Volume 252 Biographies 140: Yang Sichang, Wu Shen

楊嗣昌吳甡

Yang Sichang and Wu Shen

楊嗣昌，字文弱，武陵人。萬歷三十八年進士。改除杭州府教授。遷南京國子監博士，累進戶部郎中。天啟初，引疾歸。

Yang Sichang, whose courtesy name was Wenruo, came from Wuling. He passed the jinshi examination in the thirty-eighth year of the Wanli reign (1610). He was posted as a professor in the Hangzhou prefectural school. He was transferred to a lectureship at the Nanjing Directorate of Education and rose through successive promotions to bureau director in the Ministry of Revenue. Early in the Tianqi reign he resigned on grounds of illness and returned home.

崇禎元年，起河南副使，加右參政，移霸州。四年，移山海關飭兵備。父鶴，總督陜西被逮，嗣昌三疏請代，得減死。五年夏，擢右僉都御史，巡撫永平、山海諸處。嗣昌父子不附奄，無嫌於東林。侍郎遷安郭鞏以逆案謫戍廣西，其鄉人為訟冤。嗣昌以部民故，聞於朝，給事中姚思孝駁之，自是與東林郤。

In the first year of Chongzhen (1628) he was recalled to serve as vice commissioner in Henan, promoted to right assistant commissioner, and transferred to Bazhou. Four years later he was reassigned to oversee military defenses at Shanhai Pass. When his father Yang He, then grand coordinator of Shaanxi, was arrested, Sichang submitted three memorials offering to serve in his father's stead and won a commutation of the death penalty. In the summer of the fifth year (1632) he was promoted to right assistant censor-in-chief and appointed grand coordinator of Yongping and the surrounding frontier districts including Shanhai. Neither Yang Sichang nor his father had sided with the eunuch faction, and they bore no animosity toward the Donglin scholars. The vice minister Guo Gong of Qian'an, having been exiled to Guangxi in connection with a treason case, found his fellow townspeople petitioning on his behalf to clear his name. As a fellow native of the region, Sichang raised the case at court; the supervising secretary Yao Sixiao rebuffed him, and from that point he fell out with the Donglin faction.

七年秋，拜兵部右侍郎兼右僉都御史，總督宣、大、山西軍務。時中原饑，群盜蜂起，嗣昌請開金銀銅錫礦，以解散其黨。又六疏陳邊事，多所規畫。帝異其才。以父憂去，復遭繼母喪。

In the autumn of the seventh year he was made vice minister of War and right assistant censor-in-chief, with overall command of military affairs in Xuanfu, Datong, and Shanxi. With famine afflicting the Central Plains and rebel bands swelling everywhere, Sichang proposed opening mines for gold, silver, copper, and tin so that the disaffected might be dispersed into lawful employment. He submitted six further memorials on frontier defense, setting out extensive plans. The emperor was struck by his talent. He resigned to observe mourning for his father, then was overtaken by mourning for his stepmother.

九年秋，兵部尚書張鳳翼卒，帝顧廷臣無可任者，即家起嗣昌。三疏辭，不許。明年三月抵京，召對。嗣昌通籍後，積歲林居，博涉文籍，多識先朝故事，工筆劄，有口辨。帝與語，大信愛之。鳳翼故柔靡，兵事無所區畫。嗣昌銳意振刷，帝益以為能。每對必移時，所奏請無不聽，曰：「恨用卿晚。」嗣昌乃議大舉平賊。請以陜西、河南、湖廣、江北為四正，四巡撫分剿而專防；以延綏、山西、山東、江南、江西、四川為六隅，六巡撫分防而協剿；是謂十面之網。而總督、總理二臣，隨賊所向，專征討。福建巡撫熊文燦者，討海賊有功，大言自詭足辦賊。嗣昌聞而善之。會總督洪承疇、王家楨分駐陜西、河南。家楨故庸材，不足任，嗣昌乃薦文燦代之。因議增兵十二萬，增餉二百八十萬。其措餉之策有四，曰因糧，曰溢地，曰事例，曰驛遞。因糧者，因舊額之糧，量為加派，畝輸糧六合，石折銀八錢，傷地不與，歲得銀百九十二萬九千有奇；溢地者，民間土田溢原額者，核實輸賦，歲得銀四十萬六千有奇；事例者，富民輸資為監生，一歲而止；驛遞者，前此郵驛裁省之銀，以二十萬充餉。議上，帝乃傳諭：「流寇延蔓，生民塗炭，不集兵無以平寇，不增賦無以餉兵。勉從廷議，暫累吾民一年，除此腹心大患。其改因糧為均輸，布告天下，使知為民去害之意。」尋議諸州縣練壯丁捍本土，詔撫按飭行。

When Minister of War Zhang Fengyi died in the autumn of the ninth year (1636), the emperor, finding no suitable minister at court, recalled Sichang directly from his home. He declined three times by memorial; the emperor would not accept his refusal. He reached Beijing in the third month of the following year and was granted a private audience with the emperor. After taking office he had spent years in retirement, reading widely and mastering the precedents of earlier reigns; he wrote excellent memorials and was an effective speaker. In conversation with him the emperor came to trust and favor him deeply. Zhang Fengyi had been passive and weak, with no coherent military policy. Sichang threw himself into revitalizing the military establishment, and the emperor grew ever more convinced of his ability. Each audience ran long, and every request he made was granted. The emperor said, "I regret having put you to use so late. With that, Sichang proposed a full-scale campaign to suppress the rebels. He proposed designating Shaanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Jiangbei as the four cardinal regions, each with a grand coordinator assigned to pursuit while focusing chiefly on defense; and Yan-sui, Shanxi, Shandong, Jiangnan, Jiangxi, and Sichuan as the six corner regions, whose grand coordinators would hold defensive lines while coordinating pursuit— a scheme known as the "ten-sided net." Meanwhile the supreme commander and the coordinator-general would follow the rebels wherever they went and lead the main offensive. Xiong Wencan, grand coordinator of Fujian, had distinguished himself against pirates on the coast and now boasted that he alone could finish off the rebels. Sichang heard him and was pleased. At the time the supreme commanders Hong Chengchou and Wang Jiazhen were posted respectively in Shaanxi and Henan. Wang Jiazhen was a mediocrity unfit for the role, so Sichang recommended Wencan in his place. He proposed raising an additional 120,000 troops and 2.8 million taels in funds. His four revenue measures were called grain surcharges, surplus-land assessment, purchase of office by contribution, and postal savings. The grain surcharge built on existing grain quotas with a proportional levy of six he per mu, converted at eight qian of silver per shi, with barren land exempted, yielding somewhat more than 1,929,000 taels annually; the surplus-land assessment verified and taxed farmland exceeding registered quotas, yielding somewhat more than 406,000 taels annually; the precedent-case measure allowed wealthy households to buy the status of student-inspector by contribution for a single year; and postal savings redirected the 200,000 taels cut from the courier system to military funds. When the plan reached him, the emperor issued a transmitted edict: "The roving rebels spread unchecked and the people suffer in misery. Without gathering troops the rebels cannot be suppressed, and without increasing levies the troops cannot be supplied. Reluctantly following the court's deliberation, I shall temporarily burden my people for one year to remove this grave internal threat. Rename the grain surcharge as 'equal transport' and proclaim it throughout the realm, so all may know the intent is to remove harm for the people." He soon also proposed that every prefecture and county drill able-bodied men to defend their home districts, and an edict ordered the grand coordinators and surveillance commissioners to enforce the measure.

賊攻淅川，左良玉不救，城陷。山西總兵王忠援河南，稱疾不進，兵噪而歸。嗣昌請逮戮失事諸帥，以肅軍令，遂逮忠及故總兵張全昌。良玉以六安功，落職戴罪自贖。

When the rebels attacked Xichuan, Zuo Liangyu failed to relieve it and the city fell. The Shanxi regional commander Wang Zhong, sent to reinforce Henan, pleaded illness and refused to advance; his troops mutinied and marched home. Sichang requested that commanders who had failed in duty be arrested and punished to stiffen military discipline; Wang Zhong and the former regional commander Zhang Quanchang were accordingly seized. Liangyu, credited with merit at Lu'an, was demoted but allowed to redeem his guilt through further service.

嗣昌既建「四正六隅」之說，欲專委重文燦，文燦顧主撫議，與前策牴牾。帝譙讓文燦，嗣昌亦心望。既已任之，則曲為之解，乃上疏曰：「網張十面，必以河南、陜西為殺賊之地。然陜有李自成、惠登相等，大部未能剿絕，法當驅關東賊不使合，而使陜撫斷商、雒，鄖撫斷鄖、襄，安撫斷英、六，鳳撫斷亳、潁，而應撫之軍出靈、陜，保撫之軍渡延津。然後總理提邊兵，監臣提禁旅，豫撫提陳永福諸軍，並力合剿。若關中大賊逸出關東，則秦督提曹變蛟等出關協擊。期三月盡諸劇寇。巡撫不用命，立解其兵柄，簡一監司代之；總兵不用命，立奪其帥印，簡一副將代之；監司、副將以下，悉以尚方劍從事。則人人效力，何賊不平。」乃克今年十二月至明年二月為滅賊之期。帝可其奏。

Having devised the "four cardinals and six corners" scheme, Sichang wished to place full authority in Wencan's hands, but Wencan favored appeasement, which contradicted the earlier strategy. The emperor rebuked Wencan, and Sichang too inwardly hoped for better results. Having already appointed him, Sichang bent over backward to defend him and submitted a memorial: "With the net spread on ten sides, Henan and Shaanxi must be the places where the rebels are destroyed. Yet Shaanxi still harbors Li Zicheng, Hui Dengqi, and others in bands too large to exterminate at once. The method is to drive the rebels east of the passes before they can unite, while the Shaanxi coordinator blocks Shang and Luo, the Yun coordinator blocks Yun and Xiang, the Anqing coordinator blocks Ying and Lu, the Fengyang coordinator blocks Bo and Ying, the Ying coordinator's troops advance from Ling and Shaan, and the Baoding coordinator's troops cross the Yanjin ford. Then the coordinator-general leads the frontier troops, the supervising minister leads the capital guard, the Henan coordinator leads Chen Yongfu's forces, and all join in a combined offensive. If major rebel forces slip east of the passes, the Shaanxi supreme commander will lead Cao Bianjiao and others out of the passes to assist in the attack. The deadline is three months to eliminate all the major rebel bands. If a grand coordinator disobeys orders, immediately relieve him of military authority and appoint a surveillance commissioner in his place; if a regional commander disobeys orders, immediately seize his commander's seal and appoint a vice commander in his place; and for surveillance commissioners, vice commanders, and all ranks below, the imperial sword may be applied without further appeal. Then every man will exert himself—what rebel could fail to be suppressed?" He fixed the period from the twelfth month of this year to the second month of next as the deadline for destroying the rebels. The emperor approved his memorial.

是時，賊大入四川，朝士尤洪承疇縱賊。嗣昌因言於帝曰：「熊文燦在事三月，承疇七年不效。論者繩文燦急，而承疇縱寇莫為言。」帝知嗣昌有意左右之，變色曰：「督、理二臣但責成及時平賊，奈何以久近藉之口！」嗣昌乃不敢言。文燦既主撫議，所加餉天子遣一侍郎督之，本藉以剿賊，文燦悉以資撫。帝既不復詰，廷臣亦莫言之。

At this time the rebels made a major incursion into Sichuan, and court officials especially blamed Hong Chengchou for letting them roam free. Sichang therefore said to the emperor, "Xiong Wencan has been in office three months; Chengchou seven years without effect. Critics press Wencan urgently, yet for Chengchou letting the rebels roam free no one speaks up." The emperor, seeing that Sichang meant to favor one side, flushed and said, "The supreme commander and coordinator-general are charged only to pacify the rebels in good time—how dare you use length of service as a pretext!" Sichang then dared not speak further. Wencan having favored appeasement, the added funds that the emperor sent a vice minister to supervise were originally meant for military suppression; Wencan spent them all on appeasement instead. The emperor no longer questioned the matter, and no court official spoke of it either.

至明年三月，嗣昌以滅賊逾期，疏引罪，薦人自代。帝不許，而命察行間功罪，乃上疏曰：「洪承疇專辦秦賊，賊往來秦、蜀自如，剿撫俱無功，不免於罪。熊文燦兼辦江北、河南、湖廣賊，撫劉國能、張獻忠，戰舞陽、光山，剿撫俱有功，應免罪。諸巡撫則河南常道立、湖廣余應桂有功，陜西孫傳庭、山西宋賢、山東顏繼祖、保定張其平、江南張國維、江西解學龍、浙江喻思恂有勞，鄖陽戴東旻無功過，鳳陽朱大典、安慶史可法宜策勵圖功。總兵則河南左良玉有功，陜西曹變蛟、左光先無功，山西虎大威、山東倪寵、江北牟文綬、保定錢中選有勞無功，河南張任學、寧夏祖大弼無功過。承疇宜遣逮，因軍民愛戴，請削宮保、尚書，以侍郎行事。變蛟、光先貶五秩，與大弼期五月平賊，逾期並承疇逮治。大典貶三秩，可法戴罪自贖。」議上，帝悉從之。

By the third month of the following year, with the deadline for destroying the rebels past, Sichang submitted a memorial accepting guilt and recommending a successor. The emperor refused, but ordered an inquiry into merits and faults in the field. Sichang then submitted a memorial: "Hong Chengchou was charged solely with the Shaanxi rebels, yet they moved freely between Shaanxi and Sichuan; both suppression and appeasement failed—he cannot escape guilt. Xiong Wencan handled rebels in Jiangbei, Henan, and Huguang together, appeased Liu Guoneng and Zhang Xianzhong, and fought at Wuyang and Guangshan—he achieved results in both suppression and appeasement and should be exempted from guilt. Among the grand coordinators, Chang Daoli of Henan and Yu Yinggui of Huguang had merit; Sun Chuanting of Shaanxi, Song Xian of Shanxi, Yan Jizu of Shandong, Zhang Qiping of Baoding, Zhang Guowei of Jiangnan, Xie Xuelong of Jiangxi, and Yu Sixun of Zhejiang had done solid work; Dai Dongmin of Yunyang had neither merit nor fault; Zhu Dadian of Fengyang and Shi Kefa of Anqing should be urged to strive for achievement. Among the regional commanders, Zuo Liangyu of Henan had merit; Cao Bianjiao and Zuo Guangxian of Shaanxi had none; Hu Dawei of Shanxi, Ni Chong of Shandong, Mou Wenshou of Jiangbei, and Qian Zhongxuan of Baoding exerted themselves without success; Zhang Renxue of Henan and Zu Dabi of Ningxia had neither merit nor fault. Chengchou should be sent for arrest; because troops and civilians esteem him, I request stripping him of his Grand Guardian and Minister titles and allowing him to serve as vice minister. Bianjiao and Guangxian were demoted five ranks; Dabi was given five months to pacify the rebels, with the understanding that if the deadline passed, he and Chengchou would be arrested together. Dadian was demoted three ranks; Kefa was allowed to redeem his guilt through further service." When the deliberation was submitted, the emperor approved it in full.

嗣昌既終右文燦，而文燦實不知兵。既降國能、獻忠，謂撫必可恃。嗣昌亦陰主之，所請無不曲徇，自是不復言「十面張網」之策矣。是月，帝御經筵畢，嗣昌奏對有「善戰服上刑」等語，帝怫然，詰之曰：「今天下一統，非戰國兵爭比。小醜跳梁，不能伸大司馬九伐之法，奈何為是言？」嗣昌慚。

Sichang had ultimately sided with Wencan, yet Wencan truly understood nothing of military affairs. Once Liu Guoneng and Zhang Xianzhong had surrendered, he believed appeasement could surely be relied upon. Sichang also secretly supported him; whatever Wencan requested was granted without exception, and from that point Sichang no longer spoke of the "ten-sided net" strategy. That month, after the emperor's lecture on the classics, Sichang in his audience response used phrases such as "those skilled in war submit to the highest punishment." The emperor was displeased and challenged him: "The realm is unified today—it is not comparable to the military contests of the Warring States period. Petty villains leap about, yet you cannot apply the Grand Marshal's nine punitive campaigns—why speak in such terms?" Sichang was ashamed.

當是時，流賊既大熾，朝廷又有東顧憂，嗣昌復陰主互市策。適太陰掩熒惑，帝減膳修省，嗣昌則歷引漢永平、唐元和、宋太平興國事，蓋為互市地雲。給事中何楷疏駁之，給事中錢增、御史林蘭友相繼論列，帝不問。

At this time the roving rebels had grown fierce, and the court also had worries in the east; Sichang again secretly favored a policy of border trade with the northern tribes. When the moon eclipsed Mars, the emperor reduced his meals and practiced self-examination; Sichang then cited in succession precedents from the Han Yongping, Tang Yuanhe, and Song Taiping Xingguo reigns—apparently paving the way for border trade. The supervising secretary He Kai memorialized in rebuttal; the supervising secretary Qian Zeng and the censor Lin Lanyou debated the matter in turn; the emperor took no notice.

六月，改禮部尚書兼東閣大學士，入參機務，仍掌兵部事。嗣昌既以奪情入政府，又奪情起陳新甲總督，於是楷、蘭友及少詹事黃道周抗疏詆斥，修撰劉同升、編修越士春繼之。帝怒，並鐫三級，留翰林。刑部主事張若麒上疏醜詆道周，遂鐫道周六級，並同升、士春皆謫外。已而南京御史成勇、兵部尚書範景文等言之，亦獲譴。嗣昌自是益不理於人口。

In the sixth month he was made Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion, entering the inner cabinet while continuing to direct Ministry of War affairs. Sichang having entered government without completing mourning for his father, also recalled Chen Xinji as supreme commander without regard to mourning; thereupon Kai, Lanyou, and the junior mentor Huang Daozhou submitted defiant memorials denouncing him, followed by the compiler Liu Tongsheng and the editor Yue Shichun. The emperor was angry and demoted all of them three ranks, retaining them in the Hanlin Academy. The Ministry of Justice clerk Zhang Ruoqi submitted a memorial vilifying Daozhou; Daozhou was demoted six ranks, and Tongsheng and Shichun were all banished to posts outside the capital. Soon the Nanjing censor Cheng Yong, Minister of War Fan Jingwen, and others spoke up as well and were likewise punished. From that point Sichang grew ever more unpopular in public opinion.

我大清兵入墻子嶺、青口山，薊遼保定總督吳阿衡方醉，不能軍，敗死。京城戒嚴，召盧象升帥師入衛。象升主戰，嗣昌與監督中官高起潛主款，議不合，交惡。編修楊廷麟劾嗣昌誤國，嗣昌怒，改廷麟職方主事監象升軍，而戒諸將毋輕戰。諸將本恇怯，率藉口持重觀望，所在列城多破。嗣昌據軍中報，請旨授方略。比下軍前，則機宜已變，進止乖違，疆事益壞雲。象升既陣亡，嗣昌亦貶三秩，戴罪視事。

Our Great Qing troops entered Qiangzi Ridge and Qingkou Mountain; the Jizhou-Liaodong-Baoding supreme commander Wu Aheng was drunk and unable to command his troops, and was defeated and killed. The capital was placed under martial law, and Lu Xiangsheng was summoned to lead troops to its defense. Xiangsheng favored fighting; Sichang and the supervising eunuch Gao Qiqian favored appeasement. Their views clashed and they became mutually hostile. The editor Yang Tinglin impeached Sichang for harming the state. Sichang in anger transferred Tinglin to a clerkship in the Bureau of Operations to supervise Xiangsheng's army, yet warned all the generals not to engage lightly. The generals were by nature timid and cowardly and all used caution as a pretext to hold back and wait; walled cities fell one after another. Sichang, relying on reports from the army, requested imperial instructions on strategy. By the time orders reached the front, the situation had already changed, advance and retreat fell out of step, and frontier affairs grew worse still. After Xiangsheng fell in battle, Sichang was demoted three ranks as well and continued in office under sentence of guilt.

十二年正月，濟南告陷，德王被執，遊騎北抵兗州。二月，大清兵北旋，給事中李希沆言：「聖明禦極以來，北兵三至。己巳之罪未正，致有丙子；丙子之罪未正，致有今日。」語侵嗣昌。御史王誌舉亦劾嗣昌誤國四大罪，請用丁汝夔、袁崇煥故事。帝怒，希沆貶秩，誌舉奪官。初，帝以嗣昌才而用之，非廷臣意，知其必有言，言者輒斥。嗣昌既有罪，帝又數逐言官，中外益不平。嗣昌亦不自安，屢疏引罪，乃落職冠帶視事。未幾，以敘功復之。

In the first month of the twelfth year (1639), Jinan fell; the Prince of De was captured, and roaming enemy cavalry pushed north as far as Yanzhou. In the second month the Qing troops withdrew northward, and the supervising secretary Li Xikang said, "Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, northern armies have invaded three times. The crimes of the jisi year were never punished, which led to the bingzi invasion; the crimes of the bingzi year were never punished, which led to today." His words were aimed at Sichang. The censor Wang Zhiju also impeached Sichang on four counts of harming the state and asked that the precedents of Ding Ruokui and Yuan Chonghuan be applied. The emperor was angry; Xikang was demoted in rank and Zhiju stripped of his post. The emperor had appointed Sichang for his talent against the court's wishes; expecting criticism, he dismissed whoever spoke out. With Sichang already in disgrace and the emperor again expelling remonstrating officials, resentment spread through court and country alike. Sichang grew uneasy as well and repeatedly memorialized to accept guilt; he was reduced in rank but allowed to retain his insignia and continue in office. Before long he was restored on account of recorded merit.

先是，京師被兵，樞臣皆坐罪。二年，王洽下獄死，復論大辟。九年，張鳳翼出督師，服毒死，猶削籍。及是，亡七十余城，而帝眷嗣昌不衰。嗣昌乃薦四川巡撫傅宗龍自代。帝命嗣昌議文武諸臣失事罪，分五等：曰守邊失機，曰殘破城邑，曰失陷藩封，曰失亡主帥，曰縱敵出塞。於是中官則薊鎮總監鄧希詔、分監孫茂霖，巡撫則順天陳祖苞、保定張其平、山東顏繼祖，總兵則薊鎮吳國俊、陳國威，山東倪寵，援剿祖寬、李重鎮及他副將以下，至州縣有司，凡三十六人，同日棄市。而嗣昌貶削不及，物議益嘩。

Earlier, whenever the capital came under attack, the military ministers had all been punished. In the second year Wang Qia died in prison and capital punishment was debated again. In the ninth year Zhang Fengyi went out as supreme commander, took poison and died, yet still had his name struck from the registers. By this time more than seventy cities had been lost, yet the emperor's favor toward Sichang did not wane. Sichang then recommended the Sichuan grand coordinator Fu Zonglong as his successor. The emperor ordered Sichang to classify the guilt of civil and military officials who had failed in duty into five grades: losing opportunity while guarding the frontier, ravaging cities and towns, losing princely enfeoffments, losing commanders, and letting the enemy escape beyond the passes. Among the eunuch officials, the Jizhou supervising commissioner Deng Xixu and sub-commissioner Sun Maolin were executed; among the grand coordinators, Chen Zubao of Shuntian, Zhang Qiping of Baoding, and Yan Jizu of Shandong; among the regional commanders, Wu Guojun and Chen Guowei of Jizhou, Ni Chong of Shandong, Zu Kuan and Li Chongzhen of the relief forces, and other vice commanders and below down to prefectural and county officials—in all thirty-six men were executed in the market on the same day. Yet Sichang himself escaped demotion, and public outrage grew louder.

當戒嚴時，廷臣多請練邊兵。嗣昌因定議：宣府、大同、山西三鎮兵十七萬八千八百有奇，三總兵各練萬，總督練三萬，以二萬駐懷來，一萬駐陽和，東西策應。余授鎮監、巡撫以下分練。延綏、寧夏、甘肅、固原、臨兆五鎮兵十五萬五千七百有奇，五總兵各練萬，總督練三萬，以二萬駐固原，一萬駐延安，東西策應。余授巡撫、副將以下分練。遼東、薊鎮兵二十四萬有奇，五總兵各練萬，總督練五萬，外自錦州，內抵居庸，東西策應。余授鎮監、巡撫以下分練。汰通州、昌平督治二侍郎，設保定一總督，合畿輔、山東、河北兵，得十五萬七千有奇，四總兵各練二萬，總督練三萬，北自昌平，南抵河北，聞警策應。余授巡撫以下分練。又以畿輔重地，議增監司四人。於是大名、廣平、順德增一人，真定、保定、河間各一人。薊遼總督下增監軍三人。議上，帝悉從之。嗣昌所議兵凡七十三萬有奇，然民流餉絀，未嘗有實也。

When martial law was declared, many court officials urged drilling the frontier troops. Sichang fixed the plan as follows: the three garrisons of Xuanfu, Datong, and Shanxi had 178,800-odd troops; each of the three regional commanders would drill 10,000, the supreme commander 30,000, with 20,000 stationed at Huailai and 10,000 at Yanghe to coordinate east and west. The remainder was assigned to the garrison commissioners, grand coordinators, and ranks below for separate drilling. The five garrisons of Yan-sui, Ningxia, Gansu, Guyuan, and Lintao had 155,700-odd troops; each of the five regional commanders would drill 10,000, the supreme commander 30,000, with 20,000 at Guyuan and 10,000 at Yan'an to coordinate east and west. The remainder was assigned to the grand coordinators, vice commanders, and ranks below for separate drilling. The Liaodong and Jizhou garrisons had 240,000-odd troops; each of the five regional commanders would drill 10,000, the supreme commander 50,000, from Jinzhou on the outside to Juyong on the inside, coordinating east and west. The remainder was assigned to the garrison commissioners, grand coordinators, and ranks below for separate drilling. The two vice ministers supervising Tongzhou and Changping were eliminated, a single supreme commander was established at Baoding, and the troops of the capital region, Shandong, and Hebei were combined into 157,000-odd men; each of the four regional commanders would drill 20,000, the supreme commander 30,000, from Changping in the north to Hebei in the south, ready to respond at the first alarm. The remainder was assigned to the grand coordinators and ranks below for separate drilling. Because the capital region was vital territory, he also proposed adding four surveillance commissioners. Daming, Guangping, and Shunde each gained one commissioner; Zhending, Baoding, and Hejian each gained one as well. Three army supervisors were added under the Jizhou-Liaodong supreme commander. When the plan was submitted, the emperor approved it in full. The troops Sichang proposed totaled more than 730,000, yet with the people displaced and supplies short, the numbers never matched reality.

帝又采副將楊德政議，府汰通判，設練備，秩次守備，州汰判官，縣汰主簿，設練總，秩次把總，並受轄於正官，專練民兵。府千，州七百，縣五百，捍鄉土，不他調。嗣昌以勢有緩急，請先行畿輔、山東、河南、山西，從之。於是有練餉之議。初，嗣昌增剿餉，期一年而止。後餉盡而賊未平，詔征其半。至是，督餉侍郎張伯鯨請全征。帝慮失信，嗣昌曰：「無傷也，加賦出於土田，土田盡歸有力家，百畝增銀三四錢，稍抑兼並耳。」大學士薛國觀、程國祥皆贊之。於是剿餉外復增練餉七百三十萬。論者謂：「九邊自有額餉，概予新餉，則舊者安歸？邊兵多虛額，今指為實數，餉盡虛糜，而練數仍不足。且兵以分防不能常聚，故有抽練之議，抽練而其余遂不問。且抽練仍虛文，邊防愈益弱。至州縣民兵益無實，徒糜厚餉。」以嗣昌主之，事鉅莫敢難也。神宗末增賦五百二十萬，崇禎初再增百四十萬，總名遼餉。至是，復增剿餉、練餉，額溢之。先後增賦千六百七十萬，民不聊生，益起為盜矣。

The emperor also adopted the proposal of the vice commander Yang Dezheng: prefectures would eliminate the sub-prefect and establish a drill-inspector rank just below garrison commander; prefectures would eliminate the judge and counties the registrar, establishing a drill-captain rank just below platoon commander—all under the regular officials and devoted solely to drilling militia. Each prefecture would field 1,000 men, each sub-prefecture 700, each county 500, to defend their own districts without transfer elsewhere. Sichang, judging that circumstances varied in urgency, asked that the plan be implemented first in the capital region, Shandong, Henan, and Shanxi; the request was granted. Thereupon arose the proposal for drill-supply levies. When Sichang had first increased the suppression levy, it was to last only one year. Later, when the funds were exhausted and the rebels still unrested, an edict ordered collection of half the levy. By this time the supplies-supervising vice minister Zhang Boyu requested full collection of the levy. The emperor worried about breaking faith with the people; Sichang said, "It does no harm. The added levy comes from land, and land has all passed into the hands of the powerful; an extra three or four qian of silver per hundred mu will only slightly restrain land annexation." The grand secretaries Xue Guanguan and Cheng Guoxiang both approved. Thereupon, beyond the suppression levy, a drill levy of 7.3 million taels was added. Critics said, "The nine frontier garrisons already have allotted funds—if everything is assigned to the new levies, what becomes of the old allotments? Frontier rolls are mostly padded with phantom men; treating them as real numbers wastes the funds in vain while the drilled troops still fall short. Moreover, because troops are scattered on defensive duty they cannot always assemble, hence the proposal for selective drilling—but once the select few are drilled, the rest are ignored. Moreover, selective drilling remains a paper exercise, and frontier defense grows weaker still. As for prefectural and county militia, they increasingly exist only on paper, wasting heavy funds in vain." Because Sichang championed the plan, the matter was too large for anyone to dare object. At the end of the Shenzong reign levies were increased by 5.2 million taels; at the beginning of Chongzhen they were increased again by 1.4 million, together called the Liaodong levy. By this time the suppression and drill levies were added as well, and the total quota overflowed. Successive increases totaled 16.7 million taels; the people could barely survive and increasingly turned to banditry.

五月，熊文燦所撫賊張獻忠反谷城，羅汝才等九營皆反。八月，傅宗龍抵京，嗣昌解部務，還內閣。未幾，羅犭英山敗書聞。帝大驚，詔逮文燦。特旨命嗣昌督師，賜尚方劍，以便宜誅賞。九月朔，召見平臺。嗣昌曰：「君言不宿於家，臣朝受命，夕啟行，軍資甲仗望敕所司遄發。」帝悅，曰：「卿能如此，朕復何憂。」翊日，賜白金百、大紅絺絲四表裏、鬥牛衣一、賞功銀四萬、銀牌千五百、幣帛千。嗣昌條七事以獻，悉報可。四日召見賜宴，手觴三爵，禦制贈行詩一章。嗣昌跪誦，拜且泣。越二日，陛辭，賜膳。二十九日抵襄陽，入文燦軍。文燦就逮，嗣昌猶為疏辯雲。

In the fifth month the rebel Zhang Xianzhong, whom Xiong Wencan had appeased, rebelled at Gucheng; Luo Rucai and nine other camps rebelled as well. In the eighth month Fu Zonglong reached the capital; Sichang relinquished his ministry duties and returned to the inner cabinet. Before long came news of the defeat at Xi Yingshan. The emperor was greatly alarmed and ordered Wencan arrested. By special edict Sichang was ordered to take command of the army, granted the imperial sword, and given discretionary power to execute and reward. On the first day of the ninth month he was summoned to audience at the terrace. Sichang said, "A ruler's command does not spend the night at home—a subject who receives orders in the morning sets out that evening. I beg Your Majesty to order the relevant offices to dispatch military supplies and arms at once." The emperor was pleased and said, "If you can act thus, what have I to worry about?" The next day he was granted one hundred taels of white silver, four suits of great red silk, one Dipper-Ox robe, 40,000 taels of merit-reward silver, 1,500 silver plaques, and one thousand bolts of silk. Sichang presented seven proposals; all were approved. On the fourth day he was summoned again, granted a banquet, and offered three cups with his own hand; the emperor composed a farewell poem. Sichang knelt to recite it, bowed, and wept. Two days later he took leave at court and was granted provisions for the journey. On the twenty-ninth day he reached Xiangyang and took over Wencan's army. Even after Wencan was arrested, Sichang still memorialized in his defense.

十月朔，嗣昌大誓三軍，督理中官劉元斌，湖廣巡撫方孔炤，總兵官左良玉、陳洪範等畢會。賊賀一龍等掠葉，圍沈丘，焚項城之郛，寇光山。副將張琮、刁明忠率京軍逾山行九十里，及其巢。先驅射賊，殪絳袍而馳者二人，追奔四十里，斬首千七百五十。嗣昌稱詔頒賜。十一月，興世王王國寧以眾千人來歸，受之於襄陽，處其妻子樊城。表良玉平賊將軍。諸將積驕玩，無鬥誌。獻忠、羅汝才、惠登相等八營遁鄖陽、興安山間，掠南漳、谷城、房、竹山、竹溪。嗣昌鞭刁明忠，斬監軍僉事殷大白以徇。檄巡撫方孔炤遣楊世恩、羅萬邦剿汝才、登相，全軍覆於香油坪。嗣昌劾逮孔炤，奏辟永州推官萬元吉為軍前監紀，從之。

On the first day of the tenth month Sichang swore a great oath before the three armies; the supervising eunuch Liu Yuanbin, the Huguang grand coordinator Fang Kongzhao, the regional commanders Zuo Liangyu and Chen Hongfan, and others all assembled. The rebels He Yilong and others raided Ye, besieged Shenqiu, burned the outer wall of Xiangcheng, and invaded Guangshan. The vice commanders Zhang Cong and Diao Mingzhong led capital troops ninety li over the mountains and reached the rebel stronghold. The vanguard shot at the rebels and killed two crimson-robed riders in flight; pursuing forty li, they took 1,750 heads. Sichang proclaimed an edict distributing rewards. In the eleventh month the Prince of the Prosperous Age Wang Guoning surrendered with more than a thousand followers; he was received at Xiangyang and his family was settled at Fancheng. He memorialized that Liangyu be titled Pacifying-Rebels General. The generals had grown arrogant and negligent, without fighting spirit. Xianzhong, Luo Rucai, Hui Dengxiang, and eight camps fled into the mountains between Yunyang and Xing'an, raiding Nanzhang, Gucheng, Fang, Zhushan, and Zhuxi. Sichang flogged Diao Mingzhong and executed the army-supervising associate commissioner Yin Dabai as a warning. He ordered the grand coordinator Fang Kongzhao to send Yang Shi'en and Luo Wanbang against Rucai and Dengxiang; the entire force was destroyed at Xiangyouping. Sichang impeached Kongzhao and had him arrested; he memorialized to appoint the Yongzhou magistrate Wan Yuanji as army-front disciplinarian, and the request was granted.

當是時，李自成潛伏陜右，賀一龍、左金王等四營跳梁漢東，嗣昌專剿獻忠。獻忠屢敗於興安，求撫，不許。其黨托天王常國安、金翅鵬劉希原來降，獻忠走入川，良玉追之。嗣昌牒令還，良玉不從。十三年二月七日，與陜西副將賀人龍、李國奇夾擊獻忠於瑪瑙山，大破之，斬馘三千六百二十，墜巖谷死者無算。其黨掃地王曹威等授首，十反王楊友賢率眾降。是月也，帝念嗣昌，發銀萬兩犒師，賜鬥牛衣、良馬、金鞍各二。使者甫出國門，而瑪瑙山之捷至，大悅，再發銀五萬，幣帛千犒師。論功，加太子少保。而湖廣將張應元、汪之鳳敗賊水右壩，獲其軍師。四川將張令、方國安敗之千江河。李國奇、賀人龍等敗之寒溪寺、鹽井。川、陜、湖廣諸將畢集，復連敗之黃墩、木瓜溪，軍聲大振。汝才、登相求撫，獻忠持之，斂兵南漳、遠安間，殺安撫官姚宗中，走大寧、大昌，犯巫山，為川中患。獻忠遁興安、平利山中，良玉圍而不攻，賊得收散亡，由興安、房縣走白羊山而西，與汝才等合。嗣昌以群賊合，其勢復張，乃由襄陽赴夷陵，扼其要害。帝念嗣昌行間勞苦，賜敕發賞功銀萬，賜鞍馬二。罷鄖陽撫治王鰲永，詔廢將猛如虎軍前立功。黃得功、宋紀大破賊商城，賀一龍五大部降而復叛。鄭嘉棟、賀人龍大破汝才、登相開縣。汝才偕小秦王東奔，登相越開縣而西，自是二賊始分。

At this time Li Zicheng lay hidden in western Shaanxi; He Yilong, Zuo Jinwang, and four camps rampaged in eastern Han; Sichang focused solely on suppressing Xianzhong. Xianzhong was repeatedly defeated at Xing'an and sought appeasement, but was refused. His followers Trust-in-Heaven King Chang Guo'an and Golden-Wing Peng Liu Xiyuan surrendered; Xianzhong fled into Sichuan and Liangyu pursued him. Sichang sent orders to return; Liangyu disobeyed. On the seventh day of the second month of the thirteenth year, together with the Shaanxi vice commanders He Renlong and Li Guoqi, he attacked Xianzhong from both sides at Agate Mountain and routed him utterly, taking 3,620 heads; those who fell into cliffs and ravines and died were beyond counting. His followers Sweeping-Earth King Cao Wei and others surrendered their heads; Ten-Rebellions King Yang Youxian led his band to surrender. That month the emperor thought of Sichang, sent 10,000 taels of silver to reward the army, and granted him two Dipper-Ox robes, fine horses, and gold saddles. The envoy had just left the capital when news of the victory at Agate Mountain arrived; greatly pleased, the emperor sent another 50,000 taels of silver and one thousand bolts of silk to reward the army. For his merit he was given the additional title Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. Meanwhile the Huguang generals Zhang Yingyuan and Wang Zhifeng defeated the rebels at Shuiyouba and captured their military adviser. The Sichuan generals Zhang Ling and Fang Guo'an defeated them at Qianjiang River. Li Guoqi, He Renlong, and others defeated them at Hanxi Temple and Yanjing. The generals of Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Huguang all assembled and again defeated them in succession at Huangdun and Mugua Stream; military morale revived greatly. Rucai and Dengxiang sought appeasement, but Xianzhong held them back; he gathered his forces between Nanzhang and Yuan'an, killed the pacification official Yao Zongzhong, fled to Daning and Dachang, invaded Wushan, and became a scourge in Sichuan. Xianzhong fled into the mountains of Xing'an and Pingli; Liangyu besieged but did not attack, allowing the rebels to regather their scattered forces; they fled west from Xing'an and Fang counties by way of Baiyang Mountain and united with Rucai and others. Seeing the rebel bands unite and their power revive, Sichang went from Xiangyang to Yiling to block their vital line of advance. The emperor, mindful of Sichang's hardships in the field, granted an edict issuing 10,000 taels of merit-reward silver and two saddled horses. He dismissed the Yunyang pacification commissioner Wang Aoyong and ordered the dismissed general Meng Ruhu to win merit at the front. Huang Degong and Song Ji inflicted a great defeat on the rebels at Shangcheng; He Yilong's five major divisions surrendered and then rebelled again. Zheng Jiadong and He Renlong inflicted a great defeat on Rucai and Dengxiang at Kaixian. Rucai fled east together with Little Qin King, while Dengxiang crossed Kaixian and headed west; from that point the two rebel bands parted ways.

當是時，諸部士馬居山谷，罹炎暑瘴毒，物故十二三。京兵之在荊門、雲南兵之在簡坪、湖廣兵之在馬蝗坡者，久屯思歸，夜亡多。關河大旱，人相食，土寇蜂起，陜西竇開遠、河南李際遇為之魁，饑民從之，所在告警。嗣昌以聞。帝發帑金五萬，營醫藥，責諸將進兵。而陜之長武，川之新寧、大竹，湖廣之羅田又相繼報陷。嗣昌乃下招撫令，為諭帖萬紙，散之賊中。七月，監軍孔貞會等大破汝才豐邑坪。其黨混世王、小秦王率其下降，賊魁整十萬及登相、王光恩亦相繼降，於是群賊盡萃於蜀中。嗣昌遂入川，以八月泛舟上，謂川地厄塞，諸軍合而蹙之，可盡殄。而人龍以秦師自開縣噪而西歸，應元等敗績於夔之土地嶺，獻忠勢復張，汝才與之合。聞督師西，遂急趨大昌，犯觀音巖，守將邵仲光不能禦，遂突凈壁，陷大昌。嗣昌斬仲光，劾逮四川巡撫邵捷春。賊遂渡河至通江，嗣昌至萬縣。賊攻巴州不下，嗣昌至梁山，檄諸將分擊。賊已陷劍州，趨保寧，將由間道入漢中。趙光遠、賀人龍拒之，賊乃轉掠，陷梓潼、昭化，抵綿州，將趨成都。十一月，嗣昌至重慶。賊攻羅江，不克，走綿竹。嗣昌至順慶，諸將不會師。賊轉掠至漢州，去中江百里，守將方國安避之去，賊遂縱掠什邡、綿竹、安縣、德陽、金堂間，所至空城而遁，全蜀大震。賊遂由水道下簡州、資陽。嗣昌征諸將合擊，皆退縮。屢征良玉兵，又不至。賊遂陷榮昌、永川。十二月，陷瀘州。

At this time the troops and horses of the various units were encamped in mountain valleys, where they suffered heat, summer fevers, and malarial miasma; one or two soldiers in ten died. The capital troops at Jingmen, the Yunnan troops at Jianping, and the Huguang troops at Mahuang Slope had been encamped so long that they yearned to go home, and many deserted by night. Severe drought struck the Guanne and Hexi regions, people resorted to cannibalism, and local bandits rose everywhere; Dou Kaiyuan of Shaanxi and Li Jiyu of Henan became their leaders, starving peasants joined them, and alarms were raised in every quarter. Sichang reported these developments to the throne. The emperor released 50,000 taels from the treasury, arranged for medical supplies, and ordered the generals to advance. Reports then came in succession that Changwu in Shaanxi, Xinning and Dazhu in Sichuan, and Luotian in Huguang had all fallen. Sichang then issued orders of appeasement, had ten thousand proclamation sheets printed, and distributed them among the rebel camps. In the seventh month the supervising generals Kong Zhenhui and others inflicted a great defeat on Rucai at Fengyiping. His followers Chaos King and Little Qin King led their bands in surrender; the rebel chieftain Zheng Shawan, along with Dengxiang and Wang Guang'en, also surrendered in turn, and all the rebel bands then gathered in Sichuan. Sichang then entered Sichuan and, in the eighth month, went upstream by boat, reasoning that Sichuan's terrain was narrow and defensible and that if all the armies united to press the rebels, they could be wiped out entirely. But Renlong led his Qin troops in mutiny from Kaixian and marched west toward home; Yingyuan and others were defeated at Tudiling in Kui; Xianzhong's strength revived, and Rucai rejoined him. Hearing that the supreme commander had gone west, they rushed toward Dachang, attacked Guanyin Cliff, and when the defending general Shao Zhongguang could not hold them, broke through Jingbi and captured Dachang. Sichang executed Zhongguang and impeached the Sichuan grand coordinator Shao Jiechun, who was arrested. The rebels then crossed the river to Tongjiang, while Sichang reached Wanxian. The rebels attacked Bazhou but failed to take it; Sichang reached Liangshan and ordered the generals to attack on separate fronts. The rebels had already captured Jianzhou and were advancing on Baoning, intending to enter Hanzhong by a hidden route. Zhao Guangyuan and He Renlong blocked them, so the rebels turned to raiding instead, captured Zitong and Zhaohua, reached Mianzhou, and were about to march on Chengdu. In the eleventh month Sichang arrived at Chongqing. The rebels attacked Luojiang but failed to capture it and withdrew toward Mianzhu. Sichang reached Shunqing, but the generals failed to assemble for a joint campaign. The rebels turned to raiding and reached Hanzhou, a hundred li from Zhongjiang; the defending general Fang Guo'an fled before them, and they then rampaged through Shifang, Mianzhu, Anxian, Deyang, and Jintang, leaving every city they touched empty before moving on; all of Sichuan was shaken. The rebels then descended by water to Jianzhou and Ziyang. Sichang summoned the generals for a combined assault, but all of them held back. He repeatedly summoned Liangyu's troops, but they never arrived. The rebels then captured Rongchang and Yongchuan. In the twelfth month they captured Luzhou.

自賊再入川，諸將無一邀擊者。嗣昌雖屢檄，令不行。其在重慶也，下令赦汝才罪，降則授官，惟獻忠不赦，擒斬者賚萬金，爵侯。翌日，自堂皇至庖湢，遍題「有斬督師獻者，賚白金三錢」，嗣昌駭愕，疑左右皆賊，勒三日進兵。會雨雪道斷，復戒期。三檄人龍，不奉令。初，嗣昌表良玉平賊將軍，良玉浸驕，欲貴人龍以抗之。既以瑪瑙山功不果，人龍慍，反以情告良玉，良玉亦慍，語載良玉、人龍傳。

From the time the rebels re-entered Sichuan, not a single general had intercepted them. Though Sichang issued order after order, his commands went unheeded. While at Chongqing he issued an order pardoning Rucai's crimes and offering office to those who surrendered; only Xianzhong was excluded from pardon, with a reward of ten thousand taels of gold and a marquisate for whoever captured and killed him. The next day, from the main hall to the kitchens, everywhere was scrawled: "Whoever brings in the supreme commander's head will receive three qian of silver"; Sichang was horrified, suspected that those around him were all rebel agents, and ordered the army to advance within three days. Snow and rain then cut the roads, and the deadline was postponed once more. Three times he summoned Renlong, but Renlong refused to obey. Earlier Sichang had memorialized to appoint Liangyu Pacification General; Liangyu grew increasingly arrogant and sought to elevate Renlong as a counterweight. When the promised reward for Agate Mountain failed to materialize, Renlong grew resentful and confided his grievance to Liangyu, who was also angered; the full account is given in the biographies of Liangyu and Renlong.

嗣昌雖有才，然好自用，躬親簿書，過於繁碎。軍行必自裁進止，千里待報，坐失機會。王鰲永嘗諫之，不納。及鰲永罷官，上書於朝曰：「嗣昌用師一年，蕩平未奏，此非謀慮之不長，正由操心之太苦也。天下事，總挈大綱則易，獨周萬目則難。況賊情瞬息更變，今舉數千里征伐機宜，盡出嗣昌一人，文牒往返，動逾旬月，坐失事機，無怪乎經年之不戰也。其間能自出奇者，惟瑪瑙山一役。若必遵督輔號令，良玉當退守興安，無此捷矣。臣以為陛下之任嗣昌，不必令其與諸將同功罪，但責其提衡諸將之功罪。嗣昌之馭諸將，不必人人授以機宜，但核其機宜之當否，則嗣昌心有余閑，自能決奇制勝。何至久延歲月，老師糜餉為哉？」先是，嗣昌以諸將進止不一，納幕下評事元吉言，用猛如虎為總統，張應元副之。比賊入瀘州，如虎及賀人龍、趙光遠軍至，賊復渡南溪，越成都，走漢州、德陽、綿州、劍州、昭化至廣元，又走巴州、達州。諸軍疲極，惟如虎軍躡其後。十四年正月，嗣昌知賊必出川，遂統舟師下雲陽，檄諸軍陸行追賊。人龍軍既噪而西，頓兵廣元不進，所恃惟如虎。比與賊戰開縣、黃陵城，大敗，將士死亡過半。如虎突圍免，馬騾關防盡為賊有。

Sichang was capable, but he insisted on doing everything himself, personally handling ledgers and paperwork in excessive detail. On campaign he always decided for himself when to advance or halt; armies a thousand li away waited for his word, and opportunities were lost while they sat idle. Wang Aoyong once remonstrated with him, but he would not listen. After Aoyong was dismissed, he submitted a memorial to the court saying: "Sichang has commanded troops for a year without achieving pacification — this is not because his plans are unsound, but because he overtaxes himself with minutiae. In affairs under heaven, grasping the broad outline is easy; trying to scrutinize every detail by oneself is hard. Moreover rebel movements shift in an instant; yet now the plans for campaigns stretching thousands of li all issue from Sichang alone, with dispatches going back and forth often taking more than ten days or a month — opportunities are lost while armies wait, and it is no wonder there has been no fighting for a year. In all this time, the only occasion when a commander could act on his own initiative and win a surprise victory was the battle at Agate Mountain. If Liangyu had been required to obey the supreme commander's orders, he would have fallen back to hold Xing'an, and that victory would never have happened. Your servant believes that in employing Sichang, Your Majesty need not hold him to the same standard of merit and blame as the field generals, but need only charge him with weighing their merits and faults. In controlling his generals, Sichang need not draw up battle plans for each man himself, but need only judge whether their plans are sound; then he would have mind to spare and could devise the decisive strokes that win battles. Why should months drag on, armies sit idle, and provisions be squandered? Earlier, because the generals' movements were uncoordinated, Sichang took the advice of his staff adviser Yuanji and appointed Meng Ruhu overall commander, with Zhang Yingyuan as his deputy. By the time the rebels entered Luzhou, the armies of Ruhu, He Renlong, and Zhao Guangyuan had arrived; the rebels again crossed the Nanxi River, passed Chengdu, and fled through Hanzhou, Deyang, Mianzhou, Jianzhou, and Zhaohua to Guangyuan, then on to Bazhou and Dazhou. The armies were utterly exhausted; only Ruhu's force still pressed on their heels. In the first month of the fourteenth year, Sichang knew the rebels would have to leave Sichuan, so he led the fleet downstream to Yunyang and ordered the land forces to pursue them. Renlong's army had already mutinied and marched west; his troops halted at Guangyuan and would not advance, and Sichang's only reliance was Ruhu. When they fought the rebels at Kaixian and Huanglingcheng, they suffered a crushing defeat, and more than half the officers and soldiers were killed. Ruhu broke out of the encirclement and escaped, but the horses, mules, and military tallies all fell into rebel hands.

初，賊竄南溪，元吉欲從間道出梓潼，扼歸路以待賊。嗣昌檄諸軍躡賊疾追，不得拒賊遠，令他逸。諸將乃盡從瀘州逐後塵。賊折而東返，歸路盡空，不可復遏，嗣昌始悔不用元吉言。賊遂下夔門，抵興山，攻當陽，犯荊門。嗣昌至夷陵，檄良玉兵，使十九返。良玉撤興、房兵趨漢中，若相避然。賊所至，燒驛舍，殺塘卒，東西消息中斷。鄖陽撫治袁繼鹹聞賊至當陽，急謀發兵。獻忠令汝才與相持，而自以輕騎一日夜馳三百里，殺督師使者於道，取軍符。以二月十一日抵襄陽近郊，用二十八騎持軍符先馳呼城門督師調兵，守者合符而信，入之。夜半從中起，城遂陷。

When the rebels first fled toward Nanxi, Yuanji wanted to take a hidden route through Zitong and block their line of retreat. Sichang ordered all the armies to press close in swift pursuit and not try to block the rebels from a distance, lest they slip away. The generals then all set out from Luzhou in pursuit, chasing only the rebels' rear. The rebels turned east and headed back, finding the return route entirely undefended; they could no longer be stopped, and Sichang then regretted not heeding Yuanji's advice. The rebels then descended through Kuimen, reached Xingshan, attacked Dangyang, and invaded Jingmen. Sichang reached Yiling and summoned Liangyu's troops, sending messengers nineteen times. Liangyu withdrew his Xing and Fang troops toward Hanzhong, as though deliberately avoiding the rebels. Wherever the rebels went they burned relay stations and killed courier-station guards, cutting off communications east and west. The Yunyang pacification commissioner Yuan Jixian heard that the rebels had reached Dangyang and urgently set about raising troops. Xianzhong ordered Rucai to hold the government forces in check while he himself, with light cavalry, rode three hundred li in a single day and night, killed the supreme commander's messenger on the road, and seized the military tallies. On the eleventh day of the second month he reached the outskirts of Xiangyang; twenty-eight horsemen bearing the military tallies rode ahead to the gate, calling out that the supreme commander was redeploying troops; the guards matched the tallies, believed them, and let them in. At midnight they rose from within the city, and Xiangyang fell.

獻忠縛襄王置堂下，屬之酒，曰：「吾欲斷楊嗣昌頭，嗣昌在遠。今借王頭，俾嗣昌以陷藩伏法。王努力盡此酒。」遂害之。未幾，渡漢水，走河南，與賀一龍、左金王諸賊合。嗣昌初以襄陽重鎮，仞深溝方洫而三環之，造飛梁，設橫枑，陳利兵而譏訶，非符要合者不得渡。江、漢間列城數十，倚襄陽為天險，賊乃出不意而破之。嗣昌在夷陵，驚悸，上疏請死，下至荊州之沙市，聞洛陽已於正月被陷，福王遇害，益憂懼，遂不食。以三月朔日卒，年五十四。

Xianzhong bound the Prince of Xiang and placed him below the hall, offered him wine, and said: "I want to cut off Yang Sichang's head, but Sichang is far away. Now I will borrow Your Highness's head, so that Sichang may be punished by law for letting a prince fall. Your Highness, do your best and finish this cup of wine. With that he put the prince to death. Before long he crossed the Han River, fled into Henan, and joined forces with He Yilong, Zuo Jinwang, and the other rebel bands. Sichang had originally treated Xiangyang as a vital stronghold, digging deep moats and square ditches in three rings around it, building flying bridges, setting crossbars, and posting sharp troops to challenge passersby — no one without matching tallies could cross. Several dozen walled cities between the Yangtze and Han relied on Xiangyang as their natural fortress, yet the rebels took it when no one expected it. At Yiling Sichang was shaken with fear; he submitted a memorial asking to die, then went down to Shashi in Jingzhou; there he learned that Luoyang had fallen in the first month and that Prince Fu had been killed; his anxiety deepened, and he stopped eating. On the first day of the third month he died at the age of fifty-four.

廷臣聞襄陽之變，交章論列，而嗣昌已死矣。繼鹹及河南巡按高名衡以自裁聞，其子則以病卒報，莫能明也。帝甚傷悼之，命丁啟睿代督師。傳諭廷臣：「輔臣二載辛勞，一朝畢命，然功不掩過，其議罪以聞。」定國公徐允禎等請以失陷城寨律議斬。上傳制曰：「故輔嗣昌奉命督剿，無城守專責，乃詐城夜襲之檄，嚴飭再三，地方若罔聞知。及違制陷城，專罪督輔，非通論。且臨戎二載，屢著捷功，盡瘁殞身，勤勞難泯。」乃昭雪嗣昌罪，賜祭，歸其喪於武陵。嗣昌先以剿賊功進太子少傅，既死，論臨、藍平盜功，進太子太傅。廷臣猶追論不已，帝終念之。後獻忠陷武陵，心恨嗣昌，發其七世祖墓，焚嗣昌夫婦柩，斷其屍見血，其子孫獲半體改葬焉。

When court officials heard of the disaster at Xiangyang, they submitted memorial after memorial assigning blame, but Sichang was already dead. Jixian and the Henan investigating censor Gao Mingheng were reported to have taken their own lives, while Sichang's son reported that he had died of illness — no one could establish the truth. The emperor was deeply grieved and ordered Ding Qirui to replace him as supreme commander. An edict was transmitted to the court officials: "The grand secretary toiled for two years and perished in a single day; yet merit does not cover fault — discuss his guilt and report back. The Duke of Dingguo Xu Yunzhen and others asked that he be sentenced to decapitation under the law governing the loss of cities and forts. The emperor transmitted a decree: "The late grand secretary Sichang was ordered to supervise the suppression of rebels and bore no sole responsibility for defending cities; yet edicts warning of the night raid with forged tallies were sent again and again in the strictest terms, and the local officials seemed to hear nothing. To hold the supreme commander solely responsible when a city falls in violation of orders is not equitable. Moreover, he campaigned for two years, won repeated victories, exhausted himself unto death, and his devoted service cannot be forgotten. He then cleared Sichang of guilt, granted him a state sacrifice, and had his coffin returned to Wuling. Sichang had earlier been promoted to Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent for his merit in suppressing rebels; after his death, his merit in pacifying the Lin and Lan bandits was recognized with promotion to Senior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. Court officials continued to press their criticisms, but the emperor never ceased to think kindly of him. Later, when Xianzhong captured Wuling, he bore a grudge against Sichang, dug up the tomb of his seventh-generation ancestor, burned the coffins of Sichang and his wife, and hacked the corpses until blood flowed; Sichang's descendants recovered what remained of the bodies and reburied them.

吳甡，字鹿友，揚州興化人。萬歷四十一年進士。歷知邵武、晉江、濰縣。天啟二年征授御史。初入臺，趙南星擬以年例出之，甡乃薦方震孺等，而追論崔文升、李可灼罪，遂得留。後又諫內操宜罷，請召還鄒元標、馮從吾、文震孟，乃積與魏忠賢忤。七年二月削其籍。

Wu Shen, styled Luyou, was a native of Xinghua in Yangzhou Prefecture. He received his jinshi degree in the forty-first year of the Wanli reign. He held successive appointments as magistrate of Shaowu, Jinjiang, and Weixian. In the second year of the Tianqi reign he was summoned to office and appointed a censor. When he first entered the Censorate, Zhao Nanxing planned to remove him under the seniority rule; Shen then recommended Fang Zhenru and others and pursued charges against Cui Wensheng and Li Kezhuo, and so was allowed to remain. Later he also remonstrated that the inner-court military drills should be abolished and requested the recall of Zou Yuanbiao, Feng Congwu, and Wen Zhenmeng, and in this way steadily came into conflict with Wei Zhongxian. In the second month of the seventh year his name was struck from the official rolls.

崇禎改元，起故官。溫體仁訐錢謙益，周延儒助之。甡恐帝即用二人，言枚卜大典當就廷推中簡用，事乃止。時大治忠賢黨，又值京察，甡言此輩罪惡非考功法所能盡，宜先定其罪，毋混察典。御史任贊化以劾體仁謫，甡論救，而力詆王永光媚珰，請罷黜。皆不納。出按河南。妖人聚徒劫村落，甡遍捕賊魁誅之。奉命振延綏饑，因諭散賊黨。帝聞，即命按陜西。劾大將杜文煥冒功，置之法。數為民請命，奏無不允。遷大理寺丞，進左通政。

When the Chongzhen reign began, he was restored to his former post. Wen Tiren impeached Qian Qianyi, and Zhou Yanru backed him. Shen feared the emperor would immediately appoint the two men and argued that the grand appointment ceremony should select from those nominated by the court; the matter then came to a halt. At the time the eunuch faction was being purged, and the capital evaluation was also underway; Shen argued that the crimes of these men could not be fully accounted for under the merit-and-demerit evaluation and that their guilt should be fixed first, without mixing the matter into the regular evaluation. The censor Ren Zanhua was banished for impeaching Tiren; Shen memorialized in his defense and vigorously denounced Wang Yongguang for currying favor with the eunuchs, requesting his dismissal. None of his proposals was accepted. He was sent out to conduct an inspection tour of Henan. When mystics gathered followers to raid villages, Shen tracked down the ringleaders throughout the region and had them put to death. Ordered to provide famine relief in the Yan'an-Suide region, he took the occasion to persuade rebel bands to disband. When the emperor heard of this, he immediately appointed Shen to conduct an inspection tour of Shaanxi. He impeached the general Du Wenhuan for claiming credit he had not earned and had him punished according to law. He repeatedly petitioned on the people's behalf, and the emperor granted every request. He was transferred to vice director of the Court of Judicial Review and promoted to left vice commissioner of the Office of Transmission.

七年九月，超擢右僉都御史，巡撫山西。甡歷陳防禦、邊寇、練兵、恤民四難，及議兵、議將、議餉、議用人四事。每歲暮扼河防秦、豫賊，連三歲，無一賊潛渡，以閑修築邊墻。八年四月上疏言：「晉民有三苦：一苦兇荒，無計糊口；一苦追呼，無力輸租；一苦殺掠，無策保全。由此悉為盜，請蠲最殘破地十州縣租。」帝即敕議行。戶部請稅間架，甡力爭，弗聽。其秋，我大清平察哈爾國，旋師略朔州，直抵忻、代，守將屢敗。總督楊嗣昌遣副將自代州往偵，亦敗走。甡鐫五級，嗣昌及大同巡撫葉廷桂鐫三級，俱戴罪視事。先是，定襄縣地震者再，甡曰：「此必有東師也。」飭有司繕守具，已而果入。定襄以有備，獨不被兵。山西大盜賀宗漢、劉浩然、高加計皆前巡撫戴君恩所撫，擁眾自恣。甡陽為撫慰，而密令參將虎大威、劉光祚等圖之，以次皆被殲。甡行軍樹二白旗，脅從及老弱婦女跪其下，即免死，全活甚眾。在晉四年，軍民戴若慈母。謝病歸。

In the ninth month of the seventh year (1634), he was abruptly promoted to right vice censor-in-chief and appointed governor of Shanxi. Shen laid out in turn four pressing problems—defense, border raiders, military training, and relief for the people—and four topics for policy discussion: troop deployment, general selection, pay, and appointment of personnel. Each winter he held the river line against bandits from Shaanxi and Henan; for three years running not a single raider slipped across, and in the intervals he built up the border fortifications. In the fourth month of the eighth year (1635) he submitted a memorial: "The people of Shanxi endure three hardships: first, famine and disaster leave them no way to earn a living; second, relentless tax demands when they have no means to pay their levies; third, raids and slaughter when they have no way to protect themselves. Driven to this, they have all turned bandit. I ask that grain taxes be remitted in the ten prefectures and counties worst devastated by the disorder. The emperor at once ordered the proposal debated and carried out. When the Ministry of Revenue proposed a tax on buildings, Shen fought it fiercely, but the court would not heed him. That autumn the Qing pacified Chahar; on the return march their army raided Shuozhou and swept toward Xinzhou and Daizhou, and the Ming defenders suffered repeated defeats. Grand Coordinator Yang Sichang sent a vice general from Daizhou to reconnoiter; he too was beaten and driven off. Shen was demoted five ranks; Sichang and Ye Tinggui, governor of Datong, each lost three ranks; all three continued in office under censure. Earlier, Dingxiang County had been shaken twice by earthquakes; Shen said, "This means an army is coming from the east. He ordered the local officials to ready their defenses, and before long the enemy did indeed arrive. Because it was prepared, Dingxiang alone escaped attack. The great Shanxi bandits He Zonghan, Liu Haoran, and Gao Jiaji had all been brought under nominal control by the previous governor Dai Jun'en and now lorded over their followers as they pleased. Shen offered them public reassurance while secretly ordering Assistant Generals Hu Dawei, Liu Guangzuo, and others to take them down; one after another they were wiped out. On campaign Shen raised two white flags; anyone who had been forced into the band and the old, weak, and women had only to kneel beneath them to be spared, and very many lives were saved. During four years in Shanxi, soldiers and civilians alike revered him as they would a devoted mother. He retired citing illness.

十一年二月，起兵部左侍郎。其冬，尚書楊嗣昌言邊關戒嚴，甡及添註侍郎惠世楊久不至，請改推。帝怒，落職閑住。十三年冬起故官，明年命協理戎政。帝嘗問京營軍何以使練者盡精，汰者不嘩，甡對曰：「京營邊勇營萬二千專練騎射，壯丁二萬專練火器，廩給厚而技與散兵無異。宜行分練法，技精者，散兵拔為邊勇，否則邊勇降為散兵，壯丁亦然。老弱者汰補，革弊當以漸，不可使知有汰兵意。」帝然之。又問別立戰營，能得堪戰者五萬否，甡對：「京營兵合堪戰。承平日久，發兵剿賊，輒沿途雇充。將領利月餉，遊民利剽兌攵，歸營則本軍復充伍。今練兵法要在選將，有戰將自有戰兵，五萬非難。但法忌紛更，不必別立戰營也。」帝顧兵部尚書陳新甲，令速選將，而諭甡具疏以聞。賜果餌，拜謝出。

In the second month of the eleventh year (1638), he was recalled to serve as left vice minister of War. That winter Minister Yang Sichang reported the border on high alert; Shen and the supplementary vice minister Hui Shiyang had long failed to report, and Yang asked that other candidates be nominated in their place. The emperor was furious and dismissed them from office to idle at home. In the winter of the thirteenth year (1640) he was restored to his former post; the following year he was ordered to assist in managing military affairs. The emperor once asked how the capital garrison could ensure that those who trained were all elite while those culled did not riot. Shen answered: "In the capital garrison, twelve thousand men in the frontier-brave corps train exclusively in mounted archery and twenty thousand stalwarts train in firearms alone, yet though their rations are generous their skills are no better than those of ordinary troops. We should adopt a system of graded training: skilled ordinary soldiers should be promoted into the frontier-brave corps, and unskilled frontier-brave men demoted to ordinary rank—and the same for the firearms trainees. The old and weak should be winnowed out and replaced gradually; reform must come step by step, without letting the men know they are being purged. The emperor approved this plan. The emperor then asked whether setting up a separate battle corps could yield fifty thousand men ready to fight. Shen answered: "Taken together, the capital garrison already contains enough soldiers fit for combat. After so many years of peace, whenever troops are sent to suppress bandits, they are hired along the march to fill the ranks. Officers profit from the monthly stipends, vagabonds from the chance to plunder, and when the campaign ends the original garrison simply fills the ranks again. The key to drill today is choosing the right commanders; with good generals come good soldiers, and fifty thousand is not hard to raise. But policy should avoid constant upheaval—there is no need to create a separate battle corps. The emperor turned to War Minister Chen Xinjia and ordered a rapid search for commanders, then told Shen to submit a detailed memorial. The emperor granted him fruit and confections; Shen bowed in thanks and withdrew.

十五年六月，擢禮部尚書兼東閣大學士。周延儒再相，馮銓力為多，延儒許復其冠帶。銓果以捐資振饑屬撫按題敘，延儒擬優旨下戶部。公議大沸，延儒患之。馮元飆為甡謀，說延儒引甡共為銓地，延儒默援之，甡遂得柄用。及延儒語銓事，甡唯唯，退召戶部尚書傅淑訓，告以逆案不可翻，寢其疏不覆。延儒始悟為甡紿。延儒欲起張捷為南京右都御史，甡力尼之。甡居江北，延儒居江南，各樹黨。延儒引用錦衣都督駱養性，甡持不可。後帝論諸司弊竇，甡言錦衣尤甚，延儒亦言緹騎之害，帝並納之。

In the sixth month of the fifteenth year (1642), he was promoted to Minister of Rites and appointed Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion. When Zhou Yanru returned as chief grand secretary, Feng Quan lobbied hard on his behalf, and Yanru promised to restore his official standing. Feng Quan had a record of famine relief donations entered for commendation by the provincial governor and censor, and Yanru drafted a favorable edict for the Ministry of Revenue. Public outrage erupted, and Yanru grew anxious. Feng Yuanbiao devised a plan for Shen, persuading Yanru to bring Shen in to help smooth Feng Quan's path; Yanru quietly backed it, and Shen thus gained real influence at court. When Yanru raised Feng Quan's case, Shen murmured agreement—but on retiring he summoned Revenue Minister Fu Shuxun, told him the treason conviction could not be reversed, and let the memorial die without response. Only then did Yanru realize Shen had outmaneuvered him. Yanru wanted to appoint Zhang Jie right censor-in-chief at Nanjing, but Shen blocked it resolutely. Shen held sway north of the Yangzi and Yanru south of it, and each built a faction. Yanru sought to promote the Embroidered Uniform Guard commander Luo Yangxing, but Shen objected. Later, when the emperor reviewed abuses across the ministries, Shen said the Guard was worst of all and Yanru likewise denounced the harm done by its mounted agents; the emperor accepted both criticisms.

十六年三月，帝以襄陽、荊州、承天連陷，召對廷臣，隕涕謂甡曰：「卿向歷巖疆，可往督湖廣師。」甡具疏請得精兵三萬，自金陵趨武昌，扼賊南下。帝方念湖北，覽疏不悅，留中。甡請面對，帝御昭文閣，諭以所需兵多，猝難集。南京隔遠，不必退守。甡奏：「左良玉跋扈甚，督師嗣昌九檄征兵，一旅不發。臣不如嗣昌，而良玉踞江、漢甚於曩時，臣節制不行，徒損威重。南京從襄陽順流下，窺伺甚易，宜兼顧，非退守。」大學士陳演言：「督師出，則督、撫兵皆其兵。」甡言：「臣請兵，正為督、撫無兵耳。使臣束手待賊，事機一失，有不忍言者。」帝乃令兵部速議發兵。尚書張國維請以總兵唐通、馬科及京營兵共一萬畀甡，又言此兵方北征，俟敵退始可調。帝命姑俟之。甡屢請，帝曰：「徐之，敵退兵自集，卿獨往何益？」逾月，延儒出督師，朝受命，夕啟行。蔣德璟謂倪元璐曰：「上欲吳公速行，緩言相慰者，試之耳，觀首輔疾趨可見。」甡卒遲回不肯行。部所撥唐通兵，演又請留，雲關門不可無備。甡不得已，以五月辭朝。先一日出勞從騎，帝猶命中官賜銀牌給賞，越宿忽下詔責其逗遛，命輟行入直。甡惶恐，兩疏引罪，遂許致仕。既行，演及駱養性交構之，帝益怒。至七月，親鞫吳昌時，作色曰：「兩輔臣負朕，朕待延儒厚，乃納賄行私，罔知國法。命甡督師，百方延緩，為委卸地。延儒被糾，甡何獨無？」既而曰：「朕雖言，終必無糾者，錦衣衛可宣甡候旨。」甡入都，敕法司議罪。十一月，遣戍金齒。南京兵部尚書史可法馳疏救，不從。

In the third month of the sixteenth year (1643), after Xiangyang, Jingzhou, and Chengtian fell in succession, the emperor summoned the court, wept, and told Shen: "You have served on the frontiers—go and take command of the army in Huguang. Shen submitted a detailed memorial asking for thirty thousand picked troops, proposing to march from Nanjing to Wuchang and block the rebels' drive south. The emperor, whose thoughts were fixed on Hubei, read the memorial with displeasure and shelved it. Shen asked for a personal audience; the emperor received him at the Zhaowen Pavilion and explained that the troops he wanted were too many to assemble on short notice. Nanjing lay far away—there was no need to fall back and defend it. Shen replied: "Zuo Liangyu is wildly insubordinate; when Grand Coordinator Sichang sent nine orders for troops, he did not dispatch a single company. I am no match for Sichang, yet Liangyu holds the Yangzi and Han even more arrogantly than before; my orders will not be obeyed, and my authority will only be diminished. From Xiangyang the rebels could slide downriver toward Nanjing all too easily—we must guard both fronts, not treat this as a retreat to the south. Grand Secretary Chen Yan said, "When the supreme commander takes the field, the troops of every governor and coordinator become his to command. Shen answered, "I am asking for troops precisely because the governors and coordinators have none of their own. If I must face the rebels empty-handed, one lost chance may bring consequences too terrible to name. The emperor then ordered the Ministry of War to decide quickly on dispatching troops. Minister Zhang Guowei proposed giving Shen ten thousand men under the commanders Tang Tong and Ma Ke along with capital garrison troops, but added that these units were on the northern front and could not be moved until the enemy withdrew. The emperor told him to wait for now. Shen pressed repeatedly, but the emperor said, "Be patient—when the enemy pulls back the troops will come together. What good will it do for you to go alone? A month later Yanru left as supreme commander—appointed in the morning and on the road that same evening. Jiang Dejing told Ni Yuanlu, "When the emperor tells Lord Wu to hurry while soothing him with delays, he is testing him—watch how quickly the chief minister departed and you will see. Yet Shen hung back and would not leave. Chen Yan then asked to keep the Tang Tong detachment the Ministry had assigned, arguing the passes could not be left undefended. At last, in the fifth month, Shen bowed out of court and prepared to depart. The day before he set out he reviewed his escort; the emperor even sent eunuchs with silver tokens as a reward—but overnight an edict condemned his stalling and ordered him to stop and resume duty at court. Shen, stricken with fear, twice submitted memorials admitting fault and was allowed to retire. After he left, Chen Yan and Luo Yangxing whispered against him, and the emperor's anger deepened. In the seventh month, while personally interrogating Wu Changshi, the emperor flushed with rage and said, "Both chief ministers have betrayed me. I treated Yanru generously, yet he took bribes and pursued private ends with no regard for the law. When I ordered Shen to take command, he found every excuse to delay and leave himself a way out. Yanru is being prosecuted—why is Shen exempt? Then he added, "Words are one thing—no one will actually prosecute him. Let the Embroidered Uniform Guard summon Shen and hold him for instructions. When Shen reached the capital, the emperor ordered the legal authorities to determine his punishment. In the eleventh month he was banished to Jinchi. Nanjing War Minister Shi Kefa sent an urgent memorial in his defense, but the emperor refused.

明年，行次南康，聞都城變。未幾，福王立於南京，赦還，復故秩。吏部尚書張慎言議召用甡，為勛臣劉孔昭等所阻。國變後，久之，卒於家。

The following year, while passing through Nankang, he heard that the capital had fallen. Before long Prince Fu was enthroned at Nanjing; Shen was pardoned, recalled, and restored to his former rank. Personnel Minister Zhang Shenyan proposed calling Shen back into service, but meritorious nobles led by Liu Kongzhao blocked it. Long after the dynasty's collapse, he died at home.

贊曰：明季士大夫問錢谷不知，問甲兵不知，於是嗣昌得以才顯。然迄無成功者，得非功罪淆於愛憎，機宜失於遙制故耶？吳甡按山右有聲，及為相，遂不能有為。進不以正，其能正邦乎？抑時勢實難，非命世材，固罔知攸濟也。

The historian comments: In the late Ming, literati who knew nothing of finance or supplies and nothing of arms and armies were the rule—and so Sichang rose on talent alone. Yet in the end none of them succeeded—was it not because merit and blame were warped by favor and spite, and because command from afar squandered every chance? Wu Shen won renown as censor of Shanxi, yet once he became chief minister he could accomplish nothing. If a man rises to power by unworthy means, how can he set the realm right? Or perhaps the age was simply too hard—even one not born to save the world could hardly have known how.

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