At this time, Xiao Er brought a few hot dishes at a low price. The two also stopped talking knowingly and ate a few chopstick dishes while they were hot.

After waiting for no one around, Wu Tongjia said hatefully: "The regent is so gaffe, shouldn't the official be impeached afterwards?" ”

Yang Jie sneered a few times: "Are you really the master of 'shouldering morality with iron shoulders and writing articles with hot hands' as an advisor?" They also know the times, and they know how to watch the dishes! Before the death of the Empress Dowager of the West, there was a special decree, 'With the regent as the supervisor of the country, all military and political affairs should be implemented according to the instructions given'. Now that the regent is acting on behalf of heaven with great power, who dares to speak out?

"And the way of heaven is far away, and it doesn't hurt if the people don't hold officials accountable. If you chase after the wind and talk about things on the streets, will the regent's henchmen sit idly by? They will ask: On the occasion of the new emperor's accession to the throne, what kind of intentions did you have in vain claiming to be a fool, bewitching the people, attacking the ruling ministers, and talking about the state and the society? In this way, it is a slander against the court, and it is difficult to escape the imprisonment of dismissal; The most serious is the crime of great disrespect, and it is possible to behead and exile the family.

"If the identity of the regent changes, even if it is Yi Yin and Huo Guang, the excerpts of the words and deeds written by the officials can be piled up in the military aircraft department. No matter what kind of punishment, whether it is dismissal or imprisonment, exile and beheading, the officials will be willing. Because more than ten or twenty years later, the new emperor will always think of their good coming, and if he is alive, he will be added to the official and become a knight, and when he dies, he will be given a shadow.

"But what is the identity of our regent? That's the biological father of Banzai Ye! To put it mildly, is there a reason in the world for a son to condemn Lao Tzu? If the officials do not know the current affairs, let alone ten or twenty years later, it will be impossible to overturn the case even in the end of the Qing Dynasty. Later, in the history books, it will only be said that they were punished for their fame and deserved their crimes. Who wants to do such a thing that was killed in life and infamous after death? ”

Wu Tongjia drank a glass of wine and said indignantly: "Since this matter is not suitable for the Han people, then the Manchu princes and Beizi Baylor should not keep silent, right?" ”

"They? They have more important things to do, and they're hugging the Lord Regent! Yang Jiesan's face was full of mystery.

"What's the matter?"

Yang Jiesan leaned over, lowered his voice and said: "I heard in the Henan Hall that the first emperor took the hand of the regent before his death, saying that Xiangcheng wolf is ambitious, capricious, and the most unpredictable. 3∴35686688 After the death of the first emperor, the Empress Dowager Longyu also told the regent, hoping to kill Xiangcheng and avenge the first emperor.

Originally, the regent was still a little hesitant, but who knew that his cronies such as Tao Beile, Xun Beile, Yu Lang and others also persuaded him one after another, suggesting that the regent deal with Xiangcheng quickly. They said that now the people in charge of the military and government at home and abroad are Xiangcheng's henchmen, and when the Empress Dowager Xiaoqin was in the past, Xiangcheng was afraid of him like a tiger, and his ghost tricks could only hide in his heart; Now that the Queen Mother is gone, no one can restrain him, but I am afraid that he will follow Wang Mangcao's actions and change the dynasty.

"Even Prince Gong, who had a holiday with the regent, took the white rainbow sword given to his grandfather by Emperor Daoguang a few days ago, and found the regent, saying that he wanted to slash Xiangcheng, the culprit. So, lately, the regent has been very excited. ”

Wu Tongjia was shocked: "Yuan Xiangcheng has made outstanding achievements since he joined the army with a weak crown; After the New Deal, the organization and training of the new army, the reform of the official system, and the preparation of the constitution were all the more meritorious to the society. The people of Beiyang regard him as the second Duke of Li Wenzhong, but his horse is the first. Overseas countries also regard it as the pillar of China and dare not provoke lightly. The regent is in the same room, how is it different from self-destruction of the Great Wall to do this painful and hateful thing? ”

"One day when Xiangcheng was in the center, the Manchu princes felt that they wanted to be too upside down, and they were panicked in their hearts, and they wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible." Yang Jiesan also felt quite unhappy, "Of course, how easy is it to get rid of Xiang Cheng?" Let's not say that the Beiyang garrison is close to Gyeonggi, but I'm afraid that the edict issued by the regent will not be able to leave the military aircraft department! Now there are six adults in the Military Aircraft Department: among the three Manchurians, in addition to the regent, Prince Qing and Xiang Cheng are in the same relationship as Jinlan, so they naturally want to help; The world continues to be soft, and it will not be difficult with Xiang Cheng. As for the three Hanchens, in addition to Xiangcheng, Nanpi and Dingxing are both over seventy years old, and they will also be protected as the same qi. The decree can't get out of the military aircraft department, what can the regent do? He is not Kangxi, where does he have the courage and courage to capture ministers in the palace! ”

Wu Tongjia couldn't help but stroking his palms: "That's fine." Now looking around the center, there is only one person who can help the community and turn the tide! If there is something unexpected in Xiangcheng, what should happen to the world? ”

Yang Jiesan shook his head gloomily: "Although Xiang Cheng can escape, I'm afraid it won't work if he wants to stay in the center." After all, there is no constitutional monarchy, and it is still an imperial state, and the appointment and dismissal of officials depends on the emperor's edict. If the regent decides to expel Xiang Cheng and return to his hometown, will Xiang Cheng still dare to resist and disobey the order? ”

"That's just as well."

Yang Jiesan suddenly sighed: "When it comes to the means of turning the clouds and rain in the officialdom, in the past hundred years, the Empress Dowager Xiaoqin really will never think twice. To put it mildly, he played with the heroes of the world in the palm of his hand, which was enough to make the Chinese man ashamed to death. ”

"Why did Brother Shaoquan suddenly sigh like this?"

"When you think of what Xiang Cheng has suffered in the past two years, you will naturally admire the wisdom of the Empress Dowager Xiaoqin." Yang Jiesan sandwiched the chopsticks, and then continued, "Although the Empress Dowager Xiaoqin has a woman, she is indeed a woman who does not let her eyebrows be bearded, and she is particularly knowledgeable in recognizing and employing people. She knew that Xiang Cheng was a talent born in the world, and she had the ability to control it, so she tried her best to let it go, so Xiang Cheng has shined in the past ten years. She also knew that Xiang Cheng's talent was beyond the control of ordinary people, so she began to gradually deprive Xiang Cheng of his power in her later years.

"Two years ago, the Empress Dowager Xiaoqin first transferred four of the six towns of the Beiyang New Army under the jurisdiction of Xiangcheng to the Ministry of War; Last year, Xiang Cheng and Nanpi were transferred to the military aircraft department together, nominally for promotion, but in fact, to deprive these two Han governors of military power, who in the world does not know that the recruits trained by the Qing Dynasty are Beiyang and Wuchang? These are the first moves.

"In October this year, the Queen Mother was seriously ill. She knew that her time was short, and she had a lot of clever tricks. The state has always proclaimed that 'Manchu and Han are one,' and in fact, since Tongguang, the military aircraft have been dominated by Manchus. Xiang Cheng can have today, in addition to ability, the key is to make good friends with King Qing. The relationship between the two has almost reached the point of brotherhood and solidarity, and Xiang Cheng has also risen steadily. If you want to seize the power of Xiangcheng, you must first seize the power of the prince of Qing. The day before the pre-establishment of the heir, the queen mother sent the prince of Qing to Zunhua under the pretext of accepting the auspicious land of Dongling Putuoyu, and then summoned Shixu and Nanpi into the palace to discuss the matter of establishing the heir, but she didn't want him to participate in the pre-establishment of the new emperor. And to appoint the regent as the superintendent of the country is to deprive him of the rights of the first assistant in disguise.

"The two ministers who participated in the pre-establishment of the new emperor: the world is soft and cowardly, and naturally only the order of the queen mother is obeyed; Nanpi is a Han Chinese, and he has taboos in his own right, coupled with poor health, his time is short, and he will not fight. In the future, when the new emperor ascends the throne, these two people will not be pampered and arrogant, so they can be used with confidence. After all the major matters had been decided, the Queen Mother sent a telegram to Prince Qing and asked him to return to Beijing.

"When Prince Qing arrives in Beijing, everything has been settled, what else can he do except approve of it? At that time, Xiang Cheng had been in Beijing, and he was the Minister of Military Aircraft like Shixu and Nanpi, but he was not able to participate in the major event of pre-appointing the new emperor, and the discerning person immediately knew that he had lost power. Xiang Cheng also knew that he was inconvenient to walk under the pretext that he had a foot disease, so he retreated as an advance.

"When the Empress Dowager Xiaoqin died, the pattern of the Military Aircraft Department became a situation in which Prince Qing and Xiangcheng lost power, Nanpi and Dingxing were old, the world was weak, and the regent was in charge. This situation gave the regent a lot of room to maneuver, and he didn't have to worry about everything, and it was much more convenient to stuff people into the military aircraft in the future. Brother Di Xuan, take a look, is the Empress Dowager Xiaoqin a lightweight and easy to come? ”

Wu Tongjia nodded heavily.

Yang Jiesan picked up his wine glass again: "Brother Di Xuan, take care of your body when you go to Hubei!" ”

"Thank you, Brother Shaoquan! In the future, if there is anything on the ground in Hubei that needs the help of Brother Yu, just write a letter, your business is my business, don't see outside. Wu Tongjia patted his chest and said.

"It's a deal!" Yang Jiesan drank all the wine in the cup, "Brother Di Xuan, the people of the constitution have been making a lot of trouble recently, especially in the provinces along the Yangtze River, you have to be careful after you take office!" ”

Wu Tongjia finished drinking, and said while playing with the wine glass: "Isn't it? I heard that my predecessor was the president of the Preparatory Constitutional Association. Shaoquan, as you should know, in June and July of this year, the Preparatory Constituent Assembly sent a telegram to the Constituent Hall, demanding that the Constitution be convened within two years. Two years? Pipe dream.

"They're just making trouble. Didn't the political news agency of the Liang Party organization also send a telegram to the Constitutional Hall? They are demanding that Congress be convened within three years. The Queen Mother was furious and banned the Political News Society, and they immediately stopped a lot. I heard that Master Chen was not interested in Western studies and constitutional things, so I communicated with him after I arrived, and a little punishment in such societies would definitely make Hubei prosperous. ”

Yang Jiesan touched his forehead: "In the middle of this year, the imperial court promulgated the "Regulations of the Provincial Consultative Bureau" and the "Regulations for the Election of Members of the Consultative Bureau", requiring all provinces to complete the process within one year. It is said that now all provinces are preparing, and if this toss continues, what will become of the country? ”

"Who knows? The Outline of the Constitution, promulgated in August, states that Parliament will be convened in nine years. Since ancient times, the books of the sages have written the truths that "there are no two days in the heavens and no two kings in the earth" and "the people can make it from it, but they cannot know it". Moreover, since the fall of the Three Emperors and the Five Emperors, the people of the country have been accustomed to the tradition of the Lord making arbitrary decisions and making decisions with one word. In the future, if there is a real parliament, everyone will speak differently, each seeking his own interests, and disregarding the country, will this world still be the world of the ancestors? Wu Tongjia was also puzzled.

"Last month, the rebellious party in Anqing, Anhui Province broke out again, they once captured Anqing, and the prefect, Tongzhi, and Tongju all died. The governor of Anhui dispatched a large army, and it took 40 days to settle the rebellion. ”

When the wine is hot, talking about these dull topics, I feel that the whole person is starting to be groggy. Wu Tongjia got up and pushed open the window vigorously, the cold wind with the smell of earth blowing in his face, and his spirit was suddenly lifted.

Yang Jiesan also came to the window and looked out through the gap, because the lead clouds covered the sky, and it was dark and dreary, and there was not even a dog barking. A few grains of lights dotted the sky, and you could see the gates and palaces lurking in the darkness in the distance. The cold wind leaked in through the gap, and he suddenly shivered: "Brother Di Xuan, this day won't change, right?" ”

"Probably not, right?" Wu Tongjia was also a little unsure, so he had to answer vaguely.

……