The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 351 I Want to Move the Capital
Although Zai Yi was not sure whether Ting Yong, Yu Xian, Xu Tong and others believed the Boxers' lies about being invulnerable to swords and guns, he was at least sure that he and Gang Yi did not believe it.

The reason why Gangyi tried so hard to persuade Cixi that the Boxers were invulnerable to swords and guns and could be put to good use was entirely to help himself!

And bringing the Boxers into the capital to besiege foreigners and even declaring war on the foreign powers in the end was also something that Cixi approved of. Even people like Yu Xian and Ting Yong who directly participated in killing foreigners and Christians were doing so entirely in accordance with Cixi's wishes.

Until now, I never thought that these people would be exiled to a bitter and cold place thousands of miles away from XJ!
What is even more unexpected is that Gangyi is now described as "stupid".

When Zai Yi thought of this, the two idioms "When the rabbit dies, the fox mourns" and "When the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked" popped up in his mind.

It’s just that the latter idiom obviously doesn’t fit the current situation.

As the idiom goes, the dogs will be killed only after all the rabbits are dead and the running dogs are of no use. But now the rabbits are far from all dead, but in order to show the hunter's goodwill to the rabbits, the hunter has already started cooking these extremely hard-working running dogs.

While Zai Yi was still lamenting in his heart, Cixi sighed and said.

"These people are very different from Gang Ziliang, Xu Tong, Zhao Shuqiao and others. Gang Ziliang and Xu Tong were ignorant and believed what others said. Zhao Shuqiao was deceived. Yu Xian, Ting Yong, Zaixun and others speculated on my intentions and acted recklessly, even doing things that were against the harmony of heaven. They deserved their punishment."

Cixi had already divided these famous war advocates into different levels. Zhao Shuqiao was just misled, so he was naturally the lightest offender.

During the Reform Movement of 1898, Zhao Shuqiao not only presided over the Zongli Yamen, but also served as the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture. He made great contributions in the palace coup, and even Empress Dowager Cixi rewarded him with silk, sable fur and other items many times. When the ministers who "diligently performed their duties and made outstanding contributions" were discussed and rewarded preferentially, Zhao Shuqiao was also among them. It should be that considering his past, the Empress Dowager Cixi was prepared to give him a lighter sentence.

Gangyi and Xu Tong were not guilty of any serious crime. Although Zai Yi was still unwilling to accept the comments made to his die-hard fans, he had no choice but to endure it.

What's more, when Cixi talked about Yuxian, Tingyong and others later, she even brought up Prince Zhuang Zaixun, which made Zai Yi's heart beat fast again.

Although Zaixun was also classified as the first culprit by the foreigners, he was after all a rare iron-hat prince in the Qing Dynasty at that time! He was actually classified as Tingyong and Yuxian by Cixi. Judging from the situation, Zaixun would also be dealt with by Cixi in advance. How could this not make Zai Yi tremble with fear?

He and his brother Zailan were the primary culprits that the foreigners wanted to investigate. Cixi even wanted to investigate Zaixun.
Zai Yi didn't dare to think any further at this moment. His heart, which had just calmed down, began beating violently and irregularly.

Cixi's face showed sorrow, and she said slowly, "Some things I have no choice but to do, and giving them some punishment is also to protect them. There will always be a day for them to rise again in the future."

Cixi waved her hand, as if unwilling to talk about this anymore, and said softly to the two of them, "As for you two."

Cixi's words made Zai Yi shudder involuntarily. Although he was terrified, he still pricked up his ears quickly.

"One of you was deceived, and the other was weak-willed. You didn't resist and advise me. Although you both made some mistakes, you are my loyal subjects and have always been diligent and loyal in your work. I know everything."

"These things will naturally not affect you. Just focus on your work. In the current situation, you must not make any mistakes for even a moment."

After listening to Cixi's words, Zai Yi finally felt completely at ease this time, and was extremely grateful to Teng Yuzhao.

He didn't believe that Cixi would easily let him off just because he was "diligent and loyal". He was the first culprit that the foreigners wanted to pursue. Now Cixi wanted to show goodwill to the foreigners and had already taken drastic measures against the culprits identified by the foreigners. How could she let him off just because he was "diligent and loyal"!

As for his title as a descendant of the Aisin-Gioro clan and a dignified prince, it was nothing. Didn’t Zaixun, the iron-hatted prince, not be spared?
Zai Yi knew better than anyone that Ronglu was a staunch advocate of war. In fact, if he was the leader of the advocacy of war, then Ronglu was the biggest advocate of peace. Now that he and Ronglu were being talked about together, Ronglu was completely the innocent victim. This was just to avoid making himself appear too out of place.

However, Zai Yi finally felt relieved, and his uneasy mood finally calmed down.

Cixi suddenly turned to Ronglu and asked, "Zhonghua, how is Pingyang Prefecture doing now?"

Pingyang was chosen with the joint efforts of Zai Yi and Ronglu, and with the approval of Cixi, to become Cixi's final residence in Shaanxi. At this time, Cixi suddenly asked about Pingyang, which obviously meant that Cixi wanted to leave Taiyuan.

Although Taiyuan is the capital of Shanxi, Zai Yi has a lot to complain about here.

Shanxi was extremely poor at that time. Although there were still some grains in the granary, there was very little silver. After all the calculations, they could only collect less than 100,000 taels of silver.

Not to mention him, even Empress Dowager Cixi, who was always extravagant, did not dare to use too much of this money.

Although they no longer needed to worry about the food and wages of Teng Yuzao and his vanguard army, which was completely managed by Teng Yuzao, the "lame governor", they still had to do their best to manage the food and wages of nearly 10,000 soldiers led by Song Qing, Ma Yukun and others guarding Niangzi Pass. Otherwise, once the foreigners came after them, these soldiers would not fight for their lives, and leaving behind more silver would be useless.

This pitiful amount of silver was to be used to prepare food and wages for Song Qing and his men.

Now, Cixi wanted to go to Pingyang Prefecture, and Zai Yi had no objection, as long as Cixi did not leave Shanxi.

Ronglu, who had always seen through the situation, knew very well that Cixi was eager to negotiate peace and distance herself from the matter. She was even one step ahead of the foreigners and had started to take action against the "culprits".

In his estimation, sooner or later Cixi would deal with Zai Yi, the number one culprit that the foreigners wanted to pursue. However, this time Cixi let Zai Yi go with just one sentence "he did something wrong", which made Ronglu very puzzled.

If she lets Zai Yi go, will Cixi be able to get past the foreigners?

Why did Cixi do this? What prompted Cixi to change her mind?
Thinking of what had just happened, Ronglu couldn't help but speculate, could it be Teng Yuzao's secret memorial? What did Teng Yuzao say to Cixi in the secret memorial?
But why did Cixi burn the memorial?

Could it be that Teng Yuzao told Cixi something in the secret memorial that Cixi did not want to be known by outsiders, including him and Zai Yi? What could that be?

Ronglu, who was thinking hard in his mind, suddenly heard Cixi asking about the affairs of Pingyang Prefecture, and hurriedly perked up.

"I have met with the new governor Xi Liangzhi to visit Pingyang Prefecture. Arrangements have been made there, and some food and money have been raised locally."

Cixi nodded, "Have you arranged the route to Pingyao?"

Ronglu knew that Cixi was concerned about raising money, and it was he who had mentioned this matter to Cixi in the first place, so he hurriedly replied.

"Pingyao tycoon Qiao Zhiyong has always been loyal to his country. In the third year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, he donated a huge sum of money to help the people in the county who were hit by a disaster. For this, he was awarded a flower feather by the court. He is willing to raise a sum of money on behalf of the court to help the court with its difficulties."

"very good!"

"In that case, let's choose a day to go to Pingyang."

Cixi felt that Taiyuan was too close to Niangzi Pass and felt unsafe, so she was in a hurry to leave Taiyuan. Zai Yi and Ronglu knew all this, but what Cixi said next surprised them again.

Cixi considered and said slowly, "Before leaving Taiyuan, you two still have two things to do."

"Prince Duan, in the name of the Grand Council, must order Song Zhusan and Ma Jingshan to strictly guard Niangzi Pass."

"Tell them that since Tianjin, the two of them have repeatedly lost territory and made no achievements. They even caused Yu Lu to die for the country. Now they cannot afford to fail again. The court will guarantee their safety for the rest of their lives and their descendants will enjoy wealth and prosperity. If they make mistakes again, they will be punished for multiple crimes and will not be tolerated!"

"At the same time, inform Xiliang that he must do everything he can to support the Niangzi Pass garrison and not make any mistakes."

Cixi looked at Ronglu again, and although her tone was still calm, her words were filled with determination, and she said.

"Zhonghua wrote a personal letter to Zhang Xiangtao and asked someone to deliver it to him by express horse."

"Tell him that I think his suggestion to move the capital is very appropriate. The southern part of Jingmen is connected to the Jianghan Plain, the north is connected to Beijing and Henan, the south is to Huguang, the east is overlooking Wuyue, and the west is bordered by Sichuan and Qin. Not only is it beautiful in Dahong Mountain and located in the spiritual vein of Jingshan, it also has the wealth of Jianghan. This place is beautiful in mountains and rivers, and has outstanding people. It is indeed an ideal place for a new capital. The court has decided to move the capital to Jingmen, and I want him to start the matter immediately."

"Also, you need to explain to Zhang Xiangtao in the letter that although moving the capital to Jingmen involves a wide range of issues and is a particularly huge undertaking that cannot be completed in a short period of time, it is an urgent matter and he must not slack off."

Cixi continued to talk eloquently, "The palace and gardens can be built in stages. It is not a bad idea to be simple in the early stage. Once they are of sufficient scale, the court will immediately move the capital here."

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(End of this chapter)