Ding Yu

Ding Yu (?–1380), born Ding Guozhen , was a Chinese military general during the early Ming dynasty. He was a native of Hezhong (; present-day Shanxi).

In his early years, he followed Han Lin'er and served as a censor. After Lu Zhen seized Anfeng, Ding Yu surrendered to Zhu Yuanzhang (the future Hongwu Emperor). After that, he participated in the campaign in Pengli, served as the prefect of Jiujiang. He also led the crowd to put down the Pengze rebellion. Zhu Yuanzhang admired his military strategy, ordered Ding to concurrently serve as a commander , and changed his name to Yu. Later, he followed Fu Youde to conquer Hengzhou, served as vice commander to guard Hengzhou, and later moved to defend Yongzhou.

In 1368, he was promoted to the rank of Military Commissioner-in-chief and concurrently served as Assistant Administiontrator , guarding Guangxi. In 1377, he became the Right Censor-in-chief . Later, as Pingqiang General , he put down the rebellion of Dong Tieli , a native chieftain of Weimao, Sichuan. Two years later, he pacified Songzhou (; Songpan ). At that time, the Hongwu Emperor believed that Songzhou was too mountainous and had few fields, so it was not suitable to retain. Ding Yu, however, believed that it was an important place in Western Qiang and military facilities should not be abandoned. Therefore, the Hongwu Emperor followed his opinion. At that time, Peng Pugui , a native of Sichuan, rebelled, and Commander Pu Liang was unable to quell it; later, it was suppressed by Ding Yu. The Hongwu Emperor wrote a letter praising Ding Yu and awarding him the title of Left Censor-in-chief . After the army returned, he was promoted to the Left Commissioner-in-chief of the Grand Chief Military Commission . In 1380, the Hu Weiyong case occurred, and Ding Yu was later executed due to his connection to Hu Weiyong through marriage.