Chapter 16 Empress Dowager Cixi begged for mercy

The life of the Empress Dowager Cixi on the way to escape to the west can be described as the most difficult time in her life, not only in the lack of living conditions, but also in her safety.Because the imperial court took a tough approach to the uprising soldiers and civilians in various places, when they heard the news that Cixi had gone out to seek refuge, many people in various places wanted to catch her and get rid of her quickly. During the period of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, an anti-imperial Nian army was active in the north, which was divided into the East Nian Army and the West Nian Army.Zhang Yuhe, the nephew of Zhang Zongyu, the leader of the Western Nian Army, and Luo Lihai, the commander in chief, fought in the area of ​​the Tuhai River in Shandong, and they were completely defeated.The two searched for the lost Nian Army brothers everywhere. After more than 30 years of hard searching, they accidentally rescued Shangguan Jin, the former bodyguard of Prince Zheng.Not only that, but he also found Sadhong, the former head of the Black Dragon Society, but Sadhong was already the deputy head of the Ouchi and the commander of the guards at this time.

Luo Lihai and others, as well as Shangguan Jin, were all people who firmly opposed the imperial court, while Sadhong was a staunch supporter of the imperial court.Luo Lihai persuaded Sadhong to go together to assassinate the Empress Dowager Cixi and avenge his brother, but Sadhong of course disagreed. Luo Lihai not only yelled at Cixi as an old witch, but also yelled at Sadehong that he was over seventy years old.It turned out that Luo Lihai and the others actively resisted the foreigners at the beginning, but Nie Shicheng, Ma Yukun and others under the instruction of Empress Dowager Cixi shot them coldly from behind, causing them to be defeated and fled.

When Sadehong saw Luo Lihai scolding Cixi and himself, he immediately became angry. He was about to do something, but he was persuaded by King Duan Zaiyi who rushed over: "Deputy Manager Sa, wait a minute. This residence has obeyed the order of the Empress Dowager Lafayette, and came to persuade this person." Luo Yishi. Seeing that it was Prince Duan Zaiyi who had come, and that he had followed Ci Xi's order, Sadehong involuntarily withdrew his body back to make way for King Duan. In fact, the Duan Wang Zaiyi at this time has lost his former style.One is that he was in a hurry when he fled Beijing, and the guards of honor and deacons who went out did not bring out;Not only that, because of getting up early and going to bed late for days, not eating well, drinking water, and previous old problems, I have been coughing and wheezing recently, I also have a fever, and my voice is hoarse.Blessings never come, but misfortunes never come singly.At this juncture, Cixi gave him a difficult task to persuade Luo Lihai to leave.

It turned out that on the way to escape, Cixi heard that someone was going to kill her. She trembled with fright and lamented her misfortune. If you work hard, even if you have the heart to protect yourself, I am afraid that after a few days of continuous running around, you will be powerless, and princes and ministers will fight each other. If you want to deal with assassins, you can't count on it. Just when Cixi was about to despair, the quick-witted Li Lianying approached the Empress Dowager Cixi and advised her that the assassins on the road ahead were from the Boxers, and that King Duan had dealt with the Boxers many times, and asked him to make contact with them. effective.

In desperation, Cixi finally grasped a life-saving straw, and immediately waved her hand, not letting Li Lianying go on, but telling him to declare Duan Wang quickly.Seeing that Cixi was eager to summon King Duan, Li Lianying knew that she had agreed to her suggestion, and her heart was sweeter than honey, so she went outside to find Zaiyi and said that the Empress Dowager had summoned him. Zaiyi was alone in grief at this time, and his illnesses broke out in just a few days, and he wanted to take this opportunity to rest, but he didn't expect that the Queen Mother would summon him again.He knew that it would be no good to be summoned now, so he came to Cixi with trepidation.

Cixi also no longer cared about the etiquette of the monarch and his ministers, and said to him directly: This time the assassins are bandits from the Boxers, and you have dealt with the Boxers before, this time as long as you let them retreat, the previous crimes will be written off and will never be mentioned again. When Duan Wang Zaiyi heard it, he knew it was a hard job, and his body was weak, so he didn't want to do it, but he didn't dare to say it, so he kept kowtow on the ground. Since Cixi escaped from the capital, she has been in a bad mood and has a big temper, especially when she met Zaiyi who caused this incident, she was even more angry.Seeing that Zaiyi refused to go now, he couldn't help but a nameless karma rushed to his forehead, and he said through gritted teeth: What!Don't you want to resist the decree?

Li Lianying saw that something was wrong, and seeing that Zaiyi was about to suffer, she hurried out to make a rescue, and advised Duan Wang, who was kneeling on the ground, not to make Lafayette angry, but to deal with it quickly. Li Lianying's words reminded Zaiyi, thinking what is the use of kowtowing here, maybe he would be beheaded if he offended the Empress Dowager Cixi.It's better to negotiate with the assassin. If you succeed, it's a great achievement. Even if you don't succeed, even if you get killed, you will be loyal to the country. It's better than being killed here, and it will also affect your own son. Maybe it's a big deal. My brother can't do it either.Therefore, he hurriedly kowtowed to his feet, went to persuade the rebels according to Yi's order, and said some bold words about his loyalty to the Empress Dowager Cixi and the Qing Dynasty, which moved everyone present.

After King Duan left, Li Lianying was afraid that Cixi would still be angry, so she turned to comfort her.Nowadays, fleeing from the west, people are in panic, and we should try our best to punish less and reward more, so as not to disperse the hearts of the people. Even if the ministers behave biasedly for a while, it is a reaction of extraordinary times, but their loyalty to Lafayette remains unchanged of. Seeing that King Duan led the decree away, Cixi felt relieved, and hearing Li Lianying's sincere words showed his loyalty even more.He repeatedly praised Li Lianying for his thoughtfulness, and asked him to mention it more in the future, so as not to make the ministers slack off.

Duan Wang Zaiyi made up his mind and went outside, just in time to see that Sadehong was about to fight Luo Lihai, so he immediately stopped Sadehong, and bravely came to Luo Lihai, to show his relationship with the Boxers and why he came.He said that now that foreign soldiers have invaded the capital, and the queen mother and emperor are dusted outside, you should focus on the overall situation, and the right way is to kill as many foreigners as possible. Luo Lihai has been hurt by the government army many times, and he has long since distrusted them.He said that although King Duan had cooperated very well with them before, it was a pity that the Qing army had too much treachery, and he no longer trusted them.Not only that, but Luo Lihai also exposed Cixi's conspiracy. Cixi used the Boxers to reap the benefits of the fishermen. She didn't really trust the Boxers, but to use the Boxers to resist foreigners, so as to keep the position of Prince Duan's son Pujun.

At the same time, he also stated that the Boxers were the organization that really resisted foreigners, while the Queen Mother and officials at all levels only cared about their own future and destiny, and never put the people in their eyes, and even specially helped them in order to protect their own interests. The foreigners oppressed the common people. Luo Lihai mocked Duan Wang Zaiyi for not being qualified to negotiate with him, and told him to go back, and said that although Zaiyi was the king of the county, the father of the elder brother, and the foreman of the minister of military aircraft, he was not afraid, and besides, he It's like a mouse got into a bellows and got angry at both ends.

Being robbed and ridiculed by Luo Lihai, Zaiyi was so angry that she rolled her eyes and was speechless. Sadhun was not as good-tempered as he was, and he couldn't hold back long ago.Seeing that King Duan was trembling with anger, he hurriedly stepped forward to persuade him. King Zaiyi happened to be down a step, and stepped back a few steps with a helpless sigh. Su Dehong stepped forward to fight Luo Lihai.Luo Lihai was about to fight back, but was persuaded by Shangguan Jin, who said that he was very relieved when he scolded the court ministers so heartily, and said that he wanted to learn from Sadhong. Shangguan Jin's words frightened Su Dehong very much. He had fought against Shangguan Jin many times, and he knew that his progress was very obvious every time.But now that the words have been spoken, there is absolutely no reason to retreat, so he has no choice but to bite the bullet and fight.Sure enough, after resisting for a while, Sadhong finally showed his weakness and was kicked in the leg by Shangguan Jin, and he was defeated immediately. Seeing that Sadehong was defeated, King Duan Zaiyi was afraid that Luo Lihai and the others would take advantage of the situation and attack them, so he and Cixi's younger brother Gui Xiang ordered the guards secretly dispatched to shoot, trying to put Luo Lihai and the others to death.The guard pulled the bolt of the gun for a while, and there was a loud crash.Just as he raised his gun to aim, he was stunned by a sound of drinking. It turned out that Zhang Zhankui, another righteous man, took advantage of the entanglement between Zaiyi and Luo Lihai to control Cixi.Seeing that Luo Lihai and the others were about to suffer, he immediately shouted: "Whoever dares to shoot, I will kill the old hag first!"He threatened Cixi and Li Lianying to make the guards retreat.The Qing army looked at each other in blank dismay, at a loss as to what to do, but the master was controlled, so he had to be obedient, and all the guards put down their guns. This was the first time Cixi had been bullied like this since she entered the palace for decades. She was so frightened that her face was sallow and her whole body trembled.Zhang Zhankui originally wanted the Empress Dowager Cixi to personally order the guards to retreat, but she was so frightened that she could not speak coherently, and could not speak for a long time.Therefore, Li Lianying conveyed Cixi's decree, and everyone saw that it was the eunuch's most trusted eunuch of Empress Dowager Cixi, so they had to put their guns and swords on the ground one after another. Li Lianying had never seen such a situation, but seeing that the Empress Dowager Cixi was under control, she had to beg them to let the Empress Dowager Cixi and herself go.It is said that the Empress Dowager Cixi and herself usually live in the deep palace, and have never offended chivalrous people. Before Li Lianying could finish speaking, Luo Lihai, who was furious, rushed to Cixi in one step, and enumerated her crimes: she was the one who forced the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Boxers to rebel, and she was the one who forced the people to have no way out, so they had to sell their children and daughters. The church oppressed the common people, but she turned a blind eye and became a slave to the foreigners. The Taiping Army killed millions, and the Nian Army killed hundreds of thousands. The Empress Dowager Cixi cannot escape the blame. Zhang Zhankui was impatient, so he asked Luo Lihai not to waste his time talking with them, and suggested that he would be happy to kill Cixi with one knife.When all the ministers saw that they were going to kill Cixi, Zai Yi, Zai Xun, Zai Lan, Zai Ze, Gang Yi, Gui Xiang and others knelt down and begged in unison. Zhang Yuhe on the side was already extremely angry, he didn't care who kowtowed or not, he swung his steel knife and wanted to chop off at Cixi.Cixi was so frightened that she lost her three souls and seven souls, and she couldn't even beg for mercy. At this moment, Shangguan Jin asked Luo Lihai and the others to calm down, and they must not act quickly and make mistakes.It is suggested to let Cixi talk about it first, and then make a decision.Luo Lihai, Zhang Yuhe, and Zhang Zhankui respected Shangguan Jin very much, and when they saw what he said, they put down their knives. Cixi thought she was going to die, but when she saw Shangguan Jin insisting not to kill him, she cast a grateful look at him. Shangguan Jin ignored this, and asked Cixi viciously: foreigners oppressed the Chinese, forcing the common people to rise up and burn churches and kill foreigners. Do you know that?Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Anhui and other provinces suffered from floods, droughts and famines year after year. Why did the imperial court still impose excessive taxes and even increase taxes for no reason for the royal family's self-interest? Not only that, girls in the 17th and 18th years of the disaster area are not worth two pennies, and widows in their twenties are not worth two pennies.The people are starving and starving, but the palace is still singing and dancing; the corpse-eating birds and beasts flock to it, but the luxury and food in the palace have not been reduced by half The more Shangguan Jin said, the angrier he became, and he scolded Empress Dowager Cixi as if he was scolding his own children.Li Lianying listened respectfully at first, but later she realized that Shangguan Jin was educating Cixi, asking her to work hard to govern, to care about the suffering of the people, and to stop being licentious. These are of course good words to persuade people to make progress, and Li Lianying also knew that Cixi would definitely agree.And according to the current situation, if you agree, you may not die. If you don’t give in, Shangguan Jin will be angry, and Cixi will go westward with a knife. Those people will inevitably say that he is Cixi’s accomplice. I'm afraid life is in danger.The matter was urgent, and he couldn't help discussing with Cixi, so he started to bargain with Shangguan Jin on his own initiative. First of all, he tried his best to help the Empress Dowager Cixi out of the relationship, saying that she lived in the inner courtyard of the deep palace and did not know many things, which deceived the officials below.He promised that as long as all the chivalrous men hold their hands high and do not harm the Empress Dowager Cixi, after the Empress Dowager Cixi Xishou returns to Beijing, he will definitely select the best and appoint talents, let those who love the people like their own sons be the parents' officials, and strive to make the common people live a good life. Seeing that Li Lianying said what she wanted to say, Cixi quickly echoed: "Yes!"Penalties must be saved and taxes reduced so that people can live and work in peace and contentment. Zhang Yuhe on the side didn't believe it at all, saying that people in the imperial court have always done one thing to the face and another to the back, double-deckering.He was even more cold-hearted towards Cixi and Li Lianying, and he might slash at them with a knife at any time.