Shi Kefa
Shi Kefa took the imperial examination and obtained a "jinshi" () degree in 1628. He was appointed as an official in Xi'an, before subsequently serving as a "yuanwailang" () and "langzhong" () in the Ministry of Revenue. In 1635 he followed the general Lu Xiangsheng () to suppress peasant revolts throughout the land. Two years later, he was promoted to "yushi" () on the recommendation of the minister Zhang Guowei (), and was also appointed as "xunfu" (巡撫; a type of regional governor) of Anqing, Luzhou (present-day Hefei), Taiping (near present-day Wuhu City), Chizhou (), and various counties in Henan, Jiangxi and Huguang provinces. In 1641, he was put in charge of the Caoyun system. In the seventh month of 1643, he was appointed as Grand Secretary of the Ministry of War in Nanjing.