The Summoner of the Battle of All Realms

But unlike Wu Zetian, her reputation is bad.

It must be said that the voice of Empress Dowager Cixi is legendary.

Cixi was Empress Xiaoqinxian, Yehenala clan, the concubine of Emperor Xianfeng and the biological mother of Emperor Tongzhi. An important political figure in the late Qing Dynasty and the actual ruler of the late Qing Dynasty.

She entered the palace in 1852 and was given the title Yi Guiren, and the following year she was granted the title of Concubine Yi. In 1856, the eldest son of the emperor, Aixinjueluo Zaichun, was born, who was also the Tongzhi Emperor. After the collapse, she and Empress Xiaozhenxian were honored together in the two palaces, and were called the Queen Mother and Empress Dowager Cixi. Later, she joined forces with Empress Dowager Ci'an Xiaozhen and Prince Gong Yixin to launch the Xinyou Coup, killing eight ministers and seizing power, forming " The layout of the second palace with the curtains hanging down and the prince discussing politics.

The Qing government temporarily entered a period of tranquility, known in history as the Tongzhi ZTE.

In 1873, the Queen Mother of the two palaces returned to power.

In 1875, Emperor Tongzhi passed away, and his nephew Aixinjueluo Zaitan was chosen to succeed Xianfeng. The reign was Guangxu, and the two palaces once again managed the affairs behind closed doors. In 1881, Empress Dowager Ci'an died, and in 1884 Cixi launched the "Jiashen Yishu" to remove Gong. The prince began to hold power alone; in 1889, he returned to Guangxu and retired to the Summer Palace; in 1898, after the imperial party conspired to surround the garden and kill him during the Reform Movement of 1898, Cixi launched the 1898 Revolution, imprisoned Emperor Guangxu, beheaded the Six Gentlemen of 1898, and re-supervised the administration; 1900 After the Gengzi Revolution, the New Deal of the late Qing Dynasty was implemented to reform military, business, academic, and official laws. In 1908, Emperor Guangxu passed away. Cixi chose the three-year-old Puyi as the new emperor. She was honored as the Empress Dowager that day. She died at 17:00 the next day in Yiluan Hall and was buried in the Dingdong Tomb in Putuoyu.

It is well known that Cixi lived an extremely luxurious life.

In 1894, Prince Chun planned to "receive congratulations in the Summer Palace on the occasion of Cixi's 60th birthday. Following the example established during the Kangxi and Qianlong years, a colorful shed and prayer altar were set up along the road from the palace to the garden to hold a celebration."

Move navy funds, renovate the Summer Palace, decorate scenic spots, and collect contributions from all walks of life. This year coincided with Fuso launching the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895.

Guangxu took the lead in the battle, and Cixi also took the lead. "No show of weakness is allowed."

However, when someone proposed to stop the Summer Palace project, stop the attractions, and divert it to military expenses, Cixi became furious and said, "Whoever makes me unhappy today, I will also make him unhappy for the rest of his life."

In order not to affect her sixtieth anniversary celebrations, Cixi hoped that foreign countries would intervene and end the war as soon as possible.

She supported Li Hongzhang's policy of avoiding war and seeking peace, and used various excuses to attack the main war faction headed by Guangxu.

As the situation became increasingly tense and she faced heavy pressure from both the government and the public, she could no longer go her own way and show off her pomp, so she had to change her original plan and reduce the scale of her birthday celebration.

When Jinzhou and Dalian fell one after another and Lushun was in an extremely critical situation, Cixi spent her sixtieth birthday in the Ningshou Palace in the Forbidden City.

On February 7 of the following year, the Weihai Japanese ship and fort attacked Liugong Island, and the entire Beiyang Navy was wiped out.

China suffered defeats on both the sea and land battlefields. The peace advocates headed by Cixi made up their minds to sue for peace with Japan. In March, Cixi sent Li Hongzhang as the plenipotentiary minister to Fusang to beg for peace. On April 17, they signed an unprecedented humiliation in Chinese history. In the Treaty of Shimonoseki, China gave up its status as a suzerainty over Korea, paid an indemnity of 200 million taels of silver, and ceded the Liaodong Peninsula, Ryukyu, and Penghu Islands.

No dignity left! ..

Chapter 1487 The extravagant Cixi and Fusu’s resentment

The most famous thing about Empress Dowager Cixi is her extravagance.

No one knows how extravagant the Empress Dowager Cixi is.

Among the people of the Qing Dynasty, the Empress Dowager Cixi had countless gold and silver jewelry. There was such a pair of "emerald watermelons" that were the treasures of the Empress Dowager Cixi.

According to legend, after Cixi's death, two "emerald watermelons" were buried with her in Cixi's tomb. Later, after Sun Dianying robbed the Dongling Tomb, these two "watermelons" disappeared without a trace.

According to rumors, the bottom of Cixi's coffin is covered with a gold silk pearl brocade mattress, seven inches thick, with more than 12,000 large and small pearls, 85 red gems, 203 white jade, and brocade mattress. On top of that, there is a layer of silk mattress embroidered with lotus flowers, and 2,400 pearls weighing five cents on top.

Covering Cixi's body was a gold-woven Dani sutra quilt, 280 cm long and 274 cm wide, with a bright yellow satin base and woven gold. The quilt is embellished with eight hundred and twenty pearls. On top of the quilt was a tennis quilt decorated with six thousand pearls.

The Dharani sutra quilt is made of twisted gold thread. The quilt is about three meters square and has a bright yellow satin base. The surface of the quilt is woven with numerous Buddhist scriptures, Buddha statues, pagodas, patterns and other decorations. It is both sacred and royal in Buddhism. of majesty.

Empress Dowager Cixi wore a phoenix crown, which was inlaid with pearls and gems. There was a pearl weighing four taels as big as an egg on the crown, which was worth about 10 million to 20 million taels of silver at that time.

Hold a luminous pearl in your mouth.

It is said that this luminous pearl can prevent human corpses from decaying.

To preserve a person's body in the state it was in before death for a long time

There are three beads hanging around the neck, two are pearls and one is ruby.

Wearing a gold silk gown and an embroidered beaded gown. Wearing boots. Holding a jade lotus in his hand, there are eighteen clam Buddhas in front of his head and an emerald lotus leaf on his head.

There are ten gold and jade Buddhas on both sides of the head, eight jade horses and eighteen jade Arhats at each hand. There are one hundred and eight golden Buddhas, jade Buddhas, ruby ​​Buddhas, and emerald Buddhas next to or at the feet of his body. Each Buddha weighs six taels; four emerald watermelons, two with white skin and yellow seeds, and one with green skin and white seeds. There are two peaches, ten emerald peaches, two emerald cabbages, and two classic-colored wasps beside the green cabbage leaves.

The most precious thing in the coffin is the nine exquisite pagoda carved from white jade with flowers and flowing smoke. Next to his body were placed more than 700 pieces of gems, jades, red coral trees, ink jade, and water mustards. When the burial of the treasures was completed, it was discovered that there were still holes in the coffin, and four liters of pearls, red sapphires, and emeralds were poured into the coffin. Twenty-two hundred dollars in gems.

According to Xiaode Zhang, the last eunuch in charge of the Qing Dynasty, Cixi's palace expenses for a day were roughly 40,000 taels of silver. This means that for half a month the Qing Dynasty could purchase a Japanese Yoshino-class cruiser during the Sino-Japanese War; for two months it could purchase a super battleship; and for one year it could equip a naval fleet that ranked sixth or seventh in the world at that time.

Empress Dowager Cixi's extravagant diet is famous in Chinese and foreign history. The delicacies for each of her dinners are spread across three or four dining tables, often with more than a hundred varieties, including hot and cold dishes, grilled food, and various snacks.

She passed the meal, and the eunuchs lined up to wait. The dishes were immediately set, and a few special ones were served as they were served. After the food was served, Cixi would take a look at it and leave it if she was satisfied. If she didn't want to eat it, she would leave immediately.

During festivals, such as the Double Ninth Festival, the imperial kitchen would make additional flower cakes such as chrysanthemums, date paste, and eight treasures for Cixi, as well as various kinds of cakes.

Cixi loved to drink scented tea. She was addicted to tea and was very particular about it. The water used to make tea is spring water transported from Yuquan Mountain that day; the scented tea you drink is not roasted jasmine or rose, but freshly picked flowers, which are mixed with dry tea and then brewed into a tea cup. The fragrance of tea is as well as the fragrance of flowers. To drink tea, use a white jade teacup, and put three white jade cups on the gold saucer, with tea in the middle and flowers on both sides.

It can be said that it is enough for a woman to be able to do this to this extent.

Even death is earth-shattering.

Fusu knew that Cixi was extravagant, but he didn't expect it to be so extravagant.

He is simply even more powerful than He Shen back then.

More importantly, no one cares about Cixi.

Who dares to care?

Who can care?

It must be said that Cixi's life surpassed everyone else's.

Some people say Wu Zetian.

Wu Zetian was extravagant, but definitely not as extravagant as Cixi.

Wu Zetian was a wise king, and he would not defeat the country. On the contrary, under her governance, the "Legacy of Zhenguan" situation emerged.

The people live and work in peace and contentment, and the people are happy and healthy. Except for the fact that their lives are a bit chaotic, they are also considered wise kings.

Wu Zetian laid the foundation for the subsequent Kaiyuan era.

But what about Cixi?

What does she know?

She doesn't have to worry about anything, she doesn't have to worry about anything.

To describe it in one word, it is "a prodigal woman".

And he still lost a country.

Thinking of China's humiliating history, let's compare it with the luxurious life of Empress Dowager Cixi.