After hearing this, Zai Yan chuckled and lowered his eyelids, and said in a low voice: "If there is a mistake, it should be punished." ”

I looked at him and said, "But Lord Weng Tongshu and the emperor are like father and son. Is the emperor really able to do it? ”

Zai Yan let out a breath and said in a deep voice: "The Son of Heaven is still guilty of the same crime as the common people, and it is really unfair if he is wrong and not punished because he is my teacher. ”

I said, "But Your Majesty, how can the Son of Heaven ever commit the same crime as the common people when he broke the law?" ”

He said, "There was no before, so it started with me." ”

As soon as Zai Xiang's words came out, I was really taken aback, and it is no wonder that he is a person who can make such a move as "reform and reform", and then Zai Xiang complained to me about a few words of Li Hongzhang's wrongdoing, and I said two words of comfort, and the anger in his chest gradually subsided.

thought that this matter would pass like this, but he didn't want Li Hongzhang to be uneasy, so he actually made trouble with Cixi, which made the front and harem boil for a while. The rain outside the window is falling, like thousands of silver threads, rippling in the air, just like a bead curtain, I see in my eyes but I have no intention of appreciating such a beautiful scenery at all, the air pressure in Ningshou Palace is low at this moment, just like the dark clouds shrouded in the sky outside the window, it seems that there is an uncontrollable anger in the air, and I feel that I am about to explode.

Originally, Cixi called everyone in the harem to come to Ningshou Palace to taste tea and gossip, but before she could say a few words, Zai Xiang also arrived, and Cixi mentioned to Zai Xiang about the Beiyang Naval Division, "Li Hongzhang has been in charge of the Beiyang Naval Division for many years since the first year, and he has a lot of experience, and the emperor really shouldn't say such a brain-just proposal to Li Hongzhang in the court." ”

The Beiyang Naval Division has always been a heart disease of Zaiyan, he was already angry with Li Hongzhang, and today he listened to Cixi's words, how could he not be angry, so he completely ignored the people next to him, and suddenly said: "Lafayette, the current situation is tense, as the king of a country, I should know all the military affairs related to the Beiyang Naval Division, how can I be clear only by listening to Li Hongzhang's words," and said, "As the saying goes, knowing oneself and knowing the other is invincible, but now I can't even grasp the power of my own sailor, How will we face the powerful Japan and the Western countries in the future? ”

Cixi laughed and said, "Powerful Japan? The word "powerful" was deliberately accentuated between the words.

Zai Yan looked at her with a dull gaze and said, "Yes." ”

Hearing that they wanted to talk about the political affairs of the previous dynasty, because of the rule that the harem was not allowed to interfere in politics, everyone consciously bowed and wanted to retreat. Naturally, I was about to leave Ningshou Palace with the epidemic ceremony, but before I could take a step on my tiptoes, Cixi said, "Concubine Zhen stays." ”

His steps froze, and he had to turn around and continue to listen to the two of them.

Ziyu and Princess Rongshou heard Cixi stop me suddenly, and probably knew that nothing good happened, and their bodies were shaken, and before stepping out of the room, they both turned around and threw a very worried look at me, and I shrugged my shoulders when I saw it, and smiled slightly, so that they could rest assured.

Several concubines were the first to withdraw from Ningshou Palace, and now they are long gone, I looked at their backs quietly and had to sigh at their indifferent attitude of "the world is like a cloud", and soon, several people couldn't even see their backs.

The raindrops in the sky fell like sifting beans, and the showers whipped the ground, and the rain splashed and was misty, as if only the bright yellow of Longyu was the most conspicuous between heaven and earth.

I felt sick and pursed my lips a little, and withdrew my gaze.

Cixi's gaze swept over me, and then swept over Zaiyan, slowly picked up the porcelain cup on the small table and took a sip, and then only said contemptuously: "But the small country ear of the projectile!" ”

Hearing this, Zaiyan's face turned pale for a while, he took a deep breath, and tried to explain: "Japan's Meiji Restoration has a lot of measures, after more than 20 years of development, the national strength is getting stronger and stronger, even if it is not a strong country, but it is by no means something that the Qing Dynasty can underestimate, even if the strength of the Beiyang Naval Division is not weak, but it must be prepared for no mistakes." Although we all know that these words were nothing more than playing the harp to the cow for Cixi.

Cixi's deafness was all expected, and she only calmly counted the past merits and said: "Eight years ago, the emperor was only old, and there was a rebellion in Korea. Ding Richang was ordered to lead three warships, Weiyuan, Chaoyong, and Yangwei, to Korea to make a strong reputation. The Qing army arrested Dayuanjun and quickly put down the rebellion.

Ten years later, when China and France resumed war over the Vietnam issue, in order to strengthen their coastal defense forces, the 'Chaoyong' and 'Yangwei' went to the south, preparing to form a task force to go south together with the Nanchen, 'Nanrui', 'Kaiji', 'Chengqing', and 'Yuyuan' of the Nanyang Naval Division. When Japan saw that the Qing Dynasty was fighting against France, it tried to stir up trouble on the peninsula and instigated the pro-Japanese Kaihua Party in Korea to launch a coup d'état and expel the Qing troops stationed in Korea. In order to stabilize the situation and deter Japan, Ding Ruchang was ordered to lead 'Chaoyong' and 'Yangwei' from Shanghai to the north, and commanded 'Weiyuan' to transport the Huai army to increase troops in Korea, and quickly calmed down the situation.

Moreover, almost all the captains and senior officers of the major warships of the Beiyang Fleet graduated from the Fuzhou Shipbuilding School, and most of them went to the British Naval Academy in the West for internships. Among the middle-level officers, there were many young children who had studied in the United States, and after being recalled, they went to the Fujian Naval Academy to study the navy and serve in the navy. There have always been foreigners in the fleet who serve as technical experts and instructors. Most of the officers of the Beiyang Fleet can speak English, and the internal command orders are also issued in English," Cixi said and looked at Zai Yan with a smile, "Speaking of which, the emperor's English is still being studied, and I am afraid it is useless." ”

Zai Xiang was not timid in the face of Cixi's enumeration and sarcasm, and only said: "When Lafayette only talked about things for eight years and ten years, but not for eleven years, the Qing court was deeply stimulated by the rampant French fleet, and in the sixteenth year, after the 'flag-raising incident' of Lang Weili, the number of foreign soldiers of the Beiyang Navy Division decreased sharply. ”

Cixi frowned slightly, and the center of her eyebrows seemed to be covered with a layer of melancholy, "How did the emperor know that the number of foreign soldiers in the Beiyang Navy Division had decreased sharply in the sixteenth year?" ”

My heart fluttered.

Zai Yan only didn't realize it, with a shallow and calm attitude at the corner of his mouth, and said calmly: "Who else doesn't know about the 'flag-raising incident' in the previous dynasty? ”

Cixi looked at me with her eyes and asked, "Does Concubine Zhen also know?" ”

I lowered my body with a smile, "Lafayette Mingjian, the slave doesn't know about this." ”

Cixi let out an "oh" and said cleverly: "But the mourning family heard that the emperor entered Jingren Palace angrily after going down a few days ago, didn't he tell Concubine Zhen about the Beiyang Naval Division?" ”

I smiled faintly and looked at Zaiyan, "The emperor has never mentioned the matter of the Beiyang sailor to the minions, but the emperor was really in a bad mood that day, and when he entered Jingren Palace without saying a word, the servants casually relieved a few words," and said, "The harem is not allowed to interfere in politics, and the minions know." ”

Cixi stared at me and said, "Concubine Zhen is really different, just a few words of comfort can make the emperor's anger disappear." ”

I kept my eyes on Zai Yan at my side, and then said with a smile: "The emperor doesn't dislike the stupidity of the minions. ”

Zai Yan didn't care whether Cixi opened her mouth or not, but looked back at me and said, "Concubine Zhen is gentle, dignified and wise, and she is very good-hearted. ”

Cixi said with a shallow smile: "It seems that the emperor has the intention of making a concubine a concubine." ”

Zai Xiang Zhengse said: "When the concubine has children, she will inherit the mercy of Lafayette and take the treasure and Fenger as the concubine." ”

When Cixi heard this, her face was obviously unhappy, but she couldn't refute this, she was just silent.

Come to think of it, Cixi should have made up her mind that she would not let Zai Yan and I have children.

I bowed my head, and naturally knew very well in my heart that I and Zai Xiang would not have children, because history would not be wrong, but today when Zai Xiang mentioned the heir, I could see that his eyes were like a clear spring, and there were a few spring flowers flickering faintly, I suddenly realized how much he was looking forward to the arrival of a child, looking forward to the arrival of a child I and his child, at this time a pot of begonia flowers placed under the big window quietly fell into the eyes, layer upon layer of blooming is delicate, the color is bright red like a drop of blood in my heart.