"A good plan used by the Queen Mother!" Gao Xinkui smiled at Chen Fuen and said, "Since then, the governors of various places were afraid of being the first bird, but now they are afraid that they are going to show their faces!" ”

"The world is bustling, all for fame and fortune," Chen Fuen sighed, "The Queen Mother really has more heart than Bigan, who doesn't have red eyes when such a name comes out?" The spies from Jiangnan almost wanted to bury my military department lobby, and even that Wu Yundi didn't want to see the old man in Su Rili, and in the past few days, hehe, he has also sent someone to inquire about the news. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ”

"Oh?" Gao Xinkui smiled and said, "Could it be that you want to come to the boss to ask about the exercises?" ”

"Yes, the big guys want to know what's going on, how to do it, what to do, so that they can go back and be prepared," Chen Fuen spread his hands, "But what do I know now?" It's nothing more than the queen mother's meaning, she just made a will, and she doesn't have a clue what the charter is, how did she find the old man here, they really worshiped the wrong Bodhisattva! ”

"Boss, this is too much to worry about, isn't it? If it wasn't handed over to you, the dignified secretary of the military department, who else could it be handed over? What's more, Prince Gong won't and can't ask for this thing! ”

"Oh? What do you mean? ”

"Prince Gong, he didn't dare to ask for military power, he himself could see it clearly," Gao Xinkui said with a smile, "When the Queen Mother was in the harem, she did those things, do you remember?"

"Well, it's nothing more than a military offer, by the way, there is also this culture and education, Xianfeng dictionary!"

"Exactly, the Queen Mother takes the armament very seriously, although there is no intention of cutting the feudal domain at the moment, but it will definitely not let the regimental training in the south become a family of soldiers, there is no plan at the moment, I don't know if the Queen Mother already has a plan in her heart? Since the Queen Mother stayed in Beijing, she didn't say much about all government affairs, but firmly put the military power in her hands, supervised the army on the front line, purchased warships, set up a naval division, and would manipulate the commander. This is all a military matter, the Queen Mother's meaning is very clear, she doesn't interfere much in political affairs, it's just this military matter. She will never let Prince Gong get involved! ”

"That's true," Chen Fuen said thoughtfully, and only nodded for a long time.

"This is also the reason why the boss will definitely be able to stay in the position of the secretary of the military department," Gao Xinkui said with a smile, "The boss can sit back and relax." ”

"What about culture and education?"

"Horizontal and vertical can't manage today's business. Prince Gong will not have an opinion, not to mention, there are few people in the military aircraft who are born on the right path in the imperial examination, so naturally there will not be much obstruction to this matter, and besides, now it is the head of Jia Ge's old pick, and he is an errand, he is the old Ministry of Rites, even if he has some opinions, he can naturally be suppressed. Moreover, this imperial examination is just an additional examination for the government, and it does not abolish the eight shares, but instead increases the opportunities for many people to become Jinshi, how can it not be beautiful? ”

。。。

"Lord Wang, this is not very good," Cao Yuying said to Prince Gong a little worriedly, "Now that this is the first army in the world, it is not discussed with us, so it is rashly launched." Is it proper? ”

"Zhuoru, why do you have to worry about it?" Although Wen Xiang also had an uneasy look on his face, he seemed to have accepted this fact, "The Queen Mother's meaning is very clear. In military affairs, it was her own cadres who made the decision. ”

Prince Gong nodded, "This is the original righteousness, Zhuoru, don't worry, the Queen Mother has also told me a few times." This regimental training in the south is strong, which is a blessing for the country, because now the Eight Banners Green Battalion is really rotten and unpresentable, but it is just staying in the place, which is inappropriate, so the Queen Mother means to think of a way to take in all the military power, otherwise it is common to not be able to sleep at night, right? The Queen Mother has a plan, she can take care of these people, in addition to this, the Queen Mother does not interfere much with us on errands, she knows what is going on in political affairs, we now have a lot of errands in the Military Aircraft Department, not only the affairs of the country are cumbersome, but the affairs of the Prime Minister's Yamen also have to be handled by us in consultation, and it is good to hand over the military affairs," Prince Gong sighed, "lest I be embarrassed in the future and gossip." ”

"That being said," Bao Jun said with a big grin, "the country has always been strict with the monarchs and ministers, and the power is above the top, if the queen mother is dissatisfied with the scope of our division in the future, then what should we do when the time comes?" ”

。。。

"The boss is worried again, can the queen mother take all the government on herself?" Gao Xinkui waved his hand and said, "Emperor Shizong is diligent like this, and he still needs to see the excerpts from the military aircraft department, and now the affairs of the imperial court are many times more than when Emperor Wenzong was in the palace, and these people in the military aircraft department are also reluctant, if there are a few more military aircraft in the future, the students are not strange, it is normal for the queen mother to meddle in the top, the old man's training matter, if you think about the meaning of the queen mother in the future, I am afraid that you will have to go to the palace to hand over the brand, the queen mother is not informal, but attaches great importance to the timeliness, so the imperial examination is added to the test, one plus arithmetic, Second, the theory of plus policy is a practical thing. ”

。。。。

The Queen Mother looked at the fold handed over by Jia Frame, "Well, how do you add this arithmetic and strategy to it?" ”

"Weichen and the people of the Ministry of Rites discussed, and then listened to the opinions of the Military Aircraft Department, asked Zhou Zupei, and set the eight shares as the upper, middle and lower nine grades, arithmetic and strategy as extra points, and also set as the ninth class, the three are added together, and the ranking is determined, just to highlight the origin of the eight shares, and then the eight shares are assessed below the middle, and no matter how high the strategy and arithmetic are, they will not be selected."

"That's going to be a passing grade." The Queen Mother nodded, "Eight shares of scholars, after so many years, it naturally has its rationality, and it cannot be abolished all, if it is abolished suddenly, I am afraid that the people will be uneasy, and the scholars will not be able to learn from them, and they will have to make noise again." This charter is set well, eight shares look at knowledge, strategy looks at vision, arithmetic looks at quality, so a three-pronged approach, naturally will not elect people who cannot be used in the world, very good, "The Queen Mother is very satisfied, very satisfied with the new regulations of the imperial examination run by Jia Frame, and another vulgar idea in the Queen Mother's heart is: Now it is finally her turn to torture these people, thinking that she couldn't pass the civil service examination back then, isn't it just dying in argumentation and arithmetic?" The Queen Mother laughed wildly in her heart full of malice, "How many Jinshi have been decided?" ”

"Yes, the number of four hundred and thirty-five people has been set to fill the number of officials who are missing due to rebellion and rebellion in various places," this is not just Jia Huan's decision alone, Prince Gong continued, "In addition to ordering officials from all over the country to enter Beijing as alternates, there are also some low-grade officials left for the new Jinshi, in addition, the number of officials who are lacking in various places are also calculated according to their ranks, so as to be used by the new Jinshi to select officials, and the Military Aircraft Department discussed it. In remote places such as the southwest or northwest, the official position may be higher, and the use of compassion for the people's hearts should be considerate. In order to prevent too much pressure from the state treasury, the heads of the six houses in the counties of Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Ningbo, and other wealthy places were also designated as officials, and the grade was then opened to the eleventh grade. In this way, we will first see how effective the pilot is, and then promote it. ”

Conservatism has the advantage of being conservative, Prince Gong's view is very in line with his non-radical attitude, the Queen Mother nodded, "That's very good." ”

"There are also matters such as the Prime Minister's Yamen, please ask the Queen Mother for approval." Prince Gong took a fold out and handed it to Yang Qingxi, "It's about opening the Tongwen Museum, iron coal mining, sending foreign students and other matters." ”

"The matter of the sixth prime minister's yamen is to deal with it yourself," the queen mother flipped through the folds. With a smile, Prince Gong hurriedly said that he didn't dare, "As long as it is beneficial to the country, there is no reason for not prohibiting it, foreign affairs are the top priority, sixth master, let the Military Aircraft Department draw up the decree, explain the meaning of foreign affairs, and let the magistrates understand, as long as it is a good economy." If you do a good job in business, there will naturally be a better top waiting for him! ”

"Huh."

The decree made in July of the first year of Tongzhi was called the official beginning of the 40-year Westernization Movement by later generations, and the Queen Mother's speech. In addition, the decree issued by the Military Aircraft Department headed by Prince Gong clearly stated the purpose of self-improvement in foreign affairs and learning science and technology from the West, "taking the number of Chinese virtues as the original, supplemented by the art of making the country rich and strong," and put forward new requirements for the evaluation of local officials, that is, to invigorate the economy. In the early stage of the Westernization Movement, the Westernists used the banner of "self-improvement" and "seeking wealth" to adopt advanced Western production technology and founded a number of modern military industries. Under the auspices of Li Hongzhang and others, a number of large-scale modern military industries, such as the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, the Jinling Manufacturing Bureau, the Fuzhou Shipbuilding Bureau, and the Tianjin Machinery Bureau, came out one after another. In just a few years, China has already possessed the capability of casting iron, making steel, and machines to produce all kinds of military products, including artillery, firearms, ammunition, mines, steamships, and other new weapons, and equipping some armed forces.

Gao Xinkui got off the sedan chair, looked up and saw the blue bottom plaque of the golden three big characters, "Shengping Administration", is the imperial pen of Emperor Wenzong, both sides of the brush to stand eunuchs and some servants, see Gao Xinkui got off the sedan chair, the servants knelt down to salute, and a dry eunuch under the leadership of the chief eunuch of the Shengping Department, towards Gao Xinkui a thousand salutes, Gao Xinkui smiled with a smile, and helped up the chief eunuch, "Why do father-in-law have to do such a big gift, I am just a promotion official, you are serving the queen mother in the big house, I dare not accept such a big gift from you." ”

"Lord Gao is also modest," the chief eunuch looked feminine, with a sharp voice, probably often acting on stage, and his figure was also slender and tight, seeing that Gao Xinkui did not put on a show, and looked at himself with a pleasant face, the chief eunuch was very useful, and bent down and said, "Lord Gao was appointed by the Queen Mother to promote the Ping Bureau, I dare not slack off, please." ”

A group of people entered the Shengping Department, the Shengping Department is in the southwest corner of the Old Summer Palace, the location is wide, the houses are also palace system, very magnificent, Gao Xinkui and his party arrived at the main room, the chief eunuch introduced to Gao Xinkui one by one, and then sat down again, the chief eunuch said to Gao Xinkui, "In the past, the first emperor loved to watch the play of our Shengping Department, but the Queen Mother didn't like to watch it very much, in the past, we performed in the palace, the Queen Mother just sat down slightly, and never looked at it, even if it occasionally looked at it for a while, This face is also faint, my heart, it is really uncomfortable, Lord Gao, I am not afraid to tell you the truth, we people, if the Queen Mother does not want to see us, there is really no good life, the Queen Mother personally ordered Lord Gao to take charge of the Shengping Department, I am really happy, but I can be regarded as seeing the real Buddha, Lord Gao, I am here to leave a sentence, this Shengping Department will be your own decision in the future, what do you want our family to do, our family has no two words! ”

"Father-in-law Wang is modest," Gao Xinkui said with a smile, "The Queen Mother's meaning is not clear to me, but I carefully asked the repertoire of Liyuan over the years, because I think the drama of the Shengping Department is too old-fashioned," all the eunuchs listened carefully with their ears, "It's all something from the past, and after a long performance, the Queen Mother is afraid that it will be very annoying, so the Queen Mother is afraid that we want to make up new plays, and we must always come to fresh plays." ”

"Move!" The queen mother slapped her head suddenly, "What Lord Gao said is very true, no wonder, when Guang Shengfeng rehearsed the play "Zhan Wuchang", the first emperor was so happy to see it, and often called Guang Shengfeng into the garden to serve, no wonder, now that he has opened the dark clouds and seen the sun, hearing Lord Gao's words, it is really a mouthful," the eunuch stood up and saluted Gao Xinkui again, "Please also ask Lord Gao to preside, our Shengping Department can not be underestimated by others." ”

"Why should the chief be polite, we are now people in the same boat," Gao Xinkui smiled and helped up the chief eunuch, "Now I don't recognize all the plays of the Shengping Bureau, it is better to rehearse it first, I know it well." ”

"Yes, yes, everyone, dress up!"

Gao Xinkui arrived at the Shengping Bureau, watched the play for three days and three nights in a row, and then combined with the professional opera to meet and arrange the music behind closed doors, and finally on the death day of Emperor Xianfeng, on July 17, he took out the big drama of "Yongtong Bridge" to present to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. The Empress Dowager just had red eyes, and the emperor had already cried and couldn't restrain herself, and fell into the arms of the Empress Dowager.

Although the play "Yongtong Bridge" depicts many stories of ordinary people in the Second Opium War and the Battle of Yongtong Bridge, such as the Eight Banners Ranger who sacrificed his life for the country, the bounty hunter who killed British and French soldiers to make money, the general who left his wife on the wedding night and went to war, and the girl Gege who raised the banner of resistance, but more of the pen and ink were put on the story of the Empress Dowager Cixi's strategy, the imperial meeting and the traitorous ministers, and the story of not being able to retreat, as well as the story of staying in Beijing to appease the people, and then the light car and pony went to the front line to make a speech, the scene of inspiring the soldiers to die, and finally this play ended with the climax of the emperor and the empress dowager coming to Xiangshan to pay tribute to the death of the war lord, from the perspective of artistic performance, there have been the drawbacks of the tall and complete image of the propaganda department in later generations, which has established a very bad influence on the personality cult of the Empress Dowager Cixi, since then, the Shengping Department as a tool of the Empress Dowager Cixi's dictatorship, has played its own strengths, resulting in the absolute authority of the Empress Dowager Cixi when she was in power, and no one dares to show many loopholes in this play, How could the Queen Mother be on the front in person, and she could quickly change her clothes? For example, that girl, it turns out that Chinese martial arts are synonymous with falsehood, how can a young girl have the ability to kill British and French soldiers? On the wedding night, how could the young people who sacrificed their lives for the country, who were usually squishy and waste, suddenly have such the courage to go to war? More than 100 years later, a well-known independent cultural scholar - Sima Bei published a blog post called "False and Ridiculous - I Look at the Biography of the Martyrs" in his blog post, and the questioning attitude towards the Empress Dowager Cixi between the lines caused a big uproar, and the government, the royal family, and the media all took verbal and written actions against Sima Bei, Sima Bei was forced to apologize and close his blog after paying a heavy price for it, and the play "The Biography of the Martyrs" was turned out again in the pile of old Peking Opera papers. It has been given an artistic demeanor. (To be continued.) )

PS: This month, I'll update it in a different format, hee-hee.