The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 223 Ronglu's Sorrow

It's noon and the sun is shining brightly.

In the Western Garden of the capital, outside the flower hall of Yiluan Palace.

The Grand Chancellor of the Imperial Court, the head of the Grand Council, the Minister of State Affairs, Prince Duan Zai Yi, and the Minister of War, the Associate Grand Secretary, and the Grand Councilor Gang Yi hurried over with melancholy looks on their faces.

From a distance, they saw the back of an elderly official with a slightly hunched back waiting outside the flower hall. Zai Yi and Gang Yi couldn't help but frown slightly. They looked at each other and quickened their pace.

The old official that year was none other than Ronglu, the Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace, the Minister of Military Affairs, and the Director-General of the Imperial Household Department.

The Grand Council had just received memorials from Zhili Governor-General Yu Lu, Song Qing and others in the morning. The news that the war was going badly had now spread in the court. After Zai Yi and Gang Yi had a hasty discussion with a group of pro-war ministers in the Grand Council, they hurried to the Yiluan Palace.

These things must be reported to Cixi. Although repeated defeats in the war have caused these ministers in the Grand Council who are in favor of war to be criticized and embarrassed, they still have to face such things.

Hearing the footsteps, Ronglu turned around and saw Zai Yi and Gang Yi coming together. He hurriedly turned around to greet them, and the two of them also smiled and greeted Ronglu in return.

The three men were not only important officials of the court with different political views, they could also be said to be mortal enemies. They fought against each other behind the scenes, using small moves and even dirty means, but on the surface they all appeared to be harmonious.

They are not newcomers to the officialdom. They have already mastered these official skills to perfection.

Just after exchanging a few meaningless pleasantries, a eunuch came out hurriedly and called him in.

Although the memorial had just arrived in the morning, Zai Yi and Gang Yi both knew that Ronglu had already received the news, and it was impossible for Cixi not to know about it. They just didn't know the details of the memorial.

So, after entering the flower hall, the two of them kept glancing at Cixi's expression with trepidation.

In the flower hall, Cixi was still sitting upright on the couch with a dignified appearance, still holding in her hand the shiny bronze pestle that she had rubbed so well.

Seeing the three people coming in to pay their respects to her, Cixi had no expression on her face, and just said calmly, "Please give the three gentlemen a seat."

Several young eunuchs standing nearby immediately brought a brocade cushion for the three of them. After thanking Cixi, Ronglu sat on the cushion first. Although he was still the Grand Councilor, the Grand Council had long been controlled by Zai Yi, Gang Yi and others. He had no say in the Grand Council at all. He now had nothing to do in the Grand Council and was just a nominal Grand Councilor.

Although Ronglu was still worried about state affairs, he was not in a position to do state affairs. Moreover, he had always been accused of being a peace advocate. The responsibility for the unfavorable war situation could not fall on him anyway. He felt at ease and sat very steadily on the brocade cushion.

Zai Yi and Gang Yi were slightly different. Although they appeared calm and sat upright on the brocade cushion, they were actually beating nervously in their hearts.

"You all came here, there must be some urgent military information. Tell me, I am listening."

Cixi's tone remained calm, but her pair of fair hands kept stroking her precious demon-subduing pestle, which had the "magic power" to calm the mind and spirit, showing that she was not at peace at the moment.

Hearing Cixi's question, Zai Yi and Gang Yi both stood up and bowed to Cixi. Zai Yi glanced at Gang Yi, and Gang Yi hurriedly took out two memorials from his sleeves, held them up in both hands, and said.

"Replying to the Queen Mother, I just received a letter from Zhili Governor Yu Lu and Zhili Military Assistant Song Qing this morning."

Cixi did not make any hint, and the eunuch Li Lianying behind her did not take the memorial held by Gangyi.

Cixi took a deep breath, tried her best to calm her turbulent mood and said calmly, "Why are they submitting this memorial at this time?"

Zai Yi gritted his teeth secretly and said, "Empress Dowager, Yulu and Song Qing both submitted memorials of apology, saying that they were ashamed of the court. Yulu even said that when he was writing this memorial, he was about to commit suicide by taking poison to repay the court's great kindness!" When Zai Yi mentioned Yulu's suicide, his voice began to gradually fade away, and when he said the last sentence, his voice was almost inaudible.

However, in the silent and hushed hall, his faint mosquito-like voice could still be clearly heard.

Zai Yi's words made Ronglu, who was already sitting upright, suddenly straighten his body, as if he wanted to stand up. However, he seemed to have suddenly lost his strength. Not only did he fail to stand up, but his body seemed to have suddenly lost its strength. His hunched back bent even more, and his face turned pale.

Although Cixi's face remained calm, her bare hands suddenly clenched the demon-subduing pestle even tighter, so much so that veins appeared on her fair hands due to excessive force.

For a moment, the hall was completely silent, and the heavy breathing of several people could be clearly heard.

The few young eunuchs standing by were even more silent, not daring to utter a word. These young eunuchs who had served Cixi for a long time knew that Cixi's expressions and actions at this moment all indicated that the old Buddha was on the verge of going berserk at any time.

At this time, if any young eunuch was not careful and made the old Buddha furious, he would be dragged out and beaten to death immediately.

After a long while, Cixi finally exhaled a breath of turbid air, looked at the pale and sad Ronglu and asked, "Zhonghua, Shoushan is fifty-six this year, right?"

Ronglu tried to stand up with some difficulty, but Cixi waved her hand and said, "You haven't been feeling well lately, so just sit down and talk."

"Thank you, Queen Mother, for your consideration."

Ronglu bowed his hands and said, "Shoushan was born in the 24th year of Daoguang, so he is already 57 years old this year."

At the end of his speech, not only was Ronglu's voice trembling, but tears were already falling from his cloudy eyes.

Ronglu's loss of composure made Cixi's eyes sore, but she immediately returned to normal.

Cixi knew that now was not the time to be sad and sentimental, as she had more important things to do.

Cixi looked at Zai Yi and Gang Yi, who had complicated expressions, and said, "Tell me about the military situation in Tianjin."

Zai Yi looked at Gang Yi, who bowed and spoke.

"According to the memorials of Yu Lu and Song Qing, after the army was moved to Beicang, Song Qing, Ma Yukun, Lu Benyuan and He Yongsheng were summoned to discuss strategies to resist the enemy. They dredged the Mazhuang ditch, diverted the water of the Yongding River to the east during the flood season, and turned the surrounding 40 miles into an ocean. They also widely laid mines and other objects, borrowed 10,000 shi of grain from the Beicang granary to provide relief to the people, and recruited civilians to build three fortifications."

"After deploying 40 cannons at Beicangliang, Hanjiashu, Taohuasi, Liuyuan and three other fortifications, we recruited 3,000 men as volunteers, bringing the total number of our army to 15,000."

"The day before yesterday, more than 20,000 coalition troops came with dozens of cannons to attack. The two sides first fired cannons at each other, and then fought in battle array. At noon, the British troops in the coalition transported the so-called low-range cannons to the Xigu Fort, and first used the poisonous cannons to bombard the Taohua Temple barracks. After the poisonous bombs hit the ground, they released green strange poisonous smoke, and anyone who smelled it died instantly. Dozens of soldiers and civilians died on the spot, causing great fear among the soldiers and civilians. Hanjiashu and Taohua Temple retreated one after another."

"In the afternoon, the coalition forces attacked Beicang and set it on fire, shooting and killing countless villagers. The fire lasted for a long time."

"Soon after, the coalition forces chased to Yangcun. Song Qing and Ma Yukun could not hold on and led their troops to retreat towards Tongzhou. Yu Lu led only a thousand soldiers to retreat to Caicun. After this defeat, he died of poisoning."

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(End of this chapter)