It was another new day, another morning court session. Zhu Xiong Ying had grown accustomed to this work pattern and this lifestyle. Maintaining her taciturn nature, Zhu Xiong Ying simply listened quietly, rarely offering her own opinions.
Just as the morning court session was proceeding smoothly, Zhuo Jing, standing at the end of the civil officials' line, became increasingly nervous; it was time for him to step in.
Finally, the topic had come to an end, and Zhuo Jing stepped forward with a memorial in his hand, saying, "Your subject has a memorial to present!"
Old Zhu glanced at Zhu Xiong Ying, and Zhu Xiong Ying also turned to look at Old Zhu. Following procedure, they said, "Granted."
Zhuo Jing immediately knelt down, raising the memorial with both hands, "Your subject requests that the Embroidered Uniform Guard be abolished!"
This caused an uproar in the court. The Embroidered Uniform Guard was notorious, and the civil and military officials were terrified of them. Now, someone was actually unafraid of death. Even though Zhuo Jing was a member of the Crown Prince's faction, that was no reason for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to show him mercy.
Now, to directly impeach the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the imperial court is to put the conflict in the open, and it's a fight to the death!
At this moment, Zheng Yi, the elderly Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, also stepped forward and said, "I second your opinion! The Embroidered Uniform Guard has committed many illegal acts and acted recklessly. In recent years, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has fabricated charges, acted recklessly, and committed acts of corruption and perversion of justice."
The civil and military officials truly loathed the Embroidered Uniform Guard. They understood perfectly well that the Embroidered Uniform Guard's power and arrogance stemmed from the special privileges granted to them by the emperor. Now, with an opportunity to suppress and restrain the Embroidered Uniform Guard, many officials saw it as a chance to exert their influence.
At this moment, Lan Yu became displeased. "Your Majesty," he said, "I believe the Embroidered Uniform Guard should not be abolished! Anyone who has this idea should be killed!"
Zhu Xiong Ying initially thought Lan Yu was fairly 'clever,' but he realized he'd been too hasty. Lan Yu was rather arrogant and overbearing. Most importantly, his political awareness wasn't high.
Old Zhu, with a stern face, asked, "Why?"
Lan Yu immediately replied, "Your Majesty, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has always served at your side, awaiting your orders. Most are men of imposing stature and great strength. Furthermore, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has infiltrated deep into the countryside and foreign lands, gathering a great deal of intelligence. Your Highness, the Embroidered Uniform Guard is the eyes and ears of the Ming Dynasty..."
Ren Hengtai immediately stepped forward and said excitedly, "Duke Liang, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has a long history of merit. However, in recent years, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has acted erratically, not to mention their surveillance of officials. In recent years, they have also used torture to extract confessions, resulting in many implicated individuals. In the cases of Guo Heng, the Empty Seal, and Hu Weiyong, many Embroidered Uniform Guard officers were ordered to be active in the process, and Li Shanchang was also implicated."
Zhu Xiong Ying's face immediately turned cold, and Chang Mao, who had been silently observing, was furious, "You dog, you want to exonerate the traitor?!"
Seeing Ren Hengtai kicked to the ground by Chang Mao, Zhu Xiong Ying didn't know what to say. Ren Hengtai was stupid, and Zhu Xiong Ying's uncle was excessively reckless; neither of them were easy to deal with. This attempt to impeach the Embroidered Uniform Guard had likely failed to achieve its initial goal and had become a complete farce.
This was naturally a farce; ultimately, it was Chang Mao who made his move again, and now no one could talk about the Embroidered Uniform Guard anymore. Moreover, Chang Mao's label was rather intimidating, almost labeling Ren Hengtai as a traitor.
This is a bit of an exaggeration, and it's really not appropriate to continue discussing it now.
After the farcical morning court session ended, Zhu Xiong Ying felt extremely troubled; some things still needed to be put on hold.
Upon arriving at the Wenhua Hall, Zhu Xiong Ying immediately summoned Ren Hengtai and Zhuo Jing, the two main figures in the impeachment of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Zhuo Jing was relatively easy to deal with for the time being, but the main concern was Ren Hengtai. If he wasn't put on a firm footing, Ren Hengtai might back down.
After all, this has been implicated in the Hu Weiyong case, a crime punishable by confiscation of property and extermination of the entire family. If Ren Hengtai had overthought things, he might have genuinely wanted to protect himself and hide at this point, and wouldn't have had any intention of impeaching the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
The Crown Prince was kind and wise; he encouraged Ren Hengtai, which reassured him. There was no need to bother with an impudent scoundrel like the Duke of Zheng. Neither the Crown Prince nor the Emperor cared; it was best to just focus on doing his job well.
Minister of Justice An Tong was handling official business in his office when he suddenly received an imperial decree and immediately set off for the Wenhua Hall.
An Tong kept pondering the Crown Prince's thoughts. If he couldn't understand the Emperor's intentions, it would be difficult to climb to a higher position. Or rather, it would be quite challenging to secure the position of Minister of Justice. Moreover, he was now considered to be at the pinnacle of his position, and it was time to think about how to gracefully retire.
Serving as an official during the Hongwu reign was no easy feat; retiring unscathed and returning to one's hometown to live out one's remaining years was a luxury for many high-ranking officials.
The only options were either to be purged or to die in office – this was a characteristic of the Hongwu era, and it was also a source of great anxiety for many civil officials. They were reluctant to give up their power, yet they also longed for a life of comfort and a place in history.
The Ministry of Justice and the Embroidered Uniform Guard actually have some conflicting powers. The privileged Embroidered Uniform Guard has done many things that the Ministry of Justice should be doing over the years. An Tong would naturally be overjoyed if he could wrest some of the powers that the Ministry of Justice should rightfully possess from the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
So when the Crown Prince summoned him, An Tong kept complaining, talking about the illegal or outrageous acts of the Embroidered Uniform Guard over the years. This was not an accusation against the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but rather some of the facts.
For example, the current Embroidered Uniform Guard (Jinyiwei) is in charge of criminal justice and has the power to patrol and arrest. The infamous Zhaoyu Prison is the best proof of this; the Embroidered Uniform Guard's power is simply too great.
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