allonlinenovel Chapter 235 Prince Gong Arrives
Chapter 235 Prince Gong Arrives
Prince Gong finally came to Rehe, and Sushun and others had to make concessions.
"Sixth brother, I am honored to be here!"
Both Sushun and Prince Gong were the sixth child, but Sushun was a few years older. Therefore, Prince Gong was very polite and bowed to Sushun.
Sushun stared at Prince Gong for a while before smiling and saying, "Sixth Brother, you must have worked hard on your journey. You've come all the way here to pay your respects to the late emperor. I'm sure the late emperor's spirit in heaven will be pleased!"
Prince Gong sighed, "In less than a year, I never thought that I would be separated from the late emperor forever. It's really..."
Su Shun said gently, "Well, Sixth Brother, everyone has seen what you have done in the capital over the past year. You have done everything with all your heart and soul. The late emperor also saw it and was very pleased."
Prince Gong exchanged a few polite words before greeting the princes and military officials. A banquet was held in his honor at the palace that day.
The next step was to pay homage to the late emperor's coffin. Prince Gong was overwhelmed with emotions and cried loudly in front of Emperor Xianfeng's coffin. It was a long time before he stood up after being persuaded by his colleagues.
Just as everyone was about to greet each other politely, a eunuch ran over and said, "My Lords and Gentlemen, the Empress Dowagers invite Prince Gong into the palace to chat and inquire about matters at home."
Sushun was shocked when he heard this, thinking to himself, here they come, Cixi and Ci'an finally can't sit still anymore, taking action at this time? Hehe, they really know how to choose the opportunity!
Jiao Youying, who was standing aside, whispered, "Everyone, even so, it is still somewhat inconvenient for a foreign minister to come to the court..."
This reason is a bit far-fetched. Will the two palaces never see outsiders in the future?
The expressions of the princes present changed, but they remained silent. Prince Gong smiled and said, "That's all right, Eunuch An. Please inform the two Empress Dowagers that tomorrow, I, along with the other princes and the military council, will go to court to greet them. All is well at home, and I will take care of everything. Please don't worry, Empress Dowagers."
Sushun finally felt relieved. It seemed that Gong Laoliu was not really here to cause trouble this time. He had given up such an opportunity. Was he going to accept his fate?
Su Shun smiled and said, "If that's the case, then that's fine. Tomorrow morning, let's pay our respects to the Emperor and the Empress Dowager together."
An Dehai quickly brought the news back.
Ci'an's expression changed. She was actually rejected by Prince Gong's gentle words! Did Prince Gong really intend to give up?
Ci'an looked at Cixi, who was quite calm. Seeing Ci'an's questioning look, she chuckled and said, "Don't worry, sister. This is just what the Sixth Master said to paralyze Sushun and the others. Didn't he say that he would take care of everything outside? He has made his attitude clear. Let's just relax."
Ci'an smiled and replied, "If that's really the case, then I'm really relieved. After all, the emperor finally has someone to rely on, and the Sixth Brother is one of our own family."
Cixi said, "Well, everything will be clear tomorrow, sister. Right now, the military officials are just strong on the outside but weak on the inside. There's nothing to worry about. Our only concern now is to be able to return to Beijing safely. Once we return to Beijing, no one can do anything to us!"
The next day, Prince Gong and his ministers came to the palace to meet the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.
The two Empress Dowagers asked Prince Gong about matters at home in the capital and pretended to exchange greetings.
Prince Gong finally got to the point. "My two sisters-in-law, the late emperor has passed away. Leaving his coffin in Rehe is not a long-term solution. Most importantly, the emperor cannot stay here forever. We need to return to Beijing to hold his coronation ceremony. This cannot be delayed any longer. Sixth brother, what do you think?"
Sushun had anticipated this, believing it was inevitable. He smiled and said, "Sixth Brother, you're quite right. Returning to the capital is certain. We, the military council, are also discussing how to get the emperor and the late emperor's coffin back to the capital. It's hundreds of miles away, and the emperor is still young, so we have to be extremely careful."
Prince Gong laughed and said, "Sixth brother, you're joking. Although the emperor is young and the journey is long, we have 20,000 troops escorting us. What danger is there? If all else fails, the Infantry Commander's Office can also send a force north to welcome the emperor."
Sushun's face froze. He looked at the two Empress Dowagers and said, "Sixth Brother, how about this? In two days, the troops from Baoding Town will arrive at the imperial court. As soon as the troops from Baoding Town arrive, we will prepare to return to the capital. You will stay and return with us."
Sushun was still somewhat worried about Prince Gong. This guy was too shrewd. He must not find his way to him all at once. As long as Gong Laoliu stayed in the imperial court, everything would be under control.
Prince Gong smiled and said, "If we leave within two or three days, it wouldn't matter if I stayed. I'm here to serve the Emperor. But if things continue for too long, the capital will be leaderless. With only Yihuan on his own, I'm afraid he won't be able to control the situation. Now the envoys from Britain, France, the United States, and Russia have arrived and are planning to build an embassy. Without someone capable to keep an eye on things, I'm really worried."
When Sushun heard about the affairs of the Westernization Movement, he felt a little confused. Those foreign devils were really difficult to deal with. Now the imperial edict had been issued, and Liu Ye was going to Shandong today. Without the chief minister in charge of the Zongli Yamen, the capital would be in chaos.
Sushun pondered and said, "Well, in that case, you can go back first. As soon as the troops from Baoding arrive, we will have three to five days to prepare and then we can set off. The journey is long, and it is not appropriate to separate the army from the imperial court. Zaiyuan and I will personally lead the army to escort the emperor back to the capital."
Prince Gong frowned and said, "Sixth brother, our Beijing camp has 20,000 soldiers. Add to that the Baoding town, the nobles, ministers, and relatives of the imperial palace, and there must be 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers in total. How can we move so many people together? The pressure on the local area is too great. From Rehe to the capital are just small towns. How can we supply them so well? Moreover, with 30,000 to 40,000 people moving together, the time will be very long. How can the emperor be able to serve the country on his way back? The affairs of state are very heavy now, and we can't delay for a moment. I think it's best to split up. The military officials can have a force to protect them as they return to the capital first, and then Sixth brother can protect the emperor as he returns to the capital. This way, we can protect the emperor without delaying state affairs."
Sushun's face changed. Does this mean that the imperial court should be separated? If they were to be divided into several groups, it would mean that the military officials would also be separated. There were eight ministers of state. Du Han and I were their leaders. Kuang Yuan and Jiao Youying were also somewhat talented, and Mu Meng was second. If they returned to the capital first, Duanhua and Zaiyuan Jingshou would be left alone. They couldn't control the situation. Du Han, of course, was also something he couldn't do without. That would leave Kuang Yuan, Jiao Youying, and Mu Meng as options.
"Sixth Brother, what do you think? What are you going to do?"