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preface:
Most people think that the emperor is the king of a country, with supreme power and the lifeblood of the country. But in fact, the emperor's thinking and decision-making are largely influenced and limited by the courtiers and the people around him, and a successful emperor must be accompanied by a group of able loyal and virtuous ministers, who can help the emperor solve the crisis and stabilize the country. But if some villains who only care about their own interests are reused and assisted, then the dynasty will eventually go to ruin. This is true of any dynasty, and the Eastern Han Dynasty was no exception. This period can be said to be one of the most rampant periods of eunuchs, and the eunuchs who survived in the cracks gradually increased their power and gradually grasped the government. So, how powerful were the eunuchs of the emperors around the late Eastern Han Dynasty?
Corrupt government in the late Eastern Han Dynasty
In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, politics was corrupt, and foreign relatives and eunuchs interfered heavily in politics, nepotism, and only "wealth" was a move. This made the people at that time extremely polarized and class solidified. The officials have been officials for several generations, and the people at the bottom have no chance to rise, resulting in their living standards being inferior to that of a generation. In other words, the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. Every year, local officials had to recommend talented people to the imperial court, but in fact, most of the people who were elected did not rely on real talents to learn, but in other ways...
1. Whether the probation system recommends "sage" or "can"
In order to meet the needs of rule, the Han Dynasty implemented a system of selecting officials called the inspection and examination system, which required local officials to nominate good moral and learned people to the imperial court every year to serve the imperial court. The disadvantage of this kind of official selection system is that there must be an official recommendation to have the opportunity to become an official, and there is no specific standard for learning, talent, and morality. In such a political context, "interpersonal relations" became a stepping stone to opportunities, so most of the students at that time did not pay attention to reading, but were more enthusiastic about participating in politics and making friends, because they had the opportunity to be recommended. Therefore, the people who were elected as officials basically relied on their relationships and "wealth" ability, and there was no real talent and practical learning, so at that time, there was such a nursery rhyme in the folk tradition, "Ju Xiu Cai, do not know the book." Cha Xiao Lian, the father does not dwell. Han Su is as white as mud, and Gaudilian will be timid as a chicken. This means that those who are elected as talented people are illiterate, those who are said to be filial are not supporting their parents, those who are recommended in the name of incorruptibility are actually as dirty as mud, and those who are elected as good generals are as timid as chickens. The whole text is easy to understand, catchy, and the words are full of people's satire of this undesirable phenomenon at that time.
▲"Huan Ling Nursery Rhymes"
2. The contest between two major power groups
The reason why politics in the late Eastern Han Dynasty was so corrupt was inextricably linked to the two major power groups at that time, namely the eunuch group and the foreign relative group. Eunuchs represented by Guan Ba, Su Kang, Cao Jie, Hou Lan, Wang Fu, and others appointed private individuals to disrupt the government, persecute the people, and unreasonably occupy the people's house land. According to historical records, Hou Lan alone occupied more than 300 houses and more than 100 hectares of land, and his brothers even accumulated hundreds of millions of dollars. In contrast, the foreign relatives and the party headed by Dou Wu were honest and honest and were praised by the people, and later Li Bing, Guo Tai, Jia Biao, and others united with this party, opposed the eunuch party, and violently attacked the eunuch party, which had a great impact on the eunuch party, and the relations between the two parties continued to deteriorate, and there were two subsequent disasters of the party.
▲Eunuchs of the Eastern Han Dynasty
3, no one recommends how to be good
In such a political context where only "money" is the case, some readers with real talent and high moral character are unwilling to send money to foreign relatives and eunuchs in order to become officials, and in the long run, a circle has gradually formed between them, and the people in this circle are like-minded, affirm each other, and appreciate each other, so that the reputation of truly capable people and heroes is getting bigger and bigger. Guo Tai, a student of tai, was a good example, he was first affirmed by Li Bing, and later his name spread farther and farther, and was known to the whole country and even the emperor, so that when local officials later recommended talented people, the local taishou had to recommend him to the imperial court to become an official, otherwise he could not be accounted for. Relying on this method, many tai students successfully realized their dream of serving the imperial court, and the imperial court also gained a lot of sages. With such a precedent, more and more people want to join this circle, they all want to meet Li Bing and get his approval, and Li Bing and other leading people have gradually raised the threshold for entering the circle, and the "Later Han Shu Dang Gong Lie Biography" records such a sentence: "There are those who have been honored by him, named Denglongmen." "But many celebrities during the Han Huan Emperor's time had a common feature, that is, they opposed eunuchs. Some people would rather choose not to become an official than work with eunuchs.
When the two fight, there will be a wound
During the period of Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han Dynasty, because many officials themselves had stains, it was impossible to have too many restrictions on the speech of ordinary people, which made the speech of the people in this period relatively free, and everyone's criticism of the chaotic government of the imperial court and eunuchs intensified, which put a lot of pressure on the eunuch party and the Han Huan Emperor. Finally, after the fuse incident, the Han Huan Emperor, who had been under great pressure for a long time, finally broke out.
▲Emperor Huan of Han
1. Chess meets opponents
In 166 AD, the eunuchs Hou Lan, Zhang Fan, and others acted recklessly and persecuted the people, and were arrested by local officials such as Cheng Yan and Cen Gongxiao, who were not afraid of the powerful, but just after the successful arrest, it was just in time for the Han Huan Emperor to grant amnesty to the world, and zhang Fan and others should be released as usual, but Cen Gongxiao killed all of Zhang Fan and more than 200 people involved in the case, and then reported to the imperial court. This made Emperor Huan of Han, who was already under the pressure of public opinion, furious, and dismissed Taishou Chengyan from his post, and eventually died in prison, while Cen Gongxiao escaped. Although they violated Tianwei, they did a great thing for the people, and everyone praised their behavior of eliminating harm for the people. However, the emperor did not stop his anger because of the execution of Cheng Yao, and then ordered the arrest of more than 200 foreign relatives. After that, the scourge of the party became more and more intense, more and more celebrities were arrested, which made the people of the whole country panic, and finally the tai student Jia Biao found the important ministers Dou Wu and Huo Xu to help the emperor to intercede. Because Li Bing and others deliberately confessed to the children of eunuchs after their arrest and exposed their evil deeds, the eunuch party also interceded with the emperor in order to protect the interests of its own party. In the end, under the strong persuasion of the people, Emperor Huan of Han did not kill the arrested party members, but only imprisoned them for life after their release, and ordered these people to never re-enter the rank of officer. At this point, the first disaster of the party was over.
▲Portrait of Empress Dowager Dou
2. There is a difference between winning and losing
In 165, after Emperor Huan of Han deposed Empress Deng, Dou Wu's daughter Dou Miao became empress. In 167, the 36-year-old Emperor Huan of Han died, and the 12-year-old Emperor Liu Hong of Han ascended the throne, and his mother Empress Dou rose to the rank of empress dowager and seized power. However, cao jie, Wang Fu and other eunuchs flattered in front of Empress Dou, and repeatedly induced Empress Dou to give orders in a disorderly manner, corrupting the government. Chen Fan and Dou Wu believed that if the eunuchs interfered in the affairs of the dynasty in this way, there would be great chaos, so they wrote to the empress dowager, and finally after persuasion by the two, the empress dowager ordered the killing of guan ba and Su Kang, two eunuchs. Although these two scourges were eradicated, they did not solve the problem of eunuch chaos in essence. Before long, the celestial phenomenon was abnormal, implying ominous omens, and with the treacherous villain accompanying the Jun's side, Dou Wu and the others decided to take advantage of this rare opportunity to completely eliminate the eunuch party. However, at the last moment, Dou Wu left the palace to return home, and the eunuch party took the opportunity to peek at the recital of Dou Wu's letter to the empress, which led to their carefully planned plan being known to the eunuch party. The eunuchs took advantage of the emperor's young age to deceive Emperor Ling of Han, snatched seals, seals, symbols, and festivals, coerced Shangshu into passing on false edicts, kidnapped Empress Dou, and hunted down Dou Wu, Chen Fan, and others.
When Chen Fan, who was more than eighty years old, heard the news, he was indignant, and drew his sword and led more than ten of his disciples to kill more than ten students, but this practice was equivalent to hitting a stone with a pebble, and finally fell in front of the eunuch's army. Dou Wu wanted to fight, but it was too late. The great general Zhang Yang, who had been fighting against the Xiongnu for a long time, had just entered Beijing, and did not understand the situation at that time, coupled with the eunuch's false holy will, which led Zhang Yang to mistakenly believe that Dou Wu and others were plotting a rebellion, so he gathered a large army to fight against Dou Wu, and after all, he was outnumbered, and Dou Wu was heavily surrounded, and he had no choice but to commit suicide with a sword. After this battle, Zhang Yang was made a marquis for "fighting rebellion and meritorious service", and received many rewards, and at this time, Zhang Yang also knew the truth of the matter, hated Wang Fu and others for deceiving him, let him kill the loyal subjects of the state, so he refused the reward, and soon after took advantage of the heavenly sign to write to Emperor Han Ling to rehabilitate Dou Wu, Chen Fan and others, but did not expect that under the temptation of eunuchs, the emperor would actually pursue Zhang Yang's responsibility, and finally imprison him for life. When the eunuch party saw that Li Bing and the others still had a reputation, they tricked the emperor into rebelling, so the emperor put Li Bing and others to death, and arrested the soldiers in various places, killing more than 700 people. This is also the scourge of the second party.
epilogue
Although there were two major power groups in the late Eastern Han Dynasty that confronted each other, under the protection of the loyal ministers Chen Fan, Dou Wu, and the scholars who were bent on serving the imperial court society, the Eastern Han Dynasty was not incurable. However, after experiencing the scourge of the party twice, these able men and women, loyal and good, will be persecuted, and the eunuchs will grasp the government and do whatever they want, causing the people to suffer. Under this long-term oppression, some people will eventually stand up and resist, and there will be the Yellow Turban Rebellion behind, and the Eastern Han Dynasty will eventually go to extinction. No matter which dynasty, the will of the people is the most important, if it is not popular, then it will eventually perish. Taking history as a mirror, this is the best example.
References: "Zizhi Tongjian", "Dongguan HanJi", "Later Han Shu Dang Gong Lie Biography", "This is the Qin and Han Dynasties"