Xiao Dezhang, the chief eunuch of the last Chinese Qing Dynasty
Xiao Dezhang (1876 – April 19, 1957), the last eunuch chief of the Qing Dynasty in China (the last eunuch in China), was named Xiangzhai (襄斋), the character Yunting, the inner palace eunuchs in the line lan character, serial number Zhang Lander, Empress Dowager Cixi gave the name "Hengtai", the palace name Xiao Dezhang. A native of Nanluguantun, Jinghai County, Tianjin.
Xiao Dezhang's father made a living as a fisherman, and his mother was an ordinary rural woman. When Xiao Dezhang was 12 years old, that is, the fourteenth year of Guangxu, it was a major drought in the world, and there was no overnight food at home, and hunger and cold were forced. On the second day of the first lunar month of this year, Xiao Dezhang braved the bitter cold wind, dressed in rags, and accompanied his brother Zhang Yuefeng to the home of his aunt, who was a rich man, to visit the New Year. In the yard of his aunt's grandmother's house, there was a large set of cars parked very exquisitely, and Xiao Dezhang praised this set of cars as really beautiful. At this time, Wang Bashi, the son of the rich man in their village, sarcastically said to Xiao Dezhang: "Go away! Your family can't afford to buy this big set of cars in their lifetime. The arrogance of his cousin stabbed Xiao Dezhang's self-esteem, and he left in anger.
After arriving home, Xiao Dezhang told his mother about the experience of being ridiculed on the street, and asked how to get rich and buy a large set of cars. At that time, the areas of Jinghai and Dacheng counties were poor, and they were known for their eunuchs, such as Li Lianying, who was a native of Dacheng County. Therefore, Xiao Dezhang's mother said sadly: If the poor family wants to get rich, it can only do the emperor's errands and be a "husband". He also briefly described the process of how to castrate to become a "husband". The speaker has no intention, the listener intends. After his mother said this, Xiao Dezhang was really moved. It turned out that Xiao Dezhang did not sleep all night, turning over and over thinking, in the courtyard of his grandmother's house, don't say get on the car, sit in the car, just look at the car is not OK, it is really too despised, too bullying people! We must not be angry with this, we must get rich, we must get rich! Be sure to cover your aunt's house, ten times stronger than them, a hundred times stronger, and you must not let them look down on people! But when you think about it, how do you get rich? If you think about it, there is only one way to go, just like my mother said, like Li Lianying, cut off the "husband", became a eunuch, and served the emperor, the mother-in-law, and the empress dowager, and you can get rich! Come to think of it, only by taking this road can you get rich. He could no longer sleep, secretly got off the kang, touched the sickle hanging on the wall to cut the grass, found a grinding stone and grinded it, and then went into the livestock shed and "cleaned himself" by himself. Suddenly, the wound was bleeding profusely, and he passed out in pain. After Xiao Dezhang's mother found out, she was devastated and regretted it, so she quickly used incense ash for first aid, and Xiao Dezhang was in a coma for six days before waking up and turning around, leaving a life.
There are strict rules for the selection of eunuchs, and the Qing room has strict regulations: there must be eunuchs who leave the palace due to old age or death in order to replace the new people (secretly spend money on sports), and Xiao Dezhang had to listen to the waiting. In the seventeenth year of Guangxu (1891), an old eunuch died in the palace, and the family trustee bought the palace number of Xiao Dezhang as a eunuch, and he only entered the palace as a young man, and after entering the palace, he changed his name to Zhang Rand, who was not yet 15 years old at the time. In the three years he waited, he suffered from the cold warmth and shame of human feelings, and his heart was even more determined, this time when he entered the palace, he must get ahead, make a fortune, buy a hundred gorgeous and beautiful cars, and let those who have laughed at themselves look at it.
Although he entered the palace and became a eunuch, things were not as simple as Xiao Dezhang, a child from the countryside who had never seen the world, thought, and at the beginning, not every eunuch had the opportunity to serve the emperor and the empress. They are assigned to various "departments" and "learn from teachers". Among the eunuchs of the Ming and Qing dynasties, those who could become masters were people with a fairly high status, and there were also older eunuchs. Like the chief eunuch, the chief eunuch of the palaces, and the superintendents of the various places, houses, and institutes, the disciples worship the master and learn the rules and etiquette, but what about the master? On the one hand, if a master can have several apprentices who have "come out", he will not only have face, but also have practical benefits. So, what do you learn by worshiping Master? It has neither a book nor a written regulation, but relies on the master's guidance at any time, such as prostrating the head, asking for peace, how many kinds of rituals, to whom, when, how to kneel, there are certain forms, wrong at all; combing hair, serving tea, sending water, setting meals, serving clothes, passing on things, talking back... There are certain practices, just to know these is not enough, but also must learn to look at the eyes above to act, can feel the mood of the master, throw in his favor, that is called "out of breath". There are also many taboos in speaking in the palace, and taboo words are never allowed to be catchy. For example, Empress Dowager Cixi belonged to sheep, and could not say mutton to mutton, but could only be said to be "shou meat" or "blessed meat". When he arrived at the children's prison in the palace, the master was his master, and serving the master well was his first task. In the morning, when the sky is not bright, he has to get up, prepare mouthwash and face wash water for Master, and when it is time to get up, he must gently walk to the edge of Master's kang, gently wake him up, serve him to get dressed, and three meals a day are sent to Master by the apprentice, and when Master is full, he will eat the rest of the meals, and some child prisoners who are not in good health often get sick and die because of this. At night, after Master has gone to sleep, he must dare to rest, and he must sleep smartly, and when Master calls, he must respond immediately, otherwise he will be scolded. Don't look at the child prison so hard, but take the silver the least.
At first, Xiao Dezhang was transferred to the tea house and studied under the eunuch Haha Li, who had a position. This "Haha Lee" has a perverse personality, bullying and pressing down, and is self-conscious, famous for beating up young men. Xiao Dezhang is no exception, and he has been beaten countless times. After entering the palace for more than a month, Xiao Dezhang understood that this tea house did not say to see the emperor, even the empress, the empress, the concubine, the noble concubine, and even the chief eunuch who appeared in the face could not see it, and the biggest one that could be seen was a chief eunuch - haha Li. Xiao De Zhang thought, this is the end of the calculation, I was planning to enter the palace to serve the emperor and get rich, and now in the ghost place of the tea house, the work is so hard, and there is so little Feng Lu, and I am still abused by this "Haha Li" all day. Xiao De Zhang entered the palace for a year, waited for Ha Ha Li in the tea house for a year, and was also beaten for a year. The body is blue, purple, not to mention, the pimple on the head is next to the big pimple, there is a small pimple next to the middle pimple, there is a small pimple on the big pimple, in a word, it is a pile of pimples on the pimple, the pimple is squeezed in the air, the old knot does not go down, the new knot grows up again. Zhang Lander secretly decided that he must not go on like this, his dream of becoming rich cannot end like this, rather than being beaten to death here, it is better to fight hard. Be sure to get out of the teahouse this haunted place. Therefore, Xiao Dezhang changed the fa'er and "haha Li" to fight, "haha Li" had a headache, but he thought that he must cure this bad boy who did not know what to do. He thought that the Shengping Department was the most bitter and tiring place for the eunuchs in the palace, so he transferred Xiao Dezhang to the Shengping Department to learn drama.
Shengping Bureau is the name given during the Qianlong period, taking its meaning of "Yongqing Shengping" or "Song and Dance Shengping", and its address is on the South Long Street outside the Xihua Gate of the Imperial Palace. The Ming Dynasty called it "Gray Land", also known as "Biting Spring Garden". According to the "Notes on the Retreat of the Golden Wisp" of the Gao Wang Hall, the courtiers entered the palace fresh radish every spring day, and the name was "biting spring", and in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the drama class of the Inner House lived here and changed its name to "Shengping Bureau". The garden is planted with flowers and trees, and vegetables are also planted. In addition, the bonsai planted from Suzhou and Hangzhou and other places also has a warm room, cultivating peonies, peonies and other precious flowers, and at the end of each year, it is sent to the imperial palace for the emperor, the queen, the concubine, and the brothers to enjoy, so it is also called "South Garden". Although the name Shengping Bureau was given by Qianlong, the people below thought that it was not clear and fast, and simply called it "Nanfu Opera Class". As soon as this name was called open, the name of the "Shengping Bureau" was covered upside down, and except for the princely ministers who called it "Shengping Bureau" to Cixi or Guangxu at that time, the people below called it "Nanfu Opera Class". This Nanfu opera class began in the Qianlong period and reached the end of the Guangxu dynasty, with a history of 1670 years, passed down from generation to generation, cultivating a lot of drama talents, and the masters inside, almost all of the children who entered the palace in their teens, were selected here, and the plays they rehearsed were specially performed for the empresses, emperors, empresses and concubines. It is precisely because this drama class is designed for the supreme rulers to watch, so it is more stringent than the outside drama class, and the performance must not only be high-level, but also can not be a little wrong. In the past, this drama class was specially performed for the emperors, but during the Tongzhi and Guangxu years, it was only a name, in fact, it was specially performed for Empress Dowager Cixi. Because Empress Dowager Cixi liked to watch Peking Opera, in addition to passing on the foreign opera class into the palace to enshrine and sing opera, there was a "Nanfu Opera Class" in the palace. The actors are all eunuchs, who invite famous actors of Peking Opera to enter the palace as coaches, and can sing Peking Opera and Kun opera with large costs.
When he first entered the drama class, Xiao Dezhang gave everyone a hand, running dragon sets, and also learned some basic skills such as martial arts sleeves, and within half a year, he would turn over and fight, and he could also make up for the play. Once, when he was acting in "Thief Immortal Grass", when the little eunuch who played the white snake stepped on the stilt and hit the hand, the kick gun was kicked too hard, and when he was about to fall on the stage, the deer boy played by Xiao Dezhang flipped over with a heel and picked up the gun with two feet. When Empress Dowager Cixi saw this, she liked it greatly, and praised the poor as a good job, and rewarded the whole class with 500 taels of silver. Because Xiao Dezhang is not an official worker, everyone usually does not pay attention, but today he gave the round field. After the end of the game, Xiao De Zhang was surrounded and said: "Without your move, all have to open the pot and rot!" "This play was taught by Yang Longshou, a teacher from outside, and he liked it more than anyone else. At that time, he said to the opera manager: "Xiao Dezhang is enough to be a drama material, cultivate him well, can't be wrong." ”
Xiao De Zhang running dragon set was praised by the empress dowager Lafayette, the initial taste of sweetness, which gave him great encouragement, he climbed upwards with more strength, the heart of wanting to get ahead was more iron, the strength of practicing kung fu was even greater, in addition to practicing martial arts with stars and wearing the moon, he also got up early to hang his throat, because to perform a good robe with martial arts, it is not enough to rely on martial arts alone, this is just a step, and you must have a good voice. He entered the drama class late, there is a bad side, there is also a good side, that is, the throat has collapsed. Acting in a martial arts drama, the body is stiff, the head is not good, the foot is heavy, the platform is lifted to the ground, the appearance is not beautiful, and the movement is not smart. Even if these kung fu are all possessed, it is also necessary to have a clear and high-pitched voice, the bite words must be clear and accurate, and the singing tone must be round and moist, which are the necessary qualities and conditions for martial arts students. Playing a clean role or playing an old student, that is to go to the end of the scene shelf singing, good tone, breath is also even, singing out easy words orthophonic round. Wusheng is different, there are many plays that are sung after playing, or sing while playing, which is mostly difficult. Zhang Rand realized this from practice. It is impossible not to work hard. In addition to working as an errand during the day, Xiao Dezhang practiced private exercises at night. Only slept for three hours a day, so hard practice for 3 years, learned the full set of Wu Xiaosheng heel fighting, Xiao Dezhang's legs were trained like noodles, stretched his legs over his neck (stirrups in the sky), raised his eyebrows, put on thick-soled boots can also turn over the spin, Yang Xiaolou's "seven steps to", "Taikou" Dezhang can also do. Xiao Dezhang learned more than 30 plays.
The 19-year-old Xiao Dezhang officially starred on stage, and one day Empress Dowager Cixi passed on the order to perform "Yue Jiazhuang". When Xiao Dezhang learned that this play was personally ordered by Cixi Lafayette and wanted to watch it, his heart was both happy and nervous. He boiled the stars, boiled the moon, studied hard, and fell straight to the nose and blue face, wasn't it for this day, wasn't it for the Empress Lafayette to see? However, he also thought that if this play was performed well, he would naturally hang up the number with Lafayette, and it would be a great opportunity for him to climb up; however, if the performance was smashed, let Cixi Lafayette's mind print a bad impression, and the future of this life would be ruined. Therefore, this scene can only be performed well, not badly. When he was dressed up, although his heart was pounding, he kept telling himself to calm down, don't panic, don't be busy, there will be mistakes in the busy, wait for the front desk gong and drum to sound, Xiao De Zhang's feet step on the guy point, and come out in order.
In order to please and praise Cixi Lafayette, Xiao Dezhang used all his strength and used all the kung fu he had practiced for 3 years. Because he was serious about acting, coupled with his handsome appearance, he did attract Cixi's attention and gave him the name "Xiao Dezhang", and from then on, Xiao Dezhang's name was called. Then Xiao Dezhang performed a few more plays to satisfy Cixi, and Cixi called Xiao Dezhang over to ask him several times, and Xiao Dezhang replied crisply and brightly, very decently, which made Cixi's joy even more. In the twenty-fourth year of Guangxu (1898), when Xiao Dezhang was 22 years old, he was finally promoted to a harem eunuch.
It is true that Xiao Dezhang's official fortunes and prosperity, even if there are thousands of roads and ten thousand rules, the most fundamental one is that he entered the "Hou Party" in the Qing Palace with the Nanfu Opera Class as a ladder. If you bet on the "imperial party", it will be doomed. Through his 5 years in the palace, Xiao Dezhang made him clearly realize through his keen observation and analysis of the major state events inside and outside the palace that the world of the Qing Dynasty, although there were emperors, princes, ministers of culture and military affairs, etc., was actually the world of Empress Dowager Cixi alone, and the only one who could influence Empress Dowager Cixi was Li Lianying. Li Lianying was empress dowager Cixi, a prominent figure in the Yehenara clan, and had now been the governor of Taiping for nearly 40 years. From the time when Xiao Dezhang entered the palace to the Nanfu opera class, Li Lianying became the object of his research. How Li Lianying said exactly to Empress Dowager Cixi, he carefully portrayed Li Lianying's actions, speeches, deeds, and even some small actions, and everything was similar to Li Lianying. However, unlike Li Lianying, he is more sleek and more scheming, and the road to success has been open to him since then.
The Guangxu Emperor received the princes and ministers at the Zhonghe Hall, and the things discussed were also the notes handed up below, and after he had read them, he did not dare to make his own decisions, and he had to transfer them to the palace of Empress Dowager Cixi, and after the Empress Dowager Cixi approved the instructions, Guangxu could only do so, and if there was no empress dowager's instructions, it would not count. From the Zhonghe Hall to empress dowager Cixi's Cining Palace, the person who passed on this recital was Xiao Dezhang. At this time, Xiao Dezhang was no longer the same Zhang Xiangzhai who was a little eunuch in the tea house when he first entered the palace. Through Li Lianying's path, he had become a confidant whom Empress Dowager Cixi trusted very much. However, he also knew that Empress Dowager Cixi was already old, and after a few years of empress dowager death, Guangxu would be in power, and she would never be constrained by Li Lianying and other eunuchs everywhere as she is now, and he must buy well here in Guangxu and leave a way back for himself.
He walked every day between Empress Dowager Cixi's Chuxiu Palace and the Guangxu Emperor's Zhonghe Palace, and monitored Guangxu. However, as soon as he entered the Zhonghe Hall, he bowed his head and walked softly and unhurriedly to the Guangxu Emperor, knelt down on his knees, raised his hands, raised his head slightly, took the golden lacquered wooden box from the eunuch beside the Guangxu Emperor, and then stood up, the cat bowed his head, and retreated step by step, his ass and the back of his head could not rush to the emperor, until it was not far from the temple door, so that he could turn around and leave the temple. When we arrived at Empress Dowager Cixi's Chuxiu Palace, the same was true. Arriving at the gate of Empress Dowager Cixi's palace, there was a eunuch who was guarding the door first, Xiao Dezhang sent a fold, and when permission was granted, Xiao Dezhang was able to enter, and he also bowed his head and whispered with an unhurried pace, and came to Empress Dowager Cixi's kneeling not far away, and with both hands he held the golden lacquered wooden box of the folding high above the top, and if Li Lianying was present, Li Lianying took it over and presented it to Empress Dowager Cixi; in Li Lianying's absence, it was taken over by other eunuchs and presented to Empress Dowager Cixi.
If Cixi asked the emperor what he was doing, or who he was talking to, Xiao Dezhang would echo it truthfully, but he had to peek at Cixi's look, or Li Lianying's look, or more importantly, Li Lianying's look, because it was a crime to peek at the empress's imperial appearance. Xiao Dezhang nodded slightly according to Li Lianying, or shook his head to determine what to say or not to say, so Xiao Dezhang's performance of Cixi was often pleasing and satisfied by Cixi. Of course, this is a hint from Li Lianying, but more important is the flexibility of Xiao Dezhang's own brain.
After Cixi approved it, Xiao Dezhang then stepped down and handed it over to the Guangxu Emperor, who, in order to understand and grasp Cixi's ideological dynamics, also asked Xiao Dezhang about Cixi's expression and what he said when he approved the recital. When Xiao Dezhang played to Guangxu, he didn't have to be so careful to think about it, because no matter what he said, he just wanted to know Cixi's attitude and touch less of the holy anger of the empress dowager's father. However, although Xiao Dezhang was a "post-party", unlike Li Lianying, he refused to do things to the extreme, and what Guangxu said was not said to Cixi without saying it; and cixi said the good words of Guangxu, he said it all in 1510 places, and the words unfavorable to Guangxu also euphemistically infiltrated the past, letting Guangxu ponder it himself. Guangxu also had eyes and ears in Cixi, and the information obtained was roughly the same as what Xiao Dezhang said, so Guangxu was still not very wary of Xiao Dezhang.
In June 1898, Guangxu, assisted by Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, and Tan Sitong, implemented a new law, the so-called "Penghu Reform Law", which was strongly opposed by the old forces led by Empress Dowager Cixi, who held a secret meeting at the Summer Palace to prepare to use the emperor and Houtong to march to Tianjin in early October to launch a coup d'état and depose the Guangxu Emperor. On September 18, Tan Sitong secretly visited Yuan Shikai and asked him to rescue the Guangxu Emperor from danger during the military parade, seize the power of the state from the Empress Dowager Palace, and trap Empress Dowager Cixi in the Summer Palace, preventing her from interfering and controlling the government. Yuan Shikai Yang Fengyin Violation: Betrayed Guangxu and others to Rong Lu, a close minister of Empress Dowager Cixi. Rong Lu went straight to the Summer Palace overnight, and originally reported it to Empress Dowager Cixi. Empress Dowager Cixi ordered that all the folds of Kang, Liang, and others be copied out, and that the Guangxu Emperor be imprisoned in Yingtai in Zhongnanhai, where the suspension bridge was pulled up and the palace gates were closed, and no one was allowed to leave the palace without permission. After Guangxu's defeat, He sent his confidant eunuchs Nie Bashi and Kou Liancai to secretly pass on his will and release Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao. At this time, Empress Dowager Cixi also sent someone to arrest her, and the work of the front and back feet was empty. After the matter was found out, Empress Dowager Cixi, enraged, passed down an edict: "Under the death of the eunuch Nie Bashi, Kou Lian was sent to Xinjiang and will never return." ”
The competition between the imperial emperor and the empress dowager of the Qing Dynasty caused an uproar, and Empress Dowager Cixi encircled the Guangxu Emperor within a high wall. Guangxu's every move was recorded by the eunuch at any time. When the emperor ate, he strictly ordered cold porridge and cold dishes, that is, he had to wait for the food to be cold before he could eat it, saying that he had violated the family law. Empress Longyu was the niece of Empress Dowager Cixi's mother,and was allowed to visit Yingtai on the first and fifteenth days of the first month of each month, and then withdrew after three words and two greetings, and sometimes Guangxu did not say a word to see her. When Guangxu changed the law, Zhenfei participated in the planning and suggestion, and after the failure of the change, the real main envoy who sent the eunuchs Nie Bashi and Kou Liancai out of the palace to send letters was Zhenfei. Therefore, the residence of Zhenfei was also enclosed by a high wall. She was not allowed to meet with Guangxu, and every day was also a cold porridge and cold dish. Xiao Dezhang was sent to supervise Guangxu and was responsible for delivering the emperor's three meals a day, Cixi personally selected the meals for Guangxu, which were usually very poor, and were often checked, Xiao Dezhang sympathized with the Guangxu Emperor, and tried to exchange some meals that were in the taste of Guangxu.
When the Guangxu Emperor was trapped in confinement, he used to dismantle the clock to dispel his sorrows and relieve his boredom, sometimes his expression was crazy, his consciousness was insane, he talked about dreams at night, and he thought of Zhenfei. When the Empress Dowager went to the palace, he inquired about Zhenfei's situation, but he never heard the news of Zhenfei. The Guangxu Emperor celebrated his birthday on June 28. In 1899, when he had a birthday, he was inside the high wall, and on the first night, Xiao Dezhang couldn't sleep, thinking of a way to let Guangxu take the opportunity of his birthday to talk to Zhenfei's sister Jinfei. The next day, Empress Longyu and Concubine Jin visited the emperor at the will of the empress, and Xiao Dezhang followed her to wish the emperor a long life. After arriving at Yingtai, Xiao DeZhangzhi opened the eunuch who was spying on Guangxu, and Guangxu finally learned from Concubine Jin that Zhenfei was surrounded by high walls and was suffering from smallpox in illness. Later, the Guangxu Emperor bribed the eunuchs and visited Zhenfei once at the Beisan Temple. After that, when Xiao Dezhang sent the fold again, the face of the Guangxu Emperor became much milder.
At that time, although Empress Dowager Cixi was pro-government of the Lin dynasty, according to the regulations, the signators had to pass the cabinet meeting by the Military Aircraft Department in advance, sign for approval, and be stamped by Guangxu, and Cixi could not replace the emperor in exercising foreign powers. Once, the Military Aircraft Department signed a customs supervisor and sent Guangxu to seal it, Guangxu refused to seal it, and the person who signed it was anxious to find this gap, so through the relationship, he promised Xiao Dezhang 200,000 taels of silver, asked Guangxu to stamp it, Xiao Dezhang asked for it, Guangxu really stamped it, and he got 200,000 taels of silver for this amount. By getting the favor of the master, you can do things for others and profit from it, which is exactly the life that Xiao Dezhang dreams of. If you can become the chief manager, more people will ask him, and more silver will come. Xiao Dezhang secretly resolved that he must realize that day as soon as possible. To realize this day as soon as possible, we can only do everything in our power to please the master and be favored by the master.
In 1900, the Eight-Nation Alliance captured Dagukou in Tianjin, and Beijing was in a hurry, cixi fled to Xi'an with Guangxu, and Xiao Dezhang also accompanied him. Because Xiao Dezhang was clever and well-behaved, he was very pleasing to Cixi, and in 1902, the second year after Gengzi returned to Luang, Empress Dowager Cixi promoted Xiao Dezhang to be in charge of the imperial dining room, and the official was wearing it to the top of the three pins. When he was in charge, Xiao Dezhang went to great lengths to consider how to make dishes to make Cixi eat well and eat well. Cook every day, cook, fry, fry and fry. In the end, he actually fried a few dishes that Cixi especially loved to eat. Empress Dowager Cixi, the most skilled popcorn, loves to eat it the most, and after eating this meal, she must set aside the next meal. Because Li Lianying was old and had insufficient energy, Xiao Dezhang was named the Imperial Dining Room to take charge of the case, but in fact he was already in charge of all the affairs in the Empress Dowager's palace. Due to overwork, physical weakness, hemplesis, and sharp weight loss, he fell ill. Empress Dowager Cixi knew that he was ill, called the best imperial doctor to see him, and visited him once, which showed that Cixi was very fond of him.
After Gengzi returned to Luang, the national conditions and family affairs made Empress Dowager Cixi unhappy, and sometimes she did not say a word for a day, and she did not know what she was thinking. Over time, Cixi's body and bones also weakened, and she continued to get sick. In October of the thirty-fourth year of Guangxu, Empress Dowager Cixi was 73 years old and bedridden due to illness. Just at this time, Guangxu also fell ill. When Empress Dowager Cixi was seriously ill, she made arrangements for state affairs after her death, and made an imperial heir, an empress dowager, and issued 13 edicts in three days. Empress Dowager Cixi passed on the decree that Puyi, the son of Zaifeng, the younger brother of Li Guangxu, would inherit the throne, inherit the Tongzhi Emperor and also be the Guangxu Emperor, and let Xiao Dezhang go to the palace to pick up the Heavenly Son and carry Puyi into the palace. The next day Empress Dowager Cixi was even more ill, confused, and sometimes understood, and sent eunuchs to inquire about Emperor Guangxu's condition, although Empress Dowager Cixi gasped for breath for a while and relaxed for a while, she still spent time listening to Emperor Guangxu's letter. Until the news came that Grandpa Banzai had died, Cixi seemed to say with a sigh of relief: "After all, he is still dead in my head." Immediately afterward, Empress Dowager Cixi passed on another edict: Empress Longyu was promoted to empress dowager, and Zaifeng (Xuantong's father) was appointed as the regent, and in case of major state affairs, she had to ask empress dowager Yi's will, which was also Cixi's last order. After passing on this message, Cixi swallowed her breath, and the difference between her and Guangxu Yan was only 7 hours.
Empress Dowager Cixi was about to be buried, just as she had been before she was born, full of pearlescent treasures. Diamond rings, diamond earrings, emerald bracelets, emerald pins on the flag head, diamond head flowers, ruby head flowers, sapphire head flowers, emerald head flowers, emerald bergamot orchids, and five pairs of nail sets made of gold-encrusted emerald. She rests her head on a jade jade lotus jade pillow, and her feet rest on a green jade crane. Its birthday clothes, phoenix crowns, and beaded shoes are all made of pearls and inlays. On the phoenix robe hung a pearl network, each bead is eight coins, one or two Buddha heads, a total of 188 pieces, made of silk thread. The back cloud and the falling horn are emerald gemstones, and the needles are thirty beads woven of emerald jade, which are dazzling. The sapphire jade buckle is an ornament on the imperial dress of the Kangxi Emperor, and there are thirteen white rays of light on the buckle. Wait, wait. As for the precious items buried with them, they are countless and difficult to describe. The busiest eunuch in the spirit hall was Xiao Dezhang. After empress dowager Cixi's death, Li Lianying walked out of the palace, and he could no longer see his shadow in the palace, he lived in Beijing or outside Beijing, and others did not ask questions, but the position of grand administrator of the palace was still missing, which was a position of power covering the sky. Xiao Dezhang could not suppress his joy in his heart: the position of the grand manager was exactly what he dreamed of, and it was the highest pursuit of his life. From the day he entered the palace, the position he had been dreaming of was getting closer and closer to him. Cixi died, and the biggest remaining master was Empress Longyu. Longyu was a more confrontational character than Empress Dowager Cixi. As long as you grasp The Empress Dowager Longyu well, you are not afraid that you will not be able to get what you want. He observed that Empress Dowager Longyu wanted to learn cixi everywhere, and as long as he complied with Longyu, he would surely be able to get her favor.
He carefully analyzed the forms inside and outside the palace, and realized that after Cixi's death, it would inevitably cause a new struggle for power and profit, and Longyu was actually in danger, so as long as he could keep Longyu's throne, his dreams could come true, and his future life in the palace could also be whatever he wanted. Therefore, Xiao Dezhang installed his own cronies and eyes, and in all corners of the palace, he grasped the dynamic changes of the situation in time. Empress Dowager Cixi and Empress Dowager Guangxu, XiaoDezhang accompanied Empress Dowager Longyu with the hearse to Feng'an in Tanglin. After the mausoleum was placed, when the gate of the final fiefdom palace was completed, the royal relatives and concubines and concubines made pilgrimages at the time of Yin, and then returned to the palace. Before the Emperor's doorman was sealed, Xiao De Zhang suddenly received secret reports from his disciples that the three imperial concubines of Muzong Tongzhi had set off to return to the palace first.
Originally, Xuantong was the heir of Tongzhi, who was also a concubine of Guangxu, and the three concubines of the Tongzhi period, Such as Concubine Yu, Concubine Xun, and Concubine Xuan, were also Xuantong's mother, and the empress dowager should be produced among the three concubines of Tongzhi. Moreover, Cixi also became empress dowager as a noble concubine. Longyu only received the empress dowager's honor by being Cixi's niece. After Cixi was buried, the three concubines of Tongzhi gambled that they would not return to the palace and would guard the tomb for Cixi in Dongling. In the face of this sudden situation, Long Yu was confused. Although she was now the empress dowager, she had learned only one thing in the palace for many years, that is, to observe words and colors and unconditionally obey Cixi's will. In the past, empress dowager Cixi had made decisions about the affairs of the harem, and she had long been accustomed to asking for instructions and obeying, but now that Cixi was dead, Longyu had no ability to solve problems independently, and she was suddenly overwhelmed and did not know how to deal with the three imperial concubines. Still Xiao Dezhang reacted quickly, he hurriedly said to the three concubines, since this is the case, the empress dowager will immediately build a house for you in Tanglin and fulfill the filial piety of all the concubines. Yufei and the others did not really want to guard the tomb, but they were not willing to start being controlled by Longyu from then on, half gambling, half embarrassing Longyu, but Xiao Dezhang let them eat Huang lian dumbly. The three concubines were unwilling, and at the instigation of the eunuchs around them, they decided to snatch the golden seal of the empress dowager before Longyu returned to the palace.
Xiao Dezhang told Empress Longyu that the three noble concubines had returned to Beijing first, but according to her intentions, she would return to the palace at dawn after the connoisseur sacrifice was completed. Xiao Dezhang said to Empress Longyu, "Don't be vague! Set off immediately, if the three imperial concubines advanced to kunning palace to take away the golden seal of the empress, your empress dowager seat would be difficult to keep. The three imperial concubines were in a car, and although they had walked several hours in advance, they were not as fast as Empress Longyu's carriage in the end, and Xiao Dezhang sent a message to the handlebar-style fast horse and whip, and rushed to the capital without stopping along the way. It was already late at night in Beijing, and the three imperial concubines had already entered the Shenwu Gate, thinking that they were safe! I didn't expect XiaoDe Zhang to accompany Empress Longyu from Donghua Gate into Kunning Palace and get the empress dowager's treasure seal first. The time difference between before and after is ten minutes. Immediately after that, the regent (the brother of the Guangxu Emperor) also rushed back from Dongling, invited the 'Hefuzi' out, and the military aircraft department issued an edict, and Empress Longyu followed the will of the empress dowager before her death, and made her empress dowager. At the age of 33 in the first year of Xuantong (1909), Xiao Dezhang finally ascended to the throne of the eunuch who replaced Li Lianying as the chief eunuch in the last years of the Qing Dynasty.
Xiao Dezhang thoroughly understood a truth from the battle for the throne of Empress Yulong: it is not easy to settle down in the palace, in the palace, the heart of defense is indispensable, the heart of harming people is indispensable, just learning to defend people is far from enough, the best means of defense is to attack, if you want to climb up, you have to clean up the stumbling blocks step by step. The difference between success and failure is the short moment that often determines who does it first. If you want to cure people, you can't be kind and soft-hearted, don't leave any trouble, and cut the grass must be removed. After Longyu was crowned empress dowager, Xiao Dezhang made a statement to Longyu, believing that the three Tongzhi concubines were usually quiet and taciturn, and suddenly made such a fuss about the empress dowager's ascension to the throne, all of which were caused by the high-ranking eunuchs around them. They simply hoped that one of their masters would become empress dowager and that he himself would be a chicken and a dog, so they must drive the ambitious eunuchs out of the palace, otherwise it would be difficult to find peace. Xiao Dezhang drew up a list of 36 high-ranking eunuchs headed by Duland, the governor of Sanpin, and Xiao Dezhang said that these people were known as "thirty-six friends" in the palace, and they usually formed gangs and factions, and pengbi was adulterous, and often rumored to their respective masters, and it was not enough to rectify the harem. Long Yu was not a person who could gain power, and it was a bit unbearable to really want to repatriate these eunuchs. And if you add the small eunuchs managed by them, the harem thus vacant a third of the positions, which is too many. However, she could not resist Xiao Dezhang's repeated persuasion, and finally sent a message to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to dismiss 36 eunuchs and 932 eunuchs who were close to her from the harem.
The simple-minded Long Yu wanwan did not expect that xiao Dezhang, through this means, would certainly make the third concubine of Tongzhi less people around him to give advice, and more importantly, he took advantage of this incident to clean up all his dissidents in the harem, and also installed his own cronies around the concubine.
It turned out that Li Lianying was the chief manager of five thousand taels of silver per month, and Xiao De Zhang promoted the big manager to take this amount as well. In the first year of Xuan reunification, Empress Longyu gave a hundred thousand taels of silver and built a residence for Xiaode Zhanggai, covering an area of 50 acres and hundreds of houses, which was called 'the general manager of the Jile Temple' locally. Xiao Dezhang's power soared from then on, and no one in the harem was invincible.
Empress Longyu. In simple terms, this empress dowager was "mediocre and ignorant", which was far inferior to Thatagu Cixi. For example, although Cixi was politically brutal and economically selfish, she still had personal opinions on the situation, and was not completely at the hands of An Dehai, Li Lianying, and some princes, and also had certain means of coercing the princes and ministers. Longyu, on the other hand, was not only politically dissenting, but also economic selfishness far exceeded that of Nagu Cixi, so all of Longyu's actions were manipulated by Xiao Dezhang, and he had no personal opinion. After Longyu preemptively became the empress, he not only trusted Xiao Dezhang, but also relied on and connived more. And Xiao Dezhang also took advantage of Longyu's grace for himself, desperately seeking selfish interests for himself and filling his own pockets. Long Yu just became the empress, but also need to guard filial piety for Guangxu and Cixi, should change their yellow palanquin to blue, which does not need much money, but because it is Xiao De Zhang's hand, and finally settled down, the car making fee is as high as 700,000 taels, a large amount of silver was filled by Xiao De Zhang. After this incident, Xiao Dezhang repeated the same trick and asked for the renovation of several dilapidated Buddhist halls in the palace.
It is estimated that the total amount of people's fat and people's ointment that Cixi snatched in the past was about 25 million taels of silver, and before Cixi's death, Li Lianying privately gave Empress Longyu a value of 2 million taels, and after Cixi's death, it was filled in a coffin, worth about 8 million taels, and the rest was more than 15 million taels, which could become a great opportunity for XiaoDezhang to get rich. It is said that Cixi had a pair of beads, which were very expensive, and were embedded with huge beads on all sides, and the particles were quite large. It is said that when this pair of beads was made, it cost 700,000 taels of silver, and Xiao Dezhang withheld this pair of beads, and after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Xiao Dezhang sold the pair of beads at a price of 500,000 yuan, and was later sold by a British businessman for 320,000 yuan. These Buddhist temples, Cixi had already been abandoned and not used at that time, Xiao Dezhang took the opportunity to speak to Longyu, hoping to renovate, because of the start of the two projects of Yanxi Palace and Western-style iron building, there was no completion period, there was no quota, the national treasury was insufficient, the palace was demolished by Xiao Dezhang, the items were abused arbitrarily, and the reimbursement cost exceeded 2 million taels, at that time, there was a minister of internal affairs who was familiar with decoration impeached Xiao Dezhang for false reimbursement, secretly making private profits for himself, and also took the embezzled money to open a lot of pawnshops and silk houses outside. LongYu was silent, ignoring the folds, and was really forced by the ministers to play the folds, saying that there were more people serious than Xiao Dezhang, and a poor eunuch who got a few dollars was nothing, as long as he did not interfere in the affairs of the dynasty. With Longyu's words, Xiao Dezhang's boldness grew bigger and bigger. Just when the civil works were being carried out in the palace, the Zhongyuan Festival came again, and Empress Xiaoqinxian, that is, the Zi Palace of Empress Dowager Cixi, had not yet been enshrined. The "Zhongyuan Festival" is the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, which is the day when Chinese burn paper for the dead. Empress Longyu did not forget her kindness, and under the design of Xiao Dezhang, she specially built a Dafa ship, made of paper, 18 zhang long and zero, 2 zhang wide, and the ship was equipped with a pavilion, all kinds of furnishings, dozens of attendants, high and people, etc. Although people were fake, they all wore real clothes and real hats. There is a throne on the top, and the eunuchs, palace ladies, and all the utensils are standing on both sides, and below are officials in official uniforms kneeling, as if they are summoning courtiers on a daily basis, and the clothes and hats of these dummies are also completely real. In the middle hangs a huge yellow satin sail, and the four characters of "Pudu Zhongyuan" are written on it. The outside of the ship is surrounded by countless Jianglian, burning huge candles, and people who have lived in Beijing all their lives have neither seen nor heard it said that this is the first large french ship in an unprecedented world. After the sacrifice, the Dafa ship was transported to the Donghua Gate and burned respectfully. Suddenly, men, women, and children in Beijing all came to watch and sighed together as rare in ancient and modern times. This reimbursement is said to have cost another 700,000 yuan, of course, Xiao Dezhang fished another one, and the funeral of Empress Dowager Cixi was more silver than the funeral of the Guangxu Emperor. Someone had calculated this account, and Cixi's funeral expenses were more than 2 times more than the funeral expenses of the Guangxu Emperor. The Guangxu Emperor's Zi Palace Feng'an, half a year earlier, only used 450,000 taels of silver at that time, while the Feng'an of Empress Dowager Cixi cost more than 1.25 million taels of silver, of course, this funeral expense was arranged by Xiao Dezhang, no one needs to explain, everyone will guess that Xiao Dezhang is fiercely fishing in it. Later, he saw that Longyu was lonely and empty, so he took the opportunity to persuade Longyu to build a "Crystal Palace" in beihai. The so-called "Crystal Palace" is to make the outer wall into a glass curtain wall, so that the wall is transparent palace, and the palace breaks the traditional building model of buildings built by water in the past, and is ready to make the "Crystal Palace" surrounded by water on all sides, so that the scenery is more pleasant. The plan was to build a pond with a diameter of several inches in the courtyard and build a three-story circular palace in the pool. With copper and iron as beams and pillars, glass as the wall, the floor is also made of glass bricks, and several glass fish tanks are placed on the roof. This was a very novel building at that time, and it could resist fire, Longyu had been living in the inner palace for many years, not familiar with state affairs, and now it was difficult to survive until the empress dowager, and also had the heart to enjoy. However, the project was only halfway through before it was interrupted by the Xinhai Revolution.
In the first year of Xuantong (1909), Empress Longyu appointed her as the chief eunuch in accordance with Cixi's will, and gave her 100,000 taels of silver to build the governor's mansion inside the Anding Gate in Beijing. In order to eliminate dissent, Zhang put forward the idea of "Qing Jun's side", and more than a thousand eunuchs left the palace one by one, all of whom were replaced by their confidants. In the same year, Yijin returned to his hometown, and Song Gongdi of Jinghai Zhi County personally pulled the fiber for his back rope. When Zhang Ju was in charge, his power was tilted for a while, and Longyu and Emperor Xuantong were also afraid of him. Rebuilding the Guangxu Mausoleum and promulgating the Emperor's Edict of Abdication and other major events in the palace, Longyu passed on the instructions according to Zhang's wishes. Zhang Suri was friends with private parties, Zhang Xun, Ma Fuxiang, Feng Guozhang, Duan Qi, etc. were all his replacement brothers, and Zaitao and Yuan Shikai had deep friendships with him.
Three years after the declaration of reunification, the Xinhai Revolution broke out, and various localities declared independence one after another, and the general trend was irreversible. Empress Longyu convened a royal council. The ideas and views of the princes and ministers and Manchu officials were inconsistent. Some said to fight with the revolutionary party, some said abdicating, and they talked about going back and forth, but they did not see a single eyebrow. At this time, yuan shikai, the prime minister of the cabinet, was ambitious and bent on becoming emperor. Therefore, he took the opportunity to make friends with the revolutionary army on the one hand, and put pressure on the Qing court on the other hand, and finally Sun Yat-sen, when he was serving as the provisional president, said that as long as Yuan Shikai supported the republic and made the Qing Emperor abdicate, he was willing to support him as president. Once he became the president, he was getting closer and closer to his dream of being emperor, and he could also control the situation and steal the fruits of the Xinhai Revolution. Therefore, Yuan Shikai found Xiao Dezhang, Xu used a huge amount of money, and used his mouth to threaten and induce Empress Longyu, persuading her to use the abdication of the Qing court to ensure the peace and ease of life. The Qing court, led by Empress Dowager Longyu, accepted Yuan Shikai's conditions at the end of its rope. On February 12, 1912, the edict of the abdication of the Qing Emperor Puyi was promulgated to the whole country, and the era name of the Xuantong Emperor was retained, and the status of Xiao Dezhang was temporarily maintained. Since the declaration of the republic, Xiao Dezhang, in order to climb another high branch, he also guessed Yuan Shikai's attempt to become emperor, and he revealed the idea of still being the chief of the Great Interior in Yuan's palace. However, at this time, Yuan Shikai had already seen that Xiao Dezhang was useless to him, so he excused himself that in the future it would be a republic, and he should imitate the international common practice, and the palace would no longer use eunuchs and politely refuse. However, Yuan Shikai was still worthy of Xiao Dezhang, and asked Xiao Dezhang where he was willing to live, and Xiao Dezhang said that he would like to live in Tianjin, so Yuan Shikai booked two houses for Xiao Dezhang in Tianjin. Empress Longyu died in 1913 AD, Xiao Dezhang's patron in the palace no longer existed, and he was tired of life in the palace, so he took the initiative to take a long leave of absence from the Qing Palace for 25 years, ending his eunuch career.
Don't look at the end of the Great Qing Kingdom, Xiao De Zhang is not finished. After the establishment of the Republic of China, he settled in Tianjin in order to avoid the white eyes and even insults of the original Princes of the Qing Dynasty and the Baylors. He "NaFu" in the Western-style building built on No. 41 Road in Tianjin. He married four wives, probably because as he grew older, he became more and more interested in women, so many people speculated that the relationship between him and Empress Longyu was extraordinary, otherwise Longyu could not have regarded him as the main backbone and fully trusted him. Xiao De Zhang succeeded Zhang Binru, the son of his brother Zhang Yuefeng, as his stepson. Zhang Bin has three wives, two sons and a daughter, the son's name is Jiguang, Jihe, Jiguang's sanity is unclear, everyone calls him "Silly Big Brother"; the female name is Suxia. In the "Zhang Mansion", there are thirty or forty people, such as janitors, accounting rooms, cooks, gardeners, yahuan, old mothers, etc., everything is available. Don't look at Xiao De Zhang as the grand manager for only three years, but the industry is already very impressive at this time, fulfilling the vow he made in his childhood, there will be ten, twenty, a hundred decent cars, compared to his cousin Da Xing. In his hometown of Jinghai County, Tangguantun Land 17 acres, in Beijing Nanyuan Land 20 acres, in Tianjin British Concession No. 41 Road, repaired 12 buildings, built a grand mansion in Beijing Yongkang Hutong, in addition to opening two pawnshops in Yongqing and Yongcun along the front gate of Beijing Xianyukou and Beigou, with funds of more than 100,000 taels, and also opened a Xiangyi silk satin shop in Beijing Dashilar with a capital of more than 200,000 taels. Xiao Dezhang probably estimated that he was too bitter to pit the Qing Dynasty, he was afraid that some royal families would hire people to assassinate him, he not only lived in simplicity, but also visited by guests and friends, and he also pushed back, so there were very few guests who went to visit. Serving him were a few small eunuchs he had brought from the palace. These little eunuchs specially burned cigarettes, poured tea, set meals and entertained guests for him. Xiao Dezhang's family rules are very strict, all men are not allowed to enter the inner house, and they are also very careful about the portal, locking and unlocking every day, and personally cooking.
His daily life is very rigid, every day after getting up, the little eunuch who waited for him first burned 12 opium cigarettes for him, divided into 6 mouths on the left and right sides, after smoking, immediately get out of bed, go for a walk in the courtyard, dance a tai chi sword, and then go back to the house to eat breakfast. At 9 o'clock, he rose in the living room and received his children and grandchildren, the accounting office, the housekeeper, and others.
Xiao Dezhang's last wife was named Zhang Xiaoxian. Regarding the origin of Zhang Xiaoxian, it is said that when Xiaode Zhang first arrived in Tianjin, he lived in Chongqing Dao, and when he was eager to find a suitable partner, he was accompanied by his cousin Dong Mochen and his friend Fang Yulin, went to the brothel of the Japanese concession, met a man named Fang Jincui, the two also had a similar feeling, and took pictures together, Xiao Dezhang sat, Fang Jincui stood next to him, and the noise was very hot. Daily theater restaurant, spend days and wine. When Xiao Dezhang proposed to marry Fang Jincui, the prostitute asked for 1,000 yuan from the ocean, and Xiao Dezhang was also willing to spend it. It's just that Fang Jincui proposed that he was still a virgin, unwilling to be lonely for life, and resolutely refused to follow Xiao Dezhang. Xiao De Zhang was angry, just in another team, spent 1200 yuan, bought a virgin, that is, this Zhang Xiaoxian. I heard that Xiao De Zhang always likes to let Zhang Xiaoxian bear the spit with his mouth, and then turn to spit to the spittoon, which is quite disgusting.
In order to show pomp and circumstance, just like people marrying relatives, Xiao De Zhang personally went to marry in a flower red, drum music flower palanquin, all prepared, that is, worship the heavens and the earth, enter the cave room and other ceremonies, but also have everything, everything is complete, the ceremony is quite solemn, the guests are full of doors, and also chartered a largest restaurant to entertain guests. The only difference is that after Zhang Xiaoxian has worshipped his mother-in-law, all the sons, grandchildren, daughters-in-law, women, etc. of the Zhang family must bow down to Zhang Xiaoxian, and what should be called must be called, such as mother-in-law, grandmother, etc., and the next people all call Zhang Xiaoxian the fourth wife, which shows that Xiao Dezhang has married three wives. It is said that Xiao Dezhang had a wife, who was not willing to live in Xiao Dezhang's stereotypical life, so he ran away privately, and after Xiao Dezhang learned about it, he sent his bodyguard to find this fugitive wife, unloaded eight pieces, and threw it into the Haihe River, but this is just a legend, and no one has come out to confirm it.
Mu Manchu for the mother's funeral
Xiao Dezhang moved from Beijing to Tianjin, he picked up his old wife from his hometown of Tangguantun, who lived in Chongqing Dao at that time, and now his identity is different, at this time he became an old lady, eating mountain treasures and seafood, wearing silk silk, making slaves call concubines, leaving either a car or a car, and really enjoyed the blessings of more than ten years. On the eighth day of the sixth month of the old calendar in 1928, the old lady died of illness in Tianjin at the age of 80. When Xiao Dezhang was a eunuch in Beijing, he most admired the Qiren nobles, one was that the buildings of the various palaces were spacious and exquisite, which he had already done, and the exquisite degree of the mansion he built at the Kek Lok Si Temple in Beijing far exceeded that of most princes and nobles, and the mansion on Edinburgh Road (present-day Dali Road) was also one of the best in the Tianjin Concession; and the second was the funeral. After the Manchus entered the customs, they were influenced by the Han culture for more than 200 years, and the flag people at that time gave birth to a competitive heart, and the Han people taught etiquette, so the flag people gave more gifts, although complicated, they also appeared thoughtful. Among them, the funeral was one of the most valued and most beautiful ceremonies for them, especially the sister-in-law of Empress Dowager Cixi in the thirtieth year of Guangxu, the birth mother of Empress Longyu, that is, the mother-in-law of the Guangxu Emperor, the death of Fu Jin, the Cheng'en Gongfu Jin, known as the Emperor's grandmother, which impressed Xiao Dezhang the most. You know, at that time, this was a relative of the first number one of the royal tianzi, which one was not stubborn? Funerals were unparalleled except for the royal family. At this time, Xiao Dezhang had already gained favor in front of Empress Dowager Cixi, and went to the Fangjiayuan Cheng'en Gongfu to take care of the funeral on behalf of the empress dowager, and witnessed all this with his own eyes. Immediately, he had an idea that if his mother died on the day, he would also go to the funeral in the same way as the Manchu nobles. Now that his mother has died, and he lives in the concession without any control, he has completely imitated the specifications of the emperor's grandmother to organize funerals for his mother, but he still removed some of the contents that show the unique customs of the Manchus, such as the big red flag, the horse, the single hook, the eagle dog and the camel, etc. At that time, the Republic of China was already in the Republic of China, and no one wanted to see these things. On that day, the old lady gasped, and Zhang Xiaoxian, the fourth wife of Xiaode Zhangxin, who had recently married but was in charge of the household, took his other two aunts and wives, as well as the three wives of his stepson Zhang Binru, to dress the old lady with all hands and feet, covered the Dracula sutra that Empress Longyu had rewarded that year, burned the "upside down paper" before the spirit, and also burned the upside-down carriage and horse outside the palace gate. At this funeral, Wei Ziwen, the manager of the big event all-out goods store, and Li Xisan, the manager of the Tianxing Shou Material Factory, were invited to serve as prime ministers, and all the burnt work prepared was real material. The eight large cars in the burned down head carriage and horse are real green tweed cars, the blue tweed carriages, top horses, and horses are exquisite, the coachmen, car drivers, and followers are all pasted according to the number of people, and the clothes on the body are all real silk, and a fire is burned in front of the house, which is the first batch. Since then, monks, Taoists, lamas, and nuns have been praying endlessly every day, and there have been many people hanging in front of the door, and there are old and young people who have come and gone from the former Qing Dynasty, as well as officials of the Republic of China. The government opened a flowing water mat to entertain the hanging officials, and of course there were many people who ate and drank with them. On the day of the funeral, he invited the Qing Dynasty Wu Zhuangyuan Wu Guodong shrine gate, former Beiyang government premier Gao Lingwei pointed out the lord, the funeral procession is a pavilion, a banner, umbrella cover, a shrine plaque, a shrine, a badge, a deacon, a snow willow, plus thirteen sheds, the funeral relatives and friends lined up for several miles, the front of the soul banner has already walked through Xu Street (now Heping Road) to the North Railway Station (Tianjin North Railway Station), where the 64-person bar has just been on the shoulder. On that day, Xiao Dezhang's general manager Fang Yulin went to the door to get a blue steel charter car specially made for Empress Dowager Cixi's funeral in Germany to transport the coffin back to Lüguantun in Jinghai County, and Fu Zuoyi, the commander of the Tianjin Garrison at the time, also sent a company of soldiers to escort him. The pomp and circumstance of this funeral was unmatched in Tianjin at that time.
Because of Zhang Xun's restoration, Emperor Xuantong was the lively emperor for fourteen days, and after the failure of the restoration, he was once again forced to abdicate, but the Nationalist government forced them to move out of the Forbidden City, and later moved to Tianjin Jingyuan. Xiao Dezhang was extremely prestigious and extravagant in Tianjin, and even had to be fed water, but every morning he had to come to Jingyuan in eight large sedans, and then go in alone to clean up and relive old dreams.
In 1944, the Qunying Tea Garden in Nanshi, Tianjin, performed the drama "The Secret History of the Qing Palace", in which there was a scene in which XiaoDe Zhang was ordered by Li Lianying to push Zhenfei into the well. After Xiao Dezhang learned of this, he was very annoyed in his heart, but he had no power at this time, and he did not dare to publicly intervene to stop it, but instead used his grandson Zhang Jihe's relationship with Yuan Wenhui to send Yuan Wenhui a very generous gift, changing the drama of Pushing Zhenfei to go down the well to a Cui eunuch. After Xiao Dezhang arrived in Tianjin, although his life was very rich, he was very bored mentally, in addition to raising goldfish, planting flowers and grass, and feeding many small dogs, he wrote three or five "geese" every afternoon for recreation. He also believed in Taoism, probably under the influence of Liu Duosheng, the former chief of the palace, but he did not chant the scriptures, and it was only on Taoist festivals that he put on the Taoist crown, put on the Taoist costume, held a sword, and sat cross-kneeled. After liberation, Xiao Dezhang still lived in his old age and was not much touched.
When New China was founded, Xiao Dezhang was still a landlord and capitalist. In the early fifties, factories and shops were changed to public-private partnerships, and he himself involuntarily participated in the ranks of socialist transformation, selling fried fruits. Because of Xiao Dezhang's good attitude, he was lenient by the people's government and was able to die of illness in Tianjin in April 1957.
He died on April 19, 1957, at the age of 81, and was buried in Beicang, a "righteous place" more than thirty miles outside Tianjin.
A brief account of Xiao Dezhang's life, he entered the palace at the age of sixteen, became a "chief eunuch" at the age of thirty-one, and finally became a peddler selling fried fruits.