1
楊洪 〈（子俊從子能信）〉 石亨 〈（從子彪從孫後）〉 郭登朱謙 〈（子永孫暉等）〉 孫鏜 〈（趙勝）〉 範廣
Yang Hong (sons Jun; nephew Nengxin)〉 Shi Heng (nephew Biao; grandnephew Hou)〉 Guo Deng; Zhu Qian (son Yong; grandson Hui, and others)〉 Sun Tang (Zhao Sheng)〉 Fan Guang
2
楊洪，字宗道，六合人。 祖政，明初以功為漢中百戶。 父璟，戰死靈璧。 洪嗣職，調開平。 善騎射，遇敵輒身先突陣。 初，從成祖北征，至斡難河，獲人馬而還。 帝曰：「將才也。」 令識其名，進千戶。 宣德四年命以精騎二百，專巡僥塞上。 繼命城西貓兒峪，留兵戍之。 敗寇於紅山。
Yang Hong, styled Zongdao, was from Liuhe. His grandfather Zheng, rewarded in the early Ming for military service, became a company officer at Hanzhong. His father Jing was killed in battle at Lingbi. Hong inherited the post and was posted to Kaiping. Skilled in horsemanship and archery, he always led the charge himself whenever he met the enemy. Early on he followed the Yongle Emperor on the northern campaign as far as the Onon River, took captives and horses, and returned. The emperor said, "Here is a born commander." He had his name recorded and promoted him to chiliarch. In Xuande 4 he was ordered to take two hundred picked cavalry and patrol the frontier passes. He was next posted to Maor Valley west of the city and left troops to garrison the place. He defeated the raiders at Hongshan.
3
英宗立，尚書王驥言邊軍怯弱，由訓練無人，因言洪能。 詔加洪遊擊將軍。 洪所部才五百，詔選開平、獨石騎兵益之，再進都指揮僉事。 時先朝宿將已盡，洪後起，以敢戰著名。 為人機變敏捷，善出奇搗虛，未嘗小挫。 雖為偏校，中朝大臣皆知其能，有毀之者，輒為曲護，洪以是得展其才。
When Emperor Yingzong came to the throne, Minister Wang Ji said the frontier armies had grown timid for lack of proper training and recommended Hong for the task. An edict made Hong a Mobile General. Hong's command numbered only five hundred men, so the court selected cavalry from Kaiping and Dushi to reinforce him and promoted him again to Assistant Commander-in-Chief. By then the veteran generals of the previous reign were gone, and Hong, who had risen later, was famed for his boldness in battle. Resourceful and quick-witted, he excelled at surprise attacks on weak points and never suffered even a minor defeat. Though only a subordinate officer, court ministers all knew his worth; whenever anyone spoke against him they shielded him, and so Hong was able to put his talents fully to use.
4
尚書魏源督邊事，指揮杜衡、部卒李全皆訐奏洪罪。 帝從源言，謫衡廣西，執全付洪自治。 尋命洪副都督僉事李謙守赤城、獨石。 謙老而怯，故與洪左。 洪每調軍，謙輒陰沮之。 洪嘗勵將士殺敵，謙笑曰：「敵可盡乎？ 徒殺吾人耳。」 御史張鵬劾罷謙，因命洪代，洪益自奮。 朝廷亦厚待之，每奏捷，功雖微必敘。
Minister Wei Yuan was in charge of frontier affairs when Commander Du Heng and a soldier named Li Quan both denounced Hong in memorials. The emperor accepted Yuan's account, banished Heng to Guangxi, and handed Quan over to Hong to deal with as he saw fit. Soon afterward Hong was ordered to assist Vice Commander Li Qian in guarding Chicheng and Dushi. Qian was old and timid, so Hong was assigned to serve alongside him. Whenever Hong mustered troops, Qian would secretly obstruct him. Once, when Hong urged his officers and men to kill the enemy, Qian laughed and said, "Can you ever exhaust the enemy? You will only get our own men killed. Censor Zhang Peng impeached Qian and had him removed; Hong was put in his place and threw himself into the work with renewed energy. The court treated him generously as well: whenever he reported a victory, even a minor exploit was entered in the record of rewards.
5
洪初敗兀良哈兵，執其部長朵欒帖木兒。 既代謙任，復敗其兵於西涼亭。 帝賜敕嘉獎。 又敕宣大總兵官譚廣等曰：「此即前寇延綏，為指揮王禎所敗者，去若軍甚邇，顧不能撲滅，若視洪等愧不？」 三年春，擊寇於伯顏山。 洪馬蹶傷足，戰益力，擒其部長也陵臺等四人。 追至寶昌州，又擒阿臺答剌花等五人。 寇大敗，遁去。 璽書慰勞，遣醫視，進都指揮同知，賜銀幣。 尋以譚廣老，命充右參將佐之。 洪建議加築開平城，拓龍門所，自獨石至潮河川，增置堠臺六十。 尋進都指揮使。 與兀良哈兵戰三岔口。 又嘗追寇至亦把禿河。 再遷都督同知。 九年，兀良哈寇延綏，洪與內臣韓政等出大同，至黑山迤北，邀破之克列蘇。 進左都督，軍士蒙賞者九千九百余人。 洪嘗請給旗牌，不許。 乃自制小羽箭、木牌令軍中。 有司論其專擅，帝不問。
Hong first defeated the Uriankhai and captured their chief Duoluo Timur. After replacing Qian in command, he defeated them again at Xiliang Pavilion. The emperor sent an edict of commendation. He also wrote to Tan Guang, commander-in-chief of Xuanfu and Datong, and others: "These are the same raiders who earlier harried Yan-sui and were beaten by Commander Wang Zhen. They were right beside your armies, yet you could not destroy them—do you not feel ashamed when you compare yourselves with men like Hong? In the spring of the third year he attacked the raiders at Bayan Mountain. Hong's horse stumbled and injured his foot, yet he fought all the harder and captured four of their chiefs, including Yelintai. Pursuing as far as Baochang Prefecture, he captured five more men, including Atai Dalihua. The raiders were routed and fled. The emperor sent a letter of consolation, dispatched a physician to treat him, promoted him to Vice Commander-in-Chief, and granted him silver and silks. Soon afterward, because Tan Guang was aging, Hong was appointed Right Assistant Commander to assist him. Hong proposed strengthening the walls of Kaiping, expanding Longmen post, and building sixty beacon towers from Dushi to the Chaohe River. He was soon promoted to Commander-in-Chief. He fought the Uriankhai at Sanchakou. He also once pursued raiders as far as the Yibatu River. He was promoted again to Vice Regional Commander. In the ninth year the Uriankhai raided Yan-sui. Hong, the eunuch Han Zheng, and others marched out from Datong, advanced north of Heishan, and intercepted and defeated them at Keliesu. He was promoted to Left Regional Commander, and more than nine thousand nine hundred of his soldiers received rewards. Hong once asked for command flags and tablets, but the request was denied. He then devised his own small signal arrows and wooden tokens for use in the army. The responsible officials accused him of overstepping his authority, but the emperor took no notice.
6
十二年充總兵官，代郭竑鎮宣府。 自宣德以來，迤北未嘗大舉入寇。 惟朵顏三衛眾乘間擾邊，多不過百騎，或數十騎。 他將率巽軿，洪獨以敢戰至大將。 諸部亦憚之，稱為「楊王」。 瓦剌可汗脫脫不花、太師也先皆嘗致書於洪，並遺之馬。 洪聞於朝，敕令受之而報以禮。 嗣後數有贈遺，帝方倚任洪，不責也。 帝既北狩，道宣府，也先傳帝命趣開門。 城上人對曰：「所守者主上城池。 天已暮，門不敢開。 且洪已他往。」 也先乃擁帝去。 景帝監國，論前後功，封昌平伯。 也先復令帝為書遺洪，洪封上之。 時景帝已即位，馳使報洪：「上皇書，偽也。 自今雖真書，毋受。」 於是洪一意堅守。 也先逼京師，急詔洪將兵二萬入衛。 比至，寇已退。 敕洪與孫鏜、範廣等追擊余寇。 至霸州破之，獲阿歸等四十八人，還所掠人畜萬計。 及關，寇返鬥，殺官軍數百人，洪子俊幾為所及。 寇去，以功進侯，命率所部留京師，督京營訓練，兼掌左府事。 朝廷以洪宿將，所言多采納。 嘗陳禦寇三策，又奏請簡汰三千諸營將校，不得以貧弱充伍，皆從之。
In the twelfth year he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, replacing Guo Cong as commander of Xuanfu. Since the Xuande reign the northern frontier had not suffered a major invasion. Only the Three Guards of Doyin took advantage of openings to raid the border, usually with no more than a hundred horsemen, sometimes only a few dozen. Other generals were for the most part timid and compliant, but Hong alone rose to high command through his boldness in battle. The frontier tribes feared him as well and called him "Prince Yang." The Oirat khan Togto Buqa and Grand Preceptor Esen had both written to Hong and sent him horses as gifts. Hong reported this to court, and was ordered to accept the gifts and respond with courtesy. There were repeated gifts afterward, but the emperor was then relying heavily on Hong and did not reproach him. After the emperor had been carried off on the northern campaign and passed through Xuanfu, Esen relayed the emperor's order to open the gates at once. Those on the wall answered, "What we guard is our sovereign's city. Night has fallen, and we dare not open the gate. Besides, Hong is already elsewhere. Esen then led the captive emperor away. When the Jing Emperor was regent, Hong's services before and after were weighed and he was enfeoffed as Baron of Changping. Esen again had the captive emperor write to Hong; Hong sealed the letter and forwarded it to court. By then the Jing Emperor had already ascended the throne and sent a fast courier to tell Hong, "Any letter from the Retired Emperor is a forgery. From now on, even if a letter is genuine, you are not to accept it. Hong thereupon resolved to hold the frontier without compromise. When Esen pressed on the capital, an urgent edict ordered Hong to lead twenty thousand men to its defense. By the time he arrived, the raiders had already withdrawn. An edict ordered Hong, together with Sun Tang, Fan Guang, and others, to pursue the remaining raiders. At Bazhou he routed them, captured forty-eight men including Agui, and recovered tens of thousands of people and livestock that had been carried off. At the pass the raiders turned and fought back, killing several hundred government troops; Hong's son Jun was nearly caught. After the raiders withdrew he was raised to marquis for his service, ordered to keep his command at the capital, put in charge of training the capital camps, and given concurrent charge of the Left Bureau. Because Hong was a veteran commander, the court largely adopted his recommendations. He once submitted three strategies for repelling raiders and also memorialized that the officers of the three-thousand-man camps be screened so that the poor and weak could not fill the ranks; the court approved both requests.
7
洪久居宣府，禦兵嚴肅，士馬精強，為一時邊將冠。 然未嘗專殺，又頗好文學，嘗請建學宣府，教諸將子弟。
Hong had long held Xuanfu. His discipline was severe, his men and horses were the finest on the frontier, and for a time no border commander ranked above him. Yet he never executed anyone on his own authority, and he had a genuine love of learning; he once asked to establish a school at Xuanfu to educate the sons of frontier officers.
8
子傑嗣，上言：「臣家一侯三都督，蒼頭得官者十六人，大懼不足報稱。 乞停蒼頭楊釗等職。」 詔許之，仍令給俸。 傑卒，無子，庶兄俊嗣。
His son Jie succeeded him and memorialized, "Our household already holds one marquisate and three regional commands, and sixteen household servants have been given office. I fear we can never repay such favor. I beg that the offices granted to household servants such as Yang Zhao be withdrawn. The court approved the request but ordered that their salaries continue to be paid. When Jie died without an heir, his elder half-brother Jun succeeded.
9
俊，初以舍人從軍。 正統中累官署都指揮僉事，總督獨石、永寧諸處邊務。 景帝即位，給事中金達奉使獨石，劾俊貪侈，乃召還。 也先犯京師，俊敗其別部於居庸，進都督僉事。 尋充右參將，佐朱謙鎮宣府。 太監喜寧數誘敵入寇，中朝患之，購擒斬寧者賞黃金千兩，白金二萬兩，爵封侯。 寧為都指揮江福所獲，而俊冒其功。 廷臣請如詔。 帝以俊邊將，職所當為，不允。 加右都督，賜金幣。
Jun had first entered service as a household attendant with the army. During the Zhengtong reign he rose to Acting Assistant Commander-in-Chief and took charge of frontier affairs at Dushi, Yongning, and neighboring posts. When the Jing Emperor came to the throne, Supervising Secretary Jin Da, on a mission to Dushi, impeached Jun for greed and extravagance, and Jun was recalled. When Esen attacked the capital, Jun defeated one of his detached columns at Juyong and was promoted to Vice Regional Commander. He was soon appointed Right Assistant Commander to assist Zhu Qian in commanding Xuanfu. The eunuch Xi Ning had repeatedly lured the enemy into raids, to the court's great alarm. A reward of one thousand taels of gold and twenty thousand taels of silver, together with a marquisate, was offered to whoever captured and executed him. Ning was captured by Commander Jiang Fu, but Jun claimed the credit for himself. Court ministers asked that the promised reward be granted as announced. The emperor refused, saying that as a frontier commander Jun had merely done his duty. He was promoted to Right Regional Commander and granted gold and silks.
10
俊恃父勢橫恣，嘗以私憾杖都指揮陶忠至死。 洪懼，奏俊輕躁，恐誤邊事，乞令來京，隨臣操練。 許之。 既至，言官交劾，下獄論斬。 詔令隨洪立功。 未幾，冒擒喜寧功事覺，詔追奪冒升官軍，別賞福等，而降俊官，令剿賊自效。 俄充遊擊將軍，巡僥真、保、涿、易諸城，還督三千營訓練。
Jun relied on his father's power and behaved with arrogant license; once, over a private grudge, he beat Commander Tao Zhong to death with a staff. Alarmed, Hong memorialized that Jun was rash and impetuous and might mishandle frontier affairs, and asked that he be summoned to the capital to train under his own command. The request was granted. Once he arrived in the capital, censors impeached him in succession, and he was imprisoned and sentenced to death. An edict ordered him to follow Hong and earn merit on campaign. Before long his false claim to credit for capturing Xi Ning was exposed. The court ordered promotions wrongly granted to his men revoked, gave separate rewards to Fu and others, reduced Jun's rank, and told him to redeem himself by suppressing bandits. He was soon appointed Mobile General to patrol Zhenbao, Baoding, Zhuo, Yi, and other posts, then put back in charge of training the Three-Thousand-Man Camp.
11
景泰三年，俊上疏曰：「也先既弒其主，並其眾，包藏禍心，窺伺邊境，直須時動耳。 聞其妻孥輜重去宣府才數百里。 我緣邊宿兵不下數十萬，宜分為奇正以待，誘使來攻。 正兵列營大同、宣府，堅壁觀變，而出奇兵倍道搗其巢。 彼必還自救，我軍夾攻，可以得誌。」 疏下廷議，于謙等以計非萬全，遂寢。 團營初設，命俊分督四營。
In Jingtai 3, Jun memorialized: "Esen has murdered his lord and absorbed his followers. He harbors hostile intent and watches our border; he needs only the right moment to strike. I hear that his family and baggage train are only a few hundred li from Xuanfu. Our frontier garrisons number well over a hundred thousand. We should divide them into main and flanking forces, hold ready, and lure the enemy to attack. The main army should encamp at Datong and Xuanfu, hold the walls, and watch developments, while a flanking force takes a rapid route to strike their base. They will certainly hurry back to save themselves, and our armies can attack from both sides and achieve our aim. The memorial was referred to court discussion. Yu Qian and others held that the plan was not fully reliable, and it was dropped. When the Corps Camps were first established, Jun was put in charge of four of them.
12
明年復充遊擊將軍，送瓦剌使歸。 至永寧，被酒，杖都指揮姚貴八十，且欲斬之。 諸將力解而止。 貴訴於朝，宣府參政葉盛亦論俊罪。 以俊嘗潰於獨石，斥為敗軍之將。 俊上疏自理，封還所賜敕書，以明己功。 言官劾其跋扈，論斬，錮之獄。 會傑卒，傑母魏氏請暫釋俊營傑葬事。 乃宥死，降都督僉事。 旋襲洪職。 家人告俊盜軍儲，再論死，輸贖還爵。 久之，又以陰事告俊。 免死奪爵，命其子珍襲。
The following year he again served as Mobile General escorting Oirat envoys home. At Yongning he was drunk, had Commander Yao Gui beaten eighty strokes with a staff, and even tried to have him executed. The other generals interceded strenuously and stopped him. Gui appealed to court, and Ye Sheng, administrative commissioner of Xuanfu, also memorialized against Jun. Because Jun had once been routed at Dushi, he was denounced as a commander of defeated troops. Jun memorialized in his own defense, sealed up the edicts that had been granted him, and returned them to make clear his own merit. Censors impeached him for arrogance and license; he was sentenced to death and imprisoned. It happened that Jie died just then. Jie's mother, Lady Wei, asked that Jun be temporarily released to arrange the funeral. His death sentence was commuted and he was reduced to Vice Regional Commander. He soon inherited Hong's command. A member of his household reported that he had stolen military stores. He was again sentenced to death, paid a ransom, and recovered his title. After some time he was again reported for secret misconduct. His life was spared but his title was taken away, and his son Zhen was ordered to inherit in his place.
13
俊初守永寧、懷來，聞也先欲奉上皇還，密戒將士毋輕納。 既還，又言是將為禍本。 及上皇復位，張軏與俊不協，言於朝，遂征下詔獄，坐誅。 奪珍爵，戍廣西。 憲宗立，授龍虎衛指揮使。
When Jun first held Yongning and Huailai, he heard that Esen meant to send the Retired Emperor back and secretly warned his officers and men not to receive him lightly. After the emperor returned, he again said that this would become the root of disaster. When the Retired Emperor regained the throne, Zhang Yuan, who was at odds with Jun, spoke against him at court. Jun was summoned, imprisoned in the imperial prison, and executed. Zhen's title was taken away and he was banished to Guangxi. When Emperor Xianzong came to the throne, he was appointed commander of the Longhu Guard.
14
信，字文實。 幼從洪擊敵興州。 賊將方躍馬出陣前，信直前擒之，以是知名。 累功至指揮僉事。 正統末，進都指揮僉事，守柴溝堡。 也先犯京師，入衛，進都指揮同知。
Nengxin, styled Wenshi. As a youth he followed Hong to fight the enemy at Xingzhou. An enemy commander was leaping his horse out before the line when Xin charged straight ahead and seized him, and thereby made his name. Through repeated exploits he rose to Assistant Commander-in-Chief. Late in the Zhengtong reign he was promoted to Vice Commander-in-Chief and put in charge of Chaigou Fort. When Esen attacked the capital he marched to its defense and was promoted to Deputy Commander-in-Chief.
15
景泰改元，守懷來，寇入不能禦。 護餉永寧，聞炮聲奔還，皆被劾。 朝議以方用兵，不問。 累進都督僉事，代能為左副總兵，協鎮宣府。 上言：「鹿角之制，臨陣可捍敵馬，結營可衛士卒，每隊宜置十具。 遇敵團牌拒前，鹿角列後，神銃弓矢相繼叠發，則守無不固，戰無不克。」 從之。
When the Jingtai reign began he held Huailai, but raiders broke in and he could not repel them. While escorting provisions at Yongning he heard cannon fire and fled back; for these offenses he was impeached. The court decided that because fighting was still under way, the matter would not be pursued. He rose to Vice Regional Commander, replaced Neng as Left Deputy Commander-in-Chief, and jointly commanded Xuanfu. He memorialized: "The deer-antler formation can repel enemy cavalry in battle and protect troops in camp. Each company should be issued ten sets. When the enemy appears, round shields should hold the front, deer-antlers should be arrayed behind, and muskets, bows, and arrows should be fired in succession. Then no defense will fail to hold, and no battle will fail to be won. The court approved.
16
天順初，移鎮延綏，進都督同知。 明年破寇青陽溝，大獲。 封彰武伯，佩副將軍印，充總兵官，鎮守如故。 延綏設總兵官佩印，自信始也。 頃之，破寇高家堡。 三年與石彪大破寇於野馬澗。 明年，寇二萬騎入榆林，信擊卻之。 追奔至金雞峪，斬平章阿孫帖木兒，還所掠人畜萬計。 其冬，代李文鎮大同。
Early in the Tianshun reign he was transferred to command Yan-sui and promoted to Vice Regional Commander. The following year he defeated raiders at Qingyang Gully with great success. He was enfeoffed as Baron of Zhangwu, given the seal of Deputy General, and appointed Commander-in-Chief with his command unchanged. The post of Commander-in-Chief bearing an official seal at Yan-sui began with Xin. Soon afterward he defeated raiders at Gaojia Fort. In the third year he and Shi Biao inflicted a major defeat on raiders at Yema Ravine. The following year twenty thousand horsemen raided into Yulin, and Xin drove them back. Pursuing the rout as far as Jinjiyu, he killed the pingzhang Asun Timur and recovered tens of thousands of people and livestock that had been carried off. That winter he replaced Li Wen as commander of Datong.
17
信在邊三十年，鎮以安靜，人樂為用。 然性好營利。 代王嘗奏其違法事，詔停一歲祿。 十三年冬卒於鎮。 贈侯，謚武毅。
Xin spent thirty years on the frontier. He governed with quiet firmness, and his men were glad to serve under him. Yet by nature he was fond of profit. The Prince of Dai once memorialized his illegal conduct, and an edict suspended his salary for one year. He died at his post in the winter of the thirteenth year. He was posthumously ennobled as marquis with the posthumous title Martial and Resolute.
18
洪父子兄弟皆佩將印，一門三侯伯。 其時稱名將者，推楊氏。 昌平侯既廢，能以流爵弗世。 而信獨傳其子瑾，弘治初領將軍宿衛。 三傳至曾孫炳。 隆慶時，協守南京。 召掌京營戎政，屢加少師。 卒，謚恭襄。 傳子至孫崇猷。 李自成陷京師，被殺。
Hong, his sons, and his brothers all bore general's seals; one household held three marquisates and baronies. Among the famous generals of the age, the Yang clan stood foremost. After the Marquisate of Changping was abolished, the family still held a non-hereditary noble title. Xin alone passed his line to his son Jin, who early in the Hongzhi reign commanded the palace guard. The line passed through three generations to his great-grandson Bing. During the Longqing reign he helped guard Nanjing. He was summoned to manage the military administration of the capital camps and was repeatedly promoted to Junior Preceptor. He died and was given the posthumous title Respectful and Assisting. The line passed to his son and then to his grandson Chongyou. When Li Zicheng took the capital, he was killed.
19
石亨，渭南人。 生有異狀，方面偉軀，美髯及膝。 其從子彪魁梧似之，須亦過腹。 就飲酒肆，相者曰：「今平也，二人何乃有封侯相？」 亨嗣世父職，為寬河衛指揮僉事。 善騎射，能用大刀，每戰輒摧破。
Shi Heng was from Weinan. He was born with an unusual appearance: a square face, a powerful frame, and a fine beard that reached his knees. His nephew Biao was similarly imposing, and his beard also reached past his belly. Once at a wine shop a physiognomist said, "The realm is at peace now—why do these two have the bearing of men destined for enfeoffment? Heng inherited his uncle's hereditary post and became Assistant Commander of Kuanhe Guard. Skilled in horsemanship and archery and adept with the great sword, he broke through the enemy line in every battle.
20
正統初，以獲首功，累遷都指揮僉事。 敗敵黃牛坡，獲馬甚眾。 三年正月，敵三百余騎飲馬黃河，亨追擊至官山下，多所斬獲。 進都指揮同知。 尋充左參將，佐武進伯朱冕守大同。 六年上言：「邊餉難繼，請分大同左右、玉林、雲川四衛軍，墾凈水坪迤西曠土，官給牛種，可歲增糧萬八千石。」 明年又言：「大同西路屯堡，皆臨極邊。 玉林故城去右衛五十里，與東勝單於城接，水草便利。 請分軍築壘，防護屯種。」 詔皆允行。 尋以敗敵紅城功，進都指揮使。 敵犯延安，追至金山敗之，再遷都督僉事。 亨以國制搜將才未廣，請仿漢、唐制，設軍謀宏遠、智識絕倫等科，令人得自陳，試驗擢用，不專保舉。 報可。
Early in the Zhengtong reign, rewarded for taking enemy heads, he rose repeatedly to Vice Commander-in-Chief. He defeated the enemy at Huangniu Slope and captured a great many horses. In the first month of the third year more than three hundred enemy horsemen were watering their horses at the Yellow River. Heng pursued them to below Guanshan and killed or captured many. He was promoted to Deputy Commander-in-Chief. He was soon appointed Left Assistant Commander to assist Zhu Mian, Baron of Wujin, in guarding Datong. In the sixth year he memorialized: "Frontier provisions are hard to sustain. I ask that troops from the four guards of Datong Left and Right, Yulin, and Yunchuan be assigned to reclaim vacant land west of Jingshuiping. If the government supplies oxen and seed, we can add eighteen thousand piculs of grain each year. The following year he memorialized again: "The frontier farms and forts on Datong's western route all lie on the outermost border. The old city of Yulin lies fifty li from Right Guard, adjoins the Chanyu City of Dongsheng, and has ample grass and water. I ask that troops be assigned to build stockades and protect the farming colonies. Edicts approved both proposals and ordered them carried out. Soon afterward, for defeating the enemy at Hongcheng, he was promoted to Commander-in-Chief. When the enemy raided Yan'an, he pursued them to Jinshan and defeated them, and was promoted again to Vice Regional Commander. Heng argued that the national system for finding generals was too narrow. He asked that categories such as Far-reaching Military Counsel and Unmatched Intelligence be established on the Han and Tang model, so that men could present themselves, be tested, and be appointed without relying solely on recommendation. The court approved.
21
十四年，與都督僉事馬麟巡僥塞外。 至箭豁山，敗兀良哈眾，進都督同知。 是時，邊將智勇者推楊洪，其次則亨。 亨雖偏將，中朝倚之如大帥，故亨亦盡力。 其秋，也先大舉寇大同，亨及西寧侯宋瑛、武進伯朱冕等戰陽和口。 瑛、冕戰沒，亨單騎奔還。 降官，募兵自效。
In the fourteenth year he patrolled beyond the frontier passes with Vice Regional Commander Ma Lin. At Jianhuo Mountain he defeated the Uriankhai and was promoted to Vice Regional Commander. At that time Yang Hong was regarded as the foremost frontier commander for wisdom and courage, with Heng next. Though only a subordinate commander, Heng was relied on at court like a supreme commander, and he in turn gave his full effort. That autumn Esen launched a major raid on Datong. Heng, together with Song Ying, Marquis of Xining, Zhu Mian, Baron of Wujin, and others fought at Yanghekou. Ying and Mian were killed in battle, and Heng fled back alone on horseback. He was demoted and ordered to raise troops and redeem himself through service.
22
郕王監國，尚書于謙薦之。 召掌五軍大營，進右都督。 無何，封武清伯。 也先逼京師，命偕都督陶瑾等九將，分兵營九門外。 德勝門當敵沖，特以命亨。 于謙以尚書督軍。 寇薄彰義門，都督高禮等卻之。 轉至德勝門外，亨用謙令，伏兵誘擊，死者甚眾。 既而圍孫鏜西直門外，以亨救引卻。 相持五日，寇斂眾遁。 論功，亨為多，進侯。
When the Prince of Cheng was regent, Minister Yu Qian recommended him. He was summoned to command the Great Camp of the Five Armies and promoted to Right Regional Commander. Before long he was enfeoffed as Baron of Wuqing. When Esen threatened Beijing, Heng was ordered to join Regional Commander Tao Jin and eight other generals in dividing their forces to camp outside the nine city gates. As Desheng Gate lay in the path of the main enemy assault, Heng alone was assigned to defend it. Minister Yu Qian directed military affairs. The enemy pressed Zhangyi Gate, but Regional Commander Gao Li and others drove them back. The enemy then moved to Desheng Gate, where Heng, acting on Yu Qian's orders, laid an ambush and lured them into attack, killing a great many. They then besieged Sun Tang outside Xizhi Gate, but Heng's relief force drew the enemy off and compelled their withdrawal. After five days of stalemate, the raiders gathered their forces and withdrew. When merits were assessed, Heng's contributions ranked highest, and he was promoted to marquis.
23
景泰元年二月命佩鎮朔大將軍印，帥京軍三萬人，巡哨大同。 遇寇，敗之。 其秋，予世襲誥券。 易儲，加亨太子太師。 于謙立團營，命亨提督，充總兵官如故。
In the second month of Jingtai 1, he was ordered to bear the seal of Grand General Who Pacifies the North and lead thirty thousand troops from the capital on patrol in the Datong region. When they encountered the enemy, they defeated them. That autumn he received a hereditary patent of nobility. When the succession was changed, Heng was appointed Grand Preceptor to the Crown Prince. Yu Qian established the elite Corps Regiment and put Heng in charge of it, while he continued to serve as overall commander as before.
24
八年，帝將郊，宿齋宮，疾作不能行禮，召亨代。 亨受命榻前，見帝病甚，遂與張軏、曹吉祥等謀迎立上皇。 上皇既復辟，以亨首功，進爵忠國公。 眷顧特異，言無不從。 其弟侄家人冒功錦衣者五十余人，部曲親故竄名「奪門」籍得官者四千余人。 兩京大臣，斥逐殆盡。 納私人重賄，引用太仆丞孫弘，郎中陳汝言、蕭璁、張用瀚、郝璜、龍文、朱銓，員外郎劉本道為侍郎。 時有語曰「朱三千，龍八百」。 勢焰熏灼，嗜進者競走其門。 既以私憾殺于謙、範廣等，又以給事中成章、御史甘澤等九人嘗攻其失，貶黜之。 數興大獄，構陷耿九疇、嶽正，而戍楊瑄、張鵬，謫周斌、盛颙等。 又惡文臣為巡撫，抑武臣不得肆，盡撤還。 由是大權悉歸亨。
In the eighth year the emperor was to perform the suburban sacrifice and lodged in the fasting palace, but illness struck and he could not carry out the ceremony, so Heng was summoned to substitute for him. Heng accepted orders at the emperor's bedside; seeing how gravely ill the emperor was, he joined Zhang Yue, Cao Jixiang, and others in plotting to restore the Former Emperor to the throne. After the Former Emperor's restoration, Heng was credited as the chief architect of the coup and enfeoffed as Duke of Loyal States. The emperor showed him extraordinary favor, and nothing he said went unheeded. More than fifty of his brothers, nephews, and retainers falsely claimed merit as Embroidered Guards, and more than four thousand followers and clients gained office by adding their names to the "Restoring the Throne" roll. Virtually all the senior ministers of both capitals were driven from office. He accepted hefty bribes from private parties and promoted Sun Hong, Chen Ruyan, Xiao Cong, Zhang Yonghan, Hao Huang, Long Wen, Zhu Quan, and Liu Bendao to vice-ministerial posts. A popular saying at the time ran: "Zhu at three thousand, Long at eight hundred." His power blazed so brightly that office-seekers thronged his gate. Having already killed Yu Qian, Fan Guang, and others out of private spite, he also demoted Supervising Secretary Zhang Cheng, Censor Gan Ze, and seven others who had previously censured him. He repeatedly instigated major trials, framed Geng Jiuchou and Yue Zheng, sent Yang Xuan and Zhang Peng into exile on the frontier, and banished Zhou Bin, Sheng Yong, and others. He also resented civil grand coordinators, who restrained military officers, and had them all recalled. From this point nearly all real authority rested with Heng.
25
亨無日不進見，數預政事。 所請或不從，艴然見於辭色。 即不召，必假事以入，出則張大其勢，市權利。 久之，帝不能堪，嘗以語閣臣李賢。 賢曰：「惟獨斷乃可。」 帝然之。 一日語賢曰：「閣臣有事，須燕見。 彼武臣，何故頻見？」 遂敕左順門，非宣召毋得納總兵官。 亨自此稀燕見。
Heng saw the emperor every day and regularly intervened in policy. When the emperor sometimes refused his requests, he showed his displeasure openly in word and face. Even without a summons he found some excuse to enter the palace; once outside he flaunted his power and traded in influence and profit. In time the emperor could endure it no longer and once confided as much to Grand Secretary Li Xian. Li Xian said, "Your Majesty can overcome this only by decisive action of your own. The emperor agreed. One day he told Li Xian, "When grand secretaries have business they should be received in private audience. Why should that military man be allowed to see me so constantly? He then ordered that no commander-in-chief might enter through the Left Straight Gate without being expressly summoned. After this Heng was rarely admitted to private audience.
26
亨嘗白帝立碑於其祖墓。 工部希亨指，請敕有司建立，翰林院撰文。 帝以永樂以來，無為功臣祖宗立碑故事，責部臣，而令亨自立。 初，帝命所司為亨營第。 既成，壯麗逾制。 帝登翔鳳樓見之，問誰所居。 恭順侯吳瑾謬對曰：「此必王府。」 帝曰：「非也。」 瑾曰：「非王府，誰敢僭逾若此？」 帝頷之。 亨既權侔人主，而從子彪亦封定遠侯，驕橫如亨。 兩家蓄材官猛士數萬，中外將帥半出其門。 都人側目。
Heng once petitioned the emperor to erect a memorial stele at his grandfather's grave. The Ministry of Works, eager to please Heng, asked for an imperial order commanding local officials to erect the stele and the Hanlin Academy to draft the text. The emperor noted that since the Yongle reign no precedent existed for such ancestral steles to meritorious officials, rebuked the ministry, and told Heng to erect the monument at his own expense. The emperor had earlier ordered officials to build Heng a mansion. When it was completed, its grandeur exceeded what regulations allowed. From the Flying Phoenix Tower the emperor saw it and asked who lived there. Wu Jin, Marquis of Gongshun, answered deceitfully, "That must surely be a prince's residence. The emperor replied, "It is not." Jin said, "If it is not a prince's, who else would dare such presumption?" The emperor nodded in assent. Heng's authority now rivaled the throne's, and his nephew Biao was enfeoffed as Marquis of Dingyuan, no less arrogant than Heng himself. Between the two households they maintained tens of thousands of fighting men, and half the empire's field commanders owed their posts to their patronage. The people of the capital looked on in fear and resentment.
27
三年秋，彪謀鎮大同，令千戶楊斌等奏保。 帝覺其詐，收斌等拷問得實，震怒，下彪詔獄。 亨懼，請罪。 帝慰諭之。 亨請盡削弟侄官，放歸田裏。 帝亦不許。 及鞫彪，得繡蟒龍衣及違式寢床諸不法事，罪當死。 遂籍彪家，命亨養病。 亨嘗遣京衛指揮裴瑄出關市木，遣大同指揮盧昭追捕亡者。 至是事覺，法司請罪亨，帝猶置不問。 法司再鞫彪，言彪初為大同遊擊，以代王增祿為己功，王至跪謝。 自是數款彪，出歌妓行酒。 彪淩侮親王，罪亦當死。 因劾亨招權納賕，肆行無忌，與術士鄒叔彜等私講天文，妄談休咎，宜置重典。 帝命錮彪於獄，亨閑住，罷朝參。 時方議革「奪門」功，窮治亨黨，由亨得官者悉黜，朝署一清。
In the autumn of the third year Biao schemed to secure command at Datong and had chiliarch Yang Bin and others petition on his behalf. The emperor saw through the ruse, arrested Yang Bin and his accomplices, and under torture extracted a confession; enraged, he had Biao imprisoned by imperial decree. Heng was terrified and begged to be punished. The emperor reassured him. Heng asked that his brothers' and nephews' offices be stripped and that they be sent home to the countryside. The emperor refused even this. Further investigation of Biao uncovered python-dragon robes and other regalia, plus a bed of illegal design—offenses punishable by death. Biao's property was confiscated and Heng was ordered to retire on grounds of illness. Heng had earlier sent Capital Guard Commander Pei Xuan beyond the frontier to purchase timber and Datong Commander Lu Zhao to hunt down deserters. When these abuses came to light the judiciary sought to punish Heng, but the emperor let the matter drop. On re-examining Biao, officials reported that as roaming commander at Datong he had claimed credit for securing an increased stipend for the Prince of Dai, who then came in person to kneel and thank him. Thereafter the prince repeatedly hosted Biao and sent out singing girls to serve wine. Biao had moreover humiliated a reigning prince, another capital offense. The prosecutors therefore charged Heng with grasping power, taking bribes, and consulting fortune-tellers such as Zou Shuyi on celestial signs—offenses warranting the severest penalties. The emperor had Biao imprisoned, confined Heng at home, and barred him from court. The court was then revising awards from the "Restoring the Throne" coup and rooting out Heng's faction; everyone who had gained office through him was removed, and for a time the bureaucracy was cleansed.
28
明年正月，錦衣指揮逯杲奏亨怨望，與其從孫後等造妖言，蓄養無賴，專伺朝廷動靜，不軌跡已著。 廷臣皆言不可輕宥。 乃下亨詔獄，坐謀叛律斬，沒其家貲。 逾月，亨瘐死，彪、後並伏誅。
The next year, in the first month, Embroidered Guard Commander Lu Gao reported that Heng nursed resentment, that with his grandnephew Hou and others he spread seditious rumors, maintained a band of thugs, and spied on court affairs—clear signs of treason. The ministers unanimously urged that he not be treated leniently. Heng was imprisoned, convicted of treason, and sentenced to decapitation with confiscation of his property. A month later Heng died in prison; Biao and Hou were also put to death.
29
彪驍勇敢戰，善用斧。 初以舍人從軍。 正統末，積功至指揮同知。 也先逼京師，既退，追襲余寇，頗有斬獲，進署都指揮僉事。
Biao fought with exceptional fierceness and was a master of the battle-axe. He first entered service as a household guardsman in the army. By the end of the Zhengtong reign he had risen to Vice Commander through accumulated merit. When Esen threatened Beijing and withdrew, Biao pursued the remnant force, scored notable victories, and was temporarily promoted to Vice Regional Commander.
30
景泰改元，詔予實授，充遊擊將軍，守備威遠衛。 敵圍土城，彪用炮擊死百余人，遁去。 塞上日用兵，彪勇冠流輩，每戰必捷，以故一歲中數遷，至都督僉事。
When the Jingtai reign began, he received substantive rank as roaming-attacks general defending Weiyuan Guard. When enemies besieged Tucheng, he used artillery to kill more than a hundred men and drove them off. With constant fighting on the frontier, Biao's valor outshone his peers and he won every engagement, earning several promotions within a single year until he became Vice Regional Commander.
31
恃亨勢，多縱家人占民產，又招納流亡五十余戶，擅越關置莊墾田，為給事中李侃、御史張奎所劾，請並罪亨。 景帝皆宥不問，但令給還民產，遣流亡戶復業而已。
Trading on Heng's influence, he allowed his retainers to seize commoners' lands, sheltered more than fifty fugitives, and illegally opened farms beyond the frontier; Li Kan and Zhang Kui impeached him and demanded that Heng share the blame. Emperor Jingtai pardoned them all, merely ordering seized property restored and displaced households returned to lawful work.
32
三年冬，充右參將，協守大同。 嘗憾巡撫年富抑己不得逞。 及英宗復辟，召彪還。 亨方得誌，彪遂誣奏富罪，致之獄。 未幾，進都督同知，再以遊擊將軍赴大同備敵。 與參將張鵬等哨磨兒山。 寇千余騎來襲，彪率壯士沖擊，斬把禿王，搴其旗，俘斬百二十人。 追至三山墩，又斬七十二人。 以是封定遠伯，遊擊如故。
In the winter of the third year he was made Right Vice General to help defend Datong. He had long resented Grand Coordinator Nian Fu for checking his abuses. After Emperor Yingzong's restoration he was recalled to court. With Heng ascendant again, Biao fabricated charges against Nian Fu and had him thrown into prison. Soon he was promoted to Vice Regional Commander and returned to Datong as roaming-attacks general to face the northern enemy. He joined Vice General Zhang Peng and others on a reconnaissance mission at Mo'er Mountain. When more than a thousand enemy horsemen attacked, Biao led a shock charge, killed the chieftain Batu Wang, seized his banner, and took one hundred twenty heads or prisoners. He pursued as far as Sanshan Fort and killed seventy-two more. For this he was enfeoffed as Baron of Dingyuan while retaining his roaming command.
33
天順二年命偕高陽伯李文赴延綏禦寇，以疾召還，尋充總兵官。 明年，寇二萬騎入掠安邊營。 彪與彰武伯楊信等禦之，連戰皆捷。 斬鬼力赤，追出塞轉戰六十餘里，生擒四十余人，斬首五百余級，獲馬駝牛羊二萬余，為西北戰功第一。 捷聞，進侯。 彪本以戰功起家，不藉父兄蔭，然一門二公侯，勢盛而驕，多行不義。 謀鎮大同，與亨表裏握兵柄，為帝所疑。 遂及於禍。
In Tianshun 2 he was sent with Li Wen, Baron of Gaoyang, to Yan-sui to repel invaders; recalled when ill, he soon became overall commander. The next year twenty thousand horsemen crossed in to raid Anbian Camp. Biao joined Yang Xin, Baron of Zhangwu, and others in driving them back, winning every engagement. He killed Guilichi, pursued the enemy sixty li beyond the frontier, took more than forty prisoners, claimed over five hundred heads, and seized more than twenty thousand horses, camels, cattle, and sheep—the greatest victory in the northwest that year. On report of the victory he was promoted to marquis. Biao had won his place by his own sword, without his family's patronage; yet one clan now held two noble titles, and intoxicated by power they committed many wrongs. His bid to command Datong, coupled with Heng's grip on the army, made the emperor suspect a bid for military dominance. Thus he was brought to ruin.
34
後，天順元年進士，助亨籌畫。 都督杜清出亨門下，後造妖言，有「土木掌兵權」語，蓋言杜也。 事覺，後伏誅，清亦流金齒。
Hou, who had passed the metropolitan examination in Tianshun 1, had helped Heng plot the restoration. Regional Commander Du Qing was a client of Heng's household; Hou spread seditious slogans, including "At Tumu military power is held"—a veiled reference to Du Qing. When the plot was exposed, Hou was executed and Qing was banished to Jinchi.
35
郭登，字元登，武定侯英孫也。 幼英敏。 及長，博聞強記，善議論，好談兵。 洪熙時，授勛衛。
Guo Deng, courtesy name Yuandeng, was grandson of Guo Ying, Marquis of Wuding. Even as a boy he was exceptionally bright. As he matured he became widely read with a prodigious memory, excelled in debate, and was ever eager to talk strategy. During the Hongxi reign he was appointed to the honor guard.
36
正統中，從王驥征麓川有功，擢錦衣衛指揮僉事。 又從沐斌征騰沖，遷署都指揮僉事。 十四年，車駕北征，扈從至大同，超拜都督僉事，充參將，佐總兵官廣寧伯劉安鎮守。 朱勇等軍覆，倉猝議旋師。 登告學士曹鼐、張益曰「車駕宜入紫荊關」，王振不從，遂及於敗。 當是時，大同軍士多戰死，城門晝閉，人心洶洶。 登慷慨奮勵，修城堞，繕兵械； 拊循士卒，吊死問傷，親為裹創傅藥。 曰：「吾誓與此城共存亡，不令諸君獨死也。」 八月，也先擁帝北去，經大同，使袁彬入城索金幣。 登閉城門，以飛橋取彬入。 登與安及侍郎沈固、給事中孫祥、知府霍瑄等出謁，伏地慟哭。 以金二萬余及宋瑛、朱冕、內臣郭敬家資進帝，以賜也先等。 是夕，敵營城西。 登謀遣壯士劫營迎駕，不果。 明日，也先擁帝去。
In the Zhengtong era he served under Wang Ji in the Luchuan campaign, distinguished himself, and was raised to Assistant Commander in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He later joined Mu Bin's expedition to Tengchong and was appointed acting Vice Regional Commander. In year 14 of the reign he joined the emperor's northern expedition, escorted the court as far as Datong, was promoted by special order to Vice Regional Commander, made deputy general, and assisted Commander-in-Chief Liu An, Baron of Guangning, in holding the city. When Zhu Yong's army was annihilated, the court frantically debated a retreat. Deng urged Academicians Cao Tai and Zhang Yi that the emperor should withdraw through Zijing Pass, but Wang Zhen refused—and disaster followed. By then most of Datong's garrison had been killed in battle, the gates stayed shut day and night, and panic spread through the city. Deng rallied the defenders with passionate energy, rebuilding the walls and arming the troops; comforted the troops, mourned the dead and tended the wounded, and personally dressed wounds and applied salves. declaring, "I swear to live or die with this city—I will not let you perish alone." In the eighth month Esen marched the captive emperor north past Datong and sent Yuan Bin into the city to demand gold and treasure. Deng kept the gates shut and hauled Bin over the walls on a drawbridge. Deng, Liu An, Vice Minister Shen Gu, Supervising Secretary Sun Xiang, Prefect Huo Xuan, and others went out to receive the emperor, prostrating themselves in bitter grief. They gathered more than twenty thousand taels of gold plus the estates of Song Ying, Zhu Mian, and the eunuch Guo Jing for the emperor to give Esen and his men. That night the Mongols pitched camp west of the walls. Deng planned a night raid to rescue the emperor, but the attempt failed. The next day Esen marched the emperor away.
37
景帝監國，進都督同知，充副總兵。 尋令代安為總兵官。 十月，也先犯京師，登將率所部入援，先馳蠟書奏。 奏至，敵已退。 景帝優詔褒答，進右都督。 登計京兵新集，不可輕用，上用兵方略十余事。
While the Jing Emperor governed as regent, Deng was promoted to Vice Regional Commander and made deputy commander-in-chief. He was soon appointed to replace Liu An as overall commander. When Esen attacked the capital that October, Deng mustered his troops to relieve the city and dispatched an urgent sealed dispatch ahead. By the time his message reached court, the invaders had already withdrawn. The Jing Emperor answered with a gracious edict of praise and promoted him to Right Regional Commander. He argued the newly assembled capital army was not battle-ready and submitted more than a dozen proposals on how the throne should employ its forces.
38
景泰元年春，偵知寇騎數千，自順聖川入營沙窩。 登率兵躡之，大破其眾，追至栲栳山，斬二百余級，得所掠人畜八百有奇。 邊將自土木敗後，畏縮無敢與寇戰。 登以八百人破敵數千騎，軍氣為之一振，捷聞，封定襄伯，予世券。
In the spring of Jingtai 1 scouts reported several thousand enemy horsemen had entered via Shunsheng River and encamped at Shawo. Deng gave chase, routed them, pursued to Kaolao Mountain, took over two hundred heads, and recovered more than eight hundred captives and stolen livestock. Since the Tumu disaster frontier commanders had been too afraid to meet the enemy in the field. Deng's victory—eight hundred men routing thousands of horsemen—revived the army's spirit; on news of the triumph he was enfeoffed Baron of Dingxiang with a hereditary patent.
39
四月，寇騎數千奄至，登出東門戰。 佯北，誘之入士城。 伏起，敵敗走。 登度敵且復至，令軍士賫毒酒、羊豕、楮錢，偽為祭冢者，見寇即棄走。 寇至，爭飲食之，死者甚眾。 六月，也先復以二千騎入寇，登再擊卻之。 越數日，奉上皇至城外，聲言送駕還。 登與同守者設計，具朝服候駕月城內，伏兵城上，俟上皇入，即下月城閘。 也先及門而覺，遂擁上皇去。
In the fourth month thousands of horsemen swept in; Deng met them at the east gate. He feigned retreat and lured them into the inner earthen ward. Ambushes sprang up and the enemy broke and fled. Expecting another raid, he had soldiers scatter poisoned wine, meat, and funeral offerings as if mourning at graves, then flee at the enemy's approach. The raiders seized the bait; a great many died. In the sixth month Esen returned with two thousand horsemen; Deng drove them off again. Days later Esen brought the captive Former Emperor to the walls, claiming he would return him to the throne. Deng and the garrison laid a trap: in court robes they waited inside the barbican, with ambush troops above, ready to drop the gate once the Former Emperor entered. Esen sensed the trap at the gate and dragged the Former Emperor away.
40
時鎮守中官陳公忌登。 會有發公奸贓者，公疑登使之，遂與登構。 帝謂于謙曰：「大同，吾藩籬也。 公與登如是，其何以守！」 遣右監丞馬慶代公還，登愈感奮。 初，也先欲取大同為巢穴，故數來攻。 及每至輒敗，有一營數十人不還者。 敵氣懾，始有還上皇意。 上皇既還，代王仕壥頌登功，乞降敕獎勞。 兵部言登已封伯，乃止。
The garrison eunuch Chen Gong had long resented Deng. When Gong's corruption was exposed he blamed Deng and set out to destroy him. The emperor told Yu Qian, "Datong is my frontier bulwark. With Gong and Deng at each other's throats, how can it be held?" He recalled Gong and sent the Right Assistant Director Ma Qing in his place; Deng fought with renewed zeal. Esen had wanted Datong as a base and attacked again and again. Each time he was beaten back; sometimes whole squads of dozens never returned. Their morale broke, and Esen began to consider returning the captive emperor. After the emperor's return, Prince of Dai Shi Zhi praised Deng's service and asked the throne to reward him by edict. The Ministry of War noted Deng had already been made a baron, and the request was dropped.
41
二年，登以老疾乞休，舉石彪自代，且請令其子嵩宿衛。 帝以嵩為散騎舍人，不聽登辭。 是時邊患甫息，登悉心措置，思得公廉有為者與俱。 遂劾奏沈固廢事，而薦尚書楊寧、布政使年富。 又言大同既有御史，又有巡按御史，僉都御史任寧宜止巡撫宣府。 帝悉從之，以年富代固，而征還固及寧。 其秋，以疾召還。 登初至大同，士卒可戰者才數百，馬百余匹。 及是馬至萬五千，精卒數萬，屹然成巨鎮。 登去，大同人思之。
In year 2 he sought retirement on grounds of age and illness, nominated Shi Biao as his successor, and asked that his son Song join the palace guard. The emperor appointed Song to the palace staff but refused Deng's resignation. With the border briefly quiet, Deng threw himself into administration and sought capable, honest men to serve with him. He impeached Shen Gu for neglecting his duties and recommended Minister Yang Ning and Administration Commissioner Nian Fu. He also argued that with both a censor and a touring inspector already at Datong, Vice Censor-in-Chief Ren Ning should confine his patrol to Xuanfu. The emperor accepted every recommendation: Nian Fu replaced Shen Gu, and both Shen Gu and Ren Ning were recalled. That autumn illness brought him back to the capital. When Deng first reached Datong, scarcely a few hundred men could fight and only a hundred-odd horses remained. By now he had fifteen thousand horses and tens of thousands of seasoned troops—a fortress in its own right. When he left, the people of Datong mourned his absence.
42
初，英宗過大同，遣人謂登曰：「朕與登有姻，何拒朕若是？」 登奏曰：「臣奉命守城，不知其他。」 英宗銜之。 及復辟，登懼不免，首陳八事，多迎合。 尋命掌南京中府事。 明年召還。 言官劾登結陳汝言獲召，鞫實論斬。 宥死，降都督僉事，立功甘肅。
Once when Emperor Yingzong passed Datong he sent word: "We are kinsmen by marriage—why shut me out like this?" Deng replied in memorial: "I have orders to hold the city and nothing beyond that." The emperor never forgave the rebuff. After the restoration he feared execution and led with eight memorial proposals, most of them conciliatory. He was soon assigned to administer the Nanjing central mansion. The following year he was recalled to court. Censors charged that Deng had conspired with Chen Ruyan to engineer his recall; investigation found grounds for execution. His life was spared; he was demoted to Vice Regional Commander and sent to win merit on the Gansu frontier.
43
登儀觀甚偉，髯垂過腹。 為將兼智勇，紀律嚴明，料敵制勝，動合機宜。 嘗以意造「攪地龍」、「飛天網」。 鑿深塹，覆以土木如平地。 敵入圍中，發其機，自相撞擊，頃刻皆陷。 又仿古制造偏箱車、四輪車，中藏火器，上建旗幟，鉤環聯絡，布列成陣，戰守皆可用。 其軍以五人為伍，教之盟於神祠，一人有功，五人同賞，罰亦如之。 十伍為隊，隊以能挽六十斤弓者為先鋒。 十隊領以一都指揮，令功無相撓，罪有專責，一時稱善。
He was an imposing figure, his beard falling below his waist. As a commander he united boldness and craft, enforced iron discipline, read the enemy with uncanny precision, and seized every advantage. He devised traps he called the Earth-Stirring Dragon and the Sky-Casting Net. He dug deep pits and roofed them with earth and planks so they looked like solid ground. When the enemy blundered in, he tripped the mechanism; they collapsed into the pits within moments. He also designed antique-style wagons with armored sides and four wheels, each concealing firearms beneath signal banners; linked by hooks into battle lines, they served attack and defense alike. He organized troops in squads of five bound by oath at the shrines—reward or punishment fell on the whole squad. Ten squads formed a company whose vanguard was whoever could draw a sixty-jin bow. Each ten companies reported to a regional commander so credit and blame were clear—an arrangement praised at the time.
44
登事母孝，居喪秉禮。 能詩，明世武臣無及者。 無子，以兄子嵩為子。 登謫甘肅，留家京師，嵩窘其衣食。 登妾縫紉自給，幾殆，弗顧。 登還，欲黜之，以其婿於會昌侯，侯嘗活己，隱忍不發。 及卒，嵩遂襲爵。 後以非登嫡嗣，止嵩身。 子參降錦衣衛指揮使。
He was a devoted son and scrupulous in mourning ritual. He wrote verse as well—no martial peer in the dynasty could match him. Childless, he adopted his elder brother's son Song as heir. When Deng was exiled to Gansu his household remained in the capital, and Song stripped them of support. His concubine sewed for their bread; she nearly died of want, yet he took no action. After his return he meant to disinherit Song, but Song's ties to the Marquis of Huichang—who had once saved Deng's life—made him hold back. When Deng died, Song succeeded to the title. Later the court ruled he was not Deng's legitimate heir, and the title ended with Song. His son Can was reduced to a command in the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
45
正統六年，與參將王真巡哨至伯顏山，遇寇擊走之。 次閔安山，遇兀良哈三百騎，又敗之。 追至莽來泉，寇越山澗遁去，乃還。 時謙已遷都指揮同知，乃以為都指揮使。
In Zhengtong 6 he joined Vice General Wang Zhen on patrol to Bayan Mountain and repelled a raiding party. At Min'an Mountain they met three hundred Urianghad horsemen and routed them as well. They pursued to Manglai Spring until the enemy fled across the mountains, then withdrew. Zhu Qian was already Vice Regional Commander and was now promoted to Regional Commander.
46
八年充右參將，守備萬全左衛。 明年與楊洪破兀良哈兵於克列蘇，進都督僉事。 所部發其不法事，帝以方防秋，宥之。 復以北征功，進都督同知。
In year 8 he became Right Deputy General and garrisoned Wanquan Left Guard. The next year he and Yang Hong routed the Urianghad at Keliesu and he was promoted to Vice Regional Commander. Subordinates reported his misdeeds; with autumn campaigning near, the emperor let it pass. He was later promoted to Vice Regional Commander for his service on the northern expedition.
47
帝北狩，也先擁至宣府城下，令開門。 謙與參將紀廣、都御史羅亨信不應，遂去。 進右都督。 與楊洪入衛，會寇已退，追襲之近畿。 戰失利，洪劾之。 兵部並劾洪不救。 景帝俱弗問。 洪入總京營，廷議欲得如洪者代之，鹹舉謙。 乃進左都督，充總兵官，鎮守宣府。
When the emperor was captured on campaign, Esen brought him to the walls of Xuanfu and demanded entry. Zhu Qian, Vice General Ji Guang, and Censor-in-Chief Luo Hengxin refused, and Esen withdrew. He was promoted to Right Regional Commander. He marched to the capital with Yang Hong; the enemy had retreated, and they pursued them to the suburbs. The pursuit failed; Yang Hong impeached him. The Ministry of War impeached Hong in turn for failing to support him. The Jing Emperor took no action against either man. When Yang Hong took command of the capital army, court debated his successor; Zhu Qian was the unanimous choice. He was promoted to Left Regional Commander, made overall commander, and posted to Xuanfu.
48
景泰元年四月，寇三百騎入石烽口，復由故道去，降敕切責。 逾月，復入犯。 謙率兵禦之，次關子口。 寇數千騎突至，謙拒以鹿角，發火器擊之，寇少卻，如是數四。 謙軍且退，寇復來追。 都督江福援之，亦失利。 謙卒力戰，寇不得入。 六月復有二千騎南侵。 謙遣都指揮牛璽等往禦，戰南坡。 謙見塵起，率參將紀廣等馳援。 自巳至午，寇敗遁。 論功，封撫寧伯。 是時，寇氣甚驕，屢擾宣府、大同，意二城且旦夕下。 而謙守宣府，郭登守大同，數挫其眾。 也先知二人難犯，始一意歸上皇。 八月，上皇還。 道宣府，謙率子永出見，厚犒其使者。 既而謙謬報寇五千騎毀墻入。 察之，則也先貢使也。 詔切責之，謙惶恐謝。 明年二月，卒於鎮。 贈侯。 子永襲。
In the fourth month of the first year of Jingtai, three hundred enemy horsemen entered Shifeng Pass and withdrew by the same route; the court sent down an edict sharply rebuking Zhu Qian. A month later they raided again. Qian led his troops out to meet them and took position at Guanzi Pass. Several thousand horsemen charged in; Qian blocked them with abatis and opened fire with firearms, driving them back briefly—four times in all. As Qian's line began to give ground, the enemy pressed the pursuit. Regional Commander Jiang Fu came to his aid but was beaten back as well. Qian fought on to the last and kept the enemy from breaking through. In the sixth month another two thousand horsemen struck southward. Qian sent Commander Niu Xi and others to meet them; the battle was joined at Nanpo. Seeing dust rise on the horizon, Qian galloped to the scene with Vice General Ji Guang and the rest. From mid-morning until noon the enemy was routed and fled. When rewards were tallied, he was created Baron of Funing. The enemy were then at their boldest, raiding Xuanfu and Datong again and again as though both cities might fall at any moment. Yet Qian held Xuanfu and Guo Deng held Datong, and between them they repeatedly shattered the invaders. Esen saw that neither commander could be easily overcome and turned his mind wholly to sending the captive emperor home. In the eighth month the Former Emperor came back. His route took him through Xuanfu; Qian brought out his son Yong to pay respects and lavished gifts on Esen's escort. Soon afterward Qian sent in a false alarm that five thousand horsemen had breached the walls. Investigation showed them to be Esen's tribute mission. An edict sharply rebuked him, and Qian submitted in fear and shame. The following second month he died at his post. He was posthumously ennobled as a marquis. His son Yong succeeded to the title.
49
謙在邊久，善戰。 然勇而寡謀，故其名不若楊洪、石亨、郭登之著。 成化中，謚武襄。
Qian had served long on the frontier and knew how to fight. Yet he was bold rather than subtle, and his fame never equaled that of Yang Hong, Shi Heng, or Guo Deng. In the Chenghua era he received the posthumous name Wu Xiang, Martial Succor.
50
永，字景昌。 偉軀貌，顧盼有威。 初見上皇於宣府，數目屬焉。 景泰中，嗣爵奉朝請。 英宗復辟，睹永識之曰：「是見朕宣府者耶？」 永頓首謝，即日召侍左右，分領宣威營禁軍。 天順四年，宣、大告警，命帥京軍巡邊。 七年統三千營，尋兼神機營。 憲宗立，改督團營，領三千營如故。
Yong, styled Jingchang. He was tall and imposing, with a commanding presence in every glance. When he first met the captive emperor at Xuanfu, the emperor's eyes kept returning to him. During Jingtai he inherited the title and attended court. When Emperor Yingzong regained the throne, he recognized Yong and said, "Are you the one I saw at Xuanfu? Yong kowtowed in acknowledgment; that same day he was called to wait on the emperor and given command of a division of the Xuanwei palace guard. In Tianshun 4, when Xuanfu and Datong sent alarm reports, he was ordered to lead capital troops on a frontier patrol. In the seventh year he took command of the Three Thousand Camp and soon added the Divine Engine Camp. When Emperor Xianzong came to the throne, he was made supervisor of the regimental camps while retaining the Three Thousand Camp.
51
成化元年，荊、襄盜劉通作亂。 命永與尚書白圭往討。 進師南漳，擊斬九百有奇。 會疾留南漳，而圭率大軍破賊。 永往會，道遇余賊，俘斬數百人。 其秋復進討石龍、馮喜，皆捷。 論功，進侯。
In Chenghua 1 the outlaw Liu Tong raised a revolt in Jing and Xiang. Yong was ordered to campaign against him with Minister Bai Gui. Advancing on Nanzhang, they killed more than nine hundred of the enemy. Yong fell ill and stayed at Nanzhang while Gui led the main force to crush the rebels. Yong marched to join him, cut down stragglers along the way, and took several hundred heads. That autumn he campaigned again at Shilong and Feng Xi and won both engagements. For his service he was promoted to marquis.
52
毛裏孩犯邊，命佩將軍印，會彰武伯楊信禦之。 會遣使朝貢，乃班師。 六年，阿羅出寇延綏。 復拜將軍，偕都御史王越，都督劉玉、劉聚往討，擊敗之蘇家寨。 寇萬騎自雙山堡分五道至，戰於開荒川。 寇少卻，乘勢馳之，皆棄輜重走。 至牛家寨，遇都指揮吳瓚兵少，寇圍之。 指揮李鎬、滕忠至，復力戰。 聚及都指揮範瑾、神英分據南山夾擊，寇乃大敗。 斬首一百有六，獲馬牛數千，阿羅出中流矢遁。 時斬獲無多，然諸將鹹力戰追敵，邊人以為數十年所未有。 論功，予世侯。
When Molihai raided the frontier, he was given the general's seal and joined Baron of Zhangwu Yang Xin in the defense. Molihai sent envoys to offer tribute, and the army was withdrawn. In the sixth year Aluochu invaded Yan-sui. He was again made general and marched with Censor-in-Chief Wang Yue and Regional Commanders Liu Yu and Liu Ju, defeating Aluochu at Sujia Stockade. Ten thousand enemy horsemen came from Shuangshan Fort in five columns and gave battle at Kaihuang River. As the enemy wavered, the Ming cavalry pressed the attack and the raiders threw down their baggage and fled. At Niujia Stockade they found Commander Wu Zan with too few men, and the enemy had him surrounded. Commanders Li Hao and Teng Zhong came up and threw themselves back into the fight. Liu Ju with Commanders Fan Jin and Shen Ying took the southern heights and struck from both flanks until the enemy collapsed. One hundred and six heads were taken and thousands of horses and cattle captured; Aluochu was wounded by a stray arrow and escaped. The body count was modest, but every commander had fought hard in pursuit, and on the frontier men called it the fiercest action in decades. For his merit he was granted a hereditary marquisate.
53
阿羅出雖少挫，猶據河套。 明年正月，寇屢入，永所部屢有斬獲。 三月復以萬余騎分掠懷遠諸堡。 永與越等分兵為五，設伏敗之，追至山口及滉忽都河，寇敗走。 而遊擊孫鉞、蔡瑄別破他部於鹿窖山。 捷聞，璽書獎勞。 永等再請班師，皆不許。 寇復以二萬余騎入掠，擊退之。 歲將盡，乃召永還，留越總制三邊。
Though checked, Aluochu still held the Ordos. The following first month the enemy raided again and again, and Yong's troops repeatedly took heads and booty. In the third month more than ten thousand horsemen returned to pillage the forts around Huaiyuan. Yong and Wang Yue split into five columns, ambushed the enemy, and drove them in flight to the pass and the Huanghudu River. Meanwhile Sun Tang and Cai Xuan, leading separate columns, routed another enemy band at Lucao Mountain. When word of victory reached the capital, the emperor sent a sealed letter of praise. Yong and his colleagues twice asked to withdraw, and both times were refused. When more than twenty thousand horsemen raided again, they were beaten back. As the year drew to a close Yong was recalled, and Wang Yue was left in overall command of the three frontier commands.
54
十四年加永太子太保。 明年冬，拜靖虜將軍，東伐，以中官汪直監督軍務。 還，進爵保國公。 又明年正月，延綏告警。 命永為將軍，越提督軍務，直仍監督，分道出塞。 越與直選輕騎出孤店關，俘寇於威寧海子。 而永率大軍由南路出榆林，不見寇，道回遠，費兵食巨萬，馬死者五千余匹。 於是越得封伯，直蔭錫逾等，而永無功，賞不行。 久之。 進太子太傅。 十七年二月，復偕直、越出師大同，禦亦思馬，獲首功百二十，遂賜襲世公。
In the fourteenth year Yong was made Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent. The next winter he was made Pacifying-the-Barbarians General for an eastern campaign, with the eunuch Wang Zhi supervising the army. On his return he was raised to Duke of Guaranteeing the State. The following first month Yan-sui sent alarm reports. Yong was made general, Wang Yue directed operations, and Wang Zhi again supervised as they marched out by separate routes. Wang Yue and Wang Zhi took picked light cavalry through Gudian Pass and seized prisoners at Weining Lake. Yong meanwhile led the main force south from Yulin, found no enemy, and made a long march home at vast cost in grain and more than five thousand horses lost. Wang Yue was ennobled as a baron, Wang Zhi's clients were heaped with favors, but Yong won no credit and received no reward. Long afterward. He was promoted to Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent. In the seventeenth year, second month, he again campaigned with Wang Zhi and Wang Yue from Datong against Yisma, took one hundred twenty heads, and was granted a hereditary ducal succession.
55
十九年秋，小王子入邊，宣、大告急。 越與直已得罪，以永為鎮朔大將軍，中官蔡新監其軍，督諸將周玉、李玙等擊敗之。 還，仍督團營。 或投匿名書言永圖不軌。 永乞解兵柄，不許。 其冬，手敕加太傅、太子太師。 弘治四年監修太廟成，進太師。
In the autumn of the nineteenth year the Little Prince crossed the border and Xuanfu and Datong sent urgent alarms. With Wang Yue and Wang Zhi already disgraced, Yong was made Great General Pacifying the North; the eunuch Cai Xin supervised his army as he directed Zhou Yu, Li Yu, and the other commanders to victory. On his return he resumed command of the regimental camps. Someone posted an anonymous letter accusing Yong of treasonous designs. Yong asked to lay down his command; the request was refused. That winter the emperor's own hand added him as Grand Preceptor and Grand Master of the Heir Apparent. In Hongzhi 4, when the ancestral temple restoration he oversaw was finished, he was promoted to Grand Preceptor.
56
永治軍嚴肅，所至多奏功。 前後八佩將軍印，內總十二團營兼掌都督府，列侯勛名無與比。 九年卒。 追封宣平王，謚武毅，子暉嗣。 給事中王廷言永功不當公，朝議止予襲一世，後皆侯。 詔可。
Yong ran a tight army and reported victories wherever he served. Eight times he bore a general's seal, commanded all twelve capital regiments, and headed the Regional Military Commission—no other noble of his day matched his honors. In the ninth year he died. He was posthumously created Prince of Xuanping with the temple name Wu Yi, Martial Resolve; his son Hui succeeded. Supervising Secretary Wang Ting argued that Yong's deeds did not justify a ducal line; court settled on one generation of succession, after which the heirs would be marquises only. The emperor approved.
57
暉，字東陽。 長身美髯，人稱其威重類父。 又屢從父塞下，歷行陣，時以為才。 弘治五年授勛衛。 年垂五十，始嗣爵，分典神機營。 十三年更置京營大帥，命暉督三千營兼領右府事。
Hui, styled Dongyang. Tall and bearded, men said his bearing matched his father's. He had often followed his father on the frontier and knew the ranks of war; many regarded him as capable. In Hongzhi 5 he was given a post in the guards corps for nobles. Near fifty he finally inherited the title and was put in charge of the Divine Engine Camp. In the thirteenth year the post of supreme commander of the capital army was reinstated; Hui was made supervisor of the Three Thousand Camp and acting head of the Right Commission.
58
火篩入大同，平江伯陳銳等不能禦，命暉佩大將軍印代之。 比至，寇已退，乃還。 明年春，火篩連小王子，大入延綏、寧夏。 右都御史史琳請濟師。 復命暉佩大將軍印，統都督李俊、李澄、楊玉、馬儀、劉寧五將往，而以中官苗逵監其軍。 至寧夏，寇已飽掠去，乃與琳、逵率五路師搗其巢於河套。 寇已徙帳，僅斬首三級，獲馬駝牛羊千五百以歸。 未幾，寇入固原，轉掠平涼、慶陽，關中大震。 兩鎮將嬰城不敢戰，而暉等畏怯不急赴。 比至，斬首十二人，還所掠生口四千，遂以捷聞。
When Huosai struck Datong and Baron of Pingjiang Chen Rui could not hold him, Hui was given the great general's seal and sent to replace him. By the time he arrived the enemy had withdrawn, and he marched home. The next spring Huosai allied with the Little Prince for a major invasion of Yan-sui and Ningxia. Right Censor-in-Chief Shi Lin asked for reinforcements. Hui was again given the great general's seal and sent with Regional Commanders Li Jun, Li Cheng, Yang Yu, Ma Yi, and Liu Ning, under the supervision of the eunuch Miao Kui. At Ningxia the enemy had already sacked the region and gone; he then joined Shi Lin and Miao Kui in a five-column strike at their camps in the Ordos. The enemy had already struck camp; they took only three heads and drove home fifteen hundred horses, camels, cattle, and sheep. Soon afterward the enemy took Guyuan and swept through Pingliang and Qingyang, throwing all of Shaanxi into alarm. The two frontier commanders barricaded their walls and refused to fight, while Hui and his colleagues, timid and slow, lingered before marching to relieve them. When they finally arrived they claimed twelve heads, recovered four thousand captives, and reported a victory.
59
是役也，大帥非制勝才，師行紆回無紀律，邊民死者遍野。 諸郡困轉輸餉軍，費八十余萬。 他征發稱是，先後僅獲首功十五級。 廷臣連章劾三人罪，帝不問。 已而上搗巢有功將士萬余人，尚書馬文升、大學士劉健持之，帝先入逵等言，竟錄二百十人，署職一級，余皆被賚。 及班師，帝猶遣中官賫羊酒迎勞。 言官極論暉罪，終不聽，以暉總督團營，領三千營右府如故。
In that campaign the supreme commander lacked the skill to win; the army wandered in confusion without discipline, and the frontier dead lay thick across the countryside. Commanderies across the region were bled dry forwarding supplies, at a cost of more than eight hundred thousand taels. Other summons and campaigns cost as much, yet in all they counted only fifteen head-merit grades. Officials submitted repeated indictments against the three commanders, but the emperor took no notice. More than ten thousand men claimed merit for the Ordos raid, but Minister Ma Wensheng and Grand Secretary Liu Jian resisted rewarding them so lavishly. The emperor, having already been swayed by Miao Kui and his party, still enrolled two hundred and ten for promotion by one rank and bestowed gifts on all the rest. Even after the army's return the emperor sent a eunuch with sheep and wine to welcome the commanders home. The censors denounced Hui at length, but the emperor would not hear it; Hui remained in command of the regimental camps and continued to head the right bureau of the Three Thousand Barracks.
60
子麒，襲侯，嘗充總兵官，鎮兩廣。 與姚鏌平田州，誅岑猛，加太子太保。 嘉靖初，召還。 久之，守備南京，卒。 子嶽嗣，亦守備南京。 隆慶中卒。 四傳至孫國弼。 天啟中，楊漣劾魏忠賢，國弼亦乞速賜處分。 忠賢怒，停其歲祿。 崇禎時，總督京營。 溫體仁柄國，國弼抗疏劾之。 詔捕其門客及繕疏者下獄，停祿如初。 及至南京，進保國公。 乃與馬士英、阮大鋮相結，以訖明亡。
His son Qi inherited the marquisate, served as regional commander in the two Guang provinces. With Yao Mo he pacified Tianzhou and executed Cen Meng, and was promoted to Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent. Early in the Jiajing reign he was recalled to court. Long afterward he was posted to defend Nanjing, where he died. His son Yue succeeded him and likewise held the Nanjing garrison command. He died during the Longqing reign. Four generations later the line reached his great-grandson Guobi. Under Emperor Tianqi, when Yang Lian impeached Wei Zhongxian, Guobi too petitioned for Wei to be punished at once. Zhongxian in anger suspended his yearly stipend. Under Chongzhen he commanded the metropolitan garrisons. When Wen Tiren dominated the government, Guobi submitted a bold memorial to impeach him. An edict seized his household clients and the memorial's drafters and imprisoned them, and his stipend was suspended again. On reaching Nanjing he was advanced to Duke Protector of the State. He then threw in his lot with Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng and remained their ally until the dynasty fell.
61
孫鏜，字振遠，東勝州人。 襲濟陽衛指揮同知。 用朱勇薦，進署指揮使。 正統末，擢指揮僉事，充左參將，從總兵官徐恭討葉宗留。 敗賊金華，復破之烏龍嶺。
Sun Tang, courtesy name Zhenyuan, was a native of Dongsheng Subprefecture. He inherited the post of assistant commissioner in Jiyang Guard. On Zhu Yong's recommendation he was promoted to acting commander. In the late Zhengtong reign he was made regiment vice commander and left assistant regional commander, and joined Regional Commander Xu Gong against the rebel Ye Zongliu. He routed the rebels at Jinhua and again crushed them at Wulong Ridge.
62
英宗北狩，景帝召鏜還，超擢都督僉事，典三千營。 也先將入犯，進右都督，充總兵官，統京軍一萬禦之紫荊關。 將發，寇已入，遂營都城外。 寇薄德勝門，為于謙等所卻，轉至西直門。 鏜與大戰，斬其前鋒數人。 寇稍北，鏜逐之，寇益兵圍鏜。 鏜力戰不解。 高禮、毛福壽來援，禮中流矢。 會石亨兵至，寇乃退。 詔鏜副楊洪追之，戰於涿州深溝，頗有斬獲。 師還，仍典營務。
When Emperor Yingzong was taken north, Emperor Jing recalled Tang and leapfrogged him to vice commander-in-chief in charge of the Three Thousand Barracks. As Esen was poised to invade, Tang was made right commander-in-chief and regional commander with ten thousand capital troops to hold Zijing Pass. Before he could march the enemy was already at the walls, so he pitched camp outside Beijing. The raiders pressed Desheng Gate but were turned back by Yu Qian and others, then shifted to Xizhi Gate. Tang joined the great battle and cut down several of their vanguard. As the enemy drew north Tang gave chase, and they rallied reinforcements and surrounded him. Tang fought on without respite and could not break free. Gao Li and Mao Shoufu came to the rescue; Li was struck by a stray arrow. When Shi Heng's troops arrived the raiders at last withdrew. He was ordered to join Yang Hong in pursuit and fought at Shengou in Zhuozhou, taking a fair number of heads and prisoners. After the campaign he continued to direct barracks affairs.
63
景泰初，楊洪劾鏜下獄。 石亨請赦鏜，江淵亦言城下之役，惟鏜戰最力，乃釋之。
Early in the Jingtai reign Yang Hong had Tang imprisoned on impeachment. Shi Heng pleaded for his release, and Jiang Yuan testified that at the siege Tang alone had fought hardest; he was then freed.
64
三年冬充副總兵，協郭登鎮大同。 登節制嚴，鏜不得逞，欲與分軍，且令子百戶宏侮登。 帝械宏，竟以鏜故貰之。 召還，典三千營如故。 英宗復辟，以「奪門」功封懷寧伯，尋予世券。
In the winter of the third year he served as deputy regional commander assisting Guo Deng at Datong. Deng's discipline was strict and Tang could not domineer; he sought a separate command and set his centurion son Hong to insult Deng. The emperor put Hong in irons, yet in the end pardoned him for Tang's sake. Tang was recalled and resumed command of the Three Thousand Barracks. After the Restoration he was ennobled as Baron of Huaining for the Seizing-the-Gate coup and soon received a hereditary patent.
65
天順初，甘肅告警，詔鏜充總兵官，帥京軍往討。 將陛辭，病宿朝房。 夜二鼓，太監曹吉祥、昭武伯曹欽反。 其部下都指揮馬亮告變於恭順侯吳瑾，瑾趨語鏜。 鏜草奏，叩東長安門，自門隙投入內廷，始得集兵縛吉祥，守皇城諸門。 鏜走太平侯張瑾家，邀兵擊賊，瑾不敢出。 鏜倉猝復走宣武街，急遣二子輔、軏呼征西將士，紿之曰：「刑部囚反獄，獲者重賞。」 眾稍聚至二千人，始語之故。 時已黎明，遂擊欽。 欽方攻東長安門，不得入，轉攻東安門。 鏜兵追及，賊稍散。 軏斫欽中膊，軏亦被殺。 欽知事不成，竄歸其家，猶督眾拒鏜力戰，至晡始定。 論功第一，進爵世侯，仍典三千營。 贈軏百戶，世襲。
At the start of Tianshun Gansu reported an alarm, and Tang was ordered out as regional commander at the head of capital troops. While preparing his farewell audience he fell ill and lay overnight in the palace waiting rooms. At the second watch the eunuch Cao Jixiang and War Vigor Baron Cao Qin rose in rebellion. His subordinate Ma Liang reported the revolt to Conguan Marquis Wu Jin, who rushed to warn Tang. Tang drafted a memorial and slipped it through a crack in the East Chang'an Gate into the inner palace, mustered troops to seize Jixiang, and secured the gates of the Imperial City. He ran to Peace Marquis Zhang Jin's house to raise troops against the rebels, but Jin dared not stir. In panic he fled to Xuanwu Street and sent his sons Fu and Yue to rally the western expeditionary troops with a lie: "Ministry of Justice prisoners have broken jail—heavy rewards for those who seize them. When nearly two thousand had gathered he at last revealed the true cause. By dawn they were attacking Qin. Qin was battering the East Chang'an Gate without success and turned to East An Gate. Tang's men caught up and the rebels began to scatter. Yue cut Qin across the upper arm and was himself slain. Seeing the cause was lost, Qin fled home yet still rallied his followers for a fierce fight until the afternoon before order was restored. Judged foremost in merit, he was raised to a hereditary marquisate and kept command of the Three Thousand Barracks. Yue was posthumously granted the rank of centurion with hereditary succession.
66
鏜粗猛善戰，然數犯法。 初賄太監金英，得遷都督。 事覺，論斬，景帝特宥之。 天順末，以受將士賄，屢被劾。 不自安，求退。 詔解營務及府軍前衛事，猶掌左府。
Tang was rough and warlike, yet repeatedly broke the law. Early on he had bribed the eunuch Jin Ying and won promotion to regional commander. When this was discovered he was sentenced to decapitation, but Emperor Jing specially spared him. In late Tianshun he was repeatedly impeached for taking bribes from officers and men. Uneasy in his post, he asked to retire. An edict relieved him of barracks command and of the Front Guard of the Metropolitan Army, but he retained the left bureau.
67
子輔請嗣，吏部言「奪門」功，例不得世傳。 帝以鏜捕反者，予之。 傳子至孫應爵，正德中總督團營。 四傳至曾孫世忠。 萬歷中鎮守湖廣，總督漕運凡二十年。 又三傳至孫維藩。 流賊陷京師，被殺。
His son Fu petitioned to inherit; the Ministry of Personnel ruled that Seizing-the-Gate honors were not hereditary by precedent. The emperor granted the succession because Tang had captured the rebel leader. The line descended to his great-grandson Yingjue, who in the Zhengde reign commanded the regimental camps. After four generations it reached his great-great-grandson Shizhong. Under Wanli he garrisoned Huguang and for twenty years oversaw the grain transport circuit. Three generations later the line reached his descendant Weifan. When rebel armies seized Beijing he was killed.
68
鏜之冒「奪門」功封伯爵也，都督董興及曹義、施聚、趙勝等皆乘是時冒封，予世券。 興、義、聚自有傳。
Tang had claimed Seizing-the-Gate credit for his barony; Regional Commander Dong Xing, Cao Yi, Shi Ju, Zhao Sheng, and others likewise won false enfeoffments then and received hereditary patents. Xing, Yi, and Ju have separate biographies.
69
趙勝，字克功，遷安人。 襲職為永平衛指揮使。 正統末，禦寇西直門，進都指揮僉事。 天順初，與孫鏜等預「奪門」功，超遷都督僉事。 又與鏜擊反者曹欽，進同知。 孛來犯甘肅，勝與李杲充左右參將，從白圭西征至固原，擊寇，卻之。 憲宗立，典鼓勇營訓練。 成化改元，山西告警，拜將軍。 次雁門，寇已退，乃還。 明年復出延綏禦寇。 會方納款，遂旋師。 尋典耀武營。 四年充總兵官，鎮遼東。 七年召典五軍營，已，改三千營。 乚加思蘭犯宣府，詔勝為將軍，統京兵萬人禦之，亦以寇遁召還。 久之，進左都督，加太子太保。 十九年封昌寧伯。
Zhao Sheng, courtesy name Kegong, was a native of Qian'an. He inherited the post of commander in Yongping Guard. At the close of Zhengtong he helped defend Xizhi Gate and was promoted to regional vice commander. At the opening of Tianshun he shared in the Seizing-the-Gate honors with Sun Tang and others and was leapfrogged to vice commander-in-chief. He fought the rebel Cao Qin alongside Tang and was promoted to commissioner-in-chief. When Bolai invaded Gansu, Sheng and Li Gao served as left and right assistant regional commanders under Bai Gui's western campaign to Guyuan and drove the raiders back. When Emperor Xianzong took the throne he was placed in charge of training the Valiant Drums Barracks. In the first year of the Chenghua reign Shanxi reported an alarm and he was made a general. He encamped at Yanmen, but the enemy had already withdrawn, and he marched home. The next year he was again sent to Yan-sui against the raiders. When the enemy sued for peace he withdrew his troops. He was soon given command of the Glorious Martial Barracks. In the fourth year he became regional commander of Liaodong. In the seventh year he was recalled to command the Five Armies Barracks, then transferred to the Three Thousand Barracks. When Yesüzasan struck Xuanfu he was made a general at the head of ten thousand capital troops; the enemy withdrew before he arrived and he was recalled. Long afterward he was made left commander-in-chief and Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent. In his nineteenth year of service he was ennobled as Baron of Changning.
70
勝初與李杲並有名。 後屢督大師，未見敵，無功，夤緣得封，名大損。 後加太保，營萬貴妃塋，墮崖石間死。 贈侯，謚壯敏。 弘治初，孫鑒乞襲爵。 吏部言勝無功，不當傳世，乃授錦衣衛指揮使。
Sheng was once as renowned as Li Gao. Later he repeatedly commanded large forces without meeting the enemy or winning merit, yet secured his title through court favor, and his reputation suffered greatly. Later, while serving as Grand Guardian building the consort Wan's tomb, he fell among the cliff rocks and died. He was posthumously ennobled as a marquis with the style Zhuangmin, "Stalwart and Keen." Early in the Hongzhi reign his grandson Jian petitioned to inherit the title. The Ministry of Personnel ruled that Sheng had won no merit worthy of a hereditary title and appointed Jian commandant of the Embroidered-Uniform Guard instead.
71
範廣，遼東人。 正統中嗣世職，為寧元衛指揮僉事，進指揮使。 十四年，積功遷遼東都指揮僉事。
Fan Guang was from Liaodong. During the Zhengtong reign he inherited the family post, became Assistant Commander of Ningyuan Guard, and was promoted to Commander. In the fourteenth year he was promoted to Vice Commander-in-Chief of Liaodong for accumulated merit.
72
廣精騎射，驍勇絕倫。 英宗北狩，廷議舉將材，尚書于謙薦廣。 擢都督僉事，充左副總兵，為石亨副。 也先犯京師，廣躍馬陷陣，部下從之，勇氣百倍。 寇退，又追敗之紫荊關。 錄功，命實授。 俄進都督同知，出守懷來。 尋召還。
Guang excelled at horsemanship and archery and was unmatched in boldness on the battlefield. When Emperor Yingzong was carried off on the northern campaign, the court debated whom to appoint as generals, and Minister Yu Qian recommended Guang. He was promoted to Vice Regional Commander and appointed Left Deputy Commander-in-Chief under Shi Heng. When Esen attacked the capital, Guang charged into the enemy line on horseback; his men followed, and their courage redoubled. After the raiders withdrew he pursued and defeated them again at Zijing Pass. His exploits were entered in the record and he was confirmed in substantive rank. He was soon promoted to Vice Regional Commander and sent to guard Huailai. He was soon recalled to court.
73
亨所為不法，其部曲多貪縱，廣數以為言。 亨銜之，譖罷廣，止領毅勇一營。 廣又與都督張軏不相能。 及英宗復辟，亨、軏恃「奪門」功，誣廣黨附于謙，謀立外藩，遂下獄論死。 子升戍廣西，籍其家，以妻孥第宅賜降丁。 明年春，軏早朝還，途中為拱揖狀。 左右怪問之，曰：「範廣過也。」 遂得疾不能睡，痛楚月余而死。 成化初，廷臣訟廣冤。 命子升乃襲世職。
Heng acted unlawfully, and many of his followers were greedy and unrestrained; Guang spoke against this repeatedly. Heng resented him, slandered him out of office, and left him with command of only the Yiyong Camp. Guang was also on bad terms with Regional Commander Zhang Yuan. When Emperor Yingzong was restored to the throne, Heng and Yuan, relying on their "Restoring the Gate" exploit, falsely accused Guang of siding with Yu Qian and plotting to enthrone a frontier prince. He was imprisoned and sentenced to death. His son Sheng was banished to Guangxi, his property was confiscated, and his wife, children, and house were given to surrendered soldiers. The following spring, on his way back from the dawn audience, Yuan was seen on the road making gestures of bowing with clasped hands. His attendants asked what was wrong; he said, "Fan Guang is passing by. He then fell ill, could not sleep, and after more than a month of torment died. Early in the Chenghua reign, court ministers pleaded that Guang had been wronged. His son Sheng was ordered to inherit the family post.
74
廣性剛果。 每臨陣，身先士卒，未嘗敗衄。 一時諸將盡出其下，最為于謙所信任，以故為儕輩所忌。
Guang was by nature firm and resolute. In every battle he led from the front and never suffered defeat. For a time the other generals all ranked below him. Yu Qian trusted him above all others, and for that reason his peers envied him.
75
贊曰：楊洪、石亨輩，遭時多事，奮爪牙之力，侯封世券，照耀一門，酬庸亦過厚矣。 洪知盛滿可懼，而亨邪狠粗傲，怙寵而驕，其赤族宜哉。 朱謙勇略不及郭登，登乃無後，而謙子永，進爵上公，子孫世侯勿絕。 孫鏜、範廣善戰略相等，而廣以冤死。 所遇有幸有不幸，相去豈不遠哉！
The commentator says: Men like Yang Hong and Shi Heng lived in troubled times and threw all their fighting strength into service. Marquisates and hereditary patents lit up their households, and the rewards they received were excessive. Hong understood that great fortune invites ruin, but Heng was treacherous, brutal, coarse, and arrogant, trusting in favor and growing proud. That his entire clan was destroyed was only fitting. Zhu Qian's courage and strategy did not equal Guo Deng's. Deng left no heir, yet Qian's son Yong was raised to Grand Duke, and his descendants held marquisates without end. Sun Tang and Fan Guang were equals in strategic ability, yet Guang died a wrongful death. What fortune or misfortune men meet in life—how wide the gap can be!