Sky Curtain: My Great Qin must have an aircraft carrier!

Inside the palaces of the Forbidden City, the light was dim and the atmosphere was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

The young emperor sat on the dragon throne, his eyes vacant as he stared ahead, like a soulless puppet.

Behind the curtain of the dragon throne, the figure of a woman could be vaguely seen sitting.

Holding prayer beads in her hand, with gold nail guards on her fingernails, she tapped the armrest of the chair slowly and deliberately.

All the civil and military officials knelt on the ground, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Liu Bang sat cross-legged on the couch, squinting as he observed the woman in the sky.

"Wow, he's a tough one."

Liu Bang smacked his lips and turned to look at Lü Zhi.

The imposing aura that this old woman exuded was something only someone who had long held a high position could cultivate.

Even the emperor was timid and hesitant, which shows how powerful the other party was.

Seeing this, Liu Bang became even more curious.

The Qing Dynasty has long since been exposed, and it can't even defeat its own rebellious peasants.

Now that the Empress Dowager dares to wage war against the foreign powers, could it be that the Qing Dynasty has finally learned its lesson and successfully industrialized?

Firearms and cannons have been built? Ironclad warships have been launched?

If it weren't for a strong army and ample guns, who would dare to provoke those great powers?

"It seems that the Qing Dynasty has truly produced a heroine who turned the tide."

Liu Bang shuddered as he recalled the Maxim machine gun and the breech-loading cannon.

In the skylight, the old woman behind the curtain stopped tapping on the armrest.

"The foreigners have really gone too far in bullying us, to the point that our country is on the verge of collapse."

"Rather than eke out a living and be forever disgraced, wouldn't it be better to launch a full-scale attack and settle the score once and for all!"

"By my decree, declare war on all nations!"

Upon hearing these words, many people glanced at the dragon throne, but Emperor Guangxu remained expressionless and offered no response.

After waiting for a while, seeing the emperor's appearance, the officials could only lower their heads again.

"Your Majesty, we obey!"

Kangxi's heart skipped a beat as he looked at the scene in the sky.

What's going on?

The emperor sat in front as a mere decoration, while the empress dowager hid behind a curtain and issued orders.

The ministers below did not listen to the emperor, but listened to the old woman.

The Qing Dynasty actually produced an Empress Wu Zetian!

Emperor Kangxi's mind was buzzing; he simply couldn't believe that his descendants would be so useless!

The camera zoomed in, giving Empress Dowager Cixi a close-up.

The old woman stood up, her voice sharp and piercing.

"War on England! War on France! War on America! War on Germany!"

"War on Russia! War on Italy! War on Japan! War on Austria-Hungary!"

"I want all foreigners dead!!!"

The old lady's voice was full of anger, and with each name she uttered, the officials in the hall lowered their heads even further.

All the emperors fell silent, each taking out a world map and beginning to compare it.

Looking at the countries scattered across the globe, everyone's lips twitched, utterly speechless.

"She's gone mad! This woman has truly gone mad!"

Ying Zheng was completely stunned and didn't know how to react.

This woman is incredibly brave, declaring war on eight of the world's greatest powers in one go?

It took the Qin Dynasty a full ten years to conquer the six states one by one.

Now, the Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty has submitted declarations of war to eight major powers in one go?

Even if everyone in the Qing Dynasty was a daredevil, what would they have to fight against the whole world?

Completely baffled, Ying Zheng turned to Li Si beside him and asked, "Li Si, tell me, who exactly is this Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty?"

"When the great powers supported the Qing Dynasty, did they also conveniently hand over their firearms technology?"

Li Si stood there, his face twitching violently.

She wanted to laugh but dared not, forcing herself to turn bright red.

"What's wrong with the Prime Minister?" Ying Zheng frowned.

Li Si took a few deep breaths and replied in as calm a tone as possible: "The heavens have already made their judgment: the Qing army is utterly corrupt and cannot even defeat its own rebels."

"I dare to guess that this woman is probably insane."

Li Si lowered his voice, his tone full of sarcasm, "This old woman has probably been in the palace for too long and is unaware of the state of the world, so she's just indulging in idle talk."

"Using the country for empty talk? Surely that's not... stupid?"

Ying Zheng simply couldn't believe that anyone would joke about matters of state.

The person speaking was none other than the famous Yehenara clan, Empress Dowager Cixi.

She held power in the late Qing Dynasty for nearly 48 years, twice ruling from behind the curtain, making her a true empress with real power.

She used an iron fist to control the government and emptied the national treasury with a life of luxury, bringing the Qing Dynasty to its most undignified end.

Empress Dowager Cixi was a seasoned reactionary, a feudalist fighter who harmed others without benefiting herself, and a renowned anti-Qing general who didn't care about selling off her family's land.

"A famous general who resisted... resisted the Qing Dynasty?"

Emperor Qianlong, who had just been humiliated and unable to lift his head, almost lost his composure when he heard this evaluation.

Good, good! So there were other experts behind this!

No matter what, he had expanded the territory and pushed the Qing Dynasty's borders to their limit.

Although he became senile in his later years, compared to this famous general who resisted the Qing Dynasty, he was practically a saint!

Sometimes, you don't need to be perfect; you just need someone worse than you.

Qianlong's initial gloom vanished, and he even felt a bit smug.

He wanted to see for himself what earth-shattering things Empress Dowager Cixi had done to earn such an honor from the heavens.

The Summer Palace in the late Qing Dynasty.

The opera was being sung on stage, and Empress Dowager Cixi was listening with great interest.

Upon hearing Tianmu's voice, she threw the teacup, smashing it into the actor's forehead and drawing blood.

"presumptuous!"

Empress Dowager Cixi was furious: "If it weren't for me holding things together, the Qing Dynasty would have perished long ago!"

"I've toiled for the country for half my life, what's wrong with enjoying myself a bit? Emperor Qianlong spent so much money on his southern tours, why doesn't anyone criticize him?"

"Isn't securing the country a meritorious deed?"

Li Lianying and the palace maids and eunuchs were so frightened that they all knelt down on the ground, not daring to lift their heads.

The only sound in the entire theater was Empress Dowager Cixi's heavy breathing.

How should we evaluate Empress Dowager Cixi's act of declaring war on the world?

At this time, the Qing Dynasty had suffered heavy losses from the two Opium Wars and the humiliation of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, and the entire country was in grave danger.

In 1899, the Boxer Rebellion swept across northern China, raising the slogan "Support the Qing, Destroy the Foreigners".

Empress Dowager Cixi saw an opportunity and decided to use the Boxers to fight against the foreigners she had always disliked.

Thus, a decree was issued declaring war on eleven countries simultaneously.

"Utilize public opinion, leverage external forces..."

When Emperor Kangxi saw this, his brows furrowed slightly.

Without the spoilers, judging from this one move alone, he might even think that Empress Dowager Cixi was quite politically astute.

By using the enemy to attack foreign powers, the court could remain uninvolved regardless of success or failure.

Now... Emperor Qianlong really couldn't think of any possibility of defeating the foreign powers.

Are we supposed to rely on that bunch of useless Eight Banners?

Empress Dowager Cixi's arrogant behavior thoroughly angered the foreign powers.

The Eight-Nation Alliance landed in Tianjin and advanced swiftly into Beijing.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Empress Dowager Cixi decisively took Emperor Guangxu and fled west, which she euphemistically called a "Western Hunt".

During her westward escape, Empress Dowager Cixi, fearing that the foreigners would hold her accountable, immediately turned hostile and ordered the Qing army to suppress the Boxers.

At the same time, Li Hongzhang and others were dispatched to quickly negotiate peace with the foreign powers.

In an attempt to quell the anger of the foreign powers and preserve her rule, Empress Dowager Cixi uttered a statement that will be remembered for its infamy.

On the sky, a line of large, blood-red characters slowly appeared.

[Use the resources of China to win the favor of other nations.]

"What...did she say?"

Liu Che could no longer tolerate it and burst into a tirade: "Why doesn't she just die? Using the blood and sweat of my nation to curry favor with those wolves?!"

Li Shimin's face was ashen, his fists clenched. "Such a shameless scoundrel, worse than pigs and dogs! I only regret that I cannot personally strangle him in the palace!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry he laughed; he really couldn't stand the rubbish Qing Dynasty.

If it were him, the first thing he would do is draw his sword and tear Empress Dowager Cixi to pieces.

The fact that she could say such a thing shows that she doesn't consider herself the ruler of the Central Plains at all!

Since it's not yours, what's wrong with throwing it away?

Ultimately, the Qing government signed the humiliating Treaty of 1901 with eleven foreign powers.

The treaty stipulated that the Qing government would pay an indemnity of 450 million taels of silver, to be repaid over 39 years, with a total principal and interest of 980 million taels.

This indemnity was equivalent to ten years of the Qing government's fiscal revenue, a shackle around the necks of 400 million people.

In addition, the treaty stipulated the dismantling of the Dagu Forts and allowed all countries to station troops in Beijing.

From then on, the Qing government completely became a lackey of foreigners.

The image on the sky finally settled on the Treaty of 1901.

The most glaring phrase is "to use the resources of China to win the favor of foreign powers."