The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 547 Empress Dowager Cixi Returns
It was six o'clock in the morning and the sky was still dark, but the platform of Baoding Railway Station was already brightly lit and filled with people standing or kneeling. There were not only princes and ministers with brilliant feathers on their crowns, but also more soldiers from the Green Camp wearing tasseled hats.

Cixi was going to take the train back to Beijing from Baoding. The departure time had been set long ago and the train was to leave at 7:30, so Cixi's sedan appeared on the platform at 6 o'clock.

Although she was riding on a Western train, Cixi still had to follow traditional rules when traveling.

According to the divination results of officials from the Imperial Observatory, 9:2 this morning is the auspicious time. According to the divination results, Cixi originally requested that the special car depart from Baoding on time at : this morning and arrive at Majiabao Station in the capital on time at pm, which is also the auspicious time today.

This request of Cixi gave Teng Yuzhao a headache for a while. Not to mention the train delay at this time, even if it was 100 years later, no one could guarantee that the train would arrive at the station on time.

To this end, Teng Yuzao arranged for Yang Shiqi to find Jedoti, an engineer from the Belgian Railway Company who was temporarily in charge of the operation of trains from Baoding to Beijing, and asked him to ensure that the special train arrived in Beijing on time.

Yang Shiqi has arrived in Zhili as promised and taken over the post of general manager of railways.

However, such strict and somewhat harsh requirements made the well-informed Belgian Jedoti a little confused. He shook his head firmly and kept saying "NO! NO! NO!"

Although he knew it was difficult, Yang Shiqi could only smile bitterly and rack his brains to explain to Jie Duodi what the so-called auspicious time was.

At the same time, he told Jie Duodi in a firm attitude that if he arrived at Majiabao Station on time, he would give him a personal reward of 1,200 taels of silver, but if he was not on time, he would not get a penny.

For the sake of one thousand and two taels of silver, Jie Duodi had to lead the train crew to repeatedly calculate, and finally came to the conclusion that if they wanted to arrive at 2 pm, the auspicious time of departure must be changed to 2 hours in advance, that is, before 7:2 in the morning. All passengers had to be on the train and the special car started on time at that time. Otherwise, no one could make the special car arrive at Majiabao Station on time at pm.

After repeated negotiations, Cixi finally agreed to Jieduodi's request that the special car depart on time at 7 o'clock.

The train that Cixi took was a float specially made for her last year.

The so-called float is a special train with exquisite interior decoration.

This special train for Cixi's return to Beijing, named the Dragon and Phoenix Train, had a total of 21 carriages, which were specially transferred by Yang Shiqi from the Tangshan Repair Factory.

At this moment, on the platform of Baoding Railway Station, Teng Yuzhao, still wearing no military rank insignia, was standing in front of a group of high-ranking officials and nobles, looking carefully at the special train and the crowd on the platform with great interest.

This train was specially built for Cixi. The locomotive was customized for Cixi at the Hanover Vehicle Factory in Germany in 1889, and the carriage was carefully built for the Empress Dowager and the Emperor by the Tangshan Repair Factory in the same year. Normally, no one else was allowed to ride in it.

At this time, on the front of the locomotive, which was polished to a mirror-like shine and had a five-clawed golden dragon welded on each side, two apricot-yellow dragon flags of the Qing Dynasty had been crossed to show the extraordinary nature of this train.

As for the special train carriages at the back, they were even more daunting, because on both sides of each carriage there were eight gilded carved dragons that were polished to a bright shine, and they sparkled with golden light under the lights on the platform.

Teng Yuzhao went to check the car yesterday evening on the pretext of safety inspection, and thus knew that the decoration inside the special car was extremely luxurious.

Car No. 10, which Cixi rode in, was the most luxurious. The floor of the car was covered with foreign carpets, and the tables, chairs and carriage walls were covered with sable velvet and yellow satin. All the tea cups and covered bowls were fine porcelain from Jingdezhen.

It is divided into four private rooms, which include not only a meeting room, but also a dining room, bedroom and bathing area.

Cixi's seat was covered with a rare white fox skin, and above the seat was a mirror with pure gold dragons carved on both sides.

According to Yang Shiqi, each of the twenty-one carriages was worth 10 taels of silver, which was four times more expensive than the Japanese imperial carriage.

At this time, Cixi and her entourage had just been sent off on a bicycle.

Because this was already Zhili territory, Teng Yuzhao, the Beiyang Minister and Governor-General of Zhili, was the landlord here. In terms of his official rank and his friendship as a landlord, he had to stand in the front row of these officials accompanying the emperor. The only ones who could stand in the front row with him were the Prime Minister Zai Yi and an old prince.

From the time Cixi's sedan chair stepped onto the platform to the time she stepped onto the carriage, except for some princes and court officials who bowed and saluted, all personnel had to kneel to greet her, and the imperial guards in charge of security were no exception.

Yang Shiqi, who came with the float, told Teng Yuzhao that according to what Li Lianying had told him, all train workers had to wear court boots and hats and dress up as eunuchs, even the driver and fireman were no exception.

In short, Cixi wanted the feeling in the car to be as similar as possible to the feeling in the palace.

The platform of Baoding Railway Station was completely controlled by the Imperial Guards, who were kneeling all around the platform.

Looking at these imperial guards wearing uniforms and holding swords and spears, Teng Yuzhao could not help but shake his head secretly.

If someone wanted to assassinate Cixi at this time, these people would have no time to stop it.

Suddenly, Teng Yuzhao seemed to feel that someone was watching him. He looked up and saw Guangxu, who had just got off the sedan chair about ten meters away, looking at him with a pale face and a dull look.

The moment his eyes met Teng Yuzhao's, Teng Yuzhao clearly saw that a bright light suddenly flashed in Guangxu's eyes. Before Teng Yuzhao could think about it, Guangxu was helped onto the train by two strong eunuchs.

According to Li Yaoting's report, during Cixi's hunting trip to the west, due to limited conditions and some important occasions, Guangxu had to show up. For example, before crossing the Yellow River in Kaifeng, Cixi and Guangxu offered sacrifices to the river god, which was done together.

Although his eyes only met Guangxu's for a brief moment just now, Teng Yuzhao could see the expectation and desire for him in Guangxu's eyes. However, although Teng Yuzhao felt very sorry for Guangxu's situation, he did not think he could do anything for the emperor.

Teng Yuzhao believed that this country did not need an emperor like Guangxu who was ignorant of the times and had no power or means!
Among the 21 carriages of the special train that was specially decorated for this return trip, 9 were loaded with "tributes" received by Cixi from officials from various places on her way back to the palace, as well as a carriage for transporting mules, horses, carriages, sedan chairs and other items; two were special carriages for princes, ministers and important court officials; two were special carriages for Cixi and Guangxu; 3 were carriages for the empress and concubines; 3 were carriages for eunuchs and palace maids; and one was a special car for Li Lianying; and the last one was Jie Duodi's business carriage.

Teng Yuzhao was not clear about the reason why a separate carriage was prepared for Li Lianying, but since it was arranged by the carriage master himself, Teng Yuzhao could only do as he was told.

The special car departed on time at 7:30.

Although it was a special train, it was slow and bumpy. What made Teng Yuzhao and a group of noble officials even more unhappy was that they had to squeeze into two small carriages.

Moreover, although there were two carriages reserved for these princes and ministers, the carriage where Teng Yuzao was located was packed with people, while the other carriage was much quieter. The carriage with fewer people was mainly populated by princes and nobles of the court and some ministers of the ministries and agencies, including Yikuang.

Although Yikuang was deprived of the hereditary title of Iron Hat Prince, this was something Cixi had to do to show the world. Yikuang is still a prince, not much different from before. Now Yikuang has become much more low-key. After arriving in Baoding, not only did he not have any contact with Teng Yuzhao, he even avoided Teng Yuzhao as much as possible.

In the carriage where Teng Yuzhao was, apart from Prince Rui Zai Yi, Duke Fuguo Zailan, Prince Zhuang Zaixun, Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate Yingnian, Minister of Justice Zhao Shuqiao, Minister of Rites Qixiu, and Left Vice Minister of Justice Xu Chengyu, who were the culprits pursued by the powers, the rest were officials from the academy and ministries who followed Cixi to Xi'an.

Now Teng Yuzhao has great reputation in the court and the country. It is even inaccurate to call him Beiyang Minister or Governor-General of Zhili. This time, when Cixi came to Baoding, she gave Teng Yuzhao another title, and asked Teng Yuzhao, the Governor-General of Zhili, to be in charge of Shandong as well. In other words, Teng Yuzhao should now be called Governor-General of Zhishan.

At the same time, Yang Shixiang and Xu Shichang made many achievements in the peace talks. Cixi praised them publicly and announced that Yang Shixiang would be the governor of Zhili and assist in the military and political affairs of the Beiyang, Li Jingfang would be the assistant director of Beiyang foreign affairs, and Xu Shichang would be promoted to the second rank, and his specific duties would be assigned separately.

Seeing that Yang Shixiang and Xu Shichang had been following Teng Yuzao closely for about half a year and had risen rapidly in status, the officials from the ministries and agencies were jealous and naturally wanted to get closer to Teng Yuzao.

Even Sun Jianai, who was recuperating at home, was recommended by Teng Yuzao to serve as the Minister of Education. This made the officials such as assistant ministers, doctors, and deputy ministers even more fanciful. For them, being closer to Teng Yuzao would only bring benefits and no harm.

As for the former "culprits" headed by Prince Duan Zai Yi and Prince Zhuang Zaixun, they were grateful to Teng Yuzao and wanted to be as close to him as possible, so they all crowded into this carriage, vying to talk to Teng Yuzao, making this carriage overcrowded.

There were two people among them who surprised Teng Yuzhao a little.

One of these two people was the newly appointed Henan Governor Yuan Shikai, and the other was Beile Pu Lun.

Yuan Shikai, the newly appointed governor of Henan, led his troops to escort Cixi all the way to Zhili, and then Teng Yuzhao led the vanguard troops to take over the escort of Cixi and her entourage.

Since Duan Qirui also had a town in Zhili, Yuan Shikai did not return to Kaifeng but continued to accompany him.

This was the first time that Teng Yuzhao had seen Yuan Shikai since he traveled through time. Yuan Shikai was escorting the imperial carriage.

It seems that the two should have met before. Teng Yuzhao estimated that he might have had contact with this great hero when he was at the Beiyang Military Academy.

This time, Yuan Shikai, who was over 40 years old, called Teng Yuzhao affectionately by his courtesy name as soon as he saw him, and then praised Teng Yuzhao for commanding the vanguard army to win victory after victory, and even humbled himself by saying that Teng Yuzhao was the number one person in the Beiyang government at that time.

Yuan Shikai also came from the Beiyang, and both of them now concurrently serve as the president's military affairs. Saying that Teng Yuzao is the number one person in the Beiyang is obviously putting Teng Yuzao ahead of him, which greatly increased Teng Yuzao's favorability towards Yuan Shikai.

If Teng Yuzhao had not been familiar with Yuan Shikai's series of historical deeds, he would probably have regarded Yuan Shikai as his close friend.

However, Teng Yuzao was very interested in Beile Pu Lun. When everyone was vying to talk to Teng Yuzao, Teng Yuzao and Pu Lun were particularly cordial in their conversation.

Teng Yuzao knew very well that Fu Lun was very capable and a Manchu who knew the times. Historically, this man was about to serve as the chief supervisor of the exhibition delegation to the World Expo in the United States. Because of his outstanding ability, he later presided over the preparation of the Privy Council, served as co-president with Sun Jianai, and served as Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce in Yikuang's cabinet.

When he was the chairman of the Privy Council, he had a deep conflict with Yixin over the impeachment of the Grand Councilor.

In Teng Yuzhao's view, Yikuang was his absolute enemy. The enemy of his enemy was a friend, and this person could be befriended and won over.

In addition to his abilities, what impressed Teng Yuzhao the most was that Pu Lun agreed with the abdication of the Qing emperor in his later years and had served as the president of the Political Consultative Conference during the Beiyang period.

As there were too many people in the carriage and they all gathered around Teng Yuzhao, the carriage was very hot. Prince Zhuang Zaixun, who was over 50 years old, could not stand it any longer. He wiped the sweat from his head with a silk scarf and spoke to Teng Yuzhao.

"Xingfu, we're almost at Gaobeidian, where we'll have to stop and rest for a while. Please arrange to have another carriage attached to the back of the float, so that we can have a place to lie down for a while and straighten our backs."

The Left Imperial Censor Yingnian also smiled and said, "Xingfu, the old prince is right, it is indeed a bit stuffy here, you should make some arrangements."

After arriving in Baoding, the happiest person was Zai Yi. After seeing Teng Yuzhao, he felt more confident, especially when he saw that these people were willing to get close to Teng Yuzhao, which made Zai Yi even happier.

Zai Yi knew very well that if these people were willing to take over Teng Yuzao, they would support him, which was equivalent to having more helpers around him. Seeing Zaixun and Yingnian say so, he smiled and said to Teng Yuzao, "Xingfu, you can arrange it."

Although Teng Yuzhao knew that in history these people had instigated Yuan Shikai to discuss with Jie Duodi to add an additional carriage when the train stopped at an intermediate station so that these elderly ministers could be more comfortable.

Jedoti agreed readily, since it was just as well to add an extra carriage. However, when he was adding the carriage, he was seen by Empress Dowager Cixi who got off the train for a walk. She became furious and refused to allow the addition of the carriage.

Despite this, Teng Yuzhao readily agreed.

He immediately called a special car driver dressed in eunuch's attire who was waiting at the connection between the carriages, and asked him to go to the carriage where Jie Duodi was and tell Yang Shiqi to tell Yang Shiqi to tell Jie Duodi to add another carriage during the stop in Gaobeidian to provide a rest for the princes and ministers who were unwell.

After the special car stopped in Gaobeidian, the ministers who had been suffocating in the car for a long time suddenly rushed out and ran to the heavily guarded platform to breathe in the fresh air.

Teng Yuzhao came to the platform as expected and breathed in the fresh air.

Not only these princes and ministers, even Empress Dowager Cixi, who had her own carriage, was helped by Li Lianying and Xiao Dezhang to go to the platform and walk around to relax her muscles.

After seeing Cixi get off the train, Teng Yuzhao used the excuse of asking about the time the special train would arrive in the capital, and quickly hurried to the front carriage dedicated to Jedodi.

Yang Shiqi, who seemed to be waiting for Teng Yuzhao on the platform, said with a wry smile as soon as he saw Teng Yuzhao.

"Marshal, the Queen Mother may not agree to add the carriages when she finds out. And if the special train cannot arrive at Majiabao on time, I think you will be held responsible."

(End of this chapter)