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元行欽，本幽州劉守光之愛將。 守光之奪父位也，令行欽攻大恩山，又令殺諸兄弟。 天祐九年，周德威攻圍山州，守光困蹙，令行欽於山北募兵，以應契丹。 時明宗為將，攻行欽於山北，與之接戰，矢及明宗馬鞍，既而以勢迫來降。 明宗憐其有勇，奏隸為假子，後因從征討，恩禮特隆。 常臨敵擒生，必有所獲，名聞軍中。 莊宗東定趙、魏，選驍健置之麾下，因索行欽，莊宗不得已而遣之。 時有散指揮都頭，名為散員，命行欽為都部署，賜姓，名紹榮。 莊宗好戰，勇於大敵，或臨陣有急兵，行欽必橫身解鬥翼衛之。 莊宗營於德勝也，與汴軍戰於潘張，王師不利，諸軍奔亂。 莊宗得三四騎而旋，中野為汴軍數百騎攢槊攻之，事將不測，行欽識其幟，急馳一騎，奮劍斷二矛，斬一級，汴軍乃解圍，翼莊宗還宮。 莊宗因流涕言曰：「富貴與卿共之。」 自是寵冠諸將，官至檢校太傅、忻州刺史。 及莊宗平梁，授武寧軍節度使。 嘗因內宴群臣，使相預會，行欽官為保傅，當地褥下坐。 酒酣樂作，莊宗敘生平戰陣之事，因左右顧視，曰：「紹榮安在？」 所司奏云：「有敕，使相預會，紹榮散官，殿上無位。」 莊宗徹會不懌。 翌日，以行欽為同平章事，由是不宴百官於內殿，但宴武臣而已，
Yuan Xingqin had begun as a favorite commander of Liu Shouguang of Youzhou. When Shouguang seized his father's throne, he sent Xingqin against Da'en Mountain and ordered him to kill his brothers as well. In the ninth year of Tianyou, Zhou Dewei besieged Shanzhou. Shouguang, cornered, ordered Xingqin to raise troops north of the mountains to link up with the Khitan. Mingzong was then a field commander. He attacked Xingqin in the northern hills, and in the fighting an arrow struck Mingzong's saddle. Soon afterward, hard pressed, Xingqin surrendered. Mingzong admired his courage and had him registered as an adopted son. Thereafter, on campaign after campaign, he was treated with exceptional favor. Whenever he met the enemy he took prisoners, and he always came away with something to show for it; his reputation spread through the army. When Zhuangzong pacified Zhao and Wei in the east, he picked out the fiercest fighters for his personal command and asked for Xingqin. Zhuangzong, unable to refuse, sent him on. There was then a corps of scattered guard commanders called the "scattered guards." Zhuangzong made Xingqin their overall commander, granted him the imperial surname, and gave him the name Shaorong. Zhuangzong loved combat and was fearless before strong foes. Whenever danger closed in on the field, Xingqin would throw himself into the melee and fight at Zhuangzong's side to cover him. While Zhuangzong was encamped at Desheng, he fought the Bian army at Panzhang. The imperial forces were beaten and the ranks broke in flight. Zhuangzong got away with only three or four riders. In the open field several hundred Bian horsemen closed on him with leveled spears, and the outcome hung by a thread. Xingqin recognized their banners, spurred forward alone, slashed two spears apart with his sword, and cut down one man. The Bian troops broke off, and he escorted Zhuangzong back to camp. Zhuangzong wept and said, "Whatever wealth and rank are mine shall be yours as well." From that day his favor outstripped every other general's, and he rose to Grand Guardian in Examinership and prefect of Xinzhou. After Zhuangzong conquered Liang, he was made military governor of Wuning. Once Zhuangzong gave an inner banquet for his ministers and invited the commissioners as well. Xingqin held the post of guardian-tutor and was to sit below the floor cushions. As the wine warmed and the music began, Zhuangzong recounted the battles of his life, then glanced about and asked, "Where is Shaorong?" The master of ceremonies replied, "By imperial order the commissioners were invited to this gathering. Shaorong holds a scattered rank and has no place on the dais." Zhuangzong broke up the banquet in displeasure. The next day he made Xingqin Chief Minister. After that he no longer entertained all the civil officials in the inner hall, but only his military commanders,
2
三年，行欽喪婦。 莊宗有所愛宮人生皇子者，劉皇后心忌之，會行欽入侍，莊宗勞之曰：「紹榮喪婦復娶耶！ 吾給爾婚財。」 皇后指所忌宮人謂莊宗曰：「皇帝憐紹榮，可使為婦。」 莊宗難違所請，微許之。 皇后即命紹榮謝之，未退，肩輿已出。 莊宗心不懌，佯不豫者累日，業已遣去，無如之何。 及貝州軍亂，趙在禮入魏州，莊宗方擇將，皇后曰：「小事不勞大將，促紹榮指揮可也。」 乃以行欽為鄴都行營招撫使，領騎二千進討。 洎至鄴城，攻之不能下，退保於澶州。 未幾，諸道之師稍集，復進軍於鄴城之南。 及明宗為帥，領軍至鄴，行欽來謁於軍中，拜起之際，誤呼萬歲者再，明宗驚駭，遏之方止。 既而明宗營於城西，行欽營於城南。 三月八日夜，明宗為亂軍所迫，惟行欽之軍不動，按甲以自固。 明宗密令張虔釗至行欽營，戒之曰：「且堅壁勿動，計會同殺亂軍，莫錯疑誤。」 行欽不聽，將步騎萬人棄甲而退。 自知失策，且保衛州，因誣奏明宗曰：「鎮師已入賊軍，終不為國使。」 明宗既劫出鄴城，令人走馬上章，申理其事，言：「臣且於近郡聽進止。」 莊宗覽奏釋然曰：「吾知紹榮妄矣。」 因令白從訓與明宗子繼璟至軍前，欲令見明宗，行欽縶繼璟於路。 明宗凡奏軍機，拘留不達，故旬日之間，音驛斷絕。 及莊宗出成皋，知明宗在黎陽，復令繼璟渡河召明宗，行欽即殺之，仍勸班師。 四月一日，莊宗既崩，行欽引皇后、存渥，得七百騎出師子門，將之河中就存霸，沿路部下解散，從者數騎而已。 四日，至平陸縣界，為百姓所擒，縣令裴進折其足，檻車以獻。 明宗即位，詔削奪行欽在位官爵，斬於洛陽。
In the third year Xingqin lost his wife. Zhuangzong favored a palace woman who had borne him a son, and Empress Liu resented her. When Xingqin came to attend him, Zhuangzong said kindly, "Shaorong, your wife is dead—will you take another? I will supply your wedding gifts." The empress pointed at the woman she hated and told Zhuangzong, "Your Majesty pities Shaorong—let her become his wife." Zhuangzong could not easily refuse and gave a faint assent. The empress at once ordered Shaorong to thank her. Before he had even stepped back, a palanquin was already on its way out. Zhuangzong was inwardly displeased and for days pretended to be unwell. The woman had already been sent off, and he could do nothing about it. When the Beizhou garrison mutinied and Zhao Zaili seized Weizhou, Zhuangzong was choosing a commander. The empress said, "A trifle like this need not burden a senior general—send Shaorong to take charge and that will do." Xingqin was appointed pacification commissioner of the Ye capital field headquarters and led two thousand cavalry forward to attack. He reached Yecheng but could not capture it and fell back to defend Chenzhou. Before long troops from the various circuits began to assemble, and he advanced again to the south of Yecheng. When Mingzong took command and marched to Ye, Xingqin came to pay his respects in camp. As he straightened from his bow he twice shouted "Long live the Emperor!" by mistake. Mingzong was alarmed and silenced him before he could go on. Mingzong then pitched camp west of the city and Xingqin south of it. On the night of the eighth day of the third month the mutineers closed in on Mingzong. Only Xingqin's troops held their ground, keeping their armor on and standing firm. Mingzong secretly sent Zhang Qianzhao to Xingqin's camp with this warning: "Hold your position and do not move yet. We mean to strike the mutineers together—do not misread this and turn on us." Xingqin refused to listen and withdrew with ten thousand foot and horse, throwing off their armor as they went. Realizing he had blundered, he held Weizhou for the moment and sent a false report accusing Mingzong: "The frontier commander has gone over to the rebels and will never serve the dynasty again." Once Mingzong had been carried off from Yecheng, he dispatched a mounted courier with a memorial to explain what had happened, saying, "Your servant will wait in a nearby prefecture for further orders." Zhuangzong read the memorial and said with relief, "I knew Shaorong was lying." He sent Bai Congxun and Mingzong's son Jijing to the front so they could meet Mingzong, but Xingqin seized Jijing on the way. Every military report Mingzong sent was held up and never delivered, and within ten days all word from him had ceased. When Zhuangzong advanced from Chenggao and learned that Mingzong was at Liyang, he again ordered Jijing to cross the river and summon him. Xingqin killed Jijing on the spot and pressed for a general withdrawal. On the first day of the fourth month Zhuangzong died. Xingqin escorted the empress and Cunwo with seven hundred horsemen out the Lion Gate, planning to reach Hezhong and join Cunba. Along the road his men melted away until only a handful of riders were left. On the fourth day he reached Pinglu County, where the local people seized him. Magistrate Pei Jin broke his legs and sent him to the capital in a cage cart. After Mingzong took the throne, an edict stripped Xingqin of every office and title he had held, and he was beheaded at Luoyang.
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夏魯奇，字邦傑，青州人也。 初事宣武軍為軍校，與主將不協，遂歸於莊宗，以為護衛指揮使。 從周德威攻幽州，燕將有單廷珪、元行欽，時稱驍勇，魯奇與之鬥，兩不能解，將士皆釋兵縱觀。 幽州平，魯奇功居多。 梁將劉鄩在洹水，莊宗深入致師，鄩設伏於魏縣西南葭蘆中。 莊宗不滿千騎，汴人伏兵萬餘，大噪而起，圍莊宗數重。 魯奇與王門關、烏德兒等奮命決戰，自午至申，俄而李存審兵至方解。 魯奇持槍攜劍，獨衛莊宗，手殺百餘人。 烏德兒等被擒，魯奇傷痍遍體，自是莊宗尤憐之，曆磁州刺史。 中都之戰，汴人大敗，魯奇見王彥章，識之，單馬追及，槍擬其頸； 彥章顧曰：「爾非餘故人乎？」 即擒之以獻。 莊宗壯之，賞絹千匹。 〈（《九國誌·趙庭隱傳》：王彥章守中都，庭隱在其軍中。 及彥章敗，庭隱為莊宗所獲，將以就戮，大將夏魯奇奏曰：「此矬也，其材可用。」 遂釋之。）〉 梁平，授鄭州防禦使。 四年，授河陽節度使。 天成初，移鎮許州，加同平章事。
Xia Luqi, courtesy name Bangjie, was a native of Qingzhou. He first served the Xuanwu army as a regimental officer. At odds with his commander, he defected to Zhuangzong, who appointed him commander of the imperial guard. Under Zhou Dewei he attacked Youzhou. The Yan generals Shan Tinggui and Yuan Xingqin were then renowned for valor. Luqi fought them to a standstill, and soldiers on both sides set down their weapons to watch. When Youzhou fell, Luqi's contribution was the greatest of all. The Liang general Liu Yun held Huanshui. Zhuangzong pushed deep to bring him to battle, and Yun laid an ambush in the reed beds southwest of Wei County. Zhuangzong had fewer than a thousand horsemen with him. More than ten thousand Bian troops in ambush rose with a deafening roar and closed around him in ring after ring. Luqi, Wang Menguan, Wude'er, and others fought for their lives from noon until mid-afternoon. Li Cunshen's troops arrived soon afterward and the encirclement was broken. Spear in one hand and sword in the other, Luqi alone shielded Zhuangzong and killed more than a hundred men himself. Wude'er and the others were taken prisoner. Luqi was covered with wounds, and from then on Zhuangzong favored him all the more. He later served as prefect of Cizhou. At the battle of Zhongdu the Bian army was routed. Luqi spotted Wang Yanzhang, recognized him, rode after him alone, and set a spear against his neck; Yanzhang looked back and said, "Aren't you my old friend Yu?" He seized him on the spot and brought him in as his prize. Zhuangzong was impressed and rewarded him with a thousand bolts of silk. (From the Biography of Zhao Tingyin in the Jiuguo Zhi: Wang Yanzhang defended Zhongdu, and Tingyin served in his army. When Yanzhang was defeated, Tingyin was taken by Zhuangzong and was about to be executed. The great general Xia Luqi memorialized, "He is a short man, but his abilities are worth keeping." He was then released.)〉 After Liang was conquered, he was made defender of Zhengzhou. In the fourth year he was appointed military governor of Heyang. At the start of the Tiancheng era he was transferred to Xuzhou as military governor and made Chief Minister.
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魯奇性忠義，尤通吏道，撫民有術。 及移鎮許田，孟州之民，萬眾遮道，斷鐙臥轍，五日不發。 父老詣闕請留，明宗令中使諭之，方得離州。 明宗討荊南，魯奇為副招討使，頃之，移鎮遂州。 〈（《九國誌·李仁罕傳》：夏魯奇稟朝廷之命，繕治甲兵，將圖蜀，孟知祥與董璋謀先取魯奇，令仁罕攻遂州。）〉 董璋之叛，與孟知祥攻遂州，援路斷絕，兵盡食窮， 〈（《九國誌·李肇傳》：蜀師圍夏魯奇於遂州，唐師來援，劍門不守，肇領兵赴普安以拒之，唐師不得進。）〉 魯奇自刎而卒，時年四十九。 帝聞其死也，慟哭之，厚給其家，贈太師、齊國公。
Luqi was loyal and upright by nature, especially skilled in governance, and knew how to win the people's trust. When he was reassigned to Xutian, tens of thousands of people from Mengzhou blocked his road, broke his stirrups, and lay across his carriage wheels. For five days he could not move on. Local elders went to court to ask that he be kept. Mingzong sent a palace envoy to reason with them, and only then was he able to leave the prefecture. When Mingzong campaigned against Jingnan, Luqi served as deputy pacification commissioner. Soon afterward he was transferred to Suizhou as military governor. (From the Biography of Li Renhan in the Jiuguo Zhi: Xia Luqi obeyed the court's orders, repaired arms and armor, and prepared to move against Shu. Meng Zhixiang and Dong Zhang plotted to strike him first and ordered Renhan to attack Suizhou.)〉 When Dong Zhang rebelled, he and Meng Zhixiang besieged Suizhou. Relief routes were cut, the garrison was spent, and provisions ran out, (From the Biography of Li Zhao in the Jiuguo Zhi: Shu forces besieged Xia Luqi at Suizhou. Tang relief troops marched to his aid, but Jianmen was left undefended. Zhao led troops to Pu'an to block them, and the Tang army could not get through.)〉 Luqi took his own life by cutting his throat. He was forty-nine. When the Emperor heard of his death he wept aloud, gave his family a generous settlement, and posthumously honored him as Grand Preceptor and Duke of Qi.
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姚洪，本梁之小校也。 在梁時，經事董璋，長興初，率兵千人戍閬州。 璋叛，領眾攻閬州，璋密令人誘洪，洪以大義拒之。 及璋攻城，洪悉力拒守者三日，禦備既竭，城陷被擒。 璋謂洪曰：「爾頃為健兒，由吾獎拔至此； 吾書誘諭，投之於側，何相負耶？」 洪大罵曰：「老賊，爾為天子鎮帥，何苦反耶！ 爾既辜恩背主，吾與爾何恩，而雲相負！ 爾為李七郎奴，掃馬糞，得一臠殘炙，感恩無盡。 今明天子付與茅土，貴為諸侯，而驅徒結黨，圖為反噬。 爾本奴才，則無恥； 吾忠義之士，不忍為也。 吾可為天子死，不能與人奴苟生！」 璋怒，令軍士十人，持刀刲割其膚，燃鑊於前，自取啖食，洪至死大罵不已。 明宗聞之泣下，置洪二子於近衛，給賜甚厚。
Yao Hong had begun as a junior officer in the service of Liang. While still with Liang he had served under Dong Zhang. At the start of the Changxing era he led a thousand men to garrison Langzhou. When Zhang rebelled he marched on Langzhou. Zhang secretly sent agents to win Hong over, but Hong refused on grounds of loyalty and duty. When Zhang laid siege to the city, Hong defended it with everything he had for three days. When his supplies and defenses were spent the city fell and he was taken. Zhang said to Hong, "Only recently you were a common fighting man whom I promoted and raised to where you stand now. I wrote to persuade you and had the letters delivered to you—how can you turn against me?" Hong shouted back, "You old traitor! The Son of Heaven made you a frontier commander—why must you rebel! You have already betrayed your sovereign's grace—what debt do I owe you, that you accuse me of betrayal! You were Li the Seventh's slave, mucking out stables. You got a scrap of leftover meat and thought your debt of gratitude could never be repaid. Now the enlightened Son of Heaven has given you a fief and raised you among the feudal lords, yet you herd servants into factions and plot to turn and bite the hand that fed you. You were born a slave and know no shame. I am a man of loyalty and righteousness, and I cannot bring myself to do that. I can die for the Son of Heaven, but I will not live on as the lackey of another man's slave!" Zhang in fury ordered ten soldiers with knives to slice flesh from his body, set a cauldron blazing before him, and eat the pieces themselves. Hong cursed him without stopping until he died. When Mingzong heard of it he wept and placed Hong's two sons in the inner guard, granting them generous rewards.
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李嚴，幽州人，本名讓坤。 初仕燕，為刺史，涉獵書傳，便弓馬，有口辯，多遊藝，以功名自許。 同光中，為客省使。 奉使於蜀，及與王衍相見，陳使者之禮，因於笏記中具述莊宗興復之功，其警句云：「才過汶水，縛王彥章於馬前； 旋及夷門，斬朱友貞於樓上。」 嚴復聲韻清亮，蜀人聽之愕然。 時蜀偽樞密使宋光嗣召嚴曲宴，因以近事訊於嚴。 嚴對曰：「吾皇前年四月即位於鄴宮，當月下鄆州。 十月四日，親統萬騎破賊中都，乘勝鼓行，遂誅汴孽，偽梁尚有兵三十萬，謀臣猛將，解甲倒戈。 西盡甘、涼，東漸海外，南逾閩、浙，北極幽陵。 牧伯侯王，稱藩不暇，家財入貢，府實上供。 吳國本朝舊臣，岐下先皇元老，遣子入侍，述職稱藩。 淮、海之君，卑辭厚貢，湖湘、荊楚，杭越、甌閩，異貨奇珍，府無虛月。 吾皇以德懷來，以威款附。 順則涵之以恩澤，逆則問之以干戈，四海車書，大同非晚。」 光嗣曰：「餘所未知，惟岐下宋公，我之姻好，洞見其心，反覆多端，專謀跋扈，大不足信也。 似聞契丹部族，近日稍強，大國可無慮乎？」 嚴曰：「子言契丹之強盛，孰若偽梁？」 曰：「比梁差劣也。」 嚴曰：「吾國視契丹如蚤虱耳，以其無害，不足爬搔。 吾良將勁兵布天下，彼不勞一郡之兵，一校之眾，則懸首槀街，盡為奴擄。 但以天生四夷，當置度外，不在九州之本，未欲窮兵黷武也。」 光嗣聞辯對，畏而奇之。 時王衍失政，嚴知其可取，使還具奏，故平蜀之謀，始於嚴。
Li Yan was a native of Youzhou; his birth name was Rangkun. He first served Yan as a prefect, read widely in the classics, was adept at archery and horsemanship, had a ready tongue, delighted in many arts, and set his heart on achievement and renown. During the Tongguang era he served as commissioner of the Reception Bureau. Sent on embassy to Shu, he met Wang Yan and performed the rites due an envoy. In the notes on his tablet he recounted Zhuangzong's deeds of restoration, with this striking line: "Hardly past the Wen River, Wang Yanzhang was bound before his horse; and soon at the Yimen Gate Zhu Youzhen was beheaded on the tower." Yan recited it again in a clear, ringing voice, and the men of Shu listened in stunned silence. Song Guangsi, the bogus Shu commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs, invited Yan to a private banquet and questioned him about recent affairs. Yan replied, "Our Emperor took the throne at the Ye palace in the fourth month of the year before last and that same month marched on Yanzhou. On the fourth day of the tenth month he personally led ten thousand horsemen and crushed the rebels at Zhongdu. Drums rolling, he pressed the victory forward, executed the Bian scourge, and though the false Liang still had three hundred thousand men, its strategists and fierce generals stripped off their armor and turned their swords around. In the west his realm reached Gan and Liang; in the east it stretched to the open sea; in the south it crossed Min and Zhe; in the north it ran to Youling. Regional lords and feudal princes scarcely had time to call themselves vassals; they sent household wealth as tribute and emptied their treasuries for the court. Wu was a longtime subject of our house; below Qi stood an elder of the former emperor who sent his son to court and fulfilled vassal duties. Rulers of the Huai and coastal regions sent humble embassies and lavish gifts; from the lakes and rivers of Hunan and Hubei to Hangzhou, Yue, Wenzhou, and Fujian, exotic goods and rarities arrived so that the court storehouses knew no idle month. Our Emperor wins men by virtue and binds them by power. The obedient he shelters in grace; the defiant he meets with arms. When chariots and writing unite the four seas, universal rule will come soon." Guangsi said, "I cannot speak for the rest, but Duke Song below Qi is my kinsman by marriage, and I know his heart. He is changeable and scheming, bent on domineering power, and is not to be trusted at all. I hear the Khitan tribes have grown stronger of late. Surely your great state has no cause for worry?" Yan said, "You speak of Khitan might—compared with what? The false Liang?" He replied, "They are somewhat weaker than Liang was." Yan said, "Our realm looks on the Khitan as fleas and lice. They do no harm, so they are not worth troubling over. Our finest generals and strongest troops are posted across the empire. We would not need even one prefecture's force or one command's men to hang their heads at the execution ground and take them all as captives. Only because the barbarians of the four quarters are born beyond our realm, they should be left outside our concern, outside the heartland of the Nine Provinces. We have no wish yet to wear out the army in endless war." Guangsi heard this sharp reply and was both afraid and astonished. Wang Yan's rule was failing, and Yan saw that Shu could be taken. He sent him back to report in full, and thus the plan to conquer Shu began with Yan.
7
郭崇韜起軍之日，以嚴為三川招撫使，嚴與先鋒使康延孝將兵五千，先驅閣道，或馳以詞說，或威以兵鋒，大軍未及，所在降下。 延孝在漢州，王衍與書曰：「可請李司空先來，餘即舉城納款。」 眾咸以討蜀之謀始於嚴，衍以甘言，將誘而殺之，欲不令往。 嚴聞之喜，即馳騎入益州，衍見嚴於母前，以母、妻為托。 即日，引蜀使歐陽彬迎謁魏王繼岌。 蜀平班師，會明宗即位，遷泗州防禦使兼客省使。 長興初，安重誨謀欲控製兩川，嚴乃求為西川兵馬都監，庶效方略。 孟知祥覺之，既至，執而害之。 〈（《九國誌·王彥銖傳》：李嚴之為監軍也，密懷異謀，知祥數其過，命彥銖擒斬之，嚴之左右無敢動者。）〉 贈太保。
When Guo Chongtao took the field, Yan was made pacification commissioner of the Three Rivers. Yan and the vanguard commander Kang Yanxiao led five thousand men ahead along the mountain roads, winning some places by persuasion and others by force. Before the main army arrived, city after city surrendered. Yanxiao was at Hanzhou when Wang Yan wrote to him: "Please ask Minister Li to come first, and I will surrender the city at once." The troops all said the Shu campaign had begun with Yan, that Wang Yan's flattering words were a trap to lure and kill him, and they wanted to keep him from going. Yan was delighted to hear it and rode at once into Yizhou. Wang Yan received him before his mother and entrusted his mother and wife to Yan's care. That same day he brought the Shu envoy Ouyang Bin to pay homage to Prince Jiji of Wei. After Shu was pacified the army withdrew. Mingzong then took the throne, and Yan was made defender of Sizhou while keeping his post as commissioner of the Reception Bureau. Early in the Changxing era, An Chonghui schemed to control the Two Chuan, and Yan asked to be made military inspector of Xichuan so he could put his plans into effect. Meng Zhixiang saw through him, and when Yan arrived he seized and executed him. (From the Biography of Wang Yanyin in the Records of the Nine Kingdoms: When Li Yan served as military inspector, he secretly plotted rebellion. Zhixiang listed his offenses and ordered Yanyin to seize and execute him, and none of Yan's attendants dared stir.)〉 He was posthumously honored as Grand Guardian.
8
嚴之母，賢明婦人。 初，嚴將赴蜀，母曰：「汝前啟破蜀之謀，今又入蜀，將死報蜀人矣！ 與汝永訣。」 既而果如其言。
Yan's mother was a wise and virtuous woman. When Yan was about to depart for Shu, his mother said, "You first proposed the plan to destroy Shu, and now you enter Shu again. You will die repaying the people of Shu! I bid you farewell forever." In the end it happened exactly as she had foretold.
9
李仁矩，本明宗在藩鎮時客將也。 明宗即位，錄其趨走之勞，擢居內職，復為安重誨所庇，故數年之間，遷為客省使、左衛大將軍。 天成中，因奉使東川，董璋張筵以召之，仁矩貪於館舍，與倡妓酣飲，日既中而不至，大為璋所詬辱，自是深銜之。 長興初，璋既跋扈於東川，重誨奏以仁矩為閬州節度使，俾伺璋之反狀，時物議以為不可。 及仁矩至鎮，偵璋所為，曲形奏報，地裏遐僻，朝廷莫知事實，激成璋之逆節，由仁矩也。 長興元年冬十月，璋自率凶黨，以攻其城。 仁矩召軍校謀守戰利害，皆曰：「璋久圖反計，以賂誘士心，凶氣方盛，未可與戰，宜堅壁以守之。 儻旬浹之間，大軍東至，即賊必退。」 仁矩曰：「蜀兵懦，安能當我精甲！」 即驅之出戰，兵未交，為賊所敗。 既而城陷，仁矩被擒，舉族為璋所害。
Li Renju had originally been a guest officer in Mingzong's household when he held a princely fief. When Mingzong took the throne, he rewarded Renju for his years of service and promoted him to the inner court. Under An Chonghui's patronage he rose within a few years to commissioner of the Reception Bureau and Grand General of the Left Guard. During the Tiancheng era, while on mission to Eastern Chuan, Dong Zhang held a banquet in his honor. Renju stayed at the lodge drinking with courtesans and did not arrive until after noon. Dong Zhang rebuked him harshly, and from that day Renju nursed a deep hatred. Early in the Changxing era, Dong Zhang was already acting arrogantly in Eastern Chuan. Chonghui memorialized appointing Renju military governor of Langzhou to watch for signs of rebellion, though public opinion at the time held this unwise. Once Renju reached his post, he spied on Dong Zhang and sent distorted reports to court. The region was remote, and Beijing knew nothing of the truth. Dong Zhang's rebellion was provoked by Renju. In the tenth month of winter in the first year of Changxing, Dong Zhang personally led his ruffians to attack the city. Renju summoned his officers to discuss whether to defend or attack. They all said, "Dong Zhang has long plotted rebellion and has bought the soldiers' loyalty. His momentum is fierce. We should not fight yet but hold the walls firm. Within ten days the main army will arrive from the east, and the rebels will surely retreat." Renju said, "Shu troops are cowards. How can they stand against our elite armor!" He at once drove them out to fight. Before the lines met, they were routed by the rebels. Soon the city fell. Renju was captured, and Dong Zhang killed his entire clan.
10
康思立，晉陽人也。 少善騎射，事武皇為爪牙，署河東親騎軍使。 莊宗嗣位，從解圍於上黨，敗梁人於柏鄉，及平薊兵，後戰於河上，皆有功，累承製加檢校戶部尚書，右突騎指揮使。 莊宗即位，繼改軍帥，賜忠勇拱衛功臣，加檢校尚書右僕射。 天成元年，授應州刺史，尋移嵐州，充北面諸蕃部族都監。 三年，遷宿州團練使。 四年，領昭武軍節度、利巴集等州觀察處置等使。 改賜耀忠保節功臣。 長興初，朝廷舉兵討東川董璋，詔監西面行營軍馬都指揮使。 二年，移鎮陝州。 〈（《通鑒》：潞王至靈寶，思立謀固守陝城以俟康義誠。 先是，捧聖五百騎戍陝，為潞王前鋒，至城下，呼城上人曰：「禁軍十萬已奉新帝，爾輩數人奚為！ 徒累一城人塗地耳！」 於是捧聖卒爭出迎，思立不能禁，不得已，亦出迎。）〉 清泰初，改授邢台，累官至檢校太傅，封會稽郡開國侯。 二年，入為右神武統軍。 三年，充北面行營馬軍都指揮使。 是歲閏十一月，卒於軍，年六十三。
Kang Sili was a native of Jinyang. In youth he excelled at mounted archery, served Emperor Wu as a trusted fighter, and was appointed commander of the Hedong Personal Cavalry. When Zhuangzong succeeded, he helped lift the siege at Shangdang, defeated the Liang at Baixiang, pacified the Ji forces, and later fought along the Yellow River, winning merit in every campaign. He was repeatedly promoted by edict to acting Minister of Revenue and commander of the Right Vanguard Cavalry. When Zhuangzong took the throne, he was again made an army commander, granted the title Loyal Brave Arch-guard Merit Subject, and promoted to acting Vice Director of the Right Secretariat. In the first year of Tiancheng he was made prefect of Yingzhou, soon transferred to Lanzhou, and appointed overall supervisor of the northern frontier tribes. In the third year he was transferred to training commissioner of Suzhou. In the fourth year he was made military governor of the Zhaowu army and commissioner for observation and disposition of Li, Ba, Ji, and other prefectures. He was granted the new merit title Yao Loyalty Preserving Festival. Early in the Changxing era the court raised troops against Dong Zhang of Eastern Chuan and ordered him to supervise the western campaign as overall commander of the army's horse units. In the second year he was transferred to govern Shaanzhou. (From the Comprehensive Mirror: When Prince Lu reached Lingbao, Sili planned to hold Shaan city and await Kang Yicheng. Earlier, five hundred Pingsheng cavalry had garrisoned Shaan as the Prince of Lu's vanguard. Reaching the foot of the wall, they shouted up, "A hundred thousand men of the imperial guard have already acclaimed the new emperor. What are you few men still doing here! You will only bring bloodshed on a whole city for nothing!" Then the Pingsheng troops rushed out to welcome them. Sili could not stop them and, with no choice left, went out to welcome them as well.)〉 Early in the Qingtai era he was reassigned to Xingtai, rose to acting Grand Preceptor, and was enfeoffed as Baron of Kuaiji. In the second year he entered the capital as commander of the Right Divine Martial Army. In the third year he served as overall commander of the horse units in the northern campaign. That year, in the intercalary eleventh month, he died in camp at the age of sixty-three.
11
張敬達，字志通，代州人，小字生鐵。 父審，素有勇，事武皇為列校，曆廳直軍使，同光初，卒於軍。 敬達少以騎射著名，莊宗知之，召令繼父職； 平河南有功，繼加檢校工部尚書。 明宗即位，曆捧聖指揮使、檢校尚書左僕射。 長興中，改河東馬步軍都指揮使，超授檢校司徒，領欽州刺史。 三年，加檢校太保、應州節度使。 四年，遷雲州。 時以契丹率族帳自黑榆林挎剌泊至沒越泊，雲借漢界水草，敬達每聚兵塞下，以遏其衝。 契丹竟不敢南牧，邊人賴之。 清泰中，自彭門移鎮平陽，加檢校太傅，從石敬瑭為北面兵馬副總管，仍屯兵雁門。 未幾，晉高祖建義，末帝詔以敬達為北面行營都招討使，仍使悉引部下兵圍太原，以定州節度使楊光遠副焉。 尋統兵三萬，營於晉安鄉。 末帝自六月繼有詔促令攻取，敬達設長城連柵、雲梯飛炮，使工者運其巧思，窮土木之力。 時督事者每有所構，則暴風大雨，平地水深數尺，而城柵崩墮，竟不能合其圍。 九月，契丹至，敬達大敗，尋為所圍。 晉高祖及蕃眾自晉安寨南門外，長百餘里，闊五十里，布以氈帳，用毛索掛鈴，而部伍多犬，以備警急。 營中嘗有夜遁者，出則犬吠鈴動，跬步不能行焉。 自是敬達與麾下部曲五萬人，馬萬匹，無由四奔，但見穹廬如崗阜相屬，諸軍相顧失色。 始則削木篩糞，以飼其馬，日望朝廷救軍，及漸羸死，則與將士分食之，馬盡食殫。 副將楊光遠、次將安審琦知不濟，勸敬達宜早降以求自安。 敬達曰：「吾受恩於明宗，位曆方鎮，主上授我大柄，而失律如此，已有愧於心也。 今救軍在近，旦暮雪恥有期，諸公何相迫耶！ 待勢窮，則請殺吾，攜首以降，亦未為晚。」 光遠、審琦知敬達意未決，恐坐成魚肉，遂斬敬達以降。 〈（《契丹國志》：楊光遠謀害張敬達，諸將高行周陰為之備，敬達疏於防禦，推遠行周等。 清晨，光遠上謁，見敬達左右無人，遂殺之。）〉
Zhang Jingda, courtesy name Zhigong, was a native of Daizhou; his childhood name was Raw Iron. His father Shen was brave by nature, served Emperor Wu as a column commander, rose to Hall Direct army commander, and died in service early in the Tongguang era. Jingda was famed in youth for mounted archery. Zhuangzong knew of him and summoned him to inherit his father's post; he won merit pacifying Henan and was then made acting Minister of Works. When Mingzong took the throne, he served as commander of the Pingsheng guard and acting Left Vice Director of the Secretariat. During the Changxing era he was made overall commander of the Hedong horse and foot armies, promoted in one step to acting Minister of Education, and appointed prefect of Qinzhou. In the third year he was made acting Grand Guardian and military governor of Yingzhou. In the fourth year he was transferred to Yunzhou. At that time the Khitan led their clans from Heilinlin through Kulabo to Moyuebo, grazing on Han borderlands. Jingda repeatedly massed troops below the passes to block their advance. The Khitan ultimately did not dare drive their herds south, and the border people owed their safety to him. During the Qingtai era he was transferred from Pengmen to Pingyang, made acting Grand Preceptor, and served under Shi Jingtang as deputy overall commander of the northern forces while keeping his troops at Yanmen. Before long, when the Jin founder rose in revolt, the Last Emperor appointed Jingda overall pacification commissioner of the northern campaign and ordered him to lead all his troops to besiege Taiyuan, with Yang Guangyuan, military governor of Dingzhou, as his deputy. Soon he took command of thirty thousand men and encamped at Jin'an. From the sixth month onward the Last Emperor repeatedly ordered him to take the city. Jingda built long walls and linked palisades, cloud ladders and siege engines, set artisans to every device, and exhausted every effort of engineering. Whenever the builders raised some new work, violent storms followed. Water on the plain stood several feet deep, walls and palisades collapsed, and in the end they could not close the siege ring. In the ninth month the Khitan arrived. Jingda suffered a crushing defeat and was soon surrounded. The Jin founder and the barbarian hosts spread from beyond the south gate of the Jin'an camp for more than a hundred li in length and fifty li across, pitching felt tents and hanging bells on hair ropes. Most units kept dogs to sound the alarm. When men in the camp tried to flee by night, the dogs barked and the bells rang at the first step, and they could not move. From then on Jingda and his fifty thousand men and ten thousand horses had no escape in any direction. They saw only dome tents stretching like linked hills, and the armies looked at one another in dismay. At first they shaved wood and sifted dung to feed the horses, daily hoping for relief from court. As the horses weakened and died, officers and men shared the meat until every horse was eaten. The deputy Yang Guangyuan and the second-in-command An Shenqi saw that all was lost and urged Jingda to surrender early and save himself. Jingda said, "I owe my rise to Mingzong. I have held regional command, and the sovereign entrusted me with great authority. To fail so badly already shames me to the heart. Relief is near, and we may yet wipe away this shame. Why do you press me so! When all is truly lost, you may kill me and carry my head to surrender. That will not be too late." Guangyuan and Shenqi saw that Jingda had not made up his mind and feared that if they waited they would become helpless prey. They beheaded Jingda and surrendered. (From the Khitan State Annals: Yang Guangyuan plotted to kill Zhang Jingda. General Gao Xingzhou secretly prepared against it, but Jingda was lax in his defenses and kept Gao Xingzhou and the others at a distance. At dawn Guangyuan came to call on him, found no one at Jingda's side, and killed him.)〉