Chinese Name: Kong Ming 

Japanese Name: Mōtōsei Kōmei

Rank: 62nd of the 108 Stars of Destiny

Nickname: Restless Star

Kong Ming and his brother Kong Liang (plate 77) lived on a farmstead with their father Squire Kong. While Song Jiang (plate 107) was on the run for killing his mistress Yan Poxi, Squire Kong invited him to stay with them and teach his sons martial arts. After their father died, the Kong brothers went on to lead a small bandit group at Mount Baihu. 

Grand Marshal Gao Qiu had sent General Huyan Zhuo (plate 55) to wipe out the Liangshan bandit stronghold once and for all. When Huyan Zhuo failed he was unable to return to the capital and face Marshal Gao. Instead he traveled to Qingzhou hoping his friend, prefect Murong Yanda, would help him. Murong Yanda assigned him an army of 3000 soldiers and told him if he could wipe out the bandits of Mount Taohua, Mount Lianglong and Mount Baihu, then he would make sure Huyan Zhuo was reinstated to his old military position. 

Kong Ming and the bandits of Mount Baihu rode out to meet General Huyan Zhuo in battle. As the fighting ensued, Kong Ming was quickly captured and taken prisoner. Realizing that Huyan Zhuo was a formidable opponent, all three of the bandit armies reached out to Song Jiang at Liangshan for help, and Song Jiang agreed to join in the fight. Together, the four bandit armies defeated Huyan Zhuo and rescued Kong Ming. Realizing the benefit of their combined strength, Mount Taohua, Mount Lianglong, and Mount Baihu joined with the legions of Liangshan Marsh.

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As Liangshan’s story continued, a rescue attempt was mounted for Lu Junyi who was being held prisoner and awaiting execution in the city of Daming (see plate 68 for story details). The Liangshan bandits had devised a plan to rescue him during the city’s annual lantern festival. The large crowds drawn to the festival provided the perfect opportunity to sneak many of the bandits into the city disguised as merchants while the rest of the troops waited outside the city walls. The bandits set fire to the Blue Cloud Tower tower inside the city as a signal for everyone to attack simultaneously. The plan was a success and Lu Junyi was rescued. In the process, the city of Daming was destroyed, with nearly 5000 civilians and 30,000 soldiers killed. 

Kong Ming was one of Liangshan’s men waiting outside the city walls. Shown here disguised as a vagrant, he strangles a guard moments before the attack.  

Kuniyoshi recreation