The Black Book

"Uh..."

The minister hesitated, not daring to speak, and looked at the gray-haired old man in the lead.

Seeing this, the old man sighed and took out a memorial.

"Old Buddha, Your Majesty, this is a joint memorial from the governors of various provinces on the deployment of troops to defend the king."

The young man in the dragon robe took the memorial, but before he could open it, it was snatched away by the old woman next to him.

However, when the old woman opened it, she was struck by lightning, her body staggered, and she fell on the chair with a plop, and the memorial in her hand fell to the ground.

Seeing this, the young man had an ominous premonition in his heart, and hurriedly picked it up and saw that there was only one sentence in it.

"I have the responsibility to defend the land, and I will never obey the edict!"

Boom!

As if a thunder exploded in his ears, only one sentence flashed through the young man in the dragon robe's mind.

Qing pills!

The blatant disobedience of the governors of various provinces tore off the last fig leaf of the central government, which also meant that this war was no longer a foreign war of the Qing Empire as a whole...

Instead, only the Qing imperial family fought against the Eight Powers, and the other provinces watched from the sidelines!

"A bunch of ruthless slaves!"

"Eat my food, use my things, wear my clothes, the Qing Dynasty has been so kind to them, and this is how they repay me?!!"

The old woman on the side came to her senses and burst into hysterical roars again.

"They are pigs, dogs, Aqina! Sethhei!"

Seeing the old woman's impotent rage, smashing the expensive decorations in the room to pieces, the white-haired old man hesitated for a moment, and finally couldn't help but persuade.

"Old Buddha, I heard that the governors of various provinces have signed a [Mutual Protection Agreement] with the foreign coalition forces, and they will definitely not send troops to defend the king."

"Right now, I'm afraid it's better to make plans early."

Hearing the minister's meaningful words, the old woman finally calmed down and smiled grimly.

"It is better to be with friendly nations than with domestic slaves!"

"Sell! Everyone come and sell!"

When the thought of selling out the country came to mind, the old woman suddenly felt that the world was wide, her eyes widened, and she shouted in a stern voice.

"Summon the British ambassador to the audience!"

Hearing this, several ministers looked at each other and sighed helplessly.

"As ordered."

Soon, a group of nimble palace maids cleaned up the porcelain fragments in the room and restored it to a noble and elegant appearance.

When British Lieutenant General Seymour stepped into the study, he saw only a group of Qing rulers with different expressions.

The arrogant middle-aged white man did not salute, but stared at the old woman at the head with an expressionless face.

"Special envoy, I asked you to come here this time to discuss the matter of armistice..."

The old Buddha in front of him could not bring himself to beg for mercy, so the leading minister could only stand up and kowtow.

But before he finished speaking, Seymour waved his hand and said decisively.

"You have only one choice, hand over the [Imperial Seal], announce your abdication, the Qing Dynasty will be destroyed, and its territory will be included in the rule of the Queen and become part of Great Britain!"

Everyone present widened their eyes when they heard this.

They originally thought that as long as they ceded land and paid compensation, they would be fine. Anyway, the Qing Dynasty had a vast territory. Even if they ceded half of it to the foreigners, they could still live a life of wealth and glory!

I didn't expect that they would swallow the Qing Dynasty as a whole!

"Your Excellency has such a big appetite, aren't you afraid of choking to death?!"

The old woman laughed angrily, staring at Seymour's eyes.

However, Seymour just curled his lips in disdain, looked around, and said coldly.

"I'm not discussing with you, this is a notice!"

"You...are you presumptuous!"

Ignoring the anger of the young man in the dragon robe, Seymour took out his pocket watch and took a look, saying calmly without any fluctuations.

"The coalition forces will launch an attack soon. If you are willing to surrender before the city is broken, come to me."

After saying that, Seymour turned and left, not taking the Qing rulers seriously at all.

After Seymour left, the kings and ministers looked at each other, and saw the bitterness and despair in each other's eyes.

The old woman who was originally high and mighty was completely depressed. She had been used to being bossy all her life. The despair and powerlessness at this moment completely broke her spirit. She looked old and frightened like a wild dog with a broken spine.

"My lords, what should we do now?"

Seeing that the old woman was at a loss, the leading minister stood up with a stiff upper lip.

"The foreigners set out from Tanggu and successively occupied strategic locations such as Beicang, Yangcun, Hexiwu, and Tongzhou."

"After that, the foreigners continued to increase their troops, and sent troops from Beijing and Tianjin to attack in all directions, controlling the strategic passes around Beijing and Tianjin from Zhengding in the south, Shanhaiguan in the east, and Niangziguan in the west."

"We have been surrounded from the west, south, and east. Now the only plan is to ask the old Buddha and His Majesty to go north from Zhangjiakou, bypass the Great Wall and enter Shaanxi, and visit Chang'an!"

At this point, the minister gritted his teeth.

"As long as the old Buddha and His Majesty are still there, the national destiny of my Qing Dynasty will still be there."

"Chang'an is the ancient capital of thirteen dynasties and the place where the dragon rises."

"The Guanzhong Plain is a thousand miles of fertile land, connected to the land of abundance in the south. As long as we occupy this place, the foreigners will be out of reach, and they will surely make a comeback in the future!"

Hearing this, the old woman frowned unwillingly.

Chang'an is the place where the Han people rise. To be fair, she still wants to return to the place where the Manchus rise.

But considering the threat of the Luosha people in the north, the Guanzhong Plain in the hinterland is still safer, so the old woman nodded helplessly.

"Okay, call Liu Haisheng."

After a while, a middle-aged man wearing a gorgeous robe, a sword on his waist, a feminine temperament, a white face and no beard walked into the study and knelt on the ground respectfully.

"Eunuch Liu Haisheng, the seal holder, kowtows to the old Buddha, Your Majesty."

"Please get up!"

The old woman personally helped Liu Haisheng up and said sadly.

"The foreign ministers are incompetent and have lost their power and humiliated the country. Your Majesty and I want to rehabilitate Chang'an and rebuild the country. We will rely on you along the way."

Hearing this, Liu Haisheng nodded solemnly: "I must protect Lafayette and the Emperor!"

Seeing this, the old woman nodded happily.

Liu Haisheng was the one who escorted her when she fled decades ago. He has been loyal throughout her life and is the old woman's most trusted confidant.

"By the way, where is the imperial seal?"

"Here."

Liu Haisheng took out a bright yellow silk package and untied it to reveal a beautiful and gorgeous jade seal. He knelt on the ground and respectfully presented it to the old woman.

Seeing this symbol that represented China's destiny, the old woman felt a sense of confidence in her heart.

As long as she is still in charge of the [Jade Seal of the Nation], she is the only owner of this land!

Even if she dies, she won't let go of this authority!

But just when she was about to grab the jade seal, Liu Haisheng, who was half-kneeling on the ground, suddenly raised his head and looked into the void beside him, roaring angrily.

"How brave!"

With a backhand stroke, the sharp sword finger slashed in the air, and the substantial sword energy tore through the invisible barrier, leaving a trace of traces of blood on a long, slender, white palm that suddenly appeared.

Bah~

A crisp sound like glass exploding exploded in the room. It was only then that everyone noticed that there was a figure next to them, shrouded in a dark hood and cloak.