Volume 88 Book of Later Jin 14: Biographies 3 - Jing Yangguang, Li Yantao, Zhang Xichong, Wang Tingyin, Shi Kuanghan, Liang Hanyong, Yang Siquan, Yin Hui, Li Congzhang, Li Congwen, Zhang Wanjin

景延廣，字航川，陜州人也。父建，累贈太尉。延廣少習射，以挽強見稱。梁開平中，邵王朱友誨節制於陜，召置麾下，友誨坐謀亂，延廣竄而獲免。後事華州連帥尹皓，皓引薦列校，隸於汴軍，從王彥章拒莊宗於河上。及中都之敗，彥章見擒，而延廣被數創，歸於汴。

Jing Yanguang, whose courtesy name was Hangchuan, came from Shan Prefecture. His father Jian received successive posthumous promotions culminating in the rank of Grand Marshal. In his youth Yanguang trained in archery and won fame for his strength at the bow. During Liang's Kaiping era, Prince Shao Zhu Youhui commanded at Shan and took Yanguang into his staff. When Youhui was convicted of plotting rebellion, Yanguang fled and escaped with his life. He later served Yin Hao, the military commissioner of Hua Prefecture. Hao recommended him as a company commander and attached him to the Bian army, where he followed Wang Yanzhang in resisting Zhuangzong along the Yellow River. After the defeat at Zhongdu, Yanzhang was taken prisoner while Yanguang, wounded several times, made his way back to Bian.

唐天成中，明宗幸夷門，會朱守殷拒命，尋平之。延廣以軍校連坐，將棄市。高祖時為六軍副使，掌其事，見而惜之，乃密遣遁去，尋收為客將。及張敬達之圍晉陽，高祖付以戎事，甚有幹城之功。高祖即位，授侍衛步軍都指揮使、檢校司徒，遙領果州團練使，轉檢校太保，領夔州節度使。四年，出鎮滑臺。五年，加檢校太傅，移鎮陜府。六年，召為侍衛馬步都虞候，移鎮河陽。七年，轉侍衛親軍都指揮使、檢校太尉。其年夏，高祖晏駕，延廣與宰臣馮道等承顧命，以少帝為嗣。既發喪，都人不得偶語，百官赴臨，未及內門，皆令下馬，由是有驕暴之失。少帝既嗣位，延廣獨以為己功，尋加同平章事，彌有矜伐之色。朝廷遣使告哀契丹，無表致書，去臣稱孫。契丹怒，遣使來讓，延廣乃奏令契丹回國使喬榮〈（《契丹國志》：先是，河陽牙將喬榮從趙延壽入遼，遼帝以為回國使，置邸大梁。至是，景延廣說帝囚榮於獄，凡遼國販易在晉境者，皆殺之，奪其貨。大臣皆言遼國不可負，乃釋榮，慰賜而遣之。）〉告戎王曰：「先帝則北朝所立，今上則中國自策，為鄰為孫則可，無臣之理。」且言：「晉朝有十萬口橫磨劍，翁若要戰則早來，他日不禁孫子，則取笑天下，當成後悔矣。」由是與契丹立敵，干戈日尋。初，高祖在位時，宣借楊光遠騎兵數百，延廣請下詔遣還，光遠由此忿延廣，怨朝廷，遣使泛海構釁。

During Tang's Tiancheng era, Emperor Mingzong visited Yimen just as Zhu Shouyin rose in defiance; the revolt was soon put down. Yanguang was implicated as a company officer and sentenced to execution in the marketplace. Gaozu, then deputy commander of the Six Armies and in charge of the case, took pity on him and secretly let him escape; he soon took Yanguang on as a guest general. When Zhang Jingda besieged Jinyang, Gaozu put him in charge of the defense, and he distinguished himself in holding the city. When Gaozu ascended the throne, Yanguang was made Commander of the Palace Guard Foot Army and Acting Minister of Works, with a titular commission as military commissioner of Guo Prefecture; he was later promoted to Acting Grand Guardian and given the Kui prefectural command. In the fourth year he was posted to command at Huatai. In the fifth year he received the additional title of Acting Grand Tutor and was transferred to Shan Prefecture. In the sixth year he was recalled as Chief Inspector of the Palace Guard Horse and Foot and reassigned to Heyang. In the seventh year he was made Commander of the Palace Guard Personal Army and Acting Grand Marshal. That summer, when Gaozu died, Yanguang joined Chief Minister Feng Dao and others in carrying out the dying command to install the Young Emperor as heir. Once mourning was proclaimed, people in the capital were forbidden even to speak together in passing, and officials coming to mourn were ordered to dismount before they reached the inner gate. From this he earned a reputation for arrogance and brutality. After the Young Emperor took the throne, Yanguang alone claimed the succession as his doing. He was soon made Associate Grand Councilor and grew ever more boastful. The court sent envoys to announce Gaozu's death to the Khitan, but sent a letter rather than a formal memorial and dropped the language of subjecthood, styling themselves only as grandson. The Khitan were furious and sent envoys to protest. Yanguang then memorialized that the Khitan return-envoy Qiao Rong (Khitan State Annals: Earlier, Qiao Rong, a staff officer at Heyang, had followed Zhao Yanshou into Liao, and the Liao emperor appointed him return-envoy with a residence at Daliang. Now Jing Yanguang persuaded the emperor to throw Rong in prison, and every Liao trader in Jin territory was killed and his goods seized. The chief ministers all warned that Liao must not be provoked, so Rong was released, given gifts and comfort, and sent home.))〉 He should tell the Khitan ruler: "The late emperor was enthroned by your northern court, but the present sovereign was raised up by China itself. We may be neighbors and you may call us grandson, but there is no basis for subjecthood." He also said: "The Jin court has a hundred thousand men whetting swords on the grindstone. If you want a fight, old man, come soon. If you cannot keep your grandson in line later, the world will laugh at you—and you will regret it." From this Jin and Khitan became enemies, and war drew nearer day by day. Earlier, while Gaozu still reigned, the court had borrowed several hundred horsemen from Yang Guangyuan. Yanguang urged an edict ordering their return. Guangyuan thereupon hated Yanguang, turned against the court, and sent envoys by sea to provoke conflict.

天福八年十二月，契丹乃南牧。九年正月，陷甘陵，河北儲蓄悉在其郡。少帝大駭，親率六師，進駐澶淵。延廣為上將，凡六師進退，皆出胸臆，少帝亦不能制，眾鹹憚而忌之。契丹既至城下，使人宣言曰：「景延廣喚我來相殺，何不急戰！」一日，高行周與蕃軍相遇於近郊，以眾寡不敵，急請濟師，延廣勒兵不出，是日行周幸而獲免。及契丹退，延廣猶閉柵自固，士大夫曰：「昔與契丹絕好，言何勇也；今契丹至若是，氣何憊也。」時延廣在軍，母兇問至，自澶淵津北移於津南，不信宿而復蒞戎事，曾無戚容，下里之士亦聞而惡之。時有太常丞王緒者，因使德州回，與延廣有隙，因誣奏與楊光遠通謀，遣吏縶於麾下，鍛成其事。判官盧億累勸解不從，尋有詔棄市，時甚冤之。少帝還京，嘗幸其第，進獻錫賚，有如酬酢，權寵恩渥，為一朝之冠。俄與宰臣桑維翰不協，少帝亦憚其難制，遂罷兵權，出為洛都留守、兼侍中。由是郁郁不得志，亦意契丹強盛，國家不濟，身將危矣，但縱長夜飲，無復以夾輔為意。〈（《宋史·盧多遜傳》：父億。景延廣鎮天平，表億掌書記，留守西洛，又為判官。時國用窘乏，取民財以助軍。河南府計出二十萬緡，延廣欲並緣以圖羨利，增為三十七萬緡。億諫曰：「公位兼將相，既富且貴，今國帑空竭，不得已而取資於民，公何忍利之乎！」延廣慚而止。）〉

In the twelfth month of Tianfu 8, the Khitan drove south in force. In the first month of the ninth year they captured Ganling, and all of Hebei's stored supplies fell into their hands. The Young Emperor was terrified and personally led the Six Armies forward to Chanyuan. Yanguang served as supreme commander. Every movement of the Six Armies came from his own judgment alone, and even the Young Emperor could not restrain him. The army both feared and resented him. When the Khitan reached the walls, their envoy proclaimed: "Jing Yanguang called us here to kill each other—why not fight at once!" One day Gao Xingzhou clashed with the Khitan army in the suburbs. Outnumbered, he urgently asked for reinforcements, but Yanguang held his troops back. That day Xingzhou escaped only by luck. Even after the Khitan withdrew, Yanguang kept the palisades shut and held his position. Scholar-officials remarked: "When he broke with the Khitan, how bold his words were; yet now that they have actually come, how spent his courage is. Yanguang was then in camp when word came that his mother had died. He moved his quarters from the north bank of the Chanyuan ford to the south bank, and within a day was back at his military duties without a sign of mourning. Even common people heard of it and despised him. At the time Wang Xu, a vice director of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, was returning from an envoy mission to Dezhou. He and Yanguang had a grudge, and Yanguang falsely accused him of plotting with Yang Guangyuan, had him seized under his command, and fabricated the case to the end. His judge-advocate Lu Yi repeatedly urged mercy, but Yanguang would not listen. An edict soon ordered Xu executed in the marketplace, and many regarded it as a gross injustice. When the Young Emperor returned to the capital, he visited Yanguang's mansion. Gifts and rewards passed back and forth like toasts at a feast. His power and favor stood at the summit of the court. He soon clashed with Chief Minister Sang Weihan, and the Young Emperor also feared he could not be controlled. Yanguang was stripped of military command and sent out as garrison commander of Luoyang, with the concurrent title of Palace Attendant. Thereafter he brooded in frustration. He also judged the Khitan too strong, the state doomed, and his own life in peril. He drank through the long nights and no longer gave thought to serving the throne. (Song History, Biography of Lu Duosun: His father was Yi. When Jing Yanguang held Tianping, he recommended Yi as secretary. When Yanguang garrisoned western Luoyang, Yi also served as his judge-advocate. State funds were then exhausted, and the government took money from the people to support the army. Henan Prefecture was assessed at two hundred thousand strings of cash. Yanguang wanted to profit from the levy and raised the figure to three hundred seventy thousand. Yi remonstrated: "You hold both military and civil rank and are already wealthy and exalted. The treasury is empty and the state takes from the people only because it must. How can you bear to profit from that?" Yanguang was ashamed and desisted.))〉

開運三年冬，契丹渡滹水。詔遣屯孟津，將戒途，由府署正門而出，所乘馬騰立不進，幾墜於地，乃易乘而行，時以為不祥之甚。及王師降契丹，延廣狼狽而還。時契丹主至安陽，遣別部隊長率騎士數千，與晉兵相雜，趨河橋入洛，以取延廣。戒曰：「如延廣奔吳走蜀，便當追而致之。」時延廣顧慮其家，未能引決。契丹既奄至，乃與從事閻丕輕騎謁契丹主於封丘，與丕俱見縶焉。〈（《遼史》：將軍康祥執景延廣來獻。）〉延廣曰：「丕，臣之從事也，以職相隨，何罪而亦為縲囚？」契丹釋之。因責延廣曰：「致南北失歡，良由爾也。」乃召喬榮質證前事，凡有十焉。始榮將入蕃時，紿延廣云：「某恐忽忘所達之語，請紀於翰墨。」延廣信之，乃命吏備記其事。榮亦憸巧善事人者也，慮他日見詰，則執之以取信，因匿其文於衣中。至是，延廣始以他語抗對，榮乃出其文以質之，延廣頓為所屈。每服一事，則受牙籌一莖，此契丹法也。延廣受至八莖，但以面伏地，契丹遂咄之，命鎖延廣臂，將送之北土。是日，至於陳橋民家草舍，延廣懼燔灼之害，至夜分伺守者怠，則引手自扼其吭，尋卒焉。雖事已窮頓，人亦壯之，時年五十六。〈（《東都事略》：昝居潤嘗為樞密院小吏，景延廣留守西京，補為右職。契丹犯京師，以兵圍延廣家。故吏悉避去，居潤為全護其家，時論稱之。）〉漢高祖登極，詔贈中書令。

In the winter of Kaiyun 3, the Khitan crossed the Hutuo River. He was ordered to encamp at Mengjin. As he was about to depart, he left through the main gate of the prefectural office, but his horse reared and refused to move, nearly throwing him. He changed horses and went on, and many took this as a dire omen. When the imperial army surrendered to the Khitan, Yanguang fled home in disgrace. The Khitan ruler had reached Anyang and sent a detached commander with several thousand horsemen, mixed in with Jin soldiers, to rush the river bridge into Luoyang and seize Yanguang. He instructed them: "If Yanguang flees to Wu or Shu, pursue him and bring him back." Yanguang was then thinking of his family and could not bring himself to take his own life. When the Khitan suddenly arrived, he rode with his staff member Yan Pi to meet the Khitan ruler at Fengqiu. Both men were seized. (Liao History: General Kang Xiang seized Jing Yanguang and presented him as a captive.))〉 Yanguang said: "Pi is only my staff officer who followed me in duty. What crime has he committed that he too should be bound?" The Khitan released him. They then rebuked Yanguang: "You are the one who destroyed harmony between north and south." They summoned Qiao Rong to testify about the earlier affair. There were ten counts in all. When Rong was first about to return to Liao, he tricked Yanguang, saying: "I am afraid I may forget the message I am to deliver. Please write it down." Yanguang believed him and ordered a clerk to write everything down. Rong was crafty and skilled at currying favor. Fearing future questioning, he kept the document as proof and hid it in his clothes. Now Yanguang tried to answer with other words, but Rong produced the written record. Yanguang was instantly silenced. For each count he admitted, he received one tally stick. That was Khitan custom. Yanguang received eight sticks, then lay face down on the ground. The Khitan shouted at him, ordered his arms bound, and prepared to send him north. That day they reached a peasant's thatched hut at Chenqiao. Fearing he would be burned alive, Yanguang waited until midnight, when the guards grew careless, and strangled himself. He died soon after. Though his end was desperate, many admired his final act. He was fifty-six. (Eastern Capital Affairs Outline: Zan Jurun had once been a minor clerk in the Bureau of Military Affairs. When Jing Yanguang garrisoned the western capital, he appointed Jurun to a senior post. When the Khitan invaded the capital, they surrounded Yanguang's house with troops. All his former subordinates fled, but Jurun protected the household intact. Contemporary opinion praised him.))〉 When Han Gaozu took the throne, an edict posthumously made him Director of the Central Secretariat.

延廣少時，嘗泛洞庭湖，中流阻風，帆裂舵折，眾大懼。頃之，舟人指波中曰：「賢聖來護，此必有貴人矣。」尋獲濟焉。竟位至將相，非偶然也。

In his youth Yanguang once sailed on Dongting Lake. Midstream a storm blocked them, tearing the sails and breaking the rudder, and everyone was terrified. Before long the boatmen pointed into the waves and said: "Sages are coming to protect us. There must be a man of destiny aboard." They soon made it safely ashore. That he rose in the end to general and minister was no accident.

李彥韜，太原人也。少事邢州節度使閻寶為皂隸，寶卒，高祖收於帳下。及起義，以少帝留守北京，因留彥韜為腹心。歷客將、牙門都校，以纖巧故，厚承委用。及少帝嗣位，授蔡州刺史，入為內客省使、宣徽南院使。未幾，遙領壽州節度，充侍衛馬軍都指揮使、檢校太保，俄改陳州節度使，典軍如故。每在帝側，升除將相，但與宦官近臣締結，致外情不通，陷君於危亡之地。嘗謂人曰：「朝廷所設文官將何用也。」且欲澄汰而除廢之，則可知其輔弼之道也。及契丹犯闕，遷少帝於開封府。一日，少帝遣人急召彥韜，將與計事，彥韜辭不赴命，少帝怏恨久之，其負國辜君也如是。及少帝北遷，戎王遣彥韜從行，洎至蕃中，隸於國母帳下。永康王舉兵攻國母，以偉王為前鋒，國母發兵拒之，以彥韜為排陣使，彥韜降於偉王，偉王置之帳下，其後卒於幽州。

Li Yantao came from Taiyuan. In his youth he served Yan Bao, military commissioner of Xing Prefecture, as a menial servant. When Bao died, Gaozu took him into his household. When the uprising began, the Young Emperor was left to hold Beijing, and Yantao was kept as his trusted confidant. He rose through the posts of guest general and gate-guard commander. Because of his subtle cleverness, he received heavy trust and wide responsibility. When the Young Emperor succeeded, Yantao was made prefect of Cai and then brought to court as Commissioner of the Inner Guests Bureau and Commissioner of the Southern Bureau of the Palace Secretariat. Before long he held a titular commission as military commissioner of Shou, served as Commander of the Palace Guard Horse Army and Acting Grand Guardian, and soon became military commissioner of Chen while retaining command of the army. Always at the emperor's side, he rose to the rank of general and minister, but he bonded only with eunuchs and intimate attendants. Outside opinion never reached the throne, and he helped drive the ruler toward ruin. He once said to others: "What use are the civil officials the court keeps on its rolls?" He even wanted to purge and abolish them altogether, which shows what kind of counselor he was. When the Khitan stormed the capital, the Young Emperor was moved to the Kaifeng prefectural residence. One day the Young Emperor urgently summoned Yantao to consult on affairs. Yantao refused to come. The emperor brooded on it for a long time. That was how he betrayed his country and failed his ruler. When the Young Emperor was sent north, the Khitan ruler ordered Yantao to accompany him. In Liao territory he was placed under the Queen Mother's household. Prince Yongkang raised troops against the Queen Mother and made Prince Wei his vanguard. The Queen Mother sent an army to resist and appointed Yantao battle-array officer. Yantao defected to Prince Wei, who took him into his camp. He later died at Youzhou.

張希崇，字德峰，幽州薊縣人也。父行簡，假薊州玉田令。希崇少通《左氏春秋》，復癖於吟詠。天祐中，劉守光為燕帥，性慘酷，不喜儒士，希崇乃擲筆以自效，守光納之，漸升為裨將。俄而守光敗，唐莊宗命周德威鎮其地，希崇以舊籍列於麾下，尋遣率偏師守平州。安巴堅南攻，陷其城，掠希崇而去。阿保機詢希崇，乃知其儒人也，因授元帥府判官，後遷盧龍軍行軍司馬，繼改蕃漢都提舉使。天成初，偽平州節度使盧文進南歸，契丹以希崇繼其任，遣腹心總邊騎三百以監之。希崇蒞事數歲，契丹主漸加寵信。一日，登郡樓私自計曰：「昔班仲升西戍，不敢擅還，以承詔故也。我今入關，斷在胸臆，何恬安於不測之地而自滯耶！」乃召漢人部曲之翹楚者，謂曰：「我陷身此地，飲酪被毛，生不見其所親，死為窮荒之鬼，南望山川，度日如歲，爾輩得無思鄉者乎！」部曲皆泣下沾衣，且曰：「明公欲全部曲南去，善則善矣，如敵眾何？」〈（《歐陽史》作「麾下皆言兵多不可俱亡，因勸希崇獨去。」）〉希崇曰：「俟明日首領至牙帳，則先擒之，契丹無統領，其黨必散。且平州去王帳千餘里，待報至征兵，逾旬方及此，則我等已入漢界深矣，何用以眾少為病！」眾大喜。是日，希崇於郡齋之側，坎隙地，貯石灰。明旦，首領與群從至，希崇飲以醇酎數鐘，既醉，悉投於灰阱中斃焉。其徒營於北郭，遣人攻之，皆潰圍奔去，希崇遂以管內生口二萬餘南歸。唐明宗嘉之，授汝州防禦使。希崇既之任，遣人迎母赴郡。母及境，希崇親肩板輿行三十里，觀者無不稱嘆。歷二年，遷靈州兩使留後。先是，靈州戍兵歲運糧經五百里，有剽攘之患。希崇乃告諭邊士，廣務屯田，歲餘，軍食大濟。璽書褒之，因正授旄節。清泰中，希崇厭其雜俗，頻表請覲，詔許之。至闕未久，朝廷以安邊有聞，議內地處之，改邠州節度使。及高祖入洛，與契丹方有要盟，慮為其所取，乃復除靈武。希崇嘆曰：「我應老於邊城，賦分無所逃也。」因郁郁不得志，久而成疾，卒於任，時年五十二。希崇自小校累官至開府儀同三司、檢校太尉，三歷方面，封清河郡公，食邑二千戶，賜靖邊奉國忠義功臣，亦人生之榮盛者也。〈（《歐陽史》：贈太師。）〉

Zhang Xichong, whose courtesy name was Defeng, came from Ji County in You Prefecture. His father Xingjian served as acting magistrate of Yutian in Ji Prefecture. In his youth Xichong mastered the Zuo Commentary to the Spring and Autumn Annals and was devoted to poetry. During the Tianyou era Liu Shouguang commanded Yan. Cruel by nature and hostile to scholars, Xichong laid aside his brush and offered military service. Shouguang took him in, and he gradually rose to deputy general. Shouguang was soon defeated, and Tang's Emperor Zhuangzong sent Zhou Dewei to garrison the region. Xichong, by virtue of his earlier service, was placed under Zhou's command and soon sent to lead a detached force holding Ping Prefecture. Ambaqian attacked from the south, captured the city, and carried Xichong off as a captive. Abaoji questioned Xichong and learned that he was a scholar. He appointed him judge-advocate of the Marshal's Office, later made him campaigning deputy of the Luolong Army, and then Commissioner for Overseeing Barbarian and Han Affairs. Early in Tiancheng, Lu Wenjin, the Jin-appointed military commissioner of Ping, defected south. The Khitan put Xichong in his place and sent a trusted officer with three hundred frontier horsemen to keep watch over him. After several years in office, the Khitan ruler came to favor and trust him more and more. One day he climbed the prefectural tower and thought to himself: "Long ago Ban Zhongsheng held the western frontier and dared not return without orders, because he was under imperial command. My resolve to return home is fixed in my heart. Why should I linger contentedly in this uncertain land!" He summoned the leading men among his Han followers and said: "I am trapped here, drinking kumiss and wearing furs. Alive I cannot see my kin; dead I shall be a ghost of the wilderness. Gazing south at the hills and rivers, each day drags like a year. Can none of you be homesick as well?" His followers wept until their sleeves were soaked and said: "If you mean to take us all south, that would be splendid—but what of the enemy's numbers? (Ouyang's History reads: "His commanders all said there were too many troops to escape together and urged Xichong to flee alone."))〉 Xichong said: "Wait until tomorrow, when the chieftains come to headquarters. Seize them first. Without leaders the Khitan will scatter. Besides, Ping Prefecture is more than a thousand li from the Khitan royal camp. By the time word reached them and troops were levied, more than ten days would pass. We would already be deep inside Han territory. Why worry about being outnumbered?" The men were overjoyed. That day, beside the prefectural office, Xichong dug a pit in a hollow and filled it with quicklime. At dawn the chieftains and their followers arrived. Xichong gave them several cups of strong wine, and when they were drunk he threw them all into the lime pit and killed them. Their men were encamped outside the north wall. He sent troops against them, and they broke out and fled. Xichong then led more than twenty thousand people under his jurisdiction back south. Emperor Mingzong of Tang praised him and appointed him Defender of Ru Prefecture. Once he took up his post, Xichong sent men to bring his mother to the prefecture. When his mother reached the border, Xichong personally shouldered her carrying-chair and walked thirty li. All who saw it praised him. After two years he was made Acting Commissioner of the Two Offices at Ling Prefecture. Earlier, the Lingzhou garrison had to haul grain five hundred li each year and suffered constant raids. Xichong then urged the frontier troops to expand military farming. Within a year the army's food supply was secure. An imperial letter praised him, and he was formally granted the command baton. During Qingtai, Xichong grew weary of the frontier's mixed customs and repeatedly asked to come to court. An edict granted his request. Soon after he reached court, the government, impressed by his frontier reputation, moved him inland as military commissioner of Bin Prefecture. When Gaozu entered Luoyang, he was negotiating a major alliance with the Khitan and feared they might seize Xichong, so he sent him back to Lingwu. Xichong sighed: "I am fated to grow old on the frontier. There is no escaping what fate has allotted me." He brooded in frustration, fell ill after a long spell, and died in office at the age of fifty-two. Rising from company officer, Xichong reached Grand Preceptor of the Palace with the Protocol of the Three Excellencies and Acting Grand Marshal, held three regional commands, was enfeoffed Duke of Qinghe with a fief of two thousand households, and was granted the title Meritorious Minister Loyal to the State in Pacifying the Frontier—a life's summit of honor. (Ouyang's History: posthumously made Grand Preceptor.))〉

希崇素樸厚，尤嗜書，蒞事之餘，手不釋卷。不好酒樂，不蓄姬仆。祁寒盛暑，必儼具衣冠，廝養之輩，未嘗聞褻慢之言。事母至謹，每食必侍立，俟盥漱畢方退，物議高之。性雖仁恕，或遇奸惡，則嫉之若仇。在邠州日，有民與郭氏為義子，自孩提以至成人，因乖戾不受訓，遣之。郭氏夫婦相次俱死。郭氏有嫡子，已長，時郭氏諸親與義子相約，雲是親子，欲分其財物，助而訟之，前後數政不能理，遂成疑獄。希崇覽其訴，判云：「父在已離，母死不至。正稱假子，孤二十年撫養之恩；儻曰親兒，犯三千條悖逆之罪。頗為傷害名教，安敢理認田園！其生涯並付親子，所訟人與朋奸者，委法官以律定刑。」聞者服其明。希崇亦善觀象，在靈州日，見月掩畢口大星，經月復爾，乃嘆曰：「畢口大星，邊將也，月再掩之，吾其終歟！」果卒於郡。

Plain and sincere by nature, Xichong loved books above all else and never put down a scroll when he had a spare moment from office. He cared nothing for wine or music and kept no concubines or personal servants. In bitter cold or blazing heat he always dressed in full formal attire, and none of his grooms or servants ever heard a disrespectful word from him. He served his mother with the utmost care, standing beside her at every meal until she had finished washing. Public opinion held him in high esteem. Though gentle and forgiving by nature, he hated the wicked as bitter enemies. While at Bin, a man had been adopted by the Guo family. From childhood to adulthood he grew rebellious and would not accept discipline, so the family sent him away. The Guo couple died in succession. The Guos had a grown legitimate son. The Guo relatives then colluded with the adopted son, claiming he was a biological son, to divide the estate. They helped him sue. Several administrations failed to settle the case, and it became a notorious doubtful suit. Xichong reviewed the petition and ruled: "While his father lived he left the household; when his mother died he did not come. Properly speaking he was an adopted son who threw away twenty years of fostering grace; if one calls him a biological son, he commits the statutory crime of filial rebellion. This deeply wounds the moral order. How dare he claim the family lands! All property goes to the legitimate son. The litigant and his conspirators are left to the judicial officer to punish according to law." All who heard the ruling admired his clarity. Xichong was also skilled at reading omens. At Lingzhou he saw the moon eclipse the great star at the mouth of the Net constellation, and a month later it happened again. He sighed: "That star is the star of frontier generals. The moon has covered it twice. Am I to die?" He did indeed die in office.

子仁謙為嗣，歷引進副使。

His son Renqian succeeded him and served as Deputy Introducing Commissioner.

王庭胤，字紹基，其先長安人也。祖處存，定州節度使。父鄴，晉州節度使。庭胤，唐莊宗之內表也。性勇剽狡捷，鷹瞬隼視，喑嗚眥睚，則挺劍而不顧。少為晉陽軍校，以攻城野戰為務，暑不息嘉樹之陰，寒不處密室之下，與軍伍食不異味，居不異適，故莊宗於親族之中，獨加禮遇。莊宗、明宗朝，累歷貝、忻、密、澶、隰、相六州刺史。國初，範延光據鄴稱亂，高祖以庭胤累朝宿將，詔為魏府行營中軍使兼貝州防御史。城降賞勞，授相州節度使，尋移鎮定州。先是，契丹欲以王處直之子威為定州節度使，處直則庭胤之叔祖也。處直為養子都所篡，時威北走契丹，契丹納之。至是契丹遣使諭高祖云：「欲使王威襲先人土地，如我蕃中之制。」高祖答：「以中國將校自刺史、團練、防禦使序遷，方授旄節。請遣威至此任用，漸令升進，乃合中土舊規。」戎王深怒其見拒，使人復報曰：「爾自諸侯為天子，有何階級耶？」高祖畏其滋蔓，則厚賂力拒其命。契丹怒稍息，遂連升庭允，俾鎮中山，且欲塞其意也。少帝嗣位，改滄州節度使，累官至檢校太尉。開運元年秋，卒於位，年五十四。贈中書令。有子三人，長曰昭敏，仕至金吾將軍卒。

Wang Tingyin, whose courtesy name was Shaoji, came from a Chang'an family. His grandfather Chucun was military commissioner of Ding Prefecture. His father Ye was military commissioner of Jin Prefecture. Tingyin was a maternal cousin of Tang's Emperor Zhuangzong. Brave, fierce, cunning, and swift by nature, he had a hawk's glance and a falcon's stare. At the slightest provocation he would draw his sword without a second thought. In his youth he was a company officer at Jinyang and devoted himself to siege and field battle. In summer he would not rest in the shade of fine trees; in winter he would not stay in a heated room. He ate the same food as the ranks and lived no more comfortably than they. Among his kin Zhuangzong singled him out for special courtesy. Under Zhuangzong and Mingzong he served in turn as prefect of Bei, Xin, Mi, Chan, Xi, and Xiang. Early in the dynasty Fan Yanguang rebelled and held Ye. Gaozu, regarding Tingyin as a veteran of several reigns, appointed him Middle Army Commander of the Ye campaign headquarters and Defender of Bei Prefecture. When the city surrendered he was rewarded and made military commissioner of Xiang, then soon transferred to Ding Prefecture. Earlier the Khitan had wanted to make Wang Chuzhi's son Wei military commissioner of Ding. Chuzhi was Tingyin's great-uncle. Chuzhi had been overthrown by his adopted son Du. Wei fled north to the Khitan, who took him in. The Khitan now sent envoys to tell Gaozu: "We wish Wang Wei to inherit his forebears' lands, as is our custom." Gaozu replied: "In China officers are promoted in sequence from prefect, training commissioner, and defender before the command baton is granted. Send Wei here for employment and let him rise step by step. That accords with our old rules." The Khitan ruler was furious at the refusal and sent a reply: "You yourself rose from feudal lord to Son of Heaven—what rank or grade do you speak of?" Gaozu feared the dispute would spread, so he paid heavy bribes and firmly refused. The Khitan anger gradually cooled. Tingyin was then promoted again and again and posted to garrison Zhongshan, partly to placate them. When the Young Emperor succeeded, he was made military commissioner of Cang and eventually rose to Acting Grand Marshal. In the autumn of Kaiyun 1 he died in office at the age of fifty-four. He was posthumously made Director of the Central Secretariat. He had three sons. The eldest, Zhaomin, rose to Golden Crow General and died in office.

史匡翰，字元輔，雁門人也。父建瑭，事莊宗為先鋒將，敵人畏之，謂之「史先鋒」，累立戰功，《唐書》有傳。匡翰起家襲九府都督，歷代州遼州副使、檢校太子賓客。同光初，為嵐、憲、朔等州都遊奕使，改天雄軍牢城都指揮使，再加檢校戶部尚書，領潯州刺史。天成中，授天雄軍步軍都指揮使，歲餘，遷侍衛彰聖馬軍都指揮使。高祖有天下也，授檢校司空、懷州刺史。其妻魯國長公主，即高祖之妹也。尋轉控鶴都指揮使兼和州刺史、駙馬都尉，俄授檢校司徒、鄭州防禦使，未幾，遷義成軍節度、滑濮等州觀察處置、管內河堤等使。丁母憂，尋起復本鎮。〈（案：陶穀撰匡翰碑文云：「圃田待理，漢殿掄才，功臣旌佐國之名，出守奉專城之寄。」蓋鄭州即在義成軍管內，匡翰雖遷官，不離本鎮也。）〉

Shi Kuanghan, whose courtesy name was Yuanfu, came from Yanmen. His father Jiantang served Zhuangzong as a vanguard general. Enemies feared him and called him "Shi the Vanguard." He won repeated battle honors and has a biography in the Tang History. Kuanghan began his career by inheriting the post of Commissioner of the Nine Prefectures, then served as deputy commissioner of Dai and Liao and as Acting Guest of the Heir Apparent. Early in Tongguang he was Touring Inspector of Lan, Xian, Shuo, and other prefectures, then Commander of the Prison City of the Tianxiong Army, then Acting Minister of Revenue and prefect of Xun. During Tiancheng he was made Commander of the Tianxiong Army Foot Troops. After a year he became Commander of the Palace Guard Zhangsheng Horse Army. When Gaozu gained the realm, Kuanghan was made Acting Minister of Works and prefect of Huai. His wife was the Eldest Princess of Lu, Gaozu's younger sister. He soon became Commander of the Crane-Control Army, concurrently prefect of He and Commandant Escort, then Acting Minister of Works and Defender of Zheng. Before long he was made military commissioner of the Yicheng Army, Observation Commissioner of Hua, Pu, and other prefectures, and Commissioner of River Dikes within the circuit. He mourned his mother, then was soon recalled to his former command. (Note: Tao Gu wrote Kuanghan's tomb inscription: "The garden fields await governance; the Han hall selects talent—the meritorious minister is honored for aiding the state; going out to guard, he bears charge of a walled city." Zheng Prefecture lay within the Yicheng circuit, so though Kuanghan changed titles he never left his original command.))〉

匡翰剛毅有謀略，禦軍嚴整，接下以禮，與部曲語，未嘗稱名，歷數郡皆有政聲。〈（陶穀碑文云：「齋壇峻而金鼓嚴，麻案宣而油幢出。控梁苑之西郊，殷乎威望；撫國僑之遺俗，綽有政聲。」）〉尤好《春秋左氏傳》，每視政之暇，延學者講說，躬自執卷受業焉。時發難問，窮於隱奧，流輩或戲為「史三傳」。既自端謹，不喜人醉。幕客有關徹者，狂率酣鋋。一日使酒，怒謂匡翰曰：「明公昔刺覃懷，與徹主客隨至，事無不可，今領節鉞，數不相容。且書記趙礪，險诐之人也，脅肩諂笑，黷貨無厭，而明公待之甚厚，徹今請死。近聞張彥澤臠張式，未聞匡翰斬關徹，恐天下談者未有比類。」匡翰不怒，引滿自罰而慰勉之，其寬厚如此。天福六年，白馬河決，匡翰祭之，見一犬有角，浮於水心，甚惡之。後數月遘疾而卒於鎮，年四十。詔贈太保。

Resolute and resourceful, Kuanghan commanded troops with strict discipline and treated subordinates with courtesy. He never addressed his retainers by personal name. In every prefecture he earned a reputation for good governance. (Tao Gu's tomb inscription says: "The ritual altar rises high and drums and gongs are stern; the hemp document is proclaimed and the oiled banner goes forth. Holding the western suburbs of the Liang Garden, his authority was imposing; soothing the remnant customs of the state's expatriates, he won abundant praise for his governance."))〉 He especially loved the Zuo Commentary to the Spring and Autumn Annals. In his spare moments from governing he invited scholars to lecture and personally held the scroll as their student. He often posed difficult questions that exhausted the text's subtleties. Contemporaries jested that he was "Shi of the Three Commentaries." Upright and careful himself, he disliked drunkenness in others. Among his staff was Guan Che, wild, reckless, and constantly drunk. One day, drunk, he angrily told Kuanghan: "When you governed Tanhuai, I followed you as host and guest and nothing was refused. Now that you hold the command baton, you repeatedly show me no tolerance. And Secretary Zhao Li is a treacherous flatterer who hunches his shoulders and smiles obsequiously and is endlessly corrupt, yet you treat him generously. I, Che, now ask to die. I have heard that Zhang Yanzhe dismembered Zhang Shi, but I have not heard that you executed Guan Che. I fear the world will find no parallel for such favoritism." Kuanghan was not angry. He filled his own cup as self-punishment and comforted Che. Such was his generosity. In Tianfu 6 the Baima River burst its banks. Kuanghan offered sacrifice and saw a horned dog floating in midstream. He took the omen as a very bad sign. Several months later he fell ill and died in office at the age of forty. An edict posthumously made him Grand Tutor.

子彥容，歷宮苑使、濮單宿三州刺史。

His son Yanrong served as Palace Parks Commissioner and as prefect of Pu, Shan, and Su.

楊思權，邠州新平人也。梁乾化初為軍校，貞明二年，轉弓箭指揮使、檢校左僕射，累遷控鶴右第一軍使。唐莊宗平梁，補右廂夾馬都指揮使。天成初，遷右威衛將軍，加檢校司空。會秦王從榮鎮太原，明宗乃以馮赟為副留守、以思權為北京步軍都指揮使以佐佑之。從榮幼驕很，不親公務，明宗乃遣紀綱一人素善從榮者，與之遊處，俾從容諷導之。嘗私謂從榮曰：「河南相公恭謹好善，親禮端士，有老成之風。相公處長，更宜自勵，勿致聲聞在河南之下。」從榮不悅，因告思權曰：「朝廷人皆推從厚，共非短我，吾將廢棄矣。」思權曰：「請相公勿憂，萬一有變，但思權在處有甲兵，足以濟事。」乃勸從榮招置部曲，調弓礪矢，陰為之備。思權又謂使者曰：「朝廷教君伴相公，終日言弟賢兄弱何也？吾輩茍在，豈不能與相公為主耶？」使者懼，告馮赟，乃密奏之。明宗乃詔思權赴京師，以秦王之故，亦弗之罪也。長興末，為右羽林都指揮使，遣戍興元。閔帝嗣位，奉詔從張虔釗討鳳翔，洎至岐下，思權首倡倒戈以攻虔釗。尋領部下軍率先入城，謂唐末帝曰：「臣既赤心奉殿下，俟京城平定，與臣一鎮，勿置在防禦團練使內。」乃懷中出紙一幅，謂末帝曰：「願殿下親書臣姓名以誌之。」末帝命筆，書「可邠寧節度使」。及即位，授推誠奉國保乂功臣、靜難軍節度、邠寧慶衍等州觀察處置等使、檢校太保。清泰三年，入為右龍武軍統軍。高祖即位，除左衛上將軍，進封開國公。天福八年，以疾卒，年六十九。贈太傅。

Yang Siquan came from Xinping in Bin Prefecture. Early in Liang's Ganhuo era he was a company officer. In Zhenming 2 he became Commander of Archers and Acting Left Vice Director of the Secretariat, and was eventually promoted to Commander of the Crane-Control Army's Right First Corps. When Tang's Emperor Zhuangzong conquered Liang, he was appointed Commander of the Right Flank Horse-Groom Detachment. Early in Tiancheng he was made General of the Right Weiwei Guard and Acting Minister of Works. When Prince Qin Congrong was posted to Taiyuan, Mingzong appointed Feng Yun deputy garrison commander and made Siquan Commander of the Northern Capital Foot Army to assist him. Congrong had been arrogant and harsh since childhood and neglected public affairs. Mingzong therefore sent a law officer who was on good terms with him to keep him company and guide him with gentle admonition. He once told Congrong privately: "The Lord of Henan is respectful, cautious, and fond of virtue. He honors upright gentlemen and has the manner of an elder statesman. You are the elder brother and should strive all the more, so that your reputation does not fall below his." Congrong was displeased and told Siquan: "Everyone at court praises Conghou and finds fault with me. I am about to be cast aside." Siquan said: "Do not worry, my lord. If anything should happen, wherever I am I have armored troops enough to see the matter through." He then urged Congrong to recruit retainers, tune bows, sharpen arrows, and make secret preparations. Siquan also told the envoy: "The court ordered you to keep my lord company. Why do you speak all day of the younger brother's worth and the elder brother's weakness? As long as we live, can we not make my lord ruler?" The envoy was frightened, told Feng Yun, and secretly reported it to the throne. Mingzong then ordered Siquan to the capital. For the Prince of Qin's sake he did not punish him. Late in Changxing he was made Commander of the Right Forest of Feathers Army and sent to garrison Xingyuan. When Emperor Min succeeded, Siquan followed an edict with Zhang Qianjiao to campaign against Fengxiang. At Qi he was the first to turn his troops against Qianjiao. He soon led his troops into the city first and told the Last Emperor of Tang: "I have served Your Highness with a loyal heart. When the capital is pacified, grant me a regional command. Do not rank me among defenders and training commissioners." He then drew a sheet of paper from his breast and said: "I ask Your Highness to write my name yourself as a record." The Last Emperor took up the brush and wrote: "May be military commissioner of Bin and Ning." When he took the throne, Siquan was granted the title Meritorious Minister Sincere in Devotion Who Preserves the State, made military commissioner of the Jingnan Army and Observation Commissioner of Bin, Ning, Qing, Yan, and other prefectures, and Acting Grand Guardian. In Qingtai 3 he was made Commander-in-Chief of the Right Dragon Martial Army. When Gaozu took the throne, he was made General of the Left Guard and advanced to Duke of the State-Founding. In Tianfu 8 he died of illness at the age of sixty-nine. He was posthumously made Grand Tutor.

子勛，事皇朝，累歷軍職，遷內外馬步都軍頭，見為郢州防禦使。

His son Xun served the dynasty through many military posts, rose to Commander of All Inner and Outer Horse and Foot Armies, and at the time of writing was Defender of Ying Prefecture.

李從璋，字子良，後唐明宗皇帝之猶子也。少善騎射，從明宗歷戰河上，有平梁之功。唐同光末，魏之亂軍迎明宗為帝，從璋時引軍自常山過邢，邢人以從璋為留後。逾月，明宗即位，受詔領捧聖左廂都指揮使，時天成元年五月也。八月，改大內皇城使，加檢校司徒、彰國軍節度使，賜竭忠建策興復功臣。旋以達靼諸部入寇，從璋率麾下出討，一鼓而破，有詔褒之。三年四月，移鎮滑臺。時明宗駐蹕於大梁，從璋嘗召幕客謀曰：「車駕省方，藩臣咸有進獻，吾為臣為子，安得後焉。欲取倉廩羨余，以助其用。諸君以為何如？」內有賓介白曰：「聖上寬而難犯，行宮在近，忽致上達，則一幕俱罹其罪。」從璋怒。翌日，欲引弓射所言者，朝廷知之，改授右驍衛上將軍。長興元年十月，出鎮陜州。二年五月，遷河中節度使。三年，就加檢校太傅，賜忠勤靜理崇義功臣。四年五月，制封洋王。是歲，明宗厭代，閔帝嗣位，尋受命代潞王於岐上，會潞王舉兵入洛，事遂寢。高祖即位之元年十二月，授威勝軍節度使，降封隴西郡公。二年九月，終於任，年五十一。鄧人為之罷市，思遺愛也。詔贈太師。

Li Congzhang, whose courtesy name was Ziliang, was a nephew of Later Tang's Emperor Mingzong. In his youth he was skilled at riding and archery. He followed Mingzong through the battles along the Yellow River and helped pacify Liang. At the end of Tang's Tongguang era, Wei's mutinous troops welcomed Mingzong as emperor. Congzhang led troops from Changshan through Xing, and the people of Xing made him acting commander. A month later Mingzong took the throne and ordered him to command the Left Flank of the Sacred Guard Army. It was the fifth month of Tiancheng 1. In the eighth month he became Commissioner of the Inner Imperial City, Acting Minister of Works, and military commissioner of the Zhangguo Army, and received the title Meritorious Minister Exhausting Loyalty in Planning Restoration. Soon the Dadan tribes and others invaded. Congzhang led his men out, broke them in one assault, and received an edict of praise. In the fourth month of the third year he was transferred to Huatai. Mingzong was then sojourning at Daliang. Congzhang once summoned his staff and said: "The emperor is touring the realm and every feudal minister is making offerings. As subject and son, how can I come last? I want to take surplus grain from the granaries to help with his expenses. What do you think?" One guest-adviser said: "The emperor is lenient but not to be offended. His traveling palace is near. If this reaches him, the whole staff will suffer together." Congzhang was furious. The next day he wanted to shoot the man who had spoken. When the court learned of it, he was made General of the Right Valiant Cavalry Guard. In the tenth month of Changxing 1 he was posted to Shan Prefecture. In the fifth month of the second year he was made military commissioner of Hezhong. In the third year he received the additional title of Acting Grand Tutor and the honorific Meritorious Minister Loyal, Diligent, Calm in Governance, and Honoring Righteousness. In the fifth month of the fourth year he was enfeoffed as Prince of Yang. That year Mingzong died and Emperor Min succeeded. Congzhang was soon ordered to replace the Prince of Lu at Qi, but when the prince raised troops and entered Luoyang the matter was dropped. In the twelfth month of Gaozu's first year he was made military commissioner of the Weisheng Army and demoted to Duke of Longxi. In the ninth month of the second year he died in office at the age of fifty-one. The people of Deng closed their markets in mourning, remembering his kindness. An edict posthumously made him Grand Preceptor.

從璋性貪黷，懼明宗嚴正，自滑帥入居環衛之後，以除拜差跌，心稍悛悟，後歷數鎮，與故時幕客不足者相遇，無所憾焉。蒲、陜之日，政有善譽，改賜「忠勤靜理」之號，良以此也。及高祖在位，愈畏其法，故歿於南陽，人甚惜之，亦明宗宗室之白眉也。子重俊。

Congzhang was greedy and corrupt by nature and feared Mingzong's severity. After he entered the palace guard from his post at Hua, repeated demotions gradually sobered him. Later, when he met former staff he had slighted, he bore no resentment. At Pu and Shan his governance won a good reputation, which is why he received the revised title Loyal, Diligent, and Calm in Governance. Under Gaozu he feared the law all the more. When he died at Nanyang many regretted it. He was the outstanding man among Mingzong's clan. His son was Chongjun.

重俊，唐長興、清泰中，歷諸衛將軍。高祖即位，遙領池州刺史。少帝嗣位，授虢州刺史。性貪鄙，常為郡人所訟，下御史臺，抵贓至重，太后以猶子之故救之，乃歸罪於判官高獻，止罷其郡。未幾，復居環列，出典商州。商民素貧，重俊臨之，割剝幾盡。復禦家不法，其奴仆若履湯蹈火，忤其意者，或鞭之，或刃之。又殺從人孫漢榮，掠其妻。及受代歸洛，漢榮母燕氏獲其子婦，以訴於府尹景延廣。牙將張守英謂燕曰：「重俊前朝枝葉，今上中表，河南尹其何以理？不若邀其金帛，私自和解，策之上也。」燕從其言，授三百緡而止。後以青衣趙滿師因不勝楚毒，逾垣訴景延廣，雲重俊與妹私奸及前後不法事，延廣奏之。詔遣刑部郎中王瑜鞫之，盡得其實，並以穢跡彰露，而賜死於家。

Chongjun served through the various guard generalships during Tang's Changxing and Qingtai eras. When Gaozu took the throne, he held a titular commission as prefect of Chi. When the Young Emperor succeeded, he was made prefect of Guo. Greedy and base by nature, he was often sued by the people of his prefecture. The case went to the Censorate and the embezzlement was grave. The Empress Dowager saved him as a nephew, blame was shifted to his judge-advocate Gao Xian, and he was merely removed from office. Before long he rejoined the palace guard and was sent out to govern Shang Prefecture. The people of Shang were always poor. Under Chongjun they were exploited almost to the last penny. He also ruled his household lawlessly. His servants lived as if on boiling coals. Those who offended him were whipped or killed. He also killed his follower Sun Hanrong and seized Hanrong's wife. When he was relieved and returned to Luoyang, Hanrong's mother Lady Yan recovered her daughter-in-law and sued Prefect Jing Yanguang. Staff officer Zhang Shouying told Yan: "Chongjun is kin to the former dynasty and a cousin of the present emperor. How can the Lord of Henan judge this case? Better to demand gold and silk and settle privately. That is the best course." Yan followed his advice, accepted three hundred strings of cash, and dropped the matter. Later the maid Zhao Manshi, unable to bear the flogging, climbed the wall and appealed to Jing Yanguang, reporting Chongjun's incest with his sister and other crimes. Yanguang memorialized the throne. An edict sent Ministry of Justice Director Wang Yu to investigate. The facts were fully established and the foul deeds exposed. Chongjun was granted death at home.

李從溫，字德基，代州崞縣人，後唐明宗之猶子也。明宗微時，從溫執仆禦之役，後養為己子。及歷諸藩，署為牙校，命典廄庫。唐同光中，奏授銀青光祿大夫、檢校右散騎常侍，累加檢校司空，充北京副留守。明宗即位，授安國節度使、檢校司徒。長興元年四月，入為右武衛上將軍。是歲，復出鎮許田。明年，移北京留守，加太傅。四年正月，改太平軍節度使。五月，制封兗王。十一月，移鎮定州，兼北面行營副招討使，尋又移鎮常山。清泰中，加同平章事，改鎮彭門。高祖即位之明年，就加侍中。七年，加兼中書令。八年，再為許州節度使、開府儀同三司，封趙國公，累加食邑一萬戶，食實封一千二百戶。開運二年，改河陽三城節度使。三年二月，卒於任，年六十三。贈太師，追封隴西郡王。

Li Congwen, whose courtesy name was Deji, came from Guo County in Dai Prefecture and was a nephew of Later Tang's Emperor Mingzong. When Mingzong was still obscure, Congwen served him as a servant and groom. Later Mingzong adopted him as a son. As Mingzong passed through the various commands, he appointed Congwen a gate officer and put him in charge of the stables and storehouses. During Tang's Tongguang era he was granted Silver-Gleam Grand Master of Glorious Culture and Acting Right Regular Attendant, then Acting Minister of Works and Deputy Garrison Commander of the Northern Capital. When Mingzong took the throne, he was made military commissioner of the Anguo Army and Acting Minister of Education. In the fourth month of Changxing 1 he was made General of the Right Martial Guard. That year he was again posted to command Xutian. The next year he was made Garrison Commander of the Northern Capital and Grand Tutor. In the first month of the fourth year he was made military commissioner of the Taiping Army. In the fifth month he was enfeoffed as Prince of Yan. In the eleventh month he was transferred to Ding Prefecture as Deputy Campaign Commissioner of the Northern Frontier, and soon afterward to Changshan. During Qingtai he was made Associate Grand Councilor and transferred to Peng Gate. The year after Gaozu's accession he was made Palace Attendant. In the seventh year he was made concurrent Director of the Central Secretariat. In the eighth year he again became military commissioner of Xu, Grand Preceptor of the Palace with the Protocol of the Three Excellencies, and Duke of Zhao, with a nominal fief of ten thousand households and an actual enfeoffment of twelve hundred. In Kaiyun 2 he was made military commissioner of the Three Cities of Heyang. In the second month of the third year he died in office at the age of sixty-three. He was posthumously made Grand Preceptor and retroactively enfeoffed as Prince of Longxi.

從溫始以明宗本枝，歷居藩翰，無文武才略資濟代之用，凡臨民以貨利為急。在常山日，睹牙署池潭凡十餘頃，皆立木為岸，而以修篁環之，從溫曰：「此何用為？」悉命伐竹取木，鬻於列肆，獲其直以實用帑焉。高祖即位，從溫時在兗州，多創乘輿器服，為宗族切戒，從溫弗聽。其妻關氏，素耿介，一日厲聲於牙門云：「李從溫欲為亂，擅造天子法物。」從溫敬謝，悉命焚之，家無敗累，關氏之力也。後以多畜駝馬，縱牧近郊，民有訴其害稼者，從溫曰：「若從爾之意，則我產畜何歸乎？」其昏愚多此類也。高祖性至察，知而不問。少帝嗣位，太后教曰：「吾只有此兄，慎勿繩之。」故愈加姑息，以致年逾耳順，終於牖下，乃天幸也。

Congwen was a branch of Mingzong's house and held several regional commands, but he had no civil or military talent to serve the age. Whenever he governed the people, profit came first. At Changshan he saw the headquarters ponds, more than ten qing in all, timbered banks ringed with fine bamboo. He said: "What use is all this?" He ordered all the bamboo cut and the timber taken, sold in the markets, and the proceeds poured into his treasury. When Gaozu took the throne, Congwen was at Yan and had many imperial carriage utensils and robes made. His clan urgently warned him, but he would not listen. His wife Lady Guan was upright by nature. One day she shouted at the headquarters gate: "Li Congwen is plotting rebellion and has presumptuously made imperial ritual objects." Congwen apologized respectfully and had them all burned. The household escaped ruin thanks to Lady Guan. Later he kept many camels and horses and let them graze in the suburbs. When people complained that they were ruining the crops, Congwen said: "If I do as you wish, where will my livestock go?" His folly was mostly of this kind. Gaozu was extremely observant. He knew but did not inquire. When the Young Emperor succeeded, the Empress Dowager instructed: "I have only this elder brother. Be careful not to punish him." Hence he was indulged all the more, so that he lived past sixty and died in his own house. That was heaven's mercy.

張萬進，突厥南鄙人也。祖拽斤，父臘。萬進白皙美髯，少而無賴。事唐武皇，以騎射著名，攻城野戰，奮不顧命。嘗與梁軍對陣，持銳首短刀，躍馬獨進，及兵刃既刓，則易以大錘，左右奮擊，出沒進退，無敢當者。唐莊宗、明宗素憐其雄勇，復獎其戰功，故累典大郡。天成、長興中，歷威勝、保大兩鎮節制。高祖有天下，命為彰義軍節度使，所至不治，政由群下。洎至涇原，兇恣彌甚。每日於公庭列大鼎，烹肥寧，割胾方寸以啖賓佐，皆流淚不能大嚼，俟其他顧，則致袂中。又命巨觶行酒，訴則辱之，乃有持杯偽飲，褰領裱而納之者。既沈湎無節，唯婦言是用，其妻與幕使張光載干預公政，納錢數萬，補一豪民為捕賊將，領兵數百人入新平郡境。邠帥以其事上奏，有詔詰之，光載坐流罪，配於登州。天福四年三月，萬進疾篤，月餘，州兵將亂，乃詔副使萬庭圭委其符印。記室李升素憾淩虐，知其將亡，謂庭圭曰：「氣息將奄，不保晨暮，促移就第，豈不宜乎！」庭圭從之。萬進尋卒，遂以籃轝秘屍而出，即馳騎而奏之，詔命既至，而後發喪。其妻素很戾，謂長子彥球曰：「萬庭圭逼迫危病，驚擾而死，不手戮之，奚為生也！」庭圭聞之，不敢往吊。萬進假殯於精舍之下，至彗東轅，凡數月之間，郡民數萬，無一饋奠者。為不善者，眾必棄之，信矣夫！

Zhang Wanjin came from the southern marches of the Turks. His grandfather was Zhuaijin and his father La. Wanjin was fair-skinned with a fine beard and was a ruffian in his youth. He served Tang's Martial Emperor and was famous for horsemanship and archery. In siege and field battle he fought without regard for his life. Once facing the Liang army, he charged alone with a sharp-headed short blade. When his weapons wore down he switched to a great hammer, striking left and right as he charged in and out. None dared stand against him. Emperors Zhuangzong and Mingzong of Tang admired his fierce courage and rewarded his battle merit, so he repeatedly held major commands. During Tiancheng and Changxing he commanded the Weisheng and Baoda circuits. When Gaozu gained the realm, he was made military commissioner of the Zhangyi Army. Wherever he went he did not govern, leaving affairs to his subordinates. When he reached Jingyuan, his cruelty and license grew worse still. Every day in the public hall he set out great cauldrons of rich meat, cut it into inch cubes, and forced his guests and staff to eat. They wept and could not swallow. When he looked away, they hid the meat in their sleeves. He also ordered huge goblets for serving wine. Anyone who protested was shamed. Some pretended to drink, then lifted their collar linings and hid the meat inside. Deep in drink without restraint, he followed only his wife's counsel. She and his staff envoy Zhang Guangzai interfered in government, took tens of thousands in cash, and appointed a local magnate bandit-catcher general with several hundred troops to enter Xinping. The Bin commander reported the matter. An edict ordered an inquiry. Guangzai was convicted of exile and sent to Deng Prefecture. In the third month of Tianfu 4, Wanjin fell gravely ill. After more than a month the garrison was near mutiny, and an edict ordered Vice Commissioner Wan Tinggui to take over his seals and tallies. Recorder Li Sheng had long resented Wanjin's bullying. Knowing he would die, he told Tinggui: "His breath is failing and he may not last the day. Urge him to move to his residence. Would that not be fitting?" Tinggui did so. Wanjin soon died. They secretly carried his body out in a basket litter, sent riders at once to report it, and proclaimed mourning only after the edict arrived. His wife was harsh and violent by nature. She told her eldest son Yanqiu: "Wan Tinggui harassed a dying man and startled him to death. If I do not kill him myself, why should I live?" When Tinggui heard this, he dared not attend the mourning. Wanjin's body lay in temporary state below a monastery. For several months, among tens of thousands in the commandery, not one person brought funeral offerings. Those who do evil are surely abandoned by the multitude. How true that is!

史臣曰：延廣功扶二帝，任掌六師，亦可謂晉之勛臣矣。然而昧經國之遠圖，肆狂言於強敵，卒使邦家蕩覆，宇縣丘墟，《書》所謂「惟口起羞」者，其斯人之謂歟！彥韜既負且乘，任重才微，盜斯奪之，固其宜矣。希崇蔚有雄幹，老於塞垣，未盡其才，良亦可惜。楊、尹二將，因倒戈而仗鉞，豈義士之所為！其餘蓋以勛以親，鹹分屏翰，唯萬進之醜德，又何暇於譏焉！

The historian writes: Yanguang's merit supported two emperors and he commanded the Six Armies. He may be called a meritorious minister of Jin. Yet he lacked vision for governing the state, hurled mad words at a powerful enemy, and in the end brought the realm to ruin. Is this not what the Documents means by "from the mouth comes shame"? Yantao bore a burden he could not carry and talent unequal to his post. That a thief should seize his place was only fitting. Xichong had abundant ability and grew old on the frontier. That his talent was not fully used is truly regrettable. Generals Yang and Yin won command by turning their spears against their own side. Is that the act of righteous men? The rest were honored for merit or kinship and shared in guarding the realm. Only Wanjin's foul conduct—who has time to dwell on that!

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