The Jinyiwei is a spy organization set up by Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. They obey orders directly from the emperor and are not subject to transfer by anyone. The earliest origin is in the early 1360s. Zhu Yuanzhang was still in the era of the King of Wu, and earlier than the era of the King of Wu: Zhu Yu fought fiercely for several months in the famous Poyang Lake water battle without being injured and killed the enemy's leader Chen Youliang with an arrow, which is why he was a "pro-army" (The original name of Jinyiwei) He escorted and made meritorious deeds; he founded the personal guard capital and commanded the envoy named Lai Hanchen. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhu Yuanzhang was suspicious and worried that his ministers would be disloyal to him. Therefore, he was always wary and demanded that his ministers be absolutely obedient and loyal to him. He also wanted to treat him respectfully after leaving the court, so he tried to send four spies. Go out on patrol. This was the prototype of Jin Yiwei and the Ming Dynasty's spy agency.
Later, Zhu Yuanzhang used a close confidant called "Jianxiao", who was responsible for spying on the affairs of officials in Beijing. It was not until the fifteenth year of Hongwu (i.e. 1382) that Zhu Yuanzhang formally established the Jinyiwei organization. The first commander was Yang Xian (inspector), followed by Mao Xiang, Jiang Wei, and Jigang.
Before Zhu Yuanzhang died, the power of the Jinyiwei was greatly reduced because the Jinyiwei "illegally abused and killed many people". Later, after the Battle of Jingnan, Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, renewed and restored all the powers of Jinyiwei in order to suppress the dissatisfaction of his subjects against him. In the 13th year of Yongle's "Yongle Dadian", the chief executive Jie Jin was frozen to death by Ji Gang in the snow. Yuan Bin was awarded the title of Shangzhuguo, Commander-in-Chief of the Left Army, and was promoted to Guanglu Doctor. He was the most prominent commander. It was not until Li Zicheng's uprising and the destruction of the Ming Dynasty that the 262-year history of Jinyiwei could be said to have officially ended.
The Jinyiwei is the commander of the Jinyi army, the bodyguard organization of the emperor. It was formerly the Imperial Guards Division established by Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty. In order to monitor, investigate, and suppress the illegal behavior of officials, Emperor Taizu appointed trusted civil and military officials to serve as "inspectors" to "examine the injustice and lawlessness of officials in the large and small yamen in Beijing, and report all the rumors." In the second year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty ( In 1369), the Ouchi Pro-Army Governor's Office was established, and in the fifteenth year (1382), the Imperial Guard was established as a military institution for the emperor's bodyguards. In order to strengthen the centralized rule, Zhu Yuanzhang specially ordered him to take charge of the criminal prisons, gave him the power of inspection and arrest, and engaged in reconnaissance, arrest, and interrogation activities.
The military system in the early Ming Dynasty was relatively simple. Its basic units were "guards" and "stations". Each guard had about 5,000 regular sergeants. It had stations under it, which were divided into thousand-household stations and hundred-household stations. , there are 48 guard posts under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Guard in the capital. In the fifteenth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to reform the imperial guards and established twelve pro-military guards, the most important of which was the "Jinyi Guards".
A Jinyiwei official wearing a golden flying fish uniform and a Xiuchun sword. The leader of the Jinyiwei is called a commander (or a commander of colleagues, a commander of officials). It is usually held by the emperor's trusted generals, and rarely by eunuchs. . Its function is: "Directly control the guards, patrol and arrest." A single number basically divides the Jinyiwei into two completely different departments. The Imperial Guards, who were in charge of guarding the bodyguards, displaying the guard of honor, and accompanying the emperor on tours, were basically the same as the traditional Imperial Guards. The more famous among them was the "General of the Han Dynasty". Although these people are called "generals", they are actually only responsible for standing in the palace, delivering the emperor's orders, and also doing security work. To put it bluntly, they are just stakes in the palace hall. Of course, these "stakes" are not ordinary people. They are generally tall and powerful, with strong backs and strong waists. They are full of energy, have loud voices, and look quite majestic in appearance. They have a certain deterrent effect on those who do not know the details of the Ming Dynasty. . The generals of the Han Dynasty formed their own battalion in the Jinyi Guards, with about 1,500 people at the beginning. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, due to the expansion of the bureaucracy, the number of generals of the Han Dynasty also increased to more than 5,000.
Inspections and arrests are what distinguishes the Jinyi Guard from other imperial guards of other dynasties, and it is also the reason why it can be remembered by people. In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang's original intention of establishing the Jinyiwei was just to record the ceremonial guards. However, due to his wanton slaughter of heroes, he felt that the traditional judicial agencies, the Criminal Department, Dali Temple, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate were not comfortable to use, so he upgraded the functions of the Jinyiwei and made them It became the emperor's personal police. The Jinyiwei agencies responsible for investigating crimes are divided into two towns, the north and the south. Among them, the north town fusi was added in the 15th year of Hongwu to handle cases designated by the emperor. In the first year of Chenghua, the seal of Beisi was cast, and Bai Benwei was not required to be imprisoned in all prisons. The Beisi had its own prison (Edict Prison) and could arrest, torture, and execute on its own without going through the general judicial institutions. There are five guard posts under the North and South Town Fusi. Their commanders are called Qianhu, Baihu, Zongqi, Xiaoqi, and ordinary sergeants are called Xiaowei and Lishi. When the school captain and the strongman performed the task of catching thieves and raping, they were called "Tiqi". The number of Tiqi was at least 1,000 and at most as high as 60,000. The Jinyiwei Official School generally selects good citizens with strong military skills and no bad records from among the people, and then they are promoted step by step based on their abilities and qualifications. At the same time, the official position of Jinyiwei is also allowed to be hereditary.
The first two emperors of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, had high requirements for the maintenance of imperial power and the integrity of officials that other dynasties did not have due to the particularity of their origins. This allowed the Jinyiwei's "inspection and arrest" functions to expand indefinitely. Generally speaking, the work of Jinyiwei is limited to detecting various intelligence and handling cases assigned by the emperor. However, when an ambitious and cruel commander comes to power, he will use his position to spare no effort to create trouble, which can not only attack dissidents, but also It can be used as capital for your own promotion.
For example, Ji Gang during Chengzu's reign, Lu Gao during Yingzong's reign, Qian Ning during Wuzong's reign, etc. When they were in power, Tiqi came out from all directions, ranging from the prime ministers and vassal kings to the common people. They were all under their surveillance, and they were under their supervision. As long as his orders are violated even a little bit, families will be destroyed and people will be killed, and the whole country will be shrouded in an atmosphere of terror. The Fusi Prison in Beizhen was filled with all kinds of innocent people, and countless honest people died under the torture of Jin Yiwei. What is even more frightening is that this atmosphere of terror, unlike its short-term appearance during the Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian period, was almost continuous throughout the Ming Dynasty. This kind of uncontrolled arrests greatly affected the relationship between the emperor and the bureaucracy. , which caused the officials, people, army and emperor to alienate their moral integrity. No wonder some people said that the dynasty was not destroyed by rogue bandits, but by factory guards.
Another famous function of Jinyiwei is to "hold the imperial staff." The imperial rod was a form of torture used by emperors to teach disobedient scholar-bureaucrats, and it began in the Ming Dynasty. "History of the Ming Dynasty·Criminal Law Chronicles" calls it: "Ming Dynasty's own creation, not the ancient system." One sentence reveals the particularly authoritarian nature of the cruel government that ran through the Ming Dynasty. Once an unlucky official offended the emperor and was declared to be imprisoned, he would immediately be stripped of his official uniform, his hands tied behind his back, and taken to the Meridian Gate where the execution would take place. There, the ceremonial supervisor, the eunuch in charge, and the commander of the royal guards were all ready on the left and right. The victim was wrapped in a big cloth, and with the word "beat", sticks fell like raindrops on his thighs and buttocks. The executioners are the Jinyiwei captains. They have received strict training and are skilled in skills. They can accurately control the life and death of the victim based on the hints of the ceremony eunuch and the Jinyiwei commander. If the feet of the two people are spread out like a figure eight, it means that the person under the staff can survive; on the contrary, if the toes are drawn inward, the person under the staff will have no choice but to die. After the stick is used, the four corners of the cloth wrapped around the victim must be lifted up and then dropped heavily. At this time, even if the person in the cloth is not dead, half of his life is gone. The punishment of the imperial rod was extremely harmful to the body and soul of the scholar-bureaucrats, but the emperor of the Ming Dynasty never tired of it, and the generals of the imperial guard also had a special liking for it.
Looking at the Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty, there were not only relatively upright commanders like Yuan Bin and Mou Bin, but also lackeys and cruel officials like Ma Shun and Ji Gang. There were outstanding intelligence operations against the Wanli Sino-Japanese War and instigating rebellion against the Mongolian nobles. There were also despicable acts of relying on Dongchang and killing loyal ministers. But in general, its main function was to monitor the Ming Dynasty emperor. Its positive role was to punish corruption among the scholar-bureaucrats and prevent possible rebellions. It also shouldered a considerable part of national defense and intelligence work. The emperor of the Ming Dynasty had such an efficient tool as the Jin Yiwei to supervise the literati class, and the criminal activities of civil and military officials became more convenient, which also made lawless people and civil servant groups more fearful. The Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty were basically the political struggle tools of the two major Tongzhi groups, civil servants and eunuchs, and their main roles always changed with changes in national policies. Although there are certain positive effects, there are also considerable negative effects.
When the Jinyiwei was established in the Ming Dynasty, it was a famous cruel policy. "History of the Ming Dynasty·Criminal Law Chronicles" clearly stated that it was close to the imperial edicts of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The so-called imperial edict mainly refers to cases where a high-ranking official at the level of Jiuqing or County Sheriff is guilty and requires the emperor to issue an edict before he can be imprisoned. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty fought against the Xiongnu for many years and dragged the country into a wartime system. He often used Legalist cruelty and harsh punishments. According to "Historical Records: Biography of Cruel Officials" and other articles, in his later years, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had as many as 26 prisons and imprisoned people. There were more than 100 high-ranking officials including county guards and jiuqing, and more than 100,000 people were implicated. However, in the Han Dynasty, this kind of cruel government was still only a relatively short-term phenomenon in the later years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. After understanding the nature of the imperial edict, it is easy to understand why Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, set up imperial guards. "History of the Ming Dynasty: Officials Five" says: "The royal guards are in charge of guarding, arresting, and prison matters. They are always under the supervision of the governor of the Qi Dynasty. The thieves are traitors, and they are prowling in the streets and ditches. They are secretly arrested and saved." Taizu of the Ming Dynasty was worried that he would be saved after his death. , the next generation emperor could not control the civil and military heroes, so he went to jail several times, used several excuses to kill and punish them, and almost wiped out all the civil and military heroes who assisted him in conquering the world. This type of case has a reason and no solid evidence. If it is left to the officials to handle it in accordance with the law, it may take a long time and the case may not even be finalized. Therefore, these cases were handed over to Jinyiwei as imperial edicts.
Looking at Jin Yiwei in this way, his nature is very clear. "Guards" are the emperor's personal soldiers; "prisoners" can break prisons themselves; and "secret arrest" also illustrates the nature of its secret service. During the imperial edicts of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, cases were still handled by court officials, but this was a policy error of harsh punishments. The imperial guards of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty aimed at eliminating meritorious officials, fabricated accusations, and put the innocent to death. "Youjie is cruel and cruel, and the harm is nothing more than this. In the time of Taizu, those who were arrested for serious crimes in the world were imprisoned in the capital, and there were many larger prisons. Most of them were punished by the envoys, and many were killed." "History of the Ming Dynasty·Criminal Law" "Zhi" said: "The case of Hu Weiyong and Lan Yu involved 40,000 people." This shows how cruel it is. The creation of figurines was the product of the emperor's excessive concern to safeguard imperial power and eradicate corruption, so its sequelae were particularly serious. Naturally, Taizu of the Ming Dynasty himself knew that such cruel policies could not be normal. Therefore, after the Lan Yu case, that is, after most of the heroes had been killed, in the twenty-sixth year of Hongwu (1393), he issued an "edict." No one in the inner and outer prisons can go to the Royal Guards, the Great and the Great Xianjing Dharma Administrators."
However, the bad governance caused by the bad intentions at the time of the creation of the terracotta warriors was difficult to eradicate. When his son Zhu Di, King of Yan, took advantage of the special opportunity that all the civil and military heroes in the capital had been killed and severely weakened, he raised an army to seize Jian, the direct grandson of Ming Taizu. Emperor Wen's throne was for Ming Chengzu, which inevitably required the massacre of upright bureaucrats who were loyal to Emperor Jianwen, but this required a secret service agency. Therefore, in the hands of Ming Chengzu, the imperial guards were once again splendid. In the early Ming Dynasty, Jin Yiwei was reused in the two generations. Later, in the Ming Dynasty, this shortcoming was difficult to get rid of.
Looking at the Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty, there were not only relatively upright commanders like Yuan Bin and Mou Bin, but also lackeys and cruel officials like Ma Shun and Ji Gang. There were outstanding intelligence operations against the Wanli Sino-Japanese War and instigating rebellion against the Mongolian nobles. There were also despicable acts of relying on Dongchang and killing loyal ministers. But in general, its main function was to monitor the Ming Dynasty emperor. Its positive role was to punish the erratic behavior of the scholar-bureaucrats and prevent possible rebellions. It also shouldered a considerable part of national defense and intelligence work. The emperor of the Ming Dynasty had such a bloody ruling tool as the Jin Yiwei, and it became more convenient to supervise the behavior of the scholar-bureaucrat class. The Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty were basically the political struggle tools of the two major political groups, civil servants and eunuchs. Although there are some positive effects, there are even greater negative effects.
Looking at Jin Yiwei in this way, his nature is very clear. "Guards" are the emperor's personal soldiers; "prisoners" can break prisons themselves; and "secret arrest" also illustrates the nature of its secret service. During the imperial edicts of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, cases were still handled by court officials, but this was a policy error of harsh punishments. The imperial guards of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty aimed at eliminating meritorious officials, fabricated accusations, and put the innocent to death. "Youjie is cruel and cruel, and the harm is nothing more than this. In the time of Taizu, those who were caught with serious crimes in the world were imprisoned in the capital, and there were many larger prisons. Many of them were punished by the envoys, and many were killed." "History of the Ming Dynasty·Criminal Law" "Zhi" said: "The case of Hu Weiyong and Lan Yu involved 40,000 people." This shows how cruel it is. The creation of figurines was the product of the emperor's excessive concern to safeguard imperial power and eradicate corruption, so its sequelae were particularly serious. Naturally, Taizu of the Ming Dynasty himself knew that such cruel policies could not be normal. Therefore, after the Lan Yu case, that is, after most of the heroes were killed, in the twenty-sixth year of Hongwu (1393), he issued an "edict" No one in the inner and outer prisons can go to the Royal Guards, the Great and the Great Xianjing Dharma Administrators." However, the bad governance caused by the bad intentions at the time of the creation of the terracotta warriors was difficult to eradicate. When his son Zhu Di, King of Yan, took advantage of the special opportunity that all the civil and military heroes in the capital had been killed and severely weakened, he raised an army to seize Jian, the direct grandson of Ming Taizu. Emperor Wen's throne was for Ming Chengzu, which inevitably required the massacre of upright bureaucrats who were loyal to Emperor Jianwen, but this required a secret service agency. Therefore, in the hands of Ming Chengzu, the imperial guards were once again splendid. In the early Ming Dynasty, Jin Yiwei was reused in the two generations. Later, in the Ming Dynasty, this shortcoming was difficult to get rid of.
Organization
The Jinyiwei officials have one commander, the third rank, two colleagues, the third rank, two ministers, the fourth rank, two governors, the fifth rank, and the tenth rank. There are fourteen people from four thousand households, five ranks, with generals, warriors, and captains under them. They are responsible for external affairs (missing two words, private counselors know something, see Korean records), school orders, and are proficient in many languages. The translation (such as Zhang Miaozheng of the Xianzong Dynasty) has a court and a prison. Among them, the secretary of experience moves in and out, the secretary of the town and the governor of Benwei Xingming, and the military craftsman are also in charge, which is the "edict prison". The Jinyiwei were the emperor's minions on weekdays, but when they suppressed his subordinates, they organized prisons, arrested people, interrogated and executed them.
The Jinyiwei secret service of the Ming Dynasty had branches all over the country except Beijing. For example, Jinyiwei Bridge Street and the former Jinyiwei Bridge in Hebei District, Tianjin City were the original locations of these secret service agencies. The secret service agencies of the Ming Dynasty can be divided into three parts: those stationed in various places, those stationed in the capital, and those temporarily dispatched abroad. Among these three departments, the ones stationed in various places are the most numerous. They were established when Zhu Di was the founder of the Ming Dynasty. Later, they were established in all provinces and important towns across the country. Their mission was actually to spy on the local officials, soldiers and people for the emperor, and secretly investigate the movements of the soldiers and people. Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, moved the capital to Beijing in the 15th year of Yongle. Before moving the capital, he first sent the "Jinyiwei", the personal guard responsible for the emperor's defense, to Tianjin Guards. The Jinyiwei Command Office was established in front of the original command office of the three guards. The location is now where it is now. Near Jinyiweiqiao Street, he is responsible for secretly monitoring the military and civilian developments in Beijing and Tianjin. (After the Tianjin Guard was established in 1404, since Tianjin had not yet built a city, the official office of the Tianjin Guard Commander was located near the Wanghai Tower of Shizilin Bridge today; after the city was built, the Guard Commander’s office moved into the city, and the original guard office was Vacant.
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