1
杜重威，其先朔州人，近世徙家於太原。 祖興，振武牙將。 父堆金，事唐武皇為先鋒使。 重威少事明宗，自護聖軍校領防州刺史。 其妻即晉高祖妹也，累封宋國大長公主。 天福初，命重威典禁軍，遙授舒州刺史。 二年，張從賓構亂，據汜水，晉高祖遣重威與候益率眾破之，以功授潞州節度使。 與楊光遠降範延光於鄴城，改許州節度使，兼侍衛親軍馬步軍副指揮使，尋加同平章事。 未幾，移鎮鄆州，遷侍衛親軍馬步軍都指揮使。 〈（《通鑒》：馮道、李崧屢薦重威之能，以為都指揮使，充隨駕御營使。）〉 及鎮州安重榮稱兵向闕，命重威禦之，敗重榮於宗城。 重榮奔據常山，重威尋拔其城，斬重榮首傳於闕下，授成德軍節度使。 所得重榮家財及常山公帑，悉歸於己，晉高祖知而不問。 至鎮，復重斂於民，稅外加賦，境內苦之 〈（《通鑒》：重威所至黷貨，民多逃亡，嘗出過市，謂左右曰：「人言我驅盡百姓，何市人之多也！」）〉
Du Chongwei came from Shuozhou stock; in recent generations his family had settled in Taiyuan. His grandfather Xing had served as a junior officer in the Zhenwu army. His father Duijin had served Emperor Wu of Tang as vanguard commissioner. In his youth Chongwei entered the service of Emperor Mingzong, advancing from a guardsman in the Imperial Guard to prefect of Fangzhou. His wife was a younger sister of Emperor Gaozu of Later Jin, and was eventually enfeoffed as Grand Princess of Song. Early in the Tianfu era he was placed in command of the palace guard and given the concurrent title of prefect of Shuzhou, though he did not take up the post. In the second year Zhang Congbin rebelled and held Sishui. Emperor Gaozu dispatched Chongwei and Hou Yi to crush the revolt, and for this service Chongwei was appointed military governor of Luzhou. With Yang Guangyuan he forced Fan Yanguang to surrender at Yecheng. He was then transferred to Xu Prefecture as military governor, made deputy commander of the palace guard cavalry and infantry, and soon afterward elevated to co-director of the Secretariat-Chancellery. Before long he was reassigned to Yanzhou and promoted to commander of the palace guard cavalry and infantry. (Zizhi Tongjian: Feng Dao and Li Song repeatedly praised Chongwei's abilities; he was appointed commander and also served as commissioner of the imperial escort camp.)〉 When An Chongrong of Zhenzhou raised an army and marched on the capital, Chongwei was sent against him and defeated him at Zongcheng. Chongrong fled to Changshan, which Chongwei soon captured. He beheaded Chongrong and sent the head to court, and in reward was made military governor of Chengde. He appropriated all of Chongrong's family wealth and the public treasury of Changshan for himself. Emperor Gaozu knew but said nothing. Once installed in his circuit he taxed the people even more harshly, piling surcharges on top of regular levies until the region groaned under his rule. (Zizhi Tongjian: Wherever Chongwei was posted he extorted wealth until the people fled in droves. Once, passing through the market, he remarked to his attendants, "They say I have driven away every last commoner—then why is the market so crowded?")〉
2
少帝嗣位，與契丹絕好，契丹主連年伐晉，重威但閉壁自守。 部內城邑相繼破陷，一境生靈受屠戮，重威任居方面，未嘗以一土一騎救之。 每敵騎數十驅漢人千萬過城下，如入無人之境，重威但登陴註目，略無邀取之意。 開運元年秋，加北面行營招討使。 二年，領大軍下新州、滿城、遂城。 契丹主自古北口回軍，追躡王師，重威等狼狽而旋，至陽城，為契丹所困。 會大風狂猛，軍情憤激，府彥卿、張彥澤等引軍四出，敵眾大潰，諸將欲追之，重威曰：「逢賊得命，更望復子乎！」 遂收軍馳歸常山。 先是，重威於州內括借錢帛，吏民大被其苦，人情鹹怨，重以境內雕弊，十室九空，重威遂無留意，連上表乞歸朝，不俟報即時上路。 朝廷以邊上重鎮，主帥擅離，茍有奔沖，慮失禦備，然亦無如之何，即以馬全節代之，重威尋授鄴都留守。 會鎮州軍食不繼，遣殿中監王欽祚就本州和市，重威私第有粟十餘萬斛，遂錄之以聞。 朝廷給絹數萬匹，償其粟直。 重威大忿曰：「我非反逆，安得籍沒耶！」 三年冬，晉少帝詔重威與李守貞等率師經略瀛、鄚。 師至瀛州城下，晉騎將梁漢璋與契丹接戰，漢璋死焉。 重威即時回軍，次武強，聞契丹主南下，乃西趨鎮州，至中渡橋，與契丹夾滹水而營。 十二月八日，宋彥筠、王清等率數千人渡滹沲，陣於北岸，為敵所破。 時契丹遊軍已至欒城，道路隔絕，人情危蹙，重威密遣人詣敵帳，潛布腹心。 契丹主大悅，許以中原帝之，重威庸暗，深以為信。 一日，伏甲於內，召諸將會，告以降敵之意，諸將愕然。 以上將既變，乃俯首聽命，遂連署降表，令中門使高勛賫送敵帳，軍士解甲，舉聲慟哭。 是日，有大霧起於降軍之上。 契丹主使重威衣赭袍以示諸軍，尋偽加守太傅，鄴都留守如故。 契丹主南行，命重威部轄晉軍以從，既至東京，駐晉軍於陳橋，士伍饑凍，不勝其苦。 重威每出入衢路，為市民所詬，俯首而已。 契丹下令括率京城錢帛，將相公私，雷同率配，重威與李守貞各萬緡，乃告契丹主曰：「臣等以十萬漢軍降於皇帝，不免配借，臣所不甘。」 契丹主笑而免之。 尋群盜斷澶州浮梁，契丹乃遣重威歸藩。 明年三月，契丹主北去，至相州城下，重威與妻石氏詣牙帳貢獻而回。
After the Young Emperor came to the throne, ties with the Khitan were severed. The Khitan khan invaded Jin year after year, yet Chongwei only shut his gates and held his walls. Town after town in his circuit fell, and the people were butchered wholesale. Though he held a frontier command, he never sent so much as a patch of ground or a single rider to their aid. Time and again a few dozen enemy horsemen would drive thousands of Han captives past his walls as though the place were deserted. Chongwei would only climb the ramparts and watch, never showing the least wish to strike. In the autumn of the first Kaiyun year he was appointed northern campaign commissioner. In the second year he led a large army against Xinzhou, Mancheng, and Suicheng. The Khitan khan turned back from Gubeikou and pursued the imperial army. Chongwei and his men retreated in disarray and, reaching Yangcheng, were surrounded by the Khitan. A fierce wind sprang up and the army's anger boiled over. Fu Yanqing, Zhang Yanze, and others led troops out on every side and the enemy broke in panic. When the generals wanted to pursue, Chongwei said, "We met the enemy and barely got away with our lives—do you still expect to win your sons back?" He then drew off the army and rode hard back to Changshan. Earlier he had squeezed loans of money and cloth from the prefecture until officials and commoners alike were desperate, and hatred ran deep. With the circuit wasted—nine homes in ten abandoned—he lost all heart for the post. He memorialized again and again to return to court and, without waiting for an answer, set out immediately. The court knew this was a critical frontier command and that a commander who left on his own might expose the border to sudden attack, yet it could do nothing. Ma Quanjie replaced him, and Chongwei was soon appointed defender of the Eastern Capital at Ye. When army rations at Zhenzhou ran short, the court sent Palace Supervisor Wang Qinzuo to buy grain there. More than a hundred thousand bushels were found stored in Chongwei's private residence, and the fact was reported to court. The court paid him with tens of thousands of bolts of silk, compensating the grain at market value. Chongwei flew into a rage. "I am no traitor," he cried, "so why treat my property as forfeited?" That winter the Young Emperor of Later Jin ordered Chongwei, Li Shouzhen, and others to lead an expedition into Ying and Mo. When the army reached Yingzhou, the Jin cavalry commander Liang Hanzhang clashed with the Khitan and was killed. Chongwei immediately withdrew, halting at Wuqiang. Hearing that the Khitan khan was advancing south, he hurried west to Zhenzhou and at Zhongdu Bridge pitched camp on the Hutuo, facing the Khitan across the river. On the eighth of the twelfth month Song Yanyun, Wang Qing, and others led several thousand men across the Hutuo and drew up on the north bank, only to be routed by the enemy. Khitan scouts had already reached Luancheng, the roads were cut, and panic spread. Chongwei secretly sent envoys to the enemy camp to sound out surrender. The Khitan khan was delighted and promised to make him emperor of the Central Plains. Chongwei, dull and credulous, took the promise as gospel. One day he concealed armed men nearby, summoned the generals, and announced that he meant to surrender. They were thunderstruck. With the commander already set on treason, they could only bow and obey. A joint surrender memorial was drawn up and sent to the enemy camp by Inner Gate Commissioner Gao Xun. The troops laid down their arms and wept aloud. That day a heavy fog rose over the surrendered army. The Khitan khan had Chongwei dress in an imperial reddish robe to display before the troops, then falsely invested him as acting Grand Tutor while keeping him defender of Ye. As the Khitan khan marched south, Chongwei was ordered to lead the Jin army in his train. At the Eastern Capital the Jin troops were quartered at Chenqiao, where hunger and cold drove the men to misery. Whenever Chongwei passed through the streets the townspeople reviled him. He could only bow his head and say nothing. The Khitan ordered a levy of money and cloth across the capital, assessing ministers and commoners alike. Chongwei and Li Shouzhen were each charged ten thousand strings. He then told the Khitan khan, "We surrendered a hundred thousand Han troops to Your Majesty, yet we are still squeezed for levies. That we cannot bear." The khan laughed and released them from the levy. Soon bandits severed the floating bridge at Chanzhou, and the Khitan sent Chongwei back to his post. The following third month, as the Khitan khan withdrew north and reached Xiangzhou, Chongwei and his wife Lady Shi went to the royal tent with tribute and then returned.
3
高祖車駕至闕，以重威為宋州節度使，加守太尉。 重威懼，閉城拒命，詔高行周率兵攻討，重威遣其子宏遂等告急於鎮州州麻答，乞師救援，旦以宏遂為質，麻答遣蕃將楊兗赴之。 未幾，鎮州軍逐滿達勒，楊兗至洺州而回。 十月，高祖親征，車駕至鄴城之下，遣給事中陳觀等賫詔入城，許其歸命，重威不納。 數日，高祖親率諸軍攻其壘，不克，王師傷夷者萬餘人。 〈（《宋史·杜漢徽傳》云：從高行周討杜重威於鄴城，屢為流矢所中，身被重創，猶力戰，觀者壯之。）〉 高祖駐軍數旬，城中糧盡，屑麹餅以給軍士，吏民逾壘而出者甚眾，皆無人色。 至是，重威牙將詣行宮請降，復遣節度判官王敏奉表請罪，賜優詔敦勉，許其如初。 重威即遣其子宏遂、妻石氏出候高祖，重威繼踵出降，素服俟罪，復其衣冠，賜見，即日制授檢校太師、守太傅、兼中書令。 鄴城士庶，殍殕者十之六七。 先是，契丹遣幽州指揮使張璉，以部下軍二千餘人屯鄴，時亦有燕軍一千五百人在京師，會高祖至闕，有上變者，言燕軍謀亂，盡誅於繁臺之下，咸稱其冤。 有逃奔於鄴者，備言其事，故張璉等懼死，與重威膠固守城，略無叛誌。 高祖亦悔其前失，累令宣諭，許以不死。 璉等於城上揚言曰：「繁臺之誅，燕軍何罪？ 既無生理，以死為期。」 璉一軍在圍中，重威推食解衣，盡力姑息。 燕軍驕悍，憑陵吏民，子女金帛，公行豪奪。 及重威請命，璉等邀朝廷信誓，詔許璉等卻歸本土。 及出降，盡誅璉等將數十人，其什長已下放歸幽州，將出漢境，剽略而去。 高祖遣三司使王章、樞密副使郭威，錄重威部下將吏盡誅之，籍其財產與重威私帑，分給將士。
When Emperor Gaozu's court reached the capital, Chongwei was appointed military governor of Songzhou and acting Grand Preceptor. Terrified, Chongwei shut the gates and defied the court. Gao Xingzhou was ordered to attack. Chongwei sent his son Hongsui to beg Maduo, governor of Zhenzhou, for relief, offering Hongsui as hostage that same day. Maduo dispatched the tribal general Yang Yan. Before long the Zhenzhou garrison expelled Manduole, and Yang Yan turned back when he reached Mozhou. In the tenth month Gaozu marched in person. When the court reached Yecheng he sent Supervising Secretary Chen Guan with an edict offering mercy if Chongwei submitted. Chongwei refused. Days later Gaozu led the assault himself but failed to break the defenses. Imperial casualties exceeded ten thousand. (History of Song, biography of Du Hanhui: Serving under Gao Xingzhou against Du Chongwei at Yecheng, he was hit again and again by stray arrows and badly wounded, yet kept fighting until onlookers marveled at his courage.)〉 Gaozu besieged the city for weeks until provisions ran out and the garrison lived on bran cakes. Officials and townspeople slipped over the walls in crowds, their faces gray with hunger. At last a junior officer came to Gaozu's camp to offer surrender, and Chongwei sent circuit judge Wang Min with a memorial begging pardon. An edict of clemency arrived, promising him his former standing. Chongwei sent his son Hongsui and Lady Shi out to greet Gaozu, then followed to surrender in plain dress. Restored to court dress, he was received that same day and appointed acting Grand Preceptor, acting Grand Tutor, and Director of the Secretariat. Six or seven people in ten among Yecheng's populace had starved to death. Earlier the Khitan had posted Zhang Lian of Youzhou at Ye with more than two thousand men, while another fifteen hundred Yan troops were in the capital. When Gaozu entered the capital, an informer claimed the Yan garrison meant to rebel, and every man was executed below Fantai—a killing widely called a miscarriage of justice. Fugitives reached Ye with the full story, and Zhang Lian and his men, fearing the same fate, clung to Chongwei and held the walls with no thought of treason—only terror. Gaozu too regretted the massacre and repeatedly proclaimed that they would not be executed. From the walls Zhang Lian shouted, "What crime did the Yan troops commit at Fantai? With no hope of life left, we choose death as our end." Trapped in the siege, Zhang Lian's men were fed from Chongwei's own stores and clothed from his wardrobe as he tried every means to keep them loyal. The Yan soldiers were brutal and overbearing, robbing officials and commoners alike of daughters, gold, and silk without restraint. When Chongwei sued for mercy, Zhang Lian demanded a sworn promise from the throne, and an edict allowed him and his men to return home. After the surrender dozens of Zhang Lian's officers were put to death. Squad leaders already sent back toward Youzhou looted the countryside as soon as they crossed out of Han territory. Gaozu sent Wang Zhang of the Three Departments and Deputy Military Affairs Commissioner Guo Wei to list every officer under Chongwei, execute them, seize their goods together with Chongwei's private hoard, and divide the spoils among the troops.
4
車駕還宮，高祖不豫，既而大漸。 顧命之際，謂近臣將佐曰：「善防重威。」 帝崩，遂收重威，重威子宏璋、宏璉、宏傑誅之。 詔曰：「杜重威猶貯禍心，未悛逆節，梟音不改，虺性難馴。 昨朕小有不安，罷朝數日，而重威父子潛肆兇言，怨謗大朝，扇惑小輩； 今則顯有陳告，備驗奸期。 既負深恩，須置極法，其杜重威父子並處斬。 所有晉朝公主及外親族，一切如常，仍與供給。」 重威父子已誅，陳屍於通衢，都人聚觀者詬罵蹴擊，軍吏不能禁，屍首狼籍，斯須而盡。
After the court returned to the palace Gaozu fell ill and soon lay dying. On his deathbed he told his closest ministers and generals, "Guard yourselves against Chongwei." When the emperor died, Chongwei was arrested and executed together with his sons Hongzhang, Honglian, and Hongjie. The edict read: "Du Chongwei still nurses treason in his heart and has not repented his rebellion. His nature remains that of an owl and a viper, impossible to tame. When I was briefly unwell and court was suspended for several days, Chongwei and his sons secretly spread vicious talk, reviling the throne and stirring up lesser men; informers have now come forward with proof of their plot. Having betrayed deep favor, they must suffer the utmost penalty: Du Chongwei and his sons are all to be executed. The princesses of Later Jin and all related kin shall be treated as before and continue to receive support." After the executions their bodies were displayed in the street. Crowds cursed them, kicked them, and tore them apart before the guards could stop it—the corpses vanished in moments.
5
宏璉，重威之子也，累官至陳州刺史。 〈（《隆平集》：黨進，幼為天雄軍節度使杜重威奴，重威愛其淳謹，雖長，猶令與婢妾雜侍。 重威敗，周祖得之，以為鐵騎都虞候。 重威之後寒餓，進常分俸以給，士大夫或愧焉。）〉
Honglian, another son of Chongwei, had risen to prefect of Chenzhou. (Longping ji: Dang Jin had been a slave of Du Chongwei, military governor of Tianxiong. Chongwei prized his simple loyalty and, even after he came of age, kept him waiting among the women servants. After Chongwei's fall Emperor Taizu of Zhou took him into service and made him deputy commander of the Iron Cavalry. When Chongwei's family fell into poverty, Jin regularly shared his salary with them—a generosity that shamed some gentlemen of the court.)〉
6
李守貞，河陽人也。 少桀黠落魄，事本部為牙將。 晉高祖鎮河陽，用為典客，後移數鎮，皆從之。 及即位，累遷至客省使。 天福中，李金全以安州叛，淮夷入寇，晉高祖命馬全節討之，守貞監護其軍，賊平，守貞為宣徽使。 少帝即位，授滑州節度兼侍衛馬軍都指揮使，未幾，改侍衛都虞候。 開運元年春，敵眾犯澶、魏，少帝幸澶州，契丹遣將麻答以奇兵由鄆州馬家口濟河，立柵於東岸，守貞率師自澶州馳赴之。 契丹大敗，溺死者數千人，獲馬數百匹，偏裨七十餘人。 有頃，敵退。 晉少帝還京，以守貞為兗州節度使，依前侍衛都虞候。 五月，以守貞為青州行營都部署，率兵二萬東討楊光遠，命符彥卿為副。 十一月，光遠子承勛等乞降，守貞入城，害光遠於別第。 光遠有孔目官吏宋顏者，盡以光遠財寶、名姬、善馬告於守貞，得之置於帳下。 近例，官軍克復城隍，必降德音，洗滌瑕穢，時樞密使桑維翰以光遠同惡數十輩潛竄未出，搜索甚急，故制書久不下。 或有告宋顏匿於守貞處者，朝廷取而殺之，守貞由是怨維翰。 時行營將士所給賞賜，守貞盡以黦茶、染木、姜藥之類分給之，軍中大怨，乃以帛包所得物，如人首級，目之為守貞頭，懸於樹以詛之。 守貞班師，加同平章事，以楊光遠東京第賜之。 守貞因取連宅軍營，以廣其第，大興土木，治之歲餘，為京師之甲。 行幸賜宴，恩禮無比。
Li Shouzhen was a native of Heyang. In his youth he was sharp, unruly, and down on his luck, serving his command as a junior officer. When Emperor Gaozu of Later Jin governed Heyang he made Shouzhen his protocol officer, and Shouzhen followed him through every subsequent posting. After Gaozu took the throne Shouzhen rose steadily to commissioner of the guest bureau. During Tianfu, Li Jinquan rebelled at Anzhou and Huai tribes raided the borders. Gaozu sent Ma Quanjie to suppress them with Shouzhen as army supervisor. After victory Shouzhen became palace secretariat commissioner. When the Young Emperor came to the throne he was made military governor of Huazhou and commander of the palace guard cavalry, then soon afterward deputy commander of the palace guard. In the spring of the first Kaiyun year the enemy struck Chan and Wei, and the Young Emperor went to Chanzhou in person. The Khitan general Maduo crossed at Majiakou in Yanzhou with a flanking force and fortified the east bank. Shouzhen raced from Chanzhou to meet him. The Khitan were routed. Several thousand drowned, hundreds of horses were captured, and more than seventy officers were taken. Before long the enemy withdrew. The Young Emperor returned to the capital and appointed Shouzhen military governor of Yanzhou while keeping him as deputy commander of the palace guard. In the fifth month he was made overall commander of the eastern expedition with twenty thousand troops against Yang Guangyuan, and Fu Yanqing was named his deputy. In the eleventh month Guangyuan's son Chengxun sued for surrender. Shouzhen entered the city and killed Guangyuan in his private quarters. A clerk named Song Yan revealed all of Guangyuan's treasure, celebrated concubines, and fine horses to Shouzhen, who seized them for his own camp. By custom, recaptured cities received an amnesty edict clearing lesser offenders. Military Affairs Commissioner Sang Weihan, still hunting dozens of Guangyuan's accomplices in hiding, delayed the proclamation. When someone reported that Song Yan was hidden in Shouzhen's camp, the court seized and executed him, and Shouzhen came to resent Sang Weihan. When rewards reached the camp Shouzhen handed out only dark tea, dyewood, ginger, and medicines. The army erupted in anger, wrapped the goods in cloth shaped like severed heads, called them "Shouzhen's heads," and hung them from trees in mockery. When Shouzhen returned in triumph he was made co-director of the Secretariat-Chancellery and given Yang Guangyuan's mansion in the Eastern Capital. He seized adjoining barracks to expand the estate and spent more than a year on construction until his mansion ranked first in the capital. When the emperor traveled he was honored with banquets and favor beyond any peer.
7
開運二年春，契丹以全軍南下，前鋒至相州湯陰縣，詔守貞屯滑州。 少帝再幸澶州，以守貞為北面行營都監，與招討使杜重威北伐，洎獲陽城之捷，遂收軍而還。 四月，車駕還京，以守貞為侍衛副都指揮使，移鎮宋州，加檢校太師。 三年春，詔守貞率師巡邊。 至衡水，獲鄚州刺史趙思英而還。 居無何，代高行周為侍衛親軍都指揮使，移鎮鄆州，意頗觖望。 會宰臣李崧加侍中，守貞謂樞密使直學士殷鵬曰：「樞密何功，便加正相！」 先是，桑維翰以元勛舊德為樞密使，守貞位望素處其下，每憚之，與李彥韜、馮玉輩協力排斥，維翰竟罷樞務。 李崧事分疏遠，守貞得以淩蔑。 其年夏，契丹寇邊，以守貞為北面行營都部署。 少帝開曲宴於內殿，以寵其行，教坊令人獻語云：「天子不須憂北寇，守貞面上管幽州。」 既罷，守貞有自負之色，以其言誇詫於外。 既而率兵至定州北，與契丹偏師遇，斬蕃將嘉哩而還。 九月，加兼侍中。 會契丹遣瀛州刺史偽降於少帝，請發大軍應接，朝廷信之。 十月，詔杜重威為北面行營招討使，以守貞為兵馬都監，知幽州行府事。 先是，守貞領兵再由鄴都，杜重威厚加贈遺，曲意承迎，守貞悅之，每於帝前稱舉，請委征討之柄。 至是，守貞、重威等會兵於鄴，遂趨瀛州，瀛州不應。 貝州節度使梁漢璋為蕃將高牟翰所敗，死之，王師遂還。 師至深州，聞契丹大至，乃西趨鎮州，至滹沲之中渡，與敵相遇，官軍營於滹水之南。 未幾，敵騎潛渡至欒城，斷我糧路，尋則王清戰死，杜重威遂與守貞歸命契丹，授守貞司徒，依前鄆州節度使，從契丹至汴。 時京輦之下，契丹充斥，都人士庶，若在塗炭。 二帥出入揚揚，市人詬之，略無慚色。 有頃，河北及京東草寇大起，澶州浮橋為群賊所斷，契丹主甚恐，乃命諸帥各歸本鎮，守貞遂赴汶陽。 高祖入汴，守貞懼而來朝，授守貞太保，移鎮河中。 居無何，高祖晏駕，杜重威被誅，守貞愈不自安，乃潛畜異計。
In the spring of the second Kaiyun year the Khitan advanced south with their full army. Their vanguard reached Tangyin in Xiangzhou, and Shouzhen was ordered to hold Huazhou. The Young Emperor again went to Chanzhou in person and made Shouzhen overall supervisor of the northern campaign, marching north with pacification commissioner Du Chongwei. After the victory at Yangcheng they withdrew. In the fourth month the court returned to the capital. Shouzhen became deputy commander of the palace guard, was transferred to Songzhou, and was given the acting title of Grand Preceptor. In the spring of the third year he was ordered to lead a border patrol. At Hengshui he captured Zhao Siying, prefect of Mozhou, and returned. Before long he replaced Gao Xingzhou as commander of the palace guard and was posted to Yanzhou, nursing considerable resentment. When chief minister Li Song was made Palace Attendant, Shouzhen told Military Affairs academician Yin Peng, "What has the Bureau of Military Affairs done to deserve the chief ministership?" Earlier Sang Weihan, a founding minister of long service, had held the Bureau of Military Affairs. Shouzhen had always ranked below him and feared him. With Li Yantao, Feng Yu, and others he worked to oust him until Weihan was finally removed. Li Song stood at a remove from military affairs, and Shouzhen took to despising him. That summer, when the Khitan raided the frontier, Shouzhen was made overall commander of the northern campaign. The Young Emperor gave him a private farewell banquet in the inner hall. A director of the Music Office offered a verse: "Let the Son of Heaven not fear the northern foe—Shouzhen's face alone governs Youzhou." Afterward Shouzhen looked thoroughly pleased with himself and repeated the verse abroad as boast. He then marched north of Dingzhou, met a Khitan detachment, beheaded the tribal general Jiali, and withdrew. In the ninth month he was additionally made Palace Attendant. The Khitan then sent the prefect of Yingzhou in a feigned surrender, asking for a large army to join him, and the court believed the ruse. In the tenth month Du Chongwei was made northern pacification commissioner, with Shouzhen as army supervisor and head of the Youzhou field headquarters. Earlier, when Shouzhen's troops passed through Ye again, Du Chongwei showered him with gifts and flattery. Delighted, Shouzhen praised him repeatedly at court and urged that the expedition command be given to him. Shouzhen and Chongwei then united at Ye and marched on Yingzhou, which did not respond. Liang Hanzhang, military governor of Beizhou, was defeated and killed by the tribal general Gao Mouhan, and the imperial army withdrew. At Shenzhou they heard the Khitan were advancing in force and turned west to Zhenzhou. At Zhongdu on the Hutuo they met the enemy and pitched camp south of the river. Soon enemy cavalry crossed secretly to Luancheng and severed the supply lines. Wang Qing was killed in battle, and Du Chongwei surrendered with Shouzhen to the Khitan. Shouzhen was made Minister of Education and kept Yanzhou, then followed the Khitan to Bian. The capital swarmed with Khitan troops, and its people suffered as though in fire and flood. The two commanders swaggered through the streets while townspeople cursed them, yet they showed no shame. Soon bandits rose across Hebei and eastern China, and the floating bridge at Chanzhou was cut. Terrified, the Khitan khan ordered the commanders back to their posts, and Shouzhen returned to Wenyang. When Gaozu entered Bian, Shouzhen came to court in fear. He was made Grand Guardian and transferred to Hezhong. Before long Gaozu died and Du Chongwei was executed. Shouzhen grew ever more uneasy and began secretly plotting rebellion.
8
乾祐元年三月，先致書於權臣，布求保證，而完城郭，繕甲兵，晝夜不息。 守貞以漢室新造，嗣君才立，自謂舉無遺策，又有僧總倫者，以占術幹守貞，謂守貞有人君之位， 〈（《通鑒》：浚儀人趙修己，素善術數，自守貞鎮滑州，署司戶參軍，累從移鎮。 為守貞言：「時命不可妄動。」 前後切諫非一，守貞不聽，乃稱疾歸裏。）〉 未幾，趙思綰以京兆叛，遣使奉表送禦衣於守貞，守貞自謂天時人事合符於己，乃潛結草賊，令所在竊發，遣兵據潼關。 〈（《宋史·王繼勛傳》：李守貞之叛，令繼勛據潼關，為郭從義所破。）〉 朝廷命白文珂、常思等領兵問罪，復遣樞密使郭威西征。 官軍初至，守貞以諸軍多曾隸於麾下，自謂素得軍情，坐俟扣城迎己，及軍士詬噪，大失所望。 〈（《宋史·馬全義傳》：李守貞鎮河中，召置帳下。 及守貞叛，周主討之，全義每率敢死士夜出攻周祖壘，多所殺傷。 守貞貪而無謀，性多忌刻，全義累為畫策，皆不能用。）〉 俄而王景崇據岐下，與趙思綰遣使推奉，守貞乃自號秦王，思綰、景崇皆受守貞署置。 又遣人賫蠟彈於吳、蜀、契丹，以求應援。 〈（馬令《南唐書·朱元傳》：守貞以河中反，漢命周太祖討之，元與李平奉守貞表來乞師，未復而守貞敗。）〉 既而城中糧盡，殺人為食。 召總倫詰其休咎，總倫至曰：「王自有天分，人不能奪。 然分野災變，俟磨滅將盡，存留一人一騎，即王鵲起之際也。」 守貞深以為信。 洎攻城，守貞欲發石以拒外軍，炮竿子不可得，無何，上遊泛一筏至，其木悉可為炮竿，守貞以為神助。 又嘗因宴會將佐，守貞執弧矢，遙指一虎舐掌圖曰：「我若有非常之事，當中虎舌。」 引弓一發中之，左右拜賀，守貞亦自負焉。 〈（《宋史·吳虔裕傳》：周祖討三叛，以虔裕為河中行營都監，率護聖諸軍五千以往。 李守貞出兵五千餘，設梯橋，分五路於長連城西北以禦周祖。 周祖令虔裕率大軍橫擊之，蒲人敗走，奪其梯橋，殺傷大半。）〉
In the third month of the first Qianyou year he wrote first to powerful ministers seeking assurances, while fortifying the walls and arming his troops day and night without pause. With the Han dynasty newly founded and a young heir on the throne, Shouzhen believed his plans flawless. A monk named Zonglun won his ear with divination, declaring that he was destined for the throne, (Zizhi Tongjian: Zhao Xiuji of Junyi was skilled in divination. When Shouzhen governed Huazhou he appointed him revenue aide and took him to every new posting. He warned Shouzhen, "Do not move rashly against the times." He remonstrated again and again, but Shouzhen would not listen, and at last he pleaded illness and went home.)〉 Soon Zhao Siwan rebelled at Jingzhao and sent envoys with a memorial and imperial robes for Shouzhen. Convinced that heaven and men alike favored him, Shouzhen secretly stirred bandits to rise everywhere and sent troops to seize Tong Pass. (History of Song, biography of Wang Jixun: During Li Shouzhen's rebellion he ordered Jixun to hold Tong Pass, but Guo Congyi defeated him.)〉 The court sent Bai Wenke, Chang Si, and others to punish him, and dispatched Military Affairs Commissioner Guo Wei on a western campaign. When the imperial army arrived, Shouzhen assumed that many of its men had once served under him and would welcome him at the gates. Instead the soldiers cursed and jeered, and his hopes collapsed. (History of Song, biography of Ma Quanyi: When Li Shouzhen governed Hezhong he took Quanyi into his service. When Shouzhen rebelled and the Zhou ruler marched against him, Quanyi repeatedly led suicide squads out by night to strike the Zhou founder's camps and inflict heavy losses. Shouzhen was greedy, shortsighted, and jealous. Quanyi offered plan after plan, but he would use none of them.)〉 Soon Wang Jingchong held the Qi region. He and Zhao Siwan sent envoys to proclaim Shouzhen King of Qin, and both accepted appointments from him. He also sent sealed messages to Wu, Shu, and the Khitan seeking aid. (Ma Ling, Southern Tang History, biography of Zhu Yuan: When Shouzhen rebelled at Hezhong, Han ordered the Zhou founder against him. Yuan and Li Ping brought Shouzhen's plea for troops, but before any answer came Shouzhen was defeated.)〉 Before long the city's grain ran out and the garrison turned to cannibalism. He summoned Zonglun to ask his fate. Zonglun said, "Your Highness has heaven's mandate; no one can take it from you. But calamity hangs over this region. Wait until the destruction is nearly complete—when only one man and one horse remain, that will be the hour when you rise like a magpie." Shouzhen believed him utterly. During the siege he needed poles for stone-throwers but could find none. Then a raft drifted downriver with timber fit for every catapult, and Shouzhen took it as a sign from heaven. At another banquet with his officers he took up bow and arrow, aimed at a painting of a tiger licking its paw, and said, "If extraordinary fortune is mine, I shall strike the tiger's tongue." One shot struck true. His attendants bowed in congratulation, and Shouzhen swelled with pride. (History of Song, biography of Wu Qianyu: Campaigning against the three rebels, the Zhou founder made Qianyu supervisor of the Hezhong field headquarters with five thousand Imperial Guard troops. Li Shouzhen sent out more than five thousand men with scaling bridges, dividing into five columns northwest of the long walls to meet the Zhou founder. The Zhou founder ordered Qianyu to strike them in the flank. The Hezhong troops fled, losing their bridges, and more than half were killed or wounded.)〉
9
及周光遜以西寨降，其勢益窘，人情離散。 官軍攻城愈急，守貞乃潛於衙署多積薪芻，為自焚之計。 二年七月，城陷，舉家蹈火而死。 王師入城，於煙中獲其屍，斷其首函之，並獲數子二女，與其黨俱獻於闕下。 隱帝御明德樓受俘馘，宣露布，百僚稱賀。 禮畢，以俘馘徇於都城，守貞首級梟於南市，諸子並賊黨孫願、劉芮、張延嗣、劉仁裕、僧總倫、靖余、張球、王廷秀、焦文傑、安在欽等並磔於西市，餘皆斬之。 〈（《五代史闕文》：符後先適河中節度使李守貞之子崇訓。 守貞嘗得術士，善聽聲，知人貴賤，守貞舉族悉令術士聽之，獨言後大富貴，當母儀天下。 守貞信之，因曰：「吾婦尚為皇后，吾可知也。」 遂謀叛。 及城陷，後獨免，周祖為世宗娶之，顯德中，冊為後。）〉
When Zhou Guangxun surrendered the western camp, their position grew desperate and morale collapsed. As the imperial siege tightened, Shouzhen secretly piled firewood and straw in his headquarters, preparing to burn himself alive. In the seventh month of the second year the city fell. His entire household perished in the flames. The imperial troops entered, recovered his body from the smoke, severed and boxed the head, and captured several sons and two daughters together with his followers, all sent to court. Emperor Yindi received the captives and heads at the Tower of Bright Virtue, proclaimed victory, and the officials offered congratulations. After the rites the captives were paraded through the capital. Shouzhen's head was displayed in the southern market. His sons and followers—including Sun Yuan, Liu Rui, Zhang Yansi, Liu Renyu, the monk Zonglun, Jing Yu, Zhang Qiu, Wang Tingxiu, Jiao Wenjie, and An Zaiqin—were dismembered at the western market, and the rest were beheaded. (Supplement to the History of the Five Dynasties: Fu Hou had first married Li Shouzhen's son Chongxun. Shouzhen once found a man skilled at judging rank by the sound of voices. He had every member of his clan tested; only Hou, he said, would rise to supreme wealth and become mother of the realm. Shouzhen believed him and said, "If my daughter-in-law is to be empress, what then am I destined for?" He then plotted rebellion. When the city fell she alone was spared. The Zhou founder had her marry his heir Shizong, and in the Xiande era she was made empress.)〉
10
趙思綰，魏府人也。 唐同光末，趙在禮之據魏城也，思綰隸於帳下，累從之。 在禮卒，趙延壽籍其部曲，盡付於其子贊，思綰即其首領也。 高祖定河、洛，贊自河中移京兆尹。 贊以久事契丹，常慮國家終不能容，乃與鳳翔侯益謀，引蜀兵為援，又令判官李恕入朝請覲，趙贊不待報赴闕，留思綰等數百人在京兆。 會高祖遣王景崇等西赴鳳翔，行次京兆，時思綰等數百人在焉。 思綰等比是趙在禮禦士，本不刺面，景崇、齊藏珍既至京兆，欲令文面，以防逋逸。 景崇微露風旨，思綰厲聲先請自刺，以率其下，景崇壯之。 藏珍竊言曰：「思綰粗暴難制，不如殺之。」 景崇不聽，但率之同赴鳳翔。 朝廷聞之，遣供奉官王益部署思綰等赴闕。 思綰既發，行至途中，謂其黨常彥卿曰：「小太尉已入他手，吾輩至，則並死矣。」 小太尉蓋謂趙贊也。 彥卿曰：「臨機制變，子勿復言！」 既行，至永興，副使安友規、巡檢使喬守溫出迎，於郊外離亭置酒。 思綰前曰：「部下軍士已在城東安下，緣家屬在城，欲各將家今夜便宿城東。」 守溫等然之。 思綰等辭去，與部下並無兵仗，才入西門，有州校坐門側，思綰遽奪其佩劍，即斬之。 其眾持白挺殺守門軍士十餘人，分眾守捉諸門。 思綰劫庫兵以授之，遂據其城，時乾祐元年三月二十四日也。 翌日，集城中丁壯得四千餘人，浚池隍，修樓櫓，旬浹之間，戰守皆備。 尋遣人送款於河中，李守貞遣使賫偽詔授思綰晉昌軍節度使、檢校太尉。 朝廷聞之，命郭從義、王峻帥師伐之。 及攻其城，王師傷者甚眾，乃以長塹圍之。 經年糧盡，遂殺人充食。 思綰嘗對眾取人膽以酒吞之，告眾曰：「吞此至一千，即膽氣無敵矣。」 〈（《太平廣記》：賊臣趙思綰自倡亂至敗，凡食人肝六十六，無不面剖而膾之。）〉
Zhao Siwan was a native of Weifu. At the end of the Tongguang era, when Zhao Zaili seized Weicheng, Siwan served in his command and followed him through every campaign. After Zaili's death Zhao Yanshou took over his troops and gave them to his son Zan, with Siwan as their leader. After Gaozu secured the heartland, Zan moved from Hezhong to become metropolitan governor of Jingzhao. Having long served the Khitan, Zan feared the court would never trust him. He plotted with Hou Yi of Fengxiang to bring in Shu troops and sent his aide Li Shu to request an audience. Zan left for court without waiting for permission, leaving Siwan and several hundred men in Jingzhao. Gaozu then sent Wang Jingchong west toward Fengxiang. Passing through Jingzhao, they found Siwan and his several hundred men still there. Siwan's men had been Zhao Zaili's personal guards and bore no facial tattoos. When Jingchong and Qi Zangzhen reached Jingzhao they wanted to tattoo their faces to prevent desertion. Jingchong hinted at the plan. Siwan loudly volunteered to be tattooed first, to set an example for his men, and Jingchong admired his spirit. Zangzhen whispered, "Siwan is violent and ungovernable. Better kill him." Jingchong refused and led them on toward Fengxiang. When the court learned of this it sent Palace Attendant Wang Yi to escort Siwan and his men to the capital. On the road Siwan told his follower Chang Yanqing, "The Little Grand Guardian is already in their hands. When we reach the capital we will all die together." The Little Grand Guardian meant Zhao Zan. Yanqing said, "Act on the moment—say no more!" They reached Yongxing, where Deputy Commissioner An Yougui and Inspection Commissioner Qiao Shouwen met them with wine at a roadside pavilion outside the city. Siwan stepped forward and said, "My men are already encamped east of the city. Our families are inside, and each man wishes to bring them out to camp east of the walls tonight." Shouwen and the others agreed. Siwan and his men left unarmed. Just inside the west gate a prefectural officer sat by the gate; Siwan snatched his sword and killed him on the spot. His men seized white clubs, killed more than ten gate guards, and seized every gate. Siwan seized the armory and armed his men, then took the city on the twenty-fourth day of the third month of the first Qianyou year. The next day he mustered more than four thousand able-bodied men, dredged the moats, repaired the towers, and within ten days the city was ready for siege or defense. He soon sent envoys to submit to Li Shouzhen at Hezhong, who replied with a forged edict making him military governor of Jinchang and acting Grand Preceptor. The court then ordered Guo Congyi and Wang Jun to lead troops against him. The assault cost the imperial army heavy casualties, and they settled instead for a long encircling trench. After a year the grain ran out and the garrison turned to cannibalism. Siwan once swallowed a human gall bladder in wine before his troops and declared, "Swallow a thousand of these and your courage will know no match. (Taiping guangji: From rebellion to defeat the traitor Zhao Siwan ate sixty-six human livers, each time slicing the flesh from the face.)〉
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二年夏，食既盡，思綰計無從出，時左驍衛上將軍致仕李肅寓居城中，因與判官程讓能同言於思綰曰：「太尉比與國家無嫌，但負罪懼誅，遂為急計。 今朝廷三處用兵，一城未下，太尉若翻然效順，率先歸命，以功補過，庶幾無患。 若坐守窮城，端然待斃，則何貴於智也。」 〈（《洛陽搢紳舊聞記》：思綰主藍田副鎮，有罪已發。 李公肅時為環衛將兼雍耀三白渠使、雍耀莊宅使、節度副使，權軍府事，護而脫之，來謝於李公。 公歸宅，張夫人詰之曰：「趙思綰庸賤人，公何以免其禍？ 又何必見之乎？」 曰：「某比不言，夫人問，須言之。 思綰者雖賤類，審觀其狀貌，真亂臣賊子，恨位下未有朕跡，不然，除去之，可也。」 夫人曰：「既不能除去，何妨以小惠啖之，無使銜怨。」 自後夫人密遣人令思綰之妻來參，夫人厚以衣物賜之，前後與錢物甚多。 及漢朝，公以上將軍告老歸雍。 未久，思綰過雍，遂閉門據雍城叛，衣冠之族，遭塗炭者眾，公全家免禍。 終以計勸思綰納款，遂拔雍城。）〉 思綰然之，即令讓能為章表，遣牙將劉成琦入朝。 制授思綰華州留後、檢校太保，以常彥卿為虢州刺史，遣內臣賫官告國信賜之。 既受命，遲留未發。 郭從義、王峻等籌之曰：「狼子野心，終不可用，留之必貽後悔耳！」 既而從義、王峻等緩轡入城，陳列步騎至牙署，遣人召思綰曰：「太保登途，不暇出祖，對飲一杯，便申仳別。」 思綰至，則執之，遂斬於市，並族其家。 〈（《東都事略·郭從義傳》云：思綰困甚，從義遣人誘之，佯許以華州節鉞。 思綰信之，遂開門送款，從義入城，思綰謁見，即遣武士執之。）〉 思綰臨刑，市人爭投瓦石以擊之，軍吏不能禁。 是日，並部下叛黨新授虢州刺史常彥卿等五百餘人並誅之。 籍思綰家財，得二十餘萬貫，入於官。 始思綰入城，丁口僅十餘萬，及開城，惟餘萬人而已，其餓殍之數可知矣。
In the summer of the second year, with food exhausted and no way out, retired general Li Su, living in the city, spoke with aide Cheng Rangneng to Siwan: "Your Excellency had no quarrel with the throne. You rebelled only from fear of execution. The court is fighting on three fronts and has not yet taken one rebel city. If you turn back now and surrender first, your service may yet redeem your fault. If you sit in a doomed city waiting only to die, what wisdom is there in that?" (Old Anecdotes of Luoyang Gentry: Siwan held the deputy post at Lantian, and his crime had already been exposed. Li Su was then a guards general, also serving as commissioner of the Three White Canals and estates of Yong and Yao and as deputy military governor with charge of headquarters affairs. He shielded Siwan and secured his release, and Siwan came to thank him. When he returned home, Lady Zhang demanded, "Zhao Siwan is a worthless man—why did you spare him? Why receive him at all?" He replied, "I have not spoken of this before, but since you ask, I must tell you. Siwan is lowborn, but study his face and bearing and he is plainly a traitor in waiting. I regret only that his rank is still low and he has given no overt sign of rebellion; otherwise I would have removed him." The lady said, "If you cannot remove him, at least win him with small favors so he bears no grudge." Thereafter the lady secretly had Siwan's wife visit court, lavished clothing on her, and gave her large sums of money and goods over time. When the Han dynasty was founded he retired as senior general and returned to Yong. Before long Siwan passed through Yong, shut the gates, and rebelled from the city. Many gentry families were ruined, but the Li household escaped harm. In the end he persuaded Siwan to surrender by stratagem, and Yong was recovered.)〉 Siwan agreed, had Rangneng draft a memorial, and sent junior officer Liu Chengqi to court. An edict appointed him acting prefect of Huazhou and acting Grand Guardian, made Chang Yanqing prefect of Guozhou, and sent a palace official with commissions and imperial credentials. After accepting the appointment he lingered and would not depart. Guo Congyi and Wang Jun debated the matter. "A wolf cub will always be a wolf," they said. "He can never be trusted. Keep him and we will regret it." Congyi and Wang Jun then entered the city at an easy pace, drew up infantry and cavalry at headquarters, and summoned Siwan with the message, "The Grand Guardian is departing and has no time for a full farewell—share one cup with us and we part." When Siwan came they seized him, executed him in the market, and exterminated his clan. (Eastern Capital Historical Outline, biography of Guo Congyi: Siwan was desperate. Congyi sent envoys to lure him with a false promise of the Huazhou command. Siwan believed him, opened the gates, and submitted. Congyi entered the city; when Siwan came to audience, warriors seized him at once.)〉 At his execution the townspeople hurled tiles and stones at him until the guards could not hold them back. That day more than five hundred of his followers, including the newly appointed prefect of Guozhou Chang Yanqing, were executed with him. His property was inventoried at more than two hundred thousand strings, all seized for the state. When Siwan seized the city it had a registered population of barely a hundred thousand. When the gates were opened again, only about ten thousand remained—the toll of starvation speaks for itself.