Eunuchs who traveled through the Qing Dynasty

For the ministers staying in Beijing, it is self-evident what this change means.Everyone realized that the most urgent moment of this storm had finally come!

Before dawn, all civil and military officials had already dressed up and gathered outside the Meridian Gate.The situation is critical, and the Empress Dowager Ci'an and the little emperor are on a southern tour, so it has been a few days since they officially went to court.As in the past, when these ministers met with great difficulty, they would immediately divide into groups and talk about the current situation and government affairs, or gossip. Domestic chickens laid a double-yolk duck egg or something.But today was different. Everyone stood with their heads bowed and their hands down, with solemn expressions.Because from Tiananmen Square to Duanmen Gate to Meridian Gate, there were two long rows of Qing soldiers armed with live ammunition, and they were heavily guarded, giving this peaceful morning a layer of chilling atmosphere.

At this time, everyone already understood that this was not for Xianfeng's birthday sacrifice, it was clear that Zeng Guofan's drunkard's intention was not to drink, and he deliberately chose the Hall of Supreme Harmony as the venue for the ceremony, just to take the opportunity to help Lan'er to the throne !With such a rebellious act, how can the ministers have no complaints in their hearts, but facing the black hole of the gun, they can only dare to be angry and dare not speak out.

At the hour of Chenzheng, nine drums sounded, and the Meridian Gate opened wide.There is an empty chariot at the middle gate, and the master of ceremonies sings: "Welcome to the holy chariot!" The little eunuch carried the empty chariot and moved it to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and then opened the doors on both sides. Civil and military officials entered from the east side door, and clan princes entered from the west side. door to enter.

Entering the Taihe Gate, His Highness Taihe has already arranged nine statues and eleven beasts, and three giant tripods are placed down along the steps, burning incense, and green smoke curling up.The incense table sacrificial ceremony, the bright yellow Luozhan, the gang of actors from the Shengping Department, holding drumsticks and trumpets, just waiting for the auspicious time to play and sing.

Hundreds of officials stand in ranks from the inside of the hall to the outside of the gate according to their titles.The master of ceremonies of "Zan Li Lang" of Taichang Temple took a step forward and played loudly: "Respectfully invite Empress Dowager Cixi to drive!" Only nine more drums were heard, and a voice from the side sang loudly: "The Empress Dowager Cixi is here!"

Many ministers were secretly taken aback. This voice seemed to be different from the normal eunuch's voice, so why did it sound familiar?Unanimously, they all raised their heads slightly and glanced over there.It didn't matter at this sight, everyone was stunned.Some of them stumbled and called out in a low voice: "Ah! Director Xiao..."

The person who shouted was none other than Xiao Ran, the deputy head of the Forbidden Palace.Wearing a tassel hat on his head, wearing a fifth-grade men's suit, and holding a dust whisk, his expression is a little listless.Although the voice was high-pitched, it was half-dead.The ministers who can make such a sacrifice are all veterans in official career, and they saw Xiao Ran at the first sight.There was a thump in my heart: it's over, the general trend is gone!The Empress Dowager Ci'an was powerless in the end, and even her confidant Director Xiao came to attend the ceremony, obviously giving up the idea of ​​the capital.Henceforth.From Zhili to Shandong and Henan, it has completely become the world of Empress Dowager Cixi and Zeng Guofan!

After Xiao Ran finished shouting, he flicked the whisk and retreated to the side of the hall.Then two rows of eunuchs trotted forward with their heads bowed and their waists bowed, and a group of Fengluan came out to meet them.Under the phoenix-headed banner, a woman in colorful costumes walked slowly, it was Yehenalala Lan'er.In fact, since Xiao Ran returned to Beijing, Zeng Guofan has been watching him fiercely.Don't let him meet with Laner.At this moment, she was close at hand, and when she looked up, she saw that Lan'er was still calm and expressionless.Droopy eyelids.The slightly thin cheeks made her less charming.But it also brings out an indescribable beauty and refinement.

When passing in front of Xiao Ran, Lan'er's footsteps seemed to have paused a little.Then he nodded very lightly with almost imperceptible movements, and li xuan immediately understood.Lin Qing'er was still following Lan'er, afraid that others would see that she was Xiao Ran's wife, so she refused to raise her head.

According to the rules of the ceremony, at this time, the Minister of Rites, Zan Lilang, should read the sacrificial oration, and then perform the salute, but to the surprise of all the officials, the master of ceremonies took a step forward and shouted loudly: "Prince Xuanbo Doletai, Xianglan Banner Seng Gelinqin, governor of Manchuria, Zeng Guofan, governor of Zhili, Ruoanayan, deputy commander of the Eight Banners Army in Shanxi, Qian Dingming, governor of Henan, Ding Baozhen, governor of Shandong, see you here, and invite Tianbiao!"

As soon as this remark came out, the officials were in an uproar.What's the fuss about this?Seng Gelinqin is the prince, and Zeng Guofan is the governor of Zhili. It is fine for these two people to pay homage to the ceremony. The remaining three are Ruoanayan, Qian Dingming, and Ding Baozhen.Isn't this clearly a deterrent by force and a demonstration in the imperial city?If things go on like this, the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty will become a chopping board fish, so where is there any place to stand? !

The ministers were very angry and talked a lot.However, following a high-pitched sound outside the Meridian Gate: "Meet Zeng Guofan!" The crowd who had been clamoring just now immediately quieted down, and when they looked back, they saw the guards standing in the middle, the monk king in the middle, Zeng Guofan on the left, and the other three followed closely behind. Afterwards, wearing a patched suit, he stepped boldly into the Meridian Gate, walked to the hall of Supreme Harmony, and kowtowed from a distance, saying in unison: "Greetings to the Emperor Daxing Longevity and Yongfang!"

In front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, there were no Qing soldiers guards, but there were countless guards standing on both sides with their hands on the hilts of their swords. It was seen that Zeng Guofan had already arranged the ground.The civil and military officials were silent, and a few straight old officials wanted to stand up and call out "disorderly ministers and thieves" or something, but there was a quick-seeing man beside him who desperately stopped him, and begged in a low voice: "My lord, don't mess with me!" chaos

Take care of yourself, don't hurt everyone! "

With that said, who dares to speak out again?The master of ceremonies held a piece of yellow silk in his hand, and went out to play: "I respectfully invite the Queen Mother to show me that the auspicious day has arrived, can we start the grand ceremony?"

"Wait! The Ai family has something to say."

The master of ceremonies invited to open the ceremony, and it was just a situation, and he didn't even think about anything else in his mind, only thinking about not making mistakes when reading the sacrificial oration, not ruining his job or something.So when the Empress Dowager made a sound, she didn't pay attention to what she was saying, so she walked towards the Huangling altar in front of the main hall, unfolding the yellow silk, and started to chant.After walking for three or four steps, I suddenly came back to my senses: ah?etc?This, this ceremony seems to have no such rules! ...

He stopped abruptly, with a look of astonishment on his face, not knowing whether to advance or retreat, like a poor clay bodhisattva.Xiao Ran shouted from behind: "Deaf? Or don't you want your head?" The master of ceremonies, as if waking up from a dream, hurriedly turned around but stumbled and scrambled back to the side.

Seng Gelinqin and the others on the long steps all looked at each other, not knowing which song Lan'er was singing.His eyes crossed, and finally they focused on Zeng Guofan.At this time, Zeng Guofan's face was uncertain, and he raised his head slightly to look at Lan'er, with a very strange expression, and it was impossible to see what he was thinking.

Lan'er still lowered her head slightly, as if she didn't notice all this, she walked slowly to the altar, and said calmly, "Where is Zhou Wenyi?"

The Minister of Rites, Zhou Wenyi, hurriedly left his shift and said, "The old minister is here!"

Lan'er raised her head slightly, her eyes swept down the steps, the woman who was calm and seemed a bit weak just now suddenly added a forceful aura, all the civil and military officials swept her eyes, and suddenly felt A little shorter.I just heard Lan Er's word-by-word pause: "Is there a rule in our court that foreign ministers go to Beijing privately without following the imperial edict?"

This sentence rolled over everyone's heads like a thunderbolt, and the eardrums of the shock buzzed.Seng Gelinqin and the others shivered at the same time, and then looked at Zeng Guofan, his slightly bowed waist suddenly straightened, his face was so dark and frightening, he stared at Lan'er firmly, his eyes were as sharp as a knife.

Zhou Wenyi shivered in fright, and hurriedly said, "This, this... no, no!"

Lan'er said, "Where is Wu Ren'an?"

Zuodu Censor Woren also hurriedly stood up and said, "The servant is here!"

Lan'er said: "If a subject violates the rules and goes to Beijing privately, what should we do?"

Woren hesitated for a moment, and said: "This crime of treason should be punished by beheading at the waist!"

The vast Taihe courtyard was completely silent at this time, and it seemed that even the wind had stopped.People who stand a little closer can even hear each other's rough and thin breathing and heartbeat.Qian Dingming, governor of Henan Province, was naturally timid. At this moment, he felt that his feet were weak, and he took a step forward involuntarily. He almost fell, thanks to Ruoanayan who grabbed him.Zeng Guofan looked up at Lan'er, almost gritted his teeth and said word by word: "The minister is waiting for Feng Zhao to come!"

Lan'er met his murderous gaze, and said without giving an inch: "Whose order?"

"Empress Dowager Cixi's order!"

"Why don't I know? Where is the edict? Is there a written order?"

"You!!!" Zeng Guofan took a step forward and said viciously: "There is only an oral order, did the queen mother forget it? When the decree was delivered, my subordinates and generals all heard it clearly. Could it be that the queen mother wants them to be personal witnesses?" ?”

"Presumptuous!" An indifferent voice sounded, Xiao Ran stepped forward slowly, and said, "I said Zeng Guofan, what tone are you talking to the Queen Mother? As a courtier, you are disrespectful, what's the matter, want to rebel? "

When Zeng Guofan saw Xiao Ran, his eyes turned red, he gritted his teeth and said, "Don't dare! But even the Lord of Ten Thousand Vehicles, at the feet of the Son of Heaven, must always speak a word of reason!"

"Oh? Then Zeng Shuai, has he ever heard a saying that the king wants his ministers to die, and the ministers have to die?"

As soon as Xiao Ran finished speaking, Lan'er immediately said: "Zeng Guofan came to Beijing privately, he should be executed. Gu Nian was loyal to the imperial court and rewarded the whole body. Come here, give me wine!"

Zeng Guofan almost spat out a mouthful of blood, thinking that they really are an adulterer and adulterer!He laughed back in anger, and said: "I can't die now! If I die, I'm afraid that my subordinates will cause chaos, and the court will not be guaranteed!"

This sentence was a signal, and one of the guards standing on both sides shouted loudly: "Mr. Qing's side!" There was a clatter of metal and iron, and countless bright waist knives were drawn out of their sheaths!Seeing that the Forbidden City was about to suffer an unprecedented bloody baptism, all civil and military officials were in chaos and screamed in panic.

However, the strange thing is that instead of rushing to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, these guards rushed straight to Zeng Guofan.The first person yelled loudly with a knife: "The firearms battalion is on the left, brothers, whoever dares to resist will be killed on the spot!"

"Yes!"

There was a roar, rolling past like a stormy sea.At the same time, there was a deafening explosion outside the Meridian Gate.Occasionally, there were shouts of killing and screams.

♂ Volume 8 in the harem ♀

→Chapter 174 - The cloud clears and the fog disperses←

Guofan thought about it and couldn't think of it. He had cleared the iron barrels around the capital. Where did the soldiers from the firearms battalion come from?Could it be that it fell from the sky, or got out of the ground?

The moment Sheng Zuo and the others rushed over, he even suspected that he was hallucinating, but the chilly blade pressed against his neck, and the series of explosions and wailing outside the Meridian Gate, as well as the pungent smell that drifted over with the wind The smell of gunpowder smoke reminded him that all this had really happened.

In an instant, Zeng Guofan, Seng Gelinqin and others were surrounded.All civil and military officials were dumbfounded by this sudden change, and even forgot to shout.Only the sound of the explosion outside the door subsided, followed by another round of gunshots like popping beans.Some ministers who had previously secretly colluded with Zeng Guofan woke up like a dream, screamed, and fled in panic.The ministers who didn't know what was going on were so horrified that their three souls had disappeared and their six souls had disappeared. After such a disturbance, they ran around in a panic.The surrounding guards swarmed up and took seven or eight of them head first.Taihe Guangting, the solemn and solemn Forbidden City for hundreds of years, was in a mess for a while, like a boiled porridge pot.

Prince Su Huafeng and Prince Chunjun Yilan had already made a journey with Zeng Guofan. Seeing that today's success was on the brink of failure and doomed to escape, they took advantage of the chaos to squeeze out of the crowd and slipped along the white marble fence towards the Meridian Gate.The old fifth grandfather, Prince Hui Mianyu, was too old to run, he rushed to take a step, staggered, bumped his head against the railing, fell dizzy, and couldn't struggle for a long time.

Let's talk about Huafeng and Yilan running to the Meridian Gate desperately, just as the gunshots outside gradually stopped.The two couldn't help but stopped, looked at each other, and said in their hearts that they didn't know the truth outside, but it was better than waiting here to die.Just as he was about to rush out, he heard a squeak, the Meridian Gate opened wide, and a large group of officers and soldiers rushed in like wolves and tigers, the first one.Wearing a ruby ​​crown on his head, and wearing a first-grade make-up suit, he is the minister of the inner guard and six foreheads attached to Jingshou!He smiled and said slowly, "Where are the two princes going?"

The relationship between Jing Shou and Xiao Ran is as good as brothers, no one knows.Seeing that the general situation was over, Hua Feng let out a long sigh, turned around and walked back silently.Chunjun Wang Yilan.After all, he was young, and still begged Jing Shou in a low voice: "Liu Efu, we are also close relatives anyway, don't be instigated by outsiders..." Hua Feng turned his head and said angrily: "What are you talking about? Useless posture. I'm sorry Is your status a magnate?"

Yi Ling remained silent, and followed Hua Feng back to the front of the main hall.None of the civil and military officials escaped, and they were all surrounded by three floors inside and three floors outside.At this time, many ministers had already understood the meaning, thinking that Zeng Guofan's party had besieged the capital for a long time.Today, he was finally defeated and clapped his hands secretly.But when I think of Zeng Guofan, Seng Gelinqin and others' Eight Banners Army and Mongolian Iron Cavalry, there are still more than [-] troops. How can a mere firearms battalion be able to resist it?It's just a shock.It will be a catastrophe, and I am afraid that everything will be destroyed.Immediately, a heart was too late to let go, so it hung up again.

Qian Dingming's face was pale with fright at this time.I can't even stand still.Ruoanayan, Ding Baozhen and Seng Gelinqin.He could barely stand it, but his face was obviously pale.The expression is tense.Surprisingly, Zeng Guofan, after going through the stormy accident, was calmer than before, as if nothing had happened, and there was even a mocking smile on the corner of his mouth.It's just that his eyes are as cold as a knife, staring at Lan'er.

Lan'er supported Xiao Ran's arm, walked down the long stone steps, walked up to Zeng Guofan and the others, met Zeng Guofan's gaze without hesitation, and said, "What else do you have to say?"

Zeng Guofan sneered, and said slowly: "The empress dowager is sage, and I have nothing to say. If you want to kill or cut it, it will be all up to the empress dowager. I am only afraid that the foundation of the Qing Dynasty will be wronged by treacherous eunuchs and shake the foundation of the country; Cui Wei's imperial city, if left in water and fire, cannot be destroyed!"

Lan'er said: "Are you threatening Aijia?" She glanced at Seng Gelinqin and the others, and said, "What do you say? It must be the same thought as Zeng Guofan, right?"

Qian Dingming's knees softened, he fell to his knees, and wailed: "The queen mother has mercy, the minister deserves to die! This matter is all due to the envoy of Master Zeng Guofan. I, I was forced to! The queen mother clearly investigated..." Seng Gelin Qin Fei kicked him somersault, and said angrily: "Bastard, bastard!" He waited to hit him again, but was firmly held down by several guards.

Lan'er nodded, and said: "The man has gold under his knees. Qian Aiqing can correct her mistakes if she knows her mistakes. There is nothing good about it. Besides, you were just temporarily deceived by villains and led astray. For now, stand aside and make meritorious deeds."

"what?!"

Not to mention Qian Dingming was stunned, even Ruoanayan, Ding Baozhen, and even all the ministers were stunned.For felony treason, Lan'er actually determined Qian Dingming's sex with one sentence, and let him go as soon as he said he would let him go. Wouldn't it be a joke?Although Qian Dingming was timid, but his mind was extremely sharp, he was the first to understand, knocked his head on the ground with a bang, and said in a sobbing voice: "Thank you Queen Mother for your kindness!" Turning over, he jumped up and immediately stood aside.