1
魯炅魯炅，范陽人也。 身長七尺餘，涉獵書史。 ，隴右節度使哥舒翰引為別奏。 顏真卿為監察御史，使至隴右，翰嘗設宴，真卿謂翰曰：「中丞自郎將授將軍，便登節制，後生可畏，得無人乎？」 炅時立在階下，翰指炅曰：「此人後當為節度使矣。」 後以隴右破吐蕃跳蕩功，累授右領軍大將軍同正員，賜紫金魚袋。
Lu Jiong was from Fanyang. He was over seven chi tall and had read widely in history and the classics. In the sixth year of Tianbao, Geshu Han, military governor of Longyou, brought him in as a special memorialist. When Yan Zhenqing served as investigating censor and traveled to Longyou, Geshu Han once held a feast. Zhenqing said to him, "You rose from commandant to general and at once took a frontier command—there is much to fear in the young; surely you have capable men? Jiong was standing on the steps below. Han pointed to him and said, "This man will one day be a military governor." Later, for victories over Tibetan raiders in Longyou, he rose step by step to Right Army General-in-Chief with full concurrent rank and received the purple-gold fish tally.
2
祿山之亂，選任將帥。 十五載正月，拜炅上洛太守，未行，遷南陽太守、本郡守捉，仍充防禦使。 尋兼御史大夫，充南陽節度使，以嶺南、黔中、山南東道子弟五萬人屯葉縣北，滍水之南，築柵，四面掘壕以自固。 至五月，賊將武令珣、畢思琛等來擊之，眾欲出戰，炅不許。 賊於營西順風燒煙，營內坐立不得，橫門扇及木爭出，賊矢集如雨，炅與中使薛道等挺身遁走，余眾盡沒。 嶺南節度使何履光、黔中節度使趙國珍、襄陽太守徐浩未至，裨將嶺南、黔中、荊襄子弟半在軍，多懷金銀為資糧，軍資器械盡棄於路如山積。 至是賊徒不勝其富。 炅收合殘卒，保南陽郡，為賊所圍。 尋而潼關失守，賊使哥舒翰招之，不從。 又使偽將豫州刺史武令珣等攻之，累月不能克。 武令珣死，又令田承嗣攻之。 潁川太守來瑱、襄陽太守魏仲犀合勢救之。 犀使弟孟馴為將，領兵至明府橋，望賊而走，眾遂大敗。 炅城中食盡，煮牛皮筋角而食之，米鬥至四五十千，有價無米，鼠一頭至四百文，餓死者相枕藉。 肅宗使中官將軍曹日昇來宣慰，路絕不得入。 日昇請單騎入致命，仲犀曰：「不可，賊若擒吾敕使，我亦何安！」 顏真卿適自河北次於襄陽，謂仲犀曰：「曹使既果決，不顧萬死之地，何得沮之！ 縱為賊所獲，是亡一使者； 敬得入城，則萬人之心固矣。 公何愛焉？」 中官馮廷環曰：「將軍必能入，我請以兩騎助之。」 日昇又自有傔騎數人，仲犀又以數騎共十人同行。 賊徒望見，知其驍銳，不敢逼。 日昇既入城，炅眾初以為望絕，忽有使來宣命，皆踴躍一心。 日昇以其十人至襄陽取糧，賊雖追之，不敢擊，遂以一千人取音聲路運糧而入，賊亦不能遏，又得相持數月。
With the outbreak of An Lushan's rebellion, commanders were chosen for appointment. In the first month of the fifteenth year, Jiong was named Governor of Shangluo. Before he departed, he was moved to Governor of Nanyang with local defense duties and made defense commissioner as well. He was soon given the concurrent title Censor-in-Chief and made Nanyang military governor. He stationed fifty thousand troops from Lingnan, Qianzhong, and Shannan East north of Ye County and south of the Zhi River, built stockades, and dug trenches on every side to hold his position. In the fifth month, rebel generals Wu Lingxun and Bi Sichen attacked. The men wanted to give battle, but Jiong refused. The rebels set smoke to windward west of the camp until the troops could neither sit nor stand. They surged through the side gates and over the timbers; arrows fell like rain. Jiong, the palace envoy Xue Dao, and others bolted, and the remainder of the army was destroyed. Lingnan governor He Lüguang, Qianzhong governor Zhao Guozhen, and Xiangyang prefect Xu Hao had not yet come up. Half the subordinate officers from Lingnan, Qianzhong, and Jing-Xiang were in the ranks, many laden with gold and silver for supplies. Arms and equipment were cast aside along the road in mountain-high piles. The rebels could hardly carry away such riches. Jiong rallied the survivors, held Nanyang, and was surrounded by the rebels. Soon after Tong Pass fell, the rebels sent Geshu Han to win him over, but he refused. They then sent the puppet Yuzhou prefect Wu Lingxun and others against him; for months they could not capture the city. After Wu Lingxun died, Tian Chengsi was ordered to press the siege. Yingchuan prefect Lai Zhen and Xiangyang prefect Wei Zhongxi combined their forces to rescue him. Zhongxi put his brother Mengxun in command. Mengxun led troops to Mingfu Bridge, fled at sight of the enemy, and the force was routed. Provisions in the city ran out. The defenders boiled ox hide, sinew, and horn to eat. A dou of rice cost forty or fifty thousand cash—money without grain to buy. A rat sold for four hundred cash. The dead from hunger lay heaped together. Emperor Suzong sent the palace general Cao Risheng with imperial comfort, but the routes were blocked and he could not get in. Risheng asked to ride in alone with the imperial message. Zhongxi said, "That cannot be—if the rebels seize our envoy, how can I answer for it? Yan Zhenqing, just arrived in Xiangyang from Hebei, told Zhongxi, "Commissioner Cao is so determined that he does not fear death itself—how can you hold him back? Even if the rebels seized him, that would mean only one envoy lost; but if he reaches the city, the hearts of ten thousand men will be secured. Why begrudge him the attempt?" The palace official Feng Tinghuan said, "The general can surely enter; let me lend two horsemen." Risheng had his own attendants as well; Zhongxi added several riders, and ten men went in together. The rebels saw them from afar, knew them for fierce men, and did not close in. When Risheng entered the city, Jiong's men had thought themselves forsaken. Suddenly an envoy arrived with the imperial message, and they rallied as one. Risheng led his ten men to Xiangyang for grain. The rebels pursued but dared not attack. He then sent a thousand men along the Yinsheng route to convoy grain into the city; the rebels could not block them, and the siege dragged on for months more.
3
炅在圍中一年，救兵不至，晝夜苦戰，人相食。 五月十五日，率眾持滿傳矢突圍而出南陽，投襄陽。 田承嗣來追，苦戰二日，殺賊甚眾。 賊又知其決死，遂不敢逼，朝廷因除御史大夫、襄陽節度使。 時賊志欲南侵江、漢，賴炅奮命扼其沖要，南夏所以保全。 十月，王師收兩京，承嗣、令珣等奔於河北。 南陽遭大亂之後，距鄧州二百里，人煙斷絕，遺骸委積於墻塹間。
Jiong remained under siege for a year. No relief arrived. Day and night the fighting was desperate, and men ate one another. On the fifteenth of the fifth month he led his men, bows fully drawn and arrows at the ready, in a breakout from Nanyang and made for Xiangyang. Tian Chengsi pursued. For two days they fought fiercely and killed a great many rebels. Seeing their willingness to die to the last man, the rebels dared not close in. The court then appointed him Censor-in-Chief and military governor of Xiangyang. The rebels then meant to drive south into the Yangzi and Han valleys. Jiong's desperate stand at the vital pass is what kept the south intact. In the tenth month the imperial forces retook the two capitals. Chengsi, Lingxun, and others fled to Hebei. After the catastrophe at Nanyang, for two hundred li toward Dengzhou not a soul was to be seen; bones and bodies lay piled in the ruins.
4
十二月，策勛行賞。 詔曰：「特進、太僕卿、南陽郡守、兼御史大夫、權知襄陽節度事、上柱國、金鄉縣公魯炅，蘊是韜略，副茲節制，竭節保邦，悉心陷敵。 表之旗幟，分以土田。 可開府儀同三司、兼御史大夫，封岐國公，食實封二百戶，兼京兆尹。」
In the twelfth month achievements were tallied and rewards granted. An edict read: "Lu Jiong, Special Grand Master of the Palace, Minister of the Imperial Stud, Governor of Nanyang, concurrent Censor-in-Chief, acting Xiangyang military governor, Supreme Pillar of State, and Duke of Jinxiang, is versed in strategy, faithful in command, and has exhausted himself to defend the state and throw himself against the enemy. Let his banners be raised and lands granted him. He is appointed Grand General with chief-minister insignia, concurrent Censor-in-Chief, Duke of Qi with an estate of two hundred households, and Governor of Jingzhao."
5
，兼鄭州刺史，充鄭、陳、潁、亳等州節度使。 ，為淮西襄陽節度使、鄧州刺史。 十月，與朔方節度使司徒郭子儀、河東節度使太尉李光弼等九節度同圍安慶緒於相州。 炅領淮西、襄陽節度行營步卒萬人、馬軍三百，以李抱玉為兵馬使，炅分界知東面之北。 二年六月六日，賊將史思明自范陽來救，戰於安陽河北，王師不利，炅中流矢奔退。 時諸節度以回紇戰敗，因而退散，盡棄軍糧器械，所過虜掠，炅兵士剽奪尤甚，人因驚怨。 五日，至新鄭縣，聞郭子儀已整眾屯谷水，李光弼還太原，炅憂懼，仰藥而卒。 裴裴，以門廕入仕，累遷京兆府司錄參軍。 來瑱鎮陜州，引為判官； 瑱移襄州，又為瑱行軍司馬，瑱遇之甚厚。 及瑱淮西之敗，逗留不行，密表聞奏。 朝廷以瑱掌重兵，惡之，密詔以代瑱為襄州刺史，充防禦使。 本鎮谷城，及受密命，乃率麾下二千人赴襄陽。 時瑱亦奉詔依舊任，瑱遂設具於江津以俟之。 初聲言假道入朝，及見瑱，即雲奉代，且欲視事。 瑱報曰：「瑱已奉恩命復任此。」 惶惑，喻其麾下曰：「此言必妄。」 遂引射瑱軍，因與瑱兵交戰，大敗，士卒死傷殆盡。 走還谷城舊營，瑱追擒之。 朝旨務安漢南，乃歸咎於。 寶應元年七月，敕曰：「前襄州刺史裴，性本頑疏，行惟狂悖。 頃因試用，爰委軍戎，守在要沖，無聞方略。 所以申命來瑱，重撫漢南，即宜奔赴闕廷，謝其曠職。 而乃顧惜名位，輕圖異端，誣構忠良，妄興兵甲。 遽令追召，敢欲逗留，是有無君之心，不唯罔上之罪。 又轉輸之物，軍國所資，擅為費用，其數甚廣。 據其抵犯，合置嚴誅。 但自朕登極已來，屢施恩宥，肆諸朝市，所未忍為。 宜寬殊死之刑，俾就投荒之謫，宜除名，長流費州。」
He was also made Governor of Zhengzhou and military governor over Zheng, Chen, Ying, Bo, and the other prefectures. He was appointed military governor of Huai-Xi and Xiangyang and Governor of Dengzhou. In the tenth month he joined Shuofang governor Guo Ziyi, Hedong governor Li Guangbi, and eight other commanders in besieging An Qingxu at Xiangzhou. Jiong commanded ten thousand foot soldiers and three hundred horsemen of the Huai-Xi–Xiangyang field army, with Li Baoyu as army commander. His sector lay on the north of the eastern front. On the sixth day of the sixth month of the second year, Shi Siming marched from Fanyang to relieve the siege. The armies clashed north of Anyang on the Yellow River. The imperial side faltered; Jiong took an arrow wound and withdrew. When the Uyghur allies were beaten, the commanders broke up, cast away grain and arms, and plundered every district they crossed. Jiong's troops pillaged worst of all, and popular resentment flared. On the fifth he reached Xinzheng and learned that Guo Ziyi had regrouped at Gushui while Li Guangbi had gone back to Taiyuan. In fear and despair Jiong took poison and died. Pei Ying entered government by yin privilege and rose to Recorder of the Metropolitan Prefecture. When Lai Zhen was posted to Shaanzhou, Ying served as his aide; when Zhen moved to Xiangzhou, Ying became his campaign secretary, and Zhen favored him greatly. After Zhen's defeat in Huai-Xi, Ying stayed behind and secretly reported to the court. The court, uneasy that Zhen commanded so large an army, secretly ordered Ying to replace him as Governor of Xiangzhou and defense commissioner. Ying had governed Gucheng; on receiving the secret commission he led two thousand of his men to Xiangyang. Zhen too had orders to keep his post. He laid a feast at the river crossing to receive Ying. At first Ying said he was merely passing through on his way to the capital; when he met Zhen he declared that he had come to replace him and meant to assume command. Zhen answered, "I have already received the gracious order to remain in this post. Ying, shaken, told his men, "That cannot be true." He drew his bow on Zhen's troops and joined battle. Ying was routed; his men were almost annihilated. Ying fled to his old camp at Gucheng; Zhen pursued and took him prisoner. The court wished to settle the Han south in peace, so the fault was pinned on Ying. In the seventh month of Baoying 762 an edict declared: "The former Governor of Xiangzhou, Pei Ying, is coarse by nature and reckless in conduct. Lately, on probation, he was entrusted with military affairs at a critical post, yet showed no capacity for command. Lai Zhen was therefore ordered to reassure the Han south; Ying should have hurried to court to answer for his neglect. Instead he clung to office, plotted rebellion, slandered loyal men, and rashly took up arms. When recalled he dared to delay—this is disloyalty itself, not merely deceit toward the throne. He also misappropriated vast stores meant for army and state. By his crimes he deserves death. Yet since Our accession We have often shown mercy and are unwilling to execute him in the capital. Let the death penalty be spared; let him be stripped of name and office and banished to Feizhou."
6
器局輕褊，初興師徒，給用無節。 及敗撓，遲回赴召，將至京師，會有是命。 既行，至藍田驛，賜自盡。 來瑱來瑱，邠州永壽人也。 父曜，起於卒伍。 ，為鴻臚卿同正員、安西副都護、持節磧西副大使、四鎮節度使，後為右領軍大將軍、仗內五坊等使，名著西陲。 ，以子貴，贈太子太保。
Ying was shallow and petty. When he first took the field he spent without restraint. After his defeat he lingered on the road to court; just as he neared the capital, the edict caught up with him. He had already started south; at Lantian Post he was ordered to take his own life. Lai Zhen was from Yongshou in Binzhou. His father Yao had risen from common soldiery. In the eighteenth year of Kaiyuan he became Minister of State Ceremonies with concurrent status, Vice Protector-General of Anxi, commissioner for the Western Regions, and military governor of the Four Garrisons; later he was Right Army General-in-Chief and director of the Five Stables in the inner guard—famed across the western marches. In the first year of Baoying, because of his son's rank, he was posthumously made Grand Preceptor of the Heir Apparent.
7
瑱少尚名節，慷慨有大志，頗涉書傳。 天寶初，四鎮從職。 十一載，為左贊善大夫、殿中侍御史，充伊西、北庭行軍司馬。 玄宗詔朝臣舉智謀果決、才堪統眾者各一人。 拾遺張鎬薦瑱有縱橫之略，臨事能斷，堪當禦悔之任。 丁母憂，以孝聞。
As a youth Zhen prized integrity, was bold and ambitious, and read widely. At the opening of the Tianbao era he served in the Four Garrisons. In the eleventh year he was Left Mentor of the Heir Apparent, palace censor, and campaign secretary for Yixi and Beiting. Emperor Xuanzong ordered each court minister to recommend one man wise, resolute, and fit to command troops. Remonstrance official Zhang Hao recommended Zhen for strategic breadth, decisiveness in crisis, and fitness to avert disaster. When his mother died he was praised for filial devotion.
8
安祿山反，張垍復薦之，起復兼汝南郡太守，未行，改潁川太守。 賊攻之。 城中積粟素多，瑱繕修有備。 賊繼至城下，瑱親射之，無不應弦而斃。 賊使降將畢思琛招瑱，琛即瑱父曜故將，城下拜泣吊瑱，瑱不應。 前後殺賊頗眾，鹹呼瑱為「來嚼鐵」。 以功加銀青光祿大夫，攝御史中丞、本郡防禦使及河南淮南遊奕逐要招討等使。 魯炅敗於葉縣，退守南陽，乃以瑱為南陽太守、兼御史中丞，充山南東道節度防禦處置等使以代炅。 尋以嗣虢王巨為御史大夫、河南節度使，因奏炅守南陽，詔各復本位。 賊攻圍南陽累月，瑱分兵與襄陽節度使魏仲犀救之。 犀遣弟孟馴將兵至明府橋，望風敗走，賊追蹙，大敗而還。 兵素少，遇敗，人情恟懼，瑱綏撫訓練，賊不能侵。 詔為淮南西道節度使。 收復兩京，與魯炅同制加開府儀同三司、兼御史大夫，封潁國公，食實封二百戶，余如故。
When An Lushan rose, Zhang Ya recommended him again. Recalled from mourning, he was named concurrent Governor of Runan; before he departed he was shifted to Yingchuan. The rebels attacked the city. The city held large stores of grain; Zhen strengthened its defenses. Rebel columns came up to the walls; Zhen shot in person, and none escaped the bowstring. The rebels sent the defector Bi Sichen to win him over. Sichen had served Zhen's father Yao; below the wall he bowed and wept as at a funeral. Zhen would not reply. He killed many rebels in the fighting, and men nicknamed him "Lai Chews Iron." For his service he was made Silver-Green Glory Grand Master, acting Censor-in-Chief, prefectural defense commissioner, and commissioner for Henan and Huainan patrol and pursuit forces, among other titles. After Lu Jiong's defeat at Ye and withdrawal to Nanyang, Zhen was made Governor of Nanyang, concurrent Censor-in-Chief, and Shannan East defense commissioner in his place. Soon the Prince of Guo was made Censor-in-Chief and Henan military governor; he urged that Jiong keep Nanyang, and an edict returned each man to his former post. The rebels besieged Nanyang for months. Zhen detached troops with Xiangyang governor Wei Zhongxi to relieve the city. Zhongxi sent his brother Mengxun to Mingfu Bridge; he broke at the first alarm, was chased down, and returned in rout. His force had always been small; after the defeat panic spread, but Zhen steadied and drilled the men, and the rebels could not penetrate. He was appointed military governor of Huainan West Circuit. When the two capitals were retaken, he received the same promotion as Lu Jiong: Grand General with chief-minister insignia, concurrent Censor-in-Chief, Duke of Ying with an estate of two hundred households; his other titles stood unchanged.
9
，召為殿中監。 二年，初除涼州刺史、河南節度經略副大使。 未行，屬相州官軍為史思明所敗，東京震駭。 元帥司徒郭子儀鎮谷水，乃以瑱為陜州刺史，充陜、虢等州節度，並潼關防禦、團練、鎮守使。 乾元三年四月十三日，襄州軍將張維瑾、曹玠率眾謀亂，殺刺史史翙。 以瑱為襄州刺史、兼御史大夫，充山南東道襄、鄧、均、房、金、商、隨、郢、復十州節度觀察處置使。
He was summoned to serve as Director of the Palace Domestic Service. In the second year he was first named Governor of Liangzhou and deputy frontier commissioner for Henan. Before he departed, the imperial army at Xiangzhou was beaten by Shi Siming, and the Eastern Capital trembled. Commander Guo Ziyi held Gushui; Zhen was made Governor of Shaanzhou, military governor of Shaan and Guo, and defense commissioner of Tong Pass. On the thirteenth of the fourth month of Qianyuan 760, Xiangzhou officers Zhang Weijin and Cao Jie mutinied and killed Prefect Shi Hui. Zhen was appointed Governor of Xiangzhou, concurrent Censor-in-Chief, and military governor of ten Shannan East prefectures.
10
，肅宗召瑱入京。 瑱樂襄州，將士亦慕瑱之政，因諷將吏、州牧、縣宰上表請留之，身赴詔命，行及鄧州，復詔歸鎮。 肅宗聞其計而惡之。 後呂諲、王仲昇及中官皆言瑱布恩惠，懼其得士心，以瑱為鄧州刺史，充山南東道襄、鄧、唐、復、郢、隨等六州節度，余並如故。 俄而淮西節度王仲昇與賊將謝欽讓戰於申州城下，為賊所虜。 初，仲昇被圍累月，呂諲病於江陵，瑱在襄州，又恐仲昇構己，遂顧望不救。 及師出，仲昇已沒。 裴頻表陳瑱之狀，謀奪其位，稱「瑱善謀而勇，崛強難制，宜早除之，可一戰而擒也。」 肅宗然之，遂以瑱檢校戶部尚書、兼御史大夫、安州刺史，充淮西申、安、蘄、黃、光、沔節度觀察，兼河南陳、豫、許、鄭、汴、曹、宋、潁、泗十五州節度觀察使，外示尊崇，實奪其權也。 加裴兼御史中丞、襄鄧等七州防禦使以代之。 瑱懼不自安，上表稱「淮西無糧饋軍，臣去秋種得麥，請待收麥畢赴上」，復諷屬吏請留之。 裴於商州召募，以窺去就。
Suzong then summoned Zhen to the capital. Zhen loved Xiangzhou and his men admired his rule. He induced officers and local officials to petition that he remain, while he himself set out to obey the summons. At Dengzhou a new edict sent him back. Suzong learned of the maneuver and resented it. Later Lü Shen, Wang Zhongsheng, and the eunuchs said Zhen was buying loyalty and might win the army's devotion. He was shifted to Dengzhou and given six prefectures; other titles stood. Soon Huai-Xi governor Wang Zhongsheng fought rebel general Xie Qinrang below Shenzhou and was taken prisoner. Zhongsheng had been besieged for months. Lü Shen lay ill at Jiangling; Zhen at Xiangzhou feared a plot against himself and held back from relief. When troops finally marched, Zhongsheng was already dead. Pei Ying repeatedly reported on Zhen, scheming for his post: "Zhen is clever and fierce, proud and hard to control; remove him early and he can be seized in one battle. Suzong agreed. Zhen was named acting Minister of Revenue with broad titular commands over Huai-Xi and Henan—honor on paper that stripped his real authority. Pei Ying was made concurrent Censor-in-Chief and defense commissioner of Xiang, Deng, and seven prefectures in his stead. Uneasy, Zhen wrote that Huai-Xi lacked grain, that he had sown wheat the previous autumn, and begged to wait for harvest before going to court—while again prompting locals to petition for his stay. Pei Ying raised troops at Shangzhou to watch whether Zhen would go or stay.
11
五月，代宗即位，因復授瑱襄州節度、奉義軍渭北兵馬等使，官如故，潛令裴圖之。 其月十九日，裴率眾浮漢江而下。 日暮，候者白瑱，謀於帳下，副使薛南陽曰：「尚書奉詔留鎮，裴以兵代，是無名也。 且之智勇，非尚書敵也，眾心歸尚書，不歸於。 彼若乘我之不虞，今夕而至，直燒城市，我眾必懼而亂，彼乘亂而擊，則可憂也。 若及明而至，尚書破之必矣。」 翌日平明，督軍士五千列於谷水北，瑱以兵逆之，登高而陣，呼將士告之曰：「爾何事來？」 曰：「尚書不受命，謹奉中丞伐罪人。 若尚書受替，謹當釋兵。」 瑱曰：「恩制復除瑱此州。」 及取告身敕書以示，軍皆曰：「偽也。 承命討君，豈千里空歸，富貴在於今日。」 遂爭射之。 瑱奔歸旗下，薛南陽曰：「事急矣，請以三百騎為奇兵，尚書勿與之戰。」 兩軍相見，遂以麾下旁萬山而出其背，表裏夾擊，軍大敗，投水而死，殺獲殆盡。 及弟薦脫身北走，妻子並為瑱所擒，瑱甚厚撫之。 因抗表謝罪。 擒於申口，送至京師，長流費州，賜死於藍田故驛。
In the fifth month Emperor Daizong succeeded; Zhen was restored to Xiangzhou and the Fengyi command, while Pei Ying was secretly told to move against him. On the nineteenth Pei led his force down the Han by boat. At dusk scouts warned Zhen. Vice commissioner Xue Nanyang said in council, "You hold the edict to remain; Pei comes with an army to replace you—this is unlawful. Pei's wit and courage are no match for yours; the troops follow you, not him. If he surprises us tonight and fires the city, panic will break the ranks; he will strike in the chaos—that is what we must fear. If he waits until daylight, you are sure to beat him. At dawn he formed five thousand men north of Gushui. Zhen drew up on high ground and shouted, "Why have you come?" They answered, "You refuse the command; we follow the Vice Censor to punish the offender. If you accept replacement, we will disarm at once." Zhen said, "By gracious edict I am restored to this post." He produced his commission and edict; the men cried, "Forged! We were ordered to punish you—shall we march a thousand li for nothing? Fortune is here today." They loosed arrows at him in a rush. Zhen fled to his standard. Xue Nanyang said, "Send three hundred horsemen around by Mount Wan; do not meet them head-on. When the armies met, he slipped around Mount Wan and struck from the rear. Caught front and back, Pei's force was destroyed; men drowned themselves; few escaped. Pei's brother Jian fled north, but wife and children were taken; Zhen treated them kindly. Zhen then memorialized asking leave to submit the case. Ying was taken at Shenkou, sent to court, banished to Feizhou, and ordered to die at the old Lantian post.
12
八月，瑱入朝謝罪，代宗特寵異之，遷兵部尚書、同中書門下平章事，依前山南東道節度、觀察等使，代左僕射裴冕充山陵使。 時中官驃騎大將軍程元振居中用事，發瑱言涉不順，王仲昇賊平來歸，證瑱與賊合，故令仲昇陷賊三年。 代宗含怒久之，因是下詔曰：
In the eighth month Zhen came to court to answer charges. Daizong favored him, made him Minister of War and chief councilor, kept him on the Shannan East command, and set him over the imperial tombs in Pei Mian's place. The eunuch Cheng Yuanzhen then dominated court. He claimed Zhen's words smacked of treason; Wang Zhongsheng, returning after the rebellion, was made to testify that Zhen had colluded with the enemy, and Yuanzhen kept him in rebel hands for three years. Daizong had long harbored wrath; he now issued an edict:
13
《春秋》之義，貴在於必書； 君臣之間，法存於無赦。 沮勸式遵於前典，進退莫匪於至公，惡稔既彰，明罰難貸。 開府儀同三司、行兵部尚書、中書門下平章事、充山南東道節度觀察處置等使、上柱國、潁國公來瑱，謬當任用，素乏器能，亟歷班榮，累經節制。 蒞職蔑聞於成績，登朝虛美於崇名。 頃者分閫頒條，久淹江、漢。 或頻徵不至，或移鎮遲留，實乖堂陛之儀，爰及干戈之忿。 朕以舊臣宿將，道在含弘，會其來庭，用甄後效。 超登宰輔，光拜夏卿，列在三臺，掩其一眚。 山陵先遠，事委近臣，謀謨素闕於大猷，卜祝頗聞於私議。 實虧周慎，且間樞言，何以輔弼鼎司，儀刑簪紱？ 據其所犯，合置殊科。 以嘗侍軒闥，用存寬免之辜； 緬範舊章，兼膺黜削之譴。 其身官爵，一切削除。
The Spring and Autumn Annals teach that what must be recorded, must be recorded; between sovereign and subject the law knows no mercy. Reward and punishment follow the ancient canon; promotion and dismissal must be utterly fair; when guilt is ripe, mercy is hard to grant. Lai Zhen, Grand General, acting Minister of War, chief councilor, Shannan East military governor, Supreme Pillar of State, Duke of Ying—unfit for office, devoid of talent, yet repeatedly honored and repeatedly given commands. In post he achieved nothing; at court he bore only empty fame. Lately he held the Yangzi and Han for years. He ignored repeated summons or lingered when ordered to move—an affront to the court and an offense that called for arms. We are an old servant of the throne; We meant to be forbearing and test him when he came to court. Instead We raised him to chief minister and Minister of War, setting him among the Three Dukes while overlooking one fault. The tombs lay far off; We entrusted them to a near minister—yet his counsel lacked grand design and private talk surrounded the rites. He failed in grave duty, interfered with state counsel—how can such a man assist the throne or model the court? By his crimes he deserves extraordinary punishment. Because he once served near the throne, We spare his life; by the old statutes he shall bear dismissal as well. His person, rank, and fief—all are abolished.
14
正月，貶播州縣尉員外置。 翌日，賜死於鄠縣，籍沒其家。 瑱之被刑也，門客四散，掩於坎中。 校書郎殷亮後至，獨哭於屍側，貨所乘驢以備棺衾，夜詣縣令長孫演以情告之，演義而從之。 亮夜葬而祭，走歸京師。 代宗既悟元振之誣構，積其過而配流溱州。
In the first month he was demoted to extra-statutory county captain of Bozhou. The next day he was ordered to die at Huxian; his property was seized. When Zhen was executed his clients fled; he was cast into a shallow grave. Collator Yin Liang came afterward and wept alone by the body; he sold his donkey for coffin and shroud, then at night persuaded Magistrate Sun Yan, who consented out of duty. Liang buried him by night, made offering, and fled to the capital. When Daizong saw Yuanzhen's frame-up, he counted his crimes and banished him to Qinzhou.
15
先是，瑱行軍司馬龐充統兵二千人赴河南，至汝州，聞瑱死，將士魚目等回兵襲襄州，左兵馬使李昭禦之，奔房州。 昭及薛南陽與右兵馬使梁崇義不葉相圖，為崇義所殺。 朝廷授崇義節度使、兼御史中丞以代瑱。 崇義瑱立祠，四時拜饗，不居瑱廳及正堂視事，於東廂下構一小室而寢止，抗疏哀請收葬，優詔許之。 廣德元年，追復官爵。 周智光周智光，本以騎射從軍，常有戎捷，自行間登偏裨。 宦官魚朝恩為觀軍容使，鎮陜州，與之昵狎。 朝恩以扈從功，恩渥崇厚，奏請多允，屢於上前賞拔智光，累遷華州刺史、同華二州節度使及潼關防禦使，加檢校工部尚書、兼御史大夫。
Earlier, campaign secretary Pang Chong had led two thousand men to Henan. At Ruzhou they heard Zhen was dead; officers led by Yu Mu turned back to strike Xiangzhou; Li Zhao held them off; they fled to Fangzhou. Li Zhao and Xue Nanyang quarreled with Right Army commander Liang Chongyi, who killed them. The court made Liang Chongyi military governor and concurrent Censor-in-Chief in Zhen's place. Chongyi built a shrine to Zhen, sacrificed each season, would not sit in Zhen's hall, slept in an east-wing room, and begged leave to recover the body—the court assented. In Guangde 763 his rank and fief were posthumously restored. Zhou Zhiguang first entered service as a mounted archer, won repeated frontier victories, and rose from the ranks to junior commander. The eunuch Yu Chao'en, army-observing commissioner at Shaanzhou, favored him. Chao'en's escort service won him favor; he praised Zhiguang again and again before the throne. Zhiguang rose to Governor of Hua, military governor of Tong and Hua, Tong Pass defender, and Acting Minister of Works with concurrent Censor-in-Chief.
16
，吐蕃、回紇、党項薔、渾、奴剌十餘萬眾寇奉天、醴泉等縣，智光邀戰，破於澄城，收駝馬軍資萬計，因逐賊至鄜州。 智光與杜冕不協，遂殺鄜州刺史張麟，坑杜冕家屬八十一人，焚坊州廬舍三千餘家。 懼罪，召不赴命。 朝廷外示優容，俾杜冕使梁州，實避仇也。
In 763 Tibetans, Uyghurs, Tanguts, and allied tribes—more than a hundred thousand—raided Fengtian and Liquan. Zhiguang met them at Chengcheng, took vast booty, and chased them to Binzhou. At odds with Du Mian, he killed Binzhou prefect Zhang Lin, slaughtered eighty-one of Mian's kin, and burned three thousand dwellings in Fangzhou. Fearing punishment, he ignored summons. The court outwardly indulged him while sending Du Mian to Liangzhou—really to escape revenge.
17
十二月，智光專殺前虢州刺史、兼御史中孫龐充。 充方居缞绖，潛行，智光追而斬之。 又劫諸節度使進奉貨物及轉運米二萬石，據州反。 智光自鄜坊專殺，朝廷患之，遂聚亡命不逞之徒，眾至數萬，縱其剽掠，以結其心。 初，與陜州節度使皇甫溫不協，監軍張志斌自陜入奏，智光館給禮慢，志斌責其不肅。 智光大怒曰：「僕固懷恩豈有反狀！ 皆由爾鼠輩作福作威，懼死不敢入朝。 我本不反，今為爾作之。」 因叱下斬之，臠其肉以飼從者。 時淮南節度使、檢校右僕射崔圓入覲，方物百萬，智光強留其半。 舉選之士竦駭，或竊同州路以過，智光使部將邀斬於乾坑店，橫死者眾。 優詔以智光為尚書左僕射，遣中使余元仙持告身以授之。 智光受詔慢罵曰：「智光有數子，皆彎弓二百斤，有萬人敵，堪出將入相。 只如挾天子令諸侯。 天下只有周智光合作。」 因歷數大臣之過。 元仙股怵，智光增絹百匹遣之。 於州郭置生祠，俾將吏百姓祈禱。
In the twelfth month Zhiguang murdered former Guozhou prefect Sun Pangchong on his own authority. Pangchong was in mourning and traveling secretly; Zhiguang chased him down and beheaded him. He robbed governors' tribute and twenty thousand shi of transport grain, and rebelled in his prefecture. After the Bin-Fang massacres the court feared him; he gathered outlaws until they numbered tens of thousands and let them plunder freely to bind them to him. He quarreled with Shaanzhou governor Huangfu Wen. When army supervisor Zhang Zhibin came from Shaan to report, Zhiguang received him rudely; Zhibin rebuked his disrespect. Zhiguang raged: "What sign of rebellion had Pugu Huai'en ever shown? It is you vermin who make fortune and power and dare not come to court for fear of death. I was not going to rebel—but you have made me rebel. He had Zhibin dragged down and killed, and minced his flesh to feed his followers. When Huainan governor Cui Yuan came to court with tribute worth a million, Zhiguang seized half by force. Office-seekers were terrified; some slipped through by Tongzhou road; his officers cut them down at Qian'eng Inn until the dead lay thick. A gracious edict named him Left Vice Minister of Works; palace envoy Yu Yuanxian brought the commission. Zhiguang took the edict and sneered: "I have sons who bend two-hundred-jin bows, each a match for ten thousand—fit to be generals and ministers. It is only a matter of holding the Son of Heaven to command the lords. Under Heaven only Zhou Zhiguang is fit for that. He then listed the great ministers' faults one by one. Yuanxian's legs shook; Zhiguang added a hundred bolts of silk and dismissed him. He built a living shrine in the city and made officers and people worship there.
18
正月，密詔關內河東副元帥、中書令郭子儀率兵討智光，許以便宜從事。 時同、華路絕，上召子儀女婿工部侍郎趙縱受口詔付子儀，縱裂帛寫詔置蠟丸中，遣家童間道達焉。 子儀奉詔將出師，華州將士相顧攜貳。 智光大將李漢惠自同州以其所管降子儀。 貶智光為澧州刺史，散官勛封如故。 乃聽將一百人隨身，便路赴任，其所部將士官吏，一無所問。 乃以兵部侍郎張仲光為華州刺史、兼御史大夫、潼關防禦使； 又以大理卿敬括為同州刺史、兼御史大夫、長春宮等使。 是日，智光為帳下將斬首，並子元耀、元幹等二人來獻。 丁卯，梟智光首於皇城之南街，二子腰斬以示眾。 判官監察御史邵賁、都虞候蔣羅漢並伏誅，餘黨各以親疏準法定罪。 命有司具儀奏告太清宮、太廟、七陵。 時淮西節度使李忠臣入觀，次潼關，聞智光阻兵，駐所部將往禦之。 及智光死，忠臣進兵入華州大掠，自赤水至潼關二百里間，畜產財物殆盡，官吏至有著紙衣或數日不食者。 史臣曰史臣曰：嘗讀《李陵傳》，戰敗不能死，屈節降虜庭，君不得為忠臣，母不得為孝子，每長嘆久之。 炅收滍水敗眾，守南陽孤城，每蹈危機，竟效死節，料敵雖非其良將，事君不失為忠臣。 浮躁無行，狂悖用兵，宜其死矣。 瑱善軍政，得士心，庶幾幹城禦侮者哉！ 始固名位，為裴巧言； 終歸朝廷，遭元振誣構。 賜死之辜匪辨，用刑之道不明。 致舊將立祠，門吏偷葬，出將入相，一至於斯，惜哉！ 智光狂悖，不足與論。
In the first month a secret edict ordered Guo Ziyi to march against Zhiguang with full discretion. The Tong-Hua road was cut; the Emperor had Ziyi's son-in-law Zhao Zong take an oral edict written on silk in a wax ball and sent by a secret messenger. Guo Ziyi prepared to march; the men of Hua looked at one another in doubt. Zhiguang's general Li Hanyu came over from Tongzhou with his command. Zhiguang was demoted to Governor of Li; honorary rank and fief stood unchanged. He might take a hundred followers to his post by the shortest road; his officers and men were not punished. Zhang Zhongguang was made Governor of Hua, concurrent Censor-in-Chief, and Tong Pass defender; Jing Kuo was made Governor of Tong with concurrent Censor-in-Chief and Changchun Palace duties. That day his own officers beheaded him in camp; sons Yuanyao and Yuanqian were sent in. On dingmao his head was displayed at the south gate of the palace; his two sons were cut in half at the waist before the crowd. Aide Shao Ben and guard officer Jiang Luohan were executed; the rest were sentenced by law according to kinship. The court ordered rites reported to the Supreme Ultimate Palace, the Ancestral Temple, and the seven imperial tombs. Huai-Xi governor Li Zhongchen was then coming to court, halted at Tong Pass, and on hearing of the revolt moved to oppose Zhiguang. After Zhiguang's death Zhongchen marched into Hua and looted savagely. For two hundred li from Chishui to Tong Pass little property remained; some officials wore paper garments or starved for days. The historiographer writes: I have read the biography of Li Ling—defeated, unable to die, he submitted to the barbarians; neither loyal subject nor filial son—and I have long sighed at it. Jiong rallied the broken army at the Zhi, held lonely Nanyang, faced death again and again, and in the end died faithful. He was no master of strategy, but he did not fail his sovereign. Pei Ying was frivolous and reckless in war—small wonder he perished. Lai Zhen knew how to command and held the men's hearts—he might have been a true shield of the realm. At first he clung to office because of Pei Ying's intrigues; in the end he answered the court and met Cheng Yuanzhen's frame-up. His guilt was never truly weighed; the law was not fairly applied. Old officers raised shrines; clerks buried him in secret—a man who rose from general to minister, brought to this—alas! Zhiguang was mad with arrogance—not worth discussing.
19
贊曰：魯炅竭節，來瑱枉死。 裴兇人，智光逆子。
In praise: Lu Jiong gave his all; Lai Zhen died unjustly. Pei Ying was a villain; Zhiguang was a rebel.