Chapter 278: Oops, Cixi has the upper hand

"Your servant Shao Quanzhong, I am here to serve—"

Cixi suppressed her laughter and said in a normal tone, "Why? You are so brave, why don't you kneel when you see me?"

Shao Quanzhong finally caught his breath and finally understood why Cixi almost fainted behind the curtain.

I could never have imagined that such a thing would happen in the world and happen to me.

Even though Shao Quanzhong boasted that he was the best wit in the world, he didn't know how to face the strange encounter between him and the Old Buddha.

He had seen photos of Cixi, and she looked like a completely different person from the woman in front of him, so he could not guess the true identity of the palace maid.

After standing there for a long time, Shao Quanzhong rolled his eyes and suddenly knelt down. "Your Highness Shao Quanzhong pays respects to the Holy Mother Queen Dowager. May the Holy Mother Queen Dowager be blessed. Well, I suddenly remembered that there is still meat stewing in the pot at home..."

Cixi looked murderous, "You are such a heartless bastard, you want to deny your responsibility after taking advantage of me, right?"

Shao Quanzhong looked around in panic and saw that Cixi was obviously well prepared and had even sent away her personal eunuchs and other palace maids.

There was only a twenty-year-old palace maid standing behind Cixi. Well, An Dehai stood at the door to keep watch. Obviously, these two were Cixi's absolute confidants.

Shao Quanzhong slapped the back of his head, regretting it.

Why am I going back to my old home? Is this person someone I can flirt with?

If you owe someone a romantic debt, you might be able to just pay some money to settle it, but if you owe this person, just think about it and you will know that you can't let it go, and the price you pay will definitely be huge.

When I was still a yamen runner, I made a mistake and had to risk my life to send her back to the team.

I didn't expect that I would make the same mistake twice. This time I have more power, what will this woman ask for? No matter what it is, it's definitely not a good thing.

Shao Quanzhong has a clear plan for his future. In the future he will fulfill his promise to his elder brother Tian Xing, drive out the Tartars and restore China.

The current task is to bide our time and preserve our strength.

First, go overseas and make contacts with foreigners from various countries. Especially make friends with Prussia, and get the Mauser rifles, Krupp cannons and other things you have longed for.

When the imperial court's new army had trained more, the professional rebels, the Hongmen, had infiltrated almost all of the new army, and there was no way they could start an uprising and fight the imperial court. He would keep his troops in place and wait for the Qing Dynasty to lose its vitality, and then take action to save the country at the critical moment.

This is a path that has been proven in practice to be successful, and I don't want to make any mistakes.

But this mistake happened, and it happened to me. What should I do?

The woman in front of him was definitely the real Tartar leader, and she had the leverage over him.

He neither wanted to help her stabilize the Qing dynasty, nor was he willing to be cruel to the woman with whom he had had two nights of pleasure. The best way was to play dumb, you don't know me, I don't know you, and we should just forget each other.

This is good for both of us, Mr. Buddha. What's the point of you mentioning the chance encounter?

It is impossible for me to be a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty, and it is impossible for you to give up your position as Empress Dowager and become my concubine just because of a chance encounter with me. We are enemies in essence.

Seeing Shao Quanzhong remained silent, Cixi got down from her seat and walked around Shao Quanzhong. "Why, you are the great general of the Western Expedition, but you dare not admit it?"

"Reporting to the old Buddha, I am only a third-class duke. I have served as the acting general of Yili, but I have never been a general."

Seeing that Shao Quanzhong was determined to play dumb, Cixi felt at a loss as to where to start. She laughed in anger, "Okay, you are a third-class duke. Do you want to be a first-class duke? Do you want to be crowned a king?"

"Reporting to the old Buddha, I dare not accept the reward without any merit."

Shao Quanzhong refused to take the bait no matter what he said. No wonder he had accomplished such a great career in just seven years. I really didn't realize that the little yamen runner that I easily captured back then had such a smart brain. "What if I give you a chance to make merit? If you do, I will make you a king."

Shao Quanzhong was as hard as a rock. He had already regarded this woman as a political opponent, and alarm bells were ringing in his head.

He ignored the other party's talk of chance encounter and started to confer official titles and make wishes.

The higher the official position, the more difficult it is to handle things. I don't want to listen, I don't want to listen, whatever you want. Anyway, I can't do anything that will damage the strength of the Huai Army because of my own mistakes.

"My Lord, I have a small head, and a hat that is too big cannot fit me. I still want to keep my head for food, and I don't want to move too soon."

If the hard approach doesn't work, try the soft approach. Cixi put her hand on Shao Quanzhong's shoulder and her tone softened, "Master Shao, you command a large army and are feared by all nations. Can you bear to see an orphan like me and my widowed mother being bullied and ordered around all day long?"

Shao Quanzhong immediately understood that this woman was a power animal. Seeing that he had a strong army, she wanted to use him to get rid of Ci'an and have the final say.

Why should I get involved in this? There is no benefit and I will get into trouble.

I will help you deal with Ci'an, and you have the final say. Can you let me sit on the throne? I say we should drive out the Tartars, do you agree?
If you do this, you will only be criticized by your political opponents and lose the opportunity to keep a low profile. It will only do you harm and no good.

If I want to rise, I must rely on the guns and hard power in my hands. No matter how high your official position is, it will be useless. I am now higher than Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, do they listen to me when I speak?

It is not my responsibility that you, an orphan and your widow, are bullied. Go ask your dead husband Xianfeng for help. There is no way I can help you.

"Your Majesty, I am just a soldier fighting for the court. There are more than just my troops outside the city. I also want to meet Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang, Zeng Guofan and Zhang Zhidong, and talk to them about my friendship as colleagues."

Cixi sneered, are you pretending to be a bear?
Although I didn't go to the military review, Xiao Anzi went there to serve. He came back and told me that your soldiers were extremely powerful, and the four armies would probably not be able to defeat you even if they joined together. Besides, Zhang Zhidong would not fight you.

"Since you claim to be a soldier of the imperial court, now that the war is over, the imperial court asked you to disband the Huai Army. Will you obey the order?"

"I will obey your order and reduce the Huai Army to the size of a town when I return."

Oh, you really have no ambition, you want to be a loyal minister? This was beyond Cixi's expectation.

How could she know that Shao Quanzhong's military reduction was just to transfer soldiers from the regular army to the reserve. With fewer soldiers, people would not be jealous of him, and he could save military pay. At the critical moment, he could call for as many soldiers as he wanted.

The insurance team reserve model was the Prussians' secret weapon later on. Other countries have not yet adopted it, and most people would not have thought of it.

When he suddenly found out that the yamen runner was Shao Quanzhong, he listened to Ping'er's instigation and was very excited for a long time. He wanted him to send troops to help him stage a coup and seize power.

I didn't expect this guy to not care about the two times he had sex with me. He was as hard as a rock. He was not tempted by the official title and the promise. He didn't give me a penny. It seemed that if I didn't use a trick, I couldn't control this slippery guy.

Well, it might be good that he wants to be a loyal minister like Zeng Guofan, so that when things are accomplished, he will be a strong backing behind me and there won’t be any trouble later.

Cixi gritted her teeth and said, "Ping'er, go and call Yi'er over to me!"

Shao Quanzhong was puzzled. When Ping'er brought a six or seven-year-old child into the East Warm Pavilion, Cixi put on a kind smile that others rarely saw, "Yier, come here and kowtow to this man."

Zai Yi had never kowtowed to anyone except Ci'an and Cixi. He looked at Shao Quanzhong curiously, and Shao Quanzhong was also looking at him. The father and son met for the first time and were both stunned.

Shao Quanzhong is conceited that he is the smartest person in the world. He says one thing to one person and another thing to another person. It is always others who stare blankly in front of him. Today is the first time that he stared blankly twice.

Shit, this kid must be my son, there is no need for blood test, he can't deny it. No wonder An Dehai acted so strangely in Fengyang.

Now the truth is revealed as to why Emperor Xianfeng had a second prince which was not in line with history. It turned out that it was done by someone who was a colleague of the emperor like me, and I was kept in the dark the whole time!

I didn't expect it to be so useful - now it's broken!
I want to drive out the Tartars. My son's mother is a Tartar, and my son is half a Tartar. Now Cixi has a huge handle on me. What should I do?
(End of this chapter)

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