In the period of ancient Chinese feudal society, the emperor, as the king of a country, had supreme power and status, and could even control people's lives and deaths. And all this is a feudal social system formed under the efforts of many emperors of many dynasties. However, after all, the emperor is only one person, and there are so many important state affairs that the emperor cannot be busy, so the position of prime minister has emerged.
In ancient China, the chancellor was the emperor's right hand man and had a social status below one man and above ten thousand people. As we all know, the Western Han Dynasty established three parallel bureaucratic systems under the emperor, namely the foreign court officials led by the chancellor, the inner court officials led by the great generals, and the court officials who handled the private affairs of the emperor and the imperial family. There are some prime ministers, who can even elevate the emperor and control the government, so that the king loses his original power. And this is unacceptable to every king. Therefore, in order to prevent it from happening before it happened, some more prescient emperors took some measures to prevent the prime minister from having too much power, such as Emperor Wu of Han, who set up the inner dynasty.
It was precisely because the power of the chancellor was too great that the emperor could not personally adjudicate government affairs, so an emperor like Emperor Wu of Han who prided himself on being a wise and divine warrior could not bear it. Since Emperor Wu, the reading and deliberation of Zhang Song has been transferred to Shangshu headed by the Great General. The purpose of Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty in setting up the Inner Dynasty is well understood, that is, to restrict the bureaucratic power of the Outer Dynasty and improve the imperial power.
In order to achieve this goal, Emperor Wu of Han could be said to have worked hard, and he not only established the "Great Sima and the Lingshang Shushi", but also established official positions such as "Shizhong" and "Scattered Horse Changshi", so that the power of the prime minister was well divided. For this matter, there is such a record in the "Biography of Liu Fu in the Book of Han": "The Middle Dynasty, the Inner Dynasty also." The Great Sima (大司馬), the Great General (大將軍), the Left and Right Generals (右前將軍), the Attendants (侍中), the Chang Shi (常侍), the Scattered Horsemen (散遚), and the officials (Various Officials) were the Middle Dynasty; the 600 stones below the Chancellor were the Outer Dynasty. ”
However, with the passage of time, this behavior of Emperor Wu of Han began to show drawbacks, and made the position of Grand Sima General more and more powerful, even to the point where no one could check and balance. After Wei Qing's death, Emperor Wu of Han made Wei Qing's half-brother Huo Guang the Grand General of Sima Da. And this person, after the death of Emperor Wu of Han, once supported the emperor or abolished the emperor by his own power, which shows the heinous power of his power.
In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the official position of the Great Sima General was also used and became a symbol of foreign power. For example, at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Dong Zhuo was reused for the sake of Empress Dong, and eventually controlled the government, using the emperor as a puppet, and even deposed the emperor and supported the Han Xiandi emperor to ascend the throne. Although Dong Zhuo was later defeated and killed, for the Han Dynasty, it brought uncontrollable consequences, and The Han Xiandi was completely reduced to a puppet after this, without the majesty of the emperor.
It is not difficult to find that in ancient China, the relationship between the emperor and his courtiers was really delicate, and if it was not properly managed, it could lead to the demise of a dynasty.
References: "Hanshu Liu Fu Biography", "Shi Ji Vol. 53 Xiao Xiangguo Shijia No. 23", "Hanshu Vol. 66 Gongsun Liu Tian Wang Yang Cai Chen Zheng Chuan No. 36"