Volume 260 Biographies 148: Yang He, Chen Qiyu, Xiong Wencan, Lian Guoshi, Ding Qirui, Zheng Chongjian, Shao Jiechun, Yu Yinggui, Gao Doushu, Zhang Renxue

楊鶴〈（從弟鶚）〉陳奇瑜〈（元默）〉熊文燦〈（洪雲蒸）〉練國事丁啟睿〈（從父魁楚）〉鄭崇儉〈（方孔炤楊一鵬）〉邵捷春余應桂高鬥樞張任學

Yang He (his younger cousin He)〉 Chen Qiyu (courtesy name Yuan Mo)〉 Xiong Wencan (Hong Yunzheng)〉 Lian Guoshi, Ding Qirui (his uncle Kui Chu)〉 Zheng Chongjian (Fang Kongzhao, Yang Yipeng)〉 Shao Jiechun, Yu Yinggui, Gao Doushu, Zhang Renxue

楊鶴，字修齡，武陵人。萬曆三十二年進士。授雒南知縣，調長安。

Yang He, whose style was Xiuling, came from Wuling. He received his jinshi degree in the thirty-second year of the Wanli reign. He was appointed magistrate of Luonan and later transferred to Chang'an.

四十年擢御史，上疏請東宮講學。且言：「頃者，愛女被躪於宮奴，館甥受撻於朝市，叩閽不聞，上書不達，壅蔽極矣。」時壽寧主婿冉興讓為掌家宮人梁盈女、內官彭進朝等毆辱，公主三奏不達，興讓掛冠長安門去，故鶴言及之。

In the fortieth year he was promoted to censor and submitted a memorial asking that the crown prince receive formal instruction. He also wrote: "Not long ago a beloved daughter was trampled by palace slaves, and a nephew-in-law was flogged in the public market outside court; appeals at the palace gate went unheard, and written petitions never arrived—the channels of communication are utterly blocked. This referred to Ran Xingrang, son-in-law of the Prince of Shouning, who had been beaten and humiliated by the steward eunuch Liang Yingnu, the inner attendant Peng Jinchao, and others; the princess had submitted three memorials that never reached the throne, and Xingrang had resigned his office and left through the Chang'an Gate—which was why He brought up the case.

尋出督兩淮鹽法，巡按貴州。貴州接壤烏撒，去川南敘州千里，節制難。土官安雲龍死，其族人與沾益安效良爭印，構兵三十年，後竟為效良所據，其父紹慶又據沾益州，皆川、雲、貴咽喉地。鶴請割烏撒隸貴州，地近節制便，可弭後患，朝議不決。未幾，效良為亂，如其言。貴州土官以百數，水西安氏最大，而土地、戶口、貢賦之屬，無籍可稽。鶴乃檄宣慰安位盡著之籍，並首領目把主名、承襲源委，悉列上有司。自是簿牒始明，奸弊易核。事竣，不候命徑歸。久之，還朝。

He was soon sent out to supervise salt administration in the two Huai circuits and to serve as touring censor of Guizhou. Guizhou bordered Wusa, which lay a thousand li from Xuzhou in southern Sichuan, making effective control difficult. When the native official An Yunlong died, his kinsmen fought An Xiaoliang of Zhanyi for the official seal; the feud raged for thirty years until Xiaoliang finally prevailed, while his father Shaoqing also held Zhanyi Prefecture—all strategic choke points linking Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou. He proposed transferring Wusa to Guizhou jurisdiction so that the nearer distance would ease administration and forestall future trouble, but the court could not reach a decision. Before long Xiaoliang did rise in rebellion, exactly as He had warned. Guizhou had hundreds of native officials; the An clan of Shuixi was the most powerful, yet there were no reliable registers of their lands, populations, or tribute obligations. He then ordered Pacification Commissioner An Wei to enter full records of his domain, together with the names of chieftains, sub-chiefs, and headmen and the lines of hereditary succession, and submit them all to the supervising authorities. From then on the records were clear for the first time, and abuses became easy to audit. When his tour was complete, he returned home without waiting for formal dismissal. After some time he returned to the capital.

楊鎬四路師敗，鶴薦熊廷弼、張鶴鳴、李長庚、薛國用、袁應泰，言：「遼事之失，不料彼己，喪師辱國，誤在經略；不諳機宜，馬上催戰，誤在輔臣；調度不聞，束手無策，誤在樞部。至尊優柔不斷，又至尊自誤。」當事惡其直，將假他事逐之，乃引疾去。丁外艱。天啟初，起太僕少卿，擢右僉都御史，巡撫南、贛。未任，丁內艱，而廣寧又敗。魏忠賢以鶴黨護廷弼，除鶴名。

After Yang Gao's defeat on four fronts, He recommended Xiong Tingbi, Zhang Heming, Li Changgeng, Xue Guoyong, and Yuan Yingtai, writing: "The Liaodong disaster stemmed from misjudging the balance of forces; the lost armies and national humiliation were the frontier commissioner's error; the chief ministers' error was not understanding the situation and pressing for battle from horseback; the Military Affairs Commission's error was hearing nothing of deployments and having no plan at all. And the sovereign's own error was his habitual indecision. Those in power resented his bluntness and were preparing to remove him on some other charge, so he resigned on grounds of illness. He then entered mourning for his father. At the start of the Tianqi reign he was recalled as vice minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud and promoted to right vice censor-in-chief as grand coordinator of Nan and Gan. Before he could take up the post he entered mourning for his mother, and Guangning fell again. Wei Zhongxian struck He's name from the rolls because He had been an ally who defended Xiong Tingbi.

崇禎元年，召拜左僉都御史，進左副都御史。鶴上言：「圖治之要，在培元氣。自大兵大役，加派頻仍，公私交罄，小民之元氣傷；自遼左、黔、蜀喪師失律，暴骨成丘，封疆之元氣傷；自搢紳構黨，彼此相傾，逆奄乘之，誅鋤善類，士大夫之元氣傷。譬如重病初起，百脈未調，風邪易入，道在培養。」時以為名言。

In the first year of Chongzhen he was summoned as left vice censor-in-chief and soon promoted to left assistant censor-in-chief. He submitted a memorial: "The key to restoring good government is to nurture the realm's vital strength. Ever since great campaigns and massive corvée, repeated surtaxes have drained both public and private coffers and wounded the common people's strength; defeats and broken discipline in Liaodong, Guizhou, and Sichuan have left bones heaped like hills and wounded the empire's frontier strength; and since gentry factions have torn one another down, allowing the treacherous eunuch to seize power and purge the good, the scholar-official class has been drained of its strength as well. It is like a grave illness at its onset: the body's channels are still unsettled, and any wind or pestilence can take hold—the remedy is patient cultivation, not harsh medicine. At the time these words were widely praised.

先是，遼左用兵，逃軍憚不敢歸伍，相聚剽虜。至是，關中頻歲祲，有司不恤下。白水王二者，鳩眾，墨其面，闖入澄城，殺知縣張耀采。由是府谷王嘉允、漢南王大梁、階州周大旺群賊蜂起，三邊饑軍應之，流氛之始也。當是時，承平久，卒被兵，人無固誌。大吏惡聞賊，曰：「此饑氓，徐自定耳。」明年，總督武之望死。久之，廷臣莫肯往者，群推鶴。帝召見鶴，問方略。對曰：「清慎自持，撫恤將卒而已。」遂拜鶴兵部右侍郎，代之望總督陜西三邊軍務。至則大梁、大旺、王二已前誅滅，而繼起者益眾。鶴素有清望，然不知兵。其冬，京師戒嚴，延綏、寧夏、甘肅、固原、臨洮五鎮總兵官悉以勤王行。延綏兵中道逃歸，甘肅兵亦嘩，懼誅，並合於賊，賊益張。

Earlier, when Liaodong was mobilized for war, deserters who feared punishment banded together instead of returning to the ranks and turned to plunder. By now Guanzhong had suffered famine year after year, while local officials showed no concern for the suffering populace. Wang Er of Baishui rallied a band, blackened their faces, stormed Chengcheng, and killed Magistrate Zhang Yaocai. Thereupon Wang Jiayun of Fugu, Wang Daliang of southern Han, Zhou Dawang of Jiezhou, and other rebel bands rose in swarms, joined by starving soldiers from the three frontiers—this was the beginning of the great roving-rebel movement. The realm had known peace so long that when war suddenly struck, no one had a settled will to resist. Senior officials hated to hear the word "bandits" and said, "These are only starving rabble; they will quiet down in time." The following year Grand Coordinator Wu Zhiwang died. For a long time no court minister was willing to take the post, and the court collectively turned to He. The emperor summoned He for an audience and asked his plan. He answered, "Keep oneself pure and cautious, and treat the troops with care—that is all. He was then appointed right vice minister of War and succeeded Zhiwang as grand coordinator of Shaanxi and military affairs on the three frontiers. When he arrived, Daliang, Dawang, and Wang Er had already been put down, but new rebels were rising in ever greater numbers. He had long enjoyed a reputation for integrity, but he knew nothing of military affairs. That winter the capital went on alert, and the regional commanders of Yansui, Ningxia, Gansu, Guyuan, and Lintao all marched to defend the throne. Yansui troops deserted on the march home; Gansu troops also mutinied, and fearing punishment they merged with the rebels, who grew bolder still.

三年正月，王左掛等攻宜川，為知縣成材所卻，轉攻韓城。軍中無帥，鶴命參政洪承疇禦之。俘斬三百餘人，圍解，賊走清澗。鶴連疏請諸將還鎮，不果，起故將杜文煥任之。二月，延安知府張輦、都司艾穆蹙賊延川，降其魁王子順、張述聖、姬三兒。別賊王嘉允掠延安、慶陽，鶴匿不奏，而給降賊王虎、小紅狼、一丈青、掠地虎、混江龍等免死牒，安置延綏、河曲間。賊淫掠如故，有司不敢問。寇患成於此矣。

In the first month of the third year Wang Zuogua and others attacked Yichuan, were driven off by Magistrate Cheng Cai, and then turned on Hancheng. With no commander in the field, He ordered Vice Commissioner Hong Chengchou to meet them. More than three hundred were captured or killed, the siege was lifted, and the rebels fled toward Qingjian. He repeatedly memorialized asking that the generals be sent back to their posts, but in vain; instead the former general Du Wenhuan was recalled to take command. In the second month Yan'an Prefect Zhang Nian and Regional Commander Ai Mu cornered the rebels at Yanchuan and accepted the surrender of their leaders Wang Zishun, Zhang Shusheng, and Ji San'er. Meanwhile the rebel Wang Jiayun was ravaging Yan'an and Qingyang, but He kept this from the throne; instead he issued certificates sparing death to surrendered bandits such as Wang Hu, Little Red Wolf, One-Zhang-Green, Earth-Plundering Tiger, and River-Mixing Dragon, and settled them between Yansui and Hequ. The rebels continued to rape and plunder as before, and local officials dared not intervene. From this point the bandit scourge became entrenched.

七月，嘉允陷黃甫、清水、木瓜，遂陷府谷，文煥擊走之，賊流入山西。已撫王左掛以白汝學攻綏德州，謀內應。事覺，巡按李應期與承疇計誅左掛等綏德，五十七人皆死。十二月，賊神一元攻陷新安、寧塞、柳樹澗等堡。寧塞，文煥所居，宗人多死。

In the seventh month Jiayun captured Huangfu, Qingshui, and Mugua, then took Fugu; Wenhuan drove him off, and the rebels spilled into Shanxi. Wang Zuogua, whom He had already accepted in surrender, joined Bai Ruxue in attacking Suide Prefecture and plotted collusion from within. When the plot was discovered, Touring Censor Li Yingqi and Chengchou arranged the execution of Zuogua and his followers at Suide; all fifty-seven were put to death. In the twelfth month the rebel Shen Yiyuan captured the forts of Xin'an, Ningsai, Liushujian, and others. Ningsai was Wenhuan's own home district, and many of his kinsmen were killed.

明年正月，賊棄寧塞，陷保安。一元死，弟一魁圍慶陽，陷合水，鶴聞，移駐寧州。一魁求撫，送還合水知縣蔣應昌，別賊拓先齡、金翅鵬、過天星、田近庵、獨頭虎、上天龍等亦先後降。鶴設御座於城樓，賊跪拜呼萬歲。鶴宣聖諭，令設誓，或歸伍，或歸農，賊佯應之，則立赦其罪，群盜自是視總督如兒戲矣。鶴又以一魁最強，致其婿帳中，同臥起，而一魁果至。數以十罪，則稽首謝。即宣詔赦之，畀以官，處其眾四千餘人於寧塞，使守備吳弘器護焉。文煥聞之，嘆曰：「寧塞之役，賊畏我而逃。今者賊偽降，楊公信之，借名城為盜資。我宗人，可與賊逼處此土乎！」遂以其族行。

In the first month of the following year the rebels abandoned Ningsai and took Bao'an. When Yiyuan died, his younger brother Yikui besieged Qingyang and took Heshui; on hearing the news He moved his headquarters to Ningzhou. Yikui asked to surrender and returned Heshui Magistrate Jiang Yingchang; other rebels such as Tuo Xianling, Golden-Winged Peng, Crossing-the-Sky Star, Tian Jin'an, Lone-Headed Tiger, and Ascending Heaven Dragon also surrendered one after another. He set an imperial seat on the city tower, and the rebels kowtowed shouting "Long live the emperor!" He read out the imperial message, had them swear oaths to return to the ranks or to farming, and when they pretended to agree he granted them a general amnesty—from that moment the rebel hosts treated the grand coordinator as a figure of mockery. Because Yikui was the strongest leader, He even had his own son-in-law share a tent with him, eating and sleeping together—and Yikui did come in person. He charged Yikui with ten offenses on several occasions, and each time Yikui kowtowed in submission. He then proclaimed an imperial pardon, gave Yikui an official title, and settled his following of more than four thousand men at Ningsai under the protection of Garrison Commander Wu Hongqi. When Wenhuan heard of this he sighed and said, "At Ningsai the rebels fled because they feared me. Now they have only pretended to surrender, yet Yang He trusts them and has handed a famous stronghold over as a base for brigands. How can my kinsmen be forced to live cheek by jowl with bandits on this soil! He then moved his entire clan away.

五月，鶴移駐耀州。賊攻破金鎖關，殺都司王廉。七月，別賊李老柴、獨行狼攻陷中部，田近庵以六百人守馬欄山應之。而降渠一魁之黨茹成名者，尤桀驁，鶴令一魁誘殺之於耀州，其黨猜懼，挾一魁以叛。御史謝三賓言：「鶴謂慶陽撫局既畢，賊散遣俱盡。中部之賊，寧自天降？」疏下巡按御史吳甡核奏，甡奏鶴主撫誤國。帝怒，逮鶴下獄，戍袁州。

In the fifth month He shifted his headquarters to Yaozhou. The rebels broke through Jinsuo Pass and killed Regional Commander Wang Lian. In the seventh month other rebels Li Laochai and Lone-Walking Wolf captured Zhongbu, while Tian Jin'an held Malan Mountain with six hundred men in support. Among Yikui's surrendered followers, Ru Chengming was especially violent; He ordered Yikui to lure and kill him at Yaozhou, whereupon the others grew suspicious and fearful and seized Yikui to rise again in rebellion. Censor Xie Sanbin wrote: "He claims the Qingyang pacification is complete and that all rebels have been dispersed and dismissed. Did the rebels at Zhongbu fall from the sky? The memorial was referred to Touring Censor Wu Shen for investigation; Shen reported that He's appeasement policy had betrayed the state. The emperor was furious, had He arrested and imprisoned, and banished him to Yuanzhou.

七年秋，子嗣昌擢宣大山西總督，疏辭，言：「臣父鶴以總督蒙譴已三年，臣何心復居此職。」帝優詔答之，而不赦鶴罪。八年冬，鶴卒於戍所，嗣昌請恤。帝復鶴官，而不予恤。鶴初以尤世祿寧夏大捷功，進兵部尚書、太子少保，世蔭錦衣千戶。十年，敘賀虎臣寧夏破賊功，追加太子少傅。十三年，又以甘肅敘功，任一子官。

In the autumn of the seventh year his son Sichang was promoted to grand coordinator of Xuan, Da, and Shanxi; he declined in a memorial, writing, "My father He was punished as grand coordinator three years ago—how could I bear to hold this same office? The emperor replied with a gracious edict but did not pardon He's offense. In the winter of the eighth year He died in exile, and Sichang petitioned for posthumous honors. The emperor restored He's official rank but granted no posthumous compensation. He had first been promoted to minister of War and junior guardian of the heir apparent on account of You Shilu's great victory at Ningxia, and Shilu was ennobled as a commander of one thousand households in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. In the tenth year, when He Huchen's merit in defeating rebels at Ningxia was recorded, He was further made junior tutor of the heir apparent. In the thirteenth year one of his sons was granted an official post in recognition of service in Gansu.

從弟鶚，崇禎四年進士。官御史，有才名，擢順天巡撫。京師陷，南歸，福王以為兵部右侍郎，總督川、湖軍務。

His younger cousin He received his jinshi degree in the fourth year of Chongzhen. He served as a censor, won a reputation for ability, and was promoted to grand coordinator of Shuntian. When the capital fell he fled south; the Prince of Fu appointed him right vice minister of War with overall command of military affairs in Sichuan and Huguang.

陳奇瑜，字玉鉉，保德州人。萬曆四十四年進士。除洛陽知縣。天啟二年，擢禮科給事中。楊漣劾魏忠賢，奇瑜亦抗疏力詆。六年春，由戶科左給事中出為陜西副使，遷右參政，分守南陽。

Chen Qiyu, whose style was Yuxuan, came from Baode Prefecture. He received his jinshi degree in the forty-fourth year of the Wanli reign. He was appointed magistrate of Luoyang. In the second year of Tianqi he was promoted to supervising secretary of the Rites Bureau. When Yang Lian impeached Wei Zhongxian, Qiyu also submitted a bold memorial denouncing the eunuch in the strongest terms. In the spring of the sixth year he left the capital as left supervising secretary of the Revenue Bureau to become vice commissioner of Shaanxi, was promoted to right vice commissioner, and took charge of defense at Nanyang.

崇禎改元，加按察使職，尋歷陜西左右布政使。五年，擢右僉都御史，代張福臻巡撫延綏。時大盜神一魁、不沾泥等已殲，而余黨猶眾。歲大凶，民多從賊。明年五月，奇瑜上疏，極言鄜、延達鎮城千餘里饑荒盜賊狀，詔免延安、慶陽田租。奇瑜乃遣副將盧文善討斬截山虎、柳盜跖、金翅鵬等。尋遣遊擊常懷德斬薛仁貴，參政戴君恩斬一條龍、金剛鉆、開山鷂、黑煞神、人中虎、五閻王、馬上飛，都司賀思賢斬王登槐，巡檢羅聖楚斬馬紅狼、滿天飛，參政張伯鯨斬滿鵝，擒黃參耀、隔溝飛，守備閻士衡斬張聰、樊登科、樊計榮、一塊鐵、青背狼、穿山甲、老將軍、二將軍、滿天星、上山虎，把總白士祥斬掃地虎，守備郭金城斬扒地虎、括天飛，守備郭太斬跳山虎、新來將、就地滾、小黃鶯、房日兔，遊擊羅世勛斬賈總管、逼上天、小紅旗，他將斬草上飛、一隻虎、一翅飛、雲裏手、四天王、薛紅旗、獨尾狼，諸渠魁略盡。奇瑜乃上疏曰：「流寇作難，始於歲饑，而成於元凶之煽誘，致兩郡三路皆盜藪。今未頓一兵，未絕一弦，擒斬頭目百七十七人，及其黨千有奇。頭目既除，余黨自散，向之斬木揭竿者，今且荷鋤負耒矣。」帝嘉之，令錄有功將士以聞。

At the beginning of the Chongzhen reign he was given the additional rank of surveillance commissioner and soon served in turn as left and right administrative commissioner of Shaanxi. In the fifth year he was promoted to right vice censor-in-chief and succeeded Zhang Fuzhen as grand coordinator of Yansui. By then the great rebel leaders Shen Yikui and Bu Zhan Ni had been destroyed, but their remaining followers were still numerous. Famine was severe that year, and many common people joined the rebels. In the fifth month of the following year Qiyu submitted a memorial describing famine and banditry along more than a thousand li from Fu and Yan to Zhencheng; the court ordered land-tax exemptions for Yan'an and Qingyang. Qiyu then sent Vice General Lu Wenshan to campaign against and kill Mountain-Cutting Tiger, Willow Robber Zhi, Golden-Winged Peng, and others. He soon sent Mobile Corps Commander Chang Huaide to kill Xue Rengui; Vice Commissioner Dai Jun'en killed One Dragon, Diamond Drill, Mountain-Opening Kite, Black Evil Spirit, Tiger Among Men, Five Kings of Hell, and Flying on Horseback; Regional Commander He Sixian killed Wang Denghuai; Inspector Luo Shengchu killed Horse Red Wolf and Filling-the-Sky Flight; Vice Commissioner Zhang Bojing killed Full Goose and captured Huang Canyao and Flying Across the Ditch; Garrison Commander Yan Shiheng killed Zhang Cong, Fan Dengke, Fan Jirong, One Lump of Iron, Green-Backed Wolf, Mountain-Piercing Armor, Old General, Second General, Filling-the-Sky Star, and Mountain-Climbing Tiger; Platoon Commander Bai Shixiang killed Sweeping-the-Ground Tiger; Garrison Commander Guo Jincheng killed Earth-Scratching Tiger and Encompassing-the-Sky Flight; Garrison Commander Guo Tai killed Leaping Mountain Tiger, Newly Arrived General, Rolling on the Ground, Little Yellow Oriole, and Room Day Rabbit; Mobile Corps Commander Luo Shixun killed Jia the Steward, Forcing Heaven, and Little Red Banner; and other commanders killed Grass-Flying, One Tiger, One-Wing Flight, Cloud-Hand, Four Heavenly Kings, Xue Red Banner, and Lone-Tailed Wolf—nearly all the rebel chiefs were gone. Qiyu then submitted a memorial: "The roving rebels began with famine and were consolidated by the chief instigators, until two prefectures and three routes had all become bandit strongholds. Yet without halting a single soldier or breaking a single bowstring, we have captured or killed one hundred seventy-seven chieftains and more than a thousand of their followers. With the chiefs gone, the rest have dispersed on their own; men who once took up axes and banners now shoulder hoes and carry plows. The emperor praised the report and ordered a record of meritorious officers and soldiers.

延綏群賊多解，獨鉆天哨、開山斧據永寧關。永寧在鎮城東，前阻山，下臨黃河，數年不下。奇瑜謂是不可以力取，乃陰簡銳士，陽言總制檄發兵，令賀人龍將之而西，身為後勁，直抵延川。俄策馬東，曰：「視吾馬首所向。」潛師疾走入山，賊不虞大兵至，驚潰。焚其巢，斬首千六百有奇，二賊俱馘。分兵擊斬金翅鵬、一座城，獲首五百五十。延水群盜盡平，奇瑜威名著關陜。於是群盜盡萃於山西，流突河北、畿南。冬冰堅，從澠池渡，躪河南、湖廣，窺四川。

Most of the Yansui rebel bands had been broken up; only Drill-to-Heaven Sentinel and Mountain-Opening Axe still held Yongning Pass. Yongning lay east of Zhencheng, with mountains blocking the front and the Yellow River below; for several years it could not be captured. Qiyu judged that the pass could not be taken by frontal assault; he secretly selected elite troops, publicly announced that the supreme commander had ordered a western campaign under He Renlong, marched in person as rear guard, and advanced straight to Yanchuan. Suddenly he wheeled his horse east and cried, "Follow where my horse's head turns! His hidden troops rushed into the mountains; the rebels never expected a major force and broke in panic. Their stronghold was burned, more than sixteen hundred heads were taken, and both rebel leaders were killed. He then sent detachments that killed Golden-Winged Peng and One Fortress City, taking five hundred fifty heads. The rebel bands along the Yan River were all pacified, and Qiyu's military reputation spread throughout Guanzhong and Shaanxi. The rebel hosts then concentrated in Shanxi and spilled into Hebei and the region south of the capital. That winter, when the ice was firm, they crossed at Mianchi, ravaged Henan and Huguang, and threatened Sichuan.

明年，廷議諸鎮撫事權不一，宜設大臣統之，多推薦洪承疇。以承疇方督三邊，不可易，乃擢奇瑜兵部右侍郎兼右僉都御史，總督陜西、山西、河南、湖廣、四川軍務，專辦流賊。奇瑜檄諸將會兵陜州。先是，老回回、過天星、滿天星、闖塌天、混世王五大營自楚入蜀，陷夔州。阻險，復走還楚，分為三：一犯均州，往河南；一犯鄖陽，往淅川；一犯金漆坪，渡河犯商南。奇瑜乃馳至均州，檄四巡撫會討。陜西練國事駐商南，遏其西北；鄖陽盧象昇駐房、竹，遏其西；河南元默駐盧氏，遏其東北；湖廣唐暉駐南漳，遏其東南。奇瑜乃偕象昇督將士由竹溪至平利之烏林關，十餘戰，斬賊千七百餘級。越七日，大破之乜家溝，斬千八十餘級，總兵鄧玘功為多。已，設伏蚋溪，連戰，斬三百餘級。至獅子山，斬七百二十餘級。別將楊化麟、楊世恩、周任鳳、楊正芳等分道擊殺賊，擒其魁闖王、翻山虎等。

The following year the court debated whether the various frontier commands needed unified authority and agreed that a senior minister should be appointed; many recommended Hong Chengchou. Because Chengchou was already directing the three frontiers and could not be moved, Qiyu was promoted to right vice minister of War and right vice censor-in-chief with overall command of military affairs in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Sichuan, charged solely with suppressing the roving rebels. Qiyu ordered his generals to assemble at Shaanzhou. Earlier the five great rebel camps of Old Huihui, Crossing-the-Sky Star, Filling-the-Sky Star, Charging Collapsing Heaven, and World-Mixing King had entered Sichuan from Huguang and captured Kuizhou. Blocked by difficult terrain, they fled back to Huguang and split into three bands: one raided Junzhou and headed for Henan; one raided Yunyang and headed for Xichuan; and one raided Jinqi Ping, crossed the river, and attacked Shangnan. Qiyu then raced to Junzhou and ordered the four grand coordinators to join the campaign. Lian Guoshi of Shaanxi stationed at Shangnan to block them from the northwest; Lu Xiangsheng of Yunyang stationed at Fang and Zhu to block them from the west; Yuan Mo of Henan stationed at Lushi to block them from the northeast; Tang Hui of Huguang stationed at Nanzhang to block them from the southeast. Qiyu then joined Xiangsheng in leading troops from Zhuxi to Wulin Pass in Pingli; in more than ten engagements they killed more than seventeen hundred rebels. Seven days later they won a major victory at Miejia Gully, killing more than one thousand eighty rebels, with Regional Commander Deng Yu contributing the most. They then laid an ambush at Ruoxi and in successive engagements killed more than three hundred. At Shizi Mountain they killed more than seven hundred twenty. Detached commanders Yang Hualin, Yang Shi'en, Zhou Renfeng, Yang Zhengfang, and others attacked along separate routes, killing rebels and capturing chiefs including Charging King and Mountain-Turning Tiger.

奇瑜上言：「楚中屢捷，一時大盜幾盡，其竄伏深山者，臣督鄉兵為向道，無穴不搜，楚中漸有寧宇。」帝嘉勞之。乃督副將劉遷等搜竹溪、平利賊，追至五狼河，擒其魁十二人。遣參將賀人龍等追八晝夜至紫陽，賊死者萬餘人。

Qiyu reported: "We have won repeated victories in Huguang; the great rebel leaders of the moment are nearly all gone. Those hiding in the deep mountains—I have directed local militia as guides and searched every refuge—so Huguang is gradually returning to peace. The emperor praised and rewarded him. He then directed Vice Generals Liu Qian and others to hunt rebels in Zhuxi and Pingli, pursued them to Wulang River, and captured twelve chieftains. He sent Brigade Generals He Renlong and others in an eight-day pursuit to Ziyang, where more than ten thousand rebels were killed.

先是，賊入蜀，復自蜀入秦，由陽平關奔鞏昌，承疇禦之秦州。賊遂越兩當，襲破鳳縣，分為二：一向漢中，取間道犯城固、洋縣；一由鳳縣奔寶雞、汧陽。於是賊在平利、洵陽間者數萬，自四川入西鄉者二三萬。犯城固、洋縣者，又東下石泉、漢陰，會漢、興，窺商、雒。當是時，奇瑜以湖廣賊盡，鼓行而西，謂賊不足平也。乃遣遊擊唐通防漢中，以護藩封；遣參將賀人龍、劉遷、夏鎬扼略陽、沔縣，防賊西遁；遣副將楊正芳、余世任扼褒城，防賊北遁；自督副將楊化麟、柳國鎮等駐洋縣，防賊東遁；又檄練國事、盧象昇、元默各守要害，截賊奔逸。

Earlier the rebels had entered Sichuan, then returned from Sichuan into Shaanxi, fled through Yangping Pass toward Gongchang, and Chengchou met them at Qinzhou. The rebels then crossed Liangdang, stormed Feng County, and split in two: one band headed for Hanzhong by secret routes to attack Chenggu and Yang County; the other fled from Feng County toward Baoji and Qianyang. Tens of thousands of rebels were now between Pingli and Xunyang, and another twenty or thirty thousand had entered Xixiang from Sichuan. The band that had attacked Chenggu and Yang County pressed east through Shiquan and Hanyin, converged on Han and Xing, and threatened Shangzhou and Luoyang. By then Qiyu believed the Huguang rebels were finished and marched west in triumph, thinking the remaining enemy hardly worth a full campaign. He sent Mobile Corps Commander Tang Tong to defend Hanzhong and protect the princely fief; sent Brigade Generals He Renlong, Liu Qian, and Xia Hao to hold Lueyang and Mian County and block a western escape; sent Vice Generals Yang Zhengfang and Yu Shiren to hold Baocheng and block a northern escape; and personally led Vice Generals Yang Hualin, Liu Guozhen, and others to station at Yang County and block an eastern escape; He also ordered Lian Guoshi, Lu Xiangsheng, and Yuan Mo to hold key positions and cut off any breakout.

賊見官軍四集，大懼，悉遁入興安之車廂峽，諸渠魁李自成、張獻忠等咸在焉。峽四山巉立，中亙四十里，易入難出。賊誤入其中，山上居民下石擊，或投以炬火，山口累石塞，路絕，無所得食，困甚。又大雨二旬，弓矢盡脫，馬乏芻，死者過半。當是時，官軍蹙之，可盡殲，自成等見勢絀，用其黨顧君恩謀以重寶賄奇瑜左右及諸將帥，偽請降。奇瑜無大計，遽許之，先後籍三萬六千餘人，悉勞遣歸農。每百人以安撫官一護之，檄所過州縣具糗糧傳送，諸將無邀撓撫事。諸賊未大創，降非實也，既出棧道，遂不受約束，盡殺安撫官五十餘人，攻掠諸州縣，關中大震。

Seeing government forces closing in from all sides, the rebels in terror fled into Chexiang Gorge in Xing'an, where the chieftains Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, and others were all trapped. The gorge was walled by steep mountains on all sides and ran forty li within—easy to enter but nearly impossible to leave. Trapped inside, the rebels were struck by stones rolled down from above and torches hurled at them; the mouth of the gorge was blocked with piled stone, cutting off escape and food, and they were reduced to desperate straits. Heavy rain fell for twenty days; bowstrings rotted, horses starved for fodder, and more than half the rebels perished. At that moment government troops had them pinned and could have destroyed them entirely; but Zicheng and the others, seeing their position hopeless, followed their follower Gu Jun'en's plan to bribe Qiyu's staff and the field commanders with rich gifts and feign surrender. Qiyu had no better plan and hastily agreed; more than thirty-six thousand rebels were registered in all and sent home to farm with provisions and escorts. Every hundred men were assigned a pacification officer; every prefecture and county along the route was ordered to supply rations for their passage; and the field generals were forbidden to interfere. The rebels had not been broken; the surrender was a sham. Once they emerged from the plank roads they cast off all restraint, killed more than fifty pacification officers, and ravaged prefectures and counties throughout the region—throwing Guanzhong into panic.

奇瑜悔失計，乃委罪他人以自解。賊初叛，猝至鳳翔，誘開城，守城知其詐，紿以縋城上，殺其先登者三十六人，余噪而去。其犯寶雞，亦為知縣李嘉彥所挫。奇瑜遂劾嘉彥及鳳翔鄉官孫鵬等撓撫局，撫按官亦異心。帝怒，切責撫按，逮嘉彥、鵬及士民五十餘人。奇瑜又請敕陜西、鄖陽、湖廣、河南、山西五巡撫各守要害，有失則治諸臣罪，冀以分己過。又委罪巡撫練國事，國事亦被逮。給事中顧國寶劾奇瑜誤封疆，詔解任候勘。御史傅永淳復劾奇瑜解隴州圍報首功不實，詔除名，錦衣官逮訊。九年六月謫戍邊。

Qiyu regretted his blunder and tried to shift the blame onto others. When the rebels first broke out they suddenly appeared at Fengxiang and tried to trick the garrison into opening the gates; the defenders saw through the ruse, lowered ropes as if to admit them, killed thirty-six who climbed first, and drove the rest away in uproar. Their attack on Baoji was also beaten back by Magistrate Li Jiayan. Qiyu then impeached Jiayan and Fengxiang local official Sun Peng and others for sabotaging the pacification, and accused the civil pacification officers of disloyalty as well. The emperor was furious, sharply rebuked the pacification officials, and arrested Jiayan, Peng, and more than fifty local gentry and commoners. Qiyu also asked for an imperial order that the five grand coordinators of Shaanxi, Yunyang, Huguang, Henan, and Shanxi each hold key positions, with any failure punished—hoping to spread the blame. He also blamed Grand Coordinator Lian Guoshi, who was arrested as well. Supervising Secretary Gu Guobao impeached Qiyu for betraying the frontier; an edict removed him from office pending investigation. Censor Fu Yongchun further impeached him for falsely claiming credit for relieving the siege of Longzhou; an edict struck his name from the rolls and Embroidered Uniform Guard officers arrested him for interrogation. In the sixth month of the ninth year he was banished to frontier service.

初，奇瑜官南陽，唐王殺其世子，欲並廢世子子聿鍵。賴奇瑜力，聿鍵得為世孫。後聿鍵自立於閩，召奇瑜為東閣大學士。道遠，未聞命，卒於家。

Earlier, while serving at Nanyang, Qiyu had intervened when the Prince of Tang killed his heir and tried to depose the heir's son Yujian as well. Thanks to Qiyu's intervention, Yujian was confirmed as heir grandson. Later, when Yujian established his regime in Fujian, he summoned Qiyu to serve as Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion. The distance was too great; he never received the summons and died at home.

元默，字中象，靜海人。萬曆四十七年進士。除懷慶推官，擢吏科給事中。魏忠賢焰方熾，以鄉里欲招致之，默謝不可。言路承忠賢意，劾罷歸。

Yuan Mo, whose style was Zhongxiang, came from Jinghai. He received his jinshi degree in the forty-seventh year of the Wanli reign. He was appointed judicial assistant of Huaqing and promoted to supervising secretary of the Personnel Bureau. Wei Zhongxian's power was at its height; as a fellow townsman he tried to recruit Mo, but Mo firmly refused. The censorial officials, following Zhongxian's wishes, impeached him and drove him from office.

崇禎初，復官，歷遷太常卿。六年春，以僉都御史巡撫河南。流賊由均州犯河內，默率左良玉、湯九州、李卑、鄧玘兵待境上；復率九州乘雪夜薄吳城賊營，大破之。嵩、雒以北名城數十，賊避勿敢攻。奇瑜既失李自成於車箱峽，默自汝州移駐盧氏，檄良玉、九州各陳兵守要害，得稍寧者數月。當是時，賊勢張，良玉等承督師檄，守備尚固。默率諸將斬獲多，賊多趨秦、楚境。已，分為三，自潁州犯鳳陽皇陵，中州所在告急。八年夏，默被逮去。久之，得釋歸，八年卒。

At the beginning of Chongzhen he was restored to office and rose to minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. In the spring of the sixth year he was appointed vice censor-in-chief as grand coordinator of Henan. When roving rebels from Junzhou invaded Henei, Mo led the forces of Zuo Liangyu, Tang Jiuzhou, Li Bei, and Deng Yu to meet them at the border; and led Jiuzhou in a night attack through the snow on the rebel camp at Wucheng, inflicting a crushing defeat. Several dozen major cities north of Songshan and Luoyang were spared because the rebels dared not attack them. After Qiyu had let Li Zicheng escape at Chexiang Gorge, Mo moved his headquarters from Ruzhou to Lushi, ordered Liangyu and Jiuzhou to hold key positions, and secured several months of relative calm. At that time rebel strength was still growing, but Liangyu and the others, acting under the grand coordinator's orders, still maintained solid defenses. Mo led his generals to many victories, and most rebels were pushed toward Shaanxi and Huguang. They then split into three columns, marched from Yingzhou against Fengyang and the imperial tombs, and alarm spread across the central provinces. In the summer of the eighth year Yuan Mo was seized and removed from office. Long afterward he was released and sent home, and died in the eighth year.

熊文燦，貴州永寧衛人。萬曆三十五年進士。授貴州推官，遷禮部主事，歷郎中。出封琉球還，擢山東左參政、山西按察使、山東右布政使。憂歸，自是徙家蘄水。

Xiong Wencan was from Yongning Guard, Guizhou. He passed the metropolitan examination in Wanli 35 (1607). He served as Guizhou investigating censor, was promoted to secretary in the Ministry of Rites, and advanced to bureau director. After the Ryukyu investiture mission he was promoted to left vice administrator of Shandong, surveillance commissioner of Shanxi, then right provincial administration commissioner of Shandong. He left office for mourning and afterward settled his family at Qishui.

崇禎元年，起福建左布政使。三月，就拜右僉都御史，巡撫其地。海上故多劇盜，袁進、李忠既降，楊六、楊七及鄭芝龍繼起。總兵官俞咨臯招六、七降，芝龍猖獗如故。然芝龍常敗都司洪先春，釋不追；獲一遊擊，不殺；咨臯戰敗，縱之走。當事知其可撫，遣使諭降之。文燦至，善遇芝龍，使為己用。其黨李魁奇再降，再叛去，芝龍擊擒之。海警漸息，而鐘斌又起。斌初亦就撫，後復叛，寇福州。文燦誘斌往泉州，令芝龍擊敗之。既而蹙之大洋，斌投海死。閩中屢平巨寇，皆芝龍力，文燦亦敘功增秩焉。

In Chongzhen 1 (1628) he was recalled as left provincial administration commissioner of Fujian. In the third month he was immediately named right vice censor-in-chief and grand coordinator of Fujian. The coast had long been infested with formidable pirates; after Yuan Jin and Li Zhong submitted, Yang Liu, Yang Qi, and Zheng Zhilong took their place. Regional commander Yu Zhaogao persuaded Yang Liu and Yang Qi to surrender, while Zheng Zhilong remained as defiant as ever. Zheng Zhilong often routed regional vice commander Hong Xianchun and let him go unharried; captured a mobile-corps commander and spared him; and when Yu Zhaogao himself was beaten, allowed him to flee. The authorities concluded he might be brought in by negotiation and sent envoys urging surrender. Wencan arrived, treated Zheng Zhilong generously, and turned him to his own purposes. His lieutenant Li Kuiqi submitted, rebelled again, and fled; Zheng Zhilong struck and took him prisoner. Coastal alarms eased, then Zhong Bin rebelled anew. Zhong Bin had first accepted pacification, rebelled again, and attacked Fuzhou. Wencan enticed Zhong Bin to Quanzhou and had Zheng Zhilong rout him. He then drove him onto the open ocean; Zhong Bin leaped into the sea and drowned. Fujian's great pirates were repeatedly crushed, largely thanks to Zheng Zhilong; Wencan's rank rose with the recorded merit.

五年二月，擢文燦兵部右侍郎兼右僉都御史，總督兩廣軍務，兼巡撫廣東。先是，海寇鐘靈秀既降復叛，為芝龍所擒，其黨潰入長汀，轉掠江西屬邑，文燦檄芝龍屢敗賊。而福建有紅夷之患，海盜劉香乘之，連犯閩、廣沿海邑，帝以責文燦。文燦不能討，乃議招撫，賊佯許之。參政洪雲蒸，長沙人，初官廣西參政，嘗搜靈秀余黨，斬三十餘級，盡毀其巢。文燦乃令雲蒸與副使康承祖，參將夏之本、張一傑入賊舟宣諭，俱被執。文燦懼罪，奏諸臣信賊自陷。給事中朱國棟劾之，詔貶秩，戴罪自效。八年，芝龍合廣東兵擊香於田尾遠洋。香脅雲蒸止兵，雲蒸大呼曰：「我矢死報國，急擊勿失！」遂遇害。香勢蹙，自焚溺死，承祖等脫還。賊黨千餘人詣浙江歸款，海盜盡平。

In the second month of Chongzhen 5 he was promoted to vice minister of war and right vice censor-in-chief, with overall command of military affairs in the two Guang provinces and the grand coordinator's portfolio for Guangdong. Earlier the pirate Zhong Lingxiu had submitted and rebelled again; Zheng Zhilong captured him, but his men spilled into Changting and raided Jiangxi counties. Wencan repeatedly ordered Zheng to beat them back. Fujian meanwhile faced Dutch raids, and the pirate Liu Xiang exploited the confusion, repeatedly striking Fujian and Guangdong coasts; the emperor blamed Wencan. Unable to destroy them, Wencan turned to negotiations; the pirates feigned acceptance. Administrator Hong Yunzheng, a native of Changsha, had served in Guangxi and once hunted down Zhong Lingxiu's remnants, executing more than thirty men and destroying their lairs. Wencan sent Yunzheng, vice commissioner Kang Chengzu, and vice commanders Xia Zhiben and Zhang Yijie aboard the pirate fleet to announce imperial terms; all were taken prisoner. Fearful of blame, Wencan reported that his officers had trusted the pirates and walked into a trap of their own making. Supervising secretary Zhu Guodong impeached him; the throne reduced his rank and ordered him to win redemption on campaign. In the eighth year Zheng Zhilong joined Guangdong forces to fight Liu Xiang in the open sea off Tianwei. Liu Xiang tried to force Hong Yunzheng to call off the attack; Hong cried out, "I have sworn to die for the realm—press the assault and do not hesitate!" He was then slain. Liu Xiang, cornered, set fire to his ship and drowned; Kang Chengzu and the rest got away. More than a thousand pirates surrendered in Zhejiang, and coastal piracy was brought to an end.

文燦官閩、廣久，積貲無算，厚以珍寶結中外權要，謀久鎮嶺南。會帝疑劉香未死，且不識文燦為人，遣中使假廣西采辦名，往覘之。既至，文燦盛有所贈遺，留飲十日。中使喜，語及中原寇亂，文燦方中酒，擊案罵曰：「諸臣誤國耳。若文燦往，詎令鼠輩至是哉！」中使起立曰：「吾非往廣西采辦也，銜上命覘公。公信有當世才，非公不足辦此賊。」文燦出不意，悔失言，隨言有五難四不可。中使曰：「吾見上自請之，若上無所吝，即公不得辭矣。」文燦辭窮，應曰「諾」。中使還朝，果言之帝。初，文燦徙蘄水，與邑人姚明恭為姻妮，明恭官詹事，又與楊嗣昌善。嗣昌握兵柄，承帝眷，以帝急平賊，冀得一人自助，明恭因薦文燦，且曰：「此有內援可引也。」嗣昌喜，遂薦之。

After long service in Fujian and Guangdong, Wencan had amassed fabulous wealth and lavished jewels on courtiers and provincial magnates, angling to hold the south for years on end. The emperor doubted whether Liu Xiang was really dead and knew little of Wencan personally; he dispatched a eunuch under cover of a Guangxi procurement tour to look him over. On arrival Wencan loaded him with gifts and kept him feasting for ten days. In good spirits, the eunuch spoke of rebellion in the interior; Wencan, drunk, slammed the table and swore, "The ministers have ruined the empire! Send me, and those vermin would never have grown so bold! The eunuch stood and said, "I am not here to buy supplies for Guangxi—I carry orders from His Majesty to appraise you. You truly have the talent the times demand; no one but you can finish off these rebels. Caught off guard, Wencan regretted his boast and at once listed five difficulties and four reasons it could not be done. The eunuch said, "I will recommend you to the throne myself; if His Majesty holds nothing back, you will not be able to refuse. With no escape, Wencan answered, "Yes." The eunuch returned and did as he had promised. When Wencan settled at Qishui he married into the family of fellow townsman Yao Minggong, who served as junior tutor and was close to Yang Sichang. Yang Sichang held the armies and the emperor's trust; eager to crush the rebels, he wanted a dependable deputy. Yao Minggong recommended Wencan, adding, "He has patrons at court who can be enlisted. Yang Sichang was delighted and put his name forward.

十年四月，拜文燦兵部尚書兼右副都御史，代王家禎總理南畿、河南、山西、陜西、湖廣、四川軍務。文燦拜命，即請左良玉所將六千人為己軍，而大募粵人及烏蠻精火器者一二千人以自護，弓刀甲胄甚整。次廬山，謁所善僧空隱。僧迎謂曰：「公誤矣。」文燦屏人問故，僧曰：「公自度所將兵足制賊死命乎？」曰：「不能。」曰：「諸將有可屬大事、當一面、不煩指揮而定者乎？」曰：「未知何如也。」曰：「二者既不能當賊，上特以名使公，厚責望，一不效，誅矣。」文燦卻立良久，曰：「撫之何如？」僧曰：「吾料公必撫。然流寇非海寇比，公其慎之。」文燦去，抵安慶，帝所遣中官劉元斌、盧九德監勇衛營軍者亦至。良玉宿將桀驁，不受文吏節制，會其下與粵軍不和，大詬。文燦不得已，遣還南兵，然良玉軍實不為用。嗣昌言於帝，乃以邊將馮舉、苗有才兵五千人隸焉。有才敗於真陽，而京營將黃得功連破賊兵，威甚振。

In the fourth month of Chongzhen 10 Wencan was made minister of war and right vice censor-in-chief, succeeding Wang Jiazhen as supreme commander of campaigns in the southern capital district, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Huguang, and Sichuan. On taking office he immediately secured Zuo Liangyu's six thousand troops as his personal command and recruited another thousand or two of Cantonese and Wuman musketeers as a bodyguard, all excellently armed and armored. He paused at Mount Lu to visit his friend the monk Kongyin. The monk met him saying, "Your Excellency has taken a wrong turn. Wencan sent his attendants away and asked why. Kongyin said, "Do you believe your soldiers can force these rebels to fight for their lives?" No," Wencan said." Is there a commander you could trust with a whole front—someone who could win without your constant direction?" I cannot yet tell." If neither your troops nor your generals can match the enemy, the throne has summoned you for your reputation alone and expects much. Fail once and you die." Wencan stepped back, silent a long while, then said, "What if I pacify them instead?" The monk said, "I expect you will try appeasement. But river-bandits are not sea pirates—be careful. Wencan went on to Anqing, where the eunuchs Liu Yuanbin and Lu Jiude arrived to supervise the Yongwei Camp. Zuo Liangyu, a veteran and famously unruly, would not bow to civil authority; his men clashed with the Cantonese guard and exchanged fierce abuse. Wencan had no choice but to send the southern troops home, yet Zuo Liangyu's army was barely usable in practice. Yang Sichang intervened, and five thousand troops under border generals Feng Ju and Miao Youcai were assigned to him. Miao Youcai was beaten at Zhenyang, but capital-garrison commander Huang Degong routed the rebels again and again, and his fame soared.

當是時，嗣昌建「四正六隅」之策，增兵餉大半，期滅賊，賊頗懼。及文燦至，京軍屢捷，益懼。文燦顧決計招降。初抵安慶，即遣人招張獻忠、劉國能，二人聽命。乃益刊招降檄，布通都。又請盡遷民與粟閉城中，賊無所掠，當自退。帝怒，譙讓文燦。嗣昌亦心非之，既已任之，則曲為文燦解。因其請，畀以畿輔、山西兵各三千。明年，國能果降，而獻忠襲據谷城。會得功又大破賊舞陽，馬士秀、杜應金夜半降信陽城下。獻忠為左良玉所創，幾被擒，其下饑困多散去。獻忠窮蹙，亦因陳洪範以降。於是嗣昌議功罪，絀洪承疇、曹變蛟等，而稱文燦功焉。

Yang Sichang was pushing his "four fronts, six corners" plan, raising troops and pay sharply in hope of annihilating the rebels, who were genuinely alarmed. Wencan's arrival coincided with fresh victories by the capital armies, and fear deepened. Wencan nonetheless fixed on surrender and amnesty. On reaching Anqing he immediately opened talks with Zhang Xianzhong and Liu Guoneng, both of whom agreed. He printed more surrender proclamations and posted them across the region. He also proposed evacuating the populace and grain into walled cities so the rebels, having nothing to loot, would withdraw on their own. The emperor was furious and rebuked him sharply. Yang Sichang privately disapproved but, having backed the appointment, made excuses for him at court. To satisfy his requests, the throne gave him three thousand men each from the capital zone and Shanxi. The next year Liu Guoneng did submit, while Zhang Xianzhong seized Gucheng by assault. Huang Degong meanwhile crushed rebel forces at Wuyang; Ma Shixiu and Du Yingjin surrendered outside Xinyang in the dead of night. Zhang Xianzhong was mauled by Zuo Liangyu and nearly taken; hunger drove most of his men away. Cornered, Zhang Xianzhong also submitted through Chen Hongfan. Yang Sichang then graded rewards and punishments—demoting Hong Chengchou, Cao Bianjiao, and others while praising Wencan's achievement.

已而京軍解遂平圍，斬獲三千有奇。時文燦在裕州，馬進忠、羅汝才十三家賊聚南陽，文燦下令，殺賊者償死。賊不肯從，則賫金帛酒牢犒之，名曰「求賊」。帝诇得狀，曰：「文燦大言無實。」文燦恐。孫傳庭出關擊賊，文燦不救，而嗣昌已入政府掌中樞矣。九月，文燦次襄陽，賊分踞鄖、襄諸險。諸將請戰，文燦議分兵。盧九德曰：「兵分則力弱，一失利，全軍搖矣。莫若厚集其力而合擊之。」眾曰：「善。」乃以僉事張大經監大將左良玉、陳洪範軍，以通判孔貞會監副將龍在田軍，戰於雙溝，大破之，斬首二千餘級。羅汝才、惠登相率九營走均州，李萬慶率三營走光、固。

Soon the capital armies lifted the siege of Suiping and killed or captured somewhat more than three thousand rebels. Wencan was at Yuzhou when Ma Jinzhong, Luo Ruocai, and thirteen rebel bands gathered at Nanyang. He decreed that soldiers who slew rebels would themselves be put to death. If the rebels refused terms, he sent gold, silk, wine, and livestock as rewards—a practice called "seeking the bandits." Learning of this through intelligence, the emperor said, "Wencan talks big but delivers nothing. Wencan was terrified. Sun Chuanting marched out to fight the rebels; Wencan did not support him, while Yang Sichang had already entered the cabinet and controlled the central government. In the ninth month he took station at Xiangyang as rebels seized strongpoints across Yun and Xiang. His commanders asked to fight; Wencan proposed splitting forces. Lu Jiude objected: "Split the army and you weaken it; one setback shakes the whole force. Better to mass everything for one combined blow. All agreed. They appointed intendant Zhang Dajing to oversee Zuo Liangyu and Chen Hongfan, subprefect Kong Zhenhui to oversee vice commander Long Zaitian, fought at Shuanggou, routed the enemy, and took more than two thousand heads. Luo Ruocai and Hui Dengxiang fled toward Yunzhou with nine camps; Li Wanqing took three camps toward Guang and Gu.

十一月，京師戒嚴，召洪承疇、孫傳庭入衛。汝才等以為討己也，懼而叩太和山提督中官，求撫於文燦，許之。處汝才及一丈青、小秦王、一條龍四營於鄖縣，處登相及王國寧、常德安、楊友賢、王光恩五營於均州。上言：「臣於李萬慶、賀一龍、馬光玉及順天王主剿，他皆主撫。請赦汝才等罪，授之官。」可之。時京軍、良玉軍皆以入衛行，馬士秀、杜應金遂叛於許州。初，士秀等降，良玉以其眾處許之郊外。許，大州也，良玉諸將寄孥與賄焉。良玉久征不歸，士秀、應金在文燦軍中，偽請急，假良玉軍號入城。夜半，兵從府第出，燒城南樓，劫庫，殺官吏，挈其貲投萬慶。萬慶者，賊魁射塌天也。

In the eleventh month, as Beijing went on alert, Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting were recalled to defend the capital. Luo Ruocai and the others feared the move was aimed at them; they petitioned the eunuch superintendent on Mount Taihe and asked Wencan for peace terms, which he granted. He settled Luo Ruocai's four camps—including Yizhangqing, Little Qin Wang, and One Dragon—at Yun county, and Hui Dengxiang's five camps—including Wang Guoning, Chang Dean, Yang Youxian, and Wang Guang'en—at Junzhou. He memorialized, "I propose to pursue Li Wanqing, He Yilong, Ma Guangyu, and Shuntian Wang, while pacifying the rest. I ask that Luo Ruocai and the others be pardoned and given official posts. The throne agreed. With the capital troops and Zuo Liangyu's forces all marching to defend the throne, Ma Shixiu and Du Yingjin rebelled at Xuzhou. Shixiu and his men had earlier submitted; Liangyu had quartered them outside Xu prefecture. Xu was a major prefectural seat, and Liangyu's officers kept their families there and paid bribes. Liangyu was still away on campaign. Shixiu and Yingjin, serving under Wencan, faked an urgent dispatch and entered the city under Liangyu's banner. At midnight his men burst from the yamen, torched the southern gate tower, raided the treasury, killed officials, and carried the loot to Wanqing. Wanqing was the rebel leader known as Shedetian.

十二年三月，良玉還，破降馬進忠，使劉國能擊降萬慶，士秀、應金亦再降。順天王已前死，其黨順義王為其下所殺。文燦遂上言：「臣兵威震懾，降者接踵。十三家之賊，惟革、左及馬光玉三部尚稽天誅，可歲月平也。」帝優詔報之。

In the third month of year twelve Liangyu returned, broke Ma Jinzhong and took his surrender, sent Liu Guoneng to subdue Wanqing, and Shixiu and Yingjin submitted once more. Shuntian Wang was already dead; his lieutenant Shunyi Wang was killed by his own men. Wencan memorialized, "My troops have struck such fear that surrendering rebels come in an unbroken stream. Of the thirteen rebel bands, only the Ge, Zuo, and Ma Guangyu factions still defy imperial justice; they can be crushed within a few months." The emperor answered with a gracious edict of approval.

初，張獻忠之降也，擁兵萬人踞谷城，索十萬人餉，文燦及中外要人曰與之。為請官、請地、請關防矣，獻忠列軍狀曰請備遣，既而三檄其兵不應，朝野知獻忠必叛也。其後，汝才降，不肯釋甲。及進忠、萬慶等並降，文燦以為得策，謂天下且無賊也。五月，獻忠遂反於谷城，劫汝才於房縣，於是九營俱反。初，均州五營懼見討，自疑，相與歃血拒獻忠，無何亦叛去。帝聞變，大驚，削文燦官，戴罪視事。七月，良玉擊獻忠羅英山，敗績。帝大怒，命嗣昌來代。嗣昌已至軍，即遣使逮文燦下獄，坐大辟，所親姚明恭柄國而不能救也。十三年十月，文燦竟棄市。

When Zhang Xianzhong first submitted, he kept ten thousand men at Gucheng and demanded rations for a hundred thousand; Wencan and court favorites supplied them day after day. He had been granted posts, land, and seals, and filed troop rolls asking to be sent on duty; yet three summonses to move his men went ignored, and everyone knew Xianzhong would rebel. Later Luo Ruocai submitted but would not disarm. Once Jinzhong, Wanqing, and the others had all surrendered, Wencan believed his policy had worked and declared that banditry was nearly ended. In the fifth month Xianzhong rose again at Gucheng, dragged Luo Ruocai away at Fang county, and all nine camps followed him into revolt. The five Junzhou camps, fearing punishment, grew uneasy, swore blood brotherhood to resist Xianzhong, and soon broke away as well. When the emperor learned of the disaster he was shaken, demoted Wencan, and made him serve on while under sentence. In the seventh month Liangyu fought Xianzhong at Luoyingshan and suffered a crushing defeat. The emperor flew into a rage and summoned Yang Sichang to take his place. Sichang had barely reached headquarters when he had Wencan arrested and jailed on a capital charge. Yao Minggong, his patron at court, held power but could not save him. In the tenth month of year thirteen Wencan was put to death in public.

練國事，字君豫，永城人。萬曆四十四年進士。授沛縣知縣，調山陽。

Lian Guoshi, courtesy name Junyu, came from Yongcheng. He became a jinshi in the forty-fourth year of Wanli. He was made magistrate of Pei county, then transferred to Shanyang.

天啟二年，征授御史。廣寧失守，國事請薊州、宣府、大同及山東、山西、河南撫臣各練兵萬，以壯山海聲援。又請捕誅殺大同妖人。又疏論魏忠賢使群閹辱尚書鐘羽正，索冬衣，傷國體。國事在諫垣，匡救多。給事中趙興邦，忠賢私人也，以國事為趙南星黨，劾之，削籍。

In the second year of Tianqi he was called up and made a censor. After Guangning was lost he urged the governors of Jizhou, Xuanfu, Datong, Shandong, Shanxi, and Henan each to drill ten thousand men to reinforce the Shanhai front. He also called for the arrest and execution of the Datong sorcerers. He further denounced Wei Zhongxian for letting his eunuchs humiliate Minister Zhong Yuzheng and demand winter clothing, an affront to the court. During his years as a censor he offered many timely remonstrances. Supervising secretary Zhao Xingbang, a Wei Zhongxian ally, attacked Guoshi as a follower of Zhao Nanxing; Guoshi was dismissed from office.

崇禎元年復官，擢太僕少卿，進右僉都御史，巡撫陜西。關中頻歲饑，盜賊蜂起。四年正月，神一元陷保安。國事遣賀虎臣援延安，而身率副將張全昌連破點燈子於中部、合阝陽、韓城，又破別部於宜君、雒川，降其魁李應鰲。諸將張全昌、趙大允、王承恩、杜文煥、賀虎臣等分剿賊澄城、宜川、耀州、白水、合阝陽，斬首千九百有奇。總督楊鶴既受群賊降，已，復相繼叛，田近庵、李老柴陷中部。國事偕承恩攻圍五月，克之，而所部亦頻失事，楊鶴被征，國事亦戴罪自贖。

Restored in the first year of Chongzhen, he rose to vice minister of the Imperial Stud, then right censor-in-chief and grand coordinator of Shaanxi. Famine stalked Guanzhong year after year, and rebels multiplied. In the first month of year four Shen Yiyuan seized Bao'an. Guoshi dispatched He Huchen to Yan'an and himself led vice commander Zhang Quanchang in repeated victories over Diandengzi at Zhongbu, Heyang, and Hancheng, then routed another band at Yijun and Luochuan and took the surrender of its leader Li Ying'ao. Zhang Quanchang, Zhao Dayun, Wang Chengen, Du Wenhuan, He Huchen, and other commanders hunted rebels through Chengcheng, Yichuan, Yaozhou, Baishui, and Heyang, taking nearly two thousand heads. Governor Yang He had accepted the mass surrender of the rebels, but they soon rose again; Tian Jinyan and Li Laochai seized Zhongbu. Guoshi and Chengen besieged the place for five months and recovered it, yet his own units also suffered repeated losses. Yang He was recalled, and Guoshi likewise served on under sentence to redeem his faults.

五年，紅軍友、李都司等將犯平涼。國事自涇趨固原，檄大帥楊嘉謨殺賊塘馬，斷其偵探。賊乃走慶陽西壕，嘉謨、曹文詔邀擊，大敗之。自三月至五月，大小數十戰，賊迄破滅。國事免戴罪。

In year five Hong Junyou, Li Dusi, and their bands were poised to strike Pingliang. Guoshi rushed from Jing to Guyuan and ordered grand commander Yang Jiamou to kill the rebels' courier mounts and blind their scouts. The rebels fled to the western trenches at Qingyang, where Jiamou and Cao Wenchao ambushed and routed them. Between the third and fifth months, in dozens of engagements large and small, the rebels were finally wiped out. Guoshi was cleared of his punitive sentence.

當是時，關中五鎮，大帥曹文詔、楊嘉謨、王承恩、楊麟、賀虎臣各督邊軍協討，總督洪承疇尤善調度。賊魁多殲，余盡走山西，關中稍靖。

At that time the five Shaanxi garrisons—under Cao Wenchao, Yang Jiamou, Wang Chengen, Yang Lin, and He Huchen—coordinated border troops in joint campaigns, while Governor Hong Chengchou proved especially adept at marshaling them. Most rebel leaders were killed; the survivors fled into Shanxi, and Guanzhong grew quieter.

六年冬，賊既從澠池渡，入盧氏。明年，賊遂由河南、湖廣入漢南。總督陳奇瑜檄國事駐商州，協剿商南、盧氏賊。漢南賊遂由寧羌至兩當，掠鳳縣，出棧道，陷寶雞，關中賊復熾。既而奇瑜受賊降，檄諸軍勿擊。賊出險，遂大掠鳳翔、麟遊、寶雞、扶風、汧陽、乾州、涇陽、醴泉。奇瑜委罪國事以自解，國事上言：「漢南賊盡入棧道，奇瑜檄止兵，臣未知所撫實數。及見奇瑜疏，八大王部萬三千餘人，蠍子塊部萬五百餘人，張妙手部九千一百餘人，八大王又一部八千三百餘人，臣不覺仰天長嘆。夫一月內，撫強寇四萬餘，盡從棧道入內地，食飲何自出，安得無剽掠？且一大帥將三千人，而一賊魁反擁萬餘眾，安能受紀律？即藉口回籍，延安州縣驟增四萬餘人，安集何所？合諸征剿兵不滿二萬，而降賊逾四萬，豈內地兵力所能支，宜其連陷名城而不可救也。若咎臣不堵剿，則先有止兵檄矣；若雲賊已受撫，因誤殺使人致然，則未誤殺之先，何為破麟遊、永壽。今事已至此，惟急調大軍致討，若仍以願回原籍，禁兵勿剿，三秦之禍安所終極哉！」疏入，事已不可為，遂逮下獄。九年正月遣戍廣西。久之，敘前功，赦還，復冠帶。

In the winter of year six the rebels crossed at Mianchi and entered Lushi. The following year they pushed from Henan and Huguang into southern Han. Governor Chen Qiyu ordered Guoshi to hold Shangzhou and help suppress rebels in Shangnan and Lushi. Hanzhong rebels moved from Ningqiang to Liangdang, raided Feng county, came out on the plank road, seized Baoji, and Guanzhong revolted anew. Soon Qiyu accepted rebel surrender terms and told the armies to stand down. The rebels left the mountains and swept through Fengxiang, Linyou, Baoji, Fufeng, Qianyang, Qianzhou, Jingyang, and Liquan. Qiyu blamed Guoshi to save himself. Guoshi wrote, "The Hanzhong rebels have all entered the plank road. Qiyu ordered a cease-fire, and I did not yet know how many had actually submitted. When I read Qiyu's report—Ba Dashwang with over thirteen thousand men, Xiezikuai with over ten thousand five hundred, Zhang Miaoshou with over nine thousand one hundred, and another Ba Dashwang column with over eight thousand three hundred—I could only look up and sigh. In a single month he had "pacified" forty thousand hardened rebels and sent them all inland by the plank road. Where were they to be fed—how could there be no looting? A grand commander leads three thousand men, yet a single rebel chief commands more than ten thousand—how can they be kept in order? Even if they claim they wish to go home, Yan'an prefecture would suddenly have to absorb more than forty thousand men—where could they be resettled? Our field armies totalled under twenty thousand, while surrendered rebels topped forty thousand. No inland force could bear that weight—no wonder great cities fell one after another beyond rescue. If I am faulted for failing to intercept them, there was already an order to halt the troops; if it is said the rebels were already pacified and only turned violent because envoys were killed by mistake, why had they already seized Linyou and Yongshou before any such killing. Matters stand as they do. Only a swift mobilization of major forces can answer them. If we again let them plead to go home and forbid our troops to fight, the Three Qins will never see an end to disaster!" When the memorial arrived, nothing could be done, and Guoshi was thrown into prison. In the first month of year nine he was exiled to Guangxi. Years later his earlier service was recognized, he was pardoned and recalled, and his official rank was restored.

福王時，召為戶部左侍郎，尋改兵部。十二月加尚書，仍蒞侍郎事。明年二月致仕，未幾卒。

Under the Prince of Fu he was called up as left vice minister of revenue, then moved to the Ministry of War. In the twelfth month he was promoted to minister while continuing to handle vice-minister business. He retired the following second month and died soon after.

丁啟睿，永城人。萬曆四十七年進士。崇禎初，歷山東右參政，坐事謫陜西副使。九年，寧夏兵變，啟睿捕斬殺巡撫王楫者首惡六人，軍中大定。再遷右布政使，分守關南，從巡撫孫傳庭討賊。

Ding Qirui came from Yongcheng. He became a jinshi in the forty-seventh year of Wanli. Early in Chongzhen he was right administrative commissioner of Shandong, then demoted to Shaanxi vice commissioner after a disciplinary case. In year nine, after the Ningxia mutiny, Qirui seized and executed the six chief culprits in the killing of Grand Coordinator Wang Ji, and the garrison calmed. Promoted again to right provincial administration commissioner, he guarded the southern passes and campaigned with Sun Chuanting against the rebels.

十一年冬，就拜右僉都御史，代傳庭巡撫陜西。歲頻旱，民益為盜，長武、環、白水、長安、臨潼、咸陽賊起如猬毛。十三年，用督師楊嗣昌薦，擢兵部右侍郎兼右僉都御史，代鄭崇儉總督陜西三邊軍務討賊。明年，嗣昌死，加啟睿兵部尚書，改稱督師，代嗣昌盡督陜西、湖廣、河南、四川、山西及江南、北諸軍，仍兼總督陜西三邊軍務，賜劍、敕、印如嗣昌。

In the winter of year eleven he was appointed right censor-in-chief and replaced Chuanting as grand coordinator of Shaanxi. Repeated droughts drove more peasants to banditry; rebels sprang up like thorns at Changwu, Huan, Baishui, Chang'an, Lintong, and Xianyang. In year thirteen, on Yang Sichang's recommendation, he became vice minister of war and concurrent right censor-in-chief, succeeding Zheng Chongjian as governor-general of Shaanxi's three frontiers to fight the rebels. The following year, after Sichang's death, Qirui was made minister of war and supreme commander over Shaanxi, Huguang, Henan, Sichuan, Shanxi, and both Jiangnan circuits, while retaining the Shaanxi three-frontier command; he received the same sword, edict, and seal as Sichang.

啟睿自謫河西副使，數遷皆在陜西，然實庸才。為督、撫，奉督師期會，謹慎無功過；及督師任重專制，即莫知為計。啟睿已受命出潼關，將由承天赴嗣昌軍於荊州。湖廣巡按汪承詔言大寇在河南，荊、襄幸息警，無煩大軍，盡匿漢津船。啟睿至，五日不得渡，折而向鄧州，州人閉門詬；過內鄉，長吏閉之糴。軍行荒山間，割馬騾，燎以野草，士啖不得飽。是時李自成已陷洛陽，圍開封，有眾七十萬，啟睿憚不敢援。聞張獻忠在光山、固始間，少弱，乃謀於諸將曰：「上命我剿豫賊，此亦豫賊也。」遂檄左良玉破之於麻城，斬首千二百。開封日告急，則曰：「我方有事於獻忠，不赴矣。」聞傅宗龍將入關督秦師，啟睿曰「三邊已置總督矣」，乞帝更敕書，乃更敕書宗龍辦自成。九月，宗龍敗歿於項城，啟睿不能救。賊乘勝陷南陽，殺唐王，開、汝二郡望風下。十二月，自成再圍開封。河南巡撫高名衡飛檄至，啟睿督兵赴之，避賊入城，部下大淫掠。總兵陳永福射自成，中其左目。明年正月，賊解圍去。

Since his demotion to the Hexi vice commissionership Qirui had risen several ranks, all within Shaanxi, yet he was genuinely a mediocrity. As governor or coordinator he met Sichang's schedules, played it safe, and neither distinguished himself nor blundered badly; but once given supreme command with full authority he was at a loss. Qirui had taken up his commission and crossed Tong Pass, intending to travel via Chengtian to Sichang's camp at Jingzhou. Huguang surveillance commissioner Wang Chengzhao claimed the main rebels were in Henan, that Jing and Xiang were finally calm, that no large force was needed, and hid every boat on the Han crossing. Qirui waited five days without a crossing, detoured toward Dengzhou, and was met with barred gates and curses; at Neixiang the magistrates would not sell his men grain. They tramped barren hills, slaughtered horses and mules, roasted the meat over scrub, and the troops still went hungry. Li Zicheng had already seized Luoyang and was besieging Kaifeng with seven hundred thousand men; Qirui was afraid and would not march to its aid. Learning that Zhang Xianzhong was operating between Guangshan and Gushi and seemed the weaker foe, he told his commanders, "The throne ordered me to crush Henan rebels—and these are Henan rebels too." He then sent Zuo Liangyu against them at Macheng, where twelve hundred heads were taken. Kaifeng sent desperate appeals daily, but he replied, "I am engaged with Xianzhong and cannot come. When he heard Fu Zonglong was entering the pass to command the Qin armies, Qirui protested, "The three frontiers already have a governor-general," and asked the emperor to rewrite the orders—so Zonglong was directed against Zicheng instead. In the ninth month Zonglong was destroyed at Xiangcheng, and Qirui never reached him. The rebels swept on to seize Nanyang, kill the Prince of Tang, and bring Kai and Ru prefectures over without a fight. In the twelfth month Zicheng besieged Kaifeng again. Grand Coordinator Gao Mingheng sent frantic dispatches. Qirui marched to relieve the city, slipped inside the walls to avoid the rebels, and his men looted savagely. Commander Chen Yongfu shot Zicheng in the left eye. In the first month of the following year the rebels raised the siege and withdrew.

啟睿之在許州也，畏賊逼，始赴開封。離城三十里，而城即破。其抵開封，啟門入，賊乘之，幾陷。四月，自成合群賊復攻開封。六月，帝釋侯恂於獄，命督援剿諸軍救開封。未至，開封圍益急。帝數詔切責啟睿。啟睿不得已，乃大集良玉、虎大威、楊德政、方國安之軍，偕保定總督楊文嶽，以七月會於朱仙鎮，與賊壘相望。賊眾百萬，啟睿欲戰，良玉曰：「賊鋒銳，未可擊也。」啟睿曰：「圍已急，必擊之。」諸將皆懼。良玉歸營即先走，諸營俱走，啟睿、文嶽聯騎奔汝寧。賊渡河逐之，追奔四百里。喪馬騾七千，將士數萬，啟睿敕書、印、劍俱失。事聞，詔褫職候代。九月，賊決馬家口河灌開封，開封遂陷，乃征下吏，久之釋歸。自嗣昌死二年而啟睿敗，啟睿敗又二年而明亡矣。

While Qirui lingered at Xuzhou, afraid of the rebels, he moved toward Kaifeng only under pressure. He was still thirty li away when the city nearly fell. When he entered Kaifeng the gates were opened for him, the rebels rushed the breach, and the city nearly fell with him inside. In the fourth month Zicheng joined the rebel hosts and attacked Kaifeng again. In the sixth month the emperor freed Hou Xun from prison and put him in charge of the relief forces for Kaifeng. Before Hou Xun arrived the siege tightened still further. The emperor sent edict after edict sharply rebuking Qirui. With no alternative, Qirui mustered the forces of Liang Yu, Hu Dawei, Yang Dezheng, and Fang Guo'an, joined by Baoding grand coordinator Yang Wenyue. In the seventh month they assembled at Zhuxian Town, camped face to face with the rebels. The rebels were said to number a million. Qirui wanted to attack. Liang Yu said, "Their vanguard is too sharp—we cannot strike yet." Qirui replied, "The siege is critical. We must attack." Every general was afraid. Liang Yu went back to camp and fled at once; every camp followed. Qirui and Wenyue rode together to Runing. The rebels crossed the river in pursuit and chased the rout four hundred li. Seven thousand horses and mules were lost, along with tens of thousands of troops. Qirui's imperial commission, seal, and sword were all lost. When word reached the court, he was stripped of office and ordered to await a successor. In the ninth month the rebels broke the river at Majiakou to flood Kaifeng, and the city fell. Qirui was handed over to the judicial authorities; long afterward he was released to go home. Two years after Sichang's death came Qirui's defeat; two years after Qirui's defeat the Ming dynasty fell.

福王時，啟睿夤緣馬士英充為事官，督河南勸農、剿寇諸務。尋以擒斬歸德偽官，拜兵部尚書，加太子太保，官其一子。事敗，脫身旋裏，久之卒。

Under the Prince of Fu, Qirui used his connection with Ma Shiying to become an acting commissioner overseeing Henan agriculture and bandit suppression. Soon afterward, for capturing and executing puppet officials at Guide, he was made minister of war, promoted to grand guardian of the heir apparent, and one son was granted office. When the cause collapsed he slipped away home and died years later.

從父魁楚，崇禎四年春，以右僉都御史巡撫保定。七年，擢兵部右侍郎，代傅宗龍總督薊、遼、保定軍務。九年七月，畿輔被兵，魁楚坐下吏，久之放還。福王時，起故官，總督河南、湖廣，兼巡撫承天、德安、襄陽。未赴，會兩廣總督沈猶龍入為侍郎，魁楚竟代其任。尋加兵部尚書。唐王自立於福州，命以故官協理戎政。靖江王亨嘉反桂林，下梧州，執巡撫瞿式耜。魁楚檄思恩參將陳邦傳等襲走之，獲於桂林。封魁楚平粵伯，仍留鎮兩廣。閩中事敗，與式耜擁立桂王於肇慶，進東閣大學士，兼理戎政。大清兵下廣州，漸迫肇慶。魁楚奉王走梧州，復棄之，走岑溪。輜重多，舳艫相屬，為大將李成棟追獲，魁楚遂降。成棟與有隙，錄其家數百人殺之，魁楚乞一子，成棟笑曰：「汝身且莫保，尚求活人耶？」並殺之。

His uncle Kui Chu, in the spring of Chongzhen year four, was right censor-in-chief and grand coordinator of Baoding. In year seven he was promoted to right vice minister of war and replaced Fu Zonglong as grand coordinator of Ji, Liaodong, and Baoding. In the seventh month of year nine the capital region was invaded; Kui Chu was handed over to the courts and, long afterward, released to return home. Under the Prince of Fu he was restored to office as grand coordinator of Henan and Huguang, with concurrent charge of Chengde, De'an, and Xiangyang. Before he could take up the post, grand coordinator of the Two Guang Shen Youlong entered the capital as vice minister, and Kui Chu ended up replacing him. He was soon additionally made minister of war. When the Prince of Tang declared himself at Fuzhou, Kui Chu was ordered to assist in military administration in his former rank. Prince Jingjiang Hengjia rebelled at Guilin, marched down to Wuzhou, and seized grand coordinator Qu Shisi. Kui Chu ordered Sinian assistant commander Chen Bangchuan and others to attack and drive him off; Hengjia was captured at Guilin. Kui Chu was enfeoffed as Earl Pacifier of Yue and remained to garrison the Two Guang. When the Fujian cause collapsed, he and Shisi installed the Prince of Gui at Zhaoqing; Kui Chu was made grand secretary of the Eastern Pavilion and directed military affairs. Qing forces took Guangzhou and gradually closed on Zhaoqing. Kui Chu escorted the prince to Wuzhou, then abandoned him and fled to Cenxi. Laden with baggage and a long train of boats, he was overtaken and captured by the great general Li Chengdong, and Kui Chu surrendered. Chengdong bore a grudge against him and registered several hundred of his household for execution. Kui Chu begged for one son. Chengdong laughed and said, "You cannot even save yourself—yet you ask for a living man?" He killed them all.

鄭崇儉，字大章，寧鄉人。萬曆四十四年進士。授河南府推官，歷濟南兵備副使。崇禎初，遷陜西右參政。屢遷右僉都御史，巡撫寧夏。數敗套寇，賚銀幣，世蔭錦衣副千戶。

Zheng Chongjian, styled Dazhang, was from Ningxiang. He became a jinshi in the forty-fourth year of Wanli. He was appointed investigating censor of Henan prefecture and later served as Jinan military defense vice commissioner. Early in Chongzhen he was transferred to right administrative commissioner of Shaanxi. After several promotions he became right censor-in-chief and grand coordinator of Ningxia. He repeatedly defeated the Tatar raiders, was rewarded with silver and silks, and his family received hereditary rank as vice battalion commander in the Embroidered-Uniform Guard.

十二年正月，擢兵部右侍郎，代洪承疇總督陜西三邊軍務。五月，張獻忠反谷城，羅汝才等九營皆反，興安告警。總理熊文燦請敕楚撫方孔炤防荊門、當陽，鄖撫王鰲永防江陵、遠安，陜撫丁啟睿、蜀撫邵捷春各嚴兵於其境。而崇儉主提兵合擊，時固原、臨洮、寧夏三總兵左光先、曹變蛟、馬科隨承疇人衛，柴時華中道還甘肅，征之不應，崇儉乃檄副將賀人龍、李國奇等軍發西安。國奇至洛陽，卒大噪，剽瑞王租。國奇已擢陜西總兵官，坐停新命，崇儉亦貶一秩。

In the first month of year twelve he was promoted to right vice minister of war and replaced Hong Chengchou as grand coordinator of Shaanxi's Three Frontiers. In the fifth month Zhang Xianzhong rebelled at Gucheng; Luo Rucai and the other nine camps followed, and Xing'an sounded the alarm. Grand secretary Xiong Wencan asked for orders that Huguang coordinator Fang Kongzhao hold Jingmen and Dangyang, Yun coordinator Wang Aoyong hold Jiangling and Yuan'an, and Shaanxi coordinator Ding Qirui and Sichuan coordinator Shao Jiechun each tighten defenses in their territories. Chongjian, however, wanted a joint offensive. The three regional commanders of Guyuan, Lintao, and Ningxia—Zuo Guangxian, Cao Bianjiao, and Ma Ke—had gone with Hong Chengchou to enter the capital on guard duty; Chai Shihua had turned back to Gansu en route and did not answer the summons. Chongjian then ordered deputy generals He Renlong, Li Guoqi, and others to march from Xi'an. When Guoqi reached Luoyang the troops mutinied loudly and plundered the Prince of Rui's grain rents. Guoqi had already been promoted to Shaanxi regional commander; for the riot his new appointment was suspended, and Chongjian was demoted one rank.

獻忠既叛，大敗左良玉軍於房縣之羅英山，謀入陜。崇儉率人龍、國奇軍扼之興安，賊還走興山、太平，處楚、蜀交。是時，楊嗣昌已出師，入文燦軍而代之矣。先是，尚書傅宗龍議令崇儉兼督蜀軍，而嗣昌亦檄秦軍入蜀。崇儉乃以十三年二月率人龍、國奇會良玉大敗賊於瑪瑙山，獲首功千三百三十有三，降賊將二十有五人，獲馬騾、甲仗無算。是役也，崇儉身在行，而嗣昌遠處襄陽。及論功，所賜半嗣昌，但增一秩，復先所降一秩而已。

Once Xianzhong had rebelled, he crushed Zuo Liangyu's army at Luoying Mountain in Fang County and planned to enter Shaanxi. Chongjian led Renlong and Guoqi to block them at Xing'an; the rebels turned back through Xingshan and Taiping, on the border between Huguang and Sichuan. By then Yang Sichang had taken the field, entered Wencan's command, and replaced him. Earlier minister Fu Zonglong had proposed that Chongjian also supervise Sichuan forces, and Sichang likewise ordered Shaanxi troops into Sichuan. In the second month of year thirteen Chongjian led Renlong and Guoqi to join Liangyu and inflicted a great defeat on the rebels at Mount Magna, taking 1,333 heads, twenty-five surrendered rebel generals, and countless horses, mules, armor, and weapons. In that campaign Chongjian was in the field himself, while Sichang stayed far away at Xiangyang. When rewards were apportioned, half went to Sichang; Chongjian received only one rank—and that merely restored the rank he had earlier lost.

獻忠既敗，竄柯家坪，蜀將張令追之，被圍。崇儉遣兵擊走賊，人龍、國奇等復追敗之寒溪寺、鹽井，先後斬首千五百級，其黨順天王、一條龍、一隻龍皆降。崇儉軍五日三捷，威名甚振。以年衰乞骸骨，不許，令率總兵鄭家棟還關中，留人龍、國奇討賊。

After his defeat Xianzhong fled to Kejiaping; Sichuan general Zhang Ling pursued him and was surrounded. Chongjian sent troops to drive the rebels off; Renlong, Guoqi, and others pursued and defeated them again at Hanxisi and Yanjing, taking 1,500 heads in all. Followers Shuntian Wang, Yitiaolong, and Yizhilong all surrendered. Chongjian's army won three victories in five days, and his fame soared. He asked to retire on grounds of age; the request was denied. He was ordered to lead regional commander Zheng Jiadong back to Guanzhong while Renlong and Guoqi remained to pursue the rebels.

當是時，獻忠竄伏興、歸山中。秦、楚師俱集於夔，諸將協心窮搜深箐，千餘殘寇可盡殲。崇儉既去，未幾，人龍軍亦自開縣噪而西歸，楚師遂敗績於土地嶺，蜀中由是大亂。嗣昌因言崇儉撤兵太早，致賊猖獗。帝初以崇儉不能馭軍，不悅，及是命削籍，以啟睿赴軍前代理，而疑崇儉托疾，令按臣核實。明年春，獻忠陷襄陽，嗣昌死，帝益恨崇儉不掎角平賊也，逮下獄，責以縱兵擅還，失誤軍律。不俟秋後，以五月棄市。

At that time Xianzhong was hiding in the mountains of Xing and Gui. Shaanxi and Huguang troops were all gathered at Kui; if the generals cooperated in searching the deep ravines, the remaining thousand-odd rebels could be wiped out. After Chongjian left, Renlong's troops soon mutinied at Kaixian and marched west for home; the Huguang army was defeated at Tudiling, and Sichuan fell into chaos. Sichang then said Chongjian had withdrawn too soon, allowing the rebels to run wild. The emperor had already been displeased that Chongjian could not control his troops; now he struck him from the rolls, sent Qirui to the front in his place, and suspected Chongjian of feigning illness, ordering the investigating censor to verify it. The next spring Xianzhong took Xiangyang and Sichang died. The emperor hated Chongjian all the more for failing to coordinate a pincer, had him arrested, and charged him with letting the army disperse and returning on his own authority in breach of military law. Without waiting for the autumn executions, he was put to death in the marketplace in the fifth month.

帝自即位以來，誅總督七人，崇儉及袁崇煥、劉策、楊一鵬、熊文燦、范志完、趙光抃也。帝憤寇日熾，用法益峻，功罪不假貸，而疆事寢壞，卒至於亡。福王時，給事中李清言：「崇儉未失一城、喪一旅，因他人巧卸，遂服上刑。群臣微知其冤，無敢訟言者，臣甚痛之。」崇儉冤始白。

From his accession the emperor had executed seven grand coordinators: Chongjian along with Yuan Chonghuan, Liu Ce, Yang Yipeng, Xiong Wencan, Fan Zhiwan, and Zhao Guangbian. Angry that the rebels grew stronger by the day, he applied the law ever more harshly and spared neither merit nor fault; frontier affairs steadily collapsed until the dynasty fell. Under the Prince of Fu, supervising secretary Li Qing said, "Chongjian lost not a single city or a single detachment; because another cleverly shifted the blame onto him, he suffered the supreme penalty. The officials faintly knew he was wronged, yet none dared speak up; your servant is deeply grieved." Only then was Chongjian's injustice publicly acknowledged.

方孔炤，字潛夫，桐城人。萬曆四十四年進士。天啟初，為職方員外郎。忤崔呈秀，削籍。

Fang Kongzhao, styled Qianfu, was from Tongcheng. He became a jinshi in the forty-fourth year of Wanli. Early in Tianqi he was an outside secretary in the Bureau of Operations. He offended Cui Xianxiu and was struck from the rolls.

崇禎元年，起故官。憂歸。定桐城民變，還朝。十一年，以右僉都御史巡撫湖廣，擊賊李萬慶、馬光玉、羅汝才於承天，八戰八捷。時文燦納獻忠降，處之谷城。孔炤條上八議，言主撫之誤，不聽，而陰厲士馬備戰守。已而賊果叛，如孔炤言。賊故畏孔炤，不敢東，文燦乃檄孔炤防荊門、當陽，鰲永防江陵、遠安，秦、蜀各嚴兵。崇儉主合擊，孔炤乃請專斷德、黃，守承天，護獻陵；而江、漢以南責鰲永。會嗣昌代文燦，令孔炤仍駐當陽。惠王常潤言：「孔炤遏獻忠，有來家河、神通堡之捷，射中賊魁馬光玉，陵寢得無虞。請增秩久任。」章下部，未奏，而部將楊世恩、羅安邦奉調，會川、沅兵剿竹山寇。兩將深入，至香油坪而敗。嗣昌既以孔炤撫議異己也，又忮其言中，遂因事獨劾孔炤，逮下詔獄。子檢討以智，國變後，棄家為僧，號無可者也，伏闕訟父冤，膝行沙塸者兩年。帝為心動，下議，孔炤護陵寢功多，減死戍紹興。久之，用薦復官，以右僉都御史屯田山東、河北。馳至濟南，復命兼理軍務，督大名、廣平二監司禦賊。命甫下而京師陷，孔炤南奔。馬、阮亂政，歸隱十餘年而終。

In Chongzhen year one he was restored to his former office. He went home for mourning. He quelled the Tongcheng popular uprising and returned to court. In year eleven, as right censor-in-chief and grand coordinator of Huguang, he fought the rebels Li Wanqing, Ma Guangyu, and Luo Rucai at Chengde and won eight battles in eight encounters. At the time Wencan accepted Xianzhong's surrender and settled him at Gucheng. Kongzhao submitted eight detailed proposals arguing that reliance on pacification was mistaken; the court did not listen, but he secretly strengthened troops and horses for defense. Before long the rebels did rebel, just as Kongzhao had warned. The rebels had long feared Kongzhao and would not go east; Wencan then ordered Kongzhao to hold Jingmen and Dangyang, Aoyong to hold Jiangling and Yuan'an, and Shaanxi and Sichuan each to tighten their defenses. Chongjian wanted a joint attack; Kongzhao then asked for sole authority over Dezhou and Huangzhou, to hold Chengde and protect the Xian imperial tombs; while south of the Jiang and Han the responsibility would fall on Aoyong. When Sichang replaced Wencan, he ordered Kongzhao to remain at Dangyang. Prince Hui Changrun said, "Kongzhao checked Xianzhong and won victories at Laijia River and Shentong Fort, shooting the rebel chief Ma Guangyu; the imperial tombs were kept safe. I ask that his rank be raised and his tenure extended." The memorial went to the ministries; before it could be presented, his subordinate generals Yang Shien and Luo Anbang were transferred to join Chuan and Yuan troops in suppressing bandits at Zhushan. The two generals advanced deep inland and were defeated at Xiangyouping. Sichang already resented Kongzhao's pacification views and envied that his warnings had proved correct; he used the defeat alone to impeach Kongzhao, who was arrested and sent to the imperial prison. His son, Hanlin compiler Fang Yizhi, after the dynastic collapse abandoned his family to become a monk styled Wuke; he lay prostrate at the palace gate pleading his father's innocence, crawling on his knees through the ceremonial yard for two years. The emperor was moved and sent the case down for deliberation; Kongzhao's merit in protecting the tombs was great, and the death sentence was reduced to exile at Shaoxing. Years later, on recommendation he was restored as right censor-in-chief to develop garrison farms in Shandong and Hebei. He hurried to Jinan and was again ordered to handle military affairs, supervising the surveillance commissions of Daming and Guangping in resisting the rebels. The order had barely been issued when the capital fell; Kongzhao fled south. Under the corrupt rule of Ma Shiying and Ruan Dayue, he lived in retirement for more than ten years and then died.

先是，有以陵寢失守獲重譴者，為楊一鵬。一鵬，臨湘人。歷官大理寺丞，削籍。崇禎六年，以兵部左侍郎拜戶部尚書兼右僉都御史，總督漕運，巡撫江北四府。鳳陽軍民素疾守陵太監楊澤貪虐，引賊來寇。八年正月，賊遂攻陷鳳陽，焚皇陵，燒龍興寺，燔公私邸舍二萬二千六百五十，戮中都留守朱國相、指揮使程永寧等四十有一員，殺軍民數萬人。

Earlier, one who had suffered heavy punishment for the loss of the imperial tombs was Yang Yipeng. Yipeng was from Linxiang. He had served as vice director of the Court of Judicial Review and was struck from the rolls. In Chongzhen year six he was promoted from left vice minister of war to minister of revenue, concurrently right censor-in-chief, grand coordinator of the grain transport, and grand coordinator of the four northern Jiang prefectures. The troops and people of Fengyang had long resented the tomb-guarding eunuch Yang Ze for greed and cruelty and guided bandits to attack. In the first month of year eight the rebels attacked and took Fengyang, burned the imperial tombs and Longxing Temple, and burned 22,650 public and private buildings; they killed forty-one officials including Central Capital garrison commander Zhu Guoxiang and commander Cheng Yongning, and tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians.

先是，賊漸逼江北，兵部尚書張鳳翼請敕一鵬移鎮鳳陽，溫體仁格其議。賊驟至，一鵬在淮安，遠不及救。帝聞變大驚，素服避殿，親祭告太廟，遂逮一鵬及巡按御史吳振纓、守陵官澤。澤先自殺，一鵬棄市，振纓戍邊。

Earlier, as the rebels gradually pressed on northern Jiang, minister of war Zhang Fengyi asked for an edict moving Yipeng's headquarters to Fengyang; Wen Tiren blocked the proposal. The rebels arrived suddenly; Yipeng was at Huai'an, too far away to rescue in time. When the emperor heard the news he was greatly shocked; in plain dress he left the hall, personally offered sacrifice at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and then arrested Yipeng, investigating censor Wu Zhenyuan, and tomb guard Yang Ze. Ze killed himself first; Yipeng was executed in public; Zhenyuan was banished to border service.

邵捷春，字肇復，侯官人。萬曆四十七年進士。累官稽勛郎中。

Shao Jiechun, courtesy name Zhaofu, was from Houguan. He passed the jinshi examination in Wanli year forty-seven. He rose through the ranks to registrar of merits in the Ministry of Personnel.

崇禎二年，出為四川右參政，分守川南，撫定天全六番高、楊二氏。遷浙江按察使。大計，坐貶。久之，起四川副使，以十年秋抵成都。時秦賊已入蜀，巡撫王維章、總兵侯良柱悉眾北拒，城中惟屯田軍及蜀府護衛軍，人情恇懼，捷春啟門納鄉民避賊者。中尉奉鐕勾賊抵城下，捷春與御史陳廷謨擒擊奉鐕，而募市人、起廢將固守。賊去，蜀王疏其功。會維章罷，傅宗龍代，命捷春監軍，偕總兵羅尚文擊賊。明年，尚文及安錦副使吳麟征大破賊過天星等。捷春進右參政，仍監軍。

In Chongzhen year two he was appointed right administration commissioner of Sichuan, charged with defending southern Sichuan, and pacified the Gao and Yang clans of the Tianquan Six Fan. He was transferred to surveillance commissioner of Zhejiang. At the triennial evaluation he was demoted. After some time he was restored as vice commissioner of Sichuan and reached Chengdu in autumn of year ten. The Shaanxi rebels had already entered Sichuan; grand coordinator Wang Weizhang and regional commander Hou Liangzhu took all their troops north to resist them; only the colony troops and the Shu princely guard remained in the city; the people were terrified; Jiechun opened the gates to admit villagers fleeing the rebels. Lieutenant prince Feng Zheng colluded with the rebels and brought them to the city walls; Jiechun and censor Chen Tingmo seized and attacked Feng Zheng, recruited townspeople, and reinstated dismissed generals to hold the defense. When the rebels withdrew, the Prince of Shu memorialized his achievements. Weizhang was dismissed and Fu Zonglong replaced him; Jiechun was ordered to supervise the army and attack the rebels with regional commander Luo Shangwen. The next year Shangwen and An-Jin vice commissioner Wu Linzheng inflicted a major defeat on Guo Tianxing and other rebel leaders. Jiechun was promoted to right administration commissioner and continued to supervise the army.

十二年五月，宗龍入掌中樞，即擢捷春右僉都御史代之。時張獻忠、羅汝才已叛，謀入秦。秦兵扼之興安，乃犯興山及蜀太平，遂窺大寧。捷春遣副將王之綸、方國安分道扼之。國安連破賊，賊遂還入秦、楚。十月朔，楊嗣昌誓師襄陽，檄蜀軍受節度。嗣昌以楚地廣衍，賊難制，驅使入蜀，蜀險阻，賊不得逞，蹙之可全勝，又慮蜀重兵扼險，賊將還毒楚，調蜀精銳萬餘為己用，蜀中卒自是益疲弱不足支矣。捷春憤曰：「令甲失一城，巡撫坐。今以蜀委賊，是督師殺我也。」爭之，不能得。於是汝才、惠登相遂自興山、遠安犯大寧、大昌，獻忠亦西至太平。明年二月，左良玉大破獻忠瑪瑙山，他將張應元、張令等復數敗之。獻忠乃逃興、歸山中。久之復振，由汝才入寧昌故道走而西。

In the fifth month of year twelve Zonglong took charge of the central secretariat and immediately promoted Jiechun to right censor-in-chief to replace him as grand coordinator. Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai had already rebelled and planned to enter Shaanxi. Shaanxi troops blocked them at Xing'an; they then attacked Xingshan and Taiping in Sichuan and turned toward Daling. Jiechun sent deputy generals Wang Zhilun and Fang Guo'an to block them on separate routes. Guo'an repeatedly defeated the rebels, who then withdrew into Shaanxi and Huguang. On the first of the tenth month Yang Sichang rallied his forces at Xiangyang and ordered the Sichuan army to accept his command. Sichang judged that Huguang was too vast for easy control and drove the rebels into Sichuan, where the rugged terrain would hem them in for a complete victory; he also feared that if Sichuan held the passes in force the rebels would turn back to ravage Huguang, so he transferred more than ten thousand elite Sichuan troops to his own command; from then on Sichuan's forces grew steadily weaker and could no longer hold their own. Jiechun said angrily: "By regulation, losing a single city makes the grand coordinator liable. Now you are handing Sichuan over to the rebels—that is the supreme commander killing me." He protested but could not prevail. Thereupon Rucai and Hui Dengxiang advanced from Xingshan and Yuan'an against Daling and Dachang, and Xianzhong also marched west to Taiping. In the second month of the following year Zuo Liangyu routed Xianzhong at Mount Mano; other generals Zhang Yingyuan and Zhang Ling repeatedly defeated him as well. Xianzhong fled into the mountains of Xingzhou and Guizhou. After a time he recovered his strength and, following Rucai along the old Ningchang route, fled west.

初，汝才在寧昌阻江，為諸將劉貴、秦良玉、秦翼明、楊茂選等所拒，不得渡。會獻忠西，遂與合。貴等戰皆卻，賊乃渡江，營萬頃山、苦桃灣，其別部營紅茨崖、青平砦，歸、巫間大震。嗣昌乃上夷陵，而檄捷春扼夔門。蜀大寧、大昌界楚竹溪、房縣，有三十二隘口，嗣昌欲厚集兵力專守夔，棄寧、昌啖賊，官軍環攻之。捷春曰：「棄隘口不守，是延賊入戶也。」乃遣茂選及覃思岱等出關分守。二將不相得，思岱鐕殺茂選，捷春令兼統其眾，其眾相率去。賊入隘，守者潰，賊夜斬夔關，將士大驚潰，新寧、大竹皆陷。而汝才、登相越巴霧河，陷開縣，為鄭嘉棟、賀人龍所破。汝才乃與小秦王、混世王東奔，而登相獨過開縣西。人龍及李國奇又西追之，汝才等遁還興山，屢挫。會嗣昌下招降令，小秦王、混世王皆降，惟汝才逸去。嗣昌見楚地無賊，以八月終率師入蜀，於是群賊盡萃蜀中。

Earlier Rucai had been blocked at Ningchang by the river; generals Liu Gui, Qin Liangyu, Qin Yiming, Yang Maoxuan, and others held him off and he could not cross. When Xianzhong marched west they joined forces. Liu Gui and the others were driven back in every engagement; the rebels crossed the river and encamped at Mount Wanqing and Kutao Bay, while a detached force encamped at Hongci Cliff and Qingping Stockade; the region between Guizhou and Wushan was thrown into uproar. Sichang then advanced to Yiling and ordered Jiechun to hold Kui Gate. Daling and Dachang in Sichuan bordered Zhuxi and Fangxian in Huguang, with thirty-two passes; Sichang wanted to mass troops at Kui, abandon Ningchang and Dachang as bait for the rebels, and have government forces encircle them. Jiechun said: "Abandoning the passes is inviting the rebels into one's own house." He sent Maoxuan, Tan Side, and others out to hold the passes separately. The two generals quarreled; Side treacherously killed Maoxuan; Jiechun had Side take over both commands, and the troops deserted en masse. The rebels entered the pass; the defenders broke; that night they stormed Kui Pass; officers and soldiers fled in panic; Xinning and Dazhu both fell. Rucai and Dengxiang crossed the Bayu River and took Kaixian but were defeated by Zheng Jiadong and He Renlong. Rucai fled east with Little Qin King and World-Mixing King, while Dengxiang alone marched west of Kaixian. Renlong and Li Guoqi pursued west; Rucai and his followers fled back to Xingshan and suffered repeated defeats. When Sichang issued surrender summonses, Little Qin King and World-Mixing King submitted; only Rucai escaped. Finding Huguang free of rebels, Sichang at the end of the eighth month led his army into Sichuan, and all the rebel bands gathered there.

當是時，捷春提弱卒二萬守重慶，所倚惟秦良玉、張令軍。無何，秦師噪而西歸，楚將張應元等敗績於夔州之土地嶺。於是捷春以大昌上、中、下馬渡水淺地平，難與持久，乃扼水寨觀音巖為第一隘，以部將邵仲光守之。而夜叉巖、三黃嶺、磨子巖、魚河洞、下湧諸處，各分兵三四百人以守。萬元吉以兵分力弱為憂，捷春不聽。九月，獻忠突敗仲光軍，破上馬渡。元吉急檄諸將分邀之，復令張奏凱屯凈壁，捷春遣二將羅洪政、沈應龍為助。十月，獻忠突凈壁，遂陷大昌，屯開縣。良玉、令兩軍皆覆。賊行則哨探，止則息馬抄糧。關隘偵候不明，防軍或遠離戍所，賊乘隙而過無人之境。嗣昌遂收斬仲光，上疏劾捷春失事。捷春收兵扼梁山。時登相已歸正，而汝才復與獻忠合，以梁山河深不能渡，乃自開縣西走達州。捷春退保綿州，扼涪江。賊疾走，陷劍州，遂趨廣元，將由間道入漢中，為秦兵所扼，乃復走巴西。應元諸軍邀之梓潼，戰小利，既而衄，蜀將曹誌耀等力戰卻之。降將張一川、張載福陷陣死，涪江師遂潰，賊屠綿州。捷春歸成都，賊逼成都。十一月，逮捷春使者至，遂以軍事付代者廖大亨而去。

At this time Jiechun held Chongqing with twenty thousand weak troops, relying only on the forces of Qin Liangyu and Zhang Ling. Soon Shaanxi troops clamored and marched west homeward; Huguang generals Zhang Yingyuan and others were defeated at Tudi Ridge in Kuizhou. Jiechun judged that at Dachang the upper, middle, and lower horse crossings were shallow and level and could not be held long; he made Guanyin Cliff on the water stockade the primary pass and stationed his subordinate Shao Zhongguang there. At Yecha Cliff, Sanhuang Ridge, Mozi Cliff, Yuhe Cave, Xiayong, and other points he posted three or four hundred men each. Wan Yuanji warned that splitting the forces left them too weak; Jiechun would not listen. In the ninth month Xianzhong routed Zhongguang's army and broke through the upper horse crossing. Yuanji urgently ordered the generals to intercept on multiple fronts and stationed Zhang Zoukai at Jingbi; Jiechun sent Luo Hongzheng and Shen Yinglong to assist. In the tenth month Xianzhong stormed Jingbi, took Dachang, and encamped at Kaixian. Liangyu's and Ling's armies were both destroyed. When marching the rebels sent scouts ahead; when they halted they rested their horses and foraged for grain. Pass scouts were unreliable; garrison troops sometimes strayed far from their posts; the rebels slipped through unguarded gaps. Sichang had Zhongguang arrested and executed and memorialized impeaching Jiechun for the disaster. Jiechun regrouped his troops to hold Liangshan. Dengxiang had already submitted, but Rucai rejoined Xianzhong; unable to cross the deep Liangshan River, they marched west from Kaixian toward Dazhou. Jiechun withdrew to Mianzhou and blocked the Fu River. The rebels marched rapidly, took Jianzhou, and pressed toward Guangyuan, intending to enter Hanzhong by a side route; blocked by Shaanxi troops, they turned back toward Baxi. Yingyuan's forces intercepted them at Zitong and gained a slight advantage, then were beaten back; Sichuan general Cao Zhiyao and others fought fiercely and drove them off. Surrendered generals Zhang Yichuan and Zhang Zaifu died in battle; the Fu River army collapsed and the rebels slaughtered Mianzhou. Jiechun returned to Chengdu as the rebels closed on the city. In the eleventh month the messenger sent to arrest Jiechun arrived; he handed military affairs to his successor Liao Daheng and departed.

捷春為人清謹，治蜀有惠政。士民哭送者載道，舟不得行，競逐散官旗。蜀王為疏救，不聽。敕巡按御史遣官送京師，下獄論死。捷春知不可脫，明年八月仰藥死獄中。福王時，復官，贈兵部右侍郎。

Jiechun was upright and prudent; his rule in Sichuan brought real benefit to the people. Scholars and commoners who came weeping to see him off filled the roads; boats could not move; crowds vied to seize and tear the officials' banners. The Prince of Shu memorialized in his defense; the court would not listen. An edict ordered the touring censor to escort him to the capital; he was imprisoned and sentenced to death. Knowing he could not escape, in the eighth month of the following year he took poison and died in prison. Under the Prince of Fu his office was restored and he was posthumously made right vice minister of war.

余應桂，字二磯，都昌人。萬曆四十七年進士。歷知武康、龍巖、海澄三縣。

Yu Yinggui, courtesy name Erji, was from Duchang. He passed the jinshi examination in Wanli year forty-seven. He served successively as magistrate of Wukang, Longyan, and Haicheng.

崇禎四年，征授御史。劾戶部尚書畢自嚴朋比，殿試讀卷，取陳於泰第一。於泰者，首輔周延儒姻也。劾延儒納孫元化參、貂，受楊鶴重賂。帝方眷延儒，責應桂。未幾，賊陷登州，元化被執，應桂再疏劾延儒。帝怒，貶三秩視事，應桂引疾歸。

In Chongzhen year four he was summoned and appointed censor. He impeached minister of revenue Bi Ziyan for factional collusion; as a palace examination reader he ranked Chen Yutai first. Yutai was related by marriage to chief grand secretary Zhou Yanru. He impeached Yanru for accepting sable and marten furs from Sun Yuanhua and heavy bribes from Yang He. The emperor was favoring Yanru and rebuked Yinggui. Before long rebels took Dengzhou and Yuanhua was captured; Yinggui memorialized again to impeach Yanru. The emperor was enraged, demoted him three ranks but ordered him to remain in office; Yinggui pleaded illness and went home.

七年還朝，出按湖廣，居守承天。捐贖鍰十餘萬募壯士，繕城治器，賊不敢逼獻陵。帝聞而嘉之。期滿，命再巡一年。貽贖鍰萬五千助盧象昇軍需，而奏報屬城失事，具以實聞。帝以是知巡撫王夢尹詐，而益信應桂。期滿，命再巡一年。十年，即擢應桂右僉都御史，代夢尹。

In year seven he returned to court, was sent to investigate Huguang, and stayed to guard Chengde. He donated more than one hundred thousand taels of fine money to recruit fighters, repaired the walls and prepared arms; the rebels did not dare threaten the Xian imperial tombs. The emperor heard and praised him. When his term expired he was ordered to serve another year. He sent fifteen thousand taels of fine money to assist Lu Xiangsheng's army and reported subordinate cities' failures truthfully in his memorials. From this the emperor learned that grand coordinator Wang Mengyin was deceptive and trusted Yinggui all the more. When his term expired he was ordered to serve another year. In year ten Yinggui was immediately promoted to right censor-in-chief to replace Mengyin.

當是時，諸監司袁繼咸、包鳳起、高鬥樞輩已削平湖南群賊，而江北賊勢日熾，諸將雖奏捷，不能大創也。帝命熊文燦為總理，文燦主撫。明年，降其渠劉國能、張獻忠。馬進忠西走潼關，馬光玉、賀一龍、李萬慶、順義王、九條龍眾十餘萬萃麻城、黃安。應桂諭降光玉、一龍，未至，而遣將擊順天王等於黃福店，賊遂走黃安。會文燦至麻城，應桂請協擊，不從。賊復東走江北，為左良玉所遏，折而走廣濟、蘄水。文燦檄諸道兵合擊賊於茶山，賊逸於應桂所分地，文燦遂劾其後期誤軍。兵部尚書楊嗣昌以應桂曾劾其父鶴也，奏逮之。應桂乃陳撫剿始末，白己無罪，而詆文燦，言：

By then surveillance commissioners Yuan Jixian, Bao Fengqi, Gao Doushu, and others had already pacified Hunan's rebel bands, but rebel strength north of the river grew daily fiercer and the generals' reported victories could not inflict decisive defeats. The emperor appointed Xiong Wencan supreme coordinator; Wencan favored pacification. The next year he secured the surrender of chiefs Liu Guoneng and Zhang Xianzhong. Ma Jinzhong fled west toward Tongguan; Ma Guangyu, He Yilong, Li Wanqing, Shunyi King, Nine-Striped Dragon, and others—more than one hundred thousand strong—gathered at Macheng and Huang'an. Yinggui urged Guangyu and Yilong to surrender; before they arrived he sent generals to attack Shun Heavenly King and others at Huangfudian, and the rebels fled toward Huang'an. When Wencan reached Macheng, Yinggui asked to strike jointly; Wencan refused. The rebels fled east across the river, were blocked by Zuo Liangyu, turned, and marched toward Guangji and Qishui. Wencan ordered combined attacks at Mount Cha; the rebels escaped through Yinggui's sector; Wencan then impeached him for arriving late and bungling the campaign. Minister of war Yang Sichang, because Yinggui had once impeached his father Yang He, memorialized for his arrest. Yinggui then laid out the whole pacification-and-suppression affair, declared his innocence, and denounced Wencan, saying:

正月初，議撫劉國能，其黨李萬慶等諸大賊盡走泌陽、棗陽。時文燦、良玉並在德安。臣以為兵勢方盛，宜乘此追剿，而文燦調良玉諸軍盡赴信陽剿馬進忠。臣謂進忠小寇，勝之不武，文燦不聽。自此機一失，賊走西，而文燦東，致張獻忠攻陷谷城以要撫，李萬慶五部收余燼，勢復振。而豫、楚之患，遂自文燦之愎諫貽之矣。迨賊西潰之後，遮飾上聞，妄報斬級。其自恃所長惟火炮火攻，經過州縣用夫至八百，死亡載道，未見其一試也。

"At the start of the first month they deliberated pacifying Liu Guoneng; his associates Li Wanqing and other major rebel leaders all fled toward Biyang and Zaoyang. Wencan and Liangyu were then both at De'an. I thought our forces were at their strongest and we should pursue them, but Wencan diverted all of Liangyu's armies to Xinyang against Ma Jinzhong. I said Jinzhong was a minor rebel and defeating him would be no great feat; Wencan would not listen." From that moment the chance was lost: the rebels went west while Wencan went east, so Zhang Xianzhong took Gucheng to force a pacification deal and Li Wanqing's five bands rallied the survivors—their strength revived. The troubles of Henan and Huguang were thus bequeathed by Wencan's stubborn advice. After the rebels fled west, he concealed the truth from the throne and falsely reported enemy kills. He trusted only cannon and fire attacks; every prefecture and county he passed was forced to supply up to eight hundred laborers, the dead lined the roads, and not once was this weaponry used.

且文燦辦賊之策曰「先撫後剿」。乃茶山不效，麻城又不效，第見招撫之旗絡繹於道。一遣使招賀一龍，而使者被殺；一遣使招李萬慶，而饋鹽椒運魚肉與通市，賊反因之焚掠，未見一賊歸順也。天下有如是撫法乎！其一切軍需，悉取於所歷之有司，名曰「借辦」，致城市空虛，孑遺盡絕。三月至麻城，民不堪淫掠，欲焚其署，始踉蹌而走。麻城，文燦婿家也，戚裏如是，余可知矣。三月在蘄水，其兵殺鄉民報捷，民家環哭，竟不敢治一兵。蘄水，文燦家園也，鄉里如是，余可知矣。是以捷報日張，寇勢愈熾。十三家之賊蹂躪南陽、汝寧，如履無人之境。文燦駐宛、汝已久，調度不聞，天下有如是剿法乎！獻忠在谷城招納亡命，買馬置器，人人知其叵測。文燦顧欲借之為前茅，遣官調之，非惟不應，復留解餉之官，求總兵湖廣。今已造浮橋跨漢水矣。文燦前既誇張而敘功，後復掩匿而不報，可不謂之欺君乎！以總理之大柄畀之顛蹶之耄夫，臣不知其可也。

Wencan's bandit policy was "pacify first, suppress later." Pacification failed at Chashan and failed again at Macheng; all one saw were pacification banners crowding the highways. Once he sent an envoy to win over He Yilong, and the envoy was killed; Once he sent an envoy to win over Li Wanqing, but sent salt, pepper, fish and meat and opened trade; the rebels used it to raid and burn—not a single rebel submitted. Is this pacification under Heaven! All military supplies were seized from every local official he passed, under the name "borrowed provisioning," until cities were hollowed out and scarcely a soul remained. In the third month he reached Macheng; the people, unable to endure the looting, tried to burn his office, and only then did he flee in disarray. Macheng was where Wencan's son-in-law lived—if his in-laws were treated thus, the rest can be imagined. In the third month at Qishui his soldiers killed villagers to claim victory; families wailed on every side, yet he dared not discipline a single man. Qishui was Wencan's home country—if his own countryside was treated thus, the rest can be imagined. Thus victory bulletins multiplied daily while rebel strength grew ever fiercer. The Thirteen Families' rebels ravaged Nanyang and Runing as if no one were there. Wencan had long been posted at Wan and Ru, yet no word of command was heard—is this suppression under Heaven! At Gucheng Xianzhong recruited fugitives, bought horses and stockpiled arms; everyone knew his intentions were treacherous. Wencan still meant to use him as a vanguard and sent an officer to summon him; he not only refused but detained the pay officer and demanded the regional command of Huguang. They have already built a floating bridge across the Han River. Wencan first inflated his achievements, then hid defeats from report—is this not deceiving the throne! To entrust the grand coordinator's great authority to a stumbling old man—I do not see how that can be right.

帝不納。逮至，下獄。

The emperor did not accept it. When Wencan arrived, he was imprisoned.

初，應桂貽書文燦，言獻忠必反，可先未發圖之。其書為獻忠邏者所得，獻忠騰牒鄖陽巡撫戴東旻，言「撫軍欲殺我」，東旻聞之文燦，文燦再糾應桂。應桂再疏辨，帝亦不納。應桂竟遣戍。無何，獻忠果反，廷臣交章薦應桂。

Earlier Yinggui had written Wencan that Xianzhong would surely rebel and they should strike before he rose. The letter was seized by Xianzhong's scouts; Xianzhong posted a notice to Yunyang grand coordinator Dai Dongmin: "The pacification commissioner means to kill me." Dongmin informed Wencan, and Wencan impeached Yinggui again. Yinggui memorialized again in defense; the emperor again refused. Yinggui was finally banished to military exile. Soon Xianzhong did rebel, and court officials memorialized one after another to recommend Yinggui.

十六年，起應桂兵部右侍郎。十月，潼關陷，帝召問大臣。陳演言：「賊入關中，必戀子女玉帛，猶虎入陷阱。」應桂叱之曰：「壯士健馬咸出關西。賊得之，必長驅橫行，大臣安得面謾！」演股栗失色。十一月，督師孫傳庭戰歿，命應桂兼右僉都御史往代之。應桂以無兵無餉，入見帝而泣。帝但遣京軍千人護行，給御用銀萬兩、銀花四百、銀牌二百、蟒幣二百、雜幣倍之，為軍前賞功之用而已。應桂既受命，日夜悲疑，將至山西，則偽官充斥，逡巡不得前。帝責以逗遛，奪職，命新擢陜西巡撫李化熙代之，化熙亦不能進也。未幾，京師陷。應桂家居不出。久之，死於難。

In the sixteenth year Yinggui was recalled as vice minister of war. In the tenth month Tong Pass fell; the emperor summoned the senior ministers. Chen Yan said: "Once the rebels enter the passes they will cling to women, children, jade and silk—like a tiger in a trap." Yinggui rebuked him: "Brave men and strong horses all come from west of the passes. If the rebels get them they will drive straight ahead unchecked—how can senior ministers lie to our faces!" Yan's legs shook and he turned pale. In the eleventh month grand coordinator Sun Chuanting fell in battle; Yinggui was ordered to take the additional post of right vice censor-in-chief and replace him. Yinggui had no troops and no supplies; he went in to see the emperor and wept. The emperor only sent a thousand capital troops as escort and gave ten thousand taels of imperial silver, four hundred silver flowers, two hundred silver plaques, two hundred python robes, and twice as much in assorted silks—only bounty for rewarding merit at the front. After accepting the post Yinggui grieved and hesitated day and night; nearing Shanxi he found rebel officials everywhere and hung back, unable to advance. The emperor rebuked him for dallying, removed him from office, and ordered the newly appointed Shaanxi grand coordinator Li Huaxi to replace him; Huaxi could not advance either. Before long the capital fell. Yinggui stayed home and did not go out. After a long while he died in the upheaval.

高鬥樞，字象先，鄞人。崇禎元年進士。授刑部主事。坐議巡撫耿如杞獄，與同列四人下詔獄。尋復官，進員外郎。

Gao Doushu, courtesy name Xiangxian, was from Yin county. In the first year of Chongzhen he passed the metropolitan examination. He was appointed a principal clerk in the Ministry of Punishments. For his role in deliberating the case of grand coordinator Geng Ruzhi, he and four colleagues were sent to the imperial prison. Soon he was restored to office and promoted to vice director.

五年，遷荊州知府。久之，擢長沙兵備副使。楚郡之在湖北者，盡罹賊禍，勢且及湖南，臨、藍、湖、湘間土寇蜂起。長沙止老弱衛卒五百，又遣二百戍攸縣，城庫雉堞盡圮。鬥樞至，建飛樓四十，大修守具。臨、藍賊艘二百餘，由衡、湘抵城下，相拒十餘日乃卻去，轉攻袁州。遣都司陳上才躡其後，賊亦解去。尋擊殺亂賊劉高峰等，撫定余眾。詔錄其功。巡撫陳睿謨大征臨、藍寇，鬥樞當南面，大小十餘戰，賊盡平。詔賚銀幣。

In the fifth year he was transferred to prefect of Jingzhou. After a long interval he was promoted to vice commissioner for military preparations at Changsha. Every Chu prefecture in Hubei had suffered rebel raids; the tide was about to reach Hunan, and local bandits swarmed through Lin, Lan, Hu, and Xiang. Changsha had only five hundred old and weak garrison troops and had sent two hundred more to guard You county; walls, arsenals, and parapets were all ruined. When Doushu arrived he built forty watchtowers and greatly strengthened the defenses. More than two hundred rebel boats from Lin and Lan came down the Heng and Xiang to the city; after ten-odd days of resistance they withdrew and turned on Yuanzhou. He sent colonel Chen Shangcai in pursuit, and the rebels dispersed as well. Soon he killed the rebel chieftain Liu Gaofeng and others and pacified the remainder. An edict recorded his achievements. Grand coordinator Chen Ruimo mounted a major campaign against the Lin-Lan rebels; Doushu held the southern front; in more than ten engagements the rebels were wholly subdued. An edict rewarded him with silver and silks.

十四年六月進按察使，移守鄖陽。鄖被寇且十載，屬邑有六，居民不四千，數百里荊榛。撫治王永祚以襄陽急，移師鎮之。鬥樞至甫六日，張獻忠自陜引而東。鬥樞與知府徐啟元遣遊擊王光恩及弟光興分扼之，戰頻捷，賊不敢犯。光恩者，均州降渠小秦王也。初與張獻忠、羅汝才輩為賊，獻忠、汝才降而復叛，均州五營懼見討自疑。又以獻忠強，慮為所並，光恩斂眾據要害以拒獻忠。居久之，乃有稍稍飏去者，光恩亦去，已而復降。光恩善用其下，下亦樂為之用。鬥樞察其誠，招入郡守。當是時，鬥樞、啟元善謀，光恩善戰，鄖城危而復全。

In the sixth month of the fourteenth year he was promoted to surveillance commissioner and moved to defend Yunyang. Yunyang had been ravaged by rebels for nearly ten years; of six subordinate districts fewer than four thousand people remained, and for hundreds of li there was only wilderness. Pacification commissioner Wang Yongzuo, finding Xiangyang critical, moved his troops to garrison it. Doushu had been there only six days when Zhang Xianzhong marched east from Shaanxi. Doushu and prefect Xu Qiyuan sent guerrilla officer Wang Guang'en and his brother Guangxing to block him in separate posts; they won repeated skirmishes and the rebels dared not attack. Guang'en was the Little King of Qin, a surrendered rebel leader from Junzhou. He had first been a rebel with Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai, and others; when Xianzhong and Rucai surrendered and rebelled again, Junzhou's Five Camps feared punishment and grew uneasy. Fearing Xianzhong's strength and absorption, Guang'en gathered his men and held key ground against him. In time some drifted away; Guang'en left too, then surrendered again. Guang'en knew how to lead his men, and they were glad to follow him. Doushu saw his good faith and brought him into the prefectural city. Then Doushu and Qiyuan planned well, Guang'en fought well, and Yuncheng, though endangered, was saved.

十五年冬，李自成陷襄陽、均州，攻鄖陽四日而去。明年春，復來攻，十餘日不克，乃退屯楊溪。五月，鬥樞召遊擊劉調元入城，旬日間殺賊三千餘。自成將來攻，卒不克而去。乃令光恩復均州，調元下光化，躬率將士復谷城。將襲襄陽，聞孫傳庭敗，旋師，均州復為賊有。

In the winter of the fifteenth year Li Zicheng took Xiangyang and Junzhou and besieged Yunyang for four days before leaving. The next spring he attacked again; after more than ten days he could not take the city and withdrew to camp at Yangxi. In the fifth month Doushu called guerrilla officer Liu Tiaoyuan into the city; within ten days they killed more than three thousand rebels. Zicheng was about to attack again but in the end could not take it and withdrew. He then sent Guang'en to retake Junzhou, Tiaoyuan downriver to Guanghua, and led his officers to recover Gucheng himself. He was about to strike Xiangyang when news came that Sun Chuanting had been defeated; he turned back, and Junzhou fell to the rebels again.

十七年正月，自成遣將路應標等以三萬人攻鄖。鬥樞遣人入均州，燒其蓄積，賊乏食而退。當是時，湖南、北十四郡皆陷，獨鄖在。自十五年冬撫治王永祚被逮，連命李乾德、郭景昌代之，路絕不能至，中朝謂鄖已陷，不復設撫治。十六年夏，鬥樞上請兵疏，始知鄖存，眾議即任鬥樞。而陳演與之有隙，乃擢啟元右僉都御史任之，加鬥樞太僕少卿，路阻亦不能達。是年二月，朝議設漢中巡撫，兼督川北軍務，擢鬥樞右副都御史以往，朝命亦不達。至三月始聞太僕之命，即以軍事付啟元。七月而北都變聞，並聞漢中之命，地已失，不可往。

In the first month of the seventeenth year Zicheng sent generals Lu Yingbiao and others with thirty thousand men against Yunyang. Doushu sent men into Junzhou to burn their stores; short of food, the rebels withdrew. By then fourteen prefectures in Hunan and Hubei had fallen; only Yunyang held out. From the winter of the fifteenth year, when pacification commissioner Wang Yongzuo was arrested, Li Qiande and Guo Jingchang were appointed in turn, but routes were cut and they could not arrive; the court assumed Yunyang had fallen and stopped appointing a pacification commissioner. In the summer of the sixteenth year Doushu memorialized for troops; only then did the court learn Yunyang still stood, and many urged appointing Doushu there. But Chen Yan bore a grudge against him, so Xu Qiyuan was made right vice censor-in-chief in his place and Doushu was given the Court of the Imperial Stud as vice director—yet roads were blocked and neither order reached him. In the second month the court decided to establish a Hanzhong grand coordinator also overseeing northern Sichuan; Doushu was promoted right vice censor-in-chief and sent—but that order never arrived either. Not until the third month did he hear of the Court of the Imperial Stud appointment; he then handed military affairs to Qiyuan. In the seventh month came word of the fall of the northern capital and of the Hanzhong post—but the region was lost and he could not go.

福王立，移鬥樞巡撫湖廣，代何騰蛟。復以道路不通，改用王驥，鬥樞皆不聞也。國變後數年卒。啟元、光恩亦皆以功名終。張任學，安嶽人，天啟五年進士。授太原知縣，以才調榆次。

When the Prince of Fu was enthroned, Doushu was transferred to grand coordinator of Huguang to replace He Tengjiao. Again the roads were blocked and Wang Ji was substituted; Doushu heard of neither change. He died several years after the dynastic collapse. Qiyuan and Guang'en also finished their careers with honor. Zhang Renxue, a native of Anyue, passed the metropolitan examination in the fifth year of Tianqi. He was appointed magistrate of Taiyuan and, for his talent, was moved to Yuci.

崇禎四年，舉治行卓異入為御史。陳蜀中私稅、催科、訟獄三大苦，帝為飭行。出視兩浙鹽法，數條奏利弊。八年，流賊陷鳳陽，詔逮巡按吳振纓，命任學往代。還朝，復按河南，監軍討賊。時群盜縱橫，而諸將縮朒不敢擊。任學慨然曰：「事不辭難，臣職也。賊勢如此，我輩可雍容坐鎮耶！」十一年二月，遂上疏極詆諸將。請易武階，親執干戈，為國平賊。帝壯之，下吏、兵二部及都察院議。諸臣以文吏無改武職者，請仍以監軍御史兼總兵事。帝不從，命授署都督僉事，為河南總兵官。河南舊無總兵，左良玉、陳永福並以客兵備援剿，至是大將特設，而麾下無一官，兵部乃以署鎮許定國兵授之，使參將羅岱為中軍。岱，健將，屢著戰功，任學倚以自強。時熊文燦專主撫，劉國能、張獻忠俱降，羅汝才、馬進忠、李萬慶等躪中原如故。河南人據塢壁自保者數十，賊悉摧破之，踞息縣、光州，磔人投汝水，水為赤，任學不能大創也。進忠勢衰，佯求撫，文燦及巡撫常道立許之，乘間逸去。事聞，任學與文燦、道立並鐫秩。

In the fourth year of Chongzhen he was recommended for outstanding governance and entered the censorate. He reported the three great abuses in Shu—private levies, harsh tax collection, and lawsuits—and the emperor ordered reforms. He inspected the salt administration of the two Zhe provinces and repeatedly memorialized on its pros and cons. In the eighth year, when roaming rebels took Fengyang, an edict arrested touring censor Wu Zhenying and sent Renxue to replace him. On returning to court he again served as Henan censor and supervised troops against the rebels. Rebels ran wild everywhere while the generals shrank back and dared not fight. Renxue said angrily: "A minister does not shirk hard tasks—that is his duty. The rebels are this strong—can we sit at ease in dignified repose? In the second month of the eleventh year he submitted a memorial fiercely denouncing the generals. He asked to exchange his civil rank for a military one, take up arms himself, and crush the rebels for the state. The emperor was stirred by his resolve and ordered the Ministries of Personnel and War and the Censorate to deliberate. The officials argued that no civil official had ever switched to a military post and proposed that he remain army-supervising censor while taking overall command. The emperor refused and appointed him acting regional commander-in-chief as regional commander of Henan. Henan had never had a regional commander; Zuo Liangyu and Chen Yongfu had both served there with outside troops for relief operations. Now a full commander was specially appointed, but he had no staff of his own, so the Ministry of War assigned him the forces of acting garrison commander Xu Dingguo and made Brigade General Luo Dai his chief of staff. Dai was a formidable fighter with repeated victories to his credit, and Renxue leaned on him to build his strength. Xiong Wencan was committed entirely to appeasement; Liu Guoneng and Zhang Xianzhong had submitted, but Luo Ruocai, Ma Jinzhong, Li Wanqing, and others still ravaged the Central Plain. Dozens of fortified villages in Henan where locals had tried to defend themselves were all smashed; the rebels held Xi County and Guangzhou, dismembered captives and threw them into the Ru River until the water ran red—and Renxue could not break them decisively. Jinzhong's strength was failing; he feigned willingness to surrender, and Wencan and Grand Coordinator Chang Daoli accepted—then he escaped at the first opportunity. When word reached court, Renxue, Wencan, and Daoli were all demoted.

七月，任學督岱等赴羅山，合左良玉軍擊汝才、萬慶及紫微星、順義王，大敗之，追奔五十里，斬首一千四百有奇，獲黑虎狼、滿天星，賊奔遂平。九月，進忠寇開封，至瓦子坡。岱奮擊，賊盡棄輜重遁入大隗山，獲其妻子。

In the seventh month Renxue led Dai and others to Luoshan, joined Zuo Liangyu's army, and routed Ruocai, Wanqing, Purple Micro Star, and Righteousness King; they pursued the enemy fifty li, took more than fourteen hundred heads, captured Black Wolf and Filling-the-Sky Star, and drove the rebels toward Suiping. In the ninth month Jinzhong attacked Kaifeng and reached Wazi Slope. Dai attacked fiercely; the rebels abandoned all their baggage and fled into Mount Dawei, and their families were captured.

其冬，京師戒嚴，任學入衛，道謁文燦，言：「獻忠狼子野心，終為國患，我以勤王為名，出其不意，可立縛也。」文燦不能用。抵畿南，有詔卻還。巡撫道立調良玉兵於陜州，賊乘盧氏虛，遁入內鄉、淅川，為文燦所劾。明年除道立名，任學亦鐫一秩。遊擊宋懷智、都司孔道興再破賊陳州，部將王應龍、尤之龍等破賊襄城，五戰皆勝。副將岱與應龍、懷智等復破賊葉縣，十日奏八捷，帝詔所司核實。已，又挫賊裕州。而是時總兵孫應元、黃得功統京軍討賊，屢奏大捷。凱旋錄功，任學亦敘復二秩。

That winter the capital went on alert; Renxue marched to defend the throne and visited Wencan on the way, saying, "Xianzhong is treacherous by nature and will become a lasting menace to the state. Under the pretext of aiding the throne I could take him by surprise and seize him at once. Wencan would not act on the plan. When he reached the region south of the capital, an edict ordered him to turn back. Grand Coordinator Daoli had shifted Liangyu's troops to Shaanzhou; the rebels exploited the gap at Lushi and fled into Neixiang and Xichuan, and Wencan impeached him for it. The following year Daoli was dismissed from office and Renxue was demoted one rank. Mobile Corps Commander Song Huaizhi and Regional Commander Kong Daoxing again defeated rebels at Chenzhou; subordinates Wang Yinglong, You Zhilong, and others beat them at Xiangcheng—five engagements, all won. Vice General Dai, with Yinglong, Huaizhi, and others, again defeated rebels at Ye County; within ten days eight victories were reported, and the emperor ordered verification. They then repulsed the rebels again at Yuzhou. Meanwhile regional commanders Sun Yingyuan and Huang Degong led capital troops against the rebels and repeatedly reported major victories. When the campaign ended and merits were recorded, Renxue had two ranks restored.

尋與左良玉、陳洪範蹙李萬慶於內鄉。萬慶方降，獻忠已叛，文燦盡調河南軍援剿，獨任學留汝南。川貴總督李若星論文燦主撫之謬，請復任學原官，攝行大將，督察軍事。不從。七月，獻忠合汝才自房縣西走，岱偕良玉追之。良玉令岱為前鋒，己隨其後。至羅犭英山，軍乏食。賊伏兵要害，岱與副將劉元捷鼓勇直上，伏四起。岱馬足掛於藤，抽刀斷之，蹶而復進，乃棄馬步鬥，久之矢盡，陷於賊，良玉軍亦大敗。事聞，任學坐褫職。十五年，言官請起廢，任學與焉，未及用而卒。

Soon he joined Zuo Liangyu and Chen Hongfan in cornering Wanqing at Neixiang. Wanqing had just submitted when Xianzhong rebelled; Wencan moved every Henan unit to the relief campaign and left Renxue alone at Runan. Sichuan-Guizhou Governor Li Ruoxing criticized Wencan's appeasement policy and asked that Renxue be restored to his former post to act as commander-in-chief and supervise operations. The court refused. In the seventh month Xianzhong joined Ruocai and fled west from Fang County; Dai marched with Liangyu in pursuit. Liangyu put Dai in the van and followed with the main body. At Mount Luoying the army ran short of provisions. Rebels lay in ambush at a choke point; Dai and Vice General Liu Yuanjie led a bold charge uphill—and ambush parties rose on every side. Dai's horse became entangled in vines; he cut himself free with his sword, fell, rose, and fought on, then dismounted to fight hand to hand; when his arrows ran out he was overwhelmed, and Liangyu's army was routed as well. When word reached court, Renxue was dismissed from office. In the fifteenth year censorial officials petitioned to recall dismissed officials; Renxue was on the list, but died before he could be reappointed.

贊曰：流賊之肆毒也，禍始於楊鶴，成於陳奇瑜，而熾於熊文燦、丁啟睿。然練國事、鄭崇儉先罹其罰，而邵捷春、余應桂亦或死或戍。疆場則剿撫乖方，廟堂則賞罰不當，僨師玩寇，賊勢日張，謂非人謀不臧實使之然乎！

The commentators say: The roving rebels' devastation began with Yang He, took definitive form under Chen Qiyu, and burned hottest under Xiong Wencan and Ding Qirui. Yet Lian Guoshi and Zheng Chongjian were punished first, while Shao Jiechun and Yu Yinggui met death or exile. On the frontier, suppression and appeasement worked at cross purposes; in the capital, rewards and punishments misfired; commanders blundered and treated the enemy lightly, and rebel power swelled day by day—is it not human failure that made it so!

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