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卷一百三十一 列傳第十八: 速哥 囊加歹 忙兀台 奧魯赤 完者都 伯帖木兒 懷都 亦黑迷失 拜降

Volume 131 Biographies 18: Suge, Nangjiadai, Mangwutai, Aoluchi, Wanzhedou, Botiemuer, Huaidou, Yiheimishi, Baijiang

Chapter 131 of 元史 · History of Yuan
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1
西 怀 寿 使 使 使 使 使 使 西 西 西 寿西
Suge was a Mongol. His father Huruhu'er had served as a soldier under King Muqali. He was later transferred to the armies of Tahai and Tiege. Skilled in horsemanship, articulate, and careful never to betray confidences, he was issued a silver tally and kept constantly with the armies. Whether carrying reports on state business to court or back, he never once missed a deadline. Emperor Taizong recognized his ability and gave him the name Donggeju. An edict ordered that whenever Donggeju brought reports, he was to present them the same day he arrived—morning arrivals in the morning, evening arrivals in the evening. He was once rewarded with a gold dragon robe and palace attendants. He died of illness during the reign of Emperor Xianzong. Suge likewise served in the army for his courage. In the jiayin year, Emperor Xianzong ordered him to accompany the commander-in-chief Tiege Huoluchi and others into Sichuan. In the yimao year, the ten-thousand-household commanders Liu Qige and Alulu Ali fought Song forces at Bazhou, were defeated, and became trapped behind enemy lines. Suge charged into the enemy ranks and rescued Liu Qige and his companions. For this exploit he received fifty taels of white gold, two horses, and a suit of purple silk ring-mail armor. He again followed the commander-in-chief Niuchin in defeating the Song general Liu Zheng and capturing Yunding Mountain city. When Niuchin was ordered to rendezvous at Fuzhou and reached the Mahu River, Suge built hide boats, crossed by night, and reached the emperor's camp at Dahuoshan. He explained that blocked roads had made him late; the emperor accepted the excuse and dismissed him. Soon afterward he was again reporting from Fuzhou when he met Song forces at Sancao Mountain. With barely a hundred men, he attacked fiercely, routed them, and carried off their arms, banners, and drums. In the jiwei year, when Song troops assaulted the pontoon bridge at Fuzhou, his subordinate Huonichi was surrounded in the fighting; Suge broke the siege and extracted him. While reporting to Prince Muge he again routed Song forces at Sancao Mountain. On the way back he met Liu Zheng at Shiyang and defeated him once more. When Emperor Shizu came to the throne, he was rewarded with white gold, bow and blade, and full horse trappings. In the second year of Zhongtong he received a silver tally and was assigned to Niuchin's command. In the second year of Zhiyuan the Sichuan regional secretariat sent Suge to take in surrendered subjects; he brought in more than three thousand people. In the third year he fought at Jiuding Mountain under Tiechi of the mobile secretariat. In the fourth year Yesudai'er of the regional secretariat made him commander-general of his army; he joined the campaign against Luzhou and took Luchuan. In the fifth year, when Dezhou was founded, Suge was appointed its darughachi and promoted to vice director in the left and right bureaus of the Shaanxi and Sichuan regional secretariat. He accompanied Yesudai'er to the capital, where he received especially generous rewards. In the seventh year he fought under Yesudai'er and defeated Song forces on the Mahu River. On the recommendation of the pacification commissioner Saidianchi, he was promoted to vice director of the mobile imperial secretariat. In the ninth year the Jiandu tribes rebelled, and the court ordered Prince Aoluchi and Yesudai'er to put them down. Suge led a thousand men as vanguard, took the Huowei stockade in Lizhou, stormed Lianyun Pass, and captured it. At Jiandu they fought on East Mountain and killed the tribal chief Buku. He joined Marshal Ba'ertu in linking up with the Yila army on the Bulusi River, and every town along their route surrendered. In the tenth year he campaigned against the Diaolou tribes, stormed Liancheng, and on the return march defeated Song forces at Qipan Mountain; he was then made commander of the ten thousand of the New Army. In the eleventh year he received a tiger tally and a formal appointment as army commander of the ten thousand, commanding six Chengdu wings including Gaowage plus the Jingzhao new army, which he trained for river combat. When Yesudai'er advanced to besiege Jiaading, Suge brought the fleet to Pingkang, built stockades such as Huaiyuan, and held the key positions. In the twelfth year he sent forces that defeated the Song general Zan Wanshou at Maping. When the armies of the mobile privy council vice commissioner Hudun and others arrived, they joined Yesudai'er at Hongya, and Suge was posted to defend Longba. Panic spread through the city, and the Song commanders Chen and the militia trainer Xianyu fled with the fleet. Suge pursued them, and countless men drowned. With the palace envoy Shendahan he then swept the lower river towns, and Ziyun, Lu, and Xu all submitted. As the siege of Chongqing began, Suge posted his troops at the Baishui and Mahu river mouths. In the thirteenth year the emperor sent Tuoshu and Jiaohuade with an edict demanding surrender. When the defenders refused, the army split into five columns and attacked by land and water at once. The other columns fared poorly, but Suge alone captured three hundred warships and took one hundred thirty prisoners. When Fuzhou's commander sent word offering surrender, Suge took a thousand men to test whether the offer was sincere. At Fuzhou the garrison did surrender, and he entered the city. When Chongqing's defender Zhang Wan attacked, Suge fought eighteen engagements in a single day and night, killed more than three hundred men, and drove Wan off in defeat. Soon afterward Wan returned with three thousand men and was defeated again. In the fourteenth year the regional secretariat appointed him garrison commander of the ten thousand and darughachi of Jiading prefecture. When Luzhou rebelled again, he joined the main army that put the revolt down. After the long siege of Chongqing, the defender Zhao An opened the gates and surrendered. The pacification commissioner Zhang Jue fled, but Suge pursued, defeated him, and took more than a hundred prisoners and twenty-odd boats. For these services he was made commander of the ten thousand of the Chengdu naval army, and soon afterward became darughachi over the pacification and punitive commissions of Chongqing, Kuizhou, and neighboring circuits. In the sixteenth year he was made pacification commissioner of southern Sichuan while keeping command of the Chengdu naval army, with authority over Chongqing, Kui, Shi, Qian, Zhong, Wan, Yun, Fu, Lu, and the other prefectures in his charge. In the nineteenth year the Yixibuxie tribes rebelled. The court created the Shunyuan pacification commission and appointed Suge its commissioner to govern the tribal territories. In the twenty-fourth year he was transferred to be darughachi of the Hedong and Shaanxi ten-thousand-households office, but Bozhou's pacification commissioner Saiyinbuhua and others went to court to ask that he be kept in place. He brought more than a hundred stockades of the Eight Circuits, including Jinzhu, to submission, registering thirty-four thousand households, and organized the region into commanderies and counties under Shunyuan Circuit, Jinzhu Prefecture, and Guizhou. His authority extended east to the Nine Streams and Eighteen Caves, south to Jiaozhi, and west to Yunnan. In the twenty-ninth year he came to court, was promoted to commander-in-chief, and was reassigned as darughachi of the Hedong and Shaanxi ten-thousand-households office. In the thirty-first year he became concurrent secretary of the Sichuan mobile privy council, with orders to open the Tibetan frontier road. When the Tibetan tribes rebelled and besieged Maozhou, Suge led troops and defeated them. In the first year of Yuanzhen the mobile secretariat was abolished; Suge retired home and died there several years later. His son Shoubuchi inherited his post as darughachi of the Hedong and Shaanxi ten-thousand-households office.
2
Nangjiadai
3
使 使 怀 使 使使 齿 使使 殿 怀西
Nangjiadai was a Naiman. His great-grandfather Bulanbo had served their kingdom and ranked foremost among its ministers. His grandfather Hezhe'er commanded the royal guard, also directed state affairs, and rose to grand preceptor. After Taizu conquered the Naiman, his father Macha submitted to the Mongols. Emperor Taizong appointed him and Chala to command the Mongol and Han armies together. He then followed Emperor Shizu against the Song, defeated Ariq Böke at Shimentu, and helped Princes Habichi and Kuokuodai put down Li Tan's revolt, earning rich rewards and a gold tally. Later, when his son rose to prominence, he was posthumously made grand tutor, enfeoffed as Duke of Liang, and given the posthumous title Huanwu. As a youth Nangjiadai trained in warfare under Macha, showed strategic talent, wore a gold tally, and served as administrator at the commander-in-chief's headquarters. He served under Aju in the siege of Xiangyang, and when the city fell he was made commander of a thousand in the Han army. He followed Chancellor Bayan in the attack on Fuzhou and defeated Song forces at Fengbo Lake. After the crossing, Bayan struck south at Ezhou while Aju struck north at Hanyang. With fifty warships Nangjiadai and Zhang Hongfan burned three thousand Song assault vessels, and both cities surrendered in terror. Bayan's army halted at Anqing. Jia Sidao commanded the Song forces on the river and sent Song Jing to sue for peace. At Chizhou he sent Nangjiadai back with Song Jing to report to Jia Sidao. Jia Sidao sent Ruan Sicong with Nangjiadai to the Yuan camp again to negotiate peace. Summer floods were rising, and Emperor Shizu, fearing his men were unaccustomed to the southern climate, sent orders to slow the advance. Bayan, Aju, and the other commanders decided to press on regardless, advanced to Dingjiazhou, routed Jia Sidao's army, and moved the main force to Jiankang. Learning that Nangjiadai had spoken with Jia Sidao in person, the emperor summoned him to court for a full report and sent him back with orders for Bayan not to advance recklessly while the northern frontier remained unsettled—but by then the main army was already in Pingjiang. Song envoys Liu Yue, Xia Shilin, Lü Shimeng, Liu Jie, and others followed in succession, and each time Nangjiadai was sent to deliver the reply. When the army closed on Lin'an, Nangjiadai was sent in again to obtain the surrender memorial and imperial seal and to demand that Song's officials come out to welcome the Yuan forces. The Song emperor then sent Jia Yuqing and others with Nangjiadai to Gaoting Mountain with the surrender memorial and seal, and Bayan sent Nangjiadai at once to present them to Emperor Shizu. On his return he carried secret orders to escort the Song court north. He received a gold tally and was appointed general of expansive vision and darughachi of the pacification commission. With Alahan, Dong Wenbing, and others he took Tai, Wen, and Fuzhou, then became deputy commander-in-chief of the Mongol army and pacification commissioner of Jiangdong, still bearing his gold tiger tally. He was promoted to surveillance commissioner of Jiangdong, then restored as its pacification commissioner while retaining command of the ten thousand. He was summoned as commander-in-chief to lead the Tongshi forces on the eastern campaign against Japan, but turned back before reaching the islands. An edict merged his former corvée troops with those under Boluomi'er into a single wing; as commander of the ten thousand he garrisoned Jiankang. He was given a three-pearl tiger tally and appointed associate pacification commissioner of Yunnan to campaign against Jingchi and Burma, but fell ill and was recalled to the capital. He served as pacification commissioner of Nanjing and other circuits, then of Henan, and by special edict inherited his father's post as commander-in-chief of the Mongol army. While still heir apparent, Emperor Wuzong took Nangjiadai on the northern campaign, where he fought Qaidu at Tiejiangu. They fought again the next day, and when Qaidu surrounded them on the mountain Nangjiadai fought his way out and rejoined the main force. On the withdrawal Nangjiadai commanded the rearguard. When Qaidu blocked the road, he chose a thousand brave men for a frontal charge, routed Qaidu, and opened the way for the imperial troops to join the Prince of Jin's army through Xuge'erwen and Chenghai. In this campaign he saw the heaviest fighting, then returned home because of illness. When Emperor Chengzong died, the Zhaoxian Yuansheng Empress Dowager and Emperor Renzong were at Huaizhou. The empress dowager summoned Nangjiadai, Bulinjidai, Tuoyinbuhua, Basitai, and others and said, "The emperor is dead, and the empress wishes to put Prince Anxi Ananda on the throne. Do not forget Emperor Shizu and Emperor Yuzong in Heaven—do all you can for the two princes." Nangjiadai kowtowed and replied, "Even if we were torn limb from limb we could not repay the grace of two reigns—but we will give our lives in your service." When they reached the capital, Emperor Renzong sent Nangjiadai and Basitai to Prince Tula to plan the succession. The court and country were in turmoil, and no one dared speak plainly, but Nangjiadai alone backed Prince Tula and urged a preemptive move. He reported back to Emperor Renzong, who still hesitated. When the emperor pressed him again, he answered, "Speed is everything—wait too long and others will control you." At that the empress dowager and Emperor Renzong made up their minds. After the succession crisis was settled, Renzong as regent appointed him associate manager of the privy council. When Emperor Wuzong came to the throne, he was formally made associate manager of the privy council with the rank of virtuous grand master and rewarded with a seven-jewel girdle, horse trappings, armor, bow and arrows, and fifty taels of gold in recognition of his role in securing the succession. Shortly afterward he was made darughachi of the Qixian ten-thousand-households office while keeping his post as associate manager of the privy council. Emperor Renzong once told his close advisers, "In the crisis this spring, the empress dowager and I doubted we could hold our own—it was Nangjiadai's single word that settled everything. I have heard that King Wen of Zhou had his Jiang Taigong—Nangjiadai is our Jiang Taigong." Such was the esteem in which he was held. Before long he asked to retire on grounds of age and illness, but the request was refused. When Emperor Renzong came to the throne, because his family was established in Henan he was specially made grand councilor of the Henan and Jiangbei branch secretariat, given a gold tiger tally, and kept the office for life. He was enfeoffed as Prince of Jundu. His son Jiaohua served as deputy commander-in-chief of the Shandong and Hebei Mongol army; Zhili and Hetai were grand councilors of the Henan and Jiangbei branch secretariat. His grandson Tuojian was commander-in-chief of the Shandong and Hebei army, holding a hereditary post.
4
Mangwutai
5
西 西 使 广 西 使 使 广 使 西 便 西西
Mangwutai was a Mongol of the Dadar clan. His grandfather Tasihuo'erchi followed Emperor Taizong in the conquest of the Central Plains, served as darughachi of Dongping circuit, and outranked Shi Yan. Mangwutai served Emperor Shizu as administrator-general of the auxiliary corps of Bozhou circuit. In the seventh year of Zhiyuan he was again made battle-supervising ten-thousand-household commander and given a gold tiger tally. In the eighth year he was reassigned as Mongol ten-thousand-household commander of the new army at Dengzhou and drilled naval forces on the south bank of Mount Wan. In the ninth month he attacked Fan, took the old city, and then routed Song forces at Anyang Shoals. After eighty li of fighting he captured the Song general Zheng Gao. In the tenth month the main army assaulted Fan in five columns, and Mangwutai led one of them. He advanced with five wing armies, burned the boats on the south bank, raised cloud ladders on the north bank, scaled the Guizi fort, broke in through the southwest corner, and ordered his subordinates to seize the granaries. His achievement ranked first among the generals, and he was rewarded with a hundred taels of gold. When Xiangyang surrendered he entered court with the Song pacification commissioner Lü Wenhuan and was granted fifty taels of silver, feathered armor, and other gifts. In the eleventh year he joined Chancellor Bayan and Grand Councilor Aju on the southern campaign and was ordered to bring his troops with the ten-thousand-household commander Shi Ge to Yanshan Ridge. When they met Song troops, Mangwutai charged the line and killed a man; the other units followed, joined battle, and routed the enemy. From Huangjiayuan in Yingzhou he sailed into the lake to Shayang Fort, emplaced twelve artillery platforms, was first up the cloud ladders, burned the towers, took Yangjiao Dam, stormed Shayang Fort, and captured four Song generals. They pressed on to Xincheng and fought from dawn until late afternoon, inflicting a crushing defeat; Zhai Gui, the Song defender of Fu prefecture, surrendered the city. The army was preparing to enter the Yangzi from Hankou, but at Caidian they learned that Song forces were encamped there, so Mangwutai led the fleet through Doulong Pass and entered the river at Shabu. More than three hundred Song vessels came against them by separate routes; he attacked and drove them off. At Wuji Fort the Song general Xia Gui held out and could not be dislodged. On the yimao day of the tenth month, Grand Councilor Aju led the armies of Yanchi'er, Shi Ge, Jia Wenbei, and Mangwutai upstream through a snowstorm by night; at dawn they reached the north bank of Qingshanji. Shi Ge crossed first; the Song general Cheng Pengfei resisted, wounding Shi Ge three times and costing him two hundred men. The other generals followed, and a great battle was fought midstream; Pengfei took seven wounds and fled in defeat. The fleet anchored at Middle Shoal, where Song troops could not close because of the water; Bayan sent the ten-thousand-household commander Zhang Rongshi and others with reinforcements by boat. Xia Gui fled with several thousand men; the main army pursued, routed him, and drove him to Huangzhou, then took Wuji Fort and executed the defender Wang Da. After Aju crossed to the south bank, Chancellor Bayan reviewed the army the next day and found Northern banners on both sides of the Yangzi; the Song regional commissioner Zhu Yisun fled back to Jiangling. The fuller account appears in the biography of Aju. On the jiwei day Bayan halted at Ezhou and sent Mangwutai to summon the Song defender Zhang Yanran to surrender; Cheng Pengfei surrendered with his army, followed by Wang Yi of Hanyang and Lai Xingguo of De'an. Bayan then left garrisons at Ezhou and Hanyang and led his generals east by land and water. In the first month of the twelfth year Mangwutai summoned Qi, Huang, Anqing, and Chizhou to surrender, and all of them submitted. At Dingjiazhou Jia Sidao and Sun Huchen came out to resist; Mangwutai attacked them and captured the great ship Sun Huchen was aboard, then with the Song defector Fan Wenhua sent five hundred men to secure the surrender of Hezhou and the Wuwei and Zhenchao garrisons. In the ninth month he attacked Changzhou and took its outer wooden wall. The Song defector Zhao Qian rebelled at Liyang; Bayan ordered Mangwutai to suppress him. At Fengdengzhuang they killed more than five hundred men, captured three of his generals, and won over two defenders of Huzhou. In the twelfth month the branch secretariat assessed his merit and, by imperial commission, appointed him to administer the grand commander's office of the Two Zhe circuits. In the fourteenth year he was made grand commander of Min and Guang and put in charge of the regional marshal's headquarters. At that time the two Song princes had fled to sea; by imperial order Mangwutai led the armies and joined the Jiangxi vice-councilor Tacha to pursue them. At Zhangzhou he persuaded the Song defender He Qing to surrender. In the fifteenth year the army returned to Fuzhou; he was made vice grand councilor and ordered, together with Suodu and others, to administer the Fujian branch secretariat and pacify the eight coastal prefectures. In the tenth month he was summoned to court and promoted to left vice councilor. In the seventh month of the sixteenth year bandits rose in Shaxian County; an edict ordered Mangwutai back to branch secretariat duties, and he suppressed them. Earlier, when Mangwutai returned north, the left vice councilor Suodu remained to administer the Fujian branch secretariat. One day the emperor ordered Suodu summoned to court. Li Ting said, "If Suodu is called away, the branch secretariat will be left without anyone in charge—Aruhan of Jiankang should be sent instead." The emperor replied, "Why must it be Aruhan? Order Mangwutai to go at once; when Suodu returns, transfer him to Tanzhou." Before long the central secretariat reported, "Suodu is in Fujian, and his subordinates harass the people, so that Nanjian and other circuits have repeatedly killed their chief officials and rebelled. Once Mangwutai arrived, he brought in seventy-two stockade settlements, and Jianning, Zhangzhou, and Tingzhou gradually regained order. If he were transferred elsewhere and Suodu sent back, they feared the people would suffer renewed hardship." An imperial rescript directed that Mangwutai remain in command of Fujian. In the eighteenth year he was made Right Censor-in-Chief. At the time the Pacification Commissioner Wang Gangzhong, a local man of great wealth, had grown rather high-handed in his exercise of power. Mangwutai feared he might stir up trouble and memorialized to have him transferred to another circuit. In the twenty-first year he was appointed Pingzhang of the Jianghuai Branch Secretariat. Earlier, the Song defector Chen Yi of the Five Tigers had helped Zhang Hongfan capture Wen Tianxiang, assisted Wanzhedou in putting down Chen Daju, and furnished Atahai with three thousand warships for the Japan expedition. Fujian provincial officials reported that he showed signs of disloyalty and asked that he be removed. The emperor ordered Mangwutai to look into the accusation. At this point Mangwutai brought Chen Yi to court, vouched for his loyalty, and asked that he be rewarded with office and rank; Chancellor Bayan spoke in his favor as well. Chen Yi was then appointed Associate Administrator of the Guangdong Circuit Pacification Commission and granted a Mingzhu tiger tally; his followers Lin Xiong and nine others were all made company commanders as well. In the twenty-second year Tuohusi and Leshi conveyed an imperial order to the Central Secretariat instructing that all Jiang-Zhe provincial officials be replaced. The Central Secretariat reported back, and the emperor said, "How could I have said such a thing? The messengers are mistaken. Could even someone as capable in government as Mangwutai be replaced?" Soon afterward, accusers brought charges and he was summoned to court; his household goods were sealed up and investigators dispatched, but no wrongdoing was found. Before long he was appointed Silver-Green Grand Counselor of Splendid Happiness and Left Chancellor of the Branch Secretariat, and sent back to govern Jiang-Zhe. Western Zhejiang was then in the grip of severe famine. He lifted restrictions on river and lake fishing, released government goods from the prefectural treasury at reduced prices, and used the proceeds to buy grain for relief. When banditry broke out in eastern Zhejiang, he remitted land taxes to ease the strain on the people. In the twenty-third year he memorialized, "Those who smuggle salt are mostly islanders; with the campaign against Japan underway, they could be recruited as naval laborers." The proposal was approved, and he was granted five thousand strings of paper currency. When the campaign ended, he asked that the warships be turned over to the maritime grain transport service. He also argued, "With the branch secretariat at Hangzhou, revenue and military stores from Huai-nan and Jiangdong must first be shipped south to Hangzhou and then north again to the capital — an exhausting round trip. I ask that the seat of government be moved to Yangzhou." He further proposed that garrison farms be established in the nearby lands of eastern Huai, with the annual harvest supplying the army and the surplus sent to the capital." The emperor approved all of his recommendations. In the twenty-fifth year an edict placed all officials within the Jianghuai circuit under Mangwutai's command. In the twenty-sixth year the court, noting that people from the Central Plains had migrated to Jiangnan, ordered the authorities to send them back. Mangwutai argued that this was impracticable, and the order was dropped. When bandits rose in Fujian and Zhejiang, an edict ordered a joint campaign with Buluosihaiya and others to suppress them. Censor-in-Chief Yusutiemuer memorialized that a commander should be chosen, but the emperor said, "Mangwutai has already gone — there is nothing to worry about." Before long the disturbances were fully suppressed. He repeatedly pleaded illness and submitted memorials asking to retire, whereupon he was recalled to court. In the twenty-seventh year, because Aoluchi as Jiangxi Pingzhang was not performing adequately, Mangwutai was specially appointed Chancellor with concurrent authority over the Military Affairs Commission and sent to govern Jiangxi. He enforced strict discipline, uprooted the violent and lawless, and distinguished rank by dress until soldiers and civilians alike lived in peace; his authority and virtue were both evident. He died after only forty days in office. While serving in Jiang-Zhe, Mangwutai was obstinate and self-willed and repeatedly reshuffled the garrison troops. Pingzhang Bulinjietai charged that he had overturned the established policies of Bayan and Aju, and the emperor admonished him again and again. After his death, censorial officials impeached Director Zhang Sili, and only then did the emperor learn that Mangwutai had hounded Liu Xuan to his death and that his garrison-farming schemes had come to nothing. He had three sons: Tiemu'erbuhua; Belanxi, who inherited the wanhu command; and Yilichu, Associate Administrator of the Central Secretariat.
6
Aoluchi
7
西 使 使 使 使 广 西 退 广 西 使
Aoluchi was a man of the Jala'ir tribe. His great-grandfather Huohuocha was a bold and skilled horseman and archer; whenever Taizu took the field, he led elite troops as vanguard. His grandfather Shuoluhan was a man of courage and force. Once slandered, he was barred from audience; one day, as he waited for the imperial procession to pass, he rushed forward and cried, "Your subject is innocent. If I am truly guilty, kill me at once and I shall join the Former Emperor in the grave; otherwise pardon me, and I will prove my worth in your service." The emperor laughed and restored him to service. In the xinwei year he fought the Jin at Yegu Ridge. Though struck by an arrow in battle, he fought all the harder and carried the position. After returning to camp he pulled out the arrow; blood gushed forth and he lost consciousness. The emperor attended him in person and applied medicine, but he could not be saved. The emperor grieved and said, "Shuoluhan was one of my arms — and now he is gone!" He granted his family four hundred horses and ten thousand bolts of brocade silk. His father Temutai followed Emperor Taizong in the campaign against the Hangli tribe and captured the tribal chief to present as tribute. He again took part in the Western Xia campaign with distinction and was specially appointed to provisional secretariat affairs, commanding the armies of the Uru, Mangwu, Yiqielie, Hongjila, and Jala'ir tribes. When Henan was pacified, he was granted two thousand taxable households for his service. He had once garrisoned troops at Taiyuan, Pingyang, and Henan; the local people held him in gratitude, and each community erected a shrine in his honor. Aoluchi was plain-spoken and unpretentious by nature, yet his wisdom and courage surpassed ordinary men. He entered service early under Emperor Xianzong, carried the imperial arms, and was singled out for special trust and favor. In the wuwu year he accompanied the imperial campaign into Shu and assaulted Diaoyu Mountain. In the fifth year of Zhiyuan he fought at Xiangyang and was granted a gold tally as ten-thousand-household commander of the Mongol army. The following year he received a tiger tally, succeeded to his father's post, and took command of forty thousand Mongol households. In the spring of the eleventh year, the court ordered Chancellor Bayan to mount a major invasion of Song; Aoluchi marched with his troops, crossed the Yangzi, and besieged Ezhou. When Song troops held fast, Aoluchi advised the chancellor that surrender could be negotiated by envoy; he sent Commander Xu with a captured Song general, bearing a gold tally, to the southeast gate and displayed the tally as a summons to surrender. That night the gate commander Cui Li opened the gate and came out; Aoluchi brought him before the chancellor. He then sent Cui Li back into the city to negotiate with the defending commander Zhang Yanran. The next day Zhang Yanran surrendered the city. Aoluchi was promoted to Grand General of Sagacious Resolve, and prefecture after prefecture submitted without a fight. Sending detachments through Dusong Pass, he found Song troops holding firm; Aoluchi ordered his officers to raise still more banners on the surrounding hills, then led elite cavalry in a sudden charge. The defenders broke in panic, abandoned the pass, and fled; the pursuit ran more than a hundred li, and the slain were beyond counting. In the thirteenth year, after the Song emperor surrendered, forces were dispatched to reduce the remaining prefectures; Aoluchi was promoted to Pacifying-the-Realm Senior General and acting vice director of the Central Secretariat. Shortly afterward he was appointed Hubei Circuit pacification commissioner with vice-director rank, concurrently commanding the Mongol army. The prefectures had only just submitted; heavy garrisons alarmed the people, who fled in fear to hide in mountains and marshes. Aoluchi put a stop to plunder, cared for the weak, and enforced his orders firmly; the people gradually returned to their livelihoods. An edict then went out to round up escaped captives everywhere; local officials seized more than a thousand men and women. By then the soldiers who had captured them had already returned to their units, leaving the captives with nowhere to go; the officials debated registering them all as government dependents. Aoluchi said, "These people have already suffered the misfortunes of war; fortune has reunited their families — to bind them again is to make them suffer war a second time. Better to register them as ordinary subjects." The others agreed. Soon he was summoned to court and received lavish rewards. On his return the emperor said, "Wuchang commands the rivers and lakes — it is a place of real strategic weight. I have campaigned there myself; I am sending you to govern it and serve as my eyes and ears." He was promoted to senior general of the Flying Cavalry Guard, left vice director of the Central Secretariat, and acting pacification commissioner. In the eighteenth year an edict transferred the regional secretariat to Ezhou and the pacification commission to Tanzhou. At the time the outlaw chiefs Zhou Long and Zhang Hu were raiding through Hunan with their bands; Aoluchi pursued them as circumstances allowed, executed the two leaders, and released the rest. Summoned to court again, he was appointed right vice director of the regional secretariat and transferred to vice commander of the Jinghu regional military affairs commission. In the spring of the twenty-third year he was appointed grand counselor of the Huguang regional secretariat. In the fourth month of summer he was summoned to Shangdu and ordered to assist the Prince of Zhennan in the campaign against Annam; the emperor encouraged him, saying, "Muqali and others once devoted themselves wholly to the throne, and their fame has never faded — if you apply yourself as they did, will you not stand alongside them in honor?" He also ordered Aoluchi's son Tuohuanbuhua to inherit the ten-thousand-household command. Reaching Annam, he advised the prince to divide the army into three columns; adapting tactics to the terrain, they drove the enemy beyond endurance, and the natives fled to hide on offshore islands. Remaining enemies blocked the army's withdrawal; Aoluchi fought his way through in a series of battles. He was transferred to grand counselor of the Jiangxi regional secretariat. In the twenty-sixth year he asked to retire on grounds of illness, but the request was denied. Soon afterward he was appointed associate director of the Huguang regional military affairs commission. When Emperor Chengzong ascended the throne, Aoluchi was promoted to grand master of splendid happiness, supreme pillar of the state, and grand counselor of the Jiangxi regional secretariat. He died in the third month of spring in the first year of Dade, at the age of sixty-six. He was posthumously granted the ranks of grand master of golden purple brightness, grand preceptor, and supreme pillar of the state; enfeoffed posthumously as Duke of Zheng with the temple name Loyal and Illustrious. His son Baizhu held the ranks of brightly-martial general and deputy commander-in-chief of the Mongol imperial guard; Tuohuanbuhua was senior general of the Flying Cavalry Guard, acting left vice director of the Central Secretariat, and chief ten-thousand-household commander of the Mongol army.
8
Wanzhedou
9
广 西 怀 使 耀 使 西 西使 西使广使
Wanzhedou was a Kipchak. His father Halahuozhe followed Emperor Xianzong on campaign and served with distinction. Wanzhedou had a broad forehead, full cheeks, and a beard that hung past his belly. Fierce and brave by nature, he loved charity and was generous in giving; he listened to and read history, rejoicing at tales of loyalty and worth, and growing angry at treachery and flattery. In the bingchen year he entered military service for his talent and martial skill. In the jiwei year he took part in the assault on Ezhou, was first over the wall, and was rewarded with fifty taels of silver. In the third year of Zhongtong he followed Prince Hebichi against Li Tan at Jinan and distinguished himself in both engagements. In the first year of Zhiyuan, Prince Hebichi reported his martial prowess to the court through the military affairs bureau, and the emperor granted him a special reward. In the tenth month of the fourth year he followed ten-thousand-household commander Muhuali in a raid through southern Jing; on the return march, at Anyang Shoals west of Xiangyang, he met Song forces and routed them. He then joined Chancellor Aju in the siege of Xiangyang and Fancheng, fighting four major battles by land and water, and distinguished himself in each. At one point he scaled Fancheng by ladder, set its tower fortifications ablaze, and fought with such courage that he stood above the rest of the army; headquarters commended his merit. In the eleventh year he was made General of Martial Strategy and commander of the thousand of the Zhangde southern capital new army. In the ninth month he marched south with Chancellor Bayan. In the eleventh month he attacked Shayang and Xincheng. He was issued a gold tally for the first time and given command of the Hebichi troops attached to the chancellor's headquarters. In the twelfth month he led the fleet across the Yangzi at Shawukou. In the spring of the twelfth year he routed the Song general Sun Huchen at Dingjiazhou and was promoted to General of Martial Righteousness. He took Taizhou, fought at Yangzi Bridge and Jiaoshan, and captured Changzhou. In the spring of the thirteenth year he entered Lin'an and took Yangzhou, earning merit in both actions. After the pacification of Jiangnan he was received at court. The emperor turned to his attendants and said, "Now there is a real warrior! Accordingly he was given the name Badu'er and appointed General of Trustworthy Martiality, commander-general of armies, and darughachi of Gaoyou Prefecture, with a tiger tally. When the prefecture was elevated to a circuit, he was promoted to Grand General of Cherishing the Remote and made darughachi of the Gaoyou circuit headquarters. In the sixteenth year he was made Grand General of Illustrious Courage and transferred to the post of army commander of the ten thousand. Chen Diaoyan of Zhangzhou rallied a force of tens of thousands and ravaged the Ting and Zhang circuits, and for seven years the rebellion could not be put down. In the eighth month of the seventeenth year, Privy Council Vice Commissioner Boluo asked that Wanzhedou be sent to suppress the rebels. The request was granted, and Wanzhedou was promoted to Supreme General Who Pacifies the State and Marshal for the Fujian Barbarian Campaign, leading five thousand men to the field. He was presented with feathered armor, consoled in person, and dispatched with the words: "Once the rebels are taken, you may deal with them as you see fit. At the time Huang Hua had rallied thirty thousand followers, was raiding Jianning, and called his force the Head-Shaven Army. Wanzhedou marched first, drums beating, straight into Huang Hua's territory. The thunder of his army so terrified the rebels that they submitted. Wanzhedou promised him the rank of vice marshal and consulted him on every aspect of the campaign. Still wary of Huang Hua's unpredictable deceit, he staged a grand hunt to display his martial prowess. As an eagle flew overhead, Wanzhedou shot it down at a single draw. The great hunt that followed yielded game heaped mountain-high, and Huang Hua was thoroughly won over. He reported to court and asked to campaign alongside Huang Hua. The court agreed, appointing Huang Hua Vice Marshal for the Barbarian Campaign to serve jointly with Wanzhedou. Huang Hua led the vanguard, and at the rebels' stronghold they stormed five stockades. In the third month of the nineteenth year he pursued Chen Diaoyan to Qianbi Ridge, captured and beheaded him in Zhangzhou, and the remaining rebels were completely subdued. On returning to Yangzhou the army received rewards by imperial decree, graded according to merit. He fell ill at Gaoyou. In the seventh month he was received at court. The emperor praised him and rewarded him with paper money, silver, gold brocade, saddle and bridle, and bow and arrows, and reappointed him army commander of the ten thousand and darughachi of the Gaoyou circuit headquarters. When a tiger began preying on the countryside, Wanzhedou went out with bow and arrows and killed it. In the eighth month of the twenty-second year he was summoned to court on account of illness. The emperor sent palace envoys again and again to inquire after his health and ordered skilled physicians to treat him. When he recovered, the emperor was overjoyed, rewarded the physicians with ten thousand strings of paper money, and appointed Wanzhedou General of Cavalry on High, left assistant administrator of the Jiangzhe regional secretariat, and concurrent army commander of the ten thousand. Earlier, officials had been unable to suppress the private salt trade in western Zhejiang. Wanzhedou went in person to Songjiang and Shanghai, rounded up five thousand salt smugglers, and enrolled them in the military registers. In the ninth month he was made left assistant administrator of the Central Secretariat and acting pacification commissioner for western Zhejiang. In the twenty-fifth year he was given the distant appointment of left assistant administrator of the Imperial Secretariat. In the twenty-sixth year he was promoted to Grand Master of Nurtured Virtue, made vice commissioner of the Jiangxi regional privy council, and concurrently pacification commissioner of Guangdong. When his illness returned, he was recalled to court. When Emperor Chengzong ascended the throne, Wanzhedou was received at court, granted a jade belt, and appointed Grand Master for Glorious Emolument and grand councillor of the Jiangzhe regional secretariat. He died in the eleventh month of Dade 2, at the age of fifty-nine. Posthumously he was honored as Meritorious Subject Who Displays Loyalty, Proclaims Strength, and Establishes the Distant, granted the titles of grand preceptor with three-excellencies protocol, grand marshal, and supreme pillar of state, enfeoffed posthumously as Duke of Lin, and given the posthumous title Wuxuan. He had fourteen sons, all of whom held office, but Temutu'gusi and Bieliqiedu were especially distinguished. Of his twenty-four grandsons, many also held office.
10
Botiemuer
11
宿使 怀 绿 驿
Botiemuer was a Kipchak. During the Zhiyuan era he served in the qarači corps and entered palace guard duty. For his loyalty and prudence he was made General of Martial Integrity and given charge of the Left Guard Command of the Palace Guard. In the twenty-fourth year he joined the campaign against the rebel prince Nayan under Censor-in-Chief Yusutemuer, routed Nayan's army at the Hu'er'ala River, pursued them to the Hailar River, and defeated them again. When Nayan's followers Jinjianu and Biebugu fled with their men toward the mountains, he joined the censor-in-chief in battle at the Zhala'matu River, killed two rebel generals, pursued them to Mengge Mountain, and captured Jinjianu. In the twenty-fifth year he was promoted out of turn to General of Manifest Martiality. That winter Prince Hadan rebelled, and he joined Prince Naimadai in the punitive campaign. At Woma Station, the Wula River, and elsewhere he repeatedly routed the forces of Hadan's follower Atu Balakhaqi, and fighting on to Tiemaihabierha defeated them once more. He advanced to Ming'anlun City, where Hadan met him in battle but was defeated and driven off. Pursuing to Hulanyier, he fought Atu three times in a single day, killing five men with his own hand and capturing one assistant general. At Tielijie he launched a sudden assault on Hadan, plunged deep into the enemy ranks, took more than thirty arrow wounds, and withdrew. The censor-in-chief personally inspected his wounds and punished the routed troops who had failed to come to his aid. When the emperor personally took the field and halted at the Wuluhui River, Botiemuer marched with his troops under the censor-in-chief as far as the Guilier River. When Hadan resisted the imperial army, Botiemuer drove him back in the first engagement and captured his follower the imperial son-in-law Alahun. The emperor was pleased and rewarded him with the wife of the captured rebel general Wuhu'er. At Balang'er he fought Hudutudugan, killed five assistant generals, and took Qu'erxian alive. In the ninth month the censor-in-chief ordered him to lead troops to the region east of the Nawu River and gather in a thousand households of the rebel follower Qiedazhen, Tatar commoners, and more than five hundred Jurchen households including Yarisa. In the first month of spring in the twenty-sixth year the army returned home, and he was sent back to garrison the domain of Prince Yizhen. In the fifth month, when Haidu plotted raids on the frontier, an edict commanded Botiemuer to march his army to the front at once. On reaching the Qielülian River he found that Ba Yao had rebelled. Botiemuer immediately turned his army against him, captured his follower Bayan, and presented him to the court. The emperor lavishly praised and rewarded him, giving him Chalun, daughter of the Bayan he had captured. That winter the Eastern Route Mongol Army Top Ten-Thousand-Household Office was created to govern more than four thousand households of Kipchak, Naiman, Niegu, Naiqin, and the like. He was promoted to General of Expansive Vision and made a top ten-thousand-household, and was given a three-pearl tiger tally. In the twenty-seventh year Hadan again invaded Goryeo, and Botiemuer was ordered to join Chelitiemuer in the punitive campaign. In the first month of the twenty-eighth year they reached the Yalu River and fought Hadan's son Laodi, but were defeated. Botiemuer reported the defeat, and the emperor ordered Naimadai, Xuechegan, and others to take the field, again placing Botiemuer in the vanguard. Xuechegan's army reached Chan's Ding Prefecture first and routed Hadan. Several days later Naimadai arrived with his troops; together they attacked Hadan and defeated him once more. Botiemuer led a hundred horsemen in pursuit to a great river, seized Hadan's wife and children, and chased the fleeing enemy hard. Hadan still had eight horsemen while Botiemuer had only three. In renewed fighting both of his companions were badly wounded and could go no farther, so Botiemuer pursued alone. He followed them to a great mountain, but at dusk lost track of Hadan. Naimadai praised his bravery, rewarded him with Laodi's wife Wanzhe, and reported his feat to court. The emperor granted him a gold belt, clothing, saddle horses, bows and arrows, silver vessels, and other goods, and generously rewarded his troops as well. In the twenty-ninth year, learning that the rebel prince Nieqielie was still at Haolaicang, Botiemuer led troops against him, seized his family and livestock, and pursued to the Chen River. Nieqielie escaped with a little more than twenty horsemen, and the region was pacified. He reported that he had brought more than five hundred Jurchen households under his command, and the emperor ordered them registered as fishing households. Botiemuer surveyed the area and set up seven relay stations, had fish caught each year, and forwarded the catch to court by express relay. When Emperor Chengzong took the throne, Botiemuer was allowed to keep his post. Whenever the emperor visited the Upper Capital, a thousand of his troops were summoned to accompany the court—a practice that became annual.
12
怀 西 宿 怀 怀 怀 退怀 西怀 鹿 怀 怀 怀西退 怀 怀 怀 殿怀殿 怀 使 使 西使
Huaidou was of the Wolunatai clan. His grandfather Ashulu had drunk from the Heishui River together with Taizu, joined many campaigns, been granted a silver seal, and commanded a great army against the Jurchen tribes of Liaodong. He later led an army against Western Xia and fought a great battle at Helahecha'er, capturing the Xia ruler. Taizu ordered that all the Xia ruler's possessions be given to him. He later commanded the southern campaign, stormed Xin'an, and captured Su, Si, and other prefectures. Because Ashulu had grown old, Prince Tacar had his son Buhua succeed to the post. In the second year of Zhongtong Buhua died. His son was still a child, so his elder brother's son Huaidou took over the command. In the spring of the third year of Zhongtong, Li Tan rebelled. An edict ordered Huaidou to follow Prince Habichi against him and besiege Tan at Jinan. In the fourth month of summer Tan sallied out by night, attacking from all sides in an attempt to break the siege. Huaidou charged straight into the enemy, killing more than a hundred men, capturing more than two hundred, and seizing several hundred weapons. Tan fell back into the city, and Huaidou kept his forces in the field day and night, fighting without pause. In the seventh month of autumn Jinan fell and Tan was executed. Habichi ranked his merit first among all the commanders. An edict granted him a gold tiger tally and command over Mongol and Han troops. He attacked Haizhou and raided Luzhou in Huainan. In the third year of Zhiyuan he was made battle-supervising ten-thousand-household commander of Pizhou. In the fourth year he took command of the Shandong Circuit Pacification Command and joined the commander-in-chief on the southern campaign. At Xiangyang, after crossing the Han River to the west, he found Song naval forces blocking the retreat. Huaidou picked soldiers to swim across, killed the Song troops, seized more than twenty warships, and took more than a thousand heads. In the sixth year the army encamped at Tianchang in Huainan. At Wuhekou he fought Song troops and routed them. In the seventh year an edict ordered him to hold Lumen Mountain, the Baihe River mouth, and Yizi Fortress. In the spring of the ninth year Huaidou asked permission to assault the old fortress outside Fan. The fortress stood seven stories high. Huaidou mustered his men by night, braved arrows and stones in person, and stormed it, killing the Song general Han Bofa and capturing Cai Luqian. After Xiangyang fell he stationed his army at Cai and Xi, patrolled Huai'an, returned to hold Zhengyang, raided Anfeng, and took captives beyond count. In the summer of the eleventh year the Song general Xia Gui attacked Zhengyang. Huaidou led infantry along the west bank of the Huai to Henghekou, met the enemy head-on, and drove them back. In the ninth month he raided Anqing. In the twelfth year he crossed north to Zhaojiang Fortress, encountered more than three thousand Song troops, fought them, and routed them. He crossed the river southward again and encamped at Zhenjiang. Intelligence reported that the Song Pingjiang Army had marched out of Changzhou. Huaidou led a thousand men to Wuxi, met the Song force in battle, and destroyed it. In the seventh month the regional secretariat ordered Huaidou to guard the Jiaoshan shore with his army, then to build a wooden fort at Wantou near Yangzhou and hold it with troops. In the ninth month he was appointed acting director of the privy council and resumed command at Zhenjiang. When the Song palace commander Zhang Yan and pacification commissioner Liu Shiyong attacked Lücheng, Huaidou joined the ten-thousand-household commanders Hulachu and Temür in pursuit to Changzhou, took more than a hundred boats, and captured Zhang and Prefect Fan. In the tenth month of winter he joined Right Chancellor Atahai in the assault on Changzhou. The Song commander-in-chief Zhu marched from Suzhou to relieve the city. Huaidou moved to Henglin Store, met him in battle, and broke his army completely. In the eleventh month he captured Suzhou, swept through Xiuzhou, and went on to govern the newly submitted populace east of Lin'an. In the autumn of the thirteenth year he marched with the marshals Sariyem, Temür, and Zhang Hongfan through Wenzhou and Fujian, and every prefecture they reached surrendered willingly. In the fourteenth year he was made superior general for pacifying the state and pacification commissioner of eastern Zhejiang. He put down rebels in Taizhou and Qingzhou, fought at Huangshe Ridge and again at the White Pagoda stockade near Wenzhou, and campaigned through Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, and Xinghua until the region was pacified. In the sixteenth year he was summoned to court, granted a jade belt and bow and arrows, and appointed vice administrative commissioner of the regional secretariat. He died of illness at Chuzhou on the way. His son Bahutai'er rose to director of palace attendants and was made pacification commissioner and commander-in-chief of the eastern Zhejiang circuit. He put down bandits in eastern Zhejiang and Jianning and won distinction again and again. When Bulqa's son Qutuqar came of age he inherited a thousand-household command in the Mongol army. For his service in the conquest of Song he was made pacification commissioner of western Zhejiang, then ten-thousand-household commander of Pizhou, and later grand counselor for splendid blessings and grand councillor before his death.
13
Yiheimishi
14
宿 使 使 使 使 殿 使 婿 使 使 使
Yiheimishi was a Uyghur. In the second year of Zhiyuan he entered the palace guard. In the ninth year Kublai Khan sent him as envoy to Barus across the sea. In the eleventh year he returned with envoys from that country bearing tribute and a memorial to the court. The emperor commended him and granted a golden tiger tally. In the twelfth year he was sent there again. He returned with that country's teacher bearing rare medicines as tribute, and the rewards he received were very great. In the fourteenth year he was made vice director of the Ministry of War. In the eighteenth year he was made vice administrative commissioner of the Jinghu and Champa regional secretariat and charged with winning Champa over to submission. In the twenty-first year he was recalled to court. He was again dispatched across the sea to Ceylon to view the Buddha's alms bowl and relics, and was granted a jade belt, robes, saddle, and bridle. In the twenty-first year he returned from the sea and was made vice administrative commissioner in charge of the Prince of Zhennan's household; he received another jade belt. Campaigning against Champa with Grand Councillor Alihaya and Right Vice Director Suodu, he suffered defeat and Suodu was killed. Yiheimishi advised the Prince of Zhennan to hold the army at Dalang Lake and wait for an opportunity before moving. The prince reported this to the throne, the court approved, and the army withdrew intact. In the twenty-fourth year he was sent to Ma'bar to fetch the Buddha's alms bowl and relics. Headwinds on the open sea delayed him, and a full year passed before he arrived. He acquired skilled physicians and fine medicines, then returned with envoys from that country bearing tribute. He also spent his own money to buy sandalwood beams for palace hall construction and presented them as well. Once while attending the emperor in the bathhouse, the emperor asked, "How many times have you crossed the sea? He answered, "Your subject has crossed the sea four times." The emperor commiserated with his hardships, granted him another jade belt, promoted him to grand master for virtuous merit, made him left vice director of the Jianghuai mobile secretariat by remote appointment, and commissioner of the bureau of customs and tribute. In the twenty-ninth year he was summoned to court and presented everything he owned of rare and extraordinary value. At that time the court was planning a campaign against Java and establishing a Fujian regional secretariat. Yiheimishi, Shi Bi, and Gao Xing were all appointed grand councillors. An edict put military affairs in Bi's hands and maritime affairs in Yiheimishi's, and further instructed them: "When you reach Java, you must send envoys to report back. If you remain there, the other small states should submit on their own. You may send envoys to win them over. If they submit, it will be entirely due to your efforts." When the army reached Champa, he first sent Hao Cheng and Liu Yuan to persuade the small states of Nanwuli, Samudra, Burubudu, and Balala to submit. In the thirtieth year he attacked Gelang and its ruler Kajagada surrendered. He also sent Zheng Gui to win over the Melayu states, and each sent sons or younger brothers to submit. The Javanese ruler's son-in-law Tuhan Bichaya had submitted but rebelled again after returning home; the affair is also recorded in Bi's biography. When the generals debated withdrawal, Yiheimishi wanted to follow the emperor's instructions and first send envoys to report to court, but Bi and Gao Xing refused. They withdrew the army and presented the captives and envoys from the submitted states at court. The emperor held him and Bi responsible for letting Tuhan Bichaya go and confiscated one-third of their estates. Before long the property was restored to them. As grand counselor for splendid blessings and grand councillor he became director of the Academy of Scholarly Worthies and also oversaw the Hall of Joint Submission, then retired to live at home. Emperor Renzong, mindful of his many missions to distant lands, enfeoffed him as Duke of Wu. He died soon after.
15
宿宿 广 使 便驿 使 使 西 访使 使
Baijiang was a native of Beiting. His father Hudu was a man of exceptional courage. Rising from the palace guard, he became garrison commander of South Suzhou Prefecture and was posted to hold Qí County. Later he joined Kublai Khan's southern campaign. Though nearly seventy, he always led from the front, exposing himself to arrow and stone, and bore dozens of wounds. His battle honors were among the greatest. The family settled in Qingfeng County, Daming Circuit, where he died. He was posthumously made chief commandant of Guangping Circuit and enfeoffed as Marquis of Yuyang. When Hudu died, Baijiang was only a few months old. His mother Lady Xu raised and taught him with great care, saying, "I have only this one son, and he is still a boy—I cannot let him grow up uneducated." Their county was remote, with no good teachers nearby, so she sent him to study in the city of Daming. Each morning the prefect watched the school from afar. Baijiang's bearing and his recitations in class set him far apart from the other boys, and the prefect came to favor him greatly. By young manhood he had grown a fine beard and cut an imposing figure. When Chancellor Aju campaigned south against Xiangyang, Jiangling, and neighboring commanderies, Baijiang served as a junior officer in his army. At Anyang Shoals the army met Song forces. Song cavalry charged the line, and the formation began to buckle. Baijiang spurred out before the line, shot several men in succession, and the Song horsemen fell back. He led the troops in a long fight until the Song army broke completely. In the fifth year of Zhiyuan he distinguished himself in the siege of Xiangyang and Fancheng. In the eleventh year he crossed the Yangzi with Aju. Whether fighting on land or water, he was often first into the breach, and his courage was unmatched in the army. After the fall of Song he was appointed inquiry official of the Jiang-Zhe regional secretariat for his services. Government was still being organized, and whenever provincial officials needed to report proposals or matters that could not be decided locally, Baijiang's skill at memorial writing made him the one repeatedly sent post-haste to court for instructions. When he was presented at court, Emperor Shizu recognized him at once and said with delight, "The black-bearded envoy has come again!" Such was the esteem in which the emperor held him. In the twenty-seventh year he was made chief pacification commissioner of the Jiangxi mobile imperial secretariat. When Yao and Liao tribes raided the frontier, he joined Chancellor Mangwutai in putting down the disturbances. In the twenty-ninth year he was appointed vice administrator of Qingyuan Circuit. A severe famine struck that year. He petitioned the regional secretariat repeatedly but received no response. Baijiang said, "The people are starving like this and we do nothing—is that what parents of the people should do?" He went in person to the regional secretariat and pressed his case until forty thousand shi of grain were released, saving countless lives. During the Yuanzhen era Fan, associate administrator of the Liang-Zhe Salt Transport Commission, was secretly corrupt. County and prefectural officials took his bribes and did his bidding, and he repeatedly preyed on ordinary people. Whenever anyone had valuables or fertile land he seized them. If they resisted, he joined with local thugs to bring false charges until their families were ruined. His brutality terrified everyone, and people dared only look at him sideways. Locals wanted to kill him but could not. Meanwhile dozens of people he had framed were arrested, and all died in prison. Ye Yi and Wang Shisi of Lanxi Prefecture owned fine property that Fan wanted. When they refused, he framed them on false charges and kept them in prison unresolved for ten years. When the case reached the secretariat, it was referred to the inquiry office for investigation. Baijiang had just taken up his post, and the wrong was finally corrected. Fan was punished, though seven others had already died in prison. Only Ye Yi and Wang Shisi were freed, and the public praised Baijiang widely. In the first year of Dade he became vice surveillance commissioner of eastern Zhe. His orders were obeyed and the local strongmen were brought to heel. When a corrupt colleague was discovered, Baijiang memorialized the censorate to investigate him, and the man was dismissed. He was later made vice minister of works, given a set of court banquet robes, and promoted to minister of works, earning a reputation for competence. In the second year of Zhida, when Emperor Renzong escorted the empress dowager to Wutai for the summer, Baijiang provisioned the route without a single lapse and received especially generous rewards. On reaching the capital he was appointed superintendent of the Resources-for-the-State Office. When his mother Lady Xu died, he rushed to Hangzhou to mourn. Wine was strictly forbidden at the time, but the emperor specially granted him ten hu of wine, which officials conveyed by relay to the grave for the funeral offerings. Lady Xu had remained chaste in her prime and raised her son strictly. When Baijiang rose to high office and served at court, the emperor specially honored her household. In old age, seeing her son's honorable career, she said with joy, "With a son like this, I can die content." Baijiang observed mourning with full propriety, but before he could return to office he died at home in the second year of Yanyou. He was posthumously made grand master of governance and left assistant councilor of the Jiang-Zhe secretariat, with the posthumous title Zhenhui.
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