The first thing to say is the Royal Guards, which was established by Zhu Yuanzhang himself. Royal Guards was the largest secret service in Ming Dynasty. The people inside are all skilled in martial arts and have their own unique skills. They are the emperor's special guards. Their duty is to be responsible for the security and etiquette activities of the court, but in fact, the most important duty is to supervise the actions of ministers and catch those who delay the staff from committing crimes. Therefore, Royal Guards also has an internal organization to appease the prison. Once a prisoner falls into this place, it is basically a narrow escape, which is very important to the emperor of this institution, but in the eyes of civil and military officials, this place is a hell on earth, and its location is extremely hidden. Ordinary people can't get in at all, because they are all dignitaries.
The founder of the East Factory is Judy. The East Factory had nothing to do with the Royal Guards. The main duty of the East Factory is to catch prisoners, while the Royal Guards interrogate prisoners. The two institutions didn't care at all. But then the East Factory became more and more powerful and had its own prison, so they could also hold prisoners. Later, the Royal Guards merged with the East Factory, and after the merger, they were collectively called the Factory Guards, and they were also punished. When the factory security guards hit people with sticks, they change people every five times. The first time you hit it with a stick, you can hit as many as you want, and then you just stop at the back.
The west factory is what we are familiar with. 1477, Ming Xianzong established the West Factory, which is larger than the East Factory. Most of the people in the West Factory were transferred by the Royal Guards, so the West Factory is very huge. Its jurisdiction exceeds that of the Royal Guards and the East Factory, so the penalties they use also exceed that of the Royal Guards and the East Factory. Almost all the criminal laws passed are death sentences. As long as the prisoner enters the prison in Xichang, there is almost no chance of survival. Perhaps because the punishment is too extreme, the life span of the West Factory is also very short.