The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 315: Impassioned Speech
Cixi glanced at the few people and spoke softly.

"There are a few things we need to discuss today, but it boils down to two things."

Although Cixi's eyes kept wandering over the faces of several people, her tone was extremely soothing and calm.

"That is, should we fight or make peace with the foreigners? If we still want to fight, how should we fight? If we want to make peace, how should we make peace? These matters must be regulated in advance."

"In the Book of Rites, the Doctrine of the Mean, it is said that if you plan ahead, you will succeed; if you don't plan ahead, you will fail. Without a plan, you will inevitably be careless and act hastily."

"You all tell me something."

Cixi obviously hadn't finished speaking, but after a slight hesitation, she finally chose to remain silent.

As soon as Cixi opened her mouth, everyone couldn't help but perk up.

The topic raised by Cixi was very simple, which was the two things "war" and "peace". The extended meaning was the question of how to fight war and how to make peace.

In other words, the decision had to be made by a few ministers.

Although several ministers tried their best to cheer up, unlike in the past, no one spoke first this time.

This is because Cixi's recent series of actions have left them all a little confused. Even Ronglu, who is the one who can best understand Cixi's thoughts among the few people, is also a little confused.

In recent times, Cixi's actions sometimes made them feel that Cixi was determined to fight the foreigners.

But sometimes, they felt that Cixi was making plans and preparations for peace talks.

Or it can be said that Cixi is now somewhat wavering. War or peace can both be options for Cixi, but it may also be just a cover. After a feint, Cixi will reveal her final trump card.

For example, Cixi asked the Grand Council to issue orders to the provinces of Central Plains, Northwest, Southwest, and Mongolia that were still obedient to the court, asking these provinces to do their best to reorganize their military and strictly prevent foreigners from invading. It seemed that she was determined to deal with the foreigners to the end.

But at the same time, Cixi also issued an edict in the name of Guangxu, requiring local governments, including the provinces that signed the "Southeast Mutual Protection Agreement", to strictly suppress the Boxers in their respective territories and to show no leniency once they were discovered.

However, this decree was not issued to the province of Zhili alone, which clearly showed that the Boxer Rebellion in Zhili was still condoned. The Boxers in Zhili, which were the most violent, were now only targeting foreigners.

But to their surprise, Cixi, without any reason, asked Yu Xian, the governor of Shanxi, to guard the city and not come to receive her.

If translated, it means that Yu Xian must not leave Taiyuan City without permission.

You know, there is no war or banditry in Shanxi now. Although there are still a small number of Boxer activities in the territory, they are no longer a big deal and many Boxers have fled to Zhili.

As soon as Cixi's edict was issued, it immediately caused panic among the accompanying dignitaries and officials.

Because they all knew that Yu Xian was an extremely xenophobic official of the Qing Dynasty, who hated foreigners in particular and used cruel methods to deal with them. When he was the governor of Shanxi, Yu Xian became even more xenophobic.

When Yu Xian was the governor of Shandong the previous year, he adopted a pacification approach towards the Boxers and awarded them a flag with the word "Yu" on it, condoning the Boxers to burn churches and kill missionaries. When the missionaries sought protection from him, Yu Xian ignored them. Under pressure from foreigners, Cixi had to dismiss Yu Xian and replaced him with Yuan Shikai, who was the governor of Shandong, to suppress the Boxers.

A few months ago, Yu Xian was appointed Governor of Shanxi on the strong recommendation of Zai Yi and Prince Zhuang Zaixun.

However, while serving as the governor of Shanxi, Yu Xian continued to act without scruples, instigating the Boxers to burn churches and kill church members, and treating the Boxer leaders like guests of honor.

Afterwards, facing the criticism from foreign envoys stationed in the Qing Dynasty, he claimed that he had insufficient troops and was unable to provide effective protection for foreign missionaries and believers in various counties. At the same time, he designed a plan to gather all the missionaries in the province in a room in the provincial capital of Taiyuan. More than two months ago, in front of the west gate of the governor's office, Yu Xian killed all 46 foreigners, including women and children.

This caused great anger among the ministers of various countries, who insisted that the Qing government bring Yu Xian to justice and punish him severely. It is said that when Li Hongzhang was dying, he was still cursing "Yu Xian ruined the country".

Although Yu Xian was known for his cruelty, he was not corrupt. Even after his death, some people in Shanxi built a temple to commemorate him, which was only demolished under the order of the imperial court.

Yu Xian was a war advocate, and an extremely determined one who left no way out for himself. It was rumored that the foreigners had already put Yu Xian on the blacklist. If the imperial court wanted to end the war, war advocates like Yu Xian must be severely punished, otherwise the foreigners would never make peace.

Cixi's neglect of Yu Xian at this time could not but make the pro-war ministers in the court feel panic.

If Yu Xian was on the foreigners' blacklist, the pro-war ministers led by Zai Yi and Gang Yi would definitely not be able to escape.

Gangyi has not only been in a low mood recently, but he has also been a little dazed from time to time, and it is because of this reason.

Although Zai Yi already had an idea in his mind, he was not willing to speak first at this moment. He wanted to listen to what the others had to say first and then make his move.

However, to his great disappointment, not only did his henchmen and die-hard followers remain silent and just sit there with blank eyes, but the wily Ronglu also just lowered his head and refused to say a word.

As for Wang Wenshao, there is no need to say more.

Although Wang Wenshao had a lot of experience, his position in the court was not high. Not to mention that he was not as good as Ronglu in military affairs, he was also a marginal figure in the Grand Council.

However, because Wang Wenshao not only followed the Western Hunting Team this time, but also brought all the seals that were forgotten by the ministers of the Grand Council in their panic, Cixi started to look at him with new eyes again.

Since Ronglu and Zai Yi remained silent, he naturally did not know how to speak.

Zai Yi took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, stood up, bowed to Cixi, and then spoke.

"In reply to the Queen Mother, I have read many military books and strategies, and I was particularly impressed by The Art of War and The Sima Strategy."

"I have read these two military books over and over again and found that they have one thing in common: they both emphasize ending war with war."

"As stated in the first chapter of Sima Fa, benevolence, only those who can fight can stop the war, and only those who dare to fight can talk about peace."

"Now, the foreigners have disregarded etiquette and first interfered in the politics of our Qing Dynasty without reason. Later, a group of powerful countries colluded with each other, gathered troops to invade our territory, and killed our people. This is extremely abominable."

"In the current situation, we must not show weakness to the foreigners. The only way is to fight to end the war. We can use the power of Teng Xingfu's vanguard army's repeated victories to arouse the hatred of the enemy in the government and the people, and resolutely resist the war."

Zai Yi, who was speaking excitedly, took a breath and continued, "Nowadays, although there are those who have ulterior motives and have colluded with foreigners to come up with the Southeast Mutual Protection Agreement, inspired by Teng Xingfu's brilliant victory, many places have spontaneously organized support groups for the Vanguard Army and called on the people to support the Vanguard Army."

"Queen Mother, the people's hearts can be used!"

"At this moment, the court can only inspire and boost the morale of the army and the people, and must not let down the morale and the people's hearts!"

Speaking of this, Zai Yi's eyes were red and his voice was choked with sobs, not only because he was worried about the situation of his son and himself after the peace talks, but he was also really unwilling to give up the good situation brought about by the vanguard army's successive victories.

Zai Yi's impassioned speech not only lifted Ronglu's spirits and made him look at Zai Yi in surprise, but even Cixi could not help but exert force in her hand to tightly grasp his demon-subduing pestle, and even a blush appeared on her slightly pale face.

To thank all the book friends for their loyalty, there will be three more chapters in the afternoon, and I will try to post three more chapters.

感谢：木子、20230412948-ac、零度骑士、凤林王、GhostZ、sugarsugar、早上起床要洗脸、20190619170840655、平凡之路二、爱看小说的瘦医、小磊2017、20190721181318851、20200811182148571、KKK开开KKK、无影之狼、李以梦为马、宁清月、kgb136、心漂浮、为我折服、鳖192、云海100、516313、20210125154754945344012、湿妹好银荡、不求甚解xt、浪子江淮、2023081717-Dd、地灵人杰杰、爱的海洋、带雨梨花1957、颖枫、201907021937207151741、20170426190541064、20210301105267525784、20201111170307869、在梦中流浪、希格拉之耀、2019012207154三石又三十、我爱工业兔、竹楼玉荷秋、baoan、大海全是水、20221007203308281、20180927104339797、铁甲第一战队、周卫东-CA、总持天尊、是小雅呀、121022092051640、稻草人、深蓝等书友的月票、推荐票支持！！！



(End of this chapter)