1
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:臣昨緣宣索,已具軍資歲計及近年物力聞奏,伏料聖慈,必垂省覽。 又奉詔旨,令織定羅紗袍段及可幅盤條繚綾一千匹。 伏讀詔書,倍增惶灼。 臣伏見太宗朝,臺使至涼州,見名鷹諷李大亮獻之。 大亮密表陳誠。 太宗賜詔云:「使遣獻之,遂不曲順。」 再三嘉嘆,載在史書。 又玄宗命中使於江南采䴔䴖諸鳥,汴州刺史倪若水陳論,玄宗亦賜詔嘉納,其鳥即時皆放。 又令皇甫詢於益州織半臂背子、琵琶扞撥、鏤牙合子等,蘇颋不奉詔書,輒自停織。 太宗、玄宗皆不加罪,欣納所陳。 臣竊以䴔䴖、鏤牙,至為微細,若水等尚以勞人損德,瀝款效忠。 當聖祖之朝,有臣如此,豈明王之代,獨無其人? 蓋有位者蔽而不言,必非陛下拒而不納。 又伏睹四月二十三日德音云:「方、召侯伯有位之士,無或棄吾謂不可教。 其有違道傷理,徇欲懷安,面刺廷攻,無有隱諱。」 則是陛下納誨從善,道光祖宗,不盡忠規,過在臣下。 況玄鵝天馬,椈豹盤絳,文彩珍奇,只合聖躬自服。 今所織千匹,費用至多,在臣愚誠,亦所未諭。 昔漢文帝衣弋綈之衣,元帝罷輕纖之服,仁德慈儉,至今稱之。 伏乞陛下,近覽太宗、玄宗之容納,遠思漢文、孝元之恭己; 以臣前表宣示群臣,酌臣當道物力所宜,更賜節減。 則海隅蒼生,無不受賜。 臣不勝懇切兢惶之至。
Another edict commanded the presentation of one thousand bolts of full-width coiled-pattern liao damask. Deyu again remonstrated, saying: Because of the previous imperial demand, I have already reported the annual military budget and recent material resources in full, and I trust Your Sagely Compassion will review them. I have now again received an imperial decree ordering the weaving of specified gauze robe segments and one thousand bolts of full-width coiled-pattern liao damask. On reading the edict, my alarm and distress doubled. I observe that in Taizong's reign a court envoy went to Liangzhou, saw a famous hawk, and hinted that Li Daliang should present it. Daliang secretly submitted a memorial stating his sincere view. Taizong bestowed an edict stating: "Had you sent it as tribute, you would not have been upright and compliant." He repeatedly praised and sighed over this, and it is recorded in the histories. Xuanzong also ordered palace eunuchs to gather mandarin ducks and other birds in Jiangnan. Ni Ruoshui, prefect of Bianzhou, memorialized against it, and Xuanzong bestowed an edict praising and accepting his advice; the birds were immediately all released. He also ordered Huangfu Xun to weave half-sleeve jackets, pipa plectra, and inlaid ivory boxes in Yizhou. Su Ting did not obey the edict and stopped the weaving on his own. Neither Taizong nor Xuanzong punished them, but gladly accepted what they said. I privately consider that mandarin ducks and inlaid ivory are extremely trivial matters, yet Ruoshui and others still regarded them as burdens on the people and injuries to virtue, and poured out their sincerity to show loyalty. In the reigns of our sage ancestors there were ministers like these. Could it be that in the age of an enlightened sovereign there are none? Surely those in office conceal matters and do not speak; it cannot be that Your Majesty refuses and will not accept remonstrance. I also respectfully note the virtuous pronouncement of the twenty-third day of the fourth month, which states: "Regional lords and ministers in office, let none abandon me thinking I cannot be taught. If any violate the Way and harm principle, follow desire and seek ease, let them criticize me to my face and attack me in court, concealing nothing." This shows that Your Majesty accepts admonition and follows the good, causing the glory of the ancestors to shine. If loyal remonstrance is not fully given, the fault lies with your ministers. Moreover, patterns of dark geese, heavenly horses, juniper leopards, and coiled dragons are colorful and rare, fit only for Your Sacred Person's own use. The one thousand bolts now ordered require enormous expense, which in my foolish sincerity I cannot understand. Formerly Emperor Wen of Han wore coarse black silk garments, and Emperor Yuan abolished light fine clothing; their benevolence, virtue, compassion, and thrift are praised to this day. I humbly beg Your Majesty to look closely at the acceptance shown by Taizong and Xuanzong and think back to the self-restraint of Han Wen and Emperor Yuan; to take my previous memorial and proclaim it to the ministers, to weigh what the material resources of my circuit can bear, and to grant further reduction. Then the people of the distant shores will all receive your bounty. I cannot express the extremity of my earnest anxiety and fearful trepidation.
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:王智興於所屬泗州置僧尼戒壇,自去冬於江、淮已南,所在懸榜招置。 江、淮自元和二年後,不敢私度。 自聞泗州有壇,戶有三丁,必令一丁落發,意在規避王徭,影庇資產。 自正月已來,落發者無算。 臣今於蒜山渡點其過者,一日一百余人,勘問唯十四人是舊日沙彌,余是蘇、常百姓,亦無本州文憑,尋已勒還本貫。 訪聞泗州置壇次第,凡僧徒到者,人納二緡,給牒即回,別無法事。 若不特行禁止,比到誕節,計江、淮已南,失卻六十萬丁壯。 此事非細,系於朝廷法度。
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 a memorial stating: Wang Zhixing has established an ordination platform for monks and nuns in Sizhou under his jurisdiction. Since last winter, notices have been posted throughout the region south of the Jiang and Huai to recruit ordinations. South of the Jiang and Huai, since Yuanhe 2 private ordination has not been attempted. On hearing that Sizhou had a platform, households with three adult males would certainly have one take tonsure, intending to evade royal corvée and conceal family property. Since the first month of this year, those who have shaved their heads are beyond counting. I have now been checking those crossing at Suanshan ferry: more than a hundred pass in a single day. On investigation only fourteen were former novices; the rest were commoners from Suzhou and Changzhou without credentials from their home prefecture, and they have already been ordered back to their original registrations. On inquiry I learned the procedure at the Sizhou platform: each monk who arrives pays two strings of cash, receives a certificate, and returns at once; there are no other rites. If this is not specifically prohibited, by the time of the birthday festival it is estimated that south of the Jiang and Huai six hundred thousand able-bodied males will be lost. This matter is not trivial; it bears on the laws and institutions of the court.
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:臣聞『心乎愛矣,遐不謂矣』,此古之賢人所以篤於事君者也。 夫跡疏而言親者危,地遠而意忠者忤。 然臣竊念拔自先聖,偏荷寵光,若不愛君以忠,則是上負靈鑒。 臣頃事先朝,屬多陰沴,嘗獻《大明賦》以諷,頗蒙先朝嘉納。 臣今日盡節明主,亦由是心。 昔張敞之守遠郡,梅福之在遐僥,尚竭誠盡忠,不避尤悔。 況臣嘗學舊史,頗知箴諷,雖在疏遠,猶思獻替。 謹獻《丹扆箴》六首,仰塵睿鑒,伏積兢惶。」
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: I have heard, "The heart loves—though distant, is it not spoken?" This is how the worthy men of old showed their deep devotion in serving their lord. Those distant in person yet intimate in speech face danger; those far in place yet loyal in intent risk giving offence. Yet I privately reflect that, raised up by the late sage emperor and receiving special favor and glory, if I do not love my sovereign with loyalty I would fail the divine discernment above. I previously served the former court in a time of many hidden calamities and once presented the "Ode to Great Brightness" as remonstrance, which the former court graciously accepted. My complete devotion to the enlightened sovereign today also springs from this same heart. In the past Zhang Chang, guarding a distant command, and Mei Fu in a remote borderland still exhausted sincerity and loyalty, not avoiding blame and regret. How much more should I, who have studied the old histories and know something of admonition, though distant still think of offering suggestions and corrections. I respectfully present six "Admonitions for the Crimson Screen," raising them to Your sagely discernment, prostrate and full of trepidation.
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:臣聞道之高者,莫如廣成、玄元,人之聖者,莫若軒黃、孔子。 昔軒黃問廣成子:理身之要,何以長久? 對曰:「無視無聽,抱神以靜。 形將自正,神必自清。 無勞子形,無搖子精,乃可長生。 慎守其一,以處其和。 故我修身千二百歲矣,吾形未嘗衰。」 又云:「得吾道者,上為皇而下為王。」 玄元語孔子曰:「去子之驕氣與多欲,態色與淫誌,是皆無益於子之身。 吾所告子者是已。」 故軒黃發謂天之嘆,孔子興猶龍之感。 前聖於道,不其至乎? 伏惟文武大聖廣孝皇帝陛下,用玄祖之訓,修軒黃之術; 凝神閑館,物色異人; 將以覿冰雪之姿,屈順風之請。 恭惟聖感,必降真仙。 若使廣成、玄元混跡而至,語陛下之道,授陛下之言,以臣度思,無出於此。 臣所慮赴召者,必迂怪之士,茍合之徒,使物淖冰,以為小術,炫耀邪僻,蔽欺聰明。 如文成、五利,一無可驗。 臣所以三年之內,四奉詔書,未敢以一人塞詔,實有所懼。 臣又聞前代帝王,雖好方士,未有服其藥者。 故《漢書》稱黃金可成,以為飲食器則益壽。 又高宗朝劉道合、玄宗朝孫甑生,皆成黃金,二祖竟不敢服。 豈不以宗廟社稷之重,不可輕易! 此事炳然載於國史。 以臣微見,倘陛下睿慮精求,必致真隱,唯問保和之術,不求餌藥之功,縱使必成黃金,止可充於玩好。 則九廟靈鑒,必當慰悅; 寰海兆庶,誰不歡心? 臣思竭愚衷,以裨玄化,無任兢憂之至。
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. Deyu, taking advantage of the palace envoy's return, submitted a memorial stating: I have heard that among those lofty in the Way none surpass Guangcheng and Xuan Yuan, and among the sagely among men none surpass the Yellow Emperor and Confucius. In the past the Yellow Emperor asked Guangchengzi: What is the essential principle for ordering the body to achieve longevity? He replied: "Do not look, do not listen; embrace the spirit in stillness. The form will naturally become correct; the spirit will naturally become clear. Do not labor your form, do not shake your essence; then you may attain long life. Carefully guard the One to dwell in harmony. Therefore I have cultivated my body for twelve hundred years, and my form has not yet decayed." He also said: "Those who attain my Way become emperors above and kings below." Xuan Yuan said to Confucius: "Discard your arrogance and many desires, your imposing manner and excessive ambitions; these are all of no benefit to your person. What I tell you ends here." Therefore the Yellow Emperor uttered a sigh reaching heaven, and Confucius expressed admiration as for a dragon. Were not the former sages ultimate in their pursuit of the Way? I humbly consider that Your Majesty, the Civil and Martial, Greatly Sagely and Filial Emperor, follows the teachings of the Mystic Ancestor and cultivates the arts of the Yellow Emperor; concentrating your spirit in a quiet lodge, you seek out extraordinary individuals; intending to behold their ice-and-snow demeanor and yield to the request of following the wind. Respectfully considering the imperial perception, a true immortal will certainly descend. If Guangcheng and Xuan Yuan were to arrive mingling with the crowd, speaking to Your Majesty of the Way and imparting words to Your Majesty, in my estimation nothing would surpass this. What I fear is that those who respond to the summons will be pedantic and eccentric individuals, opportunists who temporarily conform, who treat congealing ice as a minor art, flaunting heterodox and depraved ways and obscuring and deceiving intelligence. Like Wencheng and Wuli, they would have nothing to show for verification. This is why, within three years and upon receiving four imperial edicts, I have not dared to recommend a single person to fulfill the edict, truly because of these fears. I have also heard that former generations of emperors, though fond of masters of esoteric arts, none took their medicines. Therefore the Book of Han states that gold could be made, and using it for eating and drinking vessels would increase longevity. Also, during Gaozong's reign Liu Daohe and during Xuanzong's reign Sun Zengsheng both succeeded in making gold, yet the two ancestors ultimately did not dare to take it. Was it not because the weight of the ancestral temple and the state could not be treated lightly? This matter is clearly recorded in the dynastic histories. In my humble view, if Your Majesty, with profound discernment, diligently seeks, you may certainly attract a true recluse. Only inquire about techniques for preserving harmony; do not seek the merit of medicinal elixirs. Even if gold is certainly produced, it can only serve as curios and treasures. Then the numinous discernment of the Nine Temples will certainly be comforted and pleased; the myriad commoners within the seas—who would not rejoice? I wish to exhaust my foolish loyalty to assist the Mysterious Transformation, unable to bear the extreme trepidation and concern.
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 the first year of Huichang 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:據地誌,安西去京七千一百里,北庭去京五千二百里。 承平時,向西路自河西、隴右出玉門關,迤邐是國家州縣,所在皆有重兵。 其安西、北庭要兵,便於側近征發。 自艱難已後,河、隴盡陷吐蕃,若通安西、北庭,須取回紇路去。 今回紇破滅,又不知的屬黠戛斯否。 縱令救得,便須卻置都護,須以漢兵鎮守。 每處不下萬人,萬人從何征發? 饋運取何道路? 今天德、振武去京至近,兵力常苦不足。 無事時貯糧不支得三年,朝廷力猶不及,況保七千里安西哉! 臣所以謂縱令得之,實昔無用也。 昔漢宣帝時,魏相請罷車師之田; 漢元帝時,賈捐之請棄珠崖郡; 國朝賢相狄仁傑亦請棄四鎮,立斛瑟羅為可汗,又請棄安東,卻立高氏。 蓋不欲貪外虛內,耗竭生靈。 此三臣者,當自有之時,尚欲棄之,以肥中國,況隔越萬里,安能救之哉! 臣恐蕃戎多計,知國力不及,偽且許之,邀求中國金帛。 陛下不可中悔,此則將實費以換虛事,即是滅一回紇而又生之,恐計非便。
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 stating: According to geographical records, Anxi is seven thousand one hundred li from the capital and Beiting is five thousand two hundred li. In times of peace the westward route from Hexi and Longyou passed through the Yumen Gate; the whole stretch consisted of state prefectures and counties, each with heavy troop concentrations. The troops needed for Anxi and Beiting could easily be levied from nearby areas. Since the difficult times Hexi and Longyou have all fallen to Tibet. To reach Anxi and Beiting one must take the Uyghur route. Now the Uyghurs are destroyed, and it is not even known for certain whether they belong to the Kirghiz. Even if we could rescue them, we would then have to re-establish protectorates and garrison them with Han troops. Each place would require no less than ten thousand men. From where would ten thousand men be levied? By what route would supplies be transported? Today Tiande and Zhenwu are extremely close to the capital, yet military strength is constantly insufficient. In peacetime stored grain does not last three years, and the court's strength still cannot manage it. How much less could we protect Anxi seven thousand li away! This is why I say that even if we could obtain it, it would truly be useless now. In the time of Emperor Xuan of Han, Wei Xiang requested abandoning the fields at Jushi; in the time of Emperor Yuan of Han, Jia Juanzhi requested abandoning Zhuya commandery; in our own dynasty the worthy minister Di Renjie also requested abandoning the Four Garrisons and establishing Husailuo as qaghan, and further requested abandoning Andong and re-establishing the Koguryo ruling house. This was because they did not wish to covet external gains and empty the interior, exhausting the living populace. These three ministers, even when the territories were in our possession, still wished to abandon them to enrich the Central Kingdom. How much more when they are separated by ten thousand li—how could we rescue them? I fear the barbarians are full of schemes. Knowing the state's strength is insufficient, they might falsely agree while seeking gold and silk from the Central Kingdom. Your Majesty must not later regret this. This would use real expenditure to exchange for an empty matter—like destroying one Uyghur and giving birth to another. I fear this plan is not appropriate.
35
乃止。
The proposal was dropped.
36
德裕又以太和五年,吐蕃維州守將以城降,為牛僧孺所沮,終失維州,奏論之曰:臣在先朝,出鎮西蜀。 其時吐蕃維州首領悉怛謀,雖是雜虜,久樂皇風,將彼堅城,降臣本道。 臣尋差兵馬,入據其城,飛章以聞,先帝驚嘆。 其時與臣不足者,望風嫉臣,遽獻疑言,上罔宸聽,以為與吐蕃盟約,不可背之,必恐將此為辭,侵犯郊境。 詔臣還卻此城,兼執送悉怛謀等,令彼自戮。 復降中使,迫促送還。 昔白起殺降,終於杜郵致禍; 陳湯見徙,是為郅支報讎。 感嘆前事,愧心終日。 今者幸逢英主,忝備臺司,輒敢追論,伏希省察。 且維州據高山絕頂,三面臨江,在戎虜平川之沖,是漢地入兵之路。 初,河、隴盡沒,此州獨存。 吐蕃潛將婦人嫁與此州門子。 二十年後,兩男長成,竊開壘門,引兵夜入,因茲陷沒,號曰「無憂」。 因並力於西邊,遂無虞於南路,憑淩近甸,宵旰累朝。 貞元中,韋臯欲經略河湟,須以此城為始,盡銳萬旅,急攻累年。 吐蕃愛惜既甚,遂遣舅論莽熱來援。 雉堞高峻,臨沖難及於層霄; 鳥逕屈盤,猛士多糜於礧石。 莫展公輸之巧,空擒莽熱而還。 及南蠻負恩,掃地驅劫。 臣初到西蜀,眾心未安,外揚國威,中緝邊備。 其維州執臣信令,乃送款與臣。 臣告以須俟奏聞,所冀探其情偽。 其悉怛謀尋率一城之兵眾,并州印甲仗,塞途相繼,空壁歸臣。 臣大出牙兵,受其降禮。 南蠻在列,莫敢仰視。 況西山八國,隔在此州,比帶使名,都成虛語。 諸羌久苦蕃中征役,願作大國王人。 自維州降後,皆云但得臣信牒帽子,便相率內屬。 其蕃界合水、棲雞等城,既失險厄,自須抽歸,可減八處鎮兵,坐收千里舊地。 臣見莫大之利,乃為恢復之基。 繼具奏聞,請以酬賞。 臣自與錦袍金帶,颙俟詔書。 且吐蕃維州未降已前一年,猶圍魯州。 以此言之,豈守盟約? 況臣未嘗用兵攻取,彼自感化來降。 又沮議之人,不知事實。 犬戎遲鈍,土曠人稀,每欲乘秋犯邊,皆須數歲就食。 臣得維州逾月,未有一使入疆。 自此之後,方應破膽,豈有慮其後怨,鼓此遊詞。 臣受降之時,指天為誓,寧忍將三百余人性命,棄信偷安。 累表上陳,乞垂矜赦。 答詔嚴切,竟令執還,加以體披桎梏,舁於竹畚。 及將就路,冤叫呼天。 將吏對臣,無不流涕。 其部送者,使遭蕃帥譏誚,曰:「既已降彼,何須送來?」 乃卻將此降人,戮於漢界之上,恣行殘害,用固攜離。 乃至擲其嬰孩,承以槍槊。 臣聞楚靈誘殺蠻子,《春秋》明譏; 周文外送鄧叔,簡冊深鄙。 況乎大國,負此異類,絕忠款之路,快兇虐之情,從古以來,未有此事。 臣實痛悉怛謀舉城受酷,由臣陷此無辜,乞慰忠魂,特加褒贈。
Deyu further submitted a memorial on how in Taihe 5 the Weizhou garrison commander surrendered the city, was blocked by Niu Sengru, and Weizhou was ultimately lost. He stated: During the previous reign I was stationed in Western Shu. At that time the Weizhou chieftain Xin Tuanmo, though of mixed barbarian origin, had long admired the imperial influence and brought his fortified city to surrender to my circuit. I promptly dispatched troops, occupied the city, and sent a swift memorial to inform the court; the late emperor was astonished and sighed. At that time those ill-disposed toward me, catching wind of this, grew jealous and hastily offered misleading words that deceived the imperial ear, saying the covenant with Tibet could not be broken and fearing this would be used as a pretext to invade the borders. An edict ordered me to return the city and also to seize and send back Xin Tuanmo and the others so that they might be executed on the Tibetan side. A palace envoy was further sent to press for their speedy return. In antiquity Bai Qi's killing of surrendered troops ultimately brought disaster upon him at Du You; Chen Tang was exiled, which was seen as vengeance for Zhizhi. Reflecting on these past events, I felt shame all day long. Now, fortunately encountering a wise ruler and undeservedly holding high ministerial office, I venture to revisit this matter, humbly hoping for Your Majesty's consideration. Moreover, Weizhou stands atop a high mountain peak with rivers on three sides. It lies at the strategic point on the barbarian plain and is the route by which Han forces advance. Initially, when Hexi and Longyou were completely lost, this prefecture alone remained. The Tibetans secretly married women to the gatekeepers of this prefecture. Twenty years later, when the two sons had grown up, they secretly opened the fortress gates and led troops in at night, thus causing its fall; it was then renamed "Carefree." Consequently they could concentrate forces on the western frontier and have no worries about the southern route, encroaching on the near suburbs and causing successive courts anxiety day and night. During Zhenyuan, Wei Gao, wishing to manage the Hehuang region, needed to begin with this city; he exhausted elite troops numbering tens of thousands in fierce attacks for several years. The Tibetans, valuing it greatly, sent their maternal uncle Lun Mangre to its aid. The battlements were high and steep, making assault towers unable to reach the layered clouds; the winding bird paths caused many brave warriors to be crushed by rolling stones. Unable to display the ingenuity of Gongshu Ban, they merely captured Mangre and returned empty-handed. Later, when the Southern Man turned ungrateful and swept through plundering the land, I had just arrived in Western Shu. Public sentiment was unsettled; outwardly we had to display the state's majesty, while internally we had to organize border defenses. The people of Weizhou, trusting my orders, offered their allegiance. I informed them that we must await memorialization to the throne, hoping to ascertain their true intentions. Xin Tuanmo soon led the entire garrison of the city, along with the prefectural seal, armor, and weapons, filling the roads in succession and emptying the walls to return to my allegiance. I greatly deployed the yamen troops to receive their surrender. The Southern Man envoys present did not dare to look up. Furthermore, the Eight States of the Western Mountains, separated by this prefecture, though bearing the titles of envoys, had all become empty words. The various Qiang tribes had long suffered under Tibetan conscription and labor and wished to become subjects of the great kingdom. After Weizhou surrendered, they all said that if they merely received a letter and cap from me, they would submit in succession. The Tibetan frontier towns of Heshui, Qiji, and others, having lost their strategic stronghold, would naturally have to withdraw, allowing us to reduce garrison troops in eight places and effortlessly recover a thousand li of former territory. I saw immense benefit—the very foundation for restoration. I subsequently submitted a detailed memorial requesting rewards. I personally bestowed brocade robes and golden belts upon them, eagerly awaiting the imperial edict. Moreover, in the year before Weizhou under Tibet surrendered, they had still besieged Luzhou. Judging by this, how could they be keeping the covenant? Furthermore, I never used military force to attack and seize it; they came to surrender moved by our influence. Also, those who obstructed the proposal did not know the facts. The Dog Rong are slow-witted; their land is vast and sparsely populated. Whenever they wish to invade our borders in autumn, they must gather provisions for several years beforehand. For over a month after I obtained Weizhou, not a single envoy from them entered our territory. After this they should have been terrified. How could there be fear of their future resentment, inciting these idle words? When I accepted their surrender, I swore by heaven. How could I bear to abandon faith and seek personal ease by sacrificing the lives of over three hundred people? I repeatedly submitted memorials begging for compassionate pardon. The reply edict was stern and severe, ultimately ordering them seized and returned; moreover they were bound in fetters and carried on bamboo baskets. When they were about to set off on the road, they cried out to heaven in grievance. The officers and officials facing me could not hold back their tears. Those escorting them were ridiculed by the Tibetan commander, who said: "Since you have already surrendered to them, why send them back?" Then they took these surrendered people and slaughtered them on the Han border, indulging in cruel acts to solidify alienation among those who might defect. They even threw their infants and caught them on spear points. I have heard that King Ling of Chu deceitfully killed the Manzi, which the Spring and Autumn Annals clearly criticizes; King Wen of Zhou externally sent away Deng Shu, which the historical records deeply condemn. How much more for a great kingdom to betray such outsiders, sever the path of loyal submission, and gratify cruel and tyrannical sentiments? Since antiquity there has never been such a thing. I am truly pained that Xin Tuanmo and the entire city suffered such cruelty, and that through me these innocents were entrapped. I beg to comfort their loyal souls and specially confer posthumous honors upon them.
37
帝意傷之,尋賜贈官。
The emperor was deeply grieved and soon bestowed posthumous honors.
38
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.
39
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, Li Rangyi, 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.
40
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.
41
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.
42
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.
43
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.
44
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.
45
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:仲尼罕言命,不語神,非謂無也。 欲人嚴三綱之道,奉五常之教,修天爵而致人爵,不欲信富貴於天命,委福祿於冥數。 昔衛卜協於沙兵,為謚已久; 秦塞屬於臨洮,名子不悟; 朝歌未滅,而國流丹烏; 白帝尚在,而漢斷素蛇。 皆兆發於先,而符應於後,不可以智測也。 周、孔與天地合德,與神明合契,將來之數,無所遁情。 而狼跋於周,鳳衰於楚,豈親戚之義,不可去也,人倫之教,不可廢也。 條侯之貴,鄧通之富,死於兵革可也,死於女室可也,唯不宜以餒終,此又不可以理得也。 命偶時來,盜有名器者,謂禍福出於胸懷,榮枯生於口吻,沛然而安,溘然而笑,曾不知黃雀遊於茂樹,而挾彈者在其後也。 乙丑歲,予自荊楚,保厘東周,路出方城間,有隱者困於泥塗,不知其所如,謂方城長曰:「此官人居守後二年,南行萬里。」 則知憾予者必因天譴,譖予者乃自鬼謀。 雖抱至冤,不為恨。 予嘗三遇異人,非卜祝之流,皆遁世者。 初掌記北門,管涔隱者謂予曰:「君明年當在人君左右,為文翰之職,須值少主。」 予聞之,愕然變色,隱者亦悔失言,避席求去。 予問曰:「何為事少主?」 對曰:「君與少主已有宿緣。」 其年秋登朝,至明年正月,穆宗纘緒,召入禁苑。 及為中丞,閩中隱者叩門請見,予下榻與語,曰:「時事非久,公不早去,冬必作相,禍將至矣。 若亟請居外,則代公者受患。 公後十年終當作相,自西而入。」 是秋,出鎮吳門,時年三十六歲。 經八稔,尋又仗鉞南燕。 秋暮,有邑子於生引鄴郡道士至。 才升階,未及命席,謂予曰:「公當為西南節制,孟冬望舒前,符節至矣。」 三者皆與之協,不差歲月。 自憲闈竟十年居相位,由西蜀而入,代予持憲者,俄亦竄逐。 唯再謫南荒,未嘗有前知之士為予言之。 豈禍患不可移者,神道所秘,莫得預聞。
Even in the first rush of exile to Chaozhou he kept writing; several dozen miscellaneous prefaces, gathered as Records of Utter Want. His "Discourse on Hidden Destiny" states: Confucius seldom spoke of fate and did not speak of spirits—not because they do not exist. He wished people to strictly uphold the Three Bonds, revere the Five Constants, cultivate heavenly virtue and thereby attain human rank—not to place faith in wealth and honor as decreed by heaven's mandate, nor to entrust fortune and emolument to hidden destiny. In the past the divination of Wei harmonized with the sands and soldiers, and its posthumous title was long determined; the passes of Qin connected to Lintao, yet the naming of its sons showed no understanding; Chaoge had not yet fallen, yet the state flowed with the crimson crow; the White Emperor was still present, yet Han severed the white snake. All were omens that manifested first, with corresponding signs appearing later, which cannot be fathomed by wisdom. The Duke of Zhou and Confucius united their virtue with heaven and earth and were in harmony with the spirits; the numbers of the future held no secrets from them. Yet the wolf stumbled in Zhou and the phoenix declined in Chu—was it not that the duty of kinship could not be abandoned and the teachings of human relations could not be neglected? The nobility of Marquis Tiao and the wealth of Deng Tong—they could have died by arms or in the women's chambers, yet it was most unfitting that they should end in starvation; this again cannot be comprehended by reason. When fate coincides with the opportune moment, those who usurp name and rank say fortune and misfortune issue from their own minds and glory and decay are born from their lips. Complacent and at ease, suddenly laughing, they never know that the yellow oriole sporting in the lush tree has the catapult wielder behind it. In the year Yichou I was travelling from Jing-Chu to oversee the Eastern Capital, passing through Fangcheng. There was a recluse trapped in the muddy path, not knowing where he was going, who said to the chief of Fangcheng: "Two years after this official takes up his guardianship post, he will travel ten thousand li to the south." Then I knew that those who resented me would surely invoke heaven's condemnation, and those who slandered me were devising schemes like ghosts. Although I harbored the utmost grievance, I bore no hatred. I have three times encountered extraordinary men—not diviners or invocators, but all men who had withdrawn from the world. When I first held the post of recorder at the Northern Gate, a recluse from Guancen said to me: "Next year you will be by the sovereign's side in a literary and scholarly post, and you must serve a young ruler." Hearing this, I was startled and changed color; the recluse also regretted his slip of the tongue, rose from his mat, and asked to leave. I asked: "Why must I serve a young ruler?" He replied: "You and the young ruler already have a karmic bond from a past life." That autumn I ascended to court, and by the following first month Muzong succeeded to the throne and summoned me into the forbidden palace precincts. When I became vice censor-in-chief, a recluse from Min knocked at my gate requesting an audience. I set out a couch and spoke with him, saying: "Current affairs will not last long. If you, sir, do not leave early, by winter you will certainly become chief minister and calamity will befall you. If you urgently request an external post, then the one who replaces you will suffer the disaster. Ten years from now you will ultimately become chief minister, entering from the west." That autumn I went out to govern Wumen at the age of thirty-six. After eight years I again wielded the battle-axe in Nanyan. In late autumn a townsman named Yu Sheng brought a Daoist priest from Ye Commandery. He had just ascended the steps, before I could even invite him to be seated, when he said to me: "You, sir, will become military governor of the southwest. Before the full moon of the first winter month, the tally and insignia will arrive." All three of these prophecies coincided with events, not missing by a year or a month. From the Censorate, after exactly ten years, I occupied the chief ministership, entering from Western Shu; the one who replaced me in upholding the Censorate was soon also exiled. Only when I was exiled a second time to the southern wilds had no previously knowledgeable gentleman foretold it for me. Could it be that misfortunes which cannot be shifted are secrets of the divine way, not to be foreknown?
46
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.
47
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?