Chapter 523

Yunnan Prefecture City (present-day Kunming). Following the pacification of Yunnan in the sixteenth year of the Hongwu Emperor's reign of the Great Ming Dynasty, Mu Ying was stationed there to defend the region. In the nineteenth year of Hongwu, Mu Ying oversaw the construction of Yunnan Prefecture City using bricks and established the Yunnan Provincial Administration Commission and the Regional Military Commission within the prefecture. Upon completion of the city walls, he constructed the Residence of the Marquis of Xiping. (Mu Ying was initially enfeoffed as the Marquis of Xiping. In the sixth year of the Yongle reign, the then-incumbent Marquis of Xiping, Mu Sheng, was elevated to the rank of Duke of Qian, with the privilege of hereditary succession.) Because the Mu clan garrisoned Yunnan for generations, they enjoyed immense prestige among the locals. Furthermore, since the Imperial Court treated them no differently than other imperial princes, the local populace privately referred to the Duke of Qian's residence as the Mu Wang Residence.