Chapter 58: Confrontation on the Imperial Court

  The political center of the Qing Dynasty, the Forbidden City, on top of the largest building in Beijing, Taihe Hall, at dawn.

  Guangxu sat on the "treasured throne" with golden lacquer carved dragon in the palace, his eyes gleaming with spirit as he surveyed the officials below. Having gained Cixi's nod of approval for the reform, he had a sense of ambition and wanted to make a move, thus appearing particularly spirited.

  The civil and military officials of the Great Qing Empire are listed below on both sides, and the eunuch in charge raises his voice to sing loudly: "If you have something to report, come forward; if not, withdraw from court!"

  Some officials on the court were yawning, still sleepy; some were counting the ants on the ground, having come to attend the morning court just for show.

  Hu Jinggui, the supervising censor, suddenly stepped forward and memorialized: "Your minister Hu Jinggui has a matter to report! I wish to impeach the Zhili Tidu Ye Zhiwei. Two days ago, Ye Zhiwei indulged in revelry with soldiers within the camp, disregarding the law, ruining military discipline, and committing an unpardonable crime! From this, your minister believes he is unfit for the new army's training exercises, and humbly requests Your Majesty to relieve him of his military duties."

  As soon as this remark came out, it was like throwing a small stone into a quiet pond, causing the officials to clamor and start discussing in an uproar. Ye Zhikui is now very famous, whether it's his straightforward words or his unique way of expressing himself, both are widely circulated in the court.

  Guangxu was shocked to hear this, and he thought of the precious sword Village Righteousness that he had been using constantly since it was given to him by Emperor Taizong. He signaled to the eunuch to bring over the memorial written by Hu Jinggui, took it in his hand, opened it, and saw that it said: On a certain year, month, and day, Ye Ziku invited actors from Tianjin to perform and play in the military camp, causing chaos and disorder. Ye Ziku regarded military discipline as child's play, with great influence. If the new army were handed over to him, it would certainly become disorganized and have no fighting strength whatsoever.

  Guangxu finished reading and put down the memorial, looking at the officials and asked: "What do you gentlemen think about this matter?"

  Grand Secretary Li Hongzhang originally had his eyes closed, cultivating his spirit on the side. However, after Guangxu finished speaking, he suddenly opened his eyes and nodded slightly to the Minister of Justice Lu Shangchuan.

  Lu Shangchuan stepped forward and said: "I think Ye's case must have a reason, Your Majesty cannot listen to only one family's words, please let the Emperor investigate clearly!"

  Several other Hanlin Academy scholars also came forward and said: "Your Majesty's subjects have expressed their opinions, and we hope that Your Majesty will make a wise decision."

  Guangxu turned his gaze to his own teacher, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and Grand Councilor Weng Tonghe. Weng Tonghe slightly furrowed his brow and stepped forward, saying: "Your Majesty, since opinions are divided, why not order a high-ranking official to go to Tianjin to investigate this matter?" He was trying to mediate!

  The Guangxu Emperor was indecisive and often found himself unable to make a decision when faced with differing opinions. However, the suggestion made by Weng Tonghe was like a refreshing rain after a long drought, soothing his mind. He nodded in agreement and ordered: "Send the Minister of War Ronglu to investigate the defeat of Ye Zhikui and the breakdown of military discipline immediately!"

  Ronglu's face was expressionless, and upon hearing the imperial edict, he knelt down to receive it and replied: "Your humble servant Ronglu has received the edict!"

  After dispersing the morning court, Li Hongzhang walked up to Prince Gong and asked in a low voice: "Your Highness, there was no wind of Hu Jinggui's impeachment of Zeng Guofan beforehand, what inside story is this?"

  In the officialdom, for this kind of impeachment memorial, what is generally considered first is not where one has done wrong, but rather whether one has offended someone, who is behind one's back framing oneself, and what kind of political intention is hidden, which is why Li Hongzhang would ask such a question.

  Gong Qin Wang narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, and said: "Hu Jinggui is a straightforward and upright person, he has no interest in colluding with Ye Zhi Kui, he must have been used as a gun by someone."

  Li Hongzhang thought for a moment about who in the imperial court was dissatisfied with Ye Zhiqi, but couldn't come up with anything and had to give up. He then turned his attention to the matter of reform and innovation, and asked Prince Gong in a probing tone: "The Emperor has great talent and strategy, and intends to reform and strengthen the country. What is your opinion on this, Your Highness?"

  The Prince Gong sighed helplessly and said, "What is this reform and change of law? Is it not the case that the Western affairs we have been handling for many years are also a kind of reform and change of law? Kang Youwei is just an empty-talking scholar, his words are often contradictory, and he has repeatedly stirred up trouble between the two palaces, confusing the superior and inferior relationships. What ability does he have, what prestige does he have to take charge of reforming and strengthening the country? The Emperor's trust in this kind of petty person will surely delay the great affairs of the Qing dynasty and bring about chaos throughout the land."

  Li Hongzhang heard this and thought to himself, the current situation is unclear, it's better for him to observe from the sidelines for now. Although the Emperor has taken over power, unfortunately, the Empress Dowager still holds the real power in her hands, and her attitude is wavering.

  Li Hongzhang also had a direction in mind and silently walked out of the Taihe Hall.

  Ronglu, a ruthless politician, was a lone wolf from the north. There is an unofficial history that Ronglu and Cixi were childhood sweethearts and rumored to be cousins. Ronglu had always been infatuated with Cixi, thus he willingly became her hatchet man. Whether this is true or not only the parties involved know, but it's undeniable that Ronglu spent his life serving Cixi like a cow or horse.

  He is now the Minister of War, in charge of training the new Beiyang Army, and is at the height of his physical strength. He is only one step away from becoming a top-ranking official, but he has no notable achievements to show for it. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was defeated by Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang, and foreign affairs and industries were handled by Li Hongzhang. It's easy to imagine the sense of crisis he feels.

  He also hopes to change the law, make some achievements and gain political capital. The first thing he thinks of is the military aspect that he is more familiar with, so he says "practicing troops is the first major policy, practicing foreign drills is especially important for practicing troops". Moreover, he advocates that the reform should be gradual and not rushed, in order to achieve something slowly.

  Unfortunately, the reform movement of Late Qing was like a modern online forum, where everyone had their own opinions and theories. Petitions to the emperor were like flooding the site with posts, and if you wanted your post to stay visible, you had to constantly reply to yourself and push it back up, just like Kang Youwei did.

  If you want to pursue a high click-through rate, then you need to make more shocking statements, talk more about ideals and isms, study fewer practical problems, the content of the post should be both stimulating and popular, can make Guangxu's blood boil, after posting, also need to advertise everywhere, write books and publicize one's own ideas, while Ronglu, who posts without enthusiasm and doesn't know how to advertise, is destined to get no attention from the world, only to be drowned in the water army. So he put all his thoughts on the new army, as long as the new army trains well, Ronglu can also take a step further on the hundred-foot pole.

  Rong Lu walked and thought, he had long heard that Ye Zhi Kui had studied in Germany, and nowadays the German army is recognized as the world's first, so he attached great importance to Ye Zhi Kui, hoping that he could train a fine army. Therefore, he felt that his trip was mainly to see if Ye Zhi Kui really had the skills to train troops, and investigating other things was secondary.

  Because he was thinking about the problem while walking, Ronglu accidentally bumped into someone. He looked up carefully and found that the person he bumped into was Kang Youwei, the new favorite of the Emperor, also known as Kang Nanhai. This made him think of the recent rumors about the reform movement.

  Rong Lu took the initiative to greet him and said: "It turned out to be Mr. Kang, Mr. Kang has a talent that can be used in heaven and on earth, I wonder what you think of the current situation?"

  Kang Youwei was suddenly bumped, and his heart was not feeling well. Seeing that the one who bumped him was Ronglu, Cixi's loyal running dog, he said in a bad mood: "Without changing the law, China cannot be saved."

  Rong Lu did not express approval or disapproval, and said: "I also know that we must change our laws to catch up with the powerful countries, but can the laws that have been formed over several hundred years be changed just by saying so?"

  Kang Youwei's face turned cold, and he replied in a sharp tone: "Kill a few high-ranking officials of the first or second rank, and the new law will be implemented."

  Rong Lu shivered all over, feeling a chill run down his neck, and secretly seethed with anger. A high-ranking official like himself had come to flatter this insignificant little official, but instead of being grateful, he dared to speak sarcastically. Rong Lu let out a cold snort and turned to leave.

  Rong Lu had not yet set out, but Ye Zhi Kui had already received the news and understood the ins and outs of the matter. A cold light flashed in Ye's eyes. Yuan Shikai had underestimated Ye's strength too much, thinking that he could take advantage of hiding behind the scenes. He didn't know that Ye had many informants in the capital, and Yuan was one of his key targets for observation.

  Yuan Shikai's trusted envoy had not yet returned to Tianjin after leaving the capital, when Ye Zhiwei ordered the thirteen eagles to be deployed and make him disappear forever. Ye Zhiwei thought to himself: If killing a small fry still requires caution, then it's better to go home and sell sweet potatoes.

  Although it is easy to attract the attention of the imperial court by killing you, Yuan Shikai, it is still a trivial matter to kill one of your subordinates. After waiting for several days, Yuan Shikai even received news that Hu Jinggui had impeached Ye Zhiwei's memorial during his audience with the emperor, but he still hadn't waited for his trusted aide to return.

  Only a few days later, when Yuan Shikai was dining at a restaurant, he opened the steamed carp dish to find that it wasn't fish but a human palm. Yuan Shikai was frightened and panicked on the spot, vaguely guessing what had happened, knowing that his confidant might not come back, and for several days afterwards, Yuan Shikai was suspicious of everything, feeling that there were assassins all around him, worried about his life at any moment, and under the pressure of fear, he lost his appetite, losing several pounds in weight, and hid in the Dingwu Army barracks, not daring to go out casually.

  ……………

  This week, Little Bug's new book is on the list! Brothers and sisters who haven't collected it yet, hurry up and collect it!