In the late Tang Dynasty, the national strength was weakened, and the imperial power declined. The local affairs of the empire were decided by the envoys of the feudal town Jiedushi, and the central affairs were decided by the eunuchs who held the power of the imperial government, and the Tang emperor became a puppet manipulated by the eunuchs. However, the eunuch domination of political activities in the late Tang Dynasty was not an overnight result, but a long process. So the question is, when did the power of the tang eunuchs begin to be magnified? Why was even the emperor afraid of eunuchs later?
The process of tang eunuchs taking power can basically be divided into three stages. The first stage was the founding of the Tang Dynasty to the reign of Tang Xuanzong (618-755); the second stage was the "Anshi Rebellion" to the reign of Tang Xianzong (755-820); the third stage was the reign of Tang Muzong until the fall of the Tang Dynasty (820-907).
During the period from the founding of the Tang Dynasty to the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, eunuchs only played the role of slaves in the Tang court and had no actual power. However, during The reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the eunuch Gao Lishi was reused, and he became the first eunuch in power in the Tang Dynasty. It is worth mentioning that Gao Lishi was absolutely loyal to Tang Xuanzong, which was fundamentally different from the ambitious eunuchs in the late Tang Dynasty.
The "Anshi Rebellion" to the reign of Tang Xianzong was a key process in the expansion of the power of tang eunuchs. During this period, there were many famous eunuchs in history, such as Li Fuguo, who was revered as "Shang Father" by emperors in the Tang Dynasty, and Yu Chao'en, who commanded the Shen Ce army. However, although these eunuchs were all in power for a while, the central power of the Tang Dynasty was still firmly controlled by the emperor.
During the reign of Emperor Dezong of Tang, he found that the Shen Ce Army, which was the most relied on by the imperial court, had become more and more decayed, and he believed that it was the inaction of the officials in charge of the Shen Ce Army and the lack of sufficient loyalty to the emperor that caused this situation, so he appointed two close eunuchs as lieutenants of the Left and Right Shen Ce Guards (the actual commanders of the Shen Ce Army). Since then, eunuchs have begun to substantially control the central forbidden army of the Tang Dynasty, which has laid hidden dangers for the eunuch dictatorship and chaos for nearly a hundred years.
The reason why Tang Dezong reused eunuchs was mainly because he felt that eunuchs had no family power and no political foundation, and that the basis for their power was derived from the emperor, so they must remain loyal to the emperor. Other officials may have their own ambitions and struggle to be absolutely loyal.
With the support of Emperor Dezong of Tang, the power of eunuchs was greatly expanded. They served as lieutenants in the central government, responsible for controlling the forbidden army; at the local level, they served as supervisors, responsible for supervising the local civil and military personnel. The emperor gave eunuchs the privilege of acting as his own eyes and ears, so to some extent, the career of officials at all levels often depended on the observations of eunuchs. Under this system, officials at all levels, from the Tang Dynasty prime minister to the local officials, were forced to deal with the eunuchs they despised so much in their hearts, and they also tried their best to curry favor with these eunuchs, large and small, who could determine their future.
As the power of some great eunuchs grew, they also germinated the idea of continuing power to future generations. However, the eunuchs had no heirs, so the great eunuchs generally adopted the method of recognizing the righteous son. In this way, even if the eunuch himself died, their political capital could be passed on to their righteous sons. Under the inheritance of this eunuch "family" power, the power of the tang eunuchs became more and more powerful.
However, as mentioned above, the power base of the eunuch came from the emperor, so during the reign of Tang Dezong and his son Tang Shunzong and grandson Tang Xianzong, the eunuch was still very dependent on the emperor. However, at the end of Tang Xianzong's reign, a palace coup completely changed everything.
On February 14, 820, two eunuchs who were dissatisfied with Tang Xianzong murdered Tang Xianzong with the support of the princely clique. Since then, the dictatorship of eunuchs in the Tang Dynasty has begun to enter a new stage.
After Tang Xianzong's death, Li Heng, the crown prince who seized power by conspiracy, succeeded to the throne for Tang Muzong. Unlike several previous Tang emperors, Tang Muzong had no interest in military affairs and indulged in feasting and playing all day long. So the eunuch clique took the opportunity to develop and grow, and controlled the military and political power of the central government of the Tang Dynasty. Originally, eunuchs were dependent on imperial power, but it turned out that the emperor needed the support of eunuchs to ascend to the emperor's throne. Therefore, seven of the nine Tang emperors since Tang Muzong were supported by eunuchs, and eunuchs could even directly determine the life and death of these emperors, and the history of eunuch dictatorship in the late Tang Dynasty began.
References: Old Book of Tang, New Book of Tang, Zizhi Tongjian