1855 United States Tycoon

"Are you saying that these rumors might have been released by foreigners themselves?" Cixi's voice was not high, it was floating, and it was hard to hear whether it was joy or anger.

"In response to the Queen Mother, the minion sent a lot of spies to inquire around. Many people have seen foreigners' interpreters spread rumors in the market." An official knelt down, burying his head low. He knew that Empress Dowager Cixi was very annoyed by the rumor that had just appeared. If it turns out that it is a minister who is not long-sighted or a damn messy party, then Cixi still has a chance to vent her anger. But now it is such a result. He knew that the Empress Dowager Cixi couldn't take foreigners out of her anger, and even the foreigners' slaves could not move easily. In this way, the queen mother is only afraid that it will be even more angry.

There was a sudden rush of coughing from the top of the steps, and then he heard Li Lianying's voice: "The Queen Mother, don't be angry with these guys. You're angry. It's not worth it..."

There was still a continuous coughing sound above. Listening to that sound, the queen mother seemed to cough up her heart and lungs. After a while, the coughing gradually ceased, and Li Lianying's voice came from above: "The Queen Mother, you drink ginseng soup and run smoothly. This is the ginseng from Citi, which is different from our Changbai Mountain. It's nourishing the lungs..."

Without instructions from Cixi, the Man Qing official lay down and didn't dare to move. After a while, he felt that his knees and lumbar spine were sore, that Cixi's voice was heard from above: "Don't get out of here. !"

...

All sorts of messy things kept popping up these days, which made Cixi's mood a lot worse. The first is the malicious article about the chaos of the party, which made the Queen Mother Lafayette very frightened; then, after the rumors appeared, the actions of foreigners and local governors made her even more angry. They warned her in various ways not to try to establish another emperor. And now, she discovered that such rumors were actually released from foreigners! Obviously, these foreigners deliberately sent out such rumors to test her purely after seeing the article, and at the same time used this opportunity to warn her not to try to make any tricks."These robbers, these rebellious!" Cixi couldn't help being cruel in her heart, she knew the intentions of these people. The more dishonest the Qing court was, the better it was for these guys. For the governors, the weaker the court, the more dependent on their support, and the greater their power. As for the revolution, when the time comes anyway, the court will be unfair, it is nothing more than a change of skin, they are still the local bosses, and no one can accuse them of being unfaithful. For foreigners, a divided China is better than a unified China anyway. Because they can provoke competition between divided parties and even civil war, and under such conditions, the value of their "aid" will naturally be ascending, and the prices of various things in China will naturally drop. In other words, at that time, even if Chinese people are traitors, they can’t sell the price.

Originally, in Cixi's opinion, setting up a prince for Guangxu first, and then respecting him as the Supreme Emperor, and letting that prince ascend to the throne was almost the best way to guarantee the legitimacy of the court. However, those foreigners took the initiative to create the rumors first, and then blocked the road without hesitation.

"This, this is... This is the end of the Qing Dynasty!" Cixi gritted her teeth, but now she has no choice but to give in. Because there are half ways for foreigners to make Daqing unable to live, but Daqing has nothing to do with foreigners. The spread of rumors has brought a lot of chaos within the imperial court. In order to quell it, the 70-year-old Cixi had to constantly meet with officials, reply to the memorials of local governors, and appease them. For this reason, she sometimes needs to work more than ten hours a day. Such work itself is not suitable for an old man in her seventies. In addition, these things are depressing and painful for Cixi to deal with. Everything dealt with was a blow to Cixi's spirit. Such depression, coupled with the dry air in spring, coupled with insomnia-Cixi's true sleep time can not even be guaranteed for three hours a day. The physical condition of Empress Dowager Cixi began to deteriorate.

What's more terrible is that at critical moments, the court, or the royal family, also specializes in pig teammates. Those princes who were summoned naturally noticed Cixi’s fatigue, but these guys didn’t say that they shared their worries for Lafayette. Many of them were even secretly happy. Many princes felt that Cixi had been in power for too long. , If she really died, then the power originally controlled by her might fall into his own hands. Moreover, they also felt that they could definitely do better than Cixi. For example, if you were yourself, you would never allow those Han governors to be so domineering.

Radical two. The forcing people thought that if they came to power, it must be the first imperial decree to recruit those domineering governors into the capital, and then smash them away, and then send people to take over their army and The site, and then Daqing will be revitalized, and it will last for thousands of years.

The second is safer. The people think that the local governors are stupid. Just give them the title of military minister, and they can let them lay down their power obediently, and then they can send the Manchurians to the place. Not only served as the local chief officer, but also served as the No. 1 commander in the various new armies. Then the Qing Dynasty will naturally be for thousands of years, and then everyone can continue to eat hard-core crops.

As a result, from the mouths of these pig teammates, the Empress Dowager Cixi was dysfunctional and coughing all the time. Rumors with noses and eyes, such as she might be alive soon, spread out again. Although the Queen Mother Lafayette ordered a strict investigation, to be honest, my Daqing police system, especially Beijing's police system, is filled with a large number of Baqizi brothers who can't do anything. They look at a lot of people, but they really want to Wu Xiangzi and Song Enzi did not run the business so honestly, but not many arrests. In addition, those who spread rumors are often guys that Wu Xiangzi and Song Enzi cannot afford to offend. Therefore, in various tea houses and other places, including Wang Lifa's tea house, all kinds of rumors are almost flying in the sky. Although the shopkeeper Wang Lifa also posted things like "Don't talk about national affairs, self-righteously" in all the eye-catching places in the teahouse, but the effectiveness of this thing, to be honest, is the same as that of the Naba in the future Baidu Tieba. The requirement of patriotism, or the sophomore bar on the top of the bar rules prohibiting water stickers, is purely a display. But not to spread rumors, not to have some fun, not to make the boring Life a little bit talkative, why do those Baqiang brothers soak in the teahouse from morning to night? Speaking of it, the teahouses of that era are somewhat similar to the BBS of later generations and even post bars. This situation naturally made the Empress Dowager Cixi even more resentful.

...

The summer of 1908 finally came. As the weather became hot, Empress Dowager Cixi's originally bad health became worse. She is now as thin as a skeleton, even Li Lianying knows that Cixi's time is running out.

On this day, Cixi angered the pig teammates twice again. After she was busy with work, after dinner, she asked Li Lianying to help her walk around in the yard.

"The Queen Mother, please slow down." Li Lianying helped Cixi and walked slowly along the corridor.

"My husband, have you been with Ai's family for decades?" Cixi asked.

"If you return to the Queen Mother, the slave and maid served the Queen Mother in Tongzhi three years ago, and it has been forty-four years now."

"Forty-four years, these years, it's really like running water, just a blink of an eye, and forty-four years have passed. I remember that at that time, Mrs. Li, you were still a child, and the Aijia called you a child. Plum is here. In a blink of an eye, you are old, and the Aijia is also old." Cixi seemed quite moved.

"The slave and maid are old, and the Queen Mother is not old, she is still young, and she is very energetic." Li Lianying replied.

"Hehe, Ai's family is also getting old, and I don't know if I can survive this year." Cixi didn't seem to care too much.

"The Queen Mother is boundless and can live ten thousand years." Li Lianying said hurriedly.

"Hey, you are also talking nonsense to the Aijia. Under this circumstance, when will someone live for 10,000 years? Even the tortoise bastard can't live that long. Mrs. Li, you have worked hard with the Aijia for these years."

"The Queen Mother, the maidservant can serve you. That is a blessing for several lifetimes. How dare you be the two words of hard work." Li Lianying was shocked and said hurriedly.

"It's not hard work, the Aijia naturally knows it." Cixi smiled, "My husband, the Aijia is not a very good person, and the Aijia knows that. You have always been smart, and you have never been smart enough to do those things. Things to be arrogant and arrogant. Apart from collecting some money, I never do anything that is taboo."

"The Queen Mother, the servant girl..." Li Lianying hurriedly knelt down, "The servant girl deserves a million deaths, the servant girl..."

"Husband Li, get up." Cixi said, "It's not a big deal. Besides, in your position, collecting money is a matter of law. The Aijia still knows this. Get up, if the Aijia is connected If this is to be punished, I am afraid there will be no one with a head left in this palace. Get up..."

"Hey." Li Lianying quickly stood up.

Cixi stretched his hand over, let Li Lianying hold him, and continued to walk along the corridor.

"Honey Li, I am afraid that time is running out. Don't kneel down again, hold on to Ai Jia! Listen to Ai Jia!"

"Hi!"

"The Ai's family thinks, how long the Qing Dynasty can last when the Ai's family is gone, the Ai's heart is really not at all. Mrs. Li, once the emperor and the courtier, at that time... Well, you'd better find Mrs. Li. A reliable person sells a house in the Tianjin concession, and then puts the valuables in the bank in the Tianjin concession. Then it will be a way out...only the Aijia, there will be no way out."

Thank you for reading this story at mtlarchive.com. Your support enables us to keep the site running!