Gang Yi is not a simple person, and he felt a little uncomfortable when he heard Li Hongzhang's words.
Although Gang Yi was considered a capable minister in the Qing Dynasty and relatively honest, he still belonged to the Empress Dowager Cixi.
Now Li Hongzhang's words are very obvious. If you want to keep the Empress Dowager Cixi, I'm afraid the Qing Dynasty will be over. If you want the Qing Dynasty to continue, you can only give up the Empress Dowager Cixi.
Why did Li Hongzhang dare to say such things to the loyal ministers of the Empress Dowager Cixi so blatantly? It was because he had already seen that the imperial court was at the end of its rope.
I'm afraid these ministers are also looking for their own paths now.
And the Empress Dowager Cixi is a woman no matter what. If she leaves the ministers under her, she may not be able to command her alone.
What makes Li Hongzhang even more reassured is that Ronglu, Empress Dowager Cixi's core supporter and in charge of the army, is now staying in Jinan. Empress Dowager Cixi's power in the capital has been weakened to the extreme.
Gangyi thought for a while and then said: "The Empress Dowager Bao is going to the Qing Dynasty. There is no conflict between the two things."
Li Hongzhang was a little surprised after hearing this. He looked at Gangyi and then asked: "Is there really any way, my dear brother, to get the best of both worlds?"
Gangyi shook his head and didn't say anything. In fact, he already had a clue in his mind. If Li Hongzhang really couldn't have the best of both worlds, then he could only ask the Queen Mother to go to Xi'an to escape temporarily. Then he could contact Zhang Zhidong and maybe be able to regroup, otherwise
Otherwise, we can only rely on Western Xinjiang and use the Rakshasa people to temporarily maintain the imperial court.
Gang Yi and Li Hongzhang were silent for a while, and then the vehicle entered from the main entrance of the Forbidden City and stopped at the entrance of Cining Palace.
When they got here, Gang Yi and Li Hongzhang got out of the car and reported inside. After a while, the eunuch inside came out to send a message, and the Queen Mother asked Gang Yi and Li Hongzhang to see them.
The two people then entered the main hall of Cining Palace and saw that all the military and aircraft ministers had been waiting here for a long time.
Li Hongzhang, as the protagonist this time, first knelt down to salute the Empress Dowager Cixi.
When the Empress Dowager Cixi, who was sitting above, saw Li Hongzhang coming, she said as if she were seeing a relative: "Old Ai Qing, please get up quickly!"
Li Hongzhang thanked him and stood up again, standing behind the Minister of Military and Aircraft, waiting for the Empress Dowager Cixi's inquiry.
Now that the Empress Dowager Cixi saw Li Hongzhang coming, she felt that she had a backbone, so she said to Li Hongzhang with a smile on her face: "Old Ai Qing, you also know that Liu Hai, a rebel soldier, will soon arrive in the capital. With Lao Ai Qing,
How should I deal with my opinion?"
Li Hongzhang already had a case in his mind. After hearing the Empress Dowager Cixi's inquiry, he immediately said: "I have only one way to save the Qing Dynasty. In order to protect the Qing Dynasty, I also ask the Empress Dowager to retreat from the harem and release the emperor. At the same time, Liu Hai is appointed as the foreman of the Military Aircraft Department.
, Only in this way can the military disaster be eliminated."
After hearing this, the Empress Dowager Cixi, who had been smiling at first, immediately became gloomy. She stared at Li Hongzhang with venomous eyes and said, "Li Aiqing wants to kill the Ai family."
Li Hongzhang also heard that the Empress Dowager Cixi's tone was not kind, and hurriedly knelt down on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, "I am loyal and loyal, please see the Empress Dowager clearly."
This time, Empress Dowager Cixi did not ask Li Hongzhang to stand up. She sat on the throne, her face even darker.
"Li Aiqing, you are a Han after all. It seems that you are really not of the same mind as the Ai family."
Li Hongzhang was already sweating all over when he heard this. When he came, he had already thought that this time might not be so easy to get through, but he did not expect that the Empress Dowager Cixi would actually murder him.
Liao Shouheng, the minister of military aircraft who was on the side, also knelt down at this time and said, "The Queen Mother, please calm down. Although Lord Li's words are very inappropriate, I have him in mind, and please give the Queen Mother a gentle sentence."
After Li Hongzhang heard this, not only did he not show any gratitude, but he glared at this man fiercely.
This sounds like he is pleading for mercy, but in fact everyone can hear it. As long as the Queen Mother agrees, then he will be convicted of this crime.
Sure enough, the Empress Dowager Cixi's face improved a little, but she still said angrily: "Li Hongzhang has made great contributions to the imperial court. He was specially removed from the post of Governor of Zhili and joined the Military Aircraft Department as Minister of Military Aircraft."
Li Hongzhang finally breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. His life was saved, but his rights were deprived of him.
This is very obviously the Empress Dowager Cixi rising and falling secretly.
You must know that the Governor of Zhili is the head of the world's governors. It can be said that he has a high position. The Minister of Military and Aircraft seems to be in charge of the center, but in fact he is just a staff member of the emperor and the Queen Mother. If he does not gain the trust of the Queen Mother, this Minister of Military and Aircraft will not
Not even a fart.
Although Li Hongzhang still had a lot to say, he also knew that it was useless to say anything now, so he could only retreat to the class silently.
At this time, the Empress Dowager Cixi no longer had any idea about Li Hongzhang's plan. She said directly to the people below: "The Liu Hai rebels are about to attack the capital. In order to mourn the loss of our family, we will immediately send troops back to the capital for defense."
After saying this, the Empress Dowager Cixi looked at the people below and saw that they were all silent, so she continued: "But for the sake of the safety of the court, we have to make contingency plans. Now that the war is not going well, Aijia is ready
Leading the Emperor on a westward inspection tour of Xi'an, you military ministers must be well prepared and don't panic when the time comes."
After hearing this, Prince Li Shiduo stood up and asked: "To inform the Queen Mother, the current Governor of Zhili, Li Hongzhang, has been promoted to Minister of Military and Aircraft. I don't know who should take over as the Governor of Zhili."
The Empress Dowager Cixi thought for a while and said: "Now that the war is urgent, power needs to be centralized. From today on, the entire military power around the capital, including Zhili, will be under the command of the Military Aircraft Department."
After listening to Empress Dowager Cixi's painting, the military minister and others all knelt down and said they respected the decree.
The Empress Dowager Cixi tiredly waved her hands and asked them all to leave.
After all the military ministers left, Empress Dowager Cixi slammed the cup in front of her to the ground.
And the eunuchs and maids beside the Empress Dowager Cixi are all trying their best to hide themselves.
Finally, Li Lianying came out, poured another cup of tea for the Empress Dowager Cixi, and then directed the eunuch to clear away the debris on the ground.
Empress Dowager Cixi took a sip of the tea brought by Li Lianying, then sighed and said: "Whenever the court is in danger, these ministers have their own ideas. The Ai family originally had high hopes for Li Hongzhang, but they did not expect that he only thought about his own power.
, but forgot how much the imperial court had cultivated him."
Li Lianying stood aside and didn't know what to say. On this occasion, he didn't dare to say anything.
In the end, it was Empress Dowager Cixi who gave the order herself, "Xiao Lizi, you pack up and send someone to arrange the journey from the capital to Xi'an. Don't panic when we leave."
Li Lianying was shocked when he heard this, because from this sentence, he had already heard that the Empress Dowager Cixi did not have any hope for the war in the capital. She wanted to drag her bangs to the capital so that she could escape to Xi'an as soon as possible.
.
However, Li Lianying was also thinking about saving his life. Not only did he not have any doubts about Empress Dowager Cixi's words, but he was filled with joy.
Not to mention the Empress Dowager Cixi in the capital who was already preparing to escape, and Liu Hai on the sea. He led more than two hundred warships all the way north in a mighty manner, and ships from various countries all gave way to him wherever he passed.
But when we arrived near Tianjin, Liu Hai finally encountered some difficulties.
It turns out that the consuls of various countries have already discussed that if Liu Hai is allowed to enter Tianjin so easily this time, the interests of their countries will be harmed.
Therefore, they jointly made a resolution and sent representatives, requiring Liu Hai to agree that the interests of all countries in Tianjin and the Qing Dynasty would not be harmed, otherwise all countries would jointly intervene.
Liu Hai looked at the arrogant foreigner in front of him on the Nanchang, feeling a little annoyed and funny at the same time.
It seems that although they defeated the British, these foreigners have not completely changed their minds and always think that the Qing people are an inferior nation.
"Is this ultimatum of yours really a consul representing each country?"
The foreigner Charles in front of Liu Hai looked at Liu Hai's careless look, and felt a little nervous.
In fact, this time the consuls of various countries issued this ultimatum together, it was just a bluff. They knew that the current situation in Europe was not good. The people of Will were rising rapidly, and the strength of the Geely people began to shrink after being hit by Liu Hai. Now the two sides are fighting fiercely.
Well, there is no time to take care of the Far East.
But facing Liu Hai, he still threatened him, "This is a declaration jointly made by 12 countries. If you don't agree, it will be equivalent to making an unfriendly statement to 12 countries at the same time."
Liu Hai smiled after hearing this, and then asked: "Which country are you a representative of?"
Charles was stunned by Liu Hai's question, but finally replied: "I represent Citigroup."
After hearing this, Liu Hai burst into laughter, while Charles below was a little confused by Liu Hai's laughter.
Finally, Liu Hai stopped smiling and asked with a straight face: "Has your resolution been passed by Citigroup? Do the big domestic consortiums also mean this? After you make the decision without permission and return to China, do you know what will happen to you?"
Punishment?”
Liu Hai's three questions immediately left Charles speechless. Although this time he reported to the country via telegram, the country had not yet given him a reply, and he had already made the decision without authorization.
However, he believed that now was a good time for Citigroup to expand its influence in the Qing Dynasty, so he arbitrarily agreed to the joint ultimatum requests of other countries, and actively became the envoy who came to talk to Liu Hai this time.
Now that he heard these questions from Liu Hai, he suddenly thought that Liu Hai had a backend in Citigroup. Those big chaebols were now tied to Liu Hai in the same boat. Will his behavior annoy these people?
Liu Hai saw that the Charles in front of him was a strong man but a strong man. He stood up and walked to Charles, patted him on the shoulder, and then said: "Go back and tell the consuls of various countries that this time I am admitted to Tianjin."
, as for other things, they don’t even think about it.”
After Liu Hai said this, he ordered his men to see off the guests. Now Charles was beginning to worry about his future, so he left Liu Hai in despair and returned to Tianjin to resume his life.