The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 522 Let's go, I'll take you to kill Tongde! (Please subscribe, please vote)
Old Summer Palace, Haiyan Hall.

Emperor Tongde Yi Xin stared at the self-ringing clock on the desk, the gilded hands pointing to the third quarter of the morning. There was a rustling sound outside the hall, like a wild cat scratching the door. He jumped up and rushed to the door, but heard a "squeak" - an enamel tobacco box was stuffed into the crack of the door.

He picked up the enamel tobacco box and rubbed it for a few times. The brass clasp popped open, and a neatly folded letter was stuffed in the secret compartment. Yi Xin took out the letter and unfolded it. On it was a prophecy: Xianfeng killed Tongde, and the Qing Dynasty was destroyed.
Yi Xin was trembling all over. The handwriting looked familiar to him, as if he had seen it somewhere. He hurried to a cupboard, opened the door, and took out a memorial from it. When he opened it, he saw "This memorial is respectfully submitted by Luo Xueyan, the Minister of Nanyang and the Governor of Shanghai." The handwriting was exactly the same as the handwriting in the prophecy!
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” Gui Liang, the Minister of War and Grand Councilor, suddenly rushed in. “Senggelinqin and Li Hongzhang sent an urgent message six hundred miles away. The fake, fake Emperor Xianfeng led thousands of elite troops through Jizhou and Dezhou and headed straight for Beijing!”

Yi Xin stumbled back a few steps, tripped by something, and fell to the ground. He didn't feel any pain. In a trance, he heard the words Li Hongzhang said before leaving Beijing: "Your Majesty, this city of Beijing... cannot be defended."

Gui Liang saw his son-in-law fall, and hurried forward to help him up: "Your Majesty, you can't let the fake emperor get close to Beijing. People's hearts are unpredictable!"

Hearing this, Yi Xin's pupils shrank suddenly. Human hearts are the most unpredictable! When he ascended the throne, all the officials and the Eight Banners descendants in Beijing wholeheartedly supported him. Everyone hated the fake emperor Xianfeng who destroyed the Qing Dynasty, but Xianfeng was the legitimate emperor passed down by Emperor Daoguang after all. If he was really captured by Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing, then there would be no problem for Yi Xin to take over the throne. Even if Xianfeng was finally released, it would be impossible to turn the tables. The country cannot be without a monarch for a day, and the monarch captured by Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing is no longer a monarch. It is reasonable for Yi Xin to ascend the throne.

But the problem is that Xianfeng was not really captured, it was just a misunderstanding! If he was not captured, then he has always been the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, so Yi Xin is the fake emperor!
This misunderstanding really put Yi Xin and the Qing Dynasty on the spot! It also made the people of Beijing confused.
"That's right. We can't let the fake emperor get close to Beijing. Someone has to stop him." Yi Xin looked at Gui Liang, "But who can lead the troops? Where can we get them?"

Gui Liang frowned and said, "Nine Gates Admiral Wenxiang is the emperor's confidant. Tongzhou also has a Beiyang Army town, and the general Duolong'a is also a good man from our Manchuria."

"Can Duolong'a be trusted?" When Yi Xin asked the question, he could always vaguely hear Li Hongzhang's words in his ears: The city of Beijing cannot be defended!

Gui Liang gritted his teeth and said, "Then we will withdraw Duolong'a and let Wenxiang take charge of the Beiyang Third Regiment!"

"Then, who will be the governor of the Nine Gates?" Yi Xin clenched his fists tightly. In his palm was the letter with "Xianfeng killed Tongde, and the Qing Dynasty was destroyed". He asked in a hoarse voice, "Who can guard the Nine Gates of the capital for me?"

Gui Liang was silent for a while, then he said, "How is Yuan Bao? His brother Sheng Bao was killed by the fake emperor!"

Finally, there was a reliable person. Yi Xin nodded and said, "It's him. Draft an edict for me, ordering Wen Xiang to take over as the general of the Third Beiyang Regiment, and Yuan Bao to take over as the governor of the Nine Gates. As for Duolong'a..." Yi Xin thought for a while, "Just give him the job of deputy governor of Ningguta first!"

Beijing City, Prince Fu's Palace,
Concubine Yi pursed her temples in front of the diamond-shaped mirror and lightly smeared her lips with her fingertips dipped in bright red rouge. The mirror reflected the tall figure of Su Shun. This Su Lao Liu had shaved his beard, changed into eunuch's clothes, and was playing with a brass telescope - it was given to him by Queen Victoria of England when he went abroad to Europe. The profile portrait of Queen Victoria was engraved on the tube.

"Master," Sushun suddenly sneered, "Wenxiang, the governor of the Nine Gates, was transferred to be the general of the Third Beiyang Regiment, saying that he would lead the Beiyang troops to block Emperor Xianfeng. The successor to the governor of the Nine Gates is Shengbao's brother Yuanbao."

Imperial Concubine Yi slowly put the enamel armor on her little finger. The tip of the armor scraped across the mirror, making a teeth-grinding sound. "Su Laoliu, what do you think Li Hongzhang is doing right now?"

"We should hurry to Tongzhou," Sushun narrowed his eyes. "The commander of the Third Regiment in Tongzhou is Li Hongzhang's father, Li Wenxuan. Li Hongzhang's brothers are also leading troops in the Third Regiment. In addition, Mathilde and France's military advisory group are now in the Tongzhou camp. I don't believe that Wenxiang can seize the military power of the Third Regiment!"

"Sister, His Royal Highness Prince Wu has already calculated that Li Hongzhang will definitely fence off a garden for you and Emperor Xianfeng." Concubine Yi's sister Wanzhen was also standing in the room at this time, holding a somewhat confused child in her hands, who was the little Zaichun.

She had come to Beijing three days ago with Weng Tonghe, Chen Picheng, and Feng Guifen, Li Hongzhang's chief of staff. She entered the inner city of Beijing from Guangqu Gate, which was under the control of Boyong, the deputy commander of the patrol camp!

Concubine Yi turned her head to look at Wanzhen, who was becoming more and more beautiful, then looked at her precious son, and finally looked at Sushun, and said leisurely: "It's best not to let others do this kind of thing of besieging the garden and killing the prince, just take people to do it yourself! Gong Laoliu was defeated this time because he didn't dare to lead the troops out to fight Emperor Xianfeng to the death, and wanted to let Senggelinqin and Li Hongzhang do it. Senggelinqin seems to be loyal, but what about him in reality? Humph, there are so many Borjigits herding sheep on the Khorchin grassland, how come he got the turn to be the prince? As for Li Hongzhang, he is the vassal of France, who knows whether the emperor in his heart is named Aisin-Gioro or Bonaparte?"

Concubine Yi stood up suddenly, her skirt swept over the rouge box, and the cinnabar-like powder splashed all over the floor. She grabbed the flintlock pistol at the bottom of the dressing table. The bright yellow ribbon wrapped around the barrel was embroidered with the words "Imperial Gift" and said, "Let's go, I will take you to seize Yuan Bao's military power, and then go kill Emperor Tongde!"

Tongzhou Camp.

Wenxiang stared at the small yellow flag on the sand table. The flagpole was stuck on the word "Xiong County", like a thorn stuck in his eyeball. A few pieces of porcelain from the teacup that Duolong'a had smashed before leaving were still on the sand table, shining coldly under the candlelight.

"Report!" The scout rushed into the tent like a flying bird. "The vanguard of the false emperor has passed Gaomidian and entered Zhuozhou, under the banner of 'kill the false emperor and restore orthodoxy'!"

There was a sound of people sucking in cold air in the central army tent. Zhuozhou was in Shuntian Prefecture, not too far from Beijing. Xianfeng was so fast this time that it caught people off guard!

Wen Xiang grabbed the scout by the collar and asked, "What color is the flag? Is there anyone with a yellow jacket in the team?"

"Pure yellow, with a yellow jacket."

The tent was suddenly silent. The soldiers wearing yellow flags and yellow jackets were undoubtedly Emperor Xianfeng himself.

"Prepare the horses!" Wen Xiang grabbed the hat and put it on his head. "Go to the parade ground and tell all the camps to gather at the parade ground. I want to announce the decree."

A cold light suddenly appeared.

Wen Xiang suddenly felt a sharp pain and looked down at the knife tip protruding from his chest. The slightly upturned knife tip drew a string of blood beads. Behind him, Duolong'a's sinister voice sounded: "The true dragon emperor has returned to Shuntian Prefecture, and you still want to be buried with the false emperor. You are so stupid!"

As Wen Xiang's body collapsed, he could faintly hear cheering voices in his ears: "Marshal Li is back! Marshal Li is back!"

Inside Zhengyang Gate, the Nine-Gates Governor’s Office.

Yuan Bao's fingers stroked the tiger talisman on the desk, and the copper rust rubbed against his palm, as if it was stained with fresh blood. A gust of wind suddenly blew in from the window, causing the candlelight on the desk to flicker violently, and the imperial edict of "Commander-in-Chief of the Nine Gates Infantry Patrol and Five Battalions" was reflected in the red ink. He stared at the word "Yuan Bao" and vaguely saw the appearance of his brother Sheng Bao when he was beheaded by Zeng Jia Lin Shu - at that time, the snow on the top of Jining City was also so pale.

"Sir! Sir Yuan, something bad has happened." One of Wen Xiang's personal soldiers stumbled into the door. "There was a mutiny in the Tongzhou camp. Duolong'a killed Sir Wen and surrendered to Emperor Xianfeng. The Beiyang Third Rebellion was launched!"

Yuan Bao stood up suddenly, and slammed the sword on his waist on the blue bricks with a clang: "Come here, come here, tell all the doors to lock the keys and raise the gates!"

Before he finished speaking, he saw the deputy commander of the Central Patrol Battalion, Bo Yong, leading dozens of fully armed Green Camp soldiers, walking quickly from outside and pouring into the lobby of the Nine-Gates Governor's Office.

"Deputy General Bo, you've arrived just in time!" Yuan Bao seemed to have seen a savior, "Quick, send people to close all the gates of the capital. The whole city is under martial law!"

Boyong shook his head: "It's too late to close it!"

Yuan Bao was stunned: "Could it be that the Beiyang soldiers from Tongzhou have already entered the capital?"

"It's not the Beiyang soldiers who are coming, it's me who is coming!" The voice of Concubine Yi suddenly came from outside, "Yuan Bao, I'll give you one last chance. Will you be a loyal follower of Gong Laoliu, or will you be my servant?"

Yuan Bao looked in the direction of the voice and saw Concubine Yi, dressed in a palace dress and flower-pot shoes, staggering in. Beside her was a pretty girl of about fourteen or fifteen years old, also dressed in a Manchu dress and holding a revolver in her hand. Su Shun, holding a French Minié rifle, led a group of short, dark-faced foreign riflemen, following behind Concubine Yi and the girl.

"Noble Concubine Yi? What are you doing..." Yuan Bao couldn't believe his eyes.

Imperial Concubine Yi only smiled faintly, holding up a yellow book in her hand: "First-class guard Yuan Bao, please accept the imperial decree. This is the decree from Emperor Xianfeng to you, pardoning all the sins of your family and restoring your brother Shengbao. Accept the decree, and you will continue to be Emperor Xianfeng's good minister and my confidant!"

Yuan Bao just smiled bitterly, walked out from behind the desk, and knelt in front of Concubine Yi: "Your servant Yuan Bao respectfully accepts the imperial edict."

But what he was thinking about at the moment was the man in yellow clothes and yellow hat who fell from the sky on the battlefield of Suoyifal. He almost killed him.
(End of this chapter)