1
張宗字諸君，南陽魯陽人也。 王莽時，為縣陽泉鄉佐。 會莽敗，義兵起，宗乃率陽泉民三四百人起兵略地，西至長安，更始以宗為偏將軍。 宗見更始政亂，因將家屬客安邑。
Zhang Zong, styled Zhujun, came from Luyang in Nanyang commandery. Under Wang Mang he held the post of township aide at Yangquan in his home county. After Wang Mang fell and loyal forces rose, Zong rallied three or four hundred men from Yangquan, took the field to seize ground, and marched west to Chang'an, where the Gengshi Emperor named him lieutenant general. Seeing the Gengshi regime unravel, he moved his household and settled as a guest in Anyi.
2
及大司徒鄧禹西征，定河東，宗詣禹自歸。 禹聞宗素多權謀，乃表為偏將軍。 禹軍到栒邑，赤眉大眾且至，禹以栒邑不足守，欲引師進就堅城，而眾人多畏賊追，憚為後拒。 禹乃書諸將名於竹簡，署其前後，亂著笥中，令各探之。 宗獨不肯探，曰：「死生有命，張宗豈辭難就逸乎！ 」禹歎息謂曰：「將軍有親弱在營，奈何不顧？ 」宗曰：「愚聞一卒畢力，百人不當； 萬夫致死，可以橫行。 宗今擁兵數千，以承大威，何遽其必敗乎！ 」遂留為後拒。 諸營既引兵，宗方勒厲軍士，堅壘壁，以死當之。 禹到前縣，議曰：「以張將軍之眾，當百萬之師，猶以小雪投沸湯，雖欲戮力，其埶不全也。 」乃遣步騎二千人反還迎宗。 宗引兵始發，而赤眉卒至，宗與戰，卻之，乃得歸營，於是諸將服其勇。 及還到長安，宗夜將銳士入城襲赤眉，中矛貫胛，又轉攻諸營保，為流矢所激，皆幾至於死。
When Grand Minister of Education Deng Yu marched west and secured Hedong, Zong presented himself to Yu and placed himself under his command. Yu knew Zong for his resourcefulness and recommended him for the rank of lieutenant general. When Yu's forces reached Xunyi and the main Red Eyebrow army closed in, Yu judged the town indefensible and wanted to withdraw to stronger walls, yet most of his men dreaded being caught from behind by the enemy and nobody wanted the rear-guard post. Yu wrote each general's name on a bamboo slip, labeled front and back, jumbled them in a box, and had the officers draw lots. Only Zong refused. "Fortune fixes life and death," he said; "should Zhang Zong shrink from danger and chase comfort?" " Yu sighed and said, "You have vulnerable family in the camp—how can you ignore them?" " Zong replied, "They say one rank-and-file soldier fighting with everything he has can hold off a hundred; ten thousand men resolved to die can sweep all before them." I lead thousands under your command—why assume we are doomed?" " So he stayed behind as rear guard. After the other camps marched off, Zong rallied his men, shored up the fortifications, and held the line as if his life were the stake. Yu reached the next county and told his staff, "Pitting Zhang's detachment against a horde in the millions is like tossing a flake of snow into a cauldron—however hard they fight, they cannot survive it." " So he dispatched two thousand foot and horse to double back and bring Zong in. Zong had barely started his march when the Red Eyebrows struck; he engaged them, threw them back, and rejoined the main camp, and the other generals stood in awe of his bravery. Back in Chang'an he led an elite night raid into the city against the Red Eyebrows; a spear ran through his shoulder blade. He went on to assault enemy stockades and was raked by stray arrows—more than once he nearly died.
3
及鄧禹徵還，光武以宗為京輔都尉，將突騎與征西大將軍馮異共擊關中諸營保，破之，遷河南都尉。 建武六年，都尉官省，拜太中大夫。 八年，潁川桑中盜賊群起，宗將兵擊定之。 後青、冀盜賊屯聚山澤，宗以謁者督諸郡兵討平之。 十六年，琅邪、北海盜賊復起，宗督二郡兵討之，乃設方略，明購賞，皆悉破散，於是沛、楚、東海、臨淮群賊懼其威武，相捕斬者數千人，青、徐震慄。 後遷琅邪相，其政好嚴猛，敢殺伐。 永平二年，卒於官。
After Deng Yu was withdrawn, Emperor Guangwu named Zong commandant of the capital districts; with Feng Yi, the western expedition commander, he rode against the fortified camps of Guanzhong, broke them, and was promoted to commandant of Henan. In Jianwu 6 the commandant post was eliminated, and he received appointment as grand palace grandee. In year 8 bandit gangs sprang up around Sangzhong in Yingchuan; Zong took troops and suppressed them. Later, when outlaws from Qingzhou and Ji province holed up in the hills and marshes, Zong, holding the office of messenger, coordinated county levies and stamped them out. In year 16 unrest flared again in Langya and Beihai; Zong commanded both commanderies' forces, laid out a clear strategy and generous bounties, and scattered every band. Across Pei, Chu, Donghai, and Linhuai the gangs quailed at his reputation—rival factions turned on one another and claimed thousands of heads—and Qingzhou and Xuzhou shook with fear. He was later promoted to chancellor of Langya, where he governed with a heavy hand and did not shrink from capital punishment. He died in office in the second year of the Yongping era (59 CE).
4
法雄字文彊，扶風郿人也，齊襄王法章之後。 秦滅齊，子孫不敢稱田姓，故以法為氏。 宣帝時，徙三輔，世為二千石。 雄初仕郡功曹，辟太傅張禹府，舉雄高第，除平氏長。 善政事，好發擿姦伏，盜賊稀發，吏人畏愛之。 南陽太守鮑得上其理狀，遷宛陵令。
Fa Xiong, styled Wenqiang, was a native of Mei in Fufeng and traced his line to Fa Zhang, son of King Xiang of Qi. When Qin conquered Qi, the family dared not keep the royal surname Tian and adopted Fa instead. Under Emperor Xuan they relocated to the capital region, and for generations they held top salary-grade posts. Xiong began as a commandery merit officer, entered the staff of Grand Tutor Zhang Yu, graduated with high marks, and was named magistrate of Pingshi. He ran an efficient government, dug out concealed crime, and kept banditry rare; officials and commoners alike respected and trusted him. Governor Bao De of Nanyang reported his exemplary record, and Xiong was promoted to magistrate of Wanling.
5
永初三年，海賊張伯路等三千餘人，冠赤幘，服絳衣，自稱「將軍」，寇濱海九郡，殺二千石令長。 初，遣侍御史龐雄督州郡兵擊之，伯路等乞降，尋復屯聚。 明年，伯路復與平原劉文河等三百餘人稱「使者」。 攻厭次城，殺長吏，轉入高唐，燒官寺，出繫囚，渠帥皆稱「將軍」，共朝謁伯路。 伯路冠五梁冠，佩印綬，黨眾浸盛。 乃遣御史中丞王宗持節發幽、冀諸郡兵，合數萬人，乃徵雄為青州刺史，與王宗并力討之。 連戰破賊，斬首溺死者數百人，餘皆奔走，收器械財物甚眾。 會赦詔到，賊猶以軍甲未解，不敢歸降。 於是王宗召刺史太守共議，皆以為當遂擊之。 雄曰：「不然。 兵，凶器； 戰，危事。 勇不可恃，勝不可必。 賊若乘船浮海，深入遠島，攻之未易也。 及有赦令，可且罷兵，以慰誘其心，埶必解散，然後圖之，可不戰而定也。 」宗善其言，即罷兵。 賊聞大喜，乃還所略人。 而東萊郡兵獨未解甲，賊復驚恐，遁走遼東，止海島上。 五年春，乏食，復抄東萊閒，雄率郡兵擊破之，賊逃還遼東，遼東人李久等共斬平之，於是州界清靜。
In Yongchu 3 (109 CE), Zhang Bolu and over three thousand pirates donned red headbands and scarlet robes, styled themselves generals, ravaged nine seaboard commanderies, and murdered prefects and county magistrates. At first, censor Pang Xiong led provincial forces against them; Zhang Bolu's band asked to surrender, then reassembled. The following year Zhang Bolu joined some three hundred men, including Liu Wenhe of Pingyuan, and they styled themselves imperial envoys. They stormed Yanci, murdered senior officers, swung into Gaotang, torched yamen offices, freed the jailed—the band leaders all took the title general and did homage to Zhang Bolu. Zhang Bolu dressed in a five-ridge cap with seal and ribbons at his belt, and his following swelled. The court ordered Vice Censor Wang Zong, staff in hand, to raise tens of thousands from Youzhou and Ji province; Fa Xiong was called to serve as governor of Qingzhou, and the two commanders campaigned together. They won a string of engagements—hundreds of rebels were killed or drowned in the rout—and seized large quantities of arms and loot. An amnesty arrived, but the pirates had not yet shed their arms and dared not give themselves up. Wang Zong called the provincial and prefectural officials to council; everyone favored pressing the attack. Xiong disagreed. Arms are tools of violence; war is always perilous. Courage alone is no guarantee, and no battle is a sure win. If they put to sea and hole up on distant islands, driving them out will be costly. We have an amnesty in hand; stand the army down for now, offer reassurance, and their cohesion will crack—then we can pick them off without another pitched battle. " Wang Zong accepted the advice and ordered the forces stood down. The rebels welcomed the news and began releasing their captives. Only Donglai's troops kept their armor on; the pirates panicked again, fled to Liaodong, and camped on offshore islets. In spring of the fifth year they ran short of supplies and raided Donglai again; Xiong led local troops and broke them. The survivors fled to Liaodong, where locals led by Li Jiu killed the ringleaders and restored order; the province knew peace.
6
雄每行部，錄囚徒，察顏色，多得情偽，長吏不奉法者皆解印綬去。
On his inspection rounds he reviewed the jails, watched the prisoners' faces, and usually saw through lies; any senior officer who flouted the law was made to hand in his credentials and leave.
7
在州四年，遷南郡太守，斷獄省少，戶口益增。 郡濱帶江沔，又有雲夢藪澤，永初中，多虎狼之暴，前太守賞募張捕，反為所害者甚眾。 雄乃移書屬縣曰：「凡虎狼之在山林，猶人之居城市。 古者至化之世，猛獸不擾，皆由恩信寬澤，仁及飛走。 太守雖不德，敢忘斯義。 記到，其毀壞檻阱，不得妄捕山林。 」是後虎害稍息，人以獲安。 在郡數歲，歲常豐稔。 元初中卒官。
Four years as governor won him promotion to grand administrator of Nan, where he kept litigation light and the registered population grew. The commandery straddled the Han River and the Yunmeng marshes. In the Yongchu years (107–113) tigers and wolves ran riot; the previous administrator had set bounties and organized hunts, and more people died in the attempt than were saved. Xiong wrote to the counties: "Tigers in the hills are no more out of place than people in a town." In a truly well-governed age, wild beasts do not molest the people, because grace and good faith reach even the birds and beasts." I am no paragon, but I will not forget that duty." On receipt of this order, tear down every trap and snare, and do not hunt the hills without cause." " After that, tiger depredations eased and the people could live without fear. Year after year in the commandery the harvests were full. He died in office in the early Yuanhe era (114–119 CE).
8
子真，在《逸人傳》。
His son Fa Zhen is treated in the chapter on recluses.
9
滕撫字叔輔，北海劇人也。 初仕州郡，稍遷為涿令，有文武才用。 太守以其能，委任郡職，兼領六縣。 風政修明，流愛于人，在事七年，道不拾遺。
Teng Fu, styled Shufu, hailed from Ju county in Beihai commandery. He rose through provincial posts to magistrate of Zhuo, showing talent both in administration and in arms. The governor, impressed by his ability, gave him broad duties over six counties. His rule was orderly and humane; for seven years lost goods stayed where they fell.
10
順帝末，揚、徐盜賊群起，磐牙連歲。 建康元年，九江范容、周生等相聚反亂，屯據歷陽，為江淮巨患，遣御史中丞馮緄將兵督揚州刺史尹燿、九江太守鄧顯討之。 燿、顯軍敗，為賊所殺。 又陰陵人徐鳳、馬勉等復寇郡縣，殺略吏人。 鳳衣絳衣，帶黑綬，稱「無上將軍」，勉皮冠黃衣，帶玉印，稱「黃帝」，築營於當塗山中。 乃建年號，置百官，遣別帥黃虎攻沒合肥。 明年，廣陵賊張嬰等復聚眾數千人反，據廣陵。 朝廷博求將帥，三公舉撫有文武才，拜為九江都尉，與中郎將趙序助馮緄合州郡兵數萬人共討之。 又廣開賞募，錢、邑各有差。 梁太后慮群賊屯結，諸將不能制，又議遣太尉李固。 未及行，會撫等進擊，大破之，斬馬勉、范容、周生等千五百級，徐鳳遂將餘眾攻燒東城縣。 下邳人謝安應募，率其宗親設伏擊鳳，斬之，封安為平鄉侯，邑三千戶。 拜撫中郎將，督揚徐二州事。 撫復進擊張嬰，斬獲千餘人。 趙序坐畏懦不進，詐增首級，徵還棄市。 又歷陽賊華孟自稱「黑帝」，攻九江，殺郡守。 撫乘勝進擊，破之，斬孟等三千八百級，虜獲七百餘人，牛馬財物不可勝筭。 於是東南悉平，振旅而還。 以撫為左馮翊，除一子為郎。 撫所得賞賜，盡分於麾下。
Late in Emperor Shun's reign banditry erupted in Yangzhou and Xuzhou and dragged on year after year. In Jiankang 1 (144 CE), Fan Rong, Zhou Sheng, and others in Jiujiang rebelled, seized Liyang, and threatened the entire Yang–Huai region. The court dispatched Vice Censor Feng Gun with troops to coordinate Governor Yin Yao of Yangzhou and Prefect Deng Xian of Jiujiang against them. Yin Yao and Deng Xian were routed and killed by the rebels. From Yinling, Xu Feng and Ma Mian attacked counties again, killing officials and looting the countryside. Xu Feng dressed in scarlet with a black official ribbon and styled himself Supreme General; Ma Mian wore a leather cap, yellow robes, and a jade seal and proclaimed himself the Yellow Emperor, fortifying a camp in the Dangtu hills. They adopted a reign title, appointed a full bureaucracy, and detached Huang Hu to take Hefei. The next year Zhang Ying of Guangling rallied thousands and seized the commandery seat. The court cast about for commanders; the Three Excellencies nominated Teng Fu for his civil and military gifts. He received the post of commandant of Jiujiang and, with General of the Household Zhao Xu under Feng Gun, led tens of thousands of provincial troops against the rebels. Generous bounties were posted—cash rewards and noble fiefs scaled by rank. Empress Dowager Liang feared the rebels were digging in beyond the generals' reach and considered sending Grand Commandant Li Gu as well. Before Li Gu could march, Teng Fu attacked and routed the enemy, taking fifteen hundred heads including Ma Mian, Fan Rong, and Zhou Sheng. Xu Feng escaped with the survivors and torched Dongcheng county. Xie An of Xiapi answered the call, ambushed Xu Feng with his kinsmen, and killed him. The court ennobled him as marquis of Pingxiang with a fief of three thousand households. Teng Fu was promoted to general of the household with authority over Yangzhou and Xuzhou. He pressed on against Zhang Ying and killed or captured over a thousand men. Zhao Xu was convicted of hanging back, inflating body counts, and was dragged back to the capital and executed in the marketplace. Hua Meng of Liyang styled himself the Black Emperor, struck Jiujiang, and murdered the prefect. Teng Fu followed up his victory, shattered Hua Meng's force, and counted 3,800 enemy dead with 700 prisoners; livestock and booty were beyond reckoning. The southeast was finally quiet; he marched his army home. The court named him governor of Left Fengyi and enrolled one son as a court gentleman. He shared every bonus and gift with his troops.
11
性方直，不交權埶，宦官懷忿。 及論功當封，太尉胡廣時錄尚書事，承旨奏黜撫，天下怨之。 卒於家。
He was bluntly honest and kept clear of powerful factions, which earned him the enmity of the eunuchs. When honors were due for his victories, Grand Commandant Hu Guang—then directing the Secretariat—carried out an order to strip Teng Fu of recognition, and public opinion turned bitterly against the court. He died at home.
12
馮緄字鴻卿，巴郡宕渠人也，少學春秋、司馬兵法。 父煥，安帝時為幽州刺史，疾忌姦惡，數致其罪。 時玄菟太守姚光亦失人和。 建光元年，怨者乃詐作璽書譴責煥、光，賜以歐刀。 又下遼東都尉龐奮使速行刑，奮即斬光收煥。 煥欲自殺，緄疑詔文有異，止煥曰：「大人在州，志欲去惡，實無它故，必是凶人妄詐，規肆姦毒。 願以事自上，甘罪無晚。 」煥從其言，上書自訟，果詐者所為，徵奮抵罪。 會煥病死獄中，帝愍之，賜煥、光錢各十萬，以子為郎中。 緄由是知名。
Feng Gun, styled Hongqing, came from Dangqu in Ba commandery and as a young man studied the *Spring and Autumn* and the military treatises. His father Feng Huan served as inspector of Youzhou under Emperor An, pursued wrongdoing zealously, and repeatedly secured convictions. Yao Guang, prefect of Xuantu, had likewise alienated those under him. In Jianguang 1 (121 CE), enemies forged an imperial rescript rebuking Feng Huan and Yao Guang and sentencing them to suicide with the court blade. Liaodong commandant Pang Fen was told to act at once; he executed Yao Guang on the spot and took Feng Huan into custody. Feng Huan was about to kill himself when his son, doubting the edict, stopped him. "In office you have sought only to root out evil," Feng Gun said; "there is no other cause—this must be a forgery by someone scheming against you." Petition the throne first; if we are wrong, we can face punishment then." " Feng Huan took the advice, appealed to the emperor, and exposed the fraud; Pang Fen was recalled and punished. Feng Huan died in prison before he could be cleared; moved with pity, the emperor awarded his family and Yao Guang's one hundred thousand cash each and enrolled Feng Gun as a gentleman of the palace. That incident made Feng Gun's name.
13
家富好施，賑赴窮急，為州里所歸愛。 初舉孝廉，七遷為廣漢屬國都尉，徵拜御史中丞。 順帝末，以緄持節督揚州諸郡軍事，與中郎將滕撫擊破群賊，遷隴西太守。 後鮮卑寇邊，以緄為遼東太守，曉喻降集，虜皆弭散。 徵拜京兆尹，轉司隸校尉，所在立威刑。 遷廷尉、太常。
The household was rich and open-handed, quick to aid neighbors in want, and widely esteemed in the region. Recommended first as filially pious and incorrupt, he rose through seven posts to commandant of the Guanghan dependent state, then received a summons to serve as vice censor-in-chief. Late in Emperor Shun's reign he carried the staff of authority over Yangzhou's forces and, with General Teng Fu, broke the rebel armies before moving on to grand administrator of Longxi. When the Xianbei struck again, he governed Liaodong, talked the tribes into submission, and they melted away without further fighting. He was called to the capital as governor of Jingzhao, then became colonel director of retainers, earning a reputation for stern justice wherever he served. He rose to commandant of justice and minister of ceremonies.
14
時長沙蠻寇益陽，屯聚積久，至延熹五年，眾轉盛，而零陵蠻賊復反應之，合二萬餘人，攻燒城郭，殺傷長吏。 又武陵蠻夷悉反，寇掠江陵閒，荊州刺史劉度、南郡太守李肅並奔走荊南，皆沒。 於是拜緄為車騎將軍，將兵十餘萬討之，詔策緄曰：「蠻夷猾夏，久不討攝，各焚都城，蹈籍官人。 州郡將吏，死職之臣，相逐奔竄，曾不反顧，可愧言也。 將軍素有威猛，是以擢授六師。 前代陳湯、馮、傅之徒，以寡擊眾，郅支、夜郎、樓蘭之戎，頭懸都街，衛、霍北征，功列金石，是皆將軍所究覽也。 今非將軍，誰與修復前跡？ 進赴之宜，權時之策，將軍一之，出郊之事，不復內御。 已命有司祖于國門。 詩不云乎：『進厥虎臣，闞如虓虎，敷敦淮濆，仍執醜虜。 』將軍其勉之！」
The Changsha tribes had been raiding Yiyang for some time, and by Yanxi 5 (162 CE) their numbers surged. The Lingling tribes joined in, and more than twenty thousand men burned towns and cut down magistrates. Every tribe in Wuling rose as well, sweeping the Jiangling region. Inspector Liu Du of Jingzhou and Nanjun's Li Su bolted for the south of the province and were lost with their men. Feng Gun was made General of Chariots and Cavalry at the head of a host of more than a hundred thousand. The mandate read: "The southern tribes have long afflicted the heartland, evading punishment; they have torched our cities and trampled our officials." Our officers, who should stand their posts, are running in disorder without a backward glance—this is a disgrace." You have long been known for your vigor, and for that we entrust you with the main army." Chen Tang, Feng Fengshi, Fu Jiezi, and others defeated vast armies with small forces; barbarian heads from Zhizhi, Yelang, and Loulan hung in the marketplace; Wei Qing and Huo Qubing marched north and earned inscriptions on bronze—all examples you know well." Who but you can renew those deeds of old?" Tactical decisions in the field are yours alone; once the army has crossed the walls, the court will not second-guess you." The ministers have already sacrificed at the city gate to speed your departure." The *Classic of Poetry* says: "Advance your tiger-like ministers, fierce as roaring tigers; range the banks of the Huai and seize the foe." Strive, General!"
15
時天下飢饉，帑藏虛盡，每出征伐，常減公卿奉祿，假王侯租賦，前後所遣將帥，宦官輒陷以折耗軍資，往往抵罪。 緄性烈直，不行賄賂，懼為所中，乃上疏曰：「埶得容姦，伯夷可疑； 苟曰無猜，盜跖可信。 故樂羊陳功，文侯示以謗書。 願請中常侍一人監軍財費。 」尚書朱穆奏緄以財自嫌，失大臣之節。 有詔勿劾。
Famine had emptied the vaults, and every campaign meant slashing pay for the high officials and seizing princely revenues. Eunuchs habitually accused returning commanders of embezzling military funds, and many were ruined. Feng Gun was blunt and took no bribes, yet he feared a eunuch's frame. He wrote: "If favoritism can make a villain of a worthy, even Boyi would look guilty; if you insist there is no bias, then even Robber Zhi would pass for honest." That is why Marquis Wen of Wei answered Yue Yang's report of victory by producing the letters that had slandered him." I ask that one eunuch be assigned to audit the army's accounts." Zhu Mu countered that Feng Gun had impugned his own integrity with this talk of money and fallen short of a senior minister's bearing. The emperor ordered that no action be taken against him.
16
緄軍至長沙，賊聞，悉詣營道乞降。 進擊武陵蠻夷，斬首四千餘級，受降十餘萬人，荊州平定。 詔書賜錢一億，固讓不受。 振旅還京師，推功於從事中郎應奉，薦以為司隸校尉，而上書乞骸骨，朝廷不許。 監軍使者張敞承宦官旨，奏緄將傅婢二人戎服自隨，又輒於江陵刻石紀功，請下吏案理。 尚書令黃雋奏議，以為罪無正法，不合致糾。 會長沙賊復起，攻桂陽、武陵，緄以軍還盜賊復發，策免。
When Feng Gun's host reached Changsha, the rebels learned of it and flocked to Yingdao to surrender. He drove into Wuling: four thousand enemy dead, more than a hundred thousand surrendered, and Jingzhou was quiet. The court offered him a hundred million cash; he refused repeatedly. He led the army back, gave the credit to his aide Ying Feng, and recommended Feng for colonel director of retainers, then asked to retire; the court said no. Zhang Chang, the army monitor, at the eunuchs' bidding accused Feng Gun of taking two maids in military dress on campaign and of carving a victory stele at Jiangling without leave. He asked the judiciary to open a case. Huang Jun, head of the Secretariat, argued that no statute covered the alleged offenses, so prosecution was unwarranted. Just then revolt flared again in Changsha, hitting Guiyang and Wuling. Because trouble returned as soon as his army withdrew, the emperor dismissed him by edict.
17
頃之，拜將作大匠，轉河南尹。 上言「舊典，中官子弟不得為牧人職」，帝不納。 復為廷尉。 時山陽太守單遷以罪繫獄，緄考致其死。 遷，故車騎將軍單超之弟，中官相黨，遂共誹章誣緄，坐與司隸校尉李膺、大司農劉祐俱輸左校。 應奉上疏理緄等，得免。 後拜屯騎校尉，復為廷尉，卒於官。
Soon he became superintendent of imperial workshops, then governor of Henan commandery. He urged that by tradition eunuchs' kin must not hold provincial posts; the emperor ignored him. He was again named commandant of justice. When Shan Qian, prefect of Shanyang, was jailed on charges, Feng Gun's interrogation killed him. Shan Qian was the younger brother of the late General Shan Chao; the eunuchs closed ranks and framed Feng Gun. He was sentenced to hard labor at the Left Craftsmen prison alongside Li Ying and Liu You. Ying Feng petitioned on their behalf and won their release. He later served as colonel of garrison cavalry and again as commandant of justice, dying in office.
18
緄弟允，清白有孝行，能理尚書，善推步之術。 拜降虜校尉，終於家。
Feng Gun's brother Feng Yun was known for integrity and filial piety, could run the imperial secretariat, and was skilled in astronomy and calendrics. He rose to colonel who subdues the barbarians and died at home.
19
度尚字博平，山陽湖陸人也。 家貧，不修學行，不為鄉里所推舉。 積困窮，乃為宦者同郡侯覽視田，得為郡上計吏，拜郎中，除上虞長。 為政嚴峻，明於發擿姦非，吏人謂之神明。 遷文安令，遇時疾疫，穀貴人飢，尚開倉稟給，營救疾者，百姓蒙其濟。 時冀州刺史朱穆行部，見尚甚奇之。
Du Shang, styled Boping, came from Hulu in Shanyang commandery. His family was poor, he had little schooling, and local worthies did not recommend him. Hard up, he took work surveying fields for the eunuch Hou Lan of his commandery, parlayed that into a post as tribute clerk, received appointment as a gentleman of the palace, and became magistrate of Shangyu. He ruled with an iron hand and exposed crime with uncanny precision; officials and commoners called him uncanny. Promoted to Wen'an, he faced plague and famine; he opened the granaries, fed the starving, and cared for the sick—his people owed him their lives. When Inspector Zhu Mu of Ji province made his rounds, he took note of Du Shang with admiration.
20
延熹五年，長沙、零陵賊合七八千人，自稱「將軍」，入桂陽、蒼梧、南海、交阯，交阯刺史及蒼梧太守望風逃奔，二郡皆沒。 遣御史中丞盛修募兵討之，不能剋。 豫章艾縣人六百餘人，應募而不得賞直，怨恚，遂反，焚燒長沙郡縣，寇益陽，殺縣令，眾漸盛。 又遣謁者馬睦，督荊州刺史劉度擊之，軍敗，睦、度奔走。 桓帝詔公卿舉任代劉度者，尚書朱穆舉尚，自右校令擢為荊州刺史。 尚躬率部曲，與同勞逸，廣募雜種諸蠻夷，明設購賞，進擊，大破之，降者數萬人。 桂陽宿賊渠帥卜陽、潘鴻等畏尚威烈，徙入山谷。 尚窮追數百里，遂入南海，破其三屯，多獲珍寶。 而陽、鴻等黨眾猶盛，尚欲擊之，而士卒驕富，莫有鬥志。 尚計緩之則不戰，逼之必逃亡，乃宣言卜陽、潘鴻作賊十年，習於攻守，今兵寡少，未易可進，當須諸郡所發悉至，爾乃并力攻之。 申令軍中，恣聽射獵。 兵士喜悅，大小皆相與從禽。 尚乃密使所親客潛焚其營，珍積皆盡。 獵者來還，莫不泣涕。 尚人人慰勞，深自咎責，因曰：「卜陽等財寶足富數世，諸卿但不并力耳。 所亡少少，何足介意！ 」眾聞咸憤踊，尚敕令秣馬蓐食，明旦，徑赴賊屯。 陽、鴻等自以深固，不復設備，吏士乘銳，遂大破平之。
In Yanxi 5 (162 CE) seven or eight thousand rebels from Changsha and Lingling took the title general and swept through Guiyang, Cangwu, Nanhai, and Jiaozhi. The Jiaozhi inspector and Cangwu prefect fled without a fight and both commanderies fell. Vice Censor Sheng Xiu raised troops against them but failed to win. Some six hundred recruits from Ai county in Yuzhang had enlisted but never been paid; they revolted, torched Changsha, struck Yiyang, killed the magistrate, and swelled in numbers. The court sent Ma Mu to oversee Inspector Liu Du of Jingzhou; their force was routed and both men ran. Emperor Huan asked his ministers for a successor to Liu Du; Zhu Mu nominated Du Shang, who jumped from commandant of the right craftsmen to inspector of Jingzhou. Du Shang led from the front, shared every hardship, recruited widely among the southern tribes, posted clear bounties, and smashed the rebels—tens of thousands surrendered. The veteran rebel leaders Bu Yang and Pan Hong of Guiyang, fearful of Du Shang's reputation, withdrew into the hills. He chased them for hundreds of li into Nanhai commandery, overran three stockades, and took rich spoils. Yet Bu Yang and Pan Hong still commanded a large following. Du Shang meant to finish them, but his men had grown complacent and rich and would not fight. He reasoned that slack pressure would mean no battle, while a tight siege would only drive the enemy off. He announced that Bu Yang and Pan Hong had ten years' experience in war, that his own force was too small for a rush assault, and that he would wait until every allied column arrived before striking. He then declared open hunting for the troops. The men cheered and officers and ranks alike rode out after game. Du Shang secretly sent trusted agents to burn the army's own baggage train and destroy its hoarded loot. When the hunting parties returned and saw the ashes, every man wept. Du Shang went among them, blamed himself bitterly, and said, "Bu Yang sits on enough loot to enrich generations—we failed only because we would not pull together." What we lost today is trifling—don't dwell on it!" " The troops boiled with fighting spirit. Du Shang ordered grain bagged for the horses and a meal wrapped for each man; at dawn he marched straight on the rebel camp. Bu Yang and Pan Hong thought themselves safe deep in the hills and let their guard drop; Du Shang's men struck while their anger was hot and crushed them.
21
尚出兵三年，群寇悉定。 七年，封右鄉侯，遷桂陽太守。 明年，徵還京師。 時荊州兵朱蓋等，征戍役久，財賞不贍，忿恚，復作亂，與桂陽賊胡蘭等三千餘人復攻桂陽，焚燒郡縣，太守任胤棄城走，賊眾遂至數萬。 轉攻零陵，太守陳球固守拒之。 於是以尚為中郎將，將幽、冀、黎陽、烏桓步騎二萬六千人救球，又與長沙太守抗徐等發諸郡兵，并埶討擊，大破之，斬蘭等首三千五百級，餘賊走蒼梧。 詔賜尚錢百萬，餘人各有差。
Three years of campaigning left the region clear of bandits. In the seventh year he was ennobled as marquis of You district and made grand administrator of Guiyang. The following year he was recalled to Luoyang. Jingzhou soldiers led by Zhu Gai had been on garrison duty for years without pay. They mutinied, joined three thousand men under the Guiyang rebel Hu Lan, stormed the commandery, and burned the towns. Prefect Ren Yin fled, and the horde swelled to tens of thousands. They swung toward Lingling, but Prefect Chen Qiu held the walls. Du Shang was named general of the household at the head of twenty-six thousand foot and horse from Youzhou, Ji province, Liyang, and the Wuhuan tribes to relieve Chen Qiu. With Kang Xu of Changsha he mobilized county levies, smashed the rebels, took thirty-five hundred heads including Hu Lan's, and drove the survivors toward Cangwu. The emperor awarded Du Shang a million cash and scaled bonuses for the others.
22
時抗徐與尚俱為名將，數有功。 徐字伯徐，丹陽人，鄉邦稱其膽智。 初試守宣城長，悉移深林遠藪椎髻鳥語之人置於縣下，由是境內無復盜賊。 後為中郎將宗資別部司馬，擊太山賊公孫舉等，破平之，斬首三千餘級，封烏程東鄉侯五百戶。 遷太山都尉，寇盜望風奔亡。 及在長沙，宿賊皆平。 卒於官。 桓帝下詔追增封徐五百戶，并前千戶。
Kang Xu and Du Shang were both celebrated commanders with many victories. Kang Xu, styled Boxu, was a native of Danyang whom his countrymen praised for courage and cunning. His first post was acting magistrate of Xuancheng, where he resettled forest tribes who wore topknots and spoke their own tongues under county administration, after which banditry ceased. He became a major under General Zong Zi, crushed the Taishan rebels under Gongsun Ju, took three thousand heads, and was ennobled as marquis of Eastern Township in Wucheng with five hundred households. As Taishan commandant he scattered every outlaw who heard his name. At Changsha he finished off the entrenched bandits. He died in office. Emperor Huan posthumously added five hundred households to his fief, for one thousand in all.
23
復以尚為荊州刺史。 尚見胡蘭餘黨南走蒼梧，懼為己負，乃偽上言蒼梧賊入荊州界，於是徵交阯刺史張磐下廷尉。 辭狀未正，會赦見原。 磐不肯出獄，方更牢持械節，獄吏謂磐曰：「天恩曠然而君不出，何乎？ 」磐因自列曰：「前長沙賊胡蘭作難荊州，餘黨散入交阯。 磐身嬰甲冑，涉危履險，討擊凶患，斬殄渠帥，餘盡鳥竄冒遁，還奔荊州。 刺史度尚懼磐先言，怖畏罪戾，伏奏見誣。 磐備位方伯，為國爪牙，而為尚所枉，受罪牢獄。 夫事有虛實，法有是非。 磐實不辜，赦無所除。 如忍以苟免，永受侵辱之恥，生為惡吏，死為敝鬼。 乞傳尚詣廷尉，面對曲直，足明真偽。 尚不徵者，磐埋骨牢檻，終不虛出，望塵受枉。 」廷尉以其狀上，詔書徵尚到廷尉，辭窮受罪，以先有功得原。 磐字子石，丹陽人，以清白稱，終於廬江太守。
Du Shang was again named inspector of Jingzhou. When Hu Lan's remnants slipped south into Cangwu, Du Shang feared blame would fall on him. He falsely reported that Cangwu bandits had crossed into Jingzhou, and Inspector Zhang Pan of Jiaozhi was hauled before the commandant of justice. His case was still open when a general amnesty cleared him. Zhang Pan refused to leave jail, gripping his chains and seal tighter. The warden asked, "The emperor has pardoned you—why stay bound?" " Zhang Pan replied: "When Hu Lan of Changsha rebelled in Jingzhou, his followers scattered into Jiaozhi. I wore armor, took every risk, killed their leaders, and drove the rest like birds back toward Jingzhou. Inspector Du Shang, afraid I would speak first, panicked and memorialized that I had slandered him. I hold a provincial post and serve as the emperor's arm, yet Du Shang's false charge landed me in chains. Facts can be true or false; the law distinguishes right from wrong. I am innocent; an amnesty cannot erase a crime I never committed. If I accept release now, I live forever disgraced—a corrupt official in life, a shamed ghost in death. Summon Du Shang to the commandant's court so we can confront each other and expose the truth. If Du Shang is not called to testify, I will die in this cell rather than walk free under a false verdict. " The commandant relayed the petition; Du Shang was summoned, broke under questioning, and was punished but pardoned because of past service. Zhang Pan, styled Zishi, was a Danyang native famed for integrity and ended his career as grand administrator of Lujiang.
24
尚後為遼東太守，數月，鮮卑率兵攻尚，與戰，破之，戎狄憚畏。 年五十，延熹九年，卒於官。
Du Shang later governed Liaodong; within months the Xianbei attacked, and he defeated them—the tribes learned to fear him. He died in office in Yanxi 9 (166 CE) at the age of fifty.
25
楊琁字機平，會稽烏傷人也。 高祖父茂，本河東人，從光武征伐，為威寇將軍，封烏傷新陽鄉侯。 建武中就國，傳封三世，有罪國除，因而家焉。 父扶，交阯刺史，有理能名。 兄喬，為尚書，容儀偉麗，數上言政事，桓帝愛其才貌，詔妻以公主，喬固辭不聽，遂閉口不食，七日而死。
Yang Xuan, styled Jiping, came from Wushang in Kuaiji commandery. His great-grandfather Yang Mao was a Hedong man who campaigned with Emperor Guangwu as General Who Subdues Raiders and received the marquisate of Xinyang township in Wushang. In the Jianwu era he took up his fief; the title passed three generations until a crime forfeited it, and the family remained there. His father Yang Fu served as inspector of Jiaozhi and was known as a capable administrator. His elder brother Yang Qiao was a secretary; he was handsome and often advised the throne. Emperor Huan admired his looks and talent and offered him an imperial princess. Qiao refused again and again; when the emperor would not relent, he stopped eating and died on the seventh day.
26
琁初舉孝廉，稍遷，靈帝時為零陵太守。 是時蒼梧、桂陽猾賊相聚，攻郡縣，賊眾多而琁力弱，吏人憂恐。 琁乃特制馬車數十乘，以排囊盛石灰於車上，繫布索於馬尾，又為兵車，專彀弓弩，剋共會戰。 乃令馬車居前，順風鼓灰，賊不得視，因以火燒布，然馬驚，奔突賊陣，因使後車弓弩亂發，鉦鼓鳴震。 群盜波駭破散，追逐傷斬無數，梟其渠帥，郡境以清。 荊州刺史趙凱，誣奏琁實非身破賊，而妄有其功。 琁與相章奏，凱有黨助，遂檻車徵琁。 防禁嚴密，無由自訟，乃噬臂出血，書衣為章，具陳破賊形埶，及言凱所誣狀，潛令親屬詣闕通之。 詔書原琁，拜議郎，凱反受誣人之罪。
Recommended as filially pious and incorrupt, Yang Xuan rose through several posts until Emperor Ling appointed him grand administrator of Lingling. Cunning rebels from Cangwu and Guiyang had joined forces and were storming county seats. Yang Xuan was badly outnumbered, and his officials despaired. He had dozens of wagons built, loaded leather bellows with lime on the decks, tied hemp ropes to the horses' tails, and paired them with combat carts fitted with crossbows, then set a day for the decisive engagement. The lime wagons advanced upwind, blinding the enemy with dust; his men set the tail-ropes alight, panicking the horses into the rebel ranks while the archery carts behind cut loose and drums and bronze clappers thundered. The mob broke like surf; the pursuit left countless dead and wounded and the ringleaders' heads on stakes. Order returned to the commandery. Inspector Zhao Kai of Jingzhou memorialized that Yang Xuan had never personally defeated the rebels and had falsely claimed the credit. Yang Xuan answered with his own memorials, but Zhao Kai had allies at court and had Yang summoned back to the capital in a prison cart. Under tight guard he could not plead his case, so he tore his arm until it bled and wrote a petition in blood on his robe, detailing how he had crushed the rebels and how Zhao Kai had slandered him, then smuggled it to the palace through kinsmen. An edict cleared Yang Xuan and named him gentleman consultant; Zhao Kai was convicted instead as the false accuser.
27
琁三遷為勃海太守，所在有異政，以事免。 後尚書令張溫特表薦之，徵拜尚書僕射。 以病乞骸骨，卒於家。
After three further promotions he governed Bohai with a notable record, then lost office over an unrelated matter. Secretariat Director Zhang Wen singled him out for recommendation, and the court summoned him as deputy director of the secretariat. He retired citing illness and died at home.
28
論曰：安順以後，風威稍薄，寇攘寖橫，緣隙而生，剽人盜邑者不闋時月，假署皇王者蓋以十數。 或託驗神道，或矯妄冕服。 然其雄渠魁長，未有聞焉，猶至壘盈四郊，奔命首尾。 若夫數將者，並宣力勤慮，以勞定功，而景風之賞未甄，膚受之言互及。 以此而推，政道難乎以免。
The historian remarks: After the reigns of Emperors An and Shun, imperial prestige waned and rebellion spread wherever there was an opening. Month after month raiders seized towns and proclaimed themselves kings—such pretenders must have numbered in the dozens. Some claimed supernatural sanction; others dressed in counterfeit imperial regalia. Few of these warlords earned lasting fame, yet their camps ringed every suburb and kept couriers galloping without rest. The commanders named here strained every nerve and earned peace through hardship, yet timely rewards from the throne went undistributed while spiteful gossip from court struck them in turn. Small wonder sound government proved almost impossible.
29
贊曰：張宗裨禹，敢殿後拒。 江、淮、海、岱，虔劉寇阻。 其誰清之？ 雄、尚、緄、撫。 琁能用譎，亦云振旅。
The ode runs: Zhang Zong served Deng Yu and dared hold the rear guard alone. From the Yangzi and Huai to the coast and Mount Tai, slaughter and rebel strongholds blocked the land. Who swept them clean? Fa Xiong, Du Shang, Feng Gun, and Teng Fu. Yang Xuan won with guile and marched his army home in good order.