Master Yuan, start!

After all, at that time in the capital, Weng Tong was one of the few important officials who supported him.

"I don't ask for a tenfold or a hundredfold return from Your Majesty, but there are some things I must say." Weng Tong stood up and coughed twice. "If Your Majesty can listen to me, even if you let me die immediately, it will be worth it."

Seeing that Weng Tong's words vaguely revealed his intention to die for his remonstration, Guangxu had to take it seriously.

"Master Weng, please feel free to speak."

"Yuan Xiangcheng's national defense army is indeed the pillar of the Qing Dynasty today. On the 50th day, they entered the pass and captured the capital. Yuan Xiangcheng himself also braved arrows and stones, and the bombardment of the South China Sea Fleet, and led his troops to break through Shanhaiguan. These old ministers know this and it cannot be faked."

"So what is Master Weng doing now?"

"Your Majesty, let me say something that will sting. Yes, he saved Your Majesty, and he also saved the Qing Dynasty." Weng Tong paused, then mustered the courage to voice his concerns. "But how do we know he wasn't the man we saw when Duke Zhou feared rumors, or when Wang Mang was humble before he usurped the throne?"

Seeing Guangxu remained silent, Weng Tong simply stopped worrying and continued:

"When Zeng Wenzheng defeated the Taiping rebels, he voluntarily requested the disbanding of the Hunan Army and even allowed his younger brother Zeng Guoquan to resign and return home.

Now, has Yuan Xiangcheng shown any sign of support?"

"No, no, I trust Master Yuan." Guangxu's eyes showed a hint of hesitation, but then he said firmly: "He was able to rescue me from the capital that day, how could he have any improper intentions?

If he had that idea, wouldn't it be better to just tie me up and hand me over to the Demon Queen at that time?"

Seeing that Weng Tong did not comment, Guangxu spoke a long and eloquent speech as if to prove himself. It was unclear whether it was to convince him or to convince himself.

"To be frank, Master Weng, the Qing Empire is now in turmoil. Even if Master Yuan wants to be a powerful official, I can tolerate that. But after Zuo Zongtang's death, who in the world can defeat the foreigners?

There is only Master Yuan.

He can protect the Qing Dynasty and ensure its eternal stability. As long as he doesn't rebel, what does it matter if he becomes a powerful official? "

When Weng Tong heard Guangxu say that he could allow Yuan Shikai to become a powerful official, he was so anxious that he spat out saliva.

"Your Majesty, be careful with your words! It's not that I don't trust Yuan Shikai, but, it's just that the Qing Dynasty has its own national conditions. How can the Manchu world be manipulated by the Han people?"

"Master Weng, I know you're doing this for my own good." Guangxu wasn't angry either. "Such remarks about the differences between Manchus and Han Chinese shouldn't come from a Han Chinese like you, but you consider yourself my master and don't want me, your disciple, to go astray, so you say this."

"But, Master Weng, do you know why I have come to trust Master Yuan so much since I returned from Korea?"

"I don't know, veteran."

Guangxu looked up and his thoughts went back to the time when he took refuge in Incheon.

"When I was in Korea, I didn't just sit there doing nothing all day. I also read many stories about the founding of Western powers."

"My Great Qing is like the German Empire. The current German emperor is not of orthodox German descent, but comes from Prussia, a wild land in the northeast of Germany. How similar is this to my Great Qing.

The current British dynasty is not of native origin, but rather comes from the Hanoverian royal family in Germany."

When Guangxu said this, his eyes lit up.

“Master Weng, barbarians can become emperors in foreign countries, and even royal families in other countries can become kings of their own country.

But even so, foreigners did not restrict people's origins or nationalities when hiring officials. They selected talented people based on their abilities. This is why a small country with only tens of millions of people could surpass the Qing Dynasty.

Now, my great Qing dynasty has a population of 400 million. Why should I care about the differences between Manchus and Han Chinese, or the teachings of my ancestors? "

"Your Majesty!" Weng Tong was a little anxious when he heard this: "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, the ruler of China, and definitely not a barbarian. How can you belittle yourself?"

"Master Weng, I'm not belittling myself, but I see things clearly." Guangxu's understanding of modern nationalist thought had changed: "As the ruler of China, I make no distinction between Manchus and Han Chinese, and I promote people based on their talents. Only in this way can we revive the prestige of the Qing Dynasty."

"Your Majesty, I dare not agree with such Western remarks." Weng Tong shook his head helplessly.

"Master Weng, empty talk won't convince anyone." Guangxu showed his white teeth and smiled, "I do have a way."

"Old minister, I would like to hear the details."

"When I was in Incheon, I saw this written in a newspaper." Guangxu slowly recalled the words that he remembered so clearly.

"To assert something without any comparison is foolish; to base one's assertion on something without any certainty is deceitful. A blacksmith cannot judge a sword by observing the tin being forged to determine its quality; a slave driver cannot judge a good driver by observing its finish; a scholar cannot judge a scholar by observing his appearance and clothes or listening to his words; a mediocre man cannot judge a fool by his wisdom or his achievements when testing him for office."

Weng Tong was well-read in the classics, so he naturally knew who said this: "Your Majesty, this is what Han Fei said."

"Is it Han Feizi? I don't know." Guangxu skipped the subject and continued, "But I completely agree with the comments at the bottom of the newspaper."

"I wonder what that statement is?"

"Practice makes perfect!" Guangxu said excitedly, "Master Weng, whether it works or not, won't we know if we try it?"

"Let me try this Western method for three to five years. Even if it doesn't work, don't we still have Master Yuan?" Guangxu said, "If everyone in the world refuses to obey, let Master Yuan send his army to suppress them."

Guangxu was very optimistic. He felt that if he followed the foreigners' method, regardless of Manchus or Han people, the capable would be promoted and the mediocre would be demoted. As long as this was done, the Qing Dynasty would be able to revive!

But he had no idea that once the sword of nationalism was unleashed, Manchuria, with a population of only one million, would be instantly overwhelmed by the Han people with a population of hundreds of millions, leaving nothing behind.

Guangxu was still too impulsive and too young.

If he did this, he might be a good Chinese emperor, but he would not be a good Manchu emperor.

But unfortunately, he was of Manchu descent. By doing this, he betrayed the entire ruling class. What the Han people could do did not mean that the Manchus could do it.

He placed his hopes of safety on Yuan Shikai, but he didn't know that Yuan Shikai was from later times and could not accept an imperial China.

The author is taking wedding photos today and giving out red envelopes to everyone for fun.

As the title says, I spent the whole day taking wedding photos today.

There is still one last scene left, and we probably won’t be finished until 8-9 pm.

I feel like I can’t write tonight, so I’ll move it to tomorrow.

Thank you for your continued support. You can go to the Discovery Page of the Dudu Reading app to receive red envelopes.

Thank you for your support. Will the next red envelope distribution date be a wedding?

Chapter 187 Conspiracy on the Dark Cloud

At noon, Weng Tong quickly came out of the Xihua Gate of the Forbidden City. After leaving the palace, he showed no emotion. He got into the sedan chair leisurely and went to his residence in the capital.

Now, the servants who were keeping an eye on the emperor outside Xihua Gate were in trouble.

It turned out that after the officials who attended the meeting returned home, the news that the emperor had harshly questioned the important officials quickly reached the ears of middle-level officials through various channels.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the emperor was furious at the meeting of important ministers because he wanted to use the Jindan Dao uprising to clean up the court.

Today's palace meeting has not yet reached a conclusion, but a Mongolian prince has already been exiled to the frontier.

Tomorrow is the monthly routine court meeting. It seems that the political trend is about to change. I am afraid that if I stand on the wrong side, the hat on my head will fall off.

Therefore, many officials in the capital wanted to know what was said in the private conversation between the emperor and his ministers in the East Warm Pavilion, and wanted to use this to guess the emperor's mentality, so they sent people to follow outside the Xihua Gate.

Although Weng Tong agreed with the reform, he always advocated slowing down the specific matters as much as possible, and often used the saying "governing a big country is like cooking a small fish" to persuade the emperor.

Therefore, if Weng Tong looked worried, it meant that the emperor was determined to implement the reform quickly. If he looked happy, it proved that he had convinced the emperor that the new law would be implemented in the same way as before, at least for a short period of time.

Who knew that Weng Tong was such an old fox that no useful information could be seen from his face.

However, as long as you are willing to spend money, you can always get a general idea of ​​the news in the palace.

After some money was paid, the inner story of the conversation between the emperor and his ministers in the East Warm Pavilion in the morning was naturally

Of course I still don’t know.

After all, it was a private conversation between the emperor and his ministers, and there were four partitions in the eastern warm room. Even if someone eavesdropped by the window or the door, they would not be able to hear what was said inside.

But fortunately, the silver paved the way, so it was not a complete failure.

By the evening, some news from the palace had already spread throughout the capital. According to the young eunuch guarding the door of the East Warm Pavilion, the emperor personally escorted Lord Weng to the door, and he looked well.

Before Master Weng left, the Emperor held his arm and said, "Then, Master Weng, thank you very much for your trust."

Thank you Master Weng for your trust?

8607380-[5 old enthalpy

I understand. It turns out that it was the Emperor who persuaded Lord Weng!

The officials who were to participate in tomorrow's grand court meeting felt reassured after hearing the news.

Why do they say that serving a king is like serving a tiger? Isn’t it because the king’s intentions are unpredictable?

The emperor is also a human being. He also eats grains and has seven emotions and six desires. As long as you can guess the emperor's likes and dislikes, you can just cater to his preferences.

This is also a drawback of the feudal dynasty, that is, it is actually very difficult for middle-level officials to understand the exact intentions of the monarch.

Guangxu said on the surface that he wanted to reform and innovate, but in fact he only issued imperial edicts frequently. To really get things done, he still had to rely on his ministers.

Therefore, due to the deliberate delay of Weng Tong and others, the policy of political reform was not implemented quickly, but the efforts in launching foreign affairs were increased.

Therefore, all the officials were also very confused. The emperor said that he wanted to reform the law and that he would select people based on their talents, regardless of whether they were Manchus or Han people. Is this true?

After all, it’s not like the emperor had never done this kind of fishing trick before.

The example of Emperor Kangxi is right before us. When he was choosing the crown prince, he said that the legitimate son should be given priority, so he appointed the second son and the eldest son Yinyi as the crown prince.

Later, the crown prince was deposed, and it was hinted to all officials that they wanted to make the eldest son Yin A the crown prince. The ministers then expressed their support for Yin A. Who knew that Kangxi would later find an excuse to treat Yin A cruelly and depose him as a commoner.

After Yin A was deposed, Kangxi hinted that the Eighth Prince was kind and benevolent, and the ministers expressed their support for the Eighth Prince.

Unexpectedly, Kangxi felt that his position was threatened and decided to reinstate the deposed prince as the crown prince.

After all this back and forth, the crown prince is still the crown prince, the prince is still the prince, but the ministers who supported the succession to the throne have suffered misfortune.

The family of the crown prince's wife, Soetu, was ordered to have their property confiscated because they opposed Kangxi when he first deposed the crown prince. Soetu was sentenced to death, and all his descendants were killed or exiled.

The Manchu and Han ministers who supported the eldest and eighth princes as crown princes were also arrested and stripped of their official positions.

It is difficult for officials who are not in the same game to truly understand the true thoughts of the monarch. However, it is understandable that the four hundred officials in the capital want to get involved in the muddy water of changing the six laws.

Because after Guangxu returned to the capital, he only replaced the high-level personnel in the Grand Council and other departments, and had not yet cleaned up the middle-level officials in the court.

In other words, the deputy envoys, junior ministers, junior chancellors, and imperial censors of the six ministries and nine government offices in Beijing have not been replaced. Apart from normal transfers, most of them are still the same group as when Cixi was in power.

In order to leave a good impression on the emperor, when Guangxu returned to Beijing, many officials tried their best to do something big.

However, the imperial edict that was later "polished" by Jing Weng Tong made the officials more or less undecided.

Fortunately, this time, there is inside information. As long as I can stand in line at tomorrow's grand court meeting, not only will I not be able to keep my official hat, I may even be able to move up a level!

...

When some people are trusted, others feel neglected.

Bayan Nemuhu was ashamed after being reprimanded in the morning's meeting of important officials. After returning to the Prince of Monks' Mansion, he immediately ordered the housekeeper to pack his luggage.

"Master, why are you in such a hurry to return to the banner?" The old housekeeper was puzzled. "It's almost winter, and it's bitterly cold outside the Great Wall."