Li Lianying was the highest official in the late Qing Dynasty, serving Empress Dowager Cixi for more than fifty years. As the most successful eunuch of the late Qing Dynasty, Li Lianying's funeral items after his death were extremely precious. In the 1960s, when a school was expanding, it accidentally dug up Li Lianying's tomb; an archaeological team was invited to officially carry out archaeological work. However, in the process of archaeological excavation, it was found that Li Lianying's tomb was extremely hard, sealed with "triad soil", and there was granite under the soil. When the experts of the archaeological team used various means to pry open Li Lianying's coffin, they were frightened by the scene in the coffin and their scalps were numb.
Successful eunuch
Since the birth of the Chinese imperial system, the nature of centralized power has made the place where the emperor lives a forbidden area. The emperor needed three palaces and six courtyards to continue his bloodline and stabilize the country. There are more women, and the emperor is not easy to get into trouble, so in the forbidden palace, in addition to concubines, the largest number of people is the castrated and purified men. Because it was in the center of state power, it brought its own official position - eunuch - to enter the palace. Eunuchs were generally castrated at a very young age and cultivated as slaves for a long time.
Li Lianying was a successful eunuch who was sent to the palace after being purified during the Xianfeng period. Historically, the people who were sent to the palace as eunuchs were generally poor families and could not afford to support themselves. Every year, many children in the Qing Palace are sent in after being purified, and most of them have a miserable life. And Li Lianying was also a eunuch because his family was poor, but unlike other eunuchs, he actually had power in the end.
Li Lianying's successful route is to follow the right people. In the third year of Tongzhi, he was transferred to Cixi's side because he had a craft, he could comb his hair, and he combed it beautifully. He was appreciated and recognized by Cixi. Cixi went through three dynasties without falling, and at the end of the Qing Dynasty, she bowed to the government and became the supreme ruler of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Although Li Lianying has no other skills except combing her hair, nor does she have any culture, she has an excellent ability to clap horses, observe and observe colors, is sleek and can figure out the ideas of her master Cixi.
Although Cixi has power over the world, her husband and children are dead, and she has been widowed for many years, and whenever Cixi is lonely and empty, only Li Lianying can always make Cixi happy. Therefore, Cixi trusted Li Lianying quite a bit, and she was extremely gracious. Even Cixi broke the rule of "eunuchs but four products" established by the old ancestors for Li Lianying. Li Lianying's official position also reached the title of Erpin, which can be described as a moment of power.
Li Lianying accompanied Cixi for more than fifty years, and even lived longer than Cixi. This great eunuch, who held real power, took advantage of Cixi's trust to loot and receive many treasures. In the first year of Xuanun, after Puyi took the throne, Empress Dowager Cixi died of illness, and Li Lianying also did her duty loyally, guarded the spirit for ten days, sent her master's last journey, and then returned home without leaving a leaf. Two years later, Li Lianying died and was buried by The Scenery. It is reasonable to say that after Li Lianying returned to her hometown, she had a good life and was also healthy, and there was no serious illness. Sudden death, there are various folk theories, the normal saying is that he died of dysentery, but there are always jokes in the anecdote that Cixi needs someone to take care of, so he took Li Lianying over.
Unintentionally found Li Lianying's tomb
Later, in the 1960s, when a school needed to be expanded, Li Lianying's cemetery was inadvertently discovered. The archaeologists arrived and began the arduous excavations. Li Lianying's burial chamber is of extremely high specification, and the upper floor is wrapped in triad soil. Sanhe soil is mixed with three materials, there are a variety of formulas, the use of this soil made of pits, as hard as cement waterproof anti-theft tomb. And Li Lianying's tomb three and under the soil, and sealed with a large piece of granite.
It can be said that if it were not for the large-scale excavation of the archaeological team, the traditional means of tomb robbery, such as tools such as the Luoyang shovel, would not have been able to chisel this tomb at all. Li Lianying built her own cemetery in this way, afraid that the tomb would be stolen, but was it to hide some secrets?
When the archaeological team used machinery to excavate hard, important saw the coffin. The archaeology team experts carefully opened the coffin, but they were frightened by the scene in the coffin and their scalps were numb, and they fled in panic.
Li Lianying's tomb unearthed many treasures, which are extremely valuable. When everyone opened the coffin, they found that there were only heads and braids in the coffin, and the skeleton of the body was missing. It's frightening.
Li Lianying died three years after Xuan reunification, and the true cause of death has always been controversial and full of various theories. According to the correct history, Li Lianying died because of long-term opium smoking caused by dysentery. But with the actual discovery of the tomb, the terrifying scene of the head in the coffin makes people wonder, Li Lianying really died of dysentery? The only remaining head is not like the first crime scene, but more like being beheaded. Li Lianying did not die naturally, but was murdered?
Although Li Lianying, a successful eunuch, had a momentary power, she was very content. After her boss Empress Dowager Cixi returned to heaven and the backstage fell, Li Lianying was very interested in telling the old man to return to her hometown and enjoy the retirement of Feng Lu with peace of mind. There is no control over the government, and there is no excessive behavior. Who in the end was not accustomed to this great eunuch, and even let him be buried and still be in a different place?
Murder mystery
This practice shows that Li Lianying has offended someone, and looking back on Li Lianying's life, some things have indeed happened. Let's find the answer in historical reasoning and see who was the suspect who killed Li Lianying.
The first to be suspected were those who supported the Penghu Reform. Although the vigorous "Penghu Reform Law" failed, it was also a change within the Qing court, and its influence was still there. The reason why the Guangxu Emperor supported the change of law was not how high his understanding was, but that he heard that after the change of law, he could limit the power of Empress Dowager Cixi, and even thought of assassinating Empress Dowager Cixi.
Guangxu himself had no real power, and if he killed Cixi, he would have power. And Cixi did not want to step down, nor did she want to be killed. Li Lianying, who was at Cixi's side, had extremely high power within the Forbidden City, and it could be said that whichever leader he wanted to assassinate would have to die. Li Lianying was promoted by Cixi and naturally sided with Cixi. Therefore, some people suspect that it is because Li Lianying supports Cixi that Guangxu failed to assassinate Cixi, and the Penghu Reform Law also failed.
And Li Lianying was killed by the Law Change faction to vent her anger. Although this motivation is reasonable, Li Lianying's relationship with Guangxu is also relatively good, and Guangxu also worships him as a master. In the Wushu Reform Movement, he has been tucking his tail between his legs, not deliberately taking sides and pointing, and not taking sides. After the failure of the Wushu Reform, Guangxu was imprisoned, and Li Lianying also insisted on keeping the Guangxu Emperor and became a staunch royalist. Although the Guangxu Emperor was eventually confirmed to have been poisoned by arsenic through archaeological excavations, the Penghu Reformers were a group of literati with ideals, and the killing of Li Lianying, a retired old man, was not in line with the idealistic reformer's style.
The reason for avenging the Guangxu Emperor was possible, and since it was time to avenge the Emperor, why wait two years? Moreover, the power change between Cixi and Guangxu was an internal struggle, Guangxu was dead, and it was useless to kill Li Lianying again.
The second suspected is the servant seeking wealth and assassinating the killer. This reason was based on the fact that Li Lianying had no children and no strong cronies, and killing this eunuch would steal his property. After all, when a person dies, the servant can collude to divide up the property that Li Lianying has accumulated over the years. This old eunuch died alone, with no relatives, no one to know his property, and he would not come to count the property. This speculation is reasonable and in line with people's speculation about the evil of human nature.
But wouldn't it be better to keep Li Lianying and get the imperial court's Feng Lu every year? Li Lianying has been a slave all her life, more or less psychologically deformed, mean to people, deducting the wages of servants is possible. If so, the servants conspired to kill him and it was reasonable to divide up the property.
However, Li Lianying did not have a record of being mean to people, and the records given by the Qing history manuscripts were also smooth. Whether this is the reason or not remains to be examined. Thinking about it in reverse, if it is for making money, there is no need to behead, just poison it, unless it is a deep hatred. A theory derived from the servant's pursuit of wealth is that Li Lianying was robbed of his wealth on the way to Shandong to collect debts, and under the sword soldiers, Li Lianying was in a different place. When the servant escaped, he could only retrieve the head and bring it back for burial. This statement is too bizarre and does not stand up to scrutiny, so it will not be elaborated.
The third suspect was li Lianying herself who ordered someone to do this. Although Li Lianying was in power for a while, she became a grand eunuch. But the body is mutilated, and perhaps it feels that the mutilated self should not have a whole corpse. Or Li Lianying's hometown has this custom, and people with incomplete bodies cannot be buried in their entirety. This is also reasonable, and Li Lianying's tomb is strong and luxurious, and she is fully prepared. The funerary items are also abundant, and the heads are left in the coffins, like a ritual made according to some custom.
But this statement is impossible to verify, after the emperor system fell lonely, the eunuch work also withdrew from the historical stage, and it is impossible to verify whether there is such a statement or this custom to bury like this. Li Lianying dedicated her life to the Forbidden City and accompanied Cixi for more than half a century. If he and Cixi died at the same time, it is very likely that Cixi was afraid that Li Lianying would disturb the government, but Li Lianying died two years after returning to his hometown.
Cixi is still willing to let Li Lianying die, but there will be a possibility that Li Lianying will voluntarily accompany Cixi. After all, Li Lianying stayed in the Forbidden City for a lifetime, and also accompanied Cixi all her life. A life without a master is extremely unsuitable. So the head went into the coffin, and the body went into the ground, decaying along with the imperial system.
These claims are reasonable, but they are all controversial. As the most powerful eunuch in the late Qing Dynasty, the only head left in the coffin was itself full of doubts. There are also many folk speculations, and perhaps this is where history leaves us to reminisce and speculate. Just like the popular cross-over drama, the reason why the story of crossing back to ancient times can be fired is because historical events have left us too much room for reverie, and it is also full of countless possibilities.
It is worth mentioning that li Lianying died less than a year later, and the Xuantong Emperor Puyi abdicated. China ended the imperial system, the Forbidden City became a tourist attraction, no more children were castrated and sent to the palace, and the official position of eunuch became history.