Chapter 75 Section 75

In the end, the memorial was handed over without any changes.Although Yuan Chang and Xu Jingcheng knew that they didn't involve relatives and nobles, when they needed Rong Lu's rescue, he was easier to speak.But it was obviously Duan Wang Zaiyi who first indulged the Boxers, Gangyi, Yuxian and others before they dared to let go. If only the ministers were impeached, not as good as relatives, it was obvious that they were afraid of Zaiyi's power. Not only Gangyi and others would not be convinced, Qing Yi would also He would ridicule and criticize, and this memorial would become powerless and become nothing more than a talk.

After reading this memorial, the Empress Dowager Cixi only felt upset, and couldn't think of a way to deal with it for a while, so she simply pushed it down and handed over the memorial to the military.Unfortunately, neither King Li nor Rong Lu had paid for it, and Wang Wenshao was deaf and easily apologetic, so Resolute was able to cover the eyes and ears of the Military Aircraft Department with one hand, and only quietly invited Zhao Shuqiao, who was related, to one side, and whispered confidentially. After carefully reading the original book, Zhao Shuqiao's face was heavy, and she was silent, and asked resolutely:

"Do you want to talk to 'Old Dao'?" "Old Taoist" is Xu Tong's nickname.Zhao Shuqiao shook his head and said, "No need! The old man won't come up with any good ideas, so he will show off in vain, and there is nothing to do. When we discuss how to deal with it, just tell him how to do it." "So, what do you think we should do?" "You can't parry this, you have to fight back!" "Go!" Gang Yi slammed the table, "He wants our lives, we have to kill them first." "Yes!" Zhao Shuqiao said, "We have to arrange it carefully, plan before moving, and it will be broken if we miss it!"

"'It's broken if you miss it, it's broken if you miss it!'" Gang Yi got up and walked around, muttering to himself.After a long time, I stood firm and said, "I think we need to find some evidence of their liaison with foreign countries." "It's not easy to find evidence of liaison with foreign countries. If you can find something, it's very useful." Zhao Shuqiao lowered her voice and said, "Yuan Shuangqiu sent a letter to King Qing, saying that it was 'the king of Duanjun'. Being in a position of power is the same as Prince Chunxian, especially when you are in a place of suspicion.’ Doesn’t that mean you’re alienating yourself?”

"How is this a discord?" Gang Yi tapped his temple with his fingers: "It's too hot, my head is swollen, and my brain can't turn around." "Please think about it, Zhongtang. Back then, when he was in charge of the Datong, the old King Chun was afraid of intervening in politics and became the overlord because of his father's respect, so he resigned from all errands to avoid suspicion. Now King Duan is the elder brother's biological father. The situation is similar to that of the old King Chun, the so-called 'being good at the place of suspicion' means that King Duan will follow the example of the old King Chun and return to the mansion without interfering with government affairs."

"Ah, ah! It's easy to understand when you say it." "This is still on the surface, but in fact there are articles in it." Zhao Shuqiao paused for a moment and said: "Looking deeper, it is tantamount to suing the empress dowager, saying that Prince Duan wants to be the emperor. This is not alienation but what?" "Yes! Yes! Reasonable, too reasonable!" "Not only that, but also." "Anything else?" Gang Yi felt more and more interesting: "Quick, quick, please tell me quickly." "Everyone knows that King Duan is the Empress Dowager, and he is absolutely loyal. To let the Empress Dowager stay away from King Duan is really to cut the Empress Dowager's wings."

"That's not it! It's not bad at all." Gang Yi was full of joy, thought over Zhao Shuqiao's words carefully, and made a conclusion: "It can be said that these two sentences of his are superficial and secretly sow dissension, but their effect is Against the empress dowager!" "Zhongtang said it very well!" Zhao Shuqiao gave a high hat: "That's what it is." "Okay! That's all, I sent him off for disobedience. But," Gang Yi withdrew his smile, "What about the letter? You can't ask King Qing face to face, right?"

"Of course it's inconvenient for Zhongtang to ask for it. If King Duan asks for it, he might be able to get it. Otherwise," Zhao Shuqiao said in a low voice, "I have a way in front of King Qing. I can get that letter out, but it will take a lot of money." A few hundred silver." "That's a trivial matter. I'll leave it to you to do it, the sooner the better." "yes!" "What else?" Gang Yi fiddled with the original music: "We have to pick out a few major problems of his from this book." "Just one big problem is enough!"

"Tell me," Gang Yi spread out the original music, "is there a big problem?" Zhao Shuqiao didn't want to speak out, but said: "Zhongtang has been in charge of Qiucao for a long time. He was in prison and solved many difficult and serious cases. Could it be that in this memorial, he hesitated to say words, and the meaning was beyond words, can't you see it?" This is also a high hat, but in terms of fortitude, there is a feeling of being overwhelmed by this high hat.After fiddling for a long time, I couldn't understand it, so I had to excuse my dizziness again.

"No! This weather has made people dizzy! Zhan Ru, you better say it!" "Zhongtang, you only read this sentence." What he refers to is "not to discuss with relatives and discuss expensive things for the last reduction".This is the so-called "Eight Discussions" in the law. For the same crime, relatives and nobles can have their sentences reduced.With this point, Fortitude suddenly realized. "I understand. It means that Duan, Zhuang Erdi, Lan Gong, etc. should also be charged with crimes, and what crimes should be punished, and they can't be reduced! Good guy, amazing!"

"This is a half-spoken word that is exposed. Although it is reserved, the meaning can always be seen. If there is an invisible meaning, it is really unpredictable!" "Zhan Ru," Gang Yi replied bluntly, "I don't understand what you're talking about. Don't be fooled!" Zhao Shuqiao smiled, "How dare I show off in front of Zhongtang?" He said that everyone had their own intentions, and it was a good interpretation without saying anything: "Zhongtang, please refer to this paragraph for details." The paragraph pointed out is: "The boxers are stupid, and they are more stupid than Xu Tong, fortitude, etc. Xu Tong, fortitude, etc. are stupid, and they are even more stupid for princes." There are more than 20 words in total. , Unconsciously read a sentence: "The prince is stupid, and the empress dowager is even more stupid!" Zhao Shuqiao nodded, but fortitude felt the joy of a sudden breakthrough.The two looked at each other for a long time, and smiled resolutely. "Okay! Don't be afraid, but this needs to be arranged a little bit. That letter is very important. It is not submitted to the Empress Dowager, but to King Duan. Zhan Ru, please do it quickly. This is one of them." "Yes. What about the second one?" "Secondly, since this fold has been handed over, we have to discuss it." Gang Yi thought for a while and said, "How can we think of a way to make an explanation first, and at the same time suppress this fold, and when we have made arrangements, we can discuss it later?" Lift it up!" "There is a way, Zhongtang will see if it works?" Zhao Shuqiao replied, "Leader Zhongtang, the three people whose names are on our booklet, handed over a sign to the Empress Dowager to summon, and said that since they have been enlisted, it is inconvenient to be on the military plane again." Go up, please release Ren to inspect. Of course the empress dowager wants to stay, won't this book be suppressed?" "That's a good idea. But..." The resolute concern is that he is afraid of self-defeating, and the empress dowager will do as she asks, so she can only stare blankly?Zhao Shuqiao saw what he was thinking, and immediately said: "Zhongtang doesn't have to be half-hearted, and nothing will happen. First, when is this time? Removing the military aircraft is equivalent to changing generals before the battle. The queen mother has held power for decades. To do this kind of self-defeating thing? To be honest, the Queen Mother still expects us to pay for our sins! Second, if we are allowed to dismiss us for inspection, then the rest of the people who have names are also guilty! If no one else says it, the Queen Mother always Can't investigate the 'old way'!" "Yes!" Gang Yi made up his mind, "It doesn't matter if there is an old way in the way! Let's do it like this." Sure enough, Qixiu was invited to meet with him the next day, and the Empress Dowager Cixi was really what Zhao Shuqiao had expected, so she tried to persuade her to stay.However, he was also admonished, especially for Gang Yi and Zhao Shuqiao's trip to Zhuozhou, Empress Dowager Cixi felt quite resentful. Rong Lu quickly found out about this matter.Only after looking at the original memorial did I know that nothing in Yuan Chang and Xu Jingcheng's memorial had been changed.I was thinking in my heart that for Yuan and Xu, it was a blessing among misfortunes for Yuan and Xu to have such a result of turning big things into small things and turning small things into nothing.Therefore, he refused to say another word, and Ren Ling suppressed this note. The next day, Zhao Shuqiao finally spent five hundred taels of silver to bribe Xiao Ning'er, a book boy of King Qing, and stole Yuan Chang's letter.Hand it over to Gangyi, and immediately transfer it to Zaiyi.Of course, there were provocative words, saying that Yuan Chang had vicious intentions, which was tantamount to accusing Zai Yi of wanting to be the Supreme Emperor.Empress Dowager Cixi taboos this matter the most!Gangyi believes that Zaiyi should be on guard, don't wait for the queen mother to question, it will be difficult to distinguish! The way to take precautions is to strike first. With the participation of Fortitude and Zhao Shuqiao, Zai Yi was fully prepared after all-night secret business.After taking a nap and waking up, I saw that it happened that the Empress Dowager Cixi summoned the ministers and the work was over. After breakfast, when I was relatively free, I ordered King Qing to meet in the court room, and at the same time took care of setting up a car to enter the palace. Not long after arriving at Ningshou Palace, King Qing also arrived. Zaiyi took him to a secluded place, took out Yuan Chang's letter and asked, "Uncle Qing, take a look, is this letter written by Yuan Shuangqiu?" King Qing took a look at it, and asked in astonishment, "How did this letter get into your hands?" "I picked it up!" Zai Yi didn't allow him to pursue the source any further, and then asked: "Uncle Qing, when you received this letter, why didn't you reply to Lafayette?" "Why bother with him? One more thing is worse than one less thing." The wording was very tactful, Zaiyi nodded and said, "Uncle Qing finally understands my heart. However, I still have to show Lafayette this letter, so I'll just say that Uncle Qing gave it to me, okay?" "There's nothing wrong with that." "Okay! I'll go up first." Zaiyi took two steps back and greeted King Qing, "Uncle Qing, please stay a while. Please don't change your words later." "Okay!" King Qing specially warned: "However, don't cause trouble for me." "No, no." Said, Zaiyi went into Ningshoumen to look for Li Lianying.It was the time when the Empress Dowager Cixi finished her breakfast and "wandered around" to digest food.Li Lianying was accompanying her, so when the little eunuch made a gesture, the Empress Dowager Cixi also saw it, and cursed: "What are you doing so stupidly?" "Prince Duan is outside, looking for Manager Li to do something." "What is he doing here, you go and see!" Empress Dowager Cixi said disgustedly: "If there is nothing serious, just say, I'm resting." "The servant knows." When the Empress Dowager Cixi returned to the Le Shoutang to drink tea and watch the goldfish, Li Lianying came back and said that Prince Duan had a secret important matter, so she had to play it in person. "Okay! Let him in." As soon as Zaiyi entered the door and knelt down, she said loudly: "Lafayette, someone is rebelling!" "What's going on?" Empress Dowager Cixi was surprised: "Who are you talking about?" "Yuan Chang, Xu Jingcheng." "What's the matter with them? With the two of them, can they still rebel?" "There are foreigners behind the two of them." Hearing this, the Empress Dowager Cixi no longer showed indifference, and said in a calm voice: "Speak slowly!" "My slave first ask Lafayette to read two letters." Instead of submitting the two letters together, Zai Yi handed the one Yuan Chang sent to King Qing first. After the Empress Dowager Cixi finished reading, there was a look of hesitation on her face. "Did King Qing give it to you?" "yes!" "It's been a long time!" "Yes!" Zaiyi replied, "Yuan Chang provoked dissension, and the servant was afraid that Lafayette would be angry if he saw it. I thought, anyway, the servant is loyal and has a clear conscience. It doesn't matter if you don't deliver this letter." "It's best for you to have a clear conscience!" Empress Dowager Cixi said: "In the past, you 'Ama' knew how to avoid suspicion best, and humbly retreat in everything, like rewarding him with an apricot-yellow sedan chair, but he never refused to sit. So posthumous use' Xian' character. You really have to learn from your 'Ama'!" Banner people called their father "Ama", and Empress Dowager Cixi praised Prince Chunxian.Zaiyi couldn't help being surprised by this, she thought she would be dissatisfied with Yuan Chang, but unexpectedly she was taught a lesson, so she had no choice but to answer: "I will keep Lafayette's words in mind." "Is there another one?" Another letter was forged in imitation of Yuan Chang's handwriting.While presenting it, Zai Yi said, "It's really a blessing for the country. The plot of the Heavenly Sect villain has been exposed, and this letter was picked up." Empress Dowager Cixi ignored him for the time being, took out the letter to read it, and immediately replied: "Who is this 'Master of Body Cloud'?" "The servant has inquired about it, it is Xu Jingcheng's alias." As he spoke, he kept stealing glances at Empress Dowager Cixi's face.It didn't take long for the expected look to appear, the veins on the Empress Dowager Cixi's temples throbbed, her lips were slightly drawn to the lower right corner, and the majestic light revealed in those eyes was even more terrifying.This is her expression when she is furious. No wonder she was furious.This letter was forged very viciously. In the tone of discussion between Yuan Chang and Xu Jingcheng, it vaguely pointed out that the memorial to the impeachment of Xu Tong, Gang Yi and others had other important effects.The Boxer Rebellion was connived into the catastrophe it is today. Although princes like Zaiyi cannot absolve themselves of the blame, in the final analysis, without the support of the Empress Dowager Cixi, what would Zaiyi do?For example, on the 10th day of the sixth lunar month recently, according to Yi's decree, one hundred thousand taels of internal funds were issued to reward the Boxers, and Huang Huang issued an edict for all to see. Although it is beneficial, why is the Empress Dowager Cixi abdicating responsibility. However, if the Empress Dowager Cixi is to be used to punish Xu Tong and others for their crimes, she should not be involved in a single word, and even Zaiyi and others should only be veiled.When it came time to negotiate peace in the future, when foreigners talked about the chief culprit of conniving with the Boxers, they would definitely mention Empress Dowager Cixi. When the Empress Dowager Cixi read these words, every word hit the key point, I really felt terrified.However, Zaiyi is used to forgery and may not be credible, so the Empress Dowager Cixi decided to cheat him first. "I don't think Yuan Chang would say such a heartless thing. Don't tell me you're making a fuss again, right?" "Slave, how dare you be so ridiculous? Please ask Lafayette to check the handwriting." "Who knows if the handwriting is real or not?" Hearing this, Zaiyi intentionally put on an expression of being wronged and unable to explain it, and then, as if he had suddenly thought of a good idea, said happily: "This is easy! Prince Qing has come into the palace, sir. Lord Buddha sent him, and asked him face to face, did Yuan Chang give him that letter?" Empress Dowager Cixi thought for a while and said, "There is no need to send him to ask face to face." Then, she picked up a small ivory hammer and lightly tapped a small silver bell on the imperial case twice. Empress Dowager Cixi sent Li Lianying to seek proof from King Qing, and she returned to confirm what Zaiyi said was true.If the first letter is not false, then the second letter with the same handwriting and matching circumstances is of course also true!No matter how shrewd Empress Dowager Cixi is, she would never have imagined that there was such a conspiracy to cover up the truth and embezzle the truth. "Xu Jingcheng is unreliable, I know it, I didn't expect Yuan Chang to have such a muddled mind! Isn't this courting death?" "Lafayette Shengming!" Zaiyi continued, "The situation is not good, yes, but as long as Lafayette is on top, he can turn danger into safety and disaster into blessing. I really don't know what kind of heart these two people have?" What he meant was that Yuan Chang and Xu Jingcheng deliberately wanted to dig the foundation of the Qing Dynasty.Those who say that the Empress Dowager Cixi is in power, the overall situation will be bad or not, will touch her heart and inspire her courage the most.So he pondered for a while and asked: "What do you think about this matter?" "The slave dare not say it. Didn't Yuan Chang say it? The slave has to 'handle suspicion well'." "It's irrelevant! With me here, you don't care about being suspected." "Yes! The slave asked himself, and he also thinks the same way. I hate Yuan Chang and others for sowing discord and causing trouble. If these people don't go, they will cause some unending disaster in the future!" Having said that, Zaiyi took out A white paper was submitted to the imperial case, "Lafayette, please take a look at this manuscript, I wonder if it can be used?" Empress Dowager Cixi read it carefully, her face became very heavy, and it took a long time before she said: "Leave it to me!" After Zaiyi knelt down and left, Empress Dowager Cixi immediately ordered that the emperor be brought to the palace from Xiyuan, and at the same time, take care that the emperor's dinner would be brought to Ningshou Palace. This is something that hasn't happened in a long time!The eunuchs were all surprised.But only a few people were happy for the emperor, thinking that the empress dowager had thought of the mother-child relationship, while most of them were sweating for the emperor, wondering what unpleasant things the empress dowager had to vent their anger on the emperor? The emperor himself held such thoughts, and he was apprehensive, not even daring to breathe.Entering the palace to invite Ann, Empress Dowager Cixi shouted: "Lianying!" "Here!" Li Lianying glanced at the emperor, which was a signal to reassure the emperor. "Tell irrelevant people to stay away!" Needless to say, this is a matter of great relevance to be discussed.Li Lianying went out to make arrangements, and then took a look in front of the Le Shoutang in person, and Fang returned to the hall to return. "Just wait here for the emperor's pen and ink." "Yes!" Li Lianying agreed, stepped back a few steps, and stood quietly by the door. "Here are two letters. One is from Yuan Chang to Yikuang. I asked Lianying to ask about it." Empress Dowager Cixi raised her voice and asked, "Lianying, what did Prince Qing say?" Li Lianying trotted for two steps, stood still, and replied in a voice that could just be heard by the throne: "The servant showed the letter to Prince Qing, and Prince Qing said it was good, Master Yuan gave it to him, and the handwriting is also good." "Did you hear that?" Empress Dowager Cixi said to the emperor. So the emperor, full of doubts and fears, began to carefully read the two letters handed down by the Empress Dowager Cixi, one true and the other false.After reading one, I breathed a sigh of relief, because it refers to Zaiyi's desire to be the Supreme Emperor, which has nothing to do with him. However, there were only a few lines of that false letter, and the emperor raised it again in a relaxed tone, reading and thinking, thinking about the attitude he should hold. The situation is very complicated. If you can't stand firmly, what kind of punishment will you suffer?With this vigilance, she couldn't help pondering, but the Empress Dowager Cixi became suspicious again: "You think Yuan Chang's words are very good, don't you?" She asked slowly. Because she spoke slowly, the emperor would not make a wrong answer out of panic: "Yuan Chang is simply talking nonsense! There is no reason at all." "Is it just nonsense?" Obviously, the Empress Dowager Cixi was not satisfied with his criticism of Yuan Chang, so she had to say something more serious: "Words talk messes up the government and does not obey the way of ministers." "I see, he doesn't know what he's thinking about?" "Yes!" the emperor said without even thinking about it: "There are ulterior motives." "You can tell that he's trying to drive us apart!" "Damn it!" The emperor echoed, as if saying that cross talk was "flattering": "It's disgusting!" "If he really made a statement and publicly advocated it, he would still be aboveboard. If he is so insidious, he really deserves death." The Empress Dowager Cixi said immediately: "I said earlier, today without me, tomorrow without you. But you still can't See what I mean."