The days when I ransacked the house in Jinyiwei

The emperor had the Imperial Guards as his spies. As the Prime Minister, Yang Tinghe naturally had his own spies—the Criminal Department’s Supervision and Arrest Division. And among Jiang Bin’s followers were Yang Tinghe’s people.

Yang Tinghe was the first to know that Jiang Bin was planning a rebellion.

Yang Tinghe informed Zhang Yong of this matter, on the one hand to suppress the conspiracy of rebellion, and on the other hand he was using "suppressing the conspiracy of rebellion" as a pretext.

Yang Tinghe said: "Although Jiang Bin has been deprived of his military power, the commanders, assistant governors, and assistant officers of the twelve regiments are all his men. If we want to stop him from rebelling, there is only one way, and that is to disband the regiments."

Zhang Yong thought for a while and said, "You are right. If we want to prevent the 12th Battalion from mutinying and rebellion, the only way is to disband them once and for all."

Yang Tinghe added: "After the disbanding of the regiment, the palace garrison should be handed over to the Jinyiwei. The nine gate garrison should be handed over to the Wucheng Bingmasi."

Zhang Yong said, "Let Chang Feng be in charge of the Imperial Guard. His wife will be in charge of the Five Cities Military Division. They are loyal to the royal family, so there will be no mistakes."

Yang Tinghe said sternly, "It's understandable that Jinyiwei let Chang Feng take charge. But think about it, Eunuch Zhang, is it appropriate to entrust the imperial palace garrison and the nine gates garrison to a couple? When the emperor passed away, people's hearts were already unsettled, and the capital and the outside world were handed over to the Chang family, huh?"

Zhang Yong remained silent.

Yang Tinghe said, "Giving the internal and external garrison rights of the Imperial City and the Nine Gates to the Chang family is not a way to make use of the Chang family, but to harm the Chang family. Moreover, Madam Chang has just handed over the Five Cities Military Division. If you take control of it again, wouldn't that be like spitting out something and eating it back? It will not be good for Madam Chang's reputation as a heroine."

Zhang Yong smiled slyly: "Who do you plan to put in charge of the Five Cities Military Department? Your civil servants?"

Yang Tinghe said, "Since the Chenghua Dynasty, civil officials and eunuchs have always been natural enemies. You, Eunuch Zhang, are worried about giving the Wucheng Bingmasi to civil officials. I am also worried about giving it to eunuchs. I think we should not get involved in the Wucheng Bingmasi."

Yang Tinghe's attitude was beyond Zhang Yong's expectations. He thought Yang Tinghe wanted a civil official to take over the military command.

Zhang Yong asked: "Then who should take over the Wucheng Bingma Division?"

Yang Tinghe pretended to be in deep thought and said, "There are two kinds of people in the world who most hope that the Ming Dynasty will last long. One is the royal family, and the other is the hereditary nobles. As long as the Ming Dynasty exists, they will have a stable job. But the emperor has no heir, so after his death, it is natural to choose a successor from the Zhu royal family. It is really inappropriate for the royal family to take charge of the Nine Gates garrison!"

Zhang Yong had fallen into Yang Tinghe's trap: "Then we can only use hereditary nobles."

Yang Tinghe nodded: "Yes. But since the Tumu Incident, the hereditary nobles have started to live a life of luxury. They only know how to eat, drink and have fun. There are not many nobles in the capital who can take on important tasks."

Zhang Yong nodded in agreement: "Yes. There are only two people among the nobles who can be used. One is Xu Guangzuo, Duke of Dingguo, and the other is Guo Xun, Marquis of Wuding. Xu Guangzuo was born in the Jinyiwei, so it goes without saying that he is smart and capable. Guo Xun has followed the emperor in his conquests over the years and has made great military achievements."

Zhang Yong fell completely into the trap set by Yang Tinghe.

Yang Tinghe has just formed an alliance with Guo Xun!
Yang Tinghe said, "But I heard that Duke Dingguo Xu Guangzuo's health has not been very good recently. Since February this year, his diabetes has become incurable. His lower limbs are swollen and he needs someone to support him when he walks. I'm afraid he doesn't have the energy to take charge of the Nine Gates garrison when the emperor passes away."

Zhang Yong thought: The palace garrison was given to Chang Feng, which was foolproof. The nine-gate garrison was given to Guo Xun, and the civil officials could not intervene. He was not afraid that the civil officials would do something weird after the emperor passed away.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yong said, "Prime Minister Yang is indeed mature and wise in his state affairs. The Wucheng Military Command will be handed over to Wuding Marquis Guo Xun to take charge."

Yang Tinghe nodded: "Okay! I have other things to do, so I'll take my leave first. Please ask Eunuch Zhang to find Guo Xun and tell him the task."

Zhang Yong said: "This is a serious matter. I will meet Guo Xun tonight."

Yang Tinghe left Zhang Yong and went to Jinyiwei without stopping. The key to his plan tonight was to create a time difference. He took advantage of Zhang Yong's meeting with Guo Xun to set a trap for Chang Feng. In this troubled time, Chang Feng did not return to the mansion, but was on duty in the lobby of Jinyiwei, ready to summon 5,000 Jinyiwei comrades to deal with emergencies at any time.

Yang Tinghe rushed into the hall with an anxious expression: "My dear brother Chang, something big has happened! Jiang Bin is planning a rebellion!"

In addition to Chang Feng, there were also all the comrades in the Jinyiwei with the rank of centurion and above in the lobby.

Chang Feng said: "I heard about it too. I am discussing countermeasures with my brothers."

Yang Tinghe said: "The 12 regiments are nominally under the command of the Imperial Horse Administration, but in reality the Imperial Horse Administration has no control over them. The officers of each battalion are all from the Leopard House, and they only obey the orders of Jiang Bin! To crush Jiang Bin's conspiracy of rebellion, the only way is to disband the regiments!"

Chang Feng looked at Yang Tinghe suspiciously: "Are the four brave camps, four martial camps and four powerful camps all disbanded? You Jingwu can completely control the brave and courageous camps. He is the only son of You Tianjue, a famous general who fought against the Japanese invaders. He is loyal and reliable to the court."

Yang Tinghe smiled bitterly: "Disband the ten Jiang camps and keep the two Chang camps? How can we convince the people? I'm afraid someone in the court will say that the Chang family is suspected of treason!"

No matter what happens, the three words "need to convince the public" are the most important.

Yang Tinghe said, "I have discussed it with Eunuch Zhang. The palace garrison will be in charge of the Jinyiwei - your Lord Chang is in charge. The nine gates garrison will be in charge of Eunuch Zhang himself. With you two as the stabilizing force, the capital will be absolutely safe. There is no need for the Youjing Wude Ganyong and Guoyong camps at all."

Yang Tinghe lied. He had just agreed with Zhang Yong that the right to guard the Nine Gates would not be given to civil officials or eunuchs.

Chang Feng thought: The palace garrison is under my control, and the nine gate garrison is under Zhang Yong, which can be said to be foolproof. Nothing can go wrong in the city. The only place that threatens the country is the 12th Regiment Camp outside the city on the West Mountain.

Thinking of this, Chang Feng said, "Okay. Let's do as the Prime Minister said and disband the twelve battalions, including the two battalions controlled by You Jingwu."

Yang Tinghe said: "You know the soldiers in the regiment. If we tell them to disband, they might mutini. I have two things that can make them obey the order to disband."

Chang Feng asked: "Oh? Which two things?"

Yang Tinghe said, "One is pie. The other is a steel knife! The regiment now has 100,000 people. The Ministry of Revenue can take out 2 million taels of silver. Soldiers who obey orders and return to their hometowns will receive 20 taels of silver each. After returning home, they will be exempted from land tax for five years. The local government will allocate four mu of official land to each of them. All military officers above the ninth rank will be transferred to local guards and promoted one level! This is pie."

Chang Feng asked: "Where is the steel knife?"

Yang Tinghe said, "The steel knife is your Chang Feng! You are now in charge of 5,000 Jinyiwei soldiers, and you are also in charge of 3,000 Dongchang soldiers on behalf of Eunuch Zhang. You lead these 8,000 people out of the city and go to the regiment camps. First control the military commanders above the thousand households in each regiment camp. Then be responsible for disbanding the soldiers. The imperial guards are famous, and the military commanders of the Ming Dynasty are afraid of them. You will definitely succeed immediately."

Yang Tinghe paused, and then said, "I have reliable information. Jiang Bin has quietly left Beijing tonight and went to the regiment camp. You can also catch Jiang Bin, the culprit of the rebellion."

Jiang Bin has been very favored in recent years, second only to the emperor and above everyone else. Looking around the court and the country, perhaps only Chang Feng can suppress and catch him.

Crushing rebellion is the duty of the Jinyiwei. Chang Feng has no choice but to do it. So, Chang Feng made a mistake!

Chang Feng agreed immediately: "Okay! I will lead all the factory guards to the 12th Regiment Camp in Xishan immediately."

Chang Feng must take all his troops to Xishan. Eight thousand people are not enough to dismiss one hundred thousand people. Chang Feng had no choice but to go out with all his troops.

Everyone makes mistakes. Chang Feng has been walking on thin ice in the court for many years. This time, the situation was urgent, and he made a mistake - just like Zhang Yong, he fell into Yang Tinghe's trap. (End of this chapter)