C578 Bargaining (1/2)
The Kiki's tower was dead silent. The two princes, Weng Tonghe and the eunuch An Dehai were all stunned, their mouths agape as they looked at Empress Dowager Ci An in a daze.
Ci An knew that the conservatives had already sided with Ci Xi, so it was reasonable for her to support the Reformist.
But in the end, no one could understand this condition. Leave the Forbidden City? You want to live here in the Jingshan? Although the Jingshan's Beihai area was spacious and bright, with many palaces that were more than enough to accommodate the empress dowager, this was against the rules!
Weng Tonghe was the first to object, ”Rites cannot be wasted …” ”The empress dowagers and the Emperor are the symbol of the Great Qing. The Forbidden City is where the empress dowager should live …” Before he finished, Ci An waved towards the Old Ancestor in disgust.
Without saying anything, the Old Ancestor blocked Weng Tonghe's path like a metal tower: ”Master Weng, this servant is a boor but knows how to be courteous. Didn't the empress dowager just call you over? You came here on your own, is this your own path? The empress dowager didn't punish you, but gave you a seat instead.
”You …” Weng Tonghe looked at the old servant San Chao in front of him. He knew that this old servant was not gentle and gentle, so he sat back down heavily and finally shut his mouth.
Seeing that the old man had given in, the two princes knew that it would be difficult to convince the empress dowager today. They clasped their hands together and said, ”Empress Dowager, your conditions are truly troublesome for the Chendi. There are many things that we can't handle just by ourselves …” You want to promote Fuqing, you need to put out some criminals, we can discuss about this, there shouldn't be any problems … ”
”But, the construction of the railway is too big for the telegraph line. Without the Grand Commission's unanimous approval, it would be very difficult to do it! As for letting Xiao Letian go, it wasn't that it couldn't be discussed, but Xiao Letian had to show some gratitude to the imperial government, right? ”Even the imperial government wants face …”
If you want to say it, if I want to say it, since Ci An has given the conditions, then just say it on the spot. Sometimes, matters in the imperial court are no different from doing business.
”I is almost forced to death by you guys, if you don't agree to even this little condition, then I will let the soldiers at the bottom of the mountain continue fighting …” Cut off I's head, you guys don't need to discuss anymore! ”
Following that, with a smack sound, another lid bowl was smashed into pieces. Today, Ci An could be considered as a shrew.
After the negotiations reached this point, there was no way to continue. The empress dowager wasn't delivering tea to them anymore, she was sending them away instead. This group of people couldn't stay any longer due to their thick skin.
The two princes tried to make things uninteresting as they awkwardly stood up and bowed. ”Esteemed empress dowager …” ”Elder sister-in-law, let's go back and discuss this with second sister-in-law. You should also take it easy on yourself. It's useless to settle the accounts now that the matter has been settled, we should still go forward and take a look!” With that, he turned and left with Li Lianying, leaving only Weng Tonghe behind.
This old man is a well-mannered Chinese Officer. He solemnly kneeled in front of Empress Dowager of the East and kowtowed nine times: ”Empress Dowager, this subject is loyal to the heaven and earth, from start to finish, I have never chosen to stand by the side. After the conflict, I have requested to meet with the Empress Dowager Xi four times.
”Wuwuwu …” I, a scholar, am too weak in the face of such a great chaos. I wanted to string together the Qing Liu to pressure the imperial government, and taking into consideration the prestige of the imperial family. Moreover, Maylor's army did not want to cause too much turmoil, so I did not choose to use violence to suppress it … ”
”Please forgive me, empress dowager. This subject has his own difficulties!” Weng Tonghe was a smart person, he could guess from Ci An's tough attitude that Empress Dowager of the East still had tricks up his sleeves, Ci An did not lose, and now he had to show his loyalty, and leave a path for him to walk.
Ci An saw that Weng Tonghe was the only one left in the hall, and kept his temper, ”Old man, since you're also a Imperial Advisor, I will not blame you … You were right to not let the Qing Liu people get involved in this matter. ”Get up …”
Hearing this, the old man immediately felt reassured. Suppressing Qing Liu and not causing trouble was the right choice. What this Great Qing wanted was face. No matter how much dog shit was hidden under the blanket, he still had to do some brocade articles.
”The empress dowager understands. This subject only has one idea. The foreigners are watching in the capital, and the local daoyin is also looking. In any case, Daqing can't be messed with …” ”During this period of time, I've written a lot of letters to my family's officials. I wanted them to suppress the local scholars so that they wouldn't cause trouble. I just wanted to buy the imperial government some time …”
”Mm …” I understands what you want to do, go and rest … ” Ci An said indifferently.
Weng Tonghe opened his mouth wide, but was still a little unresigned. He couldn't understand why the empress dowager would let Xiao Letian go. But he wasn't stupid. Being overly forceful only made the empress dowager hate him even more. At the thought of this, he could only turn and leave.
When they left Kiki's tower to go down the mountain, Weng Tonghe saw that the military camp at the bottom of the mountain was continuously evacuating people. There were also many eunuchs carrying all sorts of daily necessities, including vegetables and rice.
Along the way, the eunuchs and soldiers all recognized Qingliu Leader and they all bowed towards him. Weng Tonghe also nodded his head in greeting with a smile on his face.
When Weng Tonghe walked out of the Jingshan and sat on his palanquin, he let out a long sigh of relief. ”Let's go, let's go home first.