1
韃靼，即蒙古，故元後也。 太祖洪武元年，大將軍徐達率師取元，元主自北平遁出塞，居開平，數遣其將也速等擾北邊。 明年，常遇春擊敗之，師進開平，俘宗王慶孫、平章鼎住。
The Tartars are the Mongols—the remnant house of the Yuan. In the founding emperor’s first Hongwu year, Grand General Xu Da marched to seize the Yuan capital; the Yuan emperor slipped from Beiping north of the passes and made Kaiping his seat, while repeatedly dispatching generals such as Yisu to raid the northern border. The following year Chang Yuchun routed them; the army pushed on to Kaiping and took the imperial prince Qing Sun and Chancellor Dingzhu prisoner.
2
時元主奔應昌，其將王保保據定西為邊患。 三年春，以徐達為大將軍，使出西安搗定西； 李文忠為左副將軍，馮勝為右副將軍，使出居庸搗應昌。 文忠至興和，擒平章竹貞，復大破元兵於駱駝山，遂趨應昌。 未至，知元主已殂，進圍其城，克之。 獲元主孫買的裡八剌及其妃嬪、大臣、寶玉、圖籍。 太子愛猷識理達臘獨以數十騎遁去。 而徐達亦大破王保保兵於沈兒峪口，走之。 太祖封買的裡八剌為崇禮侯，謚元主曰順帝。 於是故元諸將江文清等、王子失篤兒等，先後歸附。 獨王保保擁太子愛猷識理達臘居和林，屢詔諭之，不從。
By then the Yuan emperor had fled to Yingchang, while his general Wang Baobao held Dingxi and plagued the border. In the spring of the third year Xu Da was appointed grand general and directed to advance from Xi’an against Dingxi. Li Wenzhong and Feng Sheng were named left and right vice grand generals, ordered out through Juyong Pass to strike Yingchang. Wenzhong reached Xinghe, seized Chancellor Zhuzhen, won another great victory over Yuan forces at Camel Mountain, and pressed on toward Yingchang. Before he arrived he learned the Yuan emperor was already dead; he advanced, laid siege to the city, and took it. He captured the Yuan emperor’s grandson Maidibaer along with the imperial women, high ministers, jewels, and court registers. Crown Prince Ayushiridara alone escaped with a few dozen riders. Meanwhile Xu Da routed Wang Baobao’s army at Shen’er Valley Pass and put him to flight. The founding emperor enfeoffed Maidibaer as Marquis Chongli and posthumously styled the Yuan emperor as Emperor Shun. Thereafter former Yuan commanders such as Jiang Wenqing and princes such as Shiduer submitted one after another. Only Wang Baobao, keeping Crown Prince Ayushiridara with him at Karakorum, defied repeated imperial summons.
3
五年春，命大將軍徐達、左副將軍李文忠、征西將軍馮勝率師三道征之。 大將軍達由中路出雁門，戰不利，守塞。 勝軍西次蘭州。 右副將軍傅友德先進，轉戰至埽林山，勝等兵合，斬其平章不花，降上都驢等所部吏民八千三百餘戶，遂由亦集乃路至瓜、沙州，復連敗之。 文忠東出居庸至口溫，元將棄營遁，乃率輕騎自臚朐河疾馳，進敗蠻子哈剌章於土剌河，追及阿魯渾河，又追及稱海，獲其官屬子孫並軍士家屬千八百餘，送京師。 達等尋召還。 明年春，遣達、文忠等備西北邊。 元兵入犯武、朔，達遣陳德、郭子興擊破之。 未幾，達等復大破王保保兵於懷柔。 時元兵先後犯白登、保德、河曲，輒為守將所敗，獨撫寧、瑞州被殘，太祖乃徙其民於內地。
In the spring of the fifth year he ordered Xu Da, Li Wenzhong, and Western Campaign General Feng Sheng to take the field in three columns against them. Xu Da took the central route through Yanmen Pass; the fighting went poorly and he fell back to hold the frontier passes. Feng Sheng’s column encamped in the west at Lanzhou. Right Vice Grand General Fu Youde pushed ahead, fighting his way to Saolin Mountain; when Feng Sheng’s forces joined him they slew the Yuan chancellor Buhua and accepted the surrender of more than eight thousand three hundred households under Shangdu Lü and his followers; then marching by Ejinay to Guazhou and Shazhou they inflicted defeat after defeat. Wenzhong marched east through Juyong to Kouwen; when Yuan commanders abandoned camp and fled he led light horse in a dash from the Luqu River, defeated Manzi Hala Zhang on the Tula, pursued him to the Arun and then to Changhai, and sent more than eighteen hundred officials, kin, and soldiers’ families to the capital as captives. Xu Da and the other columns were soon recalled. The following spring he sent Xu Da, Li Wenzhong, and others to secure the northwest frontier. When Yuan forces raided Wu and Shuo, Xu Da sent Chen De and Guo Zixing to rout them. Soon afterward Xu Da again inflicted a major defeat on Wang Baobao’s army at Huairou. Yuan raids on Baideng, Baode, and Hequ were beaten back by local defenders, but Funing and Ruizhou suffered devastation, so the founding emperor resettled their populations inland.
4
七年夏，都督藍玉拔興和。 文忠亦遣裨將擒斬其長，而自以大軍攻高州大石崖，克之，斬宗王、大臣朵朵失裡等，至氈帽山斬魯王，獲其妃蒙哥禿。 秋，太祖以故元太子流離沙漠，父子隔絕，未有後嗣，乃遣崇禮侯北歸，以書諭之。 又二年，其部下九住等寇西邊，敗去。
In the summer of the seventh year Regional Commander Lan Yu took Xinghe. Wenzhong sent a lieutenant to capture and behead a tribal chief, while he led the main force against the great cliffs of Gaozhou, took them, and slew the imperial prince and minister Duoduoshili; at Zhanmao Mountain he killed the Prince of Lu and took his consort Menggutu prisoner. That autumn, moved that the former Yuan crown prince wandered the desert cut off from his father and without heirs, the founding emperor sent Marquis Chongli north with a letter of counsel. Two years later his followers Jiuzhu and others raided the western border and were beaten off.
5
洪武十一年夏，故元太子愛猷識理達臘卒，太祖自為文，遣使弔祭。 子脫古思帖木兒繼立。 其丞相驢兒、蠻子哈剌章，國公脫火赤，平章完者不花、乃兒不花，樞密知院愛足等，擁眾於應昌、和林，時出沒塞下。 太祖屢賜璽書諭之，不從。 十三年春，西平侯沐英師出靈州，渡黃河，歷賀蘭山，踐流沙，擒脫火赤、愛足等於和林，盡以其部曲歸。 冬，完者不花亦就擒。 明年春，徐達及副將軍湯和、傅友德征乃兒不花，至河北，襲灰山，斬獲甚眾。
In the summer of Hongwu eleven the former Yuan crown prince Ayushiridara died; the founding emperor wrote the mourning text himself and sent envoys to perform the rites. His son Togus Temür succeeded him. His chancellor Lü’er, Manzi Hala Zhang, State Duke Tuohuochi, chancellors Wanzhubuhua and Naierbuhua, and Privy Councilor Aizu held forces at Yingchang and Karakorum, raiding below the passes whenever they could. The founding emperor sent repeated sealed edicts, but they would not submit. In the spring of the thirteenth year Marquis of Xiping Mu Ying marched from Lingzhou, crossed the Yellow River, crossed Helan Mountain and the drifting sands, and at Karakorum captured Tuohuochi, Aizu, and others with all their followers. That winter Wanzhubuhua was captured as well. The following spring Xu Da with Tang He and Fu Youde campaigned against Naierbuhua, reached Hebei, struck Huishan, and took a great toll in heads and captives.
6
時王保保已先卒，諸巨魁多以次平定，或望風歸附，獨丞相納哈出擁二十萬眾據金山，數窺伺遼。 二十年春，命宋國公馮勝為大將軍，率潁川侯傅友德、永昌侯藍玉等，將兵二十萬征之，還其先所獲元將乃剌吾。 勝軍駐通州，遣藍玉乘大雪襲慶州，克之。 夏，師逾金山，臨江侯陳鏞失道，陷敵死。 乃剌吾歸，備以朝廷撫卹恩語其眾，於是全國公觀童來降。 納哈出因聞乃剌吾之言已心悸，復為大軍所迫，乃陽使人至大將軍營納款，以覘兵勢。 勝遣玉往受降。 使者見勝軍還報，納哈出仰天嘆曰：「天弗使吾有此眾矣。」 遂率數百騎詣玉納降。 已，將脫去，為鄭國公常茂所傷不得去。 都督耿忠遂以眾擁之見勝，勝重禮之，使忠與同寢食。 先後降其部曲二十餘萬人，及聞納哈出傷，由是驚潰者四萬人，獲輜重畜馬亙百餘里。 勝班師，都督濮英以三千騎殿，為潰卒所邀襲，死之。 秋，勝等表上納哈出所部官屬二百餘人，將校三千三百餘人，金銀銅印一百顆，虎符牌面百二十五事，馬二百九十餘匹，稱賀。 太祖封納哈出為海西侯，先後賜予甚厚，並授乃剌吾千戶。
Wang Baobao was already dead; most of the great leaders had been subdued or had submitted at a rumor of arms—only Chancellor Naghachu, with two hundred thousand men on Jinshan, kept probing Liaodong. In the spring of the twentieth year he appointed Duke of Song Feng Sheng grand general, with Fu Youde, Lan Yu, and others leading two hundred thousand men against Naghachu, and sent back the captured Yuan general Nairuwu. Feng Sheng encamped at Tongzhou and sent Lan Yu to storm Qingzhou in a blizzard; the city fell. In summer the army crossed Jinshan; Marquis of Linjiang Chen Yong lost his way, was trapped by the enemy, and killed. Nairuwu returned and told his followers at length of the court’s kindness; then State Duke Guantong submitted. Naghachu was already shaken by Nairuwu’s report and, pressed by the main army, sent envoys under the guise of surrender to scout Ming strength. Feng Sheng sent Lan Yu to accept the surrender. When the envoys saw Feng Sheng’s host and reported back, Naghachu looked to heaven and sighed: “Heaven will not let me keep this host.” He then led several hundred riders to Lan Yu to surrender. When he tried to slip away, Duke of Zheng Chang Mao wounded him and he could not escape. Regional Commander Geng Zhong escorted him with troops to Feng Sheng, who honored him richly and had Zhong share quarters and meals with him. More than two hundred thousand of his followers surrendered in succession; when word spread that Naghachu was wounded, another forty thousand broke in panic; captured baggage and herds stretched for more than a hundred li. Feng Sheng withdrew; Regional Commander Pu Ying with three thousand horse covered the retreat and was ambushed and killed by fleeing troops. That autumn Feng Sheng memorialized the surrender of more than two hundred of Naghachu’s officials, more than three thousand three hundred officers, one hundred gold, silver, and bronze seals, one hundred twenty-five tiger tallies and plaques, and nearly three hundred horses, with congratulations. The founding emperor enfeoffed Naghachu as Marquis of Haixi, lavished gifts upon him, and appointed Nairuwu a chiliarch.
7
納哈出既降，帝以故元遺寇終為邊患，乃即軍中拜藍玉為大將軍，唐勝、郭英副之，耿忠、孫恪為左、右參將，率師十五萬往征之。 冬，元將脫脫等降於玉。 明年春，玉以大軍由大寧至慶州，聞脫古思帖木兒在捕魚兒海，從間道馳進，至百眼井哨不見敵，欲引還。 定遠侯王弼曰：「吾等奉聖主威德，提十萬餘眾，深入至此，無所得，何以覆命？」 玉乃穴地而爨，一夜馳至捕魚兒海。 黎明，去敵營八十里。 時大風揚沙，晝晦，軍行無知者，敵不設備。 弼為前鋒，直薄之，遂大破其軍，斬太尉、蠻子數千人。 脫古思帖木兒以其太子天保奴、知院捏怯來、丞相失烈門等數十騎遁去，獲其次子地保奴及妃主五十餘人、渠率三千、男女七萬餘，馬駝牛羊十萬，聚鎧仗焚之。 又破其將哈剌章營，盡降其眾。 於是漠北削平。 捷奏至，太祖大悅，賜地保奴等鈔幣，命有司給供具。 既有言玉私元主妃者，帝怒，妃慚懼自殺。 地保奴出怨言，帝居之琉球。
Once Naghachu had surrendered, the emperor, fearing remnant Yuan bands would plague the border, appointed Lan Yu grand general on the spot, with Tang Sheng and Guo Ying as deputies and Geng Zhong and Sun Ke as staff generals, and sent one hundred fifty thousand men against them. That winter Yuan generals Toto and others surrendered to Lan Yu. The following spring Lan Yu marched from Daining to Qingzhou; learning Togus Temür was at Buir Lake he took a hidden route in haste; at the Baiyanjing outpost he found no enemy and meant to turn back. Marquis of Dingyuan Wang Bi said: “We march under the Son of Heaven’s majesty with more than one hundred thousand men this deep into the steppe—if we return empty-handed, how do we answer for it?” Lan Yu dug fire pits in the earth and in one night galloped to Buir Lake. At dawn they were eighty li from the enemy camp. A sandstorm darkened the day; the army advanced undetected while the enemy stood unprepared. Wang Bi led the van in a direct assault and shattered their army, slaying several thousand grand marshals and Manzi. Togus Temür fled with Crown Prince Tianbaonu, Privy Councilor Nieqielai, Chancellor Shiliemen, and a few dozen riders; they took his second son Dibaonu, more than fifty imperial women, three thousand chiefs, more than seventy thousand people, and one hundred thousand head of livestock, then heaped and burned the captured arms. They then overran General Hala Zhang’s camp and accepted the surrender of all his followers. The northern steppe was thus pacified. When news of victory arrived the founding emperor was delighted, gave Dibaonu and the others paper money, and ordered the ministries to provide for them. When word came that Lan Yu had taken a Yuan imperial consort, the emperor was furious; the woman, ashamed and afraid, took her own life. Dibaonu spoke bitterly; the emperor sent him to live in Ryukyu.
8
脫古思帖木兒既遁，將依丞相咬住於和林，行至土剌河，為其下也速迭兒所襲，眾復散，獨與捏怯來等十六騎偕。 適咬住來迎，欲共往依闊闊帖木兒，大雪不得發。 也速迭兒兵猝至，縊殺之，並殺天保奴。 於是捏怯來、失烈門等來降，置之全寧衛。 未幾，捏怯來為失烈門所襲殺，眾潰，詔朵顏等衛招撫之，來降者益眾。 二十三年春，命潁國公傅友德等以北平兵從燕王，定遠侯王弼等以山西兵從晉王，征咬住及乃兒不花、阿魯帖木兒等。 燕王出古北口，偵知乃兒不花營迤都，冒大雪馳進，去敵一磧，敵不知也。 先遣指揮觀童往，觀童舊與乃兒不花善，一見相持泣。 頃之，大軍壓其營，乃兒不花驚，欲遁，觀童止之，引見王，賜飲食慰諭遣還。 乃兒不花喜過望，遂偕咬住等來降。 久之，乃兒不花等以謀叛誅死，敵益衰。 太祖亦封燕、晉諸王為邊籓鎮，更歲遣大將巡行塞下，督諸衛卒屯田，戒以持重，寇來輒敗之。 而敵自脫古思帖木兒後，部帥紛拏，五傳至坤帖木兒，咸被弒，不復知帝號。 有鬼力赤者篡立，稱可汗，去國號，遂稱韃靼雲。
Togus Temür fled toward Chancellor Yaoqiao at Karakorum; on the Tula River his follower Yisu Tiejier attacked him, his band scattered again, and only Nieqielai and sixteen riders remained. Yaoqiao came to meet him; they planned to join Kuokuotiemuer, but heavy snow kept them from moving. Yisu Tiejier’s men struck suddenly, strangled Togus Temür, and killed Tianbaonu as well. Nieqielai, Shiliemen, and others then submitted and were settled in Quanning Guard. Soon Shiliemen attacked and killed Nieqielai; the bands scattered; an edict ordered the Duoyan guards and others to win them over, and submissions increased. In the spring of the twenty-third year he ordered Duke of Ying Fu Youde with Beiping troops under the Prince of Yan and Marquis of Dingyuan Wang Bi with Shanxi troops under the Prince of Jin against Yaoqiao, Naierbuhua, Alutiemuer, and others. The Prince of Yan marched through Gubeikou, learned Naierbuhua was encamped at Yidu, and galloped through a blizzard to within one desert march—undetected. He first sent Commander Guan Tong, an old friend of Naierbuhua’s; at sight they embraced and wept. Soon the main army closed on the camp; Naierbuhua panicked and tried to flee; Guan Tong restrained him, brought him before the prince, who fed him, reassured him, and sent him back. Naierbuhua was overjoyed and came to submit with Yaoqiao and the others. In time Naierbuhua and others were executed for plotting rebellion, and the enemy grew weaker still. The founding emperor enfeoffed the princes of Yan and Jin as frontier lords, sent great generals yearly to patrol the border, supervised garrison farming, urged caution, and ordered raiders beaten back whenever they appeared. After Togus Temür the enemy chiefs fought among themselves; through five successions to Kuntiemuer each was murdered, and the imperial title was forgotten. Guilichi seized power, styled himself khan, dropped the dynastic name, and thereafter they were known simply as Tartars.
9
永樂三年，頭目埽胡兒、察罕達魯花等先後來歸。 久之，阿魯台殺鬼力赤，而迎元之後本雅失裡於別失八里，立為可汗。
In Yongle three chieftains Saohu’er, Chahandaluhua, and others submitted in turn. In time Aruqtai killed Guilichi, brought the Yuan heir Benyashili to Beshbalik, and set him up as khan.
10
六年春，帝即以書諭本雅失裡曰：「自元運既訖，順帝后愛猷識理達臘至坤帖木兒凡六傳，瞬息之間，未聞一人善終者。 我皇考太祖高皇帝於元氏子孫，加意撫恤，來歸者輒令北還，如遣脫古思帖木兒歸，嗣為可汗，此南北人所共知。 朕之心即皇考之心。 茲元氏宗祧不絕如線，去就之機，禍福由分，爾宜審處之。」 不聽。
In the spring of the sixth year the emperor wrote to Benyashili: “Since the Yuan mandate ended, from Emperor Shun through Ayushiridara to Kuntiemuer there were six successions—in that brief span not one is said to have died in his bed. My father the founding emperor treated Yuan descendants with special kindness and sent those who submitted back north—as when he sent Togus Temür back to succeed as khan—a fact known on both sides of the border. My heart is the same as my father’s. The Yuan line now hangs by a thread; whether you stay or go, fortune or ruin, is yours to choose—weigh it carefully.” He would not heed it.
11
明年，獲其部曲完者帖木兒等二十二人，帝因復使給事中郭驥齎書往。 驥被殺，帝怒。 秋，命淇國公丘福為大將軍，武城侯王聰、同安侯火真副之，靖安侯王忠、安平侯李遠為左、右參將，將精騎十萬北討，諭以毋失機，毋輕犯敵，一舉未捷，俟再舉。 時本雅失裡已為瓦剌所襲破，與阿魯台徙居臚朐河。 福率千騎先馳，遇游兵擊破之。 軍未集，福乘勝渡河追敵，敵輒佯敗引去。 諸將以帝命止福，福不聽。 敵眾奄至，圍之，五將軍皆沒。 帝益怒。
The next year they captured twenty-two of his followers including Wanzhetiemuer, and the emperor again sent Supervising Secretary Guo Ji with a letter. Ji was killed, and the emperor was enraged. That autumn he appointed Duke of Qi Qiu Fu grand general, with Wang Cong and Huozhen as deputies and Wang Zhong and Li Yuan as staff generals, and sent one hundred thousand picked cavalry north, warning them not to miss their chance, not to underestimate the enemy, and if the first strike failed to wait for another. By then Benyashili had already been shattered by the Oirats and had moved with Aruqtai to the Luqu River. Fu led one thousand horse ahead at a gallop and routed enemy scouts. Before the army had gathered, Fu crossed the river in pursuit on the momentum of victory while the enemy feigned retreat to lure him on. The generals cited the emperor’s orders to stop him, but Fu would not listen. Enemy forces suddenly surrounded them, and all five generals were killed. The emperor’s anger deepened.
12
明年，帝自將五十萬眾出塞。 本雅失裡聞之懼，欲與阿魯台俱西，阿魯台不從，眾潰散，君臣始各為部。 本雅失裡西奔，阿魯台東奔。 帝追及斡難河，本雅失裡拒戰。 帝麾兵奮擊，一呼敗之。 本雅失裡棄輜重孳畜，以七騎遁。 斡難河者，元太祖始興地也。 班師至靜虜鎮，遇阿魯台，帝使諭之降。 阿魯台欲來，眾不可，遂戰。 帝率精騎大呼衝擊，矢下如注，阿魯台墜馬，遂大敗，追奔百餘里乃還。 冬，阿魯台使來貢馬，帝納之。
The next year the emperor led five hundred thousand men beyond the passes in person. Benyashili, hearing this, was terrified and wanted to flee west with Aruqtai; Aruqtai refused; their forces scattered, and ruler and minister each became a separate faction. Benyashili fled west and Aruqtai fled east. The emperor caught him on the Onon River, and Benyashili gave battle. The emperor waved his troops forward in a fierce charge and broke them at a shout. Benyashili abandoned baggage and herds and escaped with seven riders. The Onon was where the Yuan founding ancestor had first risen. On the withdrawal they reached Jinglu Town, met Aruqtai, and the emperor sent word urging him to surrender. Aruqtai wished to come, but his followers refused, and battle followed. The emperor led picked cavalry in a shouting charge; arrows fell like rain; Aruqtai was thrown from his horse; his force was shattered; the pursuit ran more than a hundred li before the Ming turned back. That winter Aruqtai sent tribute horses, and the emperor accepted them.
13
越二年，本雅失裡為瓦剌馬哈木等所殺。 阿魯台已數入貢，帝俱厚報之，並還其向所俘同產兄妹二人。 至是，奏馬哈木等弒其主，又擅立答裡巴，願輸誠內附，請為故主復仇。 天子義之，封為和寧王。 自是，歲或一貢，或再貢，以為常。
Two years later Benyashili was killed by the Oirat leader Mahamu and his followers. Aruqtai had already sent tribute several times; the emperor had always rewarded him generously and now returned two siblings of his own blood whom the Ming had once captured. He now reported that Mahamu and others had murdered their lord and set up Daliba on their own authority, offered sincere submission, and asked to avenge his former master. The emperor approved his cause and enfeoffed him as Prince of Hening. Thereafter tribute came once or twice a year as a matter of course.
14
十二年，帝征瓦剌。 阿魯台使部長以下來朝會。 賜米五十石，乾肉、酒糗、彩幣有差。 十四年，以戰敗瓦剌，使來獻俘。 十九年，阿魯台貢使至邊，要劫行旅，帝諭使戒戢之，由是驕蹇不至。
In the twelfth year the emperor campaigned against the Oirats. Aruqtai sent his chiefs and subordinates to attend the court assembly. They received fifty piculs of grain, dried meat, wine, parched grain, and silks in varying amounts. In the fourteenth year, after defeating the Oirats in battle, they sent envoys with captives. In the nineteenth year Aruqtai’s tribute envoys waylaid travelers at the border; the emperor ordered them warned; thereafter they grew arrogant and stopped coming.
15
阿魯台之內附，困於瓦剌，窮蹙而南，思假息塞外。 帝納而封之，母妻皆為王太夫人、王夫人。 數年生聚，畜牧日以蕃盛，遂慢我使者，拘留之。 其貢使歸，多行劫掠，部落亦時來窺塞。 二十年春，大人興和。 於是詔親征之。 阿魯台聞大軍出，懼，其母妻皆詈之曰：「大明皇帝何負爾，而必為逆！」 於是盡棄其輜重馬畜於闊灤海側，以其孥直北徙。 帝命焚其輜重，收其馬畜，遂班師。
Aruqtai submitted because the Oirats had driven him to extremity in the south; he sought respite beyond the passes. The emperor accepted him and enfeoffed him; his mother and wife were styled Grand Lady and Lady of the prince. For several years they bred stock and grew prosperous; then they slighted Ming envoys and detained them. Their tribute envoys often raided on the return journey, and their tribes periodically probed the border passes. In the spring of the twentieth year they launched a major raid on Xinghe. The emperor then ordered a personal campaign against them. When Aruqtai heard the great army was marching, he was afraid; his mother and wife reviled him: “What has the Ming emperor done you, that you must rebel!” He abandoned all baggage and herds beside Kuoluanhai and moved his family due north. The emperor ordered the baggage burned, the herds seized, and withdrew.
16
明年秋，邊將言阿魯台將入寇。 帝曰：「彼意朕必不復出，當先駐塞下待之。」 遂部分寧陽侯陳懋為先鋒，至宿嵬山不見敵，遇王子也先土干率妻子部屬來降。 帝封為忠勇王，賜姓名曰金忠。 忠勇王至京師，數請擊敵自效。 帝曰：「姑待之。」 二十二年春，開平守將奏阿魯台盜邊，群臣勸帝如忠勇王言。 帝復親征，師次荅蘭納木兒河，得諜者，知阿魯台遠遁。 帝意亦厭兵，乃下詔暴阿魯台罪惡，而宥其所部來降者，止勿殺。 車駕還，崩於榆木川。 未幾，阿魯台使來貢馬，仁宗已登極，詔納之。 自是，歲修職貢如永樂時。 時阿魯台數敗於瓦剌，部曲離散。 其屬把的等先後來歸，朝廷皆予官職，賜鈔幣，詔有司給供具。 自後來歸者，悉如例。 阿魯台日益蹙，乃率其屬東走兀良哈，駐牧遼塞。 諸將請出兵掩擊之，帝不聽。
The next autumn border commanders reported that Aruqtai was about to invade. The emperor said: “They think I will not march again—I shall camp below the passes and wait for them.” He detached Marquis of Ningyang Chen Mao as vanguard; at Suwei Mountain they found no enemy but met Prince Yexian Tugan, who came to submit with his family and followers. The emperor enfeoffed him as Prince of Zhongyong and gave him the Chinese name Jin Zhong. Once in the capital, Prince Zhongyong repeatedly asked to strike the enemy and prove his worth. The emperor said: “Wait for now.” In the spring of the twenty-second year the Kaiping garrison reported Aruqtai raiding the border; the ministers urged the emperor to heed Prince Zhongyong. The emperor campaigned in person again; the army halted at the Tolan Namur River; spies revealed that Aruqtai had fled far away. The emperor had also grown weary of war; he issued an edict listing Aruqtai’s crimes but pardoning those who submitted and ordering that they not be killed. On the return march he died at Yumu River. Soon Aruqtai sent tribute horses; Renzong had already ascended the throne and ordered them accepted. Thereafter yearly tribute resumed as in the Yongle era. Aruqtai had been repeatedly defeated by the Oirats and his followers were scattered. His followers Badi and others submitted in succession; the court gave them offices, paper money, and orders to the ministries for their upkeep. Later submitters were all treated by the same precedent. Growing ever more pressed, Aruqtai led his followers east to the Uriyangqad and pastured along the Liao frontier. Generals asked to strike them by surprise; the emperor refused.
17
宣德九年，阿魯台復為脫脫不花所襲，妻子死，孳畜略盡，獨與其子失捏乾等徙居母納山、察罕腦剌等處。 未幾，瓦剌脫懽襲殺阿魯台及失捏干，於是阿魯檯子阿卜只俺及其孫妻速木答思等喪敗無依，來乞內附。 帝憐而撫之。
In Xuande nine Aruqtai was again attacked by Toghon Temür; his wife and children died and his herds were nearly gone; he fled with his son Shiniegan to Muna Mountain and Chaghan Nao’er. Soon the Oirat Toghon killed Aruqtai and Shiniegan; Aruqtai’s son Abuzhi’an, his grandson’s wife Sumudasi, and others, defeated and homeless, came begging to submit. The emperor pitied them and received them kindly.
18
未幾，脫脫不花捕阿台等殺之。 脫脫不花者，故元後，韃靼長也。 瓦剌脫忄雚既擊殺阿魯台，悉收其部，兼併賢義、安樂二王之眾，欲自立為可汗。 眾不可，乃立脫脫不花，以阿魯台眾屬之，自為丞相，陽推奉之，實不承其號令。
Soon Toghon Temür captured and killed Atai and his followers. Toghon Temür was a Yuan descendant and chief of the Tartars. The Oirat Toghon, having killed Aruqtai, absorbed his following and merged the forces of the princes of Xianyi and Anle, and wished to proclaim himself khan. His followers would not allow it; he set up Toghon Temür, assigned Aruqtai’s people to him, styled himself chancellor, paid him outward deference, but did not obey his orders.
19
脫懽死，子也先嗣，益桀驁自雄，諸部皆下之，脫脫不花具可汗名而已。 脫脫不花歲來朝貢，天子皆厚報之，比諸蕃有加，書稱之曰達達可汗，賜賚並及其妃。
When Toghon died his son Esen succeeded, grew ever more arrogant, and brought all tribes under him; Toghon Temür held only the title of khan. Toghon Temür came to court with tribute each year; the emperor rewarded him more generously than other foreign states, addressed him in writing as Khan of the Tartars, and bestowed gifts on his consort as well.
20
十四年秋，也先謀大舉入寇，脫脫不花止之曰：「吾儕服食，多資大明，何忍為此？」 也先不聽，曰：「可汗不為，吾當自為。」 遂分道，俾脫脫不花侵遼東，而自擁眾從大同入。 帝親征之，駕於土木陷焉。 景皇帝自監國即位，尊帝為太上皇帝。 明年秋，上皇歸自也先所。 事載《瓦剌傳》。
In the autumn of the fourteenth year Esen planned a major invasion; Toghon Temür stopped him: “Our clothing and food come largely from the Ming—how can we bear to do this?” Esen would not listen: “If the khan will not act, I shall act myself.” They split forces: Toghon Temür was to raid Liaodong while Esen led his host in through Datong. The emperor marched in person and was trapped at Tumu. The Jing Emperor, who had ruled as regent, ascended the throne and honored the captive emperor as Retired Emperor. The following autumn the retired emperor returned from Esen’s custody. The affair is recorded in the biography of the Oirats.
21
脫脫不花自上皇歸後，修貢益勤。 嘗妻也先姊，生子，也先欲立之，不從。 也先亦疑其與中國通，將害己，遂治兵相攻。 也先殺脫脫不花，收其妻子孳畜，給諸部屬，而自立為可汗。 時景皇帝二年也。 朝廷稱也先為瓦剌可汗。
After the retired emperor’s return Toghon Temür sent tribute ever more diligently. He had married Esen’s elder sister and had a son; Esen wished to set the boy up as heir, but Toghon Temür refused. Esen also suspected him of colluding with China and plotting against him; they arrayed troops and fought. Esen killed Toghon Temür, seized his family and herds, distributed them among his followers, and proclaimed himself khan. This was in the second year of the Jing Emperor. The court styled Esen Khan of the Oirats.
22
未幾，為所部阿剌知院所殺。 韃靼部長孛來復攻破阿剌，求脫脫不花子麻兒可兒立之，號小王子。 阿剌死，而孛來與其屬毛裡孩等皆雄視部中，於是韃靼復熾。
Before long his follower Alag Zhihui killed him. The Tartar chief Bolai defeated Alag, found Toghon Temür’s son Markö’er, and set him up as the Little Prince. When Alag died, Bolai and his follower Maolihai dominated the tribes, and the Tartars grew strong again.
23
景泰六年遣使入貢。 英宗復辟，遣都督馬政往賜故伯顏帖木兒妻幣。 孛來留之，而遣使入賀，欲獻璽。 帝敕之曰：「璽已非真，即真，亦秦不祥物耳，獻否從爾便。 第無留我使，以速爾禍。」 時敵數寇威遠諸衛，夏，定遠伯石彪敗之於磨兒山。
In Jingtai six they sent tribute envoys. When Yingzong restored the throne he sent Regional Commander Ma Zheng with silks for Bayan Temür’s former wife. Bolai detained him but sent envoys to congratulate the emperor and offered to present the imperial seal. The emperor wrote: “The seal is already not genuine; even if it were, it is Qin’s ill-omened object—present it or not as you please. Only do not detain my envoy, lest you hasten your own ruin.” The enemy repeatedly raided the Weiyuan guards; that summer Earl of Dingyuan Shi Biao defeated them at Mo’er Mountain.
24
天順二年，孛來大舉寇陝西，安遠侯柳溥御之輒敗，而飾小捷以聞。 明年春，敵入安邊營，石彪等破之，都督周賢、指揮李钅監戰死。 四年復寇榆林，彰武伯楊信拒卻之。 再入，敗之於金雞峪。 未幾，復大掠陝西諸邊，廷臣請治各守將罪，帝宥之。 五年春，寇入平虜城，誘指揮許顒等入伏，殺之。 邊報日亟，命侍郎白圭、都御史王竑往視師。 秋，孛來求款，帝使詹升齎敕往諭。 孛來遣使隨升來貢，請改大同舊貢道，而由陝西蘭縣入，許之。 未幾，復糾其屬毛裡孩等入河西。 明年春，圭等分巡西邊，圭遇敵於固原川，竑遇敵於紅崖子川，皆破之。 帝賜璽書獎勵，敕孛來使臣仍從大同入貢。
In Tianshun two Bolai raided Shaanxi in force; Marquis of Anyuan Liu Pu was repeatedly beaten but reported minor victories. The following spring the enemy entered Anbian Camp; Shi Biao and others defeated them, but Regional Commander Zhou Xian and Commander Li Jian were killed. In the fourth year they raided Yulin again; Earl of Zhangwu Yang Xin drove them off. They entered again and were defeated at Jinji Valley. Soon they raided the Shaanxi frontier again; ministers asked that the border generals be punished, but the emperor pardoned them. In the spring of the fifth year raiders entered Pinglu City, lured Commander Xu Yong and others into an ambush, and killed them. Frontier reports grew urgent daily; Vice Minister Bai Gui and Censor-in-Chief Wang Hong were sent to inspect the armies. That autumn Bolai sought peace; the emperor sent Zhan Sheng with an edict. Bolai sent envoys with Sheng bearing tribute, asking to enter by Lan County in Shaanxi instead of the old Datong route; this was granted. Soon he again led Maolihai and others into Hexi. The following spring Gui and the others patrolled the west separately; Gui defeated the enemy at Guyuan River and Wang Hong at Hongyazi River. The emperor sent a sealed letter of commendation and ordered Bolai’s envoys to resume entering tribute by Datong.
25
時麻兒可兒復與孛來相仇殺。 麻兒可兒死，眾共立馬可古兒吉思，亦號小王子。 自是，韃靼部長益各專擅。 小王子稀通中國，傳世次，多莫可考。 孛來等每歲入貢，數寇掠，往來塞下，以西攻瓦剌為辭，又數要劫三衛。 七年冬，貢使及關，帝卻之，以大學士李賢言乃止。 八年春，御史陳選言：「韃靼部落，孛來最強，又密招三衛諸蕃，相結屯住。 去冬來朝，要我賞宴，窺我虛實，其犯邊之情已露。 而我邊關守臣，因循怠慢，城堡不修，甲仗不利，軍士不操習，甚至富者納月錢而安閒，貧者迫飢寒而逃竄。 邊備廢弛，緩急何恃？ 乞敕在邊諸臣，痛革前弊。 其鎮守、備御等官，亦宜以時黜陟，庶能者知奮，怠者知警。 至厄塞要害之處，或益官軍，或設營堡，或用墩台，咸須處置得宜，歲遣大臣巡視，庶邊防有備，寇氛可戢。」 報聞。
Markö’er and Bolai were feuding and fighting again. When Markö’er died the tribes set up Makugürjis, also styled the Little Prince. Thereafter Tartar chiefs increasingly ruled their own domains. The Little Prince rarely had contact with China; the succession is largely unverifiable. Bolai and others sent yearly tribute yet raided repeatedly, moving below the passes, citing campaigns against the western Oirats, and repeatedly waylaid the Three Guards. In the winter of the seventh year tribute envoys reached the pass; the emperor turned them back and only stopped when Grand Secretary Li Xian intervened. In the spring of the eighth year Censor Chen Xuan said: “Among the Tartar tribes Bolai is strongest; he has secretly summoned the Three Guards peoples to camp together with him. Last winter he came to court, demanded rewards and banquets, and spied on our strength—his intent to raid is already clear. Yet our border officials are complacent; fortresses are unrepaired, arms poor, and troops undrilled; the rich pay monthly fees to live at ease while the poor flee hunger and cold. With frontier defenses neglected, what can we rely on in an emergency? I beg that frontier officials be ordered to reform these abuses thoroughly. Garrison and defense officials should be promoted or demoted in due season so the capable strive and the idle take warning. At strategic passes we should add troops, build forts, or use beacon towers as needed, send ministers yearly to inspect, and so keep the frontier prepared and raiders in check.” The memorial was noted.
26
成化元年春，孛來誘兀良哈九萬騎入遼河，武安侯鄭宏御卻之。 秋，散掠延綏。 冬，復大入。 命彰武伯楊信率山西兵，都御史項忠率陝西兵御之，少卻。 未幾，復渡河曲，圍黃甫川堡，官軍力戰，乃引去。
In the spring of Chenghua one Bolai induced ninety thousand Uriyangqad horsemen into the Liao River; Marquis of Wu’an Zheng Hong drove them off. That autumn they scattered in raids across Yan–Sui. That winter they again invaded in force. The emperor ordered Marquis of Zhangwu Yang Xin with Shanxi troops and Censor-in-Chief Xiang Zhong with Shaanxi troops to meet them; the raiders withdrew slightly. Soon they crossed the river bend again, besieged Huangfuchuan Fort, and withdrew only after a hard fight by government troops.
27
始，韃靼之來也，或在遼東、宣府、大同，或在寧夏、莊浪、甘肅，去來無常，為患不久。 景泰初，始犯延慶，然部落少，不敢深入。 天順間，有阿羅出者，率屬潛入河套居之，遂逼近西邊。 河套，古朔方郡，唐張仁願築三受降城處也。 地在黃河南，自寧夏至偏頭關，延袤二千里，饒水草，外為東勝衛。 東勝而外，土平衍，敵來，一騎不能隱，明初守之，後以曠絕內徙。 至是，孛來與小王子、毛裡孩等先後繼至，擄中國人為鄉導，抄掠延綏無虛時，而邊事以棘。
Early Tartar raids struck Liaodong, Xuanfu, Datong, or Ningxia, Zhuanglang, and Gansu unpredictably, and rarely persisted long. In early Jingtai they first raided Yanqing, but with few tribes they did not dare push far inland. During Tianshun a leader named Alach led his followers secretly into the Ordos to settle, drawing nearer the western frontier. The Ordos was ancient Shuofang commandery, where Tang Zhang Renyuan had built the three Accept-the-Submission fortresses. South of the Yellow River it ran two thousand li from Ningxia to Piantou Pass, rich in pasture; Dongsheng Guard lay beyond it. Beyond Dongsheng the country was flat and open, hiding no rider; the Ming garrisoned it early on, but later withdrew inward as the land fell empty. Then Bolai, the Little Prince, Maolihai, and others arrived in turn, taking Chinese captives as guides and plundering Yan–Sui without pause, and the frontier crisis deepened.
28
二年夏，大入延綏。 帝命楊信充總兵官，都督趙勝為副，率京軍及諸邊卒二萬人討之。 信先以議事赴闕，未至。 敵散掠平涼，入靈州及固原，長驅寇靜寧、隆德諸處。 冬，復入延綏，參將湯胤績戰死。
That summer they launched a major raid on Yan–Sui. The emperor made Yang Xin commander-in-chief and Zhao Sheng his deputy, sending twenty thousand capital and frontier troops against them. Yang Xin had gone to court on other business and had not yet arrived. The raiders scattered across Pingliang, entered Lingzhou and Guyuan, and drove deep into Jingning, Longde, and neighboring districts. That winter they raided Yan–Sui again; Regiment Commander Tang Yinji was killed in action.
29
未幾，諸部內爭，孛來弒馬可古兒吉思，毛裡孩殺孛來，更立他可汗。 斡羅出者復與毛裡孩相仇殺，毛裡孩遂殺其所立可汗，逐斡羅出，而遣使入貢。 尋渡河掠大同。 三年春，帝命撫寧侯硃永等征之。 會毛裡孩再乞通貢，而別部長孛魯乃亦遣人來朝。 帝許之，詔永等駐軍塞上。
Soon the tribes turned on one another: Bolai murdered Makugürjis, Maolihai killed Bolai, and another khan was installed. Oloroo feuded with Maolihai again; Maolihai killed the khan he had installed, expelled Oloroo, and sent tribute envoys to court. Soon they crossed the river and raided Datong. In the spring of the third year the emperor ordered Marquis of Funing Zhu Yong and others to campaign against them. Maolihai again petitioned to resume tribute, and Belunai of another branch also sent envoys to court. The emperor agreed and ordered Zhu Yong and the others to keep their armies on the frontier.
30
四年秋，給事中程萬里上言：「毛裡孩久不朝貢，窺伺邊疆，其情叵測。 然臣度其有可敗者三。 近我邊地才二三日程，彼客我主，一也。 兼併諸部，馳驅不息，既驕且疲，二也。 比來散逐水草，部落四分，兵力不一，三也。 宜選精兵二萬，每三千人為一軍，統以驍將，嚴其賞罰，使探毛裡孩所在，潛師搗之，破之必矣。」 帝壯之，而不能用。 冬寇延綏。 明年春再入。 守將許寧等輒擊敗之。 冬復糾三衛入寇，延綏、榆林大擾。
That autumn Supervising Secretary Cheng Wanli wrote: “Maolihai has long stopped sending tribute and watches our borders; his intentions are hard to read. Yet I see three reasons he can be beaten. First, our border is only two or three days’ march away — he is the intruder on our ground. Second, his endless consolidation and raiding have made him arrogant and exhausted. Third, they have lately scattered after pasture, splitting into factions whose strength is no longer united. Send twenty thousand picked troops in formations of three thousand under bold generals, enforce discipline, locate Maolihai, and strike by surprise — he will surely be broken.” The emperor approved the plan but did not adopt it. That winter they raided Yan–Sui. The following spring they invaded again. Defending generals Xu Ning and others promptly beat them back. That winter they rallied the Three Guards and invaded, wreaking havoc in Yan–Sui and Yulin.
31
六年春，大同巡撫王越遣游擊許寧擊敗之； 楊信等亦大破之於胡柴氵冓。 時孛魯乃與斡羅出合別部加思蘭、孛羅忽亦入據河套，為久居計。 延綏告急，帝命永為將軍，以王越參贊軍務，使禦敵。 永至，數以捷聞，越等皆升賞，論功永世侯，而敵據套自如。
In the sixth year Grand Coordinator Wang Yue of Datong sent Regiment Commander Xu Ning and defeated them; Yang Xin and others also won a decisive victory at Huchai Gan. Belunai and Oloroo allied with chiefs of other branches, Boluosilan and Beluohu, who also entered the Ordos to settle for the long term. With Yan–Sui in crisis the emperor made Zhu Yong general and Wang Yue his aide to meet the enemy. Zhu Yong reported victory after victory; Yue and others were promoted, and Yong was made hereditary marquis for his service — yet the enemy still held the Ordos.
32
七年春，永上戰守二策，廷議以糧匱馬乏，難於進剿，請命邊將慎守禦以圖萬全。 於是吏部侍郎葉盛巡邊，偕延綏巡撫餘子俊及越議築邊牆，設立台堡。 冬，敵入塞，參將錢亮敗績，越等不能救。 兵部尚書白圭請擇遣大將軍專事敵，會盛還，越亦赴京計事，乃集廷議，請大發兵搜套。 帝以武靖侯趙輔為將軍，節制諸路，王越仍督師。 敵大入延綏，輔不能御，遂召還，以寧晉伯劉聚代之，聚亦未有功。 而毛裡孩、孛魯乃、斡羅出稍衰，滿都魯入河套稱可汗，加思蘭為太師。
In the seventh year Zhu Yong proposed plans for attack and defense; the court judged supplies and horses too scarce for an offensive and ordered careful frontier defense instead. Vice Minister Ye Sheng then toured the frontier and, with Grand Coordinator Yu Zijun of Yan–Sui and Wang Yue, planned the frontier wall and its watchtowers and forts. That winter the enemy crossed the passes; Regiment Commander Qian Liang was defeated before Yue and the others could relieve him. Minister of War Bai Gui asked for a supreme commander devoted to the enemy; when Ye Sheng returned and Wang Yue came to court, the court met and called for a major expedition to clear the Ordos. The emperor made Marquis of Wujing Zhao Fu supreme commander over all routes while Wang Yue retained field command. The enemy overran Yan–Sui; Zhao Fu failed to stop them and was recalled, and his replacement Liu Ju achieved nothing either. As Maolihai, Belunai, and Oloroo waned, Manduul entered the Ordos as khan and Boluosilan became grand preceptor.
33
九年秋，滿都魯等與孛羅忽並寇韋州。 王越偵知敵盡行，其老弱巢紅鹽池，乃與許寧及游擊周玉率輕騎晝夜疾馳至，分薄其營，前後夾擊，大破之。 復邀擊於韋州。 滿都魯等敗歸，孳畜廬帳蕩盡，妻孥皆喪亡，相顧悲哭去。 自是不復居河套，邊患少弭； 間盜邊，弗敢大入，亦數遣使朝貢。
That autumn Manduul and Beluohu jointly raided Weizhou. Learning the enemy had left their camp, Wang Yue raced with Xu Ning and Regiment Commander Zhou Yu to Hongyan Lake, where the old and weak remained; they split their forces, struck from both sides, and won a crushing victory. They ambushed the enemy again at Weizhou. Manduul and his men fled in defeat, losing their herds, tents, wives, and children; they wept as they withdrew. They never again settled in the Ordos, and the frontier crisis eased somewhat; though they still skirmished on the border they dared not invade in force, and sent tribute envoys repeatedly.
34
初，加思蘭以女妻滿都魯，立為可汗。 久之殺孛羅忽，並其眾，益專恣。 滿都魯部脫羅干、亦思馬因謀殺之。 尋滿都魯亦死，諸強酋相繼略盡，邊人稍得息肩。
Boluosilan had married his daughter to Manduul and made him khan. In time he killed Beluohu, absorbed his followers, and grew ever more domineering. Toraghan and Ismayin of Manduul’s tribe plotted his murder. Manduul soon died as well; one strong chief after another disappeared, and the frontier people breathed a little easier.
35
時中官汪直怙恩用事，思以邊功自樹，王越、硃永附之。 十六年春，邊將上言，傳聞敵將渡河，遽以永為將軍。 直與越督師至邊，未及期，襲敵於威寧海子，大破之，又敗之於大同。 永晉公爵，予世襲，越封威寧伯，直增祿至三百石。 未幾，詔以越代永總兵。 於是亦思馬因等益糾眾盜邊，延及遼塞。 秋，敵三萬騎寇大同，連營五十里，殺掠人畜數萬。 總兵許寧御之，兵敗，以捷聞。 敵既得利，長驅入順聖川，散掠渾源、朔諸州。 宣府巡撫秦紘、總兵周玉力戰卻之。 山西巡撫邊鏞，參將支玉等悉力捍禦，敵去輒復來，迄成化末無寧歲。
Eunuch Wang Zhi, favored and powerful, sought glory on the frontier; Wang Yue and Zhu Yong followed him. In the sixteenth year frontier commanders reported a likely river crossing, and Zhu Yong was hurriedly appointed general. Wang Zhi and Wang Yue reached the frontier and, ahead of schedule, routed the enemy at Weining Lake and again at Datong. Zhu Yong was made duke with a hereditary title, Wang Yue was made Marquis of Weining, and Wang Zhi’s stipend rose to three hundred shi. Soon Wang Yue replaced Zhu Yong as commander-in-chief. Ismayin and others then raided the border more often, reaching the Liao frontier. That autumn thirty thousand horsemen overran Datong in a fifty-li camp line, killing and looting tens of thousands of people and animals. Commander Xu Ning met them, was beaten, and falsely reported victory. Emboldened by their gains, they drove into the Shunsheng valley and scattered raids across Hunyuan, Shuo, and neighboring prefectures. Grand Coordinator Qin Hong of Xuanfu and Commander Zhou Yu fought hard and drove them back. Grand Coordinator Bian Yong of Shanxi, Regiment Commander Zhi Yu, and others fought hard in defense, but the raiders kept returning; until Chenghua ended there was no quiet year.
36
亦思馬因死，入寇者復稱小王子，又有伯顏猛可王。 弘治元年夏，小王子奉書求貢，自稱大元大可汗。 朝廷方務優容，許之。 自是，與伯顏猛可王等屢入貢，漸往來套中，出沒為寇。 八年，北部亦卜剌因王等入套駐牧。 於是小王子及脫羅干之子火篩相倚日強，為東西諸邊患。 其年，三入遼東，多殺掠。 明年，宣、大、延綏諸境俱被殘。
After Ismayin died the raiders again marched under the name of the Little Prince, joined by Bayan Mongke Wang. In the summer of Hongzhi one the Little Prince petitioned for tribute, calling himself Great Khan of the Great Yuan. The court, favoring conciliation, agreed. Thereafter he and Bayan Mongke Wang sent tribute repeatedly while moving through the Ordos, raiding whenever they chose. In the eighth year Yibulai Wang and other northern chiefs entered the Ordos to pasture. The Little Prince and Huosai, son of Toraghan, grew stronger together and plagued the eastern and western frontiers. That year they raided Liaodong three times with heavy slaughter and looting. The following year Xuanfu, Datong, and Yan–Sui were all devastated.
37
十一年秋，王越既節制諸邊，乃率輕兵襲敵於賀蘭山後，破之。 明年，敵擁眾入大同、寧夏境，游擊王杲敗績，參將秦恭、副總兵馬升逗遛不進，皆論死。 時平江伯陳銳為總兵，侍郎許進督師，久無功，被劾去，以保國公硃暉、侍郎史琳代之，太監苗逵監軍。
That autumn Wang Yue, now commanding all frontiers, led light troops in a surprise attack behind Helan Mountain and routed the enemy. The next year a large force entered Datong and Ningxia; Regiment Commander Wang Gao was beaten, Qin Gong and Vice Commander Ma Sheng hung back, and all were condemned to death. Marquis Chen Rui commanded and Vice Minister Xu Jin directed operations, but after prolonged failure both were removed; Duke Zhu Hui and Vice Minister Shi Lin replaced them under eunuch supervisor Miao Kui.
38
十三年冬，小王子復居河套。 明年春，吏部侍郎王鏊上御敵八策：一曰定廟算，二曰重主將，三曰嚴法令，四曰恤邊民，五曰廣招募，六曰用間，七曰分兵，八曰出奇。 帝命所司知之。 時敵以八千騎東駐遼塞下，攻入長勝堡，殺掠殆盡。 秋，暉等以五路之師夜襲敵於河套，斬首三級，驅孳畜千餘歸，賞甚厚。 小王子以十萬騎從花馬池、鹽池入，散掠固原、寧夏境，三輔震動，戕殺慘酷。
That winter the Little Prince settled in the Ordos again. The following spring Vice Minister Wang Ao proposed eight policies: fix strategy at court, empower commanders, enforce discipline, protect frontier people, expand recruitment, use spies, divide forces, and strike by surprise. The emperor had the relevant offices take note. Eight thousand horsemen camped below the Liao frontier, stormed Changsheng Fort, and slaughtered and looted almost everyone there. That autumn Zhu Hui sent five columns in a night raid on the Ordos, took three heads, drove off more than a thousand animals, and received lavish rewards. The Little Prince led one hundred thousand horsemen through Huama and Salt ponds, raided Guyuan and Ningxia, shook the capital region, and slaughtered with terrible cruelty.
39
十五年，以戶部尚書秦紘總制陝西。 夏，敵入遼東清河堡，至密雲，旋西掠偏頭關。 秋，復以五千騎犯遼東長安堡，副總兵劉祥御之，斬首五十一級，敵乃退。 明年，稍靖。
In the fifteenth year Minister Qin Hong was placed in overall charge of Shaanxi. That summer raiders entered Qinghe Fort in Liaodong, reached Miyun, then swung west to plunder Piantou Pass. That autumn five thousand horsemen struck Chang’an Fort in Liaodong; Vice Commander Liu Xiang killed fifty-one of them and drove them off. The following year the frontier quieted somewhat.
40
十七年春，敵上書請貢，許之，竟不至； 仍入大同殺墩軍，犯宣府及莊浪，守將衛勇、白玉等御卻之。 明年春，敵三萬騎圍靈州，復散掠內地，指揮仇鉞、總兵李祥擊走之。 敵大舉入寇宣府，總兵張俊御之，大敗，裨將張雄、穆榮戰歿。
In the seventeenth year they petitioned for tribute and were granted permission, but never came; instead they entered Datong, killed watch-tower garrisons, and struck Xuanfu and Zhuanglang before defenders Wei Yong, Bai Yu, and others drove them back. The following spring thirty thousand horsemen besieged Lingzhou and raided the interior; Commander Qiu Yue and Commander Li Xiang drove them off. A major force invaded Xuanfu; Commander Zhang Jun was routed, and lieutenant generals Zhang Xiong and Mu Rong were killed.
41
武宗嗣位，覆命暉、琳出御。 冬，敵入鎮夷所，指揮劉經死之。 復自花馬池毀垣入，掠隆德、靜寧、會寧諸處，關中大擾，以楊一清為總制。 時正德元年春也。
When the Wuzong emperor succeeded, he again sent Zhu Hui and Shi Lin to the frontier. That winter raiders entered Zhenyi Station and Commander Liu Jing was killed. They broke through at Huama Pond, raided Longde, Jingning, and Huining, threw Guanzhong into turmoil, and Yang Yiqing was appointed overall commander. It was the spring of Zhengde one.
42
劉瑾用事，監軍皆閹人，一清不得職去，文貴、才寬相繼受事。 二年，敵入寧夏、莊浪及定遼後衛諸境，守將皆逮問。
With Liu Jin in power, eunuchs supervised every army; Yang Yiqing was driven out, and Wen Gui and Cai Kuan took command in turn. In the second year raiders entered Ningxia, Zhuanglang, and Dingliao Rear Guard, and the defending commanders were all arrested.
43
四年，敵數寇大同。 冬，才寬禦敵於花馬池，中伏死。 總兵馬昂與別部亦孛來戰於木瓜山，勝之，斬三百六十五級，獲馬畜六百餘，軍器二千九百餘。
In the fourth year Datong was raided repeatedly. That winter Cai Kuan met the enemy at Huama Pond, was ambushed, and killed. Commander Ma Ang defeated Yibolai of another branch at Mugua Mountain, taking 365 heads, more than 600 horses and animals, and nearly 2,900 weapons.
44
明年，北部亦卜剌與小王子仇殺。 亦卜剌竄西海，阿爾禿廝與合，逼脅洮西屬番，屢入寇。 巡撫張翼、總兵王勳不能制，漸深入，邊人苦之。 八年夏，擁眾來川，遣使詣翼所，乞邊地駐牧修貢。 翼啖以金帛，令遠徙，亦卜剌遂西掠烏斯藏，據之。 自是洮、岷、松潘無寧歲。
The following year Yibulai of the north and the Little Prince turned on each other. Yibulai fled to the Western Sea, allied with Aertusi, bullied the dependent tribes west of the Tao, and raided again and again. Grand Coordinator Zhang Yi and Commander Wang Xun could not check them; the raids pushed ever deeper, and the border people suffered. In the eighth year, that summer, he brought a large force into the frontier valleys and sent envoys to Zhang Yi asking for pasturelands and permission to resume tribute. Zhang Yi placated him with gold and silk and told him to move on; Yibulai then swept west into Tibet and seized the region. After that Tao, Min, and Songpan knew no quiet year.
45
小王子數入寇，殺掠尤慘。 復以五萬騎攻大同，趣朔州，掠馬邑。 帝命咸寧侯仇鉞總兵御之，戰於萬全衛，斬三級，而所失亡十倍，以捷聞。 明年秋，敵連營數十，寇宣、大塞，而別遣萬騎掠懷安。 總制叢蘭告急，命太監張永督宣、大、延綏兵，都督白玉為大將，協蘭守禦，京師戒嚴。 已，敵逾懷安趣蔚州，至平虜城南，蘭等預置毒飯於田間如農家餉，而設伏以待。 敵至，中毒，伏猝發，多死者。 其年，小王子部長卜兒孩以內難復奔據西海，出沒寇西北邊。
The Little Prince raided repeatedly, and his slaughter and plunder were especially savage. He again led fifty thousand horsemen against Datong, drove toward Shuozhou, and ravaged Mayi. The emperor sent Marquis of Xianning Qiu Yue to command the defense; at Wanquan Guard three heads were taken while Ming losses ran ten times higher — yet a victory was announced. The following autumn the raiders pitched dozens of linked camps along the Xuan–Da line while a separate ten thousand horsemen swept Huai'an. Cong Lan sent urgent reports; the court put eunuch Zhang Yong over the Xuan, Da, and Yan–Sui armies, made Chief Commander Bai Yu grand general to help him hold the line, and put the capital on alert. The raiders then pushed past Huai'an toward Yuzhou and reached the south of Pinglu; Cong Lan's men had already laid poisoned food in the fields disguised as peasant rations and waited in ambush. When the raiders arrived they ate the poisoned food; the ambush burst out and many were killed. That same year the Little Prince's chief Bo'erhai, driven by internal strife, again seized the Western Sea and raided the northwest border in sudden strikes.
46
十一年秋，小王子以七萬騎分道入，與總兵潘浩戰於賈家灣。 浩再戰再敗，裨將硃春、王唐死之。 張永遇於老營坡，被創走居庸。 敵遂犯宣府，凡攻破城堡二十，殺掠人畜數萬。 浩奪三官，諸將降罰有差。
In the eleventh year, autumn, the Little Prince split seventy thousand horsemen along several routes and fought Commander Pan Hao at Jiajia Bay. Pan Hao fought twice and lost both times; lieutenant generals Zhu Chun and Wang Tang were killed. Zhang Yong met them at Laoying Slope, was wounded, and fled toward Juyong Pass. The raiders then overran Xuanfu, taking twenty forts and castles and killing or carrying off tens of thousands of people and animals. Pan Hao lost three ranks; the other commanders were demoted and punished to varying degrees.
47
十二年冬，小王子以五萬騎自榆林入寇，圍總兵王勳等於應州。 帝幸陽和，親部署，督諸將往援，殊死戰，敵稍卻。 明日復來攻，自辰至酉，戰百餘合，敵引而西，追至平虜、朔州，值大風黑霧，晝晦，帝乃還，命宣捷於朝。 是後歲犯邊，然不敢大入。
In the twelfth year, winter, the Little Prince came through Yulin with fifty thousand horsemen and besieged Commander Wang Xun at Yingzhou. The emperor went to Yanghe, took command in person, and sent the generals to the rescue; after desperate fighting the raiders fell back a little. The next day the raiders attacked again; from morning to evening more than a hundred clashes were fought before they withdrew west. The pursuit reached Pinglu and Shuozhou, but a gale and black fog blotted out the day; the emperor turned back and ordered victory proclaimed at court. Thereafter they raided the border every year, but no longer dared a deep thrust.
48
嘉靖四年春，以萬騎寇甘肅。 總兵姜奭御之於苦水墩，斬其魁。 明年犯大同及宣府，亦卜剌復駐牧賀蘭山後，數擾邊。 明年春，小王子兩寇宣府。 參將王經、關山先後戰死。 秋，以數萬騎犯寧夏塞，尚書王憲以總兵鄭卿等敗之，斬三百餘級。 明年春，掠山西。 夏，入大同中路，參將李蓁御卻之。 冬，復寇大同，指揮趙源戰死。
In the spring of Jiajing four ten thousand horsemen struck Gansu. Commander Jiang Yi met them at Kushui mound and beheaded their chieftain. The following year they hit Datong and Xuanfu; Yibulai settled again to pasture behind Mount Helan and kept harassing the border. The next spring the Little Prince struck Xuanfu twice. Regimental commanders Wang Jing and Guan Shan were killed in turn. That autumn tens of thousands of horsemen struck the Ningxia line; Minister Wang Xian and Commander Zheng Qing routed them and took more than three hundred heads. The following spring they ravaged Shanxi. That summer they came in through the central Datong route; Regimental Commander Li Zhen drove them back. That winter they raided Datong again; Commander Zhao Yuan was killed.
49
十一年春，小王子乞通貢，未得命，怒，遂擁十萬騎入寇。 總制唐龍請許之，帝不聽。 龍連戰，頗有斬獲。
In the eleventh year, spring, the Little Prince asked to resume tribute; denied permission, he flew into a rage and swept in with one hundred thousand horsemen. Overall commander Tang Long urged that the request be granted; the emperor refused. Tang Long fought battle after battle and won a fair number of heads and captives.
50
時小王子最富強，控弦十餘萬，多畜貨貝，稍厭兵，乃徙幕東方，稱土蠻，分諸部落在西北邊者甚眾。 曰吉囊、曰俺答者，於小王子為從父行，據河套，雄黠喜兵，為諸部長，相率躪諸邊。
The Little Prince was then at his strongest, with more than one hundred thousand bowmen and great stores of wealth; growing weary of war, he shifted his camp eastward, took the name Tumen, and split the many tribes along the northwest border. Jinang and Anda, the Little Prince's father's cousins, held the Ordos; bold, shrewd, and eager for war, they became tribal chiefs and led one another in overrunning the borders.
51
十二年春，吉囊擁眾屯套內，將犯延綏，邊臣有備，乃突以五萬騎渡河西，襲亦不剌、卜兒孩兩部，大破之。 卜兒孩為莊、寧邊患久，亦郎骨、土魯番諸蕃皆苦之，嘗因屬番帖木哥求貢市，朝廷未之許。 至是唐龍以卜兒孩衰敗遠徙，西海獲寧，請無更議款事。
In the twelfth year, spring, Jinang massed his followers inside the Ordos and prepared to strike Yan–Sui; when the frontier officials stood ready, he suddenly crossed the river west with fifty thousand horsemen, fell upon the tribes of Yibulai and Bo'erhai, and routed them. Bo'erhai had long plagued the Zhuang and Ning frontiers; the Yilanggu, Turfan, and other tribes all suffered under him; they once had the dependent tribesman Tiemuge ask for tribute and trade markets, but the court refused. Tang Long now argued that with Bo'erhai broken and driven far off and the Western Sea at peace, the court should stop debating offers of reconciliation.
52
吉囊等既破西海，旋竊入宣府永寧境，大掠而去。 冬，犯鎮遠關，總兵王效、副總兵梁震敗之於柳門，又追敗之於蜂窩山，敵溺水死者甚眾。 明年春，寇大同。 秋，復由花馬池入犯，梁震及總兵劉文拒卻之。
After crushing the Western Sea tribes, Jinang and his followers slipped into Yongning in Xuanfu, looted heavily, and withdrew. That winter they struck Zhenyuan Pass; Commander Wang Xiao and Vice Commander Liang Zhen beat them at Willow Gate, pursued them to Beehive Mountain, and drowned many in the rout. The following spring they hit Datong. That autumn they came in again through Huama Pond; Liang Zhen and Commander Liu Wen drove them back.
53
十五年夏，吉囊以十萬眾屯賀蘭山，分兵寇涼州，副總兵王輔御之，斬五十七級。 又入莊浪境，總兵姜奭遇之於分水嶺，三戰三勝之。 又入延綏及寧夏邊。 冬，復犯大同，入掠宣大塞，總制侍郎劉天和、總督尚書楊守禮及巡撫都御史楚書悉力御之。
In the fifteenth year, summer, Jinang camped one hundred thousand men on Mount Helan and sent detachments against Liangzhou; Vice Commander Wang Fu met them and took fifty-seven heads. They entered Zhuanglang again; Commander Jiang Yi met them at Watershed Ridge and won three battles in a row. They struck the Yan–Sui and Ningxia borders again. That winter they raided Datong again and swept the Xuan–Da line; overall commander Liu Tianhe, Governor-General Yang Shouli, and Grand Coordinator Chu Shu threw everything they had into the defense.
54
十九年秋，書以總兵白爵等三敗敵於萬全右衛境，斬百餘級。 天和以總兵周尚文大破敵於黑水苑，斬吉囊子小十王。 明年春，守禮以總兵李義禦敵於鎮朔堡，以總兵楊信禦敵於甘肅，皆勝之。
In the nineteenth year, autumn, Chu and Commander Bai Jue thrice defeated the enemy in Wanquan Right Guard and took more than one hundred heads. Liu Tianhe and Commander Zhou Shangwen routed the enemy at Blackwater Park and killed Jinang's son Xiaoshi Wang. The following spring Yang Shouli sent Commander Li Yi to meet the enemy at Zhenshuo Fort and Commander Yang Xin to Gansu; both won.
55
秋，俺答及其屬阿不孩遣使石天爵款大同塞，巡撫史道以聞，詔卻之。 以尚書樊繼祖督宣大兵，懸賞格購俺答、阿不孩首。 遂大舉內犯，俺答下石嶺關，趣太原。 吉囊田平虜衛入掠平定、壽陽諸處。 總兵丁璋、游擊周宇戰死，諸將多獲罪，繼祖獨蒙賞。
That autumn Anda and his follower Abuhai sent Shi Tianjue to offer peace at the Datong frontier; Grand Coordinator Shi Dao reported it, and the court turned them away. Minister Fan Jizu took command of the Xuan–Da armies and posted bounties for the heads of Anda and Abuhai. They then invaded in force; Anda came down through Shiling Pass and drove on Taiyuan. Jinang came through Pinglu Guard and ravaged Pingding, Shouyang, and the surrounding country. Commanders Ding Zhang and Mobile Commander Zhou Yu were killed; many officers were punished, while Jizu alone was rewarded.
56
二十一年夏，敵復遣天爵求貢。 大同巡撫龍大有誘縛之，上之朝，詭言用計擒獲。 帝悅，擢大有兵部侍郎，邊臣升賞者數十人，磔天爵於市。 敵怒，入寇，掠朔州，抵廣武，由太原南下，沁、汾、襄垣、長子皆被殘； 復從忻、崞、代而北，屯祁縣。 參將張世忠力戰，敵圍之數重。 自巳至申，所殺傷相當。 已而世忠矢盡見殺，百戶張宣、張臣俱死，敵遂從雁門故道去。 秋，復入朔州。 吉囊死，諸子狼台吉等散處河西，勢既分，俺答獨盛，歲數擾延綏諸邊。
In the twenty-first year, summer, the enemy again sent Tianjue to ask for tribute. Datong Grand Coordinator Long Dayou tricked and bound him, sent him to court, and falsely claimed a cunning capture. The emperor was delighted, promoted Long Dayou to Vice Minister of War, rewarded several dozen frontier officials, and had Tianjue torn apart in the marketplace. Enraged, the raiders swept in, looted Shuozhou, reached Guangwu, and drove south from Taiyuan; Qin, Fen, Xiangyuan, and Changzi were all devastated; They then turned north through Xin, Guo, and Dai and camped at Qixian. Regimental Commander Zhang Shizhong fought fiercely as the enemy closed round him in layer after layer. From mid-morning to mid-afternoon the casualties on both sides were roughly even. When his arrows ran out Shizhong was killed; centurions Zhang Xuan and Zhang Chen died with him; the raiders then withdrew by the old Yanmen road. That autumn they entered Shuozhou again. When Jinang died his sons Langtaiji and others scattered across Hexi; with their strength divided, Anda alone grew dominant and for years harassed the Yan–Sui border.
57
二十三年冬，小王子自萬全右衛入，至蔚州及完縣。 京師戒嚴。
In the twenty-third year, winter, the Little Prince came in through Wanquan Right Guard and reached Yuzhou and Wancian. The capital went on alert.
58
二十四年秋，俺答犯延綏及大同，總兵張達拒卻之。 又犯鵓鴿峪，參將張鳳、指揮劉欽、千戶李瓚、生員王邦直等皆戰死。 會總督侍郎翁萬達、總兵周尚文嚴兵備陽和，敵引去。 明年夏，俺答覆遣使詣大同塞，求貢，邊卒殺之。 秋，復來請，萬達再疏以聞，帝不許。 敵以十萬騎西入保安，掠慶陽、環縣而東，以萬騎寇錦、義。 總督三邊侍郎曾銑率參將李珍等直搗敵巢於馬梁山後，斬百餘級，敵始退。 銑議復河套，大學士夏言主之。 帝方向用言，令銑圖上方略，以便宜從事。 明年夏，萬達復言：「敵自冬涉春屢求貢，詞恭，似宜許。」 不聽，責萬達罔瀆。 銑鳩兵繕塞，輒破敵。 既而帝意中變，言與銑竟得罪，斬西市。 敵益蓄忿思逞，廷臣不敢言復套事矣。
In the twenty-fourth year, autumn, Anda struck Yan–Sui and Datong; Commander Zhang Da drove him back. He struck Boju Valley again; Regimental Commander Zhang Feng, Commander Liu Qin, chiliarch Li Zan, licentiate Wang Bangzhi, and others were all killed. Governor-General Weng Wanda and Commander Zhou Shangwen then tightened defenses at Yanghe, and the raiders withdrew. The next summer Anda again sent envoys to the Datong frontier to ask for tribute; border soldiers killed them. That autumn they petitioned again; Wanda memorialized once more, and the emperor again refused. The enemy came west into Bao'an with one hundred thousand horsemen, ravaged Qingyang and Huanxian, turned east, and sent ten thousand horsemen against Jin and Yi. Governor-General of the Three Frontiers Zeng Xuan led Regimental Commander Li Zhen and others in a direct strike at the enemy base behind Mabaliang Mountain, took more than one hundred heads, and only then did the raiders pull back. Zeng proposed retaking the Ordos, and Grand Secretary Xia Yan backed the plan. The emperor was then favoring Yan and told Zeng to draw up a strategy and act as he saw fit. The next summer Wanda wrote again: "Since winter the enemy has repeatedly asked for tribute in respectful terms; it may be wise to grant it." The emperor refused and rebuked Wanda for deceit and disrespect. Zeng gathered troops, repaired the frontier defenses, and repeatedly beat the enemy back. Before long the emperor changed his mind; Yan and Zeng were condemned and executed at the western market. The enemy nursed their anger and looked for revenge; at court no one dared speak of retaking the Ordos again.
59
二十八年春，犯宣府滴水崖。 把總指揮江瀚、董暘戰死，全軍覆，遂犯永寧、大同。 總兵周尚文御之於曹家莊，大敗之，斬其魁。 會萬達自懷來赴援，宣府總兵趙國忠聞警，亦率千騎追擊，復連敗之。 是歲，犯西塞者五。
In the twenty-eighth year, spring, they struck Dishui Cliff in Xuanfu. Detachment commanders Jiang Han and Dong Yang were killed and the whole force wiped out; the raiders then overran Yongning and Datong. Commander Zhou Shangwen met them at Caojiazhuang, routed them, and beheaded their chieftain. Weng Wanda came from Huailai to reinforce; hearing the alarm, Xuanfu Commander Zhao Guozhong led one thousand horsemen in pursuit and defeated them again and again. That year the western frontier was hit five times.
60
二十九年春，俺答移駐威寧海子。 夏，犯大同，總兵張達、林椿死之。 敵引去，傳箭諸部大舉。 秋，循潮河川南下至古北口，都御史王汝孝率薊鎮兵御之。 敵陽引滿內向，而別遣精騎從間道潰牆入。 汝孝兵潰，遂大掠懷柔，圍順義，抵通州，分兵四掠，焚湖渠馬房。 畿甸大震。
In the twenty-ninth year, spring, Anda shifted his camp to Weining Lake. That summer he struck Datong; Commanders Zhang Da and Lin Chun were killed. The raiders withdrew, but sent the arrow round the tribes for a full mobilization. That autumn they followed the Chaohu River south to Gubeikou; Censor-in-Chief Wang Ruxiao led the Ji garrison troops to meet them. The raiders feigned a frontal advance with bows drawn while elite horsemen slipped through a bypath and broke the wall. Wang Ruxiao's army broke; the raiders looted Huairou, besieged Shunyi, reached Tongzhou, fanned out in four directions, and burned the canal horse yards. The capital region was thrown into panic.
61
敵大眾犯京師，大同總兵咸寧侯仇鸞、巡撫保定都御史楊守謙等，各以勤王兵至。 帝拜鸞為大將軍，使護諸軍。 鸞與守謙皆軿懦不敢戰，兵部尚書丁汝夔忄匡擾不知所為，閉門守。 敵焚掠三日夜，引去。 帝誅汝夔及守謙。 敵將出白羊口，鸞尾之。 敵猝東返，鸞出不意，兵潰，死傷千餘人。 敵乃徐由古北口出塞。 諸將收斬遺屍，得八十餘級，以捷聞。
A great enemy force threatened the capital; Datong Commander and Marquis of Xianning Qiu Luan, Baoding Grand Coordinator Yang Shouqian, and others each arrived with armies to save the throne. The emperor made Qiu Luan grand general and put all the armies under his command. Qiu Luan and Yang Shouqian were both too timid to fight; Minister of War Ding Ruokui lost his head and shut the gates in a purely defensive stand. The raiders burned and looted for three days and nights, then withdrew. The emperor had Ruokui and Shouqian executed. As the raiders were about to leave by Baiyang Pass, Qiu Luan followed at their heels. The raiders suddenly wheeled east; caught off guard, Qiu Luan's force broke; more than a thousand were killed or wounded. The raiders then withdrew unhurriedly through Gubeikou and left the frontier. The generals collected the slain left behind and took more than eighty heads, then reported a victory.
62
方俺答薄都城時，縱所擄馬房內官楊增持書入城求貢。 輔臣徐階等謂當以計款之，諭令退屯塞外，因邊臣以請。 俺答歸，遣子脫脫陳款。 時鸞方用事，乃議開馬市以中敵。 兵部郎中楊繼盛上疏爭之，不得。 明年春，以侍郎史道蒞其事，給白金十萬，開市大同，次及延、寧。 叛人蕭芹、呂明鎮者，故以罪亡入敵，挾白蓮邪教，與其黨趙全、丘富、周原、喬源諸人導俺答為患。 俺答市畢，旋入掠。 邊臣責之，以芹等為詞。 芹詭有術，能墮城。 敵試之不驗，遂縛芹及明鎮，而全、富等竟匿不出。 俺答覆請以牛馬易粟豆，求職役誥敕，又潛約河西諸部內犯，墮諸邊垣。 帝惡之，詔罷馬市，召道還。 自是，敵日寇掠西邊，邊人大困。
While Altan Khan was closing on the capital, he sent in the captured stable eunuch Yang Zeng with a letter asking for tribute. Chief ministers such as Xu Jie argued that they should placate him by design, tell him to withdraw beyond the frontier, and let border officials submit the tribute request. Altan Khan withdrew and sent his son Toto to offer peace. Qiu Luan was then in power, and the court proposed opening a horse market—playing straight into the enemy's hands. Yang Jisheng of the Ministry of War memorialized against the plan, but in vain. The following spring Vice Minister Shi Dao was put in charge; the court allotted one hundred thousand taels of silver and opened markets at Datong, then at Yan–Sui and Ningxia. Two defectors, Xiao Qin and Lü Mingzhen, had fled to the enemy after criminal convictions; armed with White Lotus teachings, they and their followers Zhao Quan, Qiu Fu, Zhou Yuan, and Qiao Yuan steered Altan Khan into raiding. As soon as the horse trade ended, Altan Khan turned to raiding again. Border officials reproached him, blaming the raids on Qin and his associates. Qin claimed he possessed arts that could breach city walls. The Mongols tried the method and it failed, so they bound Qin and Mingzhen; Quan, Fu, and the others stayed hidden and refused to surrender. Altan Khan again asked to trade horses and cattle for grain and beans, sought Ming patents of office, and secretly arranged with the Hexi tribes to raid inward and break the frontier walls. The emperor was disgusted and ordered the horse market closed and Shi Dao recalled. From then on the raiders pillaged the western frontier almost daily, and the border population was driven to desperation.
63
三十一年春，敵二千騎寇大同，指揮王恭御之於平川墩，戰死。 夏，東入遼塞，圍百戶常祿，指揮姚大謨、劉棟、劉啟基等於三道氵冓，四人皆戰沒。 備御指揮王相赴援，大戰於寺兒山，殺傷相當，敵捨去。 千戶葉廷瑞率百人助相。 明日，相裹創復邀敵於蠟黎山，殊死鬥，矢竭，遂與麾下將士三百人皆死之。 廷瑞被創死復甦，敵亦引退。 其年，凡四犯大同，三犯遼陽，一犯寧夏。 明年春，犯宣府及延綏。 夏，犯甘肅及大同。 守將御之輒敗。 秋，俺答覆大舉入寇，下渾源、靈丘、廣昌，急攻插箭、浮圖等峪。 固原游擊陳鳳、寧夏游擊硃玉率兵赴援，大戰卻之。 敵分兵東犯蔚，西掠代、繁畤。 已，駐鹿阝、延二十日，延慶諸城屠掠幾遍，乃移營中部，以瞰涇、原，會久雨乃去。 時小王子亦乘隙為寇，犯宣府赤城。 未幾，俺答覆以萬騎入大同，縱掠至八角堡。 巡撫趙時春御之，遇敵於大蟲嶺，總兵李淶戰死，軍覆，時春僅以身免。
In the thirty-first year, spring, two thousand raiders struck Datong; Commander Wang Gong met them at Pingchuan Stockade and was killed. That summer they entered the Liaodong frontier from the east, besieged Company Commander Chang Lu, and trapped Commanders Yao Damo, Liu Dong, and Liu Qiji at Sandao Gully; all four were killed. Defense Commander Wang Xiang marched to their aid and fought a fierce battle at Si'er Mountain; casualties were roughly even, and the raiders withdrew. Battalion Commander Ye Tingrui brought one hundred men to Wang Xiang's aid. The next day Wang Xiang, wounds bound, intercepted the enemy again at Lali Mountain and fought to the death; when his arrows ran out, he and his three hundred officers and men all perished. Tingrui was wounded to the point of death but recovered; the raiders also pulled back. That year they struck Datong four times, Liaoyang three times, and Ningxia once. The following spring they hit Xuanfu and Yan–Sui. That summer they struck Gansu and Datong. Every defending commander who met them was beaten. That autumn Altan Khan invaded again in force, overran Hunyuan, Lingqiu, and Guangchang, and pressed hard on the passes at Chajian, Futu, and elsewhere. Brigadiers Chen Feng of Guyuan and Zhu Yu of Ningxia marched to reinforce them, fought a major battle, and drove the raiders off. The raiders split their forces, striking Yu in the east and looting Dai and Fanzhi in the west. They then encamped in the Lu and Yan region for twenty days and looted almost every town in Yanqing before shifting camp to the central frontier to threaten Jing and Yuan; only prolonged rain made them withdraw. The Little Prince also took advantage of the moment to raid, striking Chicheng in Xuanfu. Before long Altan Khan returned with ten thousand horsemen, swept through Datong, and looted as far as Bajiao Fort. Grand Coordinator Zhao Shichun went to meet them and clashed at Dachong Ridge; Commander Li Lai was killed, the army was wiped out, and Zhao Shichun escaped only with his life.
64
三十三年春，入宣府柴溝堡。 夏，復犯寧夏，大同總兵岳懋中伏死。 秋，攻薊鎮牆，百道並進。 警報日數十至，京師戒嚴。 總督楊博悉力拒守，募死士夜砍其營，敵驚擾乃遁。 明年數犯宣、薊，參將趙傾葵、李光啟、丁碧先後戰死。 朝廷再下賞格，購俺答首，賜萬金，爵伯； 獲丘富、周原者三百金，授三品武階。 時富等在敵，招集亡命，居豐州，築城自衛，構宮殿，墾水田，號曰板升。 板升，華言屋也。 趙全教敵，益習攻戰事。 俺答愛之甚，每入寇必置酒全所問計。
In the thirty-third year, spring, they entered Chaigou Fort in Xuanfu. That summer they struck Ningxia again; Datong Commander Yue Maozhong was killed in an ambush. That autumn they assaulted the Ji frontier wall from a hundred directions at once. Alarm reports arrived by the dozen each day, and the capital went on full alert. Governor-General Yang Bo defended with all his strength, sent volunteers to strike their camp by night, and the startled raiders broke off and fled. The following year they struck Xuan and Ji repeatedly; Regimental Commanders Zhao Qingkui, Li Guangqi, and Ding Bi were killed in turn. The court posted fresh bounties for Altan Khan's head—ten thousand in gold and a marquisate. Capture of Qiu Fu or Zhou Yuan would bring three hundred taels of gold and a third-grade military commission. Fu and his fellows were then with the enemy; they gathered outlaws, settled at Fengzhou, walled a town, built palaces, opened irrigated fields, and called the settlement Paising. Paising is glossed in Chinese as 'house.' Zhao Quan trained the Mongols, who grew ever more adept at siege and war. Altan Khan valued him highly; before every raid he would feast at Quan's home and ask his counsel.
65
三十五年夏，敵三萬騎犯宣府。 游擊張紘迎戰，敗死。 冬，掠大同邊，繼掠陝西環、慶諸處，守將孫朝、袁正等卻之。 其年，土蠻再犯遼東。
In the thirty-fifth year, summer, thirty thousand raiders struck Xuanfu. Brigadier Zhang Hong met them in battle and was killed in defeat. That winter they looted the Datong frontier and then Huan, Qing, and other districts in Shaanxi; Generals Sun Chao and Yuan Zheng drove them off. That year Tümen raided Liaodong again.
66
明年，敵以二萬騎分掠大同邊，殺守備唐天祿、把總汪淵。 俺答弟老把都復擁眾數萬入河流口，犯永平及遷安，副總兵蔣承勳力戰死。 夏，突犯宣府馬尾梁，參將祁勉戰死。 秋，復入大同右衛境，攻毀七十餘堡，所殺擄甚眾。 冬，俺答子辛愛有妾曰桃松寨，私部目收令哥，懼誅來降。 總督楊順自詡為奇功，致之闕下。 辛愛來索不得，乃縱掠大同諸墩堡，圍右衛數匝。 順懼，乃詭言敵願易我以趙全、丘富。 本兵許論以為便，乃遣桃松寨夜逸出塞，紿之西走，陰告辛愛，辛愛執而戮之。 敵狎知順無能，圍右衛益急，更分兵犯宣、薊鎮。 西鄙震動，右衛烽火斷絕者六閱月。 大學士嚴嵩與許論議，欲棄右衛。 帝不聽，詔諸臣發兵措餉，而以兵部侍郎江東代順。 時故將尚表以饋餉入圍城，悉力捍禦，粟盡食牛馬，徹屋為薪，士卒無變志。 表時出兵突戰，獲俺答孫及婿與其部將各一人。 會帝所遣侍郎江東及巡撫楊選、總兵張承勳等各嚴兵進，圍乃解。 復掠永昌、涼州及宣府赤城，圍甘州十四日始退。 土蠻亦數寇遼東。
The next year twenty thousand raiders split up to loot the Datong frontier, killing Defense Commander Tang Tianlu and Detachment Commander Wang Yuan. Altan Khan's brother La Bato massed tens of thousands again, entered at Heiliukou, and struck Yongping and Qian'an; Vice Commander Jiang Chengxun fought to the death. That summer they suddenly struck Maweiliang in Xuanfu; Regimental Commander Qi Mian was killed. That autumn they entered Datong Right Guard again, destroyed more than seventy forts, and killed or captured a great many people. That winter Engi, Altan Khan's son, had a concubine named Taosongzhai who had secretly taken up with the company officer Shoulingge; fearing punishment, she defected. Governor-General Yang Shun touted it as a singular coup and sent her to the capital. Engi came to reclaim her in vain, then looted Datong's stockades and forts and ringed Right Guard again and again. Frightened, Shun lied that the enemy would trade her for Zhao Quan and Qiu Fu. Minister of War Xu Lun approved the scheme; they sent Taosongzhai out of the frontier by night, tricked her into fleeing west, secretly tipped off Engi, and he seized and killed her. Having learned how useless Shun was, the raiders tightened the siege of Right Guard and sent detachments against the Xuan and Ji garrisons. The western frontier was thrown into turmoil; Right Guard's beacon chain went dark for six months. Grand Secretary Yan Song and Xu Lun debated giving up Right Guard. The emperor refused and ordered officials to raise troops and funds, replacing Shun with Vice Minister of War Jiang Dong. The veteran Shang Biao had entered the besieged city with supplies and defended with all his strength; when grain ran out they ate horses and cattle and burned houses for fuel, yet the garrison never wavered. Biao made repeated sorties and captured one of Altan Khan's grandsons, a son-in-law, and a tribal general. Then Vice Minister Jiang Dong, Grand Coordinator Yang Xuan, Commander Zhang Chengxun, and the other relief forces advanced in strength, and the siege was broken. They looted Yongchang, Liangzhou, and Chicheng in Xuanfu, besieged Ganzhou for fourteen days, and then withdrew. Tümen also struck Liaodong repeatedly.
67
三十八年春，老把都、辛愛謀大舉入犯，駐會州，使其諜詭稱東下。 總督王忬不能察，遽分兵而東，號令數易，敵遂乘間入薊鎮潘家口，忬得罪。 夏，犯大同，轉掠宣府東西二城，駐內地旬日，會久雨乃退。
In the thirty-eighth year, spring, La Bato and Engi planned a major invasion, camped at Huizhou, and sent spies to spread word that they were heading east. Governor-General Wang Yu failed to see through the deception, hurriedly split his forces east, and changed orders repeatedly; the raiders slipped through Panjiakou in the Ji garrison, and Wang Yu was punished. That summer they struck Datong, then turned to loot the eastern and western districts of Xuanfu, camped inside the frontier for ten days, and withdrew only after prolonged rain.
68
三十九年，敵聚眾喜峰口外，窺犯薊鎮。 大同總兵劉漢出搗其帳於灰河，敵稍遠徙。 秋，漢復與參將王孟夏等搗豐州，擒斬一百五十人，焚板升略盡。 是歲，寇大同、延綏、薊、遼邊無虛日。 明年春，敵自河西踏冰入寇，守備王世臣、千戶李虎戰死。 秋，犯宣府及居庸。 冬，掠陝西、寧夏塞。 已，復分兵而東，陷蓋州。
In the thirty-ninth year the raiders massed outside Xifeng Pass, poised to strike the Ji frontier. Datong Commander Liu Han raided their camp at Huihe and forced them to pull back. That autumn Liu Han, with Regimental Commander Wang Mengxia and others, raided Fengzhou, killed one hundred fifty men, and burned Paising nearly to the ground. That year the Datong, Yan–Sui, Ji, and Liaodong frontiers were hit almost every day. The following spring the raiders crossed the frozen river from Hexi; Defense Commander Wang Shichen and Battalion Commander Li Hu were killed. That autumn they struck Xuanfu and Juyong. That winter they looted the Shaanxi and Ningxia frontier. They then split a force eastward and captured Gaizhou.
69
四十一年夏，土蠻入撫順，為總兵黑春所敗。 冬，復攻鳳凰城，春力戰二日夜，死之。 海、金殺掠尤甚。 冬，俺答數犯山西、寧夏塞。 延綏總兵趙岢分部銳卒，令裨將李希靖等東出神木堡，搗敵帳於半坡山，徐執中等西出定邊營，擊敵騎於荍麥湖，皆勝之，斬一百十九級。
In the forty-first year, summer, Tümen entered Fushun and was beaten by Commander Hei Chun. That winter they attacked Fenghuang City again; Hei Chun fought for two days and nights and was killed. Hai and Jin suffered especially heavy killing and looting. That winter Altan Khan struck the Shanxi and Ningxia frontier repeatedly. Yan–Sui Commander Zhao Ke split his elite troops: Lieutenant General Li Xijing marched east from Shenmu Fort and raided the enemy camp at Banpo Mountain, while Xu Zhizhong marched west from Dingbian Camp and struck enemy horsemen at Qiaomai Lake; both columns won, taking one hundred nineteen heads.
70
四十二年春，敵入宣府滴水崖，劉漢卻之。 敵遂引而東，數犯遼塞。 秋，總兵楊照敗死。 時薊遼總督楊選囚縶三衛長通罕，令其諸子更迭為質。 通罕者，辛愛妻父也，冀以牽制辛愛，三衛皆怨。 冬，大掠順義、三河。 諸將趙溱、孫臏戰死，京師戒嚴。 大同總兵姜應熊御之於密雲，敗之，敵退。 詔誅選。 明年，土蠻入遼東，都御史劉燾上諸將守禦功，言海水暴漲，敵騎多沒者。 帝曰：「海若效靈。」 下有司祭告，燾等皆有賞。 冬，敵犯狹西，大掠板橋、響閘兒諸處。
In the forty-second year, spring, the raiders entered Dishui Cliff in Xuanfu; Liu Han drove them off. The raiders then shifted east and struck the Liaodong frontier repeatedly. That autumn Commander Yang Zhao was killed in defeat. Ji–Liao Governor-General Yang Xuan then imprisoned Tonghan, chief of the Three Guards, and kept his sons as rotating hostages. Tonghan was Engi's father-in-law; the court hoped to use him to restrain Engi, but all Three Guards were resentful. That winter they looted Shunyi and Sanhe on a large scale. Generals Zhao Qin and Sun Bin were killed, and the capital went on full alert. Datong Commander Jiang Yingxiong met them at Miyun, routed them, and the raiders withdrew. The emperor ordered Yang Xuan executed. The next year Tümen entered Liaodong; Censor-in-Chief Liu Tao reported the generals' defensive successes, noting that a sudden surge of seawater had drowned many raiders. The emperor said, "The sea god has shown its power." He ordered the relevant offices to offer sacrifices and report back; Liu Tao and the others were all rewarded. That winter the raiders struck Shaanxi and looted Banqiao, Xiangzhai'er, and other towns.
71
四十四年春，犯遼東寧前小團山，參將線補袞、游擊楊維籓死之。 夏，犯肅州，總兵劉承業御之，再戰皆捷。 秋，俺答子黃台吉帥輕騎，自宣府洗馬林突入，散掠內地。 把總姜汝棟以銳卒二百伏暗莊堡，猝遇台吉，搏之。 台吉墮馬，為所部奪去。 台吉受傷，越日始蘇。 明年，俺答屢犯東西諸塞。 夏，清河守備郎得功扼之張能峪口，勝之。 冬，大同參將崔世榮禦敵於樊皮嶺，及子大朝、大賓俱戰死。 時丘富死，趙全在敵中益用事，尊俺答為帝，治宮殿。 期日上棟，忽大風，棟墜傷數人。 俺答懼，不敢復居。 兵部侍郎譚綸在薊鎮善治兵，全乃說俺答無輕犯薊，大同兵弱，可以逞。
In the forty-fourth year, spring, they struck Xiaotuanshan in eastern Liaodong; Regimental Commander Xian Bugun and Brigadier Yang Weifan were killed. That summer they struck Suzhou; Commander Liu Chengye met them and won both engagements. That autumn Huang Taiji, Altan Khan's son, led light cavalry in a sudden thrust from Ximolin in Xuanfu and looted the interior at will. Detachment Commander Jiang Rudong lay in wait at Anzhuang Fort with two hundred elite troops, suddenly encountered Huang Taiji, and closed with him hand to hand. Huang Taiji was unhorsed and swept away by his own men. Huang Taiji was badly hurt and did not regain consciousness until the following day. The next year Altan Khan raided the eastern and western border passes again and again. That summer Garrison Commander Lang Degong of Qinghe intercepted him at Zhangneng Pass and won the day. That winter Regimental Commander Cui Shirong of Datong fought the enemy at Fanpi Ridge and fell, along with his sons Dachao and Dabin. Qiu Fu had died by then, and Zhao Quan grew ever more influential among the Mongols, styling Altan Khan as emperor and erecting palaces for him. On the day set for raising the ridgepole, a sudden gale struck; the beam crashed down and injured several men. Altan Khan was shaken and never dared occupy the palace again. Vice Minister Tan Lun was rebuilding the Ji garrison's fighting strength; Quan urged Altan Khan to leave Ji alone and strike Datong instead, where the garrison was weak enough to plunder at will.
72
二年，敵犯柴溝，守備韓尚忠戰死。 時兵部侍郎王崇古鎮西邊，總兵李成梁守遼東，數以兵邀擊於塞外。 敵知有備，入寇稍稀。
In the second year the raiders struck Chaigou; Garrison Commander Han Shangzhong was killed in the fighting. Wang Chonggu was then overseeing the western frontier as vice minister of war, while Li Chengliang held Liaodong; again and again they ambushed raiders beyond the passes. Once the raiders found the frontier prepared, their incursions grew less frequent.
73
四年秋，黃台吉寇錦州，總兵王治道、參將郎得功以十餘騎入敵死。 冬，俺答有孫曰把漢那吉者，俺答第三子鐵背台吉子也，幼孤，育於俺答妻所。 既長，娶婦比吉。 把漢復聘襖兒都司女，即俺答外孫女，貌美，俺答奪之。 把漢恚，遂率其屬阿力哥等十人來降。 大同巡撫方逢時受之，以告總督王崇古。 崇古上言：「把漢來歸，非擁眾內附者比，宜給官爵，豐館餼，飭輿馬，以示俺答。 俺答急，則使縛送板升諸叛人； 不聽，即脅誅把漢牽沮之； 又不然，因而撫納，如漢置屬國居烏桓故事，使招其故部，徙近塞。 俺答老且死，黃台吉立，則令把漢還，以其眾與台吉抗，我按兵助之。」 詔可，授把漢指揮使，阿力哥正千戶。
In the fourth year, autumn, Huang Taiji struck Jinzhou; Commander Wang Zhidao and Regimental Commander Lang Degong charged into the enemy with barely a dozen riders and were killed. That winter: Altan Khan's grandson Bahannaji, son of his third son Tiebei Taiji, had lost his parents young and was raised in Altan Khan's wife's household. When he came of age, he married a woman named Bigi. Bahannaji then betrothed the daughter of Ao'er Dusi—Altan Khan's own granddaughter, and a great beauty—only for Altan Khan to take her for himself. Enraged, Bahannaji led ten followers, including Alige, to defect to the Ming. Datong Grand Coordinator Fang Fengshi accepted the defectors and reported to Governor-General Wang Chonggu. Chonggu memorialized: "Bahannaji's surrender is not the usual case of a tribal leader arriving with a host. We should grant him office and rank, lodge and feed him generously, and provide horses and transport—all to send a message to Altan Khan. If Altan Khan grows alarmed, demand that he hand over the Banjin defectors bound and under guard; if he refuses, threaten Bahannaji's life to deter him; and if none of that works, settle him in comfort—after the Han model of dependent states among the Wuhuan—so he can rally his old followers and resettle them near the frontier; When Altan Khan grows old and dies and Huang Taiji succeeds him, send Bahannaji back so his followers can check Huang Taiji while we hold our army in reserve to back him. The throne approved. Bahannaji was made an assistant commander, and Alige a chief company commander.
74
俺答方西掠吐番，聞之亟引還，約諸部入犯，崇古檄諸道嚴兵御之。 敵使來請命，崇古遣譯者鮑崇德往，言朝廷待把漢甚厚，第能縛板升諸叛人趙全等，旦送至，把漢即夕返矣。 俺答大喜，屏人語曰：「我不為亂，亂由全等。 若天子幸封我為王，長北方諸部，孰敢為患？ 即死，吾孫當襲封，彼衣食中國，忍倍德乎？」 乃益發使與崇德來乞封，且請輸馬，與中國鐵鍋、布帛互市，隨執趙全、李自馨等數人來獻。 崇古乃以帝命遣把漢歸，把漢猶戀戀，感泣再拜去。 俺答得孫大喜，上表謝。
Altan Khan was raiding Tibet when he heard the news and rushed back, mustering the tribes for a joint invasion; Chonggu ordered every frontier command to mobilize in defense. An envoy came to negotiate; Chonggu sent the interpreter Bao Chongde with word that the court had treated Bahannaji with great honor, and that if Altan Khan delivered Zhao Quan and the other Banjin rebels bound by morning, Bahannaji would return that same night. Altan Khan was delighted. Sending everyone else away, he said: "I do not make trouble—Zhao Quan and his crowd do. If the emperor would grant me a princely title and leave me to govern the northern tribes, who would dare make trouble? Even after I die, my grandson will inherit the title—and having eaten China's bounty, how could he betray that kindness? He then sent more envoys with Chongde to sue for enfeoffment, offered horses in exchange for Chinese iron pots, cloth, and silk, and handed over Zhao Quan, Li Zixin, and several others. By imperial order Chonggu sent Bahannaji home; the young prince lingered, wept in gratitude, bowed twice, and only then left. Overjoyed to have his grandson back, Altan Khan sent a memorial of thanks.
75
崇古因上言：「朝廷若允俺答封貢，諸邊有數年之安，可乘時修備。 設敵背盟，吾以數年蓄養之財力，從事戰守，愈於終歲奔命，自救不暇者矣。」 復條八事以請。 一，議封號官爵。 諸部行輩，俺答為尊，宜錫以王號，給印信。 其大枝如老把都、黃台吉及吉囊長子吉能等，俱宜授以都督。 弟侄子孫如兀慎打兒漢等四十六枝，授以指揮。 其俺答諸婿十餘枝，授以千戶。 一，定貢額。 每歲一入貢，俺答馬十匹，使十人。 老把都、吉能、黃台吉八匹，使四人。 諸部長各以部落大小為差，大者四匹，小者二匹，使各二人。 通計歲貢馬不得過五百匹，使不得過百五十人。 馬分三等，上駟三十進御，余給價有差，老瘠者不入。 其使，歲許六十人進京，余待境上。 使還，聽以馬價市繒布諸物。 給酬賞，其賞額視三衛及西蕃諸國。 一，議貢期、貢道。 以春月及萬壽聖節四方來同之會，使人，馬匹及表文自大同左衛驗入，給犒賞。 駐邊者，分送各城撫鎮驗賞。 入京者，押送自居庸關入。 一，立互市。 其規如弘治初，北部三貢例。 蕃以金、銀、牛馬、皮張、馬尾等物，商販以緞紬、布匹、釜鍋等物。 開市日，來者以三百人駐邊外，宣府應於萬全右衛、張家口邊外，山西應於水泉營邊外。 一，議撫賞。 守市兵人布二匹，部長緞二匹、紬二匹。 以好至邊者，酌來使大小，量加賞犒。 一，議歸降。 通貢後，降者不分有罪無罪，免收納。 其華人被擄歸正者，查別無竊盜，乃許入。 一，審經權。 一，戒狡飾。
Chonggu memorialized again: "If the court grants Altan Khan enfeoffment and tribute, the frontiers may know several years of peace—time enough to rebuild our defenses. If they break faith, we can fight from the treasury and strength we will have stored up—far better than spending year after year in frantic self-defense. He appended an eight-point program to his request. First: settle titles, enfeoffments, and official ranks. By tribal seniority Altan Khan stands first among them; he should receive a princely title and an official seal. Major branches—La Bato, Huang Taiji, and Jinang's eldest son Jining among them—should all be made regional commanders. Younger brothers, nephews, and grandsons—forty-six branches in all, including Ushen Da'erhan—should receive assistant commander appointments. Altan Khan's dozen-odd branches of sons-in-law should receive company command appointments. Second: fix tribute quotas. One tribute mission each year: Altan Khan ten horses and ten envoys. La Bato, Jining, and Huang Taiji eight horses apiece and four envoys apiece. Each tribal leader, graded by the size of his following, should send four horses for a large tribe or two for a small one, with two envoys in either case. In all, annual tribute horses must not exceed five hundred, nor envoys one hundred fifty. Horses should be graded in three tiers; the thirty finest teams go to the throne, the rest are purchased at graded prices, and old or emaciated animals are rejected. Of the envoys, sixty may enter the capital each year; the rest remain at the frontier. On their return, envoys may use the horse payments to buy silk, cloth, and other goods. Rewards should be paid on the same scale as for the Three Guards and the western Tibetan states. Third: settle the tribute schedule and route. In spring and at the grand assembly for the emperor's birthday, envoys, horses, and memorials should enter through inspection at Datong Left Guard, with rewards issued on arrival. Those remaining at the frontier should be sent to the appropriate cities for inspection and reward by the local coordinators and garrison commanders. Those bound for the capital should be escorted in through Juyong Pass. Fourth: establish horse markets. The rules should follow the early Hongzhi precedent for the northern Three Tribute missions. The tribes would bring gold, silver, cattle, horses, pelts, horsetails, and the like; merchants would offer satin, cloth, cauldrons, iron pots, and the like. On market days up to three hundred men may camp outside the frontier: at Wanquan Right Guard and Zhangjiakou for Xuanfu, and at Shuiquanying for Shanxi. Fifth: settle pacification rewards. Market guards should receive two bolts of cloth each; tribal leaders two bolts of satin and two of thin silk. For envoys who arrive in good faith, rewards and gifts should be added according to their rank. Sixth: settle policy on defectors. Once tribute relations are established, defectors are to be accepted whether guilty or innocent, without being turned away. Chinese captives returning to allegiance may enter only after investigation shows they committed no theft while among the enemy. Seventh: distinguish enduring principle from temporary expedient. Eighth: guard against cunning evasions and false pretenses.
76
疏入，下廷臣議。 帝終從崇古言，詔封俺答為順義王，賜紅蟒衣一襲； 昆都力哈、黃台吉授都督同知，各賜紅獅子衣一襲、彩幣四表裡； 賓兔台吉等十人，授指揮同知； 那木兒台吉等十九人，授指揮僉事； 打兒漢台吉等十八人，授正千戶； 阿拜台吉等十二人，授副千戶； 恰台吉等二人，授百戶。 昆都力哈，即老把都也。 兵部采崇古議，定市令。 秋市成，凡得馬五百餘匹，賜俺答等彩幣有差。 西部吉能及其侄切盡等亦請市，詔予市紅山墩暨清水營。 市成，亦封吉能為都督同知。 已而俺答請金字經及剌麻僧，詔給之。 崇古復請玉印，詔予鍍金銀印。 俺答老佞佛，復請於海南建寺，詔賜寺額仰華。 俺答常遠處青山，二子，曰賓兔，居松山，直蘭州之北，曰丙兔，居西海，直河州之西，並求互市，多桀驁。 俺答諭之，亦漸馴。
The memorial was received and referred to the court for deliberation. The emperor at last accepted Chonggu's advice and enfeoffed Altan Khan as Prince of Shunyi, granting him a set of red python robes; Kundulun and Huang Taiji were made vice regional commanders, each receiving a set of red lion robes and four lengths of colored silk, lining and cover; Bintu Taiji and ten others were made vice assistant commanders; Namur Taiji and nineteen others were made assistant commanders-in-chief; Da'erhan Taiji and eighteen others were made chief company commanders; Abai Taiji and twelve others were made deputy company commanders; Qia Taiji and two others were made platoon commanders. Kundulun was La Bato. The Ministry of War adopted Chonggu's plan and issued market regulations. The autumn market opened; more than five hundred horses were acquired in all, and Altan Khan and the others received graded gifts of colored silk. Jining of the western tribes and his nephew Qiejin also asked for markets; an edict granted them at Hongshandun and Qingshuiying. When the market opened, Jining was also enfeoffed as vice regional commander. Before long Altan Khan asked for a gold-letter sutra and lamas; the throne granted both. Chonggu asked again for a jade seal; the throne granted a gold- and silver-plated seal instead. In his old age Altan Khan turned fervently to Buddhism and asked to build a temple south of the frontier; the throne granted it the name Yanghua. Altan Khan often kept to distant Qingshan. He had two sons: Bintu, who lived at Songshan directly north of Lanzhou, and Bingtu, who lived at the Western Sea directly west of Hezhou. Both pressed for horse markets and were often arrogant and unruly. Altan Khan rebuked them, and they gradually grew more tractable.
77
萬曆六年，成梁率游擊秦得倚等擊敵於東昌堡，斬部長九人，余級八百八十四，總督梁夢龍以聞。 帝大悅，祭告郊廟，御皇極門宣捷。
In Wanli year six, Chengliang led Brigadier Qin Deyi and others against the enemy at Dongchang Fort, beheading nine tribal leaders and eight hundred eighty-four others; Governor-General Liang Menglong reported the victory. The emperor was delighted, offered sacrifices at the suburban altars and ancestral temple, and announced the victory at the Gate of Imperial Supremacy.
78
七年冬，土蠻四萬騎入錦川營。 夢龍、成梁及總兵戚繼光等已預受大學士張居正方略，併力備御，敵始退。 自是敵數入，成梁等數敗之，輒斬其巨魁，又時襲擊於塞外，多所斬獲。 敵畏之，少戢，成梁遂以功封寧遠伯。
In the seventh year, winter, Tümen entered Jinchuan Camp with forty thousand horsemen. Menglong, Chengliang, and Commander Qi Jiguang had already received Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng's battle plan in advance; fighting together in prepared defense, they forced the enemy to withdraw. From then on the raiders came again and again; Chengliang and his colleagues defeated them repeatedly, often beheading their great chiefs, and also struck beyond the passes from time to time with heavy losses inflicted on the enemy. The raiders feared them and pulled back somewhat; for his merit Chengliang was enfeoffed as Earl of Ningyuan.
79
俺答既就市，事朝廷甚謹。 部下卒有掠奪邊氓者，必罰治之，且稽首謝罪，朝廷亦厚加賞賚。 十年春，俺答死，帝特賜祭七壇、綵緞十二表裡、布百匹，示優恤。 其妻哈屯率子黃台吉等，上表進馬謝，復賜幣布有差。 封黃台吉為順義王，改名乞慶哈。 立三歲而死，朝廷給恤典如例。
Once Altan Khan had entered the horse markets, he dealt with the court with scrupulous care. When his men looted border villagers, he punished them and kowtowed in apology to the court; the court, in turn, richly rewarded him. In the tenth year, spring, Altan Khan died; the emperor granted seven altars of sacrifice, twelve lengths of colored silk, lining and cover, and one hundred bolts of cloth as a mark of special favor. His wife Khatun led her son Huang Taiji and the others in submitting a memorial and presenting horses in thanks; the court again granted graded gifts of silk and cloth. Huang Taiji was enfeoffed as Prince of Shunyi and given the name Qiqingha. Three years after his succession he died; the court granted the usual condolence honors.
80
十五年春，子撦力克嗣。 其妻三娘子，故俺答所奪之外孫女而為婦者也，歷配三王，主兵柄，為中國守邊保塞，眾畏服之，乃敕封為忠順夫人，自宣大至甘肅不用兵者二十年。 及撦力克西行遠邊，而套部莊禿賴等據水塘，卜失兔、火落赤等據莽剌、捏工兩川，數犯甘、涼、洮、氓、西寧間。 他部落亡慮數十種，出沒塞下，順逆不常。 帝惡之，十九年詔並停撦力克市賞。 已而撦力克叩邊輸服，率眾東歸，獨莊禿賴、卜失兔等寇抄如故。 其年冬，別部明安、土昧分犯榆林邊，總兵杜桐御之，斬獲五百人，殺明安。
In the fifteenth year, spring, his son Chelik succeeded him. His wife, Third Lady, was the granddaughter Altan Khan had seized and taken for himself; married in turn to three khans, she held real military power, guarded the frontier for China, and was feared and obeyed by all. The throne enfeoffed her as Lady of Zhongshun, and for twenty years no armies were needed from Xuan-Datong to Gansu. When Chelik moved west to the distant frontier, the Ordos leader Zhuang Tulai and others seized Shuitang, while Bushitu, Huoluo Chi, and others held the Mangla and Nie'gong valleys, repeatedly raiding the country between Ganzhou, Liangzhou, Taozhou, Minzhou, and Xining. Dozens of other tribes, at least, lurked below the passes, raiding or submitting by turns with no fixed pattern. The emperor was disgusted; in the nineteenth year an edict cut off Chelik's horse markets and frontier rewards altogether. Before long Chelik came to the frontier to surrender, led his people back east, and only Zhuang Tulai, Bushitu, and the like continued to raid as before. That winter, Ming'an and Tumei of a separate division attacked the Yulin frontier on separate fronts. Regional Commander Du Tong met them in battle, killed and captured five hundred men, and slew Ming'an.
81
二十年，寧夏叛將哱拜等勾卜失兔、莊禿賴等，大舉入寇，總兵李如松擊敗之。 二十二年，延綏巡撫李春光奏：「套部納款已久，自明安被戮而寇恨深，西夏黨逆而貢市絕，延鎮連年多事。 今東西各部皆乞款，而卜失兔挾私叵測，邊長兵寡，制御為難。 宜察敵情，審時勢。 敵入犯則血戰，偶或小失，應寬吏議。 倘敵真心效順，相機議撫，不可忘戰備也。」 帝命兵部傳飭各邊。 秋，卜失兔入固原，游擊史見戰死。 延綏總兵麻貴御之，閱月始退。 全陝震動。 其年，東部炒花犯鎮武堡，總兵董一元與戰，大破之。 明年春，松部宰僧等犯陝西，總督葉夢熊督卻之。 秋，海部永邵卜犯西寧，總督三邊李旼檄參將達雲、游擊白澤暨馬其撒、卜爾加諸屬番，設伏邀擊，大敗之，斬六百八十三級。 捷聞，帝大悅，且以屬番效命，追敘前總制鄭雒功，賞賚並及雒。
In the twentieth year, the Ningxia rebel generals Baba and others joined with Bushitu, Zhuang Tulai, and others for a major raid. Regional Commander Li Rusong routed them. In the twenty-second year, Yansui Grand Coordinator Li Chunguang memorialized: "The Ordos tribes submitted long ago, but since Ming'an was killed their bitterness for raiding runs deep. With the Western Xia faction in rebellion and tribute markets cut off, the Yan region has been embroiled year after year. Now the eastern and western tribes are all asking to submit, but Bushitu's private motives are impossible to read. The frontier is long, our troops are few, and keeping control is hard. We should read the enemy's intentions and weigh the circumstances of the moment. When the enemy invades, fight without holding back; if commanders suffer a minor setback now and then, their cases should be judged leniently. If the enemy is genuinely willing to submit, we may entertain pacification when the moment is right—but we must never neglect war readiness." The emperor ordered the Ministry of War to relay these instructions to every frontier command. That autumn Bushitu entered Guyuan. Mobile Corps Commander Shi Jian was killed in battle. Yansui Regional Commander Ma Gui met him in battle, and Bushitu did not withdraw until a month had passed. All of Shaanxi was shaken. That year the eastern chieftain Chao Hua attacked Zhenwu Fort. Regional Commander Dong Yiyuan met him in battle and won a crushing victory. The following spring, Zaiseng and others of the Song division raided Shaanxi. Governor-general Ye Mengxiong directed the defense and drove them back. That autumn Yong Shaobu of the Hai tribe raided Xining. Three Frontiers Governor-general Li Min ordered Assistant Regional Commander Da Yun, Mobile Corps Commander Bai Ze, and the dependent tribes Maqisa, Bu'erjia, and others to lay an ambush. They crushed the raiders and took six hundred eighty-three heads. When news of the victory reached court, the emperor was delighted. Because the dependent tribes had fought loyally, he also credited the former frontier commander Zheng Luo retroactively and extended rewards to Luo himself.
82
二十四年春，總督李釐以勁兵分三道出塞，襲卜失兔營，共斬四百九級，獲馬畜器械數千。 火落赤部眾復窺伺洮州，釐遣參將周國柱等擊之於莽剌川腦，斬一百三十六級。 秋，著力兔、阿赤兔、火落赤等合謀犯西邊，炒花亦擁眾犯廣寧，守將皆嚴兵卻之。 二十五年秋，海部寇甘鎮，官軍擊走之。 冬，炒花糾土蠻諸部寇遼東，殺掠無算。 明年夏，復寇遼東，總兵李如松遠出搗巢，死之。 冬，釐等分道出襲火落赤等於松山，走之，復其地。
In the twenty-fourth year, spring, Governor-general Li Li led crack troops out in three columns beyond the passes, struck Bushitu's camp, took four hundred nine heads, and seized thousands of horses, livestock, and weapons. Huoluo Chi's followers again prowled around Taozhou. Li dispatched Assistant Regional Commander Zhou Guozhu and others to strike them at the headwaters of the Mangla River and took one hundred thirty-six heads. That autumn Zhuli Tu, Achitu, Huoluo Chi, and others joined forces to raid the west, while Chao Hua also led a large host against Guangning. The frontier garrisons met them with full force and drove them back. In the twenty-fifth year, autumn, the Hai tribes raided the Gansu frontier. Government troops beat them back. That winter Chao Hua rallied the Tuman tribes and others to raid Liaodong, killing and plundering without measure. The following summer they raided Liaodong again. Regional Commander Li Rusong led a deep strike against their camps and was killed. That winter Li and others attacked Huoluo Chi and his allies at Songshan in separate columns, drove them off, and recovered the ground.
83
二十七年詔復撦力克市賞。 時釐等築松山，諸部紛叛，延、寧守臣共擊之，殺獲甲首幾三千。 明年，著力兔、宰僧、莊禿賴等乞通款，不許。 邊臣王見賓等復為請，詔復套部貢市。
In the twenty-seventh year an edict restored Chelik's horse markets and frontier rewards. At that time Li and others were fortifying Songshan. The tribes broke into revolt one after another; the garrison commanders of Yan and Ning joined forces and killed or captured nearly three thousand armored leaders. The following year Zhuli Tu, Zaiseng, Zhuang Tulai, and others asked to submit, but the court refused. Frontier officials Wang Jianbin and others petitioned again on their behalf, and an edict restored tribute markets for the Ordos tribes.
84
三十一年，海部數入陝西塞，兵備副使李自實，總兵蕭如薰、達雲等擊走之。 三十三年夏，東部宰賽誘殺慶雲堡守禦熊鑰，詔革其市賞。
In the thirty-first year the Hai tribes repeatedly breached the Shaanxi frontier. Military Preparation Vice Commissioner Li Zishi and Regional Commanders Xiao Ruxun and Da Yun drove them back. In the thirty-third year, summer, the eastern chieftain Zaisai lured and killed Qingyun Fort defensive commander Xiong Yao. An edict cut off his horse markets and rewards.
85
三十五年夏，總督徐三畏言：「河套之部與河東之部不同。 東部事統於一，約誓定，歷三十年不變。 套部分四十二枝，各相雄長，卜失兔徒建空名於上。 西則火落赤最狡，要挾最無厭； 中則擺言太以父明安之死，無歲不犯； 東則沙計爭為監市，與炒花朋逞。 西陲搶攘非一日矣。 然眾雖號十萬，分為四十二枝，多者不過二三千騎，少者一二千騎耳。 宜分其勢，納其款，俾先順者獲賞，後至者拒剿。 仍須主戰以張國威。」 時已許宰賽及火落赤諸部復貢市矣。
In the thirty-fifth year, summer, Governor-general Xu Sanwei wrote: "The Ordos tribes and the tribes east of the river are not alike. The eastern tribes answer to a single authority; their covenants were fixed decades ago and have held for thirty years without change. The Ordos split into forty-two branches, each lord fighting the others for supremacy. Bushitu holds little more than an empty title over them. In the west Huoluo Chi is the most cunning, his demands and extortion the most insatiable; In the center Bai Yantai, nursing his father's death at Ming'an's hands, raids without fail year after year; In the east Shaji vies to control the tribute markets and runs wild alongside Chao Hua. The western frontier has been in turmoil for years. Yet though they claim a hundred thousand men, split into forty-two branches the largest bands field no more than two or three thousand riders, and the smallest only one or two thousand. We should divide their strength, accept their submissions, reward those who come first, and fight those who hold back. Even so, we must keep fighting readiness at the center of policy to uphold the empire's prestige." By then the court had already allowed Zaisai, Huoluo Chi, and their allies to reopen tribute markets.
86
未幾撦力剋死，未有嗣，忠順夫人率所部仍效貢職。 西部銀定、歹青數擁眾犯東西邊。 延綏部猛克什力亦以挾賞故，常沿邊抄掠。 卜失兔欲婚於忠順，忠順拒之。 其所部素囊台吉、五路台吉等，各不相下，封號久未定。 四十一年，卜失兔始婚於忠順，東、西諸部長皆具狀為請封。 忠順夫人旋卒，詔封卜失兔為順義王，而以把漢比吉素效恭順，封忠義夫人。 卜失兔為撦力克孫，襲封時，已少衰，所制止山、大二鎮外十二部。 其部長五路、素囊及兀慎台吉等，兵力皆與順義埒。 朝廷因宣大總督涂宗浚言，各予升賞如例。
Before long Chelik died without an heir. Lady of Zhongshun continued to lead her followers in paying tribute as before. In the west Yinding and Daiqing repeatedly led their followers in raids on both the eastern and western frontiers. Mengkeshili of the Yansui division also raided constantly along the frontier, using tribute demands as leverage. Bushitu sought a marriage alliance with Lady of Zhongshun; she refused. Sudai Taiji, Wulu Taiji, and other subordinate chiefs refused to yield to one another, and their court titles had long remained unsettled. In the forty-first year Bushitu finally married into Lady of Zhongshun's house. Chiefs from the eastern and western tribes all petitioned the court to enfeoff him. Lady of Zhongshun soon died. An edict enfeoffed Bushitu as Prince of Shunyi and, because Bahannibi had long served loyally, enfeoffed her as Lady of Zhongyi. Bushitu was Chelik's grandson. By the time he inherited his title his power had already waned; he controlled only the twelve tribes beyond the Shan and Da garrisons. Subordinate chiefs such as Wulu, Sudai, and Wushen Taiji commanded forces equal to the Prince of Shunyi's own. On the recommendation of Xuan-Datong Governor-general Tu Zongjun, the court granted each the usual promotions and rewards.
87
其年，炒花糾虎墩兔三犯遼東。 虎墩兔者，居插漢兒地，亦曰插漢兒王子，元裔也。 其祖打來孫始駐牧宣塞外，俺答方強，懼為所並，乃徙帳於遼，收福余雜部，數入掠薊西，四傳至虎墩兔，遂益盛。 明年夏，炒花復合宰賽、暖兔以三萬騎入掠，至平虜、大寧。 既求撫賞，許之。
That year Chao Hua joined with Hudun Tu to raid Liaodong three times. Hudun Tu lived in Chahar lands and was also known as the Chahar prince—a descendant of the Yuan house. His ancestor Dalai Sun first grazed his herds outside the Xuan frontier. Altan Khan was then at the height of his power, and fearing annexation he moved his tents to Liaodong, gathered the Fuyu and other mixed tribes, and repeatedly raided west of Ji. Four generations later Hudun Tu had grown stronger still. The following summer Chao Hua joined Zaisai and Nuan Tu in a raid thirty thousand strong, pushing as far as Pinglu and Daning. They then sought pacification payments—and got them.
88
四十二年，猛克什力寇懷遠及保寧。 延綏總兵官秉忠等破之。 斬二百二十一級。 明年，插部數犯遼東。 已，掠義州，攻陷大安堡，兵民死者甚眾。
In the forty-second year Mengkeshili raided Huaiyuan and Baoning. Yansui Regional Commander Guan Bingzhong and others routed him. Two hundred twenty-one heads were taken. The following year the Chahar division raided Liaodong repeatedly. Before long they sacked Yizhou, overran Da'an Fort, and killed a great many soldiers and civilians.
89
四十四年，總兵杜文煥數破套部猛克什力等於延綏邊，火落赤、擺言太及吉能、切盡、歹青、沙計東西諸部皆懼，先後來請貢市。
In the forty-fourth year Regional Commander Du Wenhuan repeatedly defeated Mengkeshili and other Ordos leaders on the Yansui frontier. Huoluo Chi, Bai Yantai, Jining, Qiejin, Daiqing, Shaji, and chiefs from east and west alike grew afraid and petitioned one after another to reopen tribute markets.
90
四十六年，我大清兵起，略撫順及開原，插部乘隙擁眾挾賞。 西部阿暈妻滿旦亦以萬騎自石塘路入掠薊鎮白馬關及高家、馮家諸堡。 游擊硃萬良御之，被圍。 羽書日數十至，中外戒嚴。 頃之，滿旦亦叩關乞通貢。
In the forty-sixth year the armies of our Great Qing rose up, overrunning Fushun and Kaiyuan. The Chahar tribe seized the moment to gather a host and demand frontier payments. In the west Ayun's wife Mandan also led ten thousand riders through the Shitang road to raid Baima Pass in the Ji region and the forts of Gaojia, Fengjia, and others. Mobile Corps Commander Zhu Wanliang met them in battle and was surrounded. Urgent dispatches arrived by the dozen each day, and the court and provinces went on full alert. Before long Mandan also came to the passes seeking to reopen tribute relations.
91
四十七年，大清兵滅宰賽及北關金台什、布羊古等。 金台什孫女為虎墩兔婦，於是薊遼總督文球、巡撫周永春等以利啖之，俾聯結炒花諸部，以捍大清兵，給白金四千。 明年，為泰昌元年，加賞至四萬。 虎乃揚言助中國，邀索無厭。
In the forty-seventh year Qing forces destroyed Zaisai and the northern pass chiefs Jintai Shi, Buyanggu, and others. Jintai Shi's granddaughter was married to Hudun Tu. Ji-Liao Governor-general Wen Qiu, Grand Coordinator Zhou Yongchun, and others therefore bought him off, had him join with Chao Hua and other tribes to resist the Qing armies, and paid him four thousand taels of silver. The following year—the first year of the Taichang reign—additional payments were raised to forty thousand taels. Hudun Tu then declared he would aid China—and his demands knew no limit.
92
天啟元年秋，吉能犯延綏邊，榆林總兵杜文煥擊敗之。 明年春，復大掠延安黃花峪，深入六百里，殺掠居民數萬。 三年春，銀定糾眾再掠西邊，官軍擊敗之。 明年春，復謀入故巢，犯松山，為守臣馮任等所敗。 夏，遂糾海西古六台吉等犯甘肅，總兵董繼舒擊之，斬三百餘級。 其年，歹青以領賞嘩於邊，邊人格殺之。 歹青，虎墩兔近屬也，邊臣議歲給償命銀一萬三千有奇，而虎怏怏，益思飏去。 未幾，大清兵襲破炒花，所部皆散亡，半歸於插漢。 時卜失兔益衰，號令不行於諸部，部長干兒罵等歲數犯延綏諸邊。 七慶台吉及敖目比吉、毛乞炭比吉等，亦各擁眾往來窺伺塞下。
In the first year of Tianqi, autumn, Jining raided the Yansui frontier. Yulin Regional Commander Du Wenhuan routed him. The following spring he launched a major raid on Huanghuayu in Yan'an, penetrating six hundred li deep and killing or carrying off tens of thousands of civilians. In the third year, spring, Yinding rallied his followers for another raid on the western frontier. Government troops defeated him. The following spring he tried to return to his old base and attacked Songshan, but frontier commander Feng Ren and others defeated him. That summer he joined Haixi chieftain Guliu Taiji and others in a raid on Gansu. Regional Commander Dong Jishu met them in battle and took more than three hundred heads. That year Daiqing caused a riot at the frontier over his reward payment, and local border troops killed him. Daiqing was a close kinsman of Hudun Tu. Frontier officials proposed paying slightly more than thirteen thousand taels a year in blood-money compensation, but Hudun Tu was aggrieved and more inclined than ever to break away. Before long Qing forces struck and shattered Chao Hua. His followers scattered, and half of them went over to Chahar. By then Bushitu's power had waned further still; his orders no longer carried among the tribes, and chiefs such as Gan'erma raided the Yansui frontier year after year. Qiqing Taiji, Aomu Biji, Maoqitan Biji, and others also led their bands back and forth, prowling below the passes.
93
崇禎元年，虎墩兔攻哈喇嗔及白言台吉、卜失兔諸部，皆破之，遂乘勝入犯宣大塞。 秋，帝御平台，召總督王象乾，詢以方略，象乾對言：「御插之道，宜令其自相攻。 今卜失兔西走套內，白台吉挺身免，而哈喇嗔所部多被擄，不足用。 永邵卜最強，約三十萬人，合卜失兔所部並聯絡朵顏三十六家及哈喇嗔餘眾，可以御插漢。 然與其構之，水如撫而用之。」 帝曰：「插漢意不受撫，奈何？」 對曰：「當從容籠絡。」 帝曰：「如不款何？」 象乾復密奏，帝善之，命往與督師袁崇煥共計。 象乾至邊，與崇煥議合，皆言西靖而東自寧，虎不款，而東西並急，因定歲予插金八萬一千兩，以示羈縻。 大同巡撫張宗衡上言：「插來宣大，駐新城，去大同僅二百里，三閱月未敢近前，飢餓窮乏，插與我等耳。 插恃撫金為命，兩年不得，資用已竭，食盡馬乏，暴骨成莽。 插之望款不啻望歲，而我遺之金繒、牛羊、茶果、米谷無算，是我適中其欲也。 插炰烋悖慢，耳目不忍睹聞，方急款尚如是。 使插士馬豐飽，其憑陵狂逞，可勝道哉。」 象乾言：「款局垂成而復棼之，既示插以不信，亦非所以為國謀。」 疏入，帝是象乾議，詔宗衡毋得異同。
In the first year of Chongzhen Hudun Tu attacked Haracina, Baitai Taiji, Bushitu, and their allies, defeating them all. He then pressed his advantage and breached the Xuan-Datong frontier. That autumn the emperor held court on the terrace platform, summoned Governor-general Wang Xiangqian, and asked his strategy. Xiangqian answered: "The way to counter the Chahar is to set them against one another. Bushitu has already fled west into the Ordos. Baitai Taiji alone escaped with his life, while most of Haracina's followers have been captured and are of little use. Yong Shaobu is the strongest, with some three hundred thousand men. Together with Bushitu's followers, the thirty-six Doyan clans, and Haracina's remaining bands, he could hold Chahar in check. But rather than pit them against each other, it would be better to pacify them and put them to use." The emperor said: "The Chahar clearly has no mind to accept pacification. What then?" He answered: "We must win them over patiently." The emperor said: "And if they refuse to submit?" Xiangqian submitted a secret memorial. The emperor approved and ordered him to go discuss the matter jointly with supreme commander Yuan Chonghuan. When Xiangqian reached the frontier he and Chonghuan agreed on a plan: secure the west and the east would settle of its own accord; if Hudun Tu refused to submit, both fronts would be strained at once. They therefore settled on paying the Chahar eighty-one thousand taels of silver annually as a tethering payment. Datong Grand Coordinator Zhang Zongheng wrote: "The Chahar have come to Xuan-Datong and camp at New Town, barely two hundred li from Datong. Three months have passed and they still dare not advance. Starving and destitute, they are no better off than we are. The Chahar live on pacification payments. They have gone two years without receiving them; their supplies are gone, their food exhausted and horses spent, and bleached bones litter the wild. The Chahar long for submission no less than farmers long for harvest—and we shower them with silks, cattle, sheep, tea, fruit, and grain without measure. We are giving them exactly what they want. The Chahar are arrogant and insolent beyond what eyes can watch or ears can hear—and even while begging to submit they behave like this. If the Chahar's warriors and horses were well fed, how wild their depredations would be—words can scarcely describe it." Xiangqian argued: "The submission talks were nearly settled—to unravel them now would show the Chahar we cannot be trusted, and it is no way to serve the state." When the memorial reached court, the emperor sided with Xiangqian and ordered Zongheng not to dissent.
94
明年秋，虎復擁眾至延綏紅水灘，乞增賞未遂，即縱掠塞外，總兵吳自勉御卻之。 既而東附大清兵攻龍門。 未幾，為大清兵所擊。 六年夏，插漢聞大清兵至，盡驅部眾渡河遠遁。 是時，韃靼諸部先後歸附於大清。 明年，大清兵遂大會諸部於兀蘇河南岡，頒軍律焉。 而虎已卒，乃追至上都城，盡俘插漢妻孥部眾。
The following autumn Hudun Tu gathered a host at Hongshui Beach in Yansui, demanded additional payments without success, and immediately turned to raiding beyond the passes. Regional Commander Wu Zimian drove him back. Before long he went over to the Qing and joined their attack on Longmen. Before long he was defeated by Qing forces. In the summer of the sixth year, hearing that Qing armies were coming, the Chahar drove all their people across the river and fled. By then the Tartar tribes were submitting to the Qing one after another. The following year the Qing army assembled the tribes on the south bank of the Usun River and issued military regulations. Ligdan was already dead; the Qing pursued to Shangdu and took all the Chahar women, children, and followers captive.
95
其後，套部歲入寧夏、甘、涼境，巡撫陳奇瑜、總兵馬世龍、督師洪承疇等輒擊敗之。 套部乾兒罵，亦為總兵尤世祿所斬。 迄明世，邊陲無寧，致中原盜賊蜂起。 當事者狃與俺答等貢市之便，見插之恣於東也，謂歲捐金錢數十萬，冀苟安旦夕，且覬收之為用，而卒不得。 迨其後也，明未亡而插先斃，諸部皆折入於大清。 國計愈困，邊事愈棘，朝議愈紛，明亦遂不可為矣。
Afterward the Ordos tribes raided Ningxia, Ganzhou, and Liangzhou yearly; Chen Qiyu, Ma Shilong, Hong Chengchou, and others repeatedly defeated them. The Ordos leader Gendenma was also killed by Regional Commander You Shilu. Throughout the Ming the frontier never knew peace, and banditry swarmed across the central plains. Officials clung to the ease of tribute markets with Altan and others; seeing the Chahar run riot in the east, they paid out hundreds of thousands yearly hoping for a night’s peace and dreaming of turning them to Ming use—but never could. In the end, before the Ming fell the Chahar were destroyed first and all the tribes submitted to the Qing. State finances grew strained, frontier affairs desperate, and court debate chaotic—and the Ming became beyond saving.
96
韃靼地，東至兀良哈，西至瓦剌。 當洪、永、宣世，國家全盛，頗受戎索，然畔服亦靡常。 正統後，邊備廢弛，聲靈不振。 諸部長多以雄傑之姿，恃其暴強，迭出與中夏抗。 邊境之禍，遂與明終始雲。
Tartar lands stretched east to the Uriyangqad and west to the Oirats. In the Hongwu, Yongle, and Xuande reigns the empire was at its height and largely held the nomads in check, yet loyalty and rebellion never held steady. After Zhengtong frontier defenses collapsed and imperial prestige waned. Tribal chiefs, often men of heroic stature, relied on brute force and rose in turn to challenge the Central Realm. Frontier disaster thus ran from the Ming’s beginning to its end.