The rebellion was ultimately quelled when the government army, led by Wang Yangming, the grand coordinator of southern Jiangxi, captured the Prince of Ning.

Grand coordinator Wang Yangming, the highest-ranking official in the province, managed to escape the rebels at the start of the rebellion.

The rebel army, which had returned, was defeated by Wang Yangming's forces in a three-day battle on Lake Poyang, north of Nanchang.

[2][3] In order to achieve this, he initially resorted to bribery, targeting influential figures such as Liu Jin, who effectively controlled the Beijing government from 1507 to 1510.

However, after Liu Jin's downfall, Zhu Chenhao turned to other allies in the Ming government, including the emperor's favorite musician, Zang Xian,[2] the Minister of War, Lu Wan, and the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Qian Ning.

Although Liu Yangzheng did not pass the civil service examinations, he was highly respected for his literary skills and military knowledge.

In the spring of 1516, he took advantage of the fact that the Zhengde Emperor had no children and bribed Qian Ning and others to bring his eldest son to Beijing as a potential candidate for crown prince.

He also obtained funds by seizing lakes and other public property, exploiting his local dominance in the salt and pepper trade, and selling state rice.

[10] He sent large sums of money to tribal chieftains in the mountains of southern Jiangxi and southwestern Fujian, as well as in Guangxi, in order to recruit their armies, known as the dreaded "wolf troops".

After Fei filed a complaint, the government sent Sun Sui[c] to Nanchang, where he was appointed as the grand coordinator, a military governor responsible for local authorities.

[15] In an effort to prevent open conflict, Yang Tinghe suggested sending a group of high-ranking officials to advise the prince to alter his behavior, with the promise of the emperor pardoning his past transgressions.

He called upon bandits from the mountains and mobilized his troops, sending an advance party of 8,000 men north up the river in 200 ships.

However, Wang stood on the bow facing north and appealed to Heaven, asking for assistance in helping his country and changing the direction of the wind.

After a while, the wind died down and changed direction, allowing Wang and his entourage to sail south (though not on a large official ship, but on a smaller and faster fishing boat).

[27] In an attempt to gain popular support, Wang distributed over 1,000 leaflets, wooden tablets, and flags to the people, emphasizing that their fate was tied to their stance towards the rebels.

He urged them to remain calm, follow the guidance of local leaders, support loyalists, and enlist brave men in the government army.

[28] However, Wang did not have an army at this point, so he decided to delay and confuse the rebels in order to give the Nanjing authorities and government time to prepare a defense and counterattack.

To further deceive the rebels, he forged a letter claiming that the government had already ordered the commander of the troops from the southern provinces of Guangxi and Guangdong to march on Nanchang a month and a half prior, and that they were on their way.

Anqing, a prefectural seat located about 270 km from Nanjing,[32] was defended by Prefect Zhang Wenjin (張文錦) and Regional Military Commissar Cui Wen (崔文).

In order to confuse the rebel leaders, Wang forged a report from the Ministry of War claiming that 240,000 soldiers were being mobilized from all directions to Jiangsu, with even more detachments to follow.

[35] Wang also sent groups pretending to be the vanguard of these forces to the areas where, according to the forged documents, government troops were supposed to arrive.

[38] Meanwhile, on 9 August,[39] Wang Yangming assembled his own army north of the Linjiang River, located halfway between Ji'an and Nanchang.

[38][43] On 9 August, news of the danger threatening Nanchang from the south, brought by Wang Yangming, reached the Prince of Ning in Anqing.

[45] The battle with the prince's army's vanguard, also numbering 20,000 men,[46] began on 18 August,[47] approximately 20 li (10 km) from Nanchang.

On the first day, he printed 100,000 wooden tablets with a proclamation addressed to the rebels, offering them the chance to save their lives by turning back north and sailing down the Gan River.

[51] The fire quickly spread to the prince's ships due to strong winds, and Wang's main force then attacked from multiple directions.

Their plan was to prevent Wang Yangming from achieving victory and stage a mock battle in which the prince would be captured by the emperor.

On the advice of former Grand Secretary Yang Yiqing, Wang Yangming handed the prisoner over to the eunuch Zhang Yong in Hangzhou, who was in charge of military affairs in the region.

Zhang Yong also interceded with the emperor on behalf of Wang Yangming, who had been falsely accused by Jiang Bin and his associates.

In November 1519, Wang Yangming was sent back to the province as the grand coordinator,[57] and he feared that the presence of the troops would once again incite unrest and potentially worsen the situation.