Victoria 3 game history storyline from 1836 V1.75

The historical plot line comes from RA historical plot line [authorized for use]
In 1889, Emperor Guangxu was already 18 years old and finally obtained the approval of Empress Dowager Cixi to hold a wedding ceremony. Most emperors of the Qing Dynasty got married between the ages of 14 and 17. The reason why Guangxu was still unmarried is obvious – marriage means that he has become an adult, and adulthood means that Empress Dowager Cixi must end the so-called "training" and hand over power. As a result, Emperor Guangxu became the latest emperor to get married in the Qing Dynasty.

The emperor’s wedding in 1889 was the result of delaying it until it could not be delayed any further. The ceremony of taking power, which was prepared at the same time as the wedding ceremony, was also the result of the old empress dowager’s delay. From this year on, Emperor Guangxu began to officially come into contact with the highest power of the empire. It was also from this year that the party struggle between the "Emperor Party" and the "Empress Party" that seriously affected the political direction of the late Qing Dynasty began.

The struggle between the emperor and the empress: the children’s class and the old mother’s class
Although Cixi had irregularly moved into the Summer Palace, which was specially designed for her to spend her retirement after "retirement", in May of the previous year to show that her return to the emperor was sincere. But then she rudely appointed her niece as the Empress of Guangxu, which made it clear that the old empress would never withdraw from the highest stage of imperial political life. All the behaviors showing "sincere return to the government" were nothing more than a ♥♥♥♥♥’s attempt to establish a memorial archway.

[smms.app]

[The metaphor of power in Ningshou Palace]

After returning to the government, Cixi should live in the Cining Palace according to convention – the Cining Palace was a place for the widows of the previous emperors to live. Since Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, Cining Palace has been the place where empress dowagers, concubines and imperial concubines of all dynasties have spent their remaining years.

Cixi did not want to go to Cining Palace, she was attracted by Ningshou Palace.

Ningshou Palace has its own unique metaphor of power. This palace was first built during the reign of Emperor Kangxi, and Emperor Qianlong later renovated it in order to create a place for retirement after he returned to power. But after Qianlong retired as the emperor at the age of 85, he did not move into Ningshou Palace. The reason was that he felt that he was still in good health and could continue to stay in the Yangxin Palace to preside over the government.

In this regard, Emperor Qianlong once said:

"I am now eighty-five years old, and I am in good spirits and not tired of hard work. The people of the world, as well as the Mongolian princes and foreign vassal states, do not want me to return to power immediately. … After returning to power, how can I ignore all major military and national affairs and the use of personnel and administration? I will still give personal instructions."

The meaning is very clear. Although the government was returned to the emperor, the highest power of the court and the final decision-making power of government affairs were still in the hands of Qianlong. The ministers were also very cooperative and immediately petitioned the emperor to formally transfer power to the new emperor after he turned 100.

[smms.app]

For more than a hundred years since Qianlong, Ningshou Palace has been uninhabited. The reason is that this is the residence of the retired emperor, and the retired emperor who does not hand over power. For more than a hundred years, no one has been qualified to live in Ningshou Palace.

Cixi chose Ningshou Palace because of the clear power metaphor behind it. The time had come for the old empress dowager to return to power, but she was unwilling to give up her power. She used the political code of moving into the Ningshou Palace to announce to the ministers of the empire that she was the emperor of the Qing Empire at this moment, and she wanted to follow the precedent of Emperor Qianlong who returned to power but did not hand over power.

[Tu Renshou forced the old empress dowager to express his position]

The old empress dowager’s thoughts can be understood but not expressed in words. It is enough to understand it in your heart, but it is very inappropriate to say it out loud. But someone who was out of place jumped out and directly broke the window paper that the old empress dowager returned to power but was unwilling to hand over power.

Originally, in order to give herself "legitimacy" to continue to control the highest power after returning to power, Cixi had prepared for the rainy day and had instructed Prince Li Shiduo and others on January 2, 1889 to draft a "clause" for the operation rules of the Qing court government after the empress dowager returned to power. Although the entry acknowledged that Emperor Guangxu had the power to accept memorials from Chinese and foreign officials, it also emphasized that the principle of "all major policies must be implemented according to Cixi’s instructions", which means that Cixi can continue to interfere in court affairs openly. Later, out of formalism, Prince Li Shiduo requested to resign on the grounds that the emperor had already taken power and everything could be restored to the old system of his ancestors. Cixi refused to allow it and required that "all the important positions should be restored to the old system after a few years", that is, within this unknown "several years", the court must continue to maintain Cixi’s old team.

[smms.app]

Obviously, this is a clear signal that Cixi is unwilling to hand over power. Therefore, two days after the publication of this instruction, the censor Tu Renshou submitted a strange memorial, which said:

"The Empress Dowager is about to return to power, and the court affairs are busy. I request that the imperial edict be issued. According to the old practice of Emperor Gaozong Qianlong’s training, the documents and memorials of the ministries and courts, the secret memorials from other provinces, and the sealed memorials of the court officials should still be written with the words "The Empress Dowager’s Sacred Mirror". I beg the Empress Dowager to read and approve them before they can be implemented." (Note: For the convenience of reading, the original text of the memorial has been popularized, the same below)

On the surface, Tu Renshou’s memorial was exactly what Cixi wanted. But it was precisely because it was so in line with Cixi’s mind that it aroused Cixi’s anger – many things can only be understood but not expressed in words. Tu’s memorial seemed to be trying to please Cixi, but in fact it was forcing Cixi to make a clear statement. If she agreed to Tu’s memorial, it would mean that Cixi had blatantly challenged the ancestral system, and compared herself to

Forcing Cixi to issue this edict was exactly what Tu Renshou hoped to achieve.

[smms.app]