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Li Lianying, a notorious eunuch in Chinese history.
After entering the palace for 52 years, under the "protection" of Cixi, he not only became the leader of the eunuchs, but also left a family background of gold and jade.
Everyone in the world knows that Li Lianying is greedy for money, so where did his huge wealth come from and where did he go?
Li Lianying, when she was still a 7-year-old child, was sent to cleansing, and a year later she was arranged to enter the palace as a little eunuch.
At the age of 21, Li Lianying, who had been in the palace for thirteen years, became the chief eunuch.
At the age of 60, he served Cixi for most of his life, and the following year, Li Lianying returned to his hometown after 100 days of filial piety for Cixi.
Although Li Lianying has read few books, she can speak well and handle things smoothly, and she has won the favor of Cixi in the more than 50 years she has been with her.
According to historical records, Cixi liked to chat with Li Lianying, and even if she talked about discussing state affairs, Li Lianying did not have to avoid suspicion.
Cixi trusted Li Lianying very much and never kept his reward.
In order to promote him to be the chief eunuch of Zheng Erpin, he did not hesitate to break the ancestral system, regardless of the obstruction of others, promoted Li Lianying to the eunuch commander, and became the most powerful eunuch in the last years of the Qing Dynasty.
With Cixi's favor, Li Lianying gained fame and fortune, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he leans towards the government and the opposition.
In addition to Cixi often handing over profitable projects to Li Lianying to take charge of, so that he could naturally make a profit from it, Li Lianying also turned a blind eye to accepting bribes under her nose.
Not only that, Li Lianying also developed the manipulation of courtiers into one of the ways to accumulate wealth.
Officials from other provinces came to Beijing to ask to see Cixi, and those who didn't know how to use silver to dredge the relationship between Li Lianying couldn't see the shadow of Cixi.
Even if the official is as big as Li Hongzhang, he also wants to flatter Li Lianying, the celebrity around Cixi.
Li Lianying, who was greedy for money, took advantage of her position to make money everywhere, not only pocketing part of the Qing Dynasty's taxes, but also openly provoking officials to extort money.
One day, Prince Gong rushed to Cixi Palace to discuss political affairs, and was instigated by Li Lianying's little eunuch.
It was freezing cold, Prince Gong was shivering with cold, Li Lianying hurriedly came out and taught the little eunuch a lesson, and also took a brand new leather jacket for Prince Gong to put on.
Even if Prince Gong knew in his heart that Li Lianying acted in this play to blackmail him, he had no choice but to send someone to send Li Lianying 10,000 taels of silver tickets to express his gratitude.
Others are greedy for money and have to look at the face of the master, but Li Lianying uses Cixi as an ATM to find some joy in life by the way.
When Guangxu got married, Cixi went to the new house to inspect and found that the glass was cracked, in order not to affect the normal progress of the marriage, Cixi ordered that as long as the glass could be quickly replaced, a reward of silver would be given.
In fact, this is a bureau set up by Li Lianying, as soon as Cixi left, he took down the horsetail grass glued to the glass and restored one side of the glass intact.
Without much effort, ten thousand taels of silver went into his pocket.
Li Lianying is greedy for money and doesn't ask about the right way, where there is money, he will drill wherever he goes, and there are not a few people who have obtained money from crooked ways.
Li Lianying is like a ruthless robot, just greedy to collect money, but the bitter thing is that her own bookkeeper can't count how much family property she has.
With so much gold and silver, what should I do if I can't put it at home?
Li Lianying used the money to buy real estate, there are 9 in Beijing alone, and the current Huguosi Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital used to be Li Lianying's house.
Even in Beijing, he did not forget to build his own manor in his hometown.
According to historical data, there are more than 200 rooms in this manor, and in order to make the rooms more delicate and firm, Li Lianying asked to mix the mud with glutinous rice milk and white ash, and the floor was also specially paved with blue striped stone.
There were fifty or sixty servants on the estate. In addition, Li Lianying also bought 210 hectares of land in the township, and the task of taking care of the fields was so heavy that her family was too busy to do so, so she could only ask her clansmen to help.
What's even more exaggerated is that there is an exclusive coachman in Li Lianying's house, who has been carrying silver for more than 20 years, and the horse's hooves have been wasted a lot.
The so-called one-person ascending to heaven is a metaphor for Li Lianying.
Li Lianying's nephew was extravagant and wasteful, spending two thousand taels of silver on a meal without blinking his eyes.
Li Lianying not only did not take responsibility after knowing it, but also praised him for spending money to make money.
Money comes too easily, and I don't know how to cherish it.
With Cixi's return to the west, Li Lianying's good days are almost over.
After the big tree on his back fell, Li Lianying took out the seven large boxes of treasures that Cixi had rewarded him for so many years and presented them to Empress Longyu, in exchange for resigning from the government and returning to his hometown to recuperate.
After getting the approval of Empress Longyu's Longen, Li Lianying immediately brought a large amount of silver to the South Garden for retirement.
Losing the prestige of the chief steward, even if there were still eunuchs waiting for him by his side, Li Lianying, whose life had also started the countdown, began to arrange to explain what happened after his death.
In 1910, realizing that she had little time left, Li Lianying summoned her stepson and nephew.
It is not easy to tell them that after entering the palace at the age of 9, it is not easy to save such a rich family foundation for the Li family, and not everyone has this ability.
Remind the younger generations to be cautious with these belongings and not to spend money blindly, in case the financial resources are exhausted and displaced.
His four stepsons had the highest status and received the most inheritance, with an average of 400,000 taels of silver each, as well as additional jewels.
Each nephew received 200,000 taels of silver, and although the two stepdaughters only received 172,000 taels of silver, they were considered to be equal to men and women.
And his few properties that are not small in size and priceless are left to the people to enjoy.
As for the two boxes of jewelry and more than 3 million taels of silver he left in the palace, Li Lianying told his juniors not to worry about it, so he handed it over to the palace for disposal.
After leaving the palace, many people were eyeing Li Lianying's property.
At the last moment of her life, Li Lianying reasonably divided the wealth she had saved from humiliating her life and by unscrupulous means, which also broke off the idea of these people.
Perhaps at this moment, he understood that money and wealth are things outside the body, and life does not bring death and does not take it away.
After Li Lianying's death, the Empress Dowager Longyu decreed that according to Li Lianying's eunuch position above the sixth level during her lifetime, a piece of land was specially given and buried in the Grand Duke of Enjizhuang, and 1,000 taels of silver and an altar.
Li Lianying's descendants deliberately spent 10,000 taels of silver to build a magnificent tomb for him, not only with independent courtyards, stone bridges, archways, but also built a Li Lianying ancestral hall.
There are also forty or fifty rooms for future generations to rest when they visit the graves.
Li Lianying's tomb and ground buildings cover an area of more than 10 acres, which shows that the Li family really regards Li Lianying as the glory of the family.
It's a pity that Li Lianying has been greedy for money all her life, and she has no blessings to enjoy, and has become a notorious traitor and villain.
There is no peace after death, and the descendants spend money like dirt and end miserably.
The tomb was also pryed open, and the body was destroyed, leaving only a human head and a braid, and in the end, it ended up with no body.