Chapter 204: Entering Beijing

At the Anding Gate in Beijing, the soldiers guarding the gate yawned in boredom. Anding Gate was the gate for withdrawing troops after a victorious battle. Generally, generals would enter this gate when returning to the court.

Anding Gate was not like other gates where there was any money to be made, and there were very few people entering the capital through this gate, so they felt bored.

The soldiers looked at the setting sun, and estimated that this day would pass by so boringly, but they heard the sound of hooves. When they looked up, they saw five riders galloping over. The leader was wearing a yellow robe and a horse jacket, and a first-class military officer's uniform.

The soldiers quickly shook themselves and stood up straight.

"This lord is so young." When the soldiers saw Wei Jichen turn over and get off the horse, they were all full of emotion in their hearts.

Wang Huaiqing took out the official document from the package and handed it over.

The captain guarding the city gate hurriedly stepped forward to take it and opened it to see: Wei Jichen, the prince's guardian, admiral, and general of Nanyang Town, was ordered to enter the capital.

"Make way, make way! You, lead the army into the city." The captain hurriedly shouted, and designated someone to lead Wei Jichen.

Several soldiers hurriedly knocked down the fence and made way for a passage.

Wei Jichen nodded with a smile. When Wang Huaiqing took back the official documents, he secretly stuffed a few taels of silver to the captain. The group hurriedly jumped on the horse and left.

"Captain Li, who is that person?" The soldier next to him saw that his captain was still staring at the direction of the person who had just left with admiration, and asked curiously.

"Report to the higher-ups and say that Wei Jichen, the general of Wei, has entered Beijing." The captain retracted his gaze and said hurriedly.

"The young man just now was General Wei. Damn it, I should have gone up to him and said a few words. Why didn't you let me lead the way?" The soldier said with great regret.

That day, after the engagement banquet, dozens of people came to ask Wei Jichen if his army was still recruiting people. Xiaonanhe Village was originally a place with a strong martial spirit, so Wei Jichen would naturally not refuse. He left a definite message and asked them to stay at home first. He would make arrangements after he returned from the capital.

Wei Jichen did not dare to neglect the imperial edict of Emperor Guangxu. The next day, he rode on a horse and quickly came to the capital. He did not stop all the way and finally entered the city before sunset today.

The soldiers led the way in front. Wei Jichen had to report to the Ministry of War first, and then wait for Emperor Guangxu's summons.

"This is Beijing City. It is not much different from Tianjin City, but there are a little more people." Wang Huaiqing looked around curiously and muttered softly for a while.

Wei Jichen noticed something different, that is, there were obviously many more people sitting in sedan chairs on the street. Presumably, if a stone was thrown from the city wall and hit ten people, one of them would be an official.

Moreover, the people in the capital were very comfortable, and it looked like a prosperous and flourishing era, unlike Tianjin, which was affected by the bombardment of the Japanese some time ago. The people in the city were a little panicked, and some people even packed their luggage and were ready to run away at any time.

Entering the inner city from the outer city, the scene was even more different. The inner city was inhabited by the Eight Banners children, which was very different from the prosperity of the outer city. The outer city was for merchants, and the inner city was mostly for people walking their birds and dogs. Of course, the most developed industry was the entertainment industry.

After reporting to the Ministry of War, Wei Jichen rewarded the soldier with a few taels of silver and moved into the official post.

Less than an hour after Wei Jichen entered the city, the Summer Palace and the Forbidden City received the news respectively.

In the Leshou Hall of the Summer Palace, four large copper stoves with nine peaches were burning sandalwood. Cixi, the helmsman of the Qing Empire, was lying on her back on a red sandalwood chair and taking a nap, with several palace maids waiting on her side.

Cixi was a little upset now. Guangxu had a tendency to get out of her control recently, which made Cixi, who had a strong desire for power, feel a little uneasy.

Li Lianying took small steps and walked to Cixi's side.

"Old Buddha, Wei Jichen has entered Beijing." Li Lianying whispered in Cixi's ear.

Cixi half opened her eyes and said slowly: "Really? What happened after he entered Beijing?"

"To answer the old Buddha, Wei Jichen just went to the Ministry of War to report and is currently resting in his room." Li Lianying replied cautiously.

"Oh, he didn't walk around?" Cixi asked curiously.

"No, and it seems that he came into the city empty-handed." Li Lianying immediately heard Cixi's hidden meaning.

Cixi sat up and said slowly: "It's strange."

"In my opinion, this Wei Jichen is just a reckless man who can fight." Li Lianying said with a smile.

"Reckless man? Let's observe for a day or two." Cixi was a little tired, so she lay down again and asked: "What has Kang Youwei done recently?"

Now, Kang Youwei's status in her mind has surpassed Wei Jichen.

If Wei Jichen knew, he would definitely bring gifts to thank Kang Youwei.

"Kang Youwei submitted another letter to the Censorate, asking the Censorate to hand it over to the emperor, saying that the Council should be set up to communicate the situation below. I have already had someone stop it." Li Lianying said sinisterly.

At this time, Kang Youwei passed the imperial examination and was appointed as the head of the Ministry of Works. This official was too young to be personally present to the emperor, so every time he wrote a letter, he had to ask the Censorate to submit it on his behalf, or ask someone else to submit it.

Cixi's eyes suddenly opened, and she said angrily: "This Kang Youwei is really talking nonsense."

At this time, Cixi had a bottom line in her mind for the Reform Movement, one was tolerance, and the other was control.

She wanted to control the reform within a certain range, open factories, and train the army with new weapons, all within the scope of her tolerance. However, Kang Youwei's memorial directly set up a parliament to communicate with the people. This was modeled on the Western constitutional monarchy and political system. Reform will eventually affect Cixi's interests, so she reacted in this way.

"What is the emperor's attitude towards Kang Youwei?" Cixi asked again.

Li Lianying did not dare to comment much this time, but simply stated the facts: "Every time the emperor reads Kang Youwei's previous book, he sighs and regrets not implementing it as soon as possible."

^.^，

"Which of the ministers around the emperor inspired him to reform?" Cixi's face became increasingly gloomy.

Li Lianying knew that as soon as he said these words, someone would be in trouble. He was a tactful person and did not want to make grudges with others unless he had to. But when Cixi asked about it, he had to answer, so he could only say vaguely: "All the ministers are here." Waiting for your opinion, Lord Buddha, it’s just Weng Tonghe, the Minister of Revenue, and Xu Zhiqing, the academician, who has been hanging around the emperor recently. "

Weng Tonghe originally won Cixi's trust, so he asked him to be Guangxu's teacher, but now, perhaps because he saw that Guangxu had grown up and became more and more kingly, he was no longer as respectful to Cixi as before.

If you think about it, you can understand his mood. Working under Cixi will always be a slave with no future. Working under Guangxu, he is the emperor's teacher. What's more, he is the leader of the Qing Dynasty faction and Guangxu's reform plan. A strong mind is highly praised by some people from the Qing Dynasty.

"Lafayette, do you want me to signal the people below to take them away?" Since Li Lianying had offended others, she was thinking about how to avoid future troubles.

Cixi waved her hand, shook her head and said, "Let's wait and see what tricks the emperor can come up with."

Cixi felt that she could still control the court situation, and some changes were in line with her ideas. She needed to train new troops and so on in order to maintain her rule, so Cixi was not in a hurry, not to mention Guangxu's current prestige. Compared with before the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894, it was much better. Some radical patriots in North Korea and China slowly gathered around him.

However, Cixi had a vicious vision and was not optimistic about Kang Youwei. Once Guangxu implemented Kang Youwei's reforms, it would definitely cut off the access of many people in the court and harm the interests of many people.

At this time, some ministers in the court will naturally come back to Cixi's side. That will be the day when she decides the world in one fell swoop, and maybe she can listen to politics behind the curtain again.

In the Forbidden City, Guangxu was walking, and for some reason he came to the Leng Palace.

Because in the cold palace, Guangxu's most beloved concubine, Concubine Zhen, was imprisoned.

The reason why Guangxu doted on Concubine Zhen so much was not only because of Concubine Zhen's good looks, but also because of something that should not be told to others. Since Guangxu entered the palace since he was a child, the eunuchs and maids bullied him when he was young, so he was not taken care of properly. , so his body also fell into the root of the disease, and it was a disease related to a man's dignity - no disease.

Therefore, even the horse-faced Queen, who claimed to be Cixi's niece, treated him coldly. Only Concubine Zhen, who was naive and ignorant when she entered the palace, remained the same towards Guangxu.

When Guangxu arrived at the entrance of Leng Palace, two eunuchs appeared to stop him.

"Old slave, please pay your respects to your Majesty. Please inform your Majesty that Lafayette will not allow anyone to visit Concubine Zhen." The old eunuch said expressionlessly.

Guangxu's eyes changed. He was no better than before. He had never asked for political advice in person before. Now as he got older, he became more or less dignified. He couldn't help but said angrily: "Damn slave, I am the Nine-Fifth Lord. There are still people in this palace." A place where you can’t go in?”

The old eunuch didn't know what to do for a moment, but he was still forced by Lafayette's authority over the years, gritted his teeth, and stood still.

Guangxu was really angry and angry, and the scene of being bullied by the eunuch when he was a child kept flashing in his mind. He immediately picked up a wooden stick from the side and greeted the old eunuch: "You dog slave, you really don't take this seriously." In my eyes, my own father can punish you, do you think I can’t? If you don’t get out of the way, I will never give up.”

The old eunuch was in pain, but he didn't dare to fight back, so he had to step aside obediently, thus giving Ci Xi an explanation.

Guangxu walked along the rows of houses and only walked to the small house in the innermost place. He opened the trap window above and saw a dirty-looking woman sitting inside. This woman was none other than him. Missing Concubine Zhen day and night.

Guangxu's nose couldn't help but feel sour, thinking that he couldn't even keep the woman he loved most, he couldn't help but feel sad, and softly shouted: "Zhenfei, my Zhenfei."

The woman inside heard the sound and raised her head. She looked pretty and refined. She ran to the window, held Guangxu's hands, and cried: "Your Majesty, I know that I am wrong. I should not collude with my servants to accept bribes. Officer. Your Majesty, please let me go out. I’m scared to be here alone.”

The cold palace is really not for people. It is even scarier than the prison. There are people in the prison anyway. She is the only one in the cold palace. It is even more terrifying and eerie in the dead of night.

Guangxu looked at the woman he loved and said with a cruel heart: "Don't worry, my beloved. When I come to the world in person, I will definitely let you out. I will follow the example of Emperor Meiji in carrying out reforms so that our Qing Dynasty can pass the reforms. Become stronger. When the time comes, I will be the emperor of the ages, and no one in this world will dare to oppose me."

Since Guangxu had lived under the tyranny of Cixi since he was a child, he was always submissive to Cixi and paid his respects to her three times a day. However, as he grew older, he had more and more conflicts with Cixi and wanted to rule the country himself.

"Your Majesty, I am really scared. I will never dare to do it again." Zhenfei's tears flowed down her cheeks and dripped into Guangxu's heart, which made him feel extremely painful.