li de zhi

Chen Qiyu, Governor of the Ming Dynasty

Chen Qiyu, styled Yuxuan, was from Baode Prefecture, Shanxi. He became a Jinshi in the 44th year of the Wanli reign (1616). Born into a wealthy family, he was intelligent and studious since childhood. Later, he was appreciated by King Fu. In the late Ming Dynasty, due to his remarkable achievements in suppressing bandits, he was once promoted to the governor of five provinces. He besieged Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and more than 36,000 people in Chexiang Gorge for over 20 days, and they were almost completely wiped out. Seeing the desperate situation, the rebel forces led by Li Zicheng adopted the feigned surrender strategy of military advisor Gu Jun'en. They bribed the people around Chen Qiyu and various generals with precious treasures, pretending to beg for surrender. Later, they got out of the predicament. As a result, Chen Qiyu was demoted and lived in seclusion on the bank of the Yellow River in the old city of Baode Prefecture. He privately raised silver to carve a secluded cave on the sheer cliff.