Chapter 7 Prince Qi Gong's comeback

"Greetings to the Empress Dowager Mother." After the eunuch opened the yellow satin cotton curtain, Prince Chunjun Wang Fujin moved lightly, stepped into the West Empress Pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, knelt on the cotton pad, and turned to the Empress Dowager Cixi who was leaning on the reclining chair hello. "Get up, Liu'er." Cixi sat up, with an affectionate smile on her face, pointing to the porcelain pier beside her with a scarlet peony embroidered satin cushion, and said, "Sit over here." Prince Jin Liu'er of Chunjun stood up, sat down on the porcelain pier beside Cixi, and said with a smile, "My sister has become more and more beautiful these days."

"Damn girl, what is beautiful about my sister, you should be the one who should be beautiful." Cixi said with a smile, two shallow dimples appeared on her face, and two rows of fine white teeth were slightly exposed.These two charming features are exactly what her younger sister, who is also born with a beautiful face, lacks.Cixi's natal family only had this younger sister who was four years younger than her. Because she loved orchids and orchids, she was named Lan'er by Emperor Xianfeng, so he named the younger sister who loved willow branches and leaves Liuer.When Liu Er was seventeen years old, Cixi had just given birth to the later Emperor Tongzhi.He was already favored, but now he is even more favored.One day, Emperor Xianfeng talked to her about the marriage of his seventh younger brother Yizhen, and she took advantage of the situation to propose his younger sister.

Out of love for her, Emperor Xianfeng made the marriage without even meeting Liu'er.In this way, Liu'er entered Prince Chun's mansion and became the wife of Prince Chun, known as Fujin in Manchu.The fate of the Cixi sisters caused a sensation in the society.People talked about the story of Concubine Yang and the sisters in history, and once again sighed that "the parents of the world will not be reborn as boys and girls will be born again"! Although Liu'er is not as quick-witted and capable as her elder sister, she is also more assertive and able to handle affairs than ordinary women.Three years ago, during the thrilling days in the Rehe Palace, Sushun had monopolized the power and had closely monitored the whereabouts of the two empress dowagers. Liu'er entered and left the palace with a special identity to deliver messages for the two empress dowagers.Finally, through King Chun Yixuan, he contacted Prince Gong Yixin, who was in charge of diplomacy in Beijing, and his uncle and sister-in-law conspired to abolish the eight ministers of the auxiliary government, and implement the two palaces to listen to the government behind the curtain.Liu Ershi is a mysterious and important figure in this period of history.Also because of this credit, Cixi looked at her younger sister even more with new admiration.Her husband is dead, her son is still young and doesn't know much about the world. In this world, Cixi's sister Liu'er is the most confiding person.In recent years, she often called Liu'er into the palace.The conversation was mostly about family affairs, and they also talked about trivial topics such as raising children, dressing and dressing like ordinary women, and occasionally talked about Yizhen.

Cixi's affection for Yizhen is naturally more than that of Emperor Xianfeng's other brothers. She very much hopes that her brother-in-law can become her right-hand man in handling military affairs.In the past three years, she has appointed him many positions, one is to increase his power, and the other is to give him more opportunities to hone his skills, especially after dismissing Prince Gong, Cixi placed even more important responsibilities on Yizhen. Unexpectedly, compared with his half-brother, this twenty-seven-year-old county king's aptitude is too far behind.He has neither Yixin's extraordinary talent nor knowledge, nor Yixin's extensive equipment, which disappointed Cixi.The last time he was summoned to conspire with Seng Gelinqin on how to deal with the Hunan Army, although Yizhen came up with some ideas, they were not satisfactory to Cixi in the end, and she came up with the whole plan herself.At this time, she thought of Yizhen who was unemployed at home.

In dealing with military and state affairs, Yizhen is far more thoughtful and prudent than Yixuan.A few days ago, she asked Yizhen to go to Prince Gong's Mansion once.The main reason for calling my sister into the palace today is to ask my brother-in-law about the recent situation of Yi Xin. "After Sixth Master was dismissed, Seventh Master always wanted to see him, but he didn't dare to go. Later, my sister asked him to go and have a look. He was very happy and went the next day." Liu'er said in a soft voice. "What did Liu Ye say about the dismissal?" Cixi asked lightly, and picked out a delicate western candy and handed it to her younger sister.

"As soon as this matter was brought up, Sixth Master regretted it very much, saying that he was young and ignorant, that he had failed the Queen Mother's trust, and that he was sorry for the late Emperor. He covered his face and began to cry while talking, and Seventh Master comforted him for a long time." Liu Er Slowly peeling off the colorful cellophane, revealing a fish-shaped pink transparent candy, she carefully looked at the candy before gently stuffing it into her mouth. "These days, who has been to Prince Gong's Mansion?" Cixi was more satisfied with Yixin's attitude, and she wanted to know more about her uncle's home inspection.

"The sixth master said that except for a few of his own brothers, he would not see anyone else who came to Prince Gong's mansion, and would not let them enter the mansion. According to Lord Jiu, he has not seen many people come to visit him in the mansion of Prince Gong." Fu County Wang Yizhen's palace is very close to Prince Gong's palace, so the information he provided should be accurate. "So, what is Liu Ye doing at home during this period?" Cixi asked with a sideways face.The warm sunlight outside the window shone on her two hairstyles, and the dark cloud-like hair was shining brightly.

"Qi Ye asked him, and Liu Ye said that he just read behind closed doors. Qi Ye saw that on Liu Ye's case table were the imperial criticisms of the holy ancestors, the imperial poems of Qianlong Lord, and the poems and essays of the late emperor." Liu'er's answers were roughly consistent with what she had learned from other sources, and Cixi was very satisfied.She stood up and said to her younger sister with a happy face: "Come with me, and I will show you the gift they gave me a few days ago." The tenth day of October is Cixi's birthday.She is a very face-saving person, and she has a habit of greedy for money and goods.When Emperor Xianfeng was alive, he would personally congratulate her on this day and give her some small things. The queen also gave her one or two gifts, not to mention the concubines, everyone gave her gifts.She treasured these presents and took them out one by one to appreciate whenever she had free time.At this time, she would be immersed in an indescribable joy.In the past two years as the Empress Dowager, her status has become much higher. During her birthday, she received more gifts, but in the end, because the Jiangnan War was not over, she did not dare to be too extravagant.

This year is different, Jiang Ning has been recovered, the confidant has been removed, and all the relatives, civil and military officials all agree that this is the result of the queen mother's blessing and wise dispatch, and it will be the 30th birthday, so it should be lively Let's celebrate.So everyone in the palace, from the Empress Dowager Ci'an, down to the prominent maids, eunuchs, foreign officials of the second rank and above, governors, generals, and admirals of various provinces, prepared a generous gift.From the sixth day onwards, the presents were carried into the rear pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation in loads of loads and boxes.Cixi looked at the gift list first, and she found it strange, so she took a look at the real thing, and waved to the eunuchs and maids to put it away.From the eighth day of the eighth day, another big opera was sung in the palace for five consecutive days, with the climax on the tenth day.Ten days of tense and busy work both inside and outside the palace, and the birthday star himself also worked hard for ten days.Her hard work is busy looking at gifts, watching plays, and accepting everyone's congratulations.Although it was hard work, she was extremely excited.She thought that although her younger sister was the county king Fujin, she might not be able to see many things, so she took her younger sister to her treasure room with great interest.

The two sisters walked out of the bedroom, entered a long and narrow alley, walked to the end of the alley, and entered another palace.The palace is not big, and there are bookcases one after another in the hall.The sisters stopped in front of a wall painted with colorful landscape patterns.Cixi asked the eunuch who was following to push hard against the wall, and unexpectedly opened a door. Liu'er was taken aback, she didn't expect there to be such a mysterious dark room in the sacred Forbidden City.Cixi took Liu'er into the door.This is a small house, there are no doors and windows around, and the light and air come in through the ventilation holes in the roof.The house is filled with wooden shelves as tall as a person.

"What kind of palace is this?" Liu'er asked, she finally couldn't help it. "This is a secret room left over from the Ming Dynasty. If the court has any secret affairs, it will be planned in this hall. The ancestors of the ancestors and the ancestors of the saints used it in the past, but they never used it again when the emperor Qianlong was happy. Lead me to play in this room, and tell me the code to open it. I will use it now to treasure jewels." "Sister, this is too scary!" Liu Er worried. "It's not scary if you know it. I'm afraid that there is such a secret room in the palace. We don't know it, but outsiders know it. It's scary." After walking a few steps, Cixi said, "Liuer, I really don't want to grow up. Staying here in Nian, when the late emperor went to Yuanmingyuan, I was very happy. Unfortunately, the Yuanmingyuan was burned down by foreign devils." "Spend some money to restore it!" Liu'er suggested. "It needs to be repaired. It's just that the long hair was dealt with a few years ago, and the treasury was tight. Now that the long hair is gone, it's time to repair the garden." As they spoke, the two sisters walked to the middle of the room.Cixi pointed to the wooden shelves on the four walls and said: "There are more than 3,000 boxes of jewellery, all of which were given by them this time. You can't see so many today. How about this, you can casually go to the shelf and take five boxes. , these five boxes will be given to you. Whether it’s good or not depends on your luck.” "Sister's things are not bad, any box is a rare treasure." Liu Er looked at it happily for a long time.I saw that each box was bright yellow, only different in size, not fine or coarse.Liu'er took five medium-sized boxes casually, and Cixi asked the eunuch to hold them, and then they left the mysterious house together and came back to the bedroom. The eunuch put five boxes on the desk.Cixi smiled and said, "How about your luck?" After that, she opened one by herself. This box contains a beautiful peony flower.Junjun Wang Fujin has never seen such beautiful jewelry, even more beautiful than the real peonies in her back garden.She took it from her sister and admired it carefully.The petals of this peony are all made of blood-red coral flakes, and the four green leaves are matched with emerald green.The leaves are so well carved, and when you shine them through the window, you can clearly see the thin dark lines inside.The petals and leaves are connected with hair-like thin copper wires.The more Liu Er watched, the more she fell in love with her. "Put it on the bun." Cixi said with a smile. Liu'er put the peony flower on the left bun and asked her sister, "Does it look good?" "It looks good." Cixi was very happy, as if she was still a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl living in her natal family. "Look at yourself in the mirror." Liu'er walked to the glass mirror.The young woman with a straight face and a slender figure in the mirror looks even more beautiful against the background of peonies. "Put it on the right side, it might look better." Cixi walked to her sister and put the flower on her right temple.Liu'er saw that the image in the glass mirror was even more beautiful. "Sister, you really know how to dress up!" Liu'er asked joyfully, "Why does it look better on the right side?" "Silly girl, don't you see that the hair on your right side is combed too tightly?" Really, Liu'er didn't think it herself, but after being reminded by her sister, she found that the right side was combed a little tighter, and this peony flower was inserted, and it looked very harmonious with the left side.She couldn't help but admire her sister's sharp eyes. Liu'er opened the second box.There were two gold bracelets in the box, each with eight pearls.The golden bracelets are shining yellow, and the pearls are shining white, and they complement each other, making them very dazzling.Liu Er likes it very much.Opening the third box, it was a phoenix hairpin made of pure gold.The phoenix's head is inlaid with red coral, two black pearls are inlaid in the phoenix's eyes, and a bunch of smooth and purple jade grapes are held in the phoenix's mouth.Liu Er loves it very much.The fourth box is a butterfly ornament carved from jade.The fifth box contains a bead tassel.Liu'er lifted Zhuying up, and immediately she was radiant.It turned out to be a plum blossom tassel. Five plum blossoms were delicately formed on the light yellow tassel. Each petal of the plum blossom was inlaid with a light yellow pearl, and in the middle was a white pearl with a diameter of half an inch. They are connected by a golden ring inlaid with seven agates in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, blue and purple. The entire bead tassel is nearly half the length of a person.Liu'er thought to herself, the value of this bead tassel will never be less than 20,000 taels of silver. Liu'er held it in her hand and couldn't bear to put it in the box.Cixi saw her thoughts, took the pearl tassel, and hung it on the button of the coat with her own hands: "Okay, just hang it like this, don't take it off." Liu'er was overjoyed and said, "Thank you sister!" Cixi looked at the slim sister in front of her eyes again and again, and said, "The color of this coat is wrong, I will give you another one that fits." Turning to the maid at the side, she said, "Go and get the coat from Monk Fujin. Come." After a while, the maid held out a piece of clothing.Liu Er took it and opened it.This is a dark purple thin wool coat, with a large red peony embroidered on the front and back, and a few lively little butterflies flying beside the peony.Liu'er took off her coat and put on this one.The peony flowers on the body and the peony flowers on the head fit together perfectly, making it look delicate and solemn.Cixi said to her sister: "When it comes to dressing, I am not tired of the details. Wearing a peony flower headdress means wearing clothes embroidered with peony flowers. You don't care about state affairs. You have more time than me, so you have to pay more attention to dressing up. You know , Women’s dressing up is not only for men to see, but also for themselves. Dressing up beautifully makes them feel comfortable. Take me for example, I love dressing up, and I spend more than an hour on dressing up every day. Well, who should I show it to? It’s not just for my own comfort.” The two sisters were talking excitedly when An Dehai came in and lowered his head to report: "The sixth master is waiting outside to be summoned." "Where's the empress dowager?" Cixi asked. An Dehai reported: "The Empress Dowager Mother said that she is a little uncomfortable today, and the Empress Dowager Mother is the one who decides about the sixth master." "You go ask the emperor to come out, I will go in a while." "twitter!" After An Dehai went out, Liu'er asked in surprise: "The sixth master has come into the palace?" "Yes, I'm going to use him again. You can go back to your house now. In a few days, we sisters will have a good chat." When Prince Gong Yixin was kneeling on the soft cushion in the middle of the East Nuan Pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the nine-year-old Tongzhi Little Emperor was already sitting on the dragon chair by the east wall of the Dong Nuan Pavilion.There are two thin yellow curtains hanging in front of the walls on the north and south sides, and there is a dragon chair behind each yellow curtain.Sitting in the south is the Empress Dowager Niu Hulu, also known as the Empress Dowager Ci'an.Sitting in the north is the Empress Dowager Yehenala, the Empress Dowager Cixi.Today, the dragon chair behind the yellow curtain in the south is empty, and the Empress Dowager Ci'an has not arrived.She is not very interested in political affairs, and if she feels a little unwell, she will not participate, and the Empress Dowager Cixi is never absent.It has been three years since the little emperor ascended the throne.For three years, no matter who he summoned, he sat there without saying a word, like a wooden sculpture.If Ci'an doesn't come, only Cixi will be singing a one-legged show today. "Sixth Lord." Cixi's crisp voice came from behind the yellow curtain. "The minister is here." Yixin hurriedly kowtowed in agreement. The queen mother behind the yellow curtain stared at the uncle kneeling on the mat.It's been more than two months since he disappeared, he looks a little thinner, but because of this, his sharp features and elegant and open temperament are more prominent.He is very similar to the first emperor, but he is more masculine than the first emperor.Immediately, the young empress dowager thought of her husband who died young again.After a short pause, her voice changed, becoming extraordinarily soft and warm, as if it was Lan'er who talked to the late emperor back then, not the inviolable one who accused the foreman of the military aircraft department with harsh words more than two months ago Empress Dowager. "How have you been lately?" "During these days, I thanked guests behind closed doors, reflected on my mistakes, and gained a lot." Yixin replied, with a remorse in his tone. "Sixth Master, the late emperor took the honor of his guests and left the foundation of our ancestors to us orphans and widowed mothers. Foreigners bullied us outside, while thieves and bandits inside made trouble everywhere. It is very difficult for us sisters! To keep our ancestors, we sisters have nothing else to do. Only by relying on the Fifth Master, Sixth Master, and Seventh Master and your relatives and uncles on the inside, and relying on Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, and Li Hongzhang on the outside, the civil servants and military generals can barely support the past few years. Although Jiang Ning has recovered, Nianzi, Huimin His arrogance is still very fierce, and the ancestors are still in danger. Liu Ye, you have to be of one mind with our mother and son!" Yixin heard the meaning of Cixi's words, so he kowtowed again and said: "Your minister is young and ignorant, Qian Xiang has offended the two empress dowagers a lot, and I feel very ashamed. Recently, I revisited the teachings of my ancestors and my ancestors. , I deeply feel the difficulty of my ancestors in starting a business. For more than two hundred years, it has been difficult to maintain the country. At this time of internal and external troubles, the minister is not effective in handling affairs and has a heavy trust from the Queen Mother. It should be condemned. The minister is in the position of Duke Zhou and cannot carry out the ambitions of Duke Zhou. In the future, I am ashamed to see my ancestors under the nine springs, and I am sorry for my officials and people. My heart is in great pain." Having said this, Yixin burst into tears unknowingly. Yixin's performance made Cixi very satisfied.In fact, she did not have much conflict with Yixin, and it was not as serious as Zeng Guofan in Jiangning City imagined. After the two palaces listened to the government behind the curtains, Yixin was conferred the honorary title of King of Discussion as a meritorious member of the royal family.Prince Gong's Mansion became the first mansion in the capital besides the imperial palace.All day long, there is a lot of traffic outside the gate, the crown is like a cloud, and the palace has a lot of income.At this time, the father-in-law Guiliang, who had served as the governor, gave his son-in-law an idea: take the door bag.He also said that the local governor's yamen, the two divisions' yamen, and even the government and road yamen are all like this. Otherwise, where will the entertainment expenses come from?Yixin accepted the suggestion.In this way, the palace has increased a lot of income.But over time, the disadvantages are getting bigger and bigger.Everyone goes out with a bag, and the number of door bags varies.Those with a large number will be received first, and those with a small number will be moved later.In order to get an early interview, some foreign officials not only went out to pack, but also bribed the concierge, and the concierge took the opportunity to squeeze them out.Later, when I saw Yixin once, I even had to pay one thousand taels of silver for the door bag.As a result, there are many discussions about the capital.Once, An Dehai had something important to see Yixin, but the concierge didn't know him, so he asked him to bring three hundred taels of silver.An Dehai said that he was from the palace, and the concierge said that he was also from the palace.It was inconvenient for An Dehai to say Cixi's name, so he had to issue three hundred taels of silver.After a while, the concierge came out and said, "Prince Gong has a lot to do, and we will arrange an interview in five days." An Dehai was in a hurry: "I'm sorry to bother you to report again, just say that there is something urgent, please see Prince Gong in his busy schedule." The concierge smiled and said, "Okay, since we have something important to do, let's take another two hundred taels and make urgent arrangements." Helpless, An Dehai gritted his teeth and took out another two hundred taels. Just like that, An Dehai spent five hundred taels of silver once he met Yixin.He was so angry that he told the Empress Dowager Cixi about it.Cixi was quite displeased. After the censor Cai Shouqi learned that the officials were generally dissatisfied with the consignment of Prince Gong's house, he filed a complaint with the queen mother and the emperor.Cixi showed the excerpt to King Gong.After seeing it, Prince Gong asked who was on it.Cixi told him it was Cai Shouqi.Yizhen blurted out: "Cai Shouqi is not a good person!" Cixi frowned after hearing this. Since Yixin regarded himself as the regent, when discussing major military and state affairs, he often expressed opinions that were different from Cixi's.She was jealous in her heart, and she was deeply afraid that she would be ostracized.Usually discussing affairs in the apse, after a long time, the eunuch not only served tea to the queen dowagers of the two palaces, but also served a bowl of tea to Yixin.Once the eunuch forgot to serve tea, and Yi Xiao was so dry that he picked up Cixi's tea bowl and drank it all in one gulp.After finishing the drink, Yixin realized that he had taken the wrong one, and hurriedly made amends.Cixi laughed it off, but when she thought about it later, she felt uncomfortable. Later, in view of the large military expenditure, Yixin proposed to reduce the expenditure in the palace, and Cixi agreed.She thought that it was others who suppressed it, not her own head.Once, An Dehai went to the House of Internal Affairs to collect tableware.The eunuch in charge said that according to King Gong's order, the Empress Dowager's tableware was distributed once a month, and she had only received it a few days earlier, so it could not be distributed this time.An Dehai remained silent.The next day, the imperial dining room opened a meal for Cixi, and the plates and bowls served were all chipped and cracked.Empress Dowager Cixi asked why.In order to vent his personal anger, An Dehai added a lot of bad things about how Prince Gong embezzled money.Cixi was very angry when she heard this. Just a few things like this, Cixi connected it and thought about it secretly for a long time. She thinks that Yixin is the emperor's uncle, who played a role in turning things around in the year of Xinyou. He is highly knowledgeable and talented, and is widely respected by both inside and outside. Well, before long, he will treat their mother and child as puppets and play with them in his hands. At that time, he will even drive the orphans and widows out of the house and become the emperor of the Qing Dynasty himself.He is the son of Emperor Daoguang, and his name is justified when he is emperor, but the way he set up to listen to the government behind a curtain was originally unacceptable by the ancestral system.The more Cixi thought about it, the more terrifying she felt, and she had to act first!This decisive and ruthless woman made the first move.The crimes she added to Yixin were embezzlement and bribery, defiance of the emperor, many coercion, and secret envoys.Yixin was deprived of all his positions with a single edict. Yixin, who is essentially a cowardly character, was caught off guard by this sudden blow.He thought of the great change three years ago, the killing of Sushun, Zaiyuan, and Duanhua, and the skills of the queen mother in power for three years. He realized that he was not her opponent. To preserve his position of power, the only one The way out is to truly and utterly kneel at her feet and submit to her will.Taking advantage of the opportunity of Cixi's 30th birthday, he did what he liked and gave him an important gift: a whole set of cosmetics imported from France and a pair of embroidered shoes.Each pair of shoes is adorned with a one-inch-long oriental bead.The eunuch in charge told Cixi that the two beads alone were no less than half a million taels of silver.Cixi was satisfied with this important gift.She is wearing this pair of embroidered shoes that are unparalleled in the world today, looking at the beads on the toe, admiring and thinking. Forget it, within a few days after Yizhen took office, the relatives of Manchuria and Mongolia headed by Prince Dun Yichen, and the ministers of civil and military affairs headed by Minister of Military Affairs Wen Xiang kept pleading for Yixin, thinking that his meritorious deeds were too small to be accepted. This severe punishment, and the country's difficult situation, depended on him as the mainstay, and dismissing him would be very detrimental to the country.Even the Empress Dowager Ci'an interceded, saying that our sisters are women after all, and the world must be supported by men.Cixi ignored the intercession of princes and ministers, and was especially annoyed by Ci'an's words.She didn't say anything, but in her heart she despised Ci'an for being worthless: "So what about female prostitutes? Can't female prostitutes start a career? Isn't Wu Zetian a girl, how many men can catch up with her?I just want them to see what the Queen Mother is capable of! " Although she had this ambition in her heart, after more than two months, the Empress Dowager Cixi, who had just been in power, felt that she was not capable enough.The first is that she has read too few books.The edict to Ba Gongwang that she drafted by herself is only about 200 words long, and there are more than ten typos, she doesn't know it.Half a month later, her brother-in-law told her quietly that she blushed with shame.As long as the memorials submitted by the courtiers involve some remote historical allusions, she doesn't understand them, and she is too embarrassed to ask the Military Aircraft Department. She often half-understands many memorials.In addition, she lacks understanding of the background, qualifications, talents and character of the officials of the six ministries, the governors, governors, two divisions, generals, and capital officials. She is often uncertain about their promotion and disposal.What embarrasses her especially is that she can hardly comment on any reports related to military affairs.She deeply felt that as the lord of a country, she lacked too much, and her delicate shoulders were far from being able to carry this tattered and heavy burden.The fact that so many people were dissatisfied with Prince Gong's dismissal also made her realize that her current prestige was not enough to make her officials fearful and fearful.Thirty-year-old Cixi is much naive than the later Lafayette, but also much wiser.She clearly sees that she still needs to learn, cultivate party members, and establish authority, and in the process, someone needs to shoulder this burden for her.Looking around the royal family, the brothers of the first emperor, Yixuan, the king of Dun, is stupid, Yixuan, the king of alcohol, is superficial, Yixuan, the king of hammer, is dissolute, and Yixuan, the king of Fu, is still young.Looking at the nearby royal families, there is no one with outstanding talents.Comparing with each other, no one surpassed Yixin. Empress Dowager Cixi is in a good mood recently.This is because, first of all, her method of slandering, exposing, and coercing Zeng Guofan with the aim of prompting him to accelerate the disbandment of the Hunan Army has completely achieved the expected effect.Zeng Guofan's own memorial reported that the Hunan army was being demobilized in batches, and the memorials of Fu Ming'a and Dexing'a also confirmed this.She is relieved.The second is Shen Baozhen's report that his subordinate Xi Baotian captured the little heavenly king Hong Tianguifu alive and asked to be escorted to Beijing as a captive.Both of these happy events are grand and colorful for her 30th birthday.Plus Yixin's own performance.The combination of many factors made Cixi decide to pardon Yixin's fault and resume his appointment. "Sixth Lord, the late Emperor often praised your loyalty and talent in front of me. Our sisters fully believe in you. Now that we have recognized the previous mistakes, it is fine not to commit them in the future. The emperor was young, and our sisters have experienced It's not enough, and I will have to rely on Liu Ye's assistance in the future." This was clearly intended to be used again, Yizhen was both surprised and delighted, kowtowed repeatedly, and said: "The Empress Dowager is magnanimous, and my ministers are so utterly devastated that it is not enough to repay it." "Your siblings, you don't need to say such things." Cixi's words were very earnest, and her tone of intimacy returned to the past, "There are a few things, the sixth master can help our sisters make up their minds." "Please show me the Queen Mother." "In the south of the Yangtze River, there have been two major events recently. One is Zeng Guofan's layoff of the Hunan army. He said in his notes that he would cut 90% of the army, or even none of them. The second is that Shen Baozhen captured the false young king, and he said he would bring him as a prisoner. Regarding these two matters, Master Liu will talk about your views." "The Empress Dowager," Yixin reported after thinking for a moment, "shortly after the capture of Jiangning, Zeng Guofan immediately started disarming the army, which shows that Zeng Guofan is loyal to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. This person is an important minister who was specially chosen by Emperor Xuanzong for the late Emperor. Xuanzong Lord and The late emperors valued him for his talent and blood, so he gave him a heavy responsibility. He really lived up to his expectations and established the Hunan Army. After more than ten years of hardships, he defeated the giants in the south of the Yangtze River. Now he does not take credit for pride, but supports the self-respect of the troops, and actively disarms. It is the rare loyal man in the ages, a role model for ministers. The empress dowager and the emperor should praise them vigorously to cultivate the morale. If all the generals who lead the army follow the example of Zeng Guofan, the ancestors will be as solid as gold." "Oh!" Cixi nodded in agreement.Yizhen really deserves to be Zeng Guofan's confidant, with just a few words, every sentence hits the point.When Cixi thought of the collusion with Yizhen and Seng Gelinqin, she felt a little ashamed.Yes, Yixin said it well, if the generals who lead the troops are like Zeng Guofan, then they can really rest easy, and he should be commended vigorously! Yixin went on to say: "In order to show the reward for the Queen Mother's loyalty to Zeng Guofan, an order should be issued to allow the Hunan Army to retain part of it. On the one hand, it shows the court's full trust in Zeng Guofan, and it is also necessary for the situation. There are still Nian bandits, the Hunan army cannot be completely withdrawn." "How many people do you want to keep?" Cixi asked, she felt that Yixin's words made sense. "I think at least 30,000 people should be kept. Too few will not work." "Okay, let Zeng Guofan keep 30,000." "Based on this, I suggest that the pseudo-young heavenly king does not need to be escorted to the capital to offer prisoners." "Why?" Cixi didn't understand the relationship between the two for a while. "The false young heavenly king escaped from Jiangning City. A few days ago, Zuo Zongtang, Shen Baozhen and others impeached Zeng Guoquan for this. Now if the false young heavenly king is brought to the capital and there is an uproar, it will not add glory to Shen Baozhen, Would it make Zeng Guoquan lose face? Since the queen mother wants to praise Zeng Guofan's loyalty, she must also forgive his younger brother's negligence. After all, the false young heavenly king is just a little urchin and cannot be compared with the false heavenly king. He can help Shi Dakai and Chen Yucheng Li Xiucheng and Li Xiucheng did not set a precedent for offering prisoners, and ordered Shen Baozhen to be executed on the spot in Nanchang." "I will do it according to your opinion." Cixi understood the relationship and readily agreed. "One more thing, the Ministry of Household Affairs, please follow the regulations of the Banner Soldiers and the Green Battalion, and order the Hunan Army to report the military expenditures for more than ten years one by one, so that they can be verified. The sixth master sees how to handle it?" "Empress Dowager, the Ministry of Finance is doing nothing." Yizhen replied decisively, "Since the Hunan Army is not a division of the imperial court, it cannot serve as a banner soldier. The Green Battalion has become a rule. For more than ten years, most of the Hunan Army's military expenditure They are all self-raised, and the imperial court has limited funds. Why bother with the self-raised funds! Moreover, these generals of the Hunan Army, who started from their hometowns, have never received formal training from the imperial court, and they may not have kept a detailed account of their past transactions. So many years have passed, and now they are asked to declare item by item year by year. Isn’t this a problem for them? Besides, when the Hunan Army is being disbanded, the disarmament is over. It’s better to drop it. If they use this to delay the time, or simply don’t cut it, wouldn’t it be a small loss!” "Master Liu is right!" Cixi wholeheartedly agreed with Yixin's point of view. It is really not worth the loss to get back some money and miss the important task of disarmament!From this, she felt that Yizheng was a rare talent, so she solemnly announced: "Sixth Master, from now on, you will still return to your post as Minister of Military Aircraft, the Prime Minister's Military Aircraft Department." Yi was overjoyed in advance, and hurriedly kowtowed: "Chen Yi, thank the Empress Dowager for your grace." Then he thought: Why didn't you give me back the title of "King of Political Affairs"?Inadvertent negligence, or intentional withholding?While thinking about it, Cixi had already ordered: "Kneel down!" Yixing kowtowed in disappointment, held up his big hat with three eyes, and retreated facing the yellow curtain.As soon as he walked to the door curtain, and was about to turn around to go out, Cixi's voice came again: "Master Liu." Yizhen stopped quickly, thinking: the queen mother must have remembered my "king of politics" and wanted to return it to me .Busily knelt down and replied, "The minister is here." "Zeng Guofan said that the Jiangnan Gongyuan will be built soon, and the Jiazike Township Examination will be held in early November. The Jiangnan Township Examination has been interrupted for more than ten years, and it will be resumed this year. Let’s discuss it, let’s figure it out.” "Yes!" Yixin replied disappointedly.