Chapter 67 Reinventing oneself and offering advice to rebuild the tomb

There are three chambers in the mausoleum of Emperor Xianfeng. The emperor's tomb is in the middle, and the tombs of the empress dowager and noble concubine are on the left and right sides. After Xianfeng's death, the two palaces of Ci'an and Cixi listened to the government behind the curtain. Ci'an was the main palace, of course the grandest, and because she lived in the sixth palace in the East, she was known as the Queen Mother of the East. Because it is expensive, of course the ranking is not as good as the Eastern Queen Mother, and because she lives in the Six Officials in the West, she is called the Western Queen Mother after Jin Feng.

Therefore, after death, the Empress Dowager Ci'an will be buried in a tomb closer to the emperor, while Cixi will be buried in a tomb farther from the emperor. This is understandable and justified.But the Empress Dowager Cixi was always unwilling to be restrained by the Empress Dowager Ci'an, so she discussed with Li Lianying how to break through the fetters of Ci'an. Li Lianying always had a lot of ghostly ideas, so she came out as soon as she opened her mouth, and immediately offered a strategy, asking Empress Dowager Cixi to play chess with Empress Ci'an, and whoever wins can make it bigger.Cixi didn't have confidence in her own chess skills, so she shook her head and said: No, the Empress Dowager Ci'an is very skilled in chess, and it is difficult to win.Li Lianying said: "It's okay, I'll play chess and command secretly."My left leg moves to the left, the left horse jumps, my right leg moves to the right, the right horse jumps, if I cough twice, the cannon fires forward, if I cough once, the cannon retreats, I step forward, the car Move forward, I will retreat, the car will go back, move left hand, fly left hand, right hand, fly right hand, Queen Mother, you also adapt to the situation and play tricks, understand that no matter how good the Empress Dowager Ci'an's chess skills, I am afraid there is no chance of winning.

The Empress Dowager Cixi knew that Li Lianying was very good at chess, so she felt that this was a way to try, so she said happily: "Xiao Lizi, no wonder people say you have a lot of tricks, but you really have a lot of tricks, so it's settled like this."If you can win, I will reward you heavily.If this trick doesn't work, don't be afraid of the stick.Li Lianying smiled after listening.The Empress Dowager Cixi said again: How can I tell the Empress Dowager Ci'an about this?Li Lianying hesitated for a moment and said: This is not difficult, I have my own way.He stepped forward and whispered a few words in Cixi's ear, and then the two giggled triumphantly.

A few days later, Empress Dowager Cixi, accompanied by Li Lianying, came to Empress Dowager Ci'an's bedroom, saying that she was bored and didn't know what to do.Ci'an has always been sincere, so he didn't know what to say for a moment, so he just exchanged a few words and sat up.After a while, Li Lianying said: "Why do the two empress dowagers sit around? It's so boring. You might as well play a game of chess. It's fun to relieve your boredom."The Empress Dowager Ci'an didn't know the trick, so she said: "That's good, it's rare to be relaxed and relaxed, what does my sister think?"Cixi pretended to decline and said: I am superficial in chess and have never been my sister's opponent. I'm afraid my sister won't be serious, so what's the point.After Cixi finished speaking, before Ci'an could speak, Li Lianying hurriedly interrupted and said: If the two empress dowagers want to seriously play chess, I have a way, I wonder if it is appropriate to say it as a slave?The Empress Dowager Ci'an took a look at Cixi and said: "Xiao Lizi has always been very clever. If there is any new way to relieve my sister's troubles, you might as well tell me about it."Li Lianying hurriedly said: I want to make the two queen mothers serious, one can relieve troubles, and the other is that I can open my eyes.Since the Empress Dowager agrees with the servant to come up with a solution, whether it's about winning or losing, or something to gamble on, isn't it all right?Cixi hurriedly went on to say: There are so many exquisite treasures in this palace, my sister and I can't finish enjoying them together, so what is yours and mine? What is there to bet on?Yes, what should we two sisters bet on?Little Lizi, you have an idea.Ci'an followed suit.When Li Lianying saw that the Empress Dowager Ci'an had really taken the bait, she was very pleased, so she pretended to think about it and said: "The servant said that he was afraid that the queen mothers of the two palaces would be angry. Once the blame is laid, the servant will not be able to bear it!"The Empress Dowager Ci'an saw that the Empress Dowager Cixi was silent, so she said again: Tell me, as long as my sister doesn't blame me, I won't blame you.Li Lianying looked at the Empress Dowager Cixi and said, "Excuse me, I don't think the tomb of the Eastern Tomb is to be shared. The former emperor had made arrangements for his stay in the world, so how about taking it as a gamble?"Whoever wins wins.After Li Lianying finished speaking, Cixi pretended to be unhappy, pulled her face, and said very seriously: How can I allow you to make such a joke.After finishing speaking, he looked at Empress Dowager Ci'an.

The Empress Dowager Ci'an was like waking up from a big dream, thinking that this was a trick, but the words had already been spoken, and it was difficult to take back her life, and felt that her chess skills were better than Cixi's, so she said: We are still young, that will be a hundred years later , but for fun and boredom, why not try.My sister doesn't have to be angry with Xiao Lizi, please forgive him.Seeing that Ci'an had agreed, Cixi was secretly happy, and said in a nonchalant manner: Since my sister is not to blame, even though I am clumsy in chess, I have to accompany her.

Therefore, Li Lianying hurriedly put the chessboard on the table and asked the queen mothers of the two palaces to play chess.After a fight, the Empress Dowager Ci'an was very calm, but the Empress Dowager Cixi was eager to win, wishing to kill Ci'an in one fell swoop, she couldn't help feeling a little anxious.Regardless of the small chessboard, it is like a battlefield thousands of miles away, dispatching troops and generals, fighting here and there, finally a situation that is difficult for Cixi's side to deal with.Although Li Lianying secretly made moves by the side, making signs such as turning left and right, and jumping out of the chariot, Empress Dowager Cixi couldn't figure out where the chess pieces were placed, and Cixi was quickly defeated.When Cixi returned to her bedroom, she was very frustrated because she failed to win.Li Lianying came forward to comfort him and said: Victory or defeat is a common matter in military affairs. If you lose this time, you can just get it back later.Cixi had no choice but to hold back her breath.

In the seventh year of Guangxu (1881), the Empress Dowager Ci'an died suddenly and was buried in the mausoleum above the two palaces of Dongling.Cixi did not forget this confidant event.One day, Cixi discussed this matter with Li Lianying again, and the Empress Dowager Cixi said: "Xiao Lizi, you said it at the beginning, and you can find it later."Now how to get it back, I have to think of a way.You see, what should you do with your abilities?Li Lianying immediately narrowed her eyes, and said with a half-smile: This matter is easy to handle, as long as the queen mother says something, the master's tomb can be scraped and rebuilt, one must be close to the emperor, and the other must be magnificent.Cixi heard it just as she wanted, so the huge reconstruction project started soon after picking it up.

After several years, Cixi Mausoleum was completed.In addition to sending Li Lianying to inspect the project many times in person, Li Lianying also accompanied the Empress Dowager Cixi to have a look at it after the completion of the project. Cixi was very happy to see it.Sure enough, the mausoleum was built in a novel and unique way, and it has become a mausoleum building with exquisite craftsmanship and beautiful shape in history.Judging from those stone carvings, it is enough to prove that Cixi is a typical lust for power.All the stone carvings, some have the phoenix on top and the dragon on the bottom, which symbolizes that the power of the Empress Dowager Cixi will always be above the emperor;It is said that there are more than 200 phoenixes and more than 300 dragons carefully carved on the jade railings alone. Such magnificent railings are rare even in the Forbidden City in Beijing.

With the help of Li Lianying, Cixi finally obtained the satisfaction of her desire.