Chapter Three: Each with Their Own Thoughts

  At the dinner table, Cixi and Guangxu chatted about family matters. Guangxu also occasionally told some jokes, making Cixi laugh loudly. As a joke, these jokes were selected from the classics of later generations. Moreover, Guangxu was full of emotions and expressions. Li Lianying, who was on the side, had already pinched his old face red.

  More than ten days have passed like this, accompanying Cixi to listen to the opera and stroll in the garden. Also brought some new and interesting items from outside, on the one hand to please Cixi, on the other hand also occasionally talking about world history and customs. And from time to time mentioning military systems and global situations. Guangxu pretended to be a harmless young man who humbly sought guidance in front of his mother. However, Guangxu was indeed satisfied with his good fortune, and Chinese cuisine is not to be underestimated.

  The general, in order to show his concern for the welfare of his subordinates, made a sudden inspection tour of the soldiers' cafeteria. In the cafeteria, he saw two soldiers standing in front of a large pot of soup. "Let me taste this soup," he ordered. "But, General..." "No 'buts', give me a spoon!" The general took a big mouthful and scolded, "This is outrageous! How can you serve this to the soldiers? This is just dishwater!" "I was just about to tell you that it's dishwater, but you've already figured it out," the soldier replied.

  "Hahaha... The emperor forbids you from speaking again. Where did you hear these jokes, they're really funny."

  "Laugh and you'll look 10 years younger. Dad should smile more often, he looks like he's in his thirties now." Flattering women by saying they look younger is a timeless principle that never fails to delight them.

  "The emperor is indeed good at making people happy, you tell me, what is a general doing in the soldiers' cafeteria for no reason, and not even letting others finish speaking. This is quite ridiculous, it's made a big joke."

  "Dear father, the Western powers' armies place great emphasis on the daily lives of their soldiers. They stress that officers and soldiers eat and live together to increase the army's cohesion and achieve a unified effect between officers and soldiers in battle. This is why the combat effectiveness of Western armies is stronger than ours. I've heard that the Beiyang Army's soldiers have one hand holding a rifle and the other holding an opium pipe. Can such soldiers fight effectively in battle? This is also what worries me."

  "I've also heard that those foreigners don't even allow the use of opium among themselves, yet they sell it to our Great Qing Empire. It's clear they have ill intentions."

  "I, your son, have an idea and I'm not sure if it's right or wrong. Please, Father Emperor, instruct me." Guangxu thought for a moment and decided to speak out, as the time since the Jiawu War was too short, and the Chinese people couldn't wait that long: "I've been reading Western books these past few days. The great powers of the West, such as England, are called empires on which the sun never sets, so there's no need to say more. France is also said to have the strongest army in Europe, and Germany's army can rival France's. These three countries all have one thing in common: their armies are controlled by the royal family. Although France calls its leader a president, it's still like an emperor. These three countries are among the strongest in the West. And America is also controlled by its president. Japan, which is right next door, also has its army controlled by the imperial family." Guangxu stopped speaking at this point.

  Cixi merely said lightly: "Go on, I also want to know what the Emperor thinks after reading so many days' worth of books."

  "The humble official thinks that the current Qing dynasty, after the Taiping Rebellion, has local governors and military commanders who have formed their own systems, and even the imperial court's orders are only nominally obeyed. The current imperial court relies solely on the Beiyang Army for support, so it is willing to go all out to support the Beiyang Army. It is precisely by relying on the power of the Beiyang Army that it can control the local areas. And our Qing dynasty's fundamental Eight Banners have long since lost their military strength. The Green Standard Army has also become rotten. I, your humble official, dare to say something extremely disloyal: if the Beiyang Army were to change its allegiance, I fear...". Guangxu said this and then knelt down. To be honest, if Yuan Shikai continued to support the Qing dynasty, it would have been able to extend its lifespan by several years."

  "Does the Emperor think Li Hongzhang has ulterior motives?"

  "Li Hongzhang is loyal and has no second heart, it's absolutely impossible for him. But he's old. After Li Hongzhang, if someone with ulterior motives wants to usurp the high position..."

  "What does the Emperor think?" Cixi heard this and understood that the Emperor had been waiting here for so many days.

  "I think that we should establish a new army in the name of the imperial family, with our Manchu people who are familiar with military affairs as generals, and invite Western powers to be instructors. Let's search for the strong and brave youths among the Manchu and Mongolian peoples. Let's truly cultivate an elite force that is loyal to our great Qing dynasty." Guangxu became more and more excited: "With this elite force, we can externally balance the power of the Western nations, and internally awe and control the local areas. This will be the true revival of our great Qing dynasty." I've been talking nonsense for half a month now, and even I myself think it's real. Guangxu thought to himself.

  "Who will lead the army? Who will be the instructor? What are the rules? Let the Emperor say something."

  "This... I haven't thought it through yet." If you dare to think it through, she dares to immediately abolish you: "Please ask Father for his sacred judgment."

  Cixi smiled, this kind of Guangxu is not like a person with a mind, isn't he just an impulsive and reckless young man? He has many ideas, but they are all over the place, and he always acts on impulse. Cixi knew that these days Guangxu was trying to please her, it was all about gaining control of the imperial court. But people are like this, no matter how fake or pretentious they may seem on the surface, in their hearts, they still have a sense of comfort and satisfaction. It's just like having one's own son by one's side. Thinking about this, Cixi felt a sense of relief. As for court affairs, she would listen to Guangxu's decisions from behind the curtain. But some things required the emperor's presence. Besides, time waits for no man, and eventually, the power would fall into his hands anyway. Thinking about this, it was better to let Guangxu handle this matter himself, first to see if he could control the court, and secondly, if anything went wrong, she could step in again.

  "You're still too young, Emperor. Military affairs are a big deal for the country, how can they be taken so lightly?" The tone shifted: "However, the idea is good. Let's have the Emperor and all the ministers discuss it at dawn tomorrow."

  "Father, do you think it would be good for me to go with you tomorrow morning as well? It would also be a good opportunity for me to get some guidance." Guangxu had just finished speaking when Cixi shook her head. Then she knelt down and said: "Your son respectfully obeys your imperial decree, Father."

  Back in the imperial study, Guangxu sat quietly by himself. Tomorrow was his first early court session since crossing over into this world, and he needed to figure out what attitude to take when facing the entire civil and military administration. He had been pretending to be a filial grandson in front of Empress Dowager Cixi for so many days; if he were too aggressive tomorrow at court and caught her attention, all his efforts would have been for naught. But if he didn't say anything, wouldn't the entire civil and military administration think that this emperor was easy to bully? He thought about it for half a day but still couldn't figure it out. After all, his current self had no power or money, nor anyone trustworthy. One phrase summed it up: be low-key. Might as well take a look at the memorials and get a rough idea of what to expect tomorrow at court. Not saying anything else, he still had this bit of professionalism.

  Before long, a eunuch brought up the accumulated memorials of many days, a big stack. If he were to review them one by one, he wouldn't be able to finish until tomorrow morning. Guangxu casually picked up a memorial and opened it. He glanced at the eunuch who had delivered the memorial and asked casually: "Where's Xiaoxizi? Isn't this his duty?"

  "Reporting to Your Majesty, Xiaozhi is serving Your Majesty's meals. The imperial study on this side is where the slaves serve."

  "Oh, what's your name?"

  "This humble servant Kuo Lien-kao pays his respects and wishes Your Majesty good health."

  Kou Liancai? Guangxu was overjoyed in his heart, wasn't this just like having someone deliver a pillow right after waking up from a nap?

  Kou Liancai was one of the few eunuchs in the late Qing dynasty who had a strong sense of patriotism and worried about the fate of the nation. Empress Dowager Cixi trusted Kou Liancai very much, letting him serve by Guangxu's side to monitor his words and actions, so that he could report back to her immediately. However, what Cixi did not expect was that this eunuch with a strong sense of justice would take a different path. Not only did he not secretly report Guangxu's words and actions to Cixi, but he also often told Guangxu about Cixi's wrongdoings. After the 1898 coup, Kou Liancai repeatedly advised Cixi to return power to Guangxu, stop building the Summer Palace, and redeem Taiwan, among other things. In the end, because his advice was not accepted, he wrote a memorial that enraged Cixi and was executed. From this, it can be seen that Kou Liancai was still loyal to the emperor. If only this person could be used well, then he would be my first own man in the palace! But how should I use him? Guangxu secretly blamed himself: I studied mechanics, not governing the country and bringing peace to the world. This guy is hard to deal with!

  "Kou Liancai, can you read and write?"

  "Your Majesty can call me Xiao Kouzi, I've studied in a private school for a few days and learned a few characters."

  "There are too many memorials here, help me select the ones that mention military affairs first, I want to take a look." Seeing Kou Liancai wanting to say something, he added: "Don't say no, this is what I told you to do."