1
張憲，字允中，晉陽人，世以軍功為牙校。 憲始童丱，喜儒學，勵志橫經，不舍晝夜。 太原地雄邊服，人多尚武，恥於學業，惟憲與里人藥縱之精力遊學，弱冠盡通諸經，尤精《左傳》。 嘗袖行所業，謁判官李襲吉，一見欣歎。 既辭，謂憲曰：「子勉之，將來必成佳器。」 石州刺史楊守業喜聚書，以家書示之，聞見日博。
Zhang Xian, styled Yunzhong, was a native of Jinyang. For generations his family had risen through military service to the rank of yaxiao. From childhood Xian delighted in Confucian learning, applying himself to mastering the classics day and night without respite. Taiyuan lay in a powerful frontier region where men prized martial prowess and looked down on scholarly pursuits; only Xian and a townsman named Yao Zongzhi devoted their energies to travel and study. By his weak-capping year he had mastered all the classics, with particular mastery of the Zuo Commentary. Once he carried his writings in his sleeve and called on the judge Li Xiji, who at a single meeting expressed delighted admiration. When Xian took his leave, Li said to him, "Apply yourself diligently—you will surely become an outstanding talent in time." The prefect of Shizhou, Yang Shouye, loved to collect books and showed him his family library, so his learning broadened day by day.
2
莊宗為行軍司馬，廣延髦俊，素知憲名，令朱守殷齎書幣延之。 歲餘，釋褐交城令，秩滿，莊宗嗣世，補太原府司錄參軍。 時霸府初開，幕客馬鬱、王緘，燕中名士，盡與之遊。 十二年，莊宗平河朔，念藩邸之舊，征赴行台。 十三年，授監察，賜緋，署魏博推官，自是恒簪筆扈從。 十五年，王師戰胡柳，周德威軍不利，憲與同列奔馬北渡； 梁軍急追，殆將不濟。 至晚渡河，人皆陷水而沒，憲與從子朗履冰而行； 將及岸，冰陷，朗泣，以馬箠引之，憲曰：「吾兒去矣，勿使俱陷。」 朗曰：「忍季父如此，俱死無恨。」 朗偃伏引箠，憲躍身而出。 是夜，莊宗令於軍中求憲，或曰：「與王緘俱歿矣！」 莊宗垂涕求屍，數日，聞其免也，遣使慰勞。 尋改掌書記、水部郎中，賜金紫，曆魏博觀察判官。 從討張文禮，鎮州平，授魏、博、鎮、冀十郡觀察判官，改考功郎中，兼御史中丞，權鎮州留事。 莊宗即位，詔還魏都，授尚書工部侍郎，充租庸使。 八月，改刑部侍郎，判吏部銓，兼太清宮副使。 莊宗遷洛陽，以憲檢校吏部尚書、興唐尹、東京副留守，知留守事。 憲學識優深，尤精吏道，剖析聽斷，人不敢欺。
When Zhuangzong served as acting commander on campaign, he widely gathered eminent talents and, knowing Xian's reputation by name, had Zhu Shouyin bring letters and gifts to invite him. After more than a year he left the white collar as magistrate of Jiaocheng; when his term ended and Zhuangzong succeeded to the throne, he was appointed recorder in the Taiyuan prefectural office. At that time the chief's headquarters had just been opened; the staff members Ma Yu and Wang Jian, both celebrated names from Yan, all associated with him. In the twelfth year Zhuangzong pacified Hebei and, mindful of old ties from the princely residence, summoned him to the field headquarters. In the thirteenth year he was appointed surveillance censor, granted scarlet robes, and made investigating officer for Weibo; from then on he constantly wore the brush and followed in attendance. In the fifteenth year the imperial army fought at Huliu; Zhou Dewei's army fared ill, and Xian fled north across the river with his colleagues on horseback; The Liang army pressed in pursuit and he was nearly unable to cross. Toward evening they crossed the river; many men sank in the water and drowned. Xian and his nephew Lang walked on the ice; As they neared the bank the ice gave way. Lang wept; Xian pulled him with a riding crop and said, "My boy, go on—do not let us both fall in." Lang said, "To abandon my uncle's heir thus and die together leaves no regret." Lang lay prostrate and held out the crop; Xian leapt free. That night Zhuangzong ordered a search for Xian in the army; someone said, "He perished together with Wang Jian!" Zhuangzong wept and sought his corpse; after several days word came that he had escaped, and he sent an envoy to comfort and reward him. Soon he was made chief secretary and director in the Ministry of Works, granted gold and purple, and served in succession as investigating officer for the Weibo surveillance commission. He followed the campaign against Zhang Wenli; when Zhenzhou was pacified he was appointed investigating officer for the ten prefectures of Wei, Bo, Zhen, and Ji, then promoted to director in the Bureau of Merit, made concurrent vice censor-in-chief, and given charge of Zhenzhou as acting administrator. When Zhuangzong took the throne he was ordered back to the Wei capital, appointed vice minister of works in the Secretariat, and made commissioner of the transport and corvée tax. In the eighth month he was transferred to vice minister of punishments, given charge of civil-service selection in the Ministry of Personnel, and made deputy commissioner of the Taiqing Palace. When Zhuangzong moved to Luoyang, Xian was made acting minister of personnel, prefect of Xingtang, deputy eastern capital intendant, and given charge of the intendant's affairs. Xian's learning was superior and profound; he was especially skilled in administrative practice, dissecting cases in judgment and hearing, and no one dared deceive him.
3
三年春，車駕幸鄴，時易定王都來朝，宴於行宮，將擊鞠。 初，莊宗行即位之禮，卜鞠場吉，因築壇於其間，至是詔毀之。 憲奏曰：「即位壇是陛下祭接天神受命之所，自風燥雨濡之外，不可輒毀，亦不可修。 魏繁陽之壇，漢汜水之墠，到今猶有兆象。 存而不毀，古之道也。」 即命治之於宮西。 數日，未成。 會憲以公事獲謫，閣門待罪，上怒，戒有司速治行宮之庭，礙事者畢去，竟毀即位壇。 憲私謂郭崇韜曰：「不祥之甚，忽其本也。」
In the spring of the third year the emperor visited Ye; at that time the Prince of Yiding, Wang Du, came to court, and a banquet was held in the traveling palace with cuju to follow. Earlier, when Zhuangzong performed the accession rites, divination had shown the cuju ground to be auspicious, so an altar was built there; now an edict ordered it destroyed. Xian memorialized, "The accession altar is where Your Majesty sacrificed to receive Heaven's mandate; apart from wind-drying or rain-soaking, it must not be casually destroyed, nor may it be repaired. The altar at Fanyang in Wei and the mound at Sishui in Han still show traces to this day. Preserving without destroying is the way of antiquity." He was immediately ordered to restore it west of the palace. After several days it was still unfinished. It happened that Xian was demoted for an official matter and waited at the gate for punishment. The emperor was angry and ordered the authorities to quickly prepare the traveling palace courtyard; whatever obstructed the matter was removed, and in the end the accession altar was destroyed. Xian privately told Guo Chongtao, "This is most inauspicious—neglecting the root."
4
秋，崇韜將兵征蜀，以手書告憲曰：「允中避事久矣，餘受命西征，已奏還公黃閣。」 憲報曰：「庖人之代屍祝，所謂非吾事也。」 時樞密承旨段徊當權任事，以憲從龍舊望，不欲憲在朝廷。 會孟知祥鎮蜀川，選北京留守，徊揚言曰：「北門，國家根本，非重德不可輕授； 今之取才，非憲不可。」 趨時者因附徊勢，巧中傷之。 又曰：「憲有相業，然國祚中興，宰相在天子麵前，得失可以改作； 一方之事，製在一人，惟北面事重。」 十一月，授憲銀青光祿大夫、檢校吏部尚書、太原尹、北京留守，知府事。
In autumn Chongtao was leading troops to campaign in Shu and wrote Xian by hand, "Yunzhong has long avoided affairs; I have received orders for the western campaign and have already memorialized to return you to the Yellow Pavilion." Xian replied, "For the cook to stand in for the invocator of the dead—this is what is called not my affair." At that time Duan Huai, chief drafter of the Bureau of Military Affairs, held power and managed affairs; because of Xian's old prestige as a follower of the dragon, he did not want Xian at court. When Meng Zhixiang was posted to govern Shu, the northern capital intendant was to be chosen. Huai proclaimed publicly, "The northern gate is the root of the state; without great virtue it cannot be lightly conferred; for selecting talent today, none but Xian will do." Those who courted the times attached themselves to Huai's power and craftily slandered him. He also said, "Xian has the makings of a chief minister, yet with the dynasty's fortunes reviving, a chancellor stands before the Son of Heaven and gains and losses can be revised; affairs of a single region are controlled by one man, and only the northern frontier matter is weighty." In the eleventh month Xian was appointed Silver Brightness Grand Master of the Palace, acting minister of personnel, prefect of Taiyuan, northern capital intendant, and given charge of prefectural affairs.
5
四年二月，趙在禮入魏州。 時憲家屬在魏，關東俶擾，在禮善待其家，遣人齎書至太原誘憲。 憲斬其使，書不發函而奏。 既而明宗為兵眾所劫，諸軍離散，地遠不知事實，或謂憲曰：「蜀軍未至，洛陽窘急，總管又失兵權，製在諸軍之手，又聞河朔推戴，事若實然，或可濟否？」 憲曰：「治亂之機，間不容發，以愚所斷，事未可知。 愚聞藥縱之言，總管德量仁厚，素得士心，餘勿多言，誌此而已。」 四月五日，李存渥自洛陽至，口傳莊宗命，並無書詔，惟云天子授以隻箭，傳之為信。 眾心惑之，時事莫測。 左右獻畫曰：「存渥所乘馬，已戢其飾，復召人謀事，必行陰禍，因欲據城。 寧我負人，宜早為之所，但戮呂、鄭二宦，且係存渥，徐觀其變，事萬全矣。」 憲良久曰：「吾本書生，無軍功而致身及此，一旦自布衣而紆金紫，向來仕宦非出他門，此畫非吾心也。 事苟不濟，以身徇義。」 〈（《東都事略·張昭傳》：昭勸憲奉表明宗以勸進，憲曰：「吾書生也，天子委以保厘之任，吾豈苟生者乎！」 昭曰：「此古之大節，公能行之，忠臣也。」 憲既死，論者以昭能成憲之節。）〉 翌日，符彥超誅呂、鄭，軍城大亂，燔剽達曙。 憲初聞有變，出奔沂州。 既而有司糾其委城之罪，四月二十四日，賜死於晉陽之千佛院。 幼子凝隨父走，亦為收者加害。 明宗郊禮大赦，有司請昭雪，從之。 憲沈靜寡欲，喜聚圖書，家書五千卷，視事之餘，手自刊校。 善彈琴，不飲酒，賓僚宴語，但論文嘯詠而已，士友重之。
In the second month of the fourth year Zhao Zaili entered Weizhou. At that time Xian's family were in Wei; the east of the Pass was suddenly in turmoil. Zaili treated his family well and sent a man bearing a letter to Taiyuan to entice Xian. Xian beheaded the envoy, did not open the letter's seal, and memorialized about it. Soon afterward Mingzong was seized by the troops, the armies scattered, and being far away they did not know the facts. Someone said to Xian, "The Shu army has not arrived; Luoyang is in dire straits; the chief commander has also lost military authority—control is in the hands of the armies. We also hear that Hebei is pushing for enthronement. If matters are indeed so, might it perhaps succeed?" Xian said, "The pivot of order and chaos admits no interval; as I judge it in my folly, the outcome is not yet known. I have heard Yao Zongzhi's words: the chief commander's virtue and magnanimity are benevolent and generous, and he has long won the hearts of officers. Say no more—record only this." On the fifth day of the fourth month Li Cunwo arrived from Luoyang, orally transmitting Zhuangzong's command without any written edict, saying only that the Son of Heaven had given him a single arrow and that passing it on was proof. The hearts of the crowd were perplexed; the times could not be foreseen. Those at his side offered a plan: "The horse Cunwo rides has already had its trappings removed; he has again summoned men to plot—he will surely carry out a hidden harm and thereby seize the city. Better that I wrong others than be wronged—act early. Only kill the two eunuchs Lü and Zheng, detain Cunwo for the time being, and watch developments slowly; then the affair will be entirely secure." Xian was silent a long while and said, "I was originally a scholar; without military achievement I have reached this position. In a single day I went from common cloth to gold and purple. My official career has never come through another gate—this plan is not in my heart. If the affair does not succeed, I will give my body in loyalty to principle." (Eastern Capital Epitome, Biography of Zhang Zhao: Zhao urged Xian to submit a memorial to Mingzong to urge his advance to the throne. Xian said, "I am a scholar. The Son of Heaven entrusted me with the charge of guarding and comforting the region—how could I cling to life!" Zhao said, "This is the great integrity of antiquity. If you can act on it, you are a loyal minister." After Xian died, commentators held that Zhao had been able to bring Xian's integrity to completion.)〉 The next day Fu Yanchao executed Lü and Zheng; the military city fell into great disorder, and burning and plunder continued until dawn. When Xian first heard of the disturbance he fled to Yizhou. Soon the authorities impeached him for the crime of abandoning the city. On the twenty-fourth day of the fourth month he was granted death at the Thousand Buddha Monastery in Jinyang. His young son Ning fled with his father and was also harmed by those who seized them. When Mingzong performed the suburban sacrifice and proclaimed a great amnesty, the authorities requested that Xian be cleared, and it was granted. Xian was deep and calm, with few desires; he loved to collect books and had five thousand volumes in his family library. In the intervals of conducting affairs he personally collated and proofread them. He was skilled at the zither and did not drink wine; at banquets with guests and staff he discussed only literature and chanting poetry, and scholar-friends held him in esteem.
6
憲長子守素，仕晉，位至尚書。
Xian's eldest son Shousu served Jin and rose to the rank of Secretariat director.
7
王正言，鄆州人。 父誌，濟陰令。 正言早孤貧，從沙門學，工詩，密州刺史賀德倫令歸俗，署郡職。 德倫鎮青州，表為推官； 移鎮魏州，改觀察判官。 莊宗平定魏博，正言仍舊職任，小心端慎，與物無競。 嘗為同職司空頲所淩，正言降心下之。 頲誅，代為節度判官。 同光初，守戶部尚書、興唐尹。 時孔謙為租庸副使，常畏張憲挺特，不欲其領使，乃白郭崇韜留憲於魏州，請宰相豆盧革判租庸。 未幾，復以盧質代之。 孔謙白云：「錢穀重務，宰相事多，簿籍留滯。」 又云：「盧質判二日，便借官錢，皆不可任。」 意謂崇韜必令己代其任，時物議未允而止，謙沮喪久之。 李紹宏曰：「邦計國本，時號怨府，非張憲不稱職。」 即日征之。 孔謙、段徊白崇韜曰：「邦計雖重，在侍中眼前，但得一人為使即可。 魏博六州戶口，天下之半，王正言操守有餘，智力不足，若朝廷任使，庶幾與人共事； 若專製方隅，未見其可。 張憲才器兼濟，宜以委之。」 崇韜即奏憲留守魏州，征王正言為租庸使。 正言在職，主諾而已，權柄出於孔謙。 正言不耐繁浩，簿領縱橫，觸事遺忘，物論以為不可，即以孔謙代之，正言守禮部尚書。
Wang Zhengyan was a native of Yanzhou. His father Zhi was magistrate of Jiyin. Zhengyan was orphaned early and poor; he studied under Buddhist monks and was skilled at poetry. The prefect of Mizhou, He Delun, had him return to lay life and appointed him to a prefectural post. When Delun was posted to Qingzhou he recommended him as investigating officer; when he moved his command to Weizhou, he was made investigating officer for the surveillance commission. When Zhuangzong pacified Weibo, Zhengyan remained in his former post, careful and upright, without striving against others. He was once bullied by his colleague Sikong Ting; Zhengyan humbled himself and submitted to him. When Ting was executed, he replaced him as investigating officer for the military commission. At the beginning of Tongguang he held the posts of minister of revenue and prefect of Xingtang. At that time Kong Qian was deputy commissioner of transport and corvée tax; he often feared Zhang Xian's uprightness and did not want him to head the commission, so he told Guo Chongtao to keep Xian at Weizhou and asked the chancellor Dou Luge to take charge of transport and corvée. Before long Lu Zhi was again made to replace him. Kong Qian reported, "Revenue and grain are weighty affairs; the chancellor has many duties and the ledgers are delayed." He also said, "Within two days of Lu Zhi taking charge he borrowed official funds—none of them can be entrusted." He meant that Chongtao would surely have him replace the post, but public opinion at the time did not approve and it stopped; Qian was dejected for a long time. Li Shaohong said, "State revenue is the root of the realm; it is called the office of complaints—none but Zhang Xian is fit for the post." That very day he was summoned. Kong Qian and Duan Huai told Chongtao, "State revenue is weighty, but it is before the Vice Director's eyes—one man as commissioner will suffice. The six prefectures of Weibo account for half the empire's households. Wang Zhengyan has integrity to spare but insufficient intelligence; if the court appoints him, he might perhaps work with others; if he were given sole control of a region, his fitness is not yet seen. Zhang Xian's talent and capacity are comprehensive—he should be entrusted with it." Chongtao immediately memorialized that Xian remain intendant at Weizhou and summoned Wang Zhengyan as commissioner of transport and corvée. In office Zhengyan merely assented; real authority lay with Kong Qian. Zhengyan could not bear the complexity; ledgers crisscrossed and he forgot matters at every turn. Public opinion held this unacceptable, so Kong Qian replaced him and Zhengyan remained minister of rites.
8
三年冬，代張憲為興唐尹，留守鄴都。 時武德使史彥瓊，監守鄴都，廩帑出納，兵馬製置，皆出彥瓊，將佐官吏，頤指氣使，正言不能以道禦之，但趑趄聽命。 至是，貝州戍兵亂，入魏州，彥瓊望風敗走，亂兵剽劫坊市。 正言促召書吏寫奏章，家人曰：「賊已殺人縱火，都城已陷，何奏之有。」 是日，正言引諸僚佐謁趙在禮， 〈（《通鑒》：正言索馬，不能得，乃帥僚佐步出府門謁在禮。）〉 望塵再拜請罪。 在禮曰：「尚書重德，勿自卑屈，餘受國恩，與尚書共事，但思歸之眾，倉卒見迫耳。」 因拜正言，厚加慰撫。 明宗即位，正言求為平盧軍行軍司馬，因以授之，竟卒於任。
In the winter of the third year he replaced Zhang Xian as prefect of Xingtang and remained intendant at Yedu. At that time the Military Virtue commissioner Shi Yanqiong supervised and guarded Yedu; granary receipts and disbursements and military arrangements all issued from Yanqiong. Generals, staff, and officials he ordered about imperiously; Zhengyan could not restrain him by principle but only hesitated and obeyed. At this time the garrison troops of Beizhou mutinied and entered Weizhou; Yanqiong fled at the mere rumor of their approach, and the mutineers plundered the wards and markets. Zhengyan urgently summoned clerks to draft a memorial; his family said, "The rebels have already killed and set fires—the capital has fallen; what memorial is there to write?" That day Zhengyan led his staff to call on Zhao Zaili, (Comprehensive Mirror: Zhengyan sought a horse but could not obtain one, so he led his staff on foot out the prefectural gate to call on Zaili.)〉 Bowing twice in the dust to beg forgiveness. Zaili said, "Minister, your virtue is weighty—do not humble yourself. I have received the state's grace and work with the Minister, but the crowd longs to return home and was pressed in haste." He then bowed to Zhengyan and comforted him generously. When Mingzong took the throne, Zhengyan asked to serve as acting commander of the Pinglu army and received the post; he died in that office.
9
胡裝，禮部尚書曾之孫。 汴將楊師厚之鎮魏州，裝與副使李嗣業有舊，因往依之，薦授貴鄉令。 及張彥之亂，嗣業遇害，裝罷秩，客於魏州。 莊宗初至，裝謁見，求假官，司空頲以其居官貪濁，不得調者久之。 十三年，莊宗還太原，裝候於離亭； 謁者不內，乃排闥而入，曰：「臣本朝公卿子孫，從兵至此。 殿下比襲唐祚，勤求英俊，以壯霸圖。 臣雖不才，比於進九九，納豎刁、頭須，亦所庶幾。 而羈旅累年，執事者不垂顧錄，臣不能赴海觸樹，走胡適越，今日歸死於殿下也！」 莊宗愕然曰：「孤未之知，何至如是！」 賜酒食慰遣之，謂郭崇韜曰：「便與擬議。」 是歲，署館驛巡官。 未幾，授監察御史裏行，遷節度巡官，賜緋魚袋； 尋曆推官、檢校員外郎。 裝學書無師法，工詩非作者，僻於題壁，所至宮亭寺觀，必書爵裏，人或譏之，不以為愧。 時四鎮幕賓皆金紫，裝獨恥銀艾。 十七年，莊宗自魏州之德勝，與賓僚城樓餞別，既而群僚離席，裝獨留，獻詩三篇，意在章服。 莊宗舉大鍾屬裝曰：「員外能釂此乎？」 裝飲酒素少，略無難色，為之一舉而釂，莊宗即解紫袍賜之。 同光初，以裝為給事中，從幸洛陽。 時連年大水，百官多窘，裝求為襄州副使。 四年，洛陽變擾，節度使劉訓以私忿族裝，誣奏雲裝欲謀亂，人士冤之。
Hu Zhuang was the grandson of Zeng, minister of rites. When the Bian general Yang Shihou was posted to Weizhou, Zhuang had old ties with the deputy commissioner Li Siye and went to rely on him; he was recommended and appointed magistrate of Guixiang. When Zhang Yan's rebellion broke out, Siye was killed; Zhuang lost his post and lived as a guest in Weizhou. When Zhuangzong first arrived, Zhuang called on him and sought a provisional appointment; Sikong Ting, because Zhuang had been corrupt in office, long kept him from receiving a transfer. In the thirteenth year Zhuangzong returned to Taiyuan; Zhuang waited at the parting pavilion; the usher would not admit him, so he forced the door and entered, saying, "I am a descendant of this dynasty's dukes and ministers and have followed the army to this place. Your Highness has lately assumed the Tang succession and diligently seeks outstanding men to strengthen your hegemonic design. Though I lack talent, I am scarcely inferior to those who advanced Jiu Jiu or welcomed Shu Diao and Yiya to court. Yet for years in exile those in charge have not extended their regard. I cannot throw myself into the sea or dash against a tree, nor flee to Hu or Yue—today I return to die before Your Highness!" Zhuangzong said in astonishment, "I did not know of this—how could it come to such a pass!" He bestowed wine and food to comfort and dismiss him, and told Guo Chongtao, "Draw up a proposal at once." That year he was appointed touring officer of the post stations. Before long he was made acting surveillance censor, promoted to touring officer of the military commission, and granted scarlet robes and the fish bag; soon he served in succession as investigating officer and acting director in a bureau. Zhuang studied calligraphy without proper training and wrote poetry without being a true poet; he was fond of inscribing walls, and wherever he went among palaces, pavilions, temples, and shrines he always wrote his rank and residence—people sometimes mocked him, but he felt no shame. At that time staff guests of the four commands all wore gold and purple; Zhuang alone was ashamed of silver and green. In the seventeenth year Zhuangzong went from Weizhou to Desheng; on the city tower he gave a farewell feast for his guests and staff. When the group had left their seats Zhuang alone remained and presented three poems, his aim being official robes and insignia. Zhuangzong raised a great bell-cup and handed it to Zhuang, saying, "Director, can you drain this?" Zhuang ordinarily drank little but showed hardly any difficulty and drained it in one draft; Zhuangzong at once removed his purple robe and bestowed it on him. At the beginning of Tongguang he was made attendant in the Secretariat and followed the emperor to Luoyang. At that time floods came year after year and many officials were in straits; Zhuang sought to be deputy commissioner of Xiangzhou. In the fourth year Luoyang was thrown into turmoil; the military commissioner Liu Xun, from private resentment, exterminated Zhuang's clan and falsely memorialized that Zhuang intended rebellion; men of standing held it a grievous injustice.
10
崔貽孫， 〈（《新唐書·宰相世係表》：貽孫字伯垂。）〉 祖元亮，左散騎常侍。 〈（《世係表》：元亮，字晦孫，虢州刺史。）〉 父芻言，潞州判官。 貽孫以門族登進士第，以監察升朝，曆清資美職。 及為省郎，使於江南回，以橐裝營別墅於漢上之穀城，退居自奉。 清江之上，綠竹遍野，狹徑濃密，維舟曲岸，人莫造焉，時人甚高之。 及李振貶均州，貽孫曲奉之。 振入朝，貽孫累遷丞郎。 同光初，除吏部侍郎，銓選疏謬，貶官塞地，馳驛至潞州，致書於府帥孔曰：「十五年穀城山裏，自謂逸人； 二千里沙塞途中，今為逐客。」 以其年八十，奏留府下。 明年，量移澤州司馬，遇赦還京。 宰相鄭玨以姻戚之分，復擬吏部侍郎，天官任重，昏耄罔知，後遷禮部尚書，致仕而卒。 〈（《北夢瑣言》：崔貽孫年過八十，求進不休，囊橐之資，素有貯積，性好幹人，喜得小惠。）〉 有子三人，自貽孫左降之後，各於舊業爭分其利，甘旨醫藥，莫有奉者。 貽孫以書責之云：「生有明君宰相，死有天曹地府，吾雖考終，豈放汝耶！」
Cui Yisun, (New Book of Tang, Genealogical Tables of Chief Ministers: Yisun's style was Bochui.)〉 His grandfather Yuanliang was Left Regular Attendant Cavalier. (Genealogical Tables: Yuanliang, styled Huisun, was prefect of Guo.)〉 His father Chuyan was judge of Luzhou. Yisun, through his clan standing, passed the jinshi examination, rose to court through surveillance censor, and held in succession pure and eminent posts. When he became a Secretariat director and returned from a mission to Jiangnan, he used his traveling funds to build a villa at Gucheng on the Han and retired to support himself. On the clear river green bamboo spread over the fields; narrow paths lay thick and dense; he moored his boat on a winding bank where no one could approach—men of the time held him in high esteem. When Li Zhen was demoted to Junzhou, Yisun curried favor with him obsequiously. When Zhen entered court, Yisun was repeatedly promoted to director posts. At the beginning of Tongguang he was made vice minister of personnel; his civil-service selection was careless and mistaken, and he was demoted to a frontier post. He rode post-horses to Luzhou and sent a letter to the prefect Kong, saying, "For fifteen years in the Gucheng mountains I called myself a recluse; on a two-thousand-li road through sand and border passes I am now an exile." Because he was eighty years old, it was memorialized that he remain under the prefecture. The next year he was transferred in measure to military adjutant of Zezhou; on encountering an amnesty he returned to the capital. The chancellor Zheng Jue, through ties of marriage kin, again proposed him as vice minister of personnel. The Ministry of Personnel bears heavy responsibility, yet in senility he knew nothing; later he was transferred to minister of rites, retired from office, and died. (Northern Dreams Miscellany: Cui Yisun passed eighty yet never ceased seeking advancement; he had long stored funds in purse and bag; by nature he loved to meddle in others' affairs and delighted in small favors.)〉 He had three sons; after Yisun's demotion each contended for a share of the profit from his former holdings—delicacies and medicine, none provided. Yisun wrote to reprove them, saying, "In life there are enlightened rulers and chancellors; in death there are the celestial and earthly courts—though I die in my bed, how could I let you go!"
11
孟鵠，魏州人。 莊宗初定魏博，選幹吏以計兵賦，以鵠為度支孔目官。 明宗時，為邢洺節度使，每曲意承迎，明宗甚德之。 及孔謙專典軍賦，徵督苛急，明宗嘗切齒。 及即位，鵠自租庸勾官擢為客省副使、樞密承旨，遷三司副使，出為相州刺史。 會範延光再遷樞密，乃征鵠為三司使。 初，鵠有計畫之能，及專掌邦賦，操割依違，名譽頓減。 期年發疾，求外任，仍授許州節度使。 謝恩退，帝目送之，顧為侍臣曰：「孟鵠掌三司幾年，得至方鎮？」 範延光奏曰：「鵠於同光世已為三司勾官，天成初為三司副使，出刺相州，入判三司又二年。」 帝曰：「鵠以幹事，遽至方鎮，爭不勉旃。」 鵠與延光俱魏人，厚相結托，暨延光掌樞務，援引判三司，又致節鉞，明宗知之，故以此言譏之。 到任未周歲，卒。 贈太傅。
Meng Hu was a native of Weizhou. When Zhuangzong first pacified Weibo he selected capable officials to calculate military levies and made Hu a clerical officer in the expenditure section. Under Mingzong he was military commissioner of Xing and Mo; he always curried favor obsequiously, and Mingzong was deeply grateful to him. When Kong Qian monopolized military supplies and collection and requisition were harsh and urgent, Mingzong once gnashed his teeth. When he took the throne, Hu was promoted from transport-and-corvée checking officer to deputy commissioner of the guest bureau and chief drafter of the Bureau of Military Affairs, then transferred to deputy commissioner of the three departments and sent out as prefect of Xiangzhou. When Fan Yanguang was again transferred to the Bureau of Military Affairs, Hu was summoned as commissioner of the three departments. At first Hu had the ability to plan; once he monopolized state revenue he manipulated and extorted inconsistently, and his reputation suddenly declined. Within a year he fell ill, sought an outer appointment, and was still made military commissioner of Xuzhou. After thanking the emperor for grace and withdrawing, the emperor watched him go with his eyes and turned to the attending ministers, saying, "Meng Hu headed the three departments for how many years that he could reach a frontier command?" Fan Yanguang memorialized, "In the Tongguang era Hu was already a checking officer of the three departments; at the beginning of Tiancheng he was deputy commissioner, went out as prefect of Xiangzhou, and upon returning to judge the three departments served another two years." The emperor said, "Hu, through capable service, suddenly reached a frontier command—how could he not strive harder?" Hu and Yanguang were both men of Wei and bound themselves closely in mutual support; when Yanguang took charge of military affairs he recommended Hu to judge the three departments and also secured him a military commission. Mingzong knew this, and therefore spoke these words in sarcasm. He had not completed a year in office when he died. He was posthumously made Grand Tutor.
12
孫嶽，冀州人也。 強幹有才用，曆府衛右職。 天成中，為潁耀二州刺史、閬州團練使，所至稱治，遷鳳州節度使。 受代歸京，秦王從榮欲以嶽為元帥府都押衙，事未行，馮贇舉為三司使，時預密謀。 朱、馮患從榮之恣橫，嶽曾極言其禍之端，康義誠聞之不悅。 及從榮敗，義誠召嶽同至河南府檢閱府藏。 時紛擾未定，義誠密遣騎士射之，嶽走至通利坊，為騎士所害，識與不識皆痛之。
Sun Yue was a native of Jizhou. Forceful and capable, with talent and usefulness, he held in succession posts in the palace guards on the right. During Tiancheng he was prefect of Ying and Yao, defense commissioner of Langzhou; wherever he went he was praised for good governance, and he was transferred to military commissioner of Fengzhou. When relieved and returned to the capital, the Prince of Qin, Congrong, wished to make Yue chief military adjutant of the prince's headquarters; the matter had not been carried out when Feng Yun recommended him as commissioner of the three departments—at the time he shared in secret plotting. Zhu and Feng feared Congrong's wanton arrogance; Yue had once spoken to the utmost of the beginnings of disaster, and Kang Yicheng heard it with displeasure. When Congrong was defeated, Yicheng summoned Yue to go with him to the Henan prefecture to inspect the prefectural treasury. The turmoil was not yet settled; Yicheng secretly sent horsemen to shoot him. Yue fled to Tongli Ward and was killed by the horsemen; those who knew him and those who did not alike grieved.
13
子璉，曆諸衛將軍、藩閫節度副使。
His son Lian held in succession generalships in the guards and was deputy military commissioner of a frontier circuit.
14
張延朗，汴州開封人也。 事梁，以租庸吏為鄆州糧料使。 明宗克鄆州，得延朗，復以為糧料使，後徙鎮宣武、成德，以為元從孔目官。 長興元年，始置三司使，拜延朗特進、工部尚書，充諸道鹽鐵轉運等使，兼判戶部度支事，詔以延朗充三司使。 末帝即位，授禮部尚書，兼中書侍郎、平章事、判三司。 延朗再上表辭曰：
Zhang Yanlang was a native of Kaifeng in Bianzhou. He served Liang and, as a transport-and-corvée clerk, was grain supply officer of Yanzhou. When Mingzong captured Yanzhou he obtained Yanlang and again made him grain supply officer; later, when he moved his command to Xuanwu and Chengde, he made him a clerical officer among his original followers. In the first year of Changxing the post of commissioner of the three departments was first established; Yanlang was appointed Special Advancement and minister of works, made commissioner of salt, iron, and transport for all circuits, and given concurrent charge of expenditure in the Ministry of Revenue; an edict appointed Yanlang commissioner of the three departments. When the Last Emperor took the throne he was made minister of rites, concurrently vice director of the Secretariat, Grand Councilor, and judge of the three departments. Yanlang again submitted a memorial declining, saying:
15
臣濫承雨露，擢處鈞衡，兼叨選部之銜，仍掌計司之重。 況中省文章之地，洪爐陶鑄之門，臣自揣量，何以當處。 是以繼陳章表，疊貢情誠，乞請睿恩，免貽朝論。 豈謂禦批累降，聖旨不移，決以此官，委臣非器，所以強收涕泗，勉遏怔忪，重思事上之門，細料盡忠之路。 竊以位高則危至，寵極則謗生，君臣莫保於初終，分義難防於毀譽。 臣若保茲重任，忘彼至公，徇情而以免是非，偷安而以固富貴，則內欺心腑，外負聖朝，何以報君父之大恩，望子孫之延慶。 臣若但行王道，惟守國章，任人必取當才，決事須依正理，確違形勢，堅塞幸門，則可以振舉宏綱，彌縫大化，助陛下含容之澤，彰國家至理之風，然而讒邪者必起憾詞，憎嫉者寧無謗議，或慮至尊未悉，群謗難明，不更拔本尋源，便俟甘瑕受玷，臣心可忍，臣恥可消。 隻恐山林草澤之人，稱量聖製； 冠履軒裳之士，輕慢朝廷。
I have undeservedly received imperial grace, been raised to the balance of state, and undeservedly bear the title of the selection ministry while still holding the weight of the accounting office. Moreover, the central secretariat is a place of literary composition, a great furnace and casting gate—I measure myself: how could I be fit for the post? Therefore I have repeatedly submitted memorials and repeatedly offered my sincere feeling, begging sagacious grace so as not to bring reproach upon court discussion. Who would have thought that imperial rescripts would descend again and again and the sacred decree would not shift, firmly fixing this office upon me, an unfit vessel? Therefore I force back tears, strive to restrain bewilderment, think again of the gate of serving superiors, and carefully plan the path of utmost loyalty. I venture to hold that when position is high, peril arrives; when favor reaches its peak, slander arises—lord and minister cannot be preserved from beginning to end, and duty and righteousness are hard to guard against ruin and praise. If I preserve this heavy responsibility yet forget supreme fairness, indulge feeling to escape right and wrong, or seek ease to secure wealth and rank, then inwardly I deceive my heart and outwardly I fail the sacred court—how could I repay the great grace of lord and father or hope for extended blessing for my sons and grandsons? If I only practice the kingly way and solely uphold the state's statutes, in appointing men always select the fitting talent and in deciding affairs rely on correct principle, firmly rejecting opportunism and stoutly blocking the gate of favor, then I can raise the great framework and mend the great transformation, assist Your Majesty's tolerant grace, and display the state's utmost principle—yet slanderers and the wicked will surely raise words of resentment, and the envious will scarcely be without calumny. Perhaps the utmost sovereign will not fully understand and the crowd of slanders will be hard to clarify; without pulling up the root and tracing the source, one would simply await willingness to accept a stain—my heart could bear it, but my shame could not be erased. I only fear that men of mountains, forests, grasslands, and marshes will weigh the sacred system; and gentlemen of caps, shoes, carriages, and robes will treat the court with contempt.
16
臣又以國計一司，掌其經費，利權二務，職在捃收。 將欲養四海之貧民，無過薄賦； 贍六軍之勁士，又藉豐儲。 利害相隨，取與難酌，若使罄山采木，竭澤求魚，則地官之教化不行，國本之傷殘益甚，取怨黔首，是黷皇風。 況諸道所征賦租，雖多數額，時逢水旱，或遇蟲霜，其間則有減無添，所在又申逃係欠。 乃至軍儲官俸，常汲汲於供須； 夏稅秋租，每懸懸於繼續。 況今內外倉庫，多是罄空； 遠近生民，或聞饑歉。 伏惟朝廷尚添軍額，更益師徒，非時之博糴難為，異日之區分轉大。 竊慮年支有闕，國計可憂。 望陛下節例外之破除，放諸項以儉省，不添冗食，且止新兵，務急去繁，以寬經費，減奢從儉，漸俟豐盈，則屈者知恩，叛者從化，弭兵有日，富俗可期。
I further consider that the state accounts office alone controls its expenditures; profit and authority are twin tasks whose duty lies in gathering revenue. If one wishes to support the poor people within the four seas, nothing surpasses light levies; to supply the stalwart soldiers of the six armies again depends on abundant stores. Benefit and harm follow each other; taking and giving are hard to balance. If one exhausts the mountains to gather timber and drains the marshes to seek fish, then the Minister of Earth's instruction will not be carried out, injury to the state's root will grow worse, resentment will be taken from the black-haired people, and the imperial wind will be profaned. Moreover, the land tax and rent levied by the various circuits, though nominally large in quota, often meet flood or drought or encounter insects and frost; among them there is reduction without increase, and everywhere they also report flight, attachment, and arrears. Even military stores and official salaries are constantly urgent in supply; summer tax and autumn rent hang ever in suspense for continuation. Moreover, at present inner and outer storehouses are mostly emptied; near and far among the living people one hears of famine and dearth. I humbly consider that the court still adds military quotas and further increases troops and followers; untimely bulk purchase of grain is hard to accomplish, and the division of burdens on another day will grow greater. I venture to fear that annual expenditure will have gaps and state accounts may be worrisome. I hope Your Majesty will restrain extraordinary abolitions and releases of various items for frugal saving, not add superfluous consumption, and for the time halt new troops; urgently seek to remove complexity to broaden expenditures, reduce extravagance and follow thrift, and gradually await abundance—then the wronged will know grace, rebels will follow transformation, the cessation of arms will have its day, and a wealthy custom may be expected.
17
臣又聞治民尚清，為政務易，易則煩苛並去，清則偏黨無施。 若擇其良牧，委在正人，則境內蒸黎，必獲蘇息，官中倉庫，亦絕侵欺。 伏望誡見在之處官，無乖撫俗； 擇將來之蒞事，更審求賢。 儻一一得人，則農無所苦； 人人致理，則國復何憂。 但奉公善政者，不惜重酬； 昧理無功者，勿頒厚俸。 益彰有道，兼絕徇情。 伏望陛下，念臣布露之前言，閔臣驚憂於後患，察臣愚直，杜彼讒邪，臣即但副天心，不防人口，庶幾萬一，仰答聖明。
I have also heard that governing the people values clarity and conducting government values ease; with ease, vexation and harshness are both removed; with clarity, factional bias is not applied. If one selects good prefects and entrusts them to upright men, then the common people within the borders will surely obtain relief and recovery, and official storehouses will also be free of encroachment and fraud. I humbly hope to admonish the officials now in place not to depart from comforting the people; in choosing those who will come to office in the future, examine more carefully in seeking the worthy. If in each case one obtains the right man, then farmers will have no suffering; if every man brings order, then what worry remains for the state? Only for those who serve the public with good government, do not spare heavy reward; Those who are ignorant of principle and without achievement should not receive heavy salaries. Thus the way will be further displayed and partiality to feeling will be wholly cut off. I humbly hope Your Majesty will recall my earlier words laid bare, pity my alarm and worry over later troubles, perceive my foolish uprightness, and block those slanderers and the wicked—then I will only accord with Heaven's heart and not guard against men's mouths, perchance in the slightest degree to answer upward to sagacious clarity.
18
末帝優詔答之，召於便殿，謂之曰：「卿所論奏，深中時病，形之切言，頗救朕失。 國計事重，日得商量，無勞過慮也。」 延朗不得已而承命。
The Last Emperor answered with a gracious edict, summoned him to the informal hall, and said to him, "What you memorialized strikes deep at the ailments of the times; formed in cutting words, it has considerably remedied Our errors. State accounts are weighty affairs; we may consult day by day—no need for excessive worry." Yanlang had no choice but to accept the command.
19
延朗有心計，善理繁劇。 晉高祖在太原，朝廷猜忌，不欲令有積聚，係官財貨留使之外，延朗悉遣取之，晉高祖深銜其事。 及晉陽起兵，末帝議親征，然亦采浮論，不能果決； 延朗獨排眾議，請末帝北行，識者韙之。 晉高祖入洛，送台獄以誅之。 其後以選求計使，難得其人，甚追悔焉。
Yanlang was resourceful and skilled at managing complexity. When the Gaozu of Jin was at Taiyuan the court was suspicious and did not wish him to accumulate stores; apart from official goods left with the commissioner, Yanlang sent men to take them all, and the Gaozu of Jin deeply resented the matter. When troops rose at Jinyang the Last Emperor deliberated on a personal campaign, yet he also adopted floating opinion and could not decide firmly; Yanlang alone rejected the crowd's opinion and asked the Last Emperor to march north—men of insight approved him. When the Gaozu of Jin entered Luoyang he sent him to the metropolitan prison and executed him. Afterward, in selecting and seeking a commissioner of accounts, it was hard to obtain the right man, and he deeply regretted it.
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劉延朗，宋州虞城人也。 末帝鎮河中時，為鄆城馬步都虞候，後納為腹心。 及鎮鳳翔，署為孔目吏。 末帝將圖起義，為捍禦之備，延朗計公私粟帛，以贍其急。 及西師納降，末帝赴洛，皆無所闕焉，末帝甚賞之。 清泰初，除宣徽北院使，俄以劉延皓守鄴，改副樞密使，累官至檢校太傅。 時房皓為樞密使，但高枕閑眠，啟奏除授，一歸延朗，由是得志。 凡藩侯郡牧，自外入者，必先賂延朗，後議進貢，賂厚者先居內地，賂薄者晚出邊藩，故諸將屢有怨訕，末帝不能察之。 及晉高祖入洛，延朗將竄於南山，與從者數輩，過其私第，指而歎曰：「我有錢三十萬貫聚於此，不知為何人所得。」 其愚暗如此。 尋捕而殺之。
Liu Yanlang was a native of Yucheng in Songzhou. When the Last Emperor was posted to Hezhong he was chief inspector of cavalry and infantry at Yancheng; later he was taken in as a trusted confidant. When he was posted to Fengxiang he was appointed a clerical officer. When the Last Emperor was planning to raise an uprising and made preparations for defense, Yanlang calculated public and private grain and cloth to supply the urgent need. When the western army submitted and the Last Emperor went to Luoyang, nothing was lacking in any respect, and the Last Emperor greatly rewarded him. At the beginning of Qingtai he was made commissioner of the northern bureau of the Palace Domestic Service; soon, because Liu Yanhao was intendant at Ye, he was changed to deputy commissioner of military affairs and rose in succession to acting Grand Tutor. At that time Fang Hao was commissioner of military affairs but only rested his head high and slept at leisure; memorials for appointments and dismissals all went to Yanlang, and thereby he got his way. Whenever frontier lords and prefects came in from outside, they had first to bribe Yanlang and only afterward discuss advancing tribute; those who bribed heavily were first placed in inner territories, those who bribed lightly were sent out late to border commands—therefore the generals often had resentful complaints, which the Last Emperor could not perceive. When the Gaozu of Jin entered Luoyang, Yanlang was about to flee into the southern mountains; with several followers he passed his private residence, pointed at it, and sighed, "I have three hundred thousand strings of cash gathered here—I do not know who will obtain it." His foolish darkness was such as this. Soon he was captured and killed.