Chapter 264 New Year's Eve 5
Politics. In the struggle, it is impossible to stay out of the matter, not to mention politics. Both sides of the struggle took the initiative to come to the door.
Zhou Charter must make a first choice - either Empress Dowager Cixi or Zhenfei!
The civil and military ministers of the Manchu Dynasty will not hesitate to choose the Empress Dowager Cixi. Cixi is too powerful. This shrewd woman has ruled this country for 30 years. Her shadow has penetrated into any corner of the country. For 30 years, anyone who has been against her will be easily destroyed by her. Invisibly.
And Zhenfei is only a concubine of the emperor. She is less than 20 years old, and even her name is given by Cixi! A little girl, how can she be an old woman's opponent!
Choose Zhenfei is equivalent to choosing failure or even death!
However, when he saw Zhenfei's name, Zhou Charter did not hesitate to stand on Zhenfei's side.
There are two places in this letter that moved him.
Zhenfei's understanding of the current situation is surprisingly consistent with Zhou Charter's view. The conclusion of the Japanese army's upcoming full-scale attack is in Lushun! Zhou Charter felt sorry for the imperial concubine. Many men can't see this, but Zhenfei sees that she has amazing insight!
And Zhenfei's understanding of Zhang Jun moved Zhou Charter even more. Whether in North Korea or Liaodong, Zhang Jun's bloody struggle has not been recognized by the court. Those princes and ministers, including the emperor and empress dowager, seem to take Zhang Jun's victory for granted. They only see the result of victory, but they can't see the great sacrifices and hardships Zhang Jun has suffered for it.
Only Zhenfei saw it!
And she is just a little woman around the emperor!
Zhou Charter folded the letter, put it in his chest pocket, and picked up the pocket watch.
Obviously, this pocket watch is not a gift from Sheng Xuanhuai.
That's the New Year's gift from Zhenfei!
The Zhou Charter opened the cover, and under the moonlight, the pointer pointed to 12 o'clock at midnight.
New Year's Eve is over, and the last second of the Jiawu year of the Qing Dynasty has passed.
It hasn't been a year!
Zhou Charter covered his watch, put his pocket watch in his arms, and shouted, "Yao Xi!"
"There!"
"Send the photo left by Kamei to the soldiers!"
"Yes!"
The new year is coming, and a fierce war is about to break out.
Many of the officers and soldiers standing at the foot of Erlong Mountain will not live on the end of the war.
However, Zhou Charter should let every soldier know why they fought this battle and why they died here!
......
Beijing, the sound of firecrackers and thousands of lights.
Yeh Nara Jinduan sat in the hall, listening to the sound of firecrackers on the street and the children's laughter outside.
Jin stood up tremblingly and walked to the door of the hall. The yard outside the door was bustling. It was his sons and grandchildren celebrating the New Year. A three-year-old grandson ignited a second kick, two kick, and flew into the sky, and there was a cheer in the yard.
Jin sighed gently.
The old servant around him said, "Master, it's the Spring Festival, and your sons and grandchildren will come to accompany you for the Spring Festival. What a blessing it is."
The white beard at the corner of Jin's mouth curled up: "My apprentice is still fighting in the ice and snow!"
Two lines of tears flowed down Na Jin's cheeks.
......
Forbidden City, Yihexuan.
Princess Zhen sat by the octagonal glazed well.
not far away, several eunuch maids lit fireworks, which bloomed on the snow, emitting colorful light.
"Where is the emperor?" Concubine Zhen muttered.
"The emperor and the queen are together." A maid said carefully.
"Oh!" Concubine Zhen nodded: "It's the Spring Festival, Longfeng Chengxiang."
In the past, whenever she heard that the emperor was with the queen, Zhenfei's heart was always not so smooth. However, tonight, she felt very relaxed.
The relationship between the emperor and the queen is not good, but on New Year's Eve, the emperor and the queen must be together. This is not a family matter, but a national affair. Tonight, the emperor and the queen slept in the same bed, representing the abundance of the year.
Concubine Zhen did one thing behind the emperor's back, and now, her mind is all about that!
Just now, Zhirui went to the palace to comfort her. Zhirui told her that Zhou Charter Department had arrived in Liaodong and received weapons and equipment. According to the plan, they should now arrive at Erlong Mountain outside Lushun City.
This news made Zhenfei extremely excited.
In her heart, there was no emperor.
At this moment, there is only one person in her heart - Zhou Charter!
Concubine Zhen suddenly had a strange idea: it was not the supreme emperor of the Qing Dynasty that determined the fate of the Qing Dynasty, but a man named Zhou Charter!
That person will change the national fate of the Qing Dynasty and the fate of the imperial concubine who is tightly tied to the Qing Dynasty!
"I want a piece of incense." Zhenfei said lightly.
The maid handed the lighted incense candle to Zhenfei's hand.
Zhenfei stood up, faced the northeast, and raised the incense candle over her head.
This incense is for Zhou Charter!
......
The Summer Palace, Wanshou Mountain, Foxiang Pavilion, is quiet.
The eunuchs all bowed their heads and knelt on their posts.
The Empress Dowager is offering incense to the Buddha, which is the most important incense of the year. At this time, there must be no sound.
In the year of Jiawu, the Qing Dynasty suffered a series of fiasco, even unprecedented fiasco since 1848.
The Jiawu year, which made the Empress Dowager the old Buddha exhausted, finally passed. However, it has been a dangerous year.
Cixi faced the Buddha statue and raised the incense candle.
There were footsteps behind her, and Cixi suddenly turned around, and the eunuch maid behind her trembling with fear.
Cui Yugui knelt behind Cixi.
Cixi's face turned blue: "Why did you come back?"
"Buddha, Zhou Charter is not in Linjin River."
"Where is he?"
"I don't know."
Cixi trembling, and the incense candle in her hand fell on the ground.
"It must be bad for Li Hongzhang, the old fox!" Cixi gritted her teeth and scolded, "Ye Zhichao!"
"Hit!"
......
Tianjin, Beiyang Minister's government.
Li Hongzhang sat on the Taishi chair. Zhang Peilun and his wife Juwei knelt in front of Li Hongzhang and kowtowed to Li Hongzhang to pay New Year's greetings.
Li Hongzhang was depressed. He pulled his cotton-padded clothes and waved: "Son-in-law, please get up, chrysanthemum lotus root, you are also a person with a body. Get up quickly."
Chrysanthemum lotus root has been pregnant for five months and is a little clumsy.
The couple stood up and Li Hongzhang sighed.
Zhang Peilun bowed and said, "Your father-in-law is still worried about state affairs."
Li Hongzhang shook his head and smiled bitterly: "It's not my turn to worry about state affairs."
Chrysanthemum lotus advised: "Father, do everything and listen to fate. Father has done everything that should be done. As for the result, it can't be forced."
Li Hongzhang nodded: "What the chrysanthemum lotus root said is that I'm just unwilling."
Chrysanthemum smiled and said, "Father is unwilling, isn't it Zhang Zhidong?"
Li Hongzhang laughed and said, "The lotus root is still smart and can't hide anything from you."
"Father," Chrysanthemum said, "That thing was done by Zhang Zhidong. Isn't it actually the same as you? They are all ministers of the Qing Dynasty."
"Zhang Zhidong!" Li Hongzhang said, "This man has courage, but he hides so deeply. I'm not as good as him!"
......
Wuhan, by the Yangtze River, Parrot Island.
Zhang Zhidong and Sheng Xuanhuai walked side by side on the river path.
In those years, in the court, Zhang Zhidong and Zhang Peilun excited their words and impeached hundreds of officials, as if they were allies. However, only they knew in their hearts that there was actually a competitive relationship between them.
Both of them understand the principle of "rather a chicken head than an ox's tail", and the leaders of the Qing school can only have one, not two!
At that time, in order to overwhelm each other, both of them were amazingly vowing.
To this day, the two Qingliu Zhang who pointed to the country in those years have been separated from the Qingliu. One has become a feudal official of the foreign affairs faction, while the other is living in Tianjin, far away from the political center.
However, Zhang Zhidong felt that the competition between him and Zhang Peilun did not seem to have come to an end.
Zhang Peilun became Li Hongzhang's son-in-law, which shows that he did not give up the competition. He is challenging Zhang Zhidong in another way.
Zhang Zhidong stopped. In front of him was the vast eastward Yangtze River. On the river, the river in the night was not calm. Ships flying the flags of the United States, Britain and France were making bursts of whistles.
"Why do they whistle?" Zhang Zhidong asked.
"Is it just a year?" Sheng Xuanhuai said.
Zhang Zhidong took out his pocket watch, and the hour hand pointed to twelve o'clock. In Wuhan, there was a sound of firecrackers.
Zhang Zhidong sneered: "What's wrong with foreigners!"
Sheng Xuanhuai shook his head: "Your Excellency, most of those ships flying foreign flags are driven by Chinese people."
"Why?"
"This is more convenient to do."
Zhang Zhidong smiled bitterly. On the territory of the Qing Dynasty, the national flag of foreigners is more popular. This is the basic national situation of the Qing Dynasty and the common sense of the Qing Dynasty.
"So, that donation was also transported by foreign ships?" Zhang Zhidong asked.
"Yes, it is the American flag."
"What is Li Hongzhang doing?" Zhang Zhidong changed the topic.
"He is probably worried about Shandong."
Zhang Zhidong shook his head: "No, I think he should be worried about Liaodong."
"Yes, Lushun is the anchorage of the Beiyang Marine Division, and now it is in the hands of the Japanese, which is his great shame."
Zhang Zhidong nodded slightly and smiled at Sheng Xuanhuai: "Perhaps he is more annoyed that it is impossible for Liaodong to return to his hands after the war."
Sheng Xuan reported with a smile: "Liaodong will be an adult!"
"How can I dare to touch Liaodong," Zhang Zhidong laughed: "That's all from the emperor!"
The two looked at each other and laughed.
On the river, a ship flying the Russian flag whistled.
"Do Russians also want to intervene in the Yangtze River?" Zhang Zhidong said with hatred.
"They have no less appetite than the Japanese!" Sheng Xuanhuai sighed, "Zhou Charter should understand this."
"He understands very well." Zhang Zhidong sighed, "What I'm worried about is that the Japanese really don't know anything about it?"