Me and Empress Dowager Cixi

Chapter 3 Galeries Lafayette's New Toy

During that time, the Empress Dowager seemed to be particularly fond of going out for activities, probably because the trip to Rehe touched a certain nerve in her.When she didn't go to Rehe, she just went to the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace.She had been to Xi'an once before, during the Boxer Rebellion, but what kind of memory did that trip leave for her?well!I'm afraid only she knows.

Decades have passed like this, and she already feels bored. Thinking about those court affairs, she probably also became bored. At this time, she seems to yearn for a different life.In addition, my usual thoughts have more or less affected her, so that she made an amazing decision, and it also made me bear a crime that makes people poke the spine.

My sister and I have a deep nostalgia for our Manchu homeland, and we have some mysterious conjectures about our people, which is why people accused me of instigating the Queen Mother to go to Fengtian.In fact, since our ancestors entered the customs, there are very few Manchurians who can go back and have a look. I am not the only one who misses their homeland?
The empress dowager made up her mind to go to Fengtian, and she also wanted to take a look at the Forbidden City of Dongling.The idea here was certain, and it immediately became an order, and the telegram immediately went to Fengtian, ordering everything to be ready.Although, like the Rehe Palace, there are people looking after the palace all the year round, but it cannot be compared with the Forbidden City after all.Therefore, before the Empress Dowager set off, a group of people had already gone there first, preparing to tidy up the few palaces that had been idle for a long time, so that they could be as comfortable and luxurious as the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace.

However, Beijing is really far away from Fengtian, and the Empress Dowager also realized this, knowing that it was impossible for her to go there by Luanyu again.It just so happened that she bought a "queen train" from a foreign railway company at a sky-high price.This price is not what the railway company asked for, but because there are too many people who handle it, and it is divided up layer by layer, so that the final price is almost equivalent to the annual expenditure of a small country.Li Lianying was one of the sharers. As for how much silver he got, probably no one can tell.

The exorbitantly priced special train has been bought long ago, but the Queen Mother has never used it once.On weekdays, she always wondered what it would be like to take the train, and this time she could finally feel it.In addition, what she looks forward to even more is that, taking this opportunity to go to Fengtian, she can take a look at the land under her rule.Leaving Beijing is really very rare for her; moreover, she still wants to see the common people, but this can only be a thought that stays in her mind, because ordinary people can't see her at all.As long as the holy driver is on patrol, idlers are absolutely not allowed to stay on the main road, even pedestrians in the surrounding small streets and alleys will be driven away.

However, the eyes of the people cannot be covered.Both my sister and I know that as long as the empress dowager or the emperor passes by, the residents on both sides of the street will hide in their homes and dig a small hole in the window paper to watch secretly.Fortunately, the empress dowager's Luanyu and the red sedan chairs of the female officials were all covered up tightly. What the common people saw was everything outside, and they couldn't see us at all.Occasionally, I would open my car curtain a little bit to look outside, but only a little bit, otherwise people outside would see me, and that would be too indecent, and others would make trouble and punish me greatly. blame.

The matter of going to Fengtian has been confirmed, but there are still many preparations to be made for the real departure.The first important thing is that the Empress Dowager must issue a formal decree to determine the specific date for the special train to depart from Beijing to Fengtian.In addition, a new law must be established, that is, during the driving process of the Queen Mother's special train, no other vehicles are allowed to travel on this section of the road, and those who violate the order will be executed.Therefore, during the Queen Mother's tour this time, the chiefs along the Jingfeng Railway were inevitably sent as basic followers.In addition, she personally selected the courtiers who accompanied her.Other than that, it's all up to General Qingshan and I, so I won't go into details here.

The first to put into preparation work should be the railway workers, because it is estimated that all the courtiers, eunuchs, court ladies, plus various household items, items, etc., the Queen Mother's special train will have at least [-] carriages.In addition, since the repurchase, this imperial special train has not been used once, so to be sure, it must be checked first.But speaking of it, such a complicated job was completed in a very short period of time.

The next job was to paint all the sixteen carriages in the exclusive yellow color of the royal family, the only thing that remained unchanged was the locomotive in front.well!It is extremely regrettable in retrospect-under our imperial sky and above the thick soil, there has never been a completely yellow imperial train.Probably the empress dowager did not think of this, otherwise she would definitely order the locomotive to be painted yellow.

Although it is a foregone conclusion that the empress dowager will go to Fengtian, according to the rules, the opinions of the ministers in the court should be consulted.Over the years, the Empress Dowager would ask them to express their views on any important matters.However, in my opinion, courtiers expressing their opinions is just a formality, and she will not pay attention to it at all. If the opinion is exactly the opposite, then she will not hear it.This time, as usual, an imperial edict was issued, but "one stone caused a thousand waves", the courtiers immediately became flustered, and memorials were sent to the Queen Mother one after another.The meanings are roughly the same. In summary, there are a few sentences:
"In my vast country, since Yao and Shun, the emperors of the past dynasties have never tried the swift weapon with the respect of ten thousand vehicles. And my empress dowager is old, so you should cherish it again and again, so as not to worry about my people in the Qing Dynasty. I am not satisfied with the safety of your body...Moreover, many affairs in the court also depend on the queen mother's decision, how can I let it go for a day? The old ministers and others boldly beseech the queen mother, don't be confused by the barbarian's gossip, and put aside the matter of Dongxing for the time being. It is appropriate. This is even good!" The "barbarian gossip" mentioned in it is talking about me and my sister.In the more than 20 days of preparing for the trip, such memorials were almost every day.The empress dowager was indifferent to this, and the memorial immediately became shredded paper in her hand.This has always been her habit, as long as she sees a memorial that disagrees with her, she will tear it up.When she saw these memorials, she once said angrily: "The previous emperors didn't know what it was like to take a train, so we are not qualified to take it? Besides, if the train had been popular at that time, they must have taken it long ago. There will be What danger? We are not afraid! Come to think of it, have we experienced few dangerous things? The most annoying thing is, these slaves, they dare to say that I am old!"

That's what I said, but after all, time is not forgiving, and the Queen Mother is already in her seventies at this time, and she is indeed old.Her face and fingers have clearly shown the characteristics of a woman after she gets old.But a woman is a woman after all, and pointing out that she is "advanced" to her face is difficult for her to accept.She was so annoyed that she found it almost intolerable.

"Also, how could they say that?" She said to herself, her anger obviously growing, "Aren't I allowed to leave here because I have something to deal with? Have they forgotten that I am here Where, isn’t it the imperial court? No matter what it is, can’t it be done right? The Gengzi year was so chaotic, we went to Xi’an, and the foreign soldiers couldn’t catch up. The imperial court is still in our hands! Could it be that they Can’t figure out these reasons? These stupid things, what’s the use of them!”

She has made up her mind, and no force can change it.Therefore, Qin Tianjian was responsible for picking an auspicious day and time for us to prepare for our departure.When that day came, the entire Forbidden City was full of hectic atmosphere, from the empress dowager and all the family members, down to Li Lianying and us servants, even the lowest-ranking maids, were all busy.The outside world is even more uneven. From the important ministers in the court to the small guards on the railway, no one is idle.

We finally set off. When we walked out of the gate of the Forbidden City, the first thing we saw was a golden road—from Chaomen to the railway station, paved with yellow sand all the way.The yellow sand is moist, and the whole road seems to be a beach by the sea. It is said that it can prevent the sand from being blown away when the wind comes.My sedan chair was just behind the Empress Dowager Luanyu. We walked out from the front gate of Zhonghuamen and walked along Qianmen Street to Yongdingmen. This is where we were going to board the train.

The dazzling golden sedan chair carried by sixteen eunuchs belonged to the Empress Dowager, and the rest of the ladies and I sat in the red sedan chair as usual.These sedan chairs were also taken to Fengtian, and two carriages were specially prepared for them.I really don't like sitting in the sedan chair obediently, and at this time, I opened the curtain of the sedan chair a little, peeping at everything outside.First, I saw the Temple of Heaven on the left, with its blue domed roof gleaming; then looking to the right, the Xiannong Altar came into my sight; finally, I finally came to the towering Yongding Gate.This mighty team slowly passed through the door opening and came straight to the platform.The royal train had been waiting there quietly for a long time.At a glance, the sixteen carriages are all beautiful golden yellow, giving people a graceful and unique feeling!The only downside is that the wheel axles are still in the original black color, because the time is really tight. In 20 days, it takes [-] days to paint all sixteen carriages in golden yellow. The work of these painters is already very difficult.

Ready to drive.Originally, we only needed to come to the side of the train and walk up the ladder, without any complicated procedures.But the Empress Dowager wanted to go her own way, so she ordered a special passage to be prepared.She was not in a hurry to get on the train, after all, it was the first time she saw her royal train, so she wanted to take a good look at it.In fact, let alone this imperial train, she has never seen any other trains.As far as I know, the only idea she has about trains is when I tell her when I'm free, and she hasn't even seen a picture of a train yet.Thinking of this, I can't help worrying about the service personnel on the railway - if the train makes the empress dowager feel uncomfortable during the train, their heads will not be able to keep their heads.One whisper from this aging woman and their heads have to move.

However, the Empress Dowager Cixi was like a child at this time, and this train was like her new toy.So, instead of rushing into the train, she decided to take a good look at it.She gave the order to stop the sedan chair, which made it easier to order.She first ordered the train to move forward slowly. When the train really started to move, she—our empress dowager was so happy that she even let go of her arrogance.She bent down and kept looking at the rotating iron wheels, and kept asking questions, such as: Why does the locomotive have steam?Where does the steam come from?What the hell is moving those wheels?Why can trains only run on rails, can they run on flat ground?
Looking at her like that, that kind of expression, you will forget that she is the aloof Lafayette, and she is simply a child at this moment.

She kept ordering and watching, and the train moved forward and back, until she had seen enough and seemed to understand what was going on with the train before giving the order to get on.The carriage that the Empress Dowager was going to board had a plank like a ship's gangway at the front, covered with a yellow velvet blanket.Li Lianying walked in front of her to support her, and there were many eunuchs stretching out their hands to protect her, just in case.It wasn't until her feet were firmly on the floor of the carriage that everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the wooden boards were immediately moved away.

This imperial special train is about to depart, but there is a special rule before it officially hits the road, that is: the train must obtain the permission of the empress dowager in advance before the train can move forward, reverse or stop.Only when it is really necessary, the driver can make up his own mind.In addition, since the journey to Fengtian this time is much longer than Rehe, the Empress Dowager repeatedly warned that no matter what, it is not allowed to honk the whistle on the way, whether the train is entering, exiting or driving. No other noises are allowed.She really wanted to try this new gadget, but the journey was so long that she had to give such an order.

If it was decades in the morning, when she was young, such an imperial train would definitely be a monster in people's eyes, and it would be too late to hide!Who would have thought that it could be convenient for people?But at this time, the empress dowager actually sat on the train in person and followed the railway to the distant Fengtian.How incredible things are!
But she still hesitated in her heart, worried that there would be some obstacles on the way, so she finally took her big golden sedan chair with her.

(End of this chapter)