Volume 280 Biographies 168: He Tengjiao, Ju Shisi

何騰蛟〈（章曠傅作霖）〉瞿式耜〈（汪皞等）〉

He Tengjiao (see the biographies of Zhang Kuang and Fu Zuolin)〉 Qu Shisi (see the biographies of Wang Hao and others)〉

十六年冬，拜右僉都御史，代王聚奎巡撫湖廣。時湖北地盡失，止存武昌，屯左良玉大軍，軍橫甚。騰蛟與良玉交歡，得相安。明年春，遣將惠登相、毛憲文復德安、隨州。

In the winter of the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, he was appointed Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief and took over from Wang Jukui as grand coordinator of Huguang. By then northern Huguang had fallen entirely; only Wuchang was left, garrisoned by Zuo Liangyu's main force, whose troops were wildly insubordinate. Tengjiao cultivated good relations with Liangyu, and the two managed to keep the peace. The following spring he sent Hu Dengxiang and Mao Xianwen to retake Dean and Suizhou.

五月，福王立。詔至，良玉駐漢陽，其部下有異議，不欲開讀。騰蛟曰：「社稷安危，系此一舉。倘不奉詔，吾以死殉之。」抵良玉所，而良玉已聽正紀盧鼎言，開讀如禮。正紀者，良玉所置官名也。八月，福王命加騰蛟兵部右侍郎，兼撫湖南，代李乾德。尋以故官總督湖廣、四川、雲南、貴州、廣西軍務，召總督楊鶚還。明年三月，南京有北來太子事，中外以為真，朝臣皆曰偽。騰蛟力言不可殺，與當國者大忤。

In the fifth month the Prince of Fu ascended the throne. When the imperial edict arrived, Liangyu was at Hanyang; some of his officers objected and refused to have it read aloud. Tengjiao said, "The fate of the realm hangs on this one step. If you will not accept the edict, I will die upholding it. He went to Liangyu's camp, only to find that Liangyu had already taken the advice of his zhengji Lu Ding and received the edict with full ceremony. Zhengji was a post title of Liangyu's own invention. In the eighth month the Prince of Fu promoted him to Right Vice Minister of War with concurrent charge of Hunan, replacing Li Qiande. Soon afterward he was confirmed as supreme commander of Huguang, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi, and Yang E was recalled from the post. In the third month of the following year Nanjing was stirred by reports of a crown prince arriving from the north; many inside and outside court took him for genuine, while the ministers insisted he was an impostor. Tengjiao argued forcefully against executing the man and fell into sharp conflict with the men then directing affairs.

無何，良玉舉兵反，邀騰蛟偕行，不可，則盡殺城中人以劫之。士民爭匿其署中，騰蛟坐大門縱之入。良玉破垣舉火，避難者悉焚死。騰蛟急解印付家人，令速走，將自剄，為良玉部將擁去。良玉欲與同舟，不從，乃置之別舟，以副將四人守之。舟次漢陽門，乘間跌入江水。四人懼誅，亦赴水。騰蛟漂十餘里，漁舟救之起，則漢前將軍關壯繆侯廟前也。家人懷印者亦至，相視大驚。覓漁舟，忽不見。遠近謂騰蛟忠誠得神佑，益歸心焉。

Before long Liangyu mutinied and urged Tengjiao to join him; when Tengjiao refused, Liangyu massacred the townspeople to force his hand. Citizens rushed to shelter in his compound; Tengjiao sat at the main gate and admitted them all. Liangyu's men broke through the walls and set fires, and every refugee inside perished in the flames. Tengjiao quickly handed his seal to a servant and told him to flee, then prepared to take his own life, but was seized and dragged away by one of Liangyu's officers. Liangyu wanted him aboard his own boat; when Tengjiao refused, Liangyu put him on another craft with four deputy generals as guards. As the boat passed the Hanyang Gate, he seized a moment's chance and plunged into the river. The four guards, fearing punishment, jumped in after him. Tengjiao drifted more than ten li before fishermen hauled him ashore—directly before the shrine of Marquis Zhuangmou, the Han general Guan Yu. The servant bearing his seal arrived as well, and the two stared at each other in amazement. They searched for the fishing boat, but it had vanished without a trace. People far and near took it as proof that Tengjiao's loyalty had won heaven's protection, and their hearts turned to him all the more.

騰蛟乃從寧州轉瀏陽，抵長沙。集諸屬吏堵胤錫、傅上瑞、嚴起恒、章曠、周大啟、吳晉錫等，痛哭盟誓。分士馬舟艦糗糧，各任其一。令胤錫攝湖北巡撫，上瑞攝湖南巡撫，曠為總督監軍，大啟提督學政。起恒故衡永道，即督二郡軍食，晉錫以長沙推官攝郴桂道事。即遣曠調副將黃朝宣、張先璧、劉承胤兵。朝宣自燕子窩，先璧自漵浦，承胤自武岡，先後至，兵勢稍振。而是時良玉已死。

Tengjiao made his way from Ningzhou through Liuyang to Changsha. He gathered his lieutenants—Du Yinxie, Fu Shangrui, Yan Qiheng, Zhang Kuang, Zhou Daqi, Wu Jinxi, and the rest—and they wept as they swore a solemn oath. They divided men, horses, boats, grain, and supplies, each taking responsibility for one branch of the effort. He put Yinxie in charge of Hubei as acting grand coordinator, Shangrui in charge of Hunan, made Kuang army supervisor under the supreme commander, and appointed Daqi provincial education intendant. Qiheng, formerly intendant of the Hengzhou-Yongzhou circuit, now oversaw provisions for both prefectures; Jinxi, as acting magistrate of Changsha, took charge of the Chenzhou-Guizhou circuit. He at once dispatched Kuang to rally the forces of deputy generals Huang Chaoxuan, Zhang Xianbi, and Liu Chengyin. Chaoxuan marched from Yanziwuo, Xianbi from Xupu, and Chengyin from Wugang; as they arrived in turn, the army's strength began to recover. By then, however, Liangyu was already dead.

順治二年五月，大兵下南都。唐王聿鍵自立於福州。王居南陽時，素知騰蛟賢，委任益至。李自成斃於九宮山，其將劉體仁、郝搖旗等以眾無主，議歸騰蛟。率四五萬人驟入湘陰，距長沙百餘里。城中人不知其求歸也，懼甚。朝宣即引兵還燕子窩。上瑞請騰蛟出避，騰蛟曰：「死於左，死於賊，一也，何避焉。」長沙知府周二南請往偵之，以千人護行。賊謂其迎敵也，射殺之，從行者盡死。城中益懼，士女悉竄。騰蛟與曠謀，遣部將萬大鵬等二人往撫。賊見止二騎，迎入演武場，飲之酒。二人不交一言，與痛飲。飲畢，賊問來意，答言督師以湘陰褊小，不足容大軍，請即移長沙。因致騰蛟手書召之曰：「公等歸朝，誓永保富貴。」搖旗等大喜，與大鵬至長沙。騰蛟開誠撫慰，宴飲盡歡，犒從官牛酒。命先璧以卒三萬馳射，旌旗蔽天。搖旗等大悅，招其黨袁宗第、藺養成、王進才、牛有勇皆來歸，驟增兵十余萬，聲威大震。

In the fifth month of the second year of Shunzhi the Qing armies captured Nanjing. The Tang Prince Zhu Yujian proclaimed himself emperor at Fuzhou. The prince had known Tengjiao's worth since his days at Nanyang and now relied on him more than ever. Li Zicheng had died on Jiugong Mountain; his generals Liu Tiren, Hao Yaoqi, and others, leaderless, resolved to submit to Tengjiao. They marched forty or fifty thousand men in a sudden thrust into Xiangyin, barely a hundred li from Changsha. The city did not know they had come to surrender, and panic spread. Chaoxuan immediately withdrew his troops to Yanziwuo. Shangrui urged Tengjiao to flee; Tengjiao replied, "Death at Zuo's hands or death at the rebels' hands is all the same—why should I run? The prefect of Changsha, Zhou Ernan, volunteered to scout them out, escorted by a thousand men. The rebels took them for an attacking force and shot Zhou dead; every man in the party was killed. Panic in the city deepened, and the populace scattered in flight. Tengjiao and Kuang devised a plan and sent two officers, Wan Dapeng among them, to treat with the rebels. Seeing only two riders, the rebels welcomed them to the drill ground and offered wine. The two envoys said nothing and drank deeply with them. When the cups were empty the rebels asked their errand; they replied that the supreme commander found Xiangyin too cramped for so large a host and invited them to move straight to Changsha. They presented Tengjiao's own letter, which read: "Once you return to the cause, I pledge that wealth and rank shall be yours forever. Yaoqi and his fellows were overjoyed and marched with Dapeng to Changsha. Tengjiao received them with frank goodwill, feasted them generously, and rewarded their officers with beef and wine. He had Xianbi put thirty thousand men through cavalry drills until banners darkened the sky. Delighted, Yaoqi called in his comrades Yuan Zongdi, Lan Yangcheng, Wang Jincai, and Niu Youyong, and as they all submitted his army swelled by more than a hundred thousand men and his fame resounded across the land.

未幾，自成將李錦、高必正擁眾數十萬逼常德。騰蛟令胤錫撫降之，置之荊州。錦，自成從子，後賜名赤心。必正則自成妻高氏弟也。高氏語錦曰：「汝願為無賴賊，抑願為大將邪？」錦曰：「何謂也？」曰：「為賊無論，既以身許國，當愛民，受主將節制，有死無二，吾所願也。」錦曰：「諾。」騰蛟慮錦跋扈，他日過其營，請見高氏，再拜，執禮恭。高氏悅，戒其子毋忘何公，錦自是無異志。

Soon afterward Zicheng's generals Li Jin and Gao Bizheng advanced on Changde with several hundred thousand men. Tengjiao sent Yinxie to accept their surrender and quartered them at Jingzhou. Jin was Zicheng's nephew and was later given the name Chixin, "Red Heart." Bizheng was the younger brother of Zicheng's wife, Lady Gao. Lady Gao said to Jin, "Do you mean to stay a common brigand, or do you mean to become a true commander? Jin asked, "What do you mean by that?" She replied, "Never mind the past as a rebel—now that you have pledged yourself to the dynasty, you must cherish the people, obey your commander, and die if need be without wavering. That is what I want of you." Jin said, "It shall be so." Fearing Jin's unruliness, Tengjiao one day visited his camp, asked to see Lady Gao, bowed deeply, and treated her with full ceremony. Lady Gao was pleased and warned her son never to forget Lord He; from that day Jin gave no further trouble.

自成亂天下二十年，陷帝都，覆廟社，其眾數十萬悉歸騰蛟。而騰蛟上疏，但言元兇已除，稍泄神人憤，宜告謝郊廟，卒不言己功。唐王大喜，立拜東閣大學士兼兵部尚書，封定興伯，仍督師。而疑自成死未實。騰蛟言自成定死，身首已糜爛。不敢居功，因固辭封爵。不允，令規取江西及南都。

Zicheng had ravaged the empire for twenty years, seized the capital, and toppled the dynasty; yet his hosts, several hundred thousand strong, now submitted entirely to Tengjiao. In his memorial Tengjiao spoke only of the arch-rebel's removal and the easing of heaven's and men's wrath, urging thanksgiving at the suburban altars—and said nothing of his own achievements. The Tang Prince was overjoyed, made him Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion and Minister of War, enfeoffed him as Earl of Dingxing, and left him in command. He still doubted whether Zicheng was truly dead. Tengjiao assured him that Zicheng was dead beyond doubt, his body already decayed beyond recognition. Unwilling to claim credit, he firmly declined the enfeoffment. The refusal was not accepted, and he was ordered to plan the reconquest of Jiangxi and Nanjing.

當是時，降卒既眾，騰蛟欲以舊軍參之，乃題授朝宣、先璧為總兵官，與承胤、赤心、郝永忠、宗第、進才及董英、馬進忠、馬士秀、曹誌建、王允成、盧鼎並開鎮湖南、北，時所謂十三鎮者也。永忠即搖旗，英，騰蛟中軍，誌建則故巡按劉熙祚中軍，余皆良玉舊將也。

With so many surrendered troops, Tengjiao sought to blend them with his older forces and appointed Chaoxuan and Xianbi regional commanders, along with Chengyin, Chixin, Hao Yongzhong, Zongdi, Jincai, Dong Ying, Ma Jinzhong, Ma Shixiu, Cao Zhijian, Wang Yuncheng, and Lu Ding, establishing garrisons across Hunan—the famous Thirteen Garrisons. Yongzhong was Yaoqi; Ying commanded Tengjiao's personal guard; Zhijian had served the touring censor Liu Xizuo; the rest were Zuo Liangyu's former officers.

騰蛟銳意東下，拜表出師。明年正月與監軍御史李膺品先赴湘陰，期大會岳州。先璧逗遛，諸營亦觀望，獨赤心自湖北至，為大兵所敗而還，諸鎮兵遂罷，騰蛟威望由此損。時諸將皆驕且貪殘，朝宣尤甚，劫人而剝其皮。永忠效之，殺民無虛日。騰蛟不能制。故總督楊鶚者，克餉失軍心，至是復夤緣為偏沅總督。騰蛟以為言，乃召鶚還。

Eager to advance eastward, Tengjiao memorialized the throne and marched out. In the first month of the following year he and the army supervisor Li Yingpin went ahead to Xiangyin, planning a general muster at Yuezhou. Xianbi dallied, the other camps held back, and only Chixin marched down from Hubei—only to be beaten back by the Qing forces. The campaign collapsed, and Tengjiao's authority never recovered. The generals had grown arrogant and rapacious; Chaoxuan was the worst, robbing captives and flaying them alive. Yongzhong followed his example, and scarcely a day passed without civilians being killed. Tengjiao could not restrain them. Yang E, the former supreme commander who had withheld pay and lost the troops' loyalty, now maneuvered his way back into office as commander of western Hunan. Tengjiao protested, and Yang E was recalled.

王數議出關，為鄭氏所阻。騰蛟屢請幸贛，協力取江西。王遣使征兵，騰蛟發永忠精騎五千往。永忠不肯前，五月始抵郴州。會大兵破汀州，聿鍵被執死，贛州亦失。騰蛟聞王死，大慟，厲兵保境如平時。已，聞永明王立，乃稍自安。王尋以騰蛟為武英殿大學士，加太子太保。王進才故守益陽，聞大兵漸逼，還長沙。

The prince often debated marching north from Fujian, but the Zheng clan blocked him at every turn. Tengjiao repeatedly urged the prince to move to Ganzhou and join him in retaking Jiangxi. The prince sent to levy troops, and Tengjiao dispatched five thousand of Yongzhong's best horsemen. Yongzhong refused to march until the fifth month, when he finally reached Chenzhou. By then the Qing armies had taken Tingzhou; Yujian was captured and executed, and Ganzhou fell as well. Hearing of the prince's death, Tengjiao mourned deeply, yet drilled his troops and held his territory as steadfastly as before. Later, when he learned that the Yongli Emperor had been enthroned, he took some comfort. The emperor soon appointed him Grand Secretary of the Hall of Martial Eminence and Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent. Wang Jincai, who had been defending Yiyang, withdrew to Changsha as the Qing armies closed in.

四年春，進才揚言乏餉，大掠，並及湘陰。適大兵至長沙，進才走湖北。騰蛟不能守，單騎走衡州，長沙、湘陰並失。盧鼎時守衡州，而先璧兵突至，大掠。鼎不能抗，走永州。先璧遂挾騰蛟走祁陽，又間道走辰州。騰蛟脫還，走永州。甫至，鼎部將復大掠。鼎走道州，騰蛟與侍郎嚴起恒走白牙市，大兵遂下衡、永。初，騰蛟建十三鎮以衛長沙，至是皆自為盜賊。大兵入衡州，守將黃朝宣降。數其罪，支解之，遠近大快。大清以一知府守永州，副將周金湯間城虛，夜鼓噪而登，知府出走，金湯遂入永。

In the spring of the fourth year Jincai pleaded shortage of supplies and plundered widely, even raiding Xiangyin. As the Qing forces reached Changsha, Jincai fled into Hubei. Unable to hold the city, Tengjiao fled alone to Hengzhou; Changsha and Xiangyin both fell. Lu Ding was defending Hengzhou when Xianbi's troops burst in and plundered the city. Unable to resist, Ding withdrew to Yongzhou. Xianbi then seized Tengjiao and fled with him to Qiyang, then by back roads toward Chenzhou. Tengjiao broke free and fled to Yongzhou. He had scarcely arrived when Lu Ding's officers looted the city again. Ding fled to Daozhou; Tengjiao and Vice Minister Yan Qiheng withdrew to Baiya, and the Qing armies overran Hengzhou and Yongzhou. Tengjiao had once raised the Thirteen Garrisons to shield Changsha; now they had all turned into freebooters. When the Qing forces entered Hengzhou, the garrison commander Huang Chaoxuan surrendered. They recited his crimes and had him torn limb from limb, to universal satisfaction. The Qing left a single prefect to hold Yongzhou; Deputy General Zhou Jintang found the defenses thin, stormed the walls by night with a great din, and took the city as the prefect fled.

六月，騰蛟在白牙。王密遣中使告以劉承胤罪，令入武岡除之。騰蛟乃走謁王，王及太后皆召見。承胤由小校，以騰蛟薦至大將，已漸倨。騰蛟在長沙征其兵，承胤大怒，言：「先調朝宣、先璧軍，皆章曠親行，今乃折箠使我。」遂馳至黎平，執騰蛟子，索餉數萬。子走訴騰蛟，騰蛟遣曠行，承胤乃以眾至。騰蛟為請於王，得封定蠻伯，且與為姻，承胤益驕。至是爵安國公，勛上柱國，賜尚方劍，益坐大。忌騰蛟出己上，欲奪其權，請用為戶部尚書，專領餉務，王不許。王召騰蛟圖承胤，騰蛟無兵，命以雲南援將趙印選、胡一青兵隸之。及辭朝，賜銀幣，命廷臣郊餞。承胤伏千騎襲騰蛟，印選卒力戰，盡殲之，騰蛟乃還駐白牙。

In the sixth month Tengjiao was at Baiya. The emperor secretly sent a palace envoy to report Liu Chengyin's crimes and ordered Tengjiao into Wugang to remove him. Tengjiao hurried to court; both the emperor and the empress dowager received him in audience. Chengyin had risen from a petty officer on Tengjiao's recommendation to full general, and had grown increasingly insolent. When Tengjiao at Changsha demanded his troops, Chengyin flew into a rage and said, "When Chaoxuan and Xianbi were first mobilized, Zhang Kuang went in person—yet now you crack a whip at me. He galloped to Liping, seized Tengjiao's son, and demanded tens of thousands in silver for supplies. The son fled to Tengjiao, who sent Zhang Kuang to negotiate; Chengyin then marched in with his army. Tengjiao interceded with the court; Chengyin was enfeoffed Earl Who Pacifies the Man and given a marriage tie to the throne, and grew still more arrogant. By then he had been made Duke of Pacifying the State, Pillar of the State of the First Order, and granted the Imperial Sword—and his arrogance knew no bounds. Resenting Tengjiao's seniority, he sought to strip him of command and proposed making him Minister of Revenue in charge of supplies alone; the emperor refused. The emperor summoned Tengjiao to deal with Chengyin; lacking troops of his own, Tengjiao was given the Yunnan relief generals Zhao Yinxuan and Hu Yiqing. On leaving court he was rewarded with silver and silks, and the ministers were ordered to see him off with a suburban feast. Chengyin ambushed him with a thousand horsemen; Yinxuan's men fought fiercely and wiped them out, and Tengjiao returned to Baiya.

八月，大兵破武岡，承胤降。王走靖州，又走柳州。時常德、寶慶已失，永亦再失。王將返桂林，而城中止焦璉軍，騰蛟率印選、一青入為助。而南安侯郝永忠忽擁眾萬余至，與璉兵欲鬥，會宜章伯盧鼎兵亦至，騰蛟為調劑，桂林以安。乃遣璉、永忠、鼎、印選、一青分扼興安、靈川、永寧、義寧諸州縣。十一月，大兵逼全州，騰蛟督五將合禦。

In the eighth month the Qing armies took Wugang and Chengyin surrendered. The emperor fled to Jingzhou, then on to Liuzhou. Changde and Baoqing had already fallen, and Yongzhou had been lost again. As the emperor prepared to return to Guilin, only Jiao Lian's troops held the city; Tengjiao led Yinxuan and Yiqing in to reinforce them. Then Nan'an Marquis Hao Yongzhong suddenly arrived with more than ten thousand men and nearly clashed with Jiao Lian's troops; when Yizhang Earl Lu Ding's force also appeared, Tengjiao mediated between them and Guilin was spared. He posted Lian, Yongzhong, Ding, Yinxuan, and Yiqing to hold Xing'an, Lingchuan, Yongning, and Yining. In the eleventh month the Qing armies pressed Quanzhou, and Tengjiao directed five generals in a united defense.

五年正月，王居桂林，加騰蛟太師，進爵為侯，子孫世襲。二月，大兵破全州，至興安。永忠兵大潰，奔桂林，逼王西，縱兵大掠。騰蛟自永福至。大兵知桂林有變，直抵北門。騰蛟督璉、一青等分三門拒守，大兵乃還全州。會金聲桓、李成棟叛大清，以兵附。大兵在湖南者姑退，騰蛟遂取全州。復遣保昌侯曹誌建、宜章侯盧鼎、新興侯焦璉、新寧侯趙印選攻永州，圍城三月，大小三十六戰，十一月朔克之。未幾，監軍御史余鯤起、職方主事李甲春取寶慶，諸將亦取衡州，馬進忠取常德，所失地多復。

In the first month of the fifth year, with the court at Guilin, Tengjiao was made Grand Preceptor, raised to marquis with hereditary rank for his line. In the second month the Qing forces took Quanzhou and advanced to Xing'an. Yongzhong's army collapsed and fled to Guilin, driving the emperor westward while his men looted the city. Tengjiao hurried up from Yongfu. Learning of the turmoil in Guilin, the Qing army marched straight to the North Gate. Tengjiao directed Jiao Lian, Hu Yiqing, and the others to hold the three gates, and the Qing forces withdrew to Quanzhou. Just then Jin Shengheng and Li Chengdong rebelled against the Qing and brought their armies over to the Southern Ming. The Qing forces in Hunan temporarily withdrew, and Tengjiao retook Quanzhou. He sent Baochang Marquis Cao Zhijian, Yizhang Marquis Lu Ding, Xinxing Marquis Jiao Lian, and Xinning Marquis Zhao Yinxuan against Yongzhou; after a three-month siege and thirty-six engagements they took the city on the first day of the eleventh month. Soon the army supervisor Yu Kunqi and Bureau director Li Jiachun retook Baoqing; other generals recovered Hengzhou, Ma Jinzhong retook Changde, and much lost ground was won back.

騰蛟議進兵長沙。會督師堵胤錫惡進忠，招忠貞營李赤心軍自夔州至，令進忠讓常德與之。進忠大怒，盡驅居民出城，焚廬舍，走武岡。寶慶守將王進才亦棄城走，他守將皆潰。赤心等所至皆空城，旋棄走，東趨長沙。騰蛟時駐衡州，大駭。六年正月檄進忠由益陽出長沙，期諸將畢會，而親詣忠貞營，邀赤心入衡。部下卒六千人，懼忠貞營掩襲，不護行，止攜吏卒三十人往。將至，聞其軍已東，即尾之至湘潭。湘潭空城也，赤心不守而去，騰蛟乃入居之。大兵知騰蛟入空城，遣將徐勇引軍入。勇，騰蛟舊部將也，率其卒羅拜，勸騰蛟降。騰蛟大叱，勇遂擁之去。絕食七日，乃殺之。永明王聞之哀悼，賜祭者九，贈中湘王，謚文烈，官其子文瑞僉都御史。

Tengjiao proposed marching on Changsha. But supreme commander Du Yinxie disliked Jinzhong and brought Li Chixin's Loyal-and-Faithful Battalion down from Kuizhou, ordering Jinzhong to yield Changde to them. Furious, Jinzhong drove the populace from the city, burned the buildings, and fled to Wugang. Wang Jincai, defending Baoqing, also abandoned his post, and the other garrisons broke and fled. Chixin's men found only empty cities wherever they went; they soon abandoned them and marched east toward Changsha. Tengjiao, then at Hengzhou, was appalled. In the first month of the sixth year he ordered Jinzhong out from Yiyang toward Changsha, set a rendezvous for all his generals, and went in person to the Loyal-and-Faithful camp to lure Chixin into Hengzhou. His six thousand troops feared an ambush from the Loyal-and-Faithful camp and refused to escort him; he went with only thirty clerks and soldiers. Before he arrived he learned the army had already marched east; he followed them to Xiangtan. Xiangtan was deserted; Chixin had passed through without garrisoning it, and Tengjiao moved in. Learning that Tengjiao had entered the empty city, the Qing sent General Xu Yong in with his troops. Xu Yong had once served under Tengjiao; his men prostrated themselves in a circle and urged Tengjiao to submit. Tengjiao rebuked him fiercely; Yong then seized him and carried him away. He refused food for seven days, and then they executed him. The Yongli Emperor mourned him deeply, granted nine funerary offerings, posthumously enfeoffed him as Prince of Zhongxiang with the posthumous name Wenlie, and appointed his son Wenrui Assistant Censor-in-Chief.

章曠，字於野，松江華亭人。崇禎十年進士。授沔陽知州。十六年三月，賊將郝搖旗陷其城，同知馬飆死之。曠走免，謁總督袁繼鹹於九江，署為監紀。從諸將方國安、毛憲文、馬進忠、王允成等復漢陽。武昌巡按御史黃澍令署漢陽推官兼攝府事，承德巡撫王揚基令署分巡道事。明年四月，憲文偕惠登相復德安，揚基檄曠往守。城空無人，衛官十數人賫印送賊將白旺。曠收斬之，日夕為警備。居三月，代者李藻至，巡撫何騰蛟檄曠署荊西道事。曠去，藻失將士心，城復陷。給事中熊汝霖、御史遊有倫劾曠沔陽失城罪，候訊黃州。用騰蛟薦，令戴罪立功。

Zhang Kuang, courtesy name Yuye, came from Huating in Songjiang. He received his jinshi degree in the tenth year of Chongzhen. He was appointed magistrate of Mianyang. In the third month of the sixteenth year the rebel general Hao Yaoqi captured the city; Vice Magistrate Ma Piao died defending it. Kuang escaped, presented himself to Supreme Commander Yuan Jixian at Jiujiang, and was made acting army supervisor. He followed Fang Guo'an, Mao Xianwen, Ma Jinzhong, Wang Yuncheng, and others in retaking Hanyang. Wuchang touring censor Huang Shu put him in charge of Hanyang as acting magistrate-adjunct and prefectural affairs; Chengde grand coordinator Wang Yangji made him acting circuit intendant. The following fourth month Xianwen and Hu Dengxiang retook Dean, and Yangji ordered Kuang to garrison the city. The city was deserted; a dozen guard officers carried the seal and surrendered it to the rebel general Bai Wang. Kuang seized and executed them, then worked day and night to ready the defenses. After three months his replacement Li Zao arrived; Grand Coordinator He Tengjiao appointed Kuang acting intendant of the Jingxi circuit. When Kuang left, Zao lost the troops' loyalty and the city fell again. Supervising Secretary Xiong Rulin and Censor You Youlun impeached him for losing Mianyang, and he awaited trial at Huangzhou. On Tengjiao's recommendation he was allowed to redeem himself through service.

福王立南京，左良玉將犯闕。騰蛟至長沙，以曠為監軍。副將黃朝宣者，故巡撫宋一鶴部將，駐燕子窩，騰蛟令曠召之來。副將張先璧屯精騎三千於漵浦，復屬曠召之，留為親軍，而以朝宣戍茶陵。又令曠調劉承胤兵於武岡。會李自成死，其下劉體仁、郝搖旗、袁宗第、藺養成、王進才、牛有勇六大部各擁數萬兵至。騰蛟與曠計，盡撫其眾，軍容大壯。左良玉死，其將馬進忠、王允成無所歸，突至岳州。偏沅巡撫傅上瑞大懼，曠曰：「此無主之兵，可撫也。」入其營，與進忠握手，指白水為誓，進忠等皆從之。進忠即賊中渠魁混十萬也。時南京已破，大兵逼湖南，諸將皆畏怯，曠獨悉力禦。唐王擢為右僉都御史，提督軍務，恢剿湖北。

When the Prince of Fu was enthroned at Nanjing, Zuo Liangyu was preparing to march on the capital in rebellion. When Tengjiao reached Changsha he made Kuang his army supervisor. Deputy General Huang Chaoxuan, formerly under Grand Coordinator Song Yihe, was at Yanziwuo; Tengjiao had Kuang summon him. Deputy General Zhang Xianbi held three thousand elite cavalry at Xupu; Kuang summoned him as well, kept him as a personal guard, and posted Chaoxuan at Chaling. He also had Kuang rally Liu Chengyin's troops at Wugang. Li Zicheng had just died; his six great divisions under Liu Tiren, Hao Yaoqi, Yuan Zongdi, Lan Yangcheng, Wang Jincai, and Niu Youyong arrived, each with tens of thousands of men. Tengjiao and Kuang worked out a plan to win them all over, and the army's strength swelled dramatically. After Zuo Liangyu's death his generals Ma Jinzhong and Wang Yuncheng, leaderless, suddenly appeared at Yuezhou. Western Hunan Grand Coordinator Fu Shangrui was terrified; Kuang said, "These are leaderless troops—they can be won over. He entered their camp, clasped Jinzhong's hand, and swore an oath over clear water; Jinzhong and the rest submitted. Jinzhong was none other than Hun Shiwan, a chief among the rebels. Nanjing had fallen and the Qing armies pressed Hunan; the other generals quailed, but Kuang alone fought with all his strength. The Tang Prince promoted him to Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief, put him in charge of military affairs, and charged him with recovering Hubei.

曠有智略，行軍不避鋒鏑。身扼湘陰、平江之沖，湖南恃以無恐。嘗戰岳州，以後軍不繼而還。已，又大戰大荊驛。永明王加兵部右侍郎。長沙守將王進才與狼兵將覃遇春哄，大掠而去。騰蛟奔衡州，曠亦走寶慶，長沙遂失。騰蛟駐祁陽，曠來會。騰蛟以兵事屬曠，而謁王武岡。曠移駐永州，見諸大將擁兵，聞警輒走，抑郁而卒。

Kuang was resourceful and never shrank from the front line. He personally held the strategic junction of Xiangyin and Pingjiang, and Hunan rested secure behind him. He fought at Yuezhou once but withdrew when his rear failed to support him. Later he fought another major engagement at Dajing Post. The Yongli Emperor promoted him to Right Vice Minister of War. Changsha garrison commander Wang Jincai quarreled with the Lang general Qin Yuchun, plundered the city, and marched away. Tengjiao fled to Hengzhou; Kuang withdrew to Baoqing, and Changsha fell. Tengjiao was at Qiyang when Kuang came to join him. Tengjiao left military affairs to Kuang and went to court at Wugang. Kuang moved to Yongzhou; watching the great generals clutch their private armies and flee at every alarm, he sank into despair and died.

傅作霖，武陵人。由鄉舉仕唐王，大學士蘇觀生奏為職方主事，監紀其軍。觀生歿，倚何騰蛟長沙，改監軍御史。永明王在全州，超拜兵部左侍郎，掌部事，尋進尚書，從至武岡。時劉承胤擅政，作霖與相善，故驟遷。及大兵逼武岡，承胤議迎降，作霖勃然責之。承胤遣使納款，大兵入城，作霖冠帶坐堂上。承胤力勸之降，不從，遂被殺。妾鄭有殊色，被執，驅之過橋，躍入水中死。

Fu Zuolin came from Wuling. Through the provincial examination he entered the Tang Prince's service; Grand Secretary Su Guansheng had him appointed Bureau of Appointments director to supervise the prince's army. After Guansheng's death he attached himself to He Tengjiao at Changsha and became army-supervising censor. While the Yongli Emperor was at Quanzhou he was rapidly promoted to Left Vice Minister of War and put in charge of the ministry, soon advanced to full minister, and followed the court to Wugang. Liu Chengyin then dominated the government; Zuolin was his ally and rose swiftly. When the Qing armies closed on Wugang, Chengyin proposed surrender; Zuolin rebuked him hotly. Chengyin sent envoys to submit; as the Qing troops entered the city, Zuolin sat in full court dress in the main hall. Chengyin pressed him to surrender; he refused and was executed. His concubine Zheng, a woman of striking beauty, was seized and driven across a bridge; she leaped into the river and drowned.

有蕭曠者，武昌諸生，為承胤坐營參將。騰蛟題為總兵官，管黎平參將事。及承胤降，令降將陳友龍招曠，曠不從。已而城破，死之。

There was also Xiao Kuang, a Wuchang licentiate who served as Chengyin's camp deputy general. Tengjiao appointed him regional commander with charge of the Liping deputy general's command. After Chengyin surrendered, he sent the defector Chen Youlong to win Kuang over; Kuang refused. Soon the city fell, and he died defending it.

傅上瑞，初為武昌推官，賊圍城，遁走。久之，騰蛟薦為長沙僉事，又令攝偏沅巡撫事。勸騰蛟設十三鎮，卒為湖南大害。唐王時，用騰蛟薦，擢右僉都御史，實授偏沅巡撫。性反覆，棄騰蛟如遺。武岡破，大兵逼沅州，上瑞出降。逾年，與劉承胤並誅死。

Fu Shangrui had been magistrate-adjunct of Wuchang; when rebels besieged the city he fled. Later Tengjiao recommended him as Changsha intendant and put him in charge of western Hunan as acting grand coordinator. He persuaded Tengjiao to establish the Thirteen Garrisons, which ultimately became Hunan's greatest scourge. Under the Tang Prince, on Tengjiao's recommendation he was made Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief and confirmed as grand coordinator of western Hunan. Fickle by nature, he cast Tengjiao aside without a thought. When Wugang fell and the Qing armies closed on Yuanzhou, Shangrui surrendered. Within a year he was executed along with Liu Chengyin.

瞿式耜，字起田，常熟人。禮部侍郎景淳孫，湖廣參議汝說子也。舉萬歷四十四年進士。授吉安永豐知縣，有惠政。天啟元年調江陵。永豐民乞留，命再任。以憂歸。崇禎元年，擢戶科給事中，疏言李國普宜留內閣，王永光宜典銓，曹於汴宜秉憲，鄭三俊、畢懋良宜總版曹，李邦華宜主戎政。帝多采其言。俄陳朝政不平，為王之寀請恤，孫慎行訟冤，速楊鎬、王化貞之誅，白楊漣、左光鬥結毒之謗，追論故相魏廣微、顧秉謙、馮銓、黃立極之罪。因言奪情建祠之朱童蒙不可寬，積愆久廢之湯賓尹不可用。帝亦納之。又極論來宗道、楊景辰附逆不可居政府，二人旋罷去。御史袁弘勛劾大學士劉鴻訓，逆黨徐大化實主之。川貴總督張鶴鳴先已被廢，其復用由魏忠賢。式耜並疏論。已，頌楊漣、魏大中、周順昌為清中之清，忠中之忠，三人遂賜謚。未幾，陳時務七事，言：「起廢不可不核，升遷不可不漸，會推不可不慎。謚典宜嚴，刑章宜飭，論人宜審，附珰者宜區分。」又極論館選奔競之弊，請臨軒親試。末言：「古有左右史，記天子言動。今召對時勤，宜令史官入侍紀錄，昭示朝野。」事多議行。時將定逆案，請盡發紅本，定其情罪輕重。又言宣府巡撫徐良彥不附逆奄，為崔呈秀誣劾遣戍，亟當登用。良彥遂獲起。

Qu Shisi, courtesy name Qitian, came from Changshu. He was the grandson of Vice Minister of Rites Qu Jingchun and the son of Huguang Administrative Commissioner Qu Yueshuo. He received his jinshi degree in the forty-fourth year of Wanli. Appointed magistrate of Yongfeng in Ji'an, he won the people with humane government. In the first year of Tianqi he was transferred to Jiangling. The people of Yongfeng petitioned to keep him, and he was ordered to serve another term. He returned home to observe mourning. In the first year of Chongzhen he was made supervising secretary in the revenue section and urged that Li Guozhuang stay in the Grand Secretariat, Wang Yongguang head appointments, Cao Yubian take charge of law, Zheng Sanjun and Bi Maoliang run the Ministry of Works, and Li Banghua direct military affairs. The emperor adopted most of his recommendations. Soon he exposed court injustices, sought honors for Wang Zhicai, vindicated Sun Shenxing, demanded the punishment of Yang Hao and Wang Huazhen, cleared the slanders against Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou, and pressed charges against the former chancellors Wei Guangwei, Gu Bingqian, Feng Quan, and Huang Liji. He also argued that Zhu Tongmeng, who had left mourning early to erect a shrine, must not be pardoned, and that Tang Binyin, long disgraced for repeated offenses, must not be restored. The emperor accepted these points as well. He also insisted that Lai Zongdao and Yang Jingchen, having sided with the rebels, could not hold office, and both were soon removed. Censor Yuan Hongxun impeached Grand Secretary Liu Hongxun, though the eunuch partisan Xu Dahua was the real instigator. Sichuan-Guizhou Supreme Commander Zhang Heming had already been dismissed once; his restoration came through Wei Zhongxian. Shisi memorialized on these matters as well. Later he praised Yang Lian, Wei Dazhong, and Zhou Shunchang as the purest of the pure and the loyal among the loyal, and all three received posthumous honors. Soon he presented seven policy recommendations: "Reinstatements must be carefully vetted, promotions must be gradual, and joint nominations must be made with caution. Posthumous honors should be strict, penal law should be enforced, judgments of character should be careful, and eunuch allies should be clearly distinguished. He also denounced the corruption of Hanlin selection and asked the emperor to examine candidates in person at court. Finally he said, "In antiquity the left and right historiographers recorded the emperor's words and deeds. Now that audiences are frequent, historiographers should attend and record them for all court and country to see. Many of these proposals were adopted after debate. As the treason cases were being settled, he asked that all vermilion memorials be published so each man's guilt could be weighed. He also argued that Xuanfu Grand Coordinator Xu Liangyan, who had refused the eunuch faction, was falsely impeached by Cui Chengxi and exiled, and should be restored at once. Liangyan was duly restored.

式耜矯矯立名，所建白多當帝意，然搏擊權豪，大臣多畏其口。十月詔會推閣臣，禮部侍郎錢謙益以同官周延儒方言事蒙眷，慮並推則己絀，謀沮之。式耜，謙益門人也，言於當事者，擯延儒弗推，而列謙益第二。溫體仁遂發難，延儒助之。謙益奪官閑住，式耜坐貶謫。式耜嘗頌貴寧參政胡平表殺賊功，請優擢。其後平表為貴州布政使，坐不謹罷。式耜再貶二秩，遂廢於家。久之，常熟奸民張漢儒希體仁指，訐謙益、式耜貪肆不法。體仁主之，下法司逮治。巡撫張國維、巡按路振飛交章白其冤，不聽。比兩人就獄，則體仁已去位，獄稍解。謙益坐削籍，式耜贖徒。言官疏薦，不納。

Shisi built a reputation for uncompromising integrity; most of his proposals pleased the emperor, but he attacked the powerful, and many ministers feared his tongue. In the tenth month the court ordered joint nomination of Grand Secretaries; Vice Minister of Rites Qian Qianyi, seeing his colleague Zhou Yanru favored for reporting on regional affairs, feared being outranked if both were nominated and plotted to block Zhou. Shisi, Qianyi's student, persuaded those in charge to exclude Yanru and rank Qianyi second. Wen Tiren then attacked the nomination, with Yanru's support. Qianyi was stripped of office and sent home; Shisi was demoted and exiled. Shisi had once praised Guining Commissioner Hu Pingbiao for defeating bandits and asked that he be specially promoted. Later Pingbiao became Guizhou administrative commissioner and was dismissed for misconduct. Shisi was demoted two more ranks and retired to private life. Long afterward the Changshu troublemaker Zhang Hanru, seeking Wen Tiren's favor, accused Qianyi and Shisi of corruption and lawlessness. Tiren backed the charges and had them arrested for trial. Grand Coordinator Zhang Guowei and Touring Censor Lu Zhenfei repeatedly declared their innocence, but the court would not listen. By the time they reached prison Tiren had fallen from power, and the case eased. Qianyi was struck from the rolls; Shisi paid a fine and was released. Censors recommended his restoration, but the court refused.

十七年，福王立於南京。八月起式耜應天府丞。已，擢右僉都御史，代方震孺巡撫廣西。明年夏，甫抵梧州，聞南京破。靖江王亨嘉謀僭號，召式耜。拒不往，而檄思恩參將陳邦傳助防。止狼兵，勿應亨嘉調。亨嘉至梧，劫式耜，幽之桂林，遣入取其敕印。初，式耜議立桂端王子安仁王。及唐王監國，式耜以為倫序不當立，不奉表勸進。至是為亨嘉所幽，乃遣使賀王，因乞援。王喜，而亨嘉為丁魁楚所攻，勢窘，乃釋式耜。式耜與中軍官焦璉召邦傳共執亨嘉，亂遂定。唐王擢式耜兵部右侍郎，協理戎政，以晏日曙來代。式耜不入朝，退居廣東。

In the seventeenth year the Prince of Fu was enthroned at Nanjing. In the eighth month Shisi was recalled as vice prefect of Yingtian. Soon he was promoted to Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief and made grand coordinator of Guangxi, replacing Fang Zhenru. The following summer, just as he reached Wuzhou, word came that Nanjing had fallen. Jingjiang Prince Zhu Hengjia plotted to declare himself emperor and summoned Shisi. Shisi refused and instead ordered Si'en Deputy General Chen Bangchuan to help defend the province. He held the Lang troops back and forbade them to obey Hengjia's orders. Hengjia reached Wuzhou, seized Shisi, imprisoned him at Guilin, and sent men to take his commission and seal. Earlier Shisi had favored enthroning the Prince of Anren, son of the Gui Prince Zhu Duan. When the Tang Prince became regent, Shisi held that succession rules made his claim improper and refused to submit a memorial urging his enthronement. Now imprisoned by Hengjia, he sent envoys to congratulate the Tang Prince and beg for rescue. The prince was pleased; Hengjia, pressed by Ding Kuitu, grew desperate and released Shisi. Shisi and central army officer Jiao Lian joined Bangchuan in seizing Hengjia, and the rebellion was crushed. The Tang Prince made him Right Vice Minister of War with charge of military affairs, and Yan Rishu replaced him as grand coordinator. Shisi did not go to court but withdrew to Guangdong.

順治三年九月，大兵破汀州。式耜與魁楚等議立永明王由榔，乃迎王梧州，以十月十日監國肇慶。進式耜吏部右侍郎、東閣大學士，兼掌吏部事。未幾，贛州敗報至，司禮王坤迫王赴梧州。式耜力爭，不得。十一月朔，蘇觀生立唐王聿於廣州。式耜乃與魁楚等定議迎王還肇慶，遣總督林佳鼎禦觀生兵，敗歿。式耜視師峽口。十二月望，大兵破廣州。王坤趣王西走。式耜趨赴王，王已越梧而西。

In the ninth month of the third year of Shunzhi the Qing armies took Tingzhou. Shisi and Kuitu and others resolved to enthrone the Yongli Prince Zhu Youlang; they brought him to Wuzhou and on the tenth day of the tenth month installed him as regent at Zhaoqing. Shisi was made Right Vice Minister of Personnel and Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion, with concurrent charge of the Ministry of Personnel. Soon news of defeat at Ganzhou arrived; Director of Ceremonies Wang Kun pressed the emperor to flee to Wuzhou. Shisi argued fiercely but could not stop him. On the first day of the eleventh month Su Guansheng proclaimed Zhu Yujin emperor at Guangzhou. Shisi and Kuitu then resolved to bring the emperor back to Zhaoqing and sent Supreme Commander Lin Jiading against Guansheng's forces; Lin was defeated and killed. Shisi took command in person at Xiakou. On the fifteenth of the twelfth month the Qing armies took Guangzhou. Wang Kun urged the emperor to flee westward. Shisi hurried after the emperor, but he had already fled west beyond Wuzhou.

四年正月，大兵破肇慶，逼梧州，巡撫曹曄迎降。王欲走依何騰蛟於湖廣，丁魁楚、呂大器、王化澄皆棄王去，止式耜及吳炳、吳貞毓等從，乃由平樂抵桂林。二月，大兵襲平樂，分兵趨桂林。王將走全州，式耜極陳桂林形勢，請留，不許。自請留守，許之。進文淵閣大學士，兼兵部尚書，賜劍，便宜從事。平樂、潯州相繼破，桂林危甚。總督侍郎朱盛濃走靈川，巡按御史辜延泰走融縣，布政使朱盛氵調、副使楊垂雲、桂林知府王惠卿以下皆遁，惟式耜與通判鄭國藩，縣丞李世榮及都司林應昌、李當瑞、沈煌在焉。王令兵部右侍郎丁元曄代盛濃，御史魯可藻代延泰。未赴而大兵已於三月薄桂林，以騎數十突入文昌門，登城樓瞰式耜公署。式耜急令援將焦璉拒戰。

In the first month of the fourth year the Qing took Zhaoqing and closed on Wuzhou; Grand Coordinator Cao Ye surrendered. The emperor planned to seek refuge with He Tengjiao in Huguang; Ding Kuitu, Lü Daqi, and Wang Huacheng all deserted him; only Shisi, Wu Bing, Wu Zhenyu, and a few others remained, and they reached Guilin by way of Pingle. In the second month the Qing struck Pingle and sent columns toward Guilin. The emperor prepared to flee to Quanzhou; Shisi argued at length for holding Guilin, but was overruled. He volunteered to stay and hold the city, and was permitted. He was made Grand Secretary of the Hall of Literary Deepness and Minister of War, granted the imperial sword, and authorized to act at his own discretion. Pingle and Xunzhou fell in turn, and Guilin was in grave danger. Supreme Commander Zhu Shengnong fled to Lingchuan; Touring Censor Gu Yantai fled to Rong County; Administrative Commissioner Zhu Shengdiao, Vice Commissioner Yang Chuiyun, Prefect Wang Huiqing, and the rest all fled; only Shisi, Adjunct Magistrate Zheng Guofan, Assistant Magistrate Li Shirong, and Regional Commanders Lin Yingchang, Li Dangrui, and Shen Huang stayed. The emperor ordered Right Vice Minister Ding Yuanye to replace Zhu Shengnong and Censor Lu Kezao to replace Gu Yantai. Before they could take up their posts, in the third month the Qing closed on Guilin; dozens of horsemen burst through the Wenchang Gate, mounted the tower, and looked down on Shisi's compound. Shisi urgently ordered relief general Jiao Lian into the fight.

初，永明王為賊執，璉率眾攀城上，破械出之。王病不能行，璉負王以行。王以此德璉，用破靖江王功，命為參將。及是戰守三月，璉功最多，元曄、可藻亦盡力。式耜身立矢石中，與士卒同甘苦。積雨城壞，吏士無人色，式耜督城守自如，故人無叛誌。援兵索餉而嘩，式耜括庫不足，妻邵捐簪珥佐之。既而璉兵主客不和，噪而去，城幾破者數矣。會陳邦彥等攻廣州，大兵引而東，桂林獲全。璉亦復陽朔及平樂，陳邦傳亦由潯復梧州。王聞捷，封式耜臨桂伯，璉新興伯，元曄等進秩有差。

Earlier, when bandits had seized the Yongli Prince, Lian scaled the walls with his men and broke him free. The prince was too ill to walk; Lian carried him on his back. Grateful for this, the prince rewarded him for crushing the Jingjiang rebellion by making him a deputy general. In three months of fighting Lian's merit was greatest; Yuanye and Kezao also gave their all. Shisi stood in the line of fire himself, sharing hardship with his soldiers. Weeks of rain breached the walls; officials and soldiers turned pale, yet Shisi directed the defense unshaken, and no one thought of treason. Relief troops clamored for pay; the treasury could not cover it, and his wife Lady Shao gave her jewelry to help. Soon Lian's troops, alienated from the garrison, mutinied and left; the city nearly fell several times. Just then Chen Bangyan attacked Guangzhou; the Qing armies turned east, and Guilin was saved. Lian retook Yangshuo and Pingle, and Chen Bangchuan retook Wuzhou from Xun. Hearing of the victory, the emperor enfeoffed Shisi as Earl of Lingui and Lian as Earl of Xinxing, and promoted Yuanye and the others.

式耜初請王返全州，不聽。已，請還桂林。王已許之，會武岡破，王由靖州走柳州，式耜復請還桂林。十一月，大兵自湖南逼全州，式耜偕騰蛟拒卻。已，梧州復破，王方在象州，欲走南寧。以大臣力爭，乃以十二月還桂林。

Shisi had first urged the emperor to return to Quanzhou, but was refused. Later he asked to return to Guilin. The emperor had agreed, but when Wugang fell he fled from Jingzhou to Liuzhou, and Shisi again urged a return to Guilin. In the eleventh month the Qing advanced on Quanzhou from Hunan; Shisi and Tengjiao drove them back. Soon Wuzhou fell again; the emperor was at Xiangzhou and prepared to flee to Nanning. The ministers argued him back, and in the twelfth month he returned to Guilin.

五年二月，南安侯郝永忠駐桂林，惡城外團練兵，盡破水東十八村，殺戮無算，與式耜構難。式耜力調劑，永忠乃駐興安。大兵前驅至靈川，永忠戰敗，奔入桂林，請王即夕西走。式耜力爭，不聽。左右皆請速駕，式耜又爭。王曰：「卿不過欲予死社稷爾。」式耜為泣下沾衣。王甫行，永忠即大掠，捶殺太常卿黃太元。式耜家亦被掠，家人矯騰蛟令箭，乃出城。日中，趙印選諸營自靈川至，亦大掠，城內外如洗。永忠走柳州，印選等走永寧。明日，式耜息城中余燼，安撫遠近。焦璉及諸鎮周金、湯兆佐、胡一青等各率所部至，騰蛟軍亦至。三月，大兵知桂林有變，來襲，抵北門。騰蛟督諸將拒戰，城獲全。時王駐南寧，式耜遣使慰三宮起居。王始知式耜無恙，為泣下。

In the second month of the fifth year Nan'an Marquis Hao Yongzhong was at Guilin; he hated the suburban militia, destroyed the eighteen villages east of the river, massacred without limit, and clashed with Shisi. Shisi mediated strenuously, and Yongzhong withdrew to Xing'an. The Qing vanguard reached Lingchuan; Yongzhong was beaten and fled into Guilin, urging the emperor to flee west that night. Shisi protested fiercely but was overruled. The courtiers all urged immediate flight; Shisi argued again. The emperor said, "You only want me to die for the dynasty. Shisi wept until his robes were soaked with tears. The emperor had scarcely left when Yongzhong looted the city and beat Minister of Ceremonies Huang Taiyuan to death. Shisi's household was looted as well; his family forged one of Tengjiao's command arrows and only then escaped the city. At midday Zhao Yinxuan's troops arrived from Lingchuan and looted as well; the city was stripped bare inside and out. Yongzhong fled to Liuzhou; Yinxuan and the rest fled to Yongning. The next day Shisi put out the city's remaining fires and reassured the populace. Jiao Lian and the garrison commanders Zhou Jin, Tang Zhaozuo, Hu Yiqing, and others marched in with their troops; Tengjiao's army arrived as well. In the third month, hearing of the turmoil in Guilin, the Qing attacked and reached the North Gate. Tengjiao directed the defense, and the city held. The emperor was then at Nanning; Shisi sent envoys to inquire after the imperial family's welfare. Learning that Shisi was safe, the emperor wept.

閏三月，廣東李成棟、江西金聲桓皆叛大清，據地歸，式耜請王還桂林。王從成棟請，將赴廣州。式耜慮成棟挾王自專，如劉承胤事，力爭之，乃駐肇慶。十一月，永州、寶慶、衡州並復。式耜以機會可乘，請王還桂林，圖出楚之計，不納。慶國公陳邦傳守潯州，自稱世守廣西，欲如黔國公例。式耜特疏劾之，會中外多爭者，邦傳乃止。廣西巡撫魯可藻自署銜巡撫兩廣，式耜亦疏駁之。式耜身在外，政有闕，必疏諫。嘗曰：「臣與主上患難相隨，休戚與共，不同他臣。一切大政，自得與聞。」王為褒納。而是時成棟子元胤專朝政，知敬式耜，袁彭年、丁時魁、金堡等遂爭相倚附。六年正月，時魁等逐朱天麟，不欲何吾騶為首輔。召式耜入直，以文淵印畀之，式耜終不入也。未幾，騰蛟、聲桓、成棟相繼敗歿，國勢大危。朝士方植黨相角，式耜不能禁。

In the intercalary third month Li Chengdong in Guangdong and Jin Shengheng in Jiangxi both rebelled against the Qing and submitted; Shisi urged the emperor to return to Guilin. The emperor accepted Chengdong's invitation and prepared to go to Guangzhou. Fearing Chengdong would dominate the emperor as Liu Chengyin had, Shisi protested fiercely, and the court stayed at Zhaoqing. In the eleventh month Yongzhou, Baoqing, and Hengzhou were all retaken. Seeing a chance to strike, Shisi urged the emperor back to Guilin to plan a breakout into Hunan; the court refused. Qing State Duke Chen Bangchuan held Xunzhou, claimed hereditary rule over Guangxi, and sought status like the Duke of Qian. Shisi memorialized against him; with widespread opposition at court, Bangchuan abandoned the claim. Guangxi Grand Coordinator Lu Kezao styled himself grand coordinator of both Guang provinces; Shisi memorialized against it. Though far from court, he memorialized whenever he saw a fault in policy. He once said, "Your servant has shared Your Majesty's hardships and fortunes—not like other ministers. I ought naturally to hear of every major decision. The emperor praised and accepted his words. By then Chengdong's son Yuan Yin dominated the court, respected Shisi, and Yuan Pengnian, Ding Shikui, Jin Bao, and others competed to court him. In the first month of the sixth year Shikui and his faction expelled Zhu Tianlin to block He Wuzou from becoming chief grand secretary. They summoned him to the Secretariat and gave him the Hall of Literary Deepness seal, but Shisi never went. Soon Tengjiao, Shengheng, and Chengdong fell in turn; the dynasty was in grave peril. Court factions were at each other's throats, and Shisi could not stop them.

七年正月，南雄破。王懼，走梧州。諸大臣訐時魁等下獄，式耜七疏論救。胡執恭之擅封孫可望也，式耜疏請斬之。皆不納。九月，全州破。開國公趙印選居桂林，衛國公胡一青守榕江，與寧遠伯王永祚皆懼不出兵，大兵遂入嚴關。十月，一青、永祚入桂林分餉，榕江無戍兵，大兵益深入。十一月五日，式耜檄印選出，不肯行，再趣之，則盡室逃。一青及武陵侯楊國棟、綏寧伯蒲纓、寧武伯馬養麟亦逃去。永祚迎降，城中無一兵。式耜端坐府中，家人亦散。部將戚良勛請式耜上馬速走，式耜堅不聽，叱退之。俄總督張同敞至，誓偕死，乃相對飲酒，一老兵侍。召中軍徐高付以敕印，屬馳送王。是夕，兩人秉燭危坐。黎明，數騎至。式耜曰：「吾兩人待死久矣」，遂與偕行，至則踞坐於地。諭之降，不聽，幽於民舍。兩人日賦詩倡和，得百余首。至閏十一月十有七日，將就刑，天大雷電，空中震擊者三，遠近稱異，遂與同敞俱死。同敞，大學士居正曾孫，事見《居正傳》。

In the first month of the seventh year Nanxiong fell. Terrified, the emperor fled to Wuzhou. The ministers impeached Shikui and his faction and imprisoned them; Shisi submitted seven memorials in their defense. When Hu Zhigong enfeoffed Sun Kewang on his own authority, Shisi memorialized demanding his execution. None was heeded. In the ninth month Quanzhou fell. Founding State Duke Zhao Yinxuan held Guilin, Defender State Duke Hu Yiqing held Rongjiang, and Pacifying Distance Earl Wang Yongzuo—all too afraid to march out—so the Qing entered Yan Pass. In the tenth month Yiqing and Yongzuo entered Guilin to divide supplies, leaving Rongjiang undefended, and the Qing armies drove deeper. On the fifth day of the eleventh month Shisi ordered Yinxuan out; he refused, and when pressed again fled with his entire household. Yiqing, Wuling Marquis Yang Guodong, Suining Earl Pu Ying, and Ningwu Earl Ma Yanglin fled as well. Yongzuo surrendered; not a single soldier remained in the city. Shisi sat upright in the government hall; his family had fled. Subordinate general Qi Liangxun urged him to flee on horseback; Shisi refused and drove him away. Soon Supreme Commander Zhang Tongchang arrived, swore to die with him, and the two sat facing each other over wine, attended by one old soldier. He summoned central army officer Xu Gao, gave him the imperial commission and seal, and ordered him to ride posthaste to the emperor. That evening the two men sat upright by candlelight, awaiting death. At dawn several horsemen arrived. Shisi said, "We have long awaited this," and went with them; on arrival they sat defiantly on the ground. Urged to surrender, they refused and were confined in a private house. Each day they exchanged poems, producing more than a hundred between them. On the seventeenth day of the intercalary eleventh month, as they were led to execution, thunder crashed three times across the sky; people far and near took it as a marvel, and both were executed. Tongchang was the great-grandson of Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng; his story appears in the 《Biography of Juzheng》.

時桂林殉難者光祿少卿汪皞投水死。其破平樂也，守將鎮西將軍朱旻如自剄。

Among those who died for the cause at Guilin was Vice Minister of the Imperial Household Wang Hao, who drowned himself. When Pingle fell, its defender, Pacifier of the West Zhu Minru, took his own life.

有周震者，官中書舍人，居全州，慷慨尚氣節，武岡失，全州危，震邀文武將吏盟於神，誓死拒守。條城守事宜，上之留守瞿式耜。式耜即題為御史，監全州軍。無何，郝永忠、盧鼎自全州撤兵還桂林。守全諸將議舉城降，震力爭不可，眾怒殺之，全州遂失。

There was Zhou Zhen, a Secretariat attendant at Quanzhou, a man of generous spirit who prized integrity; when Wugang fell and Quanzhou was threatened, he gathered civil and military officers to swear before the gods that they would die defending the city. He drew up a plan for the city's defense and submitted it to Qu Shisi, who held the garrison. Shisi immediately appointed him censor to supervise the Quanzhou army. Soon Hao Yongzhong and Lu Ding withdrew their troops from Quanzhou to Guilin. The garrison commanders resolved to surrender; Zhen protested fiercely; the mutinous troops killed him, and Quanzhou fell.

贊曰：何騰蛟、瞿式耜崎嶇危難之中，介然以艱貞自守。雖其設施經畫，未能一睹厥效，要亦時勢使然。其於鞠躬盡瘁之操，無少虧損，固未可以是為訾議也。夫節義必窮而後見，如二人之竭力致死，靡有二心，所謂百折不回者矣。明代二百七十余年養士之報，其在斯乎！其在斯乎！

The historian comments: He Tengjiao and Qu Shisi, amid hardship and peril, held fast to unyielding integrity. Though their plans never fully bore fruit, that was the force of circumstances. Their devotion unto death was never diminished; they cannot be faulted on that score. Integrity shows only at the breaking point; these two gave their utmost unto death without wavering—the true meaning of bending but never breaking. Was not the reward of the Ming's two hundred and seventy years of nurturing scholars manifest here! Was it not manifest here!

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