Volume 239 Biographies 127: Zhang Chen, Dong Yiyuan, Du Tong, Xiao Ruxun, Da Yun, Guan Bingzhong, Chai Guozhu, Li Huaixin

張臣〈（子：承廕孫：應昌全昌德昌）〉董一元〈（王保）〉杜桐〈（弟：松子：文煥孫：弘域）〉蕭如薰達雲〈（尤繼先）〉官秉忠柴國柱李懷信

Zhang Chen (Son: Chengyin. Grandsons: Yingchang, Quanchang, and Dechang.)]〉 Dong Yiyuan (Wang Bao)]〉 Du Tong (Younger brother: Song. Son: Wenhuan. Grandson: Hongyu.)]〉 Xiao Ruxun. Da Yun (You Jixian)]〉 Guan Bingzhong. Chai Guozhu. Li Huaixin

張臣，榆林衞人。起行伍，為隊長。蹻捷精悍，搏戰好陷堅。從千總劉朋守黃甫川。朋遇寇喪馬被圍，臣單騎馳救，射中其魁，奪馬載朋歸，由此知名。旋代朋職，屢戰跨馬梁、李家溝、高家堡、田家梁、西紅山，並有功，遷宣府膳房堡守備。寇嘗大入，環攻堡，欲生得臣。臣召麾下酌水為酒，歡呼歌飲，寇莫測所為，不敢登。臣夜決圍出，取他道以歸。上官壯之，擢延綏入衞遊擊將軍。

Zhang Chen was a native of Yulin Guard. He worked his way up from the ranks to become a squad leader. Nimble, tough, and fearless, he excelled in hand-to-hand fighting and delighted in storming the enemy's strongest points. He served under the chiliarch Liu Peng in the defense of Huangfu River. When Peng met raiders, lost his mount, and was surrounded, Chen charged in alone, shot down the enemy chieftain, seized a horse, and carried Peng to safety—an exploit that first brought him fame. He soon succeeded to Peng's command and fought repeatedly at Kuama Ridge, Lijia Gully, Gaojia Fort, Tianjia Ridge, and Xihong Mountain, winning credit in every engagement before being appointed garrison commander at Shanfang Fort in Xuanfu. On one major raid the enemy surrounded the fort and tried to capture Chen alive. Chen called his men together, toasted them with water passed off as wine, and led them in boisterous song and drink; baffled by his behavior, the raiders did not dare scale the walls. That night he broke out of the siege and made his way back by another road. His superiors were impressed and promoted him to mobile corps commander of the Yan-sui Inner Guard.

隆慶元年九月，土蠻大入昌黎、撫寧、樂亭、盧龍，遊騎至灤河。諸將莫敢戰，臣獨勒兵赴之。遼帥王治道曰：「敵衆我寡，往必無利。」臣不顧，率所部千人擐甲直馳，呼聲震山谷，寇以數騎嘗，奮前斬之。追至棒槌崖，斬首百十餘級，墜崖死傷者無算。事寧，薊鎮諸將悉獲罪，臣以功增秩二級。無何，寇潛入場子嶺，參將吳昂被殺，命臣代之。尋進副總兵，領總督標下事，改守薊鎮西協。

In the ninth month of the first year of Longqing (1567), Tumen launched a major raid into Changli, Funing, Leting, and Lulong, and his scouting parties reached the Luan River. None of the other commanders dared engage the enemy; Chen alone gathered his force and marched to meet them. The Liaodong commander Wang Zhidao warned him, "They outnumber us; if you go, you will gain nothing. Chen ignored the warning, led his thousand armored men straight at the enemy, and his battle cry echoed through the valleys. When the raiders sent out a few horsemen to probe him, he charged forward and cut them down. He pursued them to Bangchui Cliff, took more than a hundred and ten heads, and countless others fell from the cliffs to their deaths. When the crisis ended, the Jizhen commanders were all punished, but Chen was promoted two ranks for his service. Soon afterward raiders infiltrated Changzi Ridge; the assistant commander Wu Ang was killed, and Chen was appointed in his place. He was soon promoted to deputy commander-in-chief, placed in charge of the governor-general's personal staff, and reassigned to the western sector of Jizhen.

萬曆初，錄秋防功，進署都督僉事。炒蠻潛入古北口，參將范宗儒追至十八盤山，戰歿，餘衆被圍。臣急偕遊擊高廷禮等馳救，寇始去，坐鐫一秩。五年春，以總兵官鎮守寧夏。順義王俺答報怨瓦剌，欲取道賀蘭，臣不可，俺答恚，語不遜。臣夜決漢、唐二渠水，道不通，復陳兵赤水口，俺答乃從山後去。三歲互市，毋敢譁者。閱邊給事中以苛禮責望，劾罷之。

Early in the Wanli reign his autumn-defense service was recognized and he was appointed acting regional commander. Chaoman infiltrated Gubeikou; the assistant commander Fan Zongru pursued them to Eighteen-Plateau Mountain, was killed in action, and the survivors were surrounded. Chen rushed to the rescue with the mobile corps commander Gao Tingli and others, and the raiders finally withdrew; nevertheless he was demoted one rank for the losses incurred. In the spring of the fifth year (1577) he was appointed commander-in-chief and posted to Ningxia. The Shunyi Prince Altan, seeking revenge against the Oirats, asked to march through Helan; Chen refused, and Altan grew furious and spoke insolently. Chen diverted the Han and Tang canal waters by night, blocking the route, then deployed troops at Chishui Pass; Altan was forced to withdraw by the mountain rear. For three years the border markets remained peaceful and no one dared cause trouble. A touring frontier censor impeached him for insisting on excessive ceremony and had him removed from office.

十一年，小阿卜戶犯黑峪關，守將陳文治以下俱逮繫。詔起臣副總兵，駐守馬蘭峪。會朶顏長昂屢擾邊，薊鎮總兵官楊四畏不能禦，乃調四畏保定，而徙臣代之。長昂雅憚臣，使其從母土阿、妻東桂款關乞降，乃撫賞如初。猛可真者，俺答弟老把都棄妾也，坐與小阿卜戶犯黑峪關，罷歲賞。既納款，復猖獗，以謾詞報邊臣，而令大嬖只代為謝罪。大嬖只者，順義王乞慶哈棄妾也。臣等測其詐，令將士出塞捕二十三人，繫之獄，令還我被掠人。猛可真以所愛者五人在俘中，許獻還所掠，親叩關索故賞。臣等并召大嬖只入演武場，譙責甚厲。兩婦叩頭請死，乃貸之。先後獻還八十餘人，中有被拘數十年者。臣以功紀錄優敘。尋進署都督同知，召僉書左府事。出為陝西總兵官，鎮守固原。

In the eleventh year (1583) Xiao Aihu raided Heiyu Pass, and the defending commander Chen Wenzhi and his subordinates were all arrested. An edict recalled Chen to serve as deputy commander-in-chief and garrison Malan Valley. Duoyan Chang Ang had been raiding the frontier repeatedly, and the Jizhen commander Yang Siwei could not stop him; Yang was transferred to Baoding and Chen was moved in to replace him. Chang Ang had always feared Chen; he sent his stepmother Tu'a and his wife Donggui to the pass to sue for peace, and they were pacified and rewarded as before. Mengke Zhen was a discarded concubine of Altan's younger brother Laobadou; for aiding Xiao Aihu in the Heiyu Pass raid, her annual stipend was cut off. After submitting she grew defiant again, answered the frontier officials with evasive words, and sent Dabiji to apologize on her behalf. Dabiji was a discarded concubine of the Shunyi Prince Qiqingha. Chen and his colleagues saw through the ruse, sent troops beyond the pass to seize twenty-three people, imprisoned them, and demanded the return of captives taken from Ming territory. Five of Mengke Zhen's favorites were among the prisoners; she promised to return the plunder and came in person to the pass to beg for restoration of her former stipend. Chen and his colleagues also summoned Dabiji to the drill ground and rebuked her harshly. Both women kowtowed and begged for death; they were spared. In all, more than eighty captives were returned, including some who had been held for decades. Chen received special commendation in the merit records for this achievement. He was soon promoted to acting regional vice commander and summoned to assist in the Left Bureau of the military administration. He was appointed commander-in-chief of Shaanxi and posted to Guyuan.

十八年春，移鎮甘肅。火落赤犯洮、河，卜失兔將往助之，其母泣沮，不從，遂攜妻女行，由永昌宋家莊穴牆入。臣逆戰水泉三道溝，手格殺數人，奪其坐纛。卜失兔及其黨炒胡兒並中流矢走，臣亦被創。將士斬級以百數，生獲其愛女及牛馬羊萬八百有奇。卜失兔仰天大慟曰：「傷哉我女，悔不用母言，以至此也。」自是不敢歸巢，與宰僧匿西海。已，屬宰僧謝罪，其母及順義王亦代為言，乃還其女，而使歸套。臣以功進秩為真。

In the spring of the eighteenth year (1590) he was transferred to command Gansu. Huoluo Chi raided the Tao and He region; Bushitu prepared to join him, but his mother wept and pleaded with him in vain. He set out with his wife and daughters and entered through a breach in the wall at Song Family Hamlet in Yongchang. Chen met them at Shuiquan Sandao Gully, killed several men in hand-to-hand combat, and seized their command banner. Bushitu and his follower Chaohu'er were both wounded by arrows and fled; Chen was wounded as well. His troops took hundreds of heads and captured his beloved daughter alive, along with more than eighteen thousand head of cattle, horses, and sheep. Bushitu looked up to heaven and wailed, "My poor daughter! I regret not heeding my mother's warning that brought me to this pass. After that he did not dare return home and hid with Zaiseng in the Western Sea region. Later he sent Zaiseng to apologize; his mother and the Shunyi Prince interceded as well, and his daughter was returned and he was permitted to withdraw to the Ordos. For this victory Chen was promoted from acting to regular rank.

時諸部長桀驁甚，經略鄭洛專主款。臣以為不足恃，上書陳八難、五要。大略云：邊薄兵寡，餉絀寇驕，諸部順逆難明，宜復額兵，嚴勾卒，足糧餉，分敵勢，明賞罰。且以創重乞歸，帝不許。後二年，謝病去。臣更歷四鎮，名著塞垣，為一時良將。

The tribal leaders had grown increasingly defiant, while the frontier commissioner Zheng Luo insisted on appeasement alone. Chen argued that appeasement could not be trusted and submitted a memorial outlining eight dangers and five essentials. In brief he urged that the frontier was understaffed, supplies inadequate, and the tribes unpredictable; he called for restoring full troop quotas, strict mustering, adequate pay and provisions, dividing enemy forces, and enforcing clear rewards and punishments. He also asked to retire on account of his wounds, but the emperor refused. Two years later he resigned on grounds of illness. Having commanded four frontier garrisons in turn, he was renowned along the border and ranked among the finest generals of his day.

子:承廕

Son: Chengyin

子承廕，由父廕積功至延綏副總兵。勇而有謀，尤精騎射，數鏖戰未嘗挫衂。萬曆三十七年代王威為延綏總兵官。沙計及猛克什力數犯邊。是年冬，復犯波羅、神木。承廕邀卻之，追斬八十餘人。沙計欲修貢，守臣惡其反覆，拒之，益徙近邊，以數千騎犯雙山堡。承廕擊走之，俘斬百二十有奇。四十年，沙計復入塞。承廕遮擊之嚮水，斬首百七十餘級。積前功，進署都督同知，世廕本衞副千戶。是歲，遼東總兵官麻貴罷，敕承廕馳代之。蟒金諸部近寧前，守將祖天壽間出獵，被圍曹莊，將士死者二百三十人，被掠者六百餘人，天壽以數騎免。事聞，論死。承廕初抵任，獲免。敖克等犯中後所，拒斬其二長，餘走出塞。時虎墩兔、炒花、煖兔、宰賽逼處遼境，無歲不犯邊。承廕未至時，虎墩兔以三萬騎犯穆家堡，參將郎名忠等遏斬其四十餘騎。及再舉，守將梁汝貴襲破其營。已而乃蠻諸部連犯中後所、連山驛，副總兵李繼功等力戰，殪其魁，徐引去。自是虎墩兔所屬貴英哈等三十餘部悉奉約束，遼西得少安。承廕旋以病去。甫歲餘，起守薊鎮。未至，復改鎮遼東。

His son Chengyin, inheriting his father's privilege and accumulating merit in his own right, rose to deputy commander-in-chief of Yan-sui. Brave and shrewd, an expert horse-archer, he fought many hard battles without ever suffering defeat. In the thirty-seventh year of Wanli (1609) he succeeded Wang Wei as commander-in-chief of Yan-sui. Shaji and Mengkeshili raided the frontier repeatedly. That winter they raided Boluo and Shenmu again. Chengyin intercepted and drove them off, pursuing and killing more than eighty. Shaji sought to resume tribute relations, but frontier officials distrusted his volatility and refused; he moved his camps closer to the border and attacked Shuangshan Fort with several thousand horsemen. Chengyin routed them, taking more than a hundred and twenty heads and prisoners. In the fortieth year (1612) Shaji raided across the border again. Chengyin intercepted them at Xiangshui and took more than a hundred and seventy heads. For his accumulated service he was promoted to acting regional vice commander, with a hereditary appointment as vice chiliarch of his native guard. That year the Liaodong commander Ma Gui was dismissed, and Chengyin was ordered by edict to hurry north and replace him. The Mangjin tribes were encamped near Ningqian; the garrison commander Zu Tianshou went out hunting and was surrounded at Caozhuang. Two hundred and thirty soldiers were killed and more than six hundred carried off; Tianshou escaped with only a few horsemen. When the report reached court, he was sentenced to death. Chengyin had just arrived to take command and secured his reprieve. Aoke and others raided Zhonghousuo; Chengyin repelled them, killed two of their chiefs, and drove the rest beyond the border. Huduntun, Chaohua, Nuantu, and Zaisai were pressing the Liaodong frontier, and scarcely a year passed without a raid. Before Chengyin arrived, Huduntun attacked Mujia Fort with thirty thousand horsemen; the assistant commander Lang Mingzhong and others intercepted them and killed more than forty. When they attacked again, the garrison commander Liang Rugui raided and destroyed their camp. Soon the Naiman tribes raided Zhonghousuo and Lianshan Post in succession; the deputy commander Li Jigong and others fought hard, killed their leader, and the enemy slowly withdrew. Thereafter more than thirty tribes under Huduntun, including Guiyingha, submitted to Ming authority, and western Liaodong enjoyed a measure of peace. Chengyin soon resigned on grounds of illness. Barely a year later he was recalled to command Jizhen. Before he could take up the Jizhen post he was reassigned to Liaodong.

四十六年四月，我太祖高皇帝起兵，拔撫順，巡撫李維翰趣承廕赴援。承廕急率副將頗廷相、參將蒲世芳、遊擊梁汝貴等諸營並發，次撫順。承廕據山險，分軍三，立營浚濠，布列火器。甫交鋒，大清兵蹴之，大潰。承廕、世芳皆戰死。廷相、汝貴已潰圍出，見失主將，亦陷陣死。將士死者萬人，生還者十無一二，舉朝震駭。既而撫安、三岔兒、白家衝三堡連失，詔逮維翰，贈承廕少保、左都督，立祠曰精忠，世廕指揮僉事。廷相以下，贈廕有差。

In the fourth month of the forty-sixth year (1618), the founding emperor of the Later Jin raised his army, captured Fushun, and the grand coordinator Li Weihan urged Chengyin to march to the relief. Chengyin hastily led the deputy commander Po Tingxiang, the assistant commander Pu Shifang, the mobile corps commander Liang Rugui, and their combined forces to Fushun. Chengyin took up a strong position in the hills, divided his force into three camps, dug trenches, and deployed firearms. Hardly had battle been joined when the Qing forces overran them and the Ming army collapsed. Chengyin and Pu Shifang were both killed in action. Tingxiang and Rugui had already broken out, but on learning that their commander was dead they turned back into the fight and were killed. Ten thousand officers and soldiers were killed; fewer than one in ten survived. The entire court was stunned. Soon afterward the forts of Fu'an, Sancha'er, and Baijiachong fell in succession. Li Weihan was arrested by imperial order. Chengyin was posthumously enfeoffed as Junior Guardian and Left Regional Commander, a shrine called Jingzhong was erected in his honor, and his family received a hereditary appointment as regional commander. Tingxiang and the other fallen officers received posthumous honors of varying rank.

孫：應昌全昌德昌

Grandsons: Yingchang, Quanchang, and Dechang

承廕子應昌、全昌、德昌。應昌嗣祖臣職，當為指揮僉事。以父陣亡，增三秩為都司僉書，經略楊鎬用為左翼遊擊。四路出師，使從李如柏。天啟元年，遷大同井坪參將，調延綏。二年秋，河套入犯，不能禦，免歸。督師孫承宗召置麾下，命駐錦州。承宗去，高第盡撤松、錦守具，應昌亦歸。

Chengyin's sons were Yingchang, Quanchang, and Dechang. Yingchang inherited his grandfather Zhang Chen's hereditary post and was entitled to appointment as regional commander. Because his father had died in battle, he was promoted three ranks to assistant secretary in the regional command and appointed by the frontier commissioner Yang Hao as left-wing mobile corps commander. When the four-route expedition was launched, he was assigned to Li Rubai's column. In the first year of Tianqi he was posted as assistant commander at Jingping in Datong, then transferred to Yan-sui. In the autumn of the second year the Ordos tribes raided and he failed to stop them; he was dismissed and sent home. The supreme commander Sun Chengzong took him onto his staff and ordered him to garrison Jinzhou. When Chengzong departed, Gao Di stripped the defenses of Songshan and Jinzhou; Yingchang withdrew as well.

崇禎二年，總督楊鶴檄應昌署定邊鎮將事。河套入寇，擊斬百二十餘級，擢昌平副總兵，鶴遂薦應昌以副將鎮定邊。四年春，神一元陷保安，應昌偕左光先破斬一元。其弟一魁代領其衆，圍慶陽。應昌及杜文煥趨戰，圍始解。不沾泥圍米脂，應昌偕王承恩擊走之。楊鶴撫一魁，處之寧塞，而殺其黨茹成名。賊黨張孟金、黃友才懼，挾一魁以叛。延綏巡撫張福臻令應昌及馬科擊之，斬首千七百餘級。友才走，一魁守不下。其冬，洪承疇代鶴，命參政戴君恩、總兵曹文詔同應昌討之。數敗賊，賊棄城走。文詔偕應昌擊敗之駙馬溝。明年春，應昌禽友才。混天猴陷宜君、鄜州，襲靖邊，應昌追敗之，射傷賊將白廣恩。八月，山西總兵官馬士麟病免，擢應昌都督僉事代之。言者謂寧武卒善逃，宜令應昌率所部三千人以從，報可。王之臣陷臨縣。其地倚黃雲山，榆林河水出焉，入於黃河。城三面峭壁，西阻水。巡撫許鼎臣、總督張宗衡督兵攻。賊與土寇田福、田科等相倚，久不拔。會王自用陷遼州，逼會城。鼎臣還，專以恢復責應昌。六年春，賊約福劫官軍，撫標中軍陳國威因偽稱之臣往逆，斬福頭懸城下，急擊，賊始降。

In the second year of Chongzhen the governor-general Yang He appointed Yingchang acting commander of Dingbian. When the Ordos raided, he killed more than a hundred and twenty of the enemy and was promoted to deputy commander-in-chief at Changping; Yang He then recommended him as deputy general commanding Dingbian. In the spring of the fourth year Shen Yiyuan captured Bao'an; Yingchang and Zuo Guangxian defeated and killed him. His younger brother Yikui took over the rebel force and besieged Qingyang. Yingchang and Du Wenhuan marched to relieve the city and broke the siege. Buzhanni besieged Mizhi; Yingchang and Wang Chengen attacked and drove him off. Yang He pacified Yikui, resettled him at Ningsai, and executed his follower Ru Chengming. The rebel followers Zhang Mengjin and Huang Youcai, fearing for themselves, seized Yikui and rebelled again. The Yan-sui grand coordinator Zhang Fuzhen ordered Yingchang and Ma Ke to attack them; they took more than seventeen hundred heads. Youcai fled, but Yikui held his position and could not be dislodged. That winter Hong Chengchou replaced Yang He and ordered the administration commissioner Dai Jun'en and the commander Cao Wenchao to join Yingchang in the campaign. After several defeats the rebels abandoned the city and fled. Wenchao and Yingchang defeated them again at Zhumagou. The following spring Yingchang captured Huang Youcai. Huntianhou captured Yijun and Fuzhou and raided Jingbian; Yingchang pursued, defeated him, and wounded the rebel general Bai Guang'en with an arrow. In the eighth month the Shanxi commander Ma Shilin resigned on grounds of illness, and Yingchang was promoted to regional commander to replace him. Critics noted that the Ningwu troops were prone to desertion and urged that Yingchang lead his three thousand men personally; the court approved. Wang Zhichen captured Linxian. The town stood against Yellow Cloud Mountain; the Yulin River rises there and flows into the Yellow River. The city was protected by sheer cliffs on three sides and by the river on the west. The grand coordinator Xu Dingchen and the governor-general Zhang Zongheng directed the siege. The rebels were supported by local bandits Tian Fu, Tian Ke, and others, and the city held out for a long time. Meanwhile Wang Ziyong captured Liaozhou and threatened Taiyuan. Dingchen withdrew, leaving Yingchang solely responsible for retaking Linxian. In the spring of the sixth year the rebels plotted with Tian Fu to ambush government troops. Chen Guowei of the pacification command pretended to be Wang Zhichen going out to parley, beheaded Fu, and displayed his head beneath the walls; a fierce assault followed and the rebels finally surrendered.

應昌在關中，威名甚著。及是選懦逗撓，務與賊相避。總督宗衡五檄之不赴，奏諸朝，限應昌與文詔三月平賊。應昌避賊不擊，殺良民冒功，為巡按御史李嵩、兵科祝世美所劾。帝乃遣近侍為應昌內中軍。七月，部卒潰鳴謙驛。監視中官劉允中劾其避賊，帝猶貸之，令會勦畿南賊。久之，擊賊平山，偽報首功，連為允中及巡按御史馮明玠、真定巡撫周堪賡所劾，帝令圖功自贖。七年春，追賊靈寶，稍有功。已，擊賊均州五嶺山，敗績。身中一矢，退還河南。其弟全昌為宣府總兵官。宣府有警，令應昌援，又無功，令解職候勘。

In Guanzhong Yingchang had enjoyed a formidable reputation. Now, however, he grew timid and evasive, taking care above all to avoid engaging the rebels. Governor-General Zongheng summoned him five times without response and memorialized the throne, giving Yingchang and Wenchao three months to crush the rebels. Yingchang shunned battle, killed civilians to claim credit, and was impeached by the touring censor Li Song and the military affairs secretary Zhu Shimei. The emperor then sent a palace attendant to serve as Yingchang's internal staff commander to supervise him. In the seventh month his troops mutinied at Mingqian Post. The supervising eunuch Liu Yunzhong impeached him for shunning battle, but the emperor spared him and ordered him to join the campaign against rebels south of the capital. Later he fought rebels at Pingshan and falsely claimed the highest credit; Liu Yunzhong, the touring censor Feng Mingjie, and the Zhending grand coordinator Zhou Kangeng impeached him in turn, and the emperor ordered him to redeem himself through further service. In the spring of the seventh year he pursued rebels to Lingbao and won some minor victories. Later he attacked rebels at Wuling Mountain in Junzhou and was defeated. Wounded by an arrow, he withdrew to Henan. His younger brother Quanchang was commander-in-chief of Xuanfu. When Xuanfu came under attack, Yingchang was ordered to reinforce but achieved nothing; he was relieved of command pending investigation.

八年，洪承疇出師河南，令率私家士馬以從。三月抵信陽。會賊大入秦，承疇命應昌及鄧玘、尤翟文防漢江南北。玘死，承疇以賊必由鳳縣棧道直入略陽，改令應昌、翟文自鄖陽轉赴興安、漢中，以會左光先、趙光遠諸軍。至六月，艾萬年、曹文詔相繼戰歿，賊盡趨西安，承疇急檄應昌及光先還救。八月，李自成陷咸陽。越二日，應昌、光先兵至，擊斬四百四十餘級，獲軍師一人。及全昌兵敗陷賊，其潰卒歸關中，掠沿河州縣。山西巡撫吳甡請令應昌收置麾下，應昌已得疾，不能軍。無何卒。

In the eighth year Hong Chengchou marched into Henan and ordered Yingchang to bring his private troops and horses. In the third month he reached Xinyang. Rebels meanwhile poured into Shaanxi; Chengchou ordered Yingchang, Deng Qi, and You Zhaiwen to guard both banks of the Han River. After Qi was killed, Chengchou judged that the rebels would take the Feng County plank road into Lueyang and redirected Yingchang and Zhaiwen from Yunyang toward Xing'an and Hanzhong to join Zuo Guangxian, Zhao Guangyuan, and the other columns. By the sixth month Ai Wannian and Cao Wenchao had been killed in action and the rebels were converging on Xi'an; Chengchou urgently recalled Yingchang and Guangxian. In the eighth month Li Zicheng captured Xianyang. Two days later Yingchang and Guangxian arrived, killed more than four hundred and forty rebels, and captured a military adviser. When Quanchang was defeated and captured, his routed troops returned to Guanzhong and plundered counties along the river. The Shanxi grand coordinator Wu Shen asked that Yingchang take them into his command, but Yingchang had fallen ill and could no longer take the field. He died soon afterward.

全昌由廕敘，歷官靈州參將。崇禎四年與同官趙大胤擊點燈子於中部，已，連戰郃陽、韓城，首功多。巡撫練國事請加二將副將銜。大胤駐耀州、富平間，扼賊西路；全昌駐韓城、郃陽間，扼賊東路。五年七月，代應昌為定邊副總兵。曹文詔追賊隴州、平、鳳界，全昌及馬科率千人應之，殄滅殆盡。

Quanchang entered service through hereditary privilege and rose to assistant commander at Lingzhou. In the fourth year of Chongzhen he and his colleague Zhao Dayin fought Diandengzi at Zhongbu, then won repeated engagements at Heyang and Hancheng, taking the lion's share of the credit. The grand coordinator Lian Guoshi requested deputy-commander titles for both generals. Dayin garrisoned between Yaozhou and Fuping to block the rebels' western route; Quanchang garrisoned between Hancheng and Heyang to block their eastern route. In the seventh month of the fifth year he succeeded Yingchang as deputy commander-in-chief of Dingbian. Cao Wenchao pursued rebels through Longzhou and the Pingliang-Fengxiang region; Quanchang and Ma Ke brought a thousand men to his aid and nearly wiped them out.

明年五月擢署都督僉事，充總兵官，鎮守宣府。應昌方鎮山西，兄弟接壤為大帥。明年七月，大清兵西征插漢，旋師入其境。攻圍龍門、新城、赤城、克保安州，薄鎮城，全昌嬰城固守。已而大清兵西行，全昌進兵應州。帝以其孤軍，敕吳襄、尤世威赴援，不應。全昌至渾源，以捷聞，還軍葛峪、羊房口。襄等復不援。八月，大清兵再入其境。閏八月四日克萬全右衞，他城堡多失守。既解嚴，兄應昌以罪解職，命全昌并將其軍。兵科常自裕言文臣張宗衡等重論，而武臣輕貸，非法。於是全昌與文詔並戍邊。用山西巡撫吳甡請，命全昌、文詔為援勦總兵官，與猛如虎等大破高加計。

The following May he was promoted to acting regional commander and appointed commander-in-chief of Xuanfu. Yingchang was then commanding Shanxi; the two brothers held adjoining commands as the region's foremost generals. The following July the Qing army marched west against Chakhar and, on the return march, entered Xuanfu territory. They besieged Longmen, Xincheng, and Chicheng, captured Bao'an Prefecture, and pressed the garrison city; Quanchang held firm behind the walls. When the Qing forces marched west, Quanchang advanced to Yingzhou. Seeing that his force was isolated, the emperor ordered Wu Xiang and You Shiwei to reinforce him; they did not come. Quanchang reached Hunyuan, reported a victory, and withdrew to Geyu and Yangfangkou. Wu Xiang and the others again failed to reinforce him. In the eighth month the Qing army invaded again. On the fourth day of the intercalary eighth month they captured Wanquan Right Guard, and many other forts fell. After the emergency ended, his brother Yingchang was dismissed for misconduct, and Quanchang was ordered to take over his troops as well. The military affairs secretary Chang Ziyu protested that civil officials such as Zhang Zongheng were punished severely while military commanders were let off lightly, contrary to proper practice. Quanchang and Wenchao were both banished to frontier garrison duty. At the request of the Shanxi grand coordinator Wu Shen, Quanchang and Wenchao were appointed relief commanders and, with Meng Ruhu and others, inflicted a major defeat on Gao Jiaji.

八年春，會洪承疇於汝寧，擊敗汝州賊。俄西入關，與祖大弼敗賊涇陽。未幾，敗賊醴泉。五月與賀人龍敗老回回於秦王嶺。尋解鳳翔圍，走賊秦州，敗之張家川。已而都司田應龍、張應龍戰死，艾萬年、曹文詔相繼歿，官軍益衰，賊盡趨西安。承疇急檄全昌及曹變蛟先赴渭、華格其前，親督軍尾其後，却賊紅鄉溝，賊乃南入商、雒。承疇又命全昌及趙光遠提兵三千截潼關大峪口，部卒大譁，闌入滎澤，劫庫殺人。河南巡撫玄默請急援盧氏，不聽。光遠擅歸關中，全昌迤邐至潁州。九月中，追蝎子塊於沈邱瓦店，戰敗被執，賊挾之攻蘄、黃。全昌因代賊求撫，總理盧象昇不許，責全昌喪師辱國，曰「賊果欲降，可滅其黨示信」。賊不聽命。久之，全昌脫歸，謁象昇陽和。象昇令募兵山、陝。尋薦之朝，令赴軍前立功，帝不許。十年四月，以楊嗣昌言逮付法司，謫戍邊衞。

In the spring of the eighth year he joined Hong Chengchou at Runing and defeated the Ruzhou rebels. Soon he entered the passes and, with Zu Dabian, defeated rebels at Jingyang. Shortly afterward he defeated rebels at Liquan. In the fifth month he and He Renlong defeated Lao Huihui at Qinwang Ridge. He soon lifted the siege of Fengxiang, drove the rebels toward Qinzhou, and defeated them at Zhangjiachuan. Soon the regional commanders Tian Yinglong and Zhang Yinglong were killed, Ai Wannian and Cao Wenchao died in succession, government forces weakened further, and the rebels converged on Xi'an. Chengchou urgently ordered Quanchang and Cao Bianjiao to block the rebels at Wei and Hua, led the main force in pursuit, drove them back at Hongxiang Gully, and forced them south into Shang and Luo. Chengchou then ordered Quanchang and Zhao Guangyuan to block Dayukou on Tong Pass with three thousand men; the troops mutinied, stormed into Xingze, looted the treasury, and killed civilians. The Henan grand coordinator Xuan Mo pleaded for urgent relief at Lushi; Quanchang ignored him. Guangyuan withdrew to Guanzhong without orders; Quanchang drifted slowly toward Yingzhou. In the ninth month he pursued Xiezikuai to Wadian in Shenqiu, was defeated and captured, and the rebels used him to attack Qi and Huang prefectures. Quanchang then negotiated surrender on the rebels' behalf; the supreme commander Lu Xiangsheng refused, rebuked him for losing his army and disgracing the state, and said, "If they truly wish to surrender, let them destroy their own followers first as proof of good faith." The rebels refused. After a long captivity Quanchang escaped and presented himself to Xiangsheng at Yanghe. Xiangsheng ordered him to raise troops in Shanxi and Shaanxi. He soon recommended Quanchang to the court and asked that he be sent to the front to redeem himself; the emperor refused. In the fourth month of the tenth year, on Yang Sichang's recommendation he was arrested, tried, and banished to frontier garrison duty.

德昌，崇禎初為清水營守備。三年夏，勦王嘉胤被傷，坐奪官。久之，起歷保定參將，連破土寇仁義王。十四年春，總督楊文岳命從虎大威以五千人援開封，不敢進。其冬，擢保定副總兵，仍從文岳，數有功。十六年卒。贈特進榮祿大夫，左都督。

Dechang served as garrison commander of Qingshui Camp early in the Chongzhen reign. In the summer of the third year he was wounded while suppressing Wang Jiayin and was dismissed from office. After a long interval he was recalled and posted as assistant commander at Baoding, where he repeatedly defeated the local bandit known as Renyiwang. In the spring of the fourteenth year Governor-General Yang Wenyue ordered him to follow Hu Dawei with five thousand men to relieve Kaifeng, but he did not dare advance. That winter he was promoted to deputy commander-in-chief at Baoding and continued under Wenyue, winning credit in several engagements. He died in the sixteenth year. He was posthumously enfeoffed as Special Advancement Grand Master of Splendid Blessings and Left Regional Commander.

董一元

Dong Yiyuan

董一元，宣府前衞人。父暘，嘉靖中為宣府遊擊將軍。俺答犯滴水崖，力戰死。贈官錫廕，春秋世祀。兄一奎，都督僉事。歷鎮山西、延綏、寧夏三邊，以勇敢著。一元勇如兄，而智略過之。嘉靖時，歷薊鎮遊擊將軍。土蠻、黑石炭等以萬餘騎犯一片石，總兵官胡鎮禦之，一元功最，超俸三級，遷石門寨參將。隆慶初，破敵棒槌崖，功復最。再進二級，遷副總兵，駐防古北口。移守宣府。

Dong Yiyuan was a native of Xuanfu Front Guard. His father Yang served as mobile corps commander of Xuanfu under the Jiajing emperor. When Altan raided Dishui Cliff, he fought to the death. He was posthumously honored with an office and hereditary privilege, and received seasonal sacrifices in perpetuity. His elder brother Yikui rose to regional commander. He commanded in turn the Shanxi, Yan-sui, and Ningxia frontiers and was renowned for his courage. Yiyuan matched his brother in courage but surpassed him in strategy. Under Jiajing he served as mobile corps commander of Jizhen. Tumen, Heishitan, and others attacked Yipianshi with more than ten thousand horsemen; the commander Hu Zhen repelled them, but Yiyuan won the greatest credit, was advanced three salary grades, and was appointed assistant commander at Shimen Stockade. Early in Longqing he defeated the enemy at Bangchui Cliff and again won top credit. He was promoted two more ranks, appointed deputy commander-in-chief, and posted to Gubeikou. He was transferred to command Xuanfu.

萬曆十一年以都督僉事為昌平總兵官，尋徙宣府。十五年徙薊州。久之，劾罷。鄭洛經略洮、河，命一元練兵西寧。火落赤入犯，一元擊之西川，多所斬獲。尋以副總兵協守寧夏，擢延綏總兵官。哱拜之亂，套中諸部長悉助之。一元乘其西掠，輕騎搗土昧巢，獲首功百三十，驅其畜產而還，寇內顧引去。進署都督同知，入為中府僉事。

In the eleventh year of Wanli he was appointed commander-in-chief of Changping as regional commander, then transferred to Xuanfu. In the fifteenth year he was transferred to Jizhou. Eventually he was impeached and dismissed. When Zheng Luo became frontier commissioner of the Tao and He region, he ordered Yiyuan to train troops at Xining. When Huoluo Chi invaded, Yiyuan attacked him in Xichuan and took many heads and captives. He was soon appointed deputy commander to assist at Ningxia, then promoted to commander-in-chief of Yan-sui. During the rebellion of Pobei, all the Ordos tribal chiefs supported him. Yiyuan exploited their western raid to strike Tumai's lair with light cavalry, took a hundred and thirty heads, drove off their herds, and forced the raiders to withdraw to protect their rear. He was promoted to acting regional vice commander and appointed an assistant in the Central Bureau at court.

遼東自李成梁後，代以楊紹勳，一歲三失事。尤繼先繼之，半歲病去。廷議擇帥，乃以命一元。泰寧速把亥為官軍所殺，其次子把兔兒常欲復讐。從父炒花及姑壻花大助之，勢益強。西部卜言台周，故插漢土蠻子也，部衆十餘萬，與把兔兒東西相倚，數侵邊。至是卜言合一克灰正、腦毛大諸部，聲犯廣寧。而把兔兒以炒花、花大、煖兔、伯言兒之衆營舊遼陽，將入掠鎮武、錦、義。一元與巡撫李化龍策曰：「卜言雖衆，然去邊遠，我特患把兔兒及炒花耳。今其衆不過萬騎，破之則西部將不戰走。」乃遣副將孫守廉馳右屯禦西部，而親將大軍匿鎮武外，為空營待之。寇騎馳入營，大笑，以為怯，乃深入。官軍忽從中起，奮呼陷陣，自午至酉。寇大奔，逐北七十餘里，至白沙堝。俘斬五百四十有奇，獲馬駝二千計。伯言兒中矢死，把兔兒亦傷，餘衆終夜馳，天明駐馬環哭。其明日，卜言台周入右屯，攻五日夜。守廉等固守，乃引去。時二十二年十月也。捷聞，帝大喜，祭告郊廟，宣捷行賞，進一元左都督，加太子太保，廕本衞世指揮使。兵部尚書石星以下亦進秩有差。

After Li Chengliang left Liaodong, Yang Shaoxun succeeded him and presided over three major disasters in a single year. You Jixian succeeded him but resigned on grounds of illness after half a year. The court deliberated on a new commander and appointed Yiyuan. Subahai of Taining had been killed by government troops; his second son Batuer had long sought revenge. His uncle Chaohua and his brother-in-law Huada supported him, and their power grew. Buyan Taiju of the western tribes, a descendant of Chakhar Tumen, commanded more than a hundred thousand followers; he and Batuer supported each other from east and west and raided the frontier repeatedly. Buyan now united the tribes of Yikehuizheng, Naomao Da, and others and threatened Guangning. Meanwhile Batuer camped at old Liaoyang with the forces of Chaohua, Huada, Nuantu, and Boyan'er and prepared to raid Zhenwu, Jin, and Yi. Yiyuan and the grand coordinator Li Hualong agreed: "Buyan's force is large but far from the border; our real concern is Batuer and Chaohua. They have no more than ten thousand horsemen; defeat them and the western tribes will flee without a fight. He sent the deputy commander Sun Shoulian to You Tun to hold off the western tribes, while he personally hid the main army outside Zhenwu and set an empty camp as bait. The enemy horsemen galloped into the camp, laughed at what they took for cowardice, and pressed deep inside. Government troops suddenly rose from ambush, shouting as they charged, and fought from noon until dusk. The enemy fled in disorder and were pursued more than seventy li to Baisha'ao. More than five hundred and forty were killed or captured, and about two thousand horses and camels were seized. Boyan'er was killed by an arrow; Batuer was wounded; the survivors rode through the night and at dawn halted their horses and wept in a circle. The next day Buyan Taiju attacked You Tun for five days and nights. Shoulian held firm, and the enemy finally withdrew. This was in the tenth month of the twenty-second year of Wanli. When news of the victory arrived, the emperor was overjoyed, offered sacrifices at the suburban altars and ancestral temple, proclaimed the triumph and distributed rewards, promoted Yiyuan to Left Regional Commander with the additional title Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, and granted a hereditary command in his native guard. The Minister of War Shi Xing and others were also promoted in varying degrees.

伯言兒最慓悍，諸部倚以為強。嘗誘殺慶雲守備王鳳翔，坐革歲賞。至是被殲，諸部為奪氣，其部下遂納款。把兔兒、炒花及卜言台周、瓜兔兒、歹青復臨邊駐牧，期以明年正月略遼、瀋東西。一元慮歲晏不備，為寇所乘，乃先西巡以遏其鋒。化龍亦留弱卒廣寧，數西發以疑寇。一元提健卒，踏冰渡河，監軍楊鎬與之俱。度墨山，天大雪，將士氣益奮。行四百里，三日夜乃抵其巢。斬首百二十級，獲牛馬甲仗無算，全師而還。把兔兒以鎮武創重，歎曰：「我竟不獲報父讐乎？」未幾死，其衆散亂，諸部悉遠遁。一元以功進世廕二秩。久之，以病歸，命王保代。

Boyan'er had been the fiercest of the chieftains; the tribes had relied on him for their strength. He had once lured and killed the Qingyun garrison commander Wang Fengxiang, for which his annual stipend had been revoked. His destruction broke the tribes' morale, and his followers submitted. Batuer, Chaohua, Buyan Taiju, Guatu'er, and Daiqing again camped along the frontier, planning a major raid east and west of Liaoyang and Shenyang in the first month of the coming year. Fearing a year-end raid while defenses were slack, Yiyuan launched a preemptive western campaign. Hualong left weak troops at Guangning and sent out several western detachments to confuse the enemy. Yiyuan led picked troops across the frozen river, accompanied by the supervising commander Yang Hao. They crossed Mo Mountain in heavy snow, and the troops' spirits rose. After a march of four hundred li over three days and nights they reached the enemy camp. They took a hundred and twenty heads and countless cattle, horses, armor, and weapons, and returned without losing a man. Badly wounded at Zhenwu, Batuer sighed, "Shall I never avenge my father? He died soon afterward; his followers scattered, and the tribes fled far away. Yiyuan was granted two additional ranks of hereditary privilege for this campaign. Eventually he retired on grounds of illness, and Wang Bao was appointed to replace him.

朝鮮再用師，詔一元隸總督邢玠麾下，參贊軍事。尋代李如梅為禦倭總兵官。時兵分四路。一元由中路，禦石曼子於泗州，先拔晉州，下望晉，乘勝濟江，連毀永春、昆陽二寨。賊退保泗州老營，攻下之，遊擊盧得功陣歿。前逼新寨。寨三面臨江，一面通陸，引海為濠，海艘泊寨下千計，築金海、固城為左右翼。一元分馬步夾攻。步兵遊擊彭信古用大棓擊寨，碎其數處。衆軍進逼賊濠，毀其柵。忽營中礮裂，煙燄漲天。賊乘勢衝擊，固城援賊亦至。騎兵諸將先奔，一元亦還晉州。事聞，詔斬遊擊馬呈文、郝三聘，落信古等職，充為事官；一元亦奪宮保，貶秩三等。會關白死，倭遁走。石曼子為陳璘所殲，一元得還故秩，賚銀幣。久之卒。一元歷鎮衝邊，並著勞績。與麻貴、張臣、杜桐、達雲為邊將選云。

When troops were again sent to Korea, Yiyuan was ordered to serve under Governor-General Xing Jie as military adviser. He soon succeeded Li Rumei as commander-in-chief against the Japanese. The army was divided into four columns. Yiyuan took the central route against Ishimanji at Sizhou, captured Jinzhou, advanced on Wangjin, crossed the river in pursuit, and destroyed the stockades at Yongchun and Kunyang. The enemy retreated to the old camp at Sizhou; Yiyuan took it by assault, but the mobile corps commander Lu Degong was killed in action. They then advanced on the new stockade. The stockade faced the river on three sides with only one land approach; seawater formed its moat; more than a thousand ships lay below the walls; Janghai and Gucheng served as its flanking forts. Yiyuan attacked with cavalry and infantry from both sides. The infantry commander Peng Xingu battered the stockade with heavy beams and breached several sections. The army pressed to the moat and destroyed the palisades. Suddenly a cannon in the Ming camp exploded, filling the sky with smoke and flame. The enemy charged in the confusion, and reinforcements from Gucheng arrived as well. The cavalry commanders fled first; Yiyuan withdrew to Jinzhou. When the report reached court, the mobile corps commanders Ma Chengwen and Hao Sanpin were executed, Peng Xingu and others were demoted to probationary officers, and Yiyuan was stripped of his Guardian title and demoted three ranks. When the Japanese regent died, the invaders withdrew. Ishimanji was destroyed by Chen Lin; Yiyuan's former rank was restored and he received silver and silks. He died some years later. Yiyuan commanded several key frontier posts and distinguished himself in each. He ranked with Ma Gui, Zhang Chen, Du Tong, and Da Yun among the finest frontier commanders of the age.

王保，榆林衞人。驍勇絕倫，起行伍，積功為延綏參將。萬曆十六年遷延綏、定邊副總兵。十九年冬，擢署都督僉事，充昌平總兵官，尋改山西。薊鎮總兵官張邦奇被劾，命保與易任。自嘉靖庚戌後，薊鎮重於他鎮。穆宗有詔，獲大小部長者破格酬，他鎮不得比。迨俺答款塞，宣、大、山西三鎮烽煙寂然。陝西四鎮以火落赤敗盟，始復用兵，然寇弱易禦。獨泰寧、插漢諸部時時犯遼東。而薊門密邇王畿，與遼帥俱慎選。以保有威望，用之。朶顏長昂當張臣鎮薊時納款。居五六年，復連寇石門路、木馬峪、花埸谷，遂罷其市賞。後偕銀燈寇山海關。已，又馳喜峰口要賞。邦奇佯許增市，誘殺其通事二十五人。長昂益怒，犯大青山。頃之，遣其黨小郎兒等潛伏喜峰口，射殺偵卒。會保已至，遂禽之。長昂每資小郎兒籌策，懼而謝罪，獻還被掠人畜，保乃釋還小郎兒。長昂補五貢，邊吏始補二賞，互市如初。御史陳遇文援穆宗詔以請，進保署都督同知，副將張守愚以下皆進秩。

Wang Bao was a native of Yulin Guard. Fearless in battle, he rose from the ranks to assistant commander of Yan-sui through accumulated merit. In the sixteenth year of Wanli he was appointed deputy commander-in-chief of Yan-sui and Dingbian. In the winter of the nineteenth year he was promoted to acting regional commander and appointed commander-in-chief of Changping, then transferred to Shanxi. When the Jizhen commander Zhang Bangqi was impeached, Bao was ordered to exchange posts with him. Since the gengxu year of Jiajing, Jizhen had ranked above the other frontier commands. Emperor Muzong had decreed extraordinary rewards for capturing tribal chiefs, a privilege denied other garrisons. After Altan submitted, the beacon fires of Xuanfu, Datong, and Shanxi fell silent. The four Shaanxi garrisons resumed operations after Huoluo Chi broke the treaty, but the enemy was weak and easily managed. Only the Taining and Chakhar tribes continued to raid Liaodong. Jimen lay close to the capital, and its commander, like the Liaodong commander, was chosen with special care. Bao was appointed on account of his prestige. Duoyan Chang Ang had submitted while Zhang Chen commanded Jizhen. After five or six years he raided Shimen Road, Muma Valley, and Huachang Valley in succession, and his market stipends were cut off. Later he joined Yindeng in raiding Shanhaiguan. He then rode to Xifengkou to demand rewards. Bangqi feigned agreement to expand trade and lured twenty-five of Chang Ang's interpreters to their deaths. Chang Ang grew furious and raided the Great Green Mountain. Soon he sent his follower Xiaolan'er and others to ambush scouts at Xifengkou and kill them. Bao had already arrived by then and captured them. Chang Ang had always relied on Xiaolan'er for counsel; frightened, he apologized, returned the captives and livestock, and Bao released Xiaolan'er. Chang Ang made up five years of tribute payments, frontier officials restored two years of rewards, and trade resumed as before. Censor Chen Yuwen cited Emperor Muzong's edict in requesting rewards; Bao was promoted to acting regional vice commander, and Zhang Shouyu and his subordinates were all advanced in rank.

薊三協南營兵，戚繼光所募也，調攻朝鮮，撤還，道石門，鼓譟，挾增月餉。保誘令赴演武場，擊之，殺數百人，以反聞。給事中戴士衡、御史汪以時言南兵未嘗反，保縱意擊殺，請遣官按問。巡關御史馬文卿庇保，言南兵大逆有十，尚書石星附會之，遂以定變功進保秩為真，廕子。督撫孫鑛、李頤等亦進官受賜，時論尤之。

The southern-camp troops of Jizhen's three sectors, raised by Qi Jiguang, had fought in Korea; on their return through Shimen they mutinied, beating drums and demanding higher pay. Bao lured them to the drill ground, attacked them, killed several hundred, and reported a rebellion. Supervising secretary Dai Shiheng and censor Wang Yishi argued that the southern troops had never rebelled and that Bao had slaughtered them wantonly; they called for an official investigation. Pass-inspecting censor Ma Wenqing shielded Bao, listing ten capital crimes against the southern troops; Minister Shi Xing concurred, and Bao was promoted to regular rank for suppressing the disturbance, with an enfeoffment for his son. Governor-generals Sun Kuang, Li Yi, and others were also promoted and rewarded; public opinion condemned them harshly.

二十三年冬，順義王撦力克弟趕兔率三軍犯白馬關及東西臺，為守備徐光啟，副將李芳春、戴延春所却。明年秋，復偕部長倒布犯黑谷頂，敗而去。保度其再至，分營开連口及橫河兒。 [寇果馳橫河。官軍夜半疾抵石塘嶺，襲其營。寇大驚潰，乘勢追出塞。其冬，復犯羅文峪，敗去。詔代一元鎮遼東。朝鮮再用師，敕保防海，卒於海州。贈左都督。

In the winter of the twenty-third year Gantu, younger brother of the Shunyi Prince Bailingke, led three columns against Baimaguan and the eastern and western platforms; garrison commander Xu Guangqi and deputy commanders Li Fangchun and Dai Yanchun repelled them. The following autumn he joined the tribal chief Daobu in raiding Heiguding, was defeated, and withdrew. Expecting another raid, Bao divided his forces between Kailiankou and Henghe'er. The raiders did gallop toward Henghe as expected. Government troops reached Shitang Ridge at midnight and stormed the enemy camp. The enemy fled in panic and were pursued beyond the border. That winter they raided Luowen Valley again, were defeated, and withdrew. An edict appointed him to replace Yiyuan as commander of Liaodong. When troops were sent to Korea again, Bao was ordered to defend the coast and died at Haizhou. He was posthumously enfeoffed as Left Regional Commander.

子學書，宣府總兵官。學詩、學禮並副總兵。學書既里居，守榆林城，拒李自成，不屈死。

His son Xueshu became commander-in-chief of Xuanfu. Xueshi and Xueli both served as deputy commanders-in-chief. After retiring home, Xueshu defended Yulin against Li Zicheng, refused to submit, and was killed.

杜桐，字來儀，崑山人，徙延安衞。萬曆初，由世廕累官清水營守備，以謀勇著。遷延綏入衞遊擊將軍，改古北口參將。用總督梁夢龍薦，擢延綏副總兵。十四年就拜署都督僉事，充總兵官。

Du Tong, style Laiyi, was a native of Kunshan who settled in Yan'an Guard. Early in Wanli he rose through hereditary privilege to garrison commander of Qingshui Camp, renowned for strategy and courage. He was posted as mobile corps commander of the Yan-sui Inner Guard, then as assistant commander at Gubeikou. On Governor-General Liang Menglong's recommendation he was promoted to deputy commander-in-chief of Yan-sui. In the fourteenth year he was appointed acting regional commander and commander-in-chief.

時卜失兔以都督同知為套中主，威令不行，其下各雄長志常叵測。朔漠素無痘症，自嘉靖庚戌深入石州，染此症，犯者輒死。打兒漢者，卜失兔祖吉能部落也，數將命奉貢，累官指揮同知。一日互市還，與其儕禿退台吉等俱染痘死。禿退子阿計疑邊吏酖其父，思亂。及卜失兔西助火落赤共擾河西，諸部遂蠢動。十九年冬，打兒漢子土昧與他部明安互市訖，復臨邊要賞，聲犯內地。桐與巡撫賈仁元計先出兵襲之。乃令參將張剛自神木，遊擊李紹祖自孤山，桐率輕騎自榆林，三道並出。遇寇力戰，大破之，斬首四百七十餘級，馘明安而還。延綏自吉能納款，塞上息肩二十年，自此兵端復開。明安子擺言太日思報復，寇鈔無已時矣。桐先被劾罷，以是役功，超授右都督，僉書後府。

Bushitu held nominal authority over the Ordos as regional vice commander, but his power did not extend to the fractious chieftains below him. Smallpox was unknown on the northern steppe until the gengxu year of Jiajing, when raiders who penetrated deep into Shizhou contracted it and died. Da'erhan belonged to the tribe of Bushitu's ancestor Jining; he had repeatedly presented tribute and risen to regional commander. Returning from a border market one day, he and his fellows Tutui Taiji and others all died of smallpox. Tutui's son Aji suspected frontier officials had poisoned his father and plotted rebellion. When Bushitu went west to aid Huoluo Chi in raiding Hexi, the tribes grew restless. In the winter of the nineteenth year Tumai, son of Da'erhan, and Ming'an of another tribe, after trading at the market, pressed the frontier demanding rewards and threatened to raid inland. Tong and grand coordinator Jia Renyuan planned a preemptive strike. He sent assistant commander Zhang Gang from Shenmu, mobile corps commander Li Shaozu from Gushan, and led light cavalry from Yulin himself in a three-pronged attack. They met the enemy in fierce battle, inflicted a crushing defeat, took more than four hundred and seventy heads including Ming'an's, and returned. Yan-sui had enjoyed twenty years of peace since Jining's submission; now war resumed. Ming'an's son Baiyantai sought revenge daily, and raids never ceased. Though previously impeached and dismissed, Tong was promoted to Right Regional Commander for this victory and appointed an assistant in the Rear Bureau.

二十一年以總兵官鎮保定。二十四年徙延綏。明年再徙鎮寧夏。著力兔、宰僧入犯，逆戰水塘溝，俘斬百二十。寇益糾諸部連犯平虜、興武，桐督諸將馬孔英、鄧鳳、蕭如蕙等連破之，斬首二百餘級。而延綏將士亦數搗巢，諸部長懼，乞款，詞甚哀。三十年，二鎮撫臣孫維城、黃嘉善協謀撫之，乃復貢市。論功，文臣自內閣以下悉進官。桐以先去職，但賚銀幣，許復用而已。久之，卒於家。桐自偏裨至大帥，積首功一千八百，時服其勇。

In the twenty-first year he was posted as commander-in-chief at Baoding. In the twenty-fourth year he was transferred to Yan-sui. The following year he was transferred to command Ningxia. Zhuli Tu and Zaiseng invaded; he met them at Shuitang Gully and killed or captured a hundred and twenty. The enemy gathered allies to raid Pinglu and Xingwu in succession; Tong directed Ma Kongying, Deng Feng, Xiao Ruhui, and others in repeated victories, taking more than two hundred heads. Yan-sui troops also raided their camps repeatedly; the chieftains grew afraid and sued for peace in pitiful terms. In the thirtieth year the pacification commissioners Sun Weicheng and Huang Jiashan negotiated peace, and tribute and trade were restored. When rewards were distributed, civil officials from the Grand Secretariat down were all promoted. Tong had already left office and received only silver, silks, and permission to serve again. He died at home some years later. From junior officer to supreme commander, Tong accumulated eighteen hundred heads; contemporaries admired his valor.

弟：松

Younger brother: Song

弟松，字來清。有膽智，勇健絕倫。由舍人從軍，累功為寧夏守備。萬曆二十二年，卜失兔掠張春井，大入下馬關。松偕遊擊史見、李經以二千餘騎邀擊馬蓮井，小勝，誤入伏中，見戰死，松、經皆重傷，士卒死過半。麻貴援軍至，松復裹創力戰，寇始敗走。時松已進遊擊將軍，論功遷延綏參將。貴大舉搗巢，松以右軍出清平塞，多所斬獲，進副總兵。尋以本官改寧夏東路。松為將廉，尚氣不能容物。常因小忿薙髮為僧，部議聽其歸。尋起孤山副總兵。三十三年擢署都督僉事，代李如樟鎮延綏。明年，套寇犯安邊、懷遠，松大破之，改鎮薊州。

His younger brother Song, style Laiqing. Bold and resourceful, his valor was unmatched. He entered service as a cadet and through merit rose to garrison commander of Ningxia. In the twenty-second year of Wanli Bushitu raided Zhangchun Well and made a major incursion through Xiamaguan. Song and mobile corps commanders Shi Jian and Li Jing intercepted the enemy at Malian Well with two thousand horsemen, won a minor victory, then blundered into an ambush; Jian was killed, Song and Jing were badly wounded, and more than half their men died. When Ma Gui's relief force arrived, Song fought on despite his wounds and drove the enemy off. Song had already been promoted to mobile corps commander; for this action he was appointed assistant commander of Yan-sui. Gui launched a major campaign against the enemy camps; Song led the right wing through Qingping Pass, took many heads and captives, and was promoted to deputy commander-in-chief. He was soon reassigned to the eastern route of Ningxia at the same rank. Song was an upright commander, proud and intolerant. He often shaved his head and became a monk over petty grievances; the ministry allowed him to return to lay life. He was soon recalled as deputy commander-in-chief of Gushan. In the thirty-third year he was promoted to acting regional commander and succeeded Li Ruzhang at Yan-sui. The next year Ordos raiders attacked Anbian and Huaiyuan; Song routed them and was transferred to command Jizhou.

三十六年夏，代李成梁鎮遼東。十二月敗敵連山驛。賴暈歹者，朶顏長昂子也，狡黠為邊患。與從父蟒金潛入薊鎮河流口，大掠去。復結黃台吉謀犯喜峰口。松受總督王象乾指，潛搗黃台吉帳，以牽薊寇。乃從寧遠中左所夜馳至哈流兔，掩殺拱兔部落百四十餘級。以大捷聞，邀重賞，副使馬拯謂拱兔內屬，不當勦，彼且復讐，與松相訐。松忿，邀賞愈急，詔予之。拱兔果以無罪見勦怒，小歹青又數激之，乃以五千騎攻陷大勝堡，執守將耿尚仁支解之。深入小凌河，肆焚掠。遊擊于守志遇於山口，大敗，死千餘人，守志亦重創。松駐大凌河，不敢救。遼人多咎松，朝議謂松前僅抵錦州邊十里，未嘗出塞，所殺乃保塞部落，悉縛殺之，非陣斬。松愈忿，言撫按諸臣附會馬拯，害其奇功。自提兵出塞，將搗巢以雪前恥，而所得止五級，士馬多陷大凌河。松益慚憤，數欲自經，盡焚其鎧冑器仗，置一切疆事弗問。兵部以聞，乃勒松歸里，而以王威代之。

In the summer of the thirty-sixth year he succeeded Li Chengliang as commander of Liaodong. In the twelfth month he defeated the enemy at Lianshan Post. Laiyundai, son of Duoyan Chang Ang, was cunning and a persistent frontier menace. With his uncle Mangjin he infiltrated the Jizhen river mouth and carried out a major raid. He then allied with Huang Taiji to attack Xifengkou. On Governor-General Wang Xiangqian's orders, Song secretly raided Huang Taiji's camp to draw off the Jizhen threat. He rode by night from Ningyuan to Haliutu and in a surprise attack killed more than a hundred and forty of Gongtu's followers. Reporting a great victory, Song demanded heavy rewards; vice commissioner Ma Zheng argued that Gongtu was a subject tribe and should not have been attacked, warning of reprisals; he and Song quarreled bitterly. Furious, Song pressed ever harder for rewards; the court granted them. Gongtu, enraged at the unprovoked attack and goaded by Xiaodaqing, attacked Dasheng Fort with five thousand horsemen, captured the garrison commander Geng Shangren, and dismembered him. He penetrated deep into the Xiao Ling River region, burning and plundering at will. Mobile corps commander Yu Shouzhi met them at a pass, was routed, lost more than a thousand men, and was badly wounded himself. Song remained at the Da Ling River and did not dare advance to the rescue. Many in Liaodong blamed Song; court opinion held that he had never truly crossed the border, that his victims were border-guard tribes bound and killed rather than slain in battle. Song grew more furious, accusing the pacification officials of siding with Ma Zheng to deny him credit for a brilliant victory. He led troops beyond the border to raid enemy camps and redeem himself, but took only five heads while many men and horses were lost at the Da Ling River. Humiliated and enraged, Song several times attempted suicide, burned his armor and weapons, and ignored all frontier duties. The Ministry of War reported this and ordered Song home, replacing him with Wang Wei.

松既廢，時多惜其勇，然惡其僨事，無推轂之者。至四十三年，河套寇大入，令松以輕騎搗火落赤營。獲首功二百有奇，復敘用。逾二年，薊遼多事，特設總兵官鎮山海關，以松任之。四十六年，張承廕戰歿，詔松馳援遼陽。明年二月，楊鎬議四路出師。以撫順最衝，令松以六萬兵當之，故總兵趙夢麟、保定總兵王宣為佐。期三月二日抵二道關，會李如柏等並進。松勇而無謀，剛愎使氣。二十九日夜，出撫順關，日馳百餘里，抵渾河。半渡，河流急，不能盡渡。松醉趣之，將士多溺河中。松遂以前鋒進，連克二小砦，松喜。三月朔乘勢趨撒爾湖谷口。時大清方築城界凡山上，役夫萬五千，以精騎四百護之。聞松軍至，精騎則盡伏谷口以待。松軍過將半，伏兵尾擊之，追至界凡渡口，與築城夫合據山旁吉林崖。明日，松引大軍圍崖，別遣將營撒爾湖山上。松軍攻崖，方戰，大清益千人助之，已又續遣二旗兵趨界凡以為援，而遣六旗兵攻松別將於撒爾湖山。明日，六旗兵大戰，破撒爾湖山軍，死者相枕藉。所遣助吉林崖者，自山馳下擊松軍，二旗兵亦直前夾擊，松兵大敗，松與夢麟、宣皆歿於陣。橫屍亘山野，流血成渠。大清兵逐北二十里，至勺琴山而還。時車營五百尚阻渾河，而松已敗。頃之，馬林、劉綎兩軍亦敗，獨李如柏一軍遁還。事聞，朝議多咎松輕進。天啟初，贈少保左都督，世廕千戶，立祠賜祭。宣亦贈官，立祠，世廕指揮僉事。宣，榆林人。夢麟，見父岢傳。

After Song's dismissal many regretted losing his valor, but his recklessness left no one willing to recommend him. In the forty-third year, when Ordos raiders invaded in force, Song was ordered to strike Huoluo Chi's camp with light cavalry. He took more than two hundred heads and was restored to service. Two years later, with troubles mounting in Ji-Liao, a special commander-in-chief post was created at Shanhaiguan and given to Song. In the forty-sixth year, after Zhang Chengyin was killed in action, Song was ordered to hurry to Liaoyang. The following February Yang Hao proposed a four-route expedition. Because Fushun was the most threatened route, Song was assigned sixty thousand men, assisted by the former commander Zhao Menglin and Baoding commander Wang Xuan. The plan called for reaching Erdao Pass on the second day of the third month to join Li Rubai and the other columns. Song was brave but rash, stubborn and willful. On the night of the twenty-ninth he marched out through Fushun Pass, covering more than a hundred li in a day to reach the Hun River. Halfway across, the current was too swift for the entire force to cross. Drunk, Song urged them on; many officers and men drowned. Song advanced with the vanguard, captured two small stockades in succession, and grew confident. On the first day of the third month he pressed toward Sa'erhu Valley Mouth. The Qing were then building a fort on Jiefan Mountain with fifteen thousand laborers guarded by four hundred picked horsemen. When word came that Song's army was approaching, the Qing posted their best cavalry in ambush at the valley mouth. Once more than half of Song's column had passed, ambushers struck from the rear and pursued them to the Jiefan ford, joining the fort-builders in holding Jilin Cliff on the mountainside. The next day Song brought up his main force to besiege the cliff and sent a detachment to camp on Sa'erhu Mountain. As Song's troops assaulted the cliff, the Qing reinforced the defenders with a thousand men, then sent two banner contingents to relieve Jiefan while six banners attacked Song's detached force on Sa'erhu Mountain. The next day six banner regiments overran the Ming camp on Sa'erhu Mountain, leaving the dead piled on one another. The relief force at Jilin Cliff charged down the slope into Song's ranks while two banner units struck from the front; Song's army collapsed, and Song, Zhao Menglin, and Wang Xuan were all killed in the fighting. Corpses covered the hills, and blood ran in streams. Qing troops pursued the fleeing Ming army twenty li to Shaoqin Mountain before turning back. Five hundred chariot troops were still stranded at the Hun River crossing when Song's defeat became known. Soon Ma Lin's and Liu Ting's columns were routed as well; only Li Rubai's force escaped intact. When news reached the capital, court opinion largely blamed Song for his reckless advance. Early in the Tianqi reign Song was posthumously enfeoffed as Junior Mentor and Left Regional Commander, with hereditary command of a thousand households, a memorial temple, and state sacrifices. Wang Xuan was likewise granted posthumous honors, a memorial temple, and hereditary battalion vice command. Wang Xuan was a native of Yulin. Zhao Menglin is treated in his father Ke's biography.

子：文煥孫：弘域

Son: Wenhuan. Grandson: Hongyu.

桐子文煥，字弢武。由廕敘，歷延綏遊擊將軍，累進參將、副總兵。四十三年擢署都督僉事、寧夏總兵官。延綏被寇，文煥赴救，大破之。明年遂代官秉忠鎮延綏。屢敗寇安邊、保寧，長樂，斬首三百有奇。西路火落赤、卜言太懼，相率降。沙計數盜邊，為文煥所敗，遂納款。既而復與吉能、明愛合，駐高家、柏林邊，要封王、補賞十事。文煥襲其營，斬首百五十。火落赤諸部落攢刀立誓，獻罰九九。九九者，部落中罰駝馬牛羊數也。已，沙計又伏兵沙溝，誘殺都指揮王國安，糾猛克什力犯雙山堡，復犯波羅。文煥擊破之，追奔二十餘里。當是時，套寇號十萬。然其衆分四十二枝，多者二三千，少不及千騎，屢不得志。沙計乃與吉能、明愛、猛克什力相繼納款，延綏遂少事。文煥尋以疾歸。

Du Tong's son Wenhuan, style Taowu. Entering service through hereditary privilege, he rose to mobile corps commander of Yan-sui and was progressively promoted to assistant commander and deputy commander-in-chief. In the forty-third year he was appointed acting regional commander and commander-in-chief of Ningxia. When Yan-sui came under attack, Wenhuan rushed to its relief and routed the enemy. The following year he succeeded Guan Bingzhong as commander of Yan-sui. He repeatedly defeated raiders at Anbian, Baoning, and Changle, taking more than three hundred heads. Huoluo Chi and Buyantai on the western front grew afraid and surrendered in succession. Shaji, who had repeatedly raided the frontier, was defeated by Wenhuan and submitted. He soon joined Jining and Ming'ai again, encamped along the Gaojia and Bolin frontier, and demanded princely rank plus ten other concessions. Wenhuan raided their camp and took a hundred and fifty heads. Huoluo Chi's tribes stacked swords to swear peace and offered fines of nine-nine. "Nine-nine" denoted the customary tribal fine in camels, horses, cattle, and sheep. Later Shaji ambushed troops in Shagou, lured and killed regional commander Wang Guo'an, rallied Mengkeshili against Shuangshan Fort, and raided Boluo again. Wenhuan routed them and pursued the fugitives more than twenty li. At this point the Ordos raiders were said to number a hundred thousand. Yet they were split into forty-two bands of no more than two or three thousand horsemen each—and many fewer than a thousand—and repeatedly failed to gain their ends. Shaji, Jining, Ming'ai, and Mengkeshili submitted in turn, and Yan-sui enjoyed a respite from trouble. Wenhuan soon retired home due to illness.

天啟元年再鎮延綏。詔文煥援遼，文煥乃遣兵出河套，搗巢以致寇。諸部大恨，深入固原、慶陽，圍延安，揚言必縛文煥，掠十餘日始去。命解職候勘。奢崇明圍成都，總督張我續請令文煥赴救。至則圍已解，偕諸軍復重慶。崇明遁永寧，文煥頓不進。尋擢總理，盡統川、貴、湖廣軍。度不能制賊，謝病去。坐延綏失事罪，戍邊。七年起鎮寧夏。寧、錦告警，詔文煥馳援，俄令分鎮寧遠。進右都督，調守關門。尋引疾去。

In the first year of Tianqi he was again appointed commander of Yan-sui. Ordered to reinforce Liaodong, Wenhuan sent troops into the Ordos to raid enemy camps and draw off the raiders. The tribes were furious; they penetrated deep into Guyuan and Qingyang, besieged Yan'an, vowed to capture Wenhuan, and plundered for more than ten days before withdrawing. He was removed from office pending investigation. When She Chongming besieged Chengdu, Governor-General Zhang Woxu requested that Wenhuan be sent to the relief. By the time he arrived the siege had ended; he joined the army in retaking Chongqing. Chongming fled to Yongning, but Wenhuan halted and would not advance. He was soon promoted to supreme commander with authority over all troops in Sichuan, Guizhou, and Huguang. Concluding he could not suppress the rebels, he pleaded illness and resigned. He was punished for the Yan-sui debacle and banished to frontier garrison duty. In the seventh year he was reappointed commander of Ningxia. When Ningxia and Jinzhou came under attack, Wenhuan was ordered to hurry to their relief and soon afterward to assume separate command at Ningyuan. He was promoted to Right Regional Commander and transferred to defend the frontier passes. He soon retired citing illness.

子弘域，天啟初歷延綏副總兵。七年夏，文煥援遼，即擢總兵官，代鎮寧夏。積資至右都督。崇禎中，提督池河、浦口二營練兵，遏賊南渡，頗有功。十三年移鎮浙江。尋謝病去。國變後，文煥父子歸原籍崑山，卒。

His son Hongyu served as deputy commander-in-chief of Yan-sui early in the Tianqi reign. In the summer of the seventh year, when Wenhuan marched to reinforce Liaodong, Hongyu was promoted to commander-in-chief and succeeded him at Ningxia. Through seniority he rose to Right Regional Commander. During the Chongzhen reign he trained troops at the Chihe and Pukou camps, blocking rebel crossings south of the Yangtze with considerable success. In the thirteenth year he was transferred to command Zhejiang. He soon retired citing illness. After the fall of the dynasty, Wenhuan and Hongyu returned to their ancestral home in Kunshan, where they died.

蕭如薰

Xiao Ruxun

蕭如薰，字季馨，延安衞人。萬曆中，由世廕百戶歷官寧夏參將，守平虜城。

Xiao Ruxun, style Jixin, was a native of Yan'an Guard. During Wanli he entered service as a hereditary company commander, rose to assistant commander of Ningxia, and defended Pinglu.

二十年春，哱拜、劉東暘據寧夏鎮城反，遣其黨四出略地。拜子承恩徇玉泉營，遊擊傅桓拒守，為其下所執。賊已徇中衞及廣武，參將熊國臣等棄城奔，列城皆風靡。賊黨土文秀徇平虜，獨如薰堅守不下。如薰妻楊氏，故尚書兆女也，賢而有智，贊夫死守，日具牛酒犒士。拜養子雲最驍勇，引河套著力兔急攻。如薰伏兵南關，佯敗，誘賊入，射雲死，餘衆敗去。又襲著力兔營，獲人畜甚多。著力兔憤，復來攻，為麻貴所却，城獲全。初，帝聞如薰孤城抗賊，大喜，厚賚銀幣，擢官副總兵。六月遂以都督僉事為寧夏總兵官，盡統延綏、甘肅、固原諸援軍。其秋竟與李如松等共平賊，再進署都督同知，廕錦衣世指揮僉事；妻楊氏亦被旌。

In the spring of the twentieth year Pubai and Liu Dongyang seized the Ningxia garrison and rebelled, sending their followers to seize territory in all directions. Pubai's son Chengen marched on Yuquan Camp; mobile corps commander Fu Huan tried to hold out but was seized by his own men. The rebels had already taken Zhongwei and Guangwu; assistant commanders including Xiong Guochen fled their posts, and city after city fell without resistance. Rebel leader Tu Wenxiu attacked Pinglu, but Ruxun alone held the city. Ruxun's wife Lady Yang, daughter of a former minister of the Zhao surname, was intelligent and capable; she helped her husband hold the city and daily provided beef and wine to reward the troops. Pubai's adopted son Yun, the fiercest of the rebels, brought Ordos chieftain Zhuli Tu for a furious assault. Ruxun posted ambush troops at the south gate, feigned retreat, lured the rebels in, and killed Yun with an arrow; the rest fled. He then raided Zhuli Tu's camp and took many captives and livestock. Enraged, Zhuli Tu attacked again but was driven off by Ma Gui, and the city was saved. When the emperor learned that Ruxun was holding an isolated city against the rebels, he was delighted, richly rewarded him with silver and silks, and promoted him to deputy commander-in-chief. In the sixth month he was appointed Ningxia commander-in-chief as regional commander, commanding all relief forces from Yan-sui, Gansu, and Guyuan. That autumn he joined Li Rusong and others in suppressing the rebellion, was promoted to acting regional vice commander, and granted hereditary battalion vice command in the Embroidered Uniform Guard; Lady Yang was also honored for her service.

二十二年八月，卜失兔西犯定邊，闌入固原塞，副將姜直不能禦，遂由沙梁隤牆入，直抵下馬關，縱橫內地幾一月。如薰免官，直下吏。尋復以總兵官鎮守固原。套寇入犯，擊却之。青海寇糾番族犯洮、岷，如黨及臨洮總兵孫仁禦之，禽斬三百四十有奇，撫叛番五千人，獲駝馬甲仗無算。再鎮寧夏。銀定、歹成數入犯，輒挫衂去。徙鎮薊州。久之，罷歸。再起故官，鎮延綏。

In the eighth month of the twenty-second year Bushitu struck west at Dingbian, broke through Guyuan Pass when Deputy Commander Jiang Zhi failed to stop him, breached the wall at Shaliang, raided as far as Xiamaguan, and ravaged the interior for nearly a month. Ruxun was dismissed and turned over to the courts. He was soon reappointed commander-in-chief at Guyuan. When Ordos raiders invaded, he drove them back. When Qinghai raiders rallied Tibetan tribes against Tao and Min, Ruxun and Lin-tao commander Sun Ren repulsed them, killing or capturing more than three hundred and forty, pacifying five thousand rebels, and seizing countless camels, horses, armor, and weapons. He was again appointed commander of Ningxia. Yinding and Daicheng raided repeatedly but were repulsed each time. He was transferred to command Jizhou. After some years he was dismissed and returned home. He was recalled to his former rank and appointed commander of Yan-sui.

天啟初，廷議京軍不足用，召邊將分營訓練。如薰典神機營。陛見，帝賜食加奬勞焉。明年出鎮徐州。俄召還京，復以總兵官鎮守保定。五年夏，魏忠賢黨劾其與李三才聯姻，遂奪職。崇禎初卒，賜恤如制。

Early in Tianqi the court decided that capital garrisons were inadequate and summoned frontier generals to train troops in separate camps. Ruxun was put in charge of the Firearms Brigade. On presenting himself at court, the emperor granted him a feast and special commendation. The following year he was posted to command Xuzhou. He was soon recalled to Beijing and reappointed commander-in-chief at Baoding. In the summer of the fifth year, partisans of Wei Zhongxian impeached him for marrying into Li Sancai's family, and he was stripped of office. He died early in the Chongzhen reign and was granted posthumous honors according to regulation.

如薰為將持重。更歷七鎮，所在見稱。自隆慶後，款市既成，烽燧少警，輦下視鎮帥為外府。山人雜流，乞朝士尺牘往者，無不饜所欲。薊鎮戚繼光有能詩名，尤好延文士，傾貲結納，取足軍府。如薰亦能詩，士趨之若騖，賓座常滿。妻楊氏、繼妻南氏皆貴家女，至脫簪珥供客猶不給。軍中患苦之，如薰莫能却也。一時風會所尚，諸邊物力為耗，識者歎焉。

As a commander Ruxun was steady and deliberate. He served seven garrisons in succession and won praise at each posting. Since Longqing, with border markets established and alarms few, the capital treated frontier commanders as provincial officials of little account. Recluses and hangers-on who carried letters of introduction from court officials invariably got whatever they asked for. Jizhen commander Qi Jiguang was famed for his poetry and lavish hospitality to scholars, spending freely and drawing heavily on military funds. Ruxun also wrote poetry, and scholars flocked to him; his table was always full of guests. His wives Lady Yang and Lady Nan, both from prominent families, stripped off their jewelry to entertain guests and still could not keep up with the expense. The troops suffered under the expense, yet Ruxun could not turn guests away. Such was the fashion of the age, and frontier resources were drained dry—observers could only sigh.

如薰祖漢，涼州副總兵、都督僉事。父文奎，京營副將、都督同知。兄如蘭，陝西副總兵、都督僉事，前府僉書；如蕙，寧夏總兵官、都督同知；如芷，提督南京教場、都督僉事。

Ruxun's grandfather Han was deputy commander-in-chief of Liangzhou and regional commander. His father Wen Kui was deputy general of the Capital Garrison and regional vice commander. His elder brother Rulan was deputy commander-in-chief of Shaanxi, regional commander, and an assistant in the Front Bureau; Ruhui served as commander-in-chief of Ningxia and vice regional commander; Ruzhi was superintendent of the Nanjing training ground and assistant regional commander.

達雲，涼州衞人。勇悍饒智略。萬曆中，嗣世職指揮僉事。擢守備，進肅州遊擊將軍。炒胡兒入犯，偕參將楊濬擊敗之，遷西寧參將。

Da Yun was a native of Liangzhou Guard. He was bold and fierce, and possessed no small share of cunning. During the Wanli reign he inherited the hereditary office of assistant commander. He was promoted to garrison commandant, then to mobile corps commander at Suzhou. When Chao Hu'er raided the border, he joined assistant commander Yang Jun in defeating the invaders and was transferred to Xining as assistant commander.

永邵卜者，順義王俺答從子也，部衆強盛。先嘗授都督同知，再進龍虎將軍。自以貢市在宣府，守臣遇己厚，不可逞，乃隨俺答西迎活佛，留據青海，與瓦剌他卜囊歲為西寧患。嘗誘殺副將李魁。邊臣不能報，益有輕中國心。二十三年九月九日度將士必燕飲，擁勁騎直入南川。屬番偵告，雲設兵要害，令番人繞出朶爾硤口外，潛扼其背，而己提精卒二千與戰。方合，伏忽起，寇首尾不相顧，番人夾擊，大敗之。雲手馘其帥一人，斬首六百八十餘級。其走峽外者，又為番人所殲。獲駝馬戎器無算。為西陲戰功第一。所馘把都爾哈，即前殺李魁者，其地即魁陣亡處，時又皆九月也。先是，副將李聯芳為寇所殺，總兵尤繼先生獲其讐。邊人以此二事為快。

Yong Shaobu was a nephew of Altan, Prince of Shunyi, and commanded a strong and numerous following. He had previously received the rank of vice regional commander and was later promoted to Tiger-and-Dragon General. Because the tribute market lay at Xuanfu and frontier officials treated him well, he could not raid there as he wished; instead he followed Altan west to welcome the Living Buddha, seized Qinghai, and together with the Oirat Tabunang troubled Xining year after year. He had once lured deputy commander Li Kui to his death. Frontier officials could not retaliate, and he grew ever bolder in his contempt for the Ming. On the Double Ninth Festival of the twenty-third year, calculating that Ming troops would be feasting, he led picked cavalry in a raid on Nanchuan. Tribal allies brought word by scout; Da Yun deployed troops at key passes, sent tribesmen around outside Duo'er Gap to cut off the enemy's retreat, and personally led two thousand elite troops into battle. As the two forces clashed, hidden troops sprang up; the raiders, caught between front and rear, were struck from both sides by the tribesmen and routed. Da Yun personally slew one enemy chieftain and took more than six hundred eighty heads. Those who escaped the pass were hunted down and killed by the tribesmen. The victors seized camels, horses, and weapons beyond reckoning. It ranked as the greatest victory on the western frontier. The man Da Yun slew, Baduerha, was the very one who had killed Li Kui; the battle was fought where Kui had fallen, and again in the ninth month. Previously deputy commander Li Lianfang had been killed by raiders; commander-in-chief You Jixian had already avenged him. Along the border these two victories were widely celebrated.

雲既勝，度寇必復至，厚集以待。踰月，寇果連真相、火落赤諸部，先圍番剌卜爾寨以誘官軍。番不能支，合於寇，寇遂逼西川。雲督諸軍營康纏溝，寇悉衆圍之，矢石如雨。雲左右衝擊，自辰至申，戰數十合。寇死傷無算，乃以長鎗鈎杆專犯西寧軍。西寧軍堅不可破，寇始遁，追奔數十里而還。捷聞，帝大喜，遣官告郊廟，宣捷。大學士趙志臯以下悉進官。雲擢都督同知，廕本衞世指揮使。寇歲掠諸番，番不敵則折而入寇。及寇敗遠徙，雲急招番，復業者七千餘戶。永邵卜連犯明沙、上谷，雲並擊走之。初，南川奏捷，雲已進副總兵，至是命以總兵官鎮守延綏。未幾，鎮甘肅。二十六年，永邵卜復犯西寧，參將趙希雲等陣歿，雲坐停俸。

After his victory Da Yun expected the raiders to return and massed his forces to meet them. Within a month the raiders, joined by the Zhenxiang, Huoluo Chi, and other tribes, besieged the Fan Labo'er stockade to draw out the Ming army. The tribes could not hold; they joined the raiders, who then pressed on toward Xichuan. Da Yun drew up his troops at Kangchan Gully; the raiders surrounded them in full force, arrows and stones falling like rain. Da Yun charged back and forth from morning till afternoon, fighting dozens of engagements. The raiders suffered countless casualties but then concentrated long spears and hook poles against the Xining troops. The Xining troops held firm; the raiders at last broke and fled, pursued for dozens of li. When word of victory reached the throne, the emperor was overjoyed, ordered sacrifice reported to the suburban altars, and proclaimed the triumph throughout the realm. Grand Secretary Zhao Zhigao and his colleagues were all promoted. Da Yun was promoted to vice regional commander and granted hereditary succession as guard commander of his home command. The raiders plundered the tribes year after year; tribes that could not resist turned to raiding Ming territory instead. After the raiders were defeated and driven far away, Da Yun urgently resettled the tribes; more than seven thousand households returned to their lands. Yong Shaobu raided Mingsha and Shanggu in succession; Da Yun defeated and drove him off both times. After the victory at Nanchuan Da Yun had been promoted to deputy commander-in-chief; now he was appointed commander-in-chief at Yan-sui. Before long he was transferred to command Gansu. In the twenty-sixth year Yong Shaobu raided Xining again; assistant commander Zhao Xiyun and others were killed in battle, and Da Yun's pay was suspended.

甘、寧間有松山，賓兔、阿赤兔、宰僧、著力兔等居之，屢為兩鎮患。巡撫田樂決策恢復。雲偕副將甘州馬應龍、涼州姜河、永昌王鐵塊等分道襲之。寇遠竄，盡拔其巢，攘地五百里，雲以功進右都督，廕世指揮僉事。無何，青海寇糾衆分犯河西，五道俱有備，獻首功百七十有奇。松山既復，為築邊垣，分屯置戍。錄功進左都督。寇戀其故巢，乘官軍撤防時潛兵入犯，雲據險邀擊之。寇大敗，斬首百六十。加雲太子少保。寇益糾其黨犯鎮番，雲及諸將葛賴等大破之，斬首三百七十餘級。帝為告廟，行賞，進雲世廕二秩。寇復入犯，雲破走之。

Between Gansu and Ningxia lay Songshan, home to Bin Tu, A Chi Tu, Zai Seng, Zhuo Li Tu, and others, who repeatedly troubled both garrisons. Grand Coordinator Tian Le decided to recover the region. Da Yun, with deputy commanders Ma Yinglong of Ganzhou, Jiang He of Liangzhou, Wang Tiekuai of Yongchang, and others, attacked by several routes. The raiders fled deep into the frontier; their strongholds were destroyed and five hundred li of land reclaimed. Da Yun was promoted to right regional commander and granted hereditary succession as assistant guard commander. Soon Qinghai raiders gathered in force and raided Hexi by several routes; all five columns were ready and more than one hundred seventy heads were taken. After Songshan was recovered, border walls were built and garrisons established throughout the region. His merits were recorded and he was promoted to left regional commander. The raiders missed their old strongholds; when Ming troops withdrew they raided again in secret, but Da Yun ambushed them from advantageous ground. The raiders were routed and one hundred sixty heads taken. Da Yun was granted the title Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. The raiders rallied their allies and struck at Zhenfan; Da Yun and general Gelai routed them, taking more than three hundred seventy heads. The emperor ordered temple sacrifices, distributed rewards, and advanced Da Yun's hereditary privilege by two ranks. When the raiders invaded again, Da Yun defeated and drove them off.

是時，寇失松山，走據賀蘭山。後連青海諸部寇鈔不已，銀定、歹成尤桀驁。三十三年連營犯鎮番。雲遣副將柴國柱擊之，寇大敗去。未幾，青海寇復大入，將士分道遮擊，生禽其長沙賴，餘敗奔。三十五年敘功，雲增勳廕。是年，松山、青海二寇復連兵犯涼州，雲逆戰紅崖，大獲，斬首百三十有奇。

By then the raiders had lost Songshan and withdrawn to Helan Mountain. They then joined with other Qinghai tribes in ceaseless raids; Yinding and Daicheng were the most aggressive. In the thirty-third year they encamped together and raided Zhenfan. Da Yun sent deputy commander Chai Guozhu against them; the raiders were routed and fled. Soon Qinghai raiders invaded again in force; Ming troops intercepted them on several routes, captured their chieftain Shalai alive, and routed the rest. In the thirty-fifth year his achievements were rewarded and his merit fief increased. That same year the Songshan and Qinghai raiders joined forces and struck Liangzhou; Da Yun met them at Hongya, won a great victory, and took more than one hundred thirty heads.

雲為將，先登陷陣，所至未嘗挫衂，名震西陲，為一時邊將之冠。以秋防卒於軍。贈太子太保。子奇勛，萬曆末為昌平總兵官。

As a commander Da Yun always led the charge; he never knew defeat wherever he was posted. His fame resounded across the western frontier, and he stood foremost among the border generals of his age. He died on campaign during autumn border duty. He was posthumously granted the title Senior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. His son Qixun served at the end of the Wanli reign as commander-in-chief of Changping.

尤繼先

You Jixian

尤繼先，榆林衞人。萬曆中，積功為大同副總兵。十八年，火落赤、真相犯洮、河，副總兵李聯芳等戰死。詔進署都督僉事，充總兵官，代劉承嗣鎮守固原。寇據莽剌、捏工二川，日蠶食番族，且擾西寧。聞官軍大集，卜失兔又敗於水泉，乃乘冰堅渡黃河北走，留其黨可卜列、宗塔兒等五百餘人牧莽剌川南山。南山即石門大山口，走烏思藏門戶也。屬番來告，繼先乃令番以八百人前導，與故總兵承嗣，遊擊原進學、吳顯等疾馳七百里，直抵南山。奮擊，大破之，斬首百五十有奇，生獲十二人。而拜巴爾的者，可卜列從子，前殺聯芳，至是被禽。師旋，寇尾至撒川。見有備，乃夜走。他寇犯鎮羌、西寧、石羊亦俱敗。火落赤遂徙帳西海。錄功，進秩為真，增世廕一秩。尋以病歸。起僉中軍府事。

You Jixian was a native of Yulin Guard. During the Wanli reign he rose through merit to deputy commander-in-chief of Datong. In the eighteenth year Huoluo Chi and Zhenxiang raided the Tao and He region; deputy commander Li Lianfang and others were killed in battle. He was promoted to acting assistant regional commander and appointed commander-in-chief at Guyuan in place of Liu Chengsi. The raiders held the Mangla and Nie Gong valleys, steadily encroaching on tribal lands and harassing Xining. Learning that Ming forces were massing and that Bu Shitu had been defeated again at Shuiquan, they crossed the frozen Yellow River and fled north, leaving more than five hundred followers including Kebulie and Zong Ta'er to pasture in the southern hills of Mangla Valley. Those southern hills were the Shimen Great Pass, the gateway to Tibet. When tribal allies brought word, Jixian sent eight hundred tribesmen as guides and, with former commander-in-chief Chengsi and mobile corps commanders Yuan Jinxue and Wu Xian, rode seven hundred li straight to the southern hills. They attacked with fury, routed the enemy, took more than one hundred fifty heads, and captured twelve alive. Baiba'erde, Kebulie's nephew, who had killed Lianfang, was among those captured. As the army withdrew, raiders pursued as far as Sachuan. Finding the Ming forces ready, they fled under cover of night. Other raiders who struck at Zhenqiang, Xining, and Shiyang were defeated as well. Huoluo Chi then moved his encampment to Qinghai. His achievements were recorded; his acting rank was made permanent and his hereditary privilege increased by one rank. He soon retired on account of illness. He was recalled to serve in the Central Military Bureau.

二十一年冬為遼東總兵官。炒花二千騎入韓家路，繼先督諸軍奮擊，寇乃去。再引疾歸。二十四年起鎮薊州。自戚繼光鎮守十年，諸部雖叛服不常，然邊警頗稀。寇嘗一入青山口，輒敗去。最後，長昂導班、白二部長入犯，道石門，闞山海關，京東民盡逃入通州。繼先出關，寇已縱掠寧前去。總督蹇達怒繼先不追擊，而繼先方收召降丁八百人，欲倚為用。達乃疏言番情難馭，恐遺後憂，請調繼先別鎮，俾降丁隨往。部議以延綏杜松與易任，巡撫劉四科爭之。達復疏言：「守邊在自強，繼先獨言惟藉降丁。去歲出關，何竟不得降丁力？羽書狎至，邊隘虛實久為所窺。呼吸變生，安所措手！」兵科宋一韓等力主達議，且劾繼先他事。繼先遂罷，卒於家。

In the winter of the twenty-first year he was appointed commander-in-chief of Liaodong. Chaohua led two thousand horsemen into Hanjia Road; Jixian led the troops in a fierce counterattack and the raiders withdrew. He again pleaded illness and retired. In the twenty-fourth year he was recalled to command Jizhou. Since Qi Jiguang had held the garrison for ten years, the tribes remained restive but border alarms were infrequent. When raiders once entered Qingshan Pass they were beaten back at once. At last Chang Ang led the Ban and Bai chieftains in an invasion; they passed Shimen, threatened Shanhaiguan, and people throughout the eastern capital fled into Tongzhou. Jixian marched out of the pass, but the raiders had already finished plundering and withdrawn toward Ningqian. Governor-general Jian Da was furious that Jixian had not pursued, while Jixian was busy recruiting eight hundred surrendered tribesmen he hoped to employ. Jian Da memorialized that tribal auxiliaries were unreliable and might cause future trouble, and asked that Jixian be transferred elsewhere with the surrendered tribesmen in tow. The ministry proposed swapping him with Du Song of Yan-sui, but Grand Coordinator Liu Sike objected. Jian Da memorialized again: "Border defense depends on self-reliance, yet Jixian insists that one can rely only on surrendered tribesmen. When he marched out last year, where was the strength of those surrendered tribesmen? Urgent dispatches arrive incessantly; the enemy has long known every weakness of our border defenses. Disaster can strike in an instant — how is one to respond! Military Affairs Censor Song Yihan and others strongly supported Jian Da's proposal and also impeached Jixian on other grounds. Jixian was dismissed and died at home.

繼先眇一目，習兵敢戰，時稱「獨目將軍」。

Blind in one eye, skilled in war and fearless in battle, he was known as the "One-Eyed General."

官秉忠

Guan Bingzhong

官秉忠，榆林衞人。萬曆中起世廕，歷官固原參將，擢寧夏、甘肅副總兵。嘗與主將達雲大破寇於紅崖，銀定、歹成屢被挫去。移守薊鎮東協，積功加署都督同知。

Guan Bingzhong was a native of Yulin Guard. During the Wanli reign he entered service through hereditary privilege, rose to assistant commander at Guyuan, and was promoted to deputy commander-in-chief of Ningxia and Gansu. He had joined commander-in-chief Da Yun in a great victory at Hongya, repeatedly routing Yinding and Daicheng. Transferred to the eastern wing of Jizhen, he rose through merit to acting vice regional commander.

四十年五月，擢總兵官，代張承廕鎮延綏。套寇犯保寧，秉忠督參將杜文煥等敗之白土澗。一日再捷，俘斬二百五十，馘其長十二人。無何，旗牌撒勒犯長樂，秉忠將輕騎追襲之，大獲。猛克什力犯保寧，秉忠又破之。已而猛克挾賞不獲，再寇保寧及懷遠，秉忠隨所向以勁騎遮擊，先後斬首二百二十有奇。猛克及旗牌復以千餘騎犯波羅，遙見保寧軍，遂遁出塞。

In the fifth month of the fortieth year he was promoted to commander-in-chief at Yan-sui, replacing Zhang Chengyin. When Ordos raiders struck Baoning, Bingzhong led assistant commander Du Wenhuan and others to defeat them at Baitu Stream. In a single day he won two victories, capturing or slaying two hundred fifty and decapitating twelve enemy chiefs. Soon the banner chief Sale raided Changlo; Bingzhong led picked cavalry in pursuit and won a great victory. When Mengke Shili raided Baoning, Bingzhong defeated him again. When Mengke, denied the rewards he demanded, raided Baoning and Huaiyuan again, Bingzhong intercepted his picked cavalry wherever they struck, taking more than two hundred twenty heads in all. Mengke and the banner chiefs raided Boluo with more than a thousand horsemen but fled back across the border at the sight of Baoning troops.

吉能者，卜失兔子，為套中之主，士馬雄諸部。見卜失兔襲順義王，補其五年市賞，遂挾求封王，且還八年市賞。邊臣不許，則大怨。會他部鐵雷以痘瘡死，妄言邊吏毒殺之。而沙計盜邊，又被衂去。吉能遂合套中諸部，大舉入寇。東道高家、大柏油、神木、柏林，中道波羅，西道磚井、寧塞諸城堡盡被蹂躪。副將孫洪謨禦之大柏油，中伏被圍。遊擊萬化孚等不救，士卒死傷過半，洪謨遂降。秉忠聞寇入，急遣遊擊張榜潛劫其營，又敗，死四百餘人。會故帥杜松、寧夏帥杜文煥援軍至，竝破敵，而秉忠所部亦有斬獲，寇始退。然猶駐塞下，時鈔掠。秉忠亦屢出襲擊，多獲首功，竟以前負被劾去官。方候代，沙計謀從雙山、建安入犯，秉忠設伏待之。遂大敗去，斬其首二百有奇。

Jineng, son of Bu Shitu, was lord of the Ordos and commanded the strongest force among the tribes. When Bu Shitu attacked the Prince of Shunyi and received five years of back pay in border-market rewards, Jineng demanded enfeoffment as a prince and eight years of market rewards as well. Frontier officials refused, and he flew into a rage. About then Tie Lei of another tribe died of smallpox; the tribes falsely claimed border officials had poisoned him. Meanwhile Shaji raided the border and was humiliatingly driven off. Jineng then rallied all the Ordos tribes in a major invasion. Forts along the eastern route — Gaojia, Dabaiyou, Shenmu, Bailing — the central route at Boluo, and the western route at Zhuanjing, Ningsai, and elsewhere were all ravaged. Deputy commander Sun Hongmo defended Dabaiyou but was ambushed and surrounded. Mobile corps commander Wan Huafu and others failed to relieve him; more than half his men were killed or wounded, and Hongmo surrendered. When Bingzhong learned of the invasion, he sent mobile corps commander Zhang Bang to raid the enemy camp by stealth; the raid failed and more than four hundred men were lost. Former commander Du Song and Ningxia commander Du Wenhuan arrived with reinforcements; together they broke the enemy. Bingzhong's troops also took heads, and the raiders at last withdrew. They remained camped below the border, raiding whenever they could. Bingzhong led repeated counter-raids and took many heads, but was impeached and dismissed for his earlier losses. While awaiting his successor, Shaji planned to invade through Shuangshan and Jian'an; Bingzhong laid an ambush. The raiders were routed and more than two hundred heads taken.

四十六年，與劉綎、柴國柱等同被召，令僉書前府，尋赴援遼東。楊鎬之四路出師也，令秉忠防守鎮城。無何，辭疾歸。久之卒。子撫民，亦為寧夏總兵官。

In the forty-sixth year he was summoned with Liu Ting, Chai Guozhu, and others to serve in the Front Bureau and soon marched to aid Liaodong. When Yang Hao launched his four-route campaign, Bingzhong was ordered to hold Zhencheng. He soon pleaded illness and retired. He died some years later. His son Fumin also served as commander-in-chief of Ningxia.

柴國柱

Chai Guozhu

柴國柱，西寧衞人。萬曆中，由世廕歷西寧守備。驍猛善射。從參將達雲擊寇南川，勇冠軍。錄功，進都指揮僉事。寇盜邊，輒為國柱所挫。屢進涼州副總兵。

Chai Guozhu was a native of Xining Guard. During the Wanli reign he entered service through hereditary privilege and rose to garrison commandant of Xining. He was valiant, fierce, and an expert archer. Serving under assistant commander Da Yun at Nanchuan, his courage outshone every man in the ranks. His achievements were recorded and he was promoted to assistant regional commander. Whenever raiders struck the border, Guozhu drove them back. He rose repeatedly to deputy commander-in-chief of Liangzhou.

松山既復，方建堡置堠，寇數來擾，國柱頻擊却之。銀定、歹成連兵寇鎮番，國柱馳救，斬首二百有奇，獲馬駝甲仗無算。青海寇大掠鎮羌、黑古城諸堡，守備楊國珍不能禦，國柱急率遊擊王允中等擊走之。銀定、歹成復犯河西，國柱邀擊，獲首功百二十。擢署都督僉事，陝西總兵官。

After Songshan was recovered and new forts and beacon towers were going up, raiders harassed the works repeatedly; Guozhu beat them back each time. When Yinding and Daicheng joined forces against Zhenfan, Guozhu rode to the rescue, took more than two hundred heads, and seized horses, camels, armor, and weapons beyond reckoning. When Qinghai raiders ravaged Zhenqiang, Heigucheng, and other forts and garrison commandant Yang Guozhen could not hold, Guozhu rushed in with mobile corps commander Wang Yunzhong and drove them off. When Yinding and Daicheng raided Hexi again, Guozhu intercepted them and took one hundred twenty heads. He was promoted to acting assistant regional commander and commander-in-chief of Shaanxi.

三十六年春，改鎮甘肅。銀定、歹成屢不得志，益寇鈔永昌。國柱馳與大戰，敗之，追至麻山湖，斬首百六十有奇。其部落復入寇，守備鄭崇雅等戰歿，國柱坐奪俸一年。河套、松山諸部長合兵入寇，國柱檄諸將分道擊，復斬首百六十。屢加右都督，世廕指揮僉事。久之，罷官。

In the spring of the thirty-sixth year he was transferred to command Gansu. Frustrated again and again, Yinding and Daicheng redoubled their raids on Yongchang. Guozhu rode to meet them in battle, routed them, pursued them to Mayingshan Lake, and took more than one hundred sixty heads. When the tribes raided again and garrison commandant Zheng Chongya and others were killed, Guozhu's pay was docked for a year. When Ordos and Songshan chieftains joined in a raid, Guozhu sent his generals against them on several routes and took another one hundred sixty heads. He was repeatedly promoted, reaching right regional commander with hereditary succession as assistant guard commander. In time he was dismissed from office.

四十六年夏，召僉書都督府事。無何，代杜松鎮山海關。松敗歿，虎墩兔乘機犯邊，國柱等力遏之。尋移鎮瀋陽。謝病歸。天啟初，追錄邊功，加左都督。卒，賜恤如制。

In the summer of the forty-sixth year he was summoned to serve in the Regional Commander's Bureau. Before long he replaced Du Song as commander of Shanhaiguan. After Du Song's defeat and death, Huduntu seized the moment to raid the border; Guozhu and his colleagues held the line. He was soon transferred to command Shenyang. He pleaded illness and retired. Early in Tianqi his frontier achievements were recorded and he was promoted to left regional commander. He died and was granted posthumous honors according to regulation.

李懷信

Li Huaixin

李懷信，大同人。由世廕歷都指揮僉事，掌山西都司。廉勤，數被推薦。萬曆中，遷延綏中路參將，進定邊副總兵。卜失兔、火落赤、鐵雷、擺言太等歲擾邊。定邊居延綏西，被患尤棘。懷信勇敢有謀，寇入輒敗。其先後鎮帥杜松、王威、張承廕、官秉忠又皆一時選，故邊患雖劇，而士氣不衰。

Li Huaixin was a native of Datong. Through hereditary privilege he rose to assistant regional commander and director of the Shanxi military command. Honest and diligent, he was repeatedly recommended for promotion. During the Wanli reign he was posted as assistant commander on Yan-sui's central route and promoted to deputy commander-in-chief of Dingbian. Bu Shitu, Huoluo Chi, Tie Lei, Baiyan Tai, and others raided the border year after year. Dingbian, west of Yan-sui, bore the brunt of the border troubles. Brave and resourceful, Huaixin defeated every raider who crossed the border. His successive superiors — Du Song, Wang Wei, Zhang Chengyin, and Guan Bingzhong — were all elite commanders of the day, so despite severe border troubles morale never flagged.

四十三年擢甘肅總兵官，延人為立生祠。松山寇入掠蘆溝墩諸處，懷信邀擊，大敗之。斬首三百有奇，獲駝馬甲仗無算。已，復分三道犯鎮番諸堡，懷信亦分遏之。寇引還，將士尾其後，獲首功百九十有奇。自後寇入多失利去，威名著河西。先是，陝西止設四鎮，自西寧多警，增設臨洮總兵官，遂為五鎮。然惟甘、延最當敵衝，故擇帥常慎。而甘肅北有松山，南臨青海，諸部落環居其外，尤難禦。懷信在鎮，邊人恃以無恐。

In the forty-third year he was promoted to commander-in-chief of Gansu; local people petitioned to build a living shrine in his honor. When Songshan raiders plundered Lucun Dun and neighboring posts, Huaixin intercepted them and routed them. He took more than three hundred heads and seized camels, horses, armor, and weapons beyond reckoning. Soon the raiders split into three columns against the Zhenfan forts; Huaixin divided his forces to block each one. As the raiders withdrew, Ming troops pursued and took more than one hundred ninety heads. Thereafter raiders who entered Hexi usually withdrew in defeat; his reputation resounded throughout the region. Shaanxi had originally maintained four garrisons; as Xining grew restless a fifth was added at Lintao. Only Gansu and Yan-sui lay directly in the enemy's path, and commanders for those posts were chosen with especial care. Gansu was especially difficult to hold: Songshan to the north, Qinghai to the south, and tribal camps encircling it on every side. While Huaixin commanded the garrison, the border people lived without fear.

四十七年，遼東急，詔充援勦總兵官，馳赴遼東。時熊廷弼為經略，令懷信偕柴國柱、賀世賢以四萬人守瀋陽。煖兔、炒花謀入犯，廷弼急移懷信戍首山，寇不敢入。俄泛懿有警，檄懷信禦却之。遼事益急，諸老將多引避。廷弼復負氣凌諸將，懷信不能堪，亦堅臥引疾去。天啟二年起鎮大同。明年罷。已，追錄邊功，進左都督。久之，卒於家。

In the forty-seventh year, with Liaodong in crisis, he was appointed relief commander-in-chief and rushed to the northeast. Grand Coordinator Xiong Tingbi ordered Huaixin, Chai Guozhu, and He Shixian to hold Shenyang with forty thousand men. When Nuannu and Chaohua plotted an invasion, Tingbi rushed Huaixin to Shoushan and the raiders dared not advance. When Fan Yi came under threat, Huaixin was ordered to repulse the enemy. As the Liaodong crisis deepened, many veteran generals pleaded illness to stay away. Xiong Tingbi's arrogance toward his subordinates became unbearable; Huaixin too pleaded illness and withdrew. In the second year of Tianqi he was recalled to command Datong. The following year he was dismissed. Shortly afterward his frontier achievements were recorded posthumously and he was promoted to left regional commander. He died at home some years later.

贊曰：張臣諸人，勇略自奮，著效邊陲，均一時良將選也。董一元白沙堝、墨山之捷，奇偉不下王越。至承廕與松，以將門子捐軀報國，視世所稱「東李西麻」者，相去何等也。

The historian comments: Zhang Chen and his fellows, driving themselves by courage and strategy, won distinction along the frontier and all belonged among the finest commanders of their day. Dong Yiyuan's victories at Baisha'ao and Mo Mountain were as brilliant as any won by Wang Yue. As for Chengyin and Song, who as sons of commanders gave their lives for the state, how far they stand from the fame of the age's "Li in the east and Ma in the west"!

Cite this Chapter