Chapter 31 Help Cixi get rid of Minister Gu Ming

Li Lianying finally continued to win Cixi's trust with her loyalty to Empress Dowager Cixi when she was in crisis.From then on, Cixi completely regarded him as her confidant.Cixi heard that Rong Lu was bought by the eight ministers and was monitoring herself, but there was no definite evidence, so she deliberately knocked the mountain to shake the tiger, and planned to let Li Lianying call him to kill his prestige.So she asked Li Lianying to find Ronglu and tell him to come to the palace, but she must avoid the eyes and ears of Sushun and others. Li Lianying saw that Cixi let herself handle such a confidential matter, knowing that Cixi had already regarded herself as a confidant, she couldn't help feeling a wave of excitement in her heart, expressing that she would definitely fulfill her mission.Li Lianying knew that this matter was no small matter, so when she arrived at Ronglu's residence, she put on a businesslike face and delivered a decree saying that Empress Dowager Cixi wanted Ronglu to come to the palace to answer.

Rong Lu was already guilty, but now seeing the little Li Lianying speaking in a serious manner, he knew it was not a joke, so he was even more disturbed.But the queen mother summoned her and had to go, so she had to think about it and make up her mind on the way. Rong Lu thought, on one side is the mother of the Holy Mother, the Empress Dowager; on the other side is the military minister who holds great power, and there are two princes, the power is not small.At this time, I am like a mouse in a bellows, receiving anger from both sides.From here on out, every move is related to the property and life, so it must not be sloppy.

Which side should it fall to?In the end, he felt a wave in his heart: No matter what Sushun and the others dared not kill the emperor, otherwise they would be treasonous and become treasonous ministers. No matter what, I can't go with them, I'd better stay with Empress Dowager Cixi for safety. After making up his mind, Rong Lu felt confident, so he was no longer nervous, and only wanted to express his attitude in front of Cixi and win her trust.So, as soon as he entered Cixi's bedroom, he told the Empress Dowager Cixi how Sushun called him and how he asked him to monitor Cixi.In the end, he said that he was confused for a while, and hoped that the Queen Mother would show mercy.

Cixi couldn't help but gasp. The situation was more complicated than what she had heard, but fortunately, Rong Lu told herself that as long as she handled it carefully, she could still get through the difficulties.What's more, Rong Lu has already expressed his willingness to serve, which means that he has drawn Rong Lu to his side.At that time, Cixi calmed down a lot.But in order to firmly control Ronglu, he deliberately put on a businesslike look to show that he has always been lenient to others.He asked Rong Lu to be a double agent, and in turn to monitor Sushun and others, and rewarded him with fifty taels of silver, and Rong Lu thanked him for his kindness.From then on, every word and deed of Sushun and others were under Cixi's control.

An Dehai sent the letter to Yixin smoothly, and Yixin rushed to Chengde day and night after receiving the letter, all of which did not escape the eyes of Sushun and others.Sushun and others were afraid that there was fraud, so they quickly notified Yi and Zheng Erwang, who restricted his freedom of movement in the name of reception.Yixin is only allowed to visit Zigong, but Yixin is not allowed to meet the queen mothers of the two palaces.The Empress Dowager Cixi asked An Dehai to disguise Yixin into the palace, discuss getting rid of Sushun and others, and set up a secret plan, waiting to act.

Soon, the empress dowagers of the two palaces issued an order to return to Beijing from Zigong immediately.Zaiyuan, Duanhua, Sushun and others knew that once they returned to Beijing, their future and life would be in jeopardy, and they wanted to delay it.Unexpectedly, Cixi insisted on returning to Beijing, but Sushun and others had no choice but to agree, but secretly set up an ambush to rob and kill Cixi on the way. Walking outside Guhuakou, the guards arranged by Sushun were just about to act, but Li Lianying's second kick signaled them to lead out Ronglu's soldiers who had ambushed and protected the queen mother's imperial chariot layer by layer.It turned out that Ronglu had followed Cixi's oral order conveyed by Li Lianying, ordering him to rush to rescue him when he heard the sound of two kicks.Ronglu's team is all the best in the Imperial Forest Army, selected from the Shenji Battalion, and of course they are better equipped than the prince's guards, so Cixi survived.

Cixi has always been cruel, especially those who have hatred against herself.After Cixi returned to Beijing, Su was decapitated by the way, Zaiyuan and Duanhua were also ordered to commit suicide, and the other five were sent to the frontier to serve as conscripts, and the eight ministers disappeared in an instant.This is the famous Beijing coup, also known as the Xinyou coup.Since then, Ci'an and Empress Dowager Cixi finally listened to politics behind the curtain in a legitimate way. In fact, it was Cixi who was listening to politics alone.Because of his meritorious deeds in fighting traitors, Yixin was soon promoted to be the leader of the Minister of Military Affairs and Political Affairs; Rong Lu was also promoted to the commander-in-chief;It is said that Empress Dowager Cixi began to call An Dehai Xiao Anzi and Li Lianying Xiao Lizi from this time on.

Although Prince Dun Yichen was suspected of intentionally leaking the news to Sushun and making Cixi unhappy, Cixi is a wise person. She considered that she had just disposed of two princes and six military ministers, and the government and the public were in shock. Listening to the government, the hearts of the people are not attached, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the south is also intensifying. There are activities in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan and other provinces. , So he sent an order to show mercy and not to pursue it. Although Cixi made big things into small things on the surface and made small things into nothing on the surface, she hated Yichen in her heart.From then on, Yichen stayed away from the political center all his life and became a happy king.Not only that, after Yikui's death, his son Zailian was supposed to be the hereditary king of the county, but Cixi made him Baile.Yixin couldn't see it, and asked Cixi to reconsider his succession as the county king.Cixi refused on the grounds that Yiquan had no merit in his life.

In this series of political practices, Li Lianying was both right and left, and did things neatly, which left a deep impression on Cixi.Although he has made great achievements, it is a pity that due to his young age (fourteen years old), according to the regulations of the Qing Palace, he cannot be promoted to the chief eunuch under the age of eighteen.Cixi specially rewarded him with one thousand taels of silver as a reward.Although Li Lianying was not promoted, he had a premonition that his time had come.