Chapter 11 Section Eleven

Qin Zhifen didn't sleep all night.Although as soon as the city gate was opened, another person was sent to Xila Hutong to inquire that Zhang Yinhuan was safe and sound, but at midnight, Wang Wu came to visit and talked about what he had heard in Dongxing Tower about Zhang Yinhuan offending the Empress Dowager Cixi and Li Lianying. Story, I was so worried that I tossed and turned and couldn't sleep all night. It was getting light, and he got up.It was too early and it was inconvenient to see Zhang Yinhuan, so I went. Zhang Yinhuan didn't come back from the court, and he couldn't see each other until the clock struck seven, when he couldn't stand it anymore, he told him to set up a car and go to the city.

Arriving at Dexila Hutong, Zhang Yinhuan had just come from Xiyuan on duty to congratulate Empress Dowager Cixi on her return home.Seeing Qin Zhifen, he asked in surprise, "Why did you come so early?" Qin Zhifen replied honestly: "I heard some new things, and I'm very worried, so I came here to take a look." "It's probably all right! You don't have to worry about me. I haven't had breakfast yet, so I just come with me. Let's eat and talk later, and I'll listen to what's new." So Qin Zhifen mingled among the girls, helped Zhang Yinhuan change his clothes, and was about to sit down at the dining table, when the servant reported with a flustered look: "Someone from the yamen of the infantry commander is here!"

Qin Zhifen's face changed when he heard that, but Zhang Yinhuan was very calm, pressed his hand and said, "Don't be afraid! Nothing will happen." When he came out in plain clothes, a wing lieutenant sent by Chongli said very politely: "Master Zhang, please come to my place to receive the order!" Hearing about receiving the order, Zhang Yinhuan knew something was wrong, but he didn't want to surprise his family, so he calmly replied, "Okay! I'll leave after I finish eating." Back at the dining table, she looked as usual, but Qin Zhifen didn't dare to tell those unsatisfactory stories anymore.Of course, Zhang Yinhuan didn't have much to say, so he finished his meal quietly, changed into his official uniform, and prepared to go to the yamen of the infantry commander to receive the order.

After dinner, Zhang Yinhuan didn't go into the inner room, but changed into his official uniform in the small living room, and walked out of the hall calmly as usual when going to the yamen.That Yiwei is an old man, seeing his demeanor, he knew that he was taking it lightly, and felt that there was a need for further advice. "My lord," he said, "if your lord has something to say to Madam, it doesn't matter, you can wait for the humble position." Zhang Yinhuan's heart sank!This implies that he should say goodbye to his wife. Is it that serious?In an instant, I remembered that I had solved many problems for the imperial court in foreign affairs, and the empress dowager Cixi's repeated praises in gentle words.He is usually used to being angry, but now the habit is hard to change, so he proudly replied:

"No need!" With that said, go out and get in the car first.Immediately behind him, Captain Yi mounted his horse with his followers, guarding them back and forth, until they arrived at the Yamen of the Infantry Commander, and brought him into an empty room. The Captain Yi said, "Please sit down!" and then left. Zhang Yinhuan originally thought that Chongli would come to announce the decree soon, but he sat up until noon, but no one came to pay attention to him.Of course the servant was quarantined, so he could only ask the guards, but to no avail.After staying at dusk, he was dizzy with hunger, and he didn't know where to sleep that night. He lost his temper when he couldn't bear it, so a small official came forward and asked Zhang's servants to bring food and bedding.It's just that the master and the servant are not allowed to talk, so Zhang Yinhuan has no idea about the court situation that Kuang Biao has made this day when the rain is about to come.

This further change in the Celestial Empire began with a happy event.Princes and ministers are all python robes—commonly known as "flowered clothes", which are auspicious clothes that must be worn when the country has great festivals. Chaohe Empress Dowager is led by the emperor, with a gloomy face, trembling eyes, and those relatives who have different intentions such as Duan Wang Zaiyi, stubborn veterans such as Xu Tong, and the "rear party" such as fortitude. The happy face is just in contrast. After paying homage to the Jade Seat and saluting, the Empress Dowager Cixi issued an edict: "The imperial ministers, the cabinet scholars, the military ministers, the six ministers, and the Zuodu censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate will stay temporarily and wait for the summons."

When the Empress Dowager Cixi had her breakfast and "woke up" again, when the foreman of King Qing, the first imperial minister, entered the Hall of Qinzheng, the emperor was already standing in front of the imperial case full of documents. "emperor!" "The son is here!" The emperor turned around in a hurry, hunched over, and faced upwards diagonally. The Empress Dowager Cixi ignored the emperor again, pointing to the documents on the imperial case, facing the officials, she said loudly: "This is something I found from the emperor's desk and where Kang Youwei lived! I want everyone to take a look, the emperor He told me several times that we need to change the law to make it stronger. If we want to make the country strong, no one would want to. However, the reform is not casual. The family law is the most important thing in this dynasty. The ancestors made the constitution, and there is no need to abide by it. I told the emperor at the time, "As long as you don't change your clothes and don't cut your braids, it's fine!" Everyone understands the meaning of this sentence, and it's to persuade the emperor not to go too far! Then the emperor didn't understand it, or he understood it. I vomited, and simply made a fool of myself!"

"Son," the emperor stammered, "I dare not!" "Hmph!" The Empress Dowager Cixi sneered, still looking down at the ministers, not even looking straight at the emperor, "Before the tenth day of April, the emperor didn't dare to mess around too much, because Prince Gong was still there and dared to speak in front of the emperor. The emperor , You said it yourself, when your sixth uncle died, what did you say to you?" The emperor's imperial name was Zaiyun, his biological father, King Yixuan, lived seven times, and King Gong lived six times. He should have been called "Liu Bo", but because the emperor had become the son of Emperor Wenzong, he was renamed "Six Uncles".When King Gong was critically ill, the Emperor Feng Empress Dowager came to see him in person. The dying King Gong suddenly opened his eyes and said to the emperor: "I heard that there are people from Guangdong who advocate reform. Please be careful and don't trust villains." This refers to Kang Youwei. .Prior to this, the emperor had planned to summon Kang Youwei to inquire about the reform method, but King Gong refused to accept the order.His reason is: as a rule, the emperor is not allowed to summon officials below the fourth rank.However, Kang Youwei was in charge of the Ministry of Industry, and his official rank was only six ranks. As a result, he ordered the Minister of Military Aircraft and the Prime Minister's Minister of State Affairs to consult on his behalf.At this time, he made a final remonstrance, and the emperor nodded with tears in his eyes, expressing his acceptance.And because of this, Prince Gong, who was hated by the Empress Dowager Cixi, was expelled from the military aircraft, and came back after ten years of idleness. On the fifth day, enter the Xianliang Temple and enjoy the Taimiao.

Now that the Empress Dowager Cixi mentions this past event and asks the emperor to retell it in person, it is tantamount to asking the emperor to blame himself on the officials for accepting loyal advice and then abandoning it.If there is no trust, the emperor can't admit that he has broken his trust. However, under the stern gaze of the Empress Dowager Cixi, he had no choice but to murmur the last words of Prince Gong. "What about you? Have you promised your sixth uncle? Are you willing to listen to his words that 'people are dying'?" "When a person is about to die, his words are also good." Empress Dowager Cixi no longer needs to express her attitude. Just this half sentence of the idiom affirms that the law cannot be changed, and Kang Youwei cannot be used!The emperor could no longer evade his responsibility, he had no choice but to confess: "My son is confused!"

"Did you hear that!" Empress Dowager Cixi said loudly, "As soon as Prince Gong dies, the villain will go crazy! In a few days, Yushi Yang Shenxiu wrote a book to 'determine the country' and abolish stereotypes. The emperor "Yumen" made an oath to everyone that the law must be reformed. In the future, Xu Zhijing will go up and down, and he will also set the country. These are all the culprits. The most unexpected thing is that the reform was actually written by Weng Tonghe The veteran of the three dynasties, the master of the two dynasties, and the official co-organizer, the country is sorry for him? He wants to lead the emperor to mess around and destroy the constitution of the ancestors! Really ungrateful to the extreme!"

When the Empress Dowager Cixi mentioned Weng Tonghe, she was very excited. With her right hand, which was full of rings, she repeatedly hit the table with loud noises, which made the emperor tremble.Especially those who have a deep relationship with Weng Tonghe raised their hearts to their throats, fearing that the Empress Dowager Cixi would not be able to spare the "Master Weng" who had been expelled back to his hometown. "Of course, Kang Youwei is the one who has committed such a heinous crime that he can't be forgiven!" Empress Dowager Cixi looked around and asked, "How is it now?" This is the result of asking to arrest Kang Youwei.According to the practice of court pairs, King Qing, the foreman, should play back. If King Qing doesn't know what happened, he should appoint an appropriate person to speak.Unexpectedly, King Qing hadn't opened his mouth yet, and the Minister of Military Aircraft, Gang Yi, had already answered the question, "If you go back to the Empress Dowager, Kang Youwei has indeed boarded a British ship and fled to Shanghai!" He said, "In my humble opinion, the General Administration should be charged Strictly negotiating with the British Legation and informing the ship of the country that no matter where it berths, Kang Youwei should be tied up and handed over to the local magistrate immediately, that is the right thing to do." The problem came to King Qing.He has been in the Prime Minister's Office of International Affairs for a long time, and he knows that such a situation is absolutely impossible unless an extradition treaty has been concluded.But if you play it back as it is, you will definitely be criticized, and you will be perfunctory before talking about it. Therefore, he did not wait for the Empress Dowager Cixi to say anything, and said first: "It is reported that Kang Youwei is on the Chongqing ship, and this ship belongs to the British Swire Company. When I turn around, I will negotiate with the British Minister." Cixi nodded, wanting to speak.Duan Wang Zaiyi, who was also a former imperial minister, knelt behind King Qing, said loudly: "Show the Lafayette, Kang Youwei will not leave sooner or later. On the day Yuan Shikai returned to Tianjin, he escaped from Beijing. Is there such a coincidence?" The servant sees that there must be a spy who tipped him off. This matter must be investigated." "You need to know who tipped off Kang Youwei? I'll show you two things." The Empress Dowager Cixi checked two documents and said to King Qing, who was kneeling closest to the case, "Read it to everyone!" Of these two documents, one is Yang Rui's replay.On the twenty-eighth day of the seventh month, the emperor gave Yang Rui a secret edict: "I'm asking you now, what is your best strategy, so that the old law can be completely changed, and the old, absurd and stupid ministers will be dismissed, and the wise and brave people will be promoted to make them Discussing the state affairs will turn China from danger to safety, from weakness to strength, but without overthrowing the holy will. Erqi and Lin Xu, Liu Guangdi, Tan Sitong and other comrades will negotiate promptly and seal the seal." Empress Dowager Cixi ordered King Qing Reading Yang Rui's replay, because it quoted the full text of the secret edict, can let everyone know that in the eyes of the emperor, the ministers in front of him are nothing more than "old and stupid" and should be "deposed as soon as possible".As for Yang Rui's replay, his tone was very calm, advising the emperor to take the reform gradually, but he only mentioned that he had discussed with Kang Youwei, which seemed to confirm that he was a member of the Kang party.King Qing knew that he was Zhang Zhidong's favorite student, he was not radical in nature, and he was not a Kang party, so he wanted to preserve it, so he read it vaguely, and then read the second one. The second is a letter searched from Kang Youwei's apartment. Lin Xu, one of the "Four Capital Ministers", brought out a secret letter to Kang Youwei on the second day of August, urging Kang Youwei to leave Beijing as soon as possible to run an official newspaper in Shanghai.At the beginning, it said: "I ordered you to supervise the official newspaper, and I really have a last resort." Lin Xu's letter was to explain to Kang Youwei that the emperor's "last resort" was the Empress Dowager Cixi's deep hatred for Kang Youwei. If you don't delay any longer, your life may be in danger. Everyone understood that what Empress Dowager Cixi meant was that the "spies" that King Duan referred to in "tipping off the news" were the emperor.Sure enough, she sternly asked the emperor: "Tell me, are you covering up Kang Youwei?" "Son, don't dare!" The trembling emperor had no choice but to shirk, "That is, that was Yang Rui's idea, and he asked Kang Youwei to leave Beijing as soon as possible." "Where's the Zhu Yu for Yuan Shikai?" asked Empress Dowager Cixi, "Could it be someone else's idea?" It was this incident that made the emperor most panic-stricken, speechless, and ashamed.Sending troops to encircle the Summer Palace and kidnap the Empress Dowager is a crime against the superiors, a great treason.The emperor has committed such a heinous crime, why does he rule the world?So at this time, his face was as dead as death, and he bowed his head in silence. The Empress Dowager Cixi wanted to take power for a long time, but she couldn't find a plausible excuse. Who would have thought that there would be such an undreamed-of chance to turn a disaster into a blessing, so naturally she would not let it go easily.Seeing that the emperor was speechless, he became more and more aggressive. "Ask the emperor, what kind of unconscionable and unacceptable thing did he ask Yuan Shikai to do?" This is tantamount to interrogating the emperor with his subordinates.No matter how crazy and rebellious people are, they also know that it is impossible, but Duan Wang, who aspires to be the Supreme Emperor, has the idea of ​​falling into trouble, and when his lips move to speak, he is a step too late. "Tell me!" Empress Dowager Cixi sneered, "What can't you say? You have to be clear, you are the emperor, but you are also my son! For ordinary people, if the son is disobedient and unfilial, even relatives, friends and neighbors can come forward Sue the officials, or beat or scold you. You are the emperor, no one can control you, but don’t forget me!" The Empress Dowager Cixi looked at it and asked loudly: "Who is the 'Zong Ling'?" The yamen that is in charge of affairs such as the royal family's jade certificates, Juelu, etc. is called "Zongrenfu", the hall officials are called "Zongling", and there are two "Zongzheng" on the left and right.The Zongling appointed the prince with the highest seniority as a routine, and the Zongling at this time was Shiduo, the Prince of Li.Of course the Empress Dowager Cixi knew it, and asking questions knowingly, was nothing more than to show off her authority. Shiduo is capable of nothing, and his greatest strength is obedience. Hearing this question, he shook his head before answering, and then said loudly, "Slave, here we are!" "Family law!" As soon as this remark came out, everyone was shocked!The fact that the Empress Dowager Cixi wanted to blame the emperor was a major event that had never happened in the Qing Dynasty for more than two hundred years, and it was also a strange event that had never been heard or thought of.So Qing Wang Yikuang, who was the head of the group in the east, and the University Scholars of the Wenhua Palace, who was the head of the group in the west, met on the ground at the same time.The rest of the princes and ministers were all like this. For a while, they could only hear the sound of "Winter, Dong" on the brick floor.The emperor could not help but also knelt down. This is an expression of pleading for the emperor, and the Empress Dowager Cixi had to buy the face of the officials. However, although the family law is no longer passed on, the emperor still has to be forced to speak. "There will always be someone who will advise you, right?" Empress Dowager Cixi warned again, "If you protect others and refuse to tell, I will know. At that time, I will no longer tolerate it! Not only should she be punished, even her natal family should be punished! " The emperor suddenly realized that the Empress Dowager Cixi was suspicious of Concubine Zhen!In desperation, he blurted out: "It's Kang Youwei and Tan Sitong who have such an idea. However, the original intention is only a military remonstrance, and they never dare to startle Cijia. Otherwise, wouldn't my son become a sinner through the ages?" "Listen! The emperor is so filial!" Empress Dowager Cixi's original intention was to ask the emperor to admit that he had conspired against his superiors, so he was neither a king nor a son.In this way, not only can she find an unavoidable reason for her political training, but also foreshadow the further abolition of the establishment.So far, the goal has been achieved, and she is plausible. "You all heard it! The emperor's nonsense must ruin the world of the Qing Dynasty! Unless I die, I can't control it if I want to, otherwise, how can I just watch and ignore it? Can I be sorry? Ancestors?" Empress Dowager Cixi wiped her eyes with a handkerchief, covered her nose and blew twice, and then said: "The emperor was carried into the palace at the age of four. He was not in good health. I raised him with one hand and slept during the day. In my bed, I was taken by my mother at night, sleeping in my outer room, and got up several times a night to see him. The emperor was timid, afraid of thunder, and would cry out of fright when he heard thunder, and asked me to hug him for a long time. After raising him up like this, how does he treat me now? Doesn’t this make the parents of the world chill? This dynasty governs the world with benevolence and filial piety, and I raised the emperor to be like this. Sad, really ashamed! I really don't know how I will face Wenzong in the future?" Speaking of this, the Empress Dowager Cixi was already a little speechless.The emperor fell to the ground and sobbed. I don't know if it was regret or grievance?All the ministers in front of the palace were crying, but no one made a sound.Some people are inconvenient to persuade, some people dare not persuade, and some people are unwilling to persuade. "These few months are really a great misfortune for the country." The Empress Dowager Cixi said with tears in her eyes: "Since April, it has been a mess, and now it must be rectified! The memorial, according to the date, make a list and send it to me." "Yes!" King Qing and King Li agreed in unison. "Kang Youwei is a party, and he will never let you down! You have to deal with it quickly! Besides, if there are any urgent matters that must be dealt with in front of you, the Military Aircraft Department will write plays and send them in at any time!" "Yes!" This time it was Li Wang and Gang Yi who agreed in unison. After waiting for a while, without another word, King Qing took the lead to "kneel down" and withdraw. Those who returned to the yamen returned to the yamen, and those who returned to the mansion returned to the mansion, each of them did what he wanted.Only the emperor couldn't help himself, and was still sent back to Yingtai, which was surrounded by water on three sides and had no way to pass.