Entry

It was again ordered that the Ding-xi Marquis Jiang Gui take on the post of regional commander, that the Commissioners-in-chief Ran Bao and Mao Fu-shou take on the posts of assistant regional commanders, that the Minister of War and Jing-yuan Earl Wang Ji take on supreme command of military affairs, that 50,000 government and native troops be deployed from Yun-nan, Hu-guang, Si-chuan and Gui-zhou, and that these officers command the troops in an expedition against Lu-chuan. Previously, Ji had memorialized: "I have repeatedly sent persons to Ava-Burma demanding the bandit leader Si Ren-fa, but they will not surrender him. Rather, using the bandit as bait, they have demanded territory. Further, the bandit's son Si Ji-fa has again occupied Lu-chuan and is engaged in aggression and disturbance. I wish to launch a major attack. However, as the mountains are high and the roads dangerous and grain supplies are limited, it will not be possible to sustain the attack for long. In addition, the man and yi are wily and guileful and they may be tempting us to go deep into the area. I am concerned that such an attack may lead to humiliation. It is requested that the Court ministers be ordered to deliberate on whether it is best to advance or remain in our position." The memorial was sent to the senior ministers for deliberation. They all said that military affairs are ever-changeable and very difficult to assess from the distance. They requested that Gui and so on be again ordered to proceed and that they decide plans with Ji as the situation demanded, so as to ensure security. This order was thus issued.