Master Yuan, start!

"Xiangcheng, don't you understand? Disgrace to the dignity of the Qing Dynasty is just an excuse. Ever since the British bombarded Jiangmen, haven't they done enough things that disgrace the dignity of the nation?"

"That is..." Yuan Xiangcheng raised his head in confusion, looking at Yu Shimei who seemed to be smiling and Li Hongzhang who had not finished the cup of tea, and suddenly realized.

By the way, Cixi didn’t care whether the country was sold or not. What she cared about was who held the power.

If Prince Gong Yi D had not advocated war and had been avoiding the French, she would have found no excuse to remove Prince Gong.

However, under the instigation of the Qingliu pro-war faction, Prince Gong had to deploy troops on the front line in Guangxi, which led to a disastrous defeat.

Cixi could just take advantage of the momentum created by the Qingliu faction and the pro-war faction to expel Prince Gong Yi and his group who were avoiding war and seeking peace from the Grand Council.

But if Prince Gong was really driven out, the problem would be put before Cixi again.

"I just want to hold power alone, I don't really want to fight."

Cixi didn't want to fight and wanted to seek peace, but she couldn't just drive Prince Gong away because he wanted to seek peace and then ask for peace herself, right?

If that’s the case, where can she put her face?

Moreover, in order to overthrow Prince Gong, Cixi also left a not-so-small trouble.

At that time, the five military ministers of the Grand Council, Yi Xin, Bao Yu, Jing Lian, Li Hongzao, and Weng Tong, could be divided into two factions:

One faction was the traditional Westernization faction headed by Prince Gong, including Prince Gong Yi and [, hnQ:, and his die-hard supporter Bao].

There is also Jing Lian, who supports Yi D in daily matters but focuses more on frontier military affairs.

The other faction was the Qingliu faction of literati headed by Li Hongzao, and Weng Tong, who was superficially close to Li Hongzao but actually alienated from him.

The Qingliu faction cannot be said to be ignorant of Westernization. The difference between the two is that

First, most of the Qingliu faction preferred to rely on rectifying discipline and reforming bad policies to revive the situation, and were not so enthusiastic about Westernization.

The second is that they were tougher than the traditional Westernization Movement in the face of foreign invasion.

Although Li Hongzao was included in the military affairs council, he was constrained by Prince Gong in every way and felt that he was outnumbered. So he used the names of fellow townsmen, fellow exam participants and disciples to win over a large number of Han, Zhan, Ke and Dao in the court, and relied on the literati who had come through the imperial examinations to cheer him on.

Just when Cixi wanted to take action against Prince Gong Yi, Li Hongzao had a telepathic idea and instigated a group of Hanlin and censors in the court to denounce the defeat on the front line, pointing the finger at Prince Gong Yi, the then head of the Grand Council.

As expected, Cixi took the knife handed to her by Li Hongzao. She pointed out in a letter of righteousness that someone in the Grand Council should be held responsible for this and issued an imperial decree to expel Prince Gong Yi and Bao from the Grand Council.

But that’s not the end. Cixi didn’t care whether the other military officials in the Grand Council got along with Yihe or not. She would drive away all those who were not her people.

Li Hongzao, who should have been credited with merit, suffered an unexpected disaster and was implicated by Yi, and was demoted two levels and transferred elsewhere.

Jing Lian and Weng Tong, who were implicated, were also demoted and dismissed, while one continued to serve as Guangxu's teacher.

Novel 86959

This irritated Li Hongzao, who wanted to expel Yi from the Grand Council and advance himself.

But not only did Cixi not show any gratitude to him, she also expelled him from the Grand Council and replaced him with her own people.

This is truly intolerable.

But the situation had reached a point where Li Hongzao had no choice but to admit defeat. After all, he was only the leader of the Qingliu in the court and it was impossible for him to fight against Cixi out of thin air.

However, the incident in which a group of bannermen and scholars fought and resulted in a loss of life undoubtedly provided him with crucial weapons.

"Master Yu is saying... that the killing of a Bannerman could very well become the trigger for the Qingliu within the court to advocate for continued war?"

Yuan Xiangcheng understood a little. After Cixi ousted Prince Gong and replaced all the people in the Grand Council with her own people, what she needed was to end the turmoil as soon as possible and stabilize the court.

But now, a bannerman who shouted about defending the Qing Dynasty was beaten to death, and the matter fell into the hands of the Qingliu faction.

If Li Hongzao felt that Cixi was not kind, he might use this incident to stir up the court and trigger a war of words between the pro-war and pro-peace factions.

The pro-war faction already has a reputation for righteousness, which is a geographical advantage.

Cixi also took advantage of the fact that Prince Gong was trying to avoid war and seek peace to get rid of him, so it was impossible to talk about peace at least in the short term. This was the right time.

Now the time and place are all right. All that is missing is one person and the pro-war faction to overwhelm the pro-peace faction in the open.

By then, if Cixi wanted to advocate peace again, she would face tremendous resistance from the court.

Of course, she could rely on her own authority to suppress the officials, but there is no doubt that doing so would quickly erode her political prestige.

But don’t forget, Guangxu is also under her curtain!

"That's right. If the situation gets out of hand, the government that the Queen Mother has just stabilized will be in turmoil again." Yu Shimei stroked his beard.

"If unrest breaks out in the court, Prince Gong will have no choice but to be summoned back to the throne to quell the conflict between the two factions and put an end to the chaos." Yuan Xiangcheng finally understood and continued Yu Shimei's words, "If that happens, all the Queen Mother's efforts will be in vain!"

Chapter 29: Game with Cixi

"What the lord means is that if the Qingliu faction makes a fuss about this, the Sino-French war in the south will be unstoppable under the surging public opinion." Yuan Xiangcheng stood up from his chair. He did not expect that the situation behind this matter would be so complicated.

想要把康有为2捞出来，还9牵扯到清流4派和慈禧的博0弈，目前4仅靠李鸿3章的5力量可6能已4经不够了，局势不是他能掌控的。

"Yuan Xiangcheng, if you want to save that scholar, it's useless to look for Zhou Jiamei. He is just following orders, unless you can ask Li Hongzao for help." Li Hongzhang finally finished the tea in his hand, and while Yu Shimei was adding water to his tea, he spoke slowly to Yuan Xiangcheng.

Li Hongzao was from Baoding, Hebei Province. Although his name differed from Li Hongzhang by only one character, the two were not brothers. Instead, they often targeted each other in the court. Li Hongzao had been Li Hongzhang's subordinate during the suppression of the Nian Rebellion in his early years, but the two soon parted ways due to disagreements.

Yuan Xiangcheng felt that Li Hongzhang was deliberately teasing him. How could he push his subordinates to his mortal enemy?

During the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, there were complaints about Yuan Shikai in the court. As early as when the first telegram was sent to Li Hongzhang, a group of censors attacked him in every possible way.

They believed that Yuan Shikai was arrogant and disregarding the court's orders by planning to lead troops to quell the rebellion without asking for permission, and demanded that Li Hongzhang dismiss him and send him back to China.

However, the attacks of these censors were mostly personal acts, part of "routine duties" to make their presence felt, and they did not receive any hints from certain bigwigs in the court.

Because the top priority of the court at that time was the Sino-French War.

As Yuan Shikai put down the rebellion in less than three days and sent the second telegram, the voices attacking Yuan Shikai in the court gradually subsided under Li Hongzhang's appeasement.

Why? Because Yuan Xiangcheng was Li Hongzhang's own man. Even though the Japanese had already informed Li Hongzhang that they would negotiate in Tianjin about the Gapsin Coup in Korea, they still demanded that Yuan Xiangcheng be severely punished.

Li Hongzhang didn't take it seriously at all. After all, Yuan Shikai had won the battle, so they could talk as they pleased. Japan was not a Western power like Britain, France, Russia or Germany, so he didn't need to take it too seriously.

Li Hongzhang did so much for Yuan Xiangcheng behind the scenes, and even performed a sad drama of "Bodhi Patriarch beating Sun Wukong with a stick" with Yuan Xiangcheng at Prince Chun's mansion. He must have something to ask of Yuan Xiangcheng, and it is impossible for him to let Yuan Xiangcheng go to others so easily.

If Yuan Shikai had said in front of the peace advocate Li Hongzhang that he was going to plead with the war advocate Li Hongzao, perhaps the next day a large number of censors would have submitted memorials saying that "Yuan Shikai had provoked border conflicts and arbitrarily misappropriated military funds."

Whenever your superiors want to punish you, they can always find a reason. It is true that North Korea won the war, but where did the soldiers in your hands come from? Can you explain it clearly?

After realizing that he could not go to Li Hongzao, Yuan Xiangcheng said, "Please give me some advice, sir!" He bowed and clasped his fists towards Li Hongzhang again.

"A few days ago, you were swaying in front of the map of the world in Prince Chun's mansion, and you really impressed Prince Chun and Prince Qing. After you left, Prince Chun told me that you are quite courageous and capable of both civil and military affairs. You are worthy of being the Fu Heng of the modern era."

Do you want me to go find Prince Chun? Yuan Xiangcheng frowned. He also wanted to go find Prince Chun and others, but after all, he had just established contact with Prince Chun. He was not like Li Hongzhang who had been under his command for more than two years. Although Wu Changqing was in between, he was still half his own person.

And there was another problem. The person who was beaten to death was a bannerman. As a Han Chinese, Yuan Xiangcheng would probably be disliked if he asked Prince Chun for help in order to save another Han Chinese.

"Xiangcheng is puzzled. Although the deceased Du Liu was a Han army flag, he was also a bannerman. If I ask Prince Chun to intervene, I am afraid that I will offend Prince Chun." Yuan Xiangcheng honestly expressed his concerns.

What he said was very pertinent. Li Hongzhang laughed and took a sip of tea from the bowl he had just filled. Then he said to Yuan Xiangcheng:

"Which do you think is more important, the life of a Han army flag or the current situation in the court?"

"Naturally, the overall situation of the court is more important."

"So, what's the current situation at court? Is it peace or war? Do the Queen Mother and the military advisors want to continue fighting the French, or seek peace as soon as possible?"

"Ask for peace."

"If you want peace, the fact that your friend killed a Bannerman must not be publicized. Even if the upright officials in the court use this as an excuse to advocate war, there must be a way to block this excuse."

"Then my current position is..."

"A grand court meeting will be held in two days, and all officials in the capital will be present. Since the dispute started with you, you should submit a memorial requesting the training of new soldiers. After the training is complete, you can go south to quell the rebellion.

This way, the war faction will have no excuse to argue because of your request for war, and the French are far away in the south, and it will take at least several months for your new soldiers to be trained, so the peace faction will also have a reason to drag it out.

After hearing this, Yuan Xiangcheng's mind was confused. Should he fight or not? Even if I train my troops immediately in the north, it will take at least half a year. By the time I finish training and then run to Guangxi, the opportunity will be gone!

Although I didn't quite understand, I still clenched my fist and said yes.

Li Hongzhang was very satisfied with Yuan Xiangcheng's confused eyes. He smiled at Yuan Xiangcheng and said, "Please sit down first. I see that you don't know why you want to train a new army now. Let me tell you."

"Do you know that the Empress Dowager dismissed five Grand Councillors and seven or eight Grand Councillors overnight? Why didn't she transfer me, the Governor-General of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang?"

"It's because Lord Li is deeply trusted by the Queen Mother." Yuan Xiangcheng answered honestly.

"That may be the case, but the most important thing is that I have no friends in the court, and my connections are mostly in one place." Li Hongzhang stood up from the chair slowly and looked at the painting of the Eight Horses hanging on the wall.

Seeing Li Hongzhang remain silent, Yu Shimei continued, "Lord Li and Prince Gong Yi D only occasionally cooperate on official business, and he and Li Hongzao are even more at odds. It is precisely for this reason that the Empress Dowager allowed Lord Li to remain as Governor-General."

He also put Lord Li in charge of foreign affairs. After the rebellion broke out in the south, Lord Li urgently dispatched Zhang Shusheng, Pan Dingxin and others to the Guangxi battlefield, but they were unexpectedly defeated.

There was something hidden in Yu Shimei's words when he said this. Li Hongzhang also turned around and looked at Yuan Shikai meaningfully.

Yuan Xiangcheng was stunned at first, but after a moment's thought, he came to his senses: "Good fellow, no wonder you didn't rush to recruit me, but instead pushed me to Prince Chun's side. It turns out that your people lost the battle, and you want me to take over!"

But at this point, not agreeing would mean becoming an enemy of Li Hongzhang, and he would not tolerate even the slightest refusal.

So Yuan Xiangcheng immediately clasped his fists and bowed, saying, "Yes, Xiangcheng will definitely live up to Lord Li's trust."

Chapter 30 Preparations before the Court

Returning home, Yuan Xiangcheng felt that the power struggles in the imperial court, both ancient and modern, were truly fascinating. He had initially assumed that the debate between the pro-war and pro-peace factions would be the main point of discussion, but he hadn't expected that to be the point at all.

In the current Qing Dynasty, whether you advocate war or peace, you will have to face a problem after coming to power: whether you can defeat the foreigners.

If you can win, you can advocate peace or fight; if you can't win, you can advocate war or ask for peace.

Whether advocating war or peace is just a means; the key is to ascend to the throne of power through this means.

It doesn't matter whether the main position is to advocate peace or not. What matters is who advocates peace. Even within the peace faction, there are constant fights.

Both Empress Dowager Cixi and Prince Gong Yixin were in favor of peace, and both feared that the war would escalate and affect the Qing Empire.

But who will advocate for peace is also very important. Who owns the Qing Dynasty?

Cixi believed that it was her husband's fault and as his wife, she had no responsibility to lend him any money.

Yi D believed that it belonged to the Aisin Gioro family, and as a descendant of the Aisin Gioro family, he must also stand up.

In a large company, if two leaders both want to do something, conflicts are bound to arise, let alone an empire run by a big boss.

Prince Gong was naturally at a disadvantage in this confrontation due to his status as a minister. As a person who always wanted to monopolize power, Cixi had long been dissatisfied with Prince Gong.

It was only because of the ties between the ministers in the court and the Empress Dowager Ci'an that Cixi had to hold her nose and cooperate with Yi D for nearly twenty years.

With the death of Ci'an three years ago, Yi D also lost his allies in the palace. Cixi's desire for power became more and more inflated. She only needed to be given a chance to drive Yi D out of power.

Back to the current situation, after Cixi dismissed Yi D and others, she took control of the court and replaced the pro-peace faction in the Grand Council with her own people.

Everything seemed to be fine. As long as they could drag the battle out and win a small victory, they could then take the initiative to contact the French with the power of victory, and at least have a fig leaf to cover their faces.