The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 485: Bastards, Xianfeng rebelled! (Please subscribe, please vote)
The atmosphere in Dianchun Hall of Yu Garden was so cold that it seemed to freeze people to death. Ronglu knelt heavily on his knees with a plop. His whole body was like a broken lantern in the wind, shaking non-stop, with his forehead pressed tightly against the cold floor, as if a catastrophe was about to fall on him in the next second. He stretched out his shrill voice, and his voice was shaking like a sieve: "Foreign minister Ronglu, I respectfully wish His Royal Highness the King of Wu of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom good health!"

At this moment, Luo Yaoguo was sitting carefree on the armchair, looking at Ronglu who was escorted in by Xu Yuegui and two veterans of the Army Training Corps, with an elusive gentle smile on his face, and he said loudly: "Ronglu, don't be afraid, raise your head!"

Ronglu raised his head tremblingly, and as soon as he saw Luo Yaoguo, he couldn't help but exclaimed: "Xue, Marshal Xue."

Luo Yaoguo laughed heartily, and his laughter seemed to contain some ridicule: "Stop pretending here! Ronglu, you have been hiding in Shanghai for so long, how could you not know that the so-called Luo Xueyan is my clone?"

"I know, I know," Ronglu replied with a trembling voice, "You are the adopted son of Heaven, an angel sent down to earth. It's normal for you to have a few clones." As he spoke, he changed the subject, his face full of contempt, "Only the incompetent Emperor Xianfeng was stupid and foolish, and had no vision. He was kept in the dark the whole time, and he deserved to be defeated and captured!"

Luo Yaoguo smiled and said, "You are wrong again. Xianfeng was not actually captured. The one captured by the Eastern King was just a substitute! The real Xianfeng fled to Haizhou a few days ago and captured the city in one fell swoop!"

"What?" Ronglu was shocked as if struck by lightning when he heard it. He froze there. Then, he breathed a sigh of relief and thought to himself: Xianfeng was not captured and he conquered Haizhou. It seems that Emperor Tongde is in big trouble now, with internal and external troubles! In this way, I, Ronglu, am still somewhat useful. At least I can help Luo Yaoguo deal with Xianfeng and Concubine Yi.

He was just thinking about it when Luo Yaoguo spoke again: "Ronglu, please go to Haizhou City for me to meet Xianfeng. Then go to Beijing for Xianfeng and me to contact Wanzhen's sister, Imperial Concubine Yi!"

Ronglu did not agree immediately, but asked in return: "I wonder what Your Highness wants me to say to Emperor Xianfeng?"

Luo Yaoguo said: "My troops have landed in the area from Xugou City to Qingkou Town in Haizhou Bay, and will soon be heading towards Haizhou City. I hope Xianfeng can retreat to Yizhou Prefecture and hand over Haizhou City to my people intact. In exchange, I can support him in his crusade against Emperor Tongde and provide him with military funds, foreign guns and ammunition!"

With Zhu Ba's ability, taking Haizhou would be as easy as taking something out of his pocket. However, if Xianfeng was killed directly, it would not be good for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The best way was to let Xianfeng and Tongde, the two Qing emperors, kill each other first and consume their vitality.

"Then, what does Your Highness want the ministers to say to Concubine Yi?" Ronglu asked again.

Luo Yaoguo's expression straightened up, and his tone became solemn: "Of course I support Concubine Yi's son Zaichun to be the Khan of the Later Jin!"

"The Khan of the Later Jin?" Ronglu was startled, his face full of confusion, "Your Highness means to let the eldest prince be the Khan, instead of letting Emperor Xianfeng be the Khan?"

"Xianfeng?" Luo Yaoguo shook his head and said with a smile, "If he can fight back to Beijing, the position of a Khan will not satisfy him. Even if I want to confer the title on him, he may not be interested. The deal between me and Concubine Yi will naturally not officially begin until Xianfeng dies!"

Ronglu was shocked and blurted out, "Your Highness, do you mean that Emperor Xianfeng is no match for Emperor Tongde?"

Luo Yaoguo nodded, with a confident look on his face: "Emperor Xianfeng is doomed. No matter how much he struggles, he will not be able to defeat Emperor Tongde in the end. After Emperor Tongde gets rid of Emperor Xianfeng, he will definitely attack Prince Fu Zaichun and then Zaichun's mother, Imperial Concubine Yi! The imperial family is the most ruthless. I believe Imperial Concubine Yi also understands the pros and cons. If she has thought it through, I can support her, on the condition that after she gets rid of Emperor Tongde, Zaichun can no longer be emperor, but can only be called the Khan of the Later Jin Dynasty and pay tribute to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!"

"I wonder if Your Highness has any way to help Concubine Yi eliminate Emperor Tongde?" Ronglu asked cautiously.

Luo Yaoguo smiled, and that smile seemed to hide countless secrets: "Of course I have a way!" As he said that, he clapped his hands lightly.

Then, Ronglu saw a middle-aged man with triangular eyes, drooping eyebrows, and high cheekbones, walking out from behind a screen with a white-haired old man who also had triangular eyes, drooping eyebrows, and high cheekbones. The people who came were Zeng Guohua and the real Zeng Linshu.
"The throne is just in place, the phoenix is ​​around, love is hard to bear. The political intrigues are like a dream, and the embrace is full of love. The purple forbidden city is deeply locked, and we watch the morning and evening together. Recalling the past, it is hard to express the loneliness, but at this moment, we are happy to give our hearts to each other."

Inside the Palace of Heavenly Purity in the Forbidden City, the high-pitched voice of Emperor Tongde of the Qing Dynasty, with a hint of drunkenness, was heard at this moment, singing the tune of "Rainy Bells". Listening to the lyrics, it really exudes a sense of heroism and comfort of "holding the power of the world when awake, and lying on the lap of a beauty when drunk".

However, the beauty accompanying Emperor Tongde at this moment was not a stunning beauty, but a woman with a faint sadness on her face. This beauty was none other than Consort Yi Naralan, who was regarded by Emperor Tongde as the destined person of the Qing Dynasty.

After ascending the throne, Yi Xin kept his promise and sent Zaichun, Empress Guaerjia of Emperor Xianfeng, and other concubines of Emperor Xianfeng to Prince Fu's mansion. But he kept Concubine Yi Lan'er and settled her in the Forbidden City, and let her still live in Chuxiu Palace. All the treatments were exactly the same as when she was Concubine Xianfeng, even including going to the Qianqing Palace to sleep with her. But the person who turned her card was not Xianfeng but Tongde!

Na Lalan was standing aside, frowning as she listened. Finally, she couldn't help but sigh softly.

Emperor Tongde suddenly stopped singing, and put the golden cup in his hand on the table with a "pa" sound. He turned around and looked at Na Lalan'er, with a smile on his face, and said loudly: "Sister-in-law, it's fine, why are you sighing? Are you dissatisfied with my singing?" Na Lalan'er bowed slightly and said softly: "Your Highness, I am your sister-in-law. Now that we are getting along like this, there will inevitably be rumors. It is not easy to deal with the discussions of the world, which will damage your wisdom. Besides, the world is not peaceful now. The Guangdong bandits are wreaking havoc everywhere. The people are eagerly looking forward to you being the wise and powerful saint who can lead the Qing Dynasty to regain its glory, train elite divisions, select capable generals, and pacify this chaotic world. But if you are so close to this humble concubine, if outsiders know about it, I don't know how big a storm it will stir up."

Emperor Tongde smiled bitterly and shook his head, sighing, "Revitalize the glory? Train elite soldiers again? My Lan'er, do you know how much money this will cost? That's pure silver, like running water! The treasury of the Qing Dynasty today has long been empty, and there is not a penny left in the inner treasury. In order to train his 80,000 new Eight Banners troops, the fourth son has almost emptied his family's wealth and even sold all his official positions. Up to now, Huainan is about to be lost, Guangdong is gone, and Zhejiang only has Hangzhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing, and Taizhou, which are only nominally owned by the Qing Dynasty. Don't forget the relationship between Zuo Zongtang and Luo Yaoguo, which is obvious. Zhejiang, Guangdong and Huai'an Prefecture are all rich places, but now they are all gone. Now even the rice of the Eight Banners can hardly be distributed. What can I, the emperor, use to revive the Qing Dynasty?"

When Na Lalan heard this, her face turned pale. She originally thought that the Sixth Master had seized the throne to lead the Qing Dynasty to rejuvenation, but she didn't expect it to be like this. How could he just eat and wait for death after becoming the emperor? With his attitude, how could the Qing Dynasty be good? If the country really fell, what would she and Zaichun do? Thinking of this, Na Lalan looked at Emperor Tongde nervously and asked anxiously: "Your Majesty, is the Qing Dynasty really hopeless?"

Emperor Tongde shook his head slowly and said, "It's not hopeless, it's just..."

"But what?" Na La Lan asked.

"But who will pay to save the Qing Dynasty?" Emperor Tongde said slowly.

"Who pays? Of course..." Na Lalan frowned, "Of course the common people pay."

"Well," said Emperor Tongde, "do we need to collect and train troops?"

"Shouldn't it be?" Na Lalan asked doubtfully.

Emperor Tongde shook his head again and said with a wry smile: "This is how Emperor Chongzhen was forced to hang himself on that crooked tree on Jingshan Mountain!"

"Then, what should we do?" Na Lalan was almost crying in anxiety. She was not the majestic Empress Dowager Cixi yet. She was still very young.

Emperor Tongde suddenly laughed and said, "Of course it was the officials, especially the officials of our bannermen, who paid the money. The court has no money, but they do! If the Taiping rebels enter Beijing, all their money will become theirs. This world does not only belong to the Aisin-Gioro family, they all have a share. So, I can't be the wise ruler who shoulders everything now, I have to make them anxious too."

He had just said "hurry up" when suddenly, the anxious voice of Wen Xiang, the Minister of the Imperial Guard, came from outside: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty...something big has happened!"

Emperor Tongde frowned and waved to Concubine Yi quickly. The latter immediately stood up, took light steps, and soon disappeared from the main hall of the Qianqing Palace without a trace.

"Wenxiang, come in!" Emperor Tongde shouted loudly.

Wenxiang was seen trotting into the hall, holding his robe. When he arrived in front of Emperor Tongde, he lifted his robe and knelt down with a plop. He said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, this is bad. Xianfeng...he has rebelled!"

"What?" Emperor Tongde looked confused. "He, wasn't he captured by the long-haired man?"

"That's not real... It's a stand-in! The real Xianfeng fled to Haizhou with his remaining troops, started a rebellion in Haizhou, drove Ma Xinyi away, and now he has occupied the city!"

"How could this happen!" Emperor Tongde's face instantly turned pale, and he gritted his teeth and said, "You are so good, Xianfeng, you are almost ruining the Qing Dynasty..."

"Your Majesty, what should we do?" Wen Xiang was so anxious that he had no idea what to do.

"Why are you panicking?" Emperor Tongde snorted coldly, "He can't turn the tables..." He paused, "Summon the Minister of Beiyang, Li Hongzhang, to Beijing!"

(End of this chapter)