Fantasy Romance in the Late Ming Dynasty

The level of this book is beyond the reach of most online articles. This (Banshu Fantasy Chapter) may be the best unlimited streaming copy in history? Because I feel that no infinite flow dungeon has such complex and exciting multi-party game operations.

There are a lot of elements. In the historical theme, there are Eastern fairy tales, Western magic elements, and possibly technology. Being so complex will test the author's writing skills. The plot logic must be logically arranged, and it also requires imagination. I can only say that it is quite bold.

Jin Guang's Pili puppet show? This is very nonsensical and messy.

When I saw the surname Yun, I thought it was Jie Yu 2.

It seems like no one has written about it yet. I've read a few and the writing is pretty good.

This is much better than most articles nowadays

I don't quite understand, what is Japanese fantasy? Does anyone know?

Due to working hours, I was not the first person to subscribe, but I was the first person to tip after it was put on the shelves.

The definition of Liaodong people in the Ming Dynasty is an important issue involving social identity and political identity. As mentioned in the introduction, there are currently two main views on the definition of "Liaodong people" in academic circles: one believes that it refers to Han people living in the Liaodong area, and the other believes that it is not limited to Han people. Among them, Situ Lin's concept is the most worthy of reference. She believes that Liaodong people refer to social groups that share the Liaodong regional culture and have a high degree of mutual recognition. The above concepts show that there was a social identity among Liaodong people in the Ming Dynasty that was bound by local identity. So when and how did this social identity form? What changes did the meaning of Liaodong people change in the historical context of the transition between Ming and Qing Dynasties? In the process of shaping local identity in Liaodong, the health institute system is a very important factor. The guard system not only condensed the inland officers and soldiers who settled in Liaodong, local powerful armed forces, new armies, newly recruited gang members, and subordinate ethnic minorities into a relatively stable social group, but also closely linked this social group with the Liaodong capital as a geographical unit. The formation of local identity in Liaodong is also related to the fact that the Ming Dynasty adopted a relatively fair policy towards the surrendered local powerful and minority leaders in the process of implementing the guard system. In Liaodong society, official-registered households and military-registered households are more important social differences than new immigrants and aborigines, and Chinese ethnic groups and northern ethnic groups. This is undoubtedly a favorable factor in forming local identity. From the early Ming Dynasty to the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the people of Liaodong gradually formed a distinctive frontier military society and a martial and resolute social culture under the integration of the guard system. In the process of long-term exchanges, these historical actors from all over the world have formed intertwined social networks through blood, marriage, fellow villagers, superiors and subordinates, robes, classmates, friends, neighbors and other relationships. These different social networks are related to each other through marriage, worshiping common gods, and sharing local knowledge and historical memories of local societies. As time went by, the people living in Dusi, Liaodong, interacted with the Han people in the inland society, the Mongols and Jurchens in the northeast Jisi Guards Station, and the Koreans east of the Yalu River. The differences between the Liaodong people and the surrounding people gradually strengthened, thus forming a social identity tied to the region where they lived together. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, He Qin, a famous Neo-Confucian scholar in Liaodong, Han Xi, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, and others all used Dongren as the self-proclaimed name of Liaodong people. A more striking example is Cheng Qichong's "Report of the Three Cities": "The people of Liao called out: 'We are the Duke of Wei, we are the great unity. We must protect the greatness, and we, the people from the east, can repay the public?'" It can be seen that Cheng Qichong, a foreigner who was exiled to Liaodong, called people from Liaodong Liao people, while the people from Liaodong called themselves "people from the east." The "dong" in the so-called "wodongren" refers to the east of Liaodong. The expression "wodongren" shows that by the middle of the Ming Dynasty, a relatively common sense of group identity had been formed among the people of Liaodong. It is worth noting that the people of Liaodong call themselves Dongren instead of Liao people, which means to avoid being associated with the Liao established by the Khitan people. During the turn of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a large number of people from Liaodong who fled the war fled to the mainland. In traditional societies, wariness and hostility toward outsiders are common social emotions. The sudden arrival of a large number of Liaodong people who were good at riding and shooting, strong and resolute, naturally caused a strong impact and potential threat to the inland society. Any conflict of interest or excess on both sides will increase mutual hatred and conflict. As a result, Liaodong refugees were strongly rejected by mainland society. During the conflict between the two sides, some Huhua customs of the Liaodong people were deliberately amplified by the mainland society. As a result, Liaodong people are "more like barbarians", "sexually identical to barbarians", and "the world regards Liao people as the real Manchus", etc. Have become the mainstream views in mainland society. At the same time, Liaodong people such as Tong Yangxing, Li Yongfang, and Sun Degong successively surrendered to the Jin Dynasty, which also made the inland society increasingly suspicious of and anti-Liaoning. After the Wuqiao Mutiny, the massacre in Dengzhou City was the culmination of ten years of resentment between Liaodong people and mainland society. The rejection and hatred of the Liaodong people in the mainland society eventually evolved into treating the Liaodong people as aliens who are not our own race. Even Sun Chengzong, who advocated "defending Liao with Liao", also called on beware of "Liao generals and Liao soldiers, who will form clans and gradually become extremely powerful." Chen Renxi, a man of the time, also expressed a view similar to that in Jiangtong's "Lun on Migration to the Rong" of the Western Jin Dynasty: "All Liao people who live in the provinces must leave the customs" to "clear the interior." Correspondingly, some Liaodong people who were incorporated into the Eight Banners of the Han Army after the surrender to the Qing Dynasty took the initiative to adopt the strategy of Manchuization. Bao Chengxian, Zu Zerun and others all married and had children in Shengjing after they surrendered. When assuming office, they gave priority to sons born in Shengjing and used this to construct a new banner pedigree. At the same time, the Wu family who was incorporated into Zhenghong Banner reconstructed their ancestral genealogy. For example, his fourth generation ancestor Wu Dagui was originally a garrison in Qinghe, Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty, but was built as a manchurian red flag, and his name was also changed to Dakui, which is rich in Manchurian colors. In short, the group identity of Liaodong people changed significantly during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, that is, from a local identity associated with the capital of Liaodong to a group identity between Manchu and Han. This change in identity is closely related to the political choice of a large number of Liaodong people to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. In a sense, the identity changes of Liaodong people during the Ming and Qing Dynasties reveal the complexity of social group identity in border areas, and also provide a vivid example for reflection on the "Chinese edge" theory proposed by Wang Mingke.

What a mess...

The fusion of Eastern and Western civilizations. To be honest, this kind of subject is a bit bold in history. I am really looking forward to the plot unfolding later.

😎😎😎

Since the Song and Ming Dynasties, medicine has been further developed in the Ming Dynasty. "After the Longqing Reform", it was divided into thirteen departments, namely Dafangmai, Xiaofangmai, women, surgery, acupuncture, eyes, mouth and teeth, throat, typhoid, bone setting, and acne. For example, Lao Chen's Surgery Authenticity records more than 100 diseases, their causes and pathologies, then describes the clinical manifestations, and then discusses the treatments in detail, with typical cases. The book contains more than thirty frames of illustrations, describing the locations and shapes of various important sores and swellings, and finally introduces the methods of refining medicine. Some basic surgical operations can be performed, such as hemorrhoidectomy, tracheostomy, amputation, etc.

Alas, the owner of the bar has sworn that the tea will cool down when people leave.

In his later years, Nurhaci did not implement the reforms that transformed the post-Jin Khanate into a feudal imperial state. Instead, he compromised on the remnants of the semi-military republic system of primitive society and formulated the eight-king co-governance system. Therefore, after Nurhaci's death, how to determine his successor became an open question. Although it is said to be "eight kings co-ruling", due to the different bloodlines, qualifications, prestige and abilities of the eight Heshuo Baylors, plus there are four major Baylors and four minor Baylors, and the seniority of the four minor Baylors is much smaller than the four major Baylors, so they originally did not expect to inherit the throne. However, because Uranara Abahai, the biological mother of Azig, Dorgon, and Duduo among the four little Baylors, was Nurhaci's great blessing (similar to the queen of the Han Dynasty), so with Abahai's support, they also have the strength to inherit the throne. And because Abahai was extremely favored by Nurhachi, and sons were more valuable than mothers, Abahai's three sons were all named leaders of the same banner. Among the Eight Banners at that time, Huang Taiji held the two yellow flags, Daishan held the red flag, Amin held the blue flag, and Mang Gurtai held the true blue flag. The remaining flag owners of the red, white and white flags were Azig, Dorgon and Duduo respectively. Dorgon and others are young and have no great merit, but they are comparable to the four Baylors and hold the same power, which shows how favored they are. According to Korean historical data, before his death, Nurhaci entrusted Daishan to support Dorgon in inheriting the throne. However, this piece of historical data is isolated evidence, and it is likely to be a public opinion offensive launched by Abahai to allow his son Dorgon to ascend the throne. However, the four Baylors are all ruthless people. How could they allow Dorgon and others who have always been under them to inherit the throne? So, Baylor, the big four, decided to take a step to remove the salary from the bottom of the cauldron. Less than a day after Nurhachi's death, the four great Baylors united and forced the old Khan's favorite Dafujin Abahai to die for burial. The reason was that Nurhaci had a will: Although Dafujin was young and beautiful, he was jealous and often made the Khan unhappy. If he stayed, he would probably become the source of chaos in the country in the future, so he had to sacrifice his husband. It is extraordinary to have Dafu Jin, his father Khan, die alive. Nurhachi's concubines, such as the side concubines Borjijin, Irgenjueluo, Yehenala, Hadanala and concubines Zhaojia, Niu Hulu, Jiamuhujueluo, Xilinjueluo, etc., All died well. Later, when Huang Taiji died, no one, no matter the empress of the Zhonggong Palace, the noble concubine of Linzhi Palace, the concubine of Yanqing Palace, the concubine of Yongfu Palace, or the unnamed concubines, obeyed the underground. Moreover, according to the customs of the Jurchen tribe at that time, a wife must meet two conditions for her husband's death. One is to love her wife, and the other is to have no young sons. Although Abahai met the first condition, she did have two young sons, Dorgon and Dodo (Azig had grown up at this time) who needed to be raised. Abahai was a noble mother of the country and had a young son who was underage. What's more, the four Baylors first reprimanded her for her "sins" and then announced "the late emperor's will". They also said that "even if you don't obey, you can't get it" and forced her to hang herself and be buried. This will inevitably make people think that there must be a conspiracy behind it. However, even though he knew that this matter was a conspiracy of the four Baylors, Abahai did not dare to resist. According to the rules, when a martyr is dressed up, he should sit on the kang, and everyone should bow before him, and then tie a bow string to his neck and strangle him to death. If the martyr refuses to die, a group of people will gather up and strangle him until he dies. At this point, in order to ease the pain when he died, Abahai had no choice but to succumb and put on a dress and jewelry. The history books of the Qing Dynasty record that Abahai said before his death, "I have served King Khan since I was twelve years old, and I have had plenty of food and clothing for twenty-six years. King Khan was so kind that I couldn't bear to leave him, so I followed the underground." It should be the Qing Dynasty rulers who added the words themselves in order to avoid the brutal power struggle of their ancestors. Even if Abahai said this himself, he was probably forced to do so. After forcing Dafu Jin Abahai to death, Abahai's three sons lost their mother's protection and were naturally unable to compete for the throne. Therefore, the battle for the throne is mainly between the four Baylors. Among the four Baylors, Daishan was originally the most qualified to succeed to the throne. Even after Chu Ying was deposed and killed, Daishan was once selected as the successor to the Khan throne. However, Daishan was deposed from the throne by Nurhachi because he abused his two sons from his previous wife and showed a lack of justice that a monarch should have. Therefore, Daishan has lost his qualification to succeed. However, Dai Shan, as the leader of the Beile and holding the power of the Zhenghong Banner, has enough strength to influence the selection of the Khan. Daishan hoped that someone who could maintain the status quo of the eight-king co-governance system would inherit the throne. The same thoughts as Daishan include Amin and Jirhalang, the sons of Shuerhaqi who were not qualified to succeed in the first place. The third beile Mang Gurtai was reckless and self-willed. In order to show his loyalty to his father Khan, he actually killed his convicted biological mother Fucha. As a result, Daishan and others were afraid that if they elected him to succeed him, they would not be tolerated by him in the future. There is another person who is extremely qualified to succeed, and that is Nurhachi's eldest grandson Dudu. However, Du Du's father Chu Ying was killed because of the slander by the four Baylors. Daishan and others were also afraid that Du Du would retaliate against them after he succeeded to the throne. In this case, the best candidate is Huang Taiji. Huang Taiji is tactful, has both sides, and has a good relationship with Amin and Jierhalang, so Daishan proposed that Huang Taiji inherit the throne. In order to win Zhu Beile's trust, Huang Taiji stated that he would continue the eight-king co-governance system after succeeding to the throne and respect and protect the privileges and status of the powerful factions. Therefore, at the meeting to elect a new Khan, it was proposed by Daishan and his sons Yuetuo and Sahalian, and Zhubeile approved it, and Huang Taiji was selected as the new Great Khan of Houjin. On the first day of September in the eleventh year of Tianming (1626), Huang Taiji succeeded to the throne. The next day, he swore an oath with all the Baylors to "respect the elders, love the children, and follow the right path", and "not treat them with courtesy" towards the three major Baylors. Huang Taiji even swore a poisonous oath: "If I disrespect my brother, do not love my children, do not follow the right path, and knowingly do something unjust, and my brother and nephew have done something wrong, I will deprive him of the household registration granted by Huang Kao, and he will be demoted or executed. Heaven and earth will judge him and take away his life expectancy." In fact, these oaths were Huang Taiji's guarantee to the powerful factions of the banner leaders that he would continue the co-governance system and would not engage in excessive personal centralization. However, at this time, Huang Taiji already had a plan in mind. As a clever politician, Huang Taiji knew that even though his father was powerful in the world, he still chose to compromise in the face of the powerful traditional slave owners; even though his eldest brother Chu Ying had a noble status, he was still unavoidable and died because he was too hasty to implement the monarchy. Therefore, Huang Taiji has been holding back, ostensibly acquiescing to the high power of the major Baylors, but secretly accumulating strength and waiting for the best time. In the fourth year of Tiancong (1630, the year of Huang Taiji), the fledgling Huang Taiji decided to operate on his second cousin, Beile Amin, who was more distant by blood. It happened that Amin failed in the battle inside the pass and abandoned the four cities of Luanzhou, Yongping, Qian'an and Zunhua in the north and retreated outside the pass. This was not a very serious matter. After all, based on the strength comparison between the Ming Dynasty and Hou Jin Dynasty at that time, it was impossible for Hou Jin Dynasty to gain a firm foothold in the pass. However, Huang Taiji wanted to use this issue to punish Amin's crimes in order to take back Amin's power and achieve a high degree of monarchical centralization. On May 23rd of that year, Huang Taiji declared: "Amin Beile, who was stationed in Yongping, entered the enemy territory without seeing the enemy. Without firing a single shot, he killed the surrendered people adopted by Yongping and moved to Ancheng. He abandoned the four cities given by God and returned with all his troops. This is because Beile did not care about political career and the ministers did not do their best for Khan and other Beile." Three days later, Huang Taiji ordered that all the trophies obtained by Amin and his generals be confiscated. On the fifth day of June, Amin led the southern expedition army back to Shenyang. Huang Taiji ordered that all ministers below the rank of general soldier and above the rank of reserve officer be tied up and reprimanded. Later, the three banner generals stationed in Luanzhou under Amin were imprisoned. On the seventh day of June, Huang Taiji announced Amin's sixteen major crimes, most of which were unfounded crimes. Amin was imprisoned for life, and Jierhalang succeeded as the leader of the blue flag. At this point, Amin and his forces were completely wiped out. In December of the sixth year of Tiancong (1632), Mang Gurtai, one of the three major Baylors, died of illness (Mang Gurtai happened to die when Huang Taiji started to attack the major Baylors, which is probably not a coincidence). And dying at this time is considered lucky for Mang Gurtai. A year ago, Huang Taiji used the excuse of Mang Gurtai's "showing off his skills in front of the emperor" to remove his three major Baylor titles, seize the five cattle and record the population, and fine him 10,000 taels of silver. At this time, Mang Gurtai's death exempted Huang Taiji from the more cruel sanctions in the future. Huang Taiji pretended to attend the funeral in person and gave Mang Gurtai a lot of courtesy. But three years later, Huang Taiji still found an excuse to depose Mang Gurtai's heirs and deprived Mang Gurtai of his title during his lifetime. The Mang Gurtai forces were eradicated. After the problem of the two big Belles was resolved, Huang Taiji still did not let go of his cautious second brother Daishan. In the ninth year of Tiancong's reign, Daishan privately held a banquet and presented money to Princess Hada, her sister who resented Huang Taiji. Huang Taiji used this as an excuse to visit Daishan in person to question Daishan's intentions. Afterwards, Huang Taiji listed a series of crimes committed by Daishan and reprimanded him face to face: "As a monarch, you must unify the order, how can you ignore the importance? Now, Zhenghongqi (under Daishan) Baylor and others have underestimated the monarch too much. The big Baylor used to follow me to enlighten me, and went against the wishes of all the Baylors. He returned to the army midway. When he went to Chahar, he was stubborn and wanted to return. In addition, the rewards and punishments were unfair. He hated the people I liked; he liked the people I hated. Isn't this a estrangement?" After several generations of good deeds, Huang Taiji stayed in the palace and let the Baylor choose someone else to be king. Seeing the power of Huang Taiji, all the Belles discussed together to convict Daishan and knelt down to ask Huang Taiji to take charge. All the Baylors unanimously agreed to remove Daishan's Dabaile, cut off the post of Heshuo Baylor, and deprive him of ten cattle. Huang Taiji issued a message of "lenient treatment", exempting Beile from his post and exempting him from depriving ten cattle of his population. This incident of deposing Daishan showed that Huang Taiji's plan for monarchical centralization had initially taken effect, and the system of co-governance by the eight kings had completely collapsed. Huang Taiji's monopoly of power can be applied to the British political drama "Yes!" A line from "The Minister": "History is the victory of ruthlessness over brainlessness." After that, after nearly ten years of hard work, the Hou Jin regime also underwent earth-shaking changes. First, many Han and Mongolian people were added to the society of the Later Jin Dynasty, and they gradually integrated and recognized each other. Second, the power of the Eight Banners continues to grow. Third, Huang Taiji established the Sixth Ministry, the Metropolitan Procuratorate and other departments, and changed the Wenguan into the Third Inner Court, which expanded and strengthened the functions of the political power. The ranks of civil servants have expanded, the status and role of civil servants have improved, and the control of political power has increased. Fourth, the royal power was unprecedentedly concentrated. All the great beile were either deposed or dead, and no one could compete with Huang Taiji. Fifth, Huang Taiji captured a large number of people, livestock and property through successive wars. At the same time, he developed agriculture, mining and handicrafts, and enhanced his economic strength. Sixth, the sixteen Mongolian tribes and North Korea were all surrendered and were willing to be included in the vassal system of the Later Jin Khanate. The entire Northeast, except for a very few areas occupied by the Ming army, became the territory of the Later Jin Khanate.

The great peasant uprising in the late Ming Dynasty involved more than half of China in its later development, and the place where it broke out was Shaanxi in the remote northwest. Why did Shaanxi become the starting point of the uprising? It's because natural disasters occur frequently here. Xie Zhaozhe, a man from the Wanli period, said in his notes "Wuzazu": The official proverb goes: if you have a low fate, you will get three things. It is also called Shanxi, Jiangxi and Shaanxi. These are all about the fatness of the earth, and the calculation of the ears in order to fill the bag. (1) It can be seen that Shaanxi was a famous barren area at that time. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the problems here became more serious. The greatest impact was that the famine was severe and a large number of hungry people appeared. According to the second volume of Volume 47 "Xiangyi" in Yongzheng's "Shaanxi Tongzhi": On the seventh day of September in the fourth year of Wanli reign of Emperor Shenzong, there was heavy snowfall in Hanzhong, killing the crops... In the eighth year, the rivers moved westward and destroyed ruins and tombs... (In the tenth year), there was a severe drought in the west and extension areas, hunger, and people cannibalize each other. Huayin rains and hails. In the summer of the 11th year in April, it rained heavily for several days in Xing'an Prefecture, and the Han River overflowed... The whole city was flooded, all public offices and houses were emptied, more than 5,000 people drowned, and the whole family drowned for no reason... In the 13th year, there was a great famine in Fengxiang. In July of the 14th year, there was a drought in Shaanxi. In winter, Chengcheng earthquake... (Fifteenth year) Great famine in Xi'an... (Nineteenth year) Yansui and Yulin two health centers experienced frost and hail in August, killing all the seedlings... In the 23rd year, Fengxiang earthquake; in May, Linyou County beacon tower rain and hail as big as a bucket... (Twenty-five years) Yulin strange wind uprooted trees, blowing people as far as three or four miles away. In the twenty-sixth year, there was a flood in Yan'an, which floated many people and animals. In July of the twenty-seventh year, there was an earthquake in Lantian. It rained heavily for ten days and all the earthen kilns collapsed... In June of the thirty-fourth year, there was an earthquake in Shaanxi... In the thirty-seventh year, there was a drought and famine in Yan'an. There was no rain in the autumn and August of the thirty-eighth year, and by the next summer and April, many people died of the epidemic. Forty years ago, Xi'an suffered a major epidemic. In July of the 41st year, Jingbei overflowed, tens of feet high, and the residents and merchants were wiped out. In April of summer, rain and hail in Xing'an Prefecture are like bullets, breaking roof tiles, and in the north of the Han River, like chicken eggs. Cattle herders die instantly and crops are damaged. In the summer and June of the 44th year, locusts in Lantian covered the sky, causing a severe drought in the whole province. There was a landslide in Cuiping in Yanchang, and heavy rain fell on the 22nd and 56th. People in Kouzi Town, Jingyang County, saw a sheep fighting with each other, and suddenly it turned into a dragon, cutting across the mouth of the valley. The water rushed down in a moment, pushing up the boulders, like the sound of thousands of thunders, and the mountains on both sides moved. It went straight to Yunyang, and passed the Yuelong Bridge in Sanyuan. It was submerged for hundreds of miles, and more than 70 villages were drifted away. There were few survivors north of Baiqu. After several months of flat land, the water was gone... Forty-five years, there was hail in Fuping... Forty-eight years, there was a great famine in Guanzhong, and a ten-year-old boy could easily afford a bushel of grain... In May (the second year of Emperor Xizong's reign), strong winds in Weinan uprooted trees, and hail damaged the crops...(Four Years) In August, there was an earthquake in Shaanxi. In the sixth year, there was drought and hunger in Fuping, and there was a flood in Yanchang. Seven years later, there was an earthquake in Mizhi. The natural disasters suffered by Shaanxi Province from Wanli to Tianqi years cited in Yongzheng's "Shaanxi General Chronicle" quoted above are not complete. For example, "Records of Huailing Rogue Bandits" records that before the seventh year of the Apocalypse (1627), "the northern border of Shaanxi suffered from severe droughts for consecutive years, and the bare land was thousands of miles away" (2); this situation was not reflected in Yongzheng's "Shaanxi Tongzhi". However, what he recorded alone is enough to make people sigh. From the beginning of Wanli to the end of Ming Dynasty before the Peasants' War, there were almost no years in Shaanxi without disasters, including drought, locusts, wind, hail, water, frost, earthquakes, landslides, plagues, etc. How can the poor people of Shaanxi bear such frequent natural disasters? In April of the second year of Chongzhen (1629), Ma Maocai, a traveler originally from Shaanxi, passed through Yan'an. He heard about it personally and wrote an article "Preparing for Disasters" to report the disaster to Sizong of the Ming Dynasty. This memorial profoundly reflects the pain that farmers in Shaanxi were in at that time. He said: After I finished my errand, I passed through Yan'an Prefecture, my hometown. Since last year (note: refers to the first year of Chongzhen) there has been no rain for a year, and the vegetation has withered. During August and September, people competed to collect wild grass from the mountains for food. Its grains are like chaff, and its taste is bitter and astringent. Eating it can only prolong your life. After October, when all the leaves are gone, peel off the bark and eat it. Among the trees, only the elm tree is not good. If you mix the bark of other trees for food, you can also slow down its death. At the end of the year and the bark is gone, they dig up rocks in the mountains and eat them. The name of the stone is Qingye. It smells fishy and greasy. If you eat less, you will feel full. Within a few days, you will have abdominal distension and fall down and die... The most pitiable thing is that there is a dung field in the west of Ansai City. Two or three babies must be abandoned in it every morning. Some cry, some scream, and some Those who called their parents found that some of them ate their excrement. By the next morning, the abandoned children had no life left, and some of them were abandoned... So the deceased lay in a mess, and the stench filled the sky. Several pits were dug outside the county town, each pit could hold hundreds of people, to cover their remains. When the minister came, more than three pits were filled, but there were still many pits several miles away that could not be covered, so I don't know how many there were. If it is like this in a small county, you can know it in a large county. If it is like this in one place, you can know it in other places. At this time, the situation of farmers in Shaanxi was so miserable. Therefore, in order to find a way to survive, farmers in Shaanxi began to "gather together and become thieves." This memorial by Ma Maocai describes the situation of farmers in the Yan'an area embarking on this road: The people were not willing to eat stones and kill their dead, so they began to gather together to commit robberies, and one or two people who had a little savings were robbed and plundered. There are officials who can't ban and govern, and those who get caught occasionally are also calm and unafraid, and he said: "Death from hunger and death from banditry are the same; instead of dying from hunger while sitting, it is better to die from hunger than to die from hunger." In the early days of the country, every ten households were organized into a Jia, and ten Jia were organized into a li. What's more, when you are facing a near-death situation, even if you don't stop, there are people who don't respond to their calls. The lawsuits are bound by the strictness of the law and have to be strictly enforced. If there are only one or two people in a household, the one or two people will be forced to pay compensation of one household's money and food; if there are only one or two households in a li (according to the "Li" should be "A"), the one or two households will be forced to pay the compensation of one Jia's money and food. And so on, one mile and one county are all the same. Then when you see the people who are there, they will stop holding grudges and run away, wandering in different places, living in nowhere. The permanent property is gone, the wealth is easy to be exhausted, the dream cuts off the road to the hometown, the soul disappears and the ravine is filled, and the peace is uncompliance and becomes a thief! If he flees here, he will flee here again, and if he flees from one side to another, he will turn into a thief. This is why thieves spread all over Qin. The reason why the great peasant uprising broke out in Shaanxi in the late Ming Dynasty was because there were many soldiers who lived extremely difficult lives here. Shaanxi is located close to Mongolia and was an important border defense area for the Ming Dynasty in the northwest region. There are border towns such as Yansui, Ningxia, and Guyuan nearby, and a large number of troops are stationed there. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, on the one hand, military expenditures increased significantly, and most of the increased military expenditures were used for "Liao affairs." Therefore, on the other hand, the national finances were tight, and the salaries of border towns were often in arrears. For example, in Yansui Town, "In the last years of Wanli (Wanli), Baidu was abolished and the salary reached 1.4 Million." On August 24, the seventh year of Tianqi (1627), Hu Tingyan, the governor of Shaanxi Province, reported: Lin and Gongbian were short of pay for five or six years, and the number was more than 200,000. Jinglubianbao was short for two or three years. Guzhen Jingyun, from the 47th year of Wanli to the 6th year of Tianqi, owed a total of more than 159,000 taels of silver. At first, the armies were selling their clothes and selling arrows, but now they are selling their wives; at first they were begging for food on the street, but now they are deserting the army; at first they were talking in the sand, but now they are shouting openly. On March 28th of the second year of Chongzhen (1629), Nan Juyi, the Minister of Household Affairs, reported: Due to many things happening in the city, the agriculture department reported a shortage, and the three towns of Yansui, Ning and Gu were short of grain until the 36th month. The lack of salary has seriously affected the life of the sergeants. In addition, the sergeants often suffer from the deduction of military pay by the officers and the attacks of natural disasters, which puts them in an even more desperate situation. Therefore, they naturally became an important social force in launching an uprising together with the hungry people. In the first year of Chongzhen (1628), Wang Jiayin, who gathered hungry people to revolt in Fugu, was a deserter from Dingbianying (belonging to Yulinwei). "Records of the Huailing Rogue Bandits" records: "The leader of the 'thieves' at that time was the leader of the multi-lateral army." Liu Mao pointed out in his memorial in June of the third year of Chongzhen's military affairs: The "bandits" of Qin are soldiers from Yan and Qing and "thieves" from the country. The "thief" on the side relies on the "bandit" of the soil as a guide, and the "bandit" of the soil relies on the "thief" on the side as his wings.

Li Zicheng was born in Erjia, Shuangquandu, Mizhi. His ancestral name is Li Hai and his father's name is Li Shouzhong. He was born on August 21, the thirty-fourth year of Wanli (1606). My father is a farmer and my family is poor. He was a monk when he was young, and his common name was Huang Laiseng. He worked as a shepherd for the Ai family (also known as Ji family) in this county. When he grew up, he served as a horseman at the Gichuan Station in this county (59). The process of his participation in the uprising is very different in historical records. Zheng Lian, a native of Henan who once lived in the uprising team in the late Ming Dynasty, recorded in his book "Yu Bian Ji Lue", which was dedicated to the peasant uprising in the late Ming Dynasty: (Zi Cheng) Being a post soldier can win over many people. At that time, he was hungry, and Ai Shi, the official of the city, lent money to his son. Ai Guan was angry, so he ordered the people to be flogged and flogged all the thoroughfares in the scorching sun, and lined up servants to guard them so that they could not eat or drink, in order to intimidate the people. The postmen mourned his sleepiness and moved the yin to eat and drink. Ai Pu scolded him not to do so. Zi Cheng angrily said: "Oh, I will die in the scorching sun. What harm will happen!" Then he staggered and held his shackles, still sitting in the scorching sun, not eating or drinking. Although he was very exhausted, he felt a lot of pain. The crowd mourned him and couldn't bear his anger, so they made a huge uproar, destroyed his shackles, and walked out of the city with Zicheng in his arms. They did not dare to go out in the forest, but they did not hurt anyone. The county lieutenant rode on a thin horse, led the officials and soldiers, and went to capture them with bows and swords. Lin Mangqing is so dense that I dare not enter. After a long stalemate, the sun was getting late, and everyone had no choice but to rush out with white sticks and sticks. The county captain was frightened, fell off his horse and died. The officers and soldiers broke down and ran away. They all had bows, knives and weapons. That night, he took advantage of the situation to attack the city. He marched forward and shouted, and the hungry people gathered in crowds. He captured more than a thousand people in one night. They went out and raided far and near. In ten days, they gained momentum and benefited the crowd. They also communicated with the thieves to support them and ran back and forth. They were called "Chuang Jiang" and they seemed to be part of their own unit. (60) In the fifteenth year of Chongzhen (1642), Bian Dashou, who served as the magistrate of Mizhi County, investigated Li Zicheng's Tongli native Li Cheng in order to excavate Li Zicheng's ancestral grave. At that time, Li Cheng also described Li Zicheng's participation in the uprising. He said : "The Xichuan bandit divination caused chaos by the floods (it should not be muddy), and (Li Zicheng) flowed into the bandit camp and his whereabouts are unknown. (61)" Although the statements of Zheng Lian and Li Cheng are not very accurate, judging from their experience, they should be more reliable than other general historical records. At this time, Li Zicheng's department was under a non-stick leader, but it also had a certain degree of independence. The time when Li Zicheng launched the uprising and joined the uprising army led by Bu Zhanni was in the third year of Chongzhen, and the location was Xichuan (according to "The Book of Desolation", "Xichuan is located in the three thorny areas of Mizhi, Suide and Ningxia", where the peasant rebels often gathered at that time). According to the above mentioned, Bu Zhanni originally started in Fugu with Wang Jiayin in the first year of Chongzhen, but at that time he was the leader of a separate rebel army (as evidenced by the fact that he is recorded as the "Xichuan Bandit" in the history books). For this reason, it should be assumed that by this year at the latest, he had broken up with Wang Jiayin and acted independently. After April of the fourth year of Chongzhen, Bu Zhanni surrendered to the army and was taken prisoner, but he later resurrected. In the eleventh month of the fourth year of Chongzhen, he captured Anding, and in December he attacked Suide. It was not until April of the fifth year of Chongzhen that he was finally captured and sacrificed in Suide. Before his death, there were "seventeen outposts and sixty-four villages" (62) in Xichuan. After Li Zicheng joined the Bu Zhanni Department in the third year of Chongzhen, there is no clear record of whether all the troops acted together with Bu Zhanni. However, according to the analysis of relevant data, they probably acted together before they were captured and surrendered in April of the fourth year of Bu Zhanni. When Bu Zhanni was captured, Li Zicheng "hided in the mountains and swamps for a while", and then the two acted separately. After he died in Suide in April of the fifth year of Chongzhen, the rest of his army returned to Li Zicheng and "crossed the river to plunder Jiangzhou" (64). Is this time also the beginning of Li Zicheng's entry into the Jin Dynasty? This is difficult to determine. As mentioned above, in June of the fourth year of Chongzhen, when King Zi used the thirty-sixth battalion of the Shanxi Union, Li Zicheng was one of the battalions. From this point of view, it is very likely that Li Zicheng had already arrived in Shanxi within a month or two after he was captured and surrendered in April of the fourth year of Chongzhen. In addition, according to the fourth volume of "Records of Huailing Bandits", in November of the fourth year of Chongzhen, "intruders and others invaded Weinan, Fufeng, and Longzhou"; the "intruder" mentioned here may be Li Zicheng. If this estimate is true, then combined with the above-mentioned historical facts that Li Zicheng entered Shanxi twice in one or two months after April of the fourth year of Chongzhen and in April of the fifth year, it can be judged that Li Zicheng's department also moved frequently between Shaanxi and Shanxi during the fourth and fifth years of Chongzhen, just like Deng Dengzi's department. When Li Zicheng came to Shanxi in April of the fifth year of Chongzhen, his power was already considerable due to the surrender of the remaining non-stick tribes. In August of this year, Liu Lingyu, the censor, wrote: "Some people who escaped from the bandits said that among the sixteen thieves in Jinzhong who were in charge of the plate, the most fearless ones were Chuang Jiang and Zijin Liang, who wore gold and red. The group of thieves followed suit, so they all took the red dress as their nickname. However, the new thieves across the river in Qinzhou, such as Liu Wu and others, had dozens of leaders, all of whom were extremely ferocious. They besieged Yueyang and coveted the city. The momentum is so great that it is difficult to eradicate him." (65) Since it has been more than five years since Li Zicheng first came to Jin and Chongzhen, he is called the "old leader of thieves in Jin" here; and here he is called "the most arrogant one" together with Zijin Liang, which shows that his status at this time has far exceeded that of other general rebel leaders. Zhang Xianzhong, a native of Liushujian, Fushi County, Yan'an Prefecture, is a member of the Yan'an Wei family (66). Born in the thirty-fourth year of Wanli (1606), he was the same age as Li Zicheng (67). It is said that when he was young, he once read a book (68). He also "trafficked dates with his father to Neijiang, Sichuan, tied a donkey to a gentry's house, and soiled the stone pillars with excrement. The gentry's servants scolded him" and whipped his father, "ordering him to carry it to another place with his hands." Xianzhong was standing by, "he looked angry and dared not fight." Before leaving, he swore: "When I come back, I will kill you all to vent my hatred." (69) After growing up, he was attached to the army in Yansui Town. Before participating in the uprising, he worked as a "quick shooter" in Yan'an, but he also "failed to achieve his ambition" (71). In June of the third year of Chongzhen (1630), as the uprising situation continued to develop, he revolted in the "Mizhi Eighteen Villages" and "claimed himself the Eight Great Kings" (72). In August of that year, due to the threat from the official army Du Wenhuan, in order to preserve his strength, he pretended to beg for surrender. However, in order to free up his hands to suppress other rebels first, Du Wenhuan also "promised it, thinking that it would be a later plan" (73). In October, Zhang Xianzhong and other leaders of the rebel army led five to six thousand people to "plunder Jingbian, Anding, Suide, and Mizhi" and attacked Qingjian. They were suppressed by squire Hui Shiyang, Hong Chengchou, Du Wenhuan and others. About a thousand rebel soldiers died, and 2,000 were recruited. The rest "ran to Anding", and Zhang Xianzhong "occupied Shuangliu". (74) In June of the fourth year (1631), Zhang Xianzhong's army became one of the thirty-six battalions united by Wang Ziyong. After Yang He was imprisoned and Hong Chengchou took over as the governor of the three sides, Shaanxi officials changed Yang He's recruitment policy and focused on killing. Huang Youcai Department. In the first month of the fifth year of Chongzhen (1632), Huang Youcai attacked Wan'an Town in Huan County. He was attacked by Wang Zhenqi of Guyuan Dao in Ming Dynasty, Yang Jiamo, the commander-in-chief of Gansu Province, and He Huchen, the commander-in-chief of Ningxia. Huang Youcai was shot to death. (76) Friends of the Red Army, Du San, and Yang Laochai. This is also a remnant of Shen Yikui. In March of the fifth year of Chongzhen, the army stationed at the original Pu River in the town, "intended to invade Pingliang". After hearing the news, Shaanxi Governor Lian Guo Shi rushed to Guyuan from Jingzhou and called out Yang Jiamo and his deputy Wang Xingshan for "strangling him". Hong Chengchou sent Cao Wenzhao, the commander-in-chief of Lintao, to order three thousand Lintao soldiers to "come from the Yanzhou road to meet". Then a fierce battle broke out between the official army and the rebel army in Xihao. The rebel army sacrificed thousands of people, and Du San and Yang Laochai were captured. "The rest of the people rushed south, captured the military security guards, and destroyed Huating." In April, they attacked Zhuanglang. Cao Wenzhao and Yang Jiamo sent the capital commander Jin Guixiang, guerrilla Cao Bianjiao (Cao Wenzhao's nephew), Feng Ju, Liu Chenggong and others to pursue them. They fought in Zhangmacun and the rebel army was defeated again. Later, the two sides fought again in Xianning Pass, Long'an and other places. The rebel army left Zhangjiachuan, and Wen Zhao chased it from Long'an Division and killed their Red Army friends. The officers and soldiers "took advantage of it and fought fiercely in the west of Luoshui City, shouting for destruction." Finally, the official army pursued them to "Jingning Prefecture", and the rebel army "ran to Tangmao Mountain, and (Cao) became the first to climb up, killing all of them." (77) Hao Lin'an, Liu Daojiang (Liu Wu), and Ke Tianfei. In the second half of the fourth year of Chongzhen (1631), when Lone Wolf and Li Laochai occupied the central part, the army went to support them, but was defeated by the official army and retreated to Xichuan. Later, the Lone Wolf and Li Dusi, a friend of the Red Army, joined this team (78). In July of the fifth year of Chongzhen (1632), Ke Tianfei and Liu Daojiang surrounded the water, and Cao Wenzhao sent 1,800 horses to rescue them. The rebel army "hid their elite troops and fought with thousands of cavalry." When the enemy arrived in Nanyuan, an ambush was set up. The officers and soldiers on the city thought that Cao Wenzhao had been killed; but later they found that he was actually fighting in the encirclement, and they came out and joined forces. The official army turned defeat into victory, and the rebel army withdrew and turned to Tongchuan Bridge. Cao Wenzhao and Yang Jiamo followed and defeated the rebels again. Soon, Cao Wenzhao and Yang Jiamo, together with Yang Qi, the commander-in-chief of Guyuan, and He Huchen, the commander-in-chief of Ningxia, defeated the rebel army at Husi'ao in Ganquan. In August, Hong Chengchou "killed Ke Tianfei and Li Dusi in Pingliang, and surrendered their general Bai Guangen". In November, the rebel army and the official army fought at Zhuizi Mountain in Yaozhou. The traitors killed Lone Wolf and Hao Lin'an surrendered to the official army. Hong Chengchou "trapped 400 of his ferocious and fierce people, and sent the rest away." After the winter of the fifth year of Chongzhen, Shaanxi no longer had a powerful rebel army for a period of time. The change of the Ming government's policy on dealing with the rebels four years after Chongzhen also had an impact on Shanxi, which is adjacent to Shaanxi, as well as northern Henan (called "Hebei" at the time, referring to Huaiqing, Weihui and Zhangde areas north of the Yellow River in Henan Province) and Jinan (referring to Zhending, Shunde and other prefectures in the south of Zhili in the north), which may have strengthened the strength of the existing rebel armies, or started the activities of the rebel armies. The strength of the Shanxi Rebel Army has been strengthened. For example, in the winter of the fourth year of Chongzhen (1631), the person responsible for suppressing the rebels in Shanxi was Sun Xianzu, the commander-in-chief of Ningwu. He fought against the rebels many times and won many victories, but the number of the rebels was increasing. Historical records: (Sun) Xianzu From the eleventh month of the fourth year of Chongzhen to the end of the year, he captured more than 3,300 ranks in the areas of Ningxiang, Shilou, Jishan, Wenxi, and Hejin. He only had more than 2,000 officers and soldiers, and the thieves Feihu General and Chuangtian King, Shi Zaohuo, Tushou, King Li Jin, Fanshan Tiger, Little Red Wolf, Scorpion Block, Dingtianhong, Zhuangtianzhu, Lazy Bag, King Qiangtian, Li Cunxiao, Sky-turning Harrier, Cao Cao, Yiyihu, Yiziwang, etc. Numbered more than 200,000, and they were suppressed day by day. This phenomenon of "increasing Japanese suppression" continued in Shanxi until the fifth year of Chongzhen (1632). Why does this happen? It is clear that one of the important reasons was that the rebel armies in Shaanxi at that time "flowed into Shanxi" due to the strong pressure from the official army. Northern Henan and southern Jinan successively launched uprising activities. Northern Henan began in August of the fifth year of Chongzhen (1632). The history secretary said: (Governor of Shanxi) Song Tong Yin and his troops attacked the thief on the eldest son, and the thief rushed south to Qinshui River. Gengchen (15th day), Zijinliang, Laohuihui and Bajiang surrounded Douzhuang (Qinshui) with 30,000 people. At that time (squire) Zhang Daojun offended the family and led his clan to defend him. When the thieves heard that Master Qin was coming, they were frightened and wanted to beg for surrender. Zijin Liang shouted at the foot of the wall, and Tao Jun ascended the ridge to see it. Zijin Liang Fuzhou came to him and said: "I am the king's own use. I abandoned my family to study Taoism and came here by mistake from Wang Jiayin. I came here to beg for mercy." He said: "How are you who came with us?" Because he called Lao Hui back. Dao Jun said: "I am in a hurry to return the captives and disperse them as a crowd. I will ask you to go to the Fuyuan and give you a free ticket. If you go to the prison, you will not be asked again, and your family will be intact." The thief hesitated and did not respond. One man knelt in front of him and said, "I am in Yichuan." Linsheng Han Tingxian was captured by Wang Jiayin and cannot stand up for himself. He has promised to leave this place for five days and his future will be as promised. "Then he returned the 200 captives and marched westward to Yangcheng. Dao Jun told Tong Yin about the traitor and said: "The thieves are cunning and cannot be trusted, but Han Tingxian can be plotted." Because he sent envoys to plot against Tingxian and plotted against the thieves, the thieves made an appointment. However, the Eight Great Kings and the Five Battalions of Chuangtaotian were not ordered to do so. Ting Xianyin told the envoy: "If there are any rebels among the thieves, they should come to the old county to relieve their troops." The old county borders Yueyang, Fushan, and Qinshui. The land is flat and can be gathered, but the thieves can't move. On the day of Emperor Xian's reign, Zijin Liang returned to his home for a moment, but the decision was still pending. The troops were unprepared and attacked their camp with light cavalry. The thieves were angry and divided their troops to attack Jiyuan in the south. The troops in Hebei defeated them and fell into Wen County. (83) Judging from the above records, Zijin Liang and others marched into northern Henan because they contacted the surrender and were attacked by the army while the decision was pending, which aroused their anger. The reason why they intended to surrender was because they "heard that Qin's troops were coming and were afraid." It can be seen that the insurrectionary army began to enter northern Henan at that time, which was also related to the change of the Ming government's policy in dealing with the insurgents four years after Chongzhen. This change made the Shaanxi official army begin to ruthlessly kill the insurrectionists.

The rebel army began its activities in Jinan in the first month of the sixth year of Chongzhen (1633). According to records, on the fifth day of this month (the fourth day of the first month), the rebel army "camped to the Western Mountains of Shunde". The road from Shanxi could have passed through Jingxing or the pass hundreds of miles north and south, but because of the tight guarding by officers and soldiers, "it took a roundabout way from Jun, Hua, Handan, and Shahe." "Seven tribes have reached Xishan", each tribe has "more than 10,000 people and less than 5,000 people", and spread to "Zhaozhou, Yuanshi, Ningjin, Huolu, Jingxing, Lingshou, and several times in Jinan" (84). After the rebel army entered northern Henan, it continued into Jinan. On the one hand, it was suppressed by the officers and soldiers led by Zhang Yingchang, the commander-in-chief of Ningwu in Shanxi (Zhang Yingchang took up the post of commander-in-chief of Ningwu in August of the fifth year of Chongzhen), and Zuo Liangyu and others in northern Henan (85). On the other hand, it was also under pressure from the Ming army in Shaanxi. In November of the fifth year of Chongzhen (1632), the generals of Yansui Town, Li Bei, Ai Wannian, and He Renlong, were ordered to lead troops to Shanxi to participate in the suppression of the rebels (86) because the rebels "largely flowed into Shanxi." On December 7, after the uprising army in Shaanxi was largely suppressed, Lintao Commander-in-Chief Cao Wenzhao was ordered to lead "3,500 horse infantry officers and soldiers selected one by one and experienced many battles" and "set off from Qingyang Prefecture, from Pi, Qian, Jingyang, Huazhou, Tongguan Crossing the river, we went straight to the places where thieves gathered in Puzhou and Hejin in Shanxi Province, and then moved to Pingyang and Lu'an areas where thieves were invading, and we quickly took pictures with the officers and soldiers of central Shanxi to eliminate them." For this reason, in addition to the garrison troops in Shanxi, northern Henan and Jinan, troops from other places were also mobilized. In addition to the above-mentioned Shaanxi army that entered the Jin Dynasty, the following armies were also transferred at this time: Zuo Liangyu's tribe. In August of the fifth year of Chongzhen (1632), because the rebel army entered northern Henan, he was ordered to send 24,500 soldiers from Changping to come to the rescue in October. (88) Deng Qi and Ma Fengyi. After Zuo Liangyu was transferred to northern Henan, he fought several battles with the rebel army. "Although he had achieved great success, he was very lonely." Therefore, he ordered Deng Qi to send 2,000 Sichuan troops to his army to come to the rescue, and "increased the troops with 2,000 troops from Ma Fengyi, the chieftain of Shilu". This was March of the sixth year of Chongzhen (1633) (Ma Fengyi died in battle soon after). (89) Tang Jiuzhou Department and Jingying soldiers. In the summer of the sixth year of Chongzhen, due to the fierce activities of the rebels in Ji Nei and northern Henan, King Zhu Changxi of Lu (the fourth son of Emperor Muzong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yiliu) was born in the second year of Longqing, and was granted the title of King of Lu at the age of four, and became his vassal Weihui. Zhu Yiliu died at the end of Wanli Zhu Changxi, the heir to the throne, had an urgent call and said: "Weihui City is a humble and evil land, so Qingxuan has 3,000 guards to help defend it." Ming Sizong specifically sent further troops to the northern Henan and Jinan regions for this purpose (90). At this time, a total of two armies were sent out, one was the Changping army led by Tang Jiuzhou, and the other was the Jingying army. There were a total of 6,000 soldiers in the Beijing camp, with Ni Chong and Wang Pu as the general soldiers, and the eunuchs Yang Yingchao (first known as Yang Jinchao) and Lu Jiude as the supervisors. (91) As the rebel army and the official army concentrated in Shanxi, northern Henan, and southern Jin, the two sides launched increasingly fierce struggles in this area. Looking through relevant historical records, we can see that in the 56th year of Chongzhen's reign in Shanxi, northern Henan and Jinan, this kind of struggle took place almost every day. The rebel army achieved some victories in the struggle. For example, in December of the fifth year of Chongzhen (1632), Zijinliang, Ba Da Wang, Chuang Jiang, Guo Tianxing, Hua Guansuo, Ba Jingang, etc. Were active in Qinzhou, Wuxiang, and Liaozhou. Chuang Jiang, Ba Dawang, Guo Tianxing, etc. Captured Liaozhou on the night of the 24th. In the first month of the second year, due to the arrival of a large number of government troops, the rebel army abandoned Liaozhou and moved north to the areas of Yushe, Heshun, Shouyang, Yuci, and Pingding. It was only fifty miles away from Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province, causing a "big earthquake" (92). Another example is that in May of the sixth year of Chongzhen (1633), "Nine battalions including the Yi Zi Wang, the Leader King, the Black Scorpion, the Chuang Jiang, the Chuang Taotian, and the Eight Great Kings marched south from Wu'an and surrounded 400 Mao Gourd soldiers in Hegou Village and killed them all" (93). However, overall, at this time, the peasant uprising armies in Shanxi, northern Henan, and southern Jinan were still at a disadvantage compared with the official army. It is common to suffer defeats in battles. Under the suppression of the government troops, the rebels had to hide in the east and west, running around in the east, west, north and south. In the summer of the sixth year of Chongzhen (1633), Wang Ziyong, who played a certain role in coordinating the various rebel armies, died in Jiyuan (or died of illness, or was shot by Deng Qi. After his death, his troops "returned to generals"), and for a period of time, no one could replace him. Historical records: "This thief (referring to the king's own use) seems to be able to command all the thieves. After the death of this thief, all the thieves formed their own teams and joined forces at different times." On the 17th of this month, the rebel army made a request to Wang Pu, the commander of the Beijing camp stationed in Wu'an, to "swear to surrender" and to "return to his homeland and resume operations." At that time, the Ming government's policy towards the rebels was to focus on killing, and general generals would not dare to accept such a request. However, Wang Pu relied on his good relationship with the supervisor Yang Yingchao and others, and believed that if things did not go well, Yang could help him get away with it. On the 19th, twelve rebel leaders, including He Shuangquan and Zhang Miaoshou, came to Wu'an in person to meet Wang Pu and others. Yang Yingchao and others immediately reported to the court. According to records, there were a total of sixty-one leaders of the rebel army who begged for surrender in Wu'an at this time. They were: He Shuangquan, Xinhu, Jiutiaolong, Chuangwang Gao Yingxiang, Lingbingshan, Yongjiang, Mantianfei, Yilong, Yizhangqing, and Xutian Star, Three Hands, One-Word King, General Li Zicheng, Scorpion Block, Gypsophila, Seven Dragons, Guansuo, Eight Kings, Zao Ying, Zhang Miaoshou, Eight Kings of Xiying Zhang Xianzhong, Lao Zhang Fei, Fraudulent Hand, Xing Honglang, Chuangtaotian Liu Guoneng, Ma Yaozi , The Eight Kings of Nanying, Huzhao, King of Coaxing the World, Yiyiyun, King of Troubled Times, Great General, Guo Tianxing Huidengxiang, Second General, King of Coaxing, Fierce Tiger, Duhu, Lao Hui Hui Ma Guangyu, Gao Xiaoxi, King of Sweeping Ground, King of Tidy, Five Dragons, Five Hells King, King Xingchuang, Cao Cao, Luo Rucai, Rice and Millet Stalk, Forced to the Road, Four Tigers, Huanglong, Great Heavenly King, Leather-Wrapped Needle, Zhang Fei, Shi Taotian, Xue Rengui, Golden-winged Peng, Eight-Golden Dragon, Shoe Guang, Wabei'er, Liu Bei, Sky Harrier, Shangtian Dragon. However, Wang Pu and others "accepted the surrender and did not care about changes." The section of the Yellow River between Yuanqu in Shanxi and Jiyuan in Henan is "the narrowest" and freezes early. On November 24, the Yellow River here had frozen, so the rebels crossed the river on the ice and landed at Horseshoe Nest and Yeyuanbi on the south bank of Mianchi. It was noted that "the officer Yuan Daquan who was guarding the river was killed in a hasty battle." This crossing of the river was called "Mianchi Crossing" in history because it landed in Mianchi County.

After Gao Yingxiang was captured, the rebel army became more active. This is because in June of the ninth year of Chongzhen (1636), Qing troops entered the interior; in July, they marched to Kinkizhou County; and in August they began to leave Seidong. In order to defend the capital, in August, Lu Xiangsheng was ordered to send reinforcements and led his army to Zhending; in September, because the Qing soldiers had left, he ordered the governor to announce the military affairs of Shanxi (46). At that time, Wang Jiazhen, a native of Changyuan who took over the military affairs of Henan, Huguang, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Jiangbei and was responsible for the "suppression of bandits" in the Central Plains and nearby areas, was far less capable than Lu Xiangsheng. In addition, some officers and soldiers who were originally used to deal with the rebels were also transferred to deal with the Qing soldiers. This alleviated the difficult situation of the rebels (47). "Sui Kou Jilue" records that on the sixth day of the first month of the tenth year of Chongzhen (1637), the thieves Lao Huihui and others headed towards the north of the Yangtze River. At that time, a group of thieves in the sea invaded Yishangluo with Tianxing, and Li Zicheng occupied Xi'an. In the west, we made an appointment with the Western Qiang, and Lao Huihui waited for a long time to occupy Yunxiang, rest his food, and have enough food in the autumn. He used his entire army to join Cao Cao and break through the Taotian bandits, which numbered two hundred thousand, and drove down the east stream. Qi, Huang, Liuhe, Huaining, Wangjiang, and Jiangpu were constantly disturbed, and the beacon fire reached Yi and Yang." (49) After the Ming government deployed troops and generals to carry out encirclement and suppression, the Jiangbei offensive launched by the rebel army weakened after February. But not long after, they launched a fierce offensive here again and fought the famous Battle of Fengjiadian. In March, Taihu County was attacked. The Ming deputy general Pan Ke (one serving as a staff general and the other as a guerrilla) from Anqing had 900 soldiers. The deputy general (one serving as a staff general) Cheng Long, guard Chen Yuwang and Jiang Ruolai had 3,600 soldiers from Wuzhong. They stationed themselves at Fengjiadian in Susong, forming "subcamps" to connect with each other. On March 23, three thousand rebels attacked Pan Ke's camp. Pan resisted, but Cheng Long and others came to rescue them with troops and attacked the rebels. The rebels retreated at a disadvantage, came back at night, were ambushed, and were defeated again. On the 24th, Cao Cao (Luo Rucai), Chuang Taotian (Liu Guoneng) and others led seven battalions of tens of thousands of rebel troops to arrive, and Pan Keda, Cheng Long and others were trapped in a tight siege. The insurrectionary army launched "attacks like rain", but Pan, Cheng and others stubbornly resisted. Ming Dynasty supervisor Shi Kefa and deputy general Xu Ziqiang led troops to rescue them, but they were "suffocated by the thieves" and could only "fire cannons in support". Pan, Cheng and others took advantage of the situation to "make noise to break out", "it will rain and heavy armor will not be able to come out". On the 25th, the rebel army launched a general attack. "Ten thousand cavalry rushed into the fortress from all sides." Pan Keda was killed, Cheng Long set himself on fire, Chen Yuwang committed suicide, and Jiang Ruolai "escaped from the fence". Only more than a thousand officers and soldiers escaped. The Wuzhong soldiers led by Cheng Long and others were an army built by Zhang Guowei, the governor of Yingtian, who had spent several years of hard work. Zhang Guowei couldn't help but cry bitterly when he heard the news. (50) However, the improvement in the situation of the rebels soon ended, followed by a series of major setbacks, which led to a brief but serious low ebb period in the uprising. This change was caused by the Ming government taking a series of new measures to deal with the rebels. The Ming government adopted a series of new measures, which started with Yang Sichangzhi's appointment as Minister of War. Yang Sichang, courtesy name Wen Ruo, was born in Wuling and was the son of Yang He, the former governor of the three sides of Shaanxi. He once served as governor of Yongping, Shanhai and other places, and governor of Xuanda Shanxi. He is a man of "meticulous writing style and good oral interpretation". In the autumn of the ninth year of Chongzhen (1636), Zhang Fengyi, Minister of the Ministry of War, died. Ming Sizong felt that "Gu Tingchen had no one to take over" and decided to appoint Yang Sichang, who was at home with Ding You, to take over the post (51). Yang Sichang arrived in the capital in March of the following year. When he arrived, he talked eloquently and won the trust of Ming Sizong. "Every time the couple has to move, everyone will listen to what they play." Ming Sizong even lamented: "I hate Yong Qing (referring to Ming Sizong) Yang Sichang) late. "(52) In the tenth year of Chongzhen, Yang Sichang successively proposed a series of new measures to deal with the rebels: First, determine the encirclement and suppression plan of four squares, six corners and ten nets. "Please use Shaanxi, Henan, Huguang, and Jiangbei as the four main points, and the four governors will attack separately and focus on defense; use Yansui, Shanxi, Shandong, Jiangnan, Jiangxi, and Sichuan as the six corners, and the six governors will separate defense and coordinate suppression. This is called a ten-sided net. And the governor and the prime minister will follow the thieves' direction and focus on conquering." (53) Second, "It is proposed to increase the number of troops by 120,000." (54) Third, increase wages by 2.8 Million. This is the launch of the pay-suppression campaign mentioned above. Fourth, Xiong Wencan was appointed to replace Wang Jiazhen as the military prime minister of Nanji, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Huguang, and Sichuan. The above measures were approved by Ming Sizong and most of them were implemented. This undoubtedly increased the pressure faced by the rebels much more than before. At this time, the rebel army was still mainly divided into two parts: Li Zicheng and other troops were in Shaanxi and other places, fighting against the Ming army led by Governor Hong Chengchou; Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai, Ma Shouying and other troops were operating in Henan, Huguang, and Jiangbei, and their opponents were led by Prime Minister Xiong Wencan. At this time, wavering or repeated defeats resulted in serious losses in strength, which existed in both major rebel armies. Li Zicheng and other rebel forces, who had been fighting against the officers and soldiers in Shaanxi for a long time, in the tenth year of Chongzhen (1637), "stalemate with the officers and soldiers on the steps and in the mountains for July and August." In September, it "entered Hannan" from Huizhou and Lueyang. Governor Hong Chengchou's army "galloped from the plank road to attack". On the 26th of this month, the rebel army was defeated outside Hanzhong Fucheng. The horse Li Zicheng was riding was shot dead, and Zicheng "fleeed naked across the river" (55). Afterwards, Li Zicheng and other troops headed south to Sichuan and fought several victorious battles: on October 3rd, they defeated Ningqiang Prefecture in Hanzhong, entered Guangyuan on the 4th day of the lunar month, captured Zhaohua on the 8th day of the lunar month, defeated Jianzhou on the 10th day of the lunar month, and defeated Zitong on the 12th day. On the 14th day, he divided his army into three, one going to Mianzhou, one to Yanting, and one to Jiangyou. Due to the lack of pay for the Qin soldiers, Hong Chengchou was unable to pursue and suppress the rebels in time. It was not until December 29 that the Qin soldiers arrived in Guangyuan County, Sichuan. They arrived at Baoning Prefecture on the 9th of the first month of the 11th year of Chongzhen. At that time, there were 60,000 to 70,000 Sichuan officers and soldiers mobilized to deal with the rebels, "all stationed in Mianzhou, Tongchuan, Shehong, Suining, Xichong, Nanfang, and Langzhong." The distance from the rebels ranged from 200 to 300 to 400 to 500 miles. On the "third or fourth day of the first lunar month," the various units of the rebel army "set up camp and rushed to Zitong and Jianzhou to seize the mountains and plunder them." So the Qin soldiers divided into two groups and attacked the rebel army. "On the 13th and 15th day of the first lunar month, they were killed at Jian and Zi." The rebel army then returned to Shaanxi via the "crossroads in the mountains" (56). The entry of Li Zicheng and other troops into Shu was a heavy blow to the government. Afterwards, Hong Chengchou and his important generals Zuo Guangxian and Cao Bianjiao were punished for this. However, the rebel army also suffered heavy losses. Their number was "hundreds of thousands when they entered Shu" and only tens of thousands were left after leaving Shu. After Li Zicheng and other rebels returned to Shaanxi from Sichuan, they divided into several large groups and carried out separate activities. Among them, the Great Heavenly King and other troops were "invaded by Hui and Qin in Qingyang". In March, Sun Chuanting, the governor of Shaanxi Province in the Ming Dynasty, attacked Heshui. The two sons of the Great Heavenly King were captured, and the insurgent army "ran into a great rout and ran eastward" to Yanxi. In May, the Great Heavenly King "snatched his two sons but was not executed, and led his men and women to sneak out of the camp" and surrendered to the Ming army. After the Tianxing, Huntianxing and other tribes returned to Shaanxi from Sichuan, they "returned to Hui and Qin" after the Great Heavenly King and other tribes, "left Feng and Bao and invaded Xi'an directly", "overtook Tong and He and rushed to Chengcheng". After Sun Chuanting heard the news, in April, he "came to Trent at the same time and ambushed one of his troops at Huanglong Mountain. The remaining troops attacked together from Chengcheng and advanced in five directions", defeating the rebel army. Guo, Hun, etc. Moved to Yanxi, then to the central part, Yijun, and then moved westward. In May, they were defeated miserably in Sanshui and other places. Hun Tianxing (Guo Rupan) came to the Ming Dynasty, and Guo Tianxing (Zhang Tianlin) "lead few 'thieves' and fled into the Baoji Mountains." They also fell in June (and later rejoined the uprising team). (58) After Li Zicheng's troops returned to Shaanxi from Sichuan, they passed through Lintao and Gongchang, "leading to the west", "leaving the Great Wall and entering the Western Qiang border". Cao Bianjiao, the governor of Hong Chengchou, led his troops to pursue him. Cao Bianjiao launched a fierce battle with the rebel army among the Qiang, and "he who did not disarm his armor twenty-seven days and nights." The rebel army "returned to the fortress", and Cao Bianjiao pursued them to the Tao River. The rebels "crossed desperately" and crossed the Tao River, but they got separated. Li Zicheng only took more than 300 people to move towards Hanzhong. During the transfer, they were still closely pursued by the army. In the evening of April 10th, Li Zicheng arrived at Mawu, Ningyuan, and set off on the fourth or fifth watch of the next day. The officers and soldiers led by Ming general Zuo Guangxian arrived here at dawn that day. The distance between the two was only forty or fifty miles, and the situation was quite dangerous. Later, Zuo Guangxian failed to catch up in time for some reason, and Li Zicheng was able to get out of the predicament and enter the Hanzhong area via Xihe and Lixian. At this time, some of the previously separated troops came to join them one after another, and the rebel army gradually recovered. (59) Shortly thereafter, Li Zicheng's troops entered Sichuan southward, accompanied by General Qi and other troops, totaling more than 3,000 people. Shaanxi officers and soldiers followed and joined Sichuan officers and soldiers to deal with the rebels. The rebel army could no longer stand in Sichuan. In August, they returned to Hanzhong, planning to "cross the river from Chenggu, take Shiquan, Xing'an, and then head to Huguang and Henan." By this time, their number had been reduced to 1,400 to 500. On August 16, they were attacked by Ming general Zuo Guangxian in Chenggu, and lost more than 300 people. General Manager Qi felt that his future was hopeless and surrendered to the army. However, Li Zicheng and some soldiers "escaped eastward" and continued the struggle (60). In October, Li Zicheng ambushed the army in the southern plains of Tongguan and "lost both his wife and daughter". However, he escaped with Liu Zongmin and other eighteen cavalry (one is called "Seven Cavalry"), and the rest of his troops either died or surrendered (61). At this point, the rebels in Shaanxi were basically suppressed by the official army. Li Zicheng has been active in the sparsely populated junction of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Chu for two years. Because of his small strength, Li Zicheng is not well known. From the 10th to the 11th year of Chongzhen, there were fifteen rebel armies operating in Henan, Huguang, and Jiangbei. In addition to the eight kings Zhang Xianzhong, Cao Cao, Luo Rucai, and Lao Hui Hui Ma Shouying (62), There are also Liu Guoneng who broke through the sky, Jinzhong who mixed with one hundred thousand horses, Li Wanqing who shot the sky, Hui Dengxiang of Guotianxing (63), He Yilong of Ge Liyan, Wang Lin of Zuojin, etc. The actual number is far more than fifteen (64). At that time, they worked together at different times, and often lost battles under the attack of the superior Ming army. For example, in August of the 10th year of Chongzhen, Zhang Xianzhong "falsely claimed that the army was stationed outside Nanyang City" and tried to outwit the city. But just as General Zuo Liangyu arrived in the Ming Dynasty, Xianzhong ran away hastily. "Liangyu chased after him, shot him, hit him between the eyebrows, and stabbed his finger on the bow." The knife hit his face, and there was a lot of blood. Thanks to the efforts of his general Sun Kewang to rescue him, he was able to escape to Macheng (65). Another example is that in December of the 10th year of Chongzhen (1637), Hun Shiwan and others fought against the imperial army led by the eunuch Liu Yuanbin in Luoshan, and were "cut down by 1,700 people" (66). However, the most eye-catching situation among these rebel armies at this time was that they frequently wavered and surrendered. The reason for this has a lot to do with Prime Minister Xiong Wencan, the frontline commander of the Ming Dynasty in dealing with these rebels. Xiong Wencan was from Yongningwei, Guizhou, and later moved to Qishui. In the first year of Chongzhen (1628), he was appointed governor of Fujian. In five years, he was appointed governor of Guangdong and Guangdong and governor of Guangdong. He himself had no military talent, but during his tenure, due to the maturity of objective conditions, he mainly used appeasement to solve the "pirate" problem along the coast. He served as an official in Fujian and Guangzhou for a long time and "accumulated money without any calculation". He was a "Lingnan resident for a long time" and often used treasures to make connections with Chinese and foreign dignitaries. Later, because Ming Sizong felt that he did not know Xiong Wencan well and had questions about other issues in Guangdong, he sent an eunuch to Guangdong under the "false name of Guangxi Procurement" to conduct a secret investigation. When the eunuch arrived, Xiong Wencan thought it was a good opportunity to make friends with him, so he gave him a large gift of treasures and kept him for ten days. The eunuch was very happy to be flattered, and talked about everything at the banquet, because "the words mentioned the rebellion in the Central Plains." At this time, Xiong Wencan, who was drinking wine from the side, acted like a hero and "attacked the case" and scolded: "The ministers have misled the country. If Wencan goes, it will be a shame!" When the eunuch heard this, he immediately stood up and told the truth: "I am not going to Guangxi." Procurement. I have the title of official, and I can't deal with this thief if I'm not official." This shocked Xiong Wencan, who had no practical ability, and immediately expressed "five difficulties and four impossibilities" in an attempt to evade it. But the eunuch refused and said, "I will ask you to do these things immediately. If your Majesty is willing to do anything, I will not be able to thank you." Xiong Wencan was speechless and had no choice but to reluctantly agree. As a result, Xiong Wencan became a rare talent in the eyes of Ming Sizong who could complete the task of suppressing the rebel army. At this time, Yang Sichang served as the Secretary of the Ministry of War, "because the emperor is anxious to quell the thieves, hoping to have someone to help himself"; and Zhan Shiyao Minggong, a Qishui native who had a good relationship with Yang Sichang and was married to Xiong Wencan, "wanted to rely on Xiong to achieve fame", so he recommended Xiong Wencan to Yang Sichang and told Yang: "There is internal support here." Yang Sichang was overjoyed after hearing this. This is how Xiong Wencanzhi, mentioned above, was appointed as Prime Minister. Due to the proposal and implementation of a series of measures by Yang Sichang, the power of the government was obviously greater than that of the rebel army. However, after Xiong Wencan took office, he implemented a policy of vigorous recruitment. This is because he is a man of big words, has no military talent, and naturally has no confidence in completing the task of suppressing the rebels. Therefore, it is easy to place his hopes on the trick he once used to quell pirates in Fujian and Guangdong. The weak-willed in the rebel army are already prone to compromise and surrender to the government and army; and Xiong Wencan implemented a large-scale appeasement policy, which further encouraged this tendency of compromise and surrender in the rebel army. It can be seen that at this time, the rebel armies in Henan, Huguang, and Jiangbei areas showed more waveriness and surrender, which was not accidental. The compromise and surrender incidents among the fifteen rebel armies in Henan, Huguang, and Jiangbei mainly include the following: First, the surrender of Liu Guoneng in the falling sky. History records the incident: The new Prime Minister Xiong Wencan has arrived, and thieves are afraid of him. Seeing the order of recruitment and surrender, there are those who want to return to normal. Guoneng first had a rift with Zhang Xianzhong and was worried about annexing him. Later, he fought with Zuo Liangyu and was defeated. He took the lead in pacifying Suizhou on the 4th of the first month of the eleventh year (Chongzhen). He paused and said in front of Wen Can: "The foolish people have been trapped in injustice for ten years. Lai Gong is reborn. I hope all of you will join the army and serve under your command to do your best." Wen Can was overjoyed and comforted him. He placed him on guard and ordered Liangyu to be attached to the army. (71) According to it, it is said that Liu Guoneng "was a student of Xiang" in the early days and was "robbed by thieves". He was "filial in nature and surrendered to obey his mother's orders". From this point of view, he had received a feudal education and had a deep sense of feudal ethics and morals, and he was not an active or voluntary participant in the uprising. This was probably the ideological root of his surrender in the first month of the eleventh year of Chongzhen (1638). After Liu Guoneng surrendered, "most of his subordinates returned to their old ways and changed their eyes." (72) Second, Zhang Xianzhong was supported in Gucheng. Historical records: After Zhang Xianzhong was injured in Nanyang, he was seriously injured and "could not fight and was in great fear." In the spring of the eleventh year (Chongzhen), it was discovered that Chen Hongfan was under Xiong Wencan's command and was the commander-in-chief. He was very happy because he sent a heavy coin to Hongfan and said: "I have received the great favor of the Duke for my loyalty. I won't get it." If you die, how can you forget your evil deeds? 'Hong Fan is also happy to report Wen Can, and he accepts his surrender. Lin Mingqiu, the censor of the patrol, and Wang Ruikuan, the deputy patrol officer, and Liang Yumou, wait until they show their loyalty to him, but Wen Can can't do it." (73) Zhang Xianzhong's surrender to the Ming Dynasty was different from Liu Guoneng's surrender. Liu Guoneng completely betrayed the cause of the uprising, while Zhang Xianzhong did not truly surrender to the government. An important manifestation of this is its unwillingness to weaken its military strength. After being appeased, he divided his troops into the surrounding suburbs of Tun Gucheng. "Wen Can sent 20,000 elite soldiers to pay them, and sent them out." However, Zhang Xianzhong reported: "All of them are strong men. I would like to raise an army to follow. Please pay 100,000 men." (74) In order to improve the combat effectiveness of the army, he also studied military tactics and trained troops with Xu Yixian and others from Gucheng. In addition, in order to gain the official's trust, Zhang Xianzhong once "had military status and was ready to dispatch". However, when Xiong Wencan really "dispatch his troops", Zhang "responsed for three things" and "should not".

After the summer of the twelfth year of Chongzhen, many new "local bandits" appeared one after another in Henan, and their number increased. By the end of the twelfth year to the beginning of the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, the local peasant uprising in Henan had reached the level of "big rise". The third volume of "Chronicles of Yubian" describes the situation in the next few years: It was a severe drought and the locusts were all drying up the rivers and lakes, and dust was rising in the path of Hao Huang. Since then, the local bandits have risen as large as hedgehogs. There are no less than a hundred camps along the south bank of the Yellow River for thousands of miles. They rise and disappear suddenly, either because they capture and kill officials, or they are annexed by their disciples, such as Huanglaoshan in Shangqiu, Landa and Laner in Xuzhou, Nezha in Shangshui, and the two-character king are all missing. Among those who are particularly large and long-lasting, there are Li Jiyu, Shen Jingbang, Ren Chen, and Zhang Ding in the west; in the south, there are Liu Hongqi, Zhou Jiali, Li Hao, and Zhang Yang; between the Liang and Song Dynasties, there are Guo Huanglian, Zhang Changji, Wang Yanbin, Ning Zhen, and Wang Wenhuan; in the east, there are Li Zhenhai, Fang Fang, and others. Wen Yu, Xu Xianhuan, Cheng Xiaoyu, Qi Nianwu, etc. All supported the crowd and built strongholds based on fences to attack and kill each other... Those who openly left their nests and plundered wantonly, such as Lao Dangdang, Yidou Valley, Song Jiang, Yi Long, Yuan Laoshan, and Zhang Panzi were among the others. This passage in "Chronicles of the Yubian" lists the names of nearly thirty leaders of the local peasant uprising in Henan at that time. Judging from the current documentary records, at least about twenty more can be added, such as "the original military bandit Zhang Mengxi" (March of the thirteenth year of Chongzhen), "the bandit Qianjin Liu of Shangshui County" (March of the thirteenth year of Chongzhen) (11), Yuan Shizhong, who traveled between the Liang and Song Dynasties and other places, captured Heyin Meng San (spring of the fourteenth year of Chongzhen), Yuzhou "local bandit" Zhang Liangxiang (December of the fourteenth year of Chongzhen) (12), and Wuguan (the fourteenth year of Chongzhen) (13), Ai Yi, Hou Er, Hou Si (all of the above are Chongzhen) The first month of the fourteenth year of Zhenzhen (14), Wu San (one as "Wu Shan"), Zhai Rong (one as "Zhai Ying"), Sun Xueli, Zhou Daoxuan, Xu Liangchen, Jin Gao, Liu Xuan, Li Kui, Zheng Qian, Liu Hongli, Di Yingkui. (15) Among the many local rebel armies in Henan at that time, the one with greater influence and worthy of special mention was Yuan Shizhong's. Yuan Shizhong was originally from Huaxian County (one name is "Kaizhou", the other is "Huaren, Qiao Kaizhou"), belonging to Beizhili. In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen (1640), some prefectures and counties north of the Yellow River and located in the south of Beizhili were devastated. "There were hundreds of thousands of bandits without any care, and the roads south of Zhending (now Zhengding, Hebei) were blocked." Yuan Shizhong rebelled and attacked Kaizhou. At that time, because there was another battalion of Yuan Laoshan's rebel army, in order to distinguish it, Yuan Shizhong's team was called Xiao Yuan Battalion. Yuan Shizhong was a smart man, and those who started with him soon "died out one after another", while he "crossed the Henan River" and "traveled between Liang and Song Dynasties". In May of the 14th year of Chongzhen, he "peeped into Fengyang and Sizhou and entered Mengcheng". At this time, his tribe had more than 100,000 soldiers. In the fifteenth year of Chongzhen's reign, he had cooperated with Ge Liyan, Zuo Jinwang and other Ge Zuo fifth battalion rebels (the situation of the rebel army at this time is detailed below) in Jiangbei. Soon, he cooperated with Li Zicheng's Ministry (the situation of Li Zicheng's rebel army at this time is detailed below), served as a vanguard, and participated in the battles to conquer Suizhou, Ningling, and Guide. Soon after, due to disharmony with Li Zicheng's tribe, he led his troops from Qi County to break away from Li Zicheng's uprising army. It was April of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen. After that, he "wandered between Gui, Bo, Yong, and Meng" and planned to accept the Ming government's recruitment. Although it was never officially realized for some reasons, his relationship with the Ming government became increasingly close. In May of the 16th year of Chongzhen, because he "carried" Li Zicheng's envoy Liu Zongwen, Fugou Xiangsheng, to the Ming government, attacked and killed Li Zicheng's rangers, and sent the captives to the Ming government for execution, Li Zicheng was furious and attacked them with "20,000 cavalry in one step". He captured and killed them in the north of Yu Town, Qixian County, and "Xiaoyuan Camp was destroyed." The "Tu bandits" in Shandong already occurred in the twelfth year of Chongzhen (1639). It is said in history that "in the twelfth or thirteenth year of Chongzhen's reign, Huang Xiaohuai, a native of Kaizhou, claimed to be King Shuntian Renyi. He had twelve thousand soldiers, and corresponding with Li Yuan of Dong'a, he burned and plundered Linqing and Yizhou. Later, he was held by Yang Yufan, the commander-in-chief of Shandong Province, at the Yuhuang Temple in Yunzhou" (17). By the fourteenth year of Chongzhen's reign, "chaos arose". "Li Tingshi and Li Dingxuan were trapped in Gaotang Prefecture." Also, "The officials in Dongping opened their doors to welcome the thieves, and the ministers and ministers in the kingdom invited them to be peaceful." "The Tai'an native bandits numbered more than 100,000 and raided Ningyang and Qufu, causing a great earthquake in Yanzhou." The rebels used women to put on armor and guard the camp, and then the main force went out for activities. "After hearing the arrival of soldiers from Qingzhou, they also went to Pi and Xu", "reached directly to Shahedian in the south of Yangzhou", "returned to Dongping and Zhangqiu, and surrounded Feng County". At this time, the famous rebel leaders "counted by ten", and among them Li Qingshan was the "most dramatic". He was originally a butcher. "Due to chaos and chaos, he was gathered in Shou Zhang of Liangshan." In December of the 14th year of Chongzhen, he was defeated by the officers and soldiers and moved to fight in "Yizhou of Yanzhou". On the sixth day of the first month of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen's reign, he was captured by the army and taken to Beijing to be killed. After that, "local bandits" still occurred in Shandong. For example, in June of the 15th year of Chongzhen, the "local bandit" Wei Dingyuan fought against the government troops in Ningyang. (18) After the summer of the twelfth year of Chongzhen (1642), there were also local uprising armed forces in other areas besides Henan and Shandong. For example, "The Qin Dynasty had Grandma Dou, who destroyed the famous city and killed the chief officials." After October of the eleventh year of Chongzhen (1638), Li Zicheng's activities at the junction of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Chu for about two years had little impact due to the small number of people and power. There are not many historical records. Those who know a little bit include: in the winter of the 11th year of Chongzhen, he "rided dozens of people across Gucheng" to meet Zhang Xianzhong (20); in the autumn of the 12th year of Chongzhen, he fought jointly with Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai, who were revolting against the Ming Dynasty, in Zhu. River and Zhushan area (21); Li Zicheng's tribe also participated in the battle of Xingshan Xiangyouping in the winter of the same year (22); in the first half of the 13th year of Chongzhen, he successively moved in the mountains around Fengjie (that is, the so-called (called "the mountains in the belly of the Brazilian fish") and Daning, Zhushan, Shangggeng (one hundred and eighty miles southwest of Fang County) and other places. In autumn, it turns to the Pingli and Xunyang areas of Shaanxi, and then enters the Shangluo Mountains (23). In November of the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, the rebel army led by Li Zicheng "left Shangluo, entered Henan, and reached Xichuan" (24). At this time, the Henan region was experiencing a serious famine and "local bandits" were on the rise. Therefore, Li Zicheng's uprising team was replenished with a large number of personnel and became active again. In addition, several famous intellectuals joined the uprising team at this time. One of them is Li Yan, who is often recorded in historical records as a native of Qixian County. His first name was "Li Xin" and he was the son of Li Jingbai of the eunuch party. He once "sewed millet and thousands of stones to relieve famine" and was very popular among the people in his hometown. Later, because he passively married Hong Niangzi, the leader of the rebel army who was a "rope dancer", he was accused by his enemies. In addition, the county magistrate "hated the city's reputation for being popular", so he was arrested and imprisoned. "Those who are virtuous to the people" "kill them with orders and weapons". The experience of being imprisoned this time caused this intellectual, who had no intention of opposing the government, to change his mind and decide to defect to Li Zicheng's uprising army, which was "supported by the public." Li Zicheng had heard of his name a long time ago. After he came to join him, he "respected him with courtesy" and appointed him as a general. His name was changed to Li Yan after he defected to Li Zicheng (25). The life experience and deeds of Li Yan recorded in the above-mentioned historical records are mostly unreliable; but Li Yan is indeed a real person, and after Li Zicheng arrived in Henan in the winter of the 13th year of Chongzhen, he defected to Li Zicheng's uprising army, which is credible (26). The second one is Niu Jinxing, a native of Baofeng (some say Lu family), who was once held in the Zhongxiang Examination and was "reprimanded for his grinding survey". Thirteen years ago, due to the introduction of his friend Dr. Shang [Illustration], Chongzhen was able to "see the self-contained, self-contained and unique knowledge, and discuss with the account". Later, he returned to his hometown due to business and was captured by the government. He was "executed and beheaded", and was "deathed". When Li Zicheng arrived in Henan in the winter of the 13th year of Chongzhen, Niu Jinxing "visited him at the gate of his teeth". He was so happy that he was appointed as an important adviser. (27) The third one is Song Xiance, the diviner. He was a friend of Niu Jinxing and was recommended by Niu Jinxing and was used by Li Zicheng (28). Because these intellectuals all had relatively rich political knowledge and experience, they helped Li Zicheng formulate and implement a series of insightful policies after joining him. According to records, when Song Xiance met Li Zicheng for the first time, "the prophecy said: 'Eighteen sons are in charge of divine weapons'" (34). According to this prophecy, this prophecy was widely circulated in the Ming Dynasty (35), and its meaning was that "people named Li will be regarded as emperors." From today's perspective, such a prophecy is just a mysterious prophecy with no practical significance. In the late Ming Dynasty, when theocracy had great power over all social strata, such a prophecy in Song Xiance was conducive to the improvement of Li Zicheng's prestige and influence to a certain extent, and had a positive effect on the development of Li Zicheng's rebel army. It can be seen that after Li Zicheng's uprising army entered Henan in the winter of the thirteenth year of Chongzhen (1640), it was able to quickly receive a large number of personnel and become active again. In addition to objective conditions, it is also related to the subjective factor of the improvement of the uprising army's policies and strategies after knowledgeable intellectuals joined the uprising team. After Li Yan, Niu Jinxing and other knowledgeable intellectuals joined Li Zicheng's uprising army, their impact on this team was extremely significant. Historians have commented on this very early. For example, the author of "The Record of Huailing Bandits" pointed out: "The intruders were hungry people when they were in Shaanxi. He was a mediocre thief in Shanxi and became a big thief after leaving Chexixixia. Later (referring to Li Yan, Niu Jinxing and others after joining Li Zicheng's uprising), they worked together and called themselves heroes. "(36) After the winter of the 13th year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng's uprising continued to develop. After Li Zicheng's rebel army entered Henan in the winter of the thirteenth year of Chongzhen (1640), they quickly moved north from the Nanyang area to conquer Yiyang (December 21), Yongning (December 27), Xin'an and other counties in western Henan (37), and then began to attack Luoyang, an important town in the Central Plains. Luoyang is the seat of the feudal kingdom of King Fu Zhu Changxun. He has lived here since he came here in the 42nd year of Wanli (1614). Because he was the beloved son of Ming Shenzong, he received favorable treatment during his reign. Not only did he have a large number of farmlands, but he also received a large amount of salt. The gold and silver treasures collected by Ming Shenzong through the mine inspectors and tax envoys were also rewarded to him in many ways. Therefore, he was "richer than Tianfu". However, Zhu Changxun was very stingy. In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen's reign, when "Henan was in the wilderness and people were eating each other," he turned a deaf ear and "didn't give any money." This aroused dissatisfaction among many people. According to historical records: "Those who passed Luo as reinforcements said in spoken records or on the road: 'The palace has millions of dollars and hates the rice and meat, but we will die in vain!'" At that time, Lv Weiqi, a squire and secretary of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, was living in the city. He "heard about it" and advised him with a "big plan" to stop being a miser, but he would not listen at all. It goes without saying that this situation provided favorable conditions for Li Zicheng to attack the city and win. On the 19th day of the first lunar month of the 14th year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng's rebel army marched to the gate of Luoyang City and was "very urgent to attack the northwest corner". At night, the city defenders led by Ming general Wang Shaoyu fell to the rebel army and "opened the north gate", and the rebel army entered the city. Zhu Changxun hid in Yingen Temple and was captured by the rebels the next day. The rebels hated him very much. After killing him, the wealth of Prince Fu's Mansion became the spoils of the rebels. Based on the suggestions of Li Yan and Niu Jinxing, Li Zicheng "distributed the treasury and donations of the rich in Fu's mansion to appeal to the hungry people." When distributing food and gold and silver, Li Zicheng said to everyone: "The princes and nobles preyed on the poor people and regarded them as cold and exhausted. So I killed them because I thought they were like Cao Cao. Eat from far and near. If a man over twenty is willing to join the army, he will be rewarded with forty gold per month. [Illustration] I dare to be rich and noble, but I will die in vain." These words just touched the hearts of the poor people, so they all responded, "Millions of people rushed to go." In order to fight on the move, Li Zicheng led the rebel army to leave Luoyang on February 2nd and attack Lushan, Ruzhou and other places. He left Shao Shichang, the former Ming Luoyang general who had defected to the rebel army, as the "prime minister" and recruited troops to garrison. A few days later, Li Xianfeng, the governor of Henan in the Ming Dynasty, took advantage of the weak strength of the Luoyang uprising army and "guerrilla Gao Qian and other soldiers" to attack. Shao Shichang was killed, and Luoyang fell into the hands of the Ming Dynasty officials again. When the officers and soldiers from Henan marched to Luoyang, Kaifeng, another important town in this area, became empty. So starting from February 9, the fourteenth year of Chongzhen (1641), Li Zicheng's rebel army rushed to Kaifeng and attacked it unprepared. At that time, Henan's local uprising armed forces such as Wuguanguan and Yidougu had joined Li Zicheng's peasant army, and the number of troops heading to Kaifeng was about 30,000. After three days and nights of rapid march, they arrived at Kaifeng City on February 12th. In the city, Ming Henan patrol commander Gao Mingheng, Kaifeng Prefecture official Huang Shu, Xiangfu County magistrate Wang Xie and others hurriedly deployed defenses. Kaifeng was the fiefdom of Zhou Ding Wang Zhu [illustration], the fifth son of Ming Taizu. The king of Zhou at this time was Zhu Gongzhen, a descendant of Zhu [illustration]. Zhu Gongzhen was different from King Fu Zhu Changxun. He understood that he could not get people to protect him if he was unwilling to give up money, so he took the initiative to take out his own treasury and set a reward: if he could go out of the city and kill a "thief", he would be rewarded with fifty taels of silver; if he could kill a "thief", he would be rewarded with thirty taels of silver; So the offensive and defensive sides started a fierce battle. The rebels dug a hole in the city and hid in it. "No arrows could be added to the city." Wang Xie, the magistrate of Mingxiang Fu County, "made business plans based on patrols and pressed Gao Mingheng" and dug a "photo hole" in the city. After digging through, they threw gunpowder, and the rebels were forced to withdraw. The rebels brought up ladders and prepared to attack by force. The officers and soldiers on the city fired artillery fire to stop them. On February 16, the officers and troops of Chen Yongfu, the deputy general who was originally transferred to Luoyang, heard that the rebel army was attacking Kaifeng. After two days and nights of rapid march, they rushed back. The strength of the officers and troops was greatly increased. The next day, when Li Zicheng was observing the enemy's situation under the city, he was shot by the enemy under his left eye, two inches deep. On the 18th, seeing that it was impossible to capture Kaifeng City for the time being, the rebels withdrew voluntarily, broke through Mi County in the west, and then went to Dengfeng. The siege of Kaifeng lasted seven days and nights. In February of the fourteenth year of Chongzhen (1642), after Zhang Xianzhong successfully attacked Xiangyang, he immediately abandoned Xiangyang and moved eastward with Luo Rucai. In the nearly half a year since then, these two rebel armies have generally united to fight the Ming Dynasty. They first entered Henan Province and "attacked and plundered Guangzhou, Shangcheng, Luoshan, Xixian, Xinyang and other places south of Runing", then "besieged Gushi, defeated Guangshan", "forced Macheng", "fell into Suizhou", "attacked Nanyang", "invaded Yuzhou", "besieged Tangxian", and finally "invaded De'an" and "attacked Yingshan". During the joint operation, Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai had conflicts for some reason (or Zhang Xianzhong was "a bully" and Luo Rucai was "unhappy") and broke up with each other. So Luo Rucai instead joined forces with Li Zicheng in July of the 14th year of Chongzhen in the Dengzhou area of ​​Henan. Since then, Li Zicheng's rebel army "numbered hundreds of thousands, and was eyeing Heluo." In the period after the summer of the twelfth year of Chongzhen, Zhang Xianzhong's tribe was the most powerful among the rebels. After that, Li Zicheng's tribe became more and more powerful After the death of Yang Sichang in the spring of the fourteenth year of Chongzhen (1641), the Ming Dynasty The imperial court appointed Ding Qirui, the former Governor-General of the Three Borders of Shaanxi Province, as the Minister of War. "He was renamed the Commander-in-Chief. On behalf of Sichang, he was responsible for supervising the armies of Shaanxi, Huguang, Henan, Sichuan, Shanxi, and the south and north of the Yangtze River. He was still the governor-general of the military affairs of the Three Borders of Shaanxi Province. He was given swords, imperial edicts, and seals like Sichang." But he was a mediocre and incompetent person. After he was appointed, he did not dare to touch the most powerful Li Zicheng's troops. He only chose the weaker Zhang Xianzhong's troops to fight and dealt with the problem. Soon, the Ming court appointed Fu Zonglong, a native of Kunming, as the right minister of the Ministry of War and the censor of the right Qiandu, to oversee the military affairs of the three sides of Shaanxi. At the request of Ding Qirui, Li Zicheng's department was placed under Fu Zonglong's charge. Compared with Ding Qirui, Fu Zonglong was much more courageous and dared to compete with Li Zicheng's tribe.

After Fu Zonglong received the order for the Battle of Xiangcheng, he "discussed all the military pay in Guanzhong to go out, but the drought locusts in the county could no longer respond." "The Ministry of War immediately attached the Qin soldiers in Henan, Li Guoqi and He Renlong, to Yan." In addition, the Governor of Baoding, who had been ordered to lead the general army in the spring of this year with a force of 20,000, came to Henan to deal with the rebels. Yang Wenyue cooperated with him. On the fourth day of September in the 14th year of Chongzhen (1641), Fu Zonglong, Yang Wenyue and others met in Xincai with Qin soldiers led by He Renlong and Hu Dawei general Baoding soldiers. They crossed the Ruhe River eastward and headed towards Xiangcheng. On the fifth day, the two armies completed the crossing and took Longkou. Luo Rucai's coalition forces were in this area, "forming a pontoon on the upper stream, and heading towards Runing." After they discovered the above-mentioned movement of the official army, they immediately ambush the elite troops in the woods and "driven the 'thieves' to cross the pontoon to the west." Fu Zonglong and others thought that the rebel army had "reached all the way to Runing" based on the information obtained by the waiting cavalry. He pursued with all his strength. This happened to be the strategy of the rebel army. He was surrounded by the rebel army in Mengjiazhuang, Hexi, and was violently attacked. In Shenqiu, Fu Zonglong and Yang Wenyue led their troops to retreat to Huoshaodian and insisted on confronting the rebels. Later, Yang Wenyue abandoned Fu Zonglong and fled to Xiangcheng; Fu Zonglong congratulated Renlong and Li Guoqi for coming to rescue, but "the two commanders should not respond"; Fu Zonglong and some of his troops were "surrounded by two layers of trenches" by the rebels. On the 18th of the same month, Fu Zonglong had all his supplies and six thousand soldiers, including casualties and casualties. He broke out in the middle of the night. At noon the next day, he was pursued and captured by the rebel army before he reached Xiangcheng. They wanted to use him to open the city gate, but he stubbornly refused and started an uprising. The army killed him on the spot. Then they captured Xiangcheng. In the three months after the Battle of Xiangcheng, the coalition forces of Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai continued to fight in Henan, conquering many states and counties, and killed the rebel generals Liu Guoneng and Li Wanqing during the battle. At the end of the 14th year of Chongzhen (1641). The coalition forces of Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai besieged Kaifeng again. On the night of December 23, the army arrived outside Kaifeng City. Li Zicheng stationed himself in the Garden of the Prince of Yingcheng outside Tudi, and Luo Rucai stationed Fanta Temple, which spanned more than 20 miles. There were about 30,000 elite troops in the city, and the total number of troops was more than 400,000. Wang Xie, the magistrate of Xiangfu County, Chen Yongfu, the commander-in-chief, and others set up a garrison at Hua Di and "ordered that any man among the people who did not go to the city would be killed immediately." Supervisor Ding Qirui led 3,000 troops from Nanyang to come to the rescue and "build a fortress near the north gate of Hao." On December 24, as soon as the insurgents came to attack, all the officers and soldiers surrendered. "Only Qirui is safe in the city." However, Gao Mingheng and others resisted extremely stubbornly. They dug holes from the outside of the city wall, and the officers and soldiers in the city dug holes through them, and then "pierced them with masonry spears", making it difficult for the rebels to stay in the holes. They dug small holes to avoid them." The rebels "cut down cypress trees to make a platform, which was more than ten feet long, five feet wide, and three feet high, and could accommodate more than a hundred people. They set up cannons to attack the city." The officers and soldiers on the city built a platform of square logs at the top of the city, which was two or three feet higher than the platform outside the city. They "fired cannons and attacked", making it impossible for the rebels to stand on the platform outside the city. On New Year's Day in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen (1642), the rebel army estimated that the government troops might be slacking off due to the festival, so they launched a large-scale attack. However, the government troops in the city were heavily guarded and fought tooth and nail, making the rebel army unable to succeed. On the thirteenth day of the first month of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, the rebel army surrounded the city. It has been nearly 20 days since they attacked Kaifeng, but they still failed. This was not only due to the stubbornness of the defenders in the city, but also because Kaifeng City was rebuilt by King Hailing of Jin Dynasty and was particularly strong. Therefore, the rebel army decided to use the method of "laying mines" to attack the city, but it was not successful. Historical records: The "thieves" dug into the city in the northeast corner. Make a large hole, about ten feet wide and more than ten feet long. Use a cloth bag to carry gunpowder in it, and put dozens of stones into it. Place three medicine lines, which can be four or five feet long, as big as a bucket. On that day (the 13th day of the first month of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen), there were more than a thousand "thieves" on horseback and countless "thieves" on foot. The smoke was as dark as the middle of the night, and the sound was as loud as the earth cracking. More than a hundred pieces of large millstones, bricks and stones flew into the air and fell to pieces two or three miles outside the city. All the horses and "thieves" on the side of the city were smashed to pieces for a while. Someone died and the horse was frightened and escaped for several miles. No one was injured. The inner half of the city wall was only about a foot thick. Wu Zhili remained as before. After this "landmine placement", the rebel army felt that it was difficult to leave Kaifeng, and learned that the officers and soldiers led by the governors Yang Wenyue, Zuo Liangyu and others were also coming, so they decided to withdraw from the siege on the 15th day of the first lunar month. The old camp broke out, and part of the rebel army stayed to continue the attack at noon. , The covering troops were also ordered to retreat, "from northwest to southeast, raising dust to cover the sun." The rebel army made a very correct decision to move. It freed itself from the dilemma of holding troops under the strong city in order to find an appropriate opportunity to eliminate the enemies that were easier to destroy. Shortly after withdrawing from Kaifeng in the first month of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen (1642), Zuo Liangyu was surrounded in Yancheng. After several battles, Zuo Liangyu's tribe was no match for the rebels, and Yancheng was in danger of being captured. However, at this time, Wang Qiaonian, the governor of the three sides of Shaanxi Province in the Ming Dynasty, led his troops to Xiangcheng, so Li Zicheng was unable to make an effort. Conquered Yancheng. Wang Qiaonian, a native of Sui'an, was promoted to the censor of Youqiandu in the 14th year of Chongzhen (1641). After Fu Zonglong, the former governor of the three sides of Shaanxi, died in Xiangcheng, Wang was promoted to the right minister of the Ministry of War and the governor of the military affairs of the three sides, Dai Zonglong, and was ordered to go out to suppress the rebel army in the 15th year of Chongzhen. In the first month of 1642, he led his troops He Renlong, Zheng Jiadong, Niu Chenghu and Mabu to leave Tongguan and arrived in Luoyang. When he learned that Zuo Liangyu was surrounded in Yancheng, he decided to "keep the infantry and firearms in Luoyang and make the journey to Xiangcheng with a simple and lean cavalry force of 10,000 people". "Xiang is only a hundred miles away from Xiang, and the left is handsome." Such action can catch the rebel army by surprise, attack from the front and back, and "defeat" it. On February 12, Wang Qiaonian entered Xiangcheng and divided it into three groups, namely He Renlong, Zheng Jiadong, and Niu Chenghu, stationed 40 miles east of Xiangcheng. Li Zi. After Cheng received the information about Wang Qiaonian's arrival, he immediately lifted the siege of Yancheng and attacked westward. The reason why Li Zicheng abandoned the left and attacked Wang was not only to avoid the situation of being attacked from both sides but also because he had a special hatred for Wang Qiaonian. Under his instruction, Mi Zhi ordered Bian Dashou to actually do this. As soon as Li Zicheng's army arrived, He Renlong and other three general soldiers were so frightened that they "left without fighting"; Zuo Liangyu did not lead his troops to the west to attack with them as Wang Qiaonian expected, but "all the troops went east" and fled. Wang Qiaonian had no choice but to lead some soldiers who had not escaped to hide in the city. After five days of fighting, Wang Qiaonian refused to surrender and was killed. This battle was of great significance. Said: From the Battle of Xiangcheng to the Battle of Xiangcheng, Li Zicheng's rebel army "defeated the Qin division again within a few months, captured 20,000 horses, and surrendered tens of thousands of Qin soldiers, shocking He and Luo." From the end of the Battle of Xiangcheng to the beginning of May in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen (1642), the coalition forces of Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai took more than two months. (47) On the second day of May, the leading troops of the rebel army arrived in Kaifeng. Outside the city, the next day, "the old camp reached the west of the city" and stationed at Yanli Village, which is twenty miles away from the city. Li Zicheng "camped in it", and the leaders "camped around it" with a "width of about fifteen miles". Luo Rucai "camped horizontally in Dipu", which was not far from Li Zicheng's camp. The total number of rebels was very large. According to historical records: "One hundred thousand thieves. Thirty thousand horse thieves... Nearly a million followers." (48) When the rebel army first arrived in Kaifeng, the officers and soldiers in the city believed that they were "relaxing and waiting for work, and the advantage lies in fighting quickly", so they went out to meet the enemy. However, the rebel army "came like a tide" and "attacked with horse and foot", and the officers and soldiers who left the city were "annihilated". So The officers and soldiers in Kaifeng changed to "close the city gates and strictly defend" (49). The officials who organized the resistance in the city were mainly the governor Gao Mingheng, the commander-in-chief Chen Yongfu, and the promotion officer Huang Shu. In order to better isolate the enemies of Kaifeng, Li Zicheng and others decided to adopt the strategy of long-term siege in the battle of Kaifeng. Soon after the siege of Kaifeng, they sent troops to capture Zhengzhou, Xingyang, Xingze, Xinzheng and other prefectures and counties to the west of Kaifeng (50). Ding Qirui, Governor of Baoding Yang Wenyue and General Zuo Liangyu led troops to rescue Kaifeng and arrived at Zhuxian Town. After hearing the news, the rebel army moved their camps and fought for six days. There were many conflicts between the government and the army, and Zuo Liangyu, the most powerful one, refused to obey the commander Ding Qirui. His restraint led to the failure of the army in this battle. According to historical records, on May 22, "Yang Ying was still firing cannons for a night battle, but Liang Yu actually led the army to Xiangyang and fled." They headed south from Xuzhou to Guanggu". "In the late Ming Dynasty, Yang Wenyue led his troops to return to Germany." After the official army was defeated, the rebel army gained momentum. On May 25, "the old camp returned to Yanli Village" and resumed the siege of Kaifeng. (51) In the following months, the government troops who stubbornly defended Kaifeng no longer received reinforcements from a large number of external government troops and became a fish in the pot. In order to solve the problem as soon as possible, the rebel army once shot a surrender letter into the city, saying: Fengtian Advocacy Camp. Li said: "When the civil and military officials and civilians in the city know that Ding Qirui and Zuo Liangyu have been defeated by the main camp, they are scattered in all directions. There are no reinforcements in the north of the Yellow River. How can you survive in the fish cauldron? You can open the door and surrender immediately." , All crimes will be pardoned, civil and military officials will still be appointed, and no one will be killed in order to maintain peace. If the crime is serious and the crime is serious, but the resistance is continued, although the camp is prone to killing, be careful not to indulge in it, and you will regret it. >However, the officers and soldiers in the city did not accept it. On the contrary, they continued to resist by organizing the "Yiyong Grand Society" and other methods to drive all residents from all walks of life in the city to resist. They also dug embankments of the Yellow River in an attempt to destroy them with floods. The history of the uprising army says: The people of Bian were familiar with the river situation, and when they saw the enemy in the upper reaches of Heigang in the past years, they came all the way down from the bandit camp to meet their needs. They secretly reported to the governor Gao Mingheng and sneaked across Hebei with the spies. Guo Shi (General Soldier) set up a boat on the south bank of Shan's camp and dug for a whole day and night. When the thieves were aware of it, they led the troops to disperse. When it reaches the bottom of the city, it is only three or four feet deep. It overflows and falls, but it does not cause harm. When the Haihe River in Zhoucheng is leveled, the people have to net fish to satisfy their hunger. In September, he moved to Jiaxian, Gongxian, Mengjin, Sishui, Changge, Suiping, Xiping, Guangzhou and other cities. After that, the famous Battle of Shiyuan took place. The opponent in this battle was Sun Chuanting. After entering the capital in the eleventh year of Chongzhen (1638), he disagreed with Yang Sichang, who was in power in the court at that time, and was soon imprisoned. In the spring of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, because Yang Sichang was dead and Li Zicheng's rebel army became stronger in the Vietnam War in Henan. Ming Sizong re-appointed him as the right minister of the Ministry of War to lead the forbidden brigade to aid Kaifeng. After the death of Wang Qiaonian, the governor of Shaanxi, he was appointed governor of the military affairs of the three sides of Shaanxi. Soon Li Zicheng besieged Kaifeng for the third time. The Ming court urged him to quickly lead the troops out of the border. To deal with Li Zicheng's uprising army, his army was mostly newly recruited and "unusable", but due to the imperial order, he had to reluctantly go out. In October of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen (1642), he led his army to "cross Taihang and cross the Sishui River to the south." , Sneaking into the mountains and leaving Yuzhou." At that time, Li Zicheng's rebel army was in the east of Jiaxian County. The two sides were very close to each other, and a fierce battle began. Sun Chuanting ordered his generals "Niu Chenghu will lead the front army, Zuo Ming will leave the left, Zheng Jiadong will right, and Gao Jie will lead the middle army. ", Setting up an ambush to wait for the rebel army. At the beginning of the battle, Niu Chenghu pretended to be defeated and lured the rebel army into an ambush. The rebel army was defeated and "went east". The official army pursued for thirty miles and reached the tomb in Jiaxian County. The rebel army abandoned the "Jiazhan Army and invested in the road" The rebel army took the opportunity to counterattack and turned defeat into victory. They killed 78 "junior generals" and "regained the number of horses they lost". Sun Chuanting fled to Gong County and then "left by Meng." "Enter the Pass". During this battle, due to "heavy rain", the officers and soldiers "did not have food, so the soldiers gathered green persimmons to eat, and they were cold and exhausted." This was one of the reasons for their defeat. Therefore, some people called this battle the "Battle of Persimmon Garden".

The great peasant uprising in the late Ming Dynasty occurred during the Chongzhen period, but its brewing began in Wanli and continued until the Apocalypse. The book "The Record of Huailing Bandits" clearly records the situation of hungry people and poor soldiers "gathering together to bandit" in Shaanxi since Wanli. It says: The Shaanxi soldiers returned to the west after being defeated in the 47th year of Wanli Jiwei (forty-seven years ago) (note: the "four routes" here refers to the battle between Yang Hao and Nurhaci led by Yang Hao). Zhang Wo, the governor of Henan Province, continued to intercept Mengjin and killed more than 30 ranks. The rest did not dare to return, because they were robbed at the border of Shanxi and Shaanxi. Afterwards, reinforcements were deployed frequently and the troops were defeated one after another. This is where the border soldiers became "thieves". In the Xinyou year of Tianqi (the first year of Tianqi), there was a drought in Yan'an, Qingyang, and Pingliang, and there was a severe famine every year. In the east, there is Kongji, there is a secretary but the army is prosperous, the army and the governor are as before, the people can't provide for them, and the Taoists and colonists are facing each other. Some people gather together to steal millet from the rich, fearing that they will be hunted and executed, so they start to gather together as "robbers". When "robbery" starts, hunger will be more beneficial. The ground will be bare for years, and you can't get a thousand dollars' worth of rice. People will eat each other, and it will be like returning home from chaos. This is where hungry people become "thieves". The great peasant uprising in the late Ming Dynasty officially broke out in July of the first year of Chongzhen (1628). At this time, "Wang Jiayin gathered the hungry people to rebel against Fugu", and those who joined him included Yang Liu, Bu Zhanni (real name Zhang Cunmeng), etc. (13); King Zuogua of Qingjian "joined ten thousand 'thieves' to rebel against Long'erzui of Yichuan". Wang Zuogao's original name was Wang Zhijue, which may have been mistaken for Wang Zhishun or Wang Zishun. His namesakes include Miao Mei, Feishan Hu, Big Red Wolf, etc. (14). Another person who launched the uprising in the same month was Wang Er, a native of Baishui County. After the uprising, he "robbed the Yijun County Prison", "plundered the Xiaotong in Pucheng and Zichuan Town in Hancheng", and once joined forces with Wang Jiayin (15). Those who launched the uprising slightly later than the above-mentioned people include Hannan Wang Daliang and Ansai Gao Yingxiang. Wang Daliang, also known as King Daliang (16). In October of the first year of Chongzhen, "there were 400 party members organized into counties, and more than 3,000 local bandits invaded Lueyang and Hanzhong. The officers and soldiers pursued them to Ningqiang and Jie counties, escaped, and returned to Lueyang. The officers and soldiers were defeated" (17). Gao Yingxiang started in November of the first year of Chongzhen and was called "King Chuang". After the uprising, he "joined Wang Jiayin" (18). As many rebel armies rose up one after another, the uprising soon spread to many states and counties in Shaanxi Province. In the first month of the second year of Chongzhen, Hu Tingyan, the governor of Shaanxi, and Yue Hesheng, the governor of Yansui, played: Thieves were plundering Luochuan, Chunhua, Sanshui, Lueyang, Qingshui, Chengxian, Hancheng, Yijun, Central, Shiquan, Yichuan, Suide, Jia, Yao, Jingning, Tongguan, Yangpingguan, and Jinsuoguan. Judging from the above narrative, most of the rebels at that time had "made a name for themselves." This phenomenon existed almost throughout the peasant uprisings in the late Ming Dynasty. The reason for this is that the rebels "did not want to be known by their names for fear of being burdened by their relatives." After these uprisings occurred, they were suppressed by local officials. Some leaders died quickly. For example, King Baishui was killed by Liu Yingyu of Shangluo Road in Shaanxi Province in the Ming Dynasty in the first month of the second year of Chongzhen (1629) (21). Wang Daliang's troops in Hannan were suppressed by Liu Yingyu and Sichuan general Wu Guofu. They were defeated in Lueyang first and retreated to Hanyin. Liu Yingyu sent troops to pursue them to Dashichuan (Dashichuan is the name of the river, which is 200 miles southeast of Xixiang County and flows into Ziyang County). Wang Daliang and 500 nominal troops were killed in the battle, and the remaining 300 people were transferred to Sichuan in February of the second year of Chongzhen (22). In April of the second year of Chongzhen, Zhou Dawang and other soldiers from Jiezhou rebelled, and were soon "captured" and killed by Ming deputy general He Huchen (23). Some rebel armies were not suppressed by the official army, but because they were not strong enough, they often encountered setbacks in combat. For example, when Wang Zuoguan's troops besieged Longmendu in Hancheng in February of the second year of Chongzhen, they were defeated and retreated to Qingjian when Hong Chengchou, the governor of the Ming Dynasty, came to rescue them. In March, he "plundered Zhenning" and "reached Yaozhou". He was defeated by Sun Zhixiu, the Ming guard general, and "escaped into the mountains." In April, he "attacked Yaozhou again" and Hong Chengchou "organized more than 10,000 officers and soldiers to form twelve battalions and surrounded Yunyang." Officers and soldiers chased each other, and more than 200 rebels died. At that time, the famine in Shaanxi was still continuing, and the number of hungry people was still increasing, which continuously supplied a large number of supplementary personnel to the rebel army. "Records of the Huailing Bandits" records that in December of the second year of Chongzhen, "there was a heavy snowfall in Yan'an, and countless people died from the cold, and the strong ones became thieves" (25). In addition, from the second to the beginning of the third year of Chongzhen, there were mutinies involving the layoff of post offices and reinforcements, which also brought new reinforcements to the uprising team. In the Ming Dynasty, post stations were set up along transportation thoroughfares. Their tasks were to deliver official documents, receive officials, transport military supplies and deliver supplies, etc. For the purpose of management, when officials and others use the post facilities, they must hold certificates issued by relevant departments. These certificates are called Kanhe, Huopai, etc. The inn can be said to be an important transportation artery at that time and an indispensable part of implementing administrative orders and governing. However, feudal officials only pursued personal interests and did not care about the overall situation of the feudal country. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the post system was full of disadvantages. Some used the prospectus and other documents as excuses, "one piece of paper is washed and replenished to count four" (26); some used the carriages and horses of the inn beyond the standard, and even "out of supply, the horizontal ropes were folded and dried" (27). Coupled with the war and trouble at that time, the men and soldiers serving at the post were miserable, and the country's funding for the post was also greatly increased. In view of this, in the early days of Chongzhen, Liu Mao and the imperial censor Mao Yujian were asked to rectify the post station and prohibit indiscriminate reforms. Emperor Sizong of the Ming Dynasty appreciated this suggestion very much and immediately ordered Liu Mao to be assigned to Shi Zhong from the Criminal Department to the Military Department, "specializing in post delivery affairs." In April of the second year of Chongzhen (1629), Liu Mao received this imperial edict, which was to "obey the imperial regulations and make every effort to reduce the number of troops." After three months, the relevant rules were drawn up, "In addition to the indiscriminate use of loans, the official service personnel will also be reduced by sixteen or seventeen" (28). Liu Mao's reform is undoubtedly of progressive significance. However, this is only one aspect of it. At that time, the soldiers serving in the post station were paid. Although the amount of this kind of payment is very small, in some extremely poor areas, some people can use it to eke out a living. When Liu Mao was rectifying the post station, in addition to eliminating the abuse of post station facilities by officials, he also tried his best to reduce the number of post station servants, leaving a large number of unemployed. Therefore, Liu Mao's rectification of the post stations also had the side effect of affecting the livelihood of the post station workers in some poor areas. For example, the rectification of Shaanxi intensified social conflicts in Shaanxi, and many unemployed post office workers joined the uprising. The Qing Dynasty's history book "Ping Kou Zhi" recorded this situation. It said: We asked Liu Mao and Yu Shi Mao Yujian to cut down the post station to meet the needs of the country. Due to strict orders, no postal symbols can be given except by edict. Even if there is a quota for passing the pass, no one dares to abuse the county official's money, and the annual savings will be useless. It is said that Su Yi is trapped, but in Yan, Zhao, Qin and Jin, there are holes in the hoofs of wheels, and the wandering people chase the horses away with whips, and they often rely on the post rice to eat, which is really beneficial to the scoundrels. They were frugal and had no food to eat, so they gathered together and became bandits. There were three so-called mutinies involving reinforcements. From October of the second year to May of the third year of Chongzhen, troops from the Hou Jin Dynasty invaded the mainland and "martial law" was imposed in the capital. Troops stationed in various places rushed to help in response to the imperial edict, but the reinforcements were mistreated. Therefore, soldiers from Shanxi, Yansui, and Gansu mutinied one after another. Most of these mutinous soldiers participated in the peasant uprising. The first was the mutiny of Shanxi soldiers. Led by Shanxi Governor Geng Ruchi and Chief Military Officer Zhang Honggong, they came to the capital area in December of the second year of Chongzhen. Initially, they were ordered by the Ministry of War to go to Tongzhou, but one day later they were transferred to Changping. Once they arrived, they were transferred to Liangxiang. According to the regulations at that time: when the soldiers arrived at Xindi, they were not allowed to receive food that day. "The next day, they will be given to the flooded areas when they are encamped." Since the Shanxi soldiers were continuously mobilized and could not get food and pay for several days, they were extremely hungry and hungry, so they went out to plunder. Geng Ruqi and Zhang Honggong "arrested and interrogated the sergeants for refusing to surrender", and the soldiers dispersed back to Shanxi, numbering as many as 5,000. "The flow of 'thieves' in the middle of Jin Dynasty" has been "intensified" since then. The mutinies of Yansui soldiers and Gansu soldiers occurred one after another in the first month of the third year of Chongzhen. Their causes are also related to food and wages: in Yansui, "General Wu Zimian came in to help and invaded the food, and the army fled in the middle and returned to "rebellion""; in Gansu, "Governor Mei Zhihuan led his troops to help, and the soldiers were given food from time to time. They took off their turbans and made noise. Zhihuan inspected the first few people to rectify the law, and more than a thousand people broke up and returned to Shaanxi" and "joined the group of bandits." The border soldiers possess high military skills. The addition of the above-mentioned mutinous soldiers to the uprising team not only increases their number, but more importantly, greatly improves their combat capabilities.

After Longqing lifted the ban, private maritime trade along the southeast coast developed rapidly, and a prosperous scene emerged, especially in Zhangzhou Yuegang. In order to adapt to this situation and strengthen the management of private maritime trade, the Ming government had to implement a new management system in Yuegang. This management system is obviously different from the tribute ship management system and shows several new characteristics. First, a number of restrictions on commercial ships have been lifted. Countries with tribute ship trade have restrictions, and the tribute time is fixed. As mentioned above, Ryukyu pays tribute every two years, Annam, Champa, and Goryeo pay tribute every three years, and Japan pays tribute every ten years. There are also restrictions on the ports where tribute ships can dock. Ningbo can only dock Japanese tribute ships, Fuzhou can only dock Ryukyu tribute ships, and Guangzhou can only dock tribute ships from Southeast Asian countries. The new management system has eliminated these restrictions. With the exception of Japan and Japan, merchant ships from any country can dock at Moon Harbor, and there is no time limit and they can trade ashore at any time. Second, tax foreign goods. The main purpose of the tribute ship trade was to be politically friendly to distant people, so the tribute items were not given a price, but a large amount of items and money were given in the form of rewards. Although there are regulations to draw points for attached goods, in order to show the favor of the "Celestial Empire", points are often exempted, especially during the Hongwu and Yongle years. It was most common and almost routine. Under the new management system, no matter what kind of goods, water and land rates must be paid before they can be traded ashore. Thirdly, most of the goods imported by tribute ships are bought and sold by the government. Only some inferior goods that the government refuses to buy can be opened for trading, and they must be traded at places designated by the Huitong Pavilion and the Municipal Shipping Department under the supervision of relevant officials. The new management system stipulates that all taxed goods can be traded freely. Fourth, the tribute ship trade was mostly barter exchange, and even the draw system involved drawing physical goods. The new management system changed from the collection of physical goods to the payment system of collecting currency, which is undoubtedly a major change in the tariff system. In summary, the formation of the Yuegang maritime management system is an important opportunity for the transformation from the municipal shipping department management system to the private maritime management system. Its emergence marks the beginning of the new customs management system. During the Chenghua and Hongzhi years, the overseas trade of Yuegang rose rapidly, and there was a prosperous scene of "goods traveling, wealth gathering among wealthy merchants, rhinoceros horns carved skillfully, and ivory polished to shine". Yuegang has become a metropolis in southern Fujian and enjoys the reputation of "little Suzhou and Hangzhou in the world". By the time of Zhengde and Jiajing, Yuegang entered the most prosperous stage in the early period. The maritime merchants of Yuegang and smuggling trade with overseas countries developed at an unprecedented scale and speed. "People from Fujian and Zhangzhou were trading goods with foreign merchants on the sea." With the development of overseas trade, the Ming government in order to strengthen its control over Yuegang's maritime trade, in the ninth year of Jiajing (1530), based on the suggestion of Hu Lian, the censor of the governor's capital, moved the patrol road to Zhangzhou, and established the Anbian Pavilion in Haicang'ao, more than ten miles northeast of Yuegang, and assigned a member of the prefectural general to station it, once every six months. In the twenty-seventh year of the Jiajing reign, Zhu Wan established the Baojia system in the Yuegang area and strictly prohibited the transfer of aid. Keqiao of the Xuhai Road suggested setting up a county government in Yuegang to strengthen the control of the Yuegang maritime trade. The patrol censor Jincheng also proposed the same content. At this time, "the place was a little peaceful in Yuegang, and the prefect Lu Bi's proposal was suspended", so the proposal to establish a county was not adopted. But in the 30th year of Jiajing's reign, the Jinghai Pavilion was established in Yuegang to "communicate patrols". Soon, the pirate businessman Xie Lao occupied Yuegang, and then the sea merchant Zhang Wei and other 24 generals "formed a nest to occupy", causing the Ming government to completely lose control of Yuegang, and the Yuegang area was "almost assimilated to foreigners". Therefore, in the 42nd year of the Jiajing reign, Governor Tan Lun ordered the governor to appease, "Please still set up a coastal defense magistrate to manage maritime affairs, and change the Jinghai Museum to a coastal defense museum." The coastal defense magistrate will be stationed there. However, because the maritime merchants of Yuegang "have been domineering for a long time, they are not easy to tame", and their "yang goes along with the yin and goes against the yin, but they will never be tamed", so the effect is not great. In the forty-third year of Jiajing reign, Zhou Xianxuan of the Sea Patrol Road used a "tactic to capture the great leader Zhang Wei and others" to put down the "rebellion" of the twenty-four generals. At this time, local elected officials Li Ying and Li Luan once again went to Shu to apply for the establishment of a county, which was approved by the central government of the Ming Dynasty. In the forty-fourth year of Jiajing reign, the prefect Tang Jiude planned to establish the county. "Cut the first capital of Longxi to the ninth capital and five of the twenty-eight capitals, and combine the nine districts of the twenty-three capitals of Zhangpu to form a county." In the first year of Longqing (1567), the county was officially established, named Haicheng County, and the county seat was at Yuegang Bridge. During the Wanli period, due to the "Shipping Rating Control", the Coastal Defense Hall was changed to the Governor's Rating Hall, and its location was "to the right of the county seat, that is, the old base of Jinghai Hall". [Illustration] Although the Governor's Rating Hall evolved from the Anbyian Hall, Jinghai Hall, and Coastal Defense Hall, the Anbyian Hall, Jinghai Hall, and Coastal Defense Hall were mainly institutions to suppress and control Yuegang's maritime merchants, while the Governor's Rating Hall was the real management agency of Yuegang's maritime merchants. The official configuration of the governor's rate office: one tax official, two rate officials, and four scribes. The tax official was initially appointed by Haiphong Tongzhi. In the sixth year of Longqing's reign, "at the beginning of taxation, the public (referring to Haiphong Tongzhi Luo Gongchen) was the first to take up this post" [illustration]. In the first year of Wanli (1573), Shen Zhi took over. "For three years, we asked for shipping taxes on the road to pay for the soldiers. We banned seventeen things in sea taxation and only on the road." The successors include Zhou Yideng, Yao Yinglong, Ye Shide, Wang Yingqian, Shu Jiusi and others. Afterwards, "it was suspected that there was a shrinkage in tax rates, and the Fanghai doctor had been at work for a long time, so he was able to control it freely, and the declarations were not fully recorded." So he followed the examples of various places and "selected one person to take charge of the whole Fujian government every year." In the twenty-sixth year of Wanli, Shaowu Prefecture promoted Zhao Xianyi, an official of the Shaowu Prefecture, "to supervise Zhang's pay with his ability as the most powerful person in all counties." However, Zhangzhou Prefecture soon reapplied the former salary officer's proposal, citing the reason that "the ocean tax was originally proposed to be collected by various governors in turn, but it is inconvenient for foreign governors to come from far away, and it is inconvenient to add more labor and labor, and the cost will be doubled." "There are five assistants and assassins in this mansion, and one member of the annual committee is responsible for the management. There is no exclusive right to do anything. It is not contrary to the original proposal and is appropriate for the situation." This suggestion was approved by the superior, and later it was changed to the second official of Zhangzhou Prefecture. In order to manage the overseas trade of Yuegang, the Ming Dynasty government not only set up special management agencies, but also formulated some management regulations. In the sixth year of Longqing's reign, the county governor Luo Qingxiao put forward the proposal to levy a commercial tax for the first time, "because of the expense of his department, all the needs of the government, and the good deeds of the three elders in his community." In the third year of Wanli's reign, Shen Zhi, a member of the coastal defense community, made seventeen measures to ban the sea, which were adopted by the Ming government and "written as an order". Although the full text of the 17 Articles has not been preserved, its main content is preserved in the "Rate and Tax Examination" of Zhang Xie's "East and West Yang Kao". In the 21st year of Wanli, "Japanese pirates invaded Korea, and Fujian shocked its neighbors, prohibiting maritime trade." The decrease in the number of Chinese ships going to sea for trade has seriously affected the government's fiscal revenue. Therefore, Zhongcheng Xu Fuyuan proposed improvement measures and re-stipulated: "Any trafficker's ship left behind, regardless of whether it was used in the past or not, is allowed to return, whether it is near or far. The official pay is like a story, and all the crimes of adultery and winter love will be forgiven." "[Illustration] In the 27th year of Wanli, Gao Cai, the imperial eunuch of Emperor Shenzong, entered Fujian as a shipping company and was also in charge of mining. He recruited gangsters and villains to act as tax collectors and plundered maritime merchants at will. "They asked for goods outside the official tax, but the fees were not paid" [Illustration], which caused serious damage to Yuegang's management regulations. It was not until the thirty-fourth year of Wanli that "the mines were closed on purpose". At the same time, Yuegang maritime merchants also rebelled [illustration], and Gao Cai was finally driven out of Yuegang. The original management methods were restored, and "the department continued to collect settlements as usual." However, due to imperfect management methods, coupled with corruption and corruption by officials, Yuegang's maritime merchants were still greatly devastated. In the thirty-eighth year of Wanli, Lu Jigeng put forward the reform plan of "Ten Discussions on Pay Matters". "Anything that is inconvenient to the country and business will be repaid." Therefore, the ship must be repaid according to actual conditions, the remuneration must be based on experiments, and the verification must be based on actual payment. This will eliminate the problem of paying wages as usual due to "unpredictable winds and waves. There are those who fail to make it to the East and West Qi Islands, those who cannot return in time, and those who have goods", which is generally welcomed by merchants. "In the forty-first year of Wanli, Shao Gui continued to conduct in-depth investigations and asked merchants and people in detail: "Is there anyone who pretends to be a tiger and a fox, and wants to eat fish and meat on the basis of the offerings? Is there anyone who is cunning and committing adultery and can't be criticized? Is there anyone who makes false accusations and threatens them, but uses his strength to swallow a boat? If you get some benefit or some harm, please invite two people. All the beetles and disease merchants will be rejected and never be ravaged. " He clearly stipulated that from now on when merchant ships enter the port, they will read them as they come, and no excuses are allowed to delay or make things difficult. Taxation and payment must be "based on the books reported, and the scale issued shall be the standard, and the annual losses must be equal to the amount. No envy, no harsh blame, no time wasted, and no complicated lawsuits." . After the reforms of Lu Jigeng and Shao Gui, the overseas trade management methods were improved, but they were still very chaotic. In the 44th year of Wanli, Suji, the official official, saw the business difficulties and proposed a thirteen-point reform plan to "sympathize with the business and eliminate the disadvantages". The "Rate and Tax Kao" and "Shi Yu Kao" in "Xiyang Kao" and Xu Fuyuan's "Jinghetang Collection", with reference to other relevant records, describe the management methods of Yuegang maritime merchants as follows: Yegang maritime merchants' overseas trade must first obtain approval from the Ming government. The ship can only sail after being issued by the coastal defense officer. Each ship invoice "has a tax difference, which is called a tax." At first, it was stipulated that the tax for each business in the East and West was three taels. The chicken coop and Tamsui roads were closer. Later, the tax on the East and West was increased to one tael. Six liang, chicken coops and fresh water were increased to 2 liang. Each time, the number of quotations was one hundred, and "the number of ships was limited to 88 ships per year before the land was determined." However, the number of quotations was limited accordingly, and the number of quotations was increased to one hundred and ten quotations, including the name, age, household registration, address, destination, date of return, and restricted equipment. The names of goods and other commodities should be "completely filled in by merchants without any omissions." At the same time, coastal defense officials and states and counties should set up two circular registers to record equipment, goods, names, age, household registration, address, desired location, expiry date, etc. According to merchants' quotations, "by day." "Registration". [Illustration] If there is an error in the report, the ship will not have an official; if the weight of the goods and cargo is different, the cargo will not have an official. When a merchant ship leaves the port, the Governor's Office will send people to board the ship for inspection to prevent all kinds of contraband and weapons from being exported. Originally, the merchant ship going out to sea was inspected in Xiamen In the 45th year of Wanli's reign, Wang Qizong, the general judge, felt that it was very inconvenient to conduct ship inspections in Xiamen: Set up two offices of the Counselor's Office and the Coastal Defense Office. When the foreign ships are sailing and the Spring Flood and Sea Defense Meeting is held, the Counselor's Office and the Quanzhou Defense Office are stationed in their respective areas. There is no free public house, and it is difficult to disturb the people's residences. It is inconvenient. Moreover, Zhangzhou officials are far away from the spring territory, which is neither in the area under their jurisdiction nor in the service. It is difficult for a person to ride alone and pack food, but to follow the servants, no less than dozens of people. If the people's residences are scattered, it will not be a good defense, and it will be inconvenient. Moreover, from our home to Xiamen, there are two tides and conflicting waves. When the wind comes, it is difficult for a light boat to sail. The time is late, and the merchant ships are not without delays. , The third is inconvenience. He believed that another mansion should be built in Guiyu to facilitate ship inspection, because "Guiyu is a mountain, floating at the mouth of the sea, surrounded by mountains and seas. It is located in the center, which is the only way for merchant ships, and it is the area where Chengyi belongs to." When ships go out to sea, they can be inspected, and when they return to port, they can also be watched. "They will not cross other borders, and they will not be blocked by the wind and waves. Although they change places, the inspection will be the same. Those who have witnessed and experienced this duty will be inspected at Guiyu from then on." After inspection, if no prohibited goods are carried overseas, Feng Shi is allowed to sail back. When the merchant ship returns and passes through the villages of Nan'ao, Wuyu, Tongshan, Haomen and Haimen at the end of the island, it will be sealed by officials and escorted by boat divisions every step of the way. It is called to prevent pirates from plundering. The above is to prevent local small boats from going out to sea to pick up pay and cargo. After entering the port, ship dealers must immediately report to the U. S. Department of Transportation for review and cancellation. If there is any cross-border trafficker who abandons the ship and disembarks, and the goods are stolen and the pay is leaked, the shipper will be arrested and punished. In addition, there are also regulations on the travel distance of merchant ships. If the ocean is far away, it is issued in November or December every year, and it is strictly forbidden to sell it within June of the following year. If it is closer to the east, it is usually in early spring, and it is strictly forbidden to sell it back within May. Br>The taxation system of Yuegang maritime merchants has been changed from the previous taxation system to the rate system. There are three types of commercial taxes: First, the water rate, also known as the "foot tax", is based on the width and width of the ship, and the ship tax is levied according to the size of the ship. For example, if a Western-style ship is more than one foot or six feet wide, 5 taels of silver will be charged for each foot. A total of 80 taels of silver will be charged for each ship. For each ship that is wider by 1 foot, an additional 5 taels of silver will be levied. For merchant ships that trade in the East, each ship will be levied according to the length of a Western-style ship. The tax rate is seven-tenths of the amount. Ship merchants often reduce the size of the ship in order to avoid the water rate, and the officials pay more attention to the tax in order to increase the water rate. Coupled with the clerk's various frauds, Xiao Ji proposed that the ship repair officer should personally do the repairs in October every year. Measure the size and record the number of Tiandi Xuanhuang. "If a certain ship is guided to a certain place, it will be paid according to the rules of the name, and there is no need to repeat the measurement of Liangtou." [Illustration] This can not only save merchants' costs, but also prevent smuggling and fraud. Second, Lu rates, that is, import taxes on goods, are calculated based on the quantity or value of imported goods and are levied on shops that purchase imported goods. In the third year of Wanli, the tax collection rules for various imported goods were initially determined. In the seventeenth year of Wanli, due to the high price of goods, the current price varied. In the 43rd year of Wanli's reign, the admiral's army made detailed rectifications. Some levied specific taxes based on the quantity of the goods, some levied ad valorem taxes based on the value of the goods, and some goods were divided into more detailed categories and taxed according to the upper, middle and lower grades. In the 43rd year of Wanli, the amount was reduced in order to encourage maritime merchants. After the forty-three years of Wanli's adjustment for various imported goods, except for the import taxes on four commodities such as sumac, rhinoceros horn, banana mat, and Jiaozhi silk, the import taxes on the other seventy-nine commodities were slightly increased. The export tax has been reduced to varying degrees compared to the 17th year of Wanli, and the tax rate is generally between 15 and 20%. In addition, there is a batch of goods that have not been shipped in the previous year, which is recorded later: Duoluo [illustration], each piece is red. The tax silver is 5 cents, 1 cent and 9 cents per piece, and the remaining colors are 3 cents, 4 cents and 6 cents per piece; the mirror, the tax silver is 1 cent and 7 cents per side; the bronze drum, the tax silver is 8 cents and 7 cents per side; the red copper, the tax silver is 1 cent, 5 cents and 5 cents per 100 catties; the rotten copper, the tax silver is 8 cents and 7 cents per 100 catties; the native silk cloth, Each piece of silver is taxed 1 cent and 6 cents; coarse silk cloth, each piece of silver is taxed 8 cents; Western cloth, each piece of silver is taxed 1 cent and 7 cents; Tokyo Ubud, each piece of silver is taxed 2 cents; Hatcho buckwheat, each hundred catties of silver is taxed 1 cent; blue and white pen holder, each taxed silver 4 cents; green glazed pen holder, each piece of silver is taxed 1 cent and 6 cents; Personal tax is 4 cents and 5 cents; white glass lamps are taxed at 4 cents each; glass bottles are taxed at 1 cent each; Ying Ge is taxed at 3 cents each; straw mats are taxed at 9 cents per bed; lacquer is taxed at 2 cents per 100 catties; safflower rice is taxed 2 cents per 100 catties; rhinoceros skin , every hundred pieces of tax silver is 1 cent; horse hide, every hundred pieces of tax silver is 3 cents, 4 cents and 6 cents; snake skin, every hundred pieces of tax silver is 2 cents; ape skin, every hundred pieces of tax silver is 1 cent; shark fin, every hundred catties of tax silver is 6 cents and 8 cents; kingfisher skin, every forty pieces of tax silver is 5 cents; camphor, every hundred cents of tax silver. The tax silver for each catty of shrimp is 1 cent; the tax silver for each hundred catties of shrimps is 1 cent; the tax silver for torches is 1 cent for every thousand branches; the tax silver for every hundred bamboo shoots is 3 cents; the tax silver for mung beans is 1 cent per stone; the tax silver for millet is 1 cent per stone; the tax silver for fat men is 3 cents per hundred catties; the tax silver for stone flowers is 3 cents per hundred catties. The tax is 2 cents and 6 cents per hundred catties. Third, the tax is specifically levied on merchant ships returning from Luzon, which is generally borne by the shipowners. Because Chinese merchants rarely transport goods back to Luzon, they bring back a large amount of Mexican silver coins. The imposition of import taxes was avoided. In order to make up for this loss, the Ming government specifically stipulated that all merchant ships returning from Luzon would be subject to an additional tax of 150 taels. Later, because of the continuous complaints from the maritime merchants, they thought the burden was too heavy, and it was only reduced to 120 taels in the 18th year of Wanli [ Illustration] The above three types of taxes are all levied on currency. From collecting physical goods to levying currency, this is a major change in China's tariff system. It shows that modern customs tariffs have sprouted, and it also reflects the fundamental changes in foreign trade in the Ming Dynasty.

How is this book? Has anyone tried poisonous talk?

Except for the feudal type where wealthy families raised adopted sons and servants to go out to trade, the rest of the sailors and helmsmen of the maritime merchants were recruited. This phenomenon of hiring shipwrights was already very common at that time. In the thirty-seventh year of Wanli (1609), the Japanese invasion incident was discovered in Zhejiang. Maritime merchants and shipowners hired helmsmen, sailors, and silversmiths to go overseas for trade. The relationship between them was of course an employment relationship. In the twelfth year of Shunzhi (1655), Zhu Sheng, Zhu Guochen, Shu Feng, and Shu Maofeng, who were captured overseas shipowners from Yin County, Ningbo, also hired many boatmen and sailors. According to the "Fragments of the Ministry of Punishment", Zhu Yun hired sailors Zheng Yun, Zhu Xia, Zheng Jun, Zhu Monk, Zheng Nianba, Zhu Guan and Zhu Xiaomonk to drive a stern boat to the sea for trade. Zhu Sheng hired sailors Miss Bi, Shu San, Zhu Zhen, Zhu Wu, Zhu Si, Zhu Shou, Wang Liu, Zhu Menglin and Zhu Bangmao to drive a dredger; Zhu Guochen hired sailors Qian Shiliu, Chen Shishi, Zhu Sier, Zhu Qingyu and Zhu Shi to drive a dinghy boat; Shu Feng hired sailors Shu Si, Shu Baisi, Shu Zeng and Shu 20 to drive a dinghy boat. They "each bought a false flag and stored it on the ship", "actually traveled overseas" [illustration], and conducted extensive trade. In the thirteenth year of Kangxi's reign (1674), another Japanese incident occurred. Maritime merchant Liu Junfu gathered Zhang Xiangru, Xiong Fengxin, Fu Wencai, Zhao Erye, Chen Sanyuan, Wang Ruizhi and others to hire Yu Jing to work on the ship. Yu Cai, Jiang Wu, Ma Shun, Jin Wu, Tian Wu, Gao Yuan and Chen Da were sailors and sailed from Xiangshan'ao to Japan for trade. [Illustration] The relationship between the ship merchants, helmsmen, and sailors of the above ships is actually an employment-labor relationship in which the ship merchants pay and the ship workers contribute their efforts. In the private maritime trade during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, not only was the phenomenon of hired labor common, but there were also a large number of hired workers, and there was a more detailed division of labor within the hired workers. During the Jiajing period, "Chen Gui and seven other merchants from Fujian violated the prohibition during the festival and went to the sea frequently to sell their goods at a profit. This time, they encountered 21 Chaoyang ships and 1,300 people in the water. They competed with each other for profit and killed each other" [Illustration]. On average, each ship employs about sixty-two sailors. We can also confirm this number in another piece of information. In the 15th year of Shunzhi, two ships of Zheng's maritime merchants were ordered by the wife to "recruit many deserted sailors" and went to Siam for trade. "It was reported that there were two ships of sailors and merchants, totaling one hundred and thirty-five" [illustration]. In addition to merchants, each ship had about sixty sailors. With such a large number of shipwrights, their technical division of labor is very clear. In addition to the owner of the ship, each ship has a financial officer and a chief steward, who is responsible for managing the affairs of the ship and calling on behalf of the ship owner. The person in charge of war implements is Zhiku, the one who mounts masts and masts is Aban, the person in charge of the anchors has Tou Ding and Er Ding, the person in charge of Liao has Da Liao and Er Liao, the person in charge of the helm is the helmsman, and there are two replacements, and the person in charge of the needle is named Huo Chang" [illustration]. By the early Qing Dynasty, the organizational division of labor within each ship was more detailed than in the Ming Dynasty. In the 22nd year of Kangxi's reign, the Zheng family sailed a large black ship from Taiwan to Siam. There were "steers Huang Cheng, Cai Yunliu, Huo Xixi, deputy helmsman Xie Sheng, general manager Lin Ming, deputy general manager Chen Ying, Aban Xie Ding, and Tou Ding." Chen San, Daxiao Chen Chun, foreman Chen Hao, Zhiku Linqi, Xianggong Zhang Yu, general shop Ni Ming, deputy general shop Lu Zhao, deputy Aban Chen Cai, first line Chen Xing, second line Lin Jing, third line Chen Yin, second line Chen Shen, second line Chen Hao, third line worker Huang Lin , Deputy Director Chen Zhu, Mu Shao Yang Sheng, Zhang Si, Chen Wu, Cai Peng, Lin Shun, Wang Shuang, Chen Mei, Lu Jin, Jin Chang, Huang Wei, Chen Jian, Yang Mao, Wang Jin, Lin Wei, Jin Sheng, Lin Zuo, Lin Sheng, Guo Jin, Hong Chuang, Deng San, Wang Zan, Wang Wen, Chen [illustration], Hong Wu, Chen Wu, Li Ren, Yang Jin, Zeng Wu, Zeng Mu, Chen Yin, Zhang Fe, Xu Li, Chen Mei, Chen Yu, Li Guang, Xue Yuan, Chen Wei, Zhou Shun, Chen Qing, Chen Fu, Hou Zai" [illustration]. Judging from their relationship with the means of production, the vast majority of boatmen are bankrupt farmers. After the middle of the Ming Dynasty, due to the increasing annexation of rural land and the heavy burden of taxes and servitude, a large number of farmers went bankrupt, lost their land, and wandered everywhere. This phenomenon is even more serious in the south of the Yangtze River: "North and south of the Yangtze River, people's wealth is vast" and "fleeing and exile is inevitable." Some of the refugees go to the mountains and become shanty dwellers, while others flock to the sea and become a hired army of boatmen. They are completely separated from the land. It can be said that they have almost nothing except themselves. The twenty-eight boatmen employed by the shipowners Zhu Sheng, Zhu Guochen, Shu Feng, and Shu Maofeng mentioned above, including Zheng Yun, Zhu Xia, Zhu Heshang, and Zheng Nianba, were all "poor sailors" who had nothing and were separated from the land [illustration]. Wang Xu, a boatman recruited by boat owner Chen Zhaoding, was also a "lonely and naked" bankrupt farmer who had lost all his means of production and even all his means of living. Precisely because these boatmen have completely lost their means of production and have no choice but to sell their labor in exchange for means of living, once martial law prohibits them from entering the water, they will live in poverty. During the Wanli period, Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded North Korea, and the Ming government once again imposed a maritime ban, which "brought disaster to merchants, diverted hundreds of ships, and shipped hundreds of millions of goods. The way of life was blocked, merchants lost their fortunes, and servants were tied up and had nothing to eat. They groaned and waited for death." [Illustration] It can be seen from here how the boatmen who had nothing relied on selling their labor to make ends meet. It illustrates once again that boatmen in the private maritime trade were completely "detached from the land and from any means of production." From the perspective of the relationship with the shipowners, shipwrights already have the nature of free wage labor. "The Examination of East and West" says: "In the coastal area, the fields are exhausted, and the cultivators have nothing to look forward to. They can only look at the abyss like a mausoleum. It has become a habit for a long time. The rich collect goods and return with bundles, while the poor work as servants and earn rice to support themselves." [Illustration] "Countries and Countries of the World" "Li Bing Shu" also said: "The sailing merchants all stopped from Zhangquan to the Taoist government, and the report was quoted as evidence. They are all coastal residents. The rich contributed capital and the poor contributed their efforts. They moved to gain advantage. It has been a long time since those who have accumulated disadvantages for a long time have become traitors and thieves." [Illustration] "Haicheng County Chronicles" ""Japanese Chronicles" also has the same record: "Those who are scheming regard the waves as the waves and the sails as the grass. They build the rich with their wealth and the poor with their bodies. They lose the products of China and travel to foreign countries. If they exchange their goods, the profit will be tenfold." [Illustration] "If you shine, you will gain tenfold." In maritime merchants, the rich contribute their capital and the poor contribute their share, and they trade with various countries. From the above records, it can be seen that the relationship between shipowners and shipwrights is entirely a money-employment relationship. The shipowners use money to purchase the labor force of the shipwrights and extract the surplus value created by the shipwrights. The boatmen had nothing and were forced to sell their labor in order to "earn rice to support themselves." Here, labor power has been transformed into commodities, and feudal exploitation has turned into capitalist exploitation. Shipowners neither use super-economic coercion to enslave shipworkers, nor use "favor" methods to cover up their exploitative relationships, but use naked economic means to exploit shipworkers. Therefore, shipworkers and shipowners are equal in terms of legal rights, and there is no personal dependence relationship. In addition, they also adopt a relatively progressive monetary wage system in economic relations. Fan Biao said in "Wanlu Pavilion Manuscript" that merchants along the coast of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province: "Japanese are hired to hire people for shipbuilding, and each Japanese is worth seven taels of silver." [Illustration] "Chongzhen Changbian" also records: "The rich of the people are peddlers of wealth. In foreign countries, such as Luzon, Champa and other places, you can get a few cents of interest every year, and the poor can work as a pole master for many years, and you can get twenty or thirty gold every year." [Illustration] This kind of monetary salary accounts for a large part of commercial capital. In the 22nd year of Kangxi (1683), a merchant ship belonging to the Zheng family was loaded with 2,050 dans of white sugar and 150 dans of rock sugar, and was sold from Taiwan to Japan, earning a total of "13,520 taels of silver. In addition to the 3,518 taels of silver for grain and vegetables, there are still 10,100 taels of silver left." This silver bought red copper, gold plates, tea anvils, Beijing wine, persimmon fruits, chestnuts, pickled claws, drums, oil stingers, pomfret, [illustration] fish (squid) and other goods in Japan, and then sailed from Japan to Siam, "selling the aforementioned goods, in addition to saving one hundred red copper Sixty boxes, the rest sold a total of 8,312 taels and 7 and 5 cents of grain silver. Except for the 1,529 taels and 5 cents and a half of silver issued by Siam for the hard work of grain and vegetables, the actual silver in stock was 6,783 taels and 5 cents and two cents." [Illustration] The trade volume of this ship between Japan and Siam was 21,832 taels, 7 cents, 7 cents and 5 cents, and the wages paid to sailors and helmsmen reached 4,017 taels, 7 cents, 5 cents and 5 cents, accounting for approximately 18.5% Of the total trade volume. The amount was very large.

Li Dan, a native of Quanzhou, once did business in Manila. Later he went to Japan and lived in Hirado. He was the leader of the local Chinese businessmen. He owned a large number of ships and was engaged in trade activities between the coasts of Taiwan and Fujian and Japan. According to "Xiamen Chronicles", in the second year of Tianqi, "the red-haired barbarians occupied Zhongzuo Suo in Penghu and forced Guiyu... Bozhou Fenggui Zaiwei appeared in Wuyu, Baikeng, Dongding, Putou, Gulei, Hongyu, Shazhou and Jiazhou. The pirate Li Dan returned to help him, and the Binhai County was under martial law." "Zhao'an County Chronicles" also has the same record. Shen Jun said in "The Book of the Reds who Go to Futai and Siam to Proclaim the Edict": "Li Dan, the wandering stick, is a member of Xu Xinsu's group who has long been connected to Japan and is close to the red barbarians. He came here to collect private debts and broke into Xiamen in the name of worshiping his ancestors. How can he have good intentions? But he took advantage of it. Officials forbade the trade, kept silk secretly, loaded and sold to the barbarians, and asked for information for the barbarians. It is better to keep them as pledges, so that they can write to the barbarians and not disturb our border seas. Just let them escape. What's the point? "[Illustration] Zheng Zhilong attached himself to Li Dan, and soon gained Li Dan's trust, and adopted him as his adopted son. After Li Dan's death, most of the assets and tribes belonged to Zhilong, which formed an important part of Zheng's maritime capital. As for how Li Dan's assets fell into the hands of Zhilong, different books have different records: some say that he can inherit Li Dan's assets by "throwing Ou into the sea, and the one who survives will become a hero." For example, Tan Qian's "Zaolin Zazu" says: "Zheng Zhilong, who died young, went to Japan, and was nicknamed Sister Feng. She was twenty-one years old. After Li Dan returned to Fujian, he sailed When the sea was robbed, a large number of people gathered at the sea, and there were more than 20 people of his generation, none of whom were in the best position. They all agreed to throw their ou into the sea, and the one who did not lose it was the hero. Zheng Zhilong did not lose his ou, and everyone praised him for it." Some people think that Zheng Zhilong got rich by "stealing" the silver coins Li Dan sent to his wife. For example, Huang Zongxi's "The Beginning and End of Giving Surnames" said: "There was Li Xi (Li Dan), who traveled to Japan and was engaged in shipping. Zhilong took care of him as his father. Xi gave Zhilong ten thousand gold and sent it to his wife. Huixi died, and Zhilong died. Then he recruited scoundrels to steal at sea. For a long time, he gained nothing." Others say that Zheng Zhilong obtained it directly through inheritance rights, such as Shen Yun's "The Beginning and End of the Zheng Family in Taiwan" records: "There was Li Xi who was a trader in Japan and accumulated tens of thousands of dollars. He had no children, and his son Zhilong was a daughter of the royal family of Nagasaki, Japan. He also took the daughter of the royal family of Nagasaki, Japan, and returned it to the East Stone after many years of treasures. He was rich in Fujian." Although the records in each book are different, there is no doubt that Li Dan's wealth finally fell into the hands of Zheng Zhilong. Another source of Zheng Zhilong Maritime Capital is the acquisition of the property of Yan Siqi Maritime Group. "Siqi, a native of Haicheng, was bullied by a powerful family and beat his servants to death. He fled to Japan because of his guilt. Over time, he accumulated a lot of savings" [illustration]. He was also an important maritime merchant leader at that time. However, Japanese scholar Iwasoichi doubted the existence of Yan Siqi. He believed that Li Dan's activities, areas of activity, and time of death were very similar to the records of Yan Siqi in later generations' documents, so Yan Siqi was Li Dan. [Illustration] Taiwanese scholar Mao Yibo also said: "We believe that the deeds of Yan and Li are obviously the same person." Huang Quan further proposed that Yan Siqi was Li Dan's pseudonym. He said: "Yan Siqi will be called Li Dan somewhere, and Li Dan will be called Yan Siqi somewhere, depending on his needs. This is the same as how people use pen names today. Although the starting points are different, there are similarities in the situation. "[Illustration] Judging from various Chinese and foreign documents, the records about Li Dan and Yan Siqi do have many similarities, but their origins are different. Li Dan was from Quanzhou and Yan Siqi was from Haicheng. The places of death were also different, one was in Hirado, Japan, and the other was in Taiwan. Therefore, before conclusive material is discovered, Yan Siqi cannot be easily dismissed based on speculation. So how did Zheng Zhilong join Yan Siqi Maritime Group and inherit its property? The "Jinghai Zhi" written by Peng Sunyi (born in the 43rd year of Wanli and died in the 3rd year of Kangxi) who lived in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties has a more detailed record: Once, Zheng Zhilong was sailing on the sea and "was robbed by pirates on the way. Zhilong took the ship's cargo alone and gave it to Yan Zhenquan (Yan Siqi), the leader of the main village." At that time, "there were ten strongholds in the sea, and each stronghold was the master. The master of Zhilong was also the master of the center, and the nine masters offered sacrifices to him. Zhilong cried and begged his master, saying: "I will have a drink after the sacrifice tomorrow, and I want to ask all the people to release an ocean for me. Whether there is much or not is up to my life. I spoke slowly and sincerely, and the master was true to his words. Everyone was happy and robbed four ships of goods. From Siam, each ship was divided into half, and the nine masters were faithful and gave it all, and they were richer than the ten masters. The master also died, and Zhilong was promoted to one of the ten villages. At that time, the whole family spent money on returning home, bought valuables from Suzhou and Hangzhou, and started selling Ryukyu and other foreign goods. The coastal counties and counties were plundered, and no officers and soldiers could resist." [Illustration] From the above records, we can see that due to the inheritance and acceptance of the assets of Li Dan and Yan Siqi Maritime Group, Zheng's maritime capital has begun to take shape. Five years after the Apocalypse, Zheng Zhilong moved independently along the coast of Fujian, recruiting troops and setting up ships, and continued to expand his strength. In the sixth year of the Apocalypse, Zheng Zhilong "plundered Fujian and Guangjian, and attacked the old town of Zhangpu. He planted flags in Bojin Tower to recruit troops. Within ten days, thousands of followers were recruited to enrich the people and help them pay, which was called repaying water" [illustration]. In the seventh year of the Apocalypse, Zheng Zhilong attacked Minshan, Tongshan, Zhongzuo (today's Xiamen) and other places. Governor Zhu Yigui and Du Si Hong Xianchun led the fleet to meet the attack. They also used generals Xu Xinsu and Chen Wenlian as support. They fought fiercely for a day, but the outcome was still undecided. That night, the warships of Xu Xinsu and Chen Wenlian were drifted away by the tide. Zheng Zhilong sent a force to go around Hong Yuanchun's back, causing him to be attacked from both sides and defeated. Taking advantage of his victory, Zheng Zhilong entered the Zhongzuo Suo from the old town of Zhangpu. "The Zhongzuo people opened the city gate and begged not to kill them, but Zhilong restrained his subordinates and did not invade them." [Illustration] Because Zheng Zhilong adopted a different approach from other "sea pirates", "Wherever he went, he only ordered water to be returned, but he did not kill anyone. If there were those who were extremely poor, he would give them money and rice." [Illustration] Zheng Zhilong, when encountering poor people, he would give money, pay heavily to recruit aid, and use thick rice to bait spies, so that ghosts can communicate with the gods, and everyone is happy to use it." "So those who begged for food rushed to invest in it." Zheng Zhilong's maritime business group developed rapidly and the number of people increased dramatically. Therefore, Dong Yingju said with great emotion: "Zhilong only had dozens of boat ears at the beginning. By Bingyin (sixth year of Tianqi) there were one hundred and twenty, and by Dingmao (seventh year of Tianqi) there were seven hundred. Now (early year of Chongzhen), there are thousands of boats with all kinds of thieves." "Isn't it our people? How come there are so many thieves? I throw them away, and others collect them. I drive them, and they use them. I The soldiers are not soldiers, the ships are not ships, and the generals are not generals. They make good use of my people, take my ships, capture my generals, and use them to contain the famine in the name of helping the poor, so they return like flowing water." [Illustration] In the first year of Chongzhen (1628), Yan Jiyu, who was in charge of the engineering department, also said when he was sparsely attending Yu Zigao: Zheng Zhilong grew up in Quanzhou, and he knew all about the reality of our mainland. With the help of time and money, they gathered hundreds of boats and tens of thousands of followers. The rats and foxes in the city and society are willing to serve as minions; the servants in the counties and counties are all loyal to the people. Occasionally, the country squire made some arrangements, but the opportunity was leaked before the matter was carried out. As soon as the government issued an announcement, one made a slander and the other made a false statement. Again, give small favors to the big traitor, be courteous to the virtuous and help the poor, rob the rich and give to the poor, do not reject those who come and do not pursue those who leave. Therefore, officials do not worry about thieves but worry about the people. People do not fear officials but fear thieves. Thieves do not bear resentment but are virtuous. If one person is a thief, the family will be happy and safe. If one person is a thief, he will be safe. Clan relatives visit each other, and return home in vain, as if asking for money from the current official. Occasionally, they go ashore to buy goods and ask for water. Then in Luyan market, they lead sheep, carry wine, and carry baskets and bundles of silk, for fear of coming back. The strange changes that the true ears and eyes have not seen are the culprits seen in ancient and modern times. It can be seen that Zheng's Maritime Group, through Zheng Zhilong's painstaking management, was already very influential by the early years of Chongzhen. On the southeast coast, Western pirates, Japanese pirates and Chinese pirates appeared on the sea at the same time, attacking cities and territories, harassing the seaside, and posing a great threat to the Ming Dynasty. In short, the situation at that time was "the blazing atmosphere in the southeast sea, the captives in the northwest, and the bandits in the Central Plains, which are called the three major problems today" [illustration]. Faced with this grim situation, in order to concentrate its efforts on suppressing the domestic peasant uprising and dealing with the attack of the Hou Jin army, the Ming government had to implement a policy of appeasement of Zheng Zhilong, hoping to use the power of the Zheng's Maritime Group to quell the harassment of pirates on the southeast coast and relieve its worries. Therefore, Shao Tingcai pointed out in "Southeast Chronicles": "In September of the first year of Chongzhen, because Governor Xiong Wencan asked to surrender, the troops from all over the world gathered in Liaodong. They could not attack Zhilong, so they used Fu to restrain it." [Illustration] For Zheng Zhilong, there were also maritime merchant groups such as Liu Liu, Liu Qi, Li Kuiqi, Zhong Bin, and Liu Xiang at sea at that time. They and Zheng's family sometimes get along and sometimes separate, and they are the main competitors of Zheng's Maritime Group. Zheng Zhilong also wanted to use the power of the Ming government to eliminate these competitors in order to monopolize maritime trade. Therefore, he was willing to accept the support of the Ming government. In this situation of mutual use, both parties reached a tacit understanding. In the winter of the sixth year of Tianqi, Kinmen guerrilla Lu Yuying led his troops to encircle and exterminate Zheng Zhilong. He was defeated and captured. "Zhilong personally released his bonds, gave him a generous gift, and told him: If someone dares to resist the army, he has no choice but to do it. If he gets a title, he will serve the court to the death, and the southeastern half of the wall can rest on his head." [Illustration] In the seventh year of the Apocalypse, the governor Yu Zigao led his navy to attack Zheng Zhilong, but was defeated and fled. Zhilong "stopped his troops" and refused to pursue, and repeatedly expressed: "I am willing to serve as a guard dog and horse, and all the pirates in Fujian and Zhejiang and Guangdong will work together to bring peace." The officials of the Ming Dynasty understood Zheng Zhilong's request for mercy and acted as Yu Zhilong's request. When the news of Gao's defeat reached Quanzhou, the prefect Wang You "knew the details and said: Zhilong is so powerful that he does not pursue, kill, burn or plunder, which seems to be the intention of blaming him. It is difficult to suppress it now, but it may be feasible to appease him. If not, it is better to send people to retreat overseas, but he can still make atonement for his sins. On the day of merit, he will be given a noble rank." [Illustration] The newly arrived governor of Fujian quickly adopted Wang You's suggestion and sent Lu Yuying to the sea to appease him in July. In September, Zheng Zhilong gathered all his troops to surrender, and sent his younger brothers Zhiyan and Zhifeng to bring gold and silver cloth and silk to Quanzhou City with Yuying. They met with Wang You first and then Deng Liangzhi. Wang You, the magistrate of Quanzhou, immediately went to the Coastal Guard Station of the Wenzhou Prefecture and allowed Sergeant Zhilong to go ashore to purchase, and applied for the military gate on his behalf. "Internally, Zhilong was enamored of Hua and was willing to rehabilitate himself and make atonement for his crimes. From then on, the coastal areas were peaceful, and he was handed over to Yuying to go to the province." Lu Yuying went to Fuzhou to meet Xiong Wencan. Wencan was overjoyed and immediately traveled to the whole province. Zhunzhilong was taken care of. Waiting for the decree to be decided, Zheng Zhilong was appointed as a maritime guerrilla. After Zheng Zhilong was cared for, he maintained a certain degree of independence. "The governor never came to ask for advice, but he threatened to pay him day and night. He also had hundreds of thousands of money and did not care about his family." [Illustration] For example, the Ming army in Songshan, Liaodong, was defeated and retreated. The great scholar Jiang Deshen wanted to order Zhilong to aid the Liao Dynasty with a naval force, but "Zhilong also loved the trip to Fujian" and did not want to leave Fujian. [Illustration] On the other hand, Zheng Zhilong tried his best to expand his power with the help of the protection and support of the Ming government. From the first year to the eighth year of Chongzhen, he launched a struggle to eliminate dissidents and control the sea power in the southeast. In the second year of Chongzhen, a war was launched to eliminate the Li Kuiqi Maritime Group. Li Kuiqi, a native of Hui'an County, Quanzhou Prefecture, "has been on the coast of Meizhou since he was a child. He has a deep understanding of the nature of water. He can hide under the water for half a day without getting up. He can breathe through his mouth and see everything with his eyes. He is twenty-nine years old. His arms have a strength of 700 kilograms. He rallies fishing boats and robs merchant ships" [Illustration]. Li Kuiqi was originally an "associate" of the Zheng Zhilong Maritime Group, carrying Luzon foreign ships in the Penghu area for smuggling trade. In the first year of Chongzhen, due to uneven distribution of spoils, Kuiqi rebelled and recruited fugitives. "There were hundreds of large and small ships stationed at the Zhongzuowai Campus, and they gathered more than 3,000 bandits" to oppose the Zheng Zhilong Group. On the ninth day of December, Kuiqi joined forces with Chen Shengning, Zhong Liu, and Zhou Zhou to gather more than 400 ships to Wuyu Island to challenge. Zheng Zhilong went to Liuwudian and Shijing areas to recruit rural soldiers, and Cao Lutai, the magistrate of An, also assisted with more than 50 fishing boats and more than a thousand strong men from the sea. They cooperated with Zhilong to meet the enemy. From the ninth to the eighteenth day of the lunar month, they won consecutive battles. Li Kuiqi "escaped in despair and went down the tide." [Illustration] Li Kuiqi arrived in Guangdong and received funding from the local maritime business group to build a batch of strong black-tailed ships. "The ship has four layers of outer protection, one broken net, one cowhide, one wet quilt, and a water jar is hung in one week. The gun cannot enter and the fire cannot burn. It is more than ten feet taller than the Zhilong ship and is easier to hit from the top down." [Illustration] In April of the second year of Chongzhen, Li Kuiqi returned to Xiamen and surrounded Zheng Zhilong's fleet anchored in Gaoqi. He believed that Zhilong was in the boat and besieged them together. Zhilong burned his own boat, landed and escaped, and defended himself in the city. For a time, the sea surface of Xiamen became a place where Li Kuiqi traveled freely. However, Li Kuiqi was arrogant because of his victory. Cao Lutai and Zheng Zhilong adopted a divorce plan and instigated Zhong Bin to rebel against Li Kuiqi, weakening Li Kuiqi's power. On October 28th of the second year of Chongzhen, Zheng Zhilong led the fishermen, united with Zhong Bin, and sailed directly to attack the center and left. Cao Lutai also mobilized thousands of fishermen to help. At that time, there was a favorable wind, and the journey of more than a hundred miles was coming. Li Kuiqi was unprepared and rushed to the battle. Although "there were more than a hundred ships and no less than three thousand thieves", under Zheng Zhilong's sudden attack, he was in a hurry and the whole army was defeated. Li Kuiqi fled and turned into Haicheng Port. Zhong Bin chased and attacked him fiercely. "He rushed out of the boat and was captured alive when he tried to get ashore." [Illustration] At this point, Zheng Zhilong eliminated the Li Kuiqi Group and won the first victory in the battle for sea control. After wiping out the Li Kuiqi Group, Zheng Zhilong took advantage of the victory and in June of the same year defeated the Yang Liu (Yang Lu) and Yang Qi (Yang Ce) maritime groups. Yang Liu and Yang Qi were "originally part of Zheng Zhilong's gang, and they carried dragon silver and equipment as thieves' tools" [illustration], and traveled across the sea. In the sixth year of Tianqi's reign, Zhilong "left Zhilong" and accepted Yu Zigao's care. Zhilong held a grudge. After Yang Liu and Yang Qi were comforted, the Ming government originally ordered to kill thieves and redeem themselves, but now it is not only "you cannot kill thieves and redeem yourself, but also have connections with thieves" [illustration]. In the seventh year of the Apocalypse, Zhilong invaded Xiamen. Zhu Zhixuan, the governor of Fujian, ordered Yang Liu to attack, but Yang did not obey the order and later rebelled. After Zheng Zhilong was appeased, the Ming government immediately used Zheng's power to attack Yang Liu and Yang Qi. In June of the second year of Chongzhen, "Zhilong killed the rebels Yang Liu and Yang Qi at Wuzhou Port and collected them all" [illustration]. Then Zheng Zhilong made another effort to eliminate Mr. Chu [illustration]. Chu [Illustration] Lao was a maritime merchant group in Guangdong. According to Qianlong's "Chaozhou Prefecture Chronicles", in February of the 48th year of Wanli, the pirates Chu [Illustration] Lao "Company" [Illustration] were divided into two teams, the north and the south. They committed Jieyang and burned and robbed Wu. "Forget it, the county magistrate Feng Yuanbiao stopped him, and he came again in April, and again in July, and invaded Chenghai County in September. The county magistrate Cheng Xiang and the county administrator Ran Lianghan stopped him, and the thieves retreated." In the first year of Tianqi, he invaded Jieyang again, but was defeated by Yuan Biao and escaped. In August of the second year of Chongzhen, Chu [illustration] Lao plundered Min'an, and Xiong Wencan called on Zhilong to encircle and suppress him. "The dragon chased the south sun and destroyed it" [illustration]. After Zheng Zhilong eliminated Mr. Chu [illustration], with the support of the Ming government, he fought against the Zhong Bin Group again. Originally, "Kui Qi's capture was due to Zhong Liu (Zhong Bin)'s strength, and he was rewarded for his efforts." However, Zhong Bin did not want to stay under Zheng Zhilong for a long time and rebelled again soon. They refused to use it for me." [Illustration], so Cao Lutai provided Zheng Zhilong with gunpowder, cannons, and strong ships. "The ships are fast and easy to catch the wind, the guns are big, the gunpowder is good, and they are easy to reach far. Therefore, there are hundreds of bell ships, and they are scattered as soon as they are broken." [Illustration] In the third year of Chongzhen, Xiong Wencan lured Zhong Bin to Quanzhou and ordered Zhilong to set up an ambush in the ocean. Zhong Bin was defeated and fled, "throwing himself into the sea to die" After two years of fighting, Zheng Zhilong eliminated Li Kuiqi, Yang Liu, Yang Qi, Chu [illustration] Lao, Zhong Bin and other maritime merchant groups one by one, annexed their ships and property, collected their remnants, and further expanded the power of Zheng's maritime merchant group. .

The Ming government's strict maritime ban policy aroused strong resistance from private maritime trading groups. Many businessmen "lost their psychology and turned into bandits" due to blocked business channels and embarked on the road of armed resistance. As Tang Shu pointed out in "Yu Japanese Miscellaneous Works": "Twenty years after the Jiajing period, the sea ban became more stringent and gangs became more prosperous. Xu Dong and Bald Li then became more and more powerful. Misfortunes and years of accumulation, today's events are actually determined by this." [Illustration] For example, Hong Dizhen, a Yuegang merchant who "made a fortune" by operating maritime trade, "in the early days In the thirty-eighth year of the Jiajing reign, the Ming government not only sent troops to hunt him down, but also "linked his family members", completely cutting off his livelihood. He "had no time to look back" and had to fight against "the Japanese were in trouble both internally and externally" [illustration], carried out armed resistance, and became an important leader of the "Japanese pirates" along the coast of Fujian. Another example is the twenty-four generals of Yuegang. First, during the Dingsi period, Zhang Wei and other twenty-four people from Jiudu built a large ship to support the foreign ships. The government could not ban it. The general led the crowd to resist the enemy and killed three officers and soldiers. This made the situation more prosperous, and each of them established a fort as a nest. Within ten months, nearby places followed suit, and each set up a camp, each with a leader, named Twenty-Eight Stays and Thirty-Six Fierce" [Illustration]. Wang Zhi, the leader of the largest maritime trading group at that time, did not want to rebel at first. Later, because he "begged for mutual trade, but the lawsuit was not allowed", he "plundered Fuqing, Huangyan, Changguo, Linshan, Chongde, Tongxiang and other counties and counties. He was close to the desperadoes and followed the Japanese, so Japanese ships were everywhere in the sea." [Illustration] After he became a Japanese pirate, he went to Shu many times to ask for trade. He said, "I sincerely ask China to borrow money from its previous crimes and trade tribute with each other. I am willing to kill the thieves and take effect." Therefore, in the thirty-sixth year of the Jiajing reign, when Hu Zongxian promised to "discuss his predecessors without asking, and to widen the sea ban, and allow Dongyi City", he "waited for great joy" and immediately "sent to the islands" to "install huge boats" to do business. However, the Ming government was not trustworthy and instead took the opportunity to arrest Wang Zhi, leaving "three thousand of Wang Zhi's men homeless. Gai was very angry and said that I was not trustworthy and would not come back. They scattered across Fujian, Yue, Huaiyang, and made the disaster even worse." [Illustration] Xu Fuyuan has a very insightful discussion of this situation of merchants turning to bandits: "It can be seen that in the southeastern coastal areas, people have made a living by selling sea goods. They have been here for a long time, and Fujian is even more so. Fujian is blessed with springs and Zhangzhou, with mountains and seas, insufficient fields for farming, and no ships to help with food and clothing. Its people are indifferent to the waves and care about life and death, which is also due to their habits, and this is even more true in Zhangzhou. First, the sea is forbidden, and the people The tyrants of Wu and Yue, sheltered in Yuansou, roamed the barbarians for a long time, and the waves gradually moved. The disaster spread, conquering all provinces, and poisoning all living beings." [Illustration] He also said that in the early years of Longqing, because Tu Zemin "mediated the business and paid according to the order, Yan Ran suddenly disappeared between Zhang Chao." From the strict sea ban during the Jiajing period, piracy flourished, and the relaxation of the sea ban during the Wanli period, piracy disappeared. We can see that the so-called Japanese rebellion during the Jiajing period was entirely caused by the Ming Dynasty regime's strict sea ban policy, which suppressed the newly developed private maritime trade and persecuted maritime merchants. This is the most fundamental reason for the sharp increase in Japanese pirates in Jiajing. The Xu Brothers Maritime Group includes four brothers, Xu Yi, Xu Er, Xu San and Xu Si, who are natives of She County, Huizhou Prefecture. Huizhou in the Ming Dynasty was a place where commercial capital gathered. Xie Zhaozhe said: "Those who rule the roost among rich families are Xin'an (i. E. Huizhou) in the south of the Yangtze River, and Shanyou in the north of the Yangtze River." [Illustration] There are many people engaged in commercial activities in Huizhou. In Qimen County, "Thirteen people work for farmers and seventeen people work for businessmen", while "Xiuning people are strong and half are engaged in business." Zhang Han said in "Dreams in the Pine Window": From An Tai to Xuanhui, "their people mostly relied on opportunities, abandoning the basics to chase the weak, singing and turning the hub to travel to the emperor's capital, and grasping the rare wins, and leaving the rest alone, so the merchants traveled around the world several times. The good merchants' profit was several times that of the market, and the lowest and the incompetent chased the tithe of the profit." Huizhou merchants operate in a wide range of industries, including salt industry, grain industry, timber industry, pawn industry, ink industry, book industry, cloth industry, silk industry, tea industry, ceramic industry, etc. [Illustration], among which "salt, pawns, tea and wood are the most famous". The activities of Huizhou merchants are also very broad, including Wu and Yue in the south, Jingchu in the middle, and Yandu in the north. There are traces of Huizhou merchant activities. According to "Huizhou Prefecture Chronicles": "The rich people of Huizhou have left their families in the counties of Yiyang, Susong, Huai'an, Wuhu, and Hanghu, as well as in Nanchang in Jiangxi and Hankou in Huguang, as far away as Beijing." [Illustration] Huizhou merchants are not only active in the domestic market, but also engaged in overseas trade. In the Yi Dynasty, Yu Dayou pointed out: "A few years ago, there were people from Huizhou, Zhejiang and other places who went to Shuangyu Port and other places in Zhejiang to buy and sell, evading the Guangdong shipping tax, and often plundered when the goods were almost gone." [Illustration] The Xu brothers are the representatives of Huizhou merchants engaged in smuggling trade on the sea surface of Zhejiang. There are various theories about the process of the Xu brothers going to the sea. Hu Zongxian believed that Xu Er broke out of prison in Fujian and entered the sea to seduce Japanese slaves. He said: In the 19th year of Jiajing (1540), "the bandit leaders Li Guangtou and Xu Dong led the Japanese to gather in Shuangyu Port as their nest. The bald Li Qi, a lucky man, and Xu Dong, a widower, Xu Erye, were all charged with being imprisoned in Fujian. They escaped into the sea, seduced Japanese slaves, and built their nests in Shuangyu in Xiao [illustration]... Various groups came and went, and they raided separately, and things began to happen on the sea." [Illustration] Zheng Shungong's "Japan Yi Jian" said that Xu Er and Xu San went to Haitongfan to marry in Dayi Manlajia (i. E. Malujia). Later Xu Si and his brother Xu Yi "took the trip to Tongfan". In the 19th year of Jiajing's reign, the four brothers of the Xu family "sneaked from Great Yi to Manchuria and other countries to lure foreigners from the Franji Kingdom (Portugal), traveled to the Zhejiang Sea, and also stopped at Shuangyu, Damao and other ports in order to gain profits in Italy" [illustration]. We believe that the Portuguese had already been active in the southeastern coastal area as early as the Xuande period, so it is more likely that the Xu brothers went to Manchuria to do business and then sneaked back to the sea in Zhejiang from Manchuria. After the Xu brothers returned to China, they joined forces with Li Guangtou, a Fujian maritime merchant who was operating on the sea in Zhejiang, and "plundered the Fujian and Zhejiang areas." In the 23rd year of Jiajing's reign, Xu Er "carried goods to Japan for trade" and did business in Japan. In the second year, "Pu Duojin, Wozhu, and Caimen began to be lured to Shuangyu Port in the city." Soon, Xu Yi was captured by the Ming government and Xu San was killed. Xu's maritime business group suffered a great blow, but the suppression by the Ming government could not stop their maritime trade activities. In order to expand the power of the maritime business group, Xu Er and Xu Si "planned to order their partners to lure their partners to purchase goods in Zhili, Susong and other places, and then go to Shishuangyu. Xu Er and Xu Si were robbed by others in Yin and relieved in Yang." These robbed merchants "left the original ones and did not dare to return to the borrowed ones." They had no choice but to follow the Xu brothers to trade in the sea and "return in an attempt to repay the price of the goods." This expanded the power of the Xu Maritime Group. In the 26th year of Jiajing reign, pirate merchant Lin Jian sailed more than 70 ships from Pahang (one of the thirteen states in Malaysia) to the Zhejiang Sea, and joined forces with Xu Er and Xu Si, which greatly strengthened the Xu brothers' maritime business group. At the same time, another Huizhou businessman Wang Zhi also "recruited thousands of people to flee into the sea, and recommended Xu two as commanders" [illustration]. At this point, the maritime business group headed by Xu Er was finally formed and became "the most powerful maritime bandit". The Xu Maritime Group was engaged in smuggling trade on the southeast coast and also captured cities and territories. They "plundered rich people in every corner of the sea and demanded heavy redemption." For example, Wu Zhang, the commander of the Ming Dynasty army, and Wang Leizhai, the general bannerman, were captured and had to pay 1,200 gold to redeem them. Another example is "Xie Wenzhenggong moved to his house and his house was emptied." Their activities gave a great blow and threat to the Ming Dynasty government. In order to eliminate Xu's maritime business group, in the 27th year of Jiajing reign, Zhejiang Governor Zhu Wan dispatched troops and generals to carry out encirclement and suppression. In March, Lu Wei, the commander-in-chief, led the warships to anchor at Haimen in Wenzhou, and General Yu Heng commanded the Yanshan warships to assist in the defense in preparation for the northern border of Funing. Ke Qiao, the deputy sea envoy, commanded the Fuqing warships to anchor in Zhangzhou to prepare for naval battles to prevent the south from escaping from entering Guangdong. After completing the above deployment of troops, in April, Zhu Wan personally led Beiwa to command Liu Enzhi, Zhang Siwei, Zhang Han and others to storm Shuangyu Port, the base of the Xu Maritime Group. After fierce fighting, the Ming Dynasty army "broke their nests, burned their boats, and captured and killed half of them." The Xu brothers suffered a tragic defeat, and their accomplices Baldy Li, Xu Liu, Mr. Yao, and "big nest owners Gu Liangyu, Zhu Lianggui, Liu Qi Shisi, etc., Were all captured." [Illustration] Xu Er and Xu Si fled to the West. Although Xu's maritime trading group was defeated, Jiangsu and Zhejiang maritime trading groups were not wiped out. Soon, Wang Zhi and Xu Hai maritime trading groups appeared with larger scale, more people, and stronger capital. Wang Zhi, also known as Wang Zhi, was also a native of She County, Huizhou. "When he was young, he served as a knight, and he did not invade many camps. However, if there was a corvée lawsuit in the village, he would often defend him, and the evildoers would rely on him as a bag" [Illustration]. "Chou Haitu Bian" and other books record: "He is less downtrodden, but has a chivalrous spirit, and is strong and wise. He is good at giving and trusts his old friends." From this point of view, "when there are corvee lawsuits in the village, he often takes the lead." It can be seen that he has had certain organizational skills since he was a child. "Shanshiyu" and "old friend Zongxinzhi" indicate that he may have come from a wealthy family and had a certain prestige in the village. According to Gu Yanwu's "Book of Benefits and Diseases of the Prefectures and Countries of the World", when Wang Zhi was young, he worked as a salt merchant with Xu Weixue. He probably violated the Ming Dynasty's ban in doing business. He once said to Ye Zongman, Xu Weixue, Xie He, Fang Tingzhu and other companions: "The legal system in the country is strict. , Who often violates the ban, how can they be free overseas? "In the 19th year of Jiajing (1540), Wang Zhi, Ye Zongman and others went to Guangdong to "build huge ships, bring saltpeter, silk cotton and other prohibited items to Japan, Siam, Western countries and other countries for trade" [illustration]. In the early days of Wang Zhi's career in the sea, because he was not strong enough, he temporarily defected to the Xu Brothers Maritime Group and worked as a "treasury guard" for Xu Er. His outstanding management skills and business experience were quickly appreciated by Xu Er, and he was soon promoted to a "guard" and also in charge of the military. He thus became one of the main leaders of the Xu Er Maritime Group. Together with the Xu brothers, he actively participated in maritime smuggling activities. In the twenty-seventh year of Jiajing, Xu's maritime trading group was defeated by Zhu Wan. "Xu Eryi left, and Wang Zhi was in charge of the cabinet under Xu Eryi. He was known for his courageous strategy and many people obeyed him, so he led the rest of the party." A maritime trading group headed by Wang Zhi was reorganized and was elected as the ship master by the businessmen. At this time, although Wang Zhi had independently operated maritime trade, he could not dominate one side yet. At that time, there was a sea merchant named Chen Sipan in Zhejiang who lived in Henggang and was competing with Wang Zhi. Wang Zhi's fleet was "repeatedly invited to rob" [illustration] when passing by Henggang. Wang Zhi has been looking for opportunities in order to eliminate his opponents and expand the power of the trading group. In the 30th year of Jiajing's reign, a maritime merchant named Wang led 20 sailing boats to the coast of Zhejiang. Chen Siman wanted to invite him to join his group, but was rejected. Chen Siman became angry and "murdered Captain Wang and then seized his ship. His party was not fair, so he sneaked into Zhitong and wanted to harm him." Hope," Wang Zhi believed that the time had come, and "hidden a secret promise to Chai Demei, who had been with Cixi for many years, and made hundreds of people to help him." On the night of Chen Sipan's birthday, he took advantage of his unpreparedness and "attacked from inside and outside, killed Sipan, and captured his nephew Chen Si... The rest of the party returned to Zhizhi." [Illustration] After annexing Chen Siman's maritime merchant power, the Wang Zhi Group's power further expanded and completely gained control of the sea in Zhejiang. "As a pirate on the sea, those who are not controlled by Wang Zhi cannot survive on their own, and the name of Zhi begins to deafen the sea." [Illustration] After Wang Zhi annexed Chen Sipan, it became the largest and most powerful trading group in Zhejiang. In this huge maritime business organization, there are not only the original Huizhou maritime merchants, such as Ye Zongman, Xu Weixue, Xie He, Fang Tingzhu, but also the maritime merchants Mao Haifeng, Xu Bixi, Xu Yuanliang and others from Yin County, Zhejiang. Yin County is also a place of Tongfan, and many Japanese pirate leaders at that time were from Yin County. For example, Mao Haifeng's family is famous for Tongfan going to the sea. According to Wanbiao's "Wanluting Manuscript", Mao Haifeng's elder brother "Mao Zi Mingtongfan, who owed goods, asked his father to pledge money, and then replaced him with his younger brother (that is, Haifeng)." Because Mao Haifeng was "quite brave, good at using Buddha's tricks, and good at catapults", he was highly appreciated and reused by Wang Zhi. "Because he was raised as his son and entrusted as his confidant, he was called Haifeng. When the father left, the son came, and when the father left, the son came, and he traveled to other countries." In order to expand maritime trade, Wang Zhi ordered Mao Haifeng, Xu Bixi, Xu Yuanliang and others to lead fleets loaded with various goods and sail to countries all over the world. "Anyone who made a fortune in five or six years was convinced by the Yi people and was called the 'Master of the Five Peaks'". Then, he recruited Xu Hai, Chen Dong, Ye Ma and others as generals to seduce Wamen Taro, Jiro, Shisuke, Shiro and others. "With great prestige, everyone rushed to join him." [Illustration] Although Wang Zhi has become the leader of a maritime business group with great wealth and power, many people and ships, he does not want to confront the Ming Dynasty government. Instead, he "kills Sipan as a merit, knocks on the pass and offers a victory to open the city", and wholeheartedly wants to get the approval of the Ming Dynasty government to engage in legal trading activities at sea. However, the rulers of the feudal dynasty who stubbornly implemented the policy of seclusion not only refused to agree to Wang Zhi's request for trade and exchange, but instead sent Yu Dayou to "encircle thousands of boatmen." Wang Zhi broke out, fled to Japan, and established a trade base in Matsuura Tsu, Satsuma Prefecture. Wang Zhi claimed to be the "King of Hui" in Japan. He subordinated officials and controlled key areas. He directed all "the barbarians on the thirty-six islands" to conduct piracy-style smuggling trade between China and Japan, becoming the overall leader of Chinese and Japanese pirates. In the 31st year of Jiajing (1552), Wang Zhi "corrected the Japanese pirates on the island and the Zhangquan pirates" and led more than a hundred giant ships to "cover the sea and alert the east and west of Zhejiang, the north and south of the Yangtze River, and the coast thousands of miles away" [illustration]. This is the famous Renzi Incident. From then on, "as has been the case for many years, no officers and soldiers dared to raise their swords" and "went about vertically and horizontally, as if they were entering an uninhabited country". For example, if they invaded Huangyan Mansion, no officers and soldiers would care about anyone. Umbrella, its leaders and others, all wearing large hats and robes, green umbrellas with silver tops, and fifty bodyguards, all with gold armor and silver helmets, and bright swords from their sheaths, sat in the Haicao Jiang Pavilion, and was called the King of Jinghai. They stayed there for several days, as if they were walking in a deserted place." [Illustration] In April of the 33rd year of the Jiajing reign, Wang Zhi occupied Zhelin, Zhejiang, "connected for three hundred miles, like the seven or eight regiments of the old stork's mouth, where all his tribes gathered." From here, Wang Zhi divided one branch from Qingpu and Baihe Port to the north, out of Taicang, and then divided another branch "from the Liu family to Kunshan." In August, he sent Wu Dexuan and Xu Bixi from Guangang with more than a thousand people to attack Jiading County, and then defeated the generals Xu Guo and Li Fengshi at Shijiabang. [Illustration] After Wang Zhi defeated the Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers, he once again proposed the opening of maritime restrictions and trade. In the 34th year of Jiajing's reign, he said to Jiang Zhou and Chen Keyuan, the envoys of the Ming Dynasty: "I was not involved in the rebellion. Because General Yu had plans for me and detained my family members, I had no way to return." He also told them: "Japan is short of silk and cotton, so the market must be opened, and the sea troubles will be solved." Then he sent Mao Haifeng and Ye Zongman to accompany Chen Keyuan back to the country, and met with Hu Zongxian, expressing his wish that "after success, he has nothing to hope for, but only tribute and mutual trade." In the thirty-sixth year of Jiajing's reign, Wang Zhi personally crossed the ocean, returned to the Zhoushan Islands, and submitted a request for trade to Hu Zongxian, hoping that "Hu Junmen would invite trade on his behalf." Although Wang Zhi had become a pirate, he never gave up his request to open the sea ban. On the one hand, he waited for the Ming government's reply, and on the other hand, he "gathered Japanese pirates in Cengang and sharpened their weapons to cut bamboo and wood in order to open up mutual trade." He also said to the government envoys: "We must wait for the clear edict, promise his leniency, and use the governor's envoys to control the sea and open the market to calm the troops." [Illustration] Of course, the Ming government would not agree to Wang Zhi's request for trade and mutual trade. They took advantage of Wang Zhi's eagerness for trade and used the method of high-ranking officials and generous salaries to trap Wang Zhi and imprison him. In this way, another maritime business group in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui also suffered a devastating blow.

At that time, private maritime trade was not only large-scale, but also had a wide range of activities. Zhejiang maritime merchants "can communicate with all countries even though they are very far away", and Fujian maritime merchants "are all good at exploiting the benefits of shipping, from Europe in the west to Luzon and Nagasaki in Japan in the east. Every time a ship arrives, they are rich in money and goods." The number of overseas trade bases is also increasing. In addition to the original settlements, trade points have been opened in places around the world such as Dadi, Banten, Manila, Hirado, Nagasaki and other places. In Java New Village, "Chinese people gathered here, hence the name New Village, with about a thousand families." In Kelantan (now the east coast of the Malay Peninsula), "there were so many Chinese people living there that they were like each other." Second, there are many people. During the Jiajing period, the number of private maritime merchants increased greatly compared with before. For example, there are "tens of thousands of traders" in Luzon Island [illustration], among which "eight out of ten" are merchants from Zhangzhou, Fujian Province. In the 26th year of Jiajing's reign, more than a thousand Fujian maritime merchants who went to Japan for trade drifted to North Korea due to a typhoon. In the 41st year of Jiajing's reign, "At that time, Japanese bandits and bandits spread from the coast of Funing, Fujian Province in the north to Zhangquan in the south. They were thousands of miles of depression, and they were all dens of thieves. The nearby residents were inhabited by thieves. Although they were afraid of threats and obeyed in the beginning, they eventually became greedy for profit and led to disunity." There were also many maritime merchants in Zhejiang. "There were thousands of people in large groups and hundreds of people in small groups. They were competing with each other. The ship leader recommended Wang Zhi as the most powerful, followed by Xu Hai, and there were no less than ten divisions of Mao Haifeng and Peng Lao." There are more than 1,390 merchant ships sailing on the Zhoushan Islands in one day. [Illustration] People from all walks of life in Zhejiang are engaged in maritime trade activities. The coastal salt people "give up their own business and compete for profits from the sea. They claim to be collecting firewood and brine and replenishing salt every day, but in reality they are trading with thieves." Coastal fishermen also "privately built big boats and went into the sea without permission, first to collect fish, then to provide relief, and even to cooperate with others." Even the military attachés on the coast also "made the reputation of catching robbers, but secretly benefited from boiling the sea, and the treachery and disadvantages were intertwined, and all prohibitions and preventions were abolished." In a county in Chongming, "The vines and cattails are used as vines, and the people of Taicang also use them for many purposes. The clans of the rich and well-dressed people are married to thieves, and even worse, the powerful slaves and tenants often come to fight against the bandits and it is not forbidden." [Illustration] The same situation also occurs in Guangdong: "There are generals who call the leader of thieves "Weng" and treat each other with banquets and laughter as guests and hosts." Gao Gong said with emotion: "There are no people in Guangdong who are not thieves, but there are thieves everywhere in Guangdong" [illustration]. Not only military attachés went to sea for trade, but eunuchs and ministers also sent people to sea for communication. Wei Juan, the eunuch of Guangdong, "recruited hundreds of scoundrels and bandits and spread them across the counties and counties, specializing in the profit of fish and salt, and also privately traded with various overseas countries. The accumulation of gold silk, precious stones, rhinoceros, and tortoise shells was not as good as that of Xiwu" [Illustration]. In the first year of Jiajing (1522), Siamese ships from Champa and other countries arrived in Guangdong. Without filing tax returns, the shipping eunuch Niu Rong and his family members Jiang Yishan, Huang Lin and others privately bought Sappan wood, pepper, frankincense, white wax and other goods, shipped them to Nanjing, and sent them to the officials without paying tax. Zhao Jian, the Minister of Punishment in Nanjing, and others asked Jiang Yishan and others about the illegal smuggling of goods. The official said that the sum of 399,589 jins and 11,745 jins of pepper were worth more than 30,000 taels of silver. [Illustration] It can be seen that at that time, people engaged in maritime trade along the southeast coast were quite common. From the court officials to the coastal salt people and fishermen, they all went to sea to do business. Third, new private maritime trade centers emerged. The official tribute ports of the Song and Yuan Dynasties were mainly in cities such as Ningbo, Quanzhou, and Guangzhou. However, private maritime trade in the Ming Dynasty was illegal and secretive in the early days. In order to avoid being pursued by officers and soldiers, maritime merchants had to open new trade centers on harbor islands with tortuous harbor branches and difficult jurisdiction by the Ming government. The Zhoushan Archipelago in Zhejiang has many islands, with crisscrossed harbors and branches. It can be attacked when advancing and defended when retreating. It is a natural place for maritime smuggling trade. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, this place had become a place for Tibetans and fugitive merchants. The two-masted ships of private merchants came in droves. It was a busy scene and it was a trading center for international pirate merchants. Every year after midsummer, "hundreds of large ships ride the wind and set sails, covering the ocean, while merchants from Taiwen, Tingzhang and other places often chase each other" [illustration]. The coastal area from Zhangzhou in Fujian to Shantou in Guangdong is located on the border. It is "closed to the vastness" and is far away from the provincial capitals of Fujian and Guangdong. "It is far away from lawsuits and has no authority." It is also an ideal place for secretly operating smuggling trade. In addition, the people here have the habit of going to sea to communicate, so it has been developed by the middle of the Ming Dynasty. It has developed into another central area of maritime trade, such as Nan'ao Yungai Temple and Zouma River, which "are the starting point of fan ships and the place where customary handovers take place." Waimao Island is "a place in Wu'ao and the nest of fan people." Liuluo and Wusha are "where fan ships wait for relief." Weitou Island is "the gateway where fan ships stop to take shelter from the wind." [Illustration] Every year during the monsoon season in the sea area near this area, "wealthy merchants travel far and wide, their sails and ships are like combs, and there are so many goods and goods that there is no empty day" [Illustration]. Fourth, a private maritime trading group with strong capital and a large number of ships has formed. Before the middle of the Ming Dynasty, most maritime merchants were sporadic and exclusive small businessmen. "Each ship recognized its owner, contracted the goods, loaded them and returned them, and bought and sold independently, without being a group" [illustration]. Later, due to the competition in maritime trade, "the strong and the weak competed with each other and robbed each other". At the same time, in order to deal with the pursuit of the Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers, they "were each other [illustration] and attached to a strong one as the bow of the ship." By the time of Jiajing, they gradually formed a private maritime trading group of "or five, or ten, or a dozen, divided into groups, and settled in various ports" [illustration]. These trading groups not only employed a large number of domestic boatmen and sailors, but also "coaxed poor Japanese slaves from various Japanese islands to use their strength as a shield." Some maritime merchants also "gathered rich Japanese slaves to trade with them." [Illustration] On the one hand, they went to Japan, Siam, and Southeast Asia to do business, and on the other hand, they also "plundered along the coast." The so-called Japanese slave leaders during the Jiajing period, such as Xu Er and Li Guangtou who lived in Shuangyu Port, Chen Sipan in Henggang, and later Wang Zhi, Xu Hai, Xu Weixue, Chen Dong, Ye Ma, Mao Haifeng, Ye Zongman, Hong Dizhen, Zhang Wei, Wu Ping, Zeng Yiben, etc. Were actually both maritime merchants and pirates, and they were all Chinese. Wang Zhi, known as the "Master of the Five Peaks", controls the largest and most powerful maritime trading group, which travels between the coasts of Japan and China, conducting piracy-style maritime trade activities.

In terms of calculating speed and measuring waterways, our country has long invented the wood chip speedometer and depth sounder. The so-called wood chip log method is to throw wood chips into the sea from the bow of the ship, divide the length of the ship by the time it takes for the wood chips to float from the bow to the stern, and then you can find the ship's speed. Then multiply the known speed by the sailing time to find the voyage. By the Ming Dynasty, the mileage method was more sophisticated and calculations more accurate. "East and West Yang Kao" records: "If you want to measure the distance of the road, the wind will be strong in a day and night, and you can reach a certain place." That is to say, the day and night are divided into ten watches, and the time is calculated by the number of incense sticks. Then the wood chips are thrown into the sea, and people walk from the bow to the stern. If the people and the wood chips arrive at the same time, the calculated watch number will be accurate. If the person arrives first and the watch is not called, the wood chip arrives first and the watch is called. The first watch is a range of thirty kilometers, so the speed and range can be calculated. This method of measuring distances is similar to the principle of the sectoral speedometer used in modern navigation. [Illustration] The use of depth sounders is also very common. One is hook sounding, and the other is "iron tied with a rope" sounding, that is, an iron instrument tied with a long rope is sunk to the seabed to measure the depth of the sea. "By groping in secret, one can know the location of a certain ocean island and the danger of a certain reef that should be guarded against." [Illustration] Based on the accumulation of a large amount of speed and sea depth data, the people along the southeast coast have compiled detailed routes for the east and west ocean routes [Illustration]. For example, on the Western Needle Road, the boat departs from Zhangzhou Yuegang and goes out of Dadanmen at half watch. The boat passes Zhenhaiwei Taiwu Mountain and picks up large and small tangerines at the fourth watch. The boat passed outside and fetched fifteen tons of water [illustration]. Twenty-five cares are used outside, and Kunwei needle is used. At the third watch, Nan'aoping is taken. Use Kunshen needle and take the tip of the big star on the fifteenth day. Then use Kunshen needle, at the seventh watch, cross Dongjiang Mountain, and draw water for forty-five loads on the opposite side. In front of it is Gongxie Mountain. Opposite, there are forty-nine pallets to draw water, and boats can be passed both inside and outside. In front of it is the South Pavilion Gate. Use Shan Kun, the fifth watch, to take Wuzhu Mountain, and use Shan Shen Zhen, the thirteenth watch, to take Qizhou Mountain. The sea-going ships branched off here. If they were going to Jiaozhi Tokyo (today's Hanoi City, Vietnam), they would use Shan Shen Zhen to get to Limu Mountain. Use Gengyou needle at the fifteenth watch to take Haibaoshan. Use Dan Hai Zhen and Qian Hai to travel from Tushan Haikou to Jiao Xing Men at the fifth watch, and then go straight to Jiaozhi Tokyo. If you want to go to Guangnan (today's Da Nang, Vietnam), use Kunweizhen from Qizhouyang, Sanggeng, and take Tonggu Mountain. Kun did not take the needle, and on the fourth watch, we took Duzhu Mountain. Draw water for sixty-five tons, use Kunwei needle, and take the Jiaozhiyang at the tenth watch. Fetch water for seventy loads, use Kunwei needle, take Zhanbi Luoshan, and go to Guangnan port. The Cochin Ocean is another place where ships are diverted. Use the unshen needle all the way, the third watch, to take Wangying Haikou, enter Qinghua Port; use the Kunwei needle all the way, the eleventh watch, take Wailuo Mountain, and then pass through Maling Bridge, Jiaobei Mountain, Yangyu, Yantong Mountain, Lingshan, Ga Maung Mountain, and arrive at Champa State (now central and southern Vietnam). Continuing to sail westward from Champa State, passing through Chikan Mountain, Heding Mountain, Koren Mountain, and Hairy Crab Mountain, you can reach Cambodia, Siam (today's Thailand), Dadi (today's Pattani in southern Thailand) and other places. [Illustration] In addition, coastal people are also well aware of the depth of water levels in the ports along the Needle Road, and the distribution of reefs and freshwater springs along the way. For example, Nan'ao Pingshan has "three gates nearby, one on the southwest is a sunken reef, which is connected to the island. It draws water for 18 barrels from the inside and 25 barrels from the outside." The ship must go around the reef and "pass from the outside." Another example is Heding Mountain: "It takes twenty-five tons to fetch water. There is a tortoiseshell island in the ocean, which should be guarded against. If you want to go to Cambodia, split the road here and use Shan Geng and Si Geng to take Mount Koren" [illustration]. It can be seen from the few examples cited above that the coastal people at that time were already very familiar with the conditions of the waterways. Coastal people have also discovered some new routes that are shorter and faster in practice. For example, the ship to Japan originally set out from the southeast coast, "using the Chenxun needle at the tenth watch, and the boat took Xiaoliuqiu". From Xiaoliuqiu, it "went north to see Jilong Island, Huaping Island, and Pengjia Mountain". From Pengjiashan, it "went to Diaoyu Island at the tenth watch." Chikan Island, Gumi Mountain, and Mashan [illustration] to Ryukyu, and then from Ryukyu, take Bishan to Huangshan and Daluoshan, then pass through Mount Shichidao, Mount Yafu, Masan, and Daimon Mountain, "take Hyogoyama Port", and finally "go directly from Hyogo Port to the capital of Japan through this port." This route is "the old route used by Chinese envoys to visit Japan in the past dynasties and at the beginning of this dynasty" [illustration]. It has to detour around the Ryukyu Islands and has a long voyage. By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, new shipping routes had been opened. Chinese maritime merchants "often took indirect routes, which were extremely convenient." This indirect route did not have to go through the Ryukyu Islands and the Great Ryukyu Islands, but opened the ocean from the five islands of Japan and took the northeasterly wind directly to the Zhejiang Sea. The two islands of Chenqian and Xiaba are facing each other. After reaching Chenqian, the roads begin to diverge: If the south wind is strong, go from Nashan to Zhili. When you reach Nashan and the wind turns east, you will enter Wu and Zhejiang from Gaojiazui; if the wind turns west, you will pass through Lao Guanzui and enter San Sha, this is Chen Qian's journey to the due north... If the northeast wind is strong, he will pass through Luoxingtou and enter Shenshui Pu [Illustration]; when he reaches Pu [Illustration] and the wind turns due east, he will enter Daqu Shatang [Illustration], and then enter Changtu; when he reaches Changtu, he will When the wind turns to the northeast, it enters Dinghai through Liangtou Cave; when it reaches Changtu and the wind turns south, it enters Linguan through Shengshan; when it comes to Linguan and the south wind blows strongly, it crosses Lihai and reaches Haiyan, Kanpu, and Haining. This is the journey of Chen Qian to the west. [Illustration] The opening of this new route has greatly shortened the route from the southeastern coast of China to Japan. Another example is to Luzon (today's Manila, Philippines). The original route was to go south from the coast, pass through Borneo (today's Kalimantan Island, Indonesia), and then sail north to Luzon. By the Ming Dynasty, due to the discovery of fishermen, ordinary merchant ships no longer followed the old route, but sailed from Fujian to the east, crossed the Taiwan Strait, and reached the Penghu Islands. They went south along the southwest coast of Taiwan to Maobitou at the southern tip of Taiwan, and then passed through Hongtou Island and Beacon Mountain to reach Abari in Cagayan, Luzon Island. By avoiding detours, the voyage from Fujian to Luzon was greatly shortened. Our country is the first country to use the compass for navigation, which can be traced back to the Northern Song Dynasty. Zhu Yu's "Pingzhou Ke Tan" clearly records: "The boat master knows the geography, and he watches the stars at night, the sun during the day, and the compass when it is dark." [Illustration] Xu Jing's "Xuanhe Envoys of Korea" also mentions the use of compasses in navigation, He said: "The stars are moving forward, and if it is dark, use a compass to guide the north and south." [Illustration] This is the earliest record of the use of a compass in navigation in the world, seventy or eighty years earlier than the record of Neckham in England in 1180. By the Ming Dynasty, the production technology and use of compasses had become more mature. "East and West Yang Kao" says: "From the sea gate, the foam sticks to the sky, and the waves rush to catch up with the Han Dynasty. There is no way to find the end, the village can be determined, and the post journey can be calculated. Three elders have been living for a long time, drumming and sailing, intercepting transverse waves, relying solely on the compass for guidance. Either use it alone, or refer to two According to the direction of the time, the boat can travel. "[Illustration] The "pointing between two rooms" mentioned here is a new technology used in the compass, which can reduce the impact of the swing of the ship on the compass, correct the pointing deviation in time, and obtain a more accurate direction. At that time, more attention was paid to the use of the compass, and a dedicated person was assigned to take charge, called a "team leader". Each ship had "eight team leaders and 26 people at the helm." "Two team captains per shift, and four helmsmen per shift, with no breaks day and night. Those who work are in charge and those who are off work have a rest." The place where the needle is operated is called the "needle cabin", and ordinary people are not allowed to enter casually. "Only open a small hatch facing the rudder door to do it professionally. A long bright lamp is burning in the needle cabin, regardless of day or night. There are five watches at night and five watches during the day, so the twelve hours of the boat are the tenth watch." [Illustration] It can be seen that the use of compass in navigation has become increasingly complete.

The development of commercial agriculture and private handicrafts in the Ming Dynasty promoted the prosperity of the commodity economy and accelerated the circulation of commodities. "Goods from Yan, Zhao, Qin, Jin, Qi, Liang, Jiang, and Huai were sold to the south day and night; goods from Manhai, Fujian and Guangzhou, Yuzhang, Chuxiang, Ouyue, and Xin'an were sold to the north day and night." For example, the "silk and cloth clothes and quilts all over the world" produced in the south of the Yangtze River. Thousands of merchants come to buy cotton, cotton yarn and cotton textiles every year. The poet Wu Weiye wrote in his poem, "In the Wanli era, there were mountains of old flowers and rich households. Fuzhou's green stocking birds talked about businessmen, and their waists were worth hundreds of dollars. Flower-seeing people came to the house full of flowers, the boats were flat and loaded, and the yellow roosters pecked flower insects, and the streets were as white as jade. The lights on the market bridges were bright at midnight, and the chattering shoulders were rubbing the streets." This is a vivid portrayal of the cotton market. The exchange of silk and silk fabrics is also very frequent. For the Baotou silk produced in Huzhou, "customers from all provinces gathered together, and traders from one place and another came to visit, and there was constant exchange in all seasons" [Illustration]. Wujiang's damask, Luo, gauze, and silk were of high quality, and "wealthy merchants traveled thousands of miles in chariots and tens of thousands of dollars, and walked hand in hand" [Illustration]. According to "Awakening the World", "There are about a thousand silk and silk shops, and villages from far and near come here to weave silk and put it on the market. Merchants from all over the world come to buy it, and they can't get through it." Jingdezhen's porcelain "starts from Yan in the north, to Jiaozhi in the south, to the sea in the east, to Shu in the west, everywhere." [Illustration] Fujian's commodities flow to a wider area: "Every day, silk from Fu, gauze from Zhang, blue from Quan, iron from Fuyan, orange from Fuzhang, lychee from Fuxing, sugar from Quanzhang, and paper from Shunchang pass through the watershed and Pucheng Xiaoguan, and flow down to Wuyue like flowing water. Those who sail away by sea are especially incalculable." [Illustration] The development of the commodity economy is also reflected in the prosperity of industrial and commercial cities. After the mid-Ming Dynasty, major cities in the south had gradually transformed from Asian feudal cities that were "completely linked to government consumption" to industrial and commercial cities focusing on handicraft production and commercial operations. For example, Nanjing "straddles the Central Plains in the north, connects several provinces, converges in five directions, and is indoctrinated by all nations... Merchants from the north and south compete to go there" [illustration]. During the Wanli period, "the population gradually decreased, and the residential areas became denser, and even the slightest intrusion into official roads was regarded as a wasteland" [illustration]. Hangzhou "is the hub of land and water, connecting China and foreign countries, and the department stores are all connected". The commerce is very developed. "The alleys in the city stretch for dozens of miles", "car hubs are beating, and people are shoulder-to-shoulder." [Illustration] Suzhou is also a large commercial city where "the market is full of goods and bustle." There are many shops on the streets and a dazzling array of goods. "Foreign goods, leather goods, silks and satins, clothing, gold and jade, jewelry, ginseng and medicine shops, theaters, cruise ships, wine shops, tea shops, etc." "The shops are like mountains and forests, with tens of millions of people", especially in the Jinchang area in the west, where "Bihu trade" and "merchants gather", such as Sun Chunyang's South Store, which is "famous throughout the world" and has north and south warehouses, seafood rooms, preserved meat rooms, preserves rooms, and candle rooms. "The seller pays a check at the counter and delivers the goods to each room, and the general manager is in charge of the operation. He will make a small sum every day and a big sum every year." [Illustration] The business scale is quite large. Wuhu is "close to a large river and located at a key strategic point. People who live in poverty are crowded with people. Boats and carts are in contact with each other. The goods and shells are as rich as other towns." [Illustration] Guangzhou's commerce is also very developed. In the Haopan Street area, "there are mountains of fragrant pearls, rhinos and elephants, flowers and birds are like the sea, and tribes and barbarians are diversifying. Tens of millions of gold are spent every day. Food, food, and singing and dancing are more prosperous than those in Qinhuai." "Guangzhou Song" in the Ming Dynasty's classic book says: "Guangnan is prosperous and prosperous, and the four seasons are like spring. ... The red towers reflect willows for ten miles, and the curtains are opened up and down. The Minji Yue women are like flowers, and the barbaric songs are hoarse. [Illustration] The big boats reflect the clouds in the sun, and thousands of households are home." [Illustration] vividly describes the prosperous scene of Guangzhou. In addition to the big cities, a large number of new industrial and commercial towns have sprung up in various places in the south of the Yangtze River. For example, in Zhenze Town, "the villages and towns were depressed in the Yuan Dynasty, with dozens of households, and in Chenghua and Ming Dynasties, there were 300 and 400 households, and twice as many during the Jiajing period" [illustration]. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, it had developed into a large town with "goods gathering together, and 2,000 to 3,000 households." Shengze Town "was named after a village in the early Ming Dynasty, with only fifty or sixty households. During the Jiajing period, it was twice as many, and the industry was based on silk, and it was first called a city." [Illustration] Wangjiangjing Town "is connected to Su, Song, Chang, and Zhen in the north, to Hang, Shao, Jin, Qu, Ning, Tai, Wen, and Chu in the south, and to the southwest is Fujian and Guangxi and Guangxi. Everyone traveling from north to south passes by here. In the villages near the town, they grow mulberry, raise silkworms, and weave silk. Merchants from all over come here to receive goods, so the people doing business in the town are crowded and very lively." [Illustration] In Qingpu's Zhujiajiao Town, "merchants gathered to trade fabrics and fabrics, and customers from Beijing Province kept coming and going, making it a giant town today" [Illustration]. In Tangmei Town, Hangzhou, "department stores gather together, and big merchants from Huizhou and Hangzhou regard them as a source of profit. Since the opening of the ceremony, those who drive silk trade have been busy" [Illustration]. Shuangyang City, "in the early Ming Dynasty, there were only a few dozen households, named after the village. During the Jiajing period, it was called a city. There were more than 300 households and a little more goods, and it became a city on its own." Lili Town, "It was a huge town during the Chenghong period of the Ming Dynasty, with hundreds of households and department stores, no different from a city" [illustration]. Even in remote mountainous towns, many have developed into central markets for the circulation of goods. For example, Hekou Town, located in the mountainous areas of Fujian and Jiangxi, "is an important town in Qianshan with boats and cars coming out everywhere, and goods are transported there." According to the "Book of Qian": "Those whose goods come from all directions are from Southeast Fujian. Iron from Yanping, raw cloth from Datian, Fujian bamboo shoots from Chong'an, black and white sugar from Fuzhou, fans from Jianning, lychees and longans from Zhanghai, pepper and hematoxylin from overseas, tin, red copper, lacquerware and copperware from Guangdong, rapeseed oil from Guangxin, Hu silk and damask silk from Zhejiang, and Poyang. Dried fish, paper money ash, Luotian cloth and Shahu fish from Huguang, Xitang cloth from Jiaxing, Suzhou green, Songjiang green, Nanjing green, Guazhou green, Lianqing, red and green cloth, Songjiang large shuttle cloth, small medium shuttle cloth, Huguang Xiaogan cloth... Burlap, Weifang raw cloth, varnish cloth, big brush jing, small brush jing , Gebu... Yellow silk, silk thread, leno, various silk cloths, Hangzhou silk, cotton silk, Pengliu satin, Qu silk, Fu silk, these are the most important goods transported by merchant ships. "[Illustration] Such a closed mountain village and town had so many commodities in circulation, which shows that commerce was developed at that time. With the acceleration of commercial circulation and the prosperity of cities and towns, many famous merchant groups have appeared in various parts of the south of the Yangtze River. Such as Huizhou merchants, Dongting merchants, Zhejiang merchants, Fujian merchants, Guangdong merchants, etc. Among them, Huizhou merchants had the strongest capital. Xie Zhaozhe of the Ming Dynasty pointed out in "Wuzazu": "The rich family will dominate Xin'an in the south of the Yangtze River, and Shanyou in the north of the Yangtze River. The big merchants in Xin'an are engaged in fish and salt. Those who have a collection of up to one million yuan, and the other two or three hundred thousand are among the Jia'er. "[Illustration] Huizhou merchants have a wide range of business operations, including salt industry, grain industry, timber industry, pawn industry, warehouse hotel industry, stationery industry, cotton industry, silk industry, tea industry, ceramics industry, etc. [Illustration], and "salt, pawns, tea, and wood are the most famous". For example, the salt industry in Huaiyang was mostly dominated by Huizhou merchants. In the salt industry in Zhejiang, Huizhou merchants also held a leading position. In other areas such as Hankou, Changlu and Sichuan, there are traces of Huizhou merchants operating the salt industry. The pawn industry of Huizhou merchants is also very developed, with 213 pawnshops in Henan alone. "Nowadays, Huizhou merchants are opening businesses all over the north of the Yangtze River. They have tens of thousands of dollars in cash. There are 230 merchants in Henan Province, including Wang Ke." [Illustration] There are also many Huizhou people engaged in tea, forestry, and cotton trade. For example, Huizhou wood merchant Wang Tianjun and others used money and relied on power to "buy 160,000 pieces of wood" at a time. If private wood is included, "I don't know tens of millions." [Illustration] Another example is the businessman Wang of Xin'an, who set up the trade name "Yimei" in Wu Hao. "It is estimated that one million horses will be consumed in a year, and the profit will be hundreds of dollars per horse. For example, if the machine head is increased by 20,000 taels, the interest will be increased by 200,000 yuan. In ten years, the merchants will become rich and spread all over the world." From the late Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty, "for two hundred years, in the desert north of southern Yunnan, the world did not regard 'benefiting beauty' as beauty" [illustration]. In addition, Dongting merchants are also very famous, and together with Huizhou merchants, they are the backbone of Jiangnan merchants. Dongting is located in Wuxian County, a transportation hub. "Businessmen from all directions flocked to the area, and the Shu Shuan skipped the rudder and went up and down at the door day and night." According to the "County and District Chronicles": "The mountains in the lake are made by merchants. The land is narrow and the people are dense, and the people's livelihood is 17 or 18. They use capital to go into business. Chu, Wei, Qi, and Lu are far away." Traveling north and south of the Yangtze River, connecting Qi, Chu, Yan, and Henan, setting up shops everywhere, making money in all directions." [Illustration] Dongting merchants have very strong funds. Businessman Wu Xiaozhou "is a Dongting mountain native who has lived in Nanjing for a long time. Another example is "Ye from Dongting, who was doing business in Daliang", "bought cloth to Shaanxi and exchanged it for brown, and the profit was doubled, and he also sold medicine to Yangzhou, and the profit was several thousand, and the trade lasted for three years, and the profit was thousands." [Illustration] Therefore, Yang Wencong of the Ming Dynasty sang in "Dongting Bamboo Branch Poems": "The big merchants of Dongshan connected the high wall, carved the stone like clay and jade for the door, and connected the embankment without any trouble. A Tou Ke came to see Weng Garden.