mtl008 Chapter 542 Empress Dowager Cixi 11
Chapter 542 Empress Dowager Cixi 11
When Britain and France invaded Beijing, Zeng Guofan was fighting the Taiping Army in the south.
After Zeng Guofan was promoted out of turn during the Daoguang period, he did not receive any promotion for many years.
Mainly because Emperor Xianfeng disliked him.
When Chengfeng first ascended the throne, Zeng Guofan pointed out some problems bluntly, which made Emperor Xianfeng very angry, so he never promoted him.
Originally, Zeng Guofan had no real power in the south, and no food or money. He was guarding the country for the emperor, but the emperor did not trust him, and the local officials did not cooperate or coordinate, so he had to guard the country in a half-dead state.
Shortly after Cixi came to power, she directly appointed Zeng Guofan as the Governor-General of Liangjiang.
He was in charge of the military affairs of Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi and the entire Zhejiang province.
All officials below the rank of governors-general and admirals of the four provinces were under his control. Zeng Guofan had real power and could finally fight the Taiping Army with all his strength.
This period was the time when Han bureaucrats were most powerful, and almost all the governors and provincial governors in the country were Han people.
After suppressing the Taiping Rebellion and the Nian Rebellion.
Cixi immediately realized that Zeng Guofan was too powerful.
Throughout half of the country, governors and generals were either Zeng Guofan’s good friends or his students and staff.
As a person in power, Cixi was well versed in the emperor's power tactics, balancing the court's political power and urging him to disband the Hunan Army.
Looking at Emperor Xianfeng before him, he was narrow-minded and indecisive. He gave up power but then regretted it and took it back immediately.
He was hesitant and was afraid that the Hunan Army would become stronger, but at the same time he wanted the Hunan Army to win battles. When it came to employing people, he was afraid of both wolves in front and tigers behind, and had no courage at all.
Even the famous officials of the late Qing Dynasty were basically promoted and appointed during the reign of Cixi.
The four famous ministers of the late Qing Dynasty were all promoted by her, and Zhang Zhidong was even promoted several levels as an exception. Unfortunately, after Cixi's death, there has never been another capable minister.
These people played a vital role in the continuation of the Qing Dynasty.
Immediately afterwards, Cixi began to promote the Westernization Movement at the suggestion of Yi Xin.
Aiming to strengthen the country and the military, the essence of the Westernization Movement was "Chinese learning as the basis, Western learning for practical use."
After Cixi launched the coup, the Westernization Movement with the purpose of "self-strengthening" and "seeking wealth" quickly began.
It is hard to imagine how the Westernization Movement could have continued for more than 30 years despite the obstruction of powerful conservative old forces if it had not been for the support of Empress Dowager Cixi.
For a long time, some historians called Cixi the "general representative of stubborn forces" and said that she was "always stubborn and conservative." However, few people knew that Cixi was also full of reform and progress at a time when the country was in crisis.
Whatever the Westernization Party did was bound to invite criticism from the diehards and the Qingliu Party, and there was never a single day of peace in the court.
Many upright figures did not agree with the Westernization Movement.
Cixi hated these upright people, who only knew how to impeach others with their pens.
Whenever it comes to Westernization, there is always a group of Qingliu Party members who oppose it.
Cixi was very annoyed with them, but there were some things that could not be said, and she had to rely on them to say them.
The imperial court could not allow ministers who held real power outside the court to do whatever they wanted. With this group of Qingliu Party members, they could use their pens to accomplish what they did not want to say or do.
Faced with the clamor of the diehards and the Qingliu Party, Empress Dowager Cixi skillfully used her political skills to gradually reduce the resistance from them.
Although there were no drastic institutional reforms, this surgical operation did bring some vitality to the Qing Dynasty.
Many government-owned enterprises and military-industrial enterprises have sprung up across the country.
Training troops, manufacturing weapons, building railways, laying down electric wires, operating telegraphs, setting up shipyards, and sending students abroad were undoubtedly measures that were in line with the development trend of the times.
Cixi undoubtedly supported reform, but in an era of great social change, there was a certain gap between her knowledge and spiritual outlook and what a supreme ruler should have.
She did not have the desire or action to actively absorb new knowledge, and therefore showed astonishing ignorance on many issues.
For example, she believed that building railways would destroy feng shui and that trains should be pulled by donkeys and horses. Such ignorance and selfishness directly affected the achievements of the Westernization Movement that she supported.
More importantly, she never had sufficient psychological preparation or comprehensive consideration of the seriousness of the situation, the progress and goals of reform, but passively adjusted policies under the stimulation of external forces.
Diplomacy was the worst thing that Cixi did, but it is still commendable.
This is also because she is in the back house, has a short-term vision, and has a bit of the mentality of a woman.
Like the Sino-French Vietnam War, Cixi did not realize that Vietnam was lost, so could Yunnan remain safe?
Cixi knew very little about Vietnam, which was far away from Yunnan and Guangxi.
Later, there was turmoil there, and the Governor-General of Yunnan and Guizhou and the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi reported to the court. Only then did she realize that there was such a small country with a foolish monarch, corrupt officials, and ignorant people.
Only then did I realize that this country sent tribute to the imperial court every year, and the imperial court's return gift was more than ten or twenty times greater than its tribute.
It nominally acknowledged that it was a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, but in reality the imperial court had no say in all major matters such as changes of imperial court, succession to the throne, appointment and dismissal of officials, tax revenue, etc. Instead, the imperial court had to bear the responsibility of protecting it from foreign invasion.
Cixi didn't understand why her ancestors had to carry this burden on their shoulders. What good would this do for the Qing Dynasty?
She didn't realize that the lips and teeth are interdependent.
This period is called the "Tongzhi Restoration". If the time is extended back to before the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, it can also be called the "Tongzhi Restoration".
In the third year of the Guangxu period, with the strong support of Cixi, Zuo Zongtang recovered Xinjiang.
It should be said that Cixi performed very well in the first half of her life and was a qualified and even excellent supreme ruler.
If she had died at this time, future generations would have certainly spoken highly of her.
Not to mention being on par with Kangxi and Yongzheng, but definitely much stronger than the three emperors Jiaqing, Daoguang and Xianfeng.
In the seventh year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1881), Empress Dowager Cixi died suddenly.
Historically, Ci'an's death was attributed to Cixi, although logically speaking, Ci'an was indeed the biggest obstacle to Cixi's path to the political pinnacle.
But until now, there is no definite evidence to prove that Cixi was the murderer of Ci'an.
As for Cixi, she must have been ecstatic about Ci'an's death.
From then on, she became the Empress Dowager who had the final say in the Qing Dynasty.
At this time, the only person who could pose a threat to Cixi was Prince Gong Yixin.
On April 1884, , Cixi, citing the defeat in the Sino-French War as an excuse, accused the Grand Council of improper dispatch and poor command, and expelled Yi Xin, Bao Jun and other Grand Councilors from the Council.
Among them, Yi Xin was punished the most severely. He was demoted to the lowest position, leaving only the hereditary title of prince, and was ordered to "go home to recuperate."
Yi Xin's performance in the Sino-French War was indeed very bad, but he was, after all, a prince who had been in power for more than 20 years, and even if he had no merits, he had worked hard.