Chapter 6: Preparing to Take on an Embroidered Uniform Guard as a Follower

Back at Zhongcui Palace, Zhu Cilang prepared to make a major move against the Capital Camps in the coming days. He first had someone bring him the Capital Camps' records from the palace, wanting to familiarize himself with the situation there before acting.

As it turned out, Zhu Cilang discovered that Li Banghua, the Minister of War from a few years back, had once reorganized the Capital Camps — and the situation was even worse than he had imagined.

The Three Great Camps had over a hundred thousand men, half of them old and feeble, with only two or three hundred training each day. Some officers and eunuchs had their own household servants pose as able-bodied soldiers to draw pay every month. Corruption of every kind, padded rosters, phantom soldiers — it was beyond belief.

After Li Banghua's vigorous reorganization, he saved two hundred twenty thousand dan of grain every year, and morale had also improved somewhat.

But precisely because of Li Banghua's sweeping reforms, he had offended many people in the Capital Camps. Those who had lost out harbored a bone-deep hatred for him and spread all sorts of rumors and slander.

In the end, Li Banghua was pushed out through scheming and framed, transferred away, and before long the Capital Camps reverted to their old degenerate ways.

"This Li Banghua is quite a capable man. If I recall history correctly, wasn't he the one who advocated for the crown prince to go to Nanjing and serve as Regent?" Zhu Cilang stroked his chin, lost in thought, and began to take an interest in Li Banghua.

What Zhu Cilang did not know was that Li Banghua had already been pushed out by his rivals and had gone home to drink tea. He had been dismissed from office time and again, idling at home for over twenty years in total — his official career had been truly miserable.

"Xu Sheng, come with me to the Capital Camps' drill grounds for a look."

Zhu Cilang called out to Xu Sheng, planning to leave the palace. Now that he held the commission of Governor-General of the Capital Camps, he could freely pass through the palace gates.

"Young Master, please wait!" Wu Zhong came running over in a panic, holding an imperial edict in his hands.

"What's the matter?" Zhu Cilang asked suspiciously, taking the edict from Wu Zhong's hands.

Opening it and reading the contents, Zhu Cilang immediately flew into a rage. What was this all about? The Emperor himself had actually revoked the decree making him Governor-General of the Capital Camps — and changed it to overseeing the Yongwei Camp instead!

It had only been two days — how could it change so suddenly? What happened to an imperial word being as good as gold?!

"Young Master, when Han San delivered the edict, he secretly told me that His Majesty's decree was rejected by Guang Shiheng, the Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of War's Bureau of Military Appointments, on the grounds that Your Highness is young, and that holding military power would be too frivolous and improper." Wu Zhong said in a low voice.

Zhu Cilang's gaze grew colder and colder as he cursed: "A seventh-rank Supervising Secretary, not even worth one of the dogs in the Forbidden City, dares to exercise the power of sealing and rejecting to overturn His Majesty the Emperor's decree!"

"Who else submitted memorials in opposition?"

Wu Zhong, looking at the crown prince's furious face, quickly said: "The Duke of Cheng, Zhu Chunchen."

"So it was him. No wonder — he was just made Governor-General of the Capital Camps this year, and I squeezed him out of the position. He's afraid I'll smash his rice bowl and cut off his gravy train!" Zhu Cilang took a deep breath, slowly calming himself down.

Those two ungrateful wolves — truly birds of a feather flocking together.

The line of the Duke of Cheng — from the first Duke of Cheng, Zhu Neng, who earned the title through merit in the Jingnan Campaign, down to Zhu Chunchen — spanned twelve generations, all receiving imperial favor. The Chongzhen Emperor had even entrusted him with authority over the Capital Camps, showing how much trust he placed in him.

And what was the result? In history, the moment Li Zicheng entered the capital, he opened the gates and surrendered, even submitting a memorial urging Li Zicheng to take the throne and pledging his loyalty.

As for that Supervising Secretary Guang Shiheng — when Li Zicheng was about to reach the capital, Li Banghua and others urged the Chongzhen Emperor to move south. That bastard bit people in court like a dog, righteously opposing the southern move, even thumping his chest and swearing to live and die with the capital.

The moment Li Zicheng marched in, he immediately changed his tune to welcome his new master, licking boots from every possible angle.

"At least His Majesty fought to give me the Yongwei Camp — otherwise I'd truly be heartbroken." Zhu Cilang let out a long sigh. He had calculated everything except these outer court officials.

Though the Yongwei Camp had only five thousand men, it was better than nothing. Most importantly, Zhu Cilang could use the excuse of inspecting the troops to leave the palace whenever he wished.

Zhu Cilang thought to himself: "I need to plant my own people in the outer court, or it won't be easy to deal with those two treacherous ministers. Also, I need to find a chance to build an intelligence network — inside the palace, I might as well be blind and deaf.

If it weren't for the ten taels of silver I spent earlier, how would that little eunuch Han San have secretly passed word to me? I wouldn't even know who had stabbed me in the back!"

When it came to intelligence, of course the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were the most skilled. But after Chongzhen took the throne, under the persuasion of that crowd from the Donglin Faction, most of the Depot and Guard's functions had been abolished — including their intelligence systems.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard these days just carried Chongzhen's sedan chair and cleared the roads — a far cry from the fearsome Embroidered Uniform Guard of years past.

Zhu Cilang suddenly asked Xu Sheng beside him: "Xu Sheng, how long did you serve in the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

"In reply, Your Highness, after my father died in battle in Shandong, I received imperial favor and was appointed Centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. It has been four years now." Xu Sheng said respectfully.

Xu Sheng, twenty-five years old. In the fifth year of Chongzhen, his father Xu Congzhi, Governor of Shandong, died in battle during the Denglai Rebellion. The court issued a decree posthumously honoring Xu Congzhi as Minister of War, granting him sacrificial rites and burial, and appointing his son to hereditary service as a Centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, with a "Shrine of Loyal Martyr" established in his honor.

After Xu Sheng became a Centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he wanted to avenge his father. Later, learning that his enemies Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming had fled north by sea and surrendered to Hong Taiji, becoming traitors to the Han, he went to Liaodong and joined the border troops to fight the Jianzhou barbarians, accumulating military merit until he was promoted to Chiliarch.

He was later transferred back to the capital. Because of his tall, imposing build, he was assigned as a Grand Han General to guard the palace, and was selected by Zhu Cilang as his personal bodyguard.

Zhu Cilang continued: "So do you know anyone in the Embroidered Uniform Guard — someone who handles intelligence, for instance?"

Xu Sheng thought seriously for a moment, then said: "Yes!"

Zhu Cilang asked unhurriedly: "What office does he hold, and what sort of character is he?"

Xu Sheng replied: "In reply, Your Highness, his name is Li Tingbiao. He was the Provost of the Northern Town Prison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, specifically in charge of intelligence. Because he refused to submit to the eunuch Wei in those years, he was persecuted and locked up in the Imperial Prison. After the eunuch faction fell, although Director Cao rehabilitated him and he was released three years ago, he still has not been restored to his former post."

Zhu Cilang nodded. During the Tianqi era, there really weren't many in the Embroidered Uniform Guard who dared to draw a line against Wei Zhongxian. This Li Tingbiao was someone of substance.

But after being tormented in the Imperial Prison for so many years, who in the Embroidered Uniform Guard would dare let him be restored to his old post? Weren't they afraid he'd take revenge? Surely many people were putting obstacles in his way.

"How did you come to know him?" Zhu Cilang didn't understand. Xu Sheng had entered the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the fifth year of Chongzhen — the two should have had no connection whatsoever.

Xu Sheng looked a bit embarrassed and said: "When I first joined the Embroidered Uniform Guard, I had no good assignment, so I served at the Imperial Prison. At that time Li Tingbiao had not yet been released. I had exchanges with him, and after many conversations, I found him well-versed in intelligence matters and a decent person."

"Oh. Go find him in the next few days and tell him I wish to see him. We'll go out in plain clothes — don't have the attendants follow." Zhu Cilang decided to meet this Li Tingbiao.

"Yes!" Xu Sheng bowed in salute.

According to ancestral regulations, when the crown prince left the palace he needed a full ceremonial procession with canopies — not only a crowd of guards, but also palace attendants carrying sweets, drinking water, and even chamber pots. Quite the spectacle.

Since Zhu Cilang wanted to build an intelligence network, he naturally didn't want anyone to know. Only by traveling incognito could he conceal his whereabouts.