Chapter 181 Mother and Son Monarch and Minister (18-1)

When the telegram arrived in Xi'an, the Military Aircraft Department, including Lu Chuanlin himself, knew that the words "If you fight bravely and fiercely, your life will be in danger" were sent to him.In fact, Lu Chuanlin himself didn't know that he had neither soldiers nor wages to fight, and he was not even qualified to talk about soldiers on paper.However, being impassioned is the most convenient way to gain fame and reputation.Now that the official is a Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Minister of Military Affairs, as long as he serves his duties according to his duties and takes good care of himself, why not "worship" in another three to five years?Thinking about it this way, I naturally calmed down, and felt that even if I made a set of impassioned comments, it would be very boring.

Moreover, there is a big difficulty in front of us. The first year's indemnity, including the apportioned interest, is 22 million taels. It must be paid in full on the first day of the first month of the next year in the Western calendar, that is, November 22 in the Chinese calendar. The period will not exceed three years. How to raise this huge sum of money?Big is difficult. After many discussions, the two major ends of increasing income and reducing expenditure were used. The first thing that came to mind was the Tiger God Camp, the Xiaoqi Camp, and the Guarding Army Camp. rise.Additional subsidies will require more than 1.4 million taels of silver per year.Now that he has lost the battle, Yanwu Xiuwen, and prepares to "flex politics", this allowance can of course be cut.

In addition, the Shenji Battalion and the Infantry Battalion added training points for soldiers, as well as the additional "mi zhe" issued by Manchu and Han officials and soldiers of the Eight Banners. After the coup of 1898, they planned to deal with foreigners to the end to boost morale. All allowances and "payments" will be cut.Three million taels of silver can be saved every year. Secondly, the various expenses of Nanyang, Haiphong, Jiangpong, water and land training in various provinces, and the old green battalion are "involved in many things."However, the exact amount of cost savings cannot be calculated, and it is estimated that it is no more than three million taels at most.The income from throttling is at most two-sevenths of the annual indemnity, and most of the rest depends on open source.

Here comes the problem!Regardless of Guangdong's newly established housing donations, salt levy, "native medicine", tea, sugar, tobacco, and alcohol tax increases, no matter how you calculate it, you can't calculate the extra money of tens of millions of silver! There have been many discussions on this, but after hearing a lot of sighs, the more and more detailed accounts are calculated, the more annoying, and finally the only way is to apportion. According to the size of the province and the amount of financial resources, the heaviest burden is naturally Jiangsu, and it is sent to 200. 500,000 taels; followed by Sichuan, 2.2 million taels; next, Guangdong, 2 million taels, followed by Zhejiang and Jiangxi, each with 1.4 million taels; then Hubei, Anhui and other provinces.In descending order, Guizhou, the most barren, also sent 200,000 taels.The above edict specifically stated that the various measures for increasing income and reducing expenditures "are not suitable for the province and are difficult to implement. All the governors have the responsibility for financial management. Think about it, and raise it separately", implying that as long as the amount is made up, any method can be used.However, it must be "reconciled as scheduled, without any shortage or delay, causing delays." Then there is another sentence: "If the time limit has expired and the shortage is still large, only the governors will ask." In other words, there is a The discount is inside.If or each province apportions and collects enough according to the amount, and there are necessary expenditures, a small part can also be withheld.

※ ※ ※ After eating moon cakes, from the palace to the residence of Beijing officials, they were all packing their luggage and preparing to return to Beijing, only to see chariots and horsemen all over the street.However, there was another change in the official circles of Xi'an, because the governor of Shaanxi Province, Shengyun, was appointed as the Qianlu Liangtai by decree, and the feudal official Li Shaofen took care of the governor's seal. Department of Standardization, Xi'an Prefecture was promoted to Department of Grain Road, and another person was sent to the Department of Xi'an Prefecture to hand over his post. Congratulations and appointments, busy up and down, probably since the Tang Dynasty, in more than a thousand years, this famous city in Guanzhong has never It's been so lively.

Qiluan was imminent, and there was a dispute over whether Chengyu should go out of the east gate or the south gate.According to the distance, it should go out the east gate, but some people think that Dajia must go from north to south, the court system is at stake, and "the south is prosperous, and it is governed by the Ming", so it must go out the south gate.It took a lot of trouble, and the journey out of the city would have to be doubled, and adding loess to the chariot road would also be troublesome, so the debate was uncertain, and finally the Empress Dowager Cixi was asked to make a decision.Needless to say, the system is still secondary, and the most important thing is to gain prosperity and seek auspiciousness. I told the Minister of Military Affairs: "Go out of the South Gate, go around to Dongguan, burn incense in the Temple of the Eight Immortals, and then go."

The first to go was Zhang Jing, the second class of military aircraft, who set off the day before and rushed to Yan Township, ready to take over from the first class of military aircraft Zhang Jing.On the next day, August 24th, when the sky was not yet clear, the military aircraft, the Imperial Palace, the Six Departments, the Jiuqing, and Xi'an City Civil and Military Affairs all gathered in the palace to wait on them.At the third quarter of the first day of the lunar calendar, the leading horse team goes first, followed by the eunuchs, and then the ministers leading the guards to open the way. With the sound of the quiet whip, the yellow sedan chair leaves the palace. The first ride is the emperor, the second ride is the Empress Dowager Cixi, the third ride is the empress, The fourth car is the concubine Jin, and the car curtains are hung up, and the subjects can't help looking at it, but the car curtain of the fifth car, the yellow car, is lowered, and the elder brother is sitting in it.

After the yellow sedan chair came the retinue headed by the Minister of Military Aircraft, followed by the file vehicles of various yamen.End to end, it didn't finish until ten o'clock. Along the way, there are fragrant flowers in every house and lanterns in every house, and they kneel down to see off the big driver. When they arrive at Denanguan, the local elders present nine yellow satin Wanmin umbrellas.Then go around to the east gate, and burn incense in Baxian nunnery.After dinner, we went, meandering eastward and northward, and on both sides of the road, there was another scene. I saw countless officials hurrying on their way.It turns out that Shengyun sent an edict in advance, civil officials and military officials, and less than a thousand military officials, will be sent off respectfully at Shilipu, and more civil and military officials will be sent off respectfully at Baqiao.In addition, someone will be sent to check, and those who do not come without reason will check their job titles and be suspended for two years.So the clothes tend to be faltering, and it is very lively.

As soon as they crossed the Baqiao, the sedan chairs and horses were almost there. It was past three o'clock.Lishan Palace, where I stayed the first day, is in sight. This is already the management of Lintong County.But Wu Yong, who was at the front stop, did not find the magistrate of Lintong County. Looking at the supply, he was not prepared at all. He couldn't help being troubled and anxious. He grabbed a canonist from the Guanxing Palace and asked sharply, "Where is Mr. Xia? I missed the emperor's appointment. What crime, does he not know?" "Master Wu," said Dian Shi with a mournful face, "Don't ask me any more, we are still looking for him!"

"what happened?" The Dian Shi hesitated for a while, and said resolutely: "I am not afraid of offending others, so tell me!" Xia Liangcai, the former county magistrate of Lintong, was originally an alternate county magistrate, but because he was a fellow from Hubei Province of Li Shaofen, the feudal governor, he was temporarily assigned to act as his deputy.This person has been in Xi'an for many years, and it is rare to be sent a job. He is really poor.So this trip got the vacancy, with bad intentions, deliberately taking his seventh-rank future as a desperate gamble.

As usual, imperial errands can be apportioned, but unless you are in a fertile land and you are good at searching, you will need to ask for a lot of money, and no one will be burnt out.What I want is to deal with the past safely, and when I talk about my achievements in the future, I can be promoted if I am reliable.Xia Liangcai is not a good talent at first, but he is quite self-aware, even if he is promoted to an official position, he will not be able to do anything well. After all the hard work, he is still at a loss, why bother?So Xin Yiheng apportioned 27,000 silver, and held it firmly in his hands, refusing to relax at all.As a result, there is no need to talk about any preparations. Hearing such absurd things, Wu Yong was both suspicious and horrified.I was thinking in my heart, anyway, with Sheng Yun around, I might as well wait and see. Unexpectedly, as the classics said, Xia Liangcai really couldn't hide. When Sheng Yun arrived, he jumped anxiously when he saw such a scene.But he could only do his best to deal with the imperial meals in the palace, even the princes and ministers couldn't care less.So only the sound of gnashing of teeth and curses could be heard everywhere.If it weren't for the fear that he would be blamed if he was shocked, the guards and eunuchs would make trouble! The next day, we set off early in the morning, Xinfeng was at the top, and Lingkou Town was stationed. The supply was still extremely sloppy, and there were no lights in the hall at night.And Xia Liangcai was finally found by Sheng Yun! "Okay! Master Xia!" Sheng Yun trembled with anger, "From ancient times to the present, you are the only magistrate, and it really opened my eyes!" "Liangcai deserves to die! But you can't rest in peace." Xia Liangcai said with a mournful face: "It's really the guards of princes and ministers who come and go one by one. If you want this or that, you can't help but snatch all the things you prepared. The next day No matter how much we prepare, we still have to grab them all. The place is too harsh and the time is short, so there is really no way to prepare any more.” "Are you telling the truth?" "Don't dare to lie." "You mean, it's the guards and followers of those princes and ministers who dare to snatch the supplies prepared for the two palaces?" "The official is humble and the position is small, I don't know him, and there are so many people here." Xia Liangcai replied: "The county is always dismissed, please don't ask me any more!" "Hmph!" Sheng Yun sneered, "You think you'll be fine if you lose your position? It's not that cheap." After finishing speaking, Sheng Yun flicked his sleeves, disregarding the etiquette of bringing tea bowls to see off guests, got up and walked in.Xia Liangcai staggered out as if receiving an amnesty, and still hid in a friend's apartment, waiting for the opening of the two palaces, then packed his luggage and went back to Hubei to eat old rice with the more than 20,000 silver. Does Sheng Yun know what his plan is?I remembered that I should ask him to do errands, but I couldn't find anyone.Sheng Yun's anger is no small matter!While writing the paper all night, preparing to submit it early the next morning, he sent people around to look for Xia Liangcai, gnashing his teeth and thinking about how to deal with him so that he begs for mercy, so as to relieve his hatred. As a result, Xia Liangcai was not found after searching for midnight, but Rong Lu sent someone to look for Shengyun.As soon as they met, they asked, "Are there any good doctors in this town?" Sheng Yun looked up and saw Rong Lu's face full of deep worry, with tears in his eyes, he couldn't help asking in surprise, "Is it...?" "The child has a high fever, and yet he is in this kind of place again. Sigh!" Shengyun knew that Ronglu had only one son, named Lunqing, whose style name was Shaohua, who was very intelligent, but young and weak.Now that he suddenly had a high fever, it seemed that he was seriously ill. I was afraid that there would be no good doctors in Lingkou Town. Thinking like this, he was also anxious for Rong Lu, and had no time to ask more questions, so he said hastily, "I'll look for it right away." There is a doctor, not a famous doctor, so he has no choice when he is in an emergency, so he hastily invited Lun Qing to take a pulse.It was three o'clock, and in a blink of an eye, it was time to prepare to drive away. Sheng Yun couldn't stay with him for long, so he hurried to the palace gate to serve him. When it was getting dark, the two palaces summoned the ministers and workers as usual, and the first one was called Shengyun.Expecting a very severe reprimand, Sheng Yun broke into a sweat with apprehension, entered the room without even daring to lift his head, and bowed his head and knelt down after saluting, waiting to be dealt with. "Where is this Xia Liangcai from?" Surprisingly, it was the emperor's voice. "Hubei." Sheng Yun answered briefly. "Your brochure said: 'The county claims that there are people pretending to be servants of princes and princes for several days, forming a party to seize food'. Is it impersonation, or is it deliberately accusing them of impersonation?" Whether there is such a thing is doubtful, but even if it is true, the newspaper must say that it is fake.Otherwise, the prince might have been annoyed, and he played a copy of it to make it clear. Are those princes' servants forming a party and grabbing food?This mess became big.So Sheng Yun replied without hesitation: "It is indeed an impersonation." "Fake it, it should be investigated! I think the county magistrate is using an excuse to prevaricate. It's not a good thing to do things like this, and he should be dismissed." "Forget it, forget it!" The Empress Dowager Cixi said, "Speaking of it, being an errand is so absurd, it should be dealt with strictly. But this way, some people will definitely misunderstand, thinking that the imperial court is so demanding! Our mother and son can't do it. Reputation. In my opinion, Gann should be changed to Ministry of Communications." This was discussed between the Empress Dowager Cixi and the emperor, and she deliberately pretended to do so in order to win people's hearts.But in Shengyun, it was a big surprise, Xia Liangcai was so cheap, and he was really unwilling!However, on the surface, it is still necessary to thank Xia Liangcai. "The kindness is so great that it is as high as the sky. It is really Xia Liangcai's good fortune." Sheng Yun kowtowed and said, "I have no way to supervise my slaves. Please refer them to the Ministry for discussion." "The person surnamed Xia is only from the Ministry of Communications. Of course you are even more irrelevant." Empress Dowager Cixi said again: "However, such absurd things will never happen again in the future!" "Yes, yes! The slave doesn't dare to be careless anymore." Sheng Yunxiang couldn't help but vent his anger on Li Shaofen, "This Xia Liangcai is a fellow villager of Li Shaofen, the governor of the feudal clan, and he was guaranteed to act as Lintong. That's how you know it's not good enough!" "Isn't Li Shaofen acting governor?" "yes!" "He used his personal life like this and missed his official business. In my opinion," Empress Dowager Cixi sneered slightly: "His official, I'm afraid he will be the head of the feudal secretary." Hearing this, Sheng Yun felt more at ease.Kneeling and withdrawing, he took care of the chariots and horses while waiting for news.Soon, the Military Aircraft Department issued a decree, saying, "This time back to Luan, the local officials along the way have been repeatedly ordered to be frugal in all supplies, and to know the fixed number in advance. The internal eunuchs and other officials , and repeated orders and repeated orders, no disturbances are allowed, and the imperial court is sympathetic to the local area, and it has been meticulous. It is Xia Liangcai of the county in the department who is careless, prevaricates with excuses, and is unprepared. It is not a matter of ignoring the sun. In terms of the circumstances of the error, the dismissal is really deserved. I respect the kindness and training, and I will give it to Yourong. I will change Jiaen to the Ministry of Communications Office, and I will ask for permission The conference office, please forgive me." When he saw this, he noticed a figure shaking in front of him. When he looked up, he became angry. It was Xia Liangcai. "Master Xia," Sheng Yun said sullenly, "Should I congratulate you?" "It's all done by the adults!" Xia Liangcai knelt down and thanked: "If the adults didn't intercede, the county wouldn't be so cheap." "No, no! Don't make a mistake." Sheng Yun shook his hands and said, "I didn't plead for you, you don't need to thank me, you should thank your fellow countryman Mr. Li, whose future has given you 27,000 The two silver coins were sold!" As soon as this remark came out, Xia Liangcai's face was ashamed.Up to this point, Sheng Yun's chest felt relieved, and he turned around and left with a long sigh of relief. ※ ※ ※ The two palaces arrived in Zhengzhou and received a telegram that Li Hongzhang died of illness.Reminiscing about the previous labor, the Empress Dowager Cixi burst into tears.The next day, the military plane was summoned to draw up a decree on pensions: "Su Yibo, the first-class scholar, Li Hongzhang, the governor of Zhili, has a profound knowledge of weapons and talents. The Huai army was led by Hanlin, and Kan Ping sent all the bandits, Jue The meritorious service, the imperial court's special kindness, Jin made the earl, Yi Zan Lunfei, reinstated the governor of Zhili, and served as the minister of the Beiyang. The scholar is a plenipotentiary minister, and he signed a peace treaty with the envoys of various countries. It is considered appropriate. Fang hopes that the overall situation will be safe, and he will be rewarded. Hearing of his passing away, he is deeply mourned! , rewarded the Dharani Sutra, and sent Prince Gong Puwei to lead ten guards to go to the Dianjiao. Decorate the end of the code, and then make a decree." "For the vacancies left by Li Hongzhang, the servants and others have drawn up a list here, and please let them go." Rong Lu submitted a list to the imperial case. This time the Empress Dowager Cixi no longer let the emperor read it first.What was proposed on the list was: "Wang Wenshao is the acting minister with full power. Yuan Shikai is the acting governor of Zhili; before taking office, he ordered Zhou Fu to take care of him temporarily. Zhang Renjun was transferred to the governor of Shandong." After reading it, the Empress Dowager Cixi said: "Do it like this." Then he asked again: "Does the emperor mean anything?" The list was handed over to the emperor. Seeing that Yuan Shikai had been promoted again, he felt very sad.Even if you have nothing to do all day, draw a turtle with a pen and paper, write the name "Yuan Shikai" on the back, and tear it up after the entertainment, how can you eliminate the bad breath in your chest? Now that the Empress Dowager Cixi has made a ruling, what else can he say?Without saying a word, he handed the list to Ronglu. Empress Dowager Cixi still had something to say: "This Shandong feudal official Zhang Renjun, but Zhang Zhidong's family?" "It's not Zhang Zhidong's family. Zhang Zhidong is Nanpi, and he is Fengrun." "Isn't Zhang Peilun Fengrun?" "Yes!" Rong Lu replied, "Zhang Renjun is Zhang Peilun's nephew." "So they are uncles and nephews!" Hearing that the Empress Dowager Cixi was at a loss, as if regretting that she had done something wrong, Rong Lu knew it was because she still had a bad feeling for Zhang Peilun, and felt that she had to explain a little bit for Zhang Renjun, so as to avoid the situation that had been planned , Some damage will take a lot of trouble. "The Zhang family is a rich family. Zhang Renjun is older than Zhang Peilun. He is a member of the Imperial Academy in Hongjun's list in the seventh year of Tongzhi. Zhang Peilun is one subject behind him." "Oh!" Empress Dowager Cixi asked, "How is his official voice?" "The conduct is not bad." Rong Lu said again: "Now that the overall situation has been initially settled, Yuan Shikai was transferred to Zhili, and Zhang Renjun was appointed by the feudal governor. It is more appropriate for him to be familiar with him." "That's true. That's all." Empress Dowager Cixi asked again: "Can Yikuang come that day?" "When you come to Kaifeng, he can come too." ※ ※ ※ The two palaces and Qing Wang Yikuang, who was summoned, both arrived in Kaifeng on the second day of October.King Qing arrived first at noon, and the two palaces departed from Zhongmu County at eight o'clock in the morning, started at Hanzhuang at noon, and drove to the palace at four o'clock in the afternoon. The Kaifeng Palace has been prepared for several months and has sufficient funds, so it is even more magnificent and spacious than the Xi'an Palace, and it already has the atmosphere of the inner court.The Empress Dowager Cixi saw it in her eyes, and her heart was relieved, but when she saw King Qing Yiqian, she couldn't help crying. "How is the palace?" "The palace is very good, there is no movement at all." Yikuang replied: "At that time, the slave was ordered to return to Beijing. I heard that the armies of various countries stationed troops in sections, and the area around Da Nei and the back gate was under the control of the Japanese military. The slave immediately sent someone to find the Japanese. Minister, I negotiated with him earnestly. Finally, the Japanese minister respected the empress dowager and the emperor very much, and he was friendly with the servants, so he guarded them very well. Soldiers from all over the world came to the palace to pay their respects. People are not allowed to go in until the gate is cleared." This "ugly performance" was greatly appreciated, "It's really hard for you!" Empress Dowager Cixi said: "At that time, the capital was in a mess, and I was really worried about you going back, but no one else could take care of it except you!" Prince Qing Yikuang had to say some words of loyalty and gratitude.Then I will talk about Li Hongzhang, talk about the market in central Beijing, the situation of foreigners, and of course, the most important thing is to talk about the retreat of the armies of various countries. "Empress Dowager Wanan!" Yikuang said in a very confident tone: "Since the signing of the peace agreement, the attitudes of the envoys of various countries have changed. The emperor still respects my empress dowager as before. When Luan drove to Beijing, Not only have the foreign soldiers retreated long ago, but the envoys from all over the world have also arranged to come and pick them up." This is what the Empress Dowager Cixi loves to hear very much.It is of course a face-saving thing for envoys from various countries to pick her up, and more importantly, it shows that foreigners have no ill feeling towards her. Since the peace talks, what she has been worried about is that foreigners will say something impolite to her. .As long as there is a half-word of criticism, she will be considered a disadvantage in front of the emperor.This was the last thing she could bear, and would prevent at all costs. "Besides, what are the foreigners talking about?" "There are a lot of discussions, but they are nothing more than nonsensical opinions of outsiders." Yikuang replied: "It is the habit of foreigners to talk nonsense, and it doesn't matter if they are wrong. Therefore, foreigners' comments have no reason and cannot be listened to." "There must be something about you, right? For example," the Empress Dowager Cixi looked out the left and right windows, "Did you mention Eldest Brother?" "I mentioned it." Yikuang took a peek, but couldn't see anything from the Empress Dowager Cixi's face, so he refused to say more. "What do foreigners say?" Empress Dowager Cixi asked, "Do you think it's our own business and has nothing to do with foreign countries and we don't need to interfere? Or do you think there should be an explanation?" This word reveals a little meaning.Yikuang thought to himself, in such a catastrophe for the country, how many people died, how much money was lost, how much suffering was suffered, and the vitality was greatly damaged. The Empress Dowager Cixi must hate Zaiyi so much that she doesn't know what to do.And the elder brother Pu Jun tilted his neck and pouted his mouth, his appearance was neither pleasing to others, nor did he like to study, so the Empress Dowager Cixi must have hated him very much.That being the case, might as well tell the truth. "Back to the Empress Dowager, the envoys from all over the world have mentioned it to the slave, and I have mentioned it more than once. The slave feels very embarrassed, because this important matter is not something that the minister can talk about casually. Therefore, the slave can only answer them in this way. Deal with it, and then you will be optimistic about it." Empress Dowager Cixi nodded: "It's very good for you to answer them this way. This matter...," she pondered for a while, "Let's discuss it later!" "Yes!" Yi Kuang waited for a while, seeing that the two palaces had no further inquiries, he knelt down and left. Back in Xingyuan, the Zhili governor's yamen had sent a special envoy to deliver Li Hongzhang's legacy, along with a letter written by Zhou Fu, asking him to deliver it to the imperial court face to face.Because Li Hongzhang and him were both ministers with full power, and they worked together with each other before they died. Only Yikuang understood all the difficult situations best, and there may be unfinished meanings in the omissions, and only he can add them.The omission had not been sealed, and King Qing Yikui took it out for a closer look, and thought it was all right, so he decided to say a few more good words for Li Hongzhang. Therefore, the next day Ming issued an edict, and the sympathy code given to Li Hongzhang was even more excellent, saying that he "assisted ZTE and alleviated the catastrophe".He highly praised his peace talks, "loyalty and perseverance, despite all difficulties, the clan and society are restored to safety, and the government and the public are dependent", and "following the public with strength, not resting, loyal and stable, old and obsessed", when the current situation Difficult, "If you lose this pillar and important minister, you will be saddened"! As for the grace reward, in addition to the posthumous posthumous Wenzhong, posthumous gift to the Taifu, the first-class marquis of the Jin Dynasty, and enshrining in the Xianliang Temple, "there will be another five thousand taels for funerals, which will be distributed by the Ministry of Households. Origin and meritorious provinces, author A special shrine was built, and the military exploits and political achievements of his life were announced and passed on to the National History Museum. When the coffin returned home, the local officials along the way took good care of it. .” The most important thing in the sympathy is Ze and his descendants, which often respect the wishes of the deceased. Li Hongzhang's marquis, of course, belongs to his son, so the edict stated: "Yizi's punishment department member Wailang Li Jingshu, rewarded to the fourth-rank Jingtang, Inherited from the first-class marquis, there is no need to lead the introduction; Li Jingmai, a member of the Ministry of Industry, wrote for the four or five grades of the imperial court; Li Guoyan and Li Guoxu wrote it as a member of Yuanwailang branch; Li Guoxiong and Li Guotao both wrote it and rewarded Juren, and they were allowed to take a test together." All this kindness, in addition to being worthy, has everything.The deceased was like this, and Qing Wang Yikuang, who was also the Minister of Plenipotentiary, certainly had a lot of face. In fact, Yikuang was in Kaifeng for the past few days, and even Rong Lu was overshadowed by it.The Empress Dowager Cixi summoned her every day, and every time she summoned her, she always talked for an hour.In this way, on the seventh day of October, I was ordered to return to Beijing first, and Prince Qing Yikuang played in person, and then left after the 100,000th birthday.As for Zhu Gu Xuwen, it doesn't matter.At noon on the sixth day of October, a banquet was given in the palace, and it was a family gift, so the two princesses of Yikuang were also allowed to attend.When father and daughter met each other, they thought back to last year when they fled, the old one was deported back to Beijing and the young one was taken hostage. It seemed that there was an unexpected disaster for a while, it was really like a world away, and I couldn't help but burst into tears. ※ ※ ※ Once the longevity is over, many people are watching a big event, and there should be an order to abolish the elder brother! The Empress Dowager Cixi had promised Wu Yong, and when she arrived in Kaifeng, it made sense. Wu Yong also wrote this word quietly to Zhang Zhidong.Therefore, when Zhang Zhidong drove to Kaifeng from the two palaces, he waited eagerly.There was no movement at first, so I guessed that it would be considered the Empress Dowager Cixi's last blessing to Eldest Brother, and it is also human nature.But Wanshou has passed, and there is still no news. Zhang Zhidong couldn't bear it anymore, and sent a telegram to the Military Aircraft Department to ask about it. "What should I do?" Rong Lu asked his colleagues blankly. "Of course it will be played according to the facts." Lu Chuanlin said. "It seems that things and people should be discussed separately, and should not be confused." Qu Hongji said: "I don't think it should be rushed." What he meant was that in terms of people, Pu Jun was not enough to be the crown prince, and it would be appropriate to abolish him, but in terms of affairs, Mu Zong should choose another heir, and the concubine and the generals would return.I can't help but say that he is upright, but after all, it is inevitable that scholars will see him, Rong Lu smiled and said: "Zijiu, look at the close relatives, the Pu generation, who else is qualified?" One sentence stopped Qu Hongji. Counting Xuanzong's great-grandsons, besides Pu Jun, there were eight of them, but none of them were young and had a close relationship with Empress Dowager Cixi! "Since Yongzheng, there has been no rule of setting up a prince. Because Zaiyi wanted to be the Supreme Emperor, he made an exception and appointed a big brother, causing such a catastrophe! Come on, let's set up a big brother, one of them What's more, is it any better? I think, on the road of speech, it is not possible to not even see the mistakes in front of you, and you will be like Wu Liutang in the past, fighting desperately for Mu Zong's heir." "Yes." Seeing the wind, Qu Hongji pulled back his own words, "I was afraid that there would be a commotion on the road of speech, just like the turmoil caused by Wu Liutang back then. It would be so troublesome. Zhongtang has already taken care of this. , just talk about people and don’t care about things.” Rong Lu thought to himself that the Empress Dowager Cixi had promised to deal with Pu Jun as soon as she arrived in Kaifeng. Of course, she would not forget such a big event, and there must be difficulties if there is no movement for a long time.It seems that this matter still needs to be discussed in secret, but it is inconvenient for me to leave my colleagues and invite it alone.After thinking about it for a while, there is a calculation. "Zhang Xiangtao's telegram is inconvenient to delay, and it also needs to give the two palaces time to discuss. What I mean is to write a performance first and send the original to see what the two palaces say? What do you think?" Everyone had nothing to say, so they went to "Dalami", and immediately made a performance, and sent it in a box together with the original electricity.Soon, as Ronglu expected, the Empress Dowager Cixi only called Ronglu to be "alone". "You must think that I didn't pay attention to this matter? No! I have been thinking about it since I left Xi'an. I have my own difficulties." The Empress Dowager Cixi paused and said: "From the first month until now, people have been complaining , saying that I am too accommodating to foreigners, and that I am too strict with my close relatives! Now that foreigners have not spoken, and we do such a thing ourselves, it seems that I deliberately humiliate them. Rong Lu, what do you think? I Is it difficult?" "Yes! The empress dowager is well aware of the difficulties of the empress dowager. Now there are quite a few princes in recent years in Kaifeng, and I have also heard that there are many people who care about this matter. However, the slave reminds the empress dowager that foreigners do not speak because they know The empress dowager is wise, she must be dealt with properly, if the foreigners really talk, it will be too late to do this!" "Ah!" Empress Dowager Cixi suddenly realized, "I didn't expect this level." "Besides, Eldest Brother's popularity is not very good. If the Empress Dowager decides to deal with it decisively, no one will be dissatisfied." "I'm afraid that I won't accept it!" "That's something that can't be helped. The Empress Dowager cares about the national clan in everything, how can she only care about a few people's hearts and minds?" "Your words are correct!" Empress Dowager Cixi resolutely said, "Let's do what we say!" "Yes!" Rong Lu replied, "What can I do? Please order the Empress Dowager so that I can prepare the edict." Empress Dowager Cixi thought for a while and said, "I can't be without grace. Give him a prince!" "Then you have to work in Beijing." "There's no need for him to be on errand." "This is the 'less than eighth' father." Rong Lu said again: "Of course you don't have to live in Beijing." "Of course!" Empress Dowager Cixi said, "Send him to his father." "yes!" "In addition, reward him with a few thousand silver coins." The way to deal with it is already very complete.Rong Lu withdrew and told his colleagues about the situation in secret, and then invited Songshou, governor of Henan, and discussed it face to face. Pu Jun went out of the palace and lived in the Eight Banners Guild Hall first, and Songshou sent three miscellaneous officials to take care of him.In addition, an alternate magistrate and a military officer were appointed to escort Pu Jun to his father Zai Yi with his soldiers. In the morning of the next day, Rong Lu sent someone to find Ji Lu, Minister of Internal Affairs, and asked implicitly: "Today is going to be a big event, do you know?" "I heard. Because I haven't received a clear order, and I haven't done it before, I really don't know what to do?" "No one has done such a thing before!" Rong Lu said: "This child's popularity is not good, and he is afraid that someone will bully him when he leaves the palace. Please take care of this matter." "That's right." Ji Lu asked again: "It's his stuff, let him take it away?" "There's nothing to take with you. Just let him take as much as you can." Rong Lu warned: "Anyway, this matter can't be made into a joke, so as not to hurt the country's health." Hearing this, Ji Lu was a little worried.Knowing that Pu Jun is stubborn and has great strength, if at that time, he will make a fool of himself and refuse to leave the palace, it will be a trouble. Rong Lu saw what was on his mind, and said immediately: "I'll teach you a trick. That kid listens to the person most, and if you make sense of that person, you'll be fine." "Ah, ah!" Ji Lu happily said, "I remembered! I'm going to find his old nanny." "That's right! Let's go." Rong Lu raised the draft in his hand, "We're going up soon." The whole squad of military planes arrived in front of the imperial court, and saw that the Empress Dowager Cixi's face was quite heavy. When Rong Lu took the lead to kneel down, she asked in a slightly hoarse voice: "Is everything ready?" "Yes!" Rong Lu replied, "Ji Lu and Song Shou have been told to stay overnight in the Eight Banners Guild Hall, and tomorrow we will send the Alxa Banner to you." Empress Dowager Cixi nodded, raised her voice slightly and asked, "What does the emperor have to say?" The emperor heard the Empress Dowager Cixi talk about this matter early in the morning, and he was quite happy at the time, because his nephew was a great mental threat to him, not because he was afraid that he would take his throne, but because he did not want to take the throne. Know when to eat his bitterness?Once, the emperor was leaning on a pillar in the porch, and suddenly felt something hit him from behind. It was so powerful that he couldn't help but fall, his lips were swollen. When the eunuch helped him up, he realized that it was the eldest son. Brother pushed him for no reason.At that time, when he sued in front of the Empress Dowager Cixi with tears in his eyes, the eldest elder brother also suffered a big loss. The Empress Dowager Cixi was furious and "passed the board" to reprimand him. Die alive.But since then, the grudge has deepened, and he must always be on guard against plotting against him, so when he heard that he was expelled from the palace, the lightness he felt in his heart was indescribable. However, at this moment, he suddenly felt a sense of sadness for the death of a rabbit, and at the same time, it was inconvenient for him to express his personal likes and dislikes, so he only said: "The important affairs of the clan are all decided by the Queen Mother." "Since the emperor said so, I will host this matter today. Write a decree to see." "It's already written!" Rong Lu submitted the manuscript to the imperial case, the Empress Dowager Cixi read it, and the emperor read it again, and if a word or two was changed, it was a foregone conclusion. "Who is going to announce the decree?" This kind of handling of clan relatives, which is close to the royal family's housework, has always been assigned to relatives and nobles with higher seniority.But the entourage of the prince, or the case of punishing the culprit, has been exiled, or the house is far away, and the rank is low, so he is not suitable for this position.Rong Lu thought to himself that there is only one suitable person in front of him—Zai Xun. Zai Xun is the emperor's half-brother, Xing Liu. This time, he and his younger brother Zai Tao came to Kaifeng to pay respects to the Empress Dowager on her birthday. On the same day, they were all rewarded with errands. , Zai Xun is "walking in front of the imperial court".The status of this errand is in line with the relationship between the imperial minister and the imperial guard, and it is suitable for this kind of work. When he wanted to stop, he immediately replied, "Can you please send Zhen Guo Gong Zaixun to pass on the edict of Xuan Yi?" Empress Dowager Cixi thought for a moment, shook her head and said, "This job requires experienced people, Zai Xun can't do it! Just go yourself!" "Yes!" Rong Lu agreed. Lu Chuanlin, who had already had hearing problems and was always in the dark, suddenly said, "Return to the Empress Dowager." He said, "I have a foolish opinion. The establishment of the elder brother is a major event, and his dethronement is also a major event. It seems appropriate to ask the Empress Dowager to call the elder brother into the palace and announce the order face to face, to show the world that everyone will advance and retreat in a fair manner, with selfless opinions mixed in." As soon as this remark came out, the entire hall was stunned. The Empress Dowager Cixi was very upset, but it was inconvenient to explode, she just asked with a straight face: "You all heard what Lu Chuanlin said! What do you say?" Of course, Rong Lu, who is the leader of the military aircraft, should speak, "I thought there was no need to do anything extra!" "That's right!" Empress Dowager Cixi couldn't wait to say: "Just follow the instructions!" When Rong Lu resigned and went out of the hall, he walked around the west corridor and exited the corner gate. Ji Lu was already waiting, so he came up to greet him, and said in a low voice, "I have explained everything to Madam Liu." Rong Lu nodded and asked, "How is he himself?" "Probably got wind of it last night! It's so majestic, it's like a different person." "Hey!" Rong Lu read the words of the elder brother's master Gao Geng'en and said: "I was an alternate emperor, but I became a vacant prince, let's go, at least I sang this out." After all, he walked away, Jilu took two steps ahead and led the way.Arriving at the Kuayuan where the elder brother lived, he opened his voice and sang: "Xuanzhi!" Rong Lu stopped and waited, and saw the part where the door curtain was lifted, and the white-haired Madam Liu opened the curtain with one hand and beckoned in with the other.Then, the elder brother Pu Jun with a frowning face appeared, as if his neck was more crooked, and his lips were of course pouting higher. So Rong Lu walked to the door and stood facing south under the dripping eaves, while Pu Jun knelt down in the courtyard facing north to listen to the announcement. "The imperial edict!" Rong Lu read: "I honor Empress Dowager Chongxi's decree from Cixi Duanyou Kangyi Zhaoyu Zhuang Chengshou: Pu Jun, the son of Zaiyi, the king of Duanjun, has been decreed to be the elder brother, succeeding Mu Zong Emperor Yi was the heir, and he issued an edict to China and foreign countries. Since the last year's boxer rebellion, which provoked troubles among the nations, the temple society was shocked. Taking advantage of public opinion, Zai Yi was the culprit. Offending the ancestors, both After being severely condemned, how can his son be the most important position?" 等荣禄念到这里，只听已有欷歔、欷歔的声音，往下一看，溥儁身子已在发抖。荣禄本想先劝慰两句，旋即想到，于礼不合，便略略提高了声音，继续往下念。 “溥儁亦自知惕息惴恐，吁恳废黜，自应更正前命。溥儁着撤去大阿哥名号，立即出宫，加恩赏给入八分公衔俸，毋庸当差。至承嗣穆宗毅皇帝一节，关系甚重，应俟选择元良，再降懿旨，以延统绪，用昭慎重。钦此！” 荣禄念完，继禄提示：“谢恩！” 溥儁大概是没有听见他的话，伏在地上，已哭出声来，刘嬷嬷便大声说道：“阿哥，快说！说谢老佛爷的恩典。” 这下溥儁听清楚了，呜咽着语不成声，七个字的一句话，很吃力地才说完。 荣禄对他改了称呼，用对王公的通称，名字带排行，叫他“郕二爷”，他说：“别难过！等事情过去了，老佛爷一定还让你回来当差。金枝玉叶，自己该知道体面，哭个什么劲儿，没的叫人笑话。” 溥儁倒想争气，无奈眼泪不听使唤，依然流得满脸。荣禄不顾，上前挽着他，往外便走。 其时整座行宫已传遍了大阿哥被逐的消息，太监宫女都想来看看热闹。溥儁的人缘极坏，所以一路看到听到的景象十分难堪，大多浮着笑容，乐见其人之去，甚至也还有拍手称快的。只有他养的那条狗倒不势利，依旧俯首贴耳地跟在眼泪汪汪的主人后面，由行宫一直到八旗会馆。 ※ ※ ※ 这件事办得大快人心，各国公使亦表示满意。可是，慈禧太后还有顾虑，不愿即时进京，只是没有交代未免影响人心，所以延到十月二十四下了一道上谕，还得有十天才能从开封启銮。 顾虑的是俄约未定，怕将到京时，俄国会有什么动作，弄出一个令人进退两难的尴尬局面。因此，慈禧太后要等两个人的消息，消息倘或不妙，十一月初四启程之期，还会更改。 这两个人，一个是奕劻，他在陛辞时已受命继李鸿章而与俄国公使继续交涉；一个是袁世凯，接事以后，预备接驾，对于京畿的中外情形，必有奏报。特别是袁世凯，慈禧太后的期望更切，因为他在山东力拒拳匪的态度，颇得各国好感，德国公使穆默，甚至表示，希望袁世凯能调为直隶总督，这是庆王到开封以后才谈起的。所以慈禧太后有个想法，如果俄国的态度有欠友好，袁世凯亦会联络各国，合力约束俄国。 果然，袁世凯不负所望，十一月初一打了个电报到开封，转述他所极力保荐的署理津海关道唐绍仪，会见驻京各国公使的情形，说是“均无困我的语气，且互有意见，不能协以谋我。”而俄约则“利在延宕”，保证“断无战事”。此外又提到董福祥，指他是祸首，“祸国殃民，罪不容于死，未加显戮，无以示天下，请明正典刑，以纾公愤。”这当然是无法处置的一件事，只好“留中”了。