In the early morning of July 2, 1461, outside the Chang'an Gate of the Palace In Beijing, the eunuch Cao Jixiang's nephew Cao Qin launched a mutiny. Cao Qin led the mutant troops to first kill the Jinyi Wei commander Tongzhi Lugao and Zuo Du Yushi Koushen, then slash and wound Li Xian, a cabinet scholar, and then burn the palace gate. Huaining Bosun Bo and Bingbu Shangshu Ma Ang led the troops to quell the rebellion, and Cao Qin eventually committed suicide in defeat. The mutiny lasted less than a day before it was leveled by the officials and troops, Cao Jixiang was arrested and executed, and the Cao family and its henchmen were completely destroyed.
Time back to twelve years ago, on July 6, the fourteenth year of orthodoxy (1449), faced with the threat of the invasion of the south of the Wallachians, Emperor Mingyingzong Zhu Qizhen, at the instigation of Wang Zhen, led a large army of 500,000 to march, and as a result, the soldiers retreated without confrontation, and when they reached Tumu Fort, they were attacked by the Wallachian army, Yingzong was captured, and Wang Zhen was killed, which is known in history as the "Change of Tumu Fort". On September 6, with the support of Empress Sun, Yu Qian, and others, Emperor Yingzong's brother Zhu Qiyu (朱祁钰) the Prince of Yingzong ascended the throne as Emperor Jingtai. Soon, Wa Lai sent Yingzong back to the Ming Dynasty, and Emperor Jingtai put him under house arrest in the Southern Palace.
In the first month of the eighth year of Jingtai (1457), Emperor Jingtai was seriously ill, and Emperor Yingzong was restored under the planning and organization of Shi Heng, Xu Youzhen, and Cao Jixiang, and changed the era name to Tianshun, which was called "Nangong Restoration" in history, also known as "The Change of The Gate".
There are many factors and many reasons for the successful restoration of Emperor Yingzong, among which there is the support of Empress Sun, the planning of the courtiers Shi Heng and Xu Youzhen, and the eunuch Cao Jixiang in the middle, especially Shi Heng and Xu Youzhen are all cadres of the dprk, Cao Jixiang also has a considerable position in the palace, and the combination of the three makes the restoration of Emperor Yingzong more secure and increases the possibility of success.
The eunuch Cao Jixiangyuan managed the Beijing camp under the great eunuch Wang Zhen, and repeatedly fought in the army, not only had certain combat experience, but also gathered a group of rabble-rousers, held certain military powers, and had a certain position in the palace. With the help of Cao Jixiang, when the door was seized, the restoration team was able to advance smoothly in the palace.
However, after all, it was by abnormal means to regain the throne, and after the restoration, Zhu Qizhen was anxious to know the movements of foreign ministers, and on the recommendation of Shi Heng and Cao Jixiang, a man named Luo Gao returned to Jinyiwei. Lu Gao was very good at figuring out Zhu Qizhen's intentions, and keenly felt that Zhu Qizhen was most suspicious of the heroes who participated in the "change of the door" and gradually became bigger. Shi Heng's nephew broke the law, and Lu Gao arrested seventy-six people and imprisoned them, sitting countless times. The following year, it was said that Shi Heng harbored a grudge and plotted against him, and That Emperor Yingzong had ordered Shi Heng to be imprisoned for treason and confiscate his family assets. In February, Shi Heng fell ill and died in prison, and the loyal Lu Gao zi was greatly pleasing to Zhu Qi Town.
Since he has meritorious service, he has become more and more arrogant. He sent lieutenants to investigate everywhere, and in order to avoid disaster, the rich and powerful officials could only pay bribes, and even the king of the clan did not spare him. Those who could not afford the money were arrested in the Jinyi Guard, and as long as one person was arrested, it meant that many families were implicated. At this time, Cao Jixiang was already the eunuch in charge of the Seal of the Ceremony Supervisor, and seeing Shi Heng's defeat, he had a sense of rabbit death and fox sorrow, and gradually germinated the idea of rebellion.
Although Lu Gao was carried by Shi and Cao, after putting down Shi Heng, he began to inquire into Cao Jixiang's illegal affairs at all times. In addition to having the same problems as Shi Heng, Cao Jixiang also had a greater ambition, and that ambition was to become emperor.
Cao Jixiang had a step-son named Cao Qin, and Cao Qin had a commander named Feng Yi, who followed Shi Heng, who then switched to Cao Qin after Shi Heng's death.
As for whether the eunuch can become an emperor, it seems that it has been unknown since ancient times. Cao Qin once asked Feng Yi, "Has the son of a eunuch been the Son of Heaven since ancient times?" ”
Feng Yi said: "Cao Cao's father was the adopted son of a eunuch, and the later State of Wei was not the world that Cao Cao fought?" Didn't Cao Cao's son become the Son of Heaven? ”
Feng Yi's answer was in the heart of the Cao family's father and son, since there is such an example in history, and it is also surnamed Cao, then our Cao family father and son can also plot to usurp the throne.
Cao Qin's father and son had planned to have Cao Qin lead the qin's personal troops in the Beijing camp to attack the imperial palace, while Cao Jixiang led the forbidden army to take the internal response, and Li Ying and Waihe first took Ming Yingzong as a puppet, ordered the world, and when the time was ripe, deposed the emperor of the Zhu family and established himself. It should be said that this plan is very thorough, very practical, and the probability of success is very high. Unexpectedly, a small eunuch under Cao Jixiang's jurisdiction rebelled against the water and secretly told Ming Yingzong about the Cao family's rebellion.
In July of the fifth year of Tianshun (1461), Cao Jixiang, who knew that a catastrophe was imminent, decided to take a desperate risk, first attacked strongly, and launched a mutiny with his heir Cao Qin, and finally the scene at the beginning of this article occurred, the mutiny was quelled, Cao Qin was forced to commit suicide, and Cao Jixiang was sentenced to Ling Chi.
Historically, there were very few eunuchs who wanted to be emperors, the Han Dynasty did not, the Tang Dynasty did not, the Song Dynasty did not, no matter how much power the eunuchs had, at most they were impersonal and irresponsible to curry favor with the powerful, there was no right and wrong, and they did not seek benefits by any means, but no one even tried to be an emperor. For example:
In 210 AD, Qin Shi Huang fell ill and died in the sand dunes, Zhao Gao plotted a conspiracy, LaLisi went into the water, and jiaozhao forced the killing of Gongzi Fusu, successfully helping Hu Hai usurp the throne. He was later promoted to Lang Zhongling (郎中令) and controlled the Imperial Gang. He referred to the deer as a horse, played Qin II on the top of the hand, and finally launched a coup d'état to force the killing of the second.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the group of ten permanent eunuchs headed by Zhang Rang dominated the imperial program and exerted power over the world. Zhang Rang led the Ten Permanent Attendants, reversed black and white to eliminate dissidents, fabricated charges to kill courtiers, and finally caused dissatisfaction among the foreign relatives group headed by He Jin. Zhang Rang booby-trapped He Jin, causing the Jingshi guards to become chaotic, killing thousands of eunuchs in the palace, and Zhang Rang also embarked on a desperate road and threw himself into the Yellow River.
Gao Lishi was one of the most powerful eunuchs in the Tang Dynasty. In the "Divine Dragon Revolution", he adapted to changes at random, chose the master and did things, defected to Li Longji, and later helped Li Longji to kill Wei Hou and Princess Taiping, and eventually became the most loyal servant of Emperor Tang Ming. The most wonderful play performed by Gao Lishi on the historical stage was that he single-handedly matched the long-lasting marriage between Yang Yuhuan and Tang Xuanzong. It was he who made Yang Guifei, and it was he who killed Yang Guifei in Ma Songpo.
Li Fuguo is a "thick black" holy hand, who is obedient, sneaks and claps horses, turns clouds and rain, and kills dissidents, he can do everything. From princes and prime ministers to empresses and emperors, when useful, they can become scepters in their hands, and if they are useless, they will fall with swords in their hands and kill them. Li Fuguo was busy all his life, seeking power and securing his position, skillfully seizing and plundering, embracing the wealth of the city and the country, and finally fell into a different place and abandoned the wilderness.
The Song Dynasty Duke (i.e., Cai Jing) and The Two Phases of The Gong (i.e., Tong Guan) of the Song Dynasty, facing inward and outward, colluding with each other, monopolizing the military and political power of the Northern Song Dynasty, hundreds of officials in the government and the public, and doing their best, tong eunuchs became the "Tong King". Tong Guan's military power alone for 20 years, the Northern Song Dynasty in the war with the Liao, Jin repeatedly defeated, the national strength is increasingly weak, but his military power is forever solid, which shows that his means of maintaining power and fixation are high.
Wang Zhen of the Ming Dynasty rejected the auxiliary ministers and stole Zhu Yuanzhang's iron tablet that strictly forbade eunuchs from interfering in government affairs, so that eunuchs openly stepped onto the political stage, and after monopolizing power, they frantically amassed wealth and used sinister and vicious means to eliminate political enemies. Wang Zhen's dictatorship and chaos led to The capture of Emperor Yingzong, and he himself embarked on a desperate road, where he was smashed to death by the escort general Fan Zhongyi, and his soul returned to Huangquan.
In 1861, the Xianfeng Emperor secretly decreed that his only son Zaichun would succeed to the throne, Sushun and other eight ministers, and secretly ordered that the Nala clan could be removed. Andehai secretly reported the edict to the Nara clan. After Xianfeng's death, he served as a secret envoy of the Nala clan and Prince Gong, and traveled between Rehe and Beijing, making the Coup d'état of Xin You a success. After An Dehai became Cixi's confidant, he was arrogant, interfered in the politics of the dynasty, and made many enemies, he frantically amassed wealth, arrogantly handled the world, and finally fell into a curse in Jinan, and ended up in a different place.
In the Ming Dynasty, the number of eunuchs was the largest, and in the end it reached as many as 90,000, and once the eunuchs gained power, they would carry out some crazy moves. Cao Jixiang, with the trust and favor of Emperor Mingyingzong, became more and more arbitrary, wantonly accepting bribes, interfering with the country's government affairs, launching palace changes, and attempting to usurp the throne.