What was the final outcome of An Dehai, the eunuch of Cixi?

Many people know that Li, the great eunuch, is a great celebrity around Empress Dowager Cixi, with infinite scenery. However, before Li, Empress Dowager Cixi had a eunuch named An Dehai, who won the favor of Empress Dowager Cixi. If this An Dehai was not killed by Shandong Governor Ding Baozhen, there would be no experience of Li Houlai. Ding Baozhen's killing of An Dehai was an amazing move that dared to break ground in the den of the tiger, which shocked the Qing government for a while. So, why did Ding Baozhen dare to kill An Dehai, the personal eunuch of Cixi, and what was the final outcome? Today, let's take a look.

An Dehai, a great eunuch, was originally an imperial eunuch around Emperor Xianfeng. He is clever and won the favor of Emperor Xianfeng and Cixi. But the event that really brought An Dehai to the peak of his life was the Xin You coup. After the death of Emperor Xianfeng, Empress Dowager Cixi sent An Dehai to plot with Prince Gong in order to seize power, and finally succeeded in taking away the power of eight ministers, including Su Shun. In the Xinyou coup, An Dehai really made a great contribution, and was promoted to be the eunuch in power and became the toast of Empress Dowager Cixi.

An Dehai is really popular and awesome. He has fulfilled the dream that his predecessors never fulfilled. In the winter of Tongzhi for seven years, An Dehai, the great eunuch, openly married an actor who was 19 years old. In addition to publicity and fanfare, Empress Dowager Cixi specially presented 1200 silver and 100 pieces of silks and satins to show her affection.

It's great that An Dehai got married. How many eunuchs in ancient times had such glory? That's also true. He was arrogant in North Korea, taking bribes and doing evil. But because of Cixi's love, no one dared to provoke him.

However, a vicious man wants to kill the evil eunuch An Dehai. He is Ding Baozhen, Governor of Shandong in 10. Ding Baozhen was born in Hanlin, honest and clean. He had long disliked An Dehai's evil deeds and wanted to punish him. At this time, at An Dehai's repeated request, Empress Dowager Cixi sent him to Jiangnan to buy dragon robes and prepare wedding things in the palace. This An Dehai stayed in the palace for a long time and wanted to take this opportunity to go out to play and collect money. Along the way, An Dehai paraded around the city and made a lot of money, but although he claimed to be an imperial envoy, he didn't carry any official documents. When passing by Shandong, Ding Baozhen got a tip-off that An Dehai left the palace without authorization, regardless of the ancestral system that eunuchs in the Qing Dynasty were not allowed to leave the palace, which was a capital crime.

Therefore, Ding Baozhen, the governor of Shandong Province, made a secret order, accusing An Dehai of "shocking the world" and demanding An Dehai. Then, Ding Baozhen ordered the arrest of An Dehai. Soon after, Ding Baozhen received a cable from the military and ordered An Dehai to be executed on the spot! Immediately, after Ding Baozhen personally checked, he ordered An Dehai to be executed on the spot in Jinan, only five days after An Dehai was arrested.

The main reason why Ding Baozhen dared to kill An Dehai was that An Dehai wanted to die, thinking that with the consent of Empress Dowager Cixi, he could leave the palace without authorization, but he was just a dog beside Empress Dowager Cixi, which was not that important and could be discarded at any time. What's more, the Empress Dowager Ci 'an was still alive at this time, and it was not Cixi who dominated the world. Moreover, this An Dehai is arrogant and has provoked the relationship between Cixi and Tongzhi, which has long been the target of public criticism. In addition, he also committed the capital crime of leaving the palace regardless of the ancestral system. Even if Empress Dowager Cixi wanted to save him, in order to take care of her reputation, she had to treat him as an abandoned child and kill him. As for Ding Baozhen, in order to consolidate her power, Empress Dowager Cixi did not have to fight with the emperor, Ci 'an and Ding Baozhen, so she did not retaliate against Ding Baozhen.

After Ding Baozhen killed An Dehai, Zeng Guofan praised Ding Baozhen as a "hero", which not only spread the reputation of "Ding Qingtian" among the people, but was later promoted to the governor of Sichuan by Emperor Guangxu. 1886, Ding Baozhen died at the age of 66. After his death, the Qing government posthumously presented him as the Prince of Taibao, which was enshrined in Wanxian Temple and built shrines in Shandong, Sichuan and Guizhou.