1
安重榮，朔州人。 祖從義，利州刺史。 父全，勝州刺史、振武蕃漢馬步軍都指揮使。 重榮有膂力，善騎射。 唐長興中，為振武道巡邊指揮使，犯罪下獄。 時高行周為帥，欲殺之，其母赴闕申告，樞密使安重誨陰護之，張敬達之圍晉陽也，高祖聞重榮在代北，使人誘之，重榮乃召邊士，得千騎赴焉。 高祖大喜，誓以土地。 及即位，授成德軍節度使，累加至使相。 自梁、唐已來，藩侯郡牧，多以勛授，不明治道，例為左右群小惑亂，賣官鬻獄，割剝蒸民，率有貪猥之名，其實賄賂半歸於下。 惟重榮自能鉤距，凡有爭訟，多廷辯之，至於倉庫耗利，百姓科徭，悉入於己，諸司不敢窺覬。 嘗有夫婦共訟其子不孝者，重榮面加詰責，抽劍令自殺之，其父泣曰：「不忍也。」 其母詬詈，仗劍逐之。 重榮疑而問之，乃其繼母也，因叱出，自後射之，一箭而斃，聞者莫不快意。 由此境內以為強明，大得民情。 重榮起於軍伍，暴得富貴，復睹累朝自節鎮遽升大位，每謂人曰：「天子，兵強馬壯者當為之，寧有種耶！」 又以奏請過當，為權臣所否，心常憤憤，遂畜聚亡命，收市戰馬，有飛揚跋扈之志。 〈（《通鑒》：帝之遣重榮代秘瓊也，戒之曰：「瓊不受代，當別除汝一鎮，勿以力取，恐為患滋深。」 重榮由是以帝為怯，謂人曰：「秘瓊匹夫耳，天子尚畏之，況我以將相之重、士民之眾乎！」）〉 嘗因暴怒殺部校賈章，以謀叛聞。 章有女一人，時欲舍之，女曰：「我家三十口，繼經兵亂，死者二十八口，今父就刑，存此身何為？」 再三請死，亦殺之。 鎮人由是惡重榮之酷，而嘉賈女之烈焉。
An Chongrong was a native of Shuozhou. His grandfather Congyi had served as prefect of Lizhou. His father Quan had been prefect of Shengzhou and commander of all Han and tribal horse and foot forces at Zhenwu. Chongrong was powerfully built and excelled at riding and archery. During the Tang Changxing period he served as frontier patrol commander on the Zhenwu circuit, but after committing an offense he was thrown into prison. Gao Xingzhou was then in command and meant to execute him, but Chongrong's mother appealed at court, and the Commissioner of Military Affairs An Chonghui shielded him in secret. When Zhang Jingda besieged Jinyang, Gaozu learned that Chongrong was in northern Dai and sent envoys to recruit him; Chongrong rallied border soldiers and came with a thousand horsemen. Gaozu was overjoyed and swore to reward him with land. After his enthronement he made Chongrong military governor of Chengde and eventually elevated him to commissioner and chief minister. Since the Liang and Tang dynasties, most frontier lords and prefects had won their posts through merit rather than learning how to govern; they were typically led astray by petty hangers-on, sold offices and verdicts, and squeezed the people. Nearly all bore a name for greed, though in truth half the bribes went to their underlings. Chongrong alone kept his own accounts sharp: he usually heard disputes in open court, and warehouse profits, popular levies, and corvée labor all flowed into his coffers while no subordinate office dared even look askance. Once a couple brought suit together against their son for unfilial conduct. Chongrong rebuked the youth in person, drew his sword, and told him to take his own life. The father wept and said, "I cannot bring myself to do it." His mother cursed him and, brandishing the sword, chased him to do it. Chongrong questioned them in suspicion and learned she was the stepmother. He drove her out, then shot her from behind with a single arrow and killed her on the spot. Everyone who heard of it felt vindicated. Thereafter the people within his jurisdiction took him for stern and discerning, and he won broad popular approval. Chongrong had come up through the army and suddenly acquired wealth and rank. He had also watched dynasty after dynasty vault from regional command straight to the throne, and he would say to people, "Whoever has the strongest troops and horses ought to be Son of Heaven—does the office run in families?" His petitions had also grown excessive and were rejected by the power-holders at court, so resentment festered in him. He began stockpiling outlaws, buying war-horses, and nursing an arrogant, rebellious ambition. (Zizhi Tongjian: When the emperor dispatched Chongrong to replace Mi Qiong, he cautioned him: "If Qiong refuses to step down, we will appoint you to another circuit instead. Do not seize it by force, or the trouble will only deepen." From this Chongrong concluded the emperor was timid and said to others, "Mi Qiong is only a commoner, yet the Son of Heaven still fears him—what of me, with the rank of general and minister and armies and people at my back?")〉 Once, in a violent rage, he executed his subordinate officer Jia Zhang on a charge of plotting rebellion. Zhang had a daughter. When he meant to spare her, she said, "Our family numbers thirty souls; war after war has left twenty-eight dead. Now my father is to die—why should I go on living?" She begged again and again to die, and he killed her too. The garrison populace thereafter detested Chongrong's cruelty while honoring Jia's daughter for her fierce loyalty.
2
天福中，朝廷姑息契丹，務安邊塞，重榮每見蕃使，必以箕踞慢罵。 會有美棱數十騎由其境內，交言不遜，因盡殺之，契丹主大怒，責讓朝廷。 朝廷隱忍，未即加罪，重榮乃密構吐渾等諸族，以為援助，上表論之。 其略曰：
During the Tianfu reign the court indulged the Khitan and sought only to keep the frontier quiet. Whenever Chongrong met Khitan envoys he would sit with legs sprawled and revile them. Once several dozen Meiling horsemen passed through his territory and spoke insolently; he had them all killed. The Khitan ruler was enraged and laid blame on the court. The court swallowed the insult and did not punish him at once. Chongrong then secretly enlisted the Tuguhun and other tribes as allies and memorialized the throne on the matter. The gist of the memorial ran as follows:
3
臣昨據熟吐渾節度使白承福、赫連公德等，各領本族三萬餘帳，自應州地界奔歸王化。 續準生吐渾並渾葜兩突厥三部落，南北將沙陀、安慶、九府等，各領部族老小，並牛羊、車帳、甲馬，七八路慕化歸奔，俱至五臺及當府地界已來安泊。 累據告勞，具說被契丹殘害，平取生口，率略羊馬，淩害至甚。 又自今年二月後來，須令點檢強壯，置辦人馬衣甲，告報上秋向南行營，諸蕃部等實恐上天不祐，殺敗後隨例不存家族，所以預先歸順，兼隨府族，各量點檢強壯人馬約十萬眾。 又準沿河党項及山前、山後、逸利、越利諸族部落等首領，並差人各將契丹所授官告、職牒、旗號來送納，例皆號泣告勞，稱被契丹淩虐，憤惋不已，情願點集甲馬，會合殺戮。 續又朔州節度副使趙崇與本城將校殺偽節度使劉山，尋已安撫軍城，乞歸朝廷。 臣相次具奏聞。 昨奉宣頭及累傳聖旨，令臣凡有往復契丹，更須承奉，當候彼生頭角，不欲自起釁端，貴守初終，不愆信誓。 仰認睿旨，深惟匿瑕，其如天道人心，至務勝殘去虐，須知機不可失，時不再來。 竊以諸蕃不招呼而自至，朔郡不攻伐以自歸，蓋系人情，盡由天意。 更念諸陷蕃節度使等，本自勛勞，早居富貴，沒身邊塞，遭酷虐以異常，企足朝廷，冀傾輸而不已，如聞傳檄，盡願倒戈。 如臣者雖是愚蒙，粗知可否，不思忌諱，罄寫丹衷，細具敷陳，冀裨萬一。
Your servant has lately received Bai Chengfu, Helian Gede, and other settled Tuguhun military governors, each leading more than thirty thousand tents of their tribes, who fled from the Yingzhou frontier to submit to the throne. After them came the raw Tuguhun together with the Hunqie and two Turkic tribes, and the northern and southern commanders of the Shatuo, Anqing, Jiufu, and others, each bringing their people, young and old, with cattle, sheep, wagons, tents, armor, and horses. Seven or eight columns in all have come to submit; all have reached Wutai and the borders of this prefecture and are now encamped. They have repeatedly reported their hardships, describing in full how the Khitan have brutalized them—seizing people at will, driving off flocks and herds, and oppressing them beyond measure. Since the second month of this year they have also been ordered to muster the able-bodied and equip men, horses, clothing, and armor, with word that they will march south in the autumn campaign. The tribes truly fear Heaven will not favor them and that, once defeated, their families will be wiped out as usual. They have therefore submitted in advance; together with the tribes attached to this prefecture, they have mustered roughly one hundred thousand able-bodied men and horses. The chieftains of the Tangut along the river and of the tribes of the fore-mountains, rear-mountains, Yili, Yueli, and others have each sent envoys bearing the commissions, patents, and banners the Khitan gave them to hand them over. All weep as they report their hardships, saying the Khitan have abused them beyond endurance; they are eager to muster armor and horses and join in the slaughter. Moreover, Zhao Chong, deputy military governor of Shuozhou, and the city's officers have killed the puppet military governor Liu Shan, pacified the garrison city, and beg to return to the court. Your servant has reported these matters in successive memorials. Yesterday I received the imperial rescript and repeated sacred instructions that in all dealings with the Khitan I must continue to defer to them, wait until they show their mettle, not provoke trouble myself, and above all keep faith from start to finish without breaking our sworn pledges. I bow to acknowledge the sage intent and ponder deeply the need to overlook faults, yet Heaven's way and men's hearts alike demand that cruelty be overcome and oppression removed. Opportunity cannot be missed, and time will not return. I venture to think that the tribes came without being summoned and Shuozhou returned without being attacked—surely this reflects the people's will and Heaven's intent alike. I further recall the military governors trapped under Khitan rule—men who earned their rank by merit, rose early to wealth, and spent their lives on the frontier, only to suffer cruelty beyond measure. They strain toward the court and long to pour out their loyalty without end; if they hear a proclamation, all will turn their blades. Though your servant is dull, I roughly know what can and cannot be done. Without regard for taboo I lay bare my loyal heart in full detail, hoping to be of some small use.
4
其表數千言，大抵指斥高祖稱臣奉表，罄中國珍異，貢獻契丹，淩虐漢人，竟無厭足。 又以此意為書，遺諸朝貴及藩鎮諸侯。 高祖憂其變也，遂幸鄴都以詔諭之，凡有十焉。 其略曰：「爾身為大臣，家有老母，忿不思難，棄君與親。 吾因契丹而興基業，爾因吾而致富貴，吾不敢忘，爾可忘耶！ 且前代和親，只為安邊，今吾以天下臣之，爾欲以一鎮抗之，大小不等，無自辱焉。」 重榮愈恣縱不悛，雖有此奏，亦密令人與契丹幽州帥劉晞結托。 蓋重榮有內顧之心，契丹幸我多事，復欲侵吞中國，契丹之怒重榮，亦非本誌也。 時重榮嘗與北來蕃使並轡而行，指飛鳥射之，應弦而落，觀者萬眾，無不快抃，蕃使因輟所乘馬以慶之，由是名振北方，自謂天下可以一箭而定也。 又重榮素與襄州安從進連結，及聞從進將議起兵，而奸謀乃決。
The memorial ran to several thousand characters and largely denounced Gaozu for submitting as a vassal, draining China's rare treasures as tribute to the Khitan, and abusing the Han people without end. He also set out this argument in letters sent to court nobles and regional lords alike. Gaozu feared rebellion and went in person to Yedu to admonish him by edict in ten points. The gist ran: "You are a great minister with an aged mother at home, yet in anger you refuse to weigh the cost and abandon both your sovereign and your kin. I built my foundation through the Khitan; you grew rich and noble through me. I dare not forget that—can you? Former dynasties made marriage alliances only to secure the frontier. Now I have made the whole realm their vassal, while you would resist them with a single circuit—the scales do not match. Do not bring shame on yourself." Chongrong grew ever more defiant and unrepentant. Despite the memorial, he also secretly sent men to ally with Liu Xi, the Khitan commander at Youzhou. Chongrong had his own domestic concerns; the Khitan welcomed our troubles and again meant to swallow China. Their anger at Chongrong was not their original aim either. Once Chongrong rode alongside envoys from the north, pointed at birds in flight, and brought them down at the twang of his bow. Tens of thousands of spectators cheered. The envoys gave up their mounts to congratulate him. His fame thereafter shook the north, and he told himself the realm could be settled with a single arrow. Chongrong had long been allied with An Congjin of Xiangzhou. When he heard Congjin was about to raise troops, his treacherous plot was finally set.
5
天福六年冬，大集境內饑民，眾至數萬，揚旌向闕，聲言入覲。 朝廷遣杜重威帥師禦之，遇於宗城。 軍才成列，有賊將趙彥之臨陣卷旗來奔。 重榮方戰，聞彥之背己，大恐，退於輜重中，王師因而擊之，一鼓而潰。 重榮與十餘騎北走，其下部眾，屬嚴冬寒冽，殺戮及凍死者二萬餘人。 重榮至鎮，取牛馬革旋為甲，使郡人分守夾城以待王師。 〈（《宋史·解暉傳》：安重榮反鎮州，因舉兵向闕，至宗城，晉師逆戰，大破之。 暉募軍中壯士百餘人，夜搗賊壘，殺獲甚眾。 暉頻中流矢，而督戰自若，顏色不撓，以功遷列校。）〉 杜重威至，有部將自西郭水門引官軍入焉，殺守陴百姓萬餘人，重威尋害導者，自收其功。 重榮擁吐渾數百，匿於牙城，重威使人襲而得之，斬首以進。 高祖禦樓閱其俘馘，宣露布訖，遣漆其頭顱，函送契丹。 〈（《五代史補》：安重榮出鎮，常懷不軌之計久矣，但未發。 居無何，廄中產朱鬃白馬，黑鴉生五色雛，以為鳳，乃欣然謂天命在己，遂舉兵反。 指揮令取宗嶺路以向闕。 時父老聞之，往往竊議曰：「事不諧矣，且王姓安氏，曰鞍得背而穩，何不取路貝州？ 若由宗嶺，是鞍及於鬃，得無危乎！」 未幾，與王師先鋒遇，一戰而敗。）〉
In the winter of the sixth Tianfu year he gathered the hungry within his borders until they numbered tens of thousands, raised banners toward the capital, and claimed he was coming to court. The court sent Du Chongwei at the head of an army to meet him, and they clashed at Zongcheng. The armies had barely formed when the rebel general Zhao Yanzhi furled his banner on the field and defected. Chongrong was fighting when he learned Yanzhi had turned on him. Terrified, he fell back among the baggage train. The imperial army struck at once and routed him in a single assault. Chongrong fled north with a dozen riders. Of his followers, in the depths of bitter winter, more than twenty thousand were slain or froze to death. Chongrong returned to his prefecture, stripped hides from cattle and horses to improvise armor, and had the people man the inner and outer walls in shifts to await the imperial army. (Song History, biography of Jie Hui: When An Chongrong rebelled at Zhenzhou and marched on the capital, the Jin army met him at Zongcheng and broke him utterly.) Hui recruited more than a hundred stalwarts from the army and raided the rebel camp by night, killing and capturing a great many. Though struck by arrows again and again, Hui directed the fight as calmly as ever, his face unshaken, and was promoted to company commander for his merit.)〉 When Du Chongwei arrived, a subordinate led the imperial army in through the West Guo water gate, killing more than ten thousand townspeople who defended the walls. Chongwei soon killed the guide and claimed the credit himself. Chongrong had several hundred Tuguhun with him hidden in the headquarters city. Chongwei sent men to seize him, beheaded him, and presented the head. Gaozu mounted the tower to review the captive and the severed heads. After the victory bulletin was proclaimed, he had the skull lacquered and sent it in a box to the Khitan. (Supplement to the History of the Five Dynasties: After An Chongrong took up his command, he had long nursed rebellious designs but had not yet acted.) Before long his stables produced a white horse with a red mane, and a black crow hatched five-colored chicks. Taking this for a phoenix omen, he joyfully declared Heaven's mandate was his and raised troops in rebellion. He ordered his army to take the Zongling road toward the capital. When the elders heard, they whispered among themselves: "This will not succeed. The king's surname is An, and they say a saddle is steady when it has a back—why not take the road through Beizhou? If he goes by Zongling, the saddle reaches the mane—is that not perilous?" Before long he met the imperial vanguard and was broken in a single battle.)〉
6
有從事張式者，以宗人之分，受其知遇。 時彥澤有子為內職，素不葉父意，數行笞撻，懼其楚毒，逃竄外地，齊州捕送到闕，敕旨釋罪，放歸父所。 彥澤上章，請行朝典，式以有傷名教，屢諫止之。 彥澤怒，引弓欲射之，式僅而獲免。 尋令人逐式出衙。 式自為賓從，彥澤委以庶務，左右群小惡之久矣，因此讒構，互來迫脅，云：「書記若不便出，斷定必遭屠害。」 式乃告病尋醫，攜其妻子將奔衍州。 彥澤遣指揮使李興領二十騎追之，戒曰：「張式如不從命，即斬取頭來。」 式懇告刺史，遂差人援送到汾州。 節度使李周驛騎以聞，朝廷以姑息彥澤之故，有敕流式於商州。 彥澤遣行軍司馬鄭元昭詣闕論請，面奏云：「彥澤若不得張式，恐致不測。」 高祖不得已而從之。 既至，決口割心，斷手足而死之。 式父鐸詣闕訴冤，朝廷命王周代之。 周至任，奏彥澤在郡惡跡二十六條，逃散五千餘戶。 彥澤既赴闕，刑法官李濤等上章請理其罪，高祖下制，止令削奪一階一爵而已，時以為失刑。
There was an aide named Zhang Shi who, as a kinsman, had won his favor and trust. Yanze had a son in inner palace service who never pleased him and was repeatedly flogged. Fearing the beatings, the youth fled. Qizhou captured him and sent him to court, where an imperial order pardoned him and returned him to his father. Yanze memorialized the throne asking for the full court punishment. Shi, saying it would violate ritual propriety, repeatedly urged him to desist. Yanze flew into a rage, drew his bow to shoot him, and Shi barely escaped with his life. Soon he sent men to drive Shi out of headquarters. Shi had long served as a client and Yanze entrusted routine affairs to him. The petty hangers-on had hated him for years and now slandered him, pressing him in turn: "If the secretary does not leave at once, he will surely be killed." Shi then pleaded illness to seek treatment, gathered his wife and children, and prepared to flee to Yanzhou. Yanze sent Commander Li Xing with twenty horsemen in pursuit and warned him: "If Zhang Shi does not obey, cut off his head and bring it back." Shi earnestly appealed to the prefect, who sent men to escort him to Fenzhou. Military Governor Li Zhou reported by courier. Because the court indulged Yanze, an edict exiled Shi to Shangzhou. Yanze sent his campaigning marshal Zheng Yuanzhao to court to press the matter. He memorialized in person: "If Yanze does not get Zhang Shi, I fear unforeseen consequences." Gaozu had no choice but to comply. When Shi arrived, he cut open his mouth and heart, severed his limbs, and killed him. Shi's father Duo appealed at court for justice, and the court ordered Wang Zhou to replace Yanze. When Zhou took office, he memorialized twenty-six counts of Yanze's crimes in the prefecture and reported that more than five thousand households had fled. After Yanze came to court, the penal officials Li Tao and others memorialized asking that his crimes be tried. Gaozu issued an edict stripping only one rank and one title—a judgment widely regarded as a failure of justice.
7
少帝即位，桑維翰復舉之，尋出鎮安陽。 既至，折節於士大夫，境內稱理，旋命領軍北屯恒、定。 時易州地孤，漕運不繼，制令邢、魏、相、衛飛免以輸之，百姓荷擔累累於路，彥澤每援之以行，見羸困者，使其部眾代而助之。 洎至北邊，不令百姓深入，即遣騎士以馬負糧而去，往來既速，且無邀奪之患，聞者嘉之。 陽城之戰，彥澤之功出於諸將之右，其後與敵接戰，頻獻捷於闕下，咸謂其感高祖不殺之恩，補昔年之過也。 開運三年冬，契丹既南牧，杜重威兵次瀛州。 彥澤為契丹所啖，密已變矣。 乃通款於契丹，請為前導，因促騎說重威，引軍沿滹水西援常山，既而與重威通謀。 及王師降於中渡，契丹主遣彥澤統二千騎趨京師，以制少帝，且示公卿兆民以存撫之意。 彥澤以是歲十二月十六日夜，自封丘門斬關而入，以兵圜宮城。 翌日，遷帝於開封府舍，凡內帑奇貨，悉輦歸私邸，仍縱軍大掠，兩日方止。 〈（《東都事略·李處耘傳》云：居京師，遇張彥澤之暴，處耘善射，獨當裏門，殺數十人，里中賴之。）〉 時桑維翰為開封尹，彥澤召至麾下，待之不以禮。 維翰責曰：「去年拔公於罪人之中，復領大鎮，授以兵權，何負恩一至此耶？」 彥澤無以對。 是夜殺維翰，盡取其家財。
When Emperor Shaodi took the throne, Sang Weihan recommended him again, and he was soon sent out to command Anyang. Once there he humbled himself before scholar-officials, and the prefecture was said to be well governed. Soon he was ordered to lead troops north to garrison Heng and Ding. Yizhou was then isolated and grain transport had broken down. The court ordered Xing, Wei, Xiang, and Wei to supply it by forced transport. The people bore loads in endless lines along the roads. Yanze often helped them along, and when he saw the weak and exhausted he had his troops carry the loads for them. When he reached the northern border he kept the people from going deep into hostile territory and sent horsemen to carry grain on horseback instead. Transport was swift and free of robbery, and those who heard of it praised him. At the battle of Yangcheng, Yanze's merit stood above the other generals. Thereafter, in repeated engagements with the enemy, he reported victory after victory to court. All said he was repaying Gaozu's grace in sparing his life and making amends for his past crimes. In the winter of the third Kaiyun year the Khitan drove south, and Du Chongwei's army halted at Yingzhou. Yanze had been won over by the Khitan and had already turned in secret. He opened relations with the Khitan and offered to serve as guide, then sent swift riders to persuade Chongwei to march west along the Hutuo to relieve Changshan. Soon he was in conspiracy with Chongwei. When the imperial army surrendered at Zhongdu, the Khitan ruler sent Yanze at the head of two thousand horsemen to rush the capital, control Emperor Shaodi, and show court and people alike an intent to preserve and comfort them. On the night of the sixteenth day of the twelfth month that year, Yanze broke through the Fengqiu gate and entered, surrounding the palace with troops. The next day he moved the emperor to the Kaifeng prefectural quarters, had all the rare goods of the inner treasury carted to his private residence, and let his troops plunder freely for two days before it stopped. (Eastern Capital Miscellany, biography of Li Chuyun: While in the capital he met Zhang Yanze's rampage. Chuyun was skilled at archery, held the lane gate alone, killed dozens of men, and the neighborhood was saved by him.)〉 Sang Weihan was then prefect of Kaifeng. Yanze summoned him to his camp and treated him without courtesy. Weihan reproached him: "Last year I pulled you out of disgrace, restored you to a great command, and gave you military authority—how can your ingratitude have come to this?" Yanze had no reply. That night he killed Weihan and seized all his household wealth.
8
彥澤自謂有功於契丹，晝夜以酒樂自娛。 當在京巡檢之時，出入騎從常數百人，旗幟之上題曰「赤心為主」，觀者無不竊笑。 又所居第，財貨山積。 楚國夫人丁氏，即少帝弟曹州節度使延煦之母也，有容色，彥澤使人取之，太后遲回未與，彥澤立遣人載之而去，其負國欺君也如是。 數日之內，恣行殺害，或軍士擒獲罪人至前，彥澤不問所犯，但瞋目出一手豎三指而已，軍士承其意，即出外斷其腰領焉。 彥澤與偽閣門使高勛不協，因乘醉至其門，害其仲父、季弟，暴屍於門外。 及契丹帳泊於北郊，勛往訴其冤，時契丹主已怒彥澤剽掠京城，遂令鎖之。 仍以彥澤罪惡宣示百官及京城士庶，且云：「彥澤之罪，合誅與否？」 百官連狀具言罪在不赦，市肆百姓亦爭投狀，疏彥澤之罪。 戎王知其眾怒，遂令棄市，仍令高勛監決，斷腕出鎖，然後刑之。 勛使人剖其心以祭死者，市人爭其肉而食之。 〈（《五代史補》：李濤常憤張彥澤殺邠州幕吏張式而取其妻，濤率同列上疏，請誅彥澤以謝西土，高祖方姑息武夫，竟不從。 未幾，契丹南侵，至中渡橋，彥澤首降。 戎王喜，命以本軍統蕃部控弦之士，先入京師。 彥澤自以功不世出，乃挾宿憾殺開封尹桑維翰。 濤聞之，謂親知曰：「吾曾上疏請誅彥澤，今國家失守，彥澤所為如此，吾之首領容可保乎！ 然無可奈何，誰能伏藏溝瀆而取辱耶！」 於是自寫門狀，求見彥澤。 其狀云：「上疏請殺太尉人李濤，謹隨狀納命。」 彥澤覽之，欣然降階迎之。 然濤猶未安，復曰：「太尉果然相恕乎？」 彥澤曰：「覽公門狀，見『納命』二字，使人怒氣頓息，又何憂哉！」 濤素滑稽，知其必免，又戲為伶人詞曰：「太尉既相恕，何不將壓驚絹來。」 彥澤大笑，卒善待之。）〉
Yanze believed he had rendered great service to the Khitan and spent day and night in wine and revelry. While serving as capital patrol inspector, he went about with several hundred horsemen in attendance. His banners bore the words "Loyal heart for the ruler," and every onlooker snickered behind his sleeve. His residence, too, was heaped with wealth like a mountain. Lady Ding of Chu, mother of Shaodi's brother Yanxu, military governor of Caozhou, was a woman of beauty. Yanze sent men to take her. The empress dowager hesitated to hand her over, so Yanze immediately had her carried off. Such was his treason against the state and deceit toward his sovereign. Within days he killed at will. When soldiers brought a prisoner before him, Yanze never asked the crime but only glared and held up three fingers on one hand. The soldiers understood and went out to cut the man in two at the waist. Yanze was at odds with the false gate commissioner Gao Xun. Drunk, he came to Xun's gate, killed his second uncle and younger brother, and left their corpses exposed outside. When the Khitan camp was pitched in the northern suburbs, Xun went to plead his wrong. The Khitan ruler was already enraged at Yanze's plunder of the capital and ordered him shackled. He also displayed Yanze's crimes before officials and people of the capital, asking, "Do Yanze's crimes merit execution?" Officials submitted linked petitions declaring his crimes unpardonable, and townspeople in the markets vied to submit petitions listing his crimes. Seeing the people's wrath, the Khitan ruler ordered him executed in the marketplace and had Gao Xun supervise. His wrist was cut to remove the shackles, and only then was he executed. Xun had his heart cut out to sacrifice to the dead. People in the market fought over his flesh and ate it. (Supplement to the History of the Five Dynasties: Li Tao often resented that Zhang Yanze had killed the Binzhou staff officer Zhang Shi and taken his wife. Tao led his colleagues in memorializing for Yanze's execution to appease the western command, but Gaozu was indulging military men and would not comply.) Before long the Khitan invaded south as far as Zhongdu Bridge, and Yanze was the first to surrender. The Khitan ruler was pleased and ordered him to lead the tribal archers of his own army into the capital first. Yanze believed his merit unmatched and, nursing an old grudge, killed Sang Weihan, prefect of Kaifeng. When Tao heard this he told his intimates: "I once memorialized asking that Yanze be executed. Now the state has fallen and Yanze acts like this—can my head still be safe? Yet nothing could be done. Who would hide in a ditch and invite disgrace?" He then wrote his own gate petition and asked to see Yanze. The petition read: "Li Tao, who memorialized requesting the Grand Preceptor's execution, hereby submits his life with this petition." Yanze read it and gladly came down the steps to welcome him. Yet Tao was still uneasy and asked again, "Has the Grand Preceptor truly forgiven me?" Yanze said, "Reading your gate petition and seeing the words 'submit life,' my anger vanished at once—what is there to worry about?" Tao was naturally witty. Knowing he would escape, he jested in an actor's lines: "Since the Grand Preceptor has forgiven me, why not bring the silk to calm my fright?" Yanze laughed loudly and in the end treated him well.)〉
9
趙德鈞，本名行實，幽州人也。 少以騎射事滄州連帥劉守文，守文為弟守光所害，遂事守光，署為幽州軍校。 及唐莊宗伐幽州，德鈞知其必敗，乃遁歸莊宗。 莊宗善待之，賜姓，名曰紹斌，累歷郡守，從平梁，遷滄州節度使。 同光三年，移鎮幽州。 明宗即位，遂歸本姓，始改名德鈞。 其子延壽尚明宗女興平公主，故德鈞尤承倚重。 天成中，定州王都反，契丹遣惕隱領精騎五千來援都，至唐河，為招討使王晏球所敗。 會霖雨相繼，所在泥淖，敗兵北走，人馬饑疲，德鈞於要路邀之，盡獲餘眾，擒特哩袞已下首領數十人，獻於京師。 明年，王都平，加兼侍中，頃之，加東北面招討使。
Zhao Dejun, whose original name was Xingshi, was a native of Youzhou. In youth he served the Cangzhou military governor Liu Shouwen as a horseman and archer. When Shouwen was killed by his younger brother Shouguang, he entered Shouguang's service and was made an army officer at Youzhou. When Tang Emperor Zhuangzong attacked Youzhou, Dejun knew Shouguang would fail and fled to Zhuangzong's side. Zhuangzong treated him well, bestowed the imperial surname, and named him Shaobin. He served in successive prefectures, followed the pacification of Liang, and was made military governor of Cangzhou. In the third Tongguang year he was transferred to command Youzhou. When Emperor Mingzong took the throne he resumed his original surname and first took the name Dejun. His son Yanshou married Mingzong's daughter Princess Xingping, so Dejun enjoyed exceptional favor and trust. During the Tiancheng era Wang Du of Dingzhou rebelled. The Khitan sent a tiyin with five thousand elite horsemen to aid him, but at Tanghe they were defeated by Pacification Commissioner Wang Yanqiu. Rain fell in succession and the roads turned to mire. The defeated army fled north, men and horses starving and spent. Dejun intercepted them at a strategic pass, captured all who remained, and seized dozens of leaders including Teligun, whom he sent to the capital. The next year Wang Du was pacified. Dejun was made Vice Grand Counselor and soon after Northeast Frontier Pacification Commissioner.
10
德鈞奏發河北數鎮丁夫，開王馬口至遊口，以通水運凡二百里。 又於閻溝築壘，以戍兵守之，因名良鄉縣，以備鈔寇。 又於幽州東築三河城，北接薊州，頗為形勝之要，部民由是稍得樵牧。 德鈞鎮幽州凡十餘年，甚有善政，累官至檢校太師、兼中書令，封北平王。 〈（《遼史》：天贊六年，遣人以詔賜盧龍軍節度使趙德鈞。 七年，趙德鈞遣人進時果。 蓋德鈞久在邊境，嘗與契丹通好也。）〉 清泰三年夏，晉高祖起義於晉陽。 九月，契丹敗張敬達之軍於太原城下，唐末帝詔德鈞以本軍由飛狐路出賊後邀之。 時德鈞子延壽為樞密使，唐末帝命帥軍屯上黨，德鈞乃以所部銀鞍契丹直三千騎至鎮州，率節度使華溫琪同赴征行，自吳兒峪路趨昭義，與延壽會於西唐店。 十一月，以德鈞為諸道行營都統，以延壽為太原南面招討使，遣端明殿學士呂琦賫賜官告，兼令犒軍。 琦從容言天子委任之意，德鈞曰：「既以兵相委，焉敢惜死。」 時範延光領兵二萬軍於遼州，德鈞欲並其軍，奏請與延光會合。 唐末帝諭延光，疑其奸謀，不從。 德鈞、延壽自潞州引軍至團柏谷，德鈞累奏乞授延壽鎮州節度，末帝不悅，謂左右曰：「趙德鈞父子堅要鎮州，茍能逐退蕃戎，要代予位，亦所甘心； 若玩寇要君，但恐犬兔俱斃。」 朝廷繼馳書詔，促令進軍，德鈞持疑不果，乃遣使於契丹，厚賫金幣，求立以為帝，仍許晉祖長鎮太原，契丹主不之許。
Dejun memorialized to mobilize laborers from several Hebei commands and open a channel from Wangmakou to Youkou, linking water transport for two hundred li. He also built a fort at Yancou and garrisoned it, naming the place Liangxiang County to guard against raiders. He also built Sanhe Fort east of Youzhou, linking north to Jizhou at a point of great strategic value, so that the people of his command could again gather fuelwood and pasture their herds. Dejun governed Youzhou for more than ten years with notable good administration, rose to Honorary Grand Preceptor and concurrent Grand Counselor, and was enfeoffed as Prince of Beiping. (Liao History: In the sixth Tianzan year an envoy was sent with an edict for Zhao Dejun, military governor of the Lulong army.) In the seventh year Zhao Dejun sent tribute of seasonal fruits. Dejun had long been on the frontier and had once maintained friendly relations with the Khitan.)〉 In the summer of the third Qingtai year, Jin Emperor Gaozu rose in revolt at Jinyang. In the ninth month the Khitan defeated Zhang Jingda's army below Taiyuan. The last Tang emperor ordered Dejun to lead his army by the Feihu route and strike the rebels from behind. Dejun's son Yanshou was then Commissioner of Military Affairs. The last Tang emperor ordered him to garrison Shangdang. Dejun led three thousand Silver Saddle Khitan guards to Zhenzhou, took Military Governor Hua Wenqi with him on campaign, advanced by the Wu'eryu route toward Zhaoyi, and joined Yanshou at Xitangdian. In the eleventh month Dejun was made overall commander of all campaign armies and Yanshou Southern Pacification Commissioner against Taiyuan. Hanlin academician Lü Qi was sent with commissions and orders to reward the troops. Qi calmly conveyed the Son of Heaven's trust. Dejun said, "Since troops have been entrusted to me, how dare I spare my life?" Fan Yanguang then commanded twenty thousand troops at Liaozhou. Dejun wished to absorb his force and memorialized to join with him. The last Tang emperor instructed Yanguang, suspecting treachery, and Yanguang refused. Dejun and Yanshou led their army from Luzhou to Tuanbai Valley. Dejun repeatedly memorialized asking that Yanshou be made military governor of Zhenzhou. The last emperor was displeased and told his attendants: "The Zhao Dejun father and son insist on Zhenzhou. If they can drive off the barbarians, I would gladly yield my throne to them; but if they toy with the enemy and coerce their sovereign, I fear both dog and hare will die together." The court sent urgent edicts pressing them to advance, but Dejun hesitated and did not move. He then sent envoys to the Khitan with rich gifts of gold and coin, asking to be made emperor and promising that the Jin founder could long govern Taiyuan. The Khitan ruler refused.
11
及楊光遠以晉安寨降於契丹，德鈞父子自團柏谷南走潞州，一行兵士，投戈棄甲，自相騰踐，死者萬計。 時德鈞有愛將時賽，率輕騎東還漁陽，其部曲尚千餘人，與散亡之卒俱集於潞州。 是日，潞州節度使高行周亦自北還，及至府門，見德鈞父子在城上，行周謂曰：「某與大王鄉人，宜以忠言相告，城中無鬥粟可食，請大王速迎車駕，自圖安計，無取後悔焉。」 德鈞遂與延壽出降契丹。 高祖至，德鈞父子迎謁於馬前，高祖不禮之。 時契丹主問德鈞曰：「汝在幽州日，所置銀鞍契丹直何在？」 德鈞指示之，契丹盡殺於潞之西郊，遂鎖德鈞父子入蕃。 及見國母述律氏，盡以一行財寶及幽州田宅籍而獻之，國母謂之曰：「汝父子自覓天子何耶？」 德鈞俯首不能對。 〈（《通鑒》：太后問曰：「汝近者何為在太原？」 德鈞曰：「奉唐主之命。」 太后曰：「汝從吾兒求為天子，何妄語耶！」 又自指其心曰：「此不可欺也。」 又曰：「吾兒將行，吾戒之云：『趙大王若引兵北向榆關，亟須引歸，太原不可救也。』 汝欲為天子，何不先擊退吾兒，徐圖亦未晚。 汝為人臣，既負其主，不能擊敵，又欲乘亂邀利，所為如此，何面目復求生乎？」 德鈞俯首不能對。）〉 又問：「田宅何在？」 曰：「俱在幽州。」 國母曰：「屬我矣，又何獻也？」 至天福二年夏，德鈞卒於契丹。 〈（《契丹國志》：德鈞郁郁不多食，逾年而死。 德鈞既卒，國主釋延壽而用之。）〉
When Yang Guangyuan surrendered Jin'an Stockade to the Khitan, Dejun and his son fled south from Tuanbai Valley to Luzhou. The soldiers cast away weapons and armor, trampled one another in flight, and died by the tens of thousands. Dejun's favorite general Shi Sai led light cavalry east back to Yuyang with more than a thousand followers still under him. Together with scattered fugitives they all gathered at Luzhou. That day Military Governor Gao Xingzhou also returned from the north. At the prefectural gate he saw Dejun and his son on the wall and said: "Your Highness and I are townsmen, so I speak plainly: there is not a dou of grain left in the city. Welcome the imperial carriage at once, secure your own safety, and do not invite regret." Dejun then went out with Yanshou and surrendered to the Khitan. When Gaozu arrived, Dejun and his son met him before his horse, but Gaozu showed them no courtesy. The Khitan ruler asked Dejun: "When you were in Youzhou, where are the Silver Saddle Khitan guards you raised?" Dejun pointed them out. The Khitan killed them all in the western suburbs of Lu, then shackled Dejun and his son and took them into Khitan territory. When he met Empress Dowager Shulü, he presented all the wealth of his party and registered his Youzhou fields and houses as gifts. The empress dowager said to him: "Why did you father and son go seeking a Son of Heaven for yourselves?" Dejun bowed his head and could not answer. (Zizhi Tongjian: The empress dowager asked, "What were you doing recently at Taiyuan?" Dejun said, "Following the Tang ruler's command." The empress dowager said, "You asked my son to make you Son of Heaven—what nonsense is this?" She pointed at her own heart and said, "This cannot be deceived." She also said, "When my son was about to march, I warned him: 'If King Zhao leads troops north toward Yuguan, recall him at once—Taiyuan cannot be saved. If you wished to be Son of Heaven, why not first defeat my son? Plotting more slowly would not have been too late. You are a subject who betrayed your lord, could not strike the enemy, and still wished to profit from chaos. Acting like this, with what face can you seek to live?" Dejun bowed his head and could not answer.)〉 She asked again, "Where are the fields and houses?" He said, "All are in Youzhou." The empress dowager said, "They already belong to me—why present them again?" By the summer of the second Tianfu year, Dejun died in Khitan territory. (Khitan State Chronicle: Dejun grew depressed and ate little; after more than a year he died.) After Dejun died, the Khitan ruler released Yanshou and employed him.)〉
12
天福末，契丹與少帝絕好，契丹主委延壽以圖南之事，許以中原帝之。 延壽乃導誘蕃戎，蠶食河朔。 晉軍既降於中渡，戎主命延壽就寨安撫諸寫，仍賜龍鳳褚袍，使衣之而往。 謂之曰：「漢兒兵士，皆爾有之，爾宜親自慰撫。」 延壽至營，杜重威、李守貞已下皆迎謁於馬前。 及契丹入汴，時降軍數萬，皆野次於陳橋，契丹主慮有變，欲盡殺之。 延壽聞之，遽請見戎王，曰：「臣伏見今日已前，皇帝百戰千征，始收得晉國，不知皇帝自要治之乎？ 為他人取之乎？」 契丹主變色曰：「爾何言之過也！ 朕以晉人負義，舉國南征，五年相殺，方得中原，豈不自要為主，而為他人耶？ 卿有何說，速奏朕來！」 延壽曰：「皇帝嘗知吳、蜀與晉朝相殺否？」 曰：「知。」 延壽曰：「今中原南自安、申，西及秦、鳳，沿邊數千里，並是兩界守戍之所。 將來皇帝歸國時，又漸及炎蒸，若吳、蜀二寇交侵中國，未知許大世界，教甚兵馬禦捍？ 茍失堤防，豈非為他人取也。」 戎王曰：「我弗知也，為之奈何？」 延壽曰：「臣知上國之兵，當炎暑之時，沿吳、蜀之境，難為用也。 未若以陳橋所聚降軍團並，別作軍額，以備邊防。」 戎王曰：「我念在壺關、陽城時，亦曾言議，未獲區分，致五年相殺，此時入手，如何更不翦除？」 延壽曰：「晉軍見在之數，如今還似從前盡在河南，誠為不可。 臣請遷其軍，並其家口於鎮、定、雲、朔間以處之，每歲差伊分番，於河外沿邊防戍，上策也。」 戎王忻然曰：「一取大王商量。」 由是陳橋之眾獲免長平之禍焉。
At the end of the Tianfu era the Khitan broke with Emperor Shaodi. The Khitan ruler entrusted Yanshou with the southern campaign and promised him the throne of the Central Plains. Yanshou then guided the barbarian forces, nibbling away at the lands north of the Yellow River. After the Jin army surrendered at Zhongdu, the Khitan ruler ordered Yanshou to the camps to comfort the various units, bestowed a dragon-phoenix crimson robe, and had him wear it when he went. He told him, "The Han soldiers are all yours now. Comfort and reassure them in person." When Yanshou reached the camp, Du Chongwei, Li Shouzhen, and the rest all met him before his horse. When the Khitan entered Bian, tens of thousands of surrendered troops were encamped in the open at Chenqiao. The Khitan ruler feared trouble and wished to kill them all. When Yanshou heard this he hurried to see the Khitan ruler and said: "Your servant observes that until today Your Majesty fought battle after battle before finally taking the Jin state. Does Your Majesty mean to rule it yourself? Or have it taken for someone else?" The Khitan ruler's face changed and he said, "How excessive are your words! Because the Jin betrayed their pledges, I mobilized the whole state in a southern campaign. For five years we fought before gaining the Central Plains. Would I not rule it myself rather than hand it to another? What have you to say? Speak quickly!" Yanshou said, "Does Your Majesty know whether Wu and Shu fight the Jin court?" He said, "I know." Yanshou said, "From An and Shen in the south to Qin and Feng in the west, the Central Plains frontier runs thousands of li, all of it garrisoned by both realms. When Your Majesty returns home, the season will turn hot and steamy again. If Wu and Shu attack China together, who knows how vast the realm is—with what troops will you defend it? If the defenses fail, will it not be taken by others?" The Khitan ruler said, "I do not know—what is to be done?" Yanshou said, "Your Majesty's troops are hard to use in summer heat along the Wu and Shu frontiers. Better to group the surrendered troops at Chenqiao into regiments under a separate army designation and use them to guard the frontier." The Khitan ruler said, "I recall that at Huguan and Yangcheng we discussed this and failed to settle it, which led to five years of slaughter. Now that they are in hand, how can we not wipe them out?" Yanshou said, "The Jin troops now here—if they are again all kept south of the river as before, that truly will not do. I ask that their army and families be moved to Zhen, Ding, Yun, and Shuo, and that they rotate in annual shifts to guard the frontier beyond the river. That is the best plan." The Khitan ruler said gladly, "I leave it all to the King's counsel." Thus the troops at Chenqiao escaped the massacre of Changping.
13
延壽在汴久之，知契丹主無踐言之意，乃遣李崧達語契丹主，求立為皇太子，崧不得已言之。 契丹主曰：「我於燕王，無所愛惜，但我皮肉堪與燕王使用，亦可割也，何況他事！ 我聞皇太子，天子之子合作，燕王豈得為之也！」 因命與燕王加恩。 時北來翰林學士承旨張礪，擬延壽為中京留守、大丞相、錄尚書事、都督中外諸軍事，樞密使、燕王如故。 契丹主覽狀，索筆圍卻「錄尚書事、都督中外諸軍事」之字，乃付翰林院草制焉。 又以其子匡贊為河中節度使。 延壽在汴州，復娶明宗小女為繼室。 先是，延州節度使周密為其子廣娶焉，已納財畢，親迎有日矣，至是延壽奪取之。 契丹主自汴回至邢州，命升延壽坐在契丹左右相之上。 契丹主死，延壽下教於諸道，稱權知南朝軍國事。 是歲六月一日，為永康王烏裕所鎖，籍其家財，分給諸部。 尋以延壽入國，竟卒於契丹。
Yanshou had long been at Bian and knew the Khitan ruler would not keep his word. He sent Li Song to ask to be made crown prince. Song had no choice but to relay the request. The Khitan ruler said, "Toward the Prince of Yan I spare nothing. Even my own flesh, if the Prince of Yan can use it, may be cut away—how much more other matters! I have heard that crown prince is a title for the Son of Heaven's own son. How can the Prince of Yan hold it?" He then ordered additional honors for the Prince of Yan. The Hanlin academician and chief drafter Zhang Li, who had come from the north, drafted an appointment for Yanshou as Middle Capital regent, Grand Chancellor, Recorder of the Masters of Writing, Commander of All Military Affairs, Commissioner of Military Affairs, and Prince of Yan as before. The Khitan ruler reviewed the draft, circled out "Recorder of the Masters of Writing" and "Commander of All Military Affairs," and handed it to the Hanlin Academy to draft the edict. He also made his son Kuangzan military governor of Hezhong. At Bianzhou, Yanshou took another younger daughter of Mingzong as his successor wife. Earlier Military Governor Zhou Mi of Yanzhou had arranged for his son Guang to marry her. The bride-price had been paid and the wedding day set, but Yanshou seized her for himself. When the Khitan ruler returned from Bian to Xingzhou, he seated Yanshou above the Khitan left and right chancellors. When the Khitan ruler died, Yanshou issued orders to the circuits styling himself provisional controller of the southern dynasty's military and civil affairs. On the first day of the sixth month that year he was shackled by Prince Yongkang Wuyu. His household wealth was inventoried and distributed among the tribes. Soon after Yanshou entered Khitan territory, he died there.
14
匡贊歷漢、周兩朝，累授節鎮及統軍使。 仕皇朝，歷廬、延、邠、鄜等四鎮焉。
Kuangzan served through the Han and Zhou dynasties and was repeatedly appointed to military commands and army leadership. Under the imperial dynasty he held four commands: Lu, Yan, Bin, and Fu.
15
張礪，字夢臣，磁州滏陽人也。 祖慶，父寶，世為農。 礪幼嗜學，有文藻。 在布衣時，或睹民間爭競，必為親詣公府，辨其曲直，其負氣也如此。 唐同光初，擢進士第，尋拜左拾遺，直史館。 會郭崇韜伐蜀，奏請礪掌軍書。 蜀平，崇韜為魏王繼岌所誅，時崇韜左右親信皆懼禍奔逃，惟礪詣魏王府第，慟哭久之，時人皆服其高義。 及魏王班師，礪從副招討使任圜東歸。 至利州，會康延孝叛，回據漢州，圜奉魏王命，回軍西討延孝。 時礪獻謀於圜，請伏精兵於後，先以羸師誘之，圜深以為然。 延孝本驍將也，任圜乃儒生也，延孝聞圜至，又睹其羸師，殊不介意，及戰酣，圜發精兵以擊之，延孝果敗，遂擒之以歸。 是歲四月五日至鳳翔，內官向延嗣奉莊宗命，令誅延孝。 監軍李延襲已聞洛中有變，故留延孝，且害任圜之功故也。 圜未決，礪謂圜曰：「此賊構亂，遂致凱旋差晚，且明公血戰擒賊，安得違詔養禍，是破檻放虎，自貽其咎也。 公若不決，余自殺此賊。」 任圜不得已，遂誅延孝。 天成初，明宗知其名，召為翰林學士。 再丁父母憂，服闋，皆復入為學士，歷禮部、兵部員外郎、知制誥充職。 未幾，父之妾卒。 初，妾在世，礪以久侍先人，頗亦敬奉，諸幼子亦以祖母呼之。 及卒，礪疑其事，詢於同僚，未有以對，礪即托故歸於滏陽，閑居三年，不行其服，論情制宜，識者韙之。 清泰中，復授尚書比部郎中、知制誥，依前充學士。
Zhang Li, courtesy name Mengchen, was a native of Fuyang in Cizhou. His grandfather Qing and his father Bao had been farmers for generations. From youth Li loved learning and showed literary talent. While still a commoner, whenever he saw local disputes he would go in person to the magistrate's office to argue right from wrong. Such was his proud spirit. At the beginning of the Tang Tongguang era he passed the jinshi examination and was soon appointed Left Remonstrator with duty in the History Office. When Guo Chongtao campaigned against Shu, he memorialized asking that Li manage military documents. When Shu was pacified, Chongtao was executed by Prince of Wei Jiji. Chongtao's close followers all fled in fear, but Li alone went to the prince's residence and wept long and bitterly. People of the time admired his loyalty. When the Prince of Wei withdrew, Li followed Deputy Pacification Commissioner Ren Yuan eastward. At Lizhou they learned that Kang Yanxiao had rebelled and seized Hanzhou. Yuan, on the prince's orders, turned the army west to attack him. Li then offered Yuan a plan: hide elite troops in the rear and first lure the enemy with a weak force. Yuan strongly approved. Yanxiao was a fierce general; Yuan was a scholar. When Yanxiao saw Yuan's weak vanguard he paid no heed. When the battle grew hot, Yuan unleashed his elite troops, broke Yanxiao, and brought him back captive. On the fifth day of the fourth month they reached Fengxiang. Inner attendant Xiang Yansi, on Zhuangzong's orders, commanded Yanxiao's execution. Army supervisor Li Yanxi had heard of trouble in Luoyang and therefore kept Yanxiao alive, partly to diminish Ren Yuan's merit. Yuan hesitated. Li said to him: "This rebel stirred trouble and delayed our return. You fought in blood to capture him—how can you disobey the edict and keep this threat alive? That is breaking the cage and releasing the tiger. If you will not decide, I will kill him myself." Ren Yuan had no choice and executed Yanxiao. At the beginning of Tiancheng, Mingzong knew his name and summoned him as Hanlin academician. Twice he mourned his parents. When each mourning ended he returned as academician and served as vice director in the Ministries of Rites and War and as drafter of imperial documents. Before long his father's concubine died. While she lived, Li had respected her for long service to his late father, and the younger sons called her grandmother. When she died Li was uncertain what mourning was proper and asked his colleagues, but none could answer. He pleaded illness, returned to Fuyang, and lived in retirement for three years without observing mourning. Judging sentiment and adapting to circumstance, the discerning approved. During Qingtai he was again appointed director in the Ministry of Revenue's Accounts Bureau and drafter of imperial documents, continuing as Hanlin academician.
16
高祖起於晉陽，唐末帝命趙延壽進討，又命翰林學士和凝與延壽偕行。 礪素輕凝，慮不能集事，因自請行，唐末帝慰而許之。 及唐軍敗於團柏谷，與延壽俱陷於契丹，契丹以舊職縻之，累官至吏部尚書。 契丹入汴，授右僕射、平章事、集賢殿大學士，隨至鎮州。 會契丹主卒，永康王北去，蕭翰自東京過常山，乃引鐵騎圍其第。 時礪有疾，方伏枕，翰見礪責之曰：「爾言於先帝，雲不得任蕃人作節度使，如此則社稷不永矣； 又先帝來時，令我於汴州大內安下，爾言不可； 又我為汴州節度使，爾在中書，何故行帖與我？」 礪抗聲而對，辭氣不屈，翰遂鎖礪而去。 〈（《遼史》：礪抗聲曰：「此國家大體，安危所系，吾實言之。 欲殺即殺，奚以鎖為！」）〉 鎮州節度使滿達勒尋解其鎖，是夜以疾卒，家人燼其骨，歸葬於滏陽。
When Gaozu rose at Jinyang, the last Tang emperor ordered Zhao Yanshou to advance against him and also ordered Hanlin academician He Ning to accompany Yanshou. Li had always looked down on Ning and feared he could not manage the task, so he asked to go himself. The last Tang emperor comforted him and agreed. When the Tang army was defeated at Tuanbai Valley he fell into Khitan hands with Yanshou. The Khitan kept him in his former office and he eventually rose to Minister of Personnel. When the Khitan entered Bian he was appointed Right Vice Director, Grand Councilor, and Grand Academician of the Hall for Gathering Worthies, and followed on to Zhenzhou. When the Khitan ruler died, Prince Yongkang went north. Xiao Han came from the Eastern Capital past Changshan and led iron cavalry to surround Li's residence. Li was then ill in bed. When Han saw him he reproached him: "You told the late emperor that barbarians must not be made military governors, or the altars of state would not long endure; when the late emperor came you said I could not lodge in the great inner palace at Bianzhou; and I am military governor of Bianzhou while you sit in the Secretariat—why send me official correspondence?" Li answered in a loud voice without yielding. Han shackled him and left. (Liao History: Li answered loudly: "This concerns the great principle of the state and what binds safety and peril. I spoke truthfully. If you wish to kill me, then kill—why shackle me!")〉 Military Governor Mandale of Zhenzhou soon released his shackles. That night Li died of illness. His family cremated his bones and buried them at Fuyang.
17
礪素耿直，嗜酒無檢。 始陷契丹時，曾背契丹南歸，為追騎所獲，契丹主怒曰：「爾何舍我而去？」 礪曰：「礪，漢人也，衣服飲食與此不同，生不如死，請速就刃。」 契丹主顧通事高唐英曰：「我常戒爾輩善待此人，致其逃去，過在爾輩。」 因笞唐英一百，其為契丹主善待也如此。 礪平生抱義憐才，急於獎拔，聞人之善，必攘袂以稱之，見人之貧，亦倒篋以濟之，故死之之日，中朝士大夫亦皆嘆惜焉。
Li was by nature upright and blunt, fond of wine and without restraint. When he first fell into Khitan hands he once fled south, was captured by pursuers, and the Khitan ruler angrily said, "Why did you abandon me?" Li said, "I am a Han man. Clothing and food here are not the same. Life is worse than death. Grant me the blade at once." The Khitan ruler turned to interpreter Gao Tangying and said, "I often warned you to treat this man well, yet he escaped. The fault is yours." He had Tangying flogged one hundred strokes. Such was the favor the Khitan ruler showed him. Throughout his life Li embraced righteousness and pitied talent, eager to promote others. Hearing of someone's excellence he would praise it openly; seeing poverty he would empty his purse to help. On the day of his death the scholar-officials of the central court all sighed in regret.
18
蕭翰者，契丹諸部之長也。 父曰阿缽。 劉仁恭鎮幽州，阿巴曾引眾寇平州，仁恭遣驍將劉雁郎與其子守光率五百騎先守其州，阿缽不知，為郡人所紿，因赴牛酒之會，為守光所擒。 契丹請贖之，仁恭許其請，尋歸。 阿巴妹為安巴堅妻，則德光之母也。 翰有妹，亦嫁於德光，故國人謂翰為國舅。 契丹入東京，以翰為宣武軍節度使。 契丹比無姓氏，翰將有節度之命，乃以蕭為姓，翰為名，自是翰之一族皆稱姓蕭。 契丹主北去，留翰以鎮河南。 時漢高祖已建號於太原，翰懼，將北歸，慮京師無主，則眾皆為亂，乃遣蕃騎至洛京迎唐明宗幼子許王從益知南朝軍國事。 從益至，翰率蕃將拜於殿上。 翌日，翰乃輦其寶貨鞍轡而北。 漢人以許王既立，不復為亂，果中其狡計。 翰行至鎮州，遇張礪，翰以舊事致忿，就第數其失而鎖之。 翰歸本國，為永康王烏裕所鎖，尋卒於本土。
Xiao Han was a chief among the Khitan tribes. His father was named Abo. When Liu Rengong governed Youzhou, Abo once raided Pingzhou. Rengong sent the fierce general Liu Yanlang and his son Shouguang with five hundred horsemen to hold the prefecture. Abo did not know this, was deceived by the locals, attended a feast of meat and wine, and was captured by Shouguang. The Khitan requested his ransom. Rengong agreed and Abo soon returned. Abo's younger sister was wife to Ambajian and mother of Deguang. Han also had a sister who married Deguang, so his people called him the imperial uncle by marriage. When the Khitan entered the Eastern Capital they made Han military governor of Xuanwu. The Khitan had not used surnames. When Han was to receive a command appointment he took Xiao as surname and Han as given name, and thereafter his whole clan bore the surname Xiao. When the Khitan ruler went north he left Han to garrison the lands south of the river. Han Gaozu had already established his title at Taiyuan. Xiao Han feared and meant to return north, worried that without a ruler in the capital the people would riot. He sent Khitan horsemen to Luoyang to welcome Mingzong's young son Prince Xu Congyi to provisionally manage the southern dynasty's affairs. When Congyi arrived, Han led the Khitan generals to bow in the hall. The next day Han carted his treasures, saddles, and bridles north. The Han people, seeing Prince Xu established, no longer rioted. His cunning plan had succeeded. At Zhenzhou Han encountered Zhang Li. Resentful over old matters, he came to Li's residence, recounted his faults, and shackled him. When Han returned home he was shackled by Prince Yongkang Wuyu and soon died in Khitan territory.
19
劉晞者，涿州人也。 父濟雍，累為本郡諸邑令長。 晞少以儒學稱於鄉里，嘗為唐將周德威從事，後陷於契丹，契丹以漢職縻之。 天福中，契丹命晞為燕京留守，嘗於契丹三知貢舉，歷官至同平章事、兼侍中。 隨契丹入汴，授洛京留守。 會河陽軍亂，晞走許州，又奔東京，蕭翰遣兵援晞至洛下。 契丹主死，晞自洛復至東京，隨蕭翰北歸，遂留鎮州。 漢初，與滿達勒同奔定州，後卒於北蕃。 〈（《契丹國志》：劉珂，晞之子也，尚世宗妹燕國公主。）〉
Liu Xi was a native of Zhuozhou. His father Jiyong had served successively as magistrate of various districts in the commandery. From youth Xi was famed in his district for classical learning. He once served on the staff of Tang general Zhou Dewei, later fell into Khitan hands, and the Khitan kept him in Han offices. During Tianfu the Khitan appointed Xi regent of Yanjing. He thrice oversaw the civil service examinations under the Khitan and rose to Grand Councilor and concurrent Vice Grand Counselor. He followed the Khitan into Bian and was appointed regent of the Luoyang capital. When the Heyang army rebelled, Xi fled to Xuzhou and then to the Eastern Capital. Xiao Han sent troops to support him at Luoyang. When the Khitan ruler died, Xi returned from Luoyang to the Eastern Capital, followed Xiao Han north, and remained at Zhenzhou. At the beginning of Han he fled with Mandale to Dingzhou and later died in the north. (Khitan State Chronicle: Liu Ke was Xi's son and married Emperor Shizong's younger sister, Princess of Yan.)〉
20
崔廷勛，不知何許人也。 〈（《通鑒註》引宋白曰：廷勛本河內人。）〉 形貌魁偉，美須髯。 幼陷契丹，歷仕至雲州節度使，官至侍中。 契丹入汴，遷少帝於封禪寺，遣廷勛以兵防守，尋授河陽節度使，甚得民情。 契丹北行，武行德率軍趨河陽，廷勛為行德所逐，乃與奚王伊剌保懷州，尋以兵反攻行德，行德出戰，為廷勛所敗。 及契丹主死，遂歸鎮州。 漢初，與麻達勒同奔定州，後沒於北蕃。
Cui Tingxun was a man of unknown origin. (Zizhi Tongjian commentary citing Song Bai: Tingxun was originally from Henei.)〉 He was tall and imposing, with a handsome beard. He fell into Khitan hands in youth, rose to military governor of Yunzhou, and reached Vice Grand Counselor. When the Khitan entered Bian they moved Emperor Shaodi to Fengchan Temple and sent Tingxun with troops to guard him. Soon he was made military governor of Heyang and won great popular approval. When the Khitan marched north, Wu Xingde led troops toward Heyang. Tingxun was driven off and joined the Xi king Yila in holding Huaizhou. He soon counterattacked Xingde, who came out to fight and was defeated. When the Khitan ruler died he returned to Zhenzhou. At the beginning of Han he fled with Madale to Dingzhou and later perished in the north.
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史臣曰：帝王之尊，必由天命。 雖韓信、彭越之勇，吳濞、淮南之勢，猶不可以妄冀，而況二安之庸昧，相輔為亂，固宜其自取滅亡也。 後之擁強兵蒞重鎮者，得不以為鑒乎！ 彥澤狼子野心，盈貫而死，晚矣！ 德鈞諸人，與晉事相終始，故附見於茲焉。
The historian comments: The exalted dignity of emperors and kings must come through Heaven's mandate. Even men with the courage of Han Xin and Peng Yue or the power of Wu Pi and Huainan may not vainly hope for the throne—how much less the mediocrity of the two Ans, aiding each other in rebellion. It is fitting they destroyed themselves. Those who later hold strong armies and weighty commands—can they fail to take this as a warning! Yanze had the heart of a wolf cub. He died only when his crimes were full—too late! Dejun and the others were bound up with Jin affairs from beginning to end; therefore they are appended here.