Entry

The Emperor held an audience at Wu-men Lou. The Ministry of Justice presented the Ava-Burma bandit Yue Feng and others who had been captured in Yun-nan. It was Imperially commanded that they be dismembered. The assembled civil and military officials offered their congratulations. On this day, Yue Feng was dismembered in public, while Nang Wu, Zhao Se, Shang Zhu, La-miao-man, Mang Mi-ya and Yan-de-pi were also executed.

Feng's father and grandfather had their origins in Fu Subprefecture, Jiang-xi, and they went to Long-chuan as merchants. Feng was crafty and intelligent. He thus offered himself as a secretary (記室) to the pacification commissioner Duo Shi-ning, and Shi-ning arranged for him to marry his younger sister. Feng fawned on Shi-ning and managed to wrest his authority. Then, together with Han Ba and other members of the ruling native-official families of the three pacification commissions and six pacification superintendencies they took a blood oath and planned to engage in rebellion. He also induced Shi-ning to proceed to Pegu to meet the Ava-Burma chieftain Mang Rui-ti. Feng and his son Nang Wu subsequently poisoned Shi-ning, and also killed his wife and children. He then seized the Imperially-conferred gold warrant, seal and tally slips, accepted false orders from the Mang chieftain and declared himself pacification commissioner.

Mang Rui-ti then died and his son [Mang] Ying-li became ruler. Feng and his son beguiled our troops and defeated them and then presented the former ruler Shi-ning's mother, nee Hu, and over 600 of the clan members to Ying-li, who killed them all. Feng and his son also slandered and betrayed Han Ba and then drowned him. They also secretly made an agreement with Dao Luo-can to combine their efforts in rebellion, and promised the Mang chieftain to provide a large force of troops to bring the whole area to submission. Both Feng and Can raised hundreds of thousands of troops and elephants and separately advanced within the empire, attacking Lei-nong, Zhan-da, Gan-yai, Nan Dian, Mu-bang, Lao-yao, Si Dian and such places. They occupied these territories, killed people and began to spy on Teng-chong, Yong-chang, Da-li, Meng-hua, Shun-ning, Jing-dong, Zhen-yuan, Yuan-jiang and such administrations. They attacked Shun-ning and burnt the prefectural seat and then attacked Zhan-da, carrying off 800 men and women. Yue Feng then had Nang Wu lead 60,000 Ava-Burma troops in attacking Meng-lin by surprise. The Commander Wu Ji-xun, the Battalion Commander Yang Wei-yuan, and the Company Commander Xu Ying-cai were all killed in the battle.

The Deng-chuan Subprefecture native-official magistrate surnamed He was the husband of Feng's sister and he sent interpreters to call Feng to surrender. Feng bound them and presented them to the Mang chieftain. In the seventh month (Aug/Sep 1583), Ying-li urged Feng and his son to advance the troops and attack within. To the East they attacked the Yao Pass and to the North they occupied Wan Dian and Mang-shi. The subprefectural magistrate surnamed He made known the instructions to all sides and had them swear an oath with him. It was only in the ninth month (Oct/Nov 1583), that Feng sent a chieftain to come and have a meeting within. He also had his elder brother's son [Yue] Heng proceed to Yong-chang to present documents and request a meeting. Both were given rich rewards and sent back. The Mobile Corps Commander Liu Ting sent people to instruct him in what brings calamity and what brings prosperity. Only in the 12th month (Jan/Feb 1584) did Feng send his wife, children and senior chieftain Long Han to lead 96 of their people in coming to greet the commander. Ting then sent a squad leader surnamed Zhang with orders to obtain the [previously-issued] Imperial orders and the gold warrant and to give permission to Man-mo and Meng-mi to surrender and atone for their crimes. On the 26th day (7 Feb 1584), on the pretext of sending Feng's wife and children back to Long-chuan, Ting advanced the troops separately through various areas in the Sha-mu-long Mountains. Feng realized that there were troops on all sides and, while wanting to flee, had no avenue. Thus on the first day of the first month in the new year (12 Feb 1584), Feng went to the military headquarters and surrendered. Ting then sent a detachment of troops to pursue the Ava-Burma persons, and they captured Neng-gai, Ke-li, Mie-tui and Mang Nao. He also led the main troop force in directly attacking Long-chuan. Thereupon Nang Wu also surrendered. Then, taking Feng and his son, the army attacked Meng-mi and brought it to surrender and also brought Meng-yang and other regions to negotiated pacification. Mang Kuo-mu then fled on elephants and our army pursued him, taking over 100 heads and capturing and binding Mang Kuo-mu, Shuai Mie, Mang Mi-ya, Yan-de-pi and La-man-miao (Alt: La-miao-man). Also, over 100 Ava-Burma bandits were killed, while Nai Duo and others were captured. Further, the bandits' elephants, war-horses and false guan-fang seal were also taken. Ting then supervised the troops in surrounding Meng-lian where they captured Shang Zhu and others. Han Qian's sons Zhao Han and Zhao Se had occupied Mt. San-jian. The Assistant Regional Commander Deng Zi-long attacked them and captured Zhao Se and others.

Peace was thus brought to the South-west by this campaign. As Feng had been a rebellious commoner, usurped the post of his former lord, seized his seal, joined with members of the various ruling native-official families, colluded with the Ava-Burma yi, attacked the inner territory along various routes, brought great harm to numerous administrative areas, devastated the region, and killed large numbers of people so that the bones of the dead lay scattered everywhere and ghosts wandered the land, it is said that even up to this time, the people still gnash their teeth in hate.