C199 Anger in the Forbidden City (1/2)
The army of the Qing Dynasty was actually talking about the Eight Banners and the Green Camp. These were the two types of army system that the Qing Dynasty had when they first entered. In the long years, the Eight Banner and the Green Camp had contributed their own power to the Qing Dynasty's expansion, and had also achieved outstanding war achievements. In the three dynasties of the Kang and the Qing dynasties, the main forces were the Eight Flag and the Green Camp.
However, glory was only temporary while decline was inevitable. Ever since the years of the Jia Dao, the eight flags and the Green Camp had gradually declined. Especially after the First Opium War, these two armies quickly collapsed. In the end, they couldn't even suppress a peasant uprising like the State of Balance anymore, which showed just how useless they were.
Even the imperial government did not dare to watch what the Green Camp was like now. They were afraid that if they were angered, they would get a brain bruise or something like that. The answer was no, the spirits of the Eight Flag Army had long been completely exhausted during the battle between and British and French combined forces. The current Eight Banners were slightly better off than those in Green Camp.
Take the TIANJIN Wei's Eight Flag General Maylor for example, logically speaking, she should have suppressed the two riots in the Tanggu since she was only tens of kilometers away from the Tanggu, and it would only take about two hours for the riders to reach there. However, Maylor's Eight Flag Army was a bunch of soy sauce for both times of Tanggu riots, so it did not have any effect.
In the summer, Jiu Shuai had only sent one messenger soldier and already scared more than a thousand cavalrymen to stop on the public road, not daring to step in or retreat. In the end, they all returned to TIANJIN Wei crestfallen, and the rebellion was resolved through political negotiations.
When Maylor's cavalry regiment got the information about the local gentry, he thought that he would be able to take advantage of Xiao Letian and take revenge for the summer. But he never thought that the ones welcoming them would be the security guards that included the foreigners.
Almost every road they had to pass had a checkpoint set up by the merchants' guards, and every road had a percentage of armed Yankee guards, which were armed sailors. They had spontaneously organized themselves to protect their own interests.
Although Maylor was domineering in TIANJIN Wei and no one dared to offend him, as long as they saw the foreigners, they would immediately become pug. Not to mention fighting, they wouldn't even dare to protest normally.
”Trash, a pure trash. Tanggu is a land of the Great Qing and it has not been ceded to the foreigners. What is there for him to be afraid of? According to the laws of the world, the soldiers of the Great Qing Dynasty can't control the rebellion of the Great Qing Dynasty? This Maylor is really trash, he should be killed... ”
Little Emperor Tongzhi stood up after reading the secret record, and his words stunned the two Mother s. ”Huang'er actually has such knowledge? Do you still understand the laws of the world? Who taught you this? ” Ci Xi and Ci An could not believe their own ears.
Tongzhi said impatiently, ”Is there even a need to teach me that? The《 Journey to the West》 has it written all over it, Hairy # 2 would play with me sometimes, and he also told me that you were young and not too old …”
Ci Xi was so angry that his nose was crooked, and he just noticed that his son's happiness was swept away. Enough! His Majesty had lost his composure! This whole thing happened because of Xiao Letian. If not for him raising an army on his own, there wouldn't have been such a huge conflict.
At this time, Ci An said happily, ”Sister, I have a slightly different opinion on this. The information that we have seen now have a total of two sources, one was obtained from the local Gentlemen, and the other was obtained from Maylor. When I took a look, we will not care about whether the information is real or fake, but first, there is no doubt about the number of people in Xiao Letian's army … ”
”200 people, only 200 people …” I was wondering, did Xiao Letian take a sleeping pill? Even if these were all his army, it would only be two hundred people, right? Why did he start this conflict? He is a renowned Master of Western Studies, don't tell me he isn't that intelligent? ”
Ci An's words were like a gust of cold wind that blew through the hall, even suppressing the steaming hot earth dragon's temperature. Everyone present was a top political figure in the Great Qing, judging the situation as one of their strong points.
”What does big sister mean by this? Does it mean that Xiao Letian's attack on the Green Camp made sense? Could a private army have rendered meritorious deeds? ” Ci Xi said in a strange tone.
Ci An glanced at her, his eyes filled with disdain: ”Little sister, why do you say that? When did I say that Xiao Letian was right? I am only reminding you, this is too strange. Since Xiao Letian dares to go against us so blatantly, he must have some tricks up his sleeve. He definitely cannot be careless against this dangerous man … ”
”Right now, we are unable to first guess Xiao Letian's strategy, and secondly, we do not know the true strength of Xiao Letian's hands. Thirdly, we are not sure what the foreigners are thinking right now, and how do you guys think we should deal with that? ”The more careful you are, the more mistakes you will make …”
This was Ci An, the famous Empress Dowager of the East in all of history. The history books had a very high opinion of this woman. In the annals of history, the reason why Chief Patrol Officer Ding Baozhen killed An Dehai was because of Ci An's secret decree. Not only did she kill He Guiqing, the governor of the two rivers, at the most dangerous time of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, she had even personally made the decision to kill anyone who wanted to.
Ci Xi was very famous in recent times, but she was more famous for his repulsive reputation as a traitor. When it came to governing the country, her level was still a lot lower than Ci An's.
Ci Xi and Yi Nan both stopped talking, even Little Emperor Tongzhi calmed down. At the most critical moment, it was Ci An who held the hand, preventing the situation from deteriorating further, he just saw her using an enameled fingernail to lightly knock on the tea table, and in a short while, an old eunuch with white hair walked out.
Strangely, the old eunuch had no intention of bowing at all. He only bowed slightly and paid his respects. However, none of the nobles in the hall felt that he was rude.
”You're the patriarch of the Forbidden City, and we can't talk about the master and the servant. You should know about today's matter as well. I want you to come personally, but if it were anyone else, I wouldn't be at ease …”
The old eunuch nodded his head, ”Is it killing people? Or is it spying? ”