Chapter 349: Empress Dowager Cixi and Prince Gong's Concert
Cixi asked: "Prince Gong, what are the shortcomings of Li Guo Tower?"
Yi Xin burst into laughter and said: "Politically, I am a Westerner like me. I like to try new things. In my leisure time, I like to dress up like a fake foreign devil. I was called a Japanese devil six, and he was called a fake foreign devil in the Ministry of Punishment. He belongs to the same type of people." "
Cixi hurriedly covered her face to prevent wrinkles from laughing on her face. This was also a trick to slow down aging. She also rarely smiled. She usually did not like to show others a smile, and would only show her charming demeanor in front of her lover.
Yi Xin smiled and said: "However, Li Guolou has a firm political stance and firmly supports the rule of the Qing Dynasty. I have tested him on this point. There is no one who has returned from abroad and has that kind of constitutional monarchy. In terms of personal ethics, his age Qing likes to be unconventional and unconventional, and has adopted several foreign women and widows, but he never listens to ditties or goes to brothels. His articles and poems are so-so, which makes him rack his brains. He can also recite a few poems and eulogies, but there are not many excellent works. He can stand out in a crowded crowd, he has a sharp tongue and is good at flattering people. When he is on duty in the Ministry of Justice, he is able to greet people with courtesy. He is a human spirit. I have never heard of offending any officer. Li Guolou is still known for his hard work and is a veteran in solving crimes. In the case of the theft of the Red Rabbit and Rouge Beast, he saw through the hidden conspiracy at a glance and exposed the mystery. As expected, the Red Rabbit and Rouge Beast was recovered without any effort. He captured the revolutionary party , the rebels were all on the front line, which allowed Mr. Bao to be promoted to the ninth rank official within a few months. With Li Guolou's military exploits, he should have been promoted to the seventh rank official, but his personal ethics were somewhat lacking. So Bao Yiyi deliberately suppressed his official position and gave him a false title of ninth rank, making him a real lack of the lowest rank. So Li Guolou was angry and wanted to prove it to his superiors, so he came to take the imperial examination. Already."
Cixi was surrounded by people who fooled her. Even her old lover Yixin deceived her. And she thought that she was the shrewdest woman in the world and no one could hide it from her eyes and ears. In fact, her subordinates had already colluded together, and Cixi How do you know about the sufferings of the people? How do you know what the world has become? You have only a little knowledge, so you often make wrong decisions. Anyway, you are right to believe that your own Manchus and slaves are right. Those Han courtiers should be careful and guard against those who give birth to rebellious people. To kill.
"Oh;;;;;;" Cixi glanced at Li Lianying standing next to her, and it turned out that it was just as Li Lianying said, there was not much difference. Yi Xin spoke of Li Guolou in a complimentary tone, focusing on praise. But Li Lianying spoke in terms of things. Telling things is more funny and more vivid.
Cixi glanced at him and said, "Prince Gong, you trust him so quickly that you entrust the affairs of the house to an outsider. That is Li Zhongtang's grandson, not your grandson."
Yi Xin smiled freely and said: "Empress Dowager, the affairs of my house are not to recruit scholars for the country, nor to gain fame for myself. Since the country has given me a high official and a generous salary, and has given me so many honors and rewards, I I must repay my mother-in-law's surname. This country's surname is 'Aixinjueluo', and I must live up to this great surname. Since Li Guolou has studied abroad, and his third wife is French, it is up to their family to organize public students. The matter of studying abroad is the most appropriate. Women also have strong ability to do things. I think the Queen Mother understands this deeply."
Yi Xin's words caused the Empress Dowager Cixi to think for a long time. She liked to use servants and relatives to leave benefits to her own family, and was wary of the Han people. After hesitation, she still had doubts and said: "Prince Gong, what about Li Guolou?" How should we use it to give full play to its strengths?"
Yi Xin said softly: "Li Guolou is Heshen beside the emperor. With him by the emperor's side, nothing can't be done. If the emperor doesn't use him, I will use him. Li Guolou can also help me." Come to wealth and glory. Queen Mother, just now I didn’t tell you how much money Li Guolou promised to his uncle to raise for the Beiyang Navy every year? Can you guess the big one?"
Only Yi Xin dared to talk to the Empress Dowager Cixi like this. Who told them to sleep in the same bed at night?
Next to her, Li Lianying didn't seem to hear or look at Cixi and Yi Xin, who were communicating with each other with their eyes, holding hands and caressing each other, and expressing their feelings to each other. He looked towards the Taiye Pond and looked at the sparkling blue water of the lake, where gulls were dancing and cruising in the sky. On the two dragon boats where they were catching fish and having fun, a group of eunuchs were steering the oars, and the palace maids were singing and dancing on the dragon boats, but he was bored. It was the same old game every day. Li Lianying's ears stood up and she eavesdropped. Every word Cixi and Yi Xin said to Li Guolou, these matters related to their good brother Li Guolou, were what he was eager to hear.
Ci Xi gently brushed Yi Xin's stretched out hand to tell him to remain serious and not to let the slaves laugh. She said with a smile on her lips: "You must have three hundred thousand taels."
Yi Xin smiled and said: "Empress Dowager, please guess one digit less. Li Guolou promised to raise 3 million taels of silver for the Beiyang Navy. Within three years, a total of 10 million taels of silver were raised for the Beiyang Navy. The request There is only one thing, and that is to have his family's "Invitation Bank" be fully rolled out in Liangjiang and Zhili areas, and all cash transported by water and silver transactions for material turnover should be handed over to "Invitation Bank"."
Yi Xin originally thought that Ci Xi would be very pleased that the country had a financial expert and that someone would take care of the country's worries and solve most of the heavy financial burden on the court. Unexpectedly, Ci Xi's face changed after hearing Yi Xin's words. She felt Being fooled, I immediately became angry. How could a private bank raise 10 million taels of silver for the Beiyang Navy without her benefit alone? Yi Xin actually fooled her with 700,000 taels of silver and only asked the Ministry of Accounts to allocate funds next year. Giving 600,000 taels of silver to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the "Wanshou Mountain Project" is obviously favoring one over the other.
When Cixi was angry, the corners of her mouth would droop, and her phoenix eyes would turn into sidelong glances, with cold eyes that seemed to kill people. How could Yixin not see it? He hesitated for a moment and asked: "Empress Dowager, what are you unhappy about? Those ticket numbers , the bank was originally run by the private sector, and it doesn’t matter what we do. Water transportation is related to the rise and fall of the country, so it should be handed over to reliable people. Li Zhongtang did not have a hairpin, the Zhili area is now under his jurisdiction, and he has this power. As for the Liangjiang area, , most of them are his students, and there is no need to go to great trouble. Does the Queen Mother think it is inappropriate to let Li Guolou intervene;;;;;;"
There are some things that cannot be said clearly. Cixi angrily said: "What use do I need to have a slave?"
Yixin immediately understood that Cixi had thought of the "Longevity Mountain Project" and hurriedly expressed her position: "Oh, I didn't think well. I will coordinate with Li Zhongtang when I get back. Queen Mother, what do you think of Sanqi?" "Bi Yixin stared at Cixi with a pitiful slave look. Thirty percent means nine hundred thousand taels of silver. With so much silver, Cixi said, "What use do I need slaves for?" She took the account from the Beiyang Navy. It was allocated to the "Wanshou Mountain Project".
Cixi felt comfortable. With a look, Li Lianying brought the tea cup to her. Cixi took a sip of the warm Pu'er tea and did not answer directly. She still had to think clearly and could not let Yi Xin and Li Hongzhang work together behind her back to betray her interests. Ci Xi put her hands on the armchair and stood up to go.
The toilet dedicated to Cixi was carved from red sandalwood, and the decorative pattern was in the shape of five bats, symbolizing the coming of the five blessings. The toilet was filled with fine sand, and there was a layer of mercury on top. Xiao De Zhang, who gave Cixi the toilet, raised the toilet on the top Above the head, enter the convenient place. At this time, Xiaode Zhang is just Cixi's eunuch and does not have much power. He usually hangs around behind Li Lianying. Cixi only needs to squat down, and other matters are taken care of by two maids standing by the side. After Cixi finished using the toilet, Xiao Dezhang held the toilet above his head and took the toilet out for cleaning.
When it comes to people like the emperor and the empress dowager, even dressing, convenience, and bathing have to be taken care of by others, and they never need to do it themselves. Sitting on the toilet, Cixi is still thinking about what Yi Xin just said, from Li Hongzhang Beiyang Water Did he make a profit or a loss when he received 900,000 taels of silver from his teacher as a filial piety? Why did Li Guolou give such a large sum of money to national defense as if it were a tax? How could Liangjiang and Zhili areas have such a large sum of money? How much silver income? The figure of three million taels of silver accounts for almost one-tenth of the country's annual fiscal revenue. Li Guolou actually wanted to support the Qing Dynasty. Is this possible?
When Cixi returned to Nuan Pavilion, she saw Yi Xin standing in front of the window enjoying the dragon boat performance in Taiye Pond. She coughed slightly to let Yi Xin know that she was back and that it was time to turn her eyes back and stop staring at the palace maid who was good at singing and dancing. look.
Yi Xin knew in her heart that Cixi had just excused herself and left for a long time to think alone for a while. As the saying goes, a person like Empress Dowager Cixi who holds the power of the country cannot change what she says. It's not bad here, but there is no such thing. When outsiders say casual words, no one knows the content. If they go to the Yangxin Hall or go to the study room and other places where they listen with curtains, the historian will record every word and deed of their speech, and what they should say. Be clear. Don't let the historian take advantage of it and record the gossip so that future generations can laugh at it.
Cixi said slowly: "Prince Gong, I was thinking about what you said just now. The more I think about it, the more false it becomes. No one dares to say such nonsense, how can you believe it?"
Yixin smiled and said: "Empress Dowager, I not only believe it, but I also believe that only Li Guolou can do it. I have a memorial from Li Zhongtang here, which is about the establishment of a post and telecommunications bureau in Liangjiang and Zhili areas. Although this Li Guolou's name was not mentioned in the memorial, but it was Li Guolou's clever idea to establish the Post and Telecommunications Bureau to crush the foreign telegraph offices. Moreover, the establishment of the Post and Telecommunications Bureau did not require state financial investment. Li Zhongtang recommended Sheng Huaixuan to be the head of the Shanghai General Post and Telecommunications Bureau. He was appointed director and received the seventh-grade official title. There is also a copy of Sheng Huaixuan's memorial here, and I would like to ask the Queen Mother to read it."
"So many things!" Although the Empress Dowager Cixi had a strong desire for power, she was also very interested in playing. She didn't like to spend all her day discussing government affairs. She looked at the two memorials and flipped through them casually. He scanned it as if he were just looking at flowers, and replied: "Prince Gong, we will discuss it in the Yangxin Hall tomorrow, and that's it for today."
The Empress Dowager Cixi was right. Even if she had figured it all out and agreed with the opinions of Prince Gong Yixin and the Minister of Commerce and Industry of Beiyang Li Hongzhang, she still had to explain it to the Empress Dowager Ci'an. The pattern of decentralization of power between the two palaces and keeping pace with each other has not changed. , on the surface, all major national issues require consensus with the Empress Dowager Ci'an. Although she is the one who makes the decision behind the scenes, the Empress Dowager Ci'an is accurate in judging people and has the ability to discern pearls. But she is unclear about national policies and cannot listen to them. She understood every cliche in the memorial. So Cixi was no longer interested in listening to Yi Xin. She only needed to know that with the filial piety of 900,000 taels of silver, raising a slave like Li Guolou was still useful.
The discussion in the Yangxin Hall is for Emperor Tongzhi Zaichun, the Empress Dowager Ci'an and the ministers in the study room to discuss together. The core leaders who listen to politics behind the curtain all decide national affairs in the Yangxin Hall. It is a small court meeting every three days, where national decisions are made. It was also the practice of the Qing Dynasty to meet each other at every level.
Yi Xin also has no sense of urgency. The formulation and implementation of national policies must be sustainable and cannot be changed overnight. Every newly promulgated law must be checked at all levels, carefully studied, implemented point by point, and then the effect will be reviewed, and then it will be implemented nationwide. .This is also the superiority of the governor system. Many laws in the Qing Empire were implemented by provinces. The truth became clearer with more debate, and he seemed to see a bright future for the Qing Dynasty.
Yixin stood up and said with a sweet smile: "Empress Dowager, do you want me to accompany you today?"
"Well! Prince Gong, don't leave tonight." Cixi was so hungry that she still kept a suitable distance from Yixin. They both stood at the window and began to watch the dancing in the blue waves and the beautiful melody on the lake. Wandering. The mother of the country, whose mother embodies the world, enjoys the life of heaven on earth in Taiye Lake.