Wei Zhongxian is the most famous official in the history of China. With the popularity of the movie Embroidered Spring Knife 2, I believe many people have a certain understanding of Wei Zhongxian. He was known as the nine sons of the palace, but Wei Zhongxian collapsed only three months after he came to power in Chongzhen. At that time, how powerful was Chongzhen, who was 17 years old, to bring down such a eunuch who was out of power so quickly?
In fact, everyone should understand that in the Ming Dynasty, the eunuch's power was attached to the imperial power, and Wei Zhongxian was only the agent of the emperor. Of course, as an agent of imperial power, the emperor was not particularly concerned about this. After all, he can be loyal to himself. To put it bluntly, the emperor can only bite people who are not pleasing to the eye, but not the emperor. In history, eunuchs in the Tang Dynasty could depose emperors, such as Chou Shiliang, because they had mastered military power.
In fact, Wei Zhongxian's influence is also extremely powerful. He has many minions, including Cui Chengxiu, the minister of the Ministry of War, and Tian Ergeng, the commander of the Royal Guards. They are all his cronies, but without military power, everything is empty talk. You know, the Ming Dynasty, like the Song Dynasty, had strict restrictions on military power. There was a glass of wine in the Ming dynasty to release the relieving power. In the Song Dynasty, military power was completely separated from military power. Wei Zhongxian has no right to command the army. Although Cui Chengxiu is a minister of the Ministry of War, his power is limited. Even if Wei Zhongxian pulls up this group of people who intend to rebel, Sun Chengzong and Yuan Chonghuan, who are heavily armed in Liaodong, can immediately rescue the capital. Finally want to compare with them, led by Wei Zhongxian.
Another important reason is that Wei Zhongxian is not ready for rebellion, which is also reflected in the last paragraph of the film. He just wants Chongzhen to be a puppet emperor and continue to be in power behind the scenes. In fact, in order to show loyalty, Wei Zhongxian took a risky step, that is, let his cronies Cui Chengxiu be impeached by Yang Weiyuan, but to his surprise, Emperor Chongzhen directly ousted Cui Chengxiu.
Wei Zhongxian just woke up at this time. 17-year-old boy Chongzhen, hidden too deep. He is not as weak as he looks. He just kept acting in front of him, but it was too late. After that, Wei Zhongxian was helpless, and the forces originally attached to him turned around and walked back. Finally, Wei Zhongxian knew that his life was over and hanged himself.