Wei Zhongxian, who was known as the nine-thousand-year-old, was powerful, so why was he easily killed by the Chongzhen Emperor?
In 1627, Chongzhen, the emperor, was only seventeen years old, and then Chongzhen set out to get rid of the castration party, and in just three months, Wei Zhongxian was forced to commit suicide, and the eunuch party finally collapsed.
During the Apocalypse, Wei Zhongxian was a mighty blessing in the imperial court, and even the Manchu Dynasty Wenwu only knew the nine-thousand-year-old Duke of Wei, but did not know that there was Emperor Xizong. Needless to say, Wei Zhongxian also privately held military power and trained more than 10,000 armed people, and no one dared to provoke the power of power. Why, in a short period of time, Chongzhen was able to easily get rid of Wei Zhongxian and eradicate a major tumor in the country?
With the constraint of the ancestral system and the control of imperial power, Wei Zhongxian could not really achieve monopoly of power
The Ming Dynasty, starting with Zhu Yuanzhang, had already formulated a strict eunuch ban, prohibiting eunuchs from reading and reading from the legal level, prohibiting eunuchs from commanding soldiers, and Zhu Yuanzhang also made an iron plate that read:
"Ministers in the interior must not interfere in political affairs, and those who foresee it are to beheaded."
Although Zhu Yuanzhang set the rules, his descendants did not follow the rules, and the eunuch Wang Zhen during the orthodox years also smashed the iron plate, which undoubtedly hit Zhu Yuanzhang in the face. Zhu Di started the Jinyi Guard from scratch and set up the East Factory, making eunuchs his chiefs, and promoting the status of eunuchs. Emperor Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji also opened an inner study room to teach eunuchs to read, which increased the eunuchs' knowledge.
So a batch of cattle eunuchs appeared, such as Wang Zhen, Liu Jin, Feng Bao, Wei Zhongxian and others, without exception, these eunuchs seemed to be glamorous, one person was above ten thousand people, and the result was that they were eliminated by the emperor in minutes, and there was no sense of dragging mud and water.
The ancestral system is the regulations set by the first emperor, which is very binding on the descendants, and Zhu Yuanzhang's original intention in establishing these systems is also for the stability of future generations, even Zhu Di can understand and support it.
Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the chancellor, but gave birth to a cabinet scholar, which broke the hearts of the later monarchs, who could not apologize to the ancestors, but also had to grasp the power, so they could only use eunuchs, because the power of civilian officials was getting bigger and bigger, and if they were not controlled, it would be a real disaster.
As a result, the power of the eunuchs grew, from the slaves around the emperor, to the jinyi guards, the east factory, and then to the red power, and even a small number of troops. But to a certain extent, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were very strict with eunuchs.
Historical records:
"In the beginning, Taizu forbade the pre-government of the middle officials. Since Yongle, he has gradually been entrusted with sending, but he has violated the law and placed the polar code. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, Yuan Qi ordered Ruan Ju's team to go out to procure. The matter is realized, Qi Zhen is dead, and the giant team is beheaded. Pei Kelie and other lawlessnesses were punished. The officials did not dare to be reckless. ”
During Chengzu's reign, eunuchs rose in power, but they were still extremely strict, and once the law was touched, capital punishment was imposed. During the Xuanzong period, the eunuch Yuan Qi ordered the Ruan Ju team to go out of the palace to buy, and after being discovered, Yuan Qi was divided into five horses, the Ruan Ju team was beheaded, and once there were outlaws among the eunuchs, they were immediately executed, which was also one of the reasons why the eunuchs did not dare to be arrogant.
Eunuchs have no children and no daughters, generally when they are young, they enter the palace, there is no dependence around them, the only one who relies on is the emperor, which is also the original intention of the eunuchs, only in this way can the eunuchs be loyal. Eunuchs were also limited in scope of activity, generally forbidden to leave the palace, except for a few exceptions, such as Wang Zhen and Wei Zhongxian.
In addition, much of the power of the eunuch comes from the acquiescence of the emperor, that is, the emperor nods his head and can do it, and the emperor shakes his head and is not allowed to do it. This condition is very vague, there is no so-called institutional embodiment, there is no written document, and these external powers will not be recognized. As long as the emperor gives an order, even the eunuchs of the cattle will have nothing.
It seems that Wei Zhongxian acted recklessly, attacked political enemies, and did countless evil deeds, but in fact, these were all seen in the eyes of Emperor Xizong, and to a certain extent, the emperor acquiesced to Wei Zhongxian's doing so, in order to balance the power of civil officials and ensure the authority of the imperial power. In order to achieve monopoly of power, it is necessary to grasp the military, government, and wealth together, so that it can compete with the emperor, and it is obvious that Wei Zhongxian is untenable.
Chongzhen has courage and guts
It is undeniable that Chongzhen was indeed suspicious and had a heavy desire for power, which was also one of the reasons for the ming dynasty, and at the beginning of Chongzhen's reign, Chongzhen was still very active and diligent. Chongzhen wanted to change the state of the empire so that Daming could go further, and before this goal was achieved, the most troublesome thing in front of him was the castration party.
After the fermentation in the Heavenly Revelation Dynasty, Wei Zhongxian's castration party power had long been out of power. In the inner palace, Wei Zhongxian had more than thirty cronies, and the courtiers outside the palace included Cui Chengxiu, Tian Ji, Wu Chunfu and others, known as the "Five Tigers". Outside the palace, there are Tian Ergeng, the infamous Xu Xianchun and others, known as "Five Biao", and "Ten Dogs" and others.
Inside and outside the imperial court were Wei Zhongxian's men, and the key units of various departments were all installed with Wei Zhongxian's cronies, so Chongzhen had to be ten thousand times more cautious when eating and drinking in the palace, for fear that someone would poison him. In fact, Wei Zhongxian did have some bad intentions, but to say that he wanted to rebel was too exaggerated.
Wei Zhongxian just wanted to continue to work under the emperor, to continue to guarantee his power and position, and he wanted to let Chongzhen fall into the comfortable nest of pleasure again, so that he could continue to be his nine thousand years old. Chongzhen is not apocalypse, nor does he have any hobby craftsmanship, Chongzhen only wants to abolish the castration party as a stepping stone and revitalize the country.
In order to kill Wei Zhongxian Chongzhen, he also spent a lot of brains, he first instructed several officials to impeach Wei Zhongxian, and then he could not bear it, making Wei Zhongxian confused and paralyzing the nerves of the castration party. Then he impeached Wei Zhongxian for ten major crimes, contempt for the empress, manipulation of military power, lack of imperial power, cover-up of bian gong, and so on, no matter which one was a capital offense. And let the internal attendants recite and intimidate Wei Zhongxian.
"So Jiaxing Gongsheng Qian Jiazheng impeached Zhongxian for ten major sins: One Emperor, Two Contempt, Three Soldiers, Four Wu Two Ancestral Liezong, Five Grams of Cutting Seals, Six No Saints, Seven Abuses, Eight Concealment Of Bian Gong, Nine Shu Min, and Ten Tong Joints. On the top, the emperor summoned zhongxian and made the inner servant read it. Loyalty is feared."
Wei Zhongxian was frightened, and his castration party forces began to loosen, whether it was a minister or a civilian official, his preference was not Wei Zhongxian himself, but his chain of power, whichever side was advantageous, he would stand on which side. Chongzhen was bent on killing Wei Zhongxian, and when conditions permitted, he immediately ordered Wei Zhongxian to go to Fengyang for retirement, and then sent JinYiwei to intercept him halfway, forcing Wei Zhongxian to commit suicide.
On the one hand, the imperial power is still the highest power, and the eunuchs and Ben cannot be shaken, on the other hand, we can see Chongzhen's courage and boldness from here, even if Wei Zhongxian's power is large, he can directly show his sword and cause the other party to die.
At the same time, the Chongzhen Emperor was also a rather scheming emperor, and he had already entered the palace before the Emperor of the Apocalypse had died. Secretly observing the situation, in order to ensure their own safety, even do not drink the water in the palace, do not eat the food in the palace, are brought their own food. Even before succeeding to the throne, he did not sleep every night, just sat in a chair and waited for dawn, there was such a lord who wanted to hold great power alone, Wei Zhongxian wanted to divide power, and there was no door.
Wei Zhongxian was restrained with the help of the imperial court ministers
No matter which emperor is in power, the civil officials of the Ming Dynasty are all hard bones, as long as you do not do it right, it is not good for the country, and the officials will rush upwards without fear of life and death, even if they are doomed to death.
Wei Zhongxian controlled the government for so many years, killed countless upright officials, and there were not a few people who were offended by such evil deeds, and a large number of officials thought of trying to hinder Wei Zhongxian's power and ambitions.
In the third year of the Apocalypse, Wei Zhongxian wanted to recommend his close associate Wei Guangwei into the cabinet and ordered Yushi Guo Gong to attack Zou Yuanbiao, Yang Lian, Zhou Chaorui and others, and was immediately counterattacked by Yushi Fang Daren, Zhou Zongjian, and others, although unsuccessful, it still made Wei Zhongxian extremely unhappy.
Subsequently, Wei Zhongxian wanted Hou Xingguo, the son of the Ke clan, to approve the hereditary succession in Jinyiwei, and the Bingbu Shangshu Dong Hanru and the Zhongcheng Note were all neglected, and finally the emperor acquiesced to Wei Zhongxian's behavior.
Every time Wei Zhongxian acted arbitrarily, it was accompanied by strong resistance from civilian officials, even if it was not an opponent, yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and others died under Wei Zhongxian's butcher's knife, and they did not yield to death.
Wei Zhongxian's ability to gain power was mainly due to the support of the Emperor of The Apocalypse, so a series of countermeasures by civilian officials were fruitless. When the Chongzhen Emperor ascended to the throne, it was bound to eradicate the castration party, so a large number of officials stepped forward, became Chongzhen's teammates, and told the emperor that you are not alone, and it is everyone's responsibility to eradicate the castration party.
In addition, there are a large number of wall grass, Wei Zhongxian followed Wei Gonggong when he was favored, and when Wei Gonggong fell, the tree fell and scattered, continuing to follow the big boss Chongzhen to do things, absolutely not doing loss-making business. Hearing that Duke Wei was about to finish, most of them ran away, and before Wei Zhongxian died, he was accompanied only by his close confidant Li Chaoqin, which shows that it is easy to be rich and noble, but it is difficult to share happiness and hardship.
Wei Zhongxian did bad things, the sin deserved, even if Chongzhen did not kill him, sooner or later he would be tossed to death by civilian officials, and even more so, it had reached the point where people and gods were indignant, and Chongzhen's removal of Wei Zhongxian could also be said to conform to the Heavenly Dao.
Imperial power is supreme, and no matter how cattle a eunuch is, he can't do the emperor! However, after getting rid of Wei Zhongxian, the power of the court was unbalanced, and there was no longer any power to balance the Donglin Party, and I don't know if the phrase "the courtiers mistakenly degenerated" when the Chongzhen Emperor hanged himself on a crooked neck tree was a bit nostalgic for Wei Zhongxian?