Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Zheng Sanjun moved very quickly.

While the Imperial Guard was still discussing the matter at a leisurely pace, he and the Court of Colonial Affairs quickly reached an agreement on how to jointly organize a criminal police force.

Liu Qiao, who had just been appointed as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice and the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, was surprised to find when the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Colonial Affairs summoned him for a discussion that the two agencies had already reached an agreement to gain control over the global manhunt.

He said angrily:

"The right to apprehend criminals worldwide was granted to the Imperial Guard by the Emperor, and the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Colonial Affairs have no right to seize it."

"I will report this matter to His Majesty and leave it to him to decide."

The person in charge of liaising with other government offices in the Court of Colonial Affairs was Qian Shisheng, the Right Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs and concurrently the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

He came from the Hanlin Academy, so naturally he sided with the civil officials.

Upon hearing Liu Qiao's words, he threatened:
"Does the Imperial Guard think it can independently apprehend criminals overseas?"

"Without the cooperation of your vassal states, who can you capture?"

Minister of Justice Zheng Sanjun also said:

"The laws and regulations of the vassal states are different from those of the Ming Dynasty, and foreign countries have different etiquette and laws."

"Without familiarity with these articles, how can the Imperial Guards make arrests?"

"Are we going to forcibly arrest people and offend all the countries and vassal states?"

"Our Ministry of Justice's Legal Affairs Department has always worked with the Ministry of Rites' Ceremonial Affairs Department to study rites and laws."

“An international law body will be established in the future to specifically study this issue.”

"What preparations did your Imperial Guard make after receiving the news?"

His words were stern and harsh, accusing Liu Qiao of not taking the emperor's orders seriously.

Liu Qiao was momentarily speechless, because although he valued this matter, he hadn't really taken it that seriously.

Over the years, the emperor kept making new demands and implementing various policies. The Imperial Guard had become accustomed to this and knew how to deal with the emperor.

He admitted that he had been careless this time. He hadn't expected the Ministry of Justice to be so proactive, joining forces with the Court of Colonial Affairs to seize the right to apprehend criminals overseas.

This was something he was absolutely unwilling to concede, because the power of criminal investigation was one of the core powers of the Imperial Guard.

Once the Ministry of Justice seizes control of overseas arrests, it is very likely that it will also lose control domestically.

At that time, the Imperial Guard Temple would become a mere shell. No matter how good his relationship with the civil officials was, he would never relinquish this power to them.

Therefore, he firmly refuted:
"The Emperor entrusted this matter to the Imperial Guard because the Imperial Guard is capable."

“Our Weiwei Temple is the Western Division of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. The Embroidered Uniform Guard has Zhenfu Divisions in Korea, Southeast Asia and other places.”

"The Imperial Guard is close to the major military commands, which makes it easier for them to obtain information."

“The provincial guard offices are also directly under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Guard, and they have an obligation to cooperate with the Imperial Guard.”

By highlighting the advantages of the Imperial Guard, the emperor could explain why he granted them this power.

But since Zheng Sanjun has set his sights on it, he won't compromise so easily.

The Court of Colonial Affairs was established because each of the feudal lords also wanted to obtain law enforcement power and did not want their own Imperial Guard Office to be directly managed by the Imperial Guard Temple.

Therefore, the three government offices fiercely competed for the global arrest rights, which eventually reached Zhu Youjian's ears.
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Zhu Youjian was already familiar with Liu Qiao and Qian Shisheng, and had heard a lot about Zheng Sanjun.

As early as when the Donglin Party was being revived, he noticed that many of the outstanding young people in the next generation of the Donglin Party were related to Zheng Sanjun.

So he suppressed this person and sent Zheng Sanjun to Nanjing to serve as an official.

However, talented people can never be contained.

Zheng Sanjun served as Minister of Justice in Nanjing, clearing up long-standing cases and reforming long-standing abuses, earning praise from both the court and the public. After he and his disciples broke away from the Donglin Party and established the Nanlin Academy, Zhu Youjian finally stopped deliberately suppressing him, and Zheng Sanjun was immediately recommended by the court to serve as Minister of Justice.

As expected, this radical member of the Donglin Party did not disappoint, stirring up trouble as soon as he arrived in the capital.

Considering Zheng Sanjun's attitude, Zhu Youjian said:
"It is necessary for the provincial guard offices to be directly managed by the Imperial Guards Bureau and supervised by the regional garrison commands."

"The imperial court needs to have personnel in each vassal state to ensure its ability to intervene in vassal states."

"We can also allow overseas military officers to be demobilized and give them opportunities to take up positions."

"This is a major plan of the imperial court, and no one is allowed to disrupt it."

Liu Qiao looked smug, believing that the emperor was supporting him.

But Zheng Sanjun said calmly:
"Your Majesty, enforcing the law and making arrests is always a matter that offends people, and no one can guarantee that a wrongful conviction will not occur."

"The offices of the Imperial Guards of each vassal state were directly managed by the Imperial Guards Bureau, which seemed to benefit the court, but also incurred the resentment of the people of the vassal states."

"Officials of the Imperial Guard in vassal states are also unlikely to receive orders from the Imperial Guard because of the distance. In places far from the emperor, they are likely to abuse their power, and the court will bear the consequences."

"This is not a long-term solution. The image of the imperial court among the various vassal states cannot be allowed to be damaged."

These words directly attacked the integrity of the officials of the Imperial Guard, arguing that they would tarnish the image of the imperial court.

Liu Qiao was so angry that he hurriedly tried to defend himself, but the past image of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the illegal activities of the Imperial Guard in recent years made his words unconvincing.

Officials from the Court of Colonial Affairs seized the opportunity to echo this sentiment, arguing that law enforcement, a matter that could offend people, was best left to the individual vassal states themselves.

The imperial court only needs to get the various vassal states to cooperate in the arrest, and they certainly won't object.

Zhu Youjian looked at the anxious and guilty Liu Qiao, then at the confident Zheng Sanjun, sighed inwardly, and asked him:
"Does Zheng Qing have any ideas?"

"You can just say it directly!"

Zheng Sanjun said confidently:
"I believe that the various provincial guard offices can be changed into security offices and placed under the direct control of the monarchs of the various countries, just like the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"However, the appointment of the head of the Public Security Bureau must be approved by the Imperial Guard. Half of the officials in the bureau must be officials from the Ming Dynasty, and they must be responsible for enforcing the law against Ming officials."

"Another method is to dispatch officials from the Censorate to obtain the countersignature authority for orders from the Public Security Bureau. If a wrongful conviction is discovered, it can be overturned."

"In this way, we can control the security of our vassal states without incurring resentment, and also gain the favor of our vassal subjects."

"This achieves three goals at once, and is far simpler than establishing the Imperial Guard Commandery!"

This method of delegating power to the rulers of vassal states naturally garnered the approval of the Court of Colonial Affairs.

After pondering for a moment, Zhu Youjian asked:

"Then who should bear the cost of the Public Security Bureau?"

Sun Chengzong, who attended the meeting, said:
"Since it is directly governed by the monarchs of each country, it is natural that the vassal states should bear the responsibility."

"The officials sent by the Ming Dynasty were also appointed by the local vassal states."

Zhu Youjian immediately understood the demands of the various vassal rulers, and after considering it, nodded and said:
"Then let's set up a security bureau as Zheng Qing suggested, under the direct control of the monarchs of each country."

"However, the Imperial Guard Office still needs to be built, and it will be located in one of the major Garrison Commands."

"This Guard Commandery is mainly responsible for the exchange of security officers from various countries within its jurisdiction, as well as transnational cases."

"Cases involving the arrest of Ming citizens should also be submitted to the Imperial Guard to prevent the legitimate rights and interests of Ming citizens from being infringed."

"Remember, the power of arrest belongs to the Imperial Guard. No government office may bypass the Imperial Guard to arrest citizens of the Ming Dynasty."

"All law enforcement teams must operate in conjunction with the Imperial Guard!" (End of Chapter)