Chapter 92 The History of the Palace Outside the Qing Dynasty (5-1)

Zeng Jize arrived in Petersburg, the capital of Russia, on June 24. He sent three telegrams in succession. The third was to report the meeting with the Russian "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" Gerth.Gerth said that "the treaty is revised, foreign countries still have it, and the crime has never been seen before." The attitude is "cold talk".Therefore, Zeng Jize asked for "the forgiveness of Chonghou's crimes is the first step to recover", saying that "even though he is clean, he dare not resign." This sentence refers to Li Hongzao and that group of Qingliu.Under the instigation of the impetuous Zhang Zhidong, the main battle group played a variety of tricks.Bao Ting had just written an account saying, "Foreign aggression is imminent. Please call Zuo Zongtang, an important military officer, into the court to plan a strategy to relieve the crisis." This made Prince Gong quite headache. With the courage of "doing clean discussions but not daring to resign", Prince Gong refused to beg for favors on behalf of Chonghou rashly, and only used Zeng Jize's telegram to get the order.

Empress Dowager Ci'an can't be the master either.So King Gong suggested that the queen mothers of the two palaces should be "given and summoned together".In fact, there was only one way. Empress Dowager Ci'an went to Changchun Palace to discuss with Empress Dowager Cixi. "It's nothing else, I'm afraid that you will be tired and angry." Empress Dowager Ci'an said, "You can do it yourself. If you can support it, it's good to meet everyone." "It doesn't matter!" Empress Dowager Cixi replied without hesitation: "The medicine I took these two days seems to be quite right. Why can't I be able to support it for a while?"

This is the second time in half a year that the Empress Dowager Cixi has met with the Minister of Military Aircraft, and it has been two months since the last visit to the court.Looking at the royal face, she was surprisingly thin, but she was wearing a satin jacket in the weather in early July. The maid supported her on the throne, panting, and it took a long time to answer the greetings of the officials. "The doctors recommended by Li Hongzhang and Zeng Guoquan are all good." She said in a very weak voice, "You are still very weak, but you are much more comfortable."

"In the troubled times of the country, it is up to the two empress dowagers to resolve major doubts and make major plans, so that the ministers can follow them." Prince Gong said piously: "Relying on the blessing of the ancestors' spirits in heaven, and a speedy recovery are the blessings of the clan's subjects. " "You are in a hurry, and I am also in a hurry! But it is not a disease that can be cured by one or two doses of medicine. You should act as if I meet you every day. Only with solid strength and solidarity can the overall situation be overcome."

The voice is extremely soft, but the weight in the words is very heavy, especially the sentence "When I meet you every day", it seems to accuse, seeing that the Empress Dowager Ci'an is honest and easy to talk, there is something deceitful.However, there is no way to justify this, and the only answer is this: "This is the case with state affairs. The ministers never dare to take the slightest time to sneak away and perfunctory their responsibilities. "It was supposed to be like this." Empress Dowager Cixi then mentioned Zeng Jize's request: "Chonghou's conviction was originally said to be discussed after Zeng Jize arrived in Russia. Since Russia received our envoys, and said that the treaty can be changed, That's it, it doesn't matter whether Chonghou is killed or not. If Chonghou is not killed, let him out, can he still escape to a foreign country? Just let him out!"

Hearing these words, Prince Gong felt relieved, but it was inappropriate to say anything more, he just answered yes calmly. "I don't want to fight either, but I have to make peace. Letting Chonghou go is a trivial matter. Once Chonghou is let go, everyone thinks that the court can be wronged no matter what. They are determined not to fight, so they put down all defenses." It’s a waste of time to work for a long time, and if you have something to do, you are still bullied by others, that’s a big deal.” "Naturally, the defense should be stepped up." Prince Gong replied: "The envoys of various countries and the news papers have said that the Russian warship plans to seal off our Liaohai Sea in August and September. In addition to Zeng Guoquan who has been ordered to supervise the coastal defense matters in the Shanhaiguan area, the ministers and others Public discussion, I want to send Bao Chao to lead the 10,000 brave men recruited in the two lakes to go north by boat recently, and choose to station between Shanhaiguan and the capital. One is to prepare the border, and the other is to protect the capital. Is it like this OK? Let the two empress dowagers make up their minds today."

"Bao Chao is a brave general. He and Zeng Guoquan naturally get along well, but I'm afraid that he and Li Hongzhang will not be at peace with each other." "At this level, don't worry about it. They are old brothers who were born and died, not to mention the state affairs, so they won't be angry." "That's good!" The Empress Dowager Cixi said again: "Bao Chao must be paid enough." "Yes." Prince Gong replied, "The newly recruited army will be allocated by the Hubei Ministry under the frontier defense funds allocated by the Ministry before it is deployed. After arriving in defense, the Ministry of Households will raise another salary for him."

"Where is Zuo Zongtang?" Empress Dowager Cixi asked about Bao Ting's memorial. Who will replace him? Have you thought about all this? " Prince Gong naturally thought about it and talked with everyone.The faction in the main battle strongly agreed with this proposal, thinking that Zuo Zongtang's participation in the grand plan would be enough to increase his momentum.But the Zhuhe faction also agreed with one voice, saying that Bao Ting's ideas are very high, so there is another article. Zuo Zongtang was in the northwest, although it was not "the general will not accept the orders of the emperor outside the country", but he dispatched troops to send generals, making the situation tense.Now that they are transferred to Beijing, they are obviously respected, but in fact, it is easy to control the tactics of peace and war.As for Zuo Zongtang's arrival in Beijing, what kind of mission will he send, and who will take over military affairs in the Northwest?Of course there are arrangements.

"Returning to the Empress Dowager, Zuo Zongtang was originally a scholar of Dongge University. When he comes to Beijing, will he be sent to travel on a military plane? Please ask for another order. As for military affairs in Xinjiang, it is appropriate to be recommended by Zuo Zongtang." "Swallow." The Empress Dowager Cixi nodded, feeling a little overwhelmed, and immediately asked: "Is there anything else to talk about?" "Zhang Zhidong has an excerpt on coastal defense, which involves a lot of things." At this point, King Gong deliberately stopped, and he wanted to see what Empress Dowager Cixi said before making sense.

"Then you can talk about it!" Empress Dowager Cixi said: "Zhang Zhidong is a person who is willing to put his heart into it and contribute to the imperial court." Just this one sentence is equivalent to a verdict has been made, and everything that has been played should be adopted as much as possible.Therefore, King Gong agreed and said: "The ministers will wait for the holy will, discuss with the original discount one by one, and listen to the decree. Please go back to the palace first!" So Empress Dowager Cixi left her seat and went back to Changchun Palace.Then a yellow box was brought in, in which were two cases adjudicated by her, written for review.

The first is to issue an edict: "Decree to the Cabinet: There was a decree that Chong Hou will be temporarily exempted from the crime of beheading and awaiting imprisonment, and he will still be imprisoned. The decree Zeng Jize will discuss the treaty and handle it carefully. According to the prime minister's national affairs office, Zeng Jize's telegram has been received, and everything is now in business. I would like to play Shien and other words on behalf of him. Chonghou wrote Jiaen and released it immediately. "After seeing it, Empress Dowager Cixi frowned. This edict is vague and general, and the meaning is not clear. What is the relationship between "doing everything in business" and "representing Shi En". What kind of grace is "Shi En" meant to do? I don't understand, I wanted to use a Chinese ink pen to correct it, but my spirit is weak, <<I have no choice but to forget it, put it down and watch the second track>> The second way is Ting Ji: "Zuo Zongtang has now arrived in Hami, and the military affairs outside the customs have been carefully arranged. Now the current situation is urgent, and the Russians intend to start a quarrel. Ministers who are experienced in military affairs are needed to prepare for the imperial court. Zuo Zongtang wrote that he will come to Beijing to see you. On the one hand, carefully select talented personnel who are capable of supervising all affairs outside the customs, and make a clear request for them to be replaced by capital. In addition, among the members of the army, those who are talented and difficult, loyal and courageous, and take care of their urgency, should be listed together. Listed as sponsors, used as backup envoys. Know this from the Wubaili decree. " There was nothing to change in this court post, so it was sent out immediately.So Li Lianying played face-to-face: "It's time to ask for a pulse." "There is no need for five people to come up together." The Empress Dowager Cixi said suddenly: "Just pass on Xue Fuchen and Wang Shou. I will ask them carefully." Xue and Wang had already gained trust, and at the same time received good treatment. The Empress Dowager Cixi specially gave them a low stool to sit and talk in front of the imperial court. The Empress Dowager Cixi deliberately avoided the imperial physician and only called Xue and Wang, because she wanted to talk to them.One is to break boredom, and the other is to collect customs and customs, want to understand the sufferings of the people, and even more want to understand the virtuous and foolish officials. In this respect, Wang Shouzheng was far more talented than Xue Fuchen, and he responded rightly, which was very satisfying.When asked about officials in Shanxi, he always extols good and hides evil, and he attributes it to praising sages, which is very pleasant. "How is Yan Jingming doing in Shanxi?" Empress Dowager Cixi asked, "He handles relief in Shanxi, and he handles a lot of money. Isn't he very clean?" "Yes," Wang Shouzheng replied, "Yan Jingming supervised the relief work in Shanxi, and the people compared him to Bao Longtu. Zeng Guoquan often praised him in front of his ministers, saying that a minister should always be as honest and hardworking as Yan Jingming, and do things honestly. Fang lived up to the imperial court’s knowledge. Yan Jingming also often told his ministers that the Qin and Jin Dynasties were severe droughts. , May I ask how to answer the empress dowager's kindness?" "Is this really the case?" asked the Empress Dowager Cixi, "Some people say that he was in Shanxi, taking advantage of the low land price in a famine year, bought a lot of fertile land, and moved to Shanxi specially for the sake of his family. Where did this come from?" "Yan Jingming is extremely serious about running relief in Shanxi. If he really returns to the public trickle, he will inevitably offend people and spread rumors to ruin him. As for moving to Shanxi, it is because his original hometown is Chaoyi, which is close to the Yellow River. The terrain is too low, and there are frequent floods. , so it’s too early to move to Yuncheng, Xiezhou.” "Alas!" Empress Dowager Cixi said with emotion, "It can be seen that it is not easy to be an upright official. The court naturally wants to preserve upright officials, for fear that they will not hear the truth. Whatever you see and hear, you must always tell the truth with conscience. .” "Yes!" Xue and Wang answered at the same time. "Is Yan Jingming's temperament very straightforward?" "Yes. He is loyal and upright." Talking like this, Empress Dowager Cixi slowly recalled her memory, first of all, she remembered Yan Jingming's appearance, short and small, and her eyes were one high and one low.But the Empress Dowager Cixi still remembered that when Hu Linyibao was in charge of the East Expedition to Liangtai, there was a testimonial in the memorial: "Yan Jingming is not good-looking, but his heart is good." She couldn't help but feel emotional again. "A real person can't be judged by his appearance! A person like Yan Jingming can actually do great things." The Empress Dowager Cixi remembered another incident, "It is said that when he was in Hubei, he argued with the governor and wanted to kill the governor's personal servant. Wang Shouzheng , do you know about this?" "The minister has heard of it." The governor is talking about the official document, and the so-called "personal servant" is the official document's child molester, named Zhang Yu.The official favored him out of the ordinary and ordered him to lead the guards of the supervisory department. Every time a military merit protection case was secured, a name was added for him, all the way to the second-rank lieutenant general. Zhang Yu served the governor's bed at night, and led the guards during the day, rampaging and behaving mischievously. Yan Jingming, who was the governor of Hubei, had long since looked down on him.As usual, the feudal commander must add the title of the general office of the governor's office or the battalion office of the Fubu, in order to control the generals, but Zhang Yu thinks that he is a second-rank general, and relies on the power of official documents, so he doesn't pay attention to the feudal commander at all. This hurt Yan Jingming's prestige even more, and he wanted to find an opportunity to deal with him. One day the opportunity will come.Zhang Yu led several soldiers, broke into the house, raped and killed a daughter of the family. The father and brother of this family, of course, went to the city to report the case, complaining and redressing their grievances. Both Jiangxia County and Wuchang Mansion felt that it was difficult and delayed the case.Not long after Yan Jingming learned of the incident, he was furious, and immediately sent the sedan chair "upper court" to ask the governor for the murderer. Of course Zhang Yu also knew that he had caused a catastrophe, and Yan Jingming would definitely not let him go, so he had long since presented himself in front of the official document and asked for asylum.Therefore, when Yan Jingming asked to see him, the official Wenpai Geshiha replied: "Zhongtang is ill and cannot see the guests. Please go back to the yamen first, Mr. Yan, and come here to ask for your invitation when Zhongtang recovers." "I have an urgent business, so I have to see Zhongtang. If I'm sick and need shelter from the wind, I'll meet you in the upper room, and it's the same." Geshha had no choice but to go to the upper room to report the truth, but he still disappeared, and he still used his illness as an excuse. Yan Jingming had a deep understanding of the matter, he was prepared for such a move, and had already thought of a countermeasure, so he said nonchalantly: "Since this is the case, Zhongtang's illness will recover when it recovers. Naturally, I will tell you when it recovers. I am right here Stand by." At this point, he turned his face and told his servants: "Bring me my bedding! The Governor's Office is the official office of my vassal, and I have some business to send here to see." So the attendant really took the bedding and made it on the kang bed in the Si Daoguan hall for Yan Jingming to rest in peace.At first, I thought that he was angry for a while, but tomorrow he felt inappropriate and would go away quietly, so the official document was ignored.That's not the case at all, Yan Jingming lived there for three days.He is frugal in nature and can live very hard, so living there does not seem to be inconvenient at all. This caused a sensation in the official circles in Hubei, and it was regarded as an unprecedented miracle, so they had to use an excuse to see what happened. The Governor's Yamen really became the administrative office of the feudal secretary.The official document was very embarrassing, so he first asked the secretary and the aides of the yamen to persuade him, but Yan Jingming refused.In the end, the governor and the prefect of Wuchang Prefecture had to be invited. The governor of Hubei is called Yan Shusen, and the prefect of Wuchang is called Li Zongshou. The official document invited these two people, mainly because they are also from Shaanxi, and they hope to impress with their nostalgia.When Yan and Li were ordered to mediate, Guan Wen hid behind the screen and listened. He only heard the mediator, such as Bai Duan, and the mediator insisted. , his face was very ugly.It seemed that the mediator was about to turn against Yan Jingming. "My lord!" Yan Jingming always said this: "I will never go back to the Yamen if I don't kill Zhang Yu." "It's too difficult!" Yan Shusen seemed to stand up in a huff. Seeing this scene, Guan Wen stepped out from behind the screen, "Dan Chu!" He said, "Give me some face!" Then, he knelt straight in front of Yan Jingming with his knees on the ground. He took a step back, turned around and raised his face, pretending not to see it, this time, Yan Shusen had something to say, "Dan Chu," he said in a reproachful tone, "You are too much! Zhongtang is so self-sufficient, can't you just forgive me? " So Yan Jingming had no choice but to support Guanwen, and said at the same time: "Zhongtang has two things for me, so I won't kill Zhang Yu." "Yi, Yi!" The official document said repeatedly, "As long as Zhang Yu is not killed, everything will be easy." "First, Zhang Yu repels immediately." "Okay. I'll write a note right away." "Second, Zhang Yu will be deported immediately and not allowed to stay for a while." When it comes to this condition, the official face has a look of embarrassment, it is only for the love of the remaining peach, it is difficult to let go, but that is only a momentary matter.Thinking of Yan Jingming's sternness, entrenched in the supervisor's office, not going out for three days, and his helpless and embarrassing situation, he suddenly felt palpitations, and replied without time to think: "Duyi, Duyi. Come on!" At that time, there were officials and guards standing in awe-inspiring manner in the hall, and the governors and governors were sitting side by side, with a submissive expression, while Yan Jingming, who was as small as a dwarf, talked eloquently and had a strong heart.Everyone was dumbfounded and stunned by this strange scene, so they were momentarily at a loss for the shouts of the official document.After resting for a while, he replied like a thunderstorm: "Cha!" "Where is Deputy General Zhang?" "Deputy General" Zhang came out frightenedly from behind the screen. His face was blue, red, and white, and he stood there coyly, as if he didn't even know where to put his hands. "Kowtow to Lord Yan!" the official ordered, "Thank you Lord Yan for not killing me!" "Yes!" Zhang Yu knelt in front of Yan Jingming: "Master Yan..." He only called out once, but Yan Jingming turned his face and shouted loudly: "Come on!" "Cha!" It was the official of the feudal government's yamen who responded. "Take this man surnamed Zhang and beat him to forty! Send him immediately." Zhang Yu's expression changed drastically, and he only looked at the official document.Guan Wen didn't dare to plead any more, turned his face slightly, avoiding Zhang Yu's sight, then got up and retreated into the upper room. So he was responsible for the forty boards in the hall, and passed the news to the county magistrate of Jiangxia, who immediately sent a messenger to escort Zhang Yu out of the country.After the processing was completed, Yan Jingming asked to see the official document, and bowed to plead guilty. "Forget it, forget it!" Guan Wen simply put it calmly, "It's no wonder you." He said so verbally, but he had other plans in his heart.The officials are very obedient, there was Hu Linyi in the front, and Yan Jingming who was promoted by Hu Linyi later, not only helped him to become a marquis and worship minister, but also relied on them to enjoy wealth and status, so although he felt that Yan Jingming was awesome at this time, he didn't have the slightest thought of revenge. On the contrary, he was secretly protected as "talent worthy of great use" and replaced Tan Tingxiang, who was transferred internally, as the acting governor of Shandong. After listening to Wang Shouzheng's story, Empress Dowager Cixi was very interested in Yan Jingming.For many days, she had the feeling that Prince Gong became more and more fearful and weak, and the heroic spirit and vigor of the past seemed to have disappeared, and he was blindly mellow, similar to his hometown wish.The responsible ministers in the court are either accommodating to reality like Shen Guifen and striving for stability, or they are almost pedantic like Li Hongzao and are too unrealistic.Now it is necessary for a shrewd, capable, down-to-earth and upright person like Yan Jingming to change the atmosphere.But Yan Jingming kept claiming to be sick, and he didn't know if it was true or not?I don't have the energy to revive Gangji yet, so let's put it aside for now. A few days later, doctors recommended by various provinces came to Beijing one after another. The most famous one was a scholar from Changzhou, Jiangsu; his name was Ma Wenzhi, and his nickname was Peizhi.His grandfather was a famous doctor, and Ma Wenzhi's family has a long history and a great reputation.However, his luck was not as good as that of Xue Fuchen and Wang Shouzheng, because the Empress Dowager Cixi's condition improved greatly after Xue and Wang's diagnosis and treatment, so it was not easy for him to show his ability. Empress Dowager Cixi originally had blood-stained phlegm, so this sweet and nourishing treatment, together with Xue and Wang's warming and tonic, complemented each other, and her condition improved greatly. Empress Dowager Cixi also happily planned to have a good time mid-autumn festival.