The defeat of the Tiger God Camp was like a bolt from the blue, which shocked the nine cities inside and outside Beijing. Even Ci'an, Cixi and the Sixth-year-old Japanese, who had never been optimistic about the Tiger God Camp, could not believe such a cruel fact at all...

More than twenty Wu soldiers could rush into the Tiger God Camp with 50,000 people to kill and set fire, and they were invincible! The Wu army with two battalions of 1,000 people could have 100 battalions of Tiger God Camp with 100 battalions and beat them up and stepped on the ground to rub them!

"Is the Wu thief army a heavenly soldier and general descending to earth? More than twenty Wu thief soldiers can defeat the Tiger God Camp with more than 50,000 people. If all the Wu thief soldiers are so capable, how can this capital be preserved?" This is the terrifying cry that Ci'an made after hearing the military information report.

Ci'an, who was the Queen Mother of the East, was so scared and shocked, naturally, let alone the Eight Banners Manchus and ordinary people in the capital. The war outside Yongding Gate had not yet ended, and rumors were already flying in the sky among the people in the capital. Some said that the Wu army was possessed by the second brother of Sun Wukong Guan, some said that the Wu army was transformed by demons and monsters, and some swore that the Wu army soldiers were blessed by foreign foreign gods and immortals. They all fought endlessly without any guns. Even a white mark was left when the gun hit them! The people were panic and everyone was in danger. There were quite a few who predicted that the Qing Dynasty had been exhausted, and there were many Manchu and Mongolian Banners who were scrambling to pack their luggage and preparing to escape back outside the pass.

The civil and military officials and nobles in the Qing Dynasty were not as good as that. As soon as the news spread in the inner city, almost all the six ministries and major yamen in the capital stopped operating. The officials of all sizes were worried, fearing that the Wu army would quickly break into the city and enter Zhengyang Gate, delaying their return home to collect the major affairs of gold, silver, and fine materials to escape. There were quite a few people who took leave on the excuse to go home to prepare for the escape. There were countless people who made up their minds and knelt down to surrender to the Wu army as soon as the capital broke. The major palaces in the capital were even more chaotic. The Beile and the Jinjin shouted, scrambling to command their slaves to pack their property and prepare to escape from the city at any time, panic as if the end of the world had arrived.

Fortunately, there were still one or two sensible people in the Qing court. At least the newly-entered minister Shen Zhaolin, who was in charge of the Military Affairs Office, was very calm. As the ministers of the Military Affairs Office entered the palace to report the bad news, facing Ci'an's crying to death, Cixi and the Japanese Liu were helpless together, Shen Zhaolin, who was known for his main battle, stepped forward and pointed out: "Don't panic, the two empress dowagers, although the Tiger God Camp was defeated, the Qing Dynasty's capital defenders were intact, and they still had the power to fight with the Wu thief army. The court only needed to continue to hold on and not fight, waiting for Guan Wen and Luo Bingzhang's reinforcements. Then within a few days, the capital could turn danger into safety, and the Wu thief army would also flee in a panic."

Although Shen Zhaolin's view was optimistic, Cixi and the Japanese Sixth and others were still worried. Ci'an also wiped his tears and said, "Although Shen Aiqing's words are reasonable, the Wu thief army is so powerful. Can the defenders in the capital support the arrival of reinforcements?"

"There is no problem at all!" Shen Zhaolin replied loudly: "Today's defeat is not that the Wu thief army is too powerful, but that the Tiger God Camp formed by the monk is too incompetent! Let's ask all over the world, how could there be an army that formed an army yesterday and could kill the enemy today? It is not surprising that the Tiger God Camp was defeated by a crushing defeat. The Wu thief was just a lucky luck and not afraid!"

"Mr. Shen, are you saying this too much?" Cao Yuying said carefully: "General Tuhaitu was back then..."

"That's General Tu's talented people, good at governing the army, the monks underestimate the enemy and speak loudly, and like to take over power and discriminate against Han generals. How can he be as good as General Tu's?"

Shen Zhaolin decended the monk Prince without hesitation and said, "Besides, General Tu used the Eight Banners slaves as his army, and he fought with the Chahar rebels after the troops left Zhangjiakou. On the way, General Tu trained many soldiers and strictly enforced military disciplines to achieve the victory of the Great Borni. The monk Prince blindly followed the script and learned the basics of General Tu and rushed to fight. How could he have an invincible reason?"

Just like the person who fell into the water grabbed the life-saving straw, although he did not understand the principles of Shen Zhaolin's analysis, Ci'an subconsciously wanted to believe what Shen Zhaolin said. So after nodding, Ci'an quickly asked again: "Aiqing Chen, what should we do now in your opinion?"

"Stay on guard and wait for help!" Shen Zhaolin answered firmly and said more directly: "First defend the outer city. If the city wall cannot be defended, let the outer city defenders retreat into the city to fight street battles. After the outer city falls, defend the inner city. If the inner city wall is lost, retreat into the inner city to fight street battles, and at the same time, he will do his best to defend the Forbidden City!"

"In this way, no matter how sharp the Wu rebel army's troops are, it is impossible to break through the Forbidden City within three to five days and endanger the palace city! And after three to five days, Guan Wen and Luo Bingzhang's reinforcements will definitely arrive one after another. If they cooperate with the defenders of the capital, they will definitely defeat Zeng Guoquan's rebels at the city of Beijing!"

If Zeng Guoquan could be here, he would definitely strangle Shen Zhaolin to death because this move happened to pinch the Wu army's life. But unfortunately, although Shen Zhaolin's proposal was so correct that it could not be more correct, Ci'an and Cixi had no confidence. They did not argue with Shen Zhaolin's proposal, and their expressions were very disappointed. However, the Japanese Six was a little shaken and echoed: "The two empress dowagers, Mr. Shen's proposal is not unacceptable. I hope the two empress dowagers will think twice."

After talking in a low voice, Cixi said reluctantly: "We must guard the capital, but we should be prepared for both ways. Of course, it is best to be able to defend the capital. If we really can't defend, we cannot sit still and wait for death, so that the Wu thief army will hold the sage hostage."

Obedient and listened to the voice. After hearing Cixi's words, Shen Zhaolin immediately knew that Ci'an and Cixi were already preparing to open the door, and he quickly knelt down and said, "Two Queen Mothers, the capital should not be abandoned easily. After the British and French seized the capital, they discussed peace and retreated because they were not interested in the Qing Dynasty's country and had no intention of occupying the capital for a long time!"

"But Wu Chaoyue is different! Once this traitor seizes the capital, it will not only be impossible to return the capital to the Qing court, but will also take the opportunity to rebel and proclaim the emperor, plot to usurp the throne, and steal the Qing Dynasty!"

Shen Zhaolin's words finally achieved certain results. Considering that once the capital was captured by the Wu army, Wu Chaoyue, who had long been coveting the throne, would definitely take the opportunity to proclaim himself emperor and become independent. He would never return the capital back like the British and French. Ci'an and Cixi then strengthened their determination a little, and Ci'an said: "What Chen Aiqing said is reasonable, and the capital cannot be abandoned easily. The imperial edict and the defenders in the city will defend the capital with all their might, and those who fled without authorization will be killed immediately!"

The sixth and others of the Japanese responded to the promise, but Shen Zhaolin refused to give up and suggested: "The two empress dowagers, the old ministers, believe that another imperial edict should be issued, and those who say that they will abandon the city and leave immediately will be executed. This will stabilize the hearts of the people, encourage morale, and let the soldiers, civilians and the people of the capital know the determination of the Qing court to survive and die together."

Ci'an was a little hesitant, and Cixi, who was good at running away, shook her head directly and said, "There is no need for this. You can't block the way of speech. Don't worry, Aiqing Chen. If someone proposes to abandon the city, we just don't listen."

Shen Zhaolin sighed quietly, knowing that Ci'an and Cixi still dared not cut off their own retreat, and when the situation was critical, they might choose to escape and save their lives.

It was the second update of the night. When the Wu army retreated to Huayue Temple to set up a camp to rest and did not launch an overnight siege, Ci'an and Cixi asked people to ring the Jingyang bell at night and summoned all officials to enter the palace to discuss matters. As a result, our monk prince asked someone to tie himself up with Huang Ling for the second time. He walked to the Golden Palace with tears in his eyes to apologize to Ci'an and Cixi. Ci'an and Ci'an were furious in their hearts and wished to behead the monk prince who could only brag and speak loudly. Ci'an, who was slightly cunning, asked directly: "Men, don't you say that you should use the Eight Banners slaves as your army to guarantee that you can kill Zeng Guoquan's traitors without leaving? Why is the Tiger God Camp now collapsed, and the Wu traitors' army is becoming more rampant?"

"Slaves are incompetent! Slaves are guilty! Slaves deserve to die! Slaves never expected that there would be traitors in the Tiger God Camp, spreading rumors to shake the morale of the army, shooting against orders and causing chaos, giving Wu's thief army the opportunity to break the camp! Slaves deserve to die! Please rest assured, the two empress dowagers, that the slave will definitely find out the traitors as soon as possible and cut them into pieces! Lingchi will execute them!"

Kneeling in the Golden Palace, the monk prince cried with pear blossoms and cried with blood. While kowtowing and apologizing, he tried his best to push his sins to the traitors and traitors in the Tiger God Camp. Mr. Hui, who had been in love with the monk, had been pleaded with, begging Ci'an and Cixi to give the monk a chance to atone for their sins. Considering that there is no one available in military affairs, Ci'an and Cixi have to bear it and endure it, so they had to temporarily take off the monk's feathers and ask the monk to continue to be the deputy to Prince Hui for his crimes and make meritorious contributions, and the major events have been wiped out.

Then of course, we discussed how to defend the enemy, which made the main war faction led by Shen Zhaolin breathe a sigh of relief. Although some officials also suggested that Ci'an and Cixi leave 36 strategies, imitate their deceased husband, Emperor Xianfeng, escape in advance, leaving only important officials to continue guarding the capital and waiting for reinforcements. However, before the Wu army entered the outer city, Ci'an and Ci'an, who had been vaccinated by Shen Zhaolin, flatly rejected this proposal. Although they did not make any harsh words that those who abandoned the city immediately took action, they also expressed their willingness to stick to the capital to the end.

The resolution to continue defending the city was finalized, and the next step was to clarify the responsible persons for defending the city. As a result, Ci'an and Cixi were not polite this time, and directly entrusted all the important tasks of guarding the buffer area of ​​the outer city to the Prince of Monk, and asked the Prince of Monk to be in charge of the outer city defense, and let Prince Chun be responsible for guarding the inner city and the Forbidden City. Prince Hui continued to serve as the commander-in-chief of the entire army. At the same time, Ci'an also directly said to the Prince of Monk: "Monk, this is the last chance given to you by the Ai family and the Queen Mother of the Cialis. The outer city is there, your head is there, and the outer city is dead, you don't have to come back, just solve it yourself."

"I'm so kind to thank the Queen Mother for your kindness." The monk agreed with a frown, and even complained in his heart, and said in his heart: "It's over, unless the Wu thief army's head is in, it will definitely attack the outer city first. If there is any mistake in this outer city, my head will really not be able to be saved?"

At this time, Li Tangjie, the Minister of Rites, stood up and put forward a new suggestion ingeniously, saying: "The two empress dowagers, the Wei-Minist, think that you might as well consider recruiting and pacifying the rebels such as Zeng Guoquan for use by the court. If you can succeed, not only will the dangers in the capital be resolved, but the court can also have one more tiger general?"

The court was in an uproar, and most civil and military officials mocked Li Tangjie's whimsical thoughts and asked Li Tangjie if he had forgotten the relationship between Zeng Guoquan and Wu Chaoyue? But several officials also thought it was worth a try. Li Hongzao, who was also a Qingliu (having nothing to do with Li Hongzhang), was one of them. He took the lead and said: "The two empress dowagers, Weichen thinks that Li Shangshu's proposal might as well give it a try."

"It is true that Wu Chaoyue is Zeng Guoquan's niece, but for some reason, Zeng Guoquan's niece actually married Wu Chaoyue as a side room. Zeng Guoquan is a direct descendant of the Zong Sheng Zengzi, even if he doesn't say anything, he will definitely feel extremely humiliated in his heart. Moreover, Zeng Guoquan, as an uncle, has to listen to the orders and commands of his younger generation Wu Chaoyue, and bow to Wu Chaoyue. His human relationship is reversed, and he must have resentment in his heart."

"With this opportunity, if the two empress dowagers issue imperial edicts, grant Zeng Guoquan a title as a high-ranking official, reward them with gold, silver and jewelry, and then feel that they are educated by saints, it may not be impossible to recruit Zeng Guoquan to succeed in rebels and make them use by the court."

Li Hongzao's words were once again ridiculed by everyone. Many civil and military officials sneered and asked Li Hongzao, saying that Zeng Guoquan would immediately have hope of breaking through the capital and being promoted and rewarded. How could he still accept the official title of the Qing court? However, Cixi and Ci'an did not refuse and whispered behind the pearl curtain.

"Sister, although the discussion between Li Tangjie and Li Hongzao is whimsical and it is impossible to succeed in one fell swoop, but if we make a little effort, it may not be impossible to turn into a slowdown strategy to buy time for us to wait for reinforcements." Cixi whispered.

"How to adapt?" Ci'an asked in a low voice.

"In the name of revenge, we secretly requested peace talks." Cixi whispered: "Zeng Guoquan's brother Zeng Guofan died of Poyang Lake. The main reason was that Wen Jun, the governor of Jiangxi at that time, refused to send troops to rescue him. Zeng Guoquan must have hated Wen Jun deeply. Now Wen Jun is in the capital. We might as well ask for peace talks with Zeng Guoquan by handing over Wen Jun to avenge Zeng Guoquan as the negotiation condition, and take the opportunity to delay time and wait for reinforcements to arrive."

"I'm afraid that Zeng Guoquan's traitor won't be fooled, right?" Ci'an asked with some concern: "That traitor can't understand that time is equally important to him. How can he slow down the siege for Wen Jun who can be killed sooner or later and waste time?"

"Zeng Guoquan's rebel thieves will definitely not be fooled, but we can even tempt them for profit, and we can even promise to open the city to welcome the thieves as long as the conditions are right. Then Zeng Guoquan's rebel thieves will not be unmoved. As long as he offers the conditions to bargain with us, we can take the opportunity to delay the time and wait for reinforcements to arrive."

Cixi whispered his true plans and added: "And after establishing a connection, if we can defeat the Wu thieves while defending the city, and make Zeng Guoquan feel that there is no hope of breaking the city, then the revenge of Li Tangjie and Li Hongzao may not be impossible to succeed."

After careful consideration, I felt that even if this matter failed, it would be almost no loss, but once it succeeded, it would gain a lot. So Ci'an nodded quickly and agreed to give it a try. At that moment, Ci'an and Cixi discussed a few more words in a low voice, first finding an excuse to erase this issue, and then announcing the dispersion.
Chapter completed!