Who knows Li's life?

Speaking of eunuchs in Qing Dynasty, Li is the most famous one. Because he was favored by Empress Dowager Cixi, he won the glory and status that other eunuchs could not imagine, and became one of the most notorious eunuchs in folklore. So, what is the real Lee like in history?

Entering the palace for the first time

Li Sheng is located in Hejian Prefecture, Zhili. It is clearly stated that he is from Li Jiacun, Zangtun Township, Dacheng County, Hebei Province. According to his epitaph, he was born in the 28th year of Daoguang (AD 1848) and entered the palace at the age of 9. The archives of the Qing Dynasty also prove that he was indeed sent to the palace as a eunuch by Zheng Qinwang Duanhua in the seventh year of Xianfeng, but his age was 13.

About Li's life experience, the folklore is concrete and vivid. It is said that he is a hooligan in Hejianfu area. He went to prison for selling nitrosulfonic acid privately, and after he got out of prison, he switched to repairing leather shoes. He is called "Pinitroli". Later, when he came to Beijing, he was introduced by Shen, who was also a eunuch, and mastered a set of techniques for combing new hairstyles. He entered the palace as a comb-hair eunuch of Empress Dowager Cixi, and was therefore favored by Empress Dowager Cixi.

However, the folklore is far from the actual situation of Li juvenile entering the palace recorded in the epitaph and the archives of the Qing palace, which is obviously fabricated. However, this statement was widely circulated. Even when the North Korean minister impeached Li, Li was called "Little Grate Li" in his memorial ("Grate Li" used to be a tool for women to comb their hair).

Li was named Li Jinxi after he entered the palace, and was named by Cixi in 14. He worked as a policeman in the music department of Donglu and Ren Jing Palace, and was transferred to Cixi Changchun Palace, where he lived for three years 16 years old.

At this time, the eunuch An Dehai was favored by Cixi and turned purple. Although he entered the palace at the same time, his status was far from the same. Later, Andrew Hein was arrogant and finally beheaded by Ding Baozhen, the governor of Shandong Province, on charges of "violating the ancestral system and leaving the capital without permission".

Li is a very clever man, from which he knows how to set the right relationship between master and slave. Li not only learned to figure out his master's temper and hobbies, but also tried his best to please his master and be careful everywhere. In the epitaph, he said that he was "respectful and generous, and he didn't slack off for a year." It is respectful to the master, generous to the subordinates, and dare not relax for many years. This is also the secret of Li Chenggong.

Be loved

In the thirteenth year of Tongzhi, 26-year-old Li was appointed as the eunuch general manager. This position generally requires 30 years of service in the palace to be qualified, and Li has just entered the palace 17 years.

In the fifth year of Guangxu, Li became the general manager of Sipin Hualing. With the increasing monopoly of power by Cixi, Li's prestige has become increasingly prominent. When Li was 3 1 year-old, he was already on an equal footing with the head of the imperial palace (the head of the Qing eunuch).

In the 20th year of Guangxu reign, 46-year-old Li was awarded Class II and a Henaan. Although this is only a symbol of honor, it is unprecedented among eunuchs. Yong Zhengdi stipulated that the rank of eunuchs was four, but Cixi broke the rules handed down from generation to generation for Li.

It is puzzling that although Li was favored by Cixi, he never left Cixi and became the manager of the worship room. It is not clear whether Cixi is unwilling, Li himself is unwilling, or someone is getting in the way.

Cixi and Li have forged an extraordinary relationship for decades. Cixi is a ruthless dictator with a strong desire for power in politics, but she is also an old woman with fragile feelings and fear of loneliness.

For decades, the handmaiden around Cixi has changed one crop after another. Except An Dehai, only Li is considerate. Liu Xingqiao, a eunuch in the late Qing Dynasty, and others recalled that there was a deep affection between Cixi and Li, and only Li could solve Cixi's troubles and do her best.

Liu Xingqiao said in "A Record of Court Life in the Late Qing Dynasty": "Three meals a day, living day and night, both eunuchs send each other and greet each other in person ... When living in Xiyuan and the Summer Palace, Empress Dowager Cixi often came to Li:"! "Let's go for a walk!" Empress Dowager Cixi sometimes called Li to her bedroom to talk about the art of longevity. They often talked late into the night. "

As can be seen from this account, Li actually became a "companion" that Cixi could not live without in her later years.

Discussions between the ruling party and the opposition party

Cixi's growing love for Li really caused discussion and anxiety in the ruling and opposition parties. Some people say that if Li has the power to fight between the ruling and opposition parties, accept bribes and vote under the door, he can be a big official; Some people say that he "intervened in North Korean politics and widely planted private parties"; Some people even said that he framed the minister who supported the political reform and stood on Guangxu's side.

In April of the 12th year of Guangxu, Li Hongzhang, governor of Zhili and minister of Beiyang, said that the Beiyang Navy had been trained into an army, and asked the imperial court to send ministers to inspect it. Cixi sent Prime Minister and Minister of Naval yamen Prince Chun to inspect. As the Prince of Alcohol is the biological father of Emperor Guangxu, and his position is noble, eunuchs and doctors should be sent with him. Prince Chun is a very shrewd and cautious person. He volunteered to send Li with him to reduce the queen mother's suspicion, and Cixi immediately approved it.

When Prince Chun returned to Beijing in early May, there was a voice of discontent in the court. The suggestion was played to Guangxu, criticizing Prince Li Suichun for swimming in the navy. They also said that Li was arrogant, made friends with local officials and accepted bribes, so he should be punished.

In this regard, Wang Zhao, a famous reformist in the Qing Dynasty, said that after Prince Chun left Beijing, every time he met with civil and military officials, he asked Li to accompany him. His original intention is to avoid the suspicion of seizing power, and both Li can testify. But Li remembered the lesson of An Dehai, dressed simply every day, carried a long stemmed Chinese pipe for the prince, and delivered cigarettes at any time, but when he returned to his residence, he did not see a guest.

Judging from Li's cautious performance, Wang Zhao's statement is more credible. In addition, in his complaint, he did not cite the fact that Li violated the law.

Empress Dowager Cixi asked about the situation and ordered Zhu Yixin to be reduced from suggestion to master.

under attack

In the 20th year of Guangxu, the Beiyang Navy was defeated in the Sino-Japanese War, and the national public opinion was in an uproar. People dare not criticize Cixi directly, so they point the finger at Li Hongzhang, minister of Beiyang and governor of Zhili, and take Li with them.

Enpu, a Taoist priest from Shaanxi Province, An, a Taoist priest from Fujian Province, and Chu, an official of the Ministry of Finance, wrote in succession, accusing the generals of Beiyang Navy of delaying the military aircraft, and secretly colluding with the eunuch General Li to cover up each other. Among them, in An's memorial, "the peace proposal comes from the Empress Dowager and Li actually controls it", saying that the decision on Japan seems to be made by the Empress Dowager, but in fact it has been controlled by Li. This sentence became a strong evidence that people criticized Li for interfering in state affairs.

In fact, Ann Wei Jun's original intention was to ask Cixi to stop containing the emperor in everything and severely punish Li Hongzhang. Although Li participated in the memorial, it was only as a foil.

Empress Dowager Cixi was furious and issued an imperial edict in the name of the emperor, saying that everything in the world should be listened to by Empress Dowager Cixi. Subsequently, Ann Wei Jun was dismissed and expelled from the army on charges of "alienating the empress dowager" and the emperor.

The courtiers' attacks on Li were futile, mainly because the attacks were all hearsay and there was no real evidence.

According to the analysis of Qing historians, many people who want to seek local officials have gone through Li's way, but no one can tell whether he really went to Cixi to get through. With Cixi's moody personality, even Li dared not act rashly. When things are done, people think that it is the role of manager Li. If things are not done, Manager Li will lose face. And how much is true and how much is false, who can tell except the people around the Queen Mother?

Greed and blackmail

Li is really greedy for money, although the evidence is insufficient. Wu Yong, the former magistrate of Huailai County, described his personal experience in "Talking about Hunting Boxers in the West".

1900, Eight-Nation Alliance went to Beijing, Cixi led Guangxu and Guan Bai to flee, and Wu Yong was appointed as a grain depot on the way to the west, holding the power of money and grain. He recalled that after arriving in Shanxi, the Empress Dowager became more and more ostentatious, and all expenses had to be borne locally, while eunuchs took the opportunity to extort money.

Like big eunuchs and little eunuchs with a little power, it takes a few taels or a dozen taels of silver to send them. But the eunuch in charge is different, and it is absolutely impossible without about one hundred and twenty.

Not only that, Li and others also tried every means to blackmail North Korean officials. Jiangning Weaving is an organization of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Nanjing, which is responsible for handling silk and satin garments and purchasing various royal supplies. Every time Jiangning knits clothes and materials, he should ask the eunuch in the palace for instructions, get back the drawings and make them according to them. This is Li's chance to ask his eunuchs for money.

On the third day of August in the 12th year of Guangxu, Lai Yu, a Beijing-born worker in Jiangning Weaving, said in a letter to Jiangning Weaving Guanghou that Li used them to extort silver 120 taels. Lai Yu said in the letter that if others can still use words to grind, only this manager Li is difficult to deal with.

With the shrewdness and sophistication of Cixi, it is impossible for her not to know that some eunuchs around her are running amok, but as long as they don't interfere in political affairs and serve themselves comfortably, the eunuch's greed for money is nothing in her eyes.

Try to please all parties and get rid of any embarrassing situation.

Cixi and Guangxu were at odds. How does Li, who is deeply loved by Cixi, get along with them? To please both sides and be exquisite in all directions is his strategy of always being invincible and protecting himself.

It is well known that Cixi and Guangxu have different political views. What attitude does Li take between the two? Some people say that he stood on the side of the empress dowager, opposed political reform and framed the imperial party. Others even said that Guangxu was poisoned by Li. However, some people say that Li is smooth by nature and please both sides. Not only the Empress Dowager liked him, but also Guangxu loved him, because he was cared for by him since childhood and praised him as "loyal to the monarch".

Wang Zhao once told a story: Cixi led Guangxu and civil and military officials to flee and then returned to Beijing to stay in Baoding. The place where Empress Dowager Cixi slept was covered with beautiful bedding, while Li lived a little worse, but it was also good. Guangxu slept in a miserable place. Li waited on Cixi after sleeping and came to visit. He saw Guangxu sitting in front of the lamp, and no one was on duty in the temple. I didn't know the emperor had nothing to hide until I asked. It was the middle of winter, and I couldn't sleep at all. Li immediately knelt down, holding Guangxu's leg and crying: "I deserve to die!" " I also brought my own bedding for Guangxu. Guangxu later recalled the suffering of fleeing to the west and said, "Without Li Anda (old partner or master), I wouldn't be alive today."

After the Reform Movement of 1898, Li spoke cautiously and did not clearly stand on the side of Cixi. Since then, Cixi has been somewhat alienated from him emotionally. After fleeing back to Beijing, Li thought that he had done his duty to serve the royal family all his life and could consider retiring.

Retirement life

On October 22nd, the thirty-fourth year of Guangxu, Cixi died of illness in a Luan Hall in Xiyuan, Beijing. After handling the affairs of Cixi, Li Yuyuan left the palace where she lived for 5 1 year on the second day of February. At that time, the Jade Dragon Queen, who was in charge of the imperial palace, thanked him for his many years of service in the palace and allowed him to retire with an original salary of 62 taels of silver per month.

There are many legends about Li's leaving the palace and his funeral. Some people say that he saw Guangxu's younger brother, Zai Feng, supervising the regent of the country, fearing revenge and retiring from the palace; It is also said that after Li's death, the eunuch in the palace took away his inheritance, and the queen mother confiscated all the property; Others say that Li offended many people before his death, lived in seclusion after leaving the palace, but was assassinated near Houhai in the end.

Although similar legends are very popular, judging from the arrangement of Li's leaving the palace and his death in the Qing Dynasty, these legends are not credible.

As a eunuch, Li's position is extremely humble. The difference is that, due to the appreciation and love of Empress Dowager Cixi, he enjoyed the unprecedented power and status of the palace eunuch, and money and wealth also rolled in. But it is precisely because of this special relationship with Cixi that he became one of the most notorious figures in China's modern history.

When Li died, he accepted 65,438+0,000 taels of silver from the Qing court to build a luxurious tomb in the Eunuch Cemetery in Enjizhuang, Beijing. Li's tomb was destroyed as early as 30 years ago, leaving only the tablet.

Li died three years ago at the age of 64. At this time, the Qing dynasty, which lasted for more than 200 years, has been tottering, and its demise is only a matter of time.