1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 163 Empress Dowager Cixi Convenes a New Policy Meeting
While Li Qiwei was planning Huangpu University of Technology, Guangdong Education Commissioner Yu Shimei was also busy.

After he sorted out and polished Li Qiwei's educational reform outline, he set off to the north to meet the emperor and present the outline.

Starting from Guangzhou, we followed the coastline all the way to Tianjin Tanggu, and then rushed to Beijing without stopping.

On April 1903, 4, Yu Shimei finally arrived in the capital smoothly and stayed at Xianliang Temple, waiting for the next day's court meeting.

In the impression of many people in later generations, the most familiar thing about ancient emperors is probably attending court to handle government affairs.

Some emperors were lazy and did not attend court for twenty years; while some emperors were workaholics and wished they could be in court 24 hours a day to handle state affairs.

The court meetings in the Qing Dynasty were divided into grand court meetings and regular court meetings.

The grand court was held on New Year's Day, the Winter Solstice and the Emperor's Birthday every year, when the Emperor would receive worship and congratulations from princes and civil and military officials in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The Grand Court Meeting was a court meeting system established solely to embody the national etiquette system. The emperor would not handle any government affairs at the meeting.

To put it simply, it is a ritual that only happens three times a year.

The regular court was a routine system established to handle daily government affairs, also known as "hearing government affairs in the imperial palace."

The hours of court sessions varied depending on the emperor's preferences.

But generally speaking, regular court sessions are held three or four times a month.

It can be seen that even during regular court sessions, the time was very short and it was almost impossible for the emperor to handle too many affairs.

Therefore, in addition to the grand court and the regular court, there is another kind of court meeting called "hearing court affairs at the imperial gate."

It is the most important form of court meeting for the emperor to handle government affairs. The so-called "attending court" in later film and television works refers to hearing government affairs at the imperial gate.

As for the places where the emperor held court, they included the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Old Summer Palace, the Mountain Resort, etc.

By the late Qing Dynasty, the organizational structure of the Qing Dynasty underwent drastic changes due to the fact that most emperors ascended the throne at a young age and the impact of Western learning.

The procedures and processes of court meetings also underwent major changes.

"Daqi" is a special court meeting, also called "Imperial Meeting".

In order to deal with important political and diplomatic issues, the emperor summoned the Grand Councilor and all the ministers of the ministries and agencies, and sometimes even lowered the rank of officials.

The imperial meetings were often attended by a large number of officials, and they discussed important issues.

In addition, because of the existence of Cixi, the system of ruling from behind the curtain came into being, that is, the empress dowager ruled the country.

The venue of court meetings was often moved to Cixi's residence, the Yiluan Hall.

The so-called imperial conference was actually a meeting led by Cixi.

Guangxu usually summoned his ministers to the Qianqing Palace or Kunning Palace.

Of course, he is now under house arrest and lives in Yingtai. Only when he is needed to attend court meetings will Cixi send someone to pick him up and bring him back to the Forbidden City.

What a miserable word.

April 4, Forbidden City.

At 10:15 in the morning, Empress Dowager Cixi, the actual ruler of the Qing Dynasty, convened a large-scale imperial meeting in the eastern warm room of the Yiluan Hall.

A total of more than one hundred officials in Beijing participated, and many officials came from outside Beijing, including Yu Shimei.

The theme of this meeting is to discuss the implementation of the new policy.

The Yiluan Hall faces north and south. Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi sat with their backs to the window facing north, while many ministers knelt in order beside the imperial desk.

After all the ministers knelt and kowtowed, Guangxu and Cixi asked everyone to stand up and the meeting began.

Cixi was vague behind the bright yellow pearl curtain, and her expression could not be seen clearly.

Three years ago, it was here that she discussed with the officials the issue of declaring war on the Eight-Nation Alliance, and ended up getting beaten to a pulp.

Now, she had to listen to people discussing the new policy reforms that she hated the most.

Cixi felt very uncomfortable, but there was nothing she could do.

She was good at playing a balancing policy, but when all the ministers agreed on something, she had no choice but to compromise.

Politics is complicated.

On the other hand, Guan Xu seemed to be in high spirits at this moment, and he finally regained some of the feeling of being an emperor.

You didn't support my reforms in the first place, but now you have to follow my instructions.

He was extremely happy and wanted to see what you guys would do with the new policy.

Prince Qing Yixin was the first to step forward. He was the person in charge of the new policy and he was responsible for reporting all the results.

Yixin first flattered Cixi and Guangxu, praising the Empress Dowager and the Emperor for their strategic planning and foresight, which helped the Qing Dynasty regain its vitality and make the country's strength prosper.

Then they went on to glorify the achievements of the New Deal.

The focus of the article is on the training of the new army, which is what Cixi cared about most.

"Your Majesty, the training of the new army is now proceeding in an orderly manner."

"Provinces across the country have gradually established training offices to lead the training of new troops in each province."

"I have the audacity to submit a memorial, hoping that the imperial court can set up a military training department to coordinate the training of the new army across the country."

After saying that, Yixin lowered his head and presented a plan with both hands. Li Lianying took it away and presented it to Cixi, who then showed it to Guangxu.

A voice came from behind the beaded curtain: "You did a good job."

"If the Qing Dynasty had had such a new army earlier, we wouldn't have been bullied like that by the foreign devils."

"It shows that you are all lazy people and indifferent to national affairs."

All the ministers were suddenly terrified. Although they complained in their hearts that it was all your fault, you old witch, they absolutely could not show it.

"Long live your servant!" After brushing, they all knelt down in unison.

"Okay, everyone, get up. We are here to discuss things, not to kowtow to you."

"The rest of the matter is up to you, Emperor."

After learning about the most important new army reform, Cixi was no longer concerned about the rest.

Of course, she just said it casually, and her indifference did not mean that Guangxu could make decisions. And Guangxu was also very self-aware, and the so-called "wait and see" meant to wait and see what Cixi did.

"Yes, dear father."

Next, Yixin summarized the achievements of the New Deal in business, education, official system, law and other aspects.

This won the silent nods of the ministers present, and now this was a sign of revival.

The Qing Dynasty has experienced so many dark moments, but now we can finally see a glimmer of light.

Guangxu also showed an expression of surprise on his face. There was no emperor who didn't like a strong country.

Although it is not yours for now, it will be yours sooner or later.

Guangxu had figured it out. When it came to power struggles, even after another thirty years, he would still not be as good as Cixi.

It would be better for him to just wait and see. His age is his greatest asset.

As a result, the inner burden was gone and he seemed more energetic.

He generously rewarded Yixin and praised him for his hard work for the country and being a role model for other officials.

Then, several ministers of the new policy also submitted memorials, introducing the specific achievements and the current difficulties they were facing, hoping that the court could provide support.

This included setting up a Ministry of Commerce to encourage private industry and commerce; revising the laws of the Qing Dynasty; setting up provinces in frontier areas to facilitate management, etc.

Among them, Yuan Shikai's memorial caused a sensation.

Together with Zhang Zhidong, he petitioned the court to stop the imperial examination system and establish new-style schools.

You must know that this is not the military imperial examination that was cancelled in 1901, but the liberal arts imperial examination that has continued in China for more than 1300 years.

The imperial examination was the only means for all scholars in ancient times to succeed in life, and it was also the only chance for poor students to change their destiny.

However, the imperial examination system had to give way to the new policy.

Because the content and form of the imperial examination could not keep up with the development of the world situation.

As early as a few years ago, many ministers had suggested abolishing the imperial examination system.

However, because the matter was of great importance, the Qing court kept dragging its feet and taking things one step at a time.

Nowadays, provinces across the country have begun to establish new-style schools, which creates natural contradictions and conflicts with the imperial examination system.

The situation forced us to change.

Either abolish the imperial examination system or cancel the new policy, you can only choose one.

At this moment, there was a lot of whispering in the court meeting.

Zhang Zhidong was the Governor-General of Huguang, and Yuan Shikai was the Governor-General of Zhili. The two bigwigs jointly submitted a memorial, and even Cixi had to take it seriously.

"Emperor, what do you think?"

Guangxu lowered his head slightly and kicked the ball back, "Everything depends on my dear father's judgment."

Cixi was behind the curtain, and no one could see her expression or guess what she was thinking.

"That's fine, it's up to you. If you want to abolish it, then do it."

"But I have one request, which is that after the imperial examination is abolished, new-style schools need to play a role."

"The purpose of training talents for the country cannot change."

The ministers shouted: "The Queen Mother is wise, the Emperor is wise."

Suddenly, Cixi asked again: "Where is Zhang Baixi?"

A man flashed out from the crowd. It was Zhang Baixi, the Minister of Education. "I am here."

"I read the school regulations you wrote, and they are only average."

"What exactly do you want to do next?"

“How should education be reformed?”

"The more those young people know, the more they oppose the Qing Dynasty."

"Don't think that I am old and confused just because I am in the palace."

"Every year, the imperial court sends students abroad to study and even cuts off their braids when they return. Is this what you call loyalty to the emperor and patriotism?"

Cixi's tone was not harsh, but it frightened everyone present to kneel down again.

“Education is the foundation of a country.”

"I asked you to run a new-style education in order to strengthen our Qing Dynasty, not to cultivate rebellious children who would oppose the Qing Dynasty."

"Or do all of you here have some hidden thoughts that you don't want to tell others?"

These words were so serious and hurtful that everyone was trembling with fear and dared not utter a word.

Just kidding, if anyone dares to talk to someone at this time, he would be like an old man hanging himself because he thinks his life is too long.

After a long time, a calm voice came from behind the curtain, "Everyone get up."

"Zhang Baixi, study it carefully when you go back. I will ask you again next time."

"Yes."

Next, the emperor and his ministers discussed various details of the new policy, striving to avoid any mistakes.

After a while, the East Warm Pavilion became quiet.

After receiving a signal from Cixi and Guangxu, the young eunuch said sharply, "If you have something to say, please report it. If not, please leave the court."

Just when everyone thought that today's meeting was about to end, suddenly, a voice came from behind the crowd.

"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager, I, the governor of Guangdong Province, Yu Shimei, have a memorial to submit."

Everyone glanced at Yu Shimei, wondering who this fool was.

The Queen Mother is already dissatisfied with the new education policy. You, as an education official, are trying to get involved. You must be kicked in the head by a donkey.

(End of this chapter)