The history of eunuchs in China is a subject full of mystery, and although they are portrayed as excellent martial arts masters in martial arts**, in real history, their reputation is not very good, and most are portrayed as villains.
This is because they are not well known in Chinese history. However, there are some well-known eunuchs in history, such as the Ten Standing Servants of the Han Dynasty, Li Fuguo of the Tang Dynasty and Wei Zhongxian of the Ming Dynasty, etc., who are all villains who are authoritarian and domineering, and bring disaster to the country and the people.
Although eunuchs have been controversial throughout history, many emperors still relied heavily on eunuchs. Especially the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, they even set up special spy agencies that were in charge of eunuchs - the East Factory and the West Factory.
Many people are puzzled by this, why did these emperors favor eunuchs with a bad reputation?
Although eunuchs and eunuchs were often confused in later generations, in reality, most eunuchs were laborers at the bottom of the imperial palace, and their physical characteristics did not affect their lives much.
Historically, there were only a few eunuchs who leaned towards the government and the opposition, and even fewer could depose the emperor like the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, even in a period like the Ming Dynasty, the power of the eunuchs did not reach the point of no return.
Eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty played a special role in history. From the beginning of the dynasty, Emperor Taizu abolished the prime minister system and directly managed the six ministries by the emperor, which undoubtedly strengthened the imperial power, but also made the emperor shoulder the heavy responsibility of national affairs.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang, a model worker, was able to cope, by the time of Ming Chengzu, the emperor began to seek ways to reduce the pressure of work. As a result, Zhu Di set up a cabinet system and let cabinet scholars assist in handling government affairs.
However, in order to prevent the Cabinet Academician from evolving into a new one"Prime Minister System", the emperor imposed limits on the powers of the cabinet.
The Ming Dynasty consisted of three parts: the emperor, the cabinet, and the celebrant supervisor. Cabinet ministers have the power to vote and make recommendations on the conduct of the Emperor's affairs. If the emperor accepts these suggestions, he will be red-approved and stamped.
However, later emperors were lazy and gave these powers to eunuchs, i.e., celebrants. Among the celebrant eunuchs, the palm seal eunuch and the pen eunuch are responsible for stamping and approving the red respectively.
Later, Wei Zhongxian held both positions, and it can be said that he was the peak of eunuch power in the Ming Dynasty.
One might wonder why the emperor would give the power to approve red and seal to the eunuchs, without worrying about their rebellion? In fact, the group of eunuchs has no descendants, and even if they become emperors, they lack support.
Of course, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were not stupid, they limited the power of eunuchs to the approval of red and seals, while the army was firmly in the hands of the emperor, because "the gun comes out of power", and nothing can be done without the support of the army.
The power of eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty originated from the emperor and can be said to be an extension of the emperor's power.
In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the power of civil officials gradually expanded, and even the emperor could not leave the Forbidden City, while the eunuchs served the emperor according to the emperor's will and were indispensable assistants to the emperor.
Since the emperor was mostly raised by eunuchs, the eunuchs were like the emperor's family, which made the emperor trust them more. After excluding other destabilizing factors, the eunuchs were more loyal to the emperor.