1
李嗣昭，字益光，武皇母弟代州刺史克柔之假子也。 小字進通，不知族姓所出。 〈（《歐陽史》作本姓韓氏，汾州大穀縣民家子。）〉 少事克柔，頗謹願，雖形貌眇小，而精悍有膽略，沉毅不群。 初嗜酒好樂，武皇微伸儆戒，乃終身不飲。 少從征伐，精練軍機。 乾寧初，王珂、王珙爭帥河中，珙引陝州之軍攻珂，珂求救於武皇，乃令嗣昭將兵援之，敗珙軍於猗氏，獲賊將李璠等。 四年，改衙內都將，復援河中，敗汴軍於胡壁堡，擒汴將滑禮，以功加檢校僕射。 及王珂請婚武皇，武皇以女妻之； 珂赴禮於太原，以嗣昭權典河中留後事。
Li Sizhao, whose courtesy name was Yiguang, was the adopted son of Kerou, military commissioner of Dai and younger brother of the Martial Emperor's mother. He was also known in youth as Jintong, but his original clan and surname are unknown. (The Ouyang History records that he was originally surnamed Han and came from a common family in Dagu County, Fen Prefecture.)〉 As a youth he served Kerou with dutiful steadiness. Though slight in build, he was sharp, courageous, and unusually composed. He had once been fond of wine and music, but after the Martial Emperor gently admonished him, he never drank again for the rest of his life. He took the field from an early age and became thoroughly skilled in military operations. Early in the Qianning era, Wang Ke and Wang Gong fought over command of Hezhong. Gong brought Shaan troops against Ke, who appealed to the Martial Emperor. Sizhao was sent to his aid, defeated Gong at Yishi, and captured the rebel general Li Fan and others. In the fourth year he was made commander of the inner guard, returned to aid Hezhong, routed Bian forces at Hubi Fort, captured the Bian general Hua Li, and was promoted to acting Grand Mentor for his service. When Wang Ke sought a marriage alliance with the Martial Emperor, the latter gave him his daughter in marriage; Ke traveled to Taiyuan for the wedding, and Sizhao was left in charge of Hezhong as acting military governor.
2
李罕之襲我潞州也，嗣昭率師攻潞州，與汴將丁會戰於含口，俘獲三千，執其將蔡延恭； 代李君慶為蕃漢馬步行營都將，進攻潞州，遣李存質、李嗣本以兵扼天井關。 汴將澤州刺史劉屺棄城而遁，乃以李存璋為刺史。 梁祖聞嗣昭之師大至，召葛從周謂曰：「並人若在高平，當圍而取之，先須野戰，勿以潞州為敵。」 及聞嗣昭軍韓店，梁祖曰：「進通扼八議路，此賊決與我鬥，公等臨事製機，勿落奸便。」 賀德倫閉壁不出，嗣昭日以鐵騎環城，汴人不敢芻牧，援路斷絕。 八月，德倫、張歸厚棄城遁去，我復取潞州。
When Li Hanzhi seized our Luzhou, Sizhao marched to retake it and fought the Bian general Ding Hui at Hankou, taking three thousand prisoners and capturing his general Cai Yangong; Replacing Li Junqing as commander of the mixed Tangut-Han field army, he pressed the attack on Luzhou and sent Li Cunzhi and Li Siben to hold Tianjing Pass. The Bian prefect of Ze, Liu Qi, abandoned his city and fled, and Li Cunzhang was installed as the new prefect. Hearing that Sizhao's army was approaching in strength, the Liang founder summoned Ge Congzhou and said, "If the Bing troops are at Gaoping, surround and take them. Fight them in the open first—do not fix your attention on Luzhou alone." Learning that Sizhao's army was at Handian, the Liang founder said, "Jintong has blocked the Bayi Road—this enemy means to give battle. Adapt to events on the spot and do not let him lure you into a trap." He Delun held the walls and refused to come out. Sizhao sent armored cavalry to ring the city day after day, so the Bian troops could not graze or forage and their lines of supply were severed. In the eighth month He Delun and Zhang Guihou abandoned the city and fled, and we retook Luzhou.
3
光化三年，汴人攻滄州，劉仁恭求救，遣嗣昭出師邢、洺以應之。 嗣昭遇汴軍於沙河，擊敗之，獲其將胡禮。 進攻洺州，下之，獲其郡將朱紹宗。 九月，梁祖自率軍三萬至臨洺，葛從周設伏於青山口。 嗣昭聞梁祖至，斂軍而退，從周伏兵發，為其所敗，偏將王郃郎、楊師悅等被擒。 十月，汴人大寇鎮、定，王郜告急於武皇，乃遣嗣昭出師，下太行，擊懷、孟。 汴將侯信守河陽，不意嗣昭之師至，既無守備，驅市人登城； 嗣昭攻其北門，破其外垣，俄而汴將閻寶救軍至，乃退。
In Guanghua 3 the Bian attacked Cangzhou. Liu Rengong appealed for help, and Sizhao was sent through Xing and Mo to relieve him. Sizhao met the Bian army at Shahe, routed it, and captured their general Hu Li. He then attacked and captured Mo Prefecture, taking its commander Zhu Shaozong prisoner. In the ninth month the Liang founder led thirty thousand men in person to Linmo, while Ge Congzhou laid an ambush at Qingshan Pass. Hearing of the Liang founder's arrival, Sizhao drew back his forces, only to be caught by Congzhou's ambush. Subordinate generals including Wang Helang and Yang Shiyue were taken prisoner. In the tenth month the Bian launched a major assault on Zhen and Ding. Wang Gao sent an urgent appeal to the Martial Emperor, who dispatched Sizhao down the Taihang to strike Huai and Meng. The Bian general Hou Xin held Heyang and was caught unprepared by Sizhao's arrival. With no real defenses ready, he pressed townspeople onto the walls; Sizhao assaulted the north gate and broke through the outer wall, but when the Bian general Yan Bao's relief force arrived shortly afterward, he withdrew.
4
明年正月，嗣昭進兵蒲縣。 十八日，汴將朱友寧、氏叔琮將兵十萬來拒。 二十八日，梁祖自率大軍至平陽，嗣昭之師大恐。 三月十一日，有白虹貫周德威之營，候者雲不利，宜班師。 翌日，氏叔琮犯德威之營，汴軍十餘萬列陣四合，德威、嗣昭血戰解之，乃保軍而退，汴軍因乘之。 時諸將潰散，無復部伍，德威引騎軍循西山而遁，朱友寧乘勝陷慈、隰、汾等州。 武皇聞其敗也，遣李存信率牙兵至清源應接，復為汴軍所擊。 汴軍營於晉祠，嗣昭、德威收合餘眾，登城拒守； 汴人治攻具於西北隅，四面營柵相望。 時鎮州、河中皆為梁有，孤城無援，師旅敗亡。 武皇晝夜登城，憂不遑食，召諸將欲出保雲州，嗣昭曰：「王勿為此謀，兒等苟存，必能城守。」 李存信曰：「事勢危急，不如且入北蕃，別圖進取。 朱溫兵師百萬，天下無敵，關東、河北受他指揮，今獨守危城，兵亡地蹙，儻彼築室反耕，環塹深固，則亡無日矣！」 武皇將從之，嗣昭亟爭不可，猶豫未決，賴劉太妃極言於內，武後且止。 數日，亡散之眾復集。 嗣昭晝夜分兵四出，斬將搴旗，汴軍保守不暇。 二十一日，朱友寧燒營退去，嗣昭追擊，復收汾、慈、隰等州。 五月，雲州都將王敬暉據城叛，振武石善友亦為部將契讓所逐，嗣昭皆討平之。
The following year, in the first month, Sizhao advanced to Pu County. On the eighteenth the Bian generals Zhu Youning and Shi Shuzong arrived with one hundred thousand men to block him. On the twenty-eighth the Liang founder brought his main army to Pingyang in person, and Sizhao's forces were thrown into great fear. On the eleventh of the third month a white rainbow spanned Zhou Dewei's camp. Observers called it an ill omen and urged a withdrawal. The next day Shi Shuzong attacked Dewei's camp. More than one hundred thousand Bian troops closed in from every side. Dewei and Sizhao fought their way out in a bloody engagement and covered the army's retreat, but the Bian pressed hard in pursuit. The generals broke and scattered, their formations lost. Dewei led the cavalry along the western hills in flight, while Zhu Youning pressed the victory and seized Ci, Xi, Fen, and other prefectures. Hearing of the defeat, the Martial Emperor sent Li Cunxin with the guard troops to Qingyuan to reinforce them, but they too were struck by the Bian army. The Bian encamped at Jinci. Sizhao and Dewei rallied the survivors, manned the walls, and held the city; while the Bian prepared siege engines at the northwest corner and ringed the city with camps on every side. Zhen and Hezhong were already in Liang hands. The city stood alone without relief, and the army was shattered. Day and night the Martial Emperor walked the walls, too troubled to eat, and summoned his generals to discuss abandoning the city for Yun Prefecture. Sizhao said, "Your Majesty, do not consider that course. While we yet live, we can hold this city." Li Cunxin said, "The situation is desperate. Better to withdraw into the northern tribes for now and seek another opening later. Zhu Wen commands armies said to number in the millions and stands unmatched in the realm. East of the passes and in Hebei all obey him. We alone cling to a doomed city with our forces spent and our land shrinking. If they settle in for a long siege with deep trenches and strong ramparts, we are finished!" The Martial Emperor was on the point of agreeing. Sizhao argued urgently against it, and the emperor still hesitated until Grand Consort Liu spoke forcefully from within the palace, after which he set the plan aside. Within a few days the scattered troops rallied again. Day and night Sizhao sent detachments in every direction, killing enemy officers and capturing their banners, so the Bian could barely hold their own positions. On the twenty-first Zhu Youning burned his camp and withdrew. Sizhao pursued and recovered Fen, Ci, Xi, and the other lost prefectures. In the fifth month Wang Jinghui of Yun Prefecture rebelled and held the city, while at Zhenwu Shi Shanyou was driven out by his subordinate Qi Rang. Sizhao put down both rebellions.
5
天祐三年，汴人攻滄、景，劉仁恭遣使求援。 十一月，嗣昭合燕軍三萬進攻潞州，降丁會，武皇乃以嗣昭為昭義節度使。 始嗣昭未到之前，上黨有占者，見一人家舍上常有氣如車蓋，視之，但一貧媼而已。 占者謂媼：「有子乎？」 曰：「有，見為軍士，出戍於外。」 占者心異之，以為其子將來有土地之兆也。 未幾，丁會既降，嗣昭領兵入潞，以媼家四面空缺，乃駐於是舍。 丁會既歸太原，武皇遣使命嗣昭為帥，乃自媼舍而入理所，其氣尋息，聞者異之。
In Tianyou 3 the Bian attacked Cang and Jing, and Liu Rengong sent envoys begging for relief. In the eleventh month Sizhao combined with thirty thousand Yan troops to attack Luzhou. Ding Hui surrendered, and the Martial Emperor appointed Sizhao military commissioner of Zhaoyi. Before Sizhao arrived, a diviner at Shangdang noticed a canopy-like vapor rising above a certain house. He looked closer and found only a poor old woman. The diviner asked her, "Do you have a son?" She answered, "I do. He is a soldier now, posted on garrison duty elsewhere." The diviner was inwardly astonished and took it as a sign that her son would one day hold territory of his own. Soon afterward, when Ding Hui surrendered, Sizhao entered Lu with his army. The old woman's house stood open on every side, and he made his headquarters there. After Ding Hui returned to Taiyuan, the Martial Emperor confirmed Sizhao as commander. Sizhao moved from the old woman's house into the official residence, and the strange vapor soon faded. All who heard of it were astonished.
6
四年六月，汴將李思安將兵十萬攻潞州，乃築夾城，深溝高壘，內外重復，飛走路絕。 嗣昭撫循士眾，登城拒守，梁祖馳書說誘百端，嗣昭焚其偽詔，斬其使者，城中固守經年，軍民乏絕，感鹽炭自生，以濟貧民。 嗣昭嘗享諸將，登城張樂，賊矢中足，嗣昭密拔之，坐客不之覺，酣飲如故，以安眾心。 五年五月，莊宗敗汴軍，破夾城。 嗣昭知武皇棄世，哀慟幾絕。 時大兵攻圍曆年，城中士民饑死大半，廛裏蕭條。 嗣昭緩法寬租，勸農務穡，一二年間，軍城完集，三面鄰於敵境，寇鈔縱橫，設法枝梧，邊鄙不聳。
In the sixth month of the fourth year the Bian general Li Si'an attacked Luzhou with one hundred thousand men. He built twin siege cities with deep trenches and high walls, inner and outer lines of fortification, and cut off every route in or out. Sizhao rallied his officers and men and held the walls. The Liang founder sent letter after letter with promises and threats. Sizhao burned the forged edicts and executed the envoys. The city held for a full year while army and people starved, until salt and charcoal appeared as if by miracle to sustain the destitute. Once, while feasting his generals with music played on the walls, an enemy arrow struck his foot. Sizhao quietly pulled it out without his guests noticing and drank on as before to steady the men's spirits. In the fifth month of the fifth year Zhuangzong defeated the Bian army and broke the siege works. Learning that the Martial Emperor had died, Sizhao grieved almost to the point of death. The great siege had lasted a year. More than half the soldiers and civilians in the city had died of hunger, and the streets lay empty. Sizhao eased the laws, reduced rents, and urged the people back to farming. Within a year or two the garrison city was whole again. Though enemy territory lay on three sides and raiders ranged freely, his measures kept the frontier calm.
7
胡柳之戰，周德威戰沒，師無行列，至晚方集。 汴人四五萬登無石山，我軍懼形於色。 或請收軍保營，詰旦復戰。 嗣昭曰：「賊無營壘，去臨濮地遠，日已晡晚，皆有歸心，但以精騎逗撓，無令返旆，晡後追擊，破之必矣。 我若收軍拔寨，賊人入臨濮，俟彼整齊復來，即勝負水決。」 莊宗曰：「非兄言，幾敗吾事！」 軍校王建及又陳方略，嗣昭與建及分兵於土山南北為掎角，汴軍懼，下山，因縱軍擊之，俘斬三萬級，由是莊宗之軍復振。
At the battle of Huliu, Zhou Dewei was killed in action. The army lost all formation and was not regrouped until evening. Forty or fifty thousand Bian troops took Wushi Mountain, and fear showed plainly on our men's faces. Some urged pulling the army back to camp and renewing the fight at dawn. Sizhao said, "The enemy have no camp. They are far from Linpu, and the afternoon is already late—they all want to get home. Send elite cavalry to harass and delay them. Do not let them turn back. Pursue after dusk and you will break them for certain. If we pull back and break camp, they will reach Linpu. Once they regroup and return, the outcome will be anyone's guess." Zhuangzong said, "Without your counsel, brother, I would nearly have ruined everything!" The officer Wang Jianji offered a plan as well. Sizhao and Jianji divided their forces north and south of Tushan in a pincer. The Bian troops, alarmed, came down the mountain, and our army fell upon them, killing and capturing thirty thousand. From that point Zhuangzong's army rallied again.
8
十六年，嗣昭代周德威權幽州軍府事。 九月，以李紹宏代，嗣昭出薊門，百姓號泣請留，截鞍惜別，嗣昭夜遁而歸。 十七年六月，嗣昭自德勝歸藩，莊宗帳餞於戚城。 莊宗酒酣，泣而言曰：「河朔生靈，十年饋挽，引領鶴望，俟破汴軍。 今兵賦不充，寇孽猶在，坐食軍賦，有愧蒸民。」 嗣昭曰：「臣忝急難之地，每一念此，寢不安席。 大王且持重謹守，惠養士民。 臣歸本藩，簡料兵賦，歲末春首，即舉眾復來。」 莊宗離席拜送，如家人禮。 是月，汴將劉鄩攻同州，朱友謙告急，嗣昭與李存審援之。 九月，破汴軍於馮翊，乃班師。
In the sixteenth year Sizhao took over from Zhou Dewei as acting administrator of the Youzhou military headquarters. In the ninth month Li Shohong was appointed in his place. As Sizhao left through Jimen Gate, the people wept and begged him to stay, even cutting his saddle straps in their grief at parting. Sizhao stole away by night and returned. In the sixth month of the seventeenth year Sizhao returned to his circuit from Desheng, and Zhuangzong held a farewell feast for him at Qicheng. Deep in his cups, Zhuangzong wept and said, "The people of Hebei have supplied us for ten years, craning their necks in hope, waiting for us to break the Bian army. Now our levies fall short, the enemy still stands, and we sit here consuming what they provide. I am ashamed before the people." Sizhao said, "I hold a post in this hard-pressed land. Whenever I think of it, I cannot sleep at ease. Your Majesty should hold steady, guard carefully, and care for your officers and people. I will return to my circuit, gather troops and supplies, and come back with my forces by the end of the year or early spring." Zhuangzong rose from his seat and bowed him off with the intimacy of family. That same month the Bian general Liu Yan attacked Tong Prefecture. Zhu Youqian sent an urgent appeal, and Sizhao went to his aid with Li Cunshen. In the ninth month he defeated the Bian army at Fengyi and withdrew.
9
十九年，莊守親征張文禮於鎮州。 冬，契丹三十萬奄至，嗣昭從莊宗擊之，敵騎圍之數十重，良久不解。 嗣昭號泣赴之，引三百騎橫擊重圍，馳突出沒者數十合，契丹退，翼莊宗而還。 是時，閻寶為鎮人所敗，退保趙州，莊宗命嗣昭代寶攻真定。 七月二十四日，王處球之兵出自九門，嗣昭設伏於故營，賊至，發伏，擊之殆盡； 餘三人匿於牆墟間，嗣昭環馬而射之，為賊矢中腦，嗣昭箙中矢盡，拔賊矢於腦射賊，一發而殪之。 嗣昭日暮還營，所傷血流不止，是夜卒。
In the nineteenth year Zhuangzong led a personal campaign against Zhang Wenli at Zhen Prefecture. That winter three hundred thousand Khitan suddenly appeared. Sizhao followed Zhuangzong into the fight, and enemy cavalry ringed them in layer after layer for a long time without relief. Sizhao wept as he charged to the rescue with three hundred horsemen, cutting laterally through the encirclement and riding in and out of the enemy ranks dozens of times until the Khitan withdrew. He then escorted Zhuangzong safely back. At that time Yan Bao had been beaten by the men of Zhen and had fallen back to Zhao Prefecture. Zhuangzong ordered Sizhao to replace him and attack Zhending. On the twenty-fourth of the seventh month Wang Chuqin's troops came out through Jiumen Gate. Sizhao laid an ambush at the old camp, and when the enemy arrived he sprang it and nearly wiped them out; three survivors hid among broken walls. Sizhao circled his horse and shot at them. An enemy arrow struck him in the head. His quiver empty, he pulled the arrow from his own wound and shot one of the survivors dead with a single shot. Sizhao returned to camp at dusk, but blood from his wound would not stop flowing, and he died that night.
10
嗣昭節制澤、潞，官自司徒、太保至侍中、中書令。 莊宗即位，贈太師、隴西郡王。 長興中，詔配饗莊宗廟庭。
Sizhao governed Ze and Lu, holding offices from Grand Preceptor and Grand Guardian up to Palace Attendant and Director of the Secretariat. When Zhuangzong took the throne, Sizhao was posthumously enfeoffed as Grand Preceptor and Prince of Longxi. During the Changxing era an edict ordered that he share offerings in Zhuangzong's ancestral temple.
11
嗣昭有子七人，長曰繼儔，澤州刺史； 次繼韜、繼忠、繼能、繼襲、繼遠，皆夫人楊氏所生。 楊氏治家善積聚，設法販鬻，致家財百萬。
Sizhao had seven sons. The eldest was Jichou, prefect of Ze; followed by Jitao, Jizhong, Jineng, Jixi, and Jiyuan, all sons of Lady Yang. Lady Yang ran the household shrewdly and built up great wealth through trade, amassing a family fortune of one million.
12
繼韜，小字留得，少驕獪無賴。 嗣昭既卒，莊宗詔諸子扶喪歸太原襄事，諸子違詔，以父牙兵數千擁喪歸潞。 莊宗令李存渥馳騎追諭，兄弟俱忿，欲害存渥，存渥遁而獲免。 繼韜兄繼儔，嗣昭長嫡也。 當襲父爵，然柔而不武。 方在苫廬，繼韜詐令三軍劫己為留後，囚繼儔於別室，以事奏聞。 莊宗不得已，命為安義軍兵馬留後。 時軍前糧餉不充，租庸計度請潞州轉米五萬貯於相州； 繼韜辭以經費不足，請轉三萬。 有幕客魏琢、牙將申蒙者，因入奏公事，每摭陰事報繼韜云：「朝廷無人，終為河南吞噬，止遲速間耳。」 由是陰謀叛計。 內官張居翰時為昭義監軍，莊宗將即位，詔赴鄴都。 潞州節度判官任圜時在鎮州，亦奉詔赴鄴。 魏琢、申蒙謂繼韜曰：「國家急召此二人，情可知矣。」 弟繼遠，年十五六，謂繼韜曰：「兄有家財百萬，倉儲十年，宜自為謀，莫受人所製。」 繼韜曰：「定哥以為何如？」 曰：「申蒙之言是也。 河北不勝河南，不如與大梁通盟，國家方事之殷，焉能討我？ 無如此算。」 乃令繼遠將百餘騎詐雲於晉、絳擒生，遂至汴。 梁主見之喜，因令董璋將兵應接，營於潞州之南，加繼韜同平章事，改昭義軍為匡義軍。 繼韜令其愛子二人入質於汴。
Jitao, known in youth as Liude, was arrogant, cunning, and unruly from an early age. After Sizhao's death Zhuangzong ordered his sons to escort the coffin to Taiyuan for the funeral. They defied the edict and, with several thousand of their father's guard troops, took the coffin back to Lu instead. Zhuangzong sent Li Cunwo riding after them to deliver his orders. The brothers were furious and meant to kill him, but Cunwo fled and escaped. Jitao's elder brother Jichou was Sizhao's eldest legitimate son. He should have inherited his father's post, but he was gentle and lacked martial spirit. While still in mourning, Jitao had the army forcibly proclaim him acting military governor, imprisoned Jichou in a side room, and reported the matter to court. Zhuangzong had no choice but to confirm him as acting military governor of the Anyi army. Provisions at the front were running short, and the revenue office requested that Lu transfer fifty thousand piculs of grain to store at Xiang Prefecture; Jitao pleaded insufficient funds and offered only thirty thousand. A staff adviser named Wei Zhuo and a guard officer named Shen Meng, whenever they went to court on official business, would gather private intelligence and report to Jitao, "The court has no real leadership. In the end Henan will swallow us—it is only a question of time." From this they began to plot rebellion in secret. The eunuch Zhang Juhang was then military supervisor of Zhaoyi. As Zhuangzong prepared to take the throne, an edict summoned him to Yedu. Ren Yuan, administrative aide to the Lu military commissioner, was then at Zhen Prefecture and received the same summons to Ye. Wei Zhuo and Shen Meng told Jitao, "The court has urgently summoned these two men. You can guess what that means." His younger brother Jiyuan, only fifteen or sixteen, said to him, "Brother, you have a fortune of a million and stores enough for ten years. Plan for yourself. Do not let others dictate your fate." Jitao asked, "What do you think, Dingge?" Jiyuan answered, "Shen Meng is right. Hebei cannot match Henan. Better to ally with Great Liang. The court is overwhelmed with other business—how could it come after us? No plan is better than this." He then sent Jiyuan with a little over one hundred horsemen, pretending they were going to Jin and Jiang to take captives, and so reached Bian. The Liang ruler received him gladly and sent Dong Zhang with troops to support him, encamping south of Luzhou. Jitao was made Fellow of the Secretariat, and the Zhaoyi army was renamed the Kuangyi army. Jitao sent his two favorite sons to Bian as hostages.
13
及莊宗平河南，繼韜惶恐，計無所出，將脫身於契丹； 會有詔赦之，乃齎銀數十萬兩，隨其母楊氏詣闕，冀以賂免。 將行，其弟繼遠曰：「兄往與不往，利害一也。 以反為名，何麵更見天下！ 不如深溝峻壁，坐食積粟，尚可苟延歲月，往則亡無日矣。」 或曰：「君先世有大功於國，主上季父也，宏農夫人無恙，保獲萬全。」 及繼韜至，厚賂宦官、伶人，言事者翕然稱：「留後本無惡意，奸人惑之故也。 嗣昭親賢，不可無嗣。」 楊夫人亦於宮中哀祈劉皇后，後每於莊宗前泣言先人之功，以動聖情，由是原之。 在京月餘，屢從畋遊，寵待如故。 李存渥深訶詆之，繼韜心不自安，復賂伶閹，求歸本鎮，莊宗不聽。 繼韜潛令紀綱書諭繼遠，欲軍城更變，望天子遣己安撫。 事泄，斬於天津橋南。 二子齠年質於汴，莊宗收城得之，撫其背曰：「爾幼如是，猶如能佐父造反，長復何為！」 至是亦誅。 乃遣使往潞州斬繼遠，函首赴闕，命繼儔權知軍州事，繼達充軍城巡檢。
When Zhuangzong pacified Henan, Jitao was terrified and at his wits' end. He was about to flee to the Khitan; when a pardon arrived. He then took several hundred thousand taels of silver and went to the capital with his mother Lady Yang, hoping to buy his way out of trouble. As he prepared to leave, his brother Jiyuan said, "Whether you go or stay, the outcome is the same. You are marked as a rebel. What face do you have left to show the world! Better to dig in behind deep trenches and high walls and live on your stored grain. You might still buy yourself months or years. If you go to court, you are finished within days." Others said, "Your family served the state with great merit. The emperor is your father's younger brother, and Lady Hongnong is well. You can count on coming through safely." When Jitao arrived, he lavished gifts on eunuchs and actors. Court gossips soon agreed: "The acting governor never meant harm. Wicked advisers misled him. Sizhao was a loyal and worthy man. His line must not die out." Lady Yang also pleaded tearfully to Empress Liu in the palace. The empress wept before Zhuangzong of her family's old service until he was moved to mercy, and Jitao was pardoned. He remained in the capital for more than a month, joined the hunt repeatedly, and was treated with favor as before. Li Cunwo bitterly denounced him. Uneasy in his heart, Jitao bribed actors and eunuchs again to plead for return to his circuit, but Zhuangzong refused. Jitao secretly sent word through his guard officers to Jiyuan, hoping to stir mutiny in the garrison so the emperor would send him back to restore order. The plot was discovered, and he was beheaded south of Tianjin Bridge. His two young sons had been hostages at Bian. When Zhuangzong took the city he found them and, patting their backs, said, "So young, and already you could help your father rebel. What will you become when you grow up!" They too were executed. He then sent envoys to Luzhou to behead Jiyuan and deliver the head to court. Jichou was left in charge of military and civil affairs, and Jida was made garrison inspector.
14
未幾，詔繼儔赴闕。 時繼儔以繼韜所畜婢仆玩好之類悉為己有，每日料選算校，不時上路。 繼達怒謂人曰：「吾仲兄被罪，父子誅死，大兄不仁，略無動懷，而便烝淫妻妾，詰責貨財，慚恥見人，生不如死！」 繼達服縗麻，引數百騎坐於戟門，呼曰：「為我反乎！」 即令人斬繼儔首，投於戟門之內。 副使李繼珂聞其亂也，募市人千餘攻於城門。 繼達登城樓，知事不濟，啟子城東門，至其第，盡殺其孥，得百餘騎，出潞城門，將奔契丹。 行不十里，麾下奔潰，自剄於路隅。
Soon afterward an edict summoned Jichou to court. Jichou seized for himself all the servants, curios, and valuables Jitao had accumulated, inventorying them day after day and delaying his departure. Jida said angrily to others, "Our second brother was condemned and father and sons were killed. Our eldest brother shows no grief at all. Instead he seizes his wives and concubines and haggles over property. I am too ashamed to face anyone. Death would be better than this!" Jida put on mourning dress, led several hundred horsemen to the halberd gate, and shouted, "Will you rebel for me!" He then had Jichou beheaded and the head thrown inside the halberd gate. Deputy commissioner Li Jike, hearing of the turmoil, recruited more than a thousand townspeople to attack the gate. Jida mounted the tower, saw that the affair was lost, opened the inner city's east gate, went to his house and killed his entire household, gathered a little over one hundred horsemen, left through the Lu city gate, and fled toward the Khitan. Within ten li his followers scattered. He cut his own throat by the roadside.
15
天成初，繼能為相州刺史，母楊氏卒於太原，繼能、繼襲奔喪行服。 繼能笞掠母主藏婢，責金銀數，因笞至死。 家人告變，言聚甲為亂，繼能、繼襲皆伏誅。 嗣昭諸子自相屠害，幾於溘盡，惟繼忠一人僅保其首領焉。
Early in the Tiancheng era Jineng was prefect of Xiang. When Lady Yang died at Taiyuan, Jineng and Jixi returned home to mourn. Jineng beat and robbed his mother's chief storekeeper, demanding an accounting of gold and silver, and flogged her to death. The household reported them for gathering arms to rebel. Jineng and Jixi were both executed. Sizhao's sons destroyed one another until nearly none remained. Only Jizhong barely kept his life.
16
裴約，潞州之舊將也。 初事李嗣昭為親信，及繼韜之叛，約方戍澤州，因召民泣而諭之曰：「餘事故使，已餘二紀，每見分財享士，志在平讎，不幸薨歿。 今郎君父喪未葬，即背君親，餘可倳刃自殺，不能送死與人。」 眾皆感泣。 繼而梁以董璋為澤州刺史，率眾攻城，約拒久之，告急於莊宗。 莊宗知其忠懇，謂諸將曰：「朕於繼韜何薄，於裴約何厚？ 裴約能分逆順，不附賊黨，先兄一何不幸，生此鴟梟！」 乃顧李紹斌曰：「爾識機便，為我取裴約來，朕不藉澤州彈丸之地。」 即遣紹斌率五千騎以赴之。 紹斌自遼州進軍，未至，城已陷，約被害，時同光元年六月也。 帝聞之，嗟痛不已。
Pei Yue was a veteran officer of Luzhou. He had long served Li Sizhao as a trusted officer. When Jitao rebelled, Yue was garrisoning Ze Prefecture. He summoned the people and, weeping, told them, "I served the late commissioner for more than twenty years. I always saw him share his wealth with his men and strive to settle old scores. Now he is gone. Now the young master rebels before his father's funeral is even complete. I would rather turn the blade on myself than betray my dead lord to another." All wept with emotion. Soon the Liang appointed Dong Zhang prefect of Ze and besieged the city. Yue held out for a long time and sent an urgent appeal to Zhuangzong. Zhuangzong knew his loyalty and said to his generals, "What have I done for Jitao, and what have I done for Pei Yue? Pei Yue knows right from rebellion and will not join the traitors. How unlucky my elder brother was to have fathered such vultures!" He then turned to Li Shaobin and said, "You know how to move quickly. Bring Pei Yue to me. I do not need a place as small as Ze Prefecture." He immediately sent Shaobin with five thousand cavalry to relieve him. Shaobin marched from Liaozhou, but before he arrived the city had fallen and Yue was killed. This was the sixth month of Tongguang 1. When the emperor heard the news, he mourned without end.
17
李嗣本，雁門人，本姓張。 父準，銅冶鎮將。 嗣本少事武皇，為帳中紀綱，漸立戰功，得補軍校。 乾寧中，從征李匡儔為前鋒，與燕人戰，得居庸關，以功為義兒軍使，因賜姓名。 從討王行瑜，授檢校刑部尚書，改威遠、寧塞等軍使。 五年，討羅宏信於魏州，嗣本為前鋒，師還，改馬軍都將。 從李嗣昭討王暉於雲州，論功加檢校司空。 汴將李思安之圍潞州也，從周德威軍於餘吾，嗣本率騎軍日與汴人轉鬥，前後獻俘千計，遷代州刺史。 六年，從攻晉、絳，為蕃漢副使都校。 及武皇喪事有日，嗣本監護其事，改雲中防禦使、雲蔚應朔等州都知兵馬使，加特進、檢校太保。 九年，周德威討劉守光，嗣本率代北諸軍、生熟吐渾，收山後八軍，得納降軍使盧文進、武州刺史高行珪以獻。 幽州平，論功授振武節度使，號「威信可汗」。 十二年，莊宗定魏博，劉鄩據莘縣，命嗣本入太原巡守都城，十三年，從破劉鄩於故元城，收洺、磁、衛三郡。 六月，還鎮振武。 八月，契丹阿保機傾塞犯邊，其眾三十萬攻振武，嗣本嬰城拒戰者累日。 契丹為火車地道，晝夜急攻，城中兵少，禦備罄竭，城陷，嗣本舉族入契丹。 有子八人，四人陷於幕庭。 嗣本性剛烈，有節義，善戰多謀，然治郡民，頗傷苛急，人以此少之也。
Li Siben was from Yanmen and was originally surnamed Zhang. His father Zhun was commander of Tongye Garrison. Siben served the Martial Emperor from youth as a guard officer in his tent, gradually won distinction in battle, and was appointed a military cadet. During the Qianning era he served as vanguard in the campaign against Li Kuangchou, fought the Yan forces, and took Juyong Pass. For this he was made commander of the adoptive-sons army and granted the Li surname and his given name. He joined the campaign against Wang Xingyu and was appointed acting Minister of Justice, then made commander of the Weiyuan, Ningsai, and other armies. In the fifth year he campaigned against Luo Hongxin at Weizhou as vanguard. When the army returned he was made commander of the horse army. He followed Li Sizhao against Wang Hui at Yun Prefecture and was promoted to acting Minister of Works for his service. When the Bian general Li Si'an besieged Luzhou, he served under Zhou Dewei at Yuyu. Siben led cavalry in daily skirmishes with the Bian, presented more than a thousand captives in all, and was made military commissioner of Dai. In the sixth year he joined the attack on Jin and Jiang as deputy commander of the mixed Tangut-Han forces. When the Martial Emperor's funeral drew near, Siben supervised the arrangements. He was made defender of Yunzhong and overall commander of troops for Yun, Wei, Ying, Shuo, and other prefectures, with special advancement and the acting rank of Grand Guardian. In the ninth year Zhou Dewei campaigned against Liu Shouguang. Siben led the northern Dai armies and Tuyuhun forces, recovered the eight armies beyond the mountains, and presented the surrendered commander Lu Wenjin and Wu prefect Gao Xinggui. When Youzhou was pacified, he was rewarded with the post of military commissioner of Zhenwu and styled "Trustworthy and Worthy Khan." In the twelfth year Zhuangzong secured Weibo while Liu Yan held Shen County. Siben was ordered into Taiyuan to guard the capital. In the thirteenth year he helped defeat Liu Yan at Old Yuancheng and recovered Mo, Ci, and Wei. In the sixth month he returned to his post at Zhenwu. In the eighth month the Khitan ruler Abaoji invaded in force with three hundred thousand men against Zhenwu. Siben held the city and fought for many days. The Khitan used fire carts and tunneling and attacked day and night without pause. The garrison was small, defenses were exhausted, the city fell, and Siben took his whole clan into Khitan territory. He had eight sons, four of whom were lost in the Khitan court. Siben was stern and principled, skilled in battle and full of stratagems. Yet in governing his prefecture he was harsh, and for that people thought less of him.
18
李嗣恩，本姓駱。 〈（《歐陽史》：嗣恩本吐谷渾部人。）〉 年十五，能騎射，侍武皇於振武； 及鎮太原，補鐵林軍小校。 從征王行瑜，奉表獻捷，加檢校散騎常侍，漸轉突陣指揮使，賜姓名。 天祐四年，逐康懷英於河西，解汾州之圍，加檢校司空，充左廂馬軍都將。 戰王景仁有功，加檢校司徒。 救河中府，與梁人接戰，應弦斃者甚眾，而槊中其口； 及退，莊宗親視其傷，深加慰勉，轉內衙馬步都將、遼州刺史。 十二年，從莊宗入魏，擊劉鄩有功，轉天雄軍都指揮使。 劉鄩之北趣樂平也，嗣恩襲之，倍程先入晉陽。 時城中無備，得嗣恩兵至，人百其勇，鄩聞其先過，乃遁。 莘之戰，以功轉代州刺史，充石嶺關以北都知兵馬使，稍遷振武節度使。 十五年，追赴行在，卒於太原。 天成初，明宗敦念舊勳，詔贈太尉。
Li Si'en was originally surnamed Luo. (The Ouyang History records that Si'en was originally from the Tuyuhun people.)〉 At fifteen he could ride and shoot and attended the Martial Emperor at Zhenwu; when the emperor took charge at Taiyuan, he was appointed a junior officer in the Iron Forest Army. He joined the campaign against Wang Xingyu, reported victory to court, was promoted to acting Regular Attendant, became commander of the shock-assault formation, and was granted the Li surname and his given name. In Tianyou 4 he drove Kang Huaiying from Hexi, lifted the siege of Fen Prefecture, was promoted to acting Minister of Works, and made commander of the left wing of the horse army. He fought Wang Jingren with distinction and was promoted to acting Minister of Education. Relieving Hezhong, he fought the Liang in battle. Many fell to his arrows, but a spear struck him in the mouth; when he withdrew Zhuangzong personally inspected his wound and comforted him warmly. He was made commander of the inner guard horse and foot forces and prefect of Liao. In the twelfth year he followed Zhuangzong into Wei, fought Liu Yan with distinction, and was made overall commander of the Tianxiong army. When Liu Yan marched north toward Leping, Si'en struck at him, forced the pace, and entered Jinyang ahead of him. The city was unprepared. When Si'en's troops arrived, every man fought as if he were worth a hundred. Yan, hearing that Si'en had passed him, fled. At the battle of Shen he was rewarded with the post of military commissioner of Dai and overall commander of troops north of Shiling Pass, and was later promoted to military commissioner of Zhenwu. In the fifteenth year he was summoned urgently to the imperial camp and died at Taiyuan. Early in the Tiancheng era Emperor Ming, mindful of old service, posthumously enfeoffed him as Grand Commandant.
19
有子二人，長曰武八，騎射推於軍中。 嘗有時輩臂饑鷹，矜其搏擊，武八持鳴鏑一隻，賭其狩獲，暮乃多之。 戰契丹於親州，歿焉。 幼曰從郎，累為行軍司馬。
He had two sons. The eldest was called Wuba and was renowned in the army for riding and archery. Once some companions carried hungry hawks on their arms and boasted of their hunting prowess. Wuba wagered with a single whistling arrow on the day's catch, and by evening he had taken more game. He died fighting the Khitan at Qin Prefecture. The younger son was called Conglang and served repeatedly as campaign marshal.
20
史臣曰：嗣昭以精悍勤勞，佐經綸之業，終沒王事，得以為忠，然其後嗣皆不免於刑戮者，何也？ 蓋貨殖無窮，多財累愚故也。 抑苟能以清白遺子孫，安有斯禍哉！ 裴約以偏裨而效忠烈，尤可貴也。 嗣本、嗣恩皆以中涓之效，參再造之功，故可附於茲也。
The historian writes: Sizhao, through keen ability and tireless labor, helped build the state and died in its service, earning the name of loyalty. Yet why did his descendants all end on the execution ground? Surely it was because boundless wealth and great riches made fools of them. Had he been able to leave his descendants integrity rather than riches, how could such calamity have followed! Pei Yue, though only a subordinate officer, showed loyal valor, and that is especially admirable. Siben and Si'en both served as inner attendants and shared in the work of restoration, and so they are recorded here as well.