Chapter 79 Section 79

The situation in the capital is a hundred times more miserable than when Seng Gelinqin and Shengbao were defeated by the British and French allied forces in the Xianfeng period in Kinki!Because Kui Yong was in groups of three or four, barebacked and holding a knife, he casually entered the city and slashed at the closed gates of the mansion, so all the nine cities were closed and guarded by the Shenji Camp, and only entered when there was urgent business. The food store has already been robbed and robbed, and the business has been closed. For more than a month, it has been relying on the support from outside the city. Once the city gate was closed, panic broke out in every kitchen, even the imperial dining room was no exception.

The Imperial Dining Room was originally famous for wasting food, and never thought that there would be a day when no freshly slaughtered pigs would be sent in.Pork is the main ingredient. Thirty to fifty heads are used a day, and the source is suddenly cut off. What happened? I have no choice but to use more chicken, duck and seafood.The small kitchens set up by the concubines in the palaces were even worse. Not only did they have no pork, but because the deep palaces were not as good as the imperial kitchens, they could raise their own chickens and ducks, so the meat and meat disappeared.Vegetables and fruits are also out of the question.

The "princes" of the palaces themselves and the maids and eunuchs under their names suffered, and the most difficult thing was that they had no food to honor the Empress Dowager Cixi every day. "What should I do?" Concubine Jin and the maid who lived in Yonghe Palace were worried. There was a court lady named Fu Yun who was stationed in Chengdu with her parents since she was a child and knew how to cook a lot of Sichuan snacks. She had an idea and said happily: "Master, let's make bean curds to honor Lafayette!" Thinking about it, there is no way out, "Okay!" Concubine Jin agreed, "Just make bean curds. I'm afraid it's the first time for Lafayette to eat them!"

So grind soybeans and make bean curd.The seasoning requires good sauce, which is ready-made; the yellow sauce made by the eunuchs from the leftover "keshi" is many times better than the sweet noodle sauce sold on the market. When it was time to pass on the food in Leshantang, Concubine Jin arrived later, opened the food box, and put it on the table. Empress Dowager Cixi said in surprise, "Where are the tofu from?" "Back to Lafayette, this is not tofu, it's called Douhuaer, a Sichuan snack." Concubine Jin said anxiously: "It's really not a respect."

"It turned out to be bean curd! I've also heard that what poor families in Sichuan eat is called bean curd rice. I don't want to be on my meal today! " "Isn't this the servant's fault!" Concubine Jin hurriedly knelt down to pay her respects: "The servant doesn't know that it's something poor families eat, it's so disrespectful!" "No, no! You got it wrong, I don't blame you! I'm feeling it myself. To be honest, I kind of love something like your filial piety. Look! It's either a chicken or a duck! I want to eat a shrimp mix Cucumbers can't do it."

Empress Dowager Cixi ate half a bowl of millet porridge amidst this sigh, and it was considered as a meal.Usually concubines and concubines serving meals are silent, and this day is even more silent as death.After the service was over, they went back quietly. The big Leshou Hall was suddenly deserted. When Concubine Jin returned to Yonghe Palace, there was a court lady named Shou'er who said happily, "Cui Yugui asked Lafayette for a day off and went home." "Oh," Concubine Jin was a little happy, she thought for a while and said, "Is there any bean curd left? Take some for her!"

"She" is Concubine Jin's younger sister, Concubine Zhen who was imprisoned behind Ningshou Palace.The Ningshou Palace is divided into three roads, the East Road and the Middle Road, which are often visited by the Empress Dowager Cixi. The palaces and pavilions are neat and luxuriously furnished.The place where Concubine Zhen was imprisoned was a dilapidated hut next to the residence of the court lady. The original door was canceled and a fence was installed, which was no different from a prison.The walls inside are all empty, the plaster is peeling off, and the bricks used to build the walls can be clearly seen.Some of them are flexible. Concubine Zhen has a hair comb box, and some old clothes are hidden in it. When needed, she pulls out the flexible green bricks and takes them out, and puts them back in place after use.If it weren't for this, even this little thing that the poor and small households don't think is precious will be searched.

Cui Yugui was always the one who brought people to search.He was appointed by the Empress Dowager Cixi to take full responsibility for guarding Concubine Zhen.Except for him, all the maids and eunuchs who could get close to Concubine Zhen had a sympathetic attitude towards her.Therefore, whenever Cui Yugui left the palace, he would definitely come to the Yonghe Palace to notify him when he was sure that he would not barge in.Of course Concubine Jin dared not take the risk of going to visit her younger sister, but she often helped her with food and clothing.This errand is Shou'er's sole responsibility, she is very popular and is taken care of everywhere, so Concubine Jin always sends her.

Carrying a porcelain pot of bean curd, he sent it in through the gate. Shou'er smiled and said, "Master Zhen, eat it while it's hot! This is what Master Jin entered Lafayette today." "Douhuaer!" Concubine Zhen lifted the lid and took a look, "I haven't tasted it for a long time." Although the situation is so dire, Concubine Zhen still maintains a calm demeanor, puts the porcelain pot on the ground, sits down cross-legged, lays an old red cloth on her knees as a meal list, and then takes the only valuable thing she has on hand, a long With a silver spoon, scoop the tofu curd, dip it in some condiments, and slowly deliver it to your mouth.

"Master Zhen, what did I bring in for you today?" The so-called "what is brought in" refers to the food delivered.Usually it is always rough food, but this day is different. "Hey!" Concubine Zhen laughed, "I am rich today, with fat chickens and big ducks." Shou'er was taken aback for a moment, and after thinking about it, he understood, "I've never heard of it. There is no pork in the dining room, and Lafayette wants to eat dried shrimp mixed with cucumber." Shou'er sighed, "On the contrary, Master Zhen is here. It's the same as Lafayette's."

"Hedong in 30 years, Hexi in 30 years. It will change, no one can predict." Concubine Zhen slowly stood up, and looked carefully at the gate, Fang Shi then said: "What's the news outside? " Concubine Zhen heard a lot of news. When the eunuchs and maids saw that Cui Yugui was not around, they would find time to chat with her.However, those news are hearsay, bizarre and absurd, even contradictory, so there is no agreement, so Concubine Zhen wants to ask Shou'er.She has one advantage, she doesn't have the habit of talking nonsense like ordinary maids, she just smiles at things she doesn't know, or says: "Who remembers so clearly?" So although her information is incomplete, it is more reliable. There are redeeming qualities. "Master Li came from Jiangnan. Lafayette thought highly of him and summoned him several times. When he led troops out of Beijing a few days ago, he asked Lafayette for an 'Eight Treasure Sword'. I don't know how he defeated him all at once. Tunjin is looking for death! Lafayette seems to be very sad about this matter!" "Then who is Lord Li?" Concubine Zhen couldn't think of it: "It can't be Li Hongzhang, can it?" "Master Zhen, you mean Li Zhongtang from Guangdong? No!" "By the way, Li Hongzhang is in Guangdong. Didn't you say you want him to come to Beijing?" "He didn't come here!" Shou'er curled his lips, looked around, and said in a low voice: "It is said that Prince Duan has become determined after eating the weight! The day before yesterday, he killed three ministers..." "Killed three more?" Concubine Zhen was startled, "Who are they?" "Master Youli! Poor." Shou'er shook his head, "If you don't have money, you will suffer. If you have too much money, you will die! Money is really not a good thing." Concubine Zhen didn't care to listen to her discussion, and rushed to ask: "Who are the other two?" "I'm not sure. I heard that one of them is from Zhejiang, and he's almost 80! It's unavoidable that he will suffer a knife attack. Prince Duan really committed a crime." "People from Zhejiang, almost eighty!" Concubine Zhen murmured to herself, thinking about these two points one by one, and quickly thought: "That's Xu Yongyi!" "Yes, yes, my surname is Xu." "there's still one?" "I heard that there was another one who was a bannerman." Shou'er said, "The bannermen only killed this one, and the Han people killed many more, so Li Zhongtang didn't dare to come, for fear that he would lose his old life in the hands of Prince Duan in a foolish way." inside." "Then," Concubine Zhen asked, "Where did the foreigners go?" "We've reached Tongzhou!" "We've reached Tongzhou!" Concubine Zhen was shocked, "How close Tongzhou is to the capital, won't Lafayette panic?" "That's right! Two days ago, I ordered people to arrest the car, but later the car couldn't be caught, and Rong Zhongtang advised Lafayette not to leave, he had to stay in the palace. I don't know what will happen in the future?" Concubine Zhen didn't make a sound, and sat down slowly, peeling off her fingernails and thinking about something.Seeing this scene, Shou'er felt that it was time for him to return to the palace. "Master Zhen, the servant is leaving, but what can I say for the servant to take back?" "Slow down, don't go!" Concubine Zhen got up again and asked Shou'er while holding the gate: "Did you see the emperor gone in the past two days?" "See, it's still the same." "Your Majesty, do you have a little..." Concubine Zhen struggled to find an adjective, and after thinking for a long time, she asked, "Do you seem a little restless?" "That can't be seen." "Shou'er, wait a moment and bring me a letter to your master." Shou'er is most afraid of this errand.Because Concubine Zhen was writing letters inside, I had to keep an eye out for her outside. It was the worst thing to be worried about, and sending messages was the most taboo thing in the palace!The oral letter can be denied, but the black and white letters are ironclad evidence. Once found out, it will be beaten to death by "passing the rod", or sent to the "Xinzheku" to do hard work. I have been happy all my life, and I will be ruined here for no reason. Since it is extremely unwilling. But unwilling and helpless, he just begged and said: "Master Zhen, you must hurry up and write shorter, no need to write a long story! I just say what I have to say." "I only write two sentences!" Concubine Zhen hurried inside, dug a brick on the wall, reached out and took out a notebook from it, a notebook of thick foreign paper with an elastic band on it, holding a pencil.This is the time when the emperor reformed, and the eunuch bought it in Liulichang for learning English.The reform failed, and the emperor couldn't learn English. These things were left behind for Concubine Zhen, and they were her most precious possessions in front of her eyes. Concubine Zhen was reluctant to use this foreign paper notebook that was not worth the money, so she tore off a small half of it, put it on the pad, wrote a line of words on it with a pencil, folded it into a Fang Sheng, and handed it to him through the gate. Shouer. "Soon." "Yes!" Shou'er agreed with satisfaction. "Tell your master again." Concubine Zhen looked around, waved her hand, and let Shou'er approach before she said softly, "I see it like this, we have to flee! At that time, everyone was in a mess, and everyone only cared about themselves. You tell your master, don't forget me." Shou'er, who only wanted to get away early, replied repeatedly: "No, no! If my master forgets, I will remind her." After saying that, he hurried away. After returning to the Yonghe Palace, after briefly talking about the experience, he was about to present the note to Concubine Zhen. He put his hand into his bosom, touched his pocket, and his expression changed drastically! "What's going on?" Jin Fei asked. "Where did Master Zhen ask me to bring back the letter?" Concubine Jin panicked when she heard this, "You, where did you get it?" There was a cry in her voice. As if stung by a wasp, Shou'er fumbled all over his body, but couldn't find it!I was so anxious that I was in chaos and at a loss.In the end, it was Concubine Jin who reminded her: "Go back to the same place and look for it." "Yes, yes!" Shou'er ran fast as if waking up from a dream. When I ran outside, my pace slowed down. I looked around and looked forward carefully. The more I searched, the more anxious I became, and the more I searched, the more disappointed I became.On the way, I picked up a lot of papers, and there was half an old newspaper, and I couldn't remember whether it was trash that should be thrown away, but I went step by step until I found the concubine Zhen's confinement. "What's the matter? Shou'er!" Shou'er still didn't dare to tell the truth, and didn't dare to ask her what that sentence was?Just said: "A hairpin fell out." "Is it gold?" "It's gold." "You lost the golden hairpin and you still want to get it back? Stop dreaming!" Concubine Zhen asked, "What is in your hand?" "A piece of waste paper!" Shou'er casually threw it to the corner. Concubine Zhen had already seen clearly that it was an old newspaper, so she hurriedly said, "Give it to me, give it to me!" This half of the old newspaper is more precious to Concubine Zhen than anything else.Sit down and look carefully at "Jingzhong Communication", a note reads: On the ninth day of the lunar new year, a letter from a gentleman in Beijing was recorded: "In the palace, there are only soldiers from the Tiger God Battalion stationed at Donghuamen, and the bandits are allowed to come and go. They are rampant, and the queen mother cannot stop them. The inner city of the capital is from Zhengyangmen to Chongwenmen. In Sanli, all the houses were burned down. The embassies were besieged for a month and turned into scorched earth, but the British embassy was unharmed. There were no less than 6,000 to 7,000 injured residents and foreigners. All were destroyed, and there were several cases of Beijing officials fleeing to Jingdong every day. Du Benchong of Hunan Province, Qiao Sheng, went out of the capital with his family in June, but was intercepted by bandits, stroked his stomach with a knife, and stabbed his wife with a pole to death. , Du Taishi was begged by all the soldiers, but fortunately he did not die." "The nine gates of Kyoto are all closed, and the Boxers claim to be 500,000. The residences in central Beijing are engraved, and they are searched by bandits every day, and they say they must burn incense and kowtow to welcome them. The business of Zhongxiang shops in the capital is booming. Members can’t help but be threatened. The price of gold in Beijing has risen to 60 changes, but when it is used in gold and silver, even if it falls to 30 changes, no one is willing to exchange it. The money is so tight that a certain gentleman wants to pay 300,000 yuan a day The two are stored in a certain ticket number, and this time, because I want to go out of Beijing to seek refuge, I ask for silver from him for travel expenses, and I only get one hundred and sixty gold for several round trips." There is also a letter from the family of a member of the capital: "Wang Xiekui is now living in the military aircraft department and will not be off work. The queen mother will move west in a few days. The price of rice in Beijing has risen to twenty-five taels per stone. Zhang Qiaoye's servant is accused of colluding with Russia. , so it is ordered to rectify the law. The Ministry of Punishment under the Shangshu Lishan is because the boxers play their food and teach." "The regiment bandits attacked the Yingkou Concession, and the Chinese soldiers helped them. The battle lasted all day long. Two Russian gunboats bombarded Yingkou City. The Chinese and officials below Daotai fled along the river. The Russian soldiers and the Westerners all No casualties." "It has been said that when Fangbo, the former Siting of the Zhili feudal clan, came to Beijing under the order of the neizhao, he was arrested by bandits and wanted to kill him. Zhuozhou, beyond this point, your life is not yet safe." In half of the old newspaper, there are only a few "Beijing-China Communications" recorded. In addition, there are notices from the government office and advertisements of the company. "Ninth day?" She said to herself, "It should be the ninth day of July. It was more than a month ago, and there was no talk of moving west!" Thinking about it now, I feel very proud, because the newspaper also said that the Empress Dowager will move west, which is enough to prove my judgment is correct. "Shou'er, Shou'er!" Concubine Jin said with a gloomy face, "How did you cause such a catastrophe! If it falls into the hands of outsiders, anyway, I will die with you." "Master!" Shou'er cried out with a "wow" in anxiety, "This slave can't wait to die right away!" "It's useless if you die. Let's see the good fortune!"