Shen Guifen's meaning is very clear, as the prime minister of the cabinet, King Gong is appointed by the queen mother, and the queen mother has an unshirkable responsibility for the failure of the cabinet, and the queen mother should be guilty of her own edict.

"Don't pretend to be confused!" Yi Xun immediately sneered, "Who doesn't know that the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty don't know that it was Yuan Qi who designated King Gong as the first prime minister of the cabinet!" ”

Shen Guifen said without backing: "But for the subjects of the Qing Dynasty, what they see is that the emperor has made it clear to the world and appointed King Gong as the first prime minister of the cabinet. ”

Yi Xun said disdainfully: "Don't confuse the public, it is the gentry who attack the cabinet and the constitution this time, how can it be so easy to deceive!" ”

"Enough!" Ci'an scolded with a frosty face, his voice was not loud, but it startled Yiyun and Shen Guifen, if this was placed in the past, the crime of losing honor in front of a monarch was inevitable, and the two of them got up and knelt down in unison and said: "The Queen Mother forgives the sin——。 ”

"Jing Sheng and go to the edict." Ci'an said in a slow tone: "Compared with the absolute monarchy, the constitutional monarchy is a great progress, and if the Qing Dynasty wants to enrich the country and strengthen the army, it must ...... Unswervingly implement the constitution. So it is in this sense. ”

"We're honored." Shen Guifen saluted and got up, bowed and withdrew.

Shen Guifen, who was waiting, withdrew, and Yi Xun said in a deep voice: "There is a great drought in several northern provinces, and it lasts for four or five years, and Yuan Qi's vigorous relief will inevitably hurt his vitality, so why not let the gentry attack the cabinet ........" ”

"It's also a sin to watch the fire from across the shore!" Ci'an interrupted him coldly, and after a pause, she said slowly: "The northern provinces have railways, wired telegraphs have spread to all states and counties, and there are more convenient wired telephones, and the sophistication of the new arms is far from being comparable to the old Eight Banners Green Battalion, and it is impossible for the local gentry to make any waves." If you watch the fire from the other side, after the incident, Yuanqi will inevitably leave no room for cleaning! ”

"The Queen Mother." Yi Xun said in a deep voice: "Regime changes in the past, all rivers of blood have been shed, corpses have piled up, even if it is the implementation of constitutional government, it is no exception, and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in England has also gone through a years-long war and a long-term enclosure movement.

It is impossible for our country to implement a constitutional government so peacefully, and it is inevitable to exclude dissidents and purge Manchu and Mongolian relatives and nobles on a large scale! It's just a matter of time!

Looking at the ruthlessness of Yuanqi's annexation of the surrounding vassal states, it can be seen that Yi Zhi is full of jackals, and when the time is ripe, he may even do something to abolish the establishment! ”

Alarmist! Ci'an glanced at him dissatisfied, and said coldly: "With the military might of Yuanqi's new army and the abundant financial resources of Yuanqi, even if Yi Guocheng wants to rebel and usurp the throne, it is as easy as a snap, so why do you want to promote the establishment of a constitution?"

With the prestige of Yi Guocheng, it is expected that the first prime minister of the cabinet should be inaugurated by the people, so why should King Gong be inaugurated? The reason is very simple, that is, in order to smoothly implement the constitution, since this is the case, there is no large-scale purge of the Manchurian relatives and nobles! ”

Hearing these words, Yi Xun sighed secretly, kowtowed heavily, and said in a deep voice: "It's not a vain speculation, Manchuria's entry into the Central Plains has always been to control more with less, once the Han people gain power, how can they tolerate the Manchu and Mongolian relatives?" How can he tolerate a Manchurian emperor, even if he is a hypocrite, it is impossible to tolerate it! ”

Ci'an was speechless, in fact, this has always been her worry, although Yi Zhizhi put forward the idea of the Chinese nation, advocating the integration of all ethnic groups, advocating the equality of all ethnic groups, but the Han people occupy the vast majority of the Chinese nation, it is an indisputable fact, maybe Yi Zhizhi is broad-minded, can accept and tolerate, but what about after he died? Although the Constitution is clearly stipulated, it is not impossible to amend.

After a slight sigh, she sighed lightly: "The lesser of two evils, the former Ming perished, and the descendants of the Zhu family were slaughtered, even if you don't think about millions of Manchurians, you have to think about the descendants of Aixin Jueluo." ”

Seeing that her attitude had softened, Yi Xun said tentatively: "Chenjue's current situation is an extremely rare opportunity - to retreat to Shengjing!" ”

After a pause, he continued: "This great drought in the north lasted for four or five years, and Yuan Qi tried his best to provide disaster relief, and his vitality was bound to be greatly damaged, and he did not dare to use troops on a large scale for at least seven or eight years.

The Northeast is rich in coal and iron resources, suitable for the development of industry, and has millions of people, carefully operating for seven or eight years, not to mention competing with Yuanqi, at least enough to protect themselves, it is better than the current situation of people fighting for knives and I for fish and meat. ”

Ci'an's heart moved when she heard this, the situation in the Qing Dynasty was different from that of England, even if the hypocrisy was constitutional, she still had a feeling of precariousness, although the royal family still controlled more than 100,000 new forbidden troops, but she knew that this situation could not be maintained for a long time, the cabinet and Yuan Qi would sooner or later deprive this part of the military power, and the royal family could not firmly control the more than 100,000 forbidden army, the reason is very simple, the royal family does not have so much money to support!

If you retreat to Shengjing, especially if you can gain a foothold in Shengjing, the situation will change! With the vastness of the northeast, it is not a problem to support more than 100,000 forbidden troops, as long as there is no secession and no attempt to restore the absolute monarchy, it is impossible for Yuan Qi and the cabinet to brave the world's disapproval to send troops to conquer on a large scale, so that it can not only ensure the continuation of the Qing Dynasty to the greatest extent, but also make life a lot more comfortable, and also attract a large number of Manchus to return to the northeast.

Of course, the most important thing is that this move is very feasible, the government and the opposition are busy with disaster relief in the north, Yuan Qi is jealous, and does not dare to provoke a war at this time, and the catastrophe that lasts for four or five years will inevitably greatly weaken Yuan Qi's financial resources, and after the catastrophe, Yuan Qi will also need several years to recover.

This is not a trivial matter, Ci'an is difficult to make a decision for a while, and this matter is not in a hurry, after a long silence, she raised her eyes and glanced at Yi Xun, and said in an indifferent tone: "In such a rare disaster, the government and the opposition should work together to provide disaster relief, and kneel down." ”

What does that mean? Yi Xun was confused, but he didn't dare to rap, so he immediately saluted and got up, bowed and withdrew. Along the way, he wondered whether Ci'an was tempted, but in fact, he also knew that whether it was the cabinet or Yuan Qi, sooner or later they would cut off the military power in his hands, and if he wanted to keep his military power, the best way was to retreat to Shengjing!

Three days later, Ci'an issued an edict to sin himself, and made it clear to the world, a more than 3,000 words of 'sin self-edict' was published on the front page of major newspapers in the north and south at the same time, Ci'an took the responsibility for the catastrophe completely on his own body, from Xianfeng's death, Qi Xiang succeeded to the throne, she began to listen to the government, the number of times for the government to lose, and the biggest crime is Qi Xiang's early death, her crime is unforgivable.

After committing her own crimes, she also clearly pointed out that the replacement of absolute monarchy by a constitutional monarchy is the trend of the world today, and the implementation of a constitutional monarchy is not only in line with the times, but also a great progress of the Qing Dynasty, and if the Qing Dynasty wants to enrich the country and strengthen the army, and stand proudly in the east of the world, it must implement constitutional government, advocate new learning, revitalize civil rights, and run industry.

Shanghai, Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Study.

After listening to Yi Zhengxing's recitation of Ci'an's edict in a low voice, Zhao Liewen praised: "Although she is a woman, the queen mother's mind, bearing, and insight are all not allowed to have eyebrows, and having this queen mother is a blessing of the Qing Dynasty." ”

Yi Zhengxing took a sip of tea and said, "If she surrenders her military power, it will be the real benefit of the Qing Dynasty." ”

Yi Zhixiang smiled and said, "I'm afraid that King Gong didn't mention this matter at all." ”

"Shift, students don't talk about it." Zhao Liewen said in a relaxed tone: "The more than 100,000 forbidden troops are the protection of the lives of the royal family and the Manmeng relatives, how can they be handed over easily, even if King Gong is tempted, he does not dare to speak easily, unless this edict does not work." ”

Yi Zhengxing asked: "Will this guilty edict work?" ”

"It's hard to say." Zhao Liewen shook his head and said: "The purpose of the gentry's attack on the cabinet is to prevent large-scale immigration and recruitment, and to avoid the problem of land depreciation and labor costs. ”

Li Hongzhang, who had been silent, said slowly: "The edict has little effect on the gentry, but it can play a certain deterrent role for the royalists. ”

Yi Zhizu glanced at a few people and said, "If the disaster continues, this edict has no meaning. ”

Kyoshi, Prime Minister's Office.

"It's really surprising that the Queen Mother is so cooperative and timely issued an edict to punish herself." Su Shun said as he put down the newspaper in his hand, "In this way, the rumors in the market should also stop?" ”

"It's just going to stop for a while." Abundant? Disappreciatively, he said: "If the drought continues, they will be ready to move again and brew a new round of attacks." ”

After a deep groan, Su Shuncai said, "Why don't you simply spread the prediction that the catastrophe may last for four or five years?" ”

"No, it's too impactful." Abundant? Without thinking, he denied: "Once this news spreads, food prices will inevitably soar, and the stock market will also plummet. ”

The relief of this catastrophe in the north mainly depends on Yuanqi, if something happens to Yuanqi, the consequences are really unimaginable, Su Shun shook his head bitterly, "It's not a matter if it goes on like this, I have to think of ways to appease those gentry ........." ”

Abundant? looked helpless, "This is a dead knot, how to appease?" ”

"Why don't you ask Yi Guocheng?" Su Shun said: "As the saying goes, this bell must be tied to the bell, and he proposed large-scale immigration and recruitment." ”

"If there is a way, he will not encourage me to cut the power of the forbidden army." Abundant? said angrily: "Obviously, this is planning for the worst." ”

Su Shun said with some concern: "The sixth master doesn't really plan to force the queen mother to hand over the military power, right?" Natural disasters and man-made disasters come together, even Yuan Qi is afraid that he can't bear it. ”

"It's a big deal not to hand over the military power, so that there won't be a fight." Abundant? He said slowly: "I have always wondered, why did Yi Guocheng suggest cutting the imperial military power at this time, just to prevent the gentry from joining forces with the royalists?" ”