allonlinenovel Chapter 233 Duanhua is a fool
Chapter 233 Duanhua is a fool
The next morning at court, Mu Meng was the first to step forward.
"Your Majesty, I am a wise man!"
"Hand it over."
The memorial was handed to Cixi, and Mu Meng said from below: "Empress Dowager, since the war with Britain and France broke out two years ago, the General of Baoding Town has made many meritorious contributions. He has fought in the capital several times and made expeditions to the far north. He has made countless military achievements and also contributed to the peace negotiations. Now he is still just a General. It is really difficult to reward his merits. There are already discussions among the court and the public that the court is unclear about rewards and punishments. Therefore, I propose to remove Liu Ye from his post as General of Baoding Town and appoint him as the Governor of Shandong Province, the Governor of Shandong Military Affairs, to assist the Monk King in suppressing the Nian Bandits!"
Cixi secretly patted her chest. Sure enough, these guys started to set their sights on Liu Ye again. They offered a huge price for making him the admiral of Shandong military affairs. It felt too difficult to directly take away Liu Ye's military power in Baoding Town, so she started to adopt a roundabout tactic!
This is the beginning of the Baoding Town's powerful army showing its strength. The Baoding Town's powerful army is now only two or three hundred miles away from Rehe. It will arrive in Rehe in three to five days, and has formed a huge deterrent to the Beijing camp in Rehe.
More than a thousand people may not seem like a lot, but we also have to look at who led the soldiers. Lai Ye’s soldiers, let alone more than a thousand, even if there are only two or three hundred of them, cannot be underestimated by the Eight Banners and the Green Camp. They have truly been tested by blood and fire!
Cixi replied calmly, "Yes, it's true. Liu Ye has made great contributions to the country. However, since you are going to assist the Monk King in suppressing Shandong, I think it's better for him to lead the Baoding Town. Otherwise, if he suddenly takes charge of Shandong, he will not have the right people and will find it difficult to exert his power..."
Mu Meng's face froze. Oh my god, I didn't expect that the Empress Dowager Cixi was so capable. She immediately seized the loophole in the memorial and actually wanted Liu Ye to lead the troops. If Liu Ye led the troops, what would be the point of taking away his position as the general of Baoding Town?
Mu Meng replied, "Empress Dowager, although what you said has some truth to it, the capital is now without elite soldiers to protect it. The safety of the emperor is paramount. I think it is better to assign the elite soldiers of Baoding to someone else to guard the emperor."
"Oh?"
Cixi snorted softly and asked, "What do you mean?"
Mu Meng answered stiffly, "Liu Ye embodies the spirit of a famous general from ancient times. When he was in Tianjin, he transformed the Dagukou garrison in just one month. Now that he has gone to Shandong and holds great power, he has an opportunity to show his skills. Training elite troops is a piece of cake. The only problem is that the monk king and Sheng Kezhai are both in Shandong, and there are no people familiar with military affairs. Leaving the Baoding garrison is particularly important. I think Prince Zheng can be appointed as the commander of the infantry and take charge of the Baoding garrison to protect the safety of Rehe!"
Ci'an, who was standing at the side, said, "Master Mu's words make sense. However, Prince Zheng is now juggling multiple duties and is overwhelmed. I'm afraid he will be unable to handle the overall management of Baoding Town. Aijia thinks that Prince Zheng can resign his post as commander of the infantry and focus solely on the military affairs of Baoding Town!"
Mu Meng's face changed and he looked at Sushun. He had no say in such matters.
Sushun had no choice but to stand up and said, "Empress Dowager, Baoding Town only has a little over a thousand soldiers. It won't be too difficult to command them..."
Ci'an replied, "Su Zhongtang, the problem now isn't the number of people in Baoding Town, but Prince Zheng has too many part-time jobs. Doesn't that mean the Qing Dynasty is short of people? With so many duties, can he handle it?"
Cixi continued, "In my opinion, Prince Zheng could hand over the military power of the imperial court to Prince Chun, while retaining his position as the commander-in-chief of the infantry in the capital. This would lighten the burden somewhat. What do you think, Prince Zheng?"
Before Sushun could say anything, Duanhua actually interrupted, "Empress Dowager, I believe that since I am currently in the imperial court, I am not able to supervise the troops in the capital. It would be better if I retain my position as the commander of the imperial court's infantry, and let Prince Chun take charge of the infantry in the capital. As for the troops in Baoding Town, I will still be in charge of them."
Su Shun was nearly pissed off. Just handing over the military power in the capital like that? This big brother is such a fool! You have so many part-time jobs, why would you just give up any of them? Don't you know that military power is more important than anything else at this moment? If not, why would I go to such great lengths to seize the position of General of Baoding Town? Stupid, stupid!
However, now that Duanhua had already spoken, it would be extremely difficult to take it back. Now, after gaining the town of Baoding, he had lost the Infantry Commander's Office in Beijing. It was like a bear trying to break a stick, losing one as it broke one!
Cixi nodded and said with a smile, "Since Prince Zheng has said so, let's issue the decree accordingly. The General of Baoding Town will be promoted to the rank of Admiral of Shandong Province, in charge of all military affairs within Shandong, assisting the Monk Prince in suppressing the Nian bandits. Prince Zheng will temporarily assume the position of General of Baoding Town. As for the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Infantry Office, it will be given to Prince Chun Yihuan. Draft the decree accordingly."
Jiao Youying on the side wrote the edict, and the two palaces took the seals and stamped it.
Just as the ministers were about to leave, Cixi said, "I have one more matter to discuss with you. The late emperor's coffin should not remain in Rehe for long. Some of the princes in the capital have sent letters requesting that the coffin be returned to the capital as soon as possible. Please discuss how to deal with this matter."
Sushun was startled. There was something not quite right with Cixi and Ci'an today. He had to return to Beijing eventually, but definitely not now! The situation hadn't stabilized yet, and a hasty return to Beijing could easily lead to trouble that would be difficult to handle.
Su Shun was about to reply when Cixi continued, "There's no need to rush to reply to this matter. You can discuss it first and give us an answer tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. The Emperor needs to study, so you can handle other matters as you wish."
Sushun and others had no choice but to bow and retreat.
Seeing that everyone had retreated, Ci'an finally breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Sister, how did you know they were going to propose the removal of Liu Ye's Baoding Town commander?"
Cixi smiled and said, "I only learned about this this morning. Someone passed a secret memorial to us, which allowed us to prepare. Haha, don't worry, sister. The days of us and the emperor being free from the cage will not be long!"
Ci'an forced a smile and replied, "That's fine, but please don't mistreat the person who submitted the secret memorial."
Sushun and the others returned to the Grand Council. Sushun grabbed Duanhua by the collar and roared, "Brother, who told you to hand over the military power of the Infantry Commander's Office? You are stupid! This is our lifeblood!"
Duan Hua was about to argue when Mu Meng beside him also stamped his feet and said, "Prince Zheng, you are confused. The situation is unstable now. It is time for us to seize military power. You are actually handing it over to the outside world. You..."