Volume 83: Xue Xuan and Zhu Bo

卷八十三薛宣硃博傳第五十三

Volume 83: Biographies of Xue Xuan and Zhu Bo (chapter fifty-three).

薛宣字贛君，東海郯人也。少為廷尉書佐、都船獄吏。後以大司農斗食屬察廉，補不其丞。琅邪太守趙貢行縣，見宣，甚說其能。從宣歷行屬縣，還至府，令妻子與相見，戒曰：「贛君至丞相，我兩子亦中丞相史。」察宣廉，遷樂浪都尉丞。幽州刺史舉茂材，為宛句令。大將軍王鳳聞其能，薦宣為長安令，治果有名，以明習文法詔補御史中丞。

Xue Xuan, whose courtesy name was Gan Jun, came from Tan in Donghai Commandery. While young he worked as a clerk under the commandant of justice and as a keeper in the capital-ships jail. Later, while attached to the grand minister of agriculture on a dou-shi stipend, he earned an incorrupt nomination and was posted as assistant magistrate of Buqi. When the governor of Langye, Zhao Gong, toured his districts and met Xue Xuan, he was so impressed by his talent that he took him along. He brought Xue Xuan on his rounds of the dependent counties, and back at the yamen introduced him to his wife and children with the words: "If Gan Jun rises to be chancellor, I expect my sons to earn places among the chancellor's secretaries." Nominated as incorrupt, Xue Xuan was promoted to assistant commandant of Lelang. The Youzhou regional inspector recommended him as flourishing talent, and he was appointed magistrate of Yuanju. When Grand General Wang Feng heard of his reputation, he recommended Xue Xuan for magistrate of Chang'an. His governance made a name, and his mastery of the code earned him an appointment as vice-imperial secretary.

是時，成帝初即位，宣為中丞，執法殿中，外總部刺史，上疏曰：「陛下至德仁厚，哀閔元元，躬有日仄之勞，而亡佚豫之樂，允執聖道，刑罰惟中，然而嘉氣尚凝，陰陽不和，是臣下未稱，而聖化獨有不洽者也。臣竊伏思其一端，殆吏多苛政，政教煩碎，大率咎在部刺史，或不循守條職，舉錯各以其意，多與郡縣事，至開私門，聽讒佞，以求吏民過失，譴呵及細微，責義不量力。郡縣相迫促，亦內相刻，流至眾庶。是故鄉黨闕於嘉賓之歡，九族忘其親親之恩，飲食周急之厚彌衰，送往勞來之禮不行。夫人道不通，則陰陽否隔，和氣不興，未必不由此也。《詩》云：『民之失德，乾餱以愆。』鄙語曰：『苛政不親，煩苦傷恩。』方刺史奏事時，宜明申敕，使昭然知本朝之要務。臣愚不知治道，唯明主察焉。」上嘉納之。

Emperor Cheng had only just taken the throne. As vice-imperial secretary, Xue Xuan upheld the law inside the halls and coordinated the regional inspectors outside. He wrote: "Your Majesty's kindness is boundless: you grieve for the people, labor past sunset without thought of rest, and hold true to the sage's path so penalties stay even—yet good omens remain scarce and yin and yang stay out of tune. The fault lies with officials who fall short of your example, not with your own transforming power." I believe one root of the trouble is oppressive clerks and fussy regulations, and above all the regional inspectors: some ignore their proper brief, act on whim, meddle in county business, welcome backdoor influence, heed malicious talk, hunt for trivial offenses, and demand standards no one can meet. The pressure cascades from commandery to county and inward among the staff until ordinary folk bear the brunt. Villages lose the pleasure of hospitality, kin forget how to treat one another as family, mutual aid in hardship withers, and the simple courtesies of travel and welcome fall away. When human relations are blocked, yin and yang cannot mingle and harmonious qi cannot gather—and this may well be the cause. The Classic of Odes says, "When the people abandon virtue, they bicker even over a crust of dry food." A proverb warns: harsh rule destroys trust; petty harassment eats away at good will. When inspectors come to report, Your Majesty should spell out your orders so they understand what the dynasty expects first of all. I am too dull to prescribe policy; I leave that to your sage judgment." The emperor approved the memorial and acted on it.

宣數言政事便宜，舉奏部刺史郡國二千石，所貶退稱進，白黑分明，繇是知名。出為臨淮太守，政教大行。會陳留郡有大賊廢亂，上徙宣為陳留太守，盜賊禁止，吏民敬其威信。入守左馮翊，滿歲稱職為真。

Xue Xuan often proposed practical reforms and impeached regional inspectors and two-thousand-dan officials; his promotions and demotions were never murky, and his reputation spread. As governor of Linhuai he spread instruction and good order on a broad scale. When Chenliu was overrun by large outlaw bands, the court moved Xue Xuan there as governor; he stamped out the raiders, and officials and commoners alike deferred to his authority. He took provisional charge of Left Fengyi, and after a full year's probation rated competent he received the substantive appointment.

始高陵令楊湛、櫟陽令謝游皆貪猾不遜，持郡短長，前二千石數案不能竟。及宣視事，詣府謁，宣設酒飯與相對，接待甚備。已而陰求其罪臧，具得所受取。宣察湛有改節敬宣之效，乃手自牒書，條其奸臧，封與湛曰：「吏民條言君如牒，或議以為疑於主守盜。馮翊敬重令，又念十金法重，不忍相暴章。故密以手書相曉，欲君自圖進退，可復伸眉於後。即無其事，復封還記，得為君分明之。」湛自知罪臧皆應記，而宣辭語溫潤，無傷害意。湛即時解印綬付吏，為記謝宣，終無怨言。而櫟陽令游自以大儒有名，輕宣。宣獨移書顯，責之曰：「告櫟陽令：吏民言令治行煩苛，適罰作使千人以上；賊取錢財數十萬，給為非法；賣買聽任富吏，賈數不可知。證驗以明白，欲遣吏考案，恐負舉者，恥辱儒士，故使掾平鐫令。孔子曰：『陳力就列，不能者止。』令詳思之，方調守。」游得檄，亦解印綬去。

Magistrate Yang Zhan of Gaoling and Magistrate Xie You of Liyang had long been corrupt, slippery, and defiant; they had leverage over the commandery, and successive governors had tried and failed to bring them down. When Xue Xuan assumed office, both men reported to the yamen. He entertained them with wine and food and treated them with elaborate courtesy. Then he quietly gathered evidence of their embezzlement until he had every bribe accounted for. Seeing that Yang Zhan might yet reform and defer to him, Xue Xuan drew up a private memorandum detailing his corruption, sealed it, and handed it over with the message: "Petitions from clerks and people match this list; some advisers think the sums approach the crime of a custodial official stealing state property. As your superior I honor the magistrate's dignity, and the statute on ten catties of gold is severe; I would rather not drag your shame into the open. I write privately so you may choose your own course and still hold your head high afterward. If any of this is wrong, seal the note back to me and I will sort the facts for you." Yang Zhan knew every charge was true, yet the tone stayed gentle, without malice. He surrendered his seal at once, sent a courteous note of thanks, and never spoke a word of bitterness. Magistrate Xie You of Liyang, fancying himself a famous scholar, treated Xue Xuan with contempt. Xue Xuan issued a blunt public letter: "To the magistrate of Liyang: complaints say your rule is cruel and petty, that you have pressed more than a thousand men into corvée labor beyond what the law allows; that you have extorted several hundred thousand in cash for illicit ends; that you let wealthy clerks rig purchases and sales so the figures cannot be traced; the proof is plain. I might have sent investigators but dreaded embarrassing your patron and humiliating a man of letters, so I sent clerk Ping to deliver this written order instead. Confucius said, "Take a post only if you can fill it; otherwise step down." Think it through—you are about to be rotated into a caretaker appointment." Xie You read the summons, resigned his seal, and left.

又頻陽縣北當上郡、西河，為數郡湊，多盜賊。其令平陵薛恭本縣孝者，功次稍遷，未嘗治民，職不辦。而栗邑縣小，辟在山中，民謹樸易治。令巨鹿尹賞久郡用事吏，為樓煩長，舉茂材，遷在栗。宣即以令奏賞與恭換縣。二人視事數月，而兩縣皆治。宣因移書勞勉之曰：「昔孟公綽優於趙魏而不宜滕薛，故或以德顯，或以功舉，『君子之道，焉可憮也！』屬縣各有賢君，馮翊垂拱蒙成。願勉所職，卒功業。」

North of Pinyang lay the border with Shangjun and Xihe—a crossroads of several commanderies where bandits swarmed. The magistrate there, Xue Gong of Pingling, was a local filial nominee promoted by seniority; he had never run a county and could not cope. Liyi, by contrast, was a small, hill-bound county whose people were tractable and plain. Yin Shang of Julu, a veteran commandery clerk, had served as chief of Loufan, earned a flourishing-talent nomination, and been posted to Liyi. Xue Xuan memorialized to swap the two magistrates. Within months both counties were in good order. He wrote to encourage them: "Meng Gongchuo excelled in great states yet faltered in small ones—some shine through virtue, others through deeds. A gentleman's path admits more than one shape." With able magistrates in every county, the guardian of Fengyi can rule with folded hands. Press on in your duties and finish the work you have begun."

宣得郡中吏民罪名，輒召告其縣長吏，使自行罰。曉曰：「府所以不自發舉者，不欲代縣治，奪賢令長名也。」長吏莫不喜懼，免冠謝宣歸恩受戒者。

Whenever he learned of wrongdoing among officials or commoners, he notified their county magistrates and left them to punish their own subordinates. He explained, "I do not prosecute from the yamen because I will not usurp county government or rob worthy magistrates of their credit." Every magistrate felt gratitude and awe, doffed his cap to thank him, and accepted his lesson.

宣為吏賞罰明，用法平而必行，所居皆有條教可紀，多仁恕愛利。池陽令舉廉吏獄掾王立，府未及召，聞立受囚家錢。宣責讓縣，縣案驗獄掾，乃其妻獨受系者錢萬六千，受之再宿，獄掾實不知。掾慚恐自殺。宣聞之，移書池陽曰：「縣所舉廉吏獄掾王立，傢俬受賕，而立不知，殺身以自明，立誠廉士，甚可閔惜！其以府決曹掾書立之柩，以顯其魂。府掾史素與立相知者，皆予送葬。」

In office his rewards and penalties were clear, his law even-handed and firm; every place he served gained workable rules, and he was remembered for mercy and practical kindness. The magistrate of Chiyang nominated jail clerk Wang Li for an incorrupt award; before the summons arrived, word spread that Wang had taken money from a prisoner's kin. Xue Xuan rebuked the county; their inquiry showed that Wang Li's wife alone had accepted sixteen thousand cash from a detainee's family for two nights, while Wang himself knew nothing. The clerk, mortified and terrified, took his own life. Hearing this, Xue Xuan wrote to Chiyang: "Wang Li was nominated as incorrupt, yet someone in his household secretly took a bribe without his knowledge; he died to prove his innocence—a truly honest man, and deeply to be mourned! Let the headquarters decision clerk inscribe his name on the coffin to honor his spirit. Every yamen clerk who knew him should join the funeral cortege."

及日至休吏，賊曹掾張扶獨不肯休，坐曹治事。宣出教曰：「蓋禮貫和，人道尚通。日至，吏以令休，所繇來久。曹雖有公職事，家亦望私恩意。掾宜從眾，歸對妻子，設酒餚，請鄰里，一笑相樂，斯亦可矣！」扶慚愧。官屬善之。

On the statutory rest day for yamen staff, Zhang Fu of the bandit bureau alone stayed at his desk. Xue Xuan issued a notice: "Ritual prizes harmony; human relations need breathing room. The solstice holiday for clerks is ancient statute. Even offices with public business should remember that families expect a little private kindness. Go home to your wives, pour wine, invite the neighbors, and enjoy an evening—that is enough!" Zhang Fu was abashed. The staff admired the gesture.

宣為人好威儀，進止雍容，甚可觀也。性密靜有思，思省吏職，求其便安。下至財用筆研，皆為設方略，利用而省費。吏民稱之，郡中清靜。遷為少府，共張職辦。

Xue Xuan loved ceremony; his bearing in motion was stately and impressive. By temperament he was calm and reflective, always rethinking how clerks could work more smoothly. He even planned the budget for brushes and ink so the office ran leaner without hardship. Officials and commoners praised him, and the commandery stayed orderly and calm. Promoted to privy treasurer, he handled court provisioning without a hitch.

月餘，御史大夫於永卒，谷永上疏曰：

A month later Imperial Secretary Yu Yong died, and Gu Yong presented a memorial:

帝王之德莫大於知人，知人則百僚任職，天工不曠。故皋陶曰：「知人則哲，能官人。」御史大夫內承本朝之風化，外佐丞相統理天下，任重職大，非庸材所能堪。今當選於群卿，以充其缺。得其人則萬姓欣喜，百僚說服；不得其人則大職墮□，王功不興。虞帝之明，在茲一舉，可不致詳！竊見少府宣，材茂行潔，達於從政，前為御史中丞，執憲轂下，不吐剛茹柔，舉錯時當；出守臨淮、陳留，二郡稱治；為左馮翊，崇教養善，威德並行，眾職修理，奸軌絕息，辭訟者歷年不至丞相府，赦後余盜賊什分三輔之一。功效卓爾，自左內史初置以來未嘗有也。孔子曰：「如有所譽，其有所試。」宣考績功課，簡在兩府，不敢過稱以奸欺誣之罪。臣聞賢材莫大於治人，宣已有效。其法律任廷尉有餘，經術文雅足以謀王體，斷國論；身兼數器，有「退食自公」之節。宣無私黨遊說之助，臣恐陛下忽於《羔羊》之詩，捨公實之臣，任華虛之譽，是用越職，陳宣行能，唯陛下留神考察。

No royal virtue surpasses knowing how to pick men: when the right men fill every post, Heaven's work is never neglected. Gao Yao said, "To know men is wisdom; to place them rightly is statesmanship." The imperial secretary carries the court's ethos inside the palace and helps the chancellor govern the realm; the burden is too heavy for mediocrity. The vacancy must be filled from among the senior ministers. Choose well and the people rejoice and every bureau falls into line; choose poorly and the great office collapses while the kingly enterprise stalls. Even Shun's wisdom turned on a single appointment—how can you be less than meticulous? I have watched Privy Treasurer Xue Xuan: able, upright, and seasoned in administration. As vice-imperial secretary he enforced the law at the capital without flinching from power or crushing the weak, and every personnel move was timely; as governor of Linhuai and Chenliu both regions called him well governed; as guardian of Left Fengyi he taught goodness and combined authority with kindness until lawsuits for years never reached the chancellor and, after an amnesty, bandits in his jurisdiction fell to a third of the rest of the capital region. Such results are unmatched since the office of left inner guardian was created. Confucius said, "If I praise a man, I have tested him." Xue Xuan's performance reviews stand in the files of both chancellery and censorate; I dare not flatter him and risk the charge of false praise. The greatest talent is the ability to govern others, and Xue Xuan has already proved he has it. He knows the statutes well enough to be commandant of justice and has enough classical culture to counsel on the person of the ruler and on national policy; he combines several kinds of excellence and shows the integrity praised in the ode about returning from court with unstained honor. He has no clique to tout him. I fear Your Majesty might neglect the lesson of "The Lamb" and set aside a man of proven weight for one with hollow fame—so I overstep my rank to commend Xue Xuan's record and beg you to examine it closely.

上然之，遂以宣為御史大夫。

The emperor agreed and appointed Xue Xuan imperial secretary.

數月，代張禹為丞相，封高陽侯，食邑千戶。宣除趙貢兩子為史。貢者，趙廣漢之兄子也，為吏亦有能名。宣為相，府辭訟例不滿萬錢不為移書，後皆遵用薛侯故事。然官屬譏其煩碎無大體，不稱賢也。時天子好儒雅，宣經術又淺，上亦輕焉。

Months later he succeeded Zhang Yu as chancellor, was enfeoffed as Marquis of Gaoyang with a thousand-household fief. He took Zhao Gong's two sons onto his staff as secretaries. Zhao Gong was Zhao Guanghan's nephew and had himself earned a name as a capable official. As chancellor he ruled that the yamen would not transmit suits involving less than ten thousand cash; later offices copied Marquis Xue's precedent. His staff mocked him for pettifogging and missing the big picture, and denied that he was truly worthy. The emperor favored literary Confucians, and Xue Xuan's scholarship was thin, so the throne cooled toward him as well.

久之，廣漢郡盜賊群起，丞相、御史遣掾史逐捕不能克。上乃拜河東都尉趙護為廣漢太守，以軍法從事。數月，斬其渠帥鄭躬，降者數千人，乃平。會邛成太后崩，喪事倉卒，吏賦斂以趨辦。其後上聞之，以過丞相、御史，遂冊免宣曰：「君為丞相，出入六年，忠孝之行，率先百僚，朕無聞焉。朕既不明，變異數見，歲比不登，倉廩空虛，百姓饑饉，流離道路，疾疫死者以萬數，人至相食，盜賊並興，群職曠廢，是朕之不德而股肱不良也。乃者廣漢群盜橫恣，殘賊吏民，朕惻然傷之，數以問君，君對輒不如其實。西州隔絕，幾不為郡。三輔賦斂無度，酷吏並緣為奸，侵擾百姓，詔君案驗，復無慾得事實之意。九卿以下，咸承風指，同時陷於謾欺之辜，咎繇君焉！有司法君領職解嫚，開謾欺之路，傷薄風化，無以帥示四方。不忍致君於理，其上丞相、高陽侯印綬，罷歸。」

Years later Guanghan erupted in outlaw bands; chancellor and censor sent yamen runners after them without success. The emperor named Zhao Hu, commandant of the guard in Hedong, governor of Guanghan with authority to use military methods. Within months he executed their leader Zheng Gong; thousands surrendered, and the region was quiet. Then Empress Dowager Qiongcheng died; the funeral was rushed, and officials squeezed the people to get everything done in haste. When the emperor learned what had happened, he blamed the chancellor and the censor, then issued an edict dismissing Xue Xuan: "Six years you have been chancellor, yet I have heard nothing of you leading the bureaucracy in loyalty or filial duty." "I am a dull ruler: omens multiply, the crops fail year after year, the granaries are empty, the people starve and wander the roads, plague carries off tens of thousands until they turn to cannibalism, bandits rise everywhere, and government grinds to a halt. That reflects my lack of virtue and the failure of my chief ministers." "When the Guanghan outlaws ran wild and butchered officials and commoners, I grieved for the victims and questioned you again and again, and every answer fell short of the truth." The western circuits were isolated and nearly lost to the empire. "In the capital region tax levies knew no limit, harsh underlings turned the chaos to profit, and the people suffered—yet when I ordered you to investigate, you showed no interest in learning what really happened." "From the nine ministers down, everyone took your cue and drifted into lies and evasion. The fault is yours." "You are charged with loose supervision that invited fraud, corroded public morals, and left you unfit to set an example for the realm." "I will not drag you through a criminal trial. Surrender the seals of the chancellorship and of the Marquis of Gaoyang and go home."

初，宣為丞相，而翟方進為司直。宣知方進名儒，有宰相器，深結厚焉。後方進竟代為丞相，思宣舊恩，宣免後二歲，薦宣明習文法，練國制度，前所坐過薄，可復進用。上征宣復爵高陽侯，加寵特進，位次師安昌侯，給事中，視尚書事。宣復尊重。任政數年，後坐善定陵侯淳于長罷就第。

When Xue Xuan first became chancellor, Zhai Fangjin held the post of rectifier. Xue Xuan knew Zhai Fangjin was a noted scholar with chancellor timber and cultivated him warmly. When Zhai Fangjin eventually succeeded him, he remembered that debt; two years after Xue Xuan's dismissal he recommended him as a master of statute and state institutions whose earlier fault had been small and who deserved another chance. The emperor recalled Xue Xuan, restored his title as Marquis of Gaoyang, advanced him to specially advanced rank just below Tutor Shi of Anchang, gave him a palace attendant post, and assigned him to oversee secretariat business. Xue Xuan regained prestige and influence. Some years later he fell because he had been close to Chunyu Zhang, Marquis of Dingling, and was sent home.

初，宣有兩弟，明、修：明至南陽太守；修歷郡守、京兆尹、少府，善交接，得州裡之稱。後母常從修居官。宣為丞相時，修為臨菑令，宣迎後母，修不遣。後母病死，修去官持服。宣謂修三年服少能行之者，兄弟相駁不可，修遂竟服，繇是兄弟不和。

Xue Xuan had two younger brothers, Ming and Xiu; Ming rose to be governor of Nanyang; Xiu served as commandery governor, metropolitan governor, and privy treasurer; he was skilled at networking and popular in his home region. Their stepmother habitually lived with Xiu wherever he held office. While Xue Xuan was chancellor, Xiu was magistrate of Linzi; when Xuan asked to bring the stepmother to the capital, Xiu refused to let her go. When the stepmother died, Xiu resigned to observe the mourning rites. Xue Xuan argued that few men truly kept the full three-year mourning and tried to talk his brother out of it; Xiu insisted on completing the full term anyway, and the two fell out.

事不有司，御史中丞眾等奏：「況朝臣，父故宰相，再封列侯，不相敕丞化，而骨肉相疑，疑咸受修言以謗毀宣。咸所言皆宣行跡，眾人所共見，公家所宜聞。況知咸給事中，恐為司隸舉奏宣，而公令明等迫切宮闕，要遮創戮近臣於大道人眾中，欲以隔塞聰明，杜絕論議之端。桀黠無所畏忌，萬眾言雚嘩，流聞四方，不與凡民忿怒爭鬥者同。臣聞敬近臣，為近主也。禮，下公門，式路馬，君畜產且猶敬之。《春秋》之義，意惡功遂，不免於誅，上浸之源不可長也，況首為惡，明手傷，功意俱惡，皆大不敬。明當以重論，及況皆棄市。」廷尉直以為：「律曰『斗以刃傷人，完為城旦，其賊加罪一等，與謀者同罪。』詔書無以詆欺成罪。傳曰：『遇人不以義而見□者，與□人之罪鈞，惡不直也。』咸厚善修，而數稱宣惡，流聞不誼，不可謂直。況以故傷咸，計謀已定，後聞置司隸，因前謀而趣明，非以恐咸為司隸故造謀也。本爭私變，雖於掖門外傷咸道中，與凡民爭鬥無異。殺人者死，傷人者刑，古今之通道，三代所不易也。孔子曰：『必也正名。』名不正，則至於刑罰不中；刑罰不中，而民無所錯手足。今以況為首惡，明手傷為大不敬，公私無差。《春秋》之義，原心定罪。原況以父見謗發忿怒，無它大惡。加詆欺，輯小過成大辟，陷死刑，違明詔，恐非法意，不可施行。聖王不以怒增刑。明當以賊傷人不直，況與謀者皆爵減完為城旦。」上以問公卿議臣。丞相孔光、大司空師丹以中丞議是，自將軍以下至博士、議郎皆是廷尉。況竟減罪一等，徙敦煌。宣坐免為庶人，歸故郡，卒於家。

The case never reached the regular judiciary. Vice-Imperial Secretary Zhong and colleagues memorialized: "Xue Kuang is a court official whose father was twice a chancellor and a marquis, yet instead of setting a moral example he let kin turn on kin; Shen Xian is thought to have taken Xue Xiu's stories and used them to defame Xue Xuan." What Shen Xian said was common knowledge about Xue Xuan's conduct—facts the court should already have heard. Kuang knew Shen Xian served in palace attendance and feared he would impeach Xue Xuan once metropolitan superintendent; he therefore sent Ming and others to crowd the palace approaches, waylay a senior minister in broad daylight in a public street, hoping to deafen the throne to criticism." It was a brazen, calculated act that set the capital roaring—not a common brawl among angry townsfolk." To assault a minister of the inner court is to strike at the ruler himself." Ritual requires even a duke's gate horse to be treated with respect—how much more a man at the emperor's side?" The Spring and Autumn Annals condemn evil intent even when the crime "succeeds"; the first trickle of contempt for authority must not be tolerated—especially when the blow is premeditated, delivered with the fist, and both motive and act are outrageous." Ming deserves the full penalty; Kuang and his accomplices should die in the public square." Commandant of justice Zhi argued: "The code says that in a brawl a cut with a blade earns wall-dawn labor at intact status, malicious wounding adds one degree, and accomplices share the principal's guilt." Imperial edicts do not treat mere defamation as a completed capital offense." The exegetical tradition says that when someone wrongs you without justice, striking back matches the wrongdoer's guilt—because the response is not upright." Shen Xian was Xiu's intimate and kept retailing scandal about Xue Xuan; the talk that spread was hardly honorable—so his conduct was not "straight" either." Kuang struck Shen Xian over an old feud; the ambush was already planned before a metropolitan superintendent was named, and Ming merely carried it out—Kuang did not hatch the scheme only because he feared Shen Xian's new appointment." At bottom it was a private quarrel; though the blow fell outside the Ye Gate, it was still a street fight among private citizens." Killers die and wounders are punished—that rule has held since high antiquity and the three dynasties never changed it." Confucius said, "The first task is to set names right." If names are wrong, penalties cannot be even; when penalties are uneven, the people lose all bearings." To brand Kuang as the arch-villain and Ming's punch as "great irreverence" collapses public crime with private brawling." The Annals teach us to weigh intent when fixing guilt." Kuang acted from rage at slander against his father; there was no deeper treason." Piling on defamation, inflating a petty affray into a capital case, and ignoring an explicit amnesty would violate the spirit of the statutes." A sage ruler does not sharpen sentences in a fit of temper." Ming should answer for malicious battery; Kuang and his fellow plotters should lose one noble rank and serve wall-dawn labor at intact status." The emperor referred the question to his ministers and policy advisers. Chancellor Kong Guang and Grand Minister of Works Shi Dan agreed with the censor's bench; from the generals down through the academicians everyone backed the commandant of justice. Kuang's sentence was commuted one step and he was exiled to Dunhuang. Stripped of office for his connection to the affair, Xue Xuan went home to his native commandery and died there.

宣子惠亦至二千石。始惠為彭城令，宣從臨淮遷至陳留，過其縣，橋梁、郵亭不修。宣心知惠不能，留彭城數日，案行捨中，處置什器，觀視園菜，終不問惠以吏事。惠自知治縣不稱宣意，遣門下掾送宣至陳留，令掾進見，自從其所問宣不教戒惠吏職之意。宣笑曰：「吏道以法令為師，可問而知。及能與不能，自有資材，何可學也？」眾人傳稱，以宣言為然。

His son Xue Hui likewise rose to two-thousand-dan rank. When Xue Hui was magistrate of Pengcheng, his father passed through on transfer from Linhuai to Chenliu and noticed bridges and relay stations left unrepaired. Xue Xuan knew his son was not up to the job; he lingered a few days, inspected the guest quarters, rearranged the household gear, and toured the kitchen garden—yet never mentioned administration. Hui guessed he had failed his father's expectations; he sent a gate clerk to accompany Xuan toward Chenliu, then had the clerk ask, in his stead, why his father offered no word of guidance on magisterial duty. Xue Xuan laughed and said, "The clerk's art is spelled out in the code—read it and you will know. Whether you have the knack is a gift of nature; that cannot be taught." Onlookers repeated the story and agreed the father was right.

初，宣復封為侯時，妻死，而敬武長公主寡居，上令宣尚焉。及宣免歸故郡，公主留京師。後宣卒，主上書願還宣葬延陵，奏可。況私從敦煌歸長安，會赦，因留與主私亂。哀帝外家丁、傅貴，主附事之，而疏王氏。元始中，莽自尊為安漢公，主又出言非莽。而況與呂寬相善，及寬事覺時，莽並治況，發揚其罪，使使者以太皇太后詔賜主藥。主怒曰：「劉氏孤弱，王氏擅朝，排擠宗室，且嫂何與取妹披抉其閨門而殺之？」使者迫守主，遂飲藥死。況梟首於市。白太后雲主暴病薨。太后欲臨其喪，莽固爭，乃止。

When Xue Xuan regained his marquisate, his wife had died, and the widowed Princess Jingwu was available; the emperor ordered him to marry her. After he was stripped of office and sent home, the princess stayed in Chang'an. When Xue Xuan died, she petitioned to bury him at Yanling, and the throne consented. Xue Kuang slipped back from Dunhuang during a general amnesty and began a clandestine affair with the princess. When the Ding and Fu consorts rose under Emperor Ai, the princess sided with them and turned against the Wangs. During Yuanshi, Wang Mang styled himself Duke of Anhan, and the princess openly criticized him. Kuang was close to Lü Kuan; when Lü's plot came to light, Wang Mang prosecuted Kuang, publicized his guilt, and sent agents with an edict from the grand empress dowager ordering the princess to take poison. She raged: "The Liu are powerless while the Wangs run the state and hound the imperial clan—and what business is it of a sister-in-law to break into a younger sister's private rooms and murder her?" The agents surrounded her until she swallowed the drug and died. Xue Kuang's head was hung in the marketplace. Wang Mang told the empress dowager she had died of a sudden illness. She wished to attend the obsequies, but Wang Mang blocked her until she gave up the idea.

硃博字子元，杜陵人也。家貧，少時給事縣為亭長，好客少年，捕搏敢行。稍遷為功曹，伉俠好交，隨從士大夫，不避風雨。是時，前將軍望之子蕭育，御史大夫萬年子陳咸以公卿子著材知名，博皆友之矣。時，諸陵縣屬太常，博以太常掾察廉，補安陵丞。後去官入京兆，歷曹史列掾。出為督郵書掾，所部職辦，郡中稱之。

Zhu Bo, courtesy name Ziyuan, came from Duling. Poor as a boy, he served as a village head, entertained young swordsmen, and made arrests without flinching. Promoted to merit clerk, he cultivated a swaggering, loyal style, followed scholars and magnates through every weather, and loved a wide circle of friends. In those days Xiao Yu, son of General Wang, and Chen Xian, son of Imperial Secretary Wan, were celebrated heirs of the elite, and Zhu Bo numbered among their companions. The imperial tomb districts fell under the chamberlain of ceremonials; Zhu Bo, serving on that staff, won an incorrupt nomination and became assistant magistrate of Anling. He later resigned, moved to the capital district, and worked his way through a series of yamen posts. As visiting inspector and correspondence clerk he cleared his circuit's backlog and won the commandery's praise.

而陳咸為御史中丞，坐漏洩省中語下獄。博去吏，間步至廷尉中，候伺咸事。咸掠治困篤，博詐得為醫人獄，得見咸，具知其所坐罪。博出獄，又變性名，為咸驗治數百，卒免咸死罪。咸得論出，而博以此顯名，為郡功曹。

Chen Xian became vice-imperial secretary but landed in jail for leaking palace secrets. Zhu Bo quit his post, slipped into the commandant of justice compound, and watched Chen Xian's trial. Chen Xian was racked until he was near death; Zhu Bo posed as a prison doctor, gained access, and learned every count against him. He then changed his name, filed hundreds of affidavits on Chen Xian's behalf, and finally spared him execution. When Chen Xian walked free, Zhu Bo's reputation was made and he became the commandery merit clerk.

博本武吏，不更文法，及為刺史行部，吏民數百人遮道自言，官寺盡滿。從事白請且留此縣錄見諸自言者，事畢乃發，欲以觀試博。博心知之，告外趣駕。既白駕辦，博出就車見自言者，使從事明敕告吏民：「欲言縣丞尉者，刺史不察黃綬，各自詣郡。欲言二千石墨綬長吏者，使者行部還，詣治所。其民為吏所冤，及言盜賊辭訟事，各使屬其部從事。」博駐車決遣，四五百人皆罷去，如神。吏民大驚，不意博應事變乃至於此。後博徐問，果老從事教民聚會。博殺此吏，州郡畏博威嚴。徙為并州刺史、護漕都尉，遷琅邪太守。

Zhu Bo was a rough soldier-clerk with no training in the code; on his first inspection tour hundreds of petitioners mobbed the road and filled every office. His aide suggested they delay in that county, hear every petitioner, and then move on—intending to test the new inspector. Zhu Bo saw through the ploy and ordered his carriage readied at once. Once the team was harnessed, he rode out to the crowd and had his aide announce: "Complaints against county assistants or captains—this inspector does not hear cases against yellow-sash officials; take those to the commandery yourselves. Charges against two-thousand-dan black-sash magistrates may be lodged at my yamen when I finish the circuit." Petitions about malfeasant clerks, robbery, or lawsuits go to the sectional aide for each circuit." He disposed of four or five hundred cases from his chariot as if by magic, and the crowd melted away. Officials and commoners were stunned that he could clear such a mob so decisively. Later inquiry showed a senior clerk had coached the demonstration. Zhu Bo had that clerk put to death, and every commandery learned to fear him. He moved on to regional inspector of Bingzhou, escort commandant for the grain fleets, and then governor of Langye.

齊舒緩養名，博新視事，右曹掾史皆移病臥。博問其故，對言：「惶恐！故事二千石新到，輒遣吏存問致意，乃敢起就職。」博奮髯抵幾曰：「觀齊兒欲以此為俗邪！」乃召見諸曹史書佐及縣大吏，選視其可用者，出教置之。皆斥罷諸病吏，白巾走出府門。郡中大驚。頃之，門下掾贛遂耆老大儒，教授數百人，拜起舒遲。博出教主簿：「贛老生不習吏禮，主簿且教拜起，閑習乃止。」又敕功曹：「官屬多褒衣大□，不中節度，自今掾史衣皆令去地三寸。」博尤不愛諸生，所至郡輒罷去議曹，曰：「豈可復置謀曹邪！」文學儒吏時有奏記稱說云云，博見謂曰：「如太守漢吏，奉三尺律令以從事耳，亡奈生所言聖人道何也！且持此道歸，堯、舜君出，為陳說之。」其折逆人如此。視事數年，大改其俗，掾史禮節如夢、趙吏。

Qi culture was languid and reputation-conscious; when Zhu Bo arrived, every clerk in the right bureau called in sick. He demanded an explanation; they quavered, "We dare not presume— whenever a new governor comes, custom requires him to send greetings before we return to duty." Zhu Bo swept his beard aside, slammed the desk, and roared, "Do you mean to make a ritual of laziness?" He summoned every yamen clerk, picked those worth keeping, and issued fresh assignments. The malingerers were cashiered; they fled the yamen in white mourning cloth. The whole commandery was shaken. Soon after, the gate clerk Gan Sui—a venerable scholar with hundreds of pupils—shuffled through his bows at a snail's pace. Zhu Bo told his chief clerk, "Coach the old master in how to bow; drill him until he gets it right." He ordered the merit clerk: "Your men waddle about in billowing robes that break every regulation; from today every clerk's hem stays three cun clear of the ground." Zhu Bo had little patience for scholars: in each commandery he abolished the deliberation staff, declaring, "I will not revive a separate 'strategy office.'" When Confucian clerks filed ornate memorials, he cut them short: "I am a Han magistrate: my job is the code on this desk, not your disquisitions on the Way of the sages." Take that sermon home and save it for the day Yao and Shun walk the earth again." That was typical of how he brushed people aside. Within a few years local habits had tightened until his yamen clerks carried themselves like the brisk officials of Yan and Zhao.

博治郡，常令屬縣各用其豪桀以為大吏，文武從宜。縣有劇賊及它非常，博輒移書以詭責之。其盡力有效，必加厚賞；懷詐不稱，誅罰輒行。以是豪強慹服。姑幕縣有群輩八人報仇廷中，皆不得。長吏自系書言府，賊曹掾史自白請至姑幕。事留不出。功曹諸掾即皆自白，復不出。於是府丞詣閣，博乃見丕丞掾曰：「以為縣自有長吏，府未嘗與也，丞掾謂府當與之邪？」閣下書佐入，博口占檄文曰：「府告姑幕令丞：言賊發不得，有書。檄到，令丞就職，游檄王卿力有餘，如律令！」王卿得敕惶怖，親屬失色，晝夜馳鶩，十餘日間捕得五人。博復移書曰：「王卿憂公甚效！檄到，繼伐閱詣府。部掾以下亦可用，漸盡其餘矣。」其操持下，皆此類也。

As governor he told each county to press its own leading men into service as chief aides, mixing civil and martial talent as the case required. Whenever a county faced serious outlaws or emergencies, he fired off a stern circular demanding results. Men who produced arrests won rich rewards; those caught dissembling were punished immediately. The great houses learned to obey. Eight men in Gumu took revenge inside the county hall, and none were caught. The county head sent a self-blaming petition to the yamen, and the bandit clerks begged to ride out to Gumu. Zhu Bo let the request sit. The merit clerk and aides renewed their plea; again he refused. The commandery's assistant governor came to the gate, and Zhu Bo told the county aides: "Each county has its own magistrate. This office has never run your arrests—do you imagine the governor's yamen should do your job for you?" He dictated a summons for the gate clerk: "Tell Gumu's magistrate and assistant: you wrote that the robbers escaped capture. When this order reaches you, resume duty and put patrol officer Wang Qing to work at full stretch—as the law demands." Wang Qing took the order in terror, roused his kin, and ran himself ragged until within two weeks five men were in custody. Zhu Bo followed with praise: "Wang Qing has served the public with remarkable zeal! When this order reaches you, Wang Qing must bring his merit dossier to the yamen for review. Sectional aides and below may be drafted as well—work through the rest of the gang in order." His management of underlings always ran along such lines.

以高弟入守左馮翊，滿歲為真。其治左馮翊，文理聰明殊不及薛宣，而多武譎，網絡張設，少愛利，敢誅殺。然亦縱捨，時有大貸，下吏以此為盡力。

Rated at the top of the list, he took provisional charge of Left Fengyi and received the substantive appointment a year later. As guardian of Left Fengyi he lacked Xue Xuan's polish and subtlety but relied on military wiles, tight surveillance, scant mercy, and a readiness to kill. Yet he could also relent and grant sweeping pardons, which made his men fight all the harder for him.

長陵大姓尚方禁少時嘗盜人妻，見斫，創著其頰。府功曹受賂，白除禁調守尉。博聞知，以它事召見，視其面，果有瘢。博辟左右問禁：「是何等創也？」禁自知情得，叩頭服狀。博笑曰：「丈夫固時有是。馮翊欲灑卿恥，□拭用禁，能自效不？」禁且喜且懼，對曰：「必死！」博因敕禁：「毋得洩語，有便宜，輒記言。」因親信之以為耳目。禁晨夜發起部中盜賊及它伏奸，有功效。博擢禁連守縣令。久之，召見功曹，閉閣數責以禁等事，與筆札使自記，「積受取一錢以上，無得有所匿。欺謾半言，斷頭矣！」功曹惶怖，具自疏奸臧，大小不敢隱。博知其對以實，乃令就席，受敕自改而已。投刀使削所記，遣出就職。功曹後常戰慄，不敢蹉跌，博遂成就之。

Shangfang Jin of Changling, a powerful local, had once abducted another man's wife in his youth and been slashed across the cheek for it. The merit clerk took a payoff and had Jin quietly posted as assistant captain. Zhu Bo heard of it, called Jin in on other business, and spotted the scar. Sending attendants away, he asked, "What left that mark?" Jin knew the game was up and confessed. Zhu Bo laughed: "Every man has skeletons in his past. I mean to wipe away your shame by employing you—will you serve me to the death?" Jin answered, trembling with hope and fear, "To the death!" Zhu Bo swore him to secrecy and told him to pass on every useful scrap of intelligence. He kept Jin close as an informant. Jin flushed out bandits and hidden criminals day and night with striking success. Zhu Bo raised him in stages until he served as magistrate of several counties in turn. Later he shut the merit clerk in his office, berated him over the Jin affair, handed him brush and bamboo slips, and ordered: "List every bribe you ever took, down to a single cash—hide nothing. One lie and you lose your head." The clerk, shaking, wrote out every bribe large and small. Satisfied it was true, Zhu Bo let him sit down, accepted his vow to mend his ways, and stopped there. He tossed him a knife to scrape the confession clean from the slips and sent him back to work. The clerk thereafter walked on eggshells and never slipped again—exactly the discipline Zhu Bo wanted.

遷為大司農。歲餘，坐小法，左遷犍為太守。先是，南蠻若兒數為寇盜，博厚結其昆弟，使為反間，襲殺之，郡中清。

He rose to grand minister of agriculture. A year later a petty legal fault cost him his rank; he was demoted to governor of Qianwei. The southern chief Ruo'er had long raided the border; Zhu Bo won over his brothers, turned them double, ambushed Ruo'er, and restored quiet to the commandery.

徙為山陽太守，病免官。復徵為光祿大夫，遷廷尉，職典決疑，當言獻平天下獄。博恐為官屬所誣，視事，召見正監典法掾史，謂曰：「廷尉本起於武吏，不通法律，幸有眾賢，亦何憂！然廷尉治郡斷獄以來且二十年，亦獨耳剽日久，三尺律令，人事出其中。掾史試與正監共撰前世決事吏議難知者數十事，持以問廷尉，得為諸君覆意之。」正監以為博苟強，意未必能然，即共條白焉。博皆召掾史，並坐而問，為平處其輕重，十中八九。官屬咸服博之疏略，材過人也。每遷徙易官，所到輒出奇譎如此，以明示下為不可欺者。

He moved to governor of Shanyang but resigned because of illness. Recalled as superintendent of the imperial household, he became commandant of justice, charged with settling doubtful cases and harmonizing judgments empire-wide. Fearing his staff might deceive him, he told the chief jailers on day one: "I rose from the ranks and never memorized the code—luckily I have you experts. Yet I have run counties and courts for twenty years and picked up the gist: human affairs all fall within those statutes. Together draft a few dozen knotty precedents from old cases and quiz me on them—I will talk you through the reasoning." The jailers thought he was bluffing and drew up a long list. He called them in, weighed each problem, and scored eight or nine correct. The whole office marveled at his rough-hewn brilliance. At every new post he staged some such demonstration so no clerk dared think him a fool.

久之，遷後將軍，與紅陽侯立相善。立有罪就國，有司奏立黨友，博坐免。後歲餘，哀帝即位，以博名臣，召見，起家復為光祿大夫，遷為京兆尹，數月超為大司空。

Promoted rear general, he grew close to Liu Li, Marquis of Hongyang. When Liu Li was sent to his fief for crimes, the authorities listed Zhu Bo among his partisans and cashiered him. A year later Emperor Ai took the throne, recalled Zhu Bo as a noted minister, restored him from private life to superintendent of the imperial household, then metropolitan governor, and within months to grand minister of works.

初，漢興襲秦官，置丞相、御史大夫、太尉。至武帝罷太尉，始置大司馬以冠將軍之號，非有印綬官屬也。及成帝時，何武為九卿，建言：「古者民樸事約，國之輔佐必得賢聖，然猶則天三光，備三公官，各有分職。今末俗之弊，政事煩多，宰相之材不能及古，而丞相獨兼三公之事，所以久廢而不治也。宜建三公官，定卿大夫之任，分職授政，以考功效。」其後上以問師安昌侯張禹，禹以為然。時曲陽侯王根為大司馬票騎將軍，而何武為御史大夫。於是上賜曲陽侯根大司馬印綬，置官屬，罷票騎將軍官，以御史大夫何武為大司空，封列侯，皆增奉如丞相，以備三公官焉。議者多以為古今異制，漢自天下之號下至佐史皆不同於古，而獨改三公，職事難分明，無益於治亂。是時，御史府吏捨百餘區井水皆竭；又其府中列柏樹，常有野烏數千棲宿其上，晨去暮來，號日「朝夕烏」，烏去不來者數月，長老異之。後二歲餘，硃博為大司空，奏言：「帝王之道不必相襲，各由時務。高皇帝以聖德受命，建立鴻業，置御史大夫，位次丞相，典正法度，以職相參，總領百官，上下相監臨，歷載二百年，天下安寧。今更為大司空，與丞相同位，未獲嘉祐。故事，選郡國守相高第為中二千石，選中二千石為御史大夫，任職者為丞相，位次有序，所以尊聖德，重國相也。今中二千石未更御史大夫而為丞相，權輕，非所以重國政也。臣愚以為大司空官可罷，復置御史大夫，遵奉舊制。臣願盡力，以御史大夫為百僚率。」哀帝從之，乃更拜博為御史大夫。會大司馬喜免，以陽安侯丁明為大司馬衛將軍，置官屬，大司馬冠號如故事。後四歲，哀帝遂改丞相為大司徒，復置大司空、大司馬焉。

At the founding Han copied Qin by installing chancellor, imperial secretary, and grand commandant. Emperor Wu dropped the grand commandant and added the title grand marshal as a general's honorific, without its own seal or staff. Under Emperor Cheng, Minister He Wu argued: "In high antiquity life was simple and government lean; even sage assistants modeled the three lights of heaven, so the three dukes each had a clear portfolio. Today business is tangled and no single chancellor can match the old ideal, yet one man still does three jobs—that is why government drags." He urged restoring the three dukes, defining ministers' roles, and splitting authority so performance could be judged." The emperor consulted Tutor Zhang Yu of Anchang, who agreed. Wang Gen, Marquis of Quyang, then held grand marshal with the agile-cavalry generalship, while He Wu was imperial secretary. The throne gave Wang Gen the grand marshal seal and staff, dropped the separate agile-cavalry post, made He Wu grand minister of works with a marquisate and chancellor-level salary, rounding out the three excellencies. Critics complained that Han titles from the throne down to runners bore little resemblance to antiquity, so tinkering with the three excellencies only blurred lines of authority without helping order. About then the censorate's hundred-odd clerk dormitories saw every well run dry; crows by the thousands roosted in the courtyard cypresses, flapping off at dawn and back at dusk until one day they vanished for months—old residents took it for an omen. Two years later Zhu Bo, as grand minister of works, argued that kings need not copy predecessors but adapt to their age. Gaozu created the imperial secretary below the chancellor to guard the statutes, coordinate the bureaucracy, and keep checks on power—a system that kept peace for two hundred years. Renaming that office grand minister of works and making it equal to the chancellor has brought no blessing. Custom promoted star governors to full two-thousand-dan, then to imperial secretary, then to chancellor—a ladder that honored the realm's chief minister. Skipping the censorate on the way to chancellor weakens the chain of command. I move to abolish grand minister of works and restore the imperial secretary under the old rules. I will serve with all I have as first among the ministers." Emperor Ai agreed and named Zhu Bo imperial secretary. When Grand Marshal Fu Xi fell, Ding Ming became grand marshal and guards general with full staff, reviving the old grand marshal style. Four years on, Ai renamed the chancellor grand tutor and reinstated grand minister of works and grand marshal.

初，何武為大司空，又與丞相方進共奏言：「古選諸侯賢者以為州伯，《書》曰『咨十有二牧』，所以廣聰明，燭幽隱也。今部刺史居牧伯之位，秉一州之統，選第大吏，所薦位高至九卿，所惡立退，任重職大。《春秋》之義，用貴治賤，不以卑臨尊。刺史位下大夫，而臨二千石，輕重不相準，失位次之序。臣請罷刺史，更置州牧，以應古制。」奏可。及博奏復御史大夫官，又奏言：「漢家至德溥大，宇內萬里，立置郡縣。部刺史奉使典州，督察郡國，吏民安寧。故事，居部九歲舉為守相，其有異材功效著者輒登擢，秩卑而賞厚，咸勸功樂進。前丞相方進奏罷刺史，更置州牧，秩真二千石，位次九卿。九卿缺，以高第補，其中材則苟自守而已，恐功效陵夷，奸軌不禁。臣請罷州牧，置刺史如故。」奏可。

Earlier, as grand minister of works, He Wu and Chancellor Zhai Fangjin had memorialized that ancient kings picked worthy lords as regional shepherds—the Documents speaks of twelve pastors—to widen the court's ears and expose hidden wrong. Today's regional inspectors wield a pastor's power, pick senior officials, and can vault protégés to the nine ministers or ruin careers at a stroke. The Annals teach that the high should discipline the low, not the reverse. Yet an inspector ranks only with a grandee while judging two-thousand-dan magistrates—a mismatch in rank. We ask to replace inspectors with provincial shepherds, as in antiquity." The throne approved. When Zhu Bo restored the censorate, he added: "Han's virtue fills the realm of commanderies and counties. Inspectors hold imperial warrant, watch the commanderies, and keep officials and people at peace. Custom kept them in a circuit nine years before promoting the best; rank stayed modest but rewards were rich, so men strove to excel. Chancellor Zhai Fangjin had replaced them with provincial shepherds at full two-thousand-dan, just below the nine ministers. Mediocre shepherds simply guarded their seats while talent dried up and crime spread. I ask to dismiss the shepherds and return to regional inspectors." The emperor agreed again.

博為人廉儉，不好酒色游宴。自微賤至富貴，食不重味，案上不過三懷，夜寢早起，妻希見其面。有一女，無男。然好樂士大夫，為郡守九卿，賓客滿門，欲仕宦者薦舉之，欲報仇怨者解劍以帶之。其趨事待士如是，博以此自立，然終用敗。

Zhu Bo lived plainly and shunned carousing. From poverty to power he never doubled dishes at a meal, kept only three cups on his desk, worked from before dawn until late at night, and his wife rarely saw him. He had a daughter but no son. Yet he courted scholars: as governor or minister his house thronged with guests—he sponsored the ambitious and lent his sword to men seeking revenge. He built a career on hustle and patronage—and in the end it destroyed him.

初，哀帝祖母定陶太后欲求稱尊號，太后從弟高武侯傅喜為大司馬，與丞相孔光、大司空師丹共持正議。孔鄉侯傅晏亦太后從弟，諂諛欲順指，會博新徵用為京兆尹，與交結，謀成尊號，以廣孝道。由是師丹先免，博代為大司空，數燕見奏封事，言：「丞相光志在自守，不能憂國；大司馬喜至尊至親，阿黨大臣，無益政治。」上遂罷喜遣就國，免光為庶人，以博代光為丞相，封陽鄉侯，食邑二千戶。博上書讓曰：「故事封丞相不滿千戶，而獨臣過制，誠慚懼，願還千戶。」上許焉。傅太后怨傅喜不已，使孔鄉侯晏風丞相，令奏免喜侯。博受詔，與御史大夫趙玄議，玄言：「事已前決，得無不宜？」博曰：「已許孔鄉侯有指。匹夫相要，尚相得死，何況至尊？博唯有死耳！」玄即許可。博惡獨斥奏喜，以故大司空汜鄉侯何武前亦坐過免就國，事與喜相似，即並奏：「喜、武前在位，皆無益於治，雖已退免，爵士之封非所當得也。請皆免為庶人。」上知傅太后素常怨喜，疑博、玄承指，即召玄詣尚書問狀。玄辭服，有詔左將軍彭宣與中朝者雜問。宣等劾奏：「博宰相，玄上卿，晏以外親封位特進，股肱大臣，上所信任，不思竭誠奉公，務廣恩化，為百寮先，皆知喜、武前已蒙恩詔決，事更三赦，博執正道，虧損上恩，以結信貴戚，背君鄉臣，傾亂政治，奸人之雄，附下罔上，為臣不忠不道；玄知博所言非法，枉義附從，大不敬；晏與博議免喜，失禮不敬。臣請詔謁者召博、玄、晏詣廷尉詔獄。」

When Emperor Ai's grandmother, the Dowager of Dingtao, demanded an imperial-style title, her cousin Fu Xi as grand marshal stood with Kong Guang and Shi Dan on the side of precedent. Her cousin Fu Yan of Kongxiang toadied to her; Zhu Bo, newly named metropolitan governor, allied with Yan to push the title through in the name of filial piety. Shi Dan was dismissed first; Zhu Bo succeeded him as grand minister of works and repeatedly at informal audiences filed sealed memorials claiming that Chancellor Kong Guang thought only of self-preservation and would not put the state first; that Grand Marshal Fu Xi was the sovereign's nearest kinsman yet curried favor with powerful ministers, to the harm of government." The emperor banished Fu Xi to his fief, reduced Kong Guang to commoner rank, named Zhu Bo chancellor in his place, enfeoffed him as Marquis of Yangxiang with two thousand households of income. Zhu Bo memorialized in protest: "Chancellors have never held more than a thousand-household fiefs; mine breaks precedent and shames me—I ask to give back one thousand households." The emperor allowed it. Grand Empress Dowager Fu still hated Fu Xi and sent Fu Yan to lean on the chancellor to memorialize for stripping Fu Xi of his title. Zhu Bo took the order and consulted Imperial Secretary Zhao Xuan, who asked, "The case was settled long ago—is it wise to reopen it?" Zhu Bo replied, "I gave Fu Yan my word." Commoners keep a blood oath to the death—how can I refuse the grand empress dowager?" I would rather die than break faith!" Zhao Xuan yielded. Unwilling to single out Fu Xi alone, Zhu Bo lumped in He Wu, former grand minister of works and Marquis of Sìxiang, who had also been cashiered to his fief: "Neither Fu Xi nor He Wu helped the government while in power; though removed, they should not keep their marquisates. Strip both to commoner rank." The emperor knew the grand empress dowager's grudge against Fu Xi and suspected Zhu Bo and Zhao Xuan acted on her nod; he summoned Zhao Xuan to the secretariat for questioning. Zhao Xuan confessed. The throne ordered General of the Left Peng Xuan and inner-court officials to conduct a joint hearing. Peng Xuan and colleagues charged: "Zhu Bo and Zhao Xuan are pillars of state yet curried favor with the Fu clan, betrayed clear imperial mercy already confirmed through three amnesties, and overturned policy to please in-laws—disloyal and lawless conduct; Zhao Xuan knew the memorial was unlawful yet went along—gross irreverence; Fu Yan conspired with Zhu Bo to ruin Fu Xi—another breach of propriety. We ask that Zhu Bo, Zhao Xuan, and Fu Yan be taken to the imperial prison under the commandant of justice."

制曰：「將軍、中二千石、二千石、諸大夫、博士、議郎議。」右將軍蟜望等四十四人以為：「如宣等言，可許。」諫大夫龔勝等十四人以為：「《春秋》之義，奸以事君，常刑不捨。魯大夫叔孫僑如欲顓公室，譖其族兄季孫行父於晉，晉執囚行父以亂魯國，《春秋》重而書之。今晏放命圯族，干亂朝政，要大臣以罔上，本造計謀，職為亂階，宜與博、玄同罪，罪皆不道。」上減玄死罪三等，削晏戶四分之一，假謁者節召丞相詣廷尉詔獄。博自殺，國除。

An edict called in ministers and advisers for debate. General of the Right Wang Jiao and forty-four others agreed with Peng Xuan's memorial and urged the throne to accept it. Remonstrance grandee Gong Sheng and fourteen others cited the Annals: treason against the ruler admits no ordinary mercy; when Sun Qiaoru of Lu slandered his kinsman Ji Xingfu to Jin and threw Lu into chaos, the Annals condemned it harshly. Fu Yan defied the throne, stirred the court, extorted senior ministers, and hatched the plot—he should share Zhu Bo and Zhao Xuan's guilt; all three are guilty of capital disloyalty." The emperor commuted Zhao Xuan's death sentence three steps, trimmed Fu Yan's fief by a quarter, and sent the usher with credentials to take Zhu Bo into the imperial prison. Zhu Bo committed suicide and his marquisate was extinguished.

初，博以御史為丞相，封陽鄉侯，玄以少府為御史大夫，並拜於前殿，廷登受策，有音如鐘聲。語在《五行志》。

When Zhu Bo rose from imperial secretary to Marquis of Yangxiang chancellor and Zhao Xuan from privy treasurer to imperial secretary, both were invested in the front hall; as they mounted the steps to receive their patents a bell-like tone rang out. The omen is recorded in the treatise on the Five Phases.

贊曰：薛宣、硃博皆起佐史，歷位以登宰相。宣所在而治，為世吏師，及居大位，以苛察失名，器誠有極也。博馳聘進取，不思道德，已亡可言，又見孝成之世委任大臣，假借用權。世主已更，好惡異前，復附丁、傅稱順孔鄉。事發見詰，遂陷誣罔，辭窮情得，仰藥飲鳩。孔子曰：「久矣哉，由之行詐也！」博亦然哉！

The historian concludes: Xue Xuan and Zhu Bo climbed from petty clerks to the chancellorship. Xue Xuan governed every post well and taught a generation how to administer, but at the summit his nit-picking cost him his good name—talent has its ceiling. Zhu Bo chased power without scruple and, seeing how Emperor Cheng's great ministers had wielded borrowed authority, mistook the lesson. A new emperor brought new tastes; Zhu Bo hitched himself to the Ding and Fu clans and echoed Fu Yan. Exposed and cornered, he drank poison and swallowed aconite. Confucius said of Zilu, "His tricks have gone on far too long!" Zhu Bo was no different.

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