Chapter 54 See the right time to help Ronglu

With Emperor Guangxu's big wedding, Empress Dowager Cixi finally returned to power, and everything was safe in the court, but she was happy to be at peace.A year later, Prince Chun died of illness.During King Chun's illness, Empress Dowager Cixi led Emperor Guangxu to Prince Chun's residence many times to inquire about illnesses.Because Prince Jin's Fujin was originally the sister of Empress Dowager Cixi, and it was she who proposed to Emperor Xianfeng to marry her younger sister Rong'er to Prince Jin.Besides, this Prince Chun is humble and courteous, and has always been loyal to the Empress Dowager Cixi.Since the resignation of Prince Gong Yixin, this Prince Chun has taken over as the foreman of the Minister of Military Affairs. He always consults the Empress Dowager Cixi for instructions on all government affairs, and dare not act arbitrarily, let alone talk too much.

Therefore, the Empress Dowager Cixi was very confidant and treated this Prince Chun very favorably. At this time, although Emperor Guangxu was called pro-government, he still had to report everything to Cixi and could not make the decision.But just like that, Cixi was still not at ease, and secretly ordered the queen and Li Lianying to monitor Guangxu's activities secretly, so as to avoid the same mistakes of Tongzhi. The tenth day of October in the 20th year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1894) was the 60th birthday of Empress Dowager Cixi.During the first lunar month, princes, princes and ministers prepared and congratulated the ceremony. Following the example of Kangxi and Qianlong, the generals and governors of various provinces sent officials to Beijing in advance to celebrate the longevity of Our Lady of Lafayette.On the one hand, the supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs led the laborers to build lamp sheds and decorate the scenery from Da Nei to the Summer Palace, and to build scripture altars along the way, where lamas and monks recited the Sutra of Longevity.In the Summer Palace, a large archway will be built to commemorate the longevity of Our Lady of Lafayette.

The internal treasury of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was short of money, and it was so anxious to run around, knowing that there was no money, but it was impossible to do it, so I sent 10,000 taels of silver to Li Lianying and asked for instructions.The Ministry of Internal Affairs wanted him to tell the Empress Dowager Cixi, and save a little if he could. After Li Lianying knew about it, she shook her head again and again, expressing that she could not spoil the Empress Dowager Cixi. The officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs pleaded bitterly and asked Li Lianying to help.Li Lianying saw that it was profitable, she rolled her eyes, came up with an idea, and whispered a few words.After hearing this, the Minister of Internal Affairs felt that this was also a solution, so he followed the plan.

What is Li Lianying's solution?It is to ask all officials, big and small, to donate a quarter of their monthly salary as a congratulatory gift to Empress Dowager Cixi.This trick really worked, and a total of more than two million taels was collected, more than enough to celebrate longevity, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs has overcome this difficulty.Among them, in addition to donating silver, General Rong Lu of Xi'an also donated a lot of gold and silver treasures, and also gave a large amount of silver to Li Lianying. Empress Dowager Cixi was overjoyed when she saw it, and immediately ordered Rong Lu to be recalled for continued use.

We know that Rong Lu was originally a hero of the Empress Dowager Cixi. When he returned to Rehe, he was able to return to Beijing safely thanks to Rong Lu's escort. It can be said that he made great contributions to the Xinyou coup. What about this idle job?It turned out that after Rong Lu was escorted back to the palace, Cixi promoted Ronglu to be the head of the House of Internal Affairs, and he was able to come and go freely in the palace. Whenever there was important matter, Cixi often discussed with him.When Emperor Tongzhi was buried, Rong Lu was still in the palace.In the sixth year of Guangxu (1880), Emperor Guangxu's teacher Weng Tonghe secretly reported to the Empress Dowager, and impeached Rong Lu for the crime of adultery.

How could the Empress Dowager Cixi believe it, but the Empress Dowager Ci'an said: Check it out and you will understand. Cixi had no choice but to agree to send someone to spy secretly, and it really happened for a reason.This courageous and knowledgeable Minister Rong actually did such a mediocre thing in a certain concubine's room, and was later caught by the Empress Dowager Cixi with her own eyes. The Empress Dowager Ci'an was a person who valued the family law of her ancestors very much, and she wanted to kill Rong Lu immediately for the crime of dirtying the palace.It was Li Lianying who secretly interceded for Rong Lu in front of the Empress Dowager Cixi, saying that both he and An Dehai had made great contributions and that An Dehai could no longer be resurrected. It would be better to keep Rong Lu alive and encourage those who are loyal to the Empress Dowager. people.

Although Cixi hated Rong Lu's nonsense, Li Lianying interceded for one, and she also remembered Rong Lu's credit for the other, but she was angry, so she dismissed Rong Lu from his official position and expelled him from Beijing. After the Empress Dowager Ci'an collapsed, Cixi thought of Ronglu again, and felt more and more that it was a trick designed by Ci'an to frame and break her right and left arm.But because Ronglu's crimes are too heavy and she has dealt with them herself, she is unwilling to correct her mistakes, and it is inconvenient to use them rashly.Therefore, Rong Lu lost his official position for several years.

How could Cixi's intentions be hidden from Li Lianying, so she immediately notified Ronglu.Ronglu blamed himself and asked to take the blame and make meritorious service, so as to see the effect.The Empress Dowager Cixi really promoted Rong Luchao to the rank of General of Xi'an.This time it was Li Lianying who greeted Rong Lu again. Rong Lu was not a fool, so he naturally made great contributions.Cixi was overjoyed, so she called Ronglu to Beijing, and then served as the commander of the infantry.Naturally, Rong Lu was extra careful and careful, and of course he did his best during the preparations for his birthday.