embassy by the Gan army and the Boxers resumed. Because Cixi received a report from Yulu from Tianjin, saying that Tianjin was a great victory, and the foreigners were almost wiped out.

This reversal of black and white once again misled Cixi, since the military victory, there was no need to worry about the foreigners in the capital.

Soon, Cixi learned from other sources that the war in Tianjin had not been won, and the battle was still going on. Moreover, Li Hongzhang's recital was reported, and Li Hongzhang clearly opposed the declaration of war against the foreign powers, believing that "it is a foolish mistake for the government to help the party to attack the embassy."

Cixi still believes in Li Hongzhang's vision. Dealing with foreigners and understanding foreigners, ten Zaiyi can't compare to Li Hongzhang. Is it a mistake to start the war, Cixi repeatedly read Li Hongzhang's letter, and regretted it a little. She began to pay attention to the war in Tianjin, Yulu's reports continued, and the great victories continued, but the news sent from other channels was not the case at all. It is true that Seymour's coalition forces were blocked in Langfang, but Seymour was not wiped out, but retreated to Tianjin. It is true that he was trapped in Xigu, but Nie Shicheng fought twice and did not defeat him. And Yulu was also not going well in Tianjin, the military academy was destroyed, the ammunition depot of the East Bureau was bombed, and the old dragon head station was not knocked down, but the coalition troops who landed at Dagukou were endless, and they laid down the concession. wiped out the foreigners, Cixi didn't believe it at all.

It wasn't until July 9 that a report from Yulu made Cixi excited. According to this report, the army of King Qin sent by Yuan Shikai conquered the stronghold of Xigu in one fell swoop under the command of Yulu, completely annihilated more than 2,500 troops of the Seymour coalition, and captured the enemy chief Seymour.

Cixi immediately summoned her most trusted Ronglu and showed Yulu's good news to this most trusted courtier.

"Congratulations to the Queen Mother. This is really the blessing of the Queen Mother. If Seymour is captured alive, the war is hopeful. Looking at Bi Jiebao, Rong Lu's face was happy.

"This can't be fake, right?" Cixi was already seriously suspicious of Yulu's recital.

"Borrow Rong Lu's ten dares. He didn't dare to talk nonsense and caught Seymour__" Rong Lu grabbed the point.

Cixi really smiled this time. It was the first time in more than ten days, "You are right to reuse Yuan Shikai, I can't imagine that Yuan Shikai is so loyal and so powerful." Immediately draft the decree to Shandong. and sent a decree to Yulu. He was ordered to send Seymour to Beijing immediately. Other than that. The list of meritorious soldiers and horses of King Qinwang of Shandong was reported together, and the imperial court wanted to reward these soldiers who had made meritorious contributions to the society. ”

These were all the business of the military department, and Rong Lu immediately arranged it.

The news made Cixi happy. Even the lieutenant general commander of the foreigners has been arrested, maybe this battle can really be won. But only four days later, Rong Lu received a report from Tianjin again, saying that the coalition forces concentrated their forces and suddenly attacked the front army of Nie Shicheng's military defense stationed in the west of Tianjin, and the fierce battle lasted for half a day, Nie Shicheng was killed and the front army was dispersed. Now the coalition forces are fiercely attacking Tianjin, and the military department is requested to send reinforcements as soon as possible.

Rong Lu was shocked, he was still waiting to "sacrifice Seymour to His Majesty" to boost morale, why did the news that Nie Shicheng was defeated and died and Tianjin was besieged? Rong Lu did not dare to slack off, and immediately entered the palace to report Cixi, and reported the bad news to the top decision-maker of the empire.

Cixi was also stunned by this bad news. Nie Shicheng is the mainstay of Tianjin, and the Wuwei Front Army is the absolute main force fighting against the coalition forces, what should I do now?

"Yulu should be killed! I have deceived me a few times, and it is abominable! Cixi threw the report onto the polished "gold brick" ground, "Immediately lock Yulu into Beijing to ask for the crime!" ”

"The Queen Mother is angry." Rong Lu immediately knelt down, "It's a big taboo for soldiers to change generals in battle." Evacuate Yulu, who can replace him? ”

Cixi almost shouted "You go". No, you can't be without this loyal and nimble courtier by your side, "In your opinion, what should I do?" ”

Rong Lu hung his head and pondered, Cixi glanced at Li Lianying, and said softly, "Get up and speak, give a seat." ”

Li Lianying immediately helped Rong Lu up, and the little eunuch moved over a Xiudun.

"Empress Dowager Xie." Rong Lu did not sit down, "The minister thought that he would immediately issue an order, severely reprimand, and order him to make meritorious service to the crime, stick to Tianjin, and be sure to stabilize the war on the front line of Tianjin." Then he issued an order to the soldiers and horses of King Qin of Shandong, and ordered them to escort Seymour to Beijing. ”

"Well, that's good, so let's do it." Cixi accurately understood Rong Lu's intentions, in case Tianjin lost, it would be better to capture the Shandong soldiers in their hands to defend the Beijing division.

Cixi regretted going to war with all nations even more. In the past few days, the governors of the south have invariably sent telegrams to rebuke the imperial court for not going to war with the foreign powers, among which Liu Kunyi's telegram is the most intense: the chaotic people are not available, the evil magic is not credible, and the military provocation cannot be opened. The prestige of the hard-nosed Liu Kunyi was not under Li Hongzhang, and the resolute opposition of the local real power faction made Cixi deeply contradicted and blamed herself. After much thought, Cixi ordered someone to write a document and provide it to the ministers of various countries in the embassy. In this material, Cixi recounted the unavoidable positions of the imperial court where the situation had developed to this point, and put the blame on the Boxers, a group of rebellious people who should be killed, and a group of officials who did not respect the imperial decrees.

She wanted to leave herself a way out. Not only that, Cixi also ordered Prime Minister Yamen to send telegrams to heads of state, expressing the position of the Qing Empire, mainly that it had no intention of being enemies of other countries. Cixi's explanation for this move was that the great powers were not monolithic, and hoped that they would become suspicious and chaotic.

Not to mention that Cixi wrote those letters and telegrams that were difficult to justify out of fear of defeat, and the holy decree to Yulu and the soldiers and horses of Shandong Qinwang was quickly sent to Tianjin.

Rong Lu didn't believe too much in Yulu's good news about Shandong Qinwang Bing. The reason why he said that in front of the Queen Mother, firstly, he did not need to bear any responsibility for this, and secondly, he needed to comfort the Queen Mother's anxious mood. Now, he's taken over the matter. You'll have to look into it.

Previously, Yuan Shikai had reported to the Ministry of War that because the situation in Shandong was unstable, he could only send 2,000 soldiers and horses to King Qin. At that time, it was the fastest response in various places, and the situation in Gyeonggi did not deteriorate to the point where it is today, and Ronglu did not care. But now it's a different story.

On July 15, news of the fall of Tianjin reached Beijing. The news did not come back from regular channels, and in the past few days, there has been no military report from Yulu at all, and even the reports of Song Qing and Ma Yukun have not been seen. Court. Including Cixi. It's a bit of a mess. Cixi viciously said to Zaiyi that when foreign soldiers enter Beijing, your head will not be protected. No news is bad news, and Cixi now regrets it completely. Once again, an order was given to stop the assault on the embassy. Cixi did not forget the news about Seymour a few days ago. reprimanded Rong Lu for his incompetence. It is still rare to reprimand Rong Lu in front of the princes and ministers. The ministers found that the Queen Mother, who had always been well-maintained, was now emaciated. The old age is revealed.

The imperial court waited anxiously, and on the afternoon of July 16, Rong Lu finally waited for the person he had sent to Lu, the chief surnamed Zhang, who came back to say that Tianjin had been broken and that the whereabouts of the governor of Yulu were unknown. He met Xigu with his father-in-law, who was delivering the decree, and it was already a battlefield full of artillery fire. The Shandong soldiers are still holding on, and the coalition forces have been fighting for almost two days, with dead and wounded, and it is difficult to move forward.

"Shandong Bing, who is the leader?" Rong Lu asked.

"Biaotong Long Qian."

Rong Lu couldn't remember who this person was, and he definitely hadn't heard of it, "Have you seen this person?" How many of them are there? ”

"When the army was dispatched, there were nearly 2,000 men, and after a battle with Seymour, although the Seymour coalition army was annihilated, it lost nearly half of its own. Although many of the defeated soldiers are now contained, the total number is less than 1,500. ”

"Did you see Seymour?" Rong Lu asked.

"Nope. For the sake of safety, Long Biao has sent his wounded soldiers and Seymour to a secret location. ”

"Nonsense!" Rong Lu reprimanded. He felt like he was being fooled again. It's really tiring to be the leader of the Qing Dynasty, and you have to deal with lies almost every moment.

"My lord, the Shandong soldiers are indeed strong, they attack the strong with the weak, and they will not retreat in a fight to the death. The coalition forces suffered heavy losses near Xigu, and corpses were everywhere. In the past two days, dozens of foreign soldiers have been arrested, and I have seen with my own eyes that if there are a few more such strong troops in the imperial court, the external troubles will not be enough. "Director Zhang seems to have forgotten his humility and loudly praised the Shandong army," Gonggong Cui in the palace saw it with his own eyes, and the adults don't believe in humility, so you can ask Gonggong Cui. ”

"The holy decree wants him to bring the enemy chief Seymour into Beijing to offer prisoners, is this surnamed Long not obeying the will?"

"The coalition forces are constantly attacking, and they must first repel the foreign soldiers before they can retreat." Director Zhang explained, "Long Qian has received the holy decree, and when he repels the strong enemy, he will enter Beijing. ”

Rong Lu immediately entered the palace and reported the news to Cixi, who said for a while, "It seems that Tianjin is indeed broken, and Yulu should be killed!" ”

"Queen Mother," Rong Lu pondered his words, "the soldiers of Tianjin are already in tatters. Beijing is afraid that it will be difficult to protect, are you considering taking the emperor out of Beijing? In any case, the emperor could not fall into the hands of foreigners. ”

What Zhonghua said was. Go ahead and prepare, but keep it secret. "Cixi can only trust Ronglu now. Of course, Guangxu must not fall into the hands of foreigners, so Cixi will be finished.

That night, Cixi stayed up almost all night, weeping several times, and the pain was extreme. Since she seized power by coup d'état at the age of 27, she has not encountered such a critical situation after decades of ups and downs. The loss of Tianjin is still secondary, the key is that the army in the direction of Tianjin is all finished, Nie Shicheng is dead, and Song Qing, who is over eighty years old, can't count on it at all. As for the Boxers, she already hated these mobs, and if she eased her breath, she would definitely kill all the thugs who had subverted her country! Don't let go of a single one!

The country in Cixi's heart is authority. As long as you hold the power of the empire, the country is in your own hands. And as long as the country is in hand, there is no problem with one's own desires, material, and spiritual. As for the reparations for the cession of land after the defeat, everything is not a problem. But she thought of a terrible situation, once she escaped from Jingshi, the situation would be completely out of control. Even the princes of the clan can't be relied on, and the ministers can't be counted on. At that time, I am afraid that I could not even find a reliable guard. Besides, where to go? If a foreigner looks for a puppet to replace him, the most dangerous thing is not the foreigner, but the ministers who take the money they give and enjoy the glory and wealth they give. Therefore, what Rong Lu said was right, Emperor Guangxu, who must bring the support of foreigners, must not give him the slightest chance......

But the next day, a man named Li Bingheng entered the palace to meet him, causing the situation to spin again.

Li Bingheng, the 70-year-old minister of the Yangtze River Patrol Division, was a native of Haicheng, Liaoning, and with the holy decree of King Qin, he went north to King Qin with the soldiers of the 16 battalion leaders he had recruited. This person is also a veteran general of the Qing army, who participated in the Vietnam campaign under Feng Zicai, and with a loyalty to the Qing court, he did not avoid danger and went north to King Qin. But halfway through, most of the soldiers he recruited were scattered. In desperation, the old general returned to Nanjing to re-recruit soldiers and went north again.

Faithful enough.

Cixi immediately summoned Li Bingheng, and after praising the old man's loyalty, Cixi asked him what he thought of the situation, and Li Bingheng said forcefully that since the war started, it would be fought. Only those who can fight can make peace.

The reason is right, but Cixi didn't ask, the army is not helpful, how can it be fought? Encouraged by Li Bingheng, Cixi immediately issued an order that all the troops in Tianjin, including the troops that came to King Qinqin in Beijing, should be under the command of Li Bingheng and continue to fight.

This is equivalent to replacing the former enemy commander and replacing Yulu with Li Bingheng.

She no longer mentioned the escape, and pinned her last hope on this elderly savior. (To be continued......)