Master Yuan, start!

"If we can make him repent before his death, open his heart and stomach to the world, confess his regret, and let the people of the world spit on him, it would surely be better than spilling blood in the market."

"Okay, let's do as Liu Yi Gong Wang says." Yi X thought for a moment and said viciously:

"We must make sure everyone in the world understands how disrespectful and ungrateful Zaixun is!"

"Yes, I will definitely live up to your trust." Yi D replied loudly.

...

After finishing the final arrangements, it is naturally time to reward people according to their merits.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, now that we have finished discussing the treatment of the rebels, let's discuss the merits." Yi X glanced at the telegram in front of him announcing the victory in Yangzhou and said:

"How should I reward you for these two achievements, the recapture of Yangzhou and the suppression of the rebels in western Beijing?"

Chapter 266: Confessions

Before the people in the capital had time to digest the fact that the National Defense Army had captured Yangzhou, the news that Yuan Shikai had captured Gongji City and wiped out the Eight Banners rebels swept through all the major teahouses and restaurants in the capital.

The peddlers, scholars, merchants, high-ranking officials and petty officials were all delighted and finally relieved the anger that had been hanging in their hearts.

The happiest people were the young eunuchs and maids in the palace.

Some time ago, people in the palace were in a panic. Many young eunuchs who had just been castrated in the past two years asked the old eunuchs what the situation in the palace was like when Lord Yuan last invaded the capital.

After hearing the descriptions of "the wells were clogged, the ponds changed color, the emperor and empress's parties were unclear about who was the enemy, and hundreds of palace maids and eunuchs were killed", this group of teenagers, whose average age was no more than 12 years old, never had a peaceful night's sleep.

During the Rebellion against the Curtain, not only was the capital in chaos, but the Forbidden City also suffered a lot of damage.

All the antiques and treasures in the attics were lost. Some palace maids and eunuchs, suspected by Cixi of being loyal to Guangxu, were thrown into the well on the spot. Many more died in the chaos.

So when the National Defense Army entered Beijing, they found that almost all the wells in the palace were silted up, and a red color was floating on the surface of the water in the South Lake of Taiye Lake.

Now that they knew that the external threat to the capital had been eliminated, the palace maids and eunuchs in the Forbidden City could walk with their heads held high and no longer had to worry about thieves breaking into the capital and killing them.

...

When some people are happy, others are sad.

The four-man assassination attempt killed the Manchu Tie Liang, and the two Mongolians Fu Yu and Bayan Nemo Hu fled, leaving only Prince Zhuang Zaixun alive.

The once noble iron-hatted king has now fallen to a state worse than a prisoner. His title has been stripped and he is on the verge of death and extinction of his clan.

In some way, it seems to explain the truth of a view that has been circulating in the capital for more than 200 years.

That is, the iron hat of Prince Zhuang's family is just to make up the numbers and will have to be returned eventually.

The treatment of the Iron Hat King was given by Emperor Qianlong based on eight royal relatives who had made outstanding military achievements when the Qing Dynasty entered the Pass.

However, among these eight, only Prince Zhuang's enthronement was the most criticized.

The royal titles were granted very early in the early Qing Dynasty and were basically formed during the Huang Taiji period. Most of the people who were granted the titles were people who had made outstanding military achievements, such as Dorgon, Daishan, Jirgalang, Duoduo, and Hauge.

Only the first Prince Zhuang Shuo Sai was canonized after Emperor Shunzhi ascended the throne in order to appease the undercurrents in the Eight Banners.

Therefore, in terms of military achievements, the first Prince Zhuang Shuo Sai was far inferior to the other iron-hat princes.

In terms of origin, it was even lower. Except for Prince Zhuang, the eight iron-hat princes in the early Qing Dynasty were all born to legitimate wives and were all worthy of being enshrined in the Taimiao.

Only King Zhuang Shuosai did not receive this treatment.

Now, not only will the title of the Iron Hat King be taken back, but even his relatives will be implicated and will have to accompany him on the road to the underworld.

If Zaixun had known this would be the outcome, would he have chosen to plot against Yuan in the basement that night?

No one knew what Zaixun was thinking. Even he himself was in a daze every day. He lay woodenly on the haystack in the prison cell of the Imperial Clan Court in the capital, looking at the bluestone brick ceiling with disheveled hair and dirty face.

The Zongrenfu prison was an exclusive prison for the Qing Dynasty to detain clan members and Jurchen criminals.

Outside the cell, a young jailer looked at Zaixun in the cell, who had no appetite and looked like he was waiting to die, and couldn't help but mutter:

"Brother Cheng, should we send him some more food?"

The jailer, known as Cheng Ge, replied angrily, "What are you sending me? He knocked over the lunch, which means he doesn't want to eat!"

After saying that, Cheng Ge glanced at Zaixun, who was disheveled in the depths of the cell, and spat on the ground with disdain: "Bah, you've already been sent to the clan residence, and you still think you're a prince? You don't know how to restrain yourself, so just starve!"

"Brother Cheng, you can't say that." The young jailer approached Brother Cheng and said:

"I heard from the old people in the mansion that the Qing imperial family and the Jurchens who committed crimes were always dealt with leniently. At most, their titles were stripped away, and it was rare for them to be killed.

If we don't treat King Zhuang well now, what will we do if he provokes us and retaliates against us after he leaves? "

"Boy, you don't even know how to cook a cold stove."

Brother Cheng raised his head and looked at Prince Zhuang Zaixun who had become a prisoner, and took out a stack of yellow books from his arms.

"It's true that there are very few cases of members of the imperial clan or Jueluo clan being murdered by the Imperial Clan Court, but that's all in the past." Cheng Ge sighed as he flipped through the booklet.

"Ever since Empress Dowager Cixi beheaded Sushun, the rule of not beheading members of the imperial clan has been abolished.

What's more, the person in prison is guilty of the serious crime of assassinating the emperor. Do you think he can survive like this?

It's okay to stir up trouble, but why waste energy on someone who is about to die?"

From the Shunzhi to the Xianfeng years, there was no record of any royal family being executed in the clan house. It was not until Empress Dowager Cixi, in order to seize power, joined forces with Prince Gong to capture the regent Su Shun. In order to prevent the situation from recurring, Empress Dowager Cixi ordered Su Shun to be beheaded at the entrance to the vegetable market.

It was precisely because he knew the twists and turns of the clan affairs office that the jailer Cheng Ge realized that Prince Zhuang Zaixun could not escape death this time, so instead of wasting his time on rekindling a cold stove, it would be better to spend his energy on other things.

Whatever you do, it's better than skipping stones.

After some explanation, seeing that he had convinced the newcomer in front of him, Brother Cheng calmly put away the yellow book, turned his back to the door, and stared into the cell, fearing that there would be any mistakes.

"Brother Cheng!"

"What's the matter?" Seeing the young jailer tugging at his clothes again, Cheng Ge was a little impatient. "If you want to send food, then go ahead. I'm not the one paying for it anyway!"

"No, Brother Cheng." The young jailer swallowed and whispered, "Prince Gong, Prince Gong is here!"

"Ah? When did Prince Gong arrive?"

The jailer Cheng Ge hurriedly stood up and happened to run into Prince Gong Yi D and his entourage coming in from outside.

"Greetings, Your Majesty" ...

"No thanks." Yi D waved his hand. "Take me to see Zaixun."

"!"

Soon, Yi D, wearing a first-grade crane patch, stood outside the cell.

When Zaixun saw Yi D coming, there seemed to be a different look in his eyes in the prison.

"Sixth...Sixth Brother."

Zaixun raised his head, tried hard to open his lips which were dry due to lack of water, and suddenly rushed to the prison door. The guards beside Yi D were so scared that they drew their swords, thinking that Zaixun was up to something.

Fortunately, there was a railing blocking the way, and Zaixun could only hold the railing with his hands, kneeling on the ground and muttering: "Sixth brother, I am innocent, I didn't intend to assassinate the emperor, I am innocent."

"How dare you! Do you think you can call me Sixth Brother? You are such an undisciplined person!" Before Yi D could reply, Kou Liancai behind him scolded him harshly.

"Call Prince Gong!"

Kou Liancai was ordered to come and visit Zaixun's condition. Coincidentally, Yi D also happened to be ordered to meet Zaixun, so the two came together.

Seeing that Zaixun, who had become a prisoner, was still trying to get close to him, Kou Liancai started scolding him, as if he wanted to scold back all the pain that Guangxu had endured.

"Eunuch Kou, you've seen the man, and he's fine for now." Yi D turned his head and looked around, then said in a deep voice, "Next, I will follow your orders to investigate the case. You see..."

q916310 zero:

"I understand. I understand." Facing Prince Gong who had recently been reinstated, Kou Liancai naturally did not dare to offend him and bowed repeatedly while retreating.

Anyway, he was just ordered to check on Zaixun's condition. As long as he was still alive, he would have done his job. As soon as he finished speaking, Kou Liancai turned around and walked out of the cell.

The only ones left were a few close people around Prince Gong.

"Zai Xun..." Seeing that all the irrelevant people had left, Yi D sighed and said, "How could you be so reckless and so aggressive? I am so lost!"

Yi D took out the battle report sent by Yuan Xiangcheng to the capital, reached into the fence, slapped Zaixun on the head, and said with regret.

"Is this the strategy for revitalizing the Eight Banners that you told me about when you visited my house a few years ago?"

Zaixun was stunned. Since he escaped from the capital, he had been basically imprisoned by Tieliang. He had no idea about the outside world and naturally did not know about the tragic massacre in Gongji City.

When Zaixun saw the words written in the battle report, "Only two out of ten of the Eight Banners' anti-rebel troops survived, and sixty percent of the Bannermen's army were killed or wounded," he was stunned, his brain seemed to have crashed, and his lips moved up and down, but no sound came out.

After a long while, Zaixun hurriedly stood up and said angrily, "Sixth brother, I...my original intention was really to revive the Eight Banners!

The assassination was not initiated by me. It was proposed by two Mongolians, Fu Yu and Bayan Nemuhu.

Besides, I never thought of assassinating the emperor. From the beginning, my target was Yuan Xiangcheng!"

The Bannerman Army led by Tie Liang and the Eight Banners Anti-Rebellion Army, together numbered nearly 20,000 Bannermen.

After Qianlong, there had never been such a large number of armored bannermen gathered near the capital. Regardless of the combat effectiveness of these two armies, they were at least armed with guns and were regarded as a support by many Manchu high-ranking officials.

But who knew that once the rebellion broke out, only a little over 10,000 people were left out of the 20,000 dead, and countless more were injured.

Zaixun wanted to revitalize the Eight Banners, but who knew that the Eight Banners became smaller and smaller. He collapsed. He really didn't expect such consequences.

Seeing Zaixun banging his forehead against the solid wooden fence, Yi D quickly took a half step back, fearing that blood would splash on him.

“Zaixun, you first threw the blame on the two Mongols, Fuyu and Boyan Nemohu, and then you said the target of the assassination was not the emperor, but Yuan Xiangcheng.

At this point, are you still planning to deny the assassination?" Yi D held his forehead with one hand, his face ashen.

"The assassin has been identified and is linked to Prince Zhuang's mansion. Tieliang is dead, and Fuyu and the others have fled, leaving no evidence.

How can you expect me to believe that the person you assassinated was not the emperor, but Yuan Xiangchenglu?! "Three

Yi D gripped the fence tightly with his right hand and said in a deep voice, "I said this three years ago when you came to my house and invited me to discuss the strategy of revitalizing the Eight Banners.

Cixi has passed away, and the emperor has regained power. It is a time for reconstruction. As long as you are willing to work hard, it will not be difficult for you, as a relative of the royal family, to rise to a high position. There is no need for you to do anything secretive. "

Yi D stared at Zaixun coldly. He hated himself for not discovering earlier that there was such a confused person in the Eight Banners.

If it had been discovered earlier, tens of thousands of Eight Banners soldiers would not have been killed!

"Zai Xun, what does it matter if Yuan Xiangcheng is powerful? Were Zeng, Zuo, and Li any less powerful than Yuan Xiangcheng in the past? Weren't they still serving the court honestly?

At worst, we can slowly wear down Yuan Shikai's followers in the court and support them with kindness. In a few years, the National Defense Army will obey the court!

This was the case with Zeng Guofan's Hunan Army and also with Li Hongzhang's Huai Army.

If Empress Dowager Cixi had not been so foolish as to insist on seizing power, how could Yuan Shikai's national defense army have grown so powerful, and how could the Hunan and Huai armies have become the feudal lords they are today?

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