Chapter 172 Mother and Son Monarch and Minister (13-2)

What Ronglu meant was that Zaiyi should be the culprit. I don't know what to say in this performance?Let's look at the last paragraph again: "The ministers and others foolishly said: To this day, there is no room for time. It is not enough to suppress the Boxers without pain. There is no word to stop the foreign soldiers. It is not enough to suppress the Boxers unless the ministers who protect the Boxers! How dare you resist orders to humiliate officials, destroy official property, and how dare you burn weapons and kill civilians. Since Xu Tong, Gang Yi, etc. are called the righteous people, the boxers are more powerful, the foolish people are more confused, and the rogues gather The more people there are. Make Yuxian capable of suppressing last year, and the bandit will never spread to Zhili; make Yulu take serious precautions this spring, and the bandit will not dare to break into the capital; make Xu Tong, Gang Yi, etc. not be called righteous people, The bandit did not dare to burn, plunder, and kill. To blame the original culprit is to be punished. Xu Tong, Gangyi, Qixiu, Zhao Shuqiao, Yulu, Yuxian, Dong Fuxiang, etc. should be ordered to be punished first. .The rest of those who protect the Boxers, who are similar to Xu Tong, Gangyi, etc., will be punished with the crimes they deserve, and they will not be allowed to discuss relatives and nobles as the last reduction."

Seeing this, Rong Lu couldn't help it, "Shuangqiu, the article is a great article that lasts forever. But, you must not take this book!" He was very concerned and said bluntly: "This excerpt is enough to invite death." "Zhongtang," Yuan Chang said calmly, "I won't say the last few words? Now that I'm playing this performance, life and death are out of the question." "What do you say in the end?" Rong Lu said as he found the ending words, and unconsciously read aloud: "All the countries in the past suddenly indulged bandits and provoked provocations, which were all absurd actions of the ministers. It was not the country's intention. Abandon your hatred Find a good one, the clan is safe, and then punish the ministers and others to thank Xu Tong and the resolute ministers. Although the ministers and others are dead, they should enter the ground with a smile on their faces."

After he finished reading, Yuan Chang officially stated: "This is a sincere statement from Zhuyou and I." "I know, I know!" Rong Lu seemed to be very anxious: "But you and Zhuyou can't die! The situation is about to turn around. When Li Shaoquan enters Beijing, it's his business to negotiate peace, and it's my business to suppress the bandits. I have Yuan Weiting as a helper, so I have to keep two helpers for Shaoquan. Shuangqiu, you and Zhuyou still have heavy responsibilities, so don't belittle yourself. Saying that you are saving the lives of Xu Yinxuan and Gang Ziliang, isn't that trivial?"

"Zhuyou and I are very grateful for Zhongtang's expected love. But, 'This heart is a stone, and it cannot be changed!'" Rong Lu thought to himself, although Yuan Chang and Xu Jingcheng had the will to die, they were different from the situation in which Wu Kedu cut himself first and then played.However, it is conceivable that the reason why he presented the manuscript was nothing more than a wordless exhortation. If he was really convicted, he hoped that he would speak up. Since he couldn't be persuaded to cancel the move, and he understood his original intention, Rong Lu had an idea in his heart. "Shuangqiu," he said, "sure enough, I can't return it, but I hope I can accept my advice and put these 'princes' mansions, and I heard that there are boxing circles', 'the rest protect the boxers, and Xu Tong, fortitude and other absurdities." Those who are similar will be punished with the crimes they deserve, and they will not be allowed to discuss relatives and nobles for the last reduction' and so on, and the words involving relatives and nobles will be removed. How?"

Yuan Chang thought for a while and replied: "Zhongtang did it out of love and care. Both Zhuyou and I are very grateful. I will discuss with Zhuyou how to change it." "Okay!" Rong Lu paused for a moment and said again: "There is a saying that is useless to say, but I still have to say it. If this book can not be accepted, it is best not to be accepted." "Yes!" Yuan Chang got up and bowed, "Thank you Zhongtang for your love." ※ ※ ※ In the end, the memorial was handed over without any changes.Although Yuan Chang and Xu Jingcheng knew that they didn't involve relatives and nobles, when they needed Rong Lu's rescue, he was easier to speak.But it was obviously Duan Wang Zaiyi who first indulged the Boxers, Gangyi, Yuxian and others before they dared to let go. If only the ministers were impeached, not as good as relatives, it was obvious that they were afraid of Zaiyi's power. Not only Gangyi and others would not be convinced, Qing Yi would also He would ridicule and criticize, and this memorial would become powerless and become nothing more than a talk.

After reading this memorial, the Empress Dowager Cixi only felt upset, and couldn't think of a way to deal with it for a while, so she simply pushed it down and handed over the memorial to the military.Unfortunately, neither King Li nor Rong Lu had paid for it, and Wang Wenshao was deaf and easily apologetic, so Resolute was able to cover the eyes and ears of the Military Aircraft Department with one hand, and only quietly invited Zhao Shuqiao, who was related, to one side, and whispered confidentially. After carefully reading the original book, Zhao Shuqiao's face was heavy, and she was silent, and asked resolutely:

"Do you want to talk to 'Old Dao'?" "Old Taoist" is Xu Tong's nickname.Zhao Shuqiao shook his head and said, "No need! The old man won't come up with any good ideas, so he will show off in vain, and there is nothing to do. When we discuss how to deal with it, just tell him how to do it." "So, what do you think we should do?" "You can't parry this, you have to fight back!" "Go!" Gang Yi slammed the table, "He wants our lives, we have to kill them first." "Yes!" Zhao Shuqiao said, "We have to arrange it carefully, plan before moving, and it will be broken if we miss it!"

"'It's broken if you miss it, it's broken if you miss it!'" Gang Yi got up and walked around, muttering to himself.After a long time, I stood firm and said, "I think we need to find some evidence of their liaison with foreign countries." "It's not easy to find evidence of liaison with foreign countries. If you can find something, it's very useful." Zhao Shuqiao lowered her voice and said, "Yuan Shuangqiu sent a letter to King Qing, saying that it was 'the king of Duanjun'. The position is the same as that of Prince Chunxian, and you should be good at dealing with suspicion."

Doesn't this say that you are close to alienation? " "How is this a discord?" Gang Yi tapped his temple with his fingers: "It's too hot, my head is swollen, and my brain can't turn around." "Please think about it, Zhongtang. Back then, when he was in charge of the Datong, the old King Chun was afraid of intervening in politics and became the overlord because of his father's respect, so he resigned from all errands to avoid suspicion. Now King Duan is the elder brother's biological father. The situation is similar to that of the old King Chun, the so-called 'being good at the place of suspicion' means that King Duan will follow the example of the old King Chun and return to the mansion without interfering with government affairs."

"Ah, ah! It's easy to understand when you say it." "This is still on the surface, but in fact there are articles in it." Zhao Shuqiao paused for a moment and said: "Looking deeper, it is tantamount to suing the empress dowager, saying that Prince Duan wants to be the emperor. This is not alienation but what?" "Yes! Yes! Reasonable, too reasonable!" "Not only that, but also." "Anything else?" Gang Yi felt more and more interesting: "Quick, quick, please tell me quickly." "Everyone knows that King Duan is the Empress Dowager, and he is absolutely loyal. To let the Empress Dowager stay away from King Duan is really to cut the Empress Dowager's wings."

"That's not it! It's not bad at all." Gang Yi was full of joy, thought over Zhao Shuqiao's words carefully, and made a conclusion: "It can be said that these two sentences of his are superficial and secretly sow dissension, but their effect is Against the empress dowager!" "Zhongtang said it very well!" Zhao Shuqiao gave a high hat: "That's what it is." "Okay! That's all, I sent him off for disobedience. But," Gang Yi withdrew his smile, "What about the letter? You can't ask King Qing face to face, right?" "Of course it's inconvenient for Zhongtang to ask for it. If King Duan asks for it, he might be able to get it. Otherwise," Zhao Shuqiao said in a low voice, "I have a way in front of King Qing. I can get that letter out, but it will take a lot of money." A few hundred silver." "That's a trivial matter. I'll leave it to you to do it, the sooner the better." "yes!" "What else?" Gang Yi fiddled with the original music: "We have to pick out a few major problems of his from this book." "Just one big problem is enough!" "Tell me," Gang Yi spread out the original music, "is there a big problem?" Zhao Shuqiao didn't want to speak out, but said: "Zhongtang has been in charge of Qiucao for a long time. He was in prison and solved many difficult and serious cases. Could it be that in this memorial, he hesitated to say words, and the meaning was beyond words, can't you see it?" This is also a high hat, but in terms of fortitude, there is a feeling of being overwhelmed by this high hat.After fiddling for a long time, I couldn't understand it, so I had to excuse my dizziness again. "No! This weather has made people dizzy! Zhan Ru, you better say it!" "Zhongtang, you only read this sentence." What he refers to is "not to discuss with relatives and discuss expensive things for the last reduction".This is the so-called "Eight Discussions" in the law. For the same crime, relatives and nobles can have their sentences reduced.With this point, Fortitude suddenly realized. "I understand. It means that Duan, Zhuang Erdi, Lan Gong, etc. should also be charged with crimes, and what crimes should be punished, and they can't be reduced! Good guy, amazing!" "This is a half-spoken word that is exposed. Although it is reserved, the meaning can always be seen. If there is an invisible meaning, it is really unpredictable!" "Zhan Ru," Gang Yi replied bluntly, "I don't understand what you're talking about. Don't be fooled!" Zhao Shuqiao smiled, "How dare I show off in front of Zhongtang?" He said that everyone had their own intentions, and it was a good interpretation without saying anything: "Zhongtang, please refer to this paragraph for details." The paragraph pointed out is: "The boxers are stupid, and they are more stupid than Xu Tong, fortitude, etc. Xu Tong, fortitude, etc. are stupid, and they are even more stupid for princes." There are more than 20 words in total. , Unconsciously read a sentence: "The prince is stupid, and the empress dowager is even more stupid!" Zhao Shuqiao nodded, but fortitude felt the joy of a sudden breakthrough.The two looked at each other for a long time, and smiled resolutely. "Okay! Don't be afraid, but this needs to be arranged a little bit. That letter is very important. It is not submitted to the Empress Dowager, but to King Duan. Zhan Ru, please do it quickly. This is one of them." "Yes. What about the second one?" "Secondly, since this fold has been handed over, we have to discuss it." Gang Yi thought for a while and said, "How can we think of a way to make an explanation first, and at the same time suppress this fold, and when we have made arrangements, we can discuss it later?" Lift it up!" "There is a way, Zhongtang will see if it works?" Zhao Shuqiao replied, "Leader Zhongtang, the three people whose names are on our booklet, handed over a sign to the Empress Dowager to summon, and said that since they have been enlisted, it is inconvenient to be on the military plane again." Go up, please release Ren to inspect. Of course the empress dowager wants to stay, won't this book be suppressed?" "That's a good idea. But..." The resolute concern is that he is afraid of self-defeating, and the empress dowager will do as she asks, so she can only stare blankly?Zhao Shuqiao saw what he was thinking, and immediately said: "Zhongtang doesn't have to be half-hearted, and nothing will happen. First, when is this time? Removing the military aircraft is equivalent to changing generals before the battle. The queen mother has held power for decades. To do this kind of self-defeating thing? To be honest, the Queen Mother still expects us to pay for our sins! Second, if we are allowed to dismiss us for inspection, then the rest of the people who have names are also guilty! If no one else says it, the Queen Mother always Can't investigate the 'old way'!" "Yes!" Gang Yi made up his mind, "It doesn't matter if there is an old way in the way! Let's do it like this." Sure enough, Qixiu was invited to meet with him the next day, and the Empress Dowager Cixi was really what Zhao Shuqiao had expected, so she tried to persuade her to stay.However, he was also admonished, especially for Gang Yi and Zhao Shuqiao's trip to Zhuozhou, Empress Dowager Cixi felt quite resentful. Rong Lu quickly found out about this matter.Only after looking at the original memorial did I know that nothing in Yuan Chang and Xu Jingcheng's memorial had been changed.I was thinking in my heart that for Yuan and Xu, it was a blessing among misfortunes for Yuan and Xu to have such a result of turning big things into small things and turning small things into nothing.Therefore, he refused to say another word, and Ren Ling suppressed this note. The next day, Zhao Shuqiao finally spent five hundred taels of silver to bribe Xiao Ning'er, a book boy of King Qing, and stole Yuan Chang's letter.Hand it over to Gangyi, and immediately transfer it to Zaiyi.Of course, there were provocative words, saying that Yuan Chang had vicious intentions, which was tantamount to accusing Zai Yi of wanting to be the Supreme Emperor.Empress Dowager Cixi taboos this matter the most!Gangyi believes that Zaiyi should be on guard, don't wait for the queen mother to question, it will be difficult to distinguish! The way to take precautions is to strike first. With the participation of Fortitude and Zhao Shuqiao, Zai Yi was fully prepared after all-night secret business.After taking a nap and waking up, I saw that it happened that the Empress Dowager Cixi summoned the ministers and the work was over. After breakfast, when I was relatively free, I ordered King Qing to meet in the court room, and at the same time took care of setting up a car to enter the palace. Not long after arriving at Ningshou Palace, King Qing also arrived. Zaiyi took him to a secluded place, took out Yuan Chang's letter and asked, "Uncle Qing, take a look, is this letter written by Yuan Shuangqiu?" King Qing took a look at it, and asked in astonishment, "How did this letter get into your hands?" "I picked it up!" Zai Yi didn't allow him to pursue the source any further, and then asked: "Uncle Qing, when you received this letter, why didn't you reply to Lafayette?" "Why bother with him? One more thing is worse than one less thing." The wording was very tactful, Zaiyi nodded and said, "Uncle Qing finally understands my heart. However, I still have to show Lafayette this letter, so I'll just say that Uncle Qing gave it to me, okay?" "There's nothing wrong with that." "Okay! I'll go up first." Zaiyi took two steps back and greeted King Qing, "Uncle Qing, please stay a while. Please don't change your words later." "Okay!" King Qing specially warned: "However, don't cause trouble for me." "No, no." Said, Zaiyi went into Ningshoumen to look for Li Lianying.It was the time when the Empress Dowager Cixi finished her breakfast and "wandered around" to digest food.Li Lianying was accompanying her, so when the little eunuch made a gesture, the Empress Dowager Cixi also saw it, and cursed: "What are you doing so stupidly?" "Prince Duan is outside, looking for Manager Li to do something." "What is he doing here, you go and see!" Empress Dowager Cixi said disgustedly: "If there is nothing serious, just say, I'm resting." "The servant knows." When the Empress Dowager Cixi returned to the Le Shoutang to drink tea and watch the goldfish, Li Lianying came back and said that Prince Duan had a secret important matter, so she had to play it in person. "Okay! Let him in." As soon as Zaiyi entered the door and knelt down, she said loudly: "Lafayette, someone is rebelling!" "What's going on?" Empress Dowager Cixi was surprised: "Who are you talking about?" "Yuan Chang, Xu Jingcheng." "What's the matter with them? With the two of them, can they still rebel?" "There are foreigners behind the two of them." Hearing this, the Empress Dowager Cixi no longer showed indifference, and said in a calm voice: "Speak slowly!" "My slave first ask Lafayette to read two letters." Instead of submitting the two letters together, Zai Yi handed the one Yuan Chang sent to King Qing first. After the Empress Dowager Cixi finished reading, there was a look of hesitation on her face. "Did King Qing give it to you?" "yes!" "It's been a long time!" "Yes!" Zaiyi replied, "Yuan Chang provoked dissension, and the servant was afraid that Lafayette would be angry if he saw it. I thought, anyway, the servant is loyal and has a clear conscience. It doesn't matter if you don't deliver this letter." "It's best for you to have a clear conscience!" Empress Dowager Cixi said: "In the past, you 'Ama' knew how to avoid suspicion best, and humbly retreat in everything, like rewarding him with an apricot-yellow sedan chair, but he never refused to sit. So posthumous use' Xian' character. You really have to learn from your 'Ama'!" Banner people called their father "Ama", and Empress Dowager Cixi praised Prince Chunxian.Zaiyi couldn't help being surprised by this, she thought she would be dissatisfied with Yuan Chang, but unexpectedly she was taught a lesson, so she had no choice but to answer: "I will keep Lafayette's words in mind." "Is there another one?" Another letter was forged in imitation of Yuan Chang's handwriting.While presenting it, Zai Yi said, "It's really a blessing for the country. The plot of the Heavenly Sect villain has been exposed, and this letter was picked up." Empress Dowager Cixi ignored him for the time being, took out the letter to read it, and immediately replied: "Who is this 'Master of Body Cloud'?" "The servant has inquired about it, it is Xu Jingcheng's alias." As he spoke, he kept stealing glances at Empress Dowager Cixi's face.It didn't take long for the expected look to appear, the veins on the Empress Dowager Cixi's temples throbbed, her lips were slightly drawn to the lower right corner, and the majestic light revealed in those eyes was even more terrifying.This is her expression when she is furious. No wonder she was furious.This letter was forged very viciously. In the tone of discussion between Yuan Chang and Xu Jingcheng, it vaguely pointed out that the memorial to the impeachment of Xu Tong, Gang Yi and others had other important effects.The Boxer Rebellion was connived into the catastrophe it is today. Although princes like Zaiyi cannot absolve themselves of the blame, in the final analysis, without the support of the Empress Dowager Cixi, what would Zaiyi do?For example, on the 10th day of the sixth lunar month recently, according to Yi's decree, one hundred thousand taels of internal funds were issued to reward the Boxers, and Huang Huang issued an edict for all to see. Although it is beneficial, why is the Empress Dowager Cixi abdicating responsibility. However, if the Empress Dowager Cixi is to be used to punish Xu Tong and others for their crimes, she should not be involved in a single word, and even Zaiyi and others should only be veiled.When it came time to negotiate peace in the future, when foreigners talked about the chief culprit of conniving with the Boxers, they would definitely mention Empress Dowager Cixi. When the Empress Dowager Cixi read these words, every word hit the key point, I really felt terrified.However, Zaiyi is used to forgery and may not be credible, so the Empress Dowager Cixi decided to cheat him first. "I don't think Yuan Chang would say such a heartless thing. Don't tell me you're making a fuss again, right?" "Slave, how dare you be so ridiculous? Please ask Lafayette to check the handwriting." "Who knows if the handwriting is real or not?" Hearing this, Zaiyi intentionally put on an expression of being wronged and unable to explain it, and then, as if he had suddenly thought of a good idea, said happily: "This is easy! Prince Qing has come into the palace, sir. Lord Buddha sent him, and asked him face to face, did Yuan Chang give him that letter?" Empress Dowager Cixi thought for a while and said, "There is no need to send him to ask face to face." Then, she picked up a small ivory hammer and lightly tapped a small silver bell on the imperial case twice. Empress Dowager Cixi sent Li Lianying to seek proof from King Qing, and she returned to confirm what Zaiyi said was true.If the first letter is not false, then the second letter with the same handwriting and matching circumstances is of course also true!No matter how shrewd Empress Dowager Cixi is, she would never have imagined that there was such a conspiracy to cover up the truth and embezzle the truth. "Xu Jingcheng is unreliable, I know it, I didn't expect Yuan Chang to have such a muddled mind! Isn't this courting death?" "Lafayette Shengming!" Zaiyi continued, "The situation is not good, yes, but as long as Lafayette is on top, he can turn danger into safety and disaster into blessing. I really don't know what kind of heart these two people have?" What he meant was that Yuan Chang and Xu Jingcheng deliberately wanted to dig the foundation of the Qing Dynasty.Those who say that the Empress Dowager Cixi is in power, the overall situation will be bad or not, will touch her heart and inspire her courage the most.So he pondered for a while and asked: "What do you think about this matter?" "The slave dare not say it. Didn't Yuan Chang say it? The slave has to 'handle suspicion well'." "It's irrelevant! With me here, you don't care about being suspected." "Yes! The slave asked himself, and he also thinks the same way. I hate Yuan Chang and others for sowing discord and causing trouble. If these people don't go, they will cause some unending disaster in the future!" Having said that, Zaiyi took out A white paper was submitted to the imperial case, "Lafayette, please take a look at this manuscript, I wonder if it can be used?" Empress Dowager Cixi read it carefully, her face became very heavy, and it took a long time before she said: "Leave it to me!" After Zaiyi knelt down and left, Empress Dowager Cixi immediately ordered that the emperor be brought to the palace from Xiyuan, and at the same time, take care that the emperor's dinner would be brought to Ningshou Palace. This is something that hasn't happened in a long time!The eunuchs were all surprised.But only a few people were happy for the emperor, thinking that the empress dowager had thought of the mother-child relationship, while most of them were sweating for the emperor, wondering what unpleasant things the empress dowager had to vent their anger on the emperor? The emperor himself held such thoughts, and he was apprehensive, not even daring to breathe.Entering the palace to invite Ann, Empress Dowager Cixi shouted: "Lianying!" "Here!" Li Lianying glanced at the emperor, which was a signal to reassure the emperor. "Tell irrelevant people to stay away!" Needless to say, this is a matter of great relevance to be discussed.Li Lianying went out to make arrangements, and then took a look in front of the Le Shoutang in person, and Fang returned to the hall to return. "Just wait here for the emperor's pen and ink." "Yes!" Li Lianying agreed, stepped back a few steps, and stood quietly by the door. "Here are two letters. One is from Yuan Chang to Yikuang. I asked Lianying to ask about it." Empress Dowager Cixi raised her voice and asked, "Lianying, what did Prince Qing say?" Li Lianying trotted for two steps, stood still, and replied in a voice that could just be heard by the throne: "The servant showed the letter to Prince Qing, and Prince Qing said it was good, Master Yuan gave it to him, and the handwriting is also good." "Did you hear that?" Empress Dowager Cixi said to the emperor. So the emperor, full of doubts and fears, began to carefully read the two letters handed down by the Empress Dowager Cixi, one true and the other false.After reading one, I breathed a sigh of relief, because it refers to Zaiyi's desire to be the Supreme Emperor, which has nothing to do with him. However, there were only a few lines of that false letter, and the emperor raised it again in a relaxed tone, reading and thinking, thinking about the attitude he should hold. The situation is very complicated. If you can't stand firmly, what kind of punishment will you suffer?With this vigilance, she couldn't help pondering, but the Empress Dowager Cixi became suspicious again: "You think Yuan Chang's words are very good, don't you?" She asked slowly. Because she spoke slowly, the emperor would not make a wrong answer out of panic: "Yuan Chang is simply talking nonsense! There is no reason at all." "Is it just nonsense?" Obviously, the Empress Dowager Cixi was not satisfied with his criticism of Yuan Chang, so she had to say something more serious: "Words talk messes up the government and does not obey the way of ministers." "I see, he doesn't know what he's thinking about?" "Yes!" the emperor said without even thinking about it: "There are ulterior motives." "You can tell that he's trying to drive us apart!" "Damn it!" The emperor echoed, as if saying that cross talk was "flattering": "It's disgusting!" "If he really made a statement and publicly advocated it, he would still be aboveboard. If he is so insidious, he really deserves death." The Empress Dowager Cixi said immediately: "I said earlier, today without me, tomorrow without you. But you still can't See what I mean." The emperor has long understood.Regardless of whether the Empress Dowager Cixi said this as an excuse to hold on to power, and to discuss the matter as it stands, this should be interpreted as if the Empress Dowager Cixi had not had the power to "train politics" and be able to restrain Zaiyi, the elder brother would have Take the place.Thinking of this sentence that he had thought through for a long time, he finally understood the attitude he should hold, which was to be consistent with the Empress Dowager Cixi, standing next to the Empress Dowager Cixi, and his steps must be steady. So he knelt down immediately: "Lafayette protects his son everywhere, how can the son not know? No matter how stupid and stupid the son is, he can't be stubborn like that." No matter what others say, my son only listens to Lafayette's instruction." "You finally understand it in your heart." Empress Dowager Cixi nodded to express her satisfaction, "Look at these two letters, how do you deal with them?" When encountering such a related matter, the emperor has not made any claims since the coup d'état the year before last, and only replied as usual: "May the Lafayette be the master." "I thought these two people were familiar with Western affairs. When Li Hongzhang came, I asked them to be a helper. Who knew that these two people colluded with foreigners and hijacked the emperor. How is this different from traitors who have liaison with foreign countries? Heavy Code, can no longer be tolerated!" "yes!" The Empress Dowager Cixi nodded again, then raised her voice and said, "Lianying is serving the emperor to write Zhu Yu." "twitter!" He is used to this kind of errands, and most importantly, Zhu Yu must write in front of Empress Dowager Cixi.In fact, it had to be done face to face, because the emperor's Zhu Yu was either dictated to the general effect by her, or simply read a sentence and the emperor wrote a sentence. But this time, the Empress Dowager Cixi did not speak, and only handed in a manuscript submitted by Zaiyi.When the emperor received it, his heart was shattered, and he couldn't help but look up, only to see that the empress dowager Cixi didn't even have a smile on her face.Just this expression suppressed his desire to intercede for Yuan Chang and Xu Jingcheng. With a strong pen and tears in my eyes, I finally finished writing a piece of Zhu Yu.Fortunately, a drop of tear fell on the vermilion brush, so that the handwriting would not be scattered.Li Lianying was at his side and could see clearly. She couldn't bear it, and hurriedly took a handkerchief and handed it to the emperor. "Please wipe off your sweat, the emperor." Words and actions are ulterior motives.The words were addressed to the Empress Dowager Cixi, saying that the water stains on the Zhuyu were sweat, and the towel was not just for wiping sweat, but mainly for the emperor to wipe away tears. Wiping away his tears, the emperor turned around and held the Zhu Yu with both hands, but the Empress Dowager Cixi didn't answer it, but said, "Read it to me." "Yes!" The voice trembled a little. But Li Lianying quickly took another cup of chrysanthemum tea mixed with honey, "Drink your saliva first to moisten your throat." As she spoke, she winked and signaled the emperor to stop making trembling voices. The emperor nodded slightly, took a sip of chrysanthemum tea, adjusted his breathing, and read slowly: "Xu Jingcheng, the left servant of the Ministry of Officials, and Yuan Chang, the minister of Taichang Temple, have been repeatedly played by others, and have a bad reputation. They deal with foreign affairs on weekdays, and each has their own selfish intentions. Whenever they are summoned, they play arbitrarily. Those who can’t bear to speak are really disrespectful! If you don’t punish them severely, how can you purge the group of bureaucrats? Xu Jingcheng and Yuan Chang both wrote and practiced the righteous law immediately, and set a clear example. Appreciate this!” "That's it!" Empress Dowager Cixi said: "You keep it first, and hand it over to the military aircraft tomorrow." So the emperor folded the Zhu Yu and hid it, knelt down and exited, and when he got on the soft sedan back to Xiyuan, he would have a chance to talk to Li Lianying.He yelled softly: "Ada!" This is the Manchurian dialect. Anyone who teaches the emperor, the princes riding and archery, or the Manchurian language is called "Advanced". The status is not as good as the "Master" of the Han people, but it is also a respectful title.The emperor had called Li Lianying like this since he was a child, but Li Lianying never dared to pretend to be a master, and when he was greeted, he rushed to the sedan chair and leaned over to wait for the order. "You send someone to tell Rong Lu that you have to go to court tomorrow morning no matter what." "yes!" Li Lianying knew that the emperor's intention was to hope that Rong Lu could save Yuan Chang and Xu Jingcheng.But he didn't dare to tell the truth, and he didn't dare to repeat the emperor's oral order. He sent someone to Dongchang Hutong to ask Ronglu for his own opinion, and said: "Director Li said, 'Please go to the court tomorrow morning, no matter what. '." Just this one sentence made Rong Lu unable to sleep well. He got up in the middle of the night and entered the palace at the dawn of dawn. Who knew there were others earlier than him, it was Gang Yi and Zhao Shuqiao, both of whom Smiling all over his face, as if there was some happy event.Rong Lu had something on his mind, so he was lazy to ask, and leaned on the wicker chair with his eyes closed. "Look," he heard Gang Yi say, "Should I call Xu Nanshi to be on standby?" Xu Nanshi is the son of Xu Tong, Xu Chengyu. Since the coup of 1898, he has been the left servant of the Ministry of punishment.Calling him into the palace to wait for orders, he thought there must be a big case to be handed over to the Ministry of Criminal Justice. Thinking about it like this, thinking about Li Lianying's words, Rong Lu felt that he had to ask and understand. If you want to ask, of course you have to ask Li Lianying.He found a very capable Su La, and secretly ordered him to find out where Li Lianying was now.Immediately waiting for an answer.Soon, Su La reported that Li Lianying was resting in a hut to the west of Rongshou Hall. Rong Lu knew about that room, so he hurried over there, pulled him aside as soon as he met and asked, "Are you going to kill someone today?" Li Lianying nodded: "Yes." "Kill who?" "Zhongtang will know immediately." "Lianying, now that things have come to an end, don't hesitate! You said you want me to enter the palace no matter what, so why don't you come now?" Rong Lu thought to himself, Li Lianying and Li Shan have a good relationship, and they probably want to kill Li Shan and entrust him to rescue him. , so he asked bluntly, "Is there something wrong with Li Yufu?" "No." Li Lianying hesitated for a moment: "Let's be honest with Zhongtang, probably to kill Xu Jingcheng and Yuan Chang. Please ask Zhongtang to enter the palace no matter what, it is the emperor's confession." Hearing this, Rong Lu clasped his hands, turned around and left. As soon as he left the Leshan Hall, he saw Li Wang Shiduo, who had already led the class to see him, so he followed him and entered the hall together. After finishing the ceremony, Empress Dowager Cixi asked, "Where is Wang Wenshao? Didn't you come today?" "Yes!" Li Wang replied, "He suffered from heat stroke yesterday, so he needs to ask for leave today." Empress Dowager Cixi didn't ask any more questions, but said, "Emperor, don't you have Zhu Yu to hand over?" "Yes!" The emperor's voice was extremely low, and with pale and slender hands that looked like a piece of skin covered with bones, he picked up a piece of paper in front of him and stretched it out from the imperial case. Shiduo hurriedly stood up, took Zhu Yu, and read it standing up, looking quite at a loss.Rong Lu couldn't bear it anymore, and stretched out his hand to pull Shi Duo's clothes.This time, it reminded him, and immediately handed Zhu Yu over to him.Someone went to take care of this problem, he breathed a sigh of relief, wiped off his sweat, and returned to the original place. At this time, Rong Lu had finished reading Zhu Yu, and they bumped into each other and said, "If you play the Empress Dowager, slaves will have something to say." "You can say anything," Empress Dowager Cixi said quickly, "It's not okay to plead for these two people." "The Empress Dowager is wise," Rong Lu said, "According to the crimes accused in the Zhu Yuzhong, Xu Jingcheng and Yuan Chang are not guilty of capital crimes. This slave has the courage to ask the Empress Dowager and the Emperor to take back their orders." "Xu Jingcheng and Yuan Chang are accused of alienating the court. The crime is serious. As the emperor, it is inconvenient and unbearable to talk about it." "As expected, Xu Jingcheng and Yuan Chang deserved what they deserved. However, talents are rare, so I ask the Empress Dowager and the Emperor to be extra generous. Leave them two lives, and maybe there will be a place where they can redeem their sins in the future." "You mean, let them deal with foreigners?" Empress Dowager Cixi sneered: "In my opinion, it's better not to let them deal with foreigners!" "The empress dowager's instructions, the slaves don't quite understand..." "Ronglu," the Empress Dowager Cixi interrupted impatiently, "You want to resist the decree?" Hearing this, Rong Lu hurriedly met, but he still said: "I invite the Empress Dowager and the Emperor to summon Prince Qing and explain to him face to face!" This is because King Qing is an official in the Prime Minister's Yamen, and Yuan Chang and Xu Jingcheng can be regarded as his subordinates.If the subordinate officials are guilty, they should be handed over to the officials. This is the right thing to do.On the surface, Rong Lu's petition must not be miscalculated. In fact, it is hoped that there will be a turning point, and a chance to redeem may be found. But Empress Dowager Cixi knew his intentions well, ignored his words, and only said: "You tell Prince Qing, it will be his turn soon!" This sentence scared Rong Lu into a cold sweat.With King Qing's status today, and the friendship with the Empress Dowager Cixi when her mother's family was poor, wouldn't it be terrifying for her to say such a thing?Thinking about it on a deeper level, after King Qing, I'm afraid it will be my turn! The Empress Dowager Cixi's direct warning to King Qing was equivalent to an indirect warning to Rong Lu.At this time, he didn't dare to say a word anymore, he knelt down and retreated, his clothes were wet with sweat, and after handing Zhu Yu back to Shiduo, he collapsed on the wicker chair in Zhilu, his eyes closed as if dead, and he couldn't move for a long time. On the contrary, Gang Yi was very excited, he took Zhu Yu over from Shiduo half-begged, and handed it to Zhao Shuqiao, saying: "It's your business, let's do it according to Zhu Yu! It is best to return to life today. " Zhao Shuqiao is the minister of the Ministry of punishment.At this time, there is a sense of sadness. The coup of 1898 killed all Han people. Now a bannerman was arrested and put in prison. He was not sentenced to death, but he killed two Han ministers.I am also a Han Chinese, so I think this has gone too far. Therefore, his face was very heavy, and of course he would not take care of the matter himself, and Xu Chengyu had already gotten the news and came here, Zhao Shuqiao had no choice but to hand Zhu Yu to him. Xu Chengyu was happier than Gang Yi, and returned to the ministry triumphantly, saying repeatedly: "Please come, Master Qiao, please come, Master Qiao!" "Master Qiao" is Qiao Shuzan, the head of the prison hall nicknamed "Qiao Kezi". "Look, Shujian, what should we do with this big case?" "The officer doesn't know." Qiao Shuzan shook his head and replied, "There is no case for the execution of the law." "I've never done it before!" Xu Chengyu scratched his head and ordered loudly: "Please invite the hall master, Mr. Jing, to come!" "Master Jing" is called Jing Yu, he is a bannerman, but he is the old boss of the Ministry of Criminal Affairs, and he is very familiar with business affairs.After thinking for a while, he said: "The only way to do it is to go to the Wenbu army to command the yamen, arrest them by name, send them to prison, and then 'go on a big mission'." "Yes, yes! Let's do it like this!" Xu Chengyu said to Qiao Shuzan: "Please prepare a place, pass on the executioner, and prepare for a 'big errand'." "It's ready!" Qiao Shuzan said indifferently, "There is no need to prepare." "The place of temporary detention must be prepared." Xu Chengyu deliberately made trouble: "Two people are separated into two places, and they are not allowed to talk." "There's nothing to talk about at this meeting!" Qiao Shuzan returned to the prison, with tears in his eyes, and prepared clean rooms, mats, mosquito nets, fans, herbal tea, well water, etc. for Yuan Chang and Xu Jingcheng. At that time, the infantry commanded the yamen and sent people to arrest Yuan Chang and Xu Jingcheng.In fact, both of them came here by deception, under the pretext that there was a business discussion in the yamen, and when the car exited the alley, they rushed to the yamen of the infantry commander without any explanation, and were immediately transferred to the Ministry of punishment. Therefore, when the two were imprisoned, they wore public uniforms. They really lived up to their official uniforms, both of them were very calm.After entering the so-called "imperial prison", Qiao Shuzan personally received him. Since Xu Chengyu had to obey Xu Chengyu's order, he said respectfully, "My lords, live in the north and south separately." Therefore, Yuan Chang shook Xu Jingcheng's hand and said, "You live a hundred years, but you must die at the end. Death is not surprising at all, what is puzzling is, why did he die? " "Of course I'll know after death!" Xu Jingcheng smiled and said, "Shuangqiu, don't you still see it?" Yuan Chang bowed his head and did not answer, let go of his hands and walked towards the south residence, leaving the cooler north residence for Xu Jingcheng to live in.Qiao Shuzan watched the two of them disappear in the yard, thought for a while, but finally did not enter the house, he was afraid that Yuan and Xu might inquire about the news, so why did he answer. That is to say, just after returning to his house, Xu Chengyu had already sent someone to summon him.Qiao Shuzan knew that the time limit for the two of them had come, so he quietly ordered the jailer: "Prepare the red rope!"等司狱备好车辆，红绒绳，通知了刽子手，乔树枬已气喘吁吁地赶了回来了。 “不过堂了，直接到菜市口。”他突然泪流满面，哽咽着向司狱说：“你去料理吧！好好侍候两位忠臣。”最后一个字出口，随即掩着脸，捂着嘴，脚步踉跄地避了开去。