Volume 123 Biographies 11: Chen Youliang, Zhang Shicheng, Fang Guozhen, Ming Yuzhen

陳友諒張士誠方國珍明玉珍

Chen Youliang, Zhang Shicheng, Fang Guozhen, and Ming Yuzhen

陳友諒

Chen Youliang

陳友諒，沔陽漁家子也。本謝氏，祖贅于陳，因從其姓。少讀書，略通文義。有術者相其先世墓地，曰「法當貴」，友諒心竊喜。嘗為縣小吏，非其好也。徐壽輝兵起，友諒往從之，依其將倪文俊為簿掾。

Chen Youliang was born into a fishing family in Mianyang. His family name had originally been Xie; a grandfather married into the Chen clan and adopted their surname. As a youth he received some schooling and gained a modest command of letters. A fortune-teller who inspected his family's ancestral graves declared that the geomantic signs foretold greatness, and Youliang quietly exulted. He once held a minor post as a county clerk, but the work did not suit him. When Xu Shouhui took up arms, Youliang joined his cause and entered the service of Ni Wenjun, one of Shouhui's generals, as a clerk.

壽輝，羅田人，又名真一，業販布。元末盜起，袁州僧彭瑩玉以妖術與麻城鄒普勝聚眾為亂，用紅巾為號，奇壽輝狀貌，遂推為主。至正十一年九月陷蘄水及黃州路，敗元威順王寬徹不花。遂即蘄水為都，稱皇帝，國號天完，建元治平，以普勝為太師。未幾，陷饒、信。明年分兵四出，連陷湖廣、江西諸郡縣。遂破昱嶺關，陷杭州。別將趙普勝等陷太平諸路。勢大振。然無遠志，所得不能守。明年為元師所破，壽輝走免。已而復熾，遷都漢陽，為其丞相倪文俊所制。

Shouhui came from Luotian; he was also known as Zhenyi and had made his living as a cloth merchant. When lawlessness spread at the close of the Yuan, the Yuanzhou monk Peng Yingyu, practicing heterodox rites, joined with Zou Pusheng of Macheng to raise a rebel host under the banner of the Red Turbans. Struck by Shouhui's striking looks, they made him their chief. In the ninth month of Zhizheng 11 (1351) they seized Qishui and Huangzhou, defeating the Yuan Prince of Weishun, Kuanchibuhua. They then established their capital at Qishui, proclaimed an emperor, adopted the state name Tianwan, inaugurated the era Zhiping, and named Pusheng Grand Preceptor. Before long they also took Rao and Xin prefectures. The following year they dispatched armies in every direction and in rapid succession overran prefectures and counties throughout Huguang and Jiangxi. They broke through Yuling Pass and took Hangzhou. Other columns under Zhao Pusheng and others seized the Taiping region. Their power swelled dramatically. Yet they lacked long-range vision and could not hold what they seized. The next year Yuan forces routed them, and Shouhui barely escaped. They soon revived, moved the capital to Hanyang, and fell under the control of their chancellor Ni Wenjun.

十七年九月，文俊謀弑壽輝，不克，奔黃州。時友諒隸文俊麾下，數有功，為領兵元帥。遂乘釁殺文俊，並其兵，自稱宣慰使，尋稱平章政事。

In the ninth month of year seventeen Wenjun attempted to murder Shouhui but failed and fled to Huangzhou. Youliang then served under Wenjun, distinguished himself in repeated campaigns, and was made a field marshal. He seized the moment to kill Wenjun, absorbed his army, styled himself Pacification Commissioner, and soon took the title of Grand Councillor.

明年，陷安慶，又破龍興、瑞州，分兵取邵武、吉安，而自以兵入撫州。已，又破建昌、贛、汀、信、衢。

The next year he took Anqing, defeated the garrisons at Longxing and Ruizhou, sent detachments against Shaowu and Ji'an, and personally marched on Fuzhou. He went on to conquer Jianchang, Ganzhou, Tingzhou, Xinzhou, and Quzhou.

當是時，江以南惟友諒兵最強。太祖之取太平也，與為鄰。友諒陷元池州，太祖遣常遇春擊取之，由是數相攻擊。趙普勝者，故驍將，號「雙刀趙」。初與俞通海等屯巢湖，同歸太祖，叛去歸壽輝。至是為友諒守安慶，數引兵爭池州、太平，往來掠境上。太祖患之，啖普勝客，使潛入友諒軍間普勝。普勝不之覺，見友諒使者輒訴功，悻悻有德色。友諒銜之，疑其貳於己，以會師為名，自江州猝至。普勝以燒羊逆於雁漢。甫登舟，友諒即殺普勝，並其軍。乃以輕兵襲池州，為徐達等擊敗，師盡覆。

At that time no force south of the Yangtze rivaled Youliang's army in strength. When the Founding Emperor seized Taiping, their territories lay side by side. Youliang seized Chizhou from the Yuan; the Founding Emperor sent Chang Yuchun to recover it, and from then on the two sides clashed again and again. Zhao Pusheng had been a ferocious commander in earlier days and was known as "Twin-Saber Zhao." He had once camped with Yu Tonghai and others at Chaohu Lake and submitted to the Founding Emperor along with them, but later defected to Shouhui. Now he held Anqing for Youliang and repeatedly led raids to wrest Chizhou and Taiping from Ming control, harrying the frontier without cease. The Founding Emperor, vexed by these incursions, won over one of Pusheng's retainers and sent him into Youliang's camp to breed suspicion between the two men. Pusheng noticed nothing amiss; whenever Youliang's messengers appeared he boasted of his exploits with an air of injured pride, as though his due had been withheld. Youliang took offense and suspected treachery; claiming he was coming to join forces, he rushed down from Jiangzhou without warning. Pusheng went out to Yanhan to greet him with a feast of roast lamb. The moment Pusheng stepped aboard, Youliang killed him and absorbed his troops. He then sent a light force against Chizhou, but Xu Da and others routed it and destroyed the entire column.

始友諒破龍興，壽輝欲徙都之，友諒不可。未幾，壽輝遽發漢陽，次江州。江州，友諒治所也，伏兵郭外，迎壽輝入，即閉城門，悉殺其所部。即江州為都，奉壽輝以居，而自稱漢王，置王府官屬。遂挾壽輝東下，攻太平。太平城堅不可拔，乃引巨舟薄城西南。士卒緣舟尾攀堞而登，遂克之。志益驕。進駐採石磯，遣部將陽白事壽輝前，戒壯士挾鐵撾擊碎其首。壽輝既死，以採石五通廟為行殿，即皇帝位，國號漢，改元大義，太師鄒普勝以下皆仍故官。會大風雨，群臣班沙岸稱賀，不能成禮。

Earlier, after Youliang captured Longxing, Shouhui had wanted to move the capital there, but Youliang refused. Before long Shouhui abruptly left Hanyang and made for Jiangzhou. Jiangzhou was Youliang's base. He stationed men outside the walls, welcomed Shouhui inside, then shut the gates and slaughtered every soldier in Shouhui's train. He made Jiangzhou his capital, kept Shouhui there as a figurehead, and styled himself King of Han with a full princely court. He then marched east with Shouhui in tow and laid siege to Taiping. Taiping's walls proved too strong to storm, so he brought up great warships and pressed them against the southwest face of the city. His men swarmed up the battlements from the sterns of the ships and at last seized the city. His arrogance only grew. He advanced to Caishiji and sent a subordinate named Yang to present a report before Shouhui, with strongmen hidden nearby to crush his skull with iron mallets. Once Shouhui was dead, Youliang made the Wutong Temple at Caishi his provisional palace, proclaimed himself emperor, adopted the state name Han and the era Dayi, and left Zou Pusheng and the rest of the court in their former posts. A violent storm broke out just then, and though his ministers arrayed themselves on the sandbank to offer congratulations, no proper ceremony could be completed.

友諒性雄猜，好以權術馭下。既僭號，盡有江西、湖廣之地，恃其兵強，欲東取應天。太祖患友諒與張士誠合，乃設計令其故人康茂才為書誘之，令速來。友諒果引舟師東下，至江東橋，呼茂才不應，始知為所紿。戰于龍灣，大敗。潮落舟膠，死者無算，亡戰艦數百，乘輕舸走。張德勝追敗之慈湖，焚其舟。馮國勝以五翼軍蹙之，友諒出皁旗軍迎戰，又大敗。遂棄太平，走江州。太祖兵乘勝取安慶，其將于光、歐普祥皆降。明年，友諒遣兵復陷安慶。太祖自將伐之，復安慶，長驅至江州。友諒戰敗，夜挈妻子奔武昌。其將吳宏以饒降，王溥以建昌降，胡廷瑞以龍興降。

Youliang was bold, suspicious, and fond of ruling his followers through intrigue and manipulation. Once he had assumed an imperial title and held all of Jiangxi and Huguang, he trusted in his military strength and set his sights on conquering Yingtian in the east. Fearing an alliance between Youliang and Zhang Shicheng, the Founding Emperor arranged for his old comrade Kang Maocai to write a letter luring Youliang east with a promise of swift joint action. Youliang took the bait and sailed east with his fleet. At Jiangdong Bridge he called for Maocai and received no answer; only then did he realize he had been tricked. Battle was joined at Longwan, and he suffered a crushing defeat. As the tide ebbed his ships ran aground; countless men perished and hundreds of warships were lost, and he escaped only in a light boat. Zhang Desheng pursued him to Cihu, defeated him again, and burned his fleet. Feng Guosheng closed in with the Five-Wing Army; Youliang sent out his Black Banner corps to meet them and was routed once more. He abandoned Taiping and fled back to Jiangzhou. The Founding Emperor's forces pressed their advantage, took Anqing, and received the surrender of Youliang's generals Yu Guang and Ou Puxiang. The following year Youliang sent troops and recaptured Anqing. The Founding Emperor led the campaign in person, retook Anqing, and marched straight on Jiangzhou. Defeated in battle, Youliang fled by night to Wuchang with his wife and children. His generals defected one after another: Wu Hong surrendered Rao prefecture, Wang Pu Jianchang, and Hu Tingrui Longxing.

友諒忿疆土日蹙，乃大治樓船數百艘，皆高數丈，飾以丹漆，每船三重，置走馬棚，上下人語聲不相聞，艫箱皆裹以鐵。載家屬百官，盡銳攻南昌，飛梯沖車，百道並進。太祖從子文正及鄧愈堅守，三月不能下，太祖自將救之。友諒聞太祖至，撤圍，東出鄱陽湖，遇于康郎山。友諒集巨艦，連鎖為陣，太祖兵不能仰攻，連戰三日，幾殆。已，東北風起，乃縱火焚友諒舟，其弟友仁等皆燒死。友仁號五王，眇一目，有勇略，既死，友諒氣沮。是戰也，太祖舟雖小，然輕駛，友諒軍俱艨艟巨艦，不利進退，以是敗。

Smarting as his domain shrank day by day, Youliang built several hundred tower ships, each several zhang tall and painted bright red. Every vessel had three decks with running galleries so that men on different levels could not hear one another's speech, and the hulls were sheathed in iron. He embarked with his family and entire court, threw his best troops against Nanchang, and assaulted the walls simultaneously from a hundred directions with scaling ladders and battering rams. The Founding Emperor's nephew Zhu Wen Zheng and Deng Yu held the city stubbornly. After three months it still had not fallen, and the Founding Emperor marched to its relief in person. Learning that the Founding Emperor was approaching, Youliang raised the siege, sailed east onto Poyang Lake, and encountered the Ming fleet at Kanglang Mountain. Youliang massed his great ships and chained them into a battle line. The Ming forces could not strike upward against such heights, and after three days of fighting they were nearly undone. Then a northeast wind sprang up, and the Ming set fire to Youliang's fleet. His brother Youren and many others perished in the flames. Youren, known as the Fifth King, was one-eyed but bold and resourceful. When he died, Youliang's morale collapsed. In this battle the Founding Emperor's vessels were small but nimble, whereas Youliang's force consisted entirely of heavy tower ships that could neither advance nor retreat readily, and for that reason he lost.

太祖所乘舟檣白，友諒約軍士明日並力攻白檣舟。太祖知之，令舟檣盡白。翌日復戰，自辰至午，友諒軍大敗。友諒欲退保奚山，太祖已先扼湖口，邀其歸路。持數日，友諒謀于眾。右金吾將軍曰：「出湖難，宜焚舟登陸，直趨湖南圖再舉。」左金吾將軍曰：「此示弱也，彼以步騎躡我，進退失所據，大事去矣。」友諒不能決，既而曰：「右金吾言是也。」左金吾以言不用，舉所部來降。右金吾知之，亦降。友諒益困。太祖凡再移友諒書，其略曰：「吾欲與公約從，各安一方，以俟天命。公失計，肆毒於我。我輕師間出，奄有公龍興十一郡，猶不自悔禍，復構兵端。一困于洪都，再敗于康郎，骨肉將士重罹塗炭。公即幸生還，亦宜卻帝號，坐待真主，不則喪家滅姓，悔晚矣。」友諒得書忿恚，不報。久之乏食，突圍出湖口。諸將自上流邀擊之，大戰涇江口。漢軍且鬥且走，日暮猶不解。友諒從舟中引首出，有所指捴，驟中流矢，貫晴及顱死。軍大潰，太子善兒被執。太尉張定邊夜挾友諒次子理，載其屍遁還武昌。友諒豪侈，嘗造鏤金床甚工，宮中器物類是。既亡，江西行省以床進。太祖歎曰：「此與孟昶七寶溺器何異！」命有司毀之。友諒僭號凡四年。

The Founding Emperor's flagship had a white mast. Youliang ordered his men to concentrate the next day's attack on that white-masted vessel. When the Founding Emperor learned of the plan, he ordered every mast in his fleet painted white. They fought again the next day from morning until noon, and Youliang's army was routed. Youliang tried to fall back to Mount Zeng, but the Founding Emperor had already seized Hukou and cut off his retreat. After several days of stalemate, Youliang sought counsel from his officers. The Right Golden Crow General said, "Breaking out of the lake will be hard. We should burn the fleet, go ashore, and march straight into Hunan to regroup for another campaign. The Left Golden Crow General replied, "That would show weakness. The enemy would run us down with infantry and cavalry; stripped of our ships we would have nowhere to stand, and all would be lost." Youliang could not make up his mind, but finally declared, "The Right Golden Crow General is right." The Left Golden Crow General, rebuffed, brought his entire command over to the Ming side. When the Right Golden Crow General learned of this, he surrendered as well. Youliang's plight grew desperate. The Founding Emperor wrote to Youliang twice. The gist of his message was: "I wish to make a pact with you so that each of us may hold his own territory and await Heaven's mandate. You chose wrongly and unleashed ruin upon me. I marched a light force by a surprise route and seized your eleven Longxing prefectures, yet you still would not repent and again took up arms. You were trapped once at Hongdu and defeated twice at Kanglang; your kin, your commanders, and your soldiers have again and again been cast into misery. Even if you should by some fortune escape alive, you ought to renounce your imperial title and wait quietly for the true sovereign. Otherwise you will lose your house and your name, and regret will come too late. Youliang read the letter in a fury and sent no answer. After a long siege his supplies gave out, and he forced a breakout toward Hukou. Ming generals intercepted him from upstream, and a great battle was fought at the mouth of the Jing River. The Han forces fought as they retreated, and even at dusk the battle had not ended. Youliang leaned out of his boat to give some command when suddenly a stray arrow struck him, piercing his eye and skull and killing him outright. His army collapsed in rout, and his crown prince Shan'er was taken prisoner. By night Grand Marshal Zhang Dingbian took Youliang's second son Li, placed the body aboard a boat, and fled back to Wuchang. Youliang had lived in lavish style; he once commissioned an exquisitely wrought gold-inlaid bed, and the furnishings of his palace were all of that kind. After his fall the Jiangxi provincial administration presented the bed to the court. The Founding Emperor sighed and said, "How is this different from Meng Chang's jeweled chamber pot! He ordered the authorities to destroy it. Youliang had held his usurped imperial title for four years in all.

子理既還武昌，嗣偽位，改元德壽。是冬，太祖親征武昌。明年二月再親征。其丞相張必先自岳州來援，次洪山。常遇春擊擒之，徇於城下。必先，驍將也，軍中號「潑張」，倚為重。及被擒，城中大懼，由是欲降者眾。太祖乃遣其故臣羅復仁入城招理。理遂降，入軍門，俯伏不敢視。太祖見理幼弱，掖之起，握其手曰：「吾不汝罪也。」府庫財物恣理取，旋應天，授爵歸德侯。

His son Li, once back in Wuchang, succeeded to the rebel throne and proclaimed the era Deshou. That winter the Founding Emperor led a personal campaign against Wuchang. The following February he led another personal campaign. His chancellor Zhang Bixian marched from Yuezhou to relieve the city and encamped at Hongshan. Chang Yuchun defeated and captured him, then paraded him before the walls of Wuchang. Bixian was a formidable commander known in camp as "Wild Zhang," and the Han army had leaned heavily on him. Once he was taken, panic spread through the city and many began to urge surrender. The Founding Emperor then sent his former follower Luo Furen into the city to negotiate Li's surrender. Li surrendered, entered the camp gate, and prostrated himself without daring to raise his eyes. Seeing how young and frail Li was, the Founding Emperor helped him to his feet, took his hand, and said, "I will not hold this against you. He let Li take whatever he wished from the treasury, then brought him to Yingtian and enfeoffed him as Marquis of Guide.

友諒之從徐壽輝也，其父普才止之。不聽。及貴，往迎之。普才曰：「汝違吾命，吾不知死所矣。」普才五子：長友富，次友直，又次友諒，又次友仁、友貴。友仁、友貴前死鄱陽。太祖平武昌，封普才承恩侯，友富歸仁伯，友直懷恩伯，贈友仁康山王，命所司立廟祀之，以友貴祔。理居京師，邑邑出怨望語。帝曰：「此童孺小過耳，恐細人蠱惑，不克全朕恩，宜處之遠方。」洪武五年，理及歸義侯明升並徙高麗，遣元降臣樞密使延安答理護行。賜高麗王羅綺，俾善視之。亦徙普才等滁陽。

When Youliang joined Xu Shouhui's cause, his father Pucai tried to dissuade him. Youliang would not listen. Once he had risen to power, Youliang went to bring his father to court. Pucai said, "You defied my wishes. I no longer know where I am to die. Pucai had five sons: Youfu, Youzhi, Youliang, Youren, and Yougui, in that order. Youren and Yougui had already died at Poyang. After pacifying Wuchang, the Founding Emperor enfeoffed Pucai as Marquis of Chengen, Youfu as Earl of Guiren, and Youzhi as Earl of Huai'en; he posthumously created Youren Prince of Kangshan, ordered a temple built in his honor, and had Yougui enshrined beside him. While living in the capital, Li occasionally let slip resentful and disloyal remarks. The Emperor said, "These are only the indiscretions of a boy, but I fear that schemers may turn his head and make it impossible for me to show him complete favor. He should be sent far away. In Hongwu 5 (1372), Li and the Marquis of Guiyi Ming Sheng were both exiled to Goryeo under the escort of the former Yuan Privy Council envoy Yan'an Dalai. He sent silks as gifts to the King of Goryeo and instructed him to treat the exiles well. Pucai and the rest of the family were also moved to Chuyang.

熊天瑞者，本荊州樂工，從徐壽輝抄略江、湘間。後受陳友諒命，攻陷臨江、吉安，又陷贛州。友諒俾以參知政事，守贛，兼統吉安、南安、南雄、韶州諸路。久之，陽言東下，署其幟曰「無敵」，自稱金紫光祿大夫、司徒、平章軍國重事。友諒不能制。陰圖取廣東，造戰艦于南雄，帥數萬眾趨廣州。元將何真以兵迎于胥江。會天大雷雨，震其艦檣折，天瑞懼而還。太祖兵克臨江，遣常遇春等攻贛，天瑞拒守五越月，至正二十五年正月，乃帥其養子元震肉袒詣軍門降。太祖宥之，授指揮使。明年從攻浙西，叛降于張士誠，教士誠飛礮擊外軍。城中木石俱盡，外軍多傷者。士誠滅，天瑞伏誅。

Xiong Tianrui had originally been a musician in Jingzhou. He followed Xu Shouhui in plundering the lands along the Yangtze and the Xiang. Later, acting on Chen Youliang's orders, he seized Linjiang and Ji'an and then took Ganzhou. Youliang made him Vice Grand Councillor and governor of Ganzhou, with authority over Ji'an, Nan'an, Nanxiong, and Shaozhou as well. After some time he pretended to march east, emblazoned his banners with the word "Invincible," and took for himself the titles of Grand Master of Splendid Happiness with Golden Seal and Purple Ribbon, Minister of Education, and Grand Councillor of Important State and Military Affairs. Youliang could not restrain him. He secretly planned to seize Guangdong, built warships at Nanxiong, and marched on Guangzhou at the head of tens of thousands of men. The Yuan general He Zhen confronted him with an army at Xujiang. A violent thunderstorm struck, lightning shattered the mast of his flagship, and Tianrui turned back in fear. After Ming forces took Linjiang, the Founding Emperor sent Chang Yuchun against Ganzhou. Tianrui held out for more than five months, but in the first month of Zhizheng 25 (1365) he came to the camp bare-chested with his adopted son Yuanzhen and surrendered. The Founding Emperor spared his life and appointed him a military commander. The following year, during the campaign in western Zhejiang, he defected to Zhang Shicheng and taught him how to use trebuchets against the besieging Ming army. The city's timber and stone ammunition ran out, but many besiegers were killed or wounded. When Shicheng fell, Tianrui was put to death.

有周時中者，龍泉人，嘗為壽輝平章。後帥所部降，策天瑞必叛。後果如其言。時中累官吏部尚書，出為鎮江知府，曆福建鹽運副使。

Zhou Shizhong of Longquan had once served as Grand Councillor under Xu Shouhui. He later surrendered with his troops and predicted that Tianrui would rebel. Events proved him right. Shizhong rose to Minister of Personnel, served as prefect of Zhenjiang, and later as deputy salt commissioner of Fujian.

元震本姓田氏，善戰有名。遇春之圍贛也，元震竊出覘兵，遇春亦引數騎出，猝與遇。元震不知為遇春也，過之。及遇春還，始覺，遂單騎前襲遇春。遇春遣從騎揮刀擊之，元震奮鐵撾且鬥且走。遇春曰：「壯男子也。」舍之。由是喜其才勇。既從天瑞降，薦以為指揮使。天瑞誅，復故姓雲。

Yuanzhen had been born into the Tian clan and was renowned as a fighter. While Yuchun was besieging Ganzhou, Yuanzhen slipped out to scout the enemy lines. Yuchun too rode out with a few horsemen, and the two parties met by chance. Yuanzhen did not recognize Yuchun and rode past. Only after Yuchun had turned back did Yuanzhen realize who it was, and he wheeled around alone to charge him. Yuchun's escorts slashed at him with their swords, but Yuanzhen fought them off with an iron mallet as he retreated. Yuchun said, "What a brave man. He let him go. From that moment he admired the man's courage and skill. After Yuanzhen surrendered with Tianrui, Yuchun recommended him for a commander's post. When Tianrui was executed, he resumed his original surname, Yun.

張士誠

Zhang Shicheng

張士誠，小字九四，泰州白駒場亭人。有弟三人，並以操舟運鹽為業，緣私作奸利。頗輕財好施，得群輩心。常鬻鹽諸富家，富家多陵侮之，或負其直不酬。而弓手丘義尤窘辱士誠甚。士誠忿，即帥諸弟及壯士李伯升等十八人殺義，並滅諸富家，縱火焚其居。入旁郡場，招少年起兵。鹽丁方苦重役，遂共推為主，陷泰州。高郵守李齊諭降之，復叛。殺行省參政趙璉，並陷興化，結砦德勝湖，有眾萬餘。元以萬戶告身招之。不受。紿殺李齊，襲據高郵，自稱誠王，僭號大周，建元天祐。是歲至正十三年也。

Zhang Shicheng, whose childhood name was Jiusi, came from Baiting in Baiju Field, Taizhou. He had three younger brothers. Together they made their living hauling salt by boat and profited from smuggling on the side. He was generous with money and won the loyalty of his fellows. He often sold salt to wealthy households, who bullied him and sometimes refused to pay what they owed. The bowman Qiu Yi humiliated him worse than any of the rest. Enraged, Shicheng gathered his brothers and seventeen stalwarts including Li Bosheng, killed Qiu Yi, slaughtered the wealthy families who had wronged him, and burned their houses. He crossed into a neighboring salt district, rallied young men, and raised an army. Salt workers groaning under heavy labor duties made him their leader and together they seized Taizhou. Li Qi, the Gaoyou commander, persuaded him to submit, but he rebelled again. He killed the Branch Secretariat Vice Commissioner Zhao Lian, took Xinghua as well, fortified a camp at Desheng Lake, and gathered more than ten thousand men. The Yuan court offered him a ten-thousand-household commission to win him over. He refused. He tricked and killed Li Qi, seized Gaoyou, styled himself King of Cheng, proclaimed the state of Great Zhou, and adopted the era name Tianyou. This was Zhizheng 13 (1353).

明年，元右丞相脫脫總大軍出討，數敗士誠，圍高郵，隳其外城。城且下，順帝信讒，解脫脫兵柄，削官爵，以他將代之。士誠乘間奮擊，元兵潰去，由是復振。逾年，淮東饑，士誠乃遣弟士德由通州渡江入常熟。

The next year the Yuan Right Chancellor Toghto led a great army against him, defeated him repeatedly, besieged Gaoyou, and breached its outer walls. Just as the city was about to fall, the Shundi Emperor believed slander against Toghto, stripped him of command and rank, and replaced him with another general. Shicheng seized the moment and counterattacked fiercely. The Yuan army broke and fled, and his fortunes revived. The following year famine struck eastern Huai, and Shicheng sent his brother Shide across the Yangtze from Tongzhou into Changshu.

十六年二月陷平江，並陷湖州、松江及常州諸路。改平江為隆平府，士誠自高郵來都之。即承天寺為府第，踞坐大殿中，射三矢於棟以識。是歲，太祖亦下集慶，遣楊憲通好於士誠。其書曰：「昔隗囂稱雄於天水，今足下亦擅號于姑蘇，事勢相等，吾深為足下喜。睦鄰守境，古人所貴，竊甚慕焉。自今信使往來，毋惑讒言，以生邊釁。」士誠得書，留憲不報。已，遣舟師攻鎮江。徐達敗之于龍潭。太祖遣達及湯和攻常州。士誠兵來援，大敗，失張、湯二將，乃以書求和，請歲輸粟二十萬石，黃金五百兩，白金三百斤。太祖答書，責其歸楊憲，歲輸五十萬石。士誠復不報。

In the second month of year sixteen he took Pingjiang along with Huzhou, Songjiang, and Changzhou. He renamed Pingjiang Long'an Prefecture and moved his capital there from Gaoyou. He made Chengtian Temple his palace, seated himself in the main hall, and shot three arrows into a roof beam to mark the spot. That same year the Founding Emperor seized Jiqing and sent Yang Xian to propose friendly relations with Shicheng. His letter read: "Long ago Wei Xiao made himself master of Tianshui; now you hold sway at Gusu. Our positions are much alike, and I congratulate you sincerely. The ancients prized neighborly peace and secure borders, and I deeply admire your example. Let our envoys pass freely hereafter, and do not let slander breed conflict between us. Shicheng received the letter, detained Yang Xian, and sent no reply. Before long he sent his fleet against Zhenjiang. Xu Da defeated him at Longtan. The Founding Emperor sent Xu Da and Tang He against Changzhou. Shicheng sent relief forces but suffered a crushing defeat and lost two generals named Zhang and Tang. He then sued for peace, offering two hundred thousand piculs of grain per year plus five hundred taels of gold and three hundred jin of silver. The Founding Emperor replied, demanding the return of Yang Xian and raising the annual tribute to five hundred thousand piculs of grain. Shicheng again sent no answer.

初，士誠既得平江，即以兵攻嘉興。元守將苗帥楊完者數敗其兵。乃遣士德間道破杭州。完者還救，復敗歸。明年，耿炳文取長興，徐達取常州，吳良等取江陰，士誠兵不得四出，勢漸蹙。亡何，徐達兵徇宜興，攻常熟。士德迎戰敗，為前鋒趙德勝所擒。士德，小字九六，善戰有謀，能得士心，浙西地皆其所略定。既被擒，士誠大沮。太祖欲留士德以招士誠。士德間道貽士誠書，俾降元。士誠遂決計請降。江浙右丞相達識帖睦邇為言於朝，授士誠太尉，官其將吏有差。士德在金陵竟不食死。士誠雖去偽號，擅甲兵土地如故。達識帖睦邇在杭與楊完者有隙，陰召士誠兵。士誠遣史文炳襲殺完者，遂有杭州。順帝遣使征糧，賜之龍衣禦酒。士誠自海道輸糧十一萬石於大都，歲以為常。既而益驕，令其下頌功德，邀王爵。不許。

Once Shicheng held Pingjiang, he immediately attacked Jiaxing. The Yuan defender Yang Wanzhe, a Miao commander, defeated him again and again. He then sent Shide by a secret route to seize Hangzhou. Wanzhe rushed back to relieve the city but was beaten again and driven off. The next year Geng Bingwen took Changxing, Xu Da took Changzhou, and Wu Liang and others took Jiangyin. Shicheng's armies could no longer operate freely, and his position steadily narrowed. Before long Xu Da overran Yixing and laid siege to Changshu. Shide marched out to meet them but was defeated and captured by the vanguard Zhao Desheng. Shide, whose childhood name was Jiuliu, was a skilled and resourceful commander who won the loyalty of his men. It was he who had conquered most of western Zhejiang. When Shide was taken, Shicheng fell into deep despair. The Founding Emperor hoped to keep Shide alive as leverage to win over Shicheng. Shide smuggled a letter to Shicheng urging him to submit to the Yuan. Shicheng thereupon decided to sue for Yuan protection. The Jiangzhe Right Chancellor Dashin Temur pleaded his case at court. Shicheng was appointed Grand Marshal, and his officers received appropriate Yuan posts. Shide starved himself to death while held at Jinling. Though Shicheng gave up his rebel title, he retained his army and territory as before. Dashin Temur, stationed at Hangzhou, feuded with Yang Wanzhe and secretly called in Shicheng's army. Shicheng sent Shi Wenbing to ambush and kill Wanzhe, and thereby seized Hangzhou. The Shundi Emperor sent envoys to collect grain tribute and rewarded him with imperial robes and wine. Shicheng shipped one hundred ten thousand piculs of grain annually to Dadu by sea, and this became a fixed obligation. Before long he grew still more arrogant, had his followers praise his merit and virtue, and sought a royal enfeoffment. The request was refused.

二十三年九月，士誠復自立為吳王，尊其母曹氏為王太妃，置官屬，別治府第於城中，以士信為浙江行省左丞相，幽達識帖睦邇於嘉興。元征糧不復與。參軍俞思齊者，字中孚，泰州人，諫士誠曰：「向為賊，可無貢；今為臣，不貢可乎？」士誠怒，抵案僕地，思齊即引疾去。當是時，士誠所據，南抵紹興，北逾徐州，達于濟甯之金溝，西距汝、潁、濠、泗，東薄海，二千餘里，帶甲數十萬。以士信及女夫潘元紹為腹心，左丞徐義、李伯升、呂珍為爪牙，參軍黃敬夫、蔡彥文、葉德新主謀議，元學士陳基、右丞饒介典文章。又好招延賓客，所贈遺輿馬、居室、什器甚具。諸僑寓貧無籍者爭趨之。

In the ninth month of Zhizheng 23 (1363), Shicheng again proclaimed himself King of Wu, ennobled his mother Lady Cao as Queen Dowager, appointed a full court, established a separate palace within the city, named Shixin Left Chancellor of the Zhejiang Branch Secretariat, and detained Dashin Temur at Jiaxing. The Yuan court ceased supplying him with levy grain. Yu Siqi, a military adviser styled Zhongfu and a native of Taizhou, remonstrated with Shicheng: "When you were still a rebel, paying no tribute was understandable; but now that you are a subject of the court, can you refuse tribute? Shicheng flew into a rage, slammed the desk and knocked him down. Siqi at once resigned on grounds of illness and left. At that time Shicheng's domain stretched more than two thousand li from Shaoxing in the south to beyond Xuzhou and Jingou in Jining in the north, from the Ru, Ying, Hao, and Si region in the west to the sea in the east, and he fielded several hundred thousand armored men. Shixin and his son-in-law Pan Yuanshao served as his inner circle; Xu Yi, Li Bosheng, and Lü Zhen were his chief lieutenants; Huang Jingfu, Cai Yanwen, and Ye Dexin handled strategy; and the Yuan academician Chen Ji and Right Vice Minister Rao Jie oversaw state papers and prose. He also lavishly patronized guests, bestowing carriages, horses, houses, and furnishings in full measure. Poor wanderers without local registration flocked to his court.

士誠為人，外遲重寡言，似有器量，而實無遠圖。既據有吳中，吳承平久，戶口殷盛，士誠漸奢縱，怠於政事。士信、元紹尤好聚斂，金玉珍寶及古法書名畫，無不充牣。日夜歌舞自娛。將帥亦偃蹇不用命，每有攻戰，輒稱疾，邀官爵田宅然後起。甫至軍，所載婢妾樂器踵相接不絕，或大會游談之士，樗蒲蹴踘，皆不以軍務為意。及喪師失地還，士誠概置不問。已，復用為將。上下嬉娛，以至於亡。

Outwardly Shicheng was ponderous and taciturn, seeming a man of breadth, but in truth he lacked any long-term vision. Once he held the Wu region—a land long at peace and thickly populated—Shicheng grew ever more extravagant and neglectful of governance. Shixin and Yuanshao were especially avid hoarders; gold, jade, jewels, and antique books and paintings packed their halls to overflowing. They spent day and night in song and dance for their own pleasure. His commanders too were insubordinate and high-handed; at every campaign they feigned illness and would fight only after being rewarded with rank, stipends, and estates. On reaching camp they trailed long processions of concubines and musicians, or held lavish parties with idle talkers over dice and cuju, never minding the business of war. When they returned after defeats that cost troops and territory, Shicheng asked no questions. Before long he would appoint them to command again. The court sank into pleasure from top to bottom until the end came.

太祖與士誠接境。士誠數以兵攻常州、江陰、建德、長興、諸全，輒不利去。而太祖遣邵榮攻湖州，胡大海攻紹興，常遇春攻杭州，亦皆不能下。廖永安被執，謝再興叛降士誠，會太祖與陳友諒相持，未暇及也。友諒亦遣使約士誠夾攻太祖，而士誠欲守境觀變，許使者，卒不行。太祖既平武昌，師還，即命徐達等規取准東，克泰州、通州，圍高郵。士誠以舟師溯江來援，太祖自將擊走之。達等遂拔高郵，取淮安，悉定淮北地。於是移檄平江，數士誠八罪。徐達、常遇春帥兵自太湖趨湖州，吳人迎戰於毘山，又戰於七里橋，皆敗，遂圍湖州。士誠遣硃暹、五太子等以六萬眾來援，屯於舊館，築五砦自固。達、遇春築十壘以遮之，斷其糧道。士誠知事急，親督兵來戰，敗于皁林。其將徐志堅敗於東遷，潘元紹敗于烏鎮，升山水陸寨皆破，舊館援絕，五太子、硃暹、呂珍皆降。五太子者，士誠養子，短小精悍，能平地躍丈餘，又善沒水，珍、暹皆宿將善戰，至是降。達等以徇於湖州。守將李伯升等以城降，嘉興、松江相繼降。潘原明亦以杭州降于李文忠。

The Founding Emperor and Shicheng now shared a common frontier. Shicheng repeatedly attacked Changzhou, Jiangyin, Jiande, Changxing, and Zhuquan, but always withdrew without success. The Founding Emperor's columns under Shao Rong, Hu Dahai, and Chang Yuchun against Huzhou, Shaoxing, and Hangzhou fared no better; none of the cities fell. Liao Yong'an was taken prisoner and Xie Zaixing defected to Shicheng, but the Founding Emperor was then fully engaged against Chen Youliang and could not yet turn his attention there. Youliang sent envoys proposing a joint assault on the Founding Emperor, but Shicheng preferred to hold his ground and wait; he gave the envoys a favorable answer yet never moved. After pacifying Wuchang the Founding Emperor sent Xu Da and others to secure the Huai region; they took Taizhou and Tongzhou and besieged Gaoyou. Shicheng sailed upriver with a fleet to relieve the city, but the Founding Emperor personally led his forces and drove him back. Xu Da and his colleagues then took Gaoyou and Huai'an and secured the entire region north of the Huai. They then issued a manifesto against Pingjiang listing eight counts against Shicheng. Xu Da and Chang Yuchun marched from Lake Tai on Huzhou; Wu armies fought them at Pishan and Qili Bridge, lost both engagements, and the city was besieged. Shicheng dispatched Zhu Xian, the Fifth Prince, and others with sixty thousand men to the relief; they camped at Jiuguan and threw up five fortified positions. Xu Da and Chang Yuchun erected ten blockhouses to intercept them and severed their supply lines. Realizing the crisis, Shicheng personally led troops into battle and was beaten at Zaolin. Xu Zhijian was routed at Dongqian, Pan Yuanshao at Wuzhen, the Shengshan river forts were overrun, the Jiuguan relief force was isolated, and the Fifth Prince, Zhu Xian, and Lü Zhen all surrendered. The Fifth Prince was Shicheng's adopted son—a compact, ferocious fighter who could leap more than ten feet from a standstill and dive with uncommon skill. Lü Zhen and Zhu Xian were seasoned warriors; now they too submitted. Xu Da paraded the captives before the walls of Huzhou. The garrison commander Li Bosheng surrendered the city, and Jiaxing and Songjiang followed suit. Pan Yuanming likewise surrendered Hangzhou to Li Wenzhong.

二十六年十一月，大軍進攻平江，築長圍困之。士誠距守數月。太祖貽書招之曰：「古之豪傑，以畏天順民為賢，以全身保族為智，漢竇融、宋錢俶是也。爾宜三思，勿自取夷滅，為天下笑。」士誠不報，數突圍決戰，不利。李伯升知士誠困甚，遣所善客逾城說士誠曰：「初公所恃者，湖州、嘉興、杭州耳，今皆失矣。獨守此城，恐變從中起，公雖欲死，不可得也。莫若順天命，遣使金陵，稱公所以歸義救民之意，開城門，幅巾待命，當不失萬戶侯。且公之地，譬如博者，得人之物而復失之，于公何損？」士誠仰觀良久曰：「吾將思之。」乃謝客，竟不降。士誠故有勇勝軍號「十條龍」者，皆驍猛善鬥，每被銀鎧錦衣出入陣中，至是亦悉敗，溺萬里橋下死。最後丞相士信中礮死，城中洶洶無固志。二十七年九月，城破，士誠收余眾戰于萬壽寺東街，眾散走。倉皇歸府第，拒戶自縊。故部將趙世雄解之。大將軍達數遣李伯升、潘元紹等諭意，士誠瞑目不答。舁出葑門，入舟，不復食。至金陵，竟自縊死，年四十七。命具棺葬之。

In the eleventh month of Zhizheng 26 (1366), the main army advanced on Pingjiang, threw up a cordon, and settled in for a siege. Shicheng held the city for several months. The Founding Emperor wrote urging surrender: "Great men of old valued reverence for Heaven and obedience to the people's will, and prized the wisdom of saving their own lives and their clans—Dou Rong of Han and Qian Chu of Song were such men. Think carefully; do not invite destruction and become a laughingstock to the world. Shicheng did not answer. He sallied repeatedly to break the siege and force a decisive battle, but each attempt failed. Li Bosheng, seeing how desperate Shicheng's position had become, sent a trusted adviser over the wall with this counsel: "Your strength once rested on Huzhou, Jiaxing, and Hangzhou—and all three are gone. Hold this city alone and revolt may erupt within; even if you wish to die, you may not be permitted to. Better to accept Heaven's mandate: send envoys to Jinling explaining that you submit to spare the people, open the gates, and await orders in plain dress—you should still receive a marquisate. And your lands are like a gambler's winnings—taken and then lost again; what do you truly forfeit? Shicheng gazed upward for a long moment and said, "I will consider it. He thanked the visitor and sent him away—but in the end he would not submit. Shicheng's elite "Ten Dragons" unit—ferocious fighters who rode into battle in silver armor and brocade—was annihilated; they drowned beneath Wanli Bridge. In the end Chancellor Shixin was killed by cannon fire, and panic spread through the city; morale collapsed. In the ninth month of Zhizheng 27 (1367) the walls were breached. Shicheng rallied his remaining troops for a last stand on East Street by Wanshou Temple, but his men broke and fled. He rushed back to his palace, bolted the door, and tried to hang himself. His old officer Zhao Shixiong cut him down and saved his life. Grand General Xu Da sent Li Bosheng, Pan Yuanshao, and others repeatedly to reason with him, but Shicheng kept his eyes shut and would not speak. He was borne out through Fumen Gate, placed aboard a boat, and refused all food. At Jinling he finally hanged himself. He was forty-seven. The Founding Emperor ordered a coffin prepared and had him buried.

方士誠之被圍也，語其妻劉曰：「吾敗且死矣，若曹何為？」劉答曰：「君無憂，妾必不負君。」積薪齊雲樓下。城破，驅群妾登樓，令養子辰保縱火焚之，亦自縊。有二幼子匿民間，不知所終。先是，黃敬夫等三人用事，吳人知士誠必敗，有「黃菜葉」十七字之謠，其後卒驗雲。

During the siege Shicheng told his wife Lady Liu, "I am beaten and will soon die. What will become of you? Lady Liu replied, "Do not fear, my lord—I will not fail you. She stacked firewood beneath Qiyun Tower. When the city fell she sent the concubines up the tower, had her adopted son Chenbao set the firewood ablaze, and hanged herself as well. Two young sons vanished among the people; their fate is unknown. While Huang Jingfu and his two colleagues still ruled, the people of Wu already foresaw Shicheng's downfall in a seventeen-character rhyme playing on the names Huang, Cai, and Ye as "yellow vegetable leaf"—and so it proved.

莫天祐者，元末聚眾保無錫州，士誠招之。不從。以兵攻之，亦不克。士誠既受元官，天祐乃降。士誠累表為同僉樞密院事。及平江既圍，他城皆下，惟天祐堅守。士誠破，胡廷瑞急攻之，乃降。太祖以其多傷我兵，誅之。

Mo Tianyou had raised a militia to hold Wuxi in the late Yuan. Shicheng tried to recruit him. Mo refused. Shicheng attacked but could not break him. Only after Shicheng accepted Yuan office did Tianyou submit. Shicheng repeatedly petitioned the Yuan court to appoint him Vice Councillor of the Privy Council. When Pingjiang was under siege and other cities fell one by one, Tianyou alone held firm. After Shicheng's defeat Hu Tingrui pressed the attack and Tianyou finally surrendered. The Founding Emperor had him executed for the heavy losses he had inflicted on Ming forces.

李伯升仕士誠至司徒，既降，命仍故官，進中書平章同知詹事府事。嘗將兵討平湖廣慈利蠻，又為征南右副將軍，同吳良討靖州蠻。後坐胡黨死。潘元明以平章守杭州降，仍為行省平章，與伯升俱歲食祿七百五十石，不治事。雲南平，以元明署布政司事，卒官。

Li Bosheng had risen to Grand Mentor under Shicheng. After his surrender he kept his rank and was promoted to Vice Grand Councillor of the Secretariat and deputy director of the Heir Apparent's household. He campaigned against the Pinghu and Guangcili tribes and later served as deputy southern expedition commander alongside Wu Liang against the Jingzhou tribes. He was later executed as an associate of Hu Weiyong's faction. Pan Yuanming surrendered Hangzhou while serving as Branch Secretariat Administrator; he kept that title and, like Bosheng, received an annual stipend of seven hundred fifty shi without active duties. After Yunnan was pacified he was put in charge of the provincial administration commission and died in office.

士誠自起至亡，凡十四年。

From his first rising to his final fall, Shicheng's cause lasted fourteen years.

方國珍

Fang Guozhen

方國珍，黃岩人。長身黑面，體白如瓠，力逐奔馬。世以販鹽浮海為業。元至正八年，有蔡亂頭者，行剽海上，有司發兵捕之。國珍怨家告其通寇。國珍殺怨家，遂與兄國璋、弟國瑛、國瑉亡入海，聚眾數千人，劫運艘，梗海道。行省參政朵兒只班討之，兵敗，為所執，脅使請於朝，授定海尉。尋叛，寇溫州。元以孛羅帖木兒為行省左丞，督兵往討，復敗，被執。乃遣大司農達識帖睦邇招之降。已而汝、潁兵起，元募舟師守江。國珍疑懼，復叛。誘殺台州路達魯花赤泰不華，亡入海。使人潛至京師，賂諸權貴，仍許降，授徽州路治中。國珍不聽命，陷台州，焚蘇之太倉。元復以海道漕運萬戶招之，乃受官。尋進行省參政，俾以兵攻張士誠。士誠遣將禦之昆山。國珍七戰七捷。會士誠亦降，乃罷兵。

Fang Guozhen was a native of Huangyan. He was tall and dark-faced, with a torso pale as a gourd, and strength enough to run down a galloping horse. His family made their living as salt smugglers plying the coastal trade. In Zhizheng 8 (1348) a pirate named Cai Luantou preyed on coastal shipping, and the authorities sent troops against him. A personal enemy denounced Guozhen for colluding with the pirates. Guozhen killed his accuser, fled to sea with his brothers Guozhang, Guoying, and Guomin, raised several thousand men, seized grain transports, and choked the shipping lanes. The Branch Secretariat Administrator Dorjiban marched against him but was defeated and captured. Guozhen forced him to intercede at court and received appointment as Defender of Dinghai. He soon rebelled again and raided Wenzhou. The Yuan sent Boluo Temur as Left Vice Minister of the Branch Secretariat to suppress him; he too was beaten and taken prisoner. The court then sent Dashin Temur, Grand Secretary of Agriculture, to negotiate his surrender. When rebellion erupted in the Ru and Ying region the Yuan recruited a river fleet for defense. Fearful and uncertain, Guozhen rebelled once more. He tricked and killed Taibuhua, the Mongol governor of Taizhou, and fled back to sea. He sent agents to the capital to bribe influential officials, secured another amnesty, and was appointed Vice Administrator of Huizhou. Guozhen ignored his orders, seized Taizhou, and burned Taicang in Suzhou prefecture. The Yuan court lured him back with the post of Sea Route Grain Transport Commissioner, and this time he accepted. He was soon promoted to Branch Secretariat Administrator and ordered to march against Zhang Shicheng. Shicheng sent a general to meet him at Kunshan. Guozhen won seven consecutive victories. When Shicheng in turn submitted to the Yuan, Guozhen stood down.

先是，天下承平，國珍兄弟始倡亂海上，有司憚於用兵，一意招撫。惟都事劉基以國珍首逆，數降數叛，不可赦。朝議不聽。國珍既授官，據有慶元、溫、台之地，益強不可制。國珍之初作亂也，元出空名宣敕數十道募人擊賊。海濱壯士多應募立功。所司邀重賄，不輒與，有一家數人死事卒不得官者。而國珍之徒，一再招諭，皆至大官。由是民慕為盜，從國珍者益眾。元既失江、淮，資國珍舟以通海運，重以官爵羈縻之，而無以難也。有張子善者，好縱橫術，說國珍以師溯江窺江東，北略青、徐、遼海。國珍曰：「吾始志不及此。」謝之去。

From the first, while the empire still seemed at peace, the Fang brothers had pioneered piracy on the coast; local officials shrank from military action and relied exclusively on conciliation. Only Commissioner Liu Ji maintained that Guozhen, as the original rebel who had surrendered and rebelled again and again, deserved no pardon. The court would not heed him. Once Guozhen had received his appointment, he held Qingyuan, Wenzhou, and Taizhou and grew so powerful that no one could restrain him. When Guozhen first rose in rebellion, the Yuan court issued dozens of rescripts bearing empty titles, calling on men to join the fight against the rebels. Many bold men of the coast answered the summons and won distinction in battle. The offices in charge demanded heavy bribes and would not readily grant commissions; some families lost several men in the fighting and still never received an appointment. Yet Guozhen's men, summoned and placated again and again, all rose to high rank. From this the people came to admire the life of a bandit, and Guozhen's following swelled. After the Yuan lost the Yangtze and Huai regions, they depended on Guozhen's fleet for the sea route of the grain tribute and tried to tether him with lavish offices and titles, yet had no real leverage over him. One Zhang Zishan, a devotee of alliance and stratagem, urged Guozhen to march his forces up the Yangtze and probe Jiangdong, then strike north toward Qingzhou, Xuzhou, and the Liaohai coast. Guozhen said, "My ambitions never reached that far. He thanked him and sent him on his way.

太祖已取婺州，使主簿蔡元剛使慶元。國珍謀於其下曰：「江左號令嚴明，恐不能與抗。況為我敵者，西有吳，南有閩。莫若姑示順從，藉為聲援以觀變。」眾以為然。於是遣使奉書進黃金五十斤，白金百斤，文綺百匹。太祖復遣鎮撫孫養浩報之。國珍請以溫、台、慶元三郡獻，且遣次子關為質。太祖卻其質，厚賜而遣之；復使博士夏煜往，拜國珍福建行省平章事，弟國瑛參知政事，國瑉樞密分院僉事。國珍名獻三郡，實陰持兩端。煜既至，乃詐稱疾，自言老不任職，惟受平章印誥而已。太祖察其情，以書諭曰：「吾始以汝豪傑識時務，故命汝專制一方。汝顧中懷叵測，欲覘我虛實則遣侍子，欲卻我官爵則稱老病。夫智者轉敗為功，賢者因禍成福，汝審圖之。」是時國珍歲歲治海舟，為元氵曹張士誠粟十余萬石于京師，元累進國珍官至江浙行省左丞相衢國公，分省慶元。國珍受之如故，特以甘言謝太祖，絕無內附意。及得所諭書，竟不省。太祖復以書諭曰：「福基於至誠，禍生於反覆，隗囂、公孫述故轍可鑒。大軍一出，不可虛辭解也。」國珍詐窮，復陽為惶懼謝罪，以金寶飾鞍馬獻。太祖復卻之。

The Founding Emperor had already seized Wuzhou and dispatched Registrar Cai Yuangang as envoy to Qingyuan. Guozhen consulted his subordinates and said, "The regime south of the Yangtze keeps strict discipline; I fear we cannot stand against it. Moreover, we already have enemies to the west in Wu and to the south in Min. Better to feign obedience for the moment, use them as a backing voice, and wait to see how affairs turn. The assembly agreed. He then sent envoys with a letter and gifts of fifty jin of gold, one hundred jin of silver, and one hundred bolts of brocade. The Founding Emperor sent Pacification Commissioner Sun Yanghao in reply. Guozhen offered to surrender the three prefectures of Wenzhou, Taizhou, and Qingyuan and sent his second son Guan as a hostage. The Founding Emperor declined the hostage, gave him rich gifts, and sent him home; he then sent Academician Xia Yu to invest Guozhen as Minister of the Fujian Branch Secretariat, his brother Guoying as Vice Minister, and Guomin as an official of the Secretariat Branch. Guozhen made a show of surrendering the three prefectures but secretly kept one foot in each camp. When Yu arrived, Guozhen feigned illness, saying he was too old to serve and would accept only the minister's seal and commission. The Founding Emperor saw through him and wrote: "At first I took you for a man of talent who knew the times, and therefore entrusted you with sole rule of one region. Yet your heart is unreadable: you send your son to court to spy on my strength, and plead old age and sickness to refuse my offices and titles. The wise turn defeat into victory; the worthy turn disaster into blessing. Weigh this well. At this time Guozhen kept a fleet in repair year after year, shipping more than one hundred thousand shi of Zhang Shicheng's grain to the capital for the Yuan grain transport. The Yuan repeatedly promoted him to Left Chancellor of the Zhejiang-Jiangsu Branch Secretariat and Duke of Qu, with his secretariat seated at Qingyuan. Guozhen accepted these honors as before, offering only honeyed thanks to the Founding Emperor and showing not the slightest intent to submit in earnest. When he received the Founding Emperor's letter of admonition, he ignored it entirely. The Founding Emperor wrote again: "Fortune rests on utmost sincerity; disaster springs from vacillation. The fates of Wei Xiao and Gongsun Shu stand as a warning. Once the great army moves, fine words will no longer suffice. His stratagems exhausted, Guozhen again put on a show of fear and remorse and sent saddle-horses adorned with gold and jewels. The Founding Emperor refused them once more.

已而苗帥蔣英等叛，殺胡大海，持首奔國珍，國珍不受，自台州奔福建。國璋守台，邀擊之，為所敗，被殺，太祖遣使弔祭。逾年，溫人周宗道以平陽來降。國珍從子明善守溫以兵爭。參軍胡深擊敗之，遂下里安，進兵溫州。國珍恐，請歲輸白金三萬兩給軍，俟杭州下，即納土來歸。太祖詔深班師。

Before long the Miao commander Jiang Ying and others mutinied, killed Hu Dahai, and fled with his head to Guozhen. Guozhen would not receive them, and they escaped from Taizhou into Fujian. Guozhang, holding Taizhou, intercepted them but was defeated and killed. The Founding Emperor sent envoys to mourn and offer sacrifice. The following year Zhou Zongdao of Wenzhou surrendered with Pingyang. Guozhen's nephew Mingshan held Wenzhou and fought to keep it. Staff Officer Hu Shen routed him, took Li'an, and marched on Wenzhou. Terrified, Guozhen offered to pay thirty thousand taels of silver each year to supply the army and promised that once Hangzhou fell he would surrender his lands and submit. The Founding Emperor ordered Hu Shen to withdraw.

九月，太祖已破平江，命參政硃亮祖攻台州，國瑛迎戰敗走。進克溫州。征南將軍湯和以大軍長驅抵慶元。國珍帥所部遁入海。追敗之盤嶼，其部將相次降。和數令人示以順逆，國珍乃遣子關奉表乞降曰：「臣聞天無所不覆，地無所不載。王者體天法地，於人無所不容。臣荷主上覆載之德舊矣，不敢自絕於天地，故一陳愚衷。臣本庸才，遭時多故，起身海島，非有父兄相藉之力，又非有帝制自為之心。方主上霆擊電掣，至於婺州，臣愚即遣子入侍，固已知主上有今日矣，將以依日月之末光，望雨露之餘潤。而主上推誠布公，俾守鄉郡，如故吳越事。臣遵奉條約，不敢妄生節目。子姓不戒，潛構釁端，猥勞問罪之師，私心戰兢，用是俾守者出迎。然而未免浮海，何也？孝子之於親，小杖則受，大杖則走，臣之情事適與此類。即欲面縛待罪闕廷，復恐嬰斧鉞之誅，使天下後世不知臣得罪之深，將謂主上不能容臣，豈不累天地大德哉。」蓋幕下士詹鼎詞也。

In the ninth month, with Pingjiang already fallen, the Founding Emperor ordered Vice Minister Zhu Liangzu against Taizhou. Guoying met him in battle and fled in defeat. He pressed on and captured Wenzhou. Southern Campaign General Tang He marched at the head of a great army straight to Qingyuan. Guozhen led his followers and fled out to sea. The pursuers routed him at Pan Island, and his commanders surrendered one after another. Tang He repeatedly sent men to spell out the price of obedience and rebellion. Guozhen then sent his son Guan with a memorial begging to surrender: "Your subject has heard that Heaven covers all and Earth bears all. A true king takes Heaven as his model and Earth as his law, and excludes no man. Long have I owed Your Majesty the grace of Heaven's cover and Earth's bearing, and I dare not cut myself off from them; therefore I lay my foolish heart bare once. I am a man of no great talent. Caught in troubled times, I rose from a sea isle without the backing of father or elder brothers, and never with any heart to claim the throne for myself. When Your Majesty struck like thunder and lightning as far as Wuzhou, this fool at once sent his son to court, already knowing Your Majesty would reach this day. I meant only to shelter in the last rays of sun and moon and hope for the lingering dew of rain. Your Majesty then dealt with me in open sincerity and let me keep my home prefectures, as in the old Wu-Yue arrangement. I obeyed every term of our agreement and dared not stir up trouble on my own. My sons and clansmen, failing in caution, secretly provoked conflict and presumptuously brought down Your Majesty's punitive force. In my heart I tremble, and for that reason I ordered the garrison to go out and welcome your army. Yet I still took to the sea — why? A filial son accepts the small rod from his parent but flees the great one; my case is exactly of that kind. Though I wished to bind myself and await judgment at court, I feared again to invite the axe, lest later ages not know how deeply I had offended and conclude that Your Majesty could not forgive me — would that not tarnish Heaven and Earth's great virtue? The memorial was the work of his staff member Zhan Ding.

太祖覽而憐之，賜書曰：「汝違吾諭，不即斂手歸命，次且海外，負恩實多。今者窮蹙無聊，情詞哀懇，吾當以汝此誠為誠，不以前過為過，汝勿自疑。」遂促國珍入朝，面讓之曰：「若來得毋晚乎！」國珍頓首謝。授廣西行省左丞，食祿不之官。數歲，卒于京師。

The Founding Emperor read it and took pity on him, writing in reply: "You defied my admonitions, did not at once lay down your arms and submit, but lingered overseas — your ingratitude is great indeed. Now, driven to extremity with nowhere to turn, your words are piteous and earnest. I shall take this present sincerity as sincerity and not count your former faults against you. Do not doubt yourself. He then pressed Guozhen to come to court and rebuked him to his face: "Your coming — was it not rather late!" Guozhen kowtowed and begged forgiveness. He was appointed Left Vice Minister of the Guangxi Branch Secretariat, drawing salary but not taking up the post. Several years later he died in the capital.

子禮，官廣洋衛指揮僉事；關，虎賁衛千戶所鎮撫。關弟行，字明敏，善詩，承旨宋濂嘗稱之。

His son Li served as Assistant Commander of the Guangyang Guard; Guan served as Pacification Commissioner of a Huben Guard thousand-household unit. Guan's younger brother Xing, styled Mingmin, was a gifted poet whom Academician Song Lian once praised.

劉仁本，字德元，國珍同縣人。元末進士乙科，曆官浙江行省郎中，與張本仁俱入國珍幕。數從名士趙俶、謝理、硃右等賦詩，有稱于時。國珍海運輸元，實仁本司其事。硃亮祖之下溫州也，獲仁本。太祖數其罪，鞭背潰爛死。余官屬從國珍降者皆徙滁州，獨赦丘楠，以為韶州知府。

Liu Renben, styled Deyuan, was a native of Guozhen's county. Near the end of the Yuan he passed the second tier of the civil examinations, rose to Director of the Zhejiang Branch Secretariat, and entered Guozhen's staff together with Zhang Benren. He often composed poetry with the celebrated literati Zhao Chu, Xie Li, Zhu You, and others, and won renown in his day. Guozhen's maritime grain shipments to the Yuan were in fact directed by Renben. When Zhu Liangzu took Wenzhou, Renben was captured. The Founding Emperor recited his crimes and had him flogged until his back split open and festered; he died of the beating. The remaining officials and followers who surrendered with Guozhen were all resettled in Chuzhou; only Qiu Nan was pardoned and appointed Prefect of Shaozhou.

詹鼎者，寧海人，有才學。為國珍府都事，判上虞，有治聲。既至京，未見用，草封事萬言，候駕出獻之。帝為立馬受讀，命丞相官鼎。楊憲忌其才，沮之。憲敗，除留守經歷，遷刑部郎中，坐累死。

Zhan Ding was a native of Ninghai, a man of talent and learning. He served as Commissioner in Guozhen's headquarters, governed Shangyu, and won a reputation for effective rule. After reaching the capital he went unused; he drafted a ten-thousand-word sealed memorial and waited for the emperor's procession to present it. The emperor dismounted to receive and read it, then ordered the Chancellor to appoint Ding to office. Yang Xian, jealous of his talent, blocked the appointment. After Yang's fall he was appointed administrative aide to the capital guard, then promoted to Director of the Ministry of Punishments; he died from overwork in office.

明玉珍

Ming Yuzhen

明玉珍，隨州人。身長八尺餘，目重瞳子。徐壽輝起，玉珍與里中父老團結千餘人，屯青山。及壽輝稱帝，使人招玉珍曰：「來則共富貴，不來舉兵屠之。」玉珍引眾降，以元帥守沔陽。與元將哈麻禿戰湖中，飛矢中右目，遂眇。久之，玉珍帥鬥船五十艘掠糧川、峽間，將引還。時元右丞完者都募兵重慶，義兵元帥楊漢應募至，欲殺之而並其軍，不克。漢走出峽，遇玉珍為言：「重慶無重兵，完者都與右丞哈麻禿不相能，若回船出不意襲之，可取而有也。」玉珍意未決，部將戴壽曰：「機不可失也。可分船為二，半貯糧歸沔陽，半因漢兵攻重慶，不濟則掠財物而還。」玉珍從其策，襲重慶，走完者都，執哈麻禿獻壽輝。壽輝授玉珍隴蜀行省右丞。至正十七年也。

Ming Yuzhen was a native of Suizhou. He stood more than eight chi tall, and his eyes had double pupils. When Xu Shouhui rose in rebellion, Yuzhen joined the village elders in gathering more than a thousand men and encamped at Qingshan. When Shouhui declared himself emperor, he sent men to summon Yuzhen with the message: "Come and we shall share wealth and rank; if you refuse, I shall raise troops and slaughter you. Yuzhen led his followers in submission and was made Marshal guarding Mianyang. In a battle on the lake with the Yuan general Qimaya, a stray arrow struck his right eye and blinded him in it. Some time later Yuzhen led fifty fighting ships to raid between Liangchuan and the gorges and was about to withdraw. At that time the Yuan Right Chancellor Wanerdu was recruiting troops at Chongqing. The Righteous Army Marshal Yang Han answered the summons, tried to kill Wanerdu and absorb his force, and failed. Han fled out of the gorge, met Yuzhen, and told him: "Chongqing has no strong garrison. Wanerdu and the Right Chancellor Qimaya are at odds. If you turn your fleet and strike by surprise, you can take the city. Yuzhen hesitated. His subordinate general Dai Shou said, "This chance must not be missed. Split the fleet in two: half can store the grain and return to Mianyang, while half joins Han's men to attack Chongqing. If the attack fails, plunder what you can and withdraw." Yuzhen took his advice, raided Chongqing, put Wanerdu to flight, seized Qimaya, and sent him to Shouhui as a captive. Shouhui appointed Yuzhen Right Vice Minister of the Long-Shu Branch Secretariat. This was the seventeenth year of Zhizheng (1357).

已而完者都自果州來，會平章朗革歹、參政趙資，謀復重慶，屯嘉定之大佛寺，玉珍遣萬勝禦之。勝，黃陂人，有智勇，玉珍寵愛之，使從己姓，眾呼為明二，後乃復姓名。勝攻嘉定，半年不下。玉珍帥眾圍之，遣勝以輕兵襲陷成都，虜朗革歹及資妻子。朗革歹妻自沉于江。以資妻子徇嘉定，招資降。資引弓射殺妻。俄城破，執資及完者都、朗革歹歸於重慶，館諸治平寺，欲使為己用。三人者執不可，乃斬於市，以禮葬之，蜀人謂之「三忠」。於是諸郡縣相次來附。

Before long Wanerdu came from Guozhou, joined Branch Secretariat Minister Lang Gedai and Vice Minister Zhao Zi, and plotted to recover Chongqing. They encamped at the Great Buddha Temple in Jiading, and Yuzhen sent Wan Sheng to oppose them. Wan Sheng was a native of Huangpi, a man of wit and courage whom Yuzhen favored. Yuzhen had him take the Ming surname, and people called him Ming the Second; later he restored his original name. Wan Sheng besieged Jiading but could not take it for half a year. Yuzhen led the main force to besiege Jiading and sent Wan Sheng with light troops in a surprise raid that captured Chengdu, taking Lang Gedai and Zhao Zi's wives and children prisoner. Lang Gedai's wife drowned herself in the river. They paraded Zhao Zi's wife and children before Jiading to induce him to surrender. Zhao Zi drew his bow and shot his wife dead. Before long the city fell. Zhao Zi, Wanerdu, and Lang Gedai were captured and taken to Chongqing, lodged at Zhiping Temple, where Yuzhen hoped to win them to his service. All three steadfastly refused. They were executed in the marketplace and buried with full rites, and the people of Shu called them the "Three Loyal Ones." Thereupon prefecture after prefecture and county after county came over to him in succession.

二十年，陳友諒弑徐壽輝自立。玉珍曰：「與友諒俱臣徐氏，顧悖逆如此。」命以兵塞瞿塘，絕不與通。立壽輝廟于城南隅，歲時致祀。自立為隴蜀王，以劉楨為參謀。

In the twentieth year Chen Youliang murdered Xu Shouhui and proclaimed himself ruler. Yuzhen said, "Youliang and I alike served the Xu house—yet he has turned so treacherous and rebellious. He ordered troops to block Qutang Gorge and sever all ties with Youliang. He erected a temple to Xu Shouhui in the city's southern quarter and offered seasonal sacrifices there. He declared himself Prince of Long-Shu and appointed Liu Zhen as his chief adviser.

楨，字維周，瀘州人。元進士。嘗為大名路經歷，棄官家居。玉珍之攻重慶也，道瀘，部將劉澤民薦之。玉珍往見，與語大悅，即日延至舟中，尊禮備至。次年，楨屏人說曰：「西蜀形勝地，大王撫而有之，休養傷殘，用賢治兵，可以立不世業。不於此時稱大號以系人心，一旦將士思鄉土，瓦解星散，大王孰與建國乎。」玉珍善之，乃謀於眾，以二十二年春僭即皇帝位於重慶，國號夏，建元天統。立妻彭氏為皇后，子升為太子。效周制，設六卿，以劉楨為宗伯。分蜀地為八道，更置府州縣官名。蜀兵視諸國為弱，勝兵不滿萬人。玉珍素無遠略，然性節儉，頗好學，折節下士。既即位，設國子監，教公卿子弟，設提舉司教授，建社稷宗廟，求雅樂，開進士科，定賦稅，以十分取一。蜀人悉便安之。皆劉楨為之謀也。

Liu Zhen, styled Weizhou, was a native of Luzhou. He had passed the Yuan dynasty jinshi examination. He had once served as intendant of the Daming Circuit, then resigned and lived in retirement. When Yuzhen was advancing on Chongqing, his route took him through Luzhou, where his officer Liu Zemin recommended Liu Zhen to him. Yuzhen went to meet him, was delighted by their conversation, invited him aboard his boat that very day, and received him with every mark of honor. The following year Liu Zhen dismissed the attendants and said, "Western Shu is a land of natural strength. If Your Majesty settles and holds it, restores the war-worn and wounded, appoints worthy men and trains the army, you may found an achievement that will last for ages. If you do not proclaim a sovereign title now to bind men's hearts, the day your soldiers yearn for home the host will break apart and scatter—and then, Your Majesty, what state will you have left to build? Yuzhen approved the plan. After consulting his followers, in the spring of the twenty-second year he presumptuously took the imperial throne at Chongqing, declaring the state Xia and adopting the era name Tiantong. He made his wife Lady Peng empress and his son Sheng crown prince. Modeling his government on the Zhou, he established the Six Ministers and appointed Liu Zhen Minister of Ritual. He divided Shu into eight administrative circuits and reorganized the designations of prefectural, departmental, and county offices. Among the rival realms the Xia army was counted the weakest; effective fighting strength numbered fewer than ten thousand. Yuzhen had never possessed great strategic vision, yet he was frugal by nature, fond of study, and willing to humble himself before men of talent. Once enthroned, he established the Directorate of Education for the sons of the high nobility, appointed instructional commissioners, built the altars of state and ancestral temples, sought proper ceremonial music, restored the jinshi examination, and fixed the land tax at one-tenth. The people of Shu found all of this agreeable and settled contentedly under his rule. All of this was Liu Zhen's counsel.

明年，遣萬勝由界首，鄒興由建昌，又指揮李某者由八番，分道攻雲南。兩路皆不至，惟勝兵深入，元梁王走營金馬山。逾年，王挾大理兵擊勝，勝以孤軍無繼引還。復遣興取巴州。久之，復更六卿為中書省樞密院，改塚宰戴壽、司馬萬勝為左、右丞相，司寇向大亨、司空張文炳知樞密院事，司徒鄒興鎮成都，吳友仁鎮保甯，司寇莫仁壽鎮夔關，皆平章事。

The following year he sent Wan Sheng via Jieshou, Zou Xing via Jianchang, and a certain Commander Li via the eight Fan territories, each by a separate route against Yunnan. Two of the columns never arrived. Only Wan Sheng's force pressed deep into enemy country, driving the Yuan Prince of Liang to take refuge on Jinma Mountain. A year later the prince struck back with Dali troops. Wan Sheng, unsupported and alone, withdrew. He again sent Zou Xing to capture Bazhou. After some time he reorganized the Six Ministers into a Secretariat and Bureau of Military Affairs, appointing Dai Shou and Wan Sheng Left and Right Chancellors, Xiang Daheng and Zhang Wenbing overseers of military affairs, Zou Xing as garrison commander at Chengdu, Wu Youren at Baoning, and Mo Renshou at Kuiguan—all with the rank of Branch Secretariat minister.

是歲，遣勝取興元，使參政江儼通好于太祖。太祖遣都事孫養浩報聘，遺玉珍書曰：「足下處西蜀，予處江左，蓋與漢季孫、劉相類。近者王保保以鐵騎勁兵，虎踞中原，其志殆不在曹操下，使有謀臣如攸、彧，猛將如遼、郃，予兩人能高枕無憂乎。予與足下實脣齒邦，願以孫劉相吞噬為鑒。」自後信使往返不絕。

That year he sent Wan Sheng to take Xingyuan and dispatched Vice Minister Jiang Yan to open friendly relations with the Founding Emperor. The Founding Emperor sent Chief Clerk Sun Yanghao on a return mission and wrote to Yuzhen: "You hold western Shu and I the lower Yangzi region—we are much like Sun Quan and Liu Bei at the end of the Han. Of late Wang Baobao has held the Central Plain with armored horse and hardened troops, tiger-like and immovable; his ambition is scarcely less than Cao Cao's. Were he served by advisers like Xun You and Xun Yu and captains like Zhang Liao and Zhang He—could you and I truly sleep without fear? Your realm and mine are lip and teeth to each other. Let us take warning from how Sun and Liu destroyed one another. Thereafter diplomatic messengers passed between them without interruption.

二十六年春，玉珍病革，召壽等諭曰：「西蜀險固，若協力同心，左右嗣子，則可以自守。不然，後事非所知也。」遂卒。凡立五年，年三十六。

In the spring of the twenty-sixth year, as Yuzhen lay dying, he summoned Dai Shou and the others and said, "Western Shu is rugged and easily defended. If you work together in loyalty and stand by my heir, you may yet hold the realm. If not, I cannot foretell what will become of you. With that he died. He had reigned five years in all and was thirty-six at his death.

子升嗣，改元開熙，葬玉珍於江水之北，號永昌陵，廟號太祖。尊母彭氏為皇太后，同聽政。升甫十歲，諸大臣皆粗暴，不肯相下。而萬勝與張文炳有隙，勝密遣人殺之。文炳所善玉珍養子明昭，復矯彭氏旨縊殺勝。勝於明氏功最多，其死，蜀人多憐之。吳友仁自保寧移檄，以清君側為名。升命戴壽討之。友仁遺壽書謂：「不誅昭，則國必不安，眾必不服。昭朝誅，吾當夕至。」壽乃奏誅昭，友仁入朝謝罪。於是諸大臣用事，而友仁尤專恣，國柄旁落，遂益不振。萬勝既死，劉楨為右丞相，後三年卒。是歲，升遣使告哀于太祖，已，又遣使入聘。太祖亦遣侍御史蔡哲報之。

Sheng succeeded him, changed the era name to Kaixi, and buried Yuzhen on the north bank of the Yangzi in the Yongchang Mausoleum, giving him the posthumous temple name Founding Emperor. He honored his mother Lady Peng as empress dowager, and mother and son ruled together. Sheng was barely ten years old. The senior ministers were all coarse and domineering, and none would defer to the others. Wan Sheng and Zhang Wenbing bore a grudge against each other, and Wan Sheng secretly sent assassins to kill Zhang. Ming Zhao, Yuzhen's adopted son and Zhang Wenbing's ally, then forged an order in the empress dowager's name and had Wan Sheng strangled. Wan Sheng had done more for the Ming house than any other man. At his death the people of Shu mourned him widely. From Baoning Wu Youren issued a proclamation in the name of purging evil counselors from the ruler's side. Sheng ordered Dai Shou to march against him. Wu Youren wrote to Dai Shou: "Unless Zhao is put to death, the realm will know no peace and the army will not obey. Execute Zhao at dawn and I shall reach the capital by nightfall. Dai Shou memorialized for Zhao's execution. Wu Youren then came to court to confess his fault. Thereafter the great ministers held real power, Wu Youren above all overbearing and unrestrained. Authority slipped from the throne, and the state weakened further. After Wan Sheng's death Liu Zhen became Right Chancellor; he died three years later. That year Sheng sent envoys to the Founding Emperor to announce his father's death, and afterward sent another mission to pay a courtesy visit. The Founding Emperor sent Supervising Censor Cai Zhe in return.

洪武元年，太祖克元都，升奉書稱賀。明年，太祖遣使求大木。升遂並獻方物。帝答以璽書。其冬，遣平章楊璟諭升歸命。升不從。璟復遺升書曰：

In Hongwu 1, when the Founding Emperor captured the Yuan capital, Sheng sent a letter of congratulation. The following year the Founding Emperor sent envoys requesting large timber. Sheng also sent tribute goods of the region. The Emperor answered with an edict under the imperial seal. That winter the court sent Branch Secretariat Minister Yang Jing to urge Sheng to surrender. Sheng refused. Yang Jing wrote again to Sheng:

古之為國者，同力度德，同德度義，，故能身家兩全，流譽無窮，反是者輒敗。足下幼沖，席先人業，據有巴、蜀，不咨至計，而聽群下之議，以瞿塘、劍閣之險，一夫負戈，萬人無如之何。此皆不達時變以誤足下之言也。昔據蜀最盛者，莫如漢昭烈。且以諸葛武侯佐之，綜核官守，訓練士卒，財用不足，皆取之南詔。然猶朝不謀夕，僅能自保。今足下疆場，南不過播州，北不過漢中，以此准彼，相去萬萬，而欲藉一隅之地，延命頃刻，可謂智乎？我主上仁聖威武，神明回應，順附者無不加恩，負固者然後致討。以足下先人通好之故，不忍加師，數使使諭意。又以足下年幼，未曆事變，恐惑於狂瞽，失遠大計，故復遣璟面諭禍福。深仁厚德，所以待明氏者不淺，足下可不深念乎？且向者如陳、張之屬，竊據吳、楚，造舟塞江河，積糧過山嶽，強將勁兵，自謂無敵。然鄱陽一戰，友諒授首，旋師東討，張氏面縛。此非人力，實天命也。足下視此何如？友諒子竄歸江夏，王師致伐，勢窮銜璧。主上宥其罪愆，剖符錫爵，恩榮之盛，天下所知。足下無彼之過，而能翻然覺悟，自求多福，則必享茅土之封，保先人之祀，世世不絕，豈不賢智矣哉？若必欲崛強一隅，假息頃刻，魚遊沸鼎，燕巢危幕，禍害將至，恬不自知。璟恐天兵一臨，凡今為足下謀者，他日或各自為身計，以取富貴。當此之時，老母弱子，將安所歸？禍福利害，瞭然可睹，在足下審之而已。

The founders of states in antiquity weighed their strength against their rivals' and their virtue against their rivals'; so they preserved both their lives and their houses and won everlasting renown. Those who did otherwise were invariably destroyed. You are young and have inherited your father's realm in Ba and Shu, yet you do not seek counsel on the course that matters most. Instead you heed the chatter of your subordinates, who tell you that Qutang and Jiange are impregnable—that a single man with a spear can hold off ten thousand. Such talk shows no grasp of how the times have changed—it can only lead you astray. In past ages no ruler of Shu ever stood stronger than Emperor Zhao Lie of Han. And he had Chancellor Zhuge Liang at his side, tightening the administration, drilling the troops, and drawing whatever funds he lacked from Nanzhao. Even so he lived from one day to the next and barely managed to hold his ground. Your borders today reach no farther south than Bozhou and no farther north than Hanzhong. Compare that to Liu Bei's realm and the gap is beyond reckoning. Yet you would stake your life on a corner of the map and buy yourself a few breaths more—is that wisdom? Our sovereign is humane and sagely, martial and awesome, aided by Heaven's response. All who yield receive boundless grace; only the stubborn are punished. Out of friendship for your late father he has been unwilling to march against you and has sent envoy after envoy to make his intent plain. Knowing that you are young and untested in affairs of state, and fearing that reckless counsel may lead you to abandon the larger design, he has now sent me in person to set fortune and ruin plainly before you. Such depth of kindness and magnanimity in his dealings with the Ming house is no small thing. Can you not weigh it carefully? Consider those who came before—Chen Youliang, Zhang Shicheng, and their like. They carved out Wu and Chu, built fleets that clogged the rivers, piled grain higher than the hills, and mustered champions and hardened troops, thinking themselves invincible. Yet at a single battle on Lake Poyang Youliang lost his life; the armies turned east, and Zhang Shicheng was brought in bonds. That was not mere force of arms—it was the mandate of Heaven. What lesson do you draw from this? Youliang's son fled to Jiangxia; when the imperial army marched against him, he was driven to utter desperation and came bearing jade in submission. Our sovereign pardoned his offenses, granted him a fief and noble rank—a generosity famed throughout the realm. You have committed no such crimes. If you can turn at once and choose the path of blessing, you will surely receive a noble fief, preserve your father's sacrifices for generations to come, and win praise as a man of sense and virtue—is that not the better course? If you insist on clinging defiantly to a single corner and buying a few moments' respite, you are a fish swimming in a boiling pot, a swallow nesting beneath a tottering eave—disaster is near, yet you do not see it. I fear that when the imperial armies arrive, those who counsel you today may each look to his own safety and sell you out for rank and riches. When that day comes, your aged mother and helpless child—where will they find refuge? Blessing and ruin lie plain before you. The choice is yours alone to make.

升終不聽。

Sheng refused to heed him to the end.

又明年，興元守將以城降。吳友仁數往攻之，不克。是歲，太祖遣使假道征雲南，升不奉詔。四年正月命征西將軍湯和帥副將軍廖永忠等以舟師由瞿塘趨重慶，前將軍傅友德帥副將軍顧時等以步騎由秦、隴趨成都，伐蜀。初，壽言於升曰：「以王保保、李思齊之強，猶莫能與明抗，況吾蜀乎！一旦有警，計安出？」友仁曰：「不然，吾蜀襟山帶江，非中原比，莫若外交好而內修備。」升以為然，遣莫仁壽以鐵索橫斷瞿塘峽口。至是又遣壽、友仁、鄒興等益兵為助。北倚羊角山，南倚南城砦，鑿兩岸石壁，引鐵索為飛橋，用木板置礮以拒敵。和軍至，不能進。傅友德覘階、文無備，進破之，又破綿州。壽乃留興等守瞿塘，而自與友仁還，會向大亨之師以援漢州。數戰皆大敗，壽、大亨走成都，友仁走保寧。時永忠亦破瞿塘關。飛橋鐵索皆燒斷，興中矢死，夏兵皆潰。遂下夔州，師次銅羅峽。升大懼，右丞劉仁勸奔成都。升母彭泣曰：「成都可到，亦僅延旦夕命。大軍所過，勢如破竹，不如早降以活民命。」於是遣使齎表乞降。升面縛銜璧輿櫬，與母彭及官屬降於軍門。和受璧，永忠解縛，承旨撫慰，下令諸將不得有所侵擾。而壽、大亨亦以成都降于友德。升等悉送京師，禮臣奏言：「皇帝御奉天殿，明升等俯伏待罪午門外，有司宣制赦，如孟昶降宋故事。」帝曰：「升幼弱，事由臣下，與孟昶異，宜免其伏地上表待罪之儀。」是日授升爵歸義侯，賜第京師。

The following year the garrison commander of Xingyuan surrendered the city. Wu Youren attacked repeatedly but could not recover it. That year the Founding Emperor sent envoys requesting passage through Xia territory to campaign against Yunnan; Sheng refused the order. In the first month of the fourth year he ordered Tang He, Campaign General of the West, to lead Deputy Generals Liao Yongzhong and others with the fleet up the Qutang route toward Chongqing, and Fu Youde, Forward General, to lead Deputy Generals Gu Shi and others with infantry and cavalry through Qin and Long toward Chengdu—the two-pronged invasion of Shu. Earlier Dai Shou had said to Sheng, "Men as powerful as Wang Baobao and Li Siqi could not stand against Ming—how much less can we in Shu! If war comes, what plan do we have? Wu Youren said, "Not so. Shu is girded by mountains and rivers—not comparable to the open Central Plain. Our best course is friendship abroad and readiness at home. Sheng agreed and sent Mo Renshou to block the mouth of Qutang Gorge with iron chains stretched across the river. When the invasion came he sent Dai Shou, Wu Youren, Zou Xing, and others with reinforcements. They fortified the north at Yangjiao Mountain and the south at Nancheng Stockade, cut into the cliff faces on both banks, stretched iron chains to form a flying bridge, and mounted catapults on wooden platforms to repel the enemy. Tang He's army arrived but could advance no farther. Fu Youde found Jiezhou and Wenzhou undefended, stormed them, and went on to take Mianzhou. Dai Shou left Zou Xing and others to hold Qutang and marched back with Wu Youren to join Xiang Daheng's force in relief of Hanzhou. They fought several engagements and were routed each time. Dai Shou and Xiang Daheng fled to Chengdu; Wu Youren fled to Baoning. At the same time Liao Yongzhong broke through Qutang Pass. The pontoon bridges and iron chains were burned away; Xing was killed by an arrow, and the Xia army broke in rout. They then seized Kuizhou and encamped at Tongluo Gorge. Sheng was terrified, and his Right Chancellor Liu Ren urged him to flee to Chengdu. Sheng's mother Lady Peng wept and said, "We might reach Chengdu, but that would only buy us another day or two of life. Where the Ming army advances, resistance crumbles like bamboo under a blade. Better to surrender now and spare the people. She then sent envoys with a formal surrender petition. Sheng came bound, the jade surrender disk in his mouth, riding in the funeral cart, and with his mother Lady Peng and his officials surrendered at the camp gate. Tang He accepted the jade disk; Liao Yongzhong cut his bonds; by imperial order they were reassured, and the generals were forbidden to plunder or harass. Meanwhile Shou and Daheng also surrendered Chengdu to Fu Youde. Sheng and his party were sent to the capital. The ritual officials proposed: "Let the Emperor receive them in Fengtian Hall while Ming Sheng and his followers prostrate themselves outside the Meridian Gate awaiting judgment, with the appropriate offices proclaiming an amnesty decree, following the precedent of Meng Chang's surrender to Song. The Emperor said, "Sheng is young and weak, and his ministers drove events — unlike Meng Chang. He should be spared the rite of prostrating to present a memorial of guilt." That same day Sheng was enfeoffed as Marquis of Guiyi and given a mansion in the capital.

冬十月，和等悉定川、蜀諸郡縣，執友仁于保寧，遂班師。壽、大亨、仁壽皆鑿舟自沉死。丁世貞者，文州守將也，友德攻文州，據險力戰，汪興祖死焉。文州破，遁去。已復以兵破文州，殺硃顯忠，友德擊走之。夏亡，復集余眾圍秦州五十日。兵敗，夜宿梓潼廟，為其下所殺。友仁至京師，帝以其寇漢中，首造兵端，令明氏失國，僇於市。戍他將校於徐州。明年徙升於高麗。

In the tenth winter month Tang He and his colleagues pacified the prefectures and counties of Sichuan, captured Youren at Baoning, and withdrew the army. Shou, Daheng, and Renshou all scuttled their boats and drowned themselves. Ding Shizhen was the defender of Wenzhou. When Fu Youde attacked the city, he held the passes and fought stubbornly; Wang Xingzu was killed in the battle. When Wenzhou fell, he escaped. He soon returned, retook Wenzhou, and killed Zhu Xianzhong before Fu Youde drove him off again. After the fall of Xia he rallied remnant troops and besieged Qinzhou for fifty days. Defeated in battle, he spent the night in the Zitong shrine and was killed by his own men. When Youren reached the capital, the Emperor had him executed in the marketplace for having raided Hanzhong, opened hostilities, and brought about the fall of the Ming house of Xia. The other Xia officers were exiled to garrison duty at Xuzhou. The following year Sheng was exiled to Goryeo.

贊曰：友諒、士誠起刀筆負販，因亂僭竊，恃其富強，而卒皆敗於其所恃。跡其始終成敗之故，太祖料之審矣。國珍首亂，反覆無信，然竟獲良死，玉珍乘勢，割據一隅，僭號二世，皆不可謂非幸也。國珍又名谷珍，蓋降後避明諱雲。

The historian comments: Youliang and Shicheng rose from clerks and peddlers, seized power in the chaos, and trusted in their wealth and armies — yet in the end they were undone by the very strengths on which they relied. Tracing the causes of their rise and fall from first to last, one sees how precisely the Founding Emperor had read them. Guozhen was the first to stir rebellion and proved faithless again and again, yet died a natural death; Yuzhen seized his moment, held a corner of the empire, and maintained a usurped throne for two generations — none of them can be said to have lacked luck. Guozhen was also known as Guzhen, having changed his name after surrender to observe the Ming taboo.

Cite this Chapter