1
封倫倫子言道兄子行高
Feng Lun; his son Yan Dao; and his brother's son Xing Gao.
2
蕭瑀子銳兄子鈞鈞子瓘鈞兄子嗣業裴矩矩子宣機
Xiao Yu; his son Rui; his brother's son Jun; Jun's son Zan; Jun's brother's son Siye; Pei Ju; and Ju's son Xuanji.
3
宇文士及
Yuwen Shiji.
4
封倫,字德彝,觀州蓚人。 北齊太子太保隆之孫。 父子繡,隋通州刺史。 倫少時,其舅盧思道每言曰:「此子智識過人,必能致位卿相。」 開皇末,江南作亂,內史令楊素往征之,署為行軍記室。 船至海曲,素召之,倫墜於水中,人救免溺,乃易衣以見,竟寢不言。 素後知,問其故,曰:「私事也,所以不白。」 素甚嗟異之。 素將營仁壽宮,引為土木監。 隋文帝至宮所,見制度奢侈,大怒曰:「楊素為不誠矣! 殫百姓之力,雕飾離宮,為吾結怨於天下。」 素惶恐,慮將獲譴。 倫曰:「公當弗憂,待皇后至,必有恩詔。」 明日,果召素入對,獨狐後勞之曰:「公知吾夫妻年老,無以娛心,盛飾此宮,豈非孝順。」 素退問倫曰:「卿何以知之?」 對曰:「至尊性儉,故初見而怒,然雅聽後言。 後,婦人也,惟麗是好,後心既悅,帝慮必移,所以知耳。」 素嘆伏曰:「揣摩之才,非吾所及。」 素負貴恃才,多所凌侮,唯擊賞倫。 每引與論宰相之務,終日忘倦,因撫其床曰:「封郎必當據吾此座。」 驟稱薦於文帝,由是擢授內史舍人。 大業中,倫見虞世基幸於煬帝而不閒吏務,每有承受,多失事機。 倫又托附之,密為指畫,宣行詔命,諂順主心。 外有表疏如忤意者,皆寢而不奏。 決斷刑法,多峻文深誣; 策勳行賞,必抑削之。 故世基之寵日隆,而隋政日壞,皆倫所為也。 宇文化及之亂,逼帝出宮,使倫數帝之罪。 帝謂曰:「卿是士人,何至於此?」 倫赧然而退。 化及尋署內史令,從至聊城。 倫見化及勢蹙,乃潛結化及弟士及,請於濟北運糧,以觀其變。 遇化及敗,與士及來降。 高祖以其前代舊臣,遣使迎勞,拜內史舍人。 尋遷內史侍郎。
Feng Lun, courtesy name Deyi, came from Lou in Guan Prefecture. He was the grandson of Long, who had served as Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent under Northern Qi. His father Zixiu had been prefect of Tong Prefecture in Sui times. In his youth Lun's maternal uncle Lu Sidao would often say, "This boy's mind outstrips other men's; he is sure to rise to ministerial rank. Late in the Kaihuang reign, when the south rose in revolt, Interior Minister Yang Su marched to suppress it and made Lun his campaign record-keeper. When the fleet reached Haiqu, Su sent for him; Lun had fallen overboard and was pulled out before he drowned, then changed clothes and came to audience—yet he never mentioned the incident. When Su later found out and asked why, Lun replied, "It was a private affair, which is why I did not report it. Su was deeply impressed. When Su undertook construction of Renshou Palace, he appointed Lun overseer of the building works. When Emperor Wen visited the site and saw how lavish the design was, he flew into a rage: "Yang Su has deceived me! He has drained the people's strength to adorn a pleasure palace and has made the whole realm resent me. Su was terrified, fearing he would be punished. Lun said, "Do not worry, sir—once the empress comes, you are sure to receive a gracious edict. The next day Su was summoned as Lun had predicted; Empress Dugu reassured him: "You know we are old and need diversion; to lavish ornament on this palace—is that not filial devotion?" Afterward Su asked Lun, "How did you know?" Lun answered, "The Son of Heaven is frugal by nature, so his first glance provoked anger—but he is used to listening to what comes after. The empress is a woman who loves beauty alone; once she is pleased, the emperor's concern will surely ease—that is why I knew." Su sighed in admiration: "Your gift for reading people's hearts is beyond me." Su, proud of his rank and talent, bullied many men—yet he prized Lun alone. He often drew Lun into talks on the chancellor's duties and would forget fatigue for a whole day; once, patting his own couch, he said, "Young Feng will surely sit in this place of mine. He repeatedly commended Lun to Emperor Wen, who thereupon promoted him to Secretariat drafter. In the Daye reign Lun saw Yu Shiji favored by Emperor Yang but negligent of administration; whenever business came to him, he often let the moment slip. Lun also attached himself to Yu, secretly directing policy, issuing edicts in his name, and flattering whatever pleased the emperor. Memorials from outside that seemed to displease the throne were all suppressed and never forwarded. Penal decisions leaned toward harsh statutes and deep false charges; and when merit was assessed and rewards granted, they were always pared down. Thus Yu's favor rose day by day while Sui governance rotted—and Lun was behind it all. During Yuwen Huaji's revolt the emperor was driven from the palace and Lun was ordered to recite his crimes. The emperor said, "You are a scholar—how could you sink to this? Lun withdrew, flushed with shame. Huaji soon made him interior minister and Lun followed him to Liaocheng. Seeing Huaji's cause failing, Lun secretly aligned with Huaji's brother Shiji and asked leave to haul grain in Jibei so he could watch how fortunes turned. When Huaji fell, he came over with Shiji to surrender. Gaozu, treating him as a veteran of the former dynasty, sent envoys to welcome him and appointed him Secretariat drafter. He was soon promoted to vice minister of the Secretariat.
5
高祖嘗幸溫湯,經秦始皇墓,謂倫曰:「古者帝王,竭生靈之力,殫府庫之財,營起山陵,此復何益?」 倫曰:「上之化下,猶風之靡草。 自秦、漢帝王盛為厚葬,故百官眾庶競相遵仿。 凡是古冢丘封,悉多藏珍寶,咸見開發。 若死而無知,厚葬深為虛費; 若魂而有識,被髮豈不痛哉!」 高祖稱善,謂倫曰:「從今之後,宜自上導下,悉為薄葬。」 太宗之討王世充,詔倫參謀軍事。 高祖以兵久在外,意欲旋師,太宗遣倫入朝親論事勢。 倫言於高祖曰:「世充得地雖多,而羈縻相屬,其所用命者,唯洛陽一城而已,計盡力窮,破在朝夕。 今若還兵,賊勢必振,更相連結,後必難圖。 未若乘其已衰,破之必矣。」 高祖納之。 及太宗凱旋,高祖謂侍臣曰:「朕初發兵東討,眾議多有不同,唯秦王請行,封倫贊成此計。 昔張華協同晉武,亦復何以加也!」 封平原縣公,兼天冊府司馬。 會突厥寇太原,復遣使來請和親,高祖問群臣:「和之與戰,策將安出?」 多言戰則怨深,不如先和。 倫曰:「突厥憑凌,有輕中國之意,必謂兵弱而不能戰。 如臣計者,莫若悉眾以擊之,其勢必捷,勝而後和,恩威兼著。 若今歲不戰,明年必當復來,臣以擊之為便。」 高祖從之。 六年,以本官檢校吏部尚書,曉習吏職,甚獲當時之譽。 八年,進封道國公,尋徙封於密。 蕭瑀嘗薦倫於高祖,高祖任倫為中書令。 太宗嗣位,瑀遷尚書左僕射,倫為右僕射。 倫素險诐,與瑀商量可奏者,至太宗前,盡變易之,由是與瑀有隙。 貞觀元年,遘疾於尚書省,太宗親自臨視,即命尚輦送還第,尋薨,年六十。 太宗深悼之,廢朝三日,冊贈司空,謚曰明。 初,倫數從太宗征討,特蒙顧遇。 以建成、元吉之故,數進忠款,太宗以為至誠,前後賞賜以萬計。 而倫潛持兩端,陰附建成。 時高祖將行廢立,猶豫未決,謀之於倫,倫固諫而止。 然所為秘隱,時人莫知,事具《建成傳》。 卒後數年,太宗方知其事。 十七年,治書侍御史唐臨追劾倫曰:「臣聞事君之義,盡命不渝; 為臣之節,歲寒無貳。 苟虧其道,罪不容誅。 倫位望鼎司,恩隆胙土,無心報效,乃肆奸謀,熒惑儲籓,獎成元惡,置於常典,理合誅夷。 但苞藏之狀,死而後發,猥加褒贈,未正嚴科。 罪惡既彰,宜加貶黜,豈可仍疇爵邑,尚列台槐! 此而不懲,將何沮勸?」 太宗令百官詳議,民部尚書唐儉等議:「倫罪暴身後,恩結生前,所歷眾官,不可追奪,請降贈改謚。」 詔從之,於是改謚繆,黜其贈官,削所食實封。
Once, on his way to the hot springs, Gaozu passed Qin Shihuang's tomb and asked Lun, "Ancient emperors drained the people's strength and emptied the treasury to raise great burial mounds—what good did it do? Lun replied, "When those above set the tone, those below follow—as grass bends in the wind. Ever since Qin and Han rulers lavished wealth on tombs, officials and commoners have rushed to imitate them. Nearly every ancient mound was stuffed with treasure—and nearly every one has been looted. If the dead feel nothing, lavish burial is pure waste; if the soul still knows, would it not writhe in anguish at its violated grave!" Gaozu approved and told Lun, "Hereafter we must lead from the top and require simple burials throughout the realm." When Taizong marched against Wang Shichong, Lun was ordered to serve on his staff. Gaozu, weary of keeping troops in the field, meant to recall the army; Taizong sent Lun to court to argue the situation face to face. Lun told Gaozu, "Shichong may hold wide lands, but they hang together only loosely; only Luoyang truly answers his call. His schemes are spent and his strength gone—his fall is only a matter of days. Withdraw now and the rebels will rally and knit their forces together—then they will be far harder to crush. Better to strike while they are already failing—then victory is certain. Gaozu took his advice. When Taizong returned victorious, Gaozu told his ministers, "When I first marched east, most at court dissented—only the Prince of Qin urged the campaign, and Feng Lun backed him. Zhang Hua once stood with Emperor Wu of Jin—what could surpass that! He was made Duke of Pingyuan and concurrently marshal of the Celestial Register Office. When the Turks raided Taiyuan and again asked for a marriage alliance, Gaozu asked his ministers, "Peace or war—what course should we take? Most argued that war would only deepen hatred and that peace should come first. Lun said, "The Turks are overbearing and despise China—they will assume our armies are too weak to fight. In my view we should muster every soldier and strike—victory will come quickly; make peace only after we win, and both kindness and awe will be clear. If we do not fight this year, they will be back next—striking now is the wiser course. Gaozu agreed. In the sixth year he was made acting minister of personnel while keeping his prior post; versed in bureaucratic business, he won wide praise. In the eighth year he was raised to Duke of Daoguo, then soon had his fief moved to Mi. Xiao Yu had once recommended Lun to Gaozu, who made him director of the Central Secretariat. When Taizong took the throne, Yu became left vice director of the Department of State Affairs and Lun the right vice director. Lun was treacherous by nature: matters he and Yu had settled to present, he altered entirely before Taizong—hence the breach between them. In Zhenguan 1 he fell ill at the Department of State Affairs; Taizong visited him in person, ordered the imperial carriage to take him home, and he soon died at sixty. Taizong mourned him deeply, suspended court for three days, and posthumously enfeoffed him as Minister of Works with the posthumous name Ming. Earlier Lun had often followed Taizong on campaign and enjoyed his special favor. Because of the rivalry with Chengjian and Yuanji, he repeatedly professed loyalty; Taizong took him for utterly sincere and rewarded him lavishly time and again. Yet Lun secretly played both sides and quietly backed Chengjian. When Gaozu was weighing deposition and succession but could not decide, he consulted Lun, who remonstrated so firmly that Gaozu abandoned the plan. What he did stayed hidden—no one at the time knew—and the full account appears in Chengjian's biography. Only years after Lun's death did Taizong learn the truth. In the seventeenth year Investigating Censor Tang Lin pursued charges against Lun, saying, "I have heard that serving one's lord means giving one's life without wavering; a minister's integrity holds firm when the year turns cold. Whoever betrays that duty deserves death without mercy. Lun stood at the summit of office and had been showered with fiefs, yet he repaid no loyalty and instead plotted treachery, misled the heir, and abetted the arch-villain—by ordinary law he should have been executed to the last man. Yet his treachery surfaced only after death, and he was lavishly honored posthumously without proper punishment. His guilt is now plain—he should be degraded. How can his titles and fiefs stand, or his name remain among the great ministers! If this goes unpunished, what lesson will anyone draw? Taizong ordered a full deliberation. Minister of Revenue Tang Jian and others argued, "Lun's crimes appeared only after death, but favors were given in life—the offices he held cannot be clawed back; we ask only to reduce his posthumous honors and change his posthumous name." The edict agreed: his posthumous name became Miu, his posthumous office was revoked, and his substantive fief was stripped.
6
子言道,尚高祖女淮南長公主,官至宋州刺史。 倫兄子行高,以文學知名。 貞觀中,官至禮部郎中。
His son Yan Dao married Gaozu's daughter, Princess Chang of Huainan, and rose to prefect of Song. Lun's nephew Xing Gao was known for his literary accomplishments. Under Zhenguan he rose to director in the Ministry of Rites.
7
蕭瑀,字時文。 高祖梁武帝,曾祖昭明太子,祖察,後樑宣帝。 父巋,明帝。 瑀年九歲,封新安郡王,幼以孝行聞。 姊為隋晉王妃,從入長安。 聚學屬文,端正鯁亮。 好釋氏,常修梵行,每與沙門難及苦空,必詣微旨。 常觀劉孝標《辯命論》,惡其傷先王之教,迷性命之理,乃作《非辯命論》以釋之。 大旨以為:「人稟天地以生,孰雲非命,然吉凶禍福,亦因人而有,若一之於命,其蔽已甚。」 時晉府學士柳顧言、諸葛穎見而稱之曰:「自孝標後數十年間,言性命之理者,莫能詆詰。 今蕭君此論,足療劉子膏肓。」 煬帝為太子也,授太子右千牛。 及踐祚,遷尚衣奉御,檢校左翊衛鷹揚郎將。 忽遇風疾,命家人不即醫療,仍云:「若天假餘年,因此望為棲遁之資耳。」 蕭後聞而誨之:「以爾才智,足堪揚名顯親,豈得輕毀形骸而求隱逸? 若以此致譴,則罪在不測。」 病且愈,其姊勸勉之,故復有仕進志。 累加銀青光祿大夫、內史侍郎。 既以後弟之親,委之機務,後數以言忤旨,漸見疏斥。 煬帝至雁門,為突厥所圍,瑀進謀曰:「如聞始畢托校獵至此,義成公主初不知其有違背之心。 且北蕃夷俗,可賀敦知兵馬事。 昔漢高祖解平城之圍,乃是閼氏之力。 況義成以帝女為妻,必恃大國之援。 若發一單使以告義成,假使無益,事亦無損。 臣又竊聽輿人之誦,乃慮陛下平突厥後更事遼東,所以人心不一,或致挫敗。 請下明詔告軍中,赦高麗而專攻突厥,則百姓心安,人自為戰。」 煬帝從之,於是發使詣可賀敦諭旨。 俄而突厥解圍去,於後獲其諜人,云:義成公主遣使告急於始畢,稱北方有警,由是突厥解圍,蓋公主之助也。 煬帝又將伐遼東,謂群臣曰:「突厥狂悖為寇,勢何能為? 以其少時未散,蕭瑀遂相恐動,情不可恕。」 因出為河池郡守,即日遣之。 既至郡,有山賊萬餘人寇暴縱橫,瑀潛募勇敢之士,設奇而擊之,當陣而降其眾。 所獲財畜,咸賞有功,由是人竭其力。 薛舉遣眾數萬侵掠郡境,瑀要擊之,自後諸賊莫敢進,郡中復安。
Xiao Yu, courtesy name Shiwen. He descended from Emperor Wu of Liang; his great-grandfather was Crown Prince Zhaoming; his grandfather was Xiao Cha; his father was Emperor Xuan of Later Liang. His father Kui was Emperor Ming of Later Liang. At nine he was made Prince of Xin'an and was known from childhood for filial devotion. His elder sister became consort to Sui's Prince of Jin and followed the court to Chang'an. He devoted himself to study and composition, bearing himself with upright, unyielding clarity. He favored Buddhism, kept Buddhist discipline, and whenever he debated monks on suffering and emptiness he pressed to the heart of the doctrine. He often read Liu Xiaobiao's Discourse on Fate and disliked how it undermined the sages' teaching and blurred the truth of life and fate; he wrote Against the Discourse on Fate to answer it. Its main argument ran: "We receive life from Heaven and Earth—who denies fate? Yet fortune and misfortune also depend on what people do; to blame everything on fate alone is a grave mistake. The Jin palace scholars Liu Guyan and Zhuge Ying read it and said, "For decades since Xiaobiao, no one who wrote on fate and life could be answered— but Master Xiao's essay is enough to cure Liu's disease in its marrow." When Yang Di was crown prince, Yu was made Right Thousand-Bull in his household. On his accession Yu became attendant of the imperial wardrobe and acting Eagle-Flight commander of the Left Wing Guard. He suddenly fell ill with a wind disorder and told his family not to treat him at once, saying, "If Heaven grants me more years, I mean to use this as my excuse to live in seclusion. Empress Xiao heard and rebuked him: "With your gifts you could bring honor to your house—how can you neglect your health to chase reclusion? If you bring punishment on yourself for this, the offense is beyond reckoning." As he recovered, his elder sister urged him on, and he again wished to pursue office. He rose through the ranks to Silver-Glittering Grand Master of Splendid Happiness and vice minister of the Secretariat. As the empress's brother-in-law he was entrusted with weighty affairs, but the empress often spoke against the emperor's wishes and he was gradually pushed aside. At Yanmen, besieged by the Turks, Yu proposed: "I hear Shibi has come here under the guise of a hunt, and Princess Yicheng may not yet know he means rebellion. Among the northern tribes, moreover, the khatun often controls the armies. Long ago Gaozu of Han broke the siege at Pingcheng through the Yanzhi's intervention. Yicheng, moreover, is an emperor's daughter by marriage—she will surely lean on our great power. Send a lone envoy to warn Yicheng—even if it fails, we lose nothing. I have also overheard the people's talk—they fear that after the Turks are beaten you will march on Liaodong again; morale is divided and defeat may follow. Issue a clear edict to the army: pardon Goguryeo and fight the Turks alone—then the people will be reassured and every soldier will fight willingly. Yang Di agreed and sent envoys to the khatun with the imperial message. Soon the Turks lifted the siege. Later a spy revealed that Princess Yicheng had urgently warned Shibi of trouble in the north—thus the siege ended, thanks to the princess. When Yang Di again prepared to attack Liaodong, he told his ministers, "The Turks are merely unruly raiders—what real threat are they? The crisis was barely over, yet Xiao Yu had spread alarm—such conduct was unforgivable. He was banished that same day to serve as prefect of Hechi. On reaching his post he found more than ten thousand mountain bandits terrorizing the region; he secretly raised brave men, ambushed them, and took their whole force in the field. He gave all captured goods to those who had earned them, and men fought with all their might. When Xue Ju sent tens of thousands to raid the borders, Yu intercepted them; afterward no raiders dared enter and the commandery was secure again.
8
高祖定京城,遣書招之。 瑀以郡歸國,授光祿大夫,封宋國公,拜民部尚書。 太宗為右元帥,攻洛陽,以瑀為府司馬。 武德五年,遷內史令。 時軍國草創,方隅未寧,高祖乃委以心腹,凡諸政務,莫不關掌。 高祖每臨軒聽政,必賜升御榻,瑀既獨孤氏之婿,與語呼之為蕭郎。 國典朝儀,亦責成於瑀,瑀孜孜自勉,繩違舉過,人皆憚之。 常奏便宜數十條,多見納用,手敕曰:「得公之言,社稷所賴。 運智者之策,以能成人之美; 納諫者之言,以金寶酬其德。 今賜金一函,以報智者,勿為推退。」 瑀固辭,優詔不許。 其年,州置七職,務取才望兼美者為之。 及太宗臨雍州牧,以瑀為州都督。 高祖常有敕而中書不時宣行,高祖責其遲,瑀曰:「臣大業之日,見內史宣敕,或前後相乖者,百司行之,不知何所承用。 所謂易必在前,難必在後,臣在中書日久,備見其事。 今皇基初構,事涉安危,遠方有疑,恐失機會。 比每受一敕,臣必勘審,使與前敕不相乖背者,始敢宣行。 遲晚之愆,實由於此。」 高祖曰:「卿能用心若此,我有何憂?」 初,瑀之朝也,關內產業並先給勳人。 至是特還其田宅,瑀皆分給諸宗子弟,唯留廟堂一所,以奉烝嘗。 及平王世充,瑀以預軍謀之功,加邑二千戶,拜尚書右僕射。 內外考績皆委之司會,為群僚指南,庶務繁總。 瑀見事有時偏駁,而持法稍深,頗為時議所少。 瑀嘗薦封倫於高祖,高祖以倫為中書令。 太宗即位,遷尚書左僕射,封倫為右僕射。 倫素懷險诐,與商量將為可奏者,至太宗前盡變易之。 於時房玄齡、杜如晦既新用事,疏瑀親倫,瑀心不能平,遂上封事論之,而辭旨寥落。 太宗以玄齡等功高,由是忤旨,廢於家。 俄拜特進、太子少師。 未幾,復為尚書左僕射,賜實封六百戶。 太宗常謂瑀曰:「朕欲使子孫長久,社稷永安,其理如何?」 瑀對曰:「臣觀前代國祚所以長久者,莫若封諸侯以為盤石之固。 秦並六國,罷侯置守,二代而亡; 漢有天下,郡國參建,亦得年餘四百。 魏、晉廢之,不能永久。 封建之法,實可遵行。」 太宗然之,始議封建。 尋坐與侍中陳叔達於上前忿諍,聲色甚厲,以不敬免。 歲餘,授晉州都督。 明年,征授左光祿大夫,兼領御史大夫。 與宰臣參議朝政,瑀多辭辯,每有評議,玄齡等不能抗。 然心知其是,不用其言,瑀彌怏怏。 玄齡、魏徵、溫彥博嘗有微過,瑀劾之,而罪竟不問,因此自失。 由是罷御史大夫,以為太子少傅,不復預聞朝政。 六年,授特進,行太常卿。 八年,為河南道巡省大使,人有坐當推劾苦未得其情者,遂置格置繩,以至於死,太宗特免責之。 九年,拜特進,復令參預政事。 太宗嘗從容謂房玄齡曰:「蕭瑀大業之日,進諫隋主,出為河池郡守。 應遭割心之禍,翻見太平之日,北叟失馬,事亦難常。」 瑀頓首拜謝。 太宗又曰:「武德六年以後,太上皇有廢立之心而不之定也,我當此日,不為兄弟所容,實有功高不賞之懼。 此人不可以厚利誘之,不可以刑戮懼之,真社稷臣也。」 因賜瑀詩曰:「疾風知勁草,版蕩識誠臣。」 又謂瑀曰:「卿之守道耿介,古人無以過也。 然而善惡太明,亦有時而失。」 瑀再拜謝曰:「臣特蒙誡訓,又許臣以忠諒,雖死之日,猶生之年也。」 魏徵進而言曰:「臣有逆眾以執法,明主恕之以忠; 臣有孤特以執節,明主恕之以勁。 昔聞其言,今睹其實,蕭瑀不遇明聖,必及於難!」 太宗悅其言。
After Gaozu took the capital, he sent a letter summoning Yu. Yu surrendered his commandery, was made Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, enfeoffed as Duke of Song, and appointed minister of revenue. When Taizong, as Right Grand Marshal, attacked Luoyang, Yu served as his headquarters marshal. In Wude 5 he became interior minister. The state was newly founded and the borders unsettled; Gaozu made Yu his confidant, and no affair of government passed without him. Whenever Gaozu held court, he had Yu sit on the imperial couch; as the Dugu empress's son-in-law, Gaozu called him "Young Xiao" in conversation. State rites and court ceremony were also his charge; he drove himself relentlessly, citing every breach of rule, and everyone feared him. He often submitted dozens of practical proposals, most of which Gaozu adopted; a personal edict read, "Your counsel is what the realm depends on. A ruler who uses wise counsel completes others' excellence; one who accepts remonstrance repays virtue with gold and jewels. I now give you a casket of gold in thanks—do not refuse. Yu declined firmly, but a gracious edict would not allow it. That year seven offices were created in each prefecture, filled only by men of talent and standing. When Taizong became governor of Yong Prefecture, Yu was made its regional commander. Gaozu often found edicts delayed in promulgation and blamed the Secretariat. Yu said, "In Daye times I saw edicts issued that contradicted earlier ones—yet every office obeyed, not knowing which to follow. Easy orders go out first and hard ones later—I spent years in the Secretariat and saw it all. The dynasty is newly founded and affairs touch life and death—if distant regions grow doubtful, we may miss our chance. Now I examine every edict to ensure it does not contradict an earlier one before I dare issue it. That is the real reason for the delay. Gaozu said, "If you take such care, what have I to fear?" When Yu first came to court, estates in the Guanzhong region had already been granted to meritorious men. Now his lands and houses were restored; he divided them among his clansmen and kept only one ancestral hall for the seasonal rites. After Wang Shichong was defeated, Yu's role in military planning won him two thousand added households and the post of right vice director of the Department of State Affairs. All performance reviews, internal and external, went to the Director of Evaluations; he guided the bureaucracy while affairs piled up. Yu saw that judgments could be one-sided, yet he enforced the law sternly and drew some criticism. Yu had once recommended Feng Lun to Gaozu, who made him director of the Central Secretariat. When Taizong succeeded, Yu became left vice director and Lun the right vice director. Lun was treacherous by nature: whatever he and Yu agreed to present, he altered entirely before Taizong. Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui had just risen to power, sidelining Yu while favoring Lun; Yu, unable to accept this, submitted a sealed memorial—but its argument was thin. Taizong, honoring Fang and the others' merit, took offense and sent Yu home in disgrace. Soon he was made Special Advancement and junior tutor to the heir apparent. Before long he was restored as left vice director and granted a substantive fief of six hundred households. Taizong often asked Yu, "How can I make my line endure and the realm forever secure? Yu answered, "In past ages nothing secured a dynasty like enfeoffing princes as bedrock pillars of the state. Qin united the realm, abolished feudal lords for commandery governors, and fell in the second generation; Han ruled with both commanderies and kingdoms and lasted more than four hundred years. Wei and Jin abolished feudal enfeoffment and could not endure. The feudal system truly ought to be restored." Taizong agreed and began debating the restoration of feudal princedoms. Soon he quarreled fiercely with Attendant Chen Shuda before the throne and was dismissed for disrespect. A year later he was made regional commander of Jin. The next year he was recalled as Left Grand Master of Splendid Happiness and made censor-in-chief as well. He joined the chief ministers in council; Yu argued tirelessly, and in debate Fang Xuanling and the others could not best him. Yet they knew he was right and ignored him—Yu grew ever more bitter. When Fang, Wei Zheng, and Wen Yanbo committed minor faults, Yu impeached them—but no inquiry followed, and he lost standing. He was removed as censor-in-chief and made junior tutor to the heir apparent, no longer attending to state affairs. In the sixth year he was made Special Advancement and acting minister of rites. In the eighth year, as touring inspector of Henan Circuit, he used torture—including suspension by rope—on defendants whose cases dragged on, even causing deaths; Taizong pardoned him. In the ninth year he was again made Special Advancement and restored to deliberations on government. Taizong once told Fang Xuanling calmly, "In Daye times Xiao Yu remonstrated with the Sui emperor and was banished to Hechi. He should have faced execution, yet lived to see peace—the old man's lost horse proves how fortune turns. Yu kowtowed in thanks. Taizong added, "After Wude 6 the retired emperor weighed deposition but could not decide; I was not tolerated by my brothers then and truly feared that merit too great goes unrewarded. He cannot be bought with riches or cowed with punishment—he is a true pillar of the realm. He then gave Yu a poem: "Only in a fierce wind do you know the tough grass; only in turmoil do you know the loyal minister." He also told Yu, "Your integrity is unyielding—no man of old surpassed it. Yet when you draw the line between good and evil too sharply, you sometimes miss the mark." Yu bowed again: "Your admonition honors me, and your promise of loyal candor makes even my dying day feel like life renewed." Wei Zheng stepped forward: "Some ministers defy the crowd to enforce the law, and a wise ruler forgives them for loyalty; some stand alone to uphold integrity, and a wise ruler forgives them for their firmness. I heard such words before; now I see them proved—had Xiao Yu not met a sage ruler, he would surely have come to ruin! Taizong was pleased.
9
十七年,與長孫無忌等二十四人併圖形於凌煙閣。 是歲,立晉王為皇太子,拜瑀太子太保,仍知政事。 太宗之伐遼東也,以洛邑衝要,襟帶關、河,以瑀為洛陽宮守。 車駕自遼還,請解太保,仍同中書門下。 太宗以瑀好佛道,嘗賚繡佛像一軀,並繡瑀形狀於佛像側,以為供養之容。 又賜王褒所書《大品般若經》一部,並賜袈裟,以充講誦之服焉。 瑀嘗稱:「玄齡以下同中書門下內臣,悉皆朋黨比周,無至心奉上。」 累獨奏云:「此等相與執權,有同膠漆,陛下不細諳知,但未反耳。」 太宗謂瑀曰:「為人君者,驅駕英材,推心待士,公言不亦甚乎,何至如此!」 太宗數日謂瑀曰:「知臣莫若君,夫人不可求備,自當舍其短而用其長。 朕雖才謝聰明,不應頓迷臧否。」 因數為瑀信誓。 瑀既不自得,而太宗積久銜之,終以瑀忠貞居多而未廢也。 會瑀請出家,太宗謂曰:「甚知公素愛桑門,今者不能違意。」 瑀旋踵奏曰:「臣頃思量,不能出家。」 太宗以對群臣吐言,而取捨相違,心不能平。 瑀尋稱足疾,時詣朝堂,又不入見,太宗謂侍臣曰:「瑀豈不得其所乎,而自慊如此?」 遂手詔曰:
In the seventeenth year his portrait joined those of Zhangsun Wuji and twenty-three others in the Lingyan Pavilion. That year the Prince of Jin became crown prince; Yu was made grand guardian of the heir apparent while still handling government affairs. When Taizong marched on Liaodong, he made Yu keeper of the Luoyang palace, guarding the strategic junction of the passes and the Yellow River. On the emperor's return from Liaodong he asked to be relieved of the grand guardianship but continued at the Secretariat and Chancellery. Knowing Yu's devotion to Buddhism, Taizong once gave him an embroidered Buddha image with Yu's own likeness worked beside it for his devotions. He also gave him Wang Bao's copy of the Great Prajna Sutra and a monk's robe for lecturing and recitation. Yu once said, "From Fang Xuanling down, every minister at the Secretariat and Chancellery is a faction-mate with no true loyalty to the throne. He repeatedly memorialized alone: "They hold power together like glue—they have not rebelled only because Your Majesty does not see them clearly." Taizong told him, "A ruler must employ talent and trust his ministers openly—is this not going too far? How can you say such things!" Days later Taizong said, "No one knows a minister like his ruler; you cannot demand perfection—set aside faults and use strengths. I may not be the cleverest man, but I am not suddenly blind to who is right and who is wrong." He repeatedly reassured Yu of his trust. Yu was discontented and Taizong had long resented him, yet in the end Yu's loyalty outweighed everything and he was not removed. When Yu asked to take Buddhist orders, Taizong said, "I know you have always loved the monastic life—I will not stand in your way. Yu immediately turned back: "On reflection, I cannot leave the household after all." Taizong had spoken before the whole court, yet Yu reversed himself—he could not be reconciled. Yu soon claimed a foot ailment; he would come to court yet refuse audience. Taizong told his attendants, "Has Yu not found his place, that he sulks like this? He then drafted a personal edict:
10
朕聞物之順也,雖異質而成功; 事之違也,亦同形而罕用。 是以舟浮楫舉,可濟千里之川; 轅引輪停,不越一毫之地。 故知動靜相循易為務,曲直相反難為功,況乎上下之宜、君臣之際者矣。 朕以無明於元首,期托德於股肱,思欲去偽歸真,除澆反朴。 至於佛教,非意所遵,雖有國之常經,固弊俗之虛術。 何則? 求其道者,未驗福於將來; 修其教者,翻受辜於既往。 至若梁武窮心於釋氏,簡文銳意於法門,傾帑藏以給僧祗,殫人力以供塔廟。 及乎三淮沸浪,五嶺騰煙,假餘息於熊蹯,引殘魂於雀谷。 子孫覆亡而不暇,社稷俄頃而為墟,報施之征,何其繆也! 而太子太保、宋國公瑀踐覆車之餘軌,襲亡國之遺風。 棄公就私,未明隱顯之際; 身俗口道,莫辯邪正之心。 修累葉之殃源,祈一躬之福本,上以違忤君主,下則扇習浮華。 往前朕謂張亮云:「卿既事佛,何不出家?」 瑀乃端然自應,請先入道,朕即許之,尋復不用。 一回一惑,在於瞬息之間; 自可自否,變於帷扆之所。 乖棟樑之大體,豈具瞻之量乎? 朕猶隱忍至今,瑀尚全無悛改。 宜即去茲朝闕,出牧小籓,可商州刺史,仍除其封。
I have heard that when things work in harmony, different natures may still succeed together; But when matters run counter to harmony, likeness of form rarely avails. A boat that floats and oars that pull can carry you a thousand li along the rivers; yet if the yoke strains and the wheels do not turn, not even a hair's breadth of ground is gained. From this one knows that when motion and rest take turns, the work goes easily, but when what bends and what stands straight pull against each other, success is hard—above all in the propriety between ruler and ruled and in the bond between sovereign and minister. I lack clear judgment at the helm of the state and look to my ministers for steadfast virtue; I mean to strip away pretense for what is true and wash away decadence for plainness again. Buddhism is not the path my heart follows; though it has become established national practice, it remains at bottom a hollow fashion of a decadent age. Why is this? Those who pursue its teachings have never proved future blessing; those who keep its rites have instead suffered for what is already past. Consider Liang Wudi, who gave his whole heart to the Buddha's teaching, and Emperor Jianwen, who threw himself into the Dharma—emptying the treasury for monks and draining the people to build towers and temples. When the Huai regions churned and the Lingnan hills smoked, they clung to a last breath at Xionger Mountain and dragged their dying souls to Que'gu. Their heirs were wiped out before they could look back; their altars of state became rubble in a moment—what a perverse proof of reward and punishment! Yet Grand Guardian and Duke of Song, Yu, walks again in tracks where carts overturned and takes up the surviving manners of fallen kingdoms. He forsakes his public duty for private ends and cannot tell when to conceal and when to show himself; worldly in his person and doctrinaire on his tongue, he no longer knows what is crooked and what is straight in his own heart. He nurtures disasters piled up through generations yet prays for blessings for himself alone—above, he offends his sovereign; below, he spreads vain display among the people. Earlier I said to Zhang Liang, "You serve the Buddha—why not take the tonsure and leave the world? Yu answered with composed dignity that he wished to enter the religious life first; I agreed at once, then soon withdrew that approval. One moment yes, the next in doubt—all within the blink of an eye; affirming and denying as he pleased, shifting his stance even before the imperial throne. He betrays the bearing owed a pillar of the realm—how can he possess the stature on which all eyes depend? I have restrained myself until today, yet Yu has shown no repentance at all. Let him leave the capital at once and govern a lesser commandery; appoint him Governor of Shangzhou and strip his noble title.
11
子銳嗣,尚太宗女襄城公主,歷太常卿、汾州刺史。 公主雅有禮度,太宗每令諸公主,凡厥所為,皆視其楷則。 又令所司別為營第,公主辭曰:「婦人事舅姑如事父母,若居處不同,則定省多闕。」 再三固讓,乃止,令於舊宅而改創焉。 永徽初,公主薨,詔葬昭陵。
His son Rui inherited the line, married Princess Xiangcheng, a daughter of Taizong, and rose through the posts of Minister of Rites and Governor of Fenzhou. The princess was a model of decorum; Taizong often told the other imperial daughters to take whatever she did as their standard. The emperor also ordered officials to build her a separate mansion, but the princess declined: "A wife tends her husband's parents as her own; if we lived apart, I could not attend them morning and evening. After she firmly refused again and again, he relented and had the old house renovated instead. Early in the Yonghui era the princess died, and the court ordered her buried at Zhaoling.
12
瑀兄璟,亦有學行。 武德中為黃門侍郎,累轉秘書監,封蘭陵縣公。 貞觀中卒,贈禮部尚書。
Yu's older brother Jing was likewise learned and upright in conduct. During Wude he served as Vice Director of the Secretariat, was promoted to Director of the Imperial Library, and was enfeoffed Duke of Lanling. He died in the Zhenguan period and was posthumously awarded the title Minister of Rites.
13
瑀兄子鈞,隋遷州刺史、梁國公珣之子也。 博學有才望。 貞觀中,累除中書舍人,甚為房玄齡、魏徵所重。 永徽二年,歷遷諫議大夫,兼弘文館學士。 時有左武候別駕盧文操,逾垣盜左藏庫物,高宗以別駕職在糾繩,身行盜竊,命有司殺之。 鈞進諫曰:「文操所犯,情實難原。 然恐天下聞之,必謂陛下輕法律,賤人命,任喜怒,貴財物。 臣之所職,以諫為名,愚衷所懷,不敢不奏。」 帝謂曰:「卿職在司諫,能盡忠規。」 遂特免其死罪,顧謂侍臣曰:「此乃真諫議也。」 尋而太常樂工宋四通等,為宮人通傳信物,高宗特令處死,乃遣附律,鈞上疏言:「四通等犯在未附律前,不合至死。」 手詔曰:「朕聞防禍未萌,先賢所重,宮闕之禁,其可漸歟? 昔如姬竊符,朕用為永鑑,不欲今茲自彰其過,所搦憲章,想非濫也。 但朕翹心紫禁,思覿引裾,側席硃楹,冀旌折檻。 今乃喜得其言,特免四通等死,遠處配流。」 鈞尋為太子率更令,兼崇賢館學士。 顯慶中卒。 所撰《韻旨》二十捲,有集三十捲行於代。
Yu's nephew Jun was the son of Xun, who had been Sui Governor of Qianzhou and Duke of Liang. He was deeply learned and widely esteemed. During Zhenguan he rose through appointments to Palace Draftsman and won high regard from Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng. In the second year of Yonghui he was promoted to Remonstrating Grand Master and made a concurrent scholar of the Hongwen Academy. At the time Left Martial Guard assistant commissioner Lu Wencao climbed a wall and stole from the Left Treasury; Gaozong reasoned that a man whose duty was to punish crime had himself stolen, and ordered him put to death. Jun remonstrated: "What Wencao did is indeed hard to forgive. Yet I fear that when the realm hears of this they will say Your Majesty holds law cheap, life cheaper still, and lets mood and treasure outweigh justice. My office is called remonstrance; what my foolish heart feels I dare not withhold. The emperor said, "Your charge is remonstrance, and you have fulfilled it with loyal candor. He then specially spared Wencao's life and told the attending ministers, "This is what a true remonstrator looks like. Soon court musicians Song Sitong and others were caught passing messages for palace women; Gaozong ordered them executed, then had the statute amended retroactively; Jun memorialized that their crime predated the law and death was not warranted. A personal edict answered: "I know the ancients prized stopping trouble before it sprouted—can palace discipline be allowed to slip by degrees? Long ago Lady Ru stole the tally and brought down a state—I keep that before me always. I do not mean these men to expose their own guilt in public, and I trust the law I apply is not excessive. Yet I lean toward the palace not to silence counsel but to hear it—I keep my seat askew at the red pillars, hoping for men who would break the balustrade to speak. Now I am glad of your words and specially spare Sitong and the rest from death, sending them instead to distant exile. Jun was soon made Director of Palace Stud for the heir apparent and concurrent scholar of the Chongxian Academy. He died during the Xianqing era. He wrote Rhyme Essentials in twenty scrolls and left collected works in thirty scrolls that circulated in his day.
14
子瓘,官至渝州長史。 母終,以毀卒。 瓘子嵩,別有傳。
His son Guan rose as senior administrator of Yuzhou. When his mother died, he died from grief's severity. Guan's son Song is treated in a separate biography.
15
鈞兄子嗣業,少隨祖姑隋煬帝后入於突厥。 貞觀九年歸朝,以深識蕃情充使,統領突厥之眾。 累轉鴻臚卿,兼單于都護府長史。 調露中,單于突厥反叛,嗣業率兵戰,敗,配流嶺南而死。
Jun's nephew Sizye went in his youth with the former Sui empress—his grand-aunt—into the Turks. In the ninth year of Zhenguan he returned; his keen knowledge of frontier peoples made him envoy commanding Turk forces. He rose through promotions to Director of the Court for Diplomatic Reception and concurrent chief administrator of the Chanyu Protectorate. During Tiaolu the Turks of the protectorate rebelled; Sizye led troops against them, was defeated, and died in exile in Lingnan.
16
裴矩,字弘大,河東聞喜人。 祖佗,後魏東荊州刺史。 父訥之,北齊太子舍人。 矩襁褓而孤,為伯父讓之所鞠。 及長,博學,早知名,仕齊為高平王文學。 齊亡,隋文帝為定州總管,召補記室,甚親敬之。 文帝即位,遷給事郎,直內史省,奏舍人事。 伐陳之役,領元帥記室。 及陳平,晉王廣令矩與高颎收陳圖籍,歸之秘府。 累遷吏部侍郎,以事免。 大業初,西域諸蕃款張掖塞與中國互市,煬帝遣矩監其事。 矩知帝方勤遠略,欲吞併夷狄,乃訪西域風俗及山川險易、君長姓族、物產服章,撰《西域圖記》三卷,入朝奏之。 帝大悅,賜物五百段。 每日引至御座,顧問西方之事。 矩盛言西域多珍寶及吐谷渾可並之狀,帝信之。 仍委以經略,拜民部侍郎。 俄遷黃門侍郎,參預朝政。 令往張掖引致西蕃,至者十餘國。 三年,帝有事於恆岳,咸來助祭。 帝將巡河右,復令矩往燉煌,矩遣使說高昌王鞠伯雅及伊吾吐屯設等,啖以厚利,導使入朝。 及帝西巡,次燕支山,高昌王、伊吾設等及西蕃胡二十七國,盛服珠玉錦罽,焚香奏樂,歌舞相趨,謁於道左。 復令武威、張掖士女盛飾縱觀,填咽周亙數十里,帝見之大悅。 及滅吐谷渾,蠻夷納貢,諸蕃懾服,相繼來庭。 雖拓地數千里,而役戍委輸之費,歲巨萬計,中國騷動焉。 帝以矩有綏懷之略,加位銀青光祿大夫。 其年,帝至東都,矩以蠻夷朝貢者多,諷帝大征四方奇技,作魚龍曼延角牴於洛邑,以誇諸戎狄,終月而罷。 又令三市店肆皆設帷帳,盛酒食,遣掌蕃率蠻夷與人貿易,所至處悉令邀延就座,醉飽而散。 夷人有識者,咸私哂其矯飾焉。 帝稱矩至誠,謂宇文述、牛弘曰:「裴矩大識朕意,凡所陳奏,皆朕之成算,朕未發頃,矩輒以聞。 自非奉國用心,孰能若是?」 尋令與將軍薛世雄城伊吾而還,賜錢四十萬。 矩因進計縱反間於射匱,使潛攻處羅。 後處羅為射匱所迫,竟隨使者入朝,帝甚悅,賜矩貂裘及西域珍器。 從帝巡於塞北,幸啟民可汗帳。 時高麗遣使先通於突厥,啟民不敢隱,引之見帝。 矩因奏曰:「高麗之地,本孤竹國也,周代以之封箕子,漢時分為三郡,晉氏亦統遼東。 今乃不臣,列為外域,故先帝欲征之久矣,但以楊諒不肖,師出無功。 當陛下時,安得不有事於此,使冠帶之境,仍為蠻貊之鄉乎? 今其使者朝於突厥,親見啟民從化,必懼皇靈之遠暢,慮後服之先亡,脅令入朝,當可致也。 請面詔其使還本國,遣詔其王令速朝覲。 不然者,當率突厥即日誅之。」 帝納焉。 高麗不用命,始建征遼之策。 王師臨遼,以本官領虎賁郎將。 明年,復從至遼東。 兵部侍郎斛斯政亡入高麗,帝令矩兼掌兵部事。 以前後渡遼功,進位右光祿大夫。 矩後從幸江都。 及義兵入關,屈突通敗問至,帝問矩方略,矩曰:「太原有變,京畿不靜,遙為處分,恐失事機。 唯鑾輿早還,方可平定。」 矩見天下將亂,恐為身禍,每遇人盡禮,雖至胥吏,皆得其歡心。 時從駕驍果多逃散,矩言於帝曰:「車駕留此,已經二歲,人無匹合,則不能久安。 請聽兵士於此納室,私相奔誘者,因而配之。」 帝從其計,軍中漸安,咸曰:「裴公之惠也。」 是時,帝既昏侈逾甚,矩無所諫諍,但悅媚取容而已。 宇文化及弒逆,署為尚書右僕射。 化及敗,竇建德復以為尚書右僕射,令專掌選事。 時建德起自群盜,事無節文,矩為之創定朝儀,權設法律,憲章頗備,建德大悅,每諮訪焉。
Pei Ju, styled Hongda, was a native of Wenxi in Hedong commandery. His grandfather Tuo was Eastern Jingzhou inspector under the Northern Wei. His father Nezhi served as attendant to the crown prince of Northern Qi. Ju lost his father in infancy and was raised by his uncle Rangzhi. When he came of age he was widely learned and known early; in Qi he served as literary tutor to the Prince of Gaoping. After Qi fell, while still governor-general of Dingzhou the future Emperor Wen summoned him as secretariat recorder and treated him with warm regard. When Wen took the throne he was made an attendant gentleman, served in the Secretariat, and handled memorials as receiving clerk. During the conquest of Chen he served as chief secretariat officer to the commander. After Chen fell, Prince Guang sent Ju with Gao Jiong to gather Chen's archives for the imperial library. He rose to vice minister of civil appointments but was dismissed over a matter. Early in Daye, western peoples came in goodwill to Zhangye to trade with China, and Yangdi sent Ju to oversee the markets. Seeing the emperor bent on distant conquest and bent on absorbing the frontier peoples, Ju investigated western customs, terrain, rulers and clans, products, and dress, compiled an Illustrated Record of the Western Regions in three scrolls, and presented it at court. The emperor was greatly pleased and rewarded him with five hundred bolts of silk. Each day he was summoned to the throne to answer questions on the west. Ju spoke at length of western treasures and of how Tuyuhun might be annexed, and the emperor believed him. Yangdi entrusted him with frontier strategy and made him vice minister of revenue. He was soon promoted to vice director of the Secretariat and admitted to policy deliberations. He was sent to Zhangye to attract western peoples, and more than a dozen states came. In the third year, when the emperor sacrificed at Mount Heng, they all came to join the rites. When the emperor planned a tour of the Hexi corridor he again sent Ju to Dunhuang; Ju's envoys persuaded King Qu Boya of Gaochang and the Yiwu chieftain with rich inducements to come to court. On the western tour the emperor stopped at Yanzhi Mountain; the King of Gaochang, the Yiwu chieftain, and twenty-seven western states came in splendid dress of pearl, jade, and brocade, with incense and music, dancing forward to pay homage along the road. He had the men and women of Wuwei and Zhangye turn out in their finest to watch; for tens of li the roads were packed, and the emperor was delighted. After Tuyuhun was destroyed, frontier peoples sent tribute; one after another they came to court in submission. Though the empire stretched thousands of li further, corvée, garrison, and transport costs ran to tens of thousands yearly and the heartland was thrown into turmoil. The emperor credited Ju with a policy of winning hearts on the frontier and promoted him to Silver-Gleaming Grand Master of Palace Honors. That year, at the Eastern Capital, with many tributaries present Ju urged the emperor to summon exotic entertainments from the four quarters—aquatic pageants, acrobatics, and wrestling in Luoyang to dazzle the frontier envoys, and the displays ran a full month. He also draped the market stalls, set out feasts, and had frontier commissioners host the envoys in trade and hospitality—wherever they went they were pressed to sit, eat, and drink their fill before dispersing. The more discerning among the envoys privately mocked the show. The emperor praised Ju's devotion and told Yuwen Shu and Niu Hong, "Pei Ju understands my mind. Whatever he memorializes is already my settled plan—before I have spoken, Ju has already reported it. Who but a man devoted to the realm could do such a thing? Soon he was sent with General Xue Shixiong to build fortifications at Yiwu and return, and was rewarded with four hundred thousand cash. Ju then proposed a ruse to sow discord with Shekui and induce him to strike Qaghan Chuluo. Later Chuluo, pressed by Shekui, came to court with the envoys; the emperor was pleased and gave Ju a sable cloak and rare objects from the west. He accompanied the emperor on a tour north of the frontier and visited Qimin Qaghan's camp. At the time Goguryeo had sent envoys to the Turks first; Qimin did not conceal it and presented them to the emperor. Ju memorialized: "Goguryeo's territory was once the state of Guzhu; Zhou enfeoffed Jizi there; Han divided it into three commanderies; Jin too held Liaodong. Now it refuses allegiance and stands outside the empire; the former emperor long meant to chastise it, but Yang Liang's rebellion left campaigns unfinished. Under Your Majesty, how can we leave it so that lands once within cap-and-gown still remain barbarian country? Now its envoys have seen Qimin submit at the Turk court; they will fear the reach of imperial power and worry that those who come last will perish first—if we press them to court, they may be brought in. Summon their envoy and order him home with an edict that the king come at once to court. Otherwise lead the Turks against them on the spot. The emperor accepted the advice. Goguryeo disobeyed, and the plan for the Liaodong campaign was set in motion. When the imperial army reached Liaodong he served in his existing rank as commander of the Tiger-Gallant guard. The following year he again accompanied the emperor to Liaodong. Vice Minister of War Husizheng had fled to Goguryeo, and the emperor put Ju in charge of War Ministry affairs as well. For his service in the Liaodong crossings he was promoted to Right Grand Master of Palace Honors. Ju later accompanied the emperor to Jiangdu. When the rebel forces entered the passes and word came of Qu Tuotong's defeat, the emperor asked Ju's counsel. Ju said, "Taiyuan has risen and the heartland is unsettled; to govern from here at a distance is to miss the moment. Only if Your Majesty returns to the north soon can the realm be pacified. Ju saw the empire slipping toward chaos and feared for his own safety; he treated everyone with full courtesy, even low clerks, and won their goodwill. Many of the emperor's elite guards had deserted; Ju told him, "You have been at Jiangdu two years. Men without wives cannot remain content for long. Allow the soldiers to marry here—match those who have courted on their own. The emperor agreed; the army grew steadier, and men said, "It was Lord Pei's doing." By then the emperor was sunk in luxury; Ju offered no remonstrance and only pleased him to remain in favor. When Yuwen Huaji murdered the emperor, he made Ju Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. After Huaji's fall Dou Jiande made him Right Vice Director again and put him in charge of appointments. Jiande had risen from banditry and had no court ritual; Ju devised ceremony and provisional laws until the regime had a full code. Jiande was delighted and constantly sought his advice.
17
及建德敗,矩與偽將曹旦及建德之妻齎傳國八璽,舉山東之地來降,封安邑縣公。 武德五年,拜太子左庶子。 俄遷太子詹事。 令與虞世南撰《吉凶書儀》,參按故實,甚合禮度,為學者所稱,至今行之。 八年,兼檢校侍中。 及太子建成被誅,其餘黨尚保宮城,欲與秦王決戰,王遣矩曉諭之,宮兵乃散。 尋遷民部尚書。 矩年且八十,而精爽不衰,以曉習故事,甚見推重。 太宗初即位,務止奸吏,或聞諸曹案典,多有受賂者,乃遣人以財物試之。 有司門令史受饋絹一匹,太宗怒,將殺之,矩進諫曰:「此人受賂,誠合重誅。 但陛下以物試之,即行極法,所謂陷人以罪,恐非導德齊禮之義。」 太宗納其言,因召百僚謂曰:「裴矩遂能廷折,不肯面從,每事如此,天下何憂不治!」 貞觀元年卒,贈絳州刺史,謚曰敬。 撰《開業平陳記》十一卷,行於代。
After Jiande's defeat Ju came over with the rebel general Cao Dan and Jiande's wife, bringing the eight dynastic seals and offering Shandong; he was created Duke of Anyi. In Wude year five he became Left Companion to the Crown Prince. He was soon made Grand Mentor of the Crown Prince. He and Yu Shinan were commissioned to compile Rites of Auspicious and Inauspicious Correspondence, drawn from precedent and fully consonant with ritual; scholars praised it and it remains in use. In year eight he also served as Acting Palace Attendant. After Crown Prince Jiancheng was killed his partisans still held the palace and meant to fight the Prince of Qin; the prince sent Ju to reason with them and the garrison dispersed. He was soon appointed Minister of the Household. Nearly eighty, he remained keen-minded; his mastery of precedent won deep respect. Early in Taizong's reign he moved against corrupt officials; hearing that many clerks took bribes, he sent men to tempt them with goods. A gate clerk accepted one bolt of silk as a bribe; Taizong was furious and would have executed him. Ju remonstrated: "Taking a bribe deserves severe punishment, but to tempt him and then apply the death penalty is to entrap a man in guilt and hardly accords with guiding the realm by virtue and ritual. Taizong accepted his counsel and told the assembled officials, "Pei Ju can argue me down in open court and will not simply agree to my face. If every minister did so, what fear would we have for good government!" He died in the first year of Zhenguan; posthumously named prefect of Jiangzhou and given the temple name Jing, "Respectful." He authored eleven fascicles of Record of the Founding and Pacification of Chen, which circulated in his day.
18
子宣機,高宗時官至銀青光祿大夫、太子左中護。
His son Xuanji rose under Gaozong to Silver-Gleaming Grand Master of Palace Honors and Left Central Guard of the Crown Prince.
19
宇文士及,雍州長安人。 隋右衛大將軍述子,化及弟也。 開皇末,以父勳封新城縣公。 隋文帝嘗引入臥內,與語,奇之,令尚煬帝女南陽公主。 大業中,歷尚輦奉御,從幸江都。 以父憂去職,尋起為鴻臚少卿。 化及之潛謀逆亂也,以其主婿,深忌之而不告,既弒煬帝,署為內史令。 初,高祖為殿內少監,時士及為奉御,深自結托。 及隨化及至黎陽,高祖手詔召之。 士及亦潛遣家僮間道詣長安申赤心,又因使密貢金環。 高祖大悅,謂侍臣曰:「我與士及素經共事,今貢金環,是其來意也。」 及至魏縣,兵威日蹙,士及勸之西歸長安,化及不從,士及乃與封倫求於濟北征督軍糧。 俄而化及為竇建德所擒,濟北豪右多勸士及發青、齊之眾,北擊建德,收河北之地,以觀形勢。 士及不納,遂與封倫等來降。 高祖數之曰:「汝兄弟率思歸之卒,為入關之計,當此之時,若得我父子,豈肯相存,今欲何地自處?」 士及謝曰:「臣之罪誠不容誅,但臣早奉龍顏,久存心腹,往在涿郡,嘗夜中密論時事,後於汾陰宮,復盡丹赤。 自陛下龍飛九五,臣實傾心西歸,所以密申貢獻,冀此贖罪耳。」 高祖笑謂裴寂曰:「此人與我言天下事,至今已六七年矣,公輩皆在其後。」 時士及妹為昭儀,有寵,由是漸見親待,授上儀同。 從太宗平宋金剛,以功復封新城縣公,妻以壽光縣主,仍遷秦王府驃騎將軍。 又從平王世充、竇建德,以功進爵郢國公,遷中書侍郎,再轉太子詹事。 太宗即位,代封倫為中書令,真食益州七百戶。 尋以本官檢校涼州都督。 時突厥屢為邊寇,士及欲立威以鎮邊服,每出入陳兵,盛為容衛; 又折節禮士,涼士服其威惠。 征為殿中監,以疾出為蒲州刺史,為政寬簡,吏人安之。 數歲,入為右衛大將軍,甚見親顧,每延入閣中,乙夜方出,遇其歸沐,仍遣馳召,同列莫與為比。 然尤謹密,其妻每問向中使召有何樂事,士及終無所言。 尋錄其功,別封一子為新城縣公。 在職七年,復為殿中監,加金紫光祿大夫。 及疾篤,太宗親問,撫之流涕。 貞觀十六年卒,贈左衛大將軍、涼州都督,陪葬昭陵。 士及撫幼弟及孤兄子,以友愛見稱,親戚故人貧乏者,輒遺之。 然厚自封植,衣食服玩必極奢侈。 謚曰「恭」,黃門侍郎劉洎駁之曰:「士及居家侈縱,不宜為恭。」 竟謚曰縱。
Yuwen Shiji was a native of Chang'an in Yong prefecture. He was the son of the Sui Right Guard General Yuwen Shu and younger brother of Yuwen Huaji. At the end of the Kaihuang era he was created Duke of Xincheng on his father's merit. Emperor Wen once received him in his private chamber, took to him, and had him marry Emperor Yang's daughter, the Princess of Nanyang. Under Daye he served as Imperial Carriage Attendant and accompanied the court to Jiangdu. He left office to mourn his father but was soon recalled as Vice Director of the Court for Diplomatic Relations. When Huaji plotted regicide he kept his brother-in-law in the dark out of deep suspicion; after murdering Emperor Yang he made him Director of the Secretariat. In his early years, when Gaozu was Vice Director of Palace Administration, Shiji was an imperial attendant and formed a close bond with him. When he followed Huaji to Liyang, Gaozu sent him a personal summons. Shiji also sent a household servant by secret routes to Chang'an to pledge loyalty and, through an envoy, privately offered a gold ring. Gaozu was delighted and told his ministers, "Shiji and I served together for years. This gold ring means he intends to come over. At Wei county, with their forces failing, Shiji urged a march back to Chang'an; Huaji refused, and Shiji went with Feng Lun to Jibei on the pretext of collecting army grain. Soon Huaji was taken by Dou Jiande; local magnates in Jibei urged Shiji to rally the forces of Qing and Qi, strike north against Jiande, and recover Hebei to test the balance of power. Shiji refused and surrendered with Feng Lun and the rest. Gaozu rebuked him: "You and your brother led men bent on entering the passes to seize power. Had you taken me and my son then, would you have let us live? Where do you mean to stand now? Shiji said, "My crimes deserve death, yet I long served Your Majesty in confidence—once at Zhuo commandery we spoke of affairs in secret at night, and again at Fenyin I poured out my loyalty. Since Your Majesty ascended the throne I have meant to come west; the gifts I sent were to prove my intent and atone. Gaozu laughed and told Pei Ji, "He has discussed the realm with me for six or seven years already—you others came later." His sister was a favored imperial consort; he gradually won favor and was given the rank of Pillar of State. He followed Taizong against Song Jingang and was re-created Duke of Xincheng, married to a princess of Shouguang, and made Swift Cavalry General on the Prince of Qin's staff. He helped defeat Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande, was advanced to Duke of E, made Vice Director of the Secretariat, and later Grand Mentor of the Crown Prince. When Taizong succeeded he replaced Feng Lun as Director of the Secretariat with a hereditary income of seven hundred households in Yizhou. Soon he was made acting Commissioner of Liangzhou while retaining his central post. With Turks raiding the frontier, Shiji meant to awe them into submission; he marched with full escorts wherever he went, yet humbled himself before local worthies, and the gentry of Liang admired both his force and his courtesy. Recalled as Director of Palace Administration, he was soon sent out as prefect of Pu on account of illness; his rule was easy and the people were content. A few years later he became Right Guard General and enjoyed extraordinary favor—Taizong would keep him in the privy chamber until the second watch, and even on his bath days would send urgent summons; no colleague could match his standing. Yet he was exceedingly discreet; when his wife asked what affairs the palace called him for at night, he never told her. His merits were soon recognized and one of his sons was separately enfeoffed as Duke of Xincheng. After seven years in office he again became Director of Palace Administration and was given the rank of Grand Master with golden seal. When his illness grew grave Taizong visited him in person, stroked him, and wept. He died in Zhenguan year sixteen, was posthumously named Left Guard General and Commissioner of Liangzhou, and was buried at Zhaoling. He raised his young brother and orphaned nephews and was known for fraternal devotion; he gave freely to poor kin and old friends. Yet he enriched himself lavishly—his dress, food, and ornaments were always of the utmost extravagance. He was first given the posthumous name Gong, "Respectful," but Vice Director Liu Ji objected: "Shiji lived in extravagance at home—Gong is not fitting." The title was finally changed to Zong, "Unrestrained."
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史臣曰:封倫多揣摩之才,有附托之巧。 黨化及而數煬帝,或有赧顏; 托士及以歸唐朝,殊無愧色。 當建成之際,事持兩端; 背蕭瑀之恩,奏多異議。 太宗,明主也,不見其心; 玄齡,賢相焉,尚容其諂。 狡算醜行,死而後彰,苟非唐臨之劾,唐儉等議,則奸人得計矣。 蕭瑀骨鯁亮直,儒術清明。 執政隋朝,忠而獲罪; 委質高祖,知無不為。 及太宗臨朝,房、杜用事,不容小過,欲居成功,既形猜貳之言,寧固或躍之位? 易名而祗加「褊」字,所幸者猶多; 奉佛而不失道情,非善也而何謂。 裴矩方略寬簡,士及通變謹密,皆一時之稱也。
The historiographer writes: Feng Lun had a genius for reading minds and a talent for attaching himself to power. He backed Huaji yet denounced Emperor Yang—sometimes with a flush of shame; he rode Shiji's coattails back to Tang without the least embarrassment. At the crisis over Jiancheng he straddled both sides; he betrayed Xiao Yu's kindness and his memorials were full of dissent. Taizong was a clear-sighted ruler yet did not see through him; Fang Xuanling was a worthy chancellor yet still indulged his flattery. His schemes and disgrace surfaced only after death; but for Tang Lin's impeachment and the debates of Tang Jian and others, the knave would have won out. Xiao Yu was fiercely upright, his Confucian learning lucid. He held office under the Sui, loyal yet punished; he pledged himself to Gaozu and did everything he knew to do. Under Taizong, with Fang and Du in power and no slip forgiven, he still sought the top seat—his words already hinted at divided loyalty; could he cling to a place meant for contenders? His name was changed to add only "narrow-minded"—he was still fortunate in that; he served the Buddha without losing the moral temper of a gentleman—if that is not virtue, what is? Pei Ju was strategic and magnanimous; Shiji adaptable and discreet—each was acclaimed in his day.
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贊曰:封倫揣摩諂詐,蕭瑀骨鯁儒術。 裴矩方略寬簡,士及通變謹密。
Eulogy: Feng Lun read minds and flattered; Xiao Yu upright and learned in Confucian tradition. Pei Ju—strategic and magnanimous; Shiji—adaptable and discreet.