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卷十四 本紀第十四: 順宗 憲宗上

Volume 14 Annals 14: Shunzong, Xianzong 1

Chapter 14 of 舊唐書 · Old Book of Tang
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Chapter 14
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1
Shunzong, the Filial Emperor Song, was Dezong's eldest son; his mother was Empress Zhaode Wang. He was born in the eastern palace quarter of Chang'an in Shangyuan 2. In Dali 14 he received the title Prince of Xuan. He became crown prince on dingmao in the first month of Jianzhong 1.
2
殿
Dezong died on guisi; three days later Shunzong ascended at the Hall of Supreme Ultimate. Since Zhenyuan 20 he had been speechless from a stroke; when Dezong lay dying, he alone could not attend the sickbed. On his deathbed Dezong wept to see the crown prince he could not summon. The court trembled when the imperial mourning was proclaimed. He dragged himself into mourning dress to receive officials at the Nine Immortals Gate. His accession assured the realm that the throne was filled, and fear eased. On gengzi the bureaucracy petitioned him to take up rule.
3
使 綿 使使
The second month opened on xinchou. Yuan Shao became Heyang-Huai commissioner on jiashen. Forty-two court fortune-tellers and hangers-on were cut on bingwu. Zhang Maozhao received a concurrent premiership as reward for his visit. Venus crossed the Pleiades that night. Wei Zhiyi entered the council on xinmao. Li Shi, exiled to Tongzhou, died shortly after on xinyou. Li Shigu attacked Hua's border on renzi, exploiting the mourning. Sixteen men long held in the inner guard were freed on jiayin. They had been captured when the Pingliang treaty party was seized by Tibet. Knowing Tibetan secrets, they had been kept in the palace guard until this release. A Japanese king and queen were likewise sent home to Tibet with gifts. Wang Pi joined the Hanlin on renyin. Wang Shuwen entered the Hanlin as diary attendant. Wang Quan became capital intendant. A general amnesty was proclaimed from Danfeng Tower on jiazi. The edict banned circuit monopoly taxes beyond the statutory rates; and barred extra tribute presentations. Nonagenarians received grain, silk, and honorary titles, with local officials sent to inquire after them; centenarians received richer gifts and higher honorary ranks. The Silla king received added titles and his kin were ennobled on wuchen.
4
使 使 使
In the third month hundreds of palace women and musicians were released to their families. Wei Gao and two warlords received honorary grand titles on wuyin. Zhang Maozhao became Minister of Education. Du You took the fiscal commission on bingxu. Xuzhou's army was renamed Wuning on wuzi. Wu Shao-cheng of Cai received a concurrent premiership. Wang Shuwen took the transport vice-commission. Du You was nominal head; Wang Shuwen ran fiscal policy. A round of ministerial and honorary appointments followed for court and frontier leaders. Prince Chun of Guangling became heir apparent as Chun on guisi.
5
絿 西 使
Two imperial brothers were enfeoffed in the fourth month. Prince Huan of Jiankang became Prince of Tan as Jing; Mian of Yangchuan became Prince of Jun as Wei; Xun of Linhuai became Prince of Yi as Zong; Mei of Hongnong became Prince of Ju as Shu; Yong of Handong became Prince of Mi as Chou; Di of Jinling became Prince of Xun as Zong; Su of Gaoping became Prince of Shao as Yue; Zi of Yun'an became Prince of Song as Jie; Huai of Xuancheng became Prince of Ji as Xiang; Xu of Deyang became Prince of Ji as Gui; Yi of Hedong became Prince of He as Qi. A batch of younger princes and a Michin heir received titles. Sheng's son Yuan inherited the Qi dukedom with three thousand households. Capital prisoners were partially pardoned after the heir's enthronement rites on wushen. Lu Zhi and Cui Shu became tutors to the crown prince. Six of the heir's sons became commandery princes on gengxu. Zhang Jian was posthumously honored on guichou. The Wan'an imperial pasture was shut on bingyin. Han Gao entered the central administration on wuchen.
6
西使 使使 使 使
Fan Xichao took command of the Shence armies in the fifth month. Wei Dan and Fang Qi received southern posts on dingchou. Zheng Yuqing became left vice director on guiwei. The Parhae king was promoted on jiachen. Several palace ladies received new rank titles. Han Gao left the capital for the E-Yue command. Xiangyang became a great metropolitan prefecture on dinghai. Linhan county seat was relocated to Dengcheng. Wang Shuwen became vice minister of revenue on xinmao.
7
使 使 使使 使 殿西
Over half a million units of back taxes were forgiven on bingshen. A Tibetan envoy presented tribute at the seventh-month audience. Li Shigu received an honorary palace title on bingzi. Lu Zhi was posthumously honored as Vice Minister of War with the posthumous name Xuan; Yang Cheng was posthumously made Left Regular Cavalry Attendant. Pan Mengyang joined the fiscal commission on wuyin. Locusts ravaged eastern crops on bingxu. Cheng Huaixin died; his son Zhigong inherited the Transocean command on guisi. Du You reported huge old grain stores that troops refused to eat on jiawu. He proposed halting northern transport and local purchase to ease rural distress. Officials split on the plan and it died in debate. An edict on yiwei opened with the emperor's sense of unworthy burden: he confessed weak virtue and fear of failing the throne. He spoke of dreading to disappoint ancestors and ministers alike. Chronic illness, he said, left no strength for rule. He feared the realm's business could not wait on his recovery. Impending burial and floods moved him to heed Heaven's warning. He entrusted all state affairs to the crown prince. Thus ended the edict. The sick emperor had ceased to meet his chief ministers. Li Zhongyan, Wang Pi, and Wang Shuwen decided everything. Court opinion condemned the arrangement as unworkable. Provincial armies blamed eunuch meddling and forced the transfer edict. Du Huangchang and Yuan Zi entered the council on yisi; Zheng Qionyu and Gao Ying left the council. The heir held court for the bureaucracy. On bingshen he heard petitions at Linde's west pavilion.
8
殿 使
The eighth month opened on dingyou. On gengzi an abdication edict invoked Heaven's mandate on the Tang line: the emperor confessed illness and inability to sustain rule alone. He asked how he could sacrifice while still gravely ill. He professed shame before Heaven and the ministers. He spoke of sleepless dread for the realm's future. The throne could not stay empty, he said; nor could the mandate wait on his recovery. He praised Prince Chun's virtue as fit for rule. He would abdicate by the ancient public transfer of the vessel. Chun, he vowed, would restore Tang glory and pacify the realm. He ordered Chun enthroned and himself retired to Xingqing as Taishang Huang. Thus ended the edict. On xinchou a proclamation framed abdication as ancient custom: it cast the transfer as supreme public duty. Illness, he said, had left government in disarray. Chun's enthronement was set for the ninth at Xuanzheng Hall. A new reign would bring a general pardon. The era name became Yongzhen. Capital crimes were commuted in the abdication amnesty. Thus ended the proclamation. Wang and Dong received retired-harem ranks. Wang Pi and Wang Shuwen were exiled on renyin.
9
殿
Xianzong offered his father the honorific Responding to Heaven, Sagely Longevity. Shunzong died at forty-six in Xingqing Palace on jiashen. In the sixth month the court fixed Shunzong's posthumous name and temple title. He was buried at Fengling in the seventh month.
10
【Historian's appraisal】 Han Yu wrote that as heir Shunzong cultivated the arts and excelled at clerical script. Dezong had him copy every poem sent to ministers and generals. He was gentle but firm and ceremoniously honored his tutors. At Fengtian he fought on the walls and roused the guards against Zhu Ci. Late in Dezong's reign chancellors held little real power. He alone spoke against favorites who ruined Lu Zhi and blocked their rise to the council. Once at Fish-Algae Palace he attended a banquet. When Dezong reveled at water games, the heir quoted the Odes on restraint. In audience he never showed eunuchs a compliant face. Twenty years as heir, the empire quietly benefited from him. Alas, sickness at accession let intimates seize power; yet he passed the throne to a worthy son and saved the dynasty — how worthy a ruler! Xianzong, the Filial Emperor Chun, was Shunzong's eldest son; his mother was Empress Zhuangxian. He was born in Chang'an's eastern palace in Dali 13. At six or seven Dezong set him on his knee and asked whose child he was. He answered, "The third Son of Heaven." Dezong was struck and fond of the boy. He became Prince of Guangling in Zhenyuan 4. He was made crown prince in Shunzong's fourth month. In the seventh month he was regent for state affairs.
11
殿 使 西使 使使 西西使
He received the inner abdication at the eighth-month new moon. He ascended at Xuanzheng Hall on yisi. Rain had drenched the capital for months; his accession day dawned clear, to popular joy. He refused fifteen women from Princess Shengping, citing his father's example: Send them back to the Guo family. Thus ended the edict. On dingwei he held his first audience at Zichen Hall. Lu Nu became Yongguan commissioner on jiyou. On gengxu he rejected tortoise omens, declaring he valued men over prodigies: Auspicious grain and beasts were empty pageantry, he said. He cited Guangwu and the Spring and Autumn to shun flattery by omens. Hereafter omens were to be filed with local offices only, not announced to the throne; and exotic animals were barred from court. Thus ended the edict. Wei Gao, the great western commander, died on guichou. Mu Zan and Cui Yan changed Huai-nan posts on jiayin. Yuan Zi was sent west because Liu Pi seized Sichuan after Wei Gao's death. Lady Wang was made retired empress by proclamation on xinyou. Zheng Yuqing entered the council on guihai. Li Jifu and Tang Ci became personnel directors on bingyin. Both also drafted imperial prose.
12
使 使 西
The ninth month opened on dingmao. Court musicians lost the right to regular civil rank on jisi. Yuan Shao of Heyang died on xinwei. Meng Yuanyang succeeded the Heyang command on guiyou. Drought relief grain was allotted to central circuits on bingzi. Cai Bian died on dingchou. Yu Di's hawk tribute was sent back. Four Wang Shuwen allies were exiled to prefectures on jimao. Lu Zhi died on xinsi.
13
使西使西 使 使 使 使 使 西使 使 使西使使 使
The tenth month opened on bingshen. Court mourning for Empress Shen began outside Suzhang Gate on dingyou. Grand Councillor Jia Dan died. Yuan Zi took Sichuan; Liu Pi was promoted on wuxu. Prince Yi of Shu died. A Nanzhao envoy came for the imperial funeral on gengzi. Jia Quan, Zhedong observer, died. Tibet sent funeral gifts on xinchou. Shen received the posthumous title Empress Ruizhen. Yang Yuling went to Zhedong on bingwu. Two counties were renamed on dingwei. Dezong was buried at Chongling on yiyou. Gao Ying and Li Yong took western posts on jiayin. Wang Quan was demoted from the capital magistracy. The court sold reserve salt cheaply after prolonged rain inflated prices. Ruizhen and Dezong entered the ancestral temple on yisi. Wei Zhiyi was exiled to Yazhou on renshen for the Shuwen faction. Drought struck the lower Yangzi region. Yuan Zi was punished for stalling against Liu Pi. Li Yan and Wu Yuanheng received frontier and censor posts. Eight Shuwen allies were demoted again from prefect to staff officer on jimao. Public outcry forced a harsher second exile. Seven more circuits reported drought on xinsi. Zheng Qionyu died on renwu. Yang Ping and Xue Pin changed southern commands on jiashen. More drought in the middle Yangzi. Mu Zan died on guisi.
14
西西使 西 使使 殿
The twelfth month opened on bingshen. Wei Xiaqing and Wang Shao exchanged eastern capital posts on gengzi. Chun county became Qingxi and the Chunyu clan changed their name on renyin. Yu Di of Xiangyang entered the council on jiachen. The moon crossed the Bi asterism on bingshen. Liu Pi received Sichuan on jiyou — a fatal appointment. Jupiter crossed the western wall of the Imperial Enclosure. Shiquan county was carved from Shiyin on gengxu. Wei Dan and Lu Ying took Sichuan and Huai-nan posts on renzi. Zheng Yin joined the council on renxu. Li Jifu, Pei, and others entered the Hanlin.
15
殿 使使 使 使 使使 殿 使 西 忿 使 使使 使
In the first month Xianzong offered his father the full retired honorific at Xingqing. He received New Year felicitations at Hanyuan on dingmao. From Danfeng he proclaimed amnesty and the Yuanhe era. Even capital crimes usually excluded from amnesty were forgiven. Han Gao received a broader Hubei command on xinwei. Wei Xiaqing died on dingchou. Xue Yingzhen became a Shence army eunuch commander on xinsi. Wang Shizhen of Chengde entered the council on renwu. The retired emperor's illness suspended audiences from the sixteenth on guiwei. Gao Chongwen was appointed to crush Liu Pi in Sichuan. Shunzong died again in the annals' Yuanhe frame — mourning began on jiashen. The funeral bureaucracy was organized on yiyou. Xiegu postal stations reopened on renchen. On wuzi an expedition edict opened: Liu Pi had seized on Wei Gao's death to rebel and harm the people. The emperor had tried appeasement before force. Liu Pi still blocked roads and besieged cities. War was a reluctant duty of rule. Yan Li, Li Kang, Gao Chongwen, and Li Yuanyi were ordered to converge on Sichuan. Logistics were assigned to the fiscal office. Thus ended the edict. The two columns met at Zitong on jiawu. Ministers petitioned him to resume rule on xinmao.
16
使 使 簿 ' ' '
Jing Kuan became campaign quartermaster in the second month. Yan Li reported taking Jianzhou. The Xi king Meiluo was honored and sent home on yichou. Lu Changyuan and Jiang Gongfu were posthumously honored on guimao. Copper utensils were banned to save coin on jiachen. Tian Ji'an of Weibo entered the council on guichou. On wuxu he asked his ministers how an emperor should govern. Du Huangchang urged diligence and delegation, not micromanagement. The ruler must grasp great ends, he said, not clerks' paperwork or petty suits. Qin Shihuang judged cases himself and was mocked by history; Zhuge Liang's reviewing every harsh punishment was scorned by rivals; Wei Mingdi's plan to bypass the Secretariat was rebuked; even Sui Wendi's dinner-table audiences were laughed at as excessive. A sage-king trusts ministers, rewards faithfully, and does not do their work. Du Huangchang quoted the Analects on Shun: He merely faces south with reverence! Shun ruled by appointing the worthy and banishing the wicked. Such a ruler is no model for a tired micromanager. Yet rulers, he added, fail from distrust; ministers fail from withholding effort. Suspicion breeds fraud and makes good order impossible. Without that mutual flaw, order would follow. The emperor praised him at length. Li Yong and Zheng Yunkui exchanged capital posts.
17
使使便退 使 使 使使 使使 使使 使 使 使使使 退
The third month opened on yichou. Cold Food grave visits were regulated for capital officials on wuchen. Wu Yuanheng defined which appointees must attend formal thanksgiving audiences. The throne extended the rule to concurrent commissioners. Thus ended the edict. Examination officials had long claimed exemption from winter audiences; but the edict noted heavier offices never skipped court. They already had holidays and half-days off, it argued. Wu Yuanheng cited Wang Yan's earlier precedent. He asked to restore the Zhenyuan 12 rule permanently. The throne agreed. Yan Li took Zizhou on bingzi. Liu Pi was stripped of rank on dingchou. Han Quanyi's nephew Yang Huilin had held the command until Li Yan was appointed. Yang Huilin rebelled when Li Yan arrived; imperial troops were sent. Zhang Chengjin killed Huilin and presented his head on xinsi. Lady Dong, Shunzong's consort, died on renchen. Gao Chongwen received eastern Sichuan command. Zhang Zhou took Annan on wuxu. Wei Dan went to the Jin-He circuit on jihai. Zhao Chang became Lingnan commissioner on renyin. Xu Shen died on guimao. Ministers supervised the decree exam rather than the emperor on bingwu. Du You became Minister of Education on dingwei while keeping the council; he yielded fiscal posts to Li Xun. Liu Zhan took the Baoyi command on wushen. Zhedong received famine relief grain. Wu Yuanheng fixed precedence for censor-concurrents on jiwei. Prince Yue of Shao died on renxu. Wu Yuanheng revived the awaiting-order institution: recently none had spoken at court. Two senior officials per day would wait at Yanying to advise the emperor. The throne agreed.
18
使 使
The fifth month opened on jiazi. Zheng Yunkui died on dingmao. Wei Wu became capital intendant on xinwei. Li Kang was exiled to Lei on renshen. Central plains drought continued. Cheng Zhigong received full command of the Transocean army. Zheng Yuqing left the council for the heir's tutorate on gengchen. Lady Wang became empress dowager on xinmao.
19
鹿
A partial amnesty followed the dowager's rites on guisi. Officials' mothers received honors and the dowager's kin gifts. Lady Wu was enfeoffed consort of Chongling on bingshen. A gale uprooted trees. Gao Chongwen routed Liu Pi's army at Lutou Pass on dingyou. Liu Ji and Li Shigu received honorary titles. Hanzhou fell to Gao Chongwen on guimao. Li Shigu of Shandong died in the intercalary sixth month. Dong Shujing became capital intendant on wuchen. The remonstrance was reduced to four posts on renwu. Wei Kuang became remonstrator. A Tibetan envoy presented tribute on jiashen.
20
使 使 使 滿
The seventh month opened on renchen. Shunzong was buried at Fengling on renyin. Han Quanyi died in retirement on jiyou. The eighth month opened on xinyou. Li Yuan took the Xia-Sui command on guihai. Four princes' mothers were ennobled as grand consorts on jiazi. Xu, Yin, and Duan received inner-palace ranks. Princess Xunyang's mother became grand consort. Han Quanyi's son offered women; the court refused them. Seven imperial sons received princely titles on dingmao. Young Prince Shen was named nominal Yan commander while Li Shidao held real power as regent at Yan. Lady Guo became honored consort on yihai. Lingwu reported ancient coins found in a Yellow River collapse. On renwu eight Shuwen partisans were barred forever from amnesty relocation. On guiwei capital intendant Dong Shujing died. Absentee officials were to be dismissed after a hundred days on jiashen. Li Yong returned to the capital magistracy on bingxu.
21
使西使使西使 西使使 西使 使 使使
The ninth month opened on xinmao. A Secretariat-Chancellery rotation for daily audiences was ordered on guimao. Zheng Yuqing became university chancellor on bingwu. Gao Chongwen took Chengdu and sent Liu Pi captive on xinhai. Li Bo was appointed but refused office on guichou. Zhang Maozhao visited court on jiazi. Gao Chongwen received sweeping western honors on bingyin. Yan Li and Liu Zhan exchanged Sichuan posts on wuxu; Liu Sheng took Xingyuan and southwestern Shannan. Yuan Zi left exile for the Yicheng command on gengchen. Li Shidao received formal Ziqing command on renwu. The Parhae king was honored on bingxu. Liu Pi and nine kin were executed on wuzi.
22
使 使使 使 使 使
The eleventh month opened on gengyin. Wang Quan became Henan governor on jisi. Li Shanggong took the Shaan circuit on dingwei. Zhang Yin and Wang Shao changed Xu posts on jiashen. Zhao Zongru and Zheng Yuqing took eastern capital posts on gengxu. Liu Zongjing took Hua-Zhenguo on jiayin. The eunuch Tutu Chengcui became Shence commander on bingchen. Nine remote princes' tomb households were abolished on bingshen. Zhang Yin died on yihai. Four frontier states sent tribute on bingxu.
23
便 使
In Yuanhe 2 he personally sacrificed at the ancestral shrines. On xinmao he performed the suburban rite and proclaimed amnesty. He refused to postpone the rite despite ten days of rain. The sky cleared for the sacrifice, to popular joy. Du You resigned the council on dingyou. He was kept as a thrice-monthly consultant at the Secretariat. Uighur Manichaean temples were allowed in Henan and Taiyuan on gengzi. Du Huangchang went west to Hezhong on yisi. Mausoleum regents were abolished. Wu Yuanheng and Li Jifu entered the council on jimao. Mid-autumn and Double Ninth court banquets were cut on dingsi; but the Upper Si feast remained.
24
使 殿
Clergy were placed under palace eunuch commissioners in the second month. 5,613 ceremonial cavalry were disbanded on bingyin. On jisi the emperor ended sequential audience for attendants and required memorials instead of oral queue audiences. The Yuanhe calendar was promulgated on gengwu. The moon occulted Jupiter on renshen night. Cold Food brought a graded feast at Linde on dingchou. Di Guozhen joined the Shence command on renwu.
25
使
The court feasted at Qujiang in the third month. Li Xun kept fiscal power while gaining the war ministry on guimao.
26
使 使
Lead and tin cash were banned in the fourth month. Fan Xichao went north to Lingzhou. The Yingwu army title was abolished on wuyin. Zhao Chang presented a map of Lingnan tribes submitting on gengchen.
27
使 使 使 耀 使
The waiting court outside Jianfu was established in the sixth month. Capital gates had once closed at dusk like ward gates. A Tibetan escape had led councillors to wait in a chariot yard after late opening. Now a proper waiting hall was built by rank. Zhang Jingze of Fengxiang died on wuwu. Palace craft and kitchen households reverted to local corvée on yichou. Four prefectural regiment titles were abolished on jisi. Eastern capital weaving households and the Danyang army title ended. The Shence army expanded its walled compound on bingzi. Li Yong left the capital for Fengxiang on xinsi. Caizhou was inundated to a depth of seven or eight feet.
28
The seventh month ordered revision of Tang law codes. Women's audiences at the dowager's court were regulated on dinghai. Descendants of famous ministers were appointed on wuzi: Su Gui's and Zhang Yue's descendants among them; Di Renjie's heir became remonstrator; and others of Jing Hui and Yuan Shuji's lines. Linghu Huan's Daizong annals were accepted and he was posthumously honored on guisi.
29
使
The eighth month opened on bingchen. Wu Yuanheng took the revenue commission on xinyou. The brawling statute was revised on renxu. Wang Jie was sent to staff Lingnan appointments on jiazi. On jiaxu the council revised omen policy: great omens would still reach the throne on feast days; lesser ones stayed with local offices. The throne agreed. On xinsi Du Huangxiang became Duke of Bin and Yu Di Duke of Yan. Over four hundred monks lost to Tibet, led by Weiliangchan, came home. In the ninth month, on yiyou, Prince Mi Chong died.
30
西使 西使 使使 西使
Tenth month, jiyou: Li Qi of Zhexi became Left Vice Director; Li Yuansu took Runzhou and the Zhenhai–Zhexi command. On gengshen Li Qi rebelled at Runzhou, killing Wang Dan and Zhao Qi. Qi had feigned a court visit and left Dan in charge, then procured an edict denouncing his clan rank and ingratitude. Honored as kin, he answered with treason; given troops, he turned them to disorder. He piled up memorials begging audience, first shamming sickness, then openly mustering troops. Advisers were killed; imperial messengers were held hostage. The throne had long swallowed insult, sending eunuchs again and again before breaking silence. No loyal escort came; rebellion's miasma filled the sky. Daily tortures and monthly extortions followed. As parent of the realm he grieved — yet discipline could not be abandoned. All of Li Qi's ranks were stripped. Wang E of Huainan led a multi-circuit campaign with eunuch Xue Shangyan as supervisor. On dingmao Wu Yuanheng went west as Linhuai duke and Jiannan commissioner. The Emperor saw him off at Anfu Gate. On guiyou Runzhou generals seized Qi and sent him captive. On xinsi Qi's cousins Qian and Qian were exiled to Lingnan.
31
穿穿 退 西使使西 使 簿西 西西
Eleventh month, jiashen: Qi was beheaded at Lone Willow and struck from the clan rolls. On bingxu Zhang Ziliang, who took Qi, became a Golden Guards general and Prince of Nanyang; Tian Shaoqing and Li Fengxian were made Feathered Forest generals and enfeoffed dukes. On jiachen Du You was ordered to attend the Secretariat daily. Twelfth month, jiayin: Li Jifu became Marquis of Zanhuang. On bingchen he told his chancellors that Taizong welcomed repeated remonstrance — and he wanted the same. He asked that every doubtful policy be argued ten times over, not once or twice. On dingsi Luoyang's Directorate added one hundred students. On guihai the Censorate proposed fines for disorderly conduct at court under the Zhenyuan rules: improper tablets, slow movement in the yamen; crooked ranks, loud speech, cutting through guards, leaving post without cause; corridor feasting and rowdy sitting; entering or leaving court by side doors; unauthorized entry to the Secretariat: one month's salary lost per offense. Persistent offenders were to be reported for demotion. They asked to halve the old penalties so violations would surely be cited. The Emperor approved. On bingyin Gao Chongwen took Binning and command of Jingxi armies. On renshen the civil exam dropped oral tests for written classics thresholds. Punished officials and former clerks could not be nominated; violators faced suspension. On bingzi officials were told not to report one another's banquets — enjoy them privately. Baoyi commissioner Liu Zong died. On jimao Li Jifu's Yuanhe accounts tallied forty-eight commands — fifteen frontier circuits reported no households. Taxes now rested on eight southeastern circuits and 1.44 million households. That was a quarter of Tianbao tax households. Eight hundred thirty thousand men-at-arms consumed three times Tianbao's armies — two households per soldier. Floods, droughts, and extra levies lay beyond regular corvée. Jifu finished the work in ten scrolls. That year Tibet, Uighurs, Xi, Khitan, Bohai, Zangke, and Nanzhao all paid tribute.
32
殿
Year 3, spring, first month, guiwei new moon. On guisi the court offered the title Sagely Martial Emperor. He took the seal at Xuanzheng, then amnestied the realm from Danfeng Tower. On gengzi Duan You won approval to rebuild Linyuan on the Jing frontier. On wushen the Divine Awe armies merged into the Heavenly Awe Army.
33
使西使 使西使 使
Second month, bingshen: Li Jifu became Duke of Zhao. On jichou Han Gao took Run and Zhexi. On xinwei Cui Shanzhen, killed remonstrating against Li Qi, was posthumously honored. On guichou Pei Bin went to Shannan West. On bingzi Lu Shu took Zheng-Fang. On wuyin Princess Xian'an died in the Uighur lands.
34
使使 殿
Third month, guisi: Prince Ye Zong died. On gengzi Zhu Shiming took the northwest frontier command. On yisi decree-examination candidates were tested at Xuanzheng.
35
使使 殿 使使使 使 殿
Fourth month, guichou: a drunken eunuch was beaten to death; two officers were punished. Zhu Shiming received the name Zhongliang. On yichou Wang Ya fell when his nephew's sharp examination answers angered the powerful. On renshen wind wrecked twenty-seven bays of Hanyuan balustrades. On yihai Zhao Chang and Yang Yuling swapped Jiangnan and Lingnan. On dingchou Pei Jun became Left Vice Director over revenue. The fifth-month court congratulatory audience was abolished. On jimao Pei Jun took the vice-directorship at the Secretariat hall. The elaborate ceremony had secretariat gentlemen handle every step while ranks bowed in sequence. Observers called the ritual excessive.
36
使使使 便 西 使
Fifth month, renchen: the military examination was restored. On jiawu the Ji-Ru defense post was abolished and its troops split. On xinchou Pei Jun took ten thousand strings from Jingnan to repair the Secretariat. On bingwu the Uighur qaghan was enfeoffed in the main court. Sixth month, wuchen: a hoarding-money ban was proclaimed before scarcity measures. Private silver mining was forbidden empire-wide. On guihai Western Yuan chiefs who had raided Yongguan were enfeoffed after submission. On yichou twenty-two private Jiang-Huai dams were torn down on the transport commissioner's advice. On jiaxu Guan Chuqing became Luoyang regent. On dingchou seven hundred Shatuo and Turks submitted to Fan Xichao; their chief became Yinshan protector.
37
使 使 使 使 使 使使 使
Seventh month, xinsi new moon: eclipse. On jihai Anyi and Jie salt pools regained monopoly commissioners. On dingwei Fu prefecture returned to Qianzhong circuit. Eighth month, gengshen: seven hundred Luoyang defense troops were restored. Ninth month, jichou: Wang E of Huainan came to court. On gengyin Yu Di became acting Works minister and councilor; Pei Jun moved to Shannan East as councilor; Han Hong of Xuanwu joined the council. On bingshen Pei Ji entered the council. On wuxu Li Jifu went to Huainan as councilor. Wang E of Huainan succeeded Du Huangxiang at Hedong. Du Huangxiang of Hedong died. That autumn Chang'an saw heavy rains.
38
使使 使
The tenth month opened on jiyou. On guihai Gao Ying became Censor-in-Chief. On jiazi Dou Qun was sent to Hunan, then reassigned to Qianzhong. Dou Qun had been Jifu's protégé until he turned censor against him and was exiled. On dingmao revenue subordinate posts were fixed at four.
39
使 西 使 西
Eleventh month, jiawu: Cheng Zhigong of Heng-Hai came to court. Twelfth month, gengxu: Linyuan became acting Yuanzhou with Hao Yu as prefect. Under Hao Yu the western barbarians did not raid the passes. On jiazi the Nanzhao king Yimouxun died. On xinwei Duan Pingzhong mourned in Nanzhao and enthroned Yimouxun's son. That year drought struck the southeast circuits.
40
西 使 輿 使 使使 使使 使
In summer the fourth month opened on bingzi. On wuyin Feng Kang died. On renwu Pei Jun's silver gift was confiscated for breaching an edict. On jiashen the crown prince moved to Shaoyang quarter. Zhang Yingnu of Wugong was executed for seductive "Wave-Return" songs. On bingshen a Fuzhou eccentric presented a worthless book at Guangshun Gate and was sent away. On gengzi Li Sheng was ordered entered in the imperial clan register. Li Yuansu took revenue; Yuan Yifang took Fujian. On jiachen Quan Deyu became Court of Sacrifices director with gold-purple. Gao Ying became War Minister; Li Yijian became Vice Censor-in-Chief. The fifth month opened on bingwu. On xinyou Zheng Yuan died. On dingmao Li Xun died. The sixth month opened on yihai. On dingchou Li Yong took salt-iron transport; Fan Xichao went to Hedong; Wang Yi took Ling-Salt. On xinchou private mining was allowed north of the Five Ranges; coin could not cross south.
41
西使
Seventh month, yisi new moon: the Emperor wrote fourteen moral chapters on six screens. That month the chancellors were shown the screens and thanked him. On dingwei a Weinan flash flood killed six hundred; relief was ordered. On yimao Gao Gu died. On renxu Li Yijian toppled Yang Ping for Jiangxi graft. On wuchen Xu Mengong became Capital Intendant with gold-purple. The eighth month opened on jiaxu. On guiwei Yutai county was moved to Huangtai market. On bingshen Zhang Zhou reported crushing Huan with thirty thousand captives. On guimao Pei Mian, Li Sheng, and Duan Xiushi were ordered into imperial temples.
42
使使 使 使
The ninth month opened on jiachen. On gengxu Wang Chengzong was recalled to Chengde command; Xue Changchao was made Baoxin commissioner over De and Qi. Changchao was Xue Song's son-in-law of Wang and held Dezhou. The court split De and Qi from Chengde for Changchao to tame Chengzong. The edict had barely left when Chengzong seized Changchao back to Zhenzhou. On dingmao Gao Chongwen of Bin-Ning died.
43
使使使 使 使使
Tenth month, guiyou: Yan Juyuan took Bin-Ning; on guiwei an edict denounced Wang Chengzong's mourning treachery. Court ritual demanded punishment for rebellion; usurpation of fiefs likewise meant execution. The throne weighed ancestral merit against public law. Envoys had urged him; he had bowed and promised two prefectures. The Emperor had hoped to preserve him with an old-border commission. De and Qi were not Chengde's; giving kin Changchao nearby seemed generous — yet one house ruled both. He feigned respect, tricked Pei Wu, and seized Changchao mid-appointment. His memorials grew insolent beyond what heaven could bear. Heaven's punishment was proclaimed; all Chengzong's ranks were stripped. Eunuch Tutu Chengcui led the Zhen campaign with Zhao Wandi as vanguard. Xu Mengong and remonstrators protested eunuch generals on a great campaign. The title was softened to "consolation" but "campaign" remained. On jichou the army was forbidden to desecrate Wang clan tombs; loyal Wang kin were spared. On gengyin Prince Deng Ning became crown prince. On guisi investiture brought amnesty lowering capital crimes to exile. Regular attendees and heirs of frontier chiefs gained two merit turns. Gui Deng and Lü Yuanying became lecturers to the heir and princes. On jihai the Emperor saw Chengcui's army off at Tonghua Gate.
44
西 使 使 使
Eleventh month: Su, Run, and Chang received twenty thousand shi of famine grain. On jiazi Du Jian died. On jisi Wu Shaocheng of Zhangyi died. Twelfth month: Zhang Hongjing took Shaan-Guo transport. Fang Shi became Henan Intendant. Li Yijian asked inspectors to report illegal levies beyond the two-tax quota. The edict was approved.
45
西使
Year 5, first month: Han Gao was fined a month for beating a magistrate to death.
46
殿
The second month opened on xinwei. On wuzi taboo names in the Eastern Palace were ordered changed. Yuan Zhen detained Fang Shi and was demoted to Jiangling adjutant.
47
使 使 使
Third month: Du You's Fanchuan banquet received imperial wine from the throne. On yisi Li Yijian took revenue; Wang Bo took the censorate. On guisi Zheng Yin went to Lingnan. On jiwei Prince You took Zhangyi; Wu Shaoyang succeeded Wu Shaocheng. On jiazi a gale broke trees. On dingmao Yu Di won thrice-monthly audiences like Du You.
48
使使 使使使使 使
In summer the fourth month opened on gengwu. On guiyou Li Yuansu died. On jiashen Chengcui seized Lu Congshi of Zhaoyi and sent him captive. On dinghai Fan Xichao reported victory at Mudao Ravine. Fuzhou and Jianzhou regained or gained counties. On renshen Wu Chongyin and Meng Yuanyang swapped Heyang and Zhaoyi. On wuxu Lu Congshi was demoted to Huanzhou.
49
使 使 西使 使綿 使 使
The fifth month opened on gengzi. On yisi three thousand Zhaoyi troops deserted to Weizhou. Right Shence commander Duan You died. On gengshen Tibet returned Zheng Shuju and Lu Bi's coffins with tribute. The sixth month opened on gengwu. On wuyin Li Shaohe took Jiangxi. Xi, Uighurs, and Shiwei raided Zhenwu. On guisi enfeoffment food rules were fixed: chancellor-commissioners received eight hundred bolts yearly per hundred households; plain commissioners four hundred bolts; army and guard generals three hundred fifty bolts.
50
使 使 使西使使 使
Seventh month, jihai new moon. On gengzi Chengzong confessed by memorial and offered taxes and court appointments. On dingwei Chengzong was pardoned and restored. Campaign troops received two hundred eighty thousand bolts of goods. The wrong commander had dissolved the armies while neighbors watched and tax revenue bled away. Li Shidao and Liu Ji pressed for Chengzong's pardon — Congshi was blamed instead. The court acted because it had no choice. Liu Ji, Tian Ji'an, and Li Shidao were promoted as rewards for standing down. On yimao Liu Ji was poisoned by his son Zong. On gengshen Ma Zong took Annan. The eighth month opened on yisi. On yihai he asked his chancellors whether immortals were real. Li Fan answered that immortality came from Daoism; grounded in Laozi's five thousand words. Laozi's teaching, he said, matched the classics. Later wonder-seekers had twisted it into immortality cults. Qin and Han emperors had chased immortals by sea and marriage and gained nothing. Even Taizong died from a foreign longevity elixir. An old poem warned that drug-seekers are ruined by drugs. Truly so, he said. A ruler's longevity lay in good rule, not elixirs. Xianzong was deeply persuaded. Xue Pin and Li Xun swapped Zhejiang posts. Wei Guanzhi and Pei Du entered drafting posts. On guisi Cui Yong took Yong and pacification command.
51
使 使 輿 輿
The ninth month opened on wuxu. On xinhai Chengcui returned as Left Army Commandant. Remonstrators demanded punishment for Chengcui's failed campaign. The Emperor pardoned him but demoted him to Armory Commissioner. Cheng Wengan replaced him as Left Army Commandant. On renxu Liu Zong took Youzhou in mourning recall. On guihai Gao Ying retired as Right Vice Director. On bingyin Quan Deyu entered the council as acting Rites Minister. On dingmao Dugu stayed Hanlin but left drafting while his father-in-law served.
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使 使
Tenth month: Xu Mengong, Wang Bo, and Lü Yuanying rotated capital and censor posts. Princess Shengping died. On gengchen Pei Ji presented fifty scrolls of Dezong's Veritable Records and was richly rewarded. On xinsi Yang Boyu mutinied at Dingzhou and seized Ren Dijian. Zhang Zuoyuan killed Boyu; the troops then killed Zuoyuan when Dijian sought surrender. On renchen Ren Dijian was made Yiwu commissioner. On jiawu Zhang Maozhao went to Hedong as director and councilor.
53
西 使使 使 使 使
Eleventh month: Danyang army merged into Zhenhai. On gengzi Yi Shen fell for bribing Diwu Congzhi for Hedong. On jiachen Prince Hui Chong died. On gengxu Wang E returned to Hedong in high rank. A-die Guangjin took the northern frontier command. On gengshen Pei Ji became War Minister. Xue Changchao became Right Martial Guard general. He had been Chengzong's prisoner until now. On bingyin Liu Gongchuo's medical admonition pleased the throne.
54
使使 使 使使 使 使
The twelfth month opened on dingmao. On guiyou Li Yong took Huainan. Fang Shi took Xuan-She. Lu Tan took salt-iron transport. On renwu Liu Gongchuo became Vice Censor-in-Chief. Lü Yuanying took the middle Yangzi command. Xi Shimei became Henan Intendant. Jiang Wu took the name Yi. Cui Bin became Court of Sacrifices director.
55
使 使殿
Year 6, spring, first month, bingyin new moon. On bingshen Wu Shaoyang was confirmed over Zhangyi. Meng Jian and others were ordered to translate a Buddhist sutra at Fengquan Temple. On gengshen Li Jifu returned to the council from Huainan.
56
使 使 使使使
The second month opened on bingyin. On renshen Li Fan left the council for the heir's household. Jifu had ousted his rival Fan from the council. On bingzi Zhang Maozhao died at Hedong. Pei Ciyuan took Fujian. On jichou Prince Su Zao died. On guisi Zhang Hongjing went to Hedong; Wei Cigong took Shaan-Guo; Li Jiang became Revenue Vice Minister.
57
使 使 使
Two hundred forty thousand shi of charity grain were lent around the capital and ordered copied empire-wide. Third month: Xi Shimei took Zhaoyi. On dingwei Yan Shou took Jingnan. Hedong's tin money was to be replaced by five mint furnaces at Weizhou.
58
使 使 使 使 使 使
On yimao garrison pasturage and noble hunts in the capital were barred from carrying weapons. In summer the fourth month opened on yichou. On wuchen Pei Ji left war for the heir's court; Pei Kan went to Tongzhou. On gengwu Li Yijian took Shannan East; Lu Tan took revenue; Wang Bo took salt-iron transport; Yuan Yifang became Capital Intendant. On guiyou forty-seven of Zhang Maozhao's entertainers were sent back to Dingzhou. On jimao the moon neared Fang mansion. Zhao Zongru became Penal Minister. Zheng Yuqing became War Minister while staying Luoyang regent. Wang Bo reported Yuanhe 5 salt receipts at nearly seven million strings. Fourfold inflation since the old law had added over seventeen million in paper valuation. Beyond salt cost, surplus went to revenue. The memorial was approved.
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使 使
On xinmao Revenue established patrol officers. Fifth month: Wang Bogong was executed for taking Chengzong's bribes. On gengzi Li Weijian took Fengxiang and Longyou. On bingwu Pei Jun died. On renzi A-die Guangjin was granted the surname Li for merit.
60
His brother Guangyan had already been honored separately. Sixth month: Teaching Bureau rations were cut.
61
宿使 祿 祿 使
On dingmao the Secretariat and Chancellery memorialized: Fewer offices mean purer government; too many offices mean corrupt government. Purity depends on trimming the bureaucracy. Since Tianbao eight hundred thousand soldiers have been kept on the books; another fifth or sixth of the realm neither farms nor serves. Three labor for every seven who only consume. Over ten thousand salaried posts include phantom titles and empty desks. Revenue shrinks while salaries swell and sinecures multiply without limit. Han had only sixty commanderies yet flourished — few offices need not mean chaos. Today there are three hundred commanderies and fourteen hundred counties. One town hosts many offices; one township splits county duties — vast cost, light control. They asked a commission to merge offices, counties, and annual entrants. Trimming eaters would ease the farmers' burden. Old salary tables capped even first rank at modest levels. Since the rebellion extra commissioners had claimed swollen cash salaries. Dali ministers had drawn nine thousand strings monthly; every prefect one thousand. Chang Gun and Li Mi had tried to cap pay — called relief, yet hard to cut. Titles lingered after duties vanished; pay varied wildly between posts. A permanent salary law was needed.
62
使
The reform memorial was approved. Duan Pingzhong, Wei Guanzhi, Xu Mengong, and Li Jiang were ordered to draft cuts. On jiashen Liu Gongchuo took Hunan. On dinghai Venus neared Right Law Enforcement. On wuzi Dou Yizhi received a crimson fish bag.
63
祿 祿 使使 西使 使 使
Seventh month, guisi new moon: retired Gao Ying died. On gengshen Pei Ji was posthumously made Junior Tutor. Eighth month: Li Jiang asked to pool officials' field grain for famine relief. Li Jiang's proposal was approved. On yichou Zhang Xu took Xia-Sui-Yin. On dingmao Jingnan's Yong'an army was abolished. On xinsi Cui Ping took Jiangxi. Ninth month: Cui Neng took Qianzhong. On wuxu Liang Yue killed his father's murderer and surrendered. He was spared death, caned, and exiled to Xunzhou. Han Yu memorialized against the leniency. Outer-service staff were cut by 1,769. Dou Qun was demoted for harsh rule that sparked Chen and Jin rebellions.
64
使使 使 使 使 祿 使 使 使 便 西 便 使
Tenth month: Li Yuan took Wuning at Xuzhou. On wuchen Han Gao became Luoyang regent. Li Fan took Hua and Tong Pass. Zheng Yuqing became Personnel Minister. On jisi an edict began streamlining administration: transport offices duplicated commissioners; Shaan grain now went to the capital yet old titles remained. Training commissioners should have sufficed for defense; extra army quotas only added salaries. The throne sought to cut redundancy. Numerous transport and army commissioner posts were abolished. Saved salaries were to offset local two-tax shortfalls. On wuyin a famine edict opened: When harvests fail, the ruler must lighten burdens. The capital's corvée and supply burden remained heavy. Summer drought and autumn floods had ruined both plantings and harvest. Tax grain and corvée threatened starvation. He blamed cosmic disorder and his own governance. Two hundred fifty thousand shi of diverted grain were remitted. Grain commutation was priced generously above market. Spring charity loans could wait for good years to repay. All tax arrears before Yuanhe 5 were forgiven. Officials' field grain was to be stored locally and drawn from the Grand Granary. Flood districts were to be written off without audit. Good government meant settled people. Capital magistrates were ordered to inquire into suffering and forbid squeezing the poor. He closed urging loyal, humane local rule. On bingxu Kong Zhi became lecturer to the heir and princes.
65
使
The eleventh month opened on renchen. On guisi Li Fan died before reaching Hua. On yisi Zhao Chang took Hua and Tong Pass.
66
西
The twelfth month opened on jiahai. On renshen clan marriages were arranged for sixteen-residence princesses. On jiashen Yuan Yifang and Lu Tan lost a month's pay over illegal gate halberds. On jichou Li Jiang entered the council. Intercalary twelfth month, xinmao new moon: Yi Shen died. On xinhai Crown Prince Ning died as Huizhao; mourning three days. With no precedent for a dead heir, Pei Ju was ordered to devise rites in the inner palace.
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