Yǒngníng

Yongning lay in the mountains on the Sichuan-Guizhou frontier, ruled by the hereditary Yi She family. Its chiefs controlled a broad district of valleys and passes, serving the Ming court while maintaining their own forces. The borderland linked the upper Yangtze country with the mountains of Guizhou and Yunnan. In 1621 the chief She Chongming raised troops ostensibly to aid the Ming war in Liaodong. His forces instead seized Chongqing, and the rebellion spread through Sichuan and Guizhou. Joined by An Bangyan of Shuixi, She fought the imperial armies for years. The conflict brought great destruction to the region and ended in the removal of the Yongning chieftaincy.