Wang Zhen

Wang Zhen, a native of Yuzhou, entered the palace young, studied in the eunuch school and served Emperor Yingzong while he was heir, taking charge of the Directorate of Ceremonial at his accession. Held in check while Grand Empress Dowager Zhang lived, he dominated the court after her death in 1442; the Ming History (Ming shi) says he removed the founder's iron tablet forbidding eunuchs to meddle in government. When the Oirat leader Esen invaded in 1449, Wang overrode the ministers and urged the emperor to lead the army himself. The host reached Datong, turned back, changed route more than once and was surrounded at Tumu. The army collapsed, Yingzong was captured, and Wang died in the rout, by one account killed by the guard officer Fan Zhong. The Jingtai Emperor confiscated his wealth, reputedly more than sixty storehouses of gold and silver, and executed his kin, yet the restored Yingzong gave him a ritual burial and a shrine titled Manifest Loyalty.