Zhang Jing (Ming dynasty)

Zhang Jing, going by the name Cai Jing (蔡經) for much of his life, was a Chinese official who served the Ming dynasty. As he climbed the ladder of Chinese bureaucracy, he became in charge of several provinces as supreme commander, and was involved in conflicts such as the suppression of the Yao rebellions in the southwestern frontier and the defence of China from wokou pirates. At the height of his power, he was in charge of the military in six provinces, an unprecedented number in the Ming dynasty. Despite winning a great victory against the pirates in 1555, he quickly fell from power by running afoul of the domineering clique of Yan Song and Zhao Wenhua, and was executed by the Jiajing Emperor later in the same year.