Introduction: A Period of Unremarkable Tranquility

The Longqing era, spanning from 1567 to 1572, represents one of the more subdued periods in Ming Dynasty history, particularly for the Imperial Guard . Unlike previous reigns marked by dramatic purges or expansion of secret police powers, these six years saw the guard maintain relative stability in both structure and function. This historical quietude stems not from institutional strength but from a unique convergence of political circumstances: an disengaged emperor, a powerful cabinet resistant to employing covert forces, and financial pressures that forced organizational contraction. The most significant event involving the guard during this period was the posthumous persecution of former commander Lu Bing, yet even this action failed to ignite the political fireworks that characterized other Ming administrations. This article explores how and why the notoriously powerful Imperial Guard entered a phase of institutional dormancy, only to reemerge with renewed vigor in the subsequent Wanli reign.

Historical Context: The Imperial Guard in Ming Politics

Established during the Hongwu Emperor’s reign, the Imperial Guard evolved from an imperial bodyguard unit into one of China’s most feared security institutions. By the mid-Ming period, the guard had developed extensive responsibilities including intelligence gathering, surveillance of officials, arrest and interrogation of suspects, and execution of special missions directly ordered by the emperor. Typically, the guard flourished during reigns of suspicious or activist emperors who valued its extra-legal capabilities for enforcing imperial will beyond conventional bureaucratic channels.

The guard’s power often correlated with the weakness of civil bureaucracy or the presence of strong eunuch factions. Throughout the 15th and early 16th centuries, the Imperial Guard had served as a crucial tool for emperors seeking to counterbalance the influence of scholar-officials. Under strong commanders like Lu Bing during the Jiajing era, the guard had reached unprecedented influence, operating as a virtually autonomous power center with its own prison system and investigative authority. This historical context makes the Longqing period particularly noteworthy as an exception to the guard’s normally expanding influence.

The Longqing Emperor: An Uninterested Monarch

Zhu Zaiji, posthumously known as the Longqing Emperor, ascended the throne in 1567 following the death of his father, the Jiajing Emperor. His reign would prove markedly different from his predecessor’s in both style and substance. Where Jiajing had been deeply involved in governance , Longqing displayed little interest in state affairs. Historical records depict him as a monarch more concerned with personal pleasures than political administration, often delegating decision-making to his ministers.

The emperor’s disengagement created a power vacuum that might typically have been filled by either eunuchs or the Imperial Guard. However, several factors prevented this outcome. First, the emperor’s lack of interest in governance meant he rarely initiated investigations or purges that would require the guard’s services. Second, the memory of Lu Bing’s controversial tenure may have made the new emperor wary of empowering another strong guard commander. Third, and most significantly, the civil bureaucracy recognized this period of imperial weakness as an opportunity to reassert its authority.

Cabinet Dominance and Institutional Resistance

The Grand Secretariat during the Longqing era emerged as the dominant political force, despite internal divisions among its senior ministers. Figures like Xu Jie, Li Chunfang, and later Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, though engaged in their own power struggles, shared two crucial positions regarding the Imperial Guard: they considered it beneath their dignity to employ the secret police for political purposes, and they sought to constrain imperial authority through institutional means.

This consensus produced concrete policy outcomes. In June 1568, with Xu Jie as Senior Grand Secretary, the first reduction of Imperial Guard personnel occurred. This was followed by a second round of cuts in December 1569 under Li Chunfang’s leadership. Together, these actions eliminated nearly 1,500 positions from the guard’s roster. The cabinet’s ability to implement these reductions despite the guard’s normal autonomy from civil bureaucracy demonstrates the unusual balance of power during this period.

The ministers’ aversion to using the guard stemmed from both philosophical and practical considerations. Confucian ideology regarded secret police methods as incompatible with virtuous governance. Additionally, the civil bureaucracy recognized that an empowered Imperial Guard traditionally diminished their own influence by providing the emperor with an alternative mechanism for control and investigation.

Financial Pressures and Institutional Contraction

Beyond political philosophy, practical financial concerns drove the guard’s downsizing. The Ming treasury faced severe strains during this period, as highlighted in a July 1568 memorial from Wei Shiliang, the Chief Supervising Secretary of the Office of Scrutiny for Revenue. Wei identified three critical financial crises: insufficient funds for imperial clan stipends, inability to provision border armies adequately, and exhaustive depletion of both public and private resources.

These financial realities made the Imperial Guard an attractive target for budget reductions. Maintaining a large force of guardsmen, investigators, and informants represented a significant drain on imperial resources. The guard’s semi-autonomous status, with its own budget and revenue streams, may have made it particularly vulnerable during a period of fiscal austerity when civil officials sought to reassert control over expenditures.

The personnel reductions likely affected lower-ranking members rather than the core leadership, preserving the institution’s basic capabilities while reducing its operational reach. This strategic trimming allowed the guard to maintain its institutional integrity while accommodating political and financial realities.

Leadership and Institutional Identity

Despite these constraints, the Imperial Guard maintained its institutional independence and potential for reactivation. This resilience owed much to its commander, Zhu Xiaoxiao, who held the position of Left Chief Military Commissioner. Contemporary accounts, including that of prominent scholar Wang Shizhen, describe Zhu as “lenient” and less capable than his formidable predecessor Lu Bing. However, his noble lineage and court connections ensured his position remained influential.

Zhu’s leadership style apparently emphasized preservation rather than expansion of guard prerogatives. His approach aligned with the political climate of the era, avoiding confrontation with the powerful cabinet while maintaining the guard’s core functions. This strategic accommodation allowed the institution to weather a period of political hostility without fundamental compromise of its authority or structure.

The guard’s continued independence also reflected the absence of a countervailing power from the eunuch establishments. Neither the Directorate of Ceremonial nor the Directorate of Imperial Horses produced figures with both the ambition and capability to challenge civil authority or co-opt the guard during this period.

The Shadow of the Past: The Posthumous Persecution of Lu Bing

The most significant event involving the Imperial Guard during the Longqing era concerned its former commander rather than its current operations. Lu Bing, who had dominated the guard during the Jiajing reign, faced posthumous persecution years after his death. This unusual proceeding reflected continuing political tensions stemming from his controversial tenure.

Lu had accumulated unprecedented power during his leadership, combining control of the Imperial Guard with prestigious titles and vast wealth. His death in 1560 had spared him from immediate reckoning, but his legacy remained contentious. The pursuit of his case during the Longqing era served multiple purposes: it allowed officials to settle scores with his remaining allies, provided justification for reducing the guard’s powers, and symbolically reinforced the cabinet’s authority over security institutions.

The case proceeded through conventional judicial channels rather than through the guard’s extra-legal processes, further emphasizing the institution’s diminished role. This handling demonstrated that even matters directly concerning the guard now fell under civil bureaucratic control.

The Eunuch Factor: Absent Counterbalance

During much of Ming history, the Imperial Guard operated in tension or collaboration with powerful eunuch agencies, particularly the Eastern Depot overseen by the Directorate of Ceremonial. The Longqing period proved exceptional for the absence of influential eunuchs who might have collaborated with or competed against the guard.

Feng Bao, who would later dominate the Wanli reign’s early years, remained constrained during this period. Despite holding significant positions as head of the Eastern Depot and overseeing the Directorate of Imperial Horses, he failed to secure the crucial appointment as head of the Directorate of Ceremonial. This limitation prevented him from forming an effective counterweight to civil authority or establishing a strong alliance with the guard.

The absence of eunuch influence further tilted the balance toward the civil bureaucracy. Without traditional allies in the palace administration, the Imperial Guard found itself isolated politically, unable to play the competing power centers against each other as it had in previous reigns.

Transition to Wanli: The Calm Before the Storm

The Longqing Emperor’s death in 1572 marked the end of the guard’s quiet period. The succession of the young Wanli Emperor created immediate political turmoil that would ultimately reactivate the Imperial Guard as a political instrument. The power struggle between Grand Secretaries Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, mediated through eunuch Feng Bao, would redefine the political landscape and restore the guard to prominence.

Feng Bao’s alliance with Zhang Juzheng proved decisive in the political realignment following Longqing’s death. Just two hours after the emperor’s passing, Feng secured the position of head of the Directorate of Ceremonial, replacing Meng Chong. This appointment, achieved with support from the empress dowagers, gave him the platform to challenge Gao Gong’s authority.

The dramatic incident during the nine-year-old Wanli Emperor’s enthronement ceremony, when Feng Bao positioned himself conspicuously beside the throne, signaled the resurgence of eunuch power. Gao Gong’s attempt to eliminate Feng’s authority through constitutional reforms backfired disastrously, leading to his own dismissal and Zhang Juzheng’s elevation to Senior Grand Secretary.

Conclusion: Significance of the Dormant Years

The Longqing era represents a distinctive interlude in the history of Ming Dynasty security institutions. The Imperial Guard’s relative quiescence during these years demonstrates how structural, personal, and financial factors could temporarily constrain even the most powerful institutions. The guard’s survival through this period of contraction highlights its institutional resilience and the enduring value of its capabilities to the imperial system.

This historical episode also illustrates the cyclical nature of power in late imperial China. Periods of civil bureaucratic dominance alternated with eras of imperial or eunuch ascendancy, with security institutions like the guard serving as both instruments and indicators of these shifts. The guard’s reactivation under Wanli confirmed that its dormancy during Longqing reflected temporary political circumstances rather than permanent institutional decline.

Finally, the Longqing experience reveals the Ming system’s continuing vulnerability to personal factors. The character of individual emperors, the relationships between senior officials, and the ambitions of palace eunuchs could dramatically alter institutional arrangements despite formal structures and procedures. The Imperial Guard’s story during these six quiet years reminds us that even the most formidable institutions exist within human political systems subject to the variables of personality, circumstance, and historical contingency.