A guard carried a basket and walked to the door of the "Qingguo Duke's Mansion". He greeted the other two guards on guard and asked them to open the door. The two guards also recognized him and knew that he was bringing food.
, also nodded, turned around and opened the small iron door.
The small iron door was open, and the putrid and pungent smell inside rushed into the face, which could make people retreat. The two guards on guard held their noses and stood a few steps away. The guard who delivered the meal was holding a basket and crouching.
Drilled in.
The small cement house was pitch dark, and something was squirming in the straw pile on the ground, making a "squeaking" sound along with coughing.
The guard delivering the meal sang loudly:
"My father-in-law is having lunch——"
Then he put the basket down, opened the lid of the basket, took out two bowls and put them on the ground, and then put the two empty bowls on the ground back into the basket. He kept making a series of movements with his hands, and whispered a few words quickly:
"How is your dragon body, Your Majesty? This servant was sent by Prince Gong and Lord Mu..."
There was an intensified coughing in the straw pile. It was obvious that the people in the straw pile wanted to say something but could not say it.
But the guard who delivered the meal did not stop talking. While clearing the bowl, he continued to whisper:
"Your Majesty, you have been in trouble for more than a year. The Qing Dynasty has allowed the criminal Yu Qi to create a mess. Now most of the country has been lost. It is about to be beaten to Beijing by Nan Ming... Now Prince Gong, Master Mu, and several other adults
They are all ready. We are ready to mobilize the Guards to attack Yuqi. Please respect me.
The emperor came out to preside over the grand plan and save the Qing Dynasty... Yuqi couldn't kill you with his own hands. He would humiliate you like this and make you die in depression... Prince Gong and Master Mu asked their servants to give the emperor a message and let the emperor take care of himself inside.
Take care of yourself and eat well...you can still see the light of day again one day..."
The coughing in the straw pile became more violent, accompanied by a hoarse voice from crying, and he wanted to say something, but the crying and coughing turned out to be a blur, and nothing could be heard.
The guard who delivered the food finished cleaning up and whispered:
"Your Majesty, take care, I have resigned..."
After saying that, he came out with the basket. Then the other two guards a few steps away came over and locked the door again.
…
Guangwu's coup at the end of 1935 killed six of the twelve iron-hat kings of the Qing Dynasty, including the Shishigege family. The only ones left untouched were Duke Duoluokeqin and Duke Duoluo Shuncheng.
,Prince Heshuoyi,Prince Heshuogong,Heshuochun
There are six princes, including Prince Chun and Prince Shuoqing. Among them, Prince Chun’s palace has a direct blood relationship with the current emperor (Guangwu’s father Puyi is the son of Prince Chun Zaifeng), so its status is relatively secure. The remaining five are walking on thin ice all day long.
Like facing an abyss.
The most courageous among them is Prince Gong. Although this old man, like the other five princes, lives in seclusion all day long, just playing with some antique calligraphy and painting to cultivate his moral character, he has no idea what Guangwu has done and what he and the iron-hatted king have done.
The situation was quite unfair. The entire year of 1936
For years, he was holding back, looking for opportunities, and looking for suitable people. By the end of 36, the Qing Dynasty had lost the entire south of the Yellow River, and the danger of national subjugation was imminent, and when Guangwu's surveillance of several kings began to relax a little, Prince Gong
Only then did he decisively take action and start taking risks to contact others.
He searched for candidates for a whole year and eliminated several candidates. The candidates either lacked courage, were too weak in power, or were too close to Guangwu. Until the last person, Prince Gong felt that it was enough.
This person is the current deputy commander of the Guards: Tong Jia-Mu Hu.
Although Guangwu made his two younger brothers the commanders of the Guards and the Eight Banners Army respectively, they were two young princes after all. They were both young princes and could not lead troops at all. They rarely even went to the army.
They can't even name the division commanders, brigade commanders, and regiment commanders below, let alone how to command and mobilize the troops. Now, as the commander-in-chief, they can say everything about these two troops simply because their brother is the emperor.
for the sake of.
Therefore, the real power of these two armies lies in the hands of their deputies.
But Guangwu is not a fool. He also knows that his two younger brothers cannot compare with those veteran generals in their ability to lead troops. So he added all the following deputy commanders. The Guards originally had one deputy commander, but now it has been increased to two.
The Eight Banners Army originally had two deputy commanders, but now it has increased to four. Guangwu made these deputy commanders intrigue against each other in order to offset their abilities and put his two younger brothers in a transcendent position.
Prince Gong's original best plan was to contact the generals of the Eight Banners Army, and during the coup, let the Eight Banners Army enter Beijing, surround the palace, and control the situation. Because the Eight Banners Division was much stronger than the Guards and had greater combat effectiveness, it could be easily
to suppress the Guards Division. But Guangwu's preventive measures played a great role. There are now four deputy commanders of the Eight Banners Army, and their powers are very scattered. It is useless for Prince Gong to conquer one, but it is almost useless to conquer four.
Impossible.
Therefore, Prince Gong settled for the next best thing and settled on Tong Jia-Muhu, one of the two deputy commanders of the Guards. Muhu alone controlled one-half of the Guards Division.
Right. As long as the other deputy commander is temporarily eliminated, he can control the entire Guards.
Now, after nearly a month of testing and communication, Prince Gong and Deputy Commander Mu Hu have reached preliminary mutual trust. Both of them cannot bear to see the foundation of the Qing Dynasty destroyed like this, and they both have interests in getting rid of Guangwu.
Demand. On Prince Gong’s side, he had status, the brand of royal orthodoxy, and a scheming mind. On Mu Hu’s side, he had fists, that is, barrels of guns. Therefore, more than a year after the Guangwu coup, among the top officials of the Qing Dynasty, a
A truly threatening conspiracy group was formed.
…
That night, Mu Hu's confidant lieutenant disguised himself as a delivery man from a jade shop and sneaked into Prince Gong's Mansion again. Although the martial law was under martial law, it was only for the common people. As long as the dignitaries were in need, anything could be delivered to their doorsteps.
Although Mu Hu and Prince Gong have been in contact for more than a month, for the sake of safety, they all send their confidants to contact each other. They are both heavyweights, and a meeting would make too much noise. No matter how careful you are, it is very dangerous.
It's hard not to let the news leak out.
In Prince Gong's study, under the dim incandescent light bulb, the adjutant disguised as a store clerk opened the bag and placed the jade items inside one by one on the black velvet cushion. Prince Gong sat under the desk lamp, holding a magnifying glass and using a picky
He looked at each piece of warm Hetian white jade with his eyes.
The adjutant carefully placed the jade items and said in a mosquito-like whisper:
"After the matter is completed... My lord, I still want to support the prince... I think this is more practical... The prince previously advocated supporting the restoration of the late emperor, but I feel that this seems unnecessary... My lord is still willing to support the prince to inherit the throne..."
Prince Gong played with an imitation white marble wall in his hand, then put it down, and picked up an imitation Song sapphire jade lotus boy. He looked at the light with a magnifying glass while an almost inaudible voice oozed out from between his teeth:
"Tell your lord, thank him very much... I also understand what he means, but it's not done yet. We can't just think about what will happen after... We also have to think about what happened before, how
In this way, we have a greater chance of success... We want to say that the 'tops' today are traitors and sinners. That is very good and very popular... But if we want to continue to win the hearts of the people, we must be self-reliant.
That won't work... We have to introduce genuine products... Let me tell you, sir, I am not someone who doesn't want to achieve great things... I sent someone to check on the late emperor's health... He is not far away...
Tell your master, again, as long as he has this intention, it will be a matter of time... When the day comes, I will remember his efforts..."
The adjutant whispered respectfully:
"Hey, I remembered it..."
After a while, Prince Gong whispered again:
"Tell your adults, we need to contact the south side about this matter as soon as possible. If the south side doesn't nod for such a big thing, it will be useless even if we succeed. I am being watched closely and it is inconvenient to contact the outside world, so this matter
He has to hurry up... The south has already reached Tangshan, in a few days... When we get to the city of Beijing, no one will be interested in us going to negotiate peace... Now, the south is also interested in being less deadly.
People, we may still be able to come to an agreement..."
The adjutant nodded and whispered:
"Well, I have taken note of this... Your Majesty, my family is also preparing to contact the south... I just want to ask the prince to give me an idea, which person in the south would it be more appropriate to contact?"
Prince Gong pondered for a moment and asked:
"Who are you considering contacting? Let me hear it first."
"Hey," the adjutant whispered, "back to the prince, my lord would like to ask the prince to give you some advice, and... and..."
He turned his head and looked around subconsciously, then lowered his voice quite a bit, approached Prince Gong, and whispered in an almost inaudible voice:
"...Is it appropriate to contact Prince Nasu's daughter...Ten...Fourteen Gege? My lord has considered that she is also a member of our banner, and she and the prince are members of the same family, and the whole family has suffered... In addition,
Now she is quite powerful in the south, and she also has the People's Guard, which makes it easier to contact her... Her relationship with the Qing Dynasty is always deeper than that with Nan Ming, and she will not bear to see the Qing Dynasty die like this... If she wants to do something,
, which can also be used in the south..."
Prince Gong nodded slightly and said:
"Well, it's okay. It's the same as what I think... let him contact you. In this way, you can tell Shi Shi... As long as this matter is completed, then Shi Shi will be the most promising woman in our family... Da Qinghe
I have kept the iron hat of Prince Shuosu for her. Tell her, don’t think that because you are a woman, you can’t wear it... She is the only one left in Prince Su’s family, so who can wear it if you don’t give it to her?”
The adjutant was a little surprised, but he still nodded and said "嗻".
Then, he remembered again, and quickly took out a small cloth bag from the jade bag and opened it carefully.
This is a jet cigarette holder.
Prince Gong frowned. He was an experienced collector and knew that cigarette holders were generally made of white jade, jade, agate and other materials, but were generally not made of black jade.
The transparency of black jade is very low...could there be a mystery hidden in it?
Sure enough, the adjutant carefully took out a small paper stick from the cigarette holder, unfolded it and handed it to him.
Prince Gong took it, put it under the lamp, and used a magnifying glass to examine the densely packed small characters on it.
As he watched, his brows furrowed:
"What's this?"
"Back to your lord," the adjutant replied carefully, "this is... the speech given by Queen Nanming on the 13th. My lord has a radio at home, and he had someone write it down verbatim."
"What does he mean?"
The adjutant whispered:
"Your Majesty, what my lord means is that in her recent speech, the Queen of Nanming repeatedly emphasized what the Manchus did to the Han people. It seems that she will retaliate against our Manchus in the future... What my lord means, we must take action.
Taking this into consideration..."
"How to consider it?"
"That is to say... there must be one condition in the peace negotiation, which is that we must treat the banner people well and not engage in national revenge... Otherwise, there will be no talk of anything else, and we will fight to the end."
"Nonsense!" Prince Gong scolded dissatisfiedly, "Now they have attacked our door, and they have already arrived at the city... We are now an alliance under the city, and we have to thank God for their interest in talking to us... How can we still do this?
So you don’t know what is good or bad? Tell your adults, in this current situation, we ask
There is only one thing: Please show mercy to the Ming Dynasty and don't completely destroy the Qing Dynasty... As long as the Qing Dynasty is not destroyed, even if there is only one Beijing city called "Qing Dynasty", we can negotiate! We can agree to any other conditions!
...They are the winners, and we can no longer control how they treat the people under the banner..."
The adjutant seemed very embarrassed. It was obvious that Master Mu had emphasized this point when he came. He hesitated and said:
"Your Majesty... My lord means that the Ming Dynasty must propose national reconciliation as a national policy... My lord says that we risk beheading to do this, half of it is to fight for lifelong wealth, and generally it is
Fight for the safety and peace of our banner people... If our banner people end up like the German Jews, then even if the rest of our lives are prosperous and wealthy, it won't mean much..."
Prince Gong's eyes flashed with contempt, the corners of his mouth raised slightly, he smiled and shook his head.
"I didn't expect that in the Qing Dynasty today, there would still be people like Master Mu. Sigh... maybe this is why the Qing Dynasty should not die. Anyway, let him get in touch with the south first and then see."