Volume 228 Biographies 116: Wei Xueceng, Li Hualong

魏學曾〈（葉夢熊梅國楨）〉李化龍〈（江鐸）〉

Wei Xueceng (see also: Ye Mengxiong, Mei Guozhen)]〉 Li Hualong (see also: Jiang Duo)]〉

魏學曾，字惟貫，涇陽人。嘉靖三十二年進士。除戶部主事，遷郎中。中官為商人請支芻糧銀巨萬，學曾持不可，乃已。尋擢光祿少卿，進右僉都御史，巡撫遼東。隆慶初，土蠻大入永平。學曾入駐山海，檄諸將王治道等追擊至義院口，大捷。進右副都御史。學曾乃易置將吏，招納降附，厘屯田二千余頃，數破敵，被賞賚。以疾去。起兵部右侍郎，提督神樞營。旋改吏部，轉左侍郎。

Wei Xueceng, whose style was Weiguan, came from Jingyang. He passed the metropolitan examination in Jiajing 32 (1553). He entered service as a principal secretary in the Ministry of Revenue and later rose to director. When a eunuch sought tens of thousands of taels in fodder-grain silver for merchants, Xueceng refused to approve it, and the request was withdrawn. He was soon made vice director of the Court of Imperial Entertainments, then promoted to right assistant censor-in-chief and appointed grand coordinator of Liaodong. Early in the Longqing reign, the Tumen Mongols launched a major raid into Yongping. Xueceng took up headquarters at Shanhai Pass and ordered Wang Zhidao and other generals to pursue the enemy to Yiyuankou, where they won a decisive victory. He was promoted to right vice censor-in-chief. He then reorganized the command staff, accepted defectors, restored more than two thousand qing of garrison farmland, won repeated victories over the enemy, and received imperial rewards. He resigned because of illness. He was appointed right vice minister of War and placed in command of the Divine Pivot Battalion. He was soon transferred to the Ministry of Personnel and promoted to left vice minister.

穆宗崩，大學士高拱欲去馮保，屬言官論劾。學曾遺書大學士張居正曰：「外人皆言公與保有謀，遺詔亦出公手。今日之事，不宜復護此閹。」居正怒。及拱被逐，舉朝失色，學曾獨大言曰：「上踐阼伊始，輒逐顧命大臣，且詔出何人，不可不明示百官。」要諸大臣詣居正邸爭之。諸大臣多不往，居正亦辭以疾。自是益忤。出為南京右都御史。未上，給事中宗弘暹希居正指劾之。詔以故官候調，學曾遂歸。居正歿逾年，起南京戶部右侍郎。召為右都御史，督倉場。尋以南京戶部尚書致仕。

After Emperor Muzong died, Grand Secretary Gao Gong sought to remove the eunuch Feng Bao and had supervising censors lodge accusations against him. Xueceng wrote to Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng: "People outside court all say you plotted with Feng Bao and that the testamentary edict came from your hand. In the present matter you ought not to shield this eunuch again." Juzheng was furious. When Gao Gong was expelled, the whole court was dismayed, but Xueceng alone declared aloud: "The emperor has only just begun his reign and already expels a regent minister; and from whose hand did the edict come? That must be made plain to the entire bureaucracy." He urged the chief ministers to go to Juzheng's residence and protest. Most ministers refused to go, and Juzheng himself pleaded illness. From then on he was increasingly at odds with Juzheng. He was transferred out to serve as right censor-in-chief at Nanjing. Before he could take up the post, Supervising Secretary Zong Hongxian impeached him at Juzheng's prompting. An edict left him at his former rank awaiting reassignment, and Xueceng retired home. More than a year after Juzheng died, he was recalled as right vice minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue. He was summoned to Beijing as right censor-in-chief to supervise the granary depots. He soon retired with the title of minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue.

萬歷十八年，順義王扯撦力克西赴青海，火落赤、真相犯洮河，副總兵李奎、李聯芳先後被殺。朝命尚書鄭洛經略七鎮，兼領總督，洛固辭總督。明年春，閣臣王錫爵薦學曾。起兵部尚書，總督陜西、延、寧、甘肅軍務。時洛專主款，學曾至，與議不合，陜西巡撫葉夢熊助之。初，順義王封，夢熊以諫沮坐得罪，學曾亦為高拱言不便。至是，撦力克助叛，學曾、夢熊欲遂討之，詆洛玩寇。會撦力克東歸，火落赤諸部亦徙去，學曾奏撦力克雖歸，陰留精兵二萬於嘉峪，欲助火落赤、真相。其說本采諸道路，朝士乃爭附和之。錫爵意悔，具疏言狀，又遺書責夢熊。而兵部尚書石星以順義既東，宣、大事急，召洛還定撫議，置學曾疏不問。未幾，河套部長土昧明安入市畢，要請增賞。學曾令總兵官杜桐、神木參將張剛、孤山遊擊李紹祖出不意擊斬明安，俘馘四百八十余級，奪馬畜器械稱是。學曾以功加太子少保。而明安子擺言太聲言復仇，號召諸部。

In Wanli 18 (1590), the Shunyi prince Chakdak moved west into Qinghai while Huoluochi and Zhenxiang raided the Tao River frontier; Vice Commanders Li Kui and Li Lianfang were killed in turn. The court appointed Minister Zheng Luo to oversee strategy for the seven border garrisons and offered him the supreme command as well, but Luo firmly declined the latter post. The following spring, Grand Secretary Wang Xijue recommended Xueceng. He was appointed minister of War and supreme commander of military affairs in Shaanxi, Yan'an, Ningxia, and Gansu. Luo at the time favored appeasement alone; when Xueceng arrived they clashed in counsel, and Shaanxi Grand Coordinator Ye Mengxiong backed Xueceng. Earlier, when the Shunyi title was granted, Mengxiong had been punished for opposing it by remonstrance, and Xueceng too had told Gao Gong that the enfeoffment was ill advised. Now that Chakdak was aiding the rebels, Xueceng and Mengxiong wanted to attack him immediately and accused Luo of coddling the enemy. Chakdak then returned east and Huoluochi's followers also withdrew, but Xueceng reported that although Chakdak had gone back, he had secretly left twenty thousand elite troops at Jiayu Pass to support Huoluochi and Zhenxiang. The story had come from roadside rumor, and court officials soon rushed to endorse it. Xijue had second thoughts, submitted a detailed memorial on the matter, and also wrote to rebuke Mengxiong. War Minister Shi Xing, however, judged that with the Shunyi prince back in the east the Xuan and Da frontier was the urgent concern; he recalled Luo to settle pacification policy and ignored Xueceng's memorial. Soon afterward the Tumote chief Tümed Ming'an, after finishing trade at the border market, demanded larger rewards. Xueceng ordered Commander Du Tong, Shenmu Assistant Commander Zhang Gang, and Gushan Mobile Corps Commander Li Shaozu to launch a surprise attack that killed Ming'an; they took more than four hundred eighty heads and seized horses, livestock, and arms in proportion. For this exploit Xueceng was promoted to junior guardian of the heir apparent. Ming'an's son Baitai, however, loudly vowed revenge and rallied the tribes.

明年，哱拜反，遂煽諸部為亂。拜，西部人也。嘉靖中得罪其部長，父兄皆見殺，拜跳脫來降，驍勇屢立戰功。前督撫王崇古、石茂華先後奏加副總兵，遂多畜亡命。子承恩，拜夢妖物入妻施脅而生，狼形梟啼，性狠戾。拜老，承恩襲父爵。十九年，洮、河告警，御史周弘禴舉承恩及指揮土文秀、拜義子哱雲等。巡撫黨馨檄文秀西援，拜謁經略鄭洛，願與子承恩從出師。馨惡其自薦，抑損之，拜以故心怨。至金城，見諸鎮兵皆出其下。比賊退，取道塞外還，寇騎遇之皆辟易，遂有輕中外心。馨數裁拜，且按承恩罪箠之二十，雲、文秀亦以他故怨馨。會戍卒請衣糧久弗給，拜遂嗾軍鋒劉東旸、許朝作亂。二十年三月，殺馨及副使石繼芳，逼總兵官張維忠縊死。雲、文秀殺遊擊梁琦、守備馬承光，東旸稱總兵，奉拜為謀主，承恩、朝為左、右副總兵，雲、文秀為左、右參將。承恩遂陷玉泉營、中衛、廣武，河西望風靡。惟文秀徇平虜，參將蕭如薰堅守不下。賊既取河西四十七堡，且渡河，復誘河套著力兔、宰僧犯平虜、花馬池。全陜皆震動。

The following year Piba rebelled and stirred the tribes into general disorder. Piba came from the western tribes. During the Jiajing reign he had fallen out with his tribal chief; his father and brothers were killed, but he escaped and surrendered to the Ming, proving himself a fierce fighter who won repeated battle honors. Earlier supreme commanders Wang Chonggu and Shi Maohua had successively recommended him for promotion to vice commander, and he thereafter gathered many outlaws about him. His son Chengen was said to have been born after Piba dreamed that a demon entered his wife Shi; the child was wolflike in appearance, cried like an owl, and was savage by nature. As Piba aged, Chengen inherited his father's rank. In year 19 (1591) alarms sounded on the Tao and Yellow River frontiers, and Censor Zhou Hongyi recommended Chengen along with Commanders Tu Wenxiu and Piba's adopted son Piba Yun. Grand Coordinator Dang Xin ordered Wenxiu west as reinforcement; Piba visited Commissioner Zheng Luo and offered to campaign with his son Chengen. Xin disliked his self-recommendation and slighted him, and Piba came to resent him. At Jincheng he saw that the garrison troops ranked below him. On the return march by an outer route after the enemy withdrew, raiding horsemen gave way before him, and he began to despise both Ming and tribal forces alike. Xin repeatedly restrained Piba, prosecuted Chengen for an offense, and had him flogged twenty strokes; Yun and Wenxiu also bore grudges against Xin for other reasons. When long-delayed requests for clothing and rations went unanswered, Piba incited the army vanguards Liu Dongyang and Xu Chao to mutiny. In the third month of year 20 (1592) they killed Dang Xin and Vice Commissioner Shi Jifang and drove Commander Zhang Weizhong to hang himself. Yun and Wenxiu killed Mobile Corps Commander Liang Qi and Garrison Commander Ma Chengguang; Dongyang proclaimed himself commander-in-chief, made Piba chief strategist, appointed Chengen and Chao left and right vice commanders, and Yun and Wenxiu left and right assistant commanders. Chengen then seized Yuchuan Camp, Zhongwei, and Guangwu, and the whole Hexi region collapsed before the rebels. Only Wenxiu besieged Pinglu, where Assistant Commander Xiao Ruxun held out and could not be dislodged. After seizing forty-seven Hexi forts and crossing the river, the rebels induced the Ordos leaders Zhulitu and Zaiseng to attack Pinglu and Huamachi. All Shaanxi was thrown into alarm.

學曾檄副總兵李句率遊擊吳顯趨靈州，別遣遊擊趙武趨鳴沙州，沿河扼賊南渡，而自駐花馬池，當賊衛。句等渡河，賊將多遁去，四十七堡皆復，惟寧夏鎮城尚為賊據。著力兔等中外相呼應，拜、文秀攻趙武於玉泉。雲引著力兔攻平虜，如薰設伏射殺雲。句救武，圍亦解。四月，句引兵與故總兵牛秉忠抵鎮城下。帝已擢董一奎為總兵，李蕡副之，已，復擢如薰代一奎，而以麻貴代蕡。未至，句等攻城。賊於東西二門各出驍騎三千搏戰，步卒列火車為營。官軍擊之，奪其車百輛，追奔入湖，賊溺死無算。副總兵王通戰尤力。家丁高益等乘勝入北門，後兵不繼被殺，通亦負傷，榆林遊擊俞尚德戰死。翼日，朝、文秀脅慶王上東城，乞暫罷兵，詭言願獻首惡。會官軍糧盡，乃引退，休近堡。

Xueceng ordered Vice Commander Li Gou and Mobile Corps Commander Wu Xian to rush to Lingzhou, sent Zhao Wu to Mingsha to block a southern crossing along the river, and himself held Huamachi to face the rebel advance. Gou crossed the river, most rebel commanders fled, and all forty-seven forts were recovered, though the Ningxia garrison city remained in rebel hands. Zhulitu coordinated with the rebels inside and out while Piba and Wenxiu attacked Zhao Wu at Yuchuan. Yun led Zhulitu against Pinglu, but Ruxun ambushed and killed Yun. Gou relieved Zhao Wu and broke the siege. In the fourth month Gou advanced with former Commander Niu Bingzhong to the walls of the garrison city. The emperor had appointed Dong Yikui commander with Li Fen as deputy, then replaced Yikui with Ruxun and Fen with Ma Gui. Before the new commanders arrived, Gou and his forces attacked the city. The rebels sent three thousand elite horsemen from each of the east and west gates while infantry formed camps behind gun carriages. Government troops routed them, captured a hundred gun carriages, pursued the fugitives into a lake, and drowned countless rebels. Vice Commander Wang Tong fought with particular vigor. Household retainers led by Gao Yi broke into the north gate in the pursuit, but unsupported follow-up troops were cut down; Tong was wounded and Yulin Mobile Corps Commander Yu Shangde was killed. The next day Chao and Wenxiu forced the Prince of Qing onto the east wall to plead for a truce, falsely offering to hand over the ringleaders. When government provisions ran out, the army withdrew and encamped near the border forts.

學曾日夜趣芻餉，調延綏、莊浪、蘭、靖、榆林兵。道回遠，所治舟亦未具，乃駐花馬池，俟軍至移靈州。頃之，延綏遊擊姜顯謨、都司蕭如蕙，甘州故總兵張傑及麻貴軍皆至，復抵鎮城攻之。賊計延綏、榆林兵出內虛，勾黃臺吉妻，令其子舍達大、從子火落赤、土昧鐵雷掠舊安邊、磚井堡以牽我兵。承恩復以間合寇兵，伏延漢渠，掠糧車二百。學曾自花馬池還靈州，被圍，救至而解。貴等數攻城不能克，賊殺慶王妃，盡掠其宮人金帛。牛秉忠戰傷右股，乃復退師。帝用尚書星言，賜學曾尚方劍督戰。會寧夏巡撫朱正色、甘肅巡撫葉夢熊、監軍御史梅國楨，諸大將劉承嗣、董一奎、李如松先後至軍，六月復攻城，連戰不下。

Xueceng pressed night and day for fodder and supplies and called up troops from Yan'an-Suiyuan, Zhuanglang, Lanzhou, Jing, and Yulin. Supply routes were long and his transport boats were not ready, so he remained at Huamachi until the reinforcements arrived before shifting to Lingzhou. Soon Jiang Xianmo of Yan'an-Suiyuan, Regional Commander Xiao Ruhui, former Gansu Commander Zhang Jie, and Ma Gui's force arrived, and the army again assaulted the garrison city. The rebels judged the interior weak once Yan'an-Suiyuan and Yulin troops had marched out; they enlisted the Yellow Taiji's wife and sent her son Sheda, her nephew Huoluochi, and Tümed Tierui to raid Anbian and Zhuanjing and pin down Ming forces. Chengen again coordinated with outside raiders, ambushed a convoy at the Yan-Han Canal, and seized two hundred grain wagons. Returning from Huamachi to Lingzhou, Xueceng was besieged until relief arrived. Ma Gui and others attacked repeatedly without success; the rebels killed the Prince of Qing's consort and looted the palace women's gold and silks. Niu Bingzhong was wounded in the right thigh and the army withdrew once more. Acting on Minister Shi's advice, the emperor granted Xueceng the imperial sword to direct operations. Ningxia Grand Coordinator Zhu Zhengse, Gansu Grand Coordinator Ye Mengxiong, Supervising Censor Mei Guozhen, and generals Liu Chengsi, Dong Yikui, and Li Rusong then joined the campaign; in the sixth month they assaulted the city again but still could not capture it after repeated battles.

夢熊，字男兆，歸善人。嘉靖四十年進士。由福清知縣入為戶部主事，轉餉寧夏。改御史，以諫受把漢那吉降，貶鄖陽丞。累遷贛州知府，平黃鄉賊。遷浙江副使，改永平。萬歷十七年冬，由山東布政使擢右僉都御史，巡撫貴州。尋改陜西，進右副都御史。以請討撦力克，與經略洛議相左。廷議方右洛，絀其議不用。會撦力克東歸，洛亦還宣、大，乃移夢熊甘肅，與學曾共事。夢熊有膽決，敢任事。會拜反，上疏自請討賊，帝然之。以六月至靈州，與學曾合。

Mengxiong, whose style was Nanzhao, came from Guishan. He passed the metropolitan examination in Jiajing 40 (1561). After serving as magistrate of Fuqing he entered the Ministry of Revenue and was assigned to supply the Ningxia front. Transferred to the censorate, he was demoted to assistant magistrate of Yunyang for opposing acceptance of Altan Khan's grandson's surrender. He rose through successive posts to prefect of Ganzhou, where he pacified the Huangxiang rebels. He became vice commissioner of Zhejiang and was later transferred to Yongping. In the winter of Wanli 17 (1589) he was promoted from Shandong administrative commissioner to right assistant censor-in-chief and appointed grand coordinator of Guizhou. He was soon transferred to Shaanxi and promoted to right vice censor-in-chief. His call to attack Chakdak put him at odds with Commissioner Zheng Luo. Court opinion favored Luo, and Mengxiong's proposal was rejected. When Chakdak withdrew east and Luo returned to the Xuan and Da frontier, Mengxiong was transferred to Gansu to serve alongside Xueceng. Mengxiong was bold and decisive and willing to take responsibility. When Piba rebelled he volunteered to lead the campaign, and the emperor approved. He reached Lingzhou in the sixth month and joined Xueceng's command.

國楨，字克生，麻城人。少雄傑自喜，善騎射。舉萬歷十一年進士。除固安知縣。中官詣國楨請收責於民，國楨偽令民鬻妻以償。民夫婦哀慟，中官為毀券。擢御史，會拜反，學曾師久無功。時寧遠伯李成梁方被論，廷議欲遣為大將，未敢決，國楨獨疏保之。乃遣成梁子如松為提督，將遼東、宣、大、山西諸鎮兵以往。而國楨監其軍，遂與如松至寧夏。

Guozhen, whose style was Kesheng, came from Macheng. As a youth he was spirited and self-confident, and excelled at riding and archery. He passed the metropolitan examination in Wanli 11 (1583). He was appointed magistrate of Guo'an. When a eunuch came to collect debts from the people, Guozhen pretended to order them to sell their wives to pay. The couple wept in distress until the eunuch tore up the bond. Promoted to censor, he found Xueceng's army still bogged down when Piba rebelled. Li Chengliang, Earl of Ningyuan, was then under attack at court; officials wanted him as supreme commander but hesitated, until Guozhen alone memorialized in his defense. The court then sent Chengliang's son Li Rusong as commissioner-in-chief at the head of troops from Liaodong, Xuan, Da, and Shanxi. Guozhen supervised the army and accompanied Rusong to Ningxia.

初，學曾欲招東旸、朝，令殺拜父子贖罪，遣卒葉得新往。四人方約同死，折得新脛，置之獄。巡撫朱正色以賊詭請降，而張傑嘗總寧夏兵，故與拜善，遣傑入城招之。朝乃舁得新見傑，得新大罵賊，被殺，傑亦系不遣。而學曾以賊求撫為之請，帝切責。及是，城中百戶姚欽、武生張遐齡射書城外，約內應，夜半舉火。外兵不至，賊殺其黨五十人，欽縋城出，來奔。當是時，賊外以求撫緩兵，而陰結寇為助，然糧盡，勢且困。七月，學曾與夢熊、國楨定計，決黃河大壩水灌之，水抵城下。時套寇卜失兔、莊禿賴以三萬騎犯定邊、小鹽池，用土昧鐵雷為前鋒，而別遣宰僧以萬騎從花馬池西沙湃口入，為拜聲援。麻貴擊之右溝，寇稍挫，分趨下馬關及鳴沙洲。學曾令遊擊龔子敬扼沙湃口，而檄延綏總兵官董一元搗土昧鐵雷巢，斬首百三十余級，寇大驚引去。遇子敬，圍之十重，子敬死，寇亦去，賊援遂絕。學曾益決大壩水。八月，河決堤壞，復繕治之，城外水深八九尺，東西城崩百余丈。著力兔、宰僧復入李剛堡。如松、貴等擊敗之，追奔至賀蘭山。賊益懼求款，未決，會學曾得罪罷。朝命以夢熊代，夢熊遂成功。

Earlier Xueceng had tried to win over Dongyang and Chao by promising pardon if they killed Piba and his son, and sent the soldier Ye Dexin as envoy. The four rebels had just sworn to die together; they broke Dexin's legs and threw him in prison. Grand Coordinator Zhu Zhengse, believing the rebels' false offer of surrender and knowing that former Ningxia commander Zhang Jie was on good terms with Piba, sent Jie into the city to negotiate. Chao had Dexin brought before Jie; Dexin cursed the rebels and was killed, and Jie was detained as well. When Xueceng petitioned on behalf of the rebels' request for pacification, the emperor rebuked him sharply. By then the hundred-household head Yao Qin and military licentiate Zhang Xialing shot messages over the wall arranging a rising within; at midnight they lit signal fires. When outside troops failed to come, the rebels executed fifty of their own men; Qin was lowered from the wall by rope and fled to the Ming camp. The rebels outwardly sought pacification to gain time while secretly enlisting outside raiders, but their grain was exhausted and they were nearing collapse. In the seventh month Xueceng, Mengxiong, and Guozhen decided to breach the Yellow River dam and flood the city; the water reached the walls. Ordos leaders Bushitu and Zhuangtulai then struck Dingbian and Xiaoyanchi with thirty thousand horsemen, Tierui in the van, while Zaiseng led ten thousand horsemen through Shapai Pass west of Huamachi to support Piba. Ma Gui met them at Yougou, checked the raid, and drove the raiders toward Xiamaguan and Mingshazhou. Xueceng ordered Gong Zijing to hold Shapai Pass and directed Yan'an-Suiyuan Commander Dong Yiyuan to raid Tierui's camp, taking more than one hundred thirty heads and sending the raiders fleeing in alarm. They then surrounded Zijing ten ranks deep and killed him before withdrawing, and the rebels' outside support was cut off. Xueceng then increased the flow from the breached dam. In the eighth month the dike burst and had to be repaired again; water outside the walls stood eight or nine feet deep, and more than a hundred zhang of the east and west walls collapsed. Zhulitu and Zaiseng again entered Ligang Fort. Rusong, Ma Gui, and others routed them and pursued them to Helan Mountain. The rebels grew desperate and sought terms, but before terms were settled Xueceng was dismissed for his offenses. The court replaced him with Mengxiong, who then brought the campaign to success.

初，學曾之遣人招東旸、朝也，留固原十余日以俟之，帝責其玩寇；李句渡河又稍遲，松山、河套寇先入，官軍用是再失利。學曾嘗上疏令監軍無與兵事，帝為飭國楨如其言，國楨頗憾之。及至軍，劾諸將觀望，而頗以玩寇為學曾罪。給事中許子偉亦劾學曾惑於招撫，誤國事。國楨又言僉事隨府從城上躍下，賊令四人下取，我軍咫尺不敢前；又北寇數萬斷我糧道，殺戮無算，匿不以奏。帝遂大怒，逮學曾至京。然學曾逮未逾月，城壞而大軍入，賊竟以破滅。

Earlier, when Xueceng sent envoys to win over Dongyang and Chao, he had waited at Guyuan more than ten days, and the emperor accused him of indulging the enemy; Li Gou's river crossing was again delayed, allowing Songshan and Ordos raiders to strike first, and government forces suffered repeated defeats. Xueceng had once memorialized that supervising censors should not interfere in military affairs; the emperor ordered Guozhen accordingly, to Guozhen's resentment. Once at the front he impeached the generals for hesitation and largely blamed Xueceng for indulging the enemy. Supervising Secretary Xu Ziwei also impeached Xueceng for being misled by pacification schemes and harming the state. Guozhen also reported that Vice Commissioner Suifu leaped from the wall, that the rebels sent four men down to seize him while Ming troops a few feet away dared not advance; and that tens of thousands of northern raiders had cut the supply route with countless killings, which Xueceng had concealed from the throne. The emperor was furious and had Xueceng arrested and brought to the capital. Yet less than a month after his arrest the walls collapsed, the main army entered, and the rebels were destroyed.

夢熊既代學曾，亦賜尚方劍。時調度靈州，獨國楨監軍寧夏。賊被圍久，食盡無援，而城受水浸，益大崩。國楨挾諸將趨南關。秉忠先登，國楨大呼，諸將畢登。賊退據大城，攻數日不下。國楨使間紿東旸、朝、承恩互相殺，以降貰其罪。三人內猜疑，東旸、朝遂先誘殺承恩黨文秀。承恩亦與其黨周國柱誘東旸、朝殺之；盡懸東旸、朝、文秀首城上，開門降。如松率兵圍拜家。拜倉皇縊，闔室自焚死。夢熊自靈州馳至，下令盡誅拜黨及降人二千，慰問宗室士庶。寧夏平。夢熊、正色、國楨各上捷奏，而俘承恩獻京師。帝御門受賀，詔磔承恩於市，夢熊、正色、國楨各蔭世官，如松功第一，如薰、貴、秉忠等加恩有差。學曾初奪職為民，敘功，以原官致仕。

After replacing Xueceng, Mengxiong too received the imperial sword. Mengxiong directed operations from Lingzhou while Guozhen alone supervised the army at Ningxia. Besieged for months, the rebels had exhausted their food and outside aid while floodwater further undermined the walls. Guozhen drove the generals toward the south gate. Bingzhong scaled the wall first; Guozhen shouted encouragement, and the other generals followed. The rebels fell back to the inner citadel, which resisted assault for several days. Guozhen used agents to deceive Dongyang, Chao, and Chengen into turning on one another, promising pardon if they surrendered. Mutual suspicion set in, and Dongyang and Chao first lured and killed Chengen's follower Wenxiu. Chengen then joined his follower Zhou Guozhu in luring and killing Dongyang and Chao; they hung the heads of Dongyang, Chao, and Wenxiu on the wall and opened the gates in surrender. Rusong surrounded Piba's residence. Piba hanged himself in panic while his entire household burned themselves to death. Mengxiong galloped from Lingzhou and ordered the execution of Piba's entire faction and two thousand surrendering rebels, then comforted the imperial clan and local populace. Ningxia was pacified. Mengxiong, Zhengse, and Guozhen each reported victory, and Chengen was sent to the capital as a captive. The emperor received congratulations at the palace gate, ordered Chengen dismembered in the marketplace, granted hereditary offices to Mengxiong, Zhengse, and Guozhen, ranked Rusong first in merit, and rewarded Ruxun, Ma Gui, Bingzhong, and others in varying degrees. Xueceng had first been reduced to commoner status, but when merits were tallied he was allowed to retire with his former rank.

學曾任事勞勚。灌城招降之策，本其所建。及宣捷，帝召見大學士趙誌臯、張位，誌臯、位力為學曾解，尚書星以下多白學曾無罪。國楨亦上疏言：「學曾應變稍緩，臣請責諸將以振士氣，而逮學曾之命，發自臣疏，竊自悔恨。學曾不早雪，臣將受萬世譏。」如松亦言：「學曾被逮時，三軍雨泣。」夢熊亦推功學曾。帝初不聽，既而復其官。居家數年卒。夢熊以功進右都御史。

Xueceng had served with exhausting merit. The strategy of flooding the city and inducing surrender had been his plan from the start. When victory was announced, the emperor summoned Grand Secretaries Zhao Zhigao and Zhang Wei, who strongly defended Xueceng, while Minister Shi and others declared him innocent. Guozhen also memorialized: "Xueceng was somewhat slow in adapting to events; I asked to blame the generals to restore morale, but the order to arrest him came from my own memorial, for which I deeply regret myself. If Xueceng is not cleared soon, I shall be scorned for ages to come." Rusong added: "When Xueceng was arrested, the whole army wept like rain." Mengxiong also credited the victory to Xueceng. The emperor at first refused, but later restored his rank. He lived at home several years and died. For his merit Mengxiong was promoted to right censor-in-chief.

初，卜失兔為都督，其部長切盡臺吉最用事。切盡臺吉死，卜失兔不能制諸部。經略鄭洛專事羈縻。學曾以洮河之變，惡諸部為逆，襲殺明安。會拜反，著力兔、宰僧遂聲言與拜為一家，而卜失兔、莊禿賴亦引兵助之。及拜誅，切盡臺吉之比吉率著力兔、宰僧、莊禿賴等頓首花馬池塞下，悔罪求款。夢熊為奏請。帝以夢熊初主學曾，責其前後異議，令要諸部縛叛贖罪。著力兔等求款益堅，夢熊乃與巡撫田樂奏上四鎮款戰機宜，俟朝議。中外相仗莫敢決，卜失兔遂率諸部大入定邊。總兵官麻貴等擊卻之，夢熊以功加太子少保。未幾，切盡臺吉從子青把都兒犯甘肅，總兵官楊浚、副總兵何崇德禦之，斬首六百余級。夢熊復加太子太保、兵部尚書。尋入為南京工部尚書，而以都御史李汶代。自洮河變後，寇頗輕中國。招撫議既絕，諸部數入犯，四鎮遂頻歲用兵雲。夢熊雖功多，其品望遠出學曾下。卒官。

Earlier Bushitu held the rank of commissioner-in-chief, and among his chiefs Qiejin Taiji had been the most powerful. After Qiejin Taiji died, Bushitu could no longer control the tribes. Frontier Commissioner Zheng Luo relied entirely on appeasement. After the Tao River crisis Xueceng treated the tribes as enemies and launched a surprise attack that killed Ming'an. When Piba rebelled, Zhulitu and Zaiseng declared themselves kin to him, and Bushitu and Zhuangtulai also marched to his aid. After Piba's death, Qiejin Taiji's nephew Biji led Zhulitu, Zaiseng, Zhuangtulai, and others to kowtow at Huamachi Pass, repent, and sue for peace. Mengxiong memorialized on their behalf. The emperor, noting Mengxiong's earlier support for Xueceng, rebuked his inconsistency and ordered the tribes to hand over rebels to atone. As Zhulitu and others pressed harder for peace, Mengxiong and Grand Coordinator Tian Le submitted a plan for war and peace on the four garrisons and awaited court decision. Court and frontier officials deferred to one another and dared not decide, and Bushitu then led the tribes in a major invasion of Dingbian. Commander Ma Gui and others drove them back, and Mengxiong was promoted to junior guardian of the heir apparent for the exploit. Soon afterward Qiejin Taiji's nephew Qingbadu'er raided Gansu; Commander Yang Jun and Vice Commander He Chongde repelled him and took more than six hundred heads. Mengxiong was further promoted to grand guardian of the heir apparent and minister of War. He soon entered the capital as minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Works, and Censor-in-Chief Li Wen replaced him on the frontier. After the Tao River crisis the raiders came to hold China in less regard. With pacification abandoned, the tribes raided repeatedly, and the four garrisons were at war year after year. Though Mengxiong won many victories, his reputation stood far below Xueceng's. He died in office.

國楨既招降承恩，以夢熊貪功殺降，劾其罪。夢熊奏辨，言：「拜所畜家人皆死士，緩一二日，東旸、朝黨復集，必再亂。臣寧負殺降名，以絕禍本。」帝為下詔和解之。論功，擢國楨太仆少卿。逾年，遷右僉都御史，巡撫大同。久之，遷兵部右侍郎，總督宣、大、山西軍務。在鎮三年，節省市賞銀十五萬兩有奇。父喪歸，未起而卒。贈右都御史。

Guozhen, who had induced Chengen to surrender, impeached Mengxiong for slaughtering the surrendered out of greed for credit. Mengxiong replied in a memorial: "Piba's retainers were all fanatics; delay a day or two and Dongyang's and Chao's followers would rally again and surely rebel. I would rather bear the name of slaughtering surrendering men than leave the seeds of another revolt." The emperor issued an edict to settle the dispute. When merits were rewarded, Guozhen was promoted to vice director of the Court of the Imperial Stud. A year later he became right assistant censor-in-chief and grand coordinator of Datong. After some years he became right vice minister of War and supreme commander of military affairs in Xuan, Da, and Shanxi. In three years on the frontier he saved more than one hundred fifty thousand taels in border reward silver. He returned home for his father's mourning and died before being recalled. He was posthumously granted the title of right censor-in-chief.

李化龍，字於田，長垣人。萬歷二年進士。除嵩縣知縣。年甫二十，胥吏易之。化龍陰察其奸，悉召置之法，縣中大治。遷南京工部主事，歷右通政使。

Li Hualong, whose style was Yutian, came from Changyuan. He passed the metropolitan examination in Wanli 2 (1574). He was appointed magistrate of Song County. Only twenty years old, he was underestimated by the yamen staff. Hualong secretly investigated their corruption, summoned them all to justice, and brought the county under firm order. He rose to principal secretary in the Nanjing Ministry of Works and later became right commissioner of transport.

二十二年夏，擢右僉都御史，巡撫遼東。初，總兵官李成梁破殺泰寧速把亥，其子把兔兒弟炒花據舊遼陽以北，居兩河之中，益結土蠻為患。其年四月，把兔兒圍遼陽，朵顏小歹青、福余伯言兒分犯錦、義，掠清細河，巡撫韓取善坐免。化龍受事甫兩月，把兔兒與伯言兒等寇鎮武，又約土蠻子卜言臺周犯右屯。把兔兒先至吳家墳。化龍與總兵官董一元定計先擊把兔、伯言兒，伯言兒中流矢死，把兔被傷。卜言臺周至，攻右屯不利，亦解去。於是把兔、小歹青、卜言臺周益相結，謀復前恥。化龍與一元嚴備之。一元又出塞，搗巢有功，而把兔傷重竟死，邊塞詟服。詳具一元傳。化龍進兵部右侍郎。

In the summer of year 22 (1594) he was promoted to right assistant censor-in-chief and appointed grand coordinator of Liaodong. Earlier Commander Li Chengliang had defeated and killed the Taining chief Subahai; his son Batuer and brother Chaohua held the country north of old Liaoyang between the two rivers and increasingly allied with the Tumen Mongols. That April Batuer besieged Liaoyang while Xiaodaqing of the Tümed and Boyan'er of Fuyu raided Jinzhou and Yizhou and plundered along the Qingxi River; Grand Coordinator Han Qushan was dismissed. Only two months into office, Hualong faced Batuer and Boyan'er raiding Zhenwu while Buyantaiju of the Tumen was enlisted to strike Youdun. Batuer reached Wujiafen first. Hualong and Commander Dong Yiyuan decided to strike Batuer and Boyan'er first; Boyan'er was killed by a stray arrow and Batuer was wounded. Buyantaiju arrived, failed against Youdun, and withdrew. Batuer, Xiaodaqing, and Buyantaiju then drew closer together, plotting revenge. Hualong and Yiyuan tightened defenses. Yiyuan raided beyond the passes with success; Batuer died of his wounds, and the frontier was cowed into submission. See the biography of Dong Yiyuan for full details. Hualong was promoted to right vice minister of War.

明年，小歹青悔禍款塞，請開木市於義州，且告朵顏長昂將犯邊。已，長昂果犯錦、義，副總兵李如梅擊卻之。歹青言既信，化龍遂許其請。上疏曰：

The following year Xiaodaqing repented and sued for peace, asking to open a timber market at Yizhou and warning that the Tümed leader Changang would raid the frontier. Changang soon did raid Jinzhou and Yizhou, but Vice Commander Li Rumei drove him back. With Xiaodaqing's warning vindicated, Hualong approved his request. He memorialized as follows:

環遼皆敵也，迤北土蠻種類多不可數。近邊者，直寧前則長昂，直錦、義則小歹青，直廣寧、遼、瀋則把兔、炒花、花大，直開、鐵則伯言、暖兔，其在東邊海西則猛骨孛羅、那林孛羅、卜寨，皆與遼地項背相望。並墻圍獵，則刁鬥聲相聞，蓋肘腋憂也。自那卜被剿，數年東陲無事。去年把兔、伯言戰死，炒花、花大一敗塗地。今伯言子宰賽受罰，入市廣寧，遼、瀋、開、鐵間警報漸希。所未馴伏者，惟小歹青與長昂耳。

Enemies surround Liaodong on every side, and northward the Tumen tribes are beyond counting. Along the frontier: Changang faces Ningqian; Xiaodaqing faces Jinzhou and Yizhou; Batuer, Chaohua, and Huada face Guangning, Liaoyang, and Shenyang; Boyan and Nuantu face Kaiyuan and Tieling; and the eastern Haixi leaders Mengguboluo, Nalinboluo, and Bozhai all stand back to back with Liaodong. They hunt along the same border wall within earshot of one another's watch-drums—a constant threat at the armpit. Since Napu was crushed, the eastern frontier had been quiet for several years. Last year Batuer and Boyan were killed in battle and Chaohua and Huada were routed utterly. Boyan's son Zaisai has submitted and trades at Guangning, and alarms between Liaoyang, Shenyang, Kaiyuan, and Tieling have grown rare. Only Xiaodaqing and Changang remain unsubdued.

小歹青素兇狡，雄長諸部。西助長昂，東助炒花。大舉動以數萬，小竊則飛騎出沒錦、義間。自周之望、柏朝翠戰歿，無敢以一矢加遺。淩河上下方數百里，野多暴骨，民無寧宇。遠慮者每以河西不保為虞。今乃叩關求市，臣遍詢將領及彼地居民，僉言木市開有五利。

Xiaodaqing is naturally fierce and cunning and dominates the tribes. He supports Changang in the west and Chaohua in the east. Major raids number in the tens of thousands; smaller raids send swift horsemen raiding between Jinzhou and Yizhou. Since Zhou Zhiwang and Bai Chaochui fell in battle, no one has dared stand against him. For hundreds of li along the Ling River the countryside is strewn with the bones of the slain and the people know no peace. Far-sighted men constantly feared that the region west of the river could not be held. Now he seeks entry to trade at the passes; I have questioned generals and local residents, and all agree that opening a timber market would bring five benefits.

河西無木，皆在邊外，叛亂以來，仰給河東，以邊警又不時至。故河西木貴於玉，市通則材木不可勝用。利一。所疑於歹青者，無信耳。彼重市為生路，當市時必不行掠。即今年市而明年掠，我已收今年不掠之利矣。利二。遼東馬市，成祖所開，無他賞，本聽商民與交易。木市與馬市等，有利於民，不費於官。利三。大舉之害酷而希，零竊之害輕而數。小歹青不掠錦、義，零竊少矣。又西不助長昂，東不助炒花，則敵勢漸分。即寧前、廣寧患亦漸減。且大舉先報，又得預為備。利四。零竊既希，邊人益得修備。利五。

Hexi has no timber of its own—all lies beyond the border. Since the rebellions it has depended on the east bank, and border alarms interrupt supply. Timber in Hexi is therefore dearer than jade; once trade opens, lumber will be abundant. First benefit. The only doubt about Xiaodaqing is trustworthiness. He values trade as his livelihood and will not raid during market season. Even if he trades this year and raids next, we still gain a year without raids. Second benefit. The Liaodong horse market opened by the Yongle emperor involved no special rewards and simply allowed merchants and civilians to trade. A timber market would resemble the horse market—benefiting the people without burdening the state. Third benefit. Major raids are devastating but rare; petty raids are lighter but constant. If Xiaodaqing refrains from raiding Jinzhou and Yizhou, petty raids will diminish. If he ceases aiding Changang in the west and Chaohua in the east, enemy strength will divide. Troubles at Ningqian and Guangning will also ease. Major campaigns are announced in advance, giving time to prepare. Fourth benefit. With fewer petty raids, border people can better restore their defenses. Fifth benefit.

疏入，從之。化龍尋以病去，木市亦停止。其後總兵官馬林復議開市，與巡撫李植相左，論久不決，小歹青遂復為寇雲。

The memorial was approved. Hualong soon resigned on account of illness, and the timber market was suspended. Later Commander Ma Lin again proposed reopening the market, clashed with Grand Coordinator Li Zhi, and debate dragged on until Xiaodaqing resumed raiding.

二十七年三月，化龍起故官，總督湖廣、川、貴軍務兼巡撫四川，討播州叛臣楊應龍。應龍之先曰楊鏗。明初內附，授宣慰使。應龍性猜狠嗜殺。數從征調，恃功驕蹇。知川兵脆弱，陰有據蜀誌，間出剽州縣。嬖小妻田雌鳳，讒殺妻張氏，屠其家。用誅罰立威，所屬五司七姓不堪其虐，走貴州告變。巡撫葉夢熊疏請大征。詔不聽，逮系重慶獄。應龍詭將兵征倭自效，得脫歸。復逮，不出。四川巡撫王繼光發兵討，覆於白石，應龍諉罪諸苗。朝廷命邢玠總督。值東西用兵，勢未能窮治，因招撫之。應龍益結生苗，奪五司七姓地，並湖廣四十八屯以畀之，歲出侵掠。是年二月，敗官軍於飛練堡，都司楊國柱、指揮李廷棟等皆死。已，復破殺綦江參將房嘉寵、遊擊張良賢，投屍蔽江下。偽軍師孫時泰請直取重慶，搗成都，劫蜀王為質，而應龍遷延，聲言爭地界，冀曲赦如曩時。化龍至成都，征兵未至，亦謬為好語縻之。

In the third month of year 27 (1599) Hualong was recalled to serve as supreme commander of Huguang, Sichuan, and Guizhou and grand coordinator of Sichuan to suppress the Bozhou rebel Yang Yinglong. Yinglong's ancestor was Yang Keng. In early Ming times the family submitted and received the title of pacification commissioner. Yinglong was suspicious, brutal, and bloodthirsty by nature. Having joined repeated campaigns, he grew arrogant on his merits. Knowing Sichuan troops were weak, he secretly aimed to seize the province and raided outlying districts. Favoring a concubine, Tian Cifeng, he slandered and killed his principal wife Lady Zhang and massacred her family. He ruled by terror; the five commissions and seven clans under him, unable to endure his cruelty, fled to Guizhou to report rebellion. Grand Coordinator Ye Mengxiong memorialized for a major expedition. The court refused; he was arrested and imprisoned in Chongqing. Yinglong falsely offered troops against the wokou, secured release, and returned home. Arrested again, he refused to surrender. Sichuan Grand Coordinator Wang Jiguang attacked but was destroyed at Baishi; Yinglong blamed the Miao tribes. The court appointed Xing Jie supreme commander. With wars raging east and west, the court could not pursue him to the end and pacified him instead. Yinglong rallied the unassimilated Miao, seized the lands of the five commissions and seven clans, and granted them Huguang's forty-eight military colonies, raiding yearly. That February he routed government forces at Feilian Fort; Regional Commander Yang Guozhu, Commander Li Tingdong, and others were killed. He then destroyed Qijiang Assistant Commander Fang Jiachong and Mobile Corps Commander Zhang Liangxian and cast their bodies into the river until it was choked with corpses. His adviser Sun Shitai urged a direct strike on Chongqing and Chengdu and seizing the Prince of Shu as hostage, but Yinglong delayed, claiming a boundary dispute and hoping for leniency as before. Hualong reached Chengdu before reinforcements arrived and also strung Yinglong along with conciliatory words.

帝聞綦江破，大怒。追褫前四川、貴州巡撫譚希思、江東之職，而賜化龍劍，假便宜討賊。賊焚東坡、爛橋，梗湖、貴路，又焚龍泉，走都司楊惟忠。化龍劾諸大帥不用命者，沈尚文逮治，童元鎮、劉廷皆革職充為事官。諸軍大集，化龍先檄水西兵三萬守貴州，斷招苗路，乃移重慶，大誓文武。明年二月，分八道進兵。川師四路：總兵官劉綎由綦江，總兵官馬孔英由南川，總兵官吳廣由合江，副將曹希彬受廣節制，由永寧。黔師三路：總兵官童元鎮由烏江，參將朱鶴齡受元鎮節制，統宣慰使安疆臣由沙溪，總兵官李應祥由興隆。楚師一路分兩翼：總兵官陳璘由偏橋，副總兵陳良比受璘節制，由龍泉。每路兵三萬，官兵三之，土司七之。貴州巡撫郭子章駐貴陽，湖廣巡撫支可大移沅州，化龍自將中軍策應。帝以楚地遼闊，又擢江鐸為僉都御史，巡撫偏、沅。湖廣設偏沅巡撫，自鐸始也。

Learning of the Qijiang disaster, the emperor was furious. He stripped former Sichuan and Guizhou grand coordinators Tan Xisi and Jiang Dongzhi of rank, gave Hualong the imperial sword, and granted discretionary authority to suppress the rebels. The rebels burned Dongpo and Lanqiao, blocked routes to Huguang and Guizhou, burned Longquan, and drove off Regional Commander Yang Weizhong. Hualong impeached disobedient commanders; Shen Shangwen was arrested, and Tong Yuanzhen and Liu Ting were reduced to probationary officers. As armies massed, Hualong first posted thirty thousand Shuixi troops in Guizhou to block Miao recruitment routes, then moved to Chongqing and administered a grand oath to civil and military officials. The following February he launched eight columns. Four Sichuan columns: Commander Liu Ting via Qijiang, Ma Kongying via Nanchuan, Wu Guang via Hejiang, and Cao Xibin under Wu Guang via Yongning. Three Guizhou columns: Tong Yuanzhen via the Wujiang, Zhu Heling under him, Pacification Commissioner An Jiangchen via Shaxi, and Li Yingxiang via Xinglong. One Huguang column in two wings: Chen Lin via Pianqiao and Chen Liangbi via Longquan under his command. Each column numbered thirty thousand men, three-tenths regular troops and seven-tenths native levies. Guizhou Grand Coordinator Guo Zizhang held Guiyang, Huguang Grand Coordinator Zhi Kedai moved to Yuanzhou, and Hualong commanded the central reserve. Because Huguang was vast, the emperor also promoted Jiang Duo to assistant censor-in-chief as grand coordinator of Pianqiao and Yuanzhou. The Pian-Yuan grand coordinator post in Huguang began with Jiang Duo.

推官高折枝先以南川兵進，據桑木鎮，綎復自綦江入。應龍以勁兵二萬屬其子朝棟曰：「爾破綦江，馳南川，盡焚積聚，彼無能為也。」比抗諸路兵，皆大敗，應龍頓足嘆曰：「吾不用時泰計，今死矣！」或言水西佐賊，化龍詰之疆臣，斬賊使，二氏交遂絕。烏江兵敗績，逮下元鎮於理，諸將益奮。綎先入婁山關，直抵海龍囤，璘、疆臣兵亦至。賊勢急，上囤死守，遣使詐降。化龍檄諸將斬使，焚書。以綎與應龍有舊，諭無通賊，綎械其人以自明。八路兵皆會囤下，築長圍困之，更番叠攻。六月，綎破土、月二城，應龍窘，與二妾俱縊。明晨，官軍入城，七子皆被執。詔磔應龍屍並子朝棟於市。自出師至滅賊，凡百有十四日。播自唐乾符中入楊氏，二十九世，八百余年，至應龍而絕，以其地置遵義、平越二府，分屬川、貴。

Magistrate-adjunct Gao Zhezhi advanced first from Nanchuan and seized Sangmu Town, and Liu Ting entered again from Qijiang. Yinglong gave his son Chaodong twenty thousand elite troops, saying: "You destroyed Qijiang—rush to Nanchuan, burn all their stores, and they can do nothing." But when he met the columns he was routed everywhere; Yinglong stamped his feet and cried: "I did not heed Shitai's plan—now I am finished!" When rumor said Shuixi was aiding the rebels, Hualong confronted An Jiangchen, executed the rebel envoy, and the alliance between the two houses was broken. After defeat on the Wujiang, Tong Yuanzhen was arrested, and the other generals fought all the harder. Liu Ting entered Loushan Pass first and reached Hailong Stockade, followed by Chen Lin and An Jiangchen. Desperate, the rebels held the upper stockade and sent envoys feigning surrender. Hualong ordered the generals to execute the envoys and burn their letters. Because Liu Ting had old ties with Yinglong, Hualong warned him against collusion; Ting shackled the messenger to prove his loyalty. All eight columns converged below the stockade, built a long encirclement, and attacked in relays. In the sixth month Liu Ting breached the Tu and Yue forts; cornered, Yinglong hanged himself with two concubines. At dawn the next day government troops entered the citadel and seized all seven sons. An edict ordered Yinglong's corpse and his son Chaodong dismembered in the marketplace. From the opening of the campaign to the destruction of the rebels took only one hundred fourteen days. Bozhou had been held by the Yang clan since Tang Qianfu (874–879), through twenty-nine generations and more than eight hundred years, until Yinglong's line ended; its territory was reorganized as the prefectures of Zunyi and Pingyue, divided between Sichuan and Guizhou.

化龍初聞父喪，以金革起復，至是乞歸終制。三十一年四月，起工部右侍郎，總理河道，與淮、揚巡撫李三才奏開淤河，由直河入泇口抵夏鎮二百六十里，避黃河呂梁之險。再以憂去，未代。敘前平播功，晉兵部尚書，加少保，蔭一子世錦衣指揮使。

Hualong had been recalled from mourning for his father on military grounds; he now asked to return home and complete the full mourning period. In the fourth month of year 31 (1603) he was appointed right vice minister of Works to oversee the Grand Canal and, with Huai-Yang Grand Coordinator Li Sancai, memorialized to dredge a silted channel two hundred sixty li from the straight river through the Si estuary to Xia Town, bypassing the hazard of the Yellow River at Lüliang. He resigned again for mourning and was not replaced. For pacifying Bozhou he was promoted to minister of War and junior guardian, and one son received a hereditary post as commandant of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

三十五年夏，起戎政尚書。化龍以京營根本，奏陳十一濫、十二苦、十九宜，又上屯政十二事，皆置不理。兵部自二十七年後，左、右侍郎皆空署。未幾，尚書蕭大亨亦致仕，化龍掌部事。三十七年正月，京師訛言寇至，民爭避匿，邊民逃入都門者亦數萬，九門晝閉。輔臣言兵部尚書惟一人，何以應猝變，帝亦不報。遼戰士二萬余皆老弱，而稅監高淮肆虐，遼人切齒。化龍請停稅課，且增兵萬人，又條上兵食款戰之策，帝皆不報。一品秩滿，加柱國、少傅兼太子太保。卒官，年七十。謚襄毅，贈少師，加贈太師。

In the summer of year 35 (1607) he was appointed minister of military administration. Judging the capital garrisons fundamental to defense, Hualong memorialized eleven abuses, twelve hardships, and nineteen reforms, and twelve proposals on garrison farmland—all were ignored. Since year 27 the left and right vice ministers of War had gone unfilled. Soon Minister Xiao Daheng retired as well, and Hualong took charge of the ministry. In the first month of year 37 (1609) rumor spread in the capital that raiders were coming; crowds fled in panic, tens of thousands of frontier refugees poured through the gates, and the nine city gates were closed by day. A chief minister asked how a single minister of War could meet sudden crisis; the emperor did not respond. Liaodong's twenty thousand-odd fighting men were old and weak, while tax supervisor Gao Huai ran rampant, leaving the people bitter with rage. Hualong asked to halt tax levies, add ten thousand troops, and submitted detailed plans on manpower, supplies, appeasement, and war—the emperor answered none of them. When his first-rank term expired he was made pillar of state, junior mentor, and grand guardian of the heir apparent. He died in office at the age of seventy. He was posthumously titled Xiangyi, granted junior mentor, and later grand mentor.

化龍具文武才。播州之役，以劉綎驕蹇，先摧挫之而薦其才，故綎為盡力。開河之功，為漕渠永利，詳見《河渠志》。

Hualong possessed both civil and military talent. In the Bozhou campaign, finding Liu Ting proud and difficult, he first humbled him and then praised his ability, and Liu Ting served with full devotion. His canal work brought lasting benefit to the transport system; see the Treatise on Rivers and Canals for details.

江鐸，字士振，仁和人。高祖比，景泰時為禮科給事中。劾石亨怙寵罔上，有直聲。官至山東參政。曾祖瀾，正德時南京禮部尚書。卒謚文昭。祖曉，嘉靖中工部侍郎。父圻，萬歷初廣西提學僉事。父母疾，嘗藥舐糞。居喪寢苫三年，經寢室必俯其首，妻經夫廬亦然。卒，門人私謚為孝端先生。自比至鐸五世皆進士。而曉弟暉，正德中為庶吉士，與舒芬等諫南巡受杖。世宗時，由編修出為河南僉事。鐸登第在萬歷二年。授刑部主事。累官山西按察使，擢撫偏、沅。夾攻楊應龍有功，與郭子章皆蔭一子世錦衣指揮。丁母艱去。奪情，命留討皮林諸洞蠻，平之。詳具《陳璘傳》。以勞疾歸。卒，贈兵部右侍郎。

Jiang Duo, whose style was Shizhen, came from Renhe. His great-grandfather Bi served as a supervising secretary in the Ministry of Rites under the Jingtai emperor. He impeached Shi Heng for abusing imperial favor and won a reputation for integrity. He rose to administrative vice commissioner of Shandong. His grandfather Lan was minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Rites under the Zhengde emperor. He was posthumously titled Wenzhao. His grandfather Xiao was vice minister of Works in the Jiajing reign. His father Qi was educational intendant of Guangxi early in the Wanli reign. When his parents fell ill he tasted their medicine and even tasted their stool—a supreme act of filial devotion. He mourned on a rush mat for three years, always bowing his head when passing the mourning hut; his wife did the same. After his death his students privately gave him the title Master Xiaoduan. From Bi down to Duo, five generations produced jinshi. Xiao's younger brother Hui, a Hanlin bachelor under Zhengde, joined Shu Fen and others in opposing the southern tour and was beaten with rods. Under the Jiajing emperor he left the Hanlin Academy to serve as administrative vice commissioner of Henan. Duo passed the metropolitan examination in Wanli 2 (1574). He was appointed principal secretary in the Ministry of Justice. He rose through the ranks to surveillance commissioner of Shanxi and was promoted to grand coordinator of Pianqiao and Yuanzhou. He earned merit in the converging attack on Yang Yinglong; he and Guo Zizhang each received a hereditary commandant's post in the Embroidered Uniform Guard for a son. He resigned to mourn his mother. Recalled from mourning, he was ordered to suppress the Miao of the Pilin caves and pacified them. See the biography of Chen Lin for full details. He returned home worn out by illness. He died and was posthumously granted right vice minister of War.

贊曰：哱拜一降人耳，雖假以爵秩，而憑藉未厚。倉猝發難，據鎮城，聯外寇，邊鄙為之騷然，武備之弛，有由來矣。楊應龍惡稔貫盈，自速殄滅。然盤踞積久，地形險惡，非師武臣力，奏績豈易言哉！李化龍之功可與韓雍、項忠相埒，較寧夏之役，難易懸殊矣。

The commentator writes: Piba was only a surrendered tribesman; though granted rank and title, his base of support was thin. Yet he rose suddenly, seized the garrison city, and allied with outside raiders, throwing the frontier into turmoil—a sign of how long military preparedness had been neglected. Yang Yinglong's crimes were ripe and full, and he hastened his own destruction. Yet he had entrenched himself for years in rugged terrain; without able generals, victory could hardly have been reported so easily! Li Hualong's achievement ranks with those of Han Yong and Xiang Zhong—a feat of an altogether different order of difficulty from the Ningxia campaign.

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