Volume 107 Records 7: Shi Jilong Part Two

石虎

Shi Jilong, known as Shi Hu.

，季龍親耕藉田于其桑梓苑，其妻杜氏祠先蠶於近郊，遂如襄國謁勒墓。

Shi Jilong plowed the ceremonial field in his private Mulberry Park; Lady Du sacrificed to the silkworm goddess in the near suburbs; then he rode to Xiangguo to bow at Shi Le's tomb.

以中書監石寧為征西將軍，率并、司州兵二餘人為麻秋等後繼。張重華將宋秦等率戶二萬來降。河湟間氐羌十餘萬落與張璩相首尾，麻秋憚之，不進。重華金城太守張沖又以郡降石寧。麻秋尋次曲柳，劉甯、王擢進攻晉興武街。重華將楊康等與甯戰于沙阜，寧敗績，乃引還金城。王擢克武街，執重華護軍曹權、胡宣，徙七千餘戶於雍州。季龍又以孫伏都為征西將軍，與麻秋率步騎三萬長驅濟河，且城長最。重華大懼，遣將謝艾逆擊，敗之，秋退歸金城。

He named Shi Ning of the secretariat general for the western campaign and sent upward of twenty thousand soldiers from Bing and Si provinces to reinforce Ma Qiu's column. Song Qin and other officers under Zhang Chonghua marched twenty thousand households over to Zhao. Over a hundred thousand Di and Qiang lodges along the He-Huang corridor coordinated with Zhang Qu; Ma Qiu dared not push forward against them. Zhang Chong, Jincheng governor under Zhang Chonghua, likewise handed his district to Shi Ning. Ma Qiu halted at Qu Liu while Liu Ning and Wang Zhuo pressed the attack on Jinxing and Wujie. Yang Kang and his men met Shi Ning on Sandy Hill, broke his line, and drove him back to Jincheng. Wang Zhuo seized Wujie, took garrison officers Cao Quan and Hu Xuan prisoner, and deported over seven thousand households into Yongzhou. Shi Hu named Sun Fudu western-expedition general; with Ma Qiu he took thirty thousand horse and foot straight across the Yellow River and threw up a fortress at Changzui. Zhang Chonghua panicked and sent Xie Ai to counterattack; Ma Qiu was routed and fell back to Jincheng.

勒及季龍並貪而無禮，既王有十州之地，金帛珠玉及外國珍奇異貨不可勝紀，而猶以為不足，曩代帝王及先賢陵墓靡不發掘，而取其寶貨焉。邯鄲城西石子堈上有趙簡子墓，至是季龍令發之，初得炭深丈餘，次得木板厚一尺，積板厚八尺，乃及泉，其水清冷非常，作絞車以牛皮囊汲之，月餘而水不盡，不可發而止。又使掘秦始皇塚，取銅柱鑄以為器。

Shi Le and Shi Jilong were insatiable and shameless: though ten provinces poured gold, gems, and exotic tribute into their treasuries, they still wanted more, and they rifled every royal and sage tomb they could find for burial wealth. West of Handan lay Zhao Jianzi's tomb on Stone Mound Hill; Shi Hu had it broken open. They dug through charcoal, then a yard of planking, then eight feet of layered boards, until they struck an icy spring. Winches and leather buckets ran for a month without draining it, so the dig had to be abandoned. He also opened Qin Shihuang's mausoleum, stripped its bronze pillars, and melted them down for ritual vessels.

時沙門吳進言于季龍曰：「胡運將衰，晉當復興，宜若役晉人以厭其氣。」季龍於是使尚書張群發近郡男女十六萬，車十萬乘，運土築華林苑及長牆於鄴北，廣長數十里。趙攬、申鐘、石璞等上疏陳天文錯亂，蒼生凋弊，及因引見，又面諫，辭旨甚切。季龍大怒曰：「牆朝戌夕沒，吾無恨矣。」乃促張群以燭夜作。起三觀、四門，三門通漳水，皆為鐵扉。暴風大雨，死者數萬人。揚州送黃鵠雛五，頸長一丈，聲聞十餘里，泛之于玄武池。郡國前後送蒼麟十六，白鹿七，季龍命司虞張曷柱調之，以駕芝蓋，列於充庭之乘。鑿北城，引水于華林園。城崩，壓死者百餘人。

The monk Wu Jin told Shi Hu, "The Hu star is falling and Jin will rise again—conscript ethnic Han laborers to break their ascendancy." Shi Hu then had Zhang Qun draft a hundred and sixty thousand civilians from neighboring districts and a hundred thousand carts to haul earth for Hualin Park and a miles-long rampart north of Ye. Zhao Lan, Shen Zhong, and Shi Pu petitioned about erratic omens and a broken populace; at audience they spoke bluntly to the throne. Shi Hu thundered that even if the wall rose at dawn and sank by dusk he would not repent—he would have the work done at any human cost. He drove Zhang Qun's gangs to work by torchlight night after night. They raised three towers and four gates, three of them opening onto the Zhang with iron doors. A howling storm followed, killing tens of thousands of laborers. Yangzhou sent five cygnets with yard-long necks whose calls carried ten li; they were released on the Xuanwu Pool. Districts sent sixteen blue deer and seven white stags; Shi Hu had Zhang Hezhu break them to the rein for fungus-canopied state carriages ranked in the forecourt. They breached the north wall to feed the imperial park. The breach collapsed and buried more than a hundred workers.

命石宣祈於山川，因而遊獵，乘大輅，羽葆、華蓋，建天子旌旗，十有六軍，戎卒十八萬，出自金明門。季龍從其後宮升陵霄觀望之，笑曰：「我家父子如是，自非天崩地陷，當復何愁，但抱子弄孫日為樂耳！」宣既馳逐無厭，所在陳列行宮，四面各以百里為度，驅圍禽獸，皆幕集其所。文武跪立，圍守重行，烽炬星羅，光燭如晝，命勁騎百餘馳射其中。宣與嬖姬顯德美人乘輦觀之，嬉娛忘反，獸殫乃止。其有禽獸奔逸，當之者坐，有爵者奪馬步驅一日，無爵者鞭之一百。峻制嚴刑，文武戰慄，士卒饑凍而死者萬有餘人。宣弓馬衣食皆號為禦，有亂其間者，以冒禁罪罪之。所過三州十五郡，資儲靡有孑遺。季龍復命石韜亦如之，出自并州，游于秦、晉。宣素惡韜寵，是行也，嫉之彌甚。宦者趙生得幸于宣而無寵於韜，微勸宣除之，於是相圖之計起矣。

He sent Shi Xuan to sacrifice along the rivers, then turned the outing into a hunt: the heir rode the state chariot under feather fans and imperial banners with sixteen hosts and a hundred and eighty thousand men out the Golden Bright Gate. From the Lingxiao tower Shi Hu watched his heir's pageant and laughed, "While we rule like this, unless sky and earth cave in, what is left to fear? I need only rock grandsons on my knee and enjoy each day!" Shi Xuan hunted without restraint, pitching field palaces on a hundred-li square, driving game into corrals thick with tents. Ministers knelt in ranks while ring after ring of guards and torches turned night to noon; a hundred picked riders galloped inside, loosing arrows at the penned beasts. Shi Xuan and his favorite Xiande rode a palanquin to watch, lost themselves in sport until the quarry was exhausted. Any beast that broke the ring made whoever blocked its path liable: titled men lost their mounts and had to haul carts on foot for a day; commoners took a hundred lashes. Draconian edicts kept every official shaking while more than ten thousand troopers froze or starved on the hunt. Everything from Shi Xuan's tack to his rations was stamped "imperial"; touch it and you were charged with lèse-majesté. Three provinces and fifteen commanderies were stripped bare as he passed. Shi Hu then told Shi Tao to mount the same spectacle out of Bingzhou across Qin and Jin. Shi Xuan had long resented Shi Tao's favor at court, and this tour only deepened his envy. The eunuch Zhao Sheng, Shi Xuan's creature but not Shi Tao's, quietly urged fratricide—and the brothers began plotting each other's ruin.

麻秋又襲張重華將張瑁於河、陝，敗之，斬首三千餘級。枹罕護軍李逵率眾七千降于季龍。自河已南，氐、羌皆降。

Ma Qiu struck Zhang Mao between the Yellow River and the Shan passes, routed him, and took three thousand heads. Li Kui, warden of Fuhan, brought seven thousand men over to Shi Hu. South of the great river every Di and Qiang band submitted.

石韜起堂于太尉府，號曰宣光殿，梁長九丈。宣視而大怒，斬匠，截梁而去。韜怒，增之十丈。宣聞之，恚甚，謂所幸楊柸、牟成曰：「韜凶豎勃逆，敢違我如是！汝能殺之者，吾入西宮，當盡以韜之國邑分封汝等。韜既死，主上必親臨喪，因行大事，蔑不濟矣。」柸等許諾。時東南有黃黑雲，大如數畝，稍分為三，狀若匹布，東西經天，色黑而青，酉時貫日，日沒後分為七道，每相去數十丈，間有白雲如魚鱗，子時乃滅。韜素解天文，見而惡之，顧謂左右曰：「此變不小，當有刺客起于京師，不知誰定當之？」是夜，韜宴其僚屬于東明觀，樂奏，酒酣，愀然長歎曰：「人居世無常，別易會難。各付一杯，開意為吾飲，令必醉。知後會復何期而不飲乎！」因泫然流涕，左右莫不歔欷，因宿於佛精舍。宣使楊柸、牟皮、牟成、趙生等緣獼猴梯而入，殺韜，置其刀箭而去。旦，宣奏之。季龍哀驚氣絕，久之方蘇。將出臨之，其司空李農諫曰：「害秦公者恐在蕭牆之內，慮生非常，不可以出。」季龍乃止。嚴兵發哀于太武殿。宣乘素車，從千人，臨韜喪，不哭，直言呵呵，使舉衾看屍，大笑而去。收大將軍記室參軍鄭靖、尹武等，將委之以罪。

Shi Tao built a reception hall in the grand marshal's compound and named it Xuanguang; its ridgebeam spanned nine zhang. Shi Xuan took one look, executed the builders, hacked the beam out, and stalked off. Shi Tao rebuilt it higher, stretching the beam to ten zhang. When Shi Xuan heard, he raged to his favorites Yang Pei and Mou Cheng, "That whelp Shi Tao dares flout me like a rebel! Kill him for me," he swore, "and once I hold the western palace I will carve up Shi Tao's fiefs among you. When he falls, the old man will come to the bier in person—strike then and nothing can go wrong." Yang Pei and the rest swore to do it. A yellow-black cloud several acres wide split into three bands like drapery across the southeast sky, black-green at dusk punching the disk of the sun; after nightfall it forked into seven lanes scored with fish-scale clouds until midnight, when it faded. Shi Tao, who read the skies, muttered to his staff, "This is no small omen—an assassin is coming inside the walls, but who will pay the price?" That evening he feasted his officers at the Eastern Brightness tower; halfway through the wine he sighed, "Life is fleeting—parting comes easier than reunion. Take a cup each and drink your hearts out—I mean you all drunk tonight. Who knows if we shall meet again—how can you refuse the wine!" He wept openly; his men wept with him, and he slept that night in a monastery cell. Shi Xuan sent Yang Pei, Mou Pi, Mou Cheng, and Zhao Sheng up a rope ladder into the hall, murdered Shi Tao, planted the weapons, and slipped away. At dawn Shi Xuan presented the news to court. Shi Hu fainted from grief and shock and lay senseless a long while before he stirred. When he tried to go to the corpse, Li Nong warned, "The hand that killed Prince Qin is likely inside your own household—do not walk into a coup." Shi Hu stayed put. He observed mourning under heavy guard in the Grand Martial hall. Shi Xuan arrived in a plain cart with a thousand men, refused to weep, barked a laugh, had the shroud lifted to leer at the body, and rode off roaring. He seized registrar-adjutants Zheng Jing and Yin Wu to frame them for the murder.

季龍疑宣之害韜也，謀召之，懼其不入，乃偽言其母哀過危惙。宣不虞己之見疑也，入朝中宮，因而止之。建興人史科告稱：「韜死夜，宿東宮長上楊柸家,柸夜與五人從外來，相與語曰：『大事已定，但願大家老壽，吾等何患不富貴』。語訖便入。科寢暗中，柸不見也。科尋出逃匿。俄而柸與二人出求科不得，柸曰：『宿客聞人向語，當殺之斷口舌。今而得去，作大事矣。』科逾牆獲免。」季龍馳使收之，獲楊柸、牟皮、趙生等。柸、皮尋皆亡去，執趙生而詰之，生具首服。季龍悲怒彌甚，幽宣于席庫，以鐵環穿其頷而鎖之，作數斗木槽，和羹飯，以豬狗法食之。取害韜刀箭舐其血，哀號震動宮殿。積柴鄴北，樹標於其上，標末置鹿盧，穿之以繩，倚梯柴積，送宣於標所，使韜所親宦者郝稚、劉霸拔其發，抽其舌，牽之登梯，上于柴積。郝稚雙繩貫其頷，鹿盧絞上，劉霸斷其手足，斫眼潰腹，如韜之傷。四面縱火，煙炎際天。季龍從昭儀已下數千登中臺以觀之。火滅，取灰分置諸門交道中。殺其妻子九人。宣小子年數歲，季龍甚愛之，抱之而泣。兒曰：「非兒罪。」季龍欲赦之，其大臣不聽，遂於抱中取而戮之，兒猶挽季龍衣而大叫，時人莫不為之流涕，季龍因此發病。又誅其四率已下三百人，宦者五十人，皆車裂節解，棄之漳水。洿其東宮，養豬牛。東宮衛士十餘萬人皆謫戍涼州。先是，散騎常侍趙攬言于季龍曰：「中宮將有變，宜防之。」及宣之殺韜也，季龍疑其知而不告，亦誅之。廢宣母杜氏為庶人。貴嬪柳氏，尚書耆之女也，以才色特幸，坐其二兄有寵于宣，亦殺之。季龍追其姿色，復納耆少女于華林園。

Shi Hu guessed Shi Xuan was the killer but dared not summon him cold, so he lied that the prince's mother lay at death's door. Shi Xuan, never imagining he was suspected, walked into the inner palace and was seized. Shi Ke of Jianxing testified: "The night Shi Tao died I was staying at chief guard Yang Pei's house when Pei and five others slipped in muttering, 'The deed is done—long life to our master and riches for us.'". With that they went inside. Shi Ke lay hidden in the dark; Pei never saw him. Ke fled at once into hiding. Soon Pei and two henchmen hunted for Ke, snarling, "Any guest who heard us must die to seal our lips. If he escapes, he can ruin everything." Ke scaled the wall and escaped. Shi Hu's runners seized Yang Pei, Mou Pi, and Zhao Sheng. Pei and Pi vanished, but Zhao Sheng was taken and confessed everything. Half mad with grief and rage, Shi Hu caged Shi Xuan in the mat depot, ringed his jaw with iron, and fed him slop from a trough like a hog. He forced Shi Xuan to lick the blades that had killed Shi Tao; the prince's shrieks shook the palace. North of Ye they stacked a pyre, rigged a hoist on a stake, and had Tao's eunuchs Hao Zhi and Liu Ba haul Shi Xuan up by the hair and tongue to the summit. Hao Zhi ran twin ropes through his jaws and winched him skyward; Liu Ba hacked off his limbs, gouged his eyes, and ripped his belly open to mirror Shi Tao's wounds. They fired the pyre on every side until smoke licked the heavens. Shi Hu climbed the Central Terrace with thousands of concubines to watch him burn. When the flames died, they scattered the ashes at every city gate. They executed his wife and eight children—nine lives in all. Shi Xuan's little boy, only a few years old, was a favorite; Shi Hu hugged him and wept. The child cried, "I did nothing wrong." Shi Hu meant to spare him, but his ministers refused; they tore the boy from his arms and cut him down while he clung screaming to Shi Hu's robe—every onlooker wept, and the emperor collapsed into illness. More than three hundred guardsmen below the four commandants and fifty eunuchs were torn apart on carts and dumped in the Zhang. He turned the eastern palace into a sty for pigs and oxen. Over a hundred thousand eastern-palace guards were stripped and sent to the Liangzhou frontier. Earlier Zhao Lan had warned Shi Hu, "The inner palace will turn violent—take care." When Shi Xuan murdered Shi Tao, Shi Hu decided Zhao Lan had known and said nothing, and killed him as well. He reduced Shi Xuan's mother, Lady Du, to commoner rank. Lady Liu the honored concubine—daughter of Liu Qi of the secretariat—had dazzled the harem, but because her brothers had curried Shi Xuan's favor she was put to death too. Still lusting after that beauty, Shi Hu installed another young daughter of the Liu clan in Hualin Park.

季龍議立太子，其太尉張舉進曰：「燕公斌、彭城公遵並有武藝文德。陛下神齒已衰，四海未一，請擇二公而樹之。」初，戎昭張豺之破上邽也，獲劉曜幼女，年十二，有殊色，季龍得而嬖之，生子世，封齊公。至是，豺以季龍年長多疾，規立世為嗣，劉當為太后，己得輔政，說季龍曰：「陛下再立儲宮，皆出自倡賤，是以禍亂相尋。今宜擇母貴子孝者立之。」季龍曰：「卿且勿言，吾知太子處矣。」又議於東堂，季龍曰：「吾欲以純灰三斛洗吾腹，腹穢惡，故生凶子，兒年二十餘便欲殺公。今世方十歲，比其二十，吾已老矣。」於是與張舉、李農定議，敕公卿上書請立世。大司農曹莫不署名，季龍使張豺問其故。莫頓首曰：「天下業重，不宜立少，是以不敢署也。」季龍曰：「莫，忠臣也，然未達朕意。張舉、李農知吾心矣，其令諭之。」遂立世為皇太子，劉氏為皇后。季龍召太常條攸、光祿勳杜嘏謂之曰：「煩卿傅太子，實希改轍，吾之相托，卿宜明之。」署攸太傅，嘏為少傅。

Discussing the succession, grand commandant Zhang Ju said, "Prince Yan Shi Bin and Prince Pengcheng Shi Zun both combine civil talent with military prowess. Your strength is failing and the realm still divided—choose between these two princes and name an heir." Long before, when Zhang Chai took Shanggui, he had captured Liu Yao's twelve-year-old daughter of rare beauty; Shi Hu made her his consort, and she bore their son Shi Shi, later enfeoffed duke of Qi. Now Zhang Chai, seeing Shi Hu old and ailing, schemed to put Shi Shi on the throne so Lady Liu could rule as dowager and he could govern; he argued, "Every heir you have named rose from lowborn entertainers—that is why turmoil never ends. Pick a son with a highborn mother and a filial heart." Shi Hu cut him short: "Say no more—I already know where the crown will rest." In the Eastern Hall he raged, "I would scour my belly with three hu of quicklime—my own bowels bred beasts who at twenty wanted their father's blood. Shi Shi is only ten; when he turns twenty I shall be a spent man." He then settled the matter with Zhang Ju and Li Nong and ordered the high ministers to memorialize for Shi Shi's enthronement as heir. When Grand Minister of Agriculture Cao Mo withheld his signature, Shi Hu sent Zhang Chai to demand an explanation. Cao Mo kowtowed and said, "The realm is too grave a burden for a child—that is why I could not set my name to it." Shi Hu replied, "Cao Mo is a faithful minister; he simply does not see what I mean. Zhang Ju and Li Nong already understand my purpose—have them make it clear to him." He then named Shi Shi crown prince and invested Lady Liu as empress. Shi Hu called in Tiao You, grand master of ceremonies, and Du Gu, superintendent of the household, and told them, "I ask you to school the heir and truly wish him to mend his ways; what I am handing you, you must take to heart." He named Tiao You grand tutor and Du Gu junior tutor to the heir.

季龍時疾瘳，以僭即皇帝位於南郊，大赦境內，建元曰太寧。百官增位一等，諸子進爵郡王。以尚書張良為右僕射。

Once Shi Hu had rallied from his sickness, he arrogated the throne at the southern suburban altar, proclaimed an empire-wide amnesty, and adopted the reign title Tauning. Every minister gained a step in rank, and his sons were promoted to princes of commanderies. Zhang Liang of the secretariat was made right vice-director.

故東宮謫卒高力等萬餘人當戍涼州，行達雍城，既不在赦例，又敕雍州刺史張茂送之。茂皆奪其馬，令步推鹿車，致糧戍所。高力督定陽梁犢等害眾心之怨，謀起兵東還，陰令胡人頡獨鹿微告戍者，戍者皆踴抃大呼。梁犢乃自稱晉征東大將軍，率眾攻陷下辯，逼張茂為大都督、大司馬，載以軺車。安西劉甯自安定擊之，大敗而還。秦、雍間城戍無不摧陷，斬二千石長史，長驅而東。高力等皆多力善射，一當十餘人，雖無兵甲，所在掠百姓大斧，施一丈柯，攻戰若神，所向崩潰，戍卒皆隨之，比至長安，眾已十萬。其樂平王石苞時鎮長安，盡銳距之，一戰而敗。犢遂東出潼關，進如洛川。季龍以李農為大都督，行大將軍事，統衛軍張賀度、征西張良、征虜石閔等，率步騎十萬討之。戰于新安，農師不利。又戰于洛陽，農師又敗，乃退壁成皋。犢東掠滎陽、陳留諸郡，季龍大懼，以燕王石斌為大都督中外諸軍事，率精騎一萬，統姚弋仲、苻洪等擊犢于滎陽東，大敗之，斬犢首而還，討其餘黨，盡滅之。

Over ten thousand demoted eastern-palace toughs known as the Gao Li were bound for Liangzhou; when they reached Yongcheng they fell outside the amnesty, and the throne ordered Governor Zhang Mao to march them onward. Zhang Mao confiscated their mounts and made them haul supplies on foot in handcarts all the way to the posting. Their overseer Liang Du of Dingyang and his comrades, burning with the men's grievances, plotted an eastern mutiny; Xiedulu quietly tipped off the conscripts, who burst into cheers and stamped their approval. Liang Du declared himself Jin's eastern-expedition commander, seized Xiabian, forced Zhang Mao to take the titles of grand commander and grand marshal, and paraded him in an open coach. Liu Ning, the western pacifier, attacked from Anding and limped back in rout. Fort after fort between Qin and Yong fell; they slew salary-rank governors and swept eastward without pause. Those Gao Li fighters were archers and brawlers who could each hold off a dozen men; unarmed, they seized farmers' broadaxes, mounted them on ten-foot helves, and swept through defenses like spirits until every garrison joined them—by Chang'an their horde had swollen to a hundred thousand. Shi Bao, prince of Leping, held Chang'an and threw his best troops against the rebels, only to lose at the first clash. Liang Du broke east through Tong Pass and rolled on toward the Luoyang basin. Shi Hu named Li Nong commander-in-chief with plenipotentiary general's powers, put Zhang Hedu, Zhang Liang, Shi Min, and others under him, and sent a hundred thousand horse and foot to crush the rising. Battle joined at Xin'an, and Li Nong's line buckled. A second clash at Luoyang broke him again, so he pulled back and dug in at Chenggao. As Liang Du pillaged Xingyang and Chenliu, Shi Hu panicked; he gave Shi Bin, prince of Yan, supreme command, ten thousand elite riders, and lieutenants Yao Yizhong and Fu Hong, shattered Liang Du east of Xingyang, brought back his head, and extirpated the rest of his party.

俄而晉將軍王龕拔其沛郡。始平人馬勖起兵于洛氏葛谷，自稱將軍。石苞攻滅之，誅三千餘家。

Soon afterward Jin's Wang Kan ripped Pei commandery from Zhao hands. Ma Xu of Shiping rose in Luoshi Ge Valley and proclaimed himself a general. Shi Bao stamped out the band and put over three thousand households to the sword.

時熒惑犯積屍，又犯昴、月，及熒惑北犯河鼓。未幾，季龍疾甚，以石遵為大將軍，鎮關右，石斌為丞相、錄尚書事，張豺為鎮衛大將軍、領軍將軍、吏部尚書，並受遺輔政。劉氏懼斌之輔政也害世，與張豺謀誅之。斌時在襄國，乃遣使詐斌曰：「主上患已漸損，王須獵者，可小停也。」斌性好酒耽獵，遂遊畋縱飲。劉氏矯命稱斌無忠孝之心，免斌官，以王歸第，使張豺弟雄率龍騰五百人守之。石遵自幽州至鄴，敕朝堂受拜，配禁兵三萬遣之，遵慟泣而去。是日季龍疾小瘳，問曰：「遵至未？」左右答言久已去矣。季龍曰：「恨不見之。」季龍臨於西閣，龍騰將軍、中郎二百餘人列拜於前。季龍曰：「何所求也？」皆言聖躬不和，宜令燕王入宿衛，典兵馬，或言乞為皇太子。季龍不知斌之廢也，責曰：「燕王不在內邪？呼來！」左右言王酒病，不能入。季龍曰：「促持輦迎之，當付其璽綬。」亦竟無行者。尋昏眩而入。張豺使弟雄等矯季龍命殺斌，劉氏又矯命以豺為太保、都督中外諸軍、錄尚書事，加千兵百騎，一依霍光輔漢故事。侍中徐統歎曰：「禍將作矣，吾無為豫之。」乃仰藥而死。俄而季龍亦死。季龍始以僭立，至此，凡在位十五歲。

Heaven sent Mars across the Pile of Corpses, across the Pleiades and the moon, and north toward the River Drum stars—a grim sky. Shi Hu soon sank mortally ill; he named Shi Zun grand general for the Guanzhong west, Shi Bin chancellor with custody of the secretariat, and Zhang Chai capital guardian, army commander, and personnel minister—each charged by deathbed edict to steer the state. Empress Liu feared Shi Bin as regent would murder young Shi Shi; she conspired with Zhang Chai to kill him first. Shi Bin was in Xiangguo; she sent a messenger with a lie: "The emperor is mending; if you mean to hunt, you may linger awhile." Shi Bin loved wine and the chase; he gave himself to hunts and drinking binges. She forged an edict accusing Shi Bin of disloyalty, stripped his offices, sent the prince home under house arrest, and posted Zhang Xiong with five hundred Dragon Surge guards. Shi Zun rode from Youzhou to Ye, was made to take his commission in open court, handed thirty thousand household troops, and sent away weeping. That same day Shi Hu briefly rallied and asked, "Has Shi Zun come?" His attendants said he had left long since. Shi Hu murmured, "How I wish I could have seen him." He received them at the western gallery, where over two hundred Dragon Surge officers and household gentlemen bowed in ranks. He asked what they wanted of him. They pleaded that the sovereign was failing and the prince of Yan should enter to command the guard; others clamored to be named heir. Unaware Shi Bin had been cashiered, Shi Hu snapped, "Is not the prince of Yan already inside? Summon him at once!" They answered that the prince was drunk-sick and could not come. "Send a litter—quickly," Shi Hu ordered. "I will give him the seals myself." No one moved to obey. Moments later he collapsed into a stupor. Zhang Chai's brother Xiong forged an order executing Shi Bin; Liu forged another elevating Zhang Chai to grand guardian, supreme commander, and secretariat overseer with a thousand foot and a hundred horse—aping Huo Guang's regency over Han. Palace attendant Xu Tong groaned, "The storm is coming—I want no part of the schemes ahead." He swallowed poison and died. Soon Shi Hu followed him to the grave. From his seizure of the throne to this hour Shi Hu had reigned fifteen years.

石世

Heading: Shi Shi.

於是世即偽位，尊劉氏為皇太后，臨朝，進張豺為丞相。豺請石遵、石鑒為左右丞相，以尉其心，劉氏從之。豺與張舉謀誅李農，而舉與農素善，以豺謀告之。農懼，率騎百餘奔廣宗，率乞活數萬家保于上白。劉氏使張舉等統宿衛精卒圍之。豺以張離為鎮軍大將軍、監中外諸軍事、司隸校尉，為己之副。鄴中群盜大起，迭相劫掠。

Shi Shi mounted the puppet throne, raised Lady Liu to ruling empress dowager, and made Zhang Chai chancellor. Zhang Chai named Shi Zun and Shi Jian left and right chancellors to buy their loyalty; Liu agreed. Zhang Chai and Zhang Ju planned Li Nong's murder, yet Zhang Ju, Li Nong's friend, leaked the plot. Terrified, Li Nong galloped to Guangzong with a hundred riders and rallied tens of thousands of Qiehuo refugee families on Mount Shangbai. Lady Liu dispatched Zhang Ju with the household elite to invest the mountain. Zhang Chai made Zhang Li army-stabilizing commander, overseer of all forces, metropolitan governor, and his second-in-command. Ye erupted in robbery as gangs preyed on one another.

石遵聞季龍之死，屯於河內。姚弋仲、苻洪、石閔、劉甯及武衛王鸞、甯西王午、石榮、王鐵、立義將軍段勤等既平秦、洛，班師而歸，遇遵于李城，說遵曰：「殿下長而且賢，先帝亦有意于殿下矣。但以末年惛惑，為張豺所誤。今上白相持未下，京師宿衛空虛，若聲張豺之罪，鼓行而討之，孰不倒戈開門而迎殿下者邪！」遵從之。洛州刺史劉國等亦率洛陽之眾至於李城。遵檄至鄴，張豺大懼，馳召上白之軍。遵次於蕩陰，戎卒九萬，石閔為前鋒。豺將出距之，耆舊羯士皆曰：「天子兒來奔喪，吾當出迎之，不能為張豺城戍也。」逾城而出，豺斬之不能止。張離率龍騰二千斬關迎遵。劉氏懼，引張豺入，對之悲哭曰：「先帝梓宮未殯，而禍難繁興。今皇嗣沖幼，托之于將軍，將軍何以匡濟邪？加遵重官，可以弭不？」豺惶怖失守，無復籌計，但言唯唯。劉氏令以遵為丞相、領大司馬、大都督中外諸軍、錄尚書事，加黃鉞、九錫，增封十郡，委以阿衡之任。遵至安陽亭，張豺懼而出迎，遵命執之。於是貫甲曜兵，入自鳳陽門，升于太武前殿，擗踴盡哀，退如東閣。斬張豺于平樂市，夷其三族。假劉氏令曰：「嗣子幼沖，先帝私恩所授，皇業至重，非所克堪。其以遵嗣位。」遵偽讓至於再三，群臣敦勸，乃受之，僭即尊位於太武前殿，大赦殊死已下，罷上白圍。封世為譙王，邑萬戶待以不臣之禮，廢劉氏為太妃，尋皆殺之。世凡立三十三日。

Learning of Shi Hu's death, Shi Zun halted his army at Henei. Yao Yizhong, Fu Hong, Shi Min, Liu Ning, Wang Luan of the martial guard, Wang Wu of western pacification, Shi Rong, Wang Tie, Duan Qin the righteous-establishment general, and the rest—fresh from pacifying Qin and Luoyang—ran into Shi Zun at Licheng and pleaded, "You are the eldest worthy prince, and the late emperor already favored you. Only his final confusion let Zhang Chai lead him astray. Shangbai still holds out and the capital guard is hollow—denounce Zhang Chai and march in formation, and every soldier will drop his weapon and throw open the gates for you!" Shi Zun took their counsel. Liu Guo, governor of Luozhou, marched the Luoyang garrison to join them at Licheng. Zhang Chai panicked when Shi Zun's manifesto hit Ye and frantically pulled the Shangbai siege army home. Shi Zun camped at Dangyin with ninety thousand veterans and Shi Min spearheading the column. As Zhang Chai prepared to meet them in the field, gray-haired Jie soldiers shouted, "The emperor's son rides to bury his father—we should welcome him, not man Zhang Chai's ramparts." They scaled the walls to desert; Zhang Chai slaughtered them but could not stem the tide. Zhang Li smashed a gate with two thousand Dragon Surge troops and ushered Shi Zun inside. Terror-stricken, Lady Liu drew Zhang Chai in and sobbed, "The late ruler still lies unburied while calamities pile up. The boy on the throne is helpless—I lean on you, general—how will you save us? Would stacking honors on Shi Zun quiet this storm?" Zhang Chai went blank with fright, offered no plan, and muttered empty assent. She ordered Shi Zun made chancellor, grand marshal, supreme commander, secretariat overseer, golden-axe bearer, nine-insignia recipient, and holder of ten added commanderies—the full weight of chief minister. At Anyang pavilion Zhang Chai crept out to greet Shi Zun, who had him arrested on the spot. Armored and banners blazing, they entered through Fengyang Gate, climbed the Grand Martial hall to keen and drum their grief, then retired to the eastern wing. Zhang Chai died on the Pingle market scaffold, his three kinships extirpated. A forged rescript in Liu's voice read, "The boy was enthroned by a father's whim; the mandate is too vast for him. Let Shi Zun inherit the throne." Shi Zun thrice refused the crown until his ministers pressed him; then he seized the throne in the Grand Martial hall, granted a general amnesty short of capital crimes, and raised the siege of Shangbai. He made Shi Shi prince of Qiao with a ten-thousand-household fief yet honored him like a peer, reduced Lady Liu to senior consort, and soon murdered them both. Shi Shi had ruled thirty-three days in all.

石遵

Heading: Shi Zun.

於是李農歸請罪，遵復其位，待之如初。尊其母鄭氏為皇太后，其妻張氏為皇后，以石斌子衍為皇太子，石鑒為侍中，石沖為太保，石苞為大司馬，石琨為大將軍，石閔為中外諸軍事、輔國大將軍、錄尚書事，輔政。暴風拔樹，震雷，雨雹大如盂升。太武、暉華殿災，諸門觀閣蕩然，其乘輿服御燒者太半，光焰照天，金石皆盡，火月餘乃滅。雨血周遍鄴城。

Li Nong came back to plead guilt; Shi Zun restored his offices and favored him as before. He raised Lady Zheng to empress dowager, Lady Zhang to empress, named Shi Yan—Shi Bin's son—heir apparent, Shi Jian palace attendant, Shi Chong grand guardian, Shi Bao grand marshal, Shi Kun commander-in-chief, and Shi Min supreme military overseer, state-aiding grand general, and secretariat regent. Gales tore up timber, thunder cracked, and hailstones wide as bowls hammered the capital. Flames gutted the Grand Martial and Huihua halls, stripped gates and belvederes bare, and consumed more than half the chariots and robes—molten metal glared skyward for over a month before the blaze died. Rain the color of blood drenched every ward of Ye.

石沖時鎮于薊，聞遵殺世而自立，乃謂其僚佐曰：「世受先帝之命，遵輒廢殺，罪逆莫大，其敕內外戎嚴，孤將親討之。」於是留寧北沭堅戍幽州，帥眾五萬，自薊討遵，傳檄燕、趙，所在雲集，比及常山，眾十餘萬。次於苑鄉，遇遵赦書，謂左右曰：「吾弟一也，死者不可復追，何為復相殘乎！吾將歸矣。」其將陳暹進曰：「彭城篡弑自尊，為罪大矣。王雖北旆，臣將南轅，平京師，擒彭城，然後奉迎大駕。」沖從之。遵馳遣王擢以書喻沖，沖弗聽。遵假石閔黃鉞、金鉦，與李農等率精卒十萬討之。戰于平棘，沖師大敗，獲沖於元氏，賜死，坑其士卒三萬餘人。

Shi Chong held Ji when news came that Shi Zun had murdered Shi Shi and seized power; he told his advisers, "The boy bore the late emperor's charge—Shi Zun slew him by treason; seal the passes—I march myself to punish him." He left Mu Jian of northern pacification to hold Youzhou, took fifty thousand men from Ji, broadcast manifestos across Yan and Zhao until recruits swarmed in—beyond Changshan his army topped a hundred thousand. Camped at Yuanxiang, he read Shi Zun's pardon and mused aloud, "He is still my brother—the dead cannot return; why should we cut one another down again! I am going home." General Chen Xian cut in, "The prince of Pengcheng murdered his way to the throne—the guilt is monstrous. You may wheel north, my lord, but I will drive south, seize the capital, cage the prince of Pengcheng, and only then escort your majesty home." Shi Chong agreed. Shi Zun raced Wang Zhuo ahead with a letter dissuading Shi Chong, who ignored it. Shi Zun handed Shi Min the yellow axe and golden bells; with Li Nong and others he marched one hundred thousand picked troops against the rebel. At Pingji Shi Chong's host shattered; taken at Yuanshi he was forced to kill himself, and thirty thousand of his men were buried alive in mass graves.

始葬季龍，號其墓為顯原陵，偽諡武皇帝，廟號太祖。

They laid Shi Hu to rest on Manifest Plain tumulus, posthumously dubbing him Martial Emperor with temple name Taizu.

遵揚州刺史王浹以淮南歸順。晉西中郎將陳逵進據壽春。征北將軍褚裒率師伐遵，次於下邳，遵以李農為南討大都督，率騎二萬來距。裒不能進，退屯廣陵。陳逵聞之，懼，遂焚壽春積聚，毀城而還。

Shi Zun's Yangzhou governor Wang Jie delivered Huainan to Jin in submission. Jin's western camp general Chen Kui marched in and seized Shouchun. Chu Pou drove north against Shi Zun and camped at Xiapi; Shi Zun made Li Nong southern-expedition commander-in-chief and sent twenty thousand riders to block him. Chu Pou could not push forward and fell back to Guangling. Chen Kui panicked at the news, torched the Shouchun granaries, dismantled the defenses, and pulled out.

石苞時鎮長安，謀帥關中之眾攻鄴，左長史石光、司馬曹曜等固諫。苞怒，誅光等百餘人。苞性貪而無謀，雍州豪石知其無成，並遣使告晉梁州刺史司馬勳。勳於是率眾赴之，壁於懸鉤，去長安二百餘里，使治中劉煥攻京兆太守劉秀離，斬之。三輔豪右多殺其令長，擁三十餘壁，有眾五萬以應勳。苞輟攻鄴之謀，使麻秋、姚國等率騎距勳。遵遣車騎王朗率精騎二萬，以外討勳為名，因劫苞，送之於鄴。勳又為朗所距，釋懸鉤，拔宛城，殺遵南陽太守袁景而還。

Shi Bao, holding Chang'an, plotted to march the Guanzhong armies on Ye; his chief clerk Shi Guang and marshal Cao Yao pleaded in vain against it. Shi Bao flew into a rage and put Shi Guang and over a hundred men to death. Greedy and feckless, Shi Bao convinced Yongzhou notables he would fail; they all sent word to Jin's Liangzhou governor Sima Xun. Sima Xun marched to their aid, walled up at Xuankou within two hundred li of Chang'an, and had Liu Huan storm Jingzhao prefect Liu Xiuli and take his head. Sanfu grandees slew their magistrates, raised thirty-odd stockades, and rallied fifty thousand men for Sima Xun. Shi Bao abandoned the march on Ye and sent Ma Qiu and Yao Guo out with cavalry to meet Sima Xun. Shi Zun dispatched Wang Lang with twenty thousand elite riders on the pretext of fighting Sima Xun, ambushed Shi Bao, and shipped him to Ye. Wang Lang checked Sima Xun, who lifted the Xuankou camp, seized Wancheng, killed Shi Zun's Nanyang governor Yuan Jing, and withdrew.

初，遵之發李城也，謂石閔曰：「努力！事成，以爾為儲貳。」既而立衍，閔甚失望，自以勳高一時，規專朝政，遵忌而不能任。閔既為都督，總內外兵權，乃懷撫殿中將士及故東宮高力萬餘人，皆奏為殿中員外將軍，爵關外侯，賜以宮女，樹己之恩。遵弗之猜也，而更題名善惡以挫抑之，眾咸怨矣。而又納中書令孟准、左衛將軍王鸞之計，頗疑憚于閔，稍奪兵權。閔益有恨色，准等咸勸誅之。遵召石鑒等入，議于其太后鄭氏之前，皆請誅之。鄭氏曰：「李城回師，無棘奴豈有今日！小驕縱之，不可便殺也。」鑒出，遣宦者楊環馳以告閔，閔遂劫李農及右衛王基，密謀廢遵。使將軍蘇亥、周成率甲士三十執遵于如意觀。遵時方與婦人彈棋，問成等曰：「反者誰也？」成曰：「義陽王鑒當立。」遵曰：「我尚如是，汝等立鑒，復能幾時！」乃殺之于琨華殿，誅鄭氏及其太子衍、上光祿張斐、中書令孟准、左衛王鸞等。遵凡在位一百八十三日。

When Shi Zun left Licheng he had told Shi Min, "Fight your hardest! If this succeeds, you will be my heir." Instead Shi Zun enthroned Shi Yan; Shi Min seethed—he thought his feats unmatched and meant to dominate the court, while Shi Zun envied him and gave him no real power. As commander-in-chief Shi Min won over the palace guard and ten thousand former Gao Li toughs, had them all brevetted hall generals and marquis beyond the passes, showered them with palace ladies, and built a private following. Shi Zun never saw the danger; he posted blacklists to shame those troops, and the men turned bitter. Heeding Meng Zhun and Wang Luan, Shi Zun grew wary of Shi Min and began stripping away his commands. Shi Min's scowl deepened, and Meng Zhun urged his murder. Shi Zun called Shi Jian and others before Empress Dowager Zheng; every voice called for Shi Min's death. Lady Zheng answered, "After Licheng, without Thorn-the-slave—Shi Min—where would we be today! Let him swagger a little; do not cut him down yet." Shi Jian slipped out and sent the eunuch Yang Huan racing to warn Shi Min, who seized Li Nong and Wang Ji of the right guard and plotted to depose Shi Zun. He had Su Hai and Zhou Cheng drag thirty armored men into the Ruyi belvedere and arrest Shi Zun. Shi Zun was playing pitch-pot with a concubine and asked Zhou Cheng, "Who rises against me?" Zhou Cheng answered, "Prince Yiyang Shi Jian is to be enthroned." Shi Zun sneered, "If I end like this, how long will you last once you set Shi Jian on the throne!" They slew him in the Kunhua hall, killed Empress Dowager Zheng, crown prince Shi Yan, Zhang Fei, Meng Zhun, Wang Luan, and the rest. Shi Zun had ruled a hundred and eighty-three days.

石鑒

Heading: Shi Jian.

鑒乃僭位，大赦殊死已下。以石閔為大將軍，封武德王，李農為大司馬，並錄尚書事；郎闓為司空，秦州刺史劉群為尚書左僕射，侍中盧諶為中書監。

Shi Jian seized the throne and proclaimed a general amnesty short of capital crimes. He named Shi Min grand general and prince of Wude, Li Nong grand marshal—both with custody of the secretariat; Lang Kan became minister of works, Liu Qun of Qinzhou left vice-director of the secretariat, and attendant Lu Chen palace secretariat supervisor.

鑒使石苞及中書令李松、殿中將軍張才等夜誅閔、農于琨華殿，不克，禁中擾亂。鑒恐閔為變，偽若不知者，夜斬松、才于西中華門，並誅石苞。

Shi Jian sent Shi Bao, Li Song, hall officer Zhang Cai, and others to murder Shi Min and Li Nong in the Kunhua hall; the strike failed and the palace erupted in chaos. Fearing Shi Min's reprisal, Shi Jian feigned ignorance, then had Li Song and Zhang Cai cut down at the western Zhonghua gate and killed Shi Bao as well.

時石祗在襄國，與姚弋仲、苻洪等通和，連兵檄誅閔、農。鑒遣石琨為大都督，與張舉及侍中呼延盛率步騎七萬分討祗等。中領軍石成、侍中石啟、前河東太守石暉謀誅閔、農，閔、農殺之。

Meanwhile Shi Zhi at Xiangguo had allied with Yao Yizhong and Fu Hong and issued calls to extirpate Shi Min and Li Nong. Shi Jian dispatched Shi Kun as commander-in-chief with Zhang Ju and Huyan Sheng at the head of seventy thousand horse and foot to crush Shi Zhi. Shi Cheng, Shi Qi, and former Hedong governor Shi Hui plotted against Shi Min and Li Nong; Shi Min and Li Nong slew them first.

龍驤孫伏都、劉銖等結羯士三千伏于胡天，亦欲誅閔等。時鑒在中臺，伏都率三十餘人將升臺挾鑒以攻之。臨見伏都毀閣道，鑒問其故。伏都曰：「李農等反，巳在東掖門，臣嚴率衛士，謹先啟知。」鑒曰：「卿是功臣，好為官陳力。朕從臺觀卿，勿慮無報也。」於是伏都及銖率眾攻閔、農，不克，屯于鳳陽門。閔、農率眾數千毀金明門而入。鑒懼閔之誅己也，馳招閔、農，開門內之，謂曰：「孫伏都反，卿宜速討之。」閔、農攻斬伏都等，自鳳陽至琨華，橫屍相枕，流血成渠。宣令內外六夷敢稱兵杖者斬之。胡人或斬關，或逾城而出者，不可勝數。使尚書王簡、少府王郁帥眾數千，守鑒於禦龍觀，懸食給之。令城內曰：「與官同心者住，不同心者各任所之。」敕城門不復相禁。於是趙人百里內悉入城，胡羯去者填門。閔知胡之不為己用也，班令內外趙人，斬一胡首送鳳陽門者，文官進位三等，武職悉拜牙門。一日之中，斬首數萬。閔躬率趙人誅諸胡羯，無貴賤男女少長皆斬之，死者二十餘萬，屍諸城外，悉為野犬豺狼所食。屯據四方者，所在承閔書誅之，于時高鼻多須至有濫死者半。

Sun Fudu and Liu Zhu mustered three thousand Jie troops in ambush at the Hu field, likewise aiming to kill Shi Min. With Shi Jian on the Central Terrace, Sun Fudu tried to rush thirty men up the stairs to seize the emperor as a shield. Seeing Sun Fudu tear up the gallery walk, Shi Jian demanded an explanation. Sun Fudu shouted that Li Nong had mutinied at the eastern side gate of Ye and that he was rallying the guard to inform the throne. Shi Jian said, "You are a trusted champion—serve the office with all you have. I shall watch from the tower—serve well and you will be rewarded." Sun Fudu and Liu Zhu then struck Shi Min and Li Nong, failed, and drew up at Fengyang gate. Shi Min and Li Nong smashed the Golden Bright gate with a few thousand men and forced their way in. Terrified that Shi Min would kill him, Shi Jian flung open the gates, welcomed Shi Min and Li Nong, and cried that Sun Fudu had rebelled and must be crushed at once. Shi Min and Li Nong cut down Sun Fudu and his party; from Fengyang to Kunhua the dead lay in heaps and blood ran in ditches. He ordered that any non-Han who took up weapons inside or outside the city would die. Countless non-Han smashed gates or scaled the walls to flee. He had Wang Jian and Wang Yu pen Shi Jian inside the Imperial Dragon belvedere with a few thousand guards and fed him on lowered baskets. An edict ran through Ye: "Whoever stands with the court may stay; whoever does not may leave at will." The gates were thrown open without further checks. Within a hundred li every Zhao Chinese crowded into the city while Hu and Jie clogged the gates trying to escape. Shi Min, seeing the Hu would never serve him, told the Zhao Chinese to bring a Hu head to Fengyang gate for three civil promotions or a military brevet as yamen captain. That day they piled up tens of thousands of heads. Shi Min himself led Zhao troops in slaughtering every Hu and Jie in sight, high or low, man, woman, or child—more than two hundred thousand corpses heaped outside the walls for dogs and wolves to devour. Garrisons across the realm carried out Shi Min's writs; high-nosed, bearded men died by mistake in droves.

太宰趙鹿、太尉張舉、中軍張春、光祿石嶽、撫軍石甯、武衛張季及諸公侯、卿、校、龍騰等萬餘人出奔襄國。石琨奔據冀州，撫軍張沈屯滏口，張賀度據石瀆，建義段勤據黎陽，甯南楊群屯桑壁，劉國據陽城，段龕據陳留，姚弋仲據混橋，苻洪據枋頭，眾各數萬。王朗、麻秋自長安奔於洛陽。秋承閔書，誅朗部胡千餘。朗奔于襄國。麻秋率眾奔于苻洪。

Zhao Lu, Zhang Ju, Zhang Chun, Shi Yue, Shi Ning, Zhang Ji, and over ten thousand nobles and Dragon Surge guards bolted for Xiangguo. Shi Kun fled into Ji province while Zhang Shen, Zhang Hedu, Duan Qin, Yang Qun, Liu Guo, Duan Kan, Yao Yizhong, and Fu Hong seized chokepoints with hosts of tens of thousands each. Wang Lang and Ma Qiu ran from Chang'an to Luoyang. Ma Qiu, obeying Shi Min, slaughtered over a thousand Hu in Wang Lang's ranks. Wang Lang fled toward Xiangguo. Ma Qiu took his army over to Fu Hong.

石琨及張舉、王朗率眾七萬伐鄴，石閔率騎千餘，距之城北。閔執兩刃矛，馳騎擊之，皆應鋒摧潰，斬級三千。琨等大敗，遂歸於冀州。

Shi Kun, Zhang Ju, and Wang Lang marched seventy thousand men on Ye; Shi Min met them north of the walls with a thousand riders. Shi Min charged with a twin-bladed lance and shattered their line, taking three thousand heads. Shi Kun's host broke and fled back into Ji province.

閔與李農率騎三萬討張賀度于石瀆，鑒密遣宦者齎書召張沈等，使承虛襲鄴。宦者以告閔、農，閔、農馳還，廢鑒殺之，誅季龍孫三十八人，盡殪石氏。鑒在位一百三日。

Shi Min and Li Nong rode thirty thousand horse against Zhang Hedu at Shidu while Shi Jian secretly sent eunuchs urging Zhang Shen to strike an empty Ye. The eunuchs tipped off Shi Min and Li Nong, who raced back, deposed and killed Shi Jian, slaughtered thirty-eight of Shi Hu's grandsons, and wiped out the Shi house. Shi Jian lasted a hundred and three days on the throne.

季龍小男混，將妻妾數人奔京師，敕收付廷尉，俄而斬之于建康市。季龍十三子，五人為冉閔所殺，八人自相殘害，混至此又死。初，讖言滅石者陵，尋而石閔徙蘭陵公，季龍惡之，改蘭陵為武興郡，至是終為閔所滅。始勒以成帝僭立，二主四子，凡二十三年，以穆帝滅。

Shi Hu's youngest boy Shi Hun fled toward Jin with his women; the court had him jailed and soon beheaded him in the Jiankang market. Of Shi Hu's thirteen sons, Ran Min killed five and eight destroyed one another; Shi Hun's capture ended the line. A prophecy had said the character ling would doom the house of Shi; when Shi Min became duke of Lan-ling, Shi Hu renamed the commandery to dodge the omen—yet Ran Min still ended the Zhao line. From Shi Le's seizure under Emperor Cheng through two rulers and four princes, twenty-three years passed before Emperor Mu wiped out the line.

石閔〈冉閔〉

Heading: Shi Min. 〈Alternate name: Ran Min.〉

閔字永曾，小字棘奴，季龍之養孫也。父瞻，字弘武，本姓冉，名良，魏郡內黃人也。其先漢黎陽騎都督，累世牙門。勒破陳午，獲瞻，時年十二，命季龍子之。驍猛多力，攻戰無前。歷位左積射將軍、西華侯。閔幼而果銳，季龍撫之如孫。及長，身長八尺，善謀策，勇力絕人。拜建節將軍，徙封修成侯，歷位北中郎將、遊擊將軍。季龍之敗于昌黎，閔軍獨全，由此功名大顯。及敗梁犢之後，威聲彌振，胡夏宿將莫不憚之。

Shi Min, styled Yongzeng and nicknamed Thorn-the-slave, was Shi Hu's adopted grandson. His father Ran Zhan, styled Hongwu—originally Ran Liang of Neihuang in Wei commandery—came from a line of Han Liyang cavalry officers. For generations his forebears had served as Han mounted commanders and yamen captains. Shi Le seized him at twelve when Chen Wu fell and told Shi Hu to adopt the boy. He grew fearless and immensely strong, always first in the charge. He rose to left stacked-shoot general and marquis of Xihua. Even as a boy he was fierce and keen, and Shi Hu doted on him like a grandson. Grown to eight chi, he was cunning in counsel and unmatched in valor. He became general who establishes the standard, moved to marquis of Xiucheng, then northern gentleman-general and raiding general. At Changli, when Shi Hu lost, only Shi Min's corps came out whole, and his fame exploded. After Liang Du's defeat his prestige terrified every Hu and Chinese veteran in the army.

，殺石鑒，其司徒申鐘、司空郎闓等四十八人上尊號于閔，閔固讓李農，農以死固請，於是僭即皇帝位於南郊，大赦，改元曰永興，國號大魏，復姓冉氏。追尊其祖隆元皇帝，考瞻烈祖高皇帝，尊母王氏為皇太后，立妻董氏為皇后，子智為皇太子。以李農為太宰、領太尉、錄尚書事，封齊王，農諸子皆封為縣公。封其子胤、明、裕皆為王。文武進位三等，封爵有差。遣使者持節赦諸屯結，皆不從。

After executing Shi Jian, Shen Zhong, Lang Kan, and forty-eight others urged the throne on him; Shi Min pressed the honor on Li Nong until Li Nong begged with his life; then Shi Min took the title at the southern altar, declared Yongxing, named the state Great Wei, and resumed the surname Ran. He canonized his grandfather as Emperor Yuan, his father Ran Zhan as Emperor Liegao, raised Lady Wang to empress dowager, Lady Dong to empress, and named his son Ran Zhi crown prince. Li Nong became grand steward, grand marshal, and secretariat regent with the title prince of Qi; each of his sons received a county duchy. He made his sons Ran Yin, Ran Ming, and Ran Yu princes in turn. Civil and military officers gained three steps in rank and graded noble titles. Envoys with imperial batons offered pardons to every rebel camp—and every camp refused.

石祗聞鑒死，僭稱尊號于襄國，諸六夷據州郡擁兵者皆應之。閔遣使臨江告晉曰：「胡逆亂中原，今已誅之。若能共討者，可遣軍來也。」朝廷不答。閔誅李農及其三子，並尚書令王謨、侍中王衍、中常侍嚴震、趙升等。晉盧江太守袁真攻其合肥，執南蠻校尉桑坦，遷其百姓而還。

Shi Zhi at Xiangguo claimed the imperial style, and every non-Han warlord with a garrison rallied to him. Shi Min sent a herald across the river to Jin: "The Hu have torn the heartland apart; I have put them to the sword. If you wish to finish the work, send your armies." The Jin court stayed silent. Shi Min then killed Li Nong and his three sons along with Wang Mo, Wang Yan, Yan Zhen, Zhao Sheng, and their faction. Jin's Lujiang governor Yuan Zhen struck Hefei, took southern Man colonel Sang Tan captive, and marched the population away.

石祗遣其相國石琨率眾十萬伐鄴，進據邯鄲。祗鎮南劉國自繁陽會琨。閔大敗琨于邯鄲，死者萬餘。劉國還屯繁陽。苻健自枋頭入關。張賀度、段勤與劉國、靳豚會於昌城，將攻鄴。閔遣尚書左僕射劉群為行臺都督，使其將王泰、崔通、周成等帥步騎十二萬次於黃城，閔躬統精卒八萬繼之，戰於蒼亭。賀度等大敗，死者二萬八千，追斬勒豚于陰安鄉，盡俘其眾，振旅而歸。戎卒三十餘萬，旌旗鐘鼓綿亙百餘里，雖石氏之盛無以過之。閔至自蒼亭，行飲至之禮，清定九流，准才授任，儒學後門多蒙顯進，于時翕然，方之為魏晉之初。

Shi Zhi dispatched his chancellor Shi Kun with a hundred thousand troops against Ye and seized Handan. Shi Zhi's southern commander Liu Guo marched from Fanyang to join Shi Kun. Ran Min shattered Shi Kun at Handan, leaving more than ten thousand dead. Liu Guo withdrew to Fanyang. Fu Jian led his host from Fangtou into Guanzhong. Zhang Hedu, Duan Qin, Liu Guo, and Jin Tun rendezvoused at Changcheng to strike Ye. Ran Min made Liu Qun field commander and sent Wang Tai, Cui Tong, and Zhou Cheng with a hundred and twenty thousand troops to Huangcheng, then followed with eighty thousand picked men and met the allies at Cangting. Zhang Hedu was routed with twenty-eight thousand slain; Ran Min ran down Jin Tun at Yin'an, took the whole army captive, and marched home in triumph. Over three hundred thousand soldiers, banners and drums strung a hundred li—greater pomp than the Shi ever mustered. Back from Cangting he held the victory rites, sorted the nine grades, matched posts to talent, and promoted humble scholars until men said it felt like the early Wei-Jin renewal.

閔率步騎十萬攻石祗于襄國，署其子太原王胤為大單于、驃騎大將軍，以降胡一千配為麾下。光祿大夫韋謏啟諫甚切，閔覽之大怒，誅謏及其子孫。閔攻襄國百餘日，為土山地道，築室反耕。祗大懼，去皇帝之號，稱趙王，遣使詣慕容俊、姚弋仲以乞師。會石琨自冀州援祗，弋仲復遣其子襄率騎三萬八千至自滆頭，俊遣將軍悅綰率甲卒三萬自龍城，三方勁卒合十餘萬。閔遣車騎胡睦距襄下場長蘆，將軍孫威候琨于黃丘，皆為敵所敗，士卒略盡，睦、威單騎而還。琨等軍且至，閔將出擊之，衛將軍王泰諫曰：「窮寇固迷，希望外援。今強救雲集，欲吾出戰，腹背擊我。宜固壘勿出，觀勢而動，以挫其謀。今陛下親戎，如失萬全，大事去矣。請慎無出，臣請率諸將為陛下滅之。」閔將從之，道士法饒進曰：「太白經昴，當殺胡王，一戰百克，不可失也。」閔攘袂大言曰：「吾戰決矣，敢諫者斬！」於是盡眾出戰。姚襄、悅綰、石琨等三面攻之，祗沖其後，閔師大敗。閔潛于襄國行宮，與十餘騎奔鄴。降胡栗特康等執冉胤及左僕射劉琦等送於祗，盡殺之。司空石璞、尚書令徐機、車騎胡睦、侍中李琳、中書監盧諶、少府王郁、尚書劉欽、劉休等諸將士死者十餘萬人，於是人物殲矣。賊盜蜂起，司、冀大饑，人相食。自季龍末年而閔盡散倉庫以樹私恩。與羌胡相攻，無月不戰。青、雍、幽、荊州徙戶及諸氐、羌、胡、蠻數百餘萬，各還本土，道路交錯，互相殺掠，且饑疫死亡，其能達者十有二三。諸夏紛亂，無復農者。閔悔之，誅法饒父子，支解之，贈韋謏大司徒。

Ran Min marched a hundred thousand on Xiangguo, named his son Ran Yin grand shanyu and swift-cavalry general, and gave him a thousand Hu auxiliaries. Wei Xian remonstrated bluntly; Ran Min read the memorial, flew into a rage, and exterminated his line. For over a hundred days he besieged Xiangguo with siege mounds, saps, huts on the lines, and trench farming. Shi Zhi panicked, dropped the imperial title for "king of Zhao," and begged Murong Jun and Yao Yizhong for relief. Shi Kun marched from Ji to help while Yao Xiang brought thirty-eight thousand riders from Pitou and Murong Jun sent Yue Wan with thirty thousand from Longcheng—well over a hundred thousand converged on the siege. Ran Min sent Hu Mu and Sun Wei to block Yao Xiang and Shi Kun; both lines collapsed, and the generals fled back alone. On the eve of the allied arrival Wang Tai urged, "Besieged foes cling to delusions and wait on rescuers. Their reinforcements want you to sortie so they can hit you front and rear. Hold the walls, watch how the wind shifts, and break their plan. If you ride out yourself and anything goes wrong, the cause is lost. Stay inside, my lord—give me the command and I will wipe them out for you." Ran Min almost agreed until the Daoist Fa Rao cried that Venus crossing Mao meant the Hu king would fall and one stroke would win all—do not miss the omen." Ran Min flung back his sleeves and roared, "I fight—whoever counsels retreat dies!" He then hurled every man into the field. Yao Xiang, Yue Wan, and Shi Kun closed on three sides while Shi Zhi rammed the rear—Ran Min's army broke. Ran Min slipped into the field palace, then galloped to Ye with a dozen riders. Hu turncoats seized Ran Yin and Liu Qi and handed them to Shi Zhi, who executed them. Shi Pu, Xu Ji, Hu Mu, Lu Chen, Wang Yu, Liu Qin, and more than a hundred thousand officers perished—Zhao's elite was gone. Brigands erupted across Si and Ji in a famine so grim that men ate men. Since Shi Hu's last years Ran Min had emptied the granaries to buy loyalty. He warred against Qiang and Hu without pause. Millions driven from Qing, Yong, You, and Jing—Di, Qiang, Hu, and Man alike—clogged the roads homeward, slaughtering each other until famine and plague left only two or three in ten alive. Heartland China fell so chaotic that no one farmed. Ran Min repented, drew and quartered Fa Rao's family, and posthumously ennobled Wei Xian.

石祗使劉顯帥眾七萬攻鄴。時閔潛還，莫有知者，內外凶凶，皆謂閔已沒矣。射聲校尉張艾勸閔親郊，以安眾心，閔從之，訛言乃止。劉顯次於明光宮，去鄴二十三里，閔懼，召衛將軍王泰議之。泰恚其謀之不從，辭以瘡甚。閔親臨問之，固稱疾篤。閔怒，還宮，顧謂左右曰：「巴奴，乃公豈假汝為命邪！要將先滅群胡，卻斬王泰。」於是盡眾而戰，大敗顯軍，追奔及于陽平，斬首三萬餘級。顯懼，密使請降，求殺祗為效，閔振旅而歸。會有告王泰招集秦人，將奔關中，閔怒，誅泰，夷其三族。劉顯果殺祗及其太宰趙鹿等十餘人，傳首於鄴，送質請命。驃騎石甯奔于柏人。閔命焚祗首於通衢。

Shi Zhi ordered Liu Xian against Ye with seventy thousand men. None knew Ran Min had slipped back; the capital whispered he was dead. Zhang Ai persuaded him to ride out to a suburban sacrifice to steady morale, and the panic rumors died. Liu Xian camped at Mingguang, twenty-three li from Ye; Ran Min panicked and called in Wang Tai. Wang Tai, still bitter that his advice had been ignored, pleaded a running sore. Ran Min visited his sickbed, but Wang Tai insisted he was dying. Furious, Ran Min snarled to his attendants, "That Ba lout thinks I need his breath to live! I'll butcher the Hu first, then take Wang Tai's head." He threw the whole army at Liu Xian, routed him, ran him down to Yangping, and took thirty thousand heads. Liu Xian offered to kill Shi Zhi to buy peace; Ran Min marched home in triumph. When word came that Wang Tai was recruiting Qin men to bolt for Guanzhong, Ran Min executed him and extirpated three kinships. Liu Xian did murder Shi Zhi, Zhao Lu, and a dozen others, boxed their heads to Ye, and sent hostages to sue for mercy. Shi Ning, swift-cavalry general, fled to Bairen. Ran Min had Shi Zhi's head burned at a public crossroads.

閔徐州刺史劉啟以鄄城歸順。劉顯復率眾伐鄴，閔擊敗之。還，稱號于襄國。閔徐州刺史周成、兗州刺史魏統、豫州牧冉遇、荊州刺史樂弘皆以城歸順。平南高崇、征虜呂護執洛州刺史鄭系，以三河歸順。慕容彪攻陷中山，殺閔甯北白同、幽州刺史劉准，降于慕容俊。時有雲黃赤色，起東北，長百餘丈，一白鳥從雲間西南去，占者惡之。

Ran Min's Xuzhou governor Liu Qi handed Juancheng to Jin. Liu Xian struck Ye again and was beaten once more. He retreated to Xiangguo and proclaimed himself ruler there. Zhou Cheng, Wei Tong, Ran Yu, and Yue Hong each surrendered their provinces to Jin. Gao Chong and Lu Hu seized Luoyang's Zheng Xi and delivered the three He districts to Jin. Murong Biao took Zhongshan, killed Ran Min's northern commander Bai Tong and Youzhou's Liu Zhun, and went over to Murong Jun. A hundred-zhang saffron cloud boiled up in the northeast and a white bird cut southwest through it—omen-readers shuddered.

劉顯率眾伐常山，太守蘇亥告難於閔。閔留其大將軍蔣幹等輔其太子智守鄴，親率騎八千救之。顯所署大司馬、清河王甯以棗強降于閔，收其餘眾，擊顯，敗之，追奔及于襄國。顯大將曹伏駒開門為應，遂入襄國，誅顯及其公卿已下百餘人，焚襄國宮室，遷其百姓于鄴。顯領軍范路率眾千餘，斬關奔於枋頭。

Liu Xian marched on Changshan; Su Hai begged Ran Min for rescue. Ran Min left Jiang Gan to hold Ye with crown prince Ran Zhi and rode eight thousand cavalry to the relief. Liu Xian's grand marshal, Prince Qinghe, came over at Zaqiang; Ran Min rallied the rest, shattered Liu Xian, and chased him to Xiangguo. Cao Fuju opened Xiangguo's gates; Ran Min slew Liu Xian and his court, torched the palace, and marched the people to Ye. Fan Lu hacked through the gates with a thousand men and bolted for Fangtou.

時慕容俊已克幽、薊，略地至於冀州。閔帥騎距之，與慕容恪相遇于魏昌城。閔大將軍董閏、車騎張溫言于閔曰：「鮮卑乘勝氣勁，不可當也，請避之以溢其氣，然後濟師以擊之，可以捷也。」閔怒曰：「吾成師以出，將平幽州，斬慕容雋。今遇恪而避之，人將侮我矣。」乃與恪遇，十戰皆敗之。恪乃以鐵鎖連馬，簡善射鮮卑勇而無剛者五千，方陣而前。閔所乘赤馬曰硃龍，日行千里，左杖雙刃矛，右執鉤戟，順風擊之，斬鮮卑三百餘級。俄而燕騎大至，圍之數周。閔眾寡不敵，躍馬潰圍東走，行二十餘里，馬無故而死，為恪所擒，及董閏、張溫等送之於薊。俊立閔而問之曰：「汝奴僕下才，何自妄稱天子？」閔曰：「天下大亂，爾曹夷狄，人面獸心，尚欲篡逆。我一時英雄，何為不可作帝王邪！」俊怒，鞭之三百，送于龍城，告廆、皝廟。

By then Murong Jun held You and Ji and was sweeping into Ji province. Ran Min rode out and met Murong Ke at Weichang. Dong Run and Zhang Wen urged, "The Xianbei are riding high—pull back, bleed their momentum, then strike." Ran Min thundered, "I march to pacify Youzhou and behead Murong Jun. If I shy from Murong Ke, the world will mock me." He closed with Murong Ke and won ten straight clashes—or so he thought. Murong Ke chained his cavalry, picked five thousand Xianbei bowmen, and advanced in a iron-square. On his crimson charger Vermilion Dragon he bore twin lances and a hook halberd, carving through three hundred Xianbei in one rush. Then Yan cavalry swarmed in ring after ring. Outnumbered, Ran Min punched through the ring and fled twenty li until his horse dropped; Murong Ke took him alive with Dong Run and Zhang Wen and sent them to Ji. Murong Jun had him bound and sneered, "A slave-born upstart—what right had you to call yourself emperor?" Ran Min shot back, "The realm is chaos and you barbarians, human-faced beasts, still dream of stealing the throne. I am a hero of the age—why should I not rule!" Murong Jun had him flogged three hundred times and dragged to Longcheng to answer before the shrines of Murong Hui and Murong Huang.

遣慕容評率眾圍鄴。劉甯及弟崇帥胡騎三千奔于晉陽，蘇亥棄常山奔於新興。鄴中饑，人相食，季龍時宮人被食略盡。冉智尚幼，蔣幹遣侍中繆嵩、詹事劉猗奉表歸順，且乞師于晉。濮陽太守戴施自倉垣次於棘津，止猗，不聽進，責其傳國璽。猗使嵩還鄴復命，幹沈吟未決，施乃率壯士百餘人入鄴，助守三臺，譎之曰：「且出璽付我。今凶寇在外，道路不通，未敢送也。須得璽，當馳白天子耳。天子聞璽已在吾處，信卿至誠，必遣軍糧厚相救餉。」幹以為然，乃出璽付之。施宣言使督護何融迎糧，陰令懷璽送于京師。長水校尉馬願、龍驤田香開門降評。施、融、蔣幹懸縋而下，奔於倉垣。評送閔妻董氏、太子智、太尉申鐘、司空條攸、中書監聶熊，司隸校尉籍羆、中書令李垣及諸王公卿士于薊。尚書令王簡、左僕射張乾、右僕射郎肅自殺。

He sent Murong Ping to invest Ye. Liu Ning and Liu Chong bolted to Jinyang with three thousand Hu cavalry; Su Hai abandoned Changshan for Xinxing. Ye starved into cannibalism until Shi Hu's palace women were devoured almost to the last. Young Ran Zhi remained while Jiang Gan sent Mi Song and Liu Yi to Jin with a pledge of submission and a plea for rescue. Puyang's Dai Shi blocked Liu Yi at Jijin and demanded the imperial seal. Dai Shi slipped a hundred braves into Ye, helped man the three towers, and coaxed Jiang Gan, "Lend me the seal for safekeeping. The foe still ring the walls and the roads are cut—I dare not send it south yet. Once it is in my hands I will speed word to the Jin court. When the emperor knows I hold the seal he will trust your good faith and flood you with grain." Jiang Gan believed him and surrendered the seal. Dai Shi announced he was fetching supplies but told He Rong to spirit the seal to Jiankang. Ma Yuan and Tian Xiang opened Ye's gates to Murong Ping. Dai Shi, He Rong, and Jiang Gan slid down ropes and ran to Cangyuan. Murong Ping sent Lady Dong, Ran Zhi, Shen Zhong, Tiao You, Nie Xiong, Ji Pi, Li Yuan, and the whole court north to Ji. Wang Jian, Zhang Qian, and Lang Su took their own lives.

俊送閔既至龍城，斬於遏陘山。山左右七里草木悉枯，蝗蟲大起，五月不雨，至於十二月。俊遣使者祀之，諡曰武悼天王，其日大雪。是歲永和八年也。

Murong Jun sent Ran Min to Longcheng and beheaded him on Mount Ejing. For seven li around the hill every tree and blade withered; locusts blotted the sky; not a drop fell from the fifth month to the twelfth. Murong Jun offered sacrifice and titled him Martial Lament Heavenly King; snow fell that same day. It was the eighth year of the Yonghe era.

史評

Historian's appraisal.

史臣曰：夫拯溺救焚，帝王之師也；窮凶騁暴，戎狄之舉也。蠢茲雜種，自古為虞，限以塞垣，猶懼侵軼，況乃入居中壤，窺我王政，乘弛紊之機，睹危亡之隙，而莫不嘯群鳴鏑，汨亂天常者乎！

The historians write: To snatch the drowning from the flood and the doomed from the flames is the mark of a true king's host; to indulge every cruelty and ride every storm of violence is the way of the northern tribes. These mongrel hordes have been a frontier worry since antiquity; penned beyond the wall they still raid—how much worse when they squat in the heartland, eye our institutions, strike whenever order frays, and every pack howls and every quiver sings while heaven's order is trampled!

石勒出自羌渠，見奇丑類。聞鞞上党，季子鑒其非凡；倚嘯洛城，夷甫識其為亂。及惠皇失統，宇內崩離，遂乃招聚蟻徒，乘間煽禍，虔劉我都邑，翦害我黎元。朝市淪胥，若沈航於鯨浪；王公顛仆，譬游魂于龍漠。豈天厭晉德而假茲妖孽者歟！觀其對敵臨危，運籌賈勇，奇謨間發，猛氣橫飛。遠嗤魏武，則風情慷慨；近答劉琨，則音詞倜儻。焚元超於苦縣，陳其亂政之愆；戮彭祖于襄國，數以無君之罪。於是跨躡燕、趙，併吞韓、魏，杖奇材而竊徽號，擁舊都而抗王室，褫毯裘，襲冠帶，釋介胄，開庠序，鄰敵懼威而獻款，絕域承風而納貢，則古之為國，曷以加諸！雖曰凶殘，亦一時傑也。而托授非所，貽厥無謀，身隕嗣滅，業歸攜養，斯乃知人之暗焉。

Shi Le rose from the Qiangqu tribes and seemed a prodigy among savage stock. When his drum echoed in Shangdang, Ji Zi knew he was no common man; when he lounged whistling in Luoyang, Wang Yan saw the makings of revolt. Once Emperor Hui lost the reins and the realm split apart, he rallied a swarm of followers, fanned every crisis, gutted our capitals, and mowed down our people. Capitals and markets went under like boats swallowed in a leviathan's swell; princes and dukes fell like lost souls on the dragon sands. Had Heaven tired of Jin's virtue and lent these monsters their hour! Watch him at the crisis: schemes flashed, courage surged, stratagems sparked, and fury swept the line. From afar he mocked Cao Cao with the bravado of legend; face to face with Liu Kun his answers rang with reckless wit. He burned Sima Yue at Kuxian to publish the crime of ruining the state; he struck down Shi Zhi at Xiangguo, charging him with lese-majesty. Then he straddled Yan and Zhao, swallowed Han and Wei, leaned on genius to steal the mandate, clutched the old capitals against the throne, traded furs for court dress, armor for schools, until neighbors bought peace with tribute and distant lands sent gifts—what ancient founding outshone that! Cruel he was called, yet a champion of his age. Yet he picked the wrong heir, planned nothing for his sons, died and saw his line snuffed while the work passed to a fosterling—proof how blind he was to men.

季龍心昧德義，幼而輕險，假豹姿於羊質，騁梟心於狼性，始懷怨懟，終行篡奪。於是窮驕極侈，勞役繁興，畚鍤相尋，干戈不息，刑政嚴酷，動見誅夷，惵惵遺黎，求哀無地，戎狄殘獷，斯為甚乎！既而父子猜嫌，兄弟仇隙，自相屠膾，取笑天下。墳土未燥，禍亂薦臻，釁起于張豺，族傾于冉閔，積惡致滅，有天道哉！夫從逆則凶，事符影響；為咎必應，理若迴圈。世龍之殪晉人，既窮其酷；永曾之誅羯士，亦殲其類。無德不報，斯之謂乎！

Shi Jilong knew neither virtue nor duty; even young he was reckless and dangerous—a leopard's pelt on a sheep, an owl's heart in a wolf; nursed grudges, then seized the throne. Then came boundless pride and waste, endless labor gangs, pick and spade without pause, spear and shield never still, savage law so that motion meant death, and the shivering people nowhere to cry for mercy—among all barbarian cruelty, none surpassed this! Father doubted son, brother hated brother, they carved one another up and made the realm laugh. The clay on their tombs was still damp when ruin piled in—Zhang Chai's grudge, Ran Min's blade, the house fell; piled evil draws heaven's answer! Rebellion brings ruin as surely as shadow matches form; crime calls back answer like a wheel returning on itself. Shi Hu's slaughter of Jin subjects plumbed every cruelty; Ran Yongzeng's extirpation of the Jie matched them in ferocity. No deed lacks its reckoning—so speaks the way of payback!

贊曰：中朝不競，蠻狄爭衡。塵飛五嶽，霧晻三精。狡焉石氏，怙亂窮兵。流災肆慝，剽邑屠城。始自群盜，終假鴻名。勿謂凶醜，亦曰時英。季龍篡奪，淫虐播聲。身喪國泯，其由禍盈。

The verdict runs: When the central court faltered, barbarians wrestled for the helm. Dust veiled the five peaks; mist swallowed sun, moon, and stars. The Shi house, cunning and cruel, fed on chaos and endless war. They poured disaster abroad, sacked cities, and butchered towns. Begun as common brigands, they ended clutching a stolen mandate. Call them fiends if you will—they were still titans of their moment. Shi Jilong usurped the throne and his name reeked of lust and slaughter. He died, his state vanished—so runs the tale of a brimming cup of woe.

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