Chapter 38 Pretending to rescue An Dehai

In the fourth year of Tongzhi (1865), at the behest of Empress Dowager Cixi and recommended by the chief eunuch An Dehai, Li Lianying was exceptionally promoted to the chief eunuch because of her diligence and honesty, and was bestowed with a sixth-grade flower plume.In fact, this is a practice that violates the ancestral precepts of the Qing Dynasty, but at this time Cixi is domineering and domineering, and no one dares to come out to object.As early as the September 30th year of Qianlong (1765), it was clearly stipulated in the decree that, except for special circumstances, the chief eunuch sponsoring the leader must be over 30 years old.At the same time, it also emphasized that if there is any violation of the law, the Ministry of Internal Affairs can investigate and participate and punish them severely.It's a pity that the ancestors couldn't show up, and Cixi still insisted on going her own way, and no one could object.

Empress Dowager Cixi has always been extravagant in food and clothing, and she often dislikes the poor quality of silk, satin and clothing materials sent by the three weaving factories in Jiangnan, Suzhou, and Hangzhou, which make her look down on them.Before Tongzhi's wedding, Cixi had even more reason to say that the emperor prepared dresses and said they were wrong, so she decided to send someone to the south of the Yangtze River to supervise the production of expensive clothing materials.An Dehai intends to go to the south of the Yangtze River to open his eyes, and by the way, he can make some money for himself, and he can also take the opportunity to go to the south of the Yangtze River to show off his prestige.He asked his master to be willing to serve him.Empress Dowager Cixi listened to it and was very pleased.

If the news is leaked in front of the ministers, it is not easy to support.It is most reassuring to send my confidant An Dehai there now.So, let him go out of Beijing secretly. However, the ancestors once left behind the family law and discipline, and eunuchs were not allowed to participate in the government and go out of Beijing to handle official business.Although the Empress Dowager Cixi is powerful in the world, she still dare not violate the ancestral system.She asked An Dehai to behave as much as possible after leaving the capital, and not to make a big show, so as not to cause trouble.Do your business quickly and return as soon as possible.An Dehai agreed again and again, and left the capital happily.

An Dehai felt that with Cixi's backing, he would not be afraid to walk in a beautiful way.He left Tongzhou cautiously.As soon as I passed Tianjin, I felt that everything was gone, so I made a big deal out of it.The flags on the ship were fluttering, and the drums were beeping in unison. It looked even more ostentatious than the royal ships. Not only that, but he also harassed the people along the way, and wantonly accepted bribes from various government offices along the way.Although An Dehai sneaked out of the capital in secret, but he was so ostentatious and rampant along the way, something would happen sooner or later.Prince Gong Yixin usually sees An De Haigou's arrogance and arrogance, and he has long wanted to get rid of him, but because he has no chance, he has not done it for a long time.This time, he heard that An Dehai was making so much noise that the people along the way were restless, so he secretly informed Shandong Governor Ding Baozhen to wait for An Dehai in Jinan.Once they appear, they will be arrested immediately, severely punished, and will be shot to death.

Ding Baozhen received the order from Prince Gong, but he was not overheated.He knew that An Dehai was the Empress Dowager Cixi's confidant, and no one inside or outside the court dared to provoke him, not even Prince Gong Yixin, so of course he would not kill An Dehai himself.Therefore, he entrusted this task to his subordinate, Zhao Xin, the magistrate of Dezhou, and ordered him to arrest An Dehai as soon as he arrived in Dezhou, and send him to Jinan for questioning. Zhao Xin, the governor of Dezhou, of course understands the stakes, and he can't afford to offend anyone.But suffering from no good strategy to deal with it, I had to discuss it with my staff.If the staff had an idea, he suggested that when An Dehai entered the territory of Dezhou, he would use a note instead of a government document to inform Governor Ding Baozhen.Because the note will not be sent to the capital along with the documents.

Zhao Xin was overjoyed and acted accordingly.Ding Baozhen received a note from Zhao Xin, and while notifying Cheng Shengwu of Dongchang Mansion to arrest An Dehai, he secretly played Prince Gong Yixin.In the end, An Dehai was arrested and sent to Jinan. When Ding Baozhen's memorial was delivered to Prince Gong Yixin, Li Lianying's cronies found out the news. Li Lianying found out the details of the matter. According to the usual habit, she should have reported to Cixi early and asked for her credit.But this time Li Lianying did not report, because once An Dehai died, her chance came.Besides, even if An Dehai couldn't die and come back alive, Li Lianying said that he didn't know everything, no one would be surprised.

Two or three days later, Li Lianying learned that Prince Gong Yixin approached the Empress Dowager Ci'an to discuss how to deal with An Dehai.Li Lianying slipped to the corridor of the Hall of Mental Cultivation to eavesdrop.Hearing that Prince Gong Yixin enumerated An Dehai's crimes one by one in fierce terms, and then said that he secretly went out of Beijing to handle business and acted mischievously along the way, which really hurt the tradition of our Qing Dynasty and should be punished on the spot. The little emperor Tongzhi on the side was also often sued by An Dehai, and he hated An Dehai to the core.Now I heard that An Dehai caused a big disaster outside, so I urged An Dehai to rectify the law on the spot.Empress Dowager Ci'an was originally a person without a backbone, so she nodded in agreement.At that moment, Prince Gong Yixin drew up a pen to draft an order.

Li Lianying, who was eavesdropping outside, saw that the deal was done and knew that the result could not be reversed, so she hurried to report to the Empress Dowager Cixi.When the Empress Dowager Cixi heard what Li Lianying said, she immediately panicked and rushed to the Hall of Mental Cultivation angrily, just in time to bump into Prince Gong Yixin who was planning to write an imperial edict. Prince Gong Yixin didn't wait for Cixi to ask, and confidently counted An Dehai's crimes since he left Beijing, and insisted on asking him to kill him.The Empress Dowager Cixi cited An Dehai's contribution to the coup in Beijing in an attempt to save his life.At the same time, they put pressure on Ci'an to stop Prince Gong, but Ci'an didn't say a word.As for the little emperor Tongzhi, although he is young and has not yet returned to power, he feels that what he said cannot be taken back; besides, he has no knowledge of the coup d'état in Beijing that his mother said, and An Dehai has indeed hurt his young son. He also strongly advocated the Fa-rectification on the spot.

Cixi knew clearly that sending An Dehai out of Beijing violated the ban, and it was a short-term reason, unable to turn the tide, so she had to give in, and returned to her bedroom angrily.As soon as Prince Gong Yixin and Cixi left, he immediately sent the written decree to Jinan to have An Dehai executed on the spot. When the Empress Dowager Cixi returned to her bedroom, she felt that An Dehai's life should be saved, so she wrote an edict in person, asking Shandong governor Ding Baozhen to send An Dehai back to Beijing.Unexpectedly, Cixi's decree was withheld by Prince Gong, and it was not issued until after An Dehai was killed in Shandong, but it was already too late.Soon, the Empress Dowager Cixi learned the news of An Dehai's murder, and since then forged deep grievances with Prince Gong Yixin and the Empress Dowager Ci'an.

The furious Cixi scolded Ding Baozhen for biting mice and meddling in his own business, and said that Yixin didn't see her in her eyes.No matter how she scolded, An Dehai died in Jinan anyway. On the night when the news of An Dehai's murder reached Beijing, Li Lianying had the idea of ​​being promoted, and tried to inquire about the news in front of Cixi.He said in a high-sounding tone that after the death of Master An Dehai, those little eunuchs were really left alone, and no one led them to serve the queen mother.The Empress Dowager Cixi was feeling depressed at this time, so of course she didn't hear Li Lianying's real meaning.

Li Lianying didn't know the details, and was unwilling to do so. After quitting, she deliberately fell to the ground suddenly, so as to test the Empress Dowager Cixi.When Cixi came to the yard, she helped him up very distressed, and ordered the imperial doctor to take his pulse and take medicine. For several days, Li Lianying pretended to be sick and was bedridden. Empress Dowager Cixi even went to see him in person. He pretended to get up but couldn't get up, saying that he was very dizzy.Cixi immediately became very anxious, thinking that An Dehai was killed and Li Lianying fell ill, so misfortunes never come singly.Later, the Empress Dowager Cixi asked Li Lianying to chat with her. Cixi completely regarded Li Lianying as her own, and warned him to take An Dehai as a lesson and act carefully everywhere. When Li Lianying saw what the Empress Dowager Cixi said, he finally sensed something. He had an idea, and thought why don't I take the opportunity to find out the details.Therefore, he deliberately said that he could not compare with Master An Dehai, and I am afraid that in the future it will be difficult to serve the Queen Mother comfortably like a master. In fact, Cixi had long understood that Li Lianying was testing his position in her heart, so she gave him a reassurance.As for Li Lianying's refusals, she didn't take it to heart at all. This was his further proof.Cixi went on to say that the emperor has not yet returned to power, and the court is not peaceful.Although the Empress Dowager Cixi intends to promote Li Lianying to be the chief executive, it is a pity that he is too young, and there are still a group of princes and ministers who always use their ancestors to suppress others, so it is difficult to succeed for a while.But she told Li Lianying that one day she would be in power, and promoted Li Lianying to the position of manager, so that he could be wronged for a while. After Li Lianying heard this, although there was no hope of promotion, she was still very happy that as long as the Empress Dowager Cixi valued him, it would be better than being an official.From then on, Li Lianying worked harder to serve Empress Dowager Cixi. With his supernatural powers, he was soon called the second An Dehai.In fact, to say this is to dwarf Li Lianying.In fact, Li Lianying is much smarter than An Dehai. He not only dared to tell your shortcomings in front of Cixi in front of you, but also dared to intercede for you in front of Cixi, which made people respect and fear him. In the seventh year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1881), the Empress Dowager Ci'an ascended to heaven. Since then, the Empress Dowager Cixi has become more arbitrary and said what she said.Since she seldom left the palace, she discussed with Li Lianying when she could not make up her mind about many important national affairs.Li Lianying took this opportunity to advise Cixi and intervene in government affairs, which further won Cixi's favor and became a power supervisor with one person under ten thousand.