Chapter 183 A Sudden Change in the Impending Storm

Chapter 183 The storm is coming! Shocking change!

After a long while, the emperor's mind gradually regained clarity.

Then, no words could describe his inner shock.

The first feeling he had was absurd. Was it a mistake?

Or, was there an accident that caused the boat to capsize?

But Tuomin'a's memorial made it clear that this was an attack, and a premeditated attack.

All the imperial guards were killed and their heads were cut off.

And the bodies were burned to charcoal.

Although it is not completely certain whether Dexing'a and Weng Tongshu are dead, it is basically the case.

At this moment.

The emperor's mind was completely occupied by this matter.

Even the fact that the foreign army was less than 300 miles away from the capital was forgotten.

Because he knew the extremely terrible consequences of this matter.

This may mean that the court has lost control of the southern provinces.

If this kind of attack becomes normal.

Who will dare to go to the canal in the future?

Will the imperial envoys dare to show up in public in the future?

Has such a thing happened in this dynasty?

It was only during the Three Feudatories Rebellion, right? But at that time, people were already preparing to rebel.

Could it be that someone in the south was also preparing to rebel?

After a long while, the emperor said, "Call Sushun and others to see me."

…………………………………………

More than half an hour later.

Sushun, Mian Yu, Du Han, Duan Hua, Zai Yuan and other important officials were all present.

The shock these military officials received was no less than that of the emperor.

For a while, no one dared to speak.

Especially Sushun's inner shock, which made him speechless.

Before, Du Han, Kuang Yuan and others had been exacerbating the contradictions and worsening the situation.

First, De Xing was recommended to replace Su Ye and became the deputy governor of the Bordered Blue Banner.

Then, Weng Tongshu was recommended as the prefect of Jiujiang. In the end, De Xing was even asked to transfer Su Ye's new army in Yangzhou as an imperial envoy.

The so-called tentative attack became more and more intense.

At that time, Sushun was opposed in his heart, because he had a little understanding of Su Ye's inner world.

He felt that Su Ye would not sit still and would react very strongly.

But... he did not expect it to be so strong.

Suddenly, he glared at Du Han and Kuang Yuan fiercely.

Are you satisfied?

Are you satisfied with the result now?

How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan? Do you know how big Su Ye wants to do?

Do you know how determined he is?

At this time, Du Han and Kuang Yuan were pale.

After a long while, the emperor said, "Who did it?!"

Nian Army? Rebel? Hunan Army? Su Ye?

Everyone even had a vague answer in their hearts.

This is the canal section in Huai'an and Yangzhou, not the Yangtze River waterway where the rebels have been appearing for a long time.

The rebels rarely enter the canal section.

Moreover, no matter whether it was the rebellion or the Nian Army, there was no sufficient reason to rob and kill Dexing'a and Weng Tongshu.

The only one who had the motive to kill was Su Ye!

However, they couldn't believe it at all.

Su Ye was not a madman, he was extremely smart, how could he do such a thing.

This... is treason?

The emperor said: "Did Su Ye do it?"

Below, no one answered.

Including Du Han, who had been slandering Su Ye, did not dare to answer yes.

Once the answer was yes, it would be a political characterization.

You said that Su Ye murdered Weng Tongshu and Dexing'a, that is treason.

Since it is treason, the court must suppress it.

You dare to directly announce that Su Ye murdered the imperial envoy, and Su Ye on the other side has no choice but to rebel.

Can the court afford the price of Su Ye's rebellion?

It can't bear it!

Who do you let to suppress it?

Tuo Ming'a, He Chun, or Zeng Guofan?

Even after thinking very seriously, everyone didn't believe that it was Su Ye who did it.

This doesn't make sense.

Things didn't get to this point.

How could Su Ye, who is so smart, do such a foolish thing?

Is there someone who wants to frame him, completely alienate Su Ye from the court, or force Su Ye to rebel?

For example, the Hunan Army has the motive and ability to do so.

But at this time, there is no conclusion.

There can be no conclusion.

After a long while, Du Han trembled and said, "Your Majesty, the most important thing now is to negotiate with the foreigners and let them withdraw their troops. No matter what happens, let the foreigners withdraw their troops first."

"Someone created this tragedy, probably because we are fighting with the foreigners, and some people think that my Qing Dynasty is going to end, so they dare to be so bold and do shocking things."

"The more this is the case, the more we have to solve the problem of the foreigners. After the foreigners withdraw their troops, we will concentrate all our efforts to deal with this person and solve this matter."

Du Han didn't even dare to say who this person was.

The emperor said: "What if I must have an answer?"

Du Han said: "Look at two indicators. The first indicator is whether Su Ye's family is still in the capital. The second indicator is to send a eunuch to Jiujiang to announce the decree, deprive Su Ye of his title, or lower Su Ye's title to test him."

"If Su Ye accepts the decree, it will prove that he has no intention of rebelling. Otherwise, he will react violently and stop all our attempts."

Another tentative attack?

But, at this time, even Sushun thought that this was a good idea.

After all, the one who went to announce the decree was a eunuch, not an imperial envoy, so he could be killed.

"But even if it is a test, it is better to wait until after the negotiations with the foreigners and the withdrawal of the foreigners."

"Before that, block the news and do nothing."

After Du Han finished speaking, Sushun said: "I second the motion."

Duanhua and others said: "I second the motion."

Next, there was nothing to discuss.

The emperor suddenly asked: "Should we send people to surround Su Ye's family and put his family under house arrest?"

Suddenly, no one dared to answer.

After a long while, someone said: "No."

If this is really done, wouldn't it be a conclusion?

Mian Yu said: "Your Majesty, Su Ye's family is full of old and weak people, and they are in the inner city. Whether to send troops or put them under house arrest, it's the same. They can't escape. Send someone to monitor them secretly."

"I second the motion!"

"I second the motion!"

The emperor nodded. He didn't want to let these ministers leave, but there was nothing to discuss.

"Disperse!" said the emperor.

After these ministers left, the emperor was still very irritable.

It seemed that there were thousands of words, as if there was a ball of fire!

He wanted an answer!

He even wanted to grab Su Ye's neck and yelled: "Did you do it? Did you do it?"

In this mood, he walked to the harem.

Come to the palace of Concubine Yi.

"Your Majesty..." Concubine Yi stepped forward to greet.

Then, after seeing the emperor's face, Concubine Yi exclaimed in her heart that it was not good.

This, what happened again?

The emperor has never had such a face.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong?" Concubine Yi asked cautiously.

The emperor said: "The imperial envoys Dexing'a and Weng Tongshu were robbed and killed in the canal section. They are probably all dead."

"No one was left alive. All of them were beheaded and their bodies were burned."

When the emperor said this, his voice was hoarse.

Suddenly, Concubine Yi was also shocked.

She certainly knew that this was a big deal.

It would be an unprecedented blow to the majesty of the court.

Who did it?

Was it Su Ye?

Suddenly, she even felt lucky that she had fallen out with Su Ye at the last minute.

As for whether Su Ye did it, she felt vaguely that it was.

The emperor said: "Do you think Su Ye did it?"

Concubine Yi was silent for a long time, and said in a trembling voice: "I don't know!"

The emperor looked at Concubine Yi unexpectedly, because saying that he didn't know at this time was also an attitude.

At this time, he wanted to say something, as if he had thousands of words, but he didn't know where to start.

So he got up and left here, heading to the Queen's Kunning Palace.

He was supposed to ride in a sedan chair, but he didn't want to sit and just wanted to walk.

When he arrived at the Queen's Kunning Palace, Nianhulu was coaxing the prince to sleep.

Seeing the emperor's face so ugly, the Queen hurried out to pour a cup of tea for the emperor and said softly: "Your Majesty, what's wrong?"

The emperor repeated what he said to Concubine Yi.

The Queen's reaction was not as intense as Concubine Yi's.

Because she didn't care so much about politics, she knew it was a big deal, a big deal, but she didn't really want to care.

The emperor asked again: "Do you think Su Ye did this?"

The Queen was stunned and said: "It shouldn't be."

The Emperor said: "Why do you say that?"

The Queen said: "Su Ye is so smart, how could he do such a thing."

The emperor's face turned cold and he was immediately very unhappy. He didn't like such an answer.

Then, he got up angrily and left directly.

It's not that the emperor thought that Su Ye did this, but he was dissatisfied with the Queen's attitude.

But...the Queen didn't care too much about the emperor's anger.

This person is often angry and unhappy.

She doesn't care much about being favored or not, and doesn't care much about the power in the harem.

And her position as queen is unlikely to be threatened.

But she also has a shortcoming, which is that it is difficult for her to refuse other people's enthusiasm.

Recently, Lianpin has been too enthusiastic about her.

She is a little overwhelmed.

Concubine Yi is very powerful and has a lot of tricks. The queen is not afraid because she doesn't care and is too lazy to fight. She is so indifferent.

However, this kind of slightly socially anxious personality meets a super E person like Lianpin.

That... is terrible.

Reject, but can't refuse.

She can only let the other party invade her social world again and again.

And... after getting along, she thinks Lianpin is also very cute.

…………………………………………………………

Tonight!

Many people are destined to have a sleepless night.

Among them are Prince Khorchin and Senggelinqin.

And Boyan Nemohu.

Shengbao said: "Nephew, you have been fighting with Su Ye for so long, do you think Su Ye did it?"

Bo Yan said with a trembling voice: "I don't know."

He really didn't know.

It seemed that all signs pointed to Su Ye doing it, but in Boyan's view, Su Ye was very, very smart, and his means of struggle were very clever.

Look at the internal struggle of the new army, Su Ye not only squeezed Boyan out, but also stood on the moral high ground.

The same is true for excluding Zhaolin. Not only did he not tear his face apart, but he also saved Zhaolin's life.

"But whether it was Su Ye who did it or not, the result is the same." Boyan said: "This kind of thing, once the emperor has doubts, he has already been convicted."

Shengbao said: "Yes, that's what happened. After the foreign barbarians withdrew their troops, the emperor was determined to deal with Su Ye."

Then Shengbao said: "My dear nephew, in your opinion, did Su Ye do this? You don't have to worry about any conditions, just say it from your heart."

Boyan shook his head and said: "I don't think so!"

"I even think that Zeng Guofan is more likely to do this than Su Ye."

"Su Ye is extremely smart, and there is no reason for him to do something that is completely mismatched in risks and benefits."

……………………………………………………

The next day, in the court.

The emperor's eyes were red, and he almost didn't sleep all night.

In the court, many people also looked tired, and obviously they didn't sleep either.

The Minister of Revenue Weng Xincun did not go to court because he fainted after hearing the bad news.

However, in the court today.

No one talked about this matter, not even a word was dared to be mentioned.

Those imperial censors who were so tall and mighty were completely silent.

But strangely, after a night of fermentation and thinking, many people felt that this... should not be done by Su Ye.

When they just heard the news, everyone's first instinctive reaction was: This must be done by Su Ye.

Because only he has the motivation and ability.

But after a long period of thinking, it is increasingly felt that it was not done by him.

At this time, the American and Russian envoys entered the court again.

The two expressed their willingness to mediate the conflict between the Qing Dynasty and the British Empire.

Before, the emperor had always refused to meet the two envoys.

And now he had to meet them, but whether to accept the mediation of the two envoys, the emperor has not yet let go.

…………………………………………………………

At the same time, Aihui City in Heilongjiang.

After the Treaty of Nerchinsk, Tsarist Russia has been plotting to obtain an ice-free port in the Far East.

So almost more than a decade ago, the continuous occupation of Heilongjiang began. In the past few years, the Russian Navy led the armed forces to continuously establish strongholds in the lower reaches of Heilongjiang. Under the command of the Governor-General of East and West Siberia, they have actually completed the actual occupation of the northern bank of the upper reaches of Heilongjiang and the banks of the middle and lower reaches.

Now, all that is missing is a treaty to legalize these illegally occupied lands.

After Britain launched an invasion war against the Qing Dynasty, the Russian Empire immediately waited for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Muravyov, the Governor-General of East and West Siberia of the Russian Empire, took the opportunity to lead the Cossack army and approached the city of Aihui.

This made Aihui City and even the entire Heilongjiang River panic.

Over there, Britain and France were attacking Tianjin and threatening the capital.

Here, the Russian army was about to attack Heilongjiang again.

But the routine was exactly the same as that of Britain, using war to threaten the Qing court to come out for negotiations.

At this time, Heilongjiang General Yishan was a famous person.

During the First Opium War, the court appointed him as the General of Jingni and led the army of several provinces to Guangdong to fight the British.

At that time, Yishan was majestic and claimed that he would beat the British to death. As a result, after arriving in Guangdong, he surrendered with a white flag before fighting and signed the "Guangzhou Peace Treaty".

After that, he was even more afraid of the British and agreed to all the promises made by the British.

Afterwards, he was escorted to Beijing and was executed for rebellion.

However, the next year, he was re-employed by the court, and then he made contributions in suppressing the rebellion in Yarkand and was promoted all the time.

But it can be seen from this that his various actions in Guangzhou were also the embodiment of the will of Emperor Daoguang to some extent.

At this time, Muravyov, the governor-general of East Siberia of Tsarist Russia, entered Aihui City by boat and negotiated with Yishan.

The governor-general said that he came to help the Qing Dynasty resist the invasion of the British Empire and to defend his own territory.

Therefore, the Qing Dynasty and Tsarist Russia were required to use the Heilongjiang River and the Ussuri River as the natural border.

Yishan immediately strongly opposed it and said that the two sides had signed the Treaty of Nerchinsk and had a legal border, which did not need to be changed.

The governor of Tsarist Russia expressed great regret and said that the British Empire was now invading the Qing Dynasty, and your Qing Dynasty was in danger and might lose a large area of ​​land, even including the Northeast.

Therefore, in order to protect the territory of Tsarist Russia, we have to use military means when necessary.

This absurd reason is really rare in history.

Yishan once again expressed his opposition, saying that this was a matter between the Qing Dynasty and Britain and had nothing to do with Tsarist Russia.

So, the Tsarist Russian governor was furious and immediately issued a military threat.

Yishan was given two days to reply.

Either agree!

Or go to war!

According to the draft of the Tsarist Russian governor, China would lose all the land north of the Heilongjiang River.

Yishan certainly did not dare to agree, and could not agree.

After the two-day deadline, the Russian governor came to negotiate again and issued an ultimatum, forcing Yishan to sign.

This Heilongjiang general was still unwilling to sign.

The Russian governor sneered: "It seems that the British choice is correct. For you Qing country, peace is useless. You can only understand the sound of artillery and bullets. This is what you asked for!"

"General Yishan, I must tell you that not long ago, we fought a war of astonishing scale with Britain and France in Crimea, and both sides sent out millions of troops. In this war, hundreds of thousands of British and French soldiers died in our hands!"

"So you should be very clear about the combat effectiveness of our army. Your Qing army is like paper in front of us and is vulnerable."

"And the result of the Battle of Guangzhou not long ago, you should know better than me. In just half a day, the British and French armies broke through your Guangzhou city. General Yishan, do you think you can stop my Cossack army?"

"Once the war starts, you will only get a more humiliating defeat. How did Ye Mingchen, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, die? Don't you know?"

After threatening war, the Russian governor left in anger.

His last words made Yishan extremely panic.

That night!

The Russian army opened fire on Aihui City!

Heilongjiang General Yishan was terrified.

The next day, the Russian envoy came again and handed over the text of the treaty.

Yishan picked up the pen to sign.

Because he was really frightened by the Russian army and did not want to repeat the mistakes of Ye Mingchen.

If you want to be loyal to the court and the emperor, you must first have a life.

So far, the largest unequal treaty in Chinese history has appeared.

The treaty stipulates that a total of 500,000 square kilometers of Chinese territory north of the Heilongjiang River and south of the Greater Khingan Range will be ceded to the Russian Empire.

The land east of the Ussuri River is jointly managed by China and Russia. In the Heilongjiang River and other Chinese inland rivers, the ships of the Russian Empire have the right of passage.

After signing the treaty, the Russian Empire was ecstatic. The envoy immediately went south and handed the treaty text to the Russian envoy in the capital, asking him to formally submit it to Emperor Xianfeng and formally exchange the treaty.

The "Aihui Treaty" signed by Yishan could not officially take effect. It needed the emperor's personal approval and the signature of the Qing Dynasty center for the treaty to take effect.

………………………………………………

And in Tianjin!

The British used the same trick, constantly threatening Gui Liang and Hua Shana.

But looking at the contents of the treaty, Gui Liang did not want to sign it, and even dared not to sign it.

He did not dare to make the decision.

So, the British and French troops bombarded Tianjin City again.

The Marine Corps once again headed towards the capital.

The naval fleet once again sailed towards the Yongding River.

Gui Liang was shocked, but still did not dare to make the decision. He quickly sent someone back to Beijing to ask the emperor.

At this time in the capital.

The emperor's eyes were almost always on Su Ye's house.

I don't know how many spies he sent.

Almost every once in a while, he would ask: "Did Su Ye's family go out?"

"No, Your Majesty!"

"His family stayed at home, including Chong'en's family, and only sent servants out to buy meat and vegetables."

Whether Su Ye's family left Beijing has almost become a weather vane.

In the emperor's view, if Su Ye's family left Beijing, it would be a guilty conscience.

But Shengbao was right.

No evidence is needed, the emperor can convict as long as he suspects.

Things have developed to this point, and there is no room for turning back between the emperor and Su Ye.

At this time, just waiting!

As long as the British and French coalition forces withdraw and the capital returns to peace, the emperor will take action against Su Ye.

Even if the debt of more than 10 million taels explodes, no matter how big the consequences are, the emperor is determined to completely take down Su Ye, the governor of Jiangxi.

Du Han told him that suspicion is very terrifying.

At this time, even if Su Ye did not rob and kill the imperial envoy, it would be useless.

Because Su Ye felt that the emperor would definitely suspect him, so in order to protect himself, he would definitely do something.

So it can't be delayed.

If it is delayed until Su Ye continues to expand his army, it will be troublesome.

So he suggested to the emperor.

In addition to whether Su Ye's family has left Beijing, there are two indicators for reference.

First, whether Wang Shiqing's new army in Yangzhou has the intention to leave Yangzhou and go to Jiujiang.

Second, whether Su Ye has publicly expanded his army in Jiujiang.

But in any case, he must be taken down as soon as possible to avoid future troubles.

Even if Su Ye was wronged, he was dismissed from his position and tricked into the capital.

At this time, Zenglu's footsteps sounded outside again.

The emperor frowned.

And, what bad news?

Every time he heard Zenglu's footsteps, there was nothing good.

"What's the matter?" the emperor said angrily.

Zenglu stepped forward and handed over a document and said, "Your Majesty, this is sent by Lord Gui Liang. It is the text of the treaty that the foreigners forced us to sign. Lord Gui did not dare to make the decision, so he sent it to Your Majesty for your review!"

The emperor glanced at it a few times and felt frightened.

Then the document seemed to be on fire and would burn people, so he threw it away directly.

He was angry in his heart. What did Guiliang mean by this? Did he want me to take the blame for him?

"I won't read it!" The emperor said angrily: "I have to make the decision on everything. What do you want him as a cabinet minister to do? What do you want him as an imperial envoy to do?"

"Send someone to tell Gui Liang that he must fight with reason and not damage the prestige of the country!"

These are all nonsense.

The emperor's thoughts were to sign the agreement quickly and make the foreigners withdraw their troops.

First of all, regardless of whether the imperial envoy was robbed and killed, the emperor was thinking the same thing: to sign the agreement quickly and make the foreigners withdraw their troops.

After signing, whether to recognize it or not was another matter.

First fool the foreigners away, this is a typical contradiction after the delay.

Not only can the contradiction not be resolved, but it is getting bigger and bigger.

Then, the emperor conceived the wording of the parliament and said gently: "Pass my oral order. I have not read the documents he handed over. But I believe in him as a cabinet minister. I believe that he has the country and the emperor in his heart."

"Really trust people when you employ them, and don't employ people you doubt. So since this negotiation task is given to him, I will completely trust him and let him talk freely and argue with reason!"

Zenglu said: "Yes!"

Then, he immediately sent someone to convey the emperor's oral order.

And he was very smart and didn't repeat it.

Because the emperor's meaning was very clear, Guiliang, you should sign it quickly. Even if it is embarrassing, I will not convict you.

Even if you are temporarily convicted, it is considered to be a scapegoat for me, and you will definitely be reinstated in the future.

Just like Yishan during the First Opium War, in order to give an explanation to the world, he was sentenced to death with a wait for execution, but he was reinstated the next year. Why? It was because he was taking the blame for Emperor Daoguang.

Now, the eyes of the entire capital are focused on two directions.

One is the direction of Tianjin.

The other is the direction of Su Ye's family.

The people at the top of the central government held their breath and waited quietly.

Everyone knew that as long as the negotiations in Tianjin were over and the British withdrew their troops.

The emperor would take action.

And Su Ye's family was also a signal.

Are you going to run away?

Once you run away, you will be considered guilty.

But many people think.

Even if Su Ye didn't do this, it's normal for his family to run away.

In this atmosphere now, the suspicion of guilt is presumed.

Su Ye can't clear himself even if he jumps into the Yellow River.

The atmosphere of the entire capital seems very terrible.

All officials almost held their breath and walked carefully.

The impeachment and criticism in the court disappeared completely.

Everyone felt the breath of the coming storm, and they were all in silence, waiting for the thunder to burst out at that moment.

However, it was at this time!

This terrible silence was suddenly broken!

One day, at dusk!

The setting sun was blood-red!

A group of dozens of thugs rushed into Su Ye's residence.

The flash of swords and the flash of blood, the murderous aura!

Suddenly, the whole capital was shocked.

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Note: The first update is here. I am a little anxious to defend the 50th place on the monthly ticket list. Please help me, gentlemen! Gao Ding bows deeply!