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Fang Guozhen

Type Figure Region China Time 1319–1374 Also known as Fang Guozhen

A late-Yuan warlord on the Zhejiang coast and former salt smuggler, he rose against the Yuan in 1348, controlled Taizhou, Wenzhou, and Qingyuan (Ning…

Timeline

  1. c. 1341–1347Taizhou · East China Sea coastHe ran private salt smuggling and maritime trade around Huangyan in Taizhou, accumulating wealth and connections under the Yuan's harsh salt laws. During this period he already possessed local armed forces, laying the foundation for his later uprising and separatist rule in eastern Zhejiang.
  2. 1348–1353Huangyan · TaizhouIn 1348 he rose in revolt to avoid arrest, holding Taizhou, Wenzhou, and other places, and controlling the eastern Zhejiang coast by sea. The Yuan court's repeated expeditions failed; Fang Guozhen alternately submitted and rebelled, maneuvering flexibly among the Yuan, Red Turbans, and other powers to maintain his independent separatist rule.
  3. 1357–1374Yingtian Prefecture · Jiangsu ProvinceIn 1357 he accepted Zhu Yuanzhang's offer of amnesty, ceding Qingyuan (Ningbo) and other places, and was appointed Pacification Commissioner of the Jiangzhe Branch Secretariat. After submitting he never again rebelled on a large scale, residing in Nanjing as a founding meritorious official until his death of illness in 1374.

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