Volume 113 Records 13: Fu Jian Part One

苻堅（上）

Fu Jian. (Part One)

苻堅，字永固，一名文玉，雄之子也。祖洪，從石季龍徙鄴，家於永貴裏。其母苟氏嘗游漳水，祈子於西門豹祠，其夜夢與神交，因而有孕，十二月而生堅焉。有神光自天燭其庭。背有赤文，隱起成字，曰「草付臣又土王咸陽。」臂垂過膝，目有紫光。洪奇而愛之，名曰堅頭。年七歲，聰敏好施，舉止不逾規矩。每侍洪側，輒量洪舉措，取與不失機候。洪每曰：「此兒姿貌瑰偉，質性過人，非常相也。」高平徐統有知人之鑒，遇堅于路，異之，執其手曰：「苻郎，此官之禦街，小兒敢戲於此，不畏司隸縛邪？」堅曰：「司隸縛罪人，不縛小兒戲也。」統謂左右曰：「此兒有霸王之相。」左右怪之，統曰：「非爾所及也。」後又遇之，統下車屏人，密謂之曰：「苻郎骨相不恆，後當大貴，但僕不見，如何！」堅曰：「誠如公言，不敢忘德。」八歲，請師就家學。洪曰：「汝戎狄異類，世知飲酒，今乃求學邪！」欣而許之。

Fu Jian, whose courtesy name was Yonggu and who was also known as Wenyu, was the son of Fu Xiong. His grandfather Fu Hong had accompanied Shi Jilong’s removal to Ye and established the family in Yonggui Lane. His mother, Lady Gou, once bathed in the Zhang River and prayed for a child at the shrine to Ximen Bao; that night she dreamed of union with a god and conceived, and twelve months later she bore Fu Jian. A supernatural light descended from the sky and lit up their courtyard. On his back were crimson lines that stood out like writing: a riddle of graphs that augured the character for Fu and the name Jian, and kingship at Xianyang. His arms reached below his knees, and his eyes shone with a purple cast. Fu Hong doted on the strange child and nicknamed him Jiantou. At seven he was bright, open-handed, and always proper in demeanor. Whenever he waited on Fu Hong, he read the older man’s mood and timing so well that he never erred in what to offer or withhold. Fu Hong would say, ‘The lad’s presence is kingly and his talents outstrip ordinary men; these are not the marks of a common fate.’ Xu Tong of Gaoping, famed for sizing people up, crossed paths with the boy, seized his hand, and said, ‘Young Fu, this is the avenue to the palace; do children romp here without dreading the metropolitan inspector’s cords?’ Fu Jian replied, ‘The metropolitan inspector arrests wrongdoers, not boys at play.’ Xu Tong told his attendants, ‘The boy carries the face of a man who will rule by force of arms.’ They were puzzled; Xu Tong said, ‘This is beyond your grasp.’ When they met again, Xu Tong dismissed his escort, drew the boy aside, and whispered, ‘Young Fu, your bones promise extraordinary rank—but I will not live to see the day; what a pity!’ Fu Jian answered, ‘If events prove you right, I will not forget this debt.’ At eight he asked that a teacher be brought to the house. Fu Hong said, ‘You are a Di “other”; our kind has always known wine—now you want books!’ He gave his consent with delight.

健之入關也，夢天神遣使者硃衣赤冠，命拜堅為龍驤將軍，健翌日為壇于曲沃以授之。健泣謂堅曰：「汝祖昔受此號，今汝復為神明所命，可不勉之！」堅揮劍捶馬，志氣感厲，士卒莫不憚服焉。性至孝，博學多才藝，有經濟大志，要結英豪，以圖緯世之宜。王猛、呂婆樓、強汪、梁平老等並有王佐之才，為其羽翼。太原薛贊、略陽權翼見而驚曰：「非常人也！」

When Fu Jiàn led the host through the passes into Guanzhong, he dreamed a celestial envoy in scarlet robes and a crimson cap bade him appoint his nephew Fu Jian Dragon-Furled General; the next morning Fu Jiàn raised an altar at Quwo and handed him the commission. Fu Jiàn wept and told his nephew, ‘Your grandfather once bore this title; now the gods renew the charge—you must spare no effort!’ The young Fu Jian brandished his sword, smote his mount, and blazed with such martial ardor that every soldier stood in awe. He was deeply filial, widely read and accomplished, nursed ambitions to set the age to rights, and gathered able men to work out how he might reorder the realm. Wang Meng, Lü Polou, Qiang Wang, Liang Pinglao, and others possessed ministerial caliber and formed his core of advisers. Xue Zan of Taiyuan and Quan Yi of Lüeyang looked on him and exclaimed, ‘This is no ordinary man!’

及苻生嗣偽位，贊、翼說堅曰：「今主上昏虐，天下離心。有德者昌，無德受殃，天之道也。神器業重，不可令他人取之，願君王行湯、武之事，以順天人之心。」堅深然之，納為謀主。生既殘虐無度，梁平老等亟以為言，堅遂弑生，以偽位讓其兄法。法自以庶孽，不敢當。堅及母苟氏並慮眾心未服，難居大位，群僚固請，乃從之。以升平元年僭稱大秦天王，誅生幸臣董龍、趙韶等二十餘人，赦其境內，改元曰永興。追諡父雄為文桓皇帝，尊母苟氏為皇太后，妻苟氏為皇后，子宏為皇太子。兄法為使持節、侍中、都督中外諸軍事、丞相、錄尚書，從祖侯為太尉，從兄柳為車騎大將軍、尚書令，封弟融為陽平公，雙河南公，子丕長樂公，暉平原公，熙廣平公，睿钜鹿公。李威為衛將軍、尚書左僕射；梁平老為右僕射；強汪為領軍將軍；仇騰為尚書，領選；席寶為丞相長史、行太子詹事；呂婆樓為司隸校尉；王猛、薛贊為中書侍郎；權翼為給事黃門侍郎，與猛、贊並掌機密。追復魚遵、雷弱兒、毛貴、王墮、梁楞、梁安、段純、辛牢等本官，以禮改葬之，其子孫皆隨才擢授。初，堅母以法長而賢，又得眾心，懼終為變，至此，遣殺之。堅性仁友，與法決於東堂，慟哭嘔血，贈以本官，諡曰哀，封其子陽為東海公，敷為清河公。於是修廢職，繼絕世，禮神祗，課農桑，立學校，鰥寡孤獨高年不自存者，賜穀帛有差，其殊才異行、孝友忠義、德業可稱者，令在所以聞。

After Fu Sheng mounted the usurped throne, Xue Zan and Quan Yi urged Fu Jian: ‘The ruler is dark and tyrannical; the empire has lost faith in him. He who has virtue thrives; he who lacks it suffers—such is Heaven’s constant. The throne is too grave a charge to yield to another. We beg you, my lord, to do as Tang of Shang and Wu of Zhou—act in accord with both Heaven and the people. Fu Jian heartily concurred and made them his principal strategists. When Fu Sheng’s cruelty knew no bounds, Liang Pinglao and others pressed the point until Fu Jian slew Fu Sheng and offered the usurped throne to his elder brother Fu Fa. Fu Fa, counting himself the son of a secondary wife, declined to take it. Fu Jian and his mother Lady Gou worried that popular allegiance was still uncertain and that the supreme position would sit ill on them; when the whole court importuned him, he yielded. In the first year of Shengping he assumed the title Great Heavenly King of Qin, put to death over twenty of Fu Sheng’s favorites including Dong Long and Zhao Shao, proclaimed a general amnesty, and adopted the era name Yongxing. He canonized his father Fu Xiong as Emperor Wenhuang, raised his mother Lady Gou to empress dowager, invested his wife Lady Gou as empress, and named his son Fu Hong crown prince. He appointed Fu Fa credential-bearing commissioner, palace attendant, area commander of all armies, chancellor, and recorder of the masters of writing; his great-uncle Fu Hou as grand commandant; his cousin Fu Liu as grand chariot and cavalry general and director of the masters of writing; and enfeoffed Fu Rong as duke of Yangping, Fu Shuang as duke of Henan, his son Fu Pi as duke of Changle, Fu Hui as duke of Pingyuan, Fu Xi as duke of Guangping, and Fu Rui as duke of Julu. Li Wei became guards general and senior vice-director on the left of the masters of writing; Liang Pinglao became right vice-director of the masters of writing; Qiang Wang was appointed chief of the palace guards; Qiu Teng was named master of writing with charge of appointments; Xi Bao became chief clerk of the chancellor’s office and acting supervisor of the heir apparent’s household; Lü Polou was made metropolitan commandant; Wang Meng and Xue Zan were appointed secretaries of the palace secretariat; Quan Yi became a palace attendant and yellow-gate gentleman-in-attendance and, with Wang Meng and Xue Zan, handled classified state business. He posthumously restored the ranks of Yu Zun, Lei Ruo’er, Mao Gui, Wang Duo, Liang Leng, Liang An, Duan Chun, Xin Lao, and the rest, reinterred them with fitting rites, and advanced their descendants according to talent. Lady Gou, Fu Jian’s mother, had long thought Fu Fa senior, capable, and beloved of the army, and dreaded a future coup; she now had him assassinated. Fu Jian, kind and brotherly by temperament, bade Fu Fa farewell in the east hall, mourned until he spat blood, restored his former titles, posthumously styled him ‘Lamented,’ and made Fu Fa’s sons Fu Yang duke of the Eastern Sea and Fu Fu duke of Qinghe. He went on to revive defunct posts, restore extinguished noble lines, worship the gods, promote agriculture, found schools, and issue graded rations of grain and silk to widowers, widows, orphans, the childless, and the elderly who could not live unaided; anyone of rare ability, conspicuous virtue, filial devotion, loyalty, or merit was to be reported by the magistrate.

其將張平以并州叛，堅率眾討之，以其建節將軍鄧羌為前鋒，率騎五千據汾上。堅至銅壁，平盡眾拒戰，為羌所敗，獲其養子蠔，送之，平懼，乃降於堅。堅赦其罪，署為右將軍，蠔武賁中郎將，加廣武將軍，徙其所部三千餘戶于長安。

When his general Zhang Ping revolted in Bingzhou, Fu Jian marched in person and named Deng Qiang, general-with-establishment, vanguard commander; Deng Qiang led five thousand cavalry to hold the upper Fen. At Tongbi, Zhang Ping threw his entire army into the fight, was routed by Deng Qiang, and lost his adopted son Mou, whom Deng Qiang sent to Fu Jian; Zhang Ping, terrified, submitted. Fu Jian forgave him, named him right general, Mou senior gentleman of the martial tiger guard, added the title general who spreads might, and resettled over three thousand of his households in Chang’an.

堅自臨晉登龍門，顧謂其群臣曰：「美載山河之固！婁敬有言，'關中四塞之國'，真不虛也。」權翼、薛贊對曰：「臣聞夏、殷之都非不險也，周、秦之眾非不多也，終於身竄南巢，首懸白旗，軀殘於犬戎，國分于項籍昔何也？德之不修故耳。吳起有言：'在德不在險。 '深願陛下追蹤唐、虞，懷遠以德，山河之固不足恃也。」堅大悅，乃還長安。賜為父後者爵一級，鰥寡高年穀帛有差，丐所過田租之半。是秋，大旱，堅減膳撤懸，金玉綺繡皆散之戎士，後宮悉去羅紈，衣不曳地。開山澤之利，公私共之，偃甲息兵，與境內休息。

From Linjin Fu Jian climbed to Longmen Pass, gazed about, and told his courtiers, ‘What a bulwark of hills and streams!’ Lou Jing’s words that “Guanzhong is a land sealed on four sides” are no idle boast. Quan Yi and Xue Zan answered, ‘We have heard that the capitals of Xia and Shang were steep enough, and the armies of Zhou and Qin numerous enough, yet kings ended in exile at Nan Chao, heads on white flags, Zhou’s king mauled by the Dog Rong, and Qin’s domain split among Xiang Yu’s lords—why, in ages past, was that so?’ Because they failed to cultivate virtue. As Wu Qi said, “Security rests in moral power, not in ramparts.”’ We beg you to walk in the footsteps of Yao and Shun, win the far peoples by kindness, and not trust in geography alone.’ Fu Jian was delighted and rode back to Chang’an. He raised by one step the noble rank of every heir to a patrimony, distributed grain and silk in set amounts to widowers, widows, and the elderly, and halved the land tax for districts his train passed through. That autumn a fierce drought struck; Fu Jian cut his own table, silenced court music, gave gold, jade, and brocades to the troops, and commanded the harem to lay aside thin silks so that even palace robes did not sweep the floor. He threw open mountain and marsh resources for common use, laid by weapons, and let the country breathe.

王猛親寵愈密，朝政莫不由之。特進樊世，氐豪也，有大勳於苻氏，負氣倨傲，眾辱猛曰：「吾輩與先帝共興事業，而不預時權；君無汗馬之勞，何敢專管大任？是為我耕稼而君食之乎！」猛曰：「方當使君為宰夫，安直耕稼而已。」世大怒曰：「要當懸汝頭于長安城門，不爾者，終不處於世也。」猛言之於堅，堅怒曰：「必須殺此老氐，然後百僚可整。」俄而世入言事，堅謂猛曰：「吾欲以楊璧尚主，璧何如人也？」世勃然曰：「楊璧，臣之婿也，婚已久定，陛下安得令之尚主乎！」猛讓世曰：「陛下帝有海內，而君敢競婚，是為二天子，安有上下！」世怒起，將擊猛，左右止之。世遂醜言大罵，堅由此發怒，命斬之於西廄。諸氐紛紜，競陳猛短，堅恚甚，慢罵，或有鞭撻於殿庭者。權翼進曰：「陛下宏達大度，善馭英豪，神武卓犖，錄功舍過，有漢祖之風。然慢易之言，所宜除之。」堅笑曰：「朕之過也。」自是公卿以下無不憚猛焉。

Wang Meng’s intimacy deepened until every edict ran through him. Fan Shi, promoted to specially advanced, was a Di grandee who had helped raise the Fu clan; swollen with pride he berated Wang Meng in open court: ‘We built this realm with the late sovereign, yet we are shut out of authority today; you never rode a campaign—how dare you monopolize weighty office?’ Do you mean to feast on grain we till with our own hands?’ Wang Meng retorted, ‘You will end as my master of the kitchens—do you imagine you will do no more than till soil?’ Fan Shi roared, ‘Your head will hang from a Chang’an gate, or I am no man.’ Wang Meng relayed it to Fu Jian, who snapped, ‘That old Di must die before the bureaucracy learns discipline.’ When Fan Shi next came in on business, Fu Jian said to Wang Meng, ‘I mean to marry Princess Yang to Yang Bi—what manner of man is he?’ Fan Shi exploded: ‘Yang Bi is my daughter’s husband; the match was fixed long ago—how can you command him to wed an imperial daughter!’ Wang Meng reproved him: ‘The Son of Heaven holds the realm; you wrangle over a match as though there were two sovereigns—where is order in that?’ Fan Shi leaped up to strike Wang Meng and had to be seized by attendants. He showered Wang Meng with obscenities until Fu Jian, enraged, had him executed in the western stable. Other Di grandees buzzed with slander of Wang Meng until Fu Jian, beside himself, reviled them and even had some thrashed in the court. Quan Yi advanced and said, ‘You are open-handed and regal, a master of bold men, martial and transcendent, mindful of deeds and indulgent of slips—very like Han Gaozu. Still, contemptuous speech should be purged from court.’ Fu Jian smiled and said, ‘The fault is mine.’ After that every minister from the highest rank down stood in awe of Wang Meng.

堅起明堂，繕南北郊，郊祀其祖洪以配天，宗祀其伯健于明堂以配上帝。親耕藉田，其妻苟氏親蠶於近郊。

Fu Jian built the Bright Hall, restored the suburban altars north and south, offered the border sacrifice to Heaven with Fu Hong as correlative spirit, and in the Bright Hall paired the sacrifice to High God with his uncle Fu Jiàn as correlative ancestor. He broke the clod in the imperial field, while Empress Lady Gou tended silkworms in the ritual precincts.

堅南遊霸陵，顧謂群臣曰：「漢祖起自布衣，廓平四海，佐命功臣孰為首乎？」權翼進曰：「《漢書》以蕭、曹為功臣之冠。」堅曰：「漢祖與項羽爭天下，困于京索之間，身被七十餘創，通中六七，父母妻子為楚所囚。平城之下，七日不火食，賴陳平之謀，太上、妻子克全，免匈奴之禍。二相何得獨高也！雖有人狗之喻，豈黃中之言乎！」於是酣飲極歡，命群臣賦詩。大赦，復改元曰甘露。以王猛為侍中、中書令、京兆尹。

On a southern progress to Baling he turned to his officials and asked, ‘The Han founder began as a commoner and conquered the empire—which of his helpers ranked first?’ Quan Yi replied, ‘The Han shu lists Xiao He and Cao Shen foremost among the merit peers.’ Fu Jian said, ‘When Gaozu fought Xiang Yu he was pinned at Jing and Suo, took over seventy wounds, six or seven to the bone, and saw parents, wife, and children seized by Chu. Below Pingcheng he went seven days without a hot meal; only Chen Ping’s ruse saved the high emperor and his family from the Xiongnu disaster. What right have the two chancellors to tower over everyone else?’ Even if one repeats the old simile that compares ministers to hunting hounds, does that exhaust the debt owed the men who held the realm’s heart?’ They then feasted to drunken mirth and bade the courtiers compose verse. He proclaimed a general amnesty and changed the era name again to Ganlu. Wang Meng was made palace attendant, palace secretary, and prefect of the capital.

其特進強德，健妻之弟也，昏酒豪橫，為百姓之患。猛捕而殺之，陳屍於市。其中丞鄧羌，性鯁直不撓，與猛協規齊志，數旬之間，貴戚強豪誅死者二十有餘人。於是百僚震肅，豪右屏氣，路不拾遺，風化大行。堅歎曰：「吾今始知天下之有法也，天子之為尊也！」於是遣使巡察四方及戎夷種落，州郡有高年孤寡，不能自存，長史刑罰失中、為百姓所苦，清修疾惡、勸課農桑、有便於俗，篤學至孝、義烈力田者，皆令具條以聞。

Qiang De, brother of the late ruler’s empress and holder of the specially advanced rank, drank to excess, threw his weight about, and tyrannized the people. Wang Meng seized him, put him to death, and displayed the body in the marketplace. Deng Qiang, the censor-in-chief, was upright to the point of rigidity; he and Wang Meng acted in concert, and within weeks over twenty great clansmen and bullies died by the law. The bureaucracy snapped to attention, the great houses fell silent, no one stole what lay in the streets, and custom turned honest overnight. Fu Jian sighed, ‘Now I see that the state has real law and the throne commands true awe!’ He then sent agents through the provinces and barbarian settlements: any district with helpless elderly or orphans, any magistrate whose sentences oppressed the people, any officer who was incorrupt, detested vice, promoted husbandry for the people’s good, or any scholar of deep learning, paragon of filial piety, stalwart loyalty, or tireless farming was to be described in memorial.

時匈奴左賢王衛辰遣使降於堅，遂請田內地，堅許之。雲中護軍賈雍遣其司馬徐斌率騎襲之，因縱兵掠奪。堅怒曰：「朕方修魏絳和戎之術，不可以小利忘大信。昔荊吳之戰，事興蠶婦；澆瓜之惠，梁、宋息兵。夫怨不在大，事不在小，擾邊動眾，非國之利也。所獲資產，其悉以歸之。」免雍官，以白衣領護軍，遣使修和，示之信義。辰於是入居塞內，貢獻相尋。烏丸獨孤、鮮卑沒奕於率眾數萬又降於堅。堅初欲處之塞內，苻融以「匈奴為患，其興自古。比虜馬不敢南首者，畏威故也。今處之於內地，見其弱矣，方當窺兵郡縣，為北邊之害。不如徙之塞外，以存荒服之義。」堅從之。

The Xiongnu Worthy King of the Left, Wei Chen, sent tribute and asked leave to farm inside the frontier; Fu Jian agreed. Jia Yong, protector of Yunzhong, ordered his major Xu Bin to ride against them and turned the soldiers loose to loot. Fu Jian raged, ‘I am applying Wei Jiang’s policy of conciliating the tribes; a trifling profit must not make me break solemn faith. When Chu and Wu went to war, the quarrel began with women tending silkworms; The old story of shared kindness over disputed melons is how Liang and Song learned to sheathe their swords. Resentment does not wait on a grand cause, and trouble need not begin with a great affair; yet to stir the border and move armies helps no one. Everything seized in the raid is to be sent back in full. He stripped Jia Yong of rank, let him command the garrison as a private citizen, and dispatched envoys to mend relations and show plain good faith. Wei Chen then settled within the passes, and his tribute caravans arrived in steady succession. Dugu of the Wuhuan and Moyu of the Xianbei brought tens of thousands of followers and once more pledged allegiance to Fu Jian. Fu Jian first planned to resettle them inside the frontier; Fu Rong objected that the Xiongnu had plagued China since high antiquity. Their ponies dare not face south only because they still fear your majesty’s dread power. Move them into the interior while we look slack, and they will soon eye our counties and become a running sore along the northern frontier. Better to push them back beyond the wall and honor the old principle of ruling the outer wilds at arm’s length.’ Fu Jian accepted the counsel.

堅僭位五年，鳳皇集于東闕，大赦其境內，百僚進位一級。初，堅之將為赦也，與王猛、苻融密議於露堂，悉屏左右。堅親為赦文，猛、融供進紙墨。有一大蒼蠅入自牖間，鳴聲甚大，集於筆端，驅而復來。俄而張安街巷市里人相告曰：「官今大赦。」有司以聞。堅驚謂融、猛曰：「禁中無耳屬之理，事何從泄也？」於是敕外窮推之，咸言有一小人衣黑衣，大呼於市曰：「官今大赦。」須臾不見。堅歎曰：「其向蒼蠅乎？聲狀非常，吾固惡之。諺曰：'欲人勿知，莫若勿為。 '聲無細而弗聞，事未形而必彰者，其此之謂也。」堅廣修學官，召郡國學生通一經以上充之，公卿已下子孫並遣受業。其有學為通儒、才堪幹事、清修廉直、孝悌力田者，皆旌表之。於是人思勸勵，號稱多士，盜賊止息，請托路絕，田疇修辟，帑藏充盈，典章法物靡不悉備。堅親臨太學，考學生經義優劣，品而第之。問難五經，博士多不能對。堅謂博士王實曰：「朕一月三臨太學，黜陟幽明，躬親獎勵，罔敢倦違，庶幾周、孔微言不由朕而墜，漢之二武其可追乎！」實對曰：「自劉石擾覆華畿，二都鞠為茂草，儒生罕有或存，墳籍滅而莫紀，經淪學廢，奄若秦皇。陛下神武撥亂，道隆虞、夏，開庠序之美，弘儒教之風，化盛隆周，垂馨千祀，漢之二武焉足論哉！」堅自是每月一臨太學，諸生競勸焉。

Five years into his reign as usurper, phoenixes alighted on the eastern watchtower; he proclaimed a general amnesty and promoted every official one step. Before announcing an amnesty he had closeted himself with Wang Meng and Fu Rong in the Dew Hall and cleared the room of every servant. Fu Jian wrote the edict himself while Wang Meng and Fu Rong fetched brush and paper. A big bluebottle flew in at the window, droned loudly, perched on his brush, flew off when brushed away, then returned. Soon folk in the alleys of Chang’an were whispering, ‘The palace will proclaim a great pardon today.’ The censors reported the rumor to the throne. Fu Jian exclaimed to Fu Rong and Wang Meng, ‘Nothing said in the palace should reach the marketplace—who let this slip?’ He ordered a dragnet through the city; witnesses spoke of a dwarf in black who had cried in the bazaar, ‘A great amnesty is coming today.’ An instant later the figure vanished. Fu Jian murmured, ‘Can that have been the fly? Its buzz and bearing were uncanny—I already mistrusted it. The proverb runs, “Want no one to know it? Then do it not.”’ No whisper is too faint to be heard, no plot too young to leave a trace—does not the adage fit?’ He enlarged the academies, called in any student who knew one classic, and required every noble heir to attend classes. Anyone who proved a true scholar, a capable administrator, an honest officer, or a model of filial piety and hard work received a public citation. The realm turned competitive in virtue, men of talent multiplied, banditry died away, favor-seeking dried up, farms were reclaimed, granaries swelled, and every law and ritual implement stood ready. He toured the Imperial Academy himself, tested the students on the classics, and graded them high or low. He pressed the doctors with knotty questions on the Five Classics until most were speechless. He told Erudite Wang Shi, ‘Thrice each month I sit in the academy, weed out the dull and lift the keen, praise diligence myself, and shirk no fatigue, hoping the subtle teachings of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius will not lapse on my watch—surely I rival Han’s two martial sovereigns!’ Wang Shi answered, ‘After the Liu and Shi invasions turned the heartland to waste, both capitals grew wild grass, few masters of the texts remained, libraries burned unrecorded, and learning fell silent—much as under the First Emperor. You, divine and warlike, have crushed disorder; your virtue exceeds Yu and Xia; you revive schools and spread Confucius; your civilizing sway surpasses high Zhou and will perfume a thousand years—Han’s martial pair are not fit to be named in the same breath!’ After that he went once a month, and the students strained to excel.

屠各張罔聚眾數千，自稱大單于，寇掠郡縣。堅以其尚書鄧羌為建節將軍，率眾七千討平之。

Zhang Wang of the Tuge mustered thousands, proclaimed himself grand chanyu, and plundered the districts. Fu Jian named Deng Qiang, his master of writing, general who establishes the standard and sent seven thousand men to pacify the rising.

時商人趙掇、丁妃、鄒瓫等皆家累千金，車服之盛，擬則王侯，堅之諸公競引之為國二卿。黃門侍郎程憲言於堅曰：「趙掇等皆商販醜豎，市郭小人，車馬衣服僭同王者，官齊君子，為籓國列卿，傷風敗俗，有塵聖化，宜肅明典法，使清濁顯分。」堅於是推檢引掇等為國卿者，降其爵。乃下制：「非命士已上，不得乘車馬於都城百里之內。金銀錦繡，工商、皁隸、婦女不得服之，犯者棄市。」

Merchants such as Zhao Duo, Ding Fei, and Zou Feng had fortunes counted in millions; their coaches and robes aped royalty, and Fu Jian’s great lords competed to nominate them as paired ministers. Cheng Xian, a yellow-gate attendant, warned him, ‘Zhao Duo and his sort are grubby tradesmen whose equipage mimics the throne; raising them to ministerial rank corrupts morals and smirches your civilizing rule. Enforce the code so rank matches true worth. Fu Jian investigated every lord who had sponsored those merchants and cut their noble ranks. He decreed that within a hundred li of the capital no one below the commissioned-scholar grade might ride horse or carriage. Gold, silver, and figured silks are forbidden to craftsmen, bond servants, and women; violators die in the marketplace.’

興寧三年，堅又改元為建元。慕容暐遣其太宰慕容恪攻拔洛陽，略地至於崤、澠。堅懼其入關，親屯陝城以備之。

In Xingning 3 he adopted the new era name Jianyuan. Murong Wei dispatched Murong Ke, his grand preceptor, to take Luoyang and push the frontier to the Xiao and Mian river valleys. Fearing a thrust into the passes, Fu Jian marched to Shanzhou and camped there in person.

匈奴右賢王曹轂、左賢王衛辰舉兵叛，率眾二萬攻其杏城已南郡縣，屯於馬蘭山。索虜烏延等亦叛堅而通於辰、轂。堅率中外精銳以討之，以其前將軍楊安、鎮軍毛盛等為前鋒都督。轂遣弟活距戰於同官川，安大敗之，斬活並四千餘級，轂懼而降。堅徙其酋豪六千餘戶于長安。進擊烏延，斬之。鄧羌討衛辰，擒之於木根山。堅自驄馬城如朔方，巡撫夷狄，以衛辰為夏陽公以統其眾。轂尋死，分其部落，貳城已西二萬餘落封其長子璽為駱川侯，貳城已東二萬餘落封其小子寅為力川侯，故號東、西曹。

Cao Gu, Xiongnu worthy king of the right, and Wei Chen of the left rose with twenty thousand men, struck south of Xingcheng, and halted on Malan Mountain. The Soubu chief Wuyan and others likewise revolted and opened talks with Wei Chen and Cao Gu. Fu Jian took the elite of court and camp, named Yang An front general and Mao Sheng garrison general as joint vanguard commanders, and marched. Cao Gu’s brother Cao Huo blocked the Tongguan stream but Yang An shattered him, taking four thousand heads; Cao Gu capitulated in panic. He resettled over six thousand chieftain families in Chang’an. He pressed on, slew Wuyan, and scattered his horde. Deng Qiang ran Wei Chen to earth on Muggen Mountain and took him alive. Fu Jian rode from Congma City to Shuofang to overawe the tribes, then enfeoffed Wei Chen as duke of Xiayang to hold his people in check. When Cao Gu died soon after, Fu Jian split the tribe: west of Twin City he gave twenty thousand yurts to the heir Xi as Luochuan marquis, east of the city another twenty thousand to the younger Yin as Lichuan marquis—folk called them the Western and Eastern Cao.

秦、雍二州地震裂，水泉湧出，金象生毛，長安大風震電，壞屋殺人，堅懼而愈修德政焉。

Qin and Yong shook apart, wells boiled up, bronze statues sprouted fuzz, and a gale with lightning smashed Chang’an homes and lives; shaken, Fu Jian doubled down on humane rule.

使王猛、楊安等率眾二萬寇荊州北鄙諸郡，掠漢陽萬餘戶而還。羌斂岐叛堅，自稱益州刺史，率部落四千餘家西依張天錫叛將李儼。堅遣王猛與隴西太守姜衡、南安太守邵羌討斂岐于略陽。張天錫率步騎三萬擊李儼，攻其大夏、武始二郡，克之。天錫將掌據又敗儼諸軍于葵穀，儼懼，遣兄子純謝罪於堅，仍請救。尋而猛攻破略陽，斂岐奔白馬。堅遣楊安與建威王撫率眾會猛以救儼。猛遣邵羌追斂岐，使王撫守侯和，姜衡守白石。猛與楊安救枹罕，及天錫將楊遹戰於枹罕東，猛不利。邵羌擒斂岐于白馬，送之長安。天錫遂引師而歸。儼猶憑城未出，猛乃服白乘輿，從數十人，請與相見。儼開門延之，未及設備，而將士續入，遂虜儼而還。堅以其將軍彭越為平西將軍、涼州刺史，鎮枹罕。以儼為光祿勳、歸安侯。

He ordered Wang Meng and Yang An with twenty thousand men to strike Jin’s northern Jingzhou counties and drag back over ten thousand Hanyang households. The Qiang leader Lian Qi revolted, proclaimed himself governor of Yi, and shepherded four thousand families westward to Li Yan, a mutinous officer of Zhang Tianxi. Fu Jian sent Wang Meng with Jiang Heng of Longxi and Shao Qiang of Nan’an to attack Lian Qi in Lüeyang. Zhang Tianxi marched thirty thousand infantry and cavalry against Li Yan, stormed Daxia and Wushi, and seized both. Zhang Ju, serving Zhang Tianxi, crushed Li Yan’s army at Kuigu; Li Yan panicked, sent his nephew Chun to sue for pardon from Fu Jian, and pleaded for relief. Wang Meng soon stormed Lüeyang; Lian Qi bolted for Baima. Fu Jian ordered Yang An and Wang Fu, general who establishes might, to unite with Wang Meng and relieve Li Yan. Wang Meng detached Shao Qiang to hunt Lian Qi, told Wang Fu to secure Houhe, and left Jiang Heng at Baishi. Wang Meng and Yang An lifted the siege of Fuhan but east of the city lost a round to Yang Yu, Zhang Tianxi’s commander. Shao Qiang ran Lian Qi down at Baima and shipped him to the capital. Zhang Tianxi then withdrew his host. Li Yan still barred the gates, so Wang Meng rode up in an unmarked white coach with a handful of attendants and asked for a parley. Li Yan opened the gates to admit him; before defenses could be set, Wang Meng’s troops filed in, seized Li Yan, and marched away. Fu Jian appointed Peng Yue general who pacifies the west and governor of Liangzhou, based at Fuhan. Li Yan received the honorific post of supernumerary supervisor of the masters of writing and the marquisate of Gui’an.

是歲，苻雙據上邽、苻柳據蒲阪叛於堅，苻庾據陝城、苻武據安定並應之，將共伐長安。堅遣使諭之，各齧梨以為信，皆不受堅命，阻兵自守。堅遣後禁將軍楊成世、左將軍毛嵩等討雙、武，王猛、鄧羌攻蒲阪，楊安、張蠔攻陝城。成世、毛嵩為雙、武所敗，堅又遣其武衛王鑒、甯朔呂光等率中外精銳以討之，左衛苻雅、左禁竇沖率羽林騎七千繼發。雙、武乘勝至於榆眉，鑒等擊敗之，斬獲萬五千人。武棄安定，隨雙奔上邽，鑒等攻之。苻柳出挑戰，猛閉壘不應。柳以猛為憚己，留其世子良守蒲阪，率眾二萬，將攻長安。長安去蒲阪百餘里，鄧羌率勁騎七千夜襲敗之，柳引軍還，猛又盡眾邀擊，悉俘其卒，柳與數百騎入于蒲阪。鑒等攻上邽，克之，斬雙、武。猛又尋破蒲阪，斬柳及其妻子，傳首長安。猛屯蒲阪，遣鄧羌與王鑒等攻陷陝城，克之，送庾于長安，殺之。

The same year Fu Shuang seized Shanggui and Fu Liu Puban in rebellion, while Fu Yu took Shanzhou and Fu Wu Anding in concert, aiming a joint blow at Chang’an. Fu Jian sent envoys urging each kinsman to bite a pear as pledge, but every cousin defied the edict and stood siege. He dispatched Yang Chengshi, rear-garrison general, and Mao Song, left general, against Fu Shuang and Fu Wu, Wang Meng and Deng Qiang against Puban, Yang An and Zhang Hao against Shanzhou. Yang Chengshi and Mao Song lost to the rebels, so Fu Jian added Wang Jian of the martial guard and Lü Guang of Ningshuo with picked hosts, followed by Fu Ya of the left guard and Dou Chong with seven thousand palace cavalry. Fu Shuang and Fu Wu advanced as far as Yumei, where Wang Jian’s column broke them and counted fifteen thousand slain. Fu Wu quit Anding, joined Fu Shuang at Shanggui, and the loyalists invested them. Fu Liu rode out to taunt Wang Meng, who kept his walls closed. Fu Liu assumed Wang Meng was cowed, left his heir Fu Liang to guard Puban, and marched on the capital with twenty thousand. The capital stood barely a hundred li away, so Deng Qiang surprised him at night with seven thousand heavy cavalry, routed him, and when Fu Liu retreated Wang Meng threw in every man to cut him off, bagging the entire army while Fu Liu and a few hundred riders scrambled back into Puban. The siege of Shanggui succeeded; Fu Shuang and Fu Wu lost their heads. Wang Meng next stormed Puban, slew Fu Liu and his family, and forwarded the heads to court. Wang Meng camped at Puban, detached Deng Qiang and Wang Jian to seize Shanzhou, sent Fu Yu to Chang’an under guard, and had him executed.

太和四年，晉大司馬桓溫伐慕容暐，次於枋頭。暐眾屢敗，遣使乞師於堅，請割武牢以西之地。堅亦欲與暐連橫，乃遣其將苟池等率步騎二萬救暐。王師尋敗，引歸，池乃還。

Taihe 4: Jin’s grand marshal Huan Wen invaded Murong Wei and stopped at Fangtou. Murong Wei’s host kept losing; he begged Fu Jian for aid and promised the lands west of Wulao. Fu Jian meant to league with Yan and dispatched Gou Chi with twenty thousand to relieve Murong Wei. Jin’s expedition collapsed and pulled back, so Gou Chi marched home.

是時慕容垂避害奔于堅，王猛言於堅曰：「慕容垂，燕之戚屬，世雄東夏，寬仁惠下，恩結士庶，燕、趙之間咸有奉戴之意。觀其才略，權智無方，兼其諸子明毅有幹藝，人之傑也。蛟龍猛獸，非可馴之物，不如除之。」堅曰：「吾方以義致英豪，建不世之功。且其初至，吾告之至誠，今而害之，人將謂我何！」

Murong Chui, fleeing peril, had sought refuge with Fu Jian; Wang Meng warned, ‘Chui is royal blood of Yan, long the cock of the northeast, gracious to his followers, beloved from Zhao to Yan. His genius is boundless, his stratagems unpredictable, and his sons are able, resolute, and skilled—true prodigies. A dragon among men cannot be domesticated; cut him down while you can. Fu Jian answered, ‘I am winning heroes by good faith to build an everlasting realm. He has newly come under my roof and I greeted him with perfect candor—if I murdered him now, what would the world call me?’

王師既旋，慕容暐悔割武牢之地，遣使謂堅曰：「頃者割地，行人失辭。有國有家，分災救患，理之常也。」堅大怒，遣王猛輿建威梁成、鄧羌率步騎三萬，署慕容垂為冠軍將軍，以為鄉導，攻暐洛州刺史慕容築于洛陽。暐遣其將慕容臧率精卒十萬，將解築圍。猛使梁成等以精銳萬人卷甲赴之，大破臧于滎陽。築懼而請降，猛陳師以受之，留鄧羌鎮金墉，猛振旅而歸。

Once Jin retired, Murong Wei regretted his promise and wrote Fu Jian, ‘That land offer was a courier’s blunder. States bound by treaty divide trouble and lend aid—that is only decent. Enraged, Fu Jian ordered Wang Meng, Liang Cheng the general who establishes might, and Deng Qiang to march thirty thousand against Murong Zhu, governor of Luozhou for Murong Wei, at Luoyang, with Murong Chui, newly named general who crowns the army, as pathfinder. Murong Wei dispatched Murong Zang with a hundred thousand veterans to break the ring around Murong Zhu. Wang Meng told Liang Cheng to lead ten thousand elites in forced march and shattered Murong Zang at Xingyang. Murong Zhu sued for terms; Wang Meng accepted the capitulation in battle order, stationed Deng Qiang at the Jinyong fortress, and withdrew the main host.

太和五年，又遣猛率楊安、張蠔、鄧羌等十將率步騎六萬伐暐。堅親送猛於霸東，謂曰：「今授卿精兵，委以重任，便可從壺關、上黨出潞川，此捷濟之機，所謂捷雷不及掩耳。吾當躬自率眾以繼卿後，於鄴相見。已敕運漕相繼，但憂賊，不煩後慮也。」猛曰：「臣庸劣孤生，操無豪介，蒙陛下恩榮，內侍帷幄，出總戎旅，藉宗廟之靈，稟陛下神算，殘胡不足平也。願不煩鑾軫，冒犯霜露。臣雖不武，望克不淹時。但願速敕有司，部置鮮卑之所。」堅大悅。於是進師。楊安攻晉陽。猛攻壺關，執暐上党太守慕容越，所經郡縣皆降於猛，猛留屯騎校尉苟萇戍壺關。會楊安攻晉陽，為地道，遣張蠔率壯士數百人入其城中，大呼斬關，猛、安遂入晉陽，執暐并州刺史慕容莊。暐遣其太傅慕容評率眾四十餘萬以救二城，評憚猛不敢進，屯於潞川。猛留將軍毛當戍晉陽，進師與評相持。遣遊擊郭慶以銳卒五千，夜從間道出評營後，傍山起火，燒其輜重，火見鄴中。暐懼，遣使讓評，催之速戰。猛知評賣水鬻薪，有可乘之會，評又求戰，乃陣于渭原而誓眾曰：「王景略受國厚恩，任兼內外，今與諸君深入賊地，宜各勉進，不可退也。願戮力行間，以報恩顧，受爵明君之朝，慶觴父母之室，不亦美乎！」眾皆勇奮，破釜棄糧，大呼競進。猛望評師之眾也，惡之，謂鄧羌曰：「今日之事，非將軍莫可以捷。成敗之機，在斯一舉。將軍其勉之！」羌曰：「若以司隸見與者，公無以為憂。」猛曰：「此非吾之所及也。必以安定太守、萬戶侯相處。」羌不悅而退。俄而兵交，猛召之，羌寢而弗應。猛馳就許之，羌於是大飲帳中，與張蠔、徐成等跨馬運矛，馳入評軍，出入數四，旁若無人，搴旗斬將，殺傷甚眾。及日中，評眾大敗，俘斬五萬有餘，乘勝追擊，又降斬十萬，於是進師圍鄴。堅聞之，留李威輔其太子宏守長安，以苻融鎮洛陽，躬率精銳十萬向鄴。七日而至於安陽，過舊閭，引諸耆老語及祖父之事，泫然流涕，乃停信宿。猛潛至安陽迎堅，堅謂之曰：「昔亞夫不出軍迎漢文，將軍何以臨敵而棄眾也？」猛曰：「臣每覽亞夫之事，嘗謂前卻人主，以此而為名將，竊未多之。臣奉陛下神算，擊垂亡之虜，若摧枯拉朽，何足慮也！監國沖幼，鑾駕遠臨，脫有不虞，其如宗廟何！」堅遂攻鄴，陷之。慕容暐出奔高陽，堅將郭慶執而送之。堅入鄴宮，閱其名籍，幾郡百五十七，縣一千五百七十九，戶二百四十五萬八千九百六十九，口九百九十八萬七千九百三十五。諸州郡牧守及六夷渠帥盡降於堅。郭慶窮追餘燼，慕容評奔于高句麗，慶追至遼海，句麗縛評送之。堅散暐宮人珍寶以賜將士，論功封賞各有差。以王猛為使持節、都督關東六州諸軍事、車騎大將軍、開府儀同三司、冀州牧、鎮鄴；以郭慶為持節、都督幽州諸軍事、揚武將軍、幽州刺史，鎮薊。

Taihe 5: he again gave Wang Meng sixty thousand under Yang An, Zhang Hao, Deng Qiang, and ten commanders to invade Murong Wei. Fu Jian saw him off east of Ba and said, ‘I give you picked legions and full authority: strike through Huguan and Shangdang onto the Lu River—that is the chance to move faster than clapped thunder. I will bring the main army behind you and rendezvous at Ye. Grain boats are already under sail—think only of the foe, not your rear. Wang Meng replied, ‘I am a lonely nobody without heroic fiber, yet you house me at court and hand me armies; with the blessing of the temples and your own plans, these leftover barbarians will be slight work. I ask you not to risk the imperial train on frost roads. I am no warrior, yet I expect to finish the campaign quickly. Please order the ministries at once to allot camps for the surrendered Xianbei. Fu Jian was delighted. The host then marched. Yang An struck Jinyang. Wang Meng stormed Huguan, captured Murong Yue, governor of Shangdang for Murong Wei, saw every district on his route capitulate, and posted Gou Chang, encampment cavalry commandant, to hold the pass. Yang An’s siege of Jinyang used mines; Zhang Hao led hundreds through them, hacked the gates open, and Wang Meng and Yang An poured in to take Murong Zhuang, governor of Bingzhou. Murong Wei dispatched Murong Ping with four hundred thousand men to relieve the two cities; Ping shrank from Wang Meng and halted on the Lu River. Wang Meng left Mao Dang in Jinyang, moved upriver, and locked horns with Murong Ping. He sent Guo Qing with five thousand elites along a hidden trail behind Murong Ping’s camp to kindle the supply wagons; the blaze lit the sky over Ye. Murong Wei, alarmed, rebuked Murong Ping by courier and ordered a swift battle. Learning that Murong Ping peddled water and wood to his own men, Wang Meng saw weakness; when Ping offered battle, Wang arrayed his troops on the Wei River plain and vowed, ‘I have drunk deep of the dynasty’s kindness and bear burden in court and camp alike; today I march with you into the enemy’s heart—advance together, for retreat is death. I mean to sweat in the ranks for our sovereign, win titles in his bright court, and bring my parents news of honor—what joy compares?’ The soldiers roared approval, broke their kettles, shed spare grain, and surged forward. Seeing Murong Ping’s numbers, Wang Meng turned to Deng Qiang: ‘Only you can clinch this day,’ he said. All hangs on this single clash. Strike hard, general!’ Deng Qiang answered, ‘Give me the metropolitan inspectorship and trouble vanishes.’ Wang Meng said, ‘That rank is beyond my gift.’ At best I can promise you governor of Anding and a ten-thousand-household marquis.’ Deng Qiang stalked off in a sulk. When battle was joined, Wang Meng called him; Deng Qiang slept and ignored the order. Wang Meng rode to him and sealed the bargain; Deng Qiang feasted in his pavilion, then with Zhang Hao and Xu Cheng he couched his lance, split Murong Ping’s ranks four times like a wraith, plucked standards, struck down commanders, and left corpses heaped. By noon Murong Ping’s army was dust; fifty thousand fell; the pursuit scooped up another hundred thousand; Wang Meng then ringed Ye. Fu Jian left Li Wei to steady the crown prince in Chang’an, planted Fu Rong at Luoyang, and marched on Ye with a hundred thousand elites. He reached Anyang in seven days, sought out old neighbors, spoke of his grandfather’s day, wept openly, and lingered two nights. Wang Meng met him secretly at Anyang; Fu Jian chided him, ‘Yafu kept his camp closed to Han Wendi—why leave your army to greet me?’ Wang Meng replied, ‘I have never admired Yafu for snubbing his emperor to win a general’s fame. Under your plan I smite a dying foe—dry kindling, not timber—why fret?’ The boy regent cannot rule alone; if the imperial train meets mishap, what becomes of the dynasty?’ Fu Jian pressed the siege and broke Ye. Murong Wei bolted for Gaoyang; Guo Qing ran him down and delivered him. Inside the Ye palace he tallied the rolls: one hundred fifty-seven commanderies, one thousand five hundred seventy-nine counties, nearly 2.46 million households, and almost ten million people. Every provincial governor, every tribal chief of the six outer peoples, submitted to him. Guo Qing hunted down stragglers; Murong Ping fled to Goguryeo; Guo Qing reached the Liao coast, where the king bound Murong Ping and handed him over. Fu Jian parceled out Murong Wei’s concubines and hoard to his captains and graded rewards by merit. Wang Meng became credential commissioner, area commander of six eastern provinces, grand chariot and cavalry general, privilege to open an office matching the three excellencies, and Jizhou shepherd based at Ye; Guo Qing received credentials as area commander of Youzhou, general who displays might, governor of Youzhou, garrisoned at Ji.

堅自鄴如枋頭，宴諸父老，改枋頭為永昌縣，復之終世。堅至自永昌，行飲至之禮，歌勞止之詩，以饗其群臣。赦慕容暐及其王公已下，皆徙于長安，封授有差。堅於是行禮於辟雍，祀先師孔子，其太子及公侯卿大夫士之元子，皆束修釋奠焉。徙關東豪傑及諸雜夷十萬戶於關中，處烏丸雜類于馮翊、北地，丁零翟斌於新安，徙陳留、東阿萬戶以實青州。諸因亂流移，避仇遠徙，欲還舊業者，悉聽之。

From Ye he visited Fangtou, feasted the elders, renamed the town Yongchang, and remitted its taxes for a lifetime. Returning from Yongchang he held the victory libation, sang the odes of rest after toil, and banqueted his court. He spared Murong Wei and his nobles, resettled them in Chang’an, and handed out titles by rank. He offered the suburban lecture at Biyong, sacrificed to Confucius, and the crown prince with every noble heir presented stalks at the capping school. He transplanted a hundred thousand eastern notables and mixed tribes into the interior, parked Wuhuan clans in Fengyi and Beidi, placed Zhai Bin’s Dingling in Xin’an, and moved ten thousand Chenliu and Dong’e families to stock Qingzhou. Anyone uprooted by war or hiding from vendetta who wished to go home was free to do so.

晉叛臣袁瑾固守壽春，為大司馬桓溫所圍，遣使請救於堅。堅遣王鑒、張蠔率步騎二萬救之，鑒據洛澗，蠔屯八公山。桓溫遣諸將夜襲鑒、蠔，敗之，鑒、蠔屯慎城。

Yuan Jin, Jin turncoat, held Shouchun against Huan Wen and begged Fu Jian for relief. Fu Jian dispatched Wang Jian and Zhang Hao with twenty thousand men; Wang Jian blocked the Luo narrows while Zhang Hao camped on Bagong Mountain. Huan Wen’s night attack broke them, and both generals fell back to Shencheng.

初，仇池氐楊世以地降於堅，堅署為平南將軍、秦州刺史、仇池公。既而歸順于晉。世死，子纂代立，遂受天子爵命而絕於堅。世弟統驍武得眾，起兵武都，與纂分爭。堅遣其將苻雅、楊安與益州刺史王統率步騎七萬，先取仇池，進圖寧、益。雅等次於鷲陝，纂率眾五萬距雅。晉梁州刺史楊亮遣督護郭寶率騎千餘救之，戰於陝中，為雅等所敗，纂收眾奔還。雅進攻仇池，楊統帥武都之眾降於雅。纂將楊他遣子碩密降於雅，請為內應。纂懼，面縛出降。雅釋其縛，送之長安。以楊統為平遠將軍、南秦州刺史，加楊安都督，鎮仇池。

Long before, Yang Shi of Chouchi had yielded his lands and Fu Jian had named him general who pacifies the south, Qinzhou governor, and duke of Chouchi. Later he went over to Jin. Yang Shi died; Yang Zuan took his place, took Jin patents, and defied Fu Jian. Yang Tong, fierce and beloved of the army, rose in Wudu to fight Yang Zuan. Fu Jian ordered Fu Ya, Yang An, and Wang Tong, governor of Yi Province, with seventy thousand men to seize Chouchi first, then move on Ning and Yi. They halted at Eagle Defile; Yang Zuan marched fifty thousand to meet Fu Ya. Jin’s Liangzhou governor Yang Liang sent Guo Bao with a thousand riders; they lost in the gorge; Yang Zuan retreated. Fu Ya pressed Chouchi; Yang Tong brought the Wudu army over. Yang Ta, serving Zuan, sent his son Shuo to offer betrayal from within. Yang Zuan, terrified, bound his own hands and yielded. Fu Ya loosed his cords and sent him to the capital. Yang Tong became general who pacifies the distance, governor of South Qin, while Yang An gained added command and stayed to guard Chouchi.

先是，王猛獲張天錫將敦煌陰據及甲士五千，堅既東平六州，西擒楊纂，欲以德懷遠，且跨威河右，至是悉送所獲還涼州。天錫懼而遣使謝罪稱籓，堅大悅，即署天錫為使持節、散騎常侍、都督河右諸軍事、驃騎大將軍、開府儀同三司、涼州刺史、西域都護、西平公。

Wang Meng had earlier taken Yin Ju of Dunhuang and five thousand soldiers from Zhang Tianxi; once Fu Jian mastered the east and caged Yang Zuan, he wished to court the far west and overawe the Hexi corridor, so he returned every prisoner to Liangzhou. Zhang Tianxi, frightened, sued for vassalage; Fu Jian joyfully named him credential commissioner, supernumerary cavalry attendant, commander of all armies west of the River, chief bulwark general, privilege to open an office, Liangzhou governor, protector of the Western Regions, and duke of Xiping.

吐谷渾碎奚以楊纂既降，懼而遣使送馬五千匹、金銀五百斤。堅拜奚安遠將軍、漒川侯。

Tuyuhun chief Suixi, seeing Yang Zuan fall, sent five thousand horses and five hundred jin of bullion. Fu Jian named him general who pacifies the distance and marquis of Qiangchuan.

堅嘗如鄴，狩於西山，旬餘，樂而忘返。伶人王洛叩馬諫曰：「臣聞千金之子坐不垂堂，萬乘之主行不履危。故文帝馳車，袁公止轡；孝武好田，相如獻規。陛下為百姓父母，蒼生所系，何可盤于游田，以玷聖德。若禍起須臾，變在不測者，其如宗廟何！其如太后何！」堅曰：「善。昔文公悟愆于虞人，朕聞罪于王洛，吾過也。」自是遂不復獵。

Fu Jian once hunted the western hills above Ye for ten days and lost all thought of returning. Court jester Wang Luo caught his reins: ‘Heirs of great houses avoid sitting under dangling eaves; emperors do not stroll in danger,’ he said. When Han Wendi raced, Yuan ang seized the traces; when Han Wudi hunted, Sima Xiangru remonstrated. You are parent to the people; how can you idle in the chase and smirch sagely virtue?’ If mischance strikes in an instant, what becomes of the shrines?’ What becomes of the empress dowager?’ Fu Jian said, ‘Well spoken. Duke Wen owned a keeper’s rebuke; I hear my blame from Wang Luo—the fault is mine.’ He never hunted again.

堅聞桓溫廢海西公也，謂群臣曰：「溫前敗灞上，後敗枋頭，十五年間，再傾國師。六十歲公舉動如此，不能思愆免退，以謝百姓，方廢君以自悅，將如四海何！諺雲'怒其室而作色于父'者，其桓溫之謂乎！」

Learning that Huan Wen had deposed Emperor Hai, Fu Jian told his court, ‘Huan Wen lost at Bashang, then at Fangtou—twice in fifteen years he shattered Jin’s hosts. At sixty he still will not confess error and yield to the people, yet he casts out his king for sport—what will the realm say?’ The proverb runs, “Venting spleen on the wife yet glaring at the father”—that is Huan Wen!’

堅以境內旱，課百姓區種。懼歲不登，省節谷帛之費，太官、後官減常度二等，百僚之秩以次降之。復魏、晉士籍，使役有常，聞諸非正道，典學一皆禁之。堅臨太學，考學生經義，上第擢敘者八十三人。自永嘉之亂，庠序無聞，及堅之僭，頗留心儒學，王猛整齊風俗，政理稱舉，學校漸興。關、隴清晏，百姓豐樂，自長安至於諸州，皆夾路樹槐柳，二十里一亭，四十里一驛，旅行者取給於途，工商貿販於道。百姓歌之曰：「長安大街，夾樹楊槐。下走硃輪，上有鸞棲。英彥雲集，誨我萌黎。」

Drought drove him to order pit-and-mound farming across the realm. Fearing famine, he slashed palace outlays two notches and trimmed official salaries in steps. He revived scholar household rolls from Wei and Jin so corvée fell evenly, and banned every heterodox teaching outside the classics. At the Imperial Academy he tested the classics and advanced eighty-three top scholars. Since the Yongjia disaster learning had died; under Fu Jian’s rule Confucianism revived, Wang Meng disciplined morals, administration won praise, and academies spread. Guanzhong and Longyou grew calm and rich; from Chang’an to every province elms and willows shaded the highways, posts every twenty li and relays every forty, so travelers needed no pack and traders filled the roads. Folk sang, ‘Great Chang’an’s avenues are double rows of elm and willow; vermilion wheels race below, phoenixes perch above; heroes gather in clouds to teach us common folk.’

是歲，有大風從西南來，俄而晦冥，恆星皆見，又有赤星見於西南。太史令魏延言於堅曰：「于占西南國亡，明年必當平蜀漢。」堅大悅，命秦梁密嚴戎備。乃以王猛為丞相，以苻融為鎮東大將軍。代猛為冀州牧。融將發，堅祖於霸東，奏樂賦詩。堅母苟氏以融少子，甚愛之，比發，三至灞上，其夕又竊如融所，內外莫知。是夜，堅寢於前殿，魏延上言：「天市南門屏內后妃星失明，左右閽寺不見，后妃移動之象。」堅推問知之，驚曰：「天道與人何其不遠！」遂重星官。王猛至長安，加都督中外諸軍事，猛辭讓再三，堅不許。

That year a gale blew from the southwest, then the sky blackened until every star shone, and a red star flared in the southwest. Court astronomer Wei Yan said, ‘The charts say a southwestern kingdom falls; next year we will pacify Shu.’ Delighted, Fu Jian ordered Qin and Liang provinces to sharpen their arms in secret. He named Wang Meng chancellor and Fu Rong grand general guarding the east. Fu Rong took over Wang Meng’s former post as Jizhou shepherd. When Fu Rong set out, Fu Jian held a send-off east of Ba with music and verse. Lady Gou doted on her youngest Fu Rong; she escorted him thrice to Bashang, then slipped to his camp that night unseen. That night Fu Jian slept in the front palace; Wei Yan reported, ‘In the celestial market the consort stars have dimmed and their guardians vanished—a sign women of the palace will stir.’ Questioning uncovered Lady Gou’s visits; he gasped, ‘Heaven mirrors man so closely!’ He doubled the astronomy staff. Wang Meng reached Chang’an and was named area commander of all armies; he refused thrice; Fu Jian refused to hear it.

其後天鼓鳴，有彗星出於尾箕，長十餘丈，名蚩尤旗，經太微，掃東井，自夏及秋冬不滅。太史令張孟言於堅曰：「彗起尾箕，而掃東井，此燕滅秦之象。」因勸堅誅慕容暐及其子弟。堅不納，更以暐為尚書，垂為京兆尹，沖為平陽太守。苻融聞之，上疏於堅曰：「臣聞東胡在燕，歷數彌久，逮于石亂，遂據華夏，跨有六州，南面稱帝。陛下爰命六師，大舉征討，勞卒頻年，勤而後獲，非慕義懷德歸化。而今父子兄弟列官滿朝，執權履職，勢傾勞舊，陛下親而幸之。臣愚以為猛獸不可養，狼子野心。往年星異，災起于燕，願少留意，以思天戒。臣據可言之地，不容默已。《詩》曰：'兄弟急難'，'朋友好合'。昔劉向以肺腑之親，尚能極言，況於臣乎！」堅報之曰：「汝為德未充而懷是非，立善未稱而名過其實。《詩》云：'德輶如毛，人鮮克舉。 '君子處高，戒懼傾敗，可不務乎！今四海事曠，兆庶未甯，黎元應撫，夷狄應和，方將混六合以一家，同有形於赤子，汝其息之，勿懷耿介。夫天道助順，修德則禳災。苟求諸己，何懼外患焉。」

Later the sky thundered without clouds, and a comet spanned Tail and Winnowing Basket—named the Chiyou pennant—cut through the imperial enclosure, brushed the Eastern Well, and blazed from summer into winter. Zhang Meng the astrologer said, ‘That broom star rose in Tail and swept the Well—an omen that Yan will destroy Qin.’ He begged Fu Jian to kill Murong Wei and his kinsmen. Fu Jian refused; he kept Murong Wei as master of writing, named Murong Chui governor of the capital region, and Murong Chong governor of Pingyang. Fu Rong heard and memorialized: ‘The eastern Hu of Yan held their throne age after age; when the Shi clan collapsed they seized the central plain, ruled six provinces, and faced south as emperors. You mobilized the six armies and spent years at war before they yielded—not because they loved your virtue. Now Murong kinsmen pack the ministries, eclipse your old loyalists, and you dote on them as family. I say savage beasts cannot be caged; a wolf’s cub keeps wolfish hungers. The comets already warned of Yan; please heed Heaven’s hint. I hold a post that allows plain speech—I will not hold my tongue. The Odes say brothers aid each other in woe, friends bind in trust. Liu Xiang, though imperial kin, spoke bluntly—may I do less?’ Fu Jian replied, ‘Your virtue is still thin yet you judge others; your good name is still small yet rumor outruns deed. The Odes say virtue weighs light as down, yet scarce any man lifts it. The nobleman in high place fears a fall—must he not strive?’ The empire is still unsettled; I mean to unite the world and cradle every soul as an infant—lay aside your scruples. Heaven helps the upright; virtue drives off disaster. Look inward first, and foreign trouble cannot shake you.’

晉梁州刺史楊亮遣子廣襲仇池，與堅將楊安戰，廣敗績，晉沮水諸戍皆委城奔潰，亮懼而退守磬險，安遂進寇漢川。堅遣王統、硃彤率卒二萬為前鋒寇蜀，前禁將軍毛當、鷹揚將軍徐成率步騎三萬入自劍閣。楊亮率巴獠萬餘拒之，戰于青谷，王師不利，亮奔固西城。彤乘勝陷漢中，徐成又攻二劍，克之，楊安進據梓潼。晉奮威將軍、西蠻校尉周虓降於彤。揚武將軍、益州刺史周仲孫勒兵距彤等於綿竹，聞堅將毛當將至成都，仲孫率騎五千奔于南中。安、當進兵，遂陷益州。於是西南夷邛、莋、夜郎等皆歸之。堅以安為右大將軍、益州牧，鎮成都；毛當為鎮西將軍、梁州刺史，鎮漢中；姚萇為甯州刺史、領西蠻校尉；王統為南秦州刺史，鎮仇池。

Yang Liang of Liangzhou sent Yang Guang against Chouchi; he lost to Yang An; Jin’s Ju River forts collapsed; Yang Liang fled to the narrows while Yang An drove into the Han River basin. Fu Jian ordered Wang Tong and Zhu Tong with twenty thousand vanguard troops into Shu, Mao Dang and Xu Cheng with thirty thousand through Jiange. Yang Liang mustered ten thousand Ba tribesmen, lost at Green Valley, and bolted into the western citadel. Zhu Tong seized Hanzhong; Xu Cheng stormed the Twin Swords; Yang An took Zitong. Zhou Xiao, Jin’s western tribes commandant, capitulated to Zhu Tong. Zhou Zhongsun blocked Mianzhu but fled south with five thousand horse when he heard Mao Dang was nearing Chengdu. Yang An and Mao Dang pressed on and conquered Yizhou. Qiong, Zuo, Yelang, and the southwest tribes then yielded. Yang An became grand general of the right and Yizhou shepherd at Chengdu; Mao Dang became general who guards the west and Liangzhou governor at Hanzhong; Yao Chang took Ningzhou and the western tribes command; Wang Tong held South Qinzhou from Chouchi.

蜀人張育、楊光等起兵，與巴獠相應，以叛於堅。晉益州刺史竺瑤、威遠將軍桓石虔率眾三萬據墊江。育乃自號蜀王，遣使歸順，與巴獠酋帥張重、尹萬等五萬餘人進圍成都。尋而育與萬爭權，舉兵相持，堅遣鄧羌與楊安等擊敗之，育、光退屯綿竹。安又敗張重、尹萬于成都南，重死之，及首級二萬三千。鄧羌復擊張育、楊光於綿竹，皆害之。桓石虔敗姚萇于墊江，萇退據五城，石虔與竺瑤移屯巴東。

Zhang Yu and Yang Guang of Shu rose with the Ba tribes against Fu Jian. Zhu Yao and Huan Shiqian stacked thirty thousand men at Dianjiang. Zhang Yu declared himself king of Shu, sent tribute to Jin, and with fifty thousand Ba chiefs besieged Chengdu. Zhang Yu and Yin Wan quarreled; Fu Jian sent Deng Qiang and Yang An to break them; the rebels retreated to Mianzhu. Yang An crushed Zhang Zhong and Yin Wan below Chengdu, killing Zhong and twenty-three thousand. Deng Qiang ran them down at Mianzhu and slew both leaders. Huan Shiqian beat Yao Chang at Dianjiang; Yao Chang fled to Wucheng; the Jin generals moved to Badong.

時有人於堅明光殿大呼謂堅曰：「甲申乙酉，魚羊食人，悲哉無復遺。」堅命執之，俄而不見。秘書監硃彤等因請誅鮮卑，堅不從。遣使巡行四方，觀風俗，問政道，明黜陟，恤孤獨不能自存者。以安車蒲輪征隱士樂陵王歡為國子祭酒。及王猛卒，堅置聽訟觀於未央之南。禁《老》、《莊》、圖讖之學。中外四禁、二衛、四軍長上將士，皆令修學。課後宮，置典學，立內司，以授於掖庭，選閹人及女隸有聰識者署博士以授經。

A voice cried in the Bright Light Hall: ‘In the next jiashen cycle the Xianbei (fish plus sheep graph) will devour men till none remain.’ Fu Jian called for guards, but the specter vanished. Zhu Tong begged to slaughter the Murong Xianbei; Fu Jian refused. He dispatched inspectors to study customs, audit justice, rank officials, and aid the helpless. He summoned recluse Wang Huan with the scholar’s carriage to head the imperial academy. After Wang Meng’s death he built a public justice hall south of Weiyang Palace. He outlawed Daoist mystics and prophecy tracts. Palace guards and household regiments had to attend classes. He opened a harem school, named eunuchs and maids as doctors, and lectured on the classics to the women’s quarters.

遣其武衛苟萇、左將軍毛盛、中書令梁熙、步兵校尉姚萇等率騎十三萬伐張天賜于姑臧。遣尚書朗閻負、梁殊銜命軍前，下書征天錫。堅嚴飾鹵簿，親餞萇等於城西，賞行將各有差。又遣其秦州刺史苟池、河州刺史李辯、涼州刺史王統，率三州之眾以繼之。閻負等到涼州，天錫自以晉之列籓，志在保境，命斬之，遣將軍馬建出距萇等。俄而梁熙、王統等自清石津攻其將梁粲於河會城，陷之。苟萇濟自石城津，與梁熙等會攻纏縮城，又陷之。馬建懼，自楊非退還清塞。天錫又遣將軍掌據率眾三萬，與馬建陣于洪池。苟萇遣姚萇以甲卒三千挑戰，諸將勸據擊之，以挫其鋒，據不從。天錫乃率中軍三萬次金昌。萇、熙聞天錫來逼，急攻據、建，建降於萇，遂攻據，害之，及其軍司席仂。萇進軍入清塞，乘高列陣。天錫又遣司兵趙充哲為前鋒，率勁勇五萬，與萇等戰於赤岸，哲大敗。天錫懼而奔還，至箋請降。萇至姑臧，天錫乘素車白馬，面縛輿櫬，降於軍門。萇釋縛焚櫬，送之于長安，諸郡縣悉降。堅以梁熙為持節、西中郎將、涼州刺史，領護西羌校尉，鎮姑臧。徙豪右七千餘戶於關中，五品稅百姓金銀一萬三千斤以賞軍士，餘皆安堵如故。堅封天錫重光縣之東寧鄉二百戶，號歸義侯。初，萇等將征天錫，堅為其立第于長安，至是而居之。

He ordered Gou Chang, Mao Sheng, Liang Xi, and Yao Chang with thirteen thousand cavalry against Zhang Tianxi at Guzang. Yan Fu and Liang Shu carried edicts to Zhang Tianxi’s camp. Fu Jian staged full honors, feasted the generals outside the west gate, and handed out gifts. Gou Chi, Li Bian, and Wang Tong followed with three provincial armies. Zhang Tianxi, still viewing himself as Jin’s vassal, executed the envoys and sent Ma Jian against Gou Chang. Liang Xi and Wang Tong crossed Clearstone Ford, stormed Hehui, and crushed Liang Can. Gou Chang crossed Stonecity Ford, united with Liang Xi, and seized Chansuo. Ma Jian retreated from Yangfei toward Qing Pass. Zhang Tianxi added Zhang Ju with thirty thousand beside Ma Jian at Hong Pool. Gou Chang taunted with three thousand under Yao Chang; officers begged Zhang Ju to sally; he refused. Zhang Tianxi brought thirty thousand guards to Jinchang. Gou Chang and Liang Xi, hearing Zhang Tianxi approach, crushed Zhang Ju and Ma Jian; Ma Jian yielded; Zhang Ju and his director Xi Le died. Gou Chang entered Qing Pass and formed ranks on the heights. Zhao Chongzhe’s fifty thousand met Gou Chang at Red Bank and were shattered. Zhang Tianxi bolted homeward and offered surrender by memorial. At Guzang Zhang Tianxi came in white cart and horses, hands bound, coffin on shoulder. Gou Chang freed him, burned the bier, sent him to Chang’an, and every district yielded. Fu Jian named Liang Xi credentialled west central general, Liangzhou governor, Qiang commandant, based at Guzang. He relocated seven thousand notables inland, taxed commoners thirteen thousand jin of bullion to pay the army, and left others at peace. Zhang Tianxi received two hundred households at Dongning and the title marquis of returning righteousness. Fu Jian had already built Zhang Tianxi a mansion in Chang’an; the king of Liang now moved in.

堅既平涼州，又遣其安北將軍、幽州刺史苻洛為北討大都督，率幽州兵十萬討代王涉翼犍。又遣後將軍俱難與鄧羌等率步騎二十萬東出和龍，西出上郡，與洛會於涉翼犍庭。翼犍戰敗，遁于弱水。苻洛逐之，勢窘迫，退還陰山。其子翼圭縛父請降，洛等振旅而還，封賞有差。堅以翼犍荒俗，未參仁義，令入太學習禮。以翼圭執父不孝，遷之於蜀。散其部落于漢鄣邊故地，立尉、監行事，官僚領押，課之治業營生，三五取丁，優復三年無稅租。其渠帥歲終令朝獻，出入行來為之制限。堅嘗之太學，召涉翼犍問曰：「中國以學養性，而人壽考，漠北啖牛羊而人不壽，何也？」翼犍不能答。又問：「卿種人有堪將者，可召為國家用。」對曰：「漠北人能捕六畜，善馳走，逐水草而已，何堪為將！」又問：「好學否？」對曰：「若不好學，陛下用教臣何為？」堅善其答。

With Liangzhou quiet, he sent Fu Luo, general who pacifies the north and Youzhou governor, at the head of one hundred thousand northern troops against Dai King Tuoba Shiyijian. Ju Nan, Deng Qiang, and two hundred thousand men marched from Helong and Shangjun to meet Fu Luo at the Dai court. Tuoba Shiyijian lost and fled toward the Ruo River. Fu Luo harried him back to the Yinshan range. His son Tuoba Yigui bound him and yielded; Fu Luo marched home and handed out rewards. Fu Jian sent Tuoba Shiyijian to the academy to learn rites, calling him still a savage. He exiled Tuoba Yigui to Shu for binding his father. He parceled the tribe along the Han frontier posts, posted overseers, taught them farming, took one conscript per three or five males, and remitted taxes three years. Chiefs had to offer annual tribute and travel passes. At the academy Fu Jian asked Tuoba Shiyijian why Chinese scholars lived long while steppe nomads on meat did not. The khan had no reply. He asked whether any tribesman could lead troops. Tuoba Shiyijian said they could herd and ride, nothing more. Fu Jian asked if they loved books. The khan shot back, ‘If we hated books, why did you enroll me?’ Fu Jian laughed and praised the retort.

堅以關中水旱不時，議依鄭白故事，發其王侯已下及豪望富室僮隸三萬人，開涇水上源，鑿山起堤，通渠引瀆，以溉岡鹵之田。及春而成，百姓賴其利。以涼州新附，復租賦一年。為父後者賜爵一級，孝悌力田爵二級，孤寡高年穀帛有差，女子百戶牛酒，大酺三日。

When Guanzhong suffered erratic flood and drought, he drafted thirty thousand laborers from nobles to rich estates to reopen the Zheng-Bai canals, tunnel mountains, lift dikes, and flush the briny uplands. The work ended with spring and the farmers prospered. New Liangzhou owed no taxes for a year. He raised ranks for heirs, doubled ranks for filial farmers, fed the aged, feasted every hundred women’s households with ox and wine, and ordered three days of public drinking.

遣其尚書令苻丕率司馬慕容暐、苟萇等步騎七萬寇襄陽。使楊安將樊鄧之眾為前鋒，屯騎校尉石越率精騎一萬出魯陽關，募容垂與姚萇出自南鄉，苟池等與強駑王顯將勁卒四萬從武當繼進，大會漢陽。師次沔北，晉南中郎將硃序以丕軍無舟楫，不以為虞，石越遂游馬以渡。序大懼，固守中城。越攻陷外郛，獲船百餘艘以濟軍。丕率諸將進攻中城，遣苟池、石越、毛當以眾五萬屯於江陵。晉車騎將軍桓沖擁眾七萬為序聲援，憚池等不進，保據上明。兗州刺史彭超遣使上言於堅曰：「晉沛郡太守戴逯以卒數千戍彭城，臣請率精銳五萬攻之，願更遣重將討淮南諸城。」堅於是又遣其後將軍俱難率右將軍毛當、後禁毛盛、陵江邵保等步騎七萬寇淮陰、盱眙。揚武彭超寇鼓城。梁州刺史韋鐘寇魏興，攻太守吉挹于西城。晉將軍毛武生率眾五萬距之，與俱難等相持於淮南。

His chief minister Fu Pi, with Murong Wei as marshal, Gou Chang, and seventy thousand men, marched on Xiangyang. Yang An led Fan-Deng troops; Shi Yue took ten thousand cavalry through Luyang; Murong Chui and Yao Chang exited Nanxiang; Gou Chi and Wang Xian’s crossbow corps forty thousand marched from Wudang to join at Hanyang. North of the Han, Zhu Xu ignored Fu Pi for lack of boats until Shi Yue swam his cavalry across. Zhu Xu panicked and locked the inner town. Shi Yue seized the outer wall, took a hundred boats, and ferried the host. Fu Pi stormed the inner city while Gou Chi, Shi Yue, and Mao Dang camped fifty thousand at Jiangling. Huan Chong’s seventy thousand relief force halted at Shangming, afraid of Gou Chi. Peng Chao proposed fifty thousand to take Pengcheng from Dai Luo and asked for a second column for Huainan. Fu Jian added Ju Nan, Mao Dang, Mao Sheng, and Shao Bao with seventy thousand against Huaiyin and Xuyi. Peng Chao struck Gucheng. Wei Zhong besieged Ji Yi in western Weixing. Mao Wusheng’s fifty thousand tied down Ju Nan in Huainan.

先是，梁熙遣使西域，稱揚堅之威德，並以繒彩賜諸國王，於是朝獻者十有餘國。大宛獻天馬千里駒，皆汗血、硃鬣、五色、鳳膺、麟身，及諸珍異五百餘種。堅曰：「吾思漢文之返千里馬，咨嗟美詠。今所獻馬，其悉反之，庶克念前王，仿佛古人矣。」乃命群臣作《止馬詩》而遣之，示無欲也。其下以為盛德之事，遠同漢文，於是獻詩者四百餘人。

Liang Xi’s missions to the Western Regions with silk gifts brought a dozen kingdoms to tribute. Ferghana sent blood-sweating steeds—vermilion manes, five hues, phoenix chests, unicorn flanks—plus five hundred curiosities. Fu Jian mused, ‘Han Wendi refused the Ferghana horse—how I admire him. Send these steeds home so I may walk in those ancient footsteps.’ He bade his court compose “Halt the Steeds” and returned every horse to show he coveted nothing. Courtiers hailed it as equal to Han Wendi’s restraint; four hundred poets offered verses.

是時苻丕久圍襄陽，御史中丞李柔劾丕以師老無功，請征下廷尉。堅曰：「丕等費廣無成，實宜貶戮。但師已淹時，不可虛然中返，其特原之，令以功成贖罪。」因遣其黃門郎韋華持節切讓丕等，仍賜以劍，曰：「來春不捷者，汝可自裁，不足復持面見吾也。」初，丕之寇襄陽也，將急攻之，苟萇諫曰：「今以十倍之眾，積粟如山，但掠徙荊、楚之人內于許、洛，絕其糧運，使外援不接，糧盡無人，不攻自潰，何為促攻以傷將士之命？」丕從之。及堅讓至，眾咸疑懼，莫知所為。征南主簿河東王施進曰：「以大將軍英秀，諸將勇銳，以攻小城，何異洪爐燎羽毛。所以緩攻，欲以計制之。若決一旦之機，可指日而定。今破襄陽，上明自遁，復何所疑！願請一旬之期，以展三軍之勢。如其不捷，施請為戮首。」丕於是促圍攻之。堅將親率眾助丕等，使苻融將關東甲卒會于壽春，梁熙統河西之眾以繼中軍。融、熙並上言，以為未可興師，乃止。

While Fu Pi stalled at Xiangyang, Li Rou impeached him for wasting the army without gain. Fu Jian said, ‘Fu Pi has squandered treasure for nothing—he deserves death. But the siege has lasted too long to lift empty-handed; I forgive them once, provided victory redeems all.’ He sent Wei Hua with rods of office to scold Fu Pi and gift swords: ‘If spring finds no victory, fall on those blades—do not shame me with your faces again.’ When the siege began, Gou Chang had urged starvation tactics instead of storming. Fu Pi had listened then. Fu Jian’s ultimatum left the army panicked. Wang Shi argued, ‘A great commander and sharp captains roasting a tiny citadel is like a furnace singeing a down feather. The slow siege was always strategy, not weakness. Strike now and the city falls within days. Break Xiangyang and Shangming flees—why hesitate?’ Give the army ten days to show its strength. If we fail, take my head first.’ Fu Pi tightened the ring and stormed the walls. Fu Jian meant to march east himself, Fu Rong to gather Guandong troops at Shouzhou, Liang Xi to bring the west. Fu Rong and Liang Xi begged him to stay his hand, and he relented.

太元四年，晉兗州刺史謝玄率眾數萬次於泗汭，將救彭城。苻丕陷襄陽，執南中郎將硃序，送于長安，堅署為度支尚書。以其中壘梁成為南中郎將、都督荊、揚州諸軍事、荊州刺史，領護南蠻校尉，配兵一萬鎮襄陽，以征南府器杖給之。彭超圍彭城也，置輜重於留城。至是，晉將謝玄遣將軍何謙之、高衡率眾萬餘，聲趣留城，超引軍赴之。戴逯率彭城之眾奔于謝玄，超留其治中徐褒守彭城而復寇盱眙。俱難既陷淮陰，留邵保戍之，與超會師而南。晉將毛武生救魏興，遣前鋒督護趙福、將軍袁虞等將水軍一萬，溯江而上。堅南巴校尉姜宇遣將張紹、仇生等水陸五千距之，戰于南縣，王師敗績。尋而韋鐘攻陷魏興，執太守吉挹。毛當與王顯自襄陽而東，會攻淮南。彭超陷盱眙，獲晉建威將軍、高密內史毛璪之，遂攻晉幽州刺史田洛于三阿，去廣陵百里，京都大震，臨江列戍。孝武帝遣征虜將軍謝石率水軍次於塗中，右衛將軍毛安之、遊擊將軍河間王曇之次於堂邑，謝玄自廣陵救三阿。毛當、毛盛馳襲安之，王師敗績。玄率眾三萬次於白馬塘，俱難遣其將都顏率騎逆玄，戰於塘西，玄大敗之，斬顏。玄進兵至三阿，與難、超戰，超等又敗，退保盱眙。玄進次石梁，與田洛攻盱眙，難、超出戰，復敗，退屯淮陰。玄遣將軍何謙之、督護諸葛侃率舟師乘潮而上，焚淮橋，又與難等合戰，謙之斬其將邵保，難、超退師淮北。難歸罪彭超，斬其司馬柳渾。堅聞之，大怒，檻車征超下獄，超自殺，難免為庶人。

Taiyuan 4: Xie Xuan camped at the Si mouth to save Pengcheng. Fu Pi broke Xiangyang, captured Zhu Xu, and Fu Jian named him minister of finance. Liang Cheng took Jingzhou with ten thousand men and the southern expedition’s arsenals. Peng Chao stacked supplies at Liucheng. Xie Xuan feinted at Liucheng; Peng Chao marched to intercept. Dai Luo bolted to Xie Xuan; Peng Chao left Xu Bao and struck Xuyi. Ju Nan garrisoned Huaiyin with Shao Bao and united with Peng Chao. Mao Wusheng sent ten thousand sailors upriver toward Weixing. Jiang Yu’s five thousand met them at Nan county and crushed the Jin flotilla. Wei Zhong then took Weixing and captured Ji Yi. Mao Dang and Wang Xian swept east from Xiangyang into Huainan. Peng Chao seized Xuyi, captured Mao Zunzhi, and besieged Tian Luo at San’a within a hundred li of the capital, throwing Jiankang into panic. The Jin court rushed Xie Shi, Mao Anzhi, Wang Tanzhi, and Xie Xuan toward the threat. Mao Dang and Mao Sheng shattered Mao Anzhi. Xie Xuan killed Du Yan at White Horse Pond. At San’a he beat Ju Nan and Peng Chao, who fled to Xuyi. They pressed Xuyi again and drove the Qin host to Huaiyin. He Qianzhi burned the Huai bridge, slew Shao Bao, and forced Ju Nan north of the river. Ju Nan executed Peng Chao’s major Liu Hun to shift blame. Fu Jian caged Peng Chao, who killed himself, and stripped Ju Nan of rank.

堅以毛當為平南將軍、徐州刺史，鎮彭城；毛盛為平東將軍、兗州刺史，鎮胡陸；王顯為平吳校尉、揚州刺史，戍下邳：賞堂邑之功也。又以苻洛為散騎常侍、持節、都督益、甯、西南夷諸軍事、征南大將軍、益州牧，領護西夷校尉，鎮成都，命從伊闕自襄陽溯漢而上。洛，健之兄子也。雄勇多力，而猛氣絕人、堅深忌之，故常為邊牧。洛有征伐之功而未賞，及是遷也，恚怒，謀於眾曰：「孤於帝室，至親也，主上不能以將相任孤，常擯孤於外，既投之西裔，復不聽過京師，此必有伏計，令梁成沈孤于漢水矣。為宜束手就命，為追晉陽之事以匡社稷邪？諸君意如何？」其治中平顏妄陳祥瑞，勸洛舉兵。洛因攘袂大言曰：「孤計決矣，沮謀者斬！」於是自稱大將軍、大都督、秦王，署置官司，以平顏輔國將軍、幽州刺史，為其謀主。分遣使者徵兵于鮮卑、烏丸、高句麗、百濟及薛羅、休忍等諸國，並不從。洛懼而欲止，平顏曰：「且宜聲言受詔，盡幽、并之兵出自中山、常山，陽平公必郊迎于路，因而執之，進據冀州，總關東之眾以圖秦、雍，可使百姓不覺易主而大業定矣。」洛從之，乃率眾七萬發和龍，將圖長安。於是關中騷動，盜賊並起。堅遣使數之曰：「天下未一家，兄弟匪他，何為而反？可還和龍，當以幽州永為世封。」洛謂使者曰：「汝還白東海王，幽州褊厄，不足容萬乘，須還王咸陽，以承高祖之業。若能候駕潼關者，位為上公，爵歸本國。」堅大怒，遣其左將軍竇沖及呂光率步騎四萬討之，右將軍都貴馳傳詣鄴，率冀州兵三萬為前鋒，以苻融為大都督，授之節度。使石越率騎一萬，自東萊出石徑，襲和龍，海行四百餘里。苻重亦盡薊城之眾會洛，次於中山，有眾十萬。沖等與洛戰於中山，大敗之，執洛及其將蘭殊，送于長安。呂光追斬苻重于幽州，石越克和龍，斬平顏及其党與百餘人。堅赦蘭殊，署為將軍，徙洛於涼州，征苻融為車騎大將軍、領宗正、錄尚書事。

Mao Dang became Xu governor at Pengcheng; Mao Sheng took Yanzhou at Hulu; Wang Xian held Yangzhou at Xiapi for the Tangyi victory; he reassigned Fu Luo to Chengdu via the Han valley. Fu Luo was Fu Jiàn’s nephew. Berserker-strong and volcanic, he frightened Fu Jian, who kept him on the frontier. Fu Luo fumed that his victories went unrewarded while this posting to Shu looked like Fu Jian’s plot to drown him. Do I submit—or do I replay the Jinyang coup for the realm?’ What say you all?’ Aide Ping Yan invented omens and urged revolt. Fu Luo roared, ‘The die is cast—counsel stops at the sword!’ He proclaimed himself Prince of Qin, named Ping Yan his strategist, and raised the standard. Calls to Xianbei, Wuhuan, Korea, and islands brought no allies. Ping Yan talked him back: pretend obedience, march You and Bing through Zhongshan, kidnap Fu Rong at the parley, seize Jizhou, and march west. Fu Luo marched seventy thousand from Helong toward the capital. Guanzhong erupted in alarm. Fu Jian demanded, ‘The empire is still divided; we are kin—why treason?’ Return to Youzhou and keep it forever.’ Fu Luo answered, ‘Tell the Prince of the Eastern Sea: Youzhou is too small; I mean to take Xianyang and the throne. Meet me at Tong Pass as highest duke or lose all.’ Fu Jian sent Dou Chong, Lü Guang, Du Gui, and Fu Rong with converging columns. Shi Yue sailed four hundred li to strike Helong. Fu Zhong brought the Ji host to Zhongshan—one hundred thousand. Dou Chong broke him at Zhongshan, took Fu Luo and Lan Shu. Lü Guang slew Fu Zhong; Shi Yue took Helong and executed Ping Yan. Fu Jian spared Lan Shu, exiled Fu Luo west, and recalled Fu Rong to court rank.

洛既平，堅以關東地廣人殷，思所以鎮靜之，引其群臣於東堂議曰：「凡我族類，支胤彌繁，今欲分三原、九嵕、武都、汧、雍十五萬戶于諸方要鎮，不忘舊德，為磐石之宗，于諸君之意如何？」皆曰：「此有周所以祚隆八百，社稷之利也。」於是分四帥子弟三千戶，以配苻丕鎮鄴，如世封諸侯，為新券主。堅送丕於灞上，流涕而別。諸戎子弟離其父兄者，皆悲號哀慟，酸感行人，識者以為喪亂流離之象。於是分幽州置平州，以石越為平州刺史，領護鮮卑中郎將，鎮龍城；大鴻臚韓胤領護赤沙中郎將，移烏丸府於代郡之平城；中書令梁讜為安遠將軍、幽州刺史，鎮薊城；毛興為鎮西將軍、河州刺史，鎮枹罕；王騰為鷹揚將軍、并州刺史，領護匈奴中郎將，鎮晉陽；二州各配支戶三千；苻暉為鎮東大將軍、豫州牧，鎮洛陽；苻睿為安東將軍、雍州刺史，鎮蒲阪。

With the east quiet, Fu Jian proposed scattering a hundred fifty thousand Di households from the heartland to frontier keys as royal anchors. They answered, ‘Zhou lasted eight hundred years by such resettlement.’ Four clans sent three thousand families each to Fu Pi at Ye as hereditary hosts. Fu Jian wept at Bashang seeing Fu Pi off. Tribal youths torn from kin wailed along the road—a sign of doom, wise men said. He carved out Pingzhou for Shi Yue at Longcheng; Han Yin moved the Wuhuan office to Pingcheng; Liang Dan guarded Ji; Mao Xing held Fuhan; Wang Teng took Jinyang; each got three thousand satellite households; Fu Hui held Luoyang; Fu Rui guarded Puban.

先是，高陸人穿井得龜，大三尺，背有八卦文，堅命太卜池養之，食以粟，及此而死，藏其骨於太廟。其夜廟丞高虜夢龜謂之曰：「我本出將歸江南，遭時不遇，隕命秦庭。」又有人夢中謂虜曰：「龜三千六百歲而終，終必妖興，亡國之征也。」

A giant trigram tortoise from a Gaolu well died and was shelved in the state temple. Gao Lu dreamed the turtle said it meant to flee south but perished in Qin. Another dream warned that a three-thousand-six-hundred-year tortoise foretells a fallen kingdom.

堅自平諸國之後，國內殷實，遂示人以侈，懸珠簾於正殿，以朝群臣，宮宇車乘，器物服御，悉以珠璣、琅玕、奇寶、珍怪飾之。尚書郎裴元略諫曰：「臣聞堯、舜茅茨，周卑宮室，故致和平，慶隆八百。始皇窮極奢麗，嗣不及孫。願陛下則采椽之不琢，鄙瓊室而不居，敷純風於天下，流休范於無窮，賤金玉，珍穀帛，勤恤人隱，勸課農桑，捐無用之器，棄難得之貨，敦至道以厲薄俗，修文德以懷遠人。然後一軌九州，同風天下，刑措既登，告成東嶽，蹤軒皇以齊美，哂二漢之徙封，臣之願也。」堅大悅，命去珠簾，以元略為諫議大夫。

Flush with conquest, Fu Jian draped his court in pearls and gems. Pei Yuanlüe cited Yao, Shun, and Zhou’s frugality. Qin Shihuang’s excess ended before the third generation. He begged Fu Jian to shun jewels, aid farmers, and rule by virtue. Thus you would match the Yellow Emperor and shame Han’s petty kings—so runs my prayer.’ Fu Jian tore down the pearl curtains and raised Pei Yuanlüe to remonstrant-in-chief.

鄯善王、車師前部王來朝，大宛獻汗血馬，肅慎貢楛矢，天竺獻火浣布，康居、于闐及海東諸國，凡六十有二王，皆遣使貢其方物。

Sixty-two kingdoms from Ferghana to Korea sent tribute—horses, stone-washed cloth, mulberry shafts.

初，堅母少寡，將軍李威有辟陽之寵，史官載之。至是，堅收起居注及著作所錄而觀之，見其事，慚怒，乃焚其書，大檢史官，將加其罪。著作郎趙泉、車敬等已死，乃止。

The annals had recorded Lady Gou’s intimacy with general Li Wei. Fu Jian read the palace diary, burned the pages, and meant to punish the historians. The chief compilers were dead, so he dropped the matter.

荊州刺史都貴遣其司馬閻振、中兵參軍吳仲等率眾二萬寇竟陵，留輜重于管城，水陸輕進。桓沖遣南平太守桓石虔、竟陵太守郭銓等水陸二萬距之，相持月餘，戰于滶水。振等大敗，退保管城。石虔乘勝攻破之，斬振及仲，俘斬萬七千。

Du Gui struck Jingling with twenty thousand, baggage at Guancheng. Huan Chong’s twenty thousand met them at the Bao River. Yan Zhen fled to Guancheng. Huan Shiqian stormed Guancheng, slew Yan Zhen and Wu Zhong, and counted seventeen thousand heads.

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