Liu Gui's face is very upright, the kind that makes people fall in love with him at first sight, but his fair face has a faint feminine temperament. Of course, this is normal, after all, Liu Gui is a eunuch. He was also the only eunuch among so many people who served as Shaofu's prison officials. This uniqueness shows that he was extraordinary.
Liu Gui was the second-generation eunuch of Gen Hongmiaozheng. His adoptive father Liu Yandao was a senior eunuch in the Kaifeng court at the time. His qualifications were higher than those of Wang Jien and Yantuo to a certain extent, and he was quite famous. He had served as tea and wine envoy, Feilong Envoys, palace envoys, are "virtuous officials" who have both ability and political integrity.
Under Liu Yandao's words and deeds, Liu Gui's ability and quality were extremely strong. Not to mention the eunuchs in the palace, he was considered outstanding among the ministers of the imperial court.
Emperor Liu once said that Liu Gui's status as an eunuch restricted Liu Gui, otherwise his achievements would be limitless. Of course, because of his status as an eunuch, Liu Gui could also be less constrained in the process of doing errands.
Liu Gui really came into Emperor Liu's sight after the currency reform was carried out that year. As time went by, new problems gradually emerged. The old weights and measures were complex and backward, seriously unrealistic, unable to meet market needs, and even caused problems. A certain amount of confusion.
When the Financial Secretary was urgently discussing and preparing to issue a new weighing method and re-standardize it, Liu Gui stepped forward at the right time and submitted a "Two Terms Method" to Emperor Liu.
In that first edition of the "Two Weighing Laws", Liu Gui drew on the weighing laws of the past dynasties, combined with the national conditions of the Han Dynasty, summarized and improved it, and formulated a set of very precise and detailed weighing rules. Especially in the measurement of the value of gold and silver, it can be done Down to millimeters.
Emperor Liu sent the "Two Names Method" to the Financial Secretary for discussion. The Financial Secretary gave a very high evaluation and said that the person who developed this method was a genius in algorithm and could implement a new weighing system based on it.
Later, I learned that this weighing method, which was highly praised by them, was actually written by a eunuch, probably to gain respect. Later, the Financial Secretary made certain deletions and changes to Liu Gui's "Two Names Method". , and then implemented it, gradually replacing the old law and promulgating it all over the country.
But no matter how it was modified, its core essence remained unchanged. Liu Gui's contribution to it could not be erased by anyone. At that time, Liu Gui was not yet thirty years old. He became famous through this and began to win the favor of Emperor Liu. of attention.
In the later understanding, Emperor Liu discovered that in addition to his talent in weights and measures, Liu Gui was also good at management. He was methodical and unhurried in everything he did. He was also a good reader and had a very good literary accomplishment.
Emperor Liu was naturally happy to see such a character among the eunuchs. He had grown up in the palace and had an innocent background. At that time, the suspicious Emperor Liu did not think much about the potential that a talented eunuch might bring to the court. Disaster.
With the appreciation from Emperor Liu, Liu Gui's official career was naturally smooth sailing, and even out of control. He served successively as the palace gardener, the second envoy of the palace, and finally was simply placed in the position of Shaofu Supervisor by Emperor Liu.
You must know that this young eunuch is a high-ranking official of the third rank, with real duties and great power. After all, he manages the royal family's industry. This has caused a lot of criticism. In many old concepts, Emperor Liu raised the status of eunuchs in this way, which clearly means that We are still following the old path, and eunuchs interfere in politics. This is a thousand-year lesson!
Therefore, it was inevitable that a group of Qing gossip officials came forward to dissuade Emperor Liu by pointing out that the eunuchs of the Qin, Han and Tang dynasties had interfered in politics and caused harm to the country and the people.
However, how could Emperor Liu listen to this? In the thirty or forty years he had been in power, had there ever been a situation where eunuchs interfered in politics? The fundamental reason for such situations was that the emperor was incompetent and the imperial power declined.
The harm may not be as serious as that caused by bureaucrats and ministers.
On the other hand, Emperor Liu would consider that the encouraging reaction of these ministers just proved that he felt threatened. Emperor Liu would naturally do things that could make the bureaucrats feel threatened.
At the same time, Emperor Liu also believed that those bureaucrats who acted as if they were loyal to the country were more likely to want to make a fuss about this matter, and their fundamental purpose was to limit the imperial power.
With these considerations in mind, Emperor Liu naturally strengthened his determination and gave some examples of "good officials" to implement Liu Gui's post of Shaofu Supervisor.
Emperor Liu's trust in Liu Gui also aroused a good response among the huge group of eunuchs. Eunuchs are an extremely closed group with a strict hierarchy, and the competition among them becomes more intense. Every step forward, the competition becomes more difficult.
They are no less powerful than those bureaucrats in foreign dynasties, but the cruelty among them is even greater.
After all, there is a rotation system in the bureaucracy. People come and go, which is normal. However, the mobility of eunuch positions is extremely poor and is seriously solidified. Just look at Yantuo and you can see that, within thirty years, he has become the leader of the eunuch.
, the chief internal officer in both name and reality. Within the palace, among the supervisors, various temple bureaus, there are many people who have been in charge of a department for more than ten or twenty years.
In such an environment, Liu Gui's rise was a completely exceptional promotion, breaking many rules and regulations. Of course, the so-called unspoken rules could not stand up to the emperor's words. Liu Gui could also be regarded as giving those middle- and lower-class eunuchs a
In this way, how to please the officials has become a matter that many eunuchs have devoted themselves to studying. However, over the years, there has only been one case like Liu Gui, and the luck in it is indeed extraordinary.
As for Liu Gui's fate, the two chief eunuchs, Wang Jien and Yan Tuo, were filled with envy, jealousy, hatred, and all kinds of emotions.
You must know that these two people spent decades working as cows and horses, weathering the wind and rain. Relying on their qualifications and merits, they broke through the eunuch grade restrictions and were awarded the third-grade title.
However, Liu Gui, because of the favor of the official family, rose to the top in one fell swoop, came late and fell behind, and reached the status of "equal" with them. How can they balance their hearts?
Of course, these grievances cannot be directed at the officials. Officials are naturally "official" in employing people. It's just Liu Gui's opportunism that confuses the officials.
Ascension by leaps and bounds often means that the foundation is unstable. If a tree is weak in the forest, the wind will destroy it. It is logical that Liu Gui, who served as the Shaofu, suffered double suppression from Yan Tuo and Wang Jien.
Especially Wang Jien, the spies of the Imperial City Division were watching Liu Gui's every move, intent on finding mistakes in him.
But the appointment of Liu Gui once again proved Emperor Liu's vision of people. Although there was some controversy, Liu Gui's performance in office was once again unexpected. He took care of everything in the Shaofu in an orderly manner, without any omissions, and was good at calculations.
Liu Gui also made changes and innovations in the management system, greatly improving administrative efficiency and making great progress in "refined management".
Liu Gui is naturally an extremely smart person. He is high-profile and effective in his work, but he is very low-key, humble and reserved.
Of course, some performances may just be out of necessity. Liu Gui is keenly aware of the risks behind glory, and those cold arrows hidden in the dark are always aimed at him. Regarding these, Liu Gui, who grew up in the palace, has seen and heard too much. .
Faced with some dangerous situations, Liu Gui naturally had a way to deal with them. He adopted the strategy of turning enemies into friends and leveraging his strength.
First, he moved closer to Yantuo, gave gifts, showed his loyalty, and actively obtained his forgiveness. But facing such a wise and interesting junior, Yantuo was finally "influenced" and accepted Liu Gui.
Of course, the deeper reason is that Yantuo saw that Liu Gui's take-off was unstoppable and could not be easily defeated by some small moves. His initiative to move closer to him made him feel more gratified, at least not Turn to that old dog Wang Jien.
After gaining Yantuo's approval, Liu Gui's Shaofu Supervisor was naturally as stable as a mountain. First, he had Emperor Liu's trust, secondly, he had Yantuo's protection, and thirdly, he had sufficient quality and ability.
The only hidden danger is that he stands on the opposite side of Wang Jien, but in the Han court, Wang Jien is not able to cover the sky with one hand. And Wang Jien also realized in the subsequent development that Liu Gui cannot be underestimated and cannot be eliminated. In the official family, With normal trust, some small losses cannot be shaken at all, but big problems are not so easy to find.
After thinking about it, Wang Jien decided to temporarily put aside his prejudices and even took the initiative to throw an olive branch to him. After all, he could not let the powerful and responsible Shaofu Supervisor completely surrender to the hostile Yantuo. Don't do it.
In this way, through the conflict between Yan and Wang, the two Han Palace eunuchs, Liu Gui moved around with ease, gradually gained a foothold, and even established a faction of his eunuchs...
