The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 520: Xianfeng killed Tongde, and the Qing Dynasty collapsed! (Please subscribe, please vote)
Outside Zhengyangmen, Yutai Teahouse.

The waiter Wang Youli sat down on the threshold, opened his precious enamel tobacco box, took out a handful of gold threads and stuffed them into his copper-headed dry tobacco pipe. He took a puff and felt a spicy taste rushing into his lungs, choking him and making him cough a few times. The maid who accompanied Concubine Yi to Yutai Teahouse stood behind Wang Youli at some point. Seeing him cough, she chuckled, as if gloating over his misfortune. Then she blinked her big eyes, looked at the enamel tobacco box and said with a smile: "What a beautiful enamel tobacco box, it must be a good thing made in Jingdezhen. Was it made in the 31st year of Daoguang?"

Wang Youli was startled when he heard this. He looked up at the skinny little girl in front of him, who only had a pair of big eyes shining with intelligence, and replied, "It's not from the 31st year of Daoguang. How could there be a 31st year of Daoguang? This is enamel made in the Hongjia Kiln in Jingdezhen in the 18th year of Daoguang. It's a good thing."

The little girl smiled, took out a note and handed it to Wang Youli, then walked to the other side of the threshold and sat down. She and Wang Youli stood on the left and right, like two little door gods, guarding the empty Yutai Teahouse.

Inside the teahouse, at a table by the window, Sushun and Concubine Yi were sitting opposite each other, with two cups of tea in front of them, which had long lost their heat.

"Is the Emperor really still alive?" The two stared at each other for who knows how long before they heard Concubine Yi slightly open her red lips and ask in a low voice, tears welling up in her almond-shaped eyes.

Sushun nodded gently, pulled out a letter from his sleeve, placed it on the table, and gently pushed it in front of Concubine Yi: "This is the emperor's handwriting, please read it yourself."

Imperial Concubine Yi shuddered, took a deep breath, and picked up the envelope with shaking hands. The envelope was not sealed, so Imperial Concubine Yi directly took out the letter inside, unfolded it, and couldn't stop crying.

"The Emperor is really still alive," Imperial Concubine Yi muttered to herself, her voice full of surprise and, of course, worry. "But Prince Gong has already ascended the throne. Now the Qing Dynasty has two rulers, and the Taiping rebels are entrenched in Jiangnan. What should we do? Could it be that the Emperor and Prince Gong are really going to..."

Sushun looked at Concubine Yi and saw that she was crying so sadly. She was no longer as relaxed and happy as when they met just now. He thought to himself: I don’t know if she is sad for the emperor, or for Prince Gong, or for herself? In short, she is now caught between Xianfeng and Tongde, which is really not easy. But the Eight Banners descendants of the Qing Dynasty are also like this. Whether it is Xianfeng who kills Tongde or Tongde who kills Xianfeng, many Eight Banners descendants will be buried with him, and the entire Qing Dynasty may even be involved! Now I just hope that fewer people can die and keep more vitality for the Qing Dynasty!

Thinking of this, he whispered to Concubine Yi: "Master Yi, the Emperor will be returning to the Forbidden City soon!"

Imperial Concubine Yi was startled, her eyes wide open: "Your Majesty, are you going to fight back? I'm afraid it won't be easy. Prince Gong now has the support of foreigners, as well as Senggelinqin's Mongolian cavalry and Li Hongzhang's Beiyang Army!"

Su Shun smiled and said, "The emperor means to capture the leader first!"

Concubine Yi looked at Sushun and asked, "How do you capture him?"

"Of course it was the army outside that forced us to surrender, and the loyal people inside that gave rise to us." Sushun looked at Concubine Yi with burning eyes. "The Emperor is the Emperor after all, the true emperor of all officials and the Eight Banners in the capital. He is now leading a million people to the north. Master Yi, shouldn't you do something?"

A look of fear appeared on Concubine Yi's pale face.

Su Shun said calmly, "Master Yi, you are no different from other masters. You are the biological mother of the eldest prince! If Prince Gong really gains power, he will never keep the eldest prince alive! If he wants to get rid of the eldest prince, will he keep your life? Emperors have always been ruthless. Do you understand?"

Concubine Yi nodded stiffly and said, "Su Laoliu, tell me, what does the emperor want me to do?" Her hands, hidden under the table, were tightly holding an enamel tobacco box. There was a booklet in the secret compartment of the enamel tobacco box, which contained the prophecy that "Xianfeng will kill Tongde, and the Qing Dynasty will be destroyed"!

Sushun smiled with satisfaction when he heard this. It seemed that God would not destroy the Qing Dynasty!

In the Haiyan Hall of the Old Summer Palace, Emperor Tongde Yi Xin was pacing anxiously. Li Hongzhang and Senggelinqin hurried over. After paying their respects, Yi Xin could not wait to speak: "Li Hongzhang, is the defeat of Russia mentioned in your memorial true?"

Li Hongzhang was extremely respectful, yet also revealed a hint of great confidence: "Your Majesty, it is absolutely true. I learned about this through the French Minister to Tianjin, Bourboulon, and the English Minister to Tianjin, Alcock. Zuo Zongtang's ability to command troops is indeed amazing, and the Second Regiment of the Nanyang Army he trained is also a rare and powerful force. It's a pity that they have all been lost."

Yi Xin frowned and stopped Li Hongzhang from continuing: "What do the foreigners mean? Are they still willing to support the Qing Dynasty?"

"The English envoy, Alcock, was a little cold, but he also showed a neutral attitude." Li Hongzhang looked up at Emperor Tongde and saw that his swollen eyes showed some anxiety. "But the French envoy, Bourboulon, still supports us, but..."

"Just what?" Emperor Tongde looked at Li Hongzhang and asked. "Just that the French are worried that Beijing cannot be defended, and they also suggested that the emperor move the capital to the west." Li Hongzhang proposed the suggestion of the west.

Emperor Tongde ignored him and just looked at Senggelinqin: "Senggelinqin, now the fake emperor Xianfeng has taken over millions of refugees and wants to be the second Li Zicheng. Are you sure you can defend the capital?"

Senggelinqin clasped his fists and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I will do my best to protect the capital at the risk of my life! But..." He hesitated, "After all, the fake emperor Xianfeng is..."

Emperor Tongde snorted, and Senggelinqin quickly shut up. Li Hongzhang took over the topic with a grim tone, saying, "Your Majesty, I have discussed with the monk king and feel that the fake emperor Xianfeng must be very short of food as he has millions of beggars to survive. After all, he is... If he is forced to the gates of Beijing, I am afraid people's hearts will change!"

Emperor Tongde's pupils shrank, and his voice trembled a little as he spoke: "Li Hongzhang, Senggelinqin, I order you to send troops immediately. You must block the army of the pseudo-Emperor Xianfeng near the Yellow River flood area. You must, you must starve them all to death!"

"Your Majesty, who will guard Beijing?" Li Hongzhang glanced at Senggelinqin, who was born into a shepherd family on the Khorchin grassland. Senggelinqin lifted his robe and knelt down in front of Tongde: "Your Majesty, the Eight Banners are unreliable. We have to use the Beiyang Army and my Khorchin cavalry and the Green Camp soldiers of the Five Battalions to protect Beijing!"

Li Hongzhang nodded heavily: "What the monk king said is very true. Why not keep some troops from all three armies so that they can restrain each other. At the same time, the monk king and I will take away all the real eight banner men in Beijing!"

"Leave some of the Eight Banners! The four sides will check each other, and it should be foolproof." Emperor Tongde clenched his fists and walked to the map on the table. Looking at Dongchang Prefecture and Linqing Prefecture on the map, his eyes were blazing with anger and his teeth were chattering. "Li Hongzhang, Senggelinqin, send troops immediately. We must defend Dezhou, Jizhou, and Shunde Prefecture. We can't let the fake emperor's millions of rabble go north!" He suddenly lowered his voice and spoke word by word, "We must also hold back the food. Not a single grain of rice or wheat can flow into the fake emperor's bowl!"

In the Dongchang Palace, Emperor Xianfeng suddenly threw a seal at a chime clock nearby. With a crash, the chime clock fell to the ground, and the gilded gears splashed on the blue brick floor. Emperor Xianfeng stepped over the mess on the ground and quickly walked to the long table covered with a map. His face was sallow and his eyes were full of bloodshot. Looking at the red line on the map that went north from Xiangyang, through Nanyang and Luoyang, all the way to Huaiqing Prefecture, he frantically pulled Zeng Guofan over, "That's the army of Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing. They have crossed the Yellow River and the vanguard has entered Shanxi, but my millions of beggars have been stuck in the mud in the Yellow River flood area. Why is that?"

Zeng Guofan said calmly: "The two rebels Hong and Yang have gathered fewer victims, and their entire army is only 150,000 to 160,000. Our army has already gathered 830,000 victims and organized them into 36 beggars. Each side is divided into male and female camps, so it will naturally take more time."

"Eight hundred and thirty thousand. Together with the eight beggar banners, there should be a million!" Xianfeng suddenly grabbed a brush from the desk and thrust it into the Beijing city on the map. "Decree! Set out tomorrow. I will personally lead the army of one million into Beijing!"

Seeing Emperor Xianfeng going crazy, Zeng Guofan suddenly thought of the new prophecy that had been spread among the Thirty-Six Beggars Army in the past two days: Xianfeng will kill Tongde, and the Qing Dynasty will be destroyed!

At the same time, at the Tongzhou Wharf in the twilight, large groups of Beiyang troops were boarding southbound grain ships. Li Hongzhang was looking at Beijing through a monocular telescope. Mathilde, wearing a puffy skirt, stood beside him and said, "Dear, the embassy in the French Concession in Tianjin has just sent a secret report. Two hundred pigtail soldiers carrying long and short foreign rifles came to Tianjin on a large ship of the British Jardine Matheson Company. They held military tickets from the Guangzhou General's Mansion. Your subordinate Zhao Si in Tianjin Wei even took them back to his own government office!"

Li Hongzhang was shocked when he heard this, and immediately took out a token from his sleeve and handed it to Mathilde: "Marty, this is my token. You can mobilize the Beiyang Army stationed in the capital and Tongzhou at will!"

Mathilde asked: "So, should we arrest Zhao Si?"

Li Hongzhang shook his head and whispered: "Xianfeng killed Tongde, and the Qing Dynasty was destroyed. Just watch."

"Just watch?" Mathilde looked at Li Hongzhang, "Don't do anything?"

Li Hongzhang said: "Just watch, when the time comes, I will come back to surround the garden and kill the king!"

At the same time, Liaodong, Lushunkou.

A fleet of dozens of steam and sail troop transports suddenly appeared in the sight of the Qing army officers and soldiers guarding the place. An assistant commander of the Eight Banners Army raised his telescope and took a look, then shouted like crazy: "Left, left, it's Zuo Zongtang. Zuo Zongtang, who defeated the Russians in the bitter cold of the far north, is coming!"

(End of this chapter)