Chapter 3648: -(゜-゜) The Embroidered Uniform Guard Had Arrived, Too (1)
As for the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the History of Ming records the following:
At the beginning of the Ming dynasty, the Palace Guard Bureau was established, ranking seventh grade. It was in charge of the guards and belonged to the Commander-in-Chief's Office.
It was later changed to the Palace Guard Command, ranking third grade.
Soon afterward, it was renamed the Commandant's Office.
In the third year of Hongwu, it was changed to the Imperial Guards Command, overseeing the soldiers of the Left, Right, Center, Front, and Rear Guards, with the Ceremonial Guard Bureau placed under its jurisdiction.
In the fourth year, the Ceremonial Guard Bureau was set at fifth grade, with one director and two deputy directors. In the fifteenth year, the Ceremonial Guard Bureau was abolished and the Embroidered Uniform Guard was established in its place, ranking third grade.
And that was how the Embroidered Uniform Guard of the Great Ming dynasty came to be!
Under normal circumstances, unlike the eunuchs of the Eastern and Western Depot, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was generally staffed by military officers trusted by the emperor. Its main duties were "attending the imperial carriage, making arrests, and handling criminal cases," and it answered directly to the emperor.
Of course, that was only how things appeared on the surface.
In reality, the Embroidered Uniform Guard's jurisdiction was both broad and vaguely defined. Its duties included, but were not limited to, managing ceremonial processions, repairing the streets of the capital, clearing the city's waterways, and arresting all kinds of criminals.
At the same time, the Embroidered Uniform Guard oversaw such offices as the Northern and Southern Branches of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which administered the imperial prison, and the Records Office... Its organizational structure