Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 75: Malpractices of the Factory Guards, Spring Festival Travel Rush Stories [Seeking Follow-up Reading]

Liu Kuan said, "As Your Majesty guessed before, historically, the Jinyiwei was established by Your Majesty next year based on the Yiluansi."

"So initially, the Jinyiwei still mainly carried out the duties of the Yiluansi, and its official positions and structure were not much different from those of other imperial guards."

"But in fact, ever since the Hu Weiyong case, Your Majesty has used the Jinyiwei Zhenfu Division to be responsible for investigation, arrest, and interrogation."

"And over the next decade or so, the number of Jinyiwei will be greatly expanded. It seems that at its largest scale, it will have nineteen thousand households under its jurisdiction."

"At the same time, expand the Jinyiwei's espionage and investigative capabilities, making them your Majesty's eyes and ears, monitoring all civil and military officials."

"After Emperor Yongle ascended the throne, he seized the throne through the Jingnan Rebellion, which caused widespread public discontent. Furthermore, in order to track down the whereabouts of Emperor Jianwen, he further expanded the power of the Jinyiwei."

"Ji Gang, the then-commander of the Imperial Guard, became extremely powerful because of this. To eliminate dissidents, he framed several court officials, arrested them, and tortured them to death in the Imperial Guard prison."

"Later, they became even more rampant, recruiting followers, harboring fugitives, and secretly storing armor and weapons, plotting evil."

"In order to test Emperor Yongle, he even imitated Zhao Gao in a martial arts competition among the Jinyiwei, performing the trick of 'calling a deer a horse' and pretending to have hit the target when he missed."

"But his conspiracy was soon exposed, and he was executed by slow slicing, and his family was exiled to the frontier."

"Emperor Yongle felt that the Jinyiwei were too powerful and difficult to use, so he established the Dongjishichang and appointed a trusted eunuch to oversee its affairs."

"In addition to taking away some of the Jinyiwei's powers, the Dongchang also served as a watchdog. Furthermore, the commanders of the Dongchang were often high-ranking eunuchs favored by the emperor, so they naturally overpowered the Jinyiwei and even used them as their henchmen."

"Later, the emperor realized that the East Factory was too powerful to control, so he established the Western Investigation Factory and the Internal Affairs Director to control and monitor it."

"It was not until the Chenghua Emperor that the Ming Dynasty's imperial guards system matured and took shape. They became the emperor's eyes and ears, his henchmen, monitoring his ministers, investigating lawlessness, and apprehending corrupt officials."

"After the Tianqi reign, because the Imperial Guards were too deeply involved with Wei Zhongxian, Chongzhen, while overthrowing Wei Zhongxian, also severely damaged the Imperial Guards system, and even abolished it for a time."

"Although Chongzhen later realized the importance of the Imperial Household Department and restored it, for various reasons, the Imperial Household Department basically lost its previous capabilities and eventually perished along with the Ming Dynasty."

After listening to Liu Kuan's story about the past and present of the Jinyiwei and Dongchang, Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a moment.

After several breaths, he said quietly, "According to what you said, the Jinyiwei, the East Factory, the West Factory and other institutions can truly be described as a sharp blade in the hands of the emperor."

"Once mastered, it can monitor the lawlessness of officials, prevent corrupt officials from deceiving the emperor, and further consolidate the imperial power."

"After Chongzhen ascended the throne, he actually abolished the Imperial Guards. This was tantamount to abolishing his own spies and minions. No wonder he became the king who brought about the downfall of his country!"

Zhu Biao, standing beside him, frowned and said, "Father, I believe that although the Imperial Guards are powerful, they are a double-edged sword. Didn't Ji Gang and Wei Zhongxian become so powerful and even deceive the emperor because they controlled the Imperial Guards?"

"Later Ming emperors successively established the East Factory, the West Factory, and the Inner Factory, with layers of control, which shows how they were afraid of it."

"Therefore, I believe that if Your Majesty wishes to establish the Imperial Household Department, he must carefully consider it and ensure that the system is complete and under control before it can be implemented."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Liu Kuan and asked, "What will future generations think of the Imperial Household Department?"

Liu Kuan said: "In fact, secret agencies similar to the Imperial Guards, which act as the emperor's eyes and ears, have existed throughout the dynasties."

"It's said that the Qin Dynasty had the Black Ice Platform, and the Former Han Dynasty had the Embroidered Robe Envoy. The Later Han Dynasty, the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties were so chaotic that there were even more espionage and assassination agencies."

"The Tang Dynasty had the Li Jing Men and the Bad People, the Song Dynasty had the Imperial City Division, I don't know what such an organization was before the Yuan Dynasty, and the Qing Dynasty after the Ming Dynasty also had the Sticking Rod Department."

"Even in later generations, there were similar institutions. Of course, the most famous institutions throughout the dynasties were the Jinyiwei and Dongchang of the Ming Dynasty."

"In addition to 'The Blade of the Assassin,' there are many later film and television dramas based on the stories of the Imperial Household Department, which is evidence of this. However, if we talk about later evaluations, the Imperial Household Department of the Ming Dynasty probably received the most negative reviews."

The one with the most negative reviews?

Old Zhu and Little Zhu both frowned when they heard this.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked with dissatisfaction: "Why do you say that?"

Liu Kuan said, "Throughout the dynasties, similar spy agencies were mostly secretive, not even mentioned in history books. The people in charge of these agencies were never well-known officials, and they would never openly interfere in government affairs."

"Only the Ming Dynasty's imperial guards were managed by legitimate officials, and they appeared in many major events that influenced the course of the court."

"It wasn't secretive enough, so everyone knew about it. People inside and outside the company were on guard, and even officials and the people were openly hostile to it. This was the first thing the factory guards were criticized for."

"Secondly, whether it's the Embroidered Uniform Guard or the Eastern Depot, they all combine the power of espionage, surveillance, arrest, and torture."

"This can easily lead to false charges and wrongful convictions, and can also easily cause those in charge of the factory guards to lose themselves in power and become corrupt officials."

"The fact that many of the Ming Dynasty's chief officials in charge of the Imperial Household and the Imperial Guard met bad ends is a major proof of this. Among them were corrupt officials like Ji Gang, Wang Zhen, Liu Jin, and Wei Zhongxian, who also proved this."

"Third, although the factory guards' spying and surveillance capabilities are strong, they are almost never used for internal purposes, not external ones."

"Similar departments in later generations were actually divided into two categories: one was specifically responsible for gathering foreign and enemy intelligence; the other was responsible for dealing with spies from other countries, with the responsibility of protecting national security."

"As for monitoring officials' illegal activities, it's mainly due to departments like the Inspectorate. In other words, the Ming Dynasty's factory guards are almost misplaced."

At this point, Liu Kuan paused and said, "If Your Majesty wishes to establish a factory guard, I suggest you refer to the powerful nations of later times. You should only give the factory guards the power to spy and monitor, but not the power to arrest and torture."

"In addition, the internal and external investigation departments should be separated, and more emphasis should be placed on the external investigation department."

After Liu Kuan finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang was still thinking, so Zhu Biao said, "Father, I think the three shortcomings of the factory guards and the two suggestions raised by my sister-in-law are quite reasonable."

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at the two of them and said, "I understand... Let's go in and have dinner." After that, he went back to the main hall.

Liu Kuan couldn't figure out whether Zhu Yuanzhang had listened to his advice. He looked at Zhu Biao and saw that he also looked confused, so he had no choice but to follow him back into the hall.

Just then, the palace servants had already served the dishes, fruits, and drinks. After Liu Kuan sat down, he waited for Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma to say a few words before he started eating with everyone else.

Then Liu Kuan discovered that few people were talking at the banquet, and everyone seemed to be in a hurry and ate quite quickly.

Zhu Huilan smiled at Liu Kuan and pointed at the tablet computer beside him.

Liu Kuan then realized that everyone wanted to finish eating quickly so that they could watch the movie.

He smiled and ate faster.

In just two or three quarters of an hour, everyone participating in this "family dinner" had finished eating, and even the plates on the table were quickly removed by the palace servants.

Empress Ma smiled and said, "Kuan'er, everyone is waiting, let's play the movie."

"Yes."

Liu Kuan agreed and took the tablet computer to the small round table to play with it.

Zhu Yuanzhang's entire family quickly took their seats - the younger princes and princesses even squeezed on either side of Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma in order to have a better view of the movie.

Zhu Xiongying even took advantage of his young age and junior seniority to squeeze into Zhu Yuanzhang's arms.

Zhu Yunwen wanted to follow suit, but was stopped by Lu and made to stand behind him obediently.

Under everyone's gaze, Liu Kuan quickly opened the second movie on the tablet - "Lost on Journey".

When the movie just started, everyone was a little confused.

Whether it was the small boss holding a meeting, played by Xu, or the cattle farm workers collecting debts, played by Baoqiang, Zhu Yuanzhang and others were a little confused at first.

As for those funny remarks Xu made at the beginning criticizing the employees, they naturally didn't make anyone laugh.

The electric lights in the movie surprised the princes and princesses, but they kept their mouths shut for fear that it would affect their viewing experience.

Seeing this, Liu Kuan laughed and said, "This is a comedy, and the plot isn't that important. You can actually talk about it while watching. Just don't be too loud."

The others were delighted when they heard this - Chinese people like to talk and shout when watching a play, and it is really uncomfortable to hold it in.

So they all looked at Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Listen to Liu Kuan... Why is the beginning of this play so confusing? What is it about?"

Liu Kuan simply paused the video and said, "In later generations, the economy is prosperous, and transportation is convenient with trains, airplanes, cars, and other tools. Therefore, many people will go to cities thousands of miles away from their hometowns to work as hired laborers to earn money."

"During the Spring Festival, these migrant workers will return to their hometowns to reunite with their families."

"Because so many people travel by train and other means of transportation around the Spring Festival, it is called the Spring Festival travel rush."

"Even with the increased convenience of transportation in the future, the transportation industry will still be under great pressure during the Spring Festival travel rush, and accidents are inevitable, making it difficult for some people to return home."

"This play tells the story of a wealthy businessman and a poor, honest migrant worker who, by chance, embark on a journey back home together. They encounter all kinds of ridiculous accidents along the way, but ultimately succeed in returning home."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. "According to what you said, this play can give us a glimpse into the customs and folkways of later generations... But what is that airplane?"

Liu Kuan was about to explain, but then changed his mind and said, "Your Majesty, let's watch the show first. If you still don't understand after watching it, I will explain it to you. How about that?"

"According to your."

So under the expectant gaze of others, the movie continued to play.

Soon after seeing the scene of Xiao San and Xu shopping, the concubines and princesses immediately started to discuss in low voices.

"This woman is so shameless. Why is she hugging a man's arm in the street?"

"Could it be that the morals of later generations are even more open than those of the Hu Yuan Dynasty?"

"I don't know... maybe this is a prostitute?"

After just a few words, the topic changed again.

Because the plot reaches the point where the mistress lies about being pregnant.

Zhu Xuanle, relying on his good relationship with Zhu Huilan, approached Liu Kuan and asked, "Brother-in-law, why is this man unhappy when he heard that the woman is pregnant?"

Liu Kuan thought for a moment and said, "You can think of her as a mistress that a man keeps without telling his wife."

"So that's how it is?" Zhu Xuanle's eyes lit up, "Then this man must be afraid of his wife, or even a son-in-law!"

Liu Kuan smiled and didn't respond.

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(End of this chapter)