Volume 235 Biographies 123: Wang Ruxun, Yu Maoxue, Zhang Yangmeng, Meng Yimai, He Shijin, Wang Dewan, Jiang Yunyi, Zou Weilian

王汝訓余懋學張養蒙孟一脈何士晉〈（陸大受張庭李俸）〉王德完蔣允儀鄒維璉〈（吳羽文）〉

Wang Ruxun, Yu Maoxue, Zhang Yangmeng, Meng Yimai, and He Shijin (Lu Dashou, Zhang Ting, and Li Feng)]〉 Wang Dewan, Jiang Yunyi, and Zou Weilian (Wu Yuwen)]〉

王汝訓，字古師，聊城人。隆慶五年進士。除元城知縣。萬歷初，入為刑部主事。改兵部，累遷光祿少卿。吏科都給事中海寧陳與郊者，大學士王錫爵門生，又附申時行，恣甚。汝訓抗疏數其罪，言：「與郊今日薦巡撫，明日薦監司。每疏一出，受賄狼籍。部曹吳正誌一發其奸，身投荒僥。吏部尚書楊巍亦嘗語侍郎趙煥，謂為小人。乞速罷譴。且科道以言為職，乃默默者顯，諤諤者絀。直犯乘輿，屢荷優容。稍涉當途，旋遭擯斥。言官不難於批鱗，而難於借劍，此何為也？天下惟公足以服人。今言者不論是非，被言者不論邪正，模棱兩可，曲事調停，而曰務存大體。是懲議論之紛紜，而反致政體之決裂也。乞特敕吏部，自後遷轉科道，毋惡異喜同，毋好諛醜正。」是時，巍以政府故，方厚與郊。聞汝訓言引己且刺之，大恚，言：「臣未嘗詆與郊。汝訓以寺臣攻言路，正決裂政體之大者。」乃調汝訓南京。頃之，御史王明復劾與郊，並及巍，詔奪明俸，擢與郊太常少卿。都人為之語曰：「欲京堂，須彈章。」與郊尋以憂去。後御史張應揚追劾其交通文選郎劉希孟，考選納賄，並免官。未幾，其子殺人論死，與郊悒悒卒。

Wang Ruxun, whose style was Gushi, came from Liaocheng. He passed the jinshi examination in the fifth year of the Longqing reign. He was appointed magistrate of Yuancheng County. Early in the Wanli reign he was called to the capital and made a principal secretary in the Ministry of Punishments. After a transfer to the Ministry of War, he rose by stages to vice minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments. Chen Yujiao of Haining, chief supervising secretary in the personnel section of the censorate, was a protégé of Grand Secretary Wang Xijue and also curried favor with Shen Shixing; he behaved with great arrogance. Ruxun submitted a bold memorial listing Chen's offenses, writing: "Today Yujiao recommends a grand coordinator; tomorrow he recommends a surveillance commissioner. Every time a memorial goes out, bribes pour in unchecked. A ministry clerk named Wu Zhengzhi once exposed his corruption and fled into exile at the risk of his life. Minister of Personnel Yang Wei had also told Vice Minister Zhao Huan that Chen was a base man. I beg that he be dismissed and punished without delay. Moreover, censors and supervising secretaries are charged with speaking out, yet the silent are rewarded with prominence while the outspoken are disgraced. Those who directly reprove the throne have again and again been treated with leniency. Yet those who touch even slightly on men in power are at once cast aside. It is not hard for remonstrating officials to touch the dragon's scales, but hard to borrow the sword—what does this mean? Under Heaven, only fairness can win men's assent. Today accusers are not judged on the merits, and the accused are not judged on whether they are wicked or upright; everything is left equivocal and bent toward compromise, all in the name of preserving the larger pattern. This punishes the confusion of debate only to rupture the body politic itself. I beg that Your Majesty specially instruct the Ministry of Personnel that henceforth, in promoting censors and supervising secretaries, they must not hate difference and love sameness, nor favor flattery and abhor integrity. At that time Yang Wei, owing to his ties to the government, was treating Yujiao with great favor. Hearing that Ruxun's words implicated him and attacked him personally, he was furious and said, "Your subject has never slandered Yujiao. For Ruxun, a court-of-rites official, to attack the remonstrance route is precisely the sort of thing that ruptures the polity. Ruxun was thereupon transferred to Nanjing. Before long the censor Wang Ming impeached Yujiao again and implicated Wei as well; an edict stripped Wang of his salary while Yujiao was promoted to vice minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. People in the capital made up a saying: "If you want a capital post, you need an impeachment memorial. Yujiao soon left office to observe mourning. Later the censor Zhang Yingyang pursued charges that he had colluded with Selection Secretary Liu Ximeng and taken bribes in examinations and appointments; both men were dismissed. Before long his son was sentenced to death for murder, and Yujiao died in gloom and distress.

汝訓入為太常少卿。孟秋饗廟，帝不親行。汝訓極諫。帝慍甚，以其言直，不罪也。尋進太仆卿，調光祿。汝訓先為少卿，寺中歲費二十萬，至是濫增四萬有奇。汝訓據《會典》，請盡裁內府冗食，不許。

Ruxun was recalled to the capital as vice minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. At the mid-autumn temple sacrifice the emperor did not attend in person. Ruxun remonstrated forcefully. The emperor was greatly angered, yet because his words were forthright he did not punish him. He was soon promoted to minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud and then transferred to the Court of Imperial Entertainments. Ruxun had earlier served as vice minister, when the court's annual expenditure was two hundred thousand; by now it had wantonly risen by more than forty thousand. Ruxun, citing the 《Collected Statutes》, asked to cut all redundant retainers in the inner palace, but permission was denied.

二十二年，改左僉都御史。旋進右副都御史，巡撫浙江。汝訓性清介，方嚴疾惡。巡按御史南昌彭應參亦雅以強直名，相與力鋤豪右。烏程故尚書董份、祭酒範應期裏居不法，汝訓將繩之。適應參行部至，應期怨家千人遮道陳牒。應參持之急，檄烏程知縣張應望按之。應期自縊死，其妻吳氏詣闕訴冤。帝命逮應參、應望詔獄，革汝訓職，詰吏部都察院任用非人。尚書孫丕揚、都御史衷貞吉等引罪，且論救。帝意未釋，謫救應參者給事中喬胤等於外。言官訟汝訓、應參，亦及胤，帝愈怒。疏入，輒重胤譴，至除名，而謫應望戍煙瘴，應參為民。

In the twenty-second year of the reign he was made left assistant censor-in-chief. He was soon promoted to right vice censor-in-chief and appointed grand coordinator of Zhejiang. Ruxun was pure and upright by nature, stern and unyielding, and hated wickedness. The touring censor Peng Yingcan of Nanchang was also famed for his forceful integrity; together they worked hard to uproot powerful local families. The former minister Dong Fen and the former libationer Fan Yingqi of Wucheng, living in retirement at home, had broken the law; Ruxun was about to bring them to account. Just as Yingcan arrived on his inspection tour, a thousand of Yingqi's enemies blocked the road to present petitions. Yingcan pressed the case hard and ordered Zhang Yingwang, magistrate of Wucheng, to investigate. Yingqi hanged himself, and his wife Lady Wu went to the palace gate to plead that an injustice had been done. The emperor ordered Yingcan and Yingwang arrested and sent to the imperial prison, stripped Ruxun of his office, and rebuked the Ministry of Personnel and the Censorate for appointing unfit men. Minister Sun Piyang, Censor-in-Chief Yuan Zhenji, and others accepted blame and also pleaded for the men's release. The emperor's anger had not yet subsided; he demoted the supervising secretaries Qiao Yin and others, who had pleaded for Yingcan, to posts outside the capital. Remonstrating officials petitioned on behalf of Ruxun and Yingcan and also implicated Yin; the emperor grew still angrier. Each new memorial only deepened Yin's punishment, until he was struck from the rolls; Yingwang was banished to guard duty in the miasmal south, and Yingcan was reduced to commoner status.

汝訓家居十五年，起南京刑部右侍郎。召改工部，署部事。初，礦稅興，以助大工為名。後悉輸內帑，不以供營繕。而四方采木之需多至千萬，費益不訾。汝訓屢請發帑佐工，皆不報。在部歲餘，力清夙弊。中官請乞，輒執奏不予，節冗費數萬。卒，贈工部尚書，謚恭介。

Ruxun lived in retirement for fifteen years, then was recalled as right vice minister of punishments in Nanjing. He was summoned to the Ministry of Works and placed in charge of its affairs. When the mining tax was first imposed, it was said to be for major construction projects. Later it all went into the inner treasury and was no longer used for repairs or construction. Yet demands for timber from all quarters often ran into the tens of millions, and costs grew beyond reckoning. Ruxun repeatedly asked that treasury funds be released to support the works, but received no response. During more than a year at the ministry he worked hard to clear long-standing abuses. Whenever eunuchs made requests he memorialized the throne and refused them, saving tens of thousands in redundant expenses. When he died he was posthumously made minister of works and given the posthumous title Gongjie, "Respectful and Upright."

余懋學，字行之，婺源人。隆慶二年進士。授撫州推官，擢南京戶科給事中。萬歷初，張居正當國，進《白燕白蓮頌》。懋學以帝方憂旱，下詔罪己，與百官圖修禳。而居正顧獻瑞，非大臣誼，抗疏論之。已，論南京守備太監申信不法，帝為罷信。久之，陳崇惇大、親謇諤、慎名器、戒紛更、防佞諛五事。時居正方務綜核，而懋學疏與之忤，斥為民，永不敘錄。居正死，起懋學故官，奏奪成國公朱希忠王爵，請召還光祿少卿嶽相、給事中魏時亮等十八人。帝俱報可。尋擢南京尚寶卿。

Yu Maoxue, whose style was Xingzhi, came from Wuyuan. He passed the jinshi examination in the second year of the Longqing reign. He was appointed reviewing official in Fuzhou and was then promoted to supervising secretary in the revenue section of the Nanjing censorate. Early in the Wanli reign, with Zhang Juzheng in power, he presented the 《Odes to the White Swallow and White Lotus》. Maoxue noted that the emperor was then troubled by drought, had issued a self-reproach edict, and was working with his officials on prayers for rain. Yet Juzheng instead offered auspicious omens, which was unbecoming in a great minister; Maoxue submitted a bold memorial criticizing him. Later he denounced the unlawful conduct of the Nanjing garrison eunuch Shen Xin, and the emperor dismissed Xin on his account. After some time he set forth five matters: revering great virtue, cherishing outspoken integrity, being careful with titles and offices, guarding against frequent policy changes, and guarding against flattery. At that time Juzheng was bent on tightening administrative control, and Maoxue's memorial ran counter to him; he was reduced to commoner status and never again considered for office. After Juzheng's death Maoxue was restored to his former office; he memorialized to strip Zhu Xizhong, Duke of Chengguo, of his princely rank and asked that Yue Xiang, Wei Shiliang, and eighteen others be recalled to office. The emperor approved all of these requests. He was soon promoted to minister of the Court of Imperial Seals in Nanjing.

十三年，御史李植、江東之等以言事忤執政。同官蔡系周、孫愈賢希執政指，紛然攻訐，懋學上言：

In the thirteenth year the censors Li Zhi, Jiang Dongzhi, and others offended the chief ministers by their remonstrances. Their colleagues Cai Xizhou and Sun Yuxian, eager to follow the chief ministers' lead, attacked them in a clamor; Maoxue submitted a memorial:

諸臣之不能容植等，一則以科場不能無私，而惡植等之訐發；一則以往者常保留居正，而忌吳中行、沈思孝等之召用。二疑交於中，故百妒發於外也。夫威福自上，則主勢尊。植等三臣，陛下所親擢者也，乃舉朝臣工百計排之；假令政府欲用一人，諸臣敢力挫之乎？臣謹以臣工之十蠹為陛下言之。

"The ministers cannot tolerate Zhi and the others for two reasons. First, because examination fields cannot be wholly free of private interest, they hate Zhi and the others for exposing wrongdoing; second, because they once shielded Juzheng, they resent the recall of Wu Zhongxing, Shen Sixiao, and others. These two suspicions meet within the court, and so a hundred jealousies burst forth without." When authority and favor come from above, the ruler's position is honored. Zhi and two other ministers were personally promoted by Your Majesty, yet the whole court contrives by a hundred schemes to exclude them; yet if the government wished to employ one man, would the ministers dare to thwart him by force? Your subject respectfully sets forth for Your Majesty the ten corruptions of the official class.

今執政大臣，一政之善，輒矜贊導之功，一事之失，輒諉挽回之難，是為誣上。其蠹一。進用一人，執政則曰我所註意也，冢宰則曰我所推轂也，選郎則曰我所登用也。受爵公朝，拜恩私室，是為招權。其蠹二。陛下天縱聖明，猶虛懷納諫。乃二三大僚，稍有規正，輒奮袂而起，惡聲相加，是為諱疾。其蠹三。中外臣工，率探政府意向，而不恤公論。論人則毀譽視其愛憎，行政則舉置徇其喜怒，是為承望。其蠹四。君子立身，和而不同。今當路意有所主，則群相附和，敢於抗天子，而難於違大臣，是為雷同。其蠹五。我國家諫無專官，今他曹稍有建白，不曰出位，則曰沽名，沮忠直之心，長壅蔽之漸，是為阻抑。其蠹六。自張居正蒙蔽主聰，道路以目，今余風未殄，欺罔日滋。如潘季馴之斥，大快人心，而猶累牘連章為之申雪，是為欺罔。其蠹七。近中外臣僚或大臣交攻，或言官相訐，始以自用之私，終之好勝之習。好勝不已，必致忿爭，忿爭不已，必致黨比。唐之牛、李，宋之洛、蜀，其初豈不由一言之相失哉？是為競勝。其蠹八。佞諛成風，日以浸甚。言及大臣，則等之伊、傅；言及邊帥，則擬以方、召；言及中官，則誇呂、張復出；言及外吏，則頌卓、魯重生。非藉結歡，即因邀賂，是為佞諛。其蠹九。國家設官，各有常職。近兩京大臣，務建白以為名高，侵職掌而聽民訟。長告訐之風，失具瞻之體，是為乖戾。其蠹十也。

Today's chief ministers boast of their merit whenever a policy succeeds, yet blame the difficulty of remedying matters whenever something goes wrong—this is deceiving the ruler. This is the first corruption. When a man is promoted, the chief minister says, "I marked him for attention"; the minister of personnel says, "I pushed him forward"; the selection secretary says, "I placed him in office." They receive rank in the public court yet pay homage to favor in private chambers—this is inviting power. This is the second corruption. Your Majesty is heaven-endowed with sagely brilliance and still humbly accepts remonstrance. Yet the two or three great ministers, whenever they are slightly corrected, at once fling up their sleeves and rise, heaping abuse on one another—this is concealing sickness. This is the third corruption. Officials within and without the court all probe the government's intent and care nothing for public opinion. In judging men, praise and blame follow personal likes and dislikes; in administering affairs, promotion and dismissal follow the ruler's moods—this is courting expectation. This is the fourth corruption. The gentleman stands firm in harmony without sameness. Today when men in power have a fixed intent, the crowd echoes them, daring to resist the Son of Heaven yet finding it hard to defy great ministers—this is sameness in echo. This is the fifth corruption. Our state has no specialized remonstrance office; now when officials in other offices offer even slight proposals, they are called overstepping their place or seeking a name, discouraging loyal uprightness and deepening obstruction—this is blocking and suppressing. This is the sixth corruption. Since Zhang Juzheng blinded the ruler's keen perception, people on the road dared only glance at one another; the lingering influence has not yet died away, and deception grows daily. When Pan Jixun was dismissed, the people rejoiced, yet memorials still piled up to clear his name—this is deception. This is the seventh corruption. Recently, whether great ministers attacking one another or remonstrating officials denouncing one another, they begin from private self-interest and end in the habit of loving victory. Loving victory without end leads to angry contention; angry contention without end leads to factional alliance. The Niu and Li factions of Tang, the Luoyang and Shu factions of Song—did they not at first arise from a single word's loss? This is competing for victory. This is the eighth corruption. Flattery and sycophancy have become the fashion and grow more intense by the day. When speaking of great ministers, they are compared to Yi Yin and Fu Yue; when speaking of frontier commanders, they are compared to Fang Shu and Zhao Bo; when speaking of inner eunuchs, they boast that Lü Qiang and Zhang Yong have returned; when speaking of outer officials, they praise Zhuo Mao and Lu Su as reborn. Whether by currying favor or inviting bribes—this is flattery and sycophancy. This is the ninth corruption. The state establishes offices, each with its fixed duty. Recently great ministers in the two capitals strive to make proposals for the sake of reputation, encroaching on others' jurisdictions and hearing the people's lawsuits. They lengthen the wind of accusations and lose the dignity of being looked up to—this is perversity. This is the tenth corruption.

懋學夙以直節著稱，其摘季馴不無過當。然所言好勝之弊，必成朋黨，後果如其言。累遷南京戶部右侍郎，總理漕儲。疏白程任卿、江時之冤，二人遂得釋。二十一年，以拾遺論罷。卒，贈工部尚書。天啟初，追謚恭穆。

Maoxue had long been famed for his upright integrity; in denouncing Jixun he was not without excess. Yet what he said about the evil of loving victory necessarily forming factions proved true, as events later confirmed. He rose by stages to right vice minister of revenue in Nanjing and oversaw grain transport reserves. In a memorial he exposed the injustice done to Cheng Renqing and Jiang Shizhi, and the two men were thereupon released. In the twenty-first year he was dismissed on account of a remonstrance. When he died he was posthumously made minister of works. At the beginning of the Tianqi reign he was posthumously given the title Gongmu, "Respectful and Solemn."

張養蒙，字泰亨，澤州人。萬歷五年進士。選庶吉士，歷吏科左給事中。少負才名，明習天下事。居言職，慷慨好建白。以南北多水旱，條上治奸民、恤流民、愛富民三事，帝嘉納之。錦衣都指揮羅秀營僉書，兵部尚書王遴格不行，失歡權要而去，秀竟夤緣得之。養蒙疏發其狀，事具遴傳。御史高維崧等言事被謫，養蒙偕同官論救，復特疏訟之。忤旨，奪俸。

Zhang Yangmeng, whose style was Taiheng, came from Zezhou. He passed the jinshi examination in the fifth year of the Wanli reign. He was selected as a Hanlin bachelor and rose through the posts to left supervising secretary in the personnel section. In youth he bore a reputation for talent and was well versed in affairs throughout the realm. In his remonstrating office he was generous and fond of making proposals. Because north and south suffered much from flood and drought, he set forth three matters: governing wicked people, relieving displaced people, and cherishing the prosperous people; the emperor praised and accepted them. Brocade Guard chief commander Luo Xiu sought a post as registrar; Minister of War Wang Lin rejected it, and Lin lost the favor of powerful men and left office, yet Xiu ultimately obtained the post through illicit connections. Yangmeng submitted a memorial exposing the facts; the matter is given in full in Lin's biography. Censor Gao Weisong and others were demoted for remonstrating; Yangmeng joined colleagues in pleading for them and also submitted a special memorial on their behalf. He offended the imperial will and had his salary stripped.

尋遷工科都給事中。都御史潘季馴奏報河工，養蒙上言曰：「二十年來，河幾告患矣。當其決，隨議塞，當其淤，隨議浚，事竣輒論功。夫淤決則委之天災而不任其咎，浚塞則歸之人事而共蒙其賞。及報成未久，懼有後虞，急求謝事，而繼者復告患矣。其故皆由不久任也。夫官不久任，其弊有三：後先異時也，人己異見也，功罪難執也。請仿邊臣例，增秩久任，斯職守專而可責成功。」帝深然之。

He was soon transferred to chief supervising secretary in the works section. Censor-in-Chief Pan Jixun memorialized reporting on river works; Yangmeng submitted a statement saying: "For twenty years the river has nearly reported disaster. When it burst, proposals followed to block it; when it silted, proposals followed to dredge it; when the work was finished merit was at once discussed. When silting and bursting occurred, they were attributed to heaven's disaster and blame was not borne; when dredging and blocking succeeded, they were attributed to human effort and all shared the reward. When the report of completion had not long been made, fearing later trouble, they hurried to request leave, and their successors again reported disaster. The reason for all this was that office was not held long. When office is not held long, there are three evils: later and earlier differ in time, self and other differ in views, and merit and guilt are hard to fix. I beg that the precedent of frontier officials be followed, rank be increased and tenure prolonged, so that duties may be specialized and success can be required. The emperor deeply approved.

有詔潞安進綢二千四百匹。未幾，復命增五千。養蒙率同官力爭，且曰：「從來傳奉職造，具題者內臣，擬旨者閣臣，抄發者科臣。今徑下部，非祖制。」不從。出為河南右參政。尋召為太仆少卿，四遷左副都御史。二十四年，極諫時政闕失，言：

There was an edict that Lu'an present two thousand four hundred bolts of silk. Before long, an order came again to increase it by five thousand. Yangmeng led colleagues in forceful protest and also said: "From former times, for missions of the transmission service, the one who presented the topic was an inner eunuch, the one who drafted the rescript was a grand secretary, and the one who copied and issued it was a supervising secretary. Now it goes directly to the ministry—this is not the ancestral system. This was not followed. He went out as right vice administrator of Henan. He was soon summoned as vice minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud and was promoted four times to left vice censor-in-chief. In the twenty-fourth year he remonstrated forcefully on the failures of current policy and said:

邇來殿廷希禦，上下不交。或疑外臣不可盡信，或疑外事未可盡從。君臣相猜，政事積廢。致市猾得以揣意旨，左右得以播威權。惟利是聞，禍將胡底。謹以三輕二重之弊為陛下陳之。

Recently in the palace hall people court favor; above and below do not communicate. Some suspect that outer officials cannot all be trusted, or suspect that outer affairs cannot all be followed. Ruler and ministers suspect one another, and government affairs pile up in neglect. Thus market sharpers are able to probe intent, and those at the ruler's side are able to spread authority. They heed only profit; disaster will have no bottom. I respectfully set forth for Your Majesty the evils of three lightened and two weighted.

一、部院之體漸輕。或虛其位而不補，或用其人而不任。如冬官一曹，亞卿專署，已為異事，乃冢宰何官，數月虛位。法司議劉世延罪，竟爾留中，主事劉冠南疏入即發。何小臣聽而大臣不聽，單疏下而公疏不下哉！以至戶曹三疏諫開礦，臣院九疏催行取，皆置不報。議大事則十疏而九不行，遇廷推則十人而九不用。失大臣師表百僚，奈何輕之至此！

First, the stature of ministries and courts has gradually lightened. Sometimes the post is left vacant and not filled, sometimes the man is used but not entrusted. In the Works Section, a vice minister alone signs documents—already an anomaly—yet the post of minister of personnel has stood vacant for months. The law offices discussed Liu Shiyan's crime, yet it was held in the palace; when principal secretary Liu Guannan submitted a memorial it was at once issued. Why are small officials heard while great ministers are not heard, single memorials issued while joint memorials are not issued! To the point that the Revenue Section submitted three memorials remonstrating against opening mines, and our court submitted nine memorials urging selections, yet all were left unanswered. When great affairs are discussed, nine of ten memorials do not go through; when court recommendations are made, nine of ten men are not used. Great ministers lose their role as models for the hundred officials—how can they be lightened to this point!

一、科道之職漸輕。五科都給事中久虛不補，御史曹學程一系不釋，考選臺諫，屢請屢格，乃至服闋補任，亦皆廢閣。是不欲言路之充也。夫政無缺失，何憚人言。徒使唯諾風成，謇諤意絕，國是將何定乎？

Second, the office of censors and supervising secretaries has gradually lightened. The five sections' chief supervising secretaries have long stood vacant without filling; censor Cao Xuecheng has long been held without release; selection of censors and remonstrators has been repeatedly requested and repeatedly blocked, even when mourning leave ended and reappointments were due, all were shelved. This shows that the remonstrance route is not wished to be filled. When government has no failures, why fear men's words? They only make the wind of yes-men grow and the intent of outspoken integrity die—how will the state's affairs be settled?

一、撫按之任漸輕。如開礦一事，撫按有言，鹹蒙切責。於是鄭一麟以千戶而妄劾李盛春。夫閽人、武弁得以制巡撫之命，紀綱不倒置乎？一珰得誌，諸珰效尤，撫按斂手，何有於監司？從此陛下之赤子將無人拊循矣。

Third, the responsibility of grand coordinators and touring censors has gradually lightened. In the matter of opening mines, when grand coordinators and touring censors spoke, all received sharp rebuke. Thereupon Zheng Yilin, a company commander, rashly impeached Li Shengchun. When gatekeepers and military officers can control a grand coordinator's orders, are regulations not turned upside down? One eunuch gets his way and the other eunuchs follow his example; grand coordinators and touring censors fold their hands—what is left for surveillance commissioners? From this Your Majesty's common people will have no one to comfort and guide them.

一、進獻之途漸重。下僚捐俸，儒士獻資，名為助工，實懷覬幸。甚者百戶王守仁以謀復世爵，妄構楚府，而使陛下恩薄於懿親；主簿張以述以求復舊秩，妄獻白鹿，而使陛下德損於玩物。部臣糾之不聽，言官糾之不聽，業已明示好惡，大開受獻之門。將見媚子宵人，投袂競起，今日獻靈瑞，明日貢珍奇，究使敗節文官、僨軍武帥，憑藉錢神，邀求故物，不至如嘉靖末年之濁亂不止也。

First, the path of presenting tribute has gradually weighted. Lower officials donate salary, Confucian scholars present funds, in name to aid the works but in fact harboring hope of favor. Still worse, company commander Wang Shouren, seeking to recover a hereditary enfeoffment, rashly framed the Chu princely house, making Your Majesty's grace thin toward close kin; registrar Zhang Yishu, seeking to recover his former rank, rashly presented a white deer, making Your Majesty's virtue diminished by fondness for curios. Ministry officials impeached them but were not heard; remonstrating officials impeached them but were not heard; already preference and aversion have been openly shown and the gate of receiving presentations widely opened. We shall see fawning sons and night people fling up their sleeves and compete: today presenting spiritual omens, tomorrow presenting rare curiosities, until corrupt civil officials and failed military commanders, relying on the money god, seek former things—until it does not stop short of the foul disorder of the late Jiajing years.

一、內差之勢漸重。中使紛然四出，乞請之章無日不上，批答之旨無言不溫。左右藉武弁以營差，武弁藉左右以網利，共構狂言，誑惑天聽。陛下方厭外臣沮撓，謂欲辦家事，必賴家奴，於是有言無不立聽。豈武弁皆急君，而朝紳盡誤國乎？今奸宄實繁有徒。采礦不已，必及采珠；皇店不止，漸及皇莊。繼而營市舶，繼而復鎮守，內可以謀坐營，外可以謀監軍。正德敝風，其鑒不遠。

Second, the power of inner missions has gradually weighted. Inner envoys swarm forth in all directions; petitions for requests have no day without ascending; rescripts of reply have no word without warmth. Those at the side rely on military officers to seek missions; military officers rely on those at the side to net profit; together they fabricate wild words and deceive heaven's hearing. Your Majesty is just then weary of outer officials' obstruction and says that to manage household affairs one must rely on household servants; therefore whatever is said is at once heard. Are military officers all urgent for the ruler while court gentry all harm the state? Now villains are indeed numerous. Mining without end must reach pearl gathering; imperial shops do not stop and gradually reach imperial estates. Then managing maritime trade, then restoring garrison commanders—within they can scheme to sit in camp, without they can scheme to supervise armies. The corrupt wind of the Zhengde reign—its mirror is not far.

凡此三輕二重，勢每相因。德與財不並立，中與外不兩勝，惟陛下早見而速圖之。不報。又明年六月，兩宮三殿繼災。養蒙復上疏曰：

All these three lightened and two weighted—the momentum each time mutually causes. Virtue and wealth cannot stand together, inner and outer cannot both win; may Your Majesty see this early and plan swiftly. There was no reply. Again in the sixth month of the following year, the two palaces and three halls suffered fire in succession. Yangmeng again submitted a memorial saying:

近日之災，前古未有。自非君臣交儆，痛革敝風，恐虛文相謾，大禍必至。臣請陛下躬謁郊廟以謝嚴譴，立禦便殿以通物情，早建國本以系人心。停銀礦、皇店之役，杜四海亂階；減宦官宮妾之刑，弭蕭墻隱禍。然此皆應天實事，猶非應天實心也。罪己不如正己，格事不如格心。陛下平日成心有四：一曰好逸。朝享倦於躬臨，章奏倦於省覽。古帝王乾健不息，似不如此。一曰好疑。疑及近侍，則左右莫必其生；疑及外庭，則僚采不安於位。究且謀以疑敗，奸以疑容。古帝王至誠馭物，似不如此。一曰好勝。奮厲威嚴以震群工，喜諂諛而惡鯁直，厭封駁而樂順從。古帝王予違汝弼，似不如此。一曰好貨。以聚斂為奉公，以投獻為盡節。古帝王四海為家，似不如此。願陛下戒此四者，亟圖更張，庶天意可回，國祚可保。

The recent disaster has no precedent in former antiquity. Unless ruler and ministers warn one another and painfully reform the corrupt customs, empty words will deceive one another and great disaster is sure to come. I beg Your Majesty personally to visit the suburban altars and temples to apologize for stern punishment, establish an imperial hall for convenience to communicate with the realm, and early establish the heir to bind men's hearts. Stop the labor of silver mines and imperial shops to block the sources of disorder throughout the realm; reduce punishments of eunuchs and palace women to quell hidden disaster within the palace walls. Yet all these are real deeds in responding to Heaven, and are still not the real heart in responding to Heaven. Blaming oneself is not as good as correcting oneself; correcting affairs is not as good as correcting the heart. Your Majesty on ordinary days has four fixed intentions: first, love of ease. Court sacrifices weary of attending in person, memorials weary of reviewing. The ancient emperors were vigorous without ceasing—this seems not to be so. Second, love of suspicion. When suspicion reaches close attendants, then those at the side cannot be sure of their lives; when suspicion reaches the outer court, then colleagues are not secure in their posts. In the end plots fail through suspicion, and villains are harbored through suspicion. The ancient emperors governed things with utmost sincerity—this seems not to be so. Third, love of victory. Exerting fierce authority and sternness to shake the hundred officials, loving flattery and hating blunt uprightness, tiring of sealed remonstrance and delighting in compliance. The ancient emperors said, when you err I assist you—this seems not to be so. Fourth, love of goods. Taking exaction as serving the public, taking presentations as utmost loyalty. The ancient emperors took the four seas as home—this seems not to be so. May Your Majesty guard against these four and swiftly plan renewal, so that Heaven's intent may turn and the state's fortune may be preserved.

帝亦不省。

The emperor also did not reflect.

尋遷戶部右侍郎。時再用師朝鮮，命養蒙督餉。事寧，予一子官。三十年，尚書陳蕖稱疾乞罷。詔養蒙署事。會養蒙亦有疾在告，固辭。給事中夏子陽劾其托疾，遂罷歸。卒於家。天啟初，賜謚毅敏。

He was soon transferred to right vice minister of revenue. At that time troops were again used in Korea, and Yangmeng was ordered to supervise provisions. When the affair was settled, one son was granted office. In the thirtieth year Minister Chen Lian claimed illness and begged to resign. An edict ordered Yangmeng to act as head of the ministry. As Yangmeng also had illness and was on leave, he firmly declined. Supervising secretary Xia Ziyang impeached him for feigning illness, and he was thereupon dismissed and returned home. He died at home. At the beginning of the Tianqi reign he was granted the posthumous title Yimin, "Resolute and Keen."

孟一脈，字淑孔，東阿人。隆慶五年進士。為平遙知縣。以廉能擢南京御史。萬歷六年五月，上言：「近上兩宮徽號，覃恩內外，獨御史傅應禎、進士鄒元標、部郎艾穆、沈思孝，投荒萬里，遠絕親闈，非所以廣錫類溥仁施也。」疏入，忤張居正，黜為民。居正死，起故官，疏陳五事，言：

Meng Yimai, whose style was Shukong, came from Dong'e. He passed the jinshi examination in the fifth year of the Longqing reign. He served as magistrate of Pingyao. For integrity and ability he was promoted to censor in Nanjing. In the fifth month of the sixth year of the Wanli reign he submitted a statement saying: "Recently the two palaces received honorific titles and grace was extended within and without, yet alone Censor Fu Yingzhen, Jinshi Zou Yuanbiao, and department secretaries Ai Mu and Shen Sixiao were cast into exile ten thousand li away, far cut off from kin—this is not how to extend grace broadly and apply benevolence. When the memorial entered, it offended Zhang Juzheng and he was dismissed as a commoner." When Juzheng died, he was raised to his former office and memorialized setting forth five matters, saying:

近再選宮女至九十七人，急征一時，輦下甚擾。一也。

Recently palace women were again selected to ninety-seven persons; they were urgently summoned at one time and the capital was greatly disturbed. This is the first.

中外章奏，宜下部臣議覆，閣臣擬旨，脫有不當，臺諫得糾駁之。今乃不任臣工，顓取宸斷，明旨一出，臣下莫敢犯顏。二也。

Memorials within and without should be sent to ministry officials for discussion and reply, grand secretaries to draft rescripts; if there is impropriety, censors and remonstrators may impeach and reject. Now officials are not entrusted; the ruler alone takes the imperial decision; once a clear edict issues, ministers below dare not offend the countenance. This is the second.

士習邪正，系世道汙隆。今廉恥日喪，營求茍且。亟宜更化救弊，先實行而後才華。三也。

Whether scholar-custom is wicked or upright is tied to whether the age is foul or flourishing. Now integrity and shame daily decline and scrambling for survival grows. One should urgently reform and save abuses, first practical conduct and afterward talent. This is the third.

東南財賦之區，靡於淫巧，民力竭矣，非陛下有以倡之乎？數年以來，禦用不給。今日取之光祿，明日取之太仆，浮梁之磁，南海之珠，玩好之奇，器用之巧，日新月異。遇聖節則有壽服，元宵則有燈服，端陽則有五毒吉服，年例則有歲進龍服。以至覃恩錫賚，小大畢沾；謁陵犒賜，耗費巨萬。錙銖取之，泥沙用之。於是民間習為麗侈，窮耳目之好，竭工藝之能，不知紀極。夫中人得十金，即足供終歲之用。今一物而常兼中人數家之產。或刻沈檀，鏤犀象，以珠寶金玉飾之。周鼎、商彜、秦鉈、漢鑒，皆搜求於海內。窮歲月之力，專一器之工；罄生平之資，取一盼之適。殊不知財賄易盡，嗜欲無窮。陛下誠能恭儉節約以先天下，禁彼浮淫，還之貞樸，則財用自裕，而風俗亦淳。四也。

The southeast, a region of wealth and taxes, is wasted on extravagant craft; the people's strength is exhausted—is it not that Your Majesty has led them? For several years imperial use has not sufficed. Today it is taken from the Court of Imperial Entertainments, tomorrow from the Court of the Imperial Stud; porcelain from Fuliang, pearls from the southern sea, curious playthings, ingenious vessels and implements—new day by day. On the sage's birthday there are longevity robes, on the Lantern Festival lamp robes, on the Dragon Boat Festival five-poison auspicious robes, on the annual precedent there are yearly tribute dragon robes. Even extending grace with gifts, great and small all receive; visiting tombs and bestowing rewards consume tens of millions. Taken by the ounce, used like sand. Thereupon the people learn gorgeous extravagance, exhausting what delights eye and ear and depleting craft to the limit, knowing no measure. A man of moderate means obtaining ten ounces of gold is enough to supply a whole year's use. Now one object often equals the property of several moderate households. Some carve eaglewood and sandalwood, carve rhinoceros and ivory, and adorn them with pearls, gems, gold, and jade. Zhou tripods, Shang vessels, Qin bells, and Han mirrors are all sought throughout the realm. Exhausting years of effort on the craft of a single vessel; spending a lifetime's resources to obtain one moment's pleasure. They do not know that wealth is easily exhausted and desire has no end. If Your Majesty can with respect and frugality take the lead under Heaven, forbid that floating excess, and return to simplicity, then wealth will naturally suffice and custom will also be pure. This is the fourth.

邊疆之臣，日弛戎備，上下蒙蔽，莫以實聞。由邊臣相繼為本兵，題覆處分，盡在其口。言出而中傷隨之，誰肯為無益之談，自取禍敗哉？漁夫舍餌以得魚，未聞以餌養魚者也。今以中國之文帛綺繡為蕃戎常服，雖曰貢市，實則媚之。邊臣假貢市以賂戎，戎人肆剽竊而要我。彼此相欺，以誑君父。幸其不來，來則莫禦。所謂以餌養魚者也。請明詔樞臣，洗心易慮。戰守之備，一一講求，付之邊臣。使將識敵情，兵識將意，庶乎臂指如意，國可無虞。五也。

Frontier officials daily relax military preparedness; above and below conceal one another and nothing real is reported. Because frontier officials in succession become ministers of war, discussion and disposition of memorial replies are all in their mouths. When words issue, wounding follows—who will speak useless talk and invite disaster? A fisherman abandons bait to obtain fish; I have never heard of feeding fish with bait. Now China's silks, brocades, and fine weave are the regular dress of the frontier tribes; though called tribute markets, in fact they flatter. Frontier officials use tribute markets to bribe the tribes; the tribes wildly plunder and demand from us. Each deceives the other to deceive ruler and father. They pray they do not come; when they come none can resist. This is what is called feeding fish with bait. I beg a clear edict to the military ministers to wash the heart and change thought. Preparations for war and defense should be discussed one by one and entrusted to frontier officials. Let generals know the enemy's situation and soldiers know the general's intent—then perhaps arm and finger will be as one wishes and the state may be without worry. This is the fifth.

疏入，忤旨，謫建昌推官。屢遷南京右通政。移疾歸。四十一年，起右僉都御史，巡撫南、贛。居三年，廷推左副都御史。未得命，給事中官應震論其縱子驕恣。疏雖留中，一脈竟引疾去。年八十一卒。

When the memorial entered, it offended the imperial will and he was demoted to reviewing official of Jianchang. He was promoted in stages to right vice commissioner of Nanjing. He resigned on account of illness and returned home. In the forty-first year he was raised as right assistant censor-in-chief and grand coordinator of Nan and Gan. After three years, court recommendation made him left vice censor-in-chief. Before the appointment was received, supervising secretary Guan Yingzhen discussed his indulging his son's arrogance. Although the memorial was held in the palace, Yimai ultimately cited illness and left. He died at the age of eighty-one.

一脈初以直諫著聲。晚膺節鉞，年力已衰，不克有所表樹雲。

Yimai at first was famed for his voice in blunt remonstrance. Late in life he received command authority; his years and strength had already declined and he could not achieve notable deeds.

何士晉，字武莪，宜興人。父其孝，得士晉晚。族子利其資，結黨致之死。繼母吳氏匿士晉外家。讀書稍懈，母輒示以父血衣。士晉感厲，與人言，未嘗有笑容。萬歷二十六年舉進士。持血衣訴之官，罪人皆抵法。初授寧波推官，擢工科給事中。首疏請通章奏、緩聚斂。俄言：「袞職有闕，廷臣言雖逆耳，每荷優容。獨論及輔臣，必欲借主威以泄憤。是陛下負拒諫之名，輔臣收固寵之實，天下所以積憤輔臣而不能平也。如孫幰、郭子章、戴耀、沈子木，宜舍不舍，公論乖違，輔臣賡安得不任其咎？」無何，劾左都督王之楨久掌錦衣，為內閣爪牙，中樞心腹。又劾大學士王錫爵逢君賊善，召命宜停；戶部尚書趙世卿誤國，無大臣體。已，復言：「朝端大政，宜及今早行者，在放輔臣以清政地，罷大臣被論者以伸公議。斥王之楨以絕禍源，釋卞孔時、王邦才等以蘇冤獄。」

He Shijin, whose style was Wu'e, came from Yixing. His father Qi Xiao obtained Shijin late in life. A clansman coveted his property, formed a faction, and brought about his death. His stepmother, Lady Wu, hid Shijin at her natal family. When he slackened slightly in study, his mother would show him his father's blood-stained garment. Shijin was moved and stimulated; in speaking with others he never had a smiling countenance. In the twenty-sixth year of the Wanli reign he passed the jinshi examination. He carried the blood garment and sued at court; the guilty all met the law. He was first appointed reviewing official of Ningbo and was promoted to supervising secretary in the works section. His first memorial requested that memorials pass through and exactions be eased. Soon he said: "There is a vacancy in the imperial robe; court ministers' words, though harsh to the ear, each receive gracious forbearance. Only when discussing assisting ministers must they borrow the ruler's authority to vent anger. This is Your Majesty bearing the name of rejecting remonstrance, assisting ministers receiving the substance of securing favor, and the reason the realm accumulates anger at assisting ministers and cannot be at peace. Men such as Sun Huan, Guo Zizhang, Dai Yao, and Shen Zimu should have been dismissed but were kept on, contrary to public opinion—and the grand ministers who remain in power, how can they escape responsibility?" Soon afterward, he also impeached Left Chief Commander Wang Zhizhen, who had long headed the Embroidered Uniform Guard, as a lackey of the Inner Cabinet and a trusted henchman at the heart of power. He further impeached Grand Secretary Wang Xijue for fawning on the emperor with malicious flattery and urged that his recall to office be stopped; He charged that Minister of Revenue Zhao Shiqing had misgoverned the realm and showed none of the dignity expected of a senior minister. Later he spoke again: "Among the great matters at court that should be settled at once are dismissing the grand ministers to cleanse the field of government, and removing senior officials who have been impeached so that public opinion may prevail. Drive out Wang Zhizhen to cut off the source of disaster, and release Bian Kongshi, Wang Bangcai, and the others to redress wrongful imprisonment."

初，皇長孫生，有詔起廢，列上二百余人。閱三年，止用顧憲成等四人。士晉請大起廢籍。瑞王將婚，詔典禮視福王，費當十九萬。初，帝弟潞王婚費不及其半，士晉請視潞王。帝將崇奉太后，詔建靈應宮，士晉以非禮力爭，且曰：「聖母所註念者東宮出講，諸王早婚，與遺賢之登進也，乃諸臣屢請不應。而不時內降者，非中貴之營求，即鬼神之香火，何也？」帝皆不省。

Earlier, when the imperial great-grandson was born, an edict was issued to recall dismissed officials, and more than two hundred names were submitted. Three years later, only four men, including Gu Xancheng, had actually been restored to office. Shijin petitioned for a large-scale recall of dismissed officials. When Prince Rui was about to marry, an edict directed that the ceremonial arrangements follow those of Prince Fu, with costs set at one hundred ninety thousand taels. Earlier, when the emperor's younger brother Prince Lu had married, the cost had been less than half as much, and Shijin asked that Prince Lu's precedent be followed instead. When the emperor planned to honor the empress dowager and ordered construction of the Lingying Palace, Shijin fought the proposal as improper ritual and said: "What the Holy Mother cares about is the crown prince leaving the palace to study, the early marriages of the princes, and the advancement of worthy men long passed over—yet when ministers repeatedly asked for these things, Your Majesty would not agree. Yet what issues from the palace from time to time is either something sought by inner eunuchs or offerings to ghosts and spirits—why is that?" The emperor ignored it all.

未幾，有張差梃擊之事。王之寀鉤得差供，帝遷延不決，士晉三上疏趣之。當是時，變起非常，中外鹹疑謀出鄭國泰，然無敢直犯其鋒者。郎中陸大受稍及之，國泰大懼，急出揭自明，人言益籍籍。士晉乃抗疏曰：

Before long came the affair of Zhang Chai's club attack. Wang Zhichai obtained Zhang Chai's confession through investigation, yet the emperor kept delaying a decision, and Shijin submitted three memorials urging him to act. At that time the crisis was extraordinary; court and country alike suspected the plot originated with Zheng Guotai, yet no one dared confront him directly. Bureau Director Lu Dashou touched on him in passing; Guotai was terrified and hurriedly issued a public notice to clear himself, and rumor only spread the more. Shijin then submitted a bold memorial saying:

陛下與東宮，情親父子，勢共安危，豈有禍逼蕭墻，不少動念者？候命逾期，旁疑轉棘。竊詳大受之疏，未嘗實指國泰主謀，何張皇自疑乃爾？因其自疑，人益不能無疑，然人之疑國泰，不自今日始也。陛下試問國泰，三王之議何由起？《閨範》之序何由進？妖書之毒何由構？此基禍之疑也。孟養浩等何由杖？戴士衡等何由戍？王德完等何由錮？此挑激之疑也。南宗順，刑余也，而陰募死士千人，謂何？順義王，外寇也，而各宮門守以重兵，謂何？王曰乾，逆徒也，而疏中先有龐保、劉成名姓，謂何？此不軌之疑也。三者積疑至今日，忽有張差一事，正與往者舉措相符，安得令人不疑！且今日之疑國泰，又非張差一事已也。恐騎虎難下，駭鹿走險，一擊不效，別有陰謀。陛下不急護東宮，則東宮為孤註。萬一東宮失護，而陛下又轉為孤註矣。

Your Majesty and the Eastern Palace are bound by the affection of father and son and share a common stake in safety and peril—when disaster threatens the inner court, how can you remain so little moved? As orders are delayed past due time, suspicion all around grows sharper still. I have read Dashou's memorial carefully: it never actually named Guotai as the chief plotter—so why is he so alarmed and suspicious of himself? Because he suspects himself, others cannot help suspecting him all the more—yet suspicion of Guotai did not begin only today. Your Majesty should ask Guotai: how did the debate over the three princes begin? How did the preface to the 《Inner Standards》 come to be presented? How was the poison of the seditious book contrived? These are the suspicions that he laid the groundwork for disaster. Why were Meng Yanghao and the others beaten with rods? Why were Dai Shiheng and the others banished to frontier garrison duty? Why were Wang Dewan and the others imprisoned? These are the suspicions that he stirred up conflict. Nan Zongshun is a eunuch, yet he secretly recruited a thousand men willing to die for him—what does that mean? The Prince of Shunyi is a foreign foe, yet every palace gate is held by heavy troops—what does that mean? Wang Yueqian is a traitor, yet the memorial names Pang Bao and Liu Cheng first—what does that mean? These are the suspicions of treasonous intent. These three layers of suspicion have built up to today; then suddenly comes the Zhang Chai affair, which fits exactly with past conduct—how can people not suspect! Moreover, suspicion of Guotai today does not rest on the Zhang Chai affair alone. I fear he has mounted a tiger and cannot climb down; like a startled deer he may flee into danger; if one strike fails, another secret plot may follow. If Your Majesty does not urgently protect the Eastern Palace, the crown prince becomes a lone wager. If the Eastern Palace should lose protection, Your Majesty in turn would become the lone wager.

國泰欲釋人疑，惟明告貴妃，力求陛下速執保、成下吏。如果國泰主謀，是乾坤之大逆，九廟之罪人，非但貴妃不能庇，即陛下亦不能庇也。借劍尚方，請自臣始。或別有主謀，無與國泰事，請令國泰自任，凡皇太子、皇長孫起居悉屬國泰保護，稍有疏虞，罪即坐之，則臣與在廷諸臣亦願陛下保全國泰身，無替恩禮。若國泰畏有連引，預熒惑聖聰，久稽廷訊，或潛散黨與，俾之遠逃，或陰斃張差，以冀滅口，則罪愈不容誅矣。惟聖明裁察。

If Guotai wishes to clear suspicion, he need only tell the Noble Consort plainly and earnestly urge Your Majesty to arrest Bao and Cheng at once and turn them over to the courts. If Guotai was indeed the chief plotter, that would be treason against Heaven and Earth and guilt before the imperial ancestors; not even the Noble Consort could shield him—and neither could Your Majesty. If the imperial sword must be borrowed to punish him, let the blow begin with me. Or if another man masterminded the plot and Guotai is innocent, then let Guotai take personal responsibility for the daily care and protection of the crown prince and the imperial great-grandson; if there is the slightest lapse, let him be punished—then I and the ministers at court would also wish Your Majesty to preserve Guotai's person and honor. But if Guotai, fearing implication, seeks beforehand to mislead Your Majesty, long delays court interrogation, secretly disperses his faction so they may flee, or secretly kills Zhang Chai to silence him, then his guilt would be all the less pardonable. I leave the matter to Your Majesty's wise judgment.

疏入，帝大怒，欲罪之，念事已有跡，恐益致人言。而吏部先以士晉為東林黨，擬出為浙江僉事，候命三年未下。至是，帝急簡部疏，命如前擬。吏部言闕官已補，請改命。帝不許，命調前補者。吏部又以士晉積資已深，秩當參議。帝怒，切責尚書，奪郎中以下俸。士晉之官四年，移廣西參議。光宗立，擢尚寶少卿，遷太仆。

When the memorial arrived, the emperor was furious and wished to punish him, but considering that the affair already had visible traces, he feared this would only provoke more talk. Meanwhile the Ministry of Personnel had already marked Shijin as a Donglin partisan and proposed transferring him to serve as Assistant Administration Commissioner of Zhejiang; he waited three years for the appointment order, which never came. At this point the emperor hurriedly picked out the ministry's proposal and ordered that it be carried out as previously recommended. The Ministry of Personnel replied that the vacant post had already been filled and asked that a new appointment be made. The emperor refused and ordered the man previously appointed to be transferred elsewhere. The Ministry of Personnel also argued that Shijin's accumulated seniority already qualified him for the rank of Administration Commissioner. The emperor was enraged, sharply rebuked the minister, and docked the salaries of officials below the rank of bureau director. Shijin served four years in that post before being transferred to Administration Commissioner of Guangxi. When Emperor Guangzong ascended the throne, Shijin was promoted to Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Treasures and then transferred to Vice Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud.

天啟二年，以右僉都御史巡撫廣西。安南入犯，督將吏屢擊卻之。四年，擢兵部右侍郎，總督兩廣軍務，兼巡撫廣東。明年四月，魏忠賢大熾，爭梃擊者率獲罪。御史田景新希旨，誣叛臣安邦彥賄士晉十萬金，阻援兵。遂除士晉名，征賄助餉。士晉憤郁而卒。有司征贓急，家人但輸數百金，產已罄。會莊烈帝立，獲免，復官賜恤。

In the second year of the Tianqi reign he was appointed Right Vice Censor-in-Chief and Grand Coordinator of Guangxi. When Annam invaded, he directed the generals and officials and repeatedly drove the invaders back. In the fourth year he was promoted to Vice Minister of War, made Supreme Commander of military affairs in the Two Guangs, and concurrently appointed Grand Coordinator of Guangdong. In the fourth month of the following year Wei Zhongxian was at the height of his power, and those who had challenged the official account of the club assault were mostly punished. Censor Tian Jingxin, eager to please his superiors, falsely charged that the rebel An Bangyan had bribed Shijin with one hundred thousand taels of gold to block relief troops. Shijin was then dismissed from office and charged with taking bribes to aid military supplies. Shijin died of indignant grief. The authorities urgently demanded restitution of illicit gains; the family could pay only a few hundred taels, for their property was already exhausted. When the Chongzhen Emperor ascended the throne, Shijin was pardoned, his office restored, and posthumous honors granted.

陸大受，字凝遠，武進人。萬歷三十五年進士。授行人，屢遷戶部郎中。福王將之國，詔賜莊田四萬頃。大受請大減田額，因劾鄭國泰驕恣亂法狀，疏留中。王之寀發張差事，大受抗疏言：「青宮何地，張差何人，敢白晝持梃，直犯儲蹕，此乾坤何等時耶！業承一內官，何以不知其名？業承一大第，何以不知其所？彼三老、三太互相表裏，而霸州武舉高順寧者，今皆匿於何地？奈何不嚴竟而速斷耶？」戶部主事蒲州張庭者，大受同年生也，亦上言：「奸人突入大內，狙擊青宮，陛下宜何如震怒，立窮主謀。乃廷臣交章，一無批答，何也？君側藏奸，上下蒙蔽，皆由陛下精神偏註，皇太子召見甚稀，而前此冊立、選婚及近時東宮出講、郭妃卜葬諸事，陛下皆弗勝遲回，強而後可。彼宦寺者安得不妄生測度，陰蓄不逞，以僥幸於萬一哉！」皆不報。大受尋出為撫州知府，以清潔著聞。居二年，徐紹吉、韓浚以京察奪其官。庭再遷郎中，被齮龁。引退，抑郁以死。

Lu Dashou, styled Ningyuan, was a native of Wujin. He passed the jinshi examination in the thirty-fifth year of the Wanli reign. He was appointed courier and was promoted in stages to Bureau Director in the Ministry of Revenue. When Prince Fu was about to depart for his fief, an edict granted him forty thousand qing of estate lands. Dashou asked for a large reduction in the land grant and impeached Zheng Guotai for arrogant lawlessness; the memorial was kept within the palace and never answered. When Wang Zhichai exposed the Zhang Chai affair, Dashou submitted a bold memorial saying: "What place is the Eastern Palace? Who is Zhang Chai, that he dares in broad daylight to wield a club and strike at the heir apparent's residence—what age is this for Heaven and Earth! He had served an inner eunuch—how can his name still be unknown? He had served at a great mansion—how can its location still be unknown? The three elders and three grandees shield one another, and Gao Shunning of Bazhou, a military licentiate—where are they all hiding now? Why not investigate thoroughly instead of closing the case so hastily?" Section Chief Zhang Ting of Puzhou in the Ministry of Revenue, a fellow jinshi of Dashou's year, also submitted a memorial: "Wicked men broke into the inner palace and attacked the Eastern Palace—Your Majesty ought to be shaken with rage and immediately pursue the chief plot to the end. Yet court ministers submitted memorial after memorial and received not a single written reply—why? Evil hidden at the ruler's side and deception throughout the court all stem from Your Majesty's divided attention; the crown prince is rarely summoned to audience, and whether in the earlier investiture and selection of a consort or in recent matters such as the crown prince leaving the palace to study and the divination of burial for Consort Guo, Your Majesty has always hesitated and yielded only when pressed. How could palace eunuchs fail to indulge wild suspicions, secretly harbor disloyal designs, and gamble on a chance in ten thousand!" None of these memorials received any reply. Dashou was soon sent out to serve as prefect of Fuzhou, where he became known for integrity. After two years Xu Shaoji and Han Jun stripped him of office in the capital evaluation. Ting was promoted again to bureau director but was hounded by slander. He withdrew from office and died in depression.

又有聞喜李俸者，為刑部郎中。當諸司會鞫時，張差語涉逆謀，郎中胡士相等相顧不敢錄。俸力爭，乃得入獄詞，遂為鄭氏黨所惡。及遷鳳翔知府，諸黨人以言懾之，竟不敢之任。後復中以京察，卒於家。

Another was Li Feng of Wenxi, who served as Bureau Director in the Ministry of Punishments. When the various offices jointly interrogated the case, Zhang Chai's testimony touched on treason; Bureau Director Hu Shixiang and the others exchanged glances and dared not record it. Feng argued forcefully until the confession was entered into the record, and was thereafter hated by the Zheng faction. When he was transferred to serve as prefect of Fengxiang, the faction intimidated him with threats, and in the end he did not dare take up the post. He was later dismissed again in the capital evaluation and died at home.

天啟初，御史張慎言、方震孺、魏光緒、楊新期交章訟三人冤。乃贈庭、俸光祿寺少卿，大受起補韶州。已，都御史高攀龍請加庭、俸蔭謚，不果。大受未幾卒。

At the beginning of the Tianqi reign, Censors Zhang Shenyan, Fang Zhenru, Wei Guangxu, and Yang Xinqi submitted memorial after memorial pleading the innocence of the three men. Ting and Feng were then posthumously granted the title of Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and Dashou was recalled to serve at Shaozhou. Later Censor-in-Chief Gao Panlong asked that additional hereditary privileges and posthumous titles be granted to Ting and Feng, but the request was denied. Dashou died not long afterward.

王德完，字子醇，廣安人。萬歷十四年進士。選庶吉士，改兵科給事中。西陲失事，德完言：「諸邊歲糜餉數百萬，而士氣日衰，戎備日廢者，以三蠹未除，二策未審也。何為三蠹？一曰欺，邊吏罔上也。二曰徇，市賞增額也。三曰虛，邊防鮮實也。何謂二策？有目前之策，有經久之策。謹守誓盟，茍免搏噬，此計在目前。大修戰具，令賊不敢窺邊，則百年可保無事，此計在經久。今經略鄭洛主款，巡撫葉夢熊又言戰，邊臣不協，安望成功。」帝為飭二臣。石星為本兵，德完上十議以規時，帝納之。已，請裁李成梁父子權，劾褫黔國公沐昌祚冠服，罷巡撫朱孟震、賈待問、郭四維、少卿楊四知、趙卿。又發廣東總督劉繼文、總兵官李棟等冒功罪。半歲章數十上，率軍國大計。

Wang Dewan, styled Zichun, was a native of Guang'an. He passed the jinshi examination in the fourteenth year of the Wanli reign. He was selected as a Hanlin bachelor and was transferred to supervising secretary in the military section. When the western frontier suffered setbacks, Dewan said: "The borders consume millions in supplies each year, yet morale keeps falling and defenses keep decaying because three corruptions have not been removed and two policies have not been settled. What are the three corruptions? The first is deception—frontier officials lying to their superiors. The second is favoritism: inflating rewards and quotas for sale. The third is hollowness: frontier defenses exist mostly on paper. What do these two policies mean? One policy addresses the immediate crisis; the other is meant to endure for generations. Clinging to sworn treaties just to ward off open conflict—that is the short-term approach. Rebuilding the arsenal in earnest so that enemies dare not even glance at the frontier—then peace might hold for a century. That is the long-term plan. The frontier commissioner Zheng Luo argued for reconciliation while the grand coordinator Ye Mengxiong pressed for war. With the border commanders at odds, what hope was there of success?" The Emperor thereupon upbraided both men. With Shi Xing as Minister of War, Dewan memorialized ten proposals on the state of affairs, and the Emperor approved them. He then urged that the powers of Li Chengliang and his son be reduced; called for stripping the Duke of Qian, Mu Changzuo, of his rank and regalia; and demanded the dismissal of the grand coordinators Zhu Mengzhen, Jia Daiwen, and Guo Siwei, together with Vice Ministers Yang Sizhi and Zhao Qing. He also charged Guangdong Governor-General Liu Jiwen, Commander Li Dong, and others with fabricating military laurels. In six months he filed dozens of memorials, nearly all on matters vital to the army and the realm.

累遷戶科都給事中。上籌畫邊餉議，言：「諸邊歲例，弘、正間止四十三萬，至嘉靖則二百七十余萬，而今則三百八十余萬。惟力行節儉，足以補救。蓋耗蠹之弊，外易剔而內難除。宜嚴劾內府諸庫，汰其不急。又加意屯田、鹽法，外開其源，而內節其流，庶幾國用可足。」時弗能用。倭寇久躪朝鮮，再議封貢。德完言：「封則必貢，貢則必市，是沈惟敬誤經略，經略誤總督，總督誤本兵，本兵誤朝廷也。」後封果不成。德完尋以疾歸。

He rose in succession to become supervising secretary of the Household Section. He memorialized on frontier supplies, observing: "Annual border allotments totaled a mere 430,000 taels in the Hongzhi and Zhengde periods, rose to more than 2,700,000 under Jiajing, and now stand above 3,800,000. Only resolute austerity can make up the gap. Outward waste can be trimmed away; corruption rooted inside the palace is far harder to purge. The inner treasuries should be rigorously audited and every nonessential expense cut. Revive garrison farming and reform the salt tax—expand income abroad while tightening expenditure at court—and the treasury might once again be sound." His proposals went unheeded. With Japanese raiders ravaging Korea for years, the court once again debated granting enfeoffment and accepting tribute. Dewan warned: "Grant enfeoffment and tribute must follow; allow tribute and trade will follow. Shen Weijing led the frontier commissioner astray, the commissioner led the governor-general astray, the governor-general led the Minister of War astray, and the Minister of War led the entire court astray." In the end, enfeoffment failed exactly as he had predicted. Dewan soon retired, pleading illness.

二十八年，起任工科。極陳四川采木、榷稅及播州用兵之患。又言三殿未營，不宜復興玄殿、龍舟之役。皆不報。已，劾湖廣稅使陳奉四大罪。再疏極論，謂奉必激變。奉果為楚人所攻，僅以身免。尋因禱雨言：「今出虎兕以噬群黎，縱盜賊而吞赤子，幽憤沈結，叩訴無從，故雨澤緣天怒而屯，螟丱因人妖而出。願盡撤礦稅之使，釋逮系之臣，省愆贖過，用弭災變。」不報。四川妖人韓應龍奏請榷鹽、采木。尋甸知府蔡如川、趙州知州甘學書以忤稅使被逮。德完皆力爭。復劾山東稅使陳增、畿輔稅使王虎罪。不報。已極陳國計匱乏，言：「近歲寧夏用兵，費百八十余萬；朝鮮之役，七百八十余萬；播州之役，二百余萬。今皇長子及諸王子冊封、冠婚至九百三十四萬，而袍服之費復二百七十余萬，冗費如此，國何以支？」因請減織造，止營建，亟完殿工，停買珠寶，慎重采辦，大發內帑，語極切至。帝亦不省。

In the twenty-eighth year of the reign he was recalled to a post in the Works Section. He laid out at length the disasters of Sichuan timber levies, excise taxes, and the Bozhou campaign. He added that with the three main halls still unfinished, the court ought not revive work on the Mystic Hall and the imperial dragon barges. The throne answered none of these memorials. He then impeached Chen Feng, the Huguang tax commissioner, on four major counts. A second memorial argued forcefully that Chen Feng was bound to provoke a revolt. Chen Feng was indeed set upon by the people of Chu and escaped with his life only by flight. Soon, in a rain-prayer memorial, he wrote: "The court sends out tigers to prey on the people and unleashes bandits to devour the innocent. Grievances fester with nowhere to turn for redress, so rain withholds itself in Heaven's wrath and locusts swarm because the realm has gone wrong. Withdraw every mining-tax envoy, free the officials in prison, repent and make amends—and perhaps the heavens' warning might be stilled." No response came. Han Yinglong, a Sichuan sorcerer, petitioned to levy salt taxes and harvest timber. Cai Ruchuan, prefect of Xundian, and Gan Xueshu, magistrate of Zhaozhou, were arrested for defying the tax envoys. Dewan fought each case vigorously. He again impeached the Shandong tax commissioner Chen Zeng and the metropolitan tax commissioner Wang Hu. Again there was no response. He next laid bare the treasury's exhaustion: "The Ningxia campaign alone in recent years has cost more than 1,800,000 taels; the Korean war over 7,800,000; the Bozhou campaign more than 2,000,000. Enfeoffment, investiture, and wedding ceremonies for the heir apparent and the princes now total 9,340,000 taels, with robe and garment costs adding another 2,700,000. With waste on this scale, how can the treasury endure?" He pleaded to cut textile orders, halt new construction, finish the hall project quickly, stop buying jewels, review procurement carefully, and draw heavily on the inner treasury—every word spoken with urgent sincerity. The Emperor paid no heed.

時帝寵鄭貴妃，疏皇后及皇長子。皇長子生母王恭妃幾殆，而皇后亦多疾。左右多竊意後崩，貴妃即正中宮位，其子為太子。中允黃輝，皇長子講官也，從內侍微探得其狀，謂德完曰：「此國家大事，旦夕不測，書之史冊，謂朝廷無人。」德完乃屬輝具草。十月，上疏言：「道路喧傳，謂中宮役使僅數人，伊郁致疾，阽危弗自保，臣不勝驚疑。宮禁嚴秘，虛實未審。臣即愚昧，決知其不然。第臺諫之官得風聞言事。果中宮不得於陛下以致疾與？則子於父母之怒，當號泣幾諫。果陛下眷遇中宮有加無替歟？則子於父母之謗，當昭雪辨明。衡是兩端，皆難緘默。敢效漢朝袁盎卻坐之議，陳其愚誠。」疏入，帝震怒，立下詔獄拷訊。尚書李戴、御史周盤等連疏論救。忤旨，切責，御史奪俸有差。大學士沈一貫力疾草奏為德完解，帝亦不釋。旋廷杖百，除其名。復傳諭廷臣：「諸臣為皇長子耶？抑為德完耶？如為皇長子，慎無擾瀆。必欲為德完，則再遲冊立一歲。」廷臣乃不復言。然帝自是懼外廷議論，眷禮中宮，始終無間矣。

The Emperor doted on Noble Consort Zheng while neglecting the Empress and the heir apparent. The heir's mother, Lady Wang, barely survived, and the Empress herself fell frequently ill. Court insiders whispered that when the Empress died, Noble Consort Zheng would take her place and make her son crown prince. Huang Hui, the heir apparent's tutor, learned the situation through discreet inquiries among palace eunuchs and told Dewan: "This strikes at the heart of the realm. Disaster may come at any hour, and history will record that the court had no men worth the name." Dewan asked Huang Hui to draft the memorial. In the tenth month he memorialized: "Rumors run wild that the Empress has been left with only a handful of servants, that despair has brought her to illness and the edge of death. I am shaken and cannot banish my doubts. The inner palace is sealed tight; I cannot know what is true. For all my dullness, I refuse to believe it. Yet censors and remonstrators are permitted to speak on hearsay. If the Empress has lost Your Majesty's favor and sickened because of it— then as a filial son before an angry parent, I should weep and remonstrate without ceasing. If Your Majesty's affection for the Empress truly grows without end, is that so? Then, as a filial son hearing his parents slandered, I should speak up to clear their name. Either way, silence is impossible. I venture to follow Yuan Ang of Han, who dared remonstrate even over where the Empress Dowager should sit, and offer my humble counsel." The memorial enraged the Emperor, who had Dewan thrown into the imperial prison for interrogation under torture. Minister Li Dai, Censor Zhou Pan, and others filed one memorial after another in his defense. Their appeals defied the throne; the Emperor rebuked them harshly and docked the censors' salaries by varying amounts. Grand Secretary Shen Yiguan, though gravely ill, drafted a plea on Dewan's behalf—but the Emperor would not relent. Dewan was soon beaten a hundred strokes at court and dismissed from office. The Emperor then sent word to the court: "Are you pleading for the heir apparent? Or for Dewan? If for the heir apparent, do not vex and trouble him further. If you insist on defending Dewan, I shall delay the heir's investiture yet another year." The officials fell silent. Thereafter the Emperor feared open debate at court and treated the Empress with unbroken regard.

光宗立，召為太常少卿。俄擢左僉都御史。天啟元年，京師獲間諜，詞連司禮中官盧受。德完請出受南京。

When Emperor Guangzong took the throne, Dewan was recalled as Vice Minister of Imperial Sacrifices. He was soon promoted to Left Vice Censor-in-Chief. In the first year of Tianqi a spy was seized in the capital, and the investigation implicated Lu Shou, a eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial. Dewan asked that Lu Shou be sent to Nanjing.

初，德完直聲震天下。及居大僚，持論每與鄒元標等異。楊鎬、李如楨喪師論死，廷臣急欲誅之。德完乃上疏請酌公論，或遣戍立功，或即時正辟，蓋設兩途以俟帝寬之。且因薦順天府丞邵輔忠、通政參議吳殿邦，以兩人嘗力攻李三才也。疏出，果寬鎬等。於是給事中魏大中再疏論之，德完亦力辨。帝為詰責大中，事乃已。德完尋進戶部右侍郎。給事中朱欽相、倪思輝言事獲罪，疏救之。明年，遷左。亡何卒官。其後輔忠、殿邦以黨逆敗，僉為德完惜之。

In his early years Dewan's moral courage was famed throughout the empire. Once he reached high office, his views often diverged from those of Zou Yuanbiao and his allies. Yang Hao and Li Ruzhen faced execution for losing their armies, and the court clamored for their heads. Dewan memorialized that public opinion be weighed: exile them to the frontier to redeem themselves in battle, or execute them at once—offering both options so the Emperor might show mercy. He also recommended Shao Fuzhong of Shuntian and Wu Dianbang of the Office of Transmission—both men who had fiercely opposed Li Sancai. The memorial was acted upon, and Yang Hao and the others were spared. Supervising Secretary Wei Dazhong protested in a fresh memorial, and Dewan defended himself vigorously. The Emperor upbraided Wei Dazhong, and the affair subsided. Dewan was soon made Right Vice Minister of Revenue. When supervising secretaries Zhu Qinxiang and Ni Sihui were punished for remonstrating, he petitioned for their release. The following year he was promoted to the left vice ministership. He died in office not long afterward. Later Shao Fuzhong and Wu Dianbang were ruined in factional treason cases, and many lamented Dewan's poor judgment in recommending them.

蔣允儀，字聞韶，宜興人。萬歷四十四年進士。授桐鄉知縣，移嘉興。天啟二年，擢御史。時廣寧已失，熊廷弼、王化貞俱論死，而兵部尚書張鶴鳴如故，糾之者反獲譴。允儀不平，疏詆其同罪佚罰。因言：「近言官稍進苦口，輒見齟齬，遷謫未已，申之戒諭。使諸臣不遵明諭，而引裾折檻以甘斥逐，天下事猶可為也；使諸臣果遵明諭，而箝口結舌以保祿位，天下事尚忍言哉！頃者恒旸不雨，二麥無秋，皇上於宮中祈禱，反得冰雹之災。變不虛生，各以類應。夫以坤維之厚重而震撼於妖孽，以胡眉之丈夫而交關於婦寺，以籍叢煬竈之奸而托之奉公潔己，是皆陰脅陽之徵也。」報聞。鶴鳴既屢被劾，因詆劾者為群奸朋謀，而反與前尚書黃嘉善、崔景榮並以邊功晉宮保。允儀益憤，言：「鶴鳴既以斬級微功邀三次之賞，即當以失地大罪伏不赦之辜。且以七百里之榆關，兼旬而後至，畏縮無丈夫氣，偃蹇無人臣禮。猶且顏哆口評經、撫功罪，若身在功罪外者。陛下試問鶴鳴，為本兵，功罪殺於邊臣，今日經、撫俱論辟，鶴鳴應得何罪？又問鶴鳴，舊日經、撫俱論辟，嘉善、景榮應得何罪？赫然震怒，論究如法，庶封疆不致破壞。」帝不用。

Jiang Yunyi, courtesy name Wenshao, came from Yixing. He passed the metropolitan examination in the forty-fourth year of Wanli. He served as magistrate of Tongxiang before being transferred to Jiaxing. In the second year of Tianqi he was elevated to the censorate. Guangning had fallen; Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen faced execution—yet Minister of War Zhang Heming kept his post while those who impeached him were themselves punished. Outraged, Yunyi memorialized that Zhang Heming shared their guilt yet escaped punishment. He added: "Lately whenever a censor dares speak plainly, he meets immediate resistance—demotions and transfers without end, capped by imperial admonition. If officials defied those admonitions and, like Zhu Yun clutching the emperor's robe and breaking the balustrade, welcomed exile for honest speech—there would still be hope for the realm; But if officials obey and hold their tongues to keep their posts—then who can bear to speak of the fate of the empire! Drought has lingered without rain; the wheat crop failed. The Emperor prayed within the palace—and hail fell instead. Heaven's warnings are never empty; each omen answers its cause. When the solid earth itself quakes before sorcery, when bold men consort with women and eunuchs, when lowborn villains pose as selfless servants of the state—these are all omens of yin overwhelming yang." The memorial was noted and filed. Zhang Heming, impeached repeatedly, called his accusers a cabal of villains—and was promoted to Grand Guardian for frontier merit alongside former ministers Huang Jiasheng and Cui Jingrong. Yunyi's outrage deepened. He wrote: "If Zhang Heming has claimed triple rewards for the paltry merit of counting severed heads, he ought now to answer with the unpardonable crime of losing the frontier. And though Yule Pass lay seven hundred li away, he took ten days to reach it—craven, without the bearing of a man, insolent and lax, without the decorum owed a subject. Yet he still held forth, passing judgment on the governors and commanders as if he stood beyond reward and blame alike. Your Majesty should ask Zhang Heming: as Minister of War, he let frontier officials decide merit and guilt; now that both governors and commanders face execution, what punishment does he deserve? Ask him further: when governors and commanders were condemned to death in the past, what crimes did Huang Jiasheng and Cui Jingrong commit? Let Your Majesty thunder in righteous anger and punish them by law—then the frontier may yet be saved." The Emperor paid no heed.

會議紅丸事，力詆方從哲，請盡奪官階、祿蔭。其黨惡之。徐州舊設參將，山東盜熾，以允儀請，改設總兵。尋疏論四川監司周著、林宰、徐如珂等功，請優敘。而劾總督張我續退縮，請罷斥。不從。逾月，請杜傳宣、慎爵賞、免立枷、除苛政。且言：「向者丁巳之察，凡抗論國本系籍正人者，莫不巧加羅織。陰邪盛而陽氣傷，致有今日之禍。今計期已迫，願當事者早伐邪謀，亟培善類。」疏入，魏忠賢、劉朝輩皆不悅。以丁巳主察之人不指名直奏，責令置對。允儀言：「丁巳主察者鄭繼之、李誌也，考功科道則趙士諤、徐紹吉、韓浚也。當日八法之處分，臺省之例轉，大僚之拾遺，黑白顛倒，私意橫行。凡抗論建藩，催請之國，保護先帝，有功國本者，靡不痛加摧抑；必欲敗其名，錮其身，盡其倫類而後快。於是方從哲獨居政府，亓詩教、趙興邦等分部要津。凡疆圉重臣，皆賄賂請托而得，如李維翰、楊鎬、熊廷弼、李如柏、如楨，何一不出其保舉？迨封疆破壞，囹圄充塞，而此輩宴然無恙。臣所以痛心遼事，追恨前此當軸之人也。」中旨將重譴允儀，以大學士葉向高言，停俸半歲。

During deliberations on the Red Pill affair, he fiercely attacked Fang Congzhe and demanded the complete stripping of his offices, salary, and hereditary privileges. Fang's faction loathed him for it. Xuzhou had long had only a deputy commander, but with banditry flaring across Shandong, Yunyi's petition led to the appointment of a full commander-in-chief. He soon submitted a memorial praising the achievements of Sichuan commissioners Zhou Zhu, Lin Zai, Xu Ruke, and others, and asked that they be rewarded. He also impeached Governor-General Zhang Woxu for cowardice and urged his removal. The court refused. A month later he petitioned to halt palace edicts, curb reckless ennoblement, abolish standing pillories, and end oppressive policies. He wrote: "In the Dingsi purge, every upright official who spoke out on the succession was cunningly framed. Dark intrigue triumphed and righteous force was broken—thus today's disaster. The crisis is upon us. I beg those in authority to root out treachery at once and swiftly strengthen the ranks of the upright." When the memorial arrived, Wei Zhongxian, Liu Chao, and their associates were all displeased. Since he had not named the leaders of the Dingsi purge in his memorial, he was ordered to appear and respond. Yunyi replied: "The Dingsi investigation was led by Zheng Jizhi and Li Zhi; the censorate and evaluation officials involved were Zhao Shie, Xu Shaoji, and Han Jun. On that day they twisted the eight disciplinary statutes, manipulated censorial procedure, and hunted for pretexts against senior officials—truth and falsehood were reversed and private malice ran unchecked. All who had argued against the fief, pressed the succession issue, defended the late emperor, and served the heir's cause were ruthlessly crushed; they would not rest until reputations were ruined, bodies imprisoned, and every ally destroyed. Thus Fang Congzhe dominated the government while Qi Shijiao, Zhao Xingbang, and others seized the key posts. Every major frontier appointment was bought through bribery and patronage—Li Weihan, Yang Hao, Xiong Tingbi, Li Rubai, Li Ruzhen: not one escaped their recommendation. When the frontier collapsed and the prisons overflowed, these men sat untouched at their feasts. That is why I grieve for Liaodong and bitterly condemn those who once held the reins of power." An imperial edict was poised to punish Yunyi severely, but Grand Secretary Ye Xianggao interceded, and his salary was suspended for half a year instead.

已，復因災祲上言：「內降當停，內操當罷。陵工束手，非所以展孝思；直臣久廢，非所以光聖德。東南杼柚已空，重以屢次之加派；金吾冒濫已極，加以非分之襲封。聖心一轉移，天下無不順應。區區修禳虛文，安能格上穹哉！」帝不能用。

Soon after, citing omens and disasters, he memorialized again: "Palace edicts must cease, and the inner guard corps must be disbanded. To leave the imperial tombs unfinished is no way to honor filial duty; to keep upright ministers in exile is no way to manifest sage virtue. The looms of the southeast stand empty, yet levy follows levy; the Imperial Guard is bloated with unworthy men, and improper enfeoffments multiply. Turn Your Majesty's heart but once, and all under Heaven will follow. Empty rituals of prayer and propitiation will never move Heaven itself!" The Emperor would not heed him.

四年六月，以右僉都御史撫治鄖陽。諸府標兵止五百，餉六千，不及一大郡監司。且承平久，人不知兵，而屬城率庳薄，無守具。六年，流賊將窺湖廣。兵部令移鎮襄陽，鄖陽益虛。其冬，賊大至，陷鄖西上津。明年，陷房縣、保康。允儀兵少，不能禦，上章乞援，且請罪。會賊入川，鄖得少緩。中官陳大金與左良玉來援，副使徐景麟見其多攜婦女，疑為賊，用炮擊之，士馬多死。大金怒，訴諸朝，命逮景麟，責允儀陳狀。已而並逮允儀下獄，戍邊，而以盧象升代。十五年，御史楊爾銘、給事中倪仁禎相繼論薦，未及用而卒。

In the sixth month of the fourth year, he was appointed Right Vice Censor-in-Chief and sent to govern Yunyang. The prefectures under his charge had only five hundred standard troops and six thousand taels of rations—fewer resources than a single large prefecture's commissioner. After decades of peace, no one knew war; the subordinate cities were mostly weak and undefended. In the sixth year, roving rebels threatened to strike Huguang. The Ministry of War ordered him to relocate to Xiangyang, leaving Yunyang still more vulnerable. That winter the rebels came in force and captured Shangjin in western Yunyang. The following year they seized Fang County and Baokang. Yunyi had too few troops to resist; he memorialized for aid and asked to be punished. When the rebels turned into Sichuan, Yunyang gained a brief reprieve. The eunuch Chen Dajin arrived with Zuo Liangyu to reinforce the region; Vice Commissioner Xu Jinglin, seeing their columns crowded with women and children, took them for rebels and opened fire with cannon, killing many men and horses. Dajin was furious and appealed to the court, which ordered Xu Jinglin arrested and demanded an account from Yunyi. Soon Yunyi too was arrested and imprisoned, banished to the frontier, and Lu Xiangsheng replaced him. In the fifteenth year, Censor Yang Erming and Supervising Secretary Ni Renzhen successively recommended him for office, but he died before he could be reappointed.

鄒維璉，字德輝，江西新昌人。萬歷三十五年進士。授延平推官。耿介有大節。巡撫袁一驥以私憾摭布政竇子偁罪，維璉以去就爭。監司欲為一驥建生祠，維璉抗詞力阻。行取，授南京兵部主事，進員外郎。遼左用兵，疏陳數事。尋以憂去。

Zou Weilian, courtesy name Dehui, was a native of Xinchang in Jiangxi. He passed the jinshi examination in the thirty-fifth year of the Wanli reign. He was appointed investigating magistrate of Yanping. Upright and resolute, he was a man of unbending principle. Governor Yuan Yiji, nursing a private grudge, fabricated charges against Administration Commissioner Dou Zicheng; Weilian fought the matter to the point of threatening resignation. When the surveillance commissioner sought to erect a living shrine to Yuan Yiji, Weilian forcefully opposed it. Selected for service at court, he was appointed principal secretary in the Nanjing Ministry of War and later promoted to vice director. When war broke out in Liaodong, he submitted a memorial outlining several reforms. He soon retired to observe mourning for a parent.

天啟三年，起官職方，進郎中。刑部主事譚謙益薦妖人宋明時能役神兵復遼左地，魏忠賢陰主之。維璉極言其妖妄。忠賢怒，矯旨譙責。海內方用師，將帥悉賄進，職方尤冗穢。維璉素清嚴，請寄皆絕，因極論債帥之弊，譏切中官、大臣。

In the third year of the Tianqi reign he was recalled to the Bureau of Appointments and promoted to director. Tan Qianyi, a principal secretary in the Penal Department, recommended the sorcerer Song Mingshi, who claimed he could summon spirit armies to recover Liaodong; Wei Zhongxian secretly supported him. Weilian denounced the scheme as rank sorcery and folly. Zhongxian was furious and issued an imperial rescript denouncing him. The empire was at war, and commanders bought their posts; the Bureau of Appointments was especially rotten. Weilian was incorruptible and stern; he rejected every patronage request and launched a fierce attack on the scourge of bought commissions, skewering eunuchs and senior officials alike.

吏部尚書趙南星知其賢，調為稽勛郎中。時言路橫恣，凡用吏部郎，必咨其同鄉居言路者。給事中傅櫆、陳良訓、章允儒以南星不先咨己，大怒，共詬誶維璉。及維璉調考功，櫆等益怒，交章力攻。又以江西有吳羽文，例不當用，兩人迫羽文去，以窘辱維璉。維璉憤，拜疏求罷，即日出城。疏中以章惇攻蘇軾、蔡京逐司馬光為言，櫆等愈怒。櫆遂顯攻魏大中、左光鬥以及維璉。自是朝端水火，諸賢益不安其位矣。維璉欲去不得，詔留視事。乃嚴核官評，無少假借。

Minister of Personnel Zhao Nanxing, recognizing his talent, transferred him to director in the Bureau of Merits. At the time the censorial clique ruled unchecked; every appointment to the Ministry of Personnel required consultation with a censor from the candidate's home province. Supervising Secretaries Fu Zhen, Chen Liangxun, and Zhang Yunru, furious that Nanxing had not consulted them first, jointly vilified Weilian. When Weilian was moved to the Bureau of Evaluations, Fu and his allies grew still angrier and launched a barrage of memorials against him. They also invoked the case of Wu Yuwen of Jiangxi, who by precedent should not have been appointed; they drove Yuwen out to embarrass Weilian. Enraged, Weilian submitted his resignation and left the capital the same day. In his memorial he invoked Zhang Dun's persecution of Su Shi and Cai Jing's banishment of Sima Guang—Fu and his allies were incensed. Fu then openly attacked Wei Dazhong, Zuo Guangdou, and Weilian. From that point the court split into warring camps, and upright officials could no longer hold their posts in peace. Weilian tried to resign but was refused; an edict ordered him to remain at his post. He then conducted official evaluations with unsparing rigor.

楊漣劾魏忠賢，被旨切責。維璉抗疏曰：「忠賢大奸大惡，罄竹難書。陛下憐其小信小忠，不忍割棄。豈知罪惡既盈，即不忍不可得。漢張讓、趙忠，靈帝以父母稱之；唐田令孜，僖宗亦以阿父稱之；我朝王振、曹吉祥、劉瑾，亦嘗寵之群臣之上。有一人老死牖下，獲保富貴哉？今陛下以太阿授忠賢，非所以為宗社計，亦非所以為忠賢計也。若夫黃扉元老，九列巨卿，安可自處於商輅、劉健、韓文下？」疏入，責其瀆奏。崔呈秀坐贓被劾，維璉論戍邊。諸媚珰者力別其是非，請托，拒不聽，諸逆黨交憾。及趙南星去國，維璉願與俱去，忠賢即放歸。無何，張訥劾南星，追論維璉調部非法，詔削籍。復構入汪文言獄，下吏，戍貴州。

When Yang Lian impeached Wei Zhongxian, the throne answered with a sharp rebuke. Weilian submitted a defiant memorial: "Wei Zhongxian's crimes are so vast that no scroll could contain them all. Your Majesty indulges his petty loyalty and petty usefulness and cannot bear to part with him. You do not see that when wickedness has run its course, indulgence is no longer possible. In Han times, Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong were called father and mother by Emperor Ling; in Tang, Tian Lingzi was called foster father by Emperor Xizong; in our dynasty, Wang Zhen, Cao Jixiang, and Liu Jin were once exalted above every minister. Did any one of them die peacefully in bed, wealth and rank intact? Now Your Majesty has placed the sword of state in Zhongxian's hands—this serves neither the dynasty nor Zhongxian himself. As for the grand secretaries and chief ministers of the nine ministries—can they truly rank themselves below Shang Lu, Liu Jian, and Han Wen?" When the memorial arrived, he was rebuked for disrespect. When Cui Chengxiu was impeached for embezzlement, Weilian argued that he should be banished to the frontier. Eunuch sycophants contested the verdict; they lobbied him, but he would not yield, and the faction turned against him. When Zhao Nanxing left office, Weilian sought to resign with him; Zhongxian promptly allowed him to retire. Soon Zhang Na impeached Nanxing and, revisiting the case, declared Weilian's transfer to the ministry unlawful; an edict struck him from the register. He was then implicated in the Wang Wenyin affair, arrested, and banished to Guizhou.

崇禎初，起南京通政參議，就遷太仆少卿，疏陳卜相、久任、納言、議謚、籌兵五事。五年二月，擢右僉都御史，代熊文燦巡撫福建。海寇劉香亂，遣遊擊鄭芝龍擊破之。海外紅夷據彭湖，挾互市，後徙臺灣，漸泊廈門。維璉屢檄芝龍防遏之，不聽。明年夏，芝龍剿賊福寧，紅夷乘間襲陷廈門城，大掠。維璉急發兵水陸進，芝龍亦馳援，焚其三舟，官軍傷亦眾。寇乃泛舟大洋，轉掠青港、荊嶼、石灣。諸將禦之銅山，連戰數日，始敗去。維璉在事二年，勞績甚著。會當國者溫體仁輩雅忌維璉，而閩人宦京師者騰謗於朝，竟坐是罷官。八年春，敘卻賊功，詔許起用。旋召拜兵部右侍郎，遘疾不赴，卒於家。

At the start of the Chongzhen reign he was recalled as vice commissioner of the Nanjing Office of Transmission, then promoted to Vice Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud, where he memorialized on five reforms: ministerial selection, long tenure, receiving remonstrance, posthumous titles, and military preparedness. In the second month of the fifth year he was promoted to Right Vice Censor-in-Chief and sent to replace Xiong Wencan as governor of Fujian. When the pirate Liu Xiang rose in rebellion, he dispatched Mobile Corps Commander Zheng Zhilong, who routed him. Dutch traders held Penghu and demanded trade; they later moved to Taiwan and gradually began anchoring at Xiamen. Weilian repeatedly ordered Zheng Zhilong to intercept them, but Zhilong refused. The following summer, while Zhilong was suppressing rebels in Funing, the Dutch seized the chance to raid and capture Xiamen, looting the city. Weilian urgently dispatched land and naval forces; Zhilong raced to reinforce, and together they burned three enemy ships, though government losses were heavy. The raiders then put to sea and turned to plunder Qinggang, Jingyu, and Shiwan. Government generals met them at Tongshan; after days of fighting, the raiders were finally driven off. Weilian served two years in the post, with distinguished results. Those in power, such as Wen Tiren, had long resented Weilian, and Fujianese eunuchs in the capital spread slander at court; on that account he was ultimately dismissed. In the spring of the eighth year, when merit for repelling the bandits was reviewed, an edict permitted his recall to office. He was soon summoned as right vice minister of war, but fell ill and could not take up the post; he died at home.

吳羽文既謝病歸，至崇禎六年始復出。歷考功文選郎中。帝以積疑吏部有私，選郎十一人譴黜大半，遷者三人而已。羽文痛絕諸弊，數與溫體仁牴牾。賕毀皇陵，有詔肆赦。體仁令刑部尚書馮英以逆案入詔內。羽文執止之，而議起錢龍錫、李邦華等。偵事者誣羽文納二人賊，下獄。羽文用高鳳翔為大名知府。鳳翔故嘗坐小罰，言者復謂其徇私，坐謫戍。侍郎吳甡等交薦，復官，未赴卒。羽文，字長卿，南昌人。萬歷四十一年進士。

After Wu Yuwen resigned on account of illness and returned home, he did not reenter office until the sixth year of the Chongzhen reign. He served in turn as director in the Bureau of Evaluations and the Bureau of Appointments. The emperor, having long suspected the Ministry of Personnel of favoritism, censured and dismissed most of the eleven selection secretaries, transferring only three. Yuwen loathed official abuses and repeatedly clashed with Wen Tiren. Bribery had damaged the imperial tombs, and an edict proclaimed a general amnesty. Tiren ordered Minister of Punishments Feng Ying to insert treason cases into the amnesty edict. Yuwen held firm and stopped it, yet debate arose over whether to include Qian Longxi, Li Banghua, and others. Spies accused Yuwen of taking bribes from the two men, and he was sent to prison. Yuwen appointed Gao Fengxiang prefect of Daming. Fengxiang had once received a minor punishment; critics again charged favoritism, and Yuwen was sentenced to demotion and frontier guard duty. Vice Minister Wu Shen and others jointly recommended him; his office was restored, but he died before he could take it up. Yuwen, whose style was Changqing, came from Nanchang. He passed the jinshi examination in the forty-first year of the Wanli reign.

贊曰：王汝訓諸人建言，挺謇諤之節，洊歷卿貳，不隕厥問。余懋學之言十蠹，有以哉！鄒維璉抗魏奄，拒逆黨，僅坐謫戍，幸矣。

The commentator says: Wang Ruxun and his colleagues, in their remonstrances, upheld the integrity of blunt speech; promoted repeatedly to high office, they did not lose their standing. Yu Maoxue's words on the ten corruptions—how well founded they were! Zou Weilian resisted Wei Zhongxian, rejected the treacherous faction, and received only banishment to frontier guard duty—he was fortunate indeed.

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