Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

Chapter 228: The Grand Council Gives Up

The regent and the two palaces parted ways on bad terms, and Sushun returned to the Grand Council with the memorials signed by the two palaces.

Su Shun was furious. They were rebelling! How hateful! How hateful! The Emperor was confused for a moment and didn't follow his advice. If he had really followed his advice, how could such a situation have occurred? The Empress had appointed a virtuous, dignified and gentle person whom he could completely control. Now, out of thin air, there was an Imperial Concubine Lan. Things were difficult to deal with. This woman was too cunning!

Duan Hua, standing aside, also had a bad look on his face. He whispered, "Brother, what should we do now? This memorial has been stamped with the seals of the two palaces. According to the rules, we can't withhold it..."

Sushun snorted coldly and said nothing.

Among the eight people, Jingshou was well-known as a good guy with a soft temper. It was precisely because of this good guy image that he was pulled into the group of ministers of state by Sushun as a puppet, as a means for him to get close to the royal family.

Seeing that the two sides were now at loggerheads, Jingshou couldn't help but feel a little worried. He whispered, "Su Zhongtang, in my opinion, why don't we give in? After all, they are the two Empress Dowagers. As ministers, we can't push them too far..."

Zai Yuan, standing opposite him, immediately became furious and shouted, "Jingshou, what are you talking about? Give in? Let them rule the country from behind the scenes? Dream on! This will break our ancestral rules and destroy the foundation of the Qing Dynasty! We absolutely cannot give in on this matter!"

Duan Hua shouted, "That's right, we can't give in. If we do, they will become even more aggressive. And once we let Gong Laoliu get into the Grand Council, it will be hard to get rid of him. That Guizi Liu is cunning and treacherous, and he has the will of Emperor Daoguang on his side. He won't be easy to deal with!"

When Sushun heard Duanhua talking about Yixin, he felt uneasy. It was absolutely impossible. Yixin was too capable. If he showed up, he would be the only one in the entire Grand Council who could withstand him!

Sushun whispered, "It's not impossible to make concessions, but there are two things. First, ruling from behind the curtain is absolutely unfeasible. This concerns the foundation of the country. Second, we can't let Guiziliu come to power. Well, we can let someone kick him out. Prince Chun Zaihuan is an acceptable person. He's young and we can control him!"

"no!"

Jiao Youying, who was standing at the back, replied, "Master Zhongtang, we absolutely cannot do this. Even if the two palaces can accept it, the imperial party is now completely blindly following Guizi Liu's orders. Can you guarantee that Zaihuan can be controlled? We can't take this risk. There are rumors in the capital that Guizi Liu may take advantage of the dissatisfaction of the emperor's forces to stir up trouble. If we pull Zaihuan into the Grand Council, won't we provide them with spies?"

Su Shun was startled and said in a deep voice, "Then what do you think we should do?"

Jiao Youying said harshly: "Force, force the two palaces to make concessions!"

"How to force?"

Jiao Youying replied, "I don't believe the eight of us would just give up. Without the Grand Council, memorials from outside the palace can't enter, and the inner court's decrees can't leave the palace. It won't be long before chaos breaks out. Can the two empress dowagers withstand the pressure? It only takes a few days for them to panic!"

Sushun clapped his hands and shouted, "Yes, that's the truth! Put down the pole and let's park the car!"

If all eight regents resigned, the entire court would have to come to a standstill. No one could afford such a risk. After all, the regents were appointed by the late emperor, and no one had the power to dismiss them all and appoint new ones!

After two or three days, Cixi finally realized something was wrong! In two days, the Grand Council hadn't submitted a single memorial, and all the imperial edicts had gone unanswered. What on earth was going on?

An Dehai, who had been sent out to gather information, finally ran back and rushed into the West Warm Pavilion, shouting, "Master, Master, something big has happened, something big has happened!"

The irritated Empress Dowager Cixi flew into a rage and shouted, "Xiao Anzi, do you have any manners at all? You deserve a beating!"

An Dehai said bitterly, "Master, now is not the time to punish me! This is a disaster of the greatest magnitude! Something has happened to the military officials! Something has happened!"

Not only Cixi, but even Ci'an beside her was startled and asked anxiously, "What's wrong? What happened?"

An Dehai replied, "All eight members of the Grand Council have given up their duties. Without the Duke of Zhi for two consecutive days, the Grand Council is completely empty. Information about the outside world can't be transmitted at all, and we can't even leave the palace now!"

Cixi and Ci'an both turned pale immediately. They had given up the task. What should they do if the other party gave up the task?

Ci'an exclaimed in shock, "Sister, how did this happen? What should we do? The Grand Council has completely stopped functioning, and the Qing Dynasty is about to collapse. What are they planning to do? Are they going to rebel?"

Cixi's heart was also trembling, full of uneasiness, and she said in a hoarse voice: "Sister, let me think about this matter quietly."

Ci'an whispered, "If it really doesn't work, let's give in. We can't destroy this country. At the very least, we still have the emperor. After a few years, when he takes power, he can take everything back..."

Cixi said helplessly: "Sister, how can it be that easy? Our eldest prince is not the Emperor Kangxi of the past, and we are not the virtuous Empress Xiaozhuang. Sister, let me think about it for a moment, wait, I will reply to you."

Ci'an nodded and replied, "Okay, I'll go back to the East Warm Pavilion first and leave you alone. When you have a solution, let me know..."

After saying this, Ci'an stood up and walked out.

Cixi paced back and forth in the room restlessly, while An Dehai served her carefully with trembling legs.

Suddenly, An Dehai whispered, "Master, didn't Master Liu Ye ask me to bring you a note a few days ago?"

Cixi's heart moved, and she remembered it. She hurried to the cabinet and took out the note. It was still written in Liu Ye's extremely ugly brush calligraphy: The life of the guardian is in danger, don't be anxious or impatient, be evasive, and take it slowly. Protect the emperor's safety internally and connect with the emperor's descendants externally. Everything is ready, and the dagger will be revealed when the plan is finally revealed!

Cixi looked at the note carefully, and a warm feeling surged in her heart. It turned out that this guy had already made plans for himself when he was driven out of Rehe by the emperor. To protect the emperor's safety internally, that means just looking after the emperor, and to contact the emperor's descendants externally, he wants me to find reinforcements. Now this guy should be with Prince Gong. With him as the middleman, there should be no problem. Now I just have to wait for the next move.

Well, as long as the Di Yin forces can stand with me, then the time, place and people will all be on my side. What else is there to worry about? Once Liu Ye attacks with all his strength, Su Shun and others will definitely not be able to withstand it!

Cixi had immense confidence in Liu Ye!