Entry
Xuan-de: Year 1, Month 9, Day 29
29 Oct 1426
Li Ke-lian, a person from Shi-xing in Guang-dong memorialized: "In the eighth year of the Yong-le reign (1410/11), I was sentenced to banishment (犯徒罪) and sent to the Hua Subprefecture Postal Relay Station in Jiao-zhi as a runner. After 15 years in this post, there was an amnesty and I returned. Now, Hua Subprefecture has again taken me for duty and thus disregarded the Imperial orders. I beg that I be compassionately exempted." The Emperor ordered that he be released, and sent instructions to the Auxiliary Ministry of War saying: "Banishment (徒) is only for three years. He had already served 15 years and been granted amnesty. The officers have not shown compassion for the people and this has resulted in the people losing confidence in the Court. People cannot be used like this. Order the branch and provincial offices to respect Imperial proclamations and not wilfully violate them."
Xuan-zong: juan 21.10b-11a
Zhong-yang Yan-jiu yuan Ming Shi-lu, volume 17, page 0568/69
Preferred form of citation for this entry:
Geoff Wade, translator, Southeast Asia in the Ming Shi-lu: an open access resource, Singapore: Asia Research Institute and the Singapore E-Press, National University of Singapore, http://epress.nus.edu.sg/msl/reign/xuan-de/year-1-month-9-day-29, accessed January 22, 2019