Master Yuan, start!

When the emperor toured the capital, although he did not need an army to lead the way, he still needed to ride in a special sedan chair, also known as a shoulder sedan.

At the same time, the eunuchs in front held musical instruments such as pipes, a, sheng, cloud gongs, and welcoming drums; the guards held various weapons such as standing melons, lying melons, stars, and axes; and on their heads they wore yellow nine-dragon umbrellas, yellow canopies, and other objects that demonstrated the royal demeanor.

But Guangxu came out in a hurry, and neither the musical instrument team nor the weapons team followed him. Only dozens of guards with swords ran out with him.

"I can't wait any longer. The sedan chair is too slow. The Yellow Dragon Carriage is often used in the palace anyway, so why not pull it outside the palace?

Xiao Zhangzi, go quickly! "

Guangxu waved his hand, signaling the eunuch pulling the "Yellow Dragon Cart" to speed up.

", Long live the Lord!"

The eunuch Xiao Zhangzi wrapped the white cloth in his hand, gripped the handle tightly, and turned back to remind him, "Your Majesty, please pull down the canopy. The sun is too hot today. Let's set off now!"

At the end of the 19th century, most rickshaws were not comfortable. Although the British had invented pneumatic rubber tires long ago, this technology was not popular.

Because rubber itself is a soft and extremely viscous liquid, if it is not vulcanized, it will not become elastic and difficult to tear.

Most rickshaws in the capital use iron-bound wooden wheels, which cannot compare with sedan chairs in terms of comfort.

However, a major drawback of the sedan caused it to gradually lose its market share among the middle class.

That's the cost.

A sedan chair can certainly show one's status, but it requires at least two people to carry it, which means more money. In contrast, a rickshaw only requires one person.

The wealthy naturally don't care about this expense, but more people who have travel needs are still very "careful"

After all, although most of the officials and nobles in Beijing kept saying in their daily lives that they must not lose face and dignity, in reality most of them were short of money and only pretended to be wealthy on the surface.

Therefore, although rickshaws are more bumpy when driving on unpaved roads, they are not as good as sedan chairs.

However, since rickshaws entered the capital, this simple, efficient and to some extent respectable mode of transportation has replaced sedan chairs in the travel scenes of middle-class people and has quickly become popular.

However, Guangxu's imperial rickshaw did not have iron-bound wooden wheels, but rubber wheels produced by the Incheon Machinery Bureau.

As for the rubber vulcanization process, Yuan Xiangcheng only knew that it was an American who accidentally discovered that sulfur could react with rubber, greatly increasing its elasticity.

But Yuan Xiangcheng was not clear about how to carry out rigorous chemical reactions.

At that time, the largest rubber factory was in the UK. After repeatedly asking the British for the formula, they finally obtained the most basic vulcanized rubber technology through the British GKN Steel.

Since the Incheon Machinery Bureau was still in the learning and exploratory stage and its production could not be increased, it could only supply bicycles produced by its own factory and had no spare capacity to develop rickshaws.

But it was still possible to make a "leader's special car" for Guangxu, so the rickshaw named "Huanglongche" came into being.

This leader's special car is specially made. It is wider than ordinary rickshaws and can accommodate two people.

Sometimes after leaving court, Guangxu would go to the East Warm Pavilion to review memorials or summon the military ministers to discuss matters. He did not want to be accompanied by a large group of leisurely eunuchs and palace maids, so he would take the memorials of the day with him, have a dozen guards guard him, and choose to travel in a rickshaw.

Therefore, in this time and space, it was perfectly normal for the emperor to ride in a rickshaw.

"The Emperor has arrived, get out of the way, get out of the way!"

Because they came out in a hurry and didn't have time to bring signs asking people to stay away or be quiet, more than a dozen imperial guards kept clearing the way in front of the crowd to avoid them.

In front of the overpass, Yuan Xiangcheng, who was showing the close relationship between the military and the people, looked up in surprise when he heard this.

Under the sunlight, Yuan Xiangcheng, who had excellent eyesight, clearly saw the "Son of Heaven" on the tent of the Huanglong Car.

"Emperor?"

"Why is the word 'Son of Heaven' printed on this car?"

"Could it be that the Emperor has arrived?"

The people around who saw Guangxu's rickshaw couldn't help but express their doubts.

"You know it's the Emperor, yet you still dare to look? Why don't you turn around quickly?!"

According to the custom of the Qing Dynasty, common people had to turn around and look back when they met the emperor or high-ranking officials on the road, and could not look directly at them, otherwise it would be disrespectful.

Some sensible people were afraid that this person had violated a taboo, so they quickly turned their heads away. However, some people in the crowd could not help but lower their heads and roll their eyes, wanting to "see the emperor's face".

Fortunately, Guangxu did not care about these empty rituals, otherwise he would not have run out of the palace without even a ceremonial guard.

However, the people turned their heads, but Yuan Xiangcheng did not.

He stared at the word "Son of Heaven" on the rickshaw and was stunned.

What happened in the palace and why did Guangxu come out?

The real and fake assassins are all in place. Why are you, an emperor, getting involved? Do you have a bulletproof vest?

Yuan Xiangcheng quickly looked at the highest person in charge of the Red Search Section beside him.

"Mingye, the plan has changed. Let the mole change its target!"

"Yes!"

After receiving the order, Mingye quickly left the team and blended into the nearest wooden building.

The emperor's large army was also approaching at this time.

"Master Yuan, Master Yuan!"

The tent on the rickshaw was opened, and Guangxu's voice came from the car.

Yuan Xiangcheng looked up at the multi-story wooden buildings on both sides of the road. Against the light, he could not tell where the fake assassins arranged by the Red Confucian Society and the real assassins were.

In desperation, he could only bite the bullet and approach the rickshaw:

"Your Majesty, I led the army south and fortunately fulfilled my mission. I destroyed half of the elite troops of the Hunan rebels and forced them to retreat to isolated cities such as Hefei, Chuzhou, and Yangzhou."

"I know, I know - Nine q0 Four...杌肿4Us: Master Yuan feels wronged, but why..."

Guangxu interrupted Yuan Xiangcheng and began to question him in broad daylight.

...

Zhengyang Street was quiet. The people kneeling on the roadside could only hear the heavy breathing of the eunuchs pulling the carts.

As for the emperor's "jade voice", it was intermittent and unclear.

On the top floor of a five-story wooden building on the street, an assassin had been lying in ambush, holding the latest Mauser rifle that Prince Zhuang Zaixun bought from the Germans in Tianjin.

Exhaling a breath, the assassin recalled the warning he was given when he got the gun.

“If you can hit the fixed bid, don’t hit the moving bid!”

The assassin stared at Yuan Xiangcheng with his right eye, silently watching him approach a rickshaw that looked quite expensive.

"This should be considered a settlement."

Seeing that the people on the street turned around and avoided him, the assassin felt puzzled, but he just thought that it was a high-ranking official sitting in a rickshaw, so he didn't pay much attention.

With a "click", the bolt is pulled and the bullet is loaded.

A crisp sound was heard, and the assassin looked nervously at Yuan Xiangcheng on the street.

"boom!"

A gunshot was heard.

China in the late 19th century was not America, and the people were not familiar with the sound of gunfire.

Some people kneeling on the ground couldn't help but look up, not understanding why firecrackers were heard in the air.

On the rooftop, the assassin stared at the wound on his chest in disbelief.

"I, was shot?"

On the opposite building, the same long gun, with smoke still coming out of the muzzle, was pointed at his heart.

In an instant, the assassin's mind was spinning wildly.

"Where did he come from? Is he also going to assassinate Yuan Xiangcheng?"

"Friendly, I am a friendly army, why are you shooting at me?"

"No, that's not right. He's not here to assassinate Yuan Xiangcheng. He's here to kill me!"

"Where is Yuan Xiangcheng? If Yuan Xiangcheng doesn't die, my wife, children and elders will die!"

The assassin held on to his last breath, using all his strength to aim at the street below and press the trigger with his index finger.

The 1892 Mauser rifle fired a powerful bullet from the 5th floor and landed on the ground in the blink of an eye.

However, the assassin had no time to aim.

96101 zero ^ 9h fee

After the bullet hit the ground not far from Yuan Xiangcheng, it bounced again, grazed Yuan Xiangcheng's left arm, and flew upwards at a 60-degree angle.

Under Yuan Xiangcheng's own eyes, the bullet continued to fly upwards, passing through Guangxu's forehead, leaving a finger-sized hole on the top tent of the rickshaw, and then lost all power and slowly fell from the air.

"There are assassins, there are assassins!"

Others couldn't hear it, but Yuan Xiangcheng heard it clearly, it was gunshot!

The whole street was filled with shouting and running sounds, and the imperial guards drew their swords and surrounded the rickshaw.

But the emperor they were supposed to protect suddenly tilted his head, fell off the carriage, and landed in Yuan Xiangcheng's arms.

"The Emperor was assassinated!"

The young eunuch shouted desperately, and Zhengyang Street exploded in an instant.

Chapter 254 Regicide

"jingle"

The bullet landed on the stone floor with a crisp sound, bounced repeatedly, and finally rolled to the feet of Yuan Xiangcheng.

"The Emperor was assassinated!!!"

The eunuch's sharp roar sounded in Yuan Xiangcheng's ears, but he did not react at all. He did not even care about his left arm that was shot through, and let the bright red blood flow out.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?!"

Yuan Xiangcheng's shout was so loud that everyone couldn't help but look sideways at the person in his arms.

Guangxu's eyes were closed, there was a thumb-sized hole on his forehead, and a light-colored turbid liquid was flowing out.

Can he survive after being injured like this? Yuan Xiangcheng looked at the young Guangxu in his arms and fell into deep thought.

Yuan Shikai had complicated feelings towards Guangxu. It is an indisputable fact that Guangxu was indebted to him.