Chapter 15 After losing the battle, he drove west and fled

Zai Yi came out of the palace just in time to see Rong Lu rushing into the palace.King Duan knew that Ronglu had always been dissatisfied with his flattery to Cixi, so he was worried, so he waited outside to hear the news.After more than an hour, I saw Rong Lu come out in a hurry.The internal eunuch reported to Zaiyi, Empress Dowager Cixi immediately took remedial measures, ordered Ronglu to curry favor with other countries, and each sent a heavy gift, and asked him to transfer to King Yuqing for condolences, and at the same time ordered Li Hongzhang to be the governor of Zhili. Seeing that the current situation is indeed difficult to deal with, Cixi remembered Rong Lu who had been persuading herself not to use troops, so she immediately ordered someone to summon her.Li Lianying was afraid that it would be difficult for King Duan to face Rong Lu, so she quickly gave King Duan a wink, and then King Duan stood up and withdrew in desperation.

Although Cixi showed a low profile, it was a pity that she did not impress the hearts of the coalition forces, and their offensive continued unabated.In July of the twenty-sixth year of Guangxu (1890), the Qing army lost Beicang and Yangcun in a row.Seeing that the situation was irreversible, Yulu committed suicide and died for his country.Soon, Zhangjiawan and Tongzhou fell, and the Eight-Power Allied Forces directly invaded the capital. The situation took a turn for the worse, and the Empress Dowager Cixi in the palace regretted her reckless behavior, but it was already difficult to restore the situation, so she had to sigh secretly.Fortunately, Rong Lu reminded Empress Dowager Cixi to make plans early, otherwise, the coalition forces would be out of control once they entered the city.

Before Cixi could make a decision, the coalition forces had advanced to the center of Beijing, and the vanguard had been stationed near the Temple of Heaven.At the beginning, Cixi wanted to stick to it, so as not to lose her royal demeanor. Unexpectedly, the ministers heard that foreigners had entered the capital, and they had already dispersed.Only the three ministers Gang Yi, Zhao Shuqiao, and Wang Wenshao still insisted on waiting by their side. When Cixi saw that there were only three loyal ministers left at the time of crisis, she felt infinite sadness in her heart.In order to prevent the court from being controlled by the coalition forces, they had no choice but to agree to take refuge temporarily and ordered three people to accompany them.

The coalition forces attacked in a hurry, and soon reached the outer city.Cixi also didn't care about her usual decency, so she immediately asked Gong'e to fetch a blue summer cloth shirt and put it on, and ordered Emperor Guangxu, elder brother Pu Jun, empress, and concubine Jin to wear civilian clothes. The group set off when they were ready.The princes and ministers rode horses or walked, followed by followers, forming a strange team.Along the way, no one dared to pant loudly, for fear of offending the Empress Dowager Cixi who was in a bad mood.It was true that the house leak coincided with continuous rain. When we arrived at Xizhimen, it began to rain.It was fine for Cixi to sit in the sedan chair, but it was hard for Li Lianying and those princes and ministers who were usually well-clothed and well-fed. They had rain on their heads and trampled on mud under their feet.But the saddest among them is the Empress Dowager Cixi. How did she ever think that she would end up like this?

When the procession passed the Summer Palace all the way north, Cixi deliberately stopped to take a nap.It's a pity that escaping is the most important thing now, and I didn't have time to enjoy the scenery. After a short rest, I hurriedly got up and hurried on my way, fearing that the coalition forces would come. During this process, Prince Zhuang Zaixun, Mongolian Prince Nayantu, Fuguo Gong Zaize, Gangyi, Zhao Shuqiao and others came to accompany the westward journey from Beijing, and thousands of soldiers escorted them. The Empress Dowager Cixi was like a frightened bird, terrified all day long, but the most feared person in the team was Li Lianying. All the money and status that relied on Cixi disappeared with the foreigners attacking Beijing.