During this time, General Qiu Yue, who had pretended to join the rebels, led a group of pro-government soldiers to occupy the palace of the Prince of Anhua and capture him.
Among the six commandery princes in Ningxia, he held a high rank and was one of the several hundred descendants of Zhu Zhan living in the region.
[6] In March 1510, government officials, including Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review Zhou Dong (大理少卿 周東), the eunuch Li Zeng (李增), and Grand Coordinator An Weixue (巡撫都御史 安惟學), arrived in Ningxia to review and potentially increase the tax obligations of military households.
He Jin and Sun Jingwen saw this as an opportunity to gain support for their revolt and successfully persuaded a number of officers, including Xu Qin (徐欽).
[8] On 12 May 1510,[6] Zhu Zhifan launched a rebellion by inviting the highest civil and military officials of the region—Li Zeng, Regional Commander Jiang Han (姜漢), and the eunuch Director of Firearms, Zheng Guang (鄭廣)—to a banquet in his palace.
[9] The rebels then occupied important official buildings in the city and killed Zhou Dong, An Weixue, Regional Military Commissioner Yang Zhong (楊忠), and other dignitaries.
Qiu Yue returned to the city on the same day, placed his troops under the command of Zhou Ang, He Jin, and Ding Guang (丁廣, another member of the prince's entourage) to gain the trust of the rebels, and then claimed to be ill and stayed home.
[11] He also issued a proclamation, explaining the rebellion as an act of defense of the dynasty and the empire against the treacherous Liu Jin, and distributed it throughout the area.
[12] On May 20, government troops, led by Regional Commander Cao Xiong (曹雄), began operations with a cavalry of over 2,400 soldiers to Lingzhou, which is separated from Ningxia by the Yellow River.
Qiu Yue immediately announced the capture of the prince to both the loyalists (Cao Xiong) and the rebels in order to demoralize them.
[14] After news of the rebellion reached Beijing, the Zhengde Emperor consulted with his Grand Secretaries and ministers and adopted a comprehensive set of measures.
[17] On 2 June, he appointed the eunuch Zhang Yong as the head of military affairs in Ningxia, sending him there with 30,000 men from the capital's garrison.
Additionally, on the recommendation of Yang Yiqing, one million liang of silver were sent to Xuanfu, Datong, and Yansui to cover the costs of troop movements.
Yang Yiqing, who was on his way to the scene, learned of the end of the rebellion and became concerned that the Beijing army, now no longer needed, would cause more harm than good.
[23] After an investigation, it was discovered that the Prince of Qing had neglected his duties as the head of the local clan, but remained loyal to Zhu Zhifan and even presented him with 10,000 liang of silver.
[24] The soldiers who played a role in suppressing the rebellion were rewarded, with Qiu Yue receiving the title of Count of Xianning (咸寧).