Jingshi, Forbidden City, Yangxin Palace, East Warm Pavilion.

Ci'an, who had eaten breakfast, was about to review the excerpts, and the eunuch who listened to the report of the three Ronglu arrived, and she groaned slightly before ordering: "Xuan'e Antai will meet you." ”

The Beiyang Navy Division inherited the Nanyang Navy in many aspects, the atmosphere was open, and it was deeply influenced by the West, most of the officers and soldiers praised the establishment of the Constitution, but there was no lack of royalists, Rong Lu's trip to Qingdao naturally could not be concealed from Ci'an, after confirming that Yi Zhizhi also went to Qingdao, she was both angry and worried, if the Beiyang Navy Division fell to Yuanqi, both militarily and politically it will inevitably cause a heavy blow to the imperial court.

E Antai didn't expect Ci'an to summon him first, he was quite worried, this was the first time he had been saged, and after entering the warm pavilion to invite Sheng'an, he got up a little nervously and knelt down on the felt carpet in front of the bead curtain, and then heard a very pleasant voice, "How is Qingdao?" ”

"Back to the Queen Mother." E'an Taiqiang said calmly: "Qingdao is a large military base of Yuanqi, with many chimneys and factories, more than 200,000 people, and most of the residents are officers and soldiers who have retired from the Yuanqi New Army over the years. ”

Ci'an listened to a lot, Qingdao was built as a military base for Yuanqi and the East China Sea Fleet base in the early years of Xianfeng, because Qingdao has been in a closed state, coupled with the complicated state affairs in recent years, the imperial court has almost forgotten about Qingdao Port.

At first glance, when she heard that a small fishing village in Jimo County had now become a military industrial base with 200,000 people, she couldn't believe her ears, 200,000 people! The average prefecture doesn't have such a large population!

Soon, Ci'an reacted, this matter is not difficult to verify, the other party will definitely not dare to talk about this matter, slightly groaning, she continued to ask: "Is it Yi Zhishu who invited you to Qingdao?" ”

E Antai didn't dare to hide it, and hurriedly said: "Weichen and the others are indeed at the invitation of Yi Zhicontent, and Yi Zhishu said that there are five new steam gunboats in Qingdao that are sold to the Beiyang Naval Division at a low price, let us go and inspect them." ”

Five steam warships will let you run to Qingdao? When Hongu is a three-year-old child? A trace of anger flashed on Ci'an's face,

But he didn't have a seizure, but continued to ask, "How is the examination?" ”

"Back to the Queen Mother." E'antai lowered his originally low body, "Weichen and the others didn't see the new steam gunboat, but they saw the new ironclad ship and the new artillery. ”

Ironclad? New artillery? Ci'an is not ignorant of ironclads, Yuanqi newspaper mentioned ironclads in its report on the American Civil War, and she was a little surprised: "Yuanqi can build ironclads?" ”

E'an Tai played these words were carefully arranged by the three Rong Lu on the way to Beijing, and Ci'an asked down the words, he was secretly relieved in his heart, and his tone became calm, "Back to the Empress Dowager, Weichen and others saw at least ten ironclad ships of different sizes in Qingdao. ”

Yuan Qi actually has so many ironclad ships? Ci'an frowned slightly and said, "How powerful is the new artillery?" ”

E Antai pondered that she didn't know anything about artillery, and said succinctly: "One is ten!" ”

One as ten? Ci'an obviously didn't believe it, and groaned slightly, she asked, "Yi Zhifu invited you to Qingdao just to see the ironclad ships and new artillery?" ”

E Antai hurriedly said: "Yi Zhixiang had a private conversation with the Invalids. ”

After a long silence, Ci'an said in a low voice: "Do you know the crime of bullying the king?" ”

"Weichen doesn't dare!" E'an Tai kowtowed again and again: "What Wei Chen said, every sentence is true, if there is half a lie, the heavens and the earth will be destroyed!" ”

"Wait outside the temple for the time being." Ci'an instructed, and when E'antai bowed down, she immediately instructed: "Call Laizhou Prefecture and Jimo County and Jiaozhou County in Shandong, is Qingdao full of chimneys, many factories, and densely populated like a province?" The order is immediately echoed. ”

Qingdao is a large military base of Yuanqi, there are more than 200,000 people, most of the residents are retired officers and soldiers of the Yuanqi New Army over the years, ten ironclad ships of different sizes have been built, and a new type of artillery has been developed.

Ironclad ships should be regarded as a great weapon in the navies of Western countries, Yuan Qi actually has as many as ten, and there are also new artillery, such a strong naval strength and industrial construction strength, it is almost impossible for the imperial court to rely on British and French assistance! Once Britain and France learned of this situation, they would never dare to blatantly support the imperial court, and it was impossible to compete with Yuan Qi with the strength of the imperial court!

After thinking for a long time, Ci'an ordered someone to call Chang Guixiang in, and asked slightly, Chang Guixiang's reply was the same as that of E'antai, and Chang Guixiang knelt down and withdrew, and the echoes of Laizhou Mansion, Jimo County, and Jiaozhou County also arrived.

The language of Laizhou is unknown, but the reply of Jimo and Jiaozhou counties is very clear, Qingdao is indeed full of chimneys, factories are everywhere, the population is large, and the prosperity is worse than that of Laizhou, and the land around Jiaozhou Bay is owned by the big families who hang thousands of cards, and it is difficult for ordinary gentry and ordinary people to reach Jiaozhou Bay.

Looking at these three reverberations, Ci'an's face was extremely ugly, those big people who hung thousands of cards did not ask, they must be Yuanqi's people, it was really a good means, to attract the attention of the world in Shanghai and Guangzhou, but secretly but carefully run Qingdao, and quietly established a large military industrial base under the nose of the imperial court!

"Xuan Ronglu ——。"

Coldly watching Rong Lu come in and kneel down in front of the bead curtain after knocking on peace, Ci'an said slowly: "Lingzu Ling's father sacrificed his life for the country, and the name of the Guerjia clan's loyalty and righteousness will not be buried in your generation, right?" ”

Rong Lu was shocked, and hurriedly kowtowed: "Weichen has received the grace of the country, and he definitely does not dare to live up to the favor and disobey the Lord, and he does not dare to tarnish the heroic name of the ancestors and ancestors. ”

Ci'an continued: "It is easy to be content to leave your post and go to Qingdao for a private meeting, how do you explain it?" ”

"Back to the Queen Mother." Rong Lu hurriedly said: "Yuan Qi sold five steam gunboats at half price, and declared that it was a new gunboat, Wechen's trip to Qingdao was to be invited to inspect the gunboats, and I didn't know in advance that Yi Zhishu would go, and besides, Yuan Qi has always been very strict with Qingdao Blockade, and I had the opportunity to go to Qingdao to find out, and Wechen was also very excited." ”

Ci'an said coldly: "Why didn't you play beforehand?" ”

"Wechen encountered the ...... of the East China Sea Fleet on his way to Lushun for inspection." Rong Lu said with some hesitation: "At that time, it was too late to ask for instructions, and I felt that I couldn't ......miss the opportunity." Saying that, he kowtowed again and again: "Weichen is bold and reckless, leaving his post without permission, and I hope that the queen mother will issue a decree to punish him to set an example." ”

Ci'an didn't say anything for a long time, Rong Lu knelt on the ground and felt guilty in his heart, and he couldn't be convicted of private meetings, but the charge of leaving his post without permission was not wronged at all, if Ci'an seized this point and dismissed him for questioning, he would have nothing to say.

Just when he was nervous and his nervous palms were sweating, Ci'an finally spoke: "Why did Yi Zhishu make an appointment with you in private?" ”

"Back to the Queen Mother——。 Rong Lu hesitated for a moment and then said in an open tone: "Yi Zhishu said that the imperial court ordered a large number of arms from Yingli, intending to provoke a war and trick Weichen into going to Qingdao, with the intention of deterring and intimidating, so that the Beiyang Navy Division would strictly abide by the neutral ........ ”

The order for a large amount of arms from England is top secret, but how did Contentment find out? Ci'an was speechless for a long time, she really didn't expect that the cause of the incident was the leakage of the arms trade, how did this news leak?

She reacted immediately, the top priority was not to pursue this matter, and she groaned slightly, and said with some suspicion: "Just let the Beiyang Navy Division strictly abide by neutrality?" ”

"Yes." Rong Lu hurriedly said: "Yi Zhifu made it clear that the reason why the Beiyang Naval Division remained neutral was to avoid the outbreak of war as much as possible or to reduce the scale of the civil war as much as possible. ”

Ci'an then asked, "You have seen all the ironclad ships and new artillery?" ”

"Yi Zhizu arranged for Wei Chen and others to take the ironclad ship and observe the live shelling of the new artillery at close range, which is really amazing, and the sail warships and artillery that are not in service can compete." Speaking of this, he knocked his head heavily and said in a deep voice: "Qingdao has a large population, most of the residents are retired officers and soldiers of Yuanqi, factory workers and school students are also conducting paramilitary training, and once there is a war, it can quickly form an army of tens of thousands ......... ”

Ci'an didn't say anything for a long time, she knew about Yuanqi's military service system, and the Eight Banners New Army originally planned to follow suit, but it was shelved because it was unable to implement the placement of retired officers and soldiers, and there were some things that she couldn't learn even if she wanted to, and sighed secretly, she said: "I heard that there are more than 20 ironclad ships in Qingdao?" ”

Where did the more than 20 ships come from? Rong Lu replied without thinking about it: "Back to the Queen Mother, Weichen only saw seventeen ironclad ships of different sizes in Qingdao Harbor, but according to Yi Zhifen, the purpose of establishing Qingdao Shipyard was to develop and build ironclad ships.

At present, Yuanqi has been able to build a giant ironclad ship with a displacement of 8,000 tons, and Weichen speculates that Yuanqi already has the ability and foundation to build various types of ironclad ships, and in the next ten or twenty years, the Yuanqi Navy will gradually install ironclad ships. ”

After a pause, he continued: "Yi Zhishu also said that it is an unstoppable trend for ironclad ships to replace sail warships as the main warships of the navy, and Dalian is a port that is very suitable for building shipyards and building ironclad ships, and the imperial court is welcome to send officials to Qingdao to inspect and study ........ ”

What kind of investigation and study, Ci'an understood as soon as she heard it, this is knowing that she will not easily believe what Rong Lu and the three of them said, so she sent a senior officer to Qingdao to confirm.

She suddenly felt a deep sense of powerlessness in her heart, and slowly leaned back in her chair, the gap between the imperial court and Yuan Qi was too big, and it was so big that she was desperate, all her efforts and struggles were in vain in the face of absolute strength, and it was even a joke! At this moment, she even regretted purchasing a large amount of arms from England.

Shandong, Qingdao, Canghai Park.

Zhao Liewen walked quickly into Yi Zhi's study, and said with a smile: "The Military Aircraft Department has called, and it is planned to send an inspection delegation headed by Prince Yi Zaiyuan and Minister of Military Aircraft Feng Guifen to Qingdao. ”

Yi Zhicontent, who was drawing, put down his pen and said with a smile: "Sure enough, I still don't believe it, call back, we will send a battleship to Tianjin to meet you." ”

Zhao Liewen hurriedly said: "Big shopkeeper, do you want to limit the number of them, too many are not conducive to secrecy." ”

"It's okay to limit it." Yi Zhishu groaned and said: "No more than ten people, as for secrecy, there is no need to worry, they will not be treated as the three of Ronglu........" ”

Zhao Liewen said with some concern: "Even if they just let them watch from afar, the news that Yuan Qi can build a large ironclad ship will spread." ”

"It's not a secret that we're building ironclads." Yi Zhi said disapprovingly: "We are spying on the intelligence of Western countries, and they are also spying on us, Qingdao, a military industrial base, has long been an open secret, but it is difficult for them to enter." ”

After a pause, he continued: "Properly camouflage the ironclad ship and artillery, let them watch from a distance, no photographing, no drawing, not much secrets, if you are still not at ease, then restrict, only the third rank of the forty years old is allowed to come." ”

Zhao Liewen said with a smile: "It's still the big shopkeeper who is thoughtful." ”

"It's better to be scared off than to be repulsed." Yi Zhizhi said: "To avoid a civil war, even if it is worth leaking a little secret." ”

Zhao Liewen said tentatively: "Is the big shopkeeper waiting for them in Qingdao?" ”

"There's no need." Yi Zhizu waved his hand, "Since the imperial court has sent officials to Qingdao for on-the-spot inspection, it means that they have realized the seriousness of the problem. ”

For more than half a month, Prince Yi Zaiyuan and his entourage hurriedly returned to Beijing from Qingdao, and truthfully reported to Ci'an what they had seen and heard in Qingdao, confirming that what Rong Lu and the three of them said was true, Yuan Qi not only owned 17 ironclad ships of all sizes in Qingdao, but also had an extremely large shipyard, with strong strength in building ironclad ships, and the new artillery was also very powerful, which could be called a ten.

Ci'an is completely dead at this point, she knows very well that Britain and France and other countries have always put their interests first, although they hope to seek more and greater benefits in the Qing Dynasty through the imperial court, but if they need to pay a great price, they will definitely stop.

Take another 10,000 steps back and say, even if the imperial court wins the strong support of Britain and France, it will not be able to compete with Yuan Qi to the end, and the war is about money and food in the final analysis, and the court simply does not have the capital to confront Yuan Qi for a long time.

Do not oppose Yuan Qi, after the expiration of the preparatory constitution, honestly implement the constitution, can also make a hypocrisy of the monarchy, the Qing Dynasty can still extend, the Manchus can also be preserved, once the opposition to the constitution, provoke a war, not only the Qing Dynasty will die, but the Manchus will also be exterminated.

After deciding to give up the unrealistic struggle, another question was placed in front of Ci'an, even if the constitutional government was implemented, who should be chosen or supported to form a regent in order to retain the imperial power to the greatest extent and safeguard the interests of the clan nobles and the Manchus?

The highest call for the formation of a cabinet regent is Prince Gong Yili and the chief military minister Su Shun, who will Yuan Qi choose? And who should she choose?

She does not believe that she does not have the right to choose, and even if she does not have the right to choose, she has the right to support, and with her status, with more than a year before the expiration of the preparatory constitution, whoever supports will have a better chance of winning.