Yang Yuwei had moved to a house by the bank of the Sishui River. His study faced an open wilderness. Outside the wall were many ancient tombs. At night, winds blew through white poplar trees, setting them to roaring like sea waves.
During the last years of the Ming Dynasty, there were many bandits in the territory of Jinan, Shandong Province. Troops in the various counties were reinforced and they killed all they arrested.