Volume 182 Biographies 132: Wang Zhongrong, Wang Chucun, Zhu Geshuang, Gao Pian, Shi Pu, Zhu Xuan

【序】古今御天下者，其政有四：五帝尚仁，體文德也；三王仗義，立武功也；五霸崇信，取威令也；七雄任力，重刑名也。蓋仁義既廢，然後齊之以威刑；威刑既衰，而酷吏為用，於是商鞅、李斯譎詐設矣。持法任術，尊君卑臣，奮其策而鞭撻宇宙，持危救弊，先王不得已而用之，天下之人謂之苛法。降及兩漢，承其餘烈。於是前有郅都、張湯之徒持其刻，後有董宣、陽球之屬肆其猛。雖然異代，亦克公方，天下之人謂之酷吏，此又鞅、斯之罪人也！然而網既密而奸不勝矣。夫子曰：「刑罰不中，則人無所措手足。」誠哉，是言也！

[Preface] From antiquity to the present, those who have governed the realm have pursued four kinds of rule: the Five Emperors prized benevolence and embodied the virtues of civil culture; the Three Kings relied on righteousness to build their martial renown; the Five Hegemons exalted trustworthiness to impose their authority; the Seven Warring States trusted brute force and prized harsh law and bureaucratic power. Once benevolence and righteousness had been cast aside, rulers turned to awe-inspiring punishments to keep order; when those punishments lost their force, cruel officials came to the fore, and the deceitful schemes of Shang Yang and Li Si were set in place. They upheld the law and relied on political artifice, exalting the ruler and humbling his ministers, wielding their policies like a whip over the world. The ancient kings resorted to such methods only to save a failing state, yet the people called it cruel law. By the time of the two Han dynasties, that fierce legacy still endured. Earlier there were men like Zhi Du and Zhang Tang who carried on that harshness; later came Dong Xuan, Yang Qiu, and others who let their brutality run wild. Though they lived in different eras, they too could be sternly impartial, and the realm called them cruel officials—yet they were only the guilty heirs of Shang Yang and Li Si! Yet even when the net grew tight, crime was never fully overcome. The Master said, "When punishments miss the mark, the people do not know where to set hand or foot." How true indeed that saying is!

唐初革前古之敝，務於勝殘，垂衣而理，且七十載，而人不敢欺。由是觀之，在彼不在此。逮則天以女主臨朝，大臣未附；委政獄吏，剪除宗枝。於是來俊臣、索元禮、萬國俊、周興、丘神勣、侯思止、郭霸、王弘義之屬，紛紛而出。然後起告密之刑，制羅織之獄，生人屏息，莫能自固。至於懷忠蹈義，連頸就戮者，不可勝言。武後因之坐移唐鼎，天網一舉，而卒籠八荒；酷之為用，斯害也已。遂使酷吏之黨，橫噬於朝，制公卿之死命，擅王者之威力。貴從其欲，毒侈其心，天誅發於脣吻，國柄秉於掌握。兇慝之士，榮而慕之，身赴鼎鑊，死而無悔。若是者，何哉？要時希旨，見利忘義也！

Early in the Tang, the court reformed the abuses of earlier ages, strove to overcome cruelty, and ruled with effortless grace; for some seventy years the people did not dare to deceive one another. Seen in this light, the key lay elsewhere, not in harsh punishments themselves. When Empress Wu came to rule as a female sovereign, the great ministers had not yet rallied to her; she entrusted power to prison officials and cut down the branches of the imperial clan. Then men like Lai Junchen, Suo Yuanli, Wan Guojun, Zhou Xing, Qiu Shenji, Hou Sizhi, Guo Ba, and Wang Hongyi appeared one after another. Then came secret denunciations and prisons built on fabricated charges; the living held their breath, and no one could feel secure. As for the loyal and righteous who went to the block in chains, their number is beyond telling. Empress Wu used this to seize the throne of Tang; once the heavenly net was cast, she finally held all the realm within her grasp; yet the harm done by relying on cruelty was already plain. Thus the party of cruel officials preyed at will upon the court, held the lives of dukes and ministers in their hands, and usurped the power of kings. The powerful indulged their whims; malice swelled their hearts; death sentences issued from their lips, and the reins of state lay in their hands. Vicious men admired them and rushed toward the executioner's cauldron without regret. Why were there men like these? They seized the moment to please their superiors and, seeing profit, forgot righteousness!

嘗試而論之，今夫國家行斧鉞之誅，設狴牢之禁以防盜者，雖云固矣，而猶逾垣掘冢，揭篋探囊，死者於前，盜者於後，何者？以其間有欲也！然所徇者不過數金之資耳！彼酷吏與時上下，取重人主，無怵惕之憂，坐致尊寵；杖起卒伍，富擬封君，豈唯數金之利耶？則盜官者為幸矣！故有國者則必窒凱覦之路，杜僥幸之門，可不務乎！況乎樂觀時變，恣懷陰賊，斯又郅都、董宣之罪人也。異哉，又有效於斯者！中興四十載而有吉溫、羅希奭之蠹政，又數載而有敬羽、毛若虛之危法。朝經四葉，獄訟再起，比周惡黨，剿絕善人。屢撓將措之刑，以傷太和之氣，幸災樂禍，茍售其身，此又來、索之罪人也！

Consider this: the state executes criminals and locks them in prison to guard against theft—yet though the law is said to be firm, men still scale walls, rob graves, break open chests, and pick pockets; corpses lie ahead and thieves follow behind. Why? Because desire still lies between them and their goal! Yet all they pursue is no more than a few pieces of gold! Those cruel officials rose and fell with the times, won favor with the ruler, lived without fear, and gained rank and honor with little effort; raised from the ranks of common soldiers, they grew as rich as enfeoffed lords—was their reward only a few pieces of gold? In that case, those who stole office were the fortunate ones! Surely a ruler must block the road of covetous ambition and shut the gate of lucky chance—should he not make this his task? And when they delight in watching the times change and indulge their hidden malice, they become the guilty heirs of Zhi Du and Dong Xuan as well. Strange indeed—there were again men who followed this same path! Forty years into the Restoration came Ji Wen and Luo Xixia's corrupt rule; a few years later came Jing Yu and Mao Ruoxu's dangerous law. Through four reigns lawsuits and prisons rose again; evil factions banded together and wiped out good men. They repeatedly overturned punishments about to be set aside, harming the spirit of harmony; they rejoiced in disaster and sold themselves for gain—these were again the guilty heirs of Lai Junchen and Suo Yuanli!

嗚呼！天道禍淫，人道惡殺，既為禍始，必以兇終。故自鞅、斯至於毛、敬，蹈其跡者，卒以誅夷，非不幸也。

Alas! Heaven's Way brings disaster upon the licentious; the human way hates killing. Those who begin in cruelty must end in violence. From Shang Yang and Li Si down to Mao Ruoxu and Jing Yu, all who followed in their footsteps were finally executed and exterminated—and this was no misfortune.

嗚呼！執愚賈害，任天下之怨；反道辱名，歸天下之惡。或肆諸原野，人得而誅之；或投之魑魅，鬼得而誅之。天人報應，豈虛也哉！俾千載之後，聞其名者，曾蛇豕之不若。

Alas! Clinging to folly and courting harm, they took upon themselves the resentment of the realm; they turned against the Way and disgraced their names, gathering the world's hatred upon themselves. Some were exposed in the open fields, where men could execute them; some were cast to demons and ghosts, where even spirits could punish them. The retribution of Heaven and man—how could it be empty! A thousand years hence, those who hear their names will find them worse than snakes and swine.

悲夫！昔《春秋》之義，善惡不隱，今為《酷吏傳》，亦所以示懲勸也。語曰：「前事不忘，將來之師。」意在斯乎！意在斯乎！來俊臣來俊臣，雍州萬年人也。父操，博徒。與鄉人蔡本結友，遂通其妻，因樗蒲贏本錢數十萬，本無以酬，操遂納本妻。入操門時，先已有娠，而生俊臣。兇險不事生產，反覆殘害，舉無與比。曾於和州犯奸盜被鞫，遂妄告密。召見奏，刺史東平王續杖之一百。後續天授中被誅，俊臣復告密，召見，奏言前所告密是豫、博州事，枉被續決杖，遂不得申。則天以為忠，累遷侍御史，加朝散大夫。按制獄，少不會意者，必引之，前後坐族千餘家。

How sad! The Spring and Autumn Annals did not conceal good or evil; in writing these Biographies of Cruel Officials, we likewise intend warning and encouragement. As the saying goes, "Do not forget the past—it is the teacher of the future." Is that not the point here! Is that not the point! Lai Junchen was a native of Wannian in Yong Prefecture. His father Cao was a gambler. He befriended a townsman named Cai Ben, then seduced Ben's wife; through gambling he won several hundred thousand of Ben's cash, and when Ben could not repay the debt, Cao took Ben's wife for himself. When she entered Cao's household she was already pregnant, and bore Junchen. Violent and treacherous, he would not work for a living; his cruelty was unmatched. Once in He Prefecture he was tried for adultery and theft, then filed a false secret denunciation. When he was summoned to report, the prefectural governor, Prince Xu of Dongping, had him beaten one hundred strokes. Later Xu was executed in the Tianshou era; Junchen filed another secret report and, when summoned, said his earlier denunciation concerned Yu and Bo Prefectures, that Xu had wrongly beaten him, and that he had never been able to make his case heard. Empress Wu considered him loyal and promoted him repeatedly to Attending Censor, with the added title Grand Master of Palace Leisure. In handling political prisoners, anyone who slightly displeased him was sure to be implicated; in all, more than a thousand clans were exterminated through association.

二年，擢拜左臺御史中丞。朝廷累息，無交言者，道路以目。與侍御史侯思止、王弘義、郭霸、李仁敬，司刑評事康暐、衛遂忠等，同惡相濟。招集無賴數百人，令其告事，共為羅織，千里響應。欲誣陷一人，即數處別告，皆是事狀不異，以惑上下。仍皆云：「請付來俊臣推勘，必獲實情。」則天於是於麗景門別置推事院，俊臣推勘必獲，專令俊臣等按鞫，亦號為新開門。但入新開門者，百不全一。弘義戲謂麗景門為「例竟門」，言入此門者，例皆竟也。

In the second year he was promoted to Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Left Bureau. The court held its breath; no one dared speak to another; on the roads people communicated only with their eyes. With Attending Censors Hou Sizhi, Wang Hongyi, Guo Ba, and Li Renjing, and Judicial Reviewers Kang Wei and Wei Suizhong and others, he aided one another in evil. He recruited several hundred ruffians to file reports and together weave fabricated charges; their network echoed for a thousand li. When he wished to frame someone, he had several places lodge separate reports with identical details, to confuse the court. They all said, "Please assign the case to Lai Junchen for investigation—he is sure to obtain the true facts." Thereupon Empress Wu established a special investigation office outside Lijing Gate; Junchen's investigations always "succeeded," and she gave him and his associates exclusive charge of interrogations—it was also called the Newly Opened Gate. Of those who entered the Newly Opened Gate, not one in a hundred came out alive. Hongyi jested in calling Lijing Gate the "Gate of Invariable Ending," saying that those who entered this gate invariably met their end.

俊臣與其黨硃南山輩造《告密羅織經》一卷，皆有條貫支節，布置事狀由緒。

Junchen and his associates, including Zhu Nanshan, composed a scroll called the Classic of Secret Reporting and Fabricated Entrapment, complete with sections and step-by-step instructions for framing cases.

俊臣每鞫囚，無問輕重，多以醋灌鼻，禁地牢中，或盛之甕中，以火圜繞炙之，並絕其糧餉，至有抽衣絮以啖之者。又令寢處糞穢，備諸苦毒。自非身死，終不得出。每有赦令，俊臣必先遣獄卒盡殺重囚，然後宣示。

Whenever Junchen interrogated prisoners, regardless of the charge he often poured vinegar into their noses, confined them in underground dungeons, or placed them in jars and roasted them with fire, cut off their food—some even pulled cotton from their clothing to eat. He made them sleep amid filth and subjected them to every kind of torment. Unless they died, they never left. Whenever an amnesty was issued, Junchen first had his guards kill all serious prisoners, and only then proclaimed the edict.

又以索元禮等作大枷，凡有十號：一曰定百脈，二曰喘不得，三曰突地吼，四曰著即承，五曰失魂膽，六曰實同反，七曰反是實，八曰死豬愁，九曰求即死，十曰求破家。復有鐵籠頭連其枷者，輪轉於地，斯須悶絕矣。囚人無貴賤，必先布枷棒於地，召囚前曰：「此是作具。」見之魂膽飛越，無不自誣矣。則天重其賞以酬之，故吏競勸為酷矣。由是告密之徒，紛然道路；名流僶俛閱日而已。朝士多因入朝，默遭掩襲，以至於族，與其家無復音息。故每入朝者，必與其家訣曰：「不知重相見不？」

He also had Suo Yuanli and others make great cangues, ten kinds in all: Fixing the Hundred Meridians, Cannot Breathe, Earth-Shaking Roar, Put On and Immediately Confess, Lost Soul and Gall, The Fact Is Rebellion, Rebellion Is the Fact, Dead Pig in Sorrow, Seek and Immediately Die, and Seek and Destroy the Family. There were also iron cage-heads linked to the cangues; when a prisoner was rolled on the ground, he suffocated in an instant. Regardless of rank, prisoners were first shown cangues and clubs laid on the ground and told, "These are the implements." At the sight their souls fled; none failed to confess falsely. Empress Wu richly rewarded them, so officials competed to outdo one another in cruelty. Thus secret informers swarmed the roads; noted men merely bowed their heads and waited for the days to pass. Many court gentlemen were seized on their way to court without warning, even to the extermination of their clans, and their families heard nothing more. Therefore every man who went to court bid farewell to his family, saying, "I do not know whether we shall meet again—"

，地官尚書狄仁傑、益州長史任令暉、冬官尚書李遊道、秋官尚書袁智宏、司賓卿崔神基、文昌左丞盧獻等六人，並為其羅告。俊臣既以族人家為功，茍引之承反，乃奏請降敕，一問即承，同首例得減死。及脅仁傑等反，仁傑嘆曰：「大周革命，萬物惟新，唐朝舊臣，甘從誅戮。反是實。」俊臣乃少寬之。其判官王德壽謂仁傑曰：「尚書事已爾，得減死。德壽今業已受驅策，欲求少階級，憑尚書牽楊執柔，可乎？」仁傑曰：「若之何？」德壽曰：「尚書昔在春官時，執柔任某司員外，引之可也。」仁傑曰：「皇天後土，遣狄仁傑行此事！」以頭觸柱，血流被面，德壽懼而止焉。

Minister of Revenue Di Renjie, Regional Commander of Yizhou Ren Linghui, Minister of Works Li Youdao, Minister of Justice Yuan Zhihong, Director of Guests Cui Shenji, and Left Assistant Director of the Palace Secretariat Lu Xian—all six were framed by him. Junchen, having made the extermination of clans his achievement, would try to lead prisoners to confess rebellion, then memorialize for an edict: one question and immediate confession—those who confessed first could have their sentence reduced from death. When he coerced Renjie and the others to confess rebellion, Renjie sighed and said, "The Great Zhou has transformed the realm; all things are renewed. As an old minister of Tang, I willingly accept execution. Rebellion is the fact—mocking the name of one of the cangues." Thereupon Junchen slightly relaxed his treatment. His reviewing official Wang Deshou said to Renjie, "Minister, the matter is settled—you can have your sentence reduced from death. I have already been set to work on this case and wish to gain a small promotion. Could you, Minister, implicate Yang Zhirou for me?" Renjie said, "How would that be done?" Deshou said, "When you were in the Ministry of Rites, Zhirou served as an outer-section official in your bureau—you could implicate him." Renjie cried, "Heaven and earth—would they send Di Renjie to do such a thing!" He struck his head against a pillar until blood covered his face; Deshou, frightened, stopped.

仁傑既承反，有司但待報行刑，不復嚴備。仁傑得憑守者求筆硯，拆被頭帛書之，敘冤苦，置於綿衣，遣謂德壽曰：「時方熱，請付家人去其綿。」德壽不復疑矣，家人得衣中書，仁傑子光遠持之稱變，得召見。則天覽之愕然，召問俊臣曰：「卿言仁傑等承反，今子弟訟冤，何故也？」俊臣曰：「此等何能自伏其罪！臣寢處甚安，亦不去其巾帶。」則天令通事舍人周綝視之。俊臣遽令獄卒令假仁傑等巾帶，行立於西，命綝視之。綝懼俊臣，莫敢西顧，但視東唯諾而已。俊臣令綝少留，附進狀，乃令判官妄為仁傑等作謝死表，代署而進之。鳳閣侍郎樂思晦男年八九歲，其家已族，宜隸於司農，上變，得召見，言「俊臣苛毒，願陛下假條反狀以付之，無大小皆如狀矣。」則天意少解，乃召見仁傑曰：「卿承反何也？」仁傑等曰：「不承反，臣已死於枷棒矣。」則天曰：「何謂作謝死表？」仁傑曰：「無。」因以表示之，乃知其代署，遂出此六家。

Once Renjie had confessed rebellion, the authorities merely awaited orders to execute him and no longer kept strict guard. Renjie persuaded his guards to bring him brush and inkstone, tore a strip from the head of his quilt to write on, set out his grievances, hid the note in a padded garment, and sent word to Deshou: "It is hot now—please give this to my family and have them remove the padding." Deshou no longer suspected a trick. The family found the letter hidden in the garment, and Renjie's son Guangyuan submitted it as an urgent petition and was granted an audience. Zetian read it and was stunned. She summoned Junchen and asked, "You said Renjie and the others had confessed rebellion—yet now their sons and brothers are petitioning for justice. How can this be?" Junchen said, "How could men like these ever confess their crimes on their own! Their bedding and quarters are quite comfortable, and they still wear their caps and sashes." Zetian ordered the Master of Communications Zhou Can to go and see for himself. Junchen hastily had his guards fit Renjie and the others with caps and sashes, make them walk and stand in the west court, and ordered Can to inspect them. Can feared Junchen and dared not look west; he only glanced east and murmured his assent. Junchen kept Can a little longer and attached a supplemental memorial; then he had his reviewing official forge memorials of thanks for impending death in the names of Renjie and the others, sign them on their behalf, and submit them. Le Sihui's son, Associate Director of the Phoenix Pavilion—eight or nine years old, his clan already exterminated, assigned to the Director of Agriculture—submitted an urgent petition and was granted an audience. He said, "Junchen is cruel beyond measure. Give him a sample indictment of rebellion, and every case, great or small, will match it exactly." Zetian's suspicions eased somewhat. She summoned Renjie and asked, "Why did you confess rebellion?" Renjie and the others said, "Had we not confessed rebellion, we would already have died under the cangues and clubs." Zetian said, "What do you mean by writing memorials of thanks for impending death?" Renjie said, "We wrote none." He then produced the memorials, and she saw they had been signed on their behalf. Thereupon she released all six families.

俊臣復按大將軍張虔勖、大將軍內侍范雲仙於洛陽牧院。虔勖等不堪其苦，自訟於徐有功，言辭頗厲。俊臣命衛士以亂刀斬殺之。雲仙亦言歷事先朝，稱所司冤苦，俊臣命截去其舌。士庶破膽，無敢言者。

Junchen again investigated Grand General Zhang Qianxu and Inner Attendant Fan Yunxian at the Luoyang Pastoral prison. Qianxu and the others could not endure the torture. They appealed to Xu Yougong, their words sharp and defiant. Junchen ordered his guards to hack them to death with random blows. Yunxian also spoke of having served the previous dynasty and protested the injustice of his treatment; Junchen ordered his tongue cut out. Officials and commoners alike were terrified; none dared speak out.

俊臣累坐贓，為衛吏紀履忠所告下獄。長壽二年，除殿中丞。又坐贓，出為同州參軍。逼奪同列參軍妻，仍辱其母。

Junchen was repeatedly convicted of embezzlement and was denounced and imprisoned by guard officer Ji Lüzhong. In the second year of Changshou, he was appointed Director of the Palace Directorate. Again convicted of embezzlement, he was demoted to military adjutant of Tongzhou. He forcibly took a fellow adjutant's wife and humiliated the man's mother as well.

，召為合宮尉，擢拜洛陽令、司農少卿。則天賜其奴婢十人，當受於司農。時西蕃酋長阿史那斛瑟羅家有細婢，善歌舞，俊臣因令其黨羅告斛瑟羅反，將圖其婢。諸蕃長詣闕割耳剺面訟冤者數十人，乃得不族。時綦連耀、劉思禮等有異謀，明堂尉吉頊知之，不自安，以白俊臣發之，連坐族者數十輩。俊臣將擅其功，復羅告頊，得召見，僅而免。

He was recalled as Captain of Hegong, then promoted to Magistrate of Luoyang and Vice Director of Agriculture. Zetian bestowed ten slave servants on him, to be received from the Director of Agriculture. At the time the Western tribal chieftain Ashina Husheluo had a slender maid skilled in song and dance. Junchen had his followers fabricate a charge of rebellion against Husheluo, intending to seize the maid. Several dozen tribal chiefs came to the palace, cutting their ears and slashing their faces to petition for justice—and only then was the clan spared extermination. At the time Qilong Yao, Liu Silim, and others were plotting treason. Bright Hall Captain Ji Tiao knew of it, grew uneasy, and reported it to Junchen to expose the plot. Several dozen groups were implicated and their clans exterminated. Junchen was about to claim all the credit and again fabricated charges against Tiao. Tiao was summoned for an audience and narrowly escaped with his life.

俊臣先逼妻太原王慶詵女。俊臣與河東衛遂忠有舊。遂忠行雖不著，然好學，有詞辯。嘗攜酒謁俊臣，俊臣方與妻族宴集，應門者紿云：「已出矣。」遂忠知妄，入其宅，慢罵毀辱之。俊臣恥其妻族，命毆擊反接，既而免之，自此構隙。

Junchen had first forced Wang Qingshen's daughter of Taiyuan into marriage. Junchen and Wei Suizhong of Hedong were old acquaintances. Suizhong's conduct was undistinguished, but he loved learning and was skilled in debate. Once he brought wine to visit Junchen. Junchen was feasting with his wife's kin, and the doorkeeper lied, saying, "He has already gone out." Suizhong knew it was a lie, entered the house, and reviled and humiliated him. Junchen, shamed before his wife's kin, ordered him beaten and bound with hands behind his back, then released him. From that day they were enemies.

俊臣將羅告武氏諸王及太平公主、張易之等，遂相掎摭，則天屢保持之。而諸武及太平公主恐懼，共發其罪。乃棄市。國人無少長皆怨之，競剮其肉，斯須盡矣。

Junchen was about to fabricate charges against the princes of the Wu clan, Princess Taiping, Zhang Yizhi, and others. They mutually denounced each other, and Zetian repeatedly shielded him. But the Wu princes and Princess Taiping, in fear, jointly exposed his crimes. He was executed in the marketplace. People throughout the realm, young and old alike, hated him. They competed to carve his flesh, and in an instant it was gone.

中宗三月八日，詔曰：

On the eighth day of the third month, Emperor Zhongzong issued an edict, saying:

開元十三年三月十二日，御史大夫程行諶奏：周興周興者，雍州長安人也。少以明習法律，為尚書省都事。累遷司刑少卿、秋官侍郎。自垂拱已來，屢受制獄，被其陷害者數千人。天授元年九月革命，除尚書左丞，上疏除李家宗正屬籍。二年十一月，與丘神勣同下獄。當誅，則天特免之，徙於嶺表。在道為仇人所殺。傅遊藝傅遊藝，衛州汲人也。，為合宮主簿、左肅政臺御史，除左補闕。上書稱武氏符瑞，合革姓受命。則天甚悅，擢為給事中。數月，加同鳳閣鸞臺平章事。同月，又加朝散大夫，守鸞臺侍郎，依舊同平章事。其年九月革命，改，賜姓武氏。二年五月，加銀青光祿大夫。

On the twelfth day of the third month of the thirteenth year of Kaiyuan, Censor-in-Chief Cheng Xingshen memorialized: Zhou Xing was a native of Chang'an in Yong Prefecture. In youth he mastered the law and served as Chief Clerk of the Department of State Affairs. He rose through the ranks to Vice Director of the Ministry of Justice and Vice Minister of the Autumn Office. From the Chui Gong era onward, he repeatedly controlled the prison system, and those he framed numbered in the thousands. In the ninth month of the first year of Tianshou, at the dynastic transformation, he was appointed Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and memorialized to remove the Li family's imperial clan from the registry. In the eleventh month of the second year, he was imprisoned together with Qiu Shenji. When he was to be executed, Zetian specially pardoned him and banished him to Lingbiao. On the road he was killed by an enemy. Fu Youyi was a native of Ji in Weizhou. He served as Registrar of Hegong and Censor of the Left Office of the Imperial Censorate, and was appointed Left Remonstrance Official. He memorialized praising Wu omens and declaring that the change of surname and receipt of the Mandate were fitting. Zetian was greatly pleased and promoted him to Supervising Secretary. Within months he was made Associate Director of the Phoenix and Simurgh Pavilions with the rank of Chancellor. In the same month he was further made Grand Master of Palace Attendance and Acting Vice Director of the Simurgh Pavilion, retaining his rank as Associate Chancellor. In the ninth month of that year, at the dynastic transformation, his surname was changed and he was granted the surname Wu. In the fifth month of the second year he was made Silver and Blue Light Chamberlain.

兄神童，為冬官尚書，兄弟並承榮寵。逾月，除司禮少卿，停知政事。夢登湛露殿，旦而陳於所親，為其所發，伏誅。時人號為四時仕宦，言一年自青而綠，及於硃紫也。希則天旨，誣族皇枝。神龍初，禁錮其子孫。

His elder brother Shen Tong served as Minister of Works; both brothers basked in imperial favor. After little more than a month he was appointed Vice Director of Rites and relieved of his administrative duties. He dreamed of ascending the Hall of Clear Dew. At dawn he told those close to him, and one of them reported it. He was executed. People of the time called it "the four-seasons official career"—meaning that within a single year one rose from green to crimson and purple. He fawned on Zetian's wishes and falsely implicated members of the imperial clan for extermination. At the beginning of the Shenlong era, his descendants were confined.

初，遊藝請則天發六道使，雖身死之後，竟從其謀，於是萬國俊輩恣斬戮矣。丘神勣丘神勣，左衛大將軍行恭子也。，為左金吾衛將軍。，高宗崩，則天使於巴州害章懷太子，既而歸罪於神勣，左遷疊州刺史。尋復入為左金吾衛將軍，深見親委。受詔與周興、來俊臣鞫制獄，俱號為酷吏。，博州刺史、瑯邪王沖起兵，以神勣為清平道大總管。尋而沖為百姓孟青棒、吳希智所殺。神勣至州，官吏素服來迎，神勣揮刃盡殺之，破千餘家，因加左金吾衛大將軍。十月，下詔獄伏誅。索元禮索元禮，胡人也。光宅初，徐敬業起兵揚州，以匡復為名。則天震怒，又恐人心動搖，欲以威制天下。元禮探其旨，告事。召見，擢為遊擊將軍，令於洛州牧院推案制獄。元禮性殘忍，推一人，廣令引數十百人，衣冠震懼，甚於狼虎。則天數召見賞賜，張其權勢，凡為殺戮者數千人。於是周興、來俊臣之徒，效之而起矣。時有諸州告密人，皆給公乘，州縣護送至闕下，於賓館以廩之。稍稱旨，必授以爵賞以誘之，貴以威於遠近。元禮尋以酷毒轉甚，則天收人望而殺之。天下之人謂之來、索，言酷毒之極，又首按制獄也。

Initially Youyi asked Zetian to dispatch the Six-Circuit commissioners. Though he died afterward, she eventually adopted his plan, and thereupon Wan Guojun and his kind indulged in slaughter at will. Qiu Shenji was the son of Grand General of the Left Guard Xing Gong. He served as General of the Left Gold Crow Guard. When Gaozong died, Zetian sent someone to Bazhou to kill Crown Prince Zhanghuai. Blame was then placed on Shenji, and he was demoted to Prefect of Diezhou. Soon he returned as General of the Left Gold Crow Guard and was deeply trusted. He received orders together with Zhou Xing and Lai Junchen to conduct fabricated prison interrogations; all were called cruel officials. When Prefect of Bo and Prince of Langye Chong raised troops, Shenji was made Grand Commander of the Qingping Circuit. Soon Chong was killed by the commoners Meng Qingbang and Wu Xizhi. When Shenji reached the prefecture, officials in mourning dress came to welcome him. Shenji swung his blade and killed them all, destroying more than a thousand households. He was then promoted to Grand General of the Left Gold Crow Guard. In the tenth month, by imperial edict he was imprisoned and executed. Suo Yuanli was a barbarian. At the beginning of the Guangzhai era, Xu Jingye raised troops at Yangzhou under the banner of restoration. Zetian was furious and also feared that hearts would waver; she wished to rule the realm through terror. Yuanli divined her intent and began reporting cases. Summoned for an audience, he was promoted to Mobile General and ordered to conduct fabricated prison investigations at the Luoyang Pastoral prison. Yuanli was cruel by nature. Interrogating one person, he would make him implicate dozens or hundreds of others. Officials in caps and gowns trembled before him more than before wolves and tigers. Zetian repeatedly summoned and rewarded him, expanding his power. Those he killed numbered in the thousands. Thereupon Zhou Xing, Lai Junchen, and their kind arose to imitate him. At the time secret informers from various prefectures were all provided official transport; prefectures and counties escorted them to the capital and lodged them at guest quarters on government rations. If they slightly pleased her, ranks and rewards were invariably granted to entice others, honoring them to inspire awe far and near. Before long Yuanli's cruelty grew extreme. Zetian, responding to popular outrage, had him killed. People throughout the realm called them "Lai and Suo," saying their cruelty was the utmost and that they were the first to conduct fabricated prison cases.

十月，左臺御史周矩上疏諫曰：

In the tenth month, Left Office Censor Zhou Ju submitted a memorial of remonstrance, saying:

頃者小人告訐，習以為常，內外諸司，人懷茍免。姑息臺吏，承接強梁，非故欲，規避誣構耳。又推劾之吏，皆以深刻為功，鑿空爭能，相矜以虐。泥耳籠頭，枷研楔轂，折脅簽爪，懸髮薰耳，臥鄰穢溺，曾不聊生，號為「獄持」。或累日節食，連宵緩問，晝夜搖撼，使不得眠，號曰「宿囚」。此等既非木石，且救目前，茍求賒死。臣竊聽輿議，皆稱天下太平，何苦須反。豈被告者盡是英雄，以求帝王耶？只是不勝楚毒自誣耳。何以核之？陛下試取所告狀酌其虛實者，付令推，微訊動以探其情，所推者必上下其手，希聖旨也。願陛下察之。今滿朝側息不安，皆以為陛下朝與之密，夕與之仇，不可保也。聞有追攝，與妻子即為死訣。故為國者以仁為宗，以刑為助。周用仁而昌，秦用刑而亡，此之謂也。願陛下緩刑用仁，天下幸甚！

Recently petty men have denounced others until it has become routine. Within and outside the various offices, everyone seeks only to escape harm. They indulge censorial clerks and consort with the powerful and violent—not because they wish to, but merely to avoid fabricated entrapment. Investigating officers all take harsh severity as achievement. They invent charges out of nothing and compete in cruelty, each proud of his brutality. Muddying ears, caging heads, grinding cangues and turning wedges, breaking ribs and piercing fingernails, suspending hair and smoking ears, lying amid neighbors' filth and urine—they have not a moment's peace. These are called "Prison Tortures." Or for days they restrict food, for nights they prolong questioning, day and night they shake and jolt prisoners so they cannot sleep. These are called "Overnight Prisoners." Such men are not wood or stone. To save themselves for the moment, they seek only to postpone death. I have privately listened to public discussion. All say that under the great peace of the realm, why would anyone rebel? Could all the accused be heroes seeking to become emperors? They simply could not bear the torture and falsely implicated themselves. How may this be verified? Your Majesty might try taking denunciation petitions, weighing truth and falsehood, and assigning them for investigation. With slight questioning to probe the facts, those conducting the investigation will invariably manipulate the outcome to match what they believe to be Your Majesty's intent. I beg Your Majesty to examine this. Now the whole court holds its breath in unease. All believe that whom Your Majesty favors in the morning may be Your Majesty's enemy by evening—no one can feel secure. At the mere rumor of arrest, a man bids his wife and children farewell as if for the last time. Whoever governs a state should make benevolence the foundation and use punishment only as a supplement. Zhou prospered through benevolence, while Qin was destroyed through punishment—such is the lesson. I beg Your Majesty to ease punishment and govern with benevolence. All under Heaven would rejoice!

則天從之，由是制獄稍息。侯思止侯思止，雍州醴泉人也。貧窮不能理生業，乃樂事渤海高元禮家。性無賴詭譎。時恆州刺史裴貞杖一判司。則天將不利王室，羅反之徒已興矣。判司教思止說遊擊將軍高元禮，因請狀乃告舒王元名及裴貞反。周興按之，並族滅。授思止遊擊將軍。元禮懼而曲媚，引與同坐，呼為侯大，曰：「國家用人以不次，若言侯大不識字，即奏云：『獬豸獸亦不識字，而能觸邪。』」則天果如其言，思止以獬豸對之，則天大悅。，乃拜朝散大夫、左臺侍御史。元禮復教曰：「在上知侯大無宅，倘以諸役官宅見借，可辭謝而不受。在上必問所由，即奏云：『諸反逆人，臣惡其名，不願坐其宅。』」則天復大悅，恩澤甚優。

Empress Wu assented, and thereafter the inquisition prisons grew somewhat quieter. Hou Sizhi was a native of Liquan in Yong Province. Too poor to support himself, he went willingly to work in the household of Gao Yuanli of Bohai. By nature he was a roguish, deceitful schemer. At that time Pei Zhen, the prefect of Hengzhou, had beaten a judicial aide with the staff. Empress Wu was moving against the imperial clan, and those who fabricated charges of treason were already on the rise. The judicial aide coached Sizhi into persuading Mobile General Gao Yuanli; then, on the pretext of submitting a formal petition, he accused Prince Shu Li Yuanming and Pei Zhen of treason. Zhou Xing investigated the case, and all concerned were executed to the last of their clans. Sizhi was appointed Mobile General. Terrified, Yuanli flattered him shamelessly. He had him sit beside him, called him "Lord Hou," and said: "The court promotes men by extraordinary appointment. If anyone says Lord Hou is illiterate, memorialize that the xiezhi beast cannot read either, yet it still gores the wicked. Empress Wu did exactly as he advised. When questioned, Sizhi answered with the xiezhi comparison, and she was delighted. He was then appointed Grand Master of Palace Leisure and Attending Censor of the Left Censorate. Yuanli coached him again: "The Empress knows you have no house. If she offers you one of the confiscated residences of convicted officials, politely refuse. She is sure to ask why. Then report: "I detest the names of all traitors and do not wish to dwell in their houses." Empress Wu was again delighted and showered him with extraordinary favor.

思止既按制獄，苛酷日甚。嘗按中丞魏元忠，曰：「急認白司馬，不然，即吃孟青。」白司馬者，洛陽有阪號白司馬阪。孟青者，將軍姓孟名青棒，即殺瑯邪王沖者也。思止閭巷庸奴，常以此謂諸囚也。

Once Sizhi took charge of the inquisition prisons, his cruelty grew worse by the day. Interrogating Censor-in-Chief Wei Yuanzhong, he said: "Confess at once, or you will taste Meng Qing's club at White Horse Slope." White Horse Slope" referred to a slope in Luoyang known by that name. "Meng Qing" was a general named Meng Qingbang—the man who had executed Prince Chong of Langye. Sizhi, a nobody from the lanes, constantly used these threats against every prisoner.

元忠辭氣不屈，思止怒而倒曳元忠。元忠徐起曰：「我薄命，如乘惡驢墜，腳為鐙所掛，被拖曳。」思止大怒，又曳之曰：「汝拒捍制使，奏斬之。」元忠曰：「侯思止，汝今為國家御史，須識禮數輕重。如必須魏元忠頭，何不以鋸截將，無為抑我承反。奈何爾佩服硃紫，親銜天命，不行正直之事，乃言白司馬、孟青，是何言也！非魏元忠，無人抑教。」思止驚起悚怍，曰：「思止死罪，幸蒙中丞教。」引上床坐而問之。元忠徐就坐自若，思止言竟不正。時人效之，以為談謔之資。侍御史霍獻可笑之，思止以聞。則天怒，謂獻可曰：「我已用之，卿笑何也？」獻可具以其言奏，則天亦大笑。

Yuanzhong would not bend in word or spirit. Enraged, Sizhi seized him and dragged him head downward. Yuanzhong slowly got up and said: "I am ill-fated—as when one falls from a vicious donkey with a foot caught in the stirrup and is dragged along. Sizhi flew into a greater rage and dragged him again. "You resist the inquisition commissioner. I will recommend your execution." Yuanzhong said: "Hou Sizhi, you are an imperial censor now. You ought to know the difference between propriety and disgrace. If you must have my head, take a saw and cut it off—do not force me to confess treason. You wear the purple and scarlet of office and bear the mandate of Heaven—yet instead of doing what is upright, you babble about White Horse Slope and Meng Qing. What kind of talk is that? Were it not for Wei Yuanzhong, no one would set you straight." Sizhi started up, alarmed and ashamed. "I deserve death," he said. "I am fortunate to receive your instruction, Lord Censor." He had Yuanzhong seated on the bed and questioned him further. Yuanzhong calmly took his seat as if nothing had happened. Sizhi never did set the record straight. People at court imitated the exchange and turned it into gossip and amusement. Attending Censor Huo Xianke mocked the affair, and Sizhi reported it to the Empress. Empress Wu was furious. She said to Xianke: "I have already appointed him—why do you mock him? Xianke reported the entire exchange. Empress Wu laughed heartily as well.

時來俊臣棄故妻，逼娶太原王慶詵女，思止亦奏請娶趙郡李自挹女，敕政事商量。鳳閣侍郎李昭德撫掌謂諸宰相曰：「大可笑。」諸宰相問故，昭德曰：「往年來俊臣賊劫王慶詵女，已大辱國。今日此奴又請索李自挹女，無乃復辱國乎！」竟為李昭德搒殺之。萬國俊萬國俊，洛陽人。少譎異險詐。垂拱後，與來俊臣同為《羅織經》，屠覆宗枝朝貴，以作威勢。自司刑評事，俊臣同引為判官。

At that time Lai Junchen had cast off his first wife and forced the daughter of Wang Qingshen of Taiyuan into marriage. Sizhi likewise petitioned to marry the daughter of Li Ziyi of Zhao Commandery. The matter was referred to the chief ministers for deliberation. Vice Minister Li Zhaode of the Phoenix Pavilion clapped his hands and told the chief ministers: "This is absurd. When the chief ministers asked why, Zhaode said: "Last year Lai Junchen plundered Wang Qingshen's daughter—that already shamed the realm. Now this wretch asks for Li Ziyi's daughter as well. Will the realm suffer disgrace a second time?" In the end Li Zhaode had him beaten to death. Wan Guojun was a native of Luoyang. From youth he was cunning, treacherous, and deceitful. After the Chuigong era he and Lai Junchen co-authored the Classic of Fabricating Charges, destroying imperial clansmen and high officials to build their own terror. Starting as a legal review aide, Junchen brought him in as an assistant judge.

，攝右臺監察御史，常與俊臣同按制獄。，有上封事言嶺南流人有陰謀逆者，乃遣國俊就按之，若得反狀，便斬決。國俊至廣州，遍召流人，置於別所，矯制賜自盡，並號哭稱冤不服。國俊乃引出，擁之水曲，以次加戮，三百餘人，一時並命。然後鍛煉，曲成反狀，仍誣奏云：「諸流人咸有怨望，若不推究，為變不遙。」則天深然其奏，乃命右衛翊二府兵曹參軍劉光業、司刑評事王德壽、苑南面監丞鮑思恭、尚輦直長王大貞、右武衛兵曹參軍屈貞筠等，並攝監察御史，分往劍南、黔中、安南等六道鞫流人。尋擢授國俊朝散大夫、肅政臺侍御史。光業等見國俊盛行殘殺，得加榮貴，乃共肆其兇忍，唯恐後之。光業殺九百人，德壽殺七百人，其餘少者咸五百人。亦有遠年流人，非革命時犯罪，亦同殺之。則天後知其冤濫，下制：「被六道使所殺之家口未歸者，並遞還本管。」國俊等俄亦相次而死，皆見鬼物為祟，或有流竄而終。來子珣來子珣，雍州長安人。四月，以上書陳事，除左臺監察御史。時朝士有不帶靴而朝者，子珣彈之曰：「臣聞束帶立於朝。」舉朝大噱。則天委之按制獄，多希旨，賜姓姓武氏，字家臣。天授中，丁父憂，起復朝散大夫、侍御史。時雅州剌史劉行實及弟渠州刺史行瑜、尚衣奉御行威並兄子鷹揚郎將軍虔通等，為子珣誣告謀反誅，又於盱眙毀其父左監門大將軍伯英棺柩。俄又轉為遊擊將軍、右羽林中郎將。常衣錦半臂，言笑自若，朝士誚之。長壽元年，配流愛州卒。王弘義王弘義，冀州衡水人也。告變，授遊擊將軍。天授中，拜右臺殿中侍御史。長壽中，拜左臺侍御史，與來俊臣羅告衣冠。，俊臣貶，弘義亦流放瓊州，妄稱敕追。時胡元禮為侍御史，使嶺南道，次於襄、鄧，會而按之。弘義詞窮，乃謂曰：「與公氣類。」元禮曰：「足下任御史，元禮任洛陽尉。元禮今為御史，公乃流囚，復何氣類？」乃搒殺之。

He served as acting Investigating Censor of the Right Censorate and often joined Junchen in running the inquisition prisons. When a sealed memorial reported that exiles in Lingnan were plotting treason in secret, she dispatched Guojun to investigate. If he found evidence of rebellion, he was authorized to execute them on the spot. Guojun reached Guangzhou, summoned every exile, and confined them separately. Forging an imperial order, he granted them "suicide." All wept, protesting their innocence and refusing to comply. Guojun then marched them out, drove them to a bend in the river, and killed them one after another—more than three hundred men put to death in a single massacre. Only then did he torture confessions out of survivors and fabricated a treason case, memorializing falsely: "All the exiles harbor resentment. Unless this is investigated thoroughly, rebellion is imminent. Empress Wu was deeply persuaded and ordered Liu Guangye, Wang Deshou, Bao Sigong, Wang Dazhen, Qu Zhenyun, and others—all appointed acting Investigating Censors—to fan out across six circuits including Jiannan, Qianzhong, and Annam to interrogate exiles. Soon Guojun was promoted to Grand Master of Palace Leisure and Attending Censor of the Su Politics Censorate. Seeing that Guojun had won rank and riches through wholesale slaughter, Guangye and the others competed in savagery, each afraid of being outdone. Guangye killed nine hundred people, Deshou seven hundred, and the others no fewer than five hundred each. Some had been exiled years earlier for offenses unrelated to the dynastic transition; they were killed just the same. Empress Wu later learned how unjust the killings had been and issued an edict: "Household members of those slain by the Six-Circuit Commissioners who have not yet returned home are to be sent back to their native districts. Guojun and the others soon died one after another as well—some claiming to be haunted by ghosts, others dying in exile. Lai Zixun was a native of Chang'an in Yong Province. In the fourth month he was appointed Investigating Censor of the Left Censorate for submitting a memorial on state affairs. When some court officials appeared at court without wearing boots, Zixun impeached them, saying: "I have heard that one should attend court properly girded and capped. The entire court burst into laughter. Empress Wu put him in charge of the inquisition prisons. Eager to please her, he was granted the surname Wu and the courtesy name Jiachén—"House Servant." During the Tianshou era, when his father died he was recalled from mourning and appointed Grand Master of Palace Leisure and Attending Censor. Zixun falsely accused Ya Prefecture Prefect Liu Xingshi, his brother Qu Prefecture Prefect Xingyu, Court Dress Director Xingwei, and their nephew Eagle-Wielding General Qiantong of treason and had them executed. He also desecrated the coffin of their father, Left Gate General Boying, at Xuyi. Soon he was reassigned as Mobile General and Right General of the Feathered Forest Guard. He often wore brocade vests and carried on as if nothing were amiss, to the scorn of the court. In the first year of Changshou he was exiled to Ai Prefecture, where he died. Wang Hongyi was a native of Hengshui in Ji Prefecture. For reporting a treasonous plot, he was appointed Mobile General. During the Tianshou era he was appointed Palace Attending Censor of the Right Censorate. During the Changshou era he was appointed Attending Censor of the Left Censorate and joined Lai Junchen in fabricating charges against officials and scholars. When Junchen was demoted, Hongyi was also exiled to Qiong Prefecture, where he falsely claimed an imperial summons had recalled him. Attending Censor Hu Yuanli was then on assignment in Lingnan. Passing through Xiang and Deng, he intercepted Hongyi and investigated the case. At a loss for words, Hongyi said: "You and I are birds of a feather. Yuanli replied: "When you served as censor, I was a Luoyang district captain. Now I am the censor and you are the exile. What kind of kindred spirit are we?" He then had Hongyi beaten to death.

弘義每暑月系囚，必於小房中積蒿而施氈褥，遭之者斯須氣絕矣。茍自誣引，則易於他房。與俊臣常行移牒，州縣懾懼，自矜曰：「我之文牒，有如狼毒野葛也。」弘義常於鄉里傍舍求瓜，主吝之，弘義乃狀言瓜園中有白兔，縣官命人捕逐，斯須園苗盡矣。內史李昭德曰：「昔聞蒼鷹獄吏，今見白免御史。」郭霸郭霸，廬江人也。，自宋州寧陵丞應革命舉，拜左臺監察御史。，除左臺殿中侍御史。，右臺侍御史。初舉集，召見，於則天前自陳忠鯁云：「往年征徐敬業，臣願抽其筋，食其肉，飲其血，絕其髓。」則天悅，故拜焉，時人號為「四其御史」。

In summer Hongyi confined prisoners in small rooms stuffed with wormwood and covered with felt mats; victims suffocated within moments. If a prisoner falsely implicated others, he was moved to a more tolerable cell. He and Junchen routinely sent out summonses that struck prefectures and counties with terror. He boasted: "My documents are poison—wolf's bane and wild kudzu. Hongyi once wanted melons from a neighbor's garden; when the owner refused, he reported that a white rabbit was hiding in the patch. County officials sent men to hunt it, and within moments the entire crop was trampled flat. Chief Minister Li Zhaode remarked: "People once spoke of the 'Blue Falcon' jailer; now we have a 'White Rabbit' censor. Guo Ba was a native of Lujiang. Starting as assistant magistrate of Ningling in Song Prefecture, he entered office through the special examinations held at the founding of the new regime and was appointed Investigating Censor of the Left Censorate. He was appointed Palace Attending Censor of the Left Censorate. He was also Attending Censor of the Right Censorate. At his first examination audience before Empress Wu, he proclaimed his zeal, saying: "When Xu Jingye was put down, I wanted to tear out his sinews, eat his flesh, drink his blood, and drain his marrow to the last drop. Empress Wu was delighted and appointed him. People nicknamed him the "Four-His Censor."

時大夫魏元忠臥疾，諸御史盡往省之，霸獨居後。比見元忠，憂懼，請示元忠便液，以驗疾之輕重。元忠驚悚，霸悅曰：「大夫糞味甘，或不瘳。今味苦，當即愈矣。」元忠剛直，殊惡之，以其事露朝士。嘗推芳州刺史李思徵，搒捶考禁，不勝而死。聖歷中，屢見思徵，甚惡之。嘗因退朝遽歸，命家人曰：「速請僧轉經設齋。」須臾見思徵從數十騎上其廷，曰：「汝枉陷我，我今取汝。」霸周章惶怖，援刀自刳其腹，斯須蛆爛矣。是日，閭里亦見兵馬數十騎駐於門，少頃不復見矣。時洛陽橋壞，行李弊之，至是功畢。則天嘗問群臣：「比在外有何好事？」舍人張元一素滑稽，對曰：「百姓喜洛橋成，幸郭霸死，此即好事。」吉頊吉頊，洛州河南人也。身長七尺，陰毒敢言事。進士舉，累轉明堂尉。，有箕州刺史劉思禮，自云學於張憬藏，善相，云洛州錄事參軍綦連耀應圖讖，有「兩角騏麟兒」之符命。頊告之，則天付武懿宗與頊對訊。懿宗與頊誘思禮，令廣引朝士，必全其命。思禮乃引鳳閣侍郎李元素、夏官侍郎孫元通、天官侍郎劉奇、石抱忠、鳳閣舍人王處、來庭、主簿柳璆、給事中周潘、涇州刺史王勔、監察御史王助、司議郎路敬淳、司門員外郎劉慎之、右司員外郎宇文全志等三十六家，微有忤意者，必構之，楚毒百端，以成其獄。皆海內賢士名家，天下冤之，親故連累竄逐者千餘人。頊由是擢拜右肅政臺中丞，日見恩遇。

When Senior Censor Wei Yuanzhong fell ill, all the other censors visited him—Ba alone lingered behind. When he finally saw Yuanzhong, feigning concern, he asked to inspect his urine and stool to judge how serious the illness was. Yuanzhong was horrified. Ba declared cheerfully: "Your stool tastes sweet—you may not recover. But now it tastes bitter—you should recover soon. Yuanzhong, ever blunt and upright, was revolted and spread the story among the court. Once, while investigating Fang Prefecture Prefect Li Sizheng, he beat and tortured him until the man died under interrogation. During the Shengli era he kept seeing Sizheng's ghost and was terrified. Once, rushing home after court, he ordered his household: "Summon monks at once for sutra recitation and a ritual feast. Moments later he saw Sizheng ride into his courtyard at the head of several dozen horsemen, saying: "You framed me unjustly. I have come for you now." Panicked, Ba grabbed a knife and gutted himself. Within moments his entrails were crawling with maggots. That same day neighbors also saw several dozen mounted soldiers halt at his gate—and a moment later they vanished. At that time the Luoyang Bridge had fallen into disrepair; Li Xingbi was assigned to repair it, and by then the work was finished. Empress Wu once asked her ministers: "What good tidings have you heard from beyond the palace lately? Attendant Gentleman Zhang Yuanyi, a born wit, answered: "The people are pleased the Luo Bridge is done and overjoyed that Guo Ba is dead—that is the good news." Ji Shu was a native of Henan in Lu Prefecture. He stood seven feet in height, venomous in temperament and bold in bringing accusations. He passed the jinshi examination and rose through a series of posts to become Commandant of the Bright Hall. There was Jizhou Prefect Liu Sili, who claimed to have studied physiognomy under Zhang Jingzang and declared that Lu Prefecture Administrative Assistant Qi Lianyao matched a prophecy, bearing the destined omen of "a qilin foal with two horns." Shu reported the matter, and Empress Wu had Wu Yizong and Shu conduct the joint interrogation. Yizong and Shu coaxed Sili with a promise: implicate as many court officials as he could, and his life would be spared. Sili then implicated thirty-six households—among them Vice Director Li Yuansu of the Phoenix Pavilion, Vice Director Sun Yuantong of the Summer Office, Vice Director Liu Qi of the Celestial Office, Shi Baozhong, Attendant Gentlemen Wang Chu and Lai Ting of the Phoenix Pavilion, Registrar Liu Yao, Supervising Attendant Zhou Pan, Jing Prefecture Prefect Wang Xu, Investigation Censor Wang Zhu, Reviewing Secretary Lu Jingchun, Vice Director of the Gate Office Liu Shenzhi, Vice Director of the Right Office Yuwen Quanzhi, and others. Whoever slightly crossed them was framed; every torture was applied until the case was fixed. They were all distinguished scholars and eminent families from across the empire; the world deemed it an outrage, and more than a thousand kin and associates were implicated and exiled. For this Shu was promoted to Senior Censor of the Right Pure Administration Censorate and daily gained greater favor.

明年，突厥寇陷趙、定等州。則天召頊檢校相州刺史，以斷賊南侵之路。頊以素不習武為辭，則天曰：「賊勢將退，藉卿威名鎮遏耳。」

The following year Turkic raiders overran Zhao, Ding, and other prefectures. Empress Wu summoned Shu and named him acting Prefect of Xiang Prefecture to cut off the raiders' southern advance. Shu pleaded that he had no training in military affairs. Empress Wu replied: "The raiders are about to withdraw; I only need your name to hold them in check."

初，太原有術士溫彬茂，高宗時老，臨死，封一狀謂其妻曰：「吾死後，年名垂拱，即詣闕獻之，慎勿開也。」垂拱初，其妻獻之。狀中預陳則天革命及突厥至趙、定之事，故則天知賊至趙州而退。頊初至州募人，略無應者。俄而詔以皇太子為元帥，應募者不可勝數。及賊退，頊入朝奏之，則天甚悅。

At first there was a diviner in Taiyuan named Wen Binmao. In Emperor Gaozong's reign he grew old; as death approached he sealed a document and told his wife: "After I die, when the era name becomes Chuigong, take this to court and present it—but do not open it. At the opening of the Chuigong era, his wife presented it at court. The document foretold Empress Wu's seizure of power and the Turks' advance on Zhao and Ding; thus Empress Wu knew the raiders would reach Zhao Prefecture and then withdraw. When Shu first reached the prefecture and tried to recruit troops, almost no one answered the call. Soon an edict named the Crown Prince supreme commander, and recruits poured in beyond counting. After the raiders withdrew, Shu returned to court with his report, and Empress Wu was delighted.

臘月，遷天官侍郎、同鳳閣鸞臺平章事。時易之、昌宗諷則天置控鶴監官員，則天以易之為控鶴監。頊素與易之兄弟親善，遂引頊，以殿中少監田歸道、鳳閣舍人薛稷、正諫大夫員半千、夏官侍郎李迥秀，俱為控鶴內供奉，時議甚不悅。

In the twelfth month he was appointed Vice Director of the Celestial Office and Associate Director of the Phoenix Pavilion and Crane Terrace. At that time Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong urged Empress Wu to create posts in the Crane-Control Office, and she made Yizhi its commissioner. Shu had long been close to the Zhang brothers, and they brought him in along with Palace Supervisor Tian Guidao, Attendant Gentleman Xue Ji of the Phoenix Pavilion, Remonstrance Grand Master Yuan Banqian, and Vice Director Li Jiongxiu of the Summer Office—all as Inner Attendants of the Crane-Control Office, to widespread disapproval.

初，則天以頊幹辯有口才，偉儀質，堪委以心腹，故擢任之。及與武懿宗爭趙州功於殿中，懿宗短小俯僂，頊聲氣淩厲，下視懿宗，嘗不相假。則天以為：「卑我諸武於我前，其可倚與！」其年十月，以弟作偽官，貶琰川尉，後改安固尉。尋卒。

At first Empress Wu valued Shu for his quick wit, eloquence, and imposing presence, and considered him fit for her inner circle; that was why she promoted him. When he disputed Wu Yizong in court over credit for the victory at Zhao Prefecture, Yizong was short and bent; Shu spoke in a sharp, domineering tone and looked down on him, rarely showing any deference. Empress Wu concluded: "He humiliates my Wu kinsmen to my face—how can I rely on him! That tenth month, because his younger brother had held a forged office, he was demoted to Commandant of Yan River and later reassigned as Commandant of Angu. He soon died.

初，中宗未立為皇太子時，易之、昌宗嘗密問頊自安之策。頊云：「公兄弟承恩既深，非有大功於天下，則不全矣。今天下士庶，咸思李家，廬陵既在房州，相王又在幽閉，主上春秋既高，須有付托。武氏諸王，殊非屬意。明公若能從容請建立廬陵及相王，以副生人之望，豈止轉禍為福，必長享茅土之重矣！」易之然其言，遂承間奏請。則天知頊首謀，召而問之。頊曰：「廬陵王及相王，皆陛下之子，先帝顧托於陛下，當有主意，唯陛下裁之。」則天意乃定。頊既得罪，時無知者。睿宗即位，左右發明其事，乃下制曰：「故吏部侍郎、同中書門下平章事吉頊，體識宏遠，風規久大。嘗以經緯之才，允膺匡佐之委。時王命中否，人謀未輯，首陳返政之議，克副祈天之基。永懷遺烈，寧忘厥效。可贈左御史臺大夫。」姚紹之姚紹之，湖州武康人也。解褐典儀，累拜監察御史。中宗朝，武三思恃庶人勢，駙馬都尉王同皎謀誅之。事泄，令紹之按問而誅同皎。紹之初按問同皎，張仲之、祖延慶謀衣袖中發調弩射三思，伺其便，未果。宋之遜以其外妹妻延慶，曰：「今日將行何事，而以妻為？」之遜固抑與延慶，且洽其心矣。之遜子曇密發之，乃敕右臺大夫李承嘉與紹之按於新開門內。

Earlier, before Zhongzong was named Crown Prince, Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong had secretly asked Shu how they might secure their own safety. Shu said: "You brothers have enjoyed the deepest favor; unless you win great merit for the empire, you will not keep your heads. All the people under heaven now yearn for the House of Li; the Prince of Luling is at Fang Prefecture and the Prince of Xiang remains under close guard; Your Majesty's years are advanced, and the throne must pass to someone worthy of trust. The Wu princes are not whom the people have in mind. If you can tactfully petition to restore the Prince of Luling and the Prince of Xiang, fulfilling the people's hopes, you will not merely turn disaster into blessing—you will secure great fiefs for years to come! The Zhang brothers accepted his advice and seized a suitable moment to petition the empress. Empress Wu knew Shu had devised the plan and summoned him to account for it. Shu said: "The Prince of Luling and the Prince of Xiang are both Your Majesty's sons; the late emperor entrusted them to you—this is for Your Majesty alone to decide. Empress Wu's mind was made up. After Shu fell from grace, no one knew what he had done. When Emperor Ruizong ascended the throne, his intimates revealed what had happened, and an edict was issued: "The late Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel and Associate Director of the Chancellery Ji Shu was a man of far-reaching vision and enduring moral stature. He had once applied his talent for statecraft to the work of governance. When the imperial succession hung in the balance and counsel had not yet converged, he was the first to urge restoration of the Tang house, fulfilling the dynasty's mandate from Heaven. His departed merit should never be forgotten. He is posthumously awarded the title Grand Censor of the Left Censorate. Yao Shaozhi was a native of Wukang in Hu Prefecture. He entered service as Master of Ceremonies and rose through successive posts to Investigating Censor. During Emperor Zhongzong's reign, Wu Sansi relied on Empress Wei's influence; Cavalry Commandant Wang Tongjiao plotted to kill him. When the plot was exposed, Shaozhi was ordered to investigate and put Tongjiao to death. While Shaozhi was investigating Tongjiao, Zhang Zhongzhi and Zu Yanqing plotted to shoot Wu Sansi with crossbows hidden in their sleeves, waiting for an opening—but failed. Song Zhixun, who had given his cousin's wife in marriage to Yanqing, said: "What mission are you on today that you bring your wife along? Song Zhixun forcibly held Yanqing back and also won him over. Song Zhixun's son Tan secretly reported the plot; an edict ordered Grand Censor Li Chengjia of the Right Censorate and Shaozhi to investigate inside the Newly Opened Gate.

初，紹之將直盡其事。詔宰相李嶠等對問。諸相懼三思威權，但僶俛佯不問。仲之、延慶言曰：「宰相中有附會三思者。」嶠與承嘉耳言，復說誘紹之，其事乃變。遂密置人力十餘，命引仲之對問。至，即為紹之所擒，塞口反接，送獄中。紹之還，謂仲之曰：「張三，事不諧矣！」仲之固言三思反狀，紹之命棒之而臂折，大呼天者六七。謂紹之曰：「反賊，臂且折矣，命已輸汝，當訴爾於天帝！」因裂衫以束之，乃自誣反而遇誅。紹之自此神氣自若，朝廷側目。累遷左臺侍御史。奉使江左，經汴州，辱錄事參軍魏傳弓。尋拜監察御史。紹之後坐贓汙，詔傳弓按之，獲贓五千餘貫以聞，當坐死。韋庶人妹保持之，遂黜放為嶺南瓊山尉。傳弓初按紹之，紹之在揚州，色動，謂長吏盧萬石曰：「頃辱傳弓，今為所按，紹之死矣！」逃入西京，為萬年尉擒之，擊折其足，因授南陵令員外置。，累轉括州長史同正員，不預知州事，死。周利貞周利貞，神龍初為侍御史。附托權要，為桓彥範、敬暉等五王嫉之，出為嘉州司馬。時中書舍人崔湜與桓、敬善。武三思用事禁中，彥範憂之，托心腹於湜。湜反露其計於三思，為三思所中，盡流嶺南。湜勸盡殺之。以絕其歸望。三思問：「誰可使者？」利貞即湜之表兄，因舉為此行。利貞至，皆鴆殺之，因擢為左臺御史中丞。，為廣州都督。時湜為中書令，與僕射劉幽求不葉，陷幽求徙於嶺表，諷利貞殺之，為桂州都督王晙護之，逗留獲免。無何，玄宗正位，利貞與薛季昶、宋之問同賜死於桂州驛。王旭王旭，太原祁人也。曾祖珪，貞觀初為侍中，尚永寧公主。旭解褐鴻州參軍，轉兗州兵曹。正月，張柬之、桓彥範等誅張易之、昌宗兄弟，尊立孝和皇帝。其兄昌儀先貶乾封尉，旭斬之，賫其首，赴於東都。遷并州錄事參軍。唐隆元年，玄宗誅韋庶人等。并州長史周仁軌，韋氏之黨，有詔誅之。旭不覆敕，又斬其首，馳赴西京。

At first Shaozhi meant to pursue the case to its full extent. An edict ordered Chief Minister Li Qiao and others to join the interrogation. The chief ministers feared Sansi's power and merely bowed their heads, feigning ignorance. Zhongzhi and Yanqing declared: "Some of the chief ministers are in league with Sansi. Qiao and Chengjia whispered to each other, then pressed and coaxed Shaozhi until the case took a different turn. They then secretly posted more than ten brawny men and had Zhongzhi summoned for questioning. When he arrived, Shaozhi seized him at once, gagged him, bound his arms behind his back, and sent him to prison. Shaozhi turned to Zhongzhi and said: "Zhang Three, this is not going to work! Zhongzhi insisted on detailing Sansi's treason; Shaozhi had him beaten until his arm broke, and he cried out to Heaven six or seven times. He shouted at Shaozhi: "Traitor! My arm is broken and my life is yours—but I will accuse you before the Lord of Heaven! He tore his shirt to bind his broken arm, then falsely confessed to rebellion and was put to death. From then on Shaozhi remained as cool and self-assured as ever, and the court watched him with dread. He rose through successive posts to Attending Censor of the Left Censorate. On a mission to the lower Yangzi, he passed through Bian Prefecture and humiliated Administrative Assistant Wei Chuanggong. He was soon appointed Investigating Censor. Later Shaozhi was convicted of corruption; an edict put Chuanggong in charge of the investigation; more than five thousand strings of stolen goods were recovered and reported, and the sentence was death. Empress Wei's younger sister intervened on his behalf, and he was demoted and banished to serve as Commandant of Qiongshan in Lingnan. When Chuanggong first took up the case, Shaozhi was in Yang Prefecture; his face went pale, and he told Chief Clerk Lu Wanshi: "I humiliated Chuanggong not long ago, and now he is investigating me—I am a dead man! He fled to the western capital, was captured by the Wannian Commandant, and had his foot broken under beating; he was then given a supernumerary appointment as Magistrate of Nanling. He rose through successive posts to Senior Administrator of Kuo Prefecture with regular fourth-rank status, but did not take part in prefectural administration, and died. Zhou Lizhen—in the Shenlong era he first served as Attending Censor. He cultivated ties to the powerful; Huan Yanfan, Jing Hui, and the other Five Princes despised him, and he was sent out as Military Assistant of Jia Prefecture. At that time Secretariat Drafter Cui Shi was friendly with Huan and Jing. Wu Sansi held sway within the palace; Yanfan was alarmed and confided his plans to Shi. Shi instead betrayed their plan to Sansi; caught by Sansi, they were all exiled to Lingnan. Shi urged that every one of them be killed. The aim was to cut off any hope of their return. Sansi asked: "Who can be sent to carry this out? Lizhen was Shi's maternal cousin, and Shi recommended him for the mission. When Lizhen arrived, he poisoned them all and was promoted to Senior Censor of the Left Censorate. He also served as Military Commissioner of Guang Prefecture. At that time Shi was Chief Minister of the Secretariat and at odds with Vice Director Liu Youqiu; he framed Youqiu and had him exiled to the far south, then urged Lizhen to kill him; Gui Prefecture Military Commissioner Wang Jun shielded him, and by stalling he survived. Before long, after Emperor Xuanzong took the throne, Lizhen was executed by imperial grace at the Gui Prefecture post station, together with Xue Jichang and Song Zhiwen. Wang Xu was a native of Qi in Taiyuan. His great-grandfather Gui served as Chief Minister in the early Zhenguan era and married Princess Yongning. Xu entered service as adjutant of Hong Prefecture and was transferred to military records officer of Yan Prefecture. In the first month, Zhang Jianzhi, Huan Yanfan, and others killed Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong and enthroned Emperor Zhongzong. Xu's elder brother Changyi had already been demoted to Commandant of Qianfeng; Xu beheaded him, took his head, and raced to the eastern capital. He was transferred to Administrative Assistant of Bing Prefecture. In the first year of the Tanglong era, Emperor Xuanzong executed Empress Wei and her faction. Bing Prefecture Senior Administrator Zhou Rengui, a partisan of the Wei faction, was under edict for execution. Without waiting for confirmation of the edict, Xu beheaded him as well and galloped to the western capital.

，累遷左臺侍御史。時光祿少卿盧崇道以崔湜妻父，貶於嶺外。逃歸，匿於東都，為仇家所發，詔旭究其獄。旭欲擅其威權，因捕崇道親黨數十人，皆極其楚毒，然後結成其罪。崇道及三子並杖死於都亭驛，門生親友皆決杖流貶。時得罪多是知名之士，四海冤之。旭又與御史大夫李傑不葉，遞相糾訐，傑竟左遷衢州刺史。旭既得誌，擅行威福，由是朝廷畏而鄙之。

He rose through successive posts to Attending Censor of the Left Censorate. At that time Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices Lu Chongdao, as Cui Shi's father-in-law, was demoted beyond the Lingnan frontier. He fled back and hid in the eastern capital; an enemy family exposed him, and an edict ordered Xu to investigate the case. Xu wanted to wield arbitrary power; he arrested several dozen of Chongdao's kin and associates, tortured them to the limit, and only then fixed their guilt. Chongdao and his three sons were all beaten to death at the Capital Pavilion post station; his students, kin, and friends were all sentenced to beating and banishment. Most of those convicted at the time were distinguished scholars, and the empire deemed it an outrage. Xu again clashed with Grand Censor Li Jie; they traded accusations until Jie was demoted to Prefect of Qu Prefecture. Once Xu had had his way, he wielded arbitrary power, and the court both feared and despised him.

五年，遷左司郎中，常帶侍御史。旭為吏嚴苛，左右無敢支梧，每銜命推劾，一見無不輸款者。時宋王憲府掾紀希虬兄任劍南縣令，被告有贓私，旭使至蜀鞫之。其妻美，旭威逼之，因奏決殺縣令，納贓數千萬。至六年，希虬遣奴詐為祗承人，受顧在臺，事旭累月。旭賞之，召入宅中，委以腹心。其奴密記旭受饋遺囑托事，乃成數千貫，歸謁希虬。希虬銜泣見憲，敘以家冤。憲憫之，執其狀以奏，詔付臺司劾之。贓私累巨萬，貶龍平尉，憤恚而死，甚為時人之所慶快。吉溫吉溫，天官侍郎頊弟琚之孽子也。譎詭能諂事人，遊於中貴門，愛若親戚。性禁害，果於推劾。天寶初，為新豐丞。時太子文學薛嶷承恩幸，引溫入對。玄宗目之而謂嶷曰：「是一不良漢，朕不要也。」時蕭炅為河南尹，河南府有事，京臺差溫推詰，事連炅，堅執不舍，賴炅與右相李林甫善，抑而免之。及溫選，炅已為京兆尹，一唱萬年尉，即就其官，人為危之。時驃騎高力士常止宿宮禁，或時出外第，炅必謁焉。溫先馳與力士言謔甚洽，握手呼行第，炅覷之嘆伏。及他日，溫謁炅於府庭，遽布心腹曰：「他日不敢隳國家法，今日已後，洗心事公。」炅復與盡歡。

In the fifth year, he was promoted to Director of the Left Department, concurrently serving as Attending Censor. As an official Xu was relentlessly harsh; none around him dared resist, and whenever he arrived on an investigative mission, every suspect confessed at once. At that time the elder brother of Prince Xian's registrar Ji Xijiu served as magistrate of Jiannan County; accused of corruption, he was sent to Shu for interrogation on Xu's orders. His wife was beautiful; Xu coerced her, then memorialized for the magistrate's execution and pocketed bribes worth tens of millions. By the sixth year, Xijiu sent a slave who posed as a palace messenger, was hired at the Censorate, and served Xu for many months. Xu rewarded him, summoned him into his home, and treated him as a trusted confidant. The slave secretly recorded Xu's bribes and favors, amounting to several thousand strings of cash, then returned to report to Xijiu. Xijiu, choking back tears, went to Prince Xian and told him of his family's wrong. The prince took pity on him, submitted the written complaint, and an edict ordered the Censorate to investigate. Graft totaling tens of thousands was proven; Xu was demoted to Commandant of Longping, where he died in fury—much to the relief of his contemporaries. Ji Wen was the illegitimate son of Jun, younger brother of Vice Director Ji Shu of the Celestial Office. Crafty and deceitful, a skilled flatterer, he moved among the eunuchs and was treated like one of the family. By nature cruel and malicious, he was ruthless in investigation and impeachment. At the beginning of the Tianbao era, he served as assistant magistrate of Xinfeng. At that time the crown prince's literary companion Xue Yi enjoyed imperial favor and brought Wen in for an audience. Emperor Xuanzong looked him over and said to Yi: "This is a bad character—I want nothing to do with him. At that time Xiao Jiong was Intendant of Henan; when a case arose in Henan Prefecture, the Capital Censorate assigned Wen to investigate. The case implicated Jiong, and Wen pressed relentlessly—but Jiong's friendship with Right Chancellor Li Linfu got the matter suppressed and him cleared. When Wen was selected for office, Jiong was already Intendant of the Capital; with a single recommendation Wen became commandant of Wannian and immediately took up the post—people thought him in grave peril. At that time Cavalry General Gao Lishi often stayed within the palace precincts; whenever he went to his outer residence, Jiong always paid his respects. Wen rushed ahead to banter familiarly with Lishi, clasped his hand and called him by familiar rank; Jiong watched and sighed in admiration. On another day Wen called on Jiong at his office and openly pledged his loyalty: "In the past I dared not break the laws of the state; from today onward I devote myself wholly to you. Jiong again feasted with him to the full.

會林甫與左相李適之、駙馬張垍不葉，適之兼兵部尚書，垍兄均為兵部侍郎，林甫遣人訐出兵部銓曹主簿事令史六十餘人偽濫事，圖覆其官長，詔出付京兆府與憲司對問。數日，竟不究其由。炅使溫劾之。溫於院中分囚於兩處，溫於後廳佯取兩重囚訊之，或杖或壓，痛苦之聲，所不忍聞。即云：「若存性命，乞紙盡答。」

Lin Fuli was at odds with Left Chancellor Li Shizhi and Cavalry Commandant Zhang Ji; Shizhi concurrently served as Minister of War, and Ji's elder brother Jun as Vice Minister. Lin Fuli exposed over sixty clerks in the War Ministry's selection office for fraudulent abuses, intending to bring down their superiors. An edict ordered the case handed to the Capital Intendancy and Censorate for joint inquiry. After several days they still had not traced the source of the affair. Jiong had Wen take over the investigation. Wen divided the prisoners in the courtyard into two groups; in the rear hall he pretended to interrogate two hardened felons, beating or crushing them—the sounds of agony were unbearable. He then said: "If you wish to keep your lives, beg for paper and answer in full."

令史輩素諳溫，各自誣伏罪，及溫引問，無敢違者。晷刻間事輯，驗囚無栲訊決罰處。常云：「若遇知己，南山白額獸不足縛也。」會李林甫將起刑獄，除不附己者，乃引之於門，與羅希奭同鍛煉詔獄。

The clerks had long known Wen's methods; each falsely confessed, and when Wen summoned them for questioning, none dared resist. Within a short span the matter was concluded; when the prisoners were examined, there was no sign of torture or beating. He often said: "If I meet one who knows my worth, even the white-browed tiger of Mount Nan is not hard to bind. When Li Linfu was about to launch criminal prosecutions to eliminate those not loyal to him, he brought Wen into his circle and had him work with Luo Xiyi to forge cases in the imperial prison.

五載，因中官納其外甥武敬一女為盛王琦妃，擢京兆府士曹。時林甫專謀不利於東儲，以左驍衛兵曹柳湜杜良娣妹婿，令溫推之。溫追著作郎王曾、前右司禦率府倉曹王修己、左武衛司戈盧寧、左威衛騎曹徐徵同就臺鞫，數日而獄成。勣等杖死，積屍於大理寺。

In the fifth year of Tianbao, through a eunuch he presented his niece, Wu Jing's daughter, as consort to Prince Sheng Qi and was promoted to records officer of the Capital Prefecture. At that time Lin Fuli was scheming against the heir apparent; since Left Valiant Guard records officer Liu Shi was son-in-law to Consort Du, Lin Fuli had Wen investigate him. Wen pursued Academician Wang Zeng, former Right Department chief steward warehouse officer Wang Xiuji, Left Martial Guard arms officer Lu Ning, and Left Martial Guard cavalry officer Xu Zheng, bringing them to the Censorate for joint interrogation; within days the case was complete. Shi and the others were beaten to death, and corpses piled up in the Court of Judicial Review.

六載，林甫又以戶部侍郎、兼御史中丞楊慎矜違忤其旨，御史中丞王鉷與慎矜親而嫉之，同構其事，云：「蓄圖讖，以己是隋煬帝子孫，規於興復」，林甫又奏付溫鞫焉，慎矜下獄繫之。使溫於東京收捕其兄少府少監慎餘、弟洛陽令慎名，於汝州捕其門客史敬忠。敬忠頗有學，嘗與朝貴遊。蹉跎不進。與溫父琚情契甚密，溫孩孺時，敬忠嘗抱撫之。溫令河南丞姚開就擒之，鎖其頸，布袂蒙面以見溫。溫驅之於前，不交一言。欲及京，使典誘之云：「楊慎矜今款招己成，須子一辨。若解人意，必活；忤之，必死。」敬忠回首曰：「七郎，乞一紙。」溫佯不與，見詞懇，乃於桑下令答，三紙辯皆符溫旨。喜曰：「丈人莫相怪！」遂徐下拜。及至溫湯，始鞫慎矜，以敬忠詞為證。及再搜其家，不得圖讖。林甫恐事泄，危之，乃使御史盧鉉入搜。鉉乃袖讖書而入，於隱僻中詬而出曰：「逆賊牢藏秘記，今得之矣！」指於慎矜小妻韓珠團婢，見舉家惶懼，且行捶擊，誰敢忤焉！獄乃成，慎矜兄弟賜死。溫自是威振，衣冠不敢偶言。

In the sixth year, Lin Fuli again moved against Vice Director of the Ministry of Revenue and Concurrent Vice Grand Censor Yang Shenjin, who had defied him. Vice Grand Censor Wang Hong, though related to Shenjin, envied him and helped fabricate the charge that Shenjin hoarded prophecy charts, claiming descent from Emperor Yang of Sui and plotting restoration. Lin Fuli memorialized that Wen investigate, and Shenjin was imprisoned. He had Wen arrest in the eastern capital Shenjin's elder brother Vice Director Shenyu of the Palace Workshop and younger brother Luoyang Magistrate Shenming, and arrest his retainer Shi Jingzhong in Ru Prefecture. Jingzhong was quite learned and had once moved among court nobles. He had drifted without advancement. He had been intimately close with Wen's father Jun; when Wen was a child, Jingzhong had once held and caressed him. Wen ordered Henan assistant magistrate Yao Kai to seize him, locked a collar around his neck, covered his face with cloth sleeves, and brought him before Wen. Wen drove him forward without exchanging a single word. Before reaching the capital, he had an attendant coax him, saying: "Yang Shenjin has already confessed; we need you to corroborate. If you understand what is wanted, you will certainly live; if you resist, you will certainly die. Jingzhong turned his head and said: "Seventh Brother, please give me a sheet of paper. Wen pretended to refuse; seeing his earnest plea, he had him answer under a mulberry tree—three sheets of testimony, all matching Wen's intent. Delighted, he said: "Elder, don't hold it against me! He then slowly prostrated himself. When they reached Wen Springs, Shenjin was interrogated for the first time, with Jingzhong's testimony as evidence. When they searched his home again, no prophecy charts were found. Lin Fuli feared the affair would leak and endanger him, so he had investigator Lu Xuan conduct the search. Xuan concealed the prophecy book in his sleeve, entered, then cursed aloud from a hidden spot: "The traitor had secret writings locked away—now we have them! He pointed at Shenjin's young wife and maid Han Zhutuan; seeing the whole household in terror, they beat them as they went—who dared resist! The case was complete, and the Shenjin brothers were ordered to take their own lives. From then on Wen's power was terrifying, and officials dared not even speak casually.

溫早以嚴毒聞，頻知詔獄，忍行枉濫，推事未訊問，已作奏狀，計贓數。及被引問，便懾懼，即隨意而書，無敢惜其生者。因不加栲擊，獄成矣。林甫深以溫為能，擢戶部郎中，常帶御史。林甫雖倚以爪牙，溫又見安祿山受主恩，驃騎高力士居中用事，皆附會其間，結為兄弟。常謂祿山曰：「李右相雖觀察人事，親於三兄，必不以兄為宰相。溫雖被驅使，必不超擢。若三兄奏溫為相，即奏兄堪大任，擠出林甫，是兩人必為相矣。」祿山悅之。

Wen had long been known for severity and cruelty; he frequently handled imperial prison cases and ruthlessly committed injustice—even before interrogation he would draft memorials and calculate embezzlement figures. When brought for questioning, prisoners were terrified and wrote whatever was demanded, not daring to cling to their lives. Thus without applying torture, the case was complete. Lin Fuli deeply regarded Wen as capable and promoted him to Director of the Ministry of Revenue, concurrently serving as Censor. Though Lin Fuli relied on him as a henchman, Wen also saw that An Lushan enjoyed the emperor's favor and Cavalry General Gao Lishi held power at court; he attached himself to them all and swore brotherhood with them. He often told Lushan: "Right Chancellor Li may watch affairs closely and be close to you, Third Brother, but he will never make you chancellor. And though I am put to use, I will certainly not be promoted beyond my station. If Third Brother memorializes that I be made chancellor, I will memorialize that you are fit for great responsibility and drive out Lin Fuli—then both of us will surely become chancellors. Lushan was pleased.

時祿山承恩無敵，驟言溫能，玄宗亦忘曩歲之語。十載，祿山加河東節度，因奏溫為河東節度副使，並知節度營田及管內采訪監察留後事。其載，又加兼雁門太守，仍知安邊郡鑄錢事，賜紫金魚袋。及丁所生憂，祿山又奏起復為本官。尋復奏為魏郡太守、兼侍御史。

At that time Lushan's imperial favor was unmatched; he suddenly praised Wen's abilities, and Emperor Xuanzong forgot what he had said years before. In the tenth year, Lushan was made military commissioner of Hedong and memorialized that Wen serve as vice commissioner, concurrently overseeing commission farming colonies and acting as surveillance and investigation commissioner within the circuit. That same year he was further made concurrent prefect of Yanmen, still overseeing border-commandery coin casting, and granted the purple-gold fish tally. When he entered mourning for his biological mother, Lushan again memorialized for him to be recalled from mourning to his original post. Soon after he was again memorialized as prefect of Wei Commandery, concurrently attending censor.

楊國忠入相，素與溫交通，追入為御史中丞，仍充京畿、關內采訪處置使。溫於范陽辭，祿山令累路館驛作白䌷帳以候之，又令男慶緒出界送，攏馬出驛數十步。及至西京，朝廷動靜，輒報祿山，信宿而達。

When Yang Guozhong entered the chancellery, having long been connected with Wen, Wen was recalled as vice grand censor, concurrently serving as commissioner for surveillance and disposition of the capital region and Guannei. When Wen took leave at Fanyang, Lushan ordered relay stations along the route to erect white silk pavilions to receive him, and had his son Qingxu escort him beyond the border, holding his horse for dozens of steps beyond the post station. Once he reached the western capital, he promptly reported every movement at court to Lushan, and news arrived within two days.

十三載正月，祿山入朝，拜左僕射，充閑廄使。因奏加溫武部侍郎、兼御史中丞，充閑廄、苑內、營田、五坊等副使。時楊國忠與祿山嫌隙已成，溫轉厚於祿山，國忠又忌之。其冬，河東太守韋陟入奏於華清宮，陟自謂失職，托於溫結歡於祿山，廣載河東土物饋於溫，又及權貴。國忠諷評事吳豸之使鄉人告之，召付中書門下，對法官鞫之，陟伏其狀，貶桂嶺尉，溫澧陽長史。溫判官員錫新興尉。

In the first month of the thirteenth year, Lushan came to court, was appointed Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, and made Commissioner of the Imperial Stud. He memorialized that Wen be made Vice Director of the Ministry of War, concurrently vice grand censor, and deputy commissioner of the Imperial Stud, palace pastures, military colonies, and Five Corrals. At that time the rift between Yang Guozhong and Lushan was already formed; Wen turned even closer to Lushan, and Guozhong resented him again. That winter, Hedong Prefect Wei Zhi came to report at Huaqing Palace; deeming himself out of favor, he relied on Wen to cultivate goodwill with Lushan, loaded many local products of Hedong as gifts for Wen, and also for the powerful. Guozhong prompted reviewing secretary Wu Zhizhi to have a townsman report it; they were summoned to the Secretariat-Chancellery for questioning before judges; Zhi confessed, was demoted to Commandant of Guiling, and Wen to chief secretary of Liyang. Wen's aide Yuan Xi was made commandant of Xinxing.

明年，溫又坐贓七千匹及奪人口馬奸穢事發，貶端州高要尉。溫至嶺外，遷延不進，依於張博濟，止於始安郡。八月，遣大理司直蔣沇鞫之。溫死於獄中，博濟及始安太守羅希奭死於州門。

The following year Wen again fell afoul of the law over seven thousand bolts of silk in graft and seizing people, horses, and debauchery; he was demoted to commandant of Gaoyao in Duan Prefecture. Wen reached beyond the Lingnan passes but delayed and did not proceed; he took refuge with Zhang Boji and stopped in Shian Commandery. In the eighth month, judicial review secretariat straight officer Jiang Yan was sent to investigate him. Wen died in prison; Boji and Shian Prefect Luo Xiyi died at the prefectural gate.

初，溫之貶斥，玄宗在華清宮，謂朝臣曰：「吉溫是酷吏子侄，朕被人誑惑，用之至此。屢勸朕起刑獄以作威福，朕不受其言。今去矣，卿等皆可安枕也！」初，開元九年，有王鈞為洛陽尉。十八年，有嚴安之為河南丞。皆性毒虐，笞罰人畏其不死，皆杖訖不放起，須其腫憤，徐乃重杖之，懊血流地，苦楚欲死，鈞與安之始眉目喜暢，故人吏懾懼。溫則售身權貴，噬螫衣冠，來頗異耳。溫九月死始興。十一月，祿山起兵作亂，人謂與溫報仇耳。祿山入洛陽城，即偽位。玄宗幸蜀後，祿山求得溫一子，才六七歲，授河南府參軍，給與財帛。

Previously, when Wen was demoted, Emperor Xuanzong was at Huaqing Palace and told the court: "Ji Wen is the nephew of a cruel official; I was deceived into using him to this point. He repeatedly urged me to launch criminal prosecutions to wield power and favor; I did not accept his counsel. Now he is gone—you may all rest easy! Previously, in the ninth year of Kaiyuan, there was Wang Jun who served as Luoyang commandant. In the eighteenth year, there was Yan Anzhi who served as assistant intendant of Henan. Both were cruel by nature in punishment; fearing victims would not die, after beating they would not let them rise, waited until swelling and rage set in, then slowly beat them again—blood streamed from split flesh, anguish unto death—only then did Jun and Anzhi show satisfied expression; officials and clerks trembled in fear. Wen sold himself to the powerful and preyed on the gentry—a rather different case. Wen died in the ninth month at Shixing. In the eleventh month Lushan raised troops in rebellion; people said it was to avenge Wen. Lushan entered Luoyang and immediately declared himself emperor. After Emperor Xuanzong fled to Shu, Lushan found one of Wen's sons, only six or seven years old, appointed him adjutant of Henan Prefecture, and provided goods and silk.

初，溫之按楊慎矜，侍御史盧鉉同其事。鉉初為御史，作韋堅判官。及堅為李林甫所嫉，鉉以堅款曲發於林甫，冀售其身。及按慎矜，鉉先與張瑄同臺，情旨素厚，貴取媚於權臣，誣瑄與楊慎矜共解圖讖。持之，為驢駒板橛以成其獄。又為王鉷閑廄判官，鉷緣邢縡事朝堂被推，鉉證云：「大夫將白帖索廄馬五百匹以助逆，我不與之。」鉷死在晷刻，鉉忍誣之，眾咸怒恨焉。及被貶為廬江長史，在郡忽見瑄為祟，乃云：「端公何得來乞命？不自由。」鉉須臾而卒。羅希奭羅希奭，本杭州人也，近家洛陽，鴻臚少卿張博濟堂外甥。為吏持法深刻。天寶初，右相李林甫引與吉溫持獄，又與希奭姻婭，自御史臺主簿再遷殿中侍御史。自韋堅、皇甫惟明、李適之、柳勣、裴敦復、李邕、鄔元昌、楊慎矜、趙奉璋下獄事，皆與溫鍛煉，故時稱「羅鉗吉網」，惡其深刻也。八載，除刑部員外，轉郎中。十一載，李林甫卒，出為中部、始安二太守，仍充當管經略使。

Previously, when Wen investigated Yang Shenjin, attending censor Lu Xuan participated in the same affair. Xuan had first served as censor as judge in Wei Jian's case. When Wei Jian came to be envied by Li Linfu, Xuan reported Jian's confidential affairs to Linfu, hoping to win favor by betraying him. When the Yang Shenjin case was investigated, Xuan—who had long served alongside Zhang Xuan on the censorate and been close to him—curried favor with powerful ministers by falsely accusing Xuan of jointly interpreting prophecy charts with Yang Shenjin. He pressed the case, fabricating trivial evidence as solid proof to complete the prison case. He also served as judge in Wang Hong's spare-stable office. When Hong was impeached at court over Xing Zuo's affair, Xuan testified: "The Grandee intended to send a white note requesting five hundred stable horses to aid rebellion—I refused him. Hong died within the day, yet Xuan ruthlessly bore false witness against him; all were filled with anger and resentment. When he was demoted to chief clerk of Lujiang, he suddenly saw Zhang Xuan's ghost in the commandery and cried: "Sir, how can you come begging for your life? I am not free to do so. Xuan died within moments. Luo Xixi was originally from Hangzhou but had lately settled near Luoyang; he was the maternal nephew of Vice Minister of Ceremonials Zhang Boji. As an official he enforced the law with pitiless severity. Early in the Tianbao era, Right Chancellor Li Linfu recruited him with Ji Wen to handle prison cases. Related to Xixi by marriage, he rose from chief clerk of the Censorate to attending palace censor. In the cases that sent Wei Jian, Huangfu Weiming, Li Shizhi, Liu Ji, Pei Dunfu, Li Yong, Wu Yuanchang, Yang Shenjin, and Zhao Fengzhang to prison, he forged evidence with Wen throughout. Contemporaries called them "Luo's pincers and Ji's net," loathing their pitiless severity. In the eighth year he was appointed vice director of the Ministry of Justice, then promoted to director. In the eleventh year, after Li Linfu died, he was sent out as prefect of Zhongbu and Shian, concurrently serving as military commissioner of the circuit.

十四載，以張博濟、吉溫，韋陟、韋誡奢、李從一、員錫等流貶，皆於始安，希奭或令假攝。右相楊國忠奏遣司直蔣沇往按之，復令張光奇替為始安太守。仍降敕曰：

In the fourteenth year Zhang Boji, Ji Wen, Wei Zhi, Wei Jieshe, Li Congyi, Yuan Xi, and others were banished—all to Shian—where Xixi sometimes had them serve as temporary substitutes. Right Chancellor Yang Guozhong memorialized to send judicial commissioner Jiang Yan to investigate, and had Zhang Guangqi replace him as prefect of Shian. An edict was further issued, stating:

前始安郡太守、充當管經略使羅希奭，幸此資序，叨居牧守。地列要荒，人多竄殛，尤加委任，冀絕奸訛。翻乃嘯結逋逃，群聚不逞，應是流貶，公然安置。或差攝郡縣，割剝黎氓；或輟借館宇，侵擾人吏。不唯輕侮典憲，實亦隳壞紀綱。擢發數愆，豈多其罪，可貶海東郡海康尉、員外置。張博濟往托回邪，跡惟憑恃，嘗自抵犯，又坐親姻，前後貶官，歲月頗久，逗留不赴，情狀難容。及命按舉，仍更潛匿，亡命逭刑，莫斯為甚。並當切害，合峻常刑，宜於所在各決重杖六十。使夫為政之士，克守章程；負罪之人，期於悛革。凡厥在位，宜各悉心。

The former prefect of Shian Commandery and military commissioner of the circuit, Luo Xixi, by seniority alone had presumptuously held a governorship. The region was strategically remote and its people mostly fugitives under sentence of death; he was especially entrusted in the hope that treachery and wrongdoing would be stamped out. Instead he rallied escaped convicts and gathered the lawless, openly settling every person who should have been banished. Some he dispatched to act as substitutes in prefectures and counties, stripping and exploiting the common people; others he lent official quarters, harassing clerks and attendants. He not only treated the statutes with contempt but truly ruined discipline and law. Counting his offenses hair by hair would not exhaust them—his crimes can hardly be called few. He is demoted to assistant magistrate of Haikang in Haidong Commandery, an extra-staff appointment. Zhang Boji has long relied on crooked paths, his conduct resting solely on patronage; he has repeatedly offended on his own account and also through kinship by marriage. Banished repeatedly over many years, he has lingered without reporting—conduct hard to tolerate. When ordered to be investigated, he again hid in secret, fleeing justice to evade punishment—nothing more grave than this. All are to be severely punished; standard law demands stern penalty. Each is to receive sixty blows of the heavy staff where he is found. Let those who hold office strictly keep the regulations; let those who bear guilt look to reform themselves. All who hold position should each devote their full hearts to this.

時員錫、李從一、韋誡奢、吉承恩並決杖，遣司直宇文審往監之。毛若虛毛若虛，絳州太平人也。眉毛覆於眼，其性殘忍。初為蜀川縣尉，使司以推勾見任。天寶末，為武功丞，年已六十餘矣。肅宗收兩京，除監察御史。審國用不足，上策徵剝財貨。有潤於公者，日有進奉，漸見任用稱旨。每推一人，未鞫，即先收其家資，以定贓數。不滿望，即攤徵鄉里近親。峻其威權，人皆懼死，輸納不差晷刻。

At that time Yuan Xi, Li Congyi, Wei Jieshe, and Ji Chengen were all sentenced to beating with the heavy staff, and judicial commissioner Yu Wenshen was sent to supervise. Mao Ruoxu was a native of Taiping in Jiang Prefecture. His eyebrows covered his eyes, and his nature was cruel. He first served as magistrate of Shuchuan County; the dispatch office recognized his talent for investigation and retained him. At the end of Tianbao he was assistant magistrate of Wugong, already more than sixty years old. When Emperor Suzong recovered the two capitals, he was appointed investigating censor. Seeing that state revenues were insufficient, he submitted plans to levy and extort goods and wealth. Where there was profit for the public treasury, he made daily tribute offerings and gradually came to be employed in ways that pleased the emperor. Each time he investigated someone, before interrogation he would first seize the household's assets to fix the embezzlement figure. If the amount did not meet expectations, he would spread the levy among neighbors and close kin in the village. He made his authority fiercely intimidating; all feared death and paid within the hour.

，鳳翔府七坊押官先行剽劫，州縣不能制，因有劫殺事。縣尉謝夷甫因眾怒，遂搒殺之。其妻訴於李輔國，輔國奏請御史孫瑩鞫之。瑩不能正其事。又令中丞崔伯陽三司使雜訊之，又不證成其罪。因令若虛推之，遂歸罪於夷甫。伯陽與之言，若虛頗不遜。伯陽數讓之，若虛馳謁告急。肅宗曰：「卿且出。」對曰：「臣出即死矣。」肅宗潛留若虛簾內，召伯陽至，伯陽頗短若虛。上怒，叱出之。因流貶伯陽同推官十餘人，皆於嶺外遠惡處。宰相李峴以左右於瑩等，亦被貶斥。於是若虛威震朝列，公卿懾懼矣！尋擢為御史中丞。，貶賓化尉而死。敬羽敬羽，寶鼎人也。父昭道，開元初為監察御史。羽貌寢而性便僻，善候人意旨。天寶九載，為康成縣尉。安思順為朔方節度使，引在幕下。及肅宗於靈武即大位，羽尋擢為監察御史。以苛刻徵剝求進。及收兩京後，轉見委任。作大枷，有鹴尾榆，著即悶絕。又臥囚於地，以門關輾其腹，號為「肉餺飥」。掘地為坑，實以棘刺，以敗席覆上，領囚臨坑訊之，必墜其中，萬刺攢之。又捕逐錢貨，不減毛若虛。

In the second year of Qianyuan, the Qifang yaguan of Fengxiang Prefecture first took to plundering and robbery; the prefecture and counties could not control them, and thus there arose robbery and killing. The county magistrate Xie Yifu, acting on public outrage, beat the man to death. The man's wife appealed to Li Fuguo; Fuguo memorialized requesting investigator Sun Ying to try the case. Ying could not set the matter right. The court again ordered Vice Censor-in-Chief Cui Boyang, as Three Offices commissioner, to conduct mixed interrogation, but still could not establish guilt. Ruoxu was then ordered to investigate; he shifted blame onto Yifu. When Boyang spoke with him, Ruoxu was quite insolent. Boyang repeatedly reproached him; Ruoxu raced to audience to report an emergency. Emperor Suzong said: "Leave for now. He replied: "If I leave, I shall die at once. Suzong secretly kept Ruoxu behind the curtain, summoned Boyang, and Boyang spoke ill of Ruoxu. The emperor was angered and shouted him out. Accordingly Boyang and more than ten fellow investigators were banished to remote, harsh places beyond the Ling Range. Chancellor Li Xian, for siding with Ying and the others, was also demoted and dismissed. Thereupon Ruoxu's power shook the court ranks, and dukes and ministers trembled in fear! Soon he was promoted to vice censor-in-chief. In the first year of Shangyuan, he was demoted to assistant magistrate of Binhua and died there. Jing Yu was a native of Baoding. His father Zhaodao served as investigating censor early in Kaiyuan. Yu was homely in appearance but slippery in character, skilled at reading others' intent. In the ninth year of Tianbao he was magistrate of Kangsheng County. When An Sishun was military commissioner of Shuofang, he brought Yu onto his staff. When Emperor Suzong took the throne at Lingwu, Yu was soon promoted to investigating censor. He used harsh extortion and levies to seek advancement. After the two capitals were recovered, he came to be increasingly entrusted. He made great cangues with serrated elm at the tail end; once fitted, the prisoner would suffocate. He also made prisoners lie on the ground and rolled a door bar across their bellies—a technique called "meat wontons." He dug pits in the ground, filled them with thorns, covered them with tattered mats, and led prisoners to the edge for questioning—they inevitably fell in and were pierced by ten thousand spikes. He also hunted down money and goods, no less ruthlessly than Mao Ruoxu.

上元中，擢為御史中丞。太子少傅、宗正卿、鄭國公李遵，為宗子通事舍人李若冰告其贓私，詔羽按之。羽延遵，各危坐於小床。羽小瘦，遵豐碩，頃間問即倒，請垂足。羽曰：「尚書下獄是囚，羽禮延坐，何得慢耶！」遵絕倒者數四。請問，羽徐應之，授紙筆，書贓數千貫，奏之。肅宗以勛舊舍之，但停宗正卿。

During Shangyuan he was promoted to vice censor-in-chief. The Heir Apparent's junior tutor, director of the Imperial Clan, Duke of Zheng Li Zun was denounced for embezzlement by imperial clan attendant Li Ruobing; Yu was ordered to investigate. Yu invited Zun to sit, each perched uneasily on a small stool. Yu was small and lean; Zun was stout and full-bodied. After a moment's questioning he collapsed and asked to let his feet hang down. Yu said: "Minister, you are a prisoner under arrest; Yu has courteously invited you to sit—how dare you be insolent! Zun fainted dead away four times. When questioned, Yu answered slowly, handed him brush and paper, had him write out embezzlement of several thousand strings of cash, and memorialized it. Emperor Suzong pardoned him for his meritorious service but stripped him of the directorship of the Imperial Clan.

及嗣薛王珍潛謀不軌，詔羽鞫之。羽召支黨羅於廷，索鹴尾榆枷之，布栲訊之具以繞之，信宿成獄。珍坐死，右衛將軍竇如玢、試都水使者崔昌等九人並斬，太子洗馬趙非熊、陳王府長史陳閎、楚州司馬張昴、左武衛兵曹參軍焦自榮，前鳳翔府郿縣主簿李、廣文館進士張夐等六人決殺，駙馬都尉薛履謙賜自盡，左散騎常侍張鎬貶辰州司戶。

When Prince Ji of Xue, Li Zhen, secretly plotted treason, Yu was ordered to try him. Yu summoned his partisans and assembled them in the court, fitted them with serrated-elm cangues, surrounded them with torture implements, and within two nights the case was complete. Zhen was sentenced to death. Right Guard General Dou Rubin, provisional commissioner of waterways Cui Chang, and nine others were all beheaded. Heir Apparent's reader Zhao Feixiong, Prince of Chen's chief administrator Chen Hong, Chu Prefecture military aide Zhang Ang, Left Martial Guard army records officer Jiao Zirong, former Meixian chief clerk of Fengxiang Li, Imperial Academy graduate Zhang Xiong, and six others were executed by beating. Chief commandant of horse marriages Xue Lüqian was granted permission to take his own life. Left regular attendant Zhang Hao was demoted to registrar of Chen Prefecture.

胡人康謙善賈，資產億萬計。楊國忠為相，授安南都護。至德中，為試鴻臚卿，專知山南東路。驛人嫉之，告其陰通史朝義。謙髭鬚長三尺過帶，按之兩宿，鬢髮皆禿，膝踝亦栲碎，視之者以為鬼物，非人類也。乞舍其生，以後送狀奏殺之，沒其資產。

The foreigner Kang Qian was skilled in trade; his assets numbered in the tens of millions. When Yang Guozhong became chancellor, he was appointed protector-general of Annan. During Zhide he served as provisional minister of ceremonials, specifically overseeing the Eastern Circuit of Shannan. Post-station workers envied him and reported that he had secretly communicated with Shi Chaoyi. Qian's beard was three feet long, hanging past his belt. After two nights of interrogation his sideburns and hair were all gone, his knees and ankles crushed by torture; those who saw him thought him a ghost, not human. He begged to spare his life, but in the end a memorial was submitted requesting his execution; his assets were confiscated.

羽與毛若虛在臺五六年間，臺中囚繫不絕。又有裴升、畢曜同為御史，皆酷毒。人之陷刑，當時有毛、敬、裴、畢之稱。

During the five or six years Yu and Mao Ruoxu served at the Censorate, prisoners in the office were never absent. There were also Pei Sheng and Bi Yao, fellow censors, all cruelly vicious. When men fell into punishment, the age spoke of Mao, Jing, Pei, and Bi.

裴、畢尋又流黔中。羽，貶為道州刺史。尋有詔殺之，羽聞之，衣兇服南奔溪洞，為吏所擒。臨刑，袖中執州縣官吏犯贓私狀數紙，曰：「有人通此狀，恨不得推究其事。主州政者，無宜寢也。」

Pei and Bi were soon banished to Qianzhong. Yu was demoted to prefect of Daozhou. Soon an edict ordered his execution; on hearing it Yu dressed in garments of ill omen and fled south into mountain gorges, but was captured by officials. At execution he held several sheets in his sleeve denouncing prefecture and county officials for embezzlement, saying: "If anyone passes on these denunciations, I would sorely regret not having pursued the cases. Those who govern the prefecture should not suppress them."

贊曰：王德將衰，政在奸臣。鷹犬搏擊，縱之者人。遭其毒螫，可為悲辛。作法為害，延濫不仁。

Commentary: When royal virtue was about to decline, power rested with treacherous ministers. Hawks and hounds strike down prey—yet it is men who set them loose. To suffer their venomous sting—how piteous and bitter. Those who made the law to harm others spread cruelty without end.

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