Shoushan is built with the Buddha incense pavilion as the center. The towering Buddha incense pavilion is surrounded by three lakes on all sides, integrating the entire garden.

After Zhang Yinhuan staggered to the third floor, he saw Cixi looking at the lake outside with her back to her body. After kneeling down and greeting her, he stayed honestly with Cixi watching the lake and mountains outside. At this time, it was revealed that the Minister of War Ronglu had already stood aside. Zhang Yinhuan felt depressed and knew that Ronglu was a celebrity beside Cixi. Although he was jealous, he still greeted him respectfully.

Without Cixi's question, no matter how big the matter is, it cannot be said. This is one of Zhang Yinhuan's rules to date since he became an official.

"Mr. Zhang, how do you look at the lake and mountains?" Cixi asked.

Zhang Yinhuan hurriedly replied: "When I replied to the Empress Dowager, the clear waves and the blue sky are as clear as the sky, which is actually a blessed place with beautiful mountains and rivers! The pagoda conquers the rivers and mountains, and the empress dowager climbs to the Buddha incense pagoda and gathers the spiritual energy of the pagoda and is actually a blessing of the Qing Dynasty and the nature of the people!"

Cixi turned around, nodded with satisfaction, and said, "Okay, let's talk. What's the matter with Ai's family? She also brought Ronglu!"

Zhang Yinhuan hurriedly said, "When the Empress Dowager says, the Russian Minister Kasini just submitted an ultimatum to the Zongli Yamen. The empress do not dare to be negligent, so he hurriedly sent it over and asked about the empress dowager's meaning! At the same time, please ask Lord Ronglu to discuss countermeasures together!"

Cixi was very satisfied with this. For Cixi, who was getting more and more powerful, Zhang Yinhuan's approach was in line with Cixi's mentality. Ronglu, who was standing beside her, nodded slightly, expressing her satisfaction.

"Tell me, what's the matter?" Cixi asked.

Zhang Yinhuan said respectfully: "Qi Duke, the Russian government is very angry at the destruction of their fleet in Lushun, and his attitude is very tough."

Cixi snorted and said, "Tsarist Russia is also a powerful country. Now that she has suffered such a big loss, wouldn't she be a joke in the Thai countries? As long as it doesn't go too far, it's just okay."

Zhang Yinhuan said in anger: "You are too harsh in the Russians' demands. The Wei Me was unable to bear it and they were arrogant and domineering. He was afraid that they would affect your mood in the Queen Mother. But now it is very difficult. If there is a slight mistake, a war will break out. Therefore, I still want to hear the Holy Decree of the Queen Mother!"

"Okay. You are loyal. The Ai family knows it. Let's talk about it first!" Cixi said with a sip of tea.

"It's like this. Empress Dowager..." Zhang Yinhuan said the Russian government sent to the Russian Minister Kasini and finally added fuel to the fire.

Bang!

After hearing this, Cixi threw the tea bowl in her hand to the ground.

"It's unreasonable. Is there no one who bullies the Qing Dynasty?" Cixi said angrily.

Zhang Yinhuan thought Cixi would definitely order a war, but she knew that the next sentence she heard almost made him fall from the third floor.

"Ten thousand taels of silver, the Ai family can build two Summer Palaces!" Cixi continued.

Holding a smile in his heart, Zhang Yinhuan said calmly: "Yes, since the Russians have been defeated by us on the sea, they still dare to be so arrogant! It is obvious that they do not take the Qing Empire seriously and cannot be forgiven!"

"Ronglu, tell me, what's the matter?" Cixi asked Ronglu, who was silent on the side.

When Ronglu heard that such a thing happened, he caught him off guard. He regretted that he had not asked Zhang Yinhuan first and ran to Cixi directly.

Ronglu also knew about the Lushun incident and the Pacific Fleet's elimination of the Russian fleet. This was originally the plan made by Empress Dowager Cixi, which made Zhang Yunfei fight with Russia and Germany fiercely, taking the opportunity to weaken Zhang Yunfei's strength, and at the same time, it was also a counterattack against the powerful bullying of the Qing Dynasty.

But the Germans were afraid of offending Zhang Yunfei, so they made peace with Zhang Yunfei and paid for renting Jiaozhou Bay. This was beyond Cixi's expectations, and they also re-evaluated her nephew's strength and paid extra attention.

As the situation in Lushun happened, Ronglu and others found a new opportunity, deliberately shutting up the court officials in the Lushun incident. They wanted to make the Russians lay a nail next to Zhang Yunfei and balance Zhang Yunfei's power. For this reason, Cixi finally abides by the treason of Ronglu and others under the ruling power of the country.

Unfortunately, the situation did not develop in the direction they set. Zhang Yunfei's surprise attack defeated the Russian Far East Fleet like a god of war, recovered Lushun, and made Qiuxin Ronglu and others' painstaking efforts go to waste.

At this moment, Cixi seemed to blame Rong Lu for her, because Rong Lu's plan not only did not control Zhang Yunfei, but instead made Zhang Yunfei's prestige and strength expand unprecedentedly.

Although Lushun was in Fengtian Province, it was not originally under the jurisdiction of General Shengjing of Fengtian Province and was directly under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Beiyang. He originally planned to strengthen his troops in Lushun, so that Zhang Yunfei's navy and the 6th Army could not be connected, and became a nail in Lushun. However, after Lushun was occupied by Russia, Ronglu proposed to let the Russians check and balance Zhang Yunfei, because the Russian 6th Navy was stronger than Zhang Yunfei. Cixi thought about it and then agreed.

Now that Zhang Yunfei has regained Lushun, the court cannot suppress such great contributions. Moreover, Zhang Yunfei has submitted a memorial and will never mention the merits, but just to say that in order not to make the Lushun incident worse again.

He was determined to reorganize Lushun’s defense and requested approval from the court.

The court could only change the credit to hand over the defense of Lushun to General Shengjing for the jurisdiction of General Shengjing. It can be said that he had compensated his wife and soldiers. Empress Dowager Cixi was very unhappy because without the nail in Lushun, the balance of Fengtian Province, Zhang Yunfei's Hai6 armies were integrated together.

If Ronglu hadn't been Cixi's best friend, she would have been missing long ago.

Now seeing Empress Dowager Cixi ask Xiang Ronglu again, Ronglu also had a cold sweat on his back. He had already made a decision in his mind, but he didn't know what to say.

So Ronglu said indignantly: "When I returned to the Empress Dowager, I thought the Russian government was really hateful and the behavior was really hateful. They not only violated the Convention of All Nations and fought without declaring the war, but also called the deer a horse and turned the black and white. It was obvious that they occupied the Qing Lushun, but they were arrogantly saying that it was wrong for us. It was unbearable! Please ask the Queen Mother to sage the Holy Tribunal!"

Zhang Yinhuan, who was on the other hand, cursed Ronglu in his heart. After talking for a long time, was this the same as not saying it? Even the eunuch Li Lianying shook his head secretly after hearing this. He knew that Ronglu was scared and dared not say it. He deliberately called Tai Chi and pushed it to the empress dowager.

Li Lianying is the closest eunuch around Cixi, so Ronglu's things naturally cannot be hidden from him.

Cixi glanced at Ronglu, but did not ask more questions. Instead, she asked Zhang Yinhuan: "What should Lord Zhang do if this matter should be handled?"

After fighting Tai Chi, he returned to Zhang Yinhuan's hands. Speaking of Zhang Yinhuan, the meaning was obvious. Cixi must have the answer. Zhang Yinhuan can't kick Tai Chi to Cixi again, otherwise Zhang Yinhuan would have to make the empress dowager angry.

Just die!

Zhang Yinhuan felt a little nervous and replied: "Reporting to the Queen Mother, I believe that since Russia has issued an ultimatum, it means that we must agree to their requests in all, otherwise it will be war.

What we can do is to release Russian prisoners of war and return Russian warships, but the compensation is not allowed. We are rational because of the relationship between General Zhang of Shengjing and European powers such as Britain, Russia does not receive political support in the Thai countries. If the compensation is given to Russia, it will inevitably damage the image and majesty of the great power of the Celestial Empire. Because we are the victory of the war, we cannot submit the hero Zhang Yunfei to Russia for trial! My humble opinion, please forgive me for your crime!"

Zhang Yinhuan's words seemed to have answered Empress Dowager Cixi, but in fact it was equivalent to not saying it. He was not a fool. If he continued, he would inevitably lead to officials sent to the Northeast to deal with the war against Russia. That would be a errand to take the blame, and anyone who chose would offend anyone. However, Cixi would naturally not make things difficult for her own people.

Since 1840, all officials of the Qing Dynasty have followed a set of principles in foreign affairs, which is to curse foreigners in front of the empress dowager, the emperor and the court officials and curse them fiercely, but they are just saying it. If they really do it, they will find some scapegoats to go out. It is often a lot of thunder and rain, just saying one thing and doing another.

To put it bluntly, it is just that it is afraid of foreigners who are afraid of death. It can be said that it is an internal strife and an external strife.

The palace maid brought a stool for Cixi. After sitting down, Cixi continued to drink her tea and admired the lake and mountains outside.

Cixi never cared about war. It was your business and it had nothing to do with her. As long as it did not threaten her rule, her enjoyable life and did not go against her will, everything could be discussed.

Measuring the things of China is conducive to the joy of all countries! Isn’t this famous saying of Cixi just right? As long as she can still maintain her rule and recognize her status as the master of China, she can sacrifice anything.

The Foxiang Pavilion calmed down for a moment. Ronglu and Zhang Yinhuan, who were beside them, could only lower their heads and think about Xiaojiu in their hearts. Cixi didn't ask, and no one could speak first. This is the rule.

About one stick of incense, Cixi suddenly asked the eunuch Li Lianying beside her.

"Little Li Zi'er, you have been with the Ai family for so many years and have gained a lot of knowledge! Come and talk to the two ministers!"

Cixi said this in disguise, giving Zhang Yinhuan and Ronglu a chance to speak again, and Li Lianying still didn't understand.

So he said, "How dare I compare with the two prime ministers? I believe that Lord Ronglu and Lord Zhang have come up with a clever plan. I dare to ask the Empress Dowager to listen to their suggestions first?"

Li Lianying is worthy of being a great man who is hiding around Cixi. He agreed with Cixi, Zhang Yinhuan and Ronglu in one sentence, which gave each other a way out. This invisible flattery has a significant effect.

Seeing Cixi nodding, Ronglu gave Li Lianying a grateful look and hurriedly said, "I think the Russians don't give us any choice. It's clear that the carriages are going to go to war with the Qing Dynasty. The Russian Far East Fleet has been destroyed and the sea is no match for us at all. On the 6th, there are only Russian garrisons and Borey in the northeast, and the main forces are concentrated in Vladivostok. Borey has few troops and borders with Heilongjiang Province. Shoushan, the general of Heilongjiang is enough to deal with it. Vladivostok's garrison is more troublesome. Since Russia's Binhaizhou and Jilin Province are bordering on a large scale, the general of Jilin is probably unable to support it. If General Shengjing is ordered to go north to support it, the war will be quelled."
Chapter completed!