Volume 237 Biographies 125: Fu Haoli, Jiang Zhili, Bao Jianjie, Tian Dayi, Feng Yingjing, Wu Zongyao, Wu Baoxiu, Hua Yu

傅好禮姜誌禮包見捷田大益馮應京〈（何棟如王之翰卞孔時）〉吳宗堯吳寶秀華鈺〈（王正誌）〉

Fu Haoli, Jiang Zhili, Bao Jianjie, Tian Dayi, and Feng Yingjing (He Dongru, Wang Zhihan, and Bian Kongshi)]〉 Wu Zongyao, Wu Baoxiu, and Hua Yu (Wang Zhengzhi)]〉

傅好禮，字伯恭，固安人。萬曆二年進士。知涇縣，治最，入為御史。嘗陳時政，請節遊宴，停內操，罷外戚世封，止山陵行幸，又上崇實、杜漸諸疏。語皆剴直。巡按浙江。歲大侵，條上荒政。行部湖州，用便宜發漕折銀萬兩，易粟振饑民。改按山東。泰安州同知張壽朋當貶秩，文選郎謝廷寀用為永平推官，謂州同知六品，而推官七品也。好禮馳疏劾其非制，廷寀坐停俸，壽朋改調。好禮尋謝病歸。召進光祿少卿，改太常。時稅使四出，海內騷然。二十六年冬，奸民張禮等偽為官吏，群小百十人分據近京要地，稅民間雜物，弗予，捶至死。好禮極論其害，因言：「自朝鮮用兵，畿民富者貧，貧者死，思亂已久，奈何又虐征。國家縱貧，亦不當頭會箕斂，括細民續命之脂膏；況奸徒所得千萬，輸朝廷者什一耳，陛下何利為之。」奏入，四日未報，復具疏請。帝大怒，傳旨鐫三級，出之外。大理卿吳定疏救。帝益怒，謫好禮大同廣昌典史，定鐫三級，調邊方。言官復交章論救，斥定為民。既而帝思好禮言，下其疏，命廠衛嚴緝，逮禮等二十八人詔獄，其害乃除。好禮之官，未幾，請急歸。家居十五年卒。天啟中，贈太常卿。

Fu Haoli, whose courtesy name was Bogong, came from Gu'an. He received his jinshi degree in the second year of the Wanli reign. As magistrate of Jing County he earned the highest rating for his administration, then was appointed a censor. He repeatedly addressed current policy, urging the emperor to cut back on feasting and travel, halt palace drill troops, end perpetual enfeoffment of consort kin, and stop touring imperial tombs, and he also submitted memorials on honoring substance over show and on checking gradual abuses. Every statement was sharp and forthright. He served as touring censor for Zhejiang. When famine struck severely that year, he laid out a full program of relief measures. On reaching Huzhou in the course of his tour, he used emergency powers to release ten thousand taels earmarked from grain-transport conversion funds, bought grain with it, and fed the starving. He was reassigned as touring censor for Shandong. Zhang Shoupeng, the Tai'an assistant prefect, should have been demoted, but Xie Tingcai of the Bureau of Appointments posted him as Yongping investigating censor on the pretext that a sixth-rank assistant prefect could be shifted to a seventh-rank investigating post. Haoli rushed in a memorial charging irregular appointment; Tingcai had his salary suspended, and Shoupeng was reassigned. Haoli soon retired citing illness and went home. He was recalled, made Vice Minister of Imperial Entertainments, and then transferred to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Tax agents were being dispatched everywhere, throwing the empire into turmoil. That winter, in year twenty-six, ruffians led by Zhang Li posed as officials; gangs of well over a hundred men seized strategic points around the capital, taxed everyday goods, and beat anyone who would not pay until he was dead. Haoli laid out the damage at length and added: "Since the Korean campaign, the rich around the capital have been ruined and the poor have died; unrest has been brewing for years—why heap on more crushing taxes. Even a state in want should not wring every household dry and scrape away the last resources by which ordinary people stay alive; And when villains pocket millions while the court receives perhaps a tenth, what gain could Your Majesty possibly see in it. After the memorial was submitted, four days passed without response, so he filed another urging the throne to act. The emperor flew into a rage and ordered him demoted three ranks and expelled from the capital. Wu Ding, Minister of Punishments, memorialized in his defense. The emperor only grew angrier: Haoli was banished to the post of Guangchang clerk in Datong, Ding was cut three ranks and sent to the borderlands. Censors again flooded the court with pleas for leniency, and Ding was stripped of office and reduced to commoner status. Before long the emperor took Haoli's warning to heart, circulated his memorial, ordered the secret police to hunt the culprits down, and had Li and twenty-eight others thrown into the imperial prison—only then was the abuse ended. Haoli had not long been back in office when he asked leave on urgent family grounds. He lived in retirement for fifteen years and then died. Under the Tianqi emperor he was posthumously made Grand Master of Imperial Sacrifices.

姜誌禮，字立之，丹陽人。萬曆十七年進士。歷建昌、衢州推官，入為大理評事。三十三年，以囚多瘐死，疏言：「犴狴之間，一日斃十五人。積日而計，亦何紀極！又況海內小民，罹災寢而轉死溝壑，及為礦稅所羅織、貂珰所攫噬、含冤畢命者，又復何限！乞亟為矜宥，勿久淹系，且盡除礦稅，毋使宵人竊弄魁柄，賊虐丞黎。」不報。歷刑部員外，出為泉州知府，遷廣東副使，並有聲。進山東右參政，分守登、萊。福王封國河南，詔賜田二百萬畝，跨山東、湖廣境。既之國，遣中貴徐進督山東賦，勢甚張。誌禮抗疏曰：「臣所轄二郡，民不聊生，且與倭鄰，不宜有藩府莊田以擾茲土也明甚。且自高皇帝迄今累十餘世，封王子弟多矣，有賜田二萬頃，延連數十郡者乎？繼此而封，尚有瑞、惠、桂三王也。倘比例以請，將予之乎，不予之乎？況國祚靈長，久且未艾。嗣是天家子姓，各援今日故事以請，臣恐方內土田，不足共諸藩分裂也。」帝大怒，貶三秩為廣西僉事。久之，遷江西參議。天啟三年，由浙江副使入為尚寶少卿，尋進卿。河南進玉璽，魏忠賢欲誌禮疏獻之。誌禮不可。忠賢怒，令私人劾其衰老，遂乞休。詔加太常少卿致仕，已而削奪。崇禎初，復官。誌禮性淳樸，所居多政績，亦以行誼稱於鄉。

Jiang Zhili, whose courtesy name was Lizhi, came from Danyang. He took the jinshi degree in the seventeenth year of Wanli. He served as investigating censor in Jianchang and Quzhou in turn, then entered the Court of Punishments as a reviewing official. In year thirty-three, seeing prisoners dying in droves from neglect, he wrote: "Inside the jails, fifteen people die in a single day. Day after day, who can count the toll! And beyond the prisons, how many common folk across the realm waste away in famine and die in ditches, or are ruined by mining levies, torn apart by eunuch agents, and perish with grievances never heard—who can number them! I beg Your Majesty to show mercy at once, release those held too long, and abolish mining taxes altogether, lest villains seize real power and prey on the people. The throne did not respond. He rose through the Ministry of Punishments, became prefect of Quanzhou, and was promoted to Guangdong vice commissioner, earning a strong reputation at each post. He was promoted to Right Vice Commissioner of Shandong with responsibility for the Dengzhou and Laizhou circuit. When the Prince of Fu was enfeoffed in Henan, an edict granted him two million mu of land spanning Shandong and Huguang. Once the prince had taken up residence, he sent the eunuch Xu Jin to oversee Shandong taxes, and Xu wielded enormous power. Zhili protested in a bold memorial: "In the two prefectures I govern the people can barely survive, and we lie next to the Japanese coast—it should be obvious that princely estates must not be imposed on this ground. Since the Hongwu founder, more than ten generations have passed and countless princes have been enfeoffed—when has any ever received twenty thousand qing stretching across dozens of commanderies? After this grant there remain the Princes of Rui, Hui, and Gui still to be provided for. If they ask on the same scale, will Your Majesty grant or refuse? Moreover, the dynasty's fortune is enduring and shows no sign of fading. Every imperial clansman to come will cite today's precedent; I fear there will not be enough land in the empire to parcel out among all the princes. The emperor was furious and demoted him three ranks to Guangxi commissioner. Years later he was moved to Jiangxi as a participating administrator. In the third year of Tianqi he came in from Zhejiang as Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Seals and was soon promoted to Director. When Henan presented a jade seal, Wei Zhongxian wanted Zhili to memorialize its presentation to the throne. Zhili refused. Zhongxian was enraged, had his men accuse Zhili of senility, and Zhili then asked to retire from office. An edict made him Vice Minister of Imperial Sacrifices in retirement, but soon those honors were revoked. At the start of the Chongzhen reign his titles were restored. Zhili was plain and upright by nature, left a record of solid achievement wherever he served, and was respected at home for his integrity.

包見捷，雲南臨安衛人。萬曆十七年進士。改庶吉士，授戶科給事中，屢遷都給事中。奸人李本立請采珠廣東，帝命中官李敬偕往。見捷極言其害，不聽。時小人蜂起言利。千戶李仁請稅湖口商舟，命中官李道往。主簿田應璧請賣兩淮沒官余鹽，令稅使魯保兼理。見捷等並力爭。頃之，令道、保節制有司。見捷又陳不便者數事。皆不報。益都知縣吳宗堯劾稅使陳增不法，見捷因請盡罷礦稅。無已，先撤增還。未幾，天津稅使王朝死，見捷請勿遣代。忤旨，切責。以馬堂代朝。見捷又劾堂、保及浙江劉忠。帝不納，益遣高寀、暨祿、李鳳榷稅於京口、儀真、廣東，並專敕行事。又以奸人閻大經言，命高淮征稅遼東。見捷等累請停罷，至是言：「遼左神京肩臂，視他鎮尤重。奸徒敢為禍首，陛下不懲以三尺，急罷開采，則遼事必不可為，而國步且隨之矣。」遼東撫按及山海主事吳鐘英相繼爭。皆不納。時中外爭礦稅者無慮百十疏，見捷言尤數，帝心銜之。居數日，又率司官極論，乃謫見捷貴州布政司都事，余停俸一年。大學士沈一貫、給事中趙完璧等先後論救，完璧等亦坐停俸。見捷尋引疾去。三十四年，起興業知縣。累遷太僕少卿。久之，以右僉都御史巡撫江西。光宗即位，召拜吏部右侍郎。明年卒官。

Bao Jianjie came from Lin'an Guard in Yunnan. He received his jinshi degree in the seventeenth year of Wanli. He entered the Hanlin as a bachelor, was made supervising secretary of the Household Section, and rose repeatedly to Chief Supervising Secretary. When the schemer Li Benli proposed pearl-fishing in Guangdong, the emperor sent the eunuch Li Jing along with him. Jianjie protested at length about the harm, but was ignored. Petty profiteers were swarming forward with schemes. Battalion commander Li Ren proposed taxing merchant vessels at Hukou, and the emperor dispatched the eunuch Li Dao. Registrar Tian Yingbi urged selling surplus confiscated salt from the two Huai regions and putting tax agent Lu Bao in charge. Jianjie and his colleagues fought the measures together. Soon Dao and Bao were empowered to command the regular civil officials. Jianjie again listed several harmful consequences. None of his memorials received a response. When Yidu magistrate Wu Zongyao impeached tax agent Chen Zeng for abuses, Jianjie seized the moment to demand an end to all mining levies. The court would not go that far, but Chen Zeng was recalled first. Before long the Tianjin tax agent Wang Chao died, and Jianjie asked that no successor be sent. He offended the throne and was sharply rebuked. Ma Tang was appointed in Wang Chao's place. Jianjie then impeached Tang, Bao, and Liu Zhong in Zhejiang as well. The emperor rejected him and instead sent Gao Cai, Ji Lu, and Li Feng to levy taxes at Jingkou, Yizhen, and Guangdong, each with a special edict granting full authority. On the advice of the schemer Yan Dajing he also ordered Gao Huai to tax Liaodong. Jianjie and others had repeatedly demanded a halt; now they wrote: "Liaodong is the shoulder guarding the capital and matters more than any other frontier. If villains are allowed to start this trouble and Your Majesty does not punish them under the law and stop the mining levies at once, Liaodong cannot be held and the dynasty itself will stagger. The Liaodong governor-general and censor, and Shanhai registrar Wu Zhongying, protested in turn. None of these pleas was heeded. By then well over a hundred memorials from inside and outside court were fighting mining taxes; Jianjie had spoken more often than anyone, and the emperor bore a grudge. A few days later he led his entire bureau in another fierce protest; Jianjie was banished to chief clerk in the Guizhou provincial administration, and the others had their salaries suspended for a year. Grand Secretary Shen Yiguan, supervising secretary Zhao Wanbi, and others pleaded for mercy in turn; Wanbi and his allies lost a year's salary as well. Jianjie soon retired on grounds of illness. In year thirty-four he was recalled as magistrate of Xingye. He rose step by step to Vice Minister of the Imperial Stud. Years later he was made Right Vice Censor-in-Chief and grand coordinator of Jiangxi. When Emperor Guangzong took the throne, he was summoned as Right Vice Minister of Personnel. He died in office the following year.

田大益，字博真，四川定遠人。萬曆十四年進士。授鐘祥知縣。擢兵科給事中，疏論日本封貢可虞。又言：「東征之役，在將士，則當據今日之斬馘以論功；在主帥，則當視後日之成敗以定議。」時韙其言。母喪除，起補戶科。二十八年十月，疏言：「陛下受命日久，驕泰乘之，布列豺狼，殄滅善類，民無所措，靡不蓄怨含憤，覬一旦有事。願陛下惕然警覺，敬天地，嚴祖宗，毋輕臣工，毋戕民命，毋任閹人，毋縱群小，毋務暴刻，毋甘怠荒，急改敗轍，遵治規，用保祖宗無疆之業。」未幾，極陳礦稅六害，言：

Tian Dayi, whose courtesy name was Bozhen, came from Dingyuan in Sichuan. He took the jinshi degree in the fourteenth year of Wanli. He was appointed magistrate of Zhongxiang. Promoted to supervising secretary of the Military Section, he warned that Japan's request for investiture and tribute was dangerous. He also argued: "In the eastern campaign, for the rank and file rewards should follow today's counts of enemy killed; for the supreme commander, judgment should wait on whether the campaign ultimately succeeds or fails. At the time the court praised his advice. After his mourning period ended, he was recalled to fill a vacancy in the Household Section. In the tenth month of year twenty-eight he wrote: "Your Majesty has held the throne long enough for arrogance to take root; wolves are posted everywhere, good men are destroyed, and the people have nowhere to turn—all hoarding resentment and waiting for trouble to break. I beg Your Majesty to wake in alarm: revere Heaven and Earth, honor your ancestors, do not slight your ministers, do not waste the people's lives, do not trust eunuchs, do not indulge petty men, do not pursue cruelty, do not sink into sloth, change course at once, follow the rules of good government, and preserve the boundless inheritance of your house. Soon afterward he laid out at length the six evils of mining levies, writing:

內臣務為劫奪，以應上求。礦不必穴，而稅不必商；民間丘隴阡陌，皆礦也，官吏農工，皆入稅之人也。公私騷然，脂膏殫竭。向所謂軍國正供，反致缺損。即令有司威以刀鋸，只足驅民而速之亂耳。此所謂斂巧必蹶也。

Palace eunuchs strove to plunder and extort to satisfy the throne's demands. Mines need not be dug in hillsides, and taxes need not fall on merchants alone; every village mound and field path was declared a mine, and officials, farmers, and artisans alike were taxed. Public and private life were thrown into chaos until the people's substance was utterly drained. The regular revenues for army and state actually fell short. Even if officials threatened the people with blade and saw, they would only drive them faster toward revolt. This is the first evil: clever exaction must end in collapse.

陛下嘗以礦稅之役為裕國愛民。然內庫日進不已，未嘗少佐軍國之需。四海之人，方反唇切齒，而冀以計智甘言，掩天下耳目，其可得乎！此所謂名偽必敗也。

Your Majesty once claimed that mining levies would enrich the state and benefit the people. Yet the inner treasury swelled day by day without ever easing the needs of army or state. All under Heaven were gnashing their teeth in rage—how could sweet words and clever schemes possibly deceive the world! This is the second evil: a false name must end in defeat.

財積而不用，祟將隨之。脫巾不已，至於揭竿，適為奸雄睥睨之資。此時雖家給人予，亦且蹴之覆之而不可及矣。此所謂賄聚必散也。

Wealth hoarded but unused draws calamity in its wake. Unrest spreads from banditry to open rebellion, furnishing ambitious traitors with their opportunity. By then, even if every household were stocked with grain, the state could not recover what had been kicked over and ruined. This is the third evil: hoarded wealth must scatter.

夫眾心不可傷也。今天下上自簪纓，下至耕夫販婦，茹苦含辛、搤諲側目、而無所控訴者，蓋已久矣。一旦土崩勢成，家為仇，人為敵，眾心齊倡，而海內因以大潰。此所謂怨極必亂也。

The people's hearts must not be wounded. Today, from officials in their caps down to farmers and market women, countless people swallow bitterness, clench their fists, and glare in helpless rage with nowhere to appeal—this has gone on far too long. Once the ground gives way, every household becomes an enemy and every person a foe; when all hearts rise together, the empire collapses at once. This is the fourth evil: resentment pushed to the limit must bring chaos.

國家全盛二百三十餘年，已屬陽九，而東征西討以求快意。上之蕩主心，下之耗國脈。二豎固而良醫走，死氣索而大命傾。此所謂禍遲必大也。

The dynasty has flourished for more than two hundred thirty years and already stands in its late yang-nine phase, yet campaigns east and west are waged merely to gratify whim. Above, it unsettles the ruler's mind; below, it drains the nation's lifeblood. Petty men hold power while good physicians flee; the breath of death tightens while the dynasty's mandate tilts toward ruin. This is the fifth evil: disaster delayed grows great.

陛下矜奮自賢，沈迷不返。以豪珰奸弁為腹心，以金錢珠玉為命脈。藥石之言，褎如充耳。即令逢、幹剖心，臯夔進諫，亦安能解其惑哉！此所謂意迷難救也。

Your Majesty prides himself on vigor and deems himself wise, yet sinks deeper without turning back. He takes overbearing eunuchs and treacherous officers as his inner circle, and gold, cash, pearls, and jade as his lifeblood. Remedial counsel fills his sleeves yet never reaches his ears. Even if Peng and Gan laid open their hearts and Gao Yao and Kui remonstrated in person, how could they break through such delusion! This is the sixth evil: a deluded mind is hard to save.

此六者，今之大患。臣畏死不言，則負陛下，陛下拒諫不納，則危宗社。願深察而力反之。

These six are the great calamities of our age. If I fear death and stay silent, I fail Your Majesty; if Your Majesty rejects counsel, the altars of state are endangered. I beg Your Majesty to examine these evils deeply and reverse course with all your strength.

皆不報。明年，疏論湖廣稅監陳奉，救僉事馮應京。忤旨，切責。時武昌民以應京被逮，群聚鼓噪，欲殺奉，奉逃匿楚府以免。大益因上言：「陛下驅率狼虎，飛而食人，使天下之人，剝膚而吸髓，重足而累息，以致天災地坼，山崩川竭。釁自上開，憤由怨積，奈何欲塗民耳目，以自解釋，謾曰權宜哉！今楚人以奉故，沈使者不返矣，且欲甘心巡撫大臣矣。中朝使臣不敢入境偵緩急，逾兩月矣。四方觀聽，惟在楚人。臣意陛下必且曠然易慮，立罷礦稅，以靖四方，奈何猶戀戀不能自割也！夫天下至貴，而金玉珠寶至賤也。積金玉珠寶若泰山，不可市天下尺寸地；而失天下，又何用金玉珠寶為哉！今四方萬姓，見陛下遇楚事而無變誌，知禍必不解，必且群起為變。此時即盡戮諸珰以謝天下，寧有濟耶？」帝怒，留中。

None of his memorials received a response. The following year he memorialized against the Huguang tax agent Chen Feng and pleaded for Vice Commissioner Feng Yingjing. He offended the throne and was sharply rebuked. When the people of Wuchang learned that Yingjing had been arrested, they gathered in uproar intending to kill Feng; Feng fled and hid in the Prince of Chu's residence to escape. Dayi then wrote: "Your Majesty drives wolves and tigers to fly forth and devour the people, stripping skin and sucking marrow until all under Heaven tread on tiptoe and hold their breath, bringing on Heaven's disasters, earth's splits, mountains collapsing, and rivers running dry. The trouble began at court and rage built from long resentment—how can Your Majesty smear the people's eyes and ears with talk of 'expediency' to excuse yourself! Now, because of Feng, the people of Chu have drowned an envoy who will never return, and they even seek the life of the grand coordinator. Central envoys have not dared enter the province to assess the crisis for more than two months. All the realm is watching what the people of Chu will do next. I believed Your Majesty would surely change course at once and abolish mining levies to pacify the realm—why do you still cling to them and refuse to let go! The realm is supremely precious; gold, jade, pearls, and gems are supremely base. Pile gold and gems high as Mount Tai and you still cannot buy a foot of the realm; and if you lose the realm, what use are gold and gems! Now the people everywhere see Your Majesty meet the Chu crisis without changing course and know disaster will not end—they will surely rise in revolt together. By then, even if every eunuch were executed to appease the realm, would it help at all? The emperor was furious and withheld the memorial in the palace.

又明年遷兵科都給事中。時兩京缺尚書三，侍郎十、科道九十四，天下缺巡撫三、布按監司六十六、知府二十五。大益力請簡補，亦不聽。

The following year he was made Chief Supervising Secretary of the Military Section. At the time the two capitals lacked three ministers, ten vice ministers, and ninety-four censorate and supervising-secretary posts; across the empire three grand coordinators, sixty-six provincial and circuit officials, and twenty-five prefects stood vacant. Dayi urgently pleaded that these posts be filled, but was ignored.

三十一年，江西稅監潘相請勘合符牒勿經郵傳。巡按御史吳達可駁之，不聽。大益復守故事力爭，竟如相請。內使王朝嘗言，近京采煤歲可獲銀五千，乃率京營兵劫掠西山諸處。煤戶洶洶，朝以沮撓聞。有旨逮治，皆入都城訴失業狀。沈一貫等急請罷朝，且擬敕諭撫按，未得命。大益言：「國家大柄，莫重於兵。朝擅役禁軍，請急誅，為無將之戒。」御史沈正隆、給事中楊應文、白瑜亦疏諫。帝俱不納。俄用中官陳永壽奏，乃召朝還。遼東稅監高淮擁精騎數百至都城。大益言：「祖制，人臣不得弄兵。淮本掃除之役，敢盜兵權，包禍心，罪當誅。」帝亦不問。

In year thirty-one the Jiangxi tax agent Pan Xiang asked that his tallies and documents bypass the postal relay. Touring censor Wu Dake objected, but was overruled. Dayi again fought to uphold precedent, but in the end Pan Xiang got his way. The palace envoy Wang Chao claimed that coal mining near the capital could yield five thousand taels a year, then led capital-garrison troops to plunder the Western Hills. The coal miners rose in uproar, and Wang Chao reported that they were obstructing him. An edict ordered their arrest, and they all marched into the capital to plead that they had been driven out of work. Shen Yiguan and others urgently asked to adjourn court and drafted an edict for the provincial authorities, but received no approval. Dayi wrote: "Of all the instruments of state, none is heavier than military power. Wang Chao has dared to command the forbidden troops—execute him at once as a warning to any commander who forgets discipline. Censor Shen Zhenglong and supervising secretaries Yang Yingwen and Bai Yu also remonstrated in memorials. The emperor rejected them all. Soon, on the memorial of the eunuch Chen Yongshou, Wang Chao was recalled. The Liaodong tax agent Gao Huai marched several hundred elite horsemen into the capital. Dayi wrote: "By ancestral regulation, no subject may wield troops. Huai is a menial servant who has dared seize military authority and harbors treasonous intent—his crime deserves death. The emperor took no action.

明年八月，極陳君德缺失，言：「陛下專誌財利，自私藏外，絕不措意。中外群工，因而泄泄。君臣上下，曾無一念及民。空言相蒙，人怨天怒，妖祲變異，罔不畢集。乃至皇陵為發祥之祖而災，孝陵為創業之祖而災，長陵為奠鼎之祖而亦災。天欲蹶我國家，章章明矣。臣觀十餘年來，亂政亟行，不可枚舉，而病源止在貨利一念。今聖諭補缺官矣，釋系囚矣，然礦稅不撤，而群小猶恣橫，閭閻猶朘削，則百工之展布實難，而罪罟之羅織必眾。缺官雖補，系囚雖釋，曾何益哉！陛下中歲以來，所以掩聰明之質，而甘蹈貪愚暴亂之行者，止為家計耳。不知家之盈者國必喪。如夏桀隕於瑤臺，商紂焚於寶玉，幽、厲啟戎於榮夷，桓、靈絕統於私鬻，德宗召難於瓊林，道君兆禍於花石。覆轍相仍，昭然可鑒。陛下邇來亂政，不減六代之季。一旦變生，其何以托身於天下哉！」居月餘，復以星變乞固根本，設防禦，罷礦稅。帝皆不省。又明年，以久次添註太常少卿，卒官。

In the eighth month of the following year he laid out the emperor's moral failures at length: "Your Majesty cares only for profit, hoarding wealth in private treasuries and giving no thought to anything else. Officials inside and outside court have grown slack in turn. From throne to lowest clerk, not one thought has reached the people. Empty phrases deceive one another while men resent and Heaven rages; omens and strange transformations gather without end. Disaster has even struck the tomb of the dynastic founder, the tomb of the founding emperor, and the tomb of the emperor who secured the throne. Heaven plainly intends to overturn our state. I have watched more than ten years of misrule too numerous to list, yet the disease has only one source: the obsession with profit. Your recent edicts have filled vacant offices and released prisoners, yet mining levies remain, petty men still run rampant, and neighborhoods are still stripped bare—so honest officials can scarcely work and the nets of punishment only multiply. Filling offices and freeing prisoners—what good does it do! Since Your Majesty's middle years, the reason you have buried your bright nature and willingly pursued greed, folly, violence, and disorder is simply household accounts. You do not see that when the household grows full, the state must perish. Jie of Xia fell at the Jade Terrace; Zhou of Shang burned amid his treasures; You and Li of Zhou raised disaster through Rong Yi; Huan and Ling of Han ended their lines through private sales; Dezong of Tang summoned disaster at the Jade Forest; Huizong of Song foreshadowed ruin through his Flower-and-Stone scheme. These overturned tracks follow one another in plain sight. Your Majesty's recent misrule rivals the last days of the Six Dynasties. When crisis comes, where will Your Majesty find refuge under Heaven! A month later he again pleaded, citing celestial omens, to secure the dynasty's foundations, strengthen defenses, and abolish mining levies. The emperor paid no heed. The following year, by seniority he was appointed Vice Minister of Imperial Sacrifices and died in office.

大益性骨鯁，守官無他營。數進危言，卒獲免禍。蓋時帝倦勤，上章者雖千萬言，大率屏置勿閱故也。

Dayi was unyielding by nature and pursued no private ends in office. He spoke harsh truth repeatedly yet in the end escaped punishment. This was because the emperor had grown weary of governing; though memorials ran to millions of words, they were usually set aside unread.

馮應京，字可大，盱眙人。萬曆二十年進士。為戶部主事。督薊鎮軍儲，以廉幹聞。尋改兵部，進員外郎。二十八年，擢湖廣僉事，分巡武昌、漢陽、黃州三府。繩貪墨，摧奸豪，風采大著。稅監陳奉恣橫，巡撫支可大以下唯諾惟謹，應京獨以法裁之。奉掊克萬端，至伐冢毀屋，刳孕婦，溺嬰兒。其年十二月，有諸生妻被辱，訴上官。市民從者萬餘，哭聲動地，蜂湧入奉廨，諸司馳救乃免。應京捕治其爪牙，奉怒，陽餉食而置金其中。應京復暴之，益慚恨。明年正月，置酒邀諸司，以甲士千人自衛，遂舉火箭焚民居。民群擁奉門。奉遣人擊之，多死，碎其屍，擲諸途。可大噤不敢出聲，應京獨抗疏列其十大罪。奉亦誣奏應京撓命，陵敕使。帝怒，命貶雜職，調邊方。給事中田大益、御史李以唐等交章劾奉，乞宥應京。帝益怒，除應京名。是時，襄陽通判邸宅、推官何棟如、棗陽縣知縣王之翰亦忤奉被劾。詔宅、之翰為民，棟如遣逮。俄以都給事中楊應文論救，遂並逮應京、宅、之翰三人。頃之，奉又誣劾武昌同知卞孔時抗拒，孔時亦被逮。

Feng Yingjing, whose courtesy name was Kedà, came from Xuyi. He received his jinshi degree in the twentieth year of Wanli. He served as a director in the Ministry of Revenue. Supervising military stores for the Ji garrison, he became known for integrity and efficiency. He was soon transferred to the Ministry of War and promoted to vice director. In year twenty-eight he was made Huguang vice commissioner with touring authority over Wuchang, Hanyang, and Huangzhou. He punished corruption, crushed local bullies, and made his authority widely felt. Tax agent Chen Feng ran rampant; Grand Coordinator Zhi Kedà and his subordinates only nodded assent, while Yingjing alone held him to the law. Feng extorted by every imaginable means, even tearing down tombs and houses, cutting open pregnant women, and drowning infants. That December a student's wife was assaulted and appealed to higher authorities. More than ten thousand townspeople followed, their wailing shaking the ground as they stormed Feng's office; only when officials rushed in was he spared. Yingjing arrested his henchmen; Feng grew furious and pretended to offer food while hiding gold inside the gift. Yingjing exposed the bribe publicly, deepening Feng's shame and hatred. The following January he held a banquet for the local offices, surrounded himself with a thousand armored guards, and then fired rockets to burn civilian homes. The people massed at Feng's gate. Feng sent men to attack them; many were killed, their bodies mutilated and thrown into the streets. Kedà fell silent and dared not speak out, while Yingjing alone filed a bold memorial listing Feng's ten great crimes. Feng also falsely accused Yingjing of obstructing orders and insulting the imperial envoy. The emperor was furious and ordered Yingjing demoted to a minor post on the frontier. Supervising secretaries Tian Dayi and censor Li Yitang and others filed memorial after memorial impeaching Feng and pleading for Yingjing's pardon. The emperor only grew angrier and struck Yingjing from the rolls. At the same time Xiangyang assistant prefect Di Zhai, investigating censor He Dongru, and Zaoyang magistrate Wang Zhihan had also crossed Feng and were impeached. An edict reduced Zhai and Zhihan to commoner status and ordered Dongru arrested. Soon, after Chief Supervising Secretary Yang Yingwen pleaded for mercy, Yingjing, Zhai, and Zhihan were all arrested together. Before long Feng also falsely accused Wuchang assistant prefect Bian Kongshi of resistance, and Kongshi was arrested as well.

緹騎抵武昌，民知應京獲重譴，相率痛哭。奉乃大書應京名，列其罪，榜之通衢。士民益憤，聚數萬人圍奉廨，奉窘，逃匿楚王府，遂執其斥牙六人，投之江，並傷緹騎；詈可大助虐，焚其府門，可大不敢出。奉潛遣參隨三百人，引兵追逐，射殺數人，傷者不可勝計。日已晡，猶紛。應京囚服坐檻車，曉以大義，乃稍稍解散。奉匿楚府，逾月不敢出，亟請還京。大學士沈一貫因極言奉罪，請立代還。言官亦爭以為請。帝未許。俄江西稅監李道亦奏奉侵匿狀，乃召還，隸其事於承天守備杜茂。頃之，東廠奏緹騎有死者。帝慍甚，手詔內閣，欲究主謀。一貫言民心宜靜，請亟遣重臣代可大拊循，因以侍郎趙可懷薦。帝乃褫可大官，令可懷馳往。未至，可大已遣兵護奉行。舟車相銜，數里不絕。可懷入境，亦遣使護之。奉得迄邐去。

When the imperial guards reached Wuchang, the people learned that Yingjing faced severe punishment and wept together in the streets. Feng then posted Yingjing's name in large characters on the main thoroughfare, listing his supposed crimes. Gentry and commoners grew furious; tens of thousands besieged Feng's office; cornered, Feng fled into the Prince of Chu's residence; the crowd seized six of his henchmen, threw them into the river, and wounded several imperial guards; they cursed Kedà for aiding the tyranny, burned his prefectural gate, and Kedà dared not come out. Feng secretly sent three hundred attendants with troops in pursuit, killing several and wounding more than could be counted. By late afternoon the turmoil still had not ended. Yingjing, dressed as a prisoner in the caged cart, reasoned with them on principle, and only then did the crowd slowly disperse. Feng hid in the Chu princely residence for more than a month without daring to emerge and urgently begged to return to the capital. Grand Secretary Shen Yiguan laid out Feng's crimes at length and asked that a replacement be sent at once to recall him. Censors also pressed the same request. The emperor refused. Soon the Jiangxi tax agent Li Dao also reported Feng's embezzlement; Feng was recalled and his affairs were handed to Chengdu garrison commander Du Mao. Before long the Eastern Depot reported that imperial guards had been killed. The emperor was furious and by personal edict to the Grand Secretariat demanded investigation of the ringleaders. Yiguan urged that popular feeling must be calmed and asked that a senior minister be sent at once to replace Kedà and pacify the region, recommending Vice Minister Zhao Kehuai. The emperor stripped Kedà of office and ordered Kehuai to hurry to Wuchang. Before Kehuai arrived, Kedà had already sent troops to escort Feng. Boats and carts stretched for miles without a break. When Kehuai entered the province, he too sent escorts for Feng. Feng was able to leave at last in safety.

應京之就逮也，士民擁檻車號哭，車不得行。既去，則家為位祀之。三郡父老相率詣闕訴冤，帝不省。吏科都給事中郭如星、刑科給事中陳維春更連章劾奉。帝怒，謫兩人邊方雜職，系應京等詔獄，拷訊久之不釋。應京乃於獄中著書，昕夕無倦。三十二年九月，星變修省。廷臣多請釋系囚，於是應京及宅、棟如獲釋。之翰先瘐死，而孔時系獄如故。

When Yingjing was taken, gentry and commoners surrounded his cart wailing so that it could not move. After he was gone, families set up shrines to honor him. Elders from the three prefectures marched to the capital to plead injustice, but the emperor paid no heed. Chief Supervising Secretary Guo Ruxing and supervising secretary Chen Weichun filed memorial after memorial impeaching Feng. The emperor was furious, banished the two to minor frontier posts, threw Yingjing and the others into the imperial prison, and tortured them for months without release. Yingjing wrote books in prison from morning to night without rest. In the ninth month of year thirty-two, celestial omens prompted the court to examine itself. Many court officials pleaded for the release of prisoners; Yingjing, Zhai, and Dongru were then freed. Zhihan had already died in prison from illness, while Kongshi remained imprisoned.

應京誌操卓犖，學求有用，不事空言，為淮西士人之冠。出獄三年卒。天啟初，贈太常少卿，謚恭節。

Yingjing's integrity was outstanding; he sought learning that could be put to use and scorned empty talk, standing at the head of Huai River scholars. He died three years after his release. At the start of the Tianqi reign he was posthumously made Vice Minister of Imperial Sacrifices with the posthumous title Gongjie, "Respectful Integrity."

何棟如，無錫人。居官守正。既為奉所陷，襄陽人赴闕訴冤，不聽。及出獄，削籍歸，家居十七年。天啟初，始起南京兵部主事。會遼陽陷，時議募兵，棟如自請行。遂賫帑金赴浙江，得六千七百人。甫至而廣寧復陷，又自請出關視形勢。乃進太僕少卿，充軍前贊畫。棟如誌銳而才疏。初在浙，不能無浮費。所募兵畏出關，多逃亡。及兩疏論熊廷弼、王化貞功罪，給事中蔡思充、朱童蒙，御史陳保泰遂交章劾之。棟如疏辨，因請非時考察京官，用清朋黨。朝貴大恨，遂下詔獄，榜掠備至。五年秋，坐贓戍滁陽。崇禎初，復官。致仕卒。

He Dongru came from Wuxi. In office he upheld rectitude. After Feng had framed him, the people of Xiangyang went to the capital to plead injustice, but were ignored. After his release he was struck from the rolls and lived at home for seventeen years. At the start of Tianqi he was first recalled as a director in the Nanjing Ministry of War. When Liaoyang fell and the court debated recruiting troops, Dongru volunteered to go. He carried treasury funds to Zhejiang and raised six thousand seven hundred men. He had barely arrived when Guangning fell again; he again volunteered to go beyond the pass to survey conditions. He was promoted to Vice Minister of the Imperial Stud and made a staff planner with the army. Dongru was bold in spirit but limited in talent. Early on in Zhejiang he could not avoid wasteful spending. The troops he recruited feared crossing the pass and many deserted. When he filed two memorials on the merits and faults of Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen, supervising secretaries Cai Sichong and Zhu Tongmeng and censor Chen Baotai impeached him in turn. Dongru defended himself and asked for an extraordinary review of capital officials to purge factional cliques. Court magnates hated this deeply; he was thrown into the imperial prison and tortured without mercy. In the autumn of the fifth year he was convicted of corruption and exiled to Chuyang. At the start of the Chongzhen reign his office was restored. He retired and died.

王之翰，絳州人。官棗陽。力阻開礦，遂被逮拷死。天啟初，贈光祿少卿。

Wang Zhihan came from Jiangzhou. He served as magistrate of Zaoyang. He fought hard against opening mines, was arrested, tortured, and died. At the start of Tianqi he was posthumously made Vice Minister of Imperial Entertainments.

孔時既長系，廷臣救者數十上。帝皆不省。四十一年，萬壽節，葉向高復以為言，乃削籍放還。熹宗立，起南京刑部員外郎。

Kongshi had been imprisoned for a long time, and dozens of court officials memorialized for his release. The emperor ignored them all. In year forty-one, on the imperial birthday, Ye Xianggao spoke for him again, and Kongshi was struck from the rolls and sent home. When Emperor Xizong took the throne, he was recalled as vice director in the Nanjing Ministry of Punishments.

吳宗堯，字仁叔，歙縣人。萬曆二十三年進士。授益都知縣。性強項。中官陳增以開礦至，誣奏福山知縣韋國賢阻撓，被逮削籍。守令多屈節如屬吏，宗堯獨具賓主禮。增黨程守訓，宗堯邑子也。宗堯惡其奸，不與通。驛丞金子登說增開孟丘山礦，宗堯叱其欺罔。子登懼，構於增。日征千人鑿山，多捶死；又誣富民盜礦，三日捕系五百人。二十六年九月，宗堯盡發增不法事。帝得疏意動，持不下。會給事中包見捷極論增罪，請撤還。帝責增，令檢下。見捷同官郝敬復請治增罪，帝乃不悅，責宗堯狂逞要名。已而山東巡撫尹應元劾增背旨虐民二十罪。帝遂發怒，切責應元，削宗堯籍。敬復抗疏諫，帝益怒，奪俸一年，並奪應元俸。增遂劾宗堯阻撓礦務，且令守訓誣訐之。帝既遣逮治，御史劉景辰、給事中侯慶遠爭之，不聽。使者至，民大嘩，欲殺增。宗堯行，民哭聲震地。既至，下詔獄拷訊，系經年。禮部郎鮑應鰲等言於沈一貫曰：「南康守吳寶秀已得安居牖下，宗堯何獨不然？」一貫揭入，即釋為民，未幾卒。天啟時，贈光祿少卿，賜祭，錄一子。

Wu Zongyao, whose courtesy name was Renshu, came from She County. He received his jinshi degree in the twenty-third year of Wanli. He was appointed magistrate of Yidu. He was unyielding by nature. When the eunuch Chen Zeng came to open mines, he falsely accused Fushan magistrate Wei Guoxian of obstruction; Guoxian was arrested and struck from the rolls. Most local officials bowed to him like subordinates; Zongyao alone treated him with the ceremony due between host and guest. Zeng's henchman Cheng Shouxun was a fellow townsman of Zongyao. Zongyao detested his treachery and refused all contact. Post-station assistant Jin Zideng urged Zeng to open the Mengqiu Mountain mine; Zongyao denounced the scheme as fraudulent. Zideng grew afraid and framed Zongyao before Zeng. A thousand men were levied daily to dig the mountain, and many were beaten to death; wealthy households were also falsely accused of stealing ore, and five hundred people were arrested in three days. In the ninth month of year twenty-six Zongyao exposed all of Zeng's unlawful acts. The emperor was moved by the memorial but withheld action. Supervising secretary Bao Jianjie then argued at length against Zeng's crimes and asked that he be recalled. The emperor rebuked Zeng and ordered him to surrender his credentials. Jianjie's colleague Hao Jing again asked that Zeng be punished; the emperor grew displeased and rebuked Zongyao for reckless grandstanding. Soon Shandong grand coordinator Yin Yingyuan impeached Zeng for twenty crimes of defying the throne and abusing the people. The emperor flew into a rage, sharply rebuked Yingyuan, and struck Zongyao from the rolls. Hao Jing remonstrated again in a bold memorial; the emperor grew angrier, suspended his salary for a year, and suspended Yingyuan's salary as well. Zeng then impeached Zongyao for obstructing mining operations and had Shouxun lodge false accusations against him. The emperor had already ordered his arrest; censor Liu Jingchen and supervising secretary Hou Qingyuan protested, but were ignored. When the arresting party arrived, the people rose in uproar and wanted to kill Zeng. As Zongyao was led away, the people's wailing shook the ground. After he reached the capital he was thrown into the imperial prison, tortured, and held for more than a year. Ministry of Rites clerk Bao Ying'ao and others said to Shen Yiguan: "Nankang prefect Wu Baoxiu has already been allowed to live peacefully at home—why should Zongyao alone be treated differently? Yiguan presented the plea to the throne, and Zongyao was immediately released; he died not long afterward. Under Tianqi he was posthumously made Vice Minister of Imperial Entertainments, granted state sacrifices, and one son was enrolled in office.

吳寶秀，字汝珍，平陽人。萬曆十七年進士。授大理評事。歷寺正，出為南康知府。湖口稅監李道橫甚，寶秀不與通。漕舟南還，乘風揚帆入湖口。道欲榷其貨，遣卒急追之，舟覆，有死者。道遣吏捕漕卒，寶秀拒不發。道怒，劾寶秀及星子知縣吳一元、青山巡檢程資阻撓稅務，詔俱逮治。給事中楊應文等請下撫按公勘。大學士沈一貫、吏部尚書李戴、國子祭酒方從哲等交章為言，俱不報。寶秀妻陳氏慟哭，請偕行，寶秀不可。乃括余貲及簪珥付其妾曰：「夫子行，以為路費。」夜自經死。寶秀至京，下詔獄。大學士趙誌臯上言：「頃臣臥病，聞中外人情洶洶，皆為礦稅一事。南康守吳寶秀逮系時，其妻至投繯自盡，闔郡號呼，幾成變亂。事關民生向背，宗社安危，臣不敢以將去之身，隱默而不言。」星子民陳英者，方廬墓，約儒士熊應鳳等走京師，伏闕訟冤，乞以身代。於是撫按及南北諸臣論救者疏十餘上，帝皆不省。一日，司禮田義匯諸疏進御前，帝怒擲地。義從容拾起，復進之，叩首曰：「閣臣跪候朝門外，不奉處分不敢退。」帝怒稍平，取閱閣臣疏，命移獄刑部。皇太后亦聞陳氏之死，從容為帝言。至九月，與一元等並釋為民。歸家，逾年卒。

Wu Baoxiu, whose courtesy name was Ruzhen, came from Pingyang. He received his jinshi degree in the seventeenth year of Wanli. He was appointed a reviewing official in the Court of Punishments. He rose to director of the court, then became prefect of Nankang. The Hukou tax agent Li Dao was brutally overbearing, and Baoxiu refused all contact with him. Grain boats returning south caught the wind and sailed into Hukou. Li Dao tried to tax their cargo, sent soldiers in hot pursuit, the boats capsized, and some men drowned. Li Dao sent officers to arrest the transport crews, but Baoxiu refused to hand them over. Li Dao grew furious and impeached Baoxiu, Xingzi magistrate Wu Yiyuan, and Qingshan inspector Cheng Zi for obstructing tax collection; an edict ordered all three arrested. Supervising secretary Yang Yingwen and others asked that the provincial authorities conduct a joint investigation. Grand Secretary Shen Yiguan, Minister of Personnel Li Dai, National University Chancellor Fang Congzhe, and others pleaded in memorial after memorial, but none received a response. Baoxiu's wife, Lady Chen, wept bitterly and asked to accompany him; Baoxiu refused. She gathered their remaining money and her jewelry, gave them to his concubine, and said: "Your master is leaving—use these for his travel expenses. That night she hanged herself. When Baoxiu reached the capital he was thrown into the imperial prison. Grand Secretary Zhao Zhigao wrote: "While I was recently ill in bed, I heard that feeling inside and outside court was turbulent—all because of mining levies. When Nankang prefect Wu Baoxiu was arrested, his wife hanged herself; the whole prefecture cried out and nearly erupted in revolt. This touches the people's livelihood and the safety of the altars of state—I dare not, on the eve of my retirement, remain silent. A Xingzi commoner named Chen Ying, who was building a tomb, joined scholars including Xiong Yingfeng in rushing to the capital, prostrating themselves at the palace gates to plead injustice and offering their lives in Baoxiu's place. Grand coordinators, censors, and officials north and south filed more than ten rescue memorials; the emperor ignored them all. One day Directorate of Ceremonies official Tian Yi gathered the memorials and presented them; the emperor angrily threw them to the floor. Yi calmly picked them up, presented them again, and kowtowed: "The Grand Secretariat ministers are kneeling outside the court gate; without your decision they dare not leave. The emperor's anger eased somewhat; he read the Grand Secretariat memorials and ordered the prisoners transferred to the Ministry of Punishments. The empress dowager also heard of Lady Chen's death and spoke calmly to the emperor about it. By the ninth month he and Yiyuan and the others were all released. He returned home and died a little over a year later.

初，南康士民建祠，特祀陳氏，後合寶秀祀之。天啟中，贈太僕少卿，賜祭，錄其一子。

At first the people of Nankang built a shrine to honor Lady Chen alone; later Baoxiu was worshipped there as well. Under Tianqi he was posthumously made Vice Minister of the Imperial Stud, granted state sacrifices, and one son was enrolled in office.

華鈺，字德夫，丹徒人。萬曆二十三年進士。授荊州推官。稅監陳奉仆直馳府署中，鈺笞之。奉佯謝，銜之刺骨。奉所受敕止江稅，乃故移之市，又倍蓰征之。稍與辨，輒毆擊破面。商賈怖匿，負擔者不敢出其途。鈺白御史嚴戢，奉益恨。奉欲榷沙市稅，沙市人群起逐之，奉疑鈺所使。已，欲榷黃州團風鎮稅，復為鎮民所逐，奉又疑經歷車任重教之。遂上疏極論鈺、任重阻撓罪，並及巡按御史曹楷、襄陽知府李商耕、黃州知府趙文煥、荊門知州高則巽等數十人。帝切責楷，貶商耕等三人官，鈺、任重皆被逮。時二十七年八月也。既至，下鎮撫獄訊治，俾引御史楷。鈺堅不承，系獄中。初，吳宗堯、吳寶秀皆不久即釋。帝欲痛折辱以懼之，於是鈺與馮應京、王正誌等先後十餘人悉長系。廷臣論救章數上，皆不報。獄中有鳥，形類鶴而小，怪鳴，則逮者至。一夕，鳥鳴甚哀。鈺起坐俟之，則應京至。居久之，語鈺以主靜窮理之學，日相與研究。三十二年六月，長陵災，肆赦，鈺與任並釋為民。家居四年卒。天啟中，贈尚寶少卿，賜祭，錄一子。

Hua Yu, whose courtesy name was Defu, came from Dantu. He received his jinshi degree in the twenty-third year of Wanli. He was appointed investigating censor of Jingzhou. Tax agent Chen Feng's servant Puzhi galloped straight into the prefectural office; Yu had him flogged. Feng pretended to apologize but nursed a bitter grudge. Feng's commission covered only Yangtze taxes, yet he deliberately shifted collection to the markets and doubled and redoubled the levies. Anyone who argued was beaten until his face was broken. Merchants hid in terror, and porters dared not travel the roads. Yu reported Feng to censor Yan Ji for restraint; Feng hated him all the more. When Feng tried to tax Shashi, the townspeople rose and drove him out; Feng suspected Yu had instigated them. Later, when he tried to tax Tuanfeng Market in Huangzhou, the townspeople drove him out again; Feng suspected registrar Che Renzhong had coached them. He then filed a memorial charging Yu and Renzhong with obstruction and implicating dozens of officials including touring censor Cao Kai, Xiangyang prefect Li Shanggeng, Huangzhou prefect Zhao Wenhuan, and Jingmen prefect Gao Zexun. The emperor sharply rebuked Cao Kai, demoted Li Shanggeng and two others, and had Yu and Renzhong arrested. This was the eighth month of year twenty-seven. After they reached the capital they were thrown into the Embroidered-Uniform Guard prison and pressed to implicate Censor Cao Kai. Yu steadfastly refused to confess and remained imprisoned. Wu Zongyao and Wu Baoxiu had both been released fairly soon. The emperor wished to break them through harsh imprisonment as a warning; Yu, Feng Yingjing, Wang Zhengzhi, and more than ten others were therefore held for years. Court officials filed repeated pleas for mercy, but none received a response. In the prison there was a small crane-like bird; when it cried strangely, a new prisoner would arrive. One evening the bird cried mournfully. Yu sat up to wait, and Feng Yingjing was brought in. After a long stay, he taught Yu the Neo-Confucian pursuit of quietude and the investigation of principle, and they studied together every day. In the sixth month of year thirty-two, after disaster struck the Changling tomb, a general amnesty was proclaimed, and Yu and Renzhong were released. He lived at home four years and then died. Under Tianqi he was posthumously made Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Seals, granted state sacrifices, and one son was enrolled in office.

王正誌，祥符人。萬曆二十六年進士。除富平知縣。二十八年，稅使梁永、趙欽肆虐，正誌捕其黨李英，杖殺之，因極論二人不法罪。欽亦以李英事訐奏，帝怒，命逮之。給事中陳惟春言正誌劾欽罪多，宜提訊；欽所劾正誌事宜下撫按核實，免其逮系。御史李時華亦言近日所逮吳應鴻、勞養魁、蔡如川、甘學書及正誌等，俱宜敕下撫按勘虛實，不得以一人單詞枉害良善。皆不報。未幾，梁永亦訐正誌。帝命諸抗違欺隱者悉指名劾奏，重治之。宦官盆張，長吏皆喪氣。正誌系詔獄四年，三十一年夏，瘐死。天啟時，贈祭，蔭子，皆視鈺。

Wang Zhengzhi came from Xiangfu. He received his jinshi degree in the twenty-sixth year of Wanli. He was appointed magistrate of Fuping. In year twenty-eight tax agents Liang Yong and Zhao Qin ran rampant; Zhengzhi arrested their henchman Li Ying and beat him to death, then laid out the two men's crimes at length. Zhao Qin also memorialized against Zhengzhi over the Li Ying affair; the emperor was furious and ordered his arrest. Supervising secretary Chen Weichun said Zhengzhi had listed many crimes in impeaching Qin and should be summoned for interrogation; Qin's charges against Zhengzhi should be sent to the provincial authorities for verification, and Zhengzhi should not be arrested. Censor Li Shihua also said that those recently arrested—Wu Yinghong, Lao Yangkui, Cai Ruchuan, Gan Xueshu, Zhengzhi, and others—should all be investigated by the provincial authorities, and that no honest man should be ruined on a single accuser's word. None of these pleas received a response. Before long Liang Yong also denounced Zhengzhi. The emperor ordered that all who resisted or concealed be impeached by name and punished severely. Eunuchs swarmed everywhere, and senior officials lost all courage. Zhengzhi spent four years in the imperial prison and died of illness there in the summer of year thirty-one. Under Tianqi he received the same posthumous honors and enrollment of a son as Hua Yu.

自礦稅興，中使四出，跆藉有司。謗書一聞，駕帖立下。二十四年，則遼東參將梁心；二十五年，則山東福山知縣韋國賢；二十六年，則山東益都知縣吳宗堯；二十七年，則江西南康知府吳寶秀、星子知縣吳一元、山東臨清守備王煬；二十八年，則廣東新會在籍通判吳應鴻，舉人勞養魁、鐘聲朝、梁鬥輝，雲南尋甸知府蔡如川，趙州知州甘學書及正誌；二十九年，則湖廣按察僉事馮應京、襄陽通判邸宅、推官何棟如、棗陽知縣王之翰、武昌同知卞孔時、江西饒州通判陳奇可；三十年，則鳳陽臨淮知縣林錝；三十四年，則陜西咸陽知縣宋時際；三十五年，則陜西咸寧知縣滿朝薦；三十六年，則遼東海防同知王邦才、參將李獲陽；皆幽系詔獄，久者至十餘年。煬、應鴻、獲陽斃獄中，其他削籍、貶官有差。至士民幽系死亡者，尤不可勝紀也。

Once mining levies began, palace envoys went out in all directions and trampled the civil officials underfoot. At the first whisper of slander, an arrest warrant was issued. In year twenty-four it was Liaodong battalion commander Liang Xin; in year twenty-five, Shandong Fushan magistrate Wei Guoxian; in year twenty-six, Shandong Yidu magistrate Wu Zongyao; in year twenty-seven, Jiangxi Nankang prefect Wu Baoxiu, Xingzi magistrate Wu Yiyuan, and Shandong Linqing garrison commander Wang Yang; in year twenty-eight, Guangdong Xinhui vice prefect Wu Yinghong, provincial graduates Lao Yangkui, Zhong Shengchao, and Liang Douhui, Yunnan Xundian prefect Cai Ruchuan, Zhaozhou prefect Gan Xueshu, and Zhengzhi; in year twenty-nine, Huguang surveillance vice commissioner Feng Yingjing, Xiangyang assistant prefect Di Zhai, investigating censor He Dongru, Zaoyang magistrate Wang Zhihan, Wuchang assistant prefect Bian Kongshi, and Jiangxi Raozhou vice prefect Chen Qike; in year thirty, Fengyang Linhuai magistrate Lin Zheng; in year thirty-four, Shaanxi Xianyang magistrate Song Shiji; in year thirty-five, Shaanxi Xianning magistrate Man Chaojian; in year thirty-six, Liaodong coastal-defense assistant prefect Wang Bangcai and battalion commander Li Huoyang; all were thrown into the imperial prison, some for more than ten years. Wang Yang, Wu Yinghong, and Li Huoyang died in prison; the others were struck from the rolls or demoted to varying degrees. The gentry and common folk who were secretly imprisoned and died are beyond counting.

贊曰：神宗二十四年，軍府千戶仲春請開礦助大工，遂命戶部錦衣官各一人同仲春開采。給事中程紹言嘉靖中采礦，費帑金三萬餘，得礦銀二萬八千五百，得不償失，因罷其役。給事中楊應文繼言之。皆不納。由是卑秩冗僚，下至市井黠桀，奮起言利。而珰使四出，毒流海內，民不聊生，至三十三年乃罷。嗣是軍興征發，加派再三。府庫未充，膏脂已竭，明室之亡，於是決矣。

The commentator writes: In the twenty-fourth year of Shenzong, military-factory battalion commander Zhong Chun proposed opening mines to fund great public works; the court then ordered one official each from the Ministry of Revenue and the Embroidered-Uniform Guard to mine with him. Supervising secretary Cheng Shao noted that under Jiajing, mining had cost more than thirty thousand taels of treasury funds while yielding only twenty-eight thousand five hundred taels of silver ore—a net loss—and the work was therefore halted. Supervising secretary Yang Yingwen repeated the argument. Neither memorial was heeded. From then on, low-ranking officials and market schemers alike rushed forward with profit schemes. Eunuch agents spread everywhere, poison flowed across the realm, and the people could barely survive—only in year thirty-three was the policy halted. After that came military campaigns, repeated levies, and surcharge upon surcharge. The treasuries were never filled, yet the people's substance was utterly drained—the fall of the Ming was thereby sealed.

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