Today, the History Encyclopedia editor has prepared for you: Tong Guan is in power. Interested friends, come and take a look!
Eunuchs always give people the impression that they are good at understanding their masters’ thoughts. But once they monopolize power in the court, they begin to become arrogant and domineering. For example, in the late Tang Dynasty, eunuchs had absolute power and played the Tang Dynasty to death, while today’s protagonist is Tong Guan, a eunuch during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song. He once brutally suppressed the Fangla Uprising, commanded wars against ethnic minorities in the northwest, and cooperated with the Jin Dynasty to suppress the Liao Dynasty with 150000 elite soldiers. How could this great eunuch become the highest military commander of the Song Dynasty?
Tong Guan, known as one of the “Six Thieves”, is a legendary figure. In his lifetime, he created several historical “firsts” for himself and for Chinese history, which can be said to be records that no one in Chinese history has been able to break so far: Tong Guan was the eunuch who controlled the most military power in Chinese history; He is the highest ranking eunuch in Chinese history to obtain a noble title; He was the first eunuch in Chinese history to represent the country as an envoy; He is the only eunuch in Chinese history to be crowned king.
The reason why Tong Guan became the highest military commander of the Song Dynasty is closely related to the military system of the Song Dynasty. Because the military system of the Song Dynasty was different from that of previous dynasties, eunuchs in the Song Dynasty could directly command officers and soldiers to fight on the battlefield. This is a corresponding measure taken by Zhao Kuangyin to learn from the historical lessons of rebellions caused by the self importance of military generals in the late Tang and Five Dynasties, and to adopt a military leadership system that utilizes civil servants to unify the army. Due to the ancestral motto formulated by Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, of “not using southerners as ministers and not using eunuchs to manage troops”, in the early Northern Song Dynasty, eunuchs mostly served as military supervisors, with the main responsibility of only monitoring the activities of the commander-in-chief and allowing the king to understand his movements.
In the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, due to the indecisive nature of civil servants, the combat effectiveness of the Song army had seriously weakened. During the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, Chen Zhizhong, a civil servant, served as the Minister of State and was at a loss and speechless when faced with Yuan Hao’s anti Song behavior. Having such a military leader is truly unfortunate for the country and its people. However, in order to protect their imperial throne from infringement, the rulers of the Song Dynasty were unwilling to adopt the system of military commanders commanding troops, so they began to develop eunuchs as military commanders. During the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty, eunuchs began to make a name for themselves in military affairs, moving from behind the scenes to the forefront and directly participating in military command. By the late Northern Song Dynasty, eunuchs had already taken full control of military and political affairs throughout the country, with the most famous figure being eunuch Tong Guan during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song.
Tong Guan was naturally charming and well versed in the emperor’s thoughts. After Emperor Huizong ascended to the throne, he was like a fish in water, using all his skills to collect antiques, calligraphy, and paintings for the emperor, and using all his efforts to win the favor of the charming emperor. From then on, he rose to fame and became the ruler of many court affairs under Emperor Huizong’s command. Taking advantage of the emperor’s favor, Tong Guan began to make friends with the concubines in the palace and various officials in the court.
In addition, the internal and external collusion between Tong Guan and Cai Jing provided more favorable conditions for his development. Emperor Huizong of Song had a great love for art, and during his reign, he also established the Mingjin Bureau in Hangzhou to collect antiques, calligraphy, and paintings specifically for himself. When Tong Guan was in charge of the Ming Jin Bureau in Hangzhou, he met Cai Jing, who was skilled in calligraphy. As a result, Cai Jing’s works continuously flowed into the palace, and his works were highly appreciated by Emperor Huizong of Song. It was from here that their relationship became closer, and they began to rely on and collude with each other, causing the people to suffer greatly. At that time, there was a folk song that sang like this: “Breaking the tube (child), pouring vegetables (Cai), is a good world in the world.” This folk song deeply reflects the people’s hatred towards the two of them.
In 1102 AD, Cai Jing was appointed as the prime minister and strongly advocated attacking Qing Tang in the court. He recommended Tong Guan to serve as the supervisor of the army, and Emperor Huizong of Song agreed to the petition to go to war. This expedition was a great victory, and Tong Guan was promoted to the position of Jingfu Palace Envoy and Xiangzhou Observation Envoy as a result. Afterwards, Tong Guan led troops on multiple expeditions to conquer tribes such as the Qing and Qiang, and achieved numerous military achievements. From then on, his position continued to climb. But in reality, this is just reporting good news but not bad news. According to relevant historical records, during the Northwest Campaign, Tong Guan repeatedly concealed news of his defeat and the deaths of his soldiers. This approach quickly promoted him to the position of Chief of the Imperial Household Department, Chief of the Imperial Secretariat, and appointed him as the highest commander of the national army.
With Tong Guan and other treacherous officials continuing to wield power and fortune, the anger of the people of the Great Song Dynasty also reached a critical point. On the ninth day of October in the second year of Xuanhe (1120 AD), farmer Fang La falsely claimed to have obtained the “Heavenly Talisman Certificate” and gathered poor farmers to rebel. Tong Guan led his troops to brutally suppress the Fang La Uprising, and later reclaimed the land of Yan Yun. But in reality, it only cost a lot to exchange for six empty cities, and even had to pay one million taxes to the Jin Dynasty every year. However, Tong Guan shamelessly claimed credit from Emperor Huizong, and the incompetent emperor even appointed Tong Guan as the Prince of Guangyang County.
In this way, through the practice of reporting good news but not bad, and exchanging big losses for small gains, Tong Guan, a eunuch, finally became the highest military commander of the Song Dynasty, which is a unique event in history. And such a so-called ‘great hero’ was scared out of his wits on the front line of Taiyuan during the Jin army’s southern invasion in 1126, disregarding the safety of the entire city’s military and civilians, and fled back to Tokyo in a panic. In the end, he was executed by Emperor Qinzong of Song on the charge of “Ten Major Crimes” and was demoted to a lower official position. Tong Guan, who controlled the military power of the northwest and the whole country for more than 20 years, brought irreparable deficiencies to the military of the Song Dynasty and bears an inescapable responsibility for the ultimate downfall of the Northern Song Dynasty.
