Eunuchs also have grades and official positions, including chief eunuch, deputy chief eunuch, leading eunuch, imperial eunuch, palace eunuch... all the way to the lowest eunuch, Sula, and the little handyman.
Among them, the chief eunuch was the fourth rank official, and in the early Qing Dynasty, he was the fifth rank. Later, during the Yongzheng period, he was promoted one level, and the chief eunuch was the fourth rank official! Just go down one level at a time!
Zai Chun did not pro-government, and the empress dowagers of the two palaces were involved in politics. Therefore, there has never been a fourth-grade general eunuch, the highest level of the respect room, in the Forbidden City. Er Mao, Li Lianying, and Zhou Daoying are currently the highest-ranking fifth-grade deputy general eunuchs.
Da Sixi and the others are at a lower level, they are fifth-grade imperial eunuchs!
When you reach the level of Ermao, you can basically get a waist card that allows you to enter and leave the palace freely. The three fifth-grade general managers all have their own houses in the Forty-Nine City!
Er Mao left Beiyuan and got on his sedan outside Tuancheng. Two sedan bearers and two loyal guards escorted Er Mao all the way west.
After crossing the Yuhe Bridge to the west, the soldiers at the three gates checked Er Mao's waist badge. When they saw that it was the famous Ermao Manager in the Forbidden City, the soldiers quickly gave way with a flattering smile.
As the sedan passed the three gates and went straight to Xi'an Gate, Er Mao subconsciously looked to the right and whispered unconsciously, "This is the famous beekeeping corridor... I don't know how many famous people will be imprisoned in the future." ah!"
Beekeeping Passage has always been famous in the Qing Dynasty. It was the place where the Zong Renfu and the Ministry of Internal Affairs imprisoned some erring princes. The most famous among them was of course the Thirteenth Master when Kowloon was seizing the throne!
The confinement system in the Qing Dynasty was very famous. High-ranking officials within the Eight Banners, as well as descendants of the Aisin Gioro family, who made mistakes were generally not punished by national law but were imprisoned by the ancestral system!
There are many types of confinement, including the ordinary confinement at home... This kind of confinement allows you to move around in your own home, eat, drink, read, and spend time with your wife and children, but you are not allowed to go out.
The other kind is called confinement in a room... This kind is a bit crueler. Add a lock to your study or bedroom, and you will eat, drink, and have sex here in the future, and even your family cannot be reunited.
There is another type called a human circle... What is a human circle? It is to find a group of guards to stand in a circle and trap you in it, and you live in this circle.
If there are fewer people, the circle will be smaller, but if there are more people, the circle will be bigger. The guards will change shifts during the day and rest when they need to. Only you, the prisoner, will always be in the circle of people!
This is basically a rhythm that drives people crazy in captivity, and few people can maintain a normal state of mind in this kind of confinement.
But there is a special case besides these confinement systems, and that is the ban on beekeeping!
The location of this alley is very special. To the north is Zhantan Temple, to the south is Xiaoshizuo and Wine and Vinegar Bureau, to the west is the palace wall and main street of the Western Imperial City, and to the east is the palace complex around Beihai!
The location here is not far from the Forbidden City, and the people stationed here are soldiers and people who provide services to the palace. The prince is confined here for the emperor's supervision and even protection!
The ninth emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Ming Xiaozong was secretly raised here before he was six years old! Sure enough, this is the hidden blessed land of Qianlong!
It’s just that ordinary people think this is a place where dragons are trapped!
After passing the beekeeping corridor, Er Mao handed over the sign again at Xi'an Gate. The soldiers here were of lower rank and dared not stop the popular eunuch supervisor.
The little sedan walked south along the root of the imperial city. When it passed the Prince Li's Mansion, it happened to meet the steward of the Prince's Mansion. Prince Li Shiduo's steward didn't know where he got the news, saying that General Manager Ermao was passing by here when he left the palace today. , has been frozen for an hour and a half.
As soon as the simple black sedan appeared, the steward rushed over and knelt on the road, "Greetings to the steward... My prince invites the steward to a drink, and I hope the steward will reward you!"
As he spoke, an invitation was held high above his head!
Er Mao had no time to talk to Prince Li Shiduo. He just waved his hand and said across the sedan, "It's unreasonable. Eunuchs are not allowed to hook up with foreign ministers... Please love me, Your Majesty, and avoid suspicion!"
After saying that, the sedan chair rose up!
Prince Li Shiduo was hiding behind the gate at the moment. When he saw that Ermao was not giving him face, he stamped his feet angrily, "Damn eunuch, isn't he just relying on Xiao Letian's power? He doesn't even give me face..."
"Your Majesty... do you want me to go to Ermao's house to try my luck?" The steward who ran back said panting, "Your Majesty, you are a cunning rabbit. In today's world, it is impossible not to have a foreign thigh!"
Prince Li Shiduo's expression changed, and he secretly made up his mind that Europa's big-nosed thigh was too shameless to hug. After thinking about it, Xiao Letian, the two devils, looked like human beings after all!
It wouldn't be so embarrassing to spread the word, so we can only get closer to him!
"Prepare some more gifts, and you can go visit us today and tomorrow! I don't believe it. Is this Xiao Letian really not interested in anything?"
Not to mention Prince Li's ulterior motives, Pu Xu, who lived in Prince Ding's Mansion, was next door to Prince Li... This inconspicuous general of the auxiliary country secretly sent people to stop Er Mao's sedan chair.
Today is the first time Er Mao has left the Forbidden City since he returned to Beijing. The big shots in the capital are all very sharp and are ready to pay their respects in advance.
Ermao was completely missing. The sedan walked all the way along the Imperial City, onto Chang'an Street, and then headed east straight to his house near Chongwenmen in Dongcheng District!
In Chongwenmen Suzhou Hutong, Ermao's small courtyard is not big but extremely exquisite. The servant guarding the door has bulging temples and gleaming eyes. These are all experts recruited by Master Long and are outside staff of the CIA.
When he saw that the steward was back, the concierge hurriedly came over to say hello, "Greetings to the steward... We have a distinguished guest at home, and we have already shown him to his room!"
You don't need to ask Er Mao to know who it is. Two female orderlies attracted by several pots of daffodils in the concierge are admiring the flowers. Who else could they be if they weren't Cai Bixia's men?
"Let the kitchen prepare food and drinks. General Cai will definitely eat at our place..."
"Don't worry, Mr. Manager, we have already made arrangements... The ground dragon in the upper room is also burning brightly!"
Walking into the living room, Cai Bixia was holding a large piece of Xiuyan jade carving "Bangs Playing with Golden Cicada" from Ouchi and looking at it carefully!
"General Cai likes it? Prince Chun sent this to me after I bought the house. I heard it was the work of a jade craftsman from Ouchi during the Yongzheng period..."
Cai Bixia smiled and put the jade ornaments back, "It's not interesting. After so many years in the army, I no longer have the hobby of playing with antiques... If you have any antique weapons or something in the future, leave a few for me... Forget the rest!"
Seeing how Cai Bixia looked now, she was not as unhappy as Beiyuan. She stared at Er Mao and asked, "How was the discussion? Has Ci'an ever been tempted?"
Er Mao smiled bitterly, "General Cai, what we are talking about is an arms business worth millions and millions of taels of silver... How can it be concluded in just a short while!"
"Hone your terrazzo skills little by little...you have to use evil tricks, otherwise they won't pay for it!"
