1
從古忠臣義士，為國捐生，節炳一時，名垂百世，歷代以來，備極表章，尚已。 明太祖創業江左，首褒余闕、福壽，以作忠義之氣。 至從龍將士，或功未就而身亡，若豫章、康郎山兩廟及溪籠山功臣廟所祀諸人，爵贈公侯，血食俎豆，侑享太廟，恤錄子孫，所以褒厲精忠，激揚義烈，意至遠也。 建文之變，群臣不憚膏鼎鑊，赤姻族，以抗成祖之威棱，雖《表忠》一錄出自傳疑，亦足以知人心天性之不泯矣。 仁宣以降，重熙累洽，垂二百余載，中間如交阯之征，土木之變，宸濠之叛，以暨神、熹兩朝，邊陲多故，沈身殉難者，未易更仆數。 而司勛褒恤之典，悉從優厚。 或所司失奏，後人得自陳請。 故節烈之績，鹹得顯暴於時。 迨莊烈之朝，運丁陽九，時則內外諸臣，或隕首封疆，或致命闕下，蹈死如歸者尤眾。 今就有明一代死義死事之臣，博采旁搜，匯次如左。 同死者，各因事附見。 其事實繁多及國家興亡所系，或連屬他傳，本末始著，與夫直諫死忠，疏草傳誦人口，概具前帙。 至若抒忠勝國，抗命興朝，稽諸前史，例得並書。 我太祖、太宗忠厚開基，扶植名教，獎張銓之守義，釋張春而加禮，洪量同天地，大義懸日月，國史所載，煥若丹青。 諸臣之遂誌成仁，斯為無忝，故備列焉。
Since antiquity, loyal ministers and righteous men have laid down their lives for the state; their integrity blazed for a moment in time, their names live on for a hundred generations, and every dynasty has honored them to the utmost—that much is already settled. When the Ming founder was building his enterprise in the lower Yangzi, he first honored Yu Que and Fu Shou to stir the spirit of loyalty and righteousness. Among the generals who followed the founding banner, some died before their achievements were complete—such as those enshrined at the Yuzhang and Kanglangshan temples and at the Xilongshan Temple of Meritorious Officials. They were posthumously ennobled as marquises or dukes, received blood sacrifices and offerings, were honored in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and had their descendants recorded for relief—all to reward refined loyalty and rouse righteous fervor, with a purpose that reached very far indeed. During the Jianwen upheaval, officials did not shrink from the cauldron and the boiling cauldron or from having their whole clans wiped out in order to defy the Chengzu emperor's overwhelming might. Though the record "Manifesting Loyalty" rests on disputed tradition, it is enough to show that human hearts and innate nature had not been extinguished. From the Hongxi and Xuande reigns onward, through more than two centuries of repeated peace and prosperity, there were nevertheless campaigns such as that in Jiaozhi, the Tumu disaster, and the Prince of Ning's rebellion, and under the Shenzong and Xizong reigns the frontiers saw constant trouble. Those who gave their lives in sacrifice are not easily counted in tens. Yet the Ministry of Rites' rites of commendation and condolence were uniformly generous in every case. When the responsible office failed to report a case to the throne, later generations could petition on their own behalf. Thus deeds of integrity and martyrdom could all be made known in their own day. By the reign of the Chongzhen emperor, the dynasty had reached the ninth yang calamity. Officials within and without the court—some losing their heads on the frontier, some giving their lives at the palace gates—were especially numerous among those who went to their deaths as if returning home. Here, concerning officials of the Ming who died for righteousness or in the line of duty throughout the dynasty, I have gathered widely from many sources and arranged them below. Those who died together are each mentioned in connection with the relevant event. Where the facts are numerous or bear on the rise and fall of the state, the narrative may run on into other biographies before the full story emerges. As for those who remonstrated bluntly and died loyal, whose memorials everyone recites, these are largely covered in earlier volumes. As for those who showed loyalty to a fallen state and defied orders to serve a rising dynasty, precedent in earlier histories allows them to be recorded together. Our Taizu and Taizong founded the dynasty with generosity and magnanimity, upheld the moral order, rewarded Zhang Quan for holding to righteousness, and released Zhang Chun to honor him. Their vast forbearance matched heaven and earth; their great righteousness hung like sun and moon. What the dynastic history records shines like paintings in red and blue. That these officials fulfilled their purpose and achieved humanity is without shame—therefore they are all listed here in full.
2
○花雲 〈（朱文遜許瑗等）〉 王愷孫炎 〈（王道同朱文剛）〉 牟魯 〈（裴源朱顯忠王均諒等）〉 王綱 〈（子彥達）〉 王祎 〈（吳雲）〉 熊鼎易紹宗琴彭 〈（陳汝石等）〉 皇甫斌 〈（子弼吳貴等）〉 張瑛 〈（熊尚初等）〉 王禎萬琛 〈（王祐）〉 周憲 〈（子幹）〉 楊忠 〈（李睿等）〉 吳景 〈（王源馮傑孫璽等）〉 霍恩 〈（段豸張汝舟等）〉 孫燧許逵黃宏 〈（馬思聰）〉 宋以方 〈（萬木鄭山趙楠等）〉
○ Hua Yun (Zhu Wensun, Xu Yuan, and others)〉 Wang Kai, Sun Yan (Wang Daotong, Zhu Wengang)〉 Mou Lu (Pei Yuan, Zhu Xianzhong, Wang Junliang, and others)〉 Wang Gang (his son Yanda)〉 Wang Yi (Wu Yun)〉 Xiong Ding, Yi Shaozong, Qin Peng (Chen Rushi and others)〉 Huangfu Bin (his son Bi, Wu Gui, and others)〉 Zhang Ying (Xiong Shangchu and others)〉 Wang Zhen, Wan Chen (Wang You)〉 Zhou Xian (his son Gan)〉 Yang Zhong (Li Rui and others)〉 Wu Jing (Wang Yuan, Feng Jie, Sun Xi, and others)〉 Huo En (Duan Zhi, Zhang Ruzhou, and others)〉 Sun Sui, Xu Kui, Huang Hong (Ma Sicong)〉 Song Yifang (Wan Mu, Zheng Shan, Zhao Nan, and others)〉
3
花雲，懷遠人。 貌偉而黑，驍勇絕倫。 至正十三年癸巳，杖劍謁太祖於臨濠。 奇其才，俾將兵略地，所至輒克。 破懷遠，擒其帥。 攻全椒，拔之。 襲繆家寨，群寇散走。 太祖將取滁州，率數騎前行，雲從。 猝遇賊數千，雲舉鈹翼太祖，拔劍躍馬沖陣而進。 賊驚曰：「此黑將軍勇甚，不可當其鋒。」 兵至，遂克滁州。 甲午從取和州，獲卒三百，以功授管勾。 乙未，太祖渡江，雲先濟。 既克太平，以忠勇宿衛左右。 從下集慶，獲卒三千，擢總管。 徇鎮江、丹陽、丹徒、金壇，皆克之。 過馬馱沙，劇盜數百遮道索戰。 雲且行且鬥三日夜，皆擒殺之，授前部先鋒。 從拔常州，守牛塘營。 太祖立行樞密院於太平，擢雲院判。 丁酉克常熟，獲卒萬余。 命趨寧國，兵陷山澤中八日，群盜相結梗道。 雲操矛鼓噪出入，斬首千百計，身不中一矢。 還駐太平。 庚子閏五月，陳友諒以舟師來寇。 雲與元帥朱文遜、知府許瑗、院判王鼎結陣迎戰，文遜戰死。 賊攻三日不得入，以巨舟乘漲，緣舟尾攀堞而上。 城陷，賊縛雲。 雲奮身大呼，縛盡裂，起奪守者刀，殺五六人，罵曰：「賊非吾主敵，盍趣降！」 賊怒，碎其首，縛諸檣叢射之，罵賊不少變，至死聲猶壯，年三十有九。 瑗、鼎亦抗罵死。 太祖即吳王位，追封雲東丘郡侯，瑗高陽郡侯，鼎太原郡侯，立忠臣祠，並祀之。
Hua Yun was a native of Huaiyuan. He was imposing in stature and dark in complexion, and his valor in battle was unmatched. In 1353, sword in hand, he presented himself to the founder at Linhao. The founder was struck by his talent and put him in command of troops to seize territory; wherever he went, he prevailed. He captured Huaiyuan and took its commander prisoner. He attacked Quanjiao and took it. He raided Miaojia Stockade, and the bandits scattered and fled. When the founder was about to take Chuzhou, he rode ahead with a few horsemen, and Yun went with him. They suddenly encountered several thousand bandits. Yun raised his halberd to shield the founder, drew his sword, spurred his horse, and charged straight into the enemy formation. The bandits cried in alarm, "This black general is exceedingly brave—we cannot withstand his charge.” When reinforcements arrived, they took Chuzhou. In 1354 he followed in the capture of Hezhou, took three hundred enemy soldiers prisoner, and was appointed registrar for his merit. In 1355, when the founder crossed the Yangzi, Yun crossed ahead of him. After Taiping was taken, his loyalty and courage won him a place in the founder's personal guard. He followed in the capture of Jiqing, took three thousand soldiers prisoner, and was promoted to commander. He campaigned through Zhenjiang, Danyang, Dantu, and Jintan and captured them all. At Matuosha, several hundred fierce bandits blocked the road and challenged him to fight. Yun fought as he marched for three days and nights, captured and killed them all, and was made vanguard of the forward division. He followed in the capture of Changzhou and was posted to garrison Niutang Camp. When the founder established the Mobile Bureau of Military Affairs at Taiping, Yun was promoted to vice-director of the bureau. In 1357 he captured Changshu and took more than ten thousand soldiers prisoner. Ordered to hurry to Ningguo, his troops were trapped in mountains and marshes for eight days while bandits banded together to block the roads. Yun wielded his spear and charged in and out with battle cries, cutting off heads by the hundreds and thousands, yet not a single arrow struck him. He returned to garrison Taiping. In the intercalary fifth month of 1360, Chen Youliang attacked with a fleet. Yun, together with Marshal Zhu Wensun, Prefect Xu Yuan, and Vice-Director Wang Ding, formed battle lines to meet the attack. Wensun died in the fighting. The enemy attacked for three days without breaking in, then used great ships riding the flood tide to climb the battlements from their sterns. The city fell, and the enemy bound Yun. Yun strained and shouted; his bonds split apart. He rose, seized a guard's sword, and killed five or six men, crying, "You bandits are no match for my lord—why not hurry and surrender!” Enraged, the enemy smashed his skull, bound him to the mast cluster, and shot at him. He cursed the bandits without wavering, and until death his voice remained strong. He was thirty-nine years old. Yuan and Ding also defied the enemy with curses and died. When the founder assumed the title of King of Wu, he posthumously enfeoffed Yun as Marquis of Dongqiu, Yuan as Marquis of Gaoyang, and Ding as Marquis of Taiyuan, and established the Temple of Loyal Ministers to honor them together.
4
方戰急，雲妻郜祭家廟，挈三歲兒，泣語家人曰：「城破，吾夫必死，吾義不獨存，然不可使花氏無後，若等善撫之。」 雲被執，郜赴水死。 侍兒孫瘞畢，抱兒行，被掠至九江。 孫夜投漁家，脫簪珥屬養之。 及漢兵敗，孫復竊兒走渡江，遇僨軍奪舟棄江中，浮斷木入葦洲，采蓮實哺兒，七日不死。 夜半，有老父雷老挈之行，逾年達太祖所。 孫抱兒拜泣，太祖亦泣，置兒膝上，曰：「將種也。」 賜雷老衣，忽不見。 賜兒名煒，累官水軍衛指揮僉事。 其五世孫為遼復州衛指揮，請於世宗，贈郜貞烈夫人，孫安人，立祠致祭。
While the battle raged, Yun's wife Gao sacrificed at the family shrine, took her three-year-old son, and weeping told the household, "When the city falls, my husband will surely die. By righteousness I cannot live alone, yet the Hua line must not end—you must raise him well.” When Yun was captured, Gao threw herself into the water and died. The maid Sun buried her, then set out carrying the child but was seized and taken to Jiujiang. At night Sun went to a fisherman's home, removed her hairpins and earrings, and left the child in their care. When Chen Youliang's army was defeated, Sun stole away with the child to cross the river again. Disorderly troops seized their boat and cast them into the river. They floated on a broken timber into a reed marsh, gathered lotus seeds to feed the child, and for seven days they did not die. At midnight an old man called Old Man Lei took them along, and after more than a year they reached the founder's camp. Sun embraced the child and bowed, weeping. The founder wept as well, set the child on his knee, and said, "The seed of a general.” He gave Old Man Lei a robe, and suddenly the old man was gone. The founder named the child Wei, who rose through successive promotions to assistant commander of the Naval Guard. His fifth-generation descendant served as commander of the Liaofu Guard in Liaoning. He petitioned the Shizong emperor, who posthumously granted Lady Gao the title Chaste and Fierce Lady and Lady Sun the title Madame, and had a shrine erected for their veneration.
5
文遜者，太祖養子也。 嘗與元帥秦友諒攻克無為州。 瑗，字栗夫，樂平人。 元末，兩舉鄉第一。 太祖駐婺州，瑗謁曰：「足下欲定天下，非延攬英雄，難以成功。」 太祖喜，置幕中，參軍事。 已，命守太平。 鼎，儀征人。 初為趙忠養子。 忠為總管，克太平，授行樞密院判，鎮池州。 趙普勝來寇，忠陣歿。 鼎嗣職，復故姓，駐太平。 至是，三人皆死之。
Wensun was an adopted son of the founder. He once joined Marshal Qin Youliang in capturing Wuwei Prefecture. Yuan, styled Lifu, was a native of Leping. At the end of the Yuan dynasty, he twice placed first in the provincial examinations. When the founder was stationed at Wuzhou, Yuan called on him and said, "You, sir, wish to pacify the world; unless you gather heroes to your cause, you will find it hard to succeed.” The founder was pleased, placed him on his staff, and had him participate in military affairs. Later he was ordered to guard Taiping. Ding was a native of Yizheng. At first he was the adopted son of Zhao Zhong. Zhong served as zongguan, captured Taiping, was appointed vice-director of the Mobile Bureau of Military Affairs, and garrisoned Chizhou. When Zhao Pusheng came to attack, Zhong died in battle. Ding succeeded to the post, restored his original surname, and was posted at Taiping. At this time all three died for the cause.
6
時有劉齊者，以江西行省參政守吉安。 守將李明道開門納友諒兵，殺參政曾萬中、陳海，執齊及知府宋叔華，脅之降，皆不屈。 又破臨安，執同知趙天麟，亦不屈，並送友諒所。 友諒方攻洪都，殺三人徇城下。 及陷無為州，執知州董曾，曾抗罵不屈，沈之江。
At the time Liu Qi, associate administrator of the Jiangxi Branch Secretariat, was guarding Ji'an. The defending general Li Mingdao opened the gates to admit Youliang's troops, killed associate administrators Zeng Wanzhong and Chen Hai, seized Qi and Prefect Song Shuhua, and tried to force them to surrender; all refused. They also captured Lin'an and seized Vice Prefect Zhao Tianlin, who likewise refused to submit; all were sent to Youliang's camp. Youliang was then attacking Hongdu; he had the three men executed and their bodies displayed beneath the walls. When Wuwei Prefecture fell, he seized Prefect Dong Zeng. Zeng cursed him and refused to submit, and was drowned in the river.
7
王愷，字用和，當塗人。 通經史，為元府吏。 太祖拔太平，召為掾。 從下京口，撫定新附民。 及建中書省，用為都事。 杭州苗軍數萬降，待命嚴州境。 愷馳諭之，偕其帥至。 太祖克衢州，命總制軍民事。 愷增城浚濠，置遊擊軍，籍丁壯，得萬余人。 常遇春屯兵金華，部將擾民，愷械而撻諸市。 遇春讓愷，愷曰：「民者國之本，撻一部將而民安，將軍所樂聞也。」 乃謝愷。 時饑疫相仍，愷出倉粟，修惠濟局，全活無算。 學校毀，與孔子家廟之在衢者，並新之。 設博士弟子員，士翕然悅服。 開化馬宣、江山楊明並為亂，先後討擒之。 遷左司郎中，佐胡大海治省事。 苗軍作亂，害大海。 其帥多德愷，欲擁之而西。 愷正色曰：「吾守士，議當死，寧從賊邪！」 遂並其子行殺之。 年四十六。
Wang Kai, styled Yonghe, was a native of Dangtu. Well versed in the classics and histories, he served as a Yuan prefectural clerk. When the founder took Taiping, he summoned Kai and appointed him a staff officer. He followed in the capture of Jingkou and pacified the newly submitted populace. When the Secretariat was established, Kai was appointed chief administrator. Several tens of thousands of Miao troops from Hangzhou surrendered and awaited orders on the Yanzhou border. Kai hurried to instruct them and brought their commander with him. When the founder captured Quzhou, he put Kai in overall charge of military and civil affairs. Kai raised the walls, dredged the moat, established mobile strike forces, registered able-bodied men, and mustered more than ten thousand troops. Chang Yuchun had troops stationed at Jinhua; when his subordinate officers harassed the people, Kai put them in cangues and flogged them in the market. Kai said, “The people are the foundation of the state. To flog one subordinate officer and bring the people peace is something a general would be glad to hear.” Thereupon Yuchun apologized to Kai. As famine and pestilence followed one upon another, Kai released grain from the granary, restored the Charitable Relief Bureau, and saved innumerable lives. The schools lay in ruins; Kai rebuilt them together with the Confucian family temple at Quzhou. He established posts for erudites and student members, and the scholars all rejoiced and submitted. Ma Xuan of Kaihua and Yang Ming of Jiangshan both raised rebellion; Kai successively suppressed them and captured them. He was transferred to left secretariat director and assisted Hu Dahai in managing provincial affairs. The Miao troops rebelled and killed Dahai. Their commanders mostly favored Kai and wished to install him as leader and march west. Kai said sternly, “I am an official charged with defense. By principle I ought to die—would I follow bandits!” Thereupon they killed him together with his son on the spot. He was forty-six years old.
8
愷善謀斷，嘗白事，未聽，卻立戶外，抵暮不去。 太祖出，怪問之，愷諫如初，卒從其議。 後贈奉直大夫、飛騎尉，追封當塗縣男。
Kai was skilled in planning and decision. Once when he reported on business and was not heard, he withdrew and stood outside the door until dusk without leaving. When the founder came out, he asked in surprise. Kai remonstrated as before, and in the end the founder followed his proposal. Later he was posthumously granted Grand Master of Direct Counsel and Flying Cavalry Commandant, and enfeoffed as Baron of Dangtu County.
9
孫炎，字伯融，句容人。 面鐵色，跛一足。 談辨風生，雅負經濟。 與丁復、夏煜遊，有詩名。 太祖下集慶，召見，請招賢豪成大業。 時方建行中書省，用為首掾。 從征浙東，授池州同知，進華陽知府，擢行省都事。 克處州，授總制。 太祖命招劉基、章溢、葉琛等，基不出。 炎使再往，基遺以寶劍。 炎作詩，以為劍當獻天子，斬不順命者，人臣不敢私，封還之。 遺基書數千言，基始就見，送之建康。 時城外皆賊，城守無一兵。 苗軍作亂，殺院判耿再成，執炎及知府王道同、元帥朱文剛，幽空室，脅降，不屈。 賊帥賀仁德燖雁鬥酒啖炎，炎且飲且罵。 賊怒，拔刀叱解衣，炎曰：「此紫綺裘，主上所賜，吾當服以死。」 遂與道同、文剛皆見害，時年四十。 追贈丹陽縣男，建像再成祠。
Sun Yan, styled Borong, was a native of Jurong. His face was iron-dark in color and he limped on one foot. In conversation and debate he was spirited, and he was known for statecraft. He associated with Ding Fu and Xia Yu and had a reputation as a poet. When the founder took Jiqing, he summoned Yan and asked him to recruit worthy heroes to complete the great enterprise. The Branch Secretariat was then being established, and Yan was appointed chief staff officer. He followed the eastern Zhejiang campaign, was appointed vice prefect of Chizhou, advanced to prefect of Huayang, and was promoted to branch secretariat chief administrator. When Chuzhou was captured, he was appointed overall commander. The founder ordered Yan to recruit Liu Ji, Zhang Yi, Ye Chen, and others, but Ji would not come out. Yan was sent again, and Ji sent him a treasured sword. Yan composed a poem arguing that the sword ought to be presented to the Son of Heaven to cut down those who disobey orders, and that a subject must not keep it privately; he sealed it and returned it. He sent Ji a letter of several thousand words; Ji then came to see him, and Yan escorted him to Jiankang. At the time bandits were everywhere outside the walls, and the city had not a single soldier for its defense. The Miao troops rebelled, killed Vice-Director Geng Zaicheng, seized Yan together with Prefect Wang Daotong and Marshal Zhu Wengang, confined them in an empty room, and tried to force them to surrender; they refused. The bandit commander He Rend broiled goose and offered a goblet of wine for Yan to eat and drink; Yan drank even as he cursed. Yan said, “This purple brocade fur coat was bestowed by the sovereign; I shall wear it when I die.” Thereupon he, Daotong, and Wengang were all killed. He was forty years old. He was posthumously enfeoffed as Baron of Danyang County, and his image was placed in Zaicheng's shrine.
10
道同，由中書省宣使在處州，贈太原郡侯。
Daotong, who had been a Secretariat dispatch officer at Chuzhou, was posthumously granted Marquis of Taiyuan.
11
文剛，太祖養子，小字柴舍。 變起，欲與再成聚兵殺賊，不及，遂被難。 贈鎮國將軍，附祭功臣廟。
Wengang was an adopted son of the founder; his childhood name was Chaishe. When the uprising broke out, he wished to join Zaicheng in gathering troops to kill the bandits but could not arrive in time, and so met disaster. He was posthumously granted General Who Pacifies the State and was included in sacrifice at the Temple of Meritorious Officials.
12
牟魯，烏程人，為莒州同知。 洪武三年秋，青州民孫古樸為亂，襲州城，執魯欲降之。 魯曰：「國家混一海字，民皆樂業。 若等悔過自新，可轉禍為福。 不然，官軍旦夕至，無遺種矣。 我守土臣，義唯一死。」 賊不敢害，擁至城南。 魯大罵，遂殺之。 賊破，詔恤其家。
Mou Lu, a native of Wucheng, served as vice prefect of Juzhou. In the autumn of the third year of Hongwu, Sun Gupu of Qingzhou raised rebellion, stormed the prefectural city, seized Lu, and tried to make him surrender. Lu said, “The state has unified the empire, and the people all live in peace. If you repent and reform yourselves, you may turn calamity into blessing. Otherwise government troops will arrive within days, and not one of you will survive. I am an official charged with guarding this territory; by righteousness I have only death.” The bandits did not dare harm him but escorted him to the south of the city. Lu cursed loudly and was then killed. When the bandits were defeated, an edict was issued to comfort his family.
13
又有白謙、裴源、朱顯忠、王均諒、王名善、黃裏、顧師勝、陳敬、吳得、井孚之屬。
There were also Bai Qian, Pei Yuan, Zhu Xianzhong, Wang Junliang, Wang Mingshan, Huang Li, Gu Shisheng, Chen Jing, Wu De, Jing Fu, and others of that sort.
14
謙，婺源知州。 信州盜蕭明來寇，謙力不能禦，懷印出北門，赴水死。
Qian was prefect of Wuyuan. When the Xinzhou bandit Xiao Ming came to attack, Qian could not resist. He took his seal, went out the north gate, threw himself into the water, and died.
15
源，肇慶府經歷。 以公事赴新興，遇山賊陳勇卿，被執，勒令跪。 源大罵曰：「我命官，乃跪賊邪！」 遂被殺。 洪武三年贈官二等。
Yuan was administrative aide of Zhaoqing Prefecture. On official business he went to Xinxing, encountered the mountain bandit Chen Yongqing, was seized, and was forced to kneel. Yuan cursed loudly and said, “I am a commissioned official—would I kneel to bandits!” He was then killed. In the third year of Hongwu he was posthumously promoted two ranks.
16
顯忠，如臯人。 為張士誠將，來降。 以指揮僉事從鄧愈下河州，抵吐番。 從傅友德克文州，遂留守之。 洪武四年，蜀將丁世珍召番數萬來攻。 食盡無援，或勸走避，顯忠叱不聽。 攻益急，裹創力戰，城破，為亂兵所殺。 均諒時為千戶，被執不屈，磔死。 事聞，贈恤有差。
Xianzhong was a native of Rugao. He had been a general of Zhang Shicheng and came over in surrender. As assistant commander he followed Deng Yu in taking Hezhou and reaching Tubo. He followed Fu Youde in capturing Wenzhou and was then left to garrison it. In the fourth year of Hongwu, the Shu general Ding Shizhen summoned tens of thousands of fan troops to attack. When provisions ran out and no relief came, some urged flight; Xianzhong shouted rebukes and would not listen. As the attack grew fiercer, he bound his wounds and fought with all his strength. When the city fell he was killed by the disorderly troops. Junliang was then a chiliarch; he was seized, refused to submit, and was executed by dismemberment. When the affair was reported, posthumous honors and relief were granted according to rank.
17
名善，義烏人，高州通判。 有海寇何均善曾被戮，洪武四年，其黨羅子仁率眾潛入城，執名善，不屈死。
Mingshan, a native of Yiwu, was vice prefect of Gaozhou. The sea bandit He Junshan had once been executed. In the fourth year of Hongwu his follower Luo Ziren led a force that secretly entered the city, seized Mingshan, and killed him when he refused to submit.
18
裏，雲內州同知。 洪武五年秋，蒙古兵突入城。 裏率兵蒼戰，死之。
Li was vice prefect of Yunnei Prefecture. In the autumn of the fifth year of Hongwu, Mongol troops suddenly entered the city. Li led troops in fierce fighting and died.
19
師勝，興化人，峨眉知縣。 洪武十三年率民兵討賊彭普貴，戰死。 詔褒恤。
Shisheng, a native of Xinghua, was magistrate of Emei. In the thirteenth year of Hongwu he led militia to suppress the bandit Peng Pugui and died in battle. An edict commended him and granted relief to his family.
20
敬，增城人。 洪武十四年舉賢良，為曲靖府經歷，署劍川州事。 鄰寇來攻，敬禦之。 官兵寡，欲退，敬瞋目大呼，力戰死。 命恤其家。
Jing, a native of Zengcheng. In the fourteenth year of Hongwu he was nominated as a worthy and good man, appointed assistant prefect of Qujing Prefecture, and acted as administrator of Jianchuan Subprefecture. When neighboring bandits came to attack, Jing defended against them. The government troops were few and wished to retreat; Jing glared, shouted loudly, fought with all his strength, and died. An order was issued to grant relief to his family.
21
得，全椒人，龍裏守禦所千戶。 洪武三十年，古州上婆洞蠻作亂，得與鎮守將井孚守城。 賊燒門急攻，二人開門奮擊，得中毒弩死，孚戰死。 贈得指揮僉事，孚正千戶，子孫世襲。
De, a native of Quanjiao, was a chiliarch of the Longli Guard and Garrison. In the thirtieth year of Hongwu the Shangpodong barbarians of Guzhou rebelled; De and the garrison commander Jing Fu defended the city. The bandits burned the gate and pressed the attack fiercely; the two men opened the gate and fought with spirit. De died from a poisoned crossbow bolt, and Fu died in battle. De was posthumously granted the title of Assistant Commander, Fu was promoted to Regular Chiliarch, and their descendants were granted hereditary succession.
22
王綱，字性常，余姚人。 有文武才。 善劉基，常語曰：「老夫樂山林，異時得誌，勿以世緣累我。」 洪武四年以基薦征至京師，年七十，齒發神色如少壯。 太祖異之，策以治道，擢兵部郎。 潮民弗靖，除廣東參議，督兵餉，嘆曰：「吾命盡此矣。」 以書訣家人，攜子彥達行，單舸往諭，潮民叩首服罪。 還抵增城，遇海寇曹真，截舟羅拜，願得為帥。 綱諭以禍福，不從，則奮罵。 賊舁之去，為壇坐綱，日拜請。 綱罵不絕聲，遂遇害。 彥達年十六，罵賊求死，欲並殺之。 其酋曰：「父忠子孝，殺之不詳。」 與之食，不顧，令綴羊革裹父屍而出。 御史郭純以聞，詔立廟死所。 彥達以蔭得官，痛父，終身不仕。
Wang Gang, styled Xingchang, was a native of Yuyao. He possessed both civil and military talent. He was on good terms with Liu Ji and often said, “This old man delights in mountain and forest; when you achieve your ambition someday, do not burden me with worldly entanglements.” In the fourth year of Hongwu he was summoned to the capital on Ji's recommendation. He was seventy, yet his teeth, hair, and complexion were those of a young man. The Founder found him remarkable, tested him on the way of governance, and promoted him to Secretary in the Ministry of War. When the Chaozhou people were unsettled, he was appointed Vice Commissioner of Guangdong, charged with overseeing troops and supplies. He sighed and said, “My life will end here.” He wrote farewell letters to his family, took his son Yanda with him, and went alone in a single boat to remonstrate; the Chaozhou people kowtowed and submitted in guilt. On the return, reaching Zengcheng, he encountered the sea bandit Cao Zhen, who intercepted his boat, prostrated himself in a circle, and asked that Gang become their leader. Gang admonished them with talk of fortune and disaster; when they would not listen, he cursed them fiercely. The bandits carried him off, set up an altar with Gang seated upon it, and daily bowed and entreated him. Gang cursed without cease and was thereupon killed. Yanda was sixteen; he cursed the bandits and sought death, wishing to be killed along with his father. Their chieftain said, “The father is loyal and the son filial—to kill them would be inauspicious.” They offered him food, but he paid no heed; they had sheep hide sewn together to wrap his father's corpse and let him depart. Censor Guo Chun reported the affair, and an edict ordered a temple erected at the place of his death. Yanda obtained office through hereditary privilege, but grieving for his father, he never served for the rest of his life.
23
洪武元年八月，上疏言：「祈天永命之要，在忠厚以存心，寬大以為政，法天道，順人心。 雷霆霜雪，可暫不可常。 浙西既平，科斂當減。」 太祖嘉納之，然不能盡從也。 明年修《元史》，命祎與濂為總裁。 祎史事擅長，裁煩剔穢，力任筆削。 書成，擢翰林待制，同知制誥兼國史院編修官。 奉詔預教大本堂，經明理達，善開導。 召對殿廷，必賜坐，從容宴語。 未久，奉使吐蕃，未至，召還。
In the eighth month of the first year of Hongwu, he submitted a memorial stating, “The essential means of praying Heaven for enduring mandate lies in keeping a sincere and generous heart, governing with magnanimity, taking Heaven's Way as model, and conforming to the people's hearts. Thunder, frost, and snow may be applied briefly but cannot be constant. Now that western Zhejiang is pacified, levies and exactions should be reduced.” The Founder commended and accepted it, yet could not fully follow it. The next year, when the History of Yuan was compiled, Yi and Lian were appointed chief compilers. Yi excelled at historical matters, cut away redundancy and excised corruption, and personally bore the burden of the brush. When the book was completed, he was promoted to Hanlin Attendant Draftsman, Concurrent Director of Edicts and Compilers, and Compiler at the National History Academy. By imperial order he assisted in teaching at the Daben Hall; his command of the classics was clear and his grasp of principle penetrating, and he was skilled at guidance. When summoned to audience in the palace hall, he was always granted a seat and conversed at leisure over banquet talk. Before long he was sent on mission to Tibet; before arriving he was recalled.
24
五年正月議招諭雲南，命祎賫詔往。 至則諭梁王，亟宜奉版圖歸職方，不然天討旦夕至。 王不聽，館別室。 他日，又諭曰：「朝廷以雲南百萬生靈，不欲殲於鋒刃。 若恃險遠，抗明命，龍驤鹢艫，會戰昆明，悔無及矣。」 梁王駭服，即為改館。 會元遣脫脫征餉，脅王以危言，必欲殺祎。 王不得已出祎見之，脫脫欲屈祎，祎叱曰：「天既訖汝元命，我朝實代之。 汝爝火余燼，敢與日月爭明邪！ 且我與汝皆使也，豈為汝屈！」 或勸脫脫曰：「王公素負重名，不可害。」 脫脫攘臂曰：「今雖孔聖，義不得存。」 祎顧王曰：「汝殺我，天兵繼至，汝禍不旋踵矣。」 遂遇害，時十二月二十四日也。 梁王遣使致祭，具衣冠斂之。 建文中，祎子紳訟祎事，詔贈翰林學士，謚文節。 正統中，改謚忠文。 成化中，命建祠祀之。
In the first month of the fifth year, when persuasion of Yunnan was discussed, Yi was ordered to carry the edict there. Upon arrival he remonstrated with the Prince of Liang that he should promptly submit his territories to the Ministry of Revenue, or else Heaven's punishment would arrive within days. The prince would not listen and lodged him in a separate chamber. Another day he remonstrated again, saying, “The court, for the sake of Yunnan's million living souls, does not wish to see them slaughtered on sword's edge. If you rely on your terrain's peril and distance and resist the bright mandate, dragon ships and oar-warships will meet in battle at Kunming—and regret will come too late.” The Prince of Liang was awed into submission and immediately had his lodging changed. At that time the Yuan sent Toktoghan to levy supplies; he threatened the prince with dire words and insisted on killing Yi. The prince, having no choice, produced Yi to meet him. Toktoghan wished to humiliate Yi; Yi shouted, “Heaven has already ended your Yuan mandate, and our dynasty has truly replaced it. You are embers of a torch-fire—how dare you contend in brightness with sun and moon! Moreover, you and I are both envoys—why should I submit to you!” Someone advised Toktoghan, “Lord Wang has long borne a weighty reputation—you must not harm him.” Toktoghan rolled up his sleeves and said, “Even if it were Confucius himself, by right he could not be spared.” Yi turned to the prince and said, “If you kill me, the celestial army will follow close behind, and disaster will overtake you in no time.” He was thereupon killed—it was the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth month. The Prince of Liang sent envoys to perform sacrifices and dressed him in cap and gown for burial. During the Jianwen reign, Yi's son Shen petitioned regarding Yi's case; an edict posthumously granted him Hanlin Academician and the posthumous title Wenjie (Cultured Integrity). During the Zhengtong reign the posthumous title was changed to Zhongwen (Loyal Literature). During the Chenghua reign he was ordered a temple built for his veneration.
25
紳，字仲繕。 祎死時，年十三，鞠於兄綬，事母兄盡孝友。 長博學，受業宋濂。 濂器之曰：「吾友不亡矣。」 蜀獻王聘紳，待以客禮。 紳啟王往雲南求父遺骸，不獲即死所致祭，述《滇南慟哭記》以歸。 建文帝時，用薦召為國子博士，預修《太祖實錄》，獻《大明鐃歌鼓吹曲》十二章。 與方孝孺友善，卒官。
Shen, styled Zhongshan. When Yi died, Shen was thirteen; he was raised by his elder brother Shou and served his mother and brother with full filial piety and brotherly affection. When grown he was broadly learned and studied under Song Lian. Song Lian prized him and said, “My friend is not dead after all.” The Prince of Shu invited Shen and treated him with guest ceremony. Shen asked the prince to let him go to Yunnan to seek his father's remains; failing to find them, he performed rites at the place of death, composed "A Record of Grief in Diannan," and returned. During the Jianwen emperor's reign, on recommendation he was summoned as Erudite of the National University, took part in compiling the Veritable Records of the Founding Emperor, and presented twelve chapters of "Great Ming Iron-Club Songs and Processional Airs." He was on friendly terms with Fang Xiaoru and died in office.
26
子稌，字叔豐。 師方孝孺。 孝孺被難，與其友鄭珣輩潛收遣骸，禍幾不測，自是絕意仕進。 初，紳痛父亡，食不兼味。 稌守之不變，居喪，不飲酒，不食肉者三年，門人私謚曰孝莊先生。
His son Tu, styled Shufeng. He studied under Fang Xiaoru. When Xiaoru met disaster, Tu and his friends Zheng Xun and others secretly gathered the scattered remains; catastrophe nearly overtook them, and from then on he abandoned all thought of official advancement. At first Shen, grieving his father's death, ate without variety of flavors. Tu maintained this without change; during mourning he drank no wine and ate no meat for three years, and his disciples privately gave him the posthumous title Master Xiaozhuang (Filial and Stately).
27
子汶，字允達。 成化十四年進士。 授中書舍人。 謝病歸，讀書齊山下。 弘治初，言者交薦，與檢討陳獻章同召，未抵京卒。
His son Wen, styled Yunda. In the fourteenth year of Chenghua he passed the metropolitan examination. He was appointed Secretariat Drafter. He resigned citing illness and returned home to study beneath Mount Qi. At the start of the Hongzhi reign, censors repeatedly recommended him; he was summoned together with Compiler Chen Xianzhang, but died before reaching the capital.
28
祎死雲南之三年，死事者又有吳雲。 雲，宜興人。 元翰林待制，仕太祖，為湖廣行省參政。 洪武八年九月，太祖議再遣使招諭梁王，召雲至，語之曰：「今天下一家，獨雲南未奉正朔，殺我使臣，卿能為我作陸賈乎？」 雲頓首請行。 時梁王遣鐵知院輩二十余人使漠北，為大將軍所獲，送京師，太祖釋之，令與雲偕行。 既入境，鐵知院等謀曰：「吾輩奉使被執，罪且死。」 乃誘雲，令詐為元使，改制書，共紿梁王。 雲誓死不從，鐵知院等遂殺雲。 梁王聞其事，收雲骨，送蜀給孤寺殯之。
Three years after Yi's death in Yunnan, there was also Wu Yun among those who died in the line of duty. Yun was a native of Yixing. He had been Hanlin Attendant Draftsman under the Yuan; he served the Founder as Vice Commissioner of the Huguang Provincial Administration Commission. In the ninth month of the eighth year of Hongwu, when the Founder deliberated sending envoys again to persuade the Prince of Liang, he summoned Yun and said to him, “Under Heaven is now one family, yet Yunnan alone has not accepted the official calendar and has killed my envoys—can you be my Lu Jia?” Yun bowed his head and asked to go. At that time the Prince of Liang had sent Tie Zhuyuan and more than twenty others as envoys to the northern desert; they were captured by the grand general, sent to the capital, released by the Founder, and ordered to travel together with Yun. Once they had entered the territory, Tie Zhuyuan and the others plotted, saying, “We were sent on mission and were captured—our crime warrants death.” They then deceived Yun, making him falsely pose as a Yuan envoy, altered the imperial rescript, and together duped the Prince of Liang. Yun swore he would rather die than comply; Tie Zhuyuan and the others then killed Yun. When the Prince of Liang learned of the affair, he gathered Yun's bones and sent them to the Jigu Temple in Shu for burial.
29
雲子黻，上雲事於朝。 詔馳傳返葬，以黻為國子生。 弘治四年五月贈雲刑部尚書，謚忠節，與祎並祠，改祠額曰二忠。
Yun's son Fu reported Yun's case to the court. An edict ordered rapid courier return for burial, and Fu was made a student of the National University. In the fifth month of the fourth year of Hongzhi, Yun was posthumously granted Minister of Justice and the posthumous title Zhongjie (Loyal Integrity); he was enshrined together with Yi, and the temple inscription was changed to "Two Loyal Ones."
30
熊鼎，字伯潁，臨川人。 元末舉於鄉，長龍溪書院。 江西寇亂，鼎結鄉兵自守。 陳友諒屢脅之，不應。 鄧愈鎮江西，數延見，奇其才，薦之。 太祖欲官之，以親老辭，乃留愈幕府贊軍事。 母喪除，召至京師，授德清縣丞。 松江民錢鶴臯反，鄰郡大驚，鼎鎮之以靜。
Xiong Ding, styled Boying, was a native of Linchuan. At the end of the Yuan he passed the provincial examination and was head of Longxi Academy. When Jiangxi was disturbed by bandits, Ding organized local militia for self-defense. Chen Youliang repeatedly coerced him, but he would not respond. When Deng Yu governed Jiangxi, he repeatedly summoned Ding, marveled at his talent, and recommended him. The Founder wished to grant him office, but he declined citing aged parents and remained in Yu's staff to assist in military affairs. After mourning for his mother was completed, he was summoned to the capital and appointed Assistant Magistrate of Deqing County. When the Songjiang commoner Qian He'gao rebelled, neighboring prefectures were greatly alarmed; Ding kept the region calm.
31
吳元年召議禮儀，除中書考功博士。 遷起居註，承詔搜括故事可懲戒者，書新宮壁間。 舍人耿忠使廣信還，奏郡縣官違法狀，帝遣御史廉之。 而時已頒赦書，丞相李善長再諫不納，鼎偕給事中尹正進曰：「朝廷布大信於四方，復以細故煩御史，失信，且褻威。」 帝默然久之，乃不遣物史。
In the Wu era he was summoned to discuss ritual, and appointed Doctor of Performance Evaluation in the Secretariat. He was transferred to Diarist; by imperial order he gathered historical precedents that could serve as warnings and wrote them on the walls of the new palace. Secretariat Gentleman Geng Zhong returned from mission to Guangxin and memorialized on violations by prefectural and county officials; the emperor dispatched censors to investigate. But by then an amnesty had already been promulgated; Chancellor Li Shanchang remonstrated twice without success. Ding together with Supervising Secretary Yin Zheng advanced and said, “The court has spread great trust throughout the realm—to trouble censors again over trivial matters breaks faith and moreover debases authority.” The emperor was silent for a long time, and in the end did not dispatch the censors.
32
洪武改元，新設浙江按察司，以鼎為僉事，分部臺、溫。 臺、溫自方氏竊據，偽官捍將二百人，暴橫甚。 鼎盡遷之江、淮間，民始安。 平陽知州梅鎰坐贓，辨不已，民數百鹹訴知州無罪。 鼎將聽之，吏白鼎：「釋知州，如故出何？」 鼎嘆曰：「法以誅罪，吾敢畏譴，誅無罪人乎！」 釋鎰，以情聞，報如其奏。 寧海民陳德仲支解黎異，異妻屢訴不得直。 鼎一日覽牒，有青蛙立案上，鼎曰：「蛙非黎異乎？ 果異，止勿動。」 蛙果勿動，乃逮德仲，鞫實，立正其罪。 是秋，山東初定，設按察司，復以鼎為僉事。 鼎至，奏罷不職有司數十輩，列部肅清。 鼎欲稽官吏利弊，乃令郡縣各置二歷，日書所治訟獄錢粟事，一留郡縣，一上憲府，遞更易，按歷鉤考之，莫敢隱者。 尋進副使，徙晉王府右傅。 坐累左遷，復授王府參軍，召為刑部主事。
At the change of reign title to Hongwu, when the Zhejiang Surveillance Commission was newly established, Ding was made Vice Commissioner, administering Taizhou and Wenzhou circuits. Taizhou and Wenzhou, since they had been seized by the Fang clan, had some two hundred false officials and obstinate generals who were exceedingly violent and overbearing. Ding had them all relocated to the Jiang-Huai region, and only then did the people at last find peace. Mei Yi, the prefect of Pingyang, stood accused of corruption. He protested his innocence without cease, and several hundred commoners petitioned as one that their prefect was guiltless. Ding was about to hear the case when a clerk warned him, "If we release the prefect, what excuse can we offer for letting him walk out as before?" Ding sighed and said, "The law exists to punish the guilty—am I to fear reprimand and put an innocent man to death?" He released Mei Yi, reported the full circumstances to the throne, and the imperial reply accorded with his memorial. In Ninghai, Chen Dezhong had dismembered Li Yi, and Yi's wife petitioned again and again without ever obtaining justice. One day while Ding was reviewing case papers, a green frog appeared on the dossier before him. Ding said, "Is this frog not Li Yi? It was indeed Yi, and he ordered that the frog not be touched." The frog truly did not stir. Ding then arrested Dezhong, established the facts under interrogation, and at once executed him for the crime. That autumn, with Shandong newly pacified, a Surveillance Commission was established and Ding was again appointed Vice Commissioner. When Ding arrived, he memorialized for the dismissal of several dozen derelict officials, and the entire commission was brought to order. Seeking to audit what officials gained and lost in office, Ding ordered every prefecture and county to maintain two ledgers, recording daily all lawsuits, prisons, money, and grain under their charge—one kept locally and one sent to the surveillance office, exchanged in rotation and cross-checked. None dared conceal anything. He was soon promoted to Assistant Commissioner and transferred to serve as Right Tutor in the household of the Prince of Jin. Implicated in a case, he was demoted, then reappointed Military Adjutant in the princely household before being summoned to serve as Chief Clerk in the Ministry of Justice.
33
八年，西部朵兒只班率部落內附，改鼎岐寧衛經歷。 既至，知寇偽降，密疏論之。 帝遣使慰勞，賜裘帽，復遣中使趙成召鼎。 鼎既行，寇果叛，脅鼎北還。 鼎責以大義，罵之，遂與成及知事杜寅俱被殺。 帝聞，悼惜，命葬之黃羊川，立祠，以所食俸給其家。
In the eighth year, when Dordji Baan of the western tribes led his people to submit, Ding was reassigned as clerk of Qining Guard. Once he arrived, recognizing that the bandits had feigned surrender, he sent a secret memorial arguing the point. The emperor sent envoys to comfort him, bestowed a fur coat and cap, and again dispatched the palace envoy Zhao Cheng to summon Ding. Hardly had Ding set out when the bandits rebelled as he had warned, forcing him to turn back north. Ding rebuked them in the name of righteousness and cursed them to their faces; he was killed together with Cheng and the clerk Du Yin. When the emperor heard of it, he mourned his loss and ordered Ding buried at Huangyangchuan, a shrine erected in his honor, and his salary allotment granted to his family.
34
易紹宗，攸人。 洪武時，從軍有功，授象山縣錢倉所千戶。 建文三年，倭登岸剽掠。 紹宗大書於壁曰：「設將禦敵，設軍衛民。 縱敵不忠。 棄民不仁。 不忠不仁，何以為臣！ 為臣不職，何以為人！」 書畢，命妻李具牲酒生奠之，訣而出，密令遊兵間道焚賊舟。 賊驚救，紹宗格戰，追至海岸，陷淖中，手刃數十賊，遂被害。 其妻攜孤奏於朝，賜葬祭，勒碑旌之。
Yi Shaozong was a native of You County. During the Hongwu reign he campaigned with distinction and was appointed Thousand-Commander at Qiancang Guard in Xiangshan County. In the third year of the Jianwen reign, Japanese pirates came ashore to raid and plunder. Shaozong wrote in large characters on the wall, "Appoint generals to repel the enemy; maintain armies to protect the people. To let the enemy go is disloyalty. To abandon the people is inhumanity. Without loyalty and humanity, how can one be a minister! As a minister who fails in his duty, how can one still be called human!" When he had finished writing, he told his wife Li to prepare meat and wine for a living farewell offering, took his leave, and secretly ordered roving troops by a hidden route to burn the pirates' boats. The pirates rushed to save their boats. Shaozong fought them hand to hand, pursued them to the shore, sank into the mud, and with his own blade cut down dozens of them before he was killed. His wife brought their orphan before the throne to petition the court; the court granted burial rites and had a stele erected in his honor.
35
時交阯人陳汝石、朱多蒲、陶季容、陳汀亦皆以忠節著。 汝石初為陳氏小校，大軍南征，率先歸附，積功至都指揮僉事。 永樂十七年，四忙士官車綿子等叛。 汝石從方政討之，深入賊陣，中流矢墜馬，與千戶朱多蒲皆死。 多蒲，亦交阯人。 事聞，遣行人賜祭，賻其家，官為置冢。
At that time Chen Rushi, Zhu Duopu, Tao Jirong, and Chen Ting of Jiaozhi were likewise famed for loyalty and steadfast integrity. Rushi had begun as a minor officer under the Chen regime; when the imperial army marched south he was among the first to submit, rising through merit to Vice Commissioner of Chief Military Command. In the seventeenth year of the Yongle reign, Che Mianzi, an official of Si Mang, and others rose in rebellion. Rushi followed Fang Zheng to suppress the rebels, plunged deep into their ranks, was struck by an arrow and thrown from his horse, and died together with Thousand-Commander Zhu Duopu. Duopu, too, was a native of Jiaozhi. When word reached the court, an envoy was dispatched with sacrificial offerings, compensation was granted to their families, and the state built tombs for them.
36
皇甫斌，壽州人。 先為興州右屯衛指揮同知，以才調遼海衛。 忠勇有智略，遇警，輒身先士卒。 宣德五年十月勒兵禦寇，至密城東峪，自旦及晡力戰，矢盡援絕，子弼以身衛父，俱戰死。 千戶吳貴，百戶吳襄、毛觀並驍勇，出必沖鋒，至是皆死。 斌等雖死，殺傷過當，寇亦引退。 事聞，詔有司褒恤。
Huangfu Bin was a native of Shouzhou. He had first served as Deputy Commander of the Xingzhou Right Garrison and was transferred to Liaohai Guard on account of his ability. Loyal, brave, and resourceful, he always placed himself at the head of his men whenever danger arose. In the tenth month of the fifth year of Xuande he mustered troops against bandits and fought at Miyu east of Micheng from dawn until evening; when arrows were spent and relief failed to come, his son Bi shielded him with his own body, and both fell in battle. Thousand-Commander Wu Gui and Centurions Wu Xiang and Mao Guan were all fiercely brave men who invariably led the charge; on this day they all perished. Though Bin and his companions died, they inflicted losses far beyond their own, and the bandits withdrew as well. When word reached the throne, an edict ordered the responsible offices to honor and compensate them.
37
張瑛，字彥華，浙江建德人。 永樂中，舉於鄉，歷刑部員外郎。 正統時，擢建寧知府。 鄧茂七作亂，賊二千余迫城結砦，四出剽掠。 瑛率建安典史鄭烈會都指揮徐信軍，分三路襲之，斬首五百余，遂拔其砦。 進右參議，仍知府事。 烈亦遷主簿。 茂七既誅，其黨林拾得等轉掠城下，瑛與從父敬禦之。 賊敗，乘勝逐北，陷伏中，敬死，瑛被執，大罵不屈死。 詔贈福建按察使，賜祭，官其子。 弘治中，建寧知府劉玙請於朝，立祠致祭。
Zhang Ying, styled Yanhua, was a native of Jiande in Zhejiang. During the Yongle reign he passed the provincial examination and served as Vice Director in the Ministry of Justice. In the Zhengtong era he was promoted to prefect of Jianning. When Deng Maoqi rebelled, more than two thousand bandits pressed upon the city, built stockades, and fanned out to plunder on every side. Ying led Jian'an Record Clerk Zheng Lie to join the army of Military Commander Xu Xin, struck in three columns, took more than five hundred heads, and captured the stockade. He was promoted to Right Assistant Administration Commissioner while continuing to govern the prefecture. Zheng Lie was promoted to chief clerk as well. After Maoqi was put to death, his followers Lin Shide and others raided beneath the city walls; Ying and his uncle Jing went out to resist them. The bandits were routed, but in the pursuit Ying and his men fell into an ambush; Jing was killed, Ying was captured, cursed his captors without yielding, and died. An edict posthumously made him Surveillance Commissioner of Fujian, granted sacrificial honors, and enrolled his son in office. During the Hongzhi reign, Jianning Prefect Liu Yu petitioned the court to erect a shrine and perform regular sacrifices.
38
時泉州守熊尚初亦以拒賊被執死。 尚初，南昌人。 初為吏，以才擢都察院都事，進經歷。 正統中，用都御史陳鎰薦，擢泉州知府。 盜起，上官檄尚初監軍，不旬日降賊數百。 已而賊逼城下，守將不敢禦。 尚初憤，提民兵數百，與晉江主簿史孟常、陰陽訓術楊仕弘分統之，拒於古陵坡。 兵敗，皆遇害。 郡人哀之，為配享忠臣廟。
At the same time Xiong Shangchu, prefect of Quanzhou, also died in captivity after resisting bandits. Shangchu was a native of Nanchang. He had begun as a clerk, was promoted for ability to Secretariat Officer of the Censorate, and later advanced to clerk. During the Zhengtong reign, on the recommendation of Censor-in-Chief Chen Yong, he was promoted to prefect of Quanzhou. When bandits rose, his superiors ordered Shangchu to take command of the troops, and within ten days several hundred bandits surrendered. Before long the bandits pressed upon the city, yet the garrison commander dared not meet them. Furious, Shangchu raised several hundred militia, divided command with Jinjiang Chief Clerk Shi Mengchang and Yin-Yang Instructor Yang Shihong, and met the bandits at Guling Slope. Their force was defeated, and all were killed. The people of the prefecture mourned them and installed them as associate spirits in the Shrine of Loyal Ministers.
39
王禎，字維禎，吉水人。 祖省，死建文難，自有傳。 成化初，禎由國子生授夔州通判。 二年，荊、襄石和尚流劫至巫山，督盜同知王某者怯不救。 禎面數之，即代勒所部民兵，晝夜行。 至則城已陷，賊方聚山中。 禎擊殺其魁，余盡遁，乃行縣撫傷殘，招潰散，久乃得還。 甫三日，賊復劫大昌。 禎趣同知行，不應。 指揮曹能、柴成與同知比，激禎曰：「公為國出力，肯復行乎？」 禎即請往，兩人偽許相左右。 禎上馬，挾二人與俱，夾水陣。 既渡，兩人見賊即走。 禎被圍半日，誤入淖中，賊執欲降之，禎大罵。 賊怒，斷其喉及右臂而死。 從行者奉節典史及部卒六百余人皆死。
Wang Zhen, styled Weizhen, was a native of Jishui. His grandfather Sheng had died in the troubles of the Jianwen reign; he has his own biography. At the opening of the Chenghua reign, Zhen was appointed vice prefect of Kuizhou after graduating from the Imperial Academy. In the second year, the Stone Monk and his band from Jing and Xiang swept as far as Wushan to plunder; the Vice Prefect in charge of bandit suppression, a man surnamed Wang, was too timid to go to the rescue. Zhen rebuked him to his face, then took command himself, drilling the militia under his charge and marching day and night. When they arrived, the city had already fallen and the bandits were massed in the hills. Zhen struck down their leader and the rest fled; he then traveled through the counties to succor the wounded and destitute and gather up scattered troops, and only after a long while was he able to return. Hardly three days had passed when the bandits raided Dachang again. Zhen urged the Vice Prefect to march, but received no answer. Commanders Cao Neng and Chai Cheng, siding with the Vice Prefect, goaded Zhen, saying, "You exert yourself for the state—are you willing to go again?" Zhen at once volunteered to go; the two men falsely promised to stand by him on either flank. Zhen mounted, taking the two men with him, and drew up his force on either bank of the stream. Once they had crossed, the two men caught sight of the bandits and fled at once. Surrounded for half a day, Zhen blundered into a marsh, was seized, and when the bandits tried to force his surrender he cursed them loudly. Enraged, the bandits cut his throat and right arm and killed him. All who had accompanied him—the Protocol Clerk and more than six hundred soldiers—died as well.
40
自死所至府三百余裏，所乘馬奔歸，血淋漓，毛盡赤。 眾始知禎敗，往覓屍，面如生。 子廣鬻馬為歸貲，王同知得馬不償直。 櫬既行，馬夜半哀鳴。 同知起視之，馬驟前嚙項，搗其胸，翼日嘔血死，人稱為義馬。 事聞，贈禎僉事，錄一子。
From the place where he died to the prefectural seat was more than three hundred li; the horse he had ridden galloped home drenched in blood, its coat entirely red. Only then did the people learn of Zhen's defeat; they went to recover his body, and his face looked as if he were still alive. His son Guang sold the horse to pay for bringing the body home; Vice Prefect Wang took the horse but never paid its full worth. After the coffin had set out, the horse wailed mournfully at midnight. The Vice Prefect rose to look, and the horse suddenly charged forward, bit his neck, and struck his chest; the next day he vomited blood and died, and people called it the Righteous Horse. When word reached the throne, Zhen was posthumously granted the rank of Vice Commissioner and one son was enrolled in office.
41
萬琛，字廷獻，宣城人。 慷慨負氣節，舉於鄉。 弘治中，知瑞金縣。 十八年正月，劇盜大至，縣人洶洶逃竄。 有勸琛急去者，琛斥之，率民兵數十人迎敵，殺賊二十余人。 相持至明日，力屈被執，罵不絕口，賊攢刺之，乃死。 贈光祿少卿，賜祭葬，予蔭。
Wan Chen, styled Tingxian, was a native of Xuancheng. Generous in spirit and firm in integrity, he passed the provincial examination. During the Hongzhi reign he served as magistrate of Ruijin County. In the first month of the eighteenth year, fierce bandits descended in force and the people of the county fled in panic. When some urged Chen to flee at once, he rebuked them, led several dozen militiamen to meet the enemy, and killed more than twenty bandits. The fight lasted until the next day; when his strength failed he was captured and cursed them without cease until the bandits stabbed him again and again and he died. He was posthumously made Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, granted state burial rites, and his family received hereditary privilege.
42
時有王祐者，為廣昌知縣，賊至，民盡逃，援兵又不至。 祐拔刀自刲其腹曰：「有城不能守，何生為！」 左右奔奪其刀。 後援兵集，賊稍退。 越七日復突至，祐倉皇赴敵，死之。
At the time there was Wang You, magistrate of Guangchang County; when bandits arrived the people all fled and no reinforcements came. You drew his sword and cut open his own belly, crying, "With a city to defend and unable to hold it—what is life worth?" Those around him rushed forward and wrested the sword from his hand. Later, when reinforcements gathered, the bandits withdrew somewhat. Seven days later the bandits struck again; You rushed out in haste to meet them and was killed.
43
周憲，安陸人。 弘治六年進士。 除刑部主事，進員外郎。 十七年坐事下詔獄，謫袞州通判。 正德初，復故官，歷江西副使。 華林、馬腦賊方熾，總督陳金檄憲剿之，平馬腦砦及仙女、雞公嶺諸寨，先後斬獲千余人。 華林賊窘，遣諜者詭言饑困狀。 憲信之，移檄會師夾擊。 他將多觀望，憲攻北門，三戰，賊稍卻，與子幹先登逼之。 賊下木石如雨，軍潰，憲中槍，幹前救，力戰墮崖死。 憲創重被執，罵不絕口，賊支解之。 事始聞，贈按察使，予祭葬，謚節湣，蔭一子，旌幹門曰孝烈。 嘉靖二年，江西巡撫盛應期請與黃宏、馬思聰並旌，詔附禮忠烈祠。 後從給事中李鐸言，命有司歲給其家米二石，帛二匹。
Zhou Xian was a native of Anlu. He became a jinshi in the sixth year of the Hongzhi reign. He was appointed a secretary in the Ministry of Justice and promoted to vice director. In the seventeenth year he was imprisoned by imperial order on account of misconduct and demoted to associate prefect of Yanzhou. At the outset of the Zhengde reign he was restored to his former rank and served as vice commissioner of Jiangxi. The Hualin and Manao bandits were then at their fiercest. Grand Coordinator Chen Jin ordered Xian to suppress them; he pacified the Manao stockade and the stockades at Xiannü and Jigong Ridge, killing or capturing more than a thousand men in the course of the campaign. The Hualin bandits, now hard pressed, sent a spy to spread false reports of hunger and exhaustion. Xian believed the ruse and issued a dispatch summoning allied forces for a pincer attack. While the other commanders mostly hung back, Xian assaulted the north gate. After three engagements the bandits began to give ground, and he and his son Gàn were the first to scale the walls and press the attack. The bandits rained timber and stones upon them; the army broke. Xian was speared, and Gàn rushed forward to save him, fighting until he fell from a cliff and died. Grievously wounded, Xian was taken prisoner. He never stopped cursing, and the bandits dismembered him. When news of the affair first reached the throne, Xian was posthumously made surveillance commissioner, granted state burial rites, and given the posthumous title Jiemin (Steadfast Lamentation); one son received hereditary enrollment, and Gàn's family gate was honored with the plaque "Filial Fierceness." In the second year of Jiajing, Jiangxi grand coordinator Sheng Yingqi petitioned that Xian be honored together with Huang Hong and Ma Sicong; an edict ordered their names entered in the Ministry of Rites' Hall of Loyal Martyrs. Later, on the recommendation of supervising secretary Li Duo, the throne ordered the local authorities to grant his household two shi of grain and two bolts of silk every year.
44
楊忠，寧夏人。 世官中衛指揮，以功進都指揮僉事，廉介有謀勇。 正德五年，安化王寘鐇反，其黨丁廣將殺巡撫安惟學，忠在側，罵曰：「賊狗敢犯上邪！」 廣怒，殺之，迄死罵益厲。 忠同官李睿聞變，馳至寘鐇所。 門閉不得入，大罵，為賊所殺。 百戶張欽不從逆，走至雷福堡，亦被殺。 皆贈官予蔭，表忠、睿曰忠烈之門，欽曰忠節之門。
Yang Zhong was a native of Ningxia. He held hereditary appointment as a commander of Zhongwei and was promoted to assistant regional military commissioner for his deeds. Upright and resolute, he was as clever as he was brave. In the fifth year of Zhengde, the Prince of Anhua, Zhu Zhifan, rebelled. His follower Ding Guang was about to kill grand coordinator An Weixue. Zhong was at his side and cursed: "You bandit cur—dare you commit lese majesty? Guang flew into a rage and killed him, yet to his last breath Zhong only cursed the louder. Zhong's colleague Li Rui, hearing of the revolt, rode at full speed to Zhifan's headquarters. The gates were barred against him; he cursed loudly and was slain by the rebels. Centurion Zhang Qin refused to join the rebellion, fled to Leifu Fort, and was killed there as well. All were posthumously granted office and hereditary privilege; the gates of Zhong and Rui were honored with the plaque "Gate of Loyal Martyrs," and Qin's with "Gate of Loyal Integrity."
45
吳景，南陵人。 弘治九年進士。 正德中，歷官四川僉事，守江津。 重慶人曹弼亡命播州，糾眾寇川南，謀與大盜藍廷瑞合。 六年正月逼江津。 御史俞緇遁去，屬景及都指揮龐鳳禦之。 鳳邀景俱走，景不可，率典史張俊迎擊，手殺三賊，矢被面。 急收兵入保，城已陷，大呼曰：「寧殺我，毋殺士民！」 賊強之跪，不屈，遂被殺，俊亦死。 巡撫林俊上其事，詔贈景副使，賜祭葬，立祠江津，予世蔭。
Wu Jing was a native of Nanling. He became a jinshi in the ninth year of the Hongzhi reign. During the Zhengde reign he served as vice commissioner of Sichuan and defended Jiangjin. Cao Bi of Chongqing, a fugitive in Bozhou, rallied followers to plunder southern Sichuan and planned to join the great bandit chief Lan Tingrui. In the first month of the sixth year they pressed Jiangjin. Censor Yu Zi fled, leaving Jing and regional military commander Pang Feng to hold the line. Feng urged Jing to flee with him, but Jing refused. Leading county clerk Zhang Jun, he met the enemy head-on, killed three bandits with his own hand, and took an arrow in the face. He hurriedly withdrew his men to the fort, but the city had already fallen. He cried out: "Better kill me than kill the officials and people! The bandits forced him to his knees; he would not submit and was killed, and Jun died as well. Grand coordinator Lin Jun reported the affair to the throne. An edict posthumously made Jing a vice commissioner, granted him state burial rites, erected a shrine at Jiangjin, and enrolled his descendants in office.
46
是月，僉事王源行部川北，會藍廷瑞、鄢本恕等掠通、巴至營山，源率典史鄧俊禦之，皆被殺。 贈源副使，蔭其子。 源，五臺人，弘治十二年進士。
That same month, vice commissioner Wang Yuan was making his rounds in northern Sichuan when Lan Tingrui, Yan Benshu, and others raided through Tongzhou and Bazhou as far as Yingshan. Yuan led county clerk Deng Jun to meet them; both were killed. Yuan was posthumously made a vice commissioner, and his son received hereditary enrollment. Yuan was a native of Wutai and had become a jinshi in the twelfth year of the Hongzhi reign.
47
明年正月，賊麻六兒將逼川東。 副使馮傑追擊於蒼溪，俘斬頗眾。 日晡，移營鐵山關，賊乘夜沖突，傑死之。 贈按察使，賜祭葬，謚恪湣，世蔭百戶。
In the first month of the following year, the bandit Ma Liu'er was poised to overrun eastern Sichuan. Vice commissioner Feng Jie pursued them at Cangxi, capturing and killing a great many. Toward evening he moved camp to Tieshan Pass; the bandits struck at night, and Jie was killed. He was posthumously made surveillance commissioner, granted state burial rites, given the posthumous title Kemin (Reverent Lamentation), and his line was granted hereditary centurion rank.
48
是時，略陽知縣孫璽、劍州判官羅明、梁山主簿時植亦皆死於賊。
At this time Sun Xi, magistrate of Lueyang; Luo Ming, assistant prefect of Jianzhou; and Shi Zhi, registrar of Liangshan—all likewise died fighting the bandits.
49
璽，字廷信，代州人。 舉於鄉，知扶風縣。 都御史藍章以略陽漢中要地，舊無城，檄璽往城之。 工未畢，賊至，縣令嚴順欲去，璽拔刀斫坐幾曰：「欲去者視此！」 乃率僚屬堅守，數日城陷，璽被執，大罵不屈，賊臠殺之。 順逃去，誣璽俱逃，滋於江，以他人屍斂。 璽子啟視，非是，訟於朝。 勘得死節狀，贈光祿少卿，賜祭予蔭，抵順罪。
Xi, style name Tingxin, was a native of Daizhou. He passed the provincial examination and served as magistrate of Fufeng County. Censor-in-chief Lan Zhang, knowing that Lueyang was a strategic point in Hanzhong and had never had city walls, ordered Xi by dispatch to go and build them. Before the work was finished, bandits arrived. Magistrate Yan Shun wished to flee; Xi drew his sword and hacked the desk before him, saying: "Whoever wishes to leave—look at this! He then led his subordinates in a stout defense. When the city fell after several days, Xi was taken captive. He cursed without yielding, and the bandits hacked him to pieces. Shun fled and falsely claimed that Xi had fled with him. He disposed of the remains in the river and had another man's corpse placed in a coffin. Xi's son opened the coffin to look and found it was not his father; he brought suit at court. Investigation established that he had died loyal; he was posthumously made vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, granted state burial rites and hereditary enrollment, and Shun was brought to account.
50
明，以吏起家。 鄢本恕逼其城，與子介拒守。 城陷，父子皆罵賊死。
Luo Ming began his career as a clerk. When Yan Benshu pressed the city, he and his son Jie held firm in defense. When the city fell, father and son both cursed the bandits and died fighting.
51
植，字良材，通許人。 由國子生授官，時攝縣事。 賊方四等略地，植拒卻之，斬獲數十級。 逾月復至，相拒數日，城陷，說之降，不屈。 脅取其印，不予，大罵被殺。 妻賈聞變即自縊，女九歲，赴火死。 明、植皆贈恤如制，而表植妻女為貞烈。
Shi Zhi, style name Liangcai, was a native of Tongxu. Appointed from among the students of the Imperial Academy, he was at the time acting head of county affairs. When the bandit Fang Si overran the countryside, Zhi drove him back, killing or capturing several dozen men. A month later they returned. After several days of resistance the city fell; they urged him to surrender, but he would not yield. They threatened him for the official seal; he refused and was killed after a torrent of curses. His wife Jia, hearing what had happened, immediately hanged herself; his nine-year-old daughter threw herself into the fire and died. Both Ming and Zhi received posthumous honors according to regulation, and plaques were raised honoring Zhi's wife and daughter as chaste martyrs.
52
其時，士民冒死殺賊者，有趙趣、徐敬之、雷應通、袁璋之屬。
At that time, among those scholars and commoners who risked death to kill bandits were Zhao Qu, Xu Jingzhi, Lei Yingtong, Yuan Zhang, and others of that company.
53
趣，梁山諸生。 賊攻城，同友人黃甲、李鳳、何璟、蕭銳、徐宣、楊茂寬、趙采誓死拒守。 城陷，皆死。 都物史林俊嘉其義，立祠祀之。 敬之，亦梁山人。 眾推為部長，以拒賊陷陣死。
Zhao Qu was a student of Liangshan. When bandits besieged the city, he and his friends Huang Jia, Li Feng, He Jing, Xiao Rui, Xu Xuan, Yang Maokuan, and Zhao Cai swore to die defending it. When the city fell, they all died. Censor-in-chief Lin Jun commended their righteousness and established a shrine in their honor. Xu Jingzhi was also a native of Liangshan. The people chose him as head of the militia company, and he died in battle fighting the bandits.
54
應通，嘉州人。 賊沖百丈關，父子七人倡義死戰。 被執，俱慷慨就殺。
Lei Yingtong was a native of Jiazhou. When bandits stormed Baizhang Pass, a father and his sons—seven men in all—took the lead in righteous battle unto death. Taken captive, they all went willingly to their deaths.
55
璋，江南人。 素以勇俠聞。 巡撫林俊委剿賊所在有功。 後為所執，其子襲挺身救之，連殺七賊，亦被執，俱死。 襲死三日，兩目猶瞠視其父。 林俊表其門曰父子忠節。 總制彭澤為勒石城隍廟，祀於忠孝祠。
Yuan Zhang was a native of Jiangnan. He had long been known for courage and chivalry. Grand coordinator Lin Jun charged him with suppressing bandits wherever they appeared, and he served with distinction. Later he was taken captive; his son Xi rushed forward to rescue him, killing seven bandits in succession before he too was captured, and both died. Three days after Xi died, his eyes still stared wide toward his father. Lin Jun honored their gate with the plaque "Father and Son, Loyal Integrity." Grand coordinator Peng Ze had a stone inscription cut at the City God Temple, and they were enshrined in the Hall of Loyalty and Filial Piety.
56
霍恩，字天錫，易州人。 弘治十五年進士。 正德中，歷知上蔡縣。 六年，賊四起，中原郡邑多殘破。 畿內則棗強知縣段豸、大城知縣張汝舟，河南則恩及典史梁逵，西平知縣王佐、主簿李銓，葉縣知縣唐天恩，永城知縣王鼎，裕州同知郁采、都指揮詹濟、鄉官任賢，固始丞曾基，夏邑丞安宣，息縣主簿刑祥，睢寧主簿金聲、丘紳，西華教諭孔環，山東則萊蕪知縣熊驂，萊州衛指揮僉事蔡顯，南畿則靈譬主簿蔣賢，皆抗節死，而恩、佐、采、環死尤烈。
Huo En, style name Tianxi, was a native of Yizhou. He became a jinshi in the fifteenth year of the Hongzhi reign. During the Zhengde reign he served as magistrate of Shangcai County. In the sixth year bandits rose everywhere, and many commanderies and counties of the Central Plain were laid waste. Within the capital region were Duan Zhi, magistrate of Zaoqiang, and Zhang Ruizhou, magistrate of Dacheng. In Henan were En and county clerk Liang Kui; Wang Zuo, magistrate of Xiping, and registrar Li Quan; Tang Tian'en, magistrate of Ye County; Wang Ding, magistrate of Yongcheng; Yu Cai, vice prefect of Yuzhou, regional military commander Zhan Ji, and local official Ren Xian; Zeng Ji, assistant magistrate of Gushi; An Xuan, assistant magistrate of Xiayi; Xing Xiang, registrar of Xi County; Jin Sheng and Qiu Shen, registrars of Suining; and Kong Huan, instructor of Xihua. In Shandong were Xiong Can, magistrate of Laiwu, and Cai Xian, assistant regional military commissioner of Laizhou Guard. In the Southern Capital region was Jiang Xian, registrar of Lingbi. All died resisting to the end; En, Zuo, Cai, and Huan died especially fiercely.
57
恩與梁逵共守，當賊至時，語妻劉曰：「脫有急，汝若何？」 劉願同死，乃築臺廨後，約曰：「見我下城，即賊入矣。」 及城陷，恩拔刀下城，劉臺上見之，即縊，未絕，以簪刺心死。 恩被執，賊脅之跪。 罵曰：「吾此膝肯為賊屈乎！」 賊日殺人以懾之，罵益厲。 賊以刀抉其口，支解之。 逵自經死。
En and Liang Kui defended together. When bandits arrived, he said to his wife Liu: "If there is an emergency, what will you do? Liu wished to die with him; they therefore built a platform behind the yamen and agreed: "When you see me descend from the city wall, the bandits have entered." When the city fell, En drew his sword and descended from the wall. Liu saw this from the platform and at once hanged herself; before life had left her, she pierced her heart with a hairpin and died. En was taken captive, and the bandits forced him to kneel. He cursed: "Would these knees of mine bow to bandits! The bandits killed people day after day to intimidate him, yet he only cursed the louder. The bandits pried his mouth open with a knife and dismembered him. Kui hanged himself to death.
58
豸，字世高，澤洲人。 起家進士。 正德中，授兵科都給事中，謫棗強令。 賊至，連戰卻之。 及城陷，中四矢一槍，瞋目大呼，殺賊而死，賊屠其城。 汝舟官大城時，與主簿李銓迎戰，皆被殺。
Duan Zhi, style name Shigao, was a native of Zezhou. He had begun his career as a jinshi. During the Zhengde reign he was appointed supervising secretary of the Bureau of Military Affairs and was later demoted to magistrate of Zaoqiang. When bandits arrived, he fought them again and again and drove them back. When the city fell he took four arrows and a spear; glaring and shouting, he killed bandits until he died, and the bandits then sacked the city. While serving as magistrate of Dacheng, Ruizhou and registrar Li Quan met the enemy in battle and both were killed.
59
佐，字汝弼。 潞州舉人，授西平令。 手殺賊數十人，矢斃其渠帥。 賊忿，急攻三日，佐力屈被執，罵不絕口。 賊懸諸竿，殺而支解之。 天恩知葉縣，賊至，與父政等七人俱死。 鼎知永城，城陷，系印於肘，端坐待賊，不屈死。
Wang Zuo, style name Rubi. A provincial graduate of Luzhou, he was appointed magistrate of Xiping. He killed several dozen bandits with his own hand and felled their ringleader with an arrow. Enraged, the bandits pressed the attack for three days. When Zuo's strength gave out he was captured, yet never stopped cursing. The bandits hung him from a pole, killed him, and dismembered him. Tang Tian'en was magistrate of Ye County; when bandits arrived, he and his father Zheng and six others all died together. Wang Ding was magistrate of Yongcheng; when the city fell he bound the official seal to his elbow, sat upright awaiting the bandits, and died without yielding.
60
采，字亮之，浙江山陰人，進士。 由主事謫教諭，遷裕州同知。 與濟、賢共堅守，斬獲多，城陷被執。 采罵不輟，賊碎其輔頰而死。 濟亦不屈死。 賢嘗為御史，方里居，招邑子三千人拒守，罵賊死，一家死者十三人。 基為固始丞，被執，使馭馬不從，被害。 宣，初授夏邑丞。 賊楊虎逼其境，或勸毋往，宣兼程進。 抵任七日，賊大至，拒守有功。 城陷，死之。 祥已致仕，城陷，罵賊死。 聲、紳與義士朱用之迎戰死。
Yu Cai, style name Liangzhi, was a native of Shanyin in Zhejiang and a jinshi. He had served as a department director but was demoted to instructor; he was later appointed vice prefect of Yuzhou. Together with Zhan Ji and Ren Xian he held the city resolutely, killing and capturing many of the enemy; when the city fell he was taken captive. Cai never stopped cursing them; the bandits smashed his jawbones and killed him. Ji likewise died without yielding. Xian had once served as a censor and was then living in retirement at home; he mustered three thousand local men to hold the city, cursed the bandits as he died, and thirteen members of his family perished. Zeng Ji was assistant magistrate of Gushi; taken captive, he was ordered to serve as a horse groom but refused, and was killed. As for Xuan, his first appointment was as assistant magistrate of Xiayi. The bandit Yang Hu was threatening the region; some urged him not to take up the post, but Xuan hurried there by forced marches. Within seven days of taking office, bandits arrived in force; his defense was meritorious. When the city fell, he died defending it. Xiang had already retired; when the city fell he cursed the bandits and died. Jin Sheng, Qiu Shen, and the local hero Zhu Yongzhi went out to meet the enemy in battle and were killed.
61
環，南宮人。 由歲貢生授來安知縣，為劉瑾黨所陷，左遷西華教諭。 被執，賊曰：「呼我王，即釋汝。」 厲聲曰：「我恨不得碎汝萬段，肯媚汝求活耶！」 遂被殺。 驂為賊所執，與主簿韓塘俱不屈死。 顯與三子湛、英、順俱禦盜力戰死。
Kong Huan was a native of Nangong. Having entered office as an annual tribute graduate, he was appointed magistrate of Lu'an; framed by Liu Jin's faction, he was demoted to instructor at Xihua. He was taken captive; the bandits said, "Call me king, and I will release you. He cried out fiercely, "I wish I could cut you into ten thousand pieces—do you think I would fawn on you to save my life!" He was then killed. Xiong Can was captured by bandits; he and registrar Han Tang both died without yielding. Cai Xian and his three sons Zhan, Ying, and Shun all fought the bandits with all their strength and were killed.
62
諸人死節事聞，皆贈官賜祭予蔭立祠如制。 恩妻劉贈宜人，建忠節坊旌之。 天恩、鼎、基、宣、祥諸人，裏貫無考。
When word of these men's faithful deaths reached the court, each was posthumously promoted, granted sacrificial honors, given hereditary privileges, and had a shrine established according to regulations. En's wife Liu was posthumously granted the title Lady, and a Memorial Arch of Loyal Integrity was erected in her honor. The native places of Tian'en, Ding, Ji, Xuan, Xiang, and the others cannot be established.
63
時有鄭寶，為郁林州同知，署北流縣事。 妖賊李通寶犯北流，寶與子宗珪出戰，皆死。
At that time there was Zheng Bao, vice prefect of Yulin Prefecture, who was acting magistrate of Beiliu County. The sorcerer-rebel Li Tongbao attacked Beiliu; Bao and his son Zonggui rode out to fight and both were killed.
64
王振者，為福建黃崎鎮巡檢。 海寇大至，率三子臣、朝、實迎戰競日。 伏兵起，振被殺，屍僵立。 三子救之，臣重傷，朝、實皆死。 亦予恤有差。
Wang Zhen served as coastal patrol inspector at Huangqi in Fujian. Sea raiders arrived in force; he led his three sons Chen, Chao, and Shi to meet them in battle, fighting all day. An ambush sprang up; Zhen was killed, and his corpse remained standing stiffly upright. His three sons rushed to his aid; Chen was gravely wounded, and Chao and Shi were both killed. They were also granted posthumous honors of varying degrees.
65
孫燧，字德成，余姚人。 弘治六年進士。 歷刑部主事，再遷郎中。 正德中，歷河南右布政使。 寧王宸濠有逆謀，結中官幸臣，日夜诇中朝事，幸有變。 又劫持群吏，厚餌之，使為己用。 惡巡撫王哲不附己，毒之，得疾，逾年死。 董傑代哲，僅八月亦死。 自是，官其地者惴惴，以得去為幸。 代傑者任漢、俞諫，皆歲餘罷歸。 燧以才節著治聲，廷臣推之代。
Sun Sui, style name Decheng, was a native of Yuyao. He became a jinshi in the sixth year of the Hongzhi reign. He served as a department director in the Ministry of Justice and was promoted twice to bureau director. During the Zhengde reign he served as Right Administration Commissioner of Henan. The Prince of Ning, Zhu Chenhao, harbored treasonous designs; he cultivated eunuchs and imperial favorites, spying day and night on affairs at court in hopes of turmoil. He also coerced local officials in groups, lavishing bribes on them to win them to his service. Resenting Grand Coordinator Wang Zhe for refusing to join him, he poisoned him; Wang fell ill and died more than a year later. Dong Jie replaced Wang Zhe, but after only eight months he too was dead. From then on, officials assigned to that region lived in constant dread, counting themselves fortunate whenever they could leave. Those who succeeded Jie—Ren Han and Yu Jian—both served a little over a year before being dismissed and sent home. Sui was known for both talent and integrity and had won a strong reputation in office; court ministers recommended him for the post.
66
十年十月擢右副都御史，巡撫江西。 燧聞命嘆曰：「是當死生以之矣。」 遣妻子還鄉，獨攜二僮以行。 時宸濠逆狀已大露，南昌人洶洶，謂宸濠旦暮得天子。 燧左右悉宸濠耳目，燧防察密，左右不得窺，獨時時為宸濠陳說大義，卒不悛。 陰察副使許逵忠勇，可屬大事，與之謀。 先是，副使胡世寧暴宸濠逆謀，中官幸臣為之地，世寧得罪去。 燧念訟言於朝無益，乃托禦他寇預為備。 先城進賢，次城南康、瑞州。 患建昌縣多盜，割其地，別置安義縣，以漸弭之。 而請復饒、撫二州兵備，不得復，則請敕湖東分巡兼理之。 九江當湖沖，最要害，請重兵備道權，兼攝南康、寧州、武寧、瑞昌及湖廣興國、通城，以便控制。 廣信橫峰、青山諸窯，地險人悍，則請設通判駐弋陽，兼督旁五縣兵。 又恐宸濠劫兵器，假討賊，盡出之他所。 宸濠間燧圖己，使人賂朝中幸臣去燧，而遣燧棗梨姜芥以示意，燧笑卻之。 逵勸燧先發後聞，燧曰：「奈何予賊以名，且需之。」
In the tenth month of the tenth year he was promoted to Right Vice Censor-in-Chief and appointed Grand Coordinator of Jiangxi. When Sui received the appointment he sighed and said, "For this office I must be prepared to live or die. He sent his wife and children home and set out alone with only two boy attendants. By then Chenhao's treason was largely exposed, and the people of Nanchang were in an uproar, saying he would become emperor at any moment. Those around Sui were all Chenhao's spies; Sui watched them closely so they could not pry into his plans, though from time to time he still tried to persuade Chenhao with righteous argument—to no avail. Secretly sizing up Vice Commissioner Xu Kui, he found him loyal and courageous and fit to be entrusted with grave matters, and entered into plans with him. Earlier, Vice Commissioner Hu Shining had openly denounced Chenhao's treason; eunuchs and imperial favorites intervened on Chenhao's behalf, and Shining was punished and removed from office. Sui judged that pressing the case at court would do no good, so he used the pretext of defending against other enemies to prepare in advance. He first fortified Jinxian, then moved on to fortify Nankang and Ruizhou. Because Jianchang County was plagued by bandits, he carved out part of its territory to establish Anyi County as a way to quell the disorder gradually. He petitioned to restore the military commissioners of Rao and Fu, but when that was denied he asked that the Eastern Poyang circuit intendant be authorized to take charge instead. Jiujiang stood on the lake's front line and was the most critical point; he asked that the military defense intendant be given heavier authority, with concurrent jurisdiction over Nankang, Ningzhou, Wuning, Ruichang, and in Huguang Xingguo and Tongcheng, to keep the region under control. At the kilns of Hengfeng and Qingshan in Guangxin, where the terrain was treacherous and the people fierce, he asked that a vice prefect be posted at Yiyang to command the troops of the five neighboring counties. Fearing Chenhao might seize the arsenals, he moved all the weapons elsewhere under the pretense of conducting a bandit-suppression campaign. Learning that Sui was working against him, Chenhao sent men to bribe imperial favorites at court to have Sui removed, and sent him jujubes, pears, ginger, and mustard as a hint that he should leave quickly; Sui laughed and refused the gifts. Kui urged Sui to move first and report afterward; Sui replied, "How can I give the rebels a pretext by name? Besides, we must wait."
67
十三年，江西大水，宸濠素所蓄賊淩十一、吳十三、閔念四等出沒鄱陽湖，燧與逵謀捕之。 三賊遁沙井，燧自江外掩捕，夜大風雨，不克濟。 三賊走匿宸濠祖墓間，於是密疏白其狀，且言宸濠必反。 章七上，輒為宸濠遮獄，不得達。 宸濠恚甚，因宴毒燧，不死。 燧乞致仕，又不許，憂懼甚。
In the thirteenth year a great flood struck Jiangxi; bandits Chenhao had long harbored—Ling Shiyi, Wu Shisan, Min Niansi, and others—were raiding on Poyang Lake, and Sui and Kui plotted to capture them. The three bandits fled to Shajing; Sui tried to trap them from beyond the river, but a violent storm that night prevented him from crossing. The three bandits took refuge near Chenhao's ancestral tombs; Sui then sent a secret memorial describing the situation and declaring that Chenhao would surely rebel. He submitted the memorial seven times, but each time Chenhao intercepted it at the post station and it never reached the throne. Chenhao was furious; he poisoned Sui at a banquet, but Sui survived. Sui petitioned to retire, but that too was denied, and his anxiety grew deep.
68
明年，宸濠脅鎮巡官奏其孝行，燧與巡按御史林潮冀藉是少緩其謀，乃共奏於朝。 朝議方降旨責燧等，會御史蕭淮盡發宸濠不軌狀，詔重臣宣諭，宸濠聞，遂決計反。
The following year Chenhao coerced the provincial military and civil officials to memorialize his filial piety; Sui and Investigating Censor Lin Chao hoped this would buy a little time, and jointly submitted a memorial to court. The court was on the point of issuing an edict rebuking Sui and the others when Censor Xiao Huai fully exposed Chenhao's treason; the throne ordered high ministers to proclaim the imperial will, and when Chenhao heard this he resolved to rebel at once.
69
六月乙亥，宸濠生日，宴鎮巡三司。 明日，燧及諸大吏入謝，宸濠伏兵左右，大言曰：「孝宗為李廣所誤，抱民間子，我祖宗不血食者十四年。 今太后有詔，令我起兵討賊，亦知之乎？」 眾相顧愕眙，燧直前曰：「安得此言！ 請出詔示我。」 宸濠曰：「毋多言，我往南京，汝當扈駕。」 燧大怒曰：「汝速死耳。 天無二日，吾豈從汝為逆哉！」 宸濠怒叱燧，燧益怒，急起，不得出。 宸濠入內殿，易戎服出，麾兵縛燧。 逵奮曰：「汝曹安得辱天子大臣！」 因以身翼蔽燧，賊並縛逵。 二人且縛且罵，不絕口，賊擊燧，折左臂，與逵同曳出。 逵謂燧曰：「我勸公先發者，知有今日故也。」 燧、逵同遇害惠民門外。 巡按御史王金、布政使梁宸以下，鹹稽首呼萬歲。
On the yihai day of the sixth month, Chenhao's birthday, he held a banquet for the provincial military officials and the three commissions. The next day Sui and the senior officials came to offer their thanks; Chenhao had troops hidden on either side and declared loudly, "Emperor Xiaozong was misled by Li Guang and raised a commoner's son as heir; my ancestors have gone without sacrificial offerings for fourteen years. The Empress Dowager has now issued an edict ordering me to raise troops and suppress rebels—are you aware of this? The officials stared at one another in shock; Sui stepped forward and cried, "How dare you speak such words! Produce the edict and show it to me." Chenhao said, "Say no more. I am going to Nanjing—you must accompany my retinue." Sui exploded in rage: "You are hastening to your death. Heaven accepts no second sun—do you think I would follow you in treason!" Chenhao shouted at Sui in fury; Sui only grew angrier, sprang up at once, but could not get out. Chenhao withdrew to the inner hall, changed into military dress, came back out, and ordered his troops to bind Sui. Kui cried out, "How dare you dishonor the Emperor's ministers! He threw himself in front of Sui to shield him, and the rebels bound Kui as well. Even as they were bound, the two men never stopped cursing; the rebels struck Sui and broke his left arm, then dragged him and Kui out together. Kui said to Sui, "The reason I urged you to move first was that I knew this day would come. Sui and Kui were both killed together outside Huimin Gate. Investigating Censor Wang Jin, Administration Commissioner Liang Chen, and the officials below all kowtowed and shouted "Long live the Prince!"
70
宸濠遂發兵，偽署三賊為將軍，首遣婁伯徇進賢，為知縣劉源清所斬。 招窯賊，賊畏守吏，不敢發。 大索兵器於城中，不得，賊多持白梃。 伍文定起義兵，設兩人木主於文天祥祠，率吏民哭之。 南贛巡撫王守仁與共平賊。 諸逋賊走安義，皆見獲，無脫者。 人於是益思燧功。
Chenhao then raised his army, falsely appointing the three bandits as generals; he first sent Lou Bo to strike at Jinxian, and Lou was beheaded by Magistrate Liu Yuanqing. He tried to recruit the kiln bandits, but they feared the local defenders and dared not rebel. A thorough search of the city turned up no weapons; most of the rebels ended up wielding plain wooden clubs. Wu Wending raised a loyalist force, placed wooden spirit tablets for the two men in the shrine of Wen Tianxiang, and led officials and commoners to mourn them. Wang Shouren, Grand Coordinator of Southern Gan, joined him in suppressing the rebels. The fleeing bandits retreated to Anyi, where they were all captured—not one escaped. People then appreciated Sui's foresight all the more.
71
燧生有異質，兩目爍爍，夜有光。 死之日，天忽陰慘，烈風驟起凡數日，城中民大恐。 走收兩人屍，屍未變，黑雲蔽之，蠅蚋無近者。 明年，守臣上其事於朝，未報。 世宗即位，贈禮部尚書，謚忠烈，與逵並祀南昌，賜祠名旌忠，各蔭一子。 燧子堪聞父訃，率兩弟墀、升赴之，會宸濠已擒，扶柩歸。 兄弟廬墓蔬食三年，有芝一莖九葩者數本產墓上。 服除，以父死難，更墨衰三年，世稱三孝子。
From birth Sui had an extraordinary nature; his eyes shone brightly, and at night they gave off light. On the day he died the sky suddenly turned dark and ominous, and fierce winds blew for days; the townspeople were terrified. People rushed to recover the two bodies; the corpses had not yet decayed, black clouds shrouded them, and flies and gnats would not come near. The following year local officials reported these events to court, but no reply came. When the Jiajing Emperor came to the throne, Sui was posthumously made Minister of Rites and given the posthumous name Loyal and Fierce; he and Kui were jointly enshrined in Nanchang in a temple named Exalting Loyalty, and each man's son received hereditary privilege. Sui's son Kan, on hearing of his father's death, set out with his two younger brothers Chi and Sheng; Chenhao had already been captured, and they escorted the coffin home. The brothers lived in a hut by the tomb and ate plain food for three years; several lingzhi mushrooms with nine petals on a single stalk appeared on the grave. When the mourning period ended, they donned black mourning for another three years because their father had died in service; the age hailed them as the Three Filial Sons.
72
堪，字誌健。 為諸生，能文，善騎射。 既蔭錦衣，中武會試第一，擢署指揮同知。 善用強弩，教弩卒數千人以備邊。 歷都督僉事。 事母楊至孝，母年九十余，歿京師。 堪年亦七十，護喪歸，在道，以毀卒。 巡按御史趙炳然上堪孝行，得旌。 堪子鈺，亦舉武會試，官都督同知。 鈺子如津，都督僉事。
Kan, style name Zhijian. He was a student of the imperial academy, skilled in letters and adept at horsemanship and archery. Having entered the Embroidered Uniform Guard through inherited privilege, he ranked first in the military metropolitan examination and was appointed acting Vice Commander. Skilled with heavy crossbows, he trained several thousand crossbowmen to defend the frontier. He eventually rose to Assistant Commissioner-in-Chief. He served his mother Yang with the utmost filial devotion; she was more than ninety when she died in the capital. Kan himself was seventy; while escorting her coffin home, he died on the road from the strain of mourning. Investigating Censor Zhao Bingran memorialized Kan's filial conduct, and he was officially commended. Kan's son Yu also passed the military metropolitan examination and rose to Vice Commissioner-in-Chief. Yu's son Rujin served as Assistant Commissioner-in-Chief.
73
墀，字仲泉，以選貢生歷官尚寶卿。 升，官尚書。 墀孫如遊，大學士。 如遊孫嘉績，僉事。 升子，鑨、鑛皆尚書，鋌侍郎，錝太仆卿。 鑨子，如法主事，如洵參政。 並以文章行誼世其家。 升、鑨、鑛、如遊、如法、嘉績，事皆別見。
Chi, style name Zhongquan, entered service as a selected tribute student and eventually served as Director of the Imperial Storehouse. Sheng rose to ministerial rank. Chi's grandson Ruyou became a Grand Secretary. Ruyou's grandson Jiaji served as a vice commissioner. Sheng's sons Long and Kuang both reached ministerial rank; Ting became a vice minister and Cong Director of the Imperial Stud. Long's sons Rufa and Ruxun served as a department director and an administration commissioner, respectively. They all handed down literary accomplishment and upright conduct through the generations. The careers of Sheng, Long, Kuang, Ruyou, Rufa, and Jiaji are all recounted in separate entries.
74
許逵，字汝登，固始人。 正德三年進士。 長身巨口，猿臂燕頷，沈靜有謀略。 授樂陵知縣。 六年春，流賊劉七等屠城邑，殺長吏。 諸州縣率閉城守，或棄城遁，或遺之芻，粟弓馬乞賊毋攻。 逵之官，慨然為戰守計。 縣初無城，督民版築，不逾月，城成。 令民屋外築墻，墻高過檐，啟圭竇，才容人。 家選一壯者執刃伺竇內，余皆入隊伍，日視旗為號，違者軍法從事。 又募死士伏巷中，洞開城門。 賊果至，旗舉伏發，竇中人皆出，賊大驚竄，斬獲無遺。 後數犯，數卻之，遂相戒不敢近。 事聞，進秩二等。
Xu Kui, style name Rudeng, was a native of Gushi. He passed the metropolitan examination in the third year of the Zhengde reign. He was tall and broad-mouthed, with long arms and a strong jaw; quiet by nature, he was thoughtful and resourceful. He was appointed magistrate of Leling. In the spring of the sixth year, roving bandits under Liu Qi and others ravaged towns, killing senior officials. Prefectures and counties mostly shut their gates and held firm, fled altogether, or sent fodder, grain, bows, and horses begging the bandits to spare them. When Kui arrived to take office, he resolutely set about plans for fighting and defense. The county had no wall at first; he organized the people to build one with rammed earth, and within a month it was finished. He had people build walls outside their homes, taller than the roofline, with narrow gateways barely wide enough for a single person. Each household detailed one able man to wait inside the gate with a blade at the ready, while the rest joined militia units that rallied to the flag each day; anyone who disobeyed was punished under military law. He also recruited daredevils to lie in wait in the alleys while leaving the city gates standing open. When the bandits came as expected, the signal flag went up, the ambush sprang, and the men at the gates poured out; the bandits fled in panic, and every one was killed or captured. They attacked several more times and were driven back each time, until they warned one another not to come near. When word reached court, he was promoted two ranks.
75
時知縣能抗賊者，益都則牛鸞，郯城則唐龍，汶上則左經，浚則陳滯，亦所當賊少。 而逵屢禦大賊有功，遂與鸞俱超擢兵備僉事。 逵駐武定州，州城圮濠平，不能限牛馬。 逵築城鑿池，設樓櫓，置巡卒。 明年五月，賊楊寡婦以千騎犯濰縣，指揮喬剛禦之，賊少卻。 逵追敗之高苑，令指揮張勛邀之滄州，先後俘斬二百七十余余人。 未幾，賊別部掠德平，逵盡殲之，鹹名大著。 十二年遷江西副使。 時宸濠黨暴橫，逵以法痛繩之。 嘗言於孫燧曰：「寧王敢為暴者，恃權臣也。 權臣左右之者，貪重賄也。 重賄由於盜藪，今惟翦盜則賄息，賄息則黨孤。」 燧深然之，每事輒與密議。 及宸濠縛燧，逵爭之。 宸濠素忌逵，問許副使何言，逵曰：「副使惟赤心耳。」 宸濠怒曰：「我不能殺汝邪？」 逵罵曰：「汝能殺我，天子能殺汝。 汝反賊，萬段磔汝，汝悔何及！」 宸濠大怒，並縛之，曳出斫其頸，屹不動。 賊眾共推抑令跪，卒不能，遂死，年三十六。
At the time the magistrates who could stand up to bandits included Niu Luan of Yidu, Tang Long of Tancheng, Zuo Jing of Wenshang, and Chen Zhi of Jun—though they faced smaller bands. Kui, however, repeatedly drove off major bandit forces with distinction, and he and Luan were both specially promoted to assistant regional military inspector. Kui was posted to Wuding Prefecture, where the city walls had fallen in and the moat was filled level, so that nothing kept out cattle or horses. Kui rebuilt the walls, dug out the moat, erected watchtowers, and posted patrols. The following May the bandit leader Yang the Widow struck Wei County with a thousand horsemen; Commander Qiao Gang met them and forced a partial retreat. Kui pursued and routed them at Gaoyuan and sent Commander Zhang Xun to cut them off at Cangzhou; in all more than two hundred seventy bandits were captured or killed. Before long another bandit band raided Deping; Kui wiped them out entirely, and his fame as a fighter spread far. In the twelfth year he was transferred to Jiangxi as vice commissioner. At the time Chenhao's faction ran rampant; Kui punished them harshly under the law. He once said to Sun Sui, "The Prince of Ning dares to act violently because he relies on powerful court officials. Those at court who champion such officials do so because they covet heavy bribes. Heavy bribes flow from bandit dens; if we cut down banditry, bribes will dry up, and once bribes dry up, the faction will stand alone." Sun Sui strongly agreed and consulted with him in secret on every matter. When Chenhao seized Sun Sui, Kui protested. Chenhao had long resented Kui and asked what Vice Commissioner Xu had said; Kui replied, "The vice commissioner has nothing but a loyal heart." Chenhao flew into a rage and said, "Can I not kill you?" Kui cursed back, "You can kill me, but the Son of Heaven can kill you. You rebel traitor! I would have you torn to pieces—what regret could you then feel!" Chenhao was furious; he had Kui bound as well, dragged him out, and hacked at his neck, but Kui stood unmoved. The rebels together tried to force him to his knees but failed; in the end he died, aged thirty-six.
76
初，逵以文天祥集貽其友給事中張漢卿而無書。 漢卿語人曰：「寧邸必反，汝登其為文山乎？」 逵父家居，聞江西有變，殺都御史及副使，即為位，易服哭。 人怪問故。 父曰：「副使，必吾兒也。」 世宗即位，贈左副都御史，謚忠節，蔭一子。 又錄山東平賊功，復蔭一子。 嘉靖元年詔逵死事尤烈，改贈逵禮部尚書，進蔭指揮僉事。
Earlier Kui had sent the collected works of Wen Tianxiang to his friend, Supervising Secretary Zhang Hanqing, without enclosing a letter. Hanqing told others, "The Prince of Ning is sure to rebel—will Rudeng prove to be his Wen Tianxiang?" While Kui's father was at home, he heard that rebellion had broken out in Jiangxi and that the censor-in-chief and a vice commissioner had been killed; he immediately set up a spirit tablet, changed his clothes, and wept. People were astonished and asked why. His father said, "The vice commissioner must be my son." When the Jiajing Emperor came to the throne, Kui was posthumously made Left Vice Censor-in-Chief, given the posthumous name Loyal Integrity, and one son received hereditary privilege. His record in pacifying bandits in Shandong was also honored, and another son received hereditary privilege. In the first year of Jiajing an edict declared Kui's death in service especially valiant; he was posthumously reappointed Minister of Rites, and hereditary privilege was raised to assistant commander.
77
長子玚，好學有器識。 既葬父，日夜號泣，六年而後就蔭。 人或趣之，玚曰：「吾父死，玚乃因得官。」 痛哭不能仰視。 玚子安阝，事親孝。 隆慶中舉於鄉，數試禮部不第。 有試官與玚婚姻，慕安阝才，欲收羅之。 安阝曰：「若此，何以見先忠節地下？」 許氏子孫不如孫氏貴顯，亦能傳其家。
His eldest son Yang was studious and had breadth of mind. After burying his father, he wept day and night; only after six years did he accept hereditary office. When others urged him, Yang said, "My father died, and only then did Yang obtain office through it." He wept so bitterly he could not raise his face. Yang's son Anqiu was filial toward his parents. During the Longqing reign he passed the provincial examination but failed the metropolitan examinations several times. One examiner was related to Yang by marriage, admired Anqiu's talent, and wished to favor him. Anqiu said, "If I accepted that, how could I face my late ancestor of Loyal Integrity in the grave?" The Xu descendants never rose as high as the Sun clan, yet they too preserved their family tradition.
78
黃宏，字德裕，鄞人。 弘治十五年進士。 知萬安縣。 民好訟，訟輒禱於神，宏毀其祠曰：「令在，何禱也。」 訟者至，輒片言折之。 累遷江西左參議，按湖西、嶺北二道。 王守仁討橫水、桶岡賊，宏主餉有功。 賊閔念四既降，復恃宸濠勢，剽九江上下。 宏發兵捕之，走匿宸濠祖墓中，盡得其輜重以歸。 宸濠逆節益露，士大夫以為憂，宏正色曰：「國家不幸有此，我輩守士，死而已。」 有持大義不從宸濠黨者，宏每陰左右之。 宸濠反，宏被執，憤怒，以手梏向柱擊項，是夕卒，賊義而棺斂之。 子紹文奔赴，求得其棺，以偽命治斂，非父誌，亟易之，扶歸。
Huang Hong, style name Deyu, was a native of Yin. He passed the metropolitan examination in the fifteenth year of the Hongzhi reign. He served as magistrate of Wan'an County. The people were litigious and always prayed to local spirits when they went to court; Hong tore down the shrine and said, "The magistrate is here—why pray?" When litigants arrived, he settled their disputes in a few words. He rose to Left Administration Commissioner of Jiangxi and inspected the Huxi and Lingbei circuits. When Wang Shouren campaigned against the bandits of Hengshui and Tonggang, Hong directed provisions and distinguished himself. The bandit Min Niansi, though he had surrendered, again relied on Chenhao's power and plundered up and down the Jiujiang region. Hong sent troops after him; Min fled and hid among Chenhao's ancestral tombs, and Hong recovered all his baggage and returned. As Chenhao's treason became plain, officials grew anxious; Hong said sternly, "The state is unlucky to face this—we who hold our posts need only die." For those who upheld righteousness and refused to follow Chenhao's faction, Hong would quietly lend support whenever he could. When Chenhao rebelled, Hong was seized; in rage he smashed his neck against a pillar with his manacled hands and died that night; the rebels, moved by his integrity, coffined him for burial. His son Shaowen hurried to the scene, recovered the coffin, found the rebels had buried his father by false command against his wishes, promptly replaced the rites, and escorted the body home.
79
時主事馬思聰亦抗節死。 思聰，字懋聞，莆田人。 弘治末舉進士，為象山知縣，復二十六渠，溉田萬頃。 累遷南京戶部主事，督糧江西，駐安仁。 值宸濠反，被執系獄，不屈，絕食六日死。
At that time Department Director Ma Sicong also died upholding his integrity. Sicong, style name Maowen, was a native of Putian. Late in the Hongzhi reign he passed the metropolitan examination; as magistrate of Xiangshan he restored twenty-six canals and irrigated ten thousand qing of farmland. He rose to department director in the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue, took charge of grain supplies in Jiangxi, and was stationed at Anren. When Chenhao rebelled, he was seized and imprisoned; refusing to yield, he starved himself to death after six days.
80
世宗立，贈宏太常少卿，思聰光祿少卿，並配享旌忠祠。 時有謂宏、思聰死節非真者。 給事中毛玉勘江西逆黨，復請表章宏、思聰及承奉周儀，而宏子紹武訴於朝。 巡按御史穆相列上二人死節狀甚悉，遂無異議。
When the Jiajing Emperor came to the throne, Hong was posthumously made Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and Sicong Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Entertainments; both were enshrined in the Exalting Loyalty shrine. At the time some claimed Hong and Sicong had not truly died for principle. Supervising Secretary Mao Yu investigated the Jiangxi rebels and again petitioned to honor Hong, Sicong, and Palace Attendant Zhou Yi; Hong's son Shaowu lodged an appeal at court. Investigating Censor Mu Xiang submitted a detailed account of both men's martyrdom, and the doubt was laid to rest.
81
宋以方，字義卿，靖州人。 弘治十八年進士。 歷戶部郎中。 正德十年遷瑞州知府。 時華林大盜甫平，瘡痍未復，以方悉心撫字，吏民愛之。 宸濠逆謀萌，而瑞故無城郭，以方築城繕守具，募兵三千，日夕訓練。 宸濠深忌之，有征索又不應，遂迫鎮守劾系南昌獄。 明日，宸濠反，出以方，脅之降，不可，械舟中。 至安慶，兵敗，問地何名，舟子雲「黃石磯」，江西人音，則「王失機」也。 宸濠以為不祥，斬以方祭江。 後賊平，其子崇學求遺骸不得，斂衣冠歸葬。 嘉靖六年，巡撫陳洪謨上其事，詔贈光祿卿，蔭一子，立祠瑞州。
Song Yifang, style name Yiqing, was a native of Jingzhou. He passed the metropolitan examination in the eighteenth year of the Hongzhi reign. He served in the Ministry of Revenue, eventually as a department director. In the tenth year of the Zhengde reign he was appointed prefect of Ruizhou. The Hualin bandits had just been suppressed and the region lay in ruins; Yifang devoted himself to rebuilding the land, and officials and people alike loved him. As Chenhao's treason took shape, Ruizhou still had no walls; Yifang built fortifications, gathered arms, recruited three thousand troops, and drilled them day and night. Chenhao deeply resented him; when Chenhao made demands Yifang refused, and Chenhao forced the garrison commander to impeach him and have him jailed in Nanchang. The next day Chenhao rebelled, had Yifang brought out, and tried to force him to submit; when he refused, Chenhao had him shackled aboard a boat. At Anqing, where his army was defeated, he asked the name of the place; the boatman answered "Yellow Stone Jetty"—which in the Jiangxi accent sounded like "the king has lost his chance." Chenhao took this as an ill omen and beheaded Yifang as a sacrifice to the river. After the rebellion was crushed, his son Chongxue could not recover his body and buried his clothing in lieu of the corpse. In the sixth year of Jiajing, Grand Coordinator Chen Hongmo memorialized the case; the throne posthumously made Yifang Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Entertainments, granted hereditary privilege to one son, and ordered a shrine built in Ruizhou.
82
方宸濠之謀為變也，江西士民受害者不可勝紀。 初遣閹校四出，籍民田廬，收縛豪強不附者。 有萬木、鄭山，俱新建人，集鄉人結砦自固。 賊黨謝重一馳入村，二人執之，積葦張睢陽廟前，縛人馬，生焚之，濠黨不敢犯。 二人飲江上，為盜淩十一所逼，趣見宸濠，烙而椎之，皆罵賊死。
When Chenhao plotted rebellion, scholars, officials, and commoners across Jiangxi suffered beyond counting. At first he sent eunuch agents out in every direction to register people's lands and dwellings and to seize local strongmen who refused to join him. There were Wan Mu and Zheng Shan, both from Xinjian, who rallied their fellow villagers and built fortified stockades to hold their ground. When the rebel follower Xie Chongyi galloped into the village, the two men seized him, heaped reeds before the Suiyang Temple, bound him together with his horse, and burned them alive. Chenhao's faction did not dare touch them. The two men were drinking on the river when the bandit Ling Shiyi forced them to appear before Chenhao. They were branded and beaten with clubs, yet both cursed the rebels and died.
83
趙楠，南昌諸生。 兄模，嘗捐粟佐振。 宸濠捕模索金，楠代往，脅之，不屈，被掠死。 同邑辜增見迫，抗節不從，一家百口皆死。 諸生劉世倫、儒士陳經官、義士李廣源，皆被掠，不屈死。
Zhao Nan was a licentiate of Nanchang. His elder brother Mo had once donated grain to aid famine relief. Chenhao seized Mo and demanded gold. Nan went in his brother's place, was threatened, refused to yield, and was killed. Gu Zeng of the same county was pressed to submit but held to his integrity and refused. His entire household of a hundred souls perished. The licentiate Liu Shilun, the scholar Chen Jingguan, and the righteous man Li Guangyuan were all seized in the raids and died without yielding.
84
葉景恩者，以俠聞，族居吳城。 宸濠將作難，捕景恩，脅降之，不從，死獄中。 宸濠兵過吳城，景恩弟景允以三百人邀擊賊。 賊分兵焚劫景允家，其族景集、景修等四十九人皆死。
Ye Jingen was famed for his chivalry, and his clan lived at Wucheng. When Chenhao was about to rebel, he seized Jingen and threatened him to submit. Jingen refused and died in prison. When Chenhao's troops passed Wucheng, Jingen's younger brother Jingyun ambushed the rebels with three hundred men. The rebels sent detachments to burn and plunder Jingyun's home. His clansmen Jingji, Jingxiu, and forty-nine others in all perished.
85
又有閻順者，為寧府典寶副。 宸濠將反，順與典膳正陳宣、內使劉良微言不可，為典寶正塗欽所譖，三人懼誅，潛詣京師上變。 群小庇宸濠，下之獄，搒掠備至。 宸濠聞三人赴都，慮事泄，誣奏其罪，且嗾群小必殺之，會已遣戍孝陵，乃免。 世宗立，復官。
There was also Yan Shun, deputy director of the Ning Princedom's Treasuries. When Chenhao was about to rebel, Shun, together with the director of the princely kitchen Chen Xuan and the inner attendant Liu Liang, privately urged that it must not be done. The director of treasuries Tu Qin slandered them; fearing execution, the three secretly went to the capital to report the plot. Petty men at court shielded Chenhao. The three were thrown into prison and tortured without mercy. When Chenhao learned the three had gone to the capital, he feared the plot would leak out. He falsely memorialized their crimes and urged the petty men at court to kill them without fail. As it happened, they had already been sent to garrison the Xiaoling Mausoleum, and so they were spared. When the Shizong emperor came to the throne, their offices were restored.