Preface
How could a little eunuch from a humble background rise in the harem of the Qing Dynasty to become the chief of power at that time? How did he use his wit and means to climb to the pinnacle of power step by step? And how did the Qing Dynasty finally fall tragically in the overthrow? This person is Li Lianying.
Was his life light or dark? Was he a loyal servant or a traitor? And how did he end up? A once beautiful big man didn't even leave a whole corpse in the end, what is going on? Let's walk into the life of this legendary eunuch.
From poverty to power
In 1864, Li Jinxi (later renamed Li Lianying), a child of an ordinary peasant family in Hebei Province, was born. The Li family was originally a small peasant family, and although they were hardworking and capable, they were really stretched thin to support a large family. Little Li Jinxi has known that his family is poor since he was a child, and he has been sensible since he was a child and helps the family with farm work.
However, it is too difficult for the children of peasant families to make a difference. If it weren't for Li Jinxi who later entered the palace, I'm afraid I would have to continue farming in this life. Li Jinxi when he was a teenager must have a dream of yearning for the capital and wanting to change his fate.
When Li Jinxi was 8 years old, he was sent to the imperial palace in the capital and became a eunuch. For a child of a poor peasant family, although entering the palace is to be "cleansed", it is also an opportunity to change his fate. Although he can no longer be a normal man, this at least gives Li Jinxi a way to make a living.
In the palace, Xiao Li Jinxi gradually gained favor with his cleverness and diligence. He was assigned to the Empress Dowager's close attendant, and was specifically responsible for combing the Empress Dowager's hair. After several years of training, Li Jinxi became more and more loved by the Queen Mother, and was finally given the name "Li Lianying" at the age of 19 and was promoted to the second director.
This little eunuch from a poor family actually reached the peak of harem power in just a few years. This makes people sigh that Li Lianying is indeed a capable person, and with his talents, he climbed layer by layer in the cruel jungle of the palace, and finally grasped the core of power.
All thanks to the Empress Dowager Cixi's appreciation. As the last empress dowager of the Manchu Dynasty to control the central power, Cixi had high hopes for Li Lianying. She not only appreciated Li Lianying's talent, but also took a fancy to the loyalty of this little eunuch of unknown origin. Under the protection of Cixi, Li Lianying was able to rise to the pinnacle of power step by step.
When Li Lian was 31 years old, he broke the rule that "the eunuch grade is limited to four grades" and was named the chief eunuch of the second grade, which is rare in the history of the Qing Dynasty. Since then, Li Lianying's power has skyrocketed and become the real center of palace power.
And the root of all this can be traced back to the Gengzi Incident in 1900. In that treacherous turmoil, Li Lianying can be said to have made great contributions. Although on the surface he is on the side of the conservative Cixi, in fact, his actions are more out of his own desire for power and selfish interests.
At that time, Emperor Guangxu launched the Wuxu Reform and tried to implement a series of Westernization reforms. But such a reform would inevitably curtail the power and interests of the eunuch class. As a result, Cixi took the opportunity to launch a coup d'état, put Emperor Guangxu under house arrest, and regained power. In this struggle, Li Lianying was Cixi's most powerful assistant, not only directly participated in Guangxu's captivity, but also won Cixi's full trust by virtue of this credit.
Since then, Li Lianying has become the most powerful political agent around Cixi. He not only took over the financial power of the entire court, but also became an important channel between the emperor and the empress dowager. Whether it was Guangxu or Cixi, they had to get Li Lianying's consent before they could act. It can be said that Li Lianying completely controlled the lifeblood of the Qing court.
Abuse of power to engage in corruption
As her power continued to expand, Li Lianying gradually indulged her desires. He began to use the power in his hands to amass a lot of money.
Li Lianying was in charge of the finances of the entire court, whether it was the reward money issued by the emperor or the tributes paid from all over the country, they all passed through his hands. So, he began to unscrupulously ask for favor fees.
According to historical records, as long as you go to the palace to do business, no matter how big or small, you have to give Li Lianying money. For example, at that time, Jiangning Weaving, every time he purchased clothing fabrics for the palace, he had to get the style from Li Lianying first, and he had to pay 120 taels of silver every time. For some large project procurement, Li Lianying was able to ask for tens of thousands of taels of silver.
In addition, Li Lianying also opened an "office" that accepted bribes, ostensibly a "Taoist temple", but in fact it was full of Li Lianying's subordinates, who specially collected stolen money for him. It can be said that by establishing such an institutionalized institution, Li Lianying has created a completely new model of corruption.
But Li Lianying's corruption was not confined to the court. He also exerted great influence in the promotion and appointment of some ministers. According to records, Yuan Shikai, a powerful minister of Emperor Guangxu, once gave him 200,000 taels of silver at one time in order to gain Li Lianying's support. It can be said that as long as she is willing to pay, Li Lianying can help people get official positions.
Under Li Lianying's manipulation, all the positions of the Qing court became commodities that could be bought and sold. This not only seriously damaged the prestige of the imperial court, but also greatly hindered the progress and development of society.
The key reason why Li Lianying was able to be so rampantly corrupt was that he was protected by the Empress Dowager Cixi. Although Cixi was ostensibly unaware of Li Lianying's corruption, in reality, she also benefited greatly from it. Whenever the imperial court needed a large amount of money, Li Lianying could always mobilize it in time to provide support. This undoubtedly greatly enhanced Cixi's ability to rule.
It can be said that Li Lianying's corruption not only damaged the reputation of the Qing Dynasty, but also contributed to the dictatorship of the Empress Dowager Cixi. What he did was not only outrageous, but also painful. A little eunuch from a poor background was able to rely on his power to recklessly collect wealth, which is rare in the history of the Qing Dynasty.
Lost everything, and ended miserably
However, Li Lianying's brilliant reign did not last long. In November 1908, Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi died successively, and Li Lianying lost her most important backer.
Cixi's death marked the end of the era of Li Lianying's power tilting towards the government and the opposition. During the reign of Cixi, Li Lianying has always been the second in command of the court, and her power is monstrous. But with the death of Cixi, the great eunuch finally came to the end of his life.
Since then, Li Lianying's life has become more and more difficult. Without Cixi's protection, he could no longer rise above the ministers of the court. Those who once groveled to him now sneered at him and even publicly insulted him.
Li Lianying knew that she was in danger, because in the years by Cixi's side, he had accumulated too many enemies. The regent at that time, Zaifeng, could not tolerate the bad things that Li Lianying had done under Cixi before. Therefore, Li Lianying must find a way out as soon as possible.
Escaped after 100 days of filial piety
After 100 days of filial piety for Cixi, Li Lianying finally decided to leave the palace. He did not choose the courtyard that Cixi had arranged for him before his death, but lived in seclusion in a secluded place on the outskirts of Beijing.
This once powerful eunuch can only hide in a simple hut. There was no longer a gorgeous palace, and there were no many subordinates to serve, so Li Lianying spent her last few years peacefully.
However, Li Lianying is not unprepared. After so many years by Cixi's side, he had already amassed a lot of wealth. According to historical records, he kept three million taels of silver in the palace alone, as well as countless jewels. In addition, he also transferred this wealth to his cronies and subordinates through various channels, paving a "back road" for himself.
These riches have undoubtedly greatly increased Li Lianying's living space. After leaving the court, he will not only be able to enjoy his old age in peace, but will also be able to defend himself against reprisals from all sides. Although she fell into such a chasm, Li Lianying finally managed to ensure her survival.
Mysterious death three years later
However, just three years after leaving the court, this popular eunuch finally died. In 1911, Li Lianying, who was already 60 years old, died mysteriously.
Regarding the cause of Li Lianying's death, there are many versions of historical records. Some people say that he was killed by the revolutionaries, because in the struggle between Guangxu and Cixi, Li Lianying stood on Cixi's side and was deeply hated by the revolutionaries. Another theory points out that he was killed by Yuan Shikai's confidant Jiang Chaozong because of the contradiction between Li Lianying and Yuan Shikai.
Some people also believe that Li Lianying was killed by the new chief manager Xiao Dezhang. Xiao Dezhang had always coveted Li Lianying's wealth, and finally succeeded after Cixi's death. Others say that when Li Lianying went to visit a relative in Shandong, she was attacked by robbers and ended up in a different place.
In short, there are different opinions, and Li Lianying's death is very strange. When archaeologists excavated Li Lianying's tomb in 1966, they found that there was only a decomposed skull inside the coffin, and the rest of the body was completely missing. This undoubtedly adds to the mystery of the cause of Li Lianying's death.
At that time, some people speculated that Li Lianying was most likely killed by assassination. After all, it is too strange for a big man who was once so powerful to not even leave a whole corpse in the end. Some people believe that this is likely to be done by the enemy in order to completely erase the "glory" of Li Lianying when she was alive.
However, there are also descendants of Li Lianying, who believe that what was found was not Li Lianying's tomb at all, but just a "scapegoat" deliberately set up by him. Because Li Lianying knew that she had too many grievances and was afraid that she would not escape revenge after death, she had already secretly arranged a secret burial place to completely hide her fate.
Whatever the truth, Li Lianying's death undoubtedly marked a tragic end to his life. The great eunuch who was once in power and the opposition couldn't even leave a whole corpse in the end, which also makes people sigh.
epilogue
Li Lianying's life is undoubtedly an interweaving of light and darkness. From a small peasant family from a poor background, with his wit and diligence, he eventually became the most authoritative figure in the harem of the Qing Dynasty.
In the end, Li Lianying's ending turned out to be so tragic. Whether he was assassinated by the enemy or accidentally killed is unknown to this day. It is really embarrassing that this once beautiful eunuch could not even leave a complete body.