1
李敏 〈（葉淇）〉 賈俊 〈（劉璋）〉 黃紱張悅 〈（張鎣）〉 似鐘曾鑒梁璟 〈（王詔）〉 徐恪李介 〈（子昆）〉 黃珂王鴻儒叢蘭吳世忠
Li Min. (Biography of Ye Qi appended)〉 Jia Jun. (Biography of Liu Zhang appended)〉 Huang Fu and Zhang Yue. (Biography of Zhang Jin appended)〉 Si Zhong, Ceng Jian, and Liang Jing. (Biography of Wang Zhao appended)〉 Xu Ke and Li Jie. (Biography of his son Zi Kun appended)〉 Huang Ke, Wang Hongru, Cong Lan, and Wu Shizhong.
2
李敏，字公勉，襄城人。 景泰五年進士。 授御史。 天順初，奉敕撫定貴州蠻。 還，巡按畿內。 以薊州餉道經海口，多覆溺，建議別開三河達薊州，以避其險，軍民利之。
Li Min, whose style was Gongmian, came from Xiangcheng. He passed the jinshi examination in the fifth year of the Jingtai reign. He was made an investigating censor. Early in the Tianshun reign he received an imperial commission to pacify the tribal peoples of Guizhou. When he returned, he was assigned to inspect the metropolitan districts. The grain route to Ji Prefecture ran through Haikou, where many boats were lost; he proposed a new channel along three rivers to reach Ji and avoid the hazard, to the great benefit of troops and civilians alike.
3
成化初，用薦超遷浙江按察使。 再任湖廣。 歷山西、四川左、右布政使。 十三年擢右副都御史，巡撫大同。 敵騎出沒塞下，掩殺守墩軍，敏伏壯士突擒之。 修治垣塹，敵不敢犯。 十五年召為兵部右侍郎。 逾四年，病歸。 河南大饑，條上救荒數事。 詔以左副都御史巡撫保定諸府。 二十一年改督漕運，尋召拜戶部尚書。
At the opening of the Chenghua reign he was recommended and promoted ahead of schedule to investigating commissioner of Zhejiang. He held a second appointment in Huguang. He then served in turn as left and right provincial administration commissioner in Shanxi and Sichuan. In the thirteenth year he was raised to Vice Censor-in-chief of the Right and appointed grand coordinator of Datong. When enemy cavalry raided along the border and slaughtered the troops manning the watchtowers, Min concealed picked warriors and rushed out to capture them. He restored the walls and moats, and the enemy no longer dared to strike. In the fifteenth year he was recalled to serve as Vice Minister of War. More than four years later he fell ill and went home. When Henan was stricken by severe famine, he memorialized with several proposals for relief. He was ordered to serve as Vice Censor-in-chief of the Left and grand coordinator of Baoding and neighboring prefectures. In the twenty-first year he was reassigned to supervise the grain-transport system, and soon after was summoned to the post of Minister of Revenue.
4
先是，敏在大同，見山東、河南轉餉至者，道遠耗費，乃會計歲支外，悉令輸銀。 民輕賫易達，而將士得以其贏治軍裝，交便之。 至是，並請畿輔、山西、陜西州縣歲輸糧各邊者，每糧一石征銀一兩，以十九輸邊，依時值折軍餉，有余則召糴以備軍興。 帝從之。 自是北方二稅皆折銀，由敏始也。 崇文門宣課司稅，多為勢要所侵漁。 敏因馬文升言請增設御史主事監視。 御史陳瑤斥敏聚斂，敏再疏求去。 帝慰留之。 貴戚請隙地及鷹房、牧馬場千頃，敏執不可，事得寢。
While still at Datong, Min had observed how costly it was to haul grain from Shandong and Henan over long distances; he reckoned the annual outlay and directed that all surplus deliveries be rendered in silver instead. Silver was easier for the people to carry and deliver, while officers and soldiers could apply the savings to military equipment; both sides found the arrangement advantageous. He now proposed that for every county and prefecture in the capital region, Shanxi, and Shaanxi that annually forwarded grain to the border, one tael of silver be collected per picul of grain—nineteen parts for border supply, with military pay converted at current rates, and any surplus used to buy grain against wartime need. The emperor approved. From then on the two grain levies of the north were commuted to silver—a reform that began with Min. Revenue collected at the Chongwen Gate tax office was largely diverted by powerful interests. Following Ma Wensheng's advice, Min asked that additional censors and clerks be appointed to oversee collection. Censor Chen Yao accused Min of extortion; Min submitted another memorial requesting retirement. The emperor reassured him and kept him in office. Imperial kinsmen sought vacant plots and a thousand qing of hawking grounds and horse pastures; Min refused to yield, and the request was shelved.
5
當憲宗末，中官、佞幸多賜莊田。 既得罪，率辭而歸之官，罪重者奪之。 然不以賦民。 敏請召佃，畝科銀三分，帝從之，然他莊田如故也。 會京師大水，敏乃極陳其害，言：「今畿輔皇莊五，為地萬二千八百余頃； 勛戚、中官莊三百三十有二，為地三萬三千一百余頃。 官校招無賴為莊頭，豪奪畜產，戕殺人，汙婦女，民心痛傷。 災異所由生。 皇莊始正統間，諸王未封，相閑地立莊。 王之藩，地仍歸官，其後乃沿襲。 普天之下，莫非王土，何必皇莊。 請盡革莊戶，賦民耕。 畝概征銀三分，充各宮用度。 無皇莊之名，而有足用之效。 至權要莊田，亦請擇佃戶領之，有司收其課，聽諸家領取。 悅民心，感和氣，無切於此。」 時不能用。
Near the end of the Xianzong reign, eunuchs and court favorites were granted large numbers of estates. When they fell from grace they generally surrendered the land to the government; the more seriously punished had their estates seized outright. Yet the fields were not assessed as ordinary tax land on the populace. Min proposed summoning tenant farmers and levying three fen of silver per mu; the emperor agreed, but other estates were left unchanged. When severe floods struck the capital, Min laid out the damage in full, writing: "At present there are five imperial estates in the metropolitan region, covering more than 12,800 qing; and estates held by meritorious kinsmen and eunuchs number 332, covering more than 33,100 qing. Government runners recruit ruffians as estate agents who seize livestock by force, kill people, and assault women, to the anguish of the common people. Such abuses are what give rise to portents and calamities. Imperial estates began in the Zhengtong era, when the princes had not yet taken up their fiefs and vacant land was set aside as crown holdings. When a prince departed for his fief the land was supposed to revert to the government; only later did the practice persist. All land under heaven belongs to the throne—why maintain separate imperial estates? I ask that estate stewards be abolished entirely and the fields assessed and farmed by ordinary taxpayers. Levy three fen of silver per mu in general to meet the expenses of the palaces. There would be no name of imperial estates, yet the same adequate revenue. As for estates of the powerful, I also ask that tenant farmers be selected to work them, with local officials collecting the rent and the owners receiving their due. To win the people's hearts and restore harmony—nothing is more urgent." At the time his proposal was not adopted.
6
南京御史與守備太監蔣琮相訐，御史鹹逮謫，而琮居職如故。 敏再疏力爭，皆不聽。 弘治四年，得疾乞休，帝為遣醫視療。 已，復力請，乃以葉淇代，詔敏乘傳歸。 未抵家卒。 贈太子少保，謚恭靖。
When a Nanjing censor clashed with the garrison eunuch Jiang Cong, every censor involved was arrested and banished while Jiang remained in office. Min memorialized twice in protest, but both times his pleas went unheeded. In the fourth year of Hongzhi he fell ill and requested retirement; the emperor sent physicians to attend him. When he pressed again, Ye Qi was appointed in his place and Min was ordered home by imperial relay. He died before reaching home. He was posthumously honored as Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent with the posthumous name Gongjing.
7
敏生平篤行誼，所得祿賜悉以分昆弟、故人。 裏居時，築室紫雲山麓，聚書數千卷，與學者講習。 及巡撫大同，疏籍之於官，詔賜名紫雲書院。 大同孔廟無雅樂，以敏奏得頒給如制雲。
Min lived by steadfast loyalty and friendship, sharing every salary and gift among his brothers and old companions. In retirement he built a study at the foot of Purple Cloud Mountain, collected several thousand books, and lectured with local scholars. When he later served as grand coordinator of Datong, he memorialized to register the academy with the government, and an edict bestowed the name Purple Cloud Academy. The Confucian temple at Datong lacked court music until Min's memorial secured its provision according to regulation.
8
葉淇，字本清，山陽人。 景泰五年進士。 授御史。 天順初，石亨譖之下吏，考訊無驗，出為武陟知縣。 成化中累官大同巡撫。 孝宗立，召為戶部侍郎。 弘治四年代李敏為尚書，尋加太子少保。 哈密為土魯番所陷，守臣請給其遺民廩食，處之內地，淇曰：「是自貽禍也。」 寢其奏。 奸民獻大名地為皇莊，淇議歸之有司。 內官龍綬請開銀礦，淇不可。 帝從之。 已，綬請長蘆鹽二萬引，鬻於兩淮以供織造費。 淇力爭，竟不納。
Ye Qi, whose style was Benqing, came from Shanyang. He passed the jinshi examination in the fifth year of the Jingtai reign. He was made an investigating censor. Early in Tianshun, Shi Heng framed him and had him imprisoned; interrogation found no proof, and he was released to serve as magistrate of Wuzhi. During the Chenghua reign he rose through successive posts to grand coordinator of Datong. When Emperor Xiaozong ascended the throne, Qi was summoned as Vice Minister of Revenue. In the fourth year of Hongzhi he succeeded Li Min as minister and was soon made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. When Hami fell to Turfan, local officials asked to feed the refugees and resettle them inland. Qi said, "That would be inviting disaster upon ourselves." The proposal was shelved. When scheming locals offered Daming land as an imperial estate, Qi argued that it be returned to civil administration. The eunuch Long Shou petitioned to open silver mines; Qi refused. The emperor sided with him. Later Long Shou asked for 20,000 Changlu salt certificates to sell in the two Huai regions to fund the imperial workshops. Qi fought the proposal vigorously, and it was ultimately rejected.
9
淇居戶部六年，直亮有執，能為國家惜財用。 每廷議用兵，輒持不可。 惟變開中之制，令淮商以銀代粟，鹽課驟增至百萬，悉輸之運司，邊儲由此蕭然矣。 九年四月乞休，歸卒。 贈太子太保。
Qi headed the Ministry of Revenue for six years, upright and firm in principle, and skilled at guarding the state's finances. Whenever the court debated war, he invariably opposed it. Yet he altered the Kaizhong salt-exchange system so that Huai merchants paid in silver rather than grain; salt revenue suddenly leapt to a million taels, all diverted to the transport offices, and border granaries were left bare. In the fourth month of the ninth year he requested retirement and died after returning home. He was posthumously honored as Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent.
10
從子贄，進士，歷官刑部右侍郎，以清操聞。
His nephew Zan, a jinshi, rose to Vice Minister of Justice and was renowned for integrity.
11
賈俊，字廷傑，束鹿人。 以鄉舉入國學。 天順中，選授御史。 歷巡浙江、山西、陜西、河南、南畿，所至有聲。
Jia Jun, whose style was Tingjie, came from Shulu. Having passed the provincial examination, he entered the Imperial University. During the Tianshun reign he was selected and appointed investigating censor. He served successive inspection tours in Zhejiang, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, and the southern metropolitan region, earning a reputation wherever he went.
12
成化十三年，自山東副使超拜右僉都御史，巡撫寧夏。 在鎮七年，軍民樂業，召為工部右侍郎。 二十一年奉敕振饑河南。 尋轉左，數月拜尚書。 時專重進士，舉人無至六卿者，俊獨以重望得之。 及孝宗踐阼，尚書王恕、李敏、周洪謨、余子俊、何喬新，都御史馬文升，皆一時民譽，俊參其間，亦稱職。
In the thirteenth year of Chenghua he was promoted ahead of schedule from vice commissioner of Shandong to Vice Censor-in-chief of the Right and grand coordinator of Ningxia. After seven years in the post, with troops and civilians prospering, he was recalled as Vice Minister of Works. In the twenty-first year he received an imperial commission to relieve famine in Henan. He was soon moved to the left vice ministership and within months was appointed minister. The court then favored jinshi exclusively, and no provincial graduate had ever reached one of the Six Ministries; Jun alone attained that rank on the strength of his reputation. When Emperor Xiaozong ascended the throne, the ministers Wang Su, Li Min, Zhou Hongmo, Yu Zijun, and He Qiaoxin, together with Censor-in-chief Ma Wensheng, were the most admired statesmen of the day; Jun served among them and also acquitted himself well.
13
諸王府第、塋墓悉官予直，而儀仗時繕修。 內官監欲頻興大工，俊言王府既有祿米、莊田，請給半直； 儀仗非甚敝，不得煩有司； 公家所宜營，惟倉庫、城池，余皆停罷。 帝報可。 弘治四年，中官奏修沙河橋，請發京軍二萬五千及長陵五衛軍助役。 內府寶鈔司乞增工匠。 浙江及蘇、松諸府方罹水災而織造錦綺至數萬匹。 俊皆執奏，並得寢。
Princely mansions and tombs were all paid for at official rates, and ceremonial regalia was repaired on a regular schedule. The palace eunuch directorate wanted to launch major projects repeatedly. Jun argued that since princes already received salary grain and estate income, only half payment should be granted; and unless ceremonial regalia was badly worn, civil officials should not be burdened; the state should build only storehouses and city walls, and suspend everything else. The emperor approved. In the fourth year of Hongzhi, eunuchs petitioned to repair the Shahe Bridge and asked for 25,000 capital troops plus the five Changling guards to assist. The inner palace treasury bureau sought additional artisans. Zhejiang and the Suzhou–Songjiang region had just been hit by floods even as orders for tens of thousands of bolts of brocade and silk arrived. Jun held firm on each petition, and every request was shelved.
14
工部政務與內府監局相表裏，而內官監專董工役，職尤相關。 俊不為所撓，工役大省。 太廟後殿成，加太子少保。 足疾，致仕。 詔許乘傳歸，給夫廩如制。 逾年卒。
Ministry of Works business was intertwined with inner palace directorates, and the eunuch directorate in particular controlled labor levies, so the offices were tightly linked. Jun refused to be swayed, and corvée labor was sharply reduced. After the rear hall of the Imperial Ancestral Temple was completed, he was made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. Afflicted with a foot ailment, he retired. An edict allowed him to return by imperial relay with porters and grain rations as prescribed. He died a little over a year later.
15
俊廉慎，居工部八年，望孚朝野。
Jun was incorrupt and cautious. During eight years at the Ministry of Works he enjoyed the trust of court and country alike.
16
代之者劉璋，字廷信，延平人。 天順初進士。 歷官中外有聲。 居工部，亦數有爭執，名亞於俊。
His successor Liu Zhang, whose style was Tingxin, came from Yanping. He passed the jinshi examination early in the Tianshun reign. He served at court and in the provinces with a strong reputation. At the Ministry of Works he too had several clashes with the court, though his standing remained slightly below Jun's.
17
黃紱，字用章，其先封丘人。 曾祖徙平越，遂家焉。 紱登正統十三年進士，除行人，歷南京刑部郎中。 剛廉，人目之曰「硬黃」。 大猾譚千戶者，占民蘆場，莫敢問，紱奪還之民。
Huang Fu, whose style was Yongzhang, was originally from Fengqiu. His great-grandfather moved to Pingyue, where the family then settled. Fu passed the jinshi in the thirteenth year of Zhengtong, became a courier, and rose to director in the Nanjing Ministry of Justice. Fiercely upright, people nicknamed him "Hard Huang." A powerful rogue, Commander Tan, had seized commoners' reed lands with impunity until Fu restored them to their owners.
18
成化九年，遷四川左參議。 久之，進左參政。 按部崇慶，旋風起輿前，不得行。 紱曰：「此必有冤，吾當為理。」 風遂散。 至州，禱城隍神，夢若有言州西寺者。 寺去州四十里，倚山為巢，後臨巨塘。 僧夜殺人沈之塘下，分其資。 且多藏婦女於窟中。 紱發吏兵圍之，窮詰，得其狀，誅僧毀其寺。 倉吏倚皇親乾沒官糧巨萬，紱追論如法，威行部中。 歷四川、湖廣左、右布政使。 奏閉建昌銀礦。 兩京工興，湖廣當輸銀二萬，例征之民，紱以庫羨充之。 荊王奏徙先壟，紱恐為民擾，執不可。
In the ninth year of Chenghua he was transferred to Left Assistant Commissioner of Sichuan. After some years he was promoted to Left Administration Commissioner. While on inspection in Chongqing, a whirlwind rose before his sedan chair and blocked his way. Fu said, "There must be a grievance here, and I shall see justice done." The wind then died away. At the prefectural seat he prayed to the city god and dreamed of something concerning a temple west of the city. The temple stood forty li from the city, built against a mountain with a great pond behind it. By night the monks murdered travelers and sank the bodies in the pond, dividing the loot. They also kept many women hidden in caves. Fu sent officials and troops to surround the place, examined the case fully, obtained proof, executed the monks, and destroyed the temple. A granary clerk, shielded by imperial kin, embezzled tens of thousands of piculs of state grain; Fu prosecuted him by law, and his authority ran throughout the province. He served in turn as left and right provincial administration commissioner in Sichuan and Huguang. He memorialized to shut the Jianchang silver mines. When both capitals launched construction, Huguang owed 20,000 taels of silver, normally levied on the people; Fu covered it from treasury surplus. The Prince of Jing asked to relocate his ancestral tombs; Fu, fearing harm to the people, refused.
19
二十二年，擢右副都御史，巡撫延綏。 劾參將郭鏞，都指揮鄭印、李鐸、王琮等抵罪，計捕奸豪張綱。 申軍令，增置墩堡，邊政一新。 出見士卒妻衣不蔽體，嘆曰：「健兒家貧至是，何面目臨其上。」 亟豫給三月餉，親為拊循。 會有詔毀庵寺，紱因盡汰諸尼，以給壯士無妻者。 及紱去，多攜子女拜送於道。
In the twenty-second year he was promoted to Vice Censor-in-chief of the Right and appointed grand coordinator of Yan-sui. He impeached Assistant Commander Guo Yong and regional commanders Zheng Yin, Li Duo, Wang Cong, and others, who were punished, and organized the capture of the outlaw Zhang Gang. He tightened military discipline, added watchtowers and forts, and renewed border administration. On inspection he saw soldiers' wives in rags and sighed, "Our fighting men' families are this destitute—how can I face them as their commander?" He immediately advanced three months' pay and went among them to offer comfort. When an edict ordered nunneries destroyed, Fu dismissed the nuns and assigned them to unmarried soldiers. When Fu left, many brought their children to bow to him along the road.
20
弘治三年，拜南京戶部尚書。 言官以紱進頗驟，頻有言。 帝不聽，就改左都御史，焚差歷簿於庭曰：「事貴得人耳，資勞久近，豈立官意哉。」 紱歷官四十余年，性卞急，不能容物。 然操履潔白，所至有建樹。 六年乞休，未行卒。
In the third year of Hongzhi he was appointed Minister of Revenue at Nanjing. Censors complained that Fu had risen too quickly, and criticism was frequent. The emperor ignored them and made him Left Censor-in-chief; he burned the seniority roster in the courtyard, saying, "Offices depend on the right men—seniority alone should not govern appointment." Fu had served more than forty years. Blunt and impatient by nature, he could not easily tolerate others. Yet his conduct was spotless, and wherever he served he left solid achievements. In the sixth year he asked to retire but died before leaving office.
21
張悅，字時敏，松江華亭人。 舉天順四年進士，授刑部主事，進員外郎。
Zhang Yue, whose style was Shimin, came from Huating in Songjiang. He passed the jinshi in the fourth year of Tianshun, entered the Ministry of Justice as a clerk, and rose to vice director.
22
成化中出為江西僉事，改督浙江學校。 力拒請托，校士不糊名，曰：「我取自信而已。」 遷四川副使，進按察使。 遭喪，服闋補湖廣。 王府承奉張通縱恣，悅繩以法。 及入覲，中官尚銘督東廠，眾競趨其門，悅獨不往。 銘銜甚，伺察無所得。 銘敗，召拜左僉都御史。
During Chenghua he served as Jiangxi Vice Commissioner, then was transferred to supervise schools in Zhejiang. He firmly rejected patronage, and in examining candidates he refused sealed names, saying, "I trust my own judgment." He was transferred to Sichuan Vice Commissioner and promoted to investigating commissioner. After mourning for his parent he was reassigned to Huguang. The princely attendant Zhang Tong acted lawlessly; Yue held him to the law. On entering the capital, the eunuch Shang Ming supervised the Eastern Depot and everyone flocked to his gate; Yue alone stayed away. Ming resented him deeply and spied on him but found nothing. When Ming fell from power, Yue was summoned as Left Vice Censor-in-chief.
23
孝宗立，遷工部右侍郎，轉吏部左侍郎。 王恕為尚書，悅左右之，嘗兩攝選事。 弘治六年夏，大旱，求言。 陳遵舊章、恤小民、崇儉素、裁冗食、禁濫罰數事。 又上修德、圖治二疏。 並嘉納。 俄遷南京右都御史，就改吏部尚書。 九年復改兵部，參贊機務。 以年至，累疏乞休。 詔加太子少保，馳傳歸。 卒贈太子太保，謚莊簡。
When Emperor Xiaozong ascended the throne, Yue was moved to Vice Minister of Works and then to Left Vice Minister of Personnel. Wang Su was minister of personnel, and Yue assisted him, twice handling appointments in his place. In the summer of the sixth year of Hongzhi a great drought struck, and the court sought counsel. He urged restoring old regulations, caring for commoners, promoting frugality, cutting redundant spending, and forbidding excessive punishments. He also submitted two memorials on cultivating virtue and governing the realm. All were praised and accepted. He was soon moved to Right Censor-in-chief at Nanjing, then made Minister of Personnel. In the ninth year he was transferred again to the Ministry of War to assist in military affairs. On grounds of age he repeatedly asked to retire. An edict made him Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent and sent him home by imperial relay. After his death he was posthumously honored as Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent with the posthumous name Zhuangjian.
24
時與悅同里而先為南京兵部尚書者張鎣，字廷器，正統十三年進士。 景泰初，擢御史。 歷江西副使按察使、陜西左布政使。 成化三年以右副都御史巡撫寧夏。 寧夏城，土築，鎣始甃以磚。 道河流，溉靈州屯田七百余頃。 以父喪去。 服除，起撫河間諸府，改大同，歷刑部左、右侍郎。 十八年擢本部尚書。 明年加太子少保。 又明年，再以憂歸。 弘治元年起南京兵部尚書，卒官，贈太子太保，謚莊懿。
At the time Zhang Jin of the same county, who had earlier been Minister of War at Nanjing, styled Tingqi, had passed the jinshi in the thirteenth year of Zhengtong. Early in the Jingtai reign he was promoted to investigating censor. He served in turn as Jiangxi Vice Commissioner, investigating commissioner, and Shaanxi Left Administration Commissioner. In the third year of Chenghua he was made Vice Censor-in-chief of the Right and grand coordinator of Ningxia. Ningxia city was earthen; Jin was the first to face its walls with brick. He channeled river water and irrigated more than seven hundred qing of garrison farmland at Lingzhou. He left office to mourn his father. After mourning he grand coordinated Hejian and neighboring prefectures, then Datong, and served as Left and Right Vice Minister of Justice. In the eighteenth year he was promoted to minister of justice. The following year he was made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. The year after that he again retired for mourning. In the first year of Hongzhi he was recalled as Minister of War at Nanjing, died in office, and was posthumously honored as Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent with the posthumous name Zhuangyi.
25
似鐘，字大器，鄆城人。 成化二年進士。 授御史，巡鹽兩淮。 按浙江還，掌諸道章奏。 汪直諷鐘劾馬文升，鐘不可，被譖杖闕下。 以都御史王越薦，擢大理寺丞，再遷右少卿。 寇入大同，廷議遣大臣巡視保定諸府，乃以命鐘。 居數月，即擢右副都御史巡撫其地。 河間瀕海民地為勢家所據，鐘奪還之。 召為刑部右侍郎。 丁內艱，僦運艘載母柩南還。 督漕總兵官王信奏之，逮下吏。 會當路方逐尹旻黨，而鐘與旻為同鄉，乃貶二秩為曲靖知府，改徽州，復入為大理寺左少卿。
Si Zhong, whose style was Daqi, came from Yuncheng. He passed the jinshi in the second year of Chenghua. He was made investigating censor and inspected salt administration in the two Huai regions. After inspecting Zhejiang he returned to handle memorials from all circuits. Wang Zhi urged Zhong to impeach Ma Wensheng; Zhong refused, was framed, and was beaten at the palace gate. On Censor-in-chief Wang Yue's recommendation he was promoted to vice director of the Court of Judicial Review, then to Right Vice Minister of Justice. When raiders entered Datong, the court debated sending a senior minister to inspect Baoding and neighboring prefectures, and Zhong was chosen. Within months he was promoted to Vice Censor-in-chief of the Right and grand coordinator of the region. Coastal farmland in Hejian had been seized by powerful families; Zhong restored it to the people. He was summoned as Vice Minister of Justice. While mourning his mother he hired transport boats to carry her coffin south. Grain-transport commander Wang Xin reported him, and he was arrested and sent to the judicial authorities. Those in power were then purging Yin Min's faction; because Zhong was Min's fellow townsman he was demoted two ranks to prefect of Qujing, transferred to Huizhou, then recalled as Left Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
26
弘治三年，以右副都御史巡撫蘇、松諸府，盡心荒政。 召為戶部侍郎總督倉場，尋改吏部。 十一年遷右都御史。 居二年，進戶部尚書。
In the third year of Hongzhi he was made Vice Censor-in-chief of the Right and grand coordinator of Suzhou and Songjiang, devoting himself entirely to famine relief. He was summoned as Vice Minister of Revenue to supervise the granaries, then transferred to the Ministry of Personnel. In the eleventh year he became Right Censor-in-chief. Two years later he was promoted to Minister of Revenue.
27
十五年，上天下會計之數，言：「常入之賦，以蠲免漸減，常出之費，以請乞漸增，入不足當出。 正統以前軍國費省，小民輸正賦而已。 自景泰至今，用度日廣，額外科率。 河南、山東邊餉，浙江、雲南、廣東雜辦，皆昔所無。 民已重困，無可復增。 往時四方豐登，邊境無調發，州縣無流移。 今太倉無儲，內府殫絀，而冗食冗費日加於前。 願陛下惕然省憂，力加損節。 且敕廷臣共求所以足用之術。」 帝乃下廷臣議。 議上十二事，其罷傳奉冗官，汰內府濫收軍匠，清騰驤四衛勇士，停寺觀齋醮，省內侍、畫工、番僧供應，禁王府及織造濫乞鹽引，令有司征莊田租，皆權幸所不便者。 疏留數月不下，鐘乃復言之。 他皆報可，而事關權幸者終格不行。
In the fifteenth year the emperor ordered a national accounting, and Zhong wrote: "Regular revenue keeps shrinking through tax relief, while regular spending keeps growing through special requests—income no longer covers outgo. Before Zhengtong, military and state expenses were modest and commoners paid only the standard levy. From the Jingtai reign to now, spending has widened daily and surcharges have multiplied. Border rations in Henan and Shandong and miscellaneous levies in Zhejiang, Yunnan, and Guangdong were all unknown in earlier times. The people are already crushed and cannot bear more. Formerly the realm was abundant, the borders needed no emergency levies, and prefectures and counties saw no displaced people. Now the Great Granary is empty, the inner treasury exhausted, while redundant mouths and redundant spending grow by the day. I beg Your Majesty to be alert to this danger and strive to cut waste. And command the court ministers together to find ways to make revenue sufficient." The emperor then ordered court ministers to deliberate. They proposed twelve measures: abolishing redundant special appointees, cutting excessive intake of artisans and soldiers in the inner palace, clearing the four Tengxiang guards, stopping temple sacrifices, reducing supplies to inner attendants, painters, and Tibetan monks, forbidding princes and weaving offices from begging salt certificates at will, and ordering local officials to collect estate rents—each unwelcome to powerful favorites. The memorial sat for months without action, and Zhong raised it again. Other items were approved, but those touching powerful favorites were blocked.
28
奸商投外戚張鶴齡，乞以長蘆舊引十七萬免追鹽課，每引納銀五分，別用價買各場余鹽如其數，聽鬻販，帝許之。 後奸民援例乞兩淮舊引至百六十萬，鐘等力持，皆不聽。 自此鹽法大壞，奸人橫行江湖，官司無如何矣。
Merchants attached themselves to the empress kin Zhang Heqing and asked that 170,000 old Changlu salt certificates be exempted from tax, paying five fen per certificate while buying surplus salt in equal volume to sell freely; the emperor agreed. Later others cited the precedent and sought up to 1.6 million old certificates in the two Huai regions; Zhong and others fought it, but in vain. From this the salt laws collapsed; racketeers dominated the waterways, and officials were powerless.
29
東廠偵事者發鐘子瑞受金事，鐘屢疏乞休，命馳驛歸。 正德時，劉瑾摭鐘在部時事，至罰米者三。 又數年卒。
Eastern Depot investigators exposed Zhong son Rui for taking bribes; Zhong repeatedly asked to retire and was sent home by imperial relay. Under Zhengde, Liu Jin dredged up Zhong ministry record and fined him grain three times. He died several years later.
30
曾鑒，字克明，其先桂陽人，以戍籍居京師。 天順八年進士。 授刑部主事。 通州民十余人坐為盜，獄已具，鑒辨其誣。 已，果獲真盜。 成化末，歷右通政，累遷工部左侍郎。 弘治十三年進尚書。
Ceng Jian, whose style was Keming, was originally from Guiyang; his family settled in the capital through military registration. He passed the jinshi in the eighth year of Tianshun. He was appointed a clerk in the Ministry of Justice. More than ten Tongzhou commoners were convicted as bandits with the case closed; Jian showed they had been framed. The real bandits were soon captured. At the end of Chenghua he was Right Vice Commissioner of the Court of Transmission and rose to Left Vice Minister of Works. In the thirteenth year of Hongzhi he was promoted to minister.
31
孝宗在位久，海內樂業，內府供奉漸廣，司設監請改造龍毯、素毯一百有奇。 鑒等言：「毯雖一物，然征毛毳於山、陜，采綿紗諸料於河南，召工匠於蘇、松，經累歲，勞費百端。 祈賜停止。」 不聽。 內府針工局乞收幼匠千人，鑒等言：「往年尚衣監收匠千人，而兵仗局效之，收至二千人。 軍器局、司設監又效之，各收千人。 弊源一開，其流無已。」 於是命減其半。 太監李興請辦元夕煙火，有詔裁省，因鑒奏盡罷之。 十六年，帝納諸大臣言召還織造中官，中官鄧容以請，帝又許之。 鑒等極言，乃命減三之一。 其冬，言諸省方用兵，且水旱多盜賊，乞罷諸營繕及明年煙火、龍虎山上清宮工作。 帝皆報從。
Emperor Xiaozong had reigned long; the realm was at peace, but inner palace supplies grew. The eunuch directorate asked to remake more than one hundred dragon and plain carpets. Jian and others wrote: "A carpet is a single object, yet wool must be levied from Shanxi and Shaanxi, cotton and yarn from Henan, and artisans summoned from Suzhou and Songjiang—over years the labor and cost are immense. We beg that this be stopped." They were not heeded. The inner Needlework Bureau asked to recruit a thousand young artisans; Jian and others said: "Years ago the Imperial Apparel Directorate took a thousand artisans, and the Armaments Bureau followed with two thousand. The Military Equipment Bureau and Ceremonial Directorate followed again, each taking a thousand. Once such abuse begins, it never ends." The order was then halved. Eunuch Li Xing requested Lantern Festival fireworks; an edict called for cuts, and on Jian memorial they were abolished entirely. In the sixteenth year the emperor accepted ministers advice to recall weaving eunuchs; eunuch Deng Rong petitioned again and the emperor relented. Jian and others protested vigorously, and the order was cut by one third. That winter he noted war, flood, drought, and banditry in the provinces and asked to halt camp repairs, next year fireworks, and work on the Shangqing Palace on Dragon-Tiger Mountain. The emperor approved all.
32
孝宗末，閣部大臣皆極一時選，鑒亦持正。 及與韓文等請誅宦官不勝，諸大臣留者率巽順避禍，鑒獨守故操。 有詔賜皇親夏儒第，帝嫌其隘，欲拓之。 鑒力爭，不從。 明年春，中官黃準守備鳳陽，從其請，賜旗牌。 鑒等言大將出征及諸邊守將，乃有旗牌，內地守備無故事，乃寢。 其年閏正月致仕。 旋卒。 贈太子太保。
Near the end of Xiaozong reign the grand secretaries and ministers were the finest of the age; Jian too held firm. When he and Han Wen failed to secure execution of the eunuchs, most remaining ministers grew compliant; Jian alone kept his old ways. An edict granted a mansion to imperial kin Xia Ru; the emperor found it too small and wished to expand it. Jian protested vigorously but was overruled. The next spring eunuch Huang Zhun, garrisoning Fengyang, obtained banners and tablets at his request. Jian and others said only campaigning generals and border commanders received banners and tablets; interior garrisons had no precedent, and the grant was shelved. That intercalary first month he retired. He soon died. He was posthumously honored as Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent.
33
梁璟，字廷美，崞縣人。 天順八年進士。 授兵科給事中。
Liang Jing, whose style was Tingmei, came from Guo County. He passed the jinshi in the eighth year of Tianshun. He was appointed supervising secretary in the Ministry of War.
34
成化時，屢遷都給事中。 項忠征荊、襄，驅流民復業。 璟劾其縱兵逼迫，較賊更慘，語具《忠傳》。 延綏用兵，令山西預征芻粟，民相率逃亡。 璟疏陳其困，得寬減。 畿輔八府舊止設巡撫一人，駐薊州以禦邊，不能兼顧。 璟請順天、永平二府分設一巡撫，以薊州邊務屬之，令巡撫陳濂專撫保定六府兼督紫荊諸關。 朝議從之，遂為定制。 已，與同官韓文、王詔等奏請起致仕尚書王竑、李秉，而斥都御史王越，並及宮闈隱事，被撻文華殿。 武靖伯趙輔西征不敢戰，稱病求還，復謀典營府事。 璟等極論其罪，乃令養疾歸。
During Chenghua he rose to chief supervising secretary. Xiang Zhong campaigned in Jing and Xiang and drove displaced people back to their fields. Jing impeached him for using troops to drive them by force, more cruel than bandits—as told in Zhong biography. When Yan-sui was at war, Shanxi was ordered to levy fodder and grain in advance, and people fled in crowds. Jing memorialized their distress and won relief. The eight capital prefectures had only one grand coordinator at Jizhou for border defense and could not cover all. Jing asked for a separate coordinator for Shuntian and Yongping, border affairs at Jizhou under him, and Chen Lian to handle Baoding six prefectures and the Zijing passes. The court agreed, and it became permanent practice. Later, with Han Wen and Wang Zhao, he asked to recall Wang Hong and Li Bing, denounced Wang Yue, and touched on palace secrets; they were beaten in the Wenhua Hall. Military Marquis Zhao Fu on the western campaign would not fight, claimed illness to return, yet still sought command of the capital garrison. Jing and others laid out his crimes, and he was sent home to convalesce.
35
九載秩滿，擢陜西左參政，分守洮、岷。 西番入寇，督兵斬其魁。 內艱服闋，還原任，歷左、右布政使。 先後在陜十五年，多政績。
When his term expired in the ninth year he became Shaanxi Left Assistant Commissioner, guarding Tao and Min. Western tribes raided; he led troops and beheaded their leader. After mourning his mother he returned and served as left and right administration commissioner. He spent fifteen years in Shaanxi with many achievements.
36
孝宗嗣位，遷右副都御史，巡撫湖廣。 弘治二年，民饑，請免征兩京漕糧八十九萬余石，從之。 帝登極詔書已罷四方額外貢獻，而提督武當山中官復貢黃精、梅筍、茶芽諸物。 武當道士先止四百，至是倍之，所度道童更倍，鹹衣食於官。 月給油蠟、香楮，灑掃夫役以千計。 中官陳喜又攜道士三十余人，各領護持敕，所至張威虐。 璟皆奏請停免，多見采納。 外艱服除，再撫四川。 七年召拜南京吏部右侍郎。 久之，就進戶部尚書。 致仕歸，卒。
When Xiaozong succeeded, he became Vice Censor-in-chief of the Right and grand coordinator of Huguang. In the second year of Hongzhi famine struck; he secured exemption of more than 890,000 piculs of grain transport to the two capitals. The accession edict had abolished extra tribute, yet the Wudang eunuch again presented yellow essence, bamboo shoots, and tea. Wudang Taoists had been capped at four hundred; now they doubled, ordained youths doubled again, all fed by the state. Monthly oil, wax, incense, paper, and more than a thousand sweepers were supplied. Eunuch Chen Xi also brought thirty-odd Taoists with imperial tallies and abused authority wherever they went. Jing memorialized to stop or reduce these abuses; many requests were granted. After mourning his father he again grand coordinated Sichuan. In the seventh year he was summoned as Right Vice Minister of Personnel at Nanjing. After a long interval he was promoted to Minister of Revenue. He retired and died at home.
37
王詔，字文振，趙人。 生有異姿，學士曹鼐奇之，妻以女。 天順末，登進士，授工科給事中。 睿皇后崩，值秋享太廟，時議謂不當以卑廢尊。 詔言《禮》有喪不祭，無已，則移日俟釋服。 議雖不行，識者是焉。 勘牧馬草場，劾會昌侯孫繼宗、撫寧侯朱永侵占罪。 時方面官缺，令京卿三品保舉。 詔言恐長奔競風，不聽。 累遷都給事中。 八年七月敕修隆善寺工竣，授工匠三十人官尚寶少卿，任道遜等以書碑皆進秩。 詔上疏力諫，不省。 已，偕梁璟等論及宮闈事，帝大怒，召至文華殿面詰之，詔仰呼曰：「臣等言雖不當，然區區犬馬之誠，知為國而已。」 乃杖而釋之。 出為湖廣右參政。 原傑經略荊、襄，詔襄理功為多。 以父憂去。 服除再任，遷右布政使。
Wang Zhao, whose style was Wenzhen, was from Zhao. He had an unusual appearance at birth; Academician Cao Tai admired him and gave him his daughter in marriage. Late in Tianshun he passed the jinshi and became supervising secretary in the Ministry of Works. When Empress Rui died during the autumn temple offering, opinion held that mourning should not displace the great sacrifice. Zhao cited the Rites: in mourning one does not sacrifice; if unavoidable, the day should be moved until mourning ends. Though rejected, knowledgeable men approved. Inspecting horse pastures, he impeached Marquis Sun Jizong of Huichang and Marquis Zhu Yong of Funing for encroachment. Regional posts were vacant and third-rank capital officials were told to recommend candidates. Zhao warned this would encourage frantic competition; the emperor did not listen. He rose to chief supervising secretary. In the seventh year, eighth month, when Longshan Temple repairs finished, thirty artisans were made Vice Directors of the Imperial Treasures and stele carvers were promoted. Zhao protested forcefully but was ignored. Later, with Liang Jing, he discussed palace matters; the emperor was furious and questioned them in the Wenhua Hall. Zhao cried out: "Our words may have been wrong, but our loyalty knows only the state." They were beaten and released. He was sent out as Right Assistant Commissioner of Huguang. Yuan Jie directed affairs in Jing and Xiang; Zhao assisted with great merit. He left to mourn his father. After mourning he returned and was promoted to Right Administration Commissioner.
38
弘治元年，轉貴州左布政使。 其冬，以右副都御史巡撫雲南。 土官好爭襲，所司入其賄，變亂曲直，生邊患。 詔不通苞苴，一斷以法，且去弊政之不便者。 諸夷歸命，邊僥寧戢。 有故官不能歸者，妻子多鬻為奴。 詔為資遣，得歸者甚眾。 洪武中，尚書吳雲繼王祎死事，後祎謚忠文，歲祀之，而不及雲。 詔以為請，乃謚雲忠節，與祎並祀。 四年召拜南京兵部右侍郎，未上，卒。
In the first year of Hongzhi he became Left Administration Commissioner of Guizhou. That winter he became Vice Censor-in-chief of the Right and grand coordinator of Yunnan. Native officials fought constantly over succession; local offices took bribes, distorted justice, and bred border trouble. Zhao refused gifts, judged solely by law, and abolished abusive policies that harmed the people. The tribes submitted and the frontier grew calm. Former officials unable to return home often saw wives and children sold into slavery. Zhao provided travel funds, and a great many were able to return. In Hongwu, Minister Wu Yun had followed Wang Yi to his death for the state; Yi later received the posthumous title Zhongwen and annual sacrifice, but Yun was omitted. Zhao memorialized on his behalf, and Yun was posthumously titled Zhongjie and honored alongside Yi. In the fourth year he was summoned as Right Vice Minister of War at Nanjing but died before assuming the post.
39
徐恪，字公肅，常熟人。 成化二年進士。 授工科給事中。 中官欲出領抽分廠，恪等疏爭。 中官怒，請即遣恪等，將摭其罪，無所得乃已。 出為湖廣左參議，遷河南右參政。 陜西饑，當轉粟數萬石。 恪以道遠請輸直，上下稱便。
Xu Ke, whose style was Gongsu, came from Changshu. He passed the jinshi in the second year of Chenghua. He was made supervising secretary in the Ministry of Works. Eunuchs wanted to head tax-collection depots in person; Ke and others protested by memorial. The eunuchs were furious and demanded Ke be sent out at once so they could find crimes against him; finding none, they relented. He served as Left Assistant Commissioner of Huguang, then Right Assistant Commissioner of Henan. Shaanxi was in famine and owed tens of thousands of piculs in grain transfers. Ke asked to pay cash instead because of the long route, and the change pleased everyone.
40
恪素剛正。 所至，抑豪右，祛奸弊。 及為巡撫，以所部多王府，持法尤嚴，宗人多不悅。 平樂、義寧二王遂訐恪減祿米、改校尉諸事。 勘無驗，坐恪入王府誤行端禮門，欲以平二王忿。 帝知恪無他，而以二王幼，降敕切責，命湖廣巡撫韓文與恪易任。 吏民罷市，泣送數十里不絕。 屬吏以羨金贐，揮之去。 至則值岐王之國，中使攜鹽數百艘，抑賣於民，為恪所持阻不行。 其黨密構於帝。 居一歲，中旨改南京工部右侍郎。 恪上疏曰：「大臣進用，宜出廷推，未聞有傳奉得者。 臣生平不敢由他途進，請賜罷黜。」 帝慰留，乃拜命。 勢要家濫索工匠者，悉執不予。 十一年考績入都，得疾，遂致仕，卒。
Ke was upright and unyielding by nature. Wherever he served he curbed powerful families and removed corruption. As grand coordinator he governed many princely establishments, enforced the law strictly, and displeased many of the imperial clan. The Princes of Pingle and Yining accused him of cutting salary grain and altering bodyguards. Investigation found no proof; Ke was punished for mistakenly entering a princely mansion through the Duanli Gate to appease the two young princes. The emperor knew Ke was otherwise blameless but, because the princes were young, rebuked him sternly and swapped him with Han Wen. Officials and commoners closed the markets and wept, escorting him for miles without end. Subordinates offered surplus funds as a farewell gift; he refused. When the Prince of Qi departed for his fief, eunuchs brought hundreds of salt boats and forced sales on the people; Ke blocked them. Their faction secretly denounced him to the emperor. After a year an inner-palace order moved him to Right Vice Minister of Works at Nanjing. Ke wrote: "Senior ministers should be promoted by court recommendation; I have never heard of appointment by special relay. I have never sought advancement by any other path; I beg dismissal." The emperor reassured him and he accepted. Powerful families who demanded artisans arbitrarily received none from him. In the eleventh year he came to the capital for merit review, fell ill, retired, and died.
41
李介，字守貞，高密人。 成化五年進士。 選庶吉士，改御史，巡鹽兩浙，還掌河南道事。 以四方災傷，陳時政數事，帝多采用之。 介敢言，遇事不可，輒率同列論奏。 忤帝意，兩撻於庭。 九載滿，擢大理丞，進少卿。
Li Jie, whose style was Shouzhen, came from Gaomi. He passed the jinshi in the fifth year of Chenghua. He entered the Hanlin, became investigating censor, inspected salt in the two Huai regions, and on return handled the Henan circuit. With disasters across the realm, he memorialized on current policy; the emperor adopted many of his proposals. Jie spoke boldly; whenever something was wrong he led colleagues in protest. He offended the emperor and was beaten in court twice. When his nine-year term expired he rose to vice director of the Court of Judicial Review, then vice minister.
42
弘治改元，遷右僉都御史，巡撫宣府。 尋召佐院事。 歷兵部左、右侍郎。 十年夏，北寇謀犯大同，命介兼左僉都御史，往督軍餉，且經略之。 比至，寇已退，乃大修戎備。 察核官田牛具錢還之軍，以其資償軍所逋馬價，邊人感悅。 先後條上便宜二十事。 卒，贈尚書。
At the Hongzhi change he became Right Vice Censor-in-chief and grand coordinator of Xuanfu. He was soon summoned to assist at the Censorate. He served as Left and Right Vice Minister of War. In the tenth summer northern raiders threatened Datong; Jie was sent as Left Vice Censor-in-chief to supervise supplies and frontier policy. By the time he arrived the raiders had withdrawn, and he undertook major military preparations. He audited official-field oxen and tool funds, returned them to the troops, and used the money to cover horse-price arrears; the border people were grateful. He memorialized twenty practical measures in succession. He was posthumously honored as minister.
43
子昆，字承裕。 弘治初進士。 歷禮部主事。 中官何鼎建言下獄，臺諫救之，鹹被責。 昆復論救，弗聽。 父憂歸，起改兵部主事。 帝將建延壽塔於城外，昆復疏諫。 正德初，群小用事。 請黜邪枉，進忠直，杜宦戚請乞，節中外侈費，皆不報。 進員外郎，忤尚書劉宇，貶知解州。 屢遷陜西左布政使。 十年以右副都御史巡撫甘肅。 與總督彭澤經略哈密，兵部尚書王瓊劾澤處置失宜，語連昆，下吏。 法司言昆設謀遏強寇，功不可掩。 瓊不從，謫浙江副使。 世宗立，瓊得罪。 復官，巡撫順天。 尋召為兵部右侍郎，嘉靖初，改左。 大同軍亂，殺巡撫張文錦。 昆奉命往撫，承制曲赦之，還請收恤文錦。 帝方惡其激變，不從。 遇疾歸，久之卒。
His son Kun, whose style was Chengyu. He passed the jinshi at the opening of Hongzhi. He served as a clerk in the Ministry of Rites. When eunuch He Ding was imprisoned for a memorial, censors and remonstrators who defended him were all punished. Kun protested again but was ignored. After mourning his father he returned as a clerk in the Ministry of War. The emperor planned a Longevity Pagoda outside the city; Kun protested again. At the opening of Zhengde petty men held power. He asked to dismiss the wicked, advance the loyal, stop imperial kin from begging favors, and cut court extravagance—all without reply. Promoted to vice director, he offended Minister Liu Yu and was demoted to magistrate of Jie. He rose to Shaanxi Left Administration Commissioner. In the tenth year he became Vice Censor-in-chief of the Right and grand coordinator of Gansu. With Governor Peng Ze he handled Hami policy; Minister Wang Qiong impeached Ze and implicated Kun, who was sent to the courts. The courts said Kun had blocked powerful raiders and his merit could not be denied. Wang Qiong refused and demoted him to Vice Commissioner of Zhejiang. When Emperor Shizong succeeded, Qiong fell from power. Kun was restored and grand coordinated Shuntian. He was soon summoned as Right Vice Minister of War and in Jiajing's first year moved to the left. The Datong garrison mutinied and killed Grand Coordinator Zhang Wenjin. Kun was ordered to pacify them, received authority for a broad pardon, and on return asked to aid Wenjin family. The emperor, still angry that Wenjin had provoked the mutiny, refused. He fell ill and went home; years later he died.
44
黃珂，字鳴玉，遂寧人。 成化二十年進士。 授龍陽知縣。 治行聞，擢御史，出按貴州。 金達長官何輪謀不軌，計擒之，改設流官。 賊婦米魯亂，奏劾巡撫錢鉞、總兵官焦俊等，皆得罪。 改按畿輔，歷山西按察使。
Huang Ke, whose style was Mingyu, came from Suining. He passed the jinshi in the twentieth year of Chenghua. He was appointed magistrate of Longyang. Renowned for governance, he was promoted to investigating censor and sent to Guizhou. Jin Da chieftain He Lun plotted rebellion; Ke captured him and replaced native rule with regular officials. When the bandit Milu rebelled, he impeached Grand Coordinator Qian Yue and Commander Jiao Jun, who were punished. He inspected the capital region and served as investigating commissioner of Shanxi.
45
正德四年，擢右僉都御史巡撫延綏。 安化王寘鐇反，傳檄四方，用討劉瑾為名。 他鎮畏瑾，不敢以聞。 珂封上其檄，因陳便宜八事，而急令副總兵侯勛、參將時源分兵扼河東，賊遂不敢出。 亦不剌寇邊，珂偕總兵官馬昂督軍戰，敗之木瓜山。 六年復寇邊，珂檄副總兵王勛等七將分據要害夾擊，復敗之。 屢賜璽書，銀幣。
In the fourth year of Zhengde he became Right Vice Censor-in-chief and grand coordinator of Yan-sui. Prince of Anhua Zhu Zhifan rebelled, circulating proclamations under the pretext of campaigning against Liu Jin. Other garrisons feared Jin and dared not report it. Ke forwarded the proclamation, proposed eight urgent measures, and ordered Hou Xun and Shi Yuan to hold the east of the river; the rebels dared not emerge. When Buyanara raided the border, Ke and Commander Ma Ang defeated them at Muguashan. They raided again in the sixth year; Ke ordered Wang Xun and seven generals to hold key points and defeat them again. He was repeatedly granted sealed edicts, silver, and silks.
46
是年秋，入為戶部右侍郎，總督倉場。 河南用兵，出理軍餉。 主客兵十余萬，追奔轉戰，遷止無常。 珂隨方轉輸，軍興無乏，錄功增俸一級。 改刑部，進左侍郎，已改佐兵部。 寧王宸濠謀復護衛，珂執議獨堅。 九年擢南京右都御史，尋就拜工部尚書。 以年至乞休歸，卒。 贈太子少保，謚簡肅。
That autumn he entered the capital as Right Vice Minister of Revenue and supervised the granaries. When Henan was at war he went out to manage military funds. Host and allied armies exceeded 100,000, fighting on the move with no fixed camps. Ke supplied them wherever they marched; the army never lacked, and his salary was raised one grade for merit. He moved to Justice, became Left Vice Minister, then assisted the Ministry of War. Prince of Ning Zhu Chenhao sought to restore his guard; Ke alone held firm. In the ninth year he became Right Censor-in-chief at Nanjing and soon Minister of Works. On grounds of age he retired and died at home. He was posthumously honored as Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent with the posthumous name Jiansu.
47
王鴻儒，字懋學，南陽人。 少工書，家貧為府書佐。 知府段堅愛其書，留署中，親教之。 遣入學校為諸生，遂舉鄉試第一。 成化末，登進士，授南京戶部主事。 累遷郎中，擢山西僉事，進副使，俱督學政。 居九年，士風甚盛。 孝宗嘗語劉大夏曰：「藩臬中若王鴻儒，他日可大用也。」 正德改元，謝病歸。 劉瑾擅政，收召名流。 四年夏，起為國子祭酒，以父喪去。 再起南京戶部侍郎，歷吏部右侍郎，尋轉左。 十四年遷南京戶部尚書。 甫履任，宸濠反，命督軍餉，疽發於背，遂卒，謚文莊。
Wang Hongru, whose style was Maoxue, came from Nanyang. As a youth he excelled at calligraphy; poor, he served as a prefectural clerk. Prefect Duan Jian admired his writing, kept him in office, and taught him personally. Duan sent him to school; Hongru took first in the provincial examination. Late in Chenghua he passed the jinshi and became a clerk in the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue. He rose to director, became Shanxi Vice Commissioner, then Vice Commissioner, both times supervising education. After nine years scholarly culture flourished. Emperor Xiaozong once told Liu Daxia, "Among provincial officials, someone like Wang Hongru may be greatly used in future. At the start of the Zhengde reign, he retired on grounds of ill health. With Liu Jin dominating the court, distinguished officials were recalled to service. In the summer of the fourth year he was recalled as Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, only to resign again when his father died. Recalled once more, he became Nanjing Vice Minister of Revenue, then Right Vice Minister of Personnel, and shortly afterward moved to the left vice ministership. In the fourteenth year he rose to Nanjing Minister of Revenue. Hardly had he assumed the post when the Prince of Ning rebelled and he was tasked with provisioning the army. A carbuncle erupted on his back; he died soon after and was granted the posthumous name Wenzhuang.
48
鴻儒為學，務窮理致用，為世所推。 左吏部，清正自持，門無私謁。 弟鴻漸，鄉試亦第一。 以進士累官山東右布政使，以廉靜稱。
In his studies Hongru pursued understanding to its roots and knowledge for practical use, earning wide esteem. While serving as Left Vice Minister of Personnel, he held himself above corruption and refused all private callers at his door. His brother Hongjian likewise topped the provincial exams. A jinshi by training, he rose to Right Administration Commissioner of Shandong and was praised for upright, calm governance.
49
叢蘭，字廷秀，文登人。 弘治三年進士。 為戶科給事中。 中官梁芳、陳喜、汪直、韋興，先以罪擯斥，復夤緣還京。 蘭因清寧宮災，疏陳六事，極論芳等罪，諸人遂廢。 尋言：「吏部遵詔書，請擢用建言詿誤諸臣，而明旨不盡從，非所以示信。 失儀被糾，請免送詔獄。 畿內征徭繁重，富民規免，他戶代之，宜厘正。」 章下所司。 進兵科右給事中。 都督僉事吳安以傳奉得官，蘭請罷之。 時命撥團營軍八千人修九門城濠，蘭言：「臣頃簡營軍，詔許專事訓練，無復差撥，命下未幾，旋復役之，如前詔何。」 遂罷遣。 遷通政參議。 小王子犯大同，命經略紫荊、倒馬諸關塞蹊隧可通敵騎者百十所。
Cong Lan (Tingxiu), from Wendeng. He passed the metropolitan examination in Hongzhi 3. He was appointed a supervising secretary in the Revenue Section. The eunuchs Liang Fang, Chen Xi, Wang Zhi, and Wei Xing, though previously banished for misconduct, had maneuvered their way back to court. After the Qingning Palace burned, Cong Lan submitted a memorial outlining six reforms and fiercely denounced Fang and his associates, who were duly removed from power. He soon added: 'The Ministry of Personnel asked, as the edict directed, to rehabilitate ministers faulted for remonstrating—a directive the throne has only partly honored. That is a poor way to inspire trust. Officials punished for minor breaches of ritual should not be remanded to the imperial prison. Corvée obligations in the home provinces fall hardest on the poor when the rich buy their way out and lesser households are forced to serve in their stead—that abuse must be rectified. The memorial was forwarded to the relevant departments. He rose to Right Supervising Secretary in the War Section. Wu An had been given his command through a eunuch's personal nomination; Cong Lan demanded his removal. When eight thousand regiment troops were ordered to dig the Nine Gates moats, he protested: 'These men were just selected for training alone, by your own decree. Barely had that order been issued before they were pulled away for labor again—what value does the throne's word have? The labor draft was cancelled. He was appointed Assistant Administration Vice Commissioner. During the Little Prince's attack on Datong, he was charged with fortifying more than a hundred mountain defiles at Zijing, Daoma, and other passes where enemy horsemen might break through.
50
正德三年進左通政。 明年冬出理延綏屯田。 安化王寘鐇反，蘭奏陳十事，中言：「文武官罰米者，鬻產不能償。 朝臣謫戍，刑官妄引新例鍛煉成獄，沒其家貲。 校尉遍行邊塞，勢焰薰灼，人不自保。」 劉瑾大惡之，矯旨嚴責。 給事中張瓚、御史汪賜等遂希旨劾蘭。 瑾方憂邊事，置不問。 數月，瑾誅，進通政使。 俄擢戶部右侍郎，督理三邊軍餉。
In Zhengde 3 he advanced to Left Administration Vice Commissioner. The following winter he was sent to manage frontier garrison farms in Yan-sui. When the Prince of Anhua rebelled, Cong Lan submitted a ten-point memorial, noting among other things: 'Officials fined in grain must sell their estates and still cannot make payment. Banished courtiers are framed under novel legal pretexts and stripped of their estates. Embroidered Uniform Guard runners prowl the borderlands, their arrogance unbearable—no one dares feel safe. Liu Jin was furious and issued a forged imperial reprimand. Zhang Zan, Wang Ci, and other officials dutifully impeached Cong Lan at Liu Jin's cue. Preoccupied with border crises, Liu Jin let the matter drop. Months later, after Liu Jin's fall, Cong Lan was promoted to Administration Commissioner. He was soon made Right Vice Minister of Revenue, overseeing provisioning for the northwestern frontier.
51
六年，陜西巡撫都御史藍章以四月寇亂移駐漢中。 會河套有警，乃命蘭兼管固、靖等處軍務。 蘭上言：「陜西起運糧草，數為大戶侵牟，請委官押送。 每鎮請發內帑銀數萬，預賣糧草。 御史張彧清出田畝，請蠲免子粒，如弘治十八年以前科則。 靈州鹽課，請照例開中，召商糴糧。 軍士折色，主者多克減，乞選委鄰近有司散給。」 從之。
In the sixth year, after April raiding forced Shaanxi Grand Coordinator Lan Zhang to shift his base to Hanzhong, An alarm from the Ordos loop then led to his concurrent appointment over military affairs at Guzhou, Jingzhou, and adjacent districts. He urged that Shaanxi's grain and fodder convoys, long prey to local magnates, be placed under official escort. He proposed advanced grain sales at each garrison, funded by tens of thousands of taels from the imperial treasury. Following Censor Zhang Yu's land survey, he asked that grain levies revert to pre-Hongzhi-18 rates. For Lingzhou salt revenues, he recommended reviving the salt certificate system to attract merchants to supply grain. Cash stipends for troops were routinely skimmed by paymasters; he asked that nearby civil officials distribute them instead. The throne approved.
52
是年冬，南畿及河南歲侵，命蘭往振。 未赴而河北賊自宿遷渡河，將逼鳳陽。 乃命蘭以本官巡視廬、鳳、滁、和，兼理振濟。 河南白蓮賊趙景隆自稱宋王，掠歸德，蘭遣指揮石堅、知州張思齊等擊斬之。 九月，賊平。 論功賚金幣，增俸一級，召還理部事。 部無侍郎缺，乃命添註。 明年，大同有警，命巡視居庸、龍泉諸關。 尋兼督宣、大軍餉，進右都御史，總制宣、大、山東軍務。 令內地皆築堡，寇至收保如塞下。 寇五萬騎自萬全右衛趨蔚州大掠，又三萬騎入平虜南城，以失事停半歲俸。
That winter, famine struck the southern capital provinces and Henan, and Cong Lan was dispatched to administer relief. Before he could leave, Hebei rebels crossed the Huai from Suqian and threatened Fengyang. He was redirected to inspect Luzhou, Fengyang, Chuzhou, and Hezhou while continuing famine relief. When the Henan White Lotus rebel Zhao Jinglong styled himself King of Song and raided Guide, Cong Lan sent Commander Shi Jian and Prefect Zhang Siqi to destroy him. By the ninth month the rebellion was suppressed. For his service he received gold and silk, a pay grade, and recall to the ministry. With no regular vice-ministership open, he was given a supernumerary slot. The following year, amid Datong alarms, he was sent to inspect Juyong, Longquan, and other passes. He soon took charge of Xuanfu-Datong provisioning, rose to Right Censor-in-Chief, and assumed overall military command in Xuanfu, Datong, and Shandong. He had fortresses built across the interior so that, when raiders came, the populace could shelter as they did on the border. Fifty thousand horsemen from Wanquan Right Guard swept through Yuzhou; thirty thousand more broke into Pinglu's south fort—Cong Lan lost six months' pay for the lapse.
53
十年夏，改督漕運，尋兼巡撫江北。 中官劉允取佛烏思藏，道蘭境，入謁，辭不見。 允需舟五百余艘、役夫萬余人，蘭馳疏極陳其害。 不報。 居四年，以事忤兵部尚書王瓊，解漕務，專任巡撫。 寧王宸濠反，蘭移鎮瓜州。 十五年，遷南京工部尚書。
In the tenth summer he was transferred to supervise the Grand Canal, then also made Grand Coordinator of Jiangbei. The eunuch Liu Yun, en route to fetch Buddhist texts from the West, passed through his territory and sought an audience; Cong Lan refused. Liu Yun demanded five hundred boats and ten thousand laborers; Cong Lan rushed a memorial detailing the damage this would cause. The court ignored him. After four years he clashed with War Minister Wang Qiong, lost the canal post, and served solely as grand coordinator. When Prince Ning rebelled, he moved his command to Guazhou. In the fifteenth year he became Nanjing Minister of Works.
54
吳世忠，字懋貞，金溪人。 弘治三年進士。 授兵科給事中。 兩畿及山東、河南、浙江民饑，有詔振恤，所司俟勘覆。 世忠極言其弊，因條上興水利、復常平二事，多施行。 已，請恤建文朝殉難諸臣，乞賜爵謚，崇廟食，且錄其子孫，復其族屬，為忠義勸。 章下禮官，寢不行。 尚書王恕被訐求去，上疏請留之。 壽寧侯張鶴齡求勘河間賜地，其母金夫人復求不已。 帝命遣使，世忠言：「侯家仰托肺腑，豈宜與小民爭尺寸？ 命部勘未已，內臣繼之。 內臣未已，大臣又繼之。 剝民斂怨，非國家福，龍非外戚之福。」 不聽。
Wu Shizhong (Maozhen), from Jinxi. Jinshi of Hongzhi 3. He was made a War Section supervising secretary. Famine afflicted the capital provinces, Shandong, Henan, and Zhejiang; though relief was ordered, local offices dragged their feet pending verification. Wu Shizhong exposed the delay and proposed restoring waterworks and ever-normal granaries—most of which were adopted. He also petitioned honors for Jianwen-era martyrs—titles, posthumous names, temple sacrifices, rehabilitation of their heirs—in the hope of inspiring future loyalty. The Rites Ministry received the proposal and quietly shelved it. When Minister Wang Shu was attacked and sought to resign, Wu Shizhong memorialized asking the emperor to keep him. The Marquis of Shouning, Zhang Heling, wanted a survey of his Hejian estate; his mother, Lady Jin, kept pressing the claim. When the emperor sent surveyors, Wu Shizhong argued: 'A household so close to the throne should not haggle with commoners over scraps of land. No sooner had one ministry survey begun than palace eunuchs launched another. Before the eunuchs finished, senior ministers were dispatched anew. Such exactions breed public anger—bad for the realm and worse for the imperial in-laws themselves. The emperor refused to heed him.
55
大同總兵官神英、副總兵趙昶等，因馬市令家人以違禁彩繒易馬，番人因闌入私易鐵器。 既出塞，復潛兵掠蔚州，陷馬營，轉剽中東二路。 英等擁兵不救，巡撫劉瓛、鎮守中官孫振又不以實聞。 十一年，事發，世忠往勘。 上疏備陳大同邊備廢馳、士卒困苦之狀。 因極言英、瓛等貪利畏敵，蕩無法度。 英落職，瓛、振召還，昶及遊擊劉淮、參將李嶼等俱逮問。 已而瓛改大理少卿，昶以大理丞吳一貫覆訁獻僅鐫級。 世忠復極論瓛罪，且詆一貫，帝皆不問。 闕里文廟災，陳八事，不能盡用。
At Datong, Commander Shen Ying and Deputy Zhao Chang allowed their households to trade banned silks at the horse market; tribesmen slipped through to trade ironware on the side. Once beyond the passes they secretly raided Yuzhou, seized Macheng, and ravaged the Central and Eastern routes. Shen Ying kept his troops idle; Grand Coordinator Liu Fan and garrison eunuch Sun Zhen covered up the facts. When the scandal broke in the eleventh year, Wu Shizhong was sent to investigate. His memorial detailed Datong's collapsed defenses and the troops' misery. He denounced Shen Ying, Liu Fan, and their ilk for greed, cowardice, and total indiscipline. Shen Ying was dismissed; Liu Fan and Sun Zhen recalled; Zhao Chang, Liu Huai, Li Yu, and others arrested. Liu Fan was reassigned to the Dali Court while Zhao Chang, on review by Wu Yiguan, escaped with a single rank demotion. Wu Shizhong renewed his attack on Liu Fan and denounced Wu Yiguan; the emperor ignored him. After the Qufu Confucian temple burned, his eight-point program was only partly adopted.
56
寇犯延綏、大同，世忠言：「國初設七十二衛，軍士不下百萬。 近軍政日壞，精卒不能得一二萬人。 此兵足憂也。 太倉之儲，本以備軍。 近支費日廣，移用日多。 倘興師十萬，犒賜無所取給。 此食足憂也。 正統己巳之變尚有石亨、楊洪，邇所用李杲、阮興、趙昶、劉淮之屬，先後皆敗。 今王璽、馬昇又以失事告。 此將帥足憂也。 國家多事，大臣有以鎮之。 邇者忠正多斥，貪庸獲存。 既鮮匡濟之才，又昧去就之節，安能懾強敵壯國勢乎？ 此任人足憂也。 政多舛乖，民日咨怨。 京軍敝力役，京民苦催科，畿甸覬恩尤切。 顧使不樂其生至此，臨難誰與死守？ 此民心足憂也。 天變屢征，火患頻發。 雲南地震壓萬余家，大同馬災踣二千匹。 此天意足憂也。 願順好惡以收人心，肅念慮以回天意，遣文武重臣經略宣、大，以飭邊防。 策免諸臣不肖者，而起素有才望，如何喬新、劉大夏、倪嶽、戴珊、張敷華、林俊諸人，以任國事。 則賊將望風遠循，而邊境可無憂矣。」 帝以言多詆毀，切責之。 尋乞大同增置臺堡，以閑田給軍耕墾，不征其稅。 江西歲饑盜起，請簡巡撫，黜有司貪殘者。 又請築京師外城。 所司多從其議。 再遷吏科左給事中，擢湖廣參議，坐事降山東僉事。
During raids on Yan-sui and Datong, he warned: 'At the dynasty's founding, seventy-two guards fielded over a million men. Today the army rots until barely ten or twenty thousand effective soldiers remain. Our military strength should alarm us. Taicang's granaries were meant to feed the troops. Lately spending grows and funds are diverted elsewhere. Raise a hundred-thousand-man army today and there is nothing left for rations or bonuses. Our logistics should alarm us. The Jisi crisis still had Shi Heng and Yang Hong; recent appointees like Li Gao, Ruan Xing, Zhao Chang, and Liu Huai have all failed in turn. Wang Xi and Ma Sheng have just been censured for bungling their commands. Our commanders should alarm us. In troubled times, great ministers hold the state steady. Lately the honest are purged while the mediocre and corrupt remain. With few capable statesmen and no sense of honor, how can we deter powerful foes or strengthen the realm? Our choice of men should alarm us. Policy blunders multiply and popular resentment grows daily. Capital garrisons are exhausted by labor levies, city dwellers crushed by taxes—the home provinces desperately need relief. When life has become this bitter, who will stand and die defending the realm? Public morale should alarm us. Heaven sends repeated omens; fires break out again and again. An earthquake in Yunnan destroyed ten thousand homes; two thousand horses perished at Datong. Heaven's displeasure should alarm us. Align your preferences with the people's, govern with sober purpose to appease Heaven, and send senior civil and military officers to secure Xuanfu and Datong. Dismiss the unfit and recall proven statesmen—Qiao Xin, Liu Daxia, Ni Yue, Dai Shan, Zhang Fuhua, Lin Jun—to manage affairs of state. Enemies would flee at a rumor, and the frontier would be secure. The emperor, offended by the imputations, rebuked him sharply. He later proposed new watchtowers at Datong, assigning fallow land to garrison farmers tax-free. When famine and banditry struck Jiangxi, he urged appointing a strong grand coordinator and removing corrupt local officials. He also called for building Beijing's outer city walls. Most of his proposals were adopted. After further promotion in the Personnel Section and appointment as Huguang Assistant Commissioner, an offense reduced him to Shandong Vice Commissioner.
57
正德四年閏九月召為光祿少卿，旋改尚寶司卿。 其年冬，與通政叢蘭等出理邊屯，世忠往薊州。 明年奏言：「占種盜賣，積弊已久。 若一一究問，恐人情不安，請量為處分。」 從之。 劉瑾敗，言官劾其嘗請清核屯田，助瑾為虐。 世忠故方鯁，朝議寬之，得免。 再遷大理少卿。 八年擢右僉都御史巡撫延綏。 寇在河套，逐之失利，乃引疾歸。
Recalled in the intercalary ninth month of Zhengde 4 as Vice Director of Imperial Banquets, he was soon made Director of the Directorate of Imperial Regalia. That winter he joined Cong Lan and others inspecting frontier garrison farms, with Wu Shizhong assigned to Jizhou. The following year he reported: 'Illegal planting and illicit sales are chronic abuses. Prosecuting every case would unsettle the region—he asked for tempered penalties. The throne agreed. After Liu Jin's fall, censors accused him of aiding the eunuch by ordering a harsh audit of garrison farms. Known for stubborn integrity, he was spared by prevailing court sympathy. He was promoted again to Vice Minister of the Dali Court. In the eighth year he became Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief and Grand Coordinator of Yan-sui. After failing to drive Ordos raiders back, he retired claiming illness.
58
贊曰：明至英宗以後，幸門日開。 傳奉請乞，官冗役繁，用度奓汰，盛極孽衰，國計坐絀。 李敏諸人斤斤為國惜財，抵抗近幸，以求紓民。 然涓滴之助，無補漏卮。 國家當承平殷阜之世，侈心易萌。 近習乘之，糜費日廣。 《易》曰：「節以制度，不傷財，不害民」，又曰「不節若，則嗟若」，此恭儉之主所為凜凜也。
The historians comment: After Emperor Yingzong, the door to imperial favor swung ever wider. Eunuch appointments, bloated bureaucracy, crushing levies, and runaway spending marked the turn from apex to ruin—state finances sank into chronic deficit. Men like Li Min scrimped for the treasury, resisted the emperor's intimates, and tried to ease the people's burden. But pennies saved could not stop a sinking ship. In times of peace and plenty, extravagance takes root easily. Imperial favorites exploited that weakness, and waste grew day by day. The Book of Changes warns: "Regulate through institutions—do not harm wealth or injure the people"; and "Without restraint comes lamentation"—hence the vigilance of truly frugal rulers.