Me and Empress Dowager Cixi

Chapter 63 Ominous Omen (2)
The queen mother was afraid that I would not believe what she said, so she gave another example to strengthen my belief: "I don't know if you remember one thing. One evening a few years ago, a layer of bright red clouds appeared over the city of Beijing. It almost covered the entire city of Beijing. At that time, the people in the city were very panicked, and there were ominous omens everywhere. Not only that, but that night, a comet swept across the sky—the so-called comet is also commonly known as the broom star. Both phenomena are It is an ominous symbol. Manchao Wenwu and I were very worried. We were careful in everything that year for fear of making mistakes. Even so, we were defeated by Little Japan in the end. Not only did we lose a lot of money, but we also cut out a lot of money. Lack of land. Thinking about it now, I still hate it. Several years have passed, and the magnolia that should not have bloomed this time has bloomed, and there is only one flower. I really don’t know what God will do this time Play tricks on us." The queen mother's voice was so sincere that even I had to believe that the omen she said was true.I think no matter who, as long as they hear the Queen Mother's words and see the Queen Mother's attitude at that time, they will inevitably follow her and believe that this is a bad omen.In the entire palace, the most superstitious person was the Queen Mother herself. Ever since she heard Li Lianying's report, the Queen Mother's behavior became more and more flustered. She kept walking back and forth with her hands behind her back, and almost forgot that she was about to go to court.Seeing the fierce look of the Queen Mother, none of us dared to go up to persuade her.Fortunately, the Empress Dowager still had a bit of reason left, and she finally put on the court dress.

"Help me fasten it fast, I'm still waiting to get out." At the last moment, the queen mother urged us, "No matter how inauspicious the omen is, we must go in the morning. Maybe there will be something in the morning today. Something unlucky has happened, maybe Prince Qing has a memorial in his sleeve that is not good for us." According to the royal rules, the queen mother is not allowed to speak like this, but because of the sudden incident, the queen mother didn't care that much.As the saying goes, no coincidence makes a book, and what happened that morning was indeed as expected by the Queen Mother.After I came back, I couldn't help but wonder, is there really God's will in the dark?

Every morning, the queen mother will choose a team to take behind her, this time is no exception, I am one of the team.When I went out to go to court, I found that the queen mother walked much faster than before, and her steps seemed flustered, and her body often tilted to one side, which was far less stable than usual.After all, people are getting old, and with the commotion this morning, the empress dowager's aging state was fully revealed.

After entering the main hall, all the ministers of civil and military affairs who were waiting for the Queen Mother knelt down in unison, bowing their heads respectfully.These are common etiquettes in daily life.After everyone paid homage, the Queen Mother made everyone flattened.Everyone got up, only Prince Qing still knelt on the ground, waiting for the Queen Mother to allow him to speak.Prince Qing is the leader of the Military Aircraft Department, and every time he goes to work, he is the first to play the right role.Prince Qing's expression today is not the same as in the past, but somewhat like Li Lianying's expression this morning, which aggravates the shadow in the Empress Dowager's heart.

Lafayette must have understood in his heart that the expression on Prince Qing's face told her clearly that today brought bad news. "Prince Qing, what do you want to say?" Although the queen mother was very anxious, she still asked this question without haste.Although His Highness still had many ministers, the Empress Dowager stared straight at Prince Qing, as if she was afraid that he would fly away. "Returning to the Queen Mother, Lafayette, the servant just got a piece of news." Prince Qing still maintained his usual demeanor, and answered the Queen Mother's question in a low voice.The Empress Dowager was very anxious, and she didn't care about so many etiquettes. She opened her mouth and said what was in her heart: "If there is any bad news, you can tell it quickly and don't push it. I felt something was wrong when I woke up this morning. Don't try to deceive me." After hearing what the Queen Mother said, Prince Qing also felt that there was nothing to hide, so he mustered up his courage and said, "Japan has declared war on Russia."

This news was indeed beyond the expectation of the Queen Mother. Although the Queen Mother also knew that Japan and Russia had always been at odds, she did not expect that Japan would declare war on Russia so early. "These foreigners, I really don't understand them. They want to go to war every now and then. If you have something to talk about, why do you have to use knives and guns? By the way, Prince Qing, do you know why they go to war? I Look, these two countries are not good things, and they both have unreasonable thoughts about our country." The Queen Mother sent a message of emotion, and then asked a question. "This is because Japan sent troops to capture Lushunkou." "Lushunkou? Isn't that our country's place?" The Queen Mother said in surprise. "Yes, Lafayette." Prince Qing did not deny it. "This is really strange. Why don't they fight on their own land? It can be done in Japan or Siberia. Why do you want to fight in our country?" The Queen Mother was very angry and asked several questions in a row. "Please rest assured, Queen Mother, this war has nothing to do with our country." "No relationship? Thank you for being able to tell! If it really has nothing to do with it, why did they fight in our country?"

The empress dowager's words were too pungent, making Prince Qing speechless and speechless.Having been officials in the court for a long time, these people have developed a good eloquence, and they can talk about big things.Although the queen mother knew that they were lying to her on weekdays, she thought it was no big deal, so she didn't expose them.Today's matter was really too big, she finally couldn't bear it anymore, and took a few words from Prince Qing.But the Queen Mother didn't make it difficult for Prince Qing to step down, she lowered her head to think, and put those courtiers aside.Prince Qing and other ministers stayed below with serious faces, all of them pretending to be thinking, not knowing what tricks were going on behind their backs. "As the saying goes, soldiers are raised for a thousand days, and they are used for a short time." The Queen Mother suddenly raised her voice, "Just like the Japanese and Russian soldiers, our soldiers also eat three meals a day. Now that the country is in trouble, even if they can only fight one battle, We should also let them go out for a touch. Regardless of whether we succeed in the end, we have to be prepared. Let the Ministry of War mobilize a few troops and rush to Lushunkou!"

Everyone heard the meaning behind the Queen Mother's words.The Empress Dowager did not intend to slander the Chinese army, it was indeed because the Chinese army was so disreputable at that time.Although she knew that the Chinese army was useless and unable to resist the invasion of those foreign soldiers, she still advocated making preparations within her own capabilities.From the Empress Dowager's point of view, even if what Prince Qing said is true, we have to prepare ourselves to avoid repeating the mistakes of the Sino-Japanese War.The Queen Mother went on to say: "Whether we like it or not, we have to admit that no matter which war a foreigner wages, it doesn't matter if it's fought within our country or near the border, and it doesn't matter if it's fought against a foreigner or a foreigner. Fighting against the Chinese, we have never won a single battle for so many years. In the end, we cede land and pay compensation. In my opinion, the war between Japan and Russia this time is just a prelude for them to seize the three eastern provinces. After the war, they will definitely There will be another move. The three eastern provinces are the land of my great Qing dynasty, and I can't hand them over to them..." Seeing that the Queen Mother is becoming more and more generous, Prince Qing hastily interrupted the Queen Mother's words: "Look at the Queen Mother Calm down, listen to the old slave. Japan and Russia do have the mind of wolves, but this may not prove that they have unreasonable intentions this time. As long as we strictly maintain neutrality and stand firm, we will definitely be able to tide over the difficulties." Prince Qing just said After finishing speaking, the Empress Dowager interjected: "Although that is the case, you still have to instruct all the roads and government offices along the line to be careful and not to engage in any provocative behavior." The Empress Dowager obviously didn't take Prince Qing's reply seriously, and she insisted. He went on and on with his own thoughts: "While we avoid conflicts with the enemy, we must also deploy our troops to prevent accidents. If the enemy provokes us unreasonably or directly loots our land, we will We can no longer back down, and we must do our best to defend ourselves. In short, what we need to do now is to be patient, not to say anything that is misleading, or to do something that is easy to cause misunderstanding. If we are so patient, those people will still trouble us , we have to fight him!" Don't just believe what the Queen Mother said, the Queen Mother is a very cunning person, she is very familiar with the current situation in China at that time, and the bold words just now are just talking in the court.As soon as she heard that Japan and Russia were at war, she knew it was not easy.No matter under what circumstances, as long as her own interests are involved, the queen mother will not be reckless.Although she spoke very strongly, she did not order Prince Qing to handle it.At the same time, the Empress Dowager knew that if she published her words in writing, Japan and Russia would definitely take the opportunity to make a fuss in the three eastern provinces, and she would be the one who would suffer at that time.At that time, China was so poor and weak, and there was no strong support from outside, how could she rashly start a war with others?If the matter gets too big, it may overturn her own throne, which is something the Empress Dowager would not want to see even if she died.Due to these unpleasant incidents, the Empress Dowager did not want to sit in the Golden Luan Hall any longer. She left the court hall impatiently, and walked to her bedroom surrounded by us.

In the past, when returning to the palace, the queen mother always looked around and inspected.Today, she kept rushing forward as if she was being chased by something.The Empress Dowager likes flowers very much, and she would always comment on the flowers on the side of the road when she returns to the palace, but today those flowers lost this honor.Don't talk about Hua'er, even the little eunuch kneeling by the roadside can't make the Queen Mother look up.Walking behind the queen mother, I found a detail: the queen mother straightened her body, like a young man who is striving for success.Perhaps the queen mother wanted to use this to cheer herself up. She had had enough of the insults of those foreigners and could no longer let go of any grievances in her heart.In my opinion, at this time, the Empress Dowager was not only full of humiliation, but also shouldered the responsibility.But for some reason, I suddenly remembered the scene when we came back from Fengtian. At that time, we were afraid of some accident, but we didn't expect the accident to happen so soon.

After returning to the palace, the queen mother immediately ordered everyone to leave, leaving only two female officials at her disposal, and I was one of them.In the imperial palace at that time, perhaps the most pitiful person was Guangxu.Although he is the emperor in name, Lafayette has the final say on the affairs of the country, and in many cases he doesn't even have the opportunity to express his opinions.At this time, Emperor Guangxu, his wife and Concubine Jin were all kicked out.As for the maids and eunuchs, the queen mother drove them out without hesitation.After everyone withdrew, the Queen Mother sat down quietly by herself, like a dead corpse.None of us knew what the Queen Mother was thinking, nor what to say, so we could only stand quietly behind her, silently with her.The queen mother is still the queen mother of the past, but she looks very old at the moment.Compared to a few days ago, she seemed to be much older all of a sudden.Seeing such an old man sitting alone, I felt a surge of unspeakable pity.At this moment, the empress dowager is no longer sitting in front of us, but a very old lady. Although her shoulders are very thin, she has to bear the well-being of the entire Chinese people at this moment.At present, the Queen Mother still has the means to control everything, but what about in the future?No matter how the current situation changes in the future, the Queen Mother will always give an explanation to the people of the world.

The queen mother sat quietly like this for a long time, and when it was almost noon, she finally came back to her senses and issued an order in a hurry.She asked Li Lianying to lead several gardeners to cut down the magnolia plant, chop it into pieces, and bury it in the soil.Not only that, the queen mother also strictly ordered Li Lianying to bury this magnolia in an inaccessible place, so that it would not have the opportunity to come into contact with rain and dew, so as not to revive it again.

Not long after, Li Lianying came back and reported that the matter had been settled.The Empress Dowager's complexion improved slightly, as if a big stone in her heart had fallen to the ground.She turned her head and said to me: "A person can't always think about responsibility. If you force yourself to do this all the time, that responsibility will definitely become bigger and bigger, until one day it will completely destroy people's mind. Well, now We don't want those annoying things anymore, don't you know how to sing Li Bai's "Qingping Tune"? Now you can sing me a song." The melancholy look on the Empress Dowager's face eased a lot, but there was still no smile.Li Lianying, who stood by and waited for orders, hurriedly found two musicians, one playing the flute and the other playing the flute. These people's skills are very good.Seeing this situation, I cheered up and sang "Qingping Tune" with my voice raised.While singing, I took a sneak peek at the Queen Mother, and saw the wrinkles on her face gradually unfold.She really forgot her responsibilities and enjoyed the music quietly.

It doesn't take long for a piece of "Qingping Tune", and as the sound of the flute and flute dissipated, my voice also weakened.I glanced at the queen mother, her eyes were closed, as if she was asleep.I waved to the two musicians, and they followed me out of the palace gate.Standing outside and looking back at the Empress Dowager's bedroom, the gray sky enveloped everything, and the palace was terribly quiet, everything was immersed in this ominous tranquility.

(End of this chapter)