1
顯德六年春正月丁未朔，帝御崇元殿受朝賀，仗衛如式。 壬子，高麗國王王昭遣使貢方物。 己卯，以翰林學士、中書舍人申文炳為左散騎常侍。 辛酉，女真國遣使貢獻。 壬戌，青州奏，節度使、陳王安審琦為部曲所殺。 乙丑，賜諸將射於內鞠場。 戊辰，幸迎春苑。 甲戌，詔：「每年新及第進士及諸科聞喜宴，宜令宣徽院指揮排比。」 乙亥，詔：「禮部貢院今後及第舉人，依逐科等第定人數姓名，並所試文學奏聞，候敕下放榜」云。 是月，樞密使王樸詳定雅樂十二律旋相為宮之法，並造律準，上之。 詔尚書省集百官詳議，亦以為可，語在《樂志》。
On the first day of the first month of spring in the sixth year of Xiansi, dingwei, the Emperor held audience in Chongyuan Hall to receive the New Year's felicitations, with the ceremonial guard arrayed according to regulation. On renzi, Wang Zhao, king of Goryeo, sent envoys bearing tribute goods. On jimao, Shen Wenbing, Hanlin academician and secretariat drafter, was appointed Left Regular Attendant of the Cavalry. On xinyou, the Jurchen sent envoys bearing tribute. On renxu, Qing Prefecture reported that An Shenqi, military commissioner and Prince of Chen, had been killed by his own troops. On yichou, the Emperor granted the generals an archery contest in the inner polo ground. On wuchen, the Emperor visited Yingchun Park. On jiaxu, an edict ordered that the annual celebratory banquet for newly passed jinshi and other examination graduates be arranged under the Palace Domestic Service. On yihai, a further edict declared that hereafter successful candidates at the Ministry of Rites examination compound must have their numbers and names set by rank within each category, with their examination essays reported to the throne; the list was to be posted only after imperial approval. That month, Grand Councilor Wang Pu completed a detailed scheme for the twelve pitches of court music and their cyclical modulation, fashioned pitch pipes to match, and presented them to the throne. The Secretariat was ordered to convene the officials for full discussion; they too approved the proposal. The details appear in the 《Treatise on Music》.
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二月庚辰，發徐、宿、宋、單等州丁夫數萬浚汴河。 甲申，發滑、亳二州丁夫浚五丈河，東流於定陶，入於濟，以通青、鄆水運之路。 又疏導蔡河，以通陳、潁水運之路。 乙酉，詔諸道應差攝官各支半俸。 丙戌，以翰林學士承旨、尚書兵部侍郎陶穀為尚書吏部侍郎充職。 詔升湖州為節鎮，以宣德軍為軍額，以湖州刺史錢偡為本州節度使，從兩浙錢俶之請也。 辛丑，幸迎春苑。 甲辰，右補闕王德成謫授右贊善大夫，坐舉官不當也。 詔賜諸道州府供用糧草有差。
In the second month, on gengchen, tens of thousands of corvée laborers from Xu, Su, Song, Shan, and other prefectures were mobilized to dredge the Bian Canal. On jiashen, corvée laborers from Hua and Bo were set to dredge the Wuzhang River so that it would run east through Dingtao into the Ji, opening the water route to Qing and Yun. The Cai River was also cleared and channeled to open transport routes to Chen and Ying. On yiyou, an edict directed that acting appointees in every circuit were to receive half pay. On bingxu, Tao Gu, Hanlin academician-in-chief and vice minister of war, was appointed vice minister of personnel to fill the post. Huzhou was promoted to a full military commission under the army name Xuande, and its prefect Qian Yi was made military commissioner, at the request of Qian Chu of the Two Zhes. On xinchou, the Emperor again visited Yingchun Park. On jiachen, Wang Decheng, Right Remonstrance Councillor, was demoted to Right Mentor of the Heir Apparent for having recommended an unfit official. An edict granted grain and fodder for official use to prefectures throughout the circuits, with amounts set by rank.
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三月庚申，樞密使王樸卒。 甲子，詔以北境未復，取此月內幸滄州。 以宣徽南院使吳延祚為權東京留守，判開封府事； 以宣徽北院使昝居潤為副使； 以三司使張美為大內都部署。 〈（《東都事略·張美傳》：世宗北征，以美為大內都點檢。）〉 命諸將各領馬步諸軍及戰棹赴滄州。 己巳，濠州奏，鐘離縣饑民死者五百九十有四。 癸酉，詔廢諸州銅魚。 〈（《五代會要》：顯德六年，敕諸道牧守，每遇除移，特降制書，何假符契，其請納銅魚，宜廢之。）〉 甲戌，車駕發京師。
In the third month, on gengshen, Grand Councilor Wang Pu died. On jiazi, an edict announced that because the northern frontier had not yet been recovered, the Emperor would visit Cangzhou before the month was out. Wu Yanzuo, palace domestic commissioner of the southern court, was made acting regent of the Eastern Capital and assigned to administer Kaifeng; Zan Jurun of the northern court was named his deputy; Zhang Mei, commissioner of the three departments, was made chief deployer of the inner palace. (Eastern Capital Epitome, Biography of Zhang Mei: on Shizong's northern campaign, Mei was made chief inspector of the inner palace.)〉 Each general was ordered to lead his cavalry, infantry, and war vessels to Cangzhou. On jisi, Haozhou reported that five hundred ninety-four people had died of famine in Zhongli County. On guiyou, an edict abolished the bronze tally-fish used by prefectures. (Institutional Compendium of the Five Dynasties: in the sixth year of Xiansi, an order to circuit governors declared that on each appointment or transfer a special edict is issued—what need for tally tokens? The requirement of bronze tally-fish should be abolished.)〉 On jiaxu, the imperial procession left the capital.
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夏四月辛卯，車駕次滄州，以前左諫議大夫薛居正為刑部侍郎。 是日，帝率諸軍北征。 壬辰，至乾寧軍，偽寧州刺史王洪以城降。 丁酉，駕御龍舟，率舟師順流而北，首尾數十里。 辛丑，至益津關。 〈（《通鑒》：至益津關，契丹守將終廷暉以城降。）〉 自此以西，水路漸隘，舟師難進，乃舍舟登陸。 壬寅，宿於野次。 時帝先期而至，大軍未集，隨駕之士不及一旅，賴今上率材官騎士以衛乘輿。 癸卯，今上先至瓦橋關，偽守將姚內斌以城降。 〈（《隆平集》：姚內斌，平州人也。 世宗北征，將兵至瓦橋關，內斌為關使，開門請降，世宗以為汝州刺史。）〉 甲辰，鄚州刺史劉楚信以州來降。
In the fourth month of summer, on xinmao, the imperial procession halted at Cangzhou, and former Left Remonstrance and Policy Adviser Xue Juzheng was appointed vice minister of justice. That same day the Emperor led the armies north. On renchen, the army reached Qianning Army, and Wang Hong, the Northern Han-appointed prefect of Ningzhou, surrendered the city. On dingyou, the Emperor boarded his dragon boat and led the fleet downstream; the column stretched bow to stern for several tens of li. On xinchou, the army reached Yijin Pass. (Comprehensive Mirror: at Yijin Pass, the Khitan garrison commander Zhong Tinghui surrendered the city.)〉 West of this point the waterway narrowed and the fleet could not proceed, so the army abandoned the boats and marched overland. On renyin, the Emperor encamped in the open field. The Emperor had arrived ahead of the main army; those with the imperial train numbered less than a regiment. The present sovereign led the skilled cavalry to guard the imperial carriage. On guimao, the present sovereign reached Waqiao Pass first, and the Northern Han garrison commander Yao Neibin surrendered the city. (Longping Collection: Yao Neibin was a native of Ping Prefecture. When Shizong campaigned north and brought troops to Waqiao Pass, Neibin was pass commander; he opened the gate and offered surrender, and Shizong appointed him prefect of Ru.)〉 On jiachen, Liu Chuxin, prefect of Mo, surrendered his prefecture.
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五月乙巳朔，帝駐蹕於瓦橋關。 侍衛親軍都指揮使李重進及諸將相繼至行在，瀛州刺史高彥暉以本城歸順。 關南平，凡得州三、縣十七、戶一萬八千三百六十。 是役也，王師數萬，不亡一矢，邊界城邑皆望風而下。 丙午，帝與諸將議攻幽州，諸將皆以為未可，帝不聽。 是夜，帝不豫，乃止。 戊申，定州節度使孫行友奏，攻下易州，擒偽命刺史李在欽來獻，斬於軍市。 己酉，以瓦橋關為雄州， 〈（《宋史·陳思讓傳》：得瓦橋關為雄州，命思讓為都部署，率兵戍守。）〉 以益津關為霸州。 〈（《宋史·韓令坤傳》：為霸州都部署，率所部兵戍之。）〉 是日，先鋒都指揮使張藏英破契丹數百騎於瓦橋關北，攻下固安縣。 詔發濱、棣二州丁夫城霸州。 庚戌，遣侍衛都指揮使李重進率兵出土門，入河東界。 壬子，車駕發雄州，還京。 泉州節度使劉從效遣別駕王禹錫奉貢於行在，帝以泉州比臣江南，李景方歸奉國家，不欲奪其所屬，但錫詔褒美而已。 丁卯，西京奏，太常卿致仕司徒詡卒。 己巳，侍衛都指揮使李重進奏，破河東賊軍於百井，斬首二千級。 甲戌，上至自雄州。 〈（《卻掃編》：周世宗既定三關，遇疾而退，至澶淵遲留不行，雖宰輔近臣問疾者皆莫得見，中外洶懼。 時張永德為澶州節度使，永德尚周太祖之女，以親故，獨得至臥內，於是群臣因永德言曰：「天下未定，根本空虛，四方諸侯惟幸京師之有變。 今澶、汴相去甚邇，不速歸以安人情，顧憚旦夕之勞而遲回於此，如有不可諱，奈宗廟何！」 永德然之，乘間為世宗言如群臣旨，世宗問：「誰使汝為此言？」 永德對以群臣之意皆願為此，世宗熟思久之，嘆曰：「吾固知汝必為人所教，獨不喻吾意哉！ 然觀汝之窮薄，惡足當此！」 即日趣駕歸京師。）〉
On the first day of the fifth month, yisi, the Emperor halted at Waqiao Pass. Li Chongjin, director of the palace guards, and the other generals reached the temporary court in turn, and Gao Yanhui, prefect of Ying, submitted his city. The region south of the passes was pacified, yielding three prefectures, seventeen counties, and eighteen thousand three hundred sixty households. In this campaign the imperial armies, tens of thousands strong, did not lose a single man to enemy fire; every border town submitted at the first sight of the banners. On bingwu, the Emperor consulted the generals about attacking Youzhou; they all urged that the time was not right, but he would not heed them. That night the Emperor fell ill, and the attack was called off. On wushen, Sun Xingyou, military commissioner of Dingzhou, reported the capture of Yi Prefecture; the Northern Han-appointed prefect Li Zaiqin was taken and presented, then beheaded in the army market. On jiyou, Waqiao Pass was established as Xiong Prefecture, (History of Song, Biography of Chen Sirang: Waqiao Pass was made Xiong Prefecture; Sirang was appointed chief deployer to garrison it with troops.)〉 Yijin Pass was established as Ba Prefecture. (History of Song, Biography of Han Lingkun: he was made chief deployer of Ba and led his troops to garrison it.)〉 That day, Vanguard Director Zhang Zangying routed several hundred Khitan cavalry north of Waqiao Pass and captured Gu'an County. Corvée laborers from Bin and Di were mobilized to build fortifications at Ba Prefecture. On gengxu, Li Chongjin, director of the palace guards, was dispatched through Tumen Pass into the Hedong frontier. On renzi, the imperial procession left Xiong Prefecture for the capital. Liu Congxiao of Quanzhou sent Vice Prefect Wang Yuxi with tribute to the temporary court. The Emperor judged that Quanzhou stood in the same relation as a Jiangnan subject, and since Li Jing had only just returned to allegiance, he did not wish to seize another's domain and merely issued an edict of commendation. On dingmao, the Western Capital reported the death of the retired director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Situ Xu. On jisi, Li Chongjin reported a victory over the Hedong rebels at Baijing with two thousand enemy heads taken. On jiaxu, the Emperor returned from Xiong Prefecture. (Retreat and Sweep: after Shizong secured the three passes he fell ill and withdrew; at Chanyuan he lingered and would not move on. Grand councilors and close ministers who came to inquire after his health were none of them admitted, and alarm spread through court and country. Zhang Yongde was then military commissioner of Cangzhou; having married a daughter of Taizu of Zhou, he alone was admitted to the sickroom by reason of kinship. The officials therefore spoke through Yongde: "The realm is not yet settled and the capital lies exposed; the regional lords all hope for upheaval in the capital. Cang and Bian are very near; if you do not return at once to steady men's hearts but linger here for fear of a day's travel, and the worst should befall—what of the imperial altars!" Yongde agreed and at an opportune moment relayed the officials' plea to Shizong. Shizong asked, "Who put you up to this?" Yongde replied that all the officials wished it. Shizong thought long and sighed: "I knew someone had coached you—you alone fail to grasp what I mean! Yet look at your meager means—how could you be fit for such a role!" That same day he hastened the imperial procession back to the capital.)〉
6
六月乙亥朔，潞州李筠奏，攻下遼州，獲偽刺史張丕旦。 丙子，以皇女薨輟朝三日。 戊寅，鳳翔奏，節度使李暉卒。 鄭州奏，河決原武，詔宣徽南院使吳延祚發近縣丁夫二萬人以塞之。 庚辰，命宣徽北院使昝居潤判開封府事。 晉州節度使楊廷璋奏，率兵入河東界，招降堡寨一十三所。 癸未，立魏王符彥卿女為皇后，仍令所司擇日備禮冊命。 以皇長子宗訓為特進左衛上將軍，封梁王； 以第二子宗讓為左驍衛上將軍，封燕國公。 賜江南進奉使李從善錢二萬貫、絹二萬匹、銀一萬兩，賜兩浙進奉使吳延福錢三千貫、絹五千匹、銀器三十兩。 丁亥，以前青州節度使李洪義為永興軍節度使，永興軍節度使王彥超移鎮鳳翔。 戊子，潞州部送所獲遼州刺史張丕旦等二百四十五人以獻，詔釋之。 己丑，宰臣範質、王溥並參知樞密院事。 以樞密使魏仁浦為中書侍郎、平章事、集賢殿大學士，依前充樞密使； 以宣徽南院使吳延祚為樞密使，行左驍衛上將軍； 以宋州節度使、侍衛都虞候韓通為侍衛親軍副都指揮使，加檢校太尉、同平章事； 澶州節度使兼殿前都點檢、駙馬都尉張永德落軍職，加檢校太尉、同平章事； 以今上為殿前都點檢，加檢校太傅，依前忠武軍節度使。 帝之北征也，凡供軍之物，皆令自京遞送行在。 一日，忽於地中得一木，長二三尺，如人之揭物者，其上卦全題云：「點檢做」，觀者莫測何物也。 至是，今上始受點檢之命，明年春，果自此職以副人望，則「點檢做」之言乃神符也。 辛卯，以宣徽北院使、判開封事昝居潤為左領軍上將軍，充宣徽南院使； 以三司使、左領衛大將軍張美為左監門衛上將軍，充宣徽北院使，判三司。 〈（《東都事略·張美傳》：美少為三司小吏、澶州糧料使，世宗鎮澶州，每有求取，美悉力應之，及即位，連歲征討，糧饋無乏，美之力也。 然每思澶州所為，終不以公忠待之。）〉 癸巳，帝崩於萬歲殿，聖壽三十九。 甲午，宣遺制，梁王於柩前即皇帝位，服紀月日一依舊制。 是日，群臣奉梁王即位於殿東楹，中外發哀。 其年八月，翰林學士、判太常寺事竇儼上謚曰睿武孝文皇帝，廟號世宗。 十一月壬寅朔，葬於慶陵。 宰臣魏仁浦撰謚冊文，王溥撰哀冊文雲。 〈（《五代史補》：世宗在民間，嘗與鄴中大商頡跌氏，忘其名，往江陵販賣茶貨。 至江陵，見有卜者王處士，其術如神，世宗因頡跌氏同往問焉。 方布卦，忽有一蓍躍出，卓然而立，卜者大驚曰：「吾家筮法十餘世矣，常記曾祖以來遺言，凡卜筮而蓍自躍而出者，其人貴不可言，況又卓立不倒，得非為天下之主乎！」 遽起再拜。 世宗雖佯為詰責，而私心甚喜。 於逆旅中夜置酒，與頡跌氏半酣，戲曰：「王處士以我當為天子，若一旦到此，足下要何官，請言之。」 頡跌氏曰：「某三十年作估來，未有不由京洛者，每見稅官坐而獲利，一日所入，可以敵商賈數月，私心羨之。 若大官為天子，某願得京洛稅院足矣。」 世宗笑曰：「何望之卑耶！」 及承郭氏之後踐祚，頡跌猶在，召見，竟如初言以與之。 世宗之征東也，駐蹕於高平，劉崇兼契丹之眾來迎戰。 時帥多持兩端，而王師不利。 親軍帥樊愛能等各退衄，世宗赫怒，躍馬入陣，引五十人直沖崇之牙帳。 崇方張樂飲酒，以示閑暇，及其奄至，莫不驚駭失次，世宗因以奮擊，遂敗之，追奔於城下。 凱旋，駐蹕潞州，且欲出其不意以誅退衄者，乃置酒高會，指樊愛能等數人責之曰：「汝輩皆累朝宿將，非不能用兵者也，然退衄者無他，誠欲將寡人作物貨賣與劉崇爾。 不然，何寡人親戰而劉崇始敗耶？ 如此則卿等雖萬死不足以謝天下，宜其曲膝引頸以待斧誅。」 言訖，命行刑壯士擒出皆斬之。 於是立功士以次行賞，自行伍拔於軍廂者甚眾，其恩威並著，皆此類也。 初，劉崇求援於契丹，得騎數千，及睹世宗兵少，侮之，曰：「吾觀周師易與爾，契丹之眾宜勿用，但以我軍攻戰，自當萬全。 如此則不惟破敵，亦足使契丹見而心服，一舉而有兩利，兵之機也。」 諸將以為然，乃使人謂契丹主將曰：「柴氏與吾，主客之勢，不煩足下余刃，敢請勒兵登高觀之可也。」 契丹不知其謀，從之。 洎世宗之陣也，三軍皆賈勇爭進，無不一當百，契丹望而畏之，故不救而崇敗。 論者曰：「世宗患諸將之難制也久矣，思欲誅之，未有其釁，高平之役，可謂天假，故其斬決而無貸焉。 自是姑息之政不行，朝廷始尊大，自非英主，其孰能為之哉！ 世宗既下江北，駐蹕於建安，以書召偽主。 偽主惶恐，命鐘謨、李德明為使，以見世宗。 德明素有詞辯，以利害說世宗使罷兵。 世宗且知之，乃盛陳兵師，排旗幟戈戟，為鹿項道以湊禦，然後引德明等入見。 世宗謂之曰：「汝江南自以為唐之後，衣冠禮樂世無比，何故與寡人隔一帶水，更不發一使奉書相問，惟泛海以通契丹，舍內事外，禮將安在？ 今又聞汝以詞說寡人罷兵，是將寡人比六國時一群癡漢，何不知人之甚也！ 汝慎勿言，當速歸報汝主，令徑來跪寡人兩拜，則無事矣。 不然，則寡人須看金陵城，借府庫以犒軍，汝等得無悔乎！」 於是德明等戰懼，不能措一辭，即日告歸。 及見偽主，具陳世宗英烈之狀，非四方所能敵。 偽主計無所出，遂上表服罪，且乞保江南之地，以奉宗廟、修職貢，其詞甚哀。 世宗許之，因曰：「叛則征，服則懷，寡人之心也。」 於是遣使者賫書安之，然後凱還。 論者以世宗加兵於江南，不獨臨之以威，抑亦諭之以禮，可謂得大君之體矣。 陳摶，陜西人，能為詩，數舉不第，慨然有塵外之趣，隱居華山，自是其名大振。 世宗之在位也，以四方未服，思欲牢籠英傑，且以摶曾踐場屋，不得志而隱，必有奇才遠略，於是召到闕下，拜左拾遺。 摶不就，堅乞歸山，世宗許之。 未幾，賜之書：「敕陳摶，朕以汝高謝人寰，棲心物外，養太浩自然之氣，應少微處士之星，既不屈於王侯，遂甘隱於巖壑，樂我中和之化，慶乎下武之期，而能遠涉山塗，暫來城闕，浹旬延遇，宏益居多，白雲暫駐於帝鄉，好爵難縻於達士。 昔唐堯之至聖，有巢、許為外臣，朕雖寡薄，庶遵前鑒。 恐山中所闕，已令華州刺史每事供須。 乍反故山，履茲春序，緬懷高尚，當適所宜，故茲撫問，想宜知悉。」 即陶穀之詞也。 初，摶之被召，嘗為詩一章云：「草澤吾皇詔，圖南摶姓陳。 三峰十年客，四海一閑人。 世態從來薄，詩情自得真。 超然居物外，何必使為臣。」 好事者欣然謂之答詔詩。 世宗以張昭遠好古直，甚重之，因問曰：「朕欲一賢相，卿試為言朝廷誰可。」 昭遠對曰：「以臣所見，莫若李濤。」 世宗常薄濤之為人，聞昭遠之舉甚驚，曰：「李濤本非重厚，朕以為無大臣體，卿首舉此何也？」 昭遠曰：「陛下所聞止名行，曾不問才略如何耳。 且濤事晉高祖，曾上疏論邠州節度使張彥澤蓄無君心，宜早圖之，不然則為國患。 晉祖不納，其後契丹南侵，彥澤果有中渡之變，晉社殲焉。 先帝潛龍時，亦上疏請解其兵權，以備非常之變，少主不納，未幾先帝遂有天下。 以國家安危未兆間，濤已先見，非賢而何？ 臣所以首舉之者，正為此也。」 世宗曰：「今卿言甚公，然此人終不可於中書安置。」 居無何，濤亦卒。 濤為人不拘禮法，與弟浣雖甚雍睦，然聚語之際，不典之言，往往間作。 浣娶禮部尚書竇寧固之女，年甲稍高，成婚之夕，竇女出參，濤輒望塵下拜，浣驚曰：「大哥風狂耶？ 新婦參阿伯，豈有答禮儀！」 濤應曰：「我不風，只將謂是親家母。」 浣且漸且怒。 既坐，竇氏復拜，濤又叉手當胸，作歇後語曰：「慚無竇建，繆作梁山，喏喏喏！」 時聞者莫不絕倒。 凡濤於閨門之內，不存禮法也如此，世宗以為無大臣體，不復任用，宜哉！ 世宗志在四方，常恐運祚速而功業不就，以王樸精究術數，一旦從容問之曰：「朕當得幾年？」 對曰「陛下用心，以蒼生為念，天高聽卑，自當蒙福。 臣固陋，輒以所學推之，三十年後非所知也。」 世宗喜曰：「若如卿言，寡人當以十年開拓天下，十年養百姓，十年致太平足矣。」 其後自瓦橋關回戈，未到關而晏駕，計在位止及五年餘六個月，五六乃三十之成數也，蓋樸婉而言之。 世宗末年，大舉以取幽州，契丹聞其親征，君臣恐懼，沿邊城壘皆望風而下，凡蕃部之在幽州者，亦連宵遁去。 車駕至瓦橋關，探邏是實，甚喜，以為大勛必集，登高阜，因以觀六師。 頃之，有父老百餘輩持牛酒以獻，世宗問曰：「此地何名？」 對曰：「歷世相傳，謂之病龍臺。」 默然，遽上馬馳去。 是夜，聖體不豫，翌日病亟，有詔回戈，未到關而晏駕。 先是，世宗之在民間也，常夢神人以大傘見遺，色如郁金，加《道經》一卷，其後遂有天下。 及瓦橋不豫之際，復夢向之神人來索傘與經，夢中還之而驚起，謂近侍曰：「吾夢不祥，豈非天命將去耶！」 遂召大臣，戒以後事。 初，幽州聞車駕將至，父老或有竊議曰：「此不足憂。 且天子姓柴，幽州為燕，燕者亦煙火之謂也，此柴入火不利之兆，安得成功。」 卒如其言。）〉
On the first day of the sixth month, yihai, Li Jun of Luzhou reported the capture of Liao Prefecture and the Northern Han-appointed prefect Zhang Pidan. On bingzi, court was suspended for three days upon the death of an imperial daughter. On wuyin, Fengxiang reported the death of military commissioner Li Hui. Zheng Prefecture reported a breach of the Yellow River at Yuanwu; Wu Yanzuo was ordered to mobilize twenty thousand corvée laborers from nearby counties to stem it. On gengchen, Zan Jurun of the northern court was assigned to administer Kaifeng. Yang Tingzhang of Jin reported that he had led troops into the Hedong frontier and induced thirteen fortified strongholds to surrender. On guiwei, the daughter of Fu Yanqing, Prince of Wei, was installed as empress, and the responsible offices were ordered to choose a day for the investiture ceremony. The eldest son Zongxun was made specially advanced general of the Left Guard and enfeoffed as Prince of Liang; the second son Zongrang was made general of the Left Tiger Swift Guard and enfeoffed as Duke of Yan. Li Congshan, the Jiangnan tribute envoy, received twenty thousand strings of cash, twenty thousand bolts of silk, and ten thousand taels of silver; Wu Yanfu of the Two Zhes received three thousand strings of cash, five thousand bolts of silk, and thirty taels of silver vessels. On dinghai, former Qingzhou commissioner Li Hongyi became commissioner of Yongxing Army, and Wang Yanchao of Yongxing was transferred to Fengxiang. On wuzi, Luzhou sent up two hundred forty-five captives including Zhang Pidan, prefect of Liao; an edict ordered them released. On jichou, grand councilors Fan Zhi and Wang Pu were both made participants in the Grand Council. Wei Renpu, grand councilor, was made vice director of the secretariat, concurrent grand councilor, and academician of the Hall of Assembled Worthies, while retaining his grand council post; Wu Yanzuo of the southern court was made grand councilor with acting rank as general of the Left Tiger Swift Guard; Han Tong of Songzhou, deputy director of the palace guards, was made deputy director of the palace guards with acting grand marshal and concurrent grand councilor; Zhang Yongde of Cangzhou, director of the palace front and imperial son-in-law, was relieved of his military posts and given acting grand marshal and concurrent grand councilor; The present sovereign was made director of the palace front with acting grand tutor, while remaining military commissioner of Zhongwu Army. During the northern campaign, all military supplies were relayed from the capital to the temporary court. One day a piece of wood two or three feet long was unearthed, shaped like a figure holding something aloft; inscribed on it in full was "Inspector-General's post," and none who saw it could tell what it portended. Now the present sovereign first received the inspector-general's appointment; the following spring he did indeed rise from that post to fulfill men's hopes—so the inscription "Inspector-General's post" was a divine omen. On xinmao, Zan Jurun of the northern court, who was administering Kaifeng, was made general of the Left Lead Army and palace domestic commissioner of the southern court; Zhang Mei, commissioner of the three departments and great general of the Left Lead Guard, was made general of the Left Gate Guard, palace domestic commissioner of the northern court, and assigned to administer the three departments. (Eastern Capital Epitome, Biography of Zhang Mei: Mei began as a petty clerk of the three departments and grain commissary at Cangzhou. While Shizong was stationed there, Mei met every request; after his enthronement, supplies never failed through years of campaigning—thanks to Mei. Yet Shizong often recalled what had passed at Cangzhou and never treated him with full trust and favor.)〉 On guisi, the Emperor died in Wansui Hall at the age of thirty-nine. On jiawu, the testamentary edict was proclaimed; the Prince of Liang took the throne before the bier, with mourning observances following the established calendar. That day the officials installed the Prince of Liang at the hall's eastern pillar, and mourning was proclaimed throughout the realm. In the eighth month of that year, Dou Yan, Hanlin academician and administrator of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, proposed the posthumous title Emperor Ruiwu Xiaowen, with the temple name Shizong. On the first day of the eleventh month, renyin, he was buried at Qingling. Grand Councilor Wei Renpu composed the posthumous inscription and Wang Pu the lamentation text. (Supplement to the History of the Five Dynasties: while still a commoner, Shizong once traveled with a wealthy merchant of Ye surnamed Xiedie, whose personal name is lost, to Jiangling to trade in tea. At Jiangling they met a diviner, Recluse Wang, whose skill seemed supernatural; Shizong went with Xiedie to consult him. As he cast the hexagram, a yarrow stalk suddenly leaped out and stood upright. The diviner cried in alarm: "Our divination art has passed down more than ten generations. I remember my ancestors' teaching: when a stalk leaps out on its own, that person's rank is beyond telling—and here it stands without falling. Surely he is destined to rule all under Heaven!" He rose at once and bowed twice. Shizong pretended to reprove him but was secretly delighted. At an inn that night he set out wine and, half drunk with Xiedie, jested: "Recluse Wang says I am destined to be emperor. If that day comes, what office would you want? Tell me plainly." Xiedie said: "I have traded for thirty years and every route passed through the capital. I have seen how tax officers sit and profit—a single day's take equals a merchant's months. I have long envied that. If you become emperor, I would be content with the capital tax bureau." Shizong laughed: "How modest your ambition!" When he succeeded the Guo house and took the throne, Xiedie was still alive; summoned to court, he received exactly what had been promised in jest. On Shizong's eastern campaign he halted at Gaoping; Liu Chong came to battle with Khitan allies as well. Many commanders wavered, and the imperial army was faring badly. Guard commanders such as Fan Aineng fell back in defeat. Shizong blazed with anger, spurred his horse into the line, and with fifty men charged straight at Chong's headquarters. Chong was feasting with music to show his ease; when Shizong burst upon him, his men panicked. Shizong pressed the attack, routed the enemy, and pursued them to the city wall. Returning in triumph, he halted at Luzhou and planned to catch the defeated commanders off guard. At a grand banquet he pointed at Fan Aineng and several others and rebuked them: "You are veteran generals of successive reigns, not men who cannot fight—yet you fell back because you wished to sell me to Liu Chong like goods on the market. Otherwise, why was Liu Chong defeated only when I fought in person? For this, ten thousand deaths would not suffice to answer to the realm; bend your knees and offer your necks to the axe." When he had finished, executioners seized them and all were beheaded. Meritorious soldiers were then rewarded in turn, and many were raised from the ranks to guard posts; his blend of mercy and severity was always of this kind. Earlier Liu Chong had sought Khitan aid and obtained several thousand horsemen. Seeing Shizong's small force, he despised it and said: "The Zhou army is easy prey. Best not use the Khitan; let my army alone fight and all will be secure. Thus we defeat the enemy and make the Khitan see and submit—one stroke, two gains: the art of war." The generals agreed and sent word to the Khitan commander: "Between the Chai house and us this is a contest of host and guest; spare your blades. We ask only that you array your troops on the heights and watch." The Khitan, unaware of the plot, complied. When Shizong formed his line, all three armies vied to advance, each man fighting as ten; the Khitan looked on in fear and did not intervene, and Chong was defeated. Commentators say: "Shizong had long chafed at unruly generals and wished to execute them but lacked occasion. The Gaoping campaign was heaven's gift; hence he beheaded them without mercy. From then indulgent governance ceased and the court grew formidable. Who but an heroic ruler could have done this! After Shizong had crossed to the north bank of the Yangzi, he halted at Jian'an and summoned the Southern Tang ruler by letter. The Southern Tang ruler was alarmed and sent Zhong Mo and Li Deming as envoys to see Shizong. Deming was known for eloquence and sought to persuade Shizong by arguments of advantage and harm to halt the campaign. Shizong already knew this and arrayed his troops in full display, with banners, spears, and halberds, forming an avenue of barriers for the imperial approach before admitting Deming and the others to audience. Shizong said to them: "You of Jiangnan call yourselves heirs of Tang, with rites and music unmatched in the age—yet separated from me by only a strip of water, you send no envoy with a letter of greeting, but cross the sea to deal with the Khitan, abandoning kin for outsiders. Where is propriety in that? Now I hear you use words to persuade me to halt the army—you take me for one of the witless lords of the Warring States. How little you know your man! Say no more. Return at once and tell your lord to come straightway and kneel before me in two prostrations, and all will be well. Otherwise I shall have to visit Jinling and borrow its treasury to reward my army—will you not regret it!" Deming and the others trembled with fear and could not utter a word; that same day they asked leave to return. When they saw their ruler, they described Shizong's heroic bearing in full—not to be matched anywhere under heaven. Their ruler could devise no plan and submitted a memorial confessing guilt, begging to keep Jiangnan to serve his ancestral temple and maintain tribute; the wording was deeply plaintive. Shizong granted it and said: "Rebellion brings war; submission brings mercy—that is my policy." He then sent envoys with a letter of reassurance and returned in triumph. Commentators hold that in bringing force against Jiangnan, Shizong confronted them with might yet also instructed them in propriety—the manner of a great prince. Chen Tuan of Shaanxi could compose poetry; having failed the examinations several times, he turned to life beyond the world and retired to Mount Hua, whence his fame spread widely. While Shizong reigned, with the realm not yet united, he wished to win outstanding men; because Tuan had entered the examinations, failed to advance, and retired, he must possess rare talent—so Tuan was summoned to court and made Left Remonstrance and Policy Adviser. Tuan declined and firmly begged to return to the mountains; Shizong granted his request. Before long he granted him a letter: "To Chen Tuan: You have loftily withdrawn from the world and dwell beyond things, nurturing primordial breath and answering to the star of the recluse. Refusing princes, you hide in cliffs and ravines, delighting in our culture of harmony and rejoicing in this age of martial virtue; yet you crossed mountain paths to visit the capital. For more than ten days we received you, and the benefit was mostly ours. White clouds briefly rested at court; fine rank cannot bind the man of attainment. Of old the sage Yao had Youchao and Xu as ministers beyond the court; We, though meager, would follow that example. Fearing want in the mountains, We have ordered the prefect of Huazhou to supply your every need. Having returned to your mountain in this spring season, We think fondly of your lofty withdrawal, which suits you well; therefore We send this greeting—may you know Our mind." These were the words of Tao Gu. When Tuan was first summoned, he composed a poem: "From the wilds comes Our Emperor's edict; plotting southward is Chen surnamed Tuan. A guest of the three peaks for ten years, one idle man under all heaven. The world's ways have ever been shallow; in poetry feeling finds its truth. Transcendent, dwelling beyond things—why must one serve as minister?" Those fond of such things gladly called it his poem in reply to the edict. Shizong greatly valued Zhang Zhaoyuan for his love of antiquity and upright character and asked: "I want a worthy grand councilor. Tell me who in court will serve." Zhaoyuan replied: "In my view, none is better than Li Tao." Shizong had always disdained Tao's character; hearing the recommendation he was surprised and said: "Li Tao is not grave by nature; I consider him without the bearing of a great minister. Why recommend him first?" Zhaoyuan said: "What Your Majesty has heard concerns only reputation and conduct; you have never asked about his talent and strategy. Moreover, Tao served Gaozu of Later Jin and once memorialized that Zhang Yanzhe, military commissioner of Bin, harbored disloyal intent and should be dealt with early, or he would become a national calamity. Gaozu did not accept it; afterward the Khitan invaded south, Yanzhe brought about the disaster at Zhongdu, and the Jin state perished. When Taizu was still in obscurity, Tao also memorialized to strip him of military authority against extraordinary change; the young lord did not accept it, and before long Taizu possessed the realm. When the state's safety and peril gave no sign, Tao had already foreseen—if that is not worthiness, what is? That is precisely why I recommended him first." Shizong said: "What you say is fair, yet this man can never be placed in the Secretariat." Before long Tao also died. Tao did not bind himself to ritual propriety. Though very close to his younger brother Huan, when they gathered to talk, unseemly words often slipped in. Huan married the daughter of Dou Ninggu, minister of rites, who was somewhat advanced in years. On the wedding night, when the bride came out to pay respects, Tao bowed low in the dust. Huan cried: "Elder brother, are you mad? When a new bride pays respects to her husband's elder brother, is there any ritual of reply!" Tao replied: "I am not mad—I took her for my mother-in-law." Huan was both ashamed and angry. When they were seated, the Dou woman bowed again; Tao clasped his hands at his chest and made a rhyming quip: "Ashamed to lack Dou Jian, wrongly playing Liangshan—yes, yes, yes!" Those who heard it all collapsed with laughter. Such was Tao's disregard for propriety even within the family; that Shizong held him unfit for high office and did not employ him again was fitting! Shizong's ambition lay in the four quarters; he often feared his allotted years would pass before his work was done. Because Wang Pu was expert in divination, one day he asked him casually: "How many years shall I have?" He replied: "Your Majesty's heart is set on the people; Heaven is high yet hears the lowly—you will surely be blessed. I am crude and dull; applying what I have learned, what lies beyond thirty years I cannot tell." Shizong rejoiced and said: "If it is as you say, I shall use ten years to conquer the realm, ten years to nurture the people, and ten years to bring great peace—that will suffice." Afterward, turning back from Waqiao Pass, he died before reaching it. His reign amounted to only five years and six months—five and six make thirty; Pu had spoken euphemistically. In Shizong's last years he launched a great campaign against Youzhou. The Khitan, hearing he was campaigning in person, were terrified; border fortresses submitted at sight, and tribal groups at Youzhou fled overnight. The imperial procession reached Waqiao Pass; scouts confirmed the reports, and he rejoiced, thinking great triumph was at hand. He ascended a high mound to review the armies. Before long more than a hundred elders came with oxen and wine. Shizong asked: "What is this place called?" They replied: "From age to age it has been called Sick Dragon Terrace." He fell silent, mounted at once, and galloped away. That night he fell ill; the next day his illness grew acute. An edict ordered the army to turn back; before reaching the pass he died. Earlier, while still a commoner, Shizong often dreamed that a divine man gave him a great umbrella colored like saffron, together with a volume of the Daoist Classic; afterward he came to possess the realm. When he fell ill at Waqiao, he dreamed again that the divine man came to reclaim the umbrella and the classic; in the dream he returned them and woke in alarm, telling his attendants: "My dream is ill-omened—is Heaven's mandate about to depart!" He then summoned the great ministers and charged them regarding what was to follow. When Youzhou first heard the imperial procession was coming, some elders whispered: "This is not worth worry. Moreover the emperor's surname is Chai; Youzhou is Yan, and yan also means flame—Chai entering fire is an ill omen; how could he succeed?" In the end it was exactly as they said.)〉
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史臣曰：世宗頃在仄微，尤務韜晦，及天命有屬，嗣守鴻業，不日破高平之陣，逾年復秦、鳳之封，江北、燕南，取之如拾芥，神武雄略，乃一代之英主也。 加以留心政事，朝夕不倦，摘伏辯奸，多得其理。 臣下有過，必面折之，常言太祖養成二王之惡，以致君臣之義，不保其終，故帝駕馭豪傑，失則明言之，功則厚賞之，文武參用，莫不服其明而懷其恩也。 所以仙去之日，遠近號慕。 然稟性傷於太察，用刑失於太峻，及事行之後，亦多自追悔。 逮至末年，漸用寬典，知用兵之頻並，憫黎民之勞苦，蓋有意於康濟矣。 而降年不永，美誌不就，悲夫！
The historian writes: Shizong was lately in obscurity and practiced concealment; when Heaven's mandate fell to him, he inherited the great enterprise. Within days he broke the Gaoping line; within a year he recovered Qin and Feng. North of the Yangzi and south of Yan he took territory as one picks up mustard seeds. Divine in martial prowess and heroic in strategy, he was the heroic ruler of his age. Moreover he gave his mind to government, unwearied morning and evening; in exposing hidden wrongs and distinguishing treachery he usually got to the heart of the matter. When subordinates erred, he rebuked them to their faces. He often said that Taizu had nurtured the wickedness of the two princes, so that the bond between ruler and minister could not be preserved to the end. Therefore he controlled bold spirits: faults he named plainly, merit he rewarded richly; civil and military alike he employed, and all submitted to his clarity and cherished his grace. Therefore when he departed this life, near and far mourned him with cries of longing. Yet his nature was marred by excessive keenness of perception, and his punishments erred on the side of severity; after the fact he often regretted them himself. In his last years he gradually employed lenient measures, knowing how frequent warfare had become and pitying the people's toil—he surely aimed at healing and relief. Yet his years were cut short and his fine purpose unfulfilled—how lamentable!