Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 113 If You Are My Brother, Then Come and Kill Me
Tianqi finally agreed to the impeachment of Xiong Tingbi, which made the civil service group celebrate.

On the day that Tianqi let the Imperial Household Department use the seal, the cabinet dismissed Xiong Tingbi from his post as governor of Liaodong and replaced him with Yuan Yingtai, the newly appointed governor of Liaodong.

Not only that, there were many people in the court who wanted to strike while the iron was hot and planned to send Wei Yingjia to Liaodong to investigate Xiong Tingbi's faults. However, this candidate was opposed by Fang Congzhe, Liu Yirong and other censors such as Wu Yingqi and Yang Lian, because everyone knew that Wei Yingjia was too selfish and had a personal grudge against Xiong Tingbi. Although Xiong Tingbi had resigned now, they could not do too much in Liaodong. Since the goal had been achieved, in order to avoid exacerbating the conflict and losing more than the gain, after much deliberation, they finally sent Zhu Tongmeng, the military official, to Liaodong.

After dealing with the matter of Xiong Tingbi, Tianqi began to reorganize the inner court. As long as Wang An was in control of the Imperial Household Department, Tianqi would not feel at ease.

He had no one available, and the only people he could trust were Li Jinzhong before and Wei Zhongxian now.

Wei Zhongxian's original position in the palace was not high, so it was not easy to replace him immediately. A few days later, Tianqi promoted Wei Zhongxian to the position of the chief eunuch of the Qianqing Palace. Although this position was not as high as the Silijian, it was a step up for Wei Zhongxian.

After becoming the chief eunuch of the Qianqing Palace, Wei Zhongxian's status in the palace was significantly improved, and he knew the real reason why Tianqi valued him. With Tianqi's tacit approval, Wei Zhongxian began to win over people in the palace, and relying on Tianqi's favor and power, he quickly recruited many subordinates.

Then, Wei Zhongxian set his sights on his good buddy Wei Chao. Speaking of Wei Chao, this man had once been kind to Wei Zhongxian. It was Wei Chao who helped Wei Zhongxian enter the palace. After entering the palace, Wei Chao had always been nice to Wei Zhongxian. The two became sworn brothers. Wei Zhongxian was able to gain a foothold in the imperial palace and climb up step by step. It can be said that Wei Chao made an indispensable contribution.

Even before Keshi's marriage, it was Wei Chao. Wei Zhongxian was able to hook up with Keshi and become the most important companion of Tianqi thanks to Wei Chao's introduction. Because at that time Wei Chao was the eunuch beside Wang Cairen, the biological mother of Emperor Tianqi. At that time, Wei Chao, Keshi and Zhu Youxiao lived together day and night, and their relationship was really good.

Through Wei Chao, Wei Zhongxian got to know Keshi and the emperor's eldest grandson Zhu Youxiao, and later took the opportunity to climb onto Keshi's bedside.

Wei Zhongxian was different from ordinary eunuchs. He entered the palace after he had been castrated when he reached adulthood, and it was said that his castration was not done very thoroughly, so he still had a little bit of manly ability.

Although Keshi and Wei Chao were first lovers, she soon fell in love with Wei Zhongxian, who was eloquent and more practical. As a result, in Keshi's heart, Wei Zhongxian's status became more important than Wei Chao's at the beginning.

Although Wei Zhongxian was illiterate, he was a very smart man. He knew very well why the emperor appointed him. So after restoring his original surname, Wei Zhongxian began to think about how to help the emperor solve his problems. After thinking about it, his main target was Wang An.

However, it was not so easy to bring down Wang An. Wang An had served in three dynasties. After the death of Emperor Wanli, Ma Rong, the seal of the Imperial Household Department, took the initiative to offer to guard the tomb of the previous emperor outside the palace. Since then, Wang An has become the highest-ranking eunuch and has great power in the palace.

Moreover, Wang An now controls the Imperial Household Department and the Eastern Depot. Although Wei Zhongxian is already the chief eunuch of the Qianqing Palace, there is still a big gap in power between him and Wang An. But even so, Wei Zhongxian understands his own value. If he cannot help the emperor to overthrow Wang An, all he has now is just a moon in the mirror and a flower in the water, which can leave him at any time.

If you want to overthrow Wang An, direct confrontation is impossible. Wei Zhongxian is not stupid. If he does this, not only will he not be able to overthrow Wang An, but he might be the first to suffer. So Wei Zhongxian decided to start with his good brother Wei Chao, because Wei Chao was Wang An's man, and also Wang An's confidant and arm. To deal with Wang An, he must first cut off Wang An's arm in the palace. In this way, Wei Chao became Wei Zhongxian's first target to be solved.

As a sworn brother, Wei Zhongxian knew Wei Chao's character and temper better than anyone else. He communicated privately with Tianqi before taking action, and began his own arrangements with Tianqi's tacit consent.

On this day, Wei Zhongxian deliberately found an opportunity to flirt with Keshi in the warm room of the Qianqing Palace. While doing this, Wei Zhongxian asked his eunuch to secretly tell Wei Chao. As expected, when Wei Chao learned about this, he hurried to the warm room and saw his good brother doing something shameful with Keshi. As a eunuch, Wei Chao could not help but be furious and his hands were shaking with anger.

My good brother is getting more and more excessive. It's fine if you do it secretly, but now you are taking advantage of your partner and committing adultery in broad daylight. This is really intolerable. Eunuchs also have human rights! Eunuchs are also men! How could Wei Chao, who was furious, hold back? He immediately rushed in and started fighting with Wei Zhongxian.

But when it comes to fighting, how could Wei Chao beat Wei Zhongxian? You have to know that Wei Zhongxian was born a ruffian before entering the palace, and he had fought a lot since he was a child. After several rounds, Wei Chao not only failed to get revenge, but was beaten black and blue by Wei Zhongxian. Unwilling to accept this, Wei Chao was furious and made a big fuss in the warm room, which alarmed the Emperor Tianqi who happened to pass by.

Tianqi heard the news and walked into the warm room. When he saw this scene, his face suddenly became ugly. After listening to Wei Chao and Wei Zhongxian's explanation, Tianqi showed even more displeasure. However, because of Keshi, Tianqi did not get angry on the spot. After a moment's silence, he directly asked Keshi who she would choose between the two. As long as Keshi said a word, he, the emperor, would make the decision for the wet nurse.

After hearing this, Keshi blushed, looked at Wei Zhongxian shyly and lowered her head. Seeing this, Tianqi understood and immediately pointed Keshi to Wei Zhongxian, and then warned Wei Chao not to come to Keshi again.

After Tianqi finished speaking and swaggered away, Wei Zhongxian proudly hugged Keshi with an attitude of a winner, while Wei Chao had a pale face and a distraught expression.

A few days later, Wei Zhongxian led his men to Wei Chao, who was recovering from his injuries, and told him in the name of the emperor that the emperor was very dissatisfied with Wei Chao's previous behavior, but did not severely punish Wei Chao because of their past relationship. However, Wei Chao was no longer suitable to stay in the palace, so he was exiled to Fengyang to guard the mausoleum. Then, without waiting for Wei Chao to shout that he wanted to see Tianqi, Wei Zhongxian waved his hand, and two young eunuchs came up to control Wei Chao, and then took him out of the palace and sent him to a carriage to Fengyang.

In this way, Wei Chao, who was also a leading eunuch, couldn't even last a round at the hands of Wei Zhongxian, and was kicked to Fengyang to guard the tomb by his good brother.

After the Wei Chao incident, the eunuchs in the palace immediately felt the change. These eunuchs were servants, and they could not survive in the palace without a little bit of attention. It was the instinct of the eunuchs to read people's expressions and change their attitude according to the situation. Wei Zhongxian was in favor now, and he got rid of Wei Chao in a simple and neat way. Can't you see what this means?
What's more, Wei Zhongxian was ruthless and cruel. You have to know that Wei Chao was his sworn brother! He could be so cruel even to his own brother. What would be the consequences for others if they offended him?
After Wei Chao was driven away, Wang An lost an arm. Without Wei Chao, Wang An's control over the palace was no longer as strong as before. And Wang An himself was not stupid. He knew that although he was the "eunuch" of three dynasties, the emperor probably knew about the shit he had done before. What was the purpose of getting rid of Wei Chao? Wasn't it to use this as a warning to Wang An?
Although the eunuchs were in high positions and had great power, especially the eunuch who held the seal of the Imperial Household Department was also called the "Inner Prime Minister", and although Wang An was not the eunuch who held the seal, after Ma Rong left the palace, he was no different from the eunuch who held the seal.

But in the final analysis, eunuchs are not civil servants. Their power comes from imperial power. Eunuchs represent the emperor's will. Wang An is very clear about this.

Now that the Wei Dynasty was over, would he be the next one? Wang An couldn't help but feel a little scared. He was worried that he would follow in the footsteps of the Wei Dynasty. Moreover, Wei Zhongxian's sudden rise and ruthless methods also made Wang An feel uneasy.

On this day, Wang An presented a memorial to the emperor and asked to see Tianqi. According to the rules, the memorial from the cabinet had to be reviewed by the emperor. After the emperor had read it and given a reply, it would then be returned to the cabinet after being approved by the Imperial Household Department to form a formal resolution to be issued.

As the eunuch in charge of writing in the Imperial Household Department, he is also the nominal second-in-command of the Imperial Household Department. In addition, the position of eunuch in charge of the seal is vacant now, so Wang An is the actual number one in charge. This job is originally his responsibility.

When Wang An met Tianqi, he kowtowed and handed over the memorials one by one. Tianqi sat and flipped through them casually, and asked Wang An some questions. Wang An answered them fluently, which made Tianqi quite satisfied.

"Wang An!"

"The slave is here!"

"You have managed the Silijian well these days and have done your job very attentively. I am very pleased."

"Your Majesty, this is my duty." Wang An replied quickly. Seeing that Tianqi was in a good mood today, he took a deep breath and said to Tianqi: "Your Majesty, there is something I don't know whether I should tell you or not?"

"What's the matter? But it doesn't matter."

"It has been a while since the Emperor ascended the throne. The late Emperor passed away suddenly. The Imperial Household Department was supposed to be adjusted when the previous Emperor was alive, but it was not handled in time. Now the position of the Chief of the Imperial Household Department has been vacant for a long time. In addition, the Imperial Household Department needs to recruit more people. I wonder what the Emperor plans to do?"

"Oh, is the position of the Chief of the Imperial Household Department still vacant?" Tianqi asked subconsciously, as if he had heard of this for the first time. Wang An immediately explained it, and Tianqi suddenly realized it.

"This is my negligence. I haven't taken the time to deal with this matter since I ascended the throne. So, not only is the position of the Chief of the Imperial Household Department vacant, but you are the only one who can hold the pen?"

"That's right, Your Majesty." Wang An replied with his head down.

Tianqi thought for a moment and nodded silently.

The Imperial Household Department is an institution of the inner court. According to the system, the Imperial Household Department usually has five to eight people, including one eunuch who holds the seal, two to three eunuchs who hold the pen, and several eunuchs who accompany the court. Initially, the Imperial Household Department also had a eunuch who was in charge of supervising the eunuchs, but this position was later merged with the eunuch who holds the seal, so the eunuch who holds the seal is also called the Superintendent of the Imperial Household Department.

The equipment of this institution was very similar to that of the Cabinet, so the Silijian was also called the Inner Court, and the eunuch who held the seal was also called the Inner Prime Minister.

After Wanli's death, Zhu Changluo ascended the throne. After the original eunuch Ma Rong, who held the seal, voluntarily left the throne, Wang An was promoted by Zhu Changluo to become the first official of the Silijian. From this point of view, he actually controlled the Silijian.

(End of this chapter)