Volume 322 Biographies 210: Foreign States 3 - Japan

日本，古倭奴國。唐咸亨初，改日本，以近東海日出而名也。地環海，惟東北限大山，有五畿、七道、三島，共一百十五州，統五百八十七郡。其小國數十，皆服屬焉。國小者百里，大不過五百里。戶小者千，多不過一二萬。國主世以王為姓，群臣亦世官。宋以前皆通中國，朝貢不絕，事具前史。惟元世祖數遣使趙良弼招之不至，乃命忻都、範文虎等帥舟師十萬征之，至五龍山遭暴風，軍盡沒。後屢招不至，終元世未相通也。

Japan was formerly known as the land of Wo. In the early Xianheng period of the Tang dynasty, the name was changed to Japan, so called because the country lies near the Eastern Sea where the sun rises. The country is surrounded by sea, with great mountains marking its northeastern frontier. It is divided into the five capital circuits, seven roads, and three islands, comprising one hundred fifteen provinces and five hundred eighty-seven districts in all. Dozens of lesser states all acknowledge its authority. The smallest domains measure a hundred li across; the largest scarcely reach five hundred. The least populous have a thousand households; most have no more than ten or twenty thousand. The royal house bears the surname Wang by hereditary succession, and ministerial offices are likewise hereditary. Before the Song dynasty Japan maintained continuous contact with China through tribute missions, as detailed in earlier histories. Under the Yuan, Kublai Khan repeatedly sent Zhao Liangbi to summon Japan to submit, but the Japanese refused. He then ordered Xin Du, Fan Wenhu, and others to lead a fleet of one hundred thousand men against them; at Mount Wulong a violent storm struck, and the entire force perished. Further summons went unanswered, and throughout the Yuan dynasty the two countries had no diplomatic contact.

明興，高皇帝即位，方國珍、張士誠相繼誅服。諸豪亡命，往往糾島人入寇山東濱海州縣。洪武二年三月，帝遣行人楊載詔諭其國，且詰以入寇之故，謂：「宜朝則來廷，不則修兵自固。倘必為寇盜，即命將徂征耳，王其圖之。」日本王良懷不奉命，復寇山東，轉掠溫、台、明州旁海民，遂寇福建沿海郡。

When the Ming dynasty was founded and the Hongwu Emperor took the throne, Fang Guozhen and Zhang Shicheng were defeated in turn. Dispossessed warlords often rallied Japanese islanders to raid the coastal prefectures and counties of Shandong. In the third month of Hongwu year 2, the emperor sent the emissary Yang Zai with an edict to Japan, demanding an explanation for the raids. He declared: If you wish to submit, come to court; if not, strengthen your defenses. If you persist in piracy, I shall send generals to campaign against you. Your Majesty, weigh this carefully. The Japanese king Ashikaga did not obey. He raided Shandong again, then turned to plunder coastal communities near Wenzhou, Taizhou, and Mingzhou, and finally attacked the coastal prefectures of Fujian.

三年三月又遣萊州府同知趙秩責讓之，泛海至析木崖，入其境，守關者拒弗納。秩以書抵良懷，良懷延秩入。諭以中國威德，而詔書有責其不臣語。良懷曰：「吾國雖處扶桑東，未嘗不慕中國。惟蒙古與我等夷，乃欲臣妾我。我先王不服，乃使其臣趙姓者訹我以好語，語未既，水軍十萬列海岸矣。以天之靈，雷霆波濤，一時軍盡覆。今新天子帝中夏，天使亦趙姓，豈蒙古裔耶？亦將訹我以好語而襲我也。」自左右將兵之。秩不為動，徐曰：「我大明天子神聖文武，非蒙古比，我亦非蒙古使者後。能兵，兵我。」良懷氣沮，下堂延秩，禮遇甚優。遣其僧祖來奉表稱臣，貢馬及方物，且送還明、台二郡被掠人口七十餘，以四年十月至京。太祖嘉之，宴賚其使者，念其俗佞佛，可以西方教誘之也，乃命僧祖闡、克勤等八人送使者還國，賜良懷《大統歷》及文綺、紗羅。是年掠溫州。五年寇海鹽、氵敢浦，又寇福建海上諸郡。六年以於顯為總兵官，出海巡倭，倭寇萊、登。祖闡等既至，為其國演教，其國人頗敬信。而王則傲慢無禮，拘之二年，以七年五月還京。倭寇膠州。

In the third month of year 3 the court again sent Zhao Zhi, associate prefect of Laizhou, to rebuke Japan. He sailed to Ximu Cliff and entered Japanese territory, but border guards refused him entry. Zhao Zhi sent a letter to Ashikaga, who then received him. Zhao Zhi expounded on the majesty and virtue of China, while the edict rebuked Japan for refusing to submit. Ashikaga replied: Though our country lies east of Fusang, we have always admired China. But the Mongols are barbarians like us, yet they sought to reduce us to vassalage. Our former king refused to submit. They sent a minister named Zhao to lure us with fair words, but before he had finished speaking, a fleet of one hundred thousand men lined our shores. By Heaven's grace, thunder and towering waves destroyed the entire army at once. Now a new Son of Heaven reigns over China, and your envoy is also surnamed Zhao—are you Mongols as well? Will you likewise entice us with fair words and then strike? He then ordered his attendants to summon troops. Zhao Zhi remained unmoved and replied calmly: The Son of Heaven of Great Ming is divine, sagely, civil, and martial—nothing like the Mongols. Nor am I any successor to their envoys. If you wish to fight, then make war on us. Ashikaga's defiance collapsed. He came down from the hall to receive Zhao Zhi and treated him with exceptional courtesy. He sent the monk Zulai with a memorial submitting as a vassal, tribute horses and local products, and returned more than seventy captives taken from Mingzhou and Taizhou. The embassy reached the capital in the tenth month of year 4. The Hongwu Emperor commended this and feasted the envoys. Reflecting that the Japanese were devoted to Buddhism and might be won over through religion, he sent eight monks including Zuchan and Keqin to escort the embassy home, and granted Ashikaga the Datong Calendar along with brocades, gauzes, and silks. That same year Japanese raiders attacked Wenzhou. In year 5 they raided Haiyan and Ganpu, then struck the coastal prefectures of Fujian. In year 6 Yu Xian was appointed commander-in-chief to patrol the coast against Japanese pirates, but the Japanese nonetheless raided Laizhou and Dengzhou. When Zuchan and his companions arrived, they preached in Japan, and the people received the teaching with considerable respect. The king, however, was arrogant and discourteous, and detained them for two years before they returned to the capital in the fifth month of year 7. Japanese raiders attacked Jiaozhou.

時良懷年少，有持明者，與之爭立，國內亂。是年七月，其大臣遣僧宣聞溪等齎書上中書省，貢馬及方物，而無表。帝命卻之，仍賜其使者遣還。未幾，其別島守臣氏久遣僧奉表來貢。帝以無國王之命，且不奉正朔，亦卻之，而賜其使者，命禮臣移牒，責以越分私貢之非。又以頻入寇掠，命中書移牒責之。乃以九年四月，遣僧圭廷用等來貢，且謝罪。帝惡其表詞不誠，降詔戒諭，宴賚使者如制。十二年來貢。十三年復貢，無表，但持其征夷將軍源義滿奉丞相書，書辭又倨。乃卻其貢，遣使齎詔譙讓。十四年復來貢，帝再卻之，命禮官移書責其王，並責其征夷將軍，示以欲征之意。良懷上言：臣聞三皇立極，五帝禪宗，惟中華之有主，豈夷狄而無君。乾坤浩蕩，非一主之獨權，宇宙寬洪，作諸邦以分守。蓋天下者，乃天下之天下，非一人之天下也。臣居遠弱之倭，褊小之國，城池不滿六十，封疆不足三千，尚存知足之心。陛下作中華之主，為萬乘之君，城池數千餘，封疆百萬里，猶有不足之心，常起滅絕之意。夫天發殺機，移星換宿。地發殺機，龍蛇走陸。人發殺機，天地反覆。昔堯、舜有德，四海來賓。湯、武施仁，八方奉貢。

Ashikaga was then young, and rivals who supported the Southern Court contested the succession, throwing the country into civil strife. In the seventh month of that year his ministers sent the monks Xuanwenxi and others with a letter to the Secretariat, horses and local products as tribute, but no formal memorial of submission. The emperor ordered the tribute refused but still bestowed gifts on the envoys and sent them home. Soon afterward Uji, a guardian official of another island, sent monks with a memorial offering tribute. Because the mission lacked the king's authorization and did not observe the Chinese calendar, the emperor refused this tribute as well, though he still rewarded the envoys. The Ministry of Rites was ordered to send a dispatch rebuking the impropriety of unauthorized private tribute. Because of repeated raids, the Secretariat was also ordered to send a dispatch of rebuke. In the fourth month of year 9 they sent the monks Guitingyong and others with tribute and an apology. The emperor found the memorial insincere and issued an edict of admonition, but still feasted and rewarded the envoys according to protocol. In year 12 they sent tribute again. In year 13 they sent tribute again without a memorial, presenting only a letter from the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu to the chief minister—and its tone was again arrogant. The court refused the tribute and sent envoys with an edict of rebuke. In year 14 they sent tribute once more. The emperor refused it again and ordered the Ministry of Rites to rebuke both the king and the shogun, making clear his intent to launch a punitive campaign. Ashikaga submitted a memorial: I have heard that the Three Sovereigns established order and the Five Emperors passed down the regalia. China has its sovereign—but are we barbarians without rulers of our own? Heaven and earth are vast; sovereignty is not the monopoly of a single ruler. The cosmos is wide, and many realms were made to govern their own domains. All-under-Heaven belongs to all the world—not to one man alone. I dwell in distant, feeble Japan, a small and narrow realm with fewer than sixty walled towns and a frontier of less than three thousand li—yet I am content with what I have. Your Majesty reigns as sovereign of China, lord of ten thousand chariots, with thousands of walled cities and a frontier of a million li—yet you are never satisfied and constantly harbor designs to destroy us. When Heaven unleashes the engines of destruction, the stars shift and constellations change. When earth unleashes the engines of destruction, dragons and serpents course over the land. When man unleashes the engines of destruction, heaven and earth are overturned. In antiquity Yao and Shun ruled with virtue, and the four seas came as guests. Tang and Wu practiced benevolence, and the eight directions offered tribute.

臣聞天朝有興戰之策，小邦亦有禦敵之圖。論文有孔、孟道德之文章，論武有孫、吳韜略之兵法。又聞陛下選股肱之將，起精銳之師，來侵臣境。水澤之地，山海之洲，自有其備，豈肯跪途而奉之乎？順之未必其生，逆之未必其死。相逢賀蘭山前，聊以博戲，臣何懼哉。倘君勝臣負，且滿上國之意。設臣勝君負，反作小邦之差。自古講和為上，罷戰為強，免生靈之塗炭，拯黎庶之艱辛。特遣使臣，敬叩丹陛，惟上國圖之。帝得表慍甚，終鑑蒙古之轍，不加兵也。

I have heard that the celestial court has strategies for waging war—but small states too have plans for defense. In letters you have the moral writings of Confucius and Mencius; in warfare you have the strategic arts of Sunzi and Wuzi. I hear also that Your Majesty has chosen your finest generals and raised elite troops to invade my realm. Our watery marshes and mountain isles have defenses of their own. Would we kneel in the road and submit? Submission does not guarantee survival, nor does resistance guarantee death. Let us meet before Mount Helan and settle this as a contest of arms—what have I to fear? If you prevail and I am defeated, that will satisfy the celestial court. If I prevail and you are defeated, that would be the disgrace of a great power humbled by a small state. From antiquity peace has been held supreme and ending war the mark of strength, sparing the people from slaughter and relieving the common folk from suffering. I therefore send envoys to bow before your throne and ask that the celestial court give this matter your consideration. The emperor was furious when he received the memorial, but reflecting on the Mongol precedent, he ultimately refrained from sending troops.

十六年，倭寇金鄉、平陽。十九年遣使來貢，卻之。明年命江夏侯周德興往福建濱海四郡，相視形勢。衛所城不當要害者移置之，民戶三丁取一，以充戍卒，乃築城一十六，增巡檢司四十五，得卒萬五千餘人。又命信國公湯和行視浙東、西諸郡，整飭海防，乃築城五十九。民戶四丁以上者以一為戍卒，得五萬八千七百餘人，分戍諸衛，海防大飭。閏六月命福建備海舟百艘，廣東倍之，以九月會浙江捕倭，既而不行。

In year 16 Japanese raiders attacked Jinxiang and Pingyang. In year 19 they sent tribute envoys, but the court refused them. The following year he ordered Marquis Jiangxia Zhou Dexing to survey the terrain of Fujian's four coastal commanderies. Guard posts not sited at strategic points were relocated. One man in every three households was levied for coastal defense. Sixteen walled posts were built, forty-five inspection offices added, and more than fifteen thousand garrison troops raised. He also ordered Duke Xinguo Tang He to inspect the eastern and western prefectures of Zhejiang and reorganize coastal defenses, building fifty-nine fortified posts. From households with four adult males or more, one was conscripted, yielding fifty-eight thousand seven hundred men distributed among the coastal guards. Coastal defenses were thoroughly reorganized. In the intercalary sixth month he ordered Fujian to prepare one hundred seagoing vessels and Guangdong twice that number, to join Zhejiang in a ninth-month campaign against Japanese pirates—but the plan was never executed.

先是，胡惟庸謀逆，欲藉日本為助。乃厚結寧波衛指揮林賢，佯奏賢罪，謫居日本，令交通其君臣。尋奏復賢職，遣使召之，密緻書其王，借兵助己。賢還，其王遣僧如瑤率兵卒四百餘人，詐稱入貢，且獻巨燭，藏火藥、刀劍其中。既至，而惟庸已敗，計不行。帝亦未知其狡謀也。越數年，其事始露，乃族賢，而怒日本特甚，決意絕之，專以防海為務。然其時王子滕祐壽者，來入國學，帝猶善待之。二十四年五月特授觀察使，留之京師。後著《祖訓》，列不征之國十五，日本與焉。自是，朝貢不至，而海上之警亦漸息。

Earlier, Hu Weiyong had plotted rebellion and sought Japanese support. He cultivated ties with Lin Xian, commander of the Ningbo Guard, then falsely accused him and banished him to Japan to negotiate with the Japanese court. He soon had Lin Xian restored to office and recalled him, while secretly sending the Japanese king a letter requesting military aid. When Lin Xian returned, the Japanese king sent the monk Ruyao with more than four hundred armed men, pretending to offer tribute. They brought enormous candles concealing gunpowder, swords, and blades. By the time they arrived, Hu Weiyong had already been overthrown and the plot failed. The emperor was still unaware of the conspiracy. Several years later the plot was exposed. Lin Xian's entire clan was executed, and the emperor's wrath toward Japan was especially fierce. He resolved to sever relations and devoted himself entirely to coastal defense. At that time, however, the Japanese prince Teng Youshou entered the Imperial University, and the emperor still treated him kindly. In the fifth month of year 24 he was specially appointed Observation Commissioner and retained at court. Later, in the Ancestral Injunctions, he listed fifteen countries that were not to be attacked, and Japan was among them. Thereafter tribute missions ceased, and coastal alarms gradually subsided.

成祖即位，遣使以登極詔諭其國。永樂元年又遣左通政趙居任、行人張洪偕僧道成往。將行，而其貢使已達寧波。禮官李至剛奏：「故事，番使入中國，不得私攜兵器鬻民。宜敕所司核其舶，諸犯禁者悉籍送京師。」帝曰：「外夷修貢，履險蹈危，來遠，所費實多。有所齎以助資斧，亦人情，豈可概拘以禁令。至其兵器，亦準時直市之，毋阻向化。」十月，使者至，上王源道義表及貢物。帝厚禮之，遣官偕其使還，賚道義冠服、龜鈕金章及錦綺、紗羅。

When the Yongle Emperor took the throne, he sent envoys with an accession edict to Japan. In Yongle 1 he again sent Left Bureau Commissioner Zhao Juren, Emissary Zhang Hong, and the monk Daocheng. Before they could depart, Japanese tribute envoys had already reached Ningbo. Minister of Rites Li Zhigang memorialized: By precedent, foreign envoys entering China may not privately carry weapons to sell to the populace. The responsible offices should be ordered to inspect their vessels, and all contraband seized and sent to the capital. The emperor replied: Foreign peoples undertaking tribute missions brave great perils traveling from afar, at considerable expense. It is only natural that they bring goods to defray their expenses. They cannot all be bound by rigid prohibitions. As for their weapons, let them be purchased at fair market price, and do not obstruct those who seek to submit. In the tenth month the envoys arrived, presenting a memorial from King Ashikaga Michiyoshi along with tribute goods. The emperor received them with great honor, sent officials to escort the embassy home, and granted Michiyoshi court robes, a gold seal with tortoise knob, and brocades, gauzes, and silks.

明年十一月來賀冊立皇太子。時對馬、台岐諸島賊掠濱海居民，因諭其王捕之。王發兵盡殲其眾，縶其魁二十人，以三年十一月獻於朝，且修貢。帝益嘉之，遣鴻臚寺少卿潘賜偕中官王進賜其王九章冕服及錢鈔、錦綺加等，而還其所獻之人，令其國自治之。使者至寧波，盡置其人於甑，烝殺之。明年正月又遣侍郎俞士吉齎璽書褒嘉，賜賚優渥。封其國之山為壽安鎮國之山，御製碑文，立其上。六月，使來謝，賜冕服。五年、六年頻入貢，且獻所獲海寇。使還，請賜仁孝皇后所制《勸善》、《內訓》二書，即命各給百本。十一月再貢。十二月，其國世子源義持遣使來告父喪，命中官周全往祭，賜謚恭獻，且致賻。又遣官齎敕，封義持為日本國王。時海上復以倭警告，再遣官諭義持剿捕。

The following year, in the eleventh month, they came to congratulate the investiture of the crown prince. At that time pirates from Tsushima, Tashima, and other islands were raiding coastal communities, and the emperor instructed the Japanese king to capture them. The king sent troops who exterminated the pirates, captured twenty of their leaders, and presented them at court in the eleventh month of year 3, while also renewing tributary relations. The emperor was greatly pleased. He sent Vice Minister Pan Ci of the Court of State Ceremonial and the eunuch Wang Jin to grant the king ceremonial robes bearing the nine insignia of rank, along with paper money, brocades, and silks of the highest grade. He also returned the captives they had presented, instructing Japan to deal with them under its own laws. When the envoys reached Ningbo, they placed every one of the captives in steamers and steamed them alive. The following year, in the first month, Vice Minister Yu Shiji was sent again with a sealed imperial letter of praise, and lavish gifts were granted. A mountain in Japan was enfeoffed as Mount Shou'an, Guardian of the Realm. The emperor composed an inscription in his own hand and had it erected on the peak. In the sixth month, envoys arrived to express gratitude, and ceremonial robes were granted. In the fifth and sixth years they sent tribute repeatedly and also presented the sea pirates they had captured. On their return, the envoys asked for the two books composed by Empress Renxiao, Exhortation to Goodness and Inner Admonitions. The emperor at once ordered a hundred copies of each to be provided. In the eleventh month they presented tribute once more. In the twelfth month, the heir Yoshimochi sent envoys to announce his father's death. The emperor ordered the eunuch Zhou Quan to perform the mourning rites, granted the late king the posthumous title Gongxian, and sent funeral gifts. Officials were again sent with an imperial edict investing Yoshimochi as King of Japan. At that time fresh warnings of Japanese piracy arrived from the coast, and the court again sent officials instructing Yoshimochi to hunt the raiders down.

八年四月，義持遣使謝恩，尋獻所獲海寇，帝嘉之。明年二月復遣王進齎敕褒賚，收市物貨。其君臣謀阻進不使歸，進潛登舶，從他道遁還。自是，久不貢。是年，倭寇盤石。十五年，倭寇松門、金鄉、平陽。有捕倭寇數十人至京者。廷臣請正法。帝曰：「威之以刑，不若懷之以德，宜還之。」乃命刑部員外郎呂淵等齎敕責讓，令悔罪自新。中華人被掠者，亦令送還。明年四月，其王遣使隨淵等來貢，謂：「海寇旁午，故貢使不能上達。其無賴鼠竊者，實非臣所知。願貸罪，容其朝貢。」帝以其詞順，許之，禮使者如故，然海寇猶不絕。

In the fourth month of the eighth year, Yoshimochi sent envoys to give thanks. Soon afterward he presented captured sea pirates, and the emperor praised the gesture. The following year, in the second month, Wang Jin was sent again with an imperial edict bearing praise and gifts, and to purchase trade goods. The king and his ministers plotted to hold Jin back and keep him from returning. Jin secretly boarded a ship and fled home by another route. After that, Japan sent no tribute for many years. That year Japanese pirates attacked Panshi. In the fifteenth year, Japanese pirates raided Songmen, Jinxiang, and Pingyang. Some officials captured several dozen Japanese pirates and brought them to the capital. Court officials asked that the captives be punished under the law. The emperor said, "It is better to win them with kindness than to overawe them with punishment. They should be sent back." He then ordered Vice Minister of Justice Lü Yuan and others to carry an imperial edict of rebuke, commanding the pirates to repent and reform. Chinese subjects who had been abducted were also to be returned. The following year, in the fourth month, the king sent envoys to present tribute alongside Lü Yuan's party, explaining: "Sea pirates swarm everywhere, so tribute missions cannot reach Your Majesty. As for those worthless petty thieves, I truly know nothing of them. I beg forgiveness for my offenses and ask that tribute missions be allowed to resume." The emperor, finding the reply conciliatory, agreed. The envoys were received with the usual ceremony, but piracy on the seas did not stop.

十七年，倭船入王家山島，都督劉榮率精兵疾馳入望海堝。賊數千人分乘二十舟，直抵馬雄島，進圍望海堝。榮發伏出戰，奇兵斷其歸路。賊奔櫻桃園，榮合兵攻之，斬首七百四十二，生擒八百五十七。召榮至京，封廣寧伯。自是，倭不敢窺遼東。二十年，倭寇象山。

In the seventeenth year, Japanese ships entered Wangjiashan Island. Regional Commander Liu Rong led elite troops in a forced march to Wanghaigang. Several thousand raiders in twenty boats made straight for Maxiong Island and then pressed on to besiege Wanghaigang. Rong sprung his ambush and gave battle; a flanking force cut off the enemy's retreat. The raiders fled to Cherry Orchard. Rong united his forces and attacked, beheading seven hundred forty-two men and taking eight hundred fifty-seven alive. Rong was summoned to court and enfeoffed as Marquis of Guangning. After that, the Japanese pirates no longer dared threaten Liaodong. In the twentieth year, Japanese pirates raided Xiangshan.

宣德七年正月，帝念四方蕃國皆來朝，獨日本久不貢，命中官柴山往琉球，令其王轉諭日本，賜之敕。明年夏，王源義教遣使來。帝報之，賚白金、彩幣。秋復至。十年十月以英宗嗣位，遣使來貢。

In the first month of the seventh year of Xuande, the emperor noted that tributary states from every direction had come to court while Japan alone had long stayed away. He ordered the eunuch Chai Shan to go to Ryukyu and have its king convey a message to Japan, along with an imperial edict. The following summer, King Ashikaga Yoshinori sent envoys. The emperor replied with gifts of silver and colored silks. In the autumn they came again. In the tenth month of the tenth year, when Emperor Yingzong succeeded to the throne, they sent envoys to present tribute.

景泰四年入貢，至臨清，掠居民貨。有指揮往詰，歐幾死。所司請執治，帝恐失遠人心，不許。先是，永樂初，詔日本十年一貢，人止二百，船止二艘，不得攜軍器，違者以寇論。乃賜以二舟，為入貢用，後悉不如制。宣德初，申定要約，人毋過三百，舟毋過三艘。而倭人貪利，貢物外所攜私物增十倍，例當給直。禮官言：「宣德間所貢硫黃、蘇木、刀扇、漆器之屬，估時直給錢鈔，或折支布帛，為數無多，然已大獲利。今若仍舊制，當給錢二十一萬七千，銀價如之。宜大減其直，給銀三萬四千七百有奇。」從之。使臣不悅，請如舊制。詔增錢萬，猶以為少，求增賜物。詔增布帛千五百，終怏怏去。

In the fourth year of Jingtai they sent tribute, but on reaching Linqing they looted local residents' goods. A commander went to question them and was nearly beaten to death. The local authorities asked to arrest and punish them, but the emperor, fearing he would lose the goodwill of distant peoples, refused. Earlier, at the start of Yongle, an edict had fixed tribute from Japan at once every ten years, with no more than two hundred men and two ships, and forbade the carrying of weapons. Violators were to be treated as pirates. Two vessels were then granted for tribute missions, but afterward the Japanese consistently violated the rules. At the beginning of Xuande the terms were tightened again: no more than three hundred persons and three ships. But the Japanese, greedy for profit, carried private merchandise ten times the volume of tribute goods, all of which by precedent had to be purchased at fair price. The Ministry of Rites reported: "During Xuande, tribute items such as sulfur, sappanwood, swords, fans, and lacquerware were appraised at market value and paid in paper money or cloth and silk. The sums were modest, yet the Japanese already made enormous profit. If we now pay according to the old scale, the amount would be two hundred seventeen thousand in cash, with silver at equivalent value. The price should be sharply reduced, to a little over thirty-four thousand seven hundred taels of silver." The proposal was approved. The envoy was displeased and asked that the old rate be restored. An edict added ten thousand in cash, but he still considered it insufficient and asked for more gifts. Another edict added fifteen hundred units of cloth and silk. He left still resentful.

天順初，其王源義政以前使臣獲罪天朝，蒙恩宥，欲遣使謝罪而不敢自達，移書朝鮮王令轉請，朝鮮以聞。廷議敕朝鮮核實，令擇老成識大體者充使，不得仍前肆擾，既而貢使亦不至。

At the beginning of Tianshun, King Ashikaga Yoshimasa, whose earlier envoys had offended the Ming court but been pardoned, wished to send a mission of apology but did not dare approach directly. He wrote to the King of Korea asking him to intercede, and Korea relayed the request. The court deliberated and ordered Korea to verify the facts and to choose sober, responsible men as envoys who would not repeat their earlier misconduct. Even so, no tribute mission came.

成化四年夏，乃遣使貢馬謝恩，禮之如制。其通事三人，自言本寧波村民，幼為賊掠，市與日本，今請便道省祭，許之。戒其勿同使臣至家，引中國人下海。十一月，使臣清啟復來貢，傷人於市。有司請治其罪，詔付清啟，奏言犯法者當用本國之刑，容還國如法論治。且自服不能鈐束之罪，帝俱赦之。自是，使者益無忌。十三年九月來貢，求《佛祖統紀》諸書，詔以《法苑珠林》賜之。使者述其王意，請於常例外增賜，命賜錢五萬貫。二十年十一月復貢。弘治九年三月，王源義高遣使來，還至濟寧，其下復持刀殺人。所司請罪之，詔自今止許五十人入都，余留舟次，嚴防禁焉。十八年冬來貢，時武宗已即位，命如故事，鑄金牌勘合給之。

In the summer of the fourth year of Chenghua, envoys finally arrived with horses to express gratitude. They were received according to regulation. Three interpreters said they were originally villagers from Ningbo, kidnapped as children by pirates and sold in Japan. They asked permission to visit home by a convenient route to tend family graves, and the request was granted. They were warned not to bring the envoys to their homes or induce Chinese subjects to go to sea. In the eleventh month the envoy Kiyohiro came again with tribute and injured people in the market. Local authorities asked that he be punished. An edict referred the matter to Kiyohiro, who replied that offenders should be judged under Japanese law and asked that they be allowed to return home for trial. He also confessed his own failure to restrain his men. The emperor pardoned everyone involved. After that, the envoys grew ever bolder. In the ninth month of the thirteenth year they came with tribute and asked for Buddhist works including the Universal Chronicle of the Buddha. An edict granted them the Pearl Forest of the Dharma Garden instead. The envoy conveyed his king's wish for extra gifts beyond the usual allowance, and an order was issued granting fifty thousand strings of cash. In the eleventh month of the twentieth year they sent tribute again. In the third month of the ninth year of Hongzhi, King Ashikaga Yoshihisa sent envoys. On the return journey, when they reached Jining, his subordinates again drew swords and killed people. The local authorities asked that they be punished. An edict ruled that henceforth only fifty men might enter the capital; the rest were to remain aboard ship under strict guard. In the winter of the eighteenth year they came with tribute. Emperor Wuzong had already ascended the throne, so they were received according to precedent and a gold tally of verification was cast and granted.

正德四年冬來貢。禮官言：「明年正月，大祀慶成宴。朝鮮陪臣在展東第七班，日本向無例，請殿西第七班。」從之。禮官又言：「日本貢物向用舟三，今止一，所賜銀幣，宜如其舟之數。且無表文，賜敕與否，請上裁。」命所司移文答之。五年春，其王源義澄遣使臣宋素卿來貢，時劉瑾竊柄，納其黃金千兩，賜飛魚服，前所未有也。素卿，鄞縣硃氏子，名縞，幼習歌唱。倭使見，悅之，而縞叔澄負其直，因以縞償。至是，充正使，至蘇州，澄與相見。後事覺，法當死，劉瑾庇之，謂澄已自首，並獲免。七年，義澄使復來貢，浙江守臣言：「今畿輔、山東盜充斥，恐使臣遇之為所掠，請以貢物貯浙江官庫，收其表文送京師。」禮官會兵部議，請令南京守備官即所在宴賚，遣歸，附進方物，皆予全直，毋阻遠人向化心。從之。

In the winter of the fourth year of Zhengde they came with tribute. The Ministry of Rites reported: "In the first month of next year, after the great sacrifice there will be the celebratory banquet. Korean envoys sit in the seventh rank on the east side of the extended hall. Japan has no established place. We ask that they be assigned the seventh rank on the west side." The request was approved. The Ministry of Rites also reported: "Japan's tribute missions have customarily used three ships; this time there is only one. The silver and silks granted should match the number of ships. Moreover, they have brought no memorial. Whether to grant an imperial edict is for Your Majesty to decide." An order was issued for the relevant offices to reply by official dispatch. In the spring of the fifth year, King Ashikaga Yoshizumi sent the envoy Song Suqing with tribute. Liu Jin was then wielding power behind the throne; he accepted a thousand taels of gold from Suqing and granted him flying-fish robes — an honor without precedent. Suqing was a son of the Zhu family of Yin County, born Gao. In youth he trained in song and dance. Japanese envoys took a liking to him, but Gao's uncle Cheng owed them money, so Gao was handed over to settle the debt. By then he had become chief envoy. When he reached Suzhou, Cheng came to see him. When the affair later came to light, the law called for his death. Liu Jin protected him, claiming Cheng had already surrendered, and both men were pardoned. In the seventh year, Yoshizumi's envoys came again with tribute. Zhejiang officials reported: "Bandits now fill the capital region and Shandong. We fear the envoys may be robbed on the road. We ask that tribute goods be stored in Zhejiang's official warehouses and the memorial sent on to the capital." The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War jointly recommended that the Nanjing garrison commander entertain and reward the envoys on the spot and send them home, paying full value for all attached goods and not discouraging distant peoples from submitting. The recommendation was approved.

嘉靖二年五月，其貢使宗設抵寧波。未幾，素卿偕瑞佐復至，互爭真偽。素卿賄市舶大監賴恩，宴時坐素卿於宗設上，船後至又先為驗發。宗設怒，與之斗，殺瑞佐，焚其舟，追素卿至紹興城下，素卿竄匿他所免。凶黨還寧波，所過焚掠，執指揮袁璡，奪船出海。都指揮劉錦追至海上，戰沒。巡按御史歐珠以聞，且言：「據素卿狀，西海路多羅氏義興者，向屬日本統轄，無入貢例。因貢道必經西海，正德朝勘合為所奪。我不得已，以弘治朝勘合，由南海路起程，比至寧波，因詰其偽，致啟釁。」章下禮部，部議：「素卿言未可信，不宜聽入朝。但釁起宗設，素卿之黨被殺者多，其前雖有投番罪，已經先朝宥赦，毋容問。惟宣諭素卿還國，移咨其王，令察勘合有無，行究治。」帝已報可，御史熊蘭、給事張翀交章言：「素卿罪重不可貸，請並治賴恩及海道副使張芹、分守參政硃鳴陽、分巡副使許完、都指揮張浩。閉關絕貢，振中國之威，寢狡寇之計。」事方議行，會宗設黨中林、望古多羅逸出之舟，為暴風飄至朝鮮。朝鮮人擊斬三十級，生擒二賊以獻。給事中夏言因請逮赴浙江，會所司與素卿雜治，因遣給事中劉稍、御史王道往。至四年，獄成，素卿及中林、望古多羅並論死，系獄。久之，皆瘐死。時有琉球使臣鄭繩歸國，命傳諭日本以擒獻宗設，還袁璡及海濱被掠之人，否則閉關絕貢，徐議征討。

In the fifth month of the second year of Jiajing, the tribute envoy Sōsetsu reached Ningbo. Soon afterward Suqing arrived with Mizuo, and the two parties disputed which mission was authentic. Suqing bribed the maritime trade eunuch Lai En. At the banquet Suqing was seated above Sōsetsu, and though his ship arrived later it was inspected and cleared first. Sōsetsu flew into a rage and fought him, killing Mizuo, burning their ship, and chasing Suqing to the walls of Shaoxing. Suqing hid elsewhere and escaped. The violent faction returned to Ningbo, burning and looting as they went, seized Commander Yuan Jin, and took ships out to sea. Regional Commander Liu Jin pursued them to sea and was killed in action. Censor Ouyang Zhu reported the affair and added: "According to Suqing, a man named Yixing of the Tara clan on the Western Sea route had long been under Japanese control and had no right to send tribute. Because the tribute route had to pass through the Western Sea, the Zhengde tally plates were seized. We had no choice but to use the Hongzhi tally plates and sail by the Southern Sea route. When we reached Ningbo and were challenged as impostors, violence broke out. The memorial went to the Ministry of Rites, which ruled: "Suqing's account cannot be trusted; he should not be allowed to enter court. Yet the provocation began with Sōsetsu, and many of Suqing's men were killed. Though Suqing had once committed the crime of going over to the Japanese, he had already been pardoned in the previous reign and should not be prosecuted. Simply order Suqing to return home and send a dispatch to his king instructing him to verify the tally plates and punish those responsible." The emperor had already approved when Censor Xiong Lan and Submitter Zhang Chong jointly memorialized: "Suqing's crimes are too grave to pardon. We ask that Lai En, Maritime Deputy Commissioner Zhang Qin, Regional Vice Commissioner Zhu Mingyang, Circuit Vice Commissioner Xu Wan, and Regional Commander Zhang Hao also be punished. Close the borders, cut off tribute, assert the dignity of the empire, and frustrate the designs of cunning pirates. While the matter was still under deliberation, a boat carrying Nakabayashi and Mogadorō, who had escaped from Sōsetsu's faction, was blown by storm to Korea. Koreans killed thirty of them and captured two raiders alive, whom they sent as prisoners. Submitter Xia Yan then asked that the prisoners be sent to Zhejiang for joint trial with the local authorities and Suqing. Submitter Liu Shao and Censor Wang Dao were dispatched for the purpose. By the fourth year the case was closed. Suqing, Nakabayashi, and Mogadorō were all sentenced to death and imprisoned. In time, every one of them wasted away and died in prison. When the Ryukyuan envoy Zheng Sheng was about to return home, the court instructed him to tell Japan to hand over Sōsetsu, restore Yuan Jin and the coastal captives, and otherwise face closed borders, an end to tribute, and eventual military punishment.

九年，琉球使臣蔡瀚者，道經日本，其王源義晴附表言：「向因本國多事，干戈梗道。正德勘合不達東都，以故素卿捧弘治勘合行，乞貸遣。望並賜新勘合、金印，修貢如常。」禮官驗其文，無印篆，言：「倭譎詐難信，宜敕琉球王傳諭，仍遵前命。」十八年七月，義晴貢使至寧波，守臣以聞。時不通貢者已十七年，敕巡按御史督同三司官核，果誠心效順，如制遣送，否則卻回，且嚴居民交通之禁。明年二月，貢使碩鼎等至京申前請，乞賜嘉靖新勘合，還素卿及原留貢物。部議：「勘合不可遽給，務繳舊易新。貢期限十年，人不過百，舟不過三，余不可許。」詔如議。二十三年七月復來貢，未及期，且無表文。部臣謂不當納，卻之。其人利互市，留海濱不去。巡按御史高節請治沿海文武將吏罪，嚴禁奸豪交通，得旨允行。而內地諸奸利其交易，多為之囊橐，終不能盡絕。

In the ninth year, the Ryukyuan envoy Cai Han traveled through Japan, where Yoshiharu attached a memorial reading: 'Our realm has been torn by internal strife, and war has obstructed the route. The Zhengde tallies never reached the eastern capital, so Suqing carried Hongzhi-era tallies instead and asked permission to proceed. We ask that new tallies and a gold seal be issued so that tribute may resume as usual.' The Board of Rites inspected the letter and found no seal. They argued that Japanese deceit could not be trusted and that Ryukyu should relay the earlier demand unchanged.' In the seventh month of the eighteenth year, Yoshiharu's tribute mission arrived at Ningbo, and the local authorities notified the court. Japan had sent no tribute for seventeen years. The emperor ordered the touring censor, together with the three provincial commissioners, to investigate. If the mission proved genuinely submissive, it would be escorted according to precedent; if not, it would be sent home, and private dealings with local people would be forbidden. The next year, in the second month, the envoys led by Shuo Ding reached Beijing and repeated their request for new Jiajing tallies, Suqing's release, and the return of the detained tribute goods. The ministry advised: 'Tallies should not be issued prematurely; the old slips must be turned in before new ones are given. Tribute may come only once every ten years, with no more than one hundred men and three ships; no other demands should be granted.' The emperor approved the recommendation. In the seventh month of the twenty-third year they presented tribute again, arriving before the scheduled interval and without the required memorial. The ministry held that the mission should not be accepted, and it was turned away. Seeking profit from illicit trade, the envoys lingered on the coast and refused to depart. Touring Censor Gao Jie asked that coastal officials be punished and illicit trade with private brokers be ruthlessly suppressed; the emperor agreed. Inland merchants still profited from the trade and often bankrolled the envoys, so the traffic was never fully extinguished.

二十六年六月，巡按御史楊九澤言：「浙江寧、紹、台、溫皆濱海，界連福建福、興、漳、泉諸郡，有倭患，雖設衛所城池及巡海副使、備倭都指揮，但海寇出沒無常，兩地官弁不能通攝，制御為難。請如往例，特遣巡視重臣，盡統海濱諸郡，庶事權歸一，威令易行。」廷議稱善，乃命副都御史硃紈巡撫浙江兼制福、興、漳、泉、建寧五府軍事。未幾，其王義晴遣使周良等先期來貢，用舟四，人六百，泊於海外，以待明年貢期。守臣沮之，則以風為解。十一月事聞，帝以先期非制，且人船越額，敕守臣勒回。十二月，倭賊犯寧、台二郡，大肆殺掠，二郡將吏並獲罪。明年六月，周良復求貢，紈以聞。禮部言：「日本貢期及舟與人數雖違制，第表辭恭順，去貢期亦不遠，若概加拒絕，則航海之勞可憫，若稍務含容，則宗設、素卿之事可鑑。宜敕紈循十八年例，起送五十人，余留嘉賓館，量加犒賞，諭令歸國。若互市防守事，宜在紈善處之。」報可。紈力言五十人過少，乃令百人赴都。部議但賞百人，余罷勿賞。良訴貢舟高大。勢須五百人。中國商舶入海，往往藏匿島中為寇，故增一舟防寇，非敢違制。部議量增其賞，且謂：「百人之制，彼國勢難遵行，宜相其貢舟大小，以施禁令。」從之。

In the sixth month of the twenty-sixth year, Touring Censor Yang Jiuzhe reported that Zhejiang's coastal prefectures and the adjoining Fujian ports were all menaced by Japanese raiders. Guard posts and anti-piracy officers existed, but pirates struck unpredictably, and officials in the two provinces could not coordinate, leaving defense ineffective. He asked that a senior envoy be sent, as in earlier practice, to command all coastal prefectures so that authority and enforcement would be unified.' The court agreed, and Vice Censor-in-chief Zhu Wan was made grand coordinator of Zhejiang with military authority over five Fujian prefectures as well. Soon afterward Yoshiharu sent Zhou Liang and others ahead of schedule with four ships and six hundred men, anchoring offshore until the next year's tribute season. When local officials tried to block them, they claimed they had been delayed by storms. When word reached the court in the eleventh month, the emperor ruled that the early arrival and excess men and ships violated precedent and ordered local officials to send the mission home. In the twelfth month, Japanese raiders struck Ningbo and Taizhou, killing and looting widely, and the officials of both prefectures were punished. The next year, in the sixth month, Zhou Liang again asked to present tribute, and Zhu Wan reported it to the court. The Ministry of Rites argued that although the mission broke the rules on timing, ships, and personnel, its language was deferential and the proper tribute season was near. Outright rejection would ignore the hardship of the voyage, yet excessive leniency would repeat the mistakes made with Sōsetsu and Suqing. Zhu Wan should follow the eighteenth-year precedent: send fifty envoys onward to the capital, house the rest at the Guest Lodge, reward them moderately, and order them home. Trade restrictions and coastal defense should be left to Zhu Wan's judgment.' The emperor approved. Zhu Wan protested that fifty men were too few, and the court allowed one hundred to go to the capital. The ministry ruled that only the hundred envoys sent to court would receive rewards; the others would get nothing. Zhou Liang protested that the tribute vessels were unusually large. Such ships, he said, required five hundred men to crew. Chinese merchant vessels often sheltered on islands and became pirates, he explained, so an extra ship had been added for protection, not to defy the rules. The ministry agreed to increase the rewards and added that the hundred-man limit was impractical for Japan; restrictions should be scaled to the size of the tribute fleet.' The court accepted the proposal.

日本故有孝、武兩朝勘合幾二百道，使臣前此入貢請易新者，而令繳其舊。至是良持弘治勘合十五道，言其餘為素卿子所竊，捕之不獲。正德勘合留十五道為信，而以四十道來還。部議令異時悉繳舊，乃許易新，亦報可。當是時，日本王雖入貢，其各島諸倭歲常侵掠，濱海奸民又往往勾之。紈乃嚴為申禁，獲交通者，不俟命輒以便宜斬之。由是，浙、閩大姓素為倭內主者，失利而怨。紈又數騰疏於朝，顯言大姓通倭狀，以故閩、浙人皆惡之，而閩尤甚。巡按御史周亮，閩產也，上疏詆紈，請改巡撫為巡視，以殺其權。其黨在朝者左右之，竟如其請。又奪紈官。羅織其擅殺罪，紈自殺。自是不置巡撫者四年，海禁復弛，亂益滋甚。

Japan once held nearly two hundred tally slips from the Xiaojing and Wu reigns, and earlier missions had been required to surrender old slips before receiving new ones. Now Zhou Liang produced fifteen Hongzhi tallies and claimed the rest had been stolen by Suqing's son, who could not be caught. Fifteen Zhengde tallies were kept as evidence, and forty were returned. The ministry ruled that new tallies would be issued only after all old ones were surrendered; the emperor agreed. Even while the Japanese king sent tribute, raiders from the outlying islands attacked yearly, often aided by coastal collaborators. Zhu Wan enforced the bans ruthlessly, summarily executing anyone caught trading with the Japanese without waiting for imperial approval. Powerful Zhejiang and Fujian clans that had long brokered trade with the Japanese lost their profits and turned against him. Zhu Wan also sent repeated memorials exposing great-clan collusion with Japan, earning hatred throughout Fujian and Zhejiang, above all in Fujian. Touring Censor Zhou Liang, a Fujian native, attacked Zhu Wan in a memorial and asked that his title be reduced from grand coordinator to touring inspector, stripping him of real authority. His allies at court maneuvered on his behalf, and the request was granted. Zhu Wan was dismissed from office. He was framed for unauthorized executions and took his own life. For four years thereafter no grand coordinator was appointed, the sea ban collapsed, and the crisis worsened.

祖制，浙江設市舶提舉司，以中官主之，駐寧波。海舶至則平其直，制馭之權在上。及世宗，盡撤天下鎮守中官，並撤市舶，而濱海奸人遂操其利。初市猶商主之，及嚴通番之禁，遂移之貴官家，負其直者愈甚。索之急，則以危言嚇之，或又以好言紿之，謂我終不負若直。倭喪其貲不得返，已大恨，而大奸若汪直、徐海、陳東、麻葉輩素窟其中，以內地不得逞，悉逸海島為主謀。倭聽指揮，誘之入寇。海中巨盜，遂襲倭服飾、旂號，並分艘掠內地，無不大利，故倭患日劇，於是廷議復設巡撫。三十一年七月以僉都御史王忬任之，而勢已不可撲滅。

Under the founding institutions, Zhejiang maintained a Maritime Trade Supervisorate at Ningbo under a eunuch director. When foreign ships arrived, the state set prices and kept trade under central control. Under Emperor Shizong, garrison eunuchs and trade offices were abolished nationwide, and coastal smugglers took over the profits. At first merchants still controlled the trade, but as the ban on overseas commerce tightened, business moved into the mansions of powerful officials, and unpaid debts mounted. When creditors pressed for payment, the powerful either threatened them or soothed them with empty promises that the debt would someday be honored. The Japanese, cheated of their goods and unable to go home, were already furious; and ringleaders such as Wang Zhi, Xu Hai, Chen Dong, and Ma Ye, driven from the mainland, made their bases on the islands. The Japanese followed their lead and were lured into raids on the mainland. Major pirates then adopted Japanese dress and banners, split into fleets, and raided inland with enormous profit, so the crisis intensified until the court decided to restore the grand coordinator. In the seventh month of the thirty-first year, Vice Censor-in-chief Wang Yu was appointed grand coordinator, but the disaster was already uncontrollable.

明初，沿海要地建衛所，設戰船，董以都司、巡視、副使等官，控制周密。迨承平久，船敝伍虛。及遇警，乃募漁船以資哨守。兵非素練，船非專業，見寇舶至，輒望風逃匿，而上又無統率御之。以故賊帆所指，無不殘破。三十二年三月，汪直勾諸倭大舉入寇，連艦數百，蔽海而至。浙東、西，江南、北，濱海數千里，同時告警。破昌國衛。四月犯太倉，破上海縣，掠江陰，攻乍浦。八月劫金山衛，犯崇明及常熟、嘉定。三十三年正月自太倉掠蘇州，攻松江，復趨江北，薄通、泰。四月陷嘉善，破崇明，復薄蘇州，入崇德縣。六月由吳江掠嘉興，還屯柘林。縱橫來往，若入無人之境，忬亦不能有所為。未幾，忬改撫大同，以李天寵代，又命兵部尚書張經總督軍務。乃大徵兵四方，協力進剿。是時，倭以川沙窪、柘林為巢，抄掠四出。明年正月，賊奪舟犯乍浦、海寧，陷崇德，轉掠塘棲、新市、橫塘、雙林等處，攻德清縣。五月復合新倭，突犯嘉興，至王江涇，乃為經擊斬千九百餘級，余奔柘林。其他倭復掠蘇州境，延及江陰、無錫，出入太湖。大抵真倭十之三，從倭者十之七。倭戰則驅其所掠之人為軍鋒，法嚴，人皆致死，而官軍素懦怯，所至潰奔。帝乃遣工部侍郎趙文華督察軍情。文華顛倒功罪，諸軍益解體。經、天寵並被逮，代以周珫、胡宗憲。逾月，珫罷，代以楊宜。

Early in the dynasty, coastal guard posts and warships were established under regional commanders and anti-piracy officers, and the system was tightly organized. Years of peace left the fleet rotting and the garrisons hollow. When danger arose, patrol duty fell to hired fishing boats. The men were untrained, the boats makeshift; at the first sight of enemy sails they fled, and no commander above them could impose order. Wherever the raiders turned, devastation followed. In the third month of the thirty-second year, Wang Zhi rallied the Japanese for a massive raid; hundreds of linked ships blackened the sea. Alarms sounded at once along thousands of li of coast from eastern and western Zhejiang to north and south Jiangnan. They overran Changguo Guard. In the fourth month they struck Taicang, sacked Shanghai County, looted Jiangyin, and assaulted Zhapu. In the eighth month they pillaged Jinshan Guard and hit Chongming, Changshu, and Jiading. In the first month of the thirty-third year they swept from Taicang into Suzhou, struck Songjiang, then crossed to the north bank and threatened Tongzhou and Taizhou. In the fourth month they captured Jiashan, broke Chongming, threatened Suzhou again, and entered Chongde County. In the sixth month they raided Jiaxing from Wujiang and withdrew to camp at Zhelin. They ranged freely as though the country were empty, and Wang Yu could do nothing to stop them. Soon Wang Yu was moved to Datong, Li Tianchong replaced him, and War Minister Zhang Jing was made supreme commander. The court then mobilized troops from across the empire for a coordinated campaign. The raiders made bases at Chuanshawa and Zhelin and launched raids in every direction. The next year, in the first month, they seized boats, hit Zhapu and Haining, captured Chongde, swept through Tangqi, Xinshi, Hengtang, Shuanglin, and other towns, and assaulted Deqing County. In the fifth month they united with newly arrived raiders, burst into Jiaxing, and reached Wangjiangjing, where Zhang Jing killed more than nineteen hundred of them and drove the rest back to Zhelin. Other raiding bands looted Suzhou prefecture, spread into Jiangyin and Wuxi, and ranged across Lake Tai. Roughly speaking, only three tenths were genuine Japanese; seven tenths were Chinese collaborators dressed as Wo. In battle the raiders drove captives ahead as human shields under harsh discipline, while government troops, habitually timid, broke and ran at every encounter. The emperor then sent Vice Minister of Works Zhao Wenhua to supervise the campaign. Zhao Wenhua reversed reward and punishment, and the armies fell apart. Zhang Jing and Li Tianchong were arrested and replaced by Zhou Yan and Hu Zongxian. Within a month Zhou Yan was removed and Yang Yi took his place.

時賊勢蔓延，江浙無不蹂躪。新倭來益眾，益肆毒。每自焚其舟，登岸劫掠。自杭州北新關西剽淳安，突徽州歙縣，至績溪、旌德，過涇縣，趨南陵，遂達蕪湖。燒南岸，奔太平府，犯江寧鎮，徑侵南京。倭紅衣黃蓋，率眾犯大安德門，及夾岡，乃趨秣陵關而去，由溧水流劫溧陽、宜興。聞官兵自太湖出，遂越武進，抵無錫，駐惠山。一晝夜奔百八十餘里，抵滸墅。為官軍所圍，追及於楊林橋，殲之。是役也，賊不過六七十人，而經行數千里，殺戮戰傷者幾四千人，歷八十餘日始滅，此三十四年九月事也。

By then the raiders had spread across Jiangsu and Zhejiang, leaving scarcely a district untouched. Fresh Japanese raiders kept arriving in greater numbers and with greater ferocity. They routinely burned their ships after landing and then looted inland. Starting west of Hangzhou at Beixin Pass, they looted Chun'an, burst into She County in Huizhou, pushed through Jixi and Jingde, crossed Jing County, reached Nanling, and advanced as far as Wuhu. They burned the south bank of the Yangtze, raced toward Taiping Prefecture, struck Jiangning Guard, and pressed on to Nanjing itself. Clad in red and bearing yellow banners, the raiders hit Nanjing's Great Virtue Gate and Jiogang, then withdrew through Muling Pass and descended the Lishui River to loot Liyang and Yixing. Hearing that troops were moving out from Lake Tai, they crossed into Wujin, reached Wuxi, and camped on Huishan. In a single day and night they marched more than one hundred and eighty li to Xushu. Government troops surrounded them, caught them at Yanglin Bridge, and wiped them out. In that operation fewer than seventy raiders marched thousands of li, killed or wounded nearly four thousand people, and survived more than eighty days before they were finally destroyed in the ninth month of the thirty-fourth year.

應天巡撫曹邦輔以捷聞，文華忌其功。以倭之巢於陶宅也，乃大集浙、直兵，與宗憲親將之。又約邦輔合剿，分道並進，營於松江之甎橋。倭悉銳來沖，遂大敗，文華氣奪，賊益熾。十月，倭自樂清登岸，流劫黃岩、仙居、奉化、餘姚、上虞，被殺擄者無算。至乘縣乃殲之，亦不滿二百人，顧深入三府，歷五十日始平。其先一枝自山東日照流劫東安衛，至淮安、贛榆、沭陽、桃源，至清河阻雨，為徐、邳官兵所殲，亦不過數十人，流害千里，殺戮千餘，其悍如此。而文華自甎橋之敗，見倭寇勢甚，其自柘林移於周浦，與泊於川沙舊巢及嘉定高橋者自如，他侵犯者無虛日，文華乃以寇息請還朝。

Grand Coordinator Cao Bangfu reported the victory, and Zhao Wenhua resented him for it. Claiming the raiders were based at Taozhai, Zhao Wenhua massed troops from Zhejiang and the capital region and took the field in person with Hu Zongxian. He also arranged a joint strike with Cao Bangfu, dividing forces and encamping at Zhuan Bridge in Songjiang. The raiders threw their best troops into the assault, routed Wenhua's force, broke his morale, and grew bolder. In the tenth month raiders landed at Yueqing and swept through Huangyan, Xianju, Fenghua, Yuyao, and Shangyu, killing and capturing beyond number. They were finally destroyed at Sheng County. Though fewer than two hundred strong, they had plunged deep into three prefectures and took fifty days to suppress. One band had set out from Rizhao in Shandong, raiding through Dong'an Guard and on through Huaian, Ganyu, Shuyang, and Taoyuan before rain trapped them at Qinghe, where Xu- and Pi-area government troops wiped them out. Fewer than fifty men had ravaged a thousand li and killed more than a thousand people — that was how fierce they were. After his defeat at Zhuan Bridge, Zhao Wenhua saw how strong the pirates had become. They shifted from Zhelin to Zhoupu, their comrades at the old bases in Chuansha and Jiading Gaoqiao carried on as before, and fresh raids came almost daily. Zhao Wenhua then asked to go back to court, claiming the threat was over.

明年二月，罷宜，代以宗憲，以阮鶚巡撫浙江。於是宗憲乃請遣使諭日本國王，禁戢島寇，招還通番奸商，許立功免罪。既得旨，遂遣寧波諸生蔣洲、陳可願往。及是，可願還，言至其國五島，遇汪直、毛海峰，謂日本內亂，王與其相俱死，諸島不相統攝，須遍諭乃可杜其入犯。又言，有薩摩洲者，雖已揚帆入寇，非其本心，乞通貢互市，願殺賊自效。乃留洲傳諭各島，而送可願還。宗憲以聞，兵部言：「直等本編民，既稱效順，即當釋兵。乃絕不言及，第求開市通貢，隱若屬國然，其奸叵測。宜令督臣振揚國威，嚴加備御。移檄直等，俾剿除舟山諸賊巢以自明。果海疆廓清，自有恩賚。」從之。時兩浙皆被倭，而慈溪焚殺獨慘，餘姚次之。浙西柘林、乍浦、烏鎮、皁林間，皆為賊巢，前後至者二萬餘人，命宗憲亟圖方略。七月，宗憲言：「賊首毛海峰自陳可願還，一敗倭寇於舟山，再敗之瀝表，又遣其黨招諭各島，相率效順，乞加重賞。」部令宗憲以便宜行。當是時，徐海、陳東、麻葉，方連兵攻圍桐鄉，宗憲設計間之，海遂擒東、葉以降，盡殲其餘眾於乍浦。未幾，復蹴海於梁莊，海亦授首，餘黨盡滅。江南、浙西諸寇略平，而江北倭則犯丹陽及掠瓜洲，燒漕艘者明春復犯如皋、海門，攻通州，掠揚州、高耶，入寶應，遂侵淮安府，集於廟灣，踰年乃克。其浙東之倭則盤踞於舟山，亦先後為官軍所襲。

The next year, in the second month, Yang Yi was removed and Hu Zongxian took his place; Ruan E was appointed grand coordinator of Zhejiang. Hu Zongxian then proposed sending envoys to warn the Japanese king to rein in the island raiders, summon back Chinese smugglers who had gone over to them, and offer pardons in exchange for loyal service. After imperial approval, he dispatched the Ningbo scholars Jiang Zhou and Chen Keyuan. By then Chen Keyuan had returned. He reported reaching Japan's Gotō Islands, where he met Wang Zhi and Mao Haifeng. They claimed Japan was in civil turmoil, that both the king and his chief minister were dead, and that the islands answered to no single authority — only a broad round of proclamations could stop the raids. He added that Satsuma, though already sending raiders, did not truly wish to make war; it sought restored tribute and trade and offered to kill pirates to prove its good faith. Jiang Zhou remained to carry the message to the islands while Chen Keyuan was sent home. Hu Zongxian reported the matter, and the Ministry of War replied: "Wang Zhi and his followers were subjects of the Ming. Now that they claim to submit, they should disarm at once. Instead they say nothing about disarming and only press for open markets and tribute trade, acting almost like a vassal state. Their designs are impossible to fathom. The frontier commanders should be told to assert imperial authority and tighten coastal defenses. Wang Zhi and his men should be ordered by proclamation to wipe out the pirate nests around Zhoushan and prove their loyalty that way. If they truly pacify the coast, imperial favor will follow. The court agreed. Both halves of Zhejiang were under attack, but Cixi suffered the worst burning and slaughter, with Yuyao close behind. Western Zhejiang from Zhelin and Zhapu to Wuzhen and Zaolin had become a chain of pirate bases holding more than twenty thousand men. Hu Zongxian was ordered to act quickly. In the seventh month Hu Zongxian reported: "Since Chen Keyuan returned, the pirate leader Mao Haifeng has beaten Wo raiders once at Zhoushan and twice at Biaoli, and sent envoys to bring the islands over one by one. He asks for a substantial reward. The ministry told Hu Zongxian to use his discretion. Xu Hai, Chen Dong, and Ma Ye were then besieging Tongxiang together. Hu Zongxian turned them against one another; Xu Hai seized Chen Dong and Ma Ye and submitted, and their remaining men were destroyed at Zhapu. Soon afterward Hu Zongxian routed Xu Hai at Liangzhuang as well. Hai lost his head, and his last followers were wiped out. Pirates in Jiangnan and western Zhejiang were largely subdued, but northern raiders struck Danyang, looted Guazhou, and burned grain barges. The next spring they hit Rugao and Haimen, attacked Tongzhou, raided Yangzhou and Gaoyou, pushed into Baoying, and finally massed at Miaowan in Huaian Prefecture. A full year passed before they were defeated. Eastern Zhejiang's pirates held Zhoushan and were hit again and again by government forces.

先是，蔣洲宣諭諸島，至豐後被留，令僧人往山口等島傳諭禁戢。於是山口都督源義長具咨送還被掠人口，而咨乃用國王印。豐後太守源義鎮遣僧德陽等具方物，奉表謝罪，請頒勘合修貢，送洲還。前楊宜所遣鄭舜功出海哨探者，行至豐後島，島主亦遣僧清授附舟來謝罪，言前後侵犯，皆中國奸商潛引諸島夷眾，義鎮等實不知。於是宗憲疏陳其事，言：「洲奉使二年，止歷豐後、山口二島，或有貢物而無印信勘合，或有印信而無國王名稱，皆違朝典。然彼既以貢來，又送還被掠人口，實有畏罪乞恩意。宜禮遣其使，令傳諭義鎮、義長，轉諭日本王，擒獻倡亂諸渠，及中國奸宄，方許通貢。」詔可。

When Jiang Zhou was carrying the imperial message to the islands, he was held at Bungo and had to send a monk onward to Yamaguchi and the other islands with orders to stand down. Minamoto Yoshinaga, lord of Yamaguchi, then sent a memorial returning captives — and the document bore the royal seal. Bungo's governor Minamoto Yoshishige sent the monk Tokuyō with gifts, a memorial begging forgiveness, a request for restored tally-slips and tribute relations, and Jiang Zhou's release. Zheng Shungong, whom Yang Yi had sent to scout the seas, had reached Bungo; its lord sent the monk Seiju back on the same boat to apologize, claiming the raids had all been instigated by Chinese smugglers who dragged islanders along and that Yoshishige and his men had known nothing. Hu Zongxian reported the affair, noting that Jiang Zhou had spent two years abroad and reached only Bungo and Yamaguchi. Some missions brought gifts without proper tally-slips; others bore seals without the king's name. All of this fell short of Ming protocol. Still, they had come bearing tribute and returned captives, which showed genuine fear and a wish for mercy. Their envoys should be sent home with courtesy and told to inform Yoshishige and Yoshinaga, and through them the Japanese king, that trade would resume only after the ringleaders and Chinese collaborators were captured and delivered. The emperor approved.

汪直之踞海島也，與其黨王滶、葉宗滿、謝和、王清溪等，各挾倭寇為雄。朝廷至懸伯爵、萬金之賞以購之，迄不能致。及是，內地官軍頗有備，倭雖橫，亦多被剿戮，有全島無一人歸者，往往怨直，直漸不自安。宗憲與直同郡，館直母與其妻孥於杭州，遣蔣洲齎其家書招之。直知家屬固無恙，頗心動。義鎮等以中國許互市，亦喜。乃裝巨舟，遣其屬善妙等四十餘人隨直等來貢市，於三十六年十月初，抵舟山之岑港。將吏以為入寇也，陳兵備。直乃遣王？滶入見宗憲，謂：「我以好來，何故陳兵待我？」滶即毛海峰，直養子也。宗憲慰勞甚至，指心誓無他。俄善妙等見副將盧鏜於舟山，鏜令擒直以獻。語洩，直益疑。宗憲開諭百方，直終不信，曰：「果爾，可遣滶出，吾當入見。」宗憲立遣之。直又邀一貴官為質，即命指揮夏正往。直以為信，遂與宗滿、清溪偕來。宗憲大喜，禮接之甚厚，令謁巡按御史王本固於杭州，本固以屬吏。氵敖等聞，大恨，支解夏正，焚舟登山，據岑港堅守。

While Wang Zhi held the offshore islands, he and his lieutenants Wang Ao, Ye Zongman, Xie He, and Wang Qingxi each built power by allying with Japanese raiders. The court put a marquisate and ten thousand taels of gold on his head, yet never managed to take him. Inland defenses had improved by then. Raiders still roamed widely, but many were cut down, and some islands lost every man who sailed out. Resentment turned on Wang Zhi, and he grew uneasy. Hu Zongxian came from the same home region as Wang Zhi. He housed Wang's mother, wife, and children in Hangzhou and sent Jiang Zhou with a letter from the family to summon him in. Learning that his family was safe, Wang Zhi wavered. Yoshishige and his allies were pleased as well, since China had promised trade. They fitted out large ships and sent more than forty men, including Zenmyō, to accompany Wang Zhi on a tribute-and-trade mission. In the tenth month of year thirty-six they reached Cengang in Zhoushan. Local commanders took it for an attack and mobilized for defense. Wang Zhi sent Wang Yao ahead. Wang Ao went in to see Hu Zongxian and demanded: "I came in peace — why are your troops drawn up against me? Ao was Mao Haifeng, Wang Zhi's adopted son. Hu Zongxian welcomed him lavishly, placed a hand on his heart, and swore he meant no treachery. Soon Zenmyō and the others met Vice General Lu Zong at Zhoushan, and Lu Zong ordered Wang Zhi seized and handed over. Word of the order got out, and Wang Zhi's mistrust deepened. Hu Zongxian tried every argument, but Wang Zhi would not trust him. "If you mean no harm," he said, "send Ao back out and I will come ashore. Hu Zongxian sent Ao out at once. Wang Zhi also demanded a senior officer as hostage, and Hu Zongxian sent Commander Xia Zheng. Taking this as proof of good faith, Wang Zhi came ashore with Ye Zongman and Wang Qingxi. Hu Zongxian was delighted, received them with great honor, and sent them to call on the touring censor Wang Benguo in Hangzhou, who treated them like ordinary prisoners. When Wang Ao and his men learned what had happened, they were furious. They killed Xia Zheng by dismemberment, burned their ships, took to the hills, and dug in at Cengang.

踰年，新倭大至，屢寇浙東三郡。其在岑港者，徐移之柯梅，造新舟出海，宗憲不之追。十一月，賊揚帆南去，泊泉州之浯嶼，掠同安、惠安、南安諸縣，攻福寧州，破福安、寧德。明年四月遂圍福州，經月不解。福清、永福諸城皆被攻毀，蔓延於興化，奔突於漳州。其患盡移於福建，而潮、廣間亦紛紛以倭警聞矣。至四十年，浙東、江北諸寇以次平。宗憲尋坐罪被逮。明年十一月陷興化府，大殺掠，移據平海衛不去。初，倭之犯浙江也，破州縣衛所城以百數，然未有破府城者。至是，遠近震動，亟征俞大猷、戚繼光、劉顯諸將合擊，破之。其侵犯他州縣者，亦為諸將所破，福建亦平。

More than a year later fresh Japanese raiders arrived in force and struck eastern Zhejiang's three prefectures again and again. The men at Cengang slipped away to Keme, built new ships, and sailed off; Hu Zongxian did not chase them. In the eleventh month the pirates sailed south to Wuyu off Quanzhou, looted Tong'an, Hui'an, and Nan'an, attacked Funing Prefecture, and overran Fu'an and Ningde. The next April they besieged Fuzhou and held it under siege for a month. Fuqing and Yongfu were battered and broken, the disaster spread into Xinghua, and raiders stampeded into Zhangzhou. The crisis had moved wholesale to Fujian, and alarms of pirate raids began pouring in from Chaozhou and Guangdong as well. By year forty, pirates in eastern Zhejiang and the north had been subdued one after another. Soon afterward Hu Zongxian was implicated in misconduct and arrested. The next November they took Xinghua Prefecture, massacred and looted the city, and settled in at Pinghai Guard. Earlier raids in Zhejiang had overrun hundreds of counties, guard posts, and walled towns, but no prefectural seat had fallen. The shock ran deep. Yu Dayou, Qi Jiguang, Liu Xian, and other generals were rushed to the scene, joined forces, and broke the enemy. Raids in other prefectures and counties were beaten back as well, and Fujian was finally pacified.

其後，廣東巨寇曾一本、黃朝太等，無不引倭為助。隆慶時，破碣石、甲子諸衛所。已，犯化州石城縣，陷錦囊所、神電衛。吳川、陽江、茂名、海豐、新寧、惠來諸縣，悉遭焚掠。轉入雷、謙、瓊三郡境，亦被其患。萬曆二年犯浙東寧、紹、台、溫四郡，又陷廣東銅鼓石雙魚所。三年犯電白。四年犯定海。八年犯浙江韭山及福建彭湖、東涌。十年犯溫州，又犯廣東。十六年犯浙江。然時疆吏懲嘉靖之禍，海防頗飭，賊來輒失利。其犯廣東者，為蜒賊梁本豪勾引，勢尤猖獗。總督陳瑞集眾軍擊之，斬首千六百餘級，沈其船百餘艘，本豪亦授首。帝為告謝郊廟，宣捷受賀雲。

After that, major Guangdong outlaws such as Zeng Yiben and Huang Chaotai routinely enlisted Japanese raiders as allies. During the Longqing reign they overran Jieshi, Jiazi, and other guard posts. They soon struck Shicheng County in Huazhou and took Jinnang Post and Shendian Guard. Wuchuan, Yangjiang, Maoming, Haifeng, Xinning, and Huilai were all burned and looted. The raiders pushed into Leizhou, Lianzhou, and Qiongzhou and brought the same devastation there. In Wanli 2 they hit Ningbo, Shaoxing, Taizhou, and Wenzhou in eastern Zhejiang and also took Guangdong's Tonggushi and Shuangyu posts. In Wanli 3 they raided Dianbai. In Wanli 4 they struck Dinghai. In Wanli 8 they hit Jiushan in Zhejiang and Penghu and Dongyong in Fujian. In Wanli 10 they raided Wenzhou and Guangdong again. In Wanli 16 they struck Zhejiang once more. By then, however, frontier officials had learned from the Jiajing disasters and kept tighter coastal defenses, and raiders usually lost when they came. Guangdong raids were especially fierce because the pirate Liang Benhao was drawing them in. Governor-General Chen Rui massed his forces, killed more than sixteen hundred enemies, sank over a hundred ships, and Liang Benhao lost his head as well. The emperor offered thanks at the suburban altars and ancestral temple, proclaimed victory, and received the usual round of congratulations.

日本故有王，其下稱關白者最尊，時以山城州渠信長為之。偶出獵，遇一人臥樹下，驚起衝突，執而詰之。自言為平秀吉，薩摩州人之奴，雄健蹺捷，有口辯。信長悅之，令牧馬，名曰木下人。後漸用事，為信長畫策，奪並二十餘州，遂為攝津鎮守大將。有參謀阿奇支者，得罪信長，命秀吉統兵討之。俄信長為其下明智所殺，秀吉方攻滅阿奇支，聞變，與部將行長等乘勝還兵誅之，威名益振。尋廢信長三子，僭稱關白，盡有其眾，時為萬曆十四年。於是益治兵，征服六十六州，又以威脅琉球、呂宋、暹羅、佛郎機諸國，皆使奉貢。乃改國王所居山城為大閣，廣築城郭，建宮殿，其樓閣有至九重者，實婦女珍寶其中。其用法嚴，軍行有進無退，違者雖子婿必誅，以故所向無敵。乃改元文祿，並欲侵中國，滅朝鮮而有之。召問故時汪直遺黨，知唐人畏倭如虎，氣益驕。益大治兵甲，繕舟艦，與其下謀，入中國北京者用朝鮮人為導，入浙、閩沿海郡縣者用唐人為導。慮琉球洩其情，使毋入貢。

Japan still had a king in name, but the highest real office was kampaku, held at the time by Oda Nobunaga of Yamashiro. Once while hunting, Nobunaga found a man asleep under a tree. The man started up and bumped into him, and Nobunaga seized and questioned him. He gave his name as Hideyoshi, a servant from Satsuma — strong, quick, and sharp-tongued. Nobunaga took a liking to him, set him to mind horses, and nicknamed him "Under-the-Tree." He rose in Nobunaga's service, planned campaigns that swallowed more than twenty provinces, and became military governor of Settsu. When a staff officer named Akechi offended Nobunaga, Nobunaga sent Hideyoshi to crush him. Soon Nobunaga was murdered by his own man Akechi Mitsuhide. Hideyoshi was campaigning against Akechi's faction when news arrived; he wheeled about with generals such as Yukinaga, marched on the capital, destroyed Akechi, and his renown soared. He soon displaced Nobunaga's three sons, seized the title of kampaku, and absorbed his armies — this was Wanli 14. He drilled his armies, unified the sixty-six provinces, and by force or fear made Ryukyu, Luzon, Siam, and the Portuguese pay tribute. He renamed the Yamashiro capital the Great Tower, greatly expanded its walls and ramparts, and built palaces whose loftiest halls rose nine stories, stocked with women and treasure. His discipline was brutal: armies moved forward, never back, and even a son-in-law who disobeyed was put to death. That was why his campaigns seemed unstoppable. He proclaimed the Bunroku era and set his sights on invading China, conquering Korea, and holding both. He questioned Wang Zhi's old associates, heard that Chinese feared Japanese like tigers, and grew still more arrogant. He doubled down on arms and shipbuilding and planned with his commanders to use Koreans as guides for an advance on Beijing and Chinese collaborators for the coasts of Zhejiang and Fujian. Afraid Ryukyu would expose his plans, he blocked its tribute missions.

同安人陳甲者，商於琉球。懼為中國害，與琉球長史鄭迥謀，因進貢請封之使，具以其情來告。甲又旋故鄉，陳其事於巡撫趙參魯。參魯以聞，下兵部，部移咨朝鮮王。王但深辨嚮導之誣，亦不知其謀己也。

Chen Jia of Tong'an was a merchant in Ryukyu. Fearing disaster for the Ming, he worked with Ryukyu's chief secretary Zheng Jiong to slip word to Beijing through the next investiture tribute mission. Chen Jia went home as well and told Grand Coordinator Zhao Canlu what he knew. Zhao Canlu forwarded the report to the Ministry of War, which in turn notified the Korean king. The Korean king insisted the guide story was slander — and had no idea Hideyoshi was plotting against him.

初，秀吉廣徵諸鎮兵，諸三歲糧，欲自將以犯中國。會其子死，旁無兄弟。前奪豐後島主妻為妾，慮其為後患。而諸鎮怨秀吉暴虐，咸曰：「此舉非襲大唐，乃襲我耳。」各懷異志。由是，秀吉不敢親行。二十年四月遣其將清正、行長、義智，僧玄蘇、宗逸等，將舟師數百艘，由對馬島渡海陷朝鮮之釜山，乘勝長驅，以五月渡臨津，掠開城，分陷豐德諸郡。朝鮮望風潰，清正等遂亻畐王京。朝鮮王李昖棄城奔平壤，又奔義州，遣使絡繹告急。倭遂入王京，執其王妃、王子，追奔至平壤，放兵淫掠。七月命副總兵祖承訓赴援，與倭戰於平壤城外，大敗，承訓僅以身免。八月，中朝乃以兵部侍郎宋應昌為經略，都督李如松為提督，統兵討之。

Hideyoshi had begun mass conscription across the domains, stockpiling three years of grain for a personal invasion of China. Then his heir died, leaving him without a brother at hand. He had earlier taken the Bungo lord's wife as a concubine and now worried she would become a liability. The daimyo resented Hideyoshi's cruelty and tyranny, saying among themselves: This war is not against China—it is against us. Each harbored his own private designs. For this reason Hideyoshi did not dare lead the expedition himself. In the fourth month of Wanli 20 he sent his generals Kiyomasa, Teruzumi, and Yoshitoshi, with the monks Genso and Soitsu, leading several hundred warships from Tsushima. They crossed the sea, took Pusan, swept forward in victory, crossed the Imjin in the fifth month, seized Kaesong, and overran the districts of Pungdok. Korean armies collapsed without a fight. Kiyomasa and the others then pressed on the royal capital. King Yi Sun abandoned the capital and fled to Pyongyang, then to Uiju, sending envoys in rapid succession to beg for aid. The Japanese entered the capital, seized the queen and princes, pursued the king to Pyongyang, and let their troops ravage the countryside. In the seventh month Vice Commander Zu Chengxun was sent to relieve Korea. He fought the Japanese outside Pyongyang, suffered a crushing defeat, and barely escaped alive. In the eighth month the court appointed Vice Minister Song Yingchang as supreme coordinator and Li Rusong as commander-in-chief to lead the punitive expedition.

當是時，寧夏未平，朝鮮事起，兵部尚書石星計無所出，募能說倭者偵之，於是嘉興人沈惟敬應募。星即假游擊將軍銜，送之如松麾下。明年，如松師大捷於平壤，朝鮮所失四道並復。如松乘勝趨碧蹄館，敗而退師。於是封貢之議起，中朝彌縫惟敬以成款局，事詳《朝鮮傳》。久之，秀吉死，諸倭揚帆盡歸，朝鮮患亦平。然自關白侵東國，前後七載，喪師數十萬糜餉數百萬，中朝與朝鮮迄無勝算。至關白死，兵禍始休，諸倭亦皆退守島巢，東南稍有安枕之日矣。秀吉凡再傳而亡。

Ningxia was still unsettled when the Korean war broke out. War Minister Shi Xing, at his wits' end, recruited anyone who claimed he could deal with Japan. Shen Weijing of Jiaxing volunteered. Shi Xing gave him the titular rank of mobile corps commander and attached him to Li Rusong's staff. The following year Li Rusong won a great victory at Pyongyang and recovered all four lost Korean provinces. Li Rusong pressed on to Pyeongjeck, was defeated, and withdrew. Talk of investiture and tribute followed, and the court patched peace together through Shen Weijing. The affair is detailed in the Korea biography. Eventually Hideyoshi died. The Japanese fleets sailed home, and Korea's ordeal ended. Yet over seven years of Hideyoshi's invasion, hundreds of thousands of soldiers perished and millions in supplies were wasted, and neither Ming nor Korea ever achieved a decisive victory. Only with Hideyoshi's death did the war end. The Japanese withdrew to their islands, and the southeast coast at last knew a measure of peace. Hideyoshi's line survived two more generations and then died out.

終明之世，通倭之禁甚嚴，閭巷小民，至指倭相詈罵，甚以噤其小兒女雲。

Throughout the Ming dynasty the ban on contact with Japan was severe. Neighbors would curse one another as 'Japanese,' and parents even used the word to frighten small children.

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