Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

He Qiliang took the lead, and the temperature that had finally dropped was ignited again. One big shot after another vied with each other to express their loyalty to the little emperor, as if the Qing Dynasty would be completely destroyed if Liu Ye was not completely eliminated!

Not only Yixin and Cixi, but even Ci'an, who usually spoke very little, felt a little uneasy. What was wrong with these ministers? Why were they targeting Liu Ye one after another?

You have to know that what the three people had discussed at the beginning was to put Liu Ye in the position of prefect of Dengzhou so that if something went wrong in Shandong one day, they could always find someone to take the blame. After all, Liu Ye was just a prefect and did not have to be responsible for anything. Unexpectedly, the current situation has far exceeded their expectations.

In fact, a frozen ice three feet thick doesn't form overnight. These people have been holding grudges against Liu Ye for a long time, from beating the prince to angrily beheading Hebitza, to now building various factories and mines in Shandong. I heard that Liu Ye is also going to build a telegraph, burying wires underground for thousands of miles. What kind of earth veins wouldn't be cut by these telegraph wires? Look at that Qilu University that Liu Ye founded. He actually recruited a bunch of foreigners to teach! Foreigners, those people are a bunch of barbarians. Chinese civilization is the orthodoxy. Any other knowledge, is it even knowledge? It's a joke!

Beating the prince offended the royal family; beheading Hebitza in anger offended the Manchurian dignitaries; now he has cleaned up the officialdom in Shandong, and offended even more people. The most terrible thing is that he promoted Westernization and opened universities, which directly offended the upright and Confucian leaders in the court. These people are more conservative than each other. How can they tolerate Liu Ye's behavior?

One thing after another has accumulated to form a huge crater. It only needs a match to start a raging fire. Now this match has been thrown into the crater, and finally, the volcano has erupted!

Cixi's face was so gloomy that water seemed to be dripping from it. The world was in chaos, it really was in chaos!

"Dismiss the dynasty!"

Cixi didn't even ask Ci'an and Yixin for their opinions, and said such words directly, which shows that she was extremely furious!

Cixi stood up and left without looking back!

Ci'an opened her mouth to speak, but found that she didn't know what to say. She shook her head helplessly, stood up, and signaled the eunuch beside her to help the little emperor up, and then they retreated together.

Many court officials looked at each other, some puzzled. Yi Xin shouted angrily, "Dismiss the court! Dismiss the court! Didn't you hear me? Get out!"

After hearing this, everyone dared not to resist anymore and walked outside. Staying any longer would only bring trouble.

Yi Xin looked at Wen Xiang, who was still resting with his eyes closed, and said dissatisfiedly, "Bochuan, what's wrong with you?"

Wen Xiang slowly opened his eyes and replied, "Your Highness, you must know that it's harder to stop the people from speaking out than to stop a river from flowing. The officials in the court have been holding this anger in their chests for a long time. The longer they hold it in, the more disadvantageous it will be for Liu Ye if it explodes. As the saying goes, we must take advantage of the situation. We must give these people a chance to vent. Otherwise, one day, that brat Liu Ye will be crushed to pieces by the enormous pressure..."

Yi Xin was stunned and looked at Wen Xiang in a daze.

Wen Xiang sighed and replied, "To be honest, Your Majesty, I was indeed somewhat dissatisfied with Liu Ye before. After all, he really hurt my face in the matter of Lu Mingsong. No matter what, outsiders know that Liu Ye and I are your right-hand men and you rely on us as your confidants. Lu Mingsong has made it clear that he is my man, but Liu Ye didn't give me any face at all. No matter what, he should have said hello to me. Even if he wanted to punish him severely, he should have told me that he was wrong. But Liu Ye didn't do that. He didn't give me a chance to intervene. He really doesn't know how to behave!"

Yi Xin said unhappily, "It's just a little Lu Mingsong? Bochuan, is a Lu Mingsong worth such a rash move? You idiot, even if there are ten or twenty Lu Mingsongs, they are no match for one Liu Ye. You know this better than me! You were the one who started this fire, too?"

Wen Xiang smiled bitterly and said, "Your Highness, please listen to me. Initially, I wanted to use this opportunity to put a dent in Liu Ye's prestige. As a person, one must know how to please both sides and be good at dancing with the sleeves. Only in this way can one be like a fish in water. However, later on, I realized that it was too late, too late. I didn't expect the pent-up anger of the ministers in the court to be far beyond my imagination. Fortunately, I discovered it and can guide it now. It can be eliminated as much as possible. If it really drags on for another year or two, Your Highness, you know what happened to Shang Yang back then..."

Yi Xin was startled and said hesitantly, "Bochuan, it can't be that serious, right?"

Wen Xiang replied, "Not that serious? You're wrong, Your Highness. It's more serious than you and I imagine. Let's not talk about anything else. Just the university he founded has recruited so many foreigners. You know, they don't teach foreign languages, but Western knowledge, and even Christianity. This is shaking the foundation. Do you think those Confucian leaders would turn a blind eye and watch Liu Ye continue like this?"

Christianity?

What happened to Christianity?

Wen Xiang said, "Confucianism emphasizes respecting the dead and remembering ancestors, while Christianity emphasizes not offering ancestral sacrifices. This is the most fundamental difference, and it lies in the word 'filial piety'. It destroys human ethics and would bring disaster to Confucianism. What do you think the Neo-Confucian masters would do?"

I understand. Yi Xin finally understands. This isn't just a simple dispute of personal feelings, but a struggle for orthodoxy! No wonder so many people have abandoned their personal prejudices and united against the outside world!

Yi Xin said in a bitter voice, "Are we really going to let them continue making trouble now?"

Wen Xiang smiled bitterly and said, "Your Highness, Liu Ye is moving too fast. As the saying goes, haste makes waste. Even if I resent Liu Ye, it's just a matter of face. A few jokes between the two of us will get over it. But now it involves a dispute over the orthodox doctrine, and there's no way around it. In my opinion, it's best to keep Liu Ye out of the limelight. Once he's weathered this storm, he can naturally make a comeback. That kid is only twenty-four today, and he's as strong as a bull. He won't die for thirty or fifty years. But these old guys can't afford to waste time. Within twenty years, most of the powerful officials in the court will be dead!"

Wen Xiang was right. Liu Ye was only in his twenties, while the youngest of the powerful officials in the court was already fifty. None of them could stand up to Liu Ye. Even if he just outlasted them, he could outlast them all. So, would your experience still be of any use? Twenty years from now, we'll see. You'll have been buried for who knows how many years!