The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 324: The Shrinking Governor-General of Zhili
After calming down Wang Wenshao, Cixi turned her gaze to Ronglu.

Ronglu bowed and said, "Empress Dowager, I agree with Li Zhongtang's suggestion. I am willing to give up the post of Minister of Beiyang and Governor-General of Zhili."

Cixi nodded and said, "Since you have no objection, then this matter is settled."

Cixi changed the subject and continued, "However, you should still take on the post of Beiyang Minister for the time being. When Teng Xingfu has made further achievements, it will not be too late to hand over the post of Beiyang Minister to him then."

Cixi's words made Zai Yi both happy and worried.

Cixi had already made it clear that she would only give Teng Yuzhao the position of Governor-General of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang, and that she would have to wait and see.

According to the rules of the imperial court, due to its geographical location and the fact that there was no government office in the court in charge of the navy, the Beiyang Navy has always been under the charge of the Governor-General of Zhili.

Speaking of the Beiyang Fleet, I have to mention one more thing.

Although on land, the imperial court's various armies and the coalition forces of foreign powers were fighting bloody battles, the remaining Beiyang fleet after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 was living a carefree life in Weihaiwei.

Because, although they are not qualified to sign any mutual protection agreement, they chose to stay out when the powers invaded, and are now living in peace with the navies of the powers.

For the same reason, although the imperial court also had the Zongli Yamen, all foreign affairs in Zhili were also handled by the Zhili Governor-General's Office.

In view of the above situation, according to convention, the Governor-General of Zhili also has to hold a concurrent title, that is, the Minister of Beiyang. This has been in place since the position of Minister of Beiyang came into being.

However, this practice has changed in Teng Yuzhao today. Although it is likely to be only temporary, at least Teng Yuzhao's current position as Governor-General of Zhili is still a scaled-down version.

Zai Yi estimated that Cixi should be a little worried now that after Teng Xingfu continued to make meritorious contributions, he would not be rewarded with an official position.

Due to his merit in saving the emperor nearly a month ago, Teng Yuzhao's title has been added with the word "hereditary".

Teng Yuzhao's military rank has reached its limit. If he goes any further, he can only be a civil official, such as the current reduced position of Governor-General of Zhili.

At this time, Cixi should have begun to be extremely cautious in promoting Teng Yuzhao.

However, as long as Teng Yuzhao could obtain the highest civil service post, the Governor-General of Zhili, and then be promoted to the position of Associate Grand Secretary, or even Grand Secretary of Kuige, it would be a natural thing.

Thinking of this, a feeling of melancholy suddenly surged into Zai Yi's heart.

Zai Yi was wondering, if his son came to power in the future, how would he reward Teng Yuzhao?

But soon after, Zai Yi no longer took the matter of rewarding Teng Yuzao seriously.

Zai Yi thought to himself, "If Teng Yuzao can really help his son ascend to the throne, then even if it breaks the rules, giving Teng Yuzao a prince of a different surname doesn't matter, it's still a matter of an imperial decree."

"Zhonghua, tell Zhou Fu and Yang Shixiang about this."

Cixi's words interrupted Zai Yi's wild thoughts.

"Ask them to come to Shanxi first. I want to meet them so that you can hand over government affairs to Zhou Fu. In addition, since they are going to assist Teng Xingfu in military affairs, Prince Duan must also give them some instructions, and then issue an edict to announce Teng Xingfu's appointment."

As for arranging the task for Ronglu, Cixi was somewhat worried that Zai Yi would be dissatisfied with her again. After hesitating for a while, she still mentioned Zai Yi.

Cixi glanced at Wang Wenshao and saw that he was still a little unwilling and seemed to want to dissuade him, so she continued.

"There are two more things. Since you are all here today, I will talk about them together."

It seemed that what Cixi wanted to say made her a little uncomfortable to say. After a brief silence, Cixi spoke.

"Teng Xingfu's method of using war to promote peace is very good. It seems that Li Zhongtang and even Zhang Xiangtao support it."

"Since war is used to promote peace, then peace must be achieved in the end. Teng Xingfu has seen this very clearly, and you all discussed it just now. Teng Xingfu's statement about war criminals is just a plan for the Japanese court to negotiate peace in the future, so that the court will have an extra bargaining chip in its hands."

Cixi glanced at Wang Wenshao again and said, "From this point of view alone, although Teng Xingfu is young, he can be regarded as a mature politician. He is qualified to be the governor-general of Zhili." Cixi sighed heavily, as if to express her dissatisfaction to several people, and then said.

"You are all important officials that the court relies on. Logically, you should be the ones to plan for things like this."

As soon as Cixi said this, Zai Yi, Ronglu, and Wang Wenshao hurriedly bowed and saluted, "We have failed in our duty, please punish us, Your Majesty!"

Gangyi, who had been looking dazed, seemed to be awakened when he saw everyone bowing and apologizing. He quickly stood up and bowed with everyone else.

Cixi waved her hand and sighed softly again.

"I don't mean to blame you, but you can't let others handle all the things that are your responsibility! If you do that, where will the face of the court be, and how will you feel?"

"So, I think we should do something and show some respect to the foreigners."

Cixi's face became a little gloomy, and she continued slowly, for example, Shanxi Governor Yu Xian.

Cixi suddenly mentioned Yuxian, which made everyone prick up their ears.

This time, Cixi did not allow Yu Xian to come to greet her, and she did not tell her the reason. Although they all thought that Cixi was dissatisfied with Yu Xian, they did not know why. Yu Xian must be confused now.

"In dealing with foreigners, Yu Xian not only wantonly allowed the Shanxi Boxers to beat and kill foreigners, but also involved the Shanxi government, and even killed dozens of foreigners, including women and children, at one time."

"Yu Xian has always had a reputation as a cruel official, but this time he went too far and really damaged the reputation of the court."

"Yu Xian's move not only put the court in a passive position, but also aroused great indignation among the foreigners. On the list of culprits mentioned by the foreigners, he was listed at the top."

When Zai Yi heard the list of culprits that the foreigners wanted to investigate, he felt a chill down his spine.

Before the coalition forces of the great powers captured Tianjin, they announced that they would hold the so-called culprit accountable. The list drawn up by the foreigners included court ministers, royal relatives, and local officials, totaling nearly 200 people, including more than ten royal relatives such as Prince Zhuang Zaixun.

The first person on the list was Cixi, followed closely by Zai Yi and his younger brother Zai Lan, the Duke of Fuguo.

Afterwards, the first to be affected was the Grand Council headed by Zai Yi, and military ministers such as Gang Yi, Xu Tong, Zhao Shuqiao, and Qi Xiu were all on the list.

And the Shanxi Governor Yu Xian actually squeezed into the top of the list, which shows how much the foreigners hated Yu Xian.

But, why did Cixi suddenly bring up this matter now? What was her intention?
Could it be that Cixi wanted to take this opportunity to remove them from their posts? So as to save herself? And thus seek forgiveness from the foreigners?

Cixi ignored these people's wild thoughts and said, "Don't worry, our court is still the court of the Qing Dynasty, not the court of foreigners."

Cixi took a deep breath and continued, "But if we don't give the foreigners an explanation for this matter, they will never give up."

"Although there are many hidden reasons for what Yuxian did, the foreigners must kill him as soon as possible, so there must be an explanation."

"However, this matter makes me feel very embarrassed. Although Yu Xian betrayed the trust of the court, his crime does not deserve death."

"So, I think we should remove Yu Xian from his post and temporarily exile him to Tibet. When the storm has passed, we can pardon him. What do you think?"

Cixi's words made everyone understand that Cixi was preparing for peace talks and was now ready to throw out a few scapegoats.

"Queen Mother, spare my life!"

Gangyi, who had just recovered from his shock, let out a wail as soon as Cixi finished speaking, then fell to his knees and kowtowed repeatedly to Cixi.

Although Zai Yi was a little frightened, he still suppressed his fear, glanced at Gang Yi who was kneeling on the ground, and remained silent.
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(End of this chapter)