Volume 276 Biographies 164: Zhu Dadian, Zhang Guowei, Zhang Kentang, Ceng Ying, Zhu Jizuo, Yu Huang, Wang Ruizhan, Lu Zhenfei, He Kai, Xiong Rulin, Qian Sule, Shen Chenquan

朱大典〈（王道焜等）〉張國維張肯堂〈（李向中吳鐘巒朱永佑等）〉曾櫻朱繼祚〈（湯芬等）〉余煌〈（陳函輝）〉王瑞栴路振飛何楷〈（林蘭友）〉熊汝霖錢肅樂〈（劉中藻鄭遵謙）〉沈宸荃〈（邑子履祥）〉

Zhu Dadian (Wang Daokun and others)〉 Zhang Guowei and Zhang Kentang (Li Xiangzhong, Wu Zhongluan, Zhu Yongyou, and others)〉 Ceng Ying and Zhu Jizuo (Tang Fen and others)〉 Yu Huang (Chen Hanhui)〉 Wang Ruizhi, Lu Zhenfei, and He Kai (Lin Lanyou)〉 Xiong Rulin and Qian Sule (Liu Zhongzao and Zheng Zunqian)〉 Shen Chenquan (Lü Xiang of the same district)〉

朱大典，字延之，金華人。家世貧賤。大典始讀書，為人豪邁。登萬歷四十四年進士，除章丘知縣。天啟二年擢兵科給事中。中官王體乾、魏忠賢等十二人及乳嫗客氏，假保護功，蔭錦衣世襲，大典抗疏力諫。五年出為福建副使，進右參政，以憂歸。

Zhu Dadian, whose style was Yanzhi, came from Jinhua. His family had been poor for generations. Once he began his studies, Dadian proved bold and open-handed in temperament. He received his jinshi degree in the forty-fourth year of the Wanli reign and was made magistrate of Zhangqiu. In the second year of Tianqi he was raised to supervising secretary in the Military Bureau. When the eunuchs Wang Tigan, Wei Zhongxian, and eleven others, along with the wet nurse Ke Shi, claimed credit for guarding the throne and secured hereditary posts in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Dadian lodged a forceful memorial of protest. In the fifth year he was posted to Fujian as vice commissioner, promoted to right administration commissioner, and then went home to observe mourning.

崇禎三年，起故官，蒞山東，尋調天津。五年四月，李九成、孔有德圍萊州。山東巡撫徐從治中炮死，擢大典右僉都御史代之，詔駐青州，調度兵食。七月，登萊巡撫謝璉復陷於賊，總督劉宇烈被逮。乃罷總督及登萊巡撫不設，專任大典，督主、客兵數萬及關外勁旅四千八百余人合剿之。以總兵金國奇將，率副將靳國臣、劉邦域，參將祖大弼、祖寬、張韜，遊擊柏永福及故總兵吳襄、襄子三桂等，以中官高起潛監護軍餉，抵德州。賊復犯平度，副將牟文綬、何維忠等救之，殺賊魁陳有時，維忠亦被殺。八月，巡按監軍御史謝三賓至昌邑，請斬王洪、劉國柱，詔逮治之。兵部尚書熊明遇亦坐主撫誤國，罷去。三賓復抗疏請絕口勿言撫事。

In the third year of Chongzhen he was restored to office, served in Shandong, and was soon reassigned to Tianjin. In the fourth month of the fifth year, Li Jiucheng and Kong Youde laid siege to Laizhou. When Grand Coordinator Xu Congzhi of Shandong was struck dead by cannon fire, Dadian was promoted to right vice censor-in-chief in his place and ordered to base himself at Qingzhou to direct troops and supplies. In the seventh month Grand Coordinator Xie Lian of Deng and Lai was captured by the rebels again, and Supreme Commander Liu Yulie was taken into custody. The court then abolished the posts of supreme commander and Deng-Lai grand coordinator and entrusted everything to Dadian alone, who coordinated tens of thousands of regular and auxiliary troops with more than 4,800 seasoned fighters from beyond the pass in a combined suppression. Regional Commander Jin Guoqi took the field at the head of Vice Commanders Jin Guochen and Liu Bangyu, Assistant Commanders Zu Dabi, Zu Kuan, and Zhang Tao, Mobile Corps Commander Bai Yongfu, and the former regional commander Wu Sangui together with Sangui's son Sanguan, while the eunuch Gao Qiqian oversaw the army's pay and supplies; the force marched as far as Dezhou. When the rebels struck Pingdu again, Vice Commanders Mou Wenshou and He Weizhong rushed to its aid, slew the rebel leader Chen Youshi, and Weizhong lost his life in the fighting. In the eighth month Touring Censor and Army Supervisor Xie Sanbin arrived at Changyi and called for the execution of Wang Hong and Liu Guozhu; the throne ordered both men arrested and brought to trial. Minister of War Xiong Mingyu was likewise removed from office for having favored negotiation at the expense of the realm. Sanbin lodged another forceful memorial demanding that the court cease all talk of pacification.

國奇等至昌邑，分三路。國奇等關外兵為前鋒，鄧玘步兵繼之，從中路灰埠進。昌平總兵陳洪範，副將劉澤清、方登化，從南路平度進。參將王之富、王文緯等從北路海廟進。檄遊擊徐元亨等率萊陽師來會，以牟文綬守新河。諸軍皆攜三日糧，盡抵新河東岸，亂流以濟。祖寬至沙河，有德迎戰。寬先進，國臣繼之，賊大敗，諸軍乘勝追至城下。賊夜半東遁，圍始解。守者疑賊誘，炮拒之。起潛遣中使入諭，闔城相慶。明日，南路兵始至。國奇等遂擊賊黃縣，斬首萬三千，俘八百，逃散及墜海死者數萬。

When Guoqi's force reached Changyi, it split into three columns. Troops from beyond the pass under Guoqi led the way, Deng Qi's foot soldiers followed, and this central column advanced from Huibu. Regional Commander Chen Hongfan of Changping, together with Vice Commanders Liu Zeqing and Fang Denghua, moved up the southern route through Pingdu. Assistant Commanders Wang Zhifu and Wang Wenwei took the northern route through Haimiao. Orders went out for Mobile Corps Commander Xu Yuanheng to bring up the Laiyang troops, while Mou Wenshou was stationed to guard Xinhe. Every unit marched with three days' provisions, gathered on the east bank of the Xin River, and forded the churning waters. At Shahe, Zu Kuan met Kong Youde in open combat. Kuan led the charge and Guochen came up behind him; the rebels were routed, and the victorious columns chased them all the way to the city walls. The rebels slipped away eastward in the dead of night, and the siege was finally broken. The garrison, fearing a trap, turned their guns on the approaching force. Gao Qiqian dispatched a palace envoy to announce the relief, and the entire city broke into celebration. Not until the following day did the southern column finally arrive. Guoqi's force then pursued the rebels into Huangxian, taking thirteen thousand heads and eight hundred prisoners, while tens of thousands more fled or perished in the sea.

賊竄歸登州，國臣等築長圍守之。城三面距山，一面距海，墻三十里而遙，東西俱抵海。分番戍，賊不能出，發大炮，官軍多死傷。李九成出戰相當。十一月，九成搏戰，降者泄其謀。官軍合擊之，馘於陣，賊乃曉夜哭。賊渠魁五，九成、有德、有時、耿仲明、毛承祿也，及是殺其二。帝嘉解圍功，進大典右副都御史，將吏升賞有差。是月，國奇卒，以襄代。攻圍既久，賊糧絕，恃水城可走，不降。及王之富、祖寬奪其水門外護墻，賊大懼。

The rebels retreated into Dengzhou, where Guochen's men threw up a tight cordon around the city. Mountains ringed the city on three sides while the fourth faced the sea; the walls ran some thirty li, with both flanks abutting the coast. Relief troops rotated in shifts so the rebels could not escape, but rebel artillery inflicted heavy casualties on the besieging force. Li Jiucheng led his men out to meet the attackers in the field. In the eleventh month Jiucheng threw himself into a desperate fight until a surrendering soldier betrayed his strategy. Government forces converged on him and cut him down in battle, after which the rebels wailed without cease. Five men headed the rebellion—Jiucheng, Youde, Youshi, Geng Zhongming, and Mao Chenglu—and two of them were now dead. The emperor praised the relief of the siege, promoted Dadian to right assistant censor-in-chief, and granted graded rewards to the commanders and officials. In that same month Guoqi died and Wu Sangui took his place. After a prolonged siege the rebels were starving, yet confident they could flee by sea from the water city, they refused to yield. Once Wang Zhifu and Zu Kuan captured the outer rampart by the water gate, panic swept through the rebel ranks.

六年二月中旬，有德先遁，載子女財帛出海。仲明以水城委副將王秉忠，已亦以單舸遁，官軍遂入大城。攻水城，未下。遊擊劉良佐獻轟城策，匿人永福寺中，穴城置火藥，發之，城崩，官軍入。賊退保蓬萊閣，大典招降，始釋甲，俘千余人，獲秉忠及偽將七十五人，自縊及投海死者不可勝計，賊盡平。有德等走旅順，島帥黃龍邀擊，生擒其黨毛承祿、陳光福、蘇有功，斬李應元。惟有德、仲明逸去。乃獻承祿等於朝。磔之先一日，有功脫械走。帝震怒，斬監守官，刑部郎多獲罪。未幾被執，伏誅。敘功，進大典兵部右侍郎，世蔭錦衣百戶，巡撫如故。

In mid-second month of the sixth year Youde slipped away first, putting his family and treasure aboard ships and sailing out to sea. Zhongming left the water city to Vice Commander Wang Bingzhong and fled alone by boat, allowing government troops to occupy the main city. An assault on the water city failed to bring it down. Mobile Corps Commander Liu Liangzuo proposed mining the walls: his men concealed themselves in Yongfu Temple, dug beneath the ramparts, set off their charges, and when the wall gave way government troops poured in. The rebels fell back to Penglai Pavilion until Dadian offered terms and they at last disarmed. Over a thousand prisoners were taken, together with Bingzhong and seventy-five rebel generals, while countless others hanged themselves or drowned; the rebellion was completely crushed. Youde's party fled toward Lüshun, where Island Commander Huang Long ambushed them, capturing Chenglu, Guangfu, and Yougong alive and executing Yingyuan. Youde and Zhongming alone got away. Chenglu and his companions were then sent to the capital as prisoners. The day before the scheduled execution, Yougong broke free of his shackles and escaped. The emperor flew into a rage, had the custodial officers beheaded, and punished numerous officials in the Ministry of Punishments. He was soon recaptured and put to death. When rewards were apportioned, Dadian was made right vice minister of war, granted hereditary rank as a hundred-household commander in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and kept his grand coordinator post.

八年二月，流賊陷鳳陽，毀皇陵，總督楊一鵬被逮。詔大典總督漕運兼巡撫廬、鳳、淮、揚四郡，移鎮鳳陽。時江北州縣多陷。明年正月，賊圍滁州，連營百餘里，總兵祖寬大破之。大典會總理盧象升追襲，復破之。急還兵遏賊眾於鳳陽，賊始退。十一年，賊復入江北，謀竄茶山。大典與安慶巡撫史可法提兵遏之，賊乃西遁。大典先坐失州縣，貶秩視事。是年四月以平賊逾期，再貶三秩。尋敘援剿及轉漕功，盡復其秩。

In the second month of the eighth year rebels overran Fengyang and desecrated the imperial mausoleums, and Supreme Commander Yang Yipeng was taken into custody. Dadian was ordered to take charge of the grain transport and to serve concurrently as grand coordinator of Lu, Feng, Huai, and Yang, with his headquarters at Fengyang. By then much of the territory north of the Yangzi had been lost. In the first month of the following year the rebels encircled Chuzhou with camps stretching over a hundred li, until Regional Commander Zu Kuan routed them. Dadian joined Supreme Director Lu Xiangsheng in pursuit and broke them a second time. He rushed his troops back to block the rebel horde at Fengyang, and only then did they retreat. In the eleventh year the rebels crossed the Yangzi again, aiming to slip into the Chashan region. Dadian and Grand Coordinator Shi Kefa of Anqing moved to intercept them, and the rebels turned west in flight. Dadian had already been demoted for losing counties and districts yet was left in post. In the fourth month of that year he was demoted three more ranks for failing to suppress the rebels on schedule. Shortly afterward his ranks were fully restored in recognition of his relief operations and grain transport.

十三年，河南賊大入湖廣。大典遣將救援，屢有功，進左侍郎。明年六月命大典總督江北及河南、湖廣軍務，仍鎮鳳陽，專辦流賊，而以可法代督漕運。賊帥袁時中眾數萬，橫潁、亳間。大典率總兵劉良佐等擊破之，敘賚有差。大典有保障功，然不能持廉，屢為給事中方士亮、御史鄭昆貞等所劾，詔削籍候勘。事未竟，而東陽許都事發。

In the thirteenth year Henan rebels swept deep into Huguang. Dadian dispatched generals to the rescue with repeated success and was promoted to left vice minister. In the sixth month of the following year he was placed in supreme command of military affairs north of the Yangzi and in Henan and Huguang, remaining at Fengyang to focus on the roving rebels while Kefa took over the grain transport. Rebel chief Yuan Shizhong commanded tens of thousands and terrorized the region between Ying and Bo. Dadian led Regional Commander Liu Liangzuo and others to crush them, and graded rewards followed. Though Dadian had done real service in defense, he could not keep his hands clean and was repeatedly impeached by Supervising Secretary Fang Shiliang, Censor Zheng Kunzhen, and others until an edict removed him from office pending investigation. Before that case was settled, the Xu Du rebellion erupted in Dongyang.

許都者，諸生，負氣，憤縣令苛斂，作亂，圍金華。大典子萬化募健兒禦之，賊平而所募者不散。大典聞，急馳歸。知縣徐調元閱都兵籍有萬化名，遂言大典縱子交賊。巡按御史左光先聞於朝，得旨逮治，籍其家充餉，且令督賦給事中韓如愈趣之。

Xu Du was a degree candidate with a proud temper; enraged by the magistrate's oppressive exactions, he rebelled and laid siege to Jinhua. Dadian's son Wanhua raised tough fighters to resist the rebels, and after the uprising was crushed those recruits refused to disband. On hearing this, Dadian rushed home. Magistrate Xu Tiaoyuan, checking the rebel muster rolls, found Wanhua's name and accused Dadian of letting his son collude with the enemy. Touring Censor Zuo Guangxian reported the matter to court; an edict ordered Dadian arrested, his property seized for military funds, and Supervising Secretary Han Ruyu was told to hurry the case along.

已而京師陷，福王立。有白其誣者，而大典亦自結於馬士英、阮大鋮，乃召為兵部左侍郎。逾月，進尚書，總督上江軍務。左良玉興兵，命監黃得功軍禦之。福王奔太平，大典與大鋮入見舟中，誓力戰。得功死，王被擒，兩人遂走杭州。會潞王亦降，大典乃還鄉郡，據城固守。唐王聞，就加東閣大學士，督師浙東。逾年，城破，闔門死之。

Soon afterward the capital fell and the Prince of Fu ascended the throne. When someone testified to his innocence and Dadian also cultivated ties with Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng, he was recalled as left vice minister of war. Within a month he was promoted to minister and placed in supreme command of military affairs along the upper Yangzi. When Zuo Liangyu took up arms, Dadian was ordered to oversee Huang Degong's force in opposing him. When the Prince of Fu fled to Taiping, Dadian and Ruan Dacheng boarded his vessel, pledged themselves to fight to the end. Degong fell in battle, the prince was taken prisoner, and the two men escaped to Hangzhou. After the Prince of Lu surrendered as well, Dadian went back to his native district and held its city in a last stand. The Prince of Tang, on hearing this, promptly named him Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion and commander of the eastern Zhejiang front. A year later the city fell, and he and his whole family perished.

其時浙東西郡縣前後失守死事者，抗州則有同知王道焜、錢塘知縣顧鹹建、臨安知縣唐自彩，紹興則有兵部主事高岱、葉汝厓，衢州則有巡按王景亮、知府伍經正、推官鄧巖忠、江山知縣方召。若夫諸生及布衣殉義者，會稽潘集、周卜年，山陰朱瑋，諸暨傅日炯，鄞縣趙景麟，浦江張君正，瑞安鄒欽堯，永嘉鄒之琦，其尤著雲。

In those days many districts east and west of Zhejiang fell in turn; among those who died in office were, at Hangzhou, Vice Prefect Wang Daokun, Magistrate Gu Xianjian of Qiantang, and Magistrate Tang Zicai of Lin'an; at Shaoxing, Ministry of War Director Gao Dai and Ye Ruyai; and at Quzhou, Touring Censor Wang Jingliang, Prefect Wu Jingzheng, Judicial Assistant Deng Yanzhong, and Magistrate Fang Zhao of Jiangshan. Among students and commoners who gave their lives for the cause, the best known were Pan Ji and Zhou Bonian of Kuaiji, Zhu Wei of Shanyin, Fu Rijiong of Zhuji, Zhao Jinglin of Yin, Zhang Junzheng of Pujiang, Zou Qinyao of Ruian, and Zou Zhiqi of Yongjia.

王道焜，字昭平，錢塘人。以天啟元年舉於鄉。崇禎時，為南平知縣，遷南雄同知。會光澤寇發，其父老言非道焜不能平。撫按為請，詔改邵武同知，知光澤縣事。撫剿兼施，境內底定。莊烈帝破格求賢，盡征天下賢能吏，撫按以道焜名聞。方待命而都城陷，微服南還。及杭州失守，遂投繯死。

Wang Daokun, styled Zhaoping, came from Qiantang. He passed the provincial examination in the first year of Tianqi. Under Chongzhen he served as magistrate of Nanping and was later made vice prefect of Nanxiong. When rebels broke out in Guangze, local elders insisted that only Daokun could restore order. The provincial authorities petitioned for him, and an edict reassigned him as vice prefect of Shaowu with responsibility for Guangze. Combining conciliation with force, he brought the region under control. Emperor Chongzhen broke precedent in searching for talent and summoned able officials from across the empire; the provincial authorities nominated Daokun. While awaiting his new appointment the capital fell, and he made his way south in disguise. When Hangzhou fell he took his own life by hanging.

顧鹹建，字漢石，昆山人，大學士鼎臣曾孫也。崇禎十六年進士。授錢塘知縣。甫之官，聞京師陷，人情恟恟。鹹建戢奸宄，嚴警備。巡按御史彭遇颽以貪殘激變，賴鹹建調護，事寧而民免株連。及南都失守，鎮江守將鄭彩等率眾還閩，緣道劫掠。鹹建出私財迎犒，乃斂威去。亡何，馬士英擁兵至。頃之，大將方國安兵亦至。鹹建謀於上官，先期遣使行賂，兵乃不入城。四鄉多被淫掠，城中得無擾。時監司及郡縣長吏悉逋竄，鹹建散遣妻子，獨守官不去。潞王既降，鹹建不至。尋被執，死之。

Gu Xianjian, styled Hanshi, came from Kunshan and was the great-grandson of Grand Secretary Gu Dingchen. He became a jinshi in the sixteenth year of Chongzhen. He was appointed magistrate of Qiantang. He had barely assumed office when news of the capital's fall threw the populace into panic. Xianjian cracked down on ruffians and tightened the city's defenses. Touring Censor Peng Yufeng's greed and cruelty sparked a riot, but Xianjian's mediation settled the affair and spared the people mass reprisals. After the Southern Capital fell, Zhenjiang commander Zheng Cai marched his men back to Fujian, looting the countryside as they went. Xianjian spent his own money to entertain and reward them, and they finally moved on without entering the city. Soon afterward Ma Shiying arrived with an army. Before long the forces of the great general Fang Guo'an appeared as well. Xianjian worked with his superiors to send gifts in advance, keeping the soldiers out of the city. The surrounding countryside was badly looted, but the city itself was spared. While every supervising official and local magistrate fled, Xianjian sent his family away but stayed at his post alone. After the Prince of Lu surrendered, Xianjian refused to go and submit. He was soon captured and executed.

唐自彩，達州人。為臨安知縣。杭州失守，自彩與從子階豫逃山中。有言其受魯王敕，陰部署為變，遂被捕獲。自彩麾階豫走，不從，竟同死。

Tang Zicai came from Dazhou. He served as magistrate of Lin'an. When Hangzhou fell, Zicai fled into the hills with his nephew Jieyu. Reports that he had received orders from the Prince of Lu and was plotting rebellion led to his capture. Zicai urged Jieyu to escape, but the nephew refused, and both perished.

高岱，字魯瞻，會稽人。崇禎中，以武學生舉順天鄉試，魯王授為職方主事。及紹興失守，即絕粒祈死。子朗知父意不可回，先躍入海中死。岱聞之曰：「兒果能先我乎！」自是不復言，數日亦卒。

Gao Dai, styled Luzhan, came from Kuaiji. Under Chongzhen he passed the Shuntian provincial examination as a military student, and the Prince of Lu made him a director in the Bureau of Appointments. When Shaoxing fell he stopped eating and prayed for death. His son Lang, seeing that his father's mind was made up, threw himself into the sea and drowned. Dai exclaimed on hearing this: So my son could go before me after all! He said nothing more, and died himself a few days later.

葉汝厓，字衡生，岱同邑人，由舉人為兵部主事。聞變，與妻王氏出居桐塢墓所，並赴水死。

Ye Ruyai, styled Hengsheng, was from the same district as Dai and became a Ministry of War director after passing the provincial examination. When he heard the news, he and his wife Wang withdrew to the family tombs at Tongwu and drowned themselves together.

王景亮，字武侯，吳江人。崇禎末登進士。仕福王為中書舍人。唐王立，擢御史，巡撫金、衢二府，兼視學政。伍經正，安福人。由貢生為西安知縣，唐王超擢知府事。鄧巖忠，江陵人。由鄉舉為推官。衢州破，經正赴井死，景亮、巖忠皆自縊死。魯王所遣鎮將張鵬翼亦死之。

Wang Jingliang, styled Wuhou, came from Wujiang. He received his jinshi degree in the final years of Chongzhen. He served the Prince of Fu as a secretariat drafter. When the Prince of Tang took the throne, he was made censor and grand coordinator of Jin and Qu, with oversight of education as well. Wu Jingzheng came from Anfu. A tribute student who became magistrate of Xi'an, he was abruptly promoted by the Prince of Tang to act as prefect. Deng Yanzhong came from Jiangling. He became a judicial assistant after passing the provincial examination. When Quzhou fell, Jingzheng drowned himself in a well, while Jingliang and Yanzhong hanged themselves. Zhang Pengyi, the garrison commander sent by the Prince of Lu, died as well.

方召，宣城人。署江山縣事。金華被屠，集父老告之曰：「兵且至，吾義不當去。然不可以一人故，致闔城被殃。」遂封其印，冠帶向北拜，赴井死。士民為收葬，立祠祀焉。

Fang Zhao came from Xuancheng. He was acting magistrate of Jiangshan. After Jinhua was sacked, he gathered the elders and said: The army is coming, and I cannot in conscience flee. Yet I cannot let the whole city suffer on my account alone. He sealed his official seal, donned his cap and belt, bowed toward the north, and drowned himself in a well. The people buried him and raised a shrine in his memory.

張國維，安玉笥，東陽人。天啟二年進士。授番禺知縣。崇禎元年，擢刑科給事中，劾罷副都御史楊所修、御史田景新，皆魏忠賢黨也。已，陳時政五事，言：「陛下求治太銳，綜核太嚴。拙者蹐以避咎，巧者委蛇以取容，誰能展布四體，為國家營職業者。故治象精明，而腹心手足之誼實薄，此英察宜斂也。祖宗朝，閣臣有封還詔旨者，有疏揭屢上而爭一事者。今一奉詰責，則俯首不遑；一承改擬，則順旨恐後。倘處置失宜，亦必不敢執奏，此將順宜戒也。召對本以通下情，未有因而獲罪者。今則惟傳天語，莫睹拜揚。臣同官熊奮渭還朝十日，旁措一詞，遂蒙譴謫。不可稍加薄罰，示優容之度乎？此上下宜洽也。」其二條，請平刑罰，溥膏澤。帝不能盡用。進禮科都給事中。京師地震，規弊政甚切，遷太常少卿。

Zhang Guowei, styled Yuyu, came from Dongyang. He became a jinshi in the second year of Tianqi. He was appointed magistrate of Panyu. In the first year of Chongzhen he was made supervising secretary in the Punishments Bureau and drove from office Vice Censor-in-Chief Yang Suoxiu and Censor Tian Jingxin, both allies of Wei Zhongxian. He then submitted five policy recommendations, opening with: Your Majesty pursues good government too eagerly and holds officials to too harsh a standard. The slow-footed tiptoe to escape blame, the clever twist and turn to win favor—who can still throw himself wholeheartedly into the state's business? The realm looks sharply governed, yet the ties between ruler and servants have grown thin; here is where your keen judgment should be tempered. Under the founding emperors, grand secretaries sometimes returned edicts unaccepted, and sometimes fought a single issue through repeated memorials. Today, at the first rebuke they bow their heads in haste; at the first order to revise a draft, they rush to comply lest they fall behind. Even when a policy is wrong they dare not press their case; here is where deference to the throne should be checked. Imperial audiences were meant to let subjects speak freely, and no one had ever been punished for what he said there. Now only the emperor's words are relayed, and no subject is seen to respond in open debate. My colleague Xiong Fenwei, only ten days after returning to court, misspoke once and was immediately banished. Could you not have imposed a lighter penalty, to show a measure of tolerance? This is where harmony between throne and officials ought to be restored. His second and third points urged lighter punishments and broader mercy. The emperor did not adopt all of his advice. He was promoted to chief supervising secretary in the Rites Bureau. After an earthquake struck the capital he delivered a sharp critique of misgovernment and was moved to vice minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

七年，擢右僉都御史，巡撫應天、安慶等十府。其冬，流賊犯桐城，官軍覆沒。國維方壯年，一夕須發頓白。明年正月率副將許自強赴援，遊擊潘可大、知縣陳爾銘等守桐不下。賊乃攻潛山，知縣趙士彥重傷卒。攻太湖、知縣金應元、訓導扈永寧被殺。國維至，解桐圍，遣守備朱士胤趨潛山，把總張其威趨太湖。士胤戰死，自強遇賊宿松，殺傷相當。安慶山民桀石以投賊，賊多死，乃越英山、霍山而遁。九月，賊復由宿松入潛山、太湖，他賊掃地王亦陷宿松等三縣。國維乃募土著二千人戍之，而以兵事屬監軍史可法。明年正月，賊圍江浦，遣守備蔣若來、陳於王戰卻之。十二月，賊分兵犯懷寧，可法及左良玉、馬爌遏之。復犯江浦，副將程龍及若來、於王等拒守。諸城並全。又圍望江，遣兵援之，亦解去。

In the seventh year he was made right vice censor-in-chief and grand coordinator of Yingtian, Anqing, and nine other prefectures. That winter rebels struck Tongcheng and annihilated the government force. Though still a young man, Guowei's hair turned white overnight. In the first month of the following year he marched with Vice Commander Xu Ziqiang to relieve the city, while Pan Kedai, Chen Erming, and others held Tongcheng against the siege. The rebels then turned on Qianshan, where Magistrate Zhao Shiyan was mortally wounded. They struck Taihu as well, killing Magistrate Jin Yingyuan and Instructor Hu Yongning. Guowei's arrival broke the siege of Tongcheng; he sent Garrison Commander Zhu Shiyin to Qianshan and Company Commander Zhang Qiwei to Taihu. Shiyin fell in battle, while at Susong Ziqiang fought the rebels to a bloody standstill. Anqing mountaineers rolled boulders down on the rebels, killing many, and the survivors fled over Yingshan and Huoshan. In the ninth month the rebels re-entered Qianshan and Taihu through Susong, while another band under Saodiwang overran Susong and two neighboring counties. Guowei recruited two thousand local militiamen for garrison duty and turned military affairs over to Army Supervisor Shi Kefa. In the first month of the following year rebels besieged Jiangpu, and he sent Garrison Commanders Jiang Ruolai and Chen Yuwang to drive them back. In the twelfth month rebel detachments struck Huaining, but Kefa, Zuo Liangyu, and Ma Huang held them off. When they attacked Jiangpu again, Vice Commander Cheng Long, Ruolai, Yuwang, and others held the line. Every city in the region was saved. They besieged Wangjiang as well, but his relief force broke the siege.

十年三月，國維率龍等赴安慶，禦賊酆家店，龍軍數千悉沒。賊東陷和州、含山、定遠，攻陷六合，知縣鄭同元潰走，賊遂攻天長。國維見賊勢日熾，請於朝，割安慶、池州、太平，別設巡撫，以可法任之。安慶不隸江南巡撫，自此始也。議者欲並割江浦、六合，俾國維專護江南，不許。

In the third month of the tenth year Guowei led Cheng Long and others to Anqing to face the rebels at Fengjiadian, where Long's force of several thousand was wiped out. The rebels swept east, taking Hezhou, Hanshan, and Dingyuan, capturing Liuhe after Magistrate Zheng Tongyuan fled, and then advancing on Tianchang. As rebel strength grew daily, Guowei petitioned the court to carve out Anqing, Chizhou, and Taiping into a separate jurisdiction with Kefa as grand coordinator. From this time on, Anqing was placed outside the jurisdiction of the Jiangnan grand coordinator. Some officials proposed detaching Jiangpu and Liuhe as well so Guowei could focus solely on Jiangnan, but the court refused.

國維為人寬厚，得士大夫心。屬郡災傷，輒為請命。築太湖、繁昌二城，建蘇州九里石塘及平望內外塘、長洲至和等塘，修松江捍海堤，浚鎮江及江陰漕渠，並有成績。遷工部右侍郎兼右僉都御史，總理河道。歲大旱，漕流涸，國維浚諸水以通漕。山東饑，振活窮民無算。

Guowei was open-handed and good-natured, and he won over the gentry. Whenever neighboring prefectures were hit by disaster, he petitioned the court for relief. He fortified Taihu and Fanchang, built the Jiuli Stone Dam at Suzhou plus the inner and outer dikes at Pingwang and the Changzhou–He embankments, repaired Songjiang's sea walls, and dredged the transport channels at Zhenjiang and Jiangyin—with solid results in every case. He was promoted to vice minister of Works and right vice censor-in-chief, with overall responsibility for river management. During a severe drought the transport channels dried up, and Guowei dredged rivers throughout the region to restore grain shipments. During the Shandong famine he saved countless poor people from starvation.

十四年夏，山東盜起，改兵部右侍郎兼督淮、徐、臨、通四鎮兵，護漕運。大盜李青山眾數萬，據梁山濼，遣其黨分據韓莊等八閘，運道為梗。周延儒赴召北上，青山謁之，言率眾護漕，非亂也。延儒許言於朝，授以職。而青山竟截漕舟，大焚掠，迫臨清。國維合所部兵擊降之，獻俘於朝，磔諸市。兵部尚書陳新甲下獄，帝召國維代之。乃定戰守賞罰格，列上嚴世職、酌推升、慎咨題等七事，帝皆報可。會開封陷，河北震動，條防河數策，帝亦納之。

In the summer of the fourteenth year, with bandits rampant in Shandong, he was made vice minister of War and put in charge of troops at the Huai, Xu, Lin, and Tong garrisons to protect the grain route. Li Qingshan, a major bandit leader with tens of thousands of followers, held Liangshan Marsh and sent his men to seize eight canal locks including Hanzhuang, blocking the transport route. As Zhou Yanru traveled north to answer the imperial summons, Qingshan came to see him and claimed his band was protecting grain shipments, not rebelling. Yanru agreed to bring this up at court, and Qingshan was given an official post. But Qingshan instead hijacked grain boats, looted and burned along the route, and advanced on Linqing. Guowei rallied his forces, defeated them, and took them prisoner; the captives were sent to court and executed by dismemberment in public. When Minister of War Chen Xinjia was thrown into prison, the emperor recalled Guowei to fill the post. He established rules for rewards and punishments in combat and defense, and submitted seven reforms—tightening hereditary office, calibrating promotions, scrutinizing memorial nominations, and others—all of which the emperor approved. When Kaifeng fell and threw Hebei into turmoil, he proposed several river-defense measures, which the emperor also adopted.

十六年四月，我大清兵入畿輔，國維檄趙光抃拒螺山，八總兵之師皆潰。言者詆國維，乃解職，尋下獄。帝念其治河功，得釋。召對中左門，復故官，兼右僉都御史，馳赴江南、浙江督練兵輸餉諸務。出都十日而都城陷。

In the fourth month of the sixteenth year our Great Qing armies entered the capital region; Guowei ordered Zhao Guangbian to hold Luoshan, but the combined forces of eight regional commanders were routed. Critics attacked Guowei, and he was dismissed and soon thrown in prison. Remembering his work on the waterways, the emperor had him freed. Summoned for audience at the Zhongzuo Gate, he was restored to his former rank with the concurrent post of right vice censor-in-chief and sent posthaste to Jiangnan and Zhejiang to oversee troop training and grain supplies. Ten days after he left the capital, the city fell to the enemy.

福王召令協理戎政。尋敘山東討賊功，加太子太保，蔭錦衣僉事。吏部尚書徐石麒去位，眾議歸國維。馬士英不用，用張捷。國維乃乞省親歸。

The Prince of Fu recalled him to help manage military affairs. His success against the Shandong bandits was formally recognized; he was made Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent and granted hereditary rank in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. When Minister of Personnel Xu Shiqing resigned, most officials believed Guowei should succeed him. Ma Shiying was passed over, and Zhang Jie was appointed instead. Guowei requested leave to go home and care for his parents.

南都覆，逾月，潞王監國於杭州，不數日出降。閏六月，國維朝魯王於臺州，請王監國。即日移駐紹興，進國維少傅兼太子太傅、兵部尚書、武英殿大學士，督師江上。總兵官方國安亦自金華至。馬士英素善國安，匿其軍中，請入朝。國維劾其十大罪，乃不敢入。連復富陽、於潛，樹木城緣江要害，聯合國安及王之仁、鄭遵謙、熊汝霖、孫嘉績、錢肅樂諸營，為持久計。順治三年五月，國安等諸軍乏餉潰，王走臺州航海，國維亦還守東陽。六月知勢不可支，作絕命詞三章，赴水死，年五十有二。

When the Southern Capital fell, the Prince of Lu set up a regency at Hangzhou a month later but surrendered within days. In the intercalary sixth month Guowei went to Taizhou to pay homage to the Prince of Lu and petitioned him to assume the regency. The court moved to Shaoxing the same day, and Guowei was made Junior Tutor and Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent, Minister of War, and Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall, with command over the Yangtze defense. Regional Commander Fang Guoan arrived from Jinhua as well. Ma Shiying, who had long been close to Guoan, hid in his camp and requested an audience. Guowei charged him with ten major crimes, and Ma Shiying dared not appear at court. He recaptured Fuyang and Yuqian, strengthened river defenses along critical points, and coordinated the camps of Guoan, Wang Zhiren, Zheng Zunqian, Xiong Rulin, Sun Jiaji, and Qian Sule for a prolonged defense. In the fifth month of Shunzhi 3 the allied armies collapsed for lack of supplies; the prince fled Taizhou by sea, and Guowei withdrew to defend Dongyang. In the sixth month, seeing resistance was hopeless, he wrote three farewell poems and drowned himself at the age of fifty-two.

張肯堂，字載寧，松江華亭人。天啟五年進士。授浚縣知縣。崇禎七年，擢御史。明年春，賊陷鳳陽，條上滅賊五事。俄以皇陵震驚，疏責輔臣不宜作秦、越之視，帝不問。出按福建，數以平寇功受賚。還朝，言：「監司營競紛紜，意所欲就，則保留久任；意所欲避，則易地借才。今歲燕、秦，明歲閩、粵，道路往返，動經數千，程限稽遲，多逾數月。加一番更移，輒加一番擾害。」帝是其言。十二年十月，楊嗣昌出督師。肯堂奏言：「從古戡亂之法，初起則解散，勢成則剪除，未有專任撫者。今輔臣膺新命而出，賊必仍用故技，佯搖尾乞憐。而失事諸臣，冀掩從前敗局，必多方熒惑，仍進撫議。請特申一令，專務剿除。有進招撫說者，立置重典。」帝以偏執臆見責之。

Zhang Kentang, styled Zaining, came from Huating in Songjiang. He became a jinshi in the fifth year of Tianqi. He was appointed magistrate of Jun County. In the seventh year of Chongzhen he was promoted to censor. The following spring, after bandits overran Fengyang, he submitted a five-point plan to destroy them. After the imperial tombs were threatened, he memorialized that the chief ministers should not treat the crisis as if it were someone else's problem—Qin and Yue ignoring each other's woes—but the emperor paid no attention. As touring censor in Fujian he was repeatedly rewarded for suppressing bandits. Back at court he said: "Intendants and commissioners compete shamelessly for posts they want to keep indefinitely; and for posts they wish to avoid they claim their talents are needed elsewhere. One year in the north, the next in Fujian and Guangdong—the round trip alone can run thousands of li, deadlines slip, and delays stretch for months. Every reshuffle only brings another wave of disruption. The emperor agreed with him. In the tenth month of the twelfth year Yang Sichang was dispatched as supreme commander. Kentang submitted a memorial: "Through history rebels have been dispersed at first and destroyed once their strength solidified—appeasement alone has never worked. With the chief minister taking up his new command, the rebels will surely revert to their old trick of playing pitiful supplicants. Failed officials, hoping to cover their past defeats, will work every angle to push appeasement again. Issue a clear order that extermination is the only policy. Anyone who again advocates appeasement should face severe punishment. The emperor scolded him for narrow-minded presumption.

十四年四月言：「流寇隳城破邑，往來縱橫，如入無人之境，此督師嗣昌受事前所未有。目前大計，在先釋嗣昌之權。」疏入而嗣昌已死。十二月復言：「今討賊不可謂無人，巡撫之外更有撫治，總督之上又有督師。位號雖殊，事權無別。今楚自報捷，豫自報敗，甚至南陽失守，禍中親藩，督師職掌安在。試問今為督師者，將居中而運，以發蹤指示為功乎，抑分賊而辦，以焦頭爛額為事乎？今為秦、保二督者，將兼顧提封，相為掎角之勢乎，抑遇賊追剿，專提出境之師乎？今為撫者，將一稟督師之令，進退惟其指揮乎，抑兼視賊勢之急，戰守可以擇利乎？凡此肯綮，一切置不問，中樞冥冥而決，諸臣瞆瞆而任。至失地喪師，中樞糾督撫以自解，督撫又互相委以謝愆，而疆事不可問矣。」帝納其言，下所司詳議。十五年請召還建言譴謫諸臣，乃復給事中陰潤、李清、劉昌，御史周一敬官。肯堂遷大理丞，旋擢右僉都御史，巡撫福建。

In the fourth month of the fourteenth year he wrote: "Rogues destroy cities and rampage freely as if no one were there—nothing like this has occurred under Supreme Commander Sichang. The immediate priority is to relieve Sichang of command. But by the time the memorial reached court, Sichang was already dead. In the twelfth month he wrote again: "We cannot say there are no officials fighting bandits—yet beyond grand coordinators we have pacification commissioners, and above governors-general we still add supreme commanders. The titles differ but the authority does not. Huguang reports its own victories while Henan reports its own defeats; Nanyang has fallen and an imperial prince is imperiled—what is the supreme commander actually commanding? Is the supreme commander supposed to sit at headquarters issuing directives, or divide rebel forces and fight them on the ground until he is exhausted? Are the governors of Shaanxi and Baoding to defend their territories in mutual support, or simply chase rebels across borders with whatever troops they can spare? Should grand coordinators obey the supreme commander's every order, or assess rebel strength on the spot and choose when to fight or hold? On all these crucial points there is no clarity—the court decides in the dark while officials serve blind. When territory is lost and armies destroyed, the court blames governors and coordinators to save itself, they blame each other to escape punishment—and frontier affairs become ungovernable. The emperor accepted his advice and ordered the relevant offices to study it. In the fifteenth year he petitioned to restore officials punished for remonstrating; Yin Run, Li Qing, and Liu Chang were returned to their posts as supervising secretaries, and Zhou Yijing as censor. Kentang was made vice director of the Court of Judicial Review, then promoted to right vice censor-in-chief and grand coordinator of Fujian.

總兵鄭鴻逵擁唐王聿鍵入閩，與其兄南安伯芝龍及肯堂勸進，遂加太子少保、吏部尚書。曾櫻至，言官請令櫻掌吏部，乃令肯堂掌都察院。肯堂請出募舟師，由海道抵江南，倡義旅，而王由仙霞趨浙東，與相聲援。乃加少保，給敕印，便宜從事。芝龍懷異心，陰沮之，不成行。

Regional Commander Zheng Hongkui brought Prince Tang Zhu Yujian into Fujian; with Zhilong, Zheng's brother and Earl of Nan'an, and Kentang he urged the prince to take the throne, and Kentang was made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent and Minister of Personnel. When Zeng Ying arrived, censor-officials wanted him to head the Ministry of Personnel, so Kentang was placed in charge of the Censorate instead. Kentang asked to recruit a naval force and reach Jiangnan by sea to raise loyal troops, while the prince would advance from Xianxia into eastern Zhejiang to coordinate with him. He was promoted to Junior Guardian, given an imperial commission and seal, and empowered to act at discretion. Zhilong, harboring his own agenda, quietly blocked the plan, and the expedition never happened.

順治三年，王敗死，肯堂飄泊海外。六年至舟山，魯王用為東閣大學士。八年，大清兵乘天霧集螺頭門。定西侯張名振奉王航海去，屬肯堂城守。城中兵六千，居民萬余，堅守十余日。城破，肯堂衣蟒玉南向坐，令四妾、一子婦、一女孫先死，乃從容賦詩自經。

In Shunzhi 3 the prince was defeated and killed, and Kentang fled overseas. In the sixth year he reached Zhoushan, where the Prince of Lu made him Grand Secretary of the Eastern Hall. In the eighth year Great Qing forces exploited the fog to mass at Luotou Gate. Dingxi Marquis Zhang Mingzhen took the prince to sea and left Kentang to hold the city. With six thousand soldiers and over ten thousand civilians inside, the city held for more than ten days. When the city fell, Kentang, dressed in python robe and jade belt, seated himself facing south; he had his four concubines, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter killed first, then calmly wrote a poem and hanged himself.

時同死者，兵部尚書李向中、禮部尚書吳鍾巒、吏部侍郎朱永佑、安洋將軍劉世勛、左都督張名揚。又有通政使會稽鄭遵儉，兵科給事中鄞縣董誌寧，兵部郎中江陰朱養時，戶部主事福建林瑛、蘇州江用楫，禮部主事會稽董元，兵部主事福建朱萬年、長洲顧珍、臨山衛李開國，工部主事長洲顧中堯，中書舍人蘇州蘇兆人，工部所正鄞縣戴仲明，定西侯參謀順天顧明楫，諸生福建林世英，錦衣指揮王朝相，內官監太監劉朝。凡二十一人。

Those who died with him included Minister of War Li Xiangzhong, Minister of Rites Wu Zhongluan, Vice Minister of Personnel Zhu Yongyou, Anyang General Liu Shixun, and Left Commissioner-in-Chief Zhang Mingyang. Also among the dead were Communications Commissioner Zheng Zunyian of Kuaiji, Supervising Secretary Dong Zhining of Yin County, War Bureau Director Zhu Yangshi of Jiangyin, Revenue directors Lin Ying of Fujian and Jiang Yongji of Suzhou, Rites director Dong Yuan of Kuaiji, War directors Zhu Wannian of Fujian, Gu Zhen of Changzhou, and Li Kaiguo of Linshan Guard, Works director Gu Zhongyao of Changzhou, Drafting Secretary Su Zhaoren of Suzhou, Works Bureau clerk Dai Zhongming of Yin County, Dingxi Marquis staff officer Gu Mingji of Shuntian, student Lin Shiying of Fujian, Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander Wang Chaoxiang, and eunuch Liu Chao of the Directorate of Palace Eunuchs. Twenty-one people in all.

李向中，鍾祥人。崇禎十三年進士。授長興知縣，調秀水。福王時，歷車駕郎中，蘇松兵備副使。唐王以為尚寶卿。閩事敗，避海濱。魯王監國，召為右僉都御史，從航海，進兵部尚書，從至舟山。及是破，大帥召向中，不赴。發兵捕之，以衰糸至見。大帥呵之曰：「聘汝不至，捕即至，何也。？」向中從容曰：「前則辭官，今就戮耳。」

Li Xiangzhong came from Zhongxiang. He became a jinshi in the thirteenth year of Chongzhen. He was appointed magistrate of Changxing, then transferred to Xiushui. Under the Prince of Fu he served as a bureau director in the Imperial Procession Office and as vice commissioner for military preparedness in Suzhou and Songjiang. The Prince of Tang made him director of the Court of Imperial Seals. When the Fujian cause collapsed he fled to the coast. When the Prince of Lu assumed the regency he was summoned as right vice censor-in-chief, followed the prince to sea, was promoted to Minister of War, and went with him to Zhoushan. When the city fell the Qing commander summoned Xiangzhong, but he refused to come. Soldiers were sent to capture him, and he was brought in wearing funeral robes. The commander snapped at him: "We invited you and you stayed away; the moment we sent soldiers to fetch you, here you are—why is that Xiangzhong answered calmly: "Before, I refused office; now I accept death."

吳鐘巒，字巒稚，武進人。崇禎七年進士。授長興知縣。以旱潦，征練餉不中額，謫紹興照磨。逾年，移桂林推官。聞京師變，流涕曰：「馬君常必能死節。」已而世奇果死。福王立，遷禮部主事。抵南雄，聞南都失，轉赴福建，痛陳國計。魯王起兵，以鐘巒為禮部尚書，往來普陀山中。大清兵至寧波，鐘巒慷慨謂人曰：「昔仲達死珰禍，吾以諸生不得死。君常死賊難，吾以遠臣不得從死。今其時矣！」乃急渡海，入昌國衛之孔廟，積薪左廡下，抱孔子木主自焚死。仲達者，江陰李應升，鍾巒弟子，忤魏忠賢死黨禍者也。

Wu Zhongluan, styled Luanzhi, came from Wujin. He became a jinshi in the seventh year of Chongzhen. He was appointed magistrate of Changxing. After drought and flood left him short of the training-supply quota, he was demoted to registrar at Shaoxing. A year later he was transferred to judicial assistant at Guilin. When he heard of the turmoil in the capital, he wept and said, "Ma Junchang will surely die for his principles. Before long Shichang did die." When the Prince of Fu was enthroned, he was transferred to a directorship in the Ministry of Rites. Reaching Nanxiong, he learned the Southern Capital had fallen, so he turned toward Fujian and passionately laid out the national strategy. When the Prince of Lu took up arms, Zhongluan was appointed Minister of Rites and traveled back and forth on Mount Putuo. When Qing troops reached Ningbo, Zhongluan spoke boldly to those around him: "In the past Zhongda died in the eunuch purge, but I was only a scholar and could not die with him. Junchang died in the rebels' uprising, but as a minister far from the capital I could not follow him in death. Now the time has come! He then crossed the sea in haste, entered the Confucian temple of Changguo Guard, piled firewood beneath the left gallery, clasped Confucius's wooden spirit tablet to his chest, and burned himself to death. Zhongda was Li Yingsheng of Jiangyin, a disciple of Zhongluan who had offended Wei Zhongxian and perished in the eunuch faction purge.

朱永佑，字爰啟。崇禎七年進士。授刑部主事，改吏部，罷歸。事唐王，後至舟山。城破被執，願為僧，不許，乃就戮。名揚，名振弟。城破，母範以下自焚者數十人。

Zhu Yongyou, styled Yuanqi. He became a jinshi in the seventh year of Chongzhen. He was appointed a director in the Ministry of Justice, transferred to the Ministry of Personnel, and eventually dismissed and sent home. He served the Prince of Tang and later made his way to Zhoushan. When the city fell he was captured; he asked to become a monk, but permission was denied, and he went to his death. Mingyang was the younger brother of Mingzhen. When the city fell, dozens of people from his mother Fan downward burned themselves to death.

朝相聞城失守，護王妃陳氏、貴嬪張氏、義陽王妃杜氏入井，用巨石覆之，自刎其旁。開國母，瑛、明楫妻皆自盡。

When Chaoxiang heard the city had fallen, he helped Consort Chen the princess, Noble Consort Zhang, and Duchess Du of Yiyang into a well, covered it with heavy stones, and cut his own throat beside them. Kaiguo's mother and the wives of Ying and Mingji all took their own lives.

曾櫻，字仲含，峽江人。萬歷四十四年進士。授工部主事，歷郎中。天啟二年，稍遷常州知府。諸御史巡鹽、侖、江、漕及提學、屯田者，皆操舉劾權，文牒日至。櫻牒南京都察院曰：「他方守令，奔命一巡按，獨南畿奔命數巡按。請一切戒飭，罷鉤訪取贖諸陋習。」都御史熊明遇為申約束焉。

Ceng Ying, styled Zhonghan, came from Xiajiang. He became a jinshi in the forty-fourth year of Wanli. He was appointed a director in the Ministry of Works and rose to bureau director. In the second year of Tianqi he was promoted to prefect of Changzhou. Censors assigned to salt, transport, rivers, grain transport, education, and garrison fields all held impeachment power, and their dispatches arrived every day. Ying wrote to the Nanjing Censorate: "Elsewhere a prefect or magistrate runs himself ragged for one touring censor; in the Southern Metropolitan Region he must do so for several. Please rein all of them in and abolish such bad practices as secret investigations and extracting ransom payments. Censor-in-Chief Xiong Mingyu then enforced restraint on them.

櫻持身廉，為政愷悌公平，不畏強禦。屯田御史索屬吏應劾者姓名，櫻不應。御史危言恐之，答曰：「僚屬已盡，無可糾，止知府無狀。」因自署下考，杜門待罪。撫按亟慰留，乃起視事。織造中官李實迫知府行屬禮，櫻不從。實移檄以「爾」「汝」侮之，櫻亦報以「爾」「汝」，卒不屈。無錫高攀龍，江陰繆昌期、李應升被逮，櫻助昌期、應升貲，而經紀攀龍死後事，為文祭之，出其子及僮仆於獄。宜興毛士龍坐忤魏忠賢遣戍，櫻諷士龍逃去。上官捕其家人，賴櫻以免。武進孫慎行忤忠賢，當戍，櫻緩其行。忠賢敗，事遂解。

Ying lived with integrity, governed with kindness and fairness, and did not fear the powerful. A garrison-field censor demanded the names of subordinate officials due for impeachment, but Ying refused to respond. The censor tried to intimidate him with harsh words; Ying replied, "My staff has been worn out; there is no one left to impeach—only the prefect is unworthy. He then marked himself down for the lowest rating, shut his doors, and awaited punishment. The governor and censor urgently urged him to stay, and he resumed his duties. The imperial weaving eunuch Li Shi tried to force the prefect to perform subordinate obeisance, but Ying refused. Shi sent an official dispatch addressing him with the familiar "you" as an insult; Ying replied in the same familiar terms and never yielded. When Gao Panlong of Wuxi and Miao Changqi and Li Yingsheng of Jiangyin were arrested, Ying gave Changqi and Yingsheng financial aid; after Panlong's death he handled the funeral arrangements, wrote a memorial essay for him, and secured the release of his son and servants from prison. Mao Shilong of Yixing had been sentenced to exile for offending Wei Zhongxian; Ying urged him to flee. When officials came to seize his family, they were spared thanks to Ying. Sun Shenxing of Wujin had offended Zhongxian and was bound for exile; Ying delayed his journey. When Zhongxian fell from power, the matter was dropped.

崇禎元年以右參政分守漳南。九蓮山賊犯上杭，櫻募壯士擊退之，夜搗其巢，殲馘殆盡。士民為櫻建祠。母憂歸。服闋，起故官，分守興、泉二郡。進按察使，分巡福寧。先是，紅夷寇興、泉，櫻請巡撫鄒維璉用副總兵鄭芝龍為軍鋒，果奏捷。及劉香寇廣東，總督熊文燦欲得芝龍為援，維璉等以香與芝龍有舊，疑不遣。櫻以百口保芝龍，遂討滅香，芝龍感櫻甚。

In the first year of Chongzhen he was made right administration commissioner for southern Zhangzhou. When bandits from Jiulian Mountain attacked Shanghang, Ying raised stalwart fighters and drove them off, then raided their stronghold by night and killed nearly all of them. Local gentry and commoners built a shrine in Ying's honor. He returned home to observe mourning for his mother. When his mourning period ended he was restored to office and put in charge of Xing and Quan prefectures. He was promoted to surveillance commissioner with jurisdiction over Fuzhou and Ningde. Earlier, when Western barbarians raided Xing and Quan, Ying asked Governor Zou Weilian to deploy Vice Commander-in-Chief Zheng Zhilong as the vanguard, and they duly won. When Liu Xiang raided Guangdong, Governor-General Xiong Wencan wanted Zhilong's help, but Weilian and others, knowing Xiang and Zhilong were old associates, hesitated and would not send him. Ying pledged his own household—one hundred lives—to vouch for Zhilong, and they went on to defeat and destroy Xiang; Zhilong was deeply grateful to Ying.

十年冬，帝信東廠言，以櫻行賄謀擢官，命械赴京。御史葉初春嘗為櫻屬吏，知其廉，於他疏微白之。有詔詰問，因具言櫻賢，然不知賄所從至。詔至閩，巡撫沈猶龍、巡按張肯堂閱廠檄有奸人黃四臣名。芝龍前白曰：「四臣，我所遣。我感櫻恩，恐遷去，令從都下訊之。四臣乃妄言，致有此事。」猶龍、肯堂以入告，力白櫻冤，芝龍亦具疏請罪。士民以櫻貧，為醵金辦裝，耆老數千人隨至闕下，擊登聞鼓訟冤。帝命毋入獄，俟命京邸。削芝龍都督銜，而令櫻以故官巡視海道。

In the winter of the tenth year the emperor believed Eastern Depot reports that Ying had bribed officials to seek promotion, and ordered him shackled and brought to the capital. Censor Ye Chuchun, who had once served under Ying and knew him to be incorruptible, subtly spoke in his favor in another memorial. The throne ordered an inquiry; he fully attested to Ying's worth, but said he did not know where the bribery charge had come from. When the edict reached Fujian, Governor Shen Youlong and Censor Zhang Kentang found in the Depot dispatch the name of a schemer, Huang Sichen. Zhilong came forward and said, "Sichen is the man I sent. Grateful for Ying's kindness, I feared he would be transferred away, so I sent him from the capital to inquire. Sichen then spoke falsely and caused this whole affair. Youlong and Kentang reported this to the throne and vigorously cleared Ying's name; Zhilong also submitted a memorial asking to be punished. Because Ying was poor, local gentry and commoners pooled money for his travel expenses, and several thousand elders followed him to the capital to beat the drum of grievance and plead his case. The emperor ordered that he not be imprisoned and that he await further orders at a capital residence. Zhilong's grand marshal title was stripped, and Ying was restored to his former office to inspect the sea routes.

尋以衡、永多寇，改櫻湖廣按察使，分守湖南，給以敕。故事，守道無敕，帝特賜之。時賊已殘十余州縣，而永州知府推官鹹不任職。櫻薦蘇州同知晏日曙、歸德推官萬元吉才。兩人方坐事罷官，以櫻言並起用。櫻乃調芝龍剿賊，賊多降，一方遂安。遷山東右布政使，分守登、萊。

Soon, because bandits were rampant in Heng and Yong, Ying was made surveillance commissioner of Huguang with jurisdiction over Hunan and was given an imperial commission. By precedent, regional commissioners did not receive imperial commissions; the emperor made a special exception for him. By then bandits had ravaged more than ten prefectures and counties, while the prefect, judicial assistant, and salt controller of Yongzhou were all unfit for their posts. Ying recommended Suzhou Vice Prefect Yan Rishu and Guide Judicial Assistant Wan Yuanji as men of talent. Both had just been dismissed for unrelated offenses, but on Ying's recommendation both were reappointed. Ying then deployed Zhilong against the bandits; many surrendered, and the region was pacified. He was transferred to right administration commissioner of Shandong with jurisdiction over Deng and Lai.

十四年春，擢右副都御史，代徐人龍巡撫其地。明年遷南京工部右侍郎，乞假歸。山東初被兵，巡撫王永吉所部濟、兗、東三府州縣盡失，匿不以聞。兵退，以恢復報。而櫻所部青、登、萊三府失州縣無幾，盡以實奏。及論罪，永吉反擢總督，而櫻奪官，逮下刑部獄。不十日而京師陷，賊釋諸囚，櫻乃遁還。

In the spring of the fourteenth year he was promoted to right vice censor-in-chief and replaced Xu Renlong as governor of the region. The following year he was transferred to right vice minister of Works at Nanjing and asked for leave to return home. When Shandong first came under attack, the counties under Governor Wang Yongji in Ji, Yan, and Dong prefectures were all lost, yet he concealed the losses and did not report them. When the troops withdrew, he reported the territory as recovered. Ying, by contrast, had lost only a few counties in Qing, Deng, and Lai, and reported the facts exactly as they were. When punishments were meted out, Yongji was actually promoted to governor-general, while Ying was stripped of office and thrown into the Ministry of Justice prison. Within ten days the capital fell; the rebels freed the prisoners, and Ying fled home.

其後唐王稱號於福州。芝龍薦櫻起工部尚書兼東閣大學士。無何，令掌使部，尋進太子太保、吏部尚書、文淵閣。王駐延平，令櫻留守福州。大清兵破福州，櫻挈家避海外中左衛。越五年，其地被兵，遂自縊死。

Later the Prince of Tang proclaimed himself ruler at Fuzhou. Zhilong recommended that Ying be recalled as Minister of Works and Eastern Pavilion grand secretary. Before long he was put in charge of the envoy bureau; soon he was promoted to Junior Mentor, Minister of Personnel, and Wenyuan Pavilion grand secretary. The prince stayed at Yanping and left Ying to hold Fuzhou. When Qing troops took Fuzhou, Ying fled with his family across the sea to Zhongzuo Guard. Five years later, when that place came under attack, he hanged himself.

朱繼祚，莆田人。萬歷四十七年進士。改庶吉士，授編修。天啟中，與修《三朝要典》，尋罷去。崇禎初，復官。累遷禮部右侍郎，充實錄總裁。給事中葛樞言繼祚嘗纂修《要典》，得罪清議，不可總裁國史，不聽。繼祚旋謝病去。起南京禮部尚書，又以人言罷去。福王時起故官，未赴。南都失，唐王召為東閣大學士，從至汀州。王被擒，繼祚奔還其鄉。魯王監國，繼祚舉兵應王，攻取興化城。既而大清兵至，城復破。繼祚及參政湯芬、給事中林嵋、知縣都廷諫並死之。

Zhu Jizuo came from Putian. He became a jinshi in the forty-seventh year of Wanli. He was selected as a Hanlin bachelor and appointed compiling editor. During the Tianqi reign he helped compile the Record of Essentials from Three Reigns, but was soon dismissed. At the start of the Chongzhen reign he was restored to office. He rose to right vice minister of Rites and served as chief compiler of the Veritable Records. Supervising Secretary Ge Shu argued that Jizuo, having helped compile the Essentials, had offended the moral critics and should not supervise the national history; the court did not agree. Jizuo soon resigned on grounds of illness. He was recalled as Minister of Rites at Nanjing, but was dismissed again after public outcry. Under the Prince of Fu he was recalled to his former office, but never took up the post. After the Southern Capital fell, the Prince of Tang summoned him as Eastern Pavilion grand secretary, and he followed the prince to Tingzhou. When the prince was captured, Jizuo fled back to his hometown. When the Prince of Lu assumed the regency, Jizuo raised troops in his support and captured Xinghua. Before long Qing troops arrived and the city fell again. Jizuo, along with Administration Commissioner Tang Fen, Supervising Secretary Lin Mei, and Magistrate Du Tingjian, all died in the fighting.

芬，字方侯，嘉善人。崇禎十六年進士。福王時，為史可法監紀推官。唐王以為御史。尋以監司分守興泉道。城破，緋衣坐堂上，被殺。嵋，字小眉，繼祚同邑人。由進士為吳江知縣。蘇州失，歸仕唐王。至是自縊死。廷諫，杭州人，莆田知縣。

Fen, styled Fanghou, came from Jiashan. He became a jinshi in the sixteenth year of Chongzhen. Under the Prince of Fu he served as judicial assistant on Shi Kefa's staff. The Prince of Tang made him a censor. He was soon made circuit intendant for Xing and Quan. When the city fell he sat in the hall in his scarlet official robes and was killed. Mei, styled Xiaomei, came from the same district as Zhu Jizuo. After passing the jinshi examination he was appointed magistrate of Wujiang. When Suzhou fell, he went home and entered the service of the Prince of Tang. At that point he hanged himself. Tingjian, a native of Hangzhou, served as magistrate of Putian.

王自監國二年正月至長垣，迨次年正月，連克建寧、邵武、興化三府，福寧一州，漳浦、海澄、連江、長樂等二十七縣，軍聲頗振。及是得者復失。海澄失，知縣洪有文死之。永福失，邑人給事中鄢正畿、御史林逢經俱投水死。長樂失，邑人御史王恩及服毒死，妻李氏同死。建寧失，守將王祈巷戰不勝，自焚死。

From the first month of the second year of the Prince of Lu's regency, when he reached Changyuan, through the first month of the following year, his forces in succession captured the three prefectures of Jianning, Shaowu, and Xinghua, the department of Funing, and twenty-seven counties including Zhangpu, Haicheng, Lianjiang, and Changle, and military morale rose sharply. By then everything that had been taken was lost again. When Haicheng fell, Magistrate Hong Youwen died defending it. When Yongfu fell, Yan Zhengji, a supervising secretary from the district, and Lin Fengjing, a censor likewise from the district, both drowned themselves. When Changle fell, Wang Enji, a censor from the district, took poison and died, and his wife, Lady Li, died with him. When Jianning fell, the defending general Wang Qi fought street by street but could not hold out, and burned himself to death.

余煌，字武貞，會稽人。天啟五年進士第一。授翰林修撰，與修《三朝要典》。崇禎時，以內艱歸。服闋，起左中允，歷左諭德、右庶子，充經筵講官。給事中韓源劾禮部侍郎吳士元、御史華琪芳及煌皆與修《要典》，宜斥，帝置不問。煌疏辯，帝復溫旨慰諭之。戶部崇尚書程國祥請借京城房租，煌爭不可，乞假歸。遂丁外艱。服除，久不起。魯王監國紹興，起禮部右侍郎，再起戶部尚書，皆不就。明年以武將橫甚，拜煌兵部尚書，始受命。時諸臣競營高爵，請乞無厭。煌上言：「今國勢愈危，朝政愈紛，尺土未復，戰守無資。諸臣請祭，則當思先帝烝嘗未備；請葬，則當思先帝山陵未營；請封，則當思先帝宗廟未享；請蔭，則當思先帝子孫未保；請謚，則當思先帝光烈未昭。」時以為名言。大清兵過江，王航海遁。六月二日，煌赴水，舟人拯起之。居二日，復投深處，乃死。

Yu Huang, styled Wuzhen, came from Kuaiji. In the fifth year of Tianqi he placed first in the jinshi examination. He was appointed Hanlin compiler and helped compile the Records of Three Reigns. During the Chongzhen reign he returned home to mourn his mother. When his mourning ended he was recalled as Left Assistant Director, then served successively as Left Instructor and Right Vice Director of the Heir Apparent's Household, and lectured at the imperial Classics Colloquium. Supervising Secretary Han Yuan impeached Vice Minister of Rites Wu Shiyuan, Censor Hua Qifang, and Huang for their role in compiling the Records and argued they should be dismissed, but the emperor ignored the charge. Huang submitted a memorial in his own defense, and the emperor again sent him a gracious edict of reassurance. When Minister of Revenue Cheng Guoxiang proposed borrowing the capital's house rents, Huang protested that this must not be allowed and asked leave to return home. He then went into mourning for his father. When his mourning ended he long refused to return to office. When the Prince of Lu assumed the regency at Shaoxing, Huang was summoned as Right Vice Minister of Rites and again as Minister of Revenue, but he accepted neither appointment. The following year, with military officers growing ever more overbearing, Huang was appointed Minister of War and only then accepted office. At the time officials competed shamelessly for high rank, their petitions and requests never satisfied. Huang submitted a memorial: "The realm grows more perilous by the day, court affairs more chaotic, not an inch of territory has been recovered, and there are no resources for war or defense. When officials ask for sacrificial honors, they ought to remember that the former emperor's seasonal offerings are not yet properly arranged; when they ask for burial rites, they ought to remember that the former emperor's tomb has not yet been built; when they ask for enfeoffment, they ought to remember that the former emperor's ancestral temple has not yet received its offerings; when they ask for hereditary privilege, they ought to remember that the former emperor's descendants are not yet secure; when they ask for a posthumous title, they ought to remember that the former emperor's glory has not yet been properly proclaimed. At the time this was regarded as a memorable statement. When Qing troops crossed the Yangzi, the prince fled by sea. On the second day of the sixth month Huang threw himself into the water, but boatmen pulled him out. Two days later he threw himself into deeper water and died.

陳函輝，字木叔，臨海人。崇禎七年進士。授靖江知縣，為御史左光先劾罷。北都陷，誓眾倡義。會福王立，不許草澤勤王，乃已。尋起職方主事，監軍江北。事敗歸，魯王擢為禮部右侍郎。從王航海，已而相失，哭入雲峰山，作絕命詞十章，投水死。

Chen Hanhui, styled Mushu, came from Linhai. He became a jinshi in the seventh year of Chongzhen. He was appointed magistrate of Jingjiang, but Censor Zuo Guangxian impeached him and had him removed. When the Northern Capital fell, he swore an oath before the people and called for armed resistance. When the Prince of Fu was enthroned, however, unauthorized local levies were forbidden, and he abandoned the effort. He was soon recalled as a principal clerk in the Bureau of Appointments and placed in charge of troops north of the Yangzi. When the campaign failed he returned home, and the Prince of Lu promoted him to Right Vice Minister of Rites. He followed the prince by sea, but they were soon separated; weeping, he entered Yunfeng Mountain, wrote ten final poems, and drowned himself.

王瑞栴，字聖木，永嘉人。天啟五年進士。授蘇州推官，兼理兌運。軍民交兌，桓相軋啟釁。瑞梅調劑得宜，歲省浮費三萬金，上官為勒石著令。貴人弟奸法，執問如律。其人中之當道，將議調，遂歸。崇禎七年，起河間推官，遷工部主事，調兵部，轉職方員外郎，擢湖廣兵備僉事，駐襄陽。十一年春，張獻忠據谷城乞撫，總理熊文燦許之。瑞栴以為非計，謀於巡按林銘球、總兵官左良玉，將俟其至，執之。文燦固執以為不可。瑞栴言：「賊以計愚我，我不可為所愚。今良玉及諸將賈一選、周仕鳳之兵俱在近境，誠合而擊之，何患不捷。」文燦怒，責以撓撫局。瑞栴曰：「賊未創而遽撫，彼將無所懼。惟示以必剿之勢，乃心折不敢貳。非相撓，實相成也。」文燦不從。瑞栴乃列上從征、歸農、解散三策，文燦亦不用。瑞栴自為檄諭獻忠，獻忠恃文燦庇己，不聽。明年，獻忠叛，瑞栴先己丁憂歸。獻忠留書於壁，言己之叛，總理使然。具列上官姓名及取賄月日，而題其末曰：「不納我金者，王兵備一人耳。」由是瑞栴名大著。服闋，未及用而都城陷。福王時，乃為太仆少卿，極陳有司虐民之狀，旋告歸。唐王召赴福建，仍故官，未幾復歸。及閩地盡失，溫州亦不守，避之山中。有欲薦令出者，乃拜辭家廟，從容入室自經死。

Wang Ruizhan, styled Shengmu, came from Yongjia. He became a jinshi in the fifth year of Tianqi. He was appointed judicial assistant of Suzhou and also oversaw grain exchange and transport. When soldiers and civilians exchanged grain, constant friction between them provoked trouble. Ruizhan managed the exchange skillfully, saving thirty thousand taels in wasteful expenses each year, and his superiors had the regulation carved in stone. When a nobleman's younger brother broke the law, Ruizhan arrested and tried him according to statute. The man slandered him to those in power, a transfer was about to be ordered, and Ruizhan resigned and went home. In the seventh year of Chongzhen he was recalled as judicial assistant of Hejian, then promoted to principal clerk in the Ministry of Works, transferred to the Ministry of War, made assistant department director in the Bureau of Appointments, and elevated to military defense vice commissioner of Huguang, stationed at Xiangyang. In the spring of the eleventh year Zhang Xianzhong held Gucheng and petitioned for surrender, and Grand Coordinator Xiong Wencan agreed. Ruizhan thought this was a mistake and consulted Touring Inspector Lin Mingqiu and Regional Commander Zuo Liangyu about seizing Zhang when he arrived. Xiong Wencan stubbornly refused. Ruizhan said: "The rebel is trying to fool us with a trick, and we must not let ourselves be fooled. Zuo Liangyu and the generals Jia Yixuan and Zhou Shifeng all have troops nearby; if we combine forces and strike, how can we fail? Xiong Wencan grew angry and rebuked him for obstructing the surrender negotiations. Ruizhan replied: "If we appease the rebels before they have been defeated, they will have nothing to fear. Only by showing them we will certainly exterminate them will they submit in heart and dare not rebel again. This is not obstruction but completion of the same policy. Xiong Wencan would not listen. Ruizhan then submitted three plans—follow the campaign, return to farming, and disband—but Xiong Wencan ignored them as well. Ruizhan himself drafted a proclamation to Zhang Xianzhong, but Zhang, counting on Xiong Wencan's protection, ignored it. The following year Zhang Xianzhong rebelled, but Ruizhan had already gone home to mourn his father. Zhang Xianzhong left a letter on the wall declaring that the grand coordinator had driven him to rebel. It listed the names of his superiors and the dates on which they took bribes, and at the end he wrote: "Of all those who refused my gold, only Vice Commissioner Wang did. From this Ruizhan's reputation spread far and wide. When his mourning ended he had not yet been reappointed before the capital fell. Under the Prince of Fu he served as Vice Director of the Imperial Stud, memorialized at length on the abuses of local officials, and soon resigned. The Prince of Tang summoned him to Fujian to his former office, but he soon returned home again. When all of Fujian was lost and Wenzhou too could not be held, he took refuge in the mountains. When someone tried to recommend him to come out of hiding and serve again, he bowed farewell at the family shrine, then calmly went inside and hanged himself.

路振飛，字見白，曲周人。天啟五年進士。除涇陽知縣。大吏陷魏忠賢，將建祠涇陽，振飛執不從。邑人張問達忤奄，坐追贓十萬。振飛故遷延，奄敗事解。流賊入境，擊卻之。崇禎四年，征授御史。疏劾周延儒卑汙奸險，黨邪醜正，祈立斥以清揆路，被旨切責。未幾，陳時事十大弊，曰務苛細而忘政體，喪廉恥而壞官方，民愈窮而賦愈亟，有事急而無事緩，知顯患而忘隱憂，求治事而鮮治人，責外重而責內輕，嚴於小而寬於大，臣日偷而主日疑，有詔旨而無奉行。疏入，詔付所司。山東兵叛，劾巡撫余大成、孫元化，且論延儒曲庇罪，帝不問。已，劾吏部尚書閔洪學結權勢，樹私人，秉銓以來，吏治日壞，洪學自引去。廷推南京吏部尚書謝升為左都御史，振飛歷詆其醜狀，升遂不果用。六年，巡按福建。海賊劉香數勾紅夷入犯，振飛懸千金勵將士，遣遊擊鄭芝龍等大破之，詔賜銀幣。俸滿，以京卿錄用。初，振飛論海賊情形，謂巡撫鄒維璉不能辦，語侵之。維璉罷去，命甫下，數奏捷，振飛乃力暴其功，維璉復召用。

Lu Zhenfei, styled Jianbai, came from Quzhou. He became a jinshi in the fifth year of Tianqi. He was appointed magistrate of Jingyang. Senior officials, currying favor with Wei Zhongxian, planned to build a shrine in Jingyang, but Zhenfei firmly refused. Zhang Wenda, a local man, offended the eunuch faction and was ordered to repay one hundred thousand taels in alleged embezzlement. Zhenfei deliberately delayed the case, and when the eunuch faction fell the matter was dropped. When bandits entered the district, he drove them back. In the fourth year of Chongzhen he was recalled and appointed censor. He memorialized impeaching Zhou Yanru as base, corrupt, treacherous, and dangerous, accusing him of forming factions with the wicked and disgracing the upright, and urging his immediate dismissal to clear the way for worthy ministers; the emperor sharply rebuked him. Before long he set forth ten great abuses of the times: pursuing petty detail while forgetting the substance of government; losing integrity and ruining official conduct; the people growing poorer while levies grow heavier; urgency in crisis but laxness in peace; seeing obvious calamities while forgetting hidden dangers; seeking to govern affairs but rarely governing men; blaming outsiders heavily while going easy on insiders; strict in small matters and lenient in great ones; ministers growing daily more negligent and the sovereign daily more suspicious; edicts issued but never carried out. When the memorial arrived, the emperor ordered it referred to the relevant offices. When Shandong troops mutinied, he impeached Grand Coordinators Yu Dacheng and Sun Yuanhua and accused Zhou Yanru of bending the law to shield the guilty, but the emperor ignored it. Later he impeached Minister of Personnel Min Hongxue for cultivating powerful patrons and planting private clients, arguing that official conduct had worsened daily since Min took charge of appointments; Min resigned. When Xie Sheng, Minister of Personnel at Nanjing, was court-nominated as Left Censor-in-Chief, Zhenfei denounced his misconduct at length, and Xie was not appointed. In the sixth year he served as touring censor in Fujian. The pirate Liu Xiang repeatedly incited the red-haired foreigners to raid the coast; Zhenfei offered a reward of one thousand taels to encourage his troops, dispatched Mobile Corps Commander Zheng Zhilong and others to defeat them decisively, and was rewarded with silver and silks by imperial edict. When his term ended he was selected for appointment as a capital official. Earlier, when Zhenfei discussed the pirate situation, he said Grand Coordinator Zou Weilian was incapable of handling it, and his words gave offense. Zou Weilian was dismissed, but scarcely had the order been issued when repeated reports of victory arrived; Zhenfei then forcefully publicized his achievements, and Zou was recalled.

八年夏，帝將簡輔臣。振飛言：「枚卜盛典，使夤緣者竊附則不光。如向者周延儒、溫體仁等公論俱棄，宅揆以後，民窮盜興，辱己者必不能正天下。」時延儒已斥，而體仁方居首揆，銜之。已而振飛按蘇、松，請除輸布、收銀、白糧、收兌之四大患，民困以蘇。會常熟錢謙益、瞿式耜為奸民張漢儒所訐，體仁坐振飛失糾，擬旨令陳狀。振飛白謙益無罪，語刺體仁。體仁恚，激帝怒，謫河南按察司檢校。入為上林丞，屢遷光祿少卿。

In the summer of the eighth year the emperor was about to select new chief ministers. Zhenfei said: "The grand ceremony of selecting ministers by divination will lose its luster if those who creep in by connections attach themselves to it. Men like Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren before them were abandoned by public opinion; after they took office the people grew destitute and banditry rose—men who disgrace themselves cannot set the realm right. Zhou Yanru had already been dismissed by then, but Wen Tiren was chief minister and bore a grudge against him. Before long, as touring censor in Suzhou and Songjiang, Zhenfei petitioned to abolish four great abuses—cloth delivery, silver collection, white grain, and grain exchange—and the people's hardship was eased. When Qian Qianyi and Qu Shisi of Changshu were denounced by the schemer Zhang Hanru, Wen Tiren blamed Zhenfei for failing to impeach them and drafted an edict ordering him to explain himself. Zhenfei declared Qian Qianyi innocent, and his words cut at Wen Tiren. Wen Tiren, enraged, stirred the emperor's anger and had him demoted to inspecting clerk in the Henan surveillance commission. He was later recalled as Director of the Imperial Park and was promoted repeatedly to Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Entertainments.

十六年秋，擢右僉都御史、總督漕運，巡撫淮、揚。明年正月，流賊陷山西。振飛遣將金聲桓等十七人分道防河，由徐、泗、宿遷至安東、沭陽。且團練鄉兵，犒以牛酒，得兩淮間勁卒數萬。福、周、潞、崇四王避賊，同日抵淮。大將劉澤清、高傑等亦棄汛地南下。振飛悉延接之。四月初，聞北都陷，福王立於南京。河南副使呂弼周為賊節度使來代振飛，進士武愫為賊防禦使招撫徐、沛，而賊將董學禮據宿遷。振飛擊擒弼周、愫，走學禮。竿弼周法場，命軍士人射三矢，乃解磔之。縛愫徇諸市，鞭八十，檻車獻諸朝，伏誅。五月，馬士英欲用所親田仰，乃罷振飛。振飛亦遭母喪，家無可歸，流寓蘇州。尋錄功，即家加右副都御史。

In the autumn of the sixteenth year he was promoted to Right Vice Censor-in-Chief, placed in charge of the Grand Canal grain transport, and made grand coordinator of Huai and Yang. In the first month of the following year, rebel armies overran Shanxi. Zhenfei sent seventeen officers, including Jin Shenghuan, to defend the river in separate columns from Xu, Si, and Suqian all the way to Andong and Shuyang. He also organized local militia, rewarded them with feasts of beef and wine, and mustered several tens of thousands of tough fighters from the region between the Huai Rivers. The Princes of Fu, Zhou, Lu, and Chong, fleeing the rebels, all reached the Huai region on the same day. The senior generals Liu Zeqing, Gao Jie, and others likewise abandoned their posts along the river and retreated south. Zhenfei welcomed and hosted them all. In early the fourth month, upon hearing that Beijing had fallen, the Prince of Fu was enthroned at Nanjing. Lü Bizhou, vice commissioner of Henan, arrived as the rebels' military governor to replace Zhenfei; the jinshi Wu Su came as their defense commissioner to pacify Xu and Pei; and the rebel general Dong Xueli occupied Suqian. Zhenfei attacked, captured Bizhou and Su, and put Xueli to flight. He had Bizhou hoisted on a pole at the execution ground, ordered every soldier to shoot three arrows at him, and then had him cut apart. Su was bound and paraded through the markets, given eighty lashes, sent to court in a caged cart, and executed. In the fifth month Ma Shiying, wanting to install his protégé Tian Yang, had Zhenfei removed from office. Zhenfei was also in mourning for his mother; with no home to return to, he took refuge in Suzhou. Soon afterward his service was recognized, and he was promoted to Right Vice Censor-in-Chief while still at home.

振飛初督漕，謁鳳陽皇陵。望氣者言高墻有天子氣。唐王聿鍵方以罪錮守陵，中官虐之。振飛上疏乞概寬罪宗，竟得請。順治二年，大兵破南京，聿鍵自立於福州，拜為左都御史。募能致振飛者官五宮，賜二千金。振飛乃赴召，道拜太子太保、吏部尚書兼文淵閣大學士。至則大喜，與宴，抵夜分，撤燭送歸，解玉帶賜之，官一子職方員外郎。又錄守淮功，蔭錦衣世千戶。王每責廷臣怠玩，振飛因進曰：「上謂臣僚不改因循，必致敗亡。臣謂上不改操切，亦未必能中興也。上有愛民之心，而未見愛民之政；有聽言之明，而未收聽言之效。喜怒輕發，號令屢更。見群臣庸下而過於督責，因博鑒書史而務求明備，凡上所長，皆臣所甚憂也。」其言曲中王短雲。三年，大清兵進仙霞關，聿鍵走汀州，振飛追赴不能及。汀州破，走居海島，明年赴永明王召，卒於途。

When Zhenfei first took charge of the Grand Canal transport, he visited the imperial tombs at Fengyang. A geomancer declared that the high wall bore the aura of imperial destiny. The Tang Prince Yujian was then imprisoned for a crime and assigned to guard the tombs, where eunuchs mistreated him. Zhenfei memorialized the throne asking that punished members of the imperial clan be broadly pardoned, and his request was granted. In the second year of Shunzhi, the Qing army took Nanjing; Yujian declared himself ruler at Fuzhou and appointed Zhenfei Left Censor-in-Chief. He offered a fifth-rank post and two thousand taels of gold to anyone who could bring Zhenfei to him. Zhenfei answered the summons, and en route was appointed Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent, Minister of Personnel, and Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion. When he arrived, the prince was overjoyed. He feasted with him until midnight, then had the candles put out and saw him home, gave him his own jade belt, and appointed one of his sons Secretary in the Bureau of Appointments. His service in defending the Huai region was again recognized with a hereditary commandership in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. The prince often rebuked his ministers for negligence. Zhenfei then said: "Your Majesty says that if officials do not break their habit of drift and delay, ruin will surely follow. I say that if Your Majesty does not change your own harsh impatience, restoration may not be achieved either. Your Majesty has a heart that loves the people, yet no policies that truly benefit them; you are keen to hear advice, yet you never see its effects. You give way to anger and pleasure too easily, and your orders are changed again and again. Seeing that your ministers are mediocre, you press them too hard; because you have read widely in history, you demand exhaustive perfection in everything—each thing Your Majesty prides yourself on is exactly what I most fear. His words, it is said, struck directly at the prince's weaknesses. In the third year the Qing army advanced on Xianxia Pass. Yujian fled to Tingzhou, and Zhenfei rushed after him but could not catch up. When Tingzhou fell, he took refuge on a coastal island. The next year he answered the Yongli King's summons and died on the journey.

何楷，字元子，漳州鎮海衛人。天啟五年進士。值魏忠賢亂政，不謁選而歸。崇禎時，授戶部主事，進員外郎，改刑科給事中。流賊陷鳳陽，毀皇陵。楷劾巡撫楊一鵬、巡按吳振纓罪，而刺輔臣溫體仁、王應熊，言：「振纓，體仁私人；一鵬，應熊座主也。逆賊犯皇陵，神人共憤。陛下輟講避殿，感動臣民。二輔臣獨漫視之，欲令一鵬、振纓戴罪自贖。情面重，祖宗陵寢為輕；朋比深，天下譏刺不恤。」忤旨，鐫一秩視事。又言：「應熊、體仁奏辯，明自引門生姻婭。刑官瞻徇，實由於此。乞宣諭輔臣，毋分別恩仇，以國事為戲。」應熊復奏辯。楷言：「臣疏未奉旨，應熊先一日摭引臣疏詞，必有漏禁中語者。」帝意動，令應熊自陳，應熊竟由是去。吏部尚書謝升言登、萊要地，巡撫陳應元引疾，宜允其去。及推勞永嘉代應元，則言登萊巡撫本贅員。楷亦疏駁之。楷又請給贈都御史高攀龍官，誥賜左光鬥諸臣謚，召還惠世揚。疏多見聽。屢遷工科都給事中。

He Kai, styled Yuanzi, was from Zhenhai Guard in Zhangzhou. He passed the jinshi examination in the fifth year of Tianqi. During Wei Zhongxian's corrupt rule, he declined to seek office and returned home. Under Chongzhen he was appointed a secretary in the Ministry of Revenue, promoted to vice director, and then transferred to supervising secretary in the Bureau of Punishments. Rebel armies took Fengyang and desecrated the imperial tombs. Kai impeached Grand Coordinator Yang Yipeng and Investigating Censor Wu Zhenyong, and also attacked chief ministers Wen Tiren and Wang Yingxiong, saying: "Zhenyong is Tiren's private man; Yipeng is Yingxiong's examination patron. Rebels had violated the imperial tombs, provoking outrage in heaven and on earth. Your Majesty suspended court lectures and withdrew from the palace hall, moving officials and commoners alike. Yet the two chief ministers alone treated the matter lightly, wanting Yipeng and Zhenyong to redeem themselves while keeping their posts. Personal connections weighed more heavily than the tombs of the imperial ancestors; their factional ties ran deep, and they cared nothing for the ridicule of the realm. His memorial offended the throne, and he was demoted one rank but allowed to remain in office. He again said: "In their defenses, Yingxiong and Tiren openly invoked their students and in-laws. The judicial officials show favoritism precisely because of this. I beg that the chief ministers be instructed not to treat state affairs as a game of personal favor and enmity. Yingxiong submitted another defense. Kai said: "My memorial has not yet received a response, yet Yingxiong quoted from it a day earlier—someone inside the palace must be leaking confidential documents. The emperor was moved and ordered Yingxiong to explain himself; Yingxiong ultimately left office as a result. Minister of Personnel Xie Sheng said that Dengzhou and Laizhou were vital posts and that Grand Coordinator Chen Yingyuan's request to resign on grounds of illness should be granted. But when Lao Yongjia was recommended to replace Yingyuan, he then argued that the grand coordinator of Deng and Lai was a superfluous post to begin with. Kai also memorialized the throne to refute him. Kai also asked that the late Censor-in-Chief Gao Panlong be granted posthumous honors, that posthumous titles be conferred on Zuo Guangdou and other loyal ministers, and that Hui Shiyang be recalled to office. Many of his memorials were accepted. He was promoted repeatedly to chief supervising secretary in the Bureau of Works.

十一年五月，帝以火星逆行，減膳修省。兵部尚書楊嗣昌方主款議，歷引前史以進。楷與南京御史林蘭友先後言其非。楷言：「嗣昌引建武款塞事，欲借以申市賞之說，引元和田興事，欲借以申招撫之說，引太平興國連年兵敗事，欲借以申不可用兵之說，徒巧附會耳。至永平二年馬皇后事，更不知指斥安在。」帝方護嗣昌，不聽。逾月，嗣昌奪情入閣，楷又劾之，忤旨，貶二秩為南京國子監丞。母憂歸。服闋，廷臣交薦，召入京，都城已陷。

In the fifth month of the eleventh year, because Mars was in retrograde motion, the emperor reduced his meals and undertook self-examination. Minister of War Yang Sichang was then advocating appeasement and repeatedly cited historical precedents in his memorials. Kai and the Nanjing censor Lin Lanyou successively argued against him. Kai said: "Sichang cites the Jianwu-era appeasement of the frontier to justify paying off the enemy, the Yuan dynasty's dealings with Tian Xing to justify pacification, and the repeated defeats of the Taiping Xingguo reign to argue that force cannot be used—nothing but forced analogies. As for his citation of Empress Ma in the second year of Yongping, it is impossible to see what he is even criticizing. The emperor was then shielding Sichang and would not heed the criticism. A month later, when Sichang left mourning early to join the Grand Secretariat, Kai impeached him again. Offending the throne, Kai was demoted two ranks to assistant director of the Nanjing Directorate of Education. He returned home to mourn his mother. When his mourning period ended, court ministers recommended him jointly; he was summoned to the capital, but the city had already fallen.

福王擢楷戶部右侍郎，督理錢法，命兼工部右侍郎。連疏請告，不許。順治二年，南都破，楷走杭州。從唐王入閩，擢戶部尚書。鄭芝龍、鴻逵兄弟橫甚，郊天時，稱疾不出，楷言芝龍無人臣禮。王獎其鳳節，命掌都察院事。鴻逵扇殿上，楷呵止之，兩人益怒。楷知不為所容，連請告去。途遇賊，截其一耳，乃芝龍所使部將楊耿也。漳州破，楷遂抑郁而卒。

The Prince of Fu promoted Kai to Right Vice Minister of Revenue to supervise the coinage system and also appointed him Right Vice Minister of Works. He repeatedly asked to resign, but was refused. In the second year of Shunzhi, when Nanjing fell, Kai fled to Hangzhou. He followed the Tang Prince into Fujian and was promoted to Minister of Revenue. The brothers Zheng Zhilong and Hong Kui were extremely overbearing. When the court performed the suburban sacrifice to Heaven, they claimed illness and stayed away; Kai said Zhilong showed no proper deference of a subject. The prince praised his moral courage and put him in charge of the Censorate. Hong Kui fanned himself in the audience hall; Kai rebuked him and made him stop, and the two brothers grew even angrier. Knowing he could not remain, Kai repeatedly asked to resign. On the road he was ambushed and one ear was cut off—the assailant was Yang Geng, a subordinate general sent by Zhilong. When Zhangzhou fell, Kai died of grief and despair.

楷博綜群書，寒暑勿輟，尤邃於經學。

Kai was deeply learned, reading without pause winter and summer, and was especially accomplished in classical studies.

林蘭友，字翰荃，仙遊人。崇禎四年進士。授臨桂知縣。擢南京御史。疏劾大學士張至發、薛國觀，吏部尚書田惟嘉等，因論嗣昌忠孝兩虧。貶浙江按察司照磨，與楷及黃道周、劉同升、趙士春稱「長安五諫」。遷光祿署丞。京師陷，發自匿。為賊所執，拷掠備至。賊敗，南還。唐王用為太仆少卿，遷僉都御史。事敗，挈家遁海隅，十余年卒。

Lin Lanyou, styled Hanquan, was from Xianyou. He passed the jinshi examination in the fourth year of Chongzhen. He was appointed magistrate of Lingui. He was promoted to censor at Nanjing. In a memorial he impeached Grand Secretaries Zhang Zhifa and Xue Guoguan, Minister of Personnel Tian Weijia, and others, arguing that Sichang had failed in both loyalty and filial duty. He was demoted to registrar in the Zhejiang surveillance commission and, together with Kai, Huang Daozhou, Liu Tongsheng, and Zhao Shichun, was known as the Five Remonstrators of Chang'an. He was transferred to assistant director of the Court of Imperial Entertainments. When the capital fell, he went into hiding. He was captured by the rebels and tortured severely. When the rebels were defeated, he returned south. The Tang Prince appointed him Vice Director of the Court of the Imperial Stud and later promoted him to Vice Censor-in-Chief. When the cause failed, he fled with his family to the coast and died there more than ten years later.

熊汝霖，字雨殷，余姚人。崇禎四年進士。授同安知縣。擢戶科給事中。疏陳用將之失，言：「自偏裨至副將，歷任有功，方可授節鉞。今足未履行陣，幕府已上首功。胥吏提虎旅，紈褲子握兵符，何由奮敵愾。若大將之選，宜召副將有功者，時賜面對，擇才者用之。廷臣推擇有誤，宜用文吏保舉連坐法。」帝納其言。已，言：「楊嗣昌未罪，盧象升未褒，殊挫忠義氣。至為嗣昌畫策練餉、驅中原萬姓為盜者，原任給事中沈迅也。為嗣昌運籌、以三千人駐襄陽、城破輒走者，監紀主事余爵也。為嗣昌援引、遭襄藩之陷、重賂陳新甲、嫁禍鄖撫袁繼鹹者，今解任侯代之宋一鶴也。皆誤國之臣，宜罪。」不報。

Xiong Rulin, styled Yuyin, was from Yuyao. He passed the jinshi examination in the fourth year of Chongzhen. He was appointed magistrate of Tong'an. He was promoted to supervising secretary in the Bureau of Revenue. In a memorial he set forth the failures in appointing generals, saying: "From company commander to vice general, a man should have served in successive posts with proven merit before being given command of troops. Now, before their feet have even touched a battlefield, headquarters already reports their victories. Clerks lead crack troops and pampered sons hold military seals—how can they be expected to fight with righteous fury? In choosing senior generals, the court should summon vice generals with proven records, grant them audience from time to time, and appoint the most capable. When court ministers make bad recommendations, the law making recommending officials jointly liable should be applied. The emperor accepted his advice. Later he said: "Yang Sichang has not been punished and Lu Xiangsheng has not been rewarded—this greatly undermines the spirit of loyal service. The former supervising secretary Shen Xun was the one who devised for Yang Sichang the plan to levy training funds and drove the common people of the Central Plains into rebellion. The supervising recorder chief registrar Yu Jue was the one who handled Yang Sichang's planning, garrisoned three thousand men at Xiangyang, and fled at every fallen city. Song Yihe—now removed from office and awaiting a successor—was the one Yang Sichang promoted, who survived the fall of the Xiang princely establishment, bribed Chen Xinjia heavily, and shifted the blame onto Yun commissioner Yuan Jixian. All were ministers who had harmed the state and deserved punishment. No response was issued.

京師戒嚴，汝林分守東直門。嘗召對，言：「將不任戰。敵南北往返，謹隨其後，如廝隸之於貴官，負弩前驅，望塵靡及。何名為將，何名為督師。」帝深然之。已，言：「有司察處者，不得濫舉邊才；監司察處者，不得遽躐巡撫。庶封疆重任，不為匪人借途。」又言：「自戒嚴以來，臣疏凡二十上。援剿機宜，百不行一。而所揣敵情，不幸言中矣。比者外縣難民紛紛入都，皆云避兵，不雲避敵。霸州之破，敵猶不多殺掠，官軍繼至，始無孑遺。朝廷歲費數百萬金錢以養兵，豈欲毒我赤子。」帝惡其中有「飲泣地下」語，謫為福建按察司照磨。

When the capital was placed under martial law, Xiong Rulin was assigned to guard the Dongzhimen gate. On one occasion he was summoned for an audience and said: "The generals do not take responsibility for fighting. The enemy ranged north and south while our troops merely trailed behind—like lackeys escorting a noble, crossbows shouldered yet unable even to catch the enemy's dust. What does it mean to be called a general, or a supreme commander? The emperor agreed heartily. Later he said: "Officials whom the regular authorities have investigated and censured must not be recklessly recommended as frontier talents; officials whom surveillance commissioners have investigated and censured must not be hurriedly promoted to provincial governor. Only then would frontier command not become a back door for unworthy men. He also said: "Since martial law was declared, I have submitted twenty memorials in all. Of my proposals for relief and suppression, scarcely one in a hundred has been adopted. Yet what I foresaw of the enemy's movements has, alas, proved all too accurate. Lately refugees from outlying counties have poured into the capital; they all say they are fleeing our own troops, not the enemy. When Bazhou fell, the enemy had barely begun to kill and plunder; it was the government troops who arrived afterward and left no one alive. The court spends millions each year to maintain armies—is it meant to destroy our own people? The emperor took offense at a phrase about weeping in the grave and demoted him to proofreader in the Fujian provincial surveillance commission.

福王立，召還。上疏言：「臣自丹陽來，知浙兵為邊兵所擊，火民居十餘里。邊帥有言，四鎮以殺掠獲封爵，我何憚不為。臣意四鎮必毅然北征，一雪此恥，今戀戀淮、揚，何也？況一鎮之餉多至六十萬，勢必不能供。即仿古藩鎮法，亦當在大河以北開屯設府，曾奧{穴交}之內，而遽以藩籬視之。」頃之，言：「臣竊觀目前大勢，無論恢復未能，即偏安尚未可必。宜日討究兵餉戰守，乃專在恩怨異同。勛臣方鎮，舌鋒筆鍔是逞，近且以匿名帖逐舊臣，以疏遠宗人劾宰輔，中外紛紛，謂將復廠衛。夫廠衛樹威牟利，小民雞犬無寧日，先帝止此一節，未免府怨。前事不遠，後事之師。且先帝篤念宗藩，而聞寇先逃，誰死社稷；先帝隆重武臣，而叛降跋扈，肩背相踵；先帝委任勛臣，而京營銳卒徒為寇藉；先帝倚任內臣，而開門延敵，眾口喧傳；先帝不次擢用文臣，而邊才督撫，誰為捍禦，超遷宰執，羅拜賊庭。知前日之所以失，即知今日之所以得。及今不為，將待何時。」疏奏，停俸。尋補吏科右給事中。

When the Prince of Fu was enthroned, Xiong Rulin was recalled to office. He submitted a memorial saying: "Coming from Danyang, I learned that Zhejiang troops were attacked by frontier troops, who burned civilian dwellings over more than ten li. A frontier commander was heard to say: 'The Four Garrisons won noble ranks through killing and plunder—why should I hesitate to do likewise?' I had expected the Four Garrisons to march north resolutely and wipe away this shame; why do they now linger in Huai and Yang? Moreover, the pay for a single garrison runs as high as six hundred thousand taels—the court cannot possibly sustain it. Even under the old frontier-garrison system, bases should be opened north of the Yellow River; instead they are stationed deep in the interior and treated merely as an outer rampart. Shortly afterward he said: "From what I have observed of the present situation, recovery is out of reach—and even a divided peace is not yet assured. The court should be debating daily how to supply troops and defend the realm; instead it fixates on private feuds and factional rivalry. Ennobled generals of the regional commands brandish sharp tongues and sharper pens; lately they have used anonymous placards to purge veteran ministers and, invoking distant imperial clansmen, impeached the chief ministers. Inside and outside the court there is uproar, and many fear the secret police will be restored. The secret police built power and extracted profit until common folk could not live in peace. The late emperor abolished only this institution, yet even that aroused resentment among officials. The recent past is not far off—let it be a warning for what comes next. The late emperor cherished the imperial clans, yet at word of bandits they fled first—who then would die for the realm? The late emperor honored military men, yet defection, arrogance, and insubordination followed one upon another. The late emperor entrusted ennobled commanders, yet the capital army's finest troops became bandits' spoils. The late emperor relied on inner eunuchs, yet gates were opened to the enemy—a story on everyone's lips. The late emperor promoted civil officials out of turn, yet among frontier grand coordinators and governors, who defended the borders? Those hurled into high office bowed in ranks at the rebels' court. To understand why we lost the realm is to understand how we may yet hold what remains. If not now, then when? After the memorial was submitted, his salary was suspended. He was soon appointed right supervising secretary in the Bureau of Personnel.

初，馬士英薦阮大鋮，汝霖爭不可。及大鋮起佐兵部，汝霖又言：「大鋮以知兵用，當置有用地，不宜處中朝。」不聽。逾月，以奉使陛辭，言：「朝端議論日新，宮府揣摩日熟。自少宰樞貳悉廢廷推，四品監司竟晉詹尹。蹊徑疊出，謠諑繁興。一人未用，便目滿朝為黨人；一官外遷，輒訾當事為可殺。置國恤於罔聞，逞私圖而得誌。黃白充庭，青紫塞路，六朝佳麗，復見今時。獨不思他日稅駕何地耶？」不報。

At first, when Ma Shiying recommended Ruan Dacheng, Xiong Rulin argued forcefully against it. When Ruan Dacheng was appointed to assist the Ministry of War, Xiong Rulin said again: "Ruan is being used for his military knowledge and should be posted where he can be useful, not kept at the central court. The court would not listen. A month later, taking leave of the throne on a diplomatic mission, he said: "Court debate grows more fractious by the day, and palace and ministry read each other's moods ever more shrewdly. The vice-minister and Secretariat second-rank posts no longer go through court recommendation; fourth-rank surveillance commissioners are being promoted straight to Grand Tutor of the Heir Apparent. Back channels multiply, and slander runs rampant. If one man is passed over, the whole court is branded a faction; if one official is posted elsewhere, the men in charge are denounced as deserving death. National mourning is ignored while private schemes succeed. Gold and silver fill the halls, green and purple robes choke the roads—the decadence of the Six Dynasties has returned. Have they no thought of where they will rest when this is over? No response was issued.

未幾，南京破，士英竄杭州。汝霖責其棄主，士英無以應。杭州亦破，與孫嘉績同起兵。魯王監國，擢右僉都御史，督師防江，戰屢敗。入海寧募兵萬人，進兵部右侍郎。唐王立閩中，遣劉中藻頒詔，汝霖出檄嚴拒之。順治三年進兵部尚書，從魯王泛海。明年以本官兼東閣大學士。又明年春，鄭彩憾汝霖，遣兵潛害之，並其幼子投海中。

Before long Nanjing fell, and Ma Shiying fled to Hangzhou. Xiong Rulin rebuked him for abandoning his sovereign; Ma Shiying had no answer. When Hangzhou also fell, he raised troops together with Sun Jiaji. When the Prince of Lu assumed regency, Xiong Rulin was promoted to right vice censor-in-chief, placed in supreme command of river defense, and suffered repeated defeats. He went to Haining to raise ten thousand troops and was promoted to right vice minister of war. When the Prince of Tang was enthroned in Fujian and sent Liu Zhongzao to promulgate an edict, Xiong Rulin issued a proclamation firmly refusing obedience. In the third year of Shunzhi he was promoted to minister of war and followed the Prince of Lu to sea. The following year he was also made Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion while retaining his original post. In the spring of the following year, Zheng Cai, bearing a grudge against Xiong Rulin, sent men in secret to murder him and cast his young son into the sea.

錢肅樂，字希聲，鄞縣人。臨江知府若賡孫，寧國知府敬忠兄子也。崇禎十年成進士，授太倉知州。豪家奴與黠吏為奸，而兇徒結黨殺人，焚其屍。肅樂痛懲，皆斂手。又以朱白榜列善惡人名，械白榜者階下，予大杖。久之，杖者日少。嘗攝昆山、崇明事，兩縣民皆立碑頌德。遷刑部員外郎，尋丁內外艱。

Qian Sule, styled Xisheng, was from Yin county. He was the grandson of Ruogeng, prefect of Linjiang, and nephew of Jingzhong, prefect of Ningguo. He passed the jinshi examination in the tenth year of Chongzhen and was appointed prefect of Taicang. Great-house slaves and cunning clerks conspired in wrongdoing, while violent men formed gangs to murder people and burn the bodies. Qian Sule punished them severely, and all ceased their outrages. He also posted red and white lists naming the good and the bad; those on the white list he shackled before the hall and had beaten severely. In time, the number beaten each day steadily declined. He once served concurrently in Kunshan and Chongming, and the people of both counties erected steles in his honor. He was transferred to vice director in the Ministry of Justice, then soon entered mourning for both parents in succession.

順治二年，大兵取杭州，屬郡多迎降。閏六月，寧波鄉官議納款，肅樂建議起兵。諸生華夏、董誌寧等遮拜肅樂倡首，士民集者數萬人，肅樂乃建牙行事。郡中監司守令皆逃，惟一同知治府事。肅樂索取倉庫籍，繕完守具，與總兵王之仁締盟共守。聞魯王在臺州，遣舉人張煌言奉表請監國。會紹興、余姚亦舉兵，王乃赴紹興行監國事。召肅樂為右僉都御史，畫錢塘而守。尋進右副都御史。當是時，之仁及大將方國安並加封爵，其兵食用寧波、紹興、臺州三郡田賦，不能繼，恒缺食。已，加兵部右侍郎。明年五月，軍食盡，悉散去。魯王航海，肅樂亦之舟山。唐王召之，甫入境，王已沒。遂隱海壇山，采山薯為食。明年，魯王次長垣，召為兵部尚書，薦用劉沂春、吳鐘巒等。明年拜肅樂東閣大學士。

In the second year of Shunzhi, the Qing army took Hangzhou, and many neighboring prefectures surrendered. In the intercalary sixth month, Ningbo's local gentry debated submitting to the Qing, but Qian Sule urged resistance and raising troops. The licentiates Hua Xia, Dong Zhining, and others intercepted the road to pay homage to Qian Sule as their leader; tens of thousands of townsfolk gathered, and he then raised his command standard and took charge. The surveillance commissioners, prefects, and magistrates of the prefecture all fled; only one vice-prefect remained to manage affairs. Qian Sule secured the warehouse registers, repaired defensive stores, and allied with regional commander Wang Zhiren to hold the city together. Hearing that the Prince of Lu was at Taizhou, he sent the presented scholar Zhang Huangyan with a memorial asking him to assume regency. When Shaoxing and Yuyao also rose in arms, the prince went to Shaoxing to assume regency. Qian Sule was summoned as right vice censor-in-chief and tasked with defending the Qiantang line. He was soon promoted to right assistant censor-in-chief. At that time Wang Zhiren and the great general Fang Guo'an were both ennobled; their troops were fed from the land tax of Ningbo, Shaoxing, and Taizhou, which could not sustain them, and they were chronically short of rations. Later he was also made right vice minister of war. In the fifth month of the following year, provisions ran out and the troops were all dispersed. When the Prince of Lu took to the sea, Qian Sule went to Zhoushan as well. The Prince of Tang summoned him, but he had barely entered Fujian when the prince died. He then hid on Haitan Mountain and lived on wild yams. The following year, when the Prince of Lu put in at Changyuan, Qian Sule was summoned as minister of war and recommended Liu Yichun, Wu Zhongluan, and others for office. The year after that, Qian Sule was appointed Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion.

唐王雖歿，而其將徐登華為守富寧，魯王遣大學士劉中藻攻之。登華欲降，疑未決，曰：「海上豈有天子？舟中豈有國公？」肅樂致書：「將軍獨不聞南宋之末二帝並在舟中乎？」登華遂降。鄭彩專柄，連殺熊汝霖、鄭遵謙。肅樂憂憤卒於舟，故相葉向高曾孫進晟葬之福清黃檗山。

Though the Prince of Tang was dead, his general Xu Denghua still held Funing; the Prince of Lu sent Grand Secretary Liu Zhongzao to besiege him. Xu Denghua wished to surrender but hesitated, saying: "Can there be a Son of Heaven on the open sea? Can there be a grand duke aboard a ship? Qian Sule wrote in reply: "General, have you never heard that at the end of the Southern Song both emperors were aboard ship together?" Xu Denghua then surrendered. Zheng Cai seized sole power and sequentially murdered Xiong Rulin and Zheng Zunqian. Qian Sule died aboard ship of grief and anger; Jin Sheng, a great-grandson of the former chief minister Ye Xianggao, buried him on Huangbo Mountain in Fuqing.

劉中藻，福安人。由進士官行人。賊陷京師，發，被搒掠。賊敗南還，事唐王。既事魯王，攻降福寧守之，移駐福安。大清兵破城，冠帶坐堂上，為文自祭，吞金屑死。

Liu Zhongzao was a native of Fu'an. After passing the jinshi examination he was appointed court courier. When rebels took the capital, he was en route on his mission and was beaten and robbed. After the rebels were defeated and withdrew south, he entered the service of the Prince of Tang. He later served the Prince of Lu, captured and held Funing, and moved his headquarters to Fu'an. When the Qing army stormed the city, he donned his official cap and sash, sat in the hall, wrote a final lament, and killed himself by swallowing gold dust.

鄭遵謙，會稽人。為諸生。潞王以杭州降大清，遵謙倡眾起兵，事魯王，崎嶇浙、閩間。從王航海，與汝霖並為彩害。

Zheng Zunqian came from Kuaiji. He was a degree candidate. After the Prince of Lu surrendered Hangzhou to the Qing, Zunqian rallied local forces for the Prince of Lu and fought a hard campaign across Zhejiang and Fujian. He followed the prince overseas and, like Xiong Rulin, was murdered by Zheng Cai.

沈宸荃，慈谿人。崇禎十三年進士。授行人，奉使旋裏。福王立，復命。擢御史，疏陳五事，皆切時病。已，論群臣醜正黨邪，請王臥薪嘗膽，為雪恥報仇之計。尋薦詞臣黃道周、劉同升、葛世俊、徐氵幵、吳偉業等。又言：「經略山東、河南者，王永吉、張縉彥也。永吉失機，先帝拔為總督，擁兵近甸，不救國危。縉彥官部曹，先帝驟擢典中樞，乃率先從賊。即加二人極刑，不為過。陛下屈法用之，而永吉觀望逗遛，縉彥狼狽南竄。死何以對先帝，生何以對陛下。昌平巡撫何謙失陷諸陵，罪亦當按。都城既陷，守土臣宜皆厲兵秣馬，以報國仇，乃賊塵未揚，輒先去以為民望。如河道總督黃希憲、山東巡撫丘祖德，尚可容偃臥家園乎！」疏入，謙、祖德等皆命逮治，永吉、縉彥不罪。時朝政大亂，宸荃獨持正，要人多疾之。明年以年例出為蘇松兵備僉事。未赴，南都破，宸荃舉兵邑中。魯王監國，擢右僉都御史。已而事敗，宸荃棄家從王海外。王次長垣，連擢至大學士。從王於舟山，又從泛海抵廈門、金門。後艤舟南日山，遭風，沒於海。

Shen Chenquan came from Cixi. He became a jinshi in the thirteenth year of Chongzhen. Appointed a court courier, he was sent on a mission and then returned to his home district. When the Prince of Fu took the throne, he returned to court. Promoted to censor, he submitted a memorial on five urgent reforms, each aimed at the day's gravest abuses. He went on to denounce ministers who had perverted justice and sheltered the wicked, and urged the prince to endure hardship and plan for national revenge. He soon recommended such scholar-officials as Huang Daozhou, Liu Tongsheng, Ge Shijun, Xu Kan, and Wu Weiye. He also wrote: The men entrusted with Shandong and Henan are Wang Yongji and Zhang Jinyan. Yongji failed when it mattered; the late emperor made him supreme commander, yet with an army near the capital he did nothing as the realm collapsed. Jinyan was only a ministry clerk when the late emperor suddenly put him at the head of the secretariat, yet he was among the first to submit to the rebels. The severest punishment for both men would not be excessive. Your Majesty bent the law to keep them in office, yet Yongji still hesitates and delays while Jinyan flees south in disgrace. How can they face the late emperor in death, or face Your Majesty in life? He Qian, grand coordinator of Changping, allowed the imperial tombs to fall, and his crime should be punished as well. After the capital fell, every territorial official should have armed for national revenge, yet many fled before the enemy even approached and set a cowardly example for the people. Can men such as Canal Supreme Commander Huang Xixian and Shandong Grand Coordinator Qiu Zude still be allowed to idle at home! When the memorial arrived, Qian, Zude, and others were ordered arrested, but Yongji and Jinyan went unpunished. With court affairs in chaos, Chenquan alone held firm, and the powerful mostly turned against him. The following year he left the capital under the regular rotation to become military intendant of Suzhou and Songjiang. Before he could take up the post, the Southern Capital fell, and Chenquan raised troops in his home district. When the Prince of Lu became regent, he was made right vice censor-in-chief. When the cause collapsed, Chenquan left his family and followed the prince to sea. When the prince based himself at Changyuan, Chenquan rose in succession to grand secretary. He followed the prince to Zhoushan, then sailed on to Xiamen and Jinmen. Later, when their vessel anchored off Nanzhi Mountain, a storm overtook them and Chenquan was lost at sea.

其邑子沈履祥嘗為知縣，監國時，以御史督餉臺州。城破，避山中，被獲死之。

His fellow townsman Shen Lüxiang had served as magistrate and, during the regency, was made censor to oversee supplies at Taizhou. When the city fell he hid in the hills, was captured, and executed.

贊曰：自甲申以後，明祚既終，不逾年而南都亦覆，勢固無可為矣。朱大典、張國維等抱區區之義，徒假名號於海濱，以支旦夕。而上替下陵，事無統紀，欲以收偏安之效，何可得乎。

The commentator says: After 1644 the Ming mandate was spent; within a year the Southern Capital fell as well, and nothing more could realistically be done. Zhu Dadian, Zhang Guowei, and others clung to a private sense of duty, propping up empty titles along the coast merely to survive from day to day. With superiors in decline and subordinates out of control, and with no order left in affairs, how could they hope to secure even a partial restoration?

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