Lin Che shook his head.

"Not only that, but the biggest problem of the failure of reform is still with the emperor!"

"Even if everyone in the court is a good official who asks for the people's lives, all kinds of new policies are in line with the actual situation."

"But if the emperor is a mediocre and brutal person, his interference in the structure of the court will only make the court accelerate on the road to destruction!"

"An emperor at the top of the pyramid of power, and no one can restrain him."

"If you become a faint king, then after the loyal ministers and good generals will be useless."

"The bureaucrats of the imperial court will begin to corrupt at an alarming rate, from top to bottom."

"No matter how prosperous a dynasty is, it will be full of decaying twilight."

When Lin Che said this, he once again asked Zhu Fan a question.

"A dumb emperor, in addition to leading to the corruption of the power structure from the inside out."

"It will also lead to the emergence of other factors that undermine the power structure of the imperial court."

"What can you think of from that?"

Zhu Fan thought back to the course he had listened to some time ago.

Immediately replied firmly:

"Sir, there is an imbalance in the power of the court, will the relatives start to interfere in politics?"

"The Eastern Han Dynasty in history is the mediocrity of Emperor Ling."

"caused his cousin He Jin, a guy who was born as a butcher, to interfere with the decrees of the imperial court."

"Yes, you've finally learned to apply what you've learned!"

Lin Che praised Zhu Zhang.

But he changed his words again:

"But you're only half right."

"When the emperor is unconscious, in addition to his relatives, how can there be fewer arrogant and domineering slaves of the Son of Heaven?"

Lin Che said in the previous lecture.

The closest to the Son of Heaven are the eunuchs and relatives.

Especially the eunuchs, because closest to the center of power.

In ordinary seasons, they dare to use the power of the imperial fox to blackmail officials who have no backstage.

If you encounter a situation where the emperor is deaf and only cares about pleasure.

A eunuch who can directly act as a substitute for most of the power of the Son of Heaven.

There was a turmoil in the court, and even the powerful ministers who leaned towards the government and the opposition had to retreat and dare not directly confront it.

In history, there have been many eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty who have plagued the imperial court.

For example, Wang Zhen, who instigated the emperor's personal conquest, caused the famous 'Tumubao Change' in history, and almost buried the Ming Dynasty.

Another example is Liu Jin, the great eunuch who has the head of the 'Eight Tigers', who deceived his superiors and subordinates, and was so powerful that he was even called 'Emperor Li' by later generations, and the power of the court was in his hands.

There is also Wei Zhongxian, the great eunuch known as 'nine thousand years old', the appointment and dismissal of Ming officials, and the major and small matters of the court must be decided by him.

These eunuchs were one of the reasons for the final demise of the Ming Dynasty.

It's just that he can't tell Zhu Fan about this.

He can only cite a few examples of previous dynasties.

"For example, Zhao Gao, who stole the power of Qin II."

"Directly in the court, play the trick of pointing the deer as a horse, and eliminate dissidents in front of the emperor."

"For another example, Tang Xuanzong was infatuated with Yang Yuhuan in the later period, and actually let Gao Lishi be a eunuch to get involved in military power."

"So much so that after the Anshi Rebellion, there was a strange scene of leading the army eunuchs and abolishing the emperor."

Lin Che took a sip of tea and moistened his throat just as he was about to continue.

Zhu Fan suddenly interjected:

There is also Tong Guan, the eunuch of the Great Song Dynasty. ’

"He not only led the army as a eunuch, but also became the king because of his military exploits."

Lin Che was directly speechless.

This kid doesn't know much else.

But as long as the military is involved, there is always a mouthful.

Lin Che didn't bother to correct Zhu Fan's military fanaticism.

He coughed and continued:

"Based on the above example, the eunuchs began a dynasty of authoritarian power."

"Their power structure is corrupting faster than ever."

"Of course, relatives are just as harmful, but do you know what they have in common?"

Zhu Fan poured tea for Lin Che, thought for a while, and replied with some uncertainty:

"Is it because the power of the eunuch's relatives is obtained by currying favor with the emperor?"

Because since childhood, he has been surrounded by eunuchs and palace maids.

Almost everyone, trying to please him, tried to please him.

for reward, and for a higher position.

Therefore, for Zhu Zhang, this question is simply not difficult.

Lin Che glanced at Zhu Fan in surprise.

Unexpectedly, this kid was able to directly see the crux of the problem.

I couldn't help but ask curiously:

"How did you come up with this?"

"I..."

Zhu Fan subconsciously wanted to answer truthfully, but suddenly thought that he couldn't reveal his identity.

After a long time, he held himself back with a big red face.

"You've thought of the answer, but you can't say why?"

Lin Che glanced at Zhu Fan puzzled.

But he didn't dwell on this issue with him, and then taught:

"Eunuchs and relatives seem to be two groups, but they are actually the same in essence."

Lin Che continued to peel back the cocoon.

"That's what you just said, they rely on currying favor with the emperor to get high-ranking officials, but those who study rely on thousands of troops and horses to cross the single-plank bridge and pass the imperial examination level by level."

"Between the two, the position itself is different."

"In addition, the difficulty of obtaining an official position is different, so that there is a natural opposition between the relatives of eunuchs and civil ministers."

"Wenchen looks down on eunuchs who boast of taking the throne on horseback, and eunuchs have interests that run counter to them, so naturally they are incompatible."

"Qiu Shiliang, the great eunuch of the Tang Dynasty."

"For more than 20 years in the officialdom, without losing his holy grace, he was the idol and target of countless eunuchs at that time."

When Qiu Shiliang returned to his hometown, almost all the eunuchs went to see him off.

"I also asked him for the secret of being favored by the emperor for so many years." ”

Qiu Shiliang waved his hand and gave a very simple answer.

"That's what indulges in pleasure, and arranges for the emperor every day."

"Don't let the Son of Heaven have leisure time."

"Otherwise, as soon as the emperor is free, he will naturally go to study, and when he encounters problems, he will find Wenchen to answer them."

"The more I read this book, the more I added to the discussion of questions, and the more I came and went, the emperor got closer to Wenchen."

"Then the eunuch will naturally fall out of favor."

Speaking of this, Lin Che paused for a while, talking too much in one breath, and his mouth was a little dry.

Seeing this, Zhu Fan hurriedly poured the tea.

Lin Che took a sip of tea before continuing:

"In order to avoid falling out of favor, eunuchs and relatives will take advantage of the situation to arrange cronies among the courtiers."

But this kind of move will inevitably trigger strong resistance from Wenchen.

"The most famous example is the struggle between the eunuchs of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Wenchen, which eventually led to the disaster of the party!"

Lin Che quoted scriptures to explain to Zhu Fan why eunuchs and relatives naturally opposed Wenchen.

Zhu Fan is a little uncertain.

In the Hongwu Dynasty, the status of eunuchs was extremely low, and Emperor Hongwu learned the lessons of history and deliberately suppressed these eunuchs.

His attitude towards his relatives is the same as that of a eunuch.

It is strictly forbidden for ministers to interfere in politics.

As the prince, Zhu Fan is still very clear about all this.

Therefore, I didn't care much about what Lin Che said.

It even feels a little alarmist.

(End of chapter)