Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

Xianfeng's coffin and the imperial court finally arrived in the capital. Whether it was Sushun or Duanhua and others, they were all sent to the Imperial Clan Court and the Ministry of Justice's Prison.

The eight regent ministers finally shared the same fate. The only thing they could blame was that Sushun was too ruthless and actually excluded all the emperor's descendants from the decision-making level. This was too ugly to look at. Then the news of threatening the two empress dowagers came out. How could the emperor's descendants sit still? When they returned to the capital in the future, wouldn't they ride on these princes and make them defecate and piss less?

It was these actions of Sushun that forced all the descendants of the emperor to the side of Prince Gong. In addition to these princes, there were also Sushun's political enemies. In the court, Sushun was not the only one who could do whatever he wanted. There was Senggelinqin, a veteran of three dynasties and a minister of state in the Xianfeng Dynasty with great achievements. The only one who could avoid him was Shen Zhaolin, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and others in the court. Anyone who disagreed with Sushun's political views was suppressed by Sushun, leaving him no way out. This in itself was courting death!

Now that all eight ministers have become prisoners, how to deal with the aftermath has become the issue that needs to be resolved immediately.

First, there was the issue of state affairs. With all eight ministers now imprisoned, only Wenxiang remained, the former Grand Councilor. With no one in the Grand Council, who would govern? With such a vast country, the daily flow of memorials was innumerable. Even if Wenxiang died of exhaustion, he would still be overwhelmed. Reorganizing the Grand Council was an urgent matter.

But reorganizing the Grand Council was one thing. Another was the young emperor, only six years old, a snotty-nosed brat who knew nothing. How could he handle government affairs? Would the two empresses rule from behind the curtain? This was against ancestral rules. Even if Cixi desired power, she would have to consider the reactions of the courtiers. Would a prince be regent? Clearly, among the many princes, Prince Gong Yi was the most popular choice. However, the position of regent was not an easy one. For one thing, a regent's power was too great, making it easy for him to become overpowered. Dorgon was a clear example of this. During his reign, countless political enemies perished at his hands. Not only that, even Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang was forced to marry Dorgon to balance the situation at court. Dorgon was even revered as the Emperor's father, the Regent! The thought of such a thing was chilling!

As for Prince Gong, he definitely did not have such ambition. Yi Xin was very clear-headed. As for the Regent, although Dorgon was powerful at the time, his end was tragic. After his death, not only was he deprived of the hereditary title of Prince Heshuo Rui, but even his body was dug out of the grave and whipped. Although Oboi was not the Regent, he was also powerful. In the end, he was dealt with by Kangxi and committed suicide in prison!

I am now the first prince of the Qing Dynasty, and I am invaluable. Just for the sake of temporary power, I have ruined my future wealth and life, and even my descendants will be implicated. It is not worth it!

However, methods are always invented by people.

If ruling from behind the scenes doesn't work, then can we just rule from behind the scenes and not get involved in politics? If the Regent doesn't work, then can we have the Prince Regent, with Prince Gong as the head military minister, responsible for temporarily handling the country's political affairs!

The problem was finally solved. Prince Gong came out to assist in the administration, and the two Empress Dowagers took charge of the government. Thus, the highest form of decision-making in a country was born.

Next was the Grand Council. Prince Gong first promoted Senggelinqin. After all, Senggelinqin had a long history and made great contributions, and no one would object to this. However, Senggelinqin was far away in Shandong suppressing bandits, so he could only serve as the Grand Councilor remotely. Immediately afterwards, Prince Gong promoted Wenxiang, Guiliang, Baojun, Wenxiang, Shen Zhaolin, and Cao Yuying to the position of Grand Councilor, and the entire Grand Council returned to normal.

After the Grand Council returned to normal, the first thing it did was to discuss the rebellion of Sushun and others. There was no doubt that they were committing treason. If the two palaces and Prince Gong really denied this, it meant that they were plotting to usurp the throne. How could they possibly overthrow it?

Whenever Cixi heard Sushun's name, she would grit her teeth in hatred. Damn it! How did he force us mothers in Rehe? How did he sow discord between me and the Emperor in front of him? This was all Sushun's doing! This hatred is irreconcilable!

Even Ci'an was very angry with Sushun and had no objection to severe punishment.

"Prince Gong, Lord Wen, please tell me what should be done with Sushun and the others. They have brought disaster to the country and the people, and nothing is worse than this. They must be severely punished to relieve our hatred!"

Cixi even said such words, which meant that she would punish severely!

"Your Majesty, according to the laws of the Qing Dynasty, Sushun and others committed treason and plotted against the government. Their crimes are unforgivable! Sushun, Duanhua, Zaiyuan, and Jiao Youying should be sentenced to death by slicing. Mu Meng and Kuang Yuan should be beheaded immediately. Du Han should have been executed immediately as well, but considering that he is the descendant of the Emperor's tutor and out of the late Emperor's favor, he will be spared and demoted to a commoner, never to be employed again. As for Jingshou, although he is also a minister of state, he did not have much involvement in these events. He can be spared from death, but his title and salary will be reduced for three years as a severe punishment!"

Prince Gong replied.

Cixi nodded, her anger finally subsiding. Ci'an, standing beside her, frowned and said, "Prince Gong, isn't this a bit too harsh?"

Prince Gong replied, "Your Highness, the Holy Mother Empress Dowager, this is a serious crime of treason. If it is not severely punished, how can we serve as a warning to others?"

Ci'an hesitated for a moment and said, "Prince Gong, after all, they are all the late emperor's confidants and loyal ministers. We must always show some kindness to them."

Prince Gong looked at Wenxiang who was standing beside him. Wenxiang said quickly, "Since that's the case, I think the crimes of several people can be reduced. Sushun, Zaiyuan, Duanhua, Jiao Youying and others will be executed immediately. Kuang Yuan and Mu Mengci will commit suicide. Du Han will be exiled to Ningguta. As for Jingshou, his title will be reduced to the Earl of Wuning. He will be allowed to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors."

Although Cixi did not express her satisfaction, since Ci'an had come forward to speak for her, she did not want to give people an impression of being too harsh, so she had to reluctantly agree.

The affairs of the Eight Ministers were settled. Next, of course, was to reward the various lords. This action was no less than a mutiny, and many of them had contributed to the enthronement. Merit must be rewarded, no question about it. Otherwise, who would fight for you? And the rewards must not be small. From now on, they were all family, and they shared the same fate.