The Empire will continue to win

Coincidentally, the palanquin stopped at a spot with a red palace wall on one side and pine bonsai trees on the other, cleverly creating a blind spot.

The safety of the empire, the future of the nation, and the happiness of the people.

With these thoughts in mind, Shen Moqing made up his mind and decisively took half a step forward, shortening the distance between the ruler and his subject to half a foot.

Half a foot = 16.6 centimeters.

Quite short.

The shortest distance between a ruler and his subjects to date.

"Your Majesty, do not worry. With me here, I will not allow either foreign enemies or treacherous officials of the court to harm you in the slightest. If Your Majesty is to be humiliated, I will have to die first."

As he spoke, the professor's hot breath even reached the Empress Dowager's nostrils.

damn it.

I bet you, a little widow, won't be tempted.

Gentlemen, please know that when pursuing a girl, showing a slightly assertive attitude can shorten the time it takes to get to base.

Especially at this moment, Empress Dowager Cixi had just received bad news from the front lines and was quite frightened. She was at a vulnerable time and happened to have a strong and supportive leader.

Get twice the result with half the effort.

A thousand miles a day.

.........

Her phoenix eyes were brimming with tears, her mind churning with thoughts.

"Shen Qing, I'm so lucky to have you!"

Upon hearing this, the two eunuchs carrying the sedan chair were so frightened that they wished their parents had made them deaf.

And An Dehai was so scared that he wet himself on the spot.

It's real urine~

It's over. Fengtian has fallen, and our master has fallen with it.

However, the exceptionally dutiful Xiao Anzi still stepped forward, grabbed the sleeve of the rude warrant officer's uniform, and tried to pull him back, pleading in his tone:

"Lord Shen, there is a distinction between ruler and subject; you should step back a bit."

Honestly, it's incredibly rude for a man and a woman to be talking only half a foot apart!

Let alone the Empress Dowager, it wouldn't work even with female students, if Xiao Anzi knew that Shen Moqing was once an associate professor at a top university.

.........

slap~

When a big egg meets a small egg, Shen Moqing doesn't even look at it. With a flick of his arm, An Dehai stumbles backward.

The Empress Dowager took it all in and thought to herself:

This son is so strong that he could rival five former emperors.

The problem is, there are so many eyes and ears in the palace, it's inconvenient. In this vast Forbidden City, I can't even find a quiet desk to sit at—how tragic!

A gust of biting north wind blew by, and the Empress Dowager regained some consciousness.

Now is not the time for romance; the most urgent task is for the emperor and his ministers to join forces to repel the enemy and protect the imperial palace.

"Shen Qing, what should we do next?"

"Now that things have come to this, if the Empress Dowager truly trusts me, then I shall remain by your side, seeing you daily and offering advice. I am willing to remain behind the scenes, issuing orders in the Empress Dowager's name, to help her achieve a resounding victory. If I cannot win, I am willing to take my own life."

His words were absolutely certain.

Now that things have come to this, if you don't trust me, who else can you trust?

As expected~

"How could I not trust you? In this Forbidden City, no one understands your talent better than me." The Empress Dowager's phoenix eyes were full of affection. "Shen Qing, go and rest—no, go to the Wuying Hall and wait. I will summon you after the Imperial Conference."

"Thank you, Empress Dowager."

Shen Moqing bowed his head to express his gratitude, a wicked smile playing on his lips.

.........

The Golden Palace.

The meeting was held before the emperor, but the atmosphere was tense.

The emperor sat on the dragon throne, while the two empress dowagers sat behind bright yellow gauze curtains, listening to the government from behind the curtains.

Below the imperial steps.

The officials were seated in order, with Prince Gong on the left, Sheng Bao on the right, and Yan Fu, Wen Xiang, Gui Liang, Shen Zhaolin, Yu Xian, and others in that order.

All the ministers, Hanlin scholars, and censors were present.

This was an expanded meeting.

Inside the hall.

The discussion was heated, and the disagreements were sharp.

Faced with the crisis, the contradictions between the army and navy became more prominent, as did the financial crisis, the contradiction of too few talents and too many lackeys, and the contradiction of slow decision-making due to behind-the-scenes rule.

The argument lasted from morning until noon.

Army Minister Sheng Bao and Navy Minister Yan Fu even fought each other in court. Although they were pulled apart by others, Yan Fu still took two punches.

Sheng Bao may not be good at fighting, but he is definitely good at beating people.

Of course, this also shows that the United Empire was not the same as the former Qing Dynasty, and was relatively more civilized and advanced.

In the Qing Dynasty, at the height of imperial power, ministers would have to kneel before the emperor to submit their reports, and fighting in front of the emperor was unthinkable; their entire families would be executed.

If Professor Shen were to comment, he would surely be able to pinpoint the problem incisively:

Checks and balances!

A great balance of power!

However, the royal families of the United Empire still hoped to return to the former Qing Dynasty, but they were helpless due to the great resistance and public opinion from all sides.

.........

Since Shen Moqing himself had no official rank or position, the so-called supervisor of the royal enterprise was a miscellaneous position in the officialdom. Unless summoned by the Empress Dowager or the Emperor, he was not qualified to attend meetings in the Golden Palace.

He was led by the eunuch to the Wuying Hall.

I drank tea, rested, and read. After a few cups of hot tea, I felt quite bored, so I got up and strolled around the Wuying Hall.

Suddenly, he saw six lifelike portraits hanging on a wall.

The first picture is of Confucius, the second is of Mencius, I don't recognize the third and fourth, the fifth is of Chiang Kai-shek, the founder of the empire, and the sixth is of a blond, blue-eyed foreigner.

Just as I was engrossed in watching, a soft cough suddenly came from behind me.

"Brother Mo Qing, do you have official business to attend to?"

"Who are you?"

"My name is Weng Tonghe, and I am honored to serve as a professor in the Southern Study and concurrently as the Vice Minister of Rites. I am from Changshu, Suzhou Prefecture."

"So you are the Imperial Tutor, Lord Weng. My apologies for my overreaction."

"Hehe~ My son said you are a handsome man, skilled in both literature and martial arts. Seeing you today, it is indeed true."

"Lord Weng, you flatter me. I am but a playboy from the capital."

"Ah, you are too modest. If all the纨绔 (sons of wealthy and powerful families) in the world were as loyal to their country as you, disregarding personal gain or loss, how could the Wu Emperor's great cause not be secure? How could the state not be stable?"

That's enough.

This Lord Weng is the emperor's white paper fan, and he hopes to recruit a double red flower stick.

But~

Changing the subject, Weng Tonghe put his hands behind his back and sighed:

"This is the Six Sages Painting, which has been hanging in the Wuying Hall for decades. Confucius, Mencius, Cheng Yi, Zhu Xi, Jiang Ziya, and Niu Zi—they are all unparalleled sages. The empire governs the country with Confucianism. Our Confucian building was founded by Confucius, constructed by Mencius, opened by Cheng Yi, and beamed by Zhu Xi."

"And what about Chief Minister Chiang?"

"Jiang Zina is even more extraordinary; he is a flag flying in the wind, planted on the rooftop."

"Could you elaborate, Lord Weng?"

"Brother Moqing, are you also interested in national history?"

"To be honest, Lord Weng, I come from a fallen noble family. I was uneducated from a young age, read little of the classics, and spent more time on cockfighting and horse racing. I know very little about the history of the empire. I am ashamed, truly ashamed."

"As the ancients said, 'If one hears the Way in the morning, one can die content in the evening.' Brother Moqing, you are right that a prodigal son has returned home; future generations should understand the hardships our ancestors endured in pioneering the cause."

Having said that, Weng Tonghe, feeling greatly gratified, cleared his throat and began to speak in detail.

"~It's a long story, and it all started with Emperor Longwu. One-eighth of the Wen family blood flowed in the veins of our Emperor Longwu. The Wen family was the maternal family of the Jiang family. Their bloodline was noble and wonderful."

Unfortunately, he did not live long enough. Emperor Longwu had just completed his great undertaking when he suddenly fell ill and passed away.

Afterwards, the fourth son ascended the throne in accordance with the imperial edict, becoming Emperor Xianning.

At the beginning of Emperor Xianning's reign, the four borders were in turmoil and the people were unsettled. Therefore, at the request of the people, Emperor Xianning married the granddaughter of Chief Minister Jiang as Empress Zhaowen. The following year, a daughter was born.

In the tenth year of the Xianning era, Emperor Xianning, at the request of the people, once again married a great-granddaughter of Chief Minister Jiang and brought her into the palace, bestowing upon her the title of Noble Consort Yi. Noble Consort Yi was blessed with good fortune and gave birth to a son and a daughter.

The son born to Consort Yi is the current Emperor.

"Is Consort Yi the current Empress Dowager Cixi?"

"Exactly."

It turned out to be the case.

.........

[Note: Successive leaders of the United Empire: Jiang Qingyun, Newton, Ma Ni (who committed arson and suicide), Emperor Longwu, Emperor Xianning, Emperor Xuanwu]

[Developing the plot for this book took too much time, gentlemen, I'm begging for your monthly votes!]