Chapter 14 Chapter Eleven

Disaster-ridden China is facing the humiliation of paying compensation to the Japanese and ceding land. It is ironic that Li Hongzhang, the escaped general, has become the chief negotiator to Japan... Huh... a train is traveling from Tianjin to Beijing, and Li Hongzhang, sitting in a luxury compartment, is meditating. He is twirling his goatee with one hand, and his eyes are squinting... Li Hongzhang was sitting at the window, looking at the passing trees outside the window, thinking: Appointing me as a plenipotentiary ambassador to Japan to seek peace is not my turn. This kind of traitorous matter is all on my head. If there is not a secret message from the Queen Mother, then I, Li Hongzhang, would not do such a stupid thing.I am now a criminal and a defeated general, plus I am a traitor to seek glory, how should I face the world.

well!Li Hongzhang sighed a long time. Of course the eldest son Li Jingfang who was sitting beside him knew the reason of his father's sigh, so he said: "Father, it is the empress dowager's intention to send you to negotiate a peace this time. Let the emperor clarify his attitude." Li Hongqian said: "The decree has come down, I am acting according to the decree, even if the emperor does not agree to my going, there is nothing I can do. To be honest, I still don't want to go. Who is willing to do such a thing that has been infamous through the ages?" "Alas!" Li Hongzhang sighed again, leaning his head on the back of the chair and stretching his legs.

"Father, have some tea." Li Hongzhang took a sip from the teacup and put it down, saying: "The key to the peace talks with the Japanese this time is the issue of land cession. The amount of compensation is a trivial matter. The queen mother mentioned that the land can be cede to Japan at her own discretion, but whether the emperor agrees and where? They are all big problems, and this is the purpose of my meeting with you this time." Li Hongzhang felt annoyed by the rumble of the train, so he asked his son to open the window a little. Li Hongzhang sighed again as he watched the farms passing by outside the window, and said, "Who would give up the Qing Dynasty to the enemy? Alas, It’s difficult. But if the land is not ceded, the Japanese will definitely raise their troops again, and I’m afraid it’s not just Taiwan and Liaodong that will be negotiated next time.”

After hearing this, the son said: "What my father said is very true. The matter of cutting the land can only be carried out without a clear reply from the emperor." "Also, I have to invite the emperor to ask you to accompany me." "I guess it shouldn't be a problem because I'm a secretary and translator." "Hmm." Li Hongzhang nodded, "You know Japanese, I can't move a single step without you." After the train entered Beijing, Li Hongzhang and his party changed to sedan chairs and went straight to the palace. Emperor Guang summoned him that day.

In the West Nuan Pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Li Hongzhang bowed down to Emperor Guangxu, saying, "I bow down to the emperor's holy peace." "Ai Qing is free from courtesy." Li Hongzhang was given to sit on a chair opposite the emperor, and Emperor Guangxu looked at him, looking at his long goatee and the pair of small triangular eyes on his thin cheeks.He hated those triangular eyes, those bean-eyed eyes that ruined my battle plan to save his ship.Emperor Guangxu suddenly felt disgusted, he frowned imperceptibly, and looked out of the window. Li Hongzhang is a man who is good at scheming, although he bowed his head, but he saw the emperor did not speak for a long time, of course he knew the reason.He had to wait patiently, he thought that the emperor would talk to him about ceding land and paying compensation, but he didn't expect that the emperor, who had only opened his mouth for a long time, only said a few words of greeting.

"Is Ai Qing in good health recently?" "Returning to the emperor, the old and feeble body of the humble minister is dying, but it's just barely peaceful. There have been no serious illnesses recently." "Very good." Emperor Guangxu said again: "It's been hard on the road." Li Hongzhang quickly replied: "The emperor cares about it, so it's not hard." Seeing that the emperor didn't get to the point, Li Hongzhang was anxious, so he went straight to the point and asked, "With the trust of the emperor, he sent ministers to Japan as full ministers to negotiate a peace. I ask the emperor to give an order."

Emperor Guangxu thought angrily, in fact, he already had an edict from the Empress Dowager, and now he deliberately came to ask for my oral edict. You refused to send troops out of the ship, and it was because of you that you ended up in today's defeat, this hateful official. Emperor Guangxu really wanted to say go to the Queen Mother, but he calmed down a bit, suppressed the anger in his heart, and said, "Don't cede the land." Li Hongzhang said: "If you don't cede the land, the Japanese will pay more compensation, and the household department has no silver taels."

Emperor Guangxu still said: "My Great Qing Dynasty was created by generations of ancestors through hardships, how can I give it away to others." Li Hongzhang said: "If you don't cede the land, the Japanese will continue to march into the army and directly invade the capital. How should we deal with it then?" Emperor Guangxu said angrily: "This matter must be learned from the Queen Mother." While Emperor Guangxu was talking, Li Lianying came in to convey the order of the Empress Dowager Cixi: "The Empress Dowager has liver pain, arm pain, and diarrhea. I can't see you. Everything can be done according to the emperor's order."

This is the eunuch's memorial to the emperor. Emperor Guangxu opened it and saw that it was a memorial jointly written by Yikuang, Sun Yuwen, Xu Tong and others. "Go", Emperor Guangxu hit the case with a "snap"... and then sat down angrily. After a while, the eunuch came to report: "Weng Zhongtang asks to see you." "Xuan." After Weng Tonghe saluted the emperor, seeing Li Hongzhang was there, they also bowed to each other. Li Hongzhang said: "Weng Zhongtang came just in time. I was asking to teach the emperor. The emperor refused to cede the land. I don't know what Weng Zhongtang's opinion is?"

Weng Tonghe thought that this old fox was really cunning, so he had to send the letter to the emperor, so he said: "Whether the land can be ceded or not, has a great relationship with the honor and disgrace of the nation and the prestige of the country. Presumably Li Zhongtang, as the Minister of Western Affairs, has a good grasp of this scale." You should be smarter than this old man. As the lord of a country, how can the emperor casually agree to cede land and pay compensation!" Li Hongzhang listened disdainfully, thinking to himself: Hmph, does this old man want you to teach me a lesson.

"That's up to you... the old man wants to ask for advice." Li Hongzhang said. "I thought it wouldn't be too late for the imperial court to study and answer such an important question after you went to Japan to discuss it. It would be difficult for the emperor to answer it now." Li Hongzhang replied: "Actually, I don't agree to cede the land. I just ask the emperor to teach me. If the negotiation fails, I will return." Emperor Guangxu said: "What Weng Zhongtang said is true, I hope Li Zhongtang thinks twice about it." Finally, Guangxu said: "The principle is not to cede the land, and it can only be negotiated as a last resort." Li Hongzhang wanted to ask Emperor Guangxu for a definite authorization to cede the land for negotiation, but Emperor Guangxu refused to open his mouth, so Li Hongzhang had to leave. Emperor Guangxu came to Jingren Palace after he came down from the court, and said: "Wang Shang, pass on the meal, I am hungry." "Yes." Concubine Zhen sat aside to accompany the meal.Music was playing as usual, Guangxu said annoyedly: "Wang Shang." "The slave is here." "Turn off the music, I don't want to hear it." "yes." Guangxu said again: "There is no need to make so many dishes in the future, and the compensation will be paid soon. Where can I find the silver taels?" Wang Shang said: "Your Majesty, there are regulations on the emperor's diet, and slaves dare not violate the ancestral system." "It's the ancestral system again. Resign for me." "yes." Concubine Zhen said: "The emperor should not be angry with him, Wang Shang is also for the emperor's dragon body." "Alas." Emperor Guangxu sighed: "The heart is suffering, even if there is good food and wine, what good is it for the body?" Guangxu frowned, appearing to have no appetite. Concubine Zhen scooped up a bowl of bird's nest and black-bone chicken soup, which he usually drank most. Emperor Guangxu took a few sips, put down the bowl, and sighed melancholy: "Oh, the king of subjugation!" Concubine Zhen hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, eat a few bites quickly, the dragon's body is important, don't think about anything while eating." After finishing speaking, he presented the emperor with a half-small bowl of rice, and a few pieces of the emperor's favorite crispy hump meat and sliced ​​pepper and hemp meat. Guangxu barely finished eating, and was about to put down the bowl. Concubine Zhen hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, eat some more fish. Didn't the Emperor say that Zhen'er is smart because she loves fish?" Concubine Zhen presented steamed mandarin fish to Emperor Guangxu again, and Guangxu Di reluctantly ate two yuan, then put down his chopsticks and decided not to eat. The eunuchs withdrew the meals, and Concubine Zhen said with concern: "Your Majesty, you are in a bad mood. Shall we go to the Imperial Garden to see wintersweet? Don't damage the dragon's body. Don't forget that the Emperor is the king of a country." "Okay, let's go." Guangxu still took Concubine Zhen to go to the imperial garden where they most often went, but since the war became tense, they seldom went there, because Emperor Guangxu was busy with political affairs every day, and he hardly had time for a walk. Chung is cold, and there are no flowers in the imperial garden, only wintersweet blooming alone in the cold spring.They were standing under a wintersweet tree. Concubine Zhen took a bunch of plum blossoms and said, "Your Majesty, smell it, it smells so good." "Well, it's very fragrant." Emperor Guangxu sighed after smelling it: "Oh, the flower is good. I'm afraid that the tragic ending of 'the country is broken and the mountains and rivers are here' will spoil the pride of this flower." Concubine Zhen saw that no matter what happened, the emperor was worried, so she thought it would be better to discuss state affairs with him, which might solve the emperor's worries, so she asked: "Your majesty, what did the ministers say about Li Hongzhang calling today to ask you to cut the land?" ?” Guangxu heaved a long sigh and said, "At today's meeting of ministers, Sun Yuwen and Weng Lao almost fought." "Oh, we're fighting." Concubine Zhen was not surprised, because it was inevitable. "Sun Yuwen is a rascal with a broken spine." Emperor Guangxu scolded angrily, "He actually said 'the word of war will not be mentioned again', openly advocating abandoning Taiwan (Taiwan) and protecting Feng (Shenyang)." "Ah! It's too traitorous to abandon Taiwan and protect Feng. What do others say?" Concubine Zhen asked anxiously. "Prince Gong actually went to hold his hand tightly. Yi Qiang, Xu Tong and Li Hongzhang are all the same breed, so they started arguing with Weng Lao." "Oh, what are they talking about?" Concubine Zhen asked with concern. "Li Hongzhang agreed to cede the territory on the basis of 'defending the north is the most important thing, and the border is the least important'. Weng Lao insisted that Taiwan should not be abandoned, but Sun Yuwen threatened to abandon Taiwan and protect Feng." Concubine Zhen said: "It's ridiculous. Both the north and the south belong to China. No matter whether you cut off the south or the north, you are still traitorous. These people are really flattering foreigners to the extreme." "So, how can I still eat and sleep." "Ah!" Concubine Zhen also sighed, and said, "The fundamental reason is the empress dowager's restraint, otherwise Li Hongzhang would not have such boldness. But since ancient times, the main battle and the main peace have always been tit for tat. It's a struggle for power, and today's ending is due to the fact that the emperor has no real power. Back then, the empress dowager supported you as king to make it easier for her to hold power, so how could the empress dowager really return to you?" Concubine Zhen paused for a moment and continued: "Furthermore, if there is no real power, there is no military power. The emperor cannot mobilize Li Hongzhang, which is the reason for this defeat. Therefore, if the emperor wants to do something in the future... then the only way is to seize power." Concubine Zhen said The voice was so quiet that only Emperor Guangxu could hear it. The eunuch standing in the distance thought that the emperor and Concubine Zhen were talking about love. After hearing this, Guangxu put his head close to Concubine Zhen and said, "Then why don't I be called ungrateful?" "Your majesty, you are the ruler of a country, and you are related to the joys and sorrows of hundreds of millions of people. Does your majesty want the country, or the loyalty of the rivers and lakes?" Emperor Guangxu said: "If it weren't for the safety of Jiangshan Sheji, I would not fight her. Now that things have happened, I can't care about them." The more intimate words became closer, Emperor Guangxu hugged Concubine Zhen into his arms and said: "My concubine, in this world, only your love comforts me, and I really don't want to leave you for a moment." Concubine Zhen said enthusiastically, "Me too." In the evening, in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Emperor Guangxu and Weng Tonghe had been discussing together for a long time.Emperor Guangxu coughed a few times, and Weng Tonghe hurriedly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the dragon's body is important. It's time for the Emperor to rest. The old minister will leave." Then he knelt down and saluted Emperor Guangxu. Guangxu got up and came to support him and said, "Master Weng, don't worry, I will never agree to cede the land. If it is not possible, I will fight the Japanese to the end and resolutely drive them out of China." "Resignation, veteran." Weng Tonghe knelt down to the emperor again and took three steps back out of the imperial study. Emperor Guangxu stared at Weng Tonghe's white hair for a long time, this teacher who has been like a father since childhood.Yes, I remember when I was young, when Weng Tonghe was teaching him, when there was thunder, he would hide in Teacher Weng's arms.Now, whenever there is a problem, Mr. Weng always solves his worries and problems. Mr. Weng is not only a teacher, but also a loyal minister, like an old servant, and even more like a loving father.Master Weng, Master Weng, you taught me the way of being a human being and the principles of governing a country. I will never forget your great kindness... After Weng Tonghe left, Emperor Guangxu went to Jingren official. The eunuch in the palace saw that the emperor was coming, and just about to announce, Guangxu waved his hand, and went straight into the inner room. He went in gently, saw Zhenfei reading a book under the lamp, and said, "He moved his head closer with a sound.Concubine Zhen trembled in fright, and when she saw that it was the emperor, she hit him on the chest with her hand and said, "Your Majesty, you have frightened Zhen'er." " Then asked: "What book is my concubine reading?" "Your Majesty, Zhen'er is watching "Review of Japan's Political Change". Brother Zhirui entrusted someone to bring it to me. It is about Japan's Meiji Restoration." "Oh, I'll take a look too." After Emperor Guangxu sat down, he looked up. "Your Majesty, the reason why the Japanese are so strong is because they carried out reforms. We will learn from them in the future. When we become stronger, they dare not bully us." "Yes, if we want to learn from others, we are too backward, so we are cornered by others." Guangxu nodded. "Your Majesty, what did Master Weng say tonight?" Concubine Zhen asked with concern. "He said that the whole country is also opposing the cession of Taiwan, and he wants me to not give up an inch of land." Concubine Zhen nodded and said: "Master Weng is right, the emperor can't leave an eternal infamy." "However, Li Hongzhang's electronic performances came one after another. If the peace talks of cede territory cannot be carried out, the Japanese will invade with troops." "Then we will fight the enemy to the end." "I think so too. The Qing Dynasty is not easy to bully. Even if it is inappropriate for me to give up the emperor, I will never cede the land." "Your Majesty..." Concubine Zhen looked at Emperor Guangxu with admiration. "Zhen'er, our hearts are always together." Emperor Guangxu hugged her. "Your Majesty, please drink deer blood." Wang Shang knelt down and presented the bowl. Guangxu took it and was about to drink it.Concubine Zhen took the bowl and handed it to Wang Shang, saying: "Deer blood is not good for the body, it has a stimulating effect, let's change it to bird's nest soup." "Yes." Wang Shang withdrew. On the phoenix bed, Guangxu hugged Concubine Zhen and said: "My concubine, if you don't let me drink deer blood, then tonight's reunion will be impossible." "Your Majesty." Concubine Zhen said considerately: "I've read medical books, and deer blood has the effect of stimulating yang, taking it is not good for the body of the dragon. Besides, Zhen'er doesn't care, as long as the emperor takes good care of the body of the dragon." "Ah, my beloved concubine, you are really my caring person." "Your Majesty, let our hearts stick together forever." Concubine Zhen pressed close to Emperor Guangxu, who also embraced her emotionally. Guangxu fell asleep for a while and then woke up. Li Hongzhang suddenly played electronically in the past two days. Could it be that he dared to cede the land without authorization? In the middle of the night, Emperor Guangxu was still worried and unable to sleep. In his anxiety, he couldn't help sighing lightly. Concubine Zhen, who was pillowed on his neck, woke up and asked, "Your Majesty, are you still asleep?" In fact, Concubine Zhen They were just dazed for a while, and the two of them talked late into the night on the bed. Guangxu said, "I'm sweating a little, and I'm a little hot." Concubine Zhen got up and took a white towel from the eunuch on duty to wipe off the sweat on Emperor Guangxu's back. Under the dim light, Emperor Guangxu looked at her concubine's white jade-like breasts and plump pink underwear. Concubine Zhen hurriedly persuaded: "Your Majesty, this is a false excitement caused by excessive mental work. You can't come again. It's an extraordinary time. Thousands of times!" You must protect the dragon body, and Zhen'er will help you massage the sleeping point." "No, no, I don't want to massage the sleeping point, I want you, I only want you..." Guangxu suddenly turned over, parted Zhenfei's hands, and hugged her tightly. In an instant, a wave of warmth spread through Zhenfei's whole body and poured into her heart. She hugged the emperor tightly, and let the emperor take her Watch her fly in the firmament of love, fly... "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, there is an urgent call." Wang Shang knelt under the bed and called softly. Concubine Zhen quickly put on her clothes and accepted the telegram. She really couldn't bear to wake up the emperor. The emperor is exhausted physically and mentally. She wanted him to spit on him for a while, but when she saw the telegram, she was stunned...