Win or Die

The Night Guard was an important force in the border defence and intelligence system of the Ming Dynasty and was mainly responsible for sentry and reconnaissance. "Ye Bu Shou" appeared in the Yuan Dynasty dramas. Its establishment began in the third year of Xuande (1428) in the Ming Dynasty and was cancelled in the first year of Tianqi (1621). It got its name because of activities outside all night.
Mainly stationed in military towns on the western and northern borders, they are also distributed in other areas. As the sentinel and spy arm of the border defence army, they play an important role in detecting enemy situations, transmitting intelligence, burning wasteland, making surprise attacks, and ensuring border security.
One of the important sources of night harvest is the Dun army stationed in and around the pier. According to Liu Xiaozu's "Four Towns and Three Passes", the number of "night guards" can reach 2~20% of the local garrison. Some scholars believe that Ye Bu Shou is similar to the "Jianbu" of the Tang Dynasty and the "Jianbu" of the Song Dynasty, and both belong to intelligence personnel.
After the rise of the Jurchens, they also used the "Zhu Sheng" unit, which specialized in capturing sentinels. Due to the danger and heavy workload of staying up late at night, the Ming Dynasty once increased his salary and pension.
(Source: Chinese = Wikipedia || Translation = MDL)