Ming Wokou Troubles

Timeline

1. 1551–1553Coast of Zhejiang and Fujian · Southeast coastAfter Altan Khan's approach to Beijing in 1550, the court's attention shifted northward and the southeastern coastal defenses were lax; between 1551 and 1553, wokou colluded with smuggling merchants and repeatedly attacked Ningbo, Taizhou, Fuzhou, and other places, burning, killing, and looting, with local guard garrisons unable to resist effectively.
2. 1554–1556Southern Zhili and Zhejiang · JiangnanThe Ming court successively appointed Zhang Jing, Hu Zongxian, and others as governor-generals of military affairs in Jiangnan, implementing a policy of 'simultaneous suppression and pacification.' Hu Zongxian co-opted smuggling leaders such as Wang Zhi and overhauled military preparations, creating conditions for subsequent annihilation battles, though this also sparked court and public controversy.
3. 1557–1560Taizhou and coast of Fujian · Southeast coastQi Jiguang, Yu Dayou, and others led newly trained elite troops to repeatedly defeat the wokou in Taizhou, Fujian, and other places; after further great victories at Xianju, Xinghua, and other battles in Taizhou in 1560, the wokou threat in the southeast noticeably eased by the end of the decade, though the contradictions between the maritime ban and smuggling remained unresolved.