How did Li, who was black and ugly, please Cixi?

Li has a yellow face, high cheekbones, long face, swollen eyes, small eyes, big nose, thick lips and long chin. Judging from the historical pictures, Li's appearance is very ugly, so why did he succeed in the dangerous and cunning court politics? Lu Xun once said that eunuchs, opium and concubines are the "national quintessence" of China. As a national quintessence, it has a long history, such as eunuchs, which have a history of more than two thousand years in China. Eunuch politics in past dynasties, and even eunuch disasters, are often seen in history books. At some special time nodes, it even affected the rise and fall of a dynasty, such as "Ten Regular Attendants" in the Eastern Han Dynasty and Wei Zhongxian in the late Ming Dynasty. There were several famous eunuchs in the late Qing Dynasty, such as An Dehai, Cui Yugui and Xiao, but the most famous one was Li-of course, his reputation was not good. Li Sheng was in the 28th year of Daoguang (1848). Originally from Li Jiacun, he was born in Dacheng County, Hejianfu, Zhili (now Hebei). Unofficial history often says that he is a rogue by nature. He was arrested and imprisoned for selling sodium sulfate privately. Later, I was lucky enough to escape and switched to repairing shoes. Therefore, posthumous title "Li" (called "Li" by Liu Tizhi in Shuo Wen Jie Zi). Shoe-making and shoe repair are inseparable from leather and nitrosulfonic acid, but "leather nitrosulfonic acid plum" is not about Li, but the career his family is engaged in. Because Li led an honest and clean life at the age of 8 and entered the palace at the age of 9, I'm afraid it's too late to learn the skill of repairing shoes and selling nitrosulfonic acid. But it doesn't hurt. In the Qing Dynasty, there were many eunuchs in Hejian House (Cui Yugui, An Dehai and Li's hometown were only dozens of miles), and people often entered the palace to be eunuchs. Fortunately, they really made a fortune and their families got support. As for Li, he entered the palace because his family was bullied, looking for a way out for himself and his family.

At that time, there was a eunuch named Shen in the palace, who was human. He saw that Li had just entered the palace and didn't know anyone. He is very poor. Just then, he got a message. Empress Dowager Cixi heard that a new hairstyle was popular outside, and the eunuch in the palace couldn't comb it well. Empress Dowager Cixi was very unhappy about it. Later, Shen told the news to Li, and asked Li Haohao to consider the combing method of the new hairstyle. After Li Lian, Shen recommended him to Empress Dowager Cixi, and Li Yi showed his skill, which was the beginning of Li's favor. Empress Dowager Cixi attached great importance to combing her hair, even suspected of going crazy. Since the birth of Li, Empress Dowager Cixi has assigned Li to do it himself, whether it is tying a bun or a hairpin. Otherwise, she will be uncomfortable all day. According to unofficial history's Biography of Slaves, Empress Dowager Cixi showed great affection for Li. Li can even sit and watch the play with Cixi. When the snacks made for Empress Dowager Cixi in the palace meet the food eaten by liai, Empress Dowager Cixi often eats less or lets eunuchs take them away and leave them to Li. In addition to combing her hair, Li has a special performance, that is, she is good at catering to and speculating the thoughts of Empress Dowager Cixi. Li is humorous and likes telling jokes. Although he didn't read much when he was a child, his jokes were exquisite, round, not vulgar and quite popular. When Empress Dowager Cixi is free, she often asks Li to tell some jokes to amuse everyone. At such times, Li always has the ability to make everyone happy. Even if he tells some political jokes that satirize the government in the street, he can be euphemistic and humorous, so that people can't hear the irony. As the main manager of the palace, Li is not a hollow reputation. He is also proficient in the management of the palace. For example, Li knows everything in the palace like the back of his hand, and eunuchs often ask him for instructions when they encounter difficulties. When there are festive events in the palace, Li is best at arranging and distributing everything, so that other princes and ministers can have any happy events, especially if Empress Dowager Cixi wants to be "auspicious", she often asks Li to point out the etiquette and layout first to win the favor of Cixi. After the fall of the Qing court, maids were scattered outside the palace. Later, a maid-in-waiting dictated a book, comparing Li to "Buddha sees good fortune"-"Buddha sees good fortune" is a pear produced in Malanyu, Dongling, with dark skin and unremarkable appearance. It doesn't look attractive, but it tastes sweet, crisp and tender, and Empress Dowager Cixi likes it. Li got this nickname because Li's appearance is hard to impress people, but he is considerate everywhere after work. "The jargon in the palace is' watertight', which makes the old lady feel at ease and won the favor of the queen mother." "This harmless banter is a lot in the palace, such as calling Chen Quanfu the keeper, calling Cui Yugui the little guy, and calling Zhang Defu the land god. Palace no matter who is looking for what, with what, just ask Zhang Defu, he knows, so just have this nickname. This "Buddha sees a blessing" is like Dai Yue, who gets up early and is greedy for the dark. Don't be busy and methodical. ..... things like swimming in the lake are arranged in an orderly way. Without his careful consideration, it is difficult to make the old lady feel comfortable. "

However, Li's entry into the palace was not smooth sailing. When An Dehai, who entered the palace with him, was the red man around the Queen Mother, Li was still in the lower level. It was not until Andehai was killed that Li was able to make his mark. An Dehai once made great contributions in the "Xinyou coup", but he was arrogant and didn't know how to leave room for himself, so he had to blame himself. On one occasion, An Dehai wanted to go out to the palace to see the scenery, and Empress Dowager Cixi sent him to the south to buy the emperor's robes. Unexpectedly, An Dehai paraded all the way, asking for bribes from local officials. As a result, Ding Baozhen, the governor of Shandong Province, caught him and put him to death on the grounds that "eunuchs are not allowed to leave the palace". It is said that Ding Baozhen was inspired by Empress Ci 'an and Prince Gong, and Empress Dowager Cixi dared not tell anyone. An Dehai alone is to blame. In this respect, Li Yuan is much smarter and lower-key than An Dehai. 1886, Beiyang navy began to take shape, and Li Hongzhang invited the imperial court to send personnel to inspect the military parade. Empress Dowager Cixi intends to send Prince Yi of Alcohol, but Yi is Guangxu's biological father. He was afraid of the suspicion of Empress Dowager Cixi, so he volunteered to be accompanied by the red man Li around Empress Dowager Cixi to show that he had no second thoughts. Empress Dowager Cixi also wanted to take this opportunity to let Li go out to see the world and enjoy the scenery, so Prince Chun went to inspect Beiyang Navy as the official special envoy of the imperial court and Li as the deputy special envoy. It is not surprising that eunuchs from other dynasties made tours as imperial envoys, but it was the first time in history of qing dynasty. If it was An Dehai, his tail would definitely get stuck in the sky, but Li wouldn't. In order to avoid others gossiping, before leaving, Li changed the second hat given to him by Empress Dowager Cixi into the fourth hat (the eunuch can only take four hats at most), and then set off behind Prince Alcohol. Along the way, Li didn't have the airs of an imperial envoy, but always followed the alcohol prince and served him well. People who don't know thought that Li was specially sent to wait on the wine prince. In the evening, Prince Chun personally washed his feet, and Li personally gave him hot water. He also said that he had no chance to serve the report before. This time, he must do some filial piety and touch Prince Chun again and again. After returning home, he naturally praised Li's loyalty to Cixi.

Although there are many eunuchs in the palace, most of them are powerless and miserable all their lives. "Like a poor widow," only Li, who can speak in front of Empress Dowager Cixi and is in charge of the actual management of the palace (actually equivalent to the role of the palace aide), can be flattered and even invited to take bribes. However, in "A Talk about Maids", there is a saying that "the goodness of Li is that he never skimps on ordinary servants, so few people hate Li with their teeth". According to him, it is also appropriate for Li to handle family property. Before the Reform Movement of 1898, he divided his property into seven parts: the mu was divided equally by five brothers, about 370 hectares; The money is divided into seven parts, and the two sisters also have a share. The number is unknown. According to hearsay, his two sisters each got172,000 yuan, and each got about 7 boxes of jewelry. Of course, there are some elements in this, but it should be true that Li Wei has accumulated a lot of property. After leaving the palace, Li acted cautiously, did not show up easily, and did not associate with people in society, because there were rumors that his family was rich and he was afraid that someone would tie his ticket. During his seclusion, Li repeatedly warned his nephews that "wealth is also a curse" and should always be vigilant, but his nephews did not take his words to heart, so they were desperate, which is another story. Coincidentally, Li Yisheng served the Qing Dynasty, and the year of his death happened to be 19 1 1 year. According to his family, Li suffers from "throat-locked dysentery" and his condition is very serious. Li began to suffer from the disease on September 29th and died on February 4th at the age of 63. After Li's death, the Queen Mother gave her a piece of land and buried it in Grand Duke Enji Village. Enjizhuang is outside Fuchengmen. Since the dynasty, this is the cemetery dedicated to burying eunuchs. It is also a cemetery, but the treatment behind eunuchs is very different, such as the cemetery in the south, where there are many barren hills and no people, which is the last place for ordinary eunuchs to live; In the north, it is very different. I saw that "the short trees are lush and the brick houses suddenly make people feel the disparity between the rich and the poor." As a decent burial for the six-grade eunuch and the Queen Mother, Jean Village also built a stone archway with the words "General Qin Li's Tomb" engraved on it.

Liu Tizhi said in Different Dictionaries that Li "has more power in internal supervision than after An Dehai. However, Empress Qin Xiao was strict in family law, but officials in the home office had to deal with it frequently. At that time, I was lucky enough to invite a kind person to ban traffic as soon as possible, or I knew it very well. Ministers of the outer court need not meet their people. Lian Ying has never left our sight, and her acquaintances are even rarer. In the first month of the fourth year of Yan Jia's reign, the Temple of Fire was moved to the incense burner factory. Suddenly, one of the tourists whispered, "This is Li, too." See, it's a dark and ugly man, just a strong man in the north. "If this record is true, then what Liu Tizhi saw one month before the onset was Li. This statement of "black ugly man" is quite appropriate. According to "Talking to Maids", there is a sitting statue of Li in the west temple of Guandi Temple in Enjizhuang, which is two feet high. " Looking down from the top, the second-class red Ding Zi is wearing a yellow coat that protects the heart of the dragon, a purple auspicious suit, and beads hanging on her chest. Basic high boots, two feet are stepped on the footstool in a figure of eight, and both hands naturally hang down on the legs. ..... Look at the face: yellow-faced woman with high cheekbones, slightly longer cheeks, swollen eyes, slightly closed, big nose, thick lips and long chin. This Li is indeed, but his eyes are poorly drawn. He has a pair of pepper eyes, although small, but very sharp and lifeless. It seems that he deliberately wants to leave the solemn and simple form to future generations. It is said that Li once summed up his life in eight words, that is, "respecting things and being lenient." This character can be described as the truth of life. Practically speaking, it is not easy for a eunuch to do this, and it seems that there is no need to be too harsh.