Volume 104 Biographies 54: Gao Xianzhi, Feng Changqing, Ge Shuhan

高仙芝，本高麗人也。父舍雞，初從河西軍，累勞至四鎮十將、諸衛將軍。仙芝美姿容，善騎射，勇決驍果。少隨父至安西，以父有功授遊擊將軍。年二十餘即拜將軍，與父同班秩。事節度使田仁琬、蓋嘉運，未甚任用，後夫蒙靈察累拔擢之。開元末，為安西副都護、四鎮都知兵馬使。

Gao Xianzhi was ethnically Korean. His father Sheji had first served with the Hexi armies and, through long service, risen to command in the Four Garrisons and to a guard generalship. Xianzhi was handsome, an expert horseman and archer, and notably brave and fierce in battle. As a youth he accompanied his father to Anxi, where he received the rank of Mobile Strike General on account of his father's achievements. By his mid-twenties he had already been made a general, holding the same rank as his father. Under the commissioners Tian Renwan and Gai Jiayun he saw little employment, but Fumeng Lingcha later promoted him repeatedly. By the late Kaiyuan period he was serving as deputy protector of Anxi and commander of all military forces in the Four Garrisons.

小勃律國王為吐蕃所招，妻以公主，西北二十餘國皆為吐蕃所制，貢獻不通。後節度使田仁琬、蓋嘉運並靈察累討之，不捷，玄宗特敕仙芝以馬步萬人為行營節度使往討之。時步軍皆有私馬，自安西行十五日至撥換城，又十餘日至握瑟德，又十餘日至疏勒，又二十餘日至蔥嶺守捉，又行二十餘日至播密川，又二十餘日至特勒滿川，即五識匿國也。仙芝乃分為三軍：使疏勒守捉使趙崇玭統三千騎趣吐蕃連雲堡，自北谷入；使撥換守捉使賈崇瓘自赤佛堂路入；仙芝與中使邊令誠自護密國入，約七月十三日辰時會於吐蕃連雲堡。堡中有兵千人，又城南十五里因山為柵，有兵八九千人。城下有婆勒川，水漲不可渡。仙芝以三牲祭河，命諸將選兵馬，人賫三日幹糧，早集河次。水既難渡，將士皆以為狂。既至，人不濕旗，馬不濕韉，已濟而成列矣。仙芝喜謂令誠曰：「向吾半渡賊來，吾屬敗矣，今既濟成列，是天以此賊賜我也。」遂登山挑擊，從辰至巳，大破之。至夜奔逐，殺五千人，生擒千人，餘並走散。得馬千餘匹，軍資器械不可勝數。

The king of Lesser Bolü had been drawn into Tibet's orbit and given a Tibetan princess as wife; more than twenty kingdoms in the northwest had fallen under Tibetan control, and their tribute no longer reached the court. Commissioners Tian Renwan, Gai Jiayun, and Lingcha had campaigned against them in turn without success, so Emperor Xuanzong personally ordered Xianzhi, at the head of ten thousand cavalry and infantry, to serve as mobile-camp commissioner and lead the punitive expedition. The infantry all rode private mounts. From Anxi they marched fifteen days to Bola, another ten-odd days to Wusede, another ten-odd days to Kashgar, another twenty-odd days to the Onion Range garrison, another twenty-odd days to the Bomi River, and another twenty-odd days to the Teliman River—the territory of the Five Shihni kingdoms. Xianzhi divided his army into three columns: he sent the Kashgar garrison commander Zhao Chongpin with three thousand horsemen against the Tibetan stronghold at Lianyunbao by the northern valley; he sent the Bola garrison commander Jia Chongguan in by the Red Buddha Hall road; Xianzhi and the palace envoy Bian Lingcheng entered from Chimi, with orders to rendezvous at Lianyunbao at the seventh hour on the thirteenth day of the seventh month. The fortress held a thousand men, and fifteen li south of the city a mountain stockade had been built with eight or nine thousand more. Below the fortress lay the Bole River, swollen and impassable. Xianzhi sacrificed to the river and ordered his commanders to pick their men and mounts; each soldier was to carry three days' rations and report to the river at dawn. With the river so high, the troops all thought him mad to attempt a crossing. When they reached the far bank, not a flag was wet and not a saddle was soaked—they had crossed and were already drawn up in formation. Xianzhi said happily to Lingcheng, "Had the enemy struck while we were midstream, we would have been ruined. Now that we are across and in formation, Heaven has delivered these foes into my hands. He then stormed the heights and attacked; from the seventh hour until the ninth he routed them completely. He pursued through the night, killing five thousand and taking a thousand prisoners; the rest fled in all directions. He seized more than a thousand horses and booty in arms and supplies beyond reckoning.

玄宗使術士韓履冰往視日，懼不欲行，邊令誠亦懼。仙芝留令誠等以羸病尪弱三千餘人守其城，仙芝遂進。三日，至坦駒嶺，直下峭峻四十餘里，仙芝料之曰：「阿弩越胡若速迎，即是好心。」又恐兵士不下，乃先令二十餘騎詐作阿弩越城胡服上嶺來迎。既至坦駒嶺，兵士果不肯下，云：「大使將我欲何處去？」言未畢，其先使二十人來迎，云：「阿弩越城胡並好心奉迎，娑夷河藤橋已斫訖。」仙芝陽喜以號令，兵士盡下。娑夷河，即古之弱水也，不勝草芥毛發。下嶺三日，越胡果來迎。明日，至阿弩越城，當日令將軍席元慶、賀婁餘潤先修橋路。仙芝明日進軍，又令元慶以一千騎先謂小勃律王曰：「不取汝城，亦不斫汝橋，但借汝路過，向大勃律去。」城中有首領五六人，皆赤心為吐蕃。仙芝先約元慶云：「軍到，首領百姓必走入山谷，招呼取以敕命賜彩物等，首領至，齊縛之以待我。」元慶既至，一如仙芝之所教，縛諸首領。王及公主走入石窟，取不可得。仙芝至，斬其為吐蕃者五六人。急令元慶斫藤橋，去勃律猶六十里，及暮，才斫了，吐蕃兵馬大至，已無及矣。藤橋闊一箭道，修之一年方成。勃律先為吐蕃所詐借路，遂成此橋。至是，仙芝徐自招諭勃律及公主出降，並平其國。

The emperor had sent the diviner Han Lübing to observe the heavens; Han was afraid to proceed, and Bian Lingcheng was afraid as well. Xianzhi left Lingcheng behind with more than three thousand sick and weak troops to hold the fortress and pressed on. On the third day they reached Tanju Ridge and descended a sheer cliff of more than forty li. Xianzhi reasoned aloud, "If the Anüyue tribesmen hurry to greet us, their hearts are with us. Fearing his men would refuse to go down, he first sent twenty-odd horsemen disguised as Anüyue tribesmen up the ridge to welcome the army. At Tanju Ridge the troops indeed refused to descend, crying, "Commissioner, where are you leading us? Before they had finished, the twenty advance riders appeared, calling out, "The Anüyue tribes welcome you in good faith—the vine bridge over the Suoyi River has already been cut!" Xianzhi pretended delight and gave the order; the men all went down. The Suoyi River was the ancient Weak Water, so light that not a blade of grass or a hair could float upon it. Three days after they came down from the ridge, the Yue tribesmen did indeed come to greet them. The next day they reached Anüyue City, and that same day he sent Generals Xi Yuanqing and Helou Yurun ahead to repair the bridge and road. The following day Xianzhi marched on and sent Yuanqing ahead with a thousand horsemen to tell the king of Lesser Bolü, "We do not mean to take your city or destroy your bridge—we only ask passage on our way to Greater Bolü. Five or six chieftains in the city were utterly loyal to Tibet. Xianzhi had briefed Yuanqing beforehand: "When our army arrives, the chieftains and populace will flee into the hills—call them back with imperial gifts; when the chieftains appear, bind them all and hold them for me. Yuanqing did exactly as instructed and seized every chieftain. The king and princess had fled into a cave and could not be captured. When Xianzhi arrived, he executed the five or six Tibetan loyalists. He urgently ordered Yuanqing to destroy the vine bridge. Bolü was still sixty li distant; by dusk the bridge was only just cut when a great Tibetan force arrived—too late to cross. The vine bridge spanned no more than an arrow's shot and had taken a full year to build. Bolü had earlier been tricked by Tibet into granting passage, which was how the bridge had been built. Thereupon Xianzhi gradually persuaded the king of Bolü and the princess to surrender and pacified the kingdom.

天寶六載八月，仙芝虜勃律王及公主趣赤佛堂路班師。九月，復至婆勒川連雲堡，與邊令誠等相見。其月末，還播密川，令劉單草告捷書，遣中使判官王廷芳告捷。仙芝軍還至河西，夫蒙靈察都不使人迎勞，罵仙芝曰：「啖狗腸高麗奴！啖狗屎高麗奴！於闐使誰與汝奏得？」仙芝曰：「中丞。」「焉耆鎮守使誰邊得？」曰：「中丞。」「安西副都護使誰邊得？」曰：「中丞。」「安西都知兵馬使誰邊得？」曰：「中丞。」靈察曰：「此既皆我所奏，安得不待我處分懸奏捷書！據高麗奴此罪，合當斬，但緣新立大功，不欲處置。」又謂劉單曰：「聞爾能作捷書。」單恐懼請罪。令誠具奏其狀曰：「仙芝立奇功，今將憂死。」其年六月，制授仙芝鴻臚卿、攝御史中丞，代夫蒙靈察為四鎮節度使，征靈察入朝。靈察大懼，仙芝每日見之，趨走如故，靈察益不自安。將軍程千里時為副都護，大將軍畢思琛為靈察押衙，行官王滔、康懷順、陳奉忠等，嘗構譖仙芝於靈察。仙芝既領節度事，謂程千里曰：「公面似男兒，心如婦人，何也？」又謂思琛曰：「此胡敢來！我城東一千石種子莊被汝將去，憶之乎？」對曰：「此是中丞知思琛辛苦見乞。」仙芝曰：「吾此時懼汝作威福，豈是憐汝與之！我欲不言，恐汝懷憂，言了無事矣。」又呼王滔等至，捽下將笞，良久皆釋之，由是軍情不懼。

In the eighth month of Tianbao 6, Xianzhi took the king of Bolü and his princess captive and withdrew by the Red Buddha Hall road. In the ninth month he returned to Lianyunbao on the Bole River and rejoined Bian Lingcheng and the rest. At month's end he returned to the Bomi River, had Liu Dan draft the victory dispatch, and sent the palace envoy Wang Tingfang to report the triumph to court. When Xianzhi's army reached Hexi, Fumeng Lingcha sent no envoy from the capital to welcome them and cursed him: "Korean cur who eats dog guts! Korean cur who eats dog shit! Who got you your posting as commissioner of Khotan? Xianzhi replied, "You did, Vice Commissioner." And who secured you the Yanqi garrison command?" He answered, "You did, Vice Commissioner." And who got you the deputy protectorship of Anxi?" He answered, "You did, Vice Commissioner." And who made you commander of all Anxi forces?" He answered, "You did, Vice Commissioner." Lingcha said, "I recommended you for every one of these posts—how dare you send in a victory report without waiting for my approval! For this offense the Korean wretch deserves death, but since he has just won a great victory, I will let it pass." He also told Liu Dan, "I hear you are skilled at drafting victory dispatches." Liu Dan, terrified, pleaded for mercy. Lingcheng reported the whole affair to court: "Xianzhi has achieved a remarkable victory, yet now fears for his life. That sixth month an edict made Xianzhi Grand Master of Splendid Happiness and acting censor-in-chief, replaced Fumeng Lingcha as commissioner of the Four Garrisons, and recalled Lingcha to the capital. Lingcha was terrified. Xianzhi still called on him daily and behaved deferentially as before, which only made Lingcha more uneasy. General Cheng Qianli was deputy protector; Grand General Bi Sichen served as Lingcha's personal adjutant; and staff officers Wang Tao, Kang Huaishun, and Chen Fengzhong had once slandered Xianzhi to Lingcha. After taking command, Xianzhi said to Cheng Qianli, "You look like a man, but your heart is that of a woman—why is that? He also said to Bi Sichen, "How dare this barbarian show his face here! You carried off my thousand-shi seed estate east of the city—do you remember that?" Sichen replied, "The vice commissioner knew how hard I had worked and gave it to me when I begged for it." Xianzhi said, "At the time I was afraid you would abuse your authority—that was not pity for you! I had kept silent lest you worry; now that I have said it, there is nothing more to it." He also summoned Wang Tao and the others, threw them down for a beating, then after a long while released them all; from then on the troops had nothing to fear.

八載，入朝，加特進，兼左金吾衛大將軍同正員，仍與一子五品官。九載，將兵討石國，平之，獲其國王以歸。仙芝性貪，獲石國大塊瑟瑟十餘石、真金五六馲駝、名馬寶玉稱是。初，舍雞以仙芝為懦緩，恐其不能自存，至是立功，家財鉅萬，頗能散施，人有所求，言無不應。其載，入朝，拜開府儀同三司，尋除武威太守、河西節度使，代安思順。思順諷群胡割耳捴面請留，監察御史裴周南奏之，制復留思順，以仙芝為右羽林大將軍。十四載，封密雲郡公。

In the eighth year he came to court, was granted special advancement, and was made full grand general of the Left Golden Crow Guard, with one son given a fifth-rank post. In the ninth year he led an expedition against the Stone Kingdom, conquered it, and brought its king back as a prisoner. Xianzhi was greedy by nature; from the Stone Kingdom he took more than ten large blocks of kingfisher jade, five or six camels' loads of pure gold, and famous horses and precious jades beyond count. At first Sheji had thought Xianzhi too timid to make his own way; now, after his victories, the family fortune ran to vast sums and he gave freely—whatever anyone asked, he never refused. That year he came to court and was made Grand Master of the Palace with Golden Bells and Tripod, then soon appointed administrator of Wuwei and military commissioner of Hexi in place of An Sishun. Sishun stirred the frontier tribes to mutilate themselves in petition that he remain; Censor Pei Zhounan reported this, and the court kept Sishun in post while appointing Xianzhi grand general of the Right Feathered Forest. In the fourteenth year he was enfeoffed as Duke of Miyun.

十一月，安祿山據范陽叛。是日，以京兆牧、榮王琬為討賊元帥，仙芝為副。命仙芝領飛騎、彍騎及朔方、河西、隴右應赴京兵馬，並召募關輔五萬人，繼封常清出潼關進討，仍以仙芝兼御史大夫。十二月，師發，玄宗禦望春亭慰勞遣之，仍令監門將軍邊令誠監其軍，屯於陜州。是月十一日，封常清兵敗於汜水。十三日，祿山陷東京，常清以餘眾奔陜州，謂仙芝曰：「累日血戰，賊鋒不可當。且潼關無兵，若狂寇奔突，則京師危矣。宜棄此守，急保潼關。」常清、仙芝乃率見兵取太原倉錢絹，分給將士，餘皆焚之。俄而賊騎繼至，諸軍惶駭，棄甲而走，無復隊伍。仙芝至關，繕修守具，又令索承光守善和戍。賊騎至關，已有備矣，不能攻而去，仙芝之力也。

In the eleventh month An Lushan rose in rebellion from his base at Fanyang. That same day Prince Wan of Rong, who was also metropolitan governor, was named supreme commander against the rebels, with Xianzhi as his deputy. Xianzhi was ordered to command the flying and crossbow cavalry and the Shuofang, Hexi, and Longyou forces rushing to the capital, to recruit fifty thousand men from the Guanzhong region, and to follow Feng Changqing through Tong Pass on the offensive; he was also made concurrent censor-in-chief. In the twelfth month the army marched. Emperor Xuanzong came in person to Wangchun Pavilion to see them off and again appointed Gate Guard General Bian Lingcheng to supervise the force, which encamped at Shaanzhou. On the eleventh of that month Feng Changqing was defeated at Sishui. On the thirteenth Lushan captured the Eastern Capital. Changqing fled with his survivors to Shaanzhou and told Xianzhi, "After days of bloody fighting, the rebel onslaught cannot be stopped. Tong Pass is undefended; if the rebels break through in a rush, the capital will be lost. We should abandon this position and rush to hold Tong Pass. Changqing and Xianzhi then led their remaining forces to seize the money and silk in the Taiyuan depot, distributed it among the troops, and burned what was left. Soon rebel cavalry caught up; the troops panicked, threw away their armor, and fled in disorder. When Xianzhi reached the pass, he repaired the defenses and posted Suo Chengguang at the Shanhe garrison. When rebel horsemen reached the pass, the defenses were ready; unable to attack, they withdrew—thanks to Xianzhi.

封常清，蒲州猗氏人也。外祖犯罪流安西效力，守胡城南門，頗讀書，每坐常清於城門樓上，教其讀書，多所歷覽。外祖死，常清孤貧，年三十餘，屬夫蒙靈察為四鎮節度使，將軍高仙芝為都知兵馬使，頗有材能，每出軍，奏傔從三十餘人，衣服鮮明。常清慨然發憤，投牒請預一傔。常清細瘦目類腳短而跛，仙芝見其貌寢，不納。明日又投牒，仙芝謂曰：「吾奏傔已足，何煩復來！」常清怒，倨謂仙芝曰：「常清慕公高義，願事鞭轡，所以無媒而前，何見拒之深乎？公若方圓取人，則士大夫所望；若以貌取人，恐失之子羽矣！」仙芝猶未納。常清自爾候仙芝出入，晨夕不離其門，凡數十日，仙芝不得已，補為傔。

Feng Changqing was a native of Yishi in Pu Prefecture. His maternal grandfather, convicted of a crime, had been exiled to Anxi for penal service and guarded the southern gate of a frontier town. A man of some learning, he would seat young Changqing on the gate tower each day and teach him to read, and the boy read widely. After his grandfather died, Changqing was left poor and alone. Past thirty, Fumeng Lingcha was commissioner of the Four Garrisons and General Gao Xianzhi commanded all forces—a capable officer who, on every campaign, petitioned for more than thirty retainers in splendid dress. Changqing, indignant, submitted a petition asking to serve as one of the retainers. Changqing was slight, thin, close-set of eye, short-legged, and lame; Xianzhi took one look at his unprepossessing appearance and refused him. The next day he petitioned again. Xianzhi told him, "I already have enough retainers on my roster—why keep coming back? Changqing grew angry and said boldly to Xianzhi, "I admire your integrity and wish to serve at your side—that is why I came unintroduced. Why reject me so harshly? If you judge men by talent and character, that is what gentlemen expect; but if you judge by looks alone, you may miss another Ziyu!" Xianzhi still would not take him on. From then on Changqing attended Xianzhi's comings and goings, never leaving his gate from dawn till dusk. After some ten days Xianzhi gave in and made him a retainer.

開元末，會達奚部落背叛，自黑山北向，西趣碎葉，玄宗敕靈察邀擊之。靈察使仙芝以二千騎自副城向北至綾嶺下，遇賊擊之。達奚行遠，人馬皆疲，斬殺略盡。常清於幕中潛作捷書，具言次舍井泉，遇賊形勢，克獲謀略，事頗精審。仙芝所欲言，無不周悉，仙芝大駭異之。仙芝軍回，靈察賞勞，仙芝去奴襪帶刀見。判官劉眺、獨孤峻等逆問之曰：「前者捷書，誰之所作？副大使幕下何得有如此人」仙芝曰：「即仙芝傔人封常清也。」眺等揖仙芝，命常清進坐，與語如舊相識，眾人方異之。以破達奚功，授疊州地下戍主，便以為判官。累以軍功授鎮將、果毅、折沖。

Near the close of the Kaiyuan reign, the Tatabi tribe rose in revolt, advancing north from Black Mountain and striking west toward Suyab. Emperor Xuanzong commanded Fumeng Lingcha to intercept and destroy them. Lingcha sent Gao Xianzhi with two thousand horsemen from Fucheng north to the base of Ling Ridge, where they met the enemy and gave battle. The Tatabi had come a great distance, and their men and horses were spent; the Tang forces cut them down until scarcely any remained. In the command tent, Feng Changqing secretly composed the victory dispatch, recounting in precise detail every halt and watering place, the encounter with the enemy, and the tactics by which victory was won. Nothing Xianzhi himself would have wished to add was left unsaid, and he was deeply astonished. When the army returned and Lingcha distributed rewards, Xianzhi had his attendant Feng Changqing strip off the foot-cloths of servitude, belt on a sword, and present him before the assembly. The adjutants Liu Tiao, Dugu Jun, and others pressed forward and asked, "That victory report we received earlier—who wrote it? "How could the deputy commissioner's staff harbor such a man?" Xianzhi replied, "None other than my own attendant, Feng Changqing." Liu Tiao and the others bowed to Xianzhi, then summoned Changqing forward to take a seat and spoke with him as though he were an old acquaintance; only then did the company marvel at him. For his service in crushing the Tatabi, he was appointed warden of the subterranean garrison at Die Prefecture and at once made adjutant. By successive feats of arms he rose through the ranks of fort commander, guoyi officer, and zhechong commander.

天寶六年，從仙芝破小勃律。十二月，仙芝代夫蒙靈察為安西節度使，便奏常清為慶王府錄事參軍，充節度判官，賜紫金魚袋。尋加朝散大夫，專知四鎮倉庫、屯田、甲仗、支度、營田事。仙芝每出征討，常令常清知留後事。常清有才學，果決。知留後時，仙芝乳母子鄭德詮已為郎將，德銓母在宅內，仙芝視之如兄弟，家事皆令知之，威望動三軍。常清出回，諸將皆引前，德詮見常清出其門，素易之，自後走馬突常清而去。常清至使院，命左右密引至，厅連節度使宅院，凡經數重門，德詮既過，命隨後閉之。德詮至，常清離席謂之曰：「常清起自細微，預中丞兵馬使傔，中丞再不納，郎將豈不知乎？今中丞過聽，以常清為留後使，郎將何得無禮，對中使相淩！」因叱之曰：「郎將須暫死以肅軍容。」因令勒回，杖六十，面仆地，曳出。仙芝妻及乳母於門外號哭救之，不得，因以其狀上仙芝。仙芝覽之，驚曰：「已死矣！」及見常清，遂無一言，常清亦不之謝。諸大將有罪者，擊殺二人，於是軍中股忄栗。

In the sixth year of Tianbao, he followed Xianzhi in the campaign that brought down Lesser Bolü. In the twelfth month, Xianzhi succeeded Fumeng Lingcha as military commissioner of Anxi and at once recommended Changqing as registrar in the household of the Prince of Qing, with concurrent appointment as adjutant to the commissioner, and bestowed upon him the purple-gold fish tally. Soon afterward he was promoted to Master of Spreading Morality and given sole charge of the granaries, garrison farms, armor and weapons, supply accounts, and military colonies of the Four Garrisons. Whenever Xianzhi marched out on campaign, he invariably left Changqing in charge of affairs behind the lines. Changqing was a man of learning and ability, and decisive in action. While serving as rear-affairs commissioner, Xianzhi's foster brother Zheng Dequan already held the rank of colonel; Dequan's mother lived in the residence, and Xianzhi treated the household as his own kin, entrusting all domestic affairs to Changqing's oversight until his authority commanded the whole army. When Changqing came out on his rounds, the generals all stepped forward to greet him; Dequan, seeing him leave the gate, whom he had always held in contempt, spurred his horse from behind and galloped past Changqing without a word. Changqing went to the commissioner's hall and secretly ordered his men to bring Dequan there; the hall opened onto the commissioner's residential compound through several successive gates, and once Dequan had passed through, Changqing had each gate closed behind him. When Dequan arrived, Changqing rose from his seat and said, "I began in the humblest station and entered the Vice Commissioner's service as his attendant; twice he refused to take me on—surely the colonel knows this? Now the Vice Commissioner, in excessive generosity, has made me rear-affairs commissioner—how can the colonel show such disrespect and publicly humiliate an imperial representative! Then he shouted at him, "The colonel must die for a moment to restore discipline in the ranks." He had Dequan seized, beaten sixty strokes with the staff, struck face-down to the ground, and dragged out. Xianzhi's wife and foster mother wailed at the gate, begging for mercy in vain, and then laid the matter before Xianzhi in a written report. Xianzhi read the report and cried out in alarm, "He is already dead! When he met Changqing face to face, he said not a word; nor did Changqing offer any apology. Two senior generals who had been guilty of offenses were beaten to death, and from that moment the whole army trembled with fear.

十載，仙芝改西節度使，奏常清為判官。王正見為安西節度，奏常清為四鎮支度營田副使、行軍司馬。十一載，正見死，乃以常清為安西副大都護，攝御史中丞，持節充安西四鎮節度、經略、支度、營田副大使，知節度事。十三載入朝，攝御史大夫，仍與一子五品官，賜第一區，亡父母皆贈封爵。俄而北庭都護程千里入為右金吾大將軍，仍令常清權知北庭都護，持節充伊西節度等使。常清性勤儉，每出征或乘驛，私馬不過一兩匹，賞罰嚴明。

In the tenth year of Tianbao, Xianzhi was reassigned as military commissioner of the west and recommended Changqing once again as his adjutant. When Wang Zhengjian took command in Anxi, he recommended Changqing as deputy commissioner for supply and military colonies of the Four Garrisons and as campaign marshal. In the eleventh year, after Zhengjian's death, Changqing was made deputy grand protector of Anxi, acting censor-in-chief, and with imperial commission was appointed deputy commissioner for the military administration, frontier strategy, supply, and military colonies of the Anxi Four Garrisons, with full authority over the command. In the thirteenth year he came to court and was named acting chief censor; one of his sons received a fifth-rank appointment, he was granted a first-rank residence, and both his deceased parents were posthumously ennobled. Before long, Cheng Qianli, grand protector of Beiting, was recalled to the capital as right general of the Gold Crow Guard, and Changqing was temporarily entrusted with the Beiting protectorate, bearing imperial commission as commissioner of Yixi and related territories. Changqing was industrious and austere by nature; on campaign or when traveling by post, he kept no more than one or two private horses, and his rewards and punishments were swift and unmistakable.

十四載，入朝，十一月，謁玄宗於華清宮。時祿山已叛，玄宗言兇胡負恩之狀，何方誅討？常清奏曰：「祿山領兇徒十萬，徑犯中原，太平斯久，人不知戰。然事有逆順，勢有奇變，臣請走馬赴東京，開府庫，募驍勇，挑馬箠渡河，計日取逆胡之首懸於闕下。」玄宗方憂，壯其言。翌日，以常清為范陽節度，俾募兵東討。其日，常清乘驛赴東京召募，旬日得兵六萬，皆傭保市井之流。乃斫斷河陽橋，於東京為固守之備。十二月，祿山渡河，陷陳留，入罌子谷，兇威轉熾，先鋒至葵園。常清使驍騎與柘羯逆戰，殺賊數十百人。賊大軍繼至，常清退入上東門，又戰不利，賊鼓噪於四城門入，殺掠人吏。常清又戰於都亭驛，不勝。退守宣仁門，又敗。乃從提象門入，倒樹以礙之。至谷水，西奔至陜郡，遇高仙芝，具以賊勢告之。恐賊難與爭鋒，仙芝遂退守潼關。

In the fourteenth year he returned to court, and in the eleventh month had an audience with Emperor Xuanzong at Huaqing Palace. An Lushan had already risen in rebellion, and the Emperor spoke of the treacherous barbarian's betrayal of imperial grace, asking how he might best be punished and destroyed. Changqing submitted a memorial: "An Lushan commands a hundred thousand hardened rebels and is marching straight upon the heartland. Peace has endured so long that the people have forgotten how to fight. Yet right and wrong still govern affairs, and fortune can turn in an instant. Your servant begs leave to ride at full speed to the Eastern Capital, throw open the arsenals, raise the bravest fighters, whip his horse across the river, and within days bring the rebel chieftain's head to hang beneath the palace gates. The Emperor, then heavy with anxiety, was heartened by his bold words. The next day he appointed Changqing military commissioner of Fanyang and ordered him to raise troops and march east against the rebels. That very day Changqing rode post to the Eastern Capital to raise an army; within ten days he had assembled sixty thousand men, all mercenaries and street rabble from the markets. He then destroyed the Heyang Bridge and prepared the Eastern Capital for a stubborn defense. In the twelfth month An Lushan crossed the Yellow River, took Chenliu, and entered Yingzi Valley; his savage momentum swelled by the day, and his vanguard reached Kui Garden. Changqing sent his best horsemen to meet the Tuqishi vanguard in battle and killed several hundred of the enemy. The rebel main force pressed on; Changqing fell back to the Upper East Gate and fought again without success. The rebels raised a thunderous clamor at all four gates, poured into the city, and slaughtered and plundered officials and clerks. Changqing gave battle again at Duting Post Station and was beaten. He withdrew to hold the Xuanren Gate and was defeated once more. He then retreated through the Tixiang Gate and felled trees behind him to block pursuit. Reaching the Gu River, he fled west to Shaan Commandery, where he met Gao Xianzhi and gave him a full account of the enemy's strength. Judging the rebels too fierce to meet in open battle, Xianzhi withdrew to hold Tong Pass.

玄宗聞常清敗，削其官爵，令白衣於仙芝軍效力。仙芝令常清監巡左右廂諸軍，常清衣皁衣以從事。監軍邊令誠每事幹之。仙芝多不從。令誠入奏事，具言仙芝、常清逗撓奔敗之狀。玄宗怒，遣令誠賫敕至軍並誅之。

When the Emperor learned of Changqing's defeat, he stripped him of rank and title and ordered him to serve in Xianzhi's army as a common soldier in undyed robes. Xianzhi put Changqing in charge of inspecting the Left and Right wing armies, and Changqing wore plain black garments as he went about his duties. The army inspector Bian Lingcheng meddled in every decision. Xianzhi often refused to heed him. Lingcheng returned to court and reported in full that Xianzhi and Changqing had dallied, shirked their duty, and fled in defeat. The Emperor flew into a rage and sent Lingcheng back to the army with an edict ordering the execution of them both.

令誠至潼關，引常清於驛南西街，宣敕示之。常清曰：「常清所以不死者，不忍汙國家旌麾，受戮賊手，討逆無效，死乃甘心。」初，常清兵敗入關，欲馳赴闕庭，至渭南，有敕令卻赴潼關，自草表待罪。是日臨刑，托令誠上之。其表曰：

Lingcheng arrived at Tong Pass, led Changqing to South West Street beside the post station, and read out the edict before him. Changqing said, "The reason I have clung to life until now is that I could not bear to see the imperial banners dishonored by dying at the rebels' hands. Though I failed to suppress the rebellion, I can die with a clear conscience. Earlier, after his defeat and withdrawal through the pass, he had intended to ride at once to the imperial court; but at Weinan an edict turned him back to Tong Pass, and there he drafted a memorial accepting blame. On the day of his execution he entrusted the memorial to Lingcheng for presentation to the throne. The memorial ran as follows:

中使駱奉仙至，奉宣口敕，恕臣萬死之罪，收臣一朝之效，令臣卻赴陜州，隨高仙芝行營，。負斧縲囚，忽焉解縛，敗軍之將，更許增修。臣常清誠歡誠喜，頓首頓首。臣自城陷已來，前後三度遣使奉表，具述赤心，竟不蒙引對。臣之此來，非求茍活，實欲陳社稷之計，破虎狼之謀。冀拜首闕庭，吐心陛下，論逆胡之兵勢，陳討捍之別謀。酬萬死之恩，以報一生之寵。豈料長安日遠，謁見無由；函谷關遙，陳情不暇！臣讀《春秋》，見狼瞫稱未獲死所，臣今獲矣。

"The palace envoy Luo Fengxian arrived bearing an oral edict, pardoning my countless capital crimes, accepting whatever service I might yet render, and ordering me to return to Shaanzhou and join Gao Xianzhi's field headquarters." "I came bound like a condemned man bearing the executioner's axe, and was suddenly released from my fetters; a defeated general was granted the chance to redeem himself." "Your servant Changqing is overcome with gratitude and joy—kowtowing, kowtowing." "Since the fall of the city I have three times dispatched envoys with memorials laying bare my loyal heart, yet was never granted an audience with Your Majesty." "I came not to beg for my life, but to offer plans for the preservation of the realm and to break the schemes of this tiger and wolf." "I had hoped to prostrate myself before the palace gates, pour out my heart to Your Majesty, assess the rebel's military strength, and propose other strategies for defense and suppression." "Thus to repay the grace of sparing my life and to answer the favor of a lifetime's trust." "Who could have known that Chang'an would grow more distant with each passing day, and that I would find no path to audience;" "Hangu Pass stands between us, and I have no time left to plead my case!" "I have read the Spring and Autumn Annals and seen how Lang Zhi lamented that he had not yet found the place to die—I have found mine at last."

昨者與羯胡接戰，自今月七日交兵，至於十三日不已。臣所將之兵，皆是烏合之徒，素未訓習。率周南市人之眾，當漁陽突騎之師，尚猶殺敵塞路，血流滿野。臣欲挺身刃下，死節軍前，恐長逆胡之威，以挫王師之勢。是以馳禦就日，將命歸天。一期陛下斬臣於都市之下，以誡諸將；二期陛下問臣以逆賊之勢，將誡諸軍；三期陛下知臣非惜死之徒，許臣竭露。臣今將死抗表，陛下或以臣失律之後，誑妄為辭；陛下或以臣欲盡所忠，肝膽見察。臣死之後，望陛下不輕此賊，無忘臣言，則冀社稷復安，逆胡敗覆，臣之所願畢矣。仰天飲鴆，向日封章，即為屍諫之臣，死作聖朝之鬼。若使歿而有知，必結草軍前。回風陣上，引王師之旗鼓，平寇賊之戈鋋。生死酬恩，不任感激，臣常清無任永辭聖代悲戀之至。

"In recent fighting with the Jie rebels, battle was joined on the seventh of this month and did not cease until the thirteenth." "The troops under my command were a rabble gathered overnight, never drilled in the arts of war." "Leading market folk from the Zhou and Nan wards against the shock cavalry of Fanyang, we still piled the slain so thick upon the road that blood soaked the fields." "I wished to throw myself beneath the enemy blades and die honorably before the ranks, but feared that doing so would only swell the rebel chieftain's arrogance and break the imperial army's spirit." "Therefore I rode at full speed toward the capital, prepared to surrender my life to Heaven's judgment." "First, that Your Majesty might execute me in the public square as a warning to every general;" "Second, that Your Majesty might question me about the rebel's strength and so instruct the armies;" "Third, that Your Majesty might know I am no coward who clings to life, and allow me to pour out my utmost loyalty." "I now face death while submitting this final memorial; Your Majesty may dismiss my words, after my military failure, as the deceitful excuses of a defeated man;" "Or Your Majesty may recognize that I seek only to exhaust every ounce of loyalty I possess, with heart and liver laid bare before you." "After my death, I pray that Your Majesty will not underestimate this rebel or forget my words—then the altars of state may be restored, the rebel chieftain overthrown, and my last wish fulfilled." "Raising my eyes to Heaven, drinking poison, facing the sun with this sealed memorial—I become a minister who remonstrates with his corpse, and in death a loyal ghost of the sacred dynasty." "If the dead retain consciousness, I shall surely repay my debt with knotted grass before the army's ranks." "May I turn the wind upon the battle line, guide the banners and drums of the imperial host, and sweep away the rebels' spears and blades." "Life and death alike I devote to repaying grace; words cannot contain my gratitude. Your servant Changqing bows in eternal farewell, overwhelmed with sorrow at parting from this sacred age."

常清既刑，陳其屍於蘧蒢上。仙芝歸至厅，令誠索陌刀手百餘人隨而從之，曰：「大夫亦有恩命。」仙芝遽下，遂至常清所刑處。仙芝曰：「我退，罪也，死不辭；然以我為減截兵糧及賜物等，則誣我也。」謂令誠曰：「上是天，下是地，兵士皆在，足下豈不知乎！」其召募兵排列在外，素愛仙芝，仙芝呼謂之曰：「我於京中召兒郎輩，雖得少許物，裝束亦未能足，方與君輩破賊，然後取高官重賞。不謂賊勢憑陵，引軍至此，亦欲固守潼關故也。我若實有此，君輩即言實；我若實無之，君輩當言枉。」兵齊呼曰：「枉」，其聲殷地。仙芝又目常清之屍，謂之曰：「封二，子從微至著，我則引拔子為我判官，俄又代我為節度使，今日又與子同死於此，豈命也夫！」遂斬之。

After the execution, Changqing's body was laid out on a straw mat. Xianzhi returned to the hall, and Lingcheng gathered more than a hundred saber troops to follow him, saying, "The Grand Marshal has an edict as well. Xianzhi dismounted at once and went directly to the place where Changqing had been executed. Xianzhi said, "My retreat was a crime, and I do not shrink from death; but to accuse me of withholding rations and plundering issued goods—that is a lie. He turned to Lingcheng and said, "Heaven is above, earth is below, and the soldiers stand witness—surely you know the truth!" The troops he had recruited stood drawn up outside; they had always held Xianzhi in affection. He called out to them, "When I recruited you men in the capital, you received only scant supplies and your equipment was never complete—we were on the verge of breaking the rebels together and then claiming high rank and rich reward. I never dreamed the rebel tide would overwhelm us and drive the army to this pass—we came here precisely to hold Tong Pass. If I truly did these things, say so plainly; If I did not, say that I have been wronged." The soldiers shouted as one: "Wronged!"—their voices shook the ground. Xianzhi then gazed at Changqing's corpse and said, "Second Brother Feng, you rose from nothing to greatness—I lifted you up as my adjutant, and soon you succeeded me as commissioner; today we die together in this place—is this not fate? Then they beheaded him.

哥舒翰，突騎施首領哥舒部落之裔也。蕃人多以部落稱姓，因以為氏。祖沮，左清道率。父道元，安西副都護，世居安西。翰家富於財，倜儻任俠，好然諾，縱蒲酒。年四十，遭父喪，三年客居京師，為長安尉不禮，慨然發憤折節，仗劍之河西。初事節度使王倕，倕攻新城，使翰經略，三軍無不震懾。後節度使王忠嗣補為衙將。翰好讀《左氏春秋傳》及《漢書》，疏財重氣，士多歸之。忠嗣以為大鬥軍副使，嘗使翰討吐蕃於新城，有同列為副者，見翰禮倨，不為用，翰怒，撾殺之，軍中股怵。遷左衛郎將。後吐蕃寇邊，翰拒之於苦拔海，其眾三行，從山差池而下，翰持半段槍當其鋒擊之，三行皆敗，無不摧靡，由是知名。

Geshu Han was descended from the Geshu tribe, chieftains of the Tuqishi confederation. Among the frontier peoples it was common to take one's tribal name as a surname, and so the name became his family line. His grandfather was Ju, commander of the Left Clear-the-Way unit. His father Daoyuan served as deputy protector-general of Anxi, and the family had lived there for generations. The Han family was rich. Ge Shuhan was bold and chivalrous, delighted in honoring his promises, and prone to gambling and drinking. When he was forty, his father died. He spent three years living in the capital as a guest, where the warden of Chang'an slighted him. Stung to anger, he resolved to change his ways, took up the sword, and made for Hexi. He first served under the military commissioner Wang Yun. When Yun attacked Xincheng, he put Han in charge of the campaign, and the entire army was awestruck. Later the military commissioner Wang Zhongsi appointed him a guard officer on his staff. Han loved to read the Zuo Commentary and the Book of Han. He was free with his wealth and held loyalty dear, and many men gathered around him. Zhongsi appointed him deputy commissioner of the Great Battle Army. On one occasion he sent Han to attack the Tibetans at Xincheng. A fellow deputy, offended by Han's haughty bearing, refused to follow his orders. Han flew into a rage and beat the man to death, throwing the army into dread. He was promoted to commandant of the Left Guard Corps. Later, when Tibetans raided the border, Han drove them back at Kubohai. Their army advanced in three ranks, winding down from the mountains in staggered lines. Han met their vanguard with a shortened spear and shattered all three ranks until nothing stood before him, and from that day his name was known.

天寶六載，擢授右武衛員外將軍，充隴西節度副使、都知關西兵馬使、河源軍使。先是，吐蕃每至麥熟時，即率部眾至積石軍獲取之，共呼為「吐蕃麥莊」，前後無敢拒之者。至是，翰使王難得、楊景暉等潛引兵至積石軍，設伏以待之。吐蕃以五千騎至，翰於城中率驍勇馳擊，殺之略盡，餘或挺走，伏兵邀擊，匹馬不還。翰有家奴曰左軍，年十五六，亦有膂力。翰善使槍，追賊及之，以槍搭其肩而喝之，賊驚顧，翰從而刺其喉，皆剔高三五尺而墮，無不死者。左車輒下馬斬首，率以為常。

In the sixth year of Tianbao he was promoted to acting general of the Right Martial Guard and appointed deputy military commissioner of Longxi, overseer of all troops and horses west of the passes, and commander of the Heyuan Army. Before this, whenever the wheat ripened the Tibetans would lead their followers to the Jishi garrison to carry off the crop. People called it the Tibetan wheat estate, and for years no one had dared stand in their way. Han now secretly sent Wang Nande, Yang Jinghui, and others to bring troops to Jishi garrison and set an ambush. When five thousand Tibetan horsemen arrived, Han led the city's fiercest warriors in a galloping attack and killed nearly all of them. The survivors who bolted were cut off by the ambush, and not one horse made it back. Han kept a household slave named Zuojun, fifteen or sixteen years old, who was likewise strong. Han was master of the spear. When he overtook a fleeing enemy he would lay the spear across the man's shoulder and shout; startled, the man would turn, and Han would drive the point into his throat, lifting him three or five feet into the air before he fell. None lived. Zuoche would always dismount and take the head—a routine they followed every time.

其冬，玄宗在華清宮，王忠嗣被劾。敕召翰至，與語悅之，遂以為鴻臚卿，兼西平郡太守，攝御史中丞，代忠嗣為隴右節度支度營田副大使，知節度事。仍極言救忠嗣，上起入禁中，翰叩頭隨之而前，言詞慷慨，聲淚俱下，帝感而寬之，貶忠嗣為漢陽太守，朝廷義而壯之。

That winter, while Emperor Xuanzong was at Huaqing Palace, Wang Zhongsi was impeached. An imperial order summoned Han to court. The emperor found him pleasing in conversation and appointed him Minister of Ceremonies, concurrently governor of Xiping commandery and acting censor-in-chief, with Han replacing Zhongsi as deputy commissioner of the Longyou circuit for supplies, frontier colonies, and military affairs, with full charge of the circuit. He also spoke at length to save Zhongsi. When the emperor rose and withdrew into the palace, Han kowtowed and pressed forward after him, speaking with fierce conviction until voice and tears mingled. Moved, the emperor relented and demoted Zhongsi to governor of Hanyang. The court honored Han for his righteous boldness.

明年，築神威軍於青海上，吐蕃至，攻破之；又築城於青海中龍駒島，有白龍見，遂名為應龍城，吐蕃屏跡不敢近青海。吐蕃保石堡城，路遠而險，久不拔。八載，以朔方、河東群牧十萬眾委翰總統攻石堡城。翰使麾下將高秀巖、張守瑜進攻，不旬日而拔之。上錄其功，拜特進、鴻臚員外卿，與一子五品官，賜物千匹、莊宅各一所，加攝御史大夫。十一載，加開府儀同三司。

The following year he built Shenwei garrison on the Qinghai. When Tibetans arrived, they broke in and destroyed it. He also built a city on Longju Island in the middle of Qinghai. A white dragon was seen, and the place was therefore named Yinglong City. The Tibetans withdrew and no longer dared approach Qinghai. The Tibetans held Shibao Fort. The road was long and dangerous, and for a long time it could not be captured. In the eighth year, one hundred thousand men from the Shufang and Hedong horse-pasture offices were placed under Han's overall command to attack Shibao Fort. Han sent his subordinate generals Gao Xiuyan and Zhang Shouyu to press the attack, and within ten days the fort fell. The emperor recorded his achievements and appointed him to Special Promotion and acting Minister of Ceremonies, granted one of his sons a fifth-rank office, bestowed a thousand lengths of goods plus a manor and a residence, and added the acting post of chief censor. In the eleventh year he was further granted the honorary rank of Palace-and-Procession status equal to the Three Excellencies.

翰素與祿山、思順不協，上每和解之為兄弟。其冬，祿山、思順、翰並來朝，上使內侍高力士及中貴人於京城東駙馬崔惠童池亭宴會。翰母尉遲氏，於闐之族也。祿山以思順惡翰，嘗銜之，至是忽謂翰曰：「我父是胡，母是突厥；公父是突厥，母是胡。與公族類同，何不相親乎？」翰應之曰：「古人雲，野狐向窟嗥，不祥，以其忘本也。敢不盡心焉！」祿山以為譏其胡也，大怒，罵翰曰：「突厥敢如此耶！」翰欲應之，高力士目翰，翰遂止。

Han had long been on bad terms with An Lushan and An Sishun, and the emperor often patched up their quarrels by treating them as sworn brothers. That winter Lushan, Sishun, and Han all came to court together. The emperor had the eunuch Gao Lishi and other palace dignitaries host a banquet at the pool pavilion of Cui Huitong, an imperial son-in-law, east of the capital. Han's mother was Lady Yuchi, of Khotanese stock. Lushan bore a grudge against Han because Sishun disliked him. Suddenly he said to Han, "My father was a Hu and my mother was a Turk. Your father was a Turk and your mother was a Hu. We are of the same kind—why should we not be kin? Han answered, "The ancients said that when a wild fox howls toward its lair it is an ill omen, for it has forgotten where it came from. How could I fail to give you my whole heart! Lushan took this as a slur on his Hu blood and raged, cursing Han: "How dare a Turk speak to me like this!" Han was about to retort, but Gao Lishi caught his eye, and Han held his tongue.

十二載，進封涼國公，食實封三百戶，加河西節度使，尋封西平郡王。時楊國忠有隙於祿山，頻奏其反狀，故厚賞翰以親結之。十三載，拜太子太保，更加實封三百戶，又兼御史大夫。

In the twelfth year he was advanced to Duke of Liang with three hundred revenue households, appointed military commissioner of Hexi, and soon after enfeoffed as Prince of Xiping. Yang Guozhong was then at odds with Lushan and repeatedly memorialized the throne with evidence of his disloyalty, so he lavished rewards on Han to win him over. In the thirteenth year he was appointed Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent, given another three hundred revenue households, and again made chief censor in concurrent office.

翰好飲酒，頗恣聲色。至土門軍，入浴室，遘風疾，絕倒良久乃蘇。因入京，廢疾於家。

Han loved drinking and indulged freely in music and women. When he reached Tumen garrison and entered the bathhouse, he was struck by wind illness, collapsed unconscious, and lay insensible for a long time before he came to. He then went to the capital and remained at home, crippled by his illness.

及安祿山反，上以封常清、高仙芝喪敗，召翰入，拜為皇太子先鋒兵馬元帥，以田良丘為御史中丞，充行軍司馬，以王思禮、鉗耳大福、李承光、蘇法鼎、管崇嗣及蕃將火拔歸仁、李武定、渾萼、契苾寧等為裨將，河隴、朔方兵及蕃兵與高仙芝舊卒共二十萬，拒賊於潼關。上御勤政樓勞遣之，百僚出餞於郊。十五載，加翰尚書左僕射、同中書門下平章事。

When An Lushan rose in rebellion, the emperor—after Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi had been defeated and executed—recalled Han and appointed him grand marshal of the heir apparent's vanguard army. Tian Liangqiu served as acting censor-in-chief and expedition chief of staff; Wang Sili, Qian'er Dafu, Li Chengguang, Su Fading, Guan Chongsi, and the foreign generals Huoba Guiren, Li Wuding, Hun E, and Qibi Ning served as staff generals. With troops from Hexi, Longyou, and Shufang, foreign auxiliaries, and Gao Xianzhi's old soldiers—two hundred thousand in all—he was to hold the rebels at Tong Pass. The emperor went to the Qinzheng Tower to honor and send him forth, and the whole court went out to the suburbs to see him off. In the fifteenth year he was further appointed Left Vice Minister of the Secretariat and given the rank of co-equal with the Secretariat and Chancellery.

翰至潼關，或勸翰曰：「祿山阻兵，以誅楊國忠為名，公若留兵三萬守關，悉以精銳回誅國忠，此漢挫七國之計也，公以為何如？」翰心許之，未發。有客泄其謀於國忠，國忠大懼，及奏曰：「兵法『安不忘危』，今潼關兵眾雖盛，而無後殿，萬一不利，京師得無恐乎！請選監牧小兒三千人訓練於苑中。」詔從之，遂遣劍南軍將李福、劉光庭分統焉。又奏召募一萬人，屯於灞上，令其腹心杜乾運將之。翰慮為所圖，乃上表請乾運兵隸於潼關，遂召乾運赴潼關計事，因斬之。自是，翰心不自安。又素有風疾，至是頗甚，軍中之務，不復躬親，委政於行軍司馬田良丘。良丘復不敢專斷，教令不一，頗無部伍。其將王思禮、李承光又爭長不葉，人無鬥志。

When Han arrived at Tong Pass, someone urged him: "Lushan has taken up arms in the name of punishing Yang Guozhong. If you leave thirty thousand men to guard the pass and lead your elite forces back to execute Guozhong, that is the same plan by which the Han dynasty broke the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms. What do you think? Han agreed in his heart but had not yet moved to carry it out. A guest betrayed the plan to Guozhong. Terrified, Guozhong memorialized the throne: "The art of war says that in safety one must not forget danger. Though the army at Tong Pass is large, there is no reserve behind it. If fortune turns, will the capital not be gripped by fear? I ask that three thousand youths from the imperial stud farms be chosen and drilled in the palace park. The emperor approved, and Li Fu and Liu Guangting, generals of the Jiannan army, were dispatched to command them separately. He also memorialized to recruit ten thousand men, station them at Bashang, and place them under his confidant Du Qianyun. Han feared he was being plotted against and memorialized that Qianyun's troops be placed under Tong Pass command. He then summoned Qianyun to Tong Pass on the pretext of consultation and had him beheaded. From that point on Han's mind was never at rest. He had long suffered from wind illness, and it now worsened considerably. He no longer handled military affairs in person and entrusted them to the expedition chief of staff, Tian Liangqiu. Liangqiu, for his part, dared not decide matters on his own, orders conflicted, and the army lost all cohesion. His generals Wang Sili and Li Chengguang also quarreled over precedence and would not work together, and the soldiers lost all fighting spirit.

先是，翰數奏祿山雖竊河朔，而不得人心，請持重以弊之，彼自離心，因而翦滅之，可不傷兵擒茲寇矣。賊將崔乾祐於陜郡潛鋒蓄銳，而覘者奏雲「賊殊無備」，上然之，命悉眾速討之。翰奏曰：「賊既始為AT逆，祿山久習用兵，必不肯無備，是陰計也。且賊兵遠來，利在速戰。今王師自戰其地，利在堅守，不利輕出；若輕出關，是入其算。乞更觀事勢。」楊國忠恐其謀己，屢奏使出兵。上久處太平，不練軍事，既為國忠眩惑，中使相繼督責。翰不得已，引師出關。

Earlier Han had repeatedly memorialized that although Lushan had seized Hebei, he had not won the people's hearts, and urged a patient defense to exhaust the rebels until they fell apart—then they could be destroyed and the bandits captured without great bloodshed. The rebel general Cui Qianyou secretly massed his best troops at Shaan commandery, yet scouts reported that the enemy was entirely unprepared. The emperor accepted this and ordered the full army to strike at once. Han memorialized: "Now that the rebels have launched a treasonous revolt, Lushan, who has long been versed in war, will certainly not be caught unprepared. This report of slack defenses is a ruse. Moreover, the rebel army has marched from far away; its advantage lies in forcing a quick battle. Our own forces fight on home ground; our advantage lies in holding the pass, not in sallying out lightly. If we leave the pass rashly, we fall straight into their trap. I beg leave to wait and observe how matters develop. Yang Guozhong, fearing Han's designs against him, repeatedly memorialized urging the army to march out. The emperor had lived so long in peace that he was unpracticed in war. Bewildered by Guozhong, he was driven on by one palace envoy after another. Han had no choice but to march his army out of the pass.

六月四日，次於靈寶縣之西原。八日，與賊交戰，官軍南迫險峭，北臨黃河；崔乾祐以數千人先據險要。翰及良丘浮船中流以觀進退，謂乾祐兵少，輕之，遂促將士令進，爭路擁塞，無復隊伍。午後，東風急，乾祐以草車數十乘縱火焚之，煙焰亙天。將士掩面，開目不得，因為兇徒所乘，王師自相排擠，墜於河。其後者見前軍陷敗，悉潰，填委於河，死者數萬人，號叫之聲振天地，縛器械，以槍為楫，投北岸，十不存一二。軍既敗，翰與數百騎馳而西歸，為火拔歸仁執降於賊。祿山謂之曰：「汝常輕我，今日如何？」翰懼，俯伏稱：「肉眼不識陛下，遂至於此。陛下為撥亂主，今天下未平，李光弼在土門，來填在河南，魯炅在南陽，但留臣，臣以尺書招之，不日平矣。」祿山大喜，遂偽署翰司空。作書招光弼等，諸將報書皆讓翰不死節。祿山知事不諧，遂閉翰於苑中，潛殺之。

On the fourth day of the sixth month he encamped at Xiyuan in Lingbao county. On the eighth day he engaged the rebels. The imperial army was hemmed in on the south by sheer cliffs and had the Yellow River at its back to the north. Cui Qianyou had already taken the high ground with several thousand men. Han and Liangqiu took a boat into midstream to watch how the battle went. Believing Qianyou's force too small to matter, they treated it lightly and ordered the men forward. Soldiers jostled for the road until the ranks jammed together and all order vanished. In the afternoon a fierce east wind sprang up. Qianyou torched several dozen hay carts, and smoke and flame blotted out the sky. Soldiers covered their faces and could not see. Seizing the moment, the rebels drove in; the imperial troops crushed one another and tumbled into the river. Those behind, seeing the front ranks destroyed, broke and ran. Corpses choked the river by the tens of thousands, and their cries shook heaven and earth. Tangled with their weapons, using spears as paddles, they struggled toward the north bank—fewer than one in ten lived. When the army was broken, Han galloped west with several hundred horsemen, was seized by Huoba Guiren, and surrendered to the rebels. Lushan said to him, "You always despised me. How do you like your situation now? Terrified, Han prostrated himself and said, "These mortal eyes failed to recognize Your Majesty, and so I have come to this pass. Your Majesty is a ruler who restores order amid chaos. The empire is not yet settled. Li Guangbi holds Tumen, Lai Tian holds Henan, and Lu Kui holds Nanyang. Keep me alive, and with a single letter I can win them over—the realm will be pacified in no time." Lushan was delighted and falsely appointed Han Minister of Works. He wrote letters summoning Guangbi and the others. Every general wrote back to rebuke Han for failing to die rather than submit. Seeing that the scheme would not work, Lushan had Han imprisoned in the park and secretly put him to death.

翰之守潼關也，主天下兵權，肆誌報怨，誣奏戶部尚書安思順與祿山潛通，偽令人為祿山遺思順書，於關門擒之以獻。其年三月，思順及弟太仆卿元貞坐誅，徙其家屬於嶺外，天下冤之。

While Han held Tong Pass he wielded command over the empire's armies and freely settled old scores. He falsely accused Minister of Revenue An Sishun of secret dealings with Lushan, forged a letter purporting to be from Lushan to Sishun, and seized him at the pass to present to the throne. In the third month of that year Sishun and his brother Yuanzhen, Grand Master of the Imperial Stud, were executed on the charge, and their families were banished beyond the Ling Mountains. All under heaven regarded it as a grievous wrong.

史臣曰：大盜作梗，祿山亂常，詞雖欲誅國忠，誌則謀危社稷。於時承平日久，金革道消，封常清、高仙芝相次率不教之兵，募市人之眾，以抗AT寇，失律喪師。哥舒翰廢疾於家，起專兵柄，二十萬眾拒賊關門，軍中之務不親，委任又非其所。及遇羯賊，旋致敗亡，天子以之播遷，自身以之拘執，此皆命帥而不得其人也。《禮》曰：「大夫死眾。」又曰：「謀人之軍師敗則死之。」翰受署賊庭，茍延視息，忠義之道，即可知也，豈不愧於顏杲卿乎！抑又聞之，古之命將者，推轂而謂之曰：「閫外之事，將軍裁之。」觀楊國忠之奏事，邊令誠之護戎，又掣肘於軍政者也，未可偏責三帥，不尤伊人。後之君子，得不深鑒！

The historian writes: When the great outlaw rose in rebellion, Lushan overturned the moral order. Though his words called for Guozhong's death, his aim was to bring down the dynasty. Peace had lasted so long that the arts of war had fallen into neglect. Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi, one after the other, led undisciplined soldiers and crowds of hastily recruited townsfolk against the Jie rebel bandits, broke military law, and lost their armies. Ge Shuhan, broken by illness at home, was suddenly given sole command. Two hundred thousand men held the gate against the rebels, yet he no longer handled military affairs himself and delegated them to men ill suited for the role. When they met the Jie rebels, ruin followed at once. The Son of Heaven was driven into exile, and Han himself was taken prisoner—all because the wrong commanders had been chosen. The Book of Rites says, "A grand officer dies together with his men. It also says, "He who serves as another's strategist—if the army is defeated, he dies for it." Han accepted a post in the rebel court and clung to life—what need is there to say of his loyalty and righteousness? How could he not blush before Yan Gaoqing! Yet one also hears that in antiquity, when a ruler appointed a general, he would push the chariot forward and say, "Matters beyond the gate are for the general alone to decide. Consider Yang Guozhong's memorials and Bian Lingcheng's oversight of the frontier tribes—yet also his meddling in military affairs—and one cannot lay all blame on the three commanders alone, nor condemn them without reservation. Men of later ages—should they not take this deeply to heart!

贊曰：羯賊犯順，戎車啟行。委任失所，封、高敗亡。虔劉圻甸，僭竊衣裳。醜哉舒翰，不能死王。

The encomium reads: The Jie rebels rose against the throne, and chariots of war set out. Command was misplaced; Feng and Gao were destroyed. The heartland was laid waste; imperial vestments were stolen. Shame on Shuhan—he could not die for his sovereign.

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