1
李德裕李德裕，字文饒，趙郡人。 祖棲筠，御史大夫。 父吉甫，趙國忠公，元和初宰相。 祖、父自有傳。 德裕幼有壯誌，苦心力學，尤精《西漢書》、《左氏春秋》。 恥與諸生同鄉賦，不喜科試。 年才及冠，誌業大成。 貞元中，以父譴逐蠻方，隨侍左右，不求仕進。 元和初，以父再秉國鈞，避嫌不仕臺省，累辟諸府從事。 十一年，張弘靖罷相，鎮太原，辟為掌書記。 由大理評事得殿中侍御史。 十四年府罷，從弘靖入朝，真拜監察御史。 明年正月，穆宗即位，召入翰林，充學士。 帝在東宮，素聞吉甫之名，既見德裕，尤重之。 禁中書詔大手筆，多詔德裕草之。 是月，召對思政殿，賜金紫之服。 逾月，改屯田員外郎。
Li Deyu, style name Wenrao, was a native of Zhao commandery. His grandfather Pei Qiyun served as Censor-in-Chief. His father Li Jifu, Duke Zhong of Zhao, had been chancellor at the start of the Yuanhe reign. His grandfather and father have their own biographies. As a boy he was ambitious, studied with intense dedication, and became especially adept in the Book of Han and the Zuo Tradition. He would not sit the district tribute exam alongside ordinary students and had no taste for the formal examination track. By the time he came of age, his studies and ambition were already fully formed. During the Zhenyuan period, when his father was exiled to the far south, he stayed at his father's side and sought no office. When Yuanhe began and his father again headed the government, he declined central posts to avoid suspicion and accepted a series of staff appointments in regional administrations. In 816 Zhang Hongjing left the chancellorship to govern Taiyuan and appointed him chief secretary. He rose from judicial reviewer in the Court of Judicial Review to Attending Censor within the Palace. When Hongjing's term ended in 819, he accompanied him to the capital and received formal appointment as Investigating Censor. The next year, when Muzong ascended in the first month, he was summoned to the Hanlin Academy as an academician. While still heir apparent the emperor had long known Li Jifu's name; meeting Deyu, he esteemed him even more highly. Major palace edicts and memorial drafts were often entrusted to Deyu to write. That month he was received in audience at the Hall of Reflection on Governance and awarded gold-and-purple insignia. A month later he was moved to vice director in the Ministry of Revenue's field administration.
2
穆宗不持政道，多所恩貸，戚裏諸親，邪謀請謁； 傳導中人之旨，與權臣往來，德裕嫉之。 長慶元年正月，上疏論之曰：「伏見國朝故事，駙馬緣是親密，不合與朝廷要官往來。 玄宗開元中，禁止尤切。 訪聞近日駙馬輒至宰相及要官私第，此輩無他才伎可以延接，唯是泄漏禁密； 交通中外，群情所知，以為甚弊。 其朝官素是雜流，則不妨來往。 若職在清列，豈可知聞？ 伏乞宣示宰臣，其駙馬諸親，今後公事即於中書見宰相，請不令詣私第。」 上然之。 尋轉考功郎中、知制誥。 二年二月，轉中書舍人，學士如故。
Muzong did not maintain disciplined government. He bestowed favors widely; empress-clan kin and others pressed improper access through intrigue; they relayed the eunuchs' will and trafficked with powerful ministers—conduct Deyu deeply resented. In the first month of Changqing 1 (821) he memorialized: "I observe our dynasty's precedent that sons-in-law of the throne, as intimate kin, should not visit senior court officials privately. Under Emperor Xuanzong in the Kaiyuan era the ban was especially strict. I have learned that recently imperial sons-in-law have gone repeatedly to chancellors' and key officials' private homes. They have no real conversation to offer—only the leaking of palace secrets; their contact with court insiders and outsiders is widely known and regarded as a grave abuse. If the official in question is of lesser or mixed rank, the visits may be allowed. But if he holds a post in the elite ranks, how can he permit such associations? I beg that Your Majesty instruct the chancellors that henceforth sons-in-law and their kin should meet chancellors only at the Secretariat on public business and not be allowed at private residences." The emperor assented. Soon he was made director of examinations in the Ministry of Personnel and entrusted with drafting edicts. In the second month of 822 he became Secretariat Drafter while remaining a Hanlin academician.
3
初，吉甫在相位時，牛僧孺、李宗閔應制舉直言極諫科。 二人對詔，深詆時政之失，吉甫泣訴於上前。 由是，考策官皆貶，事在《李宗閔傳》。 元和初，用兵伐叛，始於杜黃裳誅蜀。 吉甫經畫，欲定兩河，方欲出師而卒。 繼之元衡、裴度。 而韋貫之、李逢吉沮議，深以用兵為非。 而韋、李相次罷相，故逢吉常怒吉甫、裴度。 而德裕於元和時，久之不調，而逢吉、僧孺、宗閔以私怨恆排擯之。
Earlier, while Jifu was chancellor, Niu Sengru and Li Zongmin had taken the special examination on forthright criticism and utmost remonstrance. Their examination answers harshly criticized government failings; Jifu wept and lodged complaint before the throne. Thereupon the examiners were all demoted—the account is in Li Zongmin's biography. At the start of Yuanhe military campaigns against rebels began with Du Huangshang's pacification of Shu. Jifu had planned strategy to settle the two He provinces but died just as armies were to march. Wu Yuanheng and Pei Du followed in succession. Wei Guanzhi and Li Fengji blocked the policy and strongly opposed military action. Wei and Li were removed from office in succession, so Fengji nursed lasting resentment toward Jifu and Pei Du. During Yuanhe Deyu long went without advancement; Fengji, Sengru, and Zongmin, nursing private scores, kept blocking and sidelining him.
4
時德裕與李紳、元稹俱在翰林，以學識才名相類，情頗款密。 而逢吉之黨深惡之。 其月，罷學士，出為御史中丞。 其元稹自禁中出，拜工部侍郎、平章事。 三月，輩度自太原復輔政。 是月，李逢吉亦自襄陽入朝，乃密賂纖人，構成於方獄。 六月，元稹、裴度俱罷相。 稹出為同州刺史。 逢吉代裴度為門下侍郎、平章事。 既得權位，銳意報怨。 時德裕與牛僧孺俱有相望，逢吉欲引僧孺，懼紳與德裕禁中沮之； 九月，出德裕為浙西觀察使，尋引僧孺同平章事。 由是交怨愈深。
At that time Deyu, Li Shen, and Yuan Zhen were all in the Hanlin—men of similar learning and fame—and were on affectionate terms. Fengji's faction hated them deeply. That month he was removed as academician and sent out as Vice Censor-in-Chief. About then Yuan Zhen left the inner palace and was appointed Vice Minister of Works and Associate Chief Minister. In the third month Pei Du returned from Taiyuan to serve again as chief minister. That month Li Fengji also entered from Xiangyang; he secretly paid informers and engineered cases in frontier jurisdictions. In the sixth month Yuan Zhen and Pei Du were both dismissed from the chancellorship. Zhen was sent out as governor of Tongzhou. Fengji replaced Pei Du as Secretariat Vice Director and Associate Chief Minister. Once in power he pressed revenge with sharp intent. Deyu and Niu Sengru both had standing; Fengji wished to elevate Sengru but feared Shen and Deyu in the palace would block him; in the ninth month Deyu was posted as Zhexi observation commissioner; soon Sengru was brought in as associate chief minister. From this mutual hatred only deepened.
5
潤州承王國清兵亂之後，前使竇易直傾府藏賞給，軍旋浸驕，財用殫竭。 德裕儉於自奉，留州所得，盡以贍軍，雖施與不豐，將卒無怨。 二年之後，賦輿復集。
Runzhou, after Wang Guoqing's rebellion, had seen the prior commissioner Dou Yizhi drain the treasury in rewards; on return the troops grew arrogant and funds ran dry. Deyu was austere in personal spending and devoted the prefecture's receipts entirely to the troops; though distributions were not lavish, none in the ranks resented him. Within two years tax income and transport revenues were restored.
6
德裕壯年得位，銳於布政，凡舊俗之害民者，悉革其弊。 江、嶺之間信巫祝，惑鬼怪，有父母兄弟厲疾者，舉室棄之而去。 德裕欲變其風，擇鄉人之有識者，諭之以言，繩之以法，數年之間，弊風頓革。 屬郡祠廟，按方誌，前代名臣賢後則祠之。 四郡之內，除淫祠一千一十所。 又罷私邑山房一千四百六十，以清寇盜。 人樂其政，優詔嘉之。
In the strength of youth he took office eager to govern; every local abuse harming the people he abolished. Between Yangzi and Nanling people trusted shamans and feared specters; families would abandon kin stricken with serious illness and flee. Deyu sought to change the custom: he chose knowledgeable locals, instructed and restrained them by law, and within years the vicious practice collapsed. For district shrines he followed gazetteers, enshrining former worthy ministers and worthy descendants. Across four prefectures he abolished illicit shrines—1,110 in all. He also abolished 1,460 private hill lodges in local communities to suppress banditry. The people welcomed his rule; the court issued a commendatory edict praising him.
7
昭湣皇帝童年纘歷，頗事奢靡。 即位之年七月，詔浙西造銀盝子妝具二十事進內。 德裕奏曰：
Emperor Jingzong came to the throne young and was much given to extravagance. In the seventh month of his accession year an edict ordered Zhexi to present twenty silver toilet sets to the inner palace. Deyu submitted a memorial that read:
8
時準赦不許進獻。 逾月之後，征貢之使，道路相繼。 故德裕因訴而諷之。 事奏，不報。
At the time a recent amnesty forbade such presentations. A month later, tribute envoys crowded the roads in succession. Therefore Deyu used his petition to remonstrate indirectly. The memorial was submitted but received no answer.
9
又詔進可幅盤條繚綾一千匹，德裕又論曰：
Another edict ordered 1,000 bolts of tray-width patterned silk; Deyu argued again:
10
優詔報之。 其繚綾罷進。
The throne replied with a gracious edict. The silk tribute was halted.
11
元和已來，累敕天下州府，不得私度僧尼。 徐州節度使王智興聚貨無厭，以敬宗誕月，請於泗州置僧壇，度人資福，以邀厚利。 江、淮之民，皆群黨渡淮。 德裕奏論曰：
Since Yuanhe repeated edicts had forbidden prefectures and circuits from ordaining clergy privately. Wang Zhixing, Xuzhou commissioner, insatiable for profit, on Jingzong's birthday month asked to establish an ordination altar at Sizhou to ordain the faithful for merit—and heavy fees. People of the Jiang-Huai region crossed the Huai in crowds. Deyu submitted argument saying:
12
狀奏，即日詔徐州罷之。
When the memorial was in, that very day an edict ordered Xuzhou to cease.
13
敬宗荒僻日甚，遊幸無恆； 疏遠賢能，昵比群小。 坐朝月不二三度，大臣罕得進言。 海內憂危，慮移宗社。 德裕身居廉鎮，傾心王室，遣使獻《丹扆箴》六首，曰：
Jingzong grew daily more dissolute in conduct; his tours had no fixed pattern; he distanced worthy men and drew near petty favorites. He sat court at most two or three times a month; great ministers rarely gained audience to speak. The realm was alarmed; some feared the throne itself might shift. Deyu, though on the frontier, turned his heart to the throne and sent envoys presenting six "Admonitions for the Crimson Screen," saying:
14
其《宵衣箴》曰：「先王聽政，昧爽以俟。 雞鳴既盈，日出而視。 伯禹大聖，寸陰為貴。 光武至仁，反支不忌。 無俾姜後，獨去簪珥。 彤管記言，克念前誌。」
The Early Rising admonition: "Former kings attended to government, waiting from first light. When the cocks had crowed full, at sunrise they looked forth. Yu the Great Sage treasured every inch of shadow. Guangwu the most benevolent did not shun the "negative branch" day for rest. Do not let an empress like Jiang go alone removing hairpins and earrings. The red tube records words—hold fast to the lessons of the past."
15
其《正服箴》曰：「聖人作服，法象可觀。 雖在宴遊，尚不懷安。 汲黯莊色，能正不冠。 楊阜毅然，亦譏縹紈。 四時所禦，各有其官。 非此勿服，惟辟所難。」
The Proper Dress admonition: "The sage fashioned dress with emblems one may read. Even at feast or hunt one does not sink into comfort. Ji An with stern bearing could correct one who wore no cap. Yang Fu with equal sternness rebuked pale silk finery. Each season's proper attire has its proper office. Wear no other—the ruler alone may be pressed."
16
其《罷獻箴》曰：「漢文罷獻，詔還騄耳。 鑾輅徐驅，焉用千里？ 厥後令王，亦能恭己。 翟裘既焚，筒布則毀。 道德為麗，慈仁為美。 不過天道，斯為至理。」
The Ceasing Tribute admonition: "Emperor Wen of Han ended tribute; edict returned the dappled horses. The imperial carriage moves slowly—what need of horses for a thousand li? Later worthy kings likewise could restrain themselves. Once the marten cloak was burned, bamboo-cloth sheets were destroyed. Virtue as ornament, kindness and benevolence as beauty. Not to overstep Heaven's way—that is the highest principle."
17
其《納誨箴》曰：「惟後納誨，以求厥中。 從善如流，乃能成功。 漢驁流湎，舉白浮鐘。 魏睿侈汰，淩霄作宮。 忠雖不忤，善亦不從。 以規為瑱，是謂塞聰。」
The Receiving Remonstrance admonition: "Only when the sovereign heeds counsel can the middle way be found. Heeding good counsel as water flows downhill—only then can success be won. Emperor Ai of Han drowned in wine, raising cups while bells floated. Cao Rui of Wei was prodigal, erecting a Lingxiao Palace that scraped the heavens. Though loyal words gave no offense, good counsel was still not heeded. Treating remonstrance as ear-stoppers—this is what it means to deafen oneself."
18
其《辯邪箴》曰：「居上處深，在察微萌。 雖有讒慝，不能蔽明。 漢之有昭，德過周成。 上書知偽，照奸得情。 燕、蓋既折，王猷洽平。 百代之後，乃流淑聲。」
The Discerning Evil admonition: "Sitting high and looking deep—to detect evil in its first sprouting. Though slanderers and schemers exist, they cannot hide the light. Under Han there was Emperor Zhao, whose virtue exceeded King Cheng of Zhou. He knew forged memorials for what they were and exposed treachery to the truth. Once the Yan and Gai factions were crushed, the royal enterprise ran smooth. A hundred generations on, his fair name still resounds."
19
其《防微箴》曰：「天子之孝，敬遵王度。 安必思危，乃無遺慮。 亂臣猖蹶，非可遽數。 玄黃莫辨，觸瑟始仆。 柏谷微行，豺豕塞路。 睹貌獻飧，斯可誡懼。」
The Guarding the Slight admonition: "The Son of Heaven's filial piety lies in reverently keeping royal rule. In peace one must think of peril—then no worry is left unattended. Rebellious ministers run riot—they cannot be numbered offhand. When black and yellow could not be told apart, it took a snapped zither-string to bring him down. An incognito tour through Bailu Valley found wolves and swine blocking the way. A stranger saw his face and offered a meal—such is the lesson that should inspire dread."
20
帝手詔答曰：「卿文雅大臣，方隅重寄。 表率諸部，肅清全吳。 化洽行春，風澄坐嘯，眷言善政，想嘆在懷。 卿之宗門，累著聲績，冠內廷者兩代，襲侯伯者六朝。 果能激愛君之誠，喻詩人之旨。 在遠而不忘忠告，諷上而常深慮微。 博我以端躬，約予以循禮。 三復規諫，累夕稱嗟。 置之座隅，用比韋弘之益； 銘諸心腑，何啻藥石之功？ 卿既以投誠，朕每懷開諫，茍有過舉，無忘密陳。 山川既遐，睠屬何已，必當克己，以副乃誠。」
The emperor replied in his own hand: "You are a cultivated senior minister, entrusted with weighty charge in the provinces. You set the standard for every commandery and brought peace to all Wu. Your rule harmonized the land like spring itself; your governance was serene—and when I recall your good policies, admiration wells up in me. Your house has piled up renown for generations—two generations led the inner court, six in a row inherited marquisates and earldoms. You have truly roused a loyal heart and embodied the poets' intent. Though distant, you do not forget faithful remonstrance; in admonishing your sovereign, you ever dwell on nipping peril in the bud. You enlarged my mind with upright example and constrained me within ritual. I read your admonitions again and again and praised them night after night. I keep them beside my seat, as one might Wei Hong's counsel; I inscribe them on my heart—what is that but the force of healing stone and medicine? Now that you have shown such sincerity, I ever welcome frank counsel; should I err, do not fail to tell me in confidence. Though mountains and rivers lie between us, my regard for you does not cease; you must discipline yourself to match this sincerity."
21
德裕意在切諫，不欲斥言，托箴以盡意。 《宵衣》，諷坐朝稀晚也； 《正服》，諷服禦乖異也； 《罷獻》，諷征求玩好也； 《納誨》，諷侮棄讜言也； 《辨邪》，諷信任群小也； 《防微》，諷輕出遊幸也。 帝雖不能盡用其言，命學士韋處厚殷勤答詔，頗嘉納其心焉。 德裕久留江介，心戀闕廷，因事寄情，望回聖獎。 而逢吉當軸，枳棘其塗，竟不得內徙。
Deyu meant to admonish earnestly; unwilling to speak plainly, he used these admonitions to say all he meant. Early Rising rebukes infrequent and tardy audiences; Correct Dress rebukes irregular court attire; Ceasing Tribute rebukes exactions of curios and luxuries; Receiving Remonstrance rebukes scorning honest counsel; Discerning Evil rebukes trusting petty men; Guarding the Slight rebukes rash excursions from the palace. Though the emperor could not adopt all he said, he had Academician Wei Chuhou draft a warm reply and clearly valued his intent. Deyu had long stayed in the lower Yangtze, yearning for the capital; in this matter he poured out his heart, hoping for favor from the throne. Yet Li Fengji held the helm, and thorns choked his road—he never won transfer back to court.
22
寶歷二年，亳州言出聖水，飲之者愈疾。 德裕奏曰：「臣訪聞此水，本因妖僧誑惑，狡計丐錢。 數月已來，江南之人，奔走塞路。 每三二十家，都顧一人取水。 擬取之時，疾者斷食葷血，既飲之後，又二七日蔬飧，危疾之人，俟之愈病。 其水鬥價三貫，而取者益之他水，沿路轉以市人，老疾飲之，多至危篤。 昨點兩浙、福建百姓渡江者，日三五十人。 臣於蒜山渡已加捉搦。 若不絕其根本，終無益黎氓。 昔吳時有聖水，宋、齊有聖火，事皆妖妄，古人所非。 乞下本道觀察使令狐楚，速令填塞，以絕妖源。」 從之。
In Baoli year 2, Bozhou reported holy water whose drinkers were healed of disease. Deyu submitted: "My inquiries show this water began with a rogue monk's deceit and a cunning scheme to extort money. For months, people south of the Yangtze have jammed the roads in their rush. Every twenty or thirty households together hired one man to fetch the water. Before fetching it, the sick gave up meat and blood; after drinking, they ate only plain fare for fourteen days more, and the critically ill waited to see if they improved. A dou of the water cost three strings of cash, yet fetchers adulterated it with other water and resold it along the road; the aged and ailing who drank it often grew critically ill. Yesterday I counted commoners from the two Zhe circuits and Fujian crossing the river—thirty to fifty a day. At Suanshan Ford I have already begun seizing them. Unless the root is cut off, the people will never be helped. In Wu there was holy water; in Song and Qi, holy fire—all sorcery, which the ancients rejected. I ask that Your Majesty order the observation commissioner of this circuit, Linghu Chu, to fill it in at once and stop this source of sorcery." His request was granted.
23
敬宗為兩街道士趙歸真說以神仙之術，宜訪求異人以師其道。 僧惟貞、齊賢、正簡說以祠禱修福，以致長年。 四人皆出入禁中，日進邪說。 山人杜景先進狀，請於江南求訪異人。 至浙西，言有隱士周息元，壽數百歲。 帝即令高品、薛季棱往潤州迎之。 仍詔德裕給公乘遣之。 德裕因中使還，獻疏曰：
Jingzong, urged by the Capital Daoist Zhao Guizhen, was told of immortal arts and advised to seek extraordinary men as teachers of the Way. The monks Weizhen, Qixian, and Zhengjian preached that rites and prayer earn merit and bring long life. All four moved in and out of the inner palace, daily pouring forth perverse counsel. The recluse Du Jingxian submitted a memorial asking that extraordinary men be sought in the south. In western Zhe he named a recluse, Zhou Xiyuan, said to be several hundred years old. The emperor immediately sent Gao Pin and Xue Jiling to Runzhou to escort him. He also ordered Deyu to provide an official carriage and send him on. When the palace envoy returned, Deyu submitted a memorial saying:
24
息元至京，帝館之於山亭，問以道術。 自言識張果、葉靜能，詔寫真待詔李士昉問其形狀，圖之以進。 息元山野常人，本無道學，言事誕妄，不近人情。 及昭湣遇盜而殂，文宗放還江左。 德裕深識守正，皆此類也。
When Xiyuan reached the capital, the emperor housed him in a mountain pavilion and asked him about Daoist arts. He claimed acquaintance with Zhang Guo and Ye Jingneng; the emperor ordered the portrait artist Li Shifang to ask their likenesses and had pictures drawn and submitted. Xiyuan was a common rustic of the hills, with no true learning of the Way; his talk was absurd and out of touch with reason. When Jingzong fell to assassins, Wenzong sent him back to the lower Yangtze. Deyu's keen judgment and steadfast integrity were all of this kind.
25
文宗即位，就加檢校禮部尚書。 太和三年八月，召為兵部侍郎，裴度薦以為相。 而吏部侍郎李宗閔有中人之助，是月拜平章事，懼德裕大用。 九月，檢校禮部尚書，出為鄭滑節度使。 德裕為逢吉所擯，在浙西八年。 雖遠闕庭，每上章言事。 文宗素知忠藎，采朝論征之。 到未旬時，又為宗閔所逐，中懷於悒，無以自申。 賴鄭覃侍講禁中，時稱其善； 雖朋黨流言，帝乃心未已。 宗閔尋引牛僧孺同知政事，二憾相結，凡德裕之善者，皆斥之於外。 四年十月，以德裕檢校兵部尚書、成都尹、劍南西川節度副大使、知節度事、管內觀察處置、西山八國雲南招撫等使。 裴度於宗閔有恩。 度征淮西時，請宗閔為彰義觀察判官，自後名位日進。 至是恨度援德裕，罷度相位，出為興元節度使，牛、李權赫於天下。
On Wenzong's accession, Deyu was immediately made acting Minister of Rites. In the eighth month of Taihe year 3, he was recalled as Vice Minister of War; Pei Du recommended him for the chancellorship. But Vice Minister of Personnel Li Zongmin had eunuch backing; that month he became Grand Counselor, fearing Deyu would be heavily used. In the ninth month, with acting rank as Minister of Rites, Deyu was sent out as commissioner of Zheng-Hua. Deyu, ostracized by Fengji, stayed in western Zhe eight years. Though distant from court, he often memorialized on public affairs. Wenzong had long known his loyalty and, heeding court opinion, recalled him. Within ten days of arrival he was again expelled by Zongmin; resentment filled him and he had no way to clear himself. Fortunately Zheng Tan lectured in the inner palace and was praised for his integrity; though factional rumor swirled, the emperor's regard for him did not die. Zongmin soon brought Niu Sengru in as fellow chancellor; the two grievances fused, and anyone who favored Deyu was pushed out of court. In the tenth month of year 4, Deyu was made acting Minister of War, Prefect of Chengdu, Jiannan West Circuit deputy commissioner with full circuit authority, observation commissioner within the circuit, and commissioner for the Western Mountain Eight Kingdoms, Yunnan pacification, and related duties. Pei Du was in Zongmin's debt. During Du's Huai-Xi campaign he had appointed Zongmin Zhangyi observation judge; thereafter Zongmin's rank rose steadily. Now he resented Du for supporting Deyu, stripped Du of the chancellorship, and sent him to Xingyuan; Niu and Li then dominated the empire.
26
西川承蠻寇剽虜之後，郭釗撫理無術，人不聊生。 德裕乃復葺關防，繕完兵守。 又遣人入南詔，求其所俘工匠，得僧道工巧四千余人，復歸成都。 五年九月，吐蕃維州守將悉怛謀請以城降。 其州南界江陽，岷山連嶺而西，不知其極； 北望隴山，積雪如玉； 東望成都，若在井底。 一面孤峰，三面臨江，是西蜀控吐蕃之要地。 至德後，河、隴陷蕃，唯此州尚存。 吐蕃利險要，將婦人嫁於此州閽者。 二十年後，婦人生二子成長。 及蕃兵攻城，二子內應，其州遂陷。 吐蕃得之，號曰「無憂城」。 貞元中，韋臯鎮蜀，經略西山八國，萬計取之不獲，至是悉怛謀遣人送款。 德裕疑其詐，遣人送錦袍金帶與之，托雲候取進止，悉怛謀乃盡率郡人歸成都。 德裕乃發兵鎮守，因陳出攻之利害。 時牛僧孺沮議，言新與吐蕃結盟，不宜敗約，語在《僧孺傳》。 乃詔德裕卻送悉怛謀一部之人還維州，贊普得之，皆加虐刑。 德裕六年復修邛峽關，移巂州於臺登城以扞蠻。
Western Shu, after Man raids and plunder, had been ruled without skill by Guo Zhao; the people were destitute. Deyu restored frontier posts and defenses and put the army and garrisons back in order. He also sent envoys into Nanzhao to recover captured craftsmen, obtaining more than four thousand monks, artisans, and skilled workers and restoring them to Chengdu. In the ninth month of year 5, the Tibetan garrison commander of Weizhou, Xin Tuanmo, offered to surrender the city. South of the prefecture lay Jiangyang; westward the Min Mountains stretched in endless ridges. To the north one saw Long Mountains, snow heaped like jade. To the east one saw Chengdu as though from the bottom of a well. One side was a lone peak; three sides faced the river—the choke point by which western Shu held Tibet at bay. After Zhide, the He and Long regions fell to Tibet; only this prefecture remained. Tibet prized its terrain and married women to the men who kept its gates. Twenty years on, the women bore two sons who came of age. When Tibetan troops besieged the city, the two sons opened from within and the prefecture was lost. Tibet took it and named it the "City Without Care." Under Zhenyuan, Wei Gao held Shu and campaigned against the Western Mountain Eight Kingdoms; with ten thousand schemes he could not retake it—now Xin Tuanmo sent men to offer allegiance. Deyu suspected a ruse and sent envoys with a brocade robe and gold belt, claiming he was waiting for instructions; Xin Tuanmo then brought the entire prefecture back to Chengdu. Deyu then sent troops to secure the region and memorialized on the gains and risks of an offensive. Niu Sengru blocked the proposal, arguing that Tibet had just become an ally and the pact must not be broken; the fuller account is in his biography. The court then ordered Deyu to return Xin Tuanmo's people to Weizhou; when the Tibetan king received them, he inflicted savage punishments on them all. In his sixth year in command he rebuilt Qiong Gorge Pass and moved Xi Prefecture to Taideng to block the southern tribes.
27
德裕所歷征鎮，以政績聞。 其在蜀也，西拒吐蕃，南平蠻、蜒。 數年之內，夜犬不驚； 瘡痏之民，粗以完復。 會監軍王踐言入朝知樞密，嘗於上前言悉怛謀縛送以快戎心，絕歸降之義，上頗尤僧孺。 其年冬，召德裕為兵部尚書。 僧孺罷相，出為淮南節度使。 七年二月，德裕以本官平章事，進封贊皇伯，食邑七百戶。 六月，宗閔亦罷，德裕代為中書侍郎、集賢大學士。
In every post as frontier commissioner, his governance won renown. In Shu he checked Tibet in the west and pacified the Man and Yan peoples in the south. Within a few years the nights were so quiet that dogs never barked. A populace scarred by war was brought, however roughly, back to wholeness. When army supervisor Wang Jianyan entered court to serve on the Privy Council, he told the emperor that handing Xin Tuanmo over in bonds had gratified the Tibetans and destroyed the logic of defection; the emperor came to blame Sengru deeply. That winter Deyu was recalled as Minister of War. Sengru was removed from the chancellorship and sent out to govern Huainan. In the second month of year 7 he became chief minister while keeping his existing rank, was ennobled as Baron of Zanhuang, and received a fief of seven hundred households. In the sixth month Zongmin was dismissed as well; Deyu took his place as Vice Director of the Secretariat and Grand Academician of the Hall for Cherishing Worthies.
28
其年十二月，文宗暴風恙，不能言者月余。 八年正月十六日，始力疾御紫宸見百僚。 宰臣退問安否，上嘆醫無名工者久之。 由是王守澄進鄭註。 初，註構宋申錫事，帝深惡之，欲令京兆尹杖殺之。 至是以藥稍效，始善遇之。 守澄復進李訓，善《易》。 其年秋，上欲授訓諫官。 德裕奏曰：「李訓小人，不可在陛下左右。 頃年惡積，天下皆知； 無故用之，必駭視聽。」 上曰：「人誰無過，俟其悛改。 朕以逢吉所托，不忍負言。」 德裕曰：「聖人有改過之義。 訓天性奸邪，無悛改之理。」 上顧王涯曰：「商量別與一官。」 遂授四門助教。 制出，給事中鄭肅、韓佽封之不下。 王涯召肅面喻令下。 俄而鄭註亦自絳州至。 訓、註惡德裕排己，九月十日，復召宗閔於興元，授中書侍郎、平章事，代德裕。 出德裕為興元節度使。 德裕中謝日，自陳戀闕，不願出籓，追敕守兵部尚書。 宗閔奏制命已行，不宜自便，尋改檢校尚書左僕射、潤州刺史、鎮海軍節度、蘇常杭潤觀察等使，代王璠。
In the twelfth month of that year Wenzong was stricken with a sudden violent illness and remained speechless for more than a month. On the sixteenth day of the first month of year 8 he at last dragged himself, still ill, to the Zichen Hall to face the full court. When the chief ministers withdrew and asked after his health, the emperor sighed at length that no master physician could be found. Thereupon Wang Shoucheng introduced Zheng Zhu. Earlier Zhu had engineered the Song Shenxi affair; the emperor loathed him and wanted the Jingzhao prefect to beat him to death. Now that the medicine was beginning to work, the emperor started to treat him with favor. Shoucheng also introduced Li Xun, who was adept in the Book of Changes. That autumn the emperor wished to make Xun a remonstrance official. Deyu submitted: "Li Xun is a base man and must not remain at Your Majesty's side. His misdeeds have accumulated for years and the whole empire knows them; to appoint him without cause would shock every eye and ear in the realm." The emperor said, "Who is without fault? Let him reform first. I cannot, for Fengji's sake, break the pledge he entrusted to me." Deyu said, "Even sages hold that faults may be corrected. But Xun is treacherous by nature; there is no reform in him." The emperor turned to Wang Ya and said, "Find him some other post." Xun was then made tutor of the Four Gates. When the appointment edict was issued, the supervising secretaries Zheng Su and Han Yi sealed it and refused to promulgate it. Wang Ya summoned Su and instructed him in person to let it through. Before long Zheng Zhu too arrived from Jiangzhou. Xun and Zhu resented Deyu for shutting them out; on the tenth day of the ninth month Zongmin was recalled from Xingyuan, made Vice Director and chief minister, and replaced Deyu. Deyu was sent out to serve as Xingyuan military commissioner. At his court leave-taking Deyu declared his longing for the capital and his unwillingness to go to the provinces; an urgent edict followed, leaving him Minister of War. Zongmin argued that the appointment had already been issued and Deyu must not bend the rules to suit himself; he was soon changed to acting Left Vice Director of the Secretariat, Prefect of Runzhou, Zhenhai military commissioner, and Suzhou-Changzhou-Hangzhou-Runzhou observation commissioner, replacing Wang Pu.
29
德裕至鎮，奉詔安排宮人杜仲陽於道觀，與之供給。 仲陽者，漳王養母，王得罪，放仲陽於潤州故也。 九年三月，左丞王璠、戶部侍郎李漢進狀，論德裕在鎮，厚賂仲陽，結托漳王，圖為不軌。 四月，帝於蓬萊殿召王涯、李固言、路隨、王璠、李漢、鄭註等，面證其事。 璠、漢加誣構結，語甚切至。 路隨奏曰：「德裕實不至此。 誠如璠、漢之言，僥臣亦合得罪。」 群論稍息。 尋授德裕太子賓客，分懷東都。 其月，又貶袁州長史。 路隨坐證德裕，罷相，出鎮浙西。 其年七月，宗閔坐救楊虞卿，貶處州。 李漢坐黨宗閔，貶汾州。 十一月，王璠與李訓造亂伏誅，而文宗深悟前事，知德裕為朋黨所誣。 明年三月，授德裕銀青光祿大夫，量移滁州刺史。 七月，遷太子賓客。 十一月，檢校戶部尚書，復浙西觀察使。 德裕凡三鎮浙西，前後十余年。
On reaching his command Deyu carried out an edict placing palace woman Du Zhongyang in a Daoist abbey and supplying her needs. Zhongyang had been Prince Zhang's nurse; when the prince fell, she had been sent down to Runzhou for that reason. In the third month of year 9, Left Assistant Wang Pu and Vice Minister of Revenue Li Han memorialized that at his post Deyu had lavished bribes on Zhongyang and conspired with Prince Zhang to rebel. In the fourth month the emperor summoned Wang Ya, Li Guyan, Lu Sui, Wang Pu, Li Han, Zheng Zhu, and others to Penglai Hall to confront the charges. Pu and Han heaped on fabricated charges of conspiracy, their language fierce and exact. Lu Sui submitted: "Deyu has surely not gone so far. If what Pu and Han say is true, your unworthy servant deserves punishment as well." The uproar gradually died away. Soon Deyu was made Crown Prince's guest and posted to the eastern capital. That same month he was demoted to registrar of Yuanzhou. Lu Sui, for speaking up for Deyu, was stripped of the chancellorship and sent out to govern western Zhejiang. In the seventh month of that year Zongmin, for intervening for Yang Yuqing, was demoted to Chuzhou. Li Han, as Zongmin's partisan, was demoted to Fenzhou. In the eleventh month Wang Pu and Li Xun rose in rebellion and were executed; Wenzong then saw the earlier case clearly and knew Deyu had been framed by faction. In the third month of the following year Deyu was made Silver and Blue Light Chamberlain and transferred in grade to prefect of Chuzhou. In the seventh month he was made Crown Prince's guest again. In the eleventh month he was made acting Minister of Revenue and restored as western Zhejiang observation commissioner. Deyu governed western Zhejiang three times in all, for more than ten years altogether.
30
開成二年五月，授揚州大都督府長史、淮南節度副大使、知節度使事，代牛僧孺。 初，僧孺聞德裕代己，乃以軍府事交付副使張鷺，即時入朝。 時揚州府藏錢帛八十萬貫匹，及德裕至鎮，奏領得止四十萬，半為張鷺支用訖。 僧孺上章訟其事，詔德裕重檢括，果如僧孺之數。 德裕稱初到鎮疾病，為吏隱欺，請罰。 詔釋之。 補闕王績、魏謨，崔黨韋有翼、拾遺令狐綯書左僕射。 五年正月，武宗即位。 七月，召德裕於淮南。 九月，授門下侍郎、同平章事。
In the fifth month of Kai Cheng year 2 he was made chief administrator of the Yangzhou metropolitan prefecture, Huainan deputy commissioner with full circuit authority, replacing Niu Sengru. When Sengru first learned Deyu would replace him, he handed headquarters affairs to deputy commissioner Zhang Lu and hurried to court. The Yangzhou treasury then held eight hundred thousand strings and pieces of cash and silk; when Deyu took command he reported receiving only four hundred thousand—half had already been spent by Zhang Lu. Sengru memorialized to dispute the account; the court ordered Deyu to audit again, and the total matched Sengru's. Deyu said that when he first arrived he had been ill and his clerks had concealed the truth; he asked to be punished. An edict excused him. The remonstrance officials Wang Ji and Wei Mo, the Cui partisan Wei Youyi, and the remonstrance official Linghu Tao all memorialized the Left Vice Director of the Secretariat. In the first month of year 5 Wuzong ascended the throne. In the seventh month Deyu was recalled from Huainan. In the ninth month he was made Vice Director of the Chancellery and fellow chief minister.
31
初，德裕父吉甫，年五十一出鎮淮南，五十四自淮南復相。 今德裕鎮淮南，復入相，一如父之年，亦為異事。
Earlier Deyu's father Jifu had gone out to govern Huainan at fifty-one and returned from Huainan to the chancellorship at fifty-four. Now Deyu governed Huainan and re-entered the chancellorship at the same ages—a remarkable echo of his father.
32
會昌元年，兼左僕射。 開成末，回紇為黠戛斯所攻。 戰敗，部族離散。 烏介可汗奉太和公主南來。 會昌二年二月，牙於塞上，遣使求助兵糧，收復本國，權借天德軍以安公主。 時天德軍使田牟，請以沙陁、退渾諸部落兵擊之。 上意未決，下百僚商議，議者多雲如牟之奏。 德裕曰：「頃者國家艱難之際，回紇繼立大功。 今國破家亡，竄投無所，自居塞上，未至侵淫。 以窮來歸，遽行殺伐，非漢宣待呼韓邪之道也。 不如聊濟資糧，徐觀其變。」 宰相陳夷行曰：「此借寇兵而資盜糧，非計也，不如擊之便。」 德裕曰：「田牟、韋仲平言沙陀、退渾並願擊賊，此緩急不可恃也。 夫見利則進，遇敵則散，是雜虜之常態，必不肯為國家扞禦邊境。 天德一城，戍兵寡弱，而欲與勁虜結讎，陷之必矣。 不如以理恤之，俟其越軼，用兵為便。」 帝以為然，許借米三萬石。
In Huichang year 1 he also served as Left Vice Director of the Secretariat. At the end of the Kai Cheng era the Uyghurs were attacked by the Kirghiz. They were defeated in battle and their tribes scattered. Khan Wujie escorted Princess Taihe south. In the second month of Huichang year 2, encamped on the frontier, he sent envoys to beg troops and grain to recover his realm and asked to borrow the Tiande Army temporarily to protect the princess. The Tiande commissioner Tian Mou asked to attack with Shatuo and Tuyuhun tribal troops. The emperor had not decided; he referred the matter to the hundred officials, and most favored Mou's proposal. Deyu said: "In the empire's recent straits the Uyghurs rendered great service. Now their state is broken and their house ruined; they wander with nowhere to turn, encamped on the frontier themselves—they have not yet crossed into outright aggression. To slaughter them the moment they come in desperation is not the way Emperor Xuan of Han treated Hu Hanxie. Better to supply them with provisions for the moment and watch how matters develop." Chancellor Chen Yixing said, "That is to arm the foe and feed the robber—no strategy at all. Strike them at once." Deyu said, "Tian Mou and Wei Zhongping claim the Shatuo and Tuyuhun are eager to attack the enemy, but that cannot be trusted in a crisis. They advance when they see gain and scatter when they meet the foe—that is the usual way of mixed tribes; they will never truly hold the frontier for the state. Tiande is a single weakly garrisoned city, yet you would make an enemy of a fierce foe—it will surely be lost. Better to treat them fairly for now; when they overstep their bounds, then military action will be the better course." The emperor agreed and authorized lending thirty thousand shi of grain.
33
俄而回紇宰相霡沒斯殺赤心宰相，以其眾來降。 赤心部族又投幽州。 烏介勢孤，而不與之米，其眾饑乏，漸近振武保大柵、杷頭峰，突入朔州州界。 沙陁、退渾皆以其家保山險； 雲州張獻節嬰城自固。 虜大縱掠，卒無拒者。 上憂之，與宰臣計事。 德裕曰：「杷頭峰北，便是沙磧，彼中野戰，須用騎兵。 若以步卒敵之，理難必勝。 今烏介所恃者公主，如令勇將出奇奪得公主，虜自敗矣。」 上然之，即令德裕草制處分代北諸軍，固關防，以出奇形勢授劉沔。 沔令大將石雄急擊可汗於殺胡山； 敗之，迎公主還宮，語在《石雄傳》。 尋進位司空。
Before long the Uyghur chancellor Meilis killed the Chixin chancellor and came over with his followers. The Chixin tribes in turn fled to Youzhou. Wujie stood alone; denied grain, his men grew hungry and weak, drifted toward Zhenwu's Baoda stockade and Batou Peak, and broke into Shuozhou's territory. The Shatuo and Tuyuhun all hid their families in mountain strongholds; Zhang Xianjie at Yunzhou shut his walls and held out. The invaders looted at will; in the end no one stood against them. The emperor was alarmed and took counsel with his chancellors. Deyu said: "North of Batou Peak is open desert; fighting there requires cavalry. Pitting foot soldiers against them, victory is hard to secure by any logic. Wujie's strength is the princess; send bold commanders to seize her by surprise and the enemy will collapse of itself." The emperor assented and at once ordered Deyu to draft an edict directing the northern armies, tightening the passes, and entrusting Liu Mian with a surprise strategy. Liu Mian ordered his great general Shi Xiong to strike the khan swiftly at Kill-the-Hun Mountain; defeated him and escorted the princess back to the palace—the fuller account is in Shi's biography. Soon he was promoted to Minister of Works.
34
三年二月，趙蕃奏黠戛斯攻安西、北庭都護府，宜出師應援。 德裕奏曰：
In the second month of year 3 Zhao Fan memorialized that the Kirghiz were attacking the Anxi and Beiting protectorates and that an army should be sent to their aid. Deyu submitted a memorial that read:
35
乃止。
The proposal was dropped.
36
帝意傷之，尋賜贈官。
The emperor was deeply grieved and soon bestowed posthumous honors.
37
其年，德裕兼守司徒。 四月，澤潞節度使劉從諫卒，軍人以其侄稹擅總留後，三軍請降旄鉞。 帝與宰臣議可否，德裕曰：「澤潞國家內地，不同河朔。 前後命帥，皆用儒臣。 頃者李抱真成立此軍，身歿之後，德宗尚不許繼襲，令李緘護喪歸洛。 洎劉悟作鎮，長慶中頗亦自專。 屬敬宗因循，遂許從諫繼襲。
That year Deyu was additionally appointed acting Minister over the Masses. In the fourth month Liu Congjian, military governor of Zelu, died. The army had his nephew Liu Zhen take charge of the post on his own, and the three armies petitioned for the commission of command. The emperor took counsel with his chancellors on whether to grant the request. Deyu said: "Zelu lies within the empire's heartland, unlike the Hebei circuits. Every prior appointment to command had gone to scholar-officials. When Li Baozhen first raised this army, Dezong after his death still refused hereditary succession and sent Li Jian to escort the funeral train to Luoyang. By the time Liu Wu held the post, in the Changqing years he had grown quite autonomous. Jingzong's lax rule allowed Congjian to inherit in the end.
38
開成初，於長子屯軍，欲興晉陽之甲，以除君側； 與鄭註、李訓交結至深，外托效忠，實懷窺伺。 自疾病之初，便令劉稹管兵馬。 若不加討伐，何以號令四方？ 若因循授之，則籓鎮相效，自茲威令去矣！」 帝曰：「卿算用兵必克否？」 對曰：「劉稹所恃者，河朔三鎮耳。 但得魏鎮不與稹同，破之必矣。 請遣重臣一人，傳達聖旨，言澤潞命帥，不同三鎮。 自艱難已來，列聖皆許三鎮嗣襲，已成故事。 今國家欲加兵誅稹，禁軍不欲出山東。 其山東三州，委鎮魏出兵攻取。」 上然之，乃令御史中丞李回使三鎮諭旨，賜魏鎮詔書云：「卿勿為子孫之謀，欲存輔車之勢。」 何弘敬、王元逵承詔，聳然從命。 初議出兵，朝官上疏相繼，請依從諫例，許之繼襲，而宰臣四人，亦有以出師非便者。 德裕奏曰：「如師出無功，臣請自當罪戾，請不累李紳、讓夷等。 及弘敬、元逵出兵，德裕又奏曰：「貞元、太和之間，朝廷伐叛，詔諸道會兵，才出界便費度支供餉，遲留逗撓，以困國力。 或密與賊商量，取一縣一柵以為勝捷，所以師出無功。 今請處分元逵、弘敬，只令收州，勿攻縣邑。」 帝然之。 及王宰、石雄進討，經年未拔澤潞。 及弘敬、元逵收邢、洺、磁三州，稹黨遂離，以至平殄，皆如其算。
Early in Kai Cheng he massed troops at his eldest son's base, planning to raise Jinyang's armies to cleanse the court; he was intimate with Zheng Zhu and Li Xun, pledging loyalty in public while secretly watching for his chance. As soon as illness took him he put Liu Zhen in charge of the army. If we do not strike, how can we command the realm? If we indulge them and confirm the succession, every garrison will follow suit—and imperial authority will slip away forever." The emperor asked: "Do you reckon the campaign is sure to win?" He answered: "Liu Zhen's strength is nothing but the three Hebei circuits. If Weibo stays out of his camp, he can be broken for certain. Send a senior minister to proclaim the throne's will: Zelu will receive its governor on terms unlike the three circuits. Since the troubles began, every sage emperor has allowed the three circuits to pass command from father to son—it is settled custom. Now the court means to march against Zhen, but the central armies are reluctant to leave the capital region for the east. Let Weibo take the three eastern prefectures with its own forces." The emperor agreed and sent Vice Censor-in-Chief Li Hui to announce the policy to the three circuits. The edict to Weibo read: "Do not plot for your heirs and cling to the mutual grip of wagon and linchpin." He Hongjing and Wang Yuankui took the edict and submitted at once. At first debate court officials flooded in with memorials urging Congjian's precedent and a peaceful succession; even among the four chancellors some argued that war was unwise. Deyu wrote: "If the campaign fails, let the blame fall on me alone—not on Li Shen, Chen Yixing, or the others. " Once Hongjing and Yuankui took the field, Deyu memorialized again: "From Zhenyuan through Taihe, whenever the court suppressed rebellion it summoned allies from every circuit. The moment they crossed a border the treasury fed them—yet they dawdled and stalled until the state was drained. Some secretly dealt with the enemy, seizing a single county or stockade and calling it victory—that is why campaigns failed. Now restrain Yuankui and Hongjing: let them recover prefectural seats only, not ravage counties and towns." The emperor agreed. Wang Zai and Shi Xiong pressed the attack for a year without reducing Zelu. When Hongjing and Yuankui recovered Xing, Ming, and Ci, Zhen's party broke apart and the rebellion was crushed—exactly as Deyu had foreseen.
39
時王師方討澤潞。 三年十二月，太原橫水戍兵因移戍榆社。 乃倒戈入太原城，逐節度使李石，推其都將楊弁為留後。 武宗以賊稹未殄，又起太原之亂，心頗憂之。 遣中使馬元貫往太原宣諭，覘其所為。 元貫受楊弁賂，欲保祐之。 四年正月，使還，奏曰：「楊弁兵馬極多，自牙門列隊至柳子，十五余裏，明光甲曳地。」 德裕奏曰：「李石比以城內無兵，抽橫水兵一千五百人赴榆社，安能朝夕間便致十五里兵甲耶？」 元貫曰：「晉人驍敢，盡可為兵，重賞招致耳。」 德裕曰：「招召須財，昨橫水兵亂，止為欠絹一匹。 李石無處得，楊弁從何致耶？ 又太原有一聯甲，並在行營，安致十五里明光耶？」 元貫詞屈。 德裕奏曰：「楊弁微賊，決不可恕！ 如國力不及，寧舍劉稹。」 即時請降詔，令王逢起榆社軍，又令王元逵兵自土門入，會於太原。 河東監軍呂義忠聞之，即日召榆社本道兵，誅楊弁以聞。
The imperial campaign against Zelu was still under way. In the twelfth month of year 3 the Hengshui garrison at Taiyuan, ordered to transfer to Yüshe, mutinied, marched into Taiyuan, expelled Military Governor Li Shi, and made their commandant Yang Bian acting governor. Wuzong, with Liu Zhen still unbeaten and Taiyuan in revolt, grew deeply uneasy. He dispatched the palace envoy Ma Yuanguan to Taiyuan to announce the court's will and spy out the situation. Yuanguan took Yang Bian's bribes and meant to shield him. " In the first month of year 4 he returned and reported: "Yang Bian's host is immense—from the headquarters gate to Liuzi the ranks stretch more than fifteen li, bright armor sweeping the ground." Deyu replied: "Li Shi, finding the city bare, had only drawn fifteen hundred Hengshui men to Yüshe—how could he overnight muster fifteen li of steel?" Yuanguan said: "The men of Jin are fierce; any of them can fight—pay enough and they will come." Deyu said: "Recruits cost money. Yesterday's mutiny began over a single bolt of silk owed. Li Shi could not pay it—where would Yang Bian find the gold? Besides, Taiyuan owns one suit of mail for the campaign army—how could fifteen li of gleaming plate appear?" Yuanguan had no answer. " Deyu insisted: "Yang Bian is a trifling bandit and must not be spared! If our strength will not stretch, let Liu Zhen go—but not this man. He immediately asked for edicts: Wang Feng was to rally the Yüshe troops; Wang Yuankui was to enter by Tumen and join forces at Taiyuan. Hedong's supervisory commissioner Lü Yizhong heard and the same day called up Yüshe's native troops, killed Yang Bian, and reported success.
40
自開成五年冬回紇至天德，至會昌四年八月平澤潞，首尾五年，其籌度機宜，選用將帥，軍中書詔，奏請雲合，起草指蹤，皆獨決於德裕，諸相無預焉。 以功兼守太尉，進封衛國公，三千戶。 五年，武宗上徽號後，累表乞骸，不許。 德裕病月余，堅請解機務，乃以本官平章事兼江陵尹、荊南節度使。 數月追還，復知政事。 宣宗即位，罷相，出為東都留守、東畿汝都防禦使。
From winter of Kai Cheng 5, when the Uyghurs reached Tiantede, to the eighth month of Huichang 4, when Zelu fell—five years in all—strategy, the choice of commanders, army edicts, and the flood of memorials: every dispatch and every order was Deyu's alone. The other chancellors had no share. For his service he was made acting Grand Preceptor, enfeoffed as Duke of Weiguo with three thousand households. In year 5, after Wuzong took his honorific epithet, Deyu repeatedly asked to retire; the throne refused. After more than a month of illness he pressed to leave the Secretariat and was sent out as chief minister by title, concurrently prefect of Jiangling and military governor of Jingnan. Within months he was recalled to govern again. When Xuanzong took the throne, Deyu was dismissed from the chancellorship and made Eastern Capital intendant and commissioner for the eastern metropolitan Runan defense.
41
德裕特承武宗恩顧，委以樞衡。 決策論兵，舉無遺悔，以身扞難，功流社稷。 及昭肅棄天下，不逞之伍，鹹害其功。 白敏中、令狐綯，在會昌中德裕不以朋黨疑之，置之臺閣，顧待甚優。 及德裕失勢，抵掌戟手，同謀斥逐，而崔鉉亦以會昌末罷相怨德裕。
Deyu had stood in Wuzong's special trust, holding the levers of power. In counsel and in war he scarcely misstepped; he took hardship on himself, and his achievements fed the realm. When Wuzong died, men of malice set themselves to tear down what he had built. Bai Minzhong and Linghu Tao: in Huichang Deyu had not treated them as factional foes but seated them in the Secretariat and favored them generously. When Deyu fell they rubbed their hands and joined blades to expel him; Cui Xuan too, removed from office late in Huichang, nursed a grudge.
42
大中初，敏中復薦鉉在中書，乃相與掎摭構致，令其黨人李鹹者，訟德裕輔政時陰事。 乃罷德裕留守，以太子少保分司東都，時大中元年秋。 尋再貶潮州司馬。 敏中等又令前永寧縣尉吳汝納進狀，訟李紳鎮揚州時謬斷刑獄。 明年冬，又貶潮州司戶。 德裕既貶，大中二年，自洛陽水路經江、淮赴潮州。 其年冬，至潮陽，又貶崖州司戶。 至三年正月，方達珠崖郡。 十二月卒，時年六十三。
Early in Dazhong, Minzhong restored Xuan to the Secretariat; together they manufactured charges and set their man Li Xian to accuse Deyu of hidden crimes from his years in power. Deyu was stripped of the intendant post and made Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince, serving at Luoyang—in the autumn of Dazhong 1. Soon he was demoted again, to vice-prefect of Chaozhou. Minzhong's circle also had Wu Runa, former lieutenant of Yongning county, petition that Li Shen had misjudged capital cases while governing Yangzhou. The following winter he was demoted once more, to registrar of Chaozhou. Demoted, in Dazhong 2 he traveled from Luoyang by river through the Jiang and Huai toward Chaozhou. That winter he reached Chaoyang and was banished farther, to registrar of Yazhou. Not until the first month of year 3 did he reach Zhuya commandery. He died in the twelfth month, at sixty-three.
43
德裕以器業自負，特達不群。 好著書為文，獎善嫉惡，雖位極臺輔，而讀書不輟。 有劉三復者，長於章奏，尤奇待之。 自德裕始鎮浙西，迄於淮甸，皆參佐賓筵。 軍政之余，與之吟詠終日。 在長安私第，別構起草院。 院有精思亭； 每朝廷用兵，詔令制置，而獨處亭中，凝然握管，左右侍者無能預焉。 東都於伊闕南置平泉別墅，清流翠，樹石幽奇。 初未仕時，講學其中。 及從官籓服，出將入相，三十年不復重遊，而題寄歌詩，皆銘之於石。 今有《花木記》、《歌詩篇錄》二石存焉。 有文集二十卷。 記述舊事，則有《次柳氏舊書》、《御臣要略》、《代叛志》、《獻替錄》行於世。
Deyu trusted his talent and stood apart from his peers. He loved books and essays, honored the worthy and despised the wicked; even at the pinnacle of office he never stopped reading. One Liu Sanfu excelled at memorial drafts and won his special regard. From his first posting in Zhexi through the Huai campaigns, Sanfu sat at his council table. Beyond military duty they spent whole days in verse together. In his Chang'an mansion he built a separate drafting court. Within it stood the Pavilion of Concentrated Thought; whenever the throne went to war and edicts had to be shaped, he sat alone in that pavilion, brush in hand, attendants barred from the work. South of Yique, east of Luoyang, he laid out the Pingquan villa: clear water, green bamboo, stone and timber strange and still. Before he took office he had studied there. Once he marched to the provinces and returned to the council he did not walk those paths again for thirty years, yet every poem he sent back was cut into stone. Two inscribed stones remain: the Record of Flowers and Trees and the Register of Songs and Poems. His collected writings ran to twenty juan. For history he left the Sequel to the Liu Family's Old Book, Essentials for Serving Ministers, Record of Supplanting Rebellion, and Record of Offerings and Replacements in circulation.
44
初貶潮州，雖蒼黃顛沛之中，猶留心著述，雜序數十篇，號曰《窮愁志》。 其《論冥數》曰：
Even in the first rush of exile to Chaozhou he kept writing; several dozen miscellaneous prefaces, gathered as Records of Utter Want. His essay "On Fate in the Netherworld" begins:
45
其自序如此。 斯論可以警夫躁競者，故書於事末。
Such was his own preface. The piece is meant to warn the reckless and ambitious, and so it is set down at the close of his story.
46
德裕三子。 燁，檢校祠部員外郎、汴宋亳觀察判官。 大中二年，坐父貶象州立山尉。 二子幼，從父歿於崖州。 燁咸通初量移郴州郴縣尉，卒於桂陽。 子延古。 【史評】史臣曰：臣總角時，亟聞耆德言衛公故事。 是時天子神武，明於聽斷； 公亦以身犯難，酬特達之遇。 言行計從，功成事遂，君臣之分，千載一時。 觀其禁掖彌綸，巖廊啟奏，料敵制勝，襟靈獨斷，如由基命中，罔有虛發，實奇才也。 語文章，則嚴、馬扶輪； 論政事，則蕭、曹避席。 罪其竊位，即太深文。 所可議者，不能釋憾解仇，以德報怨，泯是非於度外，齊彼我於環中。 與夫市井之徒，力戰錐刀之末，淪身瘴海，可為傷心。 古所謂攫金都下，忽於市人，離婁不見於眉睫。 才則才矣，語道則難。 【贊】贊曰：公之智決，利若青萍。 破虜誅叛，摧枯建瓴。 功成北闕，骨葬南溟。 嗚呼煙閣，誰上丹青？
Deyu had three sons. The eldest, Ye, served as acting Vice Director in the Sacrificial Affairs Bureau and as aide to the Bian-Song-Bo observation commissioner. In Dazhong 2, implicated in his father's fall, he was demoted to lieutenant of Lishan county in Xiangzhou. The two younger boys were still children; they followed their father to Yazhou and died there. Ye, early in Xiantong, was transferred to lieutenant of Chen county in Chenzhou and died at Guiyang. His son was Yangu. [Historian's appraisal] The historiographer writes: In my boyhood I often heard old men tell of Duke Wei's deeds. The emperor then was martial and keen of judgment; the Duke too risked himself in person, repaying singular trust. Counsel was heeded, campaigns succeeded—lord and minister in a bond that comes once in a thousand years. Watch him thread the inner court with policy, open debate in the hall, read the enemy and seize victory with a mind that answered to no one—like Yang Youji's arrows, none falling short: a genius of the age. In letters he stood where Yan Anguo and Sima Xiangru lend the wheel; in statecraft Xiao He and Cao Shen would leave the mat. To charge him with seizing power is to press the indictment too far. What one may question is that he could not lay down old scores, repay injury with kindness, set aside the quarrel of right and wrong, or see foe and self as one within the round. That he fought market-town rivals over pennies and ended in the southern mists—there is heartbreak in that. The ancients said: a man who grabs gold beneath the capital forgets the crowd; Li Lou cannot see his own lashes. A talent, yes—but the Way is another matter. [Appraisal] The appraisal reads: His wit and resolve were keen as the Qingping sword. He shattered barbarians and rebels, swept the withered and poured from the eaves—irresistible. Triumph at the northern palace; bones in the southern ocean. Alas for the Hall of Portraits in mist—who will brush him into the scroll?