Entry

The Vice Minister Yin Zheng-mao, military superintendent of Guang-dong/Guang-xi, was instructed to supervise troops in pacifying (Alt: eliminating) the pirates. Lin Dao-qian, on hearing that the mountain bandits were settled, had again rebelled, and fled to the sea in order to find sanctuary in a foreign country. Also, Lin Feng and Zhu Liang-bao had joined him in evil and engaged in wild and violent acts. Zheng-mao planned to mass a large number of sea and land troops and then use a sudden strike to capture Lin. However, because the seas off Guang-dong are vast and boundless and it was not possible to pursue Lin endlessly, he proposed on the one hand attacking and eliminating Feng and Bao, thereby cutting off his wings and on the other hand attacking Lin's haunts and bases. He therefore sent a senior commander to supervise a force in occupying the strategic positions against mountains and astride the sea routes to await their arrival. Thereby, even if they colluded with the Japanese or the inland bandits, there would be defence and no calamities would occur. Zhang Shu, a supervising secretary in the Office of Scrutiny for War then requested that Zheng-mao be ordered to set a date for an expedition of elimination and to ensure their extermination. The Ministry of War twice re-submitted this memorial and requested that the Fu-jian grand defender and grand coordinator be required to strictly supervise their troops in assisting in the elimination.