Li Lianying's burial mother's row noodles are luxurious, and the villagers eat them for nothingSky.
In the winter of Guangxu 32, Cixi's favorite minister Li Lianying received the news of the death of her mother Cao. He was immediately approved to use 480,000 taels ** to return to his hometown to organize his mother's funeral.
Li Lianying arranged a 35-day flowing water banquet that everyone could enjoy for free, kicking off this lavish funeral ceremony.
From a "civilian boy" to the big celebrity Li Lianying next to Cixi, formerly known as Li Jinxi, was born in a leathersmith family in Lijia Village, Zangtun Township, Dacheng County, Hebei Province. Due to his poor family, he lost the possibility of growing up since he was a child, and was sent by his family to the palace as a eunuch.
In the last years of the Qing Dynasty, the fate of the eunuchs was very tragic, not only losing their future happiness, but also suffering ridicule and contempt from the outside world. It is difficult for them to gain fame and fortune, as long as they can make a living in the palace, it is enough to make them feel lucky.
Since Shunzhi, Li Lianying has been playing the role of "little transparent" in the palace, because the Qing emperor has always been strict about the official position restrictions of eunuchs. For example, during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng, it was decreed that "the official position of a eunuch shall not be higher than the fourth rank".
However, all this changed after Cixi came to power. She began to promote eunuchs as cronies, so that eunuchs were no longer subject to the strict official system. The best example is Li Lianying's master, An Dehai, nicknamed "Xiao Anzi".
By the time Li Lianying became a eunuch, An Dehai was already deeply favored by Cixi, and his speech and demeanor skillfully catered to Lafayette's preferences. With Cixi's trust, An Dehai's status skyrocketed, and Li Lianying was also benefited by this, and was soon assigned to work in Cining Palace.
Despite Li Lianying's low status, he is flexible and agile, good at observing words and feelings, and good at seizing opportunities to express himself. During a break, he overheard a conversation with other eunuchs and learned that Cixi had recently liked a new hairstyle from Shanghai, but the combing room in the palace could not meet her request.
Although Cixi did not punish the combing room for this, she deeply regretted that her favorite hairstyle was not successfully created. However, this also made Li Lianying see an opportunity to improve herself.
He traveled from brothel to brothel every day, learning the art of combing, and eventually mastered the skill. On the recommendation of Shen Lanyu, who was also a eunuch, Cixi accepted Li Lianying to comb her hair and was very satisfied with it.
Since then, Li Lianying has been active by Cixi's side, and after going through hardships, she finally stood out and became a high-profile eunuch.
Li Lianying, the name comes from the hand of Cixi, although he has soared, he has not forgotten his hometown mother Cao. In order to facilitate care, he took the Cao family to the capital and placed it in a mansion in Cotton Hutong.
However, life is impermanent, and there will always be a time to say goodbye. In the winter of the 32nd year of Guangxu (1906 AD), he heard the news he didn't want to hear in the palace - his mother died.
Li Lianying loved his mother deeply, but her mother died before she could enjoy her old age. It was a huge blow to him. However, he did not immediately tell Cixi the news, but served her as usual.
A few days later, Cixi noticed Li Lianying's mood change and couldn't help but ask him: "I see that you are not in good spirits recently, is there anything bothering?" ”
When Li Lianying heard the news, she immediately fell to her knees, endured her grief, and reported the death of her mother Cao to Empress Cixi. Empress Cixi was also very sad when she heard this, helped Li Lianying up, comforted her and said: "In this case, the mourning family allows you to go back to your hometown to handle the funeral for your mother, and at the same time, you can also take the 480,000 taels and use it to hold a grand funeral for your mother." ”
Li Lianying thanked her again and again, and with the full support of the Queen Mother, he could return to his hometown to hold a funeral for his mother with peace of mind. In order to let his mother pass away peacefully, he specially invited monks and lamas to chant for 7749 days before leaving the capital.
This is far from enough, in order to surpass his mother, he also parked her coffin in the Huguo Temple, and more than 30 people take turns guarding it every day. After the overtime was completed, Li Lianying began to arrange the specific matters of the funeral in full swing.
Out of deep guilt for her mother, Li Lianying decided to hold a grand and solemn funeral for her mother. Since it is going to be grand, then you can't be too stingy in terms of money, and Li Lianying has 480,000 taels in her hands, so she doesn't have to worry about funds at all.
He called his brothers Li Shengqin and Li Shitai, and the three of them invited all the local bigwigs to their home to discuss the expenses of the funeral.
They initially set the amount at 500,000 taels. Some people see this staggering number and can't help but start to struggle with how to raise enough money in a short period of time.
In the face of Li Lianying's request, the squires were quite troubled, but they still spent more than half a month consulting ancient books and drawing up a detailed list. The delegates went to Beijing with the list to report to Li Lianying, but Li Lianying had a new demand.
Her mother, Cao, was very fond of listening to operas during her lifetime, so on the day of the funeral, two operas had to be arranged. One is the local Hebei Bangzi Opera Troupe, and the other is the Beijing Opera Troupe performing in Dacheng County.
Funerals need to be paid attention to, and the cost does not need to be stingy. The feast is sumptuous, the clothes are sufficient, and the mourners must not be left out in the cold. The Li family had already prepared a tent in advance for hospitality and accommodation.
Highlight the pomp of the Li family and take relatives and friends home.
Li Lianying's funeral needs to follow some rules to ensure that the system is not exceeded. He was cautious by nature and did not want to be scolded by Cixi for the funeral being too luxurious. Therefore, he decided to handle it according to the highest funeral specifications in the capital, find someone from the capital to be responsible for the funeral utensils and ceremonies, and arrange them in accordance with the rules of the capital.
In addition, the Li family also needs to repair the road from the front of the manor to the cemetery, the trees on both sides also need to be tied with plain silk, and several plain archways should be tied inside and outside the main gate of the cemetery. In general, Li Lianying's funeral must abide by the rules, not luxurious, not wasteful, and everything is carried out according to the standards of the capital.
The squires calculated worriedly, all of them pale, but Li Lianying didn't care. He was convinced that money was not a problem, and if it was not enough, he would continue to add it, even asking Cixi for it.
The squires did not dare to delay, so they had to quickly start preparing for the funeral affairs of Li's mother Cao. The funeral that shook Beijing and Tianjin took place in late February of the 33rd year of Guangxu, that is, three months later, Li Lianying left the capital with the coffin of her mother Cao, and then the coffin was transported to Dacheng County by water in Tongzhou, while Li Lianying returned to her hometown by land.
On the first day of the first month of March, the funeral ceremony that shook the Beijing-Tianjin area officially began, and the three hundred soldiers sent by Yuan Shikai rode high-headed horses to open the way, and the funeral scene was full of inscriptions and elegiac couplets from the ministers of the capital.
On both sides of the road, there are crowds of black presses, and on both sides there are many paper bundles of different shapes, which are carefully made by paper masters invited by Li Lianying from Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, including houses, carriages and horses, as well as many servants and livestock, with a wide variety of types.
After the funeral ceremony, these paper bundles will be burned together and sent to the Cao clan under the nine springs. The whole funeral ceremony began with "sending the way", accompanied by the ups and downs of mourning, the Li family carried paper cars, paper sedan chairs, paper people, and paper horses on the road**, escorting Cao's coffin towards the cemetery.
In the mourning hall, the golden incense burner burns day and night, and the incense burns endlessly and is extraordinary. The offering table is filled with a variety of delicacies from the mountains and seas, from fresh fruits to pastries and pastries.
In order to make her mother's funeral beautiful, Li Lianying invited a group of "capable people". They set off artillery, performed rituals, fired guns, and the two troupes next door made the funeral more like a temple fair than a traditional sad ceremony.
Li Lianying is very concerned about the flowing water mat at the funeral, and he hopes to provide delicious food to those who come to mourn and let them take home as food storage. The funeral of Li Lianying's mother, Cao Shi, also used the highest standard flowing water mat, known as the "Thirteen Plates", consisting of four small bowls filled with appetizers and nine large bowls filled with hard dishes such as chicken, duck and fish.
On the flowing water table of the Li family manor, as many as 120 tables or even more than 200 tables of dishes are prepared a day. To ensure sufficient manpower, Li Lianying hired more than 200 cooks to cook the dishes, while three nearby villages were responsible for providing large quantities of steamed buns.
At the gate of the manor, there are eight large vats, which are filled with meat, whole baskets of steamed buns and fine wine. For those who are full at the table and want to take some home, they can take it from the vat at will.
The whole process not only reflects the generosity of the Li family, but also reflects the mutual assistance and harmony between the villagers and neighbors.
The Li family dug a large pond outside the village, which could hold three to four hundred pigs at the same time. Every day, the carts buying live pigs run back and forth in the surrounding areas of Dacheng County, which makes the pork in Hebei out of stock, ** soaring all the way.
When he was nine years old, he attended his grandfather's funeral, during which he and his third uncle were able to bring wine home almost every day, and even saved a large vat (about seven quintals of water).
After the funeral, Li Lianying expressed her gratitude to all the staff and, accompanied by her brother Li Shengtai, visited all the families who attended the funeral one by one.
When he saw the gifts on his doorstep, he smiled with satisfaction. At this time, the accompanying villagers saw that Li Lianying was in a happy mood, so they jokingly said: "The second master is really generous, this gift is really out of control!" ”
Li Lianying smiled, as if she did not understand the deep meaning of the villagers' words, and only thought that the other party was praising her generosity. In the late Qing Dynasty, when the building was about to collapse, Li Lianying, as a servant serving the Queen Mother, was still able to enjoy such luxury and wealth, which made people feel very sighing.
Behind those easily obtained wealth is the hard work and tears of the people. Under the rule of the decadent and extravagant Qing Dynasty, the eventual demise of the Qing Dynasty undoubtedly conformed to the laws of history.