Chapter 25: Court Discussion

  Beijing, the capital of the Qing Empire, is also the national center for politics, economy and culture. Since the Manchu people took over the Central Plains in 1644, the population of only one million Manchu people has ruled China for nearly two hundred and fifty years.

  The Forbidden City in the center of Beijing has been the imperial palace since the Ming Dynasty. Although it was originally built by the Han people, it was occupied by the Manchu people two hundred years later.

  Ren Shou Dian, the grand hall where Emperor Guangxu held court and listened to politics. On the high imperial throne, the 19-year-old Emperor Guangxu was filled with rage, while in the great hall, officials with pigtails were already kneeling all over the floor.

  "What do those scoundrels in Sichuan want to do? Do they really think they can declare war on the Great Qing? Is my great Qing Empire afraid of them?" The immature voice of Guangxu echoed in the Golden Hall. Today's court meeting was specifically convened to discuss how to respond to the aggressive attitude of Sichuan. However, after several hours of debate, the ministers present were still unable to come up with a feasible plan. This made Emperor Guangxu extremely angry.

  At the age of four, he ascended to the throne as emperor. For fifteen years, Emperor Guangxu had been living under the shadow of Empress Dowager Cixi. It wasn't until last year that Empress Dowager Cixi ended her reign behind the curtain, and Emperor Guangxu was greatly encouraged, wanting to make a name for himself and defeat the bandits who had plagued the Qing dynasty for decades in Sichuan Province. However, as soon as the Sichuan army began to mobilize, these high-ranking officials of the Qing dynasty were all flustered and at a loss. I wonder how Emperor Guangxu can achieve his dreams with such officials and eliminate the bandits in Sichuan Province.

  The Guangxu Emperor, having vented his anger in the Golden Throne Hall, finally calmed down. Looking at the ministers kneeling before him, he felt a sense of pride rising within him. Two years ago, he was merely a puppet sitting on the dragon throne. Now that Empress Dowager Cixi had relinquished power, he could finally take control himself.

  "What do you think we should do now to deal with the unrest in Sichuan?" The Guangxu Emperor sat back in his dragon chair, scanning the faces of the kneeling ministers below him, hoping that someone among them would come up with a plan. Of course, the Guangxu Emperor himself wanted to go to war with Sichuan. He hoped to defeat Sichuan quickly, eliminate the bandits and achieve unification. The Guangxu Emperor also urgently hoped that all the ministers in the court could be of one mind with him.

  However, the Guangxu Emperor was still too naive. The ministers all lowered their heads and avoided his gaze. They were not like the Guangxu Emperor, a child who spoke and acted without consideration, only following his own whims. How could they not be aware of the ferocity of Chuanxi? Since Chuanxi's rise to power, how many wars had there been between the Qing dynasty and Chuanxi that did not end in defeat for the Qing? Each time, Chuanxi's strength would swell a bit more. Afterwards, they would have to compensate Chuanxi for their losses, which was another large sum of silver! Therefore, as long as Chuanxi did not provoke them, the Qing dynasty also did not want to go to war with Chuanxi. Even when Chuanxi provoked them, the Qing dynasty continued to tolerate and appease them. This had resulted in over a decade of peace. Now, to lightly initiate hostilities again was not looking for trouble?

  Thus, when faced with Guangxu Emperor's inquiry, none of the ministers spoke up.

  "Permit me to ask you, can our Great Qing dynasty annihilate the rebels in Western Sichuan with a single battle?" Seeing that all the ministers were silent, Emperor Guangxu had no choice but to call out names. As the Minister of War, Xu Gengshen was naturally the first minister to be questioned.

  "Your Majesty, the land of Sichuan is only three provinces, and there are not more than a few hundred thousand soldiers. How can they be the opponent of our great Qing dynasty's million-strong army!" Minister of War Xu Gengxi had to force himself to answer. At this time, he definitely couldn't say that we can't defeat Sichuan, otherwise, his position as Minister of War would also come to an end. The furious Guangxu Emperor wouldn't let him off easily.

  "Haha! I knew it, the bandits of Western Sichuan are no match for my great Qing dynasty." The Guangxu Emperor laughed heartily, having obtained the answer he wanted from the Minister of War, Xu Geng.

  However, all the civil and military officials in the court could not help but secretly purse their lips.

  "Hmph! You're not afraid to blow your own horn, but if the war effort fails, you, as the Minister of War, will likely have to apologize with your life!" Many people thought this to themselves. Since the rise of the Western Sichuan region, being the Minister of War in the Qing dynasty has not been an easy job. During peacetime, it's fine, but once war breaks out, most Ministers of War become scapegoats.

  "Xu Ai Qing, then tell me, if we go to war with Chuan Xi, how should the Great Qing army attack?" Guangxu Emperor replied with a smile on his face, expecting to get the answer he wanted from Xu Gong's body.

  "Your Majesty! Although the bandits in Western Sichuan have few soldiers, their combat strength is extremely strong. Our Qing army must make thorough preparations. Qinghai, Shaanxi, Wuhan, Guizhou and Yunnan must all launch attacks. Especially our most elite 200,000-strong army, must be fully mobilized, and when the time comes, we will surely win in one battle!" Xu Geng said loudly.

  "All right, attack from five directions, and the bandits in western Sichuan will have nowhere to escape!" The Guangxu Emperor was overjoyed.

  "Your Majesty, among the new armies, except for the 100,000 troops from Hubei who can fight, the rest of the Green Standard Armies from various provinces are using big knives and long spears, which are not even a match for the Sichuan Army! And the 100,000 troops from Zhili and Beijing are responsible for guarding the capital, they cannot be easily mobilized!" A veteran official standing in the front row of the left column spoke out loudly. His name was Weng Tonghe, one of the Grand Councilors, and also the teacher of Emperor Guangxu, so he had a high position and great power within the Qing court. Seeing Emperor Guangxu straying further and further from the right path, as his teacher, he naturally stepped forward to stop him.

  "Hum! Duke Rong, you may withdraw. I have my own plans!" The smile on the face of Emperor Guangxu suddenly disappeared completely, and he said coldly.

  Weng Tonghe had no choice but to retreat, but he glared fiercely at Xu Gongshi. If anything went wrong, Xu Gongshi would be the culprit.

  Xu Gong's body was seen under Weng Tonghe's gaze, and he couldn't help but smile bitterly. He had no choice either!

  "Xu Ai Qing, then tell me, when can we eliminate the bandits in western Sichuan?" Guangxu Emperor asked with a look of expectation.

  "Your Majesty, the troops and horses have not moved, but the grain and grass have already gone ahead! Our Qing army has been at peace for over a decade, to eliminate the Sichuan rebels, we must make sufficient preparations first. Weapons, ammunition, food, participating troops, who leads the army, etc., all need to be carefully prepared. Otherwise, once a mistake occurs, it may lead to defeat in battle. Therefore, we must plan for the long term!" Xu Gengshen continued to say.

  "So, how long will it take for the army to be fully prepared?" The Guangxu Emperor had no interest in those preparations whatsoever. All he wanted to see was the Qing army entering western Sichuan and annihilating the rebels there.

  "Your Majesty, it will probably take two or three years," said Xu Geng after some consideration.

  In an instant, all the civil and military officials of the court widened their eyes. Some people almost burst out laughing. Good one, Xu Gongshi, everything you said before was just to tease Guangxu Emperor!

  The Guangxu Emperor heard Xu Jingyuan's answer at this time and couldn't help but feel a blackness in front of his eyes, almost falling off the dragon chair.

  "Are you daring to play tricks on me?" Guangxu Emperor roared in anger. It would take two or three years to prepare, and with that time, the Sichuan army would have already marched from Sichuan to Beijing. Kangxi, who had previously been very fond of Xu Gongshi, now hated him so much that he wanted to kill him.

  "I dare not, I deserve ten thousand deaths!" Xǔ Gēng's body hastily knelt down to beg for mercy.

  "Please calm down, Your Majesty!" All the civil and military officials in the court knelt down on the ground, shouting loudly.

  "Restrain your anger, restrain your anger! With you useless people around, how can I restrain my anger?" Guangxu Emperor thundered.

  The ministers, facing the angry Guangxu, all closed their mouths and responded with silence. Although Guangxu was furious, he had no way to deal with these ministers. Obviously, although he was the emperor, these ministers were not people he could dismiss at will. Without the consent of Empress Dowager Cixi, he had no power to appoint or remove officials.

  The Guangxu Emperor felt a wave of desolation in his heart and looked to the side. Although there was no longer a curtain hanging beside him, nor anyone sitting there, he still felt that after taking power, it was fundamentally no different from when he was a puppet emperor.

  At the mere thought of this, the Guangxu Emperor felt his whole body weaken. He raised his hand and gestured to the eunuch.

  "Retreat!" The eunuch's sharp voice rang out. Today's court assembly came to a close.

  PS: The first update is here, please collect!