Lan Yu (general)
Lan Yu | |
---|---|
Hanyu Pinyin | Lán Yù |
Wade–Giles | Lan2 Yü4 |
IPA | [lǎn ŷ] |
Lan Yu (died 1393) was a Chinese military general and official who contributed to the founding of the Ming dynasty. His ancestral home was in present-day Dingyuan County, Anhui. In 1393, Lan was accused of plotting a rebellion and put to death by the Hongwu Emperor. About 15,000 people were implicated in the case and executed as part of the Four Major Cases of the early Ming dynasty.
Biography
According to the
Hui Chinese generally claim that Lan Yu was a Hui as well according to their oral legend[2] which is disputed by historians.
In 1381, Lan Yu was appointed "Left Deputy General Who Conquers the South" (征南左副將軍) and accompanied Fu Youde to
In 1388, the Hongwu Emperor commissioned Lan Yu as General-in-Chief (大將軍) and sent him with 150,000 troops to attack the Northern Yuan ruler
In 1392 a surrendered Yuan general Yuelutiemu'er (月魯帖木兒) rebelled in Jianchang (present-day Xichang, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan) and Lan Yu was sent to suppress the revolt. Lan Yu crushed the uprising and captured Yuelutiemu'er and his son, and was appointed as the Crown Prince's Tutor (太子太傅) for his achievement.
As he made more achievements, Lan Yu became more arrogant, self-indulgent and unbridled. He started abusing his power and status and behaved violently and recklessly, sometimes even showing disrespect towards the emperor. Once, after he seized land from peasants in Dongchang (東昌), an official questioned him on his actions, but Lan Yu drove the official away in anger. In another incident, after Lan Yu returned from a campaign in the north, he arrived at Xifeng Pass (喜峰關), where the guards denied him entry as it was already late at night, but Lan led his men to force his way through. When he was away at war, Lan Yu sometimes also demoted officers at his own will and defied orders, to the extent of going to battle without permission. During his appointment as the Crown Prince's Tutor, Lan Yu was unhappy that his post was lower than the dukes of Song and Ying, so he exclaimed, "Am I not fit to be the Imperial Tutor (太師)?"[3] The Hongwu Emperor became more angry with Lan Yu after learning of these incidents.
Lan Yu had a close friendship with the crown prince Zhu Biao. Once after Lan Yu returned from a campaign against the Mongols, he warned the crown prince that Zhu Di (the Prince of Yan and future Yongle Emperor) seemed to be a likely a threat to his succession. Zhu Di heard about this, so after Zhu Biao died in 1392, he cautioned the Hongwu Emperor that Lan Yu and other founding pioneers of the dynasty were becoming a threat to the throne and should be dealt with before they get out of control. Lan Yu and others did not restrain themselves and continued behaving in the same manner as they did. Around this time, Hongwu was already making plans to eliminate them. Five months later when Hongwu appointed Zhu Biao's son Zhu Yunwen (future Jianwen Emperor) as the new crown prince, he allowed Lan Yu to continue serving as the Crown Prince's Tutor.
Death
In the second
See also
Notes
- ^ Note that 梁 referred to an area covering parts of present-day Hubei, Henan and Anhui, while 涼 covered the area around present-day central Gansu.
- ^ Others implicated in the Lan Yu Case include: Han Xun (韓勛), Marquis of Dongping (東平侯); Cao Tai (曹泰), Marquis of Xuanning (宣寧侯); Cao Xing (曹興), Marquis of Huaiyuan (懷遠侯); Ye Sheng (葉升), Marquis of Jingning (靖寧侯); Cao Zhen (曹震), Marquis of Jingchuan (景川侯); Zhang Wen (張溫), Marquis of Huining (會寧侯); Chen Huan (陳桓), Marquis of Puding (普定侯); Zhang Yi (張翼), Marquis of Heqing (鶴慶侯); Zhu Shou (朱壽), Marquis of Zhulu (舳艫侯); Chahan (察罕), Marquis of Haixi (海西侯); Sun Ke (孫恪), Marquis of Quanning (全寧侯); He Rong (何榮), Count of Dongguan (東莞伯); Sang Jing (桑敬), Count of Huixian (徽先伯).
References
Citations
Bibliography
- Zhang Tingyu et al. History of Ming, Volume 132, Biography of Lan Yu.