Chapter 82 Section 82

Around the emperor, there were eunuchs who specially inspected the Empress Dowager Cixi. Seeing the situation, they rushed to the Changchun Palace to play. The Empress Dowager Cixi was shocked and immediately ordered the Empress Dowager Ci'an to be invited. "The emperor is going to make a big mess!" The Empress Dowager Cixi explained the situation briefly, and analyzed the pros and cons for the Empress Dowager Ci'an, "Now, there is nothing to do! Since our ancestors, there has never been such a thing. If it were you and me, You can't help but feel chilled!" "It's too outrageous! It's really a joke to make people laugh. What should we do now?" The Empress Dowager Ci'an said anxiously, "It's hard to come to this situation, and teach him to ruin it all at once. .” As he spoke, he shed tears.

"Don't be sad either. It's a good thing you got the news early! Come!" The Empress Dowager Cixi sent the eunuch in charge of the Changchun Palace to prevent the emperor from summoning the first and second rank officials in Beijing, and at the same time sent an order to the Hongde Palace to summon the Minister of Military Affairs and the Minister of the Imperial Palace. The Hongde Hall is close to the Qianqing Palace. The emperor rushed to wait on him when he heard the eunuch's report. When the Empress Dowager Cixi saw it, she asked, "Have the six ministries withdrawn yet?"

In fact, it has not been withdrawn, but the emperor can't help but say: "Withdrawn!" The Empress Dowager Cixi nodded, turned to the important officials who were kneeling on the ground, and said, "In the past thirteen years, there would be no today without Prince Gong. The emperor is young and willful. The two of us sisters didn't know about the edict yesterday. Title, as usual. Wenxiang! " "The minister is here." "You write the decree to see!" "Yes!" Wen Xiang kowtowed and backed out. So King Gong kowtowed to thank him, and said: "I am really terrified! I dare not accept the emperor's reprimand. But 'the heart is so dangerous, I dare not say nothing'. Now I am negotiating with Japan, and Japan has a claim for military expenses. If the garden work does not stop, the Japanese envoys will think that I have ample reserves, and it is inevitable that the lion will open his mouth, and this negotiation will be difficult."

"Oh," the Empress Dowager Cixi asked, "Have the Japanese envoys arrived in Beijing yet?" "It arrived yesterday." "Which day are you going to start the meeting?" "The date has not been fixed yet." Prince Gong replied: "I plan to make a deal before the Queen Mother's longevity." "This means you have to keep it in your heart and let the other party know the truth, I'm afraid they will threaten you." "Yes! The empress dowager is sage. I and Wen Xiang will do my best. If the negotiation fails, I will apologize first."

"As long as you do your best, there is nothing wrong with it." The Empress Dowager Cixi also said: "Who is going to hand over the Sanhai project?" "The minister asks for an order to send the Minister of Survey and Evaluation first, and after verifying the survey, I ask for an order to handle it." "Oh!" Empress Dowager Cixi nodded, "It is better to save money. The emperor might as well issue another edict to clarify this level of meaning." So the emperor knelt down and answered, "Yes!" When he stood up, Wen Xiang had already entered the hall.The decree was drafted by Zhang Jing of the military aircraft. He held the emperor in both hands, the emperor read it, and turned to the Empress Dowager Cixi, and the Empress Dowager Ci'an said, "Read it for everyone!"

The emperor agreed and read: "Decree to the cabinet: I obey the decrees of Empress Dowager Ci'an Duanyu Kangqing and Empress Dowager Cixi Duanyou Kangyi: The emperor decreed yesterday that Prince Gong should be deposed as the prince's hereditary successor, and he would be reduced to the county king, and he would send Chengge to Baylor The title of the county king, when Prince Gong was summoned, his words were inappropriate, and he deserved it, but he thought that the prince had done a lot of work since he was in charge of the government. The title of King of Baylor County will be rewarded together. The prince should respect the meaning of the imperial court's admonition, and he will be more diligent and cautious in the future, and the economy is difficult, so he will be appointed as a deputy. This is it!"

"I kowtow to thank heaven." Prince Gong bowed his head obliquely upwards, expressing his gratitude to the empress dowagers and the emperor. "Three seas project, try to save as much as possible. You have heard the meaning of the two empress dowagers, and the military plane wrote an order to see." The emperor turned to the two empress dowagers again: "The two empress dowagers still have something to ask?" "It's just these two sentences." The Empress Dowager Cixi said: "The times are difficult, and we must always rely on one mind and try our best to maintain it. Don't hold any grudges."

"I don't dare to wait." Prince Gong said again, "I have absolutely no intention of doing so." Because of the discussion of the Three Seas Project, the emperor ordered the imperial ministers and Weng Tonghe to withdraw first, leaving only the Minister of Military Aircraft to accept the order.The Empress Dowager Ci'an, who has never spoken, thought that another decree should be issued, stating that the statement should be kept simple, and especially to refrain from superficiality. At the same time, she asked, did the "minister in charge" in the decree of the previous day refer to the minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs?

"The minister of the House of Internal Affairs, of course, should be in charge." Prince Gong replied, "But Fengchenyuan is also in charge of the minister, so it should be in charge." "Then, when you look at the Three Seas Project, who should be in charge of it?" The Empress Dowager Ci'an expressed her concerns bluntly, "Don't make a scene like building the Old Summer Palace and teach outsiders to gossip." This is an extremely important concern. The habit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is to make a fuss out of a molehill. If the name is changed from Yuanmingyuan to Sanhai, but in fact it still produces various projects and costs millions of silver, it will be a big loss to the officials. This is the original intention of striving, so King Gong suggested this way: "If we talk about the project, it is natural that the Ministry of Internal Affairs should sponsor it, and the Ministry of Industry will assist. However, in order to avoid fraud and verify the cost of work, it is advisable to send a minister Wang to be in charge of supervision. .”

"That's a good statement." The Empress Dowager Cixi said, "The fifth master's work is not much, let him take care of it in the future." "yes!" Having said that, there was silence. The Empress Dowager Cixi had a lot to ask, but this seemed to be exceeding her authority and intervening in politics, so it was inconvenient to say more.He only ordered Li Hongzao to tell Weng Tonghe that he should be very careful in his lectures, so as to benefit the saints, and then ended this exceptional summons. This day is the first day of the eighth month, the lunar new month, as usual, the emperor will serve the empress dowagers of the two palaces.The emperor made a fuss all day long, but in the end, nothing happened, and he felt discouraged when he thought about it, so he never smiled in Shufangzhai.The Empress Dowager Ci'an understood his intentions, so she asked him to sit beside her, and while listening to the opera, she persuaded him a lot.The emperor's depression and grievances were finally more than half melted under the warmth of his loving mother.

After returning to the bedroom after the show, Zai Cheng flashed out to say hello, and said with a smile: "The minister is canceling the leave. Greet the emperor." Seeing his face, the emperor felt resentment in his heart, and said with a sullen face, "Zaicheng, come with me." "yes!" When he arrived in the palace, the emperor lost his temper: "Kneel down! Let me ask you, what did you say about me in front of your Ama?" Zai Cheng dared to sell his leave to see the emperor, so he was prepared. He knelt down and said with a mournful face, "I am the emperor, and I have been beaten a lot." This made the emperor very surprised, and his voice softened. "What's the matter?" he asked. "Please take a look, Your Majesty!" Saying this, Zai Cheng pushed up his sleeve, exposing half of it, and stretched out one arm. "Get up, let me see!" At a glance, the emperor also felt sympathetic, there were bloodstains all over Zai's shoulders. "This was whipped by the minister's father with a leather whip. He had to force the minister to say, 'Don't tell me he was beaten to death'. The minister endured the pain and refused to say. The minister's father became very angry. Everyone said that the minister was not filial. The father who deserves to offend me is so arrogant. I have no choice but to say it. I deserve to die, and I deserve it." He knelt down again, "I ask the emperor to punish my crimes." After hearing this, the emperor was speechless for a while, then sighed and said, "Alas! Get up." The relationship between the emperor and Zaicheng is different. At this point, there is neither resentment nor hatred, and he is reluctant to leave him. Even the mission of "walking in front of the emperor" cannot be withdrawn. Zhenjiao has nothing to do.In Zaichen, he also knew that he had caused a catastrophe, and although he used a "bitter trick" to evade it, he did not express his apology, so he was extraordinarily obedient.Just these two times together, it's like brothers quarreling and regretting, crying in their arms, and the relationship has become closer. In the outer court, a thunderstorm had already passed, and the order to suspend the garden workers was like a refreshing drink in the hot summer. Even the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the construction companies related to the Ministry of Internal Affairs also felt a sense of relief. .The minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who encountered a setback felt bored, but in a blink of an eye, the Empress Dowager Cixi's 40th birthday must be gracious, and the punishment of dismissal will definitely be restored.As for repairing the three seas, no matter how hard you try to avoid floating and risking, and save everything, there is still oil and water to be fished.Thinking of this, he was still full of energy. The only one who can be said to be unlucky is probably Li Guangzhao alone.The emperor thought about and thought about the closure of the garden worker, and he was the one who was the most annoyed, so on August 12th, he specially issued another edict: "Quick and strict inquiry, and the conclusion will be made immediately, without further delay!" When the decree arrived at the Zhili governor's office, it was just when the interrogation was true and the case was about to be closed, so he stepped up the process and made a statement on the day after the Mid-Autumn Festival. Defrauding, causing foreign merchants to write into the contract, is enough to make people laugh and insult, and it is consistent with the article of "fraudulently claiming that the internal envoy is close to the minister". It is still a misdemeanor to quote the price of wood, and it should be in accordance with the "fraudulent edict" and According to the law of "fraudulently claiming to be an envoy to a close minister", two crimes are proposed, both of which are to be executed by the prisoner, and they are judged from the same division as usual; Li Guangzhao's one crime, in accordance with the law of "beheading the prisoner for falsely passing on edicts", is intended to behead the prisoner , executed after the autumn. Is it true that the criminal claimed that he had donated to the magistrate in the military camp before? It is still unknown. But the crime has been committed to death, so there should be no need to discuss it. He used his deceitful schemes to deceive foreign merchants into paying the price when he had no money, and falsely claimed that he had bought and kept it for decades; he had no money, but deceived foreign merchants to pay the price; There are so many, and they are still worried that they are not enough to be sensational, and they are called "acquisition by order" and "supervision of garden workers", because foreign businessmen actually call him "Li Qin envoy". It shows that pretentiousness is not one end. Return. After Tianjin, the evil deeds gradually came to light, and I asked the American consul to hide the price of the wood, and the French consul agreed to close the road and detain him. , only plotting treacherous schemes can be done, disregarding the state's decency, accusing him of deceiving the imperial court, inciting business people, and all kinds of crimes, which are really outraged by all. People's hearts!" After reading this memorial, the emperor thought in his heart that this year, the Empress Dowager Cixi will live for 40 years, so if she stops the execution, she will have to wait until next autumn to execute her. Let Li Guangzhao live for another year, but he still feels unwilling, so he approves the death penalty. "Following is the law." The case of repairing the Old Summer Palace ended with the death of Li Guangzhao.There are only two major events in front of us, one is negotiating with Japan.Japan's special envoy Okubo Toshimichi negotiated face-to-face with Prince Kung, Wen Hsiang and others at the Zongli Yamen on the fourth day of August.The purpose of Okubo Toshimichi is to "prove" that Taiwan's "students" are not under the jurisdiction of China. This was caused by Mao Changxi's words. Of course, Prince Gong and Wenxiang could not agree. They just debated repeatedly and dragged on. half a month. The second major event is the celebration of Empress Dowager Cixi's 40th birthday, and this major event is related to the first major event.Prince Gong and the others knew that the Empress Dowager Cixi couldn't help but feel hopeful when garden work was stopped. In order to make her birthday happy, the negotiations with Japan should be concluded as soon as possible. If you can see through the reality, you can use it as a tool for blackmail. In Okubo Toshimichi, they were also eager to settle the negotiations.Seeing that China has used the power of "lion fighting to avoid" in this important dispute, on the one hand, Shen Baozhen was sent to Taiwan to lead troops to overhaul the war preparations, and he did not hesitate to deal with force; on the other hand, Li Hongzhang had frequent contacts with the US and French envoys in Tianjin. , for diplomatic help.Originally it was a matter of my own grievances, but it was delayed for a long time, and it was hard to get off the tiger. I really fought, and I didn't have any certainty of victory. It's better to see the wind and make the sails and close the tent as soon as possible, so I can take advantage. Therefore, Okubo Toshimichi was tough on the surface, but secretly entrusted the British Minister Wade to mediate. At this time, Shen Baozhen wrote a memorial, saying that "although the number of Japanese preparations has increased, Japanese feelings have gradually become timid, and it is difficult for Bifei to retreat , and rumors are spreading everywhere, hoping that I will be intimidated by them, and I will give in to profit. If I enter the trap, I will take one step after another. To blame is enough of the Ming court's extravagant kindness, if you ask for it arbitrarily, I am willing to stick to my opinion and try my best to refuse it." Both Prince Gong and Wen Xiang felt that his words were reasonable, so when Wade told the Japanese side's conditions and demanded three million yuan in compensation for military expenses, Wen Xiang answered very simply: "I won't give any money!" Although the mediation broke down, Prince Gong secretly told the emperor that the negotiation would be successful.Hearing this, the emperor was happy to put this matter aside, toured the three seas, visited the Nanyuan, stayed in the parade, watched the exercises of the Shenji camp, watched the imperial court ministers and the guards of the Qianqing gate shoot, and did not return to the palace until the beginning of September.