1
衛青 〈（子穎）〉 董興何洪 〈（劉雄）〉 劉玉仇鉞神英 〈（子周）〉 曹雄 〈（子謙）〉 馮禎張俊 〈（李鋐）〉 楊銳 〈（崔文）〉
Wei Qing (Son: Ying)〉 Dong Xing, He Hong (Liu Xiong)〉 Liu Yu, Chou Yue, Shen Ying (Son: Zhou)〉 Cao Xiong (Son: Qian)〉 Feng Zhen, Zhang Jun (Li Hong)〉 Yang Rui (Cui Wen)〉
2
衛青，字明德，松江華亭人。 以薊州百戶降成祖，積功至都指揮僉事，蒞中都留守司事，改山東備倭。
Wei Qing, whose style was Mingde, came from Huating in Songjiang prefecture. He had surrendered to the Yongle Emperor as a hundred-household officer at Jizhou; through repeated service he rose to vice commander-in-chief of the capital garrison, directed affairs at the Central Capital garrison headquarters, and was then transferred to Shandong to guard against wokou raids.
3
永樂十八年二月，浦臺妖婦林三妻唐賽兒作亂。 自言得石函中寶書神劍，役鬼神，剪紙作人馬相戰鬥。 徒眾數千，據益都卸石柵寨。 指揮高鳳敗歿，勢遂熾。 其黨董彥昇等攻下莒、即墨，圍安丘。 總兵官安遠侯柳升帥都指揮劉忠圍賽兒寨。 賽兒夜劫官軍。 軍亂，忠戰死，賽兒遁去。 比明，升始覺，追不及，獲賊黨劉俊等及男女百余人。 而賊攻安丘益急，知縣張、丞馬撝死戰，賊不能下，合莒、即墨眾萬余人以攻。 青方屯海上，聞之，帥千騎晝夜馳至城下。 再戰，大敗之，城中亦鼓噪出，殺賊二千，生擒四千余，悉斬之。 時城中旦夕不能支，青救稍遲，城必陷。 比賊敗，升始至，青迎謁。 升怒其不待己，捽之出。 是日，鰲山衛指揮王真亦以兵百五十人殲賊諸城，賊遂平。 而賽兒卒不獲。 帝賜書勞青，切責升。 尚書吳中等劾升，且言升冒青功。 於是下升獄，而擢青山東都指揮使，真都指揮同知，、撝左右參議，賞賚有差。 青還備倭海上。 尋坐事系獄。 宣德元年，帝念其功，釋之，俾復職。 時京師營繕役繁，調及防海士卒。 青以為言，得番代。 英宗立，進都督僉事，尋卒。
In the second month of Yongle 18 (1420), Tang Sai'er of Putai—the wife of Lin San, a woman regarded as a sorceress—rose in rebellion. She claimed a sacred book and magic sword from a stone chest, power over spirits, and the art of cutting paper figures that marched and fought like real armies. Several thousand adherents rallied to her, and she held the stockade at Xieshi in Yidu prefecture. When Commander Gao Feng was defeated and killed, her movement grew far stronger. Her lieutenants Dong Yansheng and others took Ju and Jimo and laid siege to Anqiu. The commander-in-chief, Marquis Anyuan Liu Sheng, led Regional Commander Liu Zhong in a siege of Sai'er's stronghold. Sai'er struck the government camp in a night attack. The army broke apart; Zhong was killed in the fighting and Sai'er slipped away. At daybreak Sheng at last learned what had happened. He failed to catch Sai'er but seized the rebel Liu Jun and more than a hundred captives, men and women. Meanwhile the rebels redoubled their assault on Anqiu. Magistrate Zhang and Assistant Magistrate Ma Huo fought to the death, and though the city still held, the rebels massed more than ten thousand men from Ju and Jimo for a combined attack. Qing was stationed on the coast at the time. When word reached him, he led a thousand cavalry and rode day and night to the city. In a second engagement he routed them completely. The garrison sallied out with a great clamor, killing two thousand rebels, taking more than four thousand alive, and executing every captive. The city was on the verge of collapse; had Qing arrived even a little later, Anqiu would surely have been lost. Only after the rebels were beaten did Sheng arrive. Qing went out to greet him. Sheng, furious that Qing had acted without waiting for him, seized him and had him dragged away. That same day Wang Zhen, commander of Aoshan Guard, destroyed rebel forces at Zhucheng with a hundred and fifty men, and the uprising was fully suppressed. Sai'er herself was never captured. The Emperor sent Qing a letter of commendation and rebuked Sheng in the sternest terms. Minister Wu Zhong and others impeached Sheng, charging that he had claimed Qing's achievements as his own. Sheng was imprisoned. Qing was promoted to regional commander of Shandong; Zhen was made vice regional commander; Ma Huo was made Left and Right Participating Secretariat Councillor; and rewards were distributed according to merit. Qing returned to coastal defense against the wokou. Before long he was imprisoned on a charge of misconduct. In Xuande 1 (1426), remembering his service, the Emperor released him and restored him to his post. At the time construction work in the capital was heavy, and coastal-defense troops were being drafted for it. Qing appealed on their behalf and secured a system of rotating tours of duty. When Emperor Yingzong came to the throne, he was promoted to vice commissioner-in-chief, and soon afterward he died.
4
青有孝行，善撫士卒，居海上十余年，海濱人思之，請於朝，立祠以祀。
Qing was known for filial devotion and for winning the loyalty of his soldiers. After more than ten years on the coast, the coastal people missed him so deeply that they petitioned the court to build a shrine in his honor.
5
傳子至孫錞。 嘉靖時，督神機營，屢加太保兼太子太師。 四傳至時泰。 崇禎時，掌後府。 京師陷，懷鐵券，闔門十七人皆赴井死。
The line passed through his son to his grandson Chun. In the Jiajing era he commanded the Divine Engine Corps and was repeatedly promoted to grand guardian and grand preceptor of the heir apparent. Four generations later the line reached Shitai. In the Chongzhen era he headed the Rear Military Commission. When the capital fell, he clutched the family's iron certificate of privilege, and all seventeen members of his household threw themselves into a well and died.
6
董興，長垣人。 初為燕山右衛指揮使，累遷署都指揮同知。 正統中，新建伯李玉等舉興將才，進署都指揮使，京營管操。 復用薦，擢署都督僉事，充右參將，從寧陽侯陳懋討鄧茂七，破余黨於建寧，進都督同知。
Dong Xing came from Changyuan. He began as commander of the Right Guard of Yan Mountains and rose through successive posts to acting vice regional commander. During the Zhengtong reign the newly created Earl Li Yu and others praised his generalship. He was promoted to acting regional commander and placed in charge of drill in the capital garrison. Recommended again, he was made acting vice commissioner-in-chief and right assistant regional commander. He followed Marquis Ningyang Chen Mao against Deng Maoqi, crushed the rebel remnant at Jianning, and was promoted to vice commissioner-in-chief.
7
南海賊黃蕭養圍廣州，安鄉伯張安、都指揮王清戰死，賊眾攻城益急。 詔拜興左副總兵，調江西、兩廣軍往討，而以侍郎孟鑒贊理軍務。 興用天文生馬軾自隨。 興果銳，不能戢下，軾戒之。 景泰元年二月，師至廣州。 賊舟千余艘，勢甚熾，而征兵未至，諸將請濟師。 軾曰：「廣民延頸久矣，即以狼兵往擊，猶拉朽耳。」 興從之。 既而兵大集，進至大洲擊賊，殺溺死者萬余人，余多就撫。 蕭養中流矢死，函首以獻，俘其父及子等，余黨皆伏誅。 論功，進右都督，留鎮廣東。 給事中黃士俊劾興寬縱，降其官。 明年復職。
The South Sea rebel Huang Xiaoyang besieged Guangzhou. Earl Anxiang Zhang An and Regional Commander Wang Qing were killed in battle, and the rebels pressed the assault ever harder. An edict appointed Xing left assistant commander-in-chief, mobilized troops from Jiangxi and the Two Guangs, and made Vice Minister Meng Jian coordinator of the campaign. Xing took along the astronomical clerk Ma Shi as his adviser. Xing was bold and aggressive but could not discipline his men; Shi warned him against it. In the second month of Jingtai 1 (1450) the army reached Guangzhou. The rebels had more than a thousand boats and their strength was formidable, but reinforcements had not yet arrived. The generals asked for more troops. Shi said, "The people of Guangdong have waited long enough. Even if we send only the Lang militia against them, it will be like tearing rotten timber apart. Xing followed his advice. Before long the full force assembled. Advancing to Dazhou, they attacked the rebels. More than ten thousand were killed or drowned, and most of the remainder surrendered. Xiaoyang was struck by an arrow and killed. His head was sent to the capital in a box; his father and sons were captured; and the remaining rebels were executed. For his merit he was promoted to right commissioner-in-chief and left to garrison Guangdong. Supervising Secretary Huang Shijun impeached Xing for excessive leniency, and his rank was reduced. The following year he was restored to office.
8
久之，召還，分督京營。 與曹吉祥結姻，冒「奪門」功，封海寧伯。 未幾，充總兵官，鎮遼東，予世券。 議革「奪門」者爵，興以守邊得免。 吉祥誅，乃奪興爵，仍右都督，發廣西立功。 以錦衣李貴薦，復爵，總兵宣府，再予世券。 憲宗嗣位，罷還。 已，停世襲。 家居十余年卒。
After some time he was recalled to share command of the capital garrison. He allied himself by marriage with Cao Jixiang, claimed credit for the Gate Seizure coup, and was enfeoffed as Earl of Haining. Soon afterward he was made commander-in-chief, posted to Liaodong, and granted a hereditary certificate of privilege. When the court debated stripping titles from those who had profited from the Gate Seizure, Xing was spared because he was guarding the frontier. After Jixiang was executed, Xing's noble title was revoked. He remained right commissioner-in-chief and was sent to Guangxi to win merit in the field. On the recommendation of Li Gui of the Embroidered-Uniform Guard, his title was restored. He was made commander-in-chief at Xuanfu and again granted a hereditary certificate. When Emperor Xianzong succeeded to the throne, Xing was dismissed and recalled. Hereditary succession of his title was then suspended. He lived in retirement for more than ten years and then died.
9
德陽人趙鐸反，自稱趙王，漢州諸賊皆歸之。 連番眾，數陷城，殺將吏。 遣其黨何文讓及僧悟升掠安嶽諸縣。 洪斬悟升，生擒文讓。 鐸將逼成都，官軍分三路討。 洪偕都指揮寧用趨彰明，賊引去。 追至梓潼朱家河，力戰，賊少卻。 洪乘勝陷陣，後軍不繼，為賊所圍，左右跳蕩，殺賊甚眾，力竭而死。
Zhao Duo of Deyang rose in rebellion, proclaimed himself King of Zhao, and the bandits of Hanzhou all rallied to him. His forces swelled in wave after wave; they repeatedly captured towns and killed commanders and officials. He sent his lieutenants He Wenrang and the monk Wusheng to raid Anyue and neighboring counties. Hong killed Wusheng and took Wenrang alive. As Duo advanced toward Chengdu, government forces moved against him in three columns. Hong advanced toward Zhangming with Regional Commander Ning Yong, and the rebels withdrew. Pursuing them to the Zhu Family River at Zitong, they fought fiercely and the rebels gave ground. Hong pressed the advantage and charged into the enemy ranks, but the rear units failed to follow. Surrounded, he fought on every side and killed many rebels before his strength gave out and he fell.
10
洪勇敢，善撫士，號令嚴，蜀將無及之者。 既死，官軍奪氣。 而四川都指揮僉事臨淮劉雄亦戰死。 雄剛勁，遇敵輒前，嘗捕賊漢州，生擒七十余人。 及鐸亂，追之羅江大水河，手馘數人，賊連敗。 千戶周鼎傷，雄前救之，徑奔賊陣，叢刺死。 詔贈洪都督同知，予祭葬，子節襲都指揮僉事。 雄贈都指揮同知，賜祭，命子襲職，超二官。
Hong was brave, won the loyalty of his men, and enforced strict discipline. Among the generals of Shu, none could match him. After his death the government army lost heart. Liu Xiong of Linhuai, vice regional commander of Sichuan, also fell in battle. Xiong was hard and unyielding and always led from the front. He had once crushed bandits at Hanzhou and taken more than seventy alive. When Duo's rebellion broke out, he pursued him to the Great Water River at Luojiang, killed several rebels with his own hand, and drove the enemy into repeated defeats. When Thousand-Household Zhou Ding was wounded, Xiong rushed forward to save him, charged straight into the rebel ranks, and was killed by a hail of spears. Hong was posthumously made vice commissioner-in-chief, granted state funeral honors, and his son Jie inherited the post of vice regional commander. Xiong was posthumously made vice regional commander, granted sacrificial honors, and his son was ordered to inherit his post with a promotion of two ranks.
11
洪雖死，綿竹典史蕭讓帥鄉兵擊鐸，破之。 官兵頻進擊，其黨稍散去。 鐸勢孤，帥余賊趨彰明。 千戶田儀等設伏梓潼，而參將周貴直搗其巢。 賊大敗，夜奔石子嶺。 儀亟進，斬鐸，賊盡平。 成化元年五月也。
Though Hong was dead, Xiao Rang, district clerk of Mianzhu, led local militia against Duo and defeated him. Government forces pressed the attack again and again, and Duo's followers gradually scattered. Isolated and weakened, Duo led the remnant of his force toward Zhangming. Thousand-Household Tian Yi and others laid an ambush at Zitong while Assistant Regional Commander Zhou Gui attacked Duo's base directly. The rebels were routed and fled by night toward Shizi Ridge. Yi pressed forward at once, killed Duo, and the rebellion was fully suppressed. This took place in the fifth month of Chenghua 1.
12
六年，帝將以谷登為甘肅副總兵。 李賢言登不任，玉老成。 乃復以為都督僉事、右副總兵，鎮守涼州。 咎咂族叛，會兵平之，進都督同知。
In the sixth year the Emperor was about to appoint Gu Deng assistant commander-in-chief in Gansu. Li Xian argued that Deng was unfit for the post and that Yu was seasoned and reliable. Yu was therefore reappointed vice commissioner-in-chief and right assistant commander-in-chief to garrison Liangzhou. When the Jiuza tribe rebelled, he assembled troops and suppressed them, and was promoted to vice commissioner-in-chief.
13
成化四年，滿俊亂固原，白圭舉玉為總兵官，統左右參將夏正、劉清討之，兵分為七。 玉與總督項忠抵石城，賊已數敗。 會毛忠死，玉亦被圍，中流矢，力戰得出。 相持兩月，大小百十戰，竟平之。 進左都督，掌右府事。 自訴前西堡功，命增俸百石，掌耀武營。 六年充左副總兵，從朱永出延綏。 五月，河套部入犯，玉帥眾禦卻之。 逾年卒。 贈固原伯，謚毅敏。
In Chenghua 4, Man Jun rebelled at Guyuan. Bai Gui recommended Yu as commander-in-chief, with Assistant Regional Commanders Xia Zheng and Liu Qing under him. The army was divided into seven columns. Yu and Grand Coordinator Xiang Zhong reached Shicheng after the rebels had already suffered several defeats. When Mao Zhong fell, Yu too was surrounded, took an arrow wound, and fought his way out. After two months of stalemate and more than a hundred engagements large and small, the rebellion was finally suppressed. He was promoted to left commissioner-in-chief and placed in charge of the Right Military Commission. On his own petition citing his earlier victory at Xibao, he was granted an additional hundred piculs of salary and command of the Yaowu Corps. In the sixth year he served as left assistant commander-in-chief and campaigned in Yan-sui under Zhu Yong. In the fifth month the Ordos tribes invaded; Yu led his troops and drove them back. He died the following year. He was posthumously enfeoffed as Earl of Guyuan with the posthumous name Yimin.
14
玉雖起仆隸，勇決過人，善撫士，所至未嘗衄。 滿俊之叛，據石城險，屢敗官軍，玉戰最力。 及論功，只賜秩一級，時惜其薄。 子文，襲指揮使。
Though Yu had risen from servile origins, his courage and decisiveness were exceptional, he won the loyalty of his men, and he never met defeat wherever he served. In Man Jun's rebellion, the rebels held the strong position at Shicheng and repeatedly defeated government forces; Yu fought harder than any other commander. When rewards were distributed, he received only a single rank promotion, which many at the time thought far too little. His son Wen inherited the post of regional commander.
15
仇鉞，字廷威，鎮原人。 初以傭卒給事寧夏總兵府，大見信愛。 會都指揮僉事仇理卒，無嗣，遂令鉞襲其世職，為寧夏前衛指揮同知。 理，江都人，故鉞自稱江都仇氏。 再以破賊功，進都指揮僉事。
Chou Yue, whose style was Tingwei, came from Zhenyuan. He began as a hired soldier in the Ningxia commander-in-chief's headquarters and won deep trust. When Vice Regional Commander Chou Li died without an heir, Yue was ordered to inherit his hereditary post as vice regional commander of the Forward Guard of Ningxia. Li was from Jiangdu, so Yue styled himself a member of the Chou clan of Jiangdu. For further merit in defeating rebels he was promoted to vice regional commander.
16
正德二年用總制楊一清薦，擢寧夏遊擊將軍。 五年，安化王寘鐇及都指揮何錦、周昂，指揮丁廣反。 鉞時駐城外玉泉營，聞變欲遁去。 顧念妻子在城中，恐為所屠滅，遂引兵入城。 解甲覲寘鐇，歸臥家稱病，以所將兵分隸賊營。 錦等信之，時時就問計。 鉞亦謬輸心腹。 而陰結壯士，遣人潛出城，令還報官軍旦夕至。 鉞因紿錦、廣，宜急出兵守渡口，遏東岸兵，勿使渡河。 錦、廣果傾營出，而昂獨守城。 寘鐇以祃牙召鉞，鉞稱病亟。 昂來視，鉞方堅臥呻吟。 伏卒猝起，捶殺昂。 鉞乃被甲橫刀，提其首，躍馬大呼，壯士皆集，徑馳詣寘鐇第，縛之。 傳寘鐇令，召錦等還，而密諭其部曲以擒寘鐇狀。 眾遂大潰。 錦、廣單騎走賀蘭山，為邏卒所獲，舉事凡十八日而敗。
In Zhengde 2, on Yang Yiqing's recommendation, he was made mobile corps general of Ningxia. In the fifth year the Prince of Anhua, Zhu Zhifan, rebelled together with Regional Commanders He Jin and Zhou Ang and Commander Ding Guang. Yue was camped outside the city at Yuquan Camp. When he heard of the revolt, his first impulse was to flee. Remembering that his wife and children were still in the city and fearing they would be massacred, he led his troops inside. He laid aside his armor to pay homage to Zhifan, went home and feigned illness, and distributed his troops among the rebel camps. Jin and the others trusted him and came to him again and again for advice. Yue in turn pretended to confide in them fully. In secret he rallied loyal fighters and sent men out of the city to spread word that government troops would arrive at any moment. He then deceived Jin and Guang, urging them to rush troops to the river crossing to block government forces on the east bank from crossing. Jin and Guang emptied the camps and marched out, leaving Ang alone to hold the city. Zhifan summoned Yue with a military tally, but Yue pleaded that his illness was severe. When Ang came to visit, Yue lay rigidly in bed, groaning. Hidden soldiers leaped up and beat Ang to death. Yue then donned his armor, sword in hand, seized Ang's head, mounted his horse with a great shout, and rallied his men. They galloped straight to Zhifan's residence and seized him. Issuing orders in Zhifan's name, he recalled Jin and the others, while secretly telling his troops that Zhifan had been captured. The rebel forces collapsed in disorder. Jin and Guang fled alone toward Helan Mountain and were captured by frontier troops. The entire rebellion collapsed within eighteen days.
17
先是，中朝聞變，議以神英為總兵官，而命鉞為副。 俄傳鉞降賊，欲追敕還。 大學士楊廷和曰：「鉞必不從賊，令知朝廷擢用，誌當益堅。 不然，棄良將資敵人耳。」 乃不追。 事果定。 而劉瑾匿陜西總兵官曹雄，盡以鉞功歸之，鉞竟無殊擢。 巡按御史閻睿訟其功，詔奪俸三月。 瑾誅，始進署都督僉事，充寧夏總兵官。 尋論功，封鹹寧伯，歲祿千石，予世券。 明年冬，召掌三千營。
Earlier, when the central court learned of the revolt, it was proposed to make Shen Ying commander-in-chief with Yue as his deputy. Soon word spread that Yue had joined the rebels, and the court considered recalling his appointment. Grand Secretary Yang Tinghe said, "Yue will never join the rebels. If he learns the court has promoted him, his resolve will only grow firmer. Otherwise we abandon a fine general and strengthen the enemy. The recall was not issued. Events unfolded exactly as he had predicted. But Liu Jin shielded Shaanxi commander-in-chief Cao Xiong and credited him with all of Yue's achievements. Yue received no special promotion. Touring Censor Yan Rui pleaded Yue's case, but an edict stripped him of three months' salary instead. After Jin was executed, Yue was at last promoted to acting vice commissioner-in-chief and made commander-in-chief of Ningxia. Soon afterward, for his merit, he was enfeoffed as Earl of Xianning with an annual stipend of a thousand piculs and granted a hereditary certificate of privilege. The following winter he was recalled to command the Three Thousand Corps.
18
七年二月拜平賊將軍，偕都御史彭澤討河南盜劉惠、趙鐩，以中官陸訚監其軍。 未至，而參將馮禎戰死洛南，賊勢益熾。 已，聞官軍將至，遂奔汝州。 又聞官軍扼要害，乃走寶豐，復由舞陽、遂平轉掠汝州東南，敗奔固始，抵潁州，屯朱臯鎮。 永順宣慰彭明輔等擊之，賊倉猝渡河，溺死者二千人。 余眾走光山，鉞追及之。 命諸將神周、姚信、時源、金輔左右夾擊，賊大敗，斬首千四百有奇。 湖廣軍亦破其別部賈勉兒於羅田。 賊沿途潰散。 自六安陷舒城，復還光山，至商城。 官軍追之急，賊復南攻六安。 將陷，時源等涉河進，敗之七里岡。 賊趨廬州，至定遠西又敗。 還至六安，分其眾為二。 劉惠與趙鐩二弟鐇、鎬帥萬余人，北走商城。 而鐩道遇其徒張通及楊虎遺黨數千人，勢復振，掠鳳陽，陷泗、宿、睢寧、定遠。 於是澤與鉞計，使神周追鐩，時源、金輔追惠，姚信追勉兒。 勉兒、鐩復合，周信連敗之宿州，追奔至應山，其眾略盡。 鐩發懷度牒，潛至江夏。 飯村店，軍士趙成執送京師，伏誅。 源、輔追劉惠，連戰皆捷。 惠窘走南召，指揮王謹追及於土地嶺，射中惠左目，自縊死。 勉兒數為都指揮朱忠、夏廣所敗，獲之項城丁村。 余黨邢本道、劉資及楊寡婦等先後皆被擒。 凡出師四月，而河南賊悉平。
In the second month of the seventh year he was appointed Pacification General. Together with Censor-in-Chief Peng Ze he campaigned against the Henan bandits Liu Hui and Zhao San, with the eunuch Lu Yan supervising the army. Before he arrived, Assistant Regional Commander Feng Zhen was killed at Luonan and rebel strength surged. Hearing that government troops were approaching, they fled to Ruzhou. Learning that government forces held the key passes, they fled to Baofeng, then swept through Wuyang and Suiping into southeastern Ruzhou. Beaten again, they fled to Gushi, reached Yingzhou, and encamped at Zhugao. Peng Mingfu of the Yongshun Pacification Commission and others attacked them. The rebels crossed the river in panic and two thousand drowned. The survivors fled to Guangshan, and Yue caught up with them. He ordered Shen Zhou, Yao Xin, Shi Yuan, and Jin Fu to attack from both flanks. The rebels were routed and more than fourteen hundred heads were taken. Huguang forces also defeated their splinter band under Jia Mianer at Luotian. The rebels broke up and scattered along the roads. They took Shucheng from Lu'an, returned to Guangshan, and reached Shangcheng. Hard pressed by government troops, the rebels turned south to attack Lu'an again. As the city was about to fall, Shi Yuan and others crossed the river, advanced, and defeated them at Qiligang. The rebels moved toward Luzhou and were beaten again west of Dingyuan. They returned to Lu'an and split their force in two. Liu Hui and Zhao San's younger brothers Zhao Fan and Zhao Hao led more than ten thousand men north toward Shangcheng. On the road San met his follower Zhang Tong and several thousand remnants of Yang Hu's band. Their strength revived, and they raided Fengyang and captured Si, Su, Suining, and Dingyuan. Ze and Yue then divided their forces: Shen Zhou pursued San, Shi Yuan and Jin Fu pursued Hui, and Yao Xin pursued Mianer. Mianer and San joined forces again. Zhou and Xin defeated them repeatedly at Suzhou and pursued them to Yingshan until their band was nearly destroyed. San produced a monk's ordination certificate and slipped secretly into Jiangxia. At an inn in Fancun village, the soldier Zhao Cheng seized him and sent him to the capital, where he was executed. Yuan and Fu pursued Liu Hui and won a series of victories. Hard pressed, Hui fled south to Nanzhao. Commander Wang Jin overtook him at Tudi Ridge, shot him in the left eye, and he hanged himself. Mianer had been repeatedly defeated by Regional Commanders Zhu Zhong and Xia Guang and was captured at Ding village in Xiangcheng. Remaining leaders such as Xing Bendao, Liu Zi, and the Widow Yang were captured one after another. Within four months of taking the field, the Henan rebels were entirely suppressed.
19
趙鐩，一名風子，文安諸生也。 劉七等亂起，鐩挈家匿渚中，賊驅之登陸，將汙其妻女。 鐩素驍健，有膂力，手格殺二賊。 賊聚執之，遂入其黨為之魁。 賊專事淫掠，鐩稍有智計，定為部伍，勸其黨無妄殺。 移檄府縣，約官吏師儒毋走避，迎者安堵。 由是橫行中原，勢出劉六等上。 嘗攻鈞州五日，以馬文升方家居，舍之去。 有司遣人賫招撫榜至，鐩具疏附奏言：「今群奸在朝，舞弄神器，濁亂海內，誅戮諫臣，屏棄元老，舉動若此，未有不亡國者。 乞陛下睿謀獨斷，梟群奸之首以謝天下，即梟臣之首以謝群奸。」 其桀黠如此。
Zhao San, also known as Fengzi, was a licentiate scholar of Wen'an. When the disorders led by Liu Qi and others broke out, San hid his family among the river islets. Bandits drove them ashore and were about to violate his wife and daughters. San had always been bold and powerful and killed two bandits with his bare hands. The bandits seized him, and he soon became their leader. The bandits devoted themselves chiefly to rape and plunder. San had some shrewdness, organized them into units, and urged his followers not to kill without cause. He issued proclamations to prefectures and counties promising that officials and teachers who did not flee would be left unmolested. Thus he ranged across the central plain with power surpassing that of Liu Liu and the others. He once besieged Jun prefecture for five days, but spared it and withdrew because Ma Wensheng was living in retirement there. When officials sent amnesty placards, San submitted a memorial saying, "Wicked men now hold court, wield the imperial regalia, befoul the realm, execute remonstrating ministers, and cast aside elder statesmen. A state that acts thus cannot fail to perish. I beg Your Majesty to act with decisive wisdom, behead the leaders of the wicked faction to appease the realm, and then behead this minister's head to appease them. Such was his audacious cunning.
20
鉞既平河南賊，移師會陸完，共滅劉七等於江北。 論功，進世侯，增祿百石，仍督三千營。
After pacifying the Henan rebels, Yue moved his army to join Lu Wan and together destroyed Liu Qi and the others north of the Yangzi. For his merit he was promoted to hereditary marquis, granted an additional hundred piculs of stipend, and retained command of the Three Thousand Corps.
21
八年，大同有警，命充總兵官，統京軍禦之。 鉞上五事，中請遣還京操邊軍，停京軍出征，以省公私之擾，尤切時弊。 時不能用。 鉞既至，值寇犯萬全沙河。 擊之，斬首三級，而軍士亡者二十余人，寇亦引去。 奏捷蒙賚，朝論恥之。
In the eighth year, when Datong was threatened, he was made commander-in-chief and led capital troops to meet the enemy. Yue submitted five proposals, including sending back capital-drilled frontier troops and halting capital-army expeditions to spare public and private disruption—proposals that struck directly at the abuses of the day. At the time they were not adopted. When Yue arrived, raiders were attacking the Sha River region at Wanquan. He attacked them, took three heads, lost more than twenty soldiers, and the raiders withdrew. He reported victory and received rewards, but court opinion regarded the affair as shameful.
22
帝詔諸邊將入侍豹房。 鉞嘗一入，後輒力辭。 十年冬，稱疾解營務。 詔給軍三十人役其家。 世宗立，再起督三千營，掌前府事。 未上卒，年五十七。 謚武襄。
The Emperor ordered frontier generals to attend him in the Leopard Quarter. Yue attended once, but thereafter firmly declined. In the winter of the tenth year he claimed illness and resigned his camp duties. An edict granted thirty soldiers to serve his household. When Emperor Shizong succeeded, Yue was again appointed to command the Three Thousand Corps and head the Forward Military Commission. Before he could take office he died at the age of fifty-seven. He was given the posthumous name Wuxiang.
23
子昌以病廢，孫鸞嗣侯。 世宗時，怙寵通邊，磔死，爵除。
His son Chang was disqualified by illness; his grandson Luan inherited the marquisate. In the Shizong reign he abused imperial favor to trade across the frontier, was executed by dismemberment, and the title was abolished.
24
神英，字景賢，壽州人。 天順初，襲父職，為延安衛指揮使，守備寧塞營，屢將騎兵，從都督張欽等征討有功。
Shen Ying, whose style was Jingxian, came from Shouzhou. Early in the Tianshun reign he inherited his father's post as commander of Yan'an Guard, garrisoned Ningsai Camp, repeatedly led cavalry in campaigns under Regional Commander Zhang Qin and others, and won merit.
25
成化元年，尚書王復行邊，薦英有謀勇，進都指揮僉事。 以從征滿四功，遷都指揮使，充延綏右參將。 屢敗乚加思蘭兵，進署都督僉事。 巡撫余子俊築邊墻，命英董役，工成受賚。 久之，充總兵官，鎮守寧夏，移延綏，復移宣府。 弘治改元，移大同。 十一年，馬市開，英違禁貿易，寇掠蔚州又不救，言官連劾，召還閑住。 尋起督果勇營。 嘗充右參將，從朱暉禦寇延綏。 武宗立，寇犯宣府，與李俊並充左參將，帥京軍以援。 尋以都督同知僉事左府，剿近畿劇賊，進右都督。
In Chenghua 1, Minister Wang Fu toured the frontier and recommended Ying for strategy and courage. He was promoted to vice regional commander. For merit in the campaign against Man Si he was made regional commander and right assistant regional commander of Yan-sui. He repeatedly defeated the forces of Yibolisi Khan and was promoted to acting vice commissioner-in-chief. When Grand Coordinator Yu Zijun built the frontier wall, Ying supervised the work and received rewards when it was completed. After some time he was made commander-in-chief, garrisoned Ningxia, then Yan-sui, and then Xuanfu. When the Hongzhi reign began he was transferred to Datong. In the eleventh year, when the horse market opened, Ying traded in violation of the ban. When raiders plundered Yuzhou he failed to rescue, censors impeached him repeatedly, and he was recalled to idle residence. Before long he was reappointed to command the Brave Fruit Corps. He had once served as right assistant regional commander under Zhu Hui in defending Yan-sui against raiders. When Emperor Wuzong succeeded, raiders invaded Xuanfu. He and Li Jun were both made left assistant regional commanders and led capital troops to reinforce the frontier. Soon afterward he served as vice commissioner-in-chief in the Left Military Commission, suppressed fierce bandits near the capital, and was promoted to right commissioner-in-chief.
26
正德五年，給事中段豸劾英老，命致仕。 當是時，劉瑾竊政。 總兵官曹雄等以附瑾得重權。 英素習瑾，厚賄之。 因自陳邊功，乞敘錄，特詔予伯爵。 吏、兵二部持之，下廷議。 而廷臣希謹指，無不言當封者，遂封涇陽伯，祿八百石。 未幾，寘鐇反，命充總兵官討之。 未至，賊已滅。 其秋，瑾敗，為言官所劾。 詔奪爵，以右都督致仕。 越二年卒。
In Zhengde 5, Supervising Secretary Duan Zhi impeached Ying as too old, and he was ordered to retire. At that time Liu Jin usurped government power. Commanders-in-chief such as Cao Xiong gained heavy authority by attaching themselves to Jin. Ying had long been familiar with Jin and bribed him heavily. He pleaded his frontier merit and begged for recognition; a special edict granted him the rank of earl. The Ministries of Personnel and War held back, and the matter was sent to court for deliberation. Court ministers followed the cautious line; none opposed enfeoffment, and he was made Earl of Jingyang with a stipend of eight hundred piculs. Before long, when Zhifan rebelled, he was ordered to serve as commander-in-chief against him. Before he arrived the rebels had already been destroyed. That autumn, after Jin fell, censors impeached him. An edict stripped his title and he retired as right commissioner-in-chief. Two years later he died.
27
子周，輸粟為指揮僉事。 累官都指揮使，充延綏右參將。 正德六年命以所部兵討河南流賊，數有功，再進都督同知。 賊平，遂以副總兵鎮山西。 九年秋，寇大入寧武關，躪忻、定襄、寧化。 周擁兵不戰，軍民死者數千。 詔巡撫官執歸京師。 周潛結貴近，行至易州，偽稱病，自陳戰功。 帝乃宥周罪，盡削其秩，為總旗，而輸粟指揮如故。 已，夤緣江彬入豹房，驟復都督，賜國姓，典兵禁中。 遂與彬相倚為聲勢，納賄不貲。 彬敗，周亦下獄，伏誅。
His son Zhou gained the post of vice regional commander by presenting grain. Through successive offices he rose to regional commander and served as right assistant regional commander of Yan-sui. In Zhengde 6 he was ordered to campaign against Henan roaming bandits with his troops, won repeated merit, and was twice promoted to vice commissioner-in-chief. When the bandits were pacified he was made assistant commander-in-chief to garrison Shanxi. In the autumn of the ninth year raiders entered in force through Ningwu Pass and overran Xin, Dingxiang, and Ninghua. Zhou held his troops without fighting, and several thousand soldiers and civilians died. An edict ordered the grand coordinator to seize him and return him to the capital. Zhou secretly cultivated connections with powerful favorites. Reaching Yizhou, he falsely claimed illness and pleaded his battle merit. The Emperor pardoned Zhou's crime, stripped all his ranks, and made him chief company officer, while his grain-presented commandership remained. Before long, through connections with Jiang Bin he entered the Leopard Quarter, was suddenly restored to regional commander, granted the imperial surname, and put in charge of palace troops. He then relied on Bin for mutual power and accepted bribes beyond counting. When Bin fell, Zhou was cast into prison and executed.
28
正德四年，雄上言：「故事，布、按二司及兵備道臣文移達總兵官者，率由都司轉達。 今邊務亟，征調不時，都司遠在會城，往返千里，恐誤軍機。 乞如巡撫大同例，徑呈總兵官便。」 兵部尚書曹元希瑾意，覆如其言。 既復受瑾屬，奏雄鎮守未佩印，宜如各邊例，特賜印以重其權。 乃進雄署都督同知，以延綏總兵官吳江所佩征西將軍印佩之，而別鑄靖虜將軍印予江。 及總督才寬禦寇沙窩為所殺，雄擁兵不救。 佯引罪，乞解兵柄，令子謐賫奏詣京師。 瑾異謐貌，妻以從女，而優詔褒雄，令居職如故，糾者反被責。
In Zhengde 4, Xiong submitted a memorial saying, "By precedent, documents from the provincial administration and surveillance commissions and from the military defense circuit reach the commander-in-chief only through the regional military commission. Now frontier affairs are urgent and levies are not timely. The regional commission is far away at the provincial seat, a round trip of a thousand li, and I fear military opportunity may be lost. I beg that, following the precedent for the Datong grand coordinator, documents be presented directly to the commander-in-chief. Minister of War Cao Yuan, courting Jin's wishes, approved as he said. Having again received a commission from Jin, he memorialized that Xiong, though garrisoning the frontier, had not yet received his seal and ought, like other frontiers, to be granted a special seal to weight his authority. Xiong was advanced to acting vice commissioner-in-chief and given the Western Campaign General's seal worn by Yan-sui commander Wu Jiang, while a separate Pacify the Barbarians General seal was cast for Jiang. When Grand Coordinator Cai Kuan was killed by raiders at Shawa, Xiong held his troops and did not rescue. Feigning repentance, he begged to be relieved of military authority and had his son Mi carry a memorial to the capital. Jin was struck by Mi's appearance, gave him a collateral daughter in marriage, and issued a gracious edict praising Xiong and ordering him to remain in office; those who impeached him were rebuked instead.
29
寘鐇反寧夏，雄聞變，即統兵壓境上。 令都指揮黃正以兵三千入靈州，固士卒心，約鄰境刻期討。 密焚大、小二壩積草，與守備史鏞等奪河西船，盡泊東岸。 賊黨何錦懼，急帥兵出守大壩，以防決河。 雄乃令鏞潛通書仇鉞，俾從中舉事，賊遂成擒。 是役也，功雖成於鉞，而居外布置，賊不內顧，雄有勞焉。 捷聞，瑾以平賊功歸之，進左都督。 謐亦官千戶。 雄不安，引咎自劾，推功諸將，降旨慰勞。 未幾，瑾敗，言官交劾。 降指揮僉事，尋征下獄，以黨逆論死，籍其家。 詔宥之，與家屬永戍海南，遇赦不原。
When Zhifan rebelled in Ningxia, Xiong heard of the uprising and at once massed troops along the border. He ordered Regional Commander Huang Zheng to enter Lingzhou with three thousand men to steady morale and arranged with neighboring territories a fixed date for the campaign. He secretly burned the stored grass at the Great and Small Dams and, with Garrison Commander Shi Yong and others, seized boats on the west bank and moored them all on the east bank. The rebel He Jin, in fear, urgently led troops out to guard the Great Dam lest the river be breached. Xiong then had Yong secretly send a letter to Chou Yue, enabling him to act from within, and the rebels were captured. In this campaign, though the achievement belonged to Yue, Xiong had merit in deploying outside so the rebels could not look inward. When victory was reported, Jin attributed the merit of pacifying the rebels to him and advanced him to left commissioner-in-chief. Mi was also given the rank of thousand-household. Xiong was uneasy, pleaded guilt and impeached himself, and credited the other generals; an edict comforted and praised him. Before long Jin fell and censors impeached him in succession. He was reduced to vice regional commander, then summoned, imprisoned, condemned to death as a partisan of rebellion, and his household goods were confiscated. An edict pardoned him; he and his family were permanently exiled to Hainan, without remission even on general amnesties.
30
雄長子謙，讀書能文，有機略，好施予。 故參政李侖、主事孔琦家貧甚，雄請周恤其妻子，以勸廉吏，謙意也。 御史高胤先被逮，無行貲。 謙為治裝，並恤其家。 受業楊一清，聞一清將起用，貽書止之曰：「近日關中人材，連茹而起，實山川不幸。 獨不留三五輩為後日地耶？」 時陜人率附瑾以進，故謙雲然。 雄下獄，謙亦被系，為怨家箠死。
Xiong's eldest son Qian was literate, resourceful, and generous. Former Participating Secretariat Councillor Li Lun and Director Kong Qi were extremely poor; Xiong asked that their families be supported to encourage honest officials—this was Qian's idea. Censor Gao Yin had earlier been arrested and had no travel funds. Qian prepared his baggage and also supported his family. He had studied under Yang Yiqing. Hearing that Yiqing was about to be reappointed, he sent a letter dissuading him: "Recently men of talent from Shaanxi have risen in succession—truly a misfortune for the region. Will you not leave three or five men for the future? At the time men of Shaanxi generally advanced by attaching themselves to Jin; therefore Qian spoke thus. When Xiong was imprisoned, Qian was also imprisoned and beaten to death by an enemy.
31
馮禎、綏德衛人。 起家卒伍，累功為本衛指揮僉事。 弘治末，擢署都指揮僉事，守備偏頭關。 尋充參將，分守寧夏西路，以勇敢聞。 寘鐇反，馳奏告變。 事平，進署都指揮同知。 已，擢副總兵，協守延綏。
Feng Zhen came from Guide Guard. He rose from the ranks through accumulated merit to vice commander of his guard. At the end of the Hongzhi reign he was promoted to acting vice regional commander and garrisoned Piantou Pass. Before long he served as assistant regional commander on the western route of Ningxia and was known for bravery. When Zhifan rebelled, he sent an urgent memorial reporting the emergency. When the affair was settled he was advanced to acting vice regional commander. Before long he was promoted to assistant commander-in-chief to assist in garrisoning Yan-sui.
32
正德六年七月，盜起中原。 詔以所部千五百人入討。 至阜城，遇賊。 禎令軍中毋顧首級、貪虜獲，遂大敗賊。 逐北數十里，俘斬八百六十有奇。 進解曹州圍，執其魁朱諒。 錄功，進都督僉事。
In the seventh month of Zhengde 6, bandits rose in the central plain. An edict ordered his fifteen hundred troops into the campaign. Reaching Fucheng, they met the bandits. Zhen ordered the army not to care for heads taken or booty seized, and utterly defeated the bandits. Pursuing north for several tens of li, they captured and beheaded more than eight hundred and sixty. Advancing, they relieved the siege of Caozhou and seized the ringleader Zhu Liang. For his merit he was advanced to vice commissioner-in-chief.
33
明年春，劉惠、趙鐩亂河南，連陷鹿邑、上蔡、西平、遂平、舞陽、葉，縱掠南頓、新蔡、商水、襄城，復還，駐西平。 禎偕副總兵時源，參將神周、金輔擊敗之。 賊奔入城，官軍塞其門。 乘夜焚死千余人，斬首稱是，余賊潰而西。 巡撫鄧璋等朝崇王於汝寧，宴飲連日。 賊招散亡，勢復振，陷鄢陵、滎陽、汜水、鞏。 圍河南府三日，諸軍始集。 賊屯洛南，覘官軍饑疲，迎戰。 右哨金輔不敢渡洛，禎及源、周方陣，而後哨參將姚信所部京軍先馳，失利，遽遁。 陣亂，賊乘之。 禎下馬殊死鬥，援絕死焉。 贈洛南伯，賜祭葬，授其子大金都督僉事。 後賊平，論功，復蔭一子世百戶。 明年是日，禎死所風霾大作，又明年，亦如之。 伊王奏聞，敕有司建祠，歲以死日致祭。 尋用給事中李鐸言，歲給米二石，帛二疋，贍其家。
The next spring Liu Hui and Zhao San threw Henan into disorder, successively taking Luyi, Shangcai, Xiping, Suiping, Wuyang, and Ye, plundering Nandun, Xincai, Shangshui, and Xiangcheng, then returning to encamp at Xiping. Zhen together with Assistant Commander-in-Chief Shi Yuan and Assistant Regional Commanders Shen Zhou and Jin Fu defeated them. The bandits fled into the city; government forces blocked the gates. By night they burned more than a thousand to death and took a corresponding number of heads; the remaining bandits broke up and fled west. Grand Coordinator Deng Zhang and others attended upon the Prince of Chong at Runing and feasted for days on end. The bandits gathered the scattered and revived; they took Yanling, Xingyang, Qishui, and Gong. They besieged Henan prefecture for three days before government armies assembled. The bandits encamped at Luonan, saw that government troops were hungry and weary, and gave battle. Jin Fu of the right wing dared not cross the Luo. Zhen, Yuan, and Zhou were just forming ranks when Yao Xin of the rear wing with his capital troops charged ahead, met defeat, and fled. The formation broke and the bandits seized the opportunity. Zhen dismounted and fought to the death; with no reinforcements he fell. He was posthumously made Earl of Luonan, granted sacrificial burial, and his son Dajin was appointed vice regional commander. After the bandits were pacified, one more son was ennobled as hereditary hundred-household in reckoning merit. The next year on the same day a great wind and dust storm arose where Zhen had died; the year after, the same again. The Prince of Yi memorialized the matter; an edict ordered officials to build a shrine and perform annual sacrifice on the anniversary of his death. Before long, on Supervising Secretary Li Duo's recommendation, two piculs of grain and two bolts of silk were granted yearly to support his family.
34
張俊，宣府前衛人。 嗣世職，為本衛指揮使。 累擢大同遊擊將軍。 弘治十二年以功進都指揮同知。 火篩入大同左衛，大掠八日。 俊遣兵三百邀其前，復分兵三百為策應，而親禦之荊東莊。 依河結營，擊卻三萬余騎。 帝大喜，立擢都督僉事。 未幾，總兵官王璽失事被征，即命俊代之。 其冬，以寇入戴罪，尋移鎮宣府。 中官苗逵督師延綏，檄大同、宣府卒為探騎。 俊持不遣，逵遂劾俊。 帝宥俊，而命發卒如逵言。
Zhang Jun came from the Forward Guard of Xuanfu. He inherited the hereditary post and became commander of his guard. Through successive promotions he was made mobile corps general of Datong. In Hongzhi 12, for merit, he was promoted to vice regional commander. Huosai entered the Left Guard of Datong and plundered for eight days. Jun sent three hundred men to intercept them in front, divided another three hundred as a supporting force, and personally commanded at Jingdong village. Camping by the river, he struck and repelled more than thirty thousand horsemen. The Emperor was greatly pleased and at once promoted him to vice commissioner-in-chief. Before long commander-in-chief Wang Xi was dismissed for an offense and Jun was ordered to replace him. That winter, because raiders entered, he was punished by loss of merit; before long he was transferred to garrison Xuanfu. The eunuch Miao Kui supervised the army in Yan-sui and requisitioned troops of Datong and Xuanfu as scouting cavalry. Jun refused to release them; Kui thereupon impeached him. The Emperor pardoned Jun but ordered troops sent as Kui had requested.
35
武宗初立，寇乘喪大入，連營二十餘里。 俊遣諸將李稽、白玉、張雄、王鎮、穆榮各帥三千人，分扼要害。 俄，寇由新開口毀垣入，稽遽前迎敵； 玉、雄、鎮、榮各帥所部拒於虞臺嶺。 俊急帥三千人赴援，道傷足，以兵屬都指揮曹泰。 泰至鹿角山，被圍。 俊力疾，益調兵五千人，持三日糧，馳解泰圍，復援出鎮。 又分兵救稽、玉，稽、玉亦潰圍出。 獨雄、榮阻山澗，援絕死。 諸軍已大困，收兵還。 寇追之，行且戰，僅得入萬全右衛城，士馬死亡無算。 俊及中官劉清、巡撫李進皆征還。 御史郭東山言，俊扶病馳援，勸懲不宜偏廢，乃許贖罪。
When Emperor Wuzong first succeeded, raiders took advantage of the mourning to enter in force, their camps stretching more than twenty li. Jun sent Generals Li Ji, Bai Yu, Zhang Xiong, Wang Zhen, and Mu Rong, each with three thousand men, to hold strategic points. Before long the raiders entered through a newly opened breach in the wall. Ji hurried forward to meet them; Yu, Xiong, Zhen, and Rong each led their units to resist at Yutai Ridge. Jun urgently led three thousand men to the relief. On the road he injured his foot and entrusted the troops to Regional Commander Cao Tai. Tai reached Deer-Horn Mountain and was surrounded. Though ill, Jun mobilized five thousand more men, carried three days' rations, galloped to relieve Tai, and fought his way out again to rescue Zhen. He divided troops again to rescue Ji and Yu; they too broke out of encirclement. Only Xiong and Rong were blocked by mountain streams; cut off from supplies, they died. The armies were already in great distress and withdrew. The raiders pursued them, fighting as they went. They barely entered Wanquan Right Guard city; soldiers and horses died beyond counting. Jun, the eunuch Liu Qing, and Grand Coordinator Li Jin were all summoned back. Censor Guo Dongshan argued that Jun, though ill, had galloped to the relief and should not be punished one-sidedly; he was permitted to redeem his offense.
36
正德五年，起署都督同知，典神威營操練。 明年六月，賊楊虎等自山西十八盤還，破武安，掠威、曲周、武城、清河、故城、景州，轉入文安，與劉六等合。 都指揮桑玉屢敗，僉事許承芳請濟師。 乃命俊充副總兵，與參將王琮統京軍千人討之。 往來近畿數月，不能創賊。 已，朝議調邊軍協守，賊遂連敗。 明年三月，劉六、劉七、齊彥名、龐文宣等敗奔登、萊海套。 陸完檄俊軍萊州，合諸將李鋐等邀之。 賊遂北走，轉掠寶坻、香河、玉田，俊急偕許泰、郤永遏之。 帝喜，勞以白金。 賊由武清西去。 未幾，得疾召還。 後賊平，實授都督同知。 久之，卒。
In Zhengde 5 he was reappointed acting vice commissioner-in-chief to drill the Divine Might Corps. In the sixth month of the next year the bandit Yang Hu and others returned from the Eighteen Bends of Shanxi, broke Wuan, and plundered Wei, Quzhou, Wucheng, Qinghe, Gucheng, and Jingzhou, then entered Wen'an and joined Liu Liu. Regional Commander Sang Yu was repeatedly defeated; Commissioner Xu Chengfang asked for reinforcements. Jun was ordered to serve as assistant commander-in-chief and, with Assistant Regional Commander Wang Cong, lead a thousand capital troops against them. For several months he ranged about the near capital districts without striking a decisive blow. Before long court opinion shifted frontier troops to assist in defense, and the bandits suffered repeated defeats. In the third month of the next year Liu Liu, Liu Qi, Qi Yanming, Pang Wenxuan, and others, defeated, fled toward the sea coasts of Deng and Lai. Lu Wan requisitioned Jun's army at Laizhou to join Generals Li Hong and others in intercepting them. The bandits fled north, turning to plunder Baodi, Xianghe, and Yutian; Jun hurried with Xu Tai and Xi Yong to block them. The Emperor was pleased and rewarded them with white silver. The bandits went off west through Wuqing. Before long he fell ill and was recalled. After the bandits were pacified he was formally appointed vice commissioner-in-chief. After a long while he died.
37
俊為邊將，持廉，有謀勇。 其歿也，家無贏資。
Jun as a frontier general was upright and possessed strategy and courage. At his death his household had no surplus wealth.
38
李鋐，大同右衛人。 世指揮同知，累功進都指揮僉事，充參將，協守大同。 山東盜起，詔改遊擊將軍，尋充副總兵，與俊等邀賊，復與劉暉部將傅鎧、張椿等數立功。 賊平，進都指揮同知，充總兵官，鎮鳳陽諸府。 尋以江西盜猖獗，擢署都督僉事，與都御史俞諫同提督軍務。 賊王浩八據裴源山，憑高發矢石，官軍幾不支。 鋐下馬持刀，督將士殊死鬥，賊乃走。 追數十里，擒之。 復以次討平劉昌三、胡浩三等。 移駐余幹，將擊遺賊之未下者，疽發背，卒於軍。 詔贈右都督，蔭子都指揮僉事。
Li Hong came from the Right Guard of Datong. A hereditary vice regional commander, he rose through merit to vice regional commander, served as assistant regional commander, and assisted in garrisoning Datong. When bandits rose in Shandong, he was transferred to mobile corps general, then made assistant commander-in-chief. With Jun and others he intercepted the bandits, and with Liu Hui's subordinates Fu Kai and Zhang Chun he won repeated merit. When the bandits were pacified he was promoted to vice regional commander, made commander-in-chief, and garrisoned the prefectures around Fengyang. Before long, because Jiangxi bandits were fierce, he was promoted to acting vice commissioner-in-chief and, with Censor-in-Chief Yu Jian, jointly supervised military affairs. The bandit Wang Haoba held Peiyuan mountain, raining arrows and stones from the heights, and government forces nearly gave way. Hong dismounted, sword in hand, and urged his officers and soldiers to fight to the death; the bandits then fled. Pursuing them several tens of li, they captured him. In succession he also pacified Liu Changsan, Hu Haosan, and others. Moving his headquarters to Yugan, he was about to attack remnant bandits when a carbuncle broke out on his back and he died in camp. An edict posthumously made him right commissioner-in-chief and ennobled his son as vice regional commander.
39
楊銳，字進之，蕭縣人。 嗣世職，為南京羽林前衛指揮使。 正德初，以才擢掌龍江右衛事，督造漕舟於淮安。
Yang Rui, whose style was Jinzhi, came from Xiaoxian. He inherited the hereditary post and became commander of the Forward Guard of the Nanjing Forest of Plumes. At the beginning of Zhengde, for talent he was promoted to direct affairs of the Right Guard of Longjiang and supervise construction of grain-transport boats at Huai'an.
40
寧王宸濠有異謀，王瓊以安慶居要害，宜置戍，乃進銳署都指揮僉事，守備其地。 銳與知府張文錦治戰艦，日督士肄水戰。 十四年六月丙子，宸濠反。 東下，焚彭澤、湖口、望江。 己丑，奄至安慶城下，舟五十余艘。 銳、文錦與指揮崔文、同知林有祿、通判何景昜、懷寧知縣王誥等禦之江滸。 已，收兵入城，被圍。 銳、文軍城西，文錦、有祿軍城北，景抃、誥軍東南。 城西尤要沖，銳晝夜拒戰，殺傷賊二百余，斬其間諜，乃稍卻。
The Prince of Ning, Zhu Chenhao, harbored rebellious designs. Wang Qiong said Anqing occupied a strategic point and ought to be garrisoned; Rui was therefore promoted to acting vice regional commander to defend it. Rui and Prefect Zhang Wenjin built war junks and daily drilled the men in naval combat. On bingzi day in the sixth month of the fourteenth year, Chenhao rebelled. He went east, burning Pengze, Hukou, and Wangjiang. On jichou day he suddenly reached Anqing with more than fifty boats. Rui, Wenjin, Regional Commander Cui Wen, Vice Prefect Lin Youlu, Transit Commissioner He Jingyang, Huaining Magistrate Wang Gao, and others defended along the riverbank. Before long they withdrew into the city and were besieged. Rui and Wen defended the west; Wenjin and Youlu the north; Jingyang and Gao the southeast. The west was the most critical sector. Rui fought day and night, killing and wounding more than two hundred rebels and beheading their spies, and they retreated somewhat.
41
七月丁酉，賊悉兵至，號十萬，舳艫相銜六十餘里。 宸濠乘黃艦，泊黃石磯，身自督戰。 江西僉事潘鵬在賊軍，安慶人也，宸濠令諭降。 呼銳及文錦語，眾心頗搖。 吏黃洲者，以大義責數之，鵬慚而退。 既復持偽檄至，其家僮見，遙呼之，銳腰斬以徇。 將射鵬，鵬遁去，眾心乃定。 賊怒，圍城數周，攻益急。 銳等殊死戰。 賊雲樓數十瞰城中，城中亦造飛樓射賊，夜縋人焚賊樓。 賊置天梯，廣二丈，高於城，版蔽之，前後有門，伏兵其中，輪轉以薄城。 城上束葦沃膏，燃其端，梯稍近即投之，須臾盡焚，賊多死。 時軍衛卒不滿百，乘城皆民兵。 老弱婦女饋餉，人運石一二，數日積如山。 賊攻城，城上或投石，或沸湯沃之，賊輒傷。 銳等射書賊營，諭令解散，有亡去者。 乃募死士夜劫賊營，賊大驚擾，比曉稍定。 宸濠慚憤，謂其下曰：「安慶且不克，安望南都。」 會聞伍文定等破南昌，遂解圍去。 文出城襲擊，又破之，旬有八日而圍解。
On dingyou day in the seventh month the rebels brought all their forces, claiming a hundred thousand, their boats in a line more than sixty li. Chenhao rode a yellow warship moored at Huangshi shoal and personally directed the battle. Jiangxi Commissioner Pan Peng was in the rebel army. A native of Anqing, Chenhao ordered him to urge surrender. He called to Rui and Wenjin to speak, and morale wavered. The clerk Huang Zhou reproached him on principle; Peng withdrew in shame. When he again brought a forged edict, a household servant saw it and shouted from afar; Rui cut him down at the waist as a warning. He was about to shoot Peng; Peng fled, and morale was settled. The rebels in anger encircled the city several times and pressed the assault harder. Rui and the others fought to the death. The rebels raised dozens of cloud-ladders overlooking the city; the defenders built flying towers to shoot back, and at night lowered men to burn the rebel towers. The rebels set up scaling ladders two zhang wide, higher than the walls, boarded over with doors front and back and hidden soldiers within, wheeled to press the walls. Defenders bound reeds, poured grease, lit them, and when a ladder drew near cast them down; in an instant all were burned and many rebels died. At the time garrison soldiers numbered less than a hundred; those on the walls were all local militia. The old, weak, women, and children supplied food; each person carried one or two stones, and in days they piled like a mountain. When the rebels attacked, defenders cast stones or poured boiling liquid; the rebels were always wounded. Rui shot letters into the rebel camp urging dispersal, and some fled. They recruited dare-to-die men to raid the rebel camp by night; the rebels were greatly alarmed, and by dawn somewhat calmed. Chenhao, shamed and enraged, said to his followers, "If we cannot take Anqing, what hope have we for the Southern Capital? Word came that Wu Wending and others had broken Nanchang, and he lifted the siege and departed. Wenjin sallied from the city to strike and defeated them again; after eighteen days the siege was raised.
42
事聞，武宗大喜，擢銳參將，分守安徽池、太、寧國及九江、鐃、黃。 銳薦鄭嶽、胡世寧，帝即召用。 世宗立，論功，擢都督僉事，蔭子世千戶。 再遷僉書左府，改南京右府。 充總兵官，鎮遼東。 改督漕運，鎮淮安。 嘉靖十年為巡按御史李循義劾罷，逾年卒。
When the matter was reported, Emperor Wuzong was greatly pleased, promoted Rui to assistant regional commander, and divided his command over Chizhou, Taiping, Ningguo in Anhui and Jiujiang, Rao, and Huang. Rui recommended Zheng Yue and Hu Shining; the Emperor at once summoned and employed them. When Emperor Shizong succeeded, for merit he was promoted to vice commissioner-in-chief and his son ennobled as hereditary thousand-household. He was transferred to secretary of the Left Military Commission and then to the Right Commission of Nanjing. He served as commander-in-chief garrisoning Liaodong. He was changed to supervise grain transport and garrison Huai'an. In Jiajing 10 he was impeached and dismissed by Touring Censor Li Xunyi; he died the following year.
43
崔文，世為安慶衛指揮使，守城勞亞於銳。 世宗錄其功，超三階為都指揮使，蔭子世百戶。 江、淮多盜，廷議設總兵官，督上下江防，擢文都督僉事任之。 改蒞南京前府，專督操江、久之，卒。
Cui Wen, for generations commander of Anqing Guard, in defending the city was second only to Rui. Emperor Shizong recorded his merit, advanced him three ranks to regional commander, and ennobled his son as hereditary hundred-household. Bandits were numerous on the Yangzi and Huai; the court set up a commander-in-chief for upper and lower river defense; Wen was promoted to vice commissioner-in-chief. He was changed to direct the Forward Commission of Nanjing and specialized in Yangzi defense; after a long while he died.
44
贊曰：衛青等當承平時，不逞竊發，列城擾攘，賴其戡定。 雖所敵非堅，然勇敢力戰，功多可紀。 或遂身膏原野，若何洪、劉雄、馮禎輩，壯節有足惜者。 鉞以心計定亂，銳以城守摧逆，幹城之寄，克稱廟謨。 神英、曹雄亦有勞績，而以附閹損名，且獲罪。 為將者其以跅弛為戒哉。
The commentator says: In an age of peace, when restless elements stole forth and disturbed the cities, it was men such as Wei Qing who restored order. Though their foes were not formidable, they fought bravely and their achievements are largely worth recording. Some even gave their bodies on the battlefield, such as He Hong, Liu Xiong, and Feng Zhen—stalwart conduct well worth mourning. Yue settled the rebellion through stratagem; Rui crushed it by holding the city. In the charge of shielding the realm, both lived up to the court's design. Shen Ying and Cao Xiong also won merit in the field, yet by attaching themselves to eunuchs they ruined their reputations and incurred guilt besides. Let every commander take lax discipline as a warning!