text: Military reform In 1451, once the immediate danger had passed, Yu Qian initiated military reform. He handpicked 100,000 soldiers from the remaining troops in the Beijing area and divided them into five training divisions (, tuanying). In 1452, he added an additional 50,000 soldiers and created ten training units. He also restructured the command system of the capital garrison. Initially, command was divided between generals and eunuchs, with each of the three army camps (for infantry, cavalry, and firearms) operating independently under its own field commander. However, there was little coordination between detachments from different camps. Yu Qian placed each camp under one field commander and the entire garrison under the field marshal. He also removed the eunuchs from their supervisory role, resulting in a unified command and a greater involvement of the capital generals in managing the training camps. This new arrangement of the drill camps was unique among the various Ming command systems, as the generals in charge of training also commanded the same soldiers in battle.
  After 1449, the practice of hiring soldiers for wages from the peasant and urban population became more widespread due to the shortage of men and the inefficiency of many hereditary soldiers. These hired soldiers were referred to as bing (), in contrast to the hereditary soldiers known as jun ().
  After Emperor Yingzong regained power in 1457, Yu Qian was executed and his reforms were reversed.
  Economy
  In 1450, Shandong experienced a famine, and from 1452 to 1454, the provinces in northern China and the lower Yangtze River were greatly affected by heavy rains and cold weather. The drought of 1455 was followed by summer rains in 1456 in northern China. The state treasury was depleted due to providing aid to the population and dealing with tax arrears.