My life skills in Daming Liver

Forbidden City, Yuxi Palace.

Emperor Jiajing has been living in Yuxi Palace since he returned to Luan Capital.

In order to reassure his father, Emperor Longqing also prepared a lot of medicinal materials for alchemy in Yuxi Palace, and even found the alchemy cauldron abandoned during the Taiyuan rebellion.

But since Jiajing returned to Luan Capital, he lost interest in alchemy and Taoism.

However, Jiajing never left Yuxi Palace. His only request was to let his grandson Zhu Yijun enter the palace to accompany him more often.

Emperor Longqing naturally had no objections to his father's request, and asked his companion Feng Bao and Zhu Yijun to visit the emperor every now and then.

Perhaps because he had not been established as a prince for a long time, Emperor Longqing established his only son as a prince after he ascended the throne.

Today is another day like this. After Feng Bao sent the prince to Yuxi Palace, Feng Bao did not dare to go far, but he also did not dare to enter Yuxi Palace. He could only wait under the eaves.

"Godfather."

Feng Bao saw a familiar figure, and he quickly stepped forward to say hello.

Huang Jin raised his head and glanced at Feng Bao, but didn't say much.

When Feng Bao entered the palace, he was taken care of by Huang Jin and became his godfather.

But Huang Jin was the chief eunuch in the palace and had recognized countless godsons. His attitude towards Feng Bao was not affectionate.

However, Feng Bao was also good at observing words and expressions. He saw the distance in Huang Jin's eyes and knew that there were many people with mixed eyes, so he did not continue to get close to Huang Jin.

When the emperor's teasing with his grandson was over, Feng Bao sent the prince back.

After nightfall, Feng Bao found Huang Jin again.

At this time, Huang Jin had just served the emperor to sleep. Feng Bao looked at Huang Jin and said emotionally:

"Daddy, you have lost weight!"

Huang Jin looked at Feng Bao and said, "Okay, okay, you were reluctant to give up when I sent you to Prince Yu's Mansion that day, but now you've finally made it through."

"Whether my godfather can die a happy life or not is now up to you."

After saying that, Huang Jin knelt down and kowtowed to Feng Bao.

Feng Bao also knelt down helplessly. The two of them knelt facing each other. After a while, Feng Bao quickly helped Huang Jin up.

After the last hunting trip to the west, Huang Jin's knees got rheumatism. Feng Bao helped him to the bed and helped him rub his knees.

Huang Jin said: "My godfather is very pleased that you could bear to return to the palace for so long before recognizing me. My days in the palace are numbered."

Feng Bao asked in surprise: "Why did my godfather say this?"

Huang Jin did not answer Feng Bao's question directly, but said: "When I entered the imperial study that day, I told you the rules of the palace and the principles of life. Today I will teach you the last lesson."

"How to be a eunuch."

Feng Bao quickly became solemn.

The reason why Feng Bao came to Huang Jin now was not only because of his old relationship, but the most important thing was that his career had reached a bottleneck.

Not to mention that there are no bottlenecks in the eunuch career, as he is also a eunuch serving people, Huang Jin has been favored by Jiajing for more than 40 years. In addition to being an old member of Jiajing's Qiandi, Huang Jin is inseparable from his superb methods.

Feng Bao came to power suddenly and had no foundation in the palace, and Emperor Longqing was not the most kind to him. The only reason why he was able to rise to power was that among the eunuchs in the harem nowadays, the only useful eunuch was Feng Bao. one.

Feng Bao also felt the crisis, so he took the risk to see Huang Jin.

Huang Jin said:

"You also studied in the imperial study. The eunuchs in this dynasty are far less powerful than those in the Han and Tang Dynasties. Even if there were several eunuchs, none of them died well in the end."

Feng Bao nodded immediately.

Huang Jin said: "The eunuchs of this dynasty are the emperor's slaves, and their power comes from the emperor. If the emperor dislikes them, their power will be lost instantly."

"But there is always a need for eunuchs in this palace."

Huang Jin said: "Of all the eunuchs in the past dynasties, this dynasty is the most difficult to be."

"If you are incompetent, unable to control the ceremonial supervisor at home, and unable to control the foreign ministers externally, the emperor will replace you."

"If you are too capable, you will be feared by the outer court and scolded as a power eunuch by the civil servants, who will try their best to impeach you."

"There are countless people in the palace who want to step on you, and they are always ready to replace you."

Feng Bao nodded repeatedly. This was the dilemma he was in.

Huang Jin said: "And what do we have in our hands?"

Feng Bao asked tentatively: "Secretary Supervisor? Dongchang?"

Huang Jin shook his head and said: "Supervisor Secretary? There are no allies in the Supervisor Secretary, only people who want to replace you. As for Dongchang, you don't really think that the Admiral Dongchang can do whatever he wants, right? Dongchang can do it without going through the emperor. Do you have permission to arrest the minister?"

Feng Bao shook his head quickly. Dongchang was a minion of the emperor. Even the eunuch who supervised Dongchang could not use Dongchang's power at will.

Huang Jin added: "The eunuchs of the Han and Tang dynasties had military power. Those who could lead troops, such as the ten constant servants of the Han Dynasty, and Cheng Yuanzhen and Yu Chaoen of the Tang Dynasty, were the ones with real power."

"My court only gives positions to the ministers in the cabinet but not names, and we are extremely guarded against our eunuchs. To put it bluntly, you and I have no power in our hands."

Feng Bao thought about it and it seemed that this was indeed the case.

The addition of the ceremonial supervisor was decided by the emperor.

Feng Bao, the eunuch in charge of the ceremonial eunuch, could not decide whether to leave or stay the eunuch Bingbi, and with the checks and balances of the Lao Zhu family, he would often put a Bingbi in the ceremonial eunuch who could not deal with the palm seal.

Just like Huang Jin was so favored, Chen Hong and Li Fang, the Superintendent of Ceremonies, also competed with him for power.

The same is true for the Dongchang Jinyiwei. To fight against ministers and arrest courtiers, there must be orders from the emperor. No matter how courageous the Dongchang Jinyiwei is, they would not dare to arrest ministers at will.

"We are just dogs, watching over the sheep for His Majesty, but His Majesty is afraid that we vicious dogs will hurt the sheep and pull out all our teeth."

Feng Bao even felt that Huang Jin's metaphor was exquisite.

What he is experiencing now is the same as what Huang Jin said. He, a toothless dog, is about to lose control of the sheep.

Huang Jin said:

"Have you ever wondered why His Majesty wants us dogs?"

Feng Bao was stunned for a moment and shook his head quickly.

Huang Jin said: "Time."

"Herding sheep is originally the job of the sheepherder, but shepherding sheep every day is too tiring. Find a dog to shepherd the sheep so that the shepherd can be lazy."

"The emperor wants to practice Taoism, so he needs us old dogs. Today, the emperor wants to have fun in the harem, so he needs you dogs."

Feng Bao nodded quickly.

After Longqing ascended the throne, he began to indulge in the harem.

In the past, the capital was searching for palace ladies, and Long Qing had favored several palace ladies, and promoted several palace ladies as concubines.

For this matter, Gao Gong also tried to persuade him, but the emperor still believed in his old ways.

"A dog is a dog. Don't think about being the master and having real power. Remember what I told you, we have no power."

Feng Bao quickly asked: "If you have no power, how can you make your subordinates obey?"

Huang Jin said: "This is the most important part."

"The 叟実 is regarded as a weapon, but it should be treated as if it is not there. It can be used as a weapon."

Feng Bao was stunned for a moment. Although he had read some books, his cultural level was not high and he did not understand what Huang Jin meant.

Huang Jin said: "Knead pottery clay to make a vessel. Only when the vessel has a hollow place can it function as a vessel."

"We are the hollow place in the vessel. We have no power and nothing in our hands."

"But the shell of the vessel is the emperor's power. We just need to use the shell to make the vessel function."

Feng Bao still didn't understand.

Huang Jin said: "The key to this step is this existence and non-being, virtuality and reality."

"You don't have the power, but you have to make the people below believe that you have the power, so that you can get things done."

"The affairs in this palace are actually decided by His Majesty, but you have to make the people below believe that this is decided by you."

"We are the hollow of the vessel, Your Majesty is the shell of the vessel, and these people inside and outside the palace are the ants crawling into the vessel."

"The ants crawled into the vessel, the light was blocked, and the sky and the earth were dark. They didn't know whether it was caused by the outer shell of the vessel or the hollow part of you."

"As long as you take advantage of the situation and make them think that you are the reason for the darkness, then both the inner and outer courts will fear and respect you."

Feng Bao has to kneel down again, but his godfather is still wise!

"If you can handle the affairs of the inner court and the outer court well, your majesty will be able to save worry and trouble. His majesty will not expose your lies, but will cooperate with you to act out your lies."

"For example, it is clear that His Majesty wants to punish a certain eunuch, and His Majesty approves of you and will give you permission to do it. If you punish that eunuch in public, the palace will be afraid of you. But only you know that in fact, without His Majesty's permission, you dare not move at all. That eunuch."

"Another example is that Your Majesty hates a certain Yan Guan. If you go to court to kill this Yan Guan, the foreign ministers will be jealous of you. In fact, this court battle was fought by His Majesty, and the killing of the Yan Guan was also authorized by His Majesty."

"With these, you can take the first step in the inner court."

Such profound wisdom is only the first step?

Feng Bao quickly asked: "Godfather, how do we go from there?"

Huang Jin said: "With reality, what you have to do next is to remember emptiness."

"Remember Sora?"

"We're still empty, remember?"

"Lord Quan Wei, we have no power in our hands. No matter how much the inner court fears you and how much the outer court fears you, in fact you are still empty and have nothing."

"When some powers reach this point, they gradually become lost. They mistakenly regard the shell of the vessel as their own power, completely forgetting that they are still empty."

"Your Majesty likes a eunuch, but you hate this person in your heart. You oppose him at every turn. When you catch him at fault and want to punish this person, His Majesty refuses. What will you do?"

"You have fought to the death with this eunuch, but if you can't deal with him, then others will see your futility. It turns out you have no power."

"Another example is if you want the Outer Court to do something, and you want it to be like this, but His Majesty wants to do that, and you finally suppress the Outer Court and get it done, but His Majesty is not satisfied, then the Outer Court will know that you are Empty, you can’t decide anything.”

"Remember the emptiness, don't let the shell of the vessel blind you."

Feng Bao quickly asked: "How can we do this forever?"

Huang Jin said: "It's very simple, you must be consistent with His Majesty."

"In the final analysis, it's just about guessing the holy meaning."

"I like what Your Majesty likes, hate what Your Majesty hates, use what Your Majesty wants, and discard what Your Majesty discards."

"Your Majesty's will is your will. Then others will not know whether you are empty or real. The inner and outer courts will have a vague understanding and regard everything you say as His Majesty's meaning."

"From this, reality and reality are one, created out of nothing."

Feng Bao was really convinced now. Huang Jin's statement finally answered Feng Bao's questions.

Feng Bao knelt down again towards Huang Jin.

Huang Jin did not act this time, but said:

“If you really do that, then you’re not you anymore.”

"The people in the palace are miserable."

After saying this, Huang Jin looked outside the palace.

Feng Bao also fell silent.

The price for creating something out of nothing is to give up oneself. So is this nihilistic power nothing or something?

At the same time, Mr. Tao from Fuzhou Shipping Company saw an old man without a beard.

"Godfather!"

Eunuch Tao immediately welcomed the old man into the house without changing his clothes.

This old man in coarse cloth was none other than Li Fang, the powerful eunuch who once served in Jiajing.

It was because Eunuch Tao recognized Li Fang's relationship that he got the job of the Fuzhou Shipping Secretary.

Eunuch Tao is a nostalgic person. When Eunuch Tao was attacked, it was Li Fang who protected him from the wind and rain.

During the mutiny in Taiyuan, Chen Hong was beaten to death by mutinous soldiers in the street, and Li Fang also took advantage of the chaos to escape from Jiajing.

Li Fang remained anonymous all the way and fled to Fuzhou.

Eunuch Tao's mansion was very gorgeous. When Li Fang saw this, when the two were alone, she couldn't help but say:

"Your mansion is so gorgeous. Aren't you afraid that the governor will be jealous? We eunuchs, all our power comes from above. Although you are favored, if you are alienated by someone with intentions, there will be disaster in the future."

Eunuch Tao immediately said:

"Dad, don't worry. My son's money comes from all sources. The mint's patent dividends, the shipping company's support subsidies, and every copper coin in this house is legitimate."

"That's what I say, but if someone creates a quarrel and the Governor has doubts about you, that would be bad."

Li Fang still persuaded her earnestly.

But Eunuch Tao said: "Godfather, Southeast is different from the Ming Dynasty. Although we are eunuchs, as long as the money comes from us, we can spend it openly. As long as it does not violate the law, no one can do anything to us."

"I built this house with my own money. I have not broken any laws or allowed my family to break the law. The Governor will not punish me for this matter."

"If I don't do my job well in the shipping department, no matter how close the relationship between me and the Grand Governor is, the Grand Governor will remove me from my position."

"The authority is supreme, that's what Ming Ting said."

"Now in the Southeast, we are talking about 'sovereignty lies with the people.'"

"The people? Wherever the people are, doesn't the authority still lie in the hands of those above?"

Eunuch Tao touched his nose and said: "Sovereignty belongs to the people, and the power is given to the governor to hold it on their behalf. Because sovereignty belongs to the people, the power is not to the governor himself. What I want to serve is not the governor, a private person, but a public servant in the world. .”

"I don't understand the truth either. Please stay here first, godfather, and you'll find out after you take a look!"

Ask for a monthly pass.

Some readers said before that I was trying to reduce intelligence when I wrote about Ming Ting. This chapter is an explanation of why those smart people would do such an operation to reduce intelligence.

Combined with the previous chapter, there are four words: "powerless".