A delicate porcelain cup was thrown onto the ground and shattered into pieces.
After hearing the news that the rebel army had captured Yue City and killed all the ministers, including the governors of Guangdong and Guangxi, Empress Dowager Cixi was so shocked that she lost her grip on the teacup in her hand and fell to the ground!
The imperial court had just destroyed Taiping Country in the north, and the Guangdong and Guangxi regions were in chaos.
Furthermore, the thieves had taken down the provincial capital and killed an important official of the imperial court.
This was already beyond the scope of ordinary farmers rebelling and causing small trouble.
She had a very bad feeling. Could it be that the scene from thirteen years ago, when the bandits caused trouble, was going to repeat itself?
Thinking of the catastrophe that the imperial court had suffered in the past thirteen years and the precarious situation of the entire country, she felt a chill down her spine. She was very worried for her son, the Emperor of Tongzhi.
The Empress Dowager of the Eastern Palace, Empress Dowager Ci 'an, who was also behind the curtain, coldly snorted when she saw Ci Xi's loss of composure.
She said unhappily," The Empress Dowager should have the shrewdness of an Empress Dowager. If you show your emotions on your face, won't the officials in the court look down on you? How can you make the officials feel at ease?"”
"Sister is right to lecture me. It's my fault!”
Hearing Empress Dowager Ci 'an's reprimand, the Empress Dowager Cixi, who would be powerful in the future, did not dare to resist and could only obediently admit her mistake.
However, from the viciousness in her mischievous eyes, it could be inferred that she was not as convinced as she appeared to be.
"It's good that you know your mistake. There are no outsiders here. The Gong Prince is one of us, he definitely won't go out and say anything, right? The Gong Prince!"
The Gong Prince was drenched in cold sweat. He quickly knelt on the ground and said,
"This servant didn't hear anything, how would I dare to speak nonsense?”
"You can still listen, but there are some things that you can only listen to and not say.”
Empress Dowager Ci 'an's tone was very gentle as she said earnestly,"
"You are the Iron Hat King, the brother of the late emperor. You have a part in this ancestral inheritance, so you have to think more about everything and come up with a rule. You can't just be a megaphone, understand?”
Empress Dowager Ci 'an of the Eastern Palace was the actual ruler of the Qing court after Emperor Xianfeng's death.
Although she was not the birth mother of Emperor Tongzhi, she became the Empress Dowager of the main palace with her own skills and the favor of Emperor Xianfeng. She had the incomparable orthodox advantage of Empress Dowager Cixi.
Moreover, this person's methods were also first-class. Not to mention Empress Dowager Cixi, even the ambitious ministers and the Gong Prince were tamed by her and did not dare to disobey.
She was only 25 years old, but as a woman, she stood at the peak of power in the empire and controlled the fate of the empire.
"Yes, this servant will do my best to serve the two empress dowager and the imperial court!”
The Gong Prince secretly wiped the sweat off his forehead and quickly said.
This woman's tactics were too powerful. Every word she said had to be handled carefully. If he was not careful, he might fall into her trap.
After the death of the Xianfeng Emperor, Gong Prince Ge Xin still had fantasies about the throne. After all, the Xianfeng Emperor's son, Tongzhi, was only a few years old and definitely could not become the ruler.
Especially when the Qing Dynasty was in the midst of serious civil strife. There was the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the south, the Nian Army in the north, and the Second Onion War launched by the foreigners.
Under such circumstances, it was definitely not appropriate to hand the throne to a five-year-old child.
After all, what could a child do?
It was more appropriate to hand it over to a young and strong young man like him, so the Gong Prince once contacted the officials in the court to seek support, hoping that they would support him to become the emperor and ascend the throne.
However, Empress Dowager Ci 'an had single-handedly directed the Xinyou coup. Not only did she easily get rid of the eight ministers, but she also pushed the blame to Empress Dowager Cixi.
As for herself, she began to listen to the government behind the curtain and wield power. In the end, the Gong Prince realized that she had worked for nothing and had helped the other party.
The fate of the eight ministers made the Gong Prince realize the other party's methods and he no longer dared to have any ambitions.
"Then tell me, what are your plans?”
Empress Dowager Ci An was very satisfied with the Gong Prince's reaction. After two years of being in power, she had become more and more mature in the art of the Emperor.
Thinking back to the time when she had just become the head of the government, she had faced a situation that was even worse than this.
At that time, Taiping Country came in a menacing manner, and the foreigners were eyeing them covetously.
Apart from that, the Nian Army in the north and the rebellion in the northwest caused the entire Qing Dynasty to be in turmoil.
She had survived such a difficult situation, so although she was very concerned about what happened in Guangdong and Guangxi, she was not very worried.
After all, the Imperial Court had just destroyed Taiping Country. At this moment, there were more than 300,000 soldiers gathered in the south.
After fighting with the peasant army for so many years, the imperial court had long since figured out the strength of the peasant army.
Compared to the regular army, these peasant soldiers were a motley crew.
They had no equipment or training. They were no match for a regular army.
As long as he randomly sent a group of troops from the Xiang, Huai, and Chu armies to the south, he would definitely be able to eliminate the rebels in the south.
The Gong Prince had the same thoughts as Empress Dowager Ci An.
He immediately said,"I think we should choose an army from the Xiang, Huai, and Chu armies to go south and exterminate the rebels!"”
"Hmm, who do you think is more suitable?”
Ci An wasn't surprised by Cang Xin's suggestion.
The Qing army had been rendered useless after the Qianlong reign, and this was vividly reflected in the battle with the Taiping Army.
The Qing army often lost more than they won against the Taiping Army. The two camps that the imperial court had spent a lot of money to build in Jiangnan and Jiangbei were always easily breached by the Taiping Army.
In the entire imperial court, except for Monk Gelinqin's army, which was better at fighting, the other armies, including the Eight Banners Army and the Green Army, were useless.
In the end, the ones who helped them destroy Taiping Country were the local troops.
Zeng Guofan's Xiang Army, Li Hongzhang's Huai Army, and Zuo Zongtang's Chu Army were all regimental soldiers.
This also resulted in their army not obeying the imperial court's orders, but only the command of their general.
After destroying Taiping Country, what worried Empress Dowager Ci 'an the most wasn't the remnants of the Nian Army or Taiping Country.
It was Zeng Guofan's Xiang Army!
Zeng Guofan had hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Once he rebelled, the Qing court would not be able to resist!
This was what she was most worried about.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。