Chapter 321: Border

Chapter 321: Border

Chapter 321: Border
What? My Qing Dynasty already has Prince Rui? It doesn't matter, just change the name and give up the title. How dare Prince Rui object?
Shao Quanzhong's visit brought countless profits to our Qing Dynasty and greatly increased our prestige in the world.

The rewards bestowed upon him by the imperial court were basically all empty.

Whether you are the Minister of the Imperial Guard or not, the guards of the Forbidden City are still in charge of ten skilled and brave eunuchs. Being allowed to walk in the Forbidden City is just an acknowledgement of reality.

Riding horses in the Forbidden City is just a way to take care of the elderly ministers. Shao Quanzhong doesn't even like riding. After all, it's not easy to come back. It's actually nice to stroll around the Forbidden City.

Whether you make Shao Shucai a prince or not, he is also the prince's father. The old man has already begun to regard himself as the emperor, and he still feels that making him a prince is not enough.

Since the court could not show any favor to Shao Quanzhong, he could only give up his face.

My court will now openly give you the treatment given to you by Dorgon. The royal family will send the widow of the previous emperor to appease you. Just don't rebel.

After all, the Empress Dowager appeased the powerful ministers. This is also the "ancestral system" of our Qing Dynasty, isn't it? I am not afraid that you will become Dorgon. Dorgon did not oppose it in the end, right? This is a successful precedent.

Isabel was summoned to the palace and was canonized as the concubine of Prince Dolores.

Having said that, Shao Quanzhong's number of concubines has reached its limit.

Before the Yongzheng period, a prince could only have one concubine. During the Qianlong period, the number was increased to four. Of course, if the emperor so permitted, there was no limit to the number of concubines.

The appointment of a concubine was not a matter of imperial decree. For each concubine, the court had to pay 3,000 taels of silver plus 3,000 hu of rice as salary every year. The court paid money to help the prince support his concubine.

Therefore, titles should not be awarded lightly, as they will increase the financial burden on the court and increase the cost of governance.

Of course, Isabelle was a Spanish princess after all. She had been the Princess of Asturias before her brother was born. She had been trained as the heir to the Spanish throne, so she deserved the reward from the court.

Isabel knelt down to thank the court for the reward, but her heart was filled with pride. The person behind the curtain looks more powerful than me, but in fact you are just Shao's unofficial lover, not as good as me, a concubine.

Of course, she did not understand the traditions of the Qing Dynasty. Shao Quanzhong was conferred the title of Prince Rui and was awarded the title of Morgan Daiqing, which actually gave Cixi an official status. The royal family officially allowed Cixi to "follow the example of Dayuer" and "marry the empress dowager."

After receiving the reward, it seems that Shao Quanzhong should go to work at the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attend meetings at the Grand Council every morning, and integrate into the system of the Qing Dynasty, right?
Shao Quanzhong left the office and said, "I am just a military man, not fit to be in charge of the central government. I feel ashamed of the trust placed in me by the court. I ask the court to relieve me of my important duty as a military official."

Shao Quanzhong, the Grand Councilor, resigned before he even went to work for a single day.

Several senior officials of the Military Affairs Office present immediately panicked. You can't leave. If you don't go to work, we won't take care of you. If you leave, there will be only six people left in the Military Affairs Office. Isn't this very dangerous?
Fortunately, the Empress Dowager was very considerate to her subordinates and immediately issued an edict in the name of the little emperor.

Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, was transferred to Beijing to serve as the Minister of Revenue, in charge of economy, and work in the Grand Council, filling the vacancy left by Shao Quanzhong.

Yehenala Ruilin, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, was transferred to be the Governor-General of Shaanxi and Gansu.

Ahem, do you know who this person is from the last name? After Cixi came to power, she was not idle, her cronies were in various key positions. Now that Ci'an has returned to the throne, her words are no longer effective.

During his tenure as Governor-General of Shaanxi and Gansu, Zhang Zhidong kept submitting memorials to promote the industrialization of the Qing Dynasty, urging the court to build railways, telegraphs, set up factories, open mines, and build Western-style universities, colleges, primary and secondary schools, and technical schools. It was obvious that he was well versed in Westernization and the economy.

Allowing Zhang Zhidong to participate in decision-making was definitely a wise move by Empress Dowager Cixi.

In short, the Self-Strengthening Army remained in Xi'an and was under the command of Ruilin. Isn't this a reduction of the power of the feudal lords?

Due to poor health, Grand Tutor Qiao was allowed to resign from the post of Governor-General of Zhili, and was promoted to the rank of third-class diligent prince, while still leading the Grand Council.

Master Qiao finally achieved his goal of ennobling a king of a different surname, and none of the ministers objected. Master Qiao was loyal to the Qing Dynasty, and he had no soldiers under his command, so he would never rebel. Ennobling a king of a different surname would appropriately suppress Shao Quanzhong, and as his adopted son, Shao Quanzhong would have to obey.

Li Hongzhang was transferred to be the Governor-General of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang, in charge of trade affairs in the three provinces of Zhili, Shandong and Fengtian.

These two appointments were Cixi's means of checking Shao Quanzhong. Although Shao Quanzhong stayed overnight in the West Warm Pavilion, Cixi would not give up power because of this. For political creatures, these are two different things.

Shao Quanzhong was appointed Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Minister of Nanyang, in charge of the southwestern vassal states, and in charge of handling the vassal state affairs and trade matters with Prussia and the United States.

Shaanxi Governor Le Sen was transferred to Guangdong Governor. Well, one reason was to make Shao Quanzhong's work easier. On the other hand, Ruilin was in charge of Shaanxi and Gansu, and Shaanxi couldn't have another "Grand Governor", right? We couldn't give Ruilin too little face, so do you think he would take charge or not?
Miss Qingfeng's position as the Grand Governor went to Guangdong and was left unattended. Coincidentally, the Governor of Shaanxi asked Ruilin to appoint one of his own people to the position.

Feng Zicai, the governor of Guangxi, was transferred to be the governor of Guizhou, Song Le, the governor of Shaanxi, was transferred to be the governor of Guangdong, Lin Bo, the governor of Gansu, was transferred to be the governor of Guangxi, and Ma Yukun, the admiral of Gansu, was transferred to be the admiral of Guangxi.

After a dazzling series of operations by the imperial court, Guangdong and Guangxi became Shao Quanzhong's territory, the Huai Army completely withdrew from Shaanxi and Gansu, and finally restored the old system in which the Governor-General of Shaanxi and Gansu was appointed by a bannerman.

The territories of Guangdong and Guangxi were given to the Huai Army, so it should be right for Shaanxi and Gansu to be given up, right?

Shao Quanzhong took the initiative to withdraw from the central government, left Zhili and went to Guangdong and Guangxi, content with being a local tyrant in a wealthy territory, and all the important officials breathed a sigh of relief.

It's even more difficult for you to rebel when you run so far away. It seems that the Queen Mother's personal consolation is really useful.

The imperial court has always only kept the southwestern vassal states of Annan, Nanchang (Laos), Siam, and Konbaung (Myanmar) under its control, and it is very difficult to exercise actual control over the tropical rainforest.

If the Huai Army takes over this mess, it is very likely that they will be stuck in the rain forest for decades without being able to get out.

After the appointment was announced, all the ministers admired the Empress Dowager's skills. As a result, the Qing Dynasty seemed to be becoming more and more stable.

Shao Quanzhong accepted the post of Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi and Minister of Nanyang. He stood up and bowed, "The French have occupied the six provinces in the south of Annan. I am going to Guangdong and Guangxi this time, and there may be a conflict with the French. I ask for the power to make a decision on the spot."

Shao Quanzhong's qualification as the imperial envoy will automatically expire upon his return from his visit. But if I don't appoint you as the imperial envoy, won't you continue to do things without the court's permission?
You are willing to apply for normal procedures, which means you abide by the rules of the Qing Dynasty officialdom. This is a good thing.

So Shao Quanzhong was given the title of imperial envoy, but none of the ministers took it seriously.

I don't know if Shao Quanzhong wants this seemingly useless title, but he is secretly planning to make another earth-shattering mess.

…………

On April 13, the eighth year of the Tongzhi reign, Shao Quanzhong returned to Hailing via Dagukou and Zhenjiang.

The eight warships that were brought on the visit were left in Zhenjiang Port. After a long voyage, the warships were covered with barnacles, and the sails were mostly damaged and there were traces of repairs everywhere, which needed to be properly maintained.

The Shao family grandly welcomed two foreign daughters-in-law. Shao Shucai and his wife were very satisfied with the two pretty and polite princess daughters-in-law who had received royal etiquette training.

I just expressed my dissatisfaction to Ping'er. You followed Shao Quanzhong all the way, but you didn't come back pregnant? I was also worried about Isabel. I heard from Ping'er that you slept with your son, so how come you didn't get pregnant?
Isabel and Ping'er were both wronged. Shao Quanzhong didn't want Isabel to be carried into the house with a big belly, so he never touched her after leaving Barcelona, ​​and he also rarely touched Ping'er.

You two elders don’t know how greedy Isabelle II and Karl Lagerfeld are. How could we stand a chance?
As expected, Shao Quanzhong married two concubines this time.

When Shao Quanzhong got home and sat down in the study, before he could see Wenxiu or Hu Liuniang, who had given birth to his second daughter, his servant came over and reported, "There's a call from London."

(End of this chapter)