In the political structure of feudal autocracy, eunuchs have always been an important tool for balancing the government and strengthening imperial power. Tang Xuanzong was well aware of the importance of the castration party, and after he came to power, he became doubly fond of the eunuch Gao Lishi.
Unfortunately, eunuchs, after gaining power, could not always remain neutral and impartial. After the eunuchs came to power, out of consideration for their own interests, they also needed to form parties with the officials of the dynasty for personal gain and rely on each other.
Stills of Tang Xuanzong
Eunuchs intervened in the power struggle of the imperial court
During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, eunuchs were involved in many power struggles in the imperial court, and the role of Colliers in the struggle was more prominent.
For example, in the fourteenth year of the New Century, Zhang said that he was impeached for inducing the warlock to solve the problem and accepting bribes, and was about to be punished, Tang Xuanzong ordered Gao Lishi to look at it, and Gao Lishi described the tragic situation of Zhang Shu when he returned, and recalled Tang Xuanzong's memories of his merits, so Zhang said that he was not strict.
Obviously, without the support of Gao Lishi, Zhang said that it would be difficult to gain a foothold in the power struggle with Yuwen Rong. However, it was precisely because of the intervention of eunuchs that the central power struggle became more acute and complex, causing damage to the normal order of feudal politics.
The power between Zaifu during the Reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang remained confined to the central administration, between a few small groups, and this struggle was not enough to lead to a catastrophe for almost the entirety of Northern China.
Colliers stills
Moderation led to the rise of military blocs
During the Kaiyuan period, in order to appease the ethnic minorities in the border and resist the invasion of foreign invaders, Tang Xuanzong began to set up emissaries in Hexi, Longyou, Youzhou, Shuofang, Jiannan, Anxi, and Beiting.
The emissaries single-handedly controlled the military, administrative, and financial power in the frontier areas under their jurisdiction. It can be said that they have both land and people, and more armies, and the power is evident.
Jiedu makes the forces become the "fragrant food" in the eyes of the Zaifu forces. From the system of the prime minister concurrently serving as a party envoy, we can see the clues. Since Xiao Song in the sixteenth year of the New Century, after the Prime Minister Yao led the emissaries, he always tried to use the power of the center to increase Feng Lu and strengthen his position. In this way, the more the prime minister leads the envoy, the stronger the power.
Not only that, but the Zaifu forces also tried to use the jiedushi to make it convenient, cultivate cronies, and wubei clan towns, and even in order to control the jiedu forces, they tried everything to influence the appointment and retention of jiedushi envoys.
The jiedushi is far away from the "edge of the sky" and is a powerful and independent local military group, and they have a pivotal position. The rise of military blocs is bound to become a potential factor in political struggle towards military conflict.
An Lushan stills
Li Linfu's struggle with Yang Guozhong
Because of the above two factors, in the twenty-third year of the new century, Li Linfu relied on the support of eunuchs to seize the power of the prime minister. In order to consolidate his own power, he will insidiously slander opponents, cultivate his own henchmen in the DPRK, and support his own temperate envoy forces in the localities.
In the early years of Tianbao, Pinglu Jiedu made An Lushan emerge and gradually became trusted by Tang Xuanzong. Li Linfu used the method of attaching equal importance to Enwei to make An Lushan his confidant. The two were in a state of adultery and had a deep relationship.
Stills of Yang Guozhong
Another faction, represented by Yang Guozhong, also gradually developed under the protection of Tang Xuanzong. Yang Guozhong was introduced to the palace by Jiannan Jiedushi, and used his relationship with Yang Guifei to gain the favor of Tang Xuanzong, and it was not long before he was also in charge of more than fifteen envoys.
After Yang Guozhong gained power, he and Li Linfu immediately clashed, and the power struggle between them became increasingly fierce. After Li Lin's death, An Lushan felt that his life was threatened, so he decided to rebel. In the fourteenth year of Tianbao, An Lushan raised an army under the name of "Jie Yang Guozhong", and the "Anshi Rebellion" finally broke out in the climax of the power struggle of the ruling clique.
Regarding Yang Guozhong, the "Testament of Kaiyuan Tianbao" records an incident: Yang Guozhong was out on a mission, and his wife missed it deeply, and one night she dreamed of having sex with Guozhong and became pregnant, and gave birth to a boy.
After Yang Guozhong returned home, he asked his wife to explain this matter, and her wife told it, which was simply four words " pregnancy in a dream" . As a result, Yang Guozhong not only did not get angry, but also said that this was "emotional to the end". When people heard about it, they all laughed secretly, and this matter eventually became the laughing stock of the millennia.