In the history of ancient Chinese feudal dynasties, under the authoritarian centralized system, many powerful ministers appeared. They did not have the name of emperor, but they had the reality of emperor.

Under their leadership, the history of the dynasties also moved towards different futures. For example, Yang Jian, a powerful official in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, relied on his extraordinary talents to successfully unify the world and change the pattern of national division.

However, the powerful officials in the Han Dynasty accelerated the country's demise, such as Liang Ji in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Similarly, in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the then general He Jin could be said to have overwhelming power in the world.

He only relied on his sister to gain power. He had no talent himself, but he was scolded by later generations as the cause of the chaos in the Eastern Han Dynasty. So what did He Jin do to cause chaos in the world and the collapse of the Eastern Han Dynasty?

1: Checks and balances of power, foreign relatives intervening in politics

1: The rise of powerful nobles and eunuchs

Understanding that He Jin had absolute power and brought the Eastern Han Dynasty into the abyss Before explaining the reasons, let us first understand the special political structure and phenomena of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

At the beginning of the establishment of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty Liu Xiu greatly rewarded meritorious ministers. Moreover, the reason why the Eastern Han Dynasty could be established was because of the strong support of local forces. Therefore, after the establishment of the Eastern Han Dynasty, .

Local powerful forces also grew bigger and stronger. According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty", "Emperor Guangwu was angry at the loss of power for several generations, and the angry ministers stole their lives and overcorrected. Although the Three Dukes were appointed, the affairs were returned to the Taige. "

This is the result of the powerful power. In order to check and balance the powerful landlords, the emperor also trusted his subordinates. Eunuchs, trying to form a balanced pattern.

2: Reuse of relatives to form a tripartite structure

The emperor later realized that the pattern of powerful landlords and eunuchs still threatened the stability of imperial power, so he consciously strengthened the influence of his relatives. Power, the phenomenon of relatives interfering in politics was also common in the Eastern Han Dynasty regime.

According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty", it is recorded that the Deng family, one of the six major families in the Eastern Han Dynasty, became a foreign relative: "In the first year of Yanping, he paid homage to the stallion chariot general and the three divisions of Yitong. The three divisions of Yitong began from Stallion."

It can be seen that the foreign relatives gradually entered the highest center of power.

Finally, the political power of the Eastern Han Dynasty showed a tripartite pattern of foreign relatives, local powerful people, and eunuchs. These three fought against each other and took turns in power, which became the most unique scene in the history of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

It was against this background that He Jin, as a foreign relative, was able to take charge of the highest power in the Eastern Han Dynasty and become a veritable powerful minister.

Two: The last relative of the Eastern Han Dynasty, He Jin brought chaos to the world

1: The elder brother was more powerful than the younger sister, and he was in charge of the Eastern Han Dynasty

Next, let’s talk about He Jin How he became a powerful official in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and how he dragged the Eastern Han Dynasty into the endless abyss step by step.

First of all, He Jin was originally a butcher in Nanyang. Later, his sister was recruited into the palace and gradually climbed up to the throne of the mother world. It is said that one person achieved enlightenment, chickens and dogs ascended to heaven.

As the queen's brother, He Jin was bound to enter the court and serve as an official, whether in accordance with past political practices or out of considerations of being like each other and helping each other.

According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty", "The half-brother was selected as a nobleman in Yeting. He was favored by Emperor Ling, became a doctor, and then moved to Hu Ben, a general, and became the prefect of Yingchuan. "After that, He Jin's official career was even smoother, and he gradually reached the pinnacle of power.

2: The Yellow Turban Uprising became successful and became a marquis for merit

At the same time that He Jin came into the sight of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, a massive peasant uprising broke out in the Eastern Han Dynasty? The Yellow Turbans The uprising broke out in all directions, and the flames of war continued.

He Jin was also appointed as a general in danger. Later, He Jin saw through the strategy of the Yellow Turban Army Ma Yiyuan and successfully won the imperial court's first victory. According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty", "Zhang Jiao's faction, Ma Yuanyi, plotted to rise in Luoyang, attack his traitors, and confer the title of Marquis Shen for his merits."

After being granted the title of Marquis, He Jin can be said to have reached a new climax in his life. Soon after, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty passed away, and He Jin, as a relative, was also entrusted with important responsibilities. He Jin's family became the most powerful person in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

3: Zhida Caishu was defeated and died, and the Eastern Han Dynasty overthrew.

After the death of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, a fierce battle began between He Jin, a relative, and the eunuch forces. Both sides attempted to seize the Eastern Han Dynasty. The supreme power is not willing to be subordinated to others.

As early as the period of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, the conflict between He Jin and the eunuchs had reached an irreconcilable point. According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty": "Although Shuo is good at fighting in the middle, he is still afraid of advancing, so he talked to the regular servants and told them that the emperor would send them to the west to attack Bianzhang and Han Sui."

After that, He Jin conspired to kill the eunuchs. Unexpectedly, the eunuchs used a trick to trick He into entering the palace, and took the opportunity to kill He Jin. This was the end of a generation of powerful officials. After He Jin's death, earth-shattering changes took place in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

The local powerful forces have ushered in an era of dominance, and the demise of the Eastern Han Dynasty can be said to be just around the corner. Looking at He Jin's life, his performance was mediocre. It can be said that he had great ambitions and little talent, and he did not do anything that brought disaster to the country and the people. So why do later generations say that He Jin was the person who brought trouble to the world?

Three: Why did the mediocre He Jin become the chief culprit in causing trouble to the world

1: He Jin broke the three-legged balance of the Eastern Han Dynasty

In China The most important thing in the way of ancient emperors was the way of balance. The emperors of the Eastern Han Dynasty were also well aware of this. After several generations of hard work, they finally formed a tripartite structure of eunuchs, relatives and powerful forces.

The emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, as the supreme arbiter, allowed the three to fight openly and secretly, but at the same time, he did not want a dominant family to exist.

According to the "Zi Zhi Tong Jian", it is recorded that Emperor He of the Han Dynasty killed Dou Xian, the powerful relative of Yan Ran Leshi: "When Xian, Du, and Jing came to the country, they were all forced to commit suicide. The clan, Guests and those who serve as officials under the constitution are exempted from returning to the county."

Most emperors of the Eastern Han Dynasty used this method to ensure the supremacy of the imperial power of the Eastern Han Dynasty and at the same time maintain the operation of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

However, He Jin was the one who broke the balance pattern that had lasted for hundreds of years. From the above description, it can be seen that He Jin and the eunuch forces had no dealings with him.

Waiting for He Jin to take power, he intended to drive out all the eunuch forces, but unexpectedly the eunuch forces took advantage of their plan and killed him in the palace. However, the final result of the incident was that both the relatives and the eunuch forces were destroyed.

According to the record in "The Book of Continuing the Later Han Dynasty": "The generals Wu Kuang and Zhang Zhang of Jinbuqu, who had always been close friends, heard that Jin had been killed outside and wanted to send troops into the palace. The palace was closed. Yuan Shu and Kuang "

In this palace coup, it was the local powerful forces who benefited from the dispute. From then on, the three pillars became a dominant one, and the world was in trouble. It also slowly kicked off.

2: Introducing Dong Zhuo to Beijing, the authority of the Han Dynasty was wiped out

After He Jin took power, in addition to destroying the three-legged balance of the Eastern Han Dynasty, he also did something outrageous. Just send someone to invite Dong Zhuo to Beijing.

After He Jin took full control of the government, in order to deal with the Shi Changshi and others in the deep palace, he invited powerful people from all over the country to send Dong Zhuo, Ding Yuan and others to Beijing to help He Jin pacify the eunuch forces.

According to the records in "Three Kingdoms": "After Emperor Ling died, he sent his troops to Luoyang. He planned with He Jin to kill the Huangmen and worship Jinwu." Little did he know that He Jin's move became the key to crushing the Eastern Han Dynasty. The last straw.

At that time, He Jin was defeated and died, and the eunuch forces in the palace were also killed by Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao and others. At that time, the center of the Eastern Han Dynasty could be said to be in a vacuum, and Dong Zhuo could be said to be a veritable careerist.

When he heard that both his relatives and the eunuchs were in danger, he quickly led his troops to Luoyang, took the opportunity to control the situation in Luoyang, and carried out the abolition and establishment of his own authority. This was also the case in the Eastern Han Dynasty. In a situation unprecedented in a century, local powerful factions control the central government.

According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty", it is recorded and evaluated Dong Zhuo's behavior: "The Han Dynasty was unlucky, the imperial program was out of control, and Dong Zhuo, a traitor, took advantage of provocations and indulged in harm, bringing disaster to the supreme leader and poisoning the common people.

The great fear is that the country will be lost and the world will be covered. "

It can be said that Dong Zhuo was the gravedigger of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and this was closely related to He Jin.

3: He Jin had an internal fight with the eunuchs, and the imperial power of the Eastern Han Dynasty lost an important support

In the three-legged structure of the Eastern Han Dynasty, relatives and eunuchs were naturally pro-emperor, because the power of eunuchs and relatives often came from the imperial power itself.

So this is the reason. The two major factions will naturally maintain the authority of the Eastern Han Dynasty emperor, but the local powerful forces are just the opposite. His power comes from his own accumulated strength and foundation, and he is naturally antagonistic to the central government.

Between the eunuchs and the central government. Under the joint suppression of the foreign relatives, the local powerful forces naturally did not dare to act rashly. This is an important reason why the Eastern Han Dynasty could not survive despite internal and external troubles.

But He Jin's stupidity to kill the eunuchs. This move not only broke the three-legged structure, but also greatly weakened the power of the emperor and the authority of the central government to some extent.

According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty": "The princes were ordered to use the emperor's power. The emperor was completely reduced to the puppet of the local princes. The absence of the emperor's authority was closely related to the destruction of the two major groups of eunuchs and relatives, and the initiator of all this It's He Jin.

Four: Conclusion

He Jin was mediocre, so he acted without vision, and ultimately indirectly became the initiator of trouble in the world. He not only destroyed the politics of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Balance, resulting in the rise of local tyrants.

At the same time, it also greatly consumed the emperor's strength, and eventually became the "simple commander". In addition, He Jin attracted local warlords to Beijing in order to kill the eunuchs. The royal family was disgraced and the local princes were divided, which was also the stain on his life.

References:

"The Book of the Later Han Dynasty"

"The Book of the Later Han Dynasty"

"Three Kingdoms"