When Yuan Shikai heard this, he couldn't help but complain. Why did Cixi stare at him at this time? But when Cixi asked, she couldn't stop talking, and she couldn't talk nonsense, because Cixi was not a fool.

However, Yuan Shikai was Yuan Shikai after all, so he quickly thought of a set of rhetoric and said, "Report to the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, I think foreigners are full of treacherous things, so I must not trust them easily."

Guangxu said impatiently: "Isn't the Empress Dowager asking you? Is it OK or not?"

Yuan Shikai said: "Although the discussion between Britain and France seems feasible at first glance, the consequences are unpredictable, so the court is also asked to think twice before."

Guangxu said: "What are the consequences? Yuan Shikai, please make it clearer."

Yuan Shikai said: "I am afraid that if I force the rebels into anger, I will jump over the wall, plunder with force, or occupy our Qing dynasty. Now the rebels have occupied Shanghai, and the rebels' navy is quite powerful. If the court issues an order to strictly order merchants to trade with the rebels, the rebels will be unable to continue and will stand up and take risks, go up the river and capture Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anzheng, and Hubei, and the imperial court must observe."

After hearing this, Guangxu couldn't help but hesitate. Although he couldn't see that stopping trade with the East China government was simply not feasible, he could still understand Yuan Shikai's words and knew that once the war started, the Qing court would definitely not be a match for the East China government.

But Na Tong was a little anxious and said, "The rebel bandits have been disobedient for a long time, and they are not content with Shandong. In recent years, they have occupied Henan, attacked Hebei, went to Jiangsu, entered Hubei, occupied Shanghai, and captured cities and plundered land. Will the rebel bandits stop from now on?"

Yuan Shikai shook his head and said, "Otherwise, the anti-bandits are fighting with the five countries of Japan, Russia, Britain, France and the Netherlands. Although they have won, they are seriously damaged and will take time to recover. Moreover, the anti-bandits have just occupied the Manchuria outside the pass, and their footholds are not stable, so they also need time to operate. If there is nothing else to interfere, they will be silenced and rest. They will never act rashly within 3 or 5 years. But if they are too threatened, they are only afraid that they will be desperate and take risks, and the harm will be great."

Na Tong snorted and said, "The rebel bandits were greatly damaged. The court was just right to raise troops to conquer. Even if they did not carry out military reform, they should eliminate the source of their wealth and supplies. How can we use our strength to make up for the shortcomings and help the enemy recover?"

The two of them argued like this, and they started to argue, but Guangxu was confused and felt that what anyone said made sense, but they didn't know how to make a decision.

At this time, Cixi snorted softly, Yuan Shikai and Na Tong were not talking at once, and each stood with their hands down. Cixi slowly said, "Leave this matter to the Military Affairs Office to discuss it again."

Everyone hurriedly said in unison: "Yes."

Cixi said again: "You all know what the situation is now. This disaster of the rebels is better than the Boxer Rebellion and the Gengzi Rebellion. The court did something wrong. The emperor and I were forced to hunt west. We can't be wrong again this time. If you have any good ideas, you might as well just say it directly, whether it is right or wrong, there is always a discussion."

When everyone heard this, they couldn't help but feel a little upset. They didn't understand what Cixi meant. The change in the Gengzi Kingdom was a taboo topic in front of Cixi, and no one dared to mention it. This time, Cixi mentioned it himself. Even Yuan Shikai, who had always been good at guessing Cixi's wishes, became confused and secretly looked at Prince Qing. Thinking that he was with Cixi, the concubine often served Cixi with cards, and her daughter often lived in the palace and served Cixi by her side. She should have known Cixi's intentions. However, Prince Qing shook her head slightly and said that she didn't know.

At this moment, Zhang Zhidong said: "The Empress Dowager, the Emperor, I think what Yuan Shikai said is reasonable. After the war, the rebels need to rest and recuperate. There will be no major moves in a short period of time. The court must not force them to stand up and take risks, but they must not be guarded."

Guangxu glanced at Cixi and saw that Cixi was talking unintentionally, so he said, "Zhang Zhidong, according to your opinion, how should we prevent it."

Zhang Zhidong said: "According to my opinion, we should choose the dangerous places between Beijing, Tianjin, Beijing and Shandong, arrange heavy troops, build fortification defense, purchase artillery, ammunition and other items to prepare for unexpected needs. This is one of them."

Yuan Shikai felt a little dissatisfied with it, and thought Zhang Zhidong had some good knowledge. It turned out to be this. In fact, after the establishment of the East China Government, the Qing court has been guarding the East China Government. The six Beiyang towns compiled and trained, two of which were designed to guard Tianjin and Shandong. But in fact, everyone knows that even Britain, France, Japan and Russia cannot resist the attack of the East China Government. Isn’t it a fool to expect the Qing army to block the attack of the People’s Army? Therefore, Zhang Zhidong’s words are just a replay of the old tune, that is, to coax the old ladies and children.

But at this moment, Cixi's eyelids suddenly twitched and said, "What about the second one?"

Yuan Shikai suddenly turned his mind and felt something was wrong. With Cixi's Chengfu, she probably wouldn't ask this question unless she heard something in Zhang Zhidong's words, but she didn't hear it.

Zhang Zhidong said: "Now the rebel bandits are powerful and the court has a weak power. If you can fight, you should fight, you should defend, and you should leave. Therefore, please ask the court to make plans early. If you really cannot fight against the rebel bandits, you will not be careful not to follow the southward transition of the Jin and Song dynasties, even if you take the westward hunt, you will not have to hurry."

After listening to Zhang Zhidong's words, Yuan Shikai shouted in his heart. He didn't even think of this. In fact, Cixi also understood in her heart that the Qing court was definitely not a match for the East China government, so she had to prepare to run away early. Cixi's words just now were clearly stated in her words "Western hunt", but unfortunately she failed to get over this idea, so Zhang Zhidong took the lead. It seems that her Taoist practice is still worse than Zhang Zhidong.

Sure enough, Cixi was relieved. She was not just losing her temper in the palace these days, but was thinking seriously what to do? She definitely couldn't beat the East China government. Cixi was also very clear about this in her heart, and foreigners were also unreliable. The Qing court could not do anything that the banned merchants from trading with the East China government proposed by Britain and France, so the only way to think of was only one word - run.

Cixi had experienced two escapes in her life, but both of them were in a hurry. Since it was the one that 6 years ago, she could almost be regarded as a dog that was strayed. The hard work and the risks were scared, Cixi was still scared when she thought about it. Judging from the current situation, the third escape was inevitable, but of course she had to prepare in advance this time. After all, she was already an old man in her seventies in her seventies. Compared with 6 years ago, her physical condition was much worse, and she could not withstand the tossing.

But Cixi could not say this clearly, but could only remind her in her words to see who could understand her hard work. As a result, Zhang Zhidong was flexible and first understood his own feelings.

So Cixi nodded and said, "Okay, let me leave this matter to you and Zaifeng, and make good arrangements."

Zhang Zhidong, Zaifeng immediately said: "Yes."

Cixi said again: "Yuan Shikai."

Yuan Shikai hurriedly said, "I am here."

Cixi said: "Prepare the retreat just to prepare for unexpected needs. Beijing's defense should not be relaxed. You are the military training minister, so this matter will be left to you."

Yuan Shikai complained in his heart. This is not a good job, because the Qing court must not be able to defeat the East China government. It is completely thankless to be defended against the East China government's attack. But now Yuan Shikai is not allowed to refuse, so he has to say: "Yes."

Cixi nodded and said, "Okay, let's leave today." After hearing this, everyone saluted Cixi and Guangxu together, and then retreated.

On the afternoon of the same day, there were two orders for personnel changes in the decree issued by the Qing court. One was to transfer Cen Chunxuan, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, to Beijing, serve as the Minister of Justice, and participate in the new policy of the Qing court; the other was to promote Wu Yong, the governor of Shanxi Province, to be the governor of Shanxi.

Cen Chunxuan and Wu Yong both changed during the Gengzi Kingdom. After Cixi fled in panic, she met officials on the way to escort Cixi to Xi'an, so they were deeply trusted by Cixi. After Cixi returned to Beijing, they also promoted them to the titles. Cen Chunxuan was appointed as the governor of Shanxi, the governor of Sichuan, and the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and became the chief official of the Qing court. Wu Yong was also promoted from the former magistrate of Huailai to the Daotai of Shanxi.

This time, the change of positions between the two also means that the arrangement of Cixi's escape for another escape was nothing more than two preparations. One is to have effective people around her to protect her; the other is to have trustworthy people to respond along the way. Although the Qing court is now reusing Yuan Shikai, Cixi is very clear that Yuan Shikai should not be convinced. This time, she should still use others to escape. Therefore, Cixi appointed Zhang Zhidong and Zaifeng to be responsible for the preparation for escape. Zhang Zhidong was an elder of the Qing court, and Zaifeng was a clan of the royal family that Cixi focused on cultivating. Cixi was still assured of them. However, these two people were old and young, and needed capable people to assist them.

In recent years, Cen Chunxuan has implemented new policies in the local area, trained new troops, promoted schools and taught, and punished illegitimate officials to do a lot of political achievements. Cen Chunxuan is 45 years old this year, and he is in his prime. As Zhang Zhidong, Zaifeng's assistant is not the best. In addition, in recent years, Yuan Shikai has also been a little too arrogant and needs someone to suppress him.

Compared with Cen Chunxuan, Wu Yong's journey of Ren was much more dull. In addition to his starting point being lower than Cen Chunxuan, another important reason is that Wu Yong was too straightforward and did not know how to be an official. Therefore, Cixi always placed Wu Yong on the spot, which was actually protecting Wu Yong. Otherwise, with Wu Yong's character, he would inevitably offend a large group of people when he arrived in Beijing. At that time, even Cixi would not be able to protect him.

This time, the Qing court's escape could only follow the old path six years ago, fleeing west to Taiyuan and then gaining a foothold in Xi'an. Then, depending on the situation, he could enter Sichuan from Xi'an. At this time, Wu Yong had a place to use his skills and was promoted to Wu Yong as governor of Shanxi in order to meet Cixi's escape.
Chapter completed!