A major event, Yuqing Recruitment is about to be completed.In one of our programs in 2009, we mentioned that Yuqing was a great job, with huge investment and huge land area.Now that the construction is about to be completed, what will happen to the statues enshrined inside?Jin Lian was busy with this matter. The house was so big that the statues to be enshrined could not be small, so the work was assigned to officials in the Jianghuai area.They set up a furnace in a place called Jian'anjun on the edge of Yangzhou City and began to cast the statues. There were four statues in total.Let me count for you, the Jade Emperor, a Zhenzong emperor, the newly arranged ancestor for their old Zhao family is called Zhao Xuanlang, it is said that he is not only the ancestor of their family, but also a deity, then there is Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, Taizong Zhao Guangyi, a total of four.

This year, the work of creating the statue was completed. There was a lot of fanfare and a fleet of ships were used to welcome the holy elephant back to Kaifeng. Of course, there was all kinds of excitement and a lot of money along the way.Well, the Jian'an Lord who made the statues, alas, can no longer be called Jian'an Lord at this time. He has to change his name to Zhenzhou.Soon after, the name was changed again, and it was called Yizhen.The workshop for making statues of gods was simply changed into a Taoist temple, called Yi Zhenguan.By the way, please pay attention to the word "zhen" in "suspicious truth", which means "real truth" and "true and false truth". Words with the word "zhen" often have something to do with Taoism.Because Taoist cultivation is called cultivating the truth, and we have talked about it in more than ten episodes of the program. This is how the word "zhen" in the name of the temple comes from.He has been busy with Taoism for half his life, so I really feel sorry for him if the temple does not give him a real name.

Later, during the Qing Dynasty, the place Yizhen was renamed Yizheng because the name of Emperor Yongzheng's seal was taboo, and the real name was changed to Long March.This name has been used to this day. This place is very talented. You can see that in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, Ruan Yuanyi was both a feudal official and a great scholar.There are also the great Confucian scholars Liu Shipei and Yizheng Ren in the late Qing Dynasty, and our contemporary economist Mr. Li Ning. Yizheng Ren is very outstanding.Okay, let’s go back to the main line of the show, back to Song Zhenzong.If you have watched the previous episodes of our Civilization Journey, we are all trying to correct the impression that although Song Zhenzong engages in superstitious activities every day, he is not crazy.He had his own reasons for doing this. In other political matters, he was still a quite normal emperor, even a quite wise emperor.For example, in February of this year, the imperial court issued two edicts in succession, targeting the same type of people, and the eunuchs also talked about the same thing, which was to prohibit eunuchs from being outside when working for the emperor.stir up trouble.If you want to launch two tricks on the same thing in the same month, this level of attention should be regarded as the central government's repeated orders.Two months later, Emperor Zhenzong wrote another article to the eunuchs in his own name. This article was called "Inner Interiors". It was carved into a stone tablet and stood at the door of your eunuch's office for you to take a good look at.Oh, did you notice?The genre of this article is called needle. You can see that the word "needle" starts with the prefix bamboo, which is the needle made of bamboo and the needle on the flat stone wall. It shows that this kind of article can both stimulate people and cure diseases, so it is really an exhortation.cautionary.To put it bluntly, you read this article with a bad tone, but the purpose is to cure diseases and save people. This kind of writing style is called a true interior needle. We can still see it today. It probably means to tell the eunuchs, if you behave yourself, we will give you good things as well as good things. If you do bad things in the name of the emperor, well, then you will look good.Look, in such a short period of time, the emperor issued an edict and wrote a short composition, which was also engraved on a stele. What happened behind this?There must be something very unpleasant behind it.In this episode, we will start with the relationship between the emperor and the eunuchs.Alas, let's take a look at a big problem that caused the emperor a lot of headaches.Okay, now let us travel back to 1013 AD, six years after the surrender of Dazhong in the Song Dynasty.

From the set of information I just mentioned, you should be able to tell that in the first year of 1013, the emperor was very angry with the eunuchs. What was the reason behind that?The historical data we can find now is that the previous year was December 1012. At that time, Emperor Zhenzong asked the eunuchs to send people to Kaifeng Mansion to investigate the situation of the granary.As a result, these people did not do good things and took the opportunity to search for money when they went to the local area. When the court found out, they asked the Kaifeng Mansion to arrest them and deal with them strictly.

The emperor must have been very angry at that time, but don't you find it strange?This happened in December last year, and it was delayed until February this year. If the edicts continue to be issued continuously, the emperor even has to write a personal composition and engrave it on a tablet to set rules for the eunuchs.I reasonably speculate that it happened again later, or even several similar things happened in succession, and the emperor felt that he was so embarrassed and that these guys were making such a big fuss. It was time to take a hard look at the eunuchs' work style.The problem is, this is why there is such a series of actions.In the political ecology of ancient China, eunuchs were a very interesting factor.What is a eunuch?His identity is the emperor's domestic slave, which brings a huge contrast.You say that these eunuchs have a high status, but he is a domestic slave, and he is not in good health, so he is the lowest status person.But the status you mentioned is low, he is the person closest to the emperor.The thing about power is that, whoever is closer to the wand of power has a little bit of the magic of power.Hey, so what is a eunuch?The eunuch is this strange character who mixes the humblest status with the highest power.Let me give you an example to give you a feel.

I remember we learned a text when we were in middle school, Bai Juyi's "Salesman", which was about the official affairs of the Tang Dynasty.What is public announcement?It is a procurement system where the emperor directly sends eunuchs to the market to buy things for the palace.Of course it is said to be a purchase, but in fact it is a robbery.As soon as Bai Juyi said it, a car was searched for more than a thousand gold, and Minister Qu Jiangxi could not find half a batch of red yarn with zero sign. The carbon value was so high.They say they're giving you money, but just a little bit of silk will cost you 1,000 kilograms of charcoal. In fact, it's almost like robbing you.When I was in middle school, I didn't think there was anything wrong with this. After all, the emperor is bad.Haha, but when I grew up and read more, I realized that this thing is actually very weird.If you think about it, even if the emperor in the Tang Dynasty was extremely evil, he couldn't be obviously evil.You are the emperor.Even if the emperor is shameless, hey, he can't be shameless at the door of his own house. The people your eunuch went out to rob were people doing business in the surrounding area.Moreover, if we look at the historical data later on, we can see that this announcement from the Tang Dynasty dates back to the Tianbao period of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. He was an emperor in his prime, and he was not so poor that he would rob them when he left the palace.

Besides, if you think about a market, if people come to grab it every day, can this market exist for a long time?And the offensives in the middle and late Tang Dynasty existed for at least 100 years. Are those business people in Chang'an of the Tang Dynasty stupid?People come to rob it every day, and people come to buy and sell it every day, so this is unreasonable and very strange.Later, I looked at various information and found that this was probably the case.First of all, there is indeed an announcement, and it is indeed a huge market transaction activity.Thousands of people in Chang'an City do rely on the purchasing market in the palace to make a living. At the same time, because the palace is a big buyer and party, it is inevitable that he will be a bit strong in the transaction process.If a merchant wants to do business in the palace, he will inevitably have to give benefits to some eunuchs, but please note that the mainstream of this market must be a market of your own free will, with voluntary transactions.

This is the first one, then the second one. It is inevitable that some eunuchs will bully the market and rob people of their things, because they are eunuchs?As long as I said that I was buying things for the palace, the local officials would not dare to care, so they would turn a blind eye if something happened.Let me tell you something recorded in historical records. It is said that once a farmer took a donkey to the street to sell firewood, and was attracted by a eunuch.Just like what was written in Bai Juyi's poem, he gave a few feet to donate steps, saying that the farmer had to deliver the donkey and firewood to the palace.The farmer said, "I admit it's bad luck. I shouldn't come today. I admit it's bad luck."You can take the firewood, and I don’t dare ask for a donation. But my parents and wife need this donkey to live their lives. Can you keep this donkey for me?Alas, the eunuch just refused to do it. As a result, the peasant made many excuses and got angry and beat the eunuch.Alas, this is bad. It was originally a market dispute, but now it has become a public security case.

They kept making trouble, and finally brought the case to the emperor. After the emperor found out, he issued an imperial edict and said, let's make the eunuch miserable, remove him from his post, and then give the farmer ten batches of donations. How should we deal with it?You see, the emperor is very clear about the right and wrong of this matter, so you see, this is not the emperor trying to rob the people of their things, but it is completely the eunuch's own random actions.Now let's settle the score for the emperor. Because he is a domestic slave, the eunuchs can do whatever they are told. That is really convenient.But they can really embarrass the emperor as soon as they go out.Their misdeeds outside will be recorded in your emperor's account by the common people.Take the case just now, for a load of firewood, the emperor finally compensated the people, right?Even the scandal of having paid ten pieces of money to the emperor was recorded in the history books, causing embarrassment and scolding for generations to come.

Do you think it’s unfair for the emperor to take the blame?Knowing the relationship between the eunuchs and the emperor, now we go back to the beginning of 1013 AD and see the documents issued by Song Zhenzong, two imperial edicts, and a small composition written by the emperor. Can we also help the emperor?Feel that anger?These guys are so embarrassing for me outside.But here’s the problem, can’t you, the emperor, be a little more angry?Wouldn’t it be over if you don’t use the crown?Alas, don’t mention it, we have had such opportunities twice in Chinese history.

One time was during the Eastern Han Dynasty, in 189 AD, Yuan Shao led his troops into the palace and killed the eunuchs on sight, let alone the eunuchs. At that time, even the people in the palace without beards were killed.Another time was in 903 AD. Zhu Wen once again killed all the eunuchs, but so what?Eunuchs soon made a comeback, and the eunuch system was quickly reestablished.So the essence of the problem is not how bad the eunuchs are or what kind of consequences they bring to the entire society. The essence of the problem is why the emperor knows that the eunuchs are causing trouble for him outside and embarrassing him, but he still has to hold his nose and use the eunuchs.No, this is the essence of the problem.I’ll tell you the answer first because I feel more reassured.To understand this problem, we still have to go back to the most fundamental characteristics of eunuchs.What are the most fundamental characteristics of eunuchs?That's the knife.In the past, when we looked at the knife, we thought it was a physiological change, because with that knife they would not go around in the emperor's harem and contaminate the royal family's genes.But what is more important is not the physical characteristics of the eunuch, but the social characteristics derived from the physiological characteristics.

Yes, if the emperor just wanted to isolate the men outside the palace, it would be simple, right?Wouldn’t it be over if only women were used to work in the palace?Some relatively strong women are used to work in the palace, so why not use women but use such cruel methods to make men neither male nor female, and then send them to the palace to work as domestic slaves for the emperor?The answer is that the eunuch lost his independent social identity after the sword was struck, which is different from that of women.

Do you want to?A palace maid, of course she is your emperor's domestic slave in the palace, she can't resist, right?But it's possible that he went out, and as soon as he went out, he would return to a normal person.He has his parents, brothers and sisters, relatives, and friends. He can get married and have children after marriage. He can become a normal person. He has such expectations for life outside the palace while he is in the palace.and imagination.

But it's different for the eunuch, because he was in the palace with the sword. Even if he came out and looked around, what would he have?Because of that sword, he couldn't enter his ancestral hall, because of that sword, he couldn't get married, so he had no children, he had no friends in society, and he couldn't join any work or social network outside the palace.What do people live on?Live by hope.Because of that sword, all the eunuch's hopes were in the palace and the emperor's happiness and anger, so it was impossible for them to have an independent personality.Let me give you an example. Look at the eunuchs who left the court during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Where could they go?Can I still have another job?It's impossible to be homeless, and it's hard to escape if you have a home, so the old eunuchs and eunuchs who have left the palace often gather in temples near the capital to talk about their remaining lives.

There are two places that are still very famous in Beijing today. They were such a community at that time. One is Zhongguancun, which is now known as China's Silicon Valley.In fact, this place was originally called Zhongguancun. It was the official's official name, not the current Guan Gong official.What is Zhongguan?It's the eunuch, right?Eunuchs in the Ming and Qing dynasties bought land here and built many temples. After they got old and frail and left the palace, they gathered here to live together and take care of each other. When they died, they were buried here.There are other eunuchs who help sweep the tomb and pay homage during festivals and festivals. This is their whole life.There is another place in Beijing called NG Village. Like Zhongguancun, it is also a place where eunuchs built a temple to retire.For example, the famous Li Lianying is buried in NG Village. I lived in Enji Village for a few years.There is only one difference between the two places, that is, Zhongguancun is the land bought by the eunuchs themselves, while Enjizhuang is the land given by Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty, that's all.

Okay, now that you understand the social role of eunuchs, you will know why the emperor was assured of them.It’s not because they look up and look down every day, they become closer and have friendship. It’s not just because of the identity relationship between master and domestic slave, but because of the sociological reason we just talked about. It’s because the eunuch left the emperor and he didn’t.Any independent social role, they are the eternal vassals of the imperial power.All emperors trust them, so since they are reassured, they will use them more. The more they are used in other situations, the number of eunuchs will gradually expand in other situations.

For example, the swine fever we talked about earlier killed all the eunuchs in 903, didn't it?In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, several decades had passed, and eunuchs began to appear again.Song Taizu Song Taizong used some eunuchs, but the number was very small.During the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty, there were only 50 eunuchs in the harem. Listen to this number, which is much less than the number of servants in the Jia Mansion, a large family in Dream of Red Mansions.So this Song Taizu is really economical, but don't worry, it won't take many years. By the time Song Renzong comes, you can't even count 100 years.How many eunuchs do you think there were in the Northern Song Dynasty court?More than 4,000 people.The eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty also went through a similar process.

When the Ming Dynasty was first established, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang was also very disgusted with eunuchs intervening in politics. At that time, he used less than 100 eunuchs. But by the end of the Ming Dynasty, how many eunuchs were there?100,000 people. When you hear this number, you feel weird. Do you think so?How many empresses can your emperor have in your harem?Look at these empresses doing some housework and physical work. Do you need so many eunuchs?But of course the clutter in the palace cannot use so many eunuchs, but eunuchs have other uses.

In the palace, eunuchs were servants, but because of their special bond of trust with the emperor, they left the palace.Who are they?They can help the emperor do many things.In history, eunuchs have helped the emperor make money, helped the emperor go on diplomatic missions to foreign countries, and even helped the emperor lead troops to fight.But the emperor needs and cannot do without eunuchs the most. What else can they do other than these?Let them listen to the news as the emperor's eyes and ears.So if you look at a scholar-official like Sima Guang, he never had anything good to say about eunuchs, but he also recognized the role of eunuchs. Sima Guang also recognized them.He said that he said that the role of eunuchs existed in ancient times, and it was recorded in these classics in Confucian poetry.Eunuchs serve two purposes. One is to keep the monarch's harem free of evildoers, and the other is to allow the exchange of information between the inside and outside. How can we not have this role?These are Sima Guang's words.

Yes, what we talked about earlier about eunuchs making money for the emperor can be done by the country's formal financial department, right?To help the emperor fight the war, this can be done by the generals of the formal army.As for the eunuchs, they could only act as eyes and ears for the emperor.The issue of eunuchs is particularly complex, so today we will only look at a small aspect of this program, that is, what kind of information problems did the emperors of ancient China face?So much so that they had to pay a huge price and had to use eunuchs to block their ears and eyes to go out and inquire for information.

What kind of information problems does the emperor face? First of all, we have to ask you a question: under what circumstances does a person have power?Generally speaking, we have a simple view that having power means that you have authority, right?What kind of official are you?What do you want to be?Well, as the saying goes, high position brings power, right?In fact, he is not owed a seat. The reason why he has rights is because a specific information flow passes through this seat. Once the design of the information flow changes, the actual rights of this position change.

Let me give you an example. In today's companies, everyone attaches great importance to the so-called reporting relationship. If I report to you, and you report to your superiors, you will have rights over me.Then why?Because the information here can only be formally received and processed by the organization through you.Okay, let's imagine, if your leader requires me to not only report my information to you, but also directly copy a copy to him, have you noticed?The design of the information flow has changed. My information has actually bypassed you, and your rights over me have actually disappeared. No matter whether you are still my leader in name or not, or whether I am still in your department, it doesn't matter.Importantly, you no longer have any rights over me, so leaders in many organizations are very concerned about subordinates reporting beyond their level.

This is a good leap for you, right?The flow of information bypasses him, and his rights are gone.You can also assume a scenario where your subordinates and your leader are all in the same work group, and your subordinates report to you in this group.Even if your leader only exists in the group and never says anything, as long as you realize that your leader can see all the information in the group at any time, will you still have that kind of power when handling reports from subordinates?Do you have the feeling of being in control and being alone?No more?Are you just walking on eggshells?Are there a pair of eyes behind you?What is this group?This group is a redesigned information flow. This information flow bypasses you, so you have no rights in this group.So you see that the reason why a position has rights is because of the information flow state behind it, not the position itself.

Then some people say that the so-called having rights means that I have the final say, and I have rights after I have the final say. In fact, not all decisions are meaningful.Let me give you an example. For example, if I trade in stocks, I have a lot of stocks to choose from.I have the final say, but do I feel I have the right?No, I don’t understand so much information behind stocks, and I can’t make decisions. This is my problem.

It is a very scary situation to have the final say in a field where there is not enough information, and you have to be responsible for the results of your decision, okay?In the same way, if you think that I am a leader now, if you put things on my desk in a field that I don't understand at all, and let me make decisions all the time, and I have the final say, then I will feel that this is my right.?No, I think this is forcing me to go to the gambling table, and this is trying to pass the blame on me. No matter how I sign, I can’t sign it.

I still remember watching a TV series when I was a child, which told the story of the last emperor Pu Yi. There is a scene that I still remember until now. Pu Yi probably encountered something happy when he was a child, so he shouted "reproduction", watch it after school.A child with no information ability, he just has the final say, so what if everyone else listens to him, he can decide.But it’s just this kind of thing. For example, if school ends an hour early, how much information will have the same rights? This is what the golden saying goes, information is rights, and generally in a rights environment, we don’t feel that information has such aimportant.The computer scientist Wu Jun we got has a very famous point of view. He said that the history of science and technology is like this. The history of science and technology is actually composed of two clues. One is the improvement of human beings' ability to utilize energy, and the other is human beings' processing of information.The improvement of capabilities caused these two lines to twist and spiral upward, forming the history of human science and technology.So today we can also use this model of Teacher Wu Jun to understand that the emperor's power is also like this, two ropes stir up.

The first is whether he can mobilize enough energy according to his own will to put it at the point he wants to put it?As for the second one, can he collect and process enough information in the world in a timely manner?Please note no.The latter one is about information, and the former one is about mobilizing power, which is out of the question.This is the inner structure of imperial power, so what can the emperor do?His only way on the information side is of course to force himself crazily to possess more information.The emperor was strangled to death.There are many such legends in Chinese history. For example, Qin Shihuang read 120 kilograms of bamboo slips a day and was not allowed to rest until he finished reading.There is also the Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. During his 13 years in power, he handled nearly 200,000 documents of all kinds and more than 10 million words of handwritten comments. What those of us who saw it were amazing,What a diligent person.But if you think about it from their own perspective, are they diligent?For them, it was fear. They were worried that if they accidentally missed important information, they would make mistakes in their decision-making, and their imperial power would be weakened. They could not afford the consequences.

The most famous diligent emperor in the history of the Song Dynasty was Song Zhenzong's father, Song Taizong. He really kept working until the last moment of his life. He was in charge of everything. How detailed could he be?Even if a pig is lost in the common people's house, he will take care of it. He will also take charge of the case. Hahaha. After taking care of it, he is still thinking about it, chatting with the prime minister. Oh, tell me, tell me.Ah, I don't even care about such trivial matters. Isn't this ridiculous?If I don't even care about such a small matter, will the common people in the world be free from injustice?Has this peaceful age been realized?Of course, what he said was a bit smug, but he said so himself, but did he believe it?You really have the ability to solve all the cases in the world, including cases where ordinary people lose pigs and chickens. You can't solve it by yourself.

So from this very tangled self-reflection of Song Taizong, we can understand and understand the dilemma of an ancient Chinese emperor. On the one hand, if you don't crazily possess information, the world will not be governed well.On the other hand, you are crazy about possessing information. Your emperor only has such a physical body?You are exhausted and can’t handle it, so what do you think you should do?The advantage of our Chinese history is that it has been very long, and various methods have been tried and tested. The methods have been tried out and used all the time, and they are very easy to use.

The famous Wei Zheng in the Tang Dynasty also summed up this method into eight very exquisite words: Listening to both sides will bring enlightenment, and listening to one side will bring peace of mind.We may have heard these 8 words since childhood, but please note that this is not a chicken soup of life. It is a very advanced ruling technology. Simply put, the emperor cannot have only one source of information.For the emperor to understand the same thing, he must have at least two channels of information.What does it mean to listen and understand?What is the original meaning of the word "诛"?It is a person holding two handfuls of seedlings with one hand. This is called Emperor Jian. He grasps two threads of information at the same time to understand one thing. This is called Jianting Zeming.

So, if the emperor wants to have information but doesn't want to be exhausted, what's the best way?Split all information channels into two in any situation. For example, if a formal bureaucracy is responsible for the work, then the emperor has to split it next to it, and then establish an information system to be responsible for the previous administrative system.Supervision, right?Official positions in the imperial court began in the Qin Dynasty. We all learned about it in middle school. There began to be censors responsible for supervising all officials. This is a tradition in our Chinese political system.Until the fall of the Qing Dynasty, there was an organization called Taiwan Construction. You didn't have to do the work, you were responsible for supervising, and the other people were responsible for providing information to the emperor.How can the central government dismantle this?There also needs to be some separation between the central and local governments.

Let’s give a brief overview. For example, during the Qin Dynasty, China had more than 30 armies. By the Han Dynasty, it had developed to more than 100 armies. When this number came up, the emperor could no longer do it. The information burden was too heavy..When the report is typed up, the emperor may find that the name of the county governor is unfamiliar. He cannot remember more than 100 names, let alone handle the work reported in the report. What should he do?Establishing information supervision regions, yes, that’s what Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty did. He took a map of the country and drew it into 13 regions, and sent an official to each region. What was it called?Call him the governor?Please pay attention to what this thorn means?It means spying, asking for information, and reporting to the emperor.

Yes, the governor is such an official. His rank is relatively low, but because he is the emperor's eyes and ears, hey, his job of gathering information is more important. He is called the governor. History has evolved forward, and in the process of the Tang DynastyLet’s do it again, how many states were there in the world at that time?There are more than 300 states. The emperor's information burden has increased again, and his head is about to explode. How can he manage it?Therefore, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was considered to be powerful, so he had to write the names of more than 300 Zhou officials on the screen. What should he do if he was afraid that he would not be able to remember such a huge information burden?The old method is to set up a large area for information supervision above, which is what I just mentioned that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty did.

It's just that in the Tang Dynasty, this was called Dao. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty established 15 Dao, responsible for supervising various states, and a new official was set up on the Dao, called Interviewing History.At first glance, I thought he graduated from a journalism school.As soon as you hear this official name, you will know that this is another official who is not responsible for administration, but only for spying on information.Look at the Tang Dynasty's plan, from motivation to plan, it is exactly the same as the provincial governor I just mentioned in the Han Dynasty.

I brought a book today, Teacher Zhang Hongjie’s A Brief History of China. There is a very interesting insight in it. If you look at the official names of local officials in Chinese history, they are often verbs. We have just mentioned twoWell, the governor, the interview history of the Tang Dynasty, and the later governors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, yes, they are all verbs.Why?Because at first they were not permanent local administrative officials, they were all censors who went out for the emperor to inquire about information.They were all information channels for the emperor, but they later evolved into local officials.Please note that this principle of listening and understanding, this method of splitting specialized information channels, is reflected in every corner of ancient Chinese system design.

For example, how do you think the emperor came to court?Haha, when we usually watch movies and TV series, when the emperor goes to court, the emperor is sitting on the throne. However, all the officials stand like this according to their rank, and then a eunuch comes out and flicks a fly swatter, and then shouts that something is wrongPlay early after leaving work. If you have nothing to do, roll up the curtain and retreat.Then a minister came out to talk and discuss matters like this. How could this be possible?If all the officials express their opinions publicly in the same court, then you think as long as one minister has enough authority, for example, he is the prime minister, and he looks around and just takes one look, who will dare to speak?Hum, the information in the court has been controlled, no one dares to speak, the emperor's information channels have been strangled, and he can't understand anything.

Alas, this method of going to court obviously violates the principle of listening and understanding, so the design of the discussion system of going to court has been a living technology in the past dynasties, and it is constantly evolving.Today we are talking about the Song Dynasty in 1013 AD, so we will briefly talk about how the emperors of the Song Dynasty came to court.First of all, every morning at the fifth watch, which is probably from 3 to 5 o'clock today, it is very early anyway. Before dawn, the gate of the palace is creaking open, and the officials are attacking one after another.Then the officials from the prime minister, the Privy Council, the Hanlin Academy, the Third Division, and the Kaifeng Mansion went to the Chui Gong Hall, which was in front of the front hall of the palace, and stood in their designated positions to salute and greet the emperor.But this is not a ceremony, this is a ceremonial part.

After this link is over, the officials who need to report specific matters to the emperor must retreat to the porch outside the store and wait, and power on in waves according to a predetermined order. This wave is called a shift.The work we are talking about today is actually the shift from here.Generally speaking, the officials of the Prime Minister and Privy Council are placed in the first shift, and the second shift and the third department in charge of finance are placed in the third shift.Among the officials of Kaifeng Prefecture, Kaifeng is more important after all. Although local officials are placed in the fourth shift, other officials are in the fifth shift.However, because the emperor's time was limited after all, he could see relatively few officials. If the prime minister or privy councilors envoys these officials, it would take a long time for the emperor to see the officials who had to meet, and the subsequent officials might not be able to see the emperor that day., so sometimes the emperor would make some special arrangements. For example, sometimes he would temporarily issue a decree to let an official jump in line to ensure that they could see the emperor today.

And you see there are big wooden boards erected outside the store where everyone is waiting. What is this called?Calling the stick?Ministers waiting to go to the palace are not allowed to look through the gaps in the wooden boards. Why?This is the design of the information process. The emperor knows everything, but it is best for each minister to only know the few things he should know.This is how power is created. You don’t know everything, so you don’t have rights?But is that all?Where did you get it?This is only the first stage of the emperor's court, called the front palace dynasty.After finishing the work, the emperor changed clothes and had breakfast. After all, he got up at about 3 o'clock in the morning, changed clothes, had breakfast, and then met other people in Chongzheng Hall and Yanhe Hall.What is this called?This is called doing it in the back hall, and it is another process of going to court. It is more complicated to do the reception of people in the back hall. There are officials and eunuchs from various yamen, and there is a unique official position called walking horses.The post of "Zhou Ma" is also a kind of job to help the emperor inquire about affairs. These people report to the emperor separately, so is this the end?No.The emperor usually had to attend classes, where could he find knowledge?What is this called scripture research?The lecturer talked about the classics in a lively manner. Although he talked about classics from books, it was inevitable that he would use the topic to make some comments on current affairs. This was also an important information channel for the emperor.

So is this over?Even without an emperor, there is another way to meet people. In the history of the Song Dynasty, this was called neiyinzoushi. You might say, isn't it just the emperor summoning ministers?Is there any difference between this inner introduction and the front hall of the dynasty and the back hall as mentioned earlier?Yes, I have.Regarding the word "internal introduction", if you look at the list of people we talked about in the front and back halls, that shift is arranged by the official organization of the imperial court.So when the emperor met whom, this information will inevitably be known to the outside world, but it is different if it is hidden, right?Inner Yin is arranged by the eunuchs in the harem. To put it bluntly, during the inner Yin and Zhao period, who did the emperor see today?When did you meet?Who comes first and who comes last?Alas, the outside world doesn’t know any of this key information. Is that the end of it?No.

The emperor also had another way of meeting people called the Jinzhong Night Team. As the name suggests, he summoned some people to talk privately at night.This is even more secretive.For example, Wang Qinruo, whom we mentioned repeatedly in previous programs, was demoted once and only became a bachelor of Zizhengdian.Hey, bachelors and civil servants, just in case the emperor wants to draft some important document, so the bachelors have to be on duty outside the palace at night. One night, it was Wang Qingruo's turn.Generally speaking, the emperor stopped looking for him. That night he brought a large bottle of wine and started drinking with the people on duty at the same time, drinking and drinking.As a result, after drinking until midnight, a eunuch suddenly opened the palace door and invited Wang Qinruo alone to go in and talk.As for what the emperor and Wang Qinruo talked about that night, no one knows. Don't forget, this was after Wang Qinruo was demoted.Well, then you think about this Emperor Zhenzong, does he like this Wang Qinruo, or does he dislike this Wang Qinruo?Can you guess by yourself?This is not over yet. In the Song Dynasty, there was another system called Zhuan Dui, or wheel pairing.

What do you mean?To put it simply, the emperor met with the first-level officials in a certain fixed order, one or two people at a time, and took a long time to take turns with the lower-level officials and officials from various departments.Just think about what your officials will say when they see the emperor. Just guess. Hmph.What we just said is so lively, you can see the front and back, overt and covert learning, public interviews, private interviews, high-level officials meeting the grassroots, there are many tricks.This is the emperor going to court in the real world. It is different from what we usually see in storytelling and TV series. So what is the effect of going to court like this?It means that the emperor split the information channels from various angles, which is to implement the principle we mentioned earlier, which is called listening to both sides and understanding.

Everyone didn't know who the emperor had picked up. How much did the emperor know about the mess he was doing?I have no idea how many emperor's spies and information sources are hidden around me.Yes, the imperial power was slowly consolidated in the process of splitting up information channels.Okay, having said all that, let’s pick up the microphone we dropped earlier. Why does this emperor use eunuchs?That's right, are eunuchs the emperor's last resort in breaking down all information channels in the world?

Our pursuit of a better life comes from the opening of every extraordinary door.Casarte, born for love, is the art of connecting homes.Okay, now we can finally answer the question left before, which is why the emperor knew that eunuchs might cause him trouble, but he still insisted on using eunuchs to spy on information?One of the answers is this. As the most trusted person of the emperor, eunuchs cannot provide comprehensive and complete information reports through formal channels, but the key information they provide at critical moments can help the emperor make key decisions.

This is a bit confusing to say, let me tell you a story.It is said that in the past few years, Emperor Zhenzong was not busy engaging in Shinto social activities and performing sacrifices every day, so he entrusted many small matters in the court to the Prime Minister King, who has full authority to handle them on your behalf.Because he thinks Wang Dai is a good person, and the person he personally promoted is selfless and trustworthy.But you must know that the emperor's trust in a minister is always dynamic and is fine-tuned bit by bit through subtle side observations.

There was such a thing. Once, Wang Dan recommended an official to Emperor Zhenzong. After reading it, the emperor thought, well, this person is pretty good and can be promoted.He even wrote down the official's name in his notebook and said, "Okay, if this official comes to the capital to report on his duties in the future, we will promote him."When this official came to the capital, Wang Dan discussed with his colleagues, saying that the emperor had said this, and we would make a plan for him to be promoted to an official. After we had made the decision, we would report it to him the next day.Something went wrong in the middle.This official didn't know what he was thinking, so he went to Wang Dai's house that night, which was his home to visit. Maybe it was out of etiquette, but in order to avoid suspicion, as soon as Wang Dai heard that this man was comingJust didn’t see it.

When he went to court the next day, Wang Dan reported the promotion of this official to Emperor Zhenzong.Zhenzong was uncharacteristically silent and didn't say anything, but he just didn't agree.After this bastard came home, he was thinking about it, and he was puzzled. Suddenly he slapped his thigh and suddenly realized it. At the same time, he was frightened.It must be that the official's visit to him last night was discovered by the spies sent by Emperor Zhenzong.I, hey, think about this, the spy sent by the emperor, he got just a little bit of information for the emperor.Nothing, just this official went to Wang Dai's house last night to visit him, but Wang Dai didn't see him. This little information was the official information channel of the imperial court and could not bring such a little information to the emperor.But if you think about it, if you think about it from the emperor's perspective, he can help the emperor make many important judgments.

First, Wang Dai is indeed good. He does not form cliques for personal gain. He has very strict requirements on himself in private and deserves to continue to be trusted.This is the first judgment, which is very important. The second judgment is that as soon as this official arrived in the capital and before he was promoted, he wanted to please Wang Dan. With this motive, his personal ethics were questionable.So regarding his promotion, well, let’s leave it at that.Third, a foreign official came to the capital to visit Prime Minister Wang Dan, which shows that the Prime Minister's prestige is increasing.It's a good idea to take this opportunity to crack the bastard's egg.This may be the expert activity of Song Zhenzong.So if Wang Dai realizes these meanings, should he be frightened and think about his suffering?If Wang Dai really met this official the day before, wow, then Emperor Zhenzong's trust in him would immediately be wiped out, and Wang Dan would definitely not be able to serve as prime minister for more than ten years in one go.

Just such a story, just such a small information variable is so critical.Yes, all the protagonists in this story are life-related.From the emperor's perspective, at critical moments, you still have to rely on the exclusive tools the emperor takes out of his pocket.So who do you think the spy at Wang Dai’s doorstep could be?There is a high probability that it must be an eunuch. Eunuchs are the most useful tools at this time. In fact, they are not just ancient emperors, right?If people today want to relieve themselves of the burden of information and make key judgments with a little bit of information, they have to use a similar method.What is the name of this method?It's called cross-validation. For example, I heard Teacher Wu Jun tell me that there is a well-known investor in Silicon Valley who has a very low investment error rate.There is a secret in it. Before he decides to invest in this company, in addition to doing a background check carefully like other investors, he will also do one more thing, that is, he will go there after 9 p.m.Go for a walk outside the company, go for a walk on site, especially to see how many cars are parked in their parking lot. In other words, are there still many people working in the building after 9 o'clock?So what problem do you think this reflects?Well, this can somewhat explain the current mental state of this company, so why does it do this?This approach actually changes another dimension. What is done to the public information?That word cross validation I mentioned earlier.

To give another example, there are many so-called alternative data companies, which do similar things. For example, they use satellites to collect parking lot data from some factories and large supermarkets, and use this dimensional data to cross-verify those public businesses.Data, look at a company's operating conditions, whether it is good or bad.Let me give another example from China. Everyone knows that Guangdong has a relatively large migrant population, but how many people are working in Guangdong at this moment?Is it the floating population?In fact, no one can explain it. As a result, some smart people have invented something called the Chili Pepper Index. Just by looking at the price of chili peppers on the market, you can tell whether there are more or fewer people coming to Guangdong to work recently. The reason behind this is unclear.Hard to understand, right?Because local Cantonese people don't like to eat chili peppers very much, and mainly outsiders come to eat them, so the rise and fall in chili pepper prices can basically reflect the proportion of the migrant population. You see, this is also an example of data cross-validation.

Okay, let’s go back and talk about history. An ancient Chinese emperor faced the world’s information as a solitary person and without cross-verification skills, he would definitely be fooled.Of course, we can take this topic one step further. Of course the emperor used this method, but things in the world are like this. Where there is escape, there is a spear.Those smart ministers used this mechanism to plot against the emperor.

Let me tell you a story and give an example of Song Zhenzong at this time. The Wang Qinruo we mentioned earlier was really a clever guy.Once he wanted to exclude an official, so he deliberately praised him in front of Emperor Zhenzong.Well, this person is great, he has the demeanor of an elder, he knows how to repay kindness, and he often wants to repay a former prime minister for his kindness.Good people, good people.You see, it sounds like a good thing, but it’s actually a trap.Because the former prime minister he just mentioned had a daughter who was a concubine of Zhenzong, and the official he mentioned once recommended this concubine to Zhenzong to be the queen.The emperor thought about it, good guy, it turns out that you are using the position of my queen to repay your kindness.

What's your character?So Emperor Zhenzong didn't say anything, but in his heart he treated this official like an emperor, right?This person may not have a chance in the future. You see, Wang Qinruo is using the emperor's information cross-validation mechanism. I will provide you with information from different dimensions. You emperor, you are smart, you can piece together a fact in your mind.And this fact is exactly what I want you to piece together. This is how the bad guys go down.

So if you look at the information game between the emperor and his ministers, it is true that the devil is one foot higher than the other, and the way is higher.Han Feizi once used the emperor's words to call this situation?It is called a hundred battles a day between superiors and subordinates. Superiors and subordinates are competing for information every day and fighting here. This is an eternal war.At the end of this episode, let’s talk about a person’s story. This person’s name is Li Shenyou, and he is a eunuch.If you really traveled back to 1013 AD, and you really met him in the court of the Song Dynasty, this Li Shenyou was already an old man, very old, and his position at that time was in charge of the imperial kitchen and dining room.Li Shen has a very cautious personality. He likes music, poetry, and reading.Yes, just such a harmless old eunuch who looks very gentle and has a very marginal status.But do you know who Li Shenyou was back then?Hehe, this is about the history of the founding of the Song Dynasty.It is said that the Song Dynasty was founded in 960 AD. Three years later, the war to unify the country started in 963 AD. The war itself went smoothly. After 965, Emperor Meng Chang of Shu surrendered, but Song Taizu did not expect to go to Sichuan.These soldiers were so shameless. They drank and grabbed money every day, harmed the people, and finally sparked a mutiny in Sichuan. It was difficult to deal with it.

What to do?Since then, a mysterious character has appeared in the army. Who is it?eunuch?Haha, eunuchs in the army are responsible for collecting intelligence, delivering information, supervising generals and appeasing newly conquered areas. To put it bluntly, they are the supervisors behind the army.He may not say anything to a group of eunuchs in the army, but they go to see and listen, and everyone knows that they are eunuchs, people sent by the emperor, but their existence alone can make those who are arrogantThe soldiers restrained themselves.Well, the old eunuch Li Shenyou we just mentioned was the first great eunuch sent to the army by Song Taizu. In 968 AD, he was among the troops that conquered the Northern Han Dynasty.In 970 AD, he was among the troops that attacked the Southern Han Dynasty.He was also among the troops that conquered the Southern Tang Dynasty in 975 AD.Haha, Li Shenyou's shadow can be found in almost all the military and political trends that followed.With him here, the emperor's eyes and ears provide disaster relief. With him here, the army will not dare to act recklessly, although he may not say much.

Li Chenyou died at the age of 66, which is estimated to be around 1013 AD.There are really many things that would be difficult to handle without Song Taizu in his life, hey.So how should we face such a eunuch’s back?How should we evaluate the emperor's appointment of eunuchs?As long as there is imperial power, and as long as power is concentrated in a solitary person, as the emperor himself, he will always face the challenge of how to break the prosecution of information.The existence of eunuchs is not only one of the solutions to the challenge, but it will also inevitably become a brand new challenge in itself.Hey, wait for the emperor to come up with a solution to the eunuch problem.In the long river of history, this story will continue.Okay, that's it for this year, see you next year, 1014 AD.