In 1900, the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded China, landed in Tianjin, and went all the way north, approaching Beijing!

Lafayette Cixi was so frightened that she fled in a hurry with Emperor Guangxu, euphemistically calling it "Westward Hunting"!

And on the way to escape, our Lafayette can be said to have suffered a lot!

Since the escape was a relatively sudden event, Cixi was not accompanied by many guards at the time, and the preparations were not sufficient.

So one of the first problems Cixi faced when she fled was food and drink.

After some distance away from the capital, they passed by a small town, and their men went to the small town to beg for some beans and corn. Although they had good food and clothing back then, in this case, saving their lives was the most important thing.

So even someone as noble as Cixi still had to eat these vulgar foods.

When leaving the town, the servants brought more beans and corn, as well as some corn stalks to quench their thirst.

It was summer, and the heat was unbearable. Moreover, she was sitting in a mule cart without ventilation, which made her even more uncomfortable than others.

The two palace maids who accompanied her ate corn stalks because they were thirsty. At first, Cixi did not eat the corn stalks out of shame, but in the end she could not hold back.

It shows that no matter who you are, no matter how noble you were, you will still be the same when you are hungry!

In fact, this is not bad. The further west you go, the less you eat. Later, I was very happy to find two Wowotou.

I wonder what the old Buddha, who once served all kinds of delicacies from the mountains and seas in the palace, would feel now that he is holding a steamed bun in his hand and there is not a drop of oil in the dish.

The second is the outfit.

After all, this behavior is to escape for one's life. For the sake of face and safety, everything is still low-key. The kind of dressing up in the palace is definitely not enough.

Therefore, Cixi also had to dress more modestly. According to the memories of the palace maids later, Li Lianying was responsible for changing the master's attire at that time. Although this man was a seemingly clumsy man, he was still very careful in arranging his hair.

Cixi's hair was put down and smoothed, and then Li Lianying arranged it into a hairstyle common to Han civilian women. Finally, she tied her hair with a net bag. At a glance, anyone would mistake her for an old Han lady.

Judging from Cixi's own style, it was impossible for her to do such a disgraceful act.

However, for safety reasons and because she was really upset, she did not stop her servants from playing with her costume.

Not to mention, due to the hasty escape, Cixi didn't bring any change of clothes, and she couldn't even talk about washing and dressing up. There was not enough water to drink, and there was nowhere to wash. After a few days, she was already in a miserable state.

Wu Yong, the magistrate of Huailai County who welcomed Cixi at that time, once wrote a book "Gengzi Xi Shou Cong Tan", which talks about the ups and downs of Cixi's journey.

When he first met Cixi, he was "very surprised, her clothes were ragged, and she was in a terrible mess..." and when eating, "the Queen Mother was so hungry that she clapped her hands on the dressing table and ordered people to serve the meal quickly...".

Such a humiliating escape was a huge blow to her, so Cixi could not help but shed tears along the way.

After all, what I said before was at the beginning of the escape, but she was also hit at the end of the escape.

On November 7, Cixi, who had been bumpy for a long time, finally walked back to the car, but on this day an urgent telegram informed him that Li Hongzhang had passed away.

This incident was a great blow to Cixi. Yu Gong and Li Hongzhang were her most capable subordinates and the only remaining pillars of the Qing Dynasty.

Personally, Mr. Li is also his own "scapegoat". In all political strategies, Li Hongzhang is almost completely consistent with him. No matter whether he is right or wrong, there will always be someone to share the blame for him. Now this situation is really embarrassing.

Cixi felt helpless.

Therefore, whether at the beginning or at the end of her escape, Cixi's mentality was always unstable.

However, all Cixi's misfortunes were self-inflicted, and later generations did not show any pity or sympathy when mentioning this matter. Perhaps this is what Lafayette should be saddened the most.