Chapter 1653: The Embroidered Uniform Guard Is Utterly Wicked!

The day after Wei Zhongxian's execution, the Forbidden City remained under tight guard, steeped in a somber, killing chill.

Luo Sigong and his son Luo Yangxing, following the Wenhua Hall administrative eunuch Wang Zuo (one of the eunuchs who had entered the palace with Zhu Youjian), passed through the East Glorious Gate into the Forbidden City and made their way toward Wenhua Hall. The closer they drew to Wenhua Hall, the more armored guards stood watch with weapons in hand. These armored men were no mere ceremonial Han generals for show, but old soldiers culled from the three Imperial Horse battalions, all of them frontier-army veterans, every one with a fierce gleam in his eyes. The Luo father and son both felt a little uneasy, but they still had to maintain the dignity of a military-merit house; they could not let these men frighten the color from their faces.

If they were afraid of a bunch of old soldiers from the Directorate of the Imperial Horses, how could they ever serve as commanders of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

So as Luo Yangxing walked, he thought to himself of his old ancestor Luo Yicheng — that old man had been fierce! A meritorious official who had followed the Founding Emperor in conquering the realm, he had won his post as Chiliarch of the Yanshan Central Guard by killing Tartars!

At the thought of his ancestor's ferocity in those days, Luo Yangxing's chest swelled, and his rather stern face filled with an imposing, dignified authority.

Father and son walked through the Forbidden City for a while and at last arrived outside Wenhua Hall. Here the guard was even stricter — not only old soldiers of the Directorate of the Imperial Horses, but also the personal guards Zhu Youjian had brought from the Prince of Xin's mansion.

The young eunuch named Wang Zuo stopped, turned back, and said to the Luo father and son, "Wait a moment, if you please. This slave will go in and announce you."

With that, he stepped into the courtyard where Wenhua Hall stood, while the Luo father and son waited outside.

The aging Luo Sigong cast a glance at his son, who was in his thirties and full of vigor and ambition. He had to admit, this son of his was truly excellent — among the sons of military-merit families, he could be counted as outstanding. Not only was he skilled in both letters and arms, he also knew how to handle affairs and get along with people. Serving in the Embroidered Uniform Guard under the control of the Five Tigers who had attached themselves to Wei Zhongxian, he had managed to offend no one on any side — that trick of cutting tofu with a knife and leaving both sides smooth, no one could match him.

From within Wenhua Hall came a eunuch's rasping voice: "Summon Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince Luo Sigong and Left Commissioner-in-Chief of the Rear Chief Military Commission Luo Yangxing to the hall."

A eunuch guarding the gate of the Wenhua Hall courtyard immediately made a gesture of invitation to the Luo father and son: "Grand Tutor, Left Commissioner-in-Chief, please enter."

Luo Yangxing quickly produced a gate fee and quietly pressed it into the eunuch's hand. The eunuch accepted it, and his expression at once grew more animated. In a low voice he said, "His Majesty is in a good mood today."

"Many thanks." Luo Yangxing thanked him, then supported his aged father, and the two of them entered the Wenhua Hall courtyard together, then passed into the great hall.

Once inside Wenhua Hall, the father and son discovered that several Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat — Huang Liji, Shi Fenglai, Zhang Ruitu, Li Guo — and Zhang Weixian, Commander of the Capital Camps, were all present. Xu Yingyuan, Liu Ruoyu, and Li Chengyun of the Directorate of Ceremonial were also in the hall.

Clearly, a small court conference was being held in Wenhua Hall.

Because the realm was still in the period of imperial mourning, Zhu Youjian could not conveniently hold a grand court session, so he had sent word to the Grand Secretariat, the Directorate of Ceremonial, and the office of the Commander of the Capital Camps, summoning the Grand Secretaries, the brush-holding eunuchs, and the Commander to Wenhua Hall to discuss governance.

Father and son performed the full ceremony of subject to sovereign, then stood in the hall with hands lowered and shoulders dropped, the very picture of loyal, circumspect ministers.

But Zhu Youjian was not going to be fooled by their outward appearance — Luo Yangxing was no good thing! He had surrendered four times while holding the traitorous son's certificate of loyalty!

Of course, Zhu Youjian would not form a very bad opinion of Luo Yangxing merely because he had been a "four-time subject." What truly displeased Zhu Youjian greatly was that the Embroidered Uniform Guard, under Luo Yangxing's leadership, had been utterly useless for the dozen or so years before the calamity of the Jiashen year!

That was a vast establishment of over a hundred thousand men! Even if a good deal of the payroll had been embezzled, there should still have been tens of thousands. What had they all been doing?

They were the Embroidered Uniform Guard! They could not catch rebels, could not catch spies, and when they confiscated the property of corrupt officials, they even managed to make the confiscated property disappear!

What use was an Embroidered Uniform Guard like that? Moreover, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was the Emperor's own guard, and had always been maintained with funds from the inner treasury. That is to say, they ate at Chongzhen's expense and wore Chongzhen's clothes, were of no use at all, and on top of that had swindled Chongzhen no one knew how many times.

But after the traitorous son moved south, the size of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had been greatly reduced; at its smallest it numbered fewer than a thousand men, yet it accomplished many great things.

This showed that before the Jiashen year, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had far too many superfluous men, and far too few who actually did the work!

Tens of thousands of men drawing pay and doing nothing — oh, not doing proper work, but doing plenty of wicked deeds. That would not do!

At this thought, Zhu Youjian smiled and said, "Luo Sigong, Luo Yangxing, the several Grand Secretaries and Commander Zhang all say there are many bad men in the Embroidered Uniform Guard! You father and son have served in the Guard for decades and should know its inner workings. Tell me, in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, are there more good men or more bad men?"

What?

How could there be such a question?

Luo Sigong and Luo Yangxing, father and son, looked astonished, and in their hearts they roundly cursed the several Grand Secretaries and the Duke of Ying — surely these men had lodged a malicious complaint against the Embroidered Uniform Guard before the Emperor!

"Your Majesty, in recent years the Embroidered Uniform Guard has indeed done many deeds of aiding the tyrant, under the control of the wicked men known as the Five Tigers, the running dogs of the traitor Wei."

Luo Sigong did not dare say there were more good men in the Embroidered Uniform Guard!

The Embroidered Uniform Guard had been Wei Zhongxian's claws and teeth — would it be proper for there to be more good men? If there were more good men in the Guard, then they should have struggled against Wei Zhongxian long ago!

Of course, he could not say there were more bad men either. That would offend far too many people.

"Then there are more bad men?" Zhu Youjian asked with a smile.

"Your Majesty," Luo Yangxing hastened to explain, "the Embroidered Uniform Guard's duties are very broad. The Provost's office is only one of them. There are also ceremonial and escort functions. What the traitor Wei and his minions made use of was only the Northern Provost's Office."

Zhu Youjian asked again, "Indeed. The Embroidered Uniform Guard also has the duty of escort! But when the traitor Wei rose in rebellion, why did the Embroidered Uniform Guard not come to escort Us?"

At this, Luo Yangxing groaned inwardly. The Embroidered Uniform Guard's offices had all been occupied by the troops of the Directorate of the Imperial Horses — escort what, damn it? Orders could not even be issued!

Moreover, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was called the Imperial Guard, but in fact it had long since lost the function of an imperial guard; it did not have any standing force ready for use at any time. Even if the Guard's offices had not been occupied, no troops could have been mobilized.

Zhu Youjian looked at Luo Sigong and Luo Yangxing, father and son, and said slowly, "It seems the Embroidered Uniform Guard has been held by villains for too long, and is rotten through and through, from top to bottom! Luo Yangxing, if We make you its commander, how do you intend to reform the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Luo Yangxing said, "This subject will certainly root out the treacherous and wicked from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, replace the Southern and Northern Provosts with upright men, and from now on never allow the Guard's riders to bring harm upon the people."

Zhu Youjian thought to himself: The Embroidered Uniform Guard's Northern Provost's Office is the only part that can still give officials a good shaking and make them fear the Son of Heaven. If even that function is gone, what use is it?

The young Son of Heaven smiled coldly. "The Provost's Office should of course be reformed! But how many men does the Northern Provost's Office have? And of those, how many are actually Guard riders who handle cases? What are all the rest doing? And how do you intend to reform them?"

Weren't all the rest just idlers drawing pay? How could they not be reformed?

Luo Yangxing was dumbfounded. What medicine had this young Son of Heaven taken by mistake? How could he ask such a question?

Seeing that he could not answer, Zhu Youjian turned his gaze to Luo Sigong. "Grand Tutor, your son has not been in the Embroidered Uniform Guard long, and does not know what to do. Why don't you tell Us — all those men in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, what are they good for?"

"Your Majesty," Luo Sigong said, "the Embroidered Uniform Guard bears heavy responsibilities. It not only escorts the Son of Heaven, but also maintains public order. The Guard is stationed not only in Beijing, but in all thirteen provinces of the two capitals. They are the eyes and ears of the Son of Heaven. The realm under Heaven cannot go a single day without the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

"Oh," Zhu Youjian nodded lightly, as if accepting Luo Sigong's words. "In that case, it should be reformed all the more vigorously!" His gaze swept around the great hall, and he continued, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard is Our own guard, and the imperial palace is Our own household. If We cannot even set Our own guard and Our own household in order, how are We to govern the realm?

Therefore, what We intend to do in the next year or two is two household matters: first, to reform the inner court; second, to reform the Embroidered Uniform Guard!

Luo Yangxing, can you help Us reform the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

(End of Chapter)