1
史昭 〈（劉昭李達）〉 巫凱 〈（曹義施聚）〉 許貴 〈（子寧）〉 周賢 〈（子玉）〉 歐信王璽魯鑒 〈（子麟孫經）〉 劉寧 〈（周璽莊鑒）〉 彭清姜漢 〈（子奭孫應熊）〉 安國杭雄
Shi Zhao (with Liu Zhao and Li Da appended)〉 Wu Kai (with Cao Yi and Shi Ju appended)〉 Xu Gui (son Ning)〉 Zhou Xian (son Yu)〉 Ōu Xin, Wang Xi, and Lu Jian (son Lin and grandson Jing)〉 Liu Ning (Zhou Xi and Zhuang Jian)〉 Peng Qing and Jiang Han (son Shi and grandson Yingxiong)〉 An Guo and Hang Xiong
2
史昭，合肥人。 永樂初，積功至都指揮僉事。 八年充總兵官，鎮涼州。 土軍老的罕先與千戶虎保作亂，虎保敗，老的罕就撫。 昭上書言其必叛狀。 未至，而老的罕果叛。 昭與都指揮滿都等擊平之。 移鎮西寧。
Shi Zhao was a native of Hefei. At the opening of the Yongle reign, through accumulated merit he rose to vice commander-in-chief of the regional military commission. In the eighth year he was appointed supreme commander and stationed at Liangzhou. The native officer Laodiehan had first joined the chiliarch Hubao in revolt; when Hubao was defeated, Laodiehan accepted pacification. Zhao memorialized the throne describing how he was certain to rebel. Before the memorial arrived, Laodiehan did rebel. Zhao, together with Regional Commander Mandu and others, attacked and suppressed the revolt. He was transferred to garrison Xining.
3
仁宗立，進都督僉事。 上言西寧風俗鄙悍，請設學校如中土。 報可。 宣德初，昭以衛軍守禦，不暇屯種，其家屬願力田者七百七十余人，請俾耕藝，收其賦以足軍食。 從之。 五年，曲先衛都指揮使散即思邀劫西域使臣，昭率參將趙安偕中官王安、王瑾討之。 長驅至曲先，散即思望風遁，擒其黨答答不花等，獲男女三百四十人，馬駝牛羊三十余萬，威震塞外。 捷聞，璽書慰勞，賞賚加等。
When Emperor Renzong took the throne, he was promoted to vice commissioner-in-chief. He reported that Xining's customs were crude and fierce and asked that schools be established as in the heartland. The request was approved. Early in the Xuande reign, with guard troops tied to defense and no time for farming, more than seven hundred and seventy dependents who wished to till the soil asked permission to farm and pay grain tax to supplement military rations. The petition was granted. In the fifth year, Sanjisi, regional commander of the Quxian Guard, waylaid and robbed envoys from the Western Regions; Zhao led Assistant Commander Zhao An and the eunuchs Wang An and Wang Jin against him. They drove straight to Quxian; Sanjisi fled at their approach; they seized his followers, including Dadabuhua, and took three hundred and forty men and women and more than three hundred thousand horses, camels, cattle, and sheep—their fame shook the frontier. When victory was reported, an imperial letter of praise arrived, with rewards above the usual scale.
4
七年春，以征西將軍鎮寧夏。 孛的達裏麻犯邊，遣兵擊之。 至闊臺察罕，俘獲甚眾。 進都督同知。
In the spring of the seventh year he was made General Who Pacifies the West and stationed at Ningxia. When Beddalima raided the border, he sent troops against him. At Kuotaichahan they captured a great host. He was promoted to assistant commissioner-in-chief.
5
正統初，昭以寧夏孤懸河外，東抵綏德二千里，曠遠難守，請於花馬池築哨馬營，增設烽堠，直接哈剌兀速之境。 邊備大固。 尋進右都督。 時阿臺、朵兒只伯數寇邊。 詔昭與甘肅守將蔣貴、趙安進剿。 並無功，被昭切責，貶都督僉事。 三年復右都督，八年以老召還。 明年卒。
Early in the Zhengtong reign, Zhao argued that Ningxia stood alone beyond the river, two thousand li from Suide to the east—too vast to hold—and asked that scout-horse camps be built at Huamachi with new beacon towers reaching to the Halawusu frontier. Frontier defenses were greatly strengthened. He was soon promoted to right commissioner-in-chief. Atai and Du'erzhibo were then raiding the border again and again. An edict ordered Zhao, together with Gansu's garrison commanders Jiang Gui and Zhao An, to advance in pursuit. Neither achieved success; Zhao was sharply rebuked and demoted to vice commissioner-in-chief. In the third year he was restored as right commissioner-in-chief; in the eighth year he was recalled on account of age. The following year he died.
6
昭居寧夏十二年，老成持重，兵政修舉，亦會敵勢衰弱，邊境得無事。 兵部尚書王驥、寧夏參將王榮嘗舉其過。 朝議，以昭守邊久，習兵事，不易也。 而與昭並為邊將最久、有勛績可稱者，都督同知劉昭鎮西寧二十年； 都指揮李達鎮洮州至四十年。 並為蕃漢所畏服。
Zhao held Ningxia for twelve years, steady and deliberate; military affairs were kept in good order, and as enemy strength waned the border remained quiet. Minister of War Wang Ji and Ningxia assistant commander Wang Rong once reported his faults. At court it was held that Zhao had long guarded the frontier and knew military affairs too well to be replaced lightly. Among frontier generals who, like Zhao, had served longest with merit worth noting were Assistant Commissioner Liu Zhao, who garrisoned Xining for twenty years, and Regional Commander Li Da, who held Taozhou for as long as forty years. Both were feared and obeyed by Tibetans and Chinese alike.
7
劉昭，全椒人。 永樂五年以都指揮同知使朵甘、烏思藏，建驛站。 還至靈藏，番賊邀劫，昭敗之。 進都指揮使，鎮河州。 宣德二年，副陳懷討平松潘寇。 累進都督同知，移西寧。 復鎮河州，兼轄西寧。 罕東酋劄兒加邀殺中官使西域者，奪璽書金幣去。 命昭副甘肅總兵官劉廣討之。 劄兒加請還所掠書幣，貢馬贖罪。 帝以窮寇不足深治，命昭等還。
Liu Zhao was a native of Quanjiao. In the fifth year of Yongle, as assistant regional commander he was sent to Do-kham and Ü-Tsang to establish relay stations. On the return at Lingzang, frontier bandits waylaid them; Zhao defeated them. He was promoted to regional commander and stationed at Hezhou. In the second year of Xuande he served under Chen Huai in pacifying the Songpan raiders. He rose step by step to assistant commissioner-in-chief and was transferred to Xining. He returned to Hezhou, with concurrent authority over Xining. Zhā'erjia, chief of Handom, waylaid and killed the eunuch envoy to the Western Regions and seized the imperial patent, gold, and silks. Zhao was ordered to serve under Gansu's supreme commander Liu Guang against him. Zhā'erjia asked to return what he had seized and offered horses in tribute to atone. The emperor held that a cornered foe need not be pressed further and ordered Zhao and the others to withdraw.
8
李達，定遠人。 累官都督僉事。 正統中，致仕。
Li Da was a native of Dingyuan. Through successive offices he rose to vice commissioner-in-chief. During the Zhengtong reign he retired from office.
9
巫凱，句容人。 由廬州衛百戶積功至都指揮同知。 永樂六年以從英國公張輔平交阯功，遷遼東都指揮使。 十一年召帥所部會北京。 明年從征沙漠，命先還。 凱言諸衛兵宜以三之二守禦，而以其一屯糧，開原市馬悉給本衛乘操。 從之。
Wu Kai was a native of Jurong. From a centurion in the Luzhou Guard he rose through merit to assistant regional commander. In the sixth year of Yongle, for following the Duke of Ying, Zhang Fu, in pacifying Jiaozhi, he was made regional commander of Liaodong. In the eleventh year he was summoned to lead his troops to assemble at Beijing. The next year he joined the desert campaign and was ordered to return ahead. Kai proposed that guard troops should keep two-thirds on defense and one-third on farming, and that horses bought at the Kaiyuan market should all go to his guard for riding and drill. The proposal was approved.
10
宣宗立，以都督僉事佩征虜前將軍印，代朱榮鎮遼東。 時中國人自塞外脫歸者，令悉送京師，俟親屬赴領。 凱言遠道往來，恐致失所，阻遠人慕歸心。 乃更令有馬及少壯者送京師，余得自便。 敵掠西山，凱擊敗之，盡得所掠者，降敕褒勉。
When Emperor Xuanzong took the throne, Kai was made vice commissioner and given the seal of Forward General Who Pacifies the Barbarians, replacing Zhu Rong as commander of Liaodong. Chinese who had escaped from beyond the passes were then all sent to the capital to await relatives who would claim them. Kai argued that the long journey might cause them to go astray and would discourage distant people from wishing to return. The rule was changed: only those with horses and in their prime were sent to the capital; the rest were left free. When the enemy raided Xishan, Kai defeated them and recovered all who had been taken; an edict of praise was issued.
11
帝嘗遣使造舟松花江招諸部。 地遠，軍民轉輸大困，多逃亡。 會有警，凱力請罷其役，而逃軍入海西諸部者已五百余人。 既而造舟役復興，中官阮堯民、都指揮劉清等董之。 多不法，致激變。 凱劾堯民等，下之吏。
The emperor once sent envoys to build boats on the Songhua River to summon the tribes. The region was remote; transport by troops and civilians caused great hardship, and many fled. When an alarm arose, Kai urgently asked that the labor be stopped; already more than five hundred deserters had fled to the tribes west of the sea. Later the boat-building labor was revived under the eunuch Ruan Yaomin, Regional Commander Liu Qing, and others. Many acted unlawfully and provoked revolt. Kai impeached Yaomin and the others, who were handed over to the courts.
12
英宗登極，進都督同知，上言邊情八事。 請厚恤死事者家，益官吏折俸鈔，歲給軍士冬衣布棉，軍中口糧芻粟如舊制，且召商實邊。 俱允行。 未幾，為兵部尚書王驥所劾。 朝廷知凱賢，令凱自陳。 並諭廷臣，文武官有罪得實始奏，誣者罪不貸。 凱由是得行其誌。 正統三年十二月有疾，命醫馳視，未至而卒。
When Emperor Yingzong took the throne, Kai was promoted to assistant commissioner-in-chief and memorialized eight points on frontier conditions. He asked generous relief for families of the fallen, higher salary deductions in paper notes for officials, annual winter clothing and cotton for the troops, army grain and fodder rations under the old rules, and merchants summoned to supply the frontier. All were approved. Before long he was impeached by Minister of War Wang Ji. The court knew Kai was capable and ordered him to state his own case. Officials were also told that civil and military charges must be proved before memorializing guilt, and false accusers would not be spared. Kai was thus able to carry out his aims. In the twelfth month of the third year of Zhengtong he fell ill; physicians were ordered to hurry to him, but before they arrived he died.
13
凱性剛毅，饒智略，馭眾嚴而有恩。 在遼東三十余年，威惠並行，邊務修飭。 前後守東陲者，曹義外皆莫及。
Kai was firm and resolute by nature, full of stratagem, strict yet kind toward those he led. For more than thirty years in Liaodong he combined awe with kindness, and frontier affairs were kept in good order. Of those who had guarded the eastern marches before and after, none could match him except Cao Yi.
14
義，字敬方，儀真人。 以燕山左衛指揮僉事累功至都督僉事，副凱守遼東。 凱卒，代為總兵官。 凱，名將，義承其後，廉介有守，遼人安之。 兀良哈犯廣寧前屯，詔切責，命王翺往飭軍務，劾義死罪。 頃之，義獲犯邊孛臺等，詔戮於市。 自是義數與兀良哈戰。 正統九年，會朱勇軍夾擊。 斬獲多，進都督同知，累官左都督。 義在邊二十年，無赫赫功，然能謹守邊陲。 其麾下施聚、焦禮等皆至大將。 英宗復辟，特封義豐潤伯，聚亦封懷柔伯。 居四年，義卒，贈侯，謚莊武。 繼室李氏殉，詔旌之。
Yi, styled Jingfang, was a native of Yizhen. From vice commander of the Yan Mountains Left Guard he rose through merit to vice commissioner-in-chief and served under Wu Kai guarding Liaodong. When Wu Kai died, he succeeded him as supreme commander. Wu Kai had been a famed general; Cao Yi followed in his stead, upright and principled, and the people of Liaodong were at ease under him. When the Uriankhai raided Guangning and Qiantun, the court sharply rebuked him, sent Wang Ao to tighten military discipline, and impeached Cao Yi on a capital charge. Before long Cao Yi captured the raiders Botai and others; the court ordered them executed in public. Thereafter Cao Yi fought the Uriankhai repeatedly. In the ninth year of Zhengtong he joined Zhu Yong's force in a pincer attack. He took many heads and captives, was promoted to assistant commissioner-in-chief, and eventually rose to left commissioner-in-chief. Cao Yi spent twenty years on the frontier without spectacular victories, yet he kept the marches secure. Men under him such as Shi Ju and Jiao Li all rose to senior general rank. When Emperor Yingzong regained the throne, Cao Yi was specially made Marquis of Fengrun, and Shi Ju was also enfeoffed as Marquis of Huairou. Four years later Cao Yi died; he was posthumously made a marquis with the temple name Zhuangwu. His stepwife Lady Li took her own life in devotion; the court ordered her publicly commended.
15
施聚，其先沙漠人，居順天通州。 父忠為金吾右衛指揮使，從北征，陣歿，聚嗣職。 宣德中，備禦遼東，累擢都指揮同知。 以義薦，進都指揮使。 義與兀良哈戰，聚皆從。 也先逼京師，景帝詔聚與焦禮俱入衛。 聚慟哭，即日引兵西。 部下進牛酒，聚揮之曰：「天子安在？ 吾屬何心饗此！」 比至，寇已退，乃還。 聚以勇敢稱，官至左都督。 值英宗推恩，得封伯。 後義二年卒，贈侯，謚威靖。 義三傳至棟，聚四傳至瑾，吏部皆言不當復襲，世宗特許之。 傳爵至明亡。
Shi Ju's forebears came from the desert; his family lived in Tongzhou, Shuntian. His father Zhong commanded the Jinyu Right Guard, joined a northern campaign, and fell in battle; Shi Ju inherited the post. During the Xuande reign he defended Liaodong and was promoted to assistant regional commander. On Cao Yi's recommendation he was promoted to regional commander. In every fight Cao Yi waged against the Uriankhai, Shi Ju went with him. When Esen threatened the capital, Emperor Jingdi ordered Shi Ju and Jiao Li to march to its defense. Shi Ju broke down weeping and that very day marched west with his troops. When his men brought cattle and wine, Shi Ju waved them away and cried: "Where is the emperor? How can we bear to feast on this!" When they reached the capital the enemy had already withdrawn, and they turned back. Shi Ju was known for courage and rose to left commissioner-in-chief. When Emperor Yingzong extended favor, he was enfeoffed as a marquis. He died two years after Cao Yi, was posthumously made a marquis, and given the temple name Weijing. The Cao line passed three generations to Dong; the Shi line passed four to Jin; the Ministry of Personnel ruled that neither should inherit, but Emperor Shizong granted special permission. Both lines held their peerages until the dynasty fell.
16
許貴，字用和，江都人，永新伯成子也。 襲職為羽林左衛指揮使。 安鄉伯張安舉貴將才，試騎射及策皆最，擢署都指揮同知。 尋以武進伯朱冕薦擢山西行都司，督操大同諸衛士馬。
Xu Gui, styled Yonghe, was a native of Jiangdu and son of Marquis Cheng of Yongxin. He inherited command of the Yulin Left Guard. Marquis Zhang An of Anxiang recommended Xu Gui's martial talent; he topped trials in riding, archery, and strategy and was made acting assistant regional commander. Soon on Marquis Zhu Mian of Wujin's recommendation he was raised to the Shanxi Regional Military Commission to drill the Datong garrison troops and horses.
17
正統末，守備大同西路。 也先入寇，從石亨戰陽和後口，敗績，貴力戰得還。 英宗北狩，邊城悉殘破，大同當敵沖，人心尤恟懼。 貴以忠義激戰士。 敵來，擊敗之。 進都指揮使。
At the close of the Zhengtong reign he commanded the western Datong garrison. When Esen invaded, he fought with Shi Heng at Yanghe Rear Pass; though the army was defeated, Xu Gui fought fiercely and got back alive. After Emperor Yingzong was captured on the northern campaign, border cities lay in ruins; Datong stood directly in the enemy's path, and morale was especially shaken. Xu Gui stirred the troops with appeals to loyalty and duty. When the enemy came, he beat them back. He was promoted to regional commander.
18
景泰元年春，充右參將。 敵寇威遠，追敗之浦州營，奪還所掠人畜。 敵萬騎逼城下，禦卻之。 再遷都督同知。 大同乏馬，命求民間，得八百余匹。 所司不給直，貴為請，乃予之。 嘗募死士入賊壘，劫馬百余，悉畀戰士，士皆樂為用。 分守中官韋力轉淫虐，眾莫敢言，貴劾奏之。 三年，疾還京。 英宗復辟，命理左府事，尋調南京。
In the spring of Jingtai 1 he was appointed right assistant commander. When raiders hit Weiyuan, he pursued them to Puzhou Camp, routed them, and recaptured stolen people and livestock. When ten thousand enemy riders closed on the walls, he drove them off. He received a further promotion to assistant commissioner-in-chief. Datong was short of horses; ordered to requisition them from civilians, he gathered more than eight hundred. The authorities refused full payment; Xu Gui petitioned for the sellers and they were finally compensated. He once recruited daredevils to raid an enemy camp for more than a hundred horses and gave every one to his troops, who served him willingly. The garrison eunuch Wei Lizhuan was brutal and corrupt; no one dared speak out, but Xu Gui impeached him. In the third year he fell ill and returned to the capital. When Emperor Yingzong regained the throne, he was put in charge of the Left Military Commission and soon transferred to Nanjing.
19
松潘地雜番苗，密邇董卜韓胡，舊設參將一人。 天順五年，守臣告警，廷議設副總兵，以貴鎮守。 未抵鎮而山都掌蠻叛，詔便道先翦之。 貴分兩哨直抵其巢，連破四十余寨。 斬首千一百級，生擒八百余人，余賊遠遁。 貴亦感嵐氣，未至松潘卒。 帝為輟朝一日，賜賻及祭葬如制。
Songpan was home to mixed Fan and Miao peoples near Dongbuhankhu and had long had a single assistant commander. In Tianshun 5 the garrison raised the alarm; the court created a vice supreme commander post and sent Xu Gui to hold it. Before he reached his post the Shanduzhang tribes rebelled; he was ordered to take the direct route and suppress them first. Xu Gui split his force into two columns, struck straight at their strongholds, and took more than forty stockades in succession. His men took eleven hundred heads, captured more than eight hundred alive, and the rest fled deep into the hills. Xu Gui too fell victim to the mountain miasma and died before reaching Songpan. The emperor suspended court for a day, and granted condolence payment and state funeral rites as prescribed.
20
子寧，字誌道。 正統末，自以舍人從軍有功，為錦衣千戶。 貴歿，嗣指揮使。 用薦擢署都指揮僉事，守禦柴溝堡。
His son Xu Ning, styled Zhidao. At the close of the Zhengtong reign he served as a household attendant in the field, earned merit, and was made a chiliarch of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. When Xu Gui died, he inherited the regional command. On recommendation he was made acting vice commander-in-chief and posted to Chaigou Fort.
21
成化初，充大同遊擊將軍。 寇入犯，與同官秦傑等禦之小龍州澗，擒其右丞把禿等十一人。 改督宣府操練，移延綏。 地逼河套，寇數入掠孤山堡。 寧提孤軍奮擊之，三戰皆捷，寇渡河走。 明年復以三千騎入沙河墩，與總兵官房能禦之。 寇退，復掠康家岔。 寧出塞百五十里，追與戰，獲馬牛羊千余而還。
Early in the Chenghua reign he was appointed mobile corps general of Datong. When raiders invaded, he and fellow officers including Qin Jie held them at Xiaolongzhou Ravine and captured eleven men including the enemy vice minister Batu. He was reassigned to drill troops at Xuanfu, then transferred to Yan-sui. The post bordered the Ordos Loop, and raiders repeatedly struck Gushan Fort. Xu Ning led a lone detachment in fierce fighting, won three engagements in a row, and drove the raiders back across the river. The next year three thousand horsemen raided Shahedun; he and supreme commander Fang Neng drove them off. After withdrawing, the raiders struck again at Kangjia Pass. Xu Ning pursued them a hundred and fifty li beyond the border, fought them, and returned with more than a thousand horses, cattle, and sheep.
22
時能守延綏，無將略，巡撫王銳請濟師。 詔大同巡撫王越帥眾赴，越遣寧出西路。 破敵黎家澗，進都指揮同知。 復遣寧與都指揮陳輝追寇，獲馬騾六百。 朝廷以阿羅出復入河套，頻擾邊，命越與朱永禦，而以寧才，擢都督僉事，佩靖虜副將軍印，代能充總兵官。 寧起世胄，不十年至大將，同列推讓不及，父友多隸部下，亦不以為驟。 逾月，寇大入，永遣寧及遊擊孫鉞禦之。 至波羅堡，相持三日夜，寇乃解去。 亡失多，寧以力戰得出，卒被賞。 至冬，賊入安邊，寧追擊有功。
Fang Neng held Yan-sui but lacked generalship; grand coordinator Wang Rui called for reinforcements. The court ordered Datong grand coordinator Wang Yue to march with reinforcements; Wang Yue sent Xu Ning by the western route. He routed the enemy at Lijia Ravine and was promoted to assistant regional commander. Xu Ning was again sent with regional commander Chen Hui in pursuit and captured six hundred horses and mules. Because Alaq had reoccupied the Ordos and was raiding the frontier, the court put Wang Yue and Zhu Yong in command of defenses and, judging Xu Ning's ability, made him vice commissioner-in-chief with the seal of Vice General Who Pacifies the Barbarians, replacing Fang Neng as supreme commander. Born to a military family, Xu Ning reached senior general rank in under ten years; colleagues struggled to keep pace, and though many of his father's friends served under him, none thought the promotion too sudden. A month later a major raid struck; Zhu Yong sent Xu Ning and mobile corps commander Sun Yue to meet it. At Boluo Fort they held the enemy for three days and nights before the raiders withdrew. Casualties were heavy, but Xu Ning fought his way free and was rewarded nonetheless. That winter raiders entered Anbian; Xu Ning pursued them with success.
23
七年又與諸將孫鉞、祝雄等敗寇於滉忽都河，璽書褒獎。 迤北開元王把哈孛羅屢欲降，內懼朝廷見罪，外畏河羅出仇之，徬徨不決。 寧請撫慰以固其心，卒降之。 明年，參將錢亮敗績於師婆澗。 士卒死者十三四，寧與越等俱被劾。 帝不罪。 時滿都魯等屢犯延綏，寧帥鎮兵力戰。 寇不得誌，乃出西路，直犯環慶、固原。 寧將輕騎夜襲之鴨子湖，奪馬畜而還。 又明年，寇入榆林澗，與巡撫余子俊敗之。 滿都魯等大入西路，留其家紅鹽池。 越乘間與寧及宣府將周玉襲破其巢。 進署都督同知。 與子俊築邊墻，增營堡，寇患少衰。
In the seventh year he and generals Sun Yue and Zhu Xiong routed raiders at Huanghudu River; the emperor sent a letter of commendation. Far to the north, Kaoyuan Prince Baohaluo wished repeatedly to surrender but feared the court's wrath at home and Heluochu's revenge abroad, and could not decide. Xu Ning urged conciliation to win him over, and Baohaluo finally submitted. The next year Assistant Commander Qian Liang was defeated at Shipo Ravine. Three or four soldiers in ten were killed; Xu Ning, Wang Yue, and others were all impeached. The emperor declined to punish them. Mandulu and others were raiding Yan-sui repeatedly; Xu Ning led the garrison in hard fighting. Unable to gain their objective, the raiders swung west and struck Huanqing and Guyuan directly. Xu Ning led light cavalry in a night strike at Yazi Lake and returned with seized horses and livestock. The year after, raiders entered Yulin Ravine; he and grand coordinator Yu Zijun defeated them. Mandulu's force plunged deep along the western route, leaving families at Red Salt Pool. Wang Yue seized the opening and, with Xu Ning and Xuanfu general Zhou Yu, stormed their base. He was promoted to acting assistant commissioner-in-chief. Working with Yu Zijun he built border walls and added forts, and frontier raids eased.
24
十八年，寇分數道入，寧蹙之邊墻，獲級百二十。 予實授。 時越方鎮大同，命寧與易鎮。 至則與鎮守太監汪直不協。 巡撫郭鏜以聞，調直南京。 小王子大入。 寧知敵勢盛，欲持重俟隙，乃斂兵守，而別遣將劉寧、董升與周璽相犄角。 寇大掠，焚代王別堡。 王趣戰，使眾哭於轅門。 寧憤，與鏜等營城外。 寇以十余人為誘，太監蔡新部騎馳擊。 寧將士爭赴之，遇伏大敗，死者千余人。 寧奔夏米莊，鏜、新馳入城。 會璽等來援，寇乃退。 寧還，陣亡家婦子號呼詬詈，擲以瓦礫，寧大喪氣。 已而寇復入，劉寧、宋澄、莊鑒等禦之。 十戰，少利，寇退。 寧等掩其敗，更以捷聞。 巡按程春震發之，與鏜、新俱下獄。 鏜降六官，新以初任降三官，寧降指揮同知閑住。
In the eighteenth year raiders came by several routes; Xu Ning drove them to the border wall and took a hundred and twenty heads. His acting commission was made permanent. Wang Yue was then commanding Datong; Xu Ning was ordered to swap posts with him. On taking up his new command he clashed with garrison eunuch Wang Zhi. Grand coordinator Guo Tang memorialized the court, and Wang Zhi was transferred to Nanjing. The Lesser Prince launched a major invasion. Seeing the enemy's strength, Xu Ning chose to hold back and wait for an opening; he kept his main force in defense while sending generals Liu Ning, Dong Sheng, and Zhou Xi to coordinate from separate positions. The raiders pillaged widely and burned the Prince of Dai's outlying fort. The prince pressed for action and ordered troops to weep before the camp gate in protest. Xu Ning, furious, went out with Guo Tang and the others to encamp beyond the walls. The raiders sent a dozen men as decoys, and eunuch Cai Xin's cavalry raced out to attack. Xu Ning's troops all rushed forward and walked into an ambush; more than a thousand were killed in the rout. Xu Ning fled to Xiami Village while Guo Tang and Cai Xin raced back inside the walls. Zhou Xi and others then came to reinforce them, and the raiders withdrew. When Xu Ning came back, widows and orphans of the fallen shouted curses at him and pelted him with rubble; he was utterly crushed. Soon the raiders returned; Liu Ning, Song Cheng, Zhuang Jian, and others held them off. They fought ten engagements with only slight gain before the raiders pulled back. Xu Ning and his colleagues covered up the defeat and reported a victory instead. Investigating censor Cheng Chunzhen exposed the fraud, and Xu Ning, Guo Tang, and Cai Xin were all thrown into prison. Guo Tang was stripped of six ranks; Cai Xin, as a newly appointed officer, lost three; Xu Ning was reduced to assistant commander with nominal rank and sent into inactive service.
25
弘治中，用薦署都指揮使，分領操練。 十一年十二月卒。 贈都督僉事。
During the Hongzhi reign he was recommended for acting regional commander and assigned to lead training exercises. He died in the twelfth month of the eleventh year. He was posthumously ennobled as vice commissioner-in-chief.
26
寧束發從軍，大小百十余戰，身被二十七創。 性沈毅，守官廉，待士有恩，不屑幹進。 劉寧、神英、李杲皆出麾下。 子泰，自有傳。
Xu Ning had taken up arms in youth; over more than a hundred engagements, large and small, he bore twenty-seven wounds. Steady and resolute by nature, he served honestly, treated his men generously, and scorned self-promotion. Liu Ning, Shen Ying, and Li Gao all rose from his command. His son Tai has his own biography.
27
周賢，滁人，襲宣府前衛千戶。 景泰初，累功至都指揮僉事，守備西貓兒峪，助副總兵孫安守石八城。 尋充右參將，代安鎮守。 兀良哈入寇，總兵官過興令宣府副將楊信及賢合擊。 賢不俟信，徑擊敗之。 信被劾，都御史李秉言信緩師，賢亦棄約。 帝兩宥之。
Zhou Xian, a native of Chu, inherited the chiliarchship of the Xuanfu Forward Guard. Early in the Jingtai reign he rose through merit to vice regional commander, garrisoned Ximao'er Pass, and helped deputy commander Sun An hold Shibacheng. He was soon made right assistant commander and took over Sun An's garrison command. When the Uriangqai raided, commander-in-chief Guo Xing ordered Xuanfu deputy Yang Xin and Zhou Xian to strike together. Zhou Xian did not wait for Yang Xin and attacked on his own, routing the enemy. Yang Xin was impeached; censor-in-chief Li Bing charged that he had held back the force, and Zhou Xian was also accused of breaking their agreement. The emperor pardoned them both.
28
天順初，總兵官楊能奏賢擢都督僉事。 寇駐塞下，能檄賢與大軍會，失期，征下獄。 以故官赴寧夏，隸定遠伯石彪。 寇二萬騎入安邊營。 彪率賢等擊之，連戰皆捷，追至野馬澗、半坡墩，寇大敗。 而賢追不已，中流矢卒。 詔贈都督同知。 賢初下吏，自以不復用，及得釋，感激誓死報，竟如其誌。
Early in the Tianshun reign, commander-in-chief Yang Neng recommended Zhou Xian for promotion to vice commissioner-in-chief. With raiders camped below the frontier, Yang Neng ordered Zhou Xian to rendezvous with the main force; he missed the deadline and was arrested. He went to Ningxia at his former rank and served under Dingyuan Earl Shi Biao. Twenty thousand mounted raiders struck Anbian Camp. Shi Biao led Zhou Xian and others against them, winning battle after battle and chasing the enemy to Yema Stream and Banpodun in a crushing victory. Zhou Xian pressed the pursuit relentlessly, was struck by an arrow, and died. The court posthumously ennobled him as assistant commissioner-in-chief. When Zhou Xian was first imprisoned he thought he would never serve again; after his release he vowed to repay the throne with his life, and in the end he did.
29
子玉，字廷璧，當嗣指揮使。 以父死事，超二官為萬全都司都指揮同知，督理屯田。 進都指揮使，充宣府遊擊將軍。
His son Zhou Yu, styled Tingbi, was heir to the regional commandership. Because his father had died in battle, he was promoted two ranks to assistant regional commander of the Wanquan commission and assigned to oversee garrison farming. He rose to regional commander and served as mobile-strike general of Xuanfu.
30
成化九年，會昌侯孫繼宗等奉詔舉將才，玉為首。 詔率所部援延綏，從王越襲紅鹽池。 進署都督僉事，還守宣府。 寇入馬營、赤城，擊敗之。 兵部言宣府諸大帥無功，玉所部三千人能追敵出境，請加一秩酬其勞，乃予實授。 尋充宣府副總兵。
In the ninth year of Chenghua, Marquis of Huichang Sun Jizong and others were ordered to recommend military talent; Zhou Yu headed the list. He was ordered to lead his troops to reinforce Yan-sui and, under Wang Yue, strike Red Salt Pool. He was promoted to acting vice commissioner-in-chief and returned to hold Xuanfu. When raiders entered Maying and Chicheng, he drove them off. The Ministry of War noted that Xuanfu's senior commanders had accomplished nothing while Zhou Yu's three thousand men had chased the enemy beyond the frontier; it asked that he be raised one rank in reward, and his commission was made permanent. He was soon made deputy commander of Xuanfu.
31
十三年佩征朔將軍印，鎮宣府。 破敵紅崖，追奔至水磨灣。 進署都督同知。 十七年五月，寇復入犯，參將吳儼、少監崖榮追出塞，至赤把都，為所遮，兵分為三，皆被圍。 儼、榮走據北山，因甚。 守備張澄率兵進，力戰，解二圍。 抵北山下，儼、榮已夜遁。 澄拔其眾而還，死者過半。 澄所部七百人，亦多戰死。 詔錄澄功，治儼等罪。 玉先以葛谷堡、赤城頻受掠，凡三被論，至是復以節制不嚴見劾。 帝皆置不問。
In the thirteenth year he took the seal of General Who Conquers the North and commanded Xuanfu. He broke the enemy at Red Cliff and chased them to Shuimowan. He was promoted to acting assistant commissioner-in-chief. In the fifth month of the seventeenth year raiders struck again; Assistant Commander Wu Yan and junior eunuch Ya Rong pursued them beyond the frontier to Chibadu, were cut off, and all three divisions were encircled. Wu Yan and Ya Rong fled to hold North Mountain and were in dire straits. Garrison commander Zhang Cheng advanced, fought hard, and lifted two of the sieges. When he reached North Mountain, Wu Yan and Ya Rong had already slipped away under cover of night. Zhang Cheng fought his way out with the survivors, but more than half his men were dead. Of Zhang Cheng's seven hundred men, many also fell in battle. The court recognized Zhang Cheng's achievement and punished Wu Yan and the others. Zhou Yu had already been censured three times over repeated raids on Gegu Fort and Chicheng; now he was impeached again for failing to keep discipline. The emperor let every charge drop.
32
十九年，小王子犯大同。 敗總兵官許寧。 入順聖川大掠，以六千騎寇宣府。 玉將二千人前行，巡撫秦纮兵繼進，至白腰山擊敗之。 指揮曹洪邀擊至西陽河，都指揮孫成亦敗寇七馬房。 時寇乘勝，氣甚銳，竟為玉等所挫，一時稱其功。 未幾，寇復入，玉伏兵敗之。 朱永至大同，復會玉軍擊敗之鵓鴿峪。 進署右都督。
In the nineteenth year the Lesser Prince attacked Datong. He routed commander-in-chief Xu Ning. After pillaging Shunsheng River valley, he turned six thousand horsemen against Xuanfu. Zhou Yu led two thousand men ahead while grand coordinator Qin Hong's force came up behind; together they defeated the raiders at Baiyao Mountain. Commander Cao Hong cut them off and chased them to Xiyang River, while regional commander Sun Cheng also routed them at Qimafang. The raiders were riding a wave of victories and fighting with fierce momentum, yet Zhou Yu and his colleagues turned them back, and his achievement was widely praised. Before long the raiders returned; Zhou Yu laid an ambush and defeated them. Zhu Yong reached Datong, joined Zhou Yu's force, and defeated the raiders at Bogeyu. He was promoted to acting right commander-in-chief.
33
余子俊築邊墻，玉不為力，且與纮不相能。 子俊惡之，奏與寧夏神英易鎮。 久之，復移鎮甘肅。 孝宗嗣位，實授右都督。
When Yu Zijun built the border wall, Zhou Yu gave little help and clashed with Qin Hong besides. Yu Zijun turned against him and had him transferred to swap posts with Shen Ying in Ningxia. Later he was transferred again to command Gansu. When Emperor Xiaozong took the throne, Zhou Yu received a permanent commission as right commander-in-chief.
34
玉督邊墻工峻急，部卒張伏興等以瓦石投之。 兵部言，悍卒漸不可長，遂戮伏興，戍其黨。
Zhou Yu drove the border-wall labor relentlessly, and his troops Zhang Fuxing and others pelted him with stones. The Ministry of War argued that mutinous soldiers could not be tolerated; Zhang Fuxing was executed and his accomplices were banished to frontier service.
35
土魯番貢獅子，願獻還哈密成及金印，贖所留使者。 玉為之奏，帝命與巡撫王繼經畫。 既果來歸，玉等皆受賚。 七年，病歸，尋卒。 謚武僖。
Turpan sent a lion as tribute and offered to restore the Hami ruler and the gold seal in exchange for detained envoys. Zhou Yu memorialized on the proposal, and the emperor ordered him to work out the arrangement with grand coordinator Wang Ji. When the envoys did return, Zhou Yu and his colleagues were all rewarded. In the seventh year he fell ill, went home, and soon died. He was posthumously titled Wuxi, "Martial and Joyful."
36
玉初為偏裨，及鎮宣府，甚有名。 後蒞甘肅，部下屢失事，又侵屯田。 死後事發，子襲職，降二等。
Zhou Yu began as a junior officer, but when he commanded Xuanfu he won great renown. Later in Gansu his subordinates suffered repeated failures, and he himself encroached on garrison lands. The abuses came to light after his death; his son inherited the family post but was demoted two ranks.
37
歐信，嗣世職金吾右衛指揮使。 景泰三年以廣東破賊功，擢都指揮同知。 已，命守備白羊口，遷大寧都指揮使。
Ōu Xin inherited the hereditary commandership of the Jinyou Right Guard. In the third year of Jingtai he was promoted to assistant regional commander for defeating bandits in Guangdong. He was then assigned to garrison Baiyang Pass and transferred to regional commander of Daning.
38
天順初，以都督僉事充參將，守備廣東雷、廉諸府。 巡撫葉盛薦其廉勇。 進都督同知，代副總兵翁信。 兩廣瑤僮陷開建，殺官吏，帝趣進兵。 信破賊化州之馬裏村，再破之石城，擊斬海南衛反者邵瑄。
Early in the Tianshun reign he served as assistant commander at vice commissioner rank, garrisoning Leizhou, Lianzhou, and other Guangdong prefectures. Grand coordinator Ye Sheng praised his integrity and bravery. He was promoted to assistant commissioner-in-chief and replaced deputy commander Weng Xin. Yao and Zhuang raiders in the Two Guangs overran Kaijian and killed officials; the emperor ordered an immediate advance. Ōu Xin routed the rebels at Mali Village in Huazhou, defeated them again at Shicheng, and killed Shao Xuan, mutineer of Hainan Guard.
39
時所在盜群起，將吏不能定。 廣西參將範信守潯、梧，瑤盡在境內，陰納瑤賂，縱使越境流劫，約毋犯己。 於是雷、廉、高、肇悉被寇。 帝命廣西總兵官陳涇及信合剿。 時有斬馘，而賊勢不衰，朝廷猶倚範信。 會涇以罪征，乃擢範信都督僉事充副總兵，鎮廣東，而命信佩征蠻將軍印，代涇鎮廣西。
Bandit bands were rising everywhere, and local commanders could not restore order. Guangxi assistant commander Fan Xin held Xunzhou and Wuzhou while Yao bands remained inside his territory; he secretly took their bribes and let them cross the border to raid elsewhere on condition they leave his posts alone. Leizhou, Lianzhou, Gaozhou, and Zhaoqing were all ravaged as a result. The emperor ordered Guangxi commander Chen Jing and Ōu Xin to suppress the rebels jointly. Heads were taken, yet the rebels' strength did not break, and the court still leaned on Fan Xin. When Chen Jing was recalled on criminal charges, Fan Xin was promoted to vice commissioner and made deputy commander of Guangdong, while Ōu Xin was given the seal of General Who Conquers the Barbarians and replaced Chen Jing in Guangxi.
40
成化元年，賊掠英德諸縣，信討斬五百余人，奪還人口。 韓雍督師，令信等分五哨，攻破大藤峽。 已而余賊復入潯州，信被劾獲宥，召還，理前府事。
In the first year of Chenghua rebels raided the counties around Yingde; Ōu Xin killed more than five hundred of them and recovered captives. Han Yong took overall command and sent Ōu Xin and others in five columns to break Dateng Gorge. Remnant rebels later re-entered Xunzhou; Ōu Xin was impeached but pardoned, recalled, and restored to his former prefectural duties.
41
七年春，充總兵官，鎮守遼東，累敗福余三衛。 言者謂信已老，請召還。 巡撫彭誼奏：「官軍耆老五千余人，皆言信忠謹有謀勇，累立戰功，威鎮邊陲。 年六旬，騎射勝壯士，不宜召回。」 乃留鎮如故。 久之，陳鉞代誼。 鉞貪功，信不能違，十四年為巡按王崇之所劾。 其冬，乃召歸。 尋遣中官汪直等往按，直右鉞，歸罪信等。 下獄，鐫一官閑住，飲恨而卒。
In the spring of the seventh year he became commander-in-chief of Liaodong and repeatedly defeated the Three Fuyu Guards. Critics argued that Ōu Xin was too old and asked that he be recalled. Grand coordinator Peng Yi memorialized: "More than five thousand veteran garrison soldiers all attest that Ōu Xin is loyal, prudent, resourceful, and brave, has won repeated battlefield honors, and whose authority holds the frontier firm. Though sixty years old, he still outshoots younger men from horseback; he should not be recalled." The court therefore kept him in command as before. In time Chen Yue replaced Peng Yi. Chen Yue was greedy for credit, and Ōu Xin could not refuse him; in the fourteenth year Ōu Xin was impeached by touring censor Wang Chongzhi. That winter he was recalled to court. The court soon sent the eunuch Wang Zhi and others to investigate; Wang Zhi sided with Chen Yue and placed the blame on Ōu Xin and his associates. He was thrown into prison, stripped of one rank and ordered to live in retirement, and died consumed by bitterness.
42
範信既徙廣東，賊勢愈盛，劫掠不止，乃語人曰：「今賊仍犯廣東，亦我遣之耶。」 而是時都督顏彪佩征夷將軍印，討賊久無功，濫殺良民報捷。 嶺南人鹹疾之。
Once Fan Xin was moved to Guangdong, rebel strength only grew and raids never stopped; he told others, "The rebels are still attacking Guangdong—did I send them there myself?" At the same time Regional Commander Yan Biao held the seal of General Who Conquers the Barbarians; he had campaigned against the rebels for a long time without success, yet slaughtered innocent civilians to claim victories. The people of Lingnan loathed him.
43
王璽，太原左衛指揮同知也。 成化初，擢署都指揮僉事，守禦黃河七墅。 巡撫李侃薦於朝。 阿魯出寇延綏，命充遊擊將軍赴援，戰孤山堡，敗之。 寇再入，戰漫天嶺、劉宗塢及漫塔、水磨川，皆有功。 進都指揮同知，充副總兵，鎮守寧夏。 九年以將才與周玉同薦。 十二年擢署都督僉事，充總兵官，鎮守甘肅。
Wang Xi was assistant regional commander of the Taiyuan Left Guard. Early in the Chenghua reign he was promoted to acting assistant regional commander and posted to garrison Qishi on the Yellow River. Grand coordinator Li Kan recommended him at court. When Aru raided Yan-sui, he was appointed mobile corps general to reinforce the frontier; he fought at Gushan Fort and routed the enemy. When the raiders returned, he fought at Mantian Ridge, Liuzong'ao, Mantu, and Shuimochuan, winning credit in every engagement. He was promoted to assistant regional commander, made deputy commander, and garrisoned Ningxia. In the ninth year he and Zhou Yu were jointly recommended for command ability. In the twelfth year he was promoted to acting vice commissioner-in-chief, made commander-in-chief, and posted to garrison Gansu.
44
黃河以西，自莊浪抵肅州南山，其外番人阿吉等二十九族所居也。 洪武間，立石畫界，約樵牧毋越疆，歲久湮廢，諸番往往闌入，而中國無賴人又潛與交通為邊患。 璽請「復畫疆域，召集諸番，諭以界石廢，恐官軍欺淩諸部，今復立之，聽界外駐牧，互市則入關。 如此，番人必聽命，可潛消他日憂。」 帝稱善，從之。
West of the Yellow River, from Zhuanglang to the southern mountains of Suzhou, lay the territory of the foreign tribes led by Aji and twenty-eight other clans. In the Hongwu era border stones were set up to mark the frontier and woodcutters and herders were forbidden to cross; over time the markers fell into ruin, tribes often slipped across the line, and Chinese outlaws secretly traded with them, turning the border into a chronic trouble spot. Wang Xi memorialized: "Let us redraw the border, summon the tribes, and tell them that with the boundary stones gone they fear harassment by garrison troops; restore the markers, allow them to pasture beyond the line, and require them to enter the passes only for trade. If we do this, the tribes will surely submit, and future troubles can be quietly averted." The emperor praised the proposal and approved it.
45
十七年進署都督同知。 時璽以都督僉事為總兵官，而魯鑒以署都督同知為參將，璽恐難於節制，乞解兵柄，故有是命。
In the seventeenth year he was promoted to acting assistant commissioner-in-chief. At the time Wang Xi held command as a vice commissioner while Lu Jian served as assistant commander at acting assistant commissioner rank; Wang Xi feared he could not control him and asked to surrender military authority, which led to this promotion.
46
初，哈密為土魯番所擾，使其將牙蘭守之。 都督罕慎寄居苦峪口，近赤斤、罕東，數相攻，罕慎勢窮無援。 朝議敕璽築城苦峪，別立哈密衛以居之。 璽遣諜者間牙蘭。 牙蘭不聽，得其所羈掠九十余人以歸，具悉虛實。 十七年召集赤斤、罕東將士，犒以牛酒，令助罕慎。 罕慎合二衛兵，夜襲哈密及剌木等八城，遂復其地，仍令罕慎居之。 事聞，獎勞，賚金幣。 已，罕東入寇，璽禦卻之，請興師以討。 帝念其常助罕慎，第遣使責諭。 明年，北寇殺哨卒，璽率參將李俊及赤斤兵擊之於狼心山、黑河西，多所斬獲。
Earlier Hami had been harassed by Turfan, which placed its general Yalan in charge of the city. Regional Commander Han Shen had taken refuge at Kuyukou near Chijin and Handong; the three sides repeatedly clashed, and Han Shen's position collapsed for lack of support. The court decided to order Wang Xi to build a city at Kuyu and establish a separate Hami Guard to resettle them. Wang Xi sent spies to undermine Yalan. Yalan paid no heed, but the spies recovered more than ninety captives he had taken and returned with a full picture of enemy strength. In the seventeenth year he summoned the officers and troops of Chijin and Handong, feasted them with cattle and wine, and ordered them to support Han Shen. Han Shen combined the forces of the two guards and launched a night attack on Hami and eight cities including Laimu; he recovered the territory and was restored to residence there. When word reached court, he was rewarded and given gold and silks. Soon afterward Handong raided the frontier; Wang Xi drove them back and asked that troops be raised to punish them. The emperor, recalling that they had often helped Han Shen, sent envoys only to rebuke them. The next year northern raiders killed frontier sentries; Wang Xi led Assistant Commander Li Jun and Chijin troops against them at Langxin Mountain and west of the Hei River, killing and capturing many.
47
二十年移鎮大同。 璽有復哈密功，官不進，陳於朝，乃實授都督同知。
In the twentieth year he was transferred to command at Datong. Though Wang Xi had merit in recovering Hami, his rank had not advanced; after he appealed at court, he was formally appointed assistant commissioner-in-chief.
48
璽習韜略，諳文事，勇而有謀。 廷臣多稱之。 在邊二十余年，為番人所憚。 弘治元年卒。 賜祭葬，贈恤有加。
Wang Xi knew strategy, was literate in civil affairs, and was brave as well as shrewd. Court officials widely praised him. He spent more than twenty years on the frontier and was feared by the tribes. He died in the first year of Hongzhi. The court granted him an imperial sacrifice and funeral, with enhanced posthumous honors and relief.
49
魯鑒，其先西大通人。 祖阿失都鞏卜失加，明初率部落歸附，太祖授為百夫長，俾統所部居莊浪。 傳子失加，累官莊浪衛指揮同知。 正統末，鑒嗣父職。 久之，擢署都指揮僉事。
Lu Jian's ancestors came from western Datong. His grandfather Ashidu Gongbushijia submitted with his tribe at the dynasty's founding; the Taizu made him a centurion and settled his people at Zhuanglang. The post passed to his son Shijia, who rose to assistant regional commander of Zhuanglang Guard. Near the end of the Zhengtong reign Lu Jian inherited his father's command. In time he was promoted to acting assistant regional commander.
50
成化四年，固原滿四反，鑒以土兵千人從征。 諸軍圍石城，日挑戰，鑒出則先驅，入則殿後，最為賊所憚。 賊平，進署都督同知。 尋充左參將，分守莊浪。 命其子麟為百戶，統治土軍。 十七年坐寇入境，戴罪立功。 尋充左副總兵，協守甘肅。 寇犯永昌。 被劾。 鑒疏辨，第停其俸兩月。 俄命充總兵官，鎮守延綏。 自陳往功，予實授。
In the fourth year of Chenghua Man Si rebelled at Guyuan; Lu Jian led a thousand native troops on campaign. As the armies besieged Shicheng and fought daily, Lu Jian led the van on the advance and guarded the rear on withdrawal; the rebels feared him most of all. After the rebels were suppressed, he was promoted to acting assistant commissioner-in-chief. He was soon made left assistant commander with divided command over Zhuanglang. His son Lin was appointed centurion to command the native troops. In the seventeenth year, after raiders crossed the border, he was ordered to redeem his fault through meritorious service. He was soon made left deputy commander to assist in garrisoning Gansu. Raiders struck Yongchang. He was impeached. Lu Jian memorialized in his defense, and only his salary was suspended for two months. Before long he was appointed commander-in-chief of Yan-sui. After citing his past service, he received formal appointment.
51
孝宗立，得疾，致仕。 弘治初，命麟襲指揮使，加都指揮僉事。 已，進同知，充甘肅遊擊將軍。
When Emperor Xiaozong ascended the throne, Lu Jian fell ill and retired. Early in Hongzhi, Lin was ordered to inherit the regional commandership and was given the additional rank of assistant regional commander. Soon he was promoted to assistant regional commander and made mobile corps general of Gansu.
52
魯氏世守西陲，有捍禦功，至鑒官益顯，其世業益大，而所部土軍生齒又日盛。 麟既移甘肅，帝以土軍非鑒不能治，特起治之，且命有司建坊旌其世績。 鑒乃條上邊務四事，多議行。 鑒有材勇，遇敵輒冒矢石，數被傷不為沮，故能積功至大將。 十五年以舊創疾發，卒。 贈右都督，賜恤如制。
For generations the Lu clan had held the western frontier with distinguished defensive service; under Lu Jian their official standing grew ever higher and their hereditary command ever larger, while the native troops under them also multiplied steadily. After Lin was transferred to Gansu, the emperor decided the native troops could be governed only by Lu Jian and specially recalled him; he also ordered officials to erect a commemorative arch honoring the clan's generations of service. Lu Jian then submitted four proposals on frontier affairs in order; most were debated and adopted. Lu Jian was talented and brave; in battle he always exposed himself to arrow and stone fire, and though wounded many times he never faltered, accumulating merit until he rose to great general. In the fifteenth year an old wound reopened and he died. He was posthumously made Right Regional Commander, and relief was granted by regulation.
53
時麟已由甘肅參將擢左副總兵，豪健如其父，而恭順不如。 先為遊擊時，寇入永昌，失律，委罪副將陶禎。 下御史按，當戍邊，但貶一秩，遊擊如故。 暨為副將，調韋州禦寇。 寇大入不能擊，遣都指揮楊琳邀之孔壩溝。 琳大敗，不救，連被劾。 麟自訴，止停俸二月。 時已授麟子經官，令約束土軍。 而麟奏經幼，土人不受要束，乞歸治之。 不俟報，徑歸。 帝用劉大夏言，從其請。 武宗立，甘肅巡撫畢亨薦經及麟謀勇，令率所部協戰守。 正德二年，經既襲指揮使，自陳嘗隨父有功，乃以為都指揮僉事。 未幾，麟卒，贈都督僉事。 賜祭葬。 故事，都指揮無恤典，以經乞，破例予之。
By then Lin had risen from Gansu assistant commander to left deputy commander; he was as bold and strong as his father but less obedient. Earlier, while serving as mobile corps general, he broke discipline when raiders entered Yongchang and shifted blame to Deputy Commander Tao Zhen. Censors were dispatched to investigate; he was liable to frontier service but was only reduced one rank and kept his mobile corps post. After he became deputy commander he was transferred to Weizhou to repel raiders. When raiders poured in he failed to engage them and sent Regional Commander Yang Lin to intercept them at Kongbagou. Yang Lin was routed, and Lin did not go to his aid; Lin was impeached repeatedly. Lin appealed in his own defense and was punished with only two months' suspended salary. By then Lin's son Jing had already received an official post and been ordered to discipline the native troops. But Lin memorialized that Jing was too young and the native troops would not obey him, and asked to return home to manage them himself. Without waiting for a reply he went home at once. The emperor, following Liu Daxia's advice, granted his request. When Emperor Wuzong ascended the throne, Gansu grand coordinator Bi Heng recommended Jing and Lin for strategy and courage and ordered them to lead their troops in joint defense. In the second year of Zhengde, after Jing inherited the regional commandership, he cited service at his father's side and was made assistant regional commander. Before long Lin died and was posthumously made vice commissioner-in-chief. The court granted him an imperial sacrifice and funeral. By precedent regional commanders were not entitled to relief rites; at Jing's request an exception was made.
54
經積戰功，再遷都指揮使充左參將，分守莊浪。 復自陳功閥，兵部執不可。 帝特命為署都督僉事。 世宗立，乞休。 巡撫許鳳翔言經力戰被創，疾行愈，且世將敢戰，知名異域，今邊患棘，不宜聽其去。 帝乃諭留，且勞以銀幣。 尋充副總兵分守如故。 嘉靖六年冬，以都督同知充總兵官，鎮守延綏。 大學士楊一清言：「經守莊浪二十余載，屢立戰功，其部下土軍非他人所能及。 雖其子瞻已為指揮僉事，奉命統轄，然年尚少。 今陜西總兵官張鳳乃延綏世將，若調鳳延綏，而改經陜西，自可彈壓莊浪，無西顧患。」 帝立從之。 居二年，竟以疾致仕。
Jing accumulated battlefield merit, was promoted twice to regional commander, and made left assistant commander with divided command over Zhuanglang. He again cited his record of merit, but the Ministry of War refused. The emperor specially ordered him appointed acting vice commissioner-in-chief. When Emperor Shizong ascended the throne, he asked to retire. Grand coordinator Xu Fengxiang argued that Jing had fought hard and been wounded, that though ill he was recovering, that as a hereditary commander famed beyond the frontier for daring in battle, and that with border troubles now acute he should not be allowed to leave. The emperor ordered him to stay and rewarded him with silver and silks. He was soon restored as deputy commander with divided command as before. In the winter of the sixth year of Jiajing he was made commander-in-chief at assistant commissioner rank and posted to Yan-sui. Grand Secretary Yang Yiqing said: "Jing has held Zhuanglang for more than twenty years and won repeated battlefield honors; the native troops under him are unmatched. Although his son Zhan is already assistant regional commander and has been ordered to take command, he is still young. The present Shaanxi commander Zhang Feng is a hereditary Yan-sui general; if Zhang Feng is moved to Yan-sui and Jing to Shaanxi, Jing can hold Zhuanglang himself without fear for the western frontier." The emperor immediately approved. After two years he finally retired on grounds of illness.
55
久之，命瞻以本官守備山丹。 經奏言：「自臣高祖後，世守茲土。 今臣家居，瞻又移他鎮，土軍皇皇，不欲別附，若因此生他患，是隳先業而負世恩也，乞令守故業。」 可。
After some time Zhan was ordered to garrison Shandan at his existing rank. Jing memorialized: "Since my great-grandfather's time my family has held this land for generations. Now that I am retired and Zhan has been moved to another post, the native troops are restless and unwilling to serve under anyone else; if this breeds new trouble, it will destroy our ancestral command and betray generations of imperial favor. I beg that he be allowed to keep our old post." The request was granted.
56
二十二年，宣、大有警，詔經簡壯士五千赴援。 至而邊患已息，乃遣還。 以經力疾趨召，厚賚之。 明年瞻卒。 經以次子及孫皆幼，請得自轄土軍。 詔許之。
In the twenty-second year, when Xuanda and Datong came under alarm, the emperor ordered Jing to select five thousand strong men for relief. By the time he arrived the frontier crisis had already passed, and he was sent home. Jing had answered the summons despite illness, and the court rewarded him generously. The following year Zhan died. Jing's second son and grandson were both still young, so he asked to take personal command of the native troops. The emperor approved the request.
57
經驍勇，奉職寡過，繼祖父為大帥，保功名，稱良將。 三十五年卒。 賜恤如制。
Jing was fierce in battle and seldom faulted in office; succeeding his grandfather as commander-in-chief, he kept the family's honors and was reckoned a capable general. He died in the thirty-fifth year of the reign. The court granted the prescribed posthumous honors.
58
劉寧，字世安，其先山陽人。 襲世職，為永寧衛指揮使。 勇敢善戰。 自以冗散無所見，會延綏用兵，疏請效死。 尚書白圭許之。 屢以功遷都指揮使，充宣府遊擊將軍。
Liu Ning, courtesy name Shi'an, came from a Shanyang family. He inherited the family command and became regional commander of Yongning Guard. He was bold and a capable fighter. Feeling sidelined and without a chance to prove himself, he seized on the Yan-sui campaign to petition for a place where he could fight to the death. Minister Bai Gui granted his request. Merit after merit raised him to regional commander and mobile corps general of Xuanfu.
59
周璽，字廷玉，遷安人。 嗣職為開平衛指揮使。 負氣習兵書，善騎射。 以征北功，擢署都指揮僉事充右參將，分守陽和，敕部兵三千訓肄聽調。 成化十六年，從王越征威寧海子，累進都指揮使。
Zhou Xi, courtesy name Tingyu, was from Qian'an. He inherited the family post as regional commander of Kaiping Guard. Hot-tempered and studious in the art of war, he excelled at riding and shooting. For his northern campaigns he was promoted to acting assistant regional commander and made right assistant commander with divided command over Yanghe, with orders to drill three thousand men for service at need. In Chenghua 16 he followed Wang Yue against the enemy at Weining Lake and rose step by step to regional commander.
60
時邊寇無虛歲。 十八年分道入掠，璽與遊擊董昇戰黑石崖，寧戰塔兒山，皆有功。 璽進署都督僉事，遷大同副總兵。 寧進都督僉事，改左參將，分守陽和。
In those years the frontier saw raids every single year. In the eighteenth year the raiders split into columns; Zhou Xi and mobile corps commander Dong Sheng fought at Heishi Cliff while Liu Ning fought at Ta'er Mountain, and all distinguished themselves. Zhou Xi was promoted to acting vice commissioner-in-chief and made deputy commander-in-chief of Datong. Liu Ning was promoted to vice commissioner-in-chief, reassigned as left assistant commander with divided command over Yanghe.
61
十九年秋，亦思馬因大入。 大同總兵官許寧分遣璽守懷仁，寧與董昇營西山，自將中軍，擊之夏米莊，敗績。 寧、昇被圍數重，幾陷。 亟發巨炮擊之，敵多死，圍乃解。 璽聞中軍失利，亟還兵援。 夜遇敵，乘勝前，銳甚。 璽厲將士曰：「今日有進無退！」 大呼陷陣，敵少卻。 久之，短兵接。 臂中流矢，拔鏃戰益急，與子鵬及麾下壯士擊殺數十人。 會寧兵至，中軍潰卒亦稍集，敵乃退，許寧等亦還。 無何復入掠。 寧將兵三千，遇之聚落站西，連戰敗之。 復敗之白登、柳林，又追敗之小鵓鴿谷。 而大同西路參將莊鑒亦邀其歸路，戰於牛心山，敵遂遁。 時諸將多失利，許寧以下獲罪，而璽以功予實授，寧超遷都督同知，莊鑒以所部無失亡，亦賚銀幣。
That autumn of the nineteenth year Yisimayin launched a major invasion. Xu Ning, commander-in-chief at Datong, posted Zhou Xi at Huairen, sent Liu Ning and Dong Sheng to encamp on Xishan, and led the central army himself against the enemy at Xiamizhuang—but was defeated. Liu Ning and Dong Sheng were ringed by repeated encirclements and nearly overrun. They brought up heavy cannon in haste; many of the enemy fell, and the siege was broken. Hearing that the central army had been beaten, Zhou Xi rushed back with his troops to the rescue. That night they met the enemy, who pressed their advantage and fought with fierce momentum. Zhou Xi rallied his men: "Today we advance—we do not retreat!" With a great cry he charged the enemy line, and the raiders gave ground. The fighting dragged on until they were locked in hand-to-hand combat. An arrow pierced his arm; he pulled out the shaft and fought harder still, and with his son Peng and his best warriors cut down dozens of the enemy. Liu Ning's force arrived in time, scattered troops from the central army regrouped, and the enemy withdrew; Xu Ning and the rest also made their way back. Before long the raiders struck again. Liu Ning led three thousand men, met them west of Juluo Station, and beat them in successive engagements. He routed them again at Baideng and Liulin, then chased them down and defeated them at Xiaoboguge Valley. Zhuang Jian, assistant commander on Datong's western route, also cut off their retreat and fought at Niuxin Mountain, and the enemy fled. Most of the commanders had been beaten; Xu Ning and his subordinates were punished. Zhou Xi received a substantive promotion for his service, Liu Ning was exceptionally raised to assistant commissioner-in-chief, and Zhuang Jian was rewarded with silver and silk because his troops had taken no losses.
62
鑒，遼東人。 天順中，襲定遼右衛指揮使。 驍猛有膽決。 遇賊輒奮，數有功，累官都督僉事，掌左府。 弘治十一年佩鎮朔將軍印，鎮宣府。 以才與大同總兵官張俊易鎮。 兵部侍郎熊繡奏其經畫功，進都督同知。
Zhuang Jian was from Liaodong. In the Tianshun reign he inherited command of Dingliao Right Guard. He was fierce in battle and resolute in judgment. He always fought with abandon when he met the enemy, won repeated honors, rose to vice commissioner-in-chief, and commanded the left bureau. In Hongzhi 11 he took the seal of Pacifier of the North and was posted to Xuanfu. On account of his ability he exchanged posts with Datong commander-in-chief Zhang Jun. Vice Minister of War Xiong Xiu cited his strategic achievements, and he was promoted to assistant commissioner-in-chief.
63
璽尋以右副總兵分守代州，兼督偏頭諸關，而改寧左副總兵，協守大同。 二人並著功北邊，稱名將。 璽以偏頭去太原遠，請改分守為鎮守，又以鎮守不當聽節制，乞易總兵銜。 憲宗皆曲從之。 弘治初，移鎮陜西，討平扶風諸縣附籍回回。 三年佩征西將軍印，鎮守寧夏，甫一歲卒。 且死，召諸子曰：「吾佩印分閫，分已足，獨未嘗大破敵，抱恨入地矣。」 連呼「殺賊」而瞑。 子鵬，累官錦衣衛指揮僉事。
Zhou Xi was soon made right deputy commander-in-chief with divided command over Daizhou and oversight of the Piantou passes, while Liu Ning was reassigned as left deputy commander-in-chief to help hold Datong. Both won fame on the northern frontier and were counted among the dynasty's best commanders. Zhou Xi argued that Piantou was too far from Taiyuan to be held under divided command, asked to be made garrison commander instead, and then petitioned to shed subordination to other officers by taking the full commander-in-chief title. Emperor Xianzong granted every request. Early in Hongzhi he was posted to Shaanxi and put down the registered Muslim communities in Fufeng and neighboring counties. In the third year he took the seal of General Who Conquers the West and garrisoned Ningxia, but died after only a year in post. On his deathbed he called his sons and said: "I wore the general's seal and held my own command—that was honor enough. Yet I never won a great victory over the enemy, and I go to my grave with that regret." Again and again he cried, "Kill the enemy!"—and died. His son Peng rose to assistant commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
64
璽歿後三年，而寧佩平羌將軍印，鎮甘肅。 其冬，寇犯涼州，寧與戰抹山墩，擒斬五十余，相持至暮，收輜重南行。 寇復來襲，擒其長一人。 明日，參將顏玉來援，副將陶禎兵亦至，寇乃遁。 俘其稚弱，獲馬駝牛羊二千，進右都督。 明年，與巡撫許進襲破土魯番於哈密，進左都督，增俸百石，以疾還京。 十三年，大同告警，命寧為副總兵，從平江伯陳銳禦之。 銳無將略，與寧不協，止毋戰，寇遂得誌去，坐停半俸閑住。 尋以參將贊畫朱暉軍務，亦無功。 寧自陳哈密功，乞封伯，詔還全俸。
Three years after Zhou Xi's death, Liu Ning took the seal of General Who Pacifies the Qiang and was posted to Gansu. That winter, when raiders struck Liangzhou, Liu Ning fought them at Moshandun, killed or captured more than fifty, battled until dusk, then gathered the baggage train and withdrew south. The raiders attacked again, and he took one of their leaders prisoner. The next day assistant commander Yan Yu arrived with reinforcements, deputy commander Tao Zhen's force joined him, and the raiders withdrew. He took women and children captive and seized two thousand horses, camels, cattle, and sheep, and was promoted to right commissioner-in-chief. The following year he joined grand coordinator Xu Jin in a raid that broke Turfan at Hami; he was promoted to left commissioner-in-chief, granted an extra hundred shi of salary, and returned to the capital ill. In the thirteenth year, when Datong came under alarm, Liu Ning was made deputy commander-in-chief and sent with the Earl of Pingjiang, Chen Rui, to meet the threat. Chen Rui had no talent for command and clashed with Liu Ning; he forbade battle, the raiders withdrew as they pleased, and Liu Ning was punished with half pay and idle residence. Soon he was assigned as assistant commander to Zhu Hui's staff, but again won no success. Liu Ning cited his Hami campaign in a petition for a marquisate; the court restored his full salary but did not grant the title.
65
寧有膽智，為大同副將時，入貢者數萬人懷異志。 寧率二十騎直抵其營，眾駭愕。 有部長勒馬引弓出。 寧前下馬，與諸部長坐，舉策指畫，宣天子威德。 一人語不遜，寧摑其面，奮臂起，其長叱之退。 寧復坐與語，呼酒歡飲，皆感悟，卒如約。 嘗仿古番上法，以五十八人為隊，隊伍重為陣，建五色幟。 又各建五巨幟於中軍，中幟起，五陣各視其色應之，循環無端，每戰用是取勝。 晚再赴大同，已老病，帥又怯懦，故無成功，然孝宗朝良將稱寧。 十七年卒，贈廣昌伯。
Liu Ning was bold and shrewd. While deputy commander at Datong, he learned that tens of thousands among a tribute mission were nursing rebellious designs. Liu Ning rode in with only twenty men straight to their camp, stunning the whole assembly. One tribal chief spurred forward, bow drawn. Liu Ning dismounted, sat down with the chiefs, and with sweeping gestures spoke of the emperor's power and benevolence. When one man spoke insolently, Liu Ning struck him across the face; the man started up angrily, but his chief shouted him down and sent him away. Liu Ning sat down again, called for wine, and drank with them until all were reconciled; in the end they kept their pledge. He once adapted an old nomadic battle formation, grouping fifty-eight men in a squad, stacking squads into larger units, and marking each with banners of five colors. He planted five great banners at headquarters; when the center banner rose, each of the five formations answered according to its color in an endless cycle—and with this signal system he won battle after battle. In his later years he returned to Datong, but he was old and ill and his commander was timid, so nothing came of it; still, among Hongzhi-era commanders Liu Ning was counted among the best. He died in the seventeenth year of the reign and was posthumously ennobled as Marquis of Guangchang.
66
彭清，字源潔，榆林人。 初襲綏德衛指揮使，以功擢都指揮僉事。 弘治初，充右參將，分守肅州。 寇入犯，率兵躡之，獲馬駝器仗及所掠人畜而還。 尋與巡撫王繼恢復哈密有功。
Peng Qing, courtesy name Yuanjie, was from Yulin. He first inherited command of Suide Guard and was promoted to assistant regional commander for his service. Early in Hongzhi he became right assistant commander with divided command over Suzhou. When raiders crossed the border he pursued them, recovered horses, camels, arms, and the people and livestock they had taken, and returned in triumph. Soon afterward he distinguished himself alongside grand coordinator Wang Ji in the recovery of Hami.
67
清雖位偏校，而好謀有勇略，名聞中朝，尤為尚書馬文升所器。 嘗引疾乞休，文升力言於朝，慰留之。 八年，甘肅有警，以文升薦，擢左副總兵，仍守甘肅。 未幾，巡撫許進乞移清涼州。 而是時哈密復為土魯番所據，文升方密圖恢復，倚清成功，言「肅州多故，而清名著西域，不可易」，乃寢。
Though still a field officer of modest rank, Peng Qing was thoughtful and bold; his reputation reached the capital, and Minister Ma Wensheng held him in particular esteem. When he once asked to retire on grounds of illness, Ma Wensheng argued forcefully at court to keep him in service. In the eighth year, when Gansu came under threat, Ma Wensheng recommended him; he was promoted to left deputy commander-in-chief and remained on the Gansu frontier. Before long grand coordinator Xu Jin asked that Peng Qing be transferred to Liangzhou. But Hami had fallen to Turfan again, and Ma Wensheng was secretly planning its recovery and counting on Peng Qing; he argued that Suzhou was troubled enough and that Qing's name carried weight across the Western Regions, so the transfer was dropped.
68
文升既得楊翥策，銳欲搗哈密襲牙蘭，乃發罕東、赤斤暨哈密兵，令清統之為前鋒，從許進潛往。 行半月，抵其城下，攻克之。 牙蘭已先遁，乃撫安哈密遺種，全師而還。 是役也，文升授方略，擬從間道往，而進仍由故道，牙蘭遂逸去，斬獲無幾。 然番人素輕中國，謂不能涉其地，至是始知畏。 清功居多，稍遷都指揮使。
After Ma Wensheng adopted Yang Chong's plan for a strike on Hami and a raid on Yalan, he mustered troops from Handom, Chijin, and Hami, put Peng Qing at their head as vanguard, and marched secretly with Xu Jin. After a fortnight's march they reached the city and took it. Yalan had already fled; they pacified Hami's remaining population and withdrew with the army intact. Ma Wensheng had planned a flanking approach, but Xu Jin marched by the old road instead; Yalan escaped, and the haul of kills and captures was modest. The frontier peoples had long scorned China as unable to reach their territory; this campaign taught them otherwise. Peng Qing's share of the credit was largest, and he was promoted to regional commander.
69
十年，總兵官劉寧罷，擢清都督僉事代之。 其冬，土魯番歸哈密忠順王陜巴，且乞通貢，西域復定。 屢辭疾，請解兵柄，不允。 十五年卒。
In the tenth year Liu Ning was removed as commander-in-chief, and Peng Qing was promoted to vice commissioner-in-chief in his place. That winter Turfan restored Hami's loyal prince Shaan Ba and petitioned to resume tribute, and the Western Regions were pacified once more. He repeatedly asked to retire on grounds of illness and surrender his command, but the court refused. He died in the fifteenth year of the reign.
70
清禦士有恩，久鎮西陲，威名甚著，番夷憚之。 性廉潔，在鎮遭母及妻妹四喪，貧不能歸葬。 卒之日，將士及庶民婦豎皆流涕。 遺命其子不得受賻贈，故其喪亦不能歸。 帝聞之，命撫臣發帑錢，資送歸裏，賜祭葬如制。
Peng Qing treated his men with kindness; after long service on the western frontier his reputation was formidable, and the frontier peoples feared him. He was incorruptible; while on post he lost his mother and three sisters-in-law in succession and was too poor to send their bodies home for burial. On the day he died, soldiers and civilians alike—men, women, and children—all wept. He left orders that his son accept no funeral gifts, and so even his own body could not be sent home. When the emperor learned of this, he ordered the provincial governor to pay from the treasury for the journey home and granted the prescribed funeral honors.
71
姜漢，榆林衛人。 弘治中，嗣世職，為本衛指揮使。 御史胡希顏薦其材勇，進都指揮僉事，充延綏遊擊將軍。 十八年春，寇犯寧夏興武營。 漢帥所部馳援，遇於中沙墩，擊敗之。 賜敕獎勞。 武宗嗣位，寇大舉犯宣、大，漢偕副總兵曹雄、參將王戟分道援，有功。 尋代雄為副總兵，協守延綏。 正德三年移守涼州。 明年冬，擢署都督僉事，充總兵官，鎮寧夏。
Jiang Han was from Yulin Guard. During Hongzhi he inherited the family post and became commander of Yulin Guard. Censor Hu Xiyan praised his ability and courage, and he was promoted to assistant regional commander and made mobile corps general of Yan-sui. In the spring of the eighteenth year raiders struck Xingwu Camp in Ningxia. Jiang Han led his troops in haste to the rescue, met the enemy at Zhongshadun, and routed them. The emperor sent an edict commending and rewarding him. When the Wuzong emperor took the throne, raiders struck Xuanfu and Datong in force; Jiang Han, deputy commander Cao Xiong, and assistant commander Wang Ji relieved them by separate routes and won credit. He soon replaced Cao Xiong as deputy commander and shared command over Yan-sui. In Zhengde 3 he was transferred to the Liangzhou garrison. The following winter he was promoted to acting assistant commissioner-in-chief, made commander-in-chief, and posted to Ningxia.
72
漢馭軍嚴整，得將士心。 甫數月而安化王寘鐇謀逆，置酒召漢及巡撫安惟學等宴。 酒半，其黨何錦等率眾入，即座上執漢。 漢奮起，怒罵不屈，遂殺之。 子奭逃免。 賊平，訟於朝。 詔賜祭葬。 有司為立祠，春秋祭之。 嘉靖時，復從巡撫張珩請，賜額「憫忠」。
Jiang Han ran a tight army and won the loyalty of his officers and men. Only a few months later the Prince of Anhua, Zhi Fan, plotted treason and invited Jiang Han, grand coordinator An Weixue, and others to a feast. Mid-feast, his followers He Jin and the rest burst in and seized Jiang Han at the table. Jiang Han sprang up, cursed them to the last, and they killed him. His son Shi escaped with his life. After the rebellion was crushed, the matter was brought before the throne. The emperor ordered state funeral rites. The local authorities built him a shrine and held rites each spring and autumn. During Jiajing, on grand coordinator Zhang Heng's petition, the shrine was granted the inscription "Lamenting Loyalty."
73
奭當嗣職，帝以漢死事，特進一官，為都指揮僉事。 十一年，回賊魏景陽作亂，華陰諸縣悉被害，巡撫蕭翀檄奭討之，獲景陽。 進署都指揮同知，充右參將守肅州。 嘉靖二年，擢右副總兵，分守涼州，進署都督僉事，充總兵官，鎮甘肅。
Shi was heir to the post; because Jiang Han had died in service, the emperor promoted him one rank to assistant regional commander. In the eleventh year the Hui rebel Wei Jingyang revolted and ravaged the counties of Huayin; grand coordinator Xiao Chong ordered Shi to campaign against him, and he captured Jingyang. He was promoted to acting vice regional commander and made right assistant commander of the Suzhou garrison. In Jiajing 2 he became right deputy commander with divided command over Liangzhou, was raised to acting assistant commissioner-in-chief, made commander-in-chief, and posted to Gansu.
74
回賊犯甘州，奭與戰張欽堡，敗走之。 未幾，西海賊八千騎犯涼州。 奭率遊擊周倫等襲擊於苦水墩，大敗之，斬首百余級，殲其長，還所掠人口千二百、畜產二千。 都指揮張錦亦戰死。 錄功，進署都督同知。 吉囊他部寇莊浪，奭與遇分水嶺，再勝之。 遂至平嶺。 敵騎大集，奭伏兵誘之，復斬其長一人，獲首功七十，予實授。 十六年春，寇大入甘州，不能禦，貶二秩戴罪。 尋以永昌破敵功，復署都督僉事。 其冬，坐前罪罷。 久之，以薦擢副總兵，協守大同，為總督翁萬達劾罷，卒。
When Hui rebels attacked Ganzhou, Shi fought them at Zhangqin Fort and drove them off. Before long eight thousand Western Sea raiders struck Liangzhou. Shi led mobile corps commander Zhou Lun and others in a raid at Kushuidun, won a crushing victory, took more than a hundred heads, killed their leader, and recovered twelve hundred captives and two thousand head of livestock. Regional commander Zhang Jin also fell in the fighting. His victory was entered on the rolls and he was promoted to acting vice commissioner-in-chief. Another Jinang band raided Zhuanglang; Shi met them at Fen Shuiling and defeated them again. He pursued them as far as Pingling. When the enemy cavalry massed, Shi laid an ambush, killed another chieftain, took seventy heads, and received a permanent commission. In the spring of the sixteenth year raiders poured into Ganzhou; failing to stop them, he was demoted two ranks and ordered to redeem his fault. Soon afterward, for a victory at Yongchang, he was restored to acting assistant commissioner-in-chief. That winter he was dismissed on account of his earlier fault. Long afterward he was recommended for deputy commander and shared command over Datong, but supreme commander Weng Wanda impeached and dismissed him; he died.
75
子應熊，嗣指揮使，擢宣府西路參將。 二十七年春，俺答寇大同，總兵官周尚文戰曹家莊，應熊從萬達自懷來鼓噪揚塵而西。 寇不測眾寡，遂遁。 累進都督僉事，充總兵官，鎮守寧夏。 三十二年，套寇數萬騎屯賀蘭山，遣精騎掠紅井。 應熊戒將士固守以綴敵，而潛師攻敵營，斬首百四十級，進都督同知。 越二年，套寇數萬踏冰西渡，由寧夏山後直抵莊涼。 應熊等掩擊，獲首功百余，進右都督。 御史崔揀劾其縱寇，褫職逮問，充為事官，赴塞上立功。 四十年秋，寇六萬余騎犯居庸岔道口，應熊被圍於南溝，中五槍墮馬，參將胡鎮殺數人奪之歸。 其冬，復為右都督，充總兵官，鎮守大同。 以招徠塞外人口，增俸一級。
His son Yingxiong inherited command and was promoted to assistant commander on Xuanfu's western route. In the spring of the twenty-seventh year Altan raided Datong while commander Zhou Shangwen fought at Caojiazhuang; Yingxiong followed Wanda from Huailai, raising dust and clamor to the west. Unable to tell friend from foe, the raiders withdrew. He rose step by step to assistant commissioner-in-chief, became commander-in-chief, and was posted to Ningxia. In the thirty-second year tens of thousands of Ordos horsemen camped on Helan Mountain and sent picked riders to raid Hongjing. Yingxiong held his men in a tight defense to pin the enemy while a hidden column struck their camp, took one hundred forty heads, and earned promotion to vice commissioner-in-chief. Two years on, tens of thousands of Ordos raiders crossed the ice westward and, coming behind the Ningxia range, drove straight into Zhuangliang. Yingxiong and his men caught them in a surprise attack, took more than a hundred heads, and he was promoted to right commissioner-in-chief. Censor Cui Jian accused him of letting raiders escape; he was stripped of rank, seized for trial, reduced to probationary office, and sent to the frontier to redeem himself by service. In the autumn of the fortieth year more than sixty thousand raiders struck Juyong Pass; Yingxiong was surrounded at Nangou, took five spears and fell from his horse; assistant commander Hu Zhen cut down several enemies and brought him back alive. That winter he was restored as right commissioner-in-chief, made commander-in-chief, and posted to Datong. He was given one step in pay for bringing outsiders in from beyond the frontier.
76
四十二年，寇大舉犯畿輔，詔應熊等入援，諸鎮兵盡集，見敵勢盛，不敢擊。 給事中李瑜遂劾應熊及宣大總督江東、保定總兵官祝福坐視胡鎮被圍，一卒不發。 帝怒，降敕嚴責。 會寇將遁，應熊禦之密雲，頗有斬獲。 寇退，帝令江東第諸將功，以應熊為首，詔增其祖職二級。 已，錄防秋勞，進左都督。 總督趙炳然劾其縱寇互市，殘害朔州，坐戍邊。 穆宗立，赦還。
In the forty-second year raiders struck the capital region in force; Yingxiong and others were ordered to the relief, but though troops from every garrison gathered, none dared attack given the enemy's strength. Supervising secretary Li Yu impeached Yingxiong along with Xuan-Datong governor Jiang Dong and Baoding commander Zhu Fu for doing nothing while Hu Zhen was surrounded—not a single man sent. The emperor was furious and sent a sharply worded rebuke. As the raiders were preparing to withdraw, Yingxiong engaged them at Miyun and took a fair number of heads and captives. After the raiders withdrew, the emperor had Jiang Dong rank the generals' merits with Yingxiong at the top and ordered his hereditary rank raised by two steps. He was soon rewarded for frontier defense that autumn with promotion to left commissioner-in-chief. Supreme commander Zhao Bingran accused him of tolerating raiders and border trade that ravaged Shuozhou, and he was sentenced to military exile on the frontier. When the Longqing emperor ascended the throne, he was pardoned and allowed to return.
77
子顯祚襲職，累官署都督僉事，總兵官，歷鎮山西、宣府。 子弼，亦至都督僉事，為援遼總兵官。 姜氏為大將，著邊功，凡五世。
His son Xianzuo inherited the post, rose to acting assistant commissioner-in-chief and commander-in-chief, and served at Shanxi and Xuanfu in turn. His son Bi likewise became assistant commissioner-in-chief and served as commander of the Liaodong relief army. For five generations the Jiang family produced senior commanders renowned for service on the frontier.
78
安國，字良臣，綏德衛人。 初為諸生，通《春秋》子史，知名里中。 後襲世職，為指揮僉事。 正德三年中武會舉第一，進署指揮使，赴陜西三邊立功。 劉瑾要賄，國同舉六十人鹹無貲，瑾乃編之行伍，有警聽調，禁其擅歸。 六十人者悉大窘，儕於戍卒，不聊生。 而邊臣憚瑾，竟無有收恤之者。 寘鐇反，肆赦，始放還。 通政叢蘭請收用，瑾怒，諷給事中張瓚等劾諸人皆庸才，悉停其加官。 瑾誅，始以故官分守寧夏西路。 尋進署都指揮僉事，充右參將，擢右副總兵，協守大同，徙延綏。
An Guo, courtesy name Liangchen, was from Suide Guard. He began as a scholar, mastered the Spring and Autumn Annals and the classical histories, and was known in his home district. He later inherited the family post and became assistant regional commander. In Zhengde 3 he topped the military metropolitan exam, was made acting regional commander, and went to serve on merit on the Shaanxi frontier. Liu Jin demanded bribes; Guo and all sixty successful candidates had none to give, so Jin posted them as ordinary soldiers—called up when alarms sounded and barred from leaving without orders. All sixty were reduced to dire straits, treated no better than garrison conscripts, and could barely survive. Frontier officials feared Jin, and in the end none would take them in or help them. When Zhi Fan rebelled, a general amnesty was proclaimed and they were finally allowed to go home. Vice Commissioner Cong Lan asked that they be employed, but Jin was angry and prompted supervising secretaries including Zhang Zan to impeach them all as mediocrities, and every promotion was blocked. After Jin's execution he was restored to his former rank and given divided command over western Ningxia. He was soon raised to acting assistant regional commander, made right assistant commander, promoted to right deputy commander, shared command over Datong, and was transferred to Yan-sui.
79
十一年冬，寇二萬騎分掠偏頭關諸處，國偕遊擊杭雄馳敗之岢嵐州，斬首八十余級，獲馬千余匹。 寇遂遁。 初，寇大入白羊口，帝遣中官張忠、都督劉暉、侍郎丁鳳統京軍討之，比至，已飽掠去。 忠、暉恥無功，紀功御史劉澄甫攘國等功歸之，大行遷賞，忠等悉增祿，予世蔭。 尚書王瓊亦加少保，蔭子錦衣。 國時以署都督僉事為寧夏總兵官，僅予實授，意不平，不敢自列，乃具疏力辭，為部卒重傷者乞敘錄。 瓊請再敘國功，始進都督同知。
That winter twenty thousand horsemen raided in bands around Piantou Pass; Guo and mobile corps commander Hang Xiong raced to Kelan Prefecture, routed them, took more than eighty heads, and captured over a thousand horses. The raiders fled. Earlier, when raiders poured through Baiyang Pass, the emperor sent eunuch Zhang Zhong, commissioner Liu Hui, and Vice Minister Ding Feng at the head of capital troops—but by the time they arrived the raiders had already sacked what they wanted and withdrawn. Zhong and Hui were shamed by their empty record; merit censor Liu Chengfu credited Guo's victory to them instead, triggering lavish rewards—salary increases and hereditary privileges for Zhong and his party. Minister Wang Qiong was made Junior Guardian as well, and his son received Embroidered Uniform Guard hereditary privilege. Guo was then acting assistant commissioner-in-chief and Ningxia commander-in-chief, yet received only a permanent appointment at that rank; indignant but unwilling to petition for himself, he submitted a memorial firmly declining credit and begged rewards for badly wounded men under his command. Wang Qiong asked that Guo's merit be entered again, and he was finally promoted to vice commissioner-in-chief.
80
當是時，佞幸擅朝，債帥風大熾，獨國以材武致大將。 端謹練戎務，所至思盡職，推將材者必歸焉。 在鎮四年卒。 特謚武敏。
At that time favored favorites ran the court and bought-off generals were everywhere; only Guo, through genuine talent and martial skill, rose to senior command. Upright and diligent, skilled in military affairs, he gave his full duty wherever he served; anyone asked to name a capable commander pointed to him. He died after four years in command. He was posthumously granted the title Wumin, "Martially Keen."
81
杭雄，字世威，世為綏德衛總旗。 雄承蔭，數先登，積首功，六遷至指揮使。
Hang Xiong, courtesy name Shiwei, came from a family of centurions at Suide Guard. Xiong inherited his father's privilege, repeatedly led the assault, piled up head counts, and rose through six promotions to regional commander.
82
正德七年進署都指揮僉事，剿賊四川，尋守備西寧。 用尚書楊一清薦，擢延綏遊擊將軍。 從都御史彭澤經略哈密，偕副將安國破敵岢嵐，進都督僉事。 改參將，擢都督同知，統邊兵操於西內。 武宗幸宣府、大同，雄扈從，即拜大同總兵官。
In Zhengde 7 he was promoted to acting assistant regional commander, campaigned against bandits in Sichuan, and was soon posted to Xining. On Minister Yang Yiqing's recommendation he was made mobile corps general of Yan-sui. He followed Censor-in-Chief Peng Ze in frontier affairs at Hami, and with Deputy Commander An Guo routed the enemy at Kelan, earning promotion to assistant commissioner-in-chief. He was reassigned as assistant commander, promoted to vice commissioner-in-chief, and drilled frontier troops in the Western Inner Enclosure. When the Wuzong emperor toured Xuanfu and Datong, Xiong accompanied him and was immediately made commander of Datong.
83
嘉靖初，汰傳奉官，雄當貶，以方守邊，命署都督僉事，鎮守如故。 小王子萬余騎入沙河堡，雄戰卻之。 未幾，復大入，不能禦，求罷不許。 移延綏，召僉書後軍都督府。
Early in Jiajing, when honorary appointees were purged, Xiong should have been demoted, but because he was holding the frontier he was kept as acting assistant commissioner-in-chief with his command unchanged. The Lesser Prince led more than ten thousand horsemen into Shahe Fort; Xiong fought them off. Soon they raided again in force; unable to stop them, he asked to resign but was refused. He was transferred to Yan-sui and called to serve as registrar of the Rear Military Commission.
84
三年秋，土魯番侵甘肅，詔尚書金獻民視師，以雄佩平虜大將軍印，充總兵官，提督陜西、延綏、寧夏、甘肅四鎮軍務。 列侯出征，始佩大將軍印，無授都督者，至是特以命雄。 甫至，寇已破走，而雄亦得蔭錦衣千戶。 既班師，復出鎮寧夏。 吉囊大入，總督王憲檄雄等破之，進都督同知。 寇八千騎乘冰犯寧夏。 雄及副總兵趙鎮禦之，前鋒陷伏中，雄等皆敗。 總督王瓊劾之，奪官閑住。 明年卒。
In the autumn of the third year Turfan invaded Gansu; Minister Jin Xianmin was sent to oversee the campaign; Xiong was given the seal of Great General Who Pacifies the Barbarians, made commander-in-chief, and placed in charge of all four frontier garrisons—Shaanxi, Yan-sui, Ningxia, and Gansu. When marquises took the field they alone had borne the great general's seal—never before given to a commissioner-in-chief; Xiong was the first to receive it. He arrived only after the enemy had already been routed, yet Xiong still received hereditary privilege as an Embroidered Uniform Guard thousand-household. After the troops withdrew he returned to command at Ningxia. When Jinang invaded in force, supreme commander Wang Xian ordered Xiong to defeat him; he was promoted to vice commissioner-in-chief. Eight thousand raiders crossed the ice into Ningxia. Xiong and deputy commander Zhao Zhen tried to stop them, but the vanguard walked into an ambush and they were routed. Supreme commander Wang Qiong impeached them; Xiong was stripped of rank and sent into retirement. He died the following year.
85
雄敢戰。 嘗以數騎行邊，敵麕至。 乃下馬積鞍為壘，跪而射之。 敵退，解衣，腋凝血，乃知中飛矢。 武宗在大同，見雄氈帷敝甚，曰：「老杭窮乃爾。」 寇至，帝將親擊。 雄叩馬諫曰：「主人畜犬，不使吠盜，奚用犬為？ 願聽臣等效力。」 帝笑而止。 少役延綏巡撫行臺，既貴，每至臺議事，不敢正席坐，曰：「此當年役所也。」 正德、嘉靖間，西北名將，馬永而下稱雄雲。
Xiong was fearless in combat. Once, riding the frontier with only a handful of men, he found the enemy closing in from every side. He dismounted, heaped saddles into a breastwork, knelt behind it, and shot. When the enemy drew off he stripped off his coat and found clotted blood under his arm—only then did he know a stray arrow had found him. Emperor Wuzong was at Datong and saw how threadbare Hang Xiong's felt tent was. "So old Hang is this poor," he said." When raiders arrived, the emperor prepared to fight in person. Xiong caught the emperor's bridle and pleaded: "If a man keeps dogs but will not let them bark at thieves, what good are the dogs? Let your servants do the fighting instead." The emperor laughed and gave up the idea. In youth he had been a runner at the Yan-sui grand coordinator's field office. After he rose high, whenever he came there for council he would not take the main seat, saying, "This is where I used to serve." Among the great generals of the northwest in the Zhengde and Jiajing reigns, from Ma Yong downward, Xiong was held first in esteem.
86
贊曰：時平則將略無由見。 或綰符出鎮，守疆禦侮，著有勞效，以功名終，亦足尚矣。 許貴、周賢、魯鑒、姜漢家世為將，勛閥相承，而賢與漢死事尤烈。 彭清、杭雄之清節，斯又其最優者歟。
The historian comments: In times of peace a commander's talent for war has no chance to show itself. Yet some took command beyond the passes, held the frontier and beat back invasion, left a clear record of service, and finished their lives in honor—such men are still worth our regard. Xu Gui, Zhou Xian, Lu Jian, and Jiang Han were soldiers' sons for generations, noble houses in unbroken line; yet Xian and Han died in the field most fiercely of all. The stainless integrity of Peng Qing and Hang Xiong—were these not the finest of the company?