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Wan-li: Year 4, Month 12, Day 17

5 Jan 1577

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Previously, the fugitive bandit Lin Feng had led his gang in returning to Chao-zhou. First, they attacked Hai-men Port and Ta-tou-bu in Chao-zhou and then they attacked Jie-shi and Dong-hai Bay in Hui-zhou. At that time, the Fu-jian Commander Hu Shou-ren led his army in pursuing and eliminating them, while the Guang-dong troops who were at Hai-feng and other places, also engaged in pursuit. The bandit saw that the naval forces of the two provinces were massing. Then Jin Zhe, the administration vice commissioner of the Chao-zhou circuit, urged Feng to loyalty and instructed him to surrender. Thereupon, he dispersed his ships, restrained himself and awaited pacification. Feng knew that the hearts of his forces had been lost and that his own crimes could not be pardoned. Thus he took a ship and escaped at night. A total of 1,712 persons, including Ma Zhi-shan and Li Cheng, were pacified and dispersed, while 688 captured men and women were recovered. Corresponding numbers of ships, weapons and gunpowder were also captured. The Censor Zhan Zhen-ji investigated and reported on this matter. The Ministry of War re-memorialized, noting: "On the one hand there was elimination and on the other hand there was pacification, but they achieved victory together. Those from Fu-jian who realized achievements have already been rewarded and promoted. The rewards and promotions for those from Guang-dong must not be delayed. It was a very good arrangement to use our military might to pacify the chieftain Feng and to employ pacification measures to soothe the remnant gang members. The achievements of the Vice Minister Ling Yun-yi in eliminating the pirates and pacifying the people were great. Jin Zhe pacified and dispersed many bandits and his efforts were also outstanding. Although they have been promoted in rank, they should be rewarded together with the regional commander, deputy commander and circuit and prefectural officials Zhang Yuan-xun, Zhao Ke-huai, Yan Ji-fang, He Zi-ming, Liu Jing-wei, Xia Dao-nan, Hou Ji-gao, Sun Guang-zu, Xu Ru-yang, Xiao Bian, Li Ji-si and Yang Yin-qiu. The Deputy Commander Jiang Bo-qing, who made mistakes leading to losses should be severely punished as a warning to others." The Emperor conferred on Yun-yi 30 liang of silver and two biao-li of ramie-silk. Zhi and those below him had conferred upon them 20 liang of silver each, Zi-ming and those below him had conferred upon them 15 liang of silver each, while Bian and those below him had conferred upon them 10 liang of silver each. Jiang Bo-qing had his salary suspended for half a year.

Shen-zong: juan 57.7a-b

Zhong-yang Yan-jiu yuan Ming Shi-lu, volume 99, page 1313/14

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Preferred form of citation for this entry:

Geoff Wade, translator, Southeast Asia in the Ming Shi-lu: an open access resource, Singapore: Asia Research Institute and the Singapore E-Press, National University of Singapore, http://epress.nus.edu.sg/msl/reign/wan-li/year-4-month-12-day-17, accessed January 22, 2019