Eunuch Wang Zhen is a significant figure in the history of the Ming Dynasty, his actions and decisions have had a profound impact on the politics, military and society of the Ming Dynasty. Take a look at the life deeds of Wang Zhen, the first eunuch of the Ming Dynasty, and a fair and objective evaluation.
Wang Zhen, a native of Ulzhou, Shanxi Province (present-day Wei County, Hebei), was born in an unknown date and died in the 14th year of Ming Orthodoxy (1449 AD). Wang Zhen was originally a literate Confucian scholar, but out of the desire to pursue power and status, he chose the path of self-castration into the palace. This decision changed the course of his life and also embroiled him in the power struggle of the Ming Dynasty. In the palace, he relied on his intelligence and ability to observe words and feelings, and gradually won the trust and reuse of Ming Xuanzong and Ming Yingzong.
However, after Wang Zhen came to power, he gradually revealed his greedy and authoritarian side. He took bribes on a large scale, appointed private individuals, and interfered in court affairs, which made the court complain. His actions not only destroyed the political ecology of the Ming Dynasty, but also exacerbated social contradictions and turmoil.
Ming Xuanzong died prematurely, leaving the nine-year-old Ming Yingzong on the throne, and the Empress Dowager Zhang listened to the government, and Wang Zhen at this time had become a confidant around the little emperor. If you want to gain more power, you must have some contact with national politics. And Ming Yingzong was too young, and the cabinet ministers were in charge of national affairs, which made Wang Zhen very anxious. However, Wang Zhen was deeply thoughtful, and he told himself that he had to lurk and wait for the best time before he could ascend to the sky in one step. Seven years later, when Empress Dowager Zhang died of illness and cabinet ministers were in short supply, Wang Zhen finally acted. The court and the palace were full of his henchmen, and Ming Yingzong also trusted him completely. The plaque of the eunuchs in the palace prohibiting the discussion of politics was taken off by the eunuchs, Wang Zhen was proud, he could call the wind and rain in the capital, and the only Ming Yingzong who could control him was just a foolish young man.
Since Wang Zhenquan leaned into the government and the opposition, the government affairs of the court and the central government have been watched by him, and this is the authority of the celebrant and the eunuch. He abused this power, and the court became his "hall of words". The ministers who conspired with Wang Zhenpeng's party will be promoted and reused, and the ministers who oppose them will be targeted and degraded, and everyone will be in danger for a while and will be forced to choose to take sides. In Jinyiwei's prison, there are many ministers who died unjustly, all of whom had been against Wang Zhen, or who had just said a few bad things about Wang Zhen before being tortured to death. It is enough to show that Wang Zhen is a ruthless person, Ming Yingzong naturally will not know this, Wang Zhen has served him for many years, and has held countless jewelry beauties in front of him, he is the most intimate eunuch, how can he do something disobedient? Even if he stabbed Wang Zhen's lynching of the minister in front of Ming Yingzong, he could be vaguely slouched by the clever Wang Zhen, and he turned his head to meet his more vicious revenge.
Later, Yingzong became more and more trusting and indulgent to Wang Zhen, and developed to the point that he had the right to "criticize red", that is, he could write comments on the recital. It probably means that the emperor's decisions and opinions on the chapter were written by the chief eunuch, that is, Wang Zhen wrote it with a red pen on the chapter at that time, and then issued by the cabinet This is not a simple scribe, the emperor expresses something, and the person who holds the pen can "make a fuss" on it, and the emperor decides that he has the right to "review" it and then issue it.
In fact, this set of processes has been formed after the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, when Zhu Yuanzhang in view of the fact that there were many eunuchs in the previous dynasty, which led to chaos in the government, so he set up an iron sticker sign outside the main hall that "prohibits eunuchs from interfering in political affairs". Don't say it, there is, there really is, not only don't listen, but dare to let your brand not exist, this person is Wang Zhen. Wang Zhen was so mad that he demolished the sign, and since then there has been no such thing as "prohibiting eunuchs from interfering in political affairs".
In addition to the dictatorship, Wang Zhen also has a lot of "godsons", and the emperor calls him sir, how dare the courtiers call him by his name, so what is it called? Some ministers call it "Mr.", and some call it "Father Weng". There are even more excessive, recognizing Wang Zhen as a godfather, and godsons in groups, which is good, a group of people who were originally unrelated have become brothers under the "leadership" of Wang Zhen.
In the fourteenth year of orthodoxy, after the Mongolian Warat Department paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty, it invited the imperial court to reward, Wang Zhen was "stingy" and refused to give more rewards, and the value of the tribute horses was also privately discounted, which caused the Mongolian Warat Department to be very dissatisfied, resulting in many harassments of the northern territory. After the Yuan Dynasty was defeated by Zhu Yuanzhang, the three forces of Tatar, Warat and Uliangha were divided internally, and the Warat annexed the two, unified Mongolia and became the strongest team in Mongolia.
The grudgeful Warat once again disturbed the northern territories, and Wang Zhen not only did not report it, but accepted Wara's gift without authorization, and exchanged bows and arrows for Warat's BMW, which made Warat's strength continue to grow. This is not enough, the last time the tribute was not less rewarded, this time it was reversed, in order to receive more "gifts", every time the tribute, Wang Zhen falsely reported the number of tributes, so that Warat received more rewards, this eunuch who eats inside and out, is really hateful.
But Wang Zhen is not stupid, not to mention the routine of playing cards, in a tribute and like the first time and the tribute of the big discount, which makes Wara very dissatisfied, this is to receive a "gift", and discount, eat at both ends, I don't know who gave him unscrupulous courage, so Wara began to attack the Ming Dynasty on the grounds of reward discounts. Wang Zhen only knows how to make money, dictatorship, where does he know how to do military, but in order to show his strength, he instigated Yingzong to drive the expedition in person. Yingzong was originally obedient to Wang Zhenyan, and he was also willing to drive the expedition in person, and after the victory, he could also show that he was a British lord. It's a pity that in the absence of planning and preparation, Wang Zhen rushed to conquer in person, and Wang Zhen took charge of the military affairs of the Northern Expedition. What's even more infuriating is that Wang Zhen actually invited Yingzong to his mansion to play, be serious, fight a war, it's really not the right time to play.
The emperor also had to follow and protect the emperor when he played the army, but Wang Zhen was afraid that the army would trample on his own fields, so he changed the route of the march, which made the northern expedition plan even more chaotic. For one's own selfishness, ignoring everyone, no, it is putting everyone to death. Sure enough, this time, the royal driving expedition, 200,000 troops and many civil and military ministers accompanied Ming Yingzong, Wang Zhenjue was a great opportunity to make merit, and he followed with interest. However, the elite and scheming Vara enemy army captured Ming Yingzong, and Wang Zhen also died in the chaotic army, and there were few of the 200,000 troops and other ministers left, who sacrificed their lives for the country. This is the famous "Tumubao Change" in the history of the Ming Dynasty, and Wang Zhen was also "killed" in this battle, which can be regarded as deserved. Wang Zhen was the first eunuch of the Ming Dynasty to be autocratic, and also opened the precedent of the dictatorship of eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty was the dynasty with the most eunuchs in history, which also had a lot to do with Wang Zhen.
However, we cannot completely deny Wang Zhen's contribution and influence. During his reign, the cultural and educational undertakings of the Ming Dynasty developed to a certain extent. He attached great importance to Confucian culture and advocated respecting teachers and valuing education, which played a certain role in promoting the cultural inheritance and development of the Ming Dynasty. In addition, he also maintained the stability and unity of the Ming Dynasty to a certain extent, laying the foundation for the development of the Ming Dynasty.
The eunuch Wang Zhen is a complex and multifaceted figure. His actions and decisions have both positive and negative sides. Although his autocracy and greed brought disasters and losses to the Ming Dynasty, we should also see his contributions to culture and education and his positive role in the stability and development of the Ming Dynasty. When evaluating Wang Zhen, we should take a comprehensive and objective view of his historical status and influence.