According to the normal logic of the narrative, let's not talk about how they didn't have it, let's talk about how Jinyiwei came to be.
How did Jin Yiwei come about?
Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Meng Yuan and established the Ming Dynasty. In order to settle it to the greatest extent, Zhu Yuanzhang followed the system of the Yuan Dynasty. Under the emperor, the province of Zhongshu was established.
Everything in the world has to go through the department of Zhongshu Province, which makes Zhu Yuanzhang, who is sitting on the throne, a little restless. You must know that if someone in Zhongshu Province wants to plot misdeeds, then Zhu Yuanzhang's position is in jeopardy.
But people's hearts are indeed the most difficult thing to control, Hu Weiyong became the prime minister of Zhongshu Province, at first he was still full of energy, but as he became more and more powerful, his ambition became bigger and bigger.
After all, there is only one title difference between Hu Weiyong and the emperor. Hu Weiyong is on the road to death, going farther and farther. Finally in the thirteenth year of Hongwu, Hu Weiyong was executed by Ling Chi because of the rebellion.
This incident also reminded Zhu Yuanzhang that it is more reassuring to put the imperial power in his own hands, and the department of Zhongshu Province cannot stay. With this incident, Zhu Yuanzhang uprooted Zhongshu Province and took back all the power into his own hands.
In order to thoroughly investigate Hu Weiyong's case, consolidate imperial power, and supervise other officials by the way, Zhu Yuanzhang selected the personal guards of the Gong Wei Division to do this.
Gong Weisi is Zhu Yuanzhang's personal guard, and the selection is extremely strict, and there is no problem with the force value and loyalty. Since then, the guards of the Gong Wei Division have begun to wander in the Ming Dynasty.
Assassination, espionage, tracking, and investigation, Jinyiwei's figure is active in various places, and more than 30,000 people implicated in Hu Weiyong's case were also presented to Zhu Yuanzhang.
With a wave of Zhu Yuanzhang's hand, more than 30,000 people were killed, and Zhu Yuanzhang felt unprecedented steadfastness on the throne. So, in the fifteenth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang officially renamed the Gongwei Division as "Jinyiwei", and the Ming Dynasty officially added an intelligence supervision department.
Jin Yiwei was suppressed
Since ancient times, no one has been strong in the emperor's place, and the best trick that emperors can use is checks and balances. After Jinyi Wei was on fire for several years, with the death of Zhu Biao, Zhu Yuanzhang's idea was shattered.
The sharp sword of Jin Yiwei looked too sharp, so that Zhu Yunwen couldn't control it well. Through the Lanyu case, Zhu Yuanzhang personally liquidated Jinyiwei, firstly, to suppress Jinyiwei, and secondly, to divert domestic contradictions and find someone to take the blame.
Jin Yiwei's power to hear the case was deprived and transferred to the Third Division, and in addition, Zhu Yuanzhang also executed Jin Yiwei's commander by the way.
Until Zhu Di ascended the throne, Jinyiwei was in a state of suppression. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, in order to stabilize the imperial power, he re-enabled the Jinyi Guard, and in order to play the role of checks and balances, he also set up the East Factory.
In the period of Zhu Qizhen, the great eunuch Wang Zhen was reused, and the Dongchang rose and completely suppressed Jinyiwei. Later, Zhu Houzhao engaged in the West Factory again, and Jinyiwei was once again left out in the cold.
During the Wanli period, Jinyiwei had a highlight performance, Jinyiwei was sent to North Korea, and played a significant role in the Korean battlefield, and was also rewarded by the Wanli Emperor.
But in the Chongzhen period, the internal friction in the Ming Dynasty has long been difficult to return, and Jinyiwei is also struggling to survive in the internal friction, which has long existed in name only, and it is difficult to make a difference.
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen is not a faint monarch, but he is indeed unavailable, coupled with his own ability and personality, he finally led to being surrounded by Li Zicheng in the capital.
At the critical moment, Jinyiwei was unable to turn the tide
Chongzhen was at a loss in the face of Li Zicheng's peasant uprising army, asking for money without money, asking for no people, and the entire capital was disheartened. Chongzhen only had about 5,000 brocade guards in his hands at that time, and many of them were people who came to make up for the number on weekdays.
For the 200,000 troops outside the city, this is not enough for the rebels to stuff their teeth.
At that time, the commander of the Jinyi Guard, who had performed well in the battle to defend the capital, was responsible for leading people to defend the Chongwen Gate, and fought to the end after the city gate was breached, and was later beaten to death by the rebels.
In the face of the tide of the rebels, many Jinyi guards died in the battle, and there were also many cowards who took off their uniforms and fled out of the city among the people, and some people defected and joined the rebels.
postscript
Jinyiwei has been brilliant, but the rise and fall are all the difference between the emperor's thoughts. Although they are carefully selected and capable people, they are nothing more than good at performing special tasks.
If it is placed in front of tens of thousands of troops, these people will not play a role in turning the tide at all, besides, the Ming Dynasty at that time was already terminally ill, and even those officials in the court did not act, how much splash could these brocade guards make?