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Chapter 53 Loyalty
When it comes to the level of eunuchs, Hong Tao still has a say. After all, he has lived in the palace for 20 years, and the people he has the most contact with all day long are eunuchs and maids.

After the eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty entered the palace, they were collectively called "little firemen" because they had no rank and could not do any errands. They could only carry bamboo baskets and deliver charcoal to the fire dragons in various palaces at regular intervals.

But the little fireman also has an identity. It is commonly known as a waistband. It is made of ebony. On weekdays, he wears a flat scarf on his head when traveling. It is a flat-topped cloth hat, which looks similar to the plain scarf worn by military attaches every day.

After a few years, if no major mistakes are made, the little fire person will be promoted to an emissary, and he will still wear an ebony badge and a plain scarf. He still has no rank, but he can do odd jobs in various prisons, treasuries, and yamen in the palace. , considered a skilled worker.

Further up, there should be levels, the lowest is the sixth-grade Changshou, the highest is the fourth-grade eunuch, the ebony plaque is replaced by the bone tooth plaque, the plain towel is replaced by the pipe hat, and you can be called a eunuch.

Eunuchs can't be promoted further up the ranks, but they can be replaced by grace.If you add a level of favor, you can receive twelve more Lumi stones every year.In addition, there are additional titles, which are to add positions in front of the grades, such as the chief of etiquette, holding the pen, holding the hall, as well as various admirals, ministers, etc.

When it comes to the top eunuch, such as Chen Ju, what if he must be rewarded if he performs meritorious service again?In addition to adding favors, you can also give some privileges, such as riding horses in the palace, python viewing suits, bullfighting suits, flying fish suits, etc.

The upgrade of eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty was generally slow, especially after reaching a rank. Ten years of inactivity was considered normal.Less than a year after Wang Chengen entered the palace, he was valued by the emperor. Not only was he given the official title of Yapai, but he was also given a specific position, which is really rare.

"Your servant has received the order...Wang Chengen, why don't you thank me quickly!" Wang An looked hard at the three words on the roster, then stared at Wang Chengen to confirm again, trying to find any clues.Why was the Little Fire Lord attracted by Long Live Lord just a year after entering the palace?But without any hesitation, he shouted.

"Slave, slave..." Wang Chengen was even more dumbfounded, as if he was in a dream.If you mix seniority based on years, I'm afraid you won't be able to be a long-term follower in another ten years. If you still walk around the Yangxin Palace and stay by the emperor's side every day, it will definitely be a pie in the sky!

But even in this situation, he still did not forget the emperor's order. No matter how his legs shook, he would not kneel down. He did not dare to soften even if Wang An stared at him, which made him feel like he was swaying in the wind.

"Hey hey hey, so brave! Wang Chengen, from now on you are the captain of team A. You are responsible for organizing the team and controlling the players during every drill. If there are any violations in the team, the captain will be punished first. You are also ten people in each team. Please choose the captain immediately. Come out, I will only wait for a quarter of an hour!"

Seeing this, Hong Tao couldn't help but laugh, opened his mouth and gave Wang Chengen another title, and then waved his hand to indicate that the Little Firemen could disband and choose their own captain.

"Wang An, I have the ability to recognize people. Judging from the appearance of this boy, he will definitely be a loyal person in the future. You go down and teach him so that he can read and understand." Turning around and seeing the question mark on Wang An's face, Hong Tao still had to explain. The explanation is similar to that of the old man with a white beard. It has its own destiny.

If you want to ask why Hong Tao values ​​​​so much a little flamer whom he meets for the first time, there are only three words for the reason: Wang Chengen.

Chongzhen, the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, hanged himself on Meishan Mountain. There were no civil servants or generals around him at that time. In the end, the only person who died with him was an eunuch named Wang Chengen, who was also from Xingtai County, Shunde Prefecture, North Zhili, and also named after Cao Huachun. Down.

Throughout the dynasties in Chinese history, only two of the last emperors made Hong Tao envious. One was the young emperor Zhao Bing of the Southern Song Dynasty, and the other was Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty.Zhao Bing's country was ruined and his family was ruined, and he was desperate. However, there were still many ministers and tens of thousands of people around him who stayed with him and shared weal and woe.Although the war was lost, the people's hearts were not lost.I am afraid that no ministers and people of any dynasty can be so loyal to their emperor. They would rather jump into the sea and drown together than change dynasties and live an ignoble existence.

The subjects of the vast majority of dynasties were ready to surrender when their country was invaded. It doesn't matter who the emperor is or not. They are just messing around to eat anyway. It doesn't matter who becomes the emperor.

Chongzhen is definitely not as good as Zhao Bing, but he still has someone who can share life and death with him when everyone betrays his relatives, and he is better than most people.Who can find such a loyal subordinate or friend in his life?It’s difficult!He is definitely not qualified to be an emperor, but he still has some merits as a person.

Promoting Wang Chengen was not because Hong Tao was also prepared to be desperate in the future. He could have someone to accompany him to death. With him here, the Ming Dynasty would probably not have the next few emperors, let alone his grandson Chongzhen.

But it is better to keep this kind of people around than to get some people who are unscrupulous for profit. I dare not say that they can hand over their backs at critical moments, but at least they can turn sideways.What was missing most in the 17th century?Talent!

From that day on, the emperor tried his best to take time to go around the inner school field every day, and personally supervised the little firemen running, lifting weights, climbing, or dividing into two teams to attack and defend each other, competing for the ball. The scene was very tragic, and often Those with broken bones or tendons.

However, with the emperor's reward and supervision, the little flamers all strive to be the first. As long as they can stand out in the competition, they will be favored by the emperor and arrange errands. The pain of mere flesh and blood is nothing under the heavy reward.

The outer court didn't say anything about the emperor's actions. First, the emperor really had no intention of restarting internal training. This is not the way anyone trains troops.Since the emperor is still young and would rather be active than quiet, he should treat it as a game and turn a blind eye.

Second, the courtiers really didn't have time to make fuss about the emperor's spare time. Once the supplementary officials were in place, their work became relatively easy and they had more free time.What did the ancients say?Things happen to idlers!The partisanship that had been idle for several months was about to begin in full swing.

The topic this time is not too new. Last year’s demon book case and the identity of the King of Chu were brought up again.One party said that the other party colluded with the inner palace to plot against the then prince, and the other party countered that someone wanted to use the King of Chu's incident to attack his colleagues in disguise.Anyway, everyone is making solid claims, and no one can provide any solid evidence. It is basically all talk.

Hong Tao listened continuously for more than half a month, trying to persuade one side or another, but it was of no use. The quarrel became more and more intense, and they even started to quarrel with each other in the morning, scolding the officials of Honglu Temple who were responsible for maintaining order.

Then Hong Tao stopped going to court for three days in a row. No matter how the cabinet scholars tried to persuade him, he finally agreed to go to court every three days. If it rained, snowed, windy, was too cold, or was too hot, he would have to stop. .

The cabinet has nothing to do with the emperor, so it can only settle for the next best thing, just do it every third day of the month. At any rate, you can still go to court, which is better than not showing up for more than ten years.Besides, you can't blame the emperor for being lazy. You have to pay attention to your methods when you quarrel. Now, it's okay. You deserve it if you make the emperor anxious!

(End of this chapter)