Cai Yurong 蔡毓榮

TS'AI Yü-jung 蔡毓榮 (T. 仁庵, H. 顯齋), Apr. 15, 1633–1699, Feb. 21, official, was a native of Chin-chou, Liaotung. His father, Ts'ai Shih-ying 蔡士英 (T. 伯彥, H. 魁吾, posthumous name 襄敏, d. 1674), was a Ming official who surrendered to the Manchus in 1642 with Tsu Ta-shou [q.v.], and later rose to the post of director-general of Grain Transport (1655–57, 1659–61). In the Manchu period the family belonged to the Chinese Plain White Banner. Ts'ai Yü-jung began his official career in 1656 as captain of a company and, after several promotions, was made a vice-president of the Board of Civil Offices (1668–70). In 1670 he became governor-general of Szechwan and Hu-kuang (present Hupeh and Hunan), with headquarters at Ching-chou, Hupeh, on the Yangtze river.

When, late in 1673, Wu San-kuei revolted in Yunnan and Kweichow, Ts'ai Yü-jung was relieved of his duties in Szechwan in order to devote his attention to the defense of Hu-kuang. In a few months, however, all of Hunan was taken by Wu San-kuei. Although Ts'ai succeeded in preventing the march of the insurgents into Hupeh, he was deprived of all ranks and ordered to remain at his post to redeem himself. Yet it seems that he was greatly trusted in the defense of Hupeh, for when his father died he was ordered to remain at his post instead of retiring to observe the customary period of mourning. In 1675 he was given command of two battalions of Chinese recruits, and during the following three years directed the transportation of supplies to near-by armies, in the meantime supervising the construction of naval vessels. In 1678, when the forces of Wu San-kuei were confined to Hunan, Kweichow and Yunnan, an offensive into Hunan was ordered. At the head of five thousand men, Ts'ai assisted in the siege of Yochow, Hunan, and in several naval engagements. Soon Wu died, and the rebels gradually retreated. In 1679 Yochow was taken and most of Hunan was recovered. Ts'ai Yü-jung was given the title, Sui-yüan Chiang-chün 綏遠將軍, and given command of all the Chinese troops in Hunan. In 1680 he assisted the Manchu commander, Jangtai, in taking the capital of Kweichow. After the rebellion was crushed in 1681, and Yunnan was recovered, Ts'ai was ordered to resume the post of governor-general of Hu-kuang. In the following year (1682) he was made governor-general of Yunnan and Kweichow, and for four years did much to rehabilitate those war-torn provinces. But when he memorialized the throne that he wished to suppress an uprising of the Miaos at Wei-ning, Kweichow, the Emperor reproved him and directed that only peaceful means should be employed toward the aborigines—for sometimes they were reported as rebellious simply because they refused to comply with the demands of greedy officials. When Ts'ai, in disregard of the warning, attacked the Miaos, he was removed from his post and appointed to a less important position, namely superintendent of the Government Granaries at Peking.

Late in November 1686 Ts'ai Yü-jung was made junior vice-president of the Board of War, but was discharged early in the following year when it was discovered that while in Yunnan he had, through the medium of his son, Ts'ai Lin 蔡琳, given a bribe of nine hundred taels silver to an official investigator; and, after the conquest of Yunnanfu, had taken (1681) a granddaughter of Wu San-kuei to be his concubine, when he should have delivered her up as a captive of war. He was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to decapitation. But during the same year the Emperor commuted his sentence to confiscation of his properties, flogging, and banishment to Heilungkiang. At this time the war against the Russians was suspended to await the arrival of a Russian envoy to conduct peace negotiations, but the project of colonizing the Amur River region which started in 1683 and 1684 continued to be carried on. A military highway was projected in 1685 from Ula (present Yung-chi, Kirin) through Tsitsihar to Aigun, a distance of 1,340 li to be connected by nineteen post stations. It is reported that Ts'ai Yü-jung was ordered to help in both projects and that the expense of equipping the nineteen stations was defrayed by him. A few years later he was pardoned and was allowed to live at his home in Lu-lung, Chihli, where he died.

Ts'ai Yü-jung had eight sons and eight daughters. One of his daughters was the famous poetess, Ts'ai Wan 蔡琬 (T. 季玉, 1695–1755), who left a collection of verse entitled 蘊眞軒詩劃 Yin-chên hsüan shih-ts'ao, 2 chüan. She married Kao Ch'i-cho 高其倬 (T. 章之, H. 芙沼, 種筠, posthumous name 文良, 1676–1738), a chin-shih of 1694 and a baron of the third class (conferred in 1730) who held from 1723 to 1738 one or another of the governor-generalships or governorships in South China. It is said that many of Kao's memorials and official letters were written in collaboration with his wife, though it is known that he was himself a writer and a poet. He left a collection of poems entitled 味和堂詩集 Wei-ho t'ang shih-chi, 8 chüan, and a collection of memorials in 10 chüan. Unconfirmed stories assert that Ts'ai Wan's mother was a former concubine of Wu San-kuei.

A son of Ts'ai Yü-jung, named Ts'ai Ting 蔡珽 (T. 若璞, H. 禹功, d. 1743), was a chin-shih of 1696 and a Hanlin corrector. After a term as governor of Szechwan (1722–24) he was arrested and tried in Peking on a charge of murder, but because he had turned against a former friend, Nien Kêng-yao [q.v.], and supplied Emperor Shih-tsung with "evidence" leading to Nien's conviction, the charge was dropped. For a time he became the Emperor's favorite, and was concurrently entrusted with heading the Censorate, the Board of War, the Board of Civil Office, and the Chinese Plain White Banner. In 1726, however, he was degraded to the rank of governor of Mukden, and a year later was accused of having received bribes while in Szechwan. In 1728 he was further charged with conspiring against T'ien Wên-ching. He was sentenced to imprisonment awaiting execution, but was released in 1735 by order of Emperor Kao-tsung.

[1/262/1a; 1/513/17b; 2/7/4a; 2/13/17b; 3/65/24a; 3/160/4a; 4/61/2a; 6/59/11b; 20/2/00; 21/2/21b; Shêng-yü [q.v.], Pa-ch'i wên-ching, 57/9a, 17b, 18b; Hsi-ch'ing 西清, 黑龍江外紀 Heilungkiang wai-chi 7/6a; T'ieh-pao [q.v.], Hsi-ch'ao ya-sung chi, yü-chi 1/1a; Lu Mei 陸楣, 鐵莊文集 T'ieh-chuang wên-chi 6/3a; Yung-p'ing fu chih (1879) 57/4b–15a.]

Fang Chao-ying

《清史稿》卷256

蔡毓榮，字仁庵，漢軍正白旗人。父士英，初籍錦州。從祖大壽來降，授世職牛彔章京。從轉戰有功。順治間，累遷至右副都御使。出為江西巡撫，疏陳兵後荒蕪，請除荒田賦額十萬八千五百四十頃有奇；又以瑞、袁二府科糧偏重，疏請蠲瑞屬浮糧九萬九千餘石，定袁屬賦額自一斗六升七八合減至九升三合：皆得請。又疏論銅塘封禁山不宜開採，咸為民所頌。尋改漕運總督，加兵部尚書，以疾告歸。十三年，卒，諡襄敏。

毓榮，其次子也。初授佐領，兼刑部郎中。尋授御史，兼參領，遷秘書院學士。康熙初，授侍郎，歷刑、吏二部。九年，授四川湖廣總督，駐荊州。累疏言：「四川民少田荒，請廣招開墾。招民三百戶，予議敘，墾田五年，起科」；「四川衝要營員用沿邊例題補」；「移駐官兵子弟得入籍應試」。並下部議行。

十二年，吳三桂反，毓榮遣沅州總兵崔世祿率兵入貴州，夷陵總兵徐治都、永州總兵李芝蘭繼進，上命速遣提督桑額守沅州。尋授順承郡王勒爾錦為大將軍，率八旗兵討三桂，駐荊州，諭毓榮督餉。十三年，分設四川總督，命毓榮專督湖廣，以招民墾荒功，加兵部尚書。三桂破沅州，世祿降。常德、澧州、長沙、岳州相繼陷。部議毓榮當奪官，命留任。尋居父喪，命在任守制，督綠旗兵進剿。毓榮令副將胡士英等分防江口。叛將楊來嘉據南漳，屢出掠，令襄陽總兵劉成龍禦之，戰屢勝。廣西提督馬雄降三桂，騰書兩廣總督金光祖，言毓榮將率綠營兵赴岳州降三桂。光祖密使告毓榮，毓榮以聞，請解任，命殫心供職，毋以反間引嫌。

十四年，勒爾錦請增綠旗兵援、剿二營，領以兩副將，命毓榮統轄。十七年，毓榮督造戰艦成，率綠旗兵五千，從大將軍貝勒尚善進攻岳州，與討逆將軍鄂納等以舟八百餘入洞庭湖，擊三桂兵，大敗之，發砲沈其舟，殲寇甚眾。遣將艤君山，載土伐木塞諸港。分兵屯三眼橋、七里山，絕寇轉糧道。寇犯我糧艘，夾擊，復大敗之，斬級千餘。會三桂死，其孫世璠以喪還。師克岳州，進定長沙、衡州。十八年，疏言：「湖南境惟辰州尚為三桂守。楓木嶺、神龍岡兩道皆險隘。我師疲頓，當小休。俟糧草克繼，會師進攻。」上命給事中摩羅、郎中伊爾格圖傳諭曰：「賊敗遁負險，宜用綠旗步兵。毓榮所屬官兵強壯，不難攻取險隘，剿除餘寇。其具方略以聞。」毓榮疏請專責一人，總統諸路綠旗兵水陸並進，上即授毓榮綏遠將軍，賜敕，總統綠旗兵，總督董衞國、周有德、提督趙賴等並受節制。十九年，督兵分道出楓木嶺、辰龍關，水師並進，克辰州，再進克沅州，並復瀘溪、溆浦、麻陽諸縣。

大將軍貝子彰泰與會師，自沅州入貴州境。彰泰疏言綠旗兵已與滿洲兵會，若各自調遣，慮未能合力奏功。上命毓榮軍機關白大將軍。尋與衞國督兵克鎮遠、思南。世璠將夏國相等以二萬人屯平遠西南山，分兵據江西坡，坡天險，國相為象陣。我師迫險攻象陣，不能克，毓榮以紅旗督戰，眾奔不可止，師敗績。越二日復戰，鼓眾奮進，國相棄險走，遂克貴陽。二十年，從彰泰下雲南，次曲靖。會師進薄會城，屯歸化寺，奪重關及太平橋。世璠將余從龍等出降，詗知其虛實。趙良棟師至，趣進攻，毓榮軍大東門。世璠自殺，城下。雲南平。毓榮還任湖廣總督。

二十一年，調雲貴總督。累疏區畫善後諸事：「一曰蠲荒賦。雲南陷寇八載，按畝加糧。驅之鋒鏑，地曠丁稀，無徵地丁。額賦應予蠲除，招徠開墾。二曰制土夷。前此土目世職，不過宣慰，三桂濫加至將軍、總兵。初投誠，權用偽銜給劄，今當改給土職。舊為三桂奪職者，察明予襲。三曰靖逋逃。三桂舊部奉裁，徵兵散失。八旗僕從，兔脫鼠竄。宜厚自首賞，重懲窩隱。所獲逃人，量從末減，庶聞風自歸。四曰理財源。雲南賦稅不足供兵食。地產五金，令民開採，官總其稅。省會及祿豐、蒙自、大理設鑪鑄錢。故明沐氏莊田及入官叛產，均令變價，以裕錢本。田仍如例納賦，兵弁餘丁，墾荒起科，編入里甲，俾賦有餘而餉可節。五曰酌安插。逆屬嘗隨伍，當遣發極邊。若僅受偽銜，並未助逆，宜免遷徙。六曰收軍仗。私造軍器，應坐謀叛論罪。土司藏刀槍，民以鉛硝、硫黃貿易，皆嚴禁。七曰勸捐輸。雲南民鮮蓋藏，偶有災祲，無從告糴。請暫開捐監事例。八曰弭野盜。魯魁在萬山中，初為新嶍阿蒙土人所據，嘯聚為盜。內通新平、開化、元江、易門，外接車里、孟艮、鎮元、猛緬。三桂授以偽職，今雖改授土司。仍宜厚集土練，分駐隘口，防侵軼為患。九曰敦實政。兵後整理撫綏，其要在墾荒蕪，廣樹蓄，裕積貯，興教化，嚴保甲，通商賈，崇節儉，蠲雜派，恤無告，止濫差。州縣吏即以此十事為殿最。十曰舉廢墜。各府州縣學宮，自三桂煽亂，悉皆頹壞。今宜倡率修復。通省稅糧，既有成額，宜均本折定，留運驛站，酌加工食，俾民間永無派累。」疏入，廷臣議行。別疏言：「督標舊額兵四千，請增千為五營。吳三桂設十鎮，今改為六。在迤西者：曰鶴麗、曰永順、曰楚姚蒙景，在迤東者：曰開化、曰臨元澂江、曰曲尋武霑。」「中甸舊轄麗江土府，三桂割畀蒙、番互市。今互市已停，蒙、番所設喇嘛營官未撤，宜令土知府木堯仍歸其地。」

初，師自貴州下雲南，毓榮劾董衞國不聽調度，上命俟事平再議。二十二年，部議衞國未嘗違誤，且有復鎮遠功，請免議，上責毓榮妒功誣奏，下部議，削五級。二十五年，授總督倉場侍郎，改兵部。領侍衛內大臣佟國維等疏言侍衛納爾泰自陳前使雲南，毓榮令其子琳餽以銀九百；內務府又發毓榮入雲南以三桂女孫為妾，並徇縱逆黨狀：下刑部，鞫實，擬斬，籍沒，命免死，與琳並戍黑龍江。赦還。三十八年，卒。