Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

In the end, Empress Dowager Cixi and Empress Dowager Ci'an had to make concessions to Sushun and others, saying that there was no precedent for ruling from behind the curtain, so the idea should be put on hold for the time being. The eight regents were the late emperor's will and could not be changed, so all ministers should work together to focus on state affairs to quell the national crisis.

The victorious regent naturally could not continue to hold on. After all, the empress dowager was still the empress dowager, and she held the seal in her hands, so she could not be careless. Without the seal, no matter how reasonable the decision of the Grand Council was, it would be nothing but waste paper.

The first round of confrontation between the two sides has come to a temporary end. However, Rehe has calmed down temporarily, but there are undercurrents in Beijing.

Prince Gong's Mansion. Almost all the princes in Beijing have gathered here. After all, this is no small matter. What the late emperor did on his deathbed is truly chilling. If you didn't have brothers, you would do the same thing, but you have several brothers. If you say everyone is incompetent and can't earn it, that's understandable. But look at Zaiyuan, Duanhua, Jingshou. Each one is worse than the other, not as good as us brothers. Who would use outsiders instead of their own brothers? What's more, even if we are not capable, don't we still have the recognized and outstanding Sixth Prince? This is recognized by the whole court!

Was it intentional by the late emperor, or was it Sushun and his party who were abusing their power?

The princes of various families had already started discussing this. If all the princes had to stand aside and let a group of outsiders take power, would the Aisin Gioro family still be able to rule the world? Some people had even begun to complain that Emperor Xianfeng was a fool!

Inside the palace, a group of princes and nobles surrounded Prince Gong. Prince Rui Yishan shouted, "Sixth Brother, we can't let Sushun and his men do whatever they want. This is the Aisin-Gioro world, and it's not their turn as outsiders to call the shots!"

Prince Gong pondered in silence. Prince Chun Renshou, standing beside him, shouted, "That's right, Sixth Brother. After all, we are family and brothers. Now we want to go north to Rehe to pay homage to the late emperor, but they won't let us. What kind of logic is this? Why would Sushun not allow us to do so? This is outrageous!"

The princes all started to clamor.

Prince Gong finally spoke: "Don't worry. We don't know the current situation in Rehe. If we act rashly, we will suffer great losses. Besides, the attitudes of the two palaces are still unclear! Moreover, the Rehe branch has nearly 10,000 troops, all of whom are in the hands of Sushun and others. The troops in the capital are also under the command of Duanhua. We have no military power, so how can we resist them? The monk prince and Shengbao have been ordered to go to Shandong to suppress the Nian Rebellion. We are isolated and helpless..."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

Prince Gong sucked his teeth and said helplessly, "Let me think about this. This matter cannot be taken lightly. If we are to do it, we must succeed in one fell swoop and leave no chance for Sushun and others to fight back. Otherwise, we will wait and see. If we act hastily, we will put everyone in danger! You all go back first. I will inform everyone after I have considered it."

Prince Gong picked up the teacup, and his intention to see the guest off was obvious.

The princes had no choice but to say goodbye. Without the Sixth Prince's appearance, they alone would not be able to defeat Sushun. That guy was no simple character!

After everyone had left, Prince Gong returned to his study, where Liu Ye was waiting.

Prince Gong said in a deep voice: "Liu Ye, what do you think we should do in the current situation?"

Liu Ye smiled faintly, took out a secret letter from his pocket, and said, "Your Highness, you don't have to worry too much. The situation in Rehe has already become a big deal."

Prince Gong was taken aback. Liu Ye continued, "My people in Rehe have reported that there's been a violent conflict between the two Empresses and the regents. Censor Dong Yuanchun submitted a petition requesting the Empress Dowagers to attend the court and rule from behind the curtain, and to appoint the prince to the Grand Council. However, Sushun and the others threatened to put the matter aside, forcing them to reject the proposal. I'm sure the two Empresses must be furious right now, right?"

Prince Gong's heart moved, and he said, "Liu Ye, can you contact the two palaces?"

Liu Ye did not answer, and continued, "There is another matter, which is the issue of establishing a new era name. Sushun and others did not even discuss it with the two palaces, and directly determined the era name. Even Tong Bao pretended to force the two palaces to submit. Now the conflict between the two palaces and military discipline has begun to become public. Your Highness, it is time for you to take action!"

Prince Gong said in distress, "But now Sushun and his faction hold great power. The monk king and Shengbao are far away in Shandong suppressing bandits. They can't return anytime soon. We have no soldiers or generals. What can we do?"

This time, there is a deviation from the original history. In the original history, the two palaces took away Duanhua's power to command the infantry yamen on the grounds that Duanhua had too many affairs. However, Sushun is now more vigilant against Liu Ye, but he dare not hand over the power in Duanhua's hands. This is a political confrontation, and the military power will never be transferred to others. Even the minister of state will never get this military power!

In this case, whether it is the imperial court or the capital, nearly 20,000 troops are all in the hands of Sushun and his party. How can it be so easy to move against them?

Liu Ye replied calmly: "Your Highness, what are you afraid of? I will take care of everything!"

Prince Gong was startled and asked, "You?"

Liu Ye replied, "Zuo Baogui's main force from Baoding Town has already passed Shanhaiguan and can arrive at any time. They are my elite troops! We also have another elite force that we haven't yet deployed. They are the soldiers who were defeated in the Tongxian battlefield. There are still hundreds of them. Together, I'm afraid there are nearly 2,000 people. As long as we deploy them in place, we can definitely strike a fatal blow!"

Two thousand men? This force is still too few!

Prince Gong slowly shook his head. It was not enough, still not enough!

Liu Ye went on to say, "We have another force. The Monk King originally handed over Lieutenant General He Qimou to me, and now he is following the Monk King to fight in Shandong. I have already sent him a letter, and he is on his way back. Even if the Monk King is unwilling, He Qimou will bring a brigade of cavalry back as quickly as possible. From Dezhou Liaocheng to us, it is only a thousand miles away. The cavalry can travel day and night and arrive in more than ten days. By then, with the Mongolian light cavalry supporting us, what else do we have to worry about?"

"But if war breaks out, the capital area will be flooded with blood..."

Liu Ye said in a loud voice, "Your Highness, don't worry. I'll take care of everything I've said. Your Highness can ask for permission to move the spirit to the capital, and we can choose to start the action halfway. This way, the army in the capital will be in a hurry and unable to mobilize. The troops on the march will not be able to gather together and will have to act in batches. This is the time for my Baoding Town and the Firearm Battalion to play a role..."