As we all know, Li is the most favored eunuch around Empress Dowager Cixi. In fact, before Li, An Dehai was the most favored eunuch around Empress Dowager Cixi.
An Dehai entered the palace as a eunuch in the early years of Xianfeng. Because she was smart and good at reading words and senses, she was quickly reused. Empress Dowager Cixi liked An Dehai very much and left him to her. After the death of Emperor Xianfeng, An Dehai began to really play his big role.
Before the death of Emperor Xianfeng, Zai Chun, the son of Empress Dowager Cixi, was appointed as the Crown Prince. Later, he prepared eight ministers of praise for Zai Chun, including Su Shun and Kuangyuan, which were actually eight ministers who cared about life, and then entrusted the harem to Cian.
Emperor Xianfeng died in chengde mountain resort, and Empress Dowager Cixi couldn't sit still. At that time, Zai Chun was only six years old, which meant that someone was bound to take control of state affairs, and whoever took the lead would naturally take control of state affairs in his own hands.
Empress Dowager Cixi is an ambitious person, so she will not miss this opportunity. But she is not the queen of Xianfeng Emperor. On top of her, Empress Ci 'an was suppressing her, so she first persuaded Empress Ci 'an to seize power, and then let An Dehai as an emissary, and joined hands with Yi Xin, the younger brother of Xianfeng Emperor, to launch a coup to seize power.
After An Dehai went to Beijing for the first time, he persuaded Yixin, who immediately asked to attend the funeral in chengde mountain resort. As a result, eight ministers in Gu Ming told Yixin to stay in Beijing on the grounds that there must be etiquette to stay in the capital.
Empress Dowager Cixi knew that it was difficult for her to let Yi Xin leave Beijing alone, so she went to Empress Cian for instructions and gave Yi Xin a secret imperial edict to come to Chengde. The secret edict was stamped with the seals of Empress Ci 'an and Emperor Tongzhi.
An Dehai went to Beijing again with a secret imperial edict, took Yixin to Chengde, and then met the Empress Dowager Ergong. In the end, he succeeded in seizing power, and the eight ministers fell one after another, and Yixin became the king of deliberation, forming a political situation of "the second palace hangs the curtain and the prince deliberates". In this process, An Dehai played an important role as a bridge between Empress Dowager Cixi and Yixin, and immediately became the general manager around Empress Dowager Cixi.
Empress Dowager Cixi's reliance on An Dehai gave An Dehai great confidence, and he began to intervene in state affairs. Later, Yixin was stripped of the title of king, to which An Dehai contributed.
Although the power of Empress Dowager Cixi in the second palace is lower than that of Empress Ci 'an, Empress Ci 'an is the last person to make the final decision, and Empress Ci 'an has no great ambition for power, so in fact, Empress Ci 'an often has the final say in political affairs. Even if Empress Ci 'an needs to nod on some important issues, Empress Cixi usually persuades Empress Ci 'an to stand on her side, which makes the power of Empress Ci 'an vaguely superior to Empress Ci 'an and Emperor Tongzhi.
As a trusted eunuch of Empress Dowager Cixi, An Dehai's social status has also risen, and she has become a figure walking sideways in the palace. He ignored the emperor, let alone the courtiers, which also laid the groundwork for An Dehai's murder later. An Dehai just didn't realize that he had become a nuisance. Maybe even if he knew, he thought that with the support of Empress Dowager Cixi, he would not fall.
Where did he know that? Sometimes, even Empress Dowager Cixi can't keep him.
1869, An Dehai persuaded Empress Dowager Cixi to send him to Jiangnan to buy a dragon robe. Empress Dowager Cixi prepared An Dehai's request, so An Dehai went south by boat with some followers. In the process of going south, An Dehai did not shy away, and amassed wealth wherever he went. He thought he could eat, drink and be merry this time and get a lot of gold, silver and jewels, but he didn't expect to confess his life story soon.
He was stared at even before he left. Entering the boundary of Shandong, he was targeted by Shandong Governor Ding Baozhen. Ding Baozhen wrote to the imperial court that the eunuchs of the Qing Dynasty "were not allowed to leave the imperial city without being sent."
This is a rule that existed when the emperor shunzhi was in office, but An Dehai obviously violated this convention. You know, Empress Dowager Cixi only verbally allowed An Dehai to go south, without going through formal procedures. Neither An Dehai nor Empress Dowager Cixi expected that someone would stand up and impeach him.
Being targeted by Ding Baozhen is An Dehai's misfortune. He even tried to intimidate local officials in Shandong to keep them out of his business. He went to the south with a secret letter, but the fact is that he couldn't produce the document. So as far as the law is concerned, An Dehai really broke the law. Ding Baozhen said directly: "Officials are private and private, and they are not controlled. Moreover, the minister has never heard of life, and there is no doubt that he will cheat. "
Ding Baozhen's performance in Beijing also caused a sensation. Empress Dowager Cixi naturally didn't want to lose this right-hand man, so she tried to protect An Dehai, but no one except Empress Dowager Cixi wanted An Dehai to live, such as Emperor Tongzhi, Yi Xin, Empress Ci 'an and others. They didn't want An Dehai to continue to do evil.
Empress Dowager Cixi can't convince Empress Ci 'an, but only depends on Empress Ci 'an's instructions on this matter, that is, "make a decision on punishment". At the command of Empress Cian, Ding Baozhen beheaded An Dehai in Jinan, and An Dehai was an arm of Empress Dowager Cixi. She really hates Ding Baozhen in her heart.
But Ding Baozhen killed An Dehai according to the procedure, and Empress Dowager Cixi couldn't find anything wrong. After all, it is illegal for An Dehai to go south, and Ding Baozhen was killed according to the will of Empress Ci 'an and Emperor Tongzhi. Anyway, Empress Dowager Cixi can't blame Ding Baozhen.
Moreover, Empress Dowager Cixi did not necessarily know that An Dehai was unpopular and made many enemies in the imperial court, which in itself was very unfavorable to Empress Dowager Cixi. Therefore, the murder of An Dehai may not be a good thing for Empress Dowager Cixi. Later, Li, who succeeded An Dehai as general manager, learned a lot.
An Dehai was unpopular, and Ding Baozhen killed An Dehai, which made people happy. Empress Dowager Cixi can't blame Ding Baozhen anyway. The point is, even if Empress Dowager Cixi wants to dispose of Ding Baozhen, she has to get Cian's consent.
Only when Cian was gone and she became the most powerful person in the Qing Dynasty could Ding Cancai impress Bao Zhen, but when Cian died, Cixi still didn't impress Ding Baozhen.
The reason is also very simple. First, Ding Baozhen is indeed a talent pillar, honest, diligent and honest, which is highly respected by both the ruling and opposition parties. Empress Dowager Cixi did not want the court to lose such courtiers.
Secondly, it has been more than ten years since An Dehai was killed. Empress Dowager Cixi has a personal eunuch Li. She has no memory of An Dehai and no hatred for Ding Baozhen. Therefore, after An Dehai was killed, Empress Dowager Cixi never took revenge on Ding Baozhen and never embarrassed him. On the contrary, Ding Baozhen was reused in his later period. 1886, Ding Baozhen died while serving as the governor of Sichuan.