According to the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty, eunuchs were not allowed to interfere in politics, but later eunuchs interfered in politics and became a curse that the Ming Dynasty could not solve. During the reigns of Hongwu and the Yongle Emperor, eunuchs had no chance to seize power, and since Chengzu established the Eastern Affairs Factory, although eunuchs were reused, they had never reached the point of monstrous power.
The situation did not change until the Yingzong dynasty, because Wang Zhen appeared, who was the earliest eunuch of the Ming Dynasty.
Wang Zhen did not enter the palace since childhood, but first studied, and then had a legitimate career, but he did not want to benefit officials and nobles through the bumps in his career. When he was a teacher, Wang Zhen had a progressive heart, but he was not sure of winning the meritorious name, so he swung his sword from the palace to the Forbidden City, if it was not a cruel person, who did it.
However, a eunuch who could read and write was too popular, and with a skill, Wang Zhen did not have to serve tea and water, but was arranged to serve the prince in the Eastern Palace.
At that time, it was still the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, and the favorite supervisor of the harem was called Jin Ying, and Wang Zhenchu could only rely on people to sniffle when he first entered the palace, but he could wait for the opportunity.
Ten years after Xuande, Emperor Mingxuanzong fell ill and died, and Emperor Yingzong became the heir to the empire, when he was only a 9-year-old child and had to be subjected to the government by the empress dowager. Wang Zhen had become a good friend of Emperor Yingzong, always serving on the side and obeying his words, so he climbed step by step to the position of a eunuch.
In the Forbidden City, eunuchs belonged to different gates, with a total of 24. The Celebrant of Ceremonies was in a high position of authority, and the most prominent of all the eunuch departments, not only in charge of the secrets of the imperial court, but also in charge of the East Factory, and only His Majesty's confidants could take on the responsibility.
Although Wang Zhen started late, he made rapid progress, and climbed to a dazzling position in a few years. At first, he also had self-awareness, after all, eunuchs were not allowed to interfere in politics, and the imperial court had a group of auxiliary ministers, and it was not his turn to wang Zhenyue, who was on the one hand good relations with the empress dowager, and on the other hand, he carefully served his master.
Yingzong was an emperor with a very good personality, he was sympathetic to people, never easily punished, and it was precisely because of his good personality that Wang Zhen found a weakness and threw himself into his favor. Wang Zhen did a full set of plays, and at that time, the auxiliary ministers were honored by Sanyang, namely Yang Fu, Yang Rong, and Yang Shiqi, when Emperor Yingzong was still young, Wang Zhen often carefully reminded his master in front of several auxiliary ministers not to play greedily, and not to waste his studies, which also made Sanyang very relieved.
Yingzong is gradually growing up, and he also needs a confidant like Wang Zhen to pour out some unhappiness in life. Wang Zhen, on the other hand, took advantage of any opportunity to stir up trouble and seize power for himself, encouraging Emperor Yingzong to develop military equipment and parade troops, taking this opportunity to show off his strength.
Although Wang Zhen was careful, the empress dowager had seen strong winds and waves, and everything in the palace naturally could not escape the eyeliner. She felt more and more that Wang Zhen had other intentions, many dynasties in history had fallen because of eunuchs interfering in politics, and at this time Emperor Yingzong had not yet grown up, and Wang Zhen's influence was too great to make the empress dowager very uneasy, one day in the harem, she ordered the soldiers to take Wang Zhen in front of several ministers, and reprimanded him for instigating Emperor Yingzong to try to interfere in politics.
Wang Zhen was frightened and trembling by the sudden blow, and although several ministers had heard about Wang Zhen's deeds, they also felt that the sin would not lead to death, so they knelt down one after another and pleaded.
When Emperor Yingzong heard this, he also rushed to persuade the empress dowager not to do too much, and at this time Wang Zhen was already trembling like a sieve. The empress dowager said, "The emperor is young, do you know that such eunuchs have been wreaking havoc on the country since ancient times, and I look at your face and spare Wang Zhen, but after that, he is not allowed to interfere in state affairs, and if he violates it, he will not be spared!" With this knock on the mountain and shaking the tiger, he really stopped for a while, and honestly divided up.
This suffering was several years, and in the seventh year of orthodoxy, the empress dowager that Wang Zhen feared died of illness, and Yang Rong, one of the three auxiliary ministers, also died two years ago, Yang Shiqi resigned for some reasons, leaving Yang Fu alone but he was already old, and the time had come for Wang Zhen to monopolize power.
After years of repression, Wang Zhen had to reward himself well, and on the one hand, he began to build an official residence outside the palace. On the other hand, he took off the iron medal that Taizu had set up in the harem, and he began to interfere in the use of people in the imperial court, and those who sent silver and flattery were immediately promoted, and those who did not like it were suppressed.
In those few years, the atmosphere of the court changed greatly, Wang Zhen's henchmen were everywhere, and Emperor Yingzong sat on the dragon chair and trusted him very much, after all, the Manchu Dynasty Wenwu said that Wang Zhen was good, how could the emperor know that his power was tilted to the opposition?
In the fourteenth year of orthodoxy, the Mongol Wala tribe contributed horses to the Ming Dynasty, but Wang Zhen obstructed from it and cut the price of horses, resulting in the other side being furious and immediately began to plunder the border pass, and for a time the nine sides were in a hurry.
In fact, Wang Zhen and Vala had been eyebrow-to-eye in those years, and the two sides were still engaged in smuggling business, the so-called upward and downward effects, Wang Zhen was so, and his eunuchs also secretly betrayed the country, for example, the eunuch Guo Jingming, who was sent to Datong Town to guard, secretly sold a large number of weapons to Vala, and now it has really become a self-respecting person.
In the face of the surging attack, Wang Zhen was overly confident in military strength, and instigated Emperor Yingzong to march in person, although the courtier Hai Song advised, but Yingzong only believed Wang Zhen, and Libu Shangshu said in the song, "Now at the end of autumn and summer, the weather is hot, the drought is late, the grass is not abundant, the water spring is still congested, and the use of horses is not enough." Moreover, if the car is driving, if there is an urgent sound in the four directions, it can arrive as soon as possible. Other unforeseen disasters will not be guaranteed. Emperor Wanwang canceled the order of pro-conscription and selected another general to go to the conquest. Yingzong dismissed.
Later events are written in many history books, and almost everyone knows it. That was the change of the Ming Dynasty's Tumu Fort, which suddenly lost 200,000 troops, and even Yingzong was captured. However, Wang Zhen's fate was not much better, when Yingzong was besieged by Tuantuan, the escort general Fan Zhong, who had long been unpleasant to this, simply went out and killed Wang Zhen with a hammer, and heard that the brain pulp was shattered to the ground. After his death, the imperial court exterminated his clan, and the remnants of the party were also linked.
Reference: Mingshi