Chapter 15 Section fifteen

It was only dawn, so King Qing sent his bodyguards to invite Chen Kuilong, saying that he would wait to meet him in the middle of the mansion. Hurrying over, I saw that Prince Qing's clothes were still on, and he looked like he had just returned from court.Chen Kuilong had just paid his respects when he saw another person coming in at the door. It was his colleague, Tie Liang, a doctor from the Ministry of Industry and Zhang Jing, who was also the Prime Minister's yamen. "There is a case, I must ask the two of you for help!" King Qing said, "Ask for Zhang Qiaoye and the others, and Chong Shou made a note..."

It turned out that Chongli, the Minister of the Criminal Ministry and the commander of the infantry, was handling the case of arresting the New Party. He felt that the responsibility was too heavy and he could not bear the burden. Fold requests for aid cases.The Yi decree received was: "Send the former imperial ministers, together with the military ministers, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate for interrogation, and make a performance at a certain time." "The shift in front of the imperial court has always been ahead of the cabinet and military aircraft, so everyone recommended me to preside over it. This case is unusual, and I don't feel relieved to hand it over to others! Please work hard, both of you!"

"Yes!" Chen Kuilong felt that there was something he had to ask. "My lord, please send a scholar and a military plane to the original play. Why do you want to reassign the imperial court? There may be a deep meaning in this, I wonder if the lord has thought about it?" "If it's a scholar sent, of course Li Shaoquan will preside over it. Cisheng means that he doesn't want to embarrass him." King Qing went on to say: "The situation of the people in the same case is different. I heard that Yang Rui and Liu Guangdi are all learned. He is also a very good person, if one case is intertwined and there is unfairness, we should handle it separately. When you two arrive at the ministry, you can tell them what I mean."

Chen Kuilong thought to himself that not sending a bachelor was definitely not for understanding Li Hongzhang, and he didn't want to embarrass him, most likely because he was afraid that Li Hongzhang would show favoritism.It can be seen from this that the Empress Dowager Cixi focused on severe punishment for punishing this case.But according to King Qing's words, Yang Rui and Liu Guangdi can be relieved, and the rest may be accused of being a general or exile. So he resigned from Prince Qing's mansion and transferred to the Prime Minister's Yamen, where he first prepared a speech, informed the Ministry of Punishment, and explained the reasons for the joint trial.At that time, the copy of the palace gate had been delivered, and among them was the original text of the memorial from Chongli, and the edict specified that there were seven people on trial: Xu Zhijing, Yang Shenxiu, Yang Rui, Lin Xu, Tan Sitong, Liu Guangdi, and Kang Guangren.As for Zhang Yinhuan, "Although some people have participated in the performance and his bad deeds are notable, he is not yet Kang Youwei's party. He is temporarily under the supervision of the Ministry of Punishment and awaits the order." We will not go into the details of the connection, to show the intention of using punishment cautiously."

Officials in the Prime Minister's Yamen often deal with foreigners, and outsiders will inevitably suspect the New Party. Now even those who are "tempted" by Kang Youwei are not implicated, let alone the eyes and ears of the New Party.Therefore, after reading this encyclical, it feels like letting go of a stone in your heart. But when he saw another edict, his heart became heavy again.The emperor said, "Since April, I have been feeling unwell for a long time, and the treatment has not been effective for a long time. If there are people who are proficient in medical science outside Beijing, they will be recommended by the internal and external ministers and wait for the order. Now those from other provinces will be dispatched on the same day. Come to Beijing, don't delay."

Everyone understands that this is the harbinger of the abolition of legislation.There have been many rumors in Beijing, saying that "sooner or later the emperor will be changed", and this decree has already seen the beginning.But is the "Emperor" so easy to change?The officials in the Zongli Yamen were a little worried, fearing that it would cause the intervention of the ministers of various countries, and cause many unreasonable disputes for no reason.When they were talking to each other, they heard the sound of the horse's hooves, mixed with the brisk sound of the wheels, and they knew it was a Western "Hensmey" carriage, which was different from the rear carriage. Of course, there were foreigners coming.

It was Lu Ban, acting minister of France, who wanted to see King Qing or any of the prime ministers.Li Hongzhang was expelled, Zhang Yinhuan was arrested, King Qing and the Prime Minister who was concurrently the minister of military affairs were hard to come by. In the yamen, there was only one Xu Yongyi, who had been pushed out by Weng Tonghe and returned to the yamen on this day. . The regulations governing the handling of affairs in the Prime Minister's Yamen, all meetings with foreigners must be recorded by Zhang Jing, and Zhang Jing divides shares by country.There are nine members of Zhang Jing in the French stock market. The most capable one is Wang Daxie from Hangzhou. He is from the same hometown as Xu Yongyi, who is from Haiyan.

The translator, surnamed Wu, was brought by Lu Ban.The four guests, the host and the host, sat opposite each other on two sides of a large dining table, exchanged pleasantries, and the conversation got to the point. Wu Translator first revealed that Lu Ban came here to inquire about the emperor's condition. Upon hearing this, Xu Yongyi was startled, knowing that he had encountered a problem!He gave Wang Daxie a wink, indicating that he would also think about it carefully, and if he was struggling to deal with it, he must provide support. After Lu Ban had spoken, Wu interpreter interpreted the truth: "Today, I was quite surprised and concerned when I saw the imperial edict that the emperor was sick. The edict said that since April, I have been unwell. Why do I feel sick three or four times?" In the middle of the month, haven't you seen it?"

"Thank you, Minister, for your concern." Xu Yongyi replied slowly: "The saint has violated peace for a long time, and there are often legends. Why does your minister not know, and what is the reason? This minister is inconvenient to speculate." Translator Wu felt embarrassed when he heard his answer.Obviously, the Chinese employed by the French legation, such as Wu Translator, etc., must have never told Lu Ban about the rumors that the emperor was ill.If Xu Yongyi's answer was translated truthfully, perhaps he would be blamed, so he seemed embarrassed. However, he still talked a long story to Captain Lu, supplemented by hand gestures, as if explaining something?After listening, Lu Ban nodded and asked, "What's wrong with the emperor?"

It's inconvenient to talk nonsense, and you can't prevaricate it by asking questions and then telling me, so Xu Yongyi had to answer vaguely: "The emperor is due to hard work, lack of energy, poor appetite, and restless sleep at night." "This is a symptom that most patients have. What kind of disease is it?" Xu Yongyi was embarrassed by such a forced question, so Wang Daxie quickly wrote the word "liver" and moved the piece of paper to Xu Yongyi. "It's probably liver disease." Xu Yongyi asked Translator Wu, "Minister Lu wanted to inquire so clearly, why?"

"I think he has a point." Translator Wu asked, "Do you want to translate Master Xu's words to him?" "No! Just listen to him." What Lu Ban said was: "People with liver disease are prone to anger. The emperor has this disease, and people around him will often be severely punished. It is really a very unfortunate thing." "Yes. But the emperor is kind by nature, and I haven't heard of any punishment." "That's very good!" Lu Ban paused and said, "The edict requires everyone to recommend doctors. There are several priests who preach in China and are proficient in medicine. I would like to recommend two to treat the emperor, so as to promote the friendship between the two countries." .” After listening to the translation, Xu Yongyi was quite surprised, and hurriedly replied: "Thank you for your care, Minister, and I would like to express my thanks on behalf of our country. However, I must request an order for the recommendation of a doctor. At this time, I cannot give any real answer." ,please forgive." Lu Ban expressed no dissatisfaction with his answer, but only asked, "When can I get an answer?" "It will take about two or three days." Xu Yongyi said, "You must be cautious about this matter. You have to consult the imperial doctor and the minister. Two or three days is the fastest." "Then, I will definitely come and hear back in three days." After speaking, Lu Ban left immediately.Xu Yongyi sees the guests out, but just after returning, he has not sat down yet, and there is another announcement: the British Minister Sir Donner is visiting. This time, Zhang Jing from the British stock market and Tang Wenzhi from Taicang, Jiangsu made the transcripts.After meeting, Embarrassed Nale first congratulated Xu Yongyi, and then took out a letter, and the accompanying Zheng translator said: "Minister Dou's letter is for Li Zhongtang, please pass it on to the Prime Minister's Office." "Since it is a letter to Li Zhongtang, why not send it directly to Xianliang Temple?" "Minister Dou means that although Li Zhongtang has withdrawn from the Prime Minister's Office, the UK is still willing to use Li Zhongtang as its opponent in negotiations, as if he is still in the Prime Minister's Office." "Oh!" Xu Yongyi was quite unhappy, but it was inconvenient to attack, so he swallowed and said: "Okay! I'll send someone to transfer it." After Zheng Translator conveyed the message, the talks should have ended, but Dou Nale had something else to say: "The letter expresses a wish of the United Kingdom, and I hope that Li Xiang can try to rescue Minister Zhang." Minister Zhang of course refers to Zhang Yinhuan.Xu Yongyi sneered in his heart, although Zhang Yinhuan was promoted by Li Hongzhang, but the friendship did not end, Li Hongzhang may not be willing to rescue Zhang Yinhuan.What's more, when Li Hongzhang was in unlucky times, he was lucky to avoid being involved in the turmoil that was just in the ascendant these days.Dona Le is arrogant and hateful, let him hit the wooden clock! Therefore, he replied coldly: "Understood! I will tell Li Zhongtang." "Not only to tell Prime Minister Li, but also hope that your minister will tell the ruler to save Minister Zhang. It will be very helpful to promote Sino-British diplomatic relations." This is another matter that makes Xu Yongyi helpless, so he can only reply: "I will transfer to King Chen Qing." As soon as Dou Nale left, Xu Yongyi immediately ordered a car to be set up, and took the two transcripts made by Wang Daxie and Tang Wenzhi, and headed straight to Prince Qing's Mansion. "My lord," Xu Yongyi said, "I really shouldn't have issued an edict to seek medical treatment! It would be very troublesome to provoke foreigners to intervene. Please read this transcript." King Qing frowned while reading it, and said after reading it : "He also has good intentions, and it seems that it is inconvenient to refuse. What good idea do you have for this matter?" "Now we all have to look at the meaning of Cisheng. No one dares to come up with random ideas. In my opinion, the prince might as well talk to Wang, Liao, and Yu Sangong." "I think so too, and I'll wait until I talk to them tomorrow."