Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

Cixi returned to her Cining Palace, exhausted. Although the two fierce battles with Liu Ye were very comfortable, they were also difficult to sustain. However, she could not rest at this time and had to take advantage of her strength to finalize the matter.

"Xiao Anzi, immediately send someone to invite the people from the east and Prince Gong to come over."

"Yes!" An Dehai agreed and hurried downstairs to call for help.

Not long after, Ci'an and Prince Gong arrived at the Cining Palace.

Ci'an asked, "Sister, how was your trip?"

Cixi was a little tired and said softly, "Well, we finally made this stubborn donkey feel comfortable. He has agreed."

Ci'an couldn't help but smile and said, "Good, good! Sister, you have indeed worked hard. You have been busy all day and it must be tiring!"

How could she not be tired? In order to appease Liu Ye, Cixi even sacrificed her body!

Prince Gong felt a little uncomfortable. This Liu Ye was really going too far. He had humbled himself as the Prince Regent, but Liu Ye actually gave him a hard time and insisted on asking the Queen Mother to come forward. He really didn't know what was good for him!

However, now is not the time to dwell on these things. Prince Gong asked, "Empress Dowager, what does Liu Ye say?"

Cixi replied, "Sixth Master, Liu Ye said that Li Taiguo is asking for too much. Seven small warships alone wouldn't even cost one million taels. Where would he get five million taels from? He's trying to blackmail us..."

Prince Gong snorted coldly and replied, "This Li Taiguo is truly despicable. Does he really think that there are no people in our Qing Dynasty? How can this be absurd!"

Ci'an said, "Sixth Master, now is not the time to be angry. What's more important is how we resolve this issue. If we force it out, we will offend people. How can we afford to offend them now?"

Prince Gong looked at Cixi. If he wanted to resolve this matter, he had to rely on Liu Ye. How did the Empress Dowager talk to Liu Ye?

Cixi sighed and said, "Forget it. Let's give the position of Governor of Shandong to Liu Ye. Without sufficient power and status, he will be hindered in doing things. We must help him out. The position of Governor of Shandong, plus the position of Prime Minister of the Zongli Yamen, is enough to protect him from the wind and rain. Let him do it all!"

Prince Gong snorted angrily and replied, "Damn it! This brat really got away with it! He only cares about his own unhappiness. Does beating up three princes mean they'll feel good? He has to fight to the death? He doesn't know how to adapt at all!"

Cixi suddenly remembered something and said, "Sixth Master, there is one more thing. My sister and I are women, and we are still relatively inexperienced. I need your advice..."

Prince Gong quickly bowed and said, "I dare not. Your Majesty, please speak. I am all ears."

"The thing is, at the Guo residence, Liu Ye suggested to me that we send a group of people to the West to study the politics, economy, and technology of various countries. That way, after a few years, when these people return after completing their studies, they won't feel so exhausted when dealing with foreigners. After all, these foreign affairs can't be handled by Liu Ye alone. If he were to lead his troops to war one day, wouldn't the capital be left without a capable person?"

Prince Gong was taken aback for a moment, then quickly replied, "Empress Dowager, I have also planned this, but currently, there is a lot of resistance in the court. Those Qingliu leaders are dismissive of this, believing that foreigners have nothing to recommend them except for their powerful ships and cannons. What's more, they believe that foreigners are cunning and fickle, and that all contact with them should be completely cut off. It is difficult to implement this plan. Let alone sending people abroad, even if I want to establish a Tongwenguan in the Zongli Yamen to train some talents proficient in Western languages ​​and characters, it has been difficult for a while and has been strongly criticized by those in the court..."

Ci'an frowned and asked, "Is it that serious? Isn't it just learning some languages? Didn't people in the Lifanyuan learn Korean, Japanese, or Southeast Asian languages?"

Prince Gong smiled bitterly and shook his head. Since the two Empress Dowagers did not directly promote these things, they naturally did not know how much resistance they encountered.

Cixi sighed and replied, "It seems that what Liu Ye said makes sense. Some things are difficult to push forward in the court. We can only start from the local level. Let him go to Shandong. Once he arrives in Shandong, let him see what he can do. As for the pressure from these old guys in the court, Sixth Master, we need to share more of the burden with him. After all, we are facing internal and external troubles now. We have to think of new ways."

Prince Gong said in a deep voice, "Empress Dowager, this matter can actually be dealt with first, then later. As for anything that has to do with military affairs or suppressing the rebellion, we should ignore it and let them do whatever they want. It's not just Lai Ye. Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang and others in the south have also repeatedly proposed purchasing Western weapons or setting up their own weapons bureau to manufacture muskets and artillery. Let them do whatever they want. Use the excuse of suppressing the rebellion as a pretext. Even if the Qingliu are dissatisfied, they can do nothing about it. As for the others, we can only take it one step at a time and see what happens."

Ci'an smiled and said, "Since that's the case, Sixth Master, let's draft the decree. We'll stamp it with our seal and have someone announce it to Liu Ye immediately. This matter should be done sooner rather than later. Let Liu Ye attend the court tomorrow morning and see how he will deal with Li Taiguo."

Prince Gong nodded, picked up the pen himself, and wrote the imperial edict neatly. The two palaces took out their seals and stamped it.

Cixi called out, "Little Anzi!"

An Dehai hurried in: "Empress Dowager, your servant is here to serve you!"

Cixi said, "Take this imperial edict and go to Liu's house again."

"twitter!"

An Dehai agreed and walked out.

Cixi breathed a sigh of relief. Ci'an, who was standing beside her, could see that Cixi was tired. After all, she had been busy all day, so it was normal for her to feel tired.

"Sister, now that everything has been settled, it's best for you to rest early. We can discuss other matters at the court tomorrow morning."

Cixi nodded and said tiredly, "That's right, I am indeed a little tired."

Only after Ci'an and Prince Gong left did Cixi finally relax. She reclined on the couch, carefully recalling the absurdity of the afternoon. A smile pulled at the corner of her mouth. That guy was so strong, his muscles like a dragon, and it seemed as if he could never vent his strength. These two absurd moments had really made her feel extremely comfortable, and she almost didn't have the strength to come back. She really wanted to indulge in it for the rest of her life. But unfortunately, once you enter the palace, it's like a deep sea. How can you escape from this lonely spring court so easily? I wonder when I will have another chance like this with this guy.