Chapter 68 Section 68

At this time, there was only more than a month before the auspicious wedding date, and the capital city hadn't been this lively for 80 years since Emperor Gaozong's 80th birthday in the 55th year of Qianlong.Some are local bureaucrats like Peng Yulin who congratulate your majesty on the occasion of their marriage; Some are businessmen who want to seize the opportunity to make a good business; lively.Therefore, large and small inns, guild halls, temples, wherever you can board, there is no dissatisfaction. However, there are also those who have fled.Zhili was hit by floods the year before, and the disaster area was so extensive that it hadn't been seen in decades. The imperial court specially issued an order to encourage donations from all provinces. Hu Xueyan, a wealthy businessman from Hangzhou alone, donated 10,000 cotton coats.Li Hongzhang, the governor of Zhili, was doing relief work while asking for funds to start the renovation of the Yongding River. He had already reported that "the embankments on both sides of the river have been repaired and strengthened", and he was doing "protection cases" as usual to reward those who contributed.Unexpectedly, in late summer and early autumn, after several storms, the north bank of Yongding River collapsed, and Baoding and Tianjin's counties also flooded.Where there is no water, there are locusts again, but this can't be like last year, you can ask for relief, because once the incident breaks out, it is necessary to investigate the responsibility of killing the river, so we have to suppress it as much as possible.So suffering the victims, helpless, fleeing everywhere, some fled to the capital to beg for food.

However, the wheat in Qingyuan County grows particularly well. There are two spikes on one stalk of wheat.Li Hongzhang wanted to use it to counteract the flood of the Yongding River, so he picked up a sample of "Rui Mai" and specially folded it into the play. This annoyed a censor, Bian Baoquan, and taught Li Hongzhang a lot of trouble. Bian Baoquan belonged to the Han army and belonged to the inlaid red flag. He was the descendant of Bian Dasui who was the magistrate of Mizhi County in Shaanxi in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen and was famous for digging Li Zicheng's ancestral grave.In the second year of Tongzhi's Enke's Hanlin, Zhang Zhidong and Huang Tifang were both talkative and self-proclaimed people in the same year. Their dissatisfaction with Li Hongzhang had a long history.However, if Hanlin didn't fill in the "Daily Talking and Zhuguan", they couldn't directly play the speech. Bian Baoquan happened to make up for the supervisory censor of Zhejiang Province.

This memorandum was passed through several red Hanlins with great literary names, and the words were carefully considered. The words were not deep but the meaning was deep, so as soon as it was in the hands of the emperor, he was immediately attracted by it.At the beginning, "the theory of auspiciousness is not spoken in prosperous times, that is, the phrase 'a good year is auspicious', it also means that the year is smooth and the people are safe, so it is auspicious! I have never heard of frequent floods and droughts, and the people's livelihood is declining. Jiaxiang and Tanrui are the ones who respond!" The emperor blurted out his praise: "It's true!"

Looking at it further, it is not surprising to cite historical facts that one stalk of wheat has two divergences, or even seven or eight divergences. This happened in the second year of Zhenghe in the Northern Song Dynasty.The emperor thought to himself, Zhenghe is the reign title of Song Huizong, the king who subjugated the country. According to this, what kind of auspicious is it that Maixiu is at odds?So he unconsciously said: "How unreasonable!" Then he shouted: "Xiao Li, look up this year's 'Jin Gentleman', where is Bian Baoquan from?" Xiao Li checked and replied: "It's the Han army with red flags."

"Where did he live since he was a child?" The emperor pointed to the memorial and read: "The minister lives in the village, and every time he sees Mai Fei, he apologizes, and there are often double differences. 'Where is this' Shaoju in the village'?" Xiao Li was in a dilemma, but he was quick-witted. After thinking for a while, he replied, "It's not Shandong, it's Zhili. Anyway, it's definitely not Jiangnan." "how do you know?" "Wheat doesn't come out of Jiangnan." "That makes sense." The emperor expressed his satisfaction, and returned his gaze to the memorial.

Here is another citation of the scriptures, saying that Ma Duanlin’s "Benwen Tongkao" cited the auspiciousness of the past dynasties, collectively referred to as "objects and differences". Talking about the floods in Zhili, after asking the question of "the auspiciousness of double differences, why is it lacking?" Wicked officials and gentry, should be aware of the fact that they take the commonness of physics as the inadequacy, and deny their selfishness of catering. Once the "worry" is opened, the local officials will follow suit and do their best to whitewash, and there are unspeakable abuses! "Therefore, please ask for instructions, and all provinces should be vigilant, so as not to be exaggerated and absurd in real politics." "

In addition, a clip was attached, requesting that Yongding Hehelong's "protection case" be revoked.When the emperor saw it, he raised the ink pen without hesitation, and waited for approval. "Long live!" Xiao Li suddenly knelt down and said, "Slaves have something to say!" The emperor was surprised, put down his pen and said sternly: "What do you have to say? Don't worry about me approving memorials!" "How dare you slave!" Xiao Li took two steps on his knees, approached the emperor, and said in a low voice: "The former Empress Dowager Ci'an found the slave, and asked the slave to return to the Lord Long Live. How should the memorial be approved? It is best to talk to Cixi first." The queen mother will understand and do it again."

The emperor didn't speak, and his face gradually became gloomy.Xiao Li naturally understood his mood, and had already thought of a sentence that could comfort the emperor. "Long live Lord, bear with it, anyway, it will only take half a year at most." Half a year later, that is, the twelfth year of Tongzhi, the emperor will be able to rule in person.The two major events of big marriage and pro-government are like the "big and small entrance" of scholars in the emperor, and they are the proud moments of life.But for the Empress Dowager Cixi, it was really "come together if you are not interested"!

Empress Dowager Cixi was heartbroken for the emperor's choice of Arut as empress. If it was purely due to the emperor's intention, she could tolerate it. What made her most distressed was that the emperor actually followed the instructions of Empress Dowager Ci'an.Shiyue conceived her own son, and her heart turned to outsiders. From her point of view, this was rebellion!And there are hardships to speak, and it is even more angry, so I can only confide my grievances to the confidant maid: "I have been so strong all my life, but my son didn't fight for me!" To live up to expectations or not to live up to expectations is just a feeling in my heart, so it's fine to look at it a little bit.Putting aside the bead curtain, handing over the great government, and empty-handed "power" is what worries the Empress Dowager Cixi the most.Whenever she thought of the emperor's personal governance, she would think of Xiao Anzi being killed, the emperor was unfilial, and he would openly oppose her like this before he was in the personal administration.

"One dynasty, one courtier", Jiaqing killed Heshen by himself; Throw everything away, don't know but that's all.Now that I am still here, if the emperor is desperate, for example, to use Wu Tang to "operate", how can I save my face?At that time, the emperor only listened to the words of the "East", and did not do what he wanted, and was angry all day long. How could he survive this day? For this reason, from spring to summer, Empress Dowager Cixi often suffers from anger and cannot look at the court.It got better after autumn, but recently I felt mentally tired and worried about everything, so I simply shirked and let the emperor do it himself.

However, the Empress Dowager Cixi is really suspicious. The Empress Dowager Ci'an has always been worried about killing An Dehai and setting up the empress.The emperor also often felt guilty and apologetic, so when he heard Xiao Li's advice from the Empress Dowager Ci'an, although he didn't take it seriously, he had no intention of disobeying it, so he immediately took the memorial and went to Changchun Palace to ask for instructions. "If you speak the words of the official, you must listen to the truth, and the governor can't help but give face." The Empress Dowager Cixi complained a little, "You always have to think about it, how did we get to where we are today? We escaped to Rehe. Once Zeng Guofan died, talents should be cherished even more. Nowadays, Wenxiang and Shen Guifen are responsible for foreign affairs, and Li Hongzhang is on the outside. Some things are inconvenient for the General Administration to say. Not good looking!" "Yes." The emperor replied: "Son, discuss it with Uncle Liu first." "By the way! Notes like these are best discussed." So I handed in Bian Baoquan's paper on the same day, and the next day when serving the Empress Dowager Ci'an summoned the military aircraft, the first thing I did was to talk about this paper. "Of course the insurance case must be revoked." Prince Gong said, "As for not saying auspiciousness, the next step is to make it clear and order the provinces." "What do you say about the Yongding River breach?" the emperor asked, "Why didn't Li Hongzhang report it?" Prince Gong thought to himself that relief would be provided as soon as the performance was played, and the Ministry of Households would be in a dilemma. The cost of the wedding was huge, and it would be too much for the Ministry to distribute funds for relief.So if you don't play, you're pretending to be confused.It's just that it's inconvenient to report this truthfully, so I had to answer like this: "Then Li Hongzhang should check the report." "This is the right thing to do. Let him act as soon as possible." The next thing is to talk about a dispute between the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Household Affairs. From the day when preparations for the wedding ceremony began, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has become a greedy place that cannot be filled. One hundred thousand taels of silver.The ministers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Chonglun, Mingshan, and Chunyou who were in charge were all directly and indirectly able to speak in front of the Empress Dowager Cixi. Prince Gong and Bao Yun had to find ways to perfunctory, and they managed to get out 600,000 taels by patchwork. The replay said that this number could be dialed out in July and August.I have always asked the Ministry of Households for money, even for military expenses, and there is room for bargaining. On the one hand, I say how much I want, and on the other hand, I say how much I can give, what is not enough, and how to get it. The House of Internal Affairs naturally knew about this vague practice.Unexpectedly, in July, the Ministry of Households notified that there were 600,000 taels of silver to be transferred. When the Ministry of Internal Affairs was requested to collect it, the secretary in charge of the bank added a sentence at the end of the "print collar": "800,000 taels owed. Bao Yun was very displeased when the official business was sent to the Ministry of Household Affairs. Accepting this "seal" was tantamount to admitting that the Ministry of Household Affairs still owed the Ministry of Internal Affairs 800,000 taels of silver. This is not a child's play.Fortunately, Gui Qing, the Minister of the Household Department who also walks in the Hongde Palace and teaches Manchurian, has been recruited as the Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Bao Jun entrusts him to expose this case from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. So Guiqing wrote a memorial, blaming the secretary for adding the words "due to transfer silver taels" without the consent of the court officials when handling the manuscripts of the counseling and household department. Although the manuscript was drafted by the secretary, it must be judged by the court official when it is sent out, which is called "standard painting". Guiqing has another attached piece, which is dedicated to this matter.There are a total of six ministers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Chong Lun "wears the seal key" and naturally ranks first, followed by Ming Shan, Chun You, Kui Ling, Cheng Ming, and Gui Qing.On the day of the drawing, Ming Shan did not enter the party. Chunyou and Kui Ling said that although they had drawn the drawing, they could not find out for a while. The words, "It was my idea". "What does he mean by this idea?" said the emperor sternly, "hasn't he hugged enough?" It was inconvenient for Prince Gong to say this, so he paused for a moment and said, "I want them to understand what I mean, and then ask for an order, or discuss it, or reprimand it." "Hmph!" the emperor sneered, "These talents don't care about reprimands, and the discussion is even more of a trick to deceive people. If there is a demerit, there will be merit. If the merit and demerit are more than offset, they still have to be promoted." The emperor's words were sharp, and Prince Gong felt very embarrassed. The matter must be settled, and it is not a big deal to just listen to the emperor's complaints.So he said Weiwei in his mouth, but looked at the Empress Dowager Ci'an, hoping she would say something. Even if King Gong didn't have this begging wink, Empress Dowager Ci'an would say: "For these things, people must always have a chance to appeal." This is what Empress Dowager Ci'an taught the emperor, and then made a verdict: "Just Let Chong Lun and the others understand the echo!" "Yes!" King Gong agreed and asked for instructions: "The secretary in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is really bold and self-reliant. Please submit the order to the Ministry of Officials first." This is of course allowed.When she retired from the imperial court, the Empress Dowager Ci'an specially found the emperor and told him that he should not act too hastily when listening to the government.Years of accumulated abuses cannot be rectified all at once.For things like today, it is enough to give the Minister of Internal Affairs a nail and make them vigilant.He also said that the superior should be considerate of the difficulties of his subordinates. Although Gui Qing accepted the discount, he actually didn't want Chonglun's face to be too ugly. It's hard.Therefore, for the sake of Gui Qing, it is not appropriate to deal with it too strictly. The emperor thought to himself, those people in the House of Internal Affairs were exhausted. At the end of May, because of the censor's participation in the performance, Mingshan's son, Zhong Wenxi, the Tang Lang of the House of Internal Affairs, was removed from all errands. Such a severe reprimand was not enough to warn the rest , if things are lenient, this generation of villains will become more unscrupulous.In any case, it should be strict rather than lenient! Therefore, he didn't feel that every word of Empress Dowager Ci'an was audible.But since you have knowledge, have you never disobeyed her meaning? So he didn't take it seriously in his heart, but he still agreed docilely in his mouth.But I can't help feeling a little bit in my heart, it is really difficult to be an emperor, I can't act according to the words in the book, all kinds of constraints, I have to wrong myself, these difficulties are beyond the understanding of outsiders. "And your mother," said the Empress Dowager Ci'an again, "it's really not easy after so many years of hard work! You have to coax her more." Hearing this, the emperor felt infinitely wronged again.After killing Xiao Anzi, there were gossips about the emperor not being filial to his biological mother. These words were passed around and finally reached his ears, and he lost his temper with Xiao Li for this.After this year's election, Fengxiu's daughter could not be in the middle palace, and these rumors became more and more popular. There was even Wang Weizhen, the deputy envoy of the General Administration, who actually made a statement, saying, "First will and will, and several remonstrances will not violate; , based on the courts", the unexpected meaning, as if the emperor is really unfilial.At that time, he wanted to punish him because the Empress Dowager Ci'an was lenient, and she only asked the Ministry for strict discussion, but Wang Weizhen's official still couldn't forgive her hatred.Now hearing the words of the Empress Dowager Ci'an, she immediately replied: "As long as it can make the two empress mothers happy, my son will do whatever he wants. However, I really don't know how to make my mother happy? " Empress Dowager Ci'an was silent.If you don't mention it, you don't feel it. When you mention it, think about it, the emperor is really embarrassed.The Empress Dowager Cixi will be happy unless she obeys everything regardless of whether it is right or not.Helpless, this is impossible. If she wants to take power, should she hang the curtain for the rest of her life and prevent the emperor from governing? So she had no choice but to answer like this: "Son coaxing mother, just go and see more, talk with him, have fun or something. If you go to Changchun Palace more often, your mother will naturally be happy!" Mentioning this level, the emperor couldn't help feeling ashamed.He himself knows that since he was a child, he has always been with the Empress Dowager Ci'an more than he has been with the Empress Dowager Cixi. Although he has his reasons, this reason cannot be explained clearly to others, and he is unwilling to say: The Empress Dowager Cixi has always been there. Look down on my son!In front of her, she was either scolded or taught a lesson, making people afraid to get close. This reason can be said to the Empress Dowager Ci'an, but this is not the time to judge whether she is wrong or not.Now we are talking about filial piety, and obedience is filial piety. Since the Empress Dowager Ci'an said so, let's do it accordingly. So he stood up and said, "I'm going to Changchun Palace now." "That's right!" Empress Dowager Ci'an happily said, "You go first, and I will go to see your mother later." As soon as he had invited Ann to the Changchun Palace, the emperor told the Empress Dowager Cixi all about the summoning of the military aircraft that day.Halfway through the talk, Empress Dowager Ci'an also came.It just so happened that the Ministry of Internal Affairs sent a wedding gift from the Guangdong Customs to supervise Chongli's tribute, so the empress dowagers of the two palaces carefully admired the wonderful curios, which were mostly from the West, and then resumed the topic, suddenly talking about the past in Rehe. "At that time, I didn't expect to be able to have today!" Empress Dowager Cixi touched the wrinkles on her forehead and said with emotion, "In a blink of an eye, next year will be the next year again!" "How many great things have happened in the past eleven years!" Empress Dowager Ci'an was more pleased than sighed, "Now I can take a breath!" The person who said it was just expressing his feelings directly, but the person who listened seemed to feel that there was something beyond the strings. Empress Dowager Cixi thought that Empress Dowager Ci'an was persuading her to give up everything and take care of herself.Thinking of the Palace of Compassion and Ning, she felt disgusted. It was the place where the empress dowagers of all dynasties lived for the elderly. There was a bottle and a few, and they would never move.People are not old, they will be old once they live in that place! What she saw suddenly in her eyes was such a decayed and sluggish scene, and she seemed to smell stale and foul breath in her nose. Empress Dowager Cixi couldn't help shaking her head.In the eyes of the Empress Dowager Ci'an and the emperor, this is naturally not the case with the words "take a breath". So what to say?The emperor didn't dare to say it, but the Empress Dowager Ci'an had to say, "You should be more open!" Her words were very straightforward, "After so many years of worrying, don't you feel bitter? People who worry about it are the easiest to grow old!" It was the last sentence that made the Empress Dowager Cixi feel unpleasant. Do you really look old?At that time, I wished I could take a mirror to take a picture. "Take advantage of these few years, before you reach your seventies and eighties, your teeth haven't fallen out, you can still walk, you can eat more, you can go shopping more, let's enjoy a few years of happiness!" In these few words, the meaning of Yin Yin's persuasion is obvious.The Empress Dowager Cixi couldn't help laughing, "We will be just like those old ladies in the future!" She said, "Drinking a short cigarette pouch all day long, wearing reading glasses and wiping cards, from morning till night, dangling on the kang Just the whole day." "There's nothing wrong with that." Empress Dowager Ci'an said, "I'd rather live that kind of leisurely and peaceful life." "You have to be in peace!" The Empress Dowager Cixi looked at the emperor after saying this, "I will count on you from now on! Ama said that you are born with good fortune, so you must be a prince of peace." These two sentences seemed to be expected, but also seemed to be ridiculed. Anyway, the emperor felt that it was not in the taste, so he quickly knelt down and replied: "No matter what, the son must ask the two queen mothers to teach and teach every moment!" "I can't help my mother! You say that, I listen to you, let's see yourself in the future!" "You!" The Empress Dowager Ci'an tried her best to win them over for their mother and son, so following the words of the Empress Dowager Cixi, she warned the emperor: "Always remember that this situation is thanks to your mother! Many grievances and sufferings, I am afraid You may not know." "Yes." The emperor replied respectfully, "Son dare not forget." "It's true that the emperor might not know about it." The Empress Dowager Cixi said to the Empress Dowager Ci'an, "Of course all ministers, big and small, don't know! Now that the emperor has grown up and established a queen to take charge of the government, we sisters are finally worthy of the late emperor and the world. Later generations also have an explanation. I think, I have to find a day to summon the six chief ministers and Han Zhan Kedao, and tell everyone about the painstaking grievances of the first emperor from Bintian to the present. Sister, what do you think?" "OK!" "However," Empress Dowager Cixi suddenly had another desire, "The Hall of Mental Cultivation is not big enough." "Then find another place." Empress Dowager Ci'an replied without hesitation. So, within a few days, before convening the "Qu Banquet" with King Dun and other close relatives, the Empress Dowager Cixi said this, and everyone said that it should be done this way. "Where should I be summoned? The Hall of Mental Cultivation is not big enough..." As soon as he said this, Prince Gong stood up abruptly, and replied loudly: "Zha!" After interrupting Empress Dowager Cixi, he continued, "The Palace of Compassion and Peace is where the Empress Dowager belongs." This is because King Gong is extremely vigilant, he has seen through the intention of Empress Dowager Cixi, and he wants to summon the ministers to the Imperial Palace.The Qianqing Palace is the main office of the inner court, and there is no reason why the empress or the empress dowager is in the imperial court. Although the two empress dowagers used the Tianjin religious case to convene an imperial meeting in the Dongnuang Pavilion inscribed with the "Greenhouse" of the Qianqing Palace, but it is not correct, it is another matter .It would be a great violation of the ancestral system if the main hall where the ancestors inscribed the plaque "righteousness and lightness" could be visited by the empress dowager.Listening to the government behind the curtain is a last resort. At that time, it caused a great disturbance. Now that the emperor is about to take charge of the government, if the empress dowager still has this act of arrogating the etiquette and violating the constitution, it is still a trivial matter that arouses remonstrance and ridicule from the government and the public. In case the emperor From then on, the Empress Dowager's power began to expand, interfering in government affairs with Yizhi, and she was not careful!In the future, from the beginning of the original theory, the responsibility will be returned. He himself ruled the country as a relative, and he could not be dissuaded in a timely manner. He became a sinner for all ages in the Qing Dynasty. Just block it head-on. Sure enough, Empress Dowager Cixi really thought that way.After Prince Gong said this, he kept his mouth shut, unable to bring up the words of the Zhengda Guangming Hall of Lin Yuqianqing Palace, and immediately lost interest and didn't want to speak.