Chapter 373 The Empress Dowager Cixi Takes Control of the Qing Dynasty
After the banquet, the guests were bid farewell to each other. Some of the distinguished guests stayed directly in the guest rooms above the Taylor Hotel and had a big meal in the evening. Li Guolou, Yelia, Xie Liya, Chu Xiangyu, and Mayuko returned to the bank counter where they were invited to come in.
, there is no business on the counter, but they don't care, they already have a proud sense of accomplishment. This is an era where money is controlled by those in power. As long as they seize the high-ranking officials and show their nobility, and control the pockets of these people, money will flow one after another.
Come.
Please come in. The general manager of the bank, Huang Yousheng, was slightly drunk at noon. He sat next to Li Guolou with a face full of alcohol. He sighed and worked hard for more than two months. Now he has seen some results. There are 7890306 taels of 5 in his account.
Money, this little capital is not enough to show his merit. Li Guolou didn't hear what he was talking about? A drunkard couldn't explain clearly, he just looked at the income ledger.
Li Guolou has not returned to the governor's residence these days and has stayed in the British Concession. The negotiations with the foreigners have come to an end for the time being. The Qing negotiating team will report the conditions offered by the foreigners to the Yamen of the Prime Minister's Office. Everyone needs to calm down for a while and go to court.
Several factions still have to fight.
Yelia was sitting on the sofa and saw Li Guolou idle and bored. He seemed to have no pressure at all. He couldn't help but asked: "Xiaolou, aren't you worried? The outside is heavily guarded, and the gun may go off at any time."
Li Guolou looked through the account book leisurely and said: "There is nothing to worry about. The heavy troops of the imperial court have already come over, and now there is no Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to cause trouble. The Seven Kingdoms are also screaming fiercely, how can they dare to fire the first shot?
You must know that as long as the French dare to fire the first shot, they will fight a war no matter what. If the French lose the battle, wouldn't it be worth the loss? If I want to be a member of the French Parliament, I will not vote in favor of war.
, it is clear that more can be gained at the negotiation table, why should we fight an uncertain battle?"
Huang Yousheng burped from wine and agreed: "Master Li is right. Now we in the Qing Dynasty also have foreign guns and cannons. We can't defeat them at sea. On land, everyone is the same. Our local braves are worthless, but those foreign warriors are.
The price is huge, even if you buy ten of them, it’s worth it.”
Mayuko sat on the sofa, nodded and said: "Hi! Manager Huang, thank you, I think so too."
Seeing Yelia, Xie Liya, and Chu Xiangyu also agreeing with Huang Yousheng's proposition, Li Guolou sighed. How can we settle the score in a war? If the front is defeated, the rear will lose morale. This is not a small-scale encounter.
Judging victory or defeat based on the number of people. In large-scale wars, it depends on comprehensive strength. How can the Qing Empire in an agricultural society be a rival to the capitalist powers in an industrial society? The Qing Empire without stamina is like a paper tiger that can pierce through an entire country.
If you add layers of window paper, it will fall apart.
"Bad points! The most bad points are good!" Xie Liya spoke in pidgin Shanghainese and was greeted with laughter.
Li Guolou closed the account book, handed it to Huang Yousheng, and said: "General Manager Huang, I hope you don't call me a bad score! The future of the Qing Dynasty is in your hands, and your success or failure is related to the future of a nation."
"Wow;;;;;;" Huang Yousheng went crazy with alcohol. He knelt on the ground and drooled all over his face. He shouted at the top of his lungs: "I, Huang Yousheng, swear to die for my close friends. I will never be looked down upon by outsiders. If I fail to fulfill my promise,
My lord’s mission is to never settle for an ignoble existence and never take a concubine again!”
Li Guolou was dumbfounded and shook his head and said: "General Manager Huang said it well before. It made me feel like I was entrusting the heavy responsibility to the national capitalists. The last sentence revealed my true colors."
"Hehe!" Huang Yousheng smiled awkwardly. After holding it in for a year without bothering, he was already worthy of his eighteenth generation ancestors. After next June, he will make all his colleagues in the bankers' guild shut their bad mouths and create a brand new one. "Huang Yousheng" will be a legend in the banking industry. Hu Xueyan is nothing! There is only Zuo Zongtang behind him. He is close to the most powerful Prince Gong in the Qing Dynasty, Li Hongzhang, the governor-general of Zhili, and the Qing Dynasty hopes that Star Li Guolou, success is within reach.
Li Guolou stared at Huang Yousheng. He would not misjudge the wrong person. People will change. A profiteer can indeed become a national hero. The Huang Yousheng in front of him has long been reborn. The Qing Empire has a financial expert and a national capitalist with conscience.
At this time, in the study room of the Forbidden City in the capital, Emperor Tongzhi Zai Chun was listening to his teacher Xu Tong, the Minister of Rites, as usual. However, Emperor Tongzhi was intoxicated in the quotations of saints, shaking his head and reciting Mencius' quotations: "The most important thing for a filial son is to respect his relatives. "There is nothing greater than respecting one's relatives to the utmost than to support him in the world; to be the son and father of heaven, he must respect him most; to support him in the world, he must support him to the utmost."
Emperor Tongzhi read an article from Mencius's "Wan Zhang Pian" twelve times before he could recite it by heart. It was so catchy that he seemed to be immersed in a sense of joy.
Xu Tong sat in front, also shaking his head and intoxicated in the saint's famous works. He stroked his beard and nodded and said: "Your Majesty, do you understand the meaning of this article by Mencius?"
Emperor Tongzhi wanted to kick Xu Tong to the ground. Sure enough, as Li Guolou said, the person who set him up was here. But he still maintained a graceful demeanor on his face, full of joy, and clapped his hands and said: "Teacher, I understand. Mencius said: 'With a grateful heart, honor your parents. With a grateful heart, have the world in mind!' I will first honor the two mothers when I am in charge. The first imperial edict will be to inform the people of the world to repair the Old Summer Palace. Letting the two mothers take care of themselves is the filial piety that a son should fulfill. Thank you, teacher, for teaching your students. I like this article by Mencius very much. The most important thing for a filial son is to respect his relatives; the most important thing for a son to respect his relatives is to respect his relatives. Use the world to nourish;;;;;;"
After Emperor Tongzhi finished reciting the recitation, Xu Tong shouted: "Historian of the Hanlin Academy, record the emperor's words in a file."
"Zha!" A historian next to him took notes and wrote down the words and deeds of Emperor Tongzhi. "The Holy Saying: After taking office personally, the first imperial edict will be announced to the world to rebuild the Old Summer Palace to fulfill filial piety."
Xu Tong didn't know that Emperor Tongzhi had already planned to kill him, and he wished he could eat his flesh. Emperor Tongzhi walked quickly and went straight to Kunning Palace, the residence of Queen Alute. The country was being humiliated, and he was going to be tortured by the whole world. People laugh at you, but you can kill but not humiliate! Xu Tong, just wait and see how I will deal with you?
When Queen Alute saw Emperor Tongzhi walking in in a hurry, she looked unhappy and asked, "Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"
Emperor Tongzhi said angrily: "Empress, have you paid your respects to the two mothers today?"
Queen Arut said in a sweet voice: "Oh! Your Majesty, I am not feeling well today. I have a severe headache. I just called the imperial doctor to see me. Cui'er is decoction for me."
Emperor Tongzhi smelled a smell of medicine, so he suppressed his anger and turned to concern: "Queen, since you are not in good health, don't blow the wind outside the house, it is not good for your health. Come, I will help you in, and I will go to E Niang's place. Say hello to you." As they spoke, the two of them entered the palace, the young couple chatted quietly, and the eunuch with a gentle ear outside the door eavesdropped.
The Empress Dowager Cixi of the Chuxiu Palace was sitting on the Taishi chair, holding a brush and copying Buddhist scriptures, and said to the door: "Has the Emperor gone to see the Queen?"
Queen Arut's personal maid Cui'er, who came to report, knelt on the ground and said: "The Queen Mother, here we come! The Emperor asked the Queen to lie on the bed. The Emperor sat there for half an hour before leaving Kunning Palace."
Empress Dowager Cixi asked: "Is the Queen really uncomfortable?"
The maid Cui'er lowered her eyebrows and said: "I'm reporting to the Queen Mother, the Queen refused to get up in the morning, and then sent the imperial doctor to see her. However, the Queen did not drink the medicine, and asked the slave to pour out the cooked medicine."
The corners of Empress Dowager Cixi's mouth twitched slightly and she sneered: "Well, I know. Tell me what the emperor and empress said?"
Another young eunuch kneeling next to him had a pair of ears that could hear others talking through the door. With this ability, the Empress Dowager Cixi arranged him to be a close eunuch next to Empress Arut. He said hurriedly: "
"The Queen Mother, the Emperor is endorsing the text to the Queen, but I can't remember what a filial son is, what an emperor is, what a world. I deserve death, and I can't remember these classical texts. I hope the Queen Mother will spare me!" After saying this, the little eunuch banged.
He kowtows loudly, fearing that his life will not be saved, and even his bones will not be left in the world.
The Empress Dowager Cixi was very happy after hearing this. She kept her expression calm and said unhurriedly: "Reward!"
"Thank you, Queen Mother!" The gentle eunuch and the two servants named Cui'er held two silver ingots in their hands with smiles on their faces.
"Your Majesty, Empress, what else did you say?" How could the Empress Dowager Cixi believe that Emperor Tongzhi had been reciting the fine lines of Mencius and must have said something else.
The young eunuch still knelt on the ground and said respectfully: "To the Queen Mother, the slaves sighed when the Emperor and Queen were talking about the Tianjin religious case. The Queen asked the Emperor what to do? The Emperor said that the Queen Mother has the final say in everything. The Emperor believes that the Queen Mother can
Keep a good grasp of the scale. Then the Queen said yes and stopped talking."
The Empress Dowager Cixi was full of anger. Queen Alute was dissatisfied with her and deliberately pretended to be ill and did not come to greet her. She gritted her silver teeth and said, "What else did they say?" It turned out that the Empress Dowager Cixi even connected Emperor Zaichun and Queen Alute
She also needs to know everything they say in the boudoir, and even how many times the emperor and queen come together in one night, she also needs to know it clearly.
The little eunuch Shunfeng Er told him bit by bit what he heard in the boudoir: ";;;;;;"
Next to them, Li Lianying and Xiao Dezhang stood with their heads bowed, without any expression on their faces. The eunuch's forbearance skills were the best in the world. Of course, they would not react physically, but the eunuch also had desires in his mind, otherwise why would a rich eunuch marry a third party?
Wife and four concubines.
"Oh;;;;;;I also heard from the emperor that Li Guolou, the man who visited the flower shop, could speak foreign languages, and said that Master Zhongtang was right to ask him to negotiate with foreigners. He also said that he knew a little French and could communicate with the French Minister Luo Shi. What a pity.
He is too young and can only be used as an interpreter." The young eunuch Shunfeng Er told everything he heard, not daring to hide anything.
Xiaode Zhang raised his eyebrows slightly, and immediately lowered his head, keeping calm as it didn't matter to him.
Empress Dowager Cixi slowly picked up her pen and concentrated on writing a few lines of words. She looked at the beautiful handwriting with satisfaction and issued an order: "Well, everyone, come down and do your errands!"
"Zha! I excuse you!" The young eunuch Shunfeng'er and the maid Cui'er bowed and lowered their hands, walking backwards step by step. From the beginning to the end, they never raised their heads once.
There are thousands of spies like them in the palace, and the Empress Dowager Cixi knows every word and deed of the Tongzhi Emperor Zai Chun and Empress Alute. Of course, Empress Dowager Ci'an does not have the guts to take care of the Zhongcui Palace in the East Palace and remains rational.
Living in harmony, the two of them keep their distance and enjoy the joy of life that power brings to them.
The Empress Dowager Cixi stopped and asked, "Xiao Lizi, does Li Guolou have a secret document to present to the emperor?"
Li Lianying whispered: "To the Queen Mother, I will go to the study to have a look. If there is any, I will bring it to you immediately."
"Well;;;;;;" Empress Dowager Cixi picked up the langhao pen and began to practice calligraphy again. A talented woman like her can only write the "Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra" with a calm mind. She wrote on a white paper:
The Buddha told Subhuti: All Bodhisattvas and Mahasattvas should subdue their minds in this way! All sentient beings: whether born from an egg, whether born from a womb, whether born from moisture, whether born by transformation; whether they have form, whether they are colorless; whether they have thoughts, whether they have no thoughts;
, if there is no thought or no thought, I will cause them to enter nirvana without residue and achieve annihilation. In this way, countless and boundless sentient beings will be annihilated. In fact, no living beings will be annihilated. Why? Subhuti! If a Bodhisattva has a self-image or a human-like image,
, the appearance of living beings and the appearance of longevity, that is, they are not Bodhisattvas.
The Empress Dowager Cixi relied on the advice of ministers and tens of thousands of eunuchs to control the Qing Dynasty. Her biological son Zai Chun, who had reached the age of pro-government, was also tricked by the Empress Dowager Cixi. The Empress Dowager Cixi smiled brightly, and the future of the Qing Dynasty still needed her.
Take control, the rooster starts the morning, and the family thrives.