1
西番諸衛 〈（西寧河州洮州岷州等番族諸衛）〉
The Western Tibetan Guard Units (Guard units of the Tibetan peoples of Xining, Hezhou, Taozhou, Minzhou, and the like)〉
2
西番，即西羌，族種最多，自陝西曆四川、雲南西徼外皆是。 其散處河、湟、洮、岷間者，為中國患尤劇。 漢趙充國、張奐、段熲，唐哥舒翰，宋王韶之所經營，皆此地也。 元封駙馬章古為寧濮郡王，鎮西寧，於河州設吐番宣慰司，以洮、岷、黎、雅諸州隸之，統治番眾。
The Western Tibetans were the Western Qiang peoples, the most diverse of all the frontier tribes, ranging beyond the western marches from Shaanxi through Sichuan and into Yunnan. Those settled among the He, Huangshui, Tao, and Min river valleys were an especially severe plague upon the empire. This was the very country where Han generals Zhao Chongguo, Zhang Huan, and Duan Jiong, Tang's Geshu Han, and Song's Wang Shao had all sought to bring the frontier to heel. In Yuan times the imperial son-in-law Zhanggu was made Prince of Ningpu and posted at Xining; a Tibetan Pacification Commission was set up at Hezhou, governing Taozhou, Minzhou, Li, Ya, and the rest, and holding authority over the Tibetan populations.
3
洪武二年，太祖定陝西，即遣官齎詔招諭，其酋長皆觀望。 復遣員外郎許允德招之，乃多聽命。 明年五月，吐蕃宣慰使何鎖南普等以元所授金銀牌印宣敕來上，會鄧愈克河州，遂詣軍前降。 其鎮西武靖王卜納剌亦以吐蕃諸部來納款。 冬，何鎖南普等入朝貢馬及方物。 帝喜，賜襲衣。 四年正月設河州衛，命為指揮同知，予世襲，知院朵兒只、汪家奴併為指揮僉事。 設千戶所八，百戶所七，皆命其酋長為之。 卜納剌等亦至京師，為靖南衛指揮同知，其儕桑加朵兒只為高昌衛指揮同知，皆帶刀侍衛。 自是，番酋日至。 尋以降人馬梅、汪瓦兒併為河州衛指揮僉事。 又遣西寧州同知李喃哥等招撫其酋長，至者亦悉授官。 乃改西寧州為衛，以喃哥為指揮。
In Hongwu year 2, as the Hongwu Emperor consolidated Shaanxi, he at once dispatched officials with edicts of summons and reassurance—but the tribal chiefs mostly waited to see which way the wind would blow. When he sent Xu Yunde, an outer-court secretary, to win them over, most at last submitted. The next year, in the fifth month, Hesuo Nanpu, Tibetan Pacification Commissioner, and his colleagues brought forward the Yuan-issue gold and silver tallies, seals, and commissions; learning that Deng Yu had taken Hezhou, they went straight to his camp to yield. Bonala, the Yuan Prince of Wujing in the West, likewise brought the Tibetan tribes in to pledge submission. That winter Hesuo Nanpu and his party arrived at court with horses and regional goods as tribute. The emperor was delighted and granted them robes of office. In the first month of year 4 the Hezhou Guard was founded; Hesuo Nanpu was made assistant commander with a hereditary commission, while Duorzhi and Wangjianu of the Pacification Office were appointed assistant commandants alongside him. Eight battalion posts and seven company posts were set up, each headed by a local chief. Bonala and his fellows likewise came to the capital: Bonala was named assistant commander of the Jingnan Guard, and Sangjiaduorzhi assistant commander of the Gaochang Guard; both were enrolled among the emperor's sword-bearing bodyguard. After that, Tibetan chiefs came in day after day. Before long the defectors Ma Mei and Wangwa'er were also appointed assistant commandants of the Hezhou Guard. The court also sent Li Nange, vice magistrate of Xining, and others to pacify the chiefs; every chief who responded was given a post. Xining Prefecture was thereupon converted into a guard, and Nange made its commander.
4
帝以西番產馬，與之互市，馬至漸多。 而其所用之貨與中國異，自更鈔法後，馬至者少，患之。 八年五月命中官趙成齎羅綺、綾絹並巴茶往河州市之，馬稍集，率厚其值以償。 成又宣諭德意，番人感悅，相率詣闕謝恩。 山後歸德等州西番諸部落皆以馬來市。
Since the Western Tibetans bred horses, the emperor opened horse markets with them, and mounts soon began to arrive in greater numbers. The goods they accepted in trade, however, were not the same as China's currency; after the paper-money reforms, fewer horses arrived, and the court grew anxious. In the fifth month of year 8 the eunuch Zhao Cheng was sent to Hezhou with brocades, damasks, silks, and Ba tea to buy horses; the animals began to come in again, and the court usually paid them handsomely. Zhao Cheng also proclaimed the emperor's benevolent intentions; the Tibetans were deeply moved and came in groups to the capital to express their gratitude. Western Tibetan tribes from Guidu and other prefectures beyond the mountains likewise brought horses to trade.
5
十二年，洮州十八族番酋三副使等叛，據納麟七站之地。 命征西將軍沐英等討之，又命李文忠往籌軍事。 英等至洮州舊城，寇遁去，追斬其魁數人，盡獲畜產。 遂於東籠山南川度地築城置戍，遣使來奏。 帝報曰：「洮州，西番門戶，築城戍守，扼其咽喉。」 遂置洮州衛，以指揮聶緯、陳暉等六人守之。 已，文忠等言官軍守洮州，餉艱民勞。 帝降敕諭之曰：「洮州西控番戎，東蔽湟、隴，漢、唐以來備邊要地。 今番寇既斥，棄之不守，數年後番人將復為患。 慮小費而忘大虞，豈良策哉。 所獲牛羊，分給將士，亦足棄兩年軍食。 其如敕行之。」 文忠等乃不敢違。
In year 12 Sanfushi, a chief of Taozhou's Eighteen Clans, and others rose in revolt and occupied the seven relay stations at Nalin. Mu Ying, general of the western expedition, was ordered to suppress them, and Li Wenzhong was sent to oversee the campaign. Mu Ying reached the old Taozhou town; the rebels fled, several ringleaders were run down and killed, and all their herds were taken. They then chose a site in the southern valley below Donglong Mountain, built a fortified town, posted garrisons, and sent a memorial to court. The emperor answered: "Taozhou is the gateway to the Western Tibetans. To fortify it and hold garrisons there is to seize them by the throat." The Taozhou Guard was accordingly established, with Nie Wei, Chen Hui, and four other commanders placed in charge. Later Li Wenzhong and his colleagues reported that holding Taozhou strained supply lines and burdened the local population. The emperor sent down an edict: "Taozhou commands the Tibetan frontier to the west and shields Huang and Long to the east. Since Han and Tang times it has been a key border strongpoint. The rebels have only just been driven out. If you abandon the post now, within a few years the Tibetans will be raiding again. To stint on small costs while forgetting a far greater danger—is that wise policy? Divide the cattle and sheep you captured among the troops, and they alone will cover two years of rations. Carry out my orders accordingly." Li Wenzhong and his colleagues dared not gainsay him.
6
秋，何鎖南普及鎮撫劉溫各攜家屬來朝。 諭中書省臣曰：「何鎖南普自歸附以來，信義甚堅。 前遣使烏斯藏，遠涉萬里，及歸，所言皆稱朕意。 今以家屬來朝，宜加禮待。」 乃賜米、麥各三十石，劉溫三之一。
That autumn Hesuo Nanpu and the pacification commissioner Liu Wen each arrived at court with their families in tow. He told the Secretariat: "Since Hesuo Nanpu submitted, his loyalty has been unwavering. When I sent him as envoy to U-Tsang, he crossed ten thousand li; on his return, everything he reported pleased me. Now that he has brought his household to court, treat him with special honor." He granted thirty piculs each of rice and wheat; Liu Wen received a third of that amount.
7
英等進擊番寇，大破之，盡擒其魁，俘斬數萬人，獲馬牛羊數十萬。 自是，群番震懾，不敢為寇。
Mu Ying pressed the attack and shattered the Tibetan forces, capturing every leader, killing or taking tens of thousands, and seizing hundreds of thousands of horses, cattle, and sheep. After that the tribes were cowed and dared not raid again.
8
十六年，青海酋長史剌巴等七人來歸，賜文綺、寶鈔。 時岷州亦設衛，番人歲以馬易茶，馬日蕃息。 二十五年又命中官而聶至河州，召必里諸番族，以敕諭之。 爭出馬以獻，得萬三百餘匹，給茶三十餘萬觔。 命以馬畀河南、山東、陝西騎士。 帝以諸衛將士有擅索番人馬者，遣官齎金、銅信符敕諭，往賜涼州、甘州、肅州、永昌、山丹、臨洮、鞏昌、西寧、洮州、河州、岷州諸番族。 諭之曰：「往者朝廷有所需，必酬以茶貨，未許私徵。 近聞邊將無狀，多假朝命擾害，俾爾等不獲寧居。 今特製金、銅信符頒給，遇有徵發，必比對相符始行，否則偽，械至京，罪之。」 自是，需求遂絕。
In year 16 Silaba of Qinghai and six other chiefs submitted; the court rewarded them with brocades and treasure notes. A guard was also set up at Minzhou; each year the Tibetans traded horses for tea, and the herds steadily grew. In year 25 the eunuch Ernie was again sent to Hezhou to summon the Bili tribes and proclaim the imperial edict. They competed to offer horses; over 10,300 were collected, and more than 300,000 jin of tea was paid in return. The court ordered the horses distributed to the mounted forces of Henan, Shandong, and Shaanxi. Learning that guard troops had been seizing Tibetan horses on their own authority, the emperor sent officials with gold and bronze tally tokens and edicts to the Tibetan peoples of Liangzhou, Ganzhou, Suzhou, Yongchang, Shandan, Lintao, Gongchang, Xining, Taozhou, Hezhou, and Minzhou. He told them: "Whenever the court has needed anything in the past, it has always paid in tea and goods. Private exactions were forbidden. Lately I hear frontier officers have abused their power, using the court's name to harass you so that you cannot live in peace. I have had gold and bronze tally tokens made and distributed. No requisition may proceed unless the tallies match. If they do not, the demand is false; bring the offender to the capital in bonds and punish him." After that, unauthorized levies stopped.
9
初，西寧番僧三剌為書招降罕東諸部，又建佛剎於碾白南川，以居其眾，至是來朝貢馬，請敕護持，賜寺額。 帝從所請，賜額曰瞿曇寺。 立西寧僧綱司，以三剌為都綱司。 又立河州番、漢二僧綱司，並以番僧為之，紀以符契。 自是其徒爭建寺，帝輒錫以嘉名，且賜敕護持。 番僧來者日眾。
Earlier the Xining monk Sanla had written to win over the Handong tribes and built a monastery in the southern valley at Nianbai to house his followers. Now he came to court with horses, asked for an imperial protective edict, and received an official temple name. The emperor granted his request and named the temple Qutan Monastery. A monastic registry was established at Xining, with Sanla as chief registrar. Separate Tibetan and Han monastic registries were also set up at Hezhou, both headed by Tibetan monks and recorded by written commissions. After that his followers competed to build temples, and the emperor would grant them fine names and protective edicts. Tibetan monks arriving at court grew more numerous by the day.
10
永樂時，諸衛僧戒行精勤者，多授剌麻、禪師、灌頂國師之號，有加至大國師、西天佛子者，悉給以印誥，許之世襲，且令歲一朝貢，由是諸僧及諸衛士官輻輳京師。 其他族種，如西寧十三族、岷州十八族、洮州十八族之屬，大者數千人，少者數百，亦許歲一奉貢，優以宴賚。 西番之勢益分，其力益弱，西陲之患亦益寡。
Under Yongle, diligent monks of the guard units were often made lamas, chan masters, or initiation state preceptors; some rose to great state preceptor or Buddha-son of the Western Heaven. All received seals and patents, hereditary tenure, and an annual tribute mission—so monks and guard officers thronged the capital. Other tribal groups—the Thirteen Clans of Xining, the Eighteen of Minzhou, the Eighteen of Taozhou, and the like, some numbering thousands and others only hundreds—were likewise allowed one tribute visit a year and entertained with generous feasts and gifts. Western Tibetan power grew ever more fragmented and their strength ever weaker, while troubles on the western frontier steadily diminished.
11
宣德元年，以協討安定、曲先功，加國師吒思巴領占等五人為大國師，給誥命、銀印，秩正四品，加剌麻著星等六人為禪師，給敕命、銀印，秩正六品。
In Xuande 1, for helping suppress Anding and Quxian, five men including state preceptor Tashiba Lingzhan were raised to great state preceptor with patents and silver seals at rank 4a, and six lamas including Zhuxing were made chan masters with edict patents and silver seals at rank 6a.
12
正統五年敕陝西鎮守都督鄭銘、都御史陳鎰曰：「得奏，言河州番民領占等先因避罪，逃居結河裡，招集徒黨，占耕土田，不注籍納賦，又藏匿逃亡，剽劫行旅，欲發兵討之。 朕念番性頑梗，且所犯在赦前，若遽加師旅，恐累及無辜。 宜使人撫諭，令散遣徒黨，還所掠牛羊，兵即勿進，否則加兵未晚。 爾等其審之。」 番人果輸服。 七年再敕銘及都御史王翱等曰：「得鎮守河州都指揮劉永奏：往歲阿爾官等六族三千餘人，列營歸德城下，聲言交易，後乃鈔掠屯軍，大肆焚戮； 而著亦匝族番人屢於暖泉亭諸處，潛為寇盜。 指揮張瑀擒獲二人，止責償所盜馬，縱之使去。 論法，瑀及永皆當究治，今姑令戴罪。 爾等即遣官偕三司堂上親詣其寨，曉以利害，令還歸所掠，許其自新，不悛，則進討。 蓋馭戎之道，撫綏為先，撫之不從，然後用兵。 爾等宜體此意。」 番人亦輸服。
In Zhengtong year 5 the emperor ordered Shaanxi garrison commander Zheng Ming and censor-in-chief Chen Yi: "Your memorial reports that the Hezhou Tibetan Lingzhan and others fled to escape punishment, settled at Jieheli, gathered followers, seized farmland without registering or paying taxes, harbored fugitives, and robbed travelers. You propose to send troops against them. I bear in mind that Tibetans are a stubborn people, and their crimes fell before the general amnesty. If we march at once, innocents may suffer with the guilty. Send envoys to reassure them: disperse your followers and return what you stole. Hold the army back for now; if they refuse, you may still send troops later. Consider this carefully." The Tibetans duly submitted. In year 7 the emperor again ordered Zheng Ming and censor-in-chief Wang Ao: "Commander Liu Yong of the Hezhou garrison reports that last year more than three thousand men of the six Aerguan clans camped below Guide, claiming to trade, then raided the garrison troops and burned and killed on a wide scale; while Tibetans of the Zhuoyiza clan have repeatedly raided around Nuanchuan Pavilion and elsewhere. Commander Zhang Yu seized two of them but merely made them repay the stolen horses and let them go. By law both Zhang Yu and Liu Yong should be prosecuted; for now they are allowed to continue in office while under censure. Send officials with the heads of the provincial commissions in person to their camps. Explain the stakes, demand the return of plunder, and offer them a chance to reform. If they refuse, then attack. The way to manage frontier peoples is to win them over first; only when persuasion fails should you resort to force. Keep this principle in mind." The Tibetans again submitted.
13
成化三年，陝西副使鄭安言：「進貢番僧，自烏斯藏來者不過三之一，餘皆洮、岷寺僧詭名冒貢。 進一羸馬，輒獲厚直，得所賜幣帛，制為戰袍，以拒官軍。 本以羈縻之，而益致寇掠，是虛國帑而齎盜糧也。」 章下禮部，會廷臣議，請行陝西文武諸臣，計定貢期、人數及存留、起送之額以聞，報可。 已而奏上，諸自烏斯藏來者皆由四川入，不得徑赴洮、岷，遂著為例。 明年冬，洮州番寇擁眾掠鐵城、後川二寨，指揮張翰等率兵御之，敗去，獲所掠人口以歸。
In Chenghua year 3 Shaanxi vice commissioner Zheng An reported: "Of the Tibetan monks who come to present tribute, fewer than a third are actually from U-Tsang; the rest are monks from Taozhou and Minzhou temples who falsely claim titles to present tribute. They present one scrawny horse and receive lavish payment, then turn the silks they are given into battle robes to fight government troops. The policy was meant to keep them in check, yet it only encourages raiding. We are emptying the treasury to feed our enemies." The memorial went to the Ministry of Rites. After consultation, the court ordered Shaanxi officials to set tribute schedules, quotas, and rules for who might remain or be escorted to the capital, then report back. The emperor approved. When the report came in, all envoys from U-Tsang were required to enter through Sichuan and forbidden to go directly to Taozhou or Minzhou. This became fixed precedent. The following winter Taozhou Tibetans raided the stockades at Tiecheng and Houchuan. Commander Zhang Han drove them off and recovered the captives.
14
五年，巡按江孟綸言：「岷州番寇縱橫，村堡為虛。 頃令指揮後泰與其弟通反覆開示，生番忍藏、占藏等三十餘族酋長百六十餘人，熟番栗林等二十四族酋長九十一人，轉相告語，悔過來歸，且還被掠人畜，願供徭賦。 殺牛告天，誓不再犯。 已令副使李圮從宜賞勞，宣示朝廷恩威，皆歡躍而去。 惟熟番綠園一族怙惡不服。」 兵部言：「番性無常，朝撫夕叛，未可弛備。 請諭邊臣，向化者加意撫綏，犯順者克期剿滅。」 帝納其言。
In year 5 touring censor Jiang Menglun reported: "Tibetan raiders roam Minzhou at will, and villages and stockades stand deserted. Commander Houtai and his brother Tong were sent repeatedly to reason with them. More than 160 chiefs of over thirty raw-Tibetan clans and ninety-one chiefs of twenty-four settled clans persuaded one another to repent, return plundered people and livestock, submit, and pay taxes and corvée. They sacrificed cattle before Heaven and swore never to offend again. Vice commissioner Li Pi was sent to reward them as he saw fit and proclaim the court's grace and authority. They departed rejoicing. Only the settled Lüyuan clan, stubborn in their wickedness, refused to submit." The Ministry of War replied: "Tibetans are fickle by nature—pacified in the morning and in revolt by evening. We must not lower our guard. Tell the frontier officials to treat those who submit with special care, and to destroy rebels on a fixed schedule." The emperor accepted the recommendation.
15
八年，禮官言：「洮、岷諸衛送各族番人赴京，多至四千二百餘人，應賞彩幣人二表裡，帛如之，鈔二十九萬八千有奇，馬直尚在其外。 考正統、天順間，各番貢使不過三五百人。 成化初，因洮、岷諸處濫以熟番作生番冒送，已定例，生番三年一貢，大族四五人，小族一二人赴京，餘悉遣還。 成化六年，副使鄧本瑞妄自招徠，又復冒送，臣部已重申約束。 今副使吳圮等不能嚴飭武備，專事通番，以紓近患。 乞降敕切責，務遵前令。」 帝亦如其言。
In year 8 the ritual officials reported: "The Taozhou and Minzhou guards sent more than 4,200 Tibetans of various tribes to the capital. Rewards would require two suits of patterned silks per person, equivalent cloth, and more than 298,000 in paper money—not counting the price paid for horses. Under Zhengtong and Tianshun, tribute missions from the various tribes had numbered no more than three to five hundred. Early in Chenghua, because Taozhou and Minzhou had been sending settled Tibetans disguised as raw tribesmen, regulations were fixed: raw Tibetans were to tribute once every three years, with large clans sending four or five envoys and small clans one or two, and all others sent home. In Chenghua year 6 vice commissioner Deng Benrui recruited envoys on his own authority and again sent fraudulent missions. Our ministry has already restated the rules. Now vice commissioners Wu Pi and others neglect military readiness and devote themselves to appeasing Tibetans merely to ease immediate troubles. We ask that an edict be sent down to rebuke them sharply and compel them to obey the earlier regulations." The emperor agreed.
16
西寧即古湟中，其西四百里有青海，又曰西海，不草豐美。 番人環居之，專務畜牧，日益繁滋，素號樂土。 正德四年，蒙古部酋亦不刺、阿爾禿廝獲罪其主，擁眾西奔。 瞰知青海饒富，襲而據之，大肆焚掠。 番人失其地，多遠徙。 其留者不能自存，反為所役屬。 自是甘肅、西寧始有海寇之患。 九年，總制彭澤集諸道軍，將搗其巢。 寇詗知之，由河州渡黃河，奔四川，出松潘、茂州境，直走烏斯藏。 及大軍引還，則仍返海上，惟阿爾禿廝遁去。
Xining is ancient Huangzhong. Four hundred li west lies Qinghai—the Western Sea—where the pastures are rich and green. Tibetans settled all around it, living solely by herding; their numbers grew steadily, and the region had long been known as a happy land. In Zhengde year 4, the Mongol chiefs Yibulai and Aertusi fell out with their master and fled west with their followers. Learning how rich Qinghai was, they attacked, seized the region, and burned and looted without restraint. The Tibetans lost their homeland, and many moved far away. Those who stayed behind could not survive on their own and instead fell under their domination. From then on Gansu and Xining first suffered from the Sea Bandits. In year 9 supreme commander Peng Ze gathered troops from all circuits and prepared to destroy their base. The raiders learned of the plan through scouts, crossed the Yellow River at Hezhou, fled into Sichuan, passed through Songpan and Maozhou, and headed straight for U-Tsang. When the main army withdrew, they returned to the Sea region; only Aertusi got away.
17
嘉靖二年，尚書金獻民西征，議遣官招撫，許為籓臣，如先朝設安定、曲先諸衛故事。 兵部行總制楊一清計度，一清意在征討，言寇精騎不過二三千，餘皆脅從番人，然怨之入骨，時欲報仇，可用為間諜，大舉剿絕。 議末定，王憲、王瓊相繼來代，皆以兵寡餉詘，議竟不行。
In Jiajing year 2, minister Jin Xianmin marched west and proposed sending officials to pacify the raiders and accept them as vassals, following the earlier precedent of establishing the Anding, Quxian, and other guard units. The Ministry of War sent supreme commander Yang Yiqing to assess the situation. Yang favored a punitive campaign: the raiders' crack cavalry numbered no more than two or three thousand; the rest were Tibetans forced to follow. Those Tibetans hated the Mongols to the bone and constantly sought revenge—they could serve as spies, and a major strike could wipe the bandits out. Before the plan was settled, Wang Xian and Wang Qiong succeeded one another in the post; both cited too few troops and depleted supplies, and the proposal was never carried out.
18
八年，洮、岷諸番數犯臨洮、鞏昌，內地騷動。 樞臣李承勛言：「番為海寇所侵，日益內徙。 倘二寇交通，何以善後。 昔趙充國不戰而服羌，段穎殺羌百萬而內地虛耗，兩者相去遠矣。 乞廣先帝之明，專充國之任，制置方略，悉聽瓊便宜從事。」 瓊乃集眾議，且剿且撫。 先遣總兵官劉文、游擊彭椷分佈士馬。 明年二月自固原進至洮、岷，遣人開示禍福。 洮州東路木舍等三十一族，西路答祿失等十三族，岷州西寧溝等十五族，皆聽撫，給白旂犒賜遣歸。 惟岷州東路若籠族、西路板爾等十五族及岷州剌即等五族，恃險不服。 乃分兵先攻若籠、板爾二族，覆其巢，剌即諸族震慴乞降。 凡斬首三百六十餘級，撫定七十餘族，乃班師。 自是，洮、岷獲寧，而西寧仍苦寇患。
In year 8 the Tibetans of Taozhou and Minzhou repeatedly attacked Lintao and Gongchang, throwing the interior into turmoil. Grand secretary Li Chengxun said: "The Tibetans, harried by the Sea Bandits, are drifting inward day by day. If the two raiding forces join forces, how are we to manage the aftermath? In antiquity Zhao Chongguo subdued the Qiang without fighting, while Duan Jiong killed a million Qiang and drained the interior—the two approaches are worlds apart. We ask that Your Majesty extend the late emperor's wisdom, appoint a man in Zhao Chongguo's role, set overall strategy, and leave Wang Qiong full discretion to act as he sees fit." Qiong then convened a council and pursued both suppression and pacification. First he sent regional commander Liu Wen and mobile corps commander Peng Zhen to deploy troops and horses. The following second month he advanced from Guyuan to Taozhou and Minzhou and sent men to explain the rewards of submission and the penalties of resistance. Thirty-one eastern-route Taozhou clans including Mushe, thirteen western-route clans including Dalushi, and fifteen Minzhou clans including Xininggou all accepted pacification, were given white banners as rewards, and sent home. Only the Ruolong clan on Minzhou's eastern route, fifteen western-route clans including Ban'er, and five Minzhou clans including Laji, trusting in difficult terrain, refused to submit. He then divided his forces and first attacked the Ruolong and Ban'er clans, destroyed their strongholds, and the Laji clans, shaken with fear, begged to surrender. In all more than 360 heads were taken, more than seventy clans were pacified, and the army withdrew. From then on Taozhou and Minzhou were pacified, but Xining still suffered from raiders.
19
十一年，甘肅巡撫趙載等言：「亦不剌據海上已二十餘年，其黨卜兒孩獨傾心向化，求帖木哥等屬番來納款。 宜因而撫之，或俾之納馬，或令其遣質，或授官給印，建立衛所，為我籓籬，於計為便。」 疏甫上，會河套酋吉囊引眾西掠，大破亦不剌營，收其部落大半而去，惟卜兒孩一枝斂眾自保。 由是西寧亦獲休息，而納款之議竟寢。 及唐龍為總制，寇南掠松潘。 龍慮其回巢與諸番及他部勾結為患，奏行甘肅守臣，繕兵積粟，為殄滅計。 及龍去，事亦不行。
In year 11 Gansu grand coordinator Zhao Zai and others reported: "Yibulai has held the Sea region for more than twenty years. Among his followers, Boyerhai alone has turned sincerely toward the court and asks that Timuge and other subordinate Tibetans come to submit. We should take this opportunity to pacify them—by requiring tribute horses, taking hostages, granting offices and seals, or establishing guard units as our vassal bulwark. That would be the advantageous course." No sooner had the memorial been submitted than the Ordos chief Jinang led his followers west on a raid, smashed Yibulai's camp, and carried off most of his tribes before departing; only Boyerhai's band gathered its forces and preserved itself. Xining then also obtained respite, but the plan for accepting their submission was shelved. When Tang Long became supreme commander, the raiders plundered south into Songpan. Tang Long feared that on returning to their base they would collude with the Tibetans and other tribes to cause trouble; he memorialized the Gansu frontier officials to drill troops, store grain, and prepare for their extermination. When Tang Long left office, the plan again came to nothing.
20
二十年正月，卜兒孩獻金牌、良馬求款。 兵部言：「寇果輸誠通貢，誠西陲大利。 乃止獻馬及金牌，未有如往歲遣子入侍、酋長入朝之請，未可遽許。 宜令督撫臣偵察情實，並條制馭之策以聞。」 報可。 會寇勢漸衰，番人亦漸復業，其議復寢。
In the first month of year 20, Boyerhai presented a gold tablet and fine horses seeking to submit. The Ministry of War said: "If the raiders truly submit in sincerity and open tribute relations, it would indeed be a great benefit to the western frontier. Yet they have offered only horses and a gold tablet, without the requests of previous years to send sons to attend court or chiefs to come to audience—this cannot be granted rashly. The supreme commander and grand coordinators should be ordered to investigate the true situation and submit a detailed plan for controlling them." The report was approved. As the raiders' strength gradually declined and the Tibetans gradually resumed their livelihoods, the plan was shelved again.
21
二十四年設岷州，隸鞏昌府。 岷西臨極邊，番漢雜處。 洪武時，改土番十六族為十六里，設衛治之，俾稍供徭役。 自設州之後，徵發繁重，人日困敝。 且番人戀世官，而流官又不樂居，遙寄治他所。 越十餘年，督撫合疏言不便，乃設衛如故。
In year 24 Minzhou was established and placed under Gongchang Prefecture. Minzhou lay on the outermost western frontier, where Tibetans and Han lived intermixed. In the Hongwu period sixteen native Tibetan clans were reorganized into sixteen li districts, guard units were established to govern them, and they were required to supply a measure of corvée labor. After the prefecture was established, levies and conscriptions grew heavy and the people grew daily more impoverished. Moreover the Tibetans clung to hereditary offices, while the appointed officials were unwilling to live there and governed remotely from elsewhere. After more than ten years the supreme commander and grand coordinators jointly memorialized that the arrangement was unsuitable, and guard units were restored as before.
22
時北部俺答猖獗，歲掠宣、大諸鎮。 又羡青海富饒，三十八年攜子賓兔、丙兔等數萬眾，襲據其地。 卜兒孩竄走，遂縱掠諸番。 已，引去，留賓兔據松山，丙兔據青海，西寧亦被其患。 隆慶中，俺答受封順義王，修貢惟謹，二子亦斂戢。
At this time Altan of the northern regions was rampant, raiding the Xuanda and other garrisons year after year. He also coveted Qinghai's wealth; in year 38 he led tens of thousands of men, including his sons Bintu and Bingtu, and seized the region by force. Boyerhai fled, and they then plundered the Tibetan peoples at will. Soon after they withdrew, leaving Bintu at Songshan and Bingtu in Qinghai; Xining also suffered their depredations. In the Longqing period Altan received investiture as Prince of Shunyi, maintained tribute with scrupulous care, and his two sons also restrained themselves.
23
時烏斯藏僧有稱活佛者，諸部多奉其教。 丙兔乃以焚修為名，請建寺青海及嘉峪關外，為久居計。 廷臣多言不可許，禮官言：「彼已採木興工，而令改建於他所，勢所不能，莫若因而許之，以鼓其善心，而杜其關外之請。 況中國之御戎，惟在邊關之有備。 戎之順逆，亦不在一寺之遠近。」 帝許之。 丙兔既得請，又近脅番人，使通道松潘以迎活佛。 四川守臣懼逼，乞令俺答約束其子，毋擾鄰境。 俺答言，丙兔止因甘肅不許開市，寧夏又道遠艱難，雖有禁令，不能盡制。 宣大總督方逢時亦言開市為便。 帝以責陝西督撫，督撫不敢違。 萬曆二年冬，許丙兔市於甘肅，賓兔市於庄浪，歲一次。 既而寺成，賜額仰華。
At that time among the monks of U-Tsang were those called Living Buddhas, and many tribes followed their teaching. Bingtu then, under the pretext of Buddhist devotion, requested permission to build temples at Qinghai and beyond Jiayuguan as a plan for long-term residence. Many court officials said this must not be granted; the ritual officials said: "They have already felled timber and begun construction. To order them to rebuild elsewhere is beyond their power. Better to permit it accordingly, to encourage their good intentions and forestall their requests beyond the pass. Moreover China's defense against the barbarians depends solely on preparedness at the frontier passes. Whether the barbarians submit or rebel does not hinge on whether a temple is near or far." The emperor granted permission. Once Bingtu obtained permission, he also coerced nearby Tibetans to open a route through Songpan to welcome the Living Buddha. The Sichuan frontier officials, fearing pressure, asked that Altan restrain his son and not disturb neighboring territory. Altan replied that Bingtu's conduct was only because Gansu would not permit markets to open and Ningxia was far and the route difficult; though there were prohibitions, they could not be fully enforced. The Xuanda governor-general Fang Fengshi also said that opening markets would be advantageous. The emperor blamed the Shaanxi supreme commander and grand coordinators, and they dared not disobey. In the winter of Wanli year 2, Bingtu was permitted to trade at Gansu and Bintu at Zhuanglang, once per year. Before long the temple was completed and granted the name Yanghua.
24
先是，亦不剌之據青海，邊臣猶以外寇視之。 至是以俺答故，竟視若屬番。 諸酋亦以父受王封，不敢大為邊患，而洮州之變乃起。 初，洮州番人以河州奸民負其物貨，入掠內地，他族亦乘機為亂。 奸民以告河州參將陳堂，堂曰：「此洮州番也，何與我事。」 洮州參將劉世英曰：「彼犯河州，非我失事。」 由是二將有隙。 總督石茂華聞之，令二人及蘭州參將徐勛、岷州守備硃憲、舊洮州守備史經各引兵壓其境，曉以利害。 番人懼，即還所掠人畜。 世英謂首惡未擒，不可遽已，遂剿破之，殺傷及焚死者無算。 軍律，吹銅角乃退兵。 堂挾前憾，不待角聲而去，諸部亦多引去。 憲、經方深入搜捕，鄰番見其勢孤，圍而殺之。 事聞，帝震怒，褫堂、世英職，切責茂華等。 茂華乃集諸軍分道進討，斬首百四十餘級，焚死者九百餘人，獲孳畜數十群。 諸番震恐遠徙，來降者七十一族，斬送首惡四人，生縛以獻者二人，輸馬牛羊二百六十。 稽首謝罪，誓不再犯，師乃還。
Earlier, when Yibulai held Qinghai, frontier officials still regarded him as a foreign invader. Now because of Altan, they finally treated them as subordinate Tibetans. The chiefs also, because their father had received princely investiture, did not dare cause major frontier trouble—yet the Taozhou incident then arose. At first Taozhou Tibetans, because Hezhou scoundrels owed them for goods, raided the interior; other clans also seized the opportunity to make trouble. The scoundrels reported this to Hezhou vice commander Chen Tang, who said: "These are Taozhou Tibetans—what business is it of mine?" Taozhou vice commander Liu Shiying said: "They violated Hezhou—that is not my failure." From this the two commanders bore a grudge against each other. Grand coordinator Shi Maohua heard of it and ordered the two men, together with Lanzhou vice commander Xu Xun, Minzhou garrison commander Zhu Xian, and former Taozhou garrison commander Shi Jing, each to lead troops to press their borders and explain the consequences. The Tibetans were afraid and at once returned the people and livestock they had plundered. Shiying said the ringleaders had not been captured and the action could not be stopped abruptly; he then attacked and broke them, killing, wounding, and burning countless victims. By military regulations, bronze horns were to be sounded before withdrawing troops. Tang, nursing his old grievance, departed without waiting for the horn signal, and many units also withdrew. Zhu and Shi had just advanced deep in pursuit when neighboring Tibetans, seeing their force isolated, surrounded and killed them. When the matter was reported, the emperor was furious, stripped Tang and Shiying of their posts, and sternly rebuked Maohua and the others. Maohua then assembled the armies and advanced by separate routes; more than 140 heads were taken, more than 900 were killed by fire, and dozens of herds of livestock were captured. The various Tibetans, terrified, migrated far away; seventy-one clans came to surrender, four ringleaders were beheaded and sent, two were bound alive and presented, and 260 horses, cattle, and sheep were delivered. They prostrated themselves in apology, swore not to offend again, and the army then withdrew.
25
自丙兔據青海，有切盡台吉者，河套酋吉能從子，俺答從孫也，從之而西。 屢掠番人不得志，邀俺答往助。 俺答雅欲侵瓦剌，乃假迎活佛名，擁眾西行。 疏請授丙兔都督，賜金印，且開茶市。 部議不許，但稍給以茶。 俺答既抵瓦剌，戰敗而還。 乃移書甘肅守臣，乞假道赴烏斯藏。 守臣不能拒，遂越甘肅而南，會諸酋於海上。 番人益遭蹂躪，多竄徙。 八年春，始以活佛言東還，而切盡弟火落赤及俺答庶兄子永邵卜遂留居青海不去。 八月，丙兔率眾掠番並內地人畜，詔絕其市賞。 俺答聞之，馳書切責。 乃盡還所掠，執獻為惡者六人，自罰牛羊七百。 帝嘉其父恭順，賚之銀幣，即以牛羊賜其部人，為惡者付之自治，仍許貢市，俺答益感德。 而火落赤侵掠番族不休，守臣檄切盡台吉約束之，亦引罪輸服。 及俺答卒，傳至孫扯力克，勢輕，不能制諸酋。
Since Bingtu held Qinghai, there was Qiejin Taiji, a nephew of the Ordos chief Jineng and a great-grandson of Altan, who followed him west. Having repeatedly raided Tibetans without satisfaction, he invited Altan to come assist. Altan, who had long wished to invade the Oirats, then under the pretense of welcoming the Living Buddha led his followers west. He memorialized requesting that Bingtu be appointed regional commander, granted a gold seal, and that tea markets be opened. The ministry deliberated and did not permit it, but gave a small amount of tea. After Altan reached the Oirats, he was defeated in battle and returned. He then sent a letter to the Gansu frontier officials requesting passage to U-Tsang. The frontier officials could not refuse; he thereupon crossed south through Gansu and met the chiefs at the Sea region. The Tibetans suffered ever greater ravaging and many fled and migrated. In the spring of year 8 he at last returned east at the Living Buddha's word, but Qiejin's younger brother Huoluo Chi and Altan's elder brother's son Yongshao Bu then remained in Qinghai and did not leave. In the eighth month Bingtu led his followers to plunder Tibetans and people and livestock of the interior; an edict cut off his market rewards. Altan heard of it and sent an urgent letter sternly rebuking him. He then returned all that had been plundered, seized and presented six wrongdoers, and imposed upon himself a fine of 700 cattle and sheep. The emperor praised the father's respectful submission, bestowed silver and coins, had the cattle and sheep given to his tribesmen, entrusted the wrongdoers to his own governance, and still permitted tribute and markets; Altan was all the more moved by this grace. But Huoluo Chi continued to raid Tibetan clans without cease; the frontier officials sent dispatches to Qiejin Taiji to restrain him, and he also confessed guilt and submitted compensation. When Altan died, succession passed to his grandson Chelik; his power was weak and he could not control the chiefs.
26
十六年九月，永邵卜部眾有闌入西寧者，副總兵李奎方被酒，躍馬而前。 部眾控鞍欲訴，奎拔刀斫之，眾遂射奎死。 部卒馳救之，亦多死。 守臣不能討，遣使詰責，但獻首惡，還人畜而止。 以故無所憚，愈肆侵盜。 時丙兔及切盡台吉亦皆死，丙兔子真相移駐莽剌川，火落赤移駐捏工川，逼近西寧，日蠶食番族。 番不能支，則折而為寇用。 扯力克又西行助之，勢益熾。 十八年六月入舊洮州，副總兵李聯芳率三千人御之，盡覆。 七月復深入，大掠河州、臨洮、渭源。 總兵官劉承嗣與游擊孟孝臣各將一軍御之，皆敗績，游擊李芳等死焉，西陲大震。 事聞，命尚書鄭洛出經略。 洛前督宣大軍，撫順義王及忠順夫人有恩。 遣使趣扯力克東歸，而大布招番之令，來者率善遇之，自是歸附者不絕。 火、真二酋自知罪重，又聞套酋卜失兔來助，大敗於水泉口，扯力克復將還巢，始懼。 徙帳去，留其黨可卜兔等於莽剌川。 明年，總兵官尤繼先破走之。 洛更進兵青海，焚仰華寺，逐其餘眾而還。 番人復業者至八萬餘人，西陲暫獲休息。 已，復聚於青海。
In the ninth month of year 16, men of Yongshao Bu's tribe broke into Xining; vice regional commander Li Kui, having been drinking, leaped on his horse and rode forward. The tribesmen held the saddle and wished to plead their case; Kui drew his blade and hacked at them, whereupon the crowd shot and killed Kui. Soldiers of his unit galloped to rescue him, and many of them also died. The frontier officials could not punish them; they sent envoys to rebuke them, but only the ringleaders were presented, people and livestock returned, and the matter ended there. For this reason they had nothing to fear and plundered all the more wantonly. By then Bingtu and Qiejin Taiji had both died. Bingtu's son Zhenxiang shifted his encampment to the Mangla River and Huoluochi to the Niegong River, drawing near Xining and day by day encroaching upon the Tibetan tribes. Unable to hold their ground, the tribes turned and put themselves at the bandits' service. Chilik marched west once more to reinforce them, and their strength burned hotter still. In the sixth month of the eighteenth year they entered Old Taozhou. Vice Regional Commander Li Lianfang marched out with three thousand men to meet them and was wiped out to the last man. In the seventh month they drove deep once more and ravaged Hezhou, Lintao, and Weiyuan. Regional Commander Liu Chengsi and Mobile Corps Commander Meng Xiaochen each took an army against them and both were routed; Mobile Corps Commander Li Fang and others fell in battle, and the whole western frontier reeled. When word reached the court, Minister Zheng Luo was dispatched to take charge of frontier affairs. Luo had once commanded the Xuanda forces and had earned the gratitude of the Prince of Shunyi and Lady Zhongshun through his conciliatory rule. He sent envoys urging Chilik to turn east again, and proclaimed broad orders inviting the tribes to submit; arrivals were treated generously, and from that time the stream of those coming over never dried up. The chieftains Huo and Zhen, knowing how heavy their crimes were, heard that Tao chieftain Bushitu was marching to their aid and then suffered a crushing defeat at Shuiquankou; when Chilik prepared to withdraw to his base, fear finally took hold of them. They shifted their camps and withdrew, leaving followers such as Kebutu behind on the Mangla River. The following year Regional Commander You Jixian defeated them and put them to flight. Luo pressed on into Qinghai, burned Yanghua Temple, scattered the remnant forces, and withdrew. More than eighty thousand tribespeople returned to their fields, and the western frontier enjoyed a brief respite. Before long the raiders had massed at Qinghai once again.
27
二十三年增設臨洮總兵官，以劉綎任之。 未幾，永邵卜諸部犯南川，參將達雲大破之。 已，連火、真二酋犯西川，雲又擊破之。 明年，諸酋復掠番族，將窺內地。 綎部將周國柱御之莽剌川，又大破之。 二十七年糾叛苗犯洮、岷，總兵官蕭如薰等敗之，斬番人二百五十餘級，寇八十二級，撫降番族五千餘人。 三十四年復入鎮番黑古城，為總兵官柴國柱所敗。 自是屢入鈔掠，不能大得志。
In the twenty-third year the court added a regional commander at Lintao and appointed Liu Ting to the office. Soon afterward the Yong Shaobu clans raided Nanchuan, and Garrison Commander Da Yun routed them decisively. Not long after, the chieftains Huo and Zhen joined forces to raid Xichuan, and Da Yun defeated them again. The following year the chieftains again preyed upon the tribes and seemed poised to probe the inner provinces. Liu Ting's lieutenant Zhou Guozhu met them on the Mangla River and routed them once more. In the twenty-seventh year rebel Miao allies struck at Tao and Min. Regional Commander Xiao Ruxun and his officers defeated them, taking more than two hundred fifty tribal heads and eighty-two bandit heads, and winning over more than five thousand tribespeople by persuasion. In the thirty-fourth year they entered Zhenfan Heigucheng once more and were beaten back by Regional Commander Chai Guozhu. After that they raided again and again but never won any great success.
28
時為陝西患者，有三大寇：一河套，一松山，一青海。 青海土最沃，且有番人屏蔽，故患猶不甚劇。 崇禎十一年，李自成屢為官軍擊敗，自洮州軼出番地。 諸將窮追，復奔入塞內，番族亦遭蹂躪。 十五年，西寧番族作亂，總抹官馬爌督諸將五道進剿，斬首七百有奇，撫降三十八族而還。 明年冬，李自成遣將陷甘州，獨西寧不下。 賊將辛恩忠攻破之，遂進掠青海。 諸酋多降附，而明室亦亡。
At that time Shaanxi suffered under three great raiding centers: Hetao, Songshan, and Qinghai. Qinghai had the richest land and the tribes still formed a buffer, so the trouble there remained less acute. In the eleventh year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng, beaten again and again by imperial forces, broke out of Taozhou and fled into tribal lands. The generals pressed the pursuit until he doubled back inside the passes, and the tribes were trampled underfoot in the chase. In the fifteenth year the Xining tribes rebelled. The zongmo official Ma Huang led five columns of generals against them, took more than seven hundred heads, brought thirty-eight clans to submission, and withdrew. The following winter Li Zicheng's lieutenant took Ganzhou, but Xining alone held out. The rebel commander Xin Enzhong broke the city and marched on to ravage Qinghai. Many chieftains came over to the rebels, and with them the Ming dynasty fell.
29
番有生熟二種。 生番獷悍難制。 熟番納馬中茶，頗柔服，後浸通生番為內地患。 自青海為寇所據，番不堪剽奪，私饋皮幣曰手信，歲時加饋曰添巴，或反為嚮導，交通無忌。 而中國市馬亦鮮至，蓋已失捍外衛內之初意矣。
The tribes fell into two categories, the raw and the cooked. The raw tribes were wild, fierce, and difficult to govern. The cooked tribes traded horses for tea and were generally compliant, but in time they grew entangled with the raw tribes and became a threat to the inner provinces. Once bandits held Qinghai, the tribes could no longer bear the looting. They secretly sent furs and goods as personal tokens, added seasonal gifts called tianba, and sometimes even acted as guides, trading and passing messages without fear. Horses for the Chinese markets scarcely came anymore; the original design of holding the outer frontier to shield the inner realm had already been abandoned.
30
原夫太祖甫定關中，即法漢武創河西四郡隔絕羌、胡之意，建重鎮於甘肅，以北拒蒙古，南捍諸番，俾不得相合。 又遣西寧等西衛土官與漢官參治，令之世守。 且多置茶課司，番人得以馬易茶。 而部族之長，亦許其歲時朝貢，自通名號於天子。 彼勢既分，又動於利，不敢為惡。 即小有蠢動，邊將以偏師制之，靡不應時底定。 自邊臣失防，北寇得越境闌入，與番族交通，西陲遂多事。 然究其時之所患，終在寇而不在番，故議者以太祖制馭為善。
When the Taizu had only just secured Guanzhong, he took Emperor Wu of Han's precedent of founding the four commanderies west of the river to keep Qiang and Hu apart, and built a great bastion in Gansu to block the Mongols in the north and the tribes in the south so they could never unite. He also posted native officers of Xining and the other western guards to govern alongside Han officials, charging them to hold their posts from generation to generation. He further set up numerous tea tax offices so the tribes could trade horses for tea. Tribal chiefs were allowed to present tribute at the proper seasons and to address the throne in their own names. With their strength divided and their interests tied to trade, they did not dare turn to violence. Even minor disturbances were quelled at once by frontier generals with detached columns. When frontier officials let their guard slip, northern raiders crossed the border at will, made contact with the tribes, and the western marches were never quiet again. Yet the real affliction of the age lay with the raiders, not the tribes themselves, and commentators held that the Taizu's policy of control had been the wiser course.
31
安定衛
Anding Guard
32
安定衛，距甘州西南一千五百里。 漢為婼羌，唐為吐蕃地，元封宗室卜煙帖木兒為寧王鎮之。 其地本名撒里畏兀兒，廣袤千里，東近罕東，北邇沙州，南接西番。 居無城郭，以氈帳為廬舍。 產多駝馬牛羊。
Anding Guard stood one thousand five hundred li southwest of Ganzhou. In Han times it had been Ruoqiang; in Tang times it was Tibetan land. The Yuan enfeoffed the imperial clansman Buyan Temür as Prince of Ning to hold the region. The region was originally known as Sarig Uyghur, a thousand li across. Handong lay to the east, Shazhou to the north, and the Western tribes to the south. They had no walled towns and lived in felt tents. Camels, horses, cattle, and sheep were plentiful there.
33
洪武三年遣使持詔招諭。 七年六月，卜煙帖木兒使其府尉麻答兒等來朝，貢鎧甲刀劍諸物。 太祖喜，宴賚其使者，遣官厚賚其王，而分其地為阿端、阿真、苦先、貼里四部，各錫以印。 明年正月，其王遣傅卜顏不花來貢，上元所授金、銀字牌，請置安定、阿端二衛，從之。 乃封卜煙帖木兒為安定王，以其部人沙刺等為指揮。
In the third year of Hongwu the court sent an envoy with an edict summoning them to allegiance. In the sixth month of the seventh year Buyan Temür sent his palace guard Madar and others to court with tribute of armor, blades, and other goods. The Taizu was delighted, entertained and rewarded the envoys, sent officials with rich gifts for their prince, and divided the territory into four divisions—Adun, Azhen, Kuxian, and Tieli—each invested with a seal. In the first month of the following year their prince sent Fubuyanbuhua to court with tribute, surrendering the gold and silver tally-plaques given under the Yuan, and asking that the Anding and Adun guards be established. The court agreed. Buyan Temür was enfeoffed as Prince of Anding, and tribesmen such as Shala were appointed commanders.
34
九年命前廣東參政鄭九成等使其地，賚王及其部人衣幣。 明年，王為沙剌所弒，王子板咱失里復仇，誅沙剌。 沙剌部將復殺王子，部內大亂。 番將朵兒只巴叛走沙漠，經安定，大肆殺掠，奪其印去，其眾益衰。 二十五年，藍玉西征，徇阿真川。 土酋司徒哈昝等懼，逃匿山谷不敢出。 及肅王之國甘州，遣僧謁王，乞授官以安部眾。 王為奏請，帝許之。 二十九年命行人陳誠至其地，復立安定衛。 其酋長哈孩虎都魯等五十八人悉授指揮、千百戶等官。 誠還，酋長隨之入朝，貢馬謝恩。 帝厚賚之，覆命中官齎銀幣往賜。
In the ninth year the former Guangdong Administrative Vice Commissioner Zheng Jiucheng and others were sent to their lands to present robes and gifts to the prince and his people. The following year Shala assassinated the prince. The prince's son Banzhanshili avenged him and put Shala to death. Shala's lieutenants then killed the prince as well, and the tribe fell into chaos. The tribal general Duoirzhiba rebelled and fled into the desert. On his way through Anding he ravaged the land, seized their seal, and departed, leaving the tribe ever more diminished. In the twenty-fifth year Lan Yu led a western campaign and swept along the Azhen River. The native chieftains Situhazan and others, terrified, hid in the mountain valleys and dared not show themselves. When the Prince of Su took up his fief at Ganzhou, they sent monks to petition him, begging for official appointments to reassure their people. The prince submitted a memorial on their behalf, and the emperor approved. In the twenty-ninth year the court dispatched the courier Chen Cheng to their lands and restored Anding Guard. Fifty-eight of their chiefs, including Hahai Hudulu, were all appointed commanders, chiliarchs, centurions, and other officers. When Cheng returned, the chiefs accompanied him to court and presented horses in thanks. The emperor rewarded them generously and again sent a eunuch with silver and gifts.
35
初，安定王之被殺也，其子撒兒只失加為其兄所殺，部眾潰散，子亦攀丹流寓靈藏。 十一年五月率眾入朝，自陳家難，乞授職。 帝念其祖率先歸附，令襲封安定王，賜印誥。 自是朝貢不輟。
Earlier, when the Prince of Anding was murdered, his son Saierzhishijia was killed by his elder brother. The tribe broke apart, and Zi Yipandan took refuge at Lingzang. In the fifth month of the eleventh year he led his followers to court, recounted his family's tragedy, and asked for an appointment. Remembering that his ancestor had been among the first to submit, the emperor allowed him to inherit the title Prince of Anding and granted him a seal and patent. From that time tribute missions never stopped.
36
二十二年，中官喬來喜、鄧誠使烏斯藏，次畢力術江黃羊川。 安定指揮哈三孫散哥及曲先指揮散即思等率眾邀劫之，殺朝使，盡奪駝馬幣物而去。 仁宗大怒，敕都指揮李英偕康壽等討之。 英等率西寧諸衛軍及隆奔國師賈失兒監藏等十二番族之眾，深入追賊，賊遠遁。 英等逾崑崙山西行數百里，抵雅令闊之地，遇安定賊，擊敗之，斬首四百八十餘級，生擒七十餘人，獲駝馬牛十四萬有奇。 曲先聞風遠竄，追之不及而還。 英以此封會寧伯，壽等皆進秩。 大軍既旋，指揮哈三等懼罪，不敢還故地。
In the twenty-second year the eunuchs Qiao Laixi and Deng Cheng were dispatched to U-Tsang and camped at Huangyangchuan on the Bilishu River. Anding Commander Hasan Sun Sange, Quxian Commander Sanjisi, and others led their men in an ambush, murdered the imperial envoys, seized all the camels, horses, and goods, and fled. The Renzong was furious and ordered Chief Commander Li Ying, together with Kang Shou and others, to chastise them. Li Ying and his officers led the Xining garrisons and the warriors of twelve tribes, including the Longben State Preceptor Jiashier Jiancang, in pursuit deep into the frontier until the raiders fled beyond reach. Li Ying and his men marched several hundred li west of the Kunlun Mountains to Yalingkuo, met the Anding raiders, and routed them, taking more than four hundred eighty heads, more than seventy prisoners, and more than one hundred forty thousand camels, horses, and cattle. Quxian, hearing of the defeat, fled into the distance. The pursuers could not catch them and turned back. For this feat Li Ying was enfeoffed as Marquis of Huining, and Kang Shou and the others were all promoted. After the army withdrew, Commander Hasan and his fellows, fearing punishment, dared not return home.
37
初，大軍之討賊也，安定指揮桑哥與罕東衛軍同奉調從征。 罕東違令不至，其所轄板納族瞰桑哥軍遠出，盡掠其部內廬帳畜產。 事聞，降敕切責，令速歸所掠，違命則發兵進討。 已，進桑哥都指揮僉事。
When the army marched against the raiders, Anding Commander Sangge and the Handong garrison had both been called up for the campaign. Handong defied the order and never came. The Bana tribe under its command, seeing Sangge's forces far from home, stripped his lands of every tent and herd. When word reached the court, an edict sharply rebuked them and ordered the stolen goods returned at once, on pain of a punitive expedition. Soon afterward Sangge was promoted to Associate Chief Commander.
38
弘治三年，領占幹些兒卒，子千奔襲。 賜齋糧、麻布，諭祭其父。 先是，哈密忠順王卒，無子。 廷議安定王與之同祖，遣官擇一人為其後，安定王不許。 至是，訪求陝巴於安定，冊為忠順王，命千奔遣送其家屬。 千奔怒曰：「陝巴不應嗣王爵，爵應歸綽爾加。」 綽爾加者，千奔弟也。 且邀厚賞。 兵部言：「陝巴實忠順王之孫，素為國人所服。 前哈密無主，遣使取應立者，綽爾加自知力弱不肯往。 今事定之後，乃爾反覆，所言不可從。」 陝巴迄得立。 然千奔以立非己意，後哈密數被寇，竟不應援。 十七年率眾侵沙州，大掠而去。 正德時，蒙古大酋亦不剌、阿爾禿廝侵據青海，縱掠鄰境。 安定遂殘破，部眾散亡。
In the third year of Hongzhi Lingzhanganxie'er died, and his son Qianben inherited the post. The court granted mourning provisions and hemp cloth and instructed him to offer sacrifices for his father. Earlier the Prince of Zhongshun of Hami had died leaving no heir. The court noted that the Prince of Anding shared the same lineage and sent officials to choose a successor, but the Prince of Anding refused. At this point Shanba was found in Anding, invested as Prince of Zhongshun, and Qianben was ordered to escort his family to Hami. Qianben angrily protested: "Shanba has no right to the princedom; the title belongs to Chuo'erjia." Chuo'erjia was Qianben's younger brother. He also demanded lavish rewards. The Ministry of War replied: "Shanba is in truth the grandson of the Prince of Zhongshun and has long commanded the people's respect. When Hami had no ruler, the court sent envoys to bring back the rightful heir, but Chuo'erjia, knowing himself too weak, refused to go. Now that the matter is settled, he reverses himself; his claims cannot be accepted." Shanba was duly established. But because the succession had gone against Qianben's wishes, when Hami was raided again and again he never sent help. In the seventeenth year he led his men against Shazhou, looted heavily, and withdrew. Under the Zhengde emperor the great Mongol chiefs Yibulai and Aertusi seized Qinghai and raided the neighboring regions at will. Anding was left in ruins, and its people scattered.
39
阿端衛
Adun Guard
40
阿端衛，在撒里畏兀兒之地，洪武八年置。 後為朵兒只巴殘破，其衛遂廢。 永樂四年冬，酋長小薛忽魯札等來朝，貢方物，請復置衛設官，從之，即授小薛等為指揮僉事。
Adun Guard lay in Sarig Uyghur country; it was established in Hongwu year 8. Later Duoirzhiba ravaged the region, and the guard was abolished. In the winter of Yongle year 4, the chiefs Xiaoxue Huluzha and others came to court with regional tribute and asked that the guard be restored and officials appointed. The court agreed and made Xiaoxue and his companions assistant commanders.
41
洪熙時，曲先酋散即思邀劫朝使，脅阿端指揮鎖魯丹偕行。 已，大軍出征，鎖魯丹懼，率部眾遠竄，失其印。 宣德初遣使招撫，鎖魯丹猶不敢歸，依曲先雜處。 六年春，西寧都督史昭言：「曲先衛真只罕等本別一部，因其父助散即思為逆，竄處畢力術江。 其地當烏斯藏孔道，恐復為亂，宜討之。」 帝敕昭曰：「殘寇窮迫，無地自容，宜遣人宥其罪，命復故業。」 於是真只罕率所部還居帖兒谷舊地。 明年正月入朝，天子喜，授指揮同知，令掌衛事，以指揮僉事卜答兀副之。 真只罕因言：「阿端故城在回回境，去帖兒谷尚一月程，朝貢艱，乞移本土為便。」 天子從其請，仍給以印，賜璽書撫慰之。 迄正統朝，數入貢，後不知所終。
During the Hongxi reign, Sanjisi, chieftain of Quxian, ambushed an imperial envoy and forced Suoludan, commander of Adun, to accompany him. When the imperial army marched out, Suoludan fled far away with his people in fear, losing his seal in the process. Early in the Xuande reign the court sent envoys to win him back, but Suoludan still dared not return and settled in mixed company with Quxian. In the spring of the sixth year, Shi Zhao, regional commander at Xining, reported: "Zhenzhihan and others of Quxian Guard were originally a separate band. Their father had aided Sanjisi in rebellion, and they fled to the Bilitu River. Their territory stands on the main route to U-Tsang, and I fear they may rebel again. They ought to be brought to heel." The emperor replied to Zhao: "These broken rebels are at their wits' end with nowhere to go. Send men to pardon them and let them return to their old lands." Zhenzhihan then led his people back to their former home at Tie'ergu. The following first month he came to court. The emperor was pleased, made him vice commander and put him in charge of the guard, with assistant commander Buda'er as his deputy. Zhenzhihan then said: "The old Adun city lies in Muslim country, a full month's journey from Tie'ergu, making tribute journeys arduous. I ask permission to return to our native lands." The emperor granted the request, issued a new seal, and sent an imperial letter of reassurance. Through the Zhengtong reign they came to court with tribute several times; after that their fate is unknown.
42
其時西域地亦有名阿端者，貢道從哈密入，與此為兩地云。
There was also an Adun in the Western Regions at that time, whose tribute route ran through Hami—a different place altogether, it is said.
43
曲先衛
Quxian Guard
44
曲先衛，東接安定，在肅州西南。 古西戎，漢西羌，唐吐蕃，元設曲先答林元帥府。
Quxian Guard bordered Anding to the east and lay southwest of Suzhou. In ancient times it was Western Rong country; under Han it was Western Qiang; under Tang, Tibetan; under the Yuan a Quxian Dalin Marshal's Office was set up.
45
洪武時，酋長入貢。 命設曲先衛，官其人為指揮。 後遭朵兒只巴之亂，部眾竄亡，併入安定衛，居阿真之地。 永樂四年，安定指揮哈三、散即思、三即等奏：「安定、曲先本二衛，後合為一。 比遭吐番把禿侵擾，不獲寧居。 乞仍分為二，復先朝舊制。」 從之。 即令三即為指揮使，掌衛事，散即思副之。 又從其請，徙治藥王淮之地。 自是屢入貢。
During Hongwu, tribal chiefs came to court with tribute. The court established Quxian Guard and appointed its chiefs as commanders. Later, during Duoirzhiba's upheaval, the people fled and were absorbed into Anding Guard, settling in Azhen country. In Yongle year 4, the Anding commanders Hasan, Sanjisi, Sanji, and others memorialized: "Anding and Quxian were once two guards but had later been merged into one. Lately the Tibetan Batu has been raiding us, and we cannot live in peace. We ask that they be split in two again and the old arrangement restored." The court agreed. Sanji was appointed commander-in-chief and put in charge of the guard, with Sanjisi as his deputy. The court also granted their request to move the seat to Yaowang Huai. From then on they came to court with tribute again and again.
46
洪熙時，散即思偕安定部酋劫殺朝使。 已，大軍往討，散即思率眾遠遁，不敢還故土。 宣德初，天子赦其罪，遣都指揮陳通等往招撫，復業者四萬二千餘帳。 乃遣指揮失刺罕等入朝謝罪，貢駝馬，待之如初。 尋擢散即思都指揮同知，其僚屬悉進官，給以誥命。
During Hongxi, Sanjisi and Anding chiefs ambushed and killed an imperial envoy. When the imperial army marched against them, Sanjisi fled far away with his people and dared not return home. Early in Xuande the emperor pardoned them and sent Regional Commander Chen Tong and others to win them back. More than 42,000 households returned to their lands. They sent commander Shilahai and others to court to plead guilty, offering camels and horses; the court treated them as before. Sanjisi was soon promoted to regional vice commander; his officers were all advanced in rank and given patent commissions.
47
五年六月，朝使自西域還，言散即思數率部眾邀劫往來貢使，梗塞道途。 天子怒，命都督史昭為大將，率左右參將趙安、王彧及中官王安、王瑾，督西寧諸衛軍及安定、罕東之眾往征之。 昭等兵至其地，散即思先遁，其黨脫脫不花等迎敵。 諸將縱兵擊之，殺傷甚眾，生擒脫脫不花及男婦三百四十餘人，獲駝馬牛羊三十四萬有奇。 自是西番震慴。 散即思素狡悍，天子宥其罪，仍怙惡不悛。 至是人畜多損失，乃悔懼。 明年四月遣其弟副千戶堅都等四人貢馬請罪。 復待之如初，令還居故地並歸其俘。
In the sixth month of the fifth year, an envoy returning from the Western Regions reported that Sanjisi had repeatedly waylaid tribute missions, choking the routes. The emperor was furious and named Regional Commander Shi Zhao grand general, with adjutant generals Zhao An and Wang Yu and the eunuchs Wang An and Wang Jin, to lead the Xining guards and the forces of Anding and Handong against them. When Shi Zhao's army arrived, Sanjisi had already fled; his followers Toto-Buqa and others met the troops in battle. The generals pressed the attack, killing and wounding many. Toto-Buqa and more than 340 men and women were taken alive, along with well over 340,000 camels, horses, cattle, and sheep. After this the western tribes were thoroughly cowed. Sanjisi had always been cunning and fierce. Though the emperor pardoned him, he remained unrepentant. Now that his people and herds had suffered heavy losses, he felt remorse and fear. The next fourth month he sent his brother, Vice Centurion Jiandu, and three others with horses to plead guilty. The court treated them as before, ordered them back to their old lands, and returned their captives.
48
七年，其指揮那那罕言：「往者安定之兵從討曲先，臣二女、四弟及指揮桑哥等家屬被掠者五百人。 今散即思已蒙赦宥，而臣等親屬猶未還，望聖明垂憐。」 天子得奏惻然，語大臣曰：「朕常以用兵為戒，正恐濫及無辜。 彼不自言，何由知之。」 即敕安定王亦攀丹等悉歸所掠。 其年，散即思卒，命其子都立嗣職，賜敕勉之。 十年擢那那罕都指揮僉事，其僚屬進職者八十九人。 正統七年遣使貢玉石。 成化時，土魯番強，被其侵掠。
In the seventh year their commander Nanahan said: "When Anding's troops joined the campaign against Quxian, my two daughters, four brothers, and the families of commander Sange and others—500 people in all—were carried off. Sanjisi has been pardoned, yet our kin have not been returned. I beg Your Majesty's mercy." Moved by the memorial, the emperor told his ministers: "I have always been wary of resorting to arms, precisely for fear of harming the innocent. If they had not spoken up, how would I ever have known?" He immediately ordered the Prince of Anding Yipandan and the others to return all they had taken. That year Sanjisi died. His son Duli succeeded to his post and received an encouraging edict from the throne. In the tenth year Nanahan was promoted to regional assistant commander, and eighty-nine of his officers were also advanced. In Zhengtong year 7 they sent envoys with jade tribute. During Chenghua, Turfan grew powerful and raided them repeatedly.
49
弘治中，安定王子陝巴居曲先。 廷議哈密無主，迎為忠順王。 正德七年，蒙古酋阿爾禿廝亦不剌竄居青海，曲先為所蹂躪，部族竄徙，其衛遂亡。
In the Hongzhi reign, Shanba, son of the Prince of Anding, held Quxian. The court, finding Hami without a ruler, welcomed him as Prince of Loyalty and Obedience. In Zhengde year 7 the Mongol chieftain Altan Yibulai fled into Qinghai, overran Quxian, and scattered its tribes until the guard was lost.
50
明初設安定、阿端、曲先、罕東、赤斤、沙州諸衛，給之金牌，令歲以馬易茶，謂之差發。 沙州、赤斤隸肅州，餘悉隸西寧。 時甘州西南盡皆番族，受邊臣羈絡，惟北面防寇。 後諸衛盡亡，亦不剌據青海，土魯番復據哈密，逼處關外。 諸衛遷徙之眾又環列甘肅肘腋，獷悍難馴。 於是河西外防大寇，內防諸番，兵事日亟。
Early in the dynasty the court established the Anding, Adun, Quxian, Handong, Chijin, and Shazhou guards, issued gold tally-plaques, and required annual horse-for-tea exchange—the system known as differential dispatch. Shazhou and Chijin fell under Suzhou; all the others under Xining. At that time all country southwest of Ganzhou was tribal land, held in check by frontier officials and used chiefly to shield the north from raiders. Later the guards were all lost, Yibulai seized Qinghai, Turfan reoccupied Hami, and the frontier pressed hard upon the outer passes. The displaced peoples of the fallen guards also clustered around Gansu's flanks, fierce and unruly. The Hexi corridor now had to face great enemies without and unruly tribes within, and military pressures mounted by the day.
51
赤斤蒙古衛
Chijin Mongol Guard
52
赤斤蒙古衛。 出嘉峪關西行二十里曰大草灘，又三十里曰黑山兒，又七十里曰回回墓，墓西四十里曰騸馬城，並設墩台，置暸卒。 城西八十里即赤斤蒙古。 漢燉煌郡地，晉屬晉昌郡，唐屬瓜州，元如之，屬沙州路。
Chijin Mongol Guard. Twenty li west of Jiayu Pass lay Great Grass Marsh; thirty li farther on, Black Hill; seventy li beyond that, Muslim Tomb; and forty li west of the tomb, Gelding Horse Fort. Beacon towers were built and lookouts posted all along the route. Eighty li west of the city lay Chijin Mongol country. In Han times it was Dunhuang commandery; under Jin, Jinchang commandery; under Tang, Guazhou; under the Yuan, likewise, part of Shazhou Circuit.
53
洪武十三年，都督濮英西討，次白城，獲蒙古平章忽都帖木兒。 進至赤斤站，獲豳王亦憐真及其部曲千四百人，金印一。 師還，復為蒙古部人所據。
In Hongwu year 13, Regional Commander Pu Ying marched west, halted at White City, and captured the Mongol Grand Counselor Qutu Temür. Pressing on to Chijin Station, he captured Prince Yilie Zhen of Bin, more than 1,400 of his followers, and a gold seal. After the army withdrew, Mongol tribesmen reoccupied the land.
54
永樂二年九月，有塔力尼者，自稱丞相苦術子。 率所部男婦五百餘人，自哈剌脫之地來歸。 詔設赤斤蒙古所，以塔力尼為千戶，賜誥印、彩幣、襲衣。 八年，回回哈剌馬牙叛於肅州，約塔力尼為援。 拒不應，而率部下擒賊六人以獻。 天子聞之喜，詔改千戶所為衛，擢塔力尼指揮僉事，其部下授官者三人。 明年遣使貢馬。 又明年以匿叛賊老的罕，將討之。 用侍講楊榮言，止兵勿進，而賜敕詰責，塔力尼即擒老的罕來獻。 天子嘉之，進秩指揮同知，賜賚甚厚。 久之卒，子且旺失加襲，修貢如制，進指揮使。 宣德二年再進都指揮同知，其僚屬亦多進秩。
In the ninth month of Yongle year 2, a man named Talini declared himself son of Chancellor Kujiu. He led more than 500 men and women from Halatu to submit. The court established the Chijin Mongol Office, made Talini chiliarch, and granted him a patent, seal, brocades, and court robes. In the eighth year the Muslim Halamaya rebelled at Suzhou and tried to enlist Talini's aid. Talini refused, then captured six of the rebels and sent them to court. The emperor was pleased and elevated the chiliarch's office to a guard, promoting Talini to assistant commander; three of his subordinates were also given appointments. The following year they sent envoys with horses as tribute. The year after, because he had sheltered the rebel Laodehan, the court prepared to march against him. On Reader-in-Waiting Yang Rong's advice the court halted the troops and sent a rebuking edict instead; Talini promptly captured Laodehan and sent him to court. The emperor praised him, promoted him to vice commander, and rewarded him lavishly. He died after many years. His son Qiewangshijia succeeded him, kept up tribute as required, and was promoted to commander-in-chief. In Xuande year 2 he was promoted again to regional vice commander, and many of his officers were advanced as well.
55
正統元年，其部下指揮可兒即掠西域阿端貢物，殺使臣二十一人。 賜敕切責，令還所掠。 尋與蒙古脫歡帖木兒、猛哥不花戰，勝之，使來獻捷，進都指揮使。 五年，朝使往來哈密者，且旺失加具餱糧、騾馬護送，擢都督僉事。 明年，天子聞其部下時往沙州寇掠，或冒沙州名，邀劫西域貢使，遣敕切責。
In Zhengtong 1 his subordinate commander Ke'erji plundered Adun tribute from the Western Regions and killed twenty-one envoys. The court sent a stern rebuke and ordered the stolen goods returned. Soon he defeated the Mongols Toghun Temür and Mengke Bukhua, sent envoys with news of victory, and was promoted to regional commander-in-chief. In the fifth year Qiewangshijia supplied provisions and mule escorts for envoys traveling to Hami and was promoted to assistant regional commander. The next year the emperor learned that his men were raiding Shazhou or impersonating Shazhou forces to waylay Western tribute missions, and sent a sharp rebuke.
56
時瓦剌兵強，數侵掠鄰境。 且旺失加懼，欲徙居肅州。 天子聞而諭止之，令有警馳報邊將。 八年，瓦剌酋也先遣使送馬及酒，欲娶且旺失加女為子婦，娶沙州困即來女為弟婦。 二人不欲，並奏遵奉朝命，不敢擅婚。 天子以瓦剌方強，其禮意不可卻，諭令各從其願，並以此意諭也先，而二人終不欲。 明年，且旺失加稱老不治事。 詔授其子阿速都督僉事，代之。 也先復遣使求婚，且請親人往受其幣物。 阿速虞其詐，拒不從，而遣人乞徙善地。 天子諭以土地不可棄，令獎率頭目圖自強。 又以其飢困，令邊臣給之粟，所以撫恤者甚至。
At the time the Oirats were strong and raided their neighbors repeatedly. Qiewangshijia, alarmed, sought to move his people to Suzhou. The emperor heard of it and forbade the move, ordering him to report any alarm to the frontier generals at once. In the eighth year the Oirat chieftain Esen sent horses and wine, seeking Qiewangshijia's daughter for his son and the Shazhou chief Kunjilai's daughter for his brother. Both men refused and memorialized that they served the court and dared not arrange marriages on their own. The emperor, mindful that the Oirats were strong and the overture could not lightly be rebuffed, told each man to follow his own wish and conveyed as much to Esen—but both still refused. The next year Qiewangshijia pleaded old age and incapacity. The court appointed his son Asu assistant regional commander in his stead. Esen sent envoys again to propose marriage and asked that a kinsman come in person to accept the betrothal gifts. Asu suspected a trap, refused, and sent a petition asking to be moved to safer ground. The emperor told him the land must not be abandoned and urged him to rally his chiefs and strengthen themselves. Because they were starving, the court ordered frontier officials to supply grain—the measures taken to comfort them were generous indeed.
57
先是，苦術娶西番女，生塔力尼； 又娶蒙古女，生都指揮瑣合者、革古者二人。 各分所部為三，凡西番人居左帳，屬塔力尼，蒙古人居右帳，屬瑣合者，而自領中帳。 後苦術卒，諸子來歸，並授官。 至是阿速勢盛，欲兼併右帳，屢相仇殺。 瑣合者不能支，醖於邊將，欲以所部內屬。 邊將任禮遣赴京，請發兵收其部落。 帝慮其部人不願內徙，仍遣瑣合者還甘肅，而令禮往取其孥。 十三年，邊將護哈密使臣至苦峪。 赤斤都指揮總兒加陸等率眾圍其城，聲言報怨。 官軍出擊之，獲總兒加陸，已而逃去。 事聞，敕責阿速，令縛獻犯者。
Earlier Kujiu had married a Western Tibetan woman and fathered Talini; He also married a Mongol woman and fathered two sons, the regional commanders Suohezhe and Geguzhe. Each divided his following into three camps: Western Tibetans in the left wing under Talini, Mongols in the right under Suohezhe, while Kujiu himself led the center. Later Kujiu died. His sons came to submit, and all were given appointments. By then Asu had grown strong and sought to swallow the right wing; the two sides feuded and killed one another again and again. Suohezhe could not hold his ground. He appealed to the frontier general and asked to bring his people under Ming rule. Frontier general Ren Li sent him to court and asked that troops be sent to take possession of his tribe. The emperor, fearing the tribesmen would not accept inward migration, sent Suohezhe back to Gansu anyway and ordered Ren Li to fetch his family. In year 13 frontier officers escorted Hami envoys as far as Kuyu. Chijin regional commander Zonger Jialu and others led a force to besiege the city, claiming they had come to settle a score. Government troops sallied out, captured Zonger Jialu, but he soon broke free. When word reached court, an edict rebuked Asu and ordered him to bind and hand over the culprits.
58
景泰二年，也先復遣使持書求婚。 會阿速他往，其僚屬以其書來上。 兵部尚書于謙言：「赤斤諸衛久為我籓籬，也先無故招降結親，意在撤我屏蔽。 宜令邊臣整兵慎防，並敕阿速悉力捍禦，有警馳報，發兵應援。」 從之。 五年，也先益圖兼併，遣使齎印授阿速，脅令臣服。 阿速不從，報之邊臣。 會也先被殺，獲已。
In Jingtai year 2 Esen again sent envoys with a letter proposing marriage. Asu happened to be away; his staff brought the letter to court. Minister of War Yu Qian said: "The Chijin guards have long been our outer bulwark. Esen is wooing them and seeking marriage ties without cause—his aim is to peel away our shield. Frontier officials should ready troops and guard carefully, and Asu should be ordered to defend with all his strength; at the first alarm he must report at once so troops can be sent to his aid." The court approved. In the fifth year Esen pressed harder for annexation, sent envoys with a seal to invest Asu, and tried to force his submission. Asu refused and reported the matter to the frontier officials. Soon Esen was killed, and the threat passed.
59
九年，土魯番陷哈密，遣使三人，以書招都督僉事昆藏同叛。 昆藏不從，殺其使，以其書來獻。 天子嘉之，遣使賜賚，且令發兵攻討。 昆藏以力不足，請發官軍數千為助。 朝議委都督李文等計度。 已，文等進征，昆藏果以兵來會。 會文等頓軍不進，其兵亦還。
In the ninth year Turfan took Hami and sent three envoys with a letter urging assistant regional commander Kun Zang to rebel with them. Kun Zang refused, killed the envoys, and sent the letter to court. The emperor praised him, sent envoys with rewards, and ordered troops to march against Turfan. Kun Zang, saying his forces were too few, asked for several thousand government troops to help. The court put regional commander Li Wen and others in charge of planning the campaign. Before long Li Wen marched out, and Kun Zang did come with troops to join him. But Li Wen halted and would not advance, and Kun Zang's men withdrew as well.
60
十年，賞卜塔兒以千騎入肅州境，將與阿年族番人仇殺。 邊臣既諭卻之，兵部請遣人責以大義，有仇則赴訴邊吏，不得擅相侵掠，從之。 十四年，其部人言賞卜塔兒幼不更事，指揮僉事加定得眾心，乞遷一秩，俾總衛事。 賞卜塔兒亦署名推讓。 而罕東酋長復合詞奏舉，且雲兩衛番人，待此以靖。 帝納其言，擢加定都指揮僉事，暫掌印務。 時土魯番猶據哈密。 哈密都督罕慎結赤斤為援，復其城，有詔褒賞。
In the tenth year Shangbotar crossed into Suzhou with a thousand horsemen, intending to settle a blood feud with the Anian tribesmen. Frontier officials had already admonished them and turned them back. The Ministry of War asked that a messenger be sent to rebuke them in the name of right conduct: grievances must be taken to frontier officials, not settled by private raids. The court agreed. In the fourteenth year his tribesmen said Shangbotar was young and untested, while assistant commander Jia Ding had won the people's hearts; they asked that Jia Ding be raised one rank to head guard affairs. Shangbotar signed as well, recommending Jia Ding and yielding the post. Handong chiefs submitted a joint petition as well, saying the tribesmen of both guards looked to this appointment for peace. The emperor accepted their plea, promoted Jia Ding to assistant regional commander, and put him temporarily in charge of the seal. Turfan still held Hami. Hami regional commander Han Shen joined forces with Chijin, retook the city, and received an edict of praise and reward.
61
十九年，鄰番野乜克力來侵，大肆殺掠，赤斤遂殘破。 其酋長訴於邊臣，給之栗。 又命繕治其城，令流移者復業，赤斤自是不振。 然弘治中，阿木郎破哈密，猶用其兵。 後許進西征，亦以兵來助。 正德八年，土魯番遣將據哈密，遂大掠赤斤，奪其印而去。 及彭澤經略，始以印來歸。 已，番賊犯肅州與中國為難。 赤斤當其沖，益遭蹂躪。 部眾不能自存，盡內徙肅州之南山，其城遂空。
In the nineteenth year the neighboring tribe Yeme Keli invaded, killing and plundering on a wide scale, and Chijin was left in ruins. Its chiefs appealed to frontier officials, who supplied them with grain. The court also ordered the city repaired and the displaced brought back to their livelihoods, but Chijin never regained its strength. Yet during Hongzhi, when A Manlang took Hami, their troops were still used. Later, when Xu Jin marched west, they sent troops to help as well. In Zhengde year 8 Turfan sent generals to take Hami, then overran Chijin and carried off its seal. Only after Peng Ze took charge of frontier affairs did they return the seal. Soon tribal raiders were harrying Suzhou and making trouble for the realm. Chijin lay directly in their path and was trampled ever more harshly. The tribesmen could not survive on their own and all moved inward to the southern hills of Suzhou; the city was abandoned.
62
嘉靖七年，總督王瓊撫安諸郡，核赤斤之眾僅千餘人。 乃授賞卜塔兒子鎖南束為都督，統其部帳。
In Jiajing year 7 grand coordinator Wang Qiong pacified the frontier districts and found that Chijin had barely a thousand people left. He then made Shangbotar's son Suonan Shu regional commander and put him in charge of the remnant encampment.
63
沙州衛
Shazhou Guard
64
沙州衛。 自赤斤蒙古西行二百里曰苦峪，自苦峪南折而西百九十里曰瓜州，自瓜州而西四百四十里始達沙州。 漢燉煌郡西域之境，玉門、陽關並相距不遠。 後魏始置沙州，唐因之，後沒於吐蕃。 宣宗時，張義潮以州內附，置歸義軍，授節度使。 宋入於西夏，元為沙州路。
Shazhou Guard. Two hundred li west from Chijin Mongol country lay Kuyu; from Kuyu, turning south and then west one hundred ninety li, Guazhou; and four hundred forty li west from Guazhou one reached Shazhou. In Han times it was the western edge of Dunhuang commandery; Yumen and Yang passes lay not far apart. Northern Wei first established Shazhou; Tang kept it, and later it fell to Tibet. Under Emperor Xuanzong, Zhang Yichao submitted the prefecture; the Guiyi Army was established and he was made military commissioner. Under Song it passed to Western Xia; under the Yuan it became Shazhou Circuit.
65
洪武二十四年，蒙古王子阿魯哥失里遣國公抹台阿巴赤、司徒苦兒蘭等來朝，貢馬及璞玉。 永樂二年，酋長困即來、買住率眾來歸。 命置沙州衛，授二人指揮使，賜印誥、冠帶、襲衣。 已而其部下赤納來附，授都指揮僉事。 五年夏，敕甘肅總兵官宋晟曰：「聞赤納本買住部曲，今官居其上，高下失倫，已擢買住為都指揮同知。 自今宜詳為審定，毋或失序。」 八年擢困即來都指揮僉事，其僚屬進秩者二十人。 買住卒，困即來掌衛事，朝貢不絕。 二十二年，瓦剌賢義王太平部下來貢，中道為賊所梗，困即來遣人衛送至京。 帝嘉之，賚以彩幣，尋進秩都督僉事。
In Hongwu year 24 the Mongol prince Aru Geshili sent the state duke Motai Abachi, minister Kurilan, and others to court with horses and uncarved jade. In Yongle year 2 the chiefs Kunjilai and Maizhu led their people to submit. The court established Shazhou Guard, made the two men commanders, and granted them seals, patents, hat-belts, and court robes. Soon his subordinate China came to submit and was made assistant regional commander. In the summer of the fifth year an edict to Gansu regional commander Song Sheng said: "We hear that China was once Maizhu's follower, yet now ranks above him—a breach of proper order. Maizhu has already been raised to vice assistant regional commander. From now on ranks must be set with care so that order is not disturbed again." In the eighth year Kunjilai was promoted to assistant regional commander, and twenty of his officers were advanced in rank. Maizhu died; Kunjilai took charge of guard affairs, and tribute never ceased. In the twenty-second year followers of Oirat Virtuous Prince Taiping came to pay tribute but were waylaid by bandits; Kunjilai sent men to escort them to the capital. The emperor praised him, rewarded him with brocades, and soon promoted him to assistant regional commander.
66
洪熙元年，亦力把里及撒馬兒罕先後入貢，道經哈密地，併為沙州賊邀劫。 宣宗怒，命肅州守將費瓛剿之。 宣德元年，困即來以歲荒人困，遣使貸谷種百石，秋成還官。 帝曰：「番人即吾人，何貸為？」 命即予之。 尋遣中官張福使其地，賚彩幣。 七年又奏旱災，敕於肅州授糧五百石。 已而哈烈貢使言道經沙州，為赤斤指揮革古者等剽掠。 部議赤斤之人遠至沙州為盜，罪不可貸。 帝令困即來察之，敕曰：「彼既為盜，不可復容，宜驅還本土，再犯不宥。」 九年遣使奏罕東及西番數肆侵侮，掠取人畜，不獲安居，乞徙察罕舊城耕牧。 帝遣敕止之曰：「爾居沙州三十餘年，戶口滋息，畜牧富饒，皆朝廷之力。 往年哈密嘗奏爾侵擾，今外侮亦自取。 但當循分守職，保境睦鄰，自無外患。 何必東遷西徙，徒取勞瘁。」 又敕罕東、西番，果侵奪人畜，速還之。 明年又為哈密所侵，且懼瓦剌見逼，不能自立。 乃率部眾二百餘人走附塞下，陳飢窘狀。 詔邊臣發粟濟之，且令議所處置。 邊臣請移之苦峪，從之。 自是不復還沙州，但遙領其眾而已。
In Hongxi 1 tribute missions from Yilibali and Samarkand, passing through Hami, were both waylaid by Shazhou bandits. Emperor Xuanzong was furious and ordered Suzhou garrison commander Fei Xun to suppress them. In Xuande 1 Kunjilai, his people starving in a year of famine, sent envoys to borrow a hundred shi of seed grain to be repaid after the autumn harvest. The emperor said: "The tribesmen are our own people—why speak of a loan?" He ordered it given at once. Soon he sent the eunuch Zhang Fu to their territory with brocades as gifts. In the seventh year they reported drought again, and an edict granted five hundred shi of grain at Suzhou. Before long a Herat tribute envoy reported that on the road through Shazhou he had been robbed by Chijin commander Geguzhe and others. The ministry held that for men of Chijin to travel so far as Shazhou to rob, the offense could not be forgiven. The emperor ordered Kunjilai to investigate and sent an edict saying: "Since they have turned to robbery, they cannot be sheltered again. Drive them back to their own lands; repeat offenders will not be pardoned." In the ninth year he sent envoys reporting repeated harassment by Handong and Western Tibetans, with people and livestock seized so that they could not live in peace; they asked to move to the old city of Chahan to farm and pasture. The emperor sent an edict forbidding the move, saying: "You have lived at Shazhou for more than thirty years; your households have multiplied and your herds grown rich—all through the court's support. In past years Hami has reported your raids; the harassment you suffer now you have brought on yourselves. Keep to your station, guard your borders, and live at peace with your neighbors, and outside troubles will not arise. Why move east and west for nothing, bringing yourselves only exhaustion?" He also instructed Handong and the Western Tibetans: if you have seized people and livestock, return them at once. The next year they were invaded by Hami again, and fearing Oirat pressure as well, could not hold their own. They then led more than two hundred followers to flee to the frontier and attach themselves below the pass, reporting hunger and destitution. An edict ordered frontier officials to distribute grain for relief and to decide how to settle them. Frontier officials asked that they be moved to Kuyu, and the court agreed. From then on they never returned to Shazhou, but held only nominal command over their people.
67
正統元年，西域阿端遣使來貢，為罕東頭目可兒即及西番野人剽奪。 困即來奉命往追還其貢物，帝嘉之，擢都督同知。 四年，其部下都指揮阿赤不花等一百三十餘家亡入哈密。 困即來奉詔索之，不予。 朝命忠順王還之，又不予。 會遣使冊封其新王，即令使人索還所逃之戶。 而哈密僅還都指揮桑哥失力等八十四家，餘仍不遣。 是罕東都指揮班麻思結久駐牧沙州不去，赤斤都指揮革古者亦納其叛亡。 困即來屢訴於朝，朝廷亦數遣敕詰責，諸部多不奉命。 四年八月令人偵瓦剌、哈密事，具得其實以聞。 帝喜，降敕獎勵，厚賜之。 明年遣使入貢，又報迤北邊事，進其使臣二人官。 初，困即來之去沙州也，朝廷命邊將繕治苦峪城，率戍卒助之。 六年冬，城成，入朝謝恩，貢駝馬，宴賜遣還。 七年率眾侵哈密，獲其人畜以歸。
In Zhengtong 1 Adun in the Western Regions sent tribute envoys who were robbed by Handong chieftain Kuerji and Western Tibetan wild tribesmen. Kunjilai was ordered to recover the tribute goods; the emperor praised him and promoted him to vice regional commander. In the fourth year more than 130 households of his followers, including regional commander Achi Buhua, fled into Hami. Kunjilai received an imperial order to demand them back, but Hami refused. The court ordered the Prince of Loyalty and Obedience to return them, but again they were not handed over. When envoys were sent to invest the new king, they were also told to demand back the fugitive households. But Hami returned only 84 households, including regional commander Sang Geshili; the rest were still not sent back. Meanwhile Handong regional commander Banmasijie had long grazed his herds at Shazhou and would not leave, and Chijin regional commander Geguzhe also took in their deserters. Kunjilai petitioned the court again and again; the court sent rebuking edicts many times as well, but most of the tribes would not obey. In the eighth month of the fourth year he sent men to spy on Oirat and Hami affairs and reported the full truth to court. The emperor was pleased, sent down a commendatory edict, and rewarded him generously. The next year he sent tribute envoys and also reported on northern frontier affairs; two of his envoys were promoted. When Kunjilai first left Shazhou, the court had ordered frontier generals to repair Kuyu and lead garrison troops to help. In the winter of the sixth year the city was finished; he came to court to give thanks, presented camels and horses, was feasted and rewarded, and sent home. In the seventh year he led his followers against Hami and returned with captives and livestock.
68
九年，困即來卒，長子喃哥率其弟克俄羅領占來朝。 授喃哥都督僉事，其弟都指揮使，賜敕戒諭。 既還，其兄弟乖爭，部眾攜貳。 甘肅鎮將任禮等欲乘其窘乏，遷之塞內。 而喃哥亦來言，欲居肅州之小缽和寺。 禮等遂以十一年秋令都指揮毛哈剌等偕喃哥先赴沙州，撫諭其眾，而親率兵隨其後。 比至，喃哥意中變，陰持兩端，其部下多欲奔瓦剌。 禮等進兵迫之，遂收其全部入塞，居之甘州，凡二百餘戶，千二百三十餘人，沙州遂空。 帝以其迫之而來，情不可測，令禮熟計其便。 然自是安居內地，迄無後患。 而沙州為罕東酋班麻思結所有。 獨喃哥弟鎖南奔不從徙，竄入瓦剌，也先封之為祁王。 禮偵知其在罕東，掩襲獲之。 廷臣請正法，帝念其父兄恭順，免死，徙東昌。
In the ninth year Kunjilai died; his eldest son Nange led his younger brother K'orolingzhan to court. Nange was made assistant regional commander and his brother regional commander; they were granted an edict of admonition and instruction. After they returned, the brothers quarreled and their followers split in loyalty. The Gansu garrison generals Ren Li and others wanted to take advantage of their distress and move them inside the frontier pass. Nange also came forward saying he wished to settle at Xiaobohe Monastery in Suzhou. Ren Li and his colleagues then, in the autumn of the eleventh year, sent regional commander Maohala and others with Nange ahead to Shazhou to pacify the people, while he personally led troops behind them. When they arrived, Nange had changed his mind; he secretly played both sides, and many of his followers wanted to flee to the Oirats. Ren Li advanced in force, took the whole band inside the pass, and settled them at Ganzhou—more than two hundred households and 1,230 people in all—leaving Shazhou empty. The emperor felt that, having come only under coercion, their intentions could not be trusted, and ordered Ren Li to weigh the best course carefully. Yet from then on they lived in peace within the interior, and no further trouble arose. Shazhou meanwhile fell into the hands of Handong chieftain Banmasijie. Only Nange's younger brother Suonan refused to migrate and fled into Oirat territory, where Esen enfeoffed him as Prince of Qi. Ren Li learned through espionage that Suonan was in Handong, launched a surprise attack, and captured him. Court officials called for execution, but the emperor, remembering his father and elder brother's loyal submission, spared his life and exiled him to Dongchang.
69
先是，太宗置哈密、沙州、赤斤、罕東四衛於嘉峪關外，屏蔽西陲。 至是，沙州先廢，而諸衛亦漸不能自立，肅州遂多事。
Earlier Taizong had established the four guards of Hami, Shazhou, Chijin, and Handong beyond Jiayuguan to shield the western frontier. By then Shazhou had already fallen, the other guards could no longer hold their own, and Suzhou was soon beset by trouble.
70
罕東衛
Handong Guard
71
罕東衛，在赤斤蒙古南，嘉峪關西南，漢燉煌郡地也。 洪武二十五年，涼國公藍玉追逃寇祁者孫至罕東地，其部眾多竄徙。 西寧三剌為書招之，遂相繼來歸。 三十年，酋鎖南吉剌思遣使入貢，詔置罕東衛，授指揮僉事。
Handong Guard lay south of Chijin Mongol territory, southwest of Jiayuguan, in what had been Han Dunhuang commandery. In Hongwu year 25 Duke of Liangguo Lan Yu pursued the fugitive bandit Qizhe's grandson into Handong territory, and many of the tribesmen fled. Sanla of Xining wrote to summon them, and they submitted in succession. In year 30 chieftain Suonan Jilasi sent tribute envoys; the court established Handong Guard and made him assistant regional commander.
72
正統四年，罕東、安定合眾侵西番申藏族，掠其馬牛雜畜以萬計。 其僧訴於邊將，言畜產一空，歲辦差發馬無從出。 帝切責二衛，數其殘忍暴橫、違國法、毒鄰境之罪，令悉歸所掠。 又諭僧不限舊制，隨所有入貢。 明年冬，綽兒加偕班麻思結共侵哈密，獲老稚百人、馬百匹，牛羊無算。 忠順王遣使索之，不予。 帝聞，復賜敕戒諭。 然番人以剽掠為性，天子即有言，亦不能盡從也。 六年夏，綽兒加來貢馬，宴賚還。 九年卒，子賞卜兒加嗣職，奏乞齋糧、茶布，命悉予之。 十一年進都指揮使。
In Zhengtong year 4 Handong and Anding joined forces against the Western Tibetan Shenzang tribe and plundered tens of thousands of their horses, cattle, and livestock. Their monk appealed to frontier generals, saying their herds were wiped out and they had no horses left for the annual quota levy. The emperor sternly rebuked both guards, listing their crimes of cruelty, lawbreaking, and harrying neighboring lands, and ordered everything stolen returned. He also told the monk that old quotas no longer applied and he might bring whatever tribute he could. The next winter Chuo'erjia and Banmasijie jointly raided Hami, taking a hundred old and young captives, a hundred horses, and countless cattle and sheep. The Prince of Loyalty and Obedience sent envoys to demand them back, but they were refused. When the emperor heard, he sent another admonitory edict. Yet raiding was in these tribes' nature; even the emperor's word could not make them fully comply. In the summer of the sixth year Chuo'erjia brought tribute horses, was feasted and rewarded, and sent home. He died in the ninth year; his son Shangbu'erjia succeeded and petitioned for rations, tea, and cloth—all of which were granted. In the eleventh year he was promoted to regional commander.
73
成化九年，土魯番陷哈密。 都督李文西征，罕東以兵來助。 後都督罕慎復哈密，亦藉其兵，賜敕獎賚。 十八年，其部下掠番族，有侵入河清堡者。 都指揮梅琛勒兵追之，奪還男婦五十餘人，馬牛雜畜四千五百有奇。 邊臣請討其罪，部臣難之。 帝曰：「罕東方聽調協取哈密，未有攜貳之形，奈何因小故遽加以兵。 宜諭令悔過，不服，則耀兵威之。」 二十二年，邊臣言：「比遣官往哈密，與土魯番使臣家屬四百人偕行。 道經罕東，為都督把麻奔等掠去，朝使僅免，乞討之。」 帝命遣人往諭，如番人例議和，還所掠物，不從則進兵。
In Chenghua year 9 Turpan took Hami. When regional commander Li Wen marched west, Handong sent troops to help. Later, when regional commander Han Shen retook Hami, he too relied on their troops and received a commendatory edict and rewards. In the eighteenth year his followers raided Fan tribes, some pushing as far as Heqing Fort. Regional commander Mei Chen pursued them and recovered more than fifty captives and over 4,500 horses, cattle, and other livestock. Frontier officials called for punishment, but the ministry balked. The emperor said: "Handong has lately obeyed orders and helped retake Hami; there is no sign of disloyalty—why send troops over a minor incident? Instruct them to repent; if they refuse, then display military might." In the twenty-second year frontier officials reported: "Recently envoys were sent to Hami along with four hundred family members of Turpan mission personnel. Passing through Handong they were robbed by regional commander Bama Ben and others; the court envoys barely escaped, and officials asked for punitive action." The emperor ordered envoys sent to negotiate as with other Fan tribes—return what was stolen, and advance only if they refused.
74
弘治中，土魯番復據哈密。 兵部馬文升議直搗其城，召指揮楊翥計之。 翥言罕東有間道，不旬日可達哈密，宜出賊不意，從此進兵。 文升曰：「如若言，發罕東兵三千前行，我師三千後繼，各持數日乾糧，兼程襲之，若何？」 翥稱善。 文升以屬巡撫許進，進遣人諭罕東如前策。 會罕東失期不至，官軍仍由大路進，賊得遁去。 十二年，其部人侵西寧隆奔族，掠去印誥及人畜。 兵部請敕都督，宣諭其下，毋匿所掠物，盡歸其主，違命則都督自討，從之。
During Hongzhi Turpan again occupied Hami. Minister of War Ma Wensheng proposed striking Turpan's city directly and summoned commander Yang Zhu to plan the campaign. Zhu said Handong had a secret route that could reach Hami in under ten days—the troops should surprise the enemy and advance by that path. Wensheng said: "As you propose, send three thousand Handong troops ahead and three thousand of our men behind, each with several days' dry rations, and strike at forced march—how does that sound?" Zhu approved. Wensheng put the matter in the hands of grand coordinator Xu Jin, who sent word to Handong as planned. But Handong failed to arrive on time; the government army still marched by the main road, and the enemy escaped. In the twelfth year his followers raided the Longben tribe of Xining, stealing their seal, commission, people, and livestock. The Ministry of War asked that the regional commander be ordered to tell his men to return all stolen goods; if they refused, he was to punish them himself—and the court agreed.
75
時土魯番日強，數侵掠鄰境，諸部皆不能支。 正德中，蒙古大酋入青海，罕東亦遭蹂躪，其眾益衰。 后土魯番復陷哈密，直犯肅州。 罕東復殘破，相率求內徙，其城遂棄不守。 嘉靖時，總督王瓊安輯諸部，移罕東都指揮枝丹部落於甘州。
Turpan was growing stronger by the day, repeatedly raiding its neighbors, and none of the tribes could hold out. During Zhengde a great Mongol chieftain entered Qinghai; Handong was devastated as well, and its people grew weaker still. Later Turpan took Hami again and raided Suzhou directly. Handong was wrecked again; the people sought inward migration en masse, and their city was abandoned. In the Jiajing era grand coordinator Wang Qiong pacified the frontier tribes and moved regional commander Zhi Dan's Handong band to Ganzhou.
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罕東左衛
Handong Left Guard
77
罕東左衛，在沙州衛故城，憲宗時始建。 初，罕東部人奄章與種族不相能，數仇殺，乃率其眾逃居沙州境。 朝廷即許其耕牧，歲納馬於肅州。 後部落日蕃，益不受罕東統屬。 至其子班麻思結，洪熙時從討曲先有功，賞未之及。 宣德七年自陳於朝，即命為罕東衛指揮使，賜敕獎賚。 然猶居沙州，不還本衛。 十年進都指揮使僉事。
Handong Left Guard was established at the old site of Shazhou Guard in the Xianzong reign. At first the Handong tribesman Yan Zhang feuded repeatedly with his kin and led his followers to flee into Shazhou territory. The court promptly allowed them to farm and pasture there, delivering horses yearly at Suzhou. The band grew larger and gradually refused Handong's authority. His son Banmasijie had merit in the Hongxi campaign against Quxian but had never been rewarded. In Xuande year 7 he petitioned the court, was made regional commander of Handong Guard, and received a commendatory edict and rewards. Yet he remained at Shazhou and did not return to his home guard. In the tenth year he was promoted to assistant regional commander.
78
正統四年，沙州衛都督困即來以班麻思結侵居其地，乞遣還。 天子如其言，賜敕宣諭，班麻思結不奉命。 時赤斤衛指揮鎖合者因殺人遁入沙州地，班麻思結納之。 鎖合者又令其子往烏斯藏取毒藥，將還攻赤斤。 赤斤都督且旺失加以為言，天子即敕諭班麻思結睦鄰保境，無啟釁端。 久之，沙州全部悉內徙，思結遂盡有其地。 十四年，甘肅鎮臣任禮等奏，班麻思結潛與瓦剌也先通好，近又與哈密搆兵，宜令還居本衛。 天子再賜敕宣諭，亦不奉命。 尋進秩都指揮使。 歷景泰、天順朝，朝貢不廢。
In Zhengtong year 4 Shazhou regional commander Kunjilai reported that Banmasijie had encroached on his territory and asked that he be sent back. The emperor agreed and sent an instructive edict, but Banmasijie refused to comply. About then Chijin commander Suohezhe fled into Shazhou after killing a man, and Banmasijie sheltered him. Suohezhe also sent his son to Tibet for poison, planning to return and attack Chijin. Chijin regional commander Qiewangshijia reported this, and the emperor immediately ordered Banmasijie to keep the peace with his neighbors and guard his borders—no provocations. In time the whole Shazhou population moved inward, and Banmasijie took possession of the entire area. In the fourteenth year Gansu officials Ren Li and others reported that Banmasijie was secretly on friendly terms with the Oirat Esen and had recently clashed with Hami; he should be ordered back to his home guard. The emperor sent another instructive edict, but again he refused. He was soon promoted to regional commander. Through the Jingtai and Tianshun reigns tribute missions continued without interruption.
79
成化中，班麻思結卒，孫只克嗣職，部眾益盛。 其時，土魯番強，侵據哈密。 只克與之接境，患其逼己，欲自為一衛。 十五年九月奏請如罕東、赤斤例，立衛賜印，捍禦西陲。 兵部言：「近土魯番吞噬哈密，罕東諸衛各不自保，西鄙為之不寧。 而赤斤、罕東、苦峪又各懷嫌隙，不相救援。 倘沙州更無人統理，勢必為強敵所並，邊方愈多事。 宜如所請，即於沙州故城置罕東左衛，令只克仍以都指揮使統治。」 從之。 二十一年，甘肅守臣言：「北寇屢犯沙州，殺掠人畜。 又值歲飢，人思流竄。 已發粟五百石，令布種，仍乞人給月糧振之。 其酋只克有斬級功，亦乞並敘。」 乃擢只克都督僉事，餘報可。
In the Chenghua period Banmasijie died; his grandson Zhike succeeded, and the tribe grew stronger. Turpan was then strong and had seized Hami. Zhike bordered Turpan, feared its pressure, and wanted to become a guard in his own right. In the ninth month of year 15 he petitioned to follow the Handong and Chijin precedent—establish a guard, grant a seal, and hold the western frontier. The Ministry of War said: "Turpan has lately swallowed Hami; the Handong guards can barely protect themselves, and the western frontier is in turmoil. Chijin, Handong, and Kuyu harbor grudges against one another and will not aid each other. If no one governs Shazhou, a strong enemy will surely absorb it and the frontier will see even more trouble. The request should be granted: establish Handong Left Guard at old Shazhou and let Zhike govern as regional commander." The court agreed. In the twenty-first year Gansu officials reported: "Northern raiders have repeatedly struck Shazhou, killing and plundering people and livestock. Famine has also struck, and people are fleeing. Five hundred shi of grain have been issued for planting; we still ask for monthly rations to sustain them. Chieftain Zhike has merit for killing enemies on campaign; we ask that this be rewarded as well." Zhike was promoted to assistant regional commander; the rest was approved.
80
弘治七年，指揮王永言：「先朝建哈密衛，當西域要衝。 諸番入貢至此，必令少憩以館谷之，或遭他寇剽掠，則人馬可以接護，柔遠之道可謂至矣。 今土魯番竊據其地，久而不退。 聞罕東左衛居哈密之南，僅三日程，野乜克力居哈密東北，僅二日程，是皆脣齒之地，利害共之。 去歲秋，土魯番遣人至只克所，脅令歸附，只克不從。 又殺野乜克力頭目，其部人咸思報怨。 宜旌勞二部，令並力合攻，永除厥患，亦以寇攻寇一策也。」 章下兵部，不能用。 十七年，瓦剌及安定部人大掠沙州人畜。 只克不能自存，叩嘉峪關求濟。 天子既振給之，復諭二部解仇息爭，不得構兵召釁。
In Hongzhi year 7 commander Wang Yong said: "The founding dynasty established Hami Guard at the Western Regions' strategic choke point. Tribute missions from the frontier tribes were always given rest and provisions here; if raiders struck along the way, men and horses could escort them—the policy of cherishing distant peoples could scarcely have been more thorough. Now Turpan has seized the place and shows no sign of leaving. Handong Left Guard lies three days south of Hami; Yeme Keli lies two days northeast—they are lip-and-teeth territory, with shared interests and shared peril. Last autumn Turpan sent men to Zhike's camp to force his submission; Zhike refused. He also killed a Yeme Keli chieftain, and the whole tribe burns for revenge. Both tribes should be rewarded and ordered to join forces and strike together, removing the threat for good—the old strategy of setting one enemy against another." The memorial went to the Ministry of War, which did not act on it. In the seventeenth year Oirats and Anding raiders plundered Shazhou's people and livestock on a large scale. Zhike could not hold out and came to Jiayuguan begging for aid. The emperor granted relief and also ordered the two tribes to settle their feud and refrain from provoking conflict.
81
正德四年，只克部內番族有劫掠鄰境者，守臣將剿之。 兵部言：「西戎強悍，漢、唐以來不能制。 我朝建哈密、赤斤、罕東諸衛，授官賜敕，犬牙相制，不惟斷匈奴右臂，亦以壯西土籓籬。 今番人相攻，於我何預，而遽欲兵之。 宜敕都督只克，曉諭諸族，悔過息兵。」 報可。
In Zhengde year 4 Fan tribes under Zhike raided neighboring territory, and frontier officials prepared to suppress them. The Ministry of War said: "The Western Rong are fierce; since Han and Tang no dynasty has fully controlled them. Our dynasty founded the Hami, Chijin, Handong, and other guards, appointing officers and granting patents so they checked one another like interlocking teeth—not only to break the nomads’ grip on the corridor, but to fortify the western frontier. Now the tribes are fighting among themselves. What concern is that of ours, that we should rush to arms? Order Regional Commander Zhike to instruct the tribes to repent and lay down their arms." The emperor approved.
82
只克卒，子乞台嗣。 十一年，土魯番復據哈密，以兵脅乞台降附，遂犯肅州。 左衛不克自立，相率徙肅州塞內。 守臣不能拒，因撫納之。
When Zhike died, his son Qitai succeeded him. In year 11 Turfan again occupied Hami, forced Qitai to submit at sword-point, and then raided into Suzhou. Unable to hold their ground, the Left Guard moved inside the frontier at Suzhou in a body. The frontier officials could not turn them away and took them in under pacification.
83
乞台卒，子日羔嗣。 十六年秋入朝，乞賞賚。 禮官劾其越例，且投疏不由通政司，請治館伴者罪，從之。
When Qitai died, his son Rigao succeeded. In the autumn of year 16 he came to court seeking gifts. The ritual officials impeached him for overstepping precedent and for submitting a memorial outside the Transmission Office. They asked that his escort officers be punished, and the emperor agreed.
84
乞台既內徙，其部下帖木哥、土巴二人仍居沙州，服屬土魯番，歲輸婦女、牛馬。 會番酋徵求苛急，二人怨。 嘉靖七年夏，率部族五千四百人來歸，沙州遂為土魯番所有。
After Qitai moved inside the frontier, his followers Temuge and Tuba remained at Shazhou under Turfan, paying annual tribute in women, cattle, and horses. When the tribal chief’s demands grew unbearable, the two turned resentful. In the summer of Jiajing year 7 they brought 5,400 tribesmen to submit, and Shazhou passed to Turfan.
85
哈梅里
Hameri
86
哈梅里，地近甘肅，元諸王兀納失里居之。 洪武十三年，都督濮英練兵西涼，請出師略地，開哈梅里之路以通商旅。 太祖賜璽書曰：「略地之請，聽爾便宜。 然將以謀為本，爾慎毋忽。」 英遂進兵。 兀納失里懼，遣使納款。 明年五月遣回回阿老丁來朝貢馬。 詔賜文綺，遣往畏吾兒之地，招諭諸番。 二十三年，帝聞兀納失里與別部仇殺，諭甘肅都督宋晟等嚴兵備之。 明年遣使請於延安、綏德、平涼、寧夏以馬互市。 帝曰：「番人黠而多詐。 互市之求，安知非覘我。 中國利其馬而不虞其害，所喪必多。 宜勿聽。 自今至者，悉送京師。」 時西域回紇來貢者，多為哈梅里所遏。 有從他道來者，又遣兵邀殺之。 帝聞之怒。 八月命都督僉事劉真偕宋晟督兵討之。 真等由涼州西出，乘夜直抵城下，四面圍之。 其知院岳山夜縋城降。 黎明，兀納失里驅馬三百餘匹，突圍而出。 官軍爭取其馬，兀納失里率家屬隨馬後遁去。 真等攻破其城，斬豳王別兒怯帖木兒、國公省阿朵爾只等一千四百人，獲王子別列怯部屬千七百三十人，金銀印各一，馬六百三十匹。 二十五年遣使貢馬騾請罪。 帝納之，賜白金、文綺。
Hameri lay near Gansu, where the Yuan prince Unashiri had his seat. In Hongwu year 13 Regional Commander Pu Ying drilled troops at Xiliang and asked to campaign westward, open the road to Hameri, and restore travel and trade. The Hongwu Emperor sent a sealed letter: "As for your request to seize territory, use your own judgment. But strategy must come first—do not neglect that." Pu Ying then marched. Unashiri was frightened and sent envoys to submit. The next year, in the fifth month, he sent the Muslim Alaoding to court with horses as tribute. The court granted him brocades and sent him to the Uighur country to win over the frontier tribes. In year 23 the emperor learned that Unashiri was locked in blood feud with a neighboring tribe and ordered Song Sheng, regional commander of Gansu, to hold his forces in readiness. The following year he sent envoys asking to trade horses at Yan'an, Suide, Pingliang, and Ningxia. The emperor said: "The frontier peoples are cunning and treacherous. This request for markets—who knows it is not reconnaissance? If we prize their horses and ignore the danger, our losses will surely be great. Do not agree. From now on, send every envoy who arrives to the capital." At that time many Uighur tribute missions from the Western Regions were blocked by Hameri. When they came by other routes, he sent troops to ambush and kill them. The emperor was enraged when he heard of it. In the eighth month he ordered Assistant Regional Commander Liu Zhen and Song Sheng to lead a punitive expedition. Liu Zhen marched west from Liangzhou, reached the city by night, and surrounded it on all sides. His pacification commissioner Yueshan was lowered over the wall by rope that night to surrender. At dawn Unashiri drove more than three hundred horses and broke through the encirclement. Government troops scrambled for the horses; Unashiri fled with his household in their wake. Liu Zhen stormed the city, killed 1,400 men including Prince Bierqietiemuer of Bin and Duke Sheng'a Duoerzhi, and took 1,730 followers of Prince Bielieqie, one gold seal and one silver seal, and 630 horses. In year 25 he sent envoys with horses and mules to beg forgiveness. The emperor accepted the submission and granted white silver and brocades.