Prince Gong's Mansion.
"Your Highness, those envoys agreed to sign on it?”Li Qing, who had just alighted from the carriage, found Wen Xiang still waiting at the entrance of the manor.
Li Qing was a little touched. He patted his shoulder and said,"Yes! On the way back, he had already sent someone to Rehe overnight. If nothing unexpected happened, they would arrive in two or three days. Bochuan, you've worked hard during this period of time. After this matter is done, this king will give you a ten-day holiday so that you can rest and relax!”
"That's exactly what I want. I can take the time to make a trip to Fengtian's hometown!”
"Since that's the case, then you can take a look at the situation over there. I heard that the Russians are making a lot of trouble!”
"Your highness, you're going back on your word! You just said that you'd let me off, and now you want me to investigate.”
"Even you have to go back. Asking for some information is just a piece of cake!”Li Qing said with a smile.
Seeing this, Wen Xiang could only nod helplessly.
......
Rehe Chengde Palace
At dawn, Du Han, Shen Guiliang, Dong Chun, and the others hurried toward the palace.
As soon as everyone entered the hall, they realized that the Emperor's expression was much worse than last time.
"We pay our respects to the emperor. Long live the emperor! Hooray! Long live!" Everyone knelt on the ground and shouted.
Emperor Xianfeng raised his hand weakly and said,""Get up! You shout long live every day, but my body…" As soon as he said this, Xian Feng could not help but cough.
When everyone saw this, they quickly shouted,"The Emperor is blessed. He will definitely turn the situation around!"”
"Alright, I know my own health, so I don't need to trouble you to put in effort. I called you here today because I have something to discuss with you. As for what it is, I think you already knew last night. After thinking for a night, you should have figured it out, so say what you need to say quickly. I don't want to hear nonsense, so you can say it one by one!”
As soon as Xianfeng's voice fell, Jing Shou, who was the head of the court, strode out. As the son-in-law of Emperor Daoguang, his Fujin Shou, Princess Engulun, hated foreigners very much. She thought that it was the intrusion of foreigners that made her unhappy in her old age. As time passed, Jing Shou, who listened to Fujin complain every day, did not have a good impression of foreigners!
Therefore, Jing Shou directly said,"Reporting to the Emperor, I think we should reject this decision and issue an edict to reprimand the Gong Prince. He doesn't think of the Emperor's kindness and doesn't care about his father's hatred!"”
"Emperor, I think Jingshou's words are too selfish. Since the establishment of our dynasty, although we have the Fan Court to contact the surrounding countries, the world is now so big, and the number of countries is not the same as before. Moreover, customs duties are now an important source of taxes for our Qing Dynasty. If we don't communicate with them, how can we know if we are losing money or not? Therefore, I feel that the establishment of the Prime Minister's Office for National Affairs cannot be delayed!”Shen Guifen, the cabinet scholar and assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, said righteously.
"Nonsense. You, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, are really making a fool out of yourself by talking about customs duties. Since the Daoguang era, customs duties have been established for twenty years.”Zai Yuan said with a smile.
Dong Chun, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue (later renamed Xun to avoid the taboo of Emperor Tongzhi) said,"Since Lord Zaiyuan feels that Lord Shen's words are not enough to convince the masses, then this official, as the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, is reasonable!”
Then, Dong Chun stood up. "Replying to the Emperor, according to this lowly official's knowledge, currently, 15% of our Qing Dynasty's taxes come from customs duties. The silver that can be used for customs duties is supervised by the various local officials, while the Imperial Court is only responsible for waiting for the various governors to escort it to the capital to count. So, from this humble subject's point of view as an official of the Ministry of Revenue, the Gong Prince's request can be agreed!”
After Xian Feng saw Shen Guifen and Dong Chun speak, although the other ministers had different expressions, no one stood up to express their opinions. He knew that it was time for him to speak.
So he raised his breath and said," I have just heard the opinions of my beloved ministers and know the pros and cons of it. It can be said that they are all very reasonable. However, as my ministers, none of you have considered for me.
Not to mention Xuanzong, ever since I ascended the throne, the foreigners have requested to enter the capital every now and then, but they have not kowtowed to me three times. If this matter is known by my ancestors, how can I face them?
Moreover, the Westerners are cunning. They have benefited from Long Hair's rebellion. If they reach an agreement with Long Hair and use the change in the yamen to cause unrest, how can I guarantee my safety?”
As the officials listened to Xianfeng's complaints, they knelt on the ground and shouted,""This lowly subject is guilty and cannot share your worries!”
"Forget it! I don't blame you for not being in your position.”
However, it seemed that Xianfeng's words did not have much effect. The assistant ministers of the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Revenue, Shen Guifen, and Dong Chun stood up and said,""The emperor is suffering, but as the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Your Majesty should bear the corresponding responsibility. You must not give up eating because of choking and ignore the country!”
After Xian Feng heard this, he angrily pointed at Shen Guifen and Dong Chun and said,""This world belongs to zhen, zhen can do whatever he wants, there is no need for you two old fogeys to point fingers.”
" Your Majesty, even if I have to give up my official position today, I have to speak out and remonstrate. Now that Long Hair is in turmoil in the south and bandits are wreaking havoc in the north, although the matter with the foreigners has been resolved, Jiangnan has lost its important tax area and the national treasury is exhausted. Now, the only way out for the Qing Dynasty is to let the Ministry of Revenue manage the customs duties and negotiate with the foreigners. Borrowing the strength of the foreigners to deal with Long Hair is the only way out. Otherwise…"
Emperor Xianfeng squinted his eyes and panted,""Otherwise what?"
"Otherwise, the 200-year-old Qing Dynasty will perish in Your Majesty's hands!”After saying that, Shen Guifen knelt on the ground and cried.
The Emperor of Xianfeng burst into laughter.
"Good! Very good! I will listen to you. Men, pass on my decree. The Gong Prince's request to the Prime Minister's Office for a discount has been approved. Are you satisfied now?”
"We dare not!"
"Humph! Since you dare to disobey me, what else do you not dare to do?”
After hearing this, the officials lowered their heads.
However, Xianfeng was obviously very angry and continued,"From today onwards! All the reports of the governors and governors will be sent directly to the Rehe Palace and not through the capital. I also swear that as long as the foreigners do not leave the capital, I will not return!”After saying that, Xianfeng's anger attacked his heart, and he spat out blood and fell to the ground.
......
Capital, Gong Prince's residence.
"Wangye, I heard that the emperor was so angry that he vomited blood on the spot that day. It seems that the emperor has given up on returning to the capital.”
"That's right. Just now, the remaining officials of the capital also came to ask this king to resign. Right now, other than a few yamen in charge of city defense and patrolling, the rest have been transferred away by the emperor.”
"Then wouldn't our Prime Minister's Yamen only have His Highness, this lowly official, Bao Yun, Gui Liang, and the Minister of Rites Shen Guiliang and Minister of Revenue Dong Chun who were reprimanded by the Emperor for their remonstrance?”Wen Xiang said in shock.
Li Qing sighed and said,""It's fine. I've already reserved some useful people for myself. It's just that the country is in a difficult situation, and now the central government is separated. The government is in Rehe, and the capital is outside.”
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