Chapter 39: Brilliant Words Flowing Like Pearls in the Imperial Capital

  Li Hongzhang and his entourage were extremely tired from just getting off the warship, so they planned to rest for a night at the Dagukou Post House before hurrying to the capital the next day to celebrate Empress Dowager Cixi's birthday.

  That afternoon, as Xiaoling was new to the Qing Dynasty and was very curious about the place, she begged Ye Zhikui to take her out. Ye Zhikui saw that several elderly people had gone to rest, and seeing Xiaoling's eager eyes, he softened his heart and agreed, only bringing a few bodyguards, changing into casual clothes, and being pulled out of the door by Xiaoling in a hurry.

  At this time, Dagou was known as the gateway to Beijing and Tianjin, and the throat of the sea and land. It was extremely lively, and Xiaolingjiao walked towards the crowded place, making Ye Zhikui's head ache. Xiaolingjiao found everything novel, especially the various snacks, her mouth never stopped moving. Ye Zhikui glanced at Xiaolingjiao's slender figure and secretly wondered where all these things had gone to.

  "Yè dàgē, look! That person is so fierce!" Little Ling exclaimed suddenly in front.

  Ye Zhi Kui heard the small bell ringing in surprise and leaned in to take a look, it turned out to be a performing monkey. The monkey was trained to be very clever, constantly bowing to passersby, looking quite adorable. Xiao Linglong watched with delight and gave more reward money.

  This caught the attention of some other street performers nearby, who were all eyes wide with envy and swallowing their saliva. Just as Xiaoling was about to walk away, a fortune teller with a sly appearance quickly followed her and said loudly: "Miss, please wait!"

  Xiao Linglong looked around and pointed to herself, saying: "Old sir, are you referring to me?" Ye Zhi Kui stopped not far away, watching the fortune teller's performance.

  "Yes, yes, little old man sees you, miss, your fate is affected by peach blossoms, specially come to help you solve this problem." The fortune teller shook his head solemnly and said, but unfortunately he was dressed in tattered clothes, a long gown with a horse jacket that hadn't been changed for who knows how long. If it weren't for the sign in his hand that read "fortune telling", others would have thought he was a beggar, shaking his head like this wasn't quite right.

  Xiao Ling's face turned red as she replied, "You old sir, who has offended the peach blossom? Besides, even if I have committed a crime, I don't need you to solve it."

  The fortune teller's eyes rolled around and he said, "Actually, I was just about to tell you that your marriage is very difficult, wanting it to last long is hard, hard! Fortunately, you have a good relationship with me, so today I'll teach you the way to save it."

  Xiao Linglong was indeed taken in and hastily asked: "Is that so? Is there any way to save her?"

  The fortune teller pinched his index finger and said: "This is a heavenly secret that cannot be revealed! If..."

  Before the fortune teller could finish speaking, Xiaoling said with difficulty: "Since it's not to be revealed, then forget it. I'll think of a way myself."

  The fortune teller grabbed the girl's earlobe and whispered, "Miss! Let me finish speaking!" Ye Zhikui, who was watching from the side with a smile, stepped forward and said, "Linglong, let's go!"

  The fortune teller was anxious, and the business had not even started yet! He saw Ye Zhikui, young and dressed in a lucky attire, with several bodyguards following behind him, looking like a plump sheep. He stepped forward to intercept him and said: "Young master, please stop for a moment, listen to an old man's words."

  The old man's eyes widened in surprise, his heart tightened, and his hand trembled. His sharp eyes were startled, and he quickly dodged to the side, but with a hint of reluctance, he said: "This young master must be going to the capital to celebrate the birthday of the elderly Buddha, right? I've been in this capital and its surroundings for over ten years, so I'm extremely familiar with it. Why don't you let me be your guide? I only need you to treat me to a meal."

  Xiao Ling saw the fortune teller's miserable appearance and couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy, so she asked Ye Zhui: "Brother Ye, look at this old man's tattered clothes, he's really pitiful, why don't you invite him to be our guide?"

  Ye Zhi nodded at Xiao Linglong's small nose and said: "You, you!"

  He then turned to the fortune teller and said: "Alright, you can now tell me about all the famous libertines in the capital."

  Ye Zhi Kui didn't want to directly refuse Xiao Ling Long, so he intentionally made things difficult for the fortune teller, letting him retreat on his own. These secrets weren't something that ordinary people knew about.

  Who would have thought that the fortune teller, upon hearing this, wouldn't think it was difficult, but instead his face lit up with joy, and he spoke non-stop like a river, saying that this prince liked to visit which brothel, and that princess had what rumors, for a while speaking as if it were true. Even Ye Zhiwei listened with great interest, and for a moment forgot to chase him away, unknowingly bringing him back.

  That fortune teller had long since thrown away his signboard, and followed Ye Zhi Kui into the inn. By the time Ye Zhi Kui came to his senses, the fortune teller was already asking for a bowl of rice with a thick face. Seeing that he indeed had some real skills, Ye Zhi Kui decided to keep him around.

  After dinner, Ye Zhiqi summoned Feng Guozhang, Jian Ren Shi Wu and Tu Fu to discuss strategies for entering the capital.

  What's the countermeasure? Of course, it's bribery. Ye Zhi Kui thought he could proudly say to his future corrupt colleagues: "You think that's bribery? I'm going to bribe the entire Qing Dynasty."

  Ye Zhiwei is now lacking in everything except money, and with a wad of cash in hand, he's naturally going to engage in some financial diplomacy. The current Qing dynasty from top to bottom is all rotten, there are hardly any people who have clean buttocks, but bribery is also a skillful job, you can't just give Li Lianying a "Clear and Bright River" painting, it's better to give him tens of thousands of taels of silver instead.

  At this time, the capital was still very deep. If it is described in a few simple sentences, there are two main aspects: one is the struggle for power and interests between the emperor and the queen's parties, and the other is the open and secret struggle between high-ranking officials like Li Hongzhang and the imperial court, with complex Manchu-Han power struggles mixed in.

  The struggle between the two parties of the emperor and empress is not worth mentioning, Guangxu has grown up too, just waiting for the right moment to show his ambition! But how can Cixi, who is greedy for power, hand it over? You'd better keep waiting, wait until I'm gone before giving it to you.

  That tender and lovely Guangxu, where would he be able to withstand the cunning and treacherous Cixi? Let's talk about this Sino-Japanese War. Guangxu directly jumped up and said that he resolutely supported fighting against Japan. But Cixi was ambiguous, you can't say she didn't support it, but she also didn't say anything opposing it. If something went wrong, she would immediately push the blame onto Guangxu's body. Whether they won or lost, she wouldn't suffer any losses. As soon as the Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed, she couldn't wait to jump out and pluck the peaches. Now Guangxu is still just a golden bird in her cage, when she's happy, she lets you out to get some fresh air, but when she's not happy, she locks you up for a few days without giving you food to eat.

  For a cunning and manipulative old woman who lacks international strategic vision, Ye Zhiqi is not even qualified to fight with him now. Haven't you seen the later Li Hongzhang's downfall? The army was gone, power was seized, and finally, his reputation was ruined, while Cixi herself continued to live a very comfortable life. There's no way out, so let's just let you jump around for a few more days.

  So it's certain that these days will be spent with her in a perfunctory manner, and if you want to get involved with Cixi, you can't avoid the famous Little Li. Fortunately, this bird brain has a good reputation for taking people's money and doing things for them, and several high-ranking princes of the Qing dynasty in Beijing are also people who look up to money, all of which are easy to settle.

  Guangxu couldn't be neglected either, and wasn't it just perfect that he had a Japanese sword, Muramasa, which he had once stepped on? Giving it to him would be the best, and the young emperor's blood would surely boil with excitement upon seeing this.

  Ye Zhi's chief secretly deliberated for a while, and then discussed with the other generals for a moment. He didn't let down several military officials in the capital, and after discussing the gifts, they finally sent Xian Ren, Shi Wu, and Bao Butong, who had been through official circles for a long time, to lead a large batch of goods into Beijing to handle everything first.

  ………

  This chapter is written poorly, alas! The state of mind was not good.