freenovelworld Chapter 193 The Eunuch with Power
Chapter 193 The Eunuch with Power
After Ma Heluo entered the room with a knife, he not only failed to kill Emperor Wu, but was caught by Jin Midi who was waiting for him. After that, his favor in the eyes of Emperor Wu rose to a higher level, but his caution also increased day by day.
When Emperor Wu gave him palace maids, he kept them as his own and did not get close to them; when Emperor Wu wanted to marry his daughter, he also sternly refused. It was precisely because of this caution that Ma Heluo was able to keep his job under the most strict boss in the world, Emperor Wu of Han.
You know, there were 13 prime ministers during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, 10 of whom either committed suicide or were dismissed. It was not easy for Ma Heluo to have the last laugh. In 87 BC, Emperor Wu of Han was seriously ill, and he selected four ministers for his son, one of whom was newly appointed.
In the 5000-year history of China, not only the powerful Han Dynasty but also the prosperous Tang Dynasty are worthy of praise. If Ma He Luo was a foreigner who was loyal to the Han Dynasty, then Abe no Nakamaro was a Japanese who devoted his life to building the Tang Dynasty. There is even a character based on him in the modern movie "Legend of the Demon Cat".
In 717 AD, Abe no Nakamaro came to the Tang Dynasty as a Japanese envoy to the Tang Dynasty. He was soon received by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. Afterwards, Emperor Xuanzong arranged a student registration for him in Luoyang City, and Abe no Nakamaro became a student of the Imperial Academy.
The Tang Dynasty's national policy at that time was open and inclusive. Foreign friends could serve as officials in the court as long as they passed the imperial examination. After years of hard study, Abe no Nakamaro passed the imperial examination and became a teacher of classics in Luoyang in 725 AD.
Having learned a lot about Confucian Chinese culture, Abe no Nakamaro did not choose to return to his country, but stayed in the Tang Dynasty, where he made many friends, including the poets Li Bai, Wang Wei, and Chūgoku Guangxi, who were all his close friends.
As his friends increased, Abe no Nakamaro's official position rose steadily, all the way to Guanglu Dafu and Yushi Zhongcheng, and he was even granted the title of Beihai County Founding Duke. Although he had returned to Japan once during this period because of homesickness, he eventually chose to return to the Tang Dynasty and died in Chang'an.
The third one is An Lushan. The prosperous Tang Dynasty attracted not only Abe no Nakamaro, a foreigner, but also the famous An Lushan, who was also a Hu person who ate Tang Dynasty officials’ food. However, he usurped power and harmed the country, which not only ended the Kaiyuan prosperous period, but also put the Tang Dynasty in jeopardy.
An Lushan was originally a Turkic man. He knew six languages and worked as a broker in the Tang Dynasty, which is equivalent to today's middleman. His rise to fame started with a petty theft.
In 732 AD, An Lushan was caught stealing sheep, and Zhang Shougui, the governor of Youzhou at the time, wanted to kill him. In desperation, An Lushan could only shout: "My lord, don't you want to destroy the Xi and Khitan? Why do you want to kill a brave man?"
His cry not only saved him from punishment, but also helped him pass the interview at the execution ground. After the soldiers under Zhang Shougui joined Datang Company, An Lushan also showed his strength. He was brave and outstanding, and he made many outstanding achievements. An Lushan always gave Zhang Shougui the intelligence he wanted and the prisoners he wanted to capture.
With such ability, it was no problem for An Lushan to be promoted. He was promoted step by step from heaven to Jiedushi, and later became the adopted son of Yang Guifei, and won the trust of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. In 751 AD, An Lushan's eldest son even married the daughter of the crown prince. But for An Lushan, this was not enough, he wanted the throne of the Tang Dynasty.
So in 755 AD, An Lushan, who was concurrently the governor of Fanyang, Pinglu and Hedong, decided to start a rebellion. When Emperor Xuanzong of Tang learned the news, he fled in a hurry.
In the first month of 756 AD, An Lushan proclaimed himself emperor and named his country Great Yan, but the following year he was killed by his own son and eunuchs. Thus passed away a generation of Hu people's heroes.
Fourth, Marco Polo. The powerful and prosperous Tang Dynasty attracted the world's attention, while the Yuan Dynasty was seen as a paradise that was out of reach for all countries at that time. The prosperity of the Yuan Dynasty spread far and wide overseas thanks to an Italian traveler, Marco Polo.
It was his "The Travels of Marco Polo" that lifted the veil of mystery behind China, aroused the world's curiosity about China, and even led to the opening of new sea routes.
In 1275 AD, the young Marco Polo followed his father to the capital of the Yuan Dynasty. Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty at that time, received them warmly and asked Marco Polo and others to tell him about what they had seen and heard along the way.
During this period, Kublai Khan appreciated Marco Polo very much and asked him to stay in the Yuan Dynasty as an official. Marco Polo did not disappoint Kublai Khan. He not only learned Mongolian and Chinese quickly, but also took the opportunity to tour various places on the orders of Kublai Khan to travel around China.
In addition, Marco Polo was ordered to visit Vietnam, Myanmar, and Sumatra, and then reported to Kublai Khan on the conditions and customs of various places. In 1290 AD, when Marco Polo decided to resign and return home during the Yuan Dynasty, he asked Kublai Khan to escort Princess Kokozhen and the Persian princess to marry before returning to his homeland.
After returning home, Marco Polo became a famous tycoon with his experiences in the East and the treasures he brought from the East. However, in 1298 AD, he participated in the war between Venice and Genoa and was unfortunately captured.
However, in prison he met his fellow writer Rusticiano. With their cooperation, "The Travels of Marco Polo" came into being. Once published, this book aroused Westerners' curiosity about the East. They wanted to travel thousands of miles to witness the splendor of China with their own eyes, which also indirectly led to the opening of new sea routes.
The fifth is Lang Shining. Marco Polo left behind The Travels of Marco Polo, while Lang Shining left behind many world-famous paintings. However, this Italian artist did not only serve as a court painter in China, he also contributed to the design of the Old Summer Palace.
In 1715, Lang Shining came to the Qing Dynasty to study Chinese painting. He was unknown in the first few years, but after Emperor Yongzheng ascended the throne, Lang Shining quickly seized the opportunity. When the new emperor ascended the throne, officials at all levels submitted memorials saying that auspicious signs had appeared.
Emperor Yongzheng was also happy to use auspicious signs to promote himself as the chosen one by heaven, and in the first year of Yongzheng's reign, that is, in 1723, Lang Shining presented a painting called "Gathering Auspiciousness". This painting not only won the heart of Yongzheng, but also opened the door to Lang Shining's career.
Appreciated by Emperor Yongzheng, he finally found his dream job, a court painter. He then created famous paintings such as "Song Xian Yingzhi" and "Hundred Horses". His work "Yongzheng's Pleasures in the Yuanmingyuan in the Twelve Months" was even auctioned for a sky-high price of 1.44 million yuan in modern times. In 1735, Emperor Yongzheng passed away and Emperor Qianlong succeeded to the throne. Lang Shining faced new challenges in his career.
Emperor Qianlong's aesthetics were completely different from Yongzheng's. He did not like certain Western painting methods, so he often made some requests that were like ruining the show. However, the hardworking and uncomplaining Lang Shining accepted all these requests and created works such as "Sketchbook", "Ten Horses", and "Ten Complete Works", which made Emperor Qianlong quite satisfied.
In 1747, Lang Shining accepted an extension project to design Western-style buildings for the Old Summer Palace. The Western-style buildings he designed are located in the Changchun Garden of the Old Summer Palace. Not only are the buildings magnificent, but Lang Shining also took charge of the interior decoration of the buildings. After the design was completed, Lang Shining's superb business ability also won five-star praise from Emperor Qianlong.
In 1766, this Italian migrant worker in Beijing passed away in BJ, and his paintings told the world the legendary story of Lang Shining's life after his death.
[A brief historical review of the powerful eunuchs throughout the dynasties]
Eunuchs in feudal dynasties Throughout history, eunuchs have always been an unavoidable topic in feudal dynasties. Some of them have great power in the court and even let the emperor willingly call them "Dad".
These eunuchs not only harmed the emperor, but sometimes also caused the emperor to have no descendants. The risk they had was that they could seize the power of a queen, and even have the ability to arbitrarily depose and enthrone an emperor. In this video, let us take stock of these powerful eunuchs who left a bad reputation for eunuchs.
Since the Qin Dynasty, there have been cases of eunuchs in power. The first treacherous eunuch recorded in history is Zhao Gao, who called a deer a horse and framed loyal officials, and can be said to be the emperor's number one villain.
If Qin Shi Huang destroyed the six kingdoms, then Zhao Gao completed the great cause of destroying the Qin Kingdom. Around 235 BC, Zhao Gao came to the Qin Kingdom as a eunuch. He was proficient in law, so he was promoted by Qin Shi Huang to become the Minister of the Central Chariots, that is, the emperor's personal driver.
In addition, Qin Shihuang also asked him to teach his son Hu Hai how to judge cases. Zhao Gao also seized the opportunity to quickly gain the trust of Qin Shihuang and Hu Hai.
In 210 BC, Qin Shi Huang was seriously ill, and he summoned Zhao Gao to issue a will, intending to pass the throne to Fusu. However, he never expected that Zhao Gao would withhold the will, send someone to forge the imperial edict, execute Fusu, and allow the incompetent Hu Hai to ascend the throne.
After Hu Hai came to power, Zhao Gao held the power of life and death. He first conspired to murder the two brothers Meng Tian and Meng Yi, who were the pillars of the country, and then allowed his relatives to occupy a seat in the court.
In addition, in order to facilitate his control of the government, Zhao Gao also tried every means to cut off the contact between Hu Hai and the court officials. He told Hu Hai that the court officials were likely to look down on the emperor because of his youth, and in order to maintain his majesty, the emperor should only let the court officials hear his voice but not see him.
So Hu Hai was successfully fooled, and he stayed in the palace for a long time, letting Zhao Gao act as a bridge between the emperor and the ministers. From then on, all the memorials of the court officials had to go through Zhao Gao's hands, and anything that was not favorable to him would be withheld.
In 208 BC, Zhao Gao plotted to kill Li Si and became prime minister himself. At this time, Wu Han was the boss in the court, but in reality, Zhao Gao held the power.
In order to test his power, Zhao Gao decided to perform a magic trick for Hu Hai. He brought in a deer but told Hu Hai that it was a horse. Most of the court officials could only agree due to Zhao Gao's power, while the court officials who dared to tell Hu Hai that it was a deer were soon eliminated by Zhao Gao.
Under the powerful alliance between Zhao Gao and Hu Hai, the government was in chaos, people in various places were living in poverty, and the Dazexiang Uprising broke out. Zhao Gao was afraid that Hu Hai would blame him, so he took the initiative and sent people to kill Hu Hai in the palace, forcing him to commit suicide, and then let his son Ziying ascend the throne.
After Ziying came to power, he immediately planned to get rid of Zhao Gao, and the life of a generation of treacherous villains came to an end.
The second one is Zhang Rang. If Zhao Gao was the culprit who destroyed Qin, then the Ten Eunuchs headed by Zhang Rang were the culprits who destroyed Han. They sold official positions and titles, committed all kinds of evil, and their power was so great that the emperor had to call them "Dad".
They even colluded with the external relatives of the emperor. The Ten Attendants were present wherever there was profit to be made, and Zhang Rang was the most notorious of them.
Zhang Rang grew up in the palace, and when the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in 184 AD, he had become a powerful eunuch. At this time, he abused his power for personal gain, not only appointing his clansmen to official positions and allowing them to exploit the people, but also instigated Emperor Ling of Han to set up the Xiyuan Official Sales Office to sell official positions and make money.
Therefore, when the Golden Age broke out, Minister Zhang Jun twice wrote to Emperor Ling of Han, asking him to remove the Ten Eunuchs to appease the public anger and quell the uprising. However, Zhang Jun's appointment as Minister of State not only failed to put an end to the chaos of the Ten Eunuchs, but also made him the target of attack by Zhang Rang and others.
Not long after, Zhang Rang falsely accused Zhang Jun of learning the Yellow Turban Taoism, and had him arrested and tortured, resulting in the unjust death of a loyal minister in prison.
Not only that, Zhang Rang also instigated Emperor Ling of Han to exploit the people. In 185 AD, the Nan Palace caught fire and the court needed silver, wood and stone to repair the palace. At this time, Zhang Rang actually advised Emperor Ling of Han to increase the land tax and requisition wood and stone from all over the country to repair the palace.
However, when the timber and stone materials were transported to the capital, Zhang Rang forced them to buy them at extremely low prices in order to make money. Zhang Rang also asked Emperor Ling of Han to order that all officials who were to take office must go to the Xiyuan Official Sales Office to pay the money, and only after paying enough money could they take office.
Therefore, honest officials resigned before taking office, and some officials who did not pay enough would rather starve to death. These tricks of making money made Emperor Ling of Han taste the sweetness. He gradually became dependent on Zhang Rang and even said "Zhang Changshi is my father-in-law". As a result, Zhang Rang became the first eunuch in history to be called "Dad" by the emperor.
However, Zhang Rang's money-making and chaotic politics caused dissatisfaction among the government and the people. In 189 AD, after the death of Emperor Ling of Han, Yuan Shao led his troops to attack and kill the eunuchs. In order to save his life, Zhang Rang took the newly enthroned Emperor Shao hostage and fled out of the palace, but he was ultimately unable to shake off the pursuing officers and soldiers and was eventually forced to commit suicide by jumping into the river.
The third is Li Fuguo, a powerful eunuch in the Tang Dynasty. He once asked the emperor to call him "Dad". He even forced the queen to death, but his fate was even worse than Zhang Rang's, and he didn't even leave a complete body.
In 755 AD, the An-Shi Rebellion broke out, and Li Fuguo began his glorious era. He followed the then Crown Prince Li Heng, pacified the people, went north to fight the enemy, and even supported Crown Prince Li Heng to ascend the throne and become emperor in Lingwu.
Since then, Li Fuguo has gained the trust of Emperor Suzong of Tang, Li Heng, who even trusted him to handle the military and state affairs. In 757 AD, after Emperor Suzong of Tang returned to Chang'an, he even named Li Fuguo the Duke of Qin.
However, Li Fuguo, who had tasted the power, still wanted to be promoted and get a raise, so he colluded with Li Heng's queen Zhang to eliminate dissidents. Queen Zhang controlled the harem, and Li Fuguo controlled the court. The Tang Dynasty still had the surname Li, but it changed from Li Heng's Li to Li Fuguo's Li.
If officials in the court wanted to see the emperor, they had to go through Li Fuguo; the appointment and dismissal of local military governors were decided by Li Fuguo, and even the imperial edicts issued by Emperor Suzong of Tang had to be signed and sealed by Li Fuguo before they could be implemented.
In 762 AD, when Li Fuguo was in power, Tang Xuanzong, the father of Tang Suzong Li Heng, was seriously ill. Li Heng wanted to visit him, but was repeatedly stopped by Li Fuguo and Empress Zhang. Until Xuanzong died, the father and son never met. But as the saying goes, there are no eternal friends, only eternal interests.