Rebirth of the Northern Giants

Xiao Lizi didn't understand Cixi's meaning when she heard this. She started to suspect Li Hongzhang. Now Li Hongzhang's prestige has not declined but has risen, and his power is even more monstrous, posing a serious threat to the rule of the Manchus.

Xiao Lizi followed Cixi's words and asked: "What do you mean, Queen Mother?"

Cixi smiled and said: "The Ai family promoted Li Hongzhang in the Hunan Army, and the Hunan Army has now become fragmented. Now the Ai family only needs to promote another Li Hongzhang in the Li Hongzhang army. Isn't it interesting to fight in Beiyang?" ?”

Xiao Lizi quickly nodded in agreement, and Cixi went on to say: "What's more, Li Hongzhang is not as innocent as Zeng Guofan before. Aijia heard that both his father and son stored silver in the Japanese bank. Isn't he collaborating with the enemy? Besides, he In order to preserve his strength, Li Hongzhang put the Beiyang navy in the port and did not dare to attack. I don’t know how many fighters were delayed. Didn’t the old Weng next to the Ai family claim to be the leader of the "Nanqingliu"? He has a gap with Li Hongzhang and will Li Hongzhang's filthy stories are told to Hanlin and Yushi in the imperial court, these self-proclaimed high-minded guys, isn't it enough for him to drink a pot of Li Hongzhang?"

Xiao Lizi praised: "The empress dowager is wise, it's just that the servant doesn't know who you are planning to promote, Lafayette?"

Cixi interjected and said: "It is Ye Zhikui who was personally praised by Li Hongzhang as a blessed general of the country. This time he has made great achievements and can rival Li Hongzhang's reputation. The imperial court must also reward those who have made meritorious deeds, otherwise it will not be cold to others. It's just how to reward this, and whoever rewards is the final decision of the Ai family."

Little Lizi was puzzled, and asked, "I still don't understand, isn't this person Li Hongzhang's confidant?"

Cixi smiled and said: "If you, a slave, understand, why do you want me, the Queen Mother? Not to mention that Ye Zhikui is Li Hongzhang's confidant, Zeng Guofan was Li Hongzhang's mentor back then! So what? Ye Zhikui entered Beijing yesterday Afterwards, I visited Weng Tongsu and Li Hongzao, both of whom were at odds with Li Hongzhang, don’t think that Ai’s family doesn’t know, didn’t he send you a lot of money?”

Xiao Lizi did not change his face, and said loyally: "Lafayette's eyes are like lightning. This servant is about to report this matter to you and hand over the silver to you, Queen Mother. This servant is alone, and it is useless to keep it."

Cixi waved her hand and said: "Forget it, let's take it as a reward from Aijia. Ye Zhikui has been paying attention to Aijia for a long time. I heard that he is good at fighting, but he is very greedy, even a bit arrogant and vulgar. Despicable. As long as the Ai family cuts off their hands a little, and shows both kindness and power, I am afraid that they will not be able to control such a brat, pass an order, and the Ai family will summon him tomorrow."

Li Hongzhang hadn't been summoned yet, but Ye Zhikui was summoned first. This was the first step to sow dissension.Why did Cixi say that Ye Zhikui was rude and unreasonable, so let's see Ye Zhikui's performance in the past two days!

On the morning of November 11th, Ye Zhikui entered the capital from Andingmen. When he passed by the gate of the city, he happened to meet a beautiful woman. Both the soldiers and the people who passed by saw it with their own eyes.

In the afternoon, Ye Zhikui led a woman to a gold and jade shop, and saw a bracelet, but when she bought it, she slandered the shop owner for selling fake goods. Instead of paying the money, she sued the shop owner for compensation.

In the evening, Ye Zhikui had a meal in a restaurant. After eating and drinking, he threw a fly into the remaining soup and asked the boss why there was a fly learning to swim in his bowl. The shop had no choice but to compensate him.

Ye Zhikui has done countless other things such as not helping a 70-year-old lady cross the road, grabbing a three-year-old child's lollipop, etc. Fortunately, Ye Zhikui did not leave a name for his bad deeds, otherwise if people know that he is that A well-known and blessed general of the country, he still didn't kill him by thunder, shouting that it is better to meet him than to be famous.However, these behaviors were seen by countless "careful people", and the information was uploaded layer by layer, and finally reached Cixi's bedside.

In the imperial palace, in the middle of the night, there was a sound of footsteps outside the cold palace. The old guard eunuch woke up from his dream and ran out quickly. When he saw a figure, he couldn't help but lightly reprimanded: "Who is it?" When he saw it clearly, His complexion couldn't help changing, he quickly fell to his knees, and said anxiously: "This old slave pays his respects to the emperor!"

It was Guangxu who came, and Guangxu hastily said no courtesy and was about to go inside, the old eunuch stood up and stopped him and said: "Your Majesty, Lafayette will not let anyone see Concubine Zhen!"

Guangxu's eyes changed, and now even the eunuchs in the palace don't pay attention to him, and said angrily: "You damn slave, as the Ninth Five-Year Supreme, is there any place I can't enter?"

The old eunuch hesitated and didn't know what to do. Thinking of Lafayette's viciousness, he gritted his teeth and refused to let go. Guangxu pulled out a knife that he carried with him and said, "You slave really want to die, isn't the knife that bullies me not good? If you get out of the way today, this matter will only be known to you, and it will not be heard by your own father, otherwise, today, I will never let it go."

The old eunuch weighed in for a moment, then quietly walked aside, as Guangxu grew older, he had a sense of imperial prestige.

Guangxu walked to the westernmost house, opened a trap window, and looked inside. Inside, there was a woman sitting beside the bed.

Guangxu had a sore nose, thinking that he could not keep the woman he loved, he couldn't help feeling sad, and softly shouted: "My concubine, I came to see you, I made you suffer."

The woman inside heard the voice and raised her head. She was pretty and refined. No wonder Guangxu couldn't forget it. She ran to the window, held Guangxu's hands, and cried, "Your Majesty, I know I'm wrong. I shouldn't be with my servants." Colluding to accept bribes and sell officials. Your Majesty, let the concubine go out, I am afraid that the concubine is here alone."

That woman is Concubine Zhen, a very sad figure in history. First, she was favored by Guangxu because of her naughty, cute and charming appearance, which caused Guangxu to neglect Empress Longyu, Cixi's very famous niece with a hunchback on a horse face. Empress Dowager Cixi found out that she was taking bribes and selling officials, so she was put into the cold palace as soon as she was released; after she was released, she was too active in the Reform Movement of [-], and her relatives and friends were all "imperial parties", which made the Reform Movement of [-] failed, so she was put into the cold palace for the second time; When the invaders were about to invade the Forbidden City, Cui Yugui, the eunuch ordered by Cixi, pushed him into a well and died.

Guangxu looked at the woman he loved, and said cruelly: "My dear concubine, don't worry, when I come to the world in person, I will definitely let you out. Have you seen this knife? This knife is called Village Zheng. According to Xian Ye Aiqing of the knife said that this knife is the nemesis of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan, and the Japanese Emperor Meiji defeated the shogunate army through the reform and led Japan to rise rapidly. Reform and become stronger. At that time, I will be an emperor through the ages, who else would dare to oppose me."

Since Guangxu lived under Cixi's despotic power since he was a child, he was submissive to Cixi and greeted Cixi three times a day, but as he got older, he had more and more conflicts with Cixi, and he wanted to be able to rule the world himself.

After the war between China and Japan, the conflict between the emperor and empress became more acute. Because Guangxu had always stated clearly that he wanted to fight against Japan, his reputation also skyrocketed after the victory. The imperial party wanted to use this opportunity as an opportunity to promote Guangxu to be in charge Get rid of Cixi's control.At this time, Kang Youwei wrote a letter to Guangxu as early as 1888, proposing the reform, and then wrote two books, laying the theoretical foundation for the reform. Guangxu saw with his own eyes that Japan was gradually becoming stronger through the reform. The heavens and the kingdoms are challenged, and the emperor of Japan is even more beautiful. It's as miserable as his own life.

So one wants to take power in person through the reform and rule the world; the other wants to leave his name in history through the reform and get promoted and make a fortune.Kang Youwei and Guangxu are like Ximen Qing meeting Pan Jinlian, and their adulterous relationship is growing day by day.

Chapter 41 The Unusual Birthday Ceremony

After Ye Zhikui entered Beijing, he lived in a courtyard of the Ye family in the capital. Because the rest of the Ye family lived in Hefei, it seemed very deserted here. Ye Zhichao was in a hurry to visit old friends, except for occasional meals. Didn't see each other a few times.After Ye Zhikui arranged the residences of the people, he took a few personal guards to the US embassy in China.

At this time, the American Counselor in China was Tian Xiali. Tian Xiali was a Californian, a typical young boy in the west, who spoke very rudely, directly and arrogantly.

After the two were seated, Tian Xiali asked his servants to serve two cups of hot coffee, and said arrogantly in his strange Chinese: "General Ye, this is the coffee we Westerners drink. You may have a better cup of coffee in the Qing Dynasty." Rare."

Ye Zhikui didn't reply, he took a sip of cold water first, then added the cube sugar into the cup with a coffee spoon, stirred it gently with the coffee spoon to cool it down, and tasted it slowly, this set of movements was smooth and skillful.Tian Xiali, who was just about to show off, immediately shut his mouth.

Ye Zhikui put down his cup, frowned and said, "Our Chinese tea is still delicious." Then he asked: "Mr. Tian Xiali, may I ask if the things I bought from America have arrived?"

Back in North Korea, Ye Zhikui had contacted the US ambassador to North Korea, asking them to help contact an American company to buy something as a gift for Empress Dowager Cixi's [-]th birthday.Before Ye Zhikui returned to China, he learned that the things had already arrived at the American embassy in China. Ye Zhikui bought these things at a high price, so he couldn't wait to find them as soon as he entered the capital.

Tian Xiali shrugged and replied: "General Ye, there is nothing wrong with these things. I didn't expect that you, a person from the Qing Dynasty, would know about our American novelty. It is not easy, but General Ye has put it in our embassy for a long time. , We spent a lot of money to maintain it, so General Ye, you have to pay us the maintenance fee."

Ye Zhikui raised a finger, it's stupid, he can ask for money so openly.But thinking that he may have to rely on him in the future, he had no choice but to say: "Let me go and confirm first, if there is no problem, we will talk about other things."

"In that case, General Ye, please! Edison is afraid that you won't be able to operate and send a few technicians over, let's go and have a look together." Tian Xiali was a little impatient when he heard that he could really hit the jackpot.What can there be in the Far East, except money, there is only money left, otherwise why would he come here so far away.

Seeing that the instrument was intact, Ye Zhikui tried it again, and the effect was good.Happily, he rewarded several technicians with dozens of taels of silver, and then was carried back to his residence in a mighty manner.

Of course, Tian Xiali did not forget to pay the maintenance fee, but when Tian Xiali woke up the next day, the staff of the embassy rushed to report to him that a lot of feces had been thrown on the wall of the embassy gate, and the stench was overwhelming. Tian Xiali ran out to see that there was filth everywhere, and it was almost uninhabitable.After looking at it twice, I couldn't help but vomited from the side with a wow.

On November 11, the climax of Empress Dowager Cixi's 11th anniversary celebration has not yet passed.On this day, Empress Dowager Cixi was set up from Ningshou Gate to Huangji Gate.The official of the Ministry of Rites led Emperor Guangxu to enter the middle gate of Ningshou Gate, and knelt in front of Cixi to express the inscription, which is the "Empress Dowager's Sacred Birthday" in the palace "Dianshizhai Pictorial".

A member of the supervisor knelt to receive the letter, and placed it on the yellow table to the east of the throne. Emperor Guangxu walked to the threshold of Ningshou and stood on the mat. He led the kings and ministers to kneel three times and kowtow nine times.At the end of the ceremony, Li Hongzhang led the North Korean generals to present the original "Pyongyang Treaty" and presented congratulatory gifts.Cixi happily sat on her throne, watching the ministers bring in gifts one by one.

The eunuch of the master of ceremonies read out the gift lists of the officials, all the officials secretly calculated the gains and losses and the amount of gifts, and when they heard some rare and exotic objects, they let out a burst of applause, and the person who gave the objects squinted half-closed Eyes with an expression of indifference, enjoying the flattery of others, as if what he gave away was just an insignificant thing.

Standing at the front and closest to Cixi are of course some high-ranking princes such as Prince Li Shize and Prince Qing Yikuang; It belongs to this category; and then there are some big officials in frontiers, governors and generals of various provinces, and Li Hongzhang is listed here.

Ye Zhikui was standing among a group of military officers at the very back, and because of his young age, he was quite eye-catching among this group of people, and people who didn't know him began to speculate about his identity.Ye Zhikui, on the other hand, remained calm and greeted the familiar generals, and soon the emcee and eunuch read Ye Zhikui's gift list.

A thin and long voice rang out in the hall: "Ye Zhikui, the registered admiral and general of Shanxi Taiyuan Town, presented a congratulatory gift to Lafayette: nine thousand-year-old Korean ginseng trees, and a movie for the birthday of all nations."

As soon as the eunuch's voice fell, everyone began to discuss. Although the thousand-year-old ginseng is precious, it has to lose its color in front of today's rare treasures, but what is this birthday movie of all nations?

Cixi also became curious when she heard it. If you want to say that Cixi likes strange things, it is said that the first place in China to use electric lights is her Ningshou Palace. Cixi murmured a few words in Xiao Lizi's ear. Li Zi shouted in his unique father-in-law accent: "Lafayette called Ye Zhikui to come forward and see him."

Ye Zhikui's second-rank military general position is the bottom role here, standing far away from the main hall, and being screamed by Xiao Lizi, so many princes, ministers, ministers and college students will have their eyes widened. Seeing this three victories in Japan, known as Ye Zhikui, the blessed general of the country, walked forward step by step from behind.

Ye Zhikui was not stage-frightened, he walked slowly under the envious or jealous eyes of the crowd, walked to the specified distance, saluted Cixi and said "longevity is boundless", and waited for Cixi to ask questions.

Cixi sat high above, looked at Ye Zhikui and said: "Raise your head, and let Aijia take a closer look at the 'blessed general of the country' of our Qing Dynasty." The name raised Ye Zhikui's reputation several levels at once, and all the ministers were guessing the deep meaning.

Ye Zhikui couldn't guess why Cixi said that. Could it be that he succeeded in bribing Xiao Lizi? These thoughts just flashed at the moment he raised his head. Ye Zhikui glanced at Cixi. It was not much different from those photos of later generations, and he looked very majestic. Long, but thinking of some of the things she did, I felt uncomfortable, and I didn't dare to look any more for fear of revealing my true side and causing trouble, so I hurriedly lowered my head again.

Cixi said unhurriedly: "Well, he is handsome. What is your birthday movie for all nations?"

Ye Zhikui organized his language, and replied: "This thing is just invented by Western countries. It captures the blessings of the people of Western countries for Lafayette's [-]th birthday, forming a picture of people from all over the world congratulating Lafayette on his birthday. For the picture, you only need to move to Yueshilou (the place where Cixi watched the play) to watch, Lafayette."

Cixi nodded noncommittally, and said: "Ai's family became curious. It happened that after the birthday banquet, some actors were invited to perform in Yueshilou. Then you can ask Ai's family to watch carefully." Then he waved his hand to Ye Zhikui back down.

Ye Zhikui turned around slowly and walked back. All the ministers looked at him enviously. It is rare to see a birthday gift that arouses Cixi's curiosity.

After the gift was over, Empress Dowager Cixi gave a birthday banquet, and the ministers began to drink and eat meat. It was a good time to form gangs. Officials of all sizes came to talk with Ye Zhikui. One or two rude words made everyone think that he was a brave and direct reckless man.Now, everyone is even more enthusiastic about him, because it is easier to calculate this kind of people, not to mention Ye Zhikui looks like he is going to be a big star!All of a sudden, Ye Zhikui became the favorite at the banquet.

After the birthday banquet, Cixi took an eight-person sedan chair with peacocks on flower poles from Le Shoutang to watch a play in the courtyard of Yueshi Building.All the ministers followed, and Ye Zhikui also ordered the staff of Edison Company to install the equipment properly, and waited for Cixi to watch the show.

Not long after, everyone went to Ningshou Palace. Empress Dowager Cixi, Guangxu and the imperial concubines entered the Yueshi Building, and all the ministers gathered in the corridor, waiting to watch a movie curiously. The scene became very quiet for a while, only The sound of a few foreigners setting up the projection equipment on the Changyin Pavilion remained, and several other foreigners were shaking the manual generator by hand in turn. After a while, a flash of light shot out from the projection equipment. put it up.

When Cixi saw a large group of foreigners suddenly appearing on the curtain, she couldn't help being shocked. Fortunately, these foreigners were all wearing formal dresses and holding couplets on which were written some birthday wishes such as Shoubi Nanshan.Soon the picture changed again, and it turned into a group of Japanese people wearing kimonos and dancing. After dancing, they knelt on the ground and shouted something. Say some congratulatory words.