Research On The Military Function Of The Royal Guards In The Ming Dynasty

In the 15 th year of Hongwu’s reign(1382),Zhu Yuanzhang,the Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty,absorbed the system of the Forbidden Army in previous dynasties,abolished the pro military Duwei Mansion and the Yiluan Division,and replaced them with the Royal Guards.Over the next two hundred years,the Royal Guards had a profound impact on the politics,economy,and military of the Ming Dynasty.The Royal Guards have always been one of the important issues that have attracted considerable attention in the academic community,and there have been many academic achievements related to it.Existing research has always focused on the judicial and supervisory fields of the Royal Guards,while research on their military functions is still lacking.The author finds that the Royal Guards not only have supervisory and judicial functions,but also undertake a large number of military tasks,with very critical military functions.Moreover,the military functions of the Royal Guards had an important impact on the military construction,the development and changes of military systems,and the victory and defeat of wars in the Ming Dynasty.Existing research has not focused much on this issue,but in-depth exploration of this military function is clearly necessary for us to fully understand the special institution of the Royal Guards.Moreover,clarifying the military functions of the Royal Guards is also beneficial to our in-depth understanding of the institutional history and legal construction of the Ming Dynasty.The full text is divided into six parts,with a brief introduction as follows:The first chapter briefly describes the sources of the military functions of the Royal Guards,mainly from three aspects: inheriting the imperial military system of previous dynasties,the military literacy of the Royal Guards’ military officers,and the personal character of the monarch.First,the rulers of the Ming Dynasty respectively borrowed the characteristics of the Shence Army of the Tang Dynasty,the Forbidden Army of the Northern Song Dynasty,and the Xixue Army of the Yuan Dynasty to endow the Royal Guards with important military functions.Secondly,in the early Ming Dynasty,Zhu Yuanzhang,the Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty,transferred a large number of military officials to the Royal Guards.After the Jingnan Battle,a number of Northern Army military officers also took up positions in the Royal Guards,strengthening the military character of the Royal Guards.Thirdly,the martial personality of Zhu Di,the Ming Chengzu,and Zhu Houzhao,the Ming Wuzong,played an important role in shaping and strengthening the military functions of the Royal Guards.The second chapter specifically analyzes the detailed situation of the Royal Guards going out for battle.The Royal Guards went out to fight in two stages: the early Ming Dynasty and the middle and late Ming Dynasty.At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty,the pressure on national defense was enormous,and there were frequent border wars.As an important central armed force,the Royal Guards undertake more tasks of external expedition.However,as time went on,the military literacy of the Royal Guards gradually decreased,with a significant decrease in the number of expeditions compared to the previous period,and they turned more to border defense.The military expeditions of the Royal Guards played an irreplaceable role in maintaining the stability of the Ming Dynasty regime and maintaining the rule of the imperial court.The third chapter further deepens the important connotation of the military function of the Royal Guards through the analysis of the arrest and interrogation of derelict military officials by the Royal Guards: The punishment and interrogation of derelict military officials by the Royal Guards represent the high importance that the court attaches to military issues.After the military officer is informed of the accusation,the court will send the Royal Guards to the place to verify.Once the accusation is confirmed,the Royal Guards will arrest the derelict military officer and bring him to Beijing for trial,and send him to the Third Division of Justice for conviction.This move is conducive to quelling the military unrest,Strengthen the cohesion of the military,uphold justice for innocent ordinary soldiers,and maintain the authority and fairness of military justice in the Ming Dynasty.The fourth chapter analyzes the situation of the Royal Guards’ military officers offering advice to the court.In the Ming Dynasty,with continuous wars,the court always regarded strengthening border defense as a top priority.In this situation,the Royal Guards officials constantly put forward constructive military opinions to the court.Among them,there are many insightful insights that have played a certain reference role in the military decision-making of the imperial court.The fifth chapter deeply explores some other military functions of the Royal Guards.It mainly includes patrolling the pass beacon towers,supervising the horse administration,recruiting troops,and supervising the Beijing battalion.The Royal Guards undertook a series of complex military functions and made important contributions to the military and political development and border stability of the Ming Dynasty.Chapter 6 explores the characteristics and impact of the military functions of the Royal Guards.The military functions of the Royal Guards mainly have three characteristics: first,the scope of military functions is extensive,and the "burden" color is strong.Secondly,the military functions of the Royal Guards have always been subject to imperial power,strongly influenced by the emperor’s personal will.Third,the Royal Guards,together with the Three Legal Departments and the Scientific and Taoist Officers,exercise some military functions.The three parties cooperate with each other,monitor and balance each other,and comply with the historical trend of strengthening imperial power in the Ming Dynasty.In addition,the military functions of the Royal Guards also had a profound impact on the military,political,and legal construction of the Ming Dynasty.