The long river of history is running endlessly, there are calm waves, there are also waves, let Xiaobian take you into history and understand history.
The ming dynasty's eunuch dictatorship has always been criticized by future generations, and there are several "famous" eunuchs in history in the Ming Dynasty. However, as if there were outliers in everything in the world, there was a relatively upright "talent" among the eunuchs.
In the beginning, Xiao Jing was appreciated by Emperor Mingyingzong, and went through Xianzong, Xiaozong, Wuzong, and Sejong. Although he temporarily left the position of real power due to the involvement of others, during the reign of these five emperors, because he strictly abided by the "duty" of being a courtier, he did not hurt much, and in the end, he was able to retire in glory.
The history of the Ming Dynasty is sometimes quite interesting to read, taking "eunuch literacy", in the early days of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang had clear regulations: eunuchs could not read, could not have culture. However, by the time Zhu Di was in power, this sentence was useless. Later emperors also specially asked eunuchs to teach them to read and write.
At a very young age, Xiao Jing entered the palace. At that time, because of his good understanding, he was selected to study in the Inner Library of the Celestial Prison. Therefore, the rich collection of books in the palace satisfied his reading volume, making his knowledge very deep, which determined that he could be valued by the emperor later.
Xiao Jing was appreciated by Emperor Ming Yingzong mainly because he found that he was not only efficient but also error-free when registering and calculating the emperor's rewards to his close subjects, and felt that this person was very capable. As a result, Emperor Mingyingzong began to reuse him, and promoted him to eunuch, serving as a supervisor of the Book of You, and giving Lu Mi a number of stones every year.
Here, I will briefly introduce the official position of "eunuch", who is in charge of eunuchs, and there is some deviation from our current understanding. Now, "eunuch" and "eunuch" are sometimes basically synonymous and interchangeable. But at that time, Xiao Jing's official position was a Zhengsipin, not much official, but very close to the emperor.
During the reign of Emperor Mingxianzong, Xiao Jing was sent to work as a supervisor in the Inner Palace. Here, the author will add the knowledge of the eunuch institutions of the Ming Dynasty. The organizational structure of the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty was divided into twelve supervisors, four divisions, and eight bureaus, known as the "twenty-four yamen". Among them, the status of the "Twelve Prisons" is higher, and the person who holds the seal is the "eunuch".
So, what does the Inner Palace Supervisor do?
According to the Records of the Ming Dynasty officials, "Palm wood, stone, tile, earth, timber, eastbound, westbound, paint, wedding, gunpowder ten works, as well as rice salt warehouses, construction warehouses, imperial altar warehouses, all state construction palaces, mausoleums, copper and tin makeup, utensils and ice ware and other things." ”
Isn't it a fat difference?
Eat, use, and degree are all wrapped up, especially in architecture.
As we all know, the middle and late Ming Dynasty was quite corrupt, and the eunuchs of the harem would use their power to earn money, especially the inner palace supervisors, and the palace of the building was actually overthrown.
At that time, Xiao Jing was mainly responsible for storing grain, and his accounts were very clear, and some loopholes in the past were also eliminated. Soon, he was promoted to the position of Celebrant of Ceremonies and appointed as the Shu Shu.
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the Si Li Supervisor had little power. However, in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were not very fond of affairs, and actually let the eunuchs "approve" the chapter.
As a result, the power of the eunuchs quickly expanded and began to intervene in politics, of course, as a result of the emperor's laissez-faire. According to some records, during his tenure of office, Xiao Jing was ordered to go to the localities to investigate some major cases, but he was also able to handle things impartially.
But at that time, he was very close to a powerful eunuch Shangming, who had done all kinds of bad things. Therefore, later Shang Ming was raided, and Xiao Jing, in order to avoid suspicion, offered to go to Yuling Sixiang. From this point alone, it can be seen that Xiao Jing is quite reasonable.
According to general logic, he has a close relationship with the people who have been raided, and he should be punished accordingly, and he takes the initiative to fade out, which is equivalent to a gesture of admitting mistakes. Because, the emperor generally likes to serve soft courtiers.
Of course, xiao Jing's "mistakes" will naturally have other ministers impeach him.
However, the later Emperor Ming xiaozong was very protective of him and used him as a eunuch. At that time, Xiao Jing was already an "old man" in the palace, experienced and familiar with various canons, and naturally could solve many things for the emperor.
In fact, during the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of Ming, he practiced monogamy and married only one Empress Zhang. However, Empress Zhang's brothers were very stubborn. However, Emperor Xiaozong of Ming looked at Empress Zhang's face and did not pursue it.
Later, when the case of impeaching the Zhang brothers reached Xiao Jing's hands, he was not polite at all and did things according to the rules. But if you think about it carefully, if there is no "acquiescence" of the emperor, does Xiao Jing dare to make such a decision?
During the reign of Emperor Wuzong of Ming, in the seventh year of his reign, Xiao Jing was appointed eunuch of the Si Li Supervisor. Later, Zhu Chenhao, the King of Ning, rebelled, and Xiao Jing was deposed and fined because he had interacted with King Ning.
At that time, Emperor Mingwuzong looked at Xiao Jing's 81-year-old and did not arrest him. However, during the Ming Dynasty, Xiao Jing was invited back again. At that time, his thinking was still clear, his energy was good, and his behavior could not be faulted.
Even so, many ministers impeached him.
Probably at that time, the courtiers could not stand the eunuch dictatorship, especially Xiao Jing had gone through several dynasties, and it could be said that he was a big figure with too much background, and if he wanted to give birth to something right and wrong, it should be very easy.
Therefore, in this environment, Xiao Jing took the initiative to propose retirement, and the emperor was also allowed, and the pension allowance given was very rich, surpassing the cabinet university scholars at that time, and the ordinary eunuchs certainly could not compare with him.
It can be seen from this that Xiao Jing's position in the emperor's heart is still very high.
Summarizing Xiao Jing's life, it can be seen that he is very clear about his identity, what to do and what not to do. Although he received many rewards, his life was very simple and he did not buy any property. Because he understood the emperor's psychology very well, he understood that as long as he did not hide anything, this job could naturally be done for a long time.
As for Xiao Jing's relationship with other eunuchs and magnates, it was not his thorough method. Because, befriending some powerful people, you can also protect yourself more or less.
Well, today's sharing ends here, and we'll see you next time