1
李訓，肅宗時宰相揆之族孫也。 始名仲言。 進士擢第。 形貌魁梧，神情灑落； 辭敏智捷，善揣人意。 寶歷中，從父逢吉為宰相，以訓陰險善計事，愈親厚之。 初與茅匯等欲中傷李程，及武昭事發，訓坐長流嶺表，會赦得還。 丁母憂，居洛中。
Li Xun was a collateral descendant of Li Kui, a chancellor under Emperor Suzong. He had originally been named Zhongyan. He earned his jinshi degree. He was tall and imposing in appearance, with an easy, unforced manner; quick of speech and sharp of mind, and adept at divining what others were thinking. During the Baoli era, his cousin Li Fengji was chancellor. Fengji found Xun devious but skilled at intrigue, and drew ever closer to him. He had first joined Mao Hui and others in a plot to destroy Li Cheng. When the Wuzhao affair erupted, Xun was sentenced to long exile in Lingnan, but returned when a general amnesty was proclaimed. After his mother's death he went into mourning and lived in Luoyang.
2
時逢吉為留守，思復為宰相，且深怨裴度，居常憤郁不樂。 訓揣知其意，即以奇計動之。 自言與鄭註善，逢吉以為然，遺訓金帛珍寶數百萬，令持入長安，以賂註。 註得賂甚悅，乘間薦於中尉王守澄，乃以註之藥術，訓之《易》道，合薦於文宗。 守澄以訓缞粗，難入禁中。 帝令訓戎服，號王山人，與註入內。 帝見其指趣，甚奇之。 及訓釋服，在京師。 太和八年，自流人補四門助教，召入內殿，面賜緋魚。 其年十月，遷國子《周易》博士，充翰林侍講學士。 入院日，賜宴，宣法曲弟子二十人就院奏法曲以寵之。 兩省諫官伏閣切諫，言訓奸邪，海內聞知，不宜令侍宸扆，終不聽。
Fengji was then military commissioner at Luoyang. He longed to return to the chancellorship and bore a deep grudge against Pei Du, and was habitually bitter and ill at ease. Xun read his mind and roused him with an extraordinary stratagem. He said he was close to Zheng Zhu. Fengji believed him and sent Xun millions in gold, silk, and jewels to carry into Chang'an and bribe Zhu. Zhu was delighted with the gift. He seized a chance to recommend them to the chief eunuch Wang Shoucheng, citing Zhu's medical skill and Xun's mastery of the Book of Changes, and together they were presented to Emperor Wenzong. Shoucheng felt that Xun's mourning dress was too rough for admission to the inner palace. The emperor had Xun put on military dress, gave him the sobriquet Master Wang the Recluse, and admitted him to the palace with Zhu. The emperor was struck by the direction of his mind and found him remarkable. When Xun left mourning, he remained in the capital. In the eighth year of Taihe (834), he was restored from exile to serve as assistant instructor at the Four Gates Academy, summoned to the inner hall, and personally given scarlet robes and the fish tally of office. That October he was made Doctor of the Book of Changes at the Imperial University and Hanlin attendant lecturer. On the day he entered the Hanlin, the emperor gave a banquet and sent twenty performers of court music to the academy to play in his honor. Censors from both provincial offices knelt at the gate and protested urgently that Xun was treacherous and infamous throughout the empire, and unfit to attend the throne. The emperor would not heed them.
3
文宗性守正嫉惡，以宦者權寵太過，繼為禍胎，元和末弒逆之徒尚在左右，雖外示優假，心不堪之。 思欲芟落本根，以雪讎恥，九重深處，難與將相明言。 前與侍講宋申錫謀。 謀之不臧，幾成反噬，自是巷伯尤橫。 因鄭註得幸守澄，俾之援訓，冀黃門之不疑也。 訓既在翰林，解《易》之際，或語及巷伯事，則再三憤激，以動上心。 以其言論縱橫，謂其必能成事，遂以真誠謀於訓、註。 自是二人寵幸，言無不從； 而深秘之謀，往往流聞於外。 上慮中人猜慮，乃疏《易》義六條，示於百辟，有能出訓之意者賞之，蓋欲知上以師友寵之。 九年七月，改兵部郎中、知制誥，充翰林學士。 九月，遷禮部侍郎、同平章事，仍賜金紫之服。 詔以平章之暇，三五日一入翰林。
Emperor Wenzong was upright by nature and hated wickedness. He believed the eunuchs had been granted too much power and favor, a source of coming disaster; the murderers of late Yuanhe still stood at his side. Though he treated them with outward indulgence, inwardly he could not endure them. He wished to uproot them and wash away the shame, but deep within the palace he could hardly speak openly with his chancellors and generals. He had earlier conspired with the attendant lecturer Song Shenxi. The plot miscarried and nearly recoiled upon him. From that time the eunuchs grew still more arrogant. Because Zheng Zhu had won Shoucheng's favor, Zhu was set to back Xun, so that the eunuch establishment would not grow suspicious. Once Xun was in the Hanlin, whenever he lectured on the Changes he would sometimes speak of the eunuchs and grow repeatedly impassioned, moving the emperor's heart. His speech was bold and sweeping, and the emperor judged that he could surely bring the matter off. He then confided his true design to Xun and Zhu. From then on the two were favored and their every word was obeyed; yet their most secret designs often leaked to the outside world. Fearing the eunuchs' suspicion, the emperor published six theses on the meaning of the Changes and showed them to the court, promising a reward to whoever could divine Xun's meaning—so that all would know the emperor cherished him as teacher and friend. In the seventh month of the ninth year (835) he was made director in the Ministry of War, given charge of drafting edicts, and appointed Hanlin academician. In the ninth month he was made vice minister of rites and associate chief councilor, and was granted the gold-purple robes of high office. He was ordered to visit the Hanlin every few days when free from council duties.
4
訓既秉權衡，即謀誅內豎。 中官陳弘慶者，自元和末負弒逆之名，忠義之士無不扼腕。 時為襄陽監軍，乃召自漢南，至青泥驛，遣人封杖決殺。 王守澄自長慶已來知樞密，典禁軍，作威作福。 訓既作相，以守澄為六軍十二衛觀軍容使，罷其禁旅之權，尋賜鴆殺之。 訓愈承恩顧，每別殿奏對，他宰相莫不順成其言，黃門禁軍迎拜戢斂。 訓本以纖達，門庭趨附之士，率皆狂怪險異之流。 時亦能取正人偉望，以鎮人心。 天下之人，有冀訓以致太平者，不獨人主惑其言。
Once Xun held the chancellorship, he immediately plotted to kill the palace eunuchs. The eunuch Chen Hongqing had borne the stigma of regicide since late Yuanhe, and every loyal man gnashed his teeth at him. He was then military overseer at Xiangyang. Xun summoned him from south of the Han and, at Qingni Post, had him beaten to death with the sealed staff. Wang Shoucheng had controlled the secretariat and commanded the palace armies since the Changqing era, making power and dispensing favors at will. Once Xun was chancellor he made Shoucheng commissioner for observing the Six Armies and Twelve Guards, stripped him of the palace armies, and soon had him poisoned. Xun grew ever more favored. Whenever he reported separately in a side hall, the other chancellors assented to his every word, and the eunuchs and palace guards bowed before him in submission. Xun was slight and penetrating by nature, and those who thronged his gate were mostly wild, eccentric, and dangerous men. At times he also drew upright men of great standing to steady public opinion. Throughout the realm there were those who hoped Xun would bring peace—not the emperor alone was taken in by his words.
5
訓雖為鄭註引用，及祿位俱大，勢不兩立； 托以中外應赴之謀，出註為鳳翔節度使。 俟誅內豎，即兼圖註。 約以其年十一月誅中官，須假兵力，乃以大理卿郭行余為邠寧節度使，戶部尚書王璠為太原節度使，京兆少尹羅立言權知大尹事，太府卿韓約為金吾街使，刑部郎中知雜李孝本權知中丞事，皆訓之親厚者。 冀王璠、郭行余未赴鎮間，廣令召募豪俠及金吾臺府之從者，俾集其事。
Though Xun had risen through Zheng Zhu's patronage, once both held high rank they could not coexist; and on the pretext of a plan requiring inside and outside the court to act in concert, he sent Zhu out as military commissioner of Fengxiang. He meant, once the palace eunuchs were killed, to deal with Zhu as well. They fixed the eleventh month of that year to kill the eunuchs and needed outside troops. Xun therefore appointed Guo Xingyu, chief justice of Dali, military commissioner of Binning; Wang Fan, minister of revenue, military commissioner of Taiyuan; Luo Liyan, vice prefect of Jingzhao, acting metropolitan prefect; Han Yue, grand steward of the imperial treasury, street commissioner of the Gold Crow Guard; and Li Xiaoben, director in the Ministry of Punishments with charge of miscellaneous business, acting censor-in-chief—all his close allies. He hoped that before Wang Fan and Guo Xingyu left for their posts he could widely recruit bold adventurers and followers of the Gold Crow Guard and the censorate to assemble for the deed.
6
是月二十一日，帝御紫宸。 班定，韓約不報平安，奏曰：「金吾左仗院石榴樹，夜來有甘露，臣已進狀訖。」 乃蹈舞再拜。 宰相百官相次稱賀。 李訓奏曰：「甘露降祥，俯在宮禁。 陛下宜親幸左仗觀之。」 班退，上乘軟舁出紫宸門，由含元殿東階升殿，宰相侍臣分立於副階，文武兩班，列於殿前。 上令宰相兩省官先往視之。 既還，曰：「臣等恐非真甘露，不敢輕言。 言出，四方必稱賀也。」 上曰：「韓約妄耶？」 乃令左右軍中尉、樞密內臣往視之。
On the twenty-first day of that month the emperor held court in the Hall of Purple Serenity. When the ranks were set, Han Yue, instead of reporting all secure, memorialized: "On the pomegranate tree in the left courtyard of the Gold Crow Guard, sweet dew appeared in the night. I have already submitted a report. He then danced and bowed twice in celebration. The chancellors and officials offered congratulations in turn. Li Xun memorialized: "Sweet dew has descended as an auspice within the palace precincts. Your Majesty should go in person to the left guard courtyard to see it. Court was dismissed. The emperor rode a palanquin out through the Zichen Gate, ascended the eastern steps of Hanyuan Hall, with chancellors and attendants on the secondary steps and the civil and military ranks arrayed before the hall. The emperor ordered the chancellors and officials of both provincial offices to go first and inspect it. When they returned they said: "We fear it may not be true sweet dew and dare not speak lightly. Once we speak, the whole realm will surely offer congratulations. The emperor said: "Has Han Yue lied?" He then ordered the chief eunuchs of the Left and Right Armies and the secretariat eunuchs to go and inspect it.
7
既去，訓召王璠、郭行余曰：「來受敕旨！」 璠恐悚不能前，行余獨拜殿下。 時兩鎮官健，皆執兵在丹鳳門外，訓已令召之，唯璠從兵入，邠寧兵竟不至。 中尉、樞密至左仗，聞幕下有兵聲，驚恐走出。 閽者欲扃鎖之，為中人所叱，執關而不能下。 內官回奏，韓約氣懾汗流，不能舉首。 中官謂之曰：「將軍何及此耶？」 又奏曰：「事急矣，請陛下入內。」 即舉軟輿迎帝。 訓殿上呼曰：「金吾衛士上殿來，護乘輿者，人賞百千。」 內官決殿後罘罳，舉輿疾趨。 訓攀呼曰：「陛下不得入內。」 金吾衛士數十人，隨訓而入。 羅立言率府中從人自東來，李孝本率臺中從人自西來，共四百余人，上殿縱擊內官，死傷者數十人。 訓時愈急，邐迤入宣政門。 帝瞋目叱訓，內官郤誌榮奮拳擊其胸，訓即僵仆於地。 帝入東上閣門，門即闔，內官呼萬歲者數四。 須臾，內官率禁兵五百人，露刃出閣門，遇人即殺。 宰相王涯、賈餗、舒元輿、方中書會食，聞難出走，諸司從吏死者六七百人。
After they had gone, Xun summoned Wang Fan and Guo Xingyu and said: "Come receive the imperial command! Fan was terrified and could not advance. Xingyu alone bowed below the steps. The soldiers of the two commands were armed outside Danfeng Gate. Xun had already ordered them summoned, but only Fan's followers entered; the Binning troops never came. The chief eunuchs and secretariat men reached the left guard courtyard, heard armed men beneath the curtain, and fled in alarm. The gatekeepers tried to bolt the gate but were shouted down by the eunuchs; they held the bar but could not drop it. The eunuchs returned to report. Han Yue was trembling and streaming with sweat and could not raise his head. A eunuch said to him: "General, how could you come to this? They also reported: "The matter is urgent. We beg Your Majesty to enter the inner palace." They at once raised the palanquin to receive the emperor. Xun shouted from the hall: "Gold Crow guards, come up to the hall! Whoever protects the palanquin shall receive a hundred thousand in reward. The eunuchs cut through the rear screen of the hall, raised the palanquin, and hurried away. Xun clung to the palanquin and shouted: "Your Majesty must not enter the inner palace. Several dozen Gold Crow guards followed Xun inside. Luo Liyan led more than four hundred followers from the prefectural office from the east, and Li Xiaoben led followers from the censorate from the west. They mounted the hall and struck at the eunuchs; several dozen were killed or wounded. Xun grew ever more frantic and wound his way into the Xuanzheng Gate. The emperor glared and rebuked him. The eunuch Chi Zhirong struck his chest, and Xun collapsed to the ground. The emperor entered the eastern upper palace gate. The gate closed at once, and the eunuchs shouted "Long live the emperor!" four times. Before long the eunuchs led five hundred palace troops with bared blades out through the gate and killed whomever they met. The chancellors Wang Ya, Jia Su, and Shu Yuanyu were dining at the Secretariat when they heard of the crisis and fled. Attendants of the various offices who died numbered six or seven hundred.
8
是日，訓中拳而仆，知事不濟，乃單騎走入終南山，投寺僧宗密。 訓與宗密素善，欲剃其發匿之。 從者止之，乃趨鳳翔，欲依鄭註。 出山，為盩厔鎮將宗楚所得，械送京師。 至昆明池，訓恐入軍別受搒掠，乃謂兵士曰：「所在有兵，得我者即富貴，不如持我首行，免被奪取。」 乃斬訓，持首而行。
That day, after Xun was struck down, knowing the plot had failed, he rode alone into the Zhongnan Mountains and sought out the monk Zongmi. Xun had long been friendly with Zongmi and wished to shave his head and hide him. His followers stopped him, and he hurried to Fengxiang intending to rely on Zheng Zhu. When he came out of the mountains he was seized by Zong Chu, garrison commander of Zhouzhi, and sent to the capital in chains. At Kunming Pool, Xun feared that in the army camp he would be beaten and robbed by others, and said to the soldiers: "Wherever there are troops, whoever captures me will grow rich. You had better carry my head, lest another take me from you. They beheaded Xun and went carrying his head.
9
訓弟仲景、再從弟戶部員外郎元臯，皆伏法。
Xun's younger brother Zhongjian and his second cousin Yuan Gao, an outside director in the Ministry of Revenue, were both executed.
10
仇士良以宗密容李訓，遺人縛入左軍，責以不告之罪。 將殺之，宗密怡然曰：「貧僧識訓年深，亦知反叛。 然本師教法，遇苦即救，不愛身命，死固甘心。」 中尉魚弘誌嘉之，奏釋其罪。
Qiu Shiliang, because Zongmi had sheltered Li Xun, sent men to bind him and bring him into the Left Army, charging him with failing to report the crime. When they were about to kill him, Zongmi said calmly: "This poor monk has known Xun for many years and knew he was rebelling. Yet by my master's teaching, when one meets suffering one must rescue. I do not cherish my life, and I am wholly willing to die. The chief eunuch Yu Hongzhi praised him and memorialized to release him from punishment.
11
鄭注，絳州翼城人，始以藥術遊長安權豪之門。 本姓魚，冒姓鄭氏，故時號魚鄭。 注用事時，人目之為「水族」。
Zheng Zhu was from Yicheng in Jiangzhou. He first made his way among the great houses of Chang'an through medical arts. His original surname was Yu, but he took the surname Zheng, and so at the time he was called Fish-Zheng. When Zhu held power, people called his faction the "Aquatic Clan."
12
元和十三年，李愬為襄陽節度使，注往依之。 愬得其藥力，因厚遇之，署為節度衙推。 從愬移鎮徐州，又為職事，軍政可否，醖與之參決。 注詭辯陰狡，善探人意旨，與愬籌謀，未嘗不中其意。 然挾邪任數，專作威福，軍府患之。 時王守澄監徐軍，深怒注。 一日，以軍情患注白於愬。 愬曰：「彼雖如此，實奇才也。 將軍試與之語； 茍不如旨，去未為晚」愬即令謁監軍。 守澄初有難色，及延坐與語，機辯縱衡，盡中其意，遂延於內室，促膝投分，恨相見之晚。 翌日，守澄謂愬曰：「誠如公言，實奇士也。」 自是出入守澄之門，都無限隔。 愬署為巡官，齒於賓席。
In the thirteenth year of Yuanhe (818), Li Su was military commissioner of Xiangyang, and Zhu went to serve him. Su benefited from his medicines and treated him generously, appointing him military staff assessor. When Su was transferred to Xuzhou, Zhu went with him and again held office. On military and civil matters he was always consulted in the decision. Zhu was sophistical and secretly cunning, skilled at reading others' intentions. In planning with Su he never failed to suit his mind. Yet he relied on wicked stratagems and monopolized power and favors, and the military headquarters resented him. At that time Wang Shoucheng oversaw the Xuzhou army and deeply hated Zhu. One day he reported to Su that the army was troubled by Zhu. Su said: "Though he is like this, he is truly a rare talent. General, try speaking with him; if he does not suit your mind, sending him away will not be too late." Su at once ordered him to call on the military overseer. Shoucheng at first looked displeased, but when he seated Zhu and spoke with him, Zhu's wit ranged freely and wholly won him over. He brought Zhu into an inner room, sat knee to knee, and swore friendship, regretting they had met so late. The next day Shoucheng said to Su: "It is truly as you said—he is a rare talent. From then on he came and went at Shoucheng's gate without restriction. Su appointed him touring officer and gave him a place among the guests.
13
及守澄入知樞密，當長慶、寶歷之際，國政多專於守澄。 注晝伏夜動，交通賂遺。 初則讒邪奸巧之徒附之以圖進取； 數年之後，達僚權臣，爭湊其門。 累從山東、京西諸軍，歷衛佐、評事、御史，又檢校庫部郎中，為昭義節度副使。 既以陰事誣陷宋申錫，守道正人，始側目焉。
When Shoucheng took charge of the secretariat, during the Changqing and Baoli reigns state affairs were largely in his hands. Zhu lay low by day and stirred by night, trafficking in bribes and gifts. At first slanderous, wicked, and crafty men attached themselves to him to seek advancement; after several years, high officials and powerful ministers all crowded his gate. He repeatedly followed armies in Shandong and west of the capital, serving as guard aide, reviewer, and censor, and was also acting director in the Ministry of Treasury and deputy military commissioner of Zhaoyi. Once he had framed Song Shenxi on a secret charge, upright men who upheld the Way began to look askance at him.
14
太和七年，罷邠寧行軍司馬，入京師。 御史李款閣內彈之曰：「鄭注內通敕使，外結朝官，兩地往來，卜射財貨，晝伏夜動，幹竊化權。 人不敢言，道路以目。 請付法司。」 旬日內，諫章十數，文宗不納。 尋授注通王府司馬，充右神策判官，中外駭嘆。 八年九月，注進藥方一卷，令守澄召注對浴堂門，賜錦彩。 召對之夕，彗出東方，長三尺，光耀甚緊。 其年十二月，拜太僕卿、兼御史大夫。
In the seventh year of Taihe (833) he was dismissed as marching commander of Binning and entered the capital. The censor Li Kuan impeached him within the gate, saying: "Zheng Zhu communicates inward with edict-bearers and outward binds court officials. Between the two realms he goes back and forth, seizing wealth, lying low by day and stirring by night, usurping transforming power. People dare not speak; on the road they signal with their eyes alone. I beg that he be handed to the judicial offices. Within ten days more than a dozen remonstrance memorials arrived; Emperor Wenzong would not accept them. Soon Zhu was appointed staff marshal to the Prince of Tong and judge of the Right Divine Strategy Army; court and countryside were appalled. In the ninth month of the eighth year (834) Zhu presented a volume of medical formulas. Shoucheng was ordered to summon Zhu for audience at the Bath Hall gate and grant him brocade. On the night of the audience a comet appeared in the east, three feet long, its light very intense. In the twelfth month of that year he was appointed grand master of stud and concurrent censor-in-chief.
15
注起第善和裏，通於永巷，長廊復壁。 日聚京師輕薄子弟、方鎮將吏，以招權利。 間日入禁軍，與守澄款密，語必移時，或通夕不寐。 李訓既附注以進，承間入謁； 而輕浮躁進者，盈於注門。 九年八月，遷工部尚書，充翰林侍講學士。 召自九仙門，帝面賜告身。 時李訓已在禁庭，二人相洽，日侍君側，講貫太平之術，以為朝夕可致升平。 兩奸合從，天子益惑其說。 是時，訓、注之權，赫於天下。 既得行其志，生平恩仇，絲毫必報。 因楊虞卿之獄，挾忌李宗閔、李德裕，心所惡者，目為二人之黨。 朝士相繼斥逐，班列為之一空，人人惴栗，若崩厥角。 帝微知之，下詔慰諭，人情稍安。
Zhu built a mansion in Shanhe Lane, connected to the Eternal Lane, with long corridors and double walls. Daily he gathered frivolous young men of the capital and generals and officials of the provinces to draw power and profit. Every few days he entered the palace armies and spoke intimately with Shoucheng. Their talk always lasted a long while, sometimes the whole night without sleep. Li Xun, having attached himself to Zhu to advance, seized opportunities to call on him; and frivolous, rash climbers filled Zhu's gate. In the eighth month of the ninth year (835) he was transferred to minister of works and appointed Hanlin attendant lecturer. He was summoned from the Nine Immortals Gate and the emperor personally granted him his commission of office. At that time Li Xun was already in the inner court. The two were in harmony, daily attending the ruler's side, lecturing on the arts of great peace, believing that order could be brought in a morning and an evening. The two villains joined forces, and the Son of Heaven was ever more beguiled by their words. At that time the power of Xun and Zhu blazed throughout the realm. Once they could carry out their will, every favor and grudge of their lives was repaid to the last thread. Using the case of Yang Yuqing, they bore malice toward Li Zongmin and Li Deyu. Whoever they hated they labeled a partisan of the two. Court officials were driven out one after another. The ranks were emptied, and every man trembled in fear as if the sky were falling. The emperor slightly understood this and issued an edict of comfort and instruction. Popular feeling grew somewhat calmer.
16
訓、注天資狂妄，偷合茍容，至於經略謀猷，無可稱者。 初浴堂召對，上訪以富人之術，乃以榷茶為對。 其法，欲以江湖百姓茶園，官自造作，量給直分，命使者主之。 帝惑其言，乃命王涯兼榷茶使。 又言秦中有災，宜興工役以禳之。 文宗能詩，嘗吟杜甫《江頭篇》云：「江頭宮殿鎖千門，細柳新蒲為誰綠？」 始知天寶已前，環曲江四岸，有樓臺行宮廨署，心切慕之。 既得注言，即命左右神策軍差人淘曲江、昆明二池，仍許公卿士大夫之家於江頭立亭館，以時追賞。 時兩軍造紫雲樓、彩霞亭，內出樓額以賜之。 注言無不從，皆此類也。
Xun and Zhu were arrogant by nature and clung together in unprincipled accommodation. As for grand strategy and counsel, there was nothing to praise. At the first Bath Hall audience the emperor inquired about methods to enrich the state, and Zhu answered with a monopoly on tea. The method was to have the government itself manufacture tea from the tea gardens of common people along the rivers and lakes, measure out payment in shares, and appoint envoys to oversee it. The emperor was swayed by his words and ordered Wang Ya to serve concurrently as tea monopoly commissioner. He also said that Qin had suffered disaster and that public works should be launched to avert it. Emperor Wenzong could compose poetry and once recited Du Fu's "By the River": "Palaces by the river lock a thousand gates—for whom do the slender willows and fresh reeds grow green? He then learned that before Tianbao, all around the four banks of Qujiang there had been terraces, traveling palaces, and offices, and he deeply yearned for this. Once he had Zhu's word, he at once ordered the Left and Right Divine Strategy Armies to dredge Qujiang and Kunming pools, and also allowed the households of dukes, ministers, and literati to build pavilions and lodges by the river for seasonal enjoyment. At that time the two armies built the Purple Cloud Tower and the Colored Mist Pavilion. The inner court issued the building plaques as gifts. Nothing Zhu said was refused—all were of this sort.
17
九月，檢校尚書左僕射、鳳翔尹、鳳翔節度使。 蓋與李訓謀事有期，欲中外協勢。 十一月，註聞訓事發，自鳳翔率親兵五百餘人赴闕。 至扶風，聞訓敗，乃還。 監軍使張仲清已得密詔，迎而勞之，召至監軍府議事。 注倚兵衛即赴之，仲清已伏兵幕下。 注方坐，伏兵發，斬注，傳首京師，部下潰散。 注家屬屠滅，靡有孑遺。 初未獲注，京師憂恐。 至是，人人相慶。
In the ninth month he was made acting left vice director of the Department of State Affairs, prefect of Fengxiang, and military commissioner of Fengxiang. This was because he and Li Xun had fixed a date for their plot and wished inside and outside the court to coordinate their strength. In the eleventh month Zhu heard that Xun's plot had broken out and led more than five hundred personal troops from Fengxiang to hurry to the capital. When he reached Fufeng he heard Xun had been defeated and turned back. The military overseer Zhang Zhongqing had already received a secret edict. He went out to welcome and console Zhu and summoned him to the overseer's headquarters to discuss affairs. Zhu, relying on his armed escort, went at once. Zhongqing had already hidden troops beneath the curtain. As Zhu had just seated himself the hidden troops sprang forth, beheaded Zhu, and sent his head to the capital. His followers scattered in rout. Zhu's family was slaughtered to the last. Not one survived. At first, before Zhu was captured, the capital was anxious and afraid. When this happened, everyone congratulated one another.
18
注兩目不能遠視，自言有金丹之術，可去痿弱重膇之疾。 始李愬自云得效，乃移之守澄，亦神其事。 由是中官視注皆憐之，卒以是售其狂謀。 而守澄自貽其患，復致衣冠塗地，豈一時之沴氣歟？ 既籍沒其家財，得絹一百萬匹，他貨稱是。
Zhu's two eyes could not see far. He claimed to possess the art of the golden elixir, which could remove the ailments of weakness and heavy legs. At first Li Su said he had obtained effect, then the claim was transferred to Shoucheng, who also regarded the matter as miraculous. Because of this the eunuchs all looked on Zhu with pity, and in the end he sold his mad plot through this means. Yet Shoucheng brought disaster on himself and again brought the gentry to ruin—was it only the baleful air of a single moment? Once his household property was confiscated, there were found a million bolts of silk and other goods in proportion.
19
王涯，字廣津，太原人。 父晃。 涯，貞元八年進士擢第，登宏辭科。 釋褐藍田尉。 貞元二十年十一月，召充翰林學士，拜右拾遺、左補闕、起居舍人，皆充內職。 元和三年，為宰相李吉甫所怒，罷學士，守都官員外郎，再貶虢州司馬。 五年，入為吏部員外。 七年，改兵部員外郎、知制誥。 九年八月，正拜舍人。 十年，轉工部侍郎、知制誥，加通議大夫、清源縣開國男，學士如故。 十一年十二月，加中書侍郎、同平章事。 十三年八月，罷相，守兵部侍郎，尋遷吏部。
Wang Ya, style name Guangjin, was from Taiyuan. His father was Huang. Ya passed the jinshi examination in the eighth year of Zhenyuan (792) and also passed the macro-elocution examination. On leaving the russet he served as aide of Lantian. In the eleventh month of the twentieth year of Zhenyuan (804) he was summoned as Hanlin academician and appointed right remonstrance official, left supplementer, and recorder of conduct—all inner-service posts. In the third year of Yuanhe (808) he incurred the anger of Chancellor Li Jifu, was removed as academician, retained as outside director of the capital magistracy, and was again demoted to military aide of Guo Prefecture. In the fifth year (810) he entered the capital as outside director of the Ministry of Personnel. In the seventh year (812) he was transferred to outside director in the Ministry of War and entrusted with drafting edicts. In the eighth month of the ninth year (814) he was formally appointed drafting secretary. In the tenth year (815) he was transferred to vice minister of works with charge of drafting edicts, promoted to gentleman for spreading governance, and made Baron of Qingyuan County, remaining academician as before. In the twelfth month of the eleventh year (816) he was made vice director of the Secretariat and associate chief councilor. In the eighth month of the thirteenth year (818) he was removed as chancellor and retained as vice minister of war, soon transferred to the Ministry of Personnel.
20
穆宗即位，以檢校禮部尚書、梓州刺史、劍南東川節度使。 其年十一月，吐蕃南北倚角入寇，西北邊騷動，詔兩川兵拒之。 時蕃軍逼雅州，涯上疏曰：「臣當道出軍，徑入賊腹有兩路：一路從龍州清川鎮入蕃界，徑抵故松州城，是吐蕃舊置節度之所； 一路從綿州威蕃柵入蕃界，徑抵棲雞城，皆吐蕃險要之地。」 又曰：「臣伏見方今天下無犬吠之警，海內同覆盂之安。 每蕃戎一警，則中外咸震，致陛下有旰食軫懷之憂，斯乃臣等居大官、受重寄者之深責也。 雖承詔發卒，心馳寇廷，期於為國討除，使戎人芟剪。 晝夜思忖，何補涓毫？ 所以淒淒愚心，願陳萬一。 臣觀自古長策，昭然可征。 在於實邊兵，選良將，明斥候，廣資儲，杜其奸謀，險其走集，此立朝士大夫皆知，不獨微臣知之也，只在舉行之耳。 然臣愚見所及，猶欲布露者，誠願陛下不愛金帛之費，以釣北虜之心。 臨遣信臣，與之定約曰：犬戎悖亂負恩，為邊鄙患者數矣，能制而服之者，唯在北蕃。 如能發兵深入，殺若干人，取若干地，則受若干之賞。 開懷以示之，厚利以啗之，所以勸聳要約者異於他日，則匈奴之銳，可得出矣。 一戰之後，西戎之力衰矣。」 穆宗不能用其謀。
When Emperor Muzong ascended the throne, Ya was made acting minister of rites, prefect of Zi, and military commissioner of Eastern Chuan in the Sword South. In the eleventh month of that year the Tibetans invaded from north and south in concert. The northwest frontier was disturbed, and an edict ordered the armies of the two Chuan commands to resist. At that time the Tibetan army pressed Ya Prefecture. Ya submitted a memorial saying: "When I lead troops out on the proper route, there are two ways to enter the enemy's belly directly: one from Qingchuan Town in Long Prefecture into Tibetan territory, straight to the old Song Prefecture city, where the Tibetans formerly placed their military commission; one from the Weifan Stockade in Mian Prefecture into Tibetan territory, straight to Qiji City—all critical Tibetan strongpoints. He also said: "I observe that at present under Heaven there is no alarm of a dog's bark; within the seas all share the security of an overturned bowl. Whenever the frontier tribes sound one alarm, court and countryside alike are shaken, bringing Your Majesty the worry of eating late and caring deeply—this is the heavy responsibility of us who hold high office and receive great trust. Though we receive edicts to raise troops, our hearts race to the enemy court, hoping to purge them for the state and cut down the barbarians. Day and night we ponder—what help is a mere drop? Therefore with sorrowful foolish heart I wish to set forth one part in ten thousand. I observe that long-term policies since antiquity are clear and can be verified. They lie in strengthening frontier troops, selecting good generals, clarifying scouts, broadening stores, blocking their secret plots, and making dangerous their routes of flight and gathering—this every court scholar-official knows, not I alone; it only awaits being carried out. Yet what my foolish view reaches and still wishes to disclose is truly to beg Your Majesty not to spare gold and silk, in order to hook the hearts of the northern barbarians. Send a trusted minister to fix a covenant with them, saying: The Rong dogs have been rebellious and ungrateful, troubling the borderlands many times; only the northern tribes can control and subdue them. If they can send troops deep in, kill so many men, take so much land, they shall receive so much reward. Open your heart to show them, use thick profit to feed them—if the encouragement and binding of the covenant differ from other days, then the Xiongnu's sharp edge can be drawn forth. After one battle the strength of the western Rong will decline. Emperor Muzong could not use his plan.
21
長慶元年，幽、鎮復亂，王師征之，未聞克捷。 涯在鎮上書論用兵曰：
In the first year of Changqing (821) You and Zhen rebelled again. The imperial armies campaigned against them, but no victory was heard. Ya, in his command, submitted a memorial discussing the use of troops, saying:
22
伏以幽、鎮兩州，悖亂天紀，迷亭育之厚德，肆豺虎之非心。 囚系鼎臣，戕賊戎帥，毒流列郡，釁及賓僚。 凡在有情，孰不扼腕？ 咸欲橫戈荷戟，問罪賊廷。 伏以國家文德誕敷，武功繼立，遠無不服，邇無不安。 矧茲二方，敢逆天理？ 臣竊料詔書朝下，諸鎮夕驅，以貔貅問罪之師，當猖狂失節之寇，傾山壓卵，決海灌熒，勢之相懸，不是過也。
I submit that the two prefectures You and Zhen have rebelled against Heaven's order, lost in thick nurturing virtue, and unleashed the wolfish hearts of jackals and tigers. They imprisoned great ministers, killed military commanders, poison spread through the commanderies, and trouble reached guests and aides. All who have feeling—who does not clench his fists? All wish to level spears and bear halberds, to demand justice at the rebel court. I submit that the state's civil virtue is broadly spread and martial achievement stands in succession. Far off none fail to submit, near at hand none fail to be at peace. How much more these two regions—how dare they oppose Heaven's principle? I venture to judge that when the edict is issued in the morning the commands will march by evening. With tiger-and-dragon armies demanding justice against wildly unbridled rebels, overturning mountains to crush eggs, deciding seas to pour out flames—the disparity of force could hardly be greater.
23
但以常山、燕郡，虞、虢相依，一時興師，恐費財力。 且夫罪有輕重，事有後先，攻堅宜從易者。 如聞范陽肇亂，出自一時，事非宿謀，情亦可驗。 鎮州構禍，殊匪偶然，扇動屬城，以兵拒境。 如此則幽、薊之眾，可示寬刑； 鎮、冀之戎，必資先討。 況廷湊亹茸，不席父祖之恩； 成德分離，人多迫脅之勢。 今以魏博思復讎之眾，昭義願盡敵之師，參之晉陽，輔以滄、易，掎角而進，易若建瓴，盡屠其城，然後北首燕路。 在朝廷不為失信，於軍勢實得機宜。 臣之愚忠，輒在於此。
But because Changshan and Yan commandery, Yu and Guo, lean on one another, to raise armies at once may waste wealth and strength. Moreover guilt has light and heavy degrees, affairs have first and later order. In attacking the hard one should begin with the easy. I hear that the Fanyang rebellion arose suddenly, not from a long-standing plot—a reading the facts bear out. The trouble at Zhenzhou was hardly accidental: they stirred neighboring cities and deployed troops to hold the frontier. On that basis, the people of You and Ji could be offered clemency; while the forces of Zhen and Ji must be dealt with first. Moreover Wang Tingcou is feeble and unworthy, having no claim to his forebears' legacy; Chengde is fragmented, and most of its people follow under duress. Deploy Weibo's troops, burning for revenge, and Zhaoyi's forces, eager to crush the foe; add Jinyang and support from Cangzhou and Yizhou. Advance in pincers—swift as water poured from a high roof—level their cities, then march north toward Yan. The court would not appear to break faith, and militarily the timing would be exactly right. My humble counsel comes down to this.
24
臣又聞用兵若鬥，先扼其喉。 今瀛、莫、易、定，兩賊之咽喉也，誠宜假之威柄，戍以重兵。 俾其死生不相知，間諜無所入，而以大軍先迫冀、趙，次下井陘，此百舉百全之勢也。 臣受恩深至，無以上酬，輕冒陳聞，不勝戰越。
I have also heard that in war, as in a fight, one must first seize the enemy's throat. Ying, Mo, Yi, and Ding are the two rebels' jugular. They should be granted real authority and garrisoned with strong forces. Cut off their communications so spies cannot penetrate; then drive the main army first against Ji and Zhao and next down Jingxing Pass—a strategy that cannot fail. Your grace to me runs so deep that I can never repay it; I venture this report with fear and trembling.
25
洎涯疏至，盧士玫已為賊劫，陷瀛、莫州，兇勢不可遏。 俄而二兇俱宥之。
By the time Ya's memorial reached court, Lu Shimei had already been taken by the rebels and Ying and Mo had fallen—the rebellion's fury could not be stopped. Before long both rebel leaders were pardoned.
26
三年，入為御史大夫。 敬宗即位，改戶部侍郎、兼御史大夫，充鹽鐵轉運使，俄遷禮部尚書，充職。 寶歷二年，檢校尚書左僕射、興元尹、山南西道節度使，就加檢校司空。
In the third year he was recalled to serve as censor-in-chief. When Emperor Jingzong succeeded to the throne, Ya became vice minister of revenue and concurrent censor-in-chief, and was appointed salt and iron transport commissioner; he was soon promoted to minister of rites while retaining those duties. In Baoli year 2 (826) he was appointed acting left vice director of the Department of State Affairs, prefect of Xingyuan, and military commissioner of Shannan West Circuit, with the concurrent rank of acting grand mentor.
27
太和三年正月，入為太常卿。 文宗以樂府之音，鄭衛太甚，欲聞古樂，命涯詢於舊工，取開元時雅樂，選樂童按之，名曰《雲韶樂》。 樂曲成，涯與太常丞李廓、少府監庾承憲、押樂工獻於黎園亭，帝按之於會昌殿。 上悅，賜涯等錦彩。
In the first month of Taihe year 3 (829) he returned to the capital as grand master of court music. Emperor Wenzong found the Music Bureau's repertoire too decadent—too much Zheng and Wei—and wished to hear ancient music. He had Ya consult veteran musicians, recover the elegant Kaiyuan-era pieces, and have young performers rehearse them under the title "Yunshao Music." When the piece was ready, Ya, Vice Director of Court Music Li Kuo, Director of the Palace Manufactories Yu Chengxian, and the supervising musicians presented it at Liyuan Pavilion, and the Emperor heard it performed at Huichang Hall. The Emperor was delighted and rewarded Ya and his colleagues with brocades.
28
四年正月，守吏部尚書、檢校司空，復領鹽鐵轉運使。 其年九月，守左僕射，領使。 奏李師道前據河南十二州，其兗、鄆、淄、青、濮州界，舊有銅鐵冶，每年額利百餘萬，自收復，未定稅額，請復係鹽鐵司，依建中元年九月敕例制置，從之。
In the first month of year 4 he served as minister of civil office and acting grand mentor, and again took charge of the salt and iron transport commission. That September he became left vice director while continuing as transport commissioner. He reported that Li Shidao had once controlled twelve prefectures south of the Yellow River. The Yan, Yun, Zi, Qing, and Pu region had long had copper and iron works yielding over a million strings in annual profits; since reconquest no tax quota had been set. He asked that the industry be returned to the Salt and Iron Commission and administered under the Jianzhong 1 (780) ninth-month precedent. The request was approved.
29
七年七月，以本官同平章事，進封代國公，食邑二千戶。 八年正月，加檢校司空、門下侍郎、弘文館大學士、太清宮使。 九年五月，正拜司空，仍令所司冊命，加開府儀同三司，仍兼領江南榷茶使。
In the seventh month of year 7 he was made co-chancellor in his existing post, enfeoffed as Duke of Dai with a fief of two thousand households. In the first month of year 8 he was further appointed acting grand mentor, vice director of the Chancellery, grand scholar of the Hongwen Library, and commissioner of the Grand Pure Palace. In the fifth month of year 9 he was formally appointed grand mentor with full investiture, given the honorary rank of grand general of the open office, and continued concurrently as Jiangnan tea monopoly commissioner.
30
十一月二十一日，李訓事敗，文宗入內。 涯與同列歸中書會食，未下箸，吏報有兵自閣門出，逢人即殺。 涯等蒼惶步出，至永昌裏茶肆，為禁兵所擒，並其家屬奴婢，皆繫於獄。 仇士良鞫涯反狀，涯實不知其故。 械縛既急，搒笞不勝其酷，乃令手書反狀，自誣與訓同謀。 獄具，左軍兵馬三百人領涯與王璠、羅立言，右軍兵馬三百人領賈餗、舒元輿、李孝本，先赴郊廟，徇兩市，乃腰斬於子城西南隅獨柳樹下。 涯以榷茶事，百姓怨恨詬罵之，投瓦礫以擊之。 中書房吏焦寓、焦璇、臺吏李楚等十余人，吏卒爭取殺之，籍沒其家。 涯子工部郎中、集賢殿學士孟賢，太堂博士仲翔，其餘稚小妻女，連襟係頸，送入兩軍，無少長盡誅之。 自涯已下十一家，資貨悉為軍卒所分。 涯積家財鉅萬計，兩軍士卒及市人亂取之，竟日不盡。
On the twenty-first of the eleventh month Li Xun's plot collapsed and Emperor Wenzong retreated to the inner palace. Ya and his fellow officials had returned to the Secretariat for a meal when, before they could begin eating, a clerk reported that soldiers had burst from the Gate Pavilion and were killing everyone they encountered. Ya and the others fled on foot in panic to a teahouse in Yongchang Lane, where the palace guard seized them. Their families and servants were all thrown into prison. Qiu Shiliang interrogated Ya on charges of treason, but Ya genuinely knew nothing of the plot. Under tight shackles and brutal beating he could not endure the torture and was forced to write out a confession of treason, falsely admitting collusion with Xun. Once the case was closed, three hundred Left Army troops escorted Ya, Wang Fan, and Luo Liyan; three hundred Right Army troops escorted Jia Su, Shu Yuanyu, and Li Xiaoben. They were first taken to the suburban altars and paraded through both markets, then beheaded at the waist beneath the Lone Willow southwest of the inner city. Because of his tea monopoly policies, commoners cursed Ya in rage and pelted him with bricks and stones. More than ten men, including Secretariat clerks Jiao Yu and Jiao Xuan and censorate clerk Li Chu, were killed in the scramble by the clerks and soldiers, and their estates were confiscated. Ya's son Meng Xian, a director in the Ministry of Works and scholar of the Hall of Assembled Worthies, and the grand hall academician Zhongxiang, along with the younger wives and daughters, were bound at the neck and sent to the two armies—all were executed without exception, young and old alike. The property of all eleven households from Ya's down was divided among the soldiers. Ya had amassed a fortune beyond measure; soldiers of both armies and townspeople plundered it for a full day without carrying it all away.
31
涯博學好古，能為文，以辭藝登科。 踐揚清峻，而貪權固寵，不遠邪佞之流，以至赤族。 涯家書數萬卷，侔於秘府。 前代法書名畫，人所保惜者，以厚貨致之； 不受貨者，即以官爵致之。 厚為垣竅，而藏之復壁。 至是，人破其垣取之，或剔取函奩金寶之飾與其玉軸而棄之。
Ya was deeply learned and devoted to antiquity, a capable writer who had passed the examinations on literary merit. He pursued a reputation for integrity, yet hoarded power and courted favor, consorting with corrupt sycophants until his entire clan was wiped out. Ya's private library held tens of thousands of scrolls, rivaling the imperial archive. For celebrated calligraphy and paintings of past ages that others cherished, he paid lavish prices; when money would not suffice, he secured them with official ranks and titles. He built thick walls with secret compartments and hid them in concealed vaults. At that point looters broke through his walls; some stripped the gold fittings and jade rollers from the cases and threw the works themselves away.
32
涯之死也，人以為冤。 昭義節度使劉從諫三上章，求示涯等三相罪名，仇士良頗懷憂恐。 初宦官縱毒，淩藉南司。 及從諫奏論，兇焰稍息，人士賴之。
When Ya was killed, many considered it a miscarriage of justice. Liu Congjian, military commissioner of Zhaoyi, submitted three memorials demanding disclosure of the charges against Ya and the other three chancellors; Qiu Shiliang grew deeply uneasy. At first the eunuchs ran riot, brutalizing the civil officials. After Congjian spoke out in memorials, the terror eased somewhat, and the scholar-official class owed him a debt of gratitude.
33
時李逢吉為宰相，與璠親厚，故自郎官掌誥，便拜中丞。 恃逢吉之勢，稍橫。 嘗與左僕射李絳相遇於街，交車而不避。 絳上疏論之曰：「左、右僕射，師長庶僚，開元中名之丞相。 其後雖去三事機務，猶總百司之權。 表狀之中，不署其姓。 尚書已下，每月合衙。 上日百僚列班，宰相居上，中丞御史列位於廷。 禮儀之崇，中外特異。 所以自武德、貞觀已來，聖君賢臣，布政除弊，不革此禮，謂為合宜。 茍有不安，尋亦合廢。 近年緣有才不當位，恩加特拜者，遂從權便，不用舊儀。 酌於群情，事實未當。 今或有僕射初除，就中丞院門相看，即與欲參何殊。 或中丞新授，亦無見僕射處。 及參賀處，或僕射先至，中丞後來，憲度乖宜，尊卑倒置。 倘人才忝位，自合別授賢良； 若朝命守官，豈得有虧法制？ 伏望下百僚詳定事體，使永可遵行。」 敕旨令兩省詳議。 兩省奏曰：「元和中，伊慎忝居師長之位，太常博士韋謙削去舊儀。 今李絳所論，於禮甚當。」 逢吉素惡絳之直，天子雖許行舊儀，中書竟無處分，乃罷璠中丞，遷工部侍郎。 尋罷絳僕射，以太子少師分司東都。 其弄權怙寵如此。
Li Fengji was then chancellor and on close terms with Fan, who was promoted straight from draft edict officer to censor-in-chief. Backed by Fengji's influence, he grew increasingly arrogant. Once he encountered Left Vice Director Li Jiang in the street and refused to give way when their carriages met. Li Jiang memorialized the throne: "The left and right vice directors stand above the officials as their superiors; in the Kaiyuan era they were known as chancellors. Later, even after they were removed from the three chief seats of power, they still held sway over all departments. In official documents their surnames need not be written. From ministers downward, all attend court together each month. On the first of the month officials line up in formation, with the chancellor at the head and the censors arrayed in the hall. Their ceremonial precedence is uniquely distinguished, both inside and outside the palace. From the Wude and Zhenguan reigns onward, sage emperors and worthy ministers reformed policy and abolished abuses, yet never changed this ritual—they judged it proper. If anything about it were wrong, it ought likewise to be revised. In recent years, when men of talent were promoted out of turn by special favor, the old ceremonies were set aside for convenience. Measured against general opinion, these practices are plainly wrong. When a newly appointed vice director goes at once to the censorate gate to call on the censor-in-chief, what difference is there from begging an audience? When a censor-in-chief is newly appointed, there is no proper occasion for him to call on the vice director either. At congratulatory audiences, a vice director sometimes arrives before the censor-in-chief—protocol is violated and precedence reversed. If a man is unfit for his rank, he should simply be given another appointment; but once the court assigns a man to an office, how can he be allowed to undermine the regulations? I respectfully ask that the officials be convened to settle these matters once and for all, so that proper practice may endure." An imperial edict directed the two departments to consider the matter in detail. The two departments replied: "In the Yuanhe era, when Yi Shen unworthily held the post of vice director, Grand Music Master Academician Wei Qian abolished the old ceremony. Li Jiang's argument is entirely correct on ritual grounds." Fengji had long resented Jiang's bluntness. Though the Emperor approved restoring the old ceremonies, the Secretariat took no action; instead Fan was removed as censor-in-chief and made vice minister of works. Jiang was soon dismissed as vice director and sent to the eastern capital as junior mentor to the heir apparent. Such was the extent of his abuse of power and court favor.
34
璠二年七月出為河南尹。 太和二年，以本官權知東都選。 十月，轉尚書右丞，敕選畢入朝。 三年，改吏部侍郎。 四年七月，拜京兆尹、兼御史大夫。 十二月，遷左丞，判太常卿事。 六年八月，檢校禮部尚書、潤州刺史、浙西觀察使。
In the seventh month of year 2 Fan was appointed prefect of Henan. In Taihe year 2 (828) he served in his existing post as acting supervisor of civil service examinations at the eastern capital. In the tenth month he was transferred to right vice director of the Department of State Affairs and ordered to return to court once the examinations were complete. In year 3 he was made vice minister of civil office. In the seventh month of year 4 he was appointed metropolitan prefect of Jingzhao and concurrent censor-in-chief. In the twelfth month he was promoted to left vice director and given charge of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. In the eighth month of year 6 he was appointed acting minister of rites, prefect of Runzhou, and surveillance commissioner of Zhexi.
35
八年，李訓得幸，累薦於上。 召還，復拜右丞。 璠以逢吉故吏，自是傾心於訓，權幸傾朝。 九年五月，遷戶部尚書、判度支。 謝日，召對浴堂，錫之錦彩。 其年十一月，李訓將誅內官，令璠召募豪俠，乃授太原節度使，托以募爪牙為名。 訓敗之日，璠歸長興裏第。 是夜為禁軍所捕，舉家下獄； 斬璠於獨柳樹，家無少長皆死。
In year 8 Li Xun won the Emperor's favor and repeatedly recommended Fan to the throne. Fan was recalled and reappointed right vice director. As a former protégé of Fengji, Fan thereafter devoted himself to Xun and rose to unrivaled power at court. In the fifth month of year 9 he was made minister of revenue with charge of the treasury. On the day he thanked the throne for his appointment, he was summoned to audience in the Bath Hall and rewarded with brocades. That November, as Li Xun prepared to move against the eunuchs, he had Fan recruit men of violence and appoint him military commissioner of Taiyuan on the pretext of raising a private guard. When Xun's plot collapsed, Fan fled to his home in Changxing Lane. That night the palace guard seized him and his entire household was imprisoned; Fan was beheaded at the Lone Willow, and every member of his family, young and old, was put to death.
36
璠子遐休，直弘文館。 李訓舉事之日，遐休於館中禮上，同職駕部郎中令狐定等五六人送之，是日悉為亂兵所執。 定以兄楚為僕射，軍士釋之，獨執遐休誅之。
Fan's son Xiaxiu was an attendant scholar at the Hall of Assembled Worthies. On the day Li Xun acted, Xiaxiu was at the hall performing rites for the Emperor. Five or six colleagues, including Linghu Ding of the Transport Department, escorted him—and all were seized by the mutinous troops that day. Because Ding's elder brother Chu was a vice director, the soldiers released him but seized Xiaxiu alone and put him to death.
37
初璠在浙西，繕城壕。 役人掘得方石，上有十二字，云：「山有石，石有玉，玉有瑕，瑕即休。」 璠視莫知其旨，京口老人講之曰：「此石非尚書之吉兆也。 尚書祖名崟，崟生礎，是山有石也。 礎生尚書，是石有玉也。 尚書之子名遐休，休，絕也。 此非吉征。」 果赤族。
While Fan was in Zhexi he had the city moat repaired. Laborers digging up earth found a square stone inscribed with twelve characters: "The mountain has stone; the stone has jade; the jade has a flaw; the flaw means extinction." Fan could make nothing of it, but an old man of Jingkou explained: "This stone foretells no good for the minister. The minister's grandfather was named Yin; Yin fathered Chu—that is "the mountain has stone." Chu fathered the minister—that is "the stone has jade." The minister's son is named Xiaxiu—and xiu means "end." This is no good omen." And in the end his whole clan was wiped out.
38
賈餗，字子美，河南人。 祖渭。 大父寧。 餗進士擢第，又登制策甲科，文史兼美，四遷至考功員外郎。 長慶初，策召賢良，選當時名士考策，餗與白居易俱為考策官，選文人以為公。 尋以本官知制誥，遷庫部郎中，充職。 四年，為張又新所構，出為常州刺史。 太和初，入為太常少卿。 二年，以本官知制誥。 三年七月，拜中書舍人。 四年九月，權知禮部貢舉。 五年，榜出後，正拜禮部侍郎。 凡典禮闈三歲，所選士七十五人，得其名人多至公卿者。 七年五月，轉兵部侍郎。 八年十一月，遷京兆尹、兼御史大夫。 九年四月，檢校禮部尚書、潤州刺史、浙西觀察使。 制出未行，拜中書侍郎、同平章事，進金紫階，封姑臧男，食邑三百戶。 未幾，加集賢殿學士，監修國史。
Jia Su, courtesy name Zimei, was from Henan. His grandfather was named Wei. His great-grandfather was named Ning. Su passed the jinshi examination and ranked in the top tier of the palace decree exam. Skilled in both prose and history, he rose through four promotions to Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel. Early in the Changqing era, an imperial summons sought worthy men, and leading scholars of the day were chosen to grade the policy essays. Su and Bai Juyi both served as examiners and selected candidates known for integrity. Before long he was appointed Drafting Officer for Proclamations in his current post, promoted to Director in the Ministry of Revenue, and carried out his duties. In the fourth year Zhang Youxin engineered his downfall, and he was posted out as prefect of Changzhou. At the start of the Taihe era he returned to court as Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. In the second year he was again made Drafting Officer for Proclamations while retaining his current rank. In the seventh month of the third year he was appointed Secretariat Drafter. In the ninth month of the fourth year he was temporarily put in charge of the Ministry of Rites examinations. In the fifth year, once the results were announced, he was formally appointed Vice Minister of Rites. Over three years he ran the examinations and chose seventy-five candidates, many of whom later rose to the highest offices. In the fifth month of the seventh year he was transferred to Vice Minister of War. In the eleventh month of the eighth year he became Metropolitan Magistrate of Jingzhao and Censor-in-Chief. In the fourth month of the ninth year he was appointed acting Minister of Rites, prefect of Runzhou, and Governor of Zhexi Circuit. Before that appointment could take effect, he was made Vice Director of the Secretariat and Concurrent Grand Councilor, raised to the golden-purple rank, enfeoffed as Duke of Guzang, and granted a fief of three hundred households. Soon afterward he was also made Academician of the Hall of Assembled Worthies and placed in charge of compiling the national history.
39
其年十一月，李訓事發，兵交殿廷，禁軍肆掠。 餗易服步行出內，潛身人間。 翌日，自投神策軍，與王涯等皆族誅。 餗雖中立自持，然不能以身犯難，排斥奸纖，脂韋其間，遂至覆族。 逢時多僻，死非其罪，世多冤之。
That November Li Xun's plot erupted. Troops fought in the palace hall, and the imperial guard looted freely. Su changed clothes, walked out of the palace on foot, and went into hiding among the people. The next day he surrendered to the Shence Army. He, Wang Ya, and the others were all executed along with their entire clans. Su had kept to a neutral course, yet he would not risk himself in the crisis, drive out the wicked and the cunning, or stand firm between the factions. He drifted along in soft complacency, and so his clan was destroyed. The age was treacherous, and his death did not fit his crimes. Many regarded him as wronged.
40
舒元輿者，江州人。 元和八年登進士第，釋褐諸府從事。 太和初，入朝為監察，轉侍御史。
Shu Yuanyu was a native of Jiangzhou. In the eighth year of Yuanhe he passed the jinshi examination and, after taking up office, served on the staffs of various prefectures. At the start of the Taihe era he entered court as a Supervising Censor and was later made Attending Censor.
41
初，天寶中，玄宗祀九宮壇，次郊壇行事，禦署祝板。 元輿為監察，監祭事，以為太重，奏曰：「臣伏見祀九宮貴神祝板九片，陛下親署禦名，及稱臣於九宮之神。 臣伏以天子之尊，除祭天地宗廟之外，無合稱臣者。 王者父天母地，兄日姊月。 而貴神以九宮為目，是宜分方而守其位。 臣數其名號，太一、天一、招搖、軒轅、鹹池、青龍、太陰、天符、攝提也。 此九神，於天地猶子男也，於日月猶侯伯也。 陛下為天子，豈可反臣於天之子男耶？ 臣竊以為過。 縱陰陽者流言其合祀，則陛下當合稱『皇帝遣某官致祭於九宮之神』，不宜稱臣與名。 臣雖愚瞽； 未知其可。 乞下禮官詳議。」 從之。 尋轉刑部員外郎。
Earlier, in the Tianbao era, Emperor Xuanzong sacrificed at the Altar of the Nine Palaces. After the suburban altar rites he personally signed the prayer boards. Yuanyu, serving as Supervising Censor in charge of the sacrifices, thought the ceremony excessive and memorialized: "Your subject has seen that the sacrifice to the exalted spirits of the Nine Palaces requires nine prayer boards, on which Your Majesty personally writes your imperial name and calls yourself subject before the spirits of the Nine Palaces. Your subject submits that in the majesty of the Son of Heaven, apart from sacrifices to Heaven, Earth, and the ancestral temples, there is no proper occasion to call oneself subject. The king takes Heaven as father and Earth as mother, the sun as elder brother and the moon as elder sister. These exalted spirits, however, are identified with the Nine Palaces and ought each to keep to their quarter and hold their proper place. Your subject counts their names: Grand Unity, Celestial Unity, Swaying Brilliance, Yellow Thearch, Salt Pool, Azure Dragon, Grand Yin, Celestial Seal, and Swooping Handle. These nine spirits stand to Heaven and Earth as marquises and barons, and to the sun and moon as feudal lords. Your Majesty is Son of Heaven—how can you in turn call yourself subject before the sons and barons of Heaven? Your subject believes this is improper. Even if yin-yang practitioners spread talk of joint sacrifice, Your Majesty should use a formula such as "The Emperor sends a certain official to perform sacrifice to the spirits of the Nine Palaces." It is not fitting to call oneself subject or to inscribe one's personal name. Your subject may be dull and blind, but I do not know whether this proposal is acceptable. I beg that the matter be referred to the ritual officials for detailed deliberation." The emperor approved. Soon afterward he was transferred to Vice Director of the Ministry of Justice.
42
元輿自負奇才，銳於進取，乃進所業文章，乞試效用，宰執謂其躁競。 五年八月，改授著作郎，分司東都。 時李訓丁母憂在洛，與元輿性俱詭激，乘險蹈利，相得甚歡。 及訓為文宗寵遇，復召為尚書郎。 九年，以右司郎中知臺雜。 七月，權知中丞事。 九年，拜御史中丞，兼判刑部侍郎。 是月，以本官同平章事，與訓同知政事。 而深謀詭算，熒惑主聽，皆生於二兇也。 訓竊發之日，兵自內出。 元輿易服單馬出安化門，為追騎所擒，送左軍族誅之。
Yuanyu, confident in his own brilliance and eager to rise, submitted his writings and asked to be tested in office. The chief ministers judged him restless and overreaching. In the eighth month of the fifth year he was reassigned as Editorial Director with duty in the Eastern Capital. At that time Li Xun was mourning his mother in Luoyang. He and Yuanyu were both audacious and unorthodox by nature, ready to seize danger for profit, and they became close friends. When Xun won Emperor Wenzong's favor, Yuanyu was recalled to court as a Director in the Ministry of Revenue. In the ninth year, as Right Director in the Secretariat, he was put in charge of Bureau correspondence. In the seventh month he was temporarily placed in charge of the Censor-in-Chief's affairs. In the ninth year he was appointed Censor-in-Chief and concurrently placed in charge of the Vice Ministry of Justice. That same month he was made Concurrent Grand Councilor in his current post and shared governance with Xun. Their deep plotting, cunning schemes, and bewildering of the emperor's judgment all sprang from these two villains. On the day Xun launched his plot, troops burst out from within the palace. Yuanyu changed clothes and rode alone out the Anhua Gate. Pursuing horsemen captured him, and he was handed over to the Left Army and executed along with his entire clan.
43
郭行余者，亦登進士第。 太和初，累官至楚州刺史。 五年，移刺汝州，兼御史中丞。 九月，入為大理卿。 李訓在東都時，與行余親善，行余數相餉遺，至是用為九列，十一月，訓欲竊發，令其募兵，乃授邠寧節度使。 訓敗，族誅。
Guo Xingyu also passed the jinshi examination. At the start of the Taihe era he rose through successive promotions to prefect of Chuzhou. In the fifth year he was transferred to prefect of Ruzhou and made Censor-in-Chief. In the ninth month he returned to court as Chief Minister of Justice. When Li Xun was in the Eastern Capital he was on friendly terms with Xingyu, and Xingyu often sent him gifts. By then he had risen to one of the Nine Ministers. In the eleventh month, as Xun prepared to launch his plot, he ordered Xingyu to raise troops and then appointed him military commissioner of Binning. When Xun was defeated, Xingyu's clan was executed to extinction.
44
羅立言者，父名歡。 貞元末，登進士第。 寶歷初，檢校主客員外郎，為鹽鐵河陰院官。 二年，坐糴米不實，計贓一萬九千貫，鹽鐵使惜其吏能，定罪止削所兼侍御史。 太和中，為司農少卿，主太倉出納物，以貨厚賂鄭註，李訓亦重之。 訓將竊發，須兵集事，以京兆府多吏卒，用立言為京兆少尹，知府事。 訓敗日，族誅。
Luo Liyan's father was named Huan. Near the end of the Zhenyuan era he passed the jinshi examination. At the start of the Baoli era he was acting Vice Director of the Ministry of Receptions and served as an officer of the Heyin office under the Salt and Iron Commission. In the second year he was convicted of falsifying government grain purchases, with embezzlement reckoned at nineteen thousand strings of cash. The Salt and Iron Commissioner, reluctant to lose his talent as an administrator, punished him only by stripping him of his concurrent post as Attending Censor. During the Taihe era he served as Vice Director of the Directorate of Agriculture, overseeing disbursements from the Grand Granary. He used goods to bribe Zheng Zhu lavishly, and Li Xun also valued him highly. As Xun prepared to launch his plot he needed troops assembled for the task. Because the Metropolitan Prefecture of Jingzhao had many clerks and soldiers, Liyan was made Junior Administrator of Jingzhao and put in charge of prefectural affairs. On the day Xun was defeated, Liyan's clan was executed to extinction.
45
長安縣令孟琯貶硤州長史，萬年縣令姚中立朗州長史。 以兩縣捕賊官受立言指使故也。 初立言集兩縣吏卒，萬年捕賊官鄭洪懼禍托疾，既而詐死，令家人喪服聚哭。 姚中立陰知其故，恐以詐聞，不免其累，乃以狀告洪之詐。 仇士良拘洪入軍，洪銜中立之告，謂士良曰：「追集所由，皆因縣令處分，予何罪也。」 故中立坐貶，洪免死。
Meng Guan, magistrate of Chang'an County, was demoted to chief administrator of Xiazhou, and Yao Zhongli, magistrate of Wannian County, was demoted to chief administrator of Langzhou. This was because the arresting officers of both counties had acted on Liyan's orders. Earlier Liyan had assembled the clerks and soldiers of both counties. Zheng Hong, the arresting officer of Wannian, fearing disaster, pleaded illness and then faked his death, having his family put on mourning clothes and gather to wail. Yao Zhongli secretly knew what had happened. Fearing that if the fraud came to light he would not escape blame, he submitted a report exposing Hong's deception. Qiu Shiliang seized Hong and brought him into the army. Resentful of Zhongli's report, Hong said to Shiliang: "Those who were summoned and assembled all acted on the magistrate's orders. What crime is mine?" So Zhongli was demoted for his part, and Hong was spared death.
46
李孝本者，宗室之子也。 累官至刑部郎中，而依於訓、註以求進。 舒元輿作相，訓用孝本知臺雜，權知中丞事，最預訓謀。 竊發之日，孝本從人殺內官十余人於殿廷。 知事不濟，單騎走投鄭註。 至咸陽西原，為追騎所捕，族誅之。 坐訓、註而族者，凡十一家，人以為冤。
Li Xiaoben was a member of the imperial clan. He rose through successive promotions to Director in the Ministry of Justice, but relied on Xun and Zhu to advance his career. When Shu Yuanyu became chancellor, Xun put Xiaoben in charge of Bureau correspondence and temporarily placed him in charge of the Censor-in-Chief's affairs. He was deepest in Xun's plotting. On the day the plot was launched, Xiaoben joined others in killing more than ten inner officials in the palace hall. When he saw the affair would fail, he rode alone in flight toward Zheng Zhu. At the western plain of Xianyang he was captured by pursuing horsemen and executed along with his entire clan. Eleven clans in all were executed for their ties to Xun and Zhu, and many regarded it as unjust.
47
史臣曰：王者之政以德，霸者之政以權。 古先後王，率由茲道，而遂能息人靖亂，垂統作則者。 如梓人共柯而殊工，良奕同枰而獨勝，蓋在得其術，則事無後艱。 昭獻皇帝端冕深帷，憤其廝養，欲鏟宮居之弊，載澄刑政之源。 當宜禮一代正人，訪先朝耆德，修文教而厚風俗，設武備以服要荒。 俾西被東漸，皆陶於景化； 柔祗蒼昊，必降於闕祥，自然懷德以寧，無思不服。 況區區宦者，獨能悖化哉？ 故豎刁、易牙，不廢齊桓之霸； 韓嫣、籍孺，何妨漢帝之明。 蓋有管仲、亞夫之賢，屬之以大政故也。 此二君者，制禦閽寺，得其道也。 而昭獻忽君人之大體，惑纖狡之庸儒。 雖終日橫經，連篇屬思，但得好文之譽，庸非致治之先。 且李訓者，狙詐百端，陰險萬狀，背守澄而勸鴆，出鄭註以擅權。 只如盡隕四星，兼權八校，小人方寸，即又難知。 但慮為蚤虱而采溪蓀，翻獲螾蜓之患也。 嗚呼明主！ 夫何不思，遽致血濺黃門，兵交青瑣。 茍無籓後之勢，黃屋危哉！ 涯、餗綽有士風，晚為利喪，致身鬼蜮之伍，何逃瞰室之災。 非天不仁，子失道也！
The historiographer comments: A true king governs through virtue; a hegemon governs through power. The ancient kings, earlier and later, all followed this path and so were able to soothe the people, quell disorder, and leave standards for posterity. Like woodworkers sharing the same handle yet producing different work, or master players at the same board yet only one prevailing—the difference lies in mastering the method, and then no task need later prove hard. Emperor Zhaoxian sat enthroned in formal robes behind deep curtains, resentful of the menials who served him, wishing to root out the evils of the inner palace and clarify the foundations of law and governance. He should have honored the upright men of his age, sought out the venerable worthies of earlier reigns, cultivated learning to strengthen custom, and built military readiness to bring the distant frontiers to heel. Then east and west alike would have been shaped by his radiant transformation; Earth and Heaven would surely send down auspicious signs upon the court, and naturally the people would rest content in virtue, with none who would not submit. How could petty palace eunuchs alone overturn such a transformation? Shu Dia and Yi Ya did not prevent Duke Huan of Qi from achieving hegemony; nor did Han Yan and Ji Ru diminish the brilliance of the Han emperor. That was because they had men of the caliber of Guan Zhong and Zhou Yafu to whom the great affairs of state were entrusted. These two rulers controlled the gatekeepers of the palace because they understood the proper way to do it. Zhaoxian, by contrast, suddenly neglected the great principles of kingship and was misled by petty, cunning mediocrities in scholar's garb. Though he spent whole days poring over the classics and composing essay after essay, he won only a reputation for fine writing—not the foundations of good government. As for Li Xun, he was a man of endless cunning and countless hidden malices: he betrayed Wang Shoucheng even while urging poison upon him, and sent Zheng Zhu forth to seize power. Consider how, when four stars fell in succession and eight command ranks were combined in one man, the innermost thoughts of a petty man become all the harder to know. He meant only to remove fleas and lice, yet in gathering river irises he brought upon himself a plague of gnats and dragonflies instead. Alas, enlightened sovereign! Why did he not think? He rushed headlong into blood splashed at the Yellow Gate and soldiers clashing at the Blue Gate. Had the frontier lords not stood behind him, the imperial throne would have been in peril! Ya and Su had the air of scholars, but in their later years they lost themselves to profit and cast their lot among demons and goblins. How could they escape the disaster of being watched from the rafters? It was not that Heaven was unkind—the sons had lost the Way!
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贊曰：奭、旦興周，斯、高亡秦。 禍福非天，治亂由人。 訓、註奸偽，血頹象魏。 非時乏賢，君迷倒置。
The praise says: Shi and Dan raised Zhou; Si and Gao destroyed Qin. Fortune and calamity are not from Heaven; order and chaos depend on men. Xun and Zhu were treacherous and false; blood toppled the elephant gate tower. It was not that the age lacked worthies—the ruler was deluded and set things upside down.