1
鐵鉉暴昭 〈（侯泰）〉 陳性善 〈（陳植王彬崇剛）〉 張昺 〈（謝貴彭二葛誠余逢辰）〉 宋忠 〈（余瑱）〉 馬宣 〈（曾浚卜萬朱鑒石撰）〉 瞿能 〈（莊得楚智皂旗張王指揮楊本）〉 張倫 〈（陳質）〉 顏伯瑋 〈（唐子清黃謙向樸鄭恕鄭華）〉 王省姚善 〈（錢芹）〉 陳彥回 〈（張彥方）〉
Tie Xuan and Bao Zhao (Hou Tai)〉 Chen Xingshan (Chen Zhi, Wang Bin, and Chong Gang)〉 Zhang Bing (Xie Gui, Peng Er, Ge Cheng, and Yu Fengchen)〉 Song Zhong (Yu Zhen)〉 Ma Xuan (Zeng Jun, Bu Wan, Zhu Jian, and Shi Zhuan)〉 Qu Neng (Zhuang De, Chu Zhi, Soap-banner Zhang, Commander Wang, and Yang Ben)〉 Zhang Lun (Chen Zhi)〉 Yan Bowei (Tang Ziqing, Huang Qian, Xiang Pu, Zheng Shu, and Zheng Hua)〉 Wang Sheng and Yao Shan (Qian Qin)〉 Chen Yanhui (Zhang Yanfang)〉
2
○鐵鉉暴昭 〈（侯泰）〉 陳性善 〈（陳植王彬崇剛）〉 張昺 〈（謝貴彭二葛誠余逢辰）〉 宋忠 〈（余瑱）〉 馬宣 〈（曾浚卜萬朱鑒石撰）〉 瞿能 〈（莊得楚智皂旗張王指揮楊本）〉 張倫 〈（陳質）〉 顏伯瑋 〈（唐子清黃謙向樸鄭恕鄭華）〉 王省姚善 〈（錢芹）〉 陳彥回 〈（張彥方）〉
Tie Xuan and Bao Zhao (Hou Tai)〉 Chen Xingshan (Chen Zhi, Wang Bin, and Chong Gang)〉 Zhang Bing (Xie Gui, Peng Er, Ge Cheng, and Yu Fengchen)〉 Song Zhong (Yu Zhen)〉 Ma Xuan (Zeng Jun, Bu Wan, Zhu Jian, and Shi Zhuan)〉 Qu Neng (Zhuang De, Chu Zhi, Soap-banner Zhang, Commander Wang, and Yang Ben)〉 Zhang Lun (Chen Zhi)〉 Yan Bowei (Tang Ziqing, Huang Qian, Xiang Pu, Zheng Shu, and Zheng Hua)〉 Wang Sheng and Yao Shan (Qian Qin)〉 Chen Yanhui (Zhang Yanfang)〉
3
鐵鉉，鄧人。 洪武中，由國子生授禮科給事中，調都督府斷事。 嘗讞疑獄，立白。 太祖喜，字之曰「鼎石」。 建文初，為山東參政。 李景隆之北伐也，鉉督餉無乏。 景隆兵敗白溝河，單騎走德州，城戍皆望風潰。 鉉與參軍高巍感奮涕泣，自臨邑趨濟南，偕盛庸、宋參軍等誓以死守。 燕兵攻德州，景隆走依鉉。 德州陷，燕兵收其儲蓄百余萬，勢益張。 遂攻濟南，景隆復大敗，南奔。 鉉與庸等乘城守禦。 燕兵堤水灌城，築長圍，晝夜攻擊。 鉉以計焚其攻具，間出兵奮擊。 又遣千人出城詐降。 燕王大喜，軍中皆歡呼。 鉉伏壯士城上，候王入，下鐵板擊之。 別設伏、斷橋。 既而失約，王未入城板驟下。 王驚走，伏發，橋倉卒不可斷，王鞭馬馳去。 憤甚，百計進攻。 凡三閱月，卒固守不能下。 當是時，平安統兵二十萬，將復德州，以絕燕餉道。 燕王懼，解圍北歸。
Tie Xuan came from Deng. During the Hongwu era he rose from the Imperial University to a supervising secretary in the Rites section, then was transferred to serve as an adjudicator in the Chief Military Commission. On one occasion he reviewed a doubtful criminal case and resolved it on the spot. The Founding Emperor was delighted and bestowed on him the style Ding Shi, "Tripod Stone." When the Jianwen reign began he was appointed administration vice commissioner of Shandong. During Li Jinglong's northern campaign, Xuan kept the supply lines running without fail. After Jinglong's army was routed at the White Ditch River, he fled alone on horseback to Dezhou, and every garrison in the city broke and fled at the first alarm. Xuan and his staff officer Gao Wei, moved to tears, rushed from Linyi to Jinan and, with Sheng Yong, Staff Officer Song, and others, swore to hold the city to the last. When the Yan forces attacked Dezhou, Jinglong fled to join Xuan. Dezhou fell, and the Yan army seized stores worth more than a million taels, swelling their strength still further. They pressed on to Jinan; Jinglong suffered another crushing defeat and fled south. Xuan, Yong, and their comrades manned the walls to hold the city. The Yan forces dammed the waters to flood Jinan, threw up a long siege line, and assaulted the walls without pause by day or night. Xuan set fire to their siege engines by ruse and sent sorties to strike back whenever he could. He also sent a thousand men outside the walls to pretend surrender. The Prince of Yan was overjoyed, and cheers rang through the camp. Xuan posted braves atop the wall to wait until the prince entered the gate, then drop an iron portcullis upon him. He laid further ambushes and prepared to cut the bridge. The timing slipped; before the prince had entered the gate the portcullis crashed down. The prince bolted in alarm as the ambush sprang, but the bridge could not be severed in time; he lashed his horse and raced away. Enraged, he threw every means of assault against the city. For three full months the defenders held fast, and the city could not be taken. At that moment Ping An was leading two hundred thousand men to retake Dezhou and sever the Yan supply line. Fearing this threat, the Prince of Yan raised the siege and marched back north.
4
燕王自起兵以來，攻真定二日不下，即舍去。 獨以得濟南，斷南北道，即畫疆守，金陵不難圖。 故乘大破景隆之銳，盡力以攻，期於必拔，而竟為鉉等所挫。 帝聞大悅，遣官慰勞，賜金幣，封其三世。 鉉入謝，賜宴。 凡所建白皆采納。 擢山東布政使。 尋進兵部尚書。 以盛庸代景隆為平燕將軍，命鉉參其軍務。 是年冬，庸大敗燕王於東昌，斬其大將張玉。 燕王奔還北平。 自燕兵犯順，南北日尋幹戈，而王師克捷，未有如東昌者。 自是燕兵南下由徐、沛，不敢復道山東。
From the day he took up arms, the Prince of Yan had never lingered: if a place such as Zhending held out for two days, he moved on. He judged that holding Jinan and severing the north-south corridor would let him fix his frontier and make Jinling an easy prize. So, while his victory over Jinglong was still fresh, he threw his full strength into the siege, determined to take the city at all costs—yet Xuan and his fellows turned him back. The emperor was overjoyed at the news, sent envoys with rewards, granted gold and silks, and ennobled three generations of Xuan's kin. Xuan came to court to give thanks and was feasted by the throne. Every proposal he submitted was accepted. The court raised him to administration commissioner of Shandong. Before long he was made minister of war. Sheng Yong replaced Jinglong as Pacification General against Yan, and Xuan was ordered to share command of the campaign. That winter Yong routed the Prince of Yan at Dongchang and killed his chief general Zhang Yu. The Prince of Yan fled back to Beiping. From the day the Yan forces rose in rebellion, the realm had seen fighting every day, yet no victory of the imperial army had equaled Dongchang. After that the Yan forces marched south through Xu and Pei and no longer dared to pass through Shandong.
5
比燕兵漸逼，帝命遼東總兵官楊文將所部十萬與鉉合，絕燕後。 文師至直沽，為燕將宋貴等所敗，無一至濟南者。 四年四月，燕軍南綴王師於小河，鉉與諸將時有斬獲。 連戰至靈璧，平安等師潰被擒。 既而庸亦敗績。 燕兵渡江，鉉屯淮上，兵亦潰。
As the Yan advance drew nearer, the emperor ordered the Liaodong regional commander Yang Wen to march his hundred thousand men to join Xuan and strike at the Yan rear. Wen's column reached Zhigu, where Yan generals such as Song Gui routed it; not a single soldier reached Jinan. In the fourth month of the fourth year the Yan army pinned the imperial forces at the Small River; Xuan and his fellow commanders still won occasional kills and captures. After successive battles the armies reached Lingbi, where Ping An's forces broke and he was taken prisoner. Soon afterward Sheng Yong was defeated as well. When the Yan forces crossed the Yangzi, Xuan held the Huai line, but his army broke and fled.
6
燕王即皇帝位，執之至。 反背坐廷中嫚罵，令其一回顧，終不可，遂磔於市。 年三十七。 子福安，戍河池。 父仲名，年八十三，母薛，並安置海南。
After the Prince of Yan took the throne, Xuan was captured and brought into his presence. He sat in court with his back to the throne, hurling abuse; though ordered to look around once, he refused to the last, and was torn apart in the public square. He was thirty-seven years old. His son Fu'an was sent to garrison Hechi. His father Zhongming, aged eighty-three, and his mother Xue were both exiled to Hainan.
7
宋參軍者，逸其名。 燕兵攻濟南不克，舍之南去。 參軍說鉉直搗北平。 鉉以卒困甚，不果。 後不知所終。
The staff officer surnamed Song—his given name is not recorded. When the Yan forces failed to take Jinan, they left it and marched south. The staff officer urged Xuan to march directly on Beiping. Xuan judged the troops too worn down and did not act on the plan. Nothing further is known of his fate.
8
暴昭，潞州人。 洪武中，由國子生授大理寺司務。 三十年，擢刑部右侍郎。 明年進尚書。 耿介有峻節，布衣麻履，以清儉知名。 建文初，充北平采訪使，得燕不法狀，密以聞，請預為備。 燕兵起，設平燕布政司於真定，昭以尚書掌司事，與鐵鉉輩悉心經畫。 平安諸軍敗，召歸。 金川門陷，出亡，被執。 不屈，磔死。
Bao Zhao came from Luzhou. During the Hongwu era he rose from the Imperial University to a clerkship in the Court of Judicial Review. In the thirtieth year of the reign he was made right vice minister of justice. The following year he was promoted to minister. Fiercely upright, he dressed in plain cloth and hemp sandals and was famed for austerity. When the Jianwen reign began he was sent as investigation commissioner to Beiping, uncovered the prince's illegal acts, reported them in secret, and urged the court to prepare defenses. When the Yan rebellion broke out, a Pacification of Yan administration commission was established at Zhending; Zhao, as minister, directed it and worked closely with Tie Xuan and others to organize the defense. After Ping An's forces were routed, he was recalled to court. When the Jinchuan Gate fell he fled, but was captured. He refused to yield and was torn apart.
9
繼昭為刑部尚書者侯泰，字順懷，南和人。 以薦舉起家。 建文初，仕至尚書。 燕王舉兵，力主抗禦之策。 嘗督餉於濟寧、淮安。 京師不守，行至高郵，被執下獄，與弟敬祖，子玘，俱被殺。
Hou Tai, styled Shunhuai, of Nanhe, succeeded Zhao as minister of justice. He entered service through recommendation. By the opening of the Jianwen reign he had risen to minister. When the Prince of Yan rebelled, he forcefully urged a policy of all-out resistance. He had supervised grain transport at Jining and Huai'an. When the capital fell he fled as far as Gaoyou, where he was seized and thrown into prison; he, his younger brother Jingzu, and his son Qi were all put to death.
10
陳性善，名復初，以字行，山陰人。 洪武三十年進士。 臚唱過御前，帝見其容止凝重，屬目久之，曰：「君子也。」 授行人司副，遷翰林檢討。 性善工書，嘗召入便殿，繙錄誠意伯劉基子璉所獻其父遺書。 帝威嚴，見者多惴恐，至惶汗，不成一字。 性善舉動安祥，字畫端好。 帝大悅，賜酒饌，留竟日出。
Chen Xingshan, whose personal name was Fuchu but who was known by his style, came from Shanyin. He passed the metropolitan examination in the thirtieth year of Hongwu. As his name was called before the throne, the emperor noted his grave and composed bearing, watched him at length, and said, "Here is a gentleman." He was made vice commissioner in the Foreign Envoys Office, then promoted to Hanlin reviser. Xingshan excelled at calligraphy; on one occasion he was summoned to the private hall to copy the posthumous writings of Liu Ji's father, which Liu Ji's son Lian had presented to the throne. The emperor's presence was so imposing that most who faced him trembled with fear, sweating in panic until they could not form a single character. Xingshan remained calm in manner, and his brushwork was steady and elegant. The emperor was delighted, gave him wine and a meal, and kept him until nightfall.
11
惠帝在東宮，習知性善名。 及即位，擢為禮部侍郎，薦起流人薛正言等數人。 雲南布政使韓宜可隸謫籍，亦以性善言，起副都御史。 一日，帝退朝，獨留性善賜坐，問治天下要道，手書以進。 性善盡所言，悉從之。 已，為有司所格，性善進曰：「陛下不以臣不肖，猥承顧問。 既僭塵聖聽，許臣必行。 未幾輟改，事同反汗。 何以信天下？」 帝為動容。
The future Huandi, while still crown prince, had already heard of Xingshan's reputation. On his accession he made Xingshan vice minister of rites and, on his recommendation, restored several banished officials including Xue Zhengyan. Han Yike, administration commissioner of Yunnan, had been struck from office and banished; at Xingshan's urging he too was restored as vice censor-in-chief. One day, after court had adjourned, the emperor kept Xingshan behind, seated him, asked the essentials of governing the realm, and had him write out his answer by hand. The emperor adopted every point Xingshan made. Later, when the responsible offices blocked his proposals, Xingshan came forward and said, "Your Majesty, though I am unworthy, has honored me with his counsel. Having deigned to hear me, Your Majesty promised that my advice would be carried out. Yet before long the orders were revoked—no different from breaking a sworn word. How is the realm to trust Your Majesty thereafter? The emperor was visibly moved.
12
燕師起，改副都御史，監諸軍。 靈璧戰敗，與大理丞彭與明、欽天監副劉伯完等皆被執。 已，悉縱還。 性善曰：「辱命，罪也，奚以見吾君？」 朝服躍馬入於河以死。 余姚黃墀、陳子方與性善友，亦同死。 燕王入京師，詔追戮性善，徙其家於邊。
When the Yan forces rebelled he was made vice censor-in-chief and placed over the armies. After the defeat at Lingbi he was captured, along with Court of Judicial Review aide Peng Yuming, Vice Director of the Astronomy Bureau Liu Bowan, and others. They were soon released and sent home. Xingshan said, "To fail one's charge is a disgrace—how can I face my sovereign? Still in court dress, he spurred his horse into the river and drowned himself. Huang Chi of Yuyao and Chen Zifang, his friends, died with him. After the Prince of Yan took the capital, an edict condemned Xingshan posthumously and exiled his family to the borderlands.
13
與明，萬安人。 貢入太學，歷給事中。 建文初，為大理右丞，廉勤敏達。 以督軍被執。 縱歸，慚憤裂冠裳。 變姓名，與伯完俱亡去，不知所終。
Peng Yuming came from Wan'an. He entered the Imperial University as a tribute student and rose to supervising secretary. At the start of the Jianwen reign he served as right aide of the Court of Judicial Review, known for integrity, diligence, and sharp judgment. He was captured while supervising the army. After he was released, shame and rage drove him to tear his cap and robes. He changed his name and fled with Bowan; nothing more is known of either man.
14
時以侍郎監軍者，有廬江陳植。 植，元末舉鄉試，不仕。 洪武間，官吏部主事。 建文二年官兵部右侍郎。 燕兵臨江，植監戰江上。 慷慨誓師。 部將有議迎降者，植責以大義，甚厲。 部將殺之以降，且邀賞。 燕王怒，立誅部將，具棺殮葬植白石山上。
Among the vice ministers then supervising the armies was Chen Zhi of Lujiang. Zhi had passed the provincial examination at the end of the Yuan but declined office. Under Hongwu he served as a director in the Ministry of Personnel. In the second year of Jianwen he was appointed right vice minister of war. When the Yan forces reached the Yangzi, Zhi directed the defense on the river. He rallied the troops with an impassioned oath. When some subordinates talked of surrender, Zhi rebuked them sternly in the name of loyalty. They killed him and opened the gates, then demanded a reward. The Prince of Yan was enraged, had the mutineers executed at once, and gave Zhi an honorable burial on White Stone Mountain.
15
燕師之至江北也，御史王彬巡按江淮。 駐揚州，與鎮撫崇剛嬰城堅守。 時盛庸兵既敗，人無固誌。 守將王禮謀舉城降，彬執之及其黨，系獄。 剛出練兵，彬修守具，晝夜不懈。 有力士能舉千斤，彬嘗以自隨。 燕兵飛書城中：「縛王御史降者，官三品。」 左右憚力士，莫敢動。 禮弟崇賂力士母，誘其子出。 乘彬解甲浴，猝縛之。 出禮於獄，開門納燕師。 彬與剛皆不屈死。 彬，字文質，東平人。 洪武中進士。 剛，逸其裏籍。
When the Yan forces reached the north bank of the Yangzi, Censor Wang Bin was touring the Jiang-Huai circuit. He held Yangzhou and, with regional commander Chong Gang, mounted a stubborn defense of the walls. Sheng Yong's army had already been routed, and morale collapsed. The garrison commander Wang Li plotted to surrender the city; Bin arrested him and his accomplices and threw them in prison. While Gang drilled the troops outside, Bin repaired the defenses and kept watch day and night. A strongman who could lift a thousand jin often accompanied him as a bodyguard. The Yan forces shot a message into the city: "Whoever binds Censor Wang and surrenders will be given a third-rank post. His attendants feared the strongman and dared not move against Bin. Wang Li's younger brother Chong bribed the strongman's mother and lured the son away. They seized Bin unarmed while he was bathing and bound him. They freed Wang Li from prison, opened the gates, and admitted the Yan army. Bin and Gang both refused to yield and were put to death. Bin, styled Wenzhi, came from Dongping. He passed the metropolitan examination under Hongwu. Chong Gang's place of origin is not recorded.
16
又兵部主事樊士信，應城人。 守淮，力拒燕兵，不勝，死之。
Another was Fan Shixin, a director in the Ministry of War, from Yingcheng. He held the Huai line, fought the Yan forces to the last, and died when the defense failed.
17
燕將張玉、朱能等帥勇士攻九門，克其八，獨西直門不下。 都指揮彭二躍馬呼市中曰：「燕王反，從我殺賊者賞！」 集兵千余人，將攻燕府。 會燕健士從府中出，格殺二，兵遂散，盡奪九門。
Yan generals Zhang Yu and Zhu Neng led picked warriors against the Nine Gates, took eight, and only Xizhi Gate held out. Regional commander Peng Er galloped through the streets crying, "The Prince of Yan has rebelled—follow me and slay the traitors, and you shall be rewarded! More than a thousand men rallied to him, and they prepared to storm the prince's residence. Yan stalwarts burst from the residence, cut Peng Er down in the fight, and the crowd scattered; the rebels then held all Nine Gates.
18
初，昺被殺，喪得還。 「靖難」後，出昺屍焚之，家人及近戚皆死。
When Bing was first killed, his body was recovered for burial. After the Pacification campaign, his corpse was dug up and burned, and his family and close relatives were all put to death.
19
葛誠，不知所由進。 洪武末，為燕府長史。 嘗奉王命奏事京師。 帝召見，問府中事，誠具以實對。 遣還。 王佯病，盛暑擁爐坐，呼寒甚。 昺、貴等入問疾。 誠言：「王實無病，將為變。」 又密疏聞於帝。 及昺、貴將圖王，誠與護衛指揮盧振約為內應。 事敗，誠、振俱被殺，夷其族。
Ge Cheng's path into office is not recorded. At the end of the Hongwu reign he served as chief steward of the Yan princely establishment. On one occasion he was sent to the capital on the prince's business. The emperor received him and questioned him about the princely household; Cheng answered fully and truthfully. He was then sent back to Beiping. The prince pretended to be ill; in midsummer he sat huddled over a brazier, complaining bitterly of the cold. Bing, Xie Gui, and the others came in to inquire after his health. Cheng warned them, "The prince is not ill at all—he is preparing a rebellion. He also sent a secret report to the emperor about the plot. When Zhang Bing and Xie Gui were preparing to move against the prince, Ge Cheng and Lu Zhen, commander of the princely guard, arranged to act as inside collaborators. The plot was discovered; Ge Cheng and Lu Zhen were both executed, and their entire families were wiped out.
20
又伴讀余逢辰，字彥章，宣城人。 有學行。 王信任之，以故得聞異謀，乘間力諫。 知變將作，貽書其子，誓必死。 兵起，復泣諫，言「君、父兩不可負」，死之。
Another was the tutor-companion Yu Fengchen, courtesy name Yanzhang, from Xuancheng. He was a man of learning and integrity. The prince trusted him, so he learned of the conspiracy and repeatedly seized chances to remonstrate with all his force. Foreseeing the coming rebellion, he wrote to his son and swore he would not survive it. When war broke out, he wept as he remonstrated once more, declaring that one owed duty both to ruler and to father, and died for his loyalty.
21
北平人杜奇者，才雋士也。 燕王起兵，徵入府，奇因極諫「當守臣節」，王怒，立斬之。
Du Qi of Beiping was a gifted and forceful scholar. When the Prince of Yan took up arms, Du Qi was summoned to the princely residence and passionately urged him to uphold a loyal subject's duty; the prince flew into a rage and had him beheaded on the spot.
22
宋忠，不知何許人。 洪武末，為錦衣衛指揮使。 有百戶以非罪論死，忠疏救。 御史劾之，太祖曰：「忠率直無隱，為人請命，何罪？」 遂宥百戶。 尋為僉都御史劉觀所劾，調鳳陽中衛指揮使。 三十年，平羌將軍齊讓征西南夷無功，以忠為參將，從將軍楊文討之。 師旋，復官錦衣。
Song Zhong's origins are unrecorded. At the close of the Hongwu reign he served as commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. When a company officer was condemned to death on a false charge, Song Zhong submitted a memorial in his defense. A censor impeached him for it, but the Founding Emperor said, "Song Zhong speaks plainly and without concealment; he was begging mercy for another man—where is the offense in that? The company officer was pardoned. Not long after, Vice Censor-in-Chief Liu Guan impeached him, and he was reassigned as commander of the Fengyang Central Guard. In the thirtieth year of the reign, after Pacification General Qi Rang failed against the southwestern tribes, Song Zhong was appointed deputy commander and joined General Yang Wen's punitive campaign. After the expedition returned, he was restored to his post in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
23
忠之守懷來也，都指揮余瑱、彭聚、孫泰與俱。 及戰，瑱被執，不屈死。 泰中流矢，血被甲，裹創力鬥，與聚俱沒於陣。 當是時，諸將校為燕所俘者百余人，皆不肯降，以死。 惜姓名多不傳。
When Song Zhong held Huailai, Brigade Commanders Yu Zhen, Peng Ju, and Sun Tai served under him. In the fighting Yu Zhen was taken prisoner; he refused to yield and was killed. Sun Tai took an arrow in mid-fight; blood soaked his armor, yet he bandaged the wound and fought on until he and Peng Ju both fell on the field. At that time more than a hundred captured officers and commanders likewise refused to submit and died rather than yield. Regrettably, most of their names have not come down to us.
24
馬宣，亦不知何許人。 官都指揮使。 宋忠之趨居庸，宣亦自薊州帥師赴北平。 聞變，走還。 燕王既克懷來，旋師欲南下。 張玉進曰：「薊州外接大寧，多騎士，不取恐為後患。」 會宣發兵將攻北平，與燕兵戰公樂驛，敗歸，與鎮撫曾濬城守。 玉等往攻之，宣出戰被擒，罵不絕口，與濬俱死。
Ma Xuan's background is likewise unknown. He held the rank of brigade commander. When Song Zhong marched on Juyong Pass, Ma Xuan too led an army from Jizhou toward Beiping. On news of the uprising he turned back. Once the Prince of Yan had captured Huailai, he wheeled his army around and prepared to drive south. Zhang Yu urged him onward, saying, "Jizhou lies beside Daling and fields many cavalry; if we leave it untaken, it may plague us later. Just then Ma Xuan had mobilized to strike Beiping; his force met the Yan army at Gongle Post, was beaten back, and he joined Garrison Commander Zeng Jun in holding the city. Zhang Yu and his comrades besieged the city; Ma Xuan sallied forth, was taken, and cursed them without pause until he and Zeng Jun were both killed.
25
燕兵之襲大寧也，守將都指揮卜萬與都督劉真、陳亨帥兵扼松亭關。 亨欲降燕，畏萬，不敢發。 燕行反間，貽萬書，盛稱萬； 極詆亨。 厚賞所獲大寧卒，緘書衣中，俾密與萬。 故使同獲卒見之，亦縱去而不與賞。 不得賞者發其事。 真、亨搜卒衣，得書。 遂執萬下獄死，籍其家。 萬忠勇而死於間，論者惜之。 及大寧陷，指揮使朱鑒力戰，不屈死。
During the Yan assault on Daling, garrison commander Bu Wan and commissioners Liu Zhen and Chen Heng held Songting Pass with their troops. Chen Heng wanted to defect to the Prince of Yan but feared Bu Wan and held back. The Yan side ran a counter-intelligence scheme, sending Bu Wan a letter that lavishly praised him; while viciously denouncing Chen Heng. They richly rewarded captured soldiers from Daling, hid the letter in their clothes, and had them deliver it secretly to Bu Wan. They made sure other captives saw this favor, then released those men without paying them. The men who went unrewarded reported what had happened. Liu Zhen and Chen Heng searched the men's clothing and found the letter. Bu Wan was arrested, died in prison, and his property was confiscated. Bu Wan was loyal and courageous yet died by treachery; observers mourned the waste of it. When Daling fell, Commander Zhu Jian fought to the end and died rather than submit.
26
寧府左長史石撰者，平定人。 以學行稱。 燕王舉兵，撰輒為守禦計，每以臣節諷寧王，王亦心敬之。 及城陷，憤詈不屈，支解死。
Shi Zhuan, left chief secretary of the Ning princely household, was a native of Pingding. He was known for scholarship and moral standing. When the Prince of Yan rebelled, Shi Zhuan constantly drafted defensive plans and urged the Prince of Ning to uphold a subject's loyalty, which the prince came to respect in his heart. When the city fell he raged and cursed, would not yield, and was torn limb from limb.
27
瞿能，合肥人。 父通，洪武中，累官都督僉事。 能嗣官，以四川都指揮使從藍玉出大渡河擊西番，有功。 又以副總兵討建昌叛酋月魯帖木兒，破之雙狼寨。 燕師起，從李景隆北征。 攻北平，與其子帥精騎千余攻彰義門，垂克。 景隆忌之，令候大軍同進。 於是燕人夜汲水沃城。 方大寒，冰凝不可登，景隆卒致大敗。 已，又從景隆進駐白溝河，與燕師戰。 能父子奮擊，所向披靡。 日暝，各收軍。 明日復戰，燕王幾為所及。 王急佯招後軍以疑之，得脫去。 薄暮，能復引眾搏戰，大呼「滅燕」，斬馘數百。 諸將俞通淵、滕聚復帥眾來會。 會旋風起，王突入馳擊。 能父子死於陣。 通淵、聚俱死。 精兵萬余並沒。 南軍由是不振。
Qu Neng was from Hefei. His father Qu Tong rose during the Hongwu era to vice commissioner of the chief military commission. Qu Neng inherited his father's post and, as brigade commander of Sichuan, joined Lan Yu's campaign beyond the Dadu River against the western tribes with distinction. As deputy commander-in-chief he also crushed the Jianchang rebel chief Yuelu Timur at Twin Wolf Stockade. When the Prince of Yan rebelled, he joined Li Jinglong's northern campaign. During the assault on Beiping he and his son led over a thousand crack cavalry against the Zhangyi Gate and nearly broke through. Li Jinglong, jealous of his success, ordered him to hold back until the main force could advance with him. That night the defenders doused the walls with water. In the bitter cold the water froze solid; the walls could not be scaled, and Li Jinglong's delay turned into catastrophic defeat. Later he rejoined Li Jinglong at the White Ditch River and clashed with the Yan army. Father and son fought with devastating force and swept all before them. At dusk both armies broke off and withdrew. They fought again the next day, and the Prince of Yan barely escaped their pursuit. Desperately he feigned a call to his rear guard, sowing doubt long enough to break free. Toward evening Qu Neng rallied his men again, roaring "Destroy Yan!" as they cut down hundreds of enemy. Generals Yu Tongyuan and Teng Ju brought fresh forces to join him. Then a whirlwind struck; the prince drove straight into their ranks and charged. Qu Neng and his son fell on the field. Yu Tongyuan and Teng Ju were killed as well. More than ten thousand of the empire's finest troops perished in a single blow. The southern army never regained its momentum after that.
28
時與北兵戰死者，有都指揮莊得、楚智、皂旗張等。
Among those killed fighting the northern armies at this time were Brigade Commanders Zhuang De and Chu Zhi, Soap-banner Zhang, and others.
29
得，故隸宋忠。 懷來之敗，一軍獨全。 後從盛庸戰夾河，斬燕將譚淵。 已而燕王以驍騎乘暮掩擊，得力戰，死。
Zhuang De had once served under Song Zhong. After the disaster at Huailai, his was the only unit to come through intact. He later fought under Sheng Yong at Jiahe and killed the Yan general Tan Yuan. Then the Prince of Yan struck at dusk with his elite cavalry; Zhuang De fought to the end and was killed.
30
智，嘗從馮勝、藍玉出塞有功。 建文初，守北平。 尋召還。 及討燕，帥兵從景隆。 戰輒奮勇，北人望旗幟股栗。 至是，馬陷被執，死。
Chu Zhi had campaigned beyond the frontier under Feng Sheng and Lan Yu with distinction. At the start of the Jianwen reign he garrisoned Beiping. He was soon recalled to court. When the campaign against the Prince of Yan began, he took the field under Li Jinglong. He fought with savage courage in every engagement, and northerners shook at the sight of his banners. On this occasion his horse went down; he was taken and killed.
31
皂旗張，逸其名。 或曰張能力挽千斤，每戰輒麾皂旗先驅，軍中呼「皂旗張」。 死時猶執旗不仆。
Soap-banner Zhang's personal name has not survived. Some say he could draw a bow of a thousand jin; in every battle he led the charge under a black banner, and the army knew him only as Soap-banner Zhang. When he died he was still gripping his banner, upright to the last.
32
又王指揮者，臨淮人。 常騎小馬，軍中呼「小馬王」。 戰白溝河被重創，脫胄付其仆曰：「吾為國捐軀，以此報家人。」 立馬植戈而死。 二人死尤異雲。
There was also a Commander Wang from Linhuai. He habitually rode a small pony, and his men called him Little Horse Wang. Badly wounded at the White Ditch River, he took off his helmet and handed it to his attendant, saying, "I die for the realm; take this home to my family. He sat his horse upright, planted his halberd, and died on the spot. The manner of those two men's deaths was especially remarkable.
33
又中牟楊本，初為太學生，通禽遁術，應募授錦衣鎮撫。 從景隆討燕有功，景隆忌之，不以聞。 尋劾景隆喪師辱國，遂以孤軍獨出，被擒，系北平獄，後被殺。
Yang Ben of Zhongmu had been an imperial academy student and versed himself in arcane military arts; he enlisted and was made a garrison commander in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He distinguished himself under Li Jinglong against the Prince of Yan, but Jinglong envied him and never reported his achievements. He soon memorialized against Li Jinglong for losing the army and disgracing the realm, then marched out alone with a solitary force, was captured, imprisoned at Beiping, and later executed.
34
張倫，不知何許人。 河北諸衛指揮使也，勇悍負氣，喜觀古忠義事。 馬宣自薊州起兵攻北平，不克，死。 倫發憤，合兩衛官帥所部南奔，結盟報國。 從李景隆、盛庸戰，皆有功。 燕王即帝位，招倫降。 倫笑曰：「張倫將自賣為丁公乎！」 死之。 京師陷，武臣皆降附。 從容就義者，倫一人而已。
Zhang Lun's origins are unrecorded. He was a guard commander in Hebei, bold and proud, with a passion for tales of ancient loyalty and sacrifice. When Ma Xuan marched from Jizhou to attack Beiping, failed, and died. Enraged by Ma Xuan's fate, Zhang Lun rallied two guard officers, led their men south in flight, and bound themselves in an oath to serve the dynasty. He fought under Li Jinglong and Sheng Yong and earned credit in every engagement. After the Prince of Yan took the throne, he offered Zhang Lun terms of surrender. Zhang Lun laughed and said, "Am I, Zhang Lun, to sell myself out like Ding Gong? He chose death instead. When the capital fell, the military officials one after another submitted. Zhang Lun alone met his end with calm resolve.
35
主簿唐子清、典史黃謙俱被執。 燕將欲釋子清。 子清曰：「願隨顏公地下。」 遂死之。 遣謙往徐州招降。 謙不從，亦死。
Chief Clerk Tang Ziqing and Magistrate's Clerk Huang Qian were both taken prisoner. The Yan commander meant to set Tang Ziqing free. Tang Ziqing replied, "I would rather join Lord Yan in the grave below. With that he chose death. They dispatched Huang Qian to Xuzhou to offer terms of surrender. Huang Qian refused, and died as well.
36
又向樸，慈溪人。 力學養親。 洪武末，以人才召見，知獻縣。 縣無城郭，燕將譚淵至，樸集民兵與戰，被執，懷印死。
There was also Xiang Pu, from Cixi. He studied hard while caring for his parents. In the final years of the Hongwu reign he was summoned for his ability and made magistrate of Xian County. The county had no fortifications. When the Yan commander Tan Yuan arrived, Xiang Pu rallied the militia to resist; taken prisoner, he died clutching the official seal.
37
鄭恕，仙居人。 蕭縣知縣。 燕將王聰破蕭，不屈死。 二女當配，亦死之。
Zheng Shu was a native of Xianju. He served as magistrate of Xiao County. When the Yan commander Wang Cong stormed Xiao, Zheng Shu refused to yield and was killed. When his two daughters were marked out for distribution as war spoils, they too chose death.
38
鄭華，臨海人。 由行人貶東平吏目。 燕兵至，州長貳盡棄城走。 華謂妻蕭曰：「吾義，必死。 奈若年少何？」 蕭泣曰：「君不負國，妾敢負君？」 華曰：「足矣。」 帥吏民憑城固守，城破，力戰，不屈死。
Zheng Hua was from Linhai. Having served as a Messenger, he was demoted to a minor clerk in Dongping. When the Yan army arrived, the prefect and his deputies abandoned the city and fled. Zheng Hua told his wife Xiao, "My duty leaves me no choice but to die. Yet you are still so young—what will become of you? Xiao wept and said, "You will not betray your country—how could I betray you? Zheng Hua said, "That is enough. He rallied officials and townspeople to hold the walls; when the city fell he fought to the last and died without submitting.
39
王省，字子職，吉水人。 洪武五年領鄉舉。 至京，詔免會試，命吏部授官。 省言親老，乞歸養。 尋以文學征。 太祖親試，稱旨，當殊擢。 自陳「才薄親老」，乞便養。 授浮梁教諭。 凡三為教官，最後得濟陽。 燕兵至，為遊兵所執。 從容引譬，詞義慷慨。 眾舍之。 歸坐明倫堂，伐鼓聚諸生，謂曰：「若等知此堂何名，今日君臣之義何如？」 因大哭，諸生亦哭。 省以頭觸柱死。 女靜，適即墨主簿周岐鳳。 聞燕兵至濟陽，知父必死，三遣人往訪，得遺骸歸葬。
Wang Sheng, styled Zizhi, was a native of Jishui. In the fifth year of Hongwu he passed the provincial examination. When he reached the capital, an edict exempted him from the palace examination and the Ministry of Personnel was ordered to assign him a post. Wang Sheng said his parents were old and asked to go home to care for them. He was soon summoned again for his literary attainments. The founding emperor examined him in person; he pleased the throne and was marked for exceptional promotion. He pleaded that his "talents were slight and his parents aged," and asked for a post convenient for supporting them. He was made instructor at Fuliang. He served three times as a school instructor and at last was posted to Jiyang. When the Yan army arrived, he was captured by a roving detachment. He spoke calmly and by apt analogy, his words ringing with generous resolve. The soldiers released him. Back at the Hall of Bright Virtue he beat the drum to assemble his students and asked, "Do you know why this hall bears its name, and what the bond between ruler and subject demands today? He broke into loud weeping, and his students wept with him. Wang Sheng dashed his head against a pillar and died. His daughter Jing had married Zhou Qifeng, registrar of Jimo. When she heard the Yan army had reached Jiyang she knew her father would not survive; three times she sent men to search for him, recovered his body, and brought it home for burial.
40
姚善，字克一，安陸人。 初姓李。 洪武中由鄉舉歷祁門縣丞，同知廬州、重慶二府。 三十年遷蘇州知府。 初，太祖以吳俗奢僭，欲重繩以法，黠者更持短長相攻訐。 善為政持大體，不為苛細，訟遂衰息，吳中大治。 好折節下士，敬禮隱士王賓、韓奕、俞貞木、錢芹輩。 以月朔會學宮，迎芹上座，請質經義。 芹曰：「此非今所急也。」 善悚然起問。 芹乃授以一冊。 視之，皆守禦策。
Yao Shan, styled Keyi, was a native of Anlu. He had originally borne the surname Li. During the Hongwu reign he entered service through the provincial examination, serving as assistant magistrate of Qimen and then as vice-prefect of Luzhou and Chongqing. In the thirtieth year he was transferred to prefect of Suzhou. At first the founding emperor, finding Wu customs extravagant and overreaching, meant to restrain them with stern law; the shrewd then seized on one another's faults to denounce and attack. Yao Shan governed by the broad principles of statecraft, not by petty exactitude; lawsuits dwindled and Suzhou was brought to good order. He humbled himself before men of learning and treated the recluses Wang Bin, Han Yi, Yu Zhenmu, Qian Qin, and others with marked respect. On the first day of each month he gathered at the academy, seated Qian Qin in the place of honor, and invited him to examine the meaning of the classics. Qian Qin said, "That is not what matters most now. Yao Shan started up in alarm and pressed him to explain. Qian Qin then handed him a booklet. When he opened it, he found it filled with plans for defense and garrison.
41
時燕兵已南下，密結鎮、常、嘉、松四郡守，練民兵為備。 薦芹於朝，署行軍斷事。 善尋至京師。 會朝廷以燕王上書貶齊泰、黃子澄於外，善言不當貶，遂復召二人。 建文四年詔兼督蘇、松、常、鎮、嘉興五府兵勤王。 兵未集，燕王已入京師。 時子澄匿善所，約共航海起兵。 善謝曰：「公，朝臣，當行收兵圖興復。 善守土，與城存亡耳。」 子澄去，善為麾下許千戶者縛以獻，不屈，死。 年四十三。 子節等四人俱戍配。
By then the Yan army was marching south; he secretly coordinated with the prefects of Zhenjiang, Changzhou, Jiaxing, and Songjiang, drilling militia in readiness. He recommended Qian Qin to the court and had him appointed provisional judge of military affairs. Yao Shan soon went to the capital himself. When the court, responding to the Prince of Yan's memorial, demoted Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng to distant posts, Yao Shan argued they should not be removed and both men were recalled. In the fourth year of Jianwen an edict put him in charge of raising troops from Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, Zhenjiang, and Jiaxing to rescue the throne. Before the armies could gather, the Prince of Yan had already entered the capital. Huang Zicheng was then in hiding at Yao Shan's house, and they agreed to put to sea together and raise a force. Yao Shan declined, saying, "You are a minister of the court; you should go gather troops and plan restoration. I am bound to the land I govern; it is enough that I live or die with this city. Huang Zicheng departed; a centurion named Xu under Yao Shan's command bound him and handed him over. He refused to submit and was put to death. He was forty-three years old. His sons Jie and three others were all sent into frontier exile as convicts.
42
芹，字繼忠。 少好奇節。 元末，幹諸將，不遇。 洪武初，辟大都督府掾，從中山王出北平至大漠。 還解職。 家居二十年，甘貧樂道。 以善薦起。 從李景隆北行，遣入奏事。 道病將卒，猶條上兵事。 年七十三。
Qian Qin, styled Jizhong. From youth he was drawn to uncommon acts of integrity. At the end of the Yuan he sought out one general after another but won no appointment. At the beginning of Hongwu he was recruited as a clerk in the Chief Military Commission and followed the Prince of Zhongshan from Beiping into the northern desert. When he returned he resigned his post. He lived at home for twenty years, content in poverty and devoted to the Way. Yao Shan's recommendation brought him back into service. He marched north with Li Jinglong and was dispatched to the capital to report on affairs. Stricken on the road and near death, he still set down his views on military affairs in a memorial. He was seventy-three years old.
43
陳彥回，字士淵，莆田人。 父立誠，為歸安縣丞，被誣論死。 彥回謫戍雲南，家人從者多道死。 比至蜀，唯彥回與祖母郭在。 會赦，又弗原，監送者憐而縱之。 貧不能歸，依鄉人知縣黃積良，冒黃姓。 久之，以閬中教諭嚴德政薦，授保寧訓導。 考滿至京，召見以為平江知縣。 逾年，太祖崩，彥回入臨。 又以給事中楊維康薦，擢徵州知府。 建文元年，以循良受上賞。 祖母郭卒，當去，百姓走京師乞留。 彥回衰糸至赴闕自陳，乞復姓。 當彥回之戍雲南也，其弟彥亦戍遼東。 至是，詔除彥籍。 連乞終喪，不許。 葬郭徽城北十里北山之陽。 時走墓下，哭甚哀。 人目之曰「太守山」。 嘗對百姓泣曰：「吾罪人也，向亡命冒他姓。 以祖母存，恐陳首獲罪，隱忍二十年。 今祖母沒，宜自請死。 上特宥我，終當死報國耳。」 燕兵逼京師，彥回糾義勇赴援。 已而被擒，械至京，死之。
Chen Yanhui, styled Shiyuan, was a native of Putian. His father Licheng had been assistant magistrate of Guian; falsely accused, he was condemned to death. Chen Yanhui was banished to garrison duty in Yunnan; of the family members who followed him, many died on the road. By the time they reached Shu, only Chen Yanhui and his grandmother Guo were left alive. An amnesty was proclaimed, but he was not included; the escort took pity on him and set him free. Too poor to go home, he stayed with a fellow townsman, Magistrate Huang Jiliang, and took the Huang surname. In time, on the recommendation of Yan Dezheng, instructor at Langzhong, he was appointed assistant instructor at Baoning. When his term ended he went to the capital, was received in audience, and was made magistrate of Pingjiang. The next year the founding emperor died, and Chen Yanhui went to the capital to mourn. On the recommendation of Supervising Secretary Yang Weikang he was promoted to prefect of Huizhou. In the first year of Jianwen he received high honors as a model official. When his grandmother Guo died he was obliged to leave office, but the people rushed to the capital to beg that he be kept on. Chen Yanhui came to court in mourning garb to confess his case and beg to resume his own surname. When Chen Yanhui had been sent to garrison Yunnan, his younger brother Yan had also been sent to garrison Liaodong. At this point an edict removed Yan from the convict register. He repeatedly asked to complete the full mourning period, but was refused. He buried her on the sunny southern slope of North Mountain, ten li north of Huizhou city. He often ran to the grave and wept with piercing grief. People came to call the place Prefect's Mountain. Once, facing the people, he wept and said, "I am a guilty man; once a fugitive I took another man's surname. While my grandmother lived I feared that if I came forward I would be punished, and so I bore it in silence for twenty years. Now that my grandmother is gone, I ought to ask for death myself. The emperor has specially spared me; in the end I can repay the realm only with my death. When the Yan army closed on the capital, Chen Yanhui gathered volunteers and marched to the rescue. Soon after he was captured, bound in fetters, and taken to the capital, where he was executed.
44
張彥方，龍泉人。 初為給事中，以便養乞改樂平知縣。 應詔勤王，帥所部抵湖口。 被執，械至樂平斬之。 梟其首譙樓。 當署月，一蠅不集，經旬面如生。 邑人竊葬之清白堂後。
Zhang Yanfang was a native of Longquan. He had first served as a supervising secretary, then asked to be transferred to magistrate of Leping so he could care for his parents. Answering the call to rescue the throne, he led his command to Hukou. He was taken prisoner, bound in fetters, brought to Leping, and executed. His head was put on display atop the watchtower. For a month not a single fly settled on it; for ten days his face still looked as though he lived. Local people stole his body away and buried it behind the Hall of Pure White.
45
同時以勤王死者，有松江同知，死尤烈雲。 同知姓名不可考，或曰周繼瑜也。 勤王詔下，榜募義勇入援。 極言大義，感動人心。 並斥「靖難」兵乖恩悖道。 械至京，磔於市。
At the same time a Songjiang vice-prefect died rallying to the throne; the manner of his death was said to have been especially heroic. His name is unrecorded; some identify him as Zhou Jiyu. When the call to rescue the throne went out, he posted notices to recruit volunteers for the march to the capital. He spoke with force on behalf of the dynasty and stirred the hearts of the people. He also denounced the Prince of Yan's "Pacification of Difficulties" forces for betraying imperial favor and violating moral duty. Shackled and brought to the capital, he was torn apart in the public square.
46
贊曰：燕師之南向也，連敗二大將，其鋒蓋不可當。 鐵鉉以書生竭力抗禦於齊、魯之間，屢挫燕眾。 設與耿、李易地而處，天下事固未可知矣。 張昺、謝貴、葛誠圖燕於肘腋，而事不就。 宋忠、馬宣東西繼敗，瞿能諸將垂勝戰亡，燕兵卒得長驅南下。 而姚善、陳彥回之屬，欲以郡邑之甲奮拒於大勢已去之後，此黃鉞所謂「兵至江南，禦之無及」者也。
The annalist writes: When the Yan army turned south, having routed two great commanders in succession, its momentum seemed irresistible. Tie Xuan, a scholar-official, threw himself into the defense between Qi and Lu and repeatedly turned back the Yan armies. Had Geng Bingxin and Li Jinglong been placed in his position instead, the fate of the realm might well have remained in doubt. Zhang Bing, Xie Gui, and Ge Cheng plotted against the Prince of Yan from within his own household, yet their plan came to nothing. Song Zhong and Ma Xuan fell in defeat one after another east and west; Qu Neng and other commanders died in battle on the brink of victory, and the Yan forces at last drove south without hindrance. Yet Yao Shan, Chen Yanhui, and men like them tried to rally the arms of county and prefecture to resist after the tide had already turned—precisely the situation Huang Quan had in mind when he wrote, "When the army reaches Jiangnan, it will be too late to defend."