Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

After two days of rescue, Xianfeng finally woke up the next night. He did not die and was on the verge of death.

The first thing Xianfeng did after waking up was to summon Liu Ye and ask him to quickly approve the treaties with Britain and France.

Now Xianfeng is no longer confused. He already knows that his life is coming to an end. Once he dies, the new emperor will be only a few years old and know nothing. The court will be in chaos and will absolutely not be able to deal with such a thing. If another unexpected event occurs, the entire Qing Dynasty will be completely destroyed. He absolutely cannot afford to take this risk. The only way now is to take the initiative and settle this matter while he still has a breath!

Looking at Sushun beside him, Xianfeng whispered, "Sushun, summon Liu Ye to the audience immediately!"

Su Shun was stunned and said hesitantly: "Your Majesty..."

Xianfeng panted and said, "Quick, summon Liu Ye immediately, I want to see him!"

Sushun did not dare to delay and immediately ordered someone to summon Liu Ye to the court.

Not long after, Liu Ye arrived at the palace and met Xianfeng.

Xianfeng panted, "Sushun, immediately issue an imperial decree and seal. The terms presented by Prince Gong and Liu Ye to the foreigners are all approved! Prince Gong has made great contributions to the country and is appointed as the chief minister of the Zongli Yamen. Prince Seng has made great contributions to the country and has worked tirelessly to restore his title of Prince of Khorchin. Liu Ye is reinstated as the general of Baoding Town and the assistant minister of the Zongli Yamen. He is a third-rank official and is to continue training the new Baoding army! Liu Ye is ordered to return to Beijing immediately and join Prince Gong in signing the treaty with Britain and France!"

Although Sushun was somewhat dissatisfied, he did not dare to disobey the emperor's opinion at this time. He could only angrily copy the imperial edict, take Xianfeng's seal to stamp it, and hand the imperial edict to Liu Ye.

Xianfeng continued, "Liu Ye, I know you are loyal and brave for the country and have made many outstanding achievements. However, you are still a little young. After arriving in Baoding, you still need to work hard and endure more hardships. The court will definitely not let you down. In the future, becoming a general or a prime minister will naturally come naturally. You can leave immediately."

Liu Ye thought to himself, "Damn it! You won't let me down, grandma! I've been through life and death many times. Apart from anything else, I was the one who helped you through that difficult time. In the end, all I got was a promise. You still didn't give me the title of Zhili Governor, let alone the title of Governor. You're so stingy! Don't blame me for sleeping with your wife. We owe each other nothing!"

Seeing Liu Ye accept the order and walk out, Su Shun hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, are you going to..."

Xianfeng gasped and said with a wry smile, "Sushun, the time has come. I'm afraid I'll soon have to go to see my ancestors. I thought Liu Ye had signed the treaty and I could leave easily. I didn't expect that I would have to make up for this before I die. I feel so ashamed of my ancestors!"

Su Shun was startled and said quickly, "Your Majesty, what are you talking about? You are in the prime of your life. A few minor illnesses can't stop you!"

Xianfeng shook his head bitterly and replied, "It's no use, Sushun, you don't need to comfort me. I know I'm at the end of my rope, but the eldest prince is still young and inexperienced in worldly affairs. You are the one I trust the most, so I entrust the future of this country to you!"

Sushun was both surprised and delighted. This was the emperor's important task! However, how could he accomplish this alone? At least, he needed the presence of the royal family and nobles to make it count!

Xianfeng sighed and said, "I know what you mean, but I have chosen you as my right-hand man, which is naturally different from the others. Duanhua, Zaiyuan and others are not talented enough. They can be used as support, but they are far from capable of handling things on their own. I can only entrust the country to you. Remember, we must select talented people to revive the country. After all, those Han people cannot be trusted. Military and national affairs still need more people who can support us!"

Sushun kowtowed quickly to express his gratitude.

Xianfeng continued, "You mentioned this to me last time and asked me to take action. However, Concubine Lan is the Crown Prince's biological mother after all. If you do something like this, what will you do when the Crown Prince takes power? Besides, I can't bear to do it. Well, then, you should accommodate her, a woman, for a while. You will have to worry more about military and national affairs."

Su Shun quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I have received so much grace from you that I could never repay you even if I sacrificed my life. I will serve you with all my heart and soul until my death!"

Xianfeng waved his hand and said, "Okay, go and pass on the order. Let them all come in!"

Sushun hurried out of the palace. With a call, the princes and nobles rushed into the palace to visit the emperor.

Xianfeng lay on his sickbed and whispered, "Military Secretary, Imperial Secretary, and all the kings!"

The relatives and ministers of the military affairs council, who knew that the emperor was critically ill, had been waiting by the side, not daring to move an inch. When they heard the emperor's call, they knelt on the ground one after another.

Suddenly, Xianfeng seemed to recall something and panted, "Issue an order to release Concubine Lan from confinement and bring her into the palace immediately!"

The adults were shocked and suspicious. Not long after, Concubine Lan arrived at the palace. According to the established rules, the Empress and Imperial Concubine Yi should have stayed away. However, the Emperor had something extremely important to tell them, so he had to break the rules.

"Eldest prince Zaichun is filial by nature, honest and simple," Xianfeng glanced at his son, who was less than six years old, "and he shall be made Crown Prince!"

The ignorant eldest prince, taught by the queen, kowtowed to his father to express his gratitude.

"My 'Imperial Award' seal is for the Empress." As soon as he finished speaking, a eunuch beside him held up an exquisite little box and handed it to the tearful Empress. In the middle of the box was a jade seal, the one used by Emperor Xianfeng.

Xianfeng turned his gaze to Concubine Lan again, and after a long while, he sighed and panted, "Take the seal of Tongdaotang and give it to Concubine Yi."

Concubine Yi knelt on the ground, took it with both hands, and trembled all over as she held the jade seal with the three characters "Tongdaotang" engraved in negative text. After all, the emperor still had her in his heart. Even if Sushun and others continued to spread rumors and cause trouble, it did not shake her position in the emperor's heart. Concubine Lan felt sad and sobbed.

"Sushun, Zaiyuan, Duanhua,..." Xianfeng read out the names with difficulty, "Jingshou, Muyin, Duhan, Kuangyuan, Jiao Youying," and a total of eight names were read out. All eight people knew that the emperor was going to entrust his son to someone else! Among them, Sushun was the person the emperor trusted the most, Duhan was the son of the imperial tutor and had the closest relationship with the emperor, and as for the others, they were all people Xianfeng valued.

Xianfeng looked over and said, "How do I treat you, you few?"

Prince Yi Zaiyuan heard this and said hurriedly, "Your Majesty has been so kind to us servants. We are all deeply grateful! Your Majesty, please take care of your health. When you recover..."

Xianfeng shook his hands with difficulty and said, "Stop talking nonsense. There is no time for that! All eight of you will be in the military affairs council. The crown prince is now in your hands. Don't let me down."

This is entrusting an orphan to someone else! Everyone in the hall was in tears, and the eight ministers who were named as regents were sobbing and could only kowtow repeatedly.

Xianfeng's eyes were dazed, and he whispered, "Draft an edict immediately!"

Du Han wrote the edict and read it with both hands.

"Appoint the eldest son, Zaichun, as Crown Prince. Zaiyuan, Duanhua, Jingshou, Sushun, Muyin, Kuangyuan, Duhan, and Jiao Youying are to be dedicated assistants and counselors in all government affairs. This is a special decree!"