1
劉晏，字士安，曹州南華人。 年七歲，舉神童，授秘書省正字。 累授夏縣令，有能名。 歷殿中侍御史，遷度支郎中、杭隴華三州刺史，尋遷河南尹。 時史朝義盜據東都，寄理長水。 入為京兆尹，頃之，加戶部侍郎、兼御史中丞，判度支，委府事於司錄張群、杜亞，綜大體，議論號為稱職。 無何，為酷吏敬羽所構，貶通州刺史。 復入為京兆尹、戶部侍郎，判度支。 時顏真卿以文學正直出為利州刺史，晏舉真卿自代為戶部，乃加國子祭酒。 寶應二年，遷吏部尚書、平章事，領度支鹽鐵轉運租庸使。 坐與中官程元振交通，元振得罪，晏罷相，為太子賓客。 尋授御史大夫，領東都、河南、江淮、山南等道轉運租庸鹽鐵使如故。 時新承兵戈之後，中外艱食，京師米價鬥至一千，官廚無兼時之積，禁軍乏食，畿縣百姓乃挼穗以供之。 晏受命後，以轉運為己任，凡所經歷，必究利病之由。 至江淮，以書遺元載曰：
Liu Yan, styled Shi'an, came from Nanhua in Caozhou. At seven he was nominated as a precocious youth and made Regular Scribe in the Secretariat. After successive appointments as magistrate of Xia County, he became known for administrative ability. He held the post of palace attendant censor, then rose to vice director of the revenue bureau and prefect of Hang, Long, and Hua, and shortly afterward became Intendant of the Henan circuit. With Shi Chaoyi holding the Eastern Capital, Yan governed from Changshui as his provisional seat. Recalled to serve as metropolitan governor of Chang'an, he soon added the titles of vice minister of revenue and concurrent vice censor-in-chief, with charge of the revenue bureau. He left routine office work to Zhang Qun and Du Ya as recorders while he kept the broad direction in hand, and contemporaries judged his policy judgments sound. Not long after, the notorious official Jing Yu engineered charges against him, and he was demoted to prefect of Tongzhou. He returned to Chang'an as metropolitan governor and vice minister of revenue, again supervising the revenue bureau. When Yan Zhenqing, admired for scholarship and integrity, had been posted to Lizhou, Liu Yan proposed that Zhenqing succeed him at the Ministry of Revenue and was himself made chancellor of the national university in addition. In 763 he became minister of civil appointments and chief minister, continuing to head the combined revenue, salt, iron, transport, and corvée administration. Charged with ties to the eunuch Cheng Yuanzhen, he lost the premiership when Yuanzhen was disgraced and was appointed mentor to the crown prince. He was soon made chief censor while keeping his transport and fiscal commissions over the Eastern Capital, Henan, Jianghuai, Shan'nan, and related circuits. The realm was still recovering from war. Food was desperately short everywhere; in Chang'an a dou of rice cost a thousand cash. The imperial kitchens held barely one meal's reserve, the palace guards went hungry, and peasants in the suburbs threshed ears of grain by hand to feed them. Once charged with the task, Yan treated grain transport as his own mission and wherever he went traced every cause of waste or efficiency. Reaching Jianghuai, he wrote Yuan Zai:
2
浮於淮、泗，達於汴，入於河，西循底柱、硤石、少華，楚帆越客，直抵建章、長樂，此安社稷之奇策也。 晏賓於東朝，猶有官謗，相公終始故舊，不信流言，賈誼復召宣室，弘羊重興功利，敢不悉力以答所知。 驅馬陜郊，見三門渠津遺跡。 到河陰、鞏、洛，見宇文愷置梁公堰，分黃河水入通濟渠； 大夫李傑新堤故事，飾像河廟，凜然如生。 涉滎郊、浚澤，遙瞻淮甸，步步探討，知昔人用心，則潭、衡、桂陽必多積谷，關輔汲汲，只緣兵糧。 漕引瀟、湘、洞庭，萬里幾日，淪波卦席，西指長安。 三秦之人，待此而飽； 六軍之眾，待此而強。 天子無側席之憂，都人見泛舟之役； 四方旅拒者可以破膽，三河流離者於茲請命。 相公匡戴明主，為富人侯，此今之切務，不可失也。 使仆湔洗瑕穢，率罄愚懦，當憑經義，請護河堤，冥勤在官，不辭水死。
Grain could float up the Huai and Si, reach Bian, enter the Yellow River, and run west past Dizhu, Xiaoshi, and Shaohua so that Chu and Yue shipping would berth straight at the imperial palaces—this was the bold plan to stabilize the dynasty. Though I still face court gossip, you have known me from the first as an old colleague and will not heed idle talk. Just as Jia Yi was called back to the privy chamber and Sang Hongyang was trusted again to manage state revenue, I dare not spare myself in repaying your confidence. Traveling through the lands west of Shan, I found the remains of the Sanmen canal works. At Heyin, Gong, and Luoyang I inspected Yuwen Kai's weir diverting Yellow River water into the Tongji Canal; and Li Jie's later embankment, with life-like images set up at the River God shrine. Passing through the Song riverland and dredging the marshes, scanning the Huai plain at every turn, I saw why the ancients labored as they did: the lake districts around Tan, Heng, and Guiyang must hold huge reserves, while Guanzhong starves chiefly for want of army rations. Once grain is floated down the Xiao, the Xiang, and Dongting Lake, ten thousand li can be covered in days, with sails quartering the waves all the way west to Chang'an. The people of the Three Qin regions would at last eat their fill; the imperial armies would grow strong on it. The emperor would no longer fret from hunger, and the capital would see grain boats plying the canals again; rebels in the provinces would lose heart, and refugees along the Yellow, Huai, and other rivers could beg for relief. By supporting our enlightened sovereign you would become a great lord of wealth—this is the urgent task of the moment and must not be let slip. Give me leave to clear my name and give all my poor wits to the cause. On principle I ask to defend the river works myself, to labor at my post in silence, and not to shirk death by drowning.
3
然運之利病，各有四五焉。 晏自尹京入為計相，共五年矣。 京師三輔百姓，唯苦稅畝傷多，若使江、湖米來每年三二十萬，即頓減徭賦，歌舞皇澤，其利一也。 東都殘毀，百無一存。 若米運流通，則饑人皆附，村落邑厘，從此滋多。 受命之日引海陵之倉以食鞏、洛，是計之得者，其利二也。 諸將有在邊者，諸戎有侵敗王略者，或聞三江、五湖，貢輸紅粒，雲帆桂楫，輸納帝鄉，軍誌曰：「先聲後實，可以震耀夷夏。」 其利三也。 自古帝王之盛，皆云書同文，車同軌，日月所照，莫不率俾。 今舟車既通，商賈往來，百貨雜集，航海梯山，聖神輝光，漸近貞觀、永徽之盛，其利四也。
Yet transport has its own four or five advantages and as many drawbacks. I have been metropolitan governor and then chief fiscal officer for five years altogether. The people around Chang'an groan under heavy land taxes; if two or three hundred thousand piculs of Jianghu grain arrived yearly, levies could drop at once and they would praise the throne's bounty—that is the first gain. The Eastern Capital is in ruins; scarcely one building in a hundred still stands. If grain shipping revives, starving refugees will settle there and hamlets will spring up again. From the day I took office I have drawn Hailing's stores to feed Gong and Luoyang—a sound plan and the second gain. Frontier generals and tribes that raid the borders, hearing that red grain from the Yangzi lakes is shipped on cloud-white sails and cassia-prowed boats to the capital, will recall the maxim that reputation should precede force—thus aweing both barbarian and Chinese.' That is the third gain. Since antiquity the height of imperial power has been described as one script, one track, and universal submission to the throne. With waterways and roads open again, merchants travel freely, goods pile up, and trade spans sea and mountain—the court's glory would approach the prosperity of the Zhenguan and Yonghui eras; that is the fourth gain.
4
所可疑者，函、陜雕殘，東周尤甚。 過宜陽、熊耳，至武牢、成臯，五百里中，編戶千余而已。 居無尺椽，人無煙爨，蕭條淒慘，獸遊鬼哭。 牛必羸角，輿必說輹，棧車輓漕，亦不易求。 今於無人之境，興此勞人之運，固難就矣，其病一也。 河、汴有初，不修則毀澱，故每年正月發近縣丁男，塞長茭，決沮淤，清明桃花已後，遠水自然安流，陽侯、宓妃，不復太息。 頃因寇難，總不掏拓，澤滅水，岸石崩，役夫需於沙，津吏旋於濘，千里洄上，罔水舟行，其病二也。 東垣、底柱，澠池、二陵，北河運處五六百里，戍卒久絕，縣吏空拳。 奪攘奸宄，窟穴囊橐。 夾河為藪，豺狼狺狺，舟行所經，寇亦能往，其病三也。 東自淮陰，西臨蒲阪，亙三千里，屯戍相望。 中軍皆鼎司元侯，賤卒儀同青紫，每雲食半菽，又雲無挾纊，輓漕所至，船到便留，即非單車使折簡書所能制矣，其病四也。 惟小子畢其慮奔走之，惟中書詳其利病裁成之。
What gives pause is the devastation of Hangu Pass and Shaan, worst of all in the old Eastern Zhou heartland. From Yiyang and Xiong'er to Wulao and Chenggao, five hundred li hold barely a thousand registered households. Not a rafter stands, no hearth smoke rises; the land is desolate, beasts roam, and it seems ghosts wail. Oxen are emaciated, cart wheels fall off, and even simple haulage carts are hard to find. To launch this laborious transport through uninhabited country is bound to fail—that is the first drawback. The Yellow River and Bian Canal must be dredged yearly or they silt shut; each New Year laborers from nearby counties clear reeds and sediment, and after Qingming the distant reaches run clear again without the river gods' lament. Since the rebellions dredging has stopped entirely; marshes have swallowed the channel, banks have collapsed, laborers wait on sandbars, clerks flounder in mud, and for a thousand li upstream boats cannot sail—that is the second drawback. From Dongyuan and Dizhu to Mianchi and the Two Mounds, five or six hundred li of the northern transport route have no garrisons left and county officials are powerless. Bandits and outlaws raid and hide in caves with their plunder. Marshes line the river, wolves howl, and wherever boats can go bandits can follow—that is the third drawback. From Huaiyin in the east to Pufan in the west, three thousand li of garrisons stand face to face. Central Army posts are held by chief ministers and great lords; common soldiers dress like officers; they claim to eat half rations and lack winter coats; wherever grain convoys arrive the boats are seized on the spot—not something a lone commissioner with a letter can restrain—that is the fourth drawback. I alone will give all my thought and effort to the task; only the Secretariat can weigh the pros and cons and bring the plan to completion.
5
晏累年已來，事缺名毀，聖慈含育，特賜生全。 月余家居，遽即臨遣，恩榮感切，思殞百身。 見一水不通，願荷鍤而先往； 見一粒不運，願負米而先趨。 焦心苦形，期報明主，丹誠未克，漕引多虞，屏營中流，掩泣獻狀。
For years my duties were curtailed and my name slandered; the emperor's mercy spared my life. After barely a month at home I was suddenly dispatched on imperial business; overwhelmed by grace, I would gladly die a hundred deaths in return. Wherever a channel was blocked I wished to take a spade and go first; wherever a grain was not moved I wished to carry rice and hurry ahead. I wore myself out in body and mind to repay my sovereign; my loyal effort had not yet succeeded and transport still faced many perils; pacing midstream in anxiety, I wept as I submitted this memorial.
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自此每歲運米數十萬石以濟關中。
From then on several hundred thousand piculs of grain were shipped yearly to supply Guanzhong.
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又至德初，為國用不足，令第五琦於諸道榷鹽以助軍用，及晏代其任，法益精密，官無遺利。 初，歲入錢六十萬貫，季年所入逾十倍，而人無厭苦。 大歷末，通計一歲征賦所入總一千二百萬貫，而鹽利且過半。 累遷吏部尚書。 大歷四年六月，與右僕射裴遵慶同赴本曹視事，敕尚食增置儲供，許內侍魚朝恩及宰臣已下常朝官鹹詣省送上。 八年，知三銓選事。 十二年三月，誅宰臣元載，晏奉詔訊鞫。 晏以載居任樹黨，布於天下，不敢專斷，請他官共事。 敕御史大夫李涵、右散騎常侍蕭昕、兵部侍郎袁傪、禮部侍郎常袞、諫議大夫杜亞同推，載皆款伏。 初，晏承旨，門下侍郎、同平章事王縉亦處極法，晏謂涵等曰：重刑再覆，國之常典，況誅大臣，得不覆奏？ 又法有首從，二人同刑，亦宜重取進止。」 涵等從命。 及晏等覆奏，代宗乃減縉罪從輕。 縉之生，晏平反之力也。
Early in the Zhide era, with state funds short, Di Wuqi was ordered to monopolize salt in the circuits for military expenses; when Yan took over, the system grew more precise and the treasury left no revenue uncollected. At first annual revenue was six hundred thousand strings of cash; in later years it exceeded ten times that, yet the people bore no bitterness. By the end of the Dali era, total annual tax revenue reached twelve million strings of cash, with salt profits alone exceeding half. He rose step by step to minister of civil appointments. In June 769 he and Right Vice Director Pei Zunqing took up office at the Ministry of Personnel; the emperor ordered extra provisions from the imperial kitchen and allowed Eunuch Yu Chaoen and all regular court officials down to the chancellors to visit the ministry with congratulations. In 773 he took charge of appointments in all three selection boards. In March 777 Chancellor Yuan Zai was executed; Yan was ordered to conduct the interrogation. Because Zai had built a faction network across the empire during his tenure, Yan did not dare decide alone and asked other officials to join the investigation. The emperor ordered Chief Censor Li Han, Regular Attendant Xiao Xin, Vice Minister of War Yuan Kan, Vice Minister of Rites Chang Gun, and Remonstrance Officer Du Ya to join the inquiry; Zai confessed to all charges. When Yan first received the order, Vice Director Wang Jin was also slated for execution; Yan told Han and the others: 'Heavy sentences require double review—that is state law; in executing a great minister, must we not report back for confirmation?' 'The law also distinguishes principal and accomplice; when two men face the same sentence, we should seek the throne's decision again.' Han and the others agreed. When Yan and the others reported back, Emperor Daizong lightened Jin's sentence. Jin owed his life to Yan's intervention.
8
十三年十二月，為尚書左僕射。 時宰臣常袞專政，以晏久掌銓衡，時議平允，兼司儲蓄，職舉功深，慮公望日崇，上心有屬。 竊忌之，乃奏晏朝廷舊德，宜為百吏師長，外示崇重，內實去其權。 及奏上，以晏使務方理，代其任者難其人，使務、知三銓並如故。 李靈曜之亂也，河南節帥所據，多不奉法令，征賦亦隨之； 州縣雖益減，晏以羨余相補，人不加賦，所入仍舊，議者稱其能。 自諸道巡院距京師，重價募疾足，置遞相望，四方物價之上下，雖極遠不四五日知，故食貨之重輕，盡權在掌握，朝廷獲美利而天下無甚貴甚賤之憂，得其術矣。 凡所任使，多收後進有幹能者。 其所總領，務乎急促，趨利者化之，遂以成風。 當時權勢，或以親戚為托，晏亦應之，俸給之多少，命官之遲速，必如其誌，然未嘗得親職事。 其所領要務，必一時之選，故晏沒後二十余年，韓洄、元琇、裴腆、包佶、盧征、李衡繼掌財賦，皆晏故吏。 其部吏居數千里之外，奉教令如在目前，雖寢興宴語，而無欺紿，四方動靜，莫不先知，事有可賀者，必先上章奏。 江淮茶、橘，晏與本道觀察使各歲貢之，皆欲其先至。 有土之官，或封山斷道，禁前發者，晏厚以財力致之，常先他司，由是甚不為籓鎮所便。
In December 778 he was appointed Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. Chancellor Chang Gun then dominated the court. Yan had long controlled appointments with a reputation for fairness and also managed state granaries with deep achievement; Gun feared Yan's rising prestige and that the emperor might favor him for higher office. Secretly jealous, he memorialized that Yan, a veteran of the court, should be mentor to all officials—honoring him in name while stripping his real authority. When the memorial was submitted, because Yan's fiscal duties were still in order and no replacement could be found, his transport commission and control of the three selection boards remained unchanged. During Li Lingyao's rebellion the Henan military governors mostly ignored imperial law, and tax collection suffered likewise; though local revenues fell further, Yan used surpluses to make up the shortfall so the people paid no extra levies and state intake held steady; observers praised his skill. From his circuit inspection offices to the capital he hired swift couriers at high pay and set relay stations in chains; price movements even in the remotest regions were known within four or five days. He thus controlled the weight of grain and goods—the court gained handsome profit while the realm avoided extreme inflation or collapse; he had mastered the art. In appointments he mostly favored capable younger men. His departments stressed speed and efficiency; profit-seekers took his example until it became the prevailing style. Powerful men sometimes asked favors for relatives; Yan complied on salary and appointment timing as they wished, yet never gave them substantive duties. For key posts he always chose the best men of the day; more than twenty years after his death Han Hui, Yuan Xiu, Pei Tian, Bao Ji, Lu Zheng, and Li Heng in turn ran fiscal affairs—all his former subordinates. Subordinates thousands of li away obeyed his orders as if he stood before them; even in private moments there was no deceit. He learned of events across the empire before anyone else, and good news was always reported to the throne first. Jianghuai tea and oranges were presented yearly as tribute by Yan and the circuit commissioners alike, each vying to arrive first. Local officials sometimes blocked roads to prevent early shipment; Yan used ample funds to secure delivery and usually beat other offices—making him deeply unpopular with the military governors.
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晏理家以儉約稱，而重交敦舊，頗以財貨遺天下名土，故人多稱之。 善訓諸子，鹹有學藝。 任事十余年，權勢之重，鄰於宰相，要官重職，頗出其門。 既有材力，視事敏速，乘機無滯，然多任數，挾權貴，固恩澤，有口者必利啖之。 當大歷時，事貴因循，軍國之用，皆仰於晏，未嘗檢轄。
Yan ran his household frugally but valued old friendships and often gave money to famous scholars; many spoke well of him for it. He trained his sons well; all were accomplished scholars. After more than ten years in office his power rivaled a chancellor's; many key posts went to his protégés. Talented and energetic, he handled affairs swiftly and seized every opportunity; yet he often used stratagem, leveraged the powerful, secured imperial favor, and bribed anyone who could speak for him. During the Dali era the court valued routine; military and state expenses all depended on Yan, and no one ever audited him.
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德宗嗣位，言事者稱轉運可罷多矣。 初，楊炎為吏部侍郎，晏為尚書，各恃權使氣，兩不相得。 炎坐元載貶，晏快之，昌言於朝。 及炎入相，追怒前事，且以晏與元載隙憾，時人言載之得罪，晏有力焉。 炎將為載復仇，又時人風言代宗寵獨孤妃而又愛其子韓王迥，晏密啟請立獨孤為皇后。 炎因對易攵流涕奏言：「賴祖宗福祐，先皇與陛下不為賊臣所間。 不然，劉晏、黎幹之輩，搖動社稷，兇謀果矣。 今幹以伏罪，晏猶領權，臣為宰相，不能正持此事，罪當萬死。」 崔祐甫奏言：「此事曖昧，陛下以廓然大赦，不當究尋虛語。」 硃泚、崔寧又從傍與祐甫救解之，寧言頗切，炎大怒，故斥寧令出鎮鄜坊以摧挫之。 遂罷晏轉運等使，尋貶為忠州刺史。 炎欲誣構其罪，知庾準與晏素有隙，舉為荊南節度，以伺晏動靜。 準乃奏晏與硃泚書祈救解，言多怨望，炎又證成其事，上以為然。 是月庚午，晏已受誅，使回奏報，誣晏以忠州謀叛，下詔暴言其罪，時年六十六，天下冤之。 家屬徙嶺表，連累者數十人。 貞元五年，上悟，方錄晏子執經，授太常博士； 少子宗經，秘書郎。 執經上請削官贈父，特追贈鄭州刺史。
When Emperor Dezong succeeded, many memorialists urged abolishing the transport commission. Earlier Yang Yan was vice minister of personnel while Yan was minister; each abused his power and the two could not abide each other. When Yang was demoted over Yuan Zai's case, Yan rejoiced and spoke openly at court. When Yang became chancellor he pursued old grievances, and because Yan had feuded with Yuan Zai, contemporaries said Yan had helped bring Zai down. Yang meant to avenge Zai, and rumor held that Daizong favored Consort Dugu and loved her son Prince Han Huai; Yan had secretly urged making Dugu empress. Yang seized an audience to declare tearfully: 'Thanks to our ancestors' blessing, the late emperor and Your Majesty were not estranged by treacherous ministers. Otherwise men like Liu Yan and Li Gan would have shaken the throne and their wicked plot would have succeeded. Now Gan has been punished, yet Yan still holds power; as chancellor I cannot rectify this—I deserve death ten thousand times. Cui Youfu replied: "This matter is vague; Your Majesty has proclaimed a broad amnesty and should not pursue idle rumor." Zhu Ci and Cui Ning also sided with Youfu; Ning spoke sharply; Yang was furious and banished Ning to command the Bin-Fang region to break his spirit. Liu Yan was stripped of his transport commissioner posts and, before long, demoted to prefect of Zhongzhou. Yang Yan wanted to frame him on false charges, so he appointed Yu Zhun—who had long been at odds with Liu Yan—as military commissioner of Jingnan to watch Yan's every move. Yu Zhun reported that Yan had written to the rebel Zhu Ci pleading for rescue, his language seething with grievance; Yang Yan bolstered the accusation, and the emperor believed it. On the gengwu day of that month Yan had already been put to death. When the envoy returned, he falsely claimed Yan had plotted rebellion from his exile in Zhongzhou; the court issued an edict publicly listing his alleged crimes. Yan was sixty-six years old, and people everywhere regarded his execution as a gross injustice. His family was banished to the far south beyond the mountain passes, and dozens of others were dragged down with them. In 789, once the emperor realized his error, he recalled Yan's son Zhijing and appointed him director of learning at the Imperial Academy; His youngest son, Zongjing, was appointed secretary in the Palace Library. Zhijing petitioned to surrender his own office so his father might be honored posthumously; the throne made a special grant and posthumously enfeoffed Liu Yan as prefect of Zhengzhou.
11
第五琦，京兆長安人。 少孤，事兄華，敬順過人。 及長，有吏才，以富國強兵之術自任。 天寶初，事韋堅，堅敗貶官。 累至須江丞，時太守賀蘭進明甚重之。 會安祿山反，進明遷北海郡太守，奏琦為錄事參軍。 祿山已陷河間、信都等五郡，進明未有戰功，玄宗大怒，遣中使封刀促之，曰：「收地不得，即斬進明之首。」 進明惶懼，莫知所出，琦乃勸令厚以財帛募勇敢士，出奇力戰，遂收所陷之郡。 令琦奏事，至蜀中，琦得謁見，奏言：「方今之急在兵，兵之強弱在賦，賦之所出，江淮居多。 若假臣職任，使濟軍須，臣能使賞給之資，不勞聖慮。」 玄宗大喜，即日拜監察御史，勾當江淮租庸使。 尋拜殿中侍御史。 尋加山南等五道度支使，促辦應卒，事無違闕。 遷司金郎中、兼御史中丞，使如故。 於是創立鹽法，就山海井竈收榷其鹽，官置吏出糶。 其舊業戶並浮人願為業者，免其雜徭，隸鹽鐵使，盜煮私市罪有差。 百姓除租庸外，無得橫賦，人不益稅而上用以饒。 遷戶部侍郎、兼御史丞，專判度支，領河南等道支度都勾當轉運租庸鹽鐵鑄錢、司農太府出納、山南東西江西淮南館驛等使。
Di Wuqi hailed from Chang'an in the capital district of Jingzhao. He lost his parents young and waited on his elder brother Hua with a devotion few could match. As an adult he showed real administrative talent and devoted himself to schemes for filling the treasury and building military strength. In the early Tianbao years he entered the service of Wei Jian, and when Wei was ruined and disgraced, Di Wuqi was demoted as well. He eventually rose to assistant magistrate of Xujiang, where Prefect Helan Jinming held him in high regard. When An Lushan rose in rebellion, Jinming was reassigned as prefect of Beihai Commandery and had Di Wuqi appointed his chief administrative aide. An Lushan had already overrun five commanderies, including Hejian and Xindu, yet Jinming had won no victories on the field. Furious, Emperor Xuanzong dispatched a eunuch bearing an imperial sword with this ultimatum: "Recover the lost territory, or Helan Jinming loses his head. Jinming panicked and saw no way out. Di Wuqi advised him to pour gold and goods into recruiting bold fighters, take the enemy by surprise, and fight with all force—and in this way they retook the fallen commanderies. Jinming sent Di Wuqi to report to the throne. On reaching the Shu region, Qi gained an audience and argued: "Our most pressing need is military strength, military strength depends on revenue, and most of that revenue comes from the Jiang-Huai basin. If Your Majesty will grant me the authority to meet the army's needs, I can find the money for pay and supplies without burdening the throne. The emperor was delighted and the same day named Qi investigating censor and commissioner for Jiang-Huai tax collection. Shortly afterward he was promoted to attendant censor in the palace. He was soon given charge of fiscal affairs for five circuits, including Shannan, and drove every urgent task to completion without a single lapse. He rose to director in the Bureau of Coinage and vice censor-in-chief while keeping his existing commissioner duties. He then created the salt monopoly: the state took control of salt production at coastal salterns, inland wells, and mountain sources, and sold the salt through official agents. Established producers and newcomers who wished to join the trade were freed from miscellaneous labor obligations and placed under the salt commission; theft of the salt trade through private boiling or sale carried graded punishments. Ordinary taxpayers faced no new levies beyond the regular land-and-labor dues, yet the treasury grew flush without raising the tax burden on the people. Promoted to vice minister of revenue and vice censor-in-chief, he took sole charge of national finance and simultaneously headed a sprawling portfolio: supply and transport for Henan and other regions, tax collection, the salt monopoly, coinage, grain and treasury operations, and postal services from Shannan to Jiangxi and Huainan.
12
乾元二年，以本官加同中書門下平章事。 初，琦以國用未足，幣重貨輕，乃請鑄乾元重寶錢，以一當十行用之。 及作相，又請更鑄重輪乾元錢，一當五十，與乾元錢及開元通寶錢三品並行。 既而谷價騰貴，餓殣死亡，枕藉道路，又盜鑄爭起，中外皆以琦變法之弊，封奏日聞。 乾元二年十月，貶忠州長史，既在道，有告琦受人黃金二百兩者，遣御史劉期光追按之。 琦對曰：二百兩金十三斤重，忝為宰相，不可自持。 若其付受有憑，即請準法科罪。」 期光以為此是琦伏罪也，遽奏之，請除名，配流夷州，馳驛發遣，仍差綱領送至彼。 寶應初，起為朗州刺史，甚有能政，入遷太子賓客。 屬吐蕃寇陷京師，代宗幸陜，關內副元帥郭子儀請琦為糧料使、兼御史大夫，充關內元帥副使。 未幾，改京兆尹。 車駕克復，專判度支，兼諸道鑄錢鹽鐵轉運常平等使。 累封扶風郡公。 又加京兆尹，改戶部侍郎，判度支。 前後領財賦十余年。 魚朝恩伏誅，琦坐與款狎，出為處州刺史，歷饒、湖二州。 入為太子賓客、東都留司。 上以其材，將復任用，召還京師，信宿而卒，年七十，贈太子少保。
In 759 he received the grand councilor title while retaining his existing posts. Early on, finding the treasury short and goods dear while copper coin remained scarce, Qi proposed minting the Qianyuan Heavy Treasure coin, valued at ten ordinary coins each. Once elevated to chancellor, he pushed for another coin—the heavy-rim Qianyuan piece, worth fifty—and let all three denominations circulate side by side with the standard Kaiyuan coin. Soon grain prices skyrocketed, famine corpses piled along the highways, counterfeiters swarmed, and from every quarter came daily memorials blaming Di Wuqi's currency experiments for the disaster. In the tenth month of 759 he was demoted to chief administrator of Zhongzhou. While still en route, an informer accused him of accepting two hundred taels of gold, and Censor Liu Qiguang was dispatched to pursue the case. Qi answered: "Two hundred taels is thirteen jin of gold—too much for a man who once sat in the chancellery to haul about on his own person. If there is proof I took it, apply the statute and punish me accordingly. Liu Qiguang took this for a confession. He rushed a memorial asking that Qi be struck from the rolls, exiled to Yizhou, and hustled there by express courier under armed escort. At the start of the Baoying era he was recalled to serve as prefect of Langzhou, where he governed ably; later he returned to court as adviser to the crown prince. When Tibetan forces stormed the capital and Emperor Daizong withdrew to Shaan, Guo Ziyi—the deputy commander of Guannei—asked that Di Wuqi serve as grain commissioner and censor-in-chief, and as his second-in-command. Before long he was reassigned as metropolitan prefect of the capital district. After the court returned to the capital, he again took exclusive charge of national finance and simultaneously oversaw coinage, the salt monopoly, transport, and grain price stabilization across the provinces. He was eventually ennobled as Duke of Fufeng. He later resumed the post of metropolitan prefect while also serving as vice minister of revenue with control of national finances. Over more than a decade he directed the empire's fiscal affairs. After the eunuch Yu Chao'en was executed, Di Wuqi was punished for his close ties to him and banished first to Chuzhou, then to Rao and Hu. He later returned to court as adviser to the crown prince and held a nominal post in the Eastern Capital. The emperor, impressed by his ability, was preparing to bring him back into service and summoned him to the capital—but within two nights Di Wuqi was dead, aged seventy. He was posthumously honored as Lesser Tutor to the Crown Prince.
13
子峰，峰婦鄭氏女，皆以孝著，旌表其門。
His son Feng and Feng's wife, a daughter of the Zheng family, were both famed for filial devotion; the throne had their household gate publicly honored.
14
班宏，衛州汲人也。 祖思簡，春官員外郎。 父景倩，秘書監。 宏少舉進士，授右司禦胄曹，後為薛景先鳳翔掌書記，又為高適劍南觀察判官，累拜大理司直，攝監察御史。 時青城山有妖賊張安居以左道惑眾，事覺，多誣引大將，冀以緩死，宏驗理而速殺之，人心乃安。 既而郭英乂代適，以厭人望，奏署秘書郎，兼雒令，以疾免。 大歷三年，遷起居舍人，尋兼理匭使，四遷至給事中。 時李寶臣卒於其位，子惟嶽匿喪求位，上遣宏使成德問疾，且喻之。 惟嶽厚賂宏，皆不受，還報合旨，遷刑部侍郎，兼京官考使。 時右僕射崔寧考兵部侍郎劉乃上下，宏駁曰：「夷荒靖難，專在節制，尺籍伍符，不校省司。 夫上行宣美之名，則下開趨競之路； 上行阿容，下必朋黨。」 因削去之。 乃知而謝曰：「乃雖不敏，敢掠一美以僥二罪乎？」 尋除吏部侍郎，為汪蕃會盟使李揆之副。
Ban Hong came from Ji in Weizhou. His grandfather Si Jian had served as auxiliary director in the Ministry of Rites. His father Jing Qian had been director of the Imperial Library. Ban Hong passed the jinshi examination in his youth and began as an armoury clerk in the Right Guard. He later served as staff secretary for Xue Jingxian in Fengxiang and as judicial aide to Gao Shi in Jiannan, eventually rising to investigating judge in the Court of Judicial Review while acting as an investigating censor. When the sorcerer-rebel Zhang Anju on Mount Qingcheng was caught using forbidden rites to gather followers, he tried to save his life by falsely naming high generals as accomplices. Ban Hong investigated, swiftly condemned him, and restored public confidence. When Guo Yingyi succeeded Gao Shi, he placated public opinion by appointing Ban Hong secretary and magistrate of Luoyang, though illness soon forced Hong to leave office. In 768 he was made imperial diarist, soon added oversight of the imperial complaint box, and after four promotions reached the rank of supervising secretary. When regional strongman Li Baochen died in office, his son Wei Yue hid the death to seize power. The emperor dispatched Ban Hong to Chengde under the pretense of a condolence visit to warn him against it. Wei Yue tried to buy him off with lavish bribes, but Hong refused every gift. His report pleased the throne, and he was promoted to vice minister of justice with charge of metropolitan official evaluations. When Vice Director Cui Ning rated Liu Nai, vice minister of war, as merely average, Ban Hong objected: "Frontier pacification rests with the military commissioners; central ministries do not audit their muster rolls and unit rosters. When superiors hand out hollow praise, subordinates learn to scramble for favor; when superiors indulge flattery, those below will inevitably form factions. He deleted the inflated rating. Liu Nai understood and apologized: "I may lack wit, but would I grab unearned credit and risk double blame? Soon after he was made vice minister of personnel and deputy to Li Kui, envoy to the Tibetan alliance talks.
15
貞元初，仍歲旱蝗，上以賦調為急，改戶部侍郎，為度支使韓滉之副。 遷尚書，復副竇參。 參初為大理司直，宏已為刑部侍郎，及參為相，領度支，上以宏久司國計，因令副之。 且曰：「朕藉參宰相以臨遠，眾務悉委於卿，勿以辭也。」 參以先貴，常私解悅之曰：「參後來，一朝居尚書之上，甚不自安，一年之後，當歸此使。」 宏心喜，歲餘，參絕不復言。 宏性剛愎，為人間之，且怒食言，公事多異。 揚子院，鹽鐵轉運委藏也，宏以御史中丞徐粲主之，既不理，且以賄聞，參欲代之，宏執不可。 參又選諸院吏，未嘗訪宏，乃疏參所用者過惡以聞，事輒留中。 無何，參以使勞加吏部尚書，而宏進封蕭國公，怨參以虛號寵之，間惡愈甚。 每奉詔營建，宏必極壯麗，親程課役，又厚結權幸以傾參。
At the start of the Zhenyuan era, drought and locusts struck year after year and tax collection became the emperor's top priority; Ban Hong was made vice minister of revenue and deputy to fiscal chief Han Huang. He was promoted to director and again served as deputy—this time to Dou Can. When Dou Can had been a mere judge, Ban Hong was already vice minister of justice; once Can rose to chancellor and took charge of finance, the emperor paired him with Hong, who had managed the national ledgers for years. The emperor told him: "I need Chancellor Dou to manage affairs far afield; I am placing every detail of finance in your hands—do not refuse. Because Hong outranked him in seniority, Dou Can often privately reassured him: "I arrived late and feel uneasy sitting above you as director; in a year I will give this commission back to you. Ban Hong believed him—but more than a year passed and Can never mentioned it again. Stubborn by nature, Ban Hong learned of the broken promise, seethed at Dou Can's treachery, and their official dealings turned contentious. The Yangzhou depot held salt-and-iron transport reserves under Vice Censor Xu Can, who neglected the job and was rumored to be taking bribes. Dou Can wanted to replace him, but Ban Hong dug in his heels and refused. Dou Can began appointing depot staff without consulting Hong, so Hong sent up memorials detailing the misconduct of Can's choices—and the emperor kept those reports under wraps. Before long Dou Can was promoted to minister of personnel for his service on missions, while Ban Hong was ennobled as Duke of Xiao. Hong saw the title as empty flattery and their mutual hostility deepened. Whenever tasked with imperial construction projects, Ban Hong built on the grandest scale and supervised labor personally, while cultivating powerful favorites at court to undermine Dou Can.
16
張滂先善於宏，宏薦為司農少卿，及參欲以滂分掌江淮鹽鐵，詢之於宏，宏以滂嫉惡，慮以法繩徐粲，因曰：「滂強戾難制，不可用。」 滂知之。 八年三月，參遂為上所疏，乃讓度支使，遂以宏專判，而參不欲使務悉歸於宏，問計京兆尹薛玨，玨曰：「二子交惡，而滂剛決，若分鹽鐵轉運於滂，必能制宏。」 參乃薦滂為戶部侍郎、鹽鐵使、判轉運，尚隸於宏以悅之。 江淮兩稅，悉宏主之，置巡院，然令宏、滂共擇其官。 滂請鹽鐵舊簿書於宏，宏不與之。 每署院官，宏、滂更相是非，莫有用者。 滂乃奏曰：「班宏與臣相戾，巡院多闕官。 臣掌財賦，國家大計，職不修，無所逃罪。 今宏若此，何以輯事？」 遂令分掌之。 無幾，宏言於宰相趙憬、陸贄曰：「宏職轉運，年運江淮米五十萬斛，前年增七十萬斛，以實太倉，幸無過。 今職移於人，不知何謂？」 滂時在側，忿然曰：「尚書失言甚矣！ 若運務畢舉，朝廷固不奪之，蓋由喪公錢、縱奸吏故也。 且凡為度支胥吏，不一歲，資累鉅萬，僮馬第宅，僭於王公，非盜官財何以致是？ 道呼喧喧，無不知之，聖上故令滂分掌。 公向所言，無乃歸怨於上乎、」宏默然不對。 是日，宏稱疾於第，滂往問之，宏不見，憬、贄乃以宏、滂之言上聞。 由是遵大歷故事，如劉晏、韓滉所分。 滂至揚州按徐粲，逮仆妾子侄，得贓鉅萬，乃徙嶺表。 故參得罪，宏頗有力焉。 勤恪官署，晨入夕歸，下吏勞而未嘗厭苦，清白勤幹，稱之於時。 貞元八年七月卒，年七十三，廢朝，加贈，謚曰敬。
Zhang Pang had once been Ban Hong's ally, and Hong had helped make him vice director of agriculture. When Dou Can proposed splitting Jiang-Huai salt-and-iron duties with Pang, he asked Hong's view. Hong knew Pang was fierce and incorruptible and feared he would prosecute Xu Can, so he said, "Pang is harsh and unmanageable—he cannot be used. Zhang Pang learned of the slight. In the third month of 792 Dou Can fell from imperial favor and surrendered the finance commission to Ban Hong—but Can did not want Hong controlling everything. He consulted Metropolitan Prefect Xue Jue, who advised: "Those two are enemies, and Pang is tough and resolute; give him salt-and-iron transport and he can check Hong. Dou Can accordingly recommended Zhang Pang as vice minister of revenue, salt commissioner, and transport supervisor—formally under Hong, to keep him appeased. Ban Hong kept control of the Jiang-Huai land tax and set up inspection offices, but both men were told to jointly appoint their staff. Zhang Pang asked Ban Hong for the old salt-and-iron account books; Hong refused to hand them over. Every time one of them nominated a depot official, the other vetoed the choice, and positions stayed empty. Zhang Pang memorialized: "Ban Hong and I are at loggerheads, and many inspection posts stand unfilled. I oversee revenue—the lifeblood of the state. If I fail in my duties, I cannot escape blame. With Hong acting like this, how can the work get done? The emperor ordered them to split the duties between them. Before long Ban Hong told Chancellors Zhao Jing and Lu Zhi: "In my transport duties I once moved five hundred thousand shi of Jiang-Huai grain each year, and two years ago seven hundred thousand shi to fill the Great Storehouse—and I met every target. Now my duties have been handed to someone else—what am I to make of that? Zhang Pang, who was present, snapped: "Director, you go too far! If you had truly done your job, the court would never have taken transport away from you. You lost it because you squandered public funds and protected crooked subordinates. And every clerk in the finance office amasses fortunes of tens of thousands within a year—slaves, horses, mansions fit for princes. How else could they afford it except by robbing the treasury? Everyone on the road knows it, which is exactly why His Majesty ordered me to share the duties. Are you not pinning the blame on the emperor himself?" Ban Hong fell silent. That day Ban Hong feigned illness at home. When Zhang Pang came to visit, Hong refused to see him. Zhao Jing and Lu Zhi reported both men's words to the throne. The court then reverted to the Dali-era arrangement, dividing finance as Liu Yan and Han Huang once had. Zhang Pang went to Yangzhou to prosecute Xu Can, seized his household and kin, uncovered bribes totaling tens of thousands, and had him banished to the far south. When Dou Can finally fell, Ban Hong had played no small part in bringing him down. He was tireless at his desk, arriving at dawn and leaving at dusk; though his staff toiled endlessly he never complained. His honesty and industry won wide praise. He died in the seventh month of 792, aged seventy-three. Court audiences were suspended, extra honors granted, and he was posthumously titled "Reverent."
17
王紹，本家於太原，今為京兆萬年人。 舊名與憲宗同，永貞年改焉。 少時，顏真卿器重之，因紹舊名，字之曰德素，奏授武康尉。 蕭復為常州刺史，辟為從事； 包佶領租庸鹽鐵，亦以紹為判官。 時李希烈阻兵，江淮租輸，所在艱阻，特移運路自潁入汴。 紹奉佶表詣闕，屬德宗西幸，紹乃督緣路輕貨，趣金、商路，倍程出洋州以赴行在。 德宗親勞之，謂紹曰：「六軍未有春服，我猶衣裘。」 紹俯伏流涕，奏曰：「包佶令臣間道進奉數約五十萬。」 上曰：道路回遠，經費懸急，卿之所奏，豈可望耶？」 後五日而所督繼至，上深賴焉。
Wang Shao's family originally came from Taiyuan but now lived in Wannian, in the capital district of Jingzhao. His original given name matched that of the future Emperor Xianzong, so it was changed during the Yongzhen era. In his youth Yan Zhenqing took a liking to him, gave him the courtesy name Desu because of his former name, and had him appointed assistant magistrate of Wukang. When Xiao Fu served as prefect of Changzhou, he recruited Wang Shao as a staff officer; and when Bao Ji took charge of tax and salt affairs, he too made Shao his aide. At that time Li Xilie was using military force to obstruct communications, making it difficult to move Jiang-Huai rent and transport revenue through many areas, so the transport route was specially redirected from Ying into Bian. Wang Shao bore Bao Ji's memorial to the capital. When Emperor Dezong was forced west, Shao took charge of light goods along the route, hastened via the Jin and Shang roadways, and at double speed crossed through Yang Prefecture to reach the imperial party. Emperor Dezong received him in person and said to Wang Shao, "The armies have no spring clothing, and I still wear furs. Wang Shao prostrated himself in tears and reported, "Bao Ji has directed me by a secret route to deliver tribute of roughly five hundred thousand cash." The emperor replied, "The roads are long and difficult, and funds are desperately needed. What you report—can we really expect it?" Five days later the goods he had overseen began arriving, and the emperor relied deeply on him.
18
貞元中，為倉部員外郎。 時屬兵革旱蝗之後，令戶部收闕官俸，兼稅茶及諸色無名之錢，以為水旱之備。 紹自拜倉部，便準詔主判，及遷戶部、兵部郎中，皆獨司其務。 擢拜戶部侍郎，尋判度支。 後二年，遷戶部尚書。 德宗臨馭歲久，機務不由臺司，自竇參、陸贄已後，宰臣備位而已。 德宗以紹謹密，恩遇特異，凡主重務八年，政之大小，多所訪決。 紹未賞泄漏，亦不矜衒。 順宗即位，王叔文始奪其權，拜兵部尚書，尋除檢校吏部尚書、東都留守。 元和初，遷檢校尚書右僕射、徐州刺史、武寧軍節度，復以濠、泗二州隸焉。 時承張愔之後，兵驕難治，紹修輯軍政，人甚安之。 六年，征拜兵部尚書，兼判戶部事。 九年卒，年七十二，贈左僕射，謚曰敬。
During the Zhenyuan era he served as Assistant Director in the Bureau of Granaries. This came in the aftermath of war, drought, and locust plagues. The Bureau of Revenue was ordered to collect unclaimed salaries, levy a tea tax, and impose various miscellaneous unnamed levies as reserves against flood and drought. From the moment Wang Shao took the Granary post, he was immediately put in charge by imperial order. When he was promoted to Director in the Bureau of Revenue and then the Bureau of Military Affairs, he alone handled the work in each case. He was promoted to Vice Minister of Revenue and shortly thereafter put in charge of the finance office. Two years later he was made Minister of Revenue. Emperor Dezong had ruled for many years, and important business no longer ran through the Secretariat. After Dou Can and Lu Zhi, chancellors were little more than figureheads. Emperor Dezong valued Wang Shao for his caution and discretion and showered him with exceptional favor. He held major responsibilities for eight years, and on matters large and small the emperor frequently sought his judgment. Wang Shao never leaked a confidence, nor did he flaunt his influence. When Emperor Shunzong came to the throne, Wang Shuwen stripped him of real authority. He was appointed Minister of Military Affairs, then shortly relieved as Acting Minister of Personnel and left in charge as Garrison Commander of the Eastern Capital. At the start of the Yuanhe era he was made Acting Right Vice Director of the Imperial Secretariat, prefect of Xuzhou, and military governor of Wu'ning Circuit, with Haozhou and Sizhou again placed under his jurisdiction. He succeeded Zhang Yin when the soldiery had grown arrogant and unruly. Wang Shao restored military discipline, and the people found peace. In the sixth year of Yuanhe he was recalled to serve as Minister of Military Affairs and given concurrent charge of the Bureau of Revenue. He died in 814, aged seventy-two. He was posthumously made Left Vice Director and given the posthumous title "Reverent."
19
李巽，字令叔，趙郡人。 少苦心為學，以明經調補華州參軍，拔萃登科，授鄠縣尉。 周歷臺省，由左司郎中出為常州刺史。 逾年，召為給事中，出為湖南觀察使，銳於為理。 五年，改江西觀察使，加檢校散騎常侍、兼御史大夫。 巽持下以法，吏不敢欺，而動必察之。 順宗即位，入為兵部侍郎。 司徒杜佑判度支鹽鐵轉運使，以巽幹治，奏為副使。 佑辭重位，巽遂專領度支鹽鐵使。 榷筦之法，號為難重，唯大歷中僕射劉晏雅得其術，賦入豐羨。 巽掌使一年，征課所入，類晏之多歲，明年過之，又一年加一百八十萬貫。 舊制，每歲運江淮米五十萬斛抵河陰，久不盈其數，唯巽三年登焉。 遷兵部尚書，明年改吏部尚書，使任如故。
Li Xun, courtesy name Ling Shu, came from Zhao Commandery. In his youth he applied himself rigorously to learning. He passed the classics examination and was appointed aide in Huazhou. After winning selection in the superior examination he was made assistant magistrate of E County. He served in various posts in the Secretariat and Chancellery, and left the capital from his post as Director in the Left Bureau to become prefect of Changzhou. A year later he was recalled to serve as a Supervising Secretariat Drafter, then sent out as commissioner of Hunan, where he governed with sharp efficiency. In his fifth year he was transferred to Jiangxi as observation commissioner, with the additional titles of Acting Regular Palace Attendant and Concurrent Censor-in-Chief. Li Xun governed his subordinates strictly by law. Clerks did not dare cheat him—and he scrutinized every move they made. When Emperor Shunzong came to the throne, Li Xun was brought back to serve as Vice Minister of Military Affairs. Grand Mentor Du You headed the finance, salt, iron, and transport commission. Impressed by Li Xun's administrative skill, he recommended him as deputy commissioner. When Du You stepped down from the heavy office, Li Xun took sole charge of the finance and salt commission. The state monopoly system was notoriously difficult to manage. Only in the Dali era had Vice Director Liu Yan truly mastered it, yielding abundant revenue. In his first year in office Li Xun's tax collections matched Liu Yan's best years. The next year he exceeded that total, and in the following year he added another 1.8 million strings of cash. By regulation five hundred thousand shi of Jiang-Huai grain were shipped each year to Heyin, a quota long unmet—until Li Xun fulfilled it three years running. He was promoted to Minister of Military Affairs, and the following year transferred to Minister of Personnel while retaining his commission unchanged.
20
巽精於吏職，蓋性使然也。 雖在私家，亦置案牘簿書，勾檢如公署焉。 人吏有過，絲毫無所貸，雖在千里外，其恐栗如在巽前。 初，程異附王叔文貶竄，巽知其吏才明辯，奏而用之，憲宗不違其請。 異勾檢簿籍，又精於巽，故課最加衍，亦異之助焉。 巽為吏部尚書，臥疾，郎官相率省問，巽初不言其病，與之考校程課，商略功利，至其夕而卒。 然性強很狡惡，忌刻頗甚，乘德宗之怒，謀殺竇參，物論冤之。 初，參為宰相，不悅於巽，自左司郎中出為常州刺史，仍促其行。 不數月，參貶郴州司馬。 久之，巽自給事中為湖南觀察使，郴即屬郡也。 宣武軍節度使劉士寧以擅襲父任，物議不可，朝廷不得已而授之。 及參之貶，士寧嘗以絹數千匹賂參，巽在湖南具奏其事，言參與籓鎮交通，德宗怒，遂賜參死，議者冤之。 巽廉察江西，徇喜怒之情，而無罪被戮者多矣。 元和四年四月卒，時年七十一，贈尚書左僕射。
Li Xun excelled at bureaucratic work—it was simply in his nature. Even at home he kept files and ledgers, auditing accounts as though he were still in a government office. He showed subordinates no mercy whatever for any fault. Even a thousand li away they trembled as though he were standing over them. Cheng Yi had earlier been exiled for siding with Wang Shuwen, but Li Xun recognized his talent for clear, forceful administration and recommended him for office. Emperor Xianzong granted the request. Cheng Yi audited the books with even greater skill than Li Xun himself, so revenue totals kept climbing—with Cheng Yi's help. While serving as Minister of Personnel, Li Xun fell ill. When bureau directors came in succession to visit, he at first said nothing of his illness and instead reviewed schedules and quotas with them, discussing business until he died that evening. Yet he was by nature stubborn, ruthless, and deeply jealous. Exploiting Emperor Dezong's wrath he engineered the death of Dou Can—a killing widely regarded as unjust. Earlier, when Dou Can was chancellor, Li Xun had fallen out of his favor. Can had him transferred from Director in the Left Bureau to prefect of Changzhou and pressed him to leave at once. Within months Dou Can himself was demoted to military aide at Chenzhou. Later, after Li Xun had risen from Supervising Secretariat Drafter to Hunan observation commissioner, Chenzhou fell under his jurisdiction. Liu Shining of Xuanwu Circuit had seized his father's command without authorization—a move widely condemned, yet the court had no choice but to confirm the appointment. When Dou Can was demoted, Liu Shining had once given him several thousand bolts of silk as a bribe. Reporting from Hunan, Li Xun laid out the full story, accusing Can of trafficking with frontier military governors. Emperor Dezong was enraged and ordered Dou Can executed—a death many considered a miscarriage of justice. During his inspection tour in Jiangxi, Li Xun indulged his passions—and many innocent people were put to death. He died in the fourth month of 809, aged seventy-one, and was posthumously made Left Vice Director of the Imperial Secretariat.
21
史臣曰：歷代操利柄為國計者，莫不損下益上，危人自安，變法以弄權，斂怨以構禍，皆有之矣。 如劉晏通擁滯，任才能，富其國而不勞於民，儉於家而利於眾。 或問曰：鄭子產吏不能欺，宓子賤吏不忍欺，西門豹吏不敢欺。 三子者，古之賢人也，吏皆懷其欺而不能、不忍、不敢也。 晏之吏，遠近自不欺者何也？ 答曰：蓋任其才而得其人也。 晏歿，故吏二十余年繼掌財賦，不其是哉！ 《史記貨殖》云：「平糶齊物，關市不乏，治國之道也。」 晏治天下，無甚貴甚賤之物，泛言治國者，其可及乎！ 舉真卿才，忠也，減王縉罪，正也，忠正之道，復出於人，嗚呼！ 本秀於林，風必摧之，常袞見忌於前，楊炎致冤於後，可為長嘆息矣！ 時譏有口者以利啖之，茍不塞讒口，何以持重權？ 即無以展其才，濟其國矣。 是其術也，又何譏焉。 第五琦促辦應卒，民不加賦，而國豐饒，亦庶幾矣。 然鑄錢變法，物貴身危，其何陋哉！ 凡利國者，農商之外，不可為也。 宏、滂爭權樹黨，皆非令人。 紹之謹密幹事，巽之皦察精辨，亦足可稱。
The historian writes: Throughout history, those who held the reins of fiscal power in service of state finance have invariably enriched the throne at the people's expense, endangered others to save themselves, changed the laws to play politics, and stockpiled resentments that bred disaster—all of this has happened before. Liu Yan was different: he cleared bottlenecks, put talent to use, enriched the state without overburdening the people, kept his household frugal, and brought benefit to all. One might ask: "With Zichan of Zheng, clerks could not cheat him; with Master Fu Ziqian, they could not bear to cheat him; with Ximen Bao, they did not dare cheat him." These three were sages of old. Their clerks may have wished to cheat them, but found themselves unable, unwilling, or too afraid. Why was it that Liu Yan's subordinates, near and far, simply did not cheat? The answer: because he put the right people in the right roles and let them apply their talents. After Liu Yan's death, his former subordinates continued to manage the treasury for more than twenty years—is that not proof enough? The "Wealth and Profit" chapter of the Records of the Historian says, "Regulating grain prices to stabilize goods, keeping markets and frontier passes supplied—this is the art of governing. Under Liu Yan's administration the realm saw neither ruinously high nor ruinously low prices. How many who speak of governing a nation can match that? To recommend Yan Zhenqing showed loyalty; to lighten Wang Jin's punishment showed integrity. The virtues of loyalty and righteousness lived again in a single man—alas! A tree that stands above the forest is sure to be broken by the wind. Chang Gun resented him first; Yang Yan engineered his ruin afterward—enough to draw a long sigh. At the time, critics with wagging tongues were bought off with profit. Unless you silenced those tongues, how could you hold real power? Without that, there was no way to deploy one's abilities or serve the nation. That was his approach—and what is there to condemn in it? Fifth Qi mobilized resources swiftly in crisis without raising taxes on the people, and the treasury still grew flush—a feat nearly as admirable. Yet his recoinage and legal tinkering drove up prices and put his own life at risk—how crude! As a rule, anything that enriches the state beyond agriculture and commerce should not be attempted. Ban Hong and Zhang Pang schemed for power and built factions—neither was a man one could respect. Wang Shao's caution and efficiency, Li Xun's sharp-eyed precision—these too deserve recognition.
22
贊曰：豐財忠良，晏道為長。 琦、宏、滂、巽，鹹以利彰。
In praise: Enriching the treasury through loyal service—Liu Yan's way stands foremost. Fifth Qi, Ban Hong, Zhang Pang, and Li Xun—all won fame through fiscal mastery.