Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 20: Establishment of the Imperial Guard

Cao Xiu's eyes widened.

Originally, the emperor's sudden statement that he wanted to demote himself to a commoner was enough to shock him, and he felt that Zhu Yuanzhang was going too far.

No matter how severe the punishment is, it will never be more severe than this.

But who could have imagined that this bastard Zhu Yuanzhang would actually deal such a fatal blow to himself!

How dare he?
His own mother saved his life!

If it weren’t for his mother, Zhu Yuanzhang, the cowherd, would have starved to death long ago!

And now, this bastard is so ungrateful that he wants to kill himself?!

"Are you...are you worthy of my mother?"

Boundless anger and grievances rolled in his heart. He strained his broken throat and tried his best to speak in a low voice with a changed tone.

After he finished speaking, he quickly passed away.

"Are you worthy of your mother?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes were full of coldness and disgust.

He stepped on Cao Xiu's shoulder and pulled out the sword.

He rubbed the sword back and forth on his body a few times, wiped off the blood, and put it back into the sheath.

Then he ordered people to come in, remove the mourning hall, clean up the bloodstains, and carry Cao Xiu's body towards the place where the soldiers of the imperial army were gathered...

……

The 3,600 men from the Royal Guard Commandery had gathered together and had been in formation for nearly half an hour.

Some people seemed impatient, but when they looked at the left commander Liu Ying standing motionless in the front, and thought about the strict military regulations set by the emperor, no one dared to move, let alone talk.

Most people are confused.

Because the Royal Guards' Duwei Mansion usually rotates on duty, they will not all be assembled except in extremely special circumstances.

Even when the house of Deqing Hou Liao Yongzhong was raided not long ago, only the people on duty were mobilized.

As a result, all the guards have now gathered.

The key point is that until now, we still don’t know the purpose of calling them here, and they are just waiting here. How can this not be tormenting?

Many people noticed that the Right Commandant Cao Xiu did not show up today, and the place where he should have stood was empty.

But no one thought much about it.

Cao Xiu is highly valued by Your Majesty. Since he has not arrived at this time, he must have been assigned another task.

Hu Shan, Zhu Xian, Mei Yi and other commanders of the imperial guards knew that Cao Xiu had been summoned by the emperor in advance.

Hu Weiyong's nephew Hu Shan and Zhu Liangzu's son Zhu Xian knew something.

I think it is probably related to the previous house search of Liao Yongzhong.

But even though I know it, there is nothing to worry about.

There was no other reason. They all knew that the emperor was more kind to Cao Xiu because of his mother.

Cao Xiu had made mistakes several times before, but his superiors never punished him.

This time, the most he did was to scold Cao Xiu a few words and that was it.

At most, I'll give you a few more whippings.

Apart from this, there will be no other punishment...

Just as everyone was speculating in different ways, the emperor arrived.

Everyone focused their thoughts.

Led by Liu Ying, they all saluted Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang accepted the salute and swept his eyes over everyone one by one. He did not make any other movements, but his gaze was already full of oppression.

Even their fathers did not dare to act rashly when facing this emperor who was about to conquer the world and fought his way to victory, let alone their descendants.

"Bring Cao Xiu here!"

After Zhu Yuanzhang asked everyone to finish their greetings, he spoke his first words.

Just this one sentence made everyone's heart skip a beat.

From the emperor's words, we can tell that Cao Xiu was definitely punished!

Moreover, they are not only punished in private, but also have to do something in public.

Otherwise, the emperor would not have said to bring Cao Xiu here.

The next moment, when they saw Cao Xiu being carried over, already lifeless, many people were shocked!
Some people even turned pale!
This scene was so unexpected and shocking!

It was beyond everyone's expectations!
Who could have thought that the emperor would suddenly take such a harsh approach to Cao Xiu!
It was not a scolding or a whipping, but a direct execution!

"Cao Xiu is the son of Godmother Wang. Godmother Wang was kind to me in the past, and I have always repaid her.

Otherwise, Cao Xiu would not have reached his current position.

But Cao Xiu repeatedly relied on his favor to become arrogant!

Made many mistakes.

As the Right Commandant of the Imperial Guards, you have committed many illegal acts and are not loyal to us!
Pretend to obey but secretly disobey!

You betrayed me on a crucial matter! You harbored evil intentions and attempted to kill a loyal and important official of our country!

We have to kill him!
Today I am telling you all, don’t be arrogant and act recklessly or do illegal things!
If loyalty is not absolute, it is absolutely disloyalty!" Zhu Yuanzhang faced the crowd with a solemn face and a stern voice.

Everyone in the Royal Guards Commandery was shocked by these words!
"The Imperial Guard Commander's Office has a heavy mission and a special status, and he is the person we trust the most.

As a result, Cao Xiu betrayed our trust!

It really hurts my heart!

And we also believe that Cao Xiu is not the only one like this!

There must be someone like Cao Xiu among you!"

These words were simply earth-shattering!

Many people were sweating profusely without realizing it!

For example, Zhu Xian and Hu Shan, whose positions are second only to the command of the captain.

What the emperor said is really scary!
They were all involved in the previous house raid on Liao Yongzhong.

Even the letter was burned by Hu Shan himself.

Now that Cao Xiu's body was right in front of them, they didn't think the emperor was joking. They were really afraid that the emperor would chop them to death in public the next moment!

"So, after some thought, we decided to restructure the Imperial Guard Commandant's Office!
Starting today, the Imperial Guard Commandery will be abolished and replaced by the Embroidered Uniform Guard!

Appoint Liu Ying as the commander of the Imperial Guards!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's words were earth-shattering!
Executing Cao Xiu was not enough, but he actually abolished the Royal Guard Commandery. Doesn't this mean that he and others have nowhere to go?
Zhu Yuanzhang did not tell anyone about this news in advance. Liu Ying received this appointment suddenly, but he did not react at all and accepted the order directly.

This is why Zhu Yuanzhang admired Liu Ying so much and let Liu Ying take charge of the Palace of the Imperial Guards and now the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Compared with Cao Xiu, Liu Ying was not smart enough, nor smooth enough, but there was one thing that Cao Xiu could not compare to.

That is Liu Ying's absolute loyalty!
I will carry out my instructions without any compromise.

This is what this position needs most.

In his previous life, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was established by him in the 15th year of Hongwu.

But now, on the second day of the eighth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang began to abolish the Royal Guard Commandery and set up the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

It is really uncomfortable to have disloyal people among these guards.

And his experience in the previous life also clearly told him how effective the Jinyiwei were!
This is an extremely sharp knife.

Since I am planning to kill the evil spirits next, it is necessary to forge the sharp blade of Jinyiwei first!

It just so happens that what the idiot Cao Xiu has done is a good opportunity.

In fact, before the Jinyiwei, there was an organization here that was similar to the Jinyiwei, responsible for collecting military intelligence and a series of other things. It was called the Jianxiu.

However, at the time of the founding of the country, many civil and military officials including Li Shanchang, Wang Guangyang, Liu Bowen, Hu Weiyong, and Song Lian jointly submitted a memorial to the emperor, citing many reasons such as the need for a new atmosphere in the founding of the country, and asked him to abolish it.

I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but the longer time went by, the more I felt that my decision was a bit too hasty.

But in his previous life, even though he felt it was hasty, he still hesitated for a while about whether to set up a similar organization. It was not until the 15th year of Hongwu that he finally made the decision to establish the Jinyiwei.

But now, Zhu Yuanzhang did not hesitate at all and directly set up the Jinyiwei.

When the ministers later learned what the Jinyiwei did, they would definitely be very resistant to it, and it would not be impossible for them to come up with a joint letter of opposition.

Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely determined about this: just oppose it!
I installed human cameras on them, they must be feeling uncomfortable all over.

But so what?

His experience in his previous life taught him that expecting many officials to be self-aware and not to commit corruption and abuse of power was even more difficult and unrealistic than expecting a sow to climb a tree.

No matter how much I tried to persuade her, even by peeling the daylily, it was of no use.

In that case, don’t blame me for bringing out the Jinyiwei and giving them some strength!
If kindness and education don’t work, then rely on fear to intimidate!

The Embroidered Uniform Guard is a knife, a knife that cannot be without even if it is not used!

Later in the Ming Dynasty, the East Factory and the West Factory emerged in the struggle between imperial power and official groups, forming the Factory and Guard System.

It is also a system that is very characteristic of the Ming Dynasty.

There were various reasons why the Ming Dynasty fell at the hands of Chongzhen, and we certainly cannot blame it all on Chongzhen alone.

But Chongzhen's many incredible actions that made people's brains hurt must have played a huge role in this.

For example, as soon as he became emperor, he immediately executed Wei Zhongxian under the instigation of many civil officials.

Killing Wei Zhongxian was nothing special.

But under the circumstances at the time, Chongzhen did not quickly come up with another convenient knife and use the factory guards and civil servants to compete and collect taxes.

Instead, they simply destroyed it altogether.

This action really made Zhu Yuanzhang want to curse.

After the abolition, the civil officials sang praises, as if without these things, the Ming Dynasty would immediately get better and all hidden dangers would be solved.

But the real result was that the emperor immediately could no longer collect taxes.

The previous Ming Dynasty had many problems.

But there is no doubt that Zhu Youjian's action was to step on the accelerator hard at the last moment, causing it to accelerate towards the abyss.

Even a skilled cook cannot cook without rice, and a poor couple will have many worries, let alone an imperial court that cannot collect taxes...

With a series of personal experiences and the experience of the Ming Dynasty, how could Zhu Yuanzhang possibly waver in setting up the Jinyiwei?

Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts raced as his gaze fell on Hu Shan, Hu Weiyong's nephew, who was in charge of the imperial army.

(End of this chapter)