1
張良字子房，其先韓人也。 大父開地，相韓昭侯、宣惠王、襄哀王。 父平，相釐王、悼惠王。 悼惠王二十三年，平卒。 卒二十歲，秦滅韓。 良年少，未宦事韓。 韓破，良家僮三百人，弟死不葬，悉以家財求客刺秦王，為韓報仇，以五世相韓故。
Zhang Liang, whose courtesy name was Zifang, came from the old state of Han. His grandfather Kaidi had been chancellor under Han's Marquis Zhao, King Xuanhui, and King Xiang'ai. His father Ping served King Xi and King Daohui as their chancellor. Ping died in the twenty-third year of King Daohui's reign. Two decades later, Qin conquered Han. Zhang Liang was young and had not yet entered government service for Han. After Han fell, Zhang Liang kept three hundred retainers in his household. He left his younger brother unburied and spent his whole fortune hiring agents to kill the Qin ruler and avenge Han—because for five generations his forebears had served Han as chancellors.
2
良嘗學禮淮陽，東見倉海君，得力士，為鐵椎重百二十斤。 秦皇帝東游，至博狼沙中，良與客狙擊秦皇帝，誤中副車。 秦皇帝大怒，大索天下，求賊急甚。 良乃更名姓，亡匿下邳。
He had studied the rites at Huaiyang, then traveled east and met the Lord of Canghai, from whom he recruited a brawny accomplice and had forged an iron hammer weighing a hundred and twenty jin. When the First Emperor of Qin toured the east and reached Bolangsha, Zhang Liang and his man tried to kill him but hit a decoy carriage by mistake. The emperor flew into a rage and ordered a frantic empire-wide manhunt. Zhang Liang changed his identity and went underground at Xiapi.
3
良嘗閒從容步游下邳圯上，有一老父，衣褐，至良所，直墮其履圯下，顧謂良曰：「孺子下取履！」 良愕然，欲歐之。 為其老，乃彊忍，下取履，因跪進。 父以足受之，笑去。 良殊大驚。 父去里所，復還，曰：「孺子可教矣。 後五日平明，與我期此。」 良因怪之，跪曰：「諾。」 五日平明，良往。 父已先在，怒曰：「與老人期，後，何也？ 去，後五日蚤會。」 五日，雞鳴往。 父又先在，復怒曰：「後，何也？ 去，後五日復蚤來。」 五日，良夜半往。 有頃，父亦來，喜曰：「當如是。」 出一編書，曰：「讀是則為王者師。 後十年興。 十三年，孺子見我，濟北穀城山下黃石即我已。」 遂去不見。 旦日視其書，乃太公兵法。 良因異之，常習誦。
One day he was walking idly on a bridge at Xiapi when an old man in a rough cloak came up, deliberately dropped his sandal under the bridge, turned to him and said, "Young man, go get my shoe." Zhang Liang was so taken aback that he almost hit the old man. Out of respect for his age he swallowed his anger, retrieved the shoe, and offered it back on his knees. The old man stuck out his foot for him to put it on, chuckled, and walked away. Zhang Liang was dumbfounded. After walking about a li the stranger came back and said, "You can be taught after all. Five days from now, be here at first light." Wondering what it meant, Zhang Liang knelt and answered, "Yes." At dawn on the fifth day he arrived. The old man was already waiting and snapped, "You kept an elder waiting—how is that proper? Come again; this time be here at cockcrow in five days." At the crow of the cock on the fifth day he set out. Again the old man was there first and scolded him, "Late again? Go home; in five days arrive earlier still." On the fifth night Zhang Liang went at midnight. Presently the old man appeared, pleased, and said, "That is how it ought to be." He handed him a scroll and said, "Study this and you will become fit to counsel a king. In ten years the realm will be in turmoil. Thirteen years from now you will find me again as the yellow stone below Mount Gucheng north of the Ji River." With that he vanished and was never seen again. At daybreak Zhang Liang saw that the book was The Grand Duke's Six Secret Teachings. He prized it as something rare and pored over it constantly.
4
居下邳，為任俠。 項伯嘗殺人，從良匿。
At Xiapi he lived the life of a chivalrous adventurer. Xiang Bo had committed a killing and took refuge with Zhang Liang.
5
後十年，陳涉等起，良亦聚少年百餘人。 景駒自立為楚假王，在留。 良欲往從之，行道遇沛公。 沛公將數千人略地下邳，遂屬焉。 沛公拜良為廄將。 良數以太公兵法說沛公，沛公喜，常用其策。 良為它人言，皆不省。 良曰：「沛公殆天授。」 故遂從不去。
A decade later, when Chen She and others rebelled, Zhang Liang raised a band of over a hundred youths. Jing Ju had proclaimed himself provisional King of Chu at Liu. Zhang Liang meant to join him but met the Lord of Pei on the way. The Lord of Pei was leading a few thousand men to secure the area around Xiapi, and Zhang Liang enlisted under him. The Lord of Pei named him stable commandant. Whenever Zhang Liang explained the Grand Duke's military writings, the Lord of Pei grasped them and repeatedly adopted his stratagems. When he tried the same explanations on anyone else, they did not understand. Zhang Liang said, "The Lord of Pei must be heaven-endowed." So he stayed with him and never left.
6
沛公之薛，見項梁，共立楚懷王。 良乃說項梁曰：「君已立楚後，韓諸公子橫陽君成賢，可立為王，益樹黨。」 項梁使良求韓成，立為韓王。 以良為韓司徒，與韓王將千餘人西略韓地，得數城，秦輒復取之，往來為游兵潁川。
When the Lord of Pei went to Xue and met Xiang Liang, they together set up King Huai of Chu. Zhang Liang then advised Xiang Liang: "You have already placed a scion of Chu on the throne; of Han's princes, Hengyangjun Han Cheng is the ablest—make him king of Han and you widen your coalition." Xiang Liang sent Zhang Liang to fetch Han Cheng and installed him as king of the restored Han. Zhang Liang was made minister of education for Han; with King Han he took a thousand-odd troops west, took several towns only to lose them again to Qin, and skirmished back and forth across Yingchuan as a mobile force.
7
沛公之從雒陽南出轘轅，良引兵從沛公，下韓十餘城，擊楊熊軍。 沛公乃令韓王成留守陽翟，與良俱南，攻下宛，西入武關。 沛公欲以二萬人擊秦嶢關下軍，良曰：「秦兵尚彊，未可輕。 臣聞其將屠者子，賈豎易動以利。 願沛公且留壁，使人先行，為五萬人具食，益張旗幟諸山上，為疑兵，令酈食其持重寶啗秦將。」 秦將果欲連和俱西襲咸陽，沛公欲聽之。 良曰：「此獨其將欲叛，士卒恐不從。 不從必危，不如因其解擊之。」 沛公乃引兵擊秦軍，大破之。 逐北至藍田，再戰，秦兵竟敗。 遂至咸陽，秦王子嬰降沛公。
As the Lord of Pei moved south from Luoyang through Huanyuan, Zhang Liang brought his men to his banner, captured a dozen Han cities, and attacked Yang Xiong's host. The Lord of Pei left King Han Cheng to garrison Yangzhai and marched south with Zhang Liang, stormed Wan, and broke into the passes through Wuguan. He was about to hit the Qin force below Yao Pass with twenty thousand men when Zhang Liang warned him: "The Qin army is still formidable—do not underestimate it. Their commander is said to be a butcher's son; men of the market are easily swayed by gain. I beg you to remain in camp for now, send parties ahead to cook for fifty thousand, raise flags on the heights as a decoy force, and let Li Yiji take rich gifts to bribe the Qin commander." The Qin general offered to join him for a joint strike on Xianyang, and the Lord of Pei was inclined to agree. Zhang Liang objected: "Only the general wants to turn traitor—the rank and file may not follow him. If they refuse, you will be in danger; hit them while their guard is down." The Lord of Pei attacked and routed the Qin army. He chased them to Lantian, fought again, and broke them for good. He reached Xianyang, where Prince Ziying of Qin surrendered to him.
8
沛公入秦，宮室帷帳狗馬重寶婦女以千數，意欲留居之。 樊噲諫，沛公不聽。 良曰：「夫秦為無道，故沛公得至此。 為天下除殘去賊，宜縞素為資。 今始入秦，即安其樂，此所謂『助桀為虐』。 且『忠言逆耳利於行，毒藥苦口利於病』，願沛公聽樊噲言。」 沛公乃還軍霸上。
Inside the Qin palaces were hangings, hounds, horses, heaps of treasure, and thousands of women; the Lord of Pei meant to move in and stay. Fan Kuai pleaded with him, but he would not listen. Zhang Liang said, "It was Qin's brutality that brought you this far. You came to rid the empire of a tyrant; your capital should be simplicity and restraint. To wallow in its luxuries the moment you enter the capital is what people mean by helping Jie torture his people." Besides, "honest counsel sounds harsh but steadies the deed; bitter medicine heals the illness"—please heed Fan Kuai." The Lord of Pei withdrew his army to Bashang.
9
項羽至鴻門，欲擊沛公，項伯夜馳至沛公軍，私見良，欲與俱去。 良曰：「臣為韓王送沛公，今有事急，亡去不義。」 乃具語沛公。 沛公大驚，曰：「為之柰何？」 良曰：「沛公誠欲背項王邪？」 沛公曰：「鯫生說我距關毋內諸侯，秦地可王也，故聽之。」 良曰：「沛公自度能卻項王乎？」 沛公默然，曰：「
At Hongmen Xiang Yu planned to strike the Lord of Pei; Xiang Bo rode through the night to Zhang Liang's camp, met him in secret, and wished to take him away with him. Zhang Liang replied, "I am escorting the Lord of Pei on King Han's orders; to run off now would be dishonorable." He told the Lord of Pei everything. The Lord of Pei was greatly alarmed and said, "What is to be done about it?" Zhang Liang asked, "Do you really mean to break with King Xiang?" The Lord of Pei said, "A fool told me to bar the passes and keep the other lords out so I could rule Qin myself, and I listened." Zhang Liang said, "Do you truly think you can repel King Xiang?" "The Lord of Pei was silent and said,
10
今為柰何？」 良因要項伯見沛公。 沛公與伯飲，為壽，結婚，令伯具言沛公不敢背項王，所以距關者，備它盜也。 項羽後解，語在羽傳。
What can I do now?" Zhang Liang then brought Xiang Bo in to meet the Lord of Pei. They drank together, exchanged toasts, pledged their children in marriage, and had Xiang Bo report that the Lord of Pei had no intention of defying Xiang Yu—that he had sealed the passes only against common robbers. Xiang Yu later dropped the matter; the full story is told in his memoir.
11
漢元年，沛公為漢王，王巴蜀，賜良金百溢，珠二斗，良具以獻項伯。 漢王亦因令良厚遺項伯，使請漢中地。 項王許之。 漢王之國，良送至褒中，遣良歸韓。 良因說漢王燒絕棧道，示天下無還心，以固項王意。 乃使良還。 行，燒絕棧道。
In Han's first year the Lord of Pei became King of Han with Ba and Shu as his domain; he gave Zhang Liang gold by the hundred yi and pearls by the two pecks, and Zhang Liang passed the whole gift to Xiang Bo. The King of Han also had Zhang Liang send rich presents to Xiang Bo so he might plead for the Hanzhong basin. Xiang Yu agreed. As the King of Han set out for his domain, Zhang Liang accompanied him to Baozhong; the king then sent him back to serve Han Cheng. Zhang Liang urged him to burn the plank roads through the mountains to signal that he would not march east again, lulling Xiang Yu into complacency. The king sent him on his way. Zhang Liang burned the roads as he withdrew.
12
良歸至韓，聞項羽以良從漢王故，不遣韓王成之國，與俱東，至彭城殺之。 時漢王還定三秦，良乃遺項羽書曰：「漢王失職，欲得關中，如約即止，不敢復東。」 又以齊反書遺羽，曰：「齊與趙欲并滅楚。」 項羽以故北擊齊。
Back in Han he learned that Xiang Yu, resenting his service to the King of Han, had refused to let King Han Cheng take up his throne, escorted him east, and executed him at Pengcheng. Meanwhile the King of Han was reconquering the Three Qin; Zhang Liang wrote to Xiang Yu, "The King of Han has lost his post and wishes to obtain Guanzhong; according to the agreement he will stop there and dare not march east again." He also sent Xiang Yu a letter reporting Qi's rebellion, saying, "Qi and Zhao wish together to destroy Chu." Xiang Yu therefore turned north against Qi.
13
良乃間行歸漢。 漢王以良為成信侯，從東擊楚。 至彭城，漢王兵敗而還。 至下邑，漢王下馬踞鞍而問曰：「吾欲捐關已東等棄之，誰可與共功者？」 良曰：「九江王布，楚梟將，與項王有隙，彭越與齊王田榮反梁地，此兩人可急使。 而漢王之將獨韓信可屬大事，當一面。 即欲捐之，捐之此三人，楚可破也。」 漢王乃遣隨何說九江王布，而使人連彭越。 及魏王豹反，使韓信特將北擊之，因舉燕、伐、齊、趙。 然卒破楚者，此三人力也。
Zhang Liang slipped back to the King of Han by hidden paths. The King of Han enfeoffed him as Marquis of Chengxin and took him east against Chu. At Pengcheng the Han army was shattered and fell back. At Xiayi the King of Han slid from his saddle, straddled it, and asked, "I am ready to yield everything east of the passes—who can help me win it back?" Zhang Liang answered, "Ying Bu of Jiujiang is Chu's most feared commander and bears a grudge against Xiang Yu; Peng Yue and King Qi Tian Rong hold the Liang region in revolt—those two you must enlist at once. Of your own captains only Han Xin can shoulder a major front alone. If you are willing to give up land, give it to these three and Chu can be destroyed." The King of Han dispatched Sui He to win over Ying Bu and sent envoys to coordinate with Peng Yue. When Wei Bao rebelled, he gave Han Xin an independent northern command; Han Xin went on to overrun Yan, Dai, Qi, and Zhao. In the end it was these three who broke Chu's power.
14
良多病，未嘗特將兵，常為畫策臣，時時從。
Zhang Liang was frequently unwell and never held sole field command; he remained a strategist at the king's side, joining campaigns when his health allowed.
15
漢三年，項羽急圍漢王於滎陽，漢王憂恐，與酈食其謀橈楚權。 酈生曰：「昔湯伐桀，封其後杞； 武王誅紂，封其後宋。 今秦無道，伐滅六國，無立錐之地。 陛下誠復立六國後，此皆爭戴陛下德義，願為臣妾。 德義已行，南面稱伯，楚必斂衽而朝。」 漢王曰：「善。 趣刻印，先生因行佩之。」
In Han's third year Xiang Yu had the King of Han tightly bottled up at Yingyang. Beset with fear, the king turned to Li Yiji for a way to sap Chu's strength. Li Yiji said, "When Tang of Shang overthrew Jie, he gave Jie's line a fief at Qi. When King Wu of Zhou cut down King Zhou of Shang, he let the Shang house survive at Song. Qin behaved like a tyrant: it wiped out the six kingdoms and left their royal lines landless. If you truly restore those royal houses, their heirs will vie to praise your virtue and gladly call themselves your subjects. Once your righteousness is known, you can face south as sovereign of the realm, and Chu will have to straighten its robes and pay homage." The King of Han said, "Excellent. Have the seals cut at once, Master, and take them on your rounds to bestow."
16
酈生未行，良從外來謁漢王。 漢王方食，曰：「客有為我計橈楚權者。」 具以酈生計告良曰：「於子房何如？」 良曰：「誰為陛下畫此計者？ 陛下事去矣。」 漢王曰：「何哉？」 良曰：「臣請借前箸以籌之。 昔湯武伐桀紂封其後者，度能制其死命也。 今陛下能制項籍死命乎？ 其不可一矣。 武王入殷，表商容閭，式箕子門，封比干墓，今陛下能乎？ 其不可二矣。 發鉅橋之粟，散鹿臺之財，以賜貧窮，今陛下能乎？ 其不可三矣。 殷事以畢，偃革為軒，倒載干戈，示不復用，今陛下能乎？ 其不可四矣。 休馬華山之陽，示無所為，今陛下能乎？ 其不可五矣。 息牛桃林之野，示天下不復輸積，今陛下能乎？ 其不可六矣。 且夫天下游士，左親戚，棄墳墓，去故舊，從陛下者，但日夜望咫尺之地。 今乃立六國後，唯無復立者，游士各歸事其主，從親戚，反故舊，陛下誰與取天下乎？ 其不可七矣。 且楚唯毋彊，六國復橈而從之，陛下焉得而臣之？ 其不可八矣。 誠用此謀，陛下事去矣。」 漢王輟食吐哺，罵曰：「豎儒，幾敗乃公事！」 令趣銷印。
Before Li Yiji could leave, Zhang Liang arrived from outside to see the king. The king was at table and said, "Someone has brought me a scheme to undercut Xiang Yu." He laid out Li Yiji's proposal and asked, "What do you think, Zifang?" Zhang Liang asked, "Who devised this plan for Your Majesty? Your Majesty's cause is lost." "How can that be?" the king demanded. Zhang Liang said, "May I use your chopsticks as counters? Tang and Wu could enfeoff the tyrants' heirs only because they already held absolute power over them. Can you dictate Xiang Yu's fate the way they could? That is the first reason it will not work. King Wu honored worthy enemies of Zhou—can you match those gestures today? Second impossibility. He opened the granaries and gave the hoarded wealth to the people—can you afford that now? Third impossibility. When the war ended he melted the weapons into ploughshares—can you declare peace finished? Fourth impossibility. He pastured the warhorses on Mount Hua's sunny slopes to show the world the sword was sheathed—can you? Fifth impossibility. He turned the draft oxen loose in Taolin to signal that no more levies of grain would march to war—can you? Sixth impossibility. Your army of adventurers gave up home and family to follow you for one reason: they expect a slice of land when the fighting stops. Restore six old royal lines, and every strategist still at your side will drift back to lords who can actually reward them—who then helps you win the realm? Seventh impossibility. Worse, if Chu stays strong while those new kings look to Xiang Yu for protection, how will you ever bring them to heel? Eighth impossibility. Adopt this counsel and your cause is finished." The king pushed his meal aside, spat out his mouthful, and swore, "That blasted pedant nearly wrecked everything I have built!" He ordered the new seals destroyed immediately.
17
後韓信破齊欲自立為齊王，漢王怒。 良說漢王，漢王使良授齊王信印。 語在信傳。
Later Han Xin crushed Qi and demanded to be named its king; the King of Han was furious. Zhang Liang talked him round, and the king sent Zhang Liang to invest Han Xin as king of Qi. The details are recorded in Han Xin's memoir.
18
五年冬，漢王追楚至陽夏南，戰不利，壁固陵，諸侯期不至。 良說漢王，漢王用其計，諸侯皆至。 語在高紀。
In the fifth year, winter, the King of Han chased Chu to the south of Yangxia, lost the engagement, dug in at Guling, and waited in vain for his allies. Zhang Liang proposed a stratagem; the king adopted it and the coalition forces appeared. The full story is told in Emperor Gao's annals.
19
漢六年，封功臣。 良未嘗有戰鬥功，高帝曰：「運籌策帷幄中，決勝千里外，子房功也。 自擇齊三萬戶。」 良曰：「始臣起下邳，與上會留，此天以臣授陛下。 陛下用臣計，幸而時中，臣願封留足矣，不敢當三萬戶。」 乃封良為留侯，與蕭何等俱封。
In Han's sixth year the throne began enfeoffing those who had earned it. Zhang Liang had never led troops in the field. The High Emperor said, "Victory was decided in the command tent a thousand li from the battlefield—that was Zifang's work. Take any thirty thousand households you wish in Qi." Zhang Liang said, "When I first joined you at Liu, heaven was handing me to you as a tool. Your strategies sometimes chanced to succeed; I ask only for the marquisate of Liu—I could not presume on thirty thousand households." The emperor made him Marquis of Liu alongside Xiao He and the rest.
20
上已封大功臣二十餘人，其餘日夜爭功而不決，未得行封。 上居雒陽南宮，從復道望見諸將往往數人偶語。 上曰：「此何語？」 良曰：「陛下不知乎？ 此謀反耳。」 上曰：「天下屬安定，何故而反？」 良曰：「陛下起布衣，與此屬取天下，今陛下已為天子，而所封皆蕭、曹故人所親愛，而所誅者皆平生仇怨。 今軍吏計功，天下不足以遍封，此屬畏陛下不能盡封，又恐見疑過失及誅，故相聚而謀反耳。」 上乃憂曰：「為將柰何？」 良曰：「上平生所憎，群臣所共知，誰最甚者？」 上曰：「雍齒與我有故怨，數窘辱我，我欲殺之，為功多，不忍。」 良曰：「今急先封雍齒，以示群臣，群臣見雍齒先封，則人人自堅矣。」 於是上置酒，封雍齒為什方侯，而急趣丞相御史定功行封。 群臣罷酒，皆喜曰：「雍齒且侯，我屬無患矣。」
More than twenty chief generals were already titled, but the remainder wrangled over precedence day and night, so no further patents could be issued. From a gallery of the Southern Palace at Luoyang he watched clusters of officers muttering in corners. The emperor said, "What are they saying?" Zhang Liang said, "Can you not guess? They are talking treason." The emperor protested, "The empire is at peace—why should they turn traitor?" Zhang Liang answered, "You began as a commoner and won the realm with these men. Now you are emperor, yet the new nobles are your old cronies from Pei while everyone you execute is someone you have long hated. They keep tally of their deeds, and there is not enough land in China to pay them all. They are afraid you will not reward everyone and even more afraid a slip will cost their heads—so they huddle and scheme." The emperor said anxiously, "What should I do about them?" Zhang Liang asked, "Of all the men you personally detest, whom do your officers know you despise most?" He answered, "Yong Chi and I go way back as enemies; he has humiliated me again and again. I have long wanted him dead, yet his service was too great to ignore." Zhang Liang said, "Give Yong Chi a patent first, and publicly. Once they see even Yong Chi ennobled, every man will feel secure." The emperor held a banquet, named Yong Chi marquis of Shifang, and told his ministers to hurry the rolls of merit. When the drinking ended the captains said to one another, "If Yong Chi gets a fief, the rest of us are safe."
21
劉敬說上都關中，上疑之。 左右大臣皆山東人，多勸上都雒陽：「雒陽東有成皋，西有殽黽，背河鄉雒，其固亦足恃。」 良曰：「雒陽雖有此固，其中小，不過數百里，田地薄，四面受敵，此非用武之國。 夫關中左殽函，右隴蜀，沃野千里，南有巴蜀之饒，北有胡苑之利，阻三面而固守，獨以一面東制諸侯。 諸侯安定，河、渭漕輓天下，西給京師； 諸侯有變，順流而下，足以委輸。 此所謂金城千里，天府之國。 劉敬說是也。」 於是上即日駕，西都關中。
Liu Jing urged him to move the capital into the passes; the emperor was unsure. Most of his council were easterners who urged making the capital at Luoyang: "Luoyang has Chenggao to the east, the Yao and Min defiles to the west, with the Yellow River at your back and the Luo before you—surely that is strong enough." Zhang Liang replied, "Luoyang has those barriers, yet its interior is cramped, its farmland poor, and it receives enemies on every side—this is not a state for wielding military force. The Guanzhong basin is boxed by Yao and Han on the left, Long and Shu on the right, with a thousand li of rich soil, the wealth of Ba and Shu to the south, and the horse country of the steppe to the north. Three sides are shielded by nature; you need only face east toward your vassals. In peace the Wei and Yellow River canals can float tribute to the capital; in revolt you can float supplies downriver against them. That is the true "city of bronze walls" and "treasury heaven built. Liu Jing is right." The emperor struck camp the same day and moved the seat of power west into the passes.
22
良從入關，性多疾，即道引不食穀，閉門不出歲餘。
Zhang Liang followed him in but was chronically ill; he took up breathing exercises, gave up grain, and kept to his house for over a year.
23
上欲廢太子，立戚夫人子趙王如意。 大臣多爭，未能得堅決也。 呂后恐，不知所為。 或謂呂后曰：「留侯善畫計，上信用之。」 呂后乃使建成侯呂澤劫良，曰：「君常為上謀臣，今上日欲易太子，君安得高枕而臥？」 良曰：「始上數在急困之中，幸用臣策； 今天下安定，以愛欲易太子，骨肉之間，雖臣等百人何益！」 呂澤彊要曰：「為我畫計。」 良曰：「此難以口舌爭也。 顧上有所不能致者四人。 四人年老矣，皆以上嫚厉士，故逃匿山中，義不為漢臣。 然上高此四人。 今公誠能毋愛金玉璧帛，令太子為書，卑辭安車，因使辨士固請，宜來。 來，以為客，時從入朝，令上見之，則一助也。」 於是呂后令呂澤使人奉太子書，卑辭厚禮，迎此四人。 四人至，客建成侯所。
The emperor wanted to replace the crown prince with the son of Lady Qi, Prince Ruyi of Zhao. His ministers argued fiercely, yet he would not drop the idea. Empress Lü was frantic and saw no way out. Someone told her, "Zhang Liang still plots the subtlest schemes, and the emperor listens to him." She sent her brother Lü Ze to corner Zhang Liang and demand, "You have always been his strategist; now he means to swap the heir every day—how can you stay in bed?" Zhang Liang answered, "In the old days of danger he needed my counsel. Now the realm is quiet, yet he would tear up the succession for a whim of the heart. That is a family quarrel; a hundred ministers like me cannot sway it." Lü Ze would not let him go: "You must give us a plan." Zhang Liang said, "This cannot be argued in words. There are four elders whom the emperor has tried in vain to court. They are aged recluses who fled to the hills because they despised his rough treatment of scholars and refuse to serve Han. Yet nothing would please him more than to have them at court. Spend freely from the privy purse: have the crown prince send a letter of deepest humility, dispatch a cushioned carriage, and send an eloquent envoy to beg them—they will come. Install them as the prince's tutors and march them into an audience—one glimpse may be enough to give the emperor pause." Empress Lü had Lü Ze send messengers with the prince's letter, rich gifts, and humble pleas. The four elders arrived and lodged with Lü Ze.
24
漢十二年，上從破布歸，疾益甚，愈欲易太子。 良諫不聽，因疾不視事。 叔孫太傅稱說引古，以死爭太子。 上陽許之，猶欲易之。 及宴，置酒，太子侍。 四人者從太子，年皆八十有餘，須眉皓白，衣冠甚偉。 上怪，問曰：「何為者？」 四人前對，各言其姓名。 上乃驚曰：「吾求公，避逃我，今公何自從吾兒游乎？」 四人曰：「陛下輕士善罵，臣等義不辱，故恐而亡匿。 今聞太子仁孝，恭敬愛士，天下莫不延頸願為太子死者，故臣等來。」 上曰：「煩公幸卒調護太子。」
In Han's twelfth year, returning from the campaign against Ying Bu, the emperor fell gravely ill and only pressed harder to replace the heir. Zhang Liang protested in vain, then pleaded illness and withdrew from government. Grand Tutor Sunshu Tong lectured him with classical precedents and offered his life to save the succession. The emperor pretended to agree yet meant to go through with the change. At a palace banquet the crown prince stood attendance. Four white-haired men over eighty walked in his train, their hair and brows snow-white, their dress imposing. The emperor wondered and asked, "What are they?" They stepped forward and gave their names. The emperor exclaimed, "I searched everywhere for you; you hid from me—why do you walk with my son?" They answered, "You scorned men of learning and loved to abuse them; we would not endure the humiliation and fled. We hear the crown prince is humane, dutiful, and reverent toward scholars; the whole realm strains to die for him—so we came." The emperor said, "Then I beg you to watch over him for me."
25
四人為壽已畢，趨去。 上目送之，召戚夫人指視曰：「我欲易之，彼四人為之輔，羽翼已成，難動矣。 呂氏真乃主矣。」 戚夫人泣涕，上曰：「為我楚舞，吾為若楚歌。」 歌曰：「鴻鵠高飛，一舉千里。 羽翼以就，橫絕四海。 橫絕四海，又可奈何！ 雖有矰繳，尚安所施！」 歌數闋，戚夫人歔欷流涕，上起去，罷酒。 竟不易太子者，良本招此四人之力也。
When the toasts were done, the four elders withdrew in haste. He watched them go, then called Lady Qi over and said, "I meant to change the heir, but those four old men stand behind him now; his party is full-grown—I cannot touch him. The Lü family will rule this house after all." Lady Qi wept; the emperor said, "Dance the Chu dance for me; I will sing a Chu song for you." His song ran, "The wild swan beats upward—one stroke, a thousand li. Its pinions are set; it rides the wind across the seas. It spans the four seas—what can you do? Though you string the zeng bolts, what target is left to strike!" He sang verse after verse; Lady Qi wept into her sleeves. The emperor rose, cut short the banquet, and left. The crown prince was never deposed because Zhang Liang had brought those four men into play.
26
良始所見下邳圯上老父與書者，後十三歲從高帝過濟北，果得穀城山下黃石，取而寶祠之。 及良死，并葬黃石。 每上冢伏臘祠黃石。
The greybeard who met him on the Xiapi bridge and gave him a book—thirteen years later, marching with the High Emperor through northern Ji, Zhang Liang found the yellow stone beneath Mount Gucheng as foretold, took it home, and honored it like a tutelary god. When he died, that stone was laid in his tomb with him. Every New Year and midsummer offering at his grave, the family sacrificed to the stone as well.
27
子不疑嗣侯。 孝文三年坐不敬，國除。
His son Zhang Buyi succeeded to the title. In the third year of Emperor Wen he lost the fief for an offense of disrespect.
28
陳平，陽武戶牖鄉人也。 少時家貧，好讀書，治黃帝、老子之術。 有田三十畝，與兄伯居。 伯常耕田，縱平使游學。 平為人長大美色，人或謂平：「貧何食而肥若是？」 其嫂疾平之不親家生產，曰：「亦食糠覈耳。 有叔如此，不如無有！」 伯聞之，逐其婦棄之。
Chen Ping came from Huyou township in Yangwu county. He grew up in want but loved books and steeped himself in the teachings of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi. He held thirty mu of land and lived with his older brother Bo. Bo worked the soil himself and freed Chen Ping to travel and study. Ping as a man was tall and handsome in appearance; someone said to Ping, "Being poor, what do you eat to be fat like this?" His sister-in-law resented his refusal to work the land and sneered, "He lives on bran and husks alone. An uncle like that is worse than none at all!" Bo heard her, cast her out, and divorced her.
29
及平長，可取婦，富人莫與者，貧者平亦媿之。 久之，戶牖富人張負有女孫，五嫁夫輒死，人莫敢取，平欲得之。 邑中有大喪，平家貧侍喪，以先往後罷為助。 張負既見之喪所，獨視偉平，平亦以故後去。 負隨平至其家，家乃負郭窮巷，以席為門，然門外多長者車轍。 張負歸，謂其子仲曰：「吾欲以女孫予陳平。」 仲曰：「平貧不事事，一縣中盡笑其所為，獨柰何予之女？」 負曰：「固有美如陳平長貧者乎？」 卒與女。 為平貧，乃假貸幣以聘，予酒肉之資以內婦。 負戒其孫曰：「毋以貧故，事人不謹。 事兄伯如事乃父，事嫂如事乃母。」 平既取張氏女，資用益饒，游道日廣。
When it was time to marry, rich families would have none of him, and he scorned to wed down into poverty. Eventually Zhang Fu, a wealthy neighbor, had a granddaughter whose five husbands had all died young; no one would wed her, and Chen Ping set his heart on the match. A great house in the district held a funeral; though poor, Chen Ping served as a hired mourner, always first to arrive and last to leave. Zhang Fu noticed him at the wake and marked him as extraordinary; Chen Ping lingered on purpose. Zhang Fu followed him home—a hovel outside the city wall with a reed mat for a door—yet the lane was scored with the wheels of visiting notables. He told his son Zhong, "I mean to give my granddaughter to Chen Ping." Zhong objected, "The whole town mocks that idler—why give him our girl?" Zhang Fu answered, "Can a man of such bearing stay poor forever?" In the end he gave him the bride. He lent him bride-price money and paid for the wedding feast himself. He warned the bride, "Do not slack in duty because your husband is poor. Honor Bo as you would a father and his wife as you would a mother." Once married into the Zhangs, Chen Ping had money to spare and his circle widened.
30
里中社，平為宰，分肉甚均。 里父老曰：「善，陳孺子之為宰！」 平曰：「嗟乎，使平得宰天下，亦如此肉矣！」
When the hamlet sacrificed to the soil god, Chen Ping carved the sacrificial meat and portioned it with perfect fairness. The elders praised him: "Well done, young Chen, as master of the feast!" Chen Ping laughed and said, "If I ever carved up the empire, I would wield the knife just as evenly!"
31
陳涉起王，使周市略地，立魏咎為魏王，與秦軍相攻於臨濟。 平已前謝兄伯，從少年往事魏王咎，為太僕。 說魏王，王不聽。 人或讒之，平亡去。
When Chen She declared himself king, Zhou Shi campaigned in the east, set Wei Jiu on the throne of Wei, and met the Qin army at Linji. Chen Ping had said farewell to Bo and joined other youths in Wei Jiu's service as grand coachman. He offered counsel; the king ignored it. Slander reached the king, and Chen Ping slipped away.
32
項羽略地至河上，平往歸之，從入破秦，賜爵卿。 項羽之東王彭城也，漢王還定三秦而東。 殷王反楚，項羽乃以平為信武君，將魏王客在楚者往擊，殷降而還。 項王使項悍拜平為都尉，賜金二十溢。 居無何，漢攻下殷。 項王怒，將誅定殷者。 平懼誅，乃封其金與印，使使歸項王，而平身間行杖劍亡。 度河，船人見其美丈夫，獨行，疑其亡將，要下當有寶器金玉，目之，欲殺平。 平心恐，乃解衣臝而佐刺船。 船人知其無有，乃止。
When Xiang Yu's host reached the Yellow River, Chen Ping entered his camp, followed him into the Guanzhong heartland, and was ennobled as a "minister" rank lord. Xiang Yu moved east to his capital at Pengcheng while the King of Han reconquered the Three Qin and marched eastward. When the King of Yin turned on Chu, Xiang Yu named Chen Ping Lord Xinwu and sent him with Wei retainers to crush the revolt; Yin submitted and they withdrew. Xiang Yu had Xiang Han confirm him as commandant and showered him with twenty yi of gold. Soon afterward Han forces captured Yin. Xiang Yu raged and prepared to execute everyone involved in the Yin campaign. Chen Ping feared the headsman's axe: he boxed up his gold and seal, sent them back to Xiang Yu by courier, and fled alone with nothing but his sword. At the crossing the ferryman saw a lone handsome traveler, guessed he was a routed commander laden with loot, and meant to rob and kill him. Chen Ping stripped to the skin and took up an oar to help row, showing he had nothing to steal. Seeing he owned nothing, the boatman let him be.
33
平遂至脩武降漢，因魏無知求見漢王，漢王召入。 是時，萬石君石奮為中涓，受平謁。 平等十人俱進，賜食。 王曰：「罷，就舍矣。」 平曰：「臣為事來，所言不可以過今日。」 於是漢王與語而說之，問曰：「子居楚何官？」 平曰：「為都尉。」 是日拜平為都尉，使參乘，典護軍。 諸將盡讙，曰：「大王一日得楚之亡卒，未知高下，而即與共載，使監護長者！」 漢王聞之，愈益幸平，遂與東伐項王。 至彭城，為楚所敗，引師而還。 收散兵至滎陽，以平為亞將，屬韓王信，軍廣武。
He made his way to Xiuwu, surrendered to Han, and through Wei Wuzhi gained an audience with the King of Han. Shi Fen, the future "Lord of Ten Thousand Bushels," was then a palace usher and took his card. Chen Ping and nine other newcomers were fed together. The king said, "That will do—go to your quarters." Chen Ping replied, "I came on urgent business; if it waits until tomorrow, it is too late." The King of Han spoke with him and was pleased, and asked, "What office did you hold in Chu?" Chen Ping said, "I was a commandant." The same day the king named him commandant, seated him as guard on the royal chariot, and put him over army security. The generals all clamored, saying, "The great king in one day obtained a Chu fugitive soldier, not yet knowing whether he is worthy, yet immediately shares a carriage with him and makes him oversee veteran commanders!" The king only prized him the more and took him east against Xiang Yu. At Pengcheng Chu shattered the Han army and drove it back. Chen Ping rallied the fugitives at Yingyang; the king made him lieutenant-general under King Xin of Han and stationed the line at Guangwu.
34
絳、灌等或讒平曰：「平雖美丈夫，如冠玉耳，其中未必有也。 聞平居家時盜其嫂； 事魏王不容，亡而歸楚； 歸楚不中，又亡歸漢。 今大王尊官之，令護軍。 臣聞平使諸將，金多者得善處，金少者得惡處。 平，反覆亂臣也，願王察之。」 漢王疑之，以讓無知，問曰：「有之乎？」 無知曰：「有。」 漢王曰：「
Zhou Bo of Jiang and Guan Ying and others slandered Ping, saying, "Although Ping is a handsome man, he is like a jade cap-ornament; inside there may not be anything. They claimed he had seduced his sister-in-law at home; Wei Jiu would not keep him, so he fled to Chu; Chu did not suit him either, so he ran to Han. Now you give him high rank and the keys to your camp. They say he sells appointments—gold buys a soft billet, poverty earns the front line. Chen Ping is a time-server, sire—look closely before you trust him." The King of Han suspected this and rebuked Wei Wuzhi, asking, "Is it so?" Wei Wuzhi said, "It is so." "The King of Han said,
35
公言其賢人何也？」 對曰：「臣之所言者，能也； 陛下所問者，行也。 今有尾生、孝已之行，而無益於勝敗之數，陛下何暇用之乎？ 今楚漢相距，臣進奇謀之士，顧其計誠足以利國家耳。 盜嫂受金又安足疑乎？」 漢王召平而問曰：「吾聞先生事魏不遂，事楚而去，今又從吾游，信者固多心乎？」 平曰：「臣事魏王，魏王不能用臣說，故去事項王。 項王不信人，其所任愛，非諸項即妻之昆弟，雖有奇士不能用。 臣居楚聞漢王之能用人，故歸大王。 臝身來，不受金無以為資。 誠臣計畫有可采者，願大王用之； 使無可用者，大王所賜金具在，請封輸官，得請骸骨。」 漢王乃謝，厚賜，拜以為護軍中尉，盡護諸將。 諸將乃不敢復言。
You praised him as a worthy—why?" Wei Wuzhi replied, "I spoke of his talent; you ask about his morals. Suppose a man had the constancy of Weisheng and the filial piety of Xiaoji yet could not tip the scales of war—would you have time for him? Chu and Han are locked in stalemate; I recommend a strategist whose schemes must help the realm. Gossip about his sister-in-law or bribes is beside the point." The king then called Chen Ping in and said, "You failed Wei, quit Chu, and now follow me—is loyalty so changeable?" Chen Ping answered, "Wei Jiu would not heed my advice, so I went to Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu trusts only his clan and his wife's kin; no outsider, however brilliant, gets a hearing. I heard that you know how to use men, and crossed to your side. I arrived empty-handed; without your gold I could not pay messengers or agents. If any counsel of mine is sound, use it; If not, every coin you gave lies sealed in its chest—take it back for the treasury and take my head as well." The king apologized, heaped more gold on him, named him chief commandant of the guard, and set him over every captain. The murmurs died away.
36
其後，楚急擊，絕漢甬道，圍漢王於滎陽城。 漢王患之，請割滎陽以西和。 項王弗聽。 漢王謂平曰：「天下紛紛，何時定乎？」 平曰：「項王為人，恭敬愛人，士之廉節好禮者多歸之。 至於行功賞爵邑，重之，士亦以此不附。 今大王嫚而少禮，士之廉節者不來； 然大王能饒人以爵邑，士之頑頓耆利無恥者亦多歸漢。 誠各去兩短，集兩長，天下指麾即定矣。 然大王資侮人，不能得廉節之士。 顧楚有可亂者，彼項王骨鯁之臣亞父、鍾離眛、龍且、周殷之屬，不過數人耳。 大王能出捐數萬斤金，行反間，間其君臣，以疑其心，項王為人意忌信讒，必內相誅。 漢因舉兵而攻之，破楚必矣。」 漢王以為然，乃出黃金四萬斤予平，恣所為，不問出入。
Later Chu stormed the supply road to Yingyang and penned the King of Han inside the walls. The king offered to yield everything west of Yingyang for a truce. Xiang Yu refused. The King of Han said to Chen Ping, "The realm is in turmoil; when will it be settled?" Chen Ping said, "Xiang Yu is courteous and kind; men of honor flock to him. Yet he grudges every fief and medal, so able men drift away. You are rough and scorn ceremony, so the high-minded keep their distance; but you scatter titles and land with a free hand, and the ambitious flock to Han. Merge his virtues with your generosity and you could settle the map with a gesture. Your own temper still drives the best men off. Still, Chu can be thrown into confusion. Xiang Yu leans on only a handful of iron-willed advisers—Fan Zeng, Zhongli Mo, Long Ju, Zhou Yin—and no others of their stamp. Pour gold into a whispering campaign: set his captains at odds with their king. Xiang Yu is suspicious by nature and swallows every rumor—you can make him slaughter his own pillars. Then you strike, and Chu will collapse." The king approved, handed Chen Ping forty thousand jin of gold, and told him to spend it freely with no receipts.
37
平既多以金縱反間於楚軍，宣言諸將鍾離眛等為項王將，功多矣，然終不得列地而王，欲與漢為一，以滅項氏，分王其地。 項王果疑之，使使至漢。 漢為太牢之具，舉進，見楚使，即陽驚曰：「
Chen Ping flooded Chu with gold and rumor: Zhongli Mo and the rest had won battle after battle for Xiang Yu yet never received a kingdom; they meant to defect to Han, wipe out the Xiangs, and carve up Chu among themselves. Xiang Yu took the bait and sent envoys west to sound Han out. "Han prepared a grand sacrifice of three beasts, raised the dishes to serve; when they saw the Chu envoy they feigned alarm and said,
38
以為亞父使，乃項王使也！」 復持去，以惡草具進楚使。 使歸，具以報項王，果大疑亞父。 亞父欲急擊下滎陽城，項王不信，不肯聽亞父。 亞父聞項王疑之，乃大怒曰：「天下事大定矣，君王自為之！ 願乞骸骨歸！」 歸未至彭城，疽發背而死。
We assumed you came from Fan Zeng—only an envoy from Xiang Yu!" They whisked the banquet away and fed him rough soldiers' rations instead. The man went home and repeated every insult; Xiang Yu's mistrust of Fan Zeng deepened overnight. Fan Zeng begged for an all-out assault on Yingyang; Xiang Yu no longer trusted him and refused the plan. When Fan Zeng learned he was under suspicion he shouted, "So be it—finish this war without me! I ask leave to go home an old man!" He never reached Pengcheng—a boil on his back killed him on the road.
39
平乃夜出女子二千人滎陽東門，楚因擊之。 平乃與漢王從城西門出去。 遂入關，收聚兵而復東。
Chen Ping slipped two thousand women out the east gate of Yingyang as a decoy; Chu threw its whole force at the diversion. In the confusion he shepherded the King of Han out the west gate. They slipped into Guanzhong, rallied the army, and marched east once more.
40
明年，淮陰侯信破齊，自立為假齊王，使使言之漢王。 漢王怒而罵，平躡漢王。 漢王寤，乃厚遇齊使，使張良往立信為齊王。 於是封平以戶牖鄉。 用其計策，卒滅楚。
The next year Han Xin destroyed Qi and proclaimed himself acting king of Qi, then sent messengers to announce it to Liu Bang. The king began to curse; Chen Ping kicked his ankle under the table. Liu Bang caught himself, feasted the envoys handsomely, and dispatched Zhang Liang to confirm Han Xin as king of Qi. For the stratagem he rewarded Chen Ping with the income of Huyou township. Those intrigues, followed through, brought Chu down for good.
41
漢六年，人有上書告楚王韓信反。 高帝問諸將，諸將曰：「亟發兵阬豎子耳。」 高帝默然。 以問平，平固辭謝，曰：「諸將云何？」 上具告之。 平曰：「人之上書言信反，人有聞知者乎？」 曰：「未有。」 曰：「信知之乎？」 曰：「弗知。」 平曰：「陛下兵精孰與楚？」 上曰：「不能過也。」 平曰：「陛下將用兵有能敵韓信者乎？」 上曰：「莫及也。」 平曰：「今兵不如楚精，將弗及，而舉兵擊之，是趣之戰也，竊為陛下危之。」 上曰：「為之柰何？」 平曰：「古者天子巡狩，會諸侯。 南方有雲夢，陛下弟出偽游雲夢，會諸侯於陳。 陳，楚之西界，信聞天子以好出游，其勢必郊迎謁。 而陛下因禽之，特一力士之事耳。」 高帝以為然，乃發使告諸侯會陳，「吾將南游雲夢」。 上因隨以行。 行至陳，楚王信果郊迎道中。 高帝豫具武士，見信，即執縛之。 語在信傳。
In Han's sixth year a memorial reached the throne accusing Han Xin, king of Chu, of treason. The emperor polled his marshals; they roared, "Mobilize at once and exterminate the whelp." The emperor said nothing. He turned to Chen Ping, who bowed off the question: "What did the generals advise?" Liu Bang repeated their answer. Chen Ping asked, "Among those who submitted memorials accusing Han Xin of rebellion, is there anyone who has heard and knows of it?" The emperor said, "Not yet." Chen Ping asked, "Does Han Xin know of it?" The emperor said, "He does not know." "How does your army stack up against Chu's at its peak?" Chen Ping asked. "We fall short," Liu Bang admitted. "Which of your commanders can outfight Han Xin?" "None of them," he said. Chen Ping said, "Then an open attack only drives him to revolt before you are ready—that would be suicide, sire." The emperor asked, "What is to be done about it?" Chen Ping said, "In antiquity the Son of Heaven toured on inspection and met the lords. South of the river lies the Yunmeng preserve—announce a pleasure hunt there and summon the lords to meet you at Chen. Chen is on Chu's western border; when Han Xin hears that the Son of Heaven loves to go on tours, he will surely come out to the suburbs to welcome and pay court. One burly guard can bind him before his escort knows what happened." The High Emperor thought it right; then he dispatched envoys telling the lords to meet at Chen, "I will tour Yunmeng to the south." He set out on the pretended tour. At Chen, King Han Xin met him beyond the walls as expected. Bodyguards hidden in the train seized and bound him on the spot. The rest is told in Han Xin's memoir.
42
遂會諸侯於陳。 還至雒陽，與功臣剖符定封，封平為戶牖侯，世世勿絕。 平辭曰：「此非臣之功也。」 上曰：「吾用先生計謀，戰勝克敵，非功而何？」 平曰：「非魏無知臣安得進？」 上曰：「若子可謂不背本矣！」 乃復賞魏無知。
He then held court with the feudal lords at Chen. Back in Luoyang he carved the tallies of enfeoffment and named Chen Ping Marquis of Huyou in perpetuity. Chen Ping demurred: "I do not deserve the credit." The emperor replied, "Your stratagems won my wars—if that is not merit, what is?" "Without Wei Wuzhi I would never have reached your presence," said Chen Ping. "A man who remembers who lifted him up," Liu Bang said with approval. He heaped fresh rewards on Wei Wuzhi as well.
43
其明年，平從擊韓王信於代。 至平城，為匈奴圍，七日不得食。 高帝用平奇計，使單于閼氏解，圍以得開。 高帝既出，其計祕，世莫得聞。 高帝南過曲逆，上其城，望室屋甚大，曰：「壯哉縣！ 吾行天下，獨見雒陽與是耳。」 顧問御史：「曲逆戶口幾何？」 對曰：「始秦時三萬餘戶，間者兵數起，多亡匿，今見五千餘戶。」 於是召御史，更封平為曲逆侯，盡食之，除前所食戶牖。
The next year Chen Ping accompanied the emperor on the campaign against King Xin of Han—the northern king whose fief was named Han—in Dai. At Pingcheng the Xiongnu ringed the Han camp and starved them for seven days. Chen Ping's secret stratagem moved the Chanyu's senior wife to plead for a lift of the siege. The emperor never revealed what was promised; the trick died with those who used it. Marching south he climbed the wall of Quyu, stared at the mansions below, and cried, "What a magnificent district! In all my travels I have seen nothing to match it but Luoyang itself." He turned and asked the imperial clerk, "How many households are registered in Quyu?" The reply ran, "Under Qin it held thirty thousand households; war after war drove people into hiding—only five thousand remain on the rolls." On the spot he transferred Chen Ping's patent to Quyu and granted him the entire district, revoking the old stipend from Huyou.
44
平自初從，至天下定後，常以護軍中尉從擊臧荼、陳豨、黥布。 凡六出奇計，輒益邑封。 奇計或頗祕，世莫得聞也。
From his first enlistment through the pacification of the empire Chen Ping served as chief commandant of the guard in the campaigns against Zang Tu, Chen Xi, and Ying Bu. Six times he devised a coup de main, and each time his fief grew. Several of those stratagems remain state secrets to this day.
45
高帝從擊布軍還，病創，徐行至長安。 燕王盧綰反，上使樊噲以相國將兵擊之。 既行，人有短惡噲者。 高帝怒曰：「噲見吾病，乃幾我死也！」 用平計，召絳侯周勃受詔床下，曰：「平乘馳傳載勃代噲將，平至軍中即斬噲頭！」 二人既受詔，馳傳未至軍，行計曰：「樊噲，帝之故人，功多，又呂后女弟呂須夫，有親且貴，帝以忿怒故欲斬之，即恐後悔。 寧囚而致上，令上自誅之。」 未至軍，為壇，以節召樊噲。 噲受詔，即反接，載檻車詣長安，而令周勃代將兵定燕。
Wounded on the Qing Bu campaign, the emperor limped back to Chang'an. When Lu Yan of Yan revolted, Liu Bang named Fan Kuai acting chancellor and sent him north with an army. No sooner had Fan Kuai marched than a whisperer poisoned the emperor's ear against him. The emperor snarled, "Fan Kuai thinks I am dying and means to seize power!" Using Chen Ping's plan, the High Emperor summoned Marquis of Jiang Zhou Bo to receive the edict at the bedside and said, "Chen Ping shall ride post-horses carrying Bo to replace Kuai as general; when Chen Ping reaches the army, immediately cut off Kuai's head!" The two men having received the edict, before they reached the army on the post-ride they deliberated, saying, "Fan Kuai is the emperor's old friend, his merit is great, and he is the husband of Empress Lü's younger sister Lü Xu—close kin and honored; the emperor because of anger wishes to kill him—we fear he will regret it afterward. Better bind him and haul him to the capital and let Liu Bang decide." They halted short of the army, raised a small platform, and used the tally to summon Fan Kuai to audience. Fan Kuai accepted the summons, was trussed and packed into a cage-cart for Chang'an, while Zhou Bo took command and finished the Yan campaign.
46
平行聞高帝崩，平恐呂后及呂須怒，乃馳傳先去。 逢使者詔平與灌嬰屯於滎陽。 平受詔，立復馳至宮，哭殊悲，因奏事喪前。 呂后哀之，曰：「君出休矣！」 平畏讒之就，因固請之，得宿衛中。 太后乃以為郎中令，日傅教帝。 是後呂須讒乃不得行。 樊噲至，即赦復爵邑。
Word of the emperor's death overtook Chen Ping on the road; fearing Lü Zhi and her sister, he raced ahead of the main party to the capital. Couriers met him with orders to join Guan Ying in garrisoning Yingyang. He accepted the writ, then wheeled his horses straight to the palace, threw himself weeping on the coffin, and reported his mission before the corpse. Empress Lü pitied him and said, "Sir, go out and rest!" Chen Ping insisted on standing night watch inside the palace so no one could accuse him of disloyalty during the succession crisis. She named him superintendent of the palace gentlemen and tutor to the boy emperor. That post shielded him from Lü Xu's malice. When Fan Kuai reached Chang'an he was pardoned and his titles restored.
47
王陵，沛人也。 始為縣豪，高祖微時兄事陵。 及高祖起沛，入咸陽，陵亦聚黨數千人，居南陽，不肯從沛公。 及漢王之還擊項籍，陵乃以兵屬漢。 項羽取陵母置軍中，陵使至，則東鄉坐陵母，欲以招陵。 陵母既私送使者，泣曰：「願為老妾語陵，善事漢王。 漢王長者，毋以老妾故持二心。 妾以死送使者。」 遂伏劍而死。 項王怒，亨陵母。 陵卒從漢王定天下。 以善雍齒，雍齒，高祖之仇，陵又本無從漢之意，以故後封陵，為安國侯。
Wang Ling came from Pei county. He had been a local power broker; in Liu Bang's lean years Wang Ling was the man Liu honored as an elder. When Liu Bang first rebelled Wang Ling raised thousands of his own and sat in Nanyang, refusing to join the Lord of Pei. Only when the King of Han turned east against Xiang Yu did Wang Ling bring his command under Han. Xiang Yu seized Wang Ling's mother and held her hostage; when Han envoys arrived he seated the old woman in the seat of honor to lure her son. She slipped out to the envoy in secret and wept, "Give my son this message: serve the King of Han faithfully. The King of Han is a worthy man; do not on my account hold two hearts. I will buy you time with my life." This old woman dies to speed the envoy on his way. Xiang Yu flew into a rage and had her corpse boiled. Wang Ling still finished the war at Liu Bang's side. Liu Bang resented his old ties to Yong Chi, Gaozu's bitter foe, and his reluctance to enlist early, so Wang Ling was among the last enfeoffed—as marquis of Anguo.
48
陵為人少文任氣，好直言。 為右丞相二歲，惠帝崩。 高后欲立諸呂為王，問陵。 陵曰：「高皇帝刑白馬而盟曰：『非劉氏而王者，天下共擊之。』 今王呂氏，非約也。」 太后不說。 問丞相平及絳侯周勃等，皆曰：「高帝定天下，王子弟； 今太后稱制，欲王昆弟諸呂，無所不可。」 太后喜。 罷朝，陵讓平、勃曰：「始與高帝唼血而盟，諸君不在邪？ 今高帝崩，太后女主，欲王呂氏，諸君縱欲阿意背約，何面目見高帝於地下乎！」 平曰：「於面折廷爭，臣不如君； 全社稷，定劉氏後，君亦不如臣。」 陵無以應之。 於是呂太后欲廢陵，乃陽遷陵為帝太傅，實奪之相權。 陵怒，謝病免，杜門竟不朝請，十年而薨。
Wang Ling was blunt, proud, and plain-spoken—little given to literary polish. He served two years as right chancellor before Emperor Hui died. Empress Dowager Lü meant to make her kinsmen kings and sounded Wang Ling out. Wang Ling answered, "The High Emperor swore over a white horse that any non-Liu who took the title of king would be attacked by the whole realm. Elevating the Lüs would violate that blood oath." The empress dowager's face darkened. She polled Chen Ping and Zhou Bo: both said, "The High Emperor enfeoffed his own kin when he won the empire. Now the empress dowager rules in her own name and wants the Lü brothers made kings—who are we to object?" The empress dowager brightened at the answer. After court Wang Ling cornered them: "We tasted blood with the High Emperor in the old oath—were you not there? Now he is gone and a woman means to make the Lüs kings of the realm. If you truckle to her and break the oath, what will you say to him in the grave?" Chen Ping said, "In blunt argument on the palace steps I am no match for you. In saving the dynasty and securing the Liu line, you cannot match me." Wang Ling had no reply. Empress Lü meant to be rid of him: she "promoted" him to grand tutor to the boy emperor, a hollow title that stripped him of real power. Wang Ling resigned in a fury, pleaded illness, and never crossed his threshold for court again; he died ten years later.
49
陵之免，呂太后徙平為右丞相，以辟陽侯審食其為左丞相。 食其亦沛人也。 漢王之敗彭城西，楚取太上皇、呂后為質，食其以舍人侍呂后。 其後從破項籍為侯，幸於呂太后。 及為相，不治，監宮中，如郎中令，公卿百官皆因決事。
With Wang Ling gone, Lü Zhi moved Chen Ping to the right chancellorship and named Shen Yiji of Biyang as left chancellor. Shen Yiji was another Pei county man. After the rout at Pengcheng, when Xiang Yu held Liu Bang's father and wife hostage, Shen Yiji served as Empress Lü's household steward in captivity. He followed the Han cause through the fall of Xiang Yu, won a marquisate, and became the empress dowager's intimate. As chancellor he ignored the ministries and ran the inner palace like a chamberlain; every edict passed through his hands.
50
呂須常以平前為高帝謀執樊噲，數讒平曰：「為丞相不治事，日飲醇酒，戲婦人。」 平聞，日益甚。 呂太后聞之，私喜。 面質呂須於平前，曰：「鄙語曰『兒婦人口不可用』，顧君與我何如耳，無畏呂須之譖。」
Lü Xu often slandered Chen Ping because he had earlier plotted for the High Emperor to seize Fan Kuai, saying, "As chancellor he does not attend to affairs; daily he drinks fine wine and dallies with women." Chen Ping heard the gossip—and behaved even more dissolutely. Empress Lü was privately delighted: a drunken chancellor posed no threat. She summoned Lü Xu before Chen Ping and snapped, "They say never trust women's gossip—between you and me there is no room for these whispers."
51
呂太后多立諸呂為王，平偽聽之。 及呂太后崩，平與太尉勃合謀，卒誅諸呂，立文帝，平本謀也。 審食其免相，文帝立，舉以為相。
As she enfeoffed one Lü kinsman after another, Chen Ping bowed and assented. When she died, Chen Ping and Grand Commandant Zhou Bo struck together, extirpated the Lü clan, and enthroned Emperor Wen—the plot was Chen Ping's design. Shen Yiji lost his post; once Emperor Wen sat the throne, Chen Ping was raised to sole chancellor.
52
太尉勃親以兵誅呂氏，功多； 平欲讓勃位，乃謝病。 文帝初立，怪平病，問之。 平曰：「高帝時，勃功不如臣； 及誅諸呂，臣功亦不如勃。 願以相讓勃。」 於是乃以太尉勃為右丞相，位第一； 平徙為左丞相，位第二。 賜平金千斤，益封三千戶。
Zhou Bo personally led the troops that butchered the Lüs—his was the greater martial feat. Chen Ping meant to cede the premiership to him and pleaded illness. Emperor Wen noticed Chen Ping's sudden "illness" and asked what ailed him. Chen Ping said, "Under the High Emperor my record outshone Zhou Bo's. In the coup against the Lüs he surpassed me. The right chancellorship should be his." Zhou Bo was named right chancellor, first in precedence; Chen Ping moved to the left, second in rank. The court also gave Chen Ping a thousand jin of gold and three thousand extra households.
53
居頃之，上益明習國家事，朝而問右丞相勃曰：「天下一歲決獄幾何？」 勃謝不知。 問「天下錢穀一歲出入幾何？」 勃又謝不知。 汗出洽背，媿不能對。 上亦問左丞相平。 平曰：「各有主者。」 上曰：「主者為誰乎？」 平曰：「陛下即問決獄，責廷尉； 問錢穀，責治粟內史。」 上曰：「苟各有主者，而君所主何事也？」 平謝曰：「主臣！ 陛下不知其駑下，使待罪宰相。 宰相者，上佐天子理陰陽，順四時，下遂萬物之宜，外填撫四夷諸侯，內親附百姓，使卿大夫各得任其職也。」 上稱善。 勃大慚，出而讓平曰：「君獨不素教我乎！」 平笑曰：「君居其位，獨不知其任邪？ 且陛下即問長安盜賊數，又欲彊對邪？」 於是絳侯自知其能弗如平遠矣。 居頃之，勃謝病請免相，而平顓為丞相。
Soon Emperor Wen began grilling his ministers at audience: "How many lawsuits does the empire hear in a year?" he asked Zhou Bo. Zhou Bo sweated and said he did not know. "What of the annual revenue in cash and grain?" Again Zhou Bo could not answer. Sweat soaked his tunic; he stood mute with shame. The emperor turned to Chen Ping. Chen Ping said, "Each office has its specialist." "Who holds those portfolios?" "Ask the commandant of justice for criminal dockets. Ask the minister of finance for revenue and expenditure." "Then what is a chancellor for?" asked the emperor. Chen Ping kowtowed: "I tremble before you, sire— You placed a dullard in the highest post. A chancellor tunes heaven and earth for the throne, steadies the seasons, tends the myriad things, soothes the barbarians and feudal lords, cherishes the common people, and lets every minister do his proper job." Emperor Wen praised the answer. Outside the hall Zhou Bo hissed, "Why did you not coach me?" Chen Ping smiled: "You took the chair—did you not know what it required? Had he asked how many thieves infest Chang'an, would you have invented a number?" Zhou Bo realized how far he fell short of Chen Ping. Soon Zhou Bo resigned the right chancellorship; Chen Ping held the post alone.
54
孝文二年，平薨，諡曰獻侯。 傳子至曾孫何，坐略人妻棄主。 王陵亦至玄孫，坐酎金國除。 辟陽侯食其免後三歲而為淮南王所殺，文帝令其子平嗣侯。 淄川王反，辟陽近淄川，平降之，國除。
Chen Ping died in the second year of Emperor Wen with the posthumous name "Marquis Xian" (Accomplished). The marquisate descended to his great-grandson Chen He, who lost it for abducting another man's wife and other crimes. Wang Ling's line ran to a descendant who forfeited his fief over "thin" ritual wine—impure gold offered at the imperial shrines. Three years after leaving office Shen Yiji was murdered by the king of Huainan; Emperor Wen let his son inherit the Biyang title. When the prince of Zichuan rose in revolt, Shen Ping—holding a fief on that border—went over to him and lost the marquisate.
55
始平曰：「我多陰謀，道家之所禁。 吾世即廢，亦已矣，終不能復起，以吾多陰禍也。」 其後曾孫陳掌以衛氏親戚貴，願得續封，然終不得也。
Chen Ping once warned his house, "I built my career on dark stratagems—the very thing Daoists condemn. My line will wither; it will not flourish again, for I have stored up too much hidden harm." Later his descendant Chen Zhang, kinsman by marriage to the Wei family, begged to revive the title but never received it.
56
周勃，沛人。 其先卷人也，徙沛。 勃以織薄曲為生，常以吹簫給喪事，材官引強。
Zhou Bo was a native of Pei. His forebears came from Juan and later settled in Pei. He wove thin silk for mourning garments, blew the reed-organ at village funerals, and served as a "strong bow" conscript.
57
高祖為沛公初起，勃以中涓從攻胡陵，下方與。 方與反，與戰，卻敵。 攻豐。 擊秦軍碭東。 還軍留及蕭。 復攻碭，破之。 下下邑，先登。 賜爵五大夫。 攻蘭、虞，取之。 擊章邯車騎殿。 略定魏地。 攻轅戚、東嬢，以往至栗，取之。 攻齧桑，先登。 擊秦軍阿下，破之。 追至濮陽，下蘄城。 攻都關、定陶，襲取宛朐，得單父令。 夜襲取臨濟，攻壽張，以前至卷，破李由雍丘下。 攻開封，先至城下為多。 後章邯破項梁，沛公與項羽引兵東如碭。 自初起沛還至碭，一歲二月。 楚懷王封沛公號武安侯，為碭郡長。 沛公拜勃為襄賁令。 從沛公定魏地，攻東郡尉於成武，破之。 攻長社，先登。 攻潁陽、緱氏，絕河津。 擊趙賁軍尸北。 南攻南陽守齮，破武關、嶢關。 攻秦軍於藍田。 至咸陽，滅秦。
When Liu Bang first raised the Lord of Pei banner, Zhou Bo joined as a palace attendant and helped storm Huling and Fangyu. Fangyu rose in revolt; Zhou Bo fought and drove the enemy back. He campaigned against Feng. He hit Qin forces east of Dang commandery. He withdrew the column to Liu and Xiao. He struck Dang again and shattered the garrison. At Xiayi he was first over the wall. He was promoted to fifth-rank grandee. He seized Lan and Yu. He smashed the rear guard of Zhang Han's chariots and horse. He helped secure the Wei region. He campaigned through Yuancheng and Dongmin to Li and took each town. At Niesang he again led the escalade. He broke a Qin army below A. He chased the foe to Puyang and captured Qi. He stormed Duguan and Dingtao, surprised Yuanku, and seized the magistrate of Shanfu. He took Linji by night, fought through Shouzhang to Juan, and below Yongqiu shattered Li You's host. At Kaifeng his unit was first to the walls in strength. After Zhang Han destroyed Xiang Liang, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu marched east toward Dang. From the first uprising at Pei to the return to Dang was fourteen months. King Huai named Liu Bang Marquis Wu-an and governor of Dang commandery. The Lord of Pei made Zhou Bo magistrate of Xiangben. He followed Liu Bang in the Wei campaigns, stormed the eastern commandant at Chengwu, and broke his line. At Changshe he was first on the walls. He took Yingyang and Gou shi and severed the Yellow River crossings. He hit Zhao Fen north of Shi. He marched south against Nanyang's governor Yi and forced Wuguan and Yao Pass. He fought Qin at Lantian. He entered Xianyang and helped destroy Qin.
58
項羽至，以沛公為漢王。 漢王賜勃爵為威武侯。 從入漢中，拜為將軍。 還定三秦，賜食邑懷德。 攻槐里、好畤，最。 北擊趙賁、內史保於咸陽，最。 北救漆。 擊章平、姚卬軍。 西定汧還下郿、頻陽。 圍章邯廢丘，破之。 西擊益已軍，破之。 攻上邽。 東守嶢關。 擊項籍。 攻曲遇，最。 還守敖倉，追籍。 籍已死，因東定楚地泗水、東海郡，凡得二十二縣。 還守雒陽、櫟陽，賜與潁陰侯共食鍾離。 以將軍從高祖擊燕王臧荼，破之易下。 所將卒當馳道為多。 賜爵列侯，剖符世世不絕。 食絳八千二百八十戶。
When Xiang Yu divided the realm he named Liu Bang king of Han. The King of Han ennobled him as Marquis Weiwu. He followed into Hanzhong and was commissioned a general. In the reconquest of the Three Qin he received the income of Huaide. At Huaili and Haozhi his unit topped the battle roll. North of Xianyang he routed Zhao Fen and Neishi Bao—again first in merit. He marched north to relieve Qi (the city). He fought Zhang Ping and Yao Ang. He secured the west in Qian, then doubled back to take Mei and Pinyang. He besieged Zhang Han in Feiqiu and stormed the city. He marched west and routed the detachment commanded by Yi Ji. He took Shanggui. He held the east approach at Yao Pass. He fought Xiang Yu in the field. At Quyu his command again led the honor roll. He garrisoned Aocang, then rode in pursuit of Xiang Yu. After Xiang Yu fell he swept east through Sishui and Donghai commanderies, adding twenty-two counties to Han. He garrisoned Luoyang and Liyang and was given a share of the Zhongli estate with Marquis Yingyin. As a general he joined the campaign against Zang Tu of Yan and broke his line at Yi. His men held the imperial highway in greater strength than any other unit. He was enfeoffed a full marquis with hereditary patent. His fief at Jiang numbered eight thousand two hundred eighty households.
59
以將軍從高帝擊韓王信於代，降下霍人。 以前至武泉，擊胡騎，破之武泉北。 轉攻韓信軍銅鞮，破之。 還，降太原六城。 擊韓信胡騎晉陽下，破之，下晉陽。 後擊韓信軍於硰石，破之，追北八十里。 還攻樓煩三城，因擊胡騎平城下，所將卒當馳道為多。 勃遷為太尉。
He followed the emperor against King Xin of Han in Dai and received the surrender of Huoren. He pushed to Wuquan and routed Xiongnu horse north of the town. He swung against Han Xin's host at Tongdi and crushed it. On the way back he accepted the capitulation of six cities in Taiyuan. He smashed Han Xin's Xiongnu auxiliaries below Jinyang and took the city. Later he shattered Han Xin again at Shashi and chased the fugitives eighty li. He doubled back to take three Loufan towns, then hit Xiongnu riders below Pingcheng with the heaviest screen on the highway. Zhou Bo was raised to grand commandant.
60
陳豨，屠馬邑。 所將卒斬豨將軍乘馬降。 轉擊韓信、陳豨、趙利軍於樓煩，破之。 得豨將宋最、鴈門守圂。 因轉攻得雲中守遫、丞相箕肄、將軍博。 定鴈門郡十七縣，雲中郡十二縣。 因復擊豨靈丘，破之，斬豨丞相程縱、將軍陳武、都尉高肄。 定代郡九縣。
When Chen Xi rose in revolt, Zhou Bo stormed and overran Mayi. His men cut down Chen Xi's general Chengma and accepted his surrender. He pivoted to Loufan and broke the combined forces of Han Xin, Chen Xi, and Zhao Li. He captured Song Zui and the Yanmen governor surnamed Hun. He then seized Yun's governor Su, Chancellor Ji Yi, and General Bo. He pacified seventeen Yanmen counties and twelve in Yunzhong. He struck Chen Xi again at Lingqiu, executed his chancellor Cheng Zong, general Chen Wu, and commandant Gao Yi. He secured nine counties of Dai.
61
燕王盧綰反，勃以相國代樊噲將，擊下薊，得綰大將抵、丞相偃、守陘、太尉弱、御史大夫施屠渾都。 破綰軍上蘭，後擊綰軍沮陽。 追至長城，定上谷十二縣，右北平十六縣，遼東二十九縣，漁陽二十二縣。 最從高帝得相國一人，丞相二人，將軍、二千石各三人； 別破軍二，下城三，定郡五，縣七十九，得丞相、大將各一人。
When Lu Yan revolted, Zhou Bo replaced Fan Kuai as acting chancellor, stormed Ji, and took Lu Yan's chief generals and ministers, including his secretary Shitu Hundu. He defeated Lu Yan at Shanglan, then again at Juyang. He chased the king to the Wall and brought twelve Shanggu counties, sixteen in Youbeiping, twenty-nine in Liaodong, and twenty-two in Yuyang under Han. In the emperor's train he had captured one chancellor of state, two chancellors, and three generals and salary-class officials each; on his own he had shattered two armies, stormed three cities, pacified five commanderies and seventy-nine counties, and taken one chancellor and one grand general alive.
62
勃為人木強敦厚，高帝以為可屬大事。 勃不好文學，每召諸生說士，東鄉坐責之：「趣為我語。」 其椎少文如此。
Zhou Bo was blunt, stubborn, and stolid—exactly the man Liu Bang trusted for the gravest duties. He had no patience for scholars: when he had to hear them out he faced east like a judge and barked, "Make it short." That was the measure of his rustic temper.
63
勃既定燕而歸，高帝已崩矣，以列侯事惠帝。 惠帝六年，置太尉官，以勃為太尉。 十年，高后崩。 呂祿以趙王為漢上將軍，呂產以呂王為相國，秉權，欲危劉氏。 勃與丞相平、朱虛侯章共誅諸呂。 語在高后紀。
When he returned from the Yan campaign the High Emperor was dead; he served Emperor Hui as a marquis in good standing. In Emperor Hui's sixth year the throne revived the grand commandant's office and gave it to Zhou Bo. In the tenth year Empress Dowager Lü died. Lü Lu held Zhao as king while commanding Han's upper armies; Lü Chan was king of Lü and chancellor of state—they meant to unseat the Lius. Zhou Bo joined Chen Ping and Liu Zhang of Zhuxu to extirpate the Lü clan. The coup is narrated in the annals of Empress Gao.
64
於是陰謀乃為「少帝及濟川、淮陽、恆山王皆非惠帝子，呂太后以計詐名它人子，殺其母，養之後宮，令孝惠子之，立以為後，用彊呂氏。 今已滅諸呂，少帝即長用事，吾屬類無矣，不如視諸侯賢者立之。」 遂迎立代王，是為孝文皇帝。
Thereupon the secret plot became: "The Young Emperor and the kings of Jichuan, Huaiyang, and Hengshan are not Emperor Hui's sons; Empress Dowager Lü by a ruse named other men's sons, killed their mothers, reared them in the rear palace, ordered Emperor Xiaohui to treat them as sons, established them as successors, thereby to strengthen the Lü clan. Now that the Lüs are gone, those boys will grow up and wipe us out—we must pick a worthy Liu from among the feudal kings." They fetched the King of Dai to Chang'an and enthroned him as Emperor Wen.
65
東牟侯興居，朱虛侯章弟也，曰：「誅諸呂，臣無功，請得除宮。」 乃與太僕汝陰滕公入宮。 滕公前謂少帝曰：「足下非劉氏，不當立。」 乃顧麾左右執戟，皆仆兵罷。 有數人不肯去，官者令張釋諭告，亦去。 滕公召乘輿車載少帝出。 少帝曰：「欲持我安之乎？」 滕公曰：「就舍少府。」 乃奉天子法駕，迎皇帝代邸，報曰：「宮謹除。」 皇帝入未央宮，有謁者十人持戟衛端門，曰：「天子在也，足下何為者？」 不得入。 太尉往喻，乃引兵去，皇帝遂入。 是夜，有司分部誅濟川、淮陽、常山王及少帝於邸。
Liu Xingju of Dongmou, Liu Zhang's brother, said, "I took no part in killing the Lüs—let me purge the palace instead." He entered with Grand Coachman Xiahou Ying of Ru Yin. Xiahou Ying told the boy emperor, "You are no son of Liu—you cannot remain on the throne." He signaled the guards; they grounded their halberds and stood down. A few refused until Director of Attendants Zhang Shi explained the orders; then they withdrew. Xiahou Ying called up the imperial carriage and bundled the boy out of the hall. The child cried, "Where are you taking me?" "To the privy treasurer's quarters for now," Xiahou Ying replied. He then drove the full imperial equipage to the heir's lodge in the city and announced, "The palace is swept clean." At Weiyang Palace ten ushers blocked the inner gate: "The emperor is within—who goes there?" The new emperor could not pass. Zhou Bo rode up to explain; the guards stood aside and Emperor Wen entered. That night officials fanned out to kill the puppet princes of Jichuan, Huaiyang, Changshan, and the boy emperor in their residences.
66
歲餘，每河東守尉行縣至絳，絳侯勃自畏恐誅，常被甲，令家人持兵以見。 其後人有上書告勃欲反，下廷尉，逮捕勃治之。 勃恐，不知置辭。 吏稍侵辱之。 勃以千金與獄吏，獄吏乃書牘背示之，曰「以公主為證」。 公主者，孝文帝女也，勃太子勝之尚之，故獄吏教引為證。 初，勃之益封，盡以予薄昭。 及繫急，薄昭為言薄太后，太后亦以為無反事。 文帝朝，太后以冒絮提文帝，曰：「絳侯綰皇帝璽，將兵於北軍，不以此時反，今居一小縣，顧欲反邪！」 文帝既見勃獄辭，乃謝曰：「吏方驗而出之。」 於是使使持節赦勃，復爵邑。 勃既出，曰：「吾嘗將百萬軍，安知獄吏之貴也！」
For over a year, whenever Hedong's governor inspected Jiang county, Zhou Bo went in armor and had his family carry arms to the meeting—he was terrified of a death warrant. Then a denunciation claimed Zhou Bo meant to revolt; the case went to the commandant of justice and he was jailed. He was too frightened to frame a defense. The jailors bullied him daily. He slipped a thousand jin to the head jailer, who scribbled on a wooden slip: "Call in the princess." The princess was Emperor Wen's daughter, wife to Zhou Bo's heir—hence the hint to summon her as alibi. Years before, Zhou Bo had heaped his bonus lands on his brother-in-law Bo Zhao. Now Bo Zhao pleaded with Empress Dowager Bo, who was convinced of Zhou Bo's innocence. At court she struck her son with a veil knot and scolded, "Zhou Bo held the seal and the northern legions—if he meant treason he had his chance then; now, retired to a tiny fief, would he rebel?" Emperor Wen read the deposition and muttered, "The clerks are still checking—they will let him go." He sent a courier with the tally of pardon and restored Zhou Bo's title and lands. Walking free, Zhou Bo said, "I commanded a million men—who knew a jailer could hold my life in his hand?"
67
勃復就國，孝文十一年薨，諡曰武侯。 子勝之嗣，尚公主不相中，坐殺人，死，國絕。 一年，弟亞夫復為侯。
He retired to his fief and died in Emperor Wen's eleventh year with the posthumous name "Marquis Wu" (Martial). His son Shengzhi inherited but quarreled with the princess, killed a man, and died—ending the line. A year later the younger brother Zhou Yafu was named marquis again.
68
亞夫為河內守時，許負相之：「君後三歲而侯。 侯八歲，為將相，持國秉，貴重矣，於人臣無二。 後九年而餓死。」 亞夫笑曰：「臣之兄以代父侯矣，有如卒，子當代，我何說侯乎？ 然既已貴如負言，又何說餓死？ 指視我。」 負指其口曰：「從理入口，此餓死法也。」 居三歲，兄絳侯勝之有罪，文帝擇勃子賢者，皆推亞夫，乃封為條侯。
While Zhou Yafu governed Hedong, the physiognomist Xu Fu told him, "In three years you will hold a marquisate. Eight years as marquis will bring you to general and chancellor—second to none among ministers. Nine years after that you will die of hunger." Zhou Yafu laughed: "My brother already holds our father's title; if he dies his son inherits—how should I become marquis? And if I rose so high, how could I starve? Show me the signs." Xu Fu traced the vertical furrow down into his lips and said, "That channel is the mark of death by famine." Three years later Shengzhi fell from grace; Emperor Wen asked which of Zhou Bo's sons was worthiest—the court named Yafu, who received the marquisate of Tiao.
69
文帝後六年，匈奴大入邊。 以宗正劉禮為將軍軍霸上，祝茲侯徐厲為將軍軍棘門，以河內守亞夫為將軍軍細柳，以備胡。 上自勞軍，至霸上及棘門軍，直馳入，將以下騎出入送迎。 已而之細柳軍，軍士吏被甲，銳兵刃，彀弓弩，持滿。 天子先驅至，不得入。 先驅曰：「天子且至！」 軍門都尉曰：「軍中聞將軍之令，不聞天子之詔。」 有頃，上至，又不得入。 於是上使使持節詔將軍曰：「吾欲勞軍。」 亞夫乃傳言開壁門。 壁門士請車騎曰：「將軍約，軍中不得驅馳。」 於是天子乃按轡徐行。 至中營，將軍亞夫揖，曰：「介冑之士不拜，請以軍禮見。」 天子為動，改容式車。 使人稱謝：「皇帝敬勞將軍。」 成禮而去。 既出軍門，群臣皆驚。 文帝曰：「嗟乎，此真將軍矣！ 鄉者霸上、棘門如兒戲耳，其將固可襲而虜也。 至於亞夫，可得而犯邪！」 稱善者久之。 月餘，三軍皆罷。 乃拜亞夫為中尉。
In the sixth year of Emperor Wen's reign the Xiongnu raided deep into the frontier. He posted Liu Li at Bashang, Xu Li at Jimen, and Zhou Yafu at Xiliu to block the nomads. The emperor toured the camps: at Bashang and Jimen his chariot raced through unchallenged while officers rode out to salute him. At Xiliu every man stood in mail with blades bare and crossbows cocked. Even the imperial vanguard was stopped at the gate. The vanguard shouted, "The Son of Heaven is about to arrive!" The gate captain answered, "In camp we obey the general, not the throne." When the emperor himself arrived he was still barred. He sent a messenger with the imperial tally: "I come to review the army." Only then did Zhou Yafu order the gates opened. The pickets told the escort, "No galloping inside these lines." The emperor touched his reins and crawled forward at a walk. In the inner camp Zhou Yafu saluted at arms: "Armored men do not kneel—I greet you by military courtesy." Emperor Wen straightened on his chariot and raised his hand to the crossbar in salute. He sent word: "The emperor bows to the general." The review ended and the court party withdrew. Outside the camp the ministers gaped. Emperor Wen sighed, "There is a real general at last! Bashang and Jimen were a sham—any raider could have walked in and seized those generals. Zhou Yafu's camp—no enemy could touch that." He went on praising the scene long after the chariots had gone. Within a month the emergency levies were stood down. He named Zhou Yafu commandant of the capital guards.
70
文帝且崩時，戒太子曰：「即有緩急，周亞夫真可任將兵。」 文帝崩，亞夫為車騎將軍。
On his deathbed Emperor Wen told the crown prince, "In any crisis put the army in Zhou Yafu's hands." After Wen's death Zhou Yafu became chariot and cavalry general.
71
孝景帝三年，吳楚反。 亞夫以中尉為太尉，東擊吳楚。 因自請上曰：「楚兵剽輕，難與爭鋒。 願以梁委之，絕其食道，乃可制也。」 上許之。
In Emperor Jing's third year the kingdoms of Wu and Chu rose in revolt. Promoted from capital commandant to grand commandant, he marched east against the rebels. He warned the throne: "Chu's host is fast and mobile—do not meet it head-on. Let Liang absorb their fury while I strangle their supply lines—that is how we break them." The emperor agreed.
72
亞夫既發，至霸上，趙涉遮說亞夫曰：「將軍東誅吳楚，勝則宗廟安，不勝則天下危，能用臣之言乎？」 亞夫下車，禮而問之。 涉曰：「吳王素富，懷輯死士久矣。 此知將軍且行，必置間人於殽黽阨骥之間。 且兵事上神密，將軍何不從此右去，走藍田，出武關，抵雒陽，間不過差一二日，直入武庫，擊鳴鼓。 諸侯聞之，以為將軍從天而下也。」 太尉如其計。 至雒陽，使吏搜殽黽間，果得吳伏兵。 乃請涉為護軍。
At Bashang a commoner named Zhao She stopped his chariot: "General, this campaign decides whether the altars stand or fall—will you hear me out?" Zhou Yafu stepped down and listened with respect. Zhao She said, "The king of Wu is rich; he has long hoarded assassins for this day. He knows your route and will plant men in the Yao–Min defiles. Take the secret road: bear south through Lantian, burst out at Wuguan, hit Luoyang a day behind schedule, seize the imperial armory, and beat the war drum. The rebels will think you fell from the sky." The grand commandant followed Zhao She's advice to the letter. In Luoyang he sent scouts into the Yao–Min passes and flushed out Wu's ambush. He enlisted Zhao She as his chief of escort.
73
亞夫至，會兵滎陽。 吳方攻梁，梁急，請救。 亞夫引兵東北走昌邑，深壁而守。 梁王使使請亞夫，亞夫守便宜，不往。 梁上書言景帝，景帝詔使救梁。 亞夫不奉詔，堅壁不出，而使輕騎兵弓高侯等絕吳楚兵後食道。 吳楚兵乏糧，飢，欲退，數挑戰，終不出。 夜，軍中驚，內相攻擊擾亂，至於帳下。 亞夫堅臥不起。 頃之，復定。 吳奔壁東南陬，亞夫使備西北。 已而其精兵果奔西北，不得入。 吳楚既餓，乃引而去。 亞夫出精兵追擊，大破吳王濞。 吳王濞棄其軍，與壯士數千人亡走，保於江南丹徒。 漢兵因乘勝，遂盡虜之，降其縣，購吳王千金。 月餘，越人斬吳王頭以告。 凡相守攻三月，而吳楚破平。 於是諸將乃以太尉計謀為是。 由此梁孝王與亞夫有隙。
He consolidated the host at Yingyang. Wu was hammering Liang, which begged for relief. Zhou Yafu slipped northeast to Changyi and refused battle behind strong ramparts. Prince Liu Wu of Liang sent courier after courier; Zhou Yafu stuck to his plan and stayed put. Liang appealed to Emperor Jing, who issued an edict ordering Han relief. Zhou Yafu ignored the imperial courier and kept his walls shut while light horse under the Marquis of Gonggao severed the rebel supply line. The allies starved, taunted his lines, and tried to retreat—he never offered battle. One night his own camp panicked and men struck one another almost to his headquarters. Zhou Yafu stayed in bed and never stirred. Order returned without his leaving the couch. When Wu feinted at the southeast corner of his camp, Zhou Yafu massed his reserves in the northwest. The enemy's best troops swung northwest as he had foreseen and were thrown back. Starved out, Wu and Chu broke camp and fled. Zhou Yafu hurled his veterans after them and shattered Liu Pi's army. Liu Pi deserted his host and raced to Dantu south of the Yangzi with a few thousand bodyguards. Han forces mopped up the towns, offered a thousand-jin bounty for Liu Pi's head, and accepted surrenders. A month later Yue irregulars sent in Liu Pi's head. Three months of siege broke the rebellion. Only then did his captains admit his strategy had been sound. Prince Liu Wu of Liang never forgave the slight.
74
歸，復置太尉官。 五歲，遷為丞相，景帝甚重之。 上廢栗太子，亞夫固爭之，不待。 上由此疏之。 而梁孝王每朝，常與太后言亞夫之短。
After victory the court restored the grand commandant's office. Five years later Zhou Yafu became chancellor, high in Jing's favor. When Emperor Jing cast aside the heir born of Lady Li, Zhou Yafu fought the decision—and was ignored. The emperor cooled toward him from that day. Prince Liu Wu whispered slander to his mother whenever he came to court.
75
竇太后曰：「皇后兄王信可侯也。」 上讓曰：「始南皮及章武先帝不侯，及臣即位，乃侯之，信未得封也。」 竇太后曰：「人生各以時行耳。 竇長君在時，竟不得封侯，死後，乃其子彭祖顧得侯。 吾甚恨之。 帝趣侯信也！」 上曰：「請得與丞相計之。」 亞夫曰：「高帝約『非劉氏不得王，非有功不得侯。 不如約，天下共擊之』。 今信雖皇后兄，無功，侯之，非約也。」 上默然而沮。
Empress Dowager Dou said, "The empress's elder brother Wang Xin may be enfeoffed as marquis." The emperor demurred, saying, "At first Nanpi and Zhangwu the late emperor did not enfeoff as marquises; only when your servant mounted the throne were they enfeoffed—Xin has not yet earned a patent." "Everyone gets a turn," she snapped. Her brother Dou Zhang had died without a fief; only his son Pengzu had been titled. That still rankled her. So ennoble Wang Xin at once!" The emperor said, "I beg to consult with the chancellor." Zhou Yafu said, "The High Emperor covenanted: 'Whoever is not of the Liu clan may not be king; whoever lacks merit may not be marquis. Break that rule and the realm rises against you." Wang Xin is the empress's brother but has won no battle—ennobling him would violate the oath." Emperor Jing fell silent, beaten.
76
其後匈奴王徐盧等五人降漢，上欲侯之以勸後。 亞夫曰：「彼背其主降陛下，陛下侯之，即何以責人臣不守節者乎？」 上曰：「丞相議不可用。」 乃悉封徐盧等為列侯。 亞夫因謝病免相。
Later five Xiongnu chiefs including Xu Lu defected; Emperor Jing meant to enfeoff them as a signal to others. Zhou Yafu protested: "Reward turncoats today and how do you punish tomorrow's traitors?" The emperor said flatly, "The chancellor is overruled." He enfeoffed every one of the defectors anyway. Zhou Yafu resigned on grounds of illness.
77
頃之，上居禁中，召亞夫賜食。 獨置大胾，無切肉，又不置箸。 亞夫心不平，顧謂尚席取箸。 上視而笑曰：「此非不足君所乎？」 亞夫免冠謝上。 上曰：「起。」 亞夫因趨出。 上目送之，曰：「此鞅鞅，非少主臣也！」
Soon afterward Emperor Jing summoned him to a private meal in the inner palace. The table held only a huge roast joint—no slices, no chopsticks. Zhou Yafu scowled and called for an attendant to bring chopsticks. Emperor Jing watched and laughed: "Surely this spread does not suit you?" Zhou Yafu doffed his cap and apologized. "Rise," said the emperor. Zhou Yafu withdrew in haste. Emperor Jing watched him go and muttered, "That sullen pride will never serve my heir."
78
居無何，亞夫子為父買工官尚方甲楯五百被可以葬者。 取庸苦之，不與錢。 庸知其盜買縣官器，怨而上變告子，事連汙亞夫。 書既聞，上下吏。 吏簿責亞夫，亞夫不對。 上罵之曰：「吾不用也。」 召詣廷尉。 廷尉責問曰：「君侯欲反何？」 亞夫曰：「臣所買器，乃葬器也，何謂反乎？」 吏曰：「君縱不欲反地上，即欲反地下耳。」 吏侵之益急。 初，吏捕亞夫，亞夫欲自殺，其夫人止之，以故不得死，遂入廷尉，因不食五日，歐血而死。 國絕。
Zhou Yafu's son ordered five hundred suits of funeral armor from the imperial foundry for his father's tomb. He worked the carriers to the bone and refused to pay them. They knew the gear was government property and filed a treason charge that snared the old general. The throne forwarded the denunciation to the judiciary. Clerks badgered Zhou Yafu; he refused to speak. The emperor cursed him, saying, "I will not use him." He was hauled before the commandant of justice. The judge demanded, "Why do you mean to rebel?" Zhou Yafu answered, "Those are funeral arms for the tomb—what treason is there?" The clerk sneered, "So you rebel in the next world instead." The interrogation turned brutal. At first he tried suicide; his wife stopped him. In prison he fasted five days until blood burst from his mouth and he died. The marquisate ended.
79
一歲，上乃更封絳侯勃它子堅為平曲侯，續絳侯後。 傳子建德，為太子太傅，坐酎金免官。 後有罪，國除。
A year later Emperor Jing enfeoffed another son of Zhou Bo, Zhou Jian, as Marquis of Pingqu to continue the Jiang line. The title passed to Zhou Jiande, grand tutor to the crown prince, who lost office over thin ritual wine. Further offenses wiped out the fief.
80
亞夫果餓死。 死後，上乃封王信為蓋侯。 至平帝元始二年，繼絕世，復封勃玄孫之子恭為絳侯，千戶。
Zhou Yafu died of hunger as Xu Fu had foretold. Only after Zhou Yafu's death did Emperor Jing make Wang Xin marquis of Gai. In Emperor Ping's second year the court revived the Zhou line, naming Gong, a descendant of Zhou Bo, marquis of Jiang at one thousand households.
81
贊曰：聞張良之智勇，以為其貌魁梧奇偉，反若婦人女子。 故孔子稱「以貌取人，失之子羽」。 學者多疑於鬼神，如良受書老父，亦異矣。 高祖數離困阨，良常有力，豈可謂非天乎！ 陳平之志，見於社下，傾側擾攘楚、魏之間，卒歸於漢，而為謀臣。 及呂后時，事多故矣，平竟自免，以智終。 王陵廷爭，杜門自絕，亦各其志也。 周勃為布衣時，鄙樸庸人，至登輔佐，匡國家難，誅諸呂，立孝文，為漢伊周，何其盛也！ 始呂后問宰相，高祖曰：「陳平智有餘，王陵少戇，可以佐之； 安劉氏者必勃也。」 又問其次，云「過此以後，非乃所及」。 終皆如言，聖矣夫！
The historian's verdict: you expect Zhang Liang to look like a hero; he looked like a scholar or a woman. Therefore Confucius praised, "Judging people by appearance, one misses Ziyu." Rationalists scoff at spirits, yet Zhang Liang took his warcraft from a greybeard on a bridge. Time after time Liu Bang slipped the noose with Zhang Liang's aid—call it fate if you will. Chen Ping announced his hunger for power at a village sacrifice, drifted between Wei and Chu, and ended as Han's master intriguer. Under Empress Lü he navigated the shoals and retired with his wits intact. Wang Ling stormed the court, then locked his gate—each man followed his conscience. Zhou Bo was a peasant who became the dynasty's pillar: he purged the Lüs and enthroned Emperor Wen—Han's answer to the ancient ministers yiyin day and the Duke of Zhou. Liu Bang once told his wife: "Chen Ping has brains to spare; Wang Ling is a little blunt—let him assist Chen Ping. Zhou Bo is the man who will save the Liu line." Asked who came next, he said, "After that I cannot see." Every judgment the High Emperor passed on these men proved true in the end—what sage insight that was!