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郭孝恪張儉蘇定方薛仁貴程務挺張士貴趙道興
Guo Xiaoke, Zhang Jian, Su Dingfang, Xue Rengui, Cheng Wuting, Zhang Shigui, and Zhao Daoxing
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郭孝恪,許州陽翟人也,少有誌節。 隋末,率鄉曲數百人附於李密,密大悅之,謂曰:“昔稱汝潁多奇士,故非謬也。 ”令與徐勣守黎陽。 後密敗,勣令孝恪入朝送款,封陽翟郡公,拜宋州刺史。 令與徐勣經營武牢已東,所得州縣,委以選補。 其後,竇建德率眾來援王世充,孝恪於青城宮進策於太宗曰:“世充日踧月迫,力盡計窮,懸首麵縛,翹足可待。 建德遠來助虐,糧運阻絕,此是天喪之時。 請固武牢,屯軍汜水,隨機應變,則易為克殄。 ”太宗然其計。 及破建德,平世充,太宗於洛陽置酒高會諸將曰:“郭孝恪謀擒建德之策,王長先龍門下米之功,皆出諸人之右也。 ”曆遷貝、趙、江、涇四州刺史,所在有能名。 入為太府少卿,轉左驍衛將軍。 貞觀十六年,累授金紫光祿大夫,行安西都護、西州刺史。 其地高昌舊都,士流與流配及鎮兵雜處,又限以沙磧,與中國隔絕。 孝恪推誠撫禦,大獲其歡心。 初,王師之滅高昌也,製以高昌所虜焉耆生口七百盡還之。 焉耆王尋叛歸欲穀可汗,朝貢稀至。 令孝恪伺其機便,因表請擊之。 以孝恪為安西道行軍總管,率步騎三千出銀山道以伐焉耆。 孝恪夜襲其城,虜其王龍突騎支。 太宗大悅,璽書勞之曰:“卿破焉耆,虜其偽王,功立威行,深副所委。 但焉耆絕域,地阻天山,恃遠憑深,敢懷叛逆。 卿望崇位重,報效情深,遠涉沙場,龔行罰罪。 取其堅壁,曾不崇朝; 再廓遊魂,遂無遺寇。 緬思竭力,必大艱辛。 超險成功,深足嘉尚。 ”俄又以孝恪為昆丘道副大總管以討龜茲,破其都城。 孝恪自留守之,餘軍分道別進,龜茲國相那利率眾遁逃。 孝恪以城外未賓,乃出營於外,有龜茲人來謂孝恪曰:“那利為相,人心素歸,今亡在野,必思為變。 城中之人,頗有異志,公宜備之。 ”孝恪不以為虞。 那利等果率眾萬餘,陰與城內降胡表裏為應。 孝恪失於警候,賊將入城鼓噪,孝恪始覺之,乃率部下千餘人入城,與賊合戰。 城中人復應那利,攻孝恪。 孝恪力戰而入,至其王所居,旋復出,戰於城門,中流矢而死,孝恪子待詔亦同死於陣。 賊竟退走,將軍曹繼叔復拔其城。 太宗聞之,初責孝恪不加警備,以致顛覆; 後又憐之,為其家舉哀。 高宗即位,追贈安西都護、陽翟郡公,待詔贈遊擊將軍,仍賻物三百段。 孝恪性奢侈,仆妾器玩,務極鮮華,雖在軍中,床帳完具。 嚐以遺行軍大總管阿史那社爾,社爾一無所受。 太宗聞之曰:“三將優劣之不同也。 郭孝恪今為寇虜所屠,可謂自貽伊咎耳。 ”次子待封,高宗時,官至左豹韜衛將軍。 咸亨中,與薛仁貴率兵討吐蕃,於大非川戰敗,減死除名。 少子待聘,長安中官至宋州刺史。
Guo Xiaoke was a native of Yangzhai in Xu Prefecture. Even as a young man he showed firm purpose and moral backbone. When the Sui dynasty was collapsing, he led several hundred neighbors to join Li Mi. Mi was delighted and told him, "People used to say Runan and Yingchuan breed remarkable men — they were not wrong." " He then assigned him, together with Xu Shiji, to hold Liyang. After Li Mi's defeat, Shiji sent Xiaoke to the Tang court to submit. He was created Duke of Yangzhai and made prefect of Songzhou. He and Xu Shiji were charged with governing everything east of Wulao Pass, with authority to appoint officials in the prefectures and counties they took. Later, when Dou Jiande marched to relieve Wang Shichong, Xiaoke presented a plan to Emperor Taizong at Qingcheng Palace: "Shichong grows more desperate every day; his strength and stratagems are spent. He is ready to surrender at a word — we need only wait." Jiande has come a long way to support a tyrant, and his supply lines are already broken. Heaven itself is turning against him. If we hold Wulao firm, camp at Sishui, and respond flexibly as events unfold, both enemies can be destroyed with ease. " The emperor accepted the plan. After Jiande was defeated and Shichong subdued, Taizong held a grand banquet for his generals in Luoyang and declared, "Guo Xiaoke's scheme to take Jiande and Wang Changxian's feat of securing grain below Longmen both outshine everyone else's contributions." " He went on to serve as prefect of Bei, Zhao, Jiang, and Jing in turn, earning a name for competence wherever he was posted. He was recalled to the capital as vice minister of the imperial treasury, then promoted to general of the Left Xiaowei Guard. In 642 he was given the rank of Grand Master of Splendid Happiness with Golden Seal and Purple Ribbon and appointed acting Protector-General of Anxi and prefect of Xizhou. The region was the former capital of Gaochang, where educated exiles, banished convicts, and frontier garrisons lived side by side, separated from the heartland by vast deserts. Xiaoke governed them with open sincerity and won their deep loyalty. When the imperial army had earlier destroyed Gaochang, an edict ordered that all seven hundred Yanqi people whom Gaochang had seized be sent home. The king of Yanqi soon rebelled and submitted to the Western Turks; tribute from Yanqi all but ceased. The court told Xiaoke to watch for an opening and he memorialized asking permission to strike. Xiaoke was appointed commander of the Anxi campaign force and led three thousand foot and horse soldiers along the Yinshan route against Yanqi. Xiaoke stormed the city at night and took its king, Long Tuqizhi, prisoner. Taizong was overjoyed and sent a sealed letter of praise: "You have crushed Yanqi and taken its pretender king. Your achievements match the trust I placed in you." Yanqi lies at the edge of the empire, shielded by the Tianshan range. Trusting in its remoteness, it dared to rebel. You bear heavy rank and high reputation, and your loyalty runs deep. You crossed the battlefields of the west to carry out imperial punishment. You seized their fortified walls in less than a single morning; you swept away the scattered enemy so that not a single bandit was left. When I think of the effort you must have expended, I know the hardship was immense. To succeed across such dangers is truly admirable. " Shortly afterward Xiaoke was made deputy supreme commander of the Kunqiu campaign against Kucha and captured its capital. Xiaoke stayed behind to hold the city while the other columns pressed on. The Kucha chancellor Nali fled with his followers. Because the countryside had not yet submitted, Xiaoke moved his camp outside the walls. A Kuchean came to warn him: "Nali has long been the people's choice as minister. Now that he is at large in the hills, he is sure to plot an uprising. Many inside the city are of doubtful loyalty. You should take precautions." " Xiaoke paid no heed. Nali did in fact rally more than ten thousand men and secretly coordinated with Turkic collaborators inside the city. Xiaoke had been careless with his sentries. The rebels were already storming the gates with drums and shouts before he realized what was happening. He rushed into the city at the head of a thousand men and fought hand to hand. The townspeople rose for Nali and turned on Xiaoke. Xiaoke fought his way to the royal quarters, then fought his way out again at the gate, where a stray arrow killed him. His son Daizhao fell beside him in the melee. The rebels eventually fled, and General Cao Jishu recaptured the city. When Taizong heard the news, he first blamed Xiaoke for failing to take precautions, which had led to disaster; but later he took pity on him and ordered mourning for the family. After Gaozong's accession, Xiaoke was posthumously made Protector-General of Anxi and Duke of Yangzhai; Daizhao was posthumously made general of guerrilla warfare, and the family received three hundred rolls of goods as condolence gifts. Xiaoke was by nature extravagant: his servants, concubines, and furnishings were always as lavish as possible, and even on campaign his camp was fully appointed with bedding and hangings. He once tried to send gifts to the supreme commander Ashina She'er, who refused every one. Taizong remarked when he heard of this, "Here you see how three commanders differ in character. Guo Xiaoke has now been cut down by the enemy — he brought it on himself." " His second son Daifeng rose under Gaozong to general of the Left Leopard Bow Guard. During the Xianheng period he joined Xue Rengui in a campaign against Tibet, was defeated at Dafeichuan, and was spared execution only to be stripped of rank and office. His youngest son Daipin later served as prefect of Songzhou in the Chang'an period.
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張儉,雍州新豐人,隋相州刺史、皖城公威之孫也。 父植,車騎將軍、連城縣公。 儉即高祖之從甥也。 貞觀初,以軍功累遷朔州刺史。 時頡利可汗自恃強盛,每有所求,輒遣書稱敕。 緣邊諸州,遞相承稟。 及儉至,遂拒不受,太宗聞而嘉之。 儉又廣營屯田,歲致穀十萬斛,邊糧益饒。 及遭霜旱,勸百姓相贍,遂免饑餒,州境獨安。 後檢校勝州都督,以母憂去職。 儉前在朔州,屬李靖平突厥之後,有思結部落,貧窮離散,儉招慰安集之。 其不來者,或居磧北,既親屬分住,私相往還,儉並不拘責,但存綱紀,羈縻而已。 及儉移任,州司謂其將叛,遽以奏聞。 朝廷議發兵進討,仍起儉為使,就觀動靜。 儉單馬推誠,入其部落,召諸首領,布以腹心,鹹匍匐啟顙而至,便移就代州。 即令檢校代州都督。 儉遂勸其營田,每年豐熟。 慮其私蓄富實,易生驕侈,表請和糴,擬充貯備,蕃人喜悅。 邊軍大收其利。 遷營州都督,兼護東夷校尉。 太宗將征遼東,遣儉率蕃兵先行抄掠。 儉軍至遼西,為遼水汛漲,久而未渡,太宗以為畏懦,召還。 儉詣洛陽謁見,麵陳利害,因說水草好惡,山川險易,太宗甚悅,仍拜行軍總管,兼領諸蕃騎卒,為六軍前鋒。 時有獲高麗候者,稱莫離支將至遼東,詔儉率兵自新城路邀擊之,莫離支竟不敢出。 儉因進兵渡遼,趨建安城,賊徒大潰,斬首數千級。 以功累封皖城郡公,賞賜甚厚。 其後,改東夷校尉為東夷都護,仍以儉為之。 永徽初,加金紫光祿大夫。 四年,卒於官,年六十,諡曰密。 儉兄大師,累以軍功仕至太仆卿、華州刺史、武功縣男。 儉弟延師,永徽初,累授左衛大將軍,封范陽郡公。 延師廉謹周慎,典羽林屯兵前後三十餘年,未嚐有過,朝廷以此稱之。 龍朔三年,卒官,贈荊州都督,諡曰敬,陪葬昭陵。 唐製三品已上,門列棨戟,儉兄弟三院,門皆立戟,時人榮之,號為“三戟張家”。
Zhang Jian came from Xinfeng in Yong Prefecture and was the grandson of Zhang Wei, the Sui prefect of Xiangzhou who had been enfeoffed as Duke of Wancheng. His father Zhi had been general of chariots and cavalry and Duke of Liancheng. Jian was a cousin of Emperor Gaozu on the maternal side. Early in the Zhenguan reign he was promoted on merit to prefect of Shuozhou. The Qaghan Jieli, confident in his power, would send demands couched as if they were imperial orders. Border prefectures had been complying one after another. When Jian took office he refused outright. Taizong heard of it and praised him. Jian also expanded military farming colonies, delivering a hundred thousand bushels of grain a year until frontier stores were plentiful. When frost and drought struck, he urged the people to help one another, so that famine was averted and his prefecture alone remained calm. He was later made acting governor of Shengzhou but resigned to observe mourning for his mother. While he was at Shuozhou, after Li Jing's defeat of the Turks, the impoverished and scattered Sijie tribe came under his care; he gathered and settled them through gentle persuasion. Those who stayed away, some living north of the desert, continued to visit relatives across the border. Jian did not punish them; he merely upheld basic order and kept them loosely tied to the empire. After Jian was transferred, local officials assumed the tribe was about to rebel and rushed a report to the capital. The court debated sending troops, but instead recalled Jian as envoy to investigate the situation on the spot. Riding alone, Jian entered their camps in good faith, summoned the chiefs, and spoke frankly to them. They came forward prostrate, and he relocated them to Daizhou. He was promptly made acting governor of Daizhou. He persuaded them to farm military colonies, and harvests were abundant year after year. Fearing that private wealth would breed arrogance, he petitioned for government grain purchases to fill the frontier granaries. The tribesmen were delighted. The frontier armies profited greatly. He was transferred to governor of Yingzhou and made protector of the Eastern Yi. When Taizong prepared to campaign against Liaodong, he sent Jian ahead with tribal auxiliaries to harry the enemy. Jian reached Liaoxi but could not cross the flooded Liao River for a long time. Taizong took this for timidity and ordered him back. Jian went to Luoyang, explained the strategic situation in person, and described pasture, terrain, and routes in detail. Taizong was delighted, reappointed him campaign commander, put him at the head of the tribal cavalry, and made him vanguard of the six armies. A captured Goguryeo scout reported that Molizhi was marching on Liaodong. Jian was ordered to ambush him on the Xincheng road, and Molizhi never dared advance. Jian then crossed the Liao, drove on Jian'an, routed the enemy, and took several thousand heads. For his merits he was enfeoffed as Duke of Wancheng and richly rewarded. Later the office of Eastern Yi colonel was elevated to Eastern Yi protector-general, and Jian retained the post. Early in the Yonghui era he was given the rank of Grand Master of Splendid Happiness with Golden Seal and Purple Ribbon. In the fourth year of Yonghui he died in office at the age of sixty. His posthumous name was Mi. Jian's elder brother Dash rose through military service to minister of the imperial stud, prefect of Huazhou, and Baron of Wugong. His younger brother Yanshi was made grand general of the Left Guard early in Yonghui and enfeoffed as Duke of Fanyang. Yanshi was frugal, careful, and conscientious. He commanded the Feathered Forest garrison for more than thirty years without a single blemish on his record, for which the court praised him. He died in office in 663, was posthumously made governor of Jingzhou with the posthumous name Jing, and was buried near Taizong's Zhaoling tomb. Under Tang custom, officials of third rank and above displayed ceremonial halberds at their gates. All three Zhang brothers' households bore them, and contemporaries honoured them as "the Zhang family of three halberds."
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蘇定方,冀州武邑人也。 父邕,大業末,率鄉閭數千人為本郡討賊。 定方驍悍多力,膽氣絕倫,年十餘歲,隨父討捕,先登陷陣。 父卒,郡守又令定方領兵,破賊首張金稱於郡南,手斬金稱,又破楊公卿於郡西,追奔二十餘里,殺獲甚眾,鄉黨賴之。 後仕竇建德,建德將高雅賢甚愛之,養以為子。 雅賢俄又為劉黑闥攻陷城邑,定方每有戰功。 及黑闥、雅賢死,定方歸鄉里。 貞觀初,為匡道府折衝,隨李靖襲突厥頡利於磧口。 靖使定方率二百騎為前鋒,乘霧而行,去賊一里許,忽然霧歇,望見其牙帳,馳掩殺數十百人。 頡利及隋公主狼狽散走,餘眾俯伏,靖軍既至,遂悉降之。 軍還,授左武候中郎將。 永徽中,轉左衛勳一府中郎將,從左衛大將軍程知節征賀魯,為前軍總管。 至鷹娑川,突厥有二萬騎來拒,總管蘇海政與戰,互有前卻。 既而突厥別部鼠尼施等又領二萬餘騎續至。 定方正歇馬,隔一小嶺,去知節十許裏,望見塵起,率五百騎馳往擊之,賊眾大潰,追奔二十里,殺千五百餘人,獲馬二千匹,死馬及所棄甲仗,綿亙山野,不可勝計。 副大總管王文度害其功,謂知節曰:“雖雲破賊,官軍亦有死傷,蓋決成敗法耳,何為此事? 自今正可結為方陣,輜重並納腹中,四面布隊,人馬被甲,賊來即戰,自保萬全。 無為輕脫,致有傷損。 ”又矯稱別奉聖旨,以知節恃勇輕敵,使文度為其節製,遂收軍不許深入。 終日跨馬被甲結陣,由是馬多瘦死,士卒疲勞,無有戰誌。 定方謂知節曰:“本來討賊,今乃自守,馬餓兵疲,逢賊即敗。 怯懦如此,何功可立! 又公為大將,閫外之事,不許自專,別遣軍副,專其號令,理必不然。 須囚縶文度,飛表奏之。 ”知節不從。 至恒篤城,有胡降附,文度又曰:“比我兵回,彼還作賊,不如盡殺,取其資財。 ”定方曰:“如此,自作賊耳,何成伐叛? ”文度不從。 及分財,唯定方一無所取。 師還,文度坐處死,後得除名。 明年,擢定方為行軍大總管,又征賀魯,以任雅相、回紇婆潤為副。 自金山之北,指處木昆部落,大破之。 其俟斤懶獨祿以眾萬餘帳來降,定方撫之,發其千騎進至突騎施部。 賀魯率胡祿屋闕啜、懾舍提暾啜、鼠尼施處半啜、處木昆屈律啜、五努失畢兵馬,眾且十萬,來拒官軍,定方率回紇及漢兵萬餘人擊之。 賊輕定方兵少,四面圍之,定方令步卒據原,攢槊外向,親領漢騎陣於北原。 賊先擊步軍,三衝不入,定方乘勢擊之,賊遂大潰,追奔三十里,殺人馬數萬。 明日,整兵復進。 於是胡祿屋等五努失畢悉眾來降,賀魯獨與處木昆屈律啜數百騎西走。 餘五咄六聞賀魯敗,各向南道降於步真,於是西蕃悉定。 唯賀魯及咥運率其牙內餘眾而奔,定方追之,復大戰於伊麗水上,殺獲略盡。 賀魯及咥運十餘騎逼夜亡走,定方遣副將蕭嗣業追捕之,至於石國,擒之而還。 高宗臨軒,定方戎服操賀魯以獻,列其地為州縣,極於西海。 定方以功遷左驍衛大將軍,封刑國公,又封子慶節為武邑縣公。 俄有思結闕俟斤都曼先鎮諸胡,擁其所部及疏勒、朱俱般、蔥嶺三國復叛,詔定方為安撫大使,率兵討之。 至葉葉水,而賊保馬頭川,於是選精卒一萬人、馬三千匹馳掩襲之,一日一夜行三百里,詰朝至城西十里。 都曼大驚,率兵拒戰於城門之外,賊師敗績,退保馬保城,王師進屯其門。 入夜,諸軍漸至,四面圍之,伐木為攻具,布列城下。 都曼自知不免,麵縛開門出降。 俘還至東都,高宗禦乾陽殿,定方操都曼特勒獻之,蔥嶺以西悉定。 以功加食邢州钜鹿真邑五百戶。 顯慶五年,從幸太原,製授熊津道大總管,率師討百濟。 定方自城山濟海,至熊津江口,賊屯兵據江。 定方升東岸,乘山而陣,與之大戰,揚帆蓋海,相續而至。 賊師敗績,死者數千人,自餘奔散。 遇潮且上,連舳入江,定方於岸上擁陣,水陸齊進,飛楫鼓噪,直趣真都。 去城二十許裏,賊傾國來拒,大戰破之,殺虜萬餘人,追奔入郭。 其王義慈及太子隆奔於北境,定方進圍其城。 義慈次子泰自立為王,嫡孫文思曰:“王與太子雖並出城,而身見在,叔總兵馬,即擅為王,假令漢兵退,我父子當不全矣。 ”遂率其左右投城而下,百姓從之,泰不能止。 定方命卒登城建幟,於是泰開門頓顙。 其大將禰植又將義慈來降,太子隆並與諸城主皆同送款。 百濟悉平,分其地為六州。 俘義慈及隆、泰等獻於東都。 定方前後滅三國,皆生擒其主。 賞賜珍寶,不可勝計,仍拜其子慶節為尚輦奉禦,定方俄遷左武衛大將軍。 乾封二年卒,年七十六。 高宗聞而傷惜,謂侍臣曰:“蘇定方於國有功,例合褒贈,卿等不言,遂使哀榮未及。 興言及此,不覺嗟悼。 ”遽下詔贈幽州都督,諡曰莊。
Su Dingfang was a native of Wuyi in Ji Prefecture. His father Yong, at the end of the Sui, led several thousand local men in suppressing bandits on behalf of the prefecture. Dingfang was ferociously strong and utterly fearless. Before he was fifteen he rode with his father on punitive expeditions, always first over the wall and into the enemy ranks. After his father's death the prefect put Dingfang in command. He defeated the rebel Zhang Jincheng south of the prefecture and killed him with his own hand, then routed Yang Gongqing to the west, pursued the fugitives for more than twenty li, and killed or captured a great host. The region owed its safety to him. He later entered the service of Dou Jiande, whose general Gao Yaxian took a liking to him and adopted him as a son. When Yaxian campaigned with Liu Heidan in seizing towns, Dingfang distinguished himself in every battle. After Heidan and Yaxian were killed, Dingfang went home. Early in Zhenguan he became a frontier colonel of Kuangdao and joined Li Jing's surprise attack on the Turk qaghan Jieli at Qikou. Jing sent Dingfang ahead with two hundred horsemen. They rode through fog until, a li from the enemy camp, the mist lifted and revealed the royal tent. They charged and killed scores of men. Jieli and the Sui princess fled in disorder while the rest threw themselves down. When Jing's main force arrived, the whole army surrendered. On the army's return he was made a commander in the Left Martial Guard. During Yonghui he was transferred to the Left Guard and joined Grand General Cheng Zhijie in the campaign against Helu as commander of the vanguard. At the Yingsuo River twenty thousand Turk horsemen blocked their path. Commander Su Haizheng engaged them in a seesaw fight. Then another Turk force led by Shunishi arrived with more than twenty thousand additional horsemen. Dingfang was resting his horses a ridge away, some ten li from Zhijie, when he saw dust on the horizon. He led five hundred cavalry in a charge that routed the enemy. He pursued twenty li, killed more than fifteen hundred men, and captured two thousand horses; the dead horses and abandoned arms littered the hills beyond count. Deputy commander Wang Wendu, jealous of his success, told Zhijie, "Even if the enemy was beaten, our own men were killed and wounded. Battles should decide the outcome, not reckless gambles. Why allow such rashness? From now on we should march in square formation, keep supplies inside the column, deploy on all sides with men and horses in armour, and fight only when the enemy comes — that way we are perfectly safe. Do not take risks that bring casualties." He also forged a separate imperial order, alleging that Zhijie was rash and overconfident, and had Wendu placed in command over him; the army was then pulled back and forbidden to press deep into enemy territory. Day after day the men sat mounted in armour in battle formation; horses wasted away and died in large numbers, the troops were exhausted, and fighting spirit vanished. Dingfang told Zhijie, "We set out to destroy the enemy, and now we are only holding defensive positions. With starving horses and exhausted men, we will be beaten the moment we meet the foe. With such timidity, how can we accomplish anything! Besides, you are the commander-in-chief, with full authority in the field. It makes no sense that a separate deputy would be sent to take sole control of the orders. Wendu must be arrested and bound, and an urgent report sent to the throne." Zhijie refused. At Hengdu City some tribesmen surrendered. Wendu again proposed, "Once our army withdraws, they will turn bandit again. We should kill them all and seize their property." Dingfang replied, "That would make us the bandits. How would that count as putting down rebellion?" Wendu would not listen. When the loot was distributed, Dingfang alone took nothing. After the army returned, Wendu was condemned to death for his conduct, though the sentence was later commuted to dismissal from office. The following year Dingfang was appointed Grand General on Campaign for another expedition against Helu, with Ren Yaxiang and the Uyghur leader Boren as his deputies. Marching from north of Mount Jin, he struck the Chumukun tribe and inflicted a crushing defeat. The yabghu Nandulu submitted with more than ten thousand tents of his people. Dingfang received them kindly, then took a thousand of their horsemen and pressed on into Turgish territory. Helu mustered nearly one hundred thousand men from the Holuwi, Shefat, Shunishi Chuban, and Chumukun Qulu yabghus and the On Ok confederation to block the imperial army. Dingfang led a force of more than ten thousand Uyghur and Han troops against them. The enemy, thinking Dingfang's force too small, closed in from all sides. Dingfang had his foot soldiers hold the high ground with spears bristling outward, while he personally drew up the Han cavalry on the northern plain. The rebels assaulted the infantry first but failed to break through after three charges. Dingfang counterattacked at the right moment and routed them completely. He pursued thirty li, killing tens of thousands of men and horses. The next day he regrouped and pressed forward. Holuwi and the other On Ok leaders then surrendered with their full forces. Helu alone fled west with the Chumukun Qulu yabghu and a few hundred horsemen. The remaining Dulu tribes, learning of Helu's defeat, each submitted to Buzhen by the southern route, and the western frontier was fully pacified. Only Helu and Jieyun escaped with the remnants of the royal guard. Dingfang pursued them and fought another great battle on the Ili River, killing or capturing nearly the entire force. Helu and Jieyun fled by night with barely a dozen horsemen. Dingfang sent Deputy Commander Xiao Siye in pursuit all the way to the Stone Kingdom, where he captured them and brought them back. Emperor Gaozong received the captives at the palace. Dingfang, still in armor, presented Helu before the throne. The conquered territory was organized into prefectures and counties as far as the Western Sea. For his achievements Dingfang was promoted to Grand General of the Left Xiaoqi Guard and enfeoffed as Duke of Xing. His son Qingjie was enfeoffed as Duke of Wuyi County. Soon afterward the Sijie yabghu Dudman, who had once governed the western tribes, rallied his own people together with Kashgar, Jujpan, and the Onion Range and rebelled again. Dingfang was appointed Pacification Commissioner and ordered to lead an expedition against them. When he reached the Yeya River, the rebels were entrenched at Matou River. He selected ten thousand elite troops and three thousand horses for a forced march and surprise attack, covering three hundred li in a day and a night and arriving ten li west of the city at dawn. Dudman was taken completely by surprise and marched out to fight before the city gates. His army was beaten and fell back to Mabao City, where the imperial forces encamped at the gates. By nightfall the rest of the army had arrived and invested the city on all sides. Trees were cut for siege engines and deployed beneath the walls. Seeing no way out, Dudman came out with his face bound in surrender. Dingfang returned with his captive to the Eastern Capital. Emperor Gaozong received him at Qianyang Hall, and Dingfang presented Dudman before the throne. All lands west of the Onion Range were now pacified. For this achievement he was granted an additional five hundred households in Julu District of Xing Prefecture. In the fifth year of Xianqing, while accompanying the emperor to Taiyuan, he was appointed Grand General of the Ungjin Route and ordered to lead a campaign against Baekje. Dingfang put to sea from Mount Cheng and reached the mouth of the Ungjin River, where Baekje forces were encamped along the shore. Dingfang landed on the eastern shore, formed his battle line on the heights, and joined battle. Ships with sails spread wide covered the sea as they arrived in continuous waves. The Baekje army was routed; several thousand were killed and the rest fled in disorder. Riding the incoming tide, the fleet linked ships and entered the river. Dingfang held his formation on shore while land and sea forces advanced together, oars flashing and drums thundering, driving straight for the capital at Sabi. Some twenty li from the city the Baekje army mustered its full strength to resist. Dingfang broke them in a pitched battle, killing or capturing more than ten thousand men, and drove the fleeing enemy through the outer walls. King Uija and Crown Prince Nulji fled to the northern frontier while Dingfang advanced to besiege the capital. Uija's second son Tai declared himself king. The legitimate heir Wensii said, "The king and crown prince may have left the city, but they are still alive. My uncle has seized command and made himself king. If the Tang army withdraws, my father and I will not survive." He then led his attendants over the wall in surrender, and the townspeople followed. Tai could not stop them. Dingfang had his soldiers climb the walls and raise banners. Tai then opened the gates and prostrated himself in surrender. General Niceul also brought Uija in to surrender. Crown Prince Nulji and the governors of the outlying cities all submitted as well. Baekje was fully conquered and its territory divided into six prefectures. The captives Uija, Nulji, Tai, and the others were presented at the Eastern Capital. In three campaigns Dingfang had destroyed three kingdoms and captured each ruler alive. He was showered with treasures beyond count. His son Qingjie was appointed Palanquin Attendant of the Imperial Carriage, and Dingfang was soon promoted to Grand General of the Left Wuwei Guard. He died in the second year of Qianfeng at the age of seventy-six. When Emperor Gaozong heard the news, he was deeply grieved and told his ministers, "Su Dingfang served the state with distinction and should by custom have received posthumous honors. None of you raised it, and so he was denied the recognition he deserved. Even to speak of it fills me with sorrow." He immediately issued an edict posthumously appointing Dingfang Governor of You Prefecture with the posthumous title Zhuang.
5
薛仁貴,絳州龍門人。 貞觀末,太宗親征遼東,仁貴謁將軍張士貴應募,請從行。 至安地,有郎將劉君昂為賊所圍甚急,仁貴往救之,躍馬徑前,手斬賊將,懸其頭於馬鞍,賊皆懾伏,仁貴遂知名。 及大軍攻安地城,高麗莫離支遣將高延壽、高惠真率兵二十五萬來拒戰,依山結營,太宗分命諸將四面擊之。 仁貴自恃驍勇,欲立奇功,乃異其服色,著白衣,握戟,腰張弓,大呼先入,所向無前,賊盡披靡卻走。 大軍乘之,賊乃大潰。 太宗遙望見之,遣馳問先鋒白衣者為誰,特引見,賜馬兩匹、絹四十匹,擢授遊擊將軍、雲泉府果毅,仍令北門長上,並賜生口十人。 及軍還,太宗謂曰:“朕舊將並老,不堪受閫外之寄,每欲抽擢驍雄,莫如卿者。 朕不喜得遼東,喜得卿也。 ”尋遷右領軍郎將,依舊北門長上。 永徽五年,高宗幸萬年宮,甲夜,山水猥至,衝突玄武門,宿衛者散走。 仁貴曰:“安有天子有急,輒敢懼死? ”遂登門桄叫呼,以驚宮內。 高宗遽出乘高,俄而水入寢殿,上使謂仁貴曰:“賴得卿呼,方免淪溺,始知有忠臣也。 ”於是賜禦馬一匹。 蘇定方之討賀魯也,於是仁貴上疏曰:“臣聞兵出無名,事故不成,明其為賊,敵乃可伏。 今泥熟仗素幹,不伏賀魯,為賊所破,虜其妻子。 漢兵有於賀魯諸部落得泥熟等家口,將充賤者,宜括取送還,仍加賜賚。 即是矜其枉破,使百姓知賀魯是賊,知陛下德澤廣及也。 ”高宗然其言,使括泥熟家口送還之,於是泥熟等請隨軍效其死節。 顯慶二年,詔仁貴副程名振於遼東經略,破高麗於貴端城,斬首三千級。 明年,又與梁建方、契何力於遼東共高麗大將溫沙門戰於橫山,仁貴匹馬先入,莫不應弦而倒。 高麗有善射者,於石城下射殺十餘人,仁貴單騎直往衝之,其賊弓矢俱失,手不能舉,便生擒之。 俄又與辛文陵破契丹於黑山,擒契丹王阿卜固及諸首領赴東都。 以功封河東縣男。 尋又領兵擊九姓突厥於天山,將行,高宗內出甲,令仁貴試之。 上曰:“古之善射,有穿七劄者,卿且射五重。 ”仁貴射而洞之,高宗大驚,更取堅甲以賜之。 時九姓有眾十餘萬,令驍健數十人逆來挑戰,仁貴發三矢,射殺三人,自餘一時下馬請降。 仁貴恐為後患,並坑殺之。 更就磧北安撫餘眾,擒其偽葉護兄弟三人而還。 軍中歌曰:“將軍三箭定天山,戰士長歌入漢關。 ”九姓自此衰弱,不復更為邊患。 乾封初,高麗大將泉男生率眾內附,高宗遣將軍龐同善、高等迎接之。 男生弟男建率國人逆擊同善等,詔仁貴統兵為後援。 同善等至新城,夜為賊所襲。 仁貴領驍勇赴救,斬首數百級。 同善等又進至金山,為賊所敗,高麗乘勝而進。 仁貴橫擊之,賊眾大敗,斬首五萬餘級。 遂拔其南蘇、木底、蒼岩等三城,始與男生相會。 高宗手敕勞之曰:“金山大陣,凶黨實繁。 卿身先士卒,奮不顧命,左衝右擊,所向無前,諸軍賈勇,致斯克捷。 宜善建功業,全此令名也。 ”仁貴乘勝領二千人進攻扶餘城,諸將鹹言兵少,仁貴曰:“在主將善用耳,不在多也。 ”遂先鋒而行,賊眾來拒,逆擊大破之,殺獲萬餘人,遂拔扶餘城。 扶餘川四十餘城,乘風震懾,一時送款。 仁貴便並海略地,與李勣大會軍於平壤城。 高麗既降,詔仁貴率兵二萬人與劉仁軌於平壤留守,仍授右威衛大將軍,封平陽郡公,兼檢校安東都護。 移理新城,撫恤孤老; 有幹能者,隨才任使; 忠孝節義,鹹加旌表。 高麗士眾莫不欣然慕化。
Xue Rengui was a native of Longmen in Jiang Prefecture. At the end of the Zhenguan era, when Emperor Taizong personally marched against Liaodong, Rengui sought out General Zhang Shigui to enlist and asked to join the campaign. At Andi, Commandant Liu Jun'ang was in dire straits, surrounded by the enemy. Rengui rode to his rescue, charged straight in, beheaded an enemy commander with his own hand, and hung the head from his saddle. The enemy cowered before him, and Rengui's name became known. When the main army besieged Andi, the Goguryeo regent Yeon Gaesomun sent Generals Gao Yanshou and Gao Huizhen with two hundred fifty thousand men to meet them. The enemy encamped on the hills, and Taizong ordered his generals to attack from all four sides. Confident in his prowess, Rengui sought a feat that would set him apart. He dressed in white, took up a halberd, strung a bow at his waist, and with a great shout led the charge. Nothing stood in his way, and the enemy broke and fled before him. The main army pressed the advantage, and the enemy routed completely. Taizong saw this from afar and sent a messenger to ask who the white-clad warrior leading the charge was. He summoned Rengui personally, granted him two horses and forty bolts of silk, and appointed him Mobile General and Guoyi of Yunquan Prefecture, with permanent garrison duty at the North Gate, along with ten captives. When the army returned, Taizong told him, "My veteran generals are growing old and can no longer bear the burden of field command. I have long sought a bold champion to promote, and none compare to you. I am not so glad to have Liaodong as I am to have found you." He was soon promoted to Commandant of the Right Leading Army while retaining his North Gate garrison post. In the fifth year of Yonghui, Emperor Gaozong was staying at Wannian Palace when, during the first watch of the night, a mountain flood burst through and struck the Xuanwu Gate. The palace guards panicked and fled. Rengui cried, "How can the Son of Heaven be in danger while we stand by fearing for our lives?" He climbed the gate tower and shouted at the top of his lungs to rouse the palace. Gaozong rushed out to higher ground. Moments later the flood reached the sleeping quarters. The emperor sent word to Rengui: "Your shouting saved me from drowning. Now I know what a loyal minister looks like." He was rewarded with an imperial horse. During Su Dingfang's campaign against Helu, Rengui submitted a memorial: "I have heard that an army without a just cause cannot succeed. Make it clear who the enemy is, and they can be brought to heel. The Nishu tribe, allied with Sugan, refused to submit to Helu. Helu defeated them and seized their wives and children. Our soldiers have taken Nishu families from among Helu's tribes and plan to keep them as bondsmen. These captives should be found and returned, with gifts added as compensation. That would show mercy for their unjust suffering, make the people understand that Helu is the real enemy, and demonstrate the breadth of Your Majesty's benevolence." Gaozong agreed and ordered the Nishu families found and returned. The Nishu then volunteered to follow the army and fight to the death. In the second year of Xianqing, Rengui was ordered to serve under Cheng Mingzhen in Liaodong operations. He defeated Goguryeo at Guiduan City and took three thousand heads. The following year he fought alongside Liang Jianfang and Qie Heli against the Goguryeo general Wenshamen at Hengshan. Rengui charged in alone on horseback, and every man he shot fell at the twang of his bow. A Goguryeo marksman below Shicheng had killed more than ten Tang soldiers. Rengui charged him alone. The man's bow failed, his hands went limp, and Rengui took him alive. Soon afterward he and Xin Wenling defeated the Khitan at Black Mountain, captured the Khitan king Abu Gu and his chieftains, and brought them to the Eastern Capital. For his achievements he was enfeoffed as Baron of Hedong County. He was soon ordered to lead a campaign against the Nine Surname Turks at Mount Tian. Before he departed, Gaozong brought out a suit of armor from the inner palace and had Rengui try it. The emperor said, "Legendary archers could pierce seven layers of armor. Try five." Rengui's arrow pierced clean through. Gaozong was astonished and presented him with an even sturdier suit of armor. The Nine Surname Turks mustered more than one hundred thousand men and sent several dozen champions forward to challenge the Tang army. Rengui loosed three arrows and killed three men. The rest dismounted and surrendered on the spot. Fearing they would cause trouble later, Rengui had them all buried alive. He then crossed into the northern desert to pacify the remaining tribes, captured the three brothers of the pretender yabghu, and returned. The army sang: "Three arrows from the general settled Mount Tian; the warriors marched home in song through the Han passes." From that day the Nine Surname Turks declined and never again troubled the frontier. At the beginning of Qianfeng, the Goguryeo general Cheon Gwon Yeon defected with his forces. Gaozong sent Generals Pang Tongshan and Gao to receive him. Yeon's younger brother Yeon-geon rallied the kingdom's forces to attack Pang Tongshan. Rengui was ordered to bring up the rear with reinforcements. Pang Tongshan reached Xincheng but was ambushed by the enemy that night. Rengui rushed forward with his best troops and took several hundred heads. Pang Tongshan pressed on to Jinshan but was defeated, and Goguryeo pressed their advantage. Rengui struck them from the flank and routed them completely, taking more than fifty thousand heads. He then captured the cities of Nansu, Mudi, and Cangyan and at last linked up with Yeon. Gaozong wrote him a personal commendation: "At Jinshan the enemy force was vast and fierce. You led from the front without regard for your own life, charging left and right with nothing able to stand in your way. The whole army took heart from your example and won this victory. Continue to build on this achievement and preserve the renown you have earned." Pressing his advantage, Rengui led two thousand men against Fuyu City. The other generals said the force was too small. Rengui replied, "Victory depends on how the commander uses his men, not on their number. " He led the vanguard himself. The enemy came out to meet him, and he counterattacked and routed them, killing or capturing more than ten thousand men and taking Fuyu City. More than forty cities in the Fuyu River valley, awed by his momentum, surrendered all at once. Rengui then swept along the coast, seizing territory until he joined Li Ji's main army at Pyongyang. After Goguryeo surrendered, Rengui was ordered to garrison Pyongyang with twenty thousand men alongside Liu Rengui. He was appointed Grand General of the Right Weiwu Guard, enfeoffed as Duke of Pingyang Commandery, and named Acting Protector-General of Andong. He moved his headquarters to Xincheng and cared for the orphaned and elderly; Capable men were given posts suited to their talents. Acts of loyalty, filial devotion, integrity, and righteousness were all publicly honored. The people of Goguryeo welcomed the change with evident satisfaction.
6
咸亨元年,吐蕃入寇,又以仁貴為邏娑道行軍大總管。 率將軍阿史那道真、郭待封等以擊之。 待封嚐為鄯城鎮守,恥在仁貴之下,多違節度。 軍至大非川,將發赴烏海,仁貴謂待封曰:“烏海險遠,車行艱澀,若引輜重,將失事機,破賊即回,又煩轉運。 彼多瘴氣,無宜久留。 大非嶺上足堪置柵,可留二萬人作兩柵,輜重等並留柵內,吾等輕銳倍道,掩其未整,即撲滅之矣。 ”仁貴遂率先行,至河口遇賊,擊破之,斬獲略盡,收其牛羊萬餘頭,回至烏海城,以待後援。 待封遂不從仁貴之命,領輜重繼進。 比至烏海,吐蕃二十餘萬悉眾來救,邀擊,待封敗走趨山,軍糧及輜重並為賊所掠。 仁貴遂退軍屯於大非川。 吐蕃又益眾四十餘萬來拒戰,官軍大敗,仁貴遂與吐蕃大將論欽陵約和。 仁貴歎曰:“今年歲在康午,軍行逆歲,鄧艾所以死於蜀,吾知所以敗也。 ”仁貴坐除名。 尋而高麗眾相率復叛,詔起仁貴為雞林道總管以經略之。 上元中,坐事徙象州,會赦歸。 高宗思其功,開耀元年,復召見,謂曰:“往九成宮遭水,無卿已為魚矣。 卿又北伐九姓,東擊高麗,漢北、遼東鹹遵聲教者,並卿之力也。 卿雖有過,豈可相忘? 有人雲卿烏海城下自不擊賊,致使失利,朕所恨者,唯此事耳。 今西邊不靜,瓜、沙路絕,卿豈可高枕鄉邑,不為朕指揮耶? ”於是起授瓜州長史,尋拜右領軍衛將軍,檢校代州都督,又率兵擊突厥元珍等於雲州,斬首萬餘級,獲生口二萬餘人、駝馬牛羊三萬餘頭。 賊聞仁貴復起為將,素憚其名,皆奔散,不敢當之。 其年,仁貴病卒,年七十,贈左驍衛將軍,官造靈輿,並家口給傳還鄉。 子訥,別有傳。
In 670, when Tibet invaded, Rengui was again appointed grand commander of the Luosa Route army. He took the field with Generals Ashina Daozhen, Guo Daifeng, and others to drive them back. Daifeng had previously held Shan City as garrison commander and resented serving under Rengui, so he often defied his orders. When the army reached Dafeichuan and prepared to march on Wuhai, Rengui told Daifeng: "Wuhai lies far across difficult terrain, and wagons move slowly. If we drag our supply train along, we will lose our chance to strike. Even if we defeat the enemy and turn back, we will still face the burden of resupply." The region is thick with miasma; we should not stay there long. Dafei Ridge is a good place for fortified camps. Leave twenty thousand men to build two stockades and keep the baggage inside. The rest of us will take only light troops and move at forced march. We can strike before the enemy is prepared and destroy them outright." Rengui marched ahead with the vanguard. At the river mouth he met the enemy, routed them, and killed or captured nearly the entire force, seizing more than ten thousand head of cattle and sheep. He then withdrew to Wuhai City to wait for the follow-on columns. Daifeng ignored Rengui's orders and advanced with the supply train anyway. By the time he reached Wuhai, more than two hundred thousand Tibetans had marched to the rescue. They intercepted Daifeng's column, routed his force toward the hills, and seized all the grain and baggage. Rengui pulled his army back and encamped at Dafeichuan. Tibet sent another four hundred thousand men to give battle. The Tang army suffered a crushing defeat, and Rengui negotiated a truce with the Tibetan general Lun Qinling. Rengui sighed and said, "This year falls under the kangwu cycle, and an army that moves against the year's sign is doomed — that is why Deng Ai died in Shu. Now I understand why we lost." Rengui was dismissed and struck from the rolls. Soon the Goguryeo people rose in revolt again, and the court recalled Rengui as commander of the Jilin Route to restore order. During the Shangyuan period he was exiled to Xiang Prefecture for an offense, then released and allowed to return when an amnesty was proclaimed. Missing his past service, Gaozong summoned him again in 681 and said, "When the flood hit Jiucheng Palace, I would have drowned if not for you." You campaigned north against the Nine Surnames and east against Goguryeo. It was your strength that brought the peoples north of the Han and in Liaodong under our sway. You have your faults — but how could I forget what you have done? Some say you held back below Wuhai City and failed to attack, which is what cost us the battle. That is the one thing I hold against you. The western frontier is unsettled, and the routes to Guazhou and Shazhou lie cut off. Can you really sleep peacefully at home and leave me without a commander?" The emperor restored him as chief administrator of Guazhou, then promoted him to general of the Right Leading Army Guard and acting military governor of Daizhou. He led troops against the Türk leader Yuan Zhen at Yunzhou, taking more than ten thousand heads, twenty thousand captives, and over thirty thousand camels, horses, cattle, and sheep. When the enemy learned Rengui had returned to command, they dispersed at once — they had long feared his name and dared not stand against him. That same year Rengui died of illness at seventy. He was posthumously made general of the Left Xiaowei Guard; the court provided a funeral carriage and travel passes to send his family home. His son Ne is treated in a separate biography.
7
程務挺,洺州平恩人也。 父名振,大業末,仕竇建德為普樂令,甚有能名,諸賊不敢犯其境。 尋棄建德歸國,高祖遙授永年令,仍令率兵經略河北。 名振夜襲鄴縣,俘其男女千餘人以歸。 去鄴八十里,閱婦人有乳汁者九十餘人,悉放遣之。 鄴人感其仁恕,為之設齋,以報其恩。 及建德敗,始之任。 俄而劉黑闥陷洺州,名振復與刺史陳君賓自拔歸朝。 母潘、妻李,在路為賊所掠,沒於黑闥。 名振又從太宗討黑闥,時黑闥於冀、貝、滄、瀛等州水陸運糧,以拒官軍,名振率千餘人邀擊之,盡毀其舟車。 黑闥聞之大怒,遂殺名振母、妻。 及黑闥平,名振請手斬黑闥,以其首祭母。 名振以功拜營州都督府長史,封東郡公,賜物二千段、黃金三百兩。 累轉洺州刺史。 太宗將征遼東,召名振問以經略之事,名振初對失旨; 太宗動色詰之,名振酬對逾辯,太宗意解,謂左右曰:“房玄齡常在我前,每見別嗔餘人,猶顏色無主。 名振生平不見我,向來責讓,而詞理縱橫,亦奇士也。 ”即日拜右驍衛將軍,授平壤道行軍總管。 前後攻沙卑城,破獨山陣,皆以少擊眾,稱為名將。 永徽六年,累除營州都督,兼東夷都護。 又率兵破高麗於貴端水,焚其新城,殺獲甚眾。 後曆晉、蒲二州刺史。 龍朔二年卒,贈右衛大將軍,諡曰烈。
Cheng Wuting was a native of Ping'en in Ming Prefecture. His father Cheng Mingzhen served Dou Jiande as magistrate of Pule at the end of the Sui. He was so capable that local rebels did not dare touch his district. He soon abandoned Jiande and returned to Tang allegiance. Gaozu appointed him magistrate of Yongnian by remote commission and ordered him to lead troops in pacifying Hebei. Mingzhen launched a night raid on Ye County and returned with more than a thousand captives. Eighty li from Ye, he found more than ninety nursing mothers among the captives and released them all. The people of Ye were so moved by his mercy that they held a feast in his honor to repay his kindness. Only after Jiande's defeat did he take up his official appointment. When Liu Heita soon captured Ming Prefecture, Mingzhen and Prefect Chen Junbin fought their way out and returned to the Tang court. On the way his mother, Lady Pan, and his wife, Lady Li, were seized by the rebels and fell into Heita's hands. Mingzhen joined Taizong's campaign against Heita. While Heita was moving supplies by land and water through Ji, Bei, Cang, and Ying to block the Tang army, Mingzhen led a thousand men in ambush and destroyed every boat and wagon. Enraged, Heita executed Mingzhen's mother and wife. After Heita fell, Mingzhen asked to kill him with his own hand and offer his head before his mother's spirit. For his service Mingzhen was made chief secretary of the Yingzhou Protectorate headquarters, created Duke of Dong Commandery, and rewarded with two thousand bolts of silk and three hundred taels of gold. He went on to serve as prefect of Ming Prefecture. When Taizong prepared to campaign against Liaodong, he summoned Mingzhen for strategic counsel. Mingzhen's first answers missed the mark. Taizong's face darkened and he pressed him sharply. Mingzhen answered with growing force and clarity until the emperor's mood softened. Taizong told his attendants, "Fang Xuanling stands before me every day, yet even he loses his composure when I scold someone else. Mingzhen has never met me before. I just rebuked him, and he answered with wit and nerve. That is a remarkable man." That same day he was made general of the Right Xiaowei Guard and appointed grand commander of the Pyongyang Route army. He captured Sabicheng and broke the Dushan line, winning every fight against larger forces, and came to be ranked among the dynasty's great commanders. In 655 he was appointed military governor of Ying Prefecture and concurrently Protector-General of the Eastern Barbarians. He also defeated Goguryeo at the Guiduan River, burned their new city, and inflicted heavy casualties. He later served as prefect of Jin and Pu in turn. He died in 662. He was posthumously made grand general of the Right Guard and given the posthumous name Lie ("Fierce").
8
務挺少隨父征討,以勇力聞,遷右領軍衛中郎將。 永隆中,突厥史伏念反叛,定襄道行軍總管李文柬、曹懷舜、竇義昭等相次戰敗。 又詔禮部尚書裴行儉率兵討之,務挺為副將,仍檢校豐州都督。 時伏念屯於金牙山,務挺與副總管唐玄表引兵先逼之。 伏念懼不能支,遂間道降於行儉,許伏念以不死。 中書令裴炎以伏念懼務挺等兵勢而降,非行儉之功,伏念遂伏誅。 務挺以功遷右衛將軍,封平原郡公。 永淳二年,綏州城平縣人白鐵餘率部落稽之黨據縣城反,偽稱尊號,署百官,又進寇綏息,殺掠人吏,焚燒村落,詔務挺與夏州都督王方翼討之。 務挺進攻其城,拔之,生擒白鐵餘,盡平其餘黨。 又以功拜左驍衛大將軍、檢校左羽林軍。 嗣聖初,與右領軍大將軍、檢校右羽林軍張虔勖同受則天密旨,帥兵入殿庭,廢中宗為廬陵王,立豫王為皇帝。 則天臨朝,累受賞賜,特拜其子齊之為尚乘奉禦。 務挺泣請回授其弟,則天嘉之,下製褒美,乃拜其弟原州司馬務忠為太子洗馬。 又明年,以務挺為左武衛大將軍、單於道安撫大使,督軍以禦突厥。 務挺善於綏禦,威信大行,偏裨已下,無不盡力; 突厥甚憚之,相率遁走,不敢近邊。 及裴炎下獄,務挺密表申理之,由是忤旨。 務挺素與唐之奇、杜求仁友善,或構言務挺與裴炎、徐敬業皆潛相應接。 則天遣左鷹揚將軍裴紹業就軍斬之,籍沒其家。 突厥聞務挺死,所在宴樂相慶,仍為務挺立祠,每出師攻戰,即祈禱焉。
Wuting campaigned with his father from boyhood and earned a reputation for bravery. He rose to commandant of the Right Leading Army Guard. During the Yonglong era, the Türk leader Shifunian rebelled. The Dingxiang Route commanders Li Wenjian, Cao Huaishun, and Dou Yizhao were defeated one after another. The court then ordered Minister of Rites Pei Xingjian to take the field against him, with Wuting as his deputy and acting military governor of Feng Prefecture. Shifunian was encamped at Golden Tooth Mountain. Wuting and Deputy Commander Tang Xuanbiao marched ahead to confront him. Fearful he could not hold out, Shifunian slipped away by a hidden route and surrendered to Pei Xingjian, who promised to spare his life. Chief Councillor Pei Yan argued that Shifunian had surrendered only because he feared Wuting's army, not because of Pei Xingjian's achievement. Shifunian was executed anyway. For his service Wuting was promoted to general of the Right Guard and created Duke of Pingyuan. In 683, Bai Tieyu of Chenping County in Sui Prefecture led the followers of tribal chief Qizhi in seizing the county seat. He declared himself a ruler, appointed a full bureaucracy, and raided Suixi, killing officials, looting the countryside, and burning villages. The court ordered Wuting and Wang Fangyi, military governor of Xia Prefecture, to crush the rebellion. Wuting stormed the rebel stronghold, took Bai Tieyu alive, and wiped out the rest of the faction. For this victory he was made grand general of the Left Xiaowei Guard and acting commander of the Left Imperial Forest Army. At the start of the Sisheng reign, he and Zhang Qianxu, grand general of the Right Leading Army and acting commander of the Right Imperial Forest Army, received Wu Zetian's secret orders. They led troops into the palace court, deposed Emperor Zhongzong as Prince of Luling, and enthroned Prince Yu as emperor. After Wu Zetian took power, he received repeated honors; his son Qizhi was specially appointed master of the imperial stud. Wuting wept and asked that the honor be given to his younger brother instead. Wu Zetian praised his generosity in an edict and appointed his brother Wuzhong, secretary of Yuan Prefecture, as mentor to the crown prince. The following year Wuting was made grand general of the Left Martial Guard and pacification commissioner of the Chanyu Route to command the defense against the Türks. Wuting excelled at winning men over and keeping order. His authority ran deep, and officers at every rank served him loyally. The Türks feared him so much that they fled in bands and dared not approach the border. When Pei Yan was thrown into prison, Wuting sent a secret memorial in his defense — and thereby ran afoul of the empress. Wuting had long been close to Tang Zhiqi and Du Qiuren, and enemies claimed he was in secret contact with Pei Yan and Xu Jingye. Wu Zetian sent General Pei Shaoye to the army to execute him on the spot and seized his family's property. When the Türks learned Wuting was dead, they celebrated across the steppe. They even built a shrine in his name and prayed there before every campaign.
9
貞觀、永徽間,軍將又有張士貴、趙道興,狀跡可錄。
Between the Zhenguan and Yonghui eras, two other military officers whose careers deserve note were Zhang Shigui and Zhao Daoxing.
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張士貴者,虢州盧氏人也。 本名忽聿,善騎射,膂力過人。 大業末,聚眾為盜,攻剽城邑,遠近患之,號為“忽聿賊”。 高祖降書招懷之,士貴以所統送款,拜右光祿大夫。 累有戰功,賜爵新野縣公。 從平東都,授虢州刺史。 高祖謂之曰:“欲卿衣錦晝遊耳。 ”尋入為右武候將軍。 貞觀七年,破反獠而還,太宗勞之曰:“聞公親當矢石,為士卒先,雖古名將,何以加也! 朕嚐聞以身報國者,不顧性命,但聞其語,未聞其實,於公見之矣。 ”後累遷左領軍大將軍,改封虢國公。 顯慶初卒,贈荊州都督,陪葬昭陵。
Zhang Shigui was a native of Lushi in Guo Prefecture. His original name was Huyu. He was an expert horseman and archer, with strength beyond ordinary men. At the end of the Sui he gathered a band of raiders and attacked towns across the region. People far and near feared them, and they were known as the Huyu Bandits. Gaozu sent an offer of amnesty, and Shigui surrendered with his followers. He was appointed Right Grand Master for Splendid Happiness. His repeated battlefield successes earned him the title of Duke of Xinye. After the eastern capital was taken, he was made prefect of Guo Prefecture. Gaozu told him, "I wanted you to ride home in glory." He was soon recalled to the capital as general of the Right Martial Inspector Guard. In 633, returning from a campaign against rebellious Liao tribes, Taizong praised him: "I hear you took arrows and stones in person and led from the front. What ancient general could do more?" I have heard that men who give their lives for the state hold life cheap. I had heard the saying but never seen the truth of it — until now, in you." He went on to become grand general of the Left Leading Army and was created Duke of Guo. He died early in the Xianqing period. He was posthumously made military governor of Jing Prefecture and buried near Zhaoling.
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趙道興者,甘州酒泉人。 隋右武候大將軍才之子也。 道興,貞觀初曆遷左武候中郎將,明閑宿衛,號為稱職。 太宗嚐謂之曰:“卿父為隋武候將軍,甚有當官之譽。 卿今克傳弓冶,可謂不墜家聲。 ”因授右武候將軍,賜爵天水縣子。 其父時廨宇,仍舊不改,時人以為榮。 道興嚐自指其廳事曰:“此是趙才將軍廳,還使趙才將軍兒坐。 ”為朝野所笑,傳為口實。 儀鳳中,累遷左金吾衛大將軍。 文明年,以老病致仕於家。 子交,亦為金吾將軍,凡三代執金吾,為時所稱。
Zhao Daoxing was a native of Jiuquan in Gan Prefecture. He was the son of Zhao Cai, grand general of the Sui Right Martial Inspector Guard. In the early Zhenguan years Daoxing rose to commandant of the Left Martial Inspector Guard. He was sharp and thorough in palace security and widely regarded as excellent at his post. Taizong once told him, "Your father served the Sui as a Martial Inspector general and earned a fine reputation in office." You have inherited his craft in full. You have not let the family name slip." On the spot Taizong made him general of the Right Martial Inspector Guard and created him Viscount of Tianshui. He kept his father's old offices exactly as they were, which people at court considered a mark of honor. Daoxing once pointed to his reception hall and said, "This is General Zhao Cai's hall — and here sits General Zhao Cai's son." Court and country laughed at him, and the story became a standing joke. During the Yifeng period he rose to grand general of the Left Golden Crow Guard. In the Wenming year he retired to his home on account of age and illness. His son Jiao also became a Golden Crow general. Three generations of the family held that post, to wide praise.
12
史臣曰:孝恪機鈐果毅,協草昧之際; 樹勳建策,有傑世之風。 然而務奢為恒,既未盡善,舉眾失律,不其惑與! 張公經略,有天然才度,務穡勸分,董和成績,惜哉中壽,其才未盡。 刑國公神略翕張,雄謀戡定,輔平屯難,始終成業。 疏封陟位,未暢茂典,蓋闕如也。 仁貴驍悍壯勇,為一時之傑,至忠大略,勃然有立。 噫,待封不協,以敗全略。 孔子曰:“可與立,未可與權。 ”上加明命,竟致立功,知臣者君,信哉! 務挺勇力驍果,固有父風,英概輔時,克繼洪烈。 然而苟預廢立,竟陷讒構。 古之言曰:“惡之來也,如火之燎於原,不可向邇。 ”其是之謂乎! 士貴、道興,逢時立效,得盡義勇,以觀厥成; 而繼父風概,三代執金,不亦美乎!
The historian writes: Xiaoke was shrewd and decisive in the chaos of founding the dynasty. He built merit and devised strategy with a brilliance that stood above his peers. Yet he made luxury a habit and did not reach full excellence; he lost discipline over his troops — was that not folly? Lord Zhang had a natural gift for strategy. He promoted agriculture and good order and achieved solid results. Alas, he died in middle age before his talent was spent. Duke Xing's strategy was bold and far-reaching; his grand designs settled the realm. He helped the dynasty through its early crises and saw the work through to the end. His enfeoffments and promotions never quite matched the full measure of his merit — a gap remains in the record. Rengui was ferocious and fearless, a champion of his generation, loyal to the core and bold in counsel — a man who could rise to the moment. Alas, Guo Daifeng's disobedience wrecked what might have been a complete victory. Confucius said, "You can establish a man in office, but you cannot always trust him with discretion." " Yet when the emperor gave him a clear commission, he achieved great deeds after all. A ruler who knows his man — how true that is! Wuting was brave, strong, and resolute in his father's mold, with a heroic spirit that served the throne and carried on a great family legacy. Yet because he had taken part in the deposition of an emperor, he was at last destroyed by slander. The ancients said, "When calamity comes, it spreads like fire across a plain — no one can stand before it." " Was this not exactly his case! Shigui and Daoxing seized their moment, gave full play to loyal courage, and saw their efforts crowned with success; and in the Zhao family, three generations in the Golden Guard — what could be finer!
13
讚曰:五將雄雄,俱立邊功。 張、蘇二族,功名始終。 郭、薛、務挺,徼功奮命。 垂則窮邊,兵無常勝。
In praise: Five formidable commanders, each with frontier glory to his name. The Zhang and Su families sustained their renown from first to last. Guo, Xue, and Cheng staked everything on desperate feats of arms. Their example reaches the remotest borders — yet no army wins forever.