The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 181 Great Victory! Great Victory in Tianjin

At noon, in the Western Garden of the capital, outside the flower hall of Yiluan Palace.

Two officials in their sixties, wearing court robes, crowns and sashes, and with brilliant feathers on their heads, hurried over hand in hand.

The taller of the two was holding a memorial in one hand and was dressed in the robes of a prince, while the other one was holding a small cloth bag, which was the attire of a second-rank civil servant. Although they were both quite old, they had happy expressions on their faces, and they almost trotted all the way to the outside of the flower hall.

As soon as the second-rank official arrived at the door, he hurriedly said to the eunuchs guarding outside excitedly, "Go and tell the Queen Mother that Prince Duan and Prince Gangyi want to see you."

Prince Duan Zai Yi is currently the Minister in Front of the Emperor, the Chief of the Grand Council, and the Minister of State Affairs. His position is close to that of the Prime Minister, and he is the most powerful official in the court.

Gangyi, Minister of War, Associate Grand Secretary, and Minister of Military Affairs.

Both of them were pro-war factions in the court, and both strongly encouraged Cixi to employ the Boxers to attack foreigners.

The eunuch did not dare to neglect the two men's request for a meeting. He turned around and walked quickly into the flower hall. After a moment, he ran back and respectfully and carefully invited the two men into the flower hall.

On the embroidered couch in the flower hall, Cixi, who was over sixty years old, dressed in the clothes of an empress dowager and with a gloomy face, sat on the main seat.

Although Cixi looked a little haggard, her body was still straight. If it weren't for her pair of delicate and slender hands constantly stroking a more than one-foot-long, gem-inlaid, and shiny demon-subduing pestle, it would be difficult for people to notice her complicated and irritable thoughts at the moment.

This demon-subduing pestle was presented by Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Huguang, in exchange for the help of a great monk. Since having this demon-subduing pestle, Cixi no longer had nightmares when she slept. Whenever she touched it, she would feel her irritable mood slowly calm down.

This made Cixi very fond of it. She always carried this demon-subduing pestle, which seemed to have some profound magical power, with her and was almost unwilling to let it go.

Sitting on a brocade cushion diagonally opposite Cixi was an elderly official who was also in his sixties. He wore a first-rank hat and his small eyes under his shaggy eyebrows flickered as he looked at Zai Yi and Gang Yi who had just walked quickly into the flower hall.

The official sitting in the flower hall was none other than Ronglu, who had been the Governor-General of Zhili and was currently the Grand Secretary of Wenhua Palace, Minister of Military Affairs, and Prime Minister of the Imperial Household Department.

Zai Yi and Gang Yi both saw Ronglu, who had always advocated peace with foreigners, was present, but Ronglu was now their political enemy. Both of them just glanced at Ronglu and hurried to pay their respects to Cixi.

Cixi said calmly, "Please give the two adults a seat."

A eunuch brought two brocade cushions, but Zai Yi and Gang Yi did not sit down. After thanking Cixi, Zai Yi was about to speak, but Cixi said.

"You have come at the right time. Can we arrange for Nie Gongting to receive a pension?"

The report on Nie Shicheng's death arrived in the capital yesterday. The death of the chief of the imperial guards' most elite front-line troops immediately caused a stir in the government and the country.

However, since Cixi had just killed several pro-peace ministers, although the court was greatly shocked, no one dared to propose peace. However, the issue of granting relief to Nie Shicheng caused a stir.

A group of military ministers headed by Zai Yi, Gang Yi, Xu Tong and others accused Nie Shicheng of "ruining the country and losing his life, which is truly hateful." Even if the court would not pursue his guilt, it should not give him any compensation.

Yu Lu and others believed that Nie Shicheng sacrificed his life on the battlefield for the safety of the country, and the court should give him preferential treatment to reassure the troops.

Neither side would give in, and after arguing for a whole day they still could not come to a conclusion.

The news of Nie Shicheng's death made the usually calm and resourceful Cixi a little confused. The most elite troops of the court that she relied on not only suffered a great defeat, but even the president was killed on the spot. It can be seen that the foreigners are far more powerful than the court army. If they continue to fight, it may not end well. Not to mention that the court and her face will be lost, it is also worrying whether she can still govern as she is now. This made her regret her decision to declare war on the foreigners. Cixi, who did not sleep well last night, found Ronglu, who had been neglected by her for a long time because of his advocacy of peace, after breakfast today. Just now, she was asking Ronglu whether it was possible to negotiate peace with the foreigners to resolve the dispute.

Zai Yi bowed his head and said, "To the Queen Mother, the Military Affairs Council has discussed overnight and believes that although Nie Shicheng lost his life due to his misfortune, he is indeed detestable, but considering his past merits, he should be granted relief."

Zai Yi's words made Ronglu sigh secretly. Although he was labeled as "harming the country", Gangyi and others at least agreed to give him relief.

Cixi glanced at Ronglu and said softly, "If the court officials have no objection, then proceed according to the result of your discussion."

"Also, tell me, can we continue the war with the foreigners?"

Cixi's words made Zai Yi and Gang Yi very anxious. If this battle ended in such a disastrous way, wouldn't they be the culprits who instigated the Empress Dowager to start a rebellion?
Zai Yi hurriedly pulled out a stack of photos from his sleeve, along with the memorial he had been holding tightly in his hands, and bowed and presented it with both hands, "Your Majesty, we must continue this battle, and the loser will never be our Qing Dynasty, but the foreigners!"

"What I have in my hand is the memorial and photos that were just delivered by Zhili Governor Yu Lu."

At this point, Zai Yi could not help but raise his voice, "Great victory! Great victory in Tianjin! Three days ago, the vanguard army won another rare victory in Tianjin City!"

Hearing Teng Yuzhao's name, Ronglu couldn't help but raise his eyes and quickly pricked up his ears.

Promoting Teng Yuzao to the position of battalion commander and even recommending him to Yu Lu was the thing that Ronglu was most proud of recently. He never expected that this instructor of the Beiyang Military Academy, who was a bit pedantic in appearance and stubborn in character, seemed to be sent to him by God. He won battles one after another and even defeated the Western powers one after another. This could not but surprise him!

In Ronglu's opinion, the famous generals in ancient times were no more than this!
The dignified Empress Dowager Cixi was stunned at first when she heard Zai Yi say "the great victory in Tianjin", and thought she had heard it wrong. However, Gangyi, who was standing next to her, had already been unable to conceal his joy. The corners of Cixi's mouth twitched slightly, and she also revealed a happy smile.

If someone else had won a great victory, Cixi might not have believed it, but the sudden appearance of Teng Yuzhao really surprised her. In the past few days, whenever she received news of victory, he was almost always present.

Moreover, all of his reports of victory were backed by real evidence. Not only were there Western photos as proof, but he even forced foreign commanders to sign and confirm. His reports of victory were absolutely true.

Without waiting for Cixi's instructions, an old eunuch in his fifties behind her quickly stepped forward, took the memorial from Zai Yi, and handed it to Cixi.

Cixi tried hard to suppress her joy, smiled and said softly, "Lianying, since it is a good news from Tianjin, you should read it and let everyone be happy together."

The memorial in Zai Yi's hand was indeed delivered by Yu Lu at an expedited speed of 800 miles. Teng Yuzhao's great victory was what Yu Lu urgently needed. Not only did he need to give an explanation to the court for the withdrawal of he and Song Qing and others from Tianjin City, but he also needed to report the matter of Ma Yukun's unauthorized withdrawal of troops from the north of Tianjin City. At least he could shirk some of the blame.

Therefore, after learning the news of the great victory in Tianjin City, Yu Lu was ecstatic. He immediately wrote a memorial himself and sent out a group of his personal guards to select the best war horses and urgently send them to the capital.

Due to the war, half of the post stations along the way were abandoned, and the memorial took a day and a half to be delivered overnight.

In his memorial, Yu Lu justified his withdrawal from Tianjin by saying that the Beiyang generals had put many obstacles in the way of Teng Yuzao, and that he left Teng Yuzao as the chief commander to defend the city so that he could fully display his military talents.

Of course, he would not let Song Qing go, but he needed to express his dissatisfaction in a subtle way. As for Ma Yukun, he was not polite and even impeached him for being afraid of the enemy and behaving inappropriately.

The old eunuch was none other than the chief eunuch Li Lianying. Although Li Lianying was nearly seventy years old, he was still in good health and full of energy. When he read the memorial, his voice was not only loud but also rhythmic, expressing the joy in Yu Lu's memorial vividly.
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(End of this chapter)