1
劉玄字聖公，光武族兄也。 弟為人所殺，聖公結客欲報之。 客犯法，聖公避吏於平林。 吏系聖公父子張。 聖公詐死，使人持喪歸舂陵，吏乃出子張，聖公因自逃匿。
Liu Xuan, courtesy name Shenggong, was a kinsman of Liu Xiu, the future Emperor Guangwu. When his brother was murdered, he gathered swordsmen to take revenge. His men ran afoul of the law, and he fled official pursuit to Pinglin. The authorities arrested his father Liu Zizhang and held him. He staged his own death and sent a mock funeral cortege to Chunling; when the jailers released his father, he slipped away into hiding.
2
王莽末，南方饑饉，人庶群入野澤，掘鳧茈而食之，更相侵奪。 新市人王匡、王鳳為平理諍訟，遂推為渠帥，眾數百人。 於是諸亡命馬武、王常、成丹等往從之； 共攻離鄉聚，臧於綠林中，數月間至七八千人。 地皇二年，荊州牧某發奔命二萬人攻之，匡等相率迎擊於雲杜，大破牧軍，殺數千人，盡獲輜重，遂攻拔竟陵。 轉擊雲杜、安陸，多略婦女，還入綠林中，至有五萬餘口，州郡不能制。
Late in Wang Mang’s reign famine drove the southern populace into the wetlands to dig arrowhead tubers, and they fought one another for food. Wang Kuang and Wang Feng of Xinshi settled disputes among the refugees and were chosen as leaders of several hundred men. Outlaws such as Ma Wu, Wang Chang, and Cheng Dan rallied to them; together they raided country settlements and took refuge in the Lulin marshes until their strength grew to seven or eight thousand within a few months. In 21 the Jingzhou governor mobilized twenty thousand emergency troops; Wang Kuang met them at Yundu, shattered the government force, killed thousands, seized the baggage train, and went on to capture Jingling. They struck Yundu and Anlu, carried off many women, and withdrew again to Lulin until their host exceeded fifty thousand—beyond the power of local officials to restrain.
3
三年，大疾疫，死者且半，乃各分散引去。 王常、成丹西入南郡，號下江兵； 王匡、王鳳、馬武及其支常朱鮪、張卬等北入南陽，號新市兵：皆自稱將軍。 七月，匡等進攻隨，未能下。 平林人陳牧、廖湛復聚眾千餘人，號平林兵，以應之。 聖公因往從牧等，為其軍安集掾。
The next year plague killed nearly half of them, and the bands broke up and dispersed. Wang Chang and Cheng Dan marched west into Nan commandery as the “Lower Yang” column; Wang Kuang, Wang Feng, Ma Wu, Zhu Wei, Zhang Ang, and others went north into Nanyang as the “Xinshi” band, each styling himself general. In the seventh month they besieged Sui but could not reduce the town. Chen Mu and Liao Zhan of Pinglin raised another thousand men, the “Pinglin” force, to join the rebellion. Liu Xuan then joined Chen Mu’s band as clerk for pacification and muster.
4
更始忌伯升威名，遂誅之，以光祿勛劉賜為大司徒。 前鐘武侯劉望起兵，略有汝南。 時王莽納言將軍嚴尤、秩宗將軍陳藏既敗於昆陽，往歸之。 八月，望遂自立為天子，以尤為大司馬、茂為丞相。 王莽使太師王匡、國將哀章守洛陽。 更始遣定國上公王匡攻洛陽，西屏大將軍申屠建、丞相司值李松攻武關，三輔震動。 是時海內豪桀翕然響應，皆殺其牧守，自稱將軍，用漢年號，以待詔命，旬月之間，遍於天下。
Emperor Gengshi, jealous of Liu Yan’s renown, had him killed and appointed Liu Ci grand minister over the masses. Liu Wang, former marquis of Zhongwu, rebelled and overran Runan. Yan You and Chen Cang, Wang Mang’s generals who had lost at Kunyang, fled to Liu Wang’s camp. In August Liu Wang declared himself emperor, named Yan You grand marshal and Chen Mao chancellor. Wang Mang sent Wang Kuang and Ai Zhang to hold Luoyang. Gengshi ordered Wang Kuang to take Luoyang and Shentu Jian and Li Song to storm Wu Pass; the capital region shook. Bold men everywhere rose at once, slew their governors, styled themselves generals, and adopted Han reign years while awaiting Gengshi’s orders—within weeks the movement covered the realm.
5
長安中起兵攻未央官。 九月，東海人公賓就斬王莽於漸臺，收璽綬，傳首詣宛。 更始時在便坐黃堂，取視之，喜曰：『莽不如是，當與霍光等。 』寵姬韓夫人笑曰：『若不如是，帝焉得之乎？ 』更始悅，乃懸莽首於宛城市。 是月，拔洛陽，生縛王匡、哀章，至，皆斬之。 十月，使奮威大將軍劉信擊殺劉望於汝南，並誅嚴尤、陳茂。 更始遂北都洛陽，以劉賜為丞相。 申屠建、李松自長安傳送乘輿服御，又遣中黃門從官奉迎遷都。 二年二月，更始自洛陽而西。 初發，李松奉引，馬驚奔，觸北宮鐵柱門，三馬皆死。
Rebels in Chang’an stormed the Weiyang Palace. In September Gongbin Jiu cut down Wang Mang on the terrace by the imperial pool, seized the imperial seals, and sent his head to Wan. Gengshi was in the side hall when the head arrived; he gloated that had Wang Mang not come to this, he might have rivaled Huo Guang. His favorite, Lady Han, laughed and asked how else he could have gained the throne. Pleased, he had Wang Mang’s head displayed in the marketplace at Wan. The same month Luoyang fell; Wang Kuang and Ai Zhang were taken alive and executed on arrival. In October he sent Liu Xin to destroy Liu Wang at Runan and put Yan You and Chen Mao to death as well. Gengshi then moved his capital north to Luoyang and made Liu Ci chancellor. Shentu Jian and Li Song sent the imperial carriages and regalia from Chang’an, and eunuch attendants were dispatched to escort the court to its new seat. In the second month of the second year of his reign he traveled west from Luoyang. As the procession set out, Li Song led the team; the horses bolted into the iron gate of the North Palace and all three were killed.
6
初，王莽敗，唯未央宮被焚而已，其餘宮館一無所毀。 宮女數千，備列後庭，自鐘鼓、帷帳、輿輦、器服、太倉、武庫、官府、市裏，不改於舊。 更始既至，居長樂宮，升前殿，郎吏以次列庭中。 更始羞怍，俯首刮席不敢視。 諸將後至者，更始問虜掠得幾何，左右侍官皆宮省久吏，各驚相視。
When Wang Mang fell, only the Weiyang Palace had burned; every other hall stood intact. Thousands of palace ladies still waited in the harem; bells, hangings, chariots, wardrobes, the imperial granary and armory, offices, and market wards—all unchanged from Wang Mang’s day. Gengshi took up residence in the Changle Palace, mounted the front hall, and court gentlemen lined the courtyard in order. Overcome with embarrassment, he kept his head down and traced the matting with his finger, unable to meet their eyes. When latecomers among the generals arrived, he asked how much loot they had seized; the veteran chamberlains exchanged shocked glances.
7
李松與棘陽人趙萌說更始，宜悉王諸功臣。 朱鮪爭之，以為高祖約，非劉氏不王。 更始乃先封宗室太常將軍劉祉為定陶王、劉賜為宛王、劉慶為燕王、劉歙為元氏王、大將軍劉嘉為漢中王、劉信為汝陰王，後遂立王匡為比陽王、王鳳為宜城王、朱鮪為膠東王、衛尉大將軍張卬為淮陽王、廷尉大將軍王常為鄧王，執金吾大將軍廖湛為穰王、申屠建為平氏王、尚書胡殷為隨王、柱天大將軍李通為西平王、五威中郎將李軼為舞陰王、水衡大將軍成丹為襄邑王、大司空陳牧為陰平王、驃騎大將軍宋佻為潁陰王、尹尊為郾王。 唯朱鮪辭曰：『臣非劉宗，不敢幹典。 』遂讓不受。 乃徙鮪為左大司馬，劉賜為前大司馬，使與李軼、李通、王常等鎮撫關東。 以李松為丞相，趙萌為右大司馬，共秉內任。
Li Song and Zhao Meng of Jiyang urged Gengshi to enfeoff all his chief followers as kings. Zhu Wei objected, citing Gaozu’s oath that only Liu clansmen might receive the title of king. Gengshi first created kings among Liu kinsmen—Liu Zhi of Dingtao, Liu Ci of Wan, Liu Qing of Yan, Liu Xi of Yuanshi, Liu Jia of Hanzhong, and Liu Xin of Ruyin—then enfeoffed his generals: Wang Kuang at Biyang, Wang Feng at Yicheng, Zhu Wei in Jiaodong, Zhang Ang in Huaiyang, Wang Chang in Deng, Liao Zhan at Rang, Shentu Jian at Pingshi, Hu Yin at Sui, Li Tong at Xiping, Li Yi at Wuyin, Cheng Dan at Xiangyi, Chen Mu at Yinping, Song Tiao at Yingyin, and Yin Zun at Yan. Zhu Wei alone demurred that he was not of the Liu house and could not break the statute. He refused the title. Zhu Wei was made left grand marshal instead, Liu Ci front grand marshal, and they were sent east of the passes with Li Yi, Li Tong, and Wang Chang to hold the region. Li Song was named chancellor and Zhao Meng right grand marshal to manage affairs at the capital.
8
更始納趙萌女為夫人，有寵，遂委政於萌，日夜與婦人飲宴後庭。 群臣欲言事，輒醉不能見，時不得已，乃令侍中坐帷內與語。 諸將識非更始聲，出皆怨曰：「成敗未可知，遽自縱放若此！ 」韓夫人尤嗜酒，每侍飲，見常侍奏事，輒怒曰：「帝方對我飲，正用此時持事來乎！ 」起，抵破書案，趙萌專權，威福自己。 郎吏有說萌放縱者，更始怒，拔劍擊之。 自是無復敢言。 萌私忿侍中，引下斬之，更始救請，不從。 時李軼、朱鮪擅命山東，王匡、張卬橫暴三輔。 其所授官爵者，皆群小賈豎，或有膳夫庖人，多著繡面衣、錦褲、襜褕、諸於，罵詈道中。 長安為之語曰：「竈下養，中郎將。 爛羊胃，騎都尉。 爛羊頭，關內侯。 」軍帥將軍豫章李淑上書諫曰：「方今賊寇始誅，王化未行，百官有司宜慎其任。 夫三公上應臺宿，九卿下括河海，故天工人其代之。 陛下定業，雖因下江、平林之勢，斯蓋臨時濟用，不可施之既安。 宜厘改制度，更延英俊，因才授爵，以匡王國。 今公卿大位莫非戎陳，尚書顯官皆出庸伍，資亭長、賊捕之用，而當輔佐綱維之任。 唯名與器，聖人所重。 今以所重加非其人，望其毗益萬分，興化致理，譬猶緣木求魚，升山采珠。 海內望此，有以窺度漢祚。 臣非有憎疾以求進也，但為陛下惜此舉厝。 敗材傷錦，所宜至慮。 惟割既往廖妄之失，思隆周文濟濟之美。 」更始怒，系淑詔獄。 自是，關中離心，四方怨叛。 諸將出征，各自專置牧守，州郡交錯，不知所從。 十二月，赤眉西入關。
He took Zhao Meng’s daughter as consort, doted on her, and left government to her father while he feasted with women in the harem day and night. Ministers who sought audience found him too drunk to receive them; when business could not wait, a palace attendant spoke from behind a curtain in his stead. The generals knew the voice was not the emperor’s; leaving court they grumbled that the issue of victory was still open and he had no business debauching himself so soon. Lady Han was a drunkard: whenever a eunuch tried to present papers during their revels she would shout that the emperor was drinking with her and demand to know why they picked that moment for state business. She would smash the document stand; Zhao Meng ruled unchecked and wielded reward and punishment as he pleased. A court gentleman who criticized Zhao Meng’s excesses drew the emperor’s sword across his body in fury. After that no one dared remonstrate. Zhao Meng had a private grudge against a palace attendant, dragged him out and executed him, and ignored Gengshi’s pleas for mercy. Li Yi and Zhu Wei did as they pleased east of the passes while Wang Kuang and Zhang Ang terrorized the capital region. Their appointees were peddlers and cooks tricked out in embroidered jackets, brocade trousers, and long gowns who swore in the streets. Chang’an joked that promoting the stove-tender made a commander of the gentlemen of the household. Give him a rotten sheep’s stomach—he’s colonel of attendant cavalry. Give him a rotten sheep’s head and he was marquis within the passes. Army marshal Li Shu of Yuzhang memorialized: the rebels were barely crushed, civil government not yet restored, and every office needed worthy appointees. The three excellencies mirror the constellations of the Three Terraces; the nine ministers, like the nine provinces, carry Heaven’s mandate for the ruler. Your majesty seized power with the Lower Yang and Pinglin bands—that was a wartime expedient, not a model for peacetime rule. Reform the institutions, summon able men, and match rank to talent so the dynasty may be governed. Today’s ministers are camp followers, senior clerks are plucked from the ranks of petty officers fit only to be village headmen or constables, yet they are asked to uphold the state. Titles and insignia are what the sage treats as sacred. To heap those honors on unworthy men and expect even a fraction of good government is like fishing in a tree or hunting pearls on a mountaintop. The empire watches and takes the measure of Han’s fate from this. I do not speak from spite or ambition, only grief for the course Your Majesty has chosen. Bad timber spoils fine brocade—this deserves your deepest thought. Renounce the reckless mistakes already made and aspire to the stately order of King Wen of Zhou. Gengshi flew into a rage and threw Li Shu into the imperial prison. After that the capital region lost heart and the provinces turned mutinous. Generals on campaign appointed their own governors until jurisdictions overlapped and no one knew whom to obey. In the twelfth month the Red Eyebrows marched west into the passes.
9
三年正月，平陵人方望立前孺子劉嬰為天子。 初，望見更始政亂，度其必敗，謂安陵人弓林等曰：『前定安公嬰，平帝之嗣，雖王莽篡奪，而嘗為漢主。 今皆云劉氏真人，當更受命，欲共定大功，何如？ 』林等然之，乃於長安求得嬰，將至臨涇立之。 聚黨數千人，望為丞相，林為大司馬。 更始遣李松與討難將軍蘇茂等擊破，皆斬之。 又使蘇茂拒赤眉於弘農，茂軍敗，死者千餘人。
In the first month of the third year of Gengshi’s reign, Fang Wang of Pingling set up Liu Ying, the former child emperor, as sovereign. Fang Wang saw Gengshi’s rule collapsing and told Gong Lin of Anling that Liu Ying, though set aside by Wang Mang, had once been Han sovereign. Men said the house of Liu still held Heaven’s mandate—why not join in a great enterprise? Gong Lin agreed; they found Liu Ying in Chang’an and escorted him toward Linjing to enthrone him. Several thousand rallied to them; Fang Wang took the title chancellor and Gong Lin grand marshal. Gengshi sent Li Song and Su Mao to crush the rising and executed the leaders. Su Mao was then sent to block the Red Eyebrows at Hongnong but lost a thousand men in defeat.
10
三月，遣李松會朱鮪與赤眉戰於蓩鄉，松等大敗，棄軍走，死者三萬餘人。
In March Li Song joined Zhu Wei against the Red Eyebrows at Maoxiang, suffered a crushing defeat, fled the field, and lost more than thirty thousand men.
11
時王匡、張卬守河東，為鄧禹所破，還奔長安。 卬與諸將議曰：『赤眉近在鄭、華陰間，旦暮且至。 今獨有長安，見滅不久，不如勒兵掠城中以自富，轉攻所在，東歸南陽，收宛王等兵。 事若不集，復入湖池中為盜耳。 』申屠建、廖湛等皆以為然，共人說更始。 更始怒不應，莫敢復言。 及赤眉立劉盆子，更始使王匡、陳牧、成丹、趙萌屯新豐，李松軍掫，以拒之。
Wang Kuang and Zhang Ang, holding Hedong, were routed by Deng Yu and fled back to Chang’an. Zhang Ang urged his fellow generals: the Red Eyebrows were between Zheng and Huayin and would reach Chang’an at any hour. Chang’an alone could not long survive; better to loot the capital, strike out where they could, fall back east to Nanyang, and rally Liu Ci of Wan and other forces. If the plan failed they could always return to the marshes as outlaws. Shentu Jian and Liao Zhan agreed and went in a body to urge Gengshi. Gengshi refused angrily and no one dared press the point. When the Red Eyebrows enthroned Liu Penzi, Gengshi posted Wang Kuang, Chen Mu, Cheng Dan, and Zhao Meng at Xinfeng and Li Song at Zou to hold them off.
12
張卬、廖湛、胡殷、申屠建等與御史大夫隗囂合謀，欲以立秋日貙膢時共劫更始，俱成前計。 侍中劉能卿知其謀，以告之。 更始托病不出，召張卬等。 卬等皆入，將悉誅之，唯隗囂不至。 更始狐疑，使卬等四人且待於外廬。 卬與湛、殷疑有變，遂突出，獨申屠建在，更始斬之。 卬與湛、殷遂勒兵掠東西市。 昏時，燒門入，戰於宮中，更始大敗。 明旦，將妻子車騎百餘，東奔越萌於新豐。
Zhang Ang, Liao Zhan, Hu Yin, and Shentu Jian conspired with Imperial Counsellor Wei Xiao to kidnap Gengshi at the autumn chu-lü rite and carry out their scheme to abandon Chang’an. Palace attendant Liu Nengqing learned of the plot and warned the emperor. Gengshi pleaded illness, stayed in the palace, and summoned Zhang Ang and his confederates. They came as ordered, and he meant to kill them all—but Wei Xiao failed to appear. Uncertain, he told the four to wait in an outer chamber. Zhang Ang, Liao Zhan, and Hu Yin sensed a trap and bolted; Shentu Jian alone remained and was cut down. Zhang Ang, Liao Zhan, and Hu Yin then marched on the eastern and western markets and looted them. At dusk they burned the gate, fought into the palace, and routed Gengshi’s guard. At dawn he fled east to Xinfeng with his family and a hundred horsemen to join Zhao Meng’s camp.
13
更始復疑王匡、陳牧、成丹與張卬等同謀，乃並召入。 牧、丹先至，即斬之。 王匡懼，將兵入長安，與張卬等合。 李松還從更始，與趙萌共攻匡、卬於城內。 連戰月餘，匡等敗走，更始徙居長信宮。 赤眉至高陵，匡等迎降之，遂共連兵而進。 更始守城，使李松出戰，敗，死者二千餘人，赤眉生得松。 時松弟汎為城門校尉，赤眉使使謂之曰：『開城門，活汝兄。 』汎即開門。 九月，赤眉入城。 更始單騎走，從廚城門出，諸婦女從後連呼曰：『陛下，當下謝城！ 』更始即下拜，復上馬去。
Suspecting Wang Kuang, Chen Mu, and Cheng Dan of collusion with Zhang Ang, he summoned them as well. Chen Mu and Cheng Dan arrived first and were executed on the spot. Wang Kuang, in fear, marched into Chang’an and united with Zhang Ang. Li Song sided again with Gengshi and, with Zhao Meng, fought Wang Kuang and Zhang Ang inside the walls. After more than a month of fighting Wang Kuang fled, and Gengshi withdrew to the Changxin Palace. When the Red Eyebrows reached Gaoling, Wang Kuang surrendered and marched with them against Chang’an. Gengshi sent Li Song to give battle; he lost two thousand men and was taken alive. Li Song’s brother Li Fan commanded the gates; the Red Eyebrows promised to spare Li Song if he opened them. Li Fan opened the gates. In September the Red Eyebrows entered Chang’an. Gengshi fled alone through the Kitchen Gate while women behind him cried that he must dismount and bow to the city wall. He dismounted, made obeisance toward the walls, remounted, and rode on.
14
初，侍中劉恭以赤眉立其弟盆子，自系詔獄：聞更始敗，乃出，步從至高陵，止傳舍。 右輔都尉嚴本恐失更始為赤眉所誅，將兵在外，號為屯衛而實囚之。 赤眉下書曰：『聖公降者，封長沙王。 過二十日，勿受。 』更始遣劉恭請降，赤眉使其將謝祿往受之。
Palace attendant Liu Gong had imprisoned himself when the Red Eyebrows made his brother Penzi emperor; on news of Gengshi’s fall he walked to Gaoling and lodged at a post station. Yan Ben, right-adjunct commandant, kept troops around Gengshi under pretense of guarding him but actually held him prisoner, fearing the rebels would kill him if he escaped. The Red Eyebrows offered to enfeoff Liu Xuan as king of Changsha if he surrendered. The offer would lapse after twenty days. Liu Gong sued for surrender on his behalf, and Xie Lu was sent to accept.
15
十月，更始遂隨祿肉袒詣長樂宮，上璽綬於盆子。 赤眉坐更始，置庭中，將殺之。 劉恭、謝祿為請，不能得，遂引更始出。 劉恭追呼曰：『臣誠力極，請得先死。 』拔劍欲自刎，赤眉帥樊崇等遽共救止之，乃赦更始，封為畏威侯。 劉恭復為固請，竟得封長沙王。 更始常依謝祿居，劉恭亦擁護之。
In October Liu Xuan went bare-chested to the Changle Palace with Xie Lu and surrendered the imperial seals to Liu Penzi. They seated him in the courtyard and prepared to execute him. Liu Gong and Xie Lu begged for his life without success and led him away. Liu Gong cried out that his strength was spent and begged to die first. He drew his sword to kill himself; Fan Chong and the chiefs restrained him; Gengshi was spared and created marquis who fears might. Liu Gong pressed again until his brother was given the title king of Changsha. Liu Xuan lived under Xie Lu’s protection while Liu Gong watched over him.
16
三輔苦赤眉暴虐，皆憐更始，而張卬等以為慮，謂祿曰：『今諸營長多欲篡聖公者。 一旦失之，合兵攻公，自滅之道也。 』於是祿使從兵與更始共牧馬於郊下，因令縊殺之。 劉恭夜往收臧其屍。 光武聞而傷焉。 詔大司徒鄧禹葬之於霸陵。
The capital people pitied Liu Xuan, but Zhang Ang and his faction warned Xie Lu that many camp chiefs meant to kill him and seize power. If Liu Xuan escaped their hands, they would turn their combined strength on Xie Lu—a path to ruin. Xie Lu took Liu Xuan outside the city under pretense of grazing horses and had him strangled. Liu Gong went by night to recover the body. Emperor Guangwu grieved when he heard the news. He ordered Deng Yu to bury Liu Xuan at Baling.
17
有三子； 求，歆，鯉。 明年夏，求兄弟與母東詣洛陽，帝封求為襄邑侯，奉更始祀； 歆為穀孰侯，鯉為壽光侯。 求後徙封成陽侯。 求卒，子巡嗣，復徙封澤侯。 巡卒，子姚嗣。
He had three sons: Liu Qiu, Liu Xin, and Liu Li. The next summer the brothers and their mother came east to Luoyang; the emperor made Liu Qiu marquis of Xiangyi to maintain Liu Xuan’s ancestral rites; Liu Xin was made marquis of Gushu and Liu Li marquis of Shouguang. Liu Qiu was later transferred to the Chengyang marquisate. When Liu Qiu died, his son Liu Xun inherited and was later moved to the Ze marquisate. Liu Xun was succeeded by his son Liu Yao.
18
論曰：周武王觀兵孟津，退而還師，以為紂未可伐，斯時有未至者也。 漢起，驅輕黠烏合之眾，不當天下萬分之一，而旌旃之所撝及，書文之所通被，莫不折戈頓顙，爭受職命。 非唯漢人餘思，固亦幾運之會也。 夫為權首，鮮或不及。 陳、項且猶未興，況庸庸者乎！
The historian remarks: King Wu of Zhou paraded at Meng Ford but turned back because the moment to strike Shang had not yet come. Han began with a rabble that was not one part in ten thousand of the realm, yet wherever its standards passed and its writ ran, enemies cast down arms and begged for posts. This owed not only to lingering loyalty to Han but to the turning of Heaven’s wheel. Those who seize the lead in a crisis seldom escape the reckoning. Chen Sheng and Xiang Yu had not yet appeared—what hope for a mediocrity like Liu Xuan?
19
劉盆子
Liu Penzi
20
劉盆子者，太山式人，城陽景王章之後也。 祖父憲，元帝時封為式侯，父萌嗣。 王莽篡位，國除，因為式人焉。
Liu Penzi came from Shi in Taishan and was a descendant of Prince Zhang of Chengyang, son of Emperor Jing of Han. His grandfather Liu Xian had been marquis of Shi under Emperor Yuan; his father Liu Meng inherited the title. Wang Mang abolished the fief, and the family became commoners of Shi.
21
天鳳元年，瑯邪海曲有呂母者，子為縣吏，犯小罪，宰論殺之。 呂母怨宰，密聚客，規以報仇。 母家素豐，資產數百萬，乃益釀醇酒，買刀劍衣服。 少年來酤者，皆賒與之，視其乏者，輒假衣裳，不問多少。 數年，財用稍盡，少年欲相與償之。 呂母垂泣曰：『所以厚諸君者，非欲求利，徒以縣宰不道，枉殺吾子，欲為報怨耳。 諸君寧肯哀之乎！ 』少年壯其意，又素受恩，皆許諾。 其中勇士自號猛虎，遂相聚得數十百人，因與呂母入海中，招合亡命，眾至數千。 呂母自稱將軍，引兵還攻破海曲，執縣宰。 諸吏叩頭為宰請。 母曰：『吾子犯小罪，不當死，而為宰所殺。 殺人當死，又何請乎？ 』遂斬之，以其首祭子冢，復還海中。
In 14, in Haiqu in Langye, a woman surnamed Lü had a son who was a county clerk; for a petty offense the magistrate had him executed. Mother Lü nursed a grudge and secretly gathered followers to plot revenge. She was wealthy; she brewed fine wine and bought swords and clothes. Young men who came for wine were never charged; she lent clothes to any in need without stint. After some years her funds ran low and the young men offered to repay her. Weeping, she told them she had not sought profit but only redress: the magistrate had murdered her son without cause. Would they not pity her and help? Moved by her cause and her past kindness, they swore to help. Bold spirits styled themselves the Fierce Tigers; hundreds gathered and followed her to the coast to recruit outlaws until she commanded thousands. She styled herself general, stormed Haiqu, and seized the magistrate. His subordinates kowtowed and begged for his life. She said her son’s fault did not deserve death yet the magistrate had killed him. A murderer must die—why should she spare him? She beheaded him, offered his head at her son’s grave, and returned to her base on the coast.
22
後數歲，瑯邪人樊崇起兵於莒，眾百餘人，轉入太山，自號三老。 時青、徐大饑，寇賊蜂起，眾盜以崇勇猛，皆附之，一歲間至萬餘人。 崇同郡人逄安，東海人徐宣、謝祿、楊音，各起兵，合數萬人，復引從崇。 共還攻莒，不能下，轉掠至姑幕，因擊王莽探湯侯田況，大破之，殺萬餘人，遂北入青州，所過虜掠。 還至太山，留屯南城。 初，崇等以困窮為冠，無攻城徇地之計。 眾既浸盛，乃相與為約：殺人者死，傷人者償創。 以言辭為約束，無文書、旌旗、部曲、號令。 其中最尊者號三老，次從事，次卒史，泛相稱曰巨人。 王莽遣平均公廉丹、太師王匡擊之。 崇等欲戰，恐其眾與莽兵亂，乃皆朱其眉以相識別，由是號曰赤眉。 赤眉遂大破丹、匡軍，殺萬餘人，追至無鹽，廉丹戰死，王匡走。 崇又引其兵十餘萬，復還圍莒，數月。 或說崇曰：『莒，父母之國，奈何攻之？ 』乃解去。 時呂母病死，其眾分入赤眉、青犢、銅馬中。 赤眉遂寇東海，與王莽沂平大尹戰，敗，死者數千人，乃引去，掠楚、沛、汝南、潁川，還人陳留，攻拔魯城，轉至濮陽。
Some years later Fan Chong of Langye raised a band of a hundred men at Ju, moved into Taishan, and styled himself elder. Famine in Qing and Xu brought a swarm of bandits who rallied to Fan Chong’s courage until he had ten thousand men within a year. Pang An of his commandery and Xu Xuan, Xie Lu, and Yang Yin of Donghai each raised bands that merged into tens of thousands under Fan Chong. They failed to take Ju, raided as far as Gumu, shattered Tian Kuang’s army, killed ten thousand, and swept north through Qingzhou, looting as they went. They withdrew to Taishan and camped at the southern city. At first they were starving outlaws with no plan to conquer cities or territory. As their numbers grew they swore a code: death for murder, restitution for wounding. They relied on word of mouth—no written orders, standards, formal units, or bugle calls. Their highest rank was elder, then clerk, then sergeant; they loosely called one another “giant.” Wang Mang sent Lian Dan and Wang Kuang against them. Fearing their men would mingle with government troops in battle, they dyed their eyebrows red for recognition—hence the name Red Eyebrows. They shattered Lian Dan and Wang Kuang, killed ten thousand, pursued them to Wuyan, where Lian Dan fell and Wang Kuang escaped. Fan Chong brought more than a hundred thousand men back to besiege Ju for months. Someone urged him that Ju was their homeland and should not be attacked. He lifted the siege. When Mother Lü died her followers split among the Red Eyebrows, Green Calves, and Bronze Horse bands. They raided Donghai, lost thousands to Wang Mang’s local commander, withdrew, plundered through Chu, Pei, Runan, and Yingchuan, doubled back through Chenliu, took Lu, and moved on to Puyang.
23
會更始都洛陽，遣使降崇。 崇等聞漢室復興，即留其兵，自將渠帥二十餘人，隨使者至洛陽降更始，皆封為列侯。 崇等既未有國邑，而留眾稍有離叛，乃遂亡歸其營，將兵入潁川，分其眾為二部，崇與逄安為一部，徐宣、謝祿、楊音為一部。 崇、安攻拔長社，南擊宛，斬縣令； 而宣、祿等亦拔陽翟，引之梁，擊殺河南太守。 赤眉眾雖數戰勝，而疲敝厭兵，皆日夜愁泣，思欲東歸。 崇等計議，慮眾東向必散，不如西攻長安。 更始二年冬，崇、安自武關，宣等從陸渾關，兩道俱入。 三年正月，俱至弘農，與更始諸將連戰克勝，眾遂大集。 乃分萬人為一營，凡三十營，營置三老、從事各一人。 進至華陰。
When Gengshi established his capital at Luoyang he sent envoys to accept Fan Chong’s submission. Learning that Han had revived, Fan Chong left his army in camp and brought more than twenty chiefs to Luoyang to surrender; all were enfeoffed as marquises. They had received no fiefs, and their men in camp began to drift away, so they fled back to their army, marched into Yingchuan, and split into two columns under Fan Chong and Pang An on one side and Xu Xuan, Xie Lu, and Yang Yin on the other. Fan Chong and Pang An took Changshe, struck south to Wan, and beheaded the magistrate; while Xu Xuan and Xie Lu took Yangzhai, advanced into Liang, and killed the governor of Henan. Though often victorious, the men were worn out and homesick, weeping day and night to go home to the east. Fan Chong reasoned that a march east would dissolve the host, whereas a drive on Chang’an might hold them together. In the winter of the second year of Gengshi they invaded in two columns, Fan Chong and Pang An through Wu Pass and Xu Xuan’s group through Luhun Pass. They joined at Hongnong in the first month of the third year, defeated Gengshi’s generals in a series of fights, and their strength swelled. They organized thirty camps of ten thousand men each, every camp headed by an elder and a clerk. They advanced to Huayin.
24
初，赤眉過式，掠盆子及二兄恭、茂，皆在軍中。 恭少習《尚書》，略通大義。 及隨崇等降更始，即封為式侯。 以明經數言事，拜侍中，從更始在長安。 盆子與茂留軍中，屬右校卒史劉俠卿，主芻牧牛，號曰牛吏。 及崇等欲立帝，求軍中景王後者，得七十餘人，唯盆子與茂及前西安侯劉孝最為近屬。 崇等議曰：『聞古天子將兵稱上將軍。 』乃書劄為符曰『上將軍』，又以兩空劄置笥中，遂於鄭北設壇場，祠城陽景王。 諸三老、從事皆大會陛下，列盆子等三人居中立，以年次探劄。 盆子最幼，後探得符，諸將乃皆稱臣拜。 盆子時年十五，被髮徒跣，敝衣赭汗，見眾拜，恐畏欲啼。 茂謂曰：『善藏符。 』盆子即嚙折棄之，復還依俠卿。 俠卿為制絳單衣、半頭赤幘、直綦履，乘軒車大馬，赤屏泥，絳襜絡，而猶從牧兒遨。
When the Red Eyebrows passed through Shi they carried off Liu Penzi and his brothers Liu Gong and Liu Mao into the ranks. Liu Gong had studied the Book of Documents in youth and knew its main themes. When he surrendered with Fan Chong he was enfeoffed marquis of Shi. His classical learning won him repeated audiences; he was made palace attendant and accompanied Gengshi at Chang’an. Liu Penzi and Liu Mao stayed in camp under Sergeant Liu Xiaqing as herd boys, nicknamed the ox clerks. When Fan Chong sought a descendant of Prince Jing of Chengyang among the soldiers he found more than seventy, but only Liu Penzi, Liu Mao, and the former marquis of Xi’an, Liu Xiao, were close agnates. They agreed that ancient emperors who took the field had styled themselves supreme general. They wrote “supreme general” on one lot and left two blanks, sealed them in a box, built an altar north of Zheng, and sacrificed to Prince Zhang of Chengyang. The elders and clerks assembled at the site, stood Penzi and the other two candidates in the center, and had them draw lots in order of age. Penzi, the youngest, drew last—and pulled the marked lot; the chiefs hailed him as emperor and bowed. Fifteen years old, disheveled and barefoot in rags stained with sweat, he faced the kneeling host in terror and nearly wept. Liu Mao whispered to hide the lot safely. Penzi bit the slip in two, threw it away, and fled back to Liu Xiaqing’s herd camp. Liu Xiaqing dressed him in crimson court dress, a red kerchief, straw sandals, a carriage with red mudguards and crimson trappings—yet he still roamed with the herd boys.
25
崇雖起勇力而為眾所宗，然不知書數。 徐宣故縣獄吏，能通《易經》。 遂共推宣為丞相、崇御史大夫、逄安左大司馬、謝祿右大司馬，自楊音以下皆為列卿。
Fan Chong was a fighting man whom the host followed but he could neither read nor reckon accounts. Xu Xuan had been a county jailer and understood the Book of Changes. They made Xu Xuan chancellor, Fan Chong imperial counsellor, Pang An and Xie Lu left and right grand marshals, and Yang Yin and the rest senior ministers.
26
軍及高陵，與更始叛將張卬等連和，遂攻東都門，入長安城，更始來降。
They reached Gaoling, allied with Zhang Ang and other mutinous officers, stormed the eastern capital gate, took Chang’an, and received Gengshi’s surrender.
27
盆子居長東宮，諸將日會論功，爭言讙呼，拔劍擊柱，不能相一。 三輔郡縣營長遣使貢獻，兵士輒剽奪之。 又數虜暴吏民，百姓保壁，由是皆復固守。 至臘日，崇等乃設樂大會，盆子坐正殿，中黃門持兵在後，公卿皆列坐殿上。 酒未行，其中一人也刀筆書謁欲賀，其餘不知書者請起之，各各屯聚，更相背向。 大司農楊音按劍罵曰：『諸卿皆老傭也！ 今日設君臣之禮，反更殽亂，兒戲尚不如此，皆可格殺！ 』更相辯鬥，而兵眾遂各逾宮斬關，入掠酒肉，互相殺傷。 衛尉諸葛稚聞之，勒兵人，格殺百餘人，乃定。 盆子惶恐，日夜啼泣，獨與中黃門共臥起，唯得上觀閣而不聞外事。
Penzi lived in the Changle East Palace while the chiefs met daily to wrangle over rewards, shouting and striking pillars with their swords, unable to agree. When local leaders across the Three Assistants sent tribute, the troops seized it before it ever reached the court. They repeatedly raided officials and townsfolk, so the people fled behind stockades and everywhere dug in again. On the year-end la festival Fan Chong staged a banquet with music. Penzi took the throne while armed eunuchs stood behind him and the whole court sat ranked on the dais. Before the wine had made a round, one man drafted a congratulatory memorial with his clerk’s brush; those who could not write pressed him to stand and read it, while factions huddled apart and glared past one another’s shoulders. Grand Minister of Agriculture Yang Yin gripped his sword and cursed, “You lot are nothing but hired rustics! Today we arranged the rites of ruler and minister, yet you have made a worse shambles than a children’s game—every one of you deserves summary execution!” They hurled abuse and blows at one another, bands of soldiers swarmed over palace walls and through the gates, looted wine and meat, and hacked one another down in the corridors. Commandant of the Guards Zhuge Zhi heard the uproar, led his guard in, cut down more than a hundred rioters, and restored order. Penzi was terrified and wept day and night; he slept and woke only with a few eunuchs and could climb the belvedere but heard nothing of what happened outside.
28
時掖庭中宮女猶有數百千人，自更始敗後，幽閉殿內，掘庭中蘆菔根，捕池魚而食之，死者因相埋於宮中。 有故祠甘泉樂人，尚共擊鼓歌舞，衣服鮮明，見盆子叩頭言饑。 盆子使中黃門稟之米，人數斗。 後盆子去，皆餓死不出。
Hundreds of palace women were still shut in the rear halls after Gengshi’s fall; they dug turnips from the courtyards, caught fish from the pools, and when one died the rest buried her inside the compound. Some former musicians of the Ganquan shrine still drummed and danced in bright costumes; when they saw Penzi they kowtowed and begged for food. Penzi sent eunuchs to give them a few pecks of grain each. After Penzi left the capital, none of them ever emerged; they starved inside the palace.
29
劉恭見赤眉眾亂，知其必敗，自恐兄弟俱禍，密教盆子歸璽綬，習為辭讓之言。 建武二年正朔，崇等大會，劉恭先曰：『諸君共立恭弟為帝，德誠深厚。 立且一年，肴亂日甚，誠不足以相成。 恐死而無所益，願得退為庶人，更求賢知，唯諸君省察。 』崇等謝曰：『此皆崇等罪也。 』恭復固請。 或曰：『此寧式侯事邪！ 』恭惶恐起去。 盆子乃下床解璽綬，叩頭曰：『今設置縣官而為賊如故。 吏人貢獻，輒見剽劫，流聞四方，莫不怨恨，不復信向。 此皆立非其人所致，願乞骸骨，避賢聖。 必欲殺盆子以塞責者，無所離死。 誠冀諸君肯哀憐之耳！ 』因涕泣噓唏。 崇等及會者數百人，莫不哀憐之，乃皆避席頓首曰：『臣無狀，負陛下。 請自今已後，不敢復放縱。 』因共抱持盆子，帶以璽綬。 盆子號呼不得已。 既罷出，各閉營自守，三輔翕然，稱天子聰明。 百姓爭還長安，市裏且滿。
Liu Gong saw the Red Eyebrows sliding into chaos and knew they would fall; fearing for his own kin, he secretly coached Penzi to surrender the imperial seals and rehearse a speech of abdication. At the new year of Jianwu 2 Fan Chong called a great council. Liu Gong rose first and said, “You raised my younger brother to the throne; your kindness has been profound. A year has passed and disorder grows worse by the day—we are no fit support for him. If he dies it will profit no one. Let him step down as a commoner while you seek a worthier man—I beg you to consider it.” Fan Chong and the others bowed and said, “The fault is ours alone. ” Liu Gong pressed his plea again. Someone snapped, “Since when is that the Marquis of Ningshi’s business!” Liu Gong paled, rose, and withdrew in alarm. Penzi stepped from the dais, unfastened the seals and cords, and kowtowed. “We have installed a government, yet we still behave like robbers. Whenever officials brought tribute your men seized it; word spread to every corner of the realm, and no one trusts or looks to us any longer. This is what comes of crowning the wrong man. I beg leave to resign my bones and yield the throne to the wise.” If you mean to kill me to answer for it, I cannot flee death anyway. I only hope you will pity me instead!” He broke down sobbing and could not catch his breath. Fan Chong and the hundreds at the meeting were moved to pity; they left their mats and kowtowed. “We have behaved shamefully and failed Your Majesty. From this day we dare not run wild again.” They crowded around Penzi, lifted him up, and fastened the seals on him again. Penzi wailed and struggled but could not refuse. When the meeting broke up each chief sealed his camp. Across the Three Assistants people said in one voice that the emperor was wise. Common folk rushed back to Chang’an until the wards were crowded again.
30
後二十餘日，赤眉貪財物，復出大掠。 城中糧食盡，遂收載珍寶，因大縱火燒宮室，引兵而西。 過祠南郊，車甲兵馬最為猛盛，眾號百萬。 盆子乘王車，駕三馬，從數百騎。 乃自南山轉掠城邑，與更始將軍嚴春戰於郿，破春，殺之，遂入安定、北地。 至陽城、番須中，逢大雪，坑谷皆滿，士多凍死，乃復還，發掘諸陵，取其寶貨，遂汙辱呂後屍，凡賊所發，有玉匣殮者率皆如生，故赤眉得多行淫穢。 大司徒鄧禹時在長安，遣兵擊之於郁夷，反為所敗，禹乃出之雲陽。 九月，赤眉復入長安，止桂宮。
Some twenty days later the Red Eyebrows’ greed for loot drove them out to pillage the capital once more. When the granaries were empty they loaded treasure onto carts, torched the palaces, and marched the army westward. They sacrificed at the southern suburban altar; chariots, mail, and horse columns stretched farther than ever, and they boasted a million men. Penzi rode in the imperial coach behind a three-horse team with hundreds of horsemen at his heels. Swinging down from the southern hills they raided towns, defeated and killed Gengshi’s general Yan Chun at Mei, then pushed into Anding and Beidi. Caught in a blizzard between Yangcheng and Fanxu, they filled ravines with frozen corpses, turned back, and opened the imperial tombs for their gold. They violated the body of Empress Lü; wherever robbers pried open a jade burial suit the corpse looked still alive, so the Red Eyebrows committed every outrage. Grand Minister Deng Yu was still in Chang’an; he sent troops against them at Yuyi but was beaten and withdrew to Yunyang. In the ninth month the Red Eyebrows reoccupied Chang’an and camped in the Cassia Palace.
31
時，漢中賊延岑出散關，屯杜陵，逄安將十餘萬人擊之。 鄧禹以逄安精兵在外，唯盆子與羸弱居城中，乃自往攻之。 會謝祿救至，夜戰槀街中，禹兵敗走。 延岑及更始將軍李寶合兵數萬人，與逄安戰於杜陵。 岑等大敗，死者萬餘人，寶遂降安，而延岑收散卒走。 寶乃密使人謂岑曰：『子努力還戰，吾當於內反之，表裏合勢，可大破也。 』岑即還挑戰，安等空營擊之，寶從後悉拔赤眉旌幟，更立己幡旗。 安等戰疲還營，見旗幟皆白，大驚亂走，自投川谷，死者十餘萬，逄安與數千人脫歸長安。 時三輔大亂，人相食，城郭皆空，白骨蔽野，遺人往往聚為營保，各堅守不下。 赤眉虜掠無所得，十二月，乃引而東歸，眾尚二十餘萬，隨道復散。
Meanwhile the Hanzhong rebel Yan Cen came through Sanguan and camped at Duling; Pang An marched well over a hundred thousand men against him. Deng Yu judged that Pang An’s veterans were away and only Penzi and a garrison of invalids remained, so he attacked the city himself. Xie Lu’s relief column arrived and a night fight erupted in Gaojie; Deng Yu’s army broke and fled. Yan Cen and Gengshi’s general Li Bao united tens of thousands of men and offered battle to Pang An at Duling. Yan Cen was routed with over ten thousand dead; Li Bao went over to Pang An, while Yan Cen rallied the survivors and slipped away. Li Bao secretly sent word to Yan Cen: “Fight your way back in earnest; I will turn the camp from within. Together we can crush them.” Yan Cen wheeled about and offered battle; Pang An led the host out to meet him while Li Bao tore down every Red Eyebrows standard from the rear and raised his own. Weary from battle, Pang An’s men saw unfamiliar white banners over their tents, panicked, and stampeded into gorges—more than a hundred thousand died. Pang An escaped to Chang’an with only a few thousand. The Three Assistants descended into chaos: men ate one another, towns stood empty, and bones whitened the fields. Survivors clustered in stockades and refused every summons. Unable to squeeze more loot from the land, in the twelfth month they turned eastward. Two hundred thousand still marched, but the column melted away along the road.
32
光武乃遣破奸將軍侯進等屯新安，建威大將軍耿弇等屯宜陽，分為二道，以要其還路。 敕諸將曰：『賊若東走，可引宜陽兵會新安； 賊若南走，可引新安兵會宜陽。 』明年正月，鄧禹自河北度，擊赤眉於湖，禹復敗走，赤眉遂出關南向。 征西大將軍馮異破之於崤底。 帝聞，乃自將幸宜陽，盛兵以邀其走路。
Emperor Guangwu posted Bandit-Smashing General Hou Jin at Xin’an and Establishing Might Grand General Geng Yan at Yiyang in two cordons to cut off their retreat. He instructed his commanders: “If the bandits strike east, bring the Yiyang column to join Xin’an; if they veer south, march the Xin’an troops to Yiyang.” The next first month Deng Yu crossed from the north and attacked the Red Eyebrows at Hu but was routed again; the rebels broke out of the pass and drove south. Campaign West Grand General Feng Yi shattered them at the foot of the Xiao Mountains. When the emperor heard the news he led the host in person to Yiyang and massed an army across their line of retreat.
33
赤眉忽遇大軍，驚震不知所為，乃遣劉恭乞降，曰：『盆子將百萬眾降，陛下何以待之？ 』帝曰：『待汝以不死耳。 』樊崇乃將盆子及丞相徐宣以下三十餘人肉袒降。 上所得傳國璽綬，更始七尺寶斂及玉璧各一。 積兵甲宜陽城西，與熊耳山齊。 帝令縣廚賜食，眾積困餧，十餘萬人皆得飽飫。 明旦，大陳兵馬臨洛水，令盆子君臣列而觀之。 謂盆子曰：『自知當死不？ 』對曰：『罪當應死，猶幸上憐赦之耳。 』帝笑曰：『兒大黠，宗室無蚩者。 』又謂崇等曰：『得無悔降乎？ 朕今遣卿歸營勒兵，鳴鼓相攻，決其勝負，不欲強相服也。 』徐宣等叩頭曰：『臣等出長安東都門，君臣計議，歸命聖德。 百姓可與樂成，難與圖始，故不告眾耳。 今日得降，猶去虎口歸慈母，誠歡誠喜，無所恨也。 帝曰：『卿所謂鐵中錚錚，庸中佼佼者也。 』又曰：『諸卿大為無道，所過皆夷滅老弱，溺社稷，汙井竈。 然猶有三善：攻破城邑，周遍天下，本故妻婦無所改易，是一善也； 立君能用宗室，是二善也； 餘賊立君，迫急皆持其首降，自以為功，諸卿獨完全以付朕，是三善也。 』乃令各與妻子居洛陽，賜宅人一區，田二頃。
The Red Eyebrows blundered into the imperial host, froze in terror, and sent Liu Gong to sue for peace. “Penzi brings a million men to yield,” he asked. “How will Your Majesty treat us?” The emperor answered, “You have my word: I will spare your lives.” Fan Chong then brought Penzi, Chancellor Xu Xuan, and more than thirty followers, stripped to the waist, to surrender. They surrendered the Heirloom Seal with its cords, Gengshi’s seven-foot imperial burial shroud, and a single ceremonial jade disc. Captured arms were heaped west of Yiyang until the pile rose level with Bear Ear Mountain. The emperor told the county kitchens to feed them; well over a hundred thousand half-starved men ate their fill at last. At dawn the next day he drew up horse and foot along the Luo and made Penzi and his ministers stand in ranks to watch. He asked Penzi, “Do you know you deserve death?” Penzi replied, “My guilt merits death, yet I hope Your Majesty will pity and spare me.” The emperor laughed. “Sharp boy—we have no dullards left in the imperial house.” Turning to Fan Chong and the rest he asked, “Do you regret yielding?” I could send you back to camp, beat the drums, and let you fight it out—I need not force your submission.” Xu Xuan and his companions kowtowed. “When we left the eastern capital gate of Chang’an, lord and ministers had already resolved to throw ourselves on Your Majesty’s grace.” The common people will share a triumph but not a risky beginning, so we dared not announce it to the ranks.” To surrender today is like stepping from a tiger’s jaws into a mother’s arms—we are glad beyond measure and harbor no regret.” The emperor said, “You are what men mean by the true steel among iron and the brightest spark among the common run.” He went on: “You have behaved monstrously—wherever you marched you slaughtered the helpless, cast down the state altars, and fouled hearth and well.” Yet you have three redeeming deeds: though you stormed towns across the empire, you never put aside the wives you married before—that is the first.” You raised a sovereign from the imperial bloodline—the second.” Other rebels, when cornered, chop off their puppet’s head and claim the credit; you alone delivered your emperor whole—the third.” He bade them settle in Luoyang with their families, granting each a house and two qing of land.
34
其夏，樊崇、逄安謀反，誅死。 楊音在長安時，遇趙王良有恩，賜爵關內侯，與徐宣俱歸鄉里，卒於家。 劉恭為更始報殺謝祿，自系獄，赦不誅。
That summer Fan Chong and Pang An plotted revolt and were put to death. Yang Yin had once done a kindness to Prince Liu Liang of Zhao and was ennobled as a marquis within the passes; he retired to his home district with Xu Xuan and died there. Liu Gong avenged Gengshi by killing Xie Lu, then gave himself up; the emperor pardoned him.
35
帝憐盆子，賞賜甚厚，以為趙王郎中。 後病失明，賜滎陽均輸官地，以為列肆，使食其稅終身。
The emperor took pity on Penzi, heaped gifts on him, and appointed him gentleman-of-the-palace to the Prince of Zhao. Later he went blind; the court granted him land at the Xingyang equal-distribution office for market stalls and let him live on the rents for life.
36
【贊】
Appraisal
37
贊曰：聖公靡聞，假我風雲，始順歸歷，終然崩分。 赤眉阻亂，盆子探符。 雖盜皇器，乃食均輸。
The appraisal runs: Shengong rose from obscurity on borrowed wind and cloud; he first bowed to the calendar of fate, then fell apart in ruin. The Red Eyebrows seized a season of turmoil; Penzi drew the lot that made him emperor. They stole the throne, yet in the end Penzi lived on the income of a tax office.
38
校勘記
Collation notes
39
四六七頁一０行共攻離鄉聚按：殿本考證萬承蒼謂離鄉聚地名，章懷注非。 今據加標號。
Page 467, line 10, “jointly attacked Lixiangju”: Wan Chengcang in the Dian edition’s research argues that Lixiangju is a placename and Prince Zhanghuai’s gloss is mistaken. Punctuation has been added on this basis.
40
四六八頁一三行及其支黨朱鮪張卬等北入南陽號新市兵按：校補引張熷說，謂王常傳卬與王常、成丹皆為下江兵，與紀異。
Page 468, line 13, on Zhu Wei, Zhang Ang, and allies entering Nanyang as the Xinshi force: the collation supplement cites Zhang Reng, who notes that Wang Chang’s biography classifies Ang with Wang Chang and Cheng Dan as Lower Yang troops, which disagrees with the annals.
41
四六九頁一０行前鍾武侯劉望起兵按：集解引通鑑考異，謂前書王莽傳「劉望」作「劉聖」。
Page 469, line 10, “former Marquis of Zhongwu Liu Wang raised troops”: the collected gloss cites the Zizhi tongjian kao yi, which records the Former Han Wang Mang biography as reading “Liu Sheng” instead of “Liu Wang.”
42
四七０頁六行觸北宮鐵柱〔門〕據汲本、殿本補。 按：續志有「門」字。
Page 470, line 6, “struck the iron pillar gate of the Northern Palace”: the character “gate” is supplied from the Ji and Dian editions. Note: the Xu Han zhi includes the word “gate.”
43
四七０頁一一行俛首刮席不敢視按：惠棟補注本「視」上有「仰」字。
Page 470, line 11, on bowing and scraping the mat without daring to look up: Huidong’s supplemented commentary inserts the character for “lift the gaze” before “look.”
44
四七一頁四行驃騎大將軍宋佻為潁陰王按：集解引惠棟說，謂光武紀及通鑑「宋」皆作「宗」。
Page 471, line 4, naming Song Tiao as Prince of Yingyin: the collected gloss cites Huidong—the Guangwu annals and Zizhi tongjian both read the surname as Zong, not Song.
45
四七一頁八行陰平縣屬廣漢國按：校補謂前漢陰平國屬東海郡，後漢改縣，屬同。 又前漢陰平道屬廣漢郡，後漢分屬廣漢屬國，注據陰平道言，雖亦可言「縣」，但屬前漢言，不當言「國」，屬後漢言，當云「屬國」，亦不當僅言「國」。
Page 471, line 8, “Yinping county under Guanghan”: the collation supplement notes that in Former Han Yinping was a state in Donghai commandery and was later demoted to a county under the same administration. Former Han’s Yinping circuit lay in Guanghan commandery; Later Han placed it in the Guanghan dependent state. The gloss follows the old name of the circuit—‘county’ is tolerable—but for Former Han one should not call it a ‘state,’ and for Later Han one should say ‘dependent state,’ not merely ‘state.’
46
四七二頁五行軍帥將軍按：刊誤謂「帥」當作「師」，是時多置軍師，鄧禹傳亦作「軍師將軍」。
Page 472, line 5, “army-commander general”: the errata substitutes the first character of the compound so it reads “army-master general,” matching widespread usage of that title and Deng Yu’s biography.
47
四七二頁一五行捕賊掾按：刊誤謂案前書合作「賊捕掾」。
Page 472, line 15, “bandit-catching clerk”: the errata argues the Former Han text transposes the first two graphs so the office reads “bandit-catching clerk” in that order.
48
四七二頁一六行孟子對 （梁惠） 〔齊宣〕王曰據殿本改。
Page 472, line 16: “Mencius replied” (citation fragment). Parenthetical restoration: (King Hui of Liang). Emended to “[King Xuan of] Qi said,” following the Dian edition.
49
四七三頁一二行戰於蓩鄉按：續志「蓩」作「務」。
Page 473, line 12, “battle at Maoxiang”: the Xu Han zhi writes the place name with a different homophone character (the wu graph instead of the mao graph).
50
四七三頁一四行其 （蓩） 〔地〕蓋在今虢州湖城縣之閒集解引王補說，謂「其蓩」通鑑注作「其地」，是。 今據改。
Page 473, line 14: the pronoun qi (fragment of a collation string). Parenthetical restoration: the mao syllable in the place name. The gloss supplies “ground” or “site”: the location probably lay between modern Guozhou and Hucheng. Wang’s supplement notes that Hu Sanxing’s Zizhi tongjian commentary reads “its territory” instead of echoing the place name, which is correct. The text has been emended accordingly.
51
四七六頁三行復徙封 （灌） 〔濩〕澤侯據集解引錢大昕說改，注同。
Page 476, line 3: “again transferred the fief” (citation fragment). Parenthetical restoration: the element Guan (wrong graph in the fief name; read as part of Huoze). Emended to “Marquis of Huoze,” per Qian Daxin in the collected gloss; the commentary is adjusted to match.
52
四七八頁六行次卒 （吏） 〔史〕刊誤謂「吏」當作「史」。 今據改。
Page 478, line 6: “next … clerk” (citation fragment). Parenthetical reading: the graph for clerk or underling. The errata changes the office title graph from clerk to scribe. The text has been emended accordingly.
53
四七八頁六行汎相稱曰 （臣） 〔巨〕人刊誤謂前書言盜賊擅稱巨人，今此為臣人，亦誤也。 當作「巨」。 今據改。
Page 478, line 6: “they generally addressed one another as …” (citation fragment). Parenthetical reading: the graph for minister or subject. The errata restores “great”: the Former Han text has rebels styling themselves “great men”; the graph for minister here is a copyist’s error for great. It should read the graph meaning great. The text has been emended accordingly.
54
四八０頁一０行屬右校卒 （吏） 〔史〕劉俠卿據刊誤改。
Page 480, line 10: “attached to the right camp …” (citation fragment). Parenthetical reading: the graph for clerk or underling. Emended to “scribe Liu Xiaqing,” per the errata.
55
四八０頁一一行唯盆子與茂及前西安侯劉孝最為近屬按：沈家本謂按前書王子侯表，西安侯漢東平思王孫，而城陽近屬無封西安者，亦無名孝者。
Page 480, line 11: Shen Jiaben observes that the Former Han table places the Xi’an marquis under the line of the Prince of Dongping posthumously titled Si, while no Chengyang kinsman held a Xi’an fief and none bore the personal name Xiao—so the “closest kin” line is problematic.
56
四八二頁三行衛尉諸葛稚聞之按：「稚」原訛「釋」，逕據汲本、殿本改正。
Page 482, line 3: the personal name Zhi was miscopied as Shi and is corrected from the Ji and Dian editions.
57
四八二頁九行肴亦亂也按：殿本「肴」作「殽」。 校補謂殿本注作「殽」，取與正文相應。 然觀下文「肴亂日甚」，正文本作「肴」，知此處正文作「殽」，乃繙刻之誤，注蓋本不誤也。
Page 482, line 9, gloss on the word for confusion: the Dian edition writes an alternate graph with the same sense of mingled disorder. The collation supplement notes that the Dian commentary uses that alternate graph to align with the main text. Below, the main text consistently uses one graph in “disorder grew worse”; the other graph in this line is a reprint error, while the commentary’s form was probably right all along.
58
四八二頁一一行幽閉殿內掘庭中蘆菔根按：汲本「內」作「門」。 御覽九八０引「掘」作「拔」。 又按：「閉」原訛「閑」，逕改正。
Page 482, line 11: the Ji edition reads gate for inside in the phrase about being shut within the halls. Taiping yulan 980 quotes pull up for dig. Note: the graph for shut was miscopied as the graph for idle and has been corrected.
59
四八三頁一二行 （得） 〔後〕二十餘日集解引王補說，謂袁紀、通鑑並作「後二十餘日」，是。 今據改。
Collation locator: page 483, lines 1–2. Parenthetical reading: the graph de meaning obtain—an erroneous reading here. Wang’s supplement restores the word after: both the Yuan ji and Zizhi tongjian read “some twenty days later,” which is adopted here. The text has been emended accordingly.
60
四八四頁四行廣一寸半按：殿本「一寸」作「二寸」。
Page 484, line 4, “one and a half inches wide”: the Dian edition reads “two inches” instead of “one inch.”
61
四八五頁一五行攻破城邑按：刊誤謂案文當云「攻城破邑」。
Page 485, line 15: the errata prefers the phrase order attack cities and break settlements over the transmitted wording attack-break cities.
62
四八六頁七行說文曰錚錚金也按：說文「錚，金聲也」，此疑誤。
Page 486, line 7: the gloss that the Shuowen defines ringing metal is doubtful—the Shuowen defines the word as the sound of metal, not metal itself.