Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, China has gradually lagged behind the West, laying hidden dangers for future generations.
In the late Qing Dynasty, there was a significant gap with the West, but the rulers were weak in coping with the situation and did not want to make progress, which led to the deterioration of the situation. In 1900, the Empress Dowager Cixi shocked the world by declaring war on the Eleven Kingdoms. In the same year, she fled westward under the attack of the Eight-Nation Alliance, experiencing hunger, cold, and embarrassing difficulties. Empress Dowager Cixi's westward escape was really embarrassing.
In 1900, the Empress Dowager Cixi, who was in domestic and foreign difficulties, declared war on 11 countries, including Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain, the United States, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, and Russia, shocking China and foreign countries. However, the imperialist forces saw this as a provocation by the Qing Dynasty and quickly organized an Eight-Nation Coalition to attack Beijing. Although the Empress Dowager Cixi deployed heavy troops on the way, she was vulnerable, and the Eight-Nation Coalition successfully entered Beijing without effective resistance. As the supreme ruler of the country, in the face of foreign invasion, he should have united the people and reorganized his troops. However, the Empress Dowager Cixi fled and fled to Xi'an with a large army, abandoning the entire city and allowing it to be occupied by the invaders.
Before fleeing Beijing, the Empress Dowager Cixi had Emperor Guangxu's favorite concubine Zhen pushed into the well and drowned, and the well became a tourist attraction known as the "Zhenfei Well". Empress Dowager Cixi's westward escape was completely beyond her imagination. Previously, she lived in the palace for a long time, and when she went on patrol, she was also welcomed by the local **. Now they have to endure travel troubles such as hunger and cold, and embarrassment in going to the toilet. This trip not only reveals the incompetence and selfishness of the Qing rulers, but also reflects the suffering and humiliation of the people in the country during a turbulent period.
She was once the Queen Mother, respectfully regarded as a guest of honor by everyone, but now she is an exile and suffers from unprecedented hardship. This time she fled differently, and in a hurry, she only had time to pick out some treasures, and did not even bring a change of clothes. The local **, like hiding from the plague, did not want to receive her, for fear of setting herself on fire. Along the way, the sky is not beautiful, and heavy rains are frequent. In order not to be conspicuous, both she and Emperor Guangxu changed into civilian clothes. When it rains, they can only brave the rain, soaking wet, like beggars. Once, Li Lianying found that Emperor Guangxu could not sleep due to the lack of futon, so she hurriedly found a futon so that Guangxu could sleep peacefully. Looking back on this time, Emperor Guangxu sighed: "If there was no Li Lianying, I would have been dead long ago. ”
However, she now faces the biggest challenge - a shortage of food and supplies. Originally, the team brought some treasures, but not much food, and expected to replenish them along the way. But it took time to replenish supplies, and the team was in a hurry, so Cixi could only live a life of sometimes full food and sometimes hunger. It's literally the experience of falling from heaven to hell. The most embarrassing thing for her was the problem of going to the toilet. In the wilderness, she can only solve it on the spot, and in the face of various insects, she is extremely embarrassed at this time.
After Cixi's team went through a lot of hardships, they finally met a place willing to receive them**-Wu Yong, the county magistrate of Huailai County. Wu Yong did his best to prepare materials and ensure the supply of the team. After Cixi returned to Beijing, she spoke highly of Wu Yong's outstanding performance and directly promoted him from the seventh rank to the fourth grade. However, when the westward fleeing team arrived in Shanxi, Li Hongzhang sent a message informing the foreigners that Cixi would no longer be held accountable and hoped that she would return to Beijing as soon as possible.
However, Cixi, who had been frightened, did not dare to return to Beijing and chose to continue to flee westward. Finally, on October 26, the team arrived in Xi'an. After an arduous journey, Cixi began to enjoy a life of luxury in Xi'an, no less luxurious than in Beijing. The cost of living in just one month cost more than 290,000 taels. The level of luxury was staggering, and the fall of the Qing Dynasty was justified.
On the way home is the New Year