"The most generous thing about Li Lianying is that he has never treated the people below without deduction, and has the ability to use it for those governors and inspectors, and he reaches out to ask for eighteen thousand taels of silver. But those who follow him under his hands will never settle small accounts. ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right">01.</h1>
In the thirty-fourth year of the Qing Dynasty, that is, on November 15, 1908, when she was in charge of the power core of the Qing Dynasty for 47 years, Empress Dowager Cixi, who witnessed the last days of the Qing Dynasty, came to the end of her life, and on the occasion of Empress Dowager Cixi's death, it is clear that this aging woman has not forgotten the lessons of previous dynasties, and she tries to let this sunset dynasty continue, leaving a sentence "Eunuchs must not be allowed to abuse power." The things of the end of the Ming Dynasty can be used for Yin Jian", and then he passed away. However, Empress Dowager Cixi would never have imagined that there was a Qing Dynasty after the Chongzhen Emperor of the Ming Dynasty hanged himself in the coal mountains, but after the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, a new era began, and Empress Dowager Cixi not only took away the Qing Dynasty, but also pulled the curtain on the entire dynastic era of China.
▲Empress Dowager Cixi's death (stills)
Although Empress Dowager Cixi was uneasy about the power of eunuchs before her death, in the decades when Empress Dowager Cixi held great power, there was definitely a well-known eunuch on the political stage of the Qing Dynasty, that is, the great eunuch who everyone was familiar with, Li Lianying. However, as Empress Dowager Cixi drove the crane west, this great eunuch who had once been in power for a time fell to the opposition, and under one person, the great eunuch above ten thousand people lost his patron in an instant.
▲ Li Lianying's old photo
Empress Dowager Longyu, who took over the position of Empress Dowager Cixi and witnessed the real end of the Qing Dynasty in modern history, obviously suppressed Li Lianying's power, and Empress Longyu decided to let Li Lianying be Empress Dowager Cixi's spiritual guard, and the connection between Empress Dowager Cixi and Li Lianying was not only when Empress Dowager Cixi was alive, but even when Empress Dowager Cixi died, there was also a certain connection between the two people, one was prosperous and the other was damaged. With Empress Dowager Cixi's "100 days of filial piety", Empress Longyu was another holy will, allowing Li Lianying to "retire to the Southern Garden for the elderly", almost in the blink of an eye, Li Lianying came from the core of power to the edge of the Qing Dynasty, which can be described as a big ups and downs.
Because the connection between Li Lianying and Empress Dowager Cixi was too close, Li Lianying was in power for a time, and the hot situation was well known, whether it was the main history or the wild history, it left countless materials about Li Lianying's legendary life to later people, but few people paid attention to what Li Lianying's life was like after Empress Dowager Cixi's death.
▲Li Lianying and Empress Dowager Cixi (stills)
In fact, Li Lianying's later life after the death of Empress Dowager Cixi, it is really not poor, or wretched, but although it is not as hot as when she was in power, it is also not shocking, plain, and the life of Li Lianying who is pensioned in the South Garden can be regarded as carefree, plus the South Garden is the Biting Spring Garden during the Ming Dynasty, the scenery is beautiful, the environment is quiet, and it can also be regarded as a long-term life, in the carefree three-year life, Li Lianying can be said to have spent the most relaxed period of her life in her later years, and in the third year of Xuan reunification, that is, in 1911, the 63-year-old Li Lianying also passed away.
▲Empress Longyu (stills)
On the third day after Li Lianying's death, Empress Longyu sent down her orders, and Li Lianying was buried in the "Grand Duchy of Enjizhuang in the Western Suburbs", and also set up an altar for Li Lianying, and the funeral expenses alone allocated 1,000 taels of silver, which was actually close to the imperial relatives at that time. Li Lianying's tomb can be said to be a good word, and the Qing Dynasty also dispatched special personnel to guard Li Lianying's tomb, and even Yuan Shikai at that time sent his most beloved eldest son Yuan Keding to mourn Li Lianying, Li Lianying was buried as a grand eunuch, which was extremely rare in the history of the entire dynastic era.
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Before Li Lianying, the most powerful An Dehai finally ended up with a fate of being in a different place, even if it is not a eunuch, how many imperial relatives and state relatives, the princes will inevitably have a good ending, and under such a complicated situation at the end of the Qing Dynasty, how many people are a chess mistake, full of losses, and finally ended up with a doomsday ending, such as Li Lianying such a meritorious retirement, the perfect curtain is really very few, what makes Li Lianying as a eunuch can be so lucky?
▲The power of Empress Dowager Cixi (painting)
That is Li Lianying is most praised for walking on thin ice and high emotional intelligence, Li Lianying's position is very special, Empress Dowager Cixi is the real ruler in the last years of the Qing Dynasty, but is a person in charge behind the scenes, and Li Lianying is the closest person to Empress Dowager Cixi, the situation above the court is more complicated, the contradiction between the Han forces and the Manchu forces is becoming more and more intense, the situation outside is also changing with each passing day, Li Lianying plays the role of lubricant. Although Li Lianying had the power that many princes and ministers feared, Li Lianying had never been a bully, always remembering his identity, and when prince He alcohol inspected the Beiyang Marine Division, Bi respectfully followed behind Prince Alcohol, and he was never in contention with the limelight and the eyes of everyone.
▲Guangxu Emperor (stills) ▲ Guangxu Emperor (stills)
And for the Guangxu Emperor, Li Lianying is also a person who is left and right, in the middle of the Guangxu Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi Li Lianying can be said to be a step wrong, all disasters are not recovered, in the time of gengzi national disaster, Empress Dowager Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor were forced to flee the capital, just in the middle of this road, it was Li Lianying who took good care of the Guangxu Emperor, which is why the Guangxu Emperor and Empress Dowager Cixi were in the same situation in the future, the reason why the Guangxu Emperor was still soft and grateful for Li Lianying.
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Li Lianying's high emotional intelligence and caution in walking on thin ice are not only reflected in the time when he is in the sky, after the death of Empress Dowager Cixi, Li Lianying came to the time when it was time to retreat into the background, Li Lianying, who was far away from the core of power, did not relax the string in his head at all, why did he choose his retirement place in the South Garden, because only here, he could not only put himself in the vicinity of the entire imperial situation, but also at the same time be at the side of Empress Longyu, reflecting his sincerity to the Qing Dynasty. He can also show that he treated Empress Dowager Cixi and the later Empress Dowager Longyu equally, and after Empress Dowager Cixi's death, Empress Longyu was Li Lianying's biggest patron, and many of the mysteries in it could only be understood and unspeakable.
▲ Li Lianying stills
Li Lianying, who was at the end of the Qing Dynasty dynasty, although she never interfered in the affairs of the dynasty, but in terms of corruption, Li Lianying was still not exempt from vulgarity, Li Lianying sold officials and lords, corruption and corruption were all a lot, after Li Lianying died, although she divided the property among her family, but even so, Li Lianying still had a full three million taels of silver in the palace, which shows how much money Li Lianying embezzled in the palace during her time, and a eunuch is still like this. Not to mention the situation of the princes and generals in the late Qing Dynasty, the decline of the Qing Dynasty was still irreversible.
▲The Forbidden City is set at sunset
Li Lianying, who had worked in the festering Qing Dynasty for many years, already knew that the Qing Dynasty was running out of time, so she would tell her family at the end of her life to make plans early and leave a good way out. Li Lianying's life was trembling, like walking on thin ice, saving herself, but witnessing the demise of the entire Qing Dynasty.
Resources:
"The Great Eunuch Li Lianying"
"Qing Palace Past Events"