"Six Thieves": Cai Jing, Wang Mian, Tong Guan, Liang Shicheng, Zhu Meng, Li Yan (Cai Jing and Tong Guan were the leading figures of the "Six Thieves" who were famous in the late Northern Song Dynasty)
Tong Guan is another type. According to historical records, this man was tall and muscular, with skin and bones as strong as iron, piercing eyes, dark complexion, and a beard on his forehead. At first glance, he looked very masculine and did not look like a castrated eunuch. This may be related to the fact that he did not purify himself until he was nearly 20 years old. It is said that Tong Guan was a man of measure, able to spread wealth, and was very generous with his money, much like those heroes of the same era in "Water Margin" who were generous and generous. However, he was very selective about the objects of his righteousness and wealth. Concubines, eunuchs, palace maids, Taoist priests who could get close to the royal family, close ministers of the emperor, etc., could get a lot of benefits from him from time to time. Therefore, the emperor often hears good things about him, which can be called rave reviews. More importantly, such a man with a masculine appearance has a well-behaved and attentive temperament. He has a strong insight into the emperor's psychology. He can often predict the emperor's interests and intentions in advance, so he rarely speaks or acts in a rude manner. This brings great joy. When Tong Guanjing entered the palace, he became an apprentice under Li Xian, a fellow eunuch and senior eunuch. This Li Xian was a famous eunuch from the Shenzong Dynasty. He had served as a military supervisor on the northwest border for many years and had considerable military exploits. Tong Guan attended private school for four years and gained some foundation in classical literature. Following Li Xian on the front lines, he also laid a foundation in military affairs. He was somewhat capable of both literary and military skills. In addition, he has traveled to the northwest ten times and has a good understanding of the local mountain and river conditions. This made him unusual among eunuchs. However, it seems that Li Xian did not have any special promotion and care for him, so Tong Guan has been in the palace for more than 20 years and has never been able to stand out. If someone with Zhao Ji's temperament had not become the emperor, or in other words, if Emperor Shenzong could have lived twenty more years, he might have died in obscurity in the palace. Judging from the time, Tong Guan was already forty-eight years old when Huizong succeeded Dabao. This age is when life experience, experience, and energy reach their peak. In the name of the imperial minister, Huizong sent him to Hangzhou to set up the Ming Jin Bureau to collect Wenwan calligraphy and paintings, which opened the way for him to rise for the first time. Generally speaking, the Inner Court Serving Officer is roughly equivalent to the director of the procurement and supply department of the imperial palace. It is not a high position, but it is a very lucrative job. Tong Guan was not satisfied with reaping benefits. His use of this opportunity was cunning and meaningful.
Cai Jing (1047～1126) was a powerful traitor in the late Northern Song Dynasty. Character length. A native of Xinghua Junxianyou (now part of Fujian). In the third year of Xining (1070), he passed the Jinshi title. He was first a local official and then a member of Zhongshushe. He changed the Longtuge waiting system and knew Kaifeng Prefecture. In the first year of Yuan Dynasty (1086), Sima Guang was appointed prime minister and ordered the abolition of the new law implemented by Wang Anshi. In accordance with the order, Cai Jing converted all the conscripts into sergeants in all counties under Kaifeng Prefecture within five days, and was praised by Sima Guang. In the first year of Shaosheng (1094), Zhe Zong was in charge of the government, and Cai Jing was appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of Quanhu, helping Prime Minister Zhang □ to implement the new law. When Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty Zhao Ji came to the throne, Cai Jing was impeached and removed from office, and he lived in Hangzhou. Song Huizong sent the eunuch Tong Guan to Hangzhou to visit and ask for calligraphy and painting skills. Cai Jing colluded with Tong Guan to use calligraphy and painting to reach the ban, and he was re-used. In the first year of Chongning (1102), he took the opportunity to crowd out the prime ministers Han Zhongyan and Zeng Bu, and became the right servant and minister (right minister), and later became the grand master. Cai Jing was good at flattering people. He served as prime minister four times and stayed in power for seventeen years. Together with the eunuchs Tong Guan, Yang Jian, Liang Shicheng, and Li Yan, and the powerful ministers Wang Fu, Gao Qiu, Zhu Meng, etc., he controlled the government and promoted "Feng, Heng, Yu, and Da" to Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, and exhausted all the wealth of the country to provide for him. squander. The Yingfeng Bureau and the Zaozuo Bureau were set up, and the Huashigang Campaign was launched; Yanfu Palace and Genyue were built at a cost of tens of thousands; the "Xicheng Farming Office" was set up to raid people's fields; in order to make up for the financial deficit, the salt law and tea law were changed, and the cast When it was ten pieces of money, public dissatisfaction boiled and the currency system was in chaos, which brought great disaster to the people of the Northern Song Dynasty. Cai Jing was one of the most corrupt and mediocre prime ministers in the Northern Song Dynasty. At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, Chen Dong, a student of Taipei University, wrote a letter calling Cai Jing, Tong Guan, Zhu Meng, Li Yan, Wang Fu and Liang Shi as the six thieves. Cai Jing was called "the leader of the six thieves". In the first year of Jingkang (1126), after Song Qinzong came to the throne, Cai Jing was demoted to Lingnan and died in Tanzhou (now Changsha, Hunan) on the way.