1
陸贄陸贄，字敬輿，蘇州嘉興人。 父侃，溧陽令，以贄貴，贈禮部尚書。 贄少孤，特立不群，頗勤儒學。 年十八登進士第，以博學宏詞登科，授華州鄭縣尉。 罷秩，東歸省母，路由壽州，刺史張鎰有時名，贄往謁之。 鎰初不甚知，留三日，再見與語，遂大稱賞，請結忘年之契。 及辭，遺贄錢百萬，曰：「願備太夫人一日之膳。」 贄不納，唯受新茶一串而已，曰：「敢不承君厚意。」 又以書判拔萃，選授渭南縣主簿，遷監察御史。 德宗在東宮時，素知贄名，乃召為翰林學士，轉祠部員外郎。 贄性忠盡，既居近密，感人主重知，思有以效報，故政或有缺，巨細必陳，由是顧待益厚。
Lu Zhi, whose courtesy name was Jingyu, was from Jiaxing in Suzhou. His father Lu Kan had served as magistrate of Liyang; when Zhi rose to prominence, Kan was posthumously honored as Minister of Rites. Orphaned while young, he held himself apart from the crowd and applied himself diligently to classical learning. At eighteen he earned his jinshi degree and also passed the Broad Learning and Grand Rhetoric examination, receiving appointment as magistrate of Zheng County in Hua Prefecture. After leaving office he headed east to see his mother. Passing through Shou Prefecture, he paid a visit to the prefect Zhang Yi, who was then well regarded. Zhang Yi scarcely noticed him at first, but after Zhi stayed three days and they met and spoke again, Yi was deeply impressed and proposed a friendship that ignored the gap in their ages. As Zhi was departing, Zhang Yi offered him a million cash, saying, "Let this help provide your mother's board for a day." Zhi declined the money and accepted only one bundle of fresh tea, adding, "I shall not fail to honor your gracious intent." He next distinguished himself in documentary review, was selected as chief clerk of Weinan County, and was later transferred to investigating censor. While still crown prince, Dezong had known Zhi's reputation and now summoned him as Hanlin academician, promoting him shortly afterward to Vice Director of the Ministry of Rites. Devoted by nature, Zhi now served in the emperor's immediate circle. Grateful for Dezong's trust, he sought every way to repay it, and whenever he saw a flaw in policy, large or small, he spoke of it plainly—whereupon the emperor's regard for him only deepened.
2
建中四年，硃泚謀逆，從駕幸奉天。 時天下叛亂，機務填委，征發指蹤，千端萬緒，一日之內，詔書數百。 贄揮翰起草，思如泉註，初若不經思慮，既成之後，莫不曲盡事情，中於機會； 胥吏簡劄不暇，同舍皆伏其能。 轉考功郎中，依前充職。 嘗啟德宗曰：「今盜遍天下，輿駕播遷，陛下宜痛自引過，以感動人心。 昔成湯以罪己勃興，楚昭以善言復國。 陛下誠能不吝改過，以言謝天下，使書詔無忌，臣雖愚陋，可以仰副聖情，庶令反側之徒，革心向化。」 德宗然之。 故奉天所下書詔，雖武夫悍卒，無不揮涕感激，多贄所為也。
In Jianzhong year 4, Zhu Ci rose in rebellion, and the emperor withdrew with the court to Fengtian. Rebellion had engulfed the empire. Business of state pressed in from every side—levies, troop movements, countless threads of decision—and within one day the court might issue several hundred edicts. Zhi drafted these documents, his thoughts flowing like a spring. They seemed to require no forethought, yet every finished text fully addressed the case and hit the moment's need; copyists could scarcely keep up with his output, and the other academicians marveled at his gift. He was promoted to Director of the Ministry of Personnel while remaining in his Hanlin post. He once urged Dezong: "Bandits now overrun the empire and the throne has been driven into exile. Your Majesty should admit fault in earnest and so stir men's hearts. King Tang of old revived his fortunes by confessing guilt; King Zhao of Chu restored his kingdom through frank counsel. If Your Majesty will truly reform without stint and address the realm in open apology, so that every edict speaks plainly, then even I—though coarse and unworthy—can help match the imperial purpose. Perhaps those who waver will change their hearts and return to loyalty." The emperor accepted this counsel. The proclamations issued at Fengtian—even hardened soldiers—moved men to tears of gratitude; most were Zhi's work.
3
其年冬，議欲以新歲改元。 而卜祝之流，皆以國家數鐘百六，凡事宜有變革，以應時數。 上謂贄曰：「往年群臣請上尊號『聖神文武』四字，今緣寇難，諸事並宜改更，眾欲朕舊號之中更加一兩字，其事何如？」 贄奏曰：「尊號之興，本非古制。 行於安泰之日，已累謙沖； 襲乎喪亂之時，尤傷事體。 今者鑾輿播越，未復宮闈，宗社震驚，尚愆禋祀，中區多梗，大憝猶存。 此乃人情向背之秋，天意去就之際，陛下宜深自懲勵，收攬群心，痛自貶損，以謝靈譴，不可近從末議，重益美名。」 帝曰：「卿所奏陳，雖理體甚切，然時運必須小有改跡，亦不可執滯，卿更思量。」 贄曰：「古之人君稱號，或稱皇稱帝，或稱王，但一字而已。 至暴秦，乃兼皇帝二字，後代因之。 及昏僻之君，乃有聖劉、天元之號。 是知人主輕重，不在自稱，崇其號無補於徽猷； 損其名不傷其德美。 然而損之有謙光稽古之善，崇之獲矜能納諂之譏，得失不侔，居然可辨。 況今時遭迍否，事屬傾危，尤宜懼思，以自貶抑。 必也俯稽術數，須有變更。 與其增美稱而失人心，不若黜舊號以祗天戒。 天時人事，理必相符，人既好謙，天亦助順。 陛下誠能斷自宸鑒，煥發德音，引咎降名，深示刻責，惟謙與順，一舉而二美從之。」 德宗從之，但改興元年號而已。
That winter the court considered adopting a new reign title with the coming year. Soothsayers argued that the dynasty had reached the critical cycle of 106, and that ritual and policy alike should change to answer Heaven's count. The emperor asked Zhi: "Years ago the ministers urged the epithet "Sagely, Divine, Martial, and Cultured." Now, in these troubles, many want me to add further characters to that title. What do you think?" Zhi replied: "Honorific titles are not an ancient practice. Adopted in peaceful times, they already strain humility; clung to amid disaster and mourning, they wound the polity all the more. The throne wanders in exile; the palace remains unreclaimed; the state altars tremble and great rites go unperformed; the heartland is choked with enemies and the chief rebel still holds the field. This is the hour when hearts choose sides and Heaven weighs whether to stay or depart. Your Majesty should steel yourself, rally every loyalty, humble yourself deeply, and answer Heaven's rebuke—not heed petty counsel that would swell your glorious title." The emperor said: "Your reasoning is urgent and sound, yet fate may still demand some outward change. We cannot be rigid—consider further." Zhi said: "Ancient rulers called themselves emperor or king—a single word apiece. Only tyrannical Qin joined the two words huang and di, and later dynasties followed suit. Decadent sovereigns invented names like Sagely Liu or Heavenly Prime. A ruler's stature does not rest on what he calls himself. Magnifying his title does not improve his rule; trimming his title does not mar his virtue. To shrink it is modest and wise; to enlarge it invites pride and flatters fawning—the one profit, the other loss, is obvious. In obstruction and peril such as this, fear and self-restraint are all the more needed. If omens must be obeyed, then change there must be— but better to shed the old epithets and honor Heaven's warning than to add glorious words and lose men's hearts. Heaven and men move together: when men choose humility, Heaven aids the yielding. If Your Majesty will decide from within, issue a fresh edict, confess fault, shorten his title, and show deep penance—humility and compliance in one stroke win both blessings." Dezong took his advice and changed only the reign name, to Xingyuan.
4
初，德宗倉皇出幸，府藏委棄，凝冽之際，士眾多寒，服禦之外，無尺縑丈帛。 及賊泚解圍，諸籓貢奉繼至，乃於奉天行在貯貢物於廊下，仍題曰「瓊林」、「大盈」二庫名。 贄諫曰：
When Dezong fled the capital in disorder, the treasury was left behind. In biting cold his soldiers shivered, for beyond their uniforms they had neither cloth nor silk. After Zhu Ci's siege ended, tribute poured in from the provinces. At the Fengtian encampment these gifts were piled in the corridors under the old palace store labels Qionlin and Daying. Zhi remonstrated,
5
上嘉納之，令去其題署。
The emperor approved and had the labels taken down.
6
興元元年，李懷光異志已萌，欲激怒諸軍，上表論諸軍衣糧薄，神策衣糧厚，厚薄不均，難以驅戰，意在撓沮進軍。 李晟密奏，恐其有變，上憂之，遣贄使懷光軍宣諭。 使還，贄奏事曰：
In Xingyuan 1, Li Huaiguang's disloyalty was already evident. To provoke the troops he complained that other armies were underpaid while the Shence units were lavishly supplied, hoping to stall the advance. Li Sheng warned secretly that Huaiguang might rebel. Uneasy, the emperor dispatched Zhi to announce the throne's intent in Huaiguang's camp. On his return Zhi reported,
7
德宗初望懷光回意破賊，故晟屢奏移軍不許； 及贄縷陳懷光反狀，乃可晟之奏，遂移軍東渭橋。 而鄜坊節度李建徽、神策行營陽惠元猶在咸陽，贄慮懷光並建徽等軍，又奏曰：
Dezong still hoped Huaiguang would repent and crush the rebels, so he had repeatedly refused Li Sheng's requests to redeploy; only when Zhi laid out Huaiguang's treason plainly did he allow the move to East Wei Bridge. But Li Jianwei of Bin-Fang and Yang Huiyuan of the Shence still camped at Xianyang; fearing Huaiguang might swallow their forces, Zhi memorialized again:
8
德宗曰：「卿之所料極善。 然李晟移軍，懷光心已惆悵，若更遣建徽、惠元就東，則使得為詞。 且俟旬時。」 晟至東渭橋，不旬日，懷光果奪兩節度兵，建徽單騎遁而獲免，惠元中路被執，害之。 報至行在，人情大恐。 翌日，移幸山南。 贄練達兵機，率如此類。
Dezong said, "Your foresight is excellent. Yet Li Sheng has already marched, and Huaiguang's mood is raw. Sending Jianwei and Huiyuan east as well would hand him a grievance. Wait a fortnight." Within ten days Huaiguang seized both armies. Li Jianwei fled alone on horseback; Yang Huiyuan was captured en route and executed. When word reached the court, panic spread. The next day the emperor withdrew to Shannan. Zhi's grasp of military circumstance was as sure as this throughout.
9
二月，從幸梁州，轉諫議大夫，依前充學士。 先是，鳳翔衙將李楚琳乘涇師之亂，殺節度使張鎰，歸款硃泚。 及奉天解圍，楚琳遣使貢奉，時方艱阻，不獲已，命為鳳翔節度使。 然德宗忿其弒逆，心不能容，才至漢中，欲令渾瑊代為節度。 贄諫曰：「楚琳之罪，固不容誅，但以乘輿未復，大憝猶存，勤王之師，悉在畿內，急宣速告，晷刻是爭。 商嶺則道迂且遙，駱谷復為賊所扼，僅通王命，唯在褒斜，此路若又阻艱，南北便成隔絕。 以諸鎮危疑之勢，居二逆誘脅之中，恟々群情，各懷向背。 賊勝則往，我勝則來，其間事機，不容差跌。 儻楚琳發憾，公肆猖狂，南塞要沖，東延巨猾，則我咽喉梗而心膂分矣，其勢豈不病哉！」 上釋然開悟，乃善待楚琳使，優詔安慰其心。
In the second month he followed the court to Liangzhou, was made Remonstrating Grand Master, and kept his Hanlin post. Earlier, Li Chuilin, a Fengxiang staff officer, had exploited the Jing army's chaos to murder governor Zhang Yi and submit to Zhu Ci. After Fengtian was relieved, Chuilin sent tribute. The court, hard pressed, confirmed him as Fengxiang's military governor. Dezong hated his betrayal, and once the court reached Hanzhong he planned to replace him with Hun Zhen. Zhi objected: "Chuilin deserves death, but the throne is still in exile and the chief rebel remains. Every loyal army sits in the vicinity, and messages must fly without delay. The Shangzhou route is long and round; the Luo Valley lies in enemy hands. Only Baoxie still carries the emperor's word—block that pass and north and south are severed. Every commandery wavers between the two rebels, hearts pulling this way and that. They rally to whichever side seems victorious; not a step dare go wrong. Should Chuilin turn vindictive and bar the southern gate while the great foe presses east, our lifeline is cut and our strength split—how crippling that would be! The emperor understood and treated Chuilin's envoys with kindness and a reassuring edict.
10
德宗至梁，欲以谷口已北從臣賜號曰「奉天定難功臣」，谷口已南隨扈者曰「元從功臣」，不選朝官，一例俱賜。 贄奏曰：「破賊扞難，武臣之效。 至如宮闈近侍，班列員僚，但馳走從行而已，忽與介胄奮命之士，俱號功臣，伏恐武臣憤惋。」 乃止。
At Liangzhou he meant to title everyone north of the valley pass "Ministers Who Quelled Calamity at Fengtian" and everyone south of it "Meritorious Original Followers," granting the honors alike without distinguishing court from camp. Zhi wrote: "Breaking rebels and bearing hardship belong to soldiers. Palace attendants and civil officers merely rode along—yet they would share the soldiers' title of merit. The army would rage. The plan was dropped.
11
李晟既收京城，遣中使宣付翰林院具錄先散失宮人名字，令草詔賜渾瑊，遣於奉天尋訪，以得為限，仍量與資糧送赴行在。 贄不時奉詔，進狀論之曰：
After Li Sheng retook Chang'an, he had the Hanlin record palace women lost in the flight and draft an edict for Hun Zhen to find them around Fengtian and send any found to the court with provisions. Zhi did not draft the edict at once and submitted a memorial arguing against it:
12
帝遂不降詔，但遣使而已。
The emperor set the edict aside and sent envoys only.
13
德宗還京，轉中書舍人，學士如故。 初，贄受張鎰知，得居內職； 及鎰為盧杞所排，贄常憂惴； 及杞貶黜，始敢上書言事。 德宗好文，益深顧遇。 奉天解圍後，德宗言及違離宗廟，嗚咽流涕曰：「致寇之由，實朕之過。」 贄亦流涕而對曰：「臣思致今日之患者，群臣之罪也。」 贄意蓋為盧杞、趙贊等也。 上欲掩杞之失，則曰：「雖朕德薄，致茲禍亂，亦運數前定，事不由人。」 贄又極言杞等罪狀，上雖貌從，心頗不說。 吳通微兄弟俱在翰林，亦承德宗寵遇，文章才器不迨贄； 而能交結權幸，共短贄於上前。 故劉從一、姜公輔自卑品蒼黃之中，皆登輔相； 而贄為朋黨所擠，同職害其能，加以言事激切，動失上之歡心，故久之不為輔相。 其於議論應對，明練理體，敷陳剖判，下筆如神，當時名流，無不推挹。
When Dezong returned to Chang'an, Zhi became Drafting Attendant of the Secretariat while retaining his Hanlin post. Zhi owed his inner-court post to Zhang Yi's patronage; when Qi drove Yi out, Zhi lived in fear; only after Qi's fall did he dare speak freely in memorials. Dezong admired fine writing and favored him all the more. After Fengtian was saved, Dezong wept at having left the ancestral shrines, saying, "The bandits are my own doing." Zhi wept in answer: "The ministers brought today's disaster upon Your Majesty." He meant Lu Qi, Zhao Zan, and their like. Wishing to shield Qi, the emperor said, "My virtue is thin and invited this chaos—but fate had already decreed it; men could not avert it." Zhi again denounced Qi at length. Dezong assented in appearance but took offense. The brothers Wu Tongwei served in the Hanlin and shared the emperor's favor, though their literary gifts fell short of Zhi's; yet they courted the powerful and slandered Zhi before the throne. Thus Liu Congyi and Jiang Gongfu rose from obscurity straight to the highest offices; while Zhi, squeezed by factions and envied by peers, and further estranging the emperor with blunt counsel, long went without the premiership. In debate and reply he was lucid and principled; in memorials his pen seemed inspired; contemporaries unanimously revered him.
14
貞元初，李抱真入朝，從容奏曰：「陛下幸奉天、山南時，赦書至山東，宣諭之時，士卒無不感泣。 臣即時見人情如此，知賊不足平也。」
Early in Zhenyuan, Li Baozhen came to court and said calmly: "When Your Majesty was at Fengtian and Shannan, the amnesty reaching Shandong moved every soldier to tears at its reading. I saw men's hearts then and knew the rebels could not endure."
15
時贄母韋氏在江東，上遣中使迎至京師，搢紳榮之。 俄丁母憂，東歸洛陽，寓居嵩山豐樂寺。 籓鎮賻贈及別陳餉遺，一無所取。 與韋臯布衣時相善，唯西川致遺，奏而受之。 贄父初葬蘇州，至是欲合葬。 上遣中使護其柩車至洛，其禮遇如此。 免喪，權知兵部侍郎，依前充學士。 申謝日，贄伏地而泣，德宗為之改容敘慰。 恩遇既隆，中外屬意為輔弼，而宰相竇參素忌贄，贄亦短參之所為，言參黷貨，由是與參不平。
Zhi's mother Lady Wei was still in the lower Yangtze; the emperor sent eunuchs to bring her to the capital, to the envy of the court. Soon after he began mourning for her, went east to Luoyang, and lived at Fengle Temple on Mount Song. He accepted no condolence gifts from the provinces nor any private offerings. Only Wei Gao of Xichuan, an old friend from commoner days, might send gifts—and then only after Zhi reported them and was told to accept. His father had been buried first in Suzhou; he now wished to reinter him beside his mother. The emperor sent eunuchs to escort the coffin to Luoyang—such was the honor shown him. After his mourning period he served as acting Vice Minister of War and retained his Hanlin post. When he came to offer thanks, Zhi fell prostrate and wept; the emperor softened his face and comforted him. Favor ran high and the court expected him for the premiership, but Dou Can had long envied him; Zhi in turn denounced Can's corruption, and the two were estranged.
16
七年，罷學士，正拜兵部侍郎，知貢舉。 時崔元翰、梁肅文藝冠時，贄輸心於肅。 肅與元翰推薦藝實之士，升第之日，雖眾望不愜，然一歲選士，才十四五，數年之內，居臺省清近者十余人。
In year 7 he left the Hanlin, was confirmed as Vice Minister of War, and supervised the metropolitan examinations. Cui Yuanhan and Liang Su then led the literary world; Zhi aligned himself closely with Liang Su. Su and Yuanhan advanced men of real ability. Public opinion grumbled at one year's thin harvest—only fourteen or fifteen passed—but within a few years more than ten of them sat in the Censorate and the inner secretariat.
17
八年四月，竇參得罪，以贄為中書侍郎、門下同平章事。 贄久為邪黨所擠，困而得位，意在不負恩獎，悉心報國，以天下事為己任。 上即位之初，用楊炎、盧杞秉政，樹立朋黨，排擯良善，卒致天下沸騰，鑾輿奔播。 懲是之失，貞元已後，雖立輔臣，至於小官除擬，上必再三詳問，久之方下。 及贄知政事，請許臺省長官自薦屬官，仍保任之，事有曠敗，兼坐舉主。 上許之，俄又宣旨曰：「外議云：『諸司所舉，多引用親黨，兼通賂遺，不得實才。』 此法行之非便，今後卿等宜自選擇，勿用諸司延薦。」 贄論奏曰：
In the fourth month of year 8, when Dou Can fell, Zhi was appointed Vice Director of the Secretariat and Associate Chief Minister. Long shut out by hostile factions, he at last reached office in adversity, resolved to repay the throne's trust, serve the state with all his heart, and shoulder the empire's business as his own. Early in Dezong's reign Yang Yan and Lu Qi held power, built factions, and drove out the worthy until the empire boiled over and the court fled. Learning from that disaster, after Zhenyuan he still named chief ministers—but even petty appointments were questioned again and again before an order went out. Once in power Zhi proposed that bureau chiefs recommend their own subordinates under guarantee: if a nominee failed in office, the recommender would share the blame. The emperor agreed, then soon announced: "Critics say bureau recommendations favor kin and cronies and trade in bribes, so true talent is lost. This method will not do. Hereafter choose your own men—do not rely on bureau referrals." Zhi argued in a memorial:
18
上雖嘉其所陳，長官薦士之詔，竟追寢之。
Though the emperor praised his reasoning, the recommendation edict was withdrawn.
19
國朝舊制，吏部選人，每年調集。 自乾元已後，屬宿兵於野。 歲或兇荒，遂三年一置選。 由是選人停擁，其數猥多，文書不接，真偽難辨，吏緣為奸，註授乖濫，而有十年不得調者。 贄奏吏部分內外官員為三分，計闕集人，每年置選。 故選司之弊，十去七八，天下稱之。
Under former usage the Ministry of Personnel convened candidates annually. After Qianyuan, with armies camped in the field, famine years led to holding the selection only once every three years. Candidates then backed up in vast numbers; records failed to match; clerks grew corrupt; appointments went awry; some men waited ten years without a posting. Zhi had the ministry divide civil posts into three tiers, tally vacancies, and restore annual selection. Seven or eight tenths of the selection office's abuses vanished, and the empire applauded.
20
贄與賈耽、盧邁、趙憬同知政事，百司有所申覆，皆更讓不言可否。 舊例，宰臣當旬，秉筆決事，每十日一易，贄請準故事，令秉筆者以應之。 又以河隴陷蕃已來，西北邊常以重兵守備，謂之防秋，皆河南、江淮諸鎮之軍也，更番往來，疲於戍役。 贄以中原之兵，不習邊事，及扞虜戰賊，多有敗衄，又苦邊將名目太多，諸軍統制不一，緩急無以應敵，乃上疏論其事曰：
Serving with Jia Dan, Lu Mai, and Zhao Jing, Zhi joined in governing; when ministries submitted business for review, each minister deferred to the next and none would say yea or nay. By custom the chief minister on duty held the brush and decided cases, rotating every ten days; Zhi asked to restore that practice. Since Hexi and Longyou fell to Tibet, the northwest relied on "autumn defense"—troops rotated from the Huai and the Yellow River south, worn out by endless garrison tours. Central armies, unused to frontier war, often broke against barbarians and rebels; too many frontier commanders divided control; in crisis no one could respond—so Zhi memorialized at length:
21
德宗極深嘉納，優詔褒獎之。
Dezong warmly approved and issued a commendatory edict.
22
贄在中書，政不便於時者，多所條奏。 德宗雖不能皆可，而心頗重之。 初，竇參既貶郴州，節度使劉士寧餉參絹數千匹。 湖南觀察使李巽與參有隙，具事奏聞，德宗不悅。 會右庶子姜公輔於上前聞奏，稱「竇參嘗語臣云：陛下怒臣未已」，德宗怒，再貶參，竟殺之。 時議雲公輔奏竇參語得之於贄，雲參之死，贄有力焉。 又素惡於公異、於邵，既輔政而逐之，談者亦以為厄。
In the Secretariat Zhi repeatedly memorialized on policies that ill suited the age. Dezong could not accept every proposal, yet valued him deeply. After Dou Can was banished to Chenzhou, Liu Shining, his military governor, sent him thousands of bolts of silk. Li Xun of Hunan, Can's enemy, reported the gift; Dezong took offense. Jiang Gongfu then told the throne that Can had said, "The Emperor's wrath against me is not spent." Dezong raged, demoted Can again, and finally had him executed. Gossip held that Jiang Gongfu's testimony came from Zhi and that Zhi had helped bring about Can's death. He had long feuded with Gongyi and Yu Shao; once in power he expelled them—another mark against him in rumor.
23
戶部侍郎、判度支裴延齡，奸宄用事，天下嫉之如仇。 以得幸於天子，無敢言者。 贄獨以身當之，屢於延英面陳其不可，累上疏極言其弊。 延齡日加譖毀。 十年十二月，除太子賓客，罷知政事。 贄性畏慎，及策免私居，朝謁之外，不通賓客，無所過從。 十一年春，旱，邊軍芻粟不給，具事論訴； 延齡言贄與張滂、李充等搖動軍情，語在《延齡傳》。 德宗怒，將誅贄等四人，會諫議大夫陽城等極言論奏，乃貶贄為忠州別駕。
Pei Yanling, Vice Minister of Revenue and fiscal commissioner, was a corrupt manipulator whom the empire hated like a foe. Favored by the emperor, he went largely unchallenged. Zhi alone stood against him, arguing repeatedly in Yanying Hall and flooding the throne with memorials on his abuses. Yanling daily slandered him the more. In the twelfth month of year 10 he was made Crown Prince Guest and removed from government. Cautious by nature, after his dismissal he saw no one beyond required audiences. In spring of year 11 drought struck; frontier troops lacked fodder and grain and petitioned in distress; Yanling accused Zhi, Zhang Pang, and Li Chong of stirring the armies—the account is in Yanling's biography. Dezong would have executed Zhi and three others, but Yang Cheng and other remonstrators protested fiercely; Zhi was banished instead as assistant administrator of Zhongzhou.
24
贄初入翰林，特承德宗異顧，歌詩戲狎，朝夕陪遊。 及出居艱阻之中，雖有宰臣，而謀猷參決，多出於贄，故當時目為「內相」。 從幸山南，道途艱險，扈從不及，與帝相失，一夕不至，上喻軍士曰：「得贄者賞千金。」 翌日贄謁見，上喜形顏色，其寵待如此。 既與二吳不協，漸加浸潤，恩禮稍薄； 及通玄敗，上知誣枉，遂復見用。 贄以受人主殊遇，不敢愛身，事有不可，極言無隱。 朋友規之，以為太峻，贄曰：「吾上不負天子，下不負吾所學，不恤其他。」 精於吏事，斟酌決斷，不失錙銖。 嘗以「詞詔所出，中書舍人之職，軍興之際，促迫應務，權令學士代之； 朝野乂寧，合歸職分，其命將相制詔，卻付中書行譴。」 又言「學士私臣，玄宗初令待詔，止於唱和文章而已」。 物議是之。 德宗以贄指斥通微、通玄，故不可其奏。
Entering the Hanlin, Zhi enjoyed Dezong's special favor—verses, banter, constant companionship. In the flight from Chang'an, though titular chief ministers remained, strategy flowed from Zhi; men called him the "inner prime minister." On the road to Shannan he fell behind the escort and missed the emperor for a night; Dezong told the troops, "A thousand in gold to whoever finds Zhi." The next day Zhi appeared; the emperor's delight showed on his face—such was his standing. After he fell out with the Wu brothers, slander seeped in and imperial warmth cooled; when Wu Tongxuan fell, the emperor saw the injustice and restored him. Honored by the throne, he would not spare himself; where policy erred he spoke without reserve. Friends warned him he was too harsh; Zhi said, "I owe the emperor my loyalty and my learning my integrity—that is enough." He mastered administration, weighing every decision to the last grain. He argued that edicts belonged to the Secretariat drafters; in wartime Hanlin scholars had substituted only as an emergency measure; in peace they should return to their posts, and appointments of generals and ministers should go through the Secretariat again." Hanlin scholars were private retainers; Xuanzong first meant them only for literary companionship." Opinion sided with him. Dezong rejected the proposal because it targeted the Wu brothers.
25
贄在忠州十年，常閉關靜處，人不識其面，復避謗，不著書。 家居瘴鄉，人多癘疫，乃抄撮方書，為《陸氏集驗方》五十卷，行於代。 初，贄秉政，貶駕部員外郎李吉甫為明州長史，量移忠州刺史。 贄在忠州，與吉甫相遇，昆弟、門人鹹為贄憂，而吉甫忻然厚禮，都不銜前事，以宰相禮事之，猶恐其未信不安，日與贄相狎，若平生交契者。 贄初猶慚懼，後乃深交。 時論以吉甫為長者。 後有薛延者，代吉甫為刺史，延朝辭日，德宗令宣旨慰安。 而韋臯累上表請以贄代己。 順宗即位，與陽城、鄭余慶同詔征還。 詔未至而贄卒，時年五十二，贈兵部尚書，謚曰宣。
For ten years at Zhongzhou he lived behind closed gates, unknown by sight, shunning controversy and publishing nothing. In that malarial country he compiled fifty scrolls of the Lu Clan Collected Verified Prescriptions, which circulated widely. While in power he had demoted Li Jifu to a distant post, later shifting him to prefect of Zhongzhou. At Zhongzhou Zhi met Jifu; friends feared revenge, but Jifu received him with lavish courtesy, never mentioning the past, treating him like a chief minister and daily seeking his company as of old. Zhi was wary at first, then came to trust him deeply. Men praised Jifu as magnanimous. When Xue Yan succeeded Jifu as prefect, Dezong sent a comforting edict on his departure. Wei Gao of Xichuan repeatedly asked the throne to recall Zhi in his stead. Shunzong's accession brought edicts recalling Zhi with Yang Cheng and Zheng Yuqing. Before the summons reached him Zhi died at fifty-two, posthumously honored as Minister of War with the posthumous name Xuan.
26
子簡禮，登進士第，累辟使府。 【史評】史臣曰：近代論陸宣公，比漢之賈誼，而高邁之行，剛正之節，經國成務之要，激切仗義之心，初蒙天子重知，末塗淪躓，皆相類也。 而誼止中大夫，贄及臺鉉，不為不遇矣。 昔公孫鞅挾三策說秦王，淳于髡以隱語見齊君，從古以還，正言不易。 昔周昭戒急論議，正為此也。 贄居珥筆之列，調飪之地，欲以片心除眾弊，獨手遏群邪，君上不亮其誠，群小共攻其短，欲無放逐，其可得乎！ 《詩》稱「其維哲人，告之話言」，又有「誨爾」、「聽我」之恨，此皆賢人君子，嘆言不見用也。 故堯咨禹拜，千載一時，攜手提耳，豈容易哉！ 【贊】贊曰：良臣悟主，我有嘉猷。 多僻之君，為善不周。 忠言救失，啟沃曰讎。 勿貽天問，蒼昊悠悠。
His son Lu Jianli took the jinshi and served repeatedly in provincial staffs. [Historian's appraisal] The annalist writes: Later ages compare Lord Xuan of Lu to Han's Jia Yi—alike in noble bearing, upright spine, statecraft, and fierce loyalty, alike in early favor and final ruin. Yet Yi rose only to Grand Master of the Palace while Zhi reached the highest office—hardly ill treated. Gongsun Yang pleaded three reforms to Qin; Chunyu Kun spoke in riddles to Qi—from antiquity frank counsel has been hard. King Zhao of Zhou warned against rash speech for the same reason. Zhi sat where edicts were drafted, wanting one loyal heart to cure a hundred ills and one hand to hold back a host of villains; the throne did not see his sincerity, petty men assailed his faults—exile was inevitable. The Book of Odes praises the wise man who hears plain speech and mourns those who refuse "I teach you" and "hearken to me"—the sigh of sages unused. When Yao questioned and Yu bowed, the age saw such trust once; to lead by the hand and speak at the ear is no easy thing. [Appraisal] Appraisal: The worthy minister enlightens his ruler; I offer good counsel. A perverse sovereign does not finish what is right. Loyal speech repairs error; frank admonition is named hostility. Do not leave Heaven unanswered—azure Heaven stretches endless and remote.