Cixi trusted Li Hongzhang very much, and he did something to make Cixi very satisfied, and the 40 years of officialdom were very smooth
As a generation of important ministers of the late Qing Dynasty, Li Hongzhang has always been at the center of the whirlpool of various contradictions between The Chinese and foreign governments and the Manchus and Han Dynasties.
Li Hongzhang's more than 40 years of eunuch career can go all the way, which is inseparable from Cixi's trust in him. Cixi's trust in Li Hongzhang reached an incomparable degree, and cixi did not listen to anyone who said bad things about Li Hongzhang in empress dowager Cixi, whether it was true or false.
Then why did Empress Dowager Cixi trust Li Hongzhang so much? During his eunuch career, did he act against his will?
With such a question in mind, we set our sights on the Battle of Jia-Wu.
After the shocking Battle of Jiawu, Li Hongzhang was demoted to the post of governor of Liangguang, and stayed for four years. Li Hongzhang was able to reinstate his official duties, thanks to the Eight-Nation Alliance.
When the Eight-Nation Alliance entered the Forbidden City, Cixi thought of Li Hongzhang in the process of fleeing for her life.
In fact, Cixi's appointment of Li Hongzhang was also the result of careful consideration.
When cixi and the Guangxu Emperor fled to Xi'an after the city of Beijing was invaded by the Eight-Nation Alliance, what Cixi was thinking now was that the current city of Beijing urgently needed someone to clean up the ruined stalls.
Cixi needed a man who could eat well in front of foreigners, who had enough prestige and seniority, and who could also get the support of officials who had not yet fallen to the south, to ensure the integrity of the empire, and the most important thing was that this person must be very loyal to Cixi.
After Cixi thought about it, the only official who could meet this condition was either a Manchu official, that is, Li Hongzhang.
In fact, Li Hongzhang was able to win Cixi's trust in him because Li Hongzhang did something that made Cixi feel convinced.
When the Tongzhi Emperor died, he was unwilling to be the empress dowager Cixi and let Guangxu take the throne. For this time, the emperor took the throne, which caused dissatisfaction among the government and the public.
So Cixi said in the palace that she was ill. At this time, the governors of various places recommended doctors to see Cixi.
Li Hongzhang felt that the opportunity had come now, and he also recommended a doctor to see Cixi.
But Li Hongzhang had an extra eye, and the doctor he recommended, Xue Fuchen, was a secret agent sent by Li Hongzhang, who was not so much going to see Cixi as he was saying that he had expressed his loyalty instead of Li Hongzhang, saying that Li Hongzhang fully supported her.
Cixi had Li Hongzhang, a Huai army stationed in Beijing, and Cixi's illness also improved, and she became fearless.
When Cixi fled west, Li Hongzhang was ordered to clean up the mess, he said such a thing, the original words are a little bitter and difficult to understand, just say modern Chinese.
The original meaning of the original words is to say, "The Great Qing Dynasty is going to be finished, and now everyone must rely on their own strength, be careful not to get involved with the Boxers, let them sell you overseers to foreigners, and work together to save the southeast, so as to leave a little hope for this nation." ”
Therefore, under the liaison of Li Hongzhang and Zhang Zhidong Liu Kunyi, the governors of various localities signed the "Southeast Mutual Protection Charter" with foreign consuls in Shanghai.
Li Hongzhang did this without compromise, and his purpose in doing so was to maintain neutrality in the war between the Qing government and the Eight-Nation Alliance, after all, Cixi declared war on the Eight-Nation Alliance before fleeing Xi'an.
In the first days of Cixi's flight to the west, because the local governors could not contact the central Qing court, many people thought that Cixi and Guangxu had been killed.
Therefore, after their consultation, it was decided to elect Li Hongzhang as the "president" of China.
Li Hongzhang also intended to take up the post, after all, he had the support of the great powers outside and the support of the feudal officials inside, which was completely competent, but when xi'an appeared in the two palaces, Li Hongzhang gave up.