What is Zhang Lande’s life like?

Zhang Lande, whose original name was Zhang Xiangzhai, was born in the second year of Guangxu (187) and was a native of Tangguantun, Jinghai County, Hebei Province. Xiaode Zhang is his palace name. Zhang Lande climbed from a young eunuch to the position of chief eunuch. After Li Lianying, he became the most powerful eunuch in the late Qing Dynasty, with great power for a while. Not only did he play with his master, Empress Longyu, but he also colluded with foreign officials, interfered in government affairs, and collected bribes. He was the most corrupt eunuch in the Qing Dynasty.

1

Although there have been many eunuchs in history, they were extremely powerful and unparalleled. But in the eyes of most people, being a eunuch is definitely a despicable thing. Therefore, the eunuchs in the Qing Dynasty all came from poor families. They were forced to make a living, so their families ruthlessly sent their sons to the palace to be eunuchs, hoping that they would be able to "promote" in the future and the family would be able to escape the sea of ??misery. After Zhang Lande's father died, his family fell into decline. His mother, Dong, dragged him and his two brothers into a very difficult life. In the fourteenth year of Guangxu (1888), Zhang Lande was twelve years old. He had fair complexion and beautiful features. Zhang Lande has been smart and independent since he was a child, but the poverty life really made him breathless. Jinghai was a place where eunuchs were born. Many young children were forced to become eunuchs due to the pressure of life. Some of them became "promising" after entering the palace, and their families also became prosperous. This was undoubtedly a huge temptation for Zhang Lande, so he was cruel He purified himself and became an eunuch in the seventeenth year of Guangxu (1891). At that time, all the eunuchs in the palace had seniority. Zhang Xiangzhai was of the senior generation with the character "Lan", so he was named Zhang Lande and his palace name was Xiaode Zhang.

After Xiao Dezhang entered the palace, he first served in the waiter. Because he was handsome and clever, he would please the eunuchs, so soon after entering the palace, he joined the Nanfu Opera Troupe, specially for Empress Dowager Cixi and other Concubines act. In this way, he gradually had the opportunity to get close to the Empress Dowager Cixi and win her favor. At this time, Emperor Guangxu had grown up. Empress Dowager Cixi played political tricks and pretended to return power to Guangxu. She moved to the Summer Palace to "take care of herself" and no longer interfered with the government's affairs. The Empress Dowager Cixi was willing to listen to Peking Opera. Xiao Dezhang almost searched for the masters of the opera world and recommended them to the palace to perform in operas. The great figures in the Peking Opera world, such as Tan Xinpei and Wang Yaoqing, all had friendships with Xiao Dezhang and were often recommended to the palace to sing operas. Therefore, the Empress Dowager Cixi was very interested. Appreciate Xiao De Zhang and move him to your side. He initially managed the Eight Treasures for the Queen Mother, and was also called the Eight Treasures Manager. The eight treasures are paper, pen, ink, inkstone, jade seal, ink pad, Buddhist beads, and Tibetan incense. Later, he also took care of clothing. Also called the General Manager of Shangyi. Xiao Dezhang had his own way of pleasing his master. He once boasted that those who serve should be more skillful than those who are served. For example, when following the Queen Mother out of the palace, you must first check the weather to predict whether it will be cold or warm and bring clothes; you must not forget to bring Her favorite thing to use every day; it can be heard and heard, and it will be there as soon as she calls it. The Empress Dowager Cixi liked to write the word "福" and would write it when she felt happy. As soon as the Empress Dowager told her to write, she would have it ready. The Queen Mother likes to play cards, so he plays with her on the ground. In short, only by trying to figure out the master's psychology anytime and anywhere can he please the master. Xiao Dezhang served the Empress Dowager Cixi to his satisfaction, so he was praised as "diligently serving" and gradually became one of the most favored eunuchs of the Empress Dowager Cixi.

The shrewdness of Xiao Dezhang is that he not only pleases the Empress Dowager Cixi, but also tries his best to please Empress Longyu of Guangxu, and also serves Emperor Guangxu who lives in Yingtai.

In the twenty-fourth year of Guangxu (1898), Emperor Guangxu implemented reforms with the promotion and help of the reformists. The reforms encountered strong resistance and opposition from the stubborn conservative forces headed by the Empress Dowager Cixi. In response to the new political edicts promulgated by Emperor Guangxu, the governors of various provinces often waited and ignored them, or even resisted them. Empress Dowager Cixi was determined to put an end to the New Deal and kept sending people to conspire with Ronglu, the governor of Zhili, to prepare for a coup. At the critical moment, Emperor Guangxu panicked and sent a secret edict to Yang Rui, telling the Empress Dowager Cixi and the mediocre ministers to oppose the reform and that he had no power and the throne was not guaranteed. He asked Yang Rui to "expeditiously discuss" countermeasures with Lin Xu, Tan Sitong, and Liu Guangdi. After receiving this bad news, the reformers were at a loss what to do. At their wits' end, they were willing to take risks and wanted to win over Yuan Shikai to deal with the threat of force from Empress Dowager Cixi and Ronglu. On the night of September 18th, Tan Sitong went to Yuan's apartment in Beijing alone and persuaded Yuan Shikai to support Emperor Guangxu and kill Ronglu. Yuan Shikai swore loyalty and service to Emperor Guangxu in person, but turned around and immediately betrayed the reformers and informed Ronglu. In the early morning of September 20th, Empress Dowager Cixi launched a coup, hunted down the reformers, imprisoned Emperor Guangxu in Yingtai, Zhongnanhai, and re-supervised the government.

After Emperor Guangxu was imprisoned, Xiao Dezhang was responsible for delivering three meals a day. Before delivering the meals, Empress Dowager Cixi personally inspected them and instructed him to match some medium and low-grade foods, dishes, etc. . Xiao Dezhang always tried to change some dishes to suit Guangxu's taste on the way, so he won the favor of Emperor Guangxu. At that time, although many people in the palace sympathized with Emperor Guangxu, they did not dare to approach him, let alone secretly help him. Only Xiao Dezhang was like this, so Emperor Guangxu regarded Xiao Dezhang as a confidant. The reason why Xiao Dezhang was willing to take risks to help Emperor Guangxu had ulterior motives. This was because although Empress Dowager Cixi came to rule at the time, Guangxu was still the emperor. According to regulations, the appointment of an ambassador must be approved by the Military Aircraft Department through a cabinet meeting. The seal was sealed by Emperor Guangxu, and Empress Dowager Cixi could not act on behalf of the emperor's external powers. Gaining the favor of Emperor Guangxu undoubtedly gave him another way to make money by selling his official position.

Originally, the Qing Dynasty had very strict control over eunuchs. Those who interfered in politics with authority and had evil intentions were punished by beheading. Even casual conversations with ministers will result in punishment with a cane. But by the late Qing Dynasty, it was well known that eunuchs interfered with politics.

The main reason is that the Queen Mother wants to understand the outside world through the people around her, while the ministers want to get to know the inside of the palace through the eunuchs and find out the Queen Mother's thoughts. After Xiao Dezhang's status improved, he secretly made friends with diplomats. Many people bribed him with huge sums of money to let him campaign on his behalf in the palace and seek promotion. On one occasion, the Military Aircraft Department signed a supervisor of Jiang Customs and sent it to Emperor Guangxu to seal the seal. Emperor Guangxu did not agree and refused to seal the seal. The person who was signed was eager to find this vacancy, and someone showed him the way. He found Xiaode Zhang, promised him two hundred thousand taels of silver, and begged him to ask Emperor Guangxu to seal it. As a result, after Xiaode Zhang asked, Emperor Guangxu did it. After the seal was stamped, the man happily went to his post. Xiao Dezhang got two hundred thousand taels from greed.

Xiao Dezhang is a man who loves money. He has the purpose of making friends and benefiting more. When officials from various provinces come to Beijing to meet him, he will help as long as they give him money. At that time, Yuan Shikai, Zhang Xun, and Ma Fuxiang paid the most bribes to Xiaode Zhang, so they had the closest relationship. Xiaode Zhang was favored by the Queen Mother, his hands and eyes were astute, and he was so arrogant that the ministers did not dare to offend him. Due to Duan Fang's arrogant attitude towards Xiao De Zhang, Xiao De Zhang took revenge and nearly killed Duan Fang. In 1908, Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi died successively. When the Empress Dowager Cixi was preparing to be enshrined, Xiao Dezhang was responsible for supervising and inspecting the spiritual road from Beijing to Dongling. He lived in a pawnshop in Yutian County and worked temporarily. One day, Zhang Xun, Duan Fang and others came to the pawn shop. Although Xiao Dezhang did not know Duan Fang before, he and Duan Fang's younger brother Duan Laoliu were exchanged brothers, so he was very respectful to Duan Fang. When they met, he bowed to the ground. Duan Fang Jing casually trembled his arms in return. , and sometimes sitting on the sofa, sometimes sitting on a chair, crossing his legs and stretching his feet, unable to sit still. When Xiao De Zhang got angry, he pointed at Sang and Huai and said to Zhang Xun: "Shaoxuan (Zhang Xun's name), this is not a tea shop or tavern. If you don't have enough people, please come to me!" Duan Fang found it boring and didn't care. If he dares to have an attack, he will leave in anger. The enshrining ceremony was held soon, and Tianjin Dingzhang Photo Studio bribed Duan Fang to take photos along the way and connect wires. Xiaode Zhang then teamed up with Li Guojie to sing the lyrics of "preventing harm to feng shui, destroying spiritual ways, secretly taking photos of royal faces, and deliberately profaning readings". Please be executed according to the laws of the Qing Dynasty for the crime of disrespect to the emperor. The memorial was handed over to the Military Aircraft Department for discussion. Duanfang asked people to intercede and smooth things over, and finally he was dismissed from his post.

When the Empress Dowager Cixi was dying, she issued an edict: Empress Longyu was promoted to the Empress Dowager, and Zaifeng was appointed the Regent. However, in case of major military and national affairs, the Empress Dowager must be consulted for instructions. Longyu achieved the same status as the Empress Dowager Cixi, but his political talents could not be compared with the Empress Dowager Cixi. Longyu was mediocre and ignorant, and had no opinion when it came to big things. This gave Xiaode Zhang Qianzheng a better opportunity. Empress Dowager Longyu doted on Xiao Dezhang the most and let him eat on the same stove as her. At that time, the martyred concubines of Emperor Tongzhi, Concubine Yu, and Concubine Jin were dissatisfied with Longyu and planned to exclude Longyu. Xiao Dezhang enlisted the ministers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to form a clique for personal gain and took advantage of each other to consolidate Longyu's status. Therefore, he gained more favor and was promoted to the chief eunuch. . After becoming the general manager, Xiao Dezhang relied on Longyu's favor for him to bring down other powerful eunuchs in the palace. Durand, Li Lanfang, Yan Haichao, Chen Ruifeng, and the stewards of Longyu Palace, Wan Baozhai and Di Ba, were known as the Thirty-six Friends and were very powerful. In the end, they were dismissed by Xiaode Zhang and punished as lowly servants. At the same time, he expanded his power by forming alliances with his bosses and recruiting apprentices, and placed his confidants in various important places. For example, his brother Yao Mengshan was promoted from the eunuch in charge to the second general manager of the Queen Mother Longyu, and his brother Liu Lanqing was promoted to the chief minister. His apprentice Ren Fuxiang was promoted from the junior eunuch to the eunuch in charge, and his apprentice Xinxiu Ming was promoted to the eunuch in charge of the imperial kitchen. Soon he Promoted to the chief minister. In this way, Xiao Dezhang became more and more powerful in the palace. In the end, even his master, the Queen Mother Longyu, had to listen to him. He took charge of all the Queen Mother's daily life. On the grounds that he was concerned about his master's health, he could not eat this or move that. Later, Longyu couldn't even take one more bite of her favorite food, and Xiao Dezhang seemed to be the master.

On the evening of October 10, the third year of Xuantong (1911), the Wuchang Uprising kicked off the Revolution of 1911. By November 9, thirteen provinces across the country and Shanghai had declared independence, and the Qing Dynasty The dynasty's rule collapsed. Under this situation, the Qing government was forced to appoint Yuan Shikai, who "vacated a vacancy and returned to his hometown to take care of his illness." On October 14, the Qing government appointed Yuan Shikai as the governor of Huguang and ordered him to lead the New Beiyang Army south to suppress the revolution. However, Yuan Shikai wanted to take the opportunity to seek greater power and refused to go out on the pretext that he was "not fully recovered from his foot illness." The Qing government was forced to appoint him as the imperial minister, and soon appointed him as the prime minister of the cabinet. He organized the cabinet. Yuan Shikai took control of all the military and political power of the Qing government. After the wily Yuan Shikai used the power of the revolutionaries to coerce the Qing government to grant him full military and political power, he then used force and false promises in favor of peace to force the revolutionaries headed by Sun Yat-sen to accept such conditions: as long as Yuan Shikai supported the revolution. * and forced the Qing emperor to abdicate, and he became the interim president of the Republic of China. Yuan Shikai resorted to double-dealing tactics. After receiving a definite guarantee from the revolutionaries that they would give up power, he immediately used coercion and inducement to force the Qing emperor into the palace. He instructed Duan Qirui and other Beiyang generals to jointly send a telegram demanding a peaceful peace, otherwise they would lead their troops to attack Beijing. At the same time, Yuan Shikai proposed that as long as the Qing emperor abdicated on his own initiative, the title would still be preserved and he would temporarily live in the palace and later move to the Summer Palace. The new Republic of China would allocate four million yuan each year for the royal family to enjoy.

Facing Yuan Shikai's coercion and inducement, the Manchu royal family was at a loss. Although Prince Chun Zaifeng, who was supervising the regent, firmly opposed abdication, there was no effective way.

Empress Dowager Longyu was even more indecisive than Zaiwan. When encountering extremely difficult things, she could only cry bitterly to others, but she had no solution. When Empress Dowager Longyu refused to issue an abdication edict, Yuan Shikai gave each of Yixu and Zhang Lande three million taels of silver, asking them to exert pressure from within. Queen Mother Longyu usually obeyed Zhang Lande's advice, especially when encountering difficulties. After Zhang Lande accepted Yuan Shikai's bribe, he used coercion and inducement to the Queen Mother Longyu, saying how loyal Yuan Shikai was, but the provinces were becoming independent one after another, and the former enemy troops could not withdraw. If you do not agree to the conditions of the revolutionary army, your life will not be saved if the revolutionary army reaches Beijing; if If you can obey and give up the throne, no matter what the favorable conditions are, you can still live in the palace, be honored and wealthy in the long pavilion. With Yixu and Zhang Lande singing and harmonizing, Longyu couldn't help but accept it. In order to save the emperor's title and life, on February 12, the first year of the Republic of China (1912), at the end of the road, Empress Dowager Longyu issued an edict to abdicate Qing Emperor Boyi. The Qing Dynasty fell. Wang Kaiyun said in "Qixiang Chronicle": "Even in the last years of Dezong, the world only talked about wealth, and concessions were obtained through bribery." In the second year of the Republic of China (1913), Empress Dowager Longyu died in worry, and Xiaode Zhang was in the palace. Losing his backer, and due to the impact of the revolution, the palace became more and more chaotic day by day. Xiao Dezhang was tired of life in the palace, so he left the palace and went home to receive blessings.

II

When Zhang Lande entered the palace, he was a penniless little eunuch, but when he left the palace, he was rich and rich as a prince. He purchased more than ten hectares of land in his native Jinghai County and fifty hectares of land in Nanyuan, Beijing. The Baozhu Temple on the mountain opposite Wanshou Mountain in Xiyuan is also his private property. Twelve buildings were built in the British Concession in Tianjin, imitating the style of Yangxingzhai in the Imperial Garden of the Forbidden City, and a magnificent mansion was built in Yongkang Hutong, Beijing. In addition, he opened two pawnshops, Yongqing and Yongcun, in Xianyukou and Beigouyan outside Qianmen, Beijing, with a capital of several hundred thousand taels. He also opened a Xiangyi silk and satin shop in partnership with Wang Ziyuan, Li Leting, Wei Binqing, and eunuch Yao Mengshan, with a capital of 200,000 taels. , Zhang Lande contributed 140,000 taels alone. Tianchengxin silk and satin goods store was also opened. He also has a lot of shares in Zhihong Bank, so he serves as the bank's managing director.

If we look at Zhang Lande's life in Tianjin after leaving the palace, we will know how much money he made in the palace.

When Zhang Lande first arrived in Tianjin, he lived in Chongqing Road. Although he was an eunuch and could not manage affairs, he still married his fourth wife, Zhang Xiaoxian, whom he bought at a huge price after arriving in Tianjin. She was still a virgin. His family employed dozens of stewards, accountants, concierges, cooks, servants, and maids, as well as four or five eunuchs he brought from the palace to burn cigarettes, pour tea, and serve meals for him. Everyone except his mother calls him Master. His house rules were very strict, and he locked and unlocked them himself every day. His wives and concubines were never allowed to go out, and being locked up at home was like being in prison.

In the eleventh year of the Republic of China (1922), Zhang Lande’s mother passed away. In order to honor his family and win the reputation of a filial son, he specially invited Wu Guodong, the number one military scholar in the late Qing Dynasty, to offer sacrifices to his family. Ling Fei nodded and recited the sutra alone for thirteen booths, including lamas, monks, Taoists, nuns, etc. All the paper figures and horses were made of fine silk and satin, which was extremely extravagant. It was one of the largest funerals in Tianjin at that time.

After Zhang Lande’s mother’s funeral, Zai Zhen fell in love with his house and negotiated an exchange of more than ten villas on Beima Road and more than ten acres of empty land on Zhengzhou Road. Later, Zhang Lande built a new house in Zhengzhou Road. When he was laying the foundation, he said to the workers: "You have to build a solid foundation. I will give you foreign money for every inch thick." He went to the construction site every afternoon with more than 100 yuan. When the inspector was satisfied with laying the foundation, he poured ocean into the foundation pit. The workers grabbed the money and shouted: "Thank you for the reward, sir!" Zhang Lande was very happy. After the building was completed, the floors inside the building were all inlaid with soft and hard wood, with extremely exquisite patterns. There were also glass pavilions, west buildings, etc. The interior furnishings were magnificent and extremely luxurious.

Xiao Dezhang adopted his elder brother's son Zhang Binru as his stepson. Zhang Binru was incompetent, lazy, smoked opium, and was addicted to cigarettes. When he ran out of money, he secretly sold Xiao Dezhang's real estate. Zhang Binru secretly sold several properties until he died of drug abuse. Xiaode Zhang knew about it and didn't ask any questions. Zhang Jihe, the second grandson of Xiaode Zhang, had been idle since he was a child. He had learned the habits of a gangster, eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, and was omnipotent and omnipotent. In order to get money, he stole things from home, specializing in small but valuable things. He stole sixty or seventy gemstones and sold them, not to mention other antiques.

After Xiao Dezhang arrived in Tianjin, although he was very rich in life, he was already rich and powerless, and he was very bored mentally. In addition to raising goldfish, growing flowers and plants, and feeding many puppies, he spent every day In the afternoon, I write three or five words for fun. He died of illness in Tianjin in the 36th year of the Republic of China (1947).

Poetry Day: Stealing authority and being ambitious, who knows if it will disappear once.

The blessings and misfortunes in life are all determined by nature, and the way of heaven is clear and will not be spared.

The fact that Zhang Lande, a favored eunuch, was able to amass so much money is a glimpse of the political corruption in the late Qing Dynasty.