He Zhen

He Zhen (1321–1388) was a Yuan commander from Dongguan who became the effective ruler of Guangdong. He left office to raise militia against bandits, seized Huizhou and Xunzhou in 1354 and rose to Guangdong's top military post.

In 1362 he retook the provincial capital Guangzhou from the strongman Shao Zongyu. Shao besieged Guangzhou again in 1365 and forced He Zhen out, but he rallied his troops and retook the city the following year.

When the Ming general Liao Yongzhong marched south in 1368, He Zhen surrendered, helped him defeat Shao and served the new dynasty as a provincial administrator. Ennobled as Count of Dongguan in 1387, he died in 1388 and was posthumously named Zhongjing.