Chapter 147 Mother and Son Monarch and Minister (1-1)

After getting off the train at Tianjin Laolongtou Railway Station, Yuan Shikai did not go back to the "New Army" camp at the small station, but rode his horse straight to the Yamen of the Beiyang Minister at King Kong Bridge, asking to see Rong Lu. Rong Lu was a close confidant of Empress Dowager Cixi, and there was an indisputable and suspicious legend.About 20 years ago, the Empress Dowager Cixi was seriously ill. The imperial physician consulted with her and was at a loss what to do, so she ordered all provinces to recommend famous doctors.Governor Li Hongzhang of Zhili recommended Xue Fuchen, the former Taiwu Lindao Wuxi native of Shandong, and Zeng Guoquan, the governor of Shanxi, recommended Wang Shouzheng, the current magistrate of Yangqu County, Shanxi, from Hangzhou. There is improvement.A special decree: "Xue Fuchen was promoted to the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, and Wang Shouzheng was promoted to the prefect of Tianjin." This favor is not only for remuneration, but also for the convenience of diagnosis and treatment.

According to the traditional rules, when the emperor and the empress violated the peace, all prescriptions for pulse cases were handed over to the "internal affairs office" every day for the ministers to read.Those who are well versed in medicine always feel that the pulse case is extremely clever, but the prescription is not necessarily excellent, and sometimes the medicine is not right for the symptom.After a long time, I realized that the Empress Dowager Cixi was suffering from an unspeakable disease: miscarriage, bleeding and metrorrhagia, dripping with menstrual flow.The empress dowager's miscarriage is an anecdote in the world, and the imperial physicians are admonishing each other, keeping silent, and prescribing medicines, so there is no target.

Xue Fuchen and Wang Shouzheng, after all, were educated and became officials, so there was something wrong with them.The symptoms are obvious, so if you can't say it, don't say it!The symptoms of name-calling syndrome are similar, but the "gu steaming" caused by overwork and depression hides the medicine for treating miscarriage and metrorrhagia and impure menstruation in the prescription for treating bone steaming.Using the trick of "telling the truth and selling fake medicines" to prescribe the right medicine, it really paid off. This raises another question, if Empress Dowager Cixi is Wu Zetian, who is "Liuhua Lianhua"?According to word of mouth, this is Rong Lu, who is rich, handsome, and the most particular about clothes.

However, Ronglu 20 years ago was not promoted because of this, but frustrated.At that time, the two factions in the north and the south were in dire straits. The leader of the southern faction, Shen Guifen, and the minister of military affairs, Dashi Baojun, worked together to exclude Rong Lu, who was attached to the leader of the northern faction, Li Hongzao. "The commander of the infantry was demoted to lieutenant general.Rong Lu was very opportunistic, so he asked for a vacancy, and lived behind closed doors. It was not until the twelfth year of Guangxu that he was released as General of Xi'an.

This is a lack of idleness, but fortunately he was able to hold on to it for eight years, until the 20th year of Guangxu, when the Empress Dowager Cixi lived in her 60s and came to Beijing to celebrate her.It happened that King Gong came back to lead the military plane again. Knowing that Rong Lu was capable and talented, he was guaranteed to return to the infantry to command the yamen, and he was also the Prime Minister and Minister of State Affairs. The next year, he was transferred to the Minister of the Ministry of War.Soaring upwards, he will be promoted to a co-organizer bachelor in the next year.This year—the 24th year of Guangxu, on April 23rd, the emperor issued an imperial edict to "determine the country", the tenth day when he decided to reform and reform. Under the instruction of Empress Dowager Cixi, Ronglu was promoted to a bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion, In fact, he was granted the title of governor of Zhili and minister of Beiyang.

The governor of Zhili was titled "Leader of Frontier Ministers".However, the importance of this lack lies in the concurrent leadership of the ministers of Beiyang. Since Li Hongzhang supervised Zhizhi in the early years of Guangxu and insisted on strengthening the army, Beiyang has mastered the main force of the country and has become the real "leader of the frontier ministers." .The Empress Dowager Cixi sent Rong Lu out of Beiyang to rein in the troops to observe the change, and what she played was a ruthless move that could kill the New Party! Rong Lu has three generals under his command.One is Dong Fuxiang, whose style name is Xingwu, Huizi from Guyuan, Gansu.In the early years of Tongzhi, there was chaos in the northwest, and Dong Fuxiang was also one of the leaders.Later, it was defeated by Liu Songshan, Zuo Zongtang's most powerful general in the Western Expedition, and he surrendered and adapted it.Now the official worships the admiral of Gansu, adds the title of minister, and rewards the prince Shaobao.The troops are called "Gan Army".

The other is Nie Shicheng, named Gongting, who was born in the Huai Army and is Li Hongzhang's little fellow.In the first year of the Jiawu period, the Korean Dongxue Party rebelled, and China and Japan sent troops to aid South Korea at the same time. Nie Shicheng followed the admiral Ye Zhichao and led his division to the east. He defended Motianling alone and defeated the Japanese army.He is also proficient in writing, once patrolled the border with horses, and wrote "Journey to the East", he can also be regarded as a Confucian general.The name of the department is "Wu Yi Army", which is half imitating the German style of operation, and its strength is quite considerable.

Another one is Yuan Shikai.After the Sino-Japanese War of Sino-Japanese War, although he still had the real shortage of Zhejiang Wen Chu Dao, he was unwilling to take up the post, because it would take at least ten years for a Daoist to be promoted to supervisor and governor. Take a shortcut to the south.So the last article advocated training a new army to correct the long-standing shortcomings of the green battalion.Li Hongzao and Rong Lu of the current state accepted his suggestion and recruited 7,000 people to garrison and practice at the old base of Zhou Shengbo of the Huai Army in Xinnong Town, named Xiaozhan, south of Tianjin. "Army", foreign drums and foreign ships, with a new barrier, deeply appreciated by Rong Lu.

Yuan Shikai, who was promoted to be the inspector of Zhili, began to train troops at Xiaozhan in the winter of the 21st year of Guangxu. After three years, he achieved outstanding success, so he was favored by Kang Youwei.In June of this year, people were sent to the small station to carry out activities. Yuan Shikai pretended to be stupid and did not allow lobbyists a chance to speak.In this way, in July, the New Deal was in full swing, the emperor's leadership was vigorously promoted, and the new party's arrogance became more and more powerful.The two things that most attracted the attention of the elders of the court and central government were two things: On July 19th, Wang Zhao, the head of the Ministry of Rites, specifically participated in impeachment of the ministers Huaitabu, Xu Yingtao and others who obstructed him, and refused to act on his behalf. Shangshu and left and right ministers were all dismissed by order.The chiefs of the yamen in central Beijing are called "Tangguan". The expulsion of the ministers and the whole class is unprecedented since the founding of the Qing Dynasty.

The other is an edict on July 20th: "Yang Rui, the alternate minister of the cabinet, Liu Guangdi, the alternate principal of the Ministry of Punishment, Lin Xu, the alternate secretary of the cabinet, and Tan Sitong, the alternate magistrate of Jiangsu, will all be rewarded with the title of fourth-rank minister, and they will be awarded the rank of minister in the military aircraft Zhangjing. Walk and participate in the New Deal." All major policies are proposed by the "Four Capital Ministers", who issue orders, and are also drafted by the Four Capital Ministers to be sent to the cabinet for Mingfa, or sent to the Ministry of War for delivery to the provinces.This is equivalent to the emperor organizing another government, and the original Military Aircraft Department, like the cabinet seven years after Yongzheng, has become in name only.

So the old party, in fact, the queen party, used various channels to speak to the Empress Dowager Cixi who was recuperating in the Summer Palace, and had to take decisive measures.The Empress Dowager Cixi just sneered and said nothing. On July 26, there was a telegram: "Order Zhisu Governor Rong Lu, and inform the procurator Yuan Shikai to come to Beijing to see you." Yuan Shikai arrived in Beijing on July 29. On this day, I returned to Tianjin on the fifth day of August and stayed in Beijing for seven days. "Congratulations, congratulations!" Rong Lu congratulated as soon as they met, "I have seen the edict on the first day of August." It turned out that there was an edict on the first day of August, praising Yuan Shikai for his "diligence in work and seriousness in school training", and opening up a vacancy to be a substitute for a servant, "instructing him to specialize in military training affairs, and to perform all the necessary matters at any time."This not only made Yuan Shikai jump into the ranks of the first and second ranks, but also got to specialize in composing and playing directly to Tianting.This is the beginning of the so-called "big use", and the extraordinary promotion is comparable, so it should be congratulated. However, Yuan Shikai knew that in this edict, Rong Lu attached the most importance to the sentence "instructed to specialize in military training affairs". Now the military power is in the hands of Rong Lu, that is, in the hands of the Empress Dowager Cixi, and the emperor wants to give it to him If he seized the military power of the Queen Mother, Rong Lu would have to protect the military power for the Queen Mother and himself.As soon as this edict was issued, anyone with a discerning eye could see that there was little possibility of mediation in the conflict between the empress's mother and son, and the one who bore the brunt was himself and Rong Lu! The situation is like a bucket of gunpowder, and the gunpowder is in your hands. Once it is ignited, how can you burst out a bright future instead of being blown to pieces?It was time to make a decision on this big problem that he had been thinking about for five hours since he got on the train at eleven o'clock in the morning and could not be resolved. The situation is urgent and there is no way to think about it. The only way is to use the eight-character mantra that he usually believes in and implements: adapt to the wind and adapt to the situation. Thoughts were spinning like lightning in my heart, and I could still say politely, "This is all cultivated by the commander." As he said, he greeted him with his hands and expressed his thanks. "Don't dare to be, dare not be! What does the emperor's knowledge of Teda matter to me?" Rong Lu asked, "How's the weather in Beijing?" At this time, there was such the most general greeting, which greatly exceeded Yuan Shikai's expectations.But after thinking about it for a while, it is not difficult to understand that this is why Rong Lu is wary.I don't have to answer with any overtones, it's best to answer honestly. "It rained on the day I arrived, and the past few days have been good. But sooner or later, it will look like autumn." "Hey, where do you live?" "Live in Fahua Temple." From then on, Rong Lu continued, only talking about irrelevant gossip.This deep and unfathomable attitude made Yuan Shikai very vigilant. If he continued to perfunctory like this, what would Rong Lu think?He must have said in his heart: This kid, what is he planning?Unpredictable, can no longer be trusted. Thinking of this, he immediately looked left and right, took two steps forward, and said softly: "Shikai has a few important words to tell the commander-in-chief." Rong Lu remained calm, he just waved his hand sideways and said, "Everyone get out!" So the servant who filled the hookah took the lead, and all the attendants withdrew from the signing room and stood far away. Yuan Shikai knelt down on his knees and said in a painful voice: "Shikai came here today on orders, and he must not dare to do anything." Do it, and can't bear to do it, only ask yourself to die!" Rong Lu smiled. "What's the matter?" he asked, "to embarrass you so much?" "Look, handsome!" After receiving the piece of paper from Yuan Shikai's sleeve, Rong Lu saw that it was Zhu Yu, and was taken aback, but immediately returned to normal, and sat in the same place to look closely.Zhu Yu wrote: "Rong Lu conspired to abolish the establishment and kill the king, a great treason! I sent Yuan Shikai to Tianjin, read the Zhu Yu, and immediately executed Rong Lu. The vacancy is Yuan Shikai's succession. I admire you!" Yuan Shikai felt that this moment was of great importance, so he concentrated on rectification and looked up at Rong Lu's face.Seeing that he didn't stand up after reading Zhu Yu, he knew that he didn't have an emperor in his mind, which was a bad sign!After thinking about it again, this is because I don't know the content of Zhu Yu.If after reading Zhu Yu, you are panicked and at a loss, you might as well take the opportunity to threaten, or if you have a worried and embarrassed look, then you can give him advice, plan for others as well as for yourself, at least fish in troubled waters and get some benefits.If he is neither surprised nor worried, but at least expresses his gratitude, then simply say a few words of sincerity to teach him how to make love. As soon as he finished thinking about it, Rong Lu had finished reading Zhu Yu, put it on the desk, pressed it with a crystal paperweight, and said with a straight face: "The minister is the king, rain, dew, thunder, and thunder are nothing but grace. But how many years have the ancestors done in the imperial court?" According to the rules that have been passed down, the military plane is responsible for "accepting the order"; the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of Punishments are responsible for convictions; Just a piece of paper, can you 'respect this, respect this'?" Before the answer was over, Yuan Shikai knew that he was capable of manipulating the officialdom, and he still had a lot of people left behind. Seeing the turmoil, if he didn't get down quickly, he would be in danger of being overwhelmed! "Marshal!" He said angrily, "Shi Kai's allegiance is uncompromising, and God can show his sincerity. If Marshal misunderstands that Shi Kai has a different heart, Shi Kai will have to die in front of Marshal!" Having said that, I burst into tears.Weeping and complaining, he said that he had been summoned by the emperor three times in Beijing, and all three times were in the huge court, only the so-called "individual pair" between the monarch and his ministers.The first time was on the first day of August, when he inquired about the situation of the military training at the small station, and on that day there was an edict to "open a vacancy and fill in as a servant"; the second time was on the second day of August, when the emperor asked about foreign military affairs. Then comes the most important day.On the third day of August, Rong Lu sent a telegram to Beijing, saying that Britain and Russia had started fighting in Vladivostok, and that Dagu should be on guard, urging Yuan Shikai to return to his post immediately.And on that night, Tan Sitong visited his apartment and asked him to lead troops into Beijing, surround the Summer Palace, and kidnap the Empress Dowager Cixi.At the same time, he said that the emperor will summon him again on the fifth day of August, and Zhu Yu will hand it over in person. "Seeing Zhu Yu, Shikai was so frightened that he was so frightened that he wished he could fly back to Tianjin. Shikai has been favored by Marshal Shi Kai for his promotion..." "Okay, okay!" Rong Lu interrupted him impatiently, "I'll talk about it tomorrow!" After finishing speaking, he put the tea bowl on one end, and the footman who was watching from outside the door raised his voice and sang: "See off!" ※ ※ ※ After Yuan Shikai was driven away, Rong Lu immediately convened a secret meeting of the shogunate. Fortunately, there was a deployment to prevent change. The day before, the Gan army was stationed in Changxindian, 40 miles away from Beijing.At this time, it was decided to transfer Nie Shicheng's Wu Yi Army to Tianjin to monitor the new army at the small station. At the same time, the Railway Bureau has received an order to prepare a special car, ready to go.Rong Lu, in plain clothes, quietly boarded the train and arrived in Beijing late at night. Chongli, the infantry commander who received the telegram in advance, greeted him at the station in person.There was not much to say when we met each other, Chongli just said: "King Qing is waiting!" Then he accompanied Ronglu out of the station, got into the blue car and entered the city. Prince Qing's Mansion is in Beicheng, Dingfu Street west of Shichahai.The car entered Xuanwu Gate from south to north, passing through the city. It was past midnight, and King Qing was so tired of waiting that he barely held on. When they met under the lamp, King Qing asked in surprise, "Zhong Hua, your complexion is so ugly!" "How is it so good? I haven't had a good night's sleep since I first came to Beijing." At the end of the Han Dynasty, Yuan Shao's character was originally originally, which refers to Yuan Shikai.Among relatives and nobles, King Qing had read a few books, understood his two-character cryptic language, and also realized that his trip had a significant relationship with Yuan Shikai's entry to Beijing and Emperor Temeng's recognition of him.Then he got up in person, raised the curtain and said to the guards and servants who were waiting on the porch: "Everyone get out! Close the hanging flower door." Hearing this, Chongli felt that it was necessary to ask for instructions, and when King Qing turned around, he immediately said, "If your lord has no other orders, I will ask you for leave." King Qing didn't answer him, but looked at Rong Lu and asked, "Shouzhi doesn't have to go?" Shouzhi is Chongli's nickname. Chongli, who was born in the Zhengbai Banner of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, is also one of the figures admired by the Empress Dowager Cixi. He is also the commander of the infantry and in charge of the security of the capital. Of course, he is also qualified to participate in top secrets, so Rong Lu said repeatedly: "Don't go ! No need to go!" So the three of them sat around a small round table with rosewood and marble tops. Chongli first told Ronglu, "Lafayette returned to the palace yesterday." "Could it be some news?" Chongli was stunned: "What news?" "I thought Lafayette knew that the Summer Palace was not quiet, so he moved it back!" Chongli turned pale with shock, "Second Brother Rong!" He asked urgently, "How can you say that Gu He Garden is not quiet? Could it be that the New Party sent assassins to hide in the garden?" "That's right! The New Party has sent a big assassin and plans to send troops to surround the Summer Palace and make things difficult for Lafayette. Let me show you something." After reading the Zhu Yu brought by Rong Lu, King Qing and Chongli stuck out their tongues, their eyes widened, and they couldn't help breathing. "Good guy!" King Qing said, "Your Majesty is so courageous!" "That must be Concubine Zhen trying to embolden the emperor." Chongli asked, "Second Brother, where did this Zhu Yu come from?" "That goes without saying," King Qing said, "Of course it was Yuan Weiting who handed it over." "My lord guessed it right!" Rong Lu then asked, "My lord, what do you think?" "Besides playing Lafayette face-to-face, there is no other way to go." "I think so too!" Rong Lu leaned back, "Excuse me, let's see how to meet Lafayette?" "Okay!" Chongli got up immediately, "Leave it all to me! I'll go find 'Pip Nit Li'. Looking back, I am waiting for the two of you at Zhenshun Gate. " After Chongli left, Rong Lu talked to King Qing about how to adapt to the situation.It goes without saying that the emperor will never be in power again, but what kind of means should be used must be carefully considered.Otherwise, it will cause great turmoil and lead to serious consequences of "shaking the foundation of the country". "Abolishing the establishment is absolutely impossible. But, Zhonghua," King Qing said with a helpless expression, "you know my situation, and it is really inconvenient for me to speak. There is a ridiculous rumor in Zujia Street that my two sons are not I hope to inherit the great unification, so I oppose the abolition of Li. Where does this start? No matter how absurd my dreams are, I dare not expect to be the Supreme Emperor. First, I am from Gaozong's lineage; second, I really want to abolish Li , to inherit the lineage with a side branch, of course it is to set up an heir for Mu Zong and follow Mu Zong's lineage. It is not right to count seniority! I can be so confused that even my brothers, uncles and nephews can't figure it out." Mu Zong is from the generation of "Zai", and Yikuang's two sons, Zai Zhen and Zaisou, are Mu Zong's cousin brothers, so there is no reason for him to be his son!Rong Lu also felt that the rumor of "Zujia Street" was too outrageous. "I don't accept it!" Rong Lu, who was not very emotional, suddenly became indignant, "Could it be that only his 'Zujiajie' and 'Xiangfeng Hutong' are not qualified to be in the Datong!" The two place names "Zujia Street" and "Xiangfeng Hutong" refer to the two palaces.Prince Gong's Mansion was originally the residence of Heshen.In the last years of Qianlong, the prince privately discussed the reserve position. Yonglin, the grandfather of Qing Wang Yikuang and the seventeenth son of the emperor, said: "The world is the most important thing, so why dare to look at the big position. I hope that I can live in Heshen's house in the future, and my wish is fulfilled." Until Qianlong In inner Zen, the throne belongs to the fifteen sons of the emperor born to Yonglin's mother, that is, Renzong.In the fourth year of Jiaqing, "Heshen fell down", Renzong remembered this past event, and took Heshen's residence as a gift from King Yonglin of Qing County.During the Xianfeng period, it was changed to King Gong.However, this palace is on the Sanzhuan Bridge, and Prince Gong built a villa in Xiangfeng Hutong near Shichahai, named "Jianyuan".Generally speaking, Prince Gong's Mansion refers to Jianyuan.Therefore, Ronglu also used Xiangfeng Hutong as the synonym of Prince Gong's Mansion. Zujia Street is north of Fuchengmen Street in Xicheng. According to legend, it is the former residence of Zu Dashou, a descended general in the early Qing Dynasty.Duan Wang Zaiyi's mansion is on this street.Zaiyi is the second son of King Dun Yichen. After succeeding as Prince Rui, the fourth son of Renzong, according to the system of inheritance of relatives and nobles in the Qing Dynasty, he was degraded to inherit the title. Yi is the heir of Yizhi, who is descended to be Baylor.Zaiyi was quite favored by the Empress Dowager Cixi, so in the 14th year of Guangxu, he was granted the title of Prince of the County, and four years ago he was promoted to King of Rui County.Unexpectedly, the Minister of Military Aircraft was confused, and mistakenly wrote the word "Rui" as "Duan" when accepting the order.Since the edict was issued, it was inconvenient to correct it, so Zai Yi became King Duan in a daze. Prince Duan Zaiyi, Prince Gong's sons, and Mu Zong are brothers in the first cousin.Now if you want to find a "Pu" generation in the near branch as the heir of Mu Zong, Prince Gong's Mansion is also qualified.And Zaiyi relied on the Queen Mother's favor, thinking that only his son could be the one to inherit the great rule.Rong Lu was highly valued during King Gong's lifetime, so he said this indignantly. "Stop complaining for others! Closer to home, I think," King Qing said after a moment of pondering, "I can only make a fuss about the word 'political training'." "This article should be well done!" "It's easy to make a fuss." King Qing replied, "You have to wait until you've met before you can let go of things." "Meeting", "handing the sign", and "calling up" are all terms commonly used by Chaogui.The Minister of Military Aircraft visits every day and calls it "meeting". The "meeting" that King Qing said at this time refers to meeting the Empress Dowager Cixi.So, each changed their official uniforms, and the two of them left the mansion in the same car and galloped eastward. All the ministers used to enter the palace through the Donghua Gate when they went to the court. At this time, something extraordinary happened, so they drove straight to the Shenwu Gate in the north of the palace.Both King Yan and Rong Lu had been rewarded with "riding horses in the Forbidden City". The commander of the guard guarding the Shenwu Gate had already been greeted by Chongli, knowing that they had no choice but to enter the palace, he still let them get off at the Zhenshun Gate. Zhenshun Gate is the back door of Ningshou Palace.Because there is a Changyin Pavilion, which is a three-story stage, the place where Qianlong took care of himself after returning to power, so the Empress Dowager Cixi returned to the palace from the Summer Palace. For the convenience of listening to operas, she often lives in Ningshou Palace.At this time, Chongli and Li Lianying, the chief executive nicknamed "Pip Ni Li", followed King Qing and Ronglu, and first extended them to the Juanqin Zhai in the west of Zhenshunmen to narrate. "Lafayette asked Lianying to wake him up!" Chongli said, "You can 'get up' right away." " "I don't dare to ask what the prince and Lord Rong have to meet." Li Lianying interjected, "However, what should I prepare? Please give me your instructions, so as to save time and be blinded." King Qing nodded, looked at Rong Lu and said, "Zhong Hua, listen to you!" "I'm afraid there will be a big move today." Rong Lu replied, "It's best to avoid the emperor." "Lafayette originally planned to go back to the garden today, if that's the case, get up early!" "The Summer Palace is too far away." Rong Lu was still hesitating, but Li Lianying already had an answer, which was equivalent to an answer: "Then move to Xiyuan." After speaking, Li Lianying left.Not long after, a little eunuch came to inform "calling up", and at the same time pointed out that it was King Qing and Ronglu who were summoned. "Accept it," Rong Lu said immediately, "Please send a proper person to quietly notify the military aircraft, and prepare to be summoned by Lafayette."