Chapter 281 Raising the flag

Chapter 281 Raising the flag

Chapter 281 Raising the flag
Zuo Zongtang was dissatisfied. "Shao Quanzhong has already crossed the line by leading his men to block the Fengtai camp. This is not the way for a minister to act."

Li Hongzhang shook his head and sighed, "Brother Ji Gao, the Bordered Blue Banner has entered the city, and the winner should have been decided in the city by now. It's the royal family's own business, and no matter who wins, they are the rulers of our Qing Dynasty.

So what if Fengtai Camp sent troops? Sending troops at this time would already be considered a rebellion.

Shao Yuting stopped the Fengtai camp from sending troops. This was to stand on the side of the victors to suppress the rebellion, holding the righteous cause. If you and I attack the Huai Army, we will become traitors.

The teacher sent Liu Jintang to stop you from making mistakes, but you didn't show any gratitude and contacted me again. Brother Ji Gao is not considerate enough."

Zuo Zongtang stood there for a while and let out a long sigh.

Li Hongzhang ranked 13th in the second class of the imperial examination, and Zuo Zongtang failed the examination three times, and he always thought it was a matter of luck. Now it seems that I am more conceited than Li Jianfu in terms of literary and military strategies, but in terms of the brains of being an official, I am indeed not as good as the genuine Jinshi.

Li Hongzhang's advice was obviously for his own good, but Zuo Zongtang could not get close to this old fox in the officialdom no matter what he said. He just flicked his sleeves and turned away.

…………

In the Hunan Army camp, Zeng Guofan and Zhao Liewen drank tea together, and Zhao Liewen sighed repeatedly.

"Shao Yuting blocked the Fengtai camp after the Bordered Blue Banner entered the city. With just one step, he seized the opportunity. This time he has become a loyal minister. There must be a master behind him."

Zeng Guofan also nodded, then shook his head, "But if he becomes a powerful official, wouldn't that be too ostentatious? He will inevitably become the target of public criticism."

“Shao Yuting’s move has both advantages and disadvantages.

It is important to know that one person's plan is short, but two people's plan is long. The two Empress Dowagers restrained each other, and the state affairs were still stable. After that, without Ci'an's check and balance, the Holy Mother Empress Dowager made arbitrary decisions, just like a wild horse running away, and it would be much easier for her to make mistakes.

Once the new army is trained, the overthrow of the magic weapon will happen in an instant. Shao Quanzhong is speeding up the process of winning the throne.

As for being too ostentatious, it can still be remedied. I dare to conclude that Zhang Zhidong has already planned a plan for him to show weakness and escape, otherwise, with the strategy of the treacherous scholar Tanhualang, he would definitely not be willing to help Shao Quanzhong with the plan of following the dragon. "

Zeng Guofan smiled and twirled his beard, "Huifu, you are Zhang Xiaoda's confidant."

The two raised their tea cups together and saluted in the direction of the Self-Strengthening Army camp.

The Hunan and Huaihe Rivers merged, and the think tanks of both sides also appreciated each other.

…………

In the capital, Jin Shun took the imperial edict and took 10,000 soldiers of the Bordered Blue Banner who had been tested in the Western Expedition to take office. He easily grasped the real power of the Nine-Gate Commander-in-Chief and quickly took control of the capital's defense.

Yiktang'a led his personal cavalry and entered the Fengtai camp with an imperial edict. Under the pressure of 50,000 Huai troops and 21 heavy artillery companies, he took office as admiral and gained command of the Fengtai camp.

Soon after, the second imperial edict arrived, and Yiktang'a was promoted to General of Jilin, and immediately led the garrison of Fengtai Camp to Vladivostok to take up his post.

Nie Shicheng led the 1st Infantry Division of the Huai Army and monitored the garrison of Fengtai Camp as it headed for Dagukou. They boarded the Nanyang Navy transport ship and headed for Vladivostok under the escort of the lightweight steam warship of the former Asben Fleet.

Afterwards, Nie's troops continued sailing by ship, crossing the ocean to Victoria, British Columbia, on the other side of the ocean, where Nie Shicheng became the Governor-General of British Columbia.

The Grand Council issued an imperial edict which was sent to Kashgar, which was then transferred 800 miles away on an urgent basis. It ordered the Minister of Bukhara and Khiva, Dong Jun, to be transferred to Beijing to train a new Eight Banners Army, the Wuwei Army, in the Fengtai Camp to protect the capital.

The next day, at six in the morning on the seventh day of the eleventh month of the sixth year of the Tongzhi reign, officials from the Ministry of Rites shouted "Blow the whip!" in front of the Qianqing Palace.

The eunuch on duty cracked his whip three times, and officials of the third rank and above in Beijing filed into the Meridian Gate, and an impromptu court meeting was held.

Great rulers like Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong held court every day, basically at the Taihe Gate, which was called "holding court at the imperial gate." At that time, senior civil servants of the Qing Dynasty had to wait outside the Meridian Gate at five o'clock every morning, which was quite hard.

The later emperors were lazy, ahem, because they realized that it was not easy for the ministers to get up early every day, so they changed it to once every ten days, and all important matters were handled in the Grand Council.

The meetings held in the Qianqing Palace are all urgent and important meetings, like now.

All the ministers stood in line, and An Dehai announced the first thing on behalf of the emperor. His mother, the Empress Dowager, was not feeling well, so she moved to Zhongcui Palace for recuperation. The Empress Dowager would "temporarily" rule the country from behind the curtain. The Military Affairs Council held a morning meeting and moved to the western warm pavilion of the Yangxin Palace.

The officials looked at each other. Hmm, Prince Chun Yihuan had already stood in the empty seat left by Prince Gong. All the princes were present, bowing their heads and saying nothing. Even Zuo Zongtang had no temper, so what else could we say?
An Dehai paused for a moment, and when he saw that there were no loyal ministers who were about to bang their heads against the pillar, he breathed a sigh of relief. The officials of my Qing Dynasty simply have better tempers than those of the previous dynasty.

No one objected to the emperor's announcement. Generally speaking, "If you have a plan, you should report it early, otherwise you should leave the court." Who has the final say? We are all working and getting paid. Shao Quanzhong, the newly promoted first-class Jingyuan Duke, Minister of War, and Military Affairs Office, left the office.

"Now that the Holy Emperor of the Great Qing is on the throne, the country is peaceful and the people are safe. We should put an end to war and bring peace to the world. I request that the Huai Army be reduced to one town."

With Shao Quanzhong taking the lead, Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang came out at the same time and expressed their willingness to follow the footsteps of Lord Jingyuan. The Hunan Army and the Shanghai Army were simultaneously reduced in size.

The Virgin Queen Mother was very pleased and encouraged the three loyal ministers with warm words.

The Western Buddha had to take on the workload of two people before, and it was obviously very hard for him to work for the country. The flatterer Prince Qing Yikuang took the lead and gave Cixi the title of "Duanyou", and all the ministers agreed and the court was dismissed.

This victorious and successful court meeting was held smoothly, marking the official ascension of Cixi to the throne, and her title was changed from "West Buddha" to "Old Buddha".

The Dingmao coup ended without bloodshed and without any unrest. The conflict between the two Empress Dowagers was contained within the palace, and only a dozen guards were killed.

The next day, the Military Affairs Office held a morning meeting, chaired by Grand Tutor Qiao, and began to divide the profits from the change in the political situation. After the meeting, orders were issued from the Military Affairs Office.

The first order was not about rewards, but about the education of royal children.

Zai Cheng was expelled from the Shangshufang because of his bad behavior. Arut Chongqi, the only number one scholar among the bannermen and a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, was promoted to be a lecturer in the Shangshufang, responsible for the education of the royal family's children.

Chongqi came to work in the study room with a sad face. Who would be willing to do this hard job? You can't afford to offend any student. Do you dare to hit the little emperor with a ruler?

After entering the study, he suddenly realized something was wrong. The little emperor was not there, and only Zai Yi, a member of the royal family, was sitting there properly. Behind him, Hai Qing and Tong Lin were standing on his left and right, watching in person, and ten skilled and brave eunuchs in yellow jackets were standing outside.

Shao Quanzhong was actually in the study room, and he bowed to Chongqi and said, "Mr. Zhuangyuan, I will leave this little brat Zaiyi to you to teach."

Shao Quanzhong waved his hand, and Hu Liuniang behind him brought a plate over and handed it to Chongqi. Chongqi took it doubtfully, and his hand sank so much that the plate almost fell to the ground.

When he lifted the silk covering the plate, he saw a plate of gold ingots, weighing two hundred taels in total.

"This is a gift to you, the teacher. You don't have to be polite to this little brat. If he doesn't obey, you can beat him up!"

Shao Quanzhong turned around and said, "Come here, little bastard, and salute the teacher!"

Zai Yi had a sad face. This was the end. Hard days had begun.

Before leaving, Shao Quanzhong grabbed Hai Qing and said, "Third brother, I leave this to you. You are more than just bodyguards. This kid is very cunning. You, his uncle, will beat him up for me! By the way, if you dare to teach him to gamble, I will ask Brother Tian to beat you up together."

Shao Quanzhong and his men left, leaving Chongqi stunned, and suddenly he touched his neck.

What did I hear? What did I see? The Western Expedition Army entered the capital, Master Qiao did not do what Dong Zhuo did, and Shao Quanzhong is now rampaging in the palace. And the Second Prince looks like this - my God, I've taken a job that will cost me my life.

From now on, when I leave this door, my mouth will be sewn shut, otherwise my whole family’s lives will be in danger.

It's not easy to be a top scholar. I'm so unlucky to do this job.
When he turned around, he was furious at Zai Yi. Before the class even started, he started picking up the rulers...

All the orders given by the Grand Council were about dividing the spoils.

Zhang Zhidong was promoted to the Governor-General of Shaanxi and Gansu for his meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion, and the Self-Strengthening Army was expanded into a town. Zhang Zhidong, his own man, became the immediate superior of Le Sen, the new Governor of Shaanxi, so Le Sen could concentrate on being his intelligence chief, and his wife Qingfeng was promoted from "Grand Prefect" to "Grand Governor" and no one cared about her.

Zeng Guofan was given the title of Grand Tutor. Zeng Jize was promoted to the position of Left Vice-Chief Censor of the Censorate and appointed to the post of Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs. Liu Jintang was awarded the title of Baron of the Second Class and the title of Minister of Public Affairs for his contributions in suppressing the rebellion.

Li Hongzhang "remained calm in the face of major events and was reliable", so he was given the title of Prince Taifu and appointed as Associate Grand Secretary.

Although Zuo Zongtang's performance was not very good and he was not promoted, his "loyalty is commendable" and the Chu army was allowed to expand to a town, which was considered a gain.

Shao Quanzhong was the first to make contributions in suppressing the rebellion. He was given the surname Jueluo, raised the Zhenghuang Banner, and was granted the title of Duolo Prince. He was also appointed as the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His wives Ronghui and Wenxiu were made the legitimate wives, while Hu Liuniang, Luo Pepe (Ping'er's real name), and Princess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia were made the concubines.

As an imperial envoy, Shao Quanzhong represented the Qing Dynasty and led the Nanyang Navy to visit Western countries and act at his discretion.

(End of this chapter)