late Qing Dynasty arrest

The Empress Dowager Ci'an of the East Palace and the Empress Dowager Cixi of the West Palace are in charge of the government behind the curtains. The bamboo curtains used by them are all carefully woven by craftsmen from the best bamboo in the south after more than a dozen processes.These bamboo curtains will be replaced after wear and tear, because the old curtains were used by the royal family, and it is impossible to sell them to ordinary people. We can only set up a place to store them, so there is a curtain warehouse, and the alley where the curtain warehouse is located is It became Lianziku Hutong.

This is the warehouse of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is under the jurisdiction of the eunuchs. Many of the people who live next to them are vegetable households formed by eunuchs and maids. The marriage of these households is permitted by the palace. They can be registered with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but there is one condition, that is, the palace maids You can only register for marriage when you have left the palace and are no longer a maid.

The maids in the palace are all Manchu girls. They were sent to the palace to learn to serve their masters when they were young. They were sent out of the palace when they became big girls in their twenties. Of course, there were also old girls in their thirties who left the palace. .In addition to giving these maids who are dismissed from the palace a sum of money, the Ministry of Internal Affairs also needs to find husbands for them, so as not to let them live on the streets.When people stay together for a long time, they will have feelings. This is the case with the maids and eunuchs who stayed in the palace. Many maids married eunuchs as soon as they left the palace.For the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it is most like to do this kind of adult beauty. Many eunuchs and maids get married, and eunuchs and maid leaders with status in the palace will come out to drink wedding wine.

At noon, Li Guolou came to Lianziku Hutong to drink the wedding wine for a pair of eunuchs and maids.He didn't know the eunuchs and maids.But it was Li Lianying who asked him to come, they were going to meet at the wedding banquet.

Eunuchs get married at noon, which is different from ordinary people's marriages. They say that it is because of the strong yang energy at noon.In fact, it is because the Forbidden City will be closed at night, and those eunuchs and maids who have status ask for leave and go back to the Forbidden City at night, and only at noon is the most suitable time for wedding banquets.

Eunuchs and maids all have money, especially those with high ranks, in addition to monthly silver, they also have gray income.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs spent 4 taels of silver a day, [-]% of which were embezzled by eunuchs, maids at all levels and their masters.

(At the end of the Qing Dynasty, due to inflation, the palace’s expenses reached 6 taels of silver a day. It seemed a lot, but it was actually not much. Because the Ministry of Internal Affairs is very good at making money, most of the expenses are settled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In terms of national finances, There is no burden. Many times, the treasury has no money, and they will borrow money from the emperor.) Li Guolou and Wei Xiaoliu came to a restaurant decorated with lanterns and festoons, where a couple of eunuchs and maids were having a wedding reception.The shops here are all run by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and belong to the royal property. There is no tax to do business, so the things here are good and cheap, and the shops are booming.

Li Guolou looked up at the restaurant's signboard "Phoenix Tower", and asked, "Little Six, how much money do we want to give?"

Wei Xiaoliu scratched his head, and said awkwardly: "Father, I forgot to ask, but I think you are on the same level as Director Li, and you will give as much as he gives. I'll go in and ask, you wait." After finishing speaking Wei Xiaoliu stepped into the lobby of the restaurant first.

Li Guolou didn't have a beard, and his attire was no different from those of the eunuchs beside him. Some eunuchs passed by Li Guolou and asked, "Xiao Dezhang, why are you standing at the door? Let's go in together."

Li Guolou could only reply in embarrassment: "My friend, you have misidentified the person. I am not Xiao De Zhang, I am his elder brother. I am waiting for someone here, and I will go in immediately."

"Oh;;;;;; it's quite similar, the two brothers carved it out of the same mold. Giggle giggling!" After a smirk, the eunuch patted Li Guolou, not forgetting the eunuch's favorite thing to do, touching Li Guolou Lou, let Li Guolou get goosebumps all over his body.

Li Guolou touched his nose and looked at the eunuch who was taking advantage of him with a wry smile. Those big-footed girls were all Manchu girls, chatting and laughing with the eunuch without avoiding suspicion.Stepping into the "Phoenix Tower" together, standing here, you can see all kinds of people in the world, eunuchs and maids full of mystery, well-dressed, with proud smiles on their faces.

They are all wealthy masters. Although their status is humble and they are not ashamed by the world, as long as they can cross this threshold, it means that they have become a human being and will not be poor for a lifetime.Li Guolou looked at the shops around him, thinking to himself, whether it is possible to open a "Please come to the bank" here to make it easier for those eunuchs and maids to save money.

The money hidden in these eunuchs and maids is comparable to a golden mountain. The money gathered by tens of thousands of eunuchs and maids cannot be underestimated.

Li Guolou was flirting with some eunuchs he didn't know, Wei Xiaoliu walked out of the restaurant and said with a smile, "Father, my greetings, two silver ingots, good luck."

"Oh, please Eunuch Cui and Eunuch Liu, it is a great honor to meet you, and I will take care of you in the future." Li Guolou bowed and let Cui Yugui and Liu Deyin walk in front.

"Hehehehe! I've heard Xiao Dezhang say that you are a big brother. You are really funny and funny. I remember you." The chief eunuch Cui Yugui lifted up his clothes and stepped into the lobby, where the lights and festoons of the restaurant were full of laughter. .

Eunuchs are very particular about rules, they are respectful and orderly, and they are clearly distinguished. Even eunuchs have specific rules for getting married. Eunuchs of each level have different congratulatory gifts.

Eunuchs always gave money when they got married, but Li Guolou didn't have any money with him, so he took out a bank note and gave it 16 taels, and the two small ingots were exactly 16 taels.

The eunuchs were very thick-skinned. One eunuch who received the banknote took the banknote from Li Guolou, looked at it, touched it, and pointed it at the sun, fearing that what Li Guolou gave was a fake.

Upstairs in the corridor, Xiao Dezhang shouted: "Small boy, don't take pictures, it was given by my elder brother, you let my brother come up."

Li Guolou waved his hands upwards, and after hearing Xiaode's breath, he knew that now that Xiaodezhang had joined him, his hard work was not in vain.

The seats of eunuchs are divided into 50 ranks, which are exactly the same as those in the court hall. If they want to go up, they want to be appointed so that the master will like them and sit on the throne.Li Lianying sat in a high position because she had a good skill of pan-head, which made the Empress Dowager Cixi like it.The other way is to spend money to buy "officials", which is no different from being an official in the court.For example, if the annual salary of a sixteenth-level eunuch is 250 taels, it will cost at least five times the price to buy it. As for whether this seat is worth [-] taels?There is no medicine for regret in the world, if it is sold to a high level, there must be a real shortage, which is the same as in the court.

"Congratulations!" Li Guolou clasped his fists to the bridegroom and bride, took two bags of wedding candies and a bag of wedding cakes, and went upstairs with Wei Xiaoliu.

When they came to the private room, there were the eunuchs who were in power in the palace, including Li Lianying and Cui Yugui who had just talked to Li Guolou. As for Xiao Dezhang, although he was seated at this time, his power could not be compared with these three, and he belonged to Li Lianying's younger brother.At this time, the palace was divided into three factions, one faction belonged to Empress Dowager Cixi, one faction belonged to Empress Dowager Ci'an, and the other faction belonged to Emperor Tongzhi.Among them, the Empress Dowager Cixi is the most powerful, holding important positions of authority in the palace, and they occupy all the fat and vacancies.The people sitting next to Li Guolou belonged to the Empress Dowager Cixi, and the distinct factions were located in different private rooms. Everyone was polite on the surface, and each had their own sphere of influence.

At the beginning of the banquet, there were staggered toasts, and three rounds of drinking with each other. This is called brothers, and the yelling is endless.

After the bride and groom came in to toast, Li Lianying asked, "Xiao Lou, what do you want from me?"

Li Guolou smiled and said: "Oh, that's what happened. I just finished the scientific examination, and I am very confident that I will be admitted as a Jinshi. Isn't it going to enter the palace to face the saint and sit in the Qianqing Palace to write articles? I want to ask my brother , find me a good seat, so that the emperor can see me."

"Oh;;;;;; then congratulations first, Jinshi Jidi. Come on! Have another drink." Li Lianying showed a smug smile on her face. Although the Qianqing Palace belonged to the sphere of influence of the eunuchs under Emperor Tongzhi, the eunuchs Colluding with each other, whoever has money will not make money.

"Brother, give me a real price, don't be as hypocritical as Mr. An, I can't stand it." Li Guolou gulped it down, wiped his mouth, and said carelessly.

Li Lianying whispered to Xiao Dezhang next to him, "Go find Mr. Liu." Xiao Dezhang immediately went out to find the eunuch Liu Deyin.

After a while, Xiaode Zhang Fuer said a few words to Li Lianying and told Li Lianying the price.

Li Lianying tapped on the table, thought for a while, and said: "Xiaolou, for the sake of our friends, I will help you again. I will mention a few words about you in front of the empress dowager, and some people will talk about you in front of the emperor." Speaking for you, you will give 4000 taels of silver first. If you really enter the first class, then you will give me another 8000 taels, are you satisfied with this price?"

Li Guolou stood up, raised his wine glass high, and said proudly: "Go! Big brother, I will never forget your help in the future. As long as I get rich, I will give filial piety every year, which will not be less than 10 taels. help me."

Cui Yugui is the oldest, and has long been used to the filial piety of high-ranking officials. Usually, if he makes 1000 taels a year, this high-ranking official is considered generous.For example, after Li Hongzhang won the battle and eliminated Dong Nian, he only gave Li Lianying 2000 taels of silver when he entered the palace to meet the two empress dowagers. A bank note, or even a few taels of silver note. 10 taels of silver were given to their eunuchs, which had never happened before, so I was stunned to hear it.Slowing down, he hurriedly asked: "Xiaolou, what kind of business do you want to do, let us help?"

Li Guolou put down his wine glass, and said seriously: "To tell you the truth, my family opened a bank called "Please Come In Bank". It was registered in the British Concession in Tianjin. It is a joint-stock bank. The Zhili and Liangjiang areas are going smoothly all the way, and the scale will be hundreds of in the future. I also want to open a few on the territory of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. As long as you are willing to deposit the money with me, I will share 10% of the money you earn. Just now I The [-] taels mentioned is a guarantee, and I dare not say it when I grow up, for fear that you will say that I am a big talker."

Cui Yugui frowned and said: "Xiaolou, you are too naive to think, who dares to touch the money of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, you don't want our heads."

Li Guolou glanced and said: "Eunuch Cui, you are such a shrewd person, how dare I let you do such bad manners, I want you to deposit your own money in my bank, there are so many father-in-laws in this palace, Maid, this money is at least more than one million taels. At that time, even the girls will deposit the money in my bank. I didn't let you do anything illegal. I just opened an opening and robbed the business of other ticket numbers gone."

"Oh;;;;;;" the eunuchs suddenly realized that this was a business competition where the big fish eat the small fish, and they only needed to take care of Li Guolou's business.

Li Lianying said slowly: "Xiao Lou, although the idea is good, but it has to be done secretly. Those ticket numbers are backed by the prince. We can only provide you with a fair competition opportunity. As for business competition, it is your own business. We Leave it alone."

Liu Deyin came over for a drink a long time ago, and said suspiciously: "Xiaolou, are you confident that you can compete with Wanjia Ticket Office? You won't close down."

Li Guolou smiled and said: "Eunuch Liu, you are dealing with me for the first time, and you don't know me yet. There are people behind me who dare to open a bank, and the road of government and business is smooth, who can compete with me. Those princes are just accepting money. A filial piety, can this kind of thing be difficult for me? The ticket office makes money from draft fees, but I stretch out my hands everywhere, and I have the ability to make money. I don’t have to worry about lending out the money and not getting it back. As long as you believe in me, I have taken over the bungalows for the retirement of my friends!"

Several big eunuchs had pleasant smiles and toasted with Li Guolou frequently.Nowadays, rich eunuchs all buy land and build bungalows in the Tianjin Concession. This trend has become a trend.

Xiao Dezhang jumped up and shouted: "Brother, I will fully support you, come! Let me toast you first!"

Li Lianying smiled and said: "Xiaolou, every time I see you, I can give me a surprise. Next time I get married, please come again."

"Oh;;;;;;" Li Guolou and the eunuchs next to him made a fuss, asking Li Lianying to tell him when was the maid who fell in love with him?

Eunuchs are also men, and they also have the feelings of normal people. As for corruption, it is their job.Although Li Guolou said that he and the eunuch sitting here are brothers and sisters, but in the matter of money, eunuchs talk about money first when making friends, and only when they have money will they be motivated. Now the eunuchs are shoulder to shoulder with Li Guolou, Singing a ditty, making trouble for the bride and groom.

Li Guolou was enjoying Xiaode Zhang's singing, his voice was melodious, this little brother will have a bright future, ladies will definitely like Xiaode's kung fu when he opens his mouth.