Content warning. This episode contains references to torture and mutilation.

Welcome to true spies,, Brief Histories.

Season 2, Spy Cities.

Our cities are the arena in which the great game of espionage is played,

providing all manner of stage setting, from Grand Embassies to average-looking suburban homes.

In these bonus minisodes, we'll draw on the knowledge of our true spies

experts to enhance your understanding of the secret forces that have always operated in the

places we call home. I'm Joe Foley, series producer for true spies.

And this is a brief history of Beijing.

1626.

A sedan chair is carried through Beijing's sprawling avenues, flanked left and right by Imperial Guards.

Some onlookers get out of the way. Others prostrate themselves on the ground.

Anyone would be forgiven for thinking that this exalted personage is the emperor of China,

but he isn't.

Inside the sedan chair is Wei Zhong Shan.

He's a servant, a eunuch and a former gambling addict.

He's also the most powerful man in the country.

Even though he was still alive, temples were being built in his honour across China, and

his elite network of spies was tightening its grip on power in the forbidden city, Beijing's

heavily restricted imperial palace complex.

But within a year, Wei's body would be on display as a warning to any would-be usurpers. To understand his remarkable rise

and swift downfall, we need to know about the origins of the power he wielded. Wind the clock back

...