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卷一百八十七 列傳第七十五 何鑑 馬中錫 陸完 洪鍾 陳金 俞諫 周南 馬昊

Volume 187 Biographies 75: He Jian, Ma Zhongxi, Lu Wan, Hong Zhong, Chen Jin, Yu Jian, Zhou Nan, Ma Hao

Chapter 187 of 明史 · History of Ming
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Chapter 187
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1
祿
He Jian, Ma Zhongxi, Lu Wan, and Hong Zhong (Appended biographies: Chen Hao and Jiang Sheng.)〉 Chen Jin, Yu Jian, and Zhou Nan (Appended biography: Sun Lu.)〉 Ma Hao.
2
使
He Jian, whose style was Shiguang, came from Xinchang in Zhejiang. He passed the jinshi examination in the fifth year of Chenghua. He was appointed magistrate of Yixing county. He was summoned to serve as investigating censor and toured Xuanfu and Datong. He impeached Grand Coordinator Zheng Ning and dozens of officials under him for neglect of duty, and brought charges against Assistant Generals Meng Xi and others. On his return he inspected Taicang. When a eunuch attendant of the grand coordinator broke the law, Jian arrested and tried him; the man framed him, and he was thrown into the Embroidered Uniform Guard prison. After his release he again conducted inspections north of the Yangzi. The imperial tombs at Fengyang lay in that region; within the neighboring districts the law made even gathering an inch of firewood a capital offense, and the tomb garrison troops often abused the people by invoking the prohibition. Jian asked that the mountain foothills be set as the boundary and that fuel gathering elsewhere be permitted; the rule was then written into law. He was transferred to serve as prefect of Henan. The prefecture had suffered famine for successive years; he laid out ten measures for famine relief. He served in turn as left and right provincial administration commissioner of Sichuan.
3
便
In the sixth year of Hongzhi he was appointed right vice censor-in-chief and grand coordinator of Jiangnan, and was also put in charge of the tax grain of the three prefectures of Hangzhou, Jiaxing, and Huzhou. When Suzhou and Songjiang were hit by floods, he exercised his discretionary powers to release one hundred fifty thousand piculs of transport grain for relief. Together with Vice Minister Xu Guan he dredged the Wusong, Baimao, and other channels to discharge water into the sea, and the flood menace was ended. He again governed Shandong as grand coordinator and was promoted to vice minister of justice. He left office to observe mourning for his mother.
4
西
In the eighteenth year of Hongzhi he returned to court. The realm had long been at peace and the population grew daily. When Emperor Xiaozong reviewed the empire's household registers, the figures were actually lower than at the dynasty's founding; he blamed the responsible offices for dereliction and wished to rectify the registers. He ordered Jian, retaining his former rank and concurrently serving as left assistant censor-in-chief, to proceed to Henan, Huguang, and Shaanxi to verify household registers. He found two hundred thirty-five thousand odd households and seven hundred thirty-nine thousand odd persons, and memorialized ten follow-up measures together with benefits and harms affecting troops and civilians. By then Xiaozong had already died; Emperor Wuzong adopted every proposal.
5
In the second year of Zhengde he became Minister of War at Nanjing with concurrent charge of military affairs. Earlier, when Jian had governed Jiangnan, he had prosecuted Thousand-Household Zhang Wenmian for a crime; Wenmian had fled. By then he was framed through Liu Jin, who also resented Jian for refusing to deal with him; Jian was therefore fined rice on a connected charge. Too poor to pay, he appealed in a memorial and was exempted.
6
西 西 調 西 調
In the first month of the sixth year he was summoned as Minister of Justice. Great bandits rose on every side: Liu Chong, Liu Chen, Yang Hu, Liu Hui, Qi Yanming, Zhu Liang, and others threw the capital region into disorder; Fang Si, Cao Fu, Lan Tingrui, Yan Benshu, and others ravaged Sichuan; Wang Chenger, Luo Guangquan, Wang Haoba, Wang Yuwu, and others harassed Jiangxi, each styling himself king. Alarms from every quarter arrived day after day without respite. The Minister of War Wang Chang could not cope with the bandits. The Emperor had already ordered Hong Zhong, Chen Jin, and Ma Zhongxi to take command in separate suppression campaigns. That fifth month Chang was removed and Jian took his place. Jian then selected generals, trained troops, enrolled able-bodied men of martial talent from among the people, and ordered every village to erect palisades and dig ditches so that neighbors could unite and rescue one another. Troops from Henan and Shanxi guarded the Yellow River and blocked the passes of Taihang. Capital-training detachments remained behind to guard their local cities and towns. One soldier from each grain transport convoy was stationed along the river to protect the transport route and secure travelers. When civil and military grand officials let bandits escape, he asked for stern imperial reprimands, while he commended magistrates who could strike bandits down. Finding Zhongxi lax toward the bandits, he memorialized to send Lu Wan to replace him and return, and transferred frontier generals to follow Wan in suppressing the bandits. Frontier troops broke the bandits again and again, and they fled in all directions. Meanwhile the eunuch Gu Dayong and the nobility-holder Mao Rui led troops stationed at Linqing; the bandits then plotted that on the first day of the twelfth month, when the Emperor would inspect the sacrificial victim south of the suburban altar, they would seize the chance to strike at the imperial procession, and one day earlier they hastened toward Bazhou. Jian immediately memorialized the court and made preparations through the night. At dawn the Emperor summoned Jian to question him. Jian asked that the Emperor set out early to steady the people's hearts; the rites were then completed and the Emperor returned. Learning that preparations had been made, the bandits raided west through Baoding and the other prefectures and counties, then departed. Deng Zhang, grand coordinator of Henan, asked for reinforcements; Jian replied: "The bandits in Shandong number fewer than ten thousand, while government troops are more than ten times as many. Because men serving powerful private interests were installed as unit leaders, they obstructed regulations and seized credit, and officers and soldiers lost heart. I ask that all such persons be sent back home. Regional commanders and below who fail in their duties should be executed before the army on the spot. Additional frontier troops should also be transferred to assist Zhang." The Emperor adopted every proposal. Before long reports of victory came in repeatedly, and Jian was given the additional title of Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent.
7
西
In the first month of the next year the bandits suddenly struck Bazhou and the capital was put on alert. Jian ordered frontier troops to intercept them at once; the bandits fled. Bandit chiefs Yang Hu and Zhu Liang died, and their followers scattered to raid Shandong and Henan. For the Shandong bandits Liu Chong, Liu Chen, Qi Yanming, and the rest, Jian held Xu Tai, Xi Yong, Liu Hui, and Li Qian responsible; for the Henan bandits Liu Hui, Zhao Zhen, Xing Laohu, and the rest, he held Feng Zhen, Shi Yuan, Shen Zhou, and Jin Fu responsible. Soon Mao Rui was defeated and recalled together with Dayong. Jian then asked that Peng Ze be appointed, who together with Qiu Yue would handle the Henan bandits, while the Shandong bandits were entrusted solely to Lu Wan. By the fifth month the Henan bandits were pacified. By the seventh month the remaining bandits in Shandong were pacified as well. Chen Jin and Hong Zhong also pacified the bandits of Jiangxi and Sichuan in turn. The Emperor rejoiced, gave Jian the additional title of Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent, and ennobled his son as hereditary hundred-household commander in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Jian then memorialized: "The mass of bandits has been swept away; the people have long suffered from warfare. I beg that field rents be reduced in measure and that relief be provided by many means. Remove greedy and cruel senior officials; halt labor corvées that are not urgent. He asked that the people be restored to their former occupations, that oxen and seed be lent them, and that their households be exempted for three years. Anyone who denounced old wrongs or clung to evil should be brought to justice." The Emperor approved all of it.
8
Earlier, in the seventh month, because the mass of bandits was not yet exhausted Jian had asked that the frontier general Liu Hui remain to garrison Shandong, Shi Yuan garrison Henan, Xi Yong garrison the capital region, and Li Qian garrison Huai and Yang, each on temporary appointment as regional commander until affairs were settled and only then dismissed. Qiu Yue said that the frontier troops had long labored, were unaccustomed to the climate, and that both men and horses were ill. Now that the bandits were gradually pacified, he asked that one third be kept to suppress bandits and that the rest all be sent back. In court deliberation both proposals were held correct; it was requested that each of the four generals keep one thousand men to maintain order, while the other generals Xu Tai, Shen Zhou, Jin Fu, Wen Gong, and the rest should all lead their commands back to the frontier garrisons. The Emperor approved; Yan-sui troops were to return directly, while Liaodong, Xuanfu, and Datong troops were to pass the capital to be rewarded after their labor.
9
At that time the Emperor delighted in military affairs. Petty favorites said that frontier troops were far sturdier and keener than capital troops and ought to be kept in the capital garrison. The Emperor thought this correct. By the eleventh month the troops of the three garrisons had all arrived, and he then ordered them retained while capital troops were sent to replace them. Jian argued strongly that this must not be done; the court ministers met and again set forth the harm at length, yet the Emperor would not agree. Henceforth frontier troops drilled in formation within the inner palace, called the "Four Outer Household Armies," and Jiang Bin came into power.
10
使 使
That year Xuanfu presented the surrendered northerner Tuotuotai and his party at court, and the Emperor enrolled them as warriors of the Imperial Stud Office. Jian and others memorialized: "Under Han and Wei the Di and Qiang were moved into Guanzhong; Guo Qin and Jiang Tong both urged Emperor Wu of Jin to cut off the source of disorder early. Fu Jian settled the Xianbei south of the Han, and Fu Rong too feared they would spy out weaknesses. To let surrendered men now enter and leave the forbidden precinct and grant them favor beyond their station will only breed contempt. Should northern enemies hear of this and secretly send cunning bandits to feign surrender as spies, would this not become a calamity in future?" The Emperor refused to listen.
11
The Prince of Ning, Zhu Chenhao, plotted to recover his guard; Jian blocked it resolutely. Regional Commander Bai Yu, dismissed for failure, bribed the Leopard Quarter favorites to seek reinstatement; Jian would not consent. The favorites incited investigators to expose Jian's servants taking money from officers; censors then impeached him in succession, and he retired. Nine years later he died, at the age of eighty.
12
祿
Ma Zhongxi, whose style was Tianlu, came from Gucheng. His father Wei served as chief steward of the Tang princely establishment; for blunt remonstrance he offended the prince, was shackled and sent to the capital, and his entire household was bound with ropes. Because he was still a child, Zhongxi was spared; he fled to appeal to the touring investigating censor. The censor spoke to the prince, and the family was released. He again took his mother to the capital to plead the wrong; his father was finally cleared and ended as prefect of Chuzhou.
13
西使
Zhongxi topped the provincial examination in the tenth year of Chenghua; the following year he became a jinshi and was appointed supervising secretary in the Bureau of Punishments. Consort Wan's younger brother Tong was arrogant and overbearing; Zhongxi memorialized twice to denounce him and twice was beaten with the staff. When a princess encroached on fields within the capital region, he surveyed the lands and returned them to the people. He also once impeached Wang Zhi for lawless arrogance and excess. He served in turn as vice education intendant of Shaanxi province.
14
使
In the fifth year of Hongzhi he was summoned to the Court of Judicial Review as right vice president. The Nanjing garrison eunuch Jiang Cong, Bureau of War director Lou Xing, and commander Shi Wentong sued one another; several hundred persons were implicated; officials were sent to investigate, but they would not submit. Zhongxi went together with the Directorate of Ceremonial eunuch Zhao Zhong and others; in a single inquiry the facts were obtained. Xing was struck from the rolls; Cong was cast into prison to answer for his crime. He was promoted to right vice censor-in-chief and appointed grand coordinator of Xuanfu. He impeached and dismissed the greedy, senile regional commander Ma Yi, and abolished the private use of soldiers by officials below the garrison commander, returning them to the muster rolls. When bandits once raided the frontier, he supervised the troops and defeated them in battle. He cited illness and returned home, and was recommended both within and outside the court.
15
When Emperor Wuzong took the throne he was raised to govern Liaodong. He restored garrison fields to the troops and impeached the garrison eunuch Zhu Xiu for establishing official shops, monopolizing the horse market, and other offenses. In the first year of Zhengde he came to court and served in turn as left and right vice minister of war. When Liu Jin first gained power, his follower Zhu Ying falsely claimed frontier merit for several hundred men. Minister Yan Zhongyu approved it, but Zhongxi held that it could not be done. Jin was greatly enraged; an order from the palace changed Zhongxi to the Nanjing Ministry of Works. The following year he was compelled to retire from office. That winter he was arrested, cast into the imperial prison, sent in cangues to Liaodong, and ordered to repay spoiled grain he had received. After more than a year the affair was concluded and he was reduced to commoner status. When Jin was executed he was raised again to govern Datong. Zhongxi was incorrupt in office; wherever he went he reformed abuses and bore resentment, and for this he won a reputation.
16
In the third month of the sixth year bandits Liu Liu and others rose; Minister of Personnel Yang Yiqing proposed sending a grand minister to command troops on the various circuits. He then recommended Zhongxi as right censor-in-chief to take charge of military affairs, together with the Earl of Huian Zhang Wei commanding the forbidden troops on a southern campaign.
17
西
Liu Liu was styled Chong and his younger brother Qi was styled Chen; they were men of Wenan, both fierce and skilled at mounted archery. Earlier, because officials worried about bandits, they summoned Chong, Chen, and their followers Yang Hu, Qi Yanming, and others to assist in arrests, and they repeatedly won merit. It happened that Liu Jin's household retainer Liang Hong sought bribes from Chong and others and failed to obtain them; he then falsely accused them as bandits. Ning Gao and Liu Shangyi were sent to paint their likenesses and hunt them down, and their households were ruined. Chong and the others then threw in their lot with the great bandit Zhang Mao. Mao's house had lofty towers and layered rooms, hidden passages and deep cellars; he had long recruited fugitives as patrons of escape. The eunuch Zhang Zhong was his neighbor; Mao bonded with him as brothers, and through Ma Yongcheng, Gu Dayong, Yu Jing, and others gained entry to the Leopard Quarter, attended the Emperor at kickball, and in spare moments continued as bandits as before. Later he was several times defeated by Yuan Biao, assistant regional commander of Hejian. Cornered, Mao sought rescue from Zhong. Zhong set wine in his private residence and summoned Mao and Biao to sit facing east and west. When the wine was heated he raised his cup toward Biao and said of Mao: "Yanshi is my younger brother; from now on do not constrain one another." He raised his cup again toward Mao: "Lord Yuan treats you well; take care not to offend Hejian. Biao, fearing Zhong, could only assent. Before long Mao was captured by Ning Gao; Chong and the others went in succession to the capital to plan surrender. Zhong and Yongcheng pleaded for them before the Emperor, saying: "They must present ten thousand taels of gold before pardon is granted." Unable to raise the sum, Chong and Chen fled. After Jin was executed, an edict permitted voluntary surrender. Chong and the others then came out and reported to the authorities. The Ministry of War memorialized to pardon them and ordered them to capture other bandits as redemption. Chong and the others feared restraint and before long rebelled again. Their party grew daily; wherever they went they stormed cities and killed generals and officials.
18
Zhongxi and others took the field under orders, defeated the bandits at Zhangde, and again at Hejian; he was promoted to left censor-in-chief. Yet the bandits were then at their height; most generals were timid and would not meet their edge, or even joined with them. Assistant Regional Commander Sang Yu once encountered the bandits in a Wenan village. Hard pressed, Chong and Chen leaped into a commoner upper story and wished to cut their own throats. Yu had long taken bribes from the bandits and therefore delayed. Before long Yanming arrived with a great blade, killed and wounded several dozen men, and shouted as he reached below the tower. Knowing rescue had come, Chong and Chen came out and shot and killed several men. Yu suffered a crushing defeat. Assistant Regional Commander Song Zhen resisted the bandits at Zaoqiang without loosing a single arrow; the city was then taken and seven thousand died.
19
西 西 退 輿
At that time Chong, Chen, and others from the capital region raided Shandong and Henan, swept south into Huguang, and reached Jiangxi. They again swept from south toward north and directly threatened Bazhou. Yang Hu and others from Hebei entered Shanxi, again came east to Wenan, joined Chong and the others, stormed a hundred-odd districts and counties, ranged over several thousand li, and wherever they passed it was as if there were no one. Zhongxi, though he enjoyed reputation at the time, was not versed in military affairs. Wei too was a pampered nobleman son; seeing the bandits strong and the generals timid, he judged they could not break the bandits and turned to pacification by enlistment. They held that the robbers were originally good people stirred up by the cruel official Ning Gao and greedy eunuchs; treated with sincerity, they could surrender without fighting. They then issued orders: where bandits were, do not capture; when passing do not intercept; if hungry or thirsty give food and drink; those who surrendered were to be spared death. Hearing this, the bandits wished to accept pacification and admonished one another not to burn and plunder. They hesitated and could not reach a decision. Meanwhile, because capital troops were weak, the court deliberated sending frontier troops. Zhongxi wished to fight but troops were not yet gathered; he wished to pacify but the bandits wavered, and in the end he could grasp no clear policy. Having already proposed to make pacification the main policy, he could not change course. Learning that frontier troops were about to arrive, Chong and the others withdrew to camp at Sangyuan in Dezhou. Zhongxi entered their camp in a sedan chair, gave them wine and food, and with open sincerity comforted and instructed them. The crowd bowed and wept and presented horses as a gift of longevity. Chong generously offered to surrender; Chen looked up to heaven and sighed: "Riding a tiger, one cannot dismount. Eunuchs now hold the state — all men know it. Can Vice Minister Ma truly act on his own?" With that the meeting was dismissed. Meanwhile an edict had just been issued setting a bounty for the bandits' heads. Chong and the others learned of this, grew more suspicious and fearful, went straight away, and burned and plundered as before. Only at Gucheng did they admonish one another not to harm Vice Minister Ma household. From this, slander against Zhongxi swelled, claiming he indulged the bandits for his household sake. Censors in succession impeached him, and an edict sternly reprimanded him. Zhongxi still firmly held to his view in his memorial. Minister of War He Jian said: "If the bandits truly lay down arms, spare their lives; otherwise do not be deceived. Before long Chong and the others still would not surrender; Vice Minister Lu Wan was sent to supervise the army, and Zhongxi and Wei were recalled.
20
Earlier, when Zhongxi received orders to suppress bandits, Grand Secretary Yang Tinghe told Yang Yiqing: "He is only a literary man — unfit for the task." In the end he achieved nothing and, together with Wei, was cast into prison and sentenced to death. Zhongxi died in prison, and Wei was stripped of his nobility. In the eleventh year Investigating Censor Lu Yong pursued Zhongxi wrong, saying: "The bandits truly heeded pacification; Vice Commissioner Xu Chengfang, envying this, secretly requested more troops and made the bandits suspicious. When the bandits again accepted terms and had just reached headquarters, the prisoner cart was already on the road." The court then restored Zhongxi office, granted him sacrifice, and awarded hereditary privilege.
21
Lu Wan, whose style was Quanqing, came from Changzhou. He was a licentiate of the local school. When the eunuch Wang Jing came to Suzhou, he hauled students into the courtyard over some affair. The students rose together to strike him, but Wan did not join. Those who hated Wan slandered him, and Jing listed Wan's name first when reporting to the throne. Grand Coordinator Wang Su strongly argued Jing's crime, and Wan was spared. He passed the jinshi examination in the twenty-third year of Chenghua. When he presented himself for appointment, Wang Shu was serving as Minister of Personnel and declared: "Here is the man who once struck the eunuchs — he should be made a censor." Once in the Censorate, his reputation quickly followed.
22
西使
At the beginning of Zhengde he rose to become Jiangxi surveillance commissioner. Prince Ning Chen Hao held him in high regard, frequently invited him to intimate feasts, and gave him a gold libation cup. That winter in the third year he was elevated to Right Vice Censor-in-chief and appointed to oversee Xuanfu. Liu Jin took offense at Wan's tardy arrival at court and commanded him to serve in a provisional capacity. The following summer his post shifted to the Southern Court, where he directed the river-defense army. Fearing that a probationary censorate post broke precedent, Wan bribed Jin heavily and was recalled as Left Vice Censor-in-chief. In the fifth year's spring he received appointment as Vice Minister of War. After Jin's downfall, memorialists accused Wan of collusion, but the emperor took no notice.
23
涿 西
The following year Liu Six, Liu Seven, and fellow rebels erupted in Bazhou and set up Yang Hu as their chief. The Earl of Huian, Zhang Wei, and the Right Censor-in-chief Ma Zhongxi marched out to no avail and were seized and condemned to death. In the eighth month Wan was ordered to serve concurrently as Right Vice Censor-in-chief directing operations, uniting the metropolitan camp with Xuanfu and Yansui forces against the rebels. Marching as far as Zhuozhou, he was suddenly told the rebels were nearing the capital and commanded to wheel his troops back for its defense. By then Deputy Commander Xu Tai and guerrilla leader Xi Yong had routed Yang Hu at Bazhou; the rebels fled southward and the capital stood down from alert. Commander He Yong beat them again at Xin'an, and Deputy Commander Feng Zhen inflicted a still greater defeat at Fucheng before detachments were sent in pursuit. The rebels then laid siege to Cangzhou from the east. Liu Six and Liu Seven, wounded by arrows, broke off the siege and drove south, overrunning twenty counties in Shandong. Yang Hu's band turned north as well, laying waste to Weixian and Xinhe. Wan thereupon pleaded again and again for additional troops. Reinforcements were drawn from Liaodong, Shanxi, and other frontier commands to hunt the rebels down. The rebels drove deeper south, encircled Jining, torched grain barges, and swung toward Caozhou. Feng Zhen, Xu Tai, and Xi Yong killed over two thousand rebels and seized their leader Zhu Liang. Rewards were entered on the rolls: Wan was promoted to Right Censor-in-chief and every commander gained a step in rank. The eunuchs Gu Dayong and Zhang Zhong, convinced the rebels would fall any day, volunteered to take command in person. The throne appointed Dayong grand coordinator, the Earl of Fuxiang Mao Rui as commander-in-chief, and Zhang Zhong over the firearm corps, sending five thousand capital troops to fight alongside Wan.
24
宿 退 鹿 西 宿
Liu Six roamed between Yi and Ju while Yang Hu seized Suqian, took Huai'an prefect Liu Xiang and Lingbi magistrate Chen Bo'an prisoner, and overran Hong, Yongcheng, Yucheng, Xiayi, and Guide in turn. Pursuing border troops pressed them back to the ford on the Little Yellow River. Centurion Xia Shi sprang a trap and drove them hard; Yang Hu drowned in the river. The survivors fled into Henan, raised Liu Hui as chief, shattered Deputy Commander Bai Yu's force, stormed Shenqiu, slew Commander Wang Bao, captured Commander Pan Chong, and pushed north into Luyi. A rebel named Chen Han joined Ning Long in proclaiming Hui Grand Marshal for the Suppression Campaign Mandated by Heaven, with Zhao Zan as his lieutenant. Han styled himself chief secretary of the marshal's staff for military and state planning, and he and Long set up eastern and western offices to run their regime. The rebel host was split into twenty-eight camps to mirror the constellations, each with its own commander, until their numbers swelled to one hundred thirty thousand. Seeking to pin down the government armies, Hui and Zan ravaged Henan while Liu Six and Qi Yanming terrorized Shandong, and the rebel cause divided in two. Soon Liu Six veered north once more, only to be beaten by Xi Yong at Weixian. As they headed back toward Bazhou the emperor, preparing a suburban inspection of the sacrificial livestock, was seized with fear and urgently recalled Wan, who smashed them at Wen'an. The rebels pushed south to Tangyin; Wan once more directed his generals in pursuit, taking a thousand heads and captives between the engagements.
25
By then Liu Six's host was claimed at tens of thousands, but most were pressed into service; his hardened fighters numbered barely a thousand. Once the Ministry of War began rewarding by heads taken, the rebels whenever pursued would drive commoners before them and, when hard pressed, cast aside their plunder and slip away. The slain were often harmless villagers, so dispatches of victory multiplied even as the rebellion refused to fade.
26
西 沿 滿
In the first month of the following year Liu Six and his fellows stormed Bazhou again, and the capital was placed under guard. Wan, Gu Dayong, and Mao Rui were recalled to shield the home provinces while the rebels swept west through Boye and struck at Lixian and Lincheng. Gu Dayong and Mao Rui encountered the rebels at Changyuan and suffered a crushing defeat. The court recalled the pair and assigned Censor-in-chief Peng Ze and the Earl of Xianning, Qiu Yue, to the Henan rebels, leaving the capital districts and Shandong to Wan. Wan dispatched Xi Yong, who ran Liu Six down and defeated him at Song Family Estate. The rebels pushed into Tengxian in the south, where Deputy Commander Liu Hui broke them decisively and drove them toward the sea inlets of Deng and Lai. Wan encamped at Pingdu, sent Xi Yong, Bai Yu, and guerrilla commander Wen Gong forward on three columns, and set Deputy Commanders Zhang Jun, Li Gang, Xu Tai, and Liu Hui to cut off their escape. The rebels ran; battle after battle went against them until they swapped garments and mounts to flee, leaving more than twenty-six hundred killed or taken. Barely three hundred rebels escaped northward, yet they recruited along the road until their force swelled once more. They plundered Xianghe, Baodi, and Yutian before wheeling to strike Wuqing. Guerrilla commander Wang Gao was wiped out, Grand Coordinator Ning Gao's men were beaten as well, and the home provinces trembled anew. The rebels veered south to Guanxian, where Liu Hui surprised and routed them, and Commander Zhang Xun beat them again on the plain of Pingyuan. They raced south to Pizhou, crossed the river, and made for Gushi. With the Henan rebels already crushed, Liu Six and his band weakened and took flight into Huguang. They commandeered boats to Xiakou, where they encountered Censor-in-chief Ma Bingran and slew him. Back on land they torched Hankou until Commander Man Bi and others overtook them; Liu Six took an arrow and he and his son Zhonghuai drowned themselves.
27
Liu Seven and Qi Yanming, with five hundred men in boats, drifted down from Huangzhou to Zhenjiang. Nanjing sounded the alarm, and Wan raced southward. The throne commanded Peng Ze and Qiu Yue to unite with Wan's forces for the final campaign. Armies massed on both banks of the Yangtze, yet the rebels still rode the tides to raid up and down the river. The river-defense commander, the Earl of Wujing Zhao Hongze, and Censor-in-chief Chen Shiliang met them and were routed with countless dead. In the seventh month the rebels outfitted their fleet at Mengdu. Wan reached Zhenjiang, left Qiu Yue to hold the line, posted Wen Gong's horsemen north of the river, sent Liu Hui and Xi Yong by water toward Jiangyin, and himself led Commanders Sun Wen and Fu Kai to Fushan Harbor. Fearing encirclement, the rebels made for Tongzhou. A fierce hurricane struck; they abandoned their boats and fled ashore to fortify Lang Mountain. Wan had Vice Prefect Luo Wei lead the army by night up the southern slope to hem them in. Qi Yanming fell to a musket ball, Liu Seven, pierced by arrows, drowned himself as well, and the last rebels were extinguished. Back at court Wan was made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent and Left Censor-in-chief, and his son received hereditary appointment in the Embroidered Uniform Guard for one hundred households. The following year he succeeded He Jian as Minister of War.
28
Clever and ambitious, Wan hungered for reputation and cultivated ties with men in power. Liu Hui, Xu Tai, and Jiang Bin had served under him; when they later rose to imperial favor, Wan drew on their influence in turn.
29
By then Prince Ning Chen Hao was already harboring treasonous intent. Learning that Wan headed the Ministry of War, he sent a lavish letter recalling their old intimacy and asking that his guard and military colonies be restored. Wan answered with the language of ancestral law as his excuse. Chen Hao then carted tens of thousands in gold and silk to the house of the entertainer Zang Xian, whom he favored, distributing gifts among the men who held sway at court and putting Qian Ning forward as his patron within the palace. Once the memorial reached him, Wan petitioned for the prince's guard to be restored while referring the colonies to the Ministry of Revenue and asking that the matter be debated at court. The Grand Secretariat drew up an edict granting both requests. Outrage swept the entire court. Censors of the Six Offices, Gao Qing among them, and investigating censors from thirteen circuits led by Wang Ci protested vehemently; their memorials went to the ministries and languished without reply. The Nanjing supervising secretary Xu Wenpu took up the charge again; Wan then asked to heed the remonstrators, but the emperor still refused. In the tenth year he was moved to head the Ministry of Personnel.
30
竿
When Chen Hao rose in rebellion he was seized at once. The eunuch Zhang Yong arrived at Nanchang, searched the prince's archives, found Wan's routine correspondence with him, and reported it to the throne. The emperor flew into a rage. On the return march to Tongzhou he had Wan arrested. He took Wan's mother, wife, sons, and daughters into custody and sealed his household for inventory. Upon reaching the capital he bound Wan head-down on a pole, labeled him by name, marched him among the captives at the front of the victory procession, and prepared the harshest penalty. Emperor Wuzong died and Emperor Shizong succeeded; the judiciary again charged that Wan had trafficked with an outer prince, accepted gold without refusal, and failed to stand firm on the guard question — crimes warranting decapitation. Wan pleaded once more for his life, and the case was referred to the assembled ministers for rehearing. Because of his service in crushing the rebels he fell under the eight mitigations; his sentence was reduced from death to exile at Jinghai Guard in Fujian. His mother, past ninety, died in custody at last.
31
Long before, Wan had dreamed he came to a mountain named Great Martial. On reaching his place of exile he found a mountain of that very name and sighed, "My banishment was settled long ago — where could I escape?" He died in exile at last.
32
西 西
Hong Zhong, whose style was Xuanzhi, came from Qiantang. He passed the jinshi examination in the eleventh year of Chenghua. He served as a secretary in the Ministry of Punishments, rose to director, and was dispatched to pacify displaced people in Jiangxi and Fujian. Returning, he warned that in Wuping, Shanghang, Qingliu, and Yongding in Fujian, Anyuan and Longnan in Jiangxi, and Chengxiang in Guangdong migrants were intermingled, quarrelsome, and ripe for rebellion; in quiet times local officials ought to found village schools and teach the Odes, Documents, and the rites of courtesy.
33
使 西使
At the opening of the Hongzhi reign he was promoted again, to Sichuan surveillance commissioner. At Ma Lake the native prefect An Ao ruled with unrestrained lust and cruelty; the tribespeople loathed him, yet officials, greedy for his bribes, looked away until twenty years had passed. Vice Commissioner Qu Rui asked Investigating Censor Zhang Luan to take the case; Zhong backed the move, and Ao was seized, sent to the capital, and executed. The An family had ruled Ma Lake since the Tang; with the post turned over to appointed officials, the area finally knew peace. He rose through the left and right provincial administration commissions of Jiangxi and Fujian.
34
西 退 使
In the eleventh year he became Right Vice Censor-in-chief and grand coordinator of Shuntian. He reorganized the Jizhou frontier and urged the extension of the border ramparts. From northwest of Shanhaiguan through Miyun's Gubeikou and Huanghua garrison to Juyong—over a thousand li—he restored two hundred seventy forts, walled every frontier county, and won approval to cut six thousand autumn-defense troops, saving tens of thousands yearly in transport and reward expenses. The Chaohu River in his charge stood two hundred li from the capital between two hills; when swollen it became a vast flood, and when it fell it left open ground over which enemies could gallop straight in. Zhong argued that three li east of the pass the hills rose outside and dipped within, leaving about two zhang of height where two channels could be cut to split the current, with a slanting stone weir below to hold the water back. With the pass set behind the weir and a hundred men to hold it, raiders could be stopped from breaking through, the capital spared its northern anxiety, and the river flats put under cultivation. Minister of War Ma Wensheng and others petitioned to adopt his plan. Once construction started and the hills were cut, the rock gave way and buried several hundred workers. Investigating Censor Yi Fu and Supervising Secretary Ma Yucong impeached Zhong. Grand Coordinator Zhang Xuan petitioned to stop the works, but the throne refused. Soon the project was done, and Vice Minister Zhang Da went with a palace eunuch to inspect it. They returned saying the stone channels let through only a trickle and that the soil near the wall was sandy and stony, poor for planting. Supervising Secretary Qu Shen charged Zhong with three counts of deceit, and censors and the Ministry of War alike demanded his arrest. The emperor held that Zhong had fortified the border for the realm and ought not be punished; his salary was withheld for three months.
35
便
In the first year of Zhengde he was recalled from Guizhou to direct the grain transport and oversee the north bank. The following year he was promoted on the spot to Right Censor-in-chief. Grain barges from Suzhou, Songjiang, and Zhejiang had to ascend the Yangzi from Xiaogangkou and the Mengdu River to Guazhou—a run of more than two hundred eighty li, often battered by wind and tide. Zhong reported that across from Mengdu lay a channel that could reach the mouth of the Baieta River. Four locks had once been placed along forty li. At Yiling it bent north once more and joined the Yangzhou canal. Dredging it would shorten the route. The court approved. He was moved to head the Nanjing Censorate and soon made Minister of Punishments. In the fourth year's winter he was named Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent and Left Censor-in-chief, presiding over the Censorate.
36
西 使使
In the fifth year's spring Huguang suffered famine and rebels broke out. Zhong was commanded to take overall charge of operations, with Shaanxi, Henan, and Sichuan placed under his authority as well. The Mianyang rebels Yang Qing and Qiu Ren proclaimed themselves Heavenly King and General and roamed the Dongting region. They encircled Yuezhou, seized Linxiang, and government forces met defeat again and again. Zhong and Commander-in-chief Mao Lun sent Commanders Pan Xun and Chai Kui with Administration Commissioner Chen Hao and Vice Commissioner Jiang Sheng to crush the rebels at Mahang Beach, killing or capturing over seven hundred forty, after which the uprising collapsed. When Zhong first headed the Censorate, Liu Jin was at the height of his power. After Jin's fall, censors accused Zhong of pandering to Jin and having a fellow censor beaten. The court decided Zhong was still needed against the rebels and took no action.
37
西 西西
Meanwhile the Baoning rebel Lan Tingrui called himself King Shun of Heaven, Yan Benyu took the title "King Who Scrapes the Earth," and his lieutenant Liao Hui "King Who Sweeps the Earth"; their forces passed one hundred thousand, with forty-eight chiefs, and ravaged Shaanxi and Huguang. Tingrui and Hui aimed to seize Baoning while Benyu planned on Hanzhong, Yunyang, and a march east through Jing and Xiang. Grand Coordinator Lin Jun was still debating how to block the Tong River when Hui was already upon them, took the city, slew Vice Commissioner Huang Zan, and drove Qian Zhaofeng and others to flight. Government troops happened to be returning from another district; the rebels, mistaking them for fresh reinforcements, withdrew as well. Jun sent Luo and Hui tribesmen and Shixi native troops to reinforce Zhaofeng, and Vice Commissioner Gong Mianren joined the pursuit. At the swollen Longtan ford the rebels were half across when Luo and Hui tribesmen fell on them, killing or capturing over eight hundred while many plunged from cliffs or drowned. Jun sent Prefects Zhang Min and He Shan after them, seized Hui, and drove the remnant into Xixiang in Shaanxi. Zhong proclaimed an offer of surrender, and over ten thousand came in. Soon the rebels regrouped, stormed Yingshan, slew Vice Commissioner Wang Yuan, and looted Peng and Jian.
38
西西 西 使
Zhong entered Sichuan, clashed repeatedly with Jun over strategy, and as operations bogged down the rebellion flared worse. He then directed Shaanxi, Huguang, and Henan forces along separate routes; the Huguang column first overtook the rebels at Shiquan in Shaanxi. Tingrui ran for Hanzhong, where Commander Jin Mian encircled him. Grand Coordinator Lan Zhang of Shaanxi held Hanzhong when Tingrui sent He Hu to beg leave to return to Sichuan and accept pacification. Zhang, knowing Tingrui was a Sichuan rebel at heart, feared driving him to extremes would endanger Shaanxi and told Mian to escort him across the border. Back in Sichuan, Tingrui offered to surrender; Zhong ordered him to Dongxiang to negotiate terms. They meant to stall the campaign, lingered for months in hill camps, demanded Yingshan or Linjiang to quarter their men, and insisted on a hostage from the government. Zhong sent Hanzhong Assistant Prefect Luo Xian into the rebel camp. Benyu came in to parley and terms seemed set, until soldiers killed some rebel foragers; the rebels panicked, murdered Xian, and returned to plunder. Seven government camps penned them in; their following began to crumble. Tingrui passed off a captive woman as his daughter and married into the house of the Yongshun chieftain Peng Shilin, hoping for a chance to escape. Shilin secretly reported to Zhong, who furnished a stratagem. On the appointed day Tingrui, Benyu, Wang Jinzhu, and twenty-eight others all appeared. Hidden troops seized them all; only Liao Mazi got away. The rebel masses, hearing what had happened, broke in panic across the river. Zhong's pursuers killed or captured over seven hundred more, and for this he was made Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent.
39
使 忿
Soon Liao Mazi and his lieutenant Cao Fu were raiding Yingshan and Pengzhou again. In the seventh year Commander-in-chief Yang Hong with Vice Commissioners Zhang Min, Ma Hao, and He Shan joined forces against them. Pressed hard, Zhong turned again to offers of surrender. Zhang Min rode alone into Fu's camp; Fu submitted, came to headquarters under bond, and sent his men home. Mazi, furious at Fu's defection, slew him, took over his band, and swept through eastern Sichuan. Regular troops scarcely fought, trailing the rebels to cut off civilians' heads for credit, while native levies were worse still. People said, "The rebels comb lightly, the army combs closer, and the native soldiers shave you bare. Investigating Censor Wang Lun and merit censor Wang Jingfang accused Zhong of letting his men run wild. Wang Lun added that Zhong feasted and wandered while rebels crossed from Hezhou and overran towns. The throne recalled Zhong, sent Peng Ze in his place, and Zhong sought retirement. He died in the third year of Jiajing and was posthumously titled Xianghui.
40
Chen Hao came from Kuaiji. He passed the jinshi in the twenty-third year of Chenghua. After the rebellion he was made Right Vice Censor-in-chief and grand coordinator of Huguang on the spot. Jiang Sheng of Qiyang had taken the jinshi in the same year as Chen Hao.
41
西
Chen Jin, whose style was Ruli, was born in Yingcheng and later moved to Wuchang. His grandfather Tan had served as prefect of Kuizhou. His father Lin had been a vice commissioner in Guangxi. Jin passed the jinshi in the eighth year of Chenghua, became magistrate of Wuyuan, and rose to censor at Nanjing.
42
西使使
Early in Hongzhi he inspected Zhejiang; returning, he used celestial warnings to impeach nineteen high officials, bringing down Vice Minister Ding Yongzhong, Nanjing chief justice Wu Daohong, the Earl of Nanning Mao Wen, and many others. He was soon made Shanxi vice commissioner, rose to Yunnan left provincial administration commissioner, and crushed the Zhuziqing Miao revolt.
43
祿 祿 退
In the thirteenth year he was named Right Vice Censor-in-chief and grand coordinator of Yunnan on the spot. The Mengyang chief Silu and the Mengmi chief Siye had been at war for years. Ordered to mobilize Burma, Ganyai, Longchuan, Nandian, and other dependencies, amass one hundred twenty thousand piculs of grain, and prepare an expedition, Jin sent Vice Commissioner Guo Xu to negotiate. Silu, alarmed, stood down and renewed tribute; Jin received silver and silks in reward. Guizhou forces lost to the rebel woman Milu, who then turned on Pingyi Guard and the forts of Dahe and Ele. Jin sent troops, broke them in a series of battles, gained one rank in salary, and was recalled as Right Vice Minister of Revenue at Nanjing.
44
When Zhengde began, Supervising Secretary Zhou Xuan and others impeached negligent ministers, Jin included. The throne took no action. Jin asked to retire to care for his aged mother but was refused. He was soon appointed Right Censor-in-chief to direct the two Guang. Palace eunuch Wei Zhen and others proposed shipping the silver hoarded in Guang offices to the capital. Jin protested; the court left more than two hundred thousand in place. The Yao of Maping and Luorong were rampant; Jin and Commander Mao Rui marched one hundred thirty thousand men against them, killed or captured over seven thousand, and Jin was promoted to Left Censor-in-chief. The Miao of Duanteng Gorge raided whenever they could. Jin reckoned the Miao could be tamed with fish and salt, set market rules, and renamed the gorge Yongtong, "Ever Open." The Miao were greedy and sly: they accepted the bargain in name, then refused fair payment and looted worse than before. Xunzhou folk sang, "Ever Open stays shut—who gets buried in the river? Who wrought this? Alas, Lord Chen! The rhyme blamed Jin for the miscalculation.
45
西 便 調西 使
In the third year's tenth month he became Minister of Revenue at Nanjing. The following winter he was called to be Left Censor-in-chief, but before the appointment arrived his mother died and he went home in mourning. In the sixth year's second month rebels broke out in Jiangxi. The throne recalled Jin to his old rank to take overall command of operations. Every civil and military officer from the southern capital districts through Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, and Huguang fell under his authority. He could act as he saw fit, and any regional commander or subordinate who defied orders might be put to death on his word alone. In Fuzhou the Dongxiang rebels included Wang Yuwu, Xu Yangsan, Fu Jieyi, and Jie Duansan; in Nanchang the Yaoyuan rebels Wang Chenger, Wang Haoba, Yin Yongshi, and Hong Ruiqi; in Ruizhou the Hualin rebels Luo Guangquan and Chen Fuyi; while on Ganzhou's Great Hat Mountain He Jiqin and others rose as well. Government forces had failed to crush them for years. Finding local troops inadequate, Jin asked for Guangxi wolf native levies. The next year's second month he opened with Dongxiang, posted Vice Commissioner Xu Fan at choke points, and sent Deputy Commander Zhang Yong with native chiefs Cen Cong and Cen Meng against Shutang. At Nanyan he pressed the attack and drove them in defeat to Chian and Yinling. He seized Yangsan, beheaded Yuwu and others, stormed two hundred sixty-five stockades, took eleven thousand six hundred heads, and captured over seven hundred fifty men. In the fifth month he moved on Yaoyuan, set Dong Pu and Wu Tingju to block escape routes through Yugan and neighboring counties, and led the main column against the nest himself; Yin Yongshi died of his wounds. Zhang Yong arrived with native troops whose poisoned bolts killed Ruiqi and Chengqi; kills and captures passed five thousand. In the seventh month he pressed the advantage and beheaded Guangquan. The Hualin rebels were wiped out. He also directed Vice Commissioner Wang Zhi against Great Hat Mountain, seized Jiqin, and killed or captured over one thousand seven hundred. In half a year the rebels were nearly gone. He founded a county at Dongxiang, created Wannian county, and resettled those who surrendered. Each victory brought sealed praise from the throne and gifts of silver and silk. He was named Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, and his son received hereditary rank in the Embroidered Uniform Guard for one hundred households.
46
Though Jin crushed formidable rebels, his native levies were greedy and savage, looting worse than the bandits themselves; great families of hundreds perished to the last soul. Women taken in the campaigns were called rebel dependents and shipped away by the thousand in boats. People said, "Rebel natives we can endure; the government's native soldiers kill us. Jin knew the people suffered, yet he depended on their strength and did not stop them. Nor could he keep his hands clean; much of the war chest found its way into his own purse. His victories were many, but scholars and commoners alike deeply resented him.
47
使 沿
At Dongxiang, Cen Cong's men shot crossbows and moved like the wind, pinning the rebels hard. Cen Meng's men demanded a thousand taels of gold; Jin refused, and they let the rebels slip away. The craftiest survived; several thousand rebels remained. Eager to declare victory, Jin ordered offers of surrender. After breaking the Yaoyuan rebels Jin rejoiced, thinking victory was days away, and feasted with his officers. The rebels saw the passes unguarded, bribed the native troops with everything they had, and fled at dusk. Starving for three days and sure of death, they abandoned children and cast off women along the road. At Guixi they ate their first full meal, then swept through Quzhou and Huizhou. Realizing his mistake, Jin again proclaimed surrender. Chiefs like Wang Haoba had feigned surrender to stall the army and kept raiding; the rebels were never fully destroyed. Merit secretary Li Shuang and censors of both capitals impeached Jin in turn. The court recalled Jin and sent Yu Jian in his place. Jin asked to finish mourning and retire.
48
In the tenth year he was recalled to direct the two Guang. The Fujiang rebel Wang Gongxun rose; Jin gathered forces under Guo Xun on six routes, slew Gongxun, and took many prisoners. He was named Junior Guardian and Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent, with the same hereditary honors for his son. After victory at Raoping, the son already ennobled was advanced one rank. Recalled to court, he fell ill on the road and went home; the throne ordered him back despite illness. In the winter of the fourteenth year he took charge of the Censorate. When Emperor Shizong succeeded, he asked to retire and was sent home by imperial post. Long afterward he died.
49
西
Yu Jian, whose style was Liangzuo, came from Tonglu. His father Jin became a jinshi, served as censor in Jiangxi, and punished the Wang and Wan clans of imperial in-laws for their violence. After a court offense he was banished to serve as assistant magistrate of Lizhou. He built great dikes and weirs that irrigated fields of ten thousand qing. He rose to become prefect of Yunyang.
50
西 使
Jian passed the jinshi in the third year of Hongzhi, became magistrate of Changqing, and rose to censor at Nanjing. As Henan vice commissioner he captured the Song bandit Lü Mei. He served as Jiangxi vice commissioner and pacified the Great Hat Mountain rebels. Promoted to Guangdong vice commissioner, he was summoned on the road to be vice president of the Court of Judicial Review.
51
西 西使 使 西
In the sixth year of Zhengde he became Right Vice Censor-in-chief, managed waterworks across Suzhou and Hangzhou, repaired dikes and polders, and the people prospered. Soon he was made Right Vice Censor-in-chief and put in charge of river defense. In the eighth year's spring the surrendered rebel Wang Haoba of Yaoyuan rose again; Jian was sent to replace Chen Jin and command Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Fujian. Haoba commanded over ten thousand men at Kaihua in Zhejiang, was beaten by Wu Wending, fled to Dexing in Jiangxi, and with captured commanders Bai Hong and Jiang Hong as hostages begged Wang Zhi for peace. Wang Zhi accepted and sent them on to Yaoyuan. Haoba fled to Peiyuan Mountain in Guixi; survivors regrouped in a ten-li chain of camps. Jian posted Zhi, Hu Shining, and Wu Tingju at choke points to cut retreat while he and Regional Commander Li Gang stole forward through rain by night. He shattered them, killing or capturing thousands, and took Haoba. The remnant fled toward Yushan. With Grand Coordinators Zhou Nan and Ren Han, Jian killed over seven hundred more. Survivors ran to Yaoyuan; Jian drove Tingju forward until they were taken.
52
使 使
Blaming Jin's failures, Jian insisted on force, while Ren Han was timid. Han had once been administration commissioner and had backed Jin's preference for pacification. Though he hurried victory reports, pursuit was slack and the rebels would regather. Dongxiang rebels beaten by Jin had surrendered to Shining as "new troops" but kept looting. Fearing punishment they rebelled again until Gui Yong and others hunted them down. Wannian county existed in name, but rebels remained numerous, clerks were often their spies, and officials' plans were known at once. Vice Commissioner Li Qing ruled harshly; people meant to rebel but dared not while Li Gang held Yugan. After Gang died, Wang Chuiqi and Hu Nianer rose in revolt. They slew Li Qing, Raozhou officials Chen Da and Qin Bi, Commander Xing Shichen, and others, and burned the yamen. Jian sent troops, seized them, and the disturbance ended. Censors impeached Jian along with Han and Nan. The Ministry of War recalled Han and let Jian serve concurrently as grand coordinator. The next year he struck Linchuan rebels, beheaded their chiefs, and sent Li Long against Xingan. They held the deep mountains and had called themselves kings for eight years. Long drove deep inland and took them all, killing or capturing over one thousand seven hundred. For merit Jian was made Right Censor-in-chief while keeping his grand coordinator post. The formidable rebel Xu Jiuling had first gathered in Jianchang and Liyuan. Later he roamed the Yangzi region for thirty years. Huangzhou, De'an, Jiujiang, Anqing, Chizhou, and Taiping all suffered at his hands. Jian hunted him down and beheaded him, and the remaining bands were pacified. Prince Ning Chen Hao prompted Zhang Aoshan to impeach Jian; in the eleventh year he was recalled and retired.
53
西 便
When Jiajing began he was recommended back to superintend grain transport. Qingzhou mine rebels Wang Tang and others rose at Yanshen and raided Dongchang, Yanzhou, and Jinan. Commander Yang Ji and Commander Yang Hao attacked; Hao was killed and Ji barely escaped. The throne rebuked Shandong commanders; ministers pursued on separate routes; the rebels stopped camping together and raided between Jinxiang and Yutai. They struck Caozhou, failed to cross the river, swept the west bank through Kaocheng, and reached Dongming and Changyuan. Henan and Baoding officials all cried for help. The rebel Wang Youxian and others raided Xiangfu and Fengqiu and pushed south to Xuzhou. Because grand coordinators held equal rank, the court ordered Jian and Regional Commander Lu Gang jointly to direct the two capital regions, Shandong, and Henan, with full power to command all routes against the rebels. The rebels swept back toward Kaocheng. As government forces prepared to attack, the Henan turncoat Zhang Jin arrived at a gallop with three hundred horsemen. Central Capital commander Yan Kai marched with him; in the midst of battle Jin suddenly waved his standard three times and pulled back. The rebels pressed the advantage; government troops collapsed, and more than eight hundred officers and men were killed. Jian pressed forward in linked camps until the rebels were finally destroyed. That fall he was recalled to head the Censorate. A year later he died in post and was posthumously named Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent with the title Zhuangxiang.
54
西使
Zhou Nan, whose style was Wenhua, came from Jinyun. He passed the jinshi in the fourteenth year of Chenghua. He became magistrate of Liuhe, rose to censor, and inspected the home provinces. Early in Hongzhi he inspected Guangdong again and impeached Commander Liu Jing. He rose to Jiangxi right provincial administration commissioner, then Right Vice Censor-in-chief and grand coordinator of Datong.
55
祿 椿
At Wuzong's accession raiders entered Xuanfu; Assistant Commander Chen Xiong and others beat them back. For merit his southern salary rose one rank; then his mother died and he went into mourning. In Zhengde's third year Liu Jin ruled alone; spoiled grain at the Datong depot brought Nan and Director Sun Lu to the imperial prison, shackled to Datong, and ordered to pay double restitution. An amnesty followed; Commander Ye Chun of Datong pleaded for them and the double levy was dropped. Once the fine was paid they were released as civilians. After Jin's fall he was offered his old post at Xuanfu but refused and retired on grounds of illness. The following year he was recalled to direct military affairs in southern Gan. The office of southern Gan grand coordinator began with him.
56
西 使
At Tingzhou's Great Hat Mountain, Zhang Shiwang, Huang Yong, Liu Long, Li Sizai, and others gathered, proclaimed themselves kings, raided towns across Jiangxi and Guangdong, and for years defied government troops who marched against them only to lose. Assistant Prefect Mo Zhongzhao, Magistrate Jiang Ji, and Commander Yang Ze were taken prisoner, and the rebels grew bolder. Nan assembled forces from every circuit, struck at Longya, and captured Shiwang. A local volunteer, Lin Fu, separately attacked and beheaded Yong at Tiekeng. Commander Sun Tang and others overran the remaining stockades. Vice Commissioners Yang Zhang and Ling Xiang also attacked Long and Sizai and took them. Five thousand were killed or captured in all, and Zhongzhao and the rest made their way back alive. Victory dispatches brought sealed praise from the throne. Nan then marched to join Grand Coordinator Chen Jin, together pacifying the Yaoyuan rebels until the region was calm. In the ninth year's spring he became Right Censor-in-chief and grand coordinator of the two Guang. The following year he asked to retire and died. He was posthumously named Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent.
57
祿
Sun Lu came from Qixia. He passed the jinshi in the ninth year of Hongzhi. He served as a secretary in the Ministry of Revenue and rose to director. After Jin's fall he was restored and eventually became prefect of Yingtian.
58
Ma Hao, born Zou, whose style was Zongda, came from Ningxia. He passed the jinshi in the twelfth year of Hongzhi. He entered service as a courier and was chosen censor. Early in Zhengde he became Shandong vice commissioner, then was demoted to assistant magistrate of Zhending for an offense. Bandits were frequent in his district; he trained clerks and students in archery, laid many stratagems, and seized rebels whenever they struck. He was demoted again, to assistant magistrate of Kaizhou. The people of Zhending knelt at the palace gates to keep him; the demotion was canceled.
59
使
He was moved to Sichuan vice commissioner. Hao was tall and quick, a fine horseman and archer who understood war. The great rebels Fang Si and Cao Fu were at their peak; Hong Zhong had campaigned against them for years without success. On arrival he inspected his troops and laughed: "Generals who do not know war — how can they fight? He chose a thousand strong soldiers, divided them into companies with captains, and drilled them hard. As Fu prepared to strike Jiangjin, Hao joined Grand Coordinator Lin Jun, crushed the rebels, and killed, captured, or burned more than two thousand. The next year Fang Si seized Jiangjin, overran Qijiang, and threatened Chongqing. Hao led a hundred horsemen out at night with torches, struck the rebels, and sent them fleeing in panic. He pressed the pursuit, took many heads, then joined Luo and Hui native levies to close with the enemy. The rebels formed on the left with an ambush on the right; Hao held the left with his main body and personally led a hundred horsemen against the trap. The ambush broke; he wheeled on the left wing and broke it too; Si fled to Wuchuan, clashed with Fu, and the rebel host scattered. Si changed his name and ran, only to be taken by another commander. Rewarded again, Hao was made vice commissioner and, with Commander Yang Hong, broke Fu's force.
60
使 西 西
Fu surrendered, but Liao Mazi took over his band and seized Tongliang and Rongchang in turn. He was stripped of rank for the loss. By then Hong Zhong was gone; the new grand coordinator Gao Chongxi was timid and favored negotiation again. Mazi and the rest pretended to submit; Chongxi hurriedly dismissed the armies and told Vice Commissioner Zhang Min to evacuate Linjiang marketfolk in Kaixian, clear the land for the rebels, grant three years' tax relief, and petition the court. Hao protested fiercely: Linjiang was Shu's throat, linking Chongqing and Xuzhou above with Huguang and Hunan below on rich soil — to abandon it to rebels was to invite disaster. Chongxi refused; Hao redoubled his training and watched how events would turn. The next year the rebels seized Zhang Min and rose again. Chongxi was arrested and Hao promoted to Right Vice Censor-in-chief in his place. The rebels besieged Zhongjiang and aimed at Chengdu. Hao led five thousand horsemen, joined Peng Ze, and routed them. Guerrilla Yan Xun ran Mazi down and killed him at Jianzhou; survivors fled and raised Yu Sibo as chief. Commander Chen Xun pursued to Fucun, where the rebels pretended to surrender. They crossed north, ambushed and killed Commander Yao Zhen, and withdrew into their old Ba Mountain stronghold. Soon they broke out toward Da'an; Xun would not advance. Shaanxi troops were beaten; the rebels crossed Ningqiang and struck Lueyang. Xun's men raised a din; the rebels fled by night, were blocked at Guangyuan, and turned back toward Tong and Ba to gather survivors. Commanders mostly pleaded illness and would not fight; Xun was arrested and Hao rebuked. Hao and Peng Ze then took Sibo in the Xixiang hills and crushed the Neijiang rebel Luo Songxiang; every band was pacified. For merit he was promoted to Vice Censor-in-chief.
61
西
In the tenth year Ibrahim raided Songpan; Tibetan chiefs including Mo Rangliushao stirred rebellion as guides, and the western frontier shook. Hao turned native Tibetans as spies and launched a surprise strike. Centurion Zhang Lun led loyal Tibetans in a night assault, seized Mo Rangliushao, and Ibrahim fled. Songpan's terrain was treacherous and Tibetans often ambushed supplies; Hao had Zhang Jie build palisades from Sanshe fort to Fengdong Pass, fifty li in all. The throne sent sealed praise.
62
羿
Wumeng and Mangbu prefectures adjoined Junlian and Gong across a thousand li of rugged mountains. Bozi, Yizi, Zhongjiazi, Miaozi, Luo, and Gela tribes lived intermingled throughout. A Bozi named Pufa E spoke Chinese and knew charms and registers. He claimed Maitreya had come, styled himself barbarian king, and incited the tribes to revolt. Migrants Xie Wenli and Xie Wenyi joined him. Commander Du Cong was routed; Wenyi took his helmet. In the twelfth year Hao directed Commander Cao Yu against him; E was beaten and fled to Qingshan stockade. Hao seized the water sources, cut off supply, and left the south open to lure them out. Parched for water, the rebels charged the southern gap; government troops met them head-on. E took an arrow and died; the tribes broke and ran. For merit he was made Right Censor-in-chief again, and his son received hereditary rank in the Embroidered Uniform Guard for one hundred households.
63
使 使 西
Talented and bold, adaptable and free-spending, Hao usually won wherever he fought. Yet long service in Sichuan had made him too familiar with local ways; his hunger for glory was what ruined him in the end. After Ibrahim fled, Hao attacked Lesser Eastern Route Tibetan stockades without success; fearing invasion, Maozhou tribes rallied raw Miao to besiege forts. Assistant Commander Rui Xi marched against them, was routed, and Commander Pang Sheng and others were killed. He once sent Zhang Jie and Wu Li against Songpan's northern and southern Tibetans, lost over three thousand men, and hid the defeat from court. Once the Bo rebels were beaten, he left no garrisons and rushed the army home. He asked to elevate Gaoxian to a prefecture, appoint senior officials, raise land tax in Gao, Gong, and Junlian by one thousand eight hundred shi, and have Commander Wei Wu survey fields and strip surrendered people's land for troops and settlers. Gong Magistrate Bu Liang, reading Hao's mind, lured and killed the surrendered chief A Shang. Du Cong, shamed by the lost helmet, hated Wenyi and secretly put a price on his head. Wenyi played on the tribes' anger, stirred them up, and open rebellion followed. They stormed Gao and Qingfu and breached both county seats. Du Cong marched to meet them, was beaten again, and lost seven hundred killed or wounded. West of Liya, the six Tianquan fan districts erupted one after another. Nanjing Supervising Secretary Sun Mao and investigating censors Lu Yong and Li Long impeached Hao in turn. In the fourteenth year the court at last sent officers to seize him. On the road to Henan he pleaded grave illness and was left at home. Only after Emperor Shizong succeeded was he taken; soon he was struck from the register and sent home. Yang Yiqing and Hu Shining urged his restoration, but Gui E blocked it and nothing came of it. Long afterward he died.
64
The historians remark that He Jian commanded the center and used his generals well because Yang Tinghe still led the government and court and ministries pulled together — only then could the campaigns succeed. Ma Zhongxi enjoyed great literary fame, but armies were not his gift; put in command, he was bound to fail. Yet in Liu Chen's refusal to accept surrender one can read the temper of the times at court. Lu Wan's treasonable dealings outweighed his service against the rebels; under the eight mitigations his punishment was softened — perhaps too softly. Hong Zhong and Chen Jin won striking victories, yet the folk rhyme about native troops still wounds the ear — a warning any commander bearing the army standard should remember.
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