Chapter 80 Section 80

Good luck tricks people, but this note was picked up by Cui Yugui's trusted eunuch Xiao Liu.When I opened it, I was shocked. I hurriedly folded it carefully according to the original folding marks. As soon as Cui Yugui returned to the palace, Xiao Liu hurriedly sent the note up. Because of his serious expression, Cui Yugui asked, "What is it?" "I can't tell, there's always going to be a catastrophe anyway!" Cui Yugui was startled, and when he was about to tear the note down, he held it down for Xiao Liu.Cui Yugui was displeased, and scolded, "What are you doing?"

"Second Manager, don't dismantle it first, wait until I tell you, then you can make up your mind." Xiao Liu said in a very low voice: "This piece of paper, you can see clearly, it is a piece of foreign paper with foreign pencils inside. There is only one line in the written words 'Try to keep the emperor in Beijing and preside over the peace talks.'” Upon hearing this, Cui Yugui tore apart the note without hesitation, and upon closer inspection, it was indeed such a line of writing, and after a little identification, it was obvious that it was Zhenfei's handwriting.

"Where did this piece of paper come from?" "I picked it up outside the west wall of Fuwang Pavilion." "It's you?" "Yes!" Xiao Liu said, "It's really strange! I haven't been there for more than a month. Today I had a whim and wanted to take a look. Who knows, I just picked up such a piece of paper." "Okay! Boy, you have luck." After speaking, Cui Yugui went straight to Le Shoutang.It was already five o'clock in the afternoon, although the day in early autumn was still long and the sun had not yet set, but according to the rules, the palace gate was supposed to be closed and the key was pressed. It was only because Empress Dowager Cixi summoned Ronglu for the eighth time that day, so the palace gate was not closed. , and Cui Yugui had to wait for Ronglu to leave before seeing the Empress Dowager Cixi.

After waiting for half an hour, Rong Lu resigned, but the palace gate was still open, saying that Zaiyi would be summoned again.Taking advantage of this gap, Cui Yugui went straight to the Empress Dowager Cixi's throne, and asked for peace, "The slave is selling the holiday." "You're back! How's it going outside?" "It's not very good!" Cui Yugui replied, "There is no one on the street! I heard that the foreign soldiers are coming from the east." "That's up to you to say, coming from Tongzhou, of course you're coming from the east."

Cui Yugui, who had hit a snag, was extremely vigilant, "Does Lafayette have time now?" He said cautiously: "I have something to answer, and I can't finish this matter in a few words." "Say it!" "Yes, the servant first asked Lafayette to look at something." When Cui Yugui took out the note, the Empress Dowager Cixi saw that it was a foreign paper, and her face immediately tightened when she thought of the emperor. After reading it, the Empress Dowager Cixi's expression changed drastically, the corners of her mouth and her right eye moved, the veins on her temples protruded, and that furious look, which Cui Yugui had seen more than once, still felt very scary.

"Where did this piece of paper come from?" "Liu Yu picked it up." Liu Yu is Xiao Liu, "I picked it up at the foot of the west wall of Fuwang Pavilion." "Tell me, what's going on?" "The servant dare not guess!" "Who asked you to guess?" Empress Dowager Cixi said with a sullen face, "Don't you check it out?" "The slave has to ask Lafayette's order, and dare not do anything carelessly." That's a good answer.Empress Dowager Cixi nodded, her face changed again, this time it became very gloomy.But at this time, the eunuch came to report that Zaiyi had been summoned and was waiting outside.

"Let him go back!" Empress Dowager Cixi waved her hand in disgust, and then asked: "Where's Lianying?" When Li Lianying was found, Empress Dowager Cixi handed him the note, and Cui Yugui explained the process, and then asked his opinion. "Lafayette doesn't need to take it seriously! I don't have time to deal with this mess at the moment. I don't blame it, and the blame is self-defeating." Li Lianying has always been true to her words.Needless to say, the Empress Dowager Cixi will always obey, and even if there are occasional disagreements, the Empress Dowager Cixi will tolerate it.Who knew that this time it would be a big disobedience!

"Hmph! I don't know what you're thinking about! You don't have time to go away and stop talking nonsense in front of me!" These few words are not a big deal when the Empress Dowager Cixi reprimanded Zaiyi and his ilk, but to Li Lianying, it is "severe reprimand".He didn't dare to say more, and retreated quietly after meeting his head, but he was quite comforted in his heart, and he easily escaped from the vortex, so that he would not do anything to offend the emperor. Cui Yugui's ambition was aroused by Li Lianying's accusation, and he had been subdued for a long time. He had been the "Second General Manager" for many years.

"People are in good spirits when they have happy events", so they are "blessed to the soul", and he figured out the matter at once, "The thing is there," he said, "Someone wrote this note and asked someone to bring it to another A person, the entrusted person, lost this piece of paper. By mistake, Liu Yu picked it up, God has eyes!" "Hmm!" Empress Dowager Cixi asked, "Who are those two people?" "One is..." Cui Yugui said resolutely: "Master Zhen." "Is the handwriting good?" "good!" "I don't know when it fell?"

"It must be today. The note is still clean, and besides, it would have been swept away the next day." "You send someone to Yonghe Palace to have a look, I'll wait for your reply." Cui Yugui sent a very alert eunuch to inquire about the situation, and when he came back, he reported: something must have happened to Yonghe Palace, and everyone was crying.There was a court lady named Shou'er, who was guarded by three or four court ladies in shifts, and there were eunuchs guarding outside the house, saying that she was afraid that Shou'er would seek death. "That's it!" Cui Yugui immediately rushed back to Le Shoutang to return to his life, and at the same time suggested that he should call Concubine Jin to inquire.

Empress Dowager Cixi pondered for a while and said: "No need! People from Yonghe Palace are honest. She doesn't know about it! " "This, the slave doesn't understand." "If she knew, she wouldn't be afraid that the person who sent the letter would hang herself, wouldn't she just silence it? Looking at it now, none of them knew what was written in it, but they were afraid that I would ask if the letter was found out, so they didn't dare to let the letter go. The messenger seeks death!" "Yes!" Cui Yugui said convincingly, "Lafayette is holy." At this point, the Empress Dowager Cixi stopped talking.Obviously, for Concubine Jin, she is understanding, but Concubine Zhen's "sin" is even more serious!Cui Yugui guessed that the Empress Dowager Cixi was considering how to deal with Concubine Zhen at this moment. In fact, how to deal with Concubine Zhen is not a very embarrassing thing for Empress Dowager Cixi, she is considering her own behavior.On this day, Rong Lu was summoned eight times, and the repeated discussion was whether to go or not to go?After eight times of inquiries, almost all the questions that she hadn't thought of at the moment, as well as the things that Rong Lu refused to say clearly at first, were almost discovered.However, she was not completely convinced by Ronglu. What Ronglu repeatedly said was: "Shengjia must not go on tour! Please make a decisive decision and implement the method of calming the people. It is not enough to put Zaiyi and others in a heavy code, which is not enough to save the crisis. benevolence.” Talking about the location of the “outing tour”, Rong Lu said that neither the Jehol Palace nor the Wutai Mountain in Shanxi that was mentioned at one time is a paradise, because if there is no peace negotiation, I can go there, and so can foreigners. If you are determined to negotiate a peace, you can try to seek an armistice right now, and there is no need to "go out on tour". If the Empress Dowager Cixi really wants to leave, Rong Lu has already stated that the army is scattered all over the ground, and orders cannot be given. If he is shocked, he will have nothing to do.It would be better to live in the Forbidden City, but it will be safer.At that time, he will personally be responsible for guarding Ouchi and protecting Shenggong.As for the negotiation of peace, Li Hongzhang and Zhang Zhidong have been appointed as the first and second-class plenipotentiary ministers respectively. When negotiating with foreigners in Shanghai and Hankou, they can act cheaply and the war will soon cease.In the capital, Rong Lu believed that the gift of melons, fruits and food according to Yi's decree had left a good room for change.In the end, Rong Lu still left behind a game of chess. After withdrawing the Gan army, he took advantage of the fatigue and relaxation of the foreign soldiers in the embassy to hijack the ministers of various countries, forcing the foreigners to make peace. The words are very reasonable, but the Empress Dowager Cixi still cannot clearly declare that she will not leave.First, the thought of the coalition forces besieging the Forbidden City made me palpitate; second, this catastrophe was caused by the 1898 coup, and the foreigners probably put forward such a condition, that peace can be negotiated, and the emperor should be restored first.Then, I have to hand over the political power!But if the "outing patrol" is outside, then dodge and prevaricate, and you can think of a way. Now that there is this note from Concubine Zhen, Empress Dowager Cixi feels that what she saw is not bad.However, if you want to leave, you have to convince Rong Lu first, and who to send to stay behind and preside over the peace talks is also a big problem. "Oh!" She sighed unconsciously: "It's so annoying!" "The boat will go straight when it arrives at the bridge gate." Li Lianying, who appeared beside her at some unknown time, comforted her and said, "Lafayette, please be at ease. I have gone through many storms and waves, and I will never believe that this time I will not make it through!" "This time it's different than usual." Empress Dowager Cixi sighed again: "It would be nice to have someone like Liu Ye here at the moment." "Six Masters" refers to Prince Gong Yisu.When Wenzong took refuge in Rehe, the overall situation in Beijing was stabilized because King Gong stayed behind and presided over the peace talks with Britain and France.Looking around the royal family now, there is no one half as good as Prince Gong.Even a loyal and capable minister, how can Ronglu compare to Wenxiang back then?Looking back at the present and looking back at the past, Empress Dowager Cixi felt a sense of bleakness and desolation when the good times withered and the trees and leaves were bald. Because of this, the past of fleeing in a hurry to avoid Luanyang forty years ago still haunts her heart.At that time, my soul was scattered, I only felt that I was lucky to be able to escape with my life, but looking at the past now, it is impossible to hope for the situation back then!At that time, there were monk kings and Shengbao resisting in Tongzhou. Although Sushun was hateful in Beijing, his talent was still good. Wherever he went, the guards were strict and the supplies were in good condition. The military aircraft Zhang Jing still carried the silver seal of the military aircraft office. "Catch Wudun", you can issue an edict at any time along the way.What about now?It is difficult to even grab a few large cars, so what else can you talk about? Thinking about it this way, she felt even more troubled, "Let's leave it to fate!" She said, "Anyway, it's death anyway!" "Lafayette!" Li Lianying hurriedly knelt down: "You must hold on to yourself! Otherwise, the palace will be in chaos first!" These words surprised the Empress Dowager Cixi!Immediately thought of the note from Concubine Zhen, what would happen if the palace was in chaos?Will the emperor suddenly shake his head and come forward to ask questions?Just turn to this thought, don't need to think too much, Empress Dowager Cixi's heart immediately lifted up again. After thinking about it carefully, I felt that I had to make a final decision, "Lianying," she said, "you quietly go and prepare a set of clothes, just like what an old woman from a small Han family would wear." "Yes!" Li Lianying was taken aback, thinking, this is Qiao Zhuang disguised as an refuge, and it was very inappropriate for others to see through her. Just as she was about to raise her doubts, the Empress Dowager Cixi said again: "Go and do it right away!" "yes!" "Where's Cui Yugui?" Empress Dowager Cixi said, "Come find him!" When the two changed shifts, the Empress Dowager Cixi ordered Cui Yugui to summon Concubine Zhen immediately to wait for the order in Jingqi Pavilion. "Go by yourself! You don't have to say anything to her." "Yes!" Cui Yugui agreed, and immediately rushed to the concubine Zhen's confinement place to announce the decree. Concubine Zhen was of course very surprised.In a flash, thinking of the note I wrote and Shou'er's flustered look when he came to find Nobile, I couldn't help but feel very uneasy. "Yugui," she asked, "Lafayette summoned me, do you have any questions?" "Then I don't know. Master, please go up! Once we meet, don't you know?" Concubine Zhen touched a soft nail, she couldn't help feeling a little angry, and proudly replied: "Of course I want to go up! What are you afraid of?" After finishing speaking, he brushed his temples with his hands, went out and followed Cui Yugui to the north, and after a dozen steps, he arrived at Jingqi Pavilion.As usual, Concubine Zhen stood in the corridor for a while, waiting for Cui Yugui to go in and report. "Call her in!" Concubine Zhen heard the sound from inside, and without waiting for Cui Yugui to pass it on, she lifted the curtain and went in, bent her legs to say hello, and said in a calm voice: "Slave, please greet Lafayette!" "Kneel down for me!" Empress Dowager Cixi said hurriedly, "Do you know your sins?" Concubine Zhen, who was kneeling on the green brick floor, raised her face slightly, and her eyes were sideways. I don't know where to look?This contemptuous attitude of not looking straight at people made the Empress Dowager Cixi furious.However, as soon as the anger came up, I quickly suppressed it, because among the people she met, they often made her angry, and they were often helpless. There were only two people, one was the former "Fifth Lord" King Dun One is the concubine Zhen in front of her, who is not afraid of soft coaxing and hard scaring.If you lose your temper so much that you can't step down, it's better to be smart and not lose your temper. Therefore, the Empress Dowager Cixi just asked with a livid face: "Who has been to your place today?" "There is no one except the food delivery person." Concubine Zhen answered quickly. "Who is delivering the food?" Empress Dowager Cixi turned to Cui Yugui. "Back to Lafayette," Cui Yugui replied, "It's irrelevant! Food deliverers are reliable." That is to say, if the person who delivered the food could not pass on information, there must be someone else, who actually already knew that it was Shou'er from Yonghe Palace.Concubine Zhen neither admitted it, but showed her the evidence. "You wrote the words on this paper, didn't you?" When the Empress Dowager Cixi took out the note wrapped in the silk handkerchief, Concubine Zhen was taken aback and felt chills running down her spine, but immediately turned her heart away, and when Cui Yugui took over the secret note she had written , has made a decision, and refuses to admit it. "The slave has never written such a piece of paper." This answer surprised the Empress Dowager Cixi!She thought Concubine Zhen was very stubborn and would admit it straight away, but who knew she would deny it! However, Lai Zhen's so-called "desire to conceal the truth" can be confirmed to be written to Concubine Jin, asking her to try to forward it to the emperor.The reason why she wanted to deny it was just to protect her sister. So the Empress Dowager Cixi had to consider it.If it is necessary to know the truth, Concubine Jin is currently sending people to guard Shou'er, waiting anxiously for questioning, as long as the news comes, Shou'er can tell the whole story without using a stick.However, she couldn't ignore the consequences. This consequence will lead to a legend that if foreigners invade the capital, the Empress Dowager Cixi will flee, but the emperor will not.He still has to negotiate peace with foreigners! According to this legend, there are many hidden dangers.Think about it and decide to let Concubine Jin go, and this is also a way to win over in a disguised form. It is not a mistake to lose and benefit. After making up his mind, he sneered and said, "There are times when you can't be hard-spoken! The reason why the country is what it is today is because you coaxed the emperor into doing things wrong. If foreigners don't attack, it's fine. I'll be the first to kill you!" Hearing these words, Concubine Zhen was so excited that her face flushed, and she felt that there was no lie in the world that was more inconsistent with the truth than the words of Empress Dowager Cixi.Obviously she herself listened to the words of Zai Yi, Xu Tong and others, and condoned the catastrophe caused by the Boxers, but who would have lightly shifted the responsibility on the emperor and herself, wouldn't it be hateful! She had no choice but to spit on the Empress Dowager Cixi's face, so she could only vent her anger as much as possible in her attitude, raised her face, turned her head, and replied loudly: "Whatever you want to do!" This is an even more blatant offense. It can be said that no one has ever dared to speak to her like this.However, the Empress Dowager Cixi endured it and left with a sneer of "hey, hey". Concubine Zhen, on the other hand, felt relieved.When she contradicted her, she already thought that the Empress Dowager Cixi would turn livid with anger and tremble all over, hoping that this appearance would bring her the pleasure of revenge, and slightly compensate for the sufferings of being confined for more than two years.Then, suffer with flesh and blood, and when the Empress Dowager Cixi blames her, she will go over it unceremoniously, and take the opportunity to express her long-standing and deep-seated complaints and resentments, and then she will die without hatred. Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager Cixi would endure the unbearable, and everything she expected was completely in vain. Instead, she left a lump in her heart, constantly thinking, what will the Empress Dowager Cixi do? That is of course a very severe punishment!But how severe it was was beyond her imagination.Sitting alone in a room without lights, staring blankly at the dim moon hanging low on the palace wall, wondering what it feels like in my heart? I don't know how much time passed, suddenly found that the gunfire from the east was denser, not only dense, but also different from the usual ones.However, this is just a feeling that passes in my heart, anyway, the sound of gunfire is commonplace, so it is not surprising.And in order to forget the din of the gunfire, she often forces herself to recall the past. Only in the memory can she forget everything in front of her eyes. At this time, what emerged in the mind was a strong shadow.She always found it strange that the tall, fat and almost stupid "Teacher Wen" - Wen Tingshi, could write such clear and beautiful words, how can he say that his writing is like a person?It is really an exception in Wen Tingshi! A gust of wind passed by, adding a deep chill to her. Remembering the poem Teacher Wen taught her, Huang Zhongze: "The whole family is in the westerly wind, and the clothes are not cut in September." I'm afraid it's not much better than Huang Zhongze! "The sea breeze blows the sky, what do you think of a gentleman?" She groaned in a low voice, and the Wen Ting style, which was somewhere in the sky, evoked a series of memories, and passed most of the night.