Was Zheng Shungong really supported by Yang Bo and Yang Yi?

 

     Yang Bo (1509-1574) was born in Pu County, Shanxi Province.  He was a politician in the Ming Dynasty.  He became the Secretary of the Minister of War, and then the Grand Master of the Crown Prince.

     In 1529, he became the Magistrate of Yusi County.  Yang Bo was later appointed as the Chief of the Arsenal Department of the Ministry of War.  In 1546, he inspected the Gansu Region. In 1554, the Mongolian King, Daraisung Guden Khan (1520-1557) plundered Jizhen. Yang Bo resisted the enemy and the Mongolian army could not break through.  The next year, Daraisung Guden Khan attacked Yichang again and was repulsed.  After that, Yang Bo overhauled border defense facilities, improved people's livelihood, and restored military order.  Emperor Jiajing named him the Grand Master of the Crown Prince.  In 1573, Yang Bo resigned and returned home.  He died of illness the next year.

     Yang Yi (1495-) was born in Hengshui County, Zhending Prefecture, near the capital.  He was a politician in the Ming Dynasty.

     In 1523, he became the Magistrate of Weixian County. In 1530, he was appointed vice-inspector general of Shandong Province, and later changed to the inspector general of Henan Province. In 1546, he became the Manager of Nanjing Grain Reserve. In 1550, he served as officer of the Nanjing Censorate.  In 1554, he was appointed an officer of the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing and managed the grain storage.  In 1555, he served as an officer of the Nanjing Ministry of War, and governed the military affairs in Nanjing Metropolitan, Zhejiang Province, and Fujian Province.  In 1556, due to defeat in the war, he was dismissed from his post, returned to his hometown, and retired.  Hu Zongxian replaced him.

     The entry in April, 1559, of Ming Veritable Records of Emperor Jiajing records that Seiju came to Ningbo with Zheng Shungong, who was sent by Yang Yi.  As Hu Zongxian's idea is also recorded there, Yang Yi's involvement might have been testified by Hu Zongxian.  Zheng Shungong, however, claimed in Riben Yijian that he had been supported by the Minister of War.