Zuo Zongtang asked: "Your Majesty, what happened?"
Li Zhen said: "If you don't go to the Forbidden City, you will live in a military camp."
Zuo Zongtang immediately said: "I have asked the soldiers to clean up the palace. There are no idlers waiting. Your Majesty, just feel free to move in."
Li Zhen shook his head and said, "I won't go."
Zuo Zongtang was stunned and didn't understand why Li Zhen did this.
Li Zhen did not take the initiative to explain, and ordered the soldiers to lead the way towards the military camp. Along the way, Zuo Zongtang was very puzzled, and so was Liu Jintang. Both of them murmured in their hearts, wondering why Li Zhen suddenly changed his attention. Could it be that Li Zhen suddenly changed his mind? Did they fail to do anything? On the way back to the military camp, no one spoke and the atmosphere seemed very depressed.
When they arrived at the military camp, the soldiers who followed Li Zhen were stationed in the army.
Zuo Zongtang, Zhang Zhidong, Lu Shaochuan and others came to the Chinese army tent. Everyone sat down around the conference table, raising their heads and looking at Li Zhen.
Li Zhen said: "Just now, you all wondered why I didn't enter the palace. You don't understand."
Lu Shaochuan continued: "That's right, it's unreasonable for you not to go."
Li Zhenxiao said: "The palace is where the emperor lives. What should I do? If I don't go, I won't go."
Liu Jintang was young and energetic, and had no scruples. He interrupted and said: "Your Majesty, Yi and others have been killed, and the Eight Banners disciples have suffered countless casualties. It will not affect you. Besides, the little emperor in the south is young and still an unweaned baby. There is no threat to you. With your prestige, your current strength, and the fact that you are about to unify the country, it is reasonable and reasonable to establish a country and proclaim yourself emperor, and there is nothing wrong with it."
Lu Shaochuan echoed: "I agree, this is a good saying."
Long Ao went on to say: "Those dog emperors of the Manchu Qing Dynasty are all incompetent people, and their bones are soft. They will kneel down when they see foreigners. Moreover, the officials of the Manchu Qing Dynasty only know how to oppress the Han people, and they even have disciples of the Eight Banners. Doing evil everywhere, Your Majesty, if you become emperor, it will not only be good for our brothers, but also the Han people all over the world."
The three people made suggestions one after another, and Zhang Zhidong and Zuo Zongtang did not object.
After all, both of them agreed with Liu Jintang, Lu Shaochuan and Long Ao's statement. On the one hand, Li Zhen's current prestige was completely higher than that of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. The world only knew about Li Zhen, but did not know about the little emperor and countless people. Everyone supports Li Zhen and the people's will is what they want. This is already the basis for claiming emperor. On the other hand, the country is naturally best controlled by the Han people, and only the Han people in the world can stand up straight.
Everyone's eyes fell on Li Zhen.
Li Zhen was silent for a long time and said: "I don't want to be emperor."
"ah,."
When the words fell, no one was not surprised.
Whether it is Lu Shaochuan, Zuo Zongtang, Zhang Zhidong, Liu Jintang, Long Ao and others, they all hope that Li Zhen can become emperor, and they also hope that Li Zhen can become emperor. Once Li Zhen becomes emperor, it means that their power will be lost. Consolidation will become the first batch of heroes under Li Zhen. No one is willing to give up such a big pie.
Zhang Zhidong said: "Your Majesty, if you don't want to proclaim yourself emperor, it's not up to you."
Liu Jintang's mind was spinning quickly and he continued: "General Shu Mo said something unpleasant. Even if the prince wants to be loyal to the little emperor, can the little emperor let you go? Perhaps, the empress dowagers of Cixi and Ci'an are currently respectful Dear, I have a lot of respect for you on the surface, but when the little emperor grows up and takes charge of the government, how will you deal with yourself at that time? With a giant Buddha like you sitting in charge, and the power is in your hands, can the little emperor rest assured?"
After a pause, Liu Jintang continued: "When the time comes, the little emperor will definitely take action against you. My lord, at this point, you have no way out. Going back will lead to a cliff and a dead end. The only way is to go forward and keep going. Go up and up, and finally stand at the highest point and kill all the signs that threaten you. This is the most appropriate thing."
At this moment, Liu Jintang completely became a supporter of Li Zhen. There was no trace that this guy had ever persuaded Zuo Zongtang to become self-reliant. In fact, this was also Zuo Zongtang's role. Zuo Zongtang was wholeheartedly willing to be Li Zhen's subordinate. , and continued to persuade Liu Jintang, allowing Liu Jintang to see the situation clearly.
Liu Jintang changed his mind and considered Li Zhen.
Zhang Zhidong took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I also agree with what this young general said."
Li Zhen asked: "Brother Ji Gao, what do you think?"
Zuo Zongtang glanced at Liu Jintang's expectant eyes and said with a smile: "I agree with Liu Jintang's words." When Zuo Zongtang heard Li Zhen's inquiry, he subconsciously thought that Li Zhen had been persuaded and asked him just to take a look below. Everyone agreed with the opinions without hesitation.
"Hahaha……"
Li Zhen burst into laughter, which made everyone present confused.
What does this mean?
Lu Shaochuan asked: "Your Majesty, you are usually decisive in doing things, why are you acting like a mother-in-law now? Think about it, when we were in Nanjing, Cixi and Ci'an didn't have much power, and they had already joined forces with officials to deal with you. I want to deprive you of the rights in your hands, and if you still want to serve the little emperor, you will definitely die."
Li Zhen said: "I have no intention of proclaiming myself emperor, nor do I intend to delegate power, and I have no intention of being loyal to the little emperor. You can rest assured that the little emperor cannot influence me."
"Then what do you want to do?" Lu Shaochuan asked.
Zhang Zhidong said: "My lord, do you want to imitate Cao Mengde, the monarch of Cao Wei?"
Li Zhen heard this and still shook his head.
Zhang Zhidong meant that Li Zhen had power and did not proclaim himself emperor. He only wanted his son to proclaim himself emperor in the future. However, Li Zhen had no such plan. He did not intend to continue the emperor's rule, so he did not proclaim himself emperor. emperor.
However, not proclaiming himself emperor does not mean that he must be loyal to the Manchus.
He will definitely overthrow this decadent Qing Dynasty.
Zuo Zongtang asked: "What on earth does the prince want to do? How about letting the brothers know everything."
Li Zhen thought about it carefully and said: "I am still thinking about this matter. I already have a clue and the specific arrangements are still being prepared. Don't worry, I will not make it difficult for my brothers. Follow my brothers and you will definitely We won’t suffer a loss. We work hard and fight hard just to live a better life for ourselves and for our family. There is no reason to throw away the things we get.”
After a pause, Li Zhen changed the topic and said: "Long Ao obeys the order."
Long Ao said: "Please give me your instructions."
Li Zhen loudly ordered: "Go to Nanjing immediately and ask Huang Shihai to send a regiment of troops to invite the young emperor and the empress dowagers of Cixi and Ci'an to Beijing and let them return to Beijing."
"Yes." Long Ao replied.
Li Zhen looked at Zuo Zongtang again and said: "Brother Ji Gao, after the little emperor comes to Beijing, he will not live in the Forbidden City but in other places. You can arrange a place, either in the Summer Palace or in Zhongnanhai, whatever you want. arrange."
Zuo Zongtang said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I understand."
Li Zhen continued: "After the matter in Beijing is settled, let's talk about the situation in the southwest."