Dear Prince Yi? As the carriage passed through the streets of the capital, there were guards all around. The guards who opened the way were riding on tall horses, chasing away those who dared to block the way. The pedestrians on the streets all stood on both sides of the road. It was very hot at this time, and the curtains on both sides of the carriage had been opened. There were not many people on both sides of the street, but the number of beggars had greatly increased.
More than half a year ago, the sea trade with the foreign devils was completely cut off. Cheap rice, grain, and all kinds of daily necessities were no longer able to enter the capital. Dear Prince Yi? At first, he thought that this kind of trade would endlessly suck in the imperial court's money, but after the trade was interrupted, he realized that the imperial court could not gather enough resources by itself. Before the interruption of the sea trade, although the capital was short of goods, the prices were not outrageous. The prices of goods in the capital had skyrocketed, especially the price of food. Not to mention the livelihood of the common people, even the Wangfu was feeling the heavy pressure.
The imperial court had already begun to ferociously crack down on the profiteers who hoarded the stock, but the effect was basically zero. There were grain merchants who wanted to buy grain, but it was impossible for them to hoard it. All the food that could be supplied to the capital now came from Zhili. Henan and Shandong were in the midst of war. Not to mention transporting food to the capital, the food in these two places was not even enough for him to eat.
There were several hundred thousand disciples of the Eight Banners and their families in the capital. These people needed to eat and drink, but there was no food in the capital. This matter had already caused an uproar in the imperial court, but quarreling was just quarreling. The Manchus had not been engaged in production for more than a hundred years, they did not even have a few low-level officials, they mainly relied on the Han landlords and bureaucrats to collect taxes. Those capable Han officials have all run away, and even in Zhili, the government system is basically in name only.
The newest Han, Enke, had created an unprecedented miracle. In just two months, all 300 Han Jinshi had run away without a trace. The proportion of Han officials in the imperial court plummeted from one-tenth to less than one-thirtieth. It was estimated that only Nurhachi's era could compare to this ratio.
It wasn't just the officials and examinees who fled Beijing, even the Han residents were fleeing in large numbers. The reason they fled might be because of the approaching flames of war, but the more important reason was that all the resources in Beijing had been used on the Bannermen. If they stayed any longer, they would probably starve to death. If he went to the countryside, he would be able to find a way to survive.
The once bustling Beijing became more and more deserted, and the city became more and more crowded. As the son of the Daoguang Emperor and the younger brother of the Xianfeng Emperor, Prince Gong Yi? In his heart, he strongly supported strengthening Man Ren's position. Now that Beijing was almost a city full of people, this fact made him afraid again. Zeng Guofan's Xiang Army was driven across the Yellow River by the Liberation Army. The Liberation Army was about to cross the Yellow River and attack Beijing. If there really was a day when the city was besieged, what would happen after the city was breached?
The Manchu people were once known as "Man Cities" in other big cities in China, and there were also only Manchu people living in them. Now, those "full cities" had become "full cities", and there was no news of those Manchurian people anymore …
Thinking of this, Prince Yi He could not help but shiver. The dog days seemed to have turned into the depth of winter. Feel a piercing chill. He suddenly understood why, right after the Mongolian Eight Banners were destroyed by Sengrinchen, the Imperial Court initially wanted to punish Ceng Guofan severely, but after Ceng Guofan escaped the Yellow River, the Imperial Court's attitude took a 180-degree turn. The voice of severe punishment was gone, and the Manchu ministers all agreed with Ci An's opinion of "appeasing Ceng Guofan". Even the proposal to promote Ceng Guofan to the third rank of Duke was easily passed.
Now that the Liberation Army was about to reach Beijing, the Manchu people had to recognize that they neither had the ability to defeat the enemy, nor did they have the courage to stand up. With this understanding, their attitude towards Ceng Guofan naturally became realistic. These Manchu people were not stupid. They knew that if they really dared to send the decree of severe punishment to the Xiang Army, they were afraid that the Xiang Army would dare to rebel on the same day. Now that the local government of Zhili had completely collapsed, the Liberation Army could swagger to the city of Beijing.
With this fear of seeing destruction, Prince Yi Xiu Arrived at the palace. At this time, the Manchu ministers no longer had the unspeakable hostility from before. Everyone looked at Wen Liang respectfully and obediently lined up according to their status. It could be said that since the coup d 'état, these ministers had never been so docile.
This kind of submissiveness meant that there was nothing to be done. The ministers could only wait for Ci An and Prince Gong Yi? In that case, there was no way to refute. Regardless of whether they would actually make excuses during the execution, this group of people immediately obeyed.
After a round of discussion, they actually let Ci An and Prince Gong Yi? It was a one-man show. After the court was over, Prince Yi Xiu paid his respects to Prince Yi Xiu. He returned home with a frown on his face. His Great Fujin came up to him anxiously. "Your Highness, I heard that several princes have started to arrange for their families to go to the border!"
Dear Prince Yi? Stunned, he hurriedly asked, "Which families?"
The Great Fujin mentioned seven or eight families in a row. They were all high-ranking officials of the Manchu Qing's Wangye and Banners. Dear Prince Yi? He was stunned. His Highness was still fine. They had finally gone to court. Those high-ranking officials who used to be flag leaders actually asked for leave because of illness to congratulate Prince Yi? He had thought that they were worried sick. But now it seemed that they were also preparing for the destruction of Beijing.
Manchu Qing often said that the border was the foundation of Manchu Qing, the place where dragons flourished. But this was only one of the many lies of Manchu Qing. If the prisoners inside the border were not guilty enough to be sentenced to death, and they were not guilty of the most heinous crimes, they were often sentenced to be 'slaves of the armored people outside the border'. In Manchu Qing's view, compared with the colorful world inside the border, the border was just a bitter and cold place. No one really thought that the border was important.
Now not only the Han people began to flee, but even the Manchu people began to prepare for their own retreat. Dear Prince Yi? She stood in the courtyard in a daze and did not know what to say. The Great Fujin looked at Dear Prince Yi? With this look, she thought that Dear Prince Yi? Was thinking about how to follow suit. She said anxiously, "Your Highness, we also have to send people to the border to prepare!"
Although these words sounded extremely harsh, Dear Prince Yi? Did not angrily scold her Great Fujin. The Great Fujin was also doing this for Dear Prince Yi? Theoretically, dying for the country was a very heroic thing, but the more important the officials of the court, the more they did not have this kind of plan. It was not easy to climb to such a high position. What high-ranking officials and important officials looked forward to was to enjoy everything that power brought. Dying for the country was never in their consideration list.
Dear Prince Yi? Suddenly, he shook off the Great Fujin's hand that was grabbing his arm and strode out of the door. As he walked, he shouted, "Prepare the carriage, let's go to the palace!"
There was no need to speak ambiguously anymore. Kiss Wang Yixin? Dear Prince Yi? He told East Empress Dowager Ci An what he knew. Ci An's phoenix eyes were slightly open as usual, and her attitude was dignified and calm. But Dear Prince Yi? It could be seen that in these few years, something was slowly being consumed from Ci An's body. That something came from the heart. When he heard that the princes and important officials of the court were preparing to escape from the border, Ci An's whole person seemed to be emptied. East Empress Dowager Ci An, who held great power, was now sitting on the throne like a white porcelain doll with an empty heart.
Looking at Ci An's appearance, Dear Prince Yi? His heart also sank. He formed an alliance with Ci An, and with thunderous means, he dealt with the eight officials and took control of the court. After that, Dear Prince Yi? Although it was hard, Ci An also resisted great pressure to perform what the Empress Dowager should do. The action of the Liberation Army broke all this. When Vézé started the northern expedition with hundreds of thousands of troops, the end of the Manchu Qing was clearly displayed in front of them. But Dear Prince Yi? Ci An had been fighting with the Manchu officials for several years. If Ci An hadn't tried her best, the Manchu Qing would have been in chaos. Looking at Ci An's rare weak appearance at this time, Dear Prince Yi? His heart suddenly surged with an irresistible impulse to protect her.
Kneeling on the ground, Dear Prince Yi? Staring at Ci An, he said loudly, "Empress Dowager, I will protect the Empress Dowager's safety no matter what!"
Ci An's body trembled. Her eyes were slightly red, but she quickly recovered her previous calmness. Empress Dowager of the East Ci An slowly said, "Gong Prince, if the court starts to arrange to withdraw from the border now, who in the court will object?"
Seeing that Ci An was still thinking about the court's affairs at this time, Gong Prince Yi? Feeling even more pain in his heart, he loudly replied, "Reporting to the Empress Dowager, there will certainly be many people who object. Your servant thinks that whoever objects will go outside the border first. This group of people can't be trusted no matter what they say. If the Empress Dowager wants them to go outside the border first, I'm afraid this group of people will be very happy! "
Dear Prince Yi? He no longer acted coy. With the current situation of Beijing being a city full of people, the Liberation Army would definitely start a merciless massacre once they reached the gates of Beijing. Rather than dying together at that time, it would be better to quickly retreat outside the border now. Dear Prince Yi? In fact, they had already felt that the colorful world of Beijing had become a curse to a certain extent. As long as they were still entrenched in Beijing, the Manchu Qing court, the Eight Banners would only hope that their hundred-plus years of life would continue. All they had to do was to let this kind of life continue forever. Only by escaping from Beijing and regrouping outside the border would these people know that the world had already undergone a terrible change. Only then would they know that they should be excited.
So while Ci An was thinking, Dear Prince Yi? Continued to loudly say, "I ask the Empress Dowager to bring the Emperor to Chengde first. If the Empress Dowager doesn't leave, this group of people definitely won't move!"
"This can't be done!" On the side, Ci An and Dear Prince Yi? Empress Dowager of the West Empress Dowager finally couldn't help but speak.
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