Cixi was actually very diligent in her early years. After the death of Emperor Xianfeng, she handed over power to Cixi and Queen Niu Kelu, and appointed eight ministers to assist the young Tongzhi Emperor. Empress Dowager Cixi was dissatisfied with her power, so she joined Prince Gong to launch a coup, arrested eight ministers and killed Zai Yuan, Duan Hua and Su Shun. Then a series of decrees were implemented, and competent ministers, such as Li Hongzhang and Zuo, were appointed regardless of Manchu and Han. At that time, everyone was happy, and this time it was called Tongzhi Zhongxing.
In the later period, until 1884, Yixin was also dismissed by her and started the road of dictatorship in the later period. Cixi was extremely extravagant in her later years. In order to celebrate her 60th birthday, she appropriated the military expenses for building the navy to repair the Summer Palace for herself. What's more, during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, in order not to affect her birthday celebration, she suppressed the hawks and eventually led to the downfall of the Beiyang Navy.
Cixi likes jewelry, and officials search for rare treasures everywhere to please her. Finally, when she died, there were countless treasures in her collection. At the beginning, whenever she took out a few pieces of jewelry for military expenses, or used it to repair the Summer Palace, China would not have been defeated in the Sino-Japanese War, and since then it has become a semi-colonial society, carved up by foreign powers and humiliated for a hundred years.