1
成祖啟天弘道高明肇運聖武神功純仁至孝文皇帝諱棣，太祖第四子也。 母孝慈高皇后。 洪武三年，封燕王。 十三年，之籓北平。 王貌奇偉，美髭髯。 智勇有大略，能推誠任人。 二十三年，同晉王討鼐爾不哈。 晉王怯不敢進，王倍道趨伊都山，獲其全部而還，太祖大喜，是後屢帥諸將出征，並令王節制沿邊士馬，王威名大振。
Chengzu, the Emperor Wen, whose posthumous titles ran through Opener of Heaven, Broadener of the Way, Lofty and Bright, Founder of the Fortune, Sacred in Martial Valor and Divine in Achievement, Pure in Benevolence and Supreme in Filial Piety, bore the personal name Di and was the fourth son of the dynastic founder. His mother was Empress Ma, posthumously honored as the Xiaoci Gao Empress. In Hongwu year 3 he received the title Prince of Yan. In year 13 he took up residence in his apanage at Beiping. The Prince was striking in stature, with a fine beard and mustache. He combined wisdom and courage with far-reaching design, and won service by treating men with open sincerity. In year 23 he joined the Prince of Jin in a campaign against Nayir Buqa. The Prince of Jin hung back in fear, but the Prince of Yan forced the march to Mount Yidu, captured the whole enemy host, and returned in triumph. Taizu was delighted. After that he often led the generals in the field and was given authority over frontier soldiers and horses; his name resounded along the border.
2
秋七月癸酉，匿壮士端禮門，紿貴、昺入，殺之，遂奪九門。 上書天子，指泰、子澄為奸臣，並援《祖訓》「朝無正臣，内有奸惡，則親王訓兵待命，天子密詔諸王統領鎮兵討平之」。 書既發，遂舉兵。 自署官屬，號其師曰「靖難」。 拔居庸關，破懷來，執宋忠，取密雲，克遵化，降永平。 二旬，眾至數萬。
On guiyou in the seventh month he concealed picked warriors at the Gate of Courteous Rites, drew in Zhang Bing and Xie Gui, killed them, and took the Nine Gates. He memorialized the throne, naming Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng as traitors and invoking the Ancestral Instructions: when the court has no upright ministers and villains stir within, imperial princes are to ready their troops and await command, and the Son of Heaven will secretly order the princes to lead frontier forces and put the rebellion down. The memorial dispatched, he took up arms. He set up his own staff and called his host the Army of Pacifying the Realm's Troubles. He carried Juyong Pass, stormed Huailai, took Song Zhong prisoner, seized Miyun, captured Zunhua, and won Yongping over. In twenty days his following swelled to tens of thousands.
3
八月，天子以耿炳文為大將軍，帥師致討。 己酉，師至真定，前鋒抵雄縣。 壬子，王夜渡白溝河，圍雄，拔其城，屠之。 甲寅，都指揮潘忠、楊松自鄚州來援，伏兵擒之，遂据鄚州，還駐白溝。 大將軍部校張保來降，言大將軍軍三十萬，先至者十三萬，半營滹沱河南，半營河北。 王懼與北軍戰，南軍且乘之也，乃縱保歸，俾揚言王帥兵且至，誘其軍盡北渡河。 壬戌，王至真定，與張玉、譚淵等夾擊炳文軍，大破之，獲其副將李堅、甯忠及都督顧成等，斬首三萬級。 進圍真定，二日不下，乃引去。 天子聞炳文敗，遣曹國公李景隆代領其軍。 九月戊辰，江陰侯吳高以遼東兵圍永平。 戊寅，景隆合兵五十萬，進營河間。 王語諸將曰：「景隆色厲而中餒，聞我在必不敢遽來，不若往援永平以致其師。 吳高怯不任戰，我至必走，然後還擊景隆。 堅城在前，大軍在后，必成擒矣。」 丙戌，燕師援永平。 壬辰，吳高聞王至，果走，追擊敗之。 遂北趨大宁。 壬寅，以計入其城。 居七日，挾寧王權，拔大寧之眾及朶顏三衛卒俱南。 乙卯，至會州，始立五軍。 張玉將中軍，郑亨、何寿副之； 朱能將左軍，朱榮、李浚副之； 李彬將右軍，徐理、孟善副之； 徐忠將前軍，陳文、吳達副之； 房寬將后軍，和允中、毛整副之。 丁巳，入松亭關。 景隆聞王征大宁，果引軍圍北平，筑垒九門，世子堅守不戰。 十一月庚午，王次孤山。 逻骑還报曰白河流澌不可渡。 王祷於神，至則冰合，乃济師。 景隆遣都督陳晖侦敌，道左，出王軍后。 王分軍還擊之，晖眾爭渡河，冰忽解，溺死無算。 辛未，與景隆戰於郑村坝。 王以精骑先破其七營，諸將继至，景隆大敗，奔還。 乙亥，复上書自诉。 十二月，景隆调兵德州，期以明年春大舉。 王乃謀侵大同，曰：「攻大同，彼必赴救，大同苦寒，南軍脆弱，且不戰疲矣。」 庚申，降广昌。
In the eighth month the court named Geng Bingwen grand general and marched him against the Prince. On jiyou the main force reached Zhending while the van pressed to Xiong County. On renzi the Prince forded the Baigou by night, invested Xiong, stormed it, and slaughtered the garrison. On jiayin the commanders Pan Zhong and Yang Song marched from Mozhou to the rescue; the Prince's ambush took them, and he seized Mozhou before withdrawing to the Baigou. Zhang Bao, a staff officer under Geng Bingwen, defected and said the grand general had three hundred thousand men, with one hundred thirty thousand already up — half south of the Hutuo and half on the north bank. Fearing a clash with the northern wing while the southerners exploited his flank, the Prince sent Bao back with a story that the Prince's main body was closing in, drawing the whole enemy host across to the north bank. On renxu he came to Zhending and, with Zhang Yu and Tan Yuan, caught Geng Bingwen in a pincer, broke him completely, and took his deputies Li Jian and Ning Zhong and the regional commander Gu Cheng; thirty thousand heads were counted. He invested Zhending for two days without success, then drew off. Learning of Geng Bingwen's rout, the court sent the Duke of Cao, Li Jinglong, to take over the army. On wuchen in the ninth month the Marquis of Jiangyin, Wu Gao, laid siege to Yongping with troops from Liaodong. On wuyin Li Jinglong massed five hundred thousand men and moved to camp at Hejian. The Prince told his commanders, "Jinglong blusters but his heart fails him. While he knows I am here he will not rush forward — we should relieve Yongping and pull him after us. Wu Gao is a coward and no fighter; once I appear he will run, and then we can wheel back on Jinglong. A walled city in front and a great host behind — he will be ours. On bingxu the Yan host set out for Yongping. On renchen Wu Gao, hearing the Prince was near, fled as foretold; the Prince chased him down and broke his force. He then drove north toward Da Ning. On renyin he gained the city by ruse. Seven days on he coerced the Prince of Ning, Quan, and marched south with the Da Ning host and the warriors of the three Tumed guards. On yimao he reached Huizhou and first organized the Five Armies. Zhang Yu led the center, with Zheng Heng and He Shou as deputies; Zhu Neng led the left, with Zhu Rong and Li Jun as deputies; Li Bin led the right, with Xu Li and Meng Shan as deputies; Xu Zhong led the van, with Chen Wen and Wu Da as deputies; Fang Kuan led the rear, with He Yunzhong and Mao Zheng as deputies. On dingsi he passed through Songting Pass. Li Jinglong, learning the Prince had gone to Da Ning, did invest Beiping, threw up works at the Nine Gates, and the heir apparent held the walls without fighting. In the eleventh month, on gengwu, the Prince made camp at Gushan. Patrols came back saying the ice on the Bai River was breaking and the crossing was impossible. The Prince prayed; when he reached the river the floes had knit into a road, and he took his army across. Li Jinglong sent the regional commander Chen Hui to scout; Chen took the left track and fell in behind the Prince's line. The Prince split off a detachment to hit him from behind; Chen Hui's men rushed the river, the ice gave way, and the drowned were beyond counting. On xinwei he met Li Jinglong at Zhengcun Dam. With elite horsemen he shattered seven camps in succession; the other commanders piled on, Li Jinglong was routed, and fled. On yihai he again memorialized the throne in his own defense. In the twelfth month Li Jinglong regrouped at Dezhou, intending a major campaign the next spring. The Prince turned toward Datong, saying, "Strike Datong and they must march to save it — a land of killing cold where southern soldiers wilt before they even fight. On gengshen Guangchang submitted.
4
二年春正月丙寅，克蔚州。 二月癸丑，至大同。 景隆果由紫荆關來援。 王已旋軍居庸，景隆兵多冻餒死者，不见敌而還。
In spring of year 2, on bingyin in the first month, he captured Weizhou. In the second month, on guichou, he arrived at Datong. Li Jinglong, as expected, came through Zijing Pass to relieve the city. The Prince had already swung back to Juyong; Li Jinglong's men froze and starved by the thousands, found no foe, and trudged home.
5
夏四月，景隆進兵河間，與郭英、吳杰、平安期會白溝河。 乙卯，王營苏家桥。 己未，遇平安兵河侧。 王以百骑前，佯卻，誘安阵动，乘之，安敗走。 遂薄景隆軍，戰不利。 暝收軍，王以三骑殿，夜迷失道，下馬伏地视河流，乃辨東西，渡河去。 庚申，复戰。 景隆横阵數十里，破燕后軍。 王自帥精骑横擊之，斬瞿能父子。 令丘福冲中堅，不得入。 王荡其左，景隆兵乃绕出王后，大戰良久，飞矢雨注。 王三易馬，矢盡揮剑，剑折走登堤，佯引鞭若招后继者。 景隆疑有伏，不敢前，高煦救至，乃解。 時南軍益集，燕將士皆失色。 王奋然曰：「吾不進，敌不退，有戰耳。」 乃复以劲卒突出其背，夾攻之。 會旋风起，折景隆旗，王乘风縱火奋擊，斬首數萬溺死者十余萬人。 郭英溃而西，景隆溃而南，盡丧其所賜玺書斧钺，走德州。 五月癸酉，王入德州，景隆走济南。 庚辰，攻济南，敗景隆軍城下。 铁铉、盛庸堅守，不克。
In the fourth month Li Jinglong pushed on Hejian and arranged with Guo Ying, Wu Jie, and Ping An to join at the Baigou. On yimao the Prince camped at Sujia Bridge. On jiwei he ran into Ping An's force on the river flats. The Prince led a hundred riders forward, pretended to flee, drew Ping An's line into disorder, and charged; Ping An broke and ran. He closed on Li Jinglong's host, but the fight turned against him. At dusk he drew in his men; the Prince himself rearguarded with three riders. Night found him off the track; he dismounted, pressed his ear to the water to read its flow, found east from west, forded, and escaped. On gengshen battle was joined again. Li Jinglong's battle line stretched for tens of li and shattered the Yan rear. The Prince led picked cavalry in a flanking blow and killed Qu Neng and his son. He sent Qiu Fu to punch the center, but Qiu Fu could not break in. The Prince rolled up their left; Li Jinglong's men curled behind him, and the fight dragged on under a rain of arrows. Three horses fell under him; when his quiver was empty he hacked with his sword until the blade snapped; he scrambled onto a dike and flicked his whip as if calling up reserves. Li Jinglong feared a trap and held back; Zhu Gaoxu arrived in time and the Prince was saved. More southern troops poured in by the hour, and the Yan ranks went grey with fear. The Prince roused them: "Stand still and they will not leave — there is only to fight. He threw fresh shock troops through their rear and closed from both sides. A whirlwind snapped Li Jinglong's standards; the Prince rode the gust, fired the field, and cut deep — tens of thousands slain and more than a hundred thousand drowned. Guo Ying fled west, Li Jinglong south, abandoning the seals, commissions, axes, and halberds the throne had bestowed, and ran for Dezhou. In the fifth month, on guiyou, the Prince entered Dezhou; Li Jinglong escaped to Jinan. On gengchen he assaulted Jinan and broke Li Jinglong's force beneath the walls. Tie Xuan and Sheng Yong held fast, and the city would not fall.
6
秋八月戊申，解圍還北平。 九月，盛庸代李景隆將，复取德州，與吳杰、平安、徐凯相掎角，以困北平。 時徐凯方城沧州，王佯出兵攻遼東，至通州，循河而南，渡直沽，昼夜兼行。
In the eighth month, on wushen, he lifted the siege and returned to Beiping. In the ninth month Sheng Yong took command from Li Jinglong, recovered Dezhou, and with Wu Jie, Ping An, and Xu Kai set a pincer meant to choke Beiping. Xu Kai was then besieging Cangzhou; the Prince pretended a strike into Liaodong, reached Tongzhou, turned south along the canal, crossed Zhigu, and drove without pause day or night.
7
冬十月戊午，襲執徐凯，破其城，夜坑降卒三千人。 遂渡河过德州。 盛庸遣兵來襲，擊敗之。 十一月壬申，至臨清。 十二月丁酉，襲破盛庸將孫霖於滑口。 乙卯，及庸戰於東昌，庸以火器劲弩歼王兵。 會平安軍至，合圍數重，王大敗，溃圍以免，亡數萬人，張玉戰死。
On wuwu in the tenth month he sprang on Xu Kai, stormed Cangzhou, and that night buried three thousand captives alive. He forded on and passed Dezhou. Sheng Yong sent a column against him; the Prince beat it off. In the eleventh month, on renshen, he reached Linqing. In the twelfth month, on dingyou, he surprised Sheng Yong's general Sun Lin at Huakou and shattered him. On yimao he met Sheng Yong at Dongchang; fire weapons and heavy crossbows cut the Prince's men to pieces. Ping An came up and ringed him in layer after layer; the Prince suffered a crushing defeat, hacked his way out, left tens of thousands dead on the field, and Zhang Yu fell fighting.
8
三年春正月辛酉，敗吳杰、平安於威縣，又敗之於深州，遂還北平。 二月乙巳，复帥師南下。 三月辛巳，與盛庸遇於夾河，譚淵戰死。 朱能、張武殊死斗，庸軍少卻。 會日暮，各敛兵入營。 王以十余骑逼庸營野宿，及明起视，已在圍中。 乃从容引馬，鸣角穿營而去。 諸將以天子有詔，毋使负殺叔父名，仓卒相顧愕貽，不敢发一矢。 是日复戰，自辰至未，两軍相胜负，東北风忽起，尘埃蔽天，燕兵大呼，乘风縱擊，庸大敗。 走德州。 吳杰、平安自真定引軍與庸會，未至八十里，聞敗引還。 王以計誘之，杰、安出兵襲王。 闰月戊戌，遇於藁城。 己亥，與戰，大风拔木，杰、安敗走，追至真定城下。 癸丑，至大名，聞齊泰、黄子澄已罢，上書请召還吳杰、平安、盛庸兵。 天子使大理少卿薛岩來报，谕王释甲，王不奉詔。
In the first month of year 3, on xinyou, he routed Wu Jie and Ping An at Wei County and again at Shenzhou, then withdrew to Beiping. In the second month, on yisi, he marched south once more. In the third month, on xinsi, he clashed with Sheng Yong at Jiahe; Tan Yuan was killed. Zhu Neng and Zhang Wu fought as if each man were the last; Sheng Yong's line bent back a little. At dusk both sides drew into camp. The Prince camped with barely a dozen riders under Sheng Yong's very sentries; at dawn he woke surrounded. He simply walked his mount, blew his horn, and rode through the enemy lines and away. The southern commanders, bound by the Son of Heaven's order not to bear the guilt of slaying their uncle, gaped at one another and would not draw a bow. They fought again from chen to wei with neither side gaining; then a northeast gale blew up, dust swallowed the field, the Yan men roared, and charging with flame they broke Sheng Yong completely. Sheng Yong fled to Dezhou. Wu Jie and Ping An marched from Zhending to meet Sheng Yong; eighty li short of him they heard of the rout and turned back. The Prince baited them; Wu Jie and Ping An sallied to ambush him. In the intercalary month, on wuxu, the armies met at Gaocheng. On jihai they gave battle. A gale tore trees from the earth; Wu Jie and Ping An broke and ran, pursued to the foot of Zhending’s walls. On guichou he came to Daming. Learning that Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng had been removed from office, he memorialized the throne to recall the forces of Wu Jie, Ping An, and Sheng Yong. The emperor sent Xue Yan, vice minister of the Court of Judicial Review, with a reply urging the prince to disarm. The prince refused the command.
9
夏五月，杰、安、庸分兵斷燕饷道，王遣指揮武胜上書，诘其故。 天子怒，下胜狱。 王遂遣李远略沛縣，焚粮舟萬計。
That summer, in the fifth month, Jie, An, and Yong split their armies to sever the Yan supply lines. The prince sent Commander Wu Sheng to demand an explanation in writing. The emperor flew into a rage and threw Sheng into prison. The prince then dispatched Li Yuan against Pei County and burned grain barges by the ten thousand.
10
秋七月己丑，掠彰德。 丙申，降林縣。 平安乘虚捣北平，王遣劉江迎戰，安敗走。 房昭屯易州西水寨，攻保定，王引兵圍之。
In autumn’s seventh month, on jichou, he ravaged Zhangde. On bingshen, Lin County surrendered. Ping An stole a march on Beiping while the prince’s main force was away. The prince sent Liu Jiang to meet him; An was beaten and fled. Fang Zhao held the West Water Stockade near Yizhou and pressed Baoding. The prince marched to encircle him.
11
冬十月丁巳，都指揮花英援昭，敗之峨眉山下，斬首萬級，昭弃寨走。 己卯，還北平。 十一月乙巳，王自為文祭南北阵亡將士。 当是時，王稱兵三年矣。 親戰阵，冒矢石，以身先士卒，常乘胜逐北，然亦屢濒於危。 所克城邑，兵去旋复為朝廷守，仅据有北平、保定、永平三府而已。 無何，中官被黜者來奔，具言京師空虚可取状。 王乃慨然曰：「频年用兵，何時已平？ 要当臨江一决，不复返顧矣。」 十二月丙寅，复出師。
In winter’s tenth month, on dingsi, Chief Commander Hua Ying marched to relieve Zhao. Below Emei Mountain he was shattered; ten thousand heads were taken. Zhao abandoned the camp and ran. On jimao he returned to Beiping. In the eleventh month, on yisi, the prince himself drafted a ritual address and sacrificed to the dead of both armies, north and south. By then the prince had been at war for three years. He fought in the front line himself, under arrow and stone, always ahead of his men, often chasing a broken enemy—but again and again he brushed death. Cities he seized slipped back to the court the moment his columns moved on. He truly held only Beiping, Baoding, and Yongping. Soon a cashiered palace eunuch fled to him and described the capital in detail—how hollow it was, how ripe for the taking. The prince spoke with sudden passion: “Year after year we have fought. When will this ever end? We must stake everything on one crossing of the Yangtze. I will not look back again. In the twelfth month, on bingyin, he took the field once more.
12
四年春正月乙未，由馆陶渡河。 癸丑，徇徐州。 三月壬辰，平安以四萬骑蹑王軍，王設伏淝河，大敗之。 丙午，遣譚清斷徐州饷道，還至大店，為铁铉軍所圍。 王引兵驰援，清突圍出，合擊敗之。
In spring of the fourth year, on yiwei in the first month, he forded the river at Guantao. On guichou he overran Xuzhou. In the third month, on renchen, Ping An came after him with forty thousand horse. The prince laid an ambush on the Fei River and broke them utterly. On bingwu he sent Tan Qing to sever Xuzhou’s supply line. Tan returned as far as Dadian and there was trapped by Tie Xuan’s force. The prince rushed to his rescue. Qing burst the ring; together they struck and routed the enemy.
13
夏四月丙寅，王營小河，為桥以济，平安趨爭桥，陳文戰死。 平安軍桥南，王軍桥北，相持數日。 平安转戰，遇王於北坂，王几為安槊所及。 番骑王骐跃入阵，掖王逸去。 王曰：「南軍饥，更一二日饷至，猝未易破。」 乃令千余人守桥，夜半渡河而南，绕出安軍后。 比旦，安始觉，适徐辉祖來會。 甲戌，大戰齊眉山下。 時燕连失大將，淮士盛暑蒸湿，諸將请休軍小河東，就麦观衅。 王曰：「今敌持久饥疲，遮其饷道，可以坐困，奈何北渡懈將士心。」 乃下令欲渡河者左，諸將爭趨左。 王怒曰：「任公等所之。」 乃無敢复言。 丁丑，何福等營灵璧，燕遮其饷道，平安分兵六萬人护之。 己卯，王帥精锐横擊。 斷其軍為二。 何福空壁來援，王軍少卻，高煦伏兵起，福敗走。 辛巳，進薄其垒，破之，生擒平安、陳晖等三十七人，何福走免。 五月己丑，下泗州，謁祖陵，賜父老牛酒。 辛卯，盛庸扼淮南岸，朱能、丘福潛济襲走之，遂克盱貽。
That summer, in the fourth month on bingyin, the prince camped at Xiaohe and threw a bridge across. Ping An raced to seize it; Chen Wen fell fighting. An held the south bank, the prince the north. For days neither side yielded. Ping An wheeled to fight again and met the prince on North Slope. An’s spear nearly found him. The frontier rider Wang Qi plunged into the press, caught the prince under his arm, and dragged him clear. The prince said, “The southern army is starving. In a day or two their grain will come up. Then they will not break easily. He left a thousand men on the bridge, crossed by night to the south bank, and swung behind Ping An’s rear. At dawn An realized what had happened—just as Xu Huizu arrived to reinforce him. On jiaxu they fought a great battle below Qimei Mountain. Yan had lately lost one great commander after another. The Huai country sweltered in midsummer damp; the generals begged to halt east of Xiaohe, rest among the wheat, and wait for a chance. The prince said, “The foe has been hungry and exhausted for weeks. Cut their supplies and we can crush them without stirring—why recross the river and loosen our men’s grip? He ordered every man who wanted to retreat to stand on the left. The generals stampeded left. The prince snapped, “Go, then—wherever you please. No one dared speak again. On dingchou He Fu camped at Lingbi. Yan interdicted his supplies; Ping An detached sixty thousand men to guard the convoys. On jimao the prince led his elite in a slashing charge across their line. He split their host in half. He Fu stripped his camp to rescue the van. The prince’s line gave a little ground; Zhu Gaoxu’s ambush rose; Fu broke and ran. On xinsi he closed on their fort, stormed it, and took Ping An, Chen Hui, and thirty-seven more alive. He Fu alone got away. In the fifth month, on jichou, he seized Sizhou, paid homage at the ancestral tombs, and offered his father’s spirit an old ox and wine. On xinmao Sheng Yong barred the south Huai. Zhu Neng and Qiu Fu forded in secret, swept him aside, and took Xuyi.
14
癸巳，王集諸將議所向，或言宜取鳳阳，或言先取淮安。 王曰：「鳳阳楼橹完，淮安多积粟，攻之未易下。 不若乘胜直趨揚州，指仪真，則淮、鳳自震。 我耀兵江上，京師孤危，必有内变。」 諸將皆曰善。 己亥，徇揚州，駐軍江北。 天子遣慶成郡主至軍中，許割地以和，不听。 六月癸丑，江防都督佥事陳瑄以舟師叛，附於王。 甲寅，祭大江。 乙卯，自瓜州渡，盛庸以海艘迎戰，敗績。 戊午，下鎮江。 庚申，次龍潭。 辛酉，天子复遣大臣議割地，諸王继至，皆不听。 乙丑，至金川門，谷王橞、李景隆等开門納王，都城遂陷。 是日，王分命諸將守城及皇城，還駐龍江，下令抚安軍民。 大索齊泰、黄子澄、方孝孺等五十余人，榜其姓名曰奸臣。 丙寅，諸王群臣上表勸進。 己巳，王謁孝陵。 群臣备法驾，奉寶玺，迎呼萬岁。 王升辇，詣奉天殿即皇帝位。 复周王橚、齊王榑爵。 壬申，葬建文皇帝。 丁丑，殺齊泰、黄子澄、方孝孺，並夷其族。 坐奸黨死者甚眾。 戊寅，迁興宗孝康皇帝主於陵園，仍稱懿文太子。
On guisi the prince called his captains to decide their next blow. Some urged Fengyang; others, Huai’an first. The prince said, “Fengyang’s walls are whole; Huai’an is fat with grain. Either will cost us dearly. Better to drive while we are hot on Yangzhou and fix our aim on Yizhen. Huai and Feng will tremble without a siege. Show our banners on the Yangtze and the capital will stand friendless. Turmoil inside is certain. Every commander agreed. On jihai he overran Yangzhou and pitched camp on the north bank. The emperor sent the Princess of Qingcheng to his camp with an offer of territory for peace. He would not hear it. In the sixth month, on guichou, Chen Xuan, deputy commander of river defense, turned his fleet and joined the prince. On jiayin he offered sacrifice to the Great River. On yimao he crossed from Guazhou. Sheng Yong met him with sea junks and was shattered. On wuwu he took Zhenjiang. On gengshen he paused at Longtan. On xinyou the emperor again sent high ministers to negotiate a cession of land. Imperial princes followed one after another. He listened to none. On yichou he came to Jinchuan Gate. The Prince of Gu, Zhu Yunyi, Li Jinglong, and others opened the gates and let him in. The capital fell that day. That same day he posted his generals to hold the city and the Forbidden City, withdrew his headquarters to Longjiang, and proclaimed calm for soldiers and people alike. He hunted Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng, Fang Xiaoru, and more than fifty besides, and posted their names under the heading “treacherous ministers.” On bingyin the princes and the court memorialized him to take the throne. On jisi he paid homage at the Xiaoling tombs. The officials arrayed the imperial regalia, bore up the seals, and welcomed him with ten thousand cries of long life. He mounted the palanquin, entered the Hall of Imperial Heaven, and took the throne. He restored the ranks of the Prince of Zhou, Zhu Su, and the Prince of Qi, Zhu Fu. On renshen he buried the Jianwen emperor. On dingchou he put Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng, and Fang Xiaoru to death and extirpated their kin to the last degree. Very many died as accomplices of the faction. On wuyin he moved the shrine of Emperor Xiaokang of Xingzong into the imperial cemetery and continued to name him Crown Prince Yiwen.
15
八月壬子，侍讀解缙、編修黄淮入直文淵閣。 尋命侍讀胡广，修撰楊榮，編修楊士奇，檢討金幼孜、故俨同入直，並預機務。 執兵部尚書铁铉至，不屈，殺之。 左軍都督劉真鎮遼東。 丁巳，分遣御史察天下利弊。 戊午，都督何福為征虏將軍，鎮宁夏，節制陕西行都司。 都督同知韩观练兵江西，節制广東、福建。 甲子，西平侯沐晟鎮云南。 九月甲申，論靖難功，封丘福淇國公，朱能成國公，張武等侯者十三人，徐祥等伯者十一人。 論欸附功，封驸馬都尉王宁為侯，茹瑺、陳瑄及都督同知王佐皆為伯。 甲午，定功臣死罪减禄例。 乙未，徙山西民無田者實北平，賜之钞，复五年，韩观為征南將軍，鎮广西。
In the eighth month, on renzi, Reader-in-Waiting Xie Jin and Compiler Huang Huai took up duty in the Wenyuan Pavilion. Soon he also summoned Hu Guang, Yang Rong, Yang Shiqi, Jin Youzi, and Hu Yan to the same inner service, each to share in the highest counsel. Tie Xuan, minister of war, was brought in chains. He would not bow. He was executed. Liu Zhen, left commander-in-chief, was posted to guard Liaodong. On dingsi he sent censors abroad to survey what helped or hurt the realm. On wuwu Commander He Fu was named General Who Subdues the Barbarians, garrisoned at Ningxia, and given charge of the Shaanxi regional command. Assistant Commander Han Guan drilled troops in Jiangxi and held authority over Guangdong and Fujian. On jiazi the Marquis of Xiping, Mu Sheng, took up his post in Yunnan. In the ninth month, on jiashen, service in the Pacification was rewarded: Qiu Fu became Duke of Qi, Zhu Neng Duke of Cheng; thirteen men including Zhang Wu were made marquises and eleven including Xu Xiang were made earls. Those who had come over in time were also honored: the emperor’s son-in-law Wang Ning was made a marquis; Ru Yao, Chen Xuan, and Assistant Commander Wang Zuo were each made an earl. On jiawu he fixed the rule that a meritorious minister condemned to death might instead suffer a cut in stipend. On yiwei landless families from Shanxi were resettled in Beiping, paid in paper notes, and granted five years’ tax relief. Han Guan was named General Who Campaigns South and posted to Guangxi.
16
冬十月丁巳，命北平州縣弃官避靖難兵者朱宁等二百一十九人入粟免死，戍興州。 己未，脩《太祖實錄》。 丙寅，鎮远侯顧成鎮貴州。 壬申，徙封谷王橞於长沙。 甲戌，詔从征將士掠民間子女者還其家。 十一月壬辰，立妃徐氏為皇后。 廢广澤王允熥、懷恩王允熞為庶人。 十二月癸丑，蠲被兵州縣明年夏税。
In winter’s tenth month, on dingsi, he ruled that two hundred nineteen officials of Beiping—including Zhu Ning—who had fled their posts during the war might buy their lives with grain and go into exile at Xingzhou. On jiwei work began on revising the Veritable Records of Taizu. On bingyin the Marquis of Zhenyuan, Gu Cheng, took up his command in Guizhou. On renshen the Prince of Gu, Zhu Yunyi, was moved to a new fief at Changsha. On jiaxu an edict commanded that any soldier who had taken children from the people during the campaign must send them home. In the eleventh month, on renchen, Lady Xu was installed as empress. The Prince of Guangze, Zhu Yunhuang, and the Prince of Huai’en, Zhu Yunxiao, were stripped to common rank. In the twelfth month, on guichou, he remitted the next summer’s levy for every district the war had touched.