A big eunuch who repaired shoes.
Li was originally named Li Yingtai, and his ancestral home was Dacheng County, Hejianfu, Zhili. Daoguang was born in 28 years, with five brothers, and Li Yingtai was the second. His father, Li Yu, is a shoemaker and his family is poor. In the early years of Xianfeng, the whole family followed the emperor to the capital, settled in Judas Village, Haidian, and still made a living by repairing shoes. Because the most important process of cooked skin is kneading with nitrate, Li Yu later got the name of "skin nitrate plum" For four years in Xianfeng, Li Yu sent Li, who was only 7 years old, to a special place to clean himself under the pressure of life. Two years later, acquaintances in Li Yutao introduced Li Yingtai to the palace and named him Lian Win.
Skilled and popular
Because of Li Junqiao's appearance and sweet heart, she was left beside Cixi, who was then an imperial concubine, and became a little eunuch. Yi Guifei loves dressing up very much, paying attention to clothes, gold and silver jewelry and hair style. At that time, the palace from the queen mother to the maid-in-waiting was the same hairstyle for decades, which had bored her. At that time, a new hairstyle was popular in Beijing, which was novel, beautiful, elegant and refined. Yi Guifei was eager to try after learning about it. She asked the old eunuch to comb her several times, but she was not satisfied, so she was very unhappy and didn't mention it anymore.
One day, eunuchs were chatting in the temporary lounge and accidentally mentioned it. The speaker has no intention, but the listener has intention. Li Xin, a scheming little eunuch, thought that if she could sort out this new hairstyle, she could stay with Yi Guifei for a long time and there was hope in the future. Therefore, whenever he has the opportunity to go shopping in the Palace, he actively goes there, takes the opportunity to sneak into entertainment places, carefully observes the fashionable hairstyles of young women, and asks them for the skills of combing their hair. Many things happen. After a period of imitation and hard training, he finally mastered several new hair combing methods.
So Li took the initiative to find Liu, the eunuch in charge at that time, and volunteered to comb Yi Guifei's hair. Li, who was full of ambition, knelt behind Yi Guifei with trepidation. She carefully studied the face of the imperial concubine from the front big mirror, and with the experience she explored a while ago, she boldly started a new hairstyle. Yi Guifei looked at the little eunuch behind her in a mirror, and her heart was very cool. Soon Li combed her hair, put on gold and silver jewelry and put on bright peony flowers. Yi Guifei sat in front of the mirror and looked around for a long time, admiring the new hairstyle. She is very satisfied. Li not only worked hard on combing her hair, but also tried her best to please Yi Guifei in other aspects. Massage twice every morning and evening, and make Yi Guifei feel comfortable after combing her hair and before removing makeup. Therefore, Li gradually became the intimate eunuch in Yi Guifei's mind. At that time, in order to woo An Dehai, the eunuch of Xianfeng, Yi Guifei asked Li to learn from An Dehai. During this period, Li's position gradually rose. Tongzhi for four years, promoted to eunuch, gave six products to wear Hualing. His position is second only to that of An Dehai, and he became a favorite of Cixi.
Early Li.
One day, Li was ordered by Empress Dowager Cixi to visit Hongde Hall to see how the Tongzhi Emperor worked hard. Just outside the temple, I heard two little eunuchs whispering and approached. Suddenly I heard the news of An Dehai's arrest from outside, and Li hurried back to Changchun Palace to report Cixi. Puzzled, Cixi ordered Li to find it. Li thought that this matter must go through Prince Gong, so he went directly to inquire about it. When Li saw that he was ordered to come, he knew that he could not hide it, so he had to tell the truth. After learning the whole story, Li said to Prince Gong, "The prince also knows the temperament of Empress Dowager Cixi. If the queen mother knows the whole process, I am afraid that the prince will feel bad. " . Yi reluctantly replied: "It should be done in accordance with the ancestral system." "If the Queen Mother refuses, what will happen to your old man?" Prince Gong was speechless, said goodbye to Li and turned to go. Yi quickly stopped him: "Li Anda walks slowly. Your Majesty doesn't advocate it at the moment. Please ask Anda to help him figure out a plan to kill two birds with one stone and tide over this difficulty." When Li saw this scene, he smiled and said, "Among them, big princess is very popular with Empress Dowager Cixi, so we can deal with it. I can play it by ear or save the prince. Or you can roll with the punches and nothing will happen. " Prince Gong was able to settle down.
For An Dehai, Li is so concerned, and the mystery is self-evident. He can play it by ear between Empress Dowager Cixi and Ci 'an, between the emperor and Prince Gong, and win the favor of all parties. At the same time, An Dehai's death also means that Li's future is bright. Running around for An Dehai's business has also gained a reputation for kindness and integrity. However, for him, An Dehai's murder also sounded the alarm, a lesson from the past, unforgettable. Li, who is extremely clever, learned how to protect himself from harm in this most powerful class.
Li went back to Changchun Palace to persuade Cixi because An Dehai was too ostentatious. It happened that big princess came to visit and intercede for his father. Cixi calmed down and said that this time, Prince Gong was spared. After big princess left, Li Shunkou said, "The Queen Mother has bitten the hand that feeds her, and spared Prince Gong. Why should we compete with the East Queen Mother? Besides, manager An is no longer alive, even quarreling with the East Palace won't help. It is better to take a long-term view, indicating that the queen mother is broad-minded. If so, the queen mother will be grateful. "
A powerful eunuch
Empress Dowager Cixi saw Li Congming, liked her words, and was more calculating than An Dehai, so she meant "acting as a peach". Cixi issued an imperial edict to show An Dehai's crimes one by one, and ordered officials at all levels to pay homage to the officials of the Manchu Dynasty and the people all over the world. Empress Ci 'an, Emperor Tongzhi, Prince Gong and others were worried and painstakingly raised, but they were taken away by Cixi in a high-profile way. In this sense, she defeated her opponent and further consolidated her dominant position.
The scourge of eunuchs in the late Qing Dynasty was not eradicated, but intensified. With the support of Empress Dowager Cixi, Li quickly took over the position of An Dehai and was promoted to be the eunuch in charge of state affairs, holding four titles. Sitting in the Forbidden City for nearly 40 years, he played an important role in the history of eunuchs in the late Qing Dynasty.