The changes in the military leadership system of the Song Dynasty were the main reason why eunuchs were able to lead troops. The monarchs of the early Song Dynasty learned from the historical lessons of the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties when generals led the army and supported the rebellion, and adopted a military leadership system in which civilian officials led the army. Due to the ancestral motto of Song Taizu "not to use southerners as prime ministers and not to use ministers to control the army", eunuchs in the early Northern Song Dynasty mainly served as army supervisors and were responsible for spying on the activities of the commander-in-chief. By the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, the indecisiveness and cowardice of civil servants had seriously affected the army's combat effectiveness. For example, Chen Zhizhong, a civil servant in Renzong of the Song Dynasty, was the privy envoy. When faced with Yuan Hao's rebellion against the Song Dynasty, he was at a loss. "The emperor asked for advice and could not be right." The monarchs of the Song Dynasty were unwilling to use military generals to command their troops, so they began to play the role of eunuchs in commanding the army. During the Shenzong Dynasty of the Northern Song Dynasty, eunuchs began to come to the front and directly participate in military command. In the late Northern Song Dynasty, in addition to Tong Guan, who was in charge of the military and administration of the country, there were many eunuchs who controlled the army. Song Huizong's favor is the most important guarantee for Tong Guan's development. Tong Guan was charming by nature, and after entering the palace, he was favored by Huizong because of his ability to figure out the emperor's wishes. Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty set up the Mingjin Bureau in Hangzhou to collect antiques, calligraphy and paintings, and put Tong Guan in charge of it. He searched hard and seized a large number of treasures, calligraphy and paintings, thereby winning the favor of Song Huizong; he also made friends with concubines in the inner court and recruited hundreds of court officials. Officials and concubines who were friends with Tong Guan always defended themselves in front of Huizong. His praise of virtue made Tong's status more stable. The collusion between Tong Guan and Cai Jing in the Song Jiang Fangla Uprising, both internally and externally, was also an important condition for its development. When Tong Guan was in charge of the Ming Dynasty Bureau in Hangzhou, he made friends with Cai Jing, who was good at calligraphy. Cai Jing's works continued to flow into the palace through Tong Guan, and he was highly appreciated by Song Huizong. Cai Jing was later re-employed, Tong Guan put in a lot of effort, and the relationship between the two became increasingly close. The two men colluded to exploit and oppress the people, causing public resentment and they were called the leaders of the "Six Thieves". A folk song from the Song Dynasty said: "If you break the tube (boy) and throw the vegetables (cai), it will be a good world on earth." This reflects the people's hatred of these two people. Furthermore, Tong Guan did accumulate a certain amount of military merit capital. In 1102, after Cai Jing became prime minister, he strongly advocated the capture of Qingtang (Xining, Qinghai), and recommended Tong Guan to serve as the supervisor. This expedition achieved a great victory, and Tong Guan was promoted to the envoy of Jingfu Palace and the observation envoy of Xiangzhou. After that, the Tong family went on to conquer the Qingqiang and other tribes, all of which had military exploits, so their official positions rose steadily. Tong Guan was on the front line of the battle against Xia in the northwest, hiding the news of his defeat and the death of his soldiers. He only took credit for his merits. He was finally promoted to the third division of Kaifu Yitong, which he had longed for, signed a letter to the Privy Council, and became the supreme commander of the country's army. After that, Tong Guan led the troops to brutally suppress the Fangla uprising and took back the Yanyun land. In fact, they had to pay a huge price in exchange for six empty cities, and they had to pay one million yuan in taxes to the Jin Dynasty every year. Tong Guan shamelessly came forward to claim credit, and was even named the Prince of Guangyang County. Through various efforts, Tong Guan, the great eunuch, finally became the highest military commander of the Song Dynasty, which was unique in the history of the Song Dynasty. In 1126, the Jin army invaded the south. Tong Guan, who was on the front line of Taiyuan, was so frightened that he fled back to Tokyo in panic, regardless of the safety of the soldiers and civilians in the city. Later, he refused to accept the order of the newly elected Song Qinzong to command him to fight against the Jin. He was eventually defeated by Song Qinzong. He was sentenced to death for the "Ten Major Crimes". Tong Guan, the great eunuch, had controlled the military power in the northwest and the country for twenty years, causing irreparable shortcomings to the Song Dynasty's military, and he had an unshirkable responsibility for the eventual collapse of the Northern Song Dynasty. There were many types of eunuchs in the Song Dynasty. Let’s look at “Eunuch Si Tian” first. "History of the Song Dynasty" records: The Taishi Bureau is Si Tianjian, with a chief eunuch and a third rank. "Water Margin" also records: "Recently, Pu Wenying, the eunuch of Sitian, said: Looking at the sky at night, there are countless Gang stars entering the field of Wudi." In fact, during the Song Dynasty, Sitianjian was set up to observe astronomy, predict good and bad luck, and make inscriptions. Set the time, pre-create the new calendar, select the auspicious days of the zodiac, etc. The highest official of this organization is Si Tianjian, a third-grade official, who can also be called Si Tianjian eunuch. Here, "big supervisor" and "eunuch" are used interchangeably. "Water Margin" here is undoubtedly the official name of this dynasty used by the Song people. Look at "The Arms Eunuch" again. "History of the Song Dynasty" records that in the late Southern Song Dynasty, the royal family official Zhao Shishang fought against the Yuan army and supported the people in the war of resistance, and was promoted to the eunuch of Baozhang Pavilion. In the Song Dynasty, there was an Ordnance Supervision, which was an institution in charge of the manufacture and storage of weapons. The Ordnance Supervision had specialized officials such as Jian, Shao Jian, Cheng, and Chief Secretary. The Ordnance Superintendent is the highest officer and is of the sixth rank. He is also called the Ordnance Superintendent and the Ordnance Eunuch. In fact, in the Song Dynasty, in addition to the central officials of Guozijian and Dushui Supervisor, the rest of the top officials of Sitianjian, Jiangzuojian, Shaofujian, Military Instruments Supervisor, and Secretary Supervisor could all be called "big eunuchs" or "eunuchs" ". Finally, let’s take a look at the “female officials and eunuchs” in the palace.
The "Neiguan" in the "Jiu Ji of Officials" written by Sun Fengji of the Southern Song Dynasty records: Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty established the palace and eunuchs, and took charge of internal matters. The "eunuch" here is the female official of the harem. She and the female official "Shang Gong" jointly manage the internal affairs, and the two are known as "Shang Shu". The female eunuchs of the Song Dynasty and the male eunuchs who served in the palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties were similar in terms of duties, but they were quite different in terms of gender.