In fact, Xiaobian has seen a lot of costume dramas, in which each emperor will have a special team, that is, Jinyi Wei, and there is also a drama dedicated to them. These people who spared their lives to fight for the emperor could be said to be the last layer of the emperor's guarantee in the deep palace, in order to stabilize the position of the emperor, they obeyed the order to remove one eye nail after another for the emperor, so the ministers were most afraid of these people, and they were also very famous in Jingcheng.
In fact, to say that this title, the most used is in the Ming Dynasty, when the Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang personally set up this team, in fact, the predecessor is the Gongwei Division. Originally, at the beginning, they only helped Zhu Yuanzhang to collect various military intelligence, which was a special military intelligence agency of the Ming Dynasty. But in order to strengthen the rule of his own king, he gave these people greater powers, such as patrolling and arresting, and even in charge of the prison. But it didn't take long for this team to be abolished, and then it was the time for Ming Chengzu Zhu Di to appear later. As a team dedicated to serving the emperor, their skills can be described as diverse.
The most basic thing is to help the emperor monitor the dynamics of the whole country, such as the high-ranking officials and nobles, as well as the ordinary people at the lowest level; on the other hand, it is necessary to investigate and interrogate those suspicious people, which can be said to be the most trusted people of the emperor. Because of this, the rights of these people are very high, they can directly arrest everyone without going through the examination of the Ministry of Punishment, even if they are relatives of the emperor and the state, they can still be arrested, and even secretly interrogated. These people are not afraid of heaven, they just need to listen to the emperor's words, so the leader of their team is also the emperor's most important and most trusted confidant.
But how could they, who were so powerful, watch the Chongzhen Emperor die in the Coal Mountain? When Li Zicheng besieged the city of Beijing, because the Ming Dynasty did not have the upper hand, the capital was soon occupied. Most of the Jinyi guards were killed during the battle, so even the most powerful they were usually helpless. The Chongzhen Emperor also tried to order these masters to flee with their own siege, but they never succeeded, but their personal helpers suffered one loss after another. Therefore, in desperation, he had to return to the palace. Chongzhen, who was angry and corrupt, embarked on the road of suicide. He ordered all the Jinyi guards around him to be expended, leaving only Wang Cheng'en, a close eunuch who usually followed him. Although these masters are elite and strong in martial arts, they are also given the opportunity by the emperor to be arrogant, and once his position is shaken, then these people will have no shield.
The last commander of the Jinyi guard, because Chongzhen believed in him very much, gave him special powers, but he betrayed his trust, and after being captured by Li Zicheng, he did not martyr himself, but betrayed his old lord and chose to surrender. With Li Zicheng failing again, he eventually even surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, directly betraying his dynasty.