1
慕容儁
Murong Jun
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慕容儁，字宣英，皝之第二子也。 初，廆常言：「吾積福累仁，子孫當有中原。」 既而生俊，廆曰：「此兒骨相不恆，吾家得之矣。」 及長，身長八尺二寸，姿貌魁偉，博觀圖書，有文武幹略。 皝為燕王，拜俊假節、安北將軍、東夷校尉、左賢王、燕王世子。 皝死，，僭即燕王位，依春秋列國故事稱元年，赦於境內。 是時石季龍死，趙、魏大亂，俊將圖兼併之計，以慕容恪為輔國將軍，慕容評為輔弼將軍，陽騖為輔義將軍，慕容垂為前鋒都督、建鋒將軍，簡精卒二十餘萬以待期。 是歲，穆帝使謁者陳沈拜俊為使持節、侍中、大都督、都督河北諸軍事、幽、冀、並、平四州牧、大將軍、大單于、燕王，承制封拜一如廆、皝故事。
Murong Jun, styled Xuanying, was Murong Huang's second son. Long before, Murong Gui was fond of saying, "I have built up merit through kindness; my descendants are meant to hold the Central Plains." After Murong Jun was born, he said, "This boy's bearing is out of the ordinary; our line has finally gained the heir it needs." When he came of age, he stood eight feet two inches tall, carried himself with towering strength, read widely in the classics and histories, and showed both literary judgment and military resourcefulness. After Murong Huang became Prince of Yan, he invested Murong Jun with acting credentials of rank, the title General Who Pacifies the North, the post of Colonel of the Eastern Barbarians, the title Worthy King of the Left, and succession as heir to the Yan princedom. When Murong Huang died, Murong Jun took the Yan throne without Jin's mandate, opened his reign with a "first year" after the custom of the Spring and Autumn hegemons, and declared an amnesty throughout his domain. Shi Hu had just died, throwing Zhao and Wei into turmoil; Murong Jun set his mind on annexation, named Murong Ke general of state support, Murong Ping general of the princely establishment, Yang Wu general of righteous support, and Murong Chui van commander and "edge-setting" general, and readied more than two hundred thousand picked troops for the hour of decision. The same year Emperor Mu sent the herald Chen Shen to appoint Murong Jun bearer of the imperial staff, palace attendant, supreme commander with authority over all Hebei forces, governor of You, Ji, Bing, and Ping, grand general, great chanyu, and Prince of Yan, empowering him to issue titles and appointments on his own authority, exactly as Murong Gui and Murong Huang had done.
3
明年，俊率三軍南伐，出自盧龍，次於無終。 石季龍幽州刺史王午棄城走，留其將王他守薊。 俊攻陷其城，斬他，因而都之。 徙廣甯、上谷人于徐無，代郡人於凡城而還。
The following year Murong Jun marched south at the head of three armies, debouched through Lulong, and encamped at Wuzhong. Shi Hu's governor of You, Wang Wu, abandoned his post and fled, leaving his officer Wang Ta to defend Ji. Murong Jun stormed the city, executed Wang Ta, and transferred his capital there. He resettled the people of Guangning and Shanggu at Xuwu, shifted the population of Dai commandery to Fancheng, then withdrew.
4
及冉閔殺石祗，僭稱大號，遣其使人常煒聘於俊。 俊引之觀下，使其記室封裕詰之曰：「冉閔養息常才，負恩篡逆，有何祥應而僭稱大號？」 煒曰：「天之所興，其致不同，狼烏紀于三王，麟龍表于漢、魏。 寡君應天馭曆，能無祥乎！ 且用兵殺伐，哲王盛典，湯、武親行誅放，而仲尼美之。 魏武養于宦官，莫知所出，眾不盈旅，遂能終成大功。 暴胡酷亂，蒼生屠膾，寡君奮劍而誅除之，黎元獲濟，可謂功格皇天，勳侔高祖。 恭承乾命，有何不可？」 裕曰：「石祗去歲使張舉請救，雲璽在襄國，其言信不？ 又聞閔鑄金為己象，壞而不成，奈何言有天命？」 煒曰：「誅胡之日，在鄴者略無所遺，璽何從而向襄國，此求救之辭耳。 天之神璽，實在寡君。 且妖孽之徒，欲假奇眩眾，或改作萬端，以神其事。 寡君今已握乾府，類上帝，四海懸諸掌，大業集于身，何所求慮而取信此乎！ 鑄形之事，所未聞也。」 俊既銳信舉言，又欣于閔鑄形之不成也，必欲審之，乃積薪置火於其側，命裕等以意喻之。 煒神色自若，抗言曰：「結髮已來，尚不欺庸人，況千乘乎！ 巧詐虛言以救死者，使臣所不為也。 直道受戮，死自分耳。 益薪速火，君之大惠。」 左右勸俊殺之，俊曰：「古者兵交，使在其間，此亦人臣常事。」 遂赦之。
After Ran Min murdered Shi Zhi and proclaimed himself emperor, he dispatched his envoy Chang Wei to treat with Murong Jun. Murong Jun had him brought beneath the dais and told his secretary Feng Yu to press him: "Ran Min is a man of middling parts raised from nowhere; he has turned on his benefactors and seized the throne—what portent could justify such a usurpation?" Chang Wei replied, "Heaven's chosen show different signs: wolves and crows were chronicled under the Three Dynasties, qilin and dragons appeared in Han and Wei. Our sovereign answers to Heaven and holds the calendar—how could omens be wanting? Moreover raising armies and striking down enemies were the great rites of the sage-kings: Tang and Wu themselves marched to punish and banish the wicked, and Confucius praised their deed. The Wei overlord grew up in a eunuch's household; no one knew his bloodline, and his following scarcely filled a company—yet he founded an empire. While the barbarian hordes ran wild and common folk were slaughtered like meat on the block, our prince took up the sword and swept them away, giving the people respite—his achievement reaches to high Heaven and rivals Gaozu's own. Having reverently received Heaven's charge, what is wrong with that?" Feng Yu said, "When Shi Zhi last year sent Zhang Ju pleading for rescue, he claimed the Heirloom Seal was at Xiangguo—was that true? We also hear Ran Min cast a golden likeness of himself only to see it crumble unfinished—how can you invoke a mandate from Heaven?" Chang Wei said, "The day the barbarians were massacred in Ye, scarcely anyone survived; how could the seal have slipped away to Xiangguo? That tale was spun to beg for help. The true divine tally rests with our sovereign. Besides, charlatans who trade on omens will invent marvels to dazzle the mob and dress their cause in wonders. Our prince already holds the celestial register, sacrifices to the Supreme Lord, has the realm cupped in his hand, and bears the full weight of the enterprise—why should he need such gossip to prove anything? As for casting a golden image, I have heard nothing of the sort. Murong Jun, eager to credit Zhang Ju's story and gratified that Ran Min's casting had failed, resolved to test Chang Wei: he stacked firewood and lit a blaze at his side and told Feng Yu and the rest to make their meaning plain. Chang Wei remained perfectly composed and declared, "Since I came of age I have never lied to a commoner—would I lie to the lord of a thousand chariots? I will not save my skin with clever lies. Give me the honest death of an envoy; I accept my fate. Pile on the wood and fan the flames—that would be a kindness." Attendants urged Murong Jun to kill him, but Jun said, "When ancient hosts met, envoys still passed between them—such hazard is an envoy's common lot." So he spared him.
5
遣慕容恪略地中山，慕容評攻王午于魯口。 恪次唐城，冉閔將白同、中山太守侯龕固守不下。 恪留其將慕容彪攻之，進討常山。 評次南安，王午遣其將鄭生距評。 評逆擊，斬之，侯龕逾城出降。 恪進克中山，斬白同。 俊軍令嚴明，諸將無所犯。 閔章武太守賈堅率郡兵邀評戰于高城，擒堅於陣，斬首三千餘級。
He sent Murong Ke to overrun Zhongshan and Murong Ping to strike Wang Wu at Lukou. Murong Ke halted at Tangcheng, where Ran Min's officers Bai Tong and the defender of Zhongshan, Hou Kan, held the walls and refused to yield. Murong Ke left Murong Biao to press the siege and marched to pacify Changshan. Murong Ping encamped at Nan'an; Wang Wu sent Zheng Sheng to block him. Murong Ping intercepted and killed Zheng Sheng; Hou Kan then came down from the walls and surrendered. Murong Ke pressed on, took Zhongshan, and executed Bai Tong. Murong Jun's military law was strict, and none of his generals molested the people. Ran Min's governor of Zhangwu, Jia Jian, led county militia against Murong Ping at Gaocheng; Ping captured Jia Jian on the field and took more than three thousand heads.
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是歲丁零翟鼠及冉閔將劉准等率其所部降于俊，封鼠歸義王，拜准左司馬。
The same year Dingling leader Zhai Shu and Ran Min's officer Liu Zhun brought their commands over to Murong Jun, who enfeoffed Zhai Shu as prince of "returning allegiance" and named Liu Zhun left marshal of the army.
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時鮮卑段勤初附於俊，其後復叛。 俊遣慕容恪及相國封弈討冉閔于安喜，慕容垂討段勤於繹幕，俊如中山，為二軍聲勢。 閔懼，奔於常山，恪追及于泒水。 閔威名素振，眾咸憚之。 恪謂諸將曰：「閔師老卒疲，實為難用； 加其勇而無謀，一夫之敵耳。 雖有甲兵，不足擊也。 吾今分軍為三部，掎角以待之。 閔性輕銳，又知吾軍勢非其敵，必出萬死沖吾中軍。 吾今貫甲厚陣以俟其至，諸君但厲卒，從旁須其戰合，夾而擊之，蔑不克也。」 及戰，敗之，斬首七千餘級，擒閔，送之，斬于龍城。 恪屯軍呼沲。 閔將蘇亥遣其將金光率騎數千襲恪，恪逆擊，斬之，亥大懼，奔於并州。 恪進據常山，段勤懼而請降，遂進攻鄴。 閔將蔣幹閉城距守。 俊又遣慕容評等率騎一萬會攻鄴。 是時䴏巢于俊正陽殿之西椒，生三雛，項上有豎毛； 凡城獻異鳥，五色成章。 俊謂群僚曰：「是何祥也？」 咸稱：「䴏者，燕鳥也。 首有毛冠者，言大燕龍興，冠通天章甫之象也。 巢正陽西椒者，言至尊臨軒朝萬國之征也。 三子者，數應三統之驗也。 神鳥五色，言聖朝將繼五行之籙以禦四海者也。」 俊覽之大悅。 既而蔣幹率銳卒五千出城挑戰，慕容評等擊敗之，斬首四千餘級，幹單騎還鄴。 於是群臣勸俊稱尊號，俊答曰：「吾本幽漠射獵之鄉，被髮左衽之俗，歷數之籙寧有分邪！ 卿等苟相褒舉，以覬非望，實匪寡德所宜聞也。」 慕容恪、封弈討王午于魯口，降之。 尋而慕容評攻克鄴城，送冉閔妻子僚屬及其文物于中山。
The Xianbei chief Duan Qin had lately submitted to Murong Jun but rose again in rebellion. Murong Jun dispatched Murong Ke and Chancellor Feng Yi against Ran Min at Anxi, Murong Chui against Duan Qin at Yimu, and himself rode to Zhongshan to stiffen both wings. Ran Min broke and fled for Changshan; Murong Ke overtook him on the Gu River. Ran Min's terrible reputation preceded him, and every soldier dreaded him. Murong Ke told his officers, "Ran Min's men are worn from long campaigning—they are a brittle instrument. He trusts raw courage and has no plan—he is no more than a champion brawler. Whatever armored host he brings, we need not fear a straight clash. I will split our army into three wings and wait in pincer formation. Ran Min is rash; knowing he cannot match our strength, he will stake everything on smashing our center. I shall form a deep, heavy shield line to receive him. You need only ready your men, watch for the clash, then close from both flanks—he cannot stand. When battle was joined, they broke him, took more than seven thousand heads, seized Ran Min, conveyed him north, and executed him at Longcheng. Murong Ke encamped on the Hutuo. Ran Min's officer Su Hai sent Jin Guang with thousands of horse to fall on Murong Ke; Murong Ke turned, cut Jin Guang down, and Su Hai fled in terror to Bing province. Murong Ke pushed into Changshan; Duan Qin begged to capitulate, and Ke then drove on Ye. Ran Min's general Jiang Gan barred the gates of Ye. Murong Jun again sent Murong Ping with ten thousand horsemen to join the siege of Ye. That season ospreys nested on the pepper tree west of Murong Jun's Zhengyang Hall and hatched three chicks, each bearing an upright crest on its neck; Fancheng offered up a polychrome bird of extraordinary plumage. Murong Jun asked his court, "What do these signs mean?" They answered, "The bird called the cited text is Yan's fowl. The crested head means Great Yan's dragon is stirring—an emblem of the cap that unites All under Heaven. A nest on the west-facing pepper tree of Zhengyang Hall foretells the Son of Heaven holding court over the myriad kingdoms. Three fledglings answer to the numerology of the Three Systems. The five-hued numinous fowl means this sacred court will take up the succession of the Five Powers and command the four seas. Murong Jun heard them out with deep satisfaction. Soon Jiang Gan sallied with five thousand picked troops; Murong Ping threw him back, claimed more than four thousand heads, and Jiang Gan galloped back alone into Ye. Then the ministers pressed Murong Jun to take the imperial title. He answered, "My people spring from the northern wastes of bow and hunt, from loosened hair and left-lapped robes—what share could we have in Heaven's numbered mandate? If you praise me beyond measure and reach for what is improper, you burden a man of slight virtue with what he dare not hear." Murong Ke and Feng Yi campaigned against Wang Wu at Lukou and forced his surrender. Soon Murong Ping took Ye and convoyed Ran Min's family, household, and regalia to Zhongshan.
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先是，蔣幹以傳國璽送於建鄴，俊欲神其事業，言曆運在己，乃詐云閔妻得之以獻，賜號曰「奉璽君」，因以僭即皇帝位，大赦境內，建元曰元璽，署置百官。 以封弈為太尉，慕容恪為侍中，陽騖為尚書令，皇甫真為尚書左僕射，張希為尚書右僕射，宋活為中書監，韓恆為中書令，其餘封授各有差。 追尊廆為高祖武宣皇帝，皝為太祖文明皇帝。 時朝廷遣使詣俊，俊謂使者曰：「汝還白汝天子，我承人之乏，為中國所推，已為帝矣。」 初，石季龍使人探策于華山，得玉版，文曰：「歲在申酉，不絕如線。 歲在壬子，真人乃見。」 及此，燕人咸以為俊之應也。 改司州為中州，置司隸校尉官。 群下言：「大燕受命，上承光紀黑精之君，運曆傳屬，代金行之後，宜行夏之時，服周之冕，旗幟尚黑，牲牡尚玄。」 俊從之。 其從行文武、諸籓使人及登號之日者，悉增位三級。 泒河之師，守鄴之軍，下及戰士，賜各有差。 臨陣戰亡者，將士加贈二等，士卒復其子孫。 殿中舊人皆隨才擢敘。 立其妻可足渾氏為皇后，世子曄為皇太子。
Earlier Jiang Gan had forwarded the Heirloom Seal to the Jin court at Jiankang; Murong Jun, wanting to sacralize his own rule and claim the mandate had settled on him, pretended that Ran Min's wife had found it and offered it up. He ennobled her as "Consort Who Surrendered the Seal," then seized the imperial title, declared a general amnesty, adopted the reign title Yuanxi, and filled out the bureaucracy. He named Feng Yi grand commandant, Murong Ke palace attendant, Yang Wu director of the Secretariat, Huangfu Zhen senior deputy director, Zhang Xi junior deputy, Song Huo prefect of the palace writers, Han Heng chief secretary, while the rest of the suite received graded promotions. Posthumously he elevated Murong Gui to Emperor Wuxuan the Exalted Ancestor and Murong Huang to Emperor Wenming the Grand Ancestor. When Jin sent envoys, Murong Jun told them, "Go back and inform your emperor: I stepped into a fallen line, have been acclaimed by the Central States, and already call myself emperor." Long ago Shi Hu had sent men to cast lots on Mount Hua and turned up a jade tablet reading, "In the shen and you years survival hangs by a thread; in the renzi year the True Lord will appear." The Yan court took this as proof that Murong Jun fulfilled the prophecy. He renamed Si province Zhongzhou and created a metropolitan intendant's post. His ministers argued, "Great Yan holds the Mandate: it succeeds the Black Essence ruler of the Light-Era and carries the calendar forward after the Jin (metal) line. It should use the Xia calendar, wear the Zhou crown, fly black banners, and offer dark-hued victims." Murong Jun accepted their advice. Civil and military followers, envoys from tributary domains, and everyone present on accession day rose three grades in rank. Troops who had fought on the Gu, the garrison of Ye, down to line soldiers—each received bounty by station. The fallen on campaign received two extra steps of posthumous honor for officers; common soldiers' sons and grandsons were granted remit of service. Every veteran of the inner palace was reassigned by merit. He elevated his consort of the Kezhunhun clan to empress and named his heir apparent Murong Ye crown prince.
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晉甯朔將軍榮胡以彭城、魯郡叛降於俊。
Jin's General Who Extends the North, Rong Hu, brought Pengcheng and Lu commandery over to Murong Jun.
10
常山人李犢聚眾數千，反於普壁壘，俊遣慕容恪率眾討降之。
Li Du of Changshan raised several thousand men at Pubi fortress; Murong Jun sent Murong Ke, who crushed the rising and accepted their surrender.
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初，冉閔既敗，王午自號安國王。 午既死，呂護復襲其號，保于魯口。 恪進討走之，遣前軍悅綰追及于野王，悉降其眾。
Earlier, when Ran Min fell, Wang Wu had proclaimed himself king of An. When Wang Wu died, Lü Hu copied his title and entrenched himself at Lukou. Murong Ke advanced, broke his line, sent his van leader Yue Wan in pursuit to Yewang, and compelled the whole force to capitulate.
12
姚襄以梁國降於俊。 以慕容評為都督秦、雍、益、梁、江、揚、荊、徐、袞、豫十州河南諸軍事，權鎮于洛水； 慕容彊為前鋒都督、都督荊、徐二州緣淮諸軍事，進據河南。
Yao Xiang brought the Liang principality over to Murong Jun. He named Murong Ping commander of Qin, Yong, Yi, Liang, Jiang, Yang, Jing, Xu, Yan, and Yu—every command south of the Yellow River—and bivouacked him on the Luo. He named Murong Qiang van-area commander with authority along the Huai over Jing and Xu, and Murong Qiang advanced to seize the south bank of the Yellow River.
13
俊自和龍至薊城，幽冀之人為東遷，互相驚擾，所在屯結。 其下請討之，俊曰：「群小以朕東巡，故相惑耳。 今朕既至，尋當自定。 然不虞之備亦不可不為。」 於是令內外戒嚴。
As Murong Jun traveled from Helong to Ji, the populace of You and Ji, fearing forced migration eastward, panicked, scattered, and rallied everywhere in armed bands. His generals begged leave to strike them; Murong Jun said, "These folk only stir because they heard I was moving east. Now that I am here, calm will return of its own accord. Even so, precautions against the unforeseen had to be taken. He then ordered martial law throughout the capital and the hinterland.
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苻生河內太守王會、黎陽太守韓高以郡歸俊。 晉蘭陵太守孫黑、濟北太守高柱、建興太守高甕各以郡叛歸於俊。 初，俊車騎大將軍、范陽公劉寧屯據蕕城，降於苻氏，至此，率戶二千詣薊歸罪，拜後將軍。 高句麗王釗遣使謝恩，貢其方物。 俊以釗為營州諸軍事、征東大將軍、營州刺史，封樂浪公，王如故。
Fu Sheng's governors of Henei and Liyang, Wang Hui and Han Gao, surrendered their districts to Murong Jun. Jin's prefects of Lanling, Jibei, and Jianxing—Sun Hei, Gao Zhu, and Gao Weng—each broke with the court and brought their commanderies over to Murong Jun. Murong Jun's chariot general and Duke of Fanyang, Liu Ning, had once held Raocheng for the Fu regime; now he brought two thousand households to Ji to submit and was named rear general. The king of Goguryeo, Jian, sent envoys to express gratitude and offer local tribute. Murong Jun named Jian area commander for Yingzhou, grand general for the eastern expedition, and governor of Yingzhou, enfeoffed him as Duke of Lelang, and confirmed his royal title.
15
俊給事黃門侍郎申胤上言曰：
Shen Yin, Murong Jun's gentleman attendant at the yellow gate, presented a memorial:
16
夫名尊禮重，先王之制。 冠冕之式，代或不同。 漢以蕭、曹之功，有殊群辟，故劍履上殿，入朝不趨。 世無其功，則禮宜闕也。 至於東宮，體此為儀，魏、晉因循，制不納舄。 今皇儲過謙，准同百僚，禮卑逼下，有違朝式。 太子有統天之重，而與諸王齊冠遠遊，非所以辨章貴賤也。 祭饗朝慶，宜正服袞衣九文，冠冕九旒。 又仲冬長至，太陰數終，黃鐘產氣，綿微於下，此月閉關息旅，後不省方。 《禮記》曰：「是月也，事欲靜，君子齊戒去聲色。」 唯《周官》有天子之南郊從八能之說。 或以有事至靈，非朝饗之節，故有樂作之理。 王者慎微，禮從其重。 前來二至闕鼓，不宜有設，今之鏗鏘，蓋以常儀。 二至之禮、事殊餘節，猥動金聲，驚越神氣，施之宣養，實為未盡。 又朝服雖是古禮，絳褠始于秦、漢，迄於今代，遂相仍准。 朔望正旦，乃具袞舄。 禮，諸侯旅見天子，不得終事者三，雨沾服失容，其在一焉。 今或朝日天雨，未有定儀。 禮貴適時，不在過恭。 近以地濕不得納舄，而以袞襈改履。 案言稱朝服，所以服之而朝，一體之間，上下二制，或廢或存，實乖禮意。 大燕受命，侔蹤虞、夏，諸所施行，宜損益定之，以為皇代永制。
High titles and weighty ceremony were the institutions of the ancient kings. The style of caps and crowns shifted from one age to the next. The Han honored Xiao He and Cao Cao above the peerage, granting them the right to wear sword and shoes in the audience hall and to enter court without the quickened step. When no such merit exists, those privileges rightly fall away. The heir apparent's household modeled itself on that precedent; Wei and Jin continued the rule that court slippers were not worn in audience. Today the crown prince is excessively humble and ranks himself with ordinary ministers, which lowers ritual beneath its station and breaks court precedent. The heir bears the charge of the cosmos yet shares the same "far-roaming" cap as the princes—this fails to mark rank between high and low. At sacrifices, banquets, and court felicitations he should wear the nine-emblem sacral robe and the nine-tassel crown. Moreover at the winter solstice, when yin reaches its limit, the yellow-bell pitch stirs faintly below; that month is for closing the passes, resting the hosts, and suspending imperial tours of inspection. The Book of Rites says, "In that month affairs should be still; the gentleman fasts and puts aside music and pleasure. Only the Offices of Zhou describe the southern-suburb rite with the eight kinds of resonant performance. Some argue that contact with the spirits is not the same as a court banquet, so music there has its justification. A true king is wary of small signs and lets ritual favor the stricter course. Formerly the two solstices passed without the great drums; no such display should have been mounted—today's clamor is merely unthinking routine. The solstice observances differ from other festivals; to strike metal rashly, jar the spirits, and call that "nurturing" the realm falls short of what is fitting. Court dress is ancient in principle, but the crimson lined gown dates from Qin and Han and has since hardened into custom. Only on the new and full moons and at New Year's did they don the full sacral robe with court shoes. The canon says that when feudal lords audience the Son of Heaven, three things may cut the rite short—and rain that soaks the robes and spoils one's bearing is one. Today, if rain falls on an audience day, there is no settled rule. Ritual values timeliness, not exaggerated obeisance. Lately, because the ground was wet, court slippers were dispensed with and the sacral train was paired with ordinary shoes instead. The text speaks of "court dress" for wearing in audience, yet the same body now follows two rules—sometimes shoes, sometimes not—which contradicts the meaning of the rite. Great Yan holds the Mandate and walks in the footsteps of Yu and Xia; its institutions should be weighed, adjusted, and fixed as the lasting code of the dynasty.
17
俊曰：「其劍舄不趨，事下太常參議。 太子服袞冕，冠九旒，超級逼上，未可行也。 冠服何容一施一廢，皆可詳定。」
Murong Jun replied, "The matter of sword, shoes, and waived step—send it down to the chamberlain for rites for deliberation. To dress the heir in the nine-tassel sacral crown would overleap rank and crowd his sovereign—this cannot be done yet. Cap and gown cannot be partly adopted and partly discarded; work out a single clear rule for each."
18
初，段蘭之子龕因冉閔之亂，擁眾東屯廣固，自號齊王，稱籓於建鄴，遣書抗中表之儀，非俊正位。 俊遣慕容恪、慕容塵討之。 恪既濟河。 龕弟羆驍勇有智計，言於龕曰：「慕容恪善用兵，加其眾旅既盛，恐不可抗也。 若頓兵城下，雖復請降，懼終不聽。 王但固守，羆請率精銳距之。 若其戰捷，王可馳來追擊，使虜匹馬無反。 如其敗也，遽出請降，不失千戶侯也。」 龕弗從。 羆固請行，龕怒斬之，率眾三萬來距恪。 恪遇龕于濟水之南，與戰，大敗之，遂斬其弟欽，盡俘其眾。 恪進圍廣固，諸將勸恪宜急攻之，恪曰：「軍勢有宜緩以克敵，有宜急而取之。 若彼我勢均，且有強援，慮腹背之患者，須急攻之，以速大利。 如其我強彼弱，外無寇援，力足制之者，當羈縻守之，以待其斃。 兵法十圍五攻，此之謂也。 龕恩結賊黨，眾未離心，濟南之戰，非不銳也，但其用之無術，以致敗耳。 今憑固天險，上下同心，攻守勢倍，軍之常法。 若其促攻，不過數旬，克之必矣，但恐傷吾士眾。 自有事已來，卒不獲寧，吾每思之，不覺忘寢，亦何宜輕殘人命乎！ 當持久以取耳。」 諸將皆曰：「非所及也。」 乃築室反耕，嚴固圍壘。 龕所署徐州刺史王騰、索頭單于薛雲降於恪。 段龕之被圍也，遣使詣建鄴請救。 穆帝遣北中郎將荀羨赴之，憚虜強遷延不敢進。 攻破陽都，斬王騰以歸。 恪遂克廣固，以龕為伏順將軍，徙鮮卑胡羯三千餘戶於薊，留慕容塵鎮廣固，恪振旅而歸。
Earlier Duan Lan's son Kan had exploited Ran Min's chaos to rally men east at Guanggu, styled himself king of Qi, feigned submission to Jiankang, and in his letters rejected cousin-to-cousin etiquette, refusing to recognize Murong Jun's legitimacy. Murong Jun sent Murong Ke and Murong Chen against him. Murong Ke crossed the Yellow River. Duan Kan's brother Pi was a fierce, clever fighter. He warned Kan, "Murong Ke is a master of war, and his army is huge—you are unlikely to withstand him. If we let him camp beneath the walls, even a later plea to surrender may not be heeded. Hold the city fast; let me lead picked troops to meet him in the field. If we win, you can ride out in pursuit and leave the enemy not a horse to carry home. If we lose, you can still go out at once to sue for peace and keep at least a marquis's thousand-household fief. Duan Kan refused. Pi pressed his plan until Duan Kan, enraged, executed him, then marched thirty thousand men against Murong Ke. Murong Ke met Duan Kan south of the Ji River, shattered his army, slew Kan's brother Qin, and took the entire force captive. Murong Ke closed on Guanggu. His officers urged a storm; he said, "Sometimes slow pressure wins; sometimes speed is right. When forces are even and strong relief threatens your rear, strike fast for decisive gain. When you are strong, they weak, and no rescue threatens, hold them in a loose siege and wait for starvation to do its work. The canon says, 'Where you outnumber ten to one, surround; five to one, attack'—that is the point here. Kan still commands the loyalty of his band; the army has not lost heart. They fought hard at Jinan but lacked a competent hand on the reins—that alone brought defeat. He now holds heaven's sheer walls, his officers and men are of one mind, and offense and defense double his advantage—the textbook case in military science. A forced assault would crack the place in a matter of weeks, yet I shrink from wasting our men's lives. Since the troubles began our troops have known no rest; whenever I think of it I forget sleep—how could I lightly throw away lives? We should wear them down over time and take them that way. His officers said, "None of us could have thought of that." So they settled in for a long siege, sent men out to farm, and threw up strong lines around the city. Duan Kan's governor of Xuzhou, Wang Teng, and the Wuhuan chanyu Xue Yun went over to Murong Ke. While Duan Kan was under siege he sent to Jiankang begging for relief. Emperor Mu sent the north-center general Xun Xian to their aid, but Xun Xian, dreading the enemy's strength, dragged his feet and would not march. He struck Yangdu instead, killed Wang Teng, and withdrew. Murong Ke then stormed Guanggu, named Duan Kan a general of forced allegiance, deported over three thousand Xianbei, Hu, and Jie households to Ji, left Murong Chen to hold the city, and marched home in triumph.
19
俊太子曄死，偽諡獻懷。 ，復立次子暐為皇太子，赦其境內，改元曰光壽。
Murong Jun's crown prince Murong Ye died and received the posthumous name Xianhuai. He then named his second son Murong Wei crown prince, declared a general amnesty, and adopted the reign title Guangshou.
20
遣其撫軍慕容垂、中軍慕容虔與護軍平熙等率步騎八萬討丁零敕勒於塞北，大破之，俘斬十餘萬級，獲馬十三萬匹，牛羊億余萬。
He sent Murong Chui, Murong Qian, Ping Xi, and others at the head of eighty thousand horse and foot against the Dingling and Tiele north of the frontier, shattered them, took over a hundred thousand heads and prisoners, seized a hundred thirty thousand horses, and countless cattle and sheep.
21
初，廆有駿馬曰赭白，有奇相逸力。 石季龍之伐棘城也，皝將出避難，欲乘之，馬悲鳴蹄齧，人莫能近。 皝曰：「此馬見異先朝，孤常仗之濟難，今不欲者，蓋先君之意乎！」 乃止。 季龍尋退，皝益奇之。 至是，四十九歲矣，而駿逸不虧，俊比之于鮑氏驄，命鑄銅以圖其象，親為銘贊，鐫勒其旁，置之薊城東掖門。 是歲，象成而馬死。
Murong Gui had once owned a famous charger named Red White, marked by an uncanny frame and exceptional stamina. During Shi Hu's siege of Jicheng, Murong Huang tried to mount it to flee; the horse screamed and snapped at anyone who drew near. Murong Huang said, "This beast bore me through the last crisis; now it refuses—perhaps that is my late father's will from beyond the grave. So he stayed. Shi Hu soon lifted the siege, and Murong Huang prized the horse all the more. Forty-nine years later it still ran like new; Murong Jun likened it to Bao Shuya's famous team, ordered a bronze statue cast in its image, inscribed his own eulogy on the flank, and set it up outside the east portal of Ji. The year the statue was finished, the horse died.
22
匈奴單于賀賴頭率部落三萬五千降於俊，拜甯西將軍、雲中郡公，處之于代郡平舒城。
The Xiongnu chanyu Helaitou brought thirty-five thousand households to submit; Murong Jun named him General Who Pacifies the West and Duke of Yunzhong and settled them at Pingshu in Dai commandery.
23
晉太山太守諸葛攸伐其東郡。 俊遣慕容恪距戰，王師敗績。 北中郎將謝萬先據梁、宋，懼而遁歸。 恪進兵入寇河南，汝、潁、譙、沛皆陷，置守宰而還。
Jin's governor of Taishan, Zhuge You, attacked Murong Jun's eastern commandery. Murong Jun sent Murong Ke, who met the Jin host and broke it. The north-center general Xie Wan, who had held Liang and Song, panicked and ran. Murong Ke pushed into Henan, overran Ru, Ying, Qiao, and Pei, installed garrisons and magistrates, and withdrew.
24
俊自薊城遷於鄴，赦其境內，繕修宮殿，復銅雀台。
Murong Jun moved his capital from Ji to Ye, granted amnesty, restored the palace, and rebuilt the Bronze Bird Terrace.
25
廷尉監常煒上言：「大燕雖革命創制，至於朝廷銓謨，亦多因循魏、晉，唯祖父不殮葬者，獨不聽官身清朝，斯誠王教之首，不刊之式。 然禮貴適時，世或損益，是以高祖制三章之法，而秦人安之。 自頃中州喪亂，連兵積年，或遇傾城之敗，覆軍之禍，坑師沈卒，往往而然，孤孫煢子，十室而九。 兼三方岳峙，父子異邦，存亡吉凶，杳成天外。 或便假一時，或依嬴博之制，孝子糜身無補，順孫心喪靡及，雖招魂虛葬以敘罔極之情，又禮無招葬之文，令不此載。 若斯之流，抱琳琅而無申，懷英才而不齒，誠可痛也。 恐非明揚側陋，務盡時珍之道。 吳起、二陳之疇，終將無所展其才幹。 漢祖何由免于平城之圍？ 郅支之首何以懸于漢關？ 謹案《戊辰詔書》，蕩清瑕穢，與天下更始，以明惟新之慶。 五六年間，尋相違伐，於則天之體，臣竊未安。」 俊曰：「煒宿德碩儒，練明刑法，覽其所陳，良足采也。 今六合未寧，喪亂未已，又正當搜奇拔異之秋，未可才行兼舉，且除此條，聽大同更議。」
The court censor Chang Wei wrote, "Though Great Yan has founded a new order, its personnel policy still follows Wei and Jin—except for the rule that no one may hold office while his parents lie unburied, which is rightly the first principle of moral government and ought not to change lightly. Yet rites must fit the times and may be tightened or loosened—Gaozu's three-article code calmed a shattered Qin. For years the Central Plain has been a battlefield of fallen cities and annihilated hosts; sons and grandsons are orphaned in nine houses out of ten. Three powers stand like mountain ranges while fathers and sons live under different flags, with no news of whether the other lives or dies. Many must bury in haste or leave kin unburied like the wanderers of old; filial grief cannot set the world right; soul-summoning rites and token burials express love where full funeral is impossible, yet the canon never prescribed such makeshift mourning, and the code is silent. Men who hold talent like jade in the sleeve yet cannot serve the state are a loss worth weeping over. This cannot be the way to "raise the obscure from the side" and gather every worthy the age affords. Men of Wu Qi's or Chen Ping's stamp would never get to show what they can do. How would Han Gaozu have escaped the siege at Pingcheng? How would Zhizhi's head ever have hung on the Han frontier gate? Consider the Wuchen edict that washed away guilt and gave the realm a fresh start in the spirit of renewal. Yet within five or six years that policy was reversed and men were punished again—for a government that claims the Mandate of Heaven, I find that unsettling. Murong Jun replied, "Chang Wei is a scholar of long standing and a master of statute; his memorial deserves to be followed. The realm is still unsettled; this is the very season to seek out hidden talent—not yet time to demand perfection in every virtue. Suspend this clause for now and let the court debate a broader settlement later."
26
使昌黎、遼東二郡營起廆廟，范陽、燕郡構皝廟，以其護軍平熙領將作大匠，監造二廟焉。
He directed Changli and Liaodong to raise a shrine to Murong Gui, Fanyang and Yan to build one to Murong Huang, and put his guard general Ping Xi in charge of the works as acting minister.
27
苻堅平州刺史劉特率戶五千降於俊。
Fu Jian's governor of Pingzhou, Liu Te, brought five thousand households over to Murong Jun.
28
河間李黑聚眾千餘，攻略州郡，殺棗強令衛顏，俊長樂太守傅顏討斬之。
Li Hei of Hejian raised more than a thousand men, pillaged the region, and slew the magistrate of Zaoqiang, Wei Yan; Murong Jun's governor of Changle, Fu Yan, hunted him down and executed him.
29
常山大樹自拔，根下得璧七十、圭七十三，光色精奇，有異常玉。 俊以為嶽神之命，遣其尚書郎段勤乙太宰祀之。
A great tree in Changshan tore itself from the earth; beneath its roots lay seventy disks and seventy-three scepters of jade, glowing with uncanny light unlike common stone. Murong Jun read this as an oracle from the sacred peak and sent his Secretariat clerk Duan Qin to offer the highest-grade sacrifice of ox, sheep, and pig.
30
初，冉閔之僭號也，石季龍將李曆、張平、高昌等並率其所部稱籓於俊，遣子入侍。 既而投款建鄴，結援苻堅，並受爵位，羈縻自固，雖貢使不絕，而誠節未盡。 呂護之走野王也，遣弟奉表謝罪於俊，拜甯南將軍、河內太守。 又上党馮鴦自稱太守，附于張平，平屢言之，俊以平故，赦其罪，以為京兆太守。 護、鴦亦陰通京師。 張平跨有新興、雁門、西河、太原、上黨、上郡之地，壘壁三百餘，胡晉十餘萬戶，遂拜置征、鎮，為鼎峙之勢。 俊其司徒慕容評討平，領軍慕輿根討鴦，司空陽騖討昌，撫軍慕容臧攻曆。 并州壘壁降者百餘所，以尚書右僕射悅綰為安西將軍、領護匈奴中郎將、并州刺史以撫之。 平所署征西諸葛驤、鎮北蘇象、甯東喬庶、鎮南石賢等率壘壁百三十八降於俊，俊大悅，皆復其官爵。 既而平率眾三千奔於平陽，鴦奔于野王，曆走滎陽，昌奔邵陵，悉降其眾。
When Ran Min seized the throne, Shi Hu's old generals Li Li, Zhang Ping, Gao Chang, and others had each pledged Yan their allegiance and sent hostages. Later they courted Jiankang and allied with Fu Jian, accepting titles from both sides; though their missions never stopped, their loyalty was divided. When Lü Hu fled to Yewang he sent his brother with a letter of submission and was named General Who Pacifies the South and governor of Henei. Meanwhile Feng Yuan of Shangdang declared himself governor and leaned on Zhang Ping; Ping interceded repeatedly, and Murong Jun, for Ping's sake, forgave him and named him governor of Jingzhao. Lü Hu and Feng Yuan were also in secret contact with the Jin court. Zhang Ping held a belt of territory across Xinxing, Yanmen, Xihe, Taiyuan, Shangdang, and Shang—over three hundred fortified camps and a hundred thousand Hu and Chinese households—and handed out expedition and garrison titles until he stood like a third leg of a tripod. Murong Jun sent his minister Murong Ping against Zhang Ping, his marshal Moyu Gen against Feng Yuan, his minister of works Yang Wu against Gao Chang, and his general Murong Zang against Li Li. More than a hundred Bingzhou strongholds capitulated; Murong Jun named Yue Wan General Who Pacifies the West, concurrent Xiongnu commandant, and governor of Bing to settle the region. Zhang Ping's officers Zhuge Xiang, Su Xiang, Qiao Shu, Shi Xian, and others brought a hundred thirty-eight forts over to Yan; Murong Jun restored every man's rank and was delighted. Zhang Ping then bolted to Pingyang with three thousand men; Feng Yuan, Li Li, and Gao Chang scattered to Yewang, Xingyang, and Shaoling, each yielding his troops.
31
俊於是復圖入寇，兼欲經略關西，乃令州郡校閱見丁，精覆隱漏，率戶留一丁，餘悉發之，欲使步卒滿一百五十萬，期明年大集，將進臨洛陽，為三方節度。 武邑劉貴上書極諫，陳百姓凋弊，召兵非法，恐人不堪命，有土崩之禍，並陳時政不便於時者十有三事。 俊覽而悅之，付公卿博議，事多納用，乃改為三五占兵，寬戎備一周，悉令明年季冬赴集鄴都。
Murong Jun then planned another drive south and a campaign in Guanzhong: he ordered every district to muster every able man, hunt down draft evaders, leave only one male per household at home, and call up the rest until he could field one and a half million foot, with a full muster at Ye the next winter before marching on Luoyang on three axes. Liu Gui of Wuyi sent a blunt memorial: the people were ruined, the levy lawless, and such demands risked collapse; he added thirteen practical reforms. Murong Jun welcomed it, sent it round the high ministers, and adopted most of his advice—scaling the draft to one man in three, easing garrison rotations by a year, and fixing the great muster for the twelfth month at Ye.
32
是歲，晉將荀羨攻山茌，拔之。 斬俊太山太守賈堅。 俊青州刺史慕容塵遣司馬悅明救之，羨師敗績，復陷山茌。
The same year Jin's Xun Xian stormed and took Shanci. He executed Murong Jun's governor of Taishan, Jia Jian. Murong Chen, Murong Jun's governor of Qingzhou, sent Yue Ming to relieve the town, but Xun Xian rallied, broke the Yan column, and retook Shanci.
33
俊立小學於顯賢裏以教胄子。 封其子泓為濟北王，沖為中山王。 宴群臣于蒲池，酒酣，賦詩，因談經史，語及周太子晉，潸然流涕，顧謂群臣曰：「昔魏武追痛倉舒，孫權悼登無已，孤常謂二主緣愛稱奇，無大雅之體。 自曄亡以來，孤鬚髮中白，始知二主有以而然。 卿等言曄定何如也？ 孤今悼之，得無貽怪將來乎？」 其司徒左長史李績對曰：「獻懷之在東宮，臣為中庶子，既忝近侍，聖質志業，臣實不敢不知。 臣聞道備無愆，其唯聖人乎。 先太子大德有八，未見闕也。」 俊曰：「卿言亦以過矣，然試言之。」 績言：「至孝自天，性與道合，此其一也。 聰敏慧悟，機思若流，此其二也。 沈毅好斷，理詣無幽，此其三也。 疾諛亮物，雅悅直言，此其四也。 好學愛賢，不恥下問，此其五也。 英姿邁古，藝業超時，此其六也。 虛襟恭讓，尊師重道，此其七也。 輕財好施，勤恤民隱，此其八也。」 俊泣曰：「卿雖褒譽，然此兒若在，吾死無憂也。 吾既不能追蹤唐、虞，官天下以禪有德，近模三王，以世傳授。 景茂幼沖，器藝未舉，卿以為何如？」 績曰：「皇太子天資岐嶷，聖敬日躋，而八闃然，二闕未補，雅好游田，娛心絲竹，所以為損耳。」 俊顧謂暐曰：「伯陽之言，藥石之惠，汝宜戢之。」 因問高年疾苦、孤寡不能自存者，賜穀帛有差。
Murong Jun opened a primary school in Xianxian ward for the sons of the nobility. He created his sons Murong Hong and Murong Chong princes of Jibei and Zhongshan. At a banquet by Pu Pool, flushed with wine, Murong Jun turned to history, came to Prince Jin of Zhou, and wept. He told his ministers, "I used to think Cao Cao's grief for Cao Chong and Sun Quan's endless mourning for Sun Deng were mere doting fathers, not the bearing of high kings. Since Murong Ye died my beard has gone grey; now I see those fathers had cause after all. Tell me honestly—what manner of heir was Murong Ye? If I indulge this grief, will posterity fault me for it? Li Ji, chief clerk of the ministry, answered, "When the late crown prince lived in the Eastern Palace, I served as his gentleman attendant; I could not fail to know his character and pursuits. They say only the perfectly wise never stumble. The late heir had eight great virtues; I saw no fatal flaw in him. Murong Jun said, "You flatter him, but list the eight all the same. Ji began: "First, inborn filial piety that matched the Way. Second, quick wit and ideas that flowed like water. Third, depth and resolve—he grasped every issue to the root. Fourth, he hated sycophants and welcomed blunt counsel. Fifth, he loved learning and sought advice from humbler men without shame. Sixth, a heroic presence that outshone his age. Seventh, humility and reverence for teachers and the Way. Eighth, open purse for charity and care for the common people's woes. Murong Jun wept, "Even allowing your praise—had that son lived, I could face death untroubled. I cannot rival Tang and Yu and yield the realm to the worthiest; like later dynasties I must pass the throne by blood. Yet Jingmao is a child, his talents untried—what say you? Li Ji answered, "The crown prince is bright and reverent, yet two of the eight virtues are wanting—he loves the hunt and music too well; that is the flaw. Murong Jun turned to Murong Wei and said, "Treat Li Ji's counsel like medicine—take it to heart. He then asked after the sick elderly and destitute widows and orphans, granting grain and cloth by need.
34
俊夜夢石季龍齧其臂，寤而惡之，命發其墓，剖棺出屍，蹋而罵之曰：「死胡安敢夢生天子！」 遣其御史中尉陽約數其殘酷之罪，鞭之，棄于漳水。
Murong Jun dreamed Shi Hu bit his arm; he woke in fury, had Shi Hu's tomb opened, the corpse dragged out, trampled, and shouted at—"How dare a dead barbarian haunt a living emperor! He sent Yang Yue, his censor-in-chief, to recite Shi Hu's crimes, had the corpse flogged, and threw it in the Zhang River.
35
諸葛攸又率水陸三萬討俊，入自石門，屯於河渚。 攸部將匡超進據嵪㠂，蕭館屯於新柵，又遣督護徐冏率水軍三千泛舟上下，為東西聲勢。 俊遣慕容評、傅顏等統步騎五萬，戰于東阿，王師敗績。
Zhuge You took thirty thousand men by land and water through Stone Gate and camped on a mid-river shoal. His officers Kuang Chao seized the Qiao'ai heights, Xiao Guan built a new stockade, and Xu Jiong patrolled three thousand boats upriver and down to screen both flanks. Murong Ping and Fu Yan met them at Dong'e with fifty thousand men and shattered the Jin army.
36
塞北七國賀蘭、涉勒等皆降。
Seven northern tribes including Helan and Shele submitted.
37
俄而俊寢疾，謂慕容恪曰：「吾所疾惙然，當恐不濟。 修短命也，復何所恨！ 但二寇未除，景茂沖幼，慮其未堪多難。 吾欲遠追宋宣，以社稷屬汝。」 恪曰：「太子雖幼，天縱聰聖，必能勝殘刑措，不可以亂正統也。」 俊怒曰：「兄弟之間豈虛飾也！」 恪曰：「陛下若以臣堪荷天下之任者，寧不能輔少主乎！」 俊曰：「若汝行周公之事，吾復何憂！ 李績清方忠亮，堪任大事，汝善遇之。」
Soon Murong Jun took to his bed and told Murong Ke, "This sickness has come on fast; I may not recover. A short life is my lot—what more is there to regret? Only Jin and Qin still stand unconquered, and Jingmao is a child—I fear he is not ready for such trials. I would follow Duke Xuan of Song and leave the altars of state in your hands. Murong Ke said, "The heir is young, yet Heaven has made him wise; he will grow able to soften harsh ways—do not disturb the legitimate line of succession. Murong Jun snapped, "Between brothers we do not trade empty compliments!" Murong Ke answered, "If you think I can carry the realm, you know I will serve the boy emperor faithfully. If you act as the Duke of Zhou did, I have nothing left to fear. Li Ji is upright, loyal, and fit for great responsibility—cherish him."
38
是時兵集鄴城，盜賊互起，每夜攻劫，晨昏斷行。 於是寬常賦，設奇禁，賊盜有相告者賜奉車都尉，捕誅賊首木穀和等百餘人，乃止。
With the host massed at Ye, banditry flared; night raids made the roads unsafe from dusk to dawn. Murong Jun eased ordinary taxes, posted special edicts, offered the rank of chariot commandant for informers, and executed over a hundred ringleaders such as Mu Guhe until order returned.
39
，俊死，時年四十二，在位十一年。 偽諡景昭皇帝，廟號烈祖，墓號龍陵。
Murong Jun died at the age of forty-two, having reigned eleven years. He received the temple name Liezu, the posthumous title Emperor Jingzhao, and was buried at the Longling mausoleum.
40
俊雅好文籍，自初即位至末年，講論不倦，覽政之暇，唯與侍臣錯綜義理，凡所著述四十餘篇。 性嚴重，慎威儀，未曾以慢服臨朝，雖閒居宴處亦無懈怠之色雲。
Murong Jun loved books from his accession to his death, debated the classics without tiring, and in spare moments from government worked through doctrine with his intimates—leaving more than forty writings. He was grave by nature, careful of dignity, never came to court in undress, and even in private showed no slack bearing—or so it is recorded.
41
韓恆
Han Heng
42
韓恆，字景山，灌津人也。 父默，以學行顯名。 恆少能屬文，師事同郡張載，載奇之，曰：「王佐才也。」 身長八尺一寸，博覽經籍，無所不通。 永嘉之亂，避地遼東。 廆既逐崔毖，復徙昌黎，召見，嘉之，拜參軍事。 咸和中，宋該等建議以廆立功一隅，勤誠王室，位卑任重，不足以鎮華夷，宜表請大將軍、燕王之號。 廆納之，命群僚博議，咸以為宜如該議。 恆駁曰：「自群胡乘間，人嬰荼毒，諸夏蕭條，無復綱紀。 明公忠武篤誠，憂勤社稷，抗節孤危之中，建功萬里之外，終古勤王之義，未之有也。 夫立功者患信義不著，不患名位不高，故桓文有甯復一匡之功，亦不先求禮命以令諸侯。 宜繕甲兵，候機會，除群凶，靖四海，功成之後，九錫自至。 且要君以求寵爵者，非為臣之義也。」 廆不平之，出為新昌令。 皝為鎮軍，復參軍事。 遷營丘太守，政化大行。 俊為大將軍，徵拜諮議參軍，加揚烈將軍。
Han Heng, styled Jingshan, was a native of Guanjin. His father Han Mo was known for scholarship and character. Han Heng wrote well in youth and studied under Zhang Zai of his commandery; Zhang Zai exclaimed that he had the makings of a king's minister. He stood eight feet one inch tall, read widely, and mastered every field he touched. When the Yongjia catastrophe struck, he fled to Liaodong. After Murong Gui drove out Cui Bi and moved the seat to Changli, he received Han Heng, praised him, and named him an army adviser. During Xianhe, Song Gai and others argued that Murong Gui's loyalty to Jin from the frontier merited the titles grand general and Prince of Yan, for his low rank could not overawe Hu and Chinese alike. Murong Gui agreed, put the question to his officials, and they unanimously backed Song Gai's plan. Han Heng objected: "Since the barbarian uprisings the people have suffered and the heartland lies in ruins—there is no longer a proper order. Yet you have been loyal, martial, and true, toiling for the altars amid peril and winning glory a thousand leagues from the court—such service to the house of Jin is without precedent. Those who build greatness fear only that good faith will not show, not that rank is too low; Duke Huan and Duke Wen restored the realm without first demanding ceremonial investiture over the lords. Repair arms, watch the moment, sweep away the wicked, and pacify the realm—the nine honors will come in their own time once merit is plain. To squeeze titles from one's sovereign is not the way of a loyal minister. Murong Gui took offense and sent him out as magistrate of Xinchang. When Murong Huang became General Who Guards the Army, Han Heng again joined his staff. He rose to governor of Yingqiu, where his rule transformed the region. When Murong Jun became grand general, he recalled Han Heng as advisory adviser with the added title General Who Displays Ferocity.
43
俊僭位，將定五行次，眾論紛紜。 恆時疾在龍城，俊召恆以決之。 恆未至而群臣議以燕宜承晉為水德。 既而恆至，言於俊曰：「趙有中原，非唯人事，天所命也。 天實與之，而人奪之，臣竊謂不可。 且大燕王跡始自于震，于《易》，震為青龍。 受命之初，有龍見於都邑城，龍為木德，幽契之符也。」 俊初雖難改，後終從恆議。 俊秘書監清河聶熊聞恆言，乃歎曰：「不有君子，國何以興，其韓令君之謂乎！」 後與李產俱傅東宮，從太子曄入朝，俊顧謂左右曰：「此二傅一代偉人，未易繼也。」 其見重如此。
After Murong Jun took the imperial title, the court wrangled over which phase the Yan line should claim. Han Heng lay ill in Longcheng, but Murong Jun summoned him to settle the question. Before Han Heng arrived, the ministers voted that Yan should follow Jin as the water phase. When Han Heng came, he told Murong Jun, "Former Zhao held the Central Plain by Heaven's appointment, not by human whim alone. Heaven gave that mandate to Zhao; for us to snatch their succession token strikes me as wrong. Great Yan's royal omens began under the Zhen trigram—the Azure Dragon of the Book of Changes. When the mandate first dawned, a dragon appeared at the capital—dragons belong to the wood phase, the sign that fits Youzhou. Murong Jun resisted at first but finally adopted Han Heng's argument. Nie Xiong, prefect of the palace writers, heard Han Heng and sighed, "Without such men a state cannot flourish—he meant Han Heng." Later he and Li Chan tutored the Eastern Palace. When they entered court with Crown Prince Murong Ye, Murong Jun murmured, "Two tutors of that stature will not easily be replaced. Such was the regard in which he was held.
44
李產
Li Chan
45
李產，字子喬，范陽人也。 少剛厲，有志格。 永嘉之亂，同郡祖逖擁眾部于南土，力能自固，產遂往依之。 逖素好從橫，弟約有大志，產微知其旨，乃率子弟十數人間行還鄉里，仕于石氏，為本郡太守。 及慕容俊南征，前鋒達郡界，鄉人皆勸產降，產曰：「夫受人之祿，當同其安危，今若舍此節以圖存，義士將謂我何！」 眾潰，始詣軍請降。 俊嘲之曰：「卿受石氏寵任，衣錦本鄉，何故不能立功于時，而反委質乎！ 烈士處身于世，固當如是邪？」 產泣曰：「誠知天命有歸，非微臣所抗。 然犬馬為主，豈忘自效，但以孤窮勢蹙，致力無術，[ＦＣ]俛歸死，實非誠款。」 俊嘉其慷慨，顧謂左右曰：「此真長者也。」 乃擢用之，歷位尚書。 性剛正，好直言，每至進見，未曾不論朝政之得失，同輩咸憚焉，俊亦敬其儒雅。 前後固辭年老，不堪理劇。 轉拜太子太保。 謂子績曰：「以吾之才而致於此，始者之願亦已過矣，不可復以西夕之年取笑於來今也。」 固辭而歸，死於家。 子績。
Li Chan, styled Ziqiao, came from Fanyang. In youth he was stern and high-minded. During the Yongjia disaster Zu Ti of his commandery had carved out a southern base; Li Chan went to join him. Zu Ti loved grand strategy and his brother Zu Yue harbored larger designs; Li Chan sensed their drift, slipped home with a dozen kinsmen, and took office under the Shi regime as governor of his native commandery. When Murong Jun marched south and his vanguard reached the border, his neighbors urged surrender, but Li Chan said, "I took Shi Hu's pay—I must share his fortune; if I discard my duty to save myself, what would men of honor think? Only after Shi Hu's host collapsed did he present himself to the Yan army and yield. Murong Jun taunted him: "You enjoyed Shi Hu's favor and paraded brocade in your home town—why did you never earn your keep until the cause was lost? Is this how a hero serves the times? Li Chan wept, "I know Heaven's mandate had passed from Shi—I could not fight it. Yet like a dog or horse I served my master and would have fought on; I was alone, cornered, powerless, forced to bow my head and await death—that was not willing treason. Murong Jun admired his candor and said to his attendants, "This is a man of true integrity. He then employed him until Li Chan rose to the Secretariat. He was blunt and outspoken at every audience, dissecting policy without fear; colleagues dreaded him, yet Murong Jun honored his scholar's bearing. Again and again he cited age and refused the crushing burden of office. He was then named grand guardian to the heir apparent, an honorific sinecure. He told his son Li Ji, "My meager gifts have already taken me farther than I dreamed; I will not spend my twilight years inviting ridicule from the world. He resigned for good, went home, and died there. Li Ji
46
績字伯陽，少以風節知名，清辯有辭理。 弱冠為郡功曹。 時石季龍親征段遼，師次范陽，百姓饑儉，軍供有闕。 季龍大怒，大守惶怖避匿。 績進曰：「郡帶北裔，與寇接攘，疆埸之間，人懷危慮。 聞輿駕親戎，將除殘賊，雖嬰兒白首，咸思效命，非唯為國，亦自求寧，雖身膏草野，猶甘為之，敢有私吝而闕軍實！ 但此年災儉，家有菜色，困弊力屈，無所取濟，逋廢之罪，情在可矜。」 季龍見績年少有壯節，嘉而恕之，於是太守獲免。 刺史王午辟為主簿。 俊之南征也，隨午奔魯口。 鄧恆謂午曰：「績鄉里在北，父已降燕，今雖在此，終不為用，方為人患。」 午曰：「績於喪亂之中捐家立義，情節之重，有侔古烈，若懷嫌害之，必駭眾望。」 恆乃止。 午恐績終為恆所害，乃資遣之。 及到，俊責其背親後至，績答曰：「臣聞豫讓報智伯仇，稱于前史。 既官身所在，何事非君！ 陛下方弘唐、虞之化，臣實未謂歸順之晚也。」 俊曰：「此亦事主之一節耳。」 累遷太子中庶子。 及暐立，慕容恪欲以績為尚書右僕射，暐憾績往言，不許。 恪屢請，乃謂恪曰：「萬機之事委之叔父，伯陽一人，暐請獨裁。」 績遂憂死。
Li Ji, styled Boyang, was known in youth for high principle, lucid argument, and well-ordered speech. At twenty he became merit clerk of his commandery. When Shi Hu marched in person against Duan Liao, his host stopped at Fanyang; the people were starving and the commissariat ran short. Shi Hu flew into a rage, and the governor fled in terror. Li Ji stepped forward: "This commandery lies on the northern frontier cheek-by-jowl with the enemy; every soul along the border lives in dread. When word spread that Your Majesty would lead the host in person to destroy the rebels, every man from babes to greybeards wished to give his life—not for the state alone but to win peace; they would gladly die in the field—who would stint the army out of selfishness? But this is a year of famine; faces show the green tinge of hunger; folk are drained and cannot scrape up supplies—default is pitiable, not criminal. Shi Hu saw the youth's courage, praised him, and relented, and the governor was spared. The regional inspector Wang Wu named him chief clerk. When Murong Jun marched south, Li Ji followed Wang Wu to Lukou. Deng Heng warned Wang Wu, "Li Ji's home lies in the north and his father has gone over to Yan; keeping him here serves no good—he will only become a liability. Wang Wu replied, "In the chaos Li Ji left his kin to stand on principle—his loyalty rivals the heroes of old; to kill him on suspicion would shock every man's conscience. Deng Heng dropped the matter. Fearing Deng Heng would still murder Li Ji, Wang Wu gave him travel funds and sent him away. When he reached Murong Jun, the emperor rebuked him for belatedly abandoning his kin. Li Ji answered, "Yurang avenged Zhi Bo and won the historians' praise. Wherever a man holds office, whoever sits the throne is his prince. Your Majesty now spreads the humane rule of Tang and Yu; I do not think I came too late to submit. Murong Jun said, "That too is one way to serve a master. He rose step by step to gentleman attendant of the palace to the crown prince. When Murong Wei came to the throne, Murong Ke wanted Li Ji as junior deputy director of the Secretariat, but Murong Wei, still smarting at an old remark, refused. Murong Ke pressed again; Murong Wei told him, "Uncle may run the whole administration; on Li Ji alone I claim the final say." Li Ji died of a broken heart.