Volume 109 Biographies 47: Wan Yansulan, Chen Gui, Xu Gu

完顏素蘭

Wanyan Sulan

七月，車駕至汴，素蘭上書言事，略曰：「昔東海在位，信用讒諂，疏斥忠直，以致小人日進，君子日退，紀綱紊亂，法度益隳。風折城門之關，火焚市里之舍，蓋上天垂象以儆懼之也。言者勸其親君子、遠小人、恐懼修省，以答天變，東海不從，遂至亡滅。夫善救亂者必跡其亂之所由生，善革弊者必究其弊之所自起，誠能大明黜陟以革東海之政，則治安之效可指日而待也。陛下龍興，不思出此，輒議南遷，詔下之日，士民相率上章請留，啟行之日，風雨不時、橋樑數壞，人心天意亦可見矣。此事既往，豈容複追，但自今尤宜戒慎，覆車之轍不可引轅而複蹈也。」

In the seventh month, when the imperial procession reached Bian, Sulan submitted a memorial on state affairs, in summary saying: "When the Marquis of Donghai still held the throne, he trusted slanderers and flatterers and kept loyal, upright men at arm's length, so petty men advanced day by day while gentlemen fell back day by day, institutions fell into disorder, and the laws were further undone. The wind snapped the city gate-bars, fire consumed houses in the market wards—surely Heaven was sending omens to warn and alarm him. Advisers urged him to draw near to gentlemen, keep petty men at a distance, and reform himself in fear and vigilance to answer Heaven's warnings, but the Marquis of Donghai would not listen, and so came to ruin. Those skilled at rescuing disorder must trace where disorder began; those skilled at reforming abuses must probe to their source. If Your Majesty can with full clarity promote and dismiss officials and reform the policies of the Marquis of Donghai's reign, the fruits of peace and order could be awaited within days. When Your Majesty ascended the throne, instead of reflecting on this lesson you at once debated moving the capital south. On the day the edict was issued, scholars and commoners submitted memorial after memorial begging you to stay; on the day the procession set out, wind and rain came at the wrong season and bridges broke again and again—the hearts of the people and the will of Heaven were plain enough. That episode is past and cannot be undone, but from this day forward all the more must we be on guard: one cannot hitch the shafts to an overturned cart's rut and drive through it again."

又曰：「國家不可一日無兵，兵不可一日無食。陛下為社稷之計，宮中用度皆從貶損，而有司複多置軍官，不恤妄費，甚無謂也。或謂軍官之眾所以張大威聲，臣竊以為不然。不加精選而徒務其多，緩急臨敵其可用乎？且中都惟其糧乏，故使車駕至此。稍獲安地，遂忘其危而不之備，萬一再如前日，未知有司複請陛下何之也。」

He also wrote: "A state cannot go a single day without soldiers, nor can soldiers go a single day without food. Your Majesty, for the sake of the altars of state, has cut palace expenditures to the bone, yet the responsible offices keep appointing more military officers and heed reckless spending—this is utterly pointless. Some say a host of military officers is meant to magnify our prestige; your subject does not believe it. If we do not select them carefully but only chase numbers, when crisis comes and we face the enemy, will they be of any use? Moreover, grain alone was scarce at the Central Capital, which is why the imperial procession was sent here. Having gained a slightly safer place, you then forgot the danger and made no preparations—if once again things should be as on that former day, who knows whither the responsible offices would again ask Your Majesty to flee?"

三年正月，素蘭自中都計議軍事回，上書求見，乞屏左右。上遣人諭之曰：「屏人奏事，朕固常爾。近以遊茂因緣生疑間之語，故凡有所引見，必令一近臣立侍，汝有封章，亦無患不密也。」尋召至近侍局，給紙劄令書所欲言，書未及半，上出禦便殿見之，悉去左右，惟近侍局直長趙和和在焉。素蘭奏曰：「臣聞興衰治亂有國之常，在所用之人如何耳。用得其人，雖衰亂尚可扶持，一或非才，則治安亦亂矣。向者颭軍之變，中都帥府自足剿滅，朝廷乃令移剌刺塔不也等招誘之，使帥府不敢盡其力，既不能招，愈不可制矣。至於伯德文哥之叛，帥府方議削其權，而朝廷傳旨俾領義軍，文哥由是益肆，改除之令輒拒不受，不臣之狀亦顯矣。帥府方且收捕，而朝廷複赦之，且不令隸帥府。國家付方面於重臣，乃不信任，顧養叛賊之奸，不知誰為陛下畫此計者。臣自外風聞，皆平章高琪之意，惟陛下裁察。」上曰：「汝言皆是。文哥之事，朕所未悉，誠如所言，朕肯赦之乎？且汝何以知此事出於高琪？」素蘭曰：「臣見文哥牒永清副提控劉溫雲：'所差人張希韓至自南京，道副樞平章處分，已奏令文哥隸大名行省，勿複遵中都帥府約束'。溫即具言于帥府。然則，罪人與高琪計結明矣。」上頷之。素蘭續奏曰：「高琪本無勳勞，亦無公望，向以畏死故擅誅胡沙虎，蓋出無聊耳。一旦得志，妒賢能，樹奸黨，竊弄國權，自作威福。去歲，都下書生樊知一者詣高琪言：'颭軍不可信，恐終作亂。 '遂以刀杖決殺之，自是無複敢言軍國利害者。宸聰之不通，下情之不達，皆此人罪也。及颭軍為變，以黨人塔不也為武甯軍節度使往招之，已而無成，則複以為武衛軍使。塔不也何人，且有何功，而重用如此。以臣觀之，此賊變亂紀綱，戕害忠良，實有不欲國家平治之意。昔東海時，胡沙虎跋扈無上，天下知之，而不敢言，獨台官烏古論德升、張行信彈劾其惡，東海不察，卒被其禍。今高琪之奸，過於胡沙虎遠矣。台諫職當言責，迫於凶威，噤不敢忤。然內外臣庶見其恣橫，莫不扼腕切齒，欲一剚刃，陛下何惜而不去之耶。臣非不知言出而患至，顧臣父子迭仕聖朝，久食厚祿，不敢偷安。惟陛下斷然行之，社稷之福也。」上曰：「此乃大事，汝敢及之，甚善。」素蘭複奏：「丞相福興，國之勳舊，乞召還京，以鎮雅俗，付左丞彖多以留後事，足也。」上曰：「如卿所言，二人得無相惡耶？」素蘭曰：「福興、彖多同心同德，無不協者。」上曰：「都下事殷，恐丞相不可輟。」素蘭曰：「臣聞朝廷正則天下正，不若令福興還，以正根本。」上曰：「朕徐思之。」素蘭出，上複戒曰：「今日與朕對者止汝二人，慎無泄也。」厥後，上以素蘭屢進直言，命再任監察御史。

In the first month of the third year, Sulan returned from planning military affairs at the Central Capital, submitted a memorial requesting audience, and asked that all attendants be dismissed. The emperor sent someone to instruct him: "Receiving memorials with attendants dismissed is something I do routinely. Recently, because You Mao stirred up suspicious talk through some opportune connection, whenever anyone is brought in for audience I require one close attendant to stand by. If you have a sealed memorial, there is no fear it will not be kept secret." Soon after he was summoned to the Bureau of Palace Attendants and given paper to write what he wished to say. Before he had finished half the sheet, the emperor came out to the Imperial Convenience Hall to see him, dismissed every attendant, and only Zhao Hehe, direct supervisor of the Bureau of Palace Attendants, remained. Sulan memorialized: "Your subject has heard that rise and fall, order and disorder are constants of any state—it all depends on what sort of men are employed. Employ the right men and even decline and disorder can still be shored up; employ the wrong man and even peace and order will turn to chaos. When the Gust Troops mutinied, the Central Capital Military Command was itself sufficient to suppress them, yet the court ordered Yila Chitabuye and others to entice them to surrender, so the command dared not exert its full strength; when enticement failed, they became all the harder to control. As for Bo'de Wenge's rebellion: when the military command was deliberating curtailing his authority, the court transmitted an edict ordering him to command the Loyalist Army, and Wenge grew all the bolder—when transfer orders were issued he refused them outright, and his disloyalty was plain for all to see. When the military command was about to arrest him, the court pardoned him again and would not even let him remain under the command's jurisdiction. The state entrusts a frontier to a great minister yet does not trust him, but instead nurtures the treachery of rebels—who, I wonder, devised this plan for Your Majesty? Your subject has heard from outside that it was all the doing of Grand Councilor Gao Qi—may Your Majesty investigate and judge." The emperor said: "Everything you say is correct. As for Wenge's affair, I was not yet fully informed; if it is truly as you say, would I have pardoned him? And how do you know this affair came from Gao Qi?" Sulan said: "Your subject saw Wenge's dispatch to Yongqing deputy commander Liu Wenyun: 'The man Zhang Xihan whom you sent arrived from Nanjing and reported the disposition of the Deputy Commander of the Military Affairs Commission and Grand Councilor—already memorialized to place Wenge under the Daming Branch Secretariat and no longer subject to the Central Capital Military Command's constraints. Wen immediately reported this in full to the military command. In that case, the criminal's collusion with Gao Qi is entirely clear." The emperor nodded. Sulan continued: "Gao Qi had no meritorious service and no standing among the public; formerly, out of fear for his life, he presumptuously killed Hushahu—this was merely an act of desperation. Once he obtained his aim, he envied the able, planted a clique of scoundrels, usurped state power, and made his own prestige and favors. Last year a capital student named Fan Zhiyi went to Gao Qi and said, 'The Gust Troops cannot be trusted—they will surely rebel in the end.' Thereupon he had him beaten to death with staff and blade, and from that day forward none dared speak of what benefited or harmed the army and state. That the emperor's keen hearing is blocked and lower sentiments do not reach him—all are this man's crimes. When the Gust Troops mutinied, he sent his clique-member Tabuye as military commissioner of the Wuning Army to entice them; when that failed, he then made him military commissioner of the Military Guard. Who is Tabuye, and what merit has he, that he should be so heavily favored? In your subject's view, this villain perverts institutions, slays the loyal and good, and in truth does not wish the state to be well governed. In the Marquis of Donghai's time, Hushahu was overbearing above all; all under Heaven knew it yet none dared speak—only the investigative censors Wugulun Desheng and Zhang Xingxin impeached his wickedness; the Marquis of Donghai did not perceive it, and in the end suffered his calamity. Now Gao Qi's wickedness far surpasses Hushahu's. The censorate and remonstrance offices have the duty to speak out, yet they are cowed by his fierce authority and gag their mouths, not daring to disobey. Yet officials and commoners within and without, seeing his arbitrary violence, clench their fists and grit their teeth, wishing to run him through with a blade—why does Your Majesty spare him and not remove him? Your subject is not unaware that words once spoken bring calamity, but your subject's father and son have served this sagely dynasty in succession and long received generous salaries—your subject does not dare seek ease in security. Only that Your Majesty act resolutely—that will be the blessing of the altars of state." The emperor said: "This is a grave matter; that you dare speak of it is excellent." Sulan again memorialized: "Grand Councilor Fuxing is an old meritorious servant of the state—I beg that he be summoned back to the capital to steady refined custom, and that rear matters be entrusted to Vice Grand Councilor Tuoduo—that would be sufficient." The emperor said: "As you say, would the two men not come to hate each other?" Sulan said: "Fuxing and Tuoduo share one heart and one purpose—there is nothing discordant between them." The emperor said: "Affairs at the capital are pressing—perhaps the Grand Councilor cannot be spared." Sulan said: "Your subject has heard that when the court is upright, all under Heaven is upright—it would be better to have Fuxing return and set the root aright." The emperor said: "I shall think on this at leisure." When Sulan left, the emperor again admonished him: "Today those who spoke with me are only you two—take care that this is not leaked." After this, because Sulan repeatedly offered straight counsel, he was ordered to serve again as investigative censor.

四年三月，言：「臣近被命體問外路官，廉幹者擬不差遣，若懦弱不公者罷之，具申朝廷，別議擬注。臣伏念彼懦弱不公之人雖令罷去，不過止以待闕者代之，其能否又未可知，或反不及前官，蓋徒有選人之虛名，而無得人之實跡。古語曰：'縣令非其人，百姓受其殃。 '今若後官更劣，則為患滋甚，豈朝廷恤民之意哉？夫守令，治之本也。乞令隨朝七品、外路六品以上官，各舉堪充司縣長官者，仍明著舉官姓名，他日察其能否，同定賞罰，庶幾其可。議者或以閡選法、紊資品為言，是不知方今之事與平昔不同，豈可拘一定之法，坐視斯民之病而不權宜更定乎。」詔有司議行之。

In the third month of the fourth year, he said: "Your subject was recently ordered to assess officials on outer circuits—for the honest and capable, to recommend that they not be reassigned; for the weak, unworthy, or unfair, to dismiss them and report in full to the court for separate deliberation and appointment. Your subject reflects that although those weak, unworthy, and unfair officials are ordered dismissed, it amounts only to stopping them and having someone waiting for a vacancy replace them—their capacity is again unknown, and they might prove inferior to the former official, so that we have merely the empty reputation of selecting men, without the solid trace of obtaining the right men. An ancient saying runs: 'If the magistrate is not the right man, the common people suffer his harm.' If a successor is worse, the harm will grow all the more severe—how can this be the court's intention to pity the people? Magistrates and prefects are the root of governance. I beg that seventh-rank and above officials who attend court and sixth-rank and above on outer circuits each recommend those fit to serve as magistrates and prefects, clearly stating the recommender's name—later, when their capacity is inspected, let rewards and punishments be fixed together—then perhaps it may succeed. Debators may speak of obstructing selection law and disordering rank grades, but this fails to understand that affairs today differ from ordinary times—how can we cling to a fixed law, sit watching the people's suffering, and not weigh circumstances and revise?" An edict ordered the responsible offices to deliberate and carry it out.

時哀宗為皇太子，春宮所設師保贊諭之官多非其人，於是素蘭上章言：「臣聞太子者天下之本也，欲治天下先正其本，正本之要無他，在選人輔翼之耳。夫生於齊者能齊言而不能楚語，未習之故也。人之性亦在夫習之而已。昔成王在繈褓中，即命周、召以為師保，戒其逸豫之心，告以持守之道，終之功光文、武，垂休無窮。欽惟陛下順天人之心，預建春宮。皇太子仁孝聰明出於天資，總制樞務固已綽然有餘，倘更選賢如周、召之儔者使之夾輔，則成周之治不足侔矣。」上稱善。未幾，擢為內侍局直長，尋遷諫議大夫，進侍御史。

At this time Emperor Aizong was crown prince; the masters, protectors, and instructors appointed for the Eastern Palace were mostly not the right men. Thereupon Sulan submitted a memorial: "Your subject has heard that the crown prince is the root of all under Heaven; to govern the realm one must first set this root aright, and the essential means of setting the root aright is nothing other than selecting men to assist and shore him up. One born in Qi can speak the speech of Qi but cannot speak the speech of Chu—for one has not practiced it. Human nature, too, lies in what one is taught to practice. In antiquity King Cheng, while still in swaddling clothes, at once appointed the Duke of Zhou and Duke of Shao as his master and protector, warned off his disposition to ease and pleasure, and taught him the way to hold and guard the realm—in the end his achievement outshone King Wen and King Wu, and his blessing extends without end. May Your Majesty, in accord with the hearts of Heaven and men, have already established the Eastern Palace. The crown prince's benevolence, filial piety, intelligence, and clarity stem from inborn nature; in overseeing pivotal affairs he is already more than ample—if still more one selects worthies comparable to the Duke of Zhou and Duke of Shao to flank and assist him, then the governance of the Zhou would not be worth matching." The emperor commended this as excellent. Before long he was promoted to Direct Supervisor of the Bureau of Palace Attendants, soon transferred to Remonstrance Grandee, and advanced to Attending Censor.

興定二年四月，以蒲鮮萬奴叛，遣素蘭與近侍局副使內族訛可同赴遼東，詔諭之曰：「萬奴事竟不知果何如，卿等到彼當得其詳，然宜止居鐵山，若複遠去，則朕難得其耗也。」又曰：「朕以訛可性頗率易，故特命卿偕行，每事當詳議之。」素蘭將行，上言曰：「臣近請宣諭高麗複開互市事，聞以詔書付行省必蘭出。若令行省就遣諭之，不過鄰境領受，恐中間有所不通，使聖恩不達於高麗，高麗亦無由知朝廷本意也。況彼世為籓輔，未嘗闕臣子禮，如遣信使明持恩詔諭之，貸糧、開市二者必有一濟。苟俱不從，則其曲在彼，然後別議圖之可也。」上是其言，於是遣典客署書表劉丙從行。及還，授翰林待制。

In the fourth month of the second year of Xingding, because Puxian Wannu rebelled, Sulan was dispatched with the Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Palace Attendants, a member of the imperial clan named Eke, together to Liaodong. The edict instructed them: "We still do not know how Wannu's affair will truly turn out—when you arrive there you will surely learn the details, but you should remain only at Mount Iron; if you go far away again, I shall have difficulty obtaining reports from you." It also said: "I consider Eke's disposition rather rash and easy—therefore I have especially ordered you to go together; on every matter you should deliberate fully." When Sulan was about to depart, he memorialized: "Your subject recently requested that Goryeo be instructed to reopen mutual markets—I hear the imperial edict has been given to the Branch Secretariat to issue through Bilan. If the Branch Secretariat sends notice on the spot to proclaim it, it amounts only to receiving it at the neighboring border—your subject fears something will be lost in transmission, so that the imperial grace does not reach Goryeo and Goryeo has no way to know the court's fundamental intent. Moreover, they have for generations been a feudatory screen and have never failed in the ritual of subject and minister—if you dispatch a credentialed envoy clearly bearing the gracious edict to instruct them, of extending grain credit and opening markets one or the other will surely succeed. If both refuse, the fault lies on their side—after that a separate plan may be deliberated." The emperor approved his words; thereupon he dispatched Liu Bing, recorder of documents in the Bureau of Court Reception, to accompany them. When they returned, he was appointed Hanlin Academician Awaiting Imperial Orders.

八月，權戶部侍郎。二年三月，授京西司農卿，俄改司農大卿，轉御史中丞。七年七月，權元帥右都監、參知政事，行省於京兆。未幾，遷金安軍節度使，兼同、華安撫使。既而召還朝，行至陝被圍，久之，亡奔行在，道中遇害。

In the eighth month, he was made Acting Vice Minister of Revenue. In the third month of the second year, he was appointed Director of the Capital West Office of Agriculture, soon changed to Grand Director of Agriculture, and transferred to Censor-in-Chief. In the seventh month of the seventh year, he was made Acting Right Commander of the Army, Participating in Government Affairs, with a Branch Secretariat at Jingzhao. Before long he was transferred to Military Commissioner of Jin'an Army, also Pacification Commissioner of Tong and Hua. Before long he was summoned back to court; when he reached Shan he was surrounded, and after a long time fled to the mobile court; on the road he met a violent death.

素蘭蒞官以修謹得名，然苛細不能任大事，較之輩流頗可稱。自擢為近侍局直長，每進言多有補益。其居父喪，不飲酒，廬墓三年，時論以為難。

Sulan won a reputation for diligence and caution in office, yet being harsh and minute he could not bear great affairs; compared with others of his generation he could rather be praised. From his promotion as Direct Supervisor of the Bureau of Palace Attendants, his memorials often had beneficial effect. When he observed mourning for his father he did not drink wine and dwelt by the tomb in a hut for three years—contemporary opinion held this difficult.

陳規，字正叔，絳州稷山人。明昌五年詞賦進士，南渡為監察御史。貞祐三年十一月，上章言：「參政侯摯初以都西立功，獲不次之用，遂自請鎮撫河北。陛下遽授以執政，蓋欲責其報效也。既而盤桓西山，不能進退，及召還闕，自當辭避，乃恬然安居，至於按閱倉庫，規畫榷酤，豈大臣所宜親。方今疆土日蹙，將帥乏人，士不選練，冗食猥多，守令貪殘，百姓流亡，盜賊滋起，災變不息，則當日夜講求其故，啟告陛下者也，而摯未嘗及之。伏願陛下特賜省察，量其才分別加任使，無令負天下之謗。」不報。又言：「警巡使馮祥進由刀筆，無他才能，第以慘刻督責為事。由是升職，恐長殘虐之風，乞黜退以勵餘者。」詔即罷祥職，且諭規曰：「卿知臣子之分，敢言如此，朕甚嘉之。」

Chen Gui, style name Zhengshu, was a native of Jishan in Jiangzhou. In the fifth year of Mingchang he passed the poetry-and-rhapsody metropolitan examination; after the southward migration he became Investigative Censor. In the eleventh month of the third year of Zhenyou, he submitted a memorial: "Participating in Government Hou Zhi at first won extraordinary appointment through meritorious service defending the western capital, and thereupon himself requested to pacify Hebei. Your Majesty hastily invested him in government affairs—surely you meant to charge him with repayment in service. Yet afterward he lingered on West Mountain, unable to advance or retreat; when summoned back to the capital he ought to have declined and withdrawn, yet he calmly dwelt in security, even inspecting granaries and storehouses and planning the wine monopoly—how is this what a great minister ought personally to do? At present the territory daily shrinks, generals and commanders are lacking, scholars are not selected and drilled, redundant eaters are excessive, magistrates and prefects are greedy and cruel, the common people flee in exile, bandits and thieves rise in abundance, omens and calamities cease not—then day and night one ought to seek the causes and report to Your Majesty, yet Zhi has never touched on this. I humbly wish Your Majesty especially to examine and measure him, and according to his capacity separately assign and employ him—do not let him bear the empire's blame." No response was given. He also said: "Alert-Patrol Commissioner Feng Xiang advanced through the writing knife and brush, with no other talent or ability—only making cruel severity in supervision and taxation his affair. For this he was promoted—I fear it will encourage the wind of cruelty and severity; I beg that he be dismissed and removed to encourage the rest." An edict at once dismissed Feng from office and moreover instructed Gui: "You know a subject's proper division of duty and dare speak thus—I commend you highly."

四年正月，上言：「伏見沿河悉禁物斛北渡，遂使河北艱食，人心不安。昔秦、晉為仇，一遇年饑則互輸之粟。今聖主在上，一視同仁，豈可以一家之民自限南北，坐視困餒而不救哉。況軍民效死禦敵，使複乏食，生亦何聊，人心一搖，為害不細。臣謂宜於大陽、孟津等渡委官閱視，過河之物，每石官收不過其半，則富有之家利其厚息，輻湊而往，庶幾公私俱足。」宰執以河南軍儲為重，詔兩渡委官取其八，二以與民，至春澤足，大兵北還，乃依規請。制可。

In the first month of the fourth year, he memorialized: "Your subject has seen that along the river grain staples northward crossing are entirely forbidden, so that Hebei suffers hard famine and hearts are not at peace. In antiquity Qin and Jin were enemies—yet whenever famine struck in a given year they mutually transported grain to each other. Now a sage ruler is above, regarding all with equal benevolence—how can we, for a single family's people, self-limit north and south, sit watching distress and famine and not rescue them? Moreover, when soldiers and civilians give their lives fighting the enemy, to leave them hungry again makes life scarcely worth living; once popular feeling wavers, the harm will be no small matter. I propose that officials be appointed to oversee crossings such as Dayang and Mengjin; for goods ferried across the river, let the state levy no more than half per shi in fees. Wealthy households would then be drawn by the prospect of ample profit to bring supplies in volume, so that public and private needs might both be met. The chief ministers, giving priority to grain stores for the army in Henan, issued an edict that at both crossings commissioned officials should take eight-tenths of the levy and leave two-tenths for the people. Only when the spring floods had passed and the main northern army had returned did the court adopt Gui's proposal in full. The emperor approved.

三月，上言：「臣因巡按至徐州。去歲河北紅襖盜起，州遣節度副使紇石烈鶴壽將兵討之，而乃大掠良民家屬為驅，甚不可也。乞明敕有司，凡鶴壽所虜俱放免之，余路軍人有掠本國人為驅者，亦乞一體施行，庶幾河朔有所系望，上恩無有極已。」事下尚書省，命徐州、歸德行院拘括放之，有隱匿者坐掠人為奴婢法，仍許諸人告捕，依令給賞，被虜人自訴者亦賞之。

In the third month, he memorialized: "While conducting an inspection tour, your subject reached Xuzhou. Last year Red Coat rebels rose in Hebei; the prefecture sent Assistant Military Commissioner Geshilie He Shou to lead troops against them, yet he seized large numbers of civilians and their families as forced carriers—conduct that cannot be tolerated. I beg that the throne clearly instruct the relevant offices to release every person He Shou seized; wherever soldiers on other routes have seized our own people as pressed labor, the same measure should apply equally. Thus the people north of the Yellow River may have ground for hope in imperial favor without limit. The matter was referred to the Ministry of Revenue, which ordered Xuzhou and Guide to set up tribunals to locate captives and release them. Concealers were punished under the statute on seizing people as slaves and maidservants; informers were allowed to report offenders and receive rewards as prescribed, and captives who appealed on their own behalf were also rewarded.

四月，上言：「河北瀕河州縣，率距一舍為一寨，籍居民為兵。數寨置總領官一人，並以宣差從宜為名。其人大抵皆閑官，義軍之長、偏裨之屬尤多無賴輩，征逐宴飲取給於下，日以為常。及敵至則伏匿不出，敵去騷擾如初。此輩小人假以重柄，朝廷號令威權無乃太輕乎。臣謂宜皆罷之，第委宣撫司從宜措畫足矣。」制可。

In the fourth month, he memorialized: "Along the Yellow River in Hebei, prefectures and counties for the most part established one fortified camp every thirty li and registered local residents as troops. Several camps together had one overall commander, all bearing the title "imperial commissioner acting at discretion." These men were for the most part idle officials; among militia captains and junior officers there were especially many rascals who lived by roaming from feast to feast and extracting their upkeep from subordinates as a daily routine. When the enemy arrived they hid and refused to fight; when the enemy withdrew they preyed on the people as before. To invest such petty men with heavy authority—is not the court's command and majesty treated too lightly? I believe all these posts should be abolished; it is enough to leave discretionary planning to the Pacification Commission alone. The emperor approved.

七月，上章言：

In the seventh month, he submitted a formal memorial stating:

陛下以上聖寬仁之姿，當天地否極之運，廣開言路以求至論，雖狂妄失實者亦不坐罪。臣忝耳目之官，居可言之地，苟為緘默，何以仰酬洪造。謹條陳八事，願不以人微而廢之，即無可采，乞放歸山林以懲屍祿之罪。

Your Majesty, endowed with supreme sagacity and humane forbearance, faces the utmost adversity of heaven and earth and has broadly opened channels of remonstrance to seek the fullest counsel; even those who speak wildly and miss the mark are not punished. Your subject holds the disgraceful honor of serving as the throne's eyes and ears and occupies a post where speech is expected; if I remain silent, how can I repay your vast beneficence? I respectfully set forth eight proposals and beg that they not be rejected because the speaker is insignificant. If none can be adopted, I beg to be sent home to the hills to atone for the offense of holding office without earning my stipend.

一曰責大臣以身任安危。今北兵起自邊陲，深入吾境，大小之戰無不勝捷，以致神都覆沒，翠華南狩，中原之民肝腦塗地，大河以北莽為盜區。臣每念及此，驚怛不已。況宰相大臣皆社稷生靈所系以安危者，豈得不為陛下憂慮哉。每朝奏議，不過目前數條，特以碎末，互生異同，俱非救時之急者。況近詔軍旅之務，專委樞府，尚書省坐視利害，泛然不問，以為責不在己，其於避嫌周身之計則得矣，社稷生靈將何所賴。古語雲：「疑則勿任，任則勿疑。」又曰：「謀之欲眾，斷之欲獨。」陛下既以宰相任之，豈可使親其細而不圖其大者乎。伏願特同睿斷，若軍伍器械、常程文牘即聽樞府專行，至於戰守大計、征討密謀皆須省院同議可否，則為大臣者知有所責，而天下可為矣。

First: Hold the chief ministers personally responsible for the state's safety and peril. The northern armies have now risen on the frontier and driven deep into our realm; in battle after battle, large and small, they have known only victory, until the sacred capital fell, the imperial carriage fled south, the people of the central plains were slaughtered wholesale, and north of the Yellow River the wilderness became a realm of bandits. Whenever I reflect on this, I am shaken with unceasing dread. Moreover, the chief ministers are those on whom the altars of state and the lives of the people depend for safety and peril—how can they fail to share Your Majesty's anxieties? At each court session their deliberations go no further than a handful of immediate items—mere trivia on which they quarrel among themselves—none of it what the age urgently requires. Moreover, a recent edict has entrusted military affairs exclusively to the Bureau of Military Affairs, while the Ministry of Revenue sits by watching advantage and harm and broadly declines to inquire, on the ground that the duty is not theirs. They succeed in the art of avoiding suspicion and saving their own skins—but on what are the altars of state and the people to rely? An old saying runs: "If you doubt a man, do not employ him; if you employ him, do not doubt him." It also says: "In planning, seek many counsels; in deciding, keep decision in one hand. Your Majesty has already entrusted them as chief ministers—how can you let them busy themselves with minutiae and not plan for the larger design? I beg Your Majesty to apply your sage judgment: routine matters of troops, arms, and paperwork may be left to the Bureau of Military Affairs alone, but grand strategy for offense and defense and secret plans for campaigns must be debated jointly by the ministries and the Bureau. Then the chief ministers will know they are accountable, and the realm may yet be saved.

二曰任台諫以廣耳目。人主有政事之臣，有議論之臣。政事之臣者宰相執政，和陰陽，遂萬物，鎮撫四夷，親附百姓，與天子經綸于廟堂之上者也。議論之臣者諫官御史，與天子辨曲直、正是非者也。二者豈可偏廢哉。昔唐文皇制中書門下入閣議事皆令諫官隨之，有失輒諫。國朝雖設諫官，徒備員耳，每遇奏事皆令回避。或兼他職，或為省部所差，有終任不覿天顏、不出一言而去者。雖有御史，不過責以糾察官吏、照刷案牘、巡視倉庫而已，其事關利害或政令更革，則皆以為機密而不聞。萬一政事之臣專任胸臆、威福自由，或掌兵者以私見敗事機，陛下安得而知之。伏願遴選學術訁夾博、通曉世務、骨鯁敢言者以為台諫，凡事關利害皆令預議，其或不當，悉聽論列，不許兼職及充省部委差，苟畏徇不言則從而黜之。

Second: Empower the censorate and remonstrance officials to extend the throne's eyes and ears. A ruler has ministers who administer affairs and ministers who debate policy. Ministers of administration are the chief ministers who govern: harmonizing yin and yang, sustaining the myriad things, pacifying the four quarters, and drawing the people near—those who with the Son of Heaven weave statecraft in the ancestral hall. Ministers of discourse are remonstrance officials and censors, who help the Son of Heaven distinguish right from wrong and set crooked matters straight. How can either be neglected? Formerly Emperor Taizong of Tang decreed that whenever the heads of the Secretariat and Chancellery entered the privy council to deliberate, remonstrance officials were to accompany them and speak up immediately at any fault. Our dynasty has remonstrance officials in name, but they are mere placeholders; whenever business is reported at court they are ordered to withdraw. Some hold other concurrent posts; some are detailed away by the ministries; there are men who complete a full term without ever seeing the emperor's face and leave without speaking a single word. Even the censors are charged only with investigating officials, auditing documents, and inspecting granaries; when matters touch vital interests or when policies are revised, everything is treated as confidential and they hear nothing. If ministers of administration should act solely on private impulse, wielding power as they please, or if commanders of troops should ruin strategic opportunity through personal prejudice—how would Your Majesty ever learn of it? I beg that men of solid learning, broad and comprehensive knowledge, practical understanding of affairs, and moral courage be chosen as censors and remonstrators; let them take part in advance deliberation on every matter of public consequence, and where policy is wrong, allow full debate. Bar concurrent appointments and ministry detailing; if they shrink from speaking out, dismiss them at once.

三曰崇節儉以答天意。昔衛文公乘狄人滅國之余，徙居楚丘，才革車三十兩，乃躬行儉約，冠大帛之冠，衣大布之衣，季年致騋牝三千，遂為富庶。漢文帝承秦、項戰爭之後，四海困窮，天子不能具鈞駟，乃示以敦樸，身衣弋綈，足履革舄，未幾天下富安，四夷鹹服。國家自兵興以來，州縣殘毀，存者複為土寇所擾，獨河南稍完，然大駕所在，其費不貲，舉天下所奉責之一路，顧不難哉。賴陛下慈仁，上天眷佑，蝗災之餘而去歲秋禾、今年夏麥稍得支持。夫應天者要在以實，行儉者天必降福，切見宮中及東宮奉養與平時無異，隨朝官吏、諸局承應人亦未嘗有所裁省。至於貴臣、豪族、掌兵官，莫不以奢侈相尚，服食車馬惟事紛華。今京師鬻明金衣服及珠玉犀象者日增於舊，俱非克己消厄之道。願陛下以衛文公、漢文帝為法，凡所奉之物痛自樽節，罷冗員，減浮費，戒豪侈，禁戢明金服飾，庶皇天悔禍，太平可致。

Third: Uphold frugality to respond to heaven's will. Formerly Duke Wen of Wei, after the Di destroyed his state, resettled at Chuqiu with only thirty war chariots; he then practiced austerity in person, wearing a coarse silk cap and plain cloth robes; in his later years he raised three thousand brood mares and made his state prosperous. Emperor Wen of Han, inheriting the realm after the wars of Qin and Xiang Yu, found the empire destitute—the emperor could not even match a team of four horses of one color. He set an example of plain living, wearing coarse silk himself and leather sandals on his feet; before long the realm grew rich and secure and the four quarters submitted. Since war broke out, prefectures and counties have been laid waste; where any survive, local bandits harass them again. Only Henan remains somewhat intact, yet wherever the imperial entourage resides the cost is beyond reckoning, and everything the realm can supply is levied on a single circuit—is that not a crushing burden? Thanks to Your Majesty's humane kindness and heaven's favor, after the locust plague last autumn's grain and this summer's wheat have barely sufficed to sustain us. To respond to heaven one must act in earnest; those who practice thrift heaven is sure to bless. I see plainly that upkeep for the palace and Eastern Palace is unchanged from peacetime, and the court attendants and bureau staff have never been cut back. Among eminent ministers, powerful clans, and military commanders, none fail to vie in luxury; food, dress, carriages, and horses pursue only display. In the capital, sellers of gilded garments, pearls, jade, rhinoceros horn, and ivory grow more numerous every day—none of this is the way to restrain desire and dispel disaster. I beg Your Majesty to take Duke Wen of Wei and Emperor Wen of Han as models: drastically cut court expenditure, abolish redundant posts, reduce wasteful spending, warn against arrogant luxury, and forbid gilded dress and ornaments—then perhaps heaven will relent and peace may be restored.

四曰選守令以結民心。方今舉天下官吏軍兵之費、轉輸營造之勞，皆仰給河南、陝西。加之連年蝗旱，百姓薦饑，行賑濟則倉廩懸乏，免徵調則用度不足，欲其實惠及民，惟得賢守令而已。當賦役繁殷、期會促迫之際，若措畫有方則百姓力省而易辦，一或乖謬有不勝其害者。況縣令之弊無甚於今，由軍衛監當進納勞效而得者十居八九，其桀黠者乘時貪縱，庸懦者權歸猾吏。近雖遣官廉察，治其奸濫，易其疲軟，然代者亦非選擇，所謂除狼得虎也。伏乞明敕尚書省，公選廉潔無私、才堪牧民者，以補州府官。仍清縣令之選，及責隨朝七品，外任六品以上官各保堪任縣令者一員，如他日犯贓並從坐。其資歷已系正七品，及見任縣令者，皆聽寄理，俟秩滿升遷。複令監察以時巡按，有不法及不任職者究治之，則實惠及民而民心固矣。

Fourth: Choose worthy prefects and magistrates to secure the people's loyalty. At present the entire realm's costs for officials and troops, transport, and construction all depend on Henan and Shaanxi. Added to this are years of locusts and drought; the people suffer repeated famine. Relief work drains the granaries, while exempting levies leaves revenue short. Real benefit for the people depends solely on worthy prefects and magistrates. When levies are heavy and deadlines tight, sound planning saves the people's strength and makes compliance easy; a single error can inflict harm beyond endurance. Moreover, the abuses of county magistrates have never been worse than today: eight or nine in ten gained office through military guards who supervised tribute deliveries and recorded labor merit. The bold and cunning seize the moment to plunder; the mediocre and timid surrender power to crafty clerks. Recently inspectors were sent to punish corruption and replace the incompetent, yet the replacements were not chosen any better—it is, as the saying goes, driving off a wolf only to get a tiger. I beg clear orders to the Ministry of Revenue to select openly men who are honest, impartial, and capable of governing the people, to fill prefectural and circuit posts. Further purify selection for county magistrates, and require court officials of the seventh rank and field officials of the sixth rank and above each to vouch for one man fit to serve as magistrate; if he later commits corruption, the guarantor shares the punishment. Those already qualified at the regular seventh rank and current magistrates may hold office in absentia until their term ends and they are promoted. Let surveillance commissioners tour on schedule and punish lawlessness and incompetence—then real benefit will reach the people and popular loyalty will be secured.

五曰博謀群臣以定大計。比者徙河北軍戶百萬余口于河南，雖革去冗濫而所存猶四十二萬有奇，歲支粟三百八十余萬斛，致竭一路終歲之斂，不能贍此不耕不戰之人。雖無邊事，亦將坐困，況兵事方興，未見息期耶。近欲分佈沿河，使自種殖，然遊惰之人不知耕稼，群飲賭博習以成風，是徒煩有司征索課租而已。舉數百萬眾坐糜廩給，緩之則用闕，急之則民疲，朝遷惟此一事已不知所處，又何以待敵哉。是蓋不審于初，不計其後，致此誤也。使初遷時去留從其所願，則欲來者是足以自贍之家，何假官廩，其留者必有避難之所，不必強遣，當不至今日措畫之難。古昔人君將舉大事，則謀及乃心，謀及卿士、庶人、卜筮，乞自今凡有大事必令省院台諫及隨朝五品以上官同議為便。

Fifth: Consult the ministers broadly to settle the grand strategy. Recently more than a million people from Hebei military households were relocated to Henan. Though redundant persons were weeded out, over four hundred twenty thousand remain, consuming more than 3.8 million shi of grain yearly—draining an entire circuit's annual revenue and still unable to support people who neither farm nor fight. Even without border troubles the state would be strained to the breaking point—how much more now that war is raging with no end in sight? Recently the plan was to distribute them along the river for self-cultivation, yet these idle drifters know nothing of farming; drinking and gambling in groups have become the norm—so officials are merely harassed to collect land tax to no purpose. Millions sit idle consuming state grain; ease the burden and funds run short; press hard and the people collapse. The court is already at a loss over this one issue—how then can we face the enemy? This stems from failing to think matters through at the outset and plan for consequences—a mistake that has brought us here. If at the first relocation people had been free to stay or go as they wished, those who came would have been families able to support themselves without state grain, and those who stayed would have had refuges of their own without forced removal—we would not face today's planning crisis. In antiquity, when a ruler undertook a great enterprise, he consulted his own heart, his ministers, the people, and the oracles. I beg that from now on every major decision require joint deliberation by the ministries, the Bureau, censors and remonstrators, and all court officials of the fifth rank and above.

六曰重官賞以勸有功。陛下即位以來，屢沛覃恩以均大慶，不吝官爵以激人心，至有未滿一任而並進十級，承應未出職而已帶驃騎榮祿者，冗濫之極至於如此，複開鬻爵進獻之門，然則被堅執銳效死行陣者何所勸哉。官本虛名，特出於人主之口，而天下之人極意趨慕者，以朝廷愛重耳。若不計勳勞，朝授一官，暮升一職，人亦將輕之而不慕矣。已然之事既不可咎，伏願陛下重惜將來，無使公器為尋常之具，功賞為僥倖所乘。又今之散官動至三品，有司艱於遷授，宜於減罷八資內量增階數，易以美名，庶幾曆官者不至於太驟，而國家恩權不失之太輕矣。

Sixth: Make official rewards weighty to encourage merit. Since Your Majesty's accession, broad amnesties have been proclaimed again and again; ranks and titles have been lavished to stir loyalty—some men advance ten grades before finishing a single term, and clerks still in probation already bear honorary Biaoqi titles. Redundancy has reached such extremes, and the sale of offices and tribute-buying have been reopened—what incentive remains for men who don armor and die in the ranks? Office is in itself an empty title, uttered only by the sovereign's mouth; yet all under heaven strive after it because the court treats it as precious. If merit is ignored and offices are handed out morning and promotions evening, men will soon hold them cheap and cease to strive for them. What is past cannot be undone; I beg Your Majesty to cherish the future, not let public office become a common commodity or rewards for merit a prize for the lucky. Moreover, honorary offices now commonly reach the third rank, making promotion difficult for the ministries. Within the eight abolished grades, increase the number of steps and give them finer names, so that advancement is not too rapid and the state's favor and authority are not unduly cheapened.

七曰選將帥以明軍法。夫將者國之司命，天下所賴以安危者也。舉萬眾之命付之一人，呼吸之間以決生死，其任顧不重歟？自北兵入境，野戰則全軍俱殃，城守則闔郡被屠，豈皆士卒單弱、守備不嚴哉，特以庸將不知用兵之道而已。古語雲：「三辰不軌，取士為相。四夷交侵，拔卒為將。」今之將帥，大抵先論出身官品，或門閥膏粱之子，或親故假託之流，平居則意氣自高，遇敵則首尾退縮，將帥既自畏怯，士卒夫誰肯前。又居常裒刻，納其饋獻，士卒因之以擾良民而莫可制。及率之應敵，在途則前後亂行，屯次則排門擇屋，恐逼小民，恣其求索，以此責其畏法死事，豈不難哉。況今軍官數多，自千戶而上，有萬戶、有副統、有都統、有副提控，十羊九牧，號令不一，動相牽制。切聞國初取天下，元帥而下，惟有萬戶，所統軍士不下數萬人，專制一路，豈在多哉？多則難擇，少則易精。今之軍法，每二十五人為一謀克，四謀克為一千戶，謀克之下有蒲輦一人、旗鼓司火頭五人，其任戰者才十有八人而已。又為頭目選其壯健以給使令，則是一千戶所統不及百人，不足成其隊伍矣。古之良將常與士卒同甘苦，今軍官既有俸廩，又有券糧，一日之給兼數十人之用。將帥則豐飽有餘，士卒則饑寒不足，曷若裁省冗食而加之軍士哉。伏乞明敕大臣，精選通曉軍政者，分詣諸路，編列隊伍，要必五十人為一謀克，四謀克為一千戶，五千戶為一萬戶，謂之散將。萬人設一都統，謂之大將，總之帥府。數不足者皆並之，其副統、副提控及無軍虛設都統、萬戶者悉罷省。仍敕省院大臣及內外五品以上，各舉方略優長，武勇出眾、材堪將帥者一二人，不限官品，以充萬戶以上都統、元帥之職。千戶以下，選軍中有謀略武藝為眾所服者充。申明軍法，居常教閱，必使將帥明於奇正虛實之數，士卒熟於坐作進退之節。至於弓矢鎧仗須令自負，習於勞苦。若有所犯，必刑無赦。則將帥得人，士氣日振，可以待敵矣。

Seventh: Choose generals and commanders to enforce military discipline. A general holds the fate of the state in his hands; all under heaven depend on him for safety and peril. The lives of thousands are entrusted to one man; in the space of a breath he decides life and death—is his burden not immense? Since the northern armies invaded, field battles have ended in the annihilation of whole armies and sieges in the massacre of entire prefectures. Is it because the troops are few and defenses lax? It is solely because mediocre commanders do not understand the art of war. An old saying runs: "When the three luminaries depart from their courses, take scholars to serve as chancellor. When the four quarters invade together, pluck soldiers from the ranks to serve as generals. Today's commanders are chosen chiefly for pedigree and rank—sons of great clans and privileged families, or men advanced through kinship and patronage. In peace they swagger; in battle they shrink. When the generals themselves are cowards, what soldier will advance? In ordinary times they are harsh and grasping, accepting bribes, and their soldiers harass civilians beyond control. When they lead men against the enemy, the column marches in disorder on the road; in camp they force their way into houses and terrorize civilians to satisfy their demands. To expect such men to respect the law and die for duty—is that not hopeless? Moreover, military officers are now too numerous: above the chiliarch there are myriarchs, deputy commanders, supreme commanders, and deputy controllers—too many chiefs for too few tribes; orders conflict and commanders constantly thwart one another. I understand that when the dynasty first conquered the realm, below the marshal there was only the myriarch, each commanding tens of thousands and holding sole authority over a circuit—was multiplicity the aim? Too many commanders are hard to choose from; fewer are easier to make excellent. Under present military law, every twenty-five men form one mouke; four mouke form one chiliarch. Under each mouke are one puyan, five banner clerks and fire-sergeants—only eighteen men are actual fighters. Commanders further select the strongest men for personal service, so a chiliarch commands fewer than a hundred men—too few to form a proper unit. Worthy generals of old shared hardship with their men; today officers receive salary grain and ration tickets, and one day's allowance feeds dozens. Commanders feast in plenty while soldiers hunger and freeze—how much better to cut redundant rations and give them to the troops? I beg clear orders to the chief ministers to select men versed in military affairs and send them to each circuit to reorganize the forces: fifty men per mouke, four mouke per chiliarch, five chiliarchs per myriarch—these to be styled "dispersed generals." For every ten thousand men appoint one supreme commander, called a "great general," all under the marshal's headquarters. Merge units that fall short of full strength; abolish all deputy commanders, deputy controllers, and empty supreme commander and myriarch posts without troops. Further order ministry and Bureau ministers and all officials of the fifth rank and above, at court and in the provinces, each to recommend one or two men of superior strategy and outstanding martial valor fit for high command, without regard to rank, to fill posts from myriarch and supreme commander up to marshal. For ranks below chiliarch, choose from the ranks men of proven strategy and martial skill whom the troops respect. Clarify military law and drill regularly, so that commanders master the doctrine of orthodox and unorthodox, empty and full formations, and soldiers master the drill of sitting, rising, advancing, and retreating. Make them carry their own bows, arrows, armor, and weapons and accustom them to hardship. Any violation must be punished without mercy. Then the right commanders will be in place, morale will rise day by day, and the state may face the enemy.

八曰練士卒以振兵威。昔周世宗常曰：「兵貴精而不貴多，百農夫不能養一戰士，奈何朘民脂膏養此無用之卒。苟健懦不分，眾何以勸。」因大搜軍卒，遂下淮南，取三關，兵不血刃，選練之力也。唐魏徵曰：「兵在以道禦之而已。禦壯健足以無敵于天下，何取細弱以增虛數。」比者凡戰多敗，非由兵少，正以其多而不分健懦，故為敵所乘，懦者先奔，健者不能獨戰而遂潰，此所以取敗也。今莫若選差習兵公正之官，將已籍軍人隨其所長而類試之。其武藝出眾者別作一軍，量增口糧，時加訓練，視等第而賞之。如此，則人人激厲，爭效所長，而衰懦者亦有可用之漸矣。昔唐文皇出征，常分其軍為上中下，凡臨敵則觀其強弱，使下當其上，而上當其中，中當其下。敵乘下軍不過奔逐數步，而上軍中軍已勝其二軍，用是常勝。蓋古之將帥亦有以懦兵委敵者，要在預為分別，不使混淆耳。

Eighth: Train the troops to restore military power. Formerly Emperor Shizong of Later Zhou often said: "Armies value quality, not quantity; a hundred farmers cannot support one fighting soldier—why then drain the people's substance to feed these useless troops? If the brave and the weak are not separated, how can the troops be roused to exert themselves?" He then conducted a thorough muster of the troops, marched south into Huainan, and seized the Three Passes without a blade being blooded—the fruit of selection and training. Wei Zheng of Tang said: "Armies need only be governed by principle. Discipline the strong and they will be matchless under Heaven; why recruit the weak merely to inflate the rolls?" In recent battles we have lost again and again—not from too few troops, but from too many troops with no distinction between the valiant and the useless. The enemy exploits this: the timid flee first, the brave cannot fight alone, and the whole force collapses. That is how we lose. The best course now is to appoint impartial officials skilled in military affairs, take men already on the rolls, and test them according to their specialties. Men of exceptional martial skill should be formed into separate corps, given extra rations, drilled regularly, and rewarded by rank. In this way every man will be spurred to excel at what he does best, and even the weaker troops may gradually be made serviceable. Formerly when Emperor Taizong of Tang campaigned, he habitually divided his army into upper, middle, and lower echelons; on meeting the enemy he gauged their strength and posted his lower echelon against their upper, his upper against their middle, and his middle against their lower. The enemy might chase his lower echelon only a few steps before his upper and middle echelons had already defeated their other two forces; thus he won battle after battle. Ancient commanders too sometimes offered up weak troops to the enemy; the key was to separate them in advance and never let the ranks become mixed.

上覽書不悅，詔付尚書省詰之。宰執惡其紛更諸事，謂所言多不當。於是規惶懼待罪，詔諭曰：「朕始以規有放歸山林之語，故令詰之，乃辭以不職忌諱，意謂朕惡其言而怒也。朕初無意加罪，其令御史台諭之。」尋出為徐州帥府經歷官。

The emperor read the memorial with displeasure and ordered the Ministry of Revenue to investigate him. The chief ministers resented his proposals to overturn established practice and judged most of his advice inadmissible. Gui thereupon awaited punishment in fear. An edict explained: "I had him questioned because he spoke of retiring to the hills, yet he pleaded the taboo of his office as if I hated his words and meant to punish him. I never intended to punish him. Let the Censorate reassure him of this." He was soon transferred out as staff officer under the Xuzhou martial command.

正大元年，召為右司諫，數上章言事，尋權吏部郎中。時詔群臣議修復河中府，規與楊雲翼等言：「河中今為無人之境，陝西民力疲乏，修之亦不能守，不若以見屯軍士量力補治，待其可守即修之未晚也。」從之。未幾，坐事解職。初，吏部尚書趙伯成坐銓選吏員出身王京與進士王著填開封警巡判官見闕，為京所訟免官，規亦坐之。是年十一月，改充補闕。十二月，言將相非材，且薦數人可用者。

In the first year of the Zhengda reign (1224), he was recalled as Right Remonstrator of the Secretariat, submitted memorial after memorial, and was soon made acting Director of the Ministry of Personnel. The court then debated restoring Hezhong Prefecture. Gui and Yang Yunyi argued: "Hezhong lies abandoned; Shaanxi is exhausted and cannot hold it even if rebuilt. Better to let the garrisons there make such repairs as they can and wait until the place is defensible before a full restoration." The court agreed. Before long he was dismissed on account of the affair. Earlier, Director Zhao Bocheng of the Ministry of Personnel had been dismissed after Wang Jing, a clerk by origin, sued him for appointing Wang Jing and the jinshi Wang Zhu together to fill an open Kaifeng patrol-judge post; Gui was implicated as well. In the eleventh month of that year he was reassigned as Remonstrator. In the twelfth month he declared that the generals and ministers lacked talent and recommended several men fit for service.

二年正月，規及台諫同奏五事：一，乞尚書省提控樞密院，如大定、明昌故事。二，簡留親衛軍。三，沙汰冗軍，減行樞密院、帥府。四，選大臣為宣撫使，招集流亡以實邊防。五，選官置所，議一切省減。略施行之。

In the first month of the second year (1225), Gui and the censorate and remonstrators jointly submitted five proposals: first, that the Ministry of Revenue resume supervision of the Bureau of Military Affairs, as under the Dading and Mingchang precedents. Second, streamline and retain the Imperial Guard. Third, weed out redundant troops and reduce itinerant military bureaus and marshal headquarters. Fourth, appoint senior ministers as pacification commissioners to gather refugees and strengthen the frontier. Fifth, appoint officials to a commission to review and reduce expenditures across the board. These measures were partially adopted.

四月，以大旱詔規審理冤滯，臨發上奏：「今河南一路便宜、行院、帥府、從宜凡二十處，陝西行尚書省、帥府五，皆得以便宜殺人，冤獄在此，不在州縣。」又曰：「雨水不時則責審理，然則職燮理者當何如？」上善其言而不能有為也。

In the fourth month, owing to severe drought, the emperor ordered Gui to review cases of wrongful imprisonment. Before setting out he memorialized: "On the Henan circuit there are twenty offices with discretionary power—expedient commissions, itinerant bureaus, marshal headquarters, and the like; in Shaanxi there are five itinerant ministries and marshal commands—all empowered to execute at will. The wrongful convictions lie with them, not with the prefectures and counties." He added: "If the rains fail, the examiner of delayed cases is blamed—what then of those whose duty is to harmonize the elements?" The emperor approved his words but could do nothing about them.

十一月，上召完顏素蘭及規入見，面諭曰：「宋人輕犯邊界，我以輕騎襲之，冀其懲創告和，以息吾民耳。宋果行成，尚欲用兵乎。卿等當識此意。」規進曰：「帝王之兵貴於萬全，昔光武中興，所征必克，猶言'每一出兵，頭須為白'。兵不妄動如此。」上善之。四年三月，上召群臣喻以陝西事曰：「方春北方馬漸羸瘠，秋高大勢並來，何以支持。朕已喻合達盡力決一戰矣，卿等以為如何？」又言和事無益，撒合輦力破和議，賽不言：「今已遣和使，可中輟乎。」餘皆無言，規獨進曰：「兵難遙度，百聞不如一見。臣嘗任陝西官，近年又屢到陝西，兵將冗懦，恐不可用，未如聖料。」言未終，烏古論四和曰：「陳規之言非是，臣近至陝西，軍士勇銳，皆思一戰。」監察御史完顏習顯從而和之，上首肯，又泛言和事。規對曰：「和事固非上策，又不可必成，然方今事勢不得不然。使彼難從，猶可以激厲將士，以待其變。」上不以為然。明日，又令集議省中，欲罷和事，群臣多以和為便，乃詔行省斟酌發遣，而事竟不行。

In the eleventh month the emperor summoned Wanyan Sulan and Gui and told them in person: "The Song lightly violate our border; I raid them with light cavalry in the hope they will be chastened and sue for peace, to give my people rest—that is all. If the Song have indeed made peace, do you still wish to wage war? You must understand my intent." Gui replied: "An emperor's armies must be utterly secure. Even Guangwu, in restoring the Han, won every campaign he undertook, yet he said, 'Each time I take the field, my hair turns white. Such was his reluctance to move troops rashly." The emperor approved. In the third month of the fourth year (1227) the emperor summoned the ministers to discuss Shaanxi and said: "In spring the northern horses grow lean; when autumn comes the great enemy forces will arrive together—how can we hold out? I have already told Heda to fight one decisive battle with all his strength—what do you think?" He also said peace talks were useless. Sahelian pressed hard to break off negotiations. Sai Buyan said: "We have already sent peace envoys—can we stop them midway?" The others were silent. Gui alone spoke: "War is hard to judge from afar—a hundred reports are not worth one look. I once served in Shaanxi and have visited there repeatedly in recent years. The troops and commanders are bloated and timid; I fear they will not perform as Your Majesty expects." Before he finished, Wugulun Sihe said: "Chen Gui is wrong. I have just been to Shaanxi—the troops are brave and eager, all longing for battle." Investigating Censor Wanyan Xixian seconded him. The emperor nodded and spoke again in general terms of peace. Gui replied: "Peace is certainly not the best policy, nor can it be guaranteed, yet given the present situation we have no choice. Even if the enemy is hard to deal with, the talks may still rouse the troops while we wait for circumstances to change." The emperor disagreed. The next day he convened the ministers again in the Secretariat, intending to abandon the peace talks; most favored peace, so he ordered the itinerant office to decide how to proceed—and in the end nothing was done.

十月，規與右拾遺李大節上章，劾同判大睦親事撒合輦諂佞，招權納賄及不公事。由是撒合輦竟出為中京留守，朝廷快之。五年二月，又與大節言三事：「一，將帥出兵每為近臣牽制，不得專輒。二，近侍送宣傳旨，公受賂遺，失朝廷體，可一切禁絕。三，罪同罰異，何以使人。」上嘉納焉。

In the tenth month Gui and Right Remembrancer Li Dajie memorialized against Sahelian, associate commissioner of the Great Mudiqin Affairs, charging him with flattery, abuse of power, bribery, and malfeasance. Sahelian was consequently transferred out as garrison commander of Zhongjing, to the court's relief. In the second month of the fifth year (1228) he and Dajie again submitted three proposals: "First, field commanders are constantly restrained by palace favorites and cannot exercise independent authority. Second, palace attendants who carry imperial orders openly accept bribes, debasing the dignity of the court; this should be forbidden entirely. Third, equal crimes receive unequal punishments—how can the law command respect?" The emperor commended and accepted them.

初，宣宗嘗召文繡署令王壽孫作大紅半身繡衣，且戒以勿令陳規知。及成，進，召壽孫問曰：「曾令陳規輩知否？」壽孫頓首言：「臣侍禁庭，凡宮省大小事不敢為外人言，況親被聖訓乎。」上因歎曰：「陳規若知，必以華飾諫我，我實畏其言。」蓋規言事不假借，朝望甚重，凡宮中舉事，上必曰：「恐陳規有言。」一時近臣切議，惟畏陳正叔耳，挺然一時直士也。後出為中京副留守，未赴，卒，士論惜之。

Earlier, Emperor Xuanzong had summoned Wang Shousun, director of the Brocade Office, to make a great red half-length embroidered robe and warned him not to let Chen Gui know. When it was finished and presented, he summoned Shousun and asked: "Did you let Chen Gui and his like know?" Shousun kowtowed and said: "I serve within the palace precincts; I dare not speak of any matter, great or small, to outsiders—how much less when I have received Your Majesty's personal command?" The emperor sighed and said: "If Chen Gui knew, he would surely remonstrate me against such finery—I truly dread his words." Gui spoke his mind without reserve and commanded great respect at court; whenever the palace undertook anything, the emperor would say, "I fear Chen Gui will have something to say." For a time the palace favorites whispered among themselves that they feared only Chen Zhengshu; he stood out as the upright man of his generation. He was later appointed deputy garrison commander of Zhongjing but died before taking up the post; scholars mourned his loss.

規博學能文，詩亦有律度。為人剛毅質實，有古人風，篤於學問，至老不廢。渾源劉從益見其所上八事，歎曰：「宰相材也。」每與人論及時事輒憤惋，蓋傷其言之不行也。南渡後，諫官稱許古、陳規，而規不以訐直自名，尤見重雲。死之日，家無一金，知友為葬之。子良臣。

Gui was broadly learned and skilled in prose; his poetry too was well wrought. In character he was firm, plain, and solid, with the bearing of the ancients, and devoted to scholarship to the end of his life. Liu Congyi of Hunyuan, reading his eight memorial proposals, exclaimed: "This is the stuff of a chief minister." Whenever he discussed current affairs with others he grew indignant and sorrowful, grieving that his counsel went unheeded. After the court moved south, the remonstrators most famed were Xu Gu and Chen Gui; Gui did not trade on blunt accusation and was especially esteemed. At his death his household had not a single coin; friends and acquaintances paid for his burial. His son was Liangchen.

許古，字道真，汾陽軍節度使致仕安仁子也。登明昌五年詞賦進士第。貞祐初，自左拾遺拜監察御史。時宣宗遷汴，信任丞相高琪，無恢復之謀，古上章曰：

Xu Gu, courtesy name Daozhen, was the son of An Ren, retired military commissioner of the Fenyang Army. He passed the jinshi examination in rhapsody and prose in the fifth year of the Mingchang reign (1194). At the beginning of the Zhenyou era (1213) he was promoted from Left Remembrancer to Investigating Censor. When Emperor Xuanzong moved the capital to Bian, he trusted Chief Minister Gao Qi and showed no plan for restoration. Gu submitted a memorial:

自中都失守，廟社陵寢、宮室府庫，至於圖籍重器，百年積累，一朝棄之。惟聖主痛悼之心至為深切，夙夜思懼所以建中興之功者，未嘗少置也。為臣子者食祿受責，其能無愧乎！且閭閻細民猶顒望朝廷整訓師徒，為恢復計。而今才聞拒河自保，又盡徙諸路軍戶河南，彼既棄其恆產無以自生，土居之民複被其擾，臣不知誰為此謀者。然業已如是，但當議所以處之，使軍無妄費，民不至困窮則善矣。

Since Zhongdu fell, the temples and altars, imperial tombs, palaces and treasuries, even the maps, registers, and ritual vessels—a century's accumulation—were abandoned in a single morning. Your Majesty's grief is profound; day and night you ponder how to restore the dynasty—never for a moment has that purpose been set aside. We who hold office and draw salary—how can we not feel ashamed! Even the common people in the lanes still look to the court to train the army and plan for restoration. Yet now we hear only of holding the Yellow River line and defending ourselves, while all military households from every circuit are moved wholesale to Henan. They have abandoned their livelihoods and cannot support themselves, and the local inhabitants are disturbed in turn. I do not know whose counsel this was. Since matters stand as they do, we should discuss how to manage them so that the army wastes nothing and the people are not driven to destitution.

臣聞安危所系，在於一相，孔子稱：「危而不持，顛而不扶，則將焉用？」事勢至此，不知執政者每對天顏，何以仰答清問也。今之所急，莫若得人，如前御史大夫裴滿德仁、工部尚書孫德淵，忠諒明敏，可以大用，近皆許告老，願複起而任之，必能有所建立以利國家。太子太師致仕孫鐸，雖頗衰疾，如有大議猶可賜召，或就問之。人才自古所難，凡知治體者皆當重惜，況此耆舊，豈宜輕棄哉。若乃臨事不盡其心，雖盡心而不明於理，得無益、失無損者，縱其尚壯，亦安所用。方時多難，固不容碌碌之徒備員屍素，以塞賢路也。惟陛下宸衷剛斷，黜陟一新，以幸天下。臣前為拾遺時，已嘗備論擇相之道，乞取臣前奏並今所言，加審思焉。

I have heard that safety and peril hang upon a single chief minister. Confucius said: "If in peril he does not uphold, if toppling he does not support—of what use is he?" Affairs have come to this pass—I do not know how the chief ministers, when they face Your Majesty, can answer your searching questions. What is urgent now is to find the right men. Former Censor-in-Chief Puman Deren and Minister of Works Sun Deyuan are loyal, sincere, and capable; both were recently permitted to retire. I beg that they be recalled and employed; they will surely accomplish something for the state. Sun Duo, retired Grand Preceptor of the Heir Apparent, though aged and ill, may still be summoned for great deliberations, or the court may consult him in person. Talented men have always been hard to find; all who understand governance should cherish them—how much more these elders; they must not be lightly cast aside. As for those who do not devote themselves wholeheartedly to affairs, or who devote themselves but lack understanding of principle, who neither help nor harm—even if still vigorous, of what use are they? In these troubled times we certainly cannot allow mediocre men to fill posts as dead weight and block the path of the worthy. May Your Majesty be firm and decisive, renew appointments and dismissals entirely, and bring fortune to the realm. When I was Remembrancer I once fully discussed how to choose a chief minister. I beg Your Majesty to take my former memorial together with what I say now and ponder them carefully.

臣又聞將者民之司命，國家安危所系，故古之人君必重其選，為將者亦必以天下為己任。夫將者貴謀而賤戰，必也賞罰使人信之而不疑，權謀使人由之而不知，三軍奔走號令以取勝，然後中心誠服而樂為之用。邇來城守不堅，臨戰輒北，皆以將之不才故也。私於所昵，賞罰不公，至於眾怨，而懼其生變，則撫摩慰籍，一切為姑息之事。由是兵輕其將，將畏其兵，尚能使之出死力以禦敵乎？願令腹心之臣及閑於兵事者，各舉所知，果得真才，優加寵任，由戰功可期矣。如河東宣撫使胥鼎、山東宣撫使完顏弼、涿州刺史內族從坦，昭義節度使必蘭阿魯帶，或忠勤勇幹，或重厚有謀，皆可任之，以扞方面。

I have also heard that a general holds the people's lives in his hands and the state's safety hangs upon him; ancient rulers therefore prized their choice, and generals must take the realm as their personal charge. A general values strategy over fighting; rewards and punishments must inspire unquestioning trust, stratagems must lead men without their knowing it; the three armies must rush to his orders to win—only then will they submit wholeheartedly and serve gladly. In recent times garrisons have not held firm and armies have fled at the first clash—all because the commanders lack talent. They favor their intimates and distribute rewards and punishments unfairly until the troops resent them; fearing mutiny, they soothe and placate them with indulgent concessions. Thus the troops despise their commanders and the commanders fear their troops—how can such men be made to fight to the death against the enemy? I beg that trusted ministers and those versed in military affairs each recommend men they know; if true talent is found, honor and employ them generously—then victories may be expected. Such as Xu Ding, pacification commissioner of Hedong; Wanyan Bi, pacification commissioner of Shandong; Cong Tan of the imperial clan, prefect of Zhuozhou; and Bilian Aludai, military commissioner of Zhaoyi—some loyal, diligent, and brave, others grave and resourceful—all are fit to defend the regions.

又曰：

He also said:

河北諸路以都城既失，軍戶盡遷，將謂國家舉而棄之，州縣官往往逃奔河南。乞令所在根括，立期遣還，違者勿複錄用。未嘗離任者議加恩賚，如願自效河北者亦聽陳請，仍先賞之，減其日月。州縣長貳官並令兼領軍職，許擇軍中有才略膽勇者為頭目，或加爵命以收其心，能取一府者即授以府長官，州縣亦如之，使人懷複土之心。別遣忠實幹濟者，以文檄官賞招諸脅從人，彼既苦於敵役，來者必多，敵勢當自削。有司不知出此，而但為清野計，事無緩急惟期速辦，今晚禾十損七八，遠近危懼，所謀可謂大戾矣。

On the Hebei circuits, because the capital had fallen and all military households were relocated, officials took it that the state had abandoned them wholesale, and prefectural and county officers often fled south to Henan. I beg that each locality hunt them down, set a deadline for their return, and never again employ those who disobey. Those who never left their posts should receive added rewards; those who wish to serve in Hebei should be permitted to petition, rewarded in advance, and granted reduction in their term of service. Let prefectural and county chiefs and deputies all hold military posts concurrently; permit them to choose from the ranks men of talent and courage as unit leaders, or grant titles to win loyalty; whoever recaptures a prefecture should be made its chief, and the same for counties—so that men will cherish the hope of recovering their homeland. Send out reliable and capable agents to recruit all who were coerced into the enemy ranks with proclamations and official rewards; once they weary of serving the foe, many will defect, and the enemy's strength will dwindle of itself. The authorities never thought of this, but pursued only a scorched-earth policy, treating every matter as urgent and rushing it through regardless; tonight seven or eight tenths of the ripening grain were lost, and alarm spread far and wide—the design could scarcely be more wrong-headed.

又曰：

He also said:

京師諸夏根本，況今常宿重兵，緩急征討必由於此，平時尚宜優於外路，使百姓有所蓄積，雖在私室猶公家也。今有司搜括餘糧，致轉販者無複敢入，宜即止之。臣頃看讀陳言，見其盡心竭誠以吐正論者，率皆草澤疏賤之人，況在百僚，豈無為國深憂進章疏者乎？誠宜明敕中外，使得盡言不諱，則太平之長策出矣。

The capital is the foundation of the empire, and now heavy forces are stationed there permanently; every urgent campaign must pass through it. Even in peaceful times it should be favored over the provinces so that the people may build up stores—wealth held in private homes is still wealth for the state. Now the authorities are seizing every scrap of surplus grain until grain merchants dare not bring supplies in at all. This ought to be halted immediately. I have lately been reading submitted memorials; those who spoke their minds with full sincerity were almost all humble men from the grass roots. Among the full body of officials, are there none who harbor deep concern for the state and would submit memorials? Your Majesty should clearly command the court and the realm to speak freely without restraint, and the grand design for lasting peace will appear of itself.

詔付尚書省，略施行焉。

An edict referred the memorial to the Department of State Affairs, and it was put into effect in part.

尋遷尚書左司員外郎，兼起居注，無何，轉右司諫。時丞相高琪立法，職官有犯皆的決，古及左司諫抹撚胡魯剌上言曰：「禮義廉恥以治君子，刑罰威獄以治小人，此萬世不易論也。近者朝廷急於求治，有司奏請從權立法：職官有犯應贖者亦多的決。夫爵祿所以馭貴也，貴不免辱，則卑賤者又何加焉。車駕所駐非同征行，而凡科征小過皆以軍期罪之，不已甚乎。陛下仁恕，決非本心，殆有司不思寬靜可以措安，而專事督責故耳。且百官皆朝廷遴選，多由文行、武功、閥閱而進，乃與凡庶等，則享爵祿者亦不足為榮矣。抑又有大可慮者，為上者將曰官猶不免，民複何辭，則苛暴之政日行。為下者將曰彼既亦然，吾複何恥，則陵犯之心益肆。其弊豈勝言哉。伏願依元年赦恩'刑不上大夫'之文，削此一切之法，幸甚。」上初欲行之，而高琪固執以為不可，遂寢。

He was soon promoted to auxiliary clerk in the left division of the Department of State Affairs and made concurrent recorder of the imperial residence; before long he became remonstrator of the right division. At that time Chief Minister Gao Qi legislated so that any offending official was flogged on the spot. Gu and Left Division Remonstrator Mo'nian Hulula submitted a memorial: "Propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame govern gentlemen; punishment, coercion, and prison govern common men—this principle has never changed. Lately the court has been urgent for order, and the offices have asked for emergency legislation: even officials who ought by law to redeem their offenses with fines are instead flogged. Rank and stipend exist to govern the eminent; if even the eminent cannot escape humiliation, what added sanction remains for the lowly? The place where the throne rests is not a battlefield, yet every petty offense in collection and levy is punished as a military crime—is this not excessive? Your Majesty is humane and forgiving; this cannot be your true intent. The offices perhaps do not believe that clemency and calm can bring peace, and so devote themselves wholly to harsh supervision. Moreover every official is chosen by the court, advancing through learning, military merit, or noble lineage—to treat them like commoners is to make rank and stipend no honor at all. There is a still graver concern: those in authority will say, "Even officials are not spared—what recourse have the common people?"—and harsh rule will grow worse each day. Those below will say, "If they are no better than I, what shame is there in my act?"—and the spirit of defiance will run rampant. The harm of this cannot be overstated. I humbly beg that Your Majesty follow the first-year amnesty, which held that "punishment does not reach the great officers," and repeal these measures entirely—this would be a great blessing." The Emperor at first wished to act on this, but Gao Qi stubbornly insisted it could not be done, and the proposal was dropped.

四年，以右司諫兼侍御史。時大兵越潼關而東，詔尚書省集百官議，古上言曰：「兵逾關而朝廷甫知，此蓋諸將欺蔽罪也。雖然，大兵駐閿鄉境，數日不動，意者恐吾河南之軍逆諸前，陝西之眾議其後，或欲先令覘者伺趨向之便，或以深入人境非其地利而自危，所以觀望未遽進也。此時正宜選募銳卒並力擊之，且開其歸路，彼既疑惑，遇敵必走，我眾從而襲之，其破必矣。」上以示尚書省，高琪沮其議，遂不行。是月，始置招賢所，令古等領其事。

In the fourth year of the reign he held the post of right division remonstrator and served concurrently as investigating censor. When the main army crossed Tong Pass and marched east, the Emperor ordered the Department of State Affairs to convene the officials for deliberation. Gu submitted a memorial: "The army crossed the pass before the court even learned of it—this is surely the generals' crime of concealing intelligence. Yet the main force has camped at Wenxiang for days without moving. They likely fear our Henan army will block their front and our Shaanxi forces threaten their rear; they may wish first to send scouts to test our disposition, or they may know that deep penetration into hostile territory without local advantage puts them at risk—hence they hesitate and have not advanced swiftly. Now is the moment to raise picked troops and strike them with full force, while leaving their line of retreat open. Once they are thrown into doubt and meet our troops they will surely flee, and our forces can fall upon them—their defeat is certain." The Emperor showed the memorial to the Department of State Affairs; Gao Qi blocked the proposal, and nothing was done. That month the court first established the Office for Recruiting Talent and put Gu and others in charge of it.

興定元年七月，上聞宋兵連陷贛榆、漣水諸縣，且獲偽檄，辭多詆斥，因諭宰臣曰：「宋人構禍久矣，朕姑含容者，眾慮開兵端以勞吾民耳。今數見侵，將何以處，卿等其與百官議。」於是集眾議於都堂，古曰：「宋人孱弱，畏我素深，且知北兵方強，將恃我為遮罩，雖時跳樑，計必不敢深入，其侮嫚之語，特市井屠沽兒所為，烏足較之。止當命有司移文，諭以本朝累有大造，及聖主兼愛生靈意。彼若有知，複尋舊好，則又何求。其或怙惡不悛，舉眾討之，顧亦未晚也。」時預議者十餘人，雖或小異而大略則一，既而丞相高琪等奏：「百官之議，咸請嚴兵設備以逸待勞，此上策也。」上然之。時朝廷以諸路把軍官時有不和不聽，更相訴訟，古上言曰：「臣以為善者有勸，惡者有懲，國之大法也。苟善惡不聞，則上下相蒙，懲勸無所施矣。」上嘉納之。

In the seventh month of the first year of Xingding, the Emperor learned that Song forces had taken Ganyu, Lianshui, and other counties in succession, and had seized a forged proclamation full of abuse. He told his chief ministers: "The Song have long been stirring trouble; I have borne with them only because all feared that war would weary our people. Now they have violated us again and again—how shall we respond? Go and deliberate with the full body of officials." The court then assembled for deliberation in the metropolitan hall. Gu said: "The Song are feeble and have long feared us deeply; they know the northern armies are strong and will lean on us as their shield. They may prance about for a time, but they will not dare push deep inland. Their insulting language is the talk of market butchers and peddlers—hardly worth answering. We need only order the authorities to send them a dispatch, reminding them of the great favors our dynasty has repeatedly shown them and of the sage ruler's care for all living beings. If they have any sense, they will seek to restore the old friendship, and we need ask nothing more. If they cling to wickedness and will not mend, then we may raise the army against them—and even then it will not be too late." More than ten officials took part in the debate; their views differed in small points but agreed in the main. Soon Chief Minister Gao Qi and others reported: "The officials unanimously urge strengthening defenses and holding our ground until the enemy wears himself out—that is the best policy." The Emperor agreed. Because military governors in the circuits often quarreled and disobeyed one another, filing suits back and forth, Gu submitted a memorial: "I hold that the good should be rewarded and the wicked punished—this is the fundamental law of the state. If good and evil go unreported, superiors and subordinates will deceive one another, and reward and punishment can never be applied." The Emperor commended the proposal and accepted it.

古以朝廷欲舉兵伐宋，上疏諫曰：「昔大定初，宋人犯宿州，已而屢敗，世宗料其不敢遽乞和，乃敕元帥府遣人議之，自是太平幾三十年。泰和中，韓侂胄妄開邊釁，章宗遣駙馬僕撒揆討之。揆慮兵興費重不能久支，陰遣侂胄族人齎乃祖琦畫像及家牒，偽為歸附，以見丘崇，因之繼好，振旅而還。夫以世宗、章宗之隆，府庫充實，天下富庶，猶先俯屈以即成功，告之祖廟，書之史冊，為萬世美談，今其可不務乎？今大兵少息，若複南邊無事，則太平不遠矣。或謂專用威武可使宋人屈服，此殆虛言，不究實用。借令時獲小捷，亦不足多賀。彼見吾勢大，必堅守不出，我軍倉猝無得，須還以就糧，彼複乘而襲之，使我欲戰不得、欲退不能，則休兵之期殆未見也。況彼有江南蓄積之餘，我止河南一路征斂之弊，可為寒心。願陛下隱忍包容，速行此策，果通知，則大兵聞之，亦將斂跡，以吾無掣肘故也。河南既得息肩，然後經略朔方，則陛下享中興之福，天下賴涵養之慶矣。惟陛下略近功、慮後患，不勝幸甚。」上是其言，即命古草議和牒文。既成，以示宰臣，宰臣言其有哀祈之意，自示微弱，遂不用。

When the court wished to raise an army against Song, Gu submitted a remonstrance memorial: "In the early Dading era the Song attacked Suzhou and were soon beaten repeatedly. Emperor Shizong judged they would not hasten to sue for peace and ordered the Marshal's Office to open negotiations; peace then lasted nearly thirty years. In the Taihe era Han Tuozhou rashly provoked war on the frontier, and Emperor Zhangzong sent his son-in-law Pusan Huai against them. Huai knew that war was costly and could not be sustained long; he secretly sent members of Tuozhou's clan bearing the portrait and genealogy of his grandfather Han Qi, pretending to offer submission, to Qiu Chong, and on this basis renewed friendly relations and withdrew his army. Emperors Shizong and Zhangzong at the height of their power, with full treasuries and a prosperous realm, still humbled themselves to secure success, reported it to the ancestral temple, and recorded it in the histories as a deed celebrated for all time—how can we today fail to follow their example? The main armies have only just drawn breath; if the southern border can be kept quiet, peace is not far off. Some hold that force alone will make the Song submit—that is hollow talk that ignores what is practicable. Even if we win minor victories for a time, they are scarcely cause for rejoicing. They will see our strength and cling to their defenses without coming out. Our army, finding nothing in a hasty campaign, must withdraw for supplies; they will then strike us in turn, leaving us unable to fight or retreat—and the day when our troops may rest will be far off indeed. They have the stored wealth of Jiangnan behind them, while we rely on the exhausted levies of Henan alone—a thought to chill the heart. I beg Your Majesty to exercise forbearance and tolerance and swiftly pursue this course. If peace is truly announced, the northern armies will also restrain themselves, for we will no longer be tied down on two fronts. Once Henan can breathe freely, we may then attend to the north; Your Majesty will enjoy the blessings of restoration and the realm the joy of nurture and repose. I beg Your Majesty to set aside immediate gains and weigh the troubles that follow—nothing would be more fortunate." The Emperor approved his counsel and at once ordered Gu to draft the peace dispatch. When it was finished, it was shown to the chief ministers, who said it sounded pleading and weak and refused to use it.

監察御史粘割梭失劾榷貨司同提舉毛端卿貪污不法，古以詞理繁雜，輒為刪定，頗有脫漏，梭失以聞，削官一階，解職，特免殿年。三年正月，尚書省奏諫官闕員，因以古為請，上曰：「朕昨暮方思古，而卿等及之，正合朕意，其趨召之。」複拜左補闕。八月，削官四階，解職。初，朝廷遣近侍局直長溫敦百家奴暨刑部侍郎奧屯胡撒合徙吉州之民於丹以避兵鋒，州民重遷，遮道控訴，百家奴諭以天子恐傷百姓之意，且令召晉安兵將護老幼以行。眾意兵至則必見強也，乃噪入州署，索百家奴殺之。胡撒合畏禍，矯徇眾情，與之會飲歌樂盡日，眾肩舁導擁，歡呼拜謝而去。既還，詔古與監察御史紇石烈鐵論鞫之，諭旨曰：「百家奴之死，皆胡撒合所賣也，其閱實以聞。」奧屯胡撒合既下獄，上怒甚，亟欲得其情以正典刑，而古等頗寬縱之。胡撒合自縊死，有司以故出論罪，遂有是罰。

Investigating censor Niancie Suoshi impeached Mao Duanqing, co-administrator of the Monopoly Goods Office, for corruption and malfeasance. Gu found the indictment prolix and revised it on his own, omitting several points. Suoshi reported this to the throne; Gu was demoted one rank, removed from office, and specially exempted from court attendance for one year. In the first month of the third year the Department of State Affairs reported vacancies among the remonstrators and nominated Gu. The Emperor said: "Only yesterday evening I was thinking of Gu, and you have brought him forward—it is exactly what I wished. Summon him at once." He was again appointed left remonstrator. In the eighth month he was demoted four ranks and dismissed from office. Earlier the court had sent Wendun Baijianu, direct attendant of the Inner Attendance Bureau, together with Vice Minister of Justice Aotun Husahé to relocate the people of Jizhou to Dan to escape the fighting. The populace, dreading removal, blocked the road and lodged protests. Baijianu explained the Emperor's wish not to harm the people and ordered Jin'an troops to escort the old and young on the move. The crowd believed that once troops arrived coercion would follow; they stormed the prefectural offices clamoring for Baijianu's death. Husahé, fearing for his life, feigned sympathy with the mob, feasted and caroused with them all day, and was borne aloft on their shoulders amid shouts of joy as they let him go. On their return, an edict ordered Gu and investigating censor Heshelie Tielun to examine the case, with instructions: "Baijianu's death was Husahé's doing—establish the facts and report." Once Aotun Husahé was imprisoned the Emperor was furious and urgently wanted the full facts so that the statutory penalty might be applied, but Gu and his colleagues were unduly lenient. Husahé hanged himself; the authorities submitted a finding on the affair, and Gu received this punishment.

哀宗初即位，召為補闕，俄遷左司諫，言事稍不及昔時。未幾，致仕，居伊陽，郡守為起伊川亭。古性嗜酒，老而未衰，每乘舟出村落間，留飲或十數日不歸，及溯流而上，老稚爭為挽舟，數十裏不絕，其為時人愛慕如此。正大七年卒，年七十四。古平生好為詩及書，然不為士大夫所重，時論但稱其直雲。

When Emperor Aizong first acceded, Gu was summoned as remonstrator and soon promoted to left division remonstrator, but his remonstrances no longer matched his former vigor. Before long he retired and lived at Yiyang, where the prefect built for him the Yichuan Pavilion. Gu loved wine and in old age had lost none of his appetite for it. He would take a boat among the villages and stay drinking for ten days or more without returning. When he rowed upstream, old and young alike competed to tow his boat for miles without end—such was the affection in which the people held him. He died in the seventh year of Zhengda, at the age of seventy-four. Gu spent his life fond of poetry and calligraphy, yet won little esteem among the scholar-officials; contemporary opinion honored only his forthrightness.

Cite this Chapter