Volume 233 Biographies 121: Jiang Yinglin, Chen Dengyun, Luo Dahong, Li Xianke, Meng Yanghao, Zhu Weijing, Wang Rujian, Wang Xueceng, Zhang Zhenguan, Fan Yuheng, Xie Tingzan, Yang Tianmin, He Xuan

姜應麟〈（從子思睿）〉陳登雲羅大摐〈（黃正賓）〉李獻可〈（舒弘緒陳尚象丁懋遜吳之佳葉初春楊其休董嗣成賈名儒張棟）〉孟養浩朱維京王如堅王學曾〈（涂傑）〉張貞觀樊玉衡〈（子鼎遇維城孫自一）〉謝廷贊〈（兄廷諒）〉楊天民何選〈（馮生虞任彥蘗）〉

Jiang Yinglin (His nephew Si Rui)〉 Chen Dengyun and Luo Dahong (Huang Zhenbin)〉 Li Xianke (Shu Hongxu, Chen Shangxiang, Ding Maoxun, Wu Zhijia, Ye Chuchun, Yang Qixiu, Dong Sicheng, Jia Mingru, and Zhang Dong)〉 Meng Yanghao, Zhu Weijing, Wang Rujian, and Wang Xueceng (Tu Jie)〉 Zhang Zhenguan and Fan Yuheng (His son Dingyu and Weicheng, and his grandson Ziyi)〉 Xie Tingzan (His elder brother Tingliang)〉 Yang Tianmin and He Xuan (Feng Shengyu and Ren Yanbo)〉

姜應麟，字泰符，慈谿人。父國華，嘉靖中進士。歷陜西參議，有廉名。應麟舉萬歷十一年進士，改庶吉士，授戶科給事中。貴妃鄭氏有殊寵，生子常洵，詔進封為皇貴妃。而王恭妃育皇長子已五歲，無所益封。中外籍籍，疑帝欲立愛。十四年二月，應麟首抗疏言：「禮貴別嫌，事當慎始。貴妃所生陛下第三子猶亞位中宮，恭妃誕育元嗣翻令居下。揆之倫理則不順，質之人心則不安，傳之天下萬世則不正，非所以重儲貳、定眾誌也。伏請俯察輿情，收還成命。其或情不容已，請先封恭妃為皇貴妃，而後及於鄭妃，則禮既不違，情亦不廢。然臣所議者末，未及其本也。陛下誠欲正名定分，別嫌明微，莫若俯從閣臣之請，冊立元嗣為東宮，以定天下之本，則臣民之望慰，宗社之慶長矣。」疏入，帝震怒，抵之地，遍召大珰諭曰：「冊封貴妃，初非為東宮起見，科臣奈何訕朕！」手擊案者再。諸珰環跪叩首，怒稍解，遂降旨：「貴妃敬奉勤勞，特加殊封。立儲自有長幼，姜應麟疑君賣直，可降極邊雜職。」於是得大同廣昌典史。吏部員外郎沈璟、刑部主事孫如法繼言之，並得罪。兩京申救者疏數十上，皆不省。自後言者蜂起，鹹執「立儲自有長幼」之旨，以責信於帝。帝雖厭苦之，終不能奪也。

Jiang Yinglin, styled Taifu, came from Cixi. His father Guohua had passed the metropolitan examination in the Jiajing era. He rose to be an assistant commissioner in Shaanxi and was known for his probity. Yinglin became a jinshi in Wanli 11, entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor, and was appointed a supervising secretary in the Revenue Bureau. The imperial consort Lady Zheng held exceptional favor. After she bore Changxun, an edict promoted her to Imperial Noble Consort. Meanwhile Consort Wang, who had given birth to the eldest imperial son, now five, received no comparable advancement. Rumors spread at court and beyond that the emperor intended to name his favorite as heir. In the second month of Wanli 14, Yinglin led the remonstrance with a memorial: "Ritual demands that suspicious distinctions be kept clear, and affairs must be set right at the outset. The third son born to the favored consort is still ranked below the empress, yet the consort who bore Your Majesty's eldest son is placed beneath her instead. By moral principle it is wrong; in the hearts of men it breeds unease; handed down through the ages it will be judged unjust. This is no way to honor the heir and settle the realm. I beg Your Majesty to heed public feeling and withdraw this decree. If Your Majesty cannot set affection aside entirely, ennoble Consort Wang as Imperial Noble Consort first and only then Lady Zheng, so that ritual is preserved without denying your feelings. Yet what I have argued touches only the branch, not the root. If Your Majesty truly means to set names and ranks aright and to remove every ground for suspicion, you should accept the grand secretaries' plea and invest the eldest son as heir apparent, fixing the foundation of the realm. Then the hopes of your subjects will be answered and the altars secured for long ages." When the memorial arrived, the emperor flew into a rage and hurled it to the floor. Summoning the chief eunuchs, he said, "Promoting the consort was never about the Eastern Palace—how dare the censorial officials slander me!" He struck the desk twice with his hand. The eunuchs knelt in a circle and kowtowed until his anger subsided somewhat. Then he issued a decree: "The consort has served with reverence and diligence and is granted this extraordinary promotion. Heirship follows seniority by birth. Jiang Yinglin is judged to have accused his sovereign of courting a reputation for blunt honesty and is demoted to a minor post on the remotest frontier." He was appointed registrar of Guangchang in Datong prefecture. Shen Jing, a vice director in the Ministry of Personnel, and Sun Rufa, a secretary in the Ministry of Justice, followed with similar memorials and were punished as well. Dozens of memorials from both capitals pleaded for clemency, but the emperor took no notice. Remonstrators then rose in swarms, all invoking the principle that "heirship follows seniority by birth" to hold the emperor to his own decree. The emperor grew weary of the clamor, yet in the end he could not override them.

應麟居廣昌四年，量移余幹知縣。以父憂歸。服闋，至京，會吏部數以推舉建言諸臣得重譴，應麟遂不復補。家居二十年。光宗立，起太仆少卿。給事中薛鳳翔劾應麟老病失儀，遂引疾去。崇禎三年卒，贈太常卿。

After four years at Guangchang, he was transferred to serve as magistrate of Yugan. He went home to observe mourning for his father. When his mourning ended he came to the capital, but the Ministry of Personnel was repeatedly punishing officials who had been recommended after remonstrating, and Yinglin was never given another post. He lived in retirement for twenty years. When Emperor Guangzong came to the throne, he was recalled as vice minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud. The supervising secretary Xue Fengxiang impeached him for age, illness, and breaches of court decorum, whereupon Yinglin pleaded illness and resigned. He died in Chongzhen 3 and was posthumously made minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

從子思睿，字顓愚。少孤，事母孝。舉天啟二年進士，授行人。崇禎三年擢御史。明年春，陳天下五大弊：曰加派病民，曰郵傳過削，曰搜剔愈精，頭緒愈亂，曰懲毖愈甚，頹廢愈多，曰督責愈急，蒙蔽愈深。忤旨，切責。其冬遣宦官監視邊務，抗疏切諫。已，劾首輔周延儒以家人周文郁為副將，弟素儒為錦衣，叔父人瑞為中書，受賕行私，請罷斥。已，論救給事中魏呈潤、御史李曰輔、王績燦。巡按雲南。陛辭，歷指諸弊政，而言：「舉朝拯焚救溺之精神，專用之摘抉細微，而以察吏詰戎予奪大柄僅付二三閹寺。厝火自安，不知變計，天下安望太平！」忤旨，切責。還朝，值帝撤還二部總理諸鎮監視內臣。思睿請並撤監視京營關、寧者。因詆向來秉政大臣阿承將順之罪，意指溫體仁也。體仁二子儼、伉數請囑提學僉事黎元寬。會元寬以文體險怪論黜，遂發其二子私書。思睿劾體仁縱子作奸，以元寬揭為據。體仁謂揭不出元寬手，思睿等群謀排陷。元寬上疏證明，思睿再劾體仁以「群謀」二字成陷人之阱，但知有子，不知有君。帝怒，奪俸五月。出視河東鹽政。安邑有故都御史曹於汴講學書院，思睿為置田構學舍，公余親蒞講授。代還，乞假歸裏。未幾卒。

His nephew Si Rui, styled Zhuanyu, was orphaned young and served his mother with exemplary filial devotion. He became a jinshi in Tianqi 2 and was appointed a courier in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. In Chongzhen 3 he was promoted to investigating censor. The following spring he listed five great abuses plaguing the realm: supplemental levies that burden the people; postal relay service cut beyond reason; ever finer extraction that only multiplies confusion; ever harsher punishments that breed ever more neglect; and ever tighter supervision that drives ever deeper concealment. The memorial offended the throne and brought a sharp rebuke. That winter, when eunuchs were dispatched to oversee border affairs, he submitted a forceful memorial of remonstrance. He later impeached Chief Grand Secretary Zhou Yanru for appointing his household retainer Zhou Wenyu deputy commander, his younger brother Suru to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and his uncle Renrui to the Secretariat, all while taking bribes and showing private favor, and he asked that Zhou be removed. He also pleaded on behalf of the supervising secretary Wei Chengrun and the censors Li Yuefu and Wang Jican. He was sent to tour and inspect Yunnan. At his farewell audience he listed the abuses of government and said, "The court's spirit of rescuing the realm from crisis is spent entirely on picking at petty details, while the great powers of inspecting officials and examining troops are left to two or three eunuchs. You sit beside the fire yet feel secure and will not change course—how can the realm hope for peace!" Again he offended the throne and was sharply rebuked. On his return he found that the emperor had recalled the eunuchs whom the two ministries had placed in charge of supervising the border garrisons. Si Rui asked that the eunuchs supervising the capital garrisons and the Shanhai and Ningyuan defenses be withdrawn as well. He also denounced past chief ministers for fawning and acquiescence, clearly intending Wen Tiren. Tiren's sons Yan and Kang had repeatedly pressed the educational intendant Li Yuankuan for favors. When Yuankuan failed candidates for essays in a dangerous and eccentric style, he published the two sons' private letters to him. Si Rui impeached Tiren for indulging his sons' misconduct, citing Yuankuan's published letters as proof. Tiren claimed the exposé was not Yuankuan's work and that Si Rui and others had conspired to frame him. Yuankuan submitted a memorial to verify the facts. Si Rui impeached Tiren again, arguing that by invoking "faction conspiracy" Tiren had turned a trap on others and cared only for his sons, not for his sovereign. The emperor was angered and docked his salary for five months. He was sent out to inspect the salt administration of Hedong. At Anyi stood a lecture academy founded by the former censor-in-chief Cao Yubian. Si Rui endowed land, built schoolrooms, and in his spare time lectured there himself. When his tour ended he asked leave to return home. He died soon afterward.

陳登雲，字從龍，唐山人。萬歷五年進士。除鄢陵知縣。政最，征授御史。出按遼東，疏陳安攘十策，又請速首功之賞。改巡山西。還朝，會廷臣方爭建儲。登雲謂議不早決，由貴妃家陰沮之。十六年六月，遂因災異抗疏，劾妃父鄭承憲，言：「承憲懷禍藏奸，窺覬儲貳。日與貂珰往來，綢繆杯酌，且廣結山人、術士、緇黃之流。曩陛下重懲科場冒籍，承憲妻每揚言事由己發，用以恐喝勛貴，簧鼓朝紳。不但惠安遭其虐焰，即中宮與太后家亦謹避其鋒矣。陛下享國久長，自由敬德所致，而承憲每對人言，以為不立東宮之效。幹撓盛典，蓄隱邪謀，他日何所不至。茍不震奮乾剛，斷以大義，雖日避殿撤樂、素服停刑，恐天心未易格，天變未可弭也。」疏入，貴妃、承憲皆怒，同列亦為登雲危，帝竟留中不下。

Chen Dengyun, styled Conglong, came from Tangshan. He passed the metropolitan examination in Wanli 5. He was appointed magistrate of Yanling. When his administration was rated highest, he was summoned to the capital and made a censor. Sent to inspect Liaodong, he memorialized ten policies for pacifying the frontier and urged that rewards for the first victories be granted without delay. He was then transferred to tour Shanxi. On his return the court was embroiled in the struggle over investing the heir apparent. Dengyun argued that the delay came from the consort's clan working behind the scenes to block a decision. In the sixth month of Wanli 16 he seized on omens and calamities to submit a bold memorial impeaching the consort's father Zheng Chengxian: "Chengxian harbors malice and hides treachery while coveting the heir's position. He consorts daily with court eunuchs over wine, and cultivates recluses, diviners, monks, and Daoist priests on every side. When Your Majesty punished examination fraud, Chengxian's wife boasted that each exposure came through her, using that claim to intimidate the nobility and sway court officials. Not only did Lady Huian suffer under her tyranny; even the empress and the empress dowager's clan were careful to avoid her wrath. Your Majesty's long reign owes to your own virtue, yet Chengxian tells others it is because the Eastern Palace has not been established. He meddles in the great rites of state and nurses hidden designs—what limit will there be to his ambitions? Unless Your Majesty rouses your firm resolve and acts on principle, no amount of avoiding the hall, withdrawing music, wearing plain dress, or suspending punishments will move Heaven's heart or still these omens." When the memorial arrived, the consort and Chengxian were furious. Colleagues feared for Dengyun's safety, but the emperor shelved the memorial and never acted on it.

久之，疏論吏部尚書陸光祖，又論貶四川提學副使馮時可，論罷應天巡撫李淶、順天巡撫王致祥，又論禮部侍郎韓世能、尚書羅萬化、南京太仆卿徐用檢。朝右皆憚之。時方考選科道，登雲因疏言：「近歲言官，壬午以前怵於威，則摧剛為柔；壬午以後昵於情，則化直為佞。其間豈無剛直之人，而弗勝齟齬，多不能安其身。二十年來，以剛直擢京卿者，百止一二耳。背公植黨，逐嗜乞憐，如所謂『七豺』、『八狗』者，言路顧居其半。夫臺諫為天下持是非，而使人賤辱至此，安望其抗顏直繩，為國家鋤大奸、殲巨蠹哉！與其誤用而斥之，不若慎於始進。」因條數事以獻。

In time he memorialized against Minister of Personnel Lu Guangzu, urged the demotion of Sichuan educational vice commissioner Feng Shike, called for the dismissal of the Yingtian grand coordinator Li Yuan and the Shuntian grand coordinator Wang Zhixiang, and attacked Vice Minister of Rites Han Shineng, Minister Luo Wanhua, and Nanjing vice minister of the Imperial Stud Xu Yongjian. The powerful at court all feared him. While censorial posts were under review, Dengyun memorialized: "In recent years, before the renshen year remonstrators were cowed by power and bent their firmness into compliance; after renshen they grew intimate with favor and turned honest bluntness into flattery. There were still upright men among them, but unable to endure the friction, most could not keep their posts. In twenty years scarcely one or two in a hundred promotions to capital minister went to men noted for upright bluntness. Men who betray the public good, form factions, and fawn for favor—the so-called "Seven Jackals" and "Eight Dogs"—now fill half the remonstrating posts. The censorate exists to uphold right and wrong for the realm, yet when remonstrators are debased and humiliated to this point, how can we expect them to speak boldly and purge great traitors and corruption from the state? Better to choose remonstrators carefully at the outset than to appoint the wrong men and cast them out afterward." He then listed several recommendations and submitted them.

出按河南。歲大饑，人相食。副使崔應麟見民啖澤中雁矢，囊示登雲，登雲即進之於朝。帝立遣寺丞鐘化民賫帑金振之。登雲巡方者三，風裁峻厲。以久次當擢京卿，累寢不下，遂移疾歸。尋卒。

He was sent to inspect Henan. Famine that year was so severe that people resorted to cannibalism. Vice Commissioner Cui Yinglin saw people eating wild-goose droppings gathered from the marshes. He bagged a sample for Dengyun, who immediately sent it to the capital. The emperor immediately dispatched the temple director Zhong Huamin with treasury funds for relief. Dengyun toured the provinces three times, and his conduct was stern and uncompromising. Long service entitled him to promotion to a capital ministry, but the appointment was repeatedly shelved. He pleaded illness and went home. He died soon afterward.

羅大纮，字公廓，吉水人。萬歷十四年進士。授行人。十九年八月，遷禮科給事中。甫拜命，即上《定制書》數千言。已，復言視朝宜勤，語皆切直。先有詔以二十年春冊立東宮，至是工部主事張有德以預備儀物請。帝怒，命奪俸三月，更緩冊立事。尚書曾同亨請如前詔，忤旨，切讓。大纮復以為言，詔奪俸如有德。大學士許國、王家屏連署閣臣名，乞收新命，納諸臣請，帝益怒。首輔申時行方在告，聞帝怒，乃密揭言：「臣雖列名公疏，實不與知。」帝喜，手詔褒答，而揭與詔俱發禮科。故事，閣臣密揭無發科者。時行慚懼，亟謀之禮科都給事中胡汝寧，遣使取揭。時獨大纮守科，使者紿取之。及往索，時行留不發。大纮乃抗疏曰：「臣奉職無狀，謹席稿以待。獨念時行受國厚恩，乃內外二心，藏奸蓄禍，誤國賣友，罪何可勝言。夫時行身雖在告，凡翰林遷改之奏，皆儼然首列其名，何獨於建儲一事深避如此。縱陛下赫然震怒，加國等以不測之威，時行亦當與分過。況陛下未嘗怒，而乃沮塞睿聰，搖動國本，茍自獻其乞憐之術，而遏主上悔悟之萌，此臣之所大恨也。假令國等得請，將行慶典而恩澤加焉，時行亦辭之乎？蓋其私心妄意陛下有所牽系，故陽附廷臣請立之議，而陰緩其事，以為自交宮掖之謀。使請之而得，則明居羽翼之功；不得，則別為集菀之計。其操此術以愚一世久矣，不圖今日乃發露之也。」疏入，帝震怒，命貶邊方雜職。俄以六科鐘羽正等論救，斥為民，羽正等奪俸。中書舍人黃正賓復抗疏力詆時行。帝怒，下獄拷訊，斥為民。時行亦不安，無何，竟引去。大纮誌行高卓。鄉人以配裏先達羅倫、羅洪先，號為「三羅」。天啟中，贈光祿少卿。

Luo Dahong, styled Gongkuo, came from Jishui. He passed the metropolitan examination in Wanli 14. He was appointed a courier in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. In the eighth month of Wanli 19 he was made supervising secretary in the Rites Bureau. Upon taking office he submitted a memorial of several thousand words entitled "On Established Regulations." He later urged that the emperor attend court more diligently, speaking with blunt earnestness throughout. An earlier edict had set the spring of Wanli 20 for investing the heir apparent. Now Zhang Youde, a secretary in the Ministry of Works, requested funds to prepare the ritual objects. The emperor was angered, docked his salary for three months, and further delayed the investiture. Minister Zeng Tongheng asked that the earlier edict be honored. He offended the throne and was sharply rebuked. Dahong spoke up again, and an edict docked his salary as it had Zhang Youde's. Grand Secretaries Xu Guo and Wang Jiaping jointly signed a memorial asking that the new order be withdrawn and the officials' plea accepted. The emperor grew still angrier. Chief Grand Secretary Shen Shixing was on leave at the time. Hearing of the emperor's anger, he submitted a secret memorial: "Although my name appeared on the joint memorial, I had no knowledge of it." The emperor was pleased and drafted a personal reply of praise, but both the secret memorial and the reply were routed to the Rites Bureau. By precedent, grand secretaries' secret memorials were not routed to the censorial bureaus. Shixing was ashamed and alarmed. He urgently consulted Hu Runing, chief supervising secretary of the Rites Bureau, and sent an envoy to retrieve the memorial. Only Dahong was on duty at the bureau. The envoy deceived him and took the memorial away. When Dahong went to demand it back, Shixing kept it and refused to release it. Dahong then submitted a bold memorial: "Your servant has failed in his office and awaits punishment. Yet Shixing has received the state's deepest favor while harboring divided loyalties, concealing treachery, misleading the state, and betraying his colleagues—crimes beyond numbering. Though Shixing was on leave, every memorial for Hanlin promotions still listed his name first. Why does he avoid the heir question so completely? Even if Your Majesty were to punish Xu Guo and the others severely, Shixing ought still to share the blame. Yet Your Majesty had not even been angry. He blocked your judgment, shook the foundations of the state, and used fawning tactics to choke off your repentance—this is what I most deplore. If Xu Guo and the others had succeeded and the celebration proceeded with honors granted, would Shixing have declined his share? In private he assumed Your Majesty was constrained. Outwardly he joined the plea to invest the heir; inwardly he delayed it—a scheme to win favor in the inner palace. If the plea succeeded, he could claim credit openly; if it failed, he had another plan to gather support elsewhere. He has used this trick to deceive the court for years. Who expected it would be exposed today?" When the memorial arrived, the emperor was enraged and ordered him demoted to a minor post on the frontier. Soon Zhong Yuzheng and others of the six bureaus pleaded for him. Dahong was reduced to commoner status, and they had their salaries docked. Secretariat drafter Huang Zhenbin submitted another bold memorial fiercely denouncing Shixing. The emperor was angered, had him imprisoned and tortured, and dismissed him to commoner status. Shixing too was uneasy and soon resigned. Dahong's character and conduct were exceptionally high-minded. His countrymen ranked him with the local worthies Luo Lun and Luo Hongxian as the "Three Luos." In the Tianqi reign he was posthumously made vice minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments.

正賓，歙人。以貲為舍人，直武英殿。恥由貲入官，思樹奇節，至是遂見推清議。後李三才、顧憲成鹹與遊，益有聲士大夫間。熹宗立，起故官。再遷尚寶少卿，引病歸。魏忠賢下汪文言獄，詞連正賓。坐贓千金，遣戍大同。莊烈帝嗣位，復官，致仕。崇禎元年六月，魏黨徐大化、楊維垣已罷官，猶潛居輦下，交通奄寺，正賓在都，抗疏發其奸。勒兩人歸田裏，都人快之。而疏有「潛通宦寺」語，帝令指名。正賓以趙倫、於化龍對。帝以其妄，斥回籍。

Zhenbin came from She county. He bought office as a Secretariat drafter and served in the Wuying Hall. Ashamed of having bought his way into office, he sought to distinguish himself by moral courage and was now acclaimed by the moral critics of the day. Later he associated with Li Sancai and Gu Xiancheng, and his reputation among scholar-officials grew. When Emperor Xizong came to the throne, he was restored to his former post. He was promoted to vice minister of the Court of Imperial Seals, then pleaded illness and retired. When Wei Zhongxian prosecuted the Wang Wenyan case, Zhenbin was implicated. Convicted of accepting a thousand taels in bribes, he was exiled to Datong. When Emperor Chongzhen succeeded, his office was restored and he retired. In the sixth month of Chongzhen 1, Wei faction members Xu Dahua and Yang Weiyuan had been dismissed but still lurked in the capital, dealing with eunuchs. Zhenbin submitted a bold memorial exposing them. Both men were forced to return home, to the delight of the capital. The memorial spoke of "secret dealings with eunuchs," and the emperor ordered him to name them. Zhenbin named Zhao Lun and Yu Hualong. The emperor judged his charges reckless and sent him home.

李獻可，字堯俞，同安人。萬歷十一年進士。除武昌推官。課最，征授戶科給事中。屢遷禮科都給事中。二十年正月，偕六科諸臣疏請豫教，言：「元子年十有一矣，豫教之典當及首春舉行。倘謂內庭足可誦讀，近侍亦堪輔導，則禁闥幽閑，豈若外朝之清肅；內臣忠敬，何如師保之尊嚴。」疏入，帝大怒，摘疏中誤書弘治年號，責以違旨侮君，貶一秩調外，余奪俸半歲。大學士王家屏封還禦批，帝益不悅。吏科都給事中鐘羽正言：「獻可之疏，臣實贊成之，請與同謫。」吏科給事中舒弘緒亦言「言官可罪，豫教必不可不行」。帝益怒，出弘緒南京，而羽正及獻可並以雜職徙邊方。大學士趙誌臯論救，被旨譙讓。吏科右給事中陳尚象復爭之，坐斥為民。戶科左給事中孟養浩，御史鄒德泳，戶兵刑工四科都給事中丁懋遜、張棟、吳之佳、楊其休，禮科左給事中葉初春，各上疏救。帝益怒，廷杖養浩百，除其名。德泳、懋遜等六人並貶一秩，出之外。獻可、羽正、弘緒亦除名。

Li Xianke, styled Yaoyu, came from Tong'an. He passed the metropolitan examination in Wanli 11. He was appointed investigating magistrate of Wuchang. When his evaluation was rated highest, he was summoned and made supervising secretary in the Revenue Bureau. He rose to chief supervising secretary of the Rites Bureau. In the first month of Wanli 20, he joined the six bureaus in memorializing for the heir's early instruction: "The eldest son is already eleven. The rite should be held in the coming spring. If the inner court is deemed sufficient for study and close attendants adequate as tutors, how can the seclusion of the inner palace compare with the dignity of the outer court; and how can the loyalty of eunuchs compare with the authority of proper tutors and guardians?" When it arrived, the emperor was furious. Seizing on a mistaken reference to the Hongzhi reign, he accused them of defying his will and insulting the throne. Xianke was demoted one rank and transferred out; the others had their salaries docked for half a year. Grand Secretary Wang Jiaping returned the imperial rescript unopened, which displeased the emperor still more. Zhong Yuzheng, chief supervising secretary of the Personnel Bureau, said, "I approved Xianke's memorial. I ask to be punished with him." Supervising secretary Shu Hongxu added, "Punish the remonstrators if you must, but early instruction cannot be postponed." The emperor grew angrier still. Hongxu was sent to Nanjing; Yuzheng and Xianke were transferred to minor posts on the frontier. Grand Secretary Zhao Zhigao pleaded for them and was rebuked by imperial edict. Chen Shangxiang, right supervising secretary of the Personnel Bureau, argued again and was reduced to commoner status. Meng Yanghao, Zou Deyong, Ding Maoxun, Zhang Dong, Wu Zhijia, Yang Qixiu, and Ye Chuchun each submitted memorials pleading for clemency. The emperor's anger mounted. Yanghao was beaten a hundred strokes at court and struck from the rolls. Deyong, Maoxun, and six others were demoted one rank and sent into exile. Xianke, Yuzheng, and Hongxu were also struck from the rolls.

當是時，帝一怒而斥諫官十一人，朝士莫不駭嘆，然諫者卒未已。禮部員外郎董嗣成、御史賈名儒特疏爭之，御史陳禹謨、吏科左給事中李周策亦偕其僚論諫。帝怒加甚，奪嗣成職，名儒謫邊方，德泳、懋遜等鹹削籍，禹謨等停俸有差。禮部尚書李長春等亦疏諫，帝復詰讓。獻可等遂廢於家。久之，吏部尚書蔡國珍、侍郎楊時喬先後請收敘，鹹報寢。

In a single fit of anger the emperor punished eleven remonstrators. The court was appalled, yet the remonstrance did not end. Dong Sicheng and Jia Mingru submitted special memorials of protest. Chen Yumo and Li Zhouce joined their colleagues in remonstrance. The emperor's wrath deepened. Sicheng was dismissed, Mingru exiled, Deyong and Maoxun struck from the rolls, and Yumo and others had their salaries suspended in varying degrees. Minister of Rites Li Changchun and others remonstrated as well and were rebuked again. Xianke and the others were left in retirement. Long afterward Ministers Cai Guozhen and Yang Shiqiao asked that they be recalled, but each request was shelved.

天啟初，錄先朝言事諸臣。獻可已前卒，詔贈光祿卿。

At the start of the Tianqi reign, officials who had remonstrated in the previous reign were honored. Xianke had already died. An edict posthumously made him minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments.

弘緒、名儒皆獻可同年進士。尚象、懋遜、之佳、初春、其休、嗣成皆萬歷八年進士。弘緒，通山人。由庶吉士改給事中。天啟中，贈光祿少卿。

Hongxu and Mingru had been jinshi in the same year as Xianke. Shangxiang, Maoxun, Zhijia, Chuchun, Qixiu, and Sicheng had all been jinshi in Wanli 8. Hongxu came from Tongshan. He moved from Hanlin bachelor to supervising secretary. In the Tianqi reign he was posthumously made vice minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments.

尚象，都勻人。以中書舍人為給事中。嘗劾罷尚書沈鯉，為士論所非。至是以直言去，國人始稱焉。天啟中，贈官如弘緒。

Shangxiang came from Duyun. He rose from Secretariat drafter to supervising secretary. He had once impeached Minister Shen Li out of office, which scholar-official opinion condemned. When he left office for blunt speech, his countrymen at last praised him. In the Tianqi reign he received the same posthumous honors as Hongxu.

懋遜，沾化人。為余姚知縣，有治績，入為吏科給事中。既削籍，裏居三十年。光宗立，起太仆少卿，累遷工部左侍郎。卒，贈尚書。

Maoxun came from Zhanhua. As magistrate of Yuyao he governed well, then entered the capital as supervising secretary of the Personnel Bureau. After being struck from the rolls, he lived at home for thirty years. When Emperor Guangzong came to the throne, he was recalled as vice minister of the Imperial Stud and rose to left vice minister of Works. He died and was posthumously honored as minister.

之佳，長洲人。初為襄陽知縣。初春，吳縣人。初為順德知縣。並以治行征。至是與張棟並斥，稱「吳中三諫」。天啟初，贈之佳太仆少卿，初春光祿少卿。之佳孫適，亦兵科給事中。敢言。

Zhijia came from Changzhou. He had first served as magistrate of Xiangyang. Chuchun came from Wu county. He had first served as magistrate of Shunde. Both were summoned to the capital for their record of governance. At this point they were dismissed along with Zhang Dong and became known as "The Three Remonstrators of Wu." Early in the Tianqi reign, Zhijia was posthumously honored as vice minister of the Imperial Stud and Chuchun as vice minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Zhijia's grandson Shi also served as supervising secretary of the Military Bureau. He was outspoken.

其休，青城人。由蘇州推官擢吏科給事中。內官張德毆殺人，帝令司禮按問，蔽罪其下。其休乞並付德法司，竟報許。帝數不視朝。十七年正月，其休以萬邦入覲，請臨禦以風勵諸臣。他論奏甚眾。罷歸，卒，贈太常少卿。

Qixiu came from Qingcheng. Promoted from investigating magistrate of Suzhou to supervising secretary of the Personnel Bureau. When the eunuch Zhang De beat a man to death, the emperor ordered the Directorate of Ceremonial to investigate; it covered up the crime by blaming his subordinates. Qixiu asked that De be handed over to the judicial authorities as well, and the request was eventually granted. The emperor repeatedly skipped court audiences. In the first month of Wanli 17, with tributary envoys arriving for audience, Qixiu urged the emperor to preside in person and set an example for his officials. He submitted many other memorials and proposals. After dismissal and retirement, he died and was posthumously honored as vice minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

嗣成，烏程人。祖份，禮部尚書。父道醇，南京給事中。仍世貴顯。嗣成以氣節著，士論多之。名儒，真定人。贈官如初春。

Sicheng came from Wucheng. His grandfather Fen had been minister of Rites. His father Daochun had been a supervising secretary in Nanjing. The family had been eminent for generations. Sicheng was admired for his integrity, and scholar-official opinion largely favored him. Mingru came from Zhending. He received the same posthumous honors as Chuchun.

棟，字伯任，昆山人。萬歷五年進士。除新建知縣。征授工科給事中。請盡蠲天下逋租，格不行。時蠲租例，相沿但蠲存留，不及起運。棟請無拘故事，從之。再遷刑科左給事中。吳中白糧為累，民承役輒破家，棟請令出貲助漕舟附載。申時行、王錫爵絀其議，棟遂移疾歸。起兵科都給事中。劾去南京戶部尚書張西銘、刑部侍郎詹仰庇。軍政拾遺，劾恭順侯吳繼爵、宣城伯衛國本、忻城伯趙泰修、宣府總兵官李迎恩。繼爵留，余並罷。已，言邊臣敘功不宜及內閣、部、科，帝亦從焉。遣視固原邊備。時經略鄭洛方議和，棟言撦力克負固不歸，卜失兔傑黠如故，火落赤、真相雄據海上，不可使洛委責以去。因論兵部尚書王一鶚。會一鶚已卒，洛亦報撦力克東歸，遂寢其奏。棟又言：「洮、河失事，陛下赫然震怒。命洛視師，豈止欲其虛詞媚敵，博一順義東歸畢事耶？今火、真依海為窟，出沒自如，不宜敘將吏功。」報聞。母卒，棟年已六十，毀瘠廬墓，竟卒於墓所。天啟中，贈太常少卿。

Zhang Dong, styled Boren, came from Kunshan. He passed the metropolitan examination in Wanli 5. He was appointed magistrate of Xinjian. Summoned to the capital and made supervising secretary of the Works Bureau. He called for a full remission of all arrears in land tax nationwide, but the proposal was rejected. The prevailing precedent for rent remission covered only locally retained grain, not grain earmarked for transport. Dong urged that precedent not be allowed to limit the remission, and the court agreed. He was promoted to left supervising secretary of the Punishments Bureau. The white-grain levy in the Wu region ruined households pressed into transport duty. Dong proposed allowing taxpayers to pay a fee so their grain could ride aboard transport boats as supplementary cargo. Shen Shixing and Wang Xijue blocked the proposal, and Dong retired citing illness. He was recalled as chief supervising secretary of the Military Bureau. He impeached Zhang Ximing, Nanjing minister of Revenue, and Zhan Yangbi, vice minister of Punishments, out of office. Reviewing military affairs, he impeached Marquis of Gongshun Wu Jijue, Earl of Xuancheng Wei Guoben, Earl of Xincheng Zhao Taixiu, and Xuanda commander Li Ying'en. Jijue kept his post; the others were dismissed. Later he argued that frontier commanders awarding merit should not include the Grand Secretariat, ministries, or remonstrance bureaus, and the emperor agreed. He was dispatched to inspect the Guyuan frontier defenses. Zheng Luo was then negotiating peace. Dong warned that Chelai remained defiant, Buzhatu as cunning as ever, and Huoluochi and Zhenxiang still held the coast—that Luo must not be permitted to withdraw by passing off his duties. He went on to criticize Minister of War Wang Yihu. Wang Yihu had already died, and Luo reported that Chelai had returned east, so the memorial was shelved. Dong added: "When the Tao-He frontier collapsed, Your Majesty was rightfully furious. You sent Luo to take command—did you intend only that he flatter the enemy with empty phrases and declare victory when Shunyi returned east? Huoluochi and Zhenxiang still use the coast as their base and raid at will; frontier officers should not be rewarded for merit now." The court acknowledged receipt. When his mother died, Dong, already sixty, grew gaunt with grief and lived in a mourning hut at her tomb, where he eventually died. In the Tianqi reign he was posthumously honored as vice minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

德泳，祭酒守益孫。養浩、羽正自有傳。

Deyong was the grandson of the libationer Shouyi. Yanghao and Yuzheng have separate biographies.

孟養浩，字義甫，湖廣鹹寧人。萬歷十一年進士。授行人。擢戶科給事中，遷左給事中。帝嚴譴李獻可，養浩疏諫曰：「人臣即至狂悖，未有敢於侮君者，陛下豈真以其侮而罪之耶？獻可甫躋禮垣，驟議巨典。一字之誤，本屬無心，乃遽蒙顯斥。臣愚以為有五不可。元子天下本，豫教之請，實為宗社計。陛下不惟不聽，且從而罰之，是坐忍元子失學，而敝帚宗社也。不可者一。長幼定序，明旨森嚴，天下臣民既曉然諒陛下之無他矣。然豫教、冊立？本非兩事。今日既遲回於豫教，安知來歲不遊移於冊立，是重啟天下之疑。不可者二。父子之恩，根於天性，豫教之請，有益元子明甚。而陛下罪之，非所以示慈愛。不可者三。古者引裾折檻之事，中主能容之。陛下量侔天地，奈何言及宗社大計，反震怒而摧折之？天下萬世謂陛下何如主？不可者四。獻可等所論，非二三言官之私言，實天下臣民之公言也。今加罪獻可，是所罪者一人，而實失天下人之心。不可者五。祈陛下收還成命，亟行豫教。」帝大怒，言冊立已諭於明年舉行，養浩疑君惑眾，殊可痛惡。令錦衣衛杖之百，削籍為民，永不敘用。中外交薦，悉報寢。光宗立，起太常少卿。半歲中遷至南京刑部右侍郎。未之官，卒。

Meng Yanghao, styled Yifu, came from Xianning in Huguang. He passed the metropolitan examination in Wanli 11. He was appointed a courier. He rose to supervising secretary of the Revenue Bureau and then left supervising secretary. When the emperor harshly punished Li Xianke, Yanghao memorialized in protest: "However reckless a subject may be, none would dare insult the throne. Does Your Majesty truly mean to punish him for lèse-majesté? Xianke had only just entered the Rites Bureau when he joined debate over a major state ceremony. A single mistaken character was plainly unintentional, yet he was swiftly and publicly punished. I see five reasons this must not stand. The heir is the foundation of the realm. The call for his early instruction serves the dynasty itself. Your Majesty not only refused but punished him—allowing the heir to go untaught and treating the dynasty like a worn-out broom. First objection. The order of succession is settled and Your Majesty's edicts are clear; the realm already trusts that you mean no other design. Yet are early instruction and formal investiture— —not really separate matters? Delay early instruction today, and who can say investiture will not be deferred next year? That would reopen doubts across the realm. Second objection. The bond between father and son is natural, and early instruction plainly serves the heir. Punishing such a plea does not show fatherly kindness. Third objection. In antiquity even mediocre rulers tolerated remonstrators who seized their robes or broke the balustrade. Your Majesty's magnanimity matches heaven and earth—why rage and crush those who speak for the dynasty's welfare? What will posterity think of such a ruler? Fourth objection. Xianke's plea was not the private opinion of a few censors but the voice of the whole realm. Punishing Xianke alone will alienate the entire realm. Fifth objection. I beg Your Majesty to revoke the sentence and proceed at once with early instruction." The emperor was furious. Investiture, he said, was already scheduled for the next year. Yanghao, he charged, cast doubt on the throne and misled the people—a grievous offense. He ordered the Brocade Guard to beat Yanghao a hundred strokes, strike him from the rolls, and bar him from office forever. Recommendations from inside and outside court were all ignored. When Emperor Guangzong came to the throne, he was recalled as vice minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Within half a year he was promoted to right vice minister of Punishments in Nanjing. He died before assuming the post.

朱維京，字大可，工部尚書衡子也。舉萬歷五年進士，授大理評事，進右寺副。九年京察，謫汝州同知，改知崇德。入為屯田主事，再遷光祿丞。火落赤敗盟，經略鄭洛主和，督撫魏學曾、葉夢熊主戰。維京請召洛還，專委學曾等經理。及學曾以寧夏事被逮，復抗疏救之。

Zhu Weijing, styled Dake, was the son of Minister of Works Zhu Heng. A Wanli 5 jinshi, he was appointed a Dali review official and rose to right vice director of the court. In the Wanli 9 capital evaluation he was demoted to vice prefect of Ruzhou, then reassigned as magistrate of Chongde. Recalled to the capital, he served as director of field administration and rose to assistant director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. After Huoluochi broke the treaty, Commissioner Zheng Luo favored peace while Grand Coordinators Wei Xuezeng and Ye Mengxiong favored war. Weijing urged Luo's recall and entrusted affairs exclusively to Xuezeng and his colleagues. When Xuezeng was arrested over the Ningxia affair, Weijing again memorialized boldly in his defense.

二十一年，三王並封詔下，維京首上疏曰：「往奉聖諭，許二十一年冊立，廷臣莫不延頸企踵。今忽改而為分封，是向者大號之頒，徒戲言也，何以示天下？聖諭謂立嗣以嫡，是已。但元子既長，欲少遲冊立，以待中宮正嫡之生，則祖宗以來，實無此制。考英宗之立，以宣德三年；憲宗之立，以正統十四年；孝宗之立，以成化十一年。少者止一二齡，多亦不過五六齡耳。維時中宮正位，嫡嗣皆虛，而祖宗曾不少待。即陛下冊立，亦在先帝二年之春。近事不遠，何不取而證之。且聖人為政，必先正名。今分封之典，三王並舉，冠服宮室混而無別，車馬儀仗雜而無章，府僚庶寀淆而無辨。名既不正，弊實滋多。且令中宮茍耀前星，則元子退就藩服，嫡庶分定，何嫌何疑。今預計將來，坐格成命，是欲愚天下，而實以天下為戲也。夫人臣以道事君，不可則止。陛下雖有並封之意，猶不遽行，必以手詔咨大學士王錫爵，錫爵縱不能如李沆引燭之焚，亦當為李泌造膝披陳，轉移聖心而後已。如其不然，王家屏之高蹤自在，陛下優禮輔臣，必無韓瑗、來濟之辱也。奈何噤無一語，若胥吏之承行，惟恐或後。彼楊素、李勣千古罪人，其初心豈不知有公論，惟是患得患失之心勝，遂至不能自持耳。」帝震怒，命謫戍極邊。錫爵力救，得為民。家居甫二年，卒。天啟時，贈太常少卿。

In Wanli 21, when the edict enfeoffing all three princes was issued, Weijing was the first to memorialize: "Your Majesty's edict once promised investiture in Wanli 21. The entire court awaited it eagerly. Now enfeoffment replaces investiture—were your solemn promises mere jest? How can the realm trust your word? Your edict held that the heir must be the eldest son of the empress—rightly so. If delay is meant to await a legitimate son from the empress, no such precedent exists since the founding of the dynasty. Emperor Yingzong was invested in Xuande 3; Emperor Xianzong in Zhengtong 14; Emperor Xiaozong in Chenghua 11. None was older than five or six, and some were only one or two years old. Even when the empress sat in her rightful place and no legitimate son had yet been born, our ancestors never saw fit to delay. Your Majesty was yourself invested in the spring of your father's second year on the throne. That precedent is close at hand; why not hold it up as evidence? The sage's way of governance begins with rectifying names and ranks. Three princes are to be enfeoffed at once, with no distinction in dress, palaces, equipage, retinues, or stipends. Once titles and ranks are blurred, mischief quickly follows. If the empress later bears a son, the eldest prince can take up his fief while succession is settled—where is the difficulty? To prejudge the future and lock in this decree is to mock the realm and treat the throne like sport. A loyal minister serves by principle and, when overruled, knows when to stand down. You still consulted Wang Xijue by private edict before acting—he might not burn the decree as Li Hang did, but he should have pleaded face to face like Li Bi until your mind was changed. Failing that, he could follow Wang Jiaping's example and withdraw; under your generous treatment of ministers, he would not share Han Yuan and Lai Ji's fate. Instead he said nothing, hurrying the order through like a clerk afraid of falling behind. Yang Su and Li Ji are condemned by history; they knew better, but fear of losing favor overcame conscience. The emperor flew into a rage and ordered exile to the remotest border. Wang Xijue pleaded forcefully on his behalf, and the sentence was commuted to commoner status. Two years into retirement, he died. During Tianqi he was posthumously given the title Vice Minister of Ceremonial.

王如堅，字介石，安福人。萬歷十四年進士。授懷慶推官。入為刑科給事中，抗疏爭三王並封，其略曰：

Wang Rujian (Jieshi), from Anfu. He passed the jinshi examination in Wanli 14. He was appointed legal officer of Huaqing Prefecture. Later promoted to supervising secretary in the Bureau of Punishments, he submitted a forceful memorial against enfeoffing all three princes. It read, in part:

謹按十四年正月聖諭「元子幼小，冊立事俟二三年舉行」，是明言長子之為元子也。又十八年正月詔旨「朕無嫡子，長幼自有定序」，是明示倫次之不可易也。已而十九年八月，奉旨「冊立之事，改於二十一年舉行」，此則陛下雖怒群臣激聒，輒更定期，未嘗遽寢冊立之事。乃今已屆期，忽傳並封為王，以待嫡嗣。臣始而疑，既而駭。陛下言猶在耳，豈忘之耶？曩者謂二三年舉行，已遲至二十年矣，二十年舉行又改至二十一年矣，今二十一年倏改為並封，是陛下前此灼然之命，尚不自堅，今日群臣，將何所取信？

In Wanli 14 you declared that the eldest son was still young and investiture would wait two or three years—a plain acknowledgment that he was heir. In year eighteen you said that without a legitimate son, birth order still fixed succession—an unmistakable pledge that rank could not be overturned. When court debate grew heated you pushed the date to year twenty-one—but you never abandoned investiture itself. Now, with the deadline reached, you suddenly propose to enfeoff all three as princes while waiting for a legitimate son. At first I doubted my ears; then I was stunned. Your own words still ring in our ears—have you forgotten them? "Two or three years" became twenty, then twenty-one—and now joint enfeoffment. If even you will not stand by your own decrees, how can your ministers trust anything you say?

夫立嫡之條，《祖訓》為廢嫡者戒也。今日有嫡可廢乎？且陛下欲待正嫡，意非真待也。古王者後宮無偏愛，故適後多後嗣。後世愛有所專，則天地之交不常泰，欲後嗣之繁難矣。我祖宗以來，中宮誕生者有幾？國本早定，惟元子是屬。或二三齡而立，或五六齡而立。即陛下春宮受冊時，止六齡耳，寧有待嫡之議與潞王並封之詔哉？今皇長子且十二齡矣，聞皇后撫育無間己出。元子早定一日，即早慰中宮一日之心。後素賢明，何有舍當前之冢嗣，而覬幸不可知之數耶？宮闈之內，衽席之間，左右近習之輩，見形生疑，未必不以他意窺陛下。即如昨歲冊立之旨，方待舉行，而宗室中已有並封之疏，安知非機事外泄，彼得量朝廷之淺深？

The rule of legitimate succession is enshrined in the Ancestral Instructions as a warning against displacing the heir. Is there now a legitimate heir whom you mean to set aside? And this professed wait for a legitimate son from the empress is not sincere. Ancient kings did not favor one consort above others, so empresses often bore many sons. When a ruler's affection settles on one woman alone, Heaven's favor wanes and heirs grow scarce. How often, since the dynasty was founded, has an empress actually borne a son? The succession was always settled early upon the eldest son. Some heirs were invested at two or three years, others at five or six. You yourself were invested at six—was there ever talk of waiting for a legitimate son, or of enfeoffing the Prince of Lu alongside you? The eldest prince is already twelve, and the empress has raised him as if he were her own. Confirming the heir one day sooner would bring the empress one day of peace. The empress is wise—why would she forsake a ready heir for some uncertain future? Inside the palace, those nearest you will read every gesture for hidden meaning. Last year's investiture edict had not yet been carried out when clansmen were already petitioning for joint enfeoffment—had state secrets leaked so they could test the court's resolve?

夫別名號，辨嫌疑，禮之善經也。元子與眾子，其間冠服之制，齒簿之節，恩寵之數，接見之儀，迥然不齊矣。一日並封而同號，則有並大之嫌，逼長之患。執狐疑而來讒賊，幾微之際，不可不慎。茍謂渙命新頒，難於遽改，則數年已定之明旨，尚可移易，今綸言初發，何不可中止也。

Distinguishing titles to dispel suspicion is one of ritual's deepest purposes. Between heir and younger sons, dress, protocol, favor, and audience rights are sharply different by design. Enfeoffing them together under one title invites rivalry with the heir and disrespect for seniority. Ambiguity invites intrigue; at such a delicate moment, caution is everything. If a fresh edict cannot be reversed, how were your earlier promises so easily changed? This decree has barely been issued—it can still be withdrawn.

帝怒甚，命與朱維京皆戍極邊。王錫爵疏救，免戍為民。尋卒。天啟中，贈光祿少卿。

Enraged, the emperor ordered both Wang Rujian and Zhu Weijing exiled to the remote frontier. Wang Xijue interceded, and their exile was commuted to commoner status. He died soon afterward. Under Tianqi he was posthumously honored as Vice Minister of Imperial Entertainments.

王學曾，字唯吾，南海人。萬歷五年進士。授醴陵知縣，調崇陽。擢南京御史。時吏民有罪，輒遣官校逮捕。學曾疏請止之，不納。十三年，慈寧宮成，諸督工內侍俱蔭錦衣。學曾論其太濫，且劾工部尚書楊兆諛諂中官。兆惶恐，引罪。已，言龍江關密邇蕪湖，蕪湖已征稅，龍江不宜復征，格不行。光山牛產一犢若麟，有司欲以聞，巡撫臧惟一不可。帝命禮部征之，尚書沈鯉諫，惟一亦疏論，不聽。學曾抗言：「麟生牛腹，次日即斃，則祥者已不祥矣。不祥之物，所司未嘗上聞，陛下何自聞之？毋亦左右小人以奇怪惑聖心也？今四方災旱，老稚流離，啼饑號寒之聲，陛下不聞；北敵梟張，士卒困苦，呻吟嗟怨之狀，陛下不聞；宗室貧窮，饔餐弗給，愁困涕洟之態，陛下不聞；而獨已斃之麟聞。彼為左右者，豈誠忠於陛下乎？願收還成命，內臣語涉邪妄者，即嚴斥之。」帝責其要名沽直，降興國判官。時御史蔡時鼎亦以言獲罪。南京御史王藩臣、給事中王嗣美等交章救兩人。帝怒，奪俸一級。

Wang Xuezeng (Weiwo), from Nanhai. Jinshi of Wanli 5. He served as magistrate of Liling, then was transferred to Chongyang. He was promoted to Nanjing censor. At the time, offenders among officials and commoners were routinely seized by palace guards. Wang Xuezeng memorialized to halt the practice, but the throne refused. In Wanli 13, when Cining Palace was finished, every supervising eunuch received hereditary rank in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Wang Xuezeng denounced the rewards as excessive and impeached Works Minister Yang Zhao for toadying to eunuchs. Yang Zhao, alarmed, confessed his fault. He also argued that Longjiang Pass, so near taxed Wuhu, should not be levied again; the proposal was rejected. When a cow at Guangshan bore a qilin-like calf, officials sought to report it, but Grand Coordinator Zang Weiyi refused. The emperor ordered the Ministry of Rites to fetch the beast; Minister Shen Li objected, and Zang Weiyi memorialized too, all in vain. Wang Xuezeng protested: "A qilin born from a cow died the next day—whatever omen it seemed was already null. The local authorities never reported this ill omen—so how did it reach your ears? Surely petty attendants are using portents to sway your judgment? Famine and drought wrack the realm; the cries of starving refugees never reach you; Enemies harry the northern frontier while wounded soldiers groan unheard; Impoverished clansmen go hungry, their misery and tears unnoticed; yet word of a dead qilin somehow reaches your throne. Are those at your side truly loyal to you? Withdraw the order, and punish any eunuch who traffics in such superstition. The emperor accused him of grandstanding and demoted him to magistrate of Xingguo. Censor Cai Shiding was punished at the same time for speaking out. Nanjing Censor Wang Fanchen, Supervising Secretary Wang Simei, and others jointly memorialized in their defense. The emperor, angered, cut their salaries by one grade.

學曾累遷南京刑部主事，召為光祿丞。與少卿涂傑合疏爭三王並封，忤旨，皆削籍。後數年，吏部尚書蔡國珍疏請起用，不納。卒於家。傑，新建人。隆慶五年進士。由龍遊知縣入為御史。擢官光祿。熹宗時，贈學曾太仆少卿，傑太常少卿。

Wang Xuezeng rose to principal secretary in the Nanjing Ministry of Justice and was then recalled as vice director of the Court of Imperial Entertainments. He and Vice Director Tu Jie jointly opposed the three-prince enfeoffment; offending the throne, both were dismissed from office. Years later Personnel Minister Cai Guozhen recommended their reinstatement, but the throne refused. He died in retirement at his home. Tu Jie was from Xinjian. Jinshi of Longqing 5. He entered the Censorate after serving as magistrate of Longyou. He was promoted to the Court of Imperial Entertainments. Under Tianqi, Xuezeng was posthumously made Vice Minister of the Imperial Stud and Jie Vice Minister of Ceremonial.

張貞觀，字惟誠，沛人。萬歷十一年進士。除益都知縣，擢兵科給事中。出閱山西邊務。五臺奸人張守清招亡命三千余人，擅開銀礦，又締姻潞城、新寧二王。帝納巡按御史言，敕守清解散徒黨，諭二王絕姻。守清乞輸課於官，開礦如故。貞觀力爭，乃已。前巡撫沈子木、李采菲皆貪。子木夤緣為兵部侍郎，貞觀並追劾之。子木坐貶，采菲奪職。還，進工科右給事中。泗州淮水大溢，幾嚙祖陵。貞觀往視，定分黃道淮之策。

Zhang Zhenguan (Weicheng), from Pei. Jinshi of Wanli 11. He was appointed magistrate of Yidu, then promoted to supervising secretary in the Bureau of War. He was dispatched to inspect Shanxi frontier affairs. At Wutai, Zhang Shouqing recruited three thousand outlaws, seized silver mines illegally, and allied himself by marriage with the Princes of Lucheng and Xinning. Acting on the touring censor's report, the emperor ordered Zhang to disband his followers and told both princes to break the alliance. Zhang Shouqing offered to pay taxes to the state if mining could continue. Zhang Zhenguan fought the proposal until it was dropped. Former grand coordinators Shen Zimu and Li Caifei had both been corrupt. Shen Zimu had recently risen to vice minister of war through pull; Zhang Zhenguan impeached him as well. Shen Zimu was demoted and Li Caifei dismissed. On his return he was made right supervising secretary in the Bureau of Works. When the Huai flooded at Sizhou, it nearly reached the imperial tombs. Zhang Zhenguan inspected the disaster and devised the plan to divert the Yellow River away from the Huai.

再遷禮科都給事中。三王並封制下，貞觀率同列力爭。沈王呈堯由郡王進封，其諸弟止應為將軍，呈堯為營得郡王。貞觀及禮部尚書羅萬化守故事極諫。不納。時郊廟祭享率遣官代行，貞觀力請帝親祀。俄秋享，復將遣官。貞觀再諫，不報。明年正月，有詔皇長子出閣講讀。而兵部請護衛，工部奏儀仗，禮部進儀註，皆留中。又止令預告奉先殿，朝謁兩宮，他禮皆廢。於是貞觀等上言：「禮官議，禦門受賀、皇長子見群臣之禮，載在舊儀；即諸王加冠，亦以成禮而賀，賀畢謁見。元子初出，乃不當諸王一冠乎？且謁謝止兩宮，而缺然於陛下及中宮母妃之前，非所以教孝；賀靳於二皇子，而漠然於兄弟長幼之間，非所以序別。」疏入，忤旨，奪俸一年。

He was further promoted to chief supervising secretary in the Bureau of Rites. When the edict to enfeoff all three princes at once was promulgated, Zhang Zhenguan led his colleagues in forceful opposition. The Prince of Shen, Chengyao, had been advanced from commandery prince, whereas his younger brothers were entitled only to the rank of general—yet Chengyao campaigned until he secured a commandery princedom for himself. Zhang Zhenguan and Minister of Rites Luo Wanhua remonstrated vigorously, insisting on the authority of established precedent. The emperor would not listen. Sacrifices at the suburban altars and ancestral temples were routinely delegated to officials, but Zhang Zhenguan pressed hard for the emperor to officiate in person. Before long, when the autumn sacrifice came round, officials were once again to be sent in the emperor's stead. Zhang Zhenguan remonstrated again, to no reply. In the first month of the following year, an edict called for the crown prince to leave the inner palace and begin his formal study under tutors. The Ministry of War petitioned for an escort, the Ministry of Works submitted plans for ceremonial regalia, and the Ministry of Rites presented ritual protocols—all held back in the palace with no decision. Furthermore, the heir was merely to announce his departure at the Hall of Ancestral Offerings and pay court to the empress dowagers—all other ceremonies were set aside. Zhang Zhenguan and his colleagues submitted a memorial: "The ritual officials have established that the ceremonies for receiving congratulations at the Imperial Gate and for the crown prince's audience with officials and ministers are set forth in the established regulations; Even when lesser princes undergo the capping ceremony, they complete the full rites, receive congratulations, and thereafter pay their respects in audience. When the heir apparent first leaves the inner palace, should he not receive ceremonies comparable to a prince's capping? And to limit expressions of gratitude to the two palaces while omitting them before Your Majesty and the empress and imperial consorts—is this how one teaches filial devotion? To restrict congratulations to the two princes while showing indifference to the order of elder and younger among brothers—is this how one teaches proper rank and precedence? When the memorial reached the throne, it gave offense; Zhang Zhenguan's salary was suspended for a year.

工科給事中黎道照上言：「元子初就外傅，陛下宜示之身教。乃采辦珠玉珍寶，費至三十六萬有奇，又取太仆銀十萬充賞，非作法於初之意。且貞觀等秉禮直諫，職也，不宜罰治。」給事中趙完璧等亦言之。帝怒，奪諸臣俸，謫貞觀雜職。大學士王錫爵等切救，乃貶三秩。頃之，都給事中許弘綱、御史陳惟芝等連章申論，帝竟除貞觀名，言官亦停俸。中外交薦，卒不起。天啟中卒，贈太常少卿。

Li Daozhao, supervising secretary in the Bureau of Works, submitted a memorial: "When the heir first takes an outside tutor, Your Majesty should teach him by example. Yet pearls, jade, and other precious goods were procured at a cost of more than 360,000 taels, and 100,000 taels from the Imperial Stud were drawn for rewards—hardly the spirit of setting a moral example at the outset. Moreover, in speaking plainly in defense of ritual, Zhang Zhenguan and his colleagues were only doing their duty—they should not be punished. Supervising secretaries Zhao Wanbi and others raised the same objections. The emperor flew into a rage, suspended the salaries of all involved, and demoted Zhang Zhenguan to a minor post. Grand Secretaries Wang Xijue and others pleaded urgently on his behalf, and the punishment was reduced to a demotion of three ranks. Soon Chief Supervising Secretary Xu Honggang, Censor Chen Weizhi, and others submitted a series of memorials in his defense. The emperor went so far as to strike Zhang Zhenguan's name from the rolls, and the remonstrating officials likewise had their salaries suspended. He was recommended repeatedly by officials inside and outside the court, but never returned to office. He died during the Tianqi reign and was posthumously made Vice Minister of Ceremonial.

樊玉衡，字以齊，黃岡人。萬歷十一年進士。由廣信推官征授御史。京察，謫無為判官。稍遷全椒知縣。二十六年四月，玉衡以冊立久稽，上言：「陛下愛貴妃，當圖所以善處之。今天下無不以冊立之稽歸過貴妃者，而陛下又故依違，以成其過。陛下將何以托貴妃於天下哉？由元子而觀則不慈，由貴妃而觀則不智，無一可者。願早定大計，冊立、冠婚諸典次第舉行，使天下以元子之安為貴妃功，豈不並受其福，享令名無窮哉！」疏奏，帝及貴妃怒甚。旨一日三四擬，禍且不測。大學士趙誌臯等力救，言自帝即位未嘗殺諫臣。帝乃焚其疏，忍而不發。再逾月，以《憂危竑議》連及，遂永戍雷州。長子鼎遇伏闕請代者再，不許。光宗立，起南京刑部主事，以老辭。疏陳親賢、遠奸十事，優詔答之。尋命以太常少卿致仕，卒於家。

Fan Yuheng (Yiji), from Huanggang. Jinshi of Wanli 11. He entered the Censorate after serving as magistrate-assessor in Guangxin. In the capital evaluation of officials, he was demoted to judge of Wuwei. He was later transferred to magistrate of Quanjiao. In the fourth month of Wanli 26, Fan Yuheng, noting how long the heir's investiture had been delayed, submitted a memorial: "Your Majesty loves the Noble Consort and should find a way to treat her properly. Today the whole realm blames the Noble Consort for the delay in investiture, yet Your Majesty deliberately vacillates, thereby making her the scapegoat. How will Your Majesty answer to the realm on the Noble Consort's behalf? From the heir's perspective it shows a lack of kindness; from the Noble Consort's, a lack of wisdom—there is nothing defensible in it. I beg that Your Majesty settle this great matter at once, and carry out investiture, capping, and marriage in due order, so that the realm may credit the heir's security to the Noble Consort's merit—would they not share the blessing and win an enduring good name together! When the memorial was submitted, the emperor and the Noble Consort were furious. Imperial rescripts ordering punishment were drafted three or four times in a single day; his fate hung in the balance. Grand Secretaries Zhao Zhigao and others pleaded vigorously on his behalf, reminding the emperor that since his accession no remonstrating official had ever been put to death. The emperor burned the memorial and held his anger in check. Another month later, implicated in the affair of the Admonitions in Peril, he was permanently banished to Leizhou. His eldest son Dingyu twice knelt at the palace gate begging to take his father's place in exile, but was refused. When Emperor Guangzong took the throne, Fan Yuheng was recalled as secretary in the Nanjing Ministry of Justice but declined on account of his age. He submitted a memorial outlining ten measures for honoring the worthy and distancing the wicked, and received a gracious edict in reply. He was soon granted retirement as Vice Minister of Ceremonial and died at home.

崇禎元年，遷戶部主事，進員外郎。歷泉州知府、福建副使。八年，以大計罷歸。十六年，黃州城南門哭五日夜。眾知禍必至，傾城走，婦女多不及行。三月二十四日，張獻忠破黃岡，知縣孫自一、縣丞吳文燮死之。賊欲屈維城，抗聲大罵，刃洞胸而死。賊遂驅婦女墮城，稍緩，輒斷其腕，血淋漓土石間。三日而城平，復殺之以實塹焉。自一，光山人。

In Chongzhen 1 he was transferred to secretary in the Ministry of Revenue and promoted to vice director. He served as prefect of Quanzhou and then as vice commissioner of Fujian. In the eighth year he was dismissed in the grand evaluation of officials and returned home. In the sixteenth year, mourners wailed at the south gate of Huangzhou for five days and nights. Knowing disaster was imminent, the whole city fled; many women could not escape in time. On the twenty-fourth day of the third month, Zhang Xianzhong took Huanggang; Magistrate Sun Ziyi and Assistant Magistrate Wu Wenxie died defending the city. The rebels tried to force Weicheng to submit; he shouted curses at them and was run through the chest. The rebels then drove the captive women to hurl themselves from the walls; any who hesitated had their wrists cut off, and blood ran over the earth and stones. Within three days the walls were demolished, and the dead were piled into the moat to fill it. Sun Ziyi was from Guangshan.

謝廷讃，字曰可，金谿人。父相，由鄉舉為東安知縣。初，歲饑，吏偽增戶口冒振，繼者遂按籍征賦，民困甚。相為請，得減戶千三百。奸人殺四人，棄其屍，獄三年不決。相禱於神，得屍所在，獄遂成。廷贊舉萬歷二十六年進士。未授官，即極論礦稅之害。旋授刑部主事。先是，詔二十八年春舉行冊立、冠婚之禮。將屆期，都御史溫純、禮科給事中楊天民、御史馮應鳳相繼言，不報。廷贊上疏言閣員當補，臺省當選，礦稅當撤，冠婚、冊立當速，詔令當信。持疏跪文華門，候命逾時。帝震怒，遣中官田義詰責。趙數日，命大學士趙誌臯、沈一貫擬敕諭，令禮部具儀。比擬諭進，竟不發。誌臯、一貫趣之，帝乃言因廷贊出位邀功，以致少待，命示諸司靜俟。遂褫廷贊職為民，並奪尚書蕭大亨，侍郎邵傑、董裕俸一歲，貶郎中徐如珂、員外郎林耀，主事鐘鳴陛、曹文偉三秩，調極邊。是歲冊立之禮不行，廷贊歸。僑寓維揚，授徒自給。久之，卒。天啟中，贈尚寶卿。

Xie Tingzan (Yueke), from Jinxi. His father Xiang, a provincial graduate, served as magistrate of Dong'an. During an early famine, clerks had falsified household registers to claim relief grain; later officials taxed according to those inflated rolls, and the people were sorely burdened. Xiang petitioned on their behalf and secured a reduction of 1,300 households from the tax rolls. Evildoers murdered four people and abandoned the bodies; the case remained unresolved in court for three years. Xiang prayed to the spirits, discovered where the bodies lay, and the case was finally closed. Xie Tingzan passed the jinshi examination in Wanli 26. Even before receiving an appointment, he submitted a forceful memorial against the evils of mining levies. He was soon appointed secretary in the Ministry of Justice. Earlier, an edict had called for the rites of investiture, capping, and marriage to be held in the spring of Wanli 28. As the deadline approached, Censor-in-Chief Wen Chun, Supervising Secretary Yang Tianmin in the Bureau of Rites, and Censor Feng Yingfeng remonstrated in turn, all to no reply. Xie Tingzan submitted a memorial urging that grand secretaries be appointed, censorate and supervising secretaries be chosen, mining levies be abolished, capping, marriage, and investiture be expedited, and imperial edicts be honored. Memorial in hand, he knelt at the Wenhua Gate and waited long past the appointed hour. The emperor was furious and sent the eunuch Tian Yi to rebuke him. Several days later, he ordered Grand Secretaries Zhao Zhigao and Shen Yiguan to draft an edict instructing the Ministry of Rites to prepare the ceremonies. When the draft edict was submitted, it was never issued. Zhao Zhigao and Shen Yiguan pressed the matter, but the emperor replied that because Xie Tingzan had overstepped his bounds to claim credit, matters would be held briefly, and ordered the ministries to wait quietly. Xie Tingzan was stripped of office and reduced to commoner status; Minister Xiao Daheng and Vice Ministers Shao Jie and Dong Yu had their salaries suspended for a year; Directors Xu Ruke and Lin Yao and Secretaries Zhong Mingbi and Cao Wenwei were demoted three ranks and posted to the farthest frontier. That year the investiture ceremony was not held, and Xie Tingzan returned home. He lived in exile at Yangzhou and supported himself by teaching. In time he died. During the Tianqi reign he was posthumously made Director of the Court of Imperial Regalia.

兄廷諒，字友可。萬歷二十三年進士。授南京刑部主事。帝命李廷機入閣，又召王錫爵。廷諒言：「廷機才弱而暗，錫爵氣高而揚，均不宜用。」又曰：「儲君之立為王也，自錫爵始；舉人之有考察也，自廷機始；巡按之久任也，自趙世卿始；章疏之留中也，自申時行始；年例之不舉，考察之不下也，自沈一貫始。此皆亂人國者也。」疏入，留中。終順慶知府。

His elder brother Xie Tingliang (Youke). Jinshi of Wanli 23. He was appointed secretary in the Nanjing Ministry of Justice. The emperor ordered Li Tingji into the Grand Secretariat and also recalled Wang Xijue. Xie Tingliang wrote: "Li Tingji's talent is feeble and obscure; Wang Xijue's manner is proud and overbearing—neither is fit for office. He also wrote: "The heir's designation as king began with Wang Xijue; The practice of evaluating provincial graduates began with Li Tingji; The long tenure of touring censors began with Zhao Shiqing; The practice of withholding memorials in the palace began with Shen Shixing; The neglect of annual reviews and the failure to issue official evaluations began with Shen Yiguan. All of these were practices that threw the state into disorder. When the memorial reached the throne, it was withheld. He ended his career as prefect of Shunqing.

楊天民，字正甫，山西太平人。萬歷十七年進士。除朝城知縣。調繁諸城，有異政，擢禮科給事中。時方纂修國史，與御史牛應元請復建文年號，從之。二十七年，狄道山崩，下成池，山南湧大小山五。天民言：「平地成山，惟唐垂拱間有之，而唐遂易為周。今虎狼之使吞噬無窮，狗鼠之徒攘奪難厭。不市而征稅，無礦而輸銀。甚且毀廬壞冢，籍人貲產，非法行刑。自大吏至守令，每被譴逐。郡邑不肖者，反助虐交歡，藉潤私橐。嗷嗷之眾，益無所歸命，懷樂禍心，有土崩之勢。天心仁愛，亟示譴告，陛下尚不覺悟，翻然與天下更始哉！」不報。文選郎中梅守峻貪黷，將擢太常少卿，天民劾罷之。延綏總兵官趙夢麟潛師襲寇，以大捷聞，督撫李汶、王見賓等鹹進秩予蔭。寇乃大入，殺軍民萬計，汶等又妄奏捷。天民再疏論之，奪見賓職，夢麟戍邊，汶亦被譴。

Yang Tianmin (Zhengfu), from Taiping in Shanxi. Jinshi of Wanli 17. He was appointed magistrate of Chaocheng. Transferred to the demanding county of Zhucheng, he distinguished himself in office and was promoted to supervising secretary in the Bureau of Rites. While the national history was being compiled, he and Censor Niu Yingyuan petitioned to restore the Jianwen reign title, and the request was granted. In Wanli 27 a mountain at Didao collapsed, forming a pool below, while five hills large and small rose up to its south. Yang Tianmin wrote: "Mountains rising on level ground occurred only once before, in the Chuigong era of Tang—and Tang was then overthrown and replaced by Zhou. Today wolfish emissaries devour without end, and verminous underlings plunder without satiety. They levy taxes where there is no commerce and demand silver where there are no mines. They even demolish homes and desecrate graves, seize people's property, and punish by unlawful execution. From senior officials down to local magistrates, many are rebuked and driven from office. Unworthy local officials abetted the cruelty instead, fraternizing with the oppressors and padding their own pockets. The suffering populace, with nowhere left to turn, nursed hearts eager for calamity—a state verging on collapse. Heaven in its compassion has again and again sent warnings and reproof; will Your Majesty still not awaken and turn to make a fresh start with the realm? There was no response. Mei Shoujun, a director in the Bureau of Appointments, was corrupt and on the verge of promotion to Vice Minister of Ceremonies; Yang Tianmin impeached him and had him dismissed. Zhao Menglin, regional commander of Yan-sui, launched a secret strike against the bandits and reported a great victory; the governors Li Wen, Wang Jianbin, and others were all promoted and granted hereditary privileges. The bandits then swept in on a large scale, slaughtering tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians; Wen and the others again falsely claimed victory. Yang Tianmin memorialized again on the affair; Wang Jianbin was stripped of office, Zhao Menglin was banished to frontier garrison duty, and Li Wen was censured as well.

天民尋進右給事中。冊立久稽，再疏請，不報。無何，貴妃弟鄭國泰疏請皇長子先冠婚後冊立，天民斥其非。國泰懼，委罪都指揮李承恩，奪其俸。順天、湖廣鄉試文多用二氏語，天民請罪考官楊道賓、顧天飐等，疏留中。二十九年五月，天民復偕同官上言，請早定國本。帝大怒，謫天民及王士昌雜職，余奪俸一年，以士昌亦給事禮科也。時御史周盤等公疏請，亦奪俸。天民得貴州永從典史。至十月，帝迫廷議，始立東宮，而天民等卒不召。天民幽憤卒。天啟中，贈光祿少卿。

Yang Tianmin was soon promoted to right supervising secretary in the Censorate. Investiture of the heir had long been postponed; he memorialized again to urge it, to no reply. Before long, Zheng Guotai, brother of the favored consort, memorialized asking that the eldest imperial son be capped and married before formal investiture; Yang Tianmin denounced the proposal. Guotai, alarmed, shifted the blame onto Commander Li Chen'en and had his salary confiscated. Provincial examination essays in Shuntian and Huguang were riddled with Buddhist and Daoist phrasing; Yang Tianmin called for the examiners Yang Daobin, Gu Tianran, and others to be punished, but the memorial was shelved. In the fifth month of Wanli 29, Yang Tianmin again joined his colleagues in memorializing for an early decision on the heir. The emperor was furious. He demoted Yang Tianmin and Wang Shichang to minor posts and docked the others' salaries for a year, since Shichang too served as supervising secretary in the Bureau of Rites. Censors Zhou Pan and others had also submitted a joint memorial on the matter; their salaries were docked as well. Yang Tianmin was assigned the post of registrar of Yongcong in Guizhou. By the tenth month, pressed by debate at court, the emperor at last invested the Eastern Palace—but Yang Tianmin and the others were never recalled. Yang Tianmin died, consumed by bitter grief. During the Tianqi reign he was posthumously granted the title Vice Minister of the Imperial Household.

初，天民去諸城，民為立祠。其後長吏不職，父老率聚哭祠下。

When Yang Tianmin first left Zhucheng, the people erected a shrine in his honor. Thereafter, whenever the local magistrates failed in their duties, village elders would gather to weep before his shrine.

何選，字靖卿，宛平人。萬歷十一年進士。除南昌知縣，征授御史。廷臣爭國本多獲譴，選語鄭貴妃弟國泰，令以朝野公論、鄭氏禍福懇言於貴妃，俾妃自請。國泰猶豫，選厲色責之曰：「若不及今為身家計，吾儕群擊之，悔無及矣。」國泰懼，乃入告於妃，且疏請早定，以釋危疑。帝意不懌。已，知出選指，深銜之。未幾，吏部擬調驗封員外郎鄒元標於文選，疏六日不下，選以為言。帝憶前事，謫湖廣布政司照磨。稍遷南京通政司經歷。刑部缺員外郎，吏部擬用選。帝憾未釋，謂特降官不當推舉，切讓尚書孫丕揚等，謫文選郎中馮生虞、員外郎馮養誌等極邊，而斥選為民。以閣臣言，稍寬生虞、養誌等罰。南京給事中任彥蘗抗章論救，語侵閣臣。帝復怒，謫彥蘗於外，生虞仍以雜職調邊方。旋以言官論救，並斥彥蘗為民。於是御史許聞造上言：「陛下頃歲以來，謂公忠為比周，謂論諫為激擾；詘銓衡之所賢，撓刑官之所執。光祿太仆之帑，括取幾空；中外大小之官，縣缺不補。敲撲遍於宮闈，桁楊接於道路。論救忠良，則愈甚其罪；諫止貢獻，則愈增其額。奏牘沈閣而莫稽，奄寺縱橫而無忌。今欲摘陳一事，則慮陛下益甚其事；欲摘救一人，則慮陛下益罪其人。陛下執此以拒建言之臣，諸臣因此而塞進言之路。邇年以來，諸臣謇諤之風，視昔大沮矣。」不報。

He Xuan, styled Jingqing, came from Wanping. Jinshi of Wanli 11. He was appointed magistrate of Nanchang, then summoned to serve as a censor. Court officials who pressed the heir question often met with punishment. He Xuan spoke with Zheng Guotai, brother of the favored consort, urging him to tell her plainly what court and country were saying and what fortune or ruin awaited the Zheng clan, so that she might petition on her own. Guotai wavered. He Xuan rebuked him sternly: "If you do not act now to safeguard your house, we will all turn on you together—and then it will be too late for regret. Alarmed, Guotai went in to tell the consort and also memorialized for an early decision, hoping to dispel the crisis and uncertainty. The emperor was displeased. When he learned the advice had come from He Xuan, he nursed a deep grudge. Before long the Ministry of Personnel proposed transferring Zou Yuanbiao, a director in the Seal Verification division, to the Bureau of Appointments; the memorial languished six days without action, and He Xuan remonstrated. Recalling the earlier affair, the emperor demoted him to registrar in the Huguang provincial administration. He was later transferred to administrator in the Nanjing Office of Transmission. When a directorship in the Ministry of Justice fell vacant, the Ministry of Personnel proposed appointing He Xuan. The emperor's resentment had not faded. He declared that officials specially demoted should not be put forward, sharply rebuked Minister Sun Piyang and others, banished Appointments director Feng Shengyu, director Feng Yangzhi, and others to the remotest frontier, and stripped He Xuan of office entirely. At the Grand Secretaries' urging, the punishments of Feng Shengyu, Feng Yangzhi, and the others were slightly reduced. Ren Yanbo, a supervising secretary in Nanjing, submitted a forceful memorial in their defense, his language impugning the Grand Secretaries. The emperor was enraged again. Ren Yanbo was demoted and transferred out; Feng Shengyu was still sent to the frontier in a minor post. When censorial officials again petitioned in his defense, Ren Yanbo too was stripped of office. Then Censor Xu Wenzao memorialized: "In recent years Your Majesty has treated public loyalty as factional collusion and remonstrance as inflammatory disturbance; You override what the Board of Personnel recommends and obstruct what judicial officials uphold. The treasuries of the Imperial Household and the Court of the Imperial Stud have been drained nearly dry; Offices great and small, at court and in the provinces, go unfilled while county posts stand vacant. Beatings and floggings reach into the inner palace; pillories and cangues line the roads. Plead for the loyal and upright, and their punishments grow harsher; Remonstrate against levies and tribute, and the quotas are raised; Memorials sink into the palace archives unexamined, while eunuchs run rampant without restraint. Now, to cite any one matter is to fear Your Majesty will only intensify it; To plead for any one person is to fear Your Majesty will only deepen his guilt. Your Majesty has used this to rebuff those who speak up, and ministers have closed the path of remonstrance in response. In recent years the forthright spirit of the ministers has been crushed far below what it once was. There was no response.

生虞，大足人。彥蘗，任城人。天啟中，贈選光祿少卿，生虞太常少卿。

Feng Shengyu came from Dazu. Ren Yanbo came from Rencheng. During the Tianqi reign, He Xuan was posthumously granted Vice Minister of the Imperial Household and Feng Shengyu Vice Minister of Ceremonies.

贊曰：野史載神宗金合之誓。都人子之說，雖未知信否，然恭妃之位久居鄭氏下，固有以滋天下之疑矣。姜應麟等交章力爭，不可謂無羽翼功。究之鄭氏非褒、驪之煽處，國泰亦無駟、鈞之惡戾，積疑召謗，被以惡聲。《詩》曰：「時靡有爭，王心載寧。」諸臣何其好爭也！

The historian comments: Unofficial histories tell of an oath Shenzong sealed in a golden casket. Whether the tale told among the people of the capital is true cannot be known, yet Consort Gong's rank long stood below Lady Zheng's—enough in itself to feed suspicion throughout the realm. Jiang Yinglin and others who submitted memorial after memorial in fierce dispute cannot be said to have lacked supporting merit. In the end the Zheng clan was no Bo Si or Li Ji fomenting ruin, nor was Guotai as vicious as Zhao Chuan or Tian Fen; accumulated suspicion invited slander, and they were dressed in ill repute. The Book of Odes says: "When none contend, the king's heart knows peace. How eager these ministers are to quarrel!

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