Zhu Yuanzhang, the ancestor of the Ming Dynasty, was aware of the harm of eunuchs interfering in government affairs in history. Therefore, an iron plate was specially formulated, on which were engraved more than ten big characters: "Internal ministers (eunuchs) shall not interfere in political affairs, and those who foresee it shall be beheaded." We all know that Zhu Yuanzhang was the founding monarch of the Ming Dynasty, and the regulations he formulated were the ancestral system. Generally speaking, the ancestral system of a dynasty is to be enshrined by its descendants, and it is by no means easy to abandon.
However, it is interesting to see Zhu Yuanzhang's son, Zhu Di the Prince of Yan, who usurped the throne as emperor. Zhu Yuanzhang's ancestral system of "eunuchs are not allowed to interfere in politics" was shelved. Zhu Di had a special trust in eunuchs, and the "East Factory" was established during Zhu Di's reign. The well-known "Zheng He went to the West", such a major event related to the prestige of the state, was also handed over by Zhu Di to the eunuch Zheng He. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, there were "West Factory" and "Inner Factory", and the great eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty also appeared frequently, such as Wang Zhen, Wang Zhi, Liu Jin, Feng Bao, Wei Zhongxian, etc.
So why can't the Ming Dynasty's ancestral system of "eunuchs not interfering in politics" continue to be implemented? First, Zhu Yuanzhang was a founding monarch, and his ability in all aspects was relatively strong, and his dependence on eunuchs was not so great. Second, at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, all kinds of wastes to be rebuilt, social structure and other aspects, relatively speaking, are relatively simple, so, relatively speaking, the state is also convenient to manage. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the social structure became complicated, and the emperor became more and more inseparable from eunuchs.
Although the Ming Dynasty reused eunuchs and the frequent appearance of great eunuchs, there was a significant difference between them and the eunuchs in the Han and Tang dynasties. During the Han and Tang dynasties, eunuchs interfered in politics, and it is not surprising that the emperor was completely reduced to a puppet, manipulated by eunuchs, and even wantonly deposed and killed the emperor. And the great eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty, whether it was Liu Jin or Wei Zhongxian, when the emperor abandoned them, they did not have any ability to fight back. Therefore, those who explain how the "eunuchs" of the dynasty are so powerful are not exact.
The eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty were actually the same as the Manchu Qing "slaves", which were themselves part of the imperial power. The Manchu rulers trusted their own "wrapped slaves", such as Cao Xueqin's family, which was the Manchu Qing's coat, who was sent to Jiangnan, where Jiangning weaved and secretly spied on the manchu qing. Eunuchs, too, were the emperor's sidekicks and, of course, the most trusted by the emperor. In fact, it was equivalent to the emperor's "eyes" and the emperor's "feet", and he was sent to various places to supervise the army, collect taxes, and so on.
The imperial power of the Ming and Qing dynasties was strengthened as never before, and the eunuchs were dependent on the imperial power, leaving the imperial power, which was nothing. For example, Li Lianying, the great eunuch at the end of the Qing Dynasty, even Li Hongzhang had to pay bribes and flattery to him. But if Cixi died, who would buy Li Lianying's account? Li Lianying was just a part of Cixi's body. The same is true of the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty, eunuchs represent imperial power, without the Emperor of the Apocalypse, Zhu Youxiao, what can the nine-thousand-year-old Wei Zhongxian count? The essence of the eunuch's evil is also the evil of the imperial power itself.