Chapter 282 Sacrificing One's Life for the Country
Chapter 282 Sacrificing One's Life for the Country
In the western warm room of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the expert guards and Shao Quanzhong's guard platoon stood guard side by side outside.
Inside, the newly appointed ruler of the Qing Empire, Cixi, did not act like the virtuous Empress Dowager at all. She served as a "slave" and helped the warlord Shao Quanzhong change his clothes.
The two met again at close range, already fully aware of each other's identities, and were no longer as anxious as before, but instead chatted casually.
"Master Shao, I have never understood. I heard that your Nanyang Fleet spent tens of millions of silver to intimidate the barbarians. Where did you get the money?"
Yes, after bestowing the surname Juelu on Shao Quanzhong, Cixi still called him Master Shao.
The main purpose of bestowing a surname is to give someone a sense of honor. The benefit of being bestowed with a national surname is that one can be registered in the clan office and enjoy royal treatment, such as being granted the title of a prince.
In practice, whether to change one's surname or not depends on the individual. Those who have no power would like to change their surnames to show how powerful they are, but if I have power, I won't change it, and you can't do anything to me.
The Xixia royal family was given a surname by the Song Dynasty emperor, and they did not change it to Zhao. Zheng Chenggong was the king, and no one called him Zhu Chenggong, right?
Hearing Cixi ask where the money came from, this - cough cough, "Xiu'er is in charge of the Wen's consortium, which has opened countless factories and the Wen's bank. I have no shortage of money."
"Sister Xiu'er is truly a prodigy among women. It seems that Zhang Zhidong's request to open factories in various provinces will be approved. We will have to rely on Sister Xiu'er to send people to guide us."
In front of Shao Quanzhong, Cixi was an unofficial lover and sex partner, and had to call Wenxiu "sister". This was the feudal society, and the Empress Dowager had to obey the rules of the feudal society.
"By the way, in the meeting of the Military Affairs Council this morning, everyone was worried about Ma Zhan'ao taking on both the governor and the admiral of Tianfang. Although Tianfang is a poor place, it is also the territory of the Qing Dynasty, right? We need to send someone to check and balance Ma Zhan'ao, so as to prevent him from losing control for a long time."
Regardless of Cixi's ability, she did her best to rule the Qing Dynasty, which was a serious matter.
Shao Quanzhong thought for a moment and said, "Let's transfer Ma Yue from the Uyghur camp under Dong Fuxiang to lead the troops and serve as the provincial governor for Ma Zhan'ao. Then send an official who knows how to govern to serve as the provincial governor. You can decide on the person. In this way, wouldn't the Qing Dynasty's rule in Tianfang Province be regularized?"
"Just as Master Shao said."
While Cixi was serving, Shao Quanzhong gave orders and decided state affairs.
He, the newly-appointed Prince Duolo, already has the style of Dorgon when he was in charge of the Qing Dynasty, and Grand Tutor Dong is no more so.
However, he actually didn't want to be Dorgon. The more he did in this position, the more stable the Qing Dynasty would be, which was not his original intention.
When Cixi asked him about it, he made a quick decision. From now on, let Cixi do whatever she wants.
I have to follow Zhang Zhidong's plan and go abroad to avoid the limelight, and then strengthen my own strength after returning.
Would I really work diligently and sincerely for the Qing imperial family just because you gave me the title of a mere prince and gave me a concubine like Emperor Xianfeng?
……
The next morning, Shao Quanzhong stretched and woke up from the dragon bed in the west warm pavilion.
I habitually called out "Sixth Lady!"
Hu Liuniang and Ping'er appeared at the same time and helped Shao Quanzhong put on his clothes.
Both of them had smiles on their faces, looking very satisfied.
Shao Quanzhong and Hu Liuniang made a high-five agreement that after becoming the queen, he would marry Liuniang in a formal way, bring her into the Shao family, and give her the official status of a concubine. I thought I would have to wait for many years, but I didn't expect it to happen now.
After returning to Hailing, Hu Liuniang was officially married into the family as a concubine.
That’s right, Shao Quanzhong, the nominal central official, didn’t want to work in the Grand Council at all. He was about to go on a visit abroad and had to return home once before going abroad.
As for the Grand Council, it is enough to have my adoptive father in charge.
Although the concubine was still a concubine and her status could not be compared with that of the legitimate wife, she was canonized by the court and her children could be considered legitimate, which was a privilege of the prince.
The Qing court still insisted on the bottom line that Han people would not be crowned kings, so Shao Quanzhong was crowned king and raised the flag first. Ping'er was also very satisfied. She was given to Shao Quanzhong as a concubine, and at most she was a concubine.
Her seven years with the Empress Dowager were not in vain. After Shao Quanzhong was crowned a king, the Empress Dowager gave her the title of concubine, which was a world of difference compared to a concubine.
The second prince of the old Buddha had no status, so Shao Jiliang could only be regarded as the eldest son of the Shao family. If he gave birth to a son, he would be the legitimate son of the Shao family. Isn't that strong enough?
It's a pity that Shao Quanzhong is not lustful. Among high-ranking officials of his level, he has the least women, no one else.
Ping'er was born a skinny girl from Yangzhou. She was a super beauty who was carefully selected to enter the palace. She was extremely charming and beautiful.
After being given to Shao Quanzhong by Cixi, Shao Quanzhong has never looked at her straight in the eye, let alone giving birth to a legitimate son, which makes Ping'er very discouraged.
Fortunately, I have an existing status in the Shao family, so I can take it slow.
Cixi, who served Shao Quanzhong last night, was not there - Shao Quanzhong got up too late.
Cixi was very excited when she first took power. After the morning meeting of the Grand Council, she went to the Taihe Gate to listen to the government affairs. For her, the process of handling state affairs and making decisions was extremely enjoyable.
Shao Quanzhong, dressed in a marshal's uniform, walked out of the West Warm Pavilion, followed by Hu Liuniang, Ping'er, and a platoon of armed guards.
He was a mere duke, not even a prince, but he walked around the Forbidden City with his men and guns, and the guards and eunuchs pretended not to see him.
He led his army to Luoyang successfully, basically achieving the same achievements as Grand Tutor Dong.
Although Ci'an was living in luxury in Zhongcui Palace, her mother still had the title of Empress Dowager, and what she said was still valid in theory.
It had long been spread in the palace and among the royal family that Ci'an, the late emperor's empress, personally authorized Cixi to act out the story of Empress Xiaozhuang in order to appease the warlord Shao Quanzhong.
Cixi slept with Shao Quanzhong on the orders of the queen, and she fulfilled her mission.
Shao Quanzhong, who had a strong army, did not rebel. Instead, he openly took the lead in disarmament at the court meeting. Isn't that good enough?
The Huai Army's military parade at Chengtian Gate frightened envoys from various countries and also frightened the Manchu royal family.
Now that Shao Quanzhong was able to be recruited and subdued, and did not cause chaos in the harem like Dong Zhuo did, the royal family only had a concubine of the previous emperor, so everyone was relieved.
They were all extremely grateful to Empress Dowager Cixi for sacrificing her life for the country. How could they be dissatisfied? They all had the same attitude: Come on, Empress Dowager, our lives and property depend on you.
Speaking of modern times, if her husband has been dead for seven years, and you don’t let her remarry and find another man, that goes against human nature, right?
Under the muzzle of the 180-pound cannon, the royal family became reasonable...
Shao Quanzhong led his men out of the Forbidden City and first inspected the Tongwenguan at the west entrance of Dongtangzi Hutong.
Prince Gong was removed from office in the Dingmao Coup. Now Shao Quanzhong is in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Tongwenguan is a subordinate unit under his direct supervision.
Here, Shao Quanzhong met his "talented nephew" Zeng Jize.
Zeng Jize had already selected interpreters who knew English, German and Russian, and brought the interpreters to follow Shao Quanzhong in preparation for the visit.
Shao Quanzhong arrived at the Huai Army temporary barracks at Dongzhimen.
Nie Shicheng had already led the First Division of the Huai Army and the former Fengtai Camp garrison away. The soldiers of the Bordered Blue Banner who had been stationed there had also entered the city and transformed themselves into a police force to maintain law and order in the capital. Jin Shun was no longer the General of Jilin, but now the Governor of the Nine Gates.
The camp suddenly became much emptier, with only about 36,000 people left.
Shao Quanzhong ordered, "Let's go back to Hailing and let the soldiers return home in glory."
The army broke camp, and the vanguard Lin Bozai's troops started to set out, heading eastward to Dagukou.
Hu Liuniang directed the guards to dismantle the temporary command tent and pack up their things, and Shao Quanzhong was also preparing to leave Beijing.
"Report! The envoys from Ryukyu, Lan Fang, Annan, and Konbaung (Myanmar) are all requesting an audience."
(End of this chapter)