1
郭虔瓘，齊州歷城人也。 開元初，累遷右驍衛將軍，兼北庭都護。 二年春，突厥默啜遣其子移江可汗及同俄特勒率精騎圍逼北庭，虔瓘率眾固守。 同俄特勒單騎親逼城下，虔瓘使勇士伏於路左，突起斬之。 賊眾既至，失同俄，相率於城下乞降，請盡軍中衣資器杖以贖同俄。 及聞其死，三軍慟哭，便引退。 默啜女婿火拔頡利發石阿失畢時與同俄特勒同領兵，以同俄之死，懼不敢歸，遂將其妻歸降。 虔瓘以破賊之功，拜冠軍大將軍，行右驍衛大將軍。 又下制曰：
Guo Qianguan was a native of Licheng in Qizhou. Early in the Kaiyuan reign, he rose through successive appointments to general of the Right Xiaowei Guards and concurrent protector-general of Beiting. In the spring of Kaiyuan 2, the Turkic qaghan Mochuo sent his son the Yijiang Khan and the tegin Tong'e at the head of elite horsemen to besiege Beiting, and Qianguan held the city with his troops. Tong'e tegin rode up alone to the foot of the walls; Qianguan had warriors lie in wait along the road to the left and sprang out to cut him down. When the enemy force arrived and found Tong'e gone, they gathered beneath the walls to beg surrender, offering to hand over all clothing, gear, and arms in the camp to ransom him. Once they learned he was dead, the whole army broke into mourning wails and then pulled back. Mochuo's son-in-law Huoba yabghu and Shia A-shi-pi were then campaigning with Tong'e tegin; terrified by Tong'e's death, they dared not go home and came over with their wives in surrender. For breaking the enemy, Qianguan was made champion general-in-chief and acting general-in-chief of the Right Xiaowei Guards. An edict was also promulgated, which read:
2
朕聞賞有功、報有德者，政之急也。 若功不賞，德不報，則人何謂哉。 雲麾將軍、檢校右驍衛將軍，兼北庭都護、翰海軍經略使、金山道副大總管、招慰營田等使、上柱國、太原縣開國子郭虔瓘，宣威將軍、守右驍衛翊府中郎將、檢校伊州刺史兼伊吾軍使、借紫金魚袋、上柱國郭知運等，早負名節，見稱義勇。 頃者柳中、金滿，偏師禦敵，蕭條窮漠之外，奔迫孤城之下。 強寇益侵，援兵不至，既守而戰，自秋涉冬，櫪馬長嘶，戍人遠望。 謀以十勝，成其九拒。 遂能摧日逐之遺種，斬天驕之愛息。 豈耿恭、班超，獨高前史； 將廉頗、李牧，與朕同時。 眷言茂勛，是所嘉嘆。 信可以疇其井邑，昭示遐邇，俾勞臣觀而懦夫立焉。 虔瓘可進封太原郡開國公，知運可封介休縣開國公。
We hold that rewarding merit and repaying virtue are the foremost duties of rule. If deeds go unrewarded and kindness unreturned, what will men make of it? Guo Qianguan—yunhui general, acting general of the Right Xiaowei Guards, concurrent protector-general of Beiting, Hanhai army commissioner, vice grand commander of the Jinshan circuit, commissioner for reassurance and frontier agriculture, shangzhuguo, and founding viscount of Taixuan—and Guo Zhiyun—xuanwei general, defender of the Right Xiaowei yifu central commandant, acting governor of Yizhou and commissioner of the Yiwu army, lent the gold-purple fish tally, shangzhuguo—and the rest have long been known for honor and are praised as men of righteous valor. Only lately, at Liuzhong and Jinman, a flank force held off the foe in bleak country beyond the farthest wastes, harried beneath beleaguered walls. As stronger foes pressed in and relief never came, they fought behind the walls from autumn into winter; horses in the stalls neighed without cease while the garrison watched the horizon. They laid plans for ten victories and brought nine of them to bear in holding the enemy off. Thus they shattered the remnant line of the Xiongnu and struck down the cherished son of the Turks. Are Geng Gong and Ban Chao alone to tower over the annals of old? Men like Lian Po and Li Mu walk the earth in Our own age. Reflecting on their splendid merit, We can only praise and marvel. Surely they deserve estates of their own, held up as examples to the distant and the near, so that weary servants of the state may take heart and cowards find their footing. Qianguan shall be advanced to founding duke of Taiyuan commandery; Zhiyun shall be made founding duke of Jiexiu county.
3
虔瓘俄轉安西副大都護、攝御史大夫、四鎮經略安撫使，進封潞國公，賜實封一百戶虔瓘及奏請募關中兵一萬人往安西討擊，皆給公乘，兼供熟食，敕許之。 將作大匠韋湊上疏曰：
Qianguan was soon made vice protector-general of Anxi, acting censor-in-chief, and commissioner for pacification of the Four Garrisons, advanced to duke of Lu with a substantive fief of one hundred households. He also asked to raise ten thousand Guanzhong troops for a punitive campaign in Anxi, with government transport and cooked rations for all; the throne approved. Wei Cou, director of palace works, submitted a memorial that read:
4
臣聞兵者兇器，不護己而用之。 今西域諸蕃，莫不順軌。 縱鼠竊狗盜，有戍卒鎮兵，足宣式遏之威，非降赫斯之怒。 此師之出，未見其名。 臣又聞安不忘危，理必資備。 自近及遠，強幹弱枝，是以漢實關中，徙諸豪族。 今關輔戶口，積久逋逃，承前先虛，見猶未實。 屬北虜犯塞，西戎駭邊，凡在丁壯，征行略盡。 豈宜更募驍勇，遠資荒服。 又一萬行人，詣六千餘里，咸給遞馱，並供熟食，道次州縣，將何以供？ 秦、隴之西，人戶漸少，涼州已去，沙磧悠然。 遣彼居人，如何得濟？ 又萬人賞賜，費用極多； 萬里資糧，破損尤廣。 縱令必克，其獲幾何？ 儻稽天誅，無乃甚損！ 請令計議所用所得，校其多少，即知利害。 況用者必賞，獲者未量，何要此行，頓空畿甸。 且上古之時，大同之化，不獨子子，不獨親親，何隔華戎，務均安靖。 洎皇道謝古，帝德慚皇，猶尚綏懷，不從征伐，有占風覘雨之客，無越海逾山之師。 其後漢武膺圖，誌恢土宇，西通絕域，北擊匈奴。 雖廣獲珍奇，多斬首級，而中國疲耗，殆至危亡。 是以俗號昇平君稱盛德者，鹹指唐堯之代，不歸漢武之年。 其要功不成者，復焉足比議？ 惟陛下圖之。
Your servant has heard that war is an ill-omened tool, not to be wielded without weighing one's own safety. At present every tribe of the Western Regions follows the imperial track without exception. Even petty raids by bandits can be met by frontier garrisons, enough to display restraining might without summoning Heaven's full wrath upon the realm. As for this expedition, no clear enemy justifies it. Your servant has also heard that in peace one must not forget peril, and that good order depends on readiness. Policy should strengthen the center before the periphery; that is why the Han peopled Guanzhong and relocated the great clans there. Household registers in the Guanzhong region have long been hollowed by flight and evasion; figures inherited from earlier years remain unreliable even now. With northern foes raiding the frontier and western tribes striking the borders, able-bodied men have already been nearly drained by campaigns. How can it be right to raise more elite troops to feed some distant wilderness? Ten thousand men marching more than six thousand li, each with relay mounts and hot meals—what prefecture or county along the way can bear that burden? West of Qin and Long the population thins; beyond Liangzhou lies nothing but endless desert. How are the people along that route to survive it? Rewards for ten thousand men alone would cost a fortune; and supplies for a march of ten thousand li would waste the treasury on an even greater scale. Even if victory were certain, what would the gain amount to? If Heaven withholds success, the harm would be ruinous indeed! Let the costs and expected gains be reckoned side by side; the balance of profit and loss will speak for itself. Those sent must be rewarded whether or not victory comes, while the spoils remain uncertain—why drain the capital districts for such a march? In high antiquity, under the reign of Great Unity, men did not cherish only their own children or kin—why should Chinese and barbarian be divided when the aim is universal peace? Even after the sage way faded and later emperors fell short of the ancients, rulers still favored reassurance over conquest; they kept observers of wind and rain, not armies that crossed seas and mountains. Later Emperor Wu of Han took the throne resolved to recover the realm, opening the far west and striking the Xiongnu in the north. Though he won rare treasures and heaps of enemy heads, the heartland was worn to exhaustion and nearly brought to ruin. That is why ages praised as peaceful and virtuous are always traced to the time of Yao, never to the reign of Han Wudi. If success is unlikely from the outset, what comparison with those examples is even worth making? May Your Majesty weigh this carefully.
5
虔瓘竟無克獲之功。 尋遷右威衛大將軍，以疾卒。
Qianguan ultimately won no decisive victory. He was soon made general-in-chief of the Right Weiwu Guards and died of illness.
6
其後，又以張嵩為安西都護以代虔瓘。 嵩身長七尺，偉姿儀。 初進士舉，常以邊任自許。 及在安西，務農重戰，安西府庫，遂為充實。 十年，轉太原尹，卒官。 俄又以黃門侍郎杜暹代嵩為安西都護。
Later Zhang Song was appointed protector-general of Anxi in Qianguan's place. Song stood seven chi tall, with a commanding presence. From the time he passed the jinshi examination, he styled himself a man for the frontier. In Anxi he stressed farming and readiness for war, and the Anxi treasury grew ample. In the tenth year he became prefect of Taiyuan and died in that post. Soon Du Xian, attendant-censor of the Yellow Gate, replaced Song as protector-general of Anxi.
7
郭知運字逢時，瓜州常樂人。 壯勇善射，頗有膽略。 初為秦州三度府果毅，以戰功累除左驍衛中郎將、瀚海軍經略使，又轉檢校伊州刺史，兼伊吾軍使。 開元二年春，副郭虔瓘破突厥於北庭，以功封介休縣公，加雲麾將軍，擢拜右武衛將軍。 其秋，吐蕃入寇隴右，掠監牧馬而去，詔知運率眾擊之。 知運與薛訥、王皎等掎角擊敗之，拜知運鄯州都督、隴右諸軍節度大使。 四年冬，突厥降戶阿悉爛、⻊夾跌思太等率眾反叛，單於副都護張知運為賊所執，詔薛訥領兵討之。 叛賊至綏州界，詔知運領朔方兵募橫擊之，大破賊眾於黑山呼延谷，賊舍甲仗並棄張知運走。 六年，知運又率兵入討吐蕃，賊徒無備，遂掩至九曲，獲鎖及甲馬耗牛等數萬計。 知運獻捷，遂分賜京文武五品已上清官及朝集使，拜知運為兼鴻臚卿、攝御史中丞，加封太原郡公。 八年，六州胡康待賓等反，詔知運與王皎討平之，拜左武衛大將軍，授一子官，賜金銀器百事、雜彩千段。 九年，卒於軍，贈涼州都督，錫米粟五百斛、絹帛五百段，仍令中書令張說為其碑文。 知運自居西陲，甚為蕃夷所憚，其後王君㚟亦號勇將，時人稱王、郭焉。 子英傑、英乂。
Guo Zhiyun, courtesy name Fengshi, was a native of Changle in Guazhou. Strong and fearless, an expert archer, he was notably bold and resourceful. He began as a guoyi officer in Qinzhou's Sandu office and, on the strength of battle honors, rose to central commandant of the Left Xiaowei Guards and Hanhai army commissioner, then became acting governor of Yizhou and commissioner of the Yiwu army. In the spring of Kaiyuan 2 he served under Guo Qianguan in defeating the Turks at Beiting and, for his merit, was made duke of Jiexiu county, given the rank of yunhui general, and promoted to general of the Right Wuwei Guards. That autumn Tibetans raided Longyou, drove off the imperial stud horses, and withdrew; Zhiyun was ordered to take troops after them. Zhiyun, Xue Ne, Wang Jiao, and others caught the enemy in a pincer and routed them; Zhiyun was made military governor of Binzhou and grand commissioner of the Longyou armies. In the winter of Kaiyuan 4, surrendered Turks led by A-xi-lan and Jia-die-si-tai rebelled; Zhang Zhiyun, vice protector-general of Chanyu, was captured, and Xue Ne was sent to suppress them. As the rebels reached Suizhou, Guo Zhiyun was ordered to lead Shuofang troops in a flank attack and crushed them at Hushan Huyan Valley; the enemy threw down arms and fled, leaving Zhang Zhiyun behind. In the sixth year Zhiyun again marched against Tibet; catching the enemy unawares, he swept to Jiuqu and seized tens of thousands of shackles, arms, horses, and yaks. After Zhiyun reported his victory, the spoils were shared among capital officials of the fifth rank and above and the assembly envoys; he was made concurrent minister of ceremonies and acting vice censor-in-chief and advanced to duke of Taiyuan commandery. In the eighth year the Six Prefectures Hu under Kang Dai-bin rebelled; Zhiyun and Wang Jiao were sent to put them down; he was made general-in-chief of the Left Wuwei Guards, one son received an official post, and he was rewarded with a hundred gold and silver vessels and a thousand bolts of colored silk. In the ninth year he died on campaign; he was posthumously made military governor of Liangzhou, granted five hundred hu of grain and five hundred bolts of silk, and Chief Minister Zhang Yue was commissioned to write his epitaph. Once Zhiyun held the western frontier, the frontier tribes feared him greatly; later Wang Jun too was hailed as a fierce commander, and contemporaries paired the names Wang and Guo. His sons were Yingjie and Yingyi.
8
英傑官至左衛將軍。 開元二十一年，幽州長史薛楚玉遣英傑及裨將吳克勤、烏知義、羅守忠等率精騎萬人及降奚之眾以討契丹，屯兵於榆關之外； 契丹首領可突幹引突厥之眾拒戰於都山之下。 官軍不利，知義、守忠率麾下便道遁歸。 英傑與克勤逢賊力戰，皆沒於陣。 其下精銳六千餘人仍與賊苦戰，賊以英傑之首示之，竟不降，盡為賊所殺。 英乂，劍南西川節度使，自有傳。
Yingjie rose to the rank of general of the Left Guard. In Kaiyuan 21, Xue Chuyu, chief administrator of Youzhou, sent Yingjie with deputies Wu Keqin, Wu Zhiyi, Luo Shouzhong, and others at the head of ten thousand elite horsemen and surrendered Xi forces against the Khitan, encamped beyond Yuguan Pass; The Khitan leader Ketuhan brought Turk forces to meet them at the foot of Mount Du. The imperial force fared badly; Zhiyi and Shouzhong took their men and fled by a side road. Yingjie and Keqin met the enemy and fought to the end; both fell on the field. More than six thousand of their elite troops kept fighting; the enemy held up Yingjie's head, yet they would not yield and were slaughtered to the last man. Yingyi, military governor of Jiannan West Circuit, has a separate biography.
9
王君㚟，瓜州常樂人也。 初，為郭知運別奏，驍勇善騎射，以戰功累除右衛副率。 及知運卒，遂代知運為河西、隴右節度使，遷右羽林軍將軍，判涼州都督事。 開元十六年冬，吐蕃大將悉諾邏率眾入寇大斗谷，又移攻甘州，焚燒市裏而去。 君㚟以其兵疲，整士馬以掩其後。 會大雪，賊徒凍死者甚眾，賊遂取積石軍西路而還。 君㚟令副使馬元慶、裨將車蒙追之，不及。 君㚟先令人潛入賊境，於歸路燒草。 悉諾邏還至大非川，將息甲牧馬，而野草皆盡，馬死過半。 君㚟襲其後，入至青海之西，時海水冰合，君㚟與秦州都督張景順等率將士並乘冰而渡。 會悉諾邏已度大非山，輜重及疲兵尚在青海之側，君㚟縱兵盡俘獲之，及羊馬萬數。 君㚟以功遷右羽林軍大將軍，攝御史中丞，依舊判涼州都督，封晉昌伯。 拜其父壽為少府監，仍聽致仕。 上又嘗於廣達樓引君㚟及妻夏氏設宴，賜以金帛。 夏氏亦有戰功，故特賞之，封為武威郡夫人。 其冬，吐蕃寇陷瓜州，執刺史田仁獻及君㚟父壽，殺掠人戶，並取軍資及倉糧。 又進攻玉門軍及常樂縣。 仍縱僧徒使歸涼州，謂君㚟曰：「將軍常欲以忠勇報國，今日何不一戰？」 君㚟聞父被執，登陴西向而哭，竟不敢出兵。
Wang Jun was a native of Changle in Guazhou. He first entered service as a personal appointee of Guo Zhiyun, a daring rider and archer who rose through battle honors to deputy commander of the Right Guard. After Zhiyun's death he succeeded him as military governor of Hexi and Longyou, became general of the Right Yulin Army, and took charge of Liangzhou as well. In the winter of Kaiyuan 16 the Tibetan general Sinolu invaded Dadou Valley, then turned on Ganzhou, burned the market quarter, and withdrew. Judging the enemy spent, Jun mustered his men and horses to strike from behind. Heavy snow fell, and great numbers of the enemy froze to death; they then retreated by the western road past Jishi Army. Jun sent his deputy Ma Yuanqing and subordinate Che Meng in pursuit, but they could not catch up. Jun had already sent agents into enemy country to burn the grass along their line of retreat. When Sinolu reached the Dafei River to rest his men and graze his horses, the pasture was gone and more than half his mounts perished. Jun struck from behind, pushing west of Qinghai; the lake had frozen over, and Jun with Zhang Jingshun, military governor of Qinzhou, and others led their troops across the ice. Sinolu had already crossed Mount Dafei, but his baggage and exhausted troops were still by Qinghai; Jun's men took them all, along with tens of thousands of sheep and horses. For this feat Jun was made grand general of the Right Yulin Army and acting vice censor-in-chief, retained charge of Liangzhou, and enfeoffed as baron of Jinchang. His father Shou was made director of the palace workshops and allowed to retire from office. The emperor once entertained Jun and his wife Lady Xia at Guangda Tower and rewarded them with gold and silk. Lady Xia too had earned merit in battle, and was specially honored with the title lady of Wuwei commandery. That winter Tibetans overran Guazhou, seized prefect Tian Renxian and Jun's father Shou, slaughtered and plundered the populace, and carried off military stores and granary grain. They pressed on against Yumen Army and Changle county. They even sent monks back to Liangzhou with a message for Jun: "You always vowed to repay the realm with loyalty and courage—why not fight today?" Hearing his father was captive, Jun climbed the walls, faced west, and wept, but in the end he dared not march out.
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初，涼州界有回紇、契苾、思結、渾四部落，代為酋長，君㚟微時往來涼府，為回紇等所輕。 及君㚟為河西節度使，回紇等怏怏，恥在其麾下。 君㚟以法繩之，回紇等積怨，密使人詣東都自陳枉狀。 君㚟遽發驛奏「回紇部落難制，潛有叛謀。」 上使中使往按問之，回紇等竟不得理。 由是瀚海大都督回紇承宗長流瀼州，渾大德長流吉州，賀蘭都督契苾承明長流藤州，盧山都督思結歸國長流瓊州。 右散騎常侍李令問、特進契苾嵩以與回紇等結婚，貶令問為撫州別駕，嵩為連州別駕。 於是承宗之黨瀚海州司馬護輸糾合黨與，謀殺君㚟，以復其怨。 會吐蕃使間道往突厥，君㚟率精騎往肅州掩之，還至甘州南鞏幰驛，護輸伏兵突起，奪君㚟旌節，先殺其左右宗貞，剖其心，雲是其始謀也。 君㚟從數十人與賊力戰，自朝至晡，左右盡死。 遂殺君㚟，馱其屍以奔吐蕃。 追及之，護輸遂棄君㚟屍而走。 上甚痛惜之，制贈特進、荊州大都督，給靈輿遞歸京師，葬於京城之東，官供喪事。 仍令張說為其碑文，上自書石以寵異之。
Earlier, four tribes—the Uyghurs, Qibi, Sijie, and Hun—had long held sway as chiefs in the Liangzhou region; in his youth Jun had frequented the prefectural seat and was despised by the Uyghurs and the rest. When Jun became military governor of Hexi, the Uyghurs and others were discontent, ashamed to serve under him. Jun held them strictly to the law; their resentment grew, and they secretly sent envoys to the eastern capital to plead their case. Jun at once sent an urgent memorial by relay: "The Uyghur tribes are unruly and secretly plot rebellion. The emperor dispatched court envoys to investigate the matter, but the Uyghurs never obtained satisfaction. As a result, Huihe Chengzong, Great Governor of Hanhai, was exiled for life to Rang Prefecture; Hun Dade to Ji; Qibi Chengming, Governor of Helan, to Teng; and Sijie Guiguo, Governor of Lushan, to Qiong. Li Lingwen, Right Regular Attendant of the Casual Cavalry, and Qibi Song, holder of special advancement, had married into Uyghur families; Lingwen was demoted to assistant prefect of Fu and Song to assistant prefect of Lian. Chengzong's followers then rallied around Hu Yuan, military assistant of Hanhai Prefecture, who mustered allies to kill Wang Jun and settle old scores. When a Tibetan envoy took a back route toward the Turks, Jun led elite horsemen from Suzhou to ambush him. On the return march, at the Gongqian post south of Ganzhou, Hu Yuan's ambush struck: they seized Jun's command insignia, slew his aide Zong Zhen first, cut out his heart, and declared him the mastermind. Jun and a few dozen men fought the rebels from morning until midafternoon until every man at his side was dead. They killed Jun, lashed his body to a pack animal, and rode for Tibet. Pursuers overtook them; Hu Yuan abandoned Jun's body and escaped. The emperor mourned him deeply, posthumously ennobling him as Special Advancement and Great Governor of Jingzhou, sending an imperial catafalque to bring his remains to Chang'an, burying him east of the city with state funeral rites. Zhang Yue was commissioned to write the epitaph, and the emperor inscribed the stone himself as an extraordinary honor.
11
吐蕃之寇瓜州也，分遣副將莽布支攻常樂縣，縣令賈師順嬰城固守。 及瓜州城陷，大將悉諾邏又盡引其眾乘勢以攻之，數日不陷。 賊中有分得漢口為妻者，其妻弟在常樂城中，悉諾邏使夜就城下詐為私見，謂師順曰：「瓜州已破，吐蕃盡眾來此，豈有拒守之理？ 小人妻弟在城，情有所念，明府何不早降，以全城中之眾。」 師順答曰：「漢法，降賊者九族為戮，吾受國官爵，祗可以死拒寇，豈得背恩降賊！」 悉諾邏知師順不降，又攻城八日，復令前使謂師順曰：「明府既不肯降，吾眾欲還，城中豈無財物以相贈耶？」 師順請脫士卒衣裳以為賂。 悉諾邏知城中無財帛，夜燒死人，收營而去，引眾毀瓜州城。 師順遽開門收器械，更修守備。 吐蕃果使精騎回襲，而巡城知有備，始去。
During the Tibetan assault on Guazhou, a deputy commander named Mangbuzhi was sent against Changle, where Magistrate Jia Shishun barred the gates and refused to yield. After Guazhou fell, the general Sinolu brought his full strength to bear on Changle, yet the county held for days. One rebel had married a Han woman whose brother was inside Changle. Sinolu sent the man at night to the wall under pretense of a private visit, telling Shishun: "Guazhou is lost and the whole Tibetan army is here—what sense is there in holding out? My brother-in-law is in your city, and I care for him—why not surrender now and save everyone inside? Shishun answered: "Han law condemns surrender to the death of one's entire clan. The state has honored me with office; I can only die resisting invaders—I will never betray my sovereign by yielding to rebels! When Sinolu saw Shishun would not yield, he besieged the city eight days longer, then sent the same envoy: "If you will not surrender, we mean to leave—haven't you some goods to send us on our way? Shishun offered to hand over the soldiers' clothing as a gift. Learning the town held no treasure, Sinolu burned their corpses that night, withdrew, and marched his men to wreck Guazhou. Shishun at once opened the gates, collected arms, and strengthened the defenses anew. Tibetans did send elite horsemen back, but seeing the city ready, they circled the walls and withdrew.
12
賈師順者，岐州人也。 以守城之功，累遷鄯州都督、隴右節度使。 入為左領軍將軍，病卒。
Jia Shishun was a native of Qizhou. His defense earned repeated promotions—to Governor of Shanzhou and Military Commissioner of Longyou. He was recalled to serve as general of the Left Victorious Army and died in office of illness.
13
張守珪，陜州河北人也。 初以戰功授平樂府別駕，從郭虔瓘於北庭鎮，遣守珪率眾救援，在路逢賊甚眾，守珪身先士卒，與之苦戰，斬首千餘級，生擒賊率頡斤一人。 開元初，突厥又寇北庭，虔瓘令守珪間道入京奏事，守珪因上書陳利害，請引兵自蒲昌、輪臺翼而擊之。 及賊敗，守珪以功特加遊擊將軍，再轉幽州良社府果毅。 守珪儀形瑰壯，善騎射，性慷慨，有節義。 時盧齊卿為幽州刺史，深禮遇之，常共榻而坐，謂曰：「足下數年外必節度幽、涼，為國之良將，方以子孫相托，豈得以僚屬常禮相期耶！」 守珪後累轉左金吾員外將軍，為建康軍使。
Zhang Shougui came from the Hebei district of Shan Prefecture. He first won appointment as vice-prefect of Pingyao for battlefield merit. With Guo Qianguan at Beiting, he was sent to relieve a threatened force; on the march he met a large enemy body, led the charge, fought fiercely, took more than a thousand heads, and captured an enemy chieftain called Erkin alive. Early in the Kaiyuan era the Turks raided Beiting again. Qianguan sent Shougui to the capital by a hidden route with a report; there Shougui memorialized the court on strategy, asking to strike from Puchang and Luntai in a flanking attack. After the enemy was beaten, he was specially promoted to mobile corps general and later transferred twice to serve as a militia commander in Youzhou. Shougui was imposing in stature, skilled in horsemanship and archery, generous, and firm in honor. Lu Qiqing, then prefect of Youzhou, treated him with great respect and often sat with him on the same couch, saying: "In a few years you will command You and Liang—a pillar general of the empire. I mean to commend my descendants to you; why should we observe mere staff etiquette? He rose through posts to Left Jinwu staff general and commissioner of the Jiankang army.
14
十五年，吐蕃寇陷瓜州，王君㚟死，河西恟懼。 以守珪為瓜州刺史、墨離軍使，領餘眾修築州城。 板堞才立，賊又暴至城下，城中人相顧失色，雖相率登陴，略無守禦之意。 守珪曰：「彼眾我寡，又創痍之後，不可以矢石相持，須以權道制之也。」 乃於城上置酒作樂，以會將士。 賊疑城中有備，竟不敢攻城而退。 守珪縱兵擊敗之。 於是修復廨宇，收合流亡，皆復舊業。 守珪以戰功加銀青光祿大夫，仍以瓜州為都督府，以守珪為都督。 瓜州地多沙磧，不宜稼穡，每年少雨，以雪水溉田。 至是渠堰盡為賊所毀，既地少林木，難為修葺。 守珪設祭祈禱，經宿而山水暴至，大漂材木，塞澗而流，直至城下。 守珪使取充堰，於是水道復舊，州人刻石以紀其事。 明年，遷鄯州都督，仍充隴右節度。
In year fifteen Tibet captured Guazhou; Wang Jun was killed, and the whole Hexi corridor trembled with fear. Shougui was made prefect of Guazhou and commander of the Moli army, tasked with rallying survivors to rebuild the city walls. The ramparts had barely been raised when raiders appeared at the gates. Faces paled in the streets; men climbed the walls in a mass, yet hardly anyone meant to fight. Shougui said: "They outnumber us, and we are still bleeding from the last disaster—we cannot stand them off with stones and arrows. We must outwit them. He had wine and music set out on the battlements to feast his officers and men. The raiders, suspecting a trap, never assaulted the walls and withdrew. Shougui then sallied and routed them. He restored government buildings, gathered the displaced, and brought people back to their old livelihoods. For his victories he was made Silver-Gleaming Grand Master of the Court; Guazhou was restored as a protectorate seat with Shougui as its governor. Guazhou was mostly desert sand, poor for crops, with little rain; fields depended on snowmelt irrigation. The irrigation works had been wrecked in the fighting, and timber was scarce, so repairs were hard. Shougui offered sacrifices and prayed; overnight floodwaters roared down, carrying huge drifts of timber that choked the ravines and rolled to the foot of the walls. He ordered the logs used to rebuild the dikes, the canals flowed again as before, and the townspeople carved a stone to commemorate it. The following year he became governor of Shanzhou while continuing as military commissioner of Longyou.
15
二十一年，轉幽州長史、兼御史中丞、營州都督、河北節度副大使，俄又加河北采訪處置使。 先是，契丹及奚連年為邊患，契丹衙官可突幹驍勇有謀略，頗為夷人所伏。 趙含章、薛楚玉等前後為幽州長史，竟不能拒。 及守珪到官，頻出擊之，每戰皆捷。 契丹首領屈剌與可突幹恐懼，遣使詐降。 守珪察知其偽，遣管記右衛騎曹王悔詣其部落就謀之。 悔至屈剌帳，賊徒初無降意，乃移其營帳漸向西北，密遣使引突厥，將殺悔以叛。 會契丹別帥李過折與可突幹爭權不葉，悔潛誘之，斬屈剌可突幹，盡誅其黨，率餘眾以降。 守珪因出師次於紫蒙川，大閱軍實，宴賞將士，傳屈剌、可突幹等首於東都，梟於天津橋之南。 詔封李過折為北平王，使統其眾，尋為可突幹餘黨所殺。 二十三年春，守珪詣東都獻捷，會籍田禮畢酺宴，便為守珪飲至之禮，上賦詩以褒美之。 遂拜守珪為輔國大將軍、右羽林大將軍、兼御史大夫，餘官並如故。 仍賜雜彩一千匹及金銀器物等，與二子官，仍詔於幽州立碑以紀功賞。
In year twenty-one he became chief administrator of Youzhou, censor-in-chief, governor of Yingzhou, and deputy Hebei military commissioner, soon adding the title of Hebei investigation commissioner. For years the Khitan and Xi had harried the frontier. A Khitan official named Ketugan was fierce, shrewd, and widely feared among the tribes. Zhao Hanzhang, Xue Chuyu, and other successive chiefs at Youzhou had failed to stop him. Once Shougui took office he attacked again and again, winning every engagement. Khitan leaders Quli and Ketugan grew afraid and sent envoys feigning surrender. Shougui saw through the ruse and sent his aide Wang Hui, of the Right Guards cavalry office, into their camp to work out a plan. At Quli's tent the tribesmen still would not yield; they shifted camp northwest, secretly summoned the Turks, and plotted to murder Hui and revolt. When a rival Khitan commander, Li Guozhe, quarreled with Ketugan, Hui secretly won him over, beheaded Quli and Ketugan, wiped out their faction, and led the survivors in surrender. Shougui marched to the Zimeng River, held a grand review of arms, feasted his officers, and forwarded Quli's and Ketugan's heads to Luoyang, where they were displayed south of Tianjin Bridge. Li Guozhe was enfeoffed as Prince of Beiping and set over the surrendered tribes, but soon Ketugan's diehards killed him. In the spring of year twenty-three Shougui came to Luoyang with news of victory, arriving as the ceremonial plowing ended and the court held a grand feast. The emperor honored him with the ceremony of "drink until done" and composed verse in praise. Shougui was then made general who assists the state, great general of the Right Forest of Feathers, and censor-in-chief, his other posts unchanged. He also granted a thousand bolts of patterned silks plus gold and silver vessels, appointed two of Shougui's sons, and ordered a monument at Youzhou to commemorate his rewards.
16
二十六年，守珪裨將趙堪、白真陁羅等假以守珪之命，逼平盧軍使烏知義令率騎邀叛奚餘眾於湟水之北，將踐其禾稼。 知義初猶固辭，真陁羅又詐稱詔命以迫之，知義不得已而行。 及逢賊，初勝後敗，守珪隱其敗狀而妄奏克獲之功。 事頗泄，上令謁者牛仙童往按之。 守珪厚賂仙童，遂附會其事，但歸罪於白真陁羅，逼令自縊而死。 二十七年，仙童事露伏法，守珪以舊功減罪，左遷括州刺史，到官無幾，疽發背而卒。
In year twenty-six his deputies Zhao Kan and Bai Zhen'etluo forged his orders and forced the Pinglu commissioner Wu Zhiyi to lead cavalry against remnant Xi north of the Huangshui, intending to trample their crops. Wu Zhiyi refused at first; Bai Zhen'etluo then forged an imperial edict to force him, and Zhiyi marched against his will. They met the enemy, won at first, then lost; Shougui hid the defeat and reported a false victory. Word spread; the emperor sent the usher Niu Xiantong to investigate. Shougui bribed Xiantong heavily; the inquiry was rigged to blame only Bai Zhen'etluo, who was forced to hang himself. In year twenty-seven Xiantong's corruption was exposed and he was executed; Shougui's past service earned leniency—a demotion to prefect of Kuozhou—where a carbuncle on his back killed him soon after he arrived.
17
弟守琦，左驍衛將軍； 守瑜，金吾將軍。 守珪子獻城、守瑜子獻恭、守琦子獻甫，三人皆為興元節度使，各自有傳。
His brother Shouqi became general of the Left Valiant Cavalry; Shouyu, general of the Golden Guards. Shougui's son Xiancheng, Shouyu's son Xiangong, and Shouqi's son Xianfu all became commissioners of Xingyuan; each has his own biography.
18
牛仙客，涇州鶉觚人也。 初為縣小吏，縣令傅文靜甚重之。 文靜後為隴右營田使，引仙客參預其事，遂以軍功累轉洮州司馬。 開元初，王君㚟為河西節度使，以仙客為判官，甚委信之。 時又有判官宋貞，與仙客俱為腹心之任。 及君㚟死，宋貞亦為回紇所殺，仙客以不從獲免。 俄而蕭嵩代君㚟為河西節度，又以軍政委於仙客。 仙客清勤不倦，接待上下，必以誠信。 及嵩入知政事，數稱薦之。 稍遷太仆少卿，判涼州別駕事，仍知節度留後事。 竟代嵩為河西節度使，判涼州事。 歷太仆卿、殿中監，軍使如故。
Niu Xianke was a native of Chun'guo in Jing Prefecture. He began as a petty county clerk; Magistrate Fu Wenjing thought highly of him. When Wenjing became Longyou agricultural commissioner, he brought Xianke into that work; battlefield service eventually raised him to vice-prefect of Tao. Early in Kaiyuan, Wang Jun as Hexi commissioner made Xianke his administrative judge and trusted him deeply. Another judge, Song Zhen, shared with Xianke the role of trusted confidant. When Jun was killed, Song Zhen died with the Uyghur rebels; Xianke escaped because he had not joined them. Xiao Song soon replaced Jun as Hexi commissioner and again left military affairs in Xianke's hands. Xianke was scrupulous and tireless, treating superiors and subordinates alike with honest good faith. When Xiao Song entered the central government, he recommended Xianke again and again. He rose to vice minister of the imperial stud, acting vice-prefect of Liangzhou, and still managed frontier affairs as acting rear commissioner. He eventually succeeded Xiao Song as Hexi military commissioner, with charge of Liangzhou. He served as minister of the stud and as palace armory director while keeping his military command.
19
開元二十四年秋，代信安王祎為朔方行軍大總管，右散騎常侍崔希逸代仙客知河西節度事。 初，仙客在河西節度時，省用所積鉅萬，希逸以其事奏聞，上令刑部員外郎張利貞馳傳往覆視之。 仙客所積倉庫盈滿，器械精勁，皆如希逸之狀。 上大悅，以仙客為尚書。 中書令張九齡執奏以為不可，乃加實封二百戶。 其年十一月，九齡等罷知政事，遂以仙客為工部尚書、同中書門下三品，仍知門下事。 時有監察御史周子諒竊言於御史大夫李適之曰：「牛仙客不才，濫登相位，大夫國之懿親，豈得坐觀其事？」 適之遽奏子諒之言，上大怒，廷詰之，子諒辭窮，於朝堂決配流瀼州，行至藍田而死。
In the autumn of Kaiyuan twenty-four he replaced Prince Xin'an Li Yi as grand commander of the Shuofang campaign; Cui Xiyi took over Hexi from him as right regular attendant of the casual cavalry. While commanding Hexi, Xianke had saved enormous sums through frugality. Xiyi reported this; the emperor sent Zhang Lizhen of the Ministry of Justice posthaste to verify the accounts. Storehouses were packed and weapons in excellent order, exactly as Xiyi had described. The emperor was delighted and named him a minister. Chief Minister Zhang Jiuling objected that he was unfit for such honor, so the emperor granted him two hundred supplemental estates instead. That November Jiuling fell from power; Xianke was made minister of works, coequal counselor of the third grade, and acting head of the Chancellery. The supervising censor Zhou Ziliang whispered to Censor-in-Chief Li Shizhi: "Niu Xianke is incompetent yet has climbed to the chancellorship. You are the emperor's kin—can you simply watch? Li Shizhi reported the remark at once. The emperor raged, interrogated Zhou at court until he had no answer, and sentenced him to exile at Rang; he died on the road at Lantian.
20
仙客既居相位，獨善其身，唯諾而已。 所有錫賫，皆緘封不啟。 百司有所諮決，仙客曰：「但依令式可也』，不敢措手裁決。 明年，特封豳國公，贈其父意為禮部尚書，祖會為涇州刺史。 俄又進拜侍中，兼兵部尚書。 天寶年，改易官名，拜左相，尚書如故。 其年七月卒，年六十八。 內出絹一千匹、布五百端，遣中使送至宅以賻之，贈尚書左丞，謚曰貞簡。
Once in the chancellorship, Xianke minded only his own safety and answered every question with yes. Every gift from the throne he sealed untouched. When departments sought decisions, Xianke would say, "Just follow the regulations and statutes—that will do," and refused to intervene. The next year he was specially enfeoffed as Duke of Bin; his father Yi was posthumously made minister of rites and his grandfather Hui posthumously made prefect of Jing. He was soon promoted to palace attendant and minister of war. When titles were reorganized in the Tianbao era, he became left chancellor while keeping his ministry. He died that seventh month at sixty-eight. The palace sent a thousand bolts of silk and five hundred of cloth by court envoy as funeral gifts; he was posthumously honored as left vice minister of the secretariat with the posthumous name Upright and Simple.
21
初，仙客為朔方軍使，以姚崇孫閎為判官。 及知政事，閎累遷侍御史，自雲能通鬼道，預知休咎。 仙客頗信惑之。 及疾甚，閎請為仙客祈禱，在其門下，遂逼仙客令作遺表薦閎叔尚書右丞弈及兵部侍郎盧奐堪代己，閎為起草。 仙客時既危殆，署字不成，其妻因中使來吊，以其表上。 玄宗覽而怒之，左遷弈為永陽太守，盧奐為臨淄太守，賜閎死。
When he first commanded Shuofang, he took Yao Chong's grandson Hong as his administrative judge. After Xianke entered the government, Hong rose to attending censor, claiming powers of spirit-mediumship to foresee good and ill fortune. Xianke came to believe him deeply. In his final illness Hong offered prayers at his gate, then forced Xianke to draft a deathbed memorial naming Hong's uncle Yi, right vice minister of the secretariat, and Vice Minister Lu Huan as his successors; Hong wrote the draft. By then Xianke was too weak to sign clearly; when a court envoy came to mourn, his wife submitted the memorial for him. Emperor Xuanzong read the document and flew into a rage: Yi was banished to Yongyang, Lu Huan to Linzi, and Hong was ordered to take his own life.
22
王忠嗣，太原祁人也，家於華州之鄭縣。 父海賓，太子右衛率、豐安軍使、太谷男，以驍勇聞隴上。 開元二年七月，吐蕃入寇，朝廷起薛訥攝左羽林將軍，為隴右防禦使，率杜賓客、郭知運、王晙、安思順以禦之，以海賓為先鋒。 及賊於渭州西界武階驛，苦戰勝之，殺獲甚眾。 諸將嫉其功，按兵不救，海賓以眾寡不敵，歿於陣。 大軍乘其勢擊之，斬首一萬七千級，獲馬七萬五千匹，羊牛十四萬頭。 玄宗聞而憐之，詔贈左金吾大將軍。
Wang Zhongsi was from Qi in Taiyuan; his family made their home in Zheng County, Hua Prefecture. His father Wang Haibin served as Right Captain of the Crown Prince's Right Guard, commissioner of Feng'an Army, and Baron of Taigu, renowned on the northwestern frontier for his valor. In the seventh month of Kaiyuan 2 (714), when Tibetans invaded, the court recalled Xue Ne as acting Left General of the Feathered Forest and appointed him Longyou defense commissioner. He led Du Binke, Guo Zhiyun, Wang Jun, and An Sishun to meet the threat, with Haibin as vanguard. At Wujie Post on the western border of Weizhou they fought a fierce battle and won, inflicting heavy casualties. Other generals, jealous of his success, held their troops back and did not relieve him. Outnumbered, Haibin died in battle. The main force pressed the advantage and routed the enemy, taking 17,000 heads, 75,000 horses, and 140,000 sheep and cattle. When Emperor Xuanzong heard of it he was moved to pity and ordered posthumous promotion to Left Major General of the Golden Canopy.
23
忠嗣初名訓，年九歲，以父死王事，起復拜朝散大夫、尚輦奉禦，賜名忠嗣，養於禁中累年。 肅宗在忠邸，與之遊處。 及長，雄毅寡言，嚴重有武略。 玄宗以其兵家子，與之論兵，應對縱橫，皆出意表。 玄宗謂之曰：「爾後必為良將。」 十八年，又贈其父安西大都護。
Zhongsi had originally been named Xun. At nine, because his father had died in imperial service, he was recalled from mourning and appointed Court Gentleman for Imperial Entertainments and Attendant of the Imperial Carriage; he was given the name Zhongsi and raised within the palace for many years. When the future Emperor Suzong was lodged at the Residence of Loyalty, the two of them spent their days together as companions. As he matured he proved bold and reserved, grave in bearing and skilled in military affairs. Emperor Xuanzong, knowing him for a soldier's son, would discuss strategy with him; his answers were wide-ranging and invariably beyond what anyone expected. The Emperor told him, "You are bound to become an excellent general one day. In Kaiyuan 18 (730) his father was again posthumously promoted to Grand Protector-General of Anxi.
24
其後，遂從河西節度、兵部尚書蕭嵩，河東副元帥、信安王祎，並引為兵馬使。 二十一年再轉左領軍衛郎將、河西討擊副使、左威衛將軍、賜紫金魚袋、清源男，兼檢校代州都督。 嘗短皇甫惟明義弟王昱，憾焉，遂為所陷，貶東陽府左果毅。 屬河西節度使杜希望謀拔新城，或言忠嗣之材足以輯事，必欲取勝，非其人不可。 希望即奏聞，詔追忠嗣赴河西。 既下新城，忠嗣之功居多，因授左威衛郎將，專知行軍兵馬。 是秋，吐蕃大下，報新城之役，晨壓官軍，眾寡不敵。 ，師人皆懼焉。 忠嗣乃以所部策馬而前，左右馳突，當者無不辟易，出而復合，殺數百人，賊眾遂亂。 三軍翼而擊之，吐蕃大敗。 以功最，詔拜左金吾衛將軍同正員，尋又兼左羽林軍上將軍、河東節度副使，兼大同軍使。 二十八年，以本官兼代州都督，攝御史大夫，兼充河東節度，又加雲麾將軍。 二十九年，代韋光乘為朔方節度使，仍加權知河東節度事。 其月，以田仁琬充河東節度使，忠嗣依舊朔方節度。
Thereafter he served under Hexi military governor and Minister of War Xiao Song and under Hedong deputy commander-in-chief Prince Xin'an of Yi; both men appointed him army cavalry commissioner. In Kaiyuan 21 (733) he was promoted again to commandant of the Left Upright Guard, Hexi punitive vice-commissioner, and general of the Left Awesome Guard; he received a purple-gold fish tally and the title Baron of Qingyuan, and concurrently served as acting inspector of the Daizhou governor. He had once spoken slightingly of Huangfu Weiming's sworn brother Wang Yu. Wang resented it and engineered his downfall, and Zhongsi was demoted to Left Fruithelm of Dongyang Prefecture. When Hexi military governor Du Xiwang planned to take Xincheng, some argued that only Zhongsi had the ability to pull the campaign together and that victory was impossible without him. Du Xiwang memorialized at once, and an edict recalled Zhongsi to Hexi. After Xincheng was taken, Zhongsi's contribution ranked first; he was appointed commandant of the Left Awesome Guard and placed in sole charge of campaign horse and infantry. That autumn the Tibetans came down in force to avenge the battle for Xincheng. At dawn they bore down on the imperial army, which was heavily outnumbered. The troops were all afraid. Zhongsi then spurred his men forward, charging to left and right; all who met him gave way. He broke through and rallied again, killing several hundred, and the enemy ranks collapsed into confusion. The three armies closed on the flanks and the Tibetans were routed. Because his merit ranked highest, he was appointed by edict Left Golden Canopy Guard general of regular rank; soon afterward he also served as senior general of the Left Feathered Forest Army, deputy military governor of Hedong, and commissioner of Datong Army. In Kaiyuan 28 (740), retaining his existing posts, he also served as governor of Daizhou, acting censor-in-chief, and military governor of Hedong, and was further promoted to Cloud Spear General. In Kaiyuan 29 (741) he replaced Wei Guangcheng as military governor of Shuofang while also holding concurrent authority over Hedong. That same month Tian Renwan was appointed military governor of Hedong, while Zhongsi continued as military governor of Shuofang.
25
忠嗣少以勇敢自負，及居節將，以持重安邊為務。 嘗謂人云：「國家昇平之時，為將者在撫其眾而已。 吾不欲疲中國之力，以僥功名耳。」 但訓練士馬，缺則補之。 有漆弓百五十斤，嘗貯之袋中，示無所用。 軍中皆日夜思戰，因多縱間諜以伺虜之隙，時以奇兵襲之，故士樂為用，師出必勝。 每軍出，即各召本將付其兵器，令給士卒，雖一弓一箭，必書其名姓於上以記之，軍罷卻納。 若遺失，即驗其名罪之。 故人人自勸，甲仗充牣矣。
In his youth Zhongsi had prided himself on courage, but once he held a frontier command he made steadiness and securing the border his chief concern. He once remarked, "In times when the empire is at peace, all a general need do is look after his men. I have no wish to wear down the empire's strength merely to snatch at glory. He confined himself to drilling troops and horses and filling any shortfall. He possessed a lacquered bow weighing a hundred and fifty jin, which he would keep stowed in a bag to show he had no use for it. His men burned day and night to fight; he sent out many spies to catch the enemy off guard and struck with surprise detachments, so the troops were eager to follow him and his campaigns invariably succeeded. Whenever the army took the field he summoned each commander, issued weapons, and ordered them distributed to the men; even a single bow or arrow had the soldier's name inscribed upon it, and after the campaign everything was turned back in. If anything was lost, the name on it was traced and the offender punished. Thus every man drove himself on, and the armories overflowed with arms and armor.
26
四載，又兼河東節度采訪使。 自朔方至雲中，緣邊數千里，當要害地開拓舊城，或自創制，斥地各數百里。 自張仁亶之後四十餘年，忠嗣繼之，北塞之人，復罷戰矣。 五年正月，河隴以皇甫惟明敗衄之後，因忠嗣以持節充西平郡太守，判武威郡事，充河西、隴右節度使。 其月，又權知朔方、河東節度使事。 忠嗣佩四將印，控制萬里，勁兵重鎮，皆歸掌握，自國初已來，未之有也。 尋遷鴻臚卿，餘如故，又加金紫光祿大夫，仍授一子五品官。 後頻戰青海、積石，皆大克捷。 尋又伐吐谷渾於墨離，虜其全國而歸。 初，忠嗣在河東、朔方日久，備諳邊事，得士卒心。 及至河、隴，頗不習其物情，又以功名富貴自處，望減於往日矣。 其載四月，固讓朔方、河東節度，許之。
In Tianbao 4 (745) he was also made investigative commissioner for the Hedong circuit. From Shuofang to Yunzhong, along thousands of li of frontier, he reopened abandoned fortresses at key points or built new ones, pushing the border outward by hundreds of li in each sector. More than forty years after Zhang Renzan, Zhongsi took up the same work, and the peoples of the northern marches again laid down their arms. In the first month of Tianbao 5 (746), after Huangfu Weiming's defeat on the He-Long frontier, Zhongsi was sent with imperial credential as prefect of Xiping, acting prefect of Wuwei, and military governor of Hexi and Longyou. That same month he was also given concurrent authority over Shuofang and Hedong. Zhongsi wore four general's seals and controlled a frontier ten thousand li across; crack troops and strategic strongholds all lay in his hands—something without precedent since the dynasty's founding. He was soon transferred to Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial while retaining his other posts; he was further promoted to Grand Master of Splendid Honors with Golden Seal, and one of his sons was granted a fifth-rank office. He later fought repeatedly around Qinghai and Jishi, winning resounding victories each time. He soon campaigned against the Tuyuhun at Moli and brought their entire people back as captives. At first, after long service in Hedong and Shuofang, he knew the frontier inside out and had won his soldiers' loyalty. Once he reached the He-Long commands he was less familiar with local conditions, and he carried himself as a man of rank and fortune; his reputation declined from what it had been. In the fourth month of that year he firmly declined the Shuofang and Hedong commands, and his request was granted.
27
玄宗方事石堡城，詔問以攻取之略，忠嗣奏云：「石堡險固，吐蕃舉國而守之。 若頓兵堅城之下，必死者數萬，然後事可圖也。 臣恐所得不如所失，請休兵秣馬，觀釁而取之，計之上者。」 玄宗因不快。 李林甫尤忌忠嗣，日求其過。 六載，會董延光獻策請下石堡城，詔忠嗣分兵應接之。 忠嗣僶俯而從，延光不悅。 河西兵馬使李光弼危之，遽而入告。 將及於庭，忠嗣曰：「李將軍有何事乎？」 光弼進而言曰：「請議軍。」 忠嗣曰：「何也？」 對曰：「向者大夫以士卒為心，有拒董延光之色，雖曰受詔，實奪其謀。 何者？ 大夫以數萬眾付之，而不懸重賞，則何以賈三軍之勇乎？ 大夫財帛盈庫，何惜數萬段之賞以杜其讒口乎！ 彼如不捷，歸罪於大夫矣。」 忠嗣曰：「李將軍，忠嗣計已決矣。 平生始望，豈及貴乎？ 今爭一城，得之未制於敵，不得之未害於國，忠嗣豈以數萬人之命易一官哉？ 假如明主見責，豈失一金吾羽林將軍，歸朝宿衛乎！ 其次，豈失一黔中上佐乎？ 此所甘心也。 雖然，公實愛我。」 光弼謝曰：「向者恐累大夫，敢以衷告。 大夫能行古人之事，非光弼所及也。」 遂趨而出。 及延光過期不克，訴忠嗣緩師，故師出無功。 李林甫又令濟陽別駕魏林告忠嗣，稱往任朔州刺史，忠嗣為河東節度，雲「早與忠王同養宮中，我欲尊奉太子。」 玄宗大怒，因征入朝，令三司推訊之，幾陷極刑。 會哥舒翰代忠嗣為隴右節度，特承恩顧，因奏忠嗣之枉，詞甚懇切，請以己官爵贖罪。 玄宗怒稍解。 十一月，貶漢陽太守。 七載，量移漢東郡太守。 明年，暴卒，年四十五。 子震，天寶中秘書丞。
Emperor Xuanzong was bent on taking Shibao Fortress and asked Zhongsi for a plan of attack. Zhongsi memorialized: "Shibao is steep and strongly fortified; the Tibetans defend it with the full strength of their state. If we camp our army beneath those walls, tens of thousands will have to die before the thing can be done. I fear what we gain will not repay what we lose. Let the army rest and the horses feed, watch for an opening, and strike then—that is the wisest course. The Emperor was displeased. Li Linfu harbored a special hatred for Zhongsi and looked daily for grounds against him. In Tianbao 6 (747), when Dong Yanguang proposed a plan to capture Shibao Fortress, an edict ordered Zhongsi to detach troops to support the operation. Zhongsi bowed and submitted, but Yanguang was not satisfied. Hexi army commissioner Li Guangbi saw the peril and hurried in to warn him. As he was about to enter the hall, Zhongsi called out, "General Li—what brings you? Guangbi stepped forward and said, "I wish to discuss the army." Zhongsi asked, "What about it?" He answered, "A moment ago you put the troops' welfare first and showed you meant to resist Dong Yanguang. Though you said you obeyed the edict, in fact you blocked his plan. How so? You placed tens of thousands of men in his hands yet offered no rich reward—how can you expect to stir the army's fighting spirit? Your storehouses overflow with goods—why not spend a few ten-thousands in rewards to shut his mouth before he slanders you? If he fails, the blame will fall on you." Zhongsi said, "General Li, my mind is made up. What I hoped for in life—how did that ever extend to rank and riches? Now we fight over one fortress: taking it does not bring the enemy to heel, and failing to take it does not harm the state. Would I trade tens of thousands of lives for a single promotion? Suppose the enlightened sovereign rebukes me—at worst I lose a post as Golden Canopy or Feathered Forest general and return to guard the palace at court. After that, at worst I lose a chief aide's post in Qianzhong. I could accept that willingly. Even so—you truly care for me." Guangbi apologized: "I feared I might bring trouble on you and ventured to speak from the heart. You are capable of what the ancients did; I am not your equal." With that he hurried out. When Yanguang passed his deadline without success he accused Zhongsi of dragging his feet, and the expedition came to nothing. Li Linfu also had Jiyang assistant prefect Wei Lin denounce Zhongsi, alleging that when Lin had served as prefect of Shuozhou and Zhongsi as military governor of Hedong, Zhongsi had said, "I was raised in the palace together with the Loyal Prince from an early age; I mean to honor and support the Crown Prince. Emperor Xuanzong flew into a rage, summoned him to court, and ordered the Three Departments to investigate; he came within a hair's breadth of the death penalty. Geshu Han, who replaced Zhongsi as military governor of Longyou and enjoyed exceptional imperial favor, memorialized on Zhongsi's behalf in the most earnest terms, pleading to forfeit his own rank to redeem Zhongsi's guilt. The Emperor's wrath eased somewhat. In the eleventh month he was demoted to prefect of Hanyang. In Tianbao 7 (748) he was transferred to prefect of Handong. The following year he died suddenly, at the age of forty-five. His son Zhen served as an aide in the Secretariat during the Tianbao era.
28
其後哥舒翰大舉兵伐石堡城，拔之，死者大半，竟如忠嗣之言，當代稱為名將。 先是，忠嗣之在朔方也，每至互市時，即高估馬價以誘之，諸蕃聞之，競來求市，來輒買之。 故蕃馬益少，而漢軍益壯。 及至河、隴，又奏請徙朔方、河東戎馬九千匹以實之，其軍又壯。 迄於天寶末，戰馬蕃息。 寶應元年，追贈兵部尚書。
Later Geshu Han mounted a major campaign against Shibao Fortress and took it, but more than half his men died—just as Zhongsi had foretold. His contemporaries hailed him as a great general. Earlier, while Zhongsi was in Shuofang, whenever the frontier markets opened he bid up horse prices to draw sellers in. The tribes heard of it and flocked to trade; every horse offered, he bought. Thus the tribes' horses grew scarce while the Han armies grew stronger. Once he reached He-Long he memorialized to transfer nine thousand war horses from Shuofang and Hedong to stock his command, and those forces grew strong again. By the close of the Tianbao era, war horses had multiplied in great numbers. In Baoying 1 (762) he was posthumously appointed Minister of War.
29
史臣曰：郭虔瓘、郭知運、王君㚟、張守珪、牛仙客、王忠嗣，立功邊域，為世虎臣，班超、傅介子之流也。 然虔瓘以萬人征西，請給公乘、熟食，可謂謀之不臧矣。 君㚟以父執登陴，兵竟不出，此則不知門外之事，義斷恩也。 守珪以至誠感神，取材成堰，與夫耿恭拜井，有何異焉？ 仙客爰自方隅，驟登廊廟，顯招物議，獨善其身，蓋才有不周，昧於陳力就列。 忠嗣因青蠅之點，幾危其身，讒人之言，誠可畏也！
The historian writes: Guo Qianguan, Guo Zhiyun, Wang Jun, Zhang Shougui, Niu Xianke, and Wang Zhongsi won distinction on the frontier and stood as the tiger generals of their age—men in the tradition of Ban Chao and Fu Jiezi. Yet when Qianguan marched west with ten thousand men he demanded government carts and hot rations—hardly sound planning. Jun climbed the wall at his father's order, yet his troops never marched out—proof that he did not grasp what lay beyond the gate; duty had cut through affection. Shougui moved heaven by the depth of his sincerity and built a dam from timber—what difference is there from Geng Gong kneeling to pray for a well? Xianke rose from a remote corner to the central court in a single leap, inviting open criticism while looking after himself alone—his gifts were incomplete, and he did not understand how to bring his strength to bear in office. Zhongsi, stained by the speck of a fly, nearly lost his life—the words of slanderers are truly to be feared!
30
贊曰：隴山之西，幽陵之北，爰有戎夷，世為殘賊。 二郭、二王，守珪、仙客，禦寇之功，存乎方策。
In praise: West of the Long Mountains, north of You Ridge, barbarians dwell who generation after generation raid and ravage. The two Guos, the two Wangs, Shougui, Xianke—their deeds in defense against the enemy endure in the annals.