"What?" Li Hongzhang was shocked, "Didn't Xue Fuchen keep taking care of the Empress Dowager in the palace? Why did he die suddenly?"

Seeing that Li Hongzhang didn't hear what he said clearly, the housekeeper hurriedly said, "Master, it's not the Holy Mother Empress Dowager, but the Mother Empress Dowager has passed away!"

This time, Li Hongzhang heard it clearly, but he was even more unbelievable: "All nonsense! Where did you hear the crazy words? You are also the old man who is by my side, why do you believe this? I just met the queen mother yesterday and discussed political affairs. The queen mother was fine, how could something happen suddenly? I also used this kind of thing to talk nonsense, may I not want my head anymore!"

Li Hongzhang was really angry. If something happened to Empress Dowager Cixi, it would be possible that she had been sick for many years. But Empress Dowager Ci'an has been in good health in the past two years, not to mention that she had met the Empress Dowager yesterday, and she died just one day later. Who would believe it? The curse of the Empress Dowager behind her back, and this will be known to people. Not to mention that the old butler can't keep his head, even himself can't get rid of it!

Seeing that Li Hongzhang didn't believe it, the old housekeeper was so anxious that he almost cried. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed, "Master, I don't dare to joke about this matter even if I have eaten the courage of the Bear Heart and Leopard. It is true that the Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, has passed away. The eunuch who sent the order is waiting in the front hall!"

Li Hongzhang was stunned on the spot.

In Zhongcui Palace, a huge golden coffin was placed on the ground in the middle. Next to it, several princes, military aircraft, various grand clerks, and ministers knelt all over the ground.

On the phoenix bed in front of me, Empress Dowager Ci'an's body was lying coldly. Cixi sat aside without saying a word. The little emperor knelt in front of the bed, crying like a tearful person.

It was the next morning. Looking at Ci'an's cold body, all the ministers were full of worries. Empress Dowager Dong died too suddenly, and at this time, there were so many things that no one knew what to say.

Zuo Zongtang was anxious. Seeing that no one was talking, he coughed lightly and asked, "On the ninth day of the lunar month, the Empress Dowager was still discussing military aircraft with us. After only one day, he left the world. So fast, what kind of disease is it?!"

Zuo Zongtang asked everyone in a questioning tone. Although Zuo Zongtang's tone was a little harsh, Cixi had no temper at all when she heard it and nodded to Li Lianying.

Li Lianying understood and immediately went out to bring the imperial physician in.

The old doctor was kneeling on the ground at this time, shaking like a chicken waiting to be slaughtered. Indeed, the empress dowager was treated to death. Regardless of whether it was a problem with his medical skills, he was killed by his hands. The imperial doctor knew that it was certain that he would take him to bury him with him, but he didn't know if it would harm his family.

Li Lianying stepped forward and slapped her two big mouths, awakening the doctor who was already scared and confused: "Master Zhongtang asked, tell me the condition of the mother, Empress Dowager in detail!"

The imperial physician said stutteringly, and Li Lianying, who brought the Empress Dowager's daily life note and the Imperial Hospital pulse case to Zuo Zongtang and all the adults.

It turned out that Empress Dowager Ci'an had an early 11th day and did not summon the minister that day. The Imperial Hospital pulse case recorded that "the storm-like epilepsy is very serious". Because Empress Dowager Ci'an had the same disease several years ago, she took medicine according to "liver sneezing". At noon, Ci'an's condition suddenly worsened, her mind was unclear and her teeth were tight, so she could only pry open her teeth and put medicine on. At this time, her urination was incontinent. By night, the pulse was weak and could not be detected, and the medicine could not be taken down. The immortal passed away at the Xu lunar hour.

Seeing that the ministers and princes had no objection, Cixi ordered Empress Dowager Ci'an to be buried.

Looking at Ci'an who had turned into a corpse, and then looking at Cixi who was in a state of shape, Li Hongzhang suddenly shivered for no reason.

Ci'an's death, Cixi's illness, the young emperor, the two empress dowagers who ruled behind the curtain, and the Emperor Tongzhi who died young. These things suddenly appeared in Li Hongzhang's mind one by one, and gradually became a series of them.

Li Hongzhang suddenly remembered the letter that was still in his sleeve.

Perfume is poisonous, so do you know that the first young emperor to offer perfume to Empress Dowager Cixi? Since the Frenchman told him in the letter, there is no reason not to tell Badno. But if Badno knew it was poisonous, with his understanding of the Chinese royal family, it would never be possible to offer it to the emperor.

So that means Badno doesn't know?

If the French did write a letter to explain the problem of perfume, but Badno did not see it, then the letter must have been sent to the palace with the perfume. When Yi brought it that day, he was growing, and the brocade box containing the perfume was sealed. At that time, no one knew what was inside, and Li Lianying asked if he should open it. But with Empress Dowager Ci'an's gift first, Cixi did not open it, but gave it to Yihuan to bring it directly to the little emperor.

Did the little emperor see this letter? I guess the letter was written in French. Even if the little emperor saw it, he probably wouldn't recognize it. But would he ask others? And, is there such a letter?

Why did I suddenly remember Emperor Tongzhi who died early?

Xianfeng's prince Bintian, who was only six years old, ascended the throne. The two empress dowagers jointly investigated and dealt with the eight ministers of Guru and began to rule from behind the curtain. Ten years later, the emperor took charge of the government, but the government power was still in charge of the two palaces. The frustrated Emperor Muzong eventually died young. Then, Zai Tian, ​​who was also young, ascended the throne.

When Guangxu ascended the throne, he was even younger than Muzong. As for why he found such a small emperor, everyone knew the thoughts of the two empress dowagers. Then, will the little emperor grow up and take power in ten years and be like Emperor Muzong back then?

After thinking about this, Li Hongzhang was suddenly shocked! An inexplicable fear suddenly hit his heart.

How can we avoid the embarrassing situation of Emperor Muzong back then?

Only the death of the two empress dowagers can completely clear the obstacles for the young emperor's in charge of governance.

Impossible!

Li Hongzhang immediately denied this speculation in his heart, although the fear in his heart was still so uncontrollable and became stronger and stronger.

At that time, the little emperor was only a few years old. It was impossible to think of it, and it was even more impossible to use any means. After all, he was just a child and even started reading books.

But what if?

The huge fear in his heart and the letter paper in his sleeves asked him such a question.

What if? What if the little emperor thought of it back then?

So what method can a child who is only six or seven years old make two healthy middle-aged people leave the world?

That letter may be the answer.

What kind of wisdom and scheming is this?

No, it is impossible, it is impossible for such a person!

Li Hongzhang's breath became heavy, as if he was so breathless that he was pressed by the thin piece of paper in his sleeve.

The crying little boy in front of me suddenly became no longer thin, but became taller and strong enough to scare him!

At this moment, Li Hongzhang forgot an old saying - if a country is about to perish, there will be evil spirits!

Empress Dowager Ci'an died.

Although she died a little impatient and inexplicable, the facts were already in front of her and people could only accept it.

When she woke up the next morning, Empress Dowager Cixi suddenly realized that she had become the only person behind the pearl curtain.

The fact that you can monopolize the government is like a needle of chicken blood, which makes Cixi, who was originally lingering in sickness, suddenly feels spiritual. Her desire for power has rejuvenated Empress Dowager Cixi and began to devote herself to revolutionary work with unprecedented passion.

"Congratulations, congratulations!"

At Xue Fuchen's mansion, Feng Guifen, who came to visit, congratulated with a smile: "It's really auspicious people who have the appearance of heaven. The Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, recovered from illness. It was a blessing for me to have the extraordinary medical skills of Brother Zhenmei and rejuvenate his youth. This time, the court awarded Brother Zhenmei's first-class title. Although it is now during the period of the Empress Dowager's Dingyou, this wedding banquet cannot be held, but the ceremony cannot be missed."

As he said that, the man took out a scroll: "This is written by the master of the Zhongtang, please accept it with a smile."

Xue Fuchen hurriedly took it, opened it and saw that it was the four big words "Mysterious Hand Rejuvenation".

"The Lord of the Central Hall is in love, but the lower officials can't afford to take on it."

"Hey~, Brother Zhenmei cured the Queen Mother's disease, and everyone in the world is watching. If Brother Zhenmei can't afford it, then no one in the world can afford it."

Because of the re-burning small universe of Cixi, Xue Fuchen, the chief doctor who recently treated the empress dowager, naturally benefited a lot.

In June of the seventh year of the Guangxu period, Empress Dowager Cixi, who had returned to the leadership position, added an unprecedented courtesy to Xue Fuchen. Because she cured her illness, Xue Fuchen was given the first-class gift.

This matter is not small. Although Xue Fuchen is a small person, Cixi's recovery is a big deal! Therefore, although Empress Dowager Ci'an is a new mourning at this time, many people still come to offer gifts to make friends with newcomers, and Feng Guifen was entrusted by Li Hongzhang to show her feelings.

The reason why Feng Guifen was chosen instead of Zhou Fulai was because Feng Guifen and Xue Fuchen were both from Jiangsu, and they were both Li Hongzhangmu who joined the same time in the early years of Xianfeng. They had a deep friendship. The second was because Feng Guifen did not have an official position like Zhou Fu and others, and was a Qingliu and was not very suspicious.

But Xue Fuchen is such a smart person - he can't learn to become a miracle doctor by just self-study. He knew that if Feng Guifen came to congratulate him with his personal relationship, he should use his own handpiece. After all, compared to Li Hongzhang, Feng Guifen is a world-recognized master of calligraphy. In terms of words, his calligraphy is much more precious than Li Hongzhang, and it is also this friendship.

But Feng Guifen brought Li Hongzhang's name, which shows that Feng Guifen was actually entrusted by Li Hongzhang.

Who is Li Hongzhang? Not to mention that Xue Fuchen was just a staff member of Li Hongzhang, even now, he was just a jester who had been pleased by chance. Li Hongzhang, a super lord and the head of the governor of the world, could he come to give him gifts?

Obviously, there are other meanings here.

When Xue Fuchen thought of this, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Looking at the four big words "Rejuvenation of the Wonderful Hand" in front of me, and thinking about what Feng Guifen just said, Xue Fuchen understood what Li Hongzhang wanted.

He reached out and pointed the words on the table. Xue Fuchen looked at Feng Guifen's eyes and said solemnly: "The Lord Zhongtang fell in love with him wrongly, and the lower officials really can't afford these four words."

Feng Guifen also looked at Xue Fuchen calmly, and the two of them didn't say anything for a long time. Then Feng Guifen lowered his eyes, nodded, and said softly: "In this way, I won't disturb you much, say goodbye."

After seeing Feng Guifen away, Xue Fuchen returned to the living room, looked at the hand still on the table for a while, sighed a long time, turned his head away, leaving only the four big words, lying alone on the table.

Li Hongzhang Mansion.

"What did he say?" Li Hongzhang asked cautiously to Feng Guifen who came back to report his life.

"He said, 'The Lord of the Central Hall is wrong, and the lower officials really can't afford these four words'."

"Oh? He said 'wrong love'?"

Feng Guifen said affirmatively: "Yes!"

After receiving Feng Guifen's reply, Li Hongzhang paused, then stood up and said, "I'm going to get the sedan chair, I'm going to go to the Prince Chun Mansion!"

Prince Chun Yihuan has been very depressed recently.

Yihuan was a cautious person. He knew clearly what role he played as the emperor's biological father in an era when the two palaces were behind the curtains. So, shortly after Guangxu ascended the extreme, Yihuan proposed to resign and go home to retire.

The empress dowagers naturally liked such a wise slave. Therefore, although Yihuan had resigned, the two empress dowagers were still thinking about him when they had something to do. So last year, Yihuan appointed Yihuan to command the Shenji Camp in the capital.

But the more you are paid attention to by the two empress dowagers, the more low-key Yihuan becomes. She tries not to interact with other princes and ministers in normal times to avoid attracting suspicion.

But the tree wanted to be quiet but the wind continued. After Empress Dowager Ci'an died suddenly, Li Hongzhang seemed to have taken the wrong medicine and suddenly became enthusiastic about himself.

First, it was because of Japan's invasion of Ryukyu. In the sixth year of Guangxu, the Russians were aggressive in the matter of Ili and wanted to use warships to block the Bohai Sea. The imperial court originally planned to resist Russia for several days according to Zhang Zhidong's memorial, so it agreed to Japan's occupation of Ryukyu. The Qing court only retained Miyako Island and Yaeshan. However, Chen Baochen of the Zhanshi Mansion believed that the Japanese would not get into evil with the Russians just because we abandoned Ryukyu, and the Qing Dynasty lost its territory. In addition, the so-called "equal interest" clause was very unfavorable to the court and should not agree.

At that time, the Empress Dowagers of the Palace were still alive, so they handed over the matter to Prince Dun to discuss with him. So the ministers began to argue about this matter. Some said that the contract should be signed as soon as possible to prevent the Japanese from getting angry and causing war; some said that they should wait until the Russian treaty was signed before signing the Ryukyu Treaty; some said that they must not cede land, but trade could be done; some said that cede land, but "equal benefits" would not work.

This story involves Cixi falling ill. After Zeng Jize and the Russians confirmed the contract with the Ili, and then Ci'an died suddenly. Seeing that there was no advantage to take, the Japanese minister returned to his country in disappointment, and the matter was left unresolved.

Later, Li Hongzhang found himself because of the construction of water conservancy in the capital, but this was an errand assigned by the Empress Dowager, which was understandable. But today, it was because of the withdrawal of the "Out of the Yangsiye Bureau", which was nothing to do with him.

Yihuan was already distracted and didn't know where he went, and Li Hongzhang was still talking.

"Prince, this 'Out-Foreign Siye Bureau' was originally set up to handle the Western Affairs Bureau and be familiar with the situation of Western countries. In the tenth year of Tongzhi, the ministers of the Beiyang Dynasty discussed and submitted a memorial to select young children to study abroad, which was also for the future use of the country. Later, in the second year of Guangxu, the Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces issued an order to expand the scope of overseas students, and then from studying in the United States to Britain, France, Austria, Germany and other countries. This time, the Censor of Jiangnan Dao said that the students who were abandoned their studies and even entered cults were only a group of students who lived in the United States. Moreover, the relevant supervisors and leaders have withdrawn their punishment and the students have also ended their return to China. However, the students from other countries were sent out in the second year of Guangxu. Now their studies are in full swing, and there are no adverse comments. I think it is better to strictly inspect and manage the students, and do not recall the students easily, and it is not appropriate to lay off the 'Out-Foreign Bureau'. I wonder what the prince thinks?"

After listening to Li Hongzhang's nagging, Yihuan quickly said: "This matter was assigned by the Queen Mother to discuss the matter in the Zongli Yamen, and it was not required to be co-organized by me. Lord Li asked me about me, as if it was inappropriate."

Li Hongzhang heard the unexpected intention in Yihuan's words, laughed a few times, his eyes turned, and then said, "The prince is too worried. I know that the prince is in charge of the Shenji Camp by the Queen Mother's order. I think the Shenji Camp is the first priority. Now the students who are studying in the United States will return to China soon, and there are many familiar with machines, physics and chemistry. I want to ask the Empress Dowager to go to work in various places according to their attainments. It is better to screen out outstanding people from it and set up a machine bureau in Beijing to supplement it nearby. How about?"

Yi Huan thought this was feasible.

Since I supervised the Shenji Camp last winter, I have indeed found that the non-commissioned officers of the Shenji Camp were weak in their exercises, loose military equipment, and the firearms, guns and cannons used were not unified, so they have been abandoned. Now I am the commander of my own, and I should do my best to rectify them. Moreover, this old man Li was an important official of the dynasty after all, and he said a lot of things, and he said nothing at all. He would not be able to meet in the court in the future. So he said, "Li Zhongtang's proposal is good, and I am also interested in rectifying the Shenji Camp. If you go to court in the future, you will definitely discuss it."

When Li Hongzhang saw that, he immediately said, "It's so good, I won't disturb you much." So he said goodbye and left.
To be continued...