Li Jinglong () (1369–1424), nickname Jiujiang (), was a

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

general. He was the son of Duke Li Wenzhong, the nephew of Zhu Yuanzhang (

Hongwu Emperor The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts in ...

) through Zhu's older sister. During the Jingnan civil war in the Ming, Li Jinglong initially supported the Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunwen. However, during the civil war he lost several battles and was replaced. Li plotted to betray the Jianwen Emperor and later switched sides to support Zhu Di (later the Yongle Emperor). However, Li was then convicted of

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

and

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

and thrown in prison by Zhu Di. Li's family members were also arrested.

Historical records

During the Jingnan Campaign, he supported the

Jianwen Emperor The Jianwen Emperor (5 December 1377 – ?), personal name Zhu Yunwen (), was the second Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1398 to 1402. The era name of his reign, Jianwen, means "establishing civility" and represented a sharp chan ...

against the Prince of Yan (the later

Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...

). An account cited how Jinglong besieged

Beiping "Beijing" is from pinyin ''Běijīng,'' which is romanized from , the Chinese name for this city. The pinyin system of transliteration was approved by the Chinese government in 1958, but little used until 1979. It was gradually adopted by various ...

and face the Prince of Yan's wife, who mobilized other women to assist in the city's defense. The Jianwen emperor appeared to favor him, choosing to reinstate the general even after his losses to the

Yongle emperor The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...

's army. After a string of defeats, the emperor finally replaced him with Sheng Yong ( 盛庸). Li Jinglong surrendered to the Prince of Yan, and it was reported that he conspired with Prince Gu to betray the Jianwen emperor by opening the gates to

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

when the enemy's army arrived in July 1402. However, during Zhu Di's reign, Li Jinglong was convicted of corruption and treason.

Zhu Su Zhu Su (; 8 October 1361 – 2 September 1425), the Prince of Wu (吳王, created 1370), later the Prince of Zhou (周王), was a prince of the Ming dynasty. He was the fifth son of the Hongwu Emperor and Empress Ma. He was assigned to Kaifeng ...

exposed that Li had accepted

bribes Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corru ...

, and Zheng Ci ( 郑赐), minister of punishment, accused Li of treason. Later, Zhu Neng ( 朱能) showed further evidence to impeach Li Jinglong and his brother Li Zengzhi (李增枝) of treason. Zhu Di then imprisoned Li Jinglong and stripped him of his title. Furthermore, Zhu Di put Li Jinglong's brother Li Zengzhi, his wife and children, and dozens of his other family members under

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...

and their homes were searched with their property

confiscated Confiscation (from the Latin ''confiscatio'' "to consign to the ''fiscus'', i.e. transfer to the treasury") is a legal form of seizure by a government or other public authority. The word is also used, popularly, of spoliation under legal forms, ...

. Li Jinglong then died in the last years of Yongle's reign.

References

1369 births 1424 deaths Ming dynasty generals People of the Jingnan Campaign People convicted of treason People convicted of corruption {{military-bio-stub