Entry

Imperial orders of instruction were sent to Mang De-la, the pacification superintendent of the Ava-Burma Pacification Superintendency, and his chieftains. The orders read: "The rebellious bandit Si Ren-fa fled for his life, hoping to prolong his last breath. You, Ava-Burma, captured him and memorialized that you intended to send him to the regional commander to forward to the capital. The regional commander has repeatedly sent people to receive him, but you have said that it is necessary to wait until his son Si Ji-fa is captured or killed and his land allocated, after which you will forward Si Ren-fa. Now, I am sending the supreme commander of military affairs and Minister Wang Ji and the Regional Commander and Ding-xi Marquis Jiang Gui to lead the Great Army to go and receive Si Ren-fa and to eliminate or capture Si Ji-fa and so on. You are to widely raise yi troops and take personal command of them, hand Si Ren-fa over to the Imperial army for despatch to the capital and coordinate with the government troops in eliminating Si Ji-fa and so on. In this way, your loyalty to the Court will be evident. As to the land which you capture, I have instructed the minister and regional commander to place it under your control. How could the Court break its word! This bandit preyed on your territory and you suffered at his hands. Now he has fled to you. It was Heaven which delivered this bandit to you. The ancients said: `If you do not take what Heaven gives, you will suffer its retribution'. How can you sympathize with a remnant bandit, to the degree where you go against the orders of the Court, and bring harm to all living things in the region! If you are able to obey the Court and eliminate this bandit, you will be able to expand your land, preserve your security and achieve prosperity. This is obvious to all, so why do you delay and not act? If you outwardly display submission, but inwardly cherish divided loyalties and link up with this bandit leader, then Heaven will not pardon you and state laws will not tolerate it. On the day the Great Army arrives, it will be too late for your crimes to be pardoned. You should think deeply about this matter." Further instructions were sent to Han Men-fa, the native-official pacification superintendent of the Mu-bang Military and Civilian Pacification Superintendency and to the major and minor chieftains of the Meng-yang Pacification Superintendency. The instructions read: "Si Ren-fa has been captured by Ava-Burma. They are holding him in the city of Ava and will not immediately send him to the capital. His son Si Ji-fa has called together the remnant spawn and again occupied Lu-chuan. This bandit has long been your enemy. If he is not now eliminated, it will lead to future calamities. When these orders arrive, you are to immediately raise yi troops and send them to Gong-zhang, where they will arrange with the government troops on a date of advance. Thereby, Ava-Burma will be forced to send Si Ren-fa to the capital and Si Ji-fa will be killed or captured. The evil must be eliminated, so that the good are able to live long in peace. If you are able to show determined loyalty and are brave in providing coordinated assistance, when the Imperial army achieves success, the land taken will be allocated to you to control. The Court uses the Great Precepts of Right Conduct in ruling all under Heaven. It certainly will not break its word. If you do not respect my words, put your trust in the insanity of small men, persist in your ways without repentance and follow the bandit and his son in their evil, then when the Great Army arrives, it will not be possible to guarantee the safety of any of the people of the region. Nor will your land be protected. At that time, it will be too late for regret. The ancients said: `Calamity and prosperity do not come by themselves. They are both brought by men.' You should think about this very carefully!"