1
王峻，字秀峰，相州安陽人也。 父豐，本郡樂營使。 峻幼慧黠善歌，梁貞明初，張筠鎮相州，憐峻敏惠，遂畜之。 及莊宗入魏州，筠棄鎮南渡，以峻自隨。 時租庸使趙巖訪筠於其第，筠召峻聲歌以侑酒，巖悅，筠因以贈之，頗得親愛。 梁亡，趙氏族滅，峻流落無依，寄食於符離陳氏之家，久之彌窘，乃事三司使張延朗，所給甚薄。 清泰末，延朗誅，漢祖盡得延朗之資產仆從，而峻在籍中，從歷數鎮，常為典客。 漢祖踐阼，授客省使，奉使荊南，留於襄、漢為監軍，入為內客省使。 及趙思綰作亂於永興，漢隱帝命郭從義討之，以峻為兵馬都監。 從義與峻不協，甚如水火。 未幾，改宣徽北院使。 賊平，加檢校太傅，轉南院使。
Wang Jun, courtesy name Xiufeng, was a native of Anyang in Xiang Prefecture. His father Feng served as director of the commandery music camp. As a boy Jun was clever, quick-witted, and skilled at singing. In the early Zhenming reign of Liang, Zhang Yun was posted to Xiang Prefecture; taking pity on the boy's intelligence, he took him in and raised him. When Emperor Zhuangzong entered Weizhou, Yun abandoned his command and fled south, taking Jun with him. At that time Zhao Yan, commissioner for rent and corvée labor, called on Yun at his mansion. Yun had Jun sing to enliven the wine. Yan was delighted, and Yun presented Jun to him as a gift; he soon won Zhao's warm regard. When Liang fell and the Zhao clan was destroyed, Jun was cast adrift with nowhere to turn. He lived on the Chen family's charity at Fuli; as months passed his plight grew worse, and he entered the service of Zhang Yanlang, commissioner of the three fiscal agencies—but the pay was meager indeed. Near the end of the Qingtai era Yanlang was put to death. The Han founder Liu Zhiyuan seized all his property and retainers; Jun was listed among them and followed him through several provincial postings, usually as protocol officer. When Liu Zhiyuan took the throne he made Jun commissioner of the guest bureau, then sent him on embassy to Jingnan. He was left behind as military supervisor at Xiangyang and Hanzhong, and later recalled to serve as inner commissioner of the guest bureau. When Zhao Sixian rose in rebellion at Yongxing, Emperor Yindi of Later Han ordered Guo Congyi to crush him and appointed Jun director of armies and cavalry. Congyi and Jun could not work together—they were as incompatible as water and fire. Before long he was transferred to commissioner of the northern directorate of the palace secretariat. After the rebels were subdued he was given the honorary title Grand Mentor and moved to commissioner of the southern directorate.
2
太祖鎮鄴，兼北面兵馬，峻為監軍，留駐鄴城。 隱帝蕭墻變起，峻亦為群小所構，舉家見害。 從太祖赴闕，綢繆帷幄，贊成大事，峻居首焉。 京師平定，受漢太后令，充樞密使。 太祖北征，至澶州，為諸軍擁迫，峻與王殷在京聞變，乃遣侍衛馬軍都指揮使郭崇往宋州，前申州刺史馬鐸往許州，以防他變，二州安然，亦峻之謀也。 太祖踐阼，加平章事，尋兼右僕射、門下侍郎平章事，監修國史。 時朝廷初建，四方多故，峻夙夜奉事，知無不為，每侍太祖商榷軍事，未嘗不移時而退，甚有裨益。 然為性輕躁，舉措率易，以天下之事為己任，每有啟請，多自任情。 太祖從而順之，則忻然而退； 稍未允可，則應聲而慍，不遜之語隨事輒發。 太祖素知其為人，且以佐命之故，每優容之。 峻年長於太祖二歲，太祖雖登大位，時以兄呼之，有時呼表字，不忘布衣之契也。 峻以此益自負焉。
When Guo Wei was military governor at Ye and also commanded the northern armies, Jun served as his military supervisor and remained garrisoned at Ye. When the palace coup struck under Emperor Yindi, Jun too was framed by petty schemers, and his entire household was slaughtered. He followed Guo Wei to the capital, worked closely with him in the command tent, and helped bring the great enterprise to success—Jun ranked foremost among them. Once the capital was secured he received orders from the Han empress dowager and was appointed director of the bureau of military affairs. When Guo Wei marched north and reached Cangzhou, the armies pressed him to take the throne. Jun and Wang Yin, hearing the news in the capital, dispatched Palace Guard cavalry commander Guo Chong to Songzhou and the former prefect of Shen, Ma Duo, to Xuzhou to forestall any other upheaval. Both prefectures stayed calm—another stroke planned by Jun. When Guo Wei became emperor, Jun was made grand councilor; soon he also held the posts of right vice director of the imperial secretariat, vice minister of the gate department and grand councilor, and supervisor for the compilation of the national history. The dynasty was new and troubles pressed on every side. Jun attended day and night, leaving nothing undone that he could attempt. Whenever he sat with the emperor to weigh military affairs he would not withdraw until hours had passed—his counsel proved of real benefit. Yet he was by nature flighty and rash, careless in his bearing, and treated the affairs of the realm as his personal burden. When he petitioned the throne he usually followed whim rather than rule. If the emperor agreed, he would withdraw well pleased. If assent fell even slightly short, anger flared on the spot and insubordinate words spilled out at every turn. Guo Wei had long known his temper, and for his merit in founding the dynasty showed him forbearance time and again. Jun was two years older than the emperor. Though Guo Wei now wore the throne, he would sometimes address him as elder brother, sometimes call him Xiufeng—never forgetting their bond as men in plain cloth. Jun grew all the more prideful on that account.
3
廣順元年冬，劉崇與契丹圍晉州，峻請行應援，太祖用為行營都部署，以徐州節度使王彥超為副。 詔諸軍並取峻節度，許峻以便宜從事，軍行資用仰給於官，隨行將吏得自選擇。 將發之前，召宴於滋德殿，太祖出女樂以寵之。 奉辭之日，恩賜優厚，不拘常制。 及發，太祖幸西莊，親臨宴餞，別賜御馬玉帶，執手而別。 峻至陜駐留數夕，劉崇攻晉州甚急，太祖憂其不可支，議親征，取澤州路入，與峻會合，先令諭峻。 峻遣驛騎馳奏，請車駕不行幸。 時已降御劄，行有日矣，會峻奏至，乃止。 峻軍既過絳郡，距平陽一舍，賊軍燔營，狼狽而遁。 峻入晉州，或請追賊，必有大利，峻猶豫久之，翌日方遣騎軍襲賊，信宿而還。 向使峻極力追躡，則並、汾之孽，無噍類矣。 峻亦深恥無功，因計度增修平陽故城而回。 時永興軍節度使李洪信，漢室之密戚也，自太祖踐阼，恒有憂沮之意，而本城軍不滿千，峻出征至陜州，以救援晉州為辭，抽起數百人，及劉崇北遁，又遣禁兵千餘人，屯於京兆，洪信懼，遂請入朝。 峻軍回，太祖厚加優賜。 時慕容彥超叛於兗州，已遣侍衛步軍都指揮使曹英、客省使向訓率兵攻之。 峻意欲自將兵討賊，累言於太祖曰：「慕容劇賊，曹英不易與之敵耳。」 太祖默然。 未幾親征，命峻為隨駕一行都部署，破賊之日，峻督軍在城南，其眾先登，頗有得色。 從駕還京，未幾貢表乞解樞機，即時退歸私第。
In the winter of the first year of Guangshun, Liu Chong and the Khitan besieged Jin Prefecture. Jun asked to lead the relief army; Guo Wei appointed him overall commander of the field headquarters, with Wang Yanchao, military governor of Xuzhou, as his deputy. An edict ordered every army to obey Jun's command, allowed him to act at his own discretion, promised that campaign expenses would be met from the treasury, and let him choose his own staff of officers and clerks. On the eve of departure the court feasted him in the Hall of Nurturing Virtue, and the emperor sent out female musicians to honor him. On the day he took formal leave, imperial gifts were lavish beyond the usual scale. As the army set out, Guo Wei went to the Western Villa and personally feasted him on his departure, then gave him an imperial horse and jade belt and clasped his hands in farewell. Jun reached Shan and halted several nights. Liu Chong's assault on Jin Prefecture was fierce; the emperor feared the city could not stand and considered leading the campaign himself along the Ze Prefecture road to join Jun, and first sent word to inform him. Jun sent a courier with an urgent memorial begging the emperor not to take the field in person. An imperial rescript had already been issued and the departure was only days away—but when Jun's memorial arrived, the journey was called off. Once Jun's army had passed Jiang Prefecture and was a day's march from Pingyang, the enemy burned their camps and fled in disorder. Jun entered Jin Prefecture. Some urged him to pursue, promising a rich prize; he hesitated for a long while. Only the next day did he send cavalry after the enemy, and they returned after two nights on the road. Had Jun pressed the pursuit with all his strength, the rebel survivors of Bing and Fen would have been wiped out to the last man. Deeply shamed at accomplishing so little, he planned and enlarged the repairs on the old walls of Pingyang, then marched home. Li Hongxin, military governor of Yongxing, was a close kinsman of the Han house. Since Guo Wei took the throne he had shown constant unease, yet his city garrison numbered fewer than a thousand. When Jun marched out and reached Shan, he used the relief of Jin Prefecture as a pretext to draft several hundred men from him; and when Liu Chong fled north, Jun sent more than a thousand palace guards to garrison Jingzhao. Hongxin was terrified and petitioned to come to court. When Jun's army returned, the emperor showered him with generous rewards. Murong Yanchao had rebelled at Yan Prefecture; the court had already sent Palace Guard infantry commander Cao Ying and guest-bureau commissioner Xiang Xun to attack him. Jun wanted to take the field himself. Again and again he told the emperor, "Murong is a ferocious rebel—Cao Ying will not easily stand against him. The emperor said nothing. Before long the emperor marched in person and named Jun overall commander of the entire retinue. On the day the rebels were broken, Jun directed the southern wing; his men were first over the wall, and he could not hide his satisfaction. He returned with the imperial train to the capital; before long he memorialized asking to be relieved of the bureau of military affairs and at once retired to his private mansion.
4
峻貪權利，多機數，好施小惠，喜人附己。 太祖登極之初，務存謙抑，潛龍將佐未甚進用，其後鄭仁誨、李重進、向訓等稍遷要職，峻心忌之，至是求退，蓋偵太祖之意也。 未陳請之前，多發外諸侯書以求保證，旬浹之內，諸道馳騎進納峻書，聞者驚駭其事。 峻連貢三章，中使宣諭無虛日，太祖嚴駕將幸其第，峻聞之，即馳馬入見，太祖慰勞久之，復令視事。 峻又於本院之東，別建公署，廓廡廳事，高廣華侈。 及土木之功畢，請太祖臨幸，恩賜甚厚。 其後內園新起小殿，峻視之，奏曰：「宮室已多，何用於此？」 太祖曰：「樞密院舍宇不少，公更自興造何也？」 峻慚默而退。 時峻以前事趙巖，頗承寵愛，至是欲希贈官立碑。 或謂峻曰：「趙巖以諂佞事君，破壞梁室，至今言者無不切齒，茍如所欲，必貽物議。」 乃止。 巖侄崇勛，居於陳郡，峻為求官田宅以賜之，太祖亦從之。 三年春，修利河堤，大興土功，峻受詔檢校。 既而世宗自澶州入覲，峻素憚世宗之聰明英果，聞其赴闕，即自河次歸朝。 居無何，邀求兼領青州，太祖不得已而授之。 既受命，求暫赴任，奏借左藏綾絹萬匹，從之。
Jun was greedy for power, full of schemes, fond of small favors, and happiest when men clustered about him. Early in Guo Wei's reign he had kept his former companions in check and advanced them slowly. Later Zheng Renhui, Li Chongjin, Xiang Xun, and others were gradually promoted to high office. Jun resented it. His request to retire was largely a probe of the emperor's mind. Even before he filed the petition he had sent letters far and wide to regional commanders seeking pledges of support. Within a fortnight relay riders from every circuit galloped in with his letters. All who heard of it were shocked. Jun sent up three memorials in a row. Palace envoys came day after day with the emperor's word. Guo Wei in full procession was about to visit his mansion; Jun heard of it and galloped straight to court. The emperor comforted him at length and ordered him back to office. Jun also built a new official compound east of his bureau, with corridors and reception halls lofty, spacious, and sumptuous. When the building was finished he invited the emperor to visit in person, and the gifts showered on him were exceedingly rich. Later, when a small hall was built in the imperial park, Jun saw it and memorialized: "There are already more than enough palaces—why build this?" Taizu replied: "The Bureau of Military Affairs already has ample quarters—why are you building more on your own?" Jun said nothing more, withdrew in shame, and held his tongue. Jun had once served Zhao Yan and enjoyed his favor; now he hoped to win a posthumous office and a commemorative stele. Someone warned him: "Zhao Yan flattered his sovereign and ruined the Liang house; men still speak of him with clenched teeth. If you have your way, you will invite scandal." He dropped the matter. Yan's nephew Chongxun lived in Chen commandery; Jun secured official land and a mansion for him as a gift, and Taizu agreed. In the spring of the third year the court repaired the river dikes on a vast scale; Jun was ordered to supervise the works. Soon afterward Shizong came from Cazhou to attend court. Jun had long feared his intelligence and resolve; hearing that he was on his way to the capital, Jun left the river works at once and returned. Before long he pressed to hold Qingzhou as well; Taizu, unable to refuse, granted the post. After accepting the commission he asked leave to take up the post and requested ten thousand bolts of damask from the Left Treasury; the request was granted.
5
是歲，戶部侍郎趙上交權知貢舉，上交嘗詣峻，峻言及一童子，上交不達其旨，榜出之日，童子不第，峻銜之。 及貢院申中書門下，取日過堂，峻知印，判定過日。 及上交引新及第人至中書，峻在政事堂厲聲曰：「今歲選士不公，當須覆試。」 諸相曰：「但緣已行指揮行過，臨事不欲改移，況未敕下，覆試非晚。」 峻愈怒，詬責上交，聲聞於外。 少頃，竟令引過。 及罷，上交詣本廳謝峻，峻又延之飲酌從容。 翌日，峻奏上交知舉不公，請致之於法，太祖頷之而已。 又奏請以顏愆、陳觀代範質、李穀為相。 太祖曰：「進退宰輔，未可倉卒，待徐思之。」 峻論列其事，奏對不遜。 太祖未食，日將亭午，諍之不已。 太祖曰：「節假之內，未欲便行，已俟假開，即依所奏。」 峻退至中書。 是月，吏部選人過門下，峻當其事，頗疑選部不公，其擬官選人落下者三十餘人。 次日寒食時節，臣僚各歸私第。 午時，宣召宰臣、樞密使，及入，幽峻於別所。 太祖見馮道已下，泣曰：「峻淩朕頗甚，無禮太過，擬欲盡去左右臣僚，翦朕羽翼。 朕兒在外，專意阻隔，暫令到闕，即懷怨望。 豈有既總樞機，又兼宰相，堅求重鎮，尋亦授之，任其襟懷，尚未厭足，如此無君，誰能甘忍！」 即召翰林學士徐臺符等草制。 其日，退朝宣制，貶授商州司馬，差供奉官蔣光遠援送赴商州。 未幾，死於貶所，時廣順三年三月也。 〈（《通鑒》：峻至商州，得腹疾，帝猶湣之，命其妻往視之，未幾而卒。）〉
That year Zhao Shangjiao, Vice Minister of Revenue, oversaw the examinations. Shangjiao had once visited Jun, who mentioned a certain candidate; Shangjiao did not take his meaning. When the results were posted the youth failed. Jun bore a grudge. When the examination office reported to the Secretariat to schedule the Hall ceremony, Jun held the seal and fixed the date himself. When Shangjiao brought the new graduates to the Secretariat, Jun shouted in the Hall of Administration: "This year's examination was unfair. There must be a re-test." The chief ministers said: "Orders have already gone out and been executed; one does not change course at the last moment. Besides, the edict has not yet been issued—a re-examination can wait." Jun grew angrier, reviled Shangjiao, and his shouting was heard outside the hall. A moment later he nevertheless had the graduates presented. When the ceremony ended, Shangjiao went to Jun's office to apologize; Jun received him again and shared wine at ease. The next day Jun memorialized that Shangjiao had run the examinations unfairly and asked that he be punished by law. Taizu only nodded. He also asked that Yan Yan and Chen Guan replace Fan Zhi and Li Gu as chief ministers. Taizu said: "The appointment and removal of chief ministers must not be rushed. Let us consider it at leisure." Jun pressed the case point by point; in memorial and reply he showed no deference. Taizu had not yet eaten; the sun was nearly at noon, yet Jun argued without stopping. Taizu said: "During the holiday I did not wish to act at once. When the holiday ends I will do as you ask." Jun withdrew to the Secretariat. That month, as Ministry of Personnel candidates passed through the Secretariat, Jun handled the review. Convinced the selection office was unfair, he struck more than thirty nominees from the list. The next day was Cold Food; the officials each went home. At noon the chief ministers and the Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs were summoned; when they arrived, Jun was held apart in another room. Taizu met Feng Dao and the others and wept: "Jun bullies me cruelly and shows outrageous disrespect. He means to drive away every minister at my side and cut off my wings. My son is abroad, and Jun blocks him at every turn. When I briefly summoned him to court, Jun at once nursed resentment. He already commands the pivot of state, serves also as chief minister, pressed for a great prefecture and got it—yet given his way, he is still not satisfied. A subject so faithless to his ruler—who could endure it!" He at once summoned the Hanlin academician Xu Taifu and others to draft the demotion edict. That day, after court, the edict was proclaimed: Jun was demoted to Sima of Shangzhou, and the palace officer Jiang Guangyuan was sent to escort him there. Before long he died in exile, in the third month of the third year of Guangshun. (Zizhi Tongjian: When Jun reached Shangzhou he fell ill with a griping belly. The emperor still pitied him and sent his wife to see him; he died soon after.)〉
6
初，峻降制除青州，有司制造旌節，以備迎授。 前一夕，其旄有聲甚異，聞者駭之。 主者曰：「昔安重誨授河中節，亦有此異焉。」 又所居堂陛，忽然隱起如堆。 又夢被官府追攝入司簿院，既寤，心惡之，以是尤加狂躁。 峻才疏位重，輕躁寡謀，聽人穿鼻，既國權在手，而射利者曲為指畫，乃啖餌虎臣，離間親舊，加以善則稱己，無禮於君，欲求無罪，其可得乎！ 〈（《五代史闕文》：廣順初，河東劉崇引契丹攻晉州。 遣王峻率師赴援，峻頓兵於陜。 周祖親征，遣使諭之。 峻見使受宣訖，謂使曰：「與某馳還，附奏陛下，言晉州城堅，未易可破，劉崇兵鋒方銳，不可與力爭，所以駐兵者，待其氣衰耳，非臣怯也。 陛下新即位，不宜輕舉。 今朝中受聖知者，惟李蒨、範質而已，陛下若車駕出汜水，則慕容彥超以賊軍入汴，大事去矣。」 使還具奏，周祖自以手提其耳曰：「幾敗吾事。」）〉
Earlier, when the edict appointed Jun to Qingzhou, the offices forged the commission banners in readiness for his investiture. On the eve of his departure the staff of the banner gave a strange sound; those who heard it were shaken. The keeper of the regalia said: "When An Chonghui received the Hezhong commission, the same omen appeared." Moreover, the steps of his hall suddenly bulged upward like a heap of earth. He also dreamed that officials seized him and dragged him into the Bureau of Registers. When he woke his heart was full of dread, and from that day he grew only more frantic. Jun's talent did not match his rank: rash, shallow in counsel, led by the nose. Once power was his, profiteers bent schemes to his will; he baited fierce ministers and turned kin and old friends against one another; whatever credit there was, he claimed for himself; toward his sovereign he showed no ritual propriety. To expect innocence from such a man—how could that be? (Lost Text of the History of the Five Dynasties: Early in Guangshun, Liu Chong of Hedong brought Khitan forces against Jin Prefecture. The court sent Wang Jun with an army to relieve the city; Jun halted his troops at Shan. The Zhou founder took the field in person and sent an envoy to instruct him. When Jun met the envoy and received the imperial message, he told him: "Ride back with me at once and report to His Majesty that Jin Prefecture's walls are strong and not easily taken, that Liu Chong's troops are at the height of their ardor and cannot be met head-on. I hold my army here only to wait until their spirit flags—not from cowardice. Your Majesty has only lately taken the throne; you should not venture lightly. Of those the court trusts today, only Li Qian and Fan Zhi enjoy the emperor's confidence. If Your Majesty's carriage crosses Sishui, Murong Yanchao will bring rebel troops into Bian and the cause will be lost." The envoy returned and reported every word. The Zhou founder clutched his own ear and said, "He nearly ruined everything.")〉
7
慕容彥超， 〈（案：此下有闕文。）〉 為兗州節度使，彥超即漢高祖之同產弟也。 嘗冒姓閻氏，體黑麻面，故謂之閻昆侖。 彥超鎮兗州，漢隱帝欲殺周太祖，召彥超，方食，釋匕箸而就道。 周兵犯京師，隱帝出勞軍，太后使彥超衛帝，彥超曰：「北兵何能為，當於陣上唱坐使歸營。」 彥超敗，奔兗，隱帝遇弒。 周太祖時，彥超進呈鄆州節度使高行周來書，其書意即行周毀讟太祖結連彥超之意，帝覽之，笑曰：「此必是彥超之詐也。」 試令驗之，果然。 其鄆州印元有缺，文不相接，其為印即無缺處，帝尋令賫書示諭行周，行周上表謝恩。 先是，填星初至角、亢，占者曰：角，鄭分，兗州屬焉。 彥超即率軍府賓佐，步出州西門三十里致祭，迎於開元寺，塑像以事之，謂之「菩薩」，日至祈禱，又令民家豎黃幡以禳之。 及城陷，彥超方在土星院燃香，急乃馳去。 〈（《五代史補》：慕容彥超素有鉤距。 兗州有盜者，詐為大官從人，跨驢於衢中，市羅十餘匹，價值既定，引物主詣一宅門，以驢付之，曰：「此本宅使，汝且在此，吾為汝上白於主以請值。」 物主許之。 既而聲跡悄然，物主怒其不出，叩門呼之，則空宅也。 於是連叫「賊」，巡司至，疑其詐，兼以驢收之詣府。 彥超憫之，且曰：「勿憂，吾為汝擒此賊。」 乃留物主府中，復戒廄卒高系其驢，通宵不與水草，然後密召親信者，牽於通衢中放之，且曰：「此盜者之驢耳，自昨日不與水草，其饑渴者甚矣，放之必奔歸家，但可躡蹤而觀之，盜無不獲也。」 親信者如其言隨之，其驢果入一小巷，轉數曲，忽有兒戲於門側，視其驢，連呼曰：「驢歸，驢歸。」 盜者聞之，欣然出視，遂擒之。 高祖登極，改乾祐為廣順。 是年，兗州慕容彥超反。 高祖親征，城將破，忽夜夢一人，狀貌甚偉異，被王者之服，謂高祖曰：「陛下明日當得城。」 及覺，天猶未曉。 高祖私謂征兆如此，可不預備乎！ 於是躬督將士，戮力急攻，至午而城陷。 車駕將入，有司請由生方鳴鞘而進，遂取別巷，轉數曲，見一處門墻甚高大，問之，雲夫子廟。 高祖意豁然，謂近臣曰：「寡人所夢，得非夫子乎？ 不然，何取路於此也。」 因下馬觀之，方升堂，睹其聖像，一如夢中所見者，於是大喜，叩首再拜。 近臣或諫，以為天子不合拜異世陪臣。 高祖曰：「夫子聖人也，百王取則，而又夢告寡人，得非夫子幽贊所及耶？ 安得不拜！」 仍以廟側數十家為灑掃戶，命孔氏襲文宣王者長為本縣。 慕容彥超之被圍也，乘城而望，見高祖親臨矢石，其勢不可當，退而憂之，因勉其麾下曰：「汝等宜為吾盡命，吾庫中金銀如山積，若全此城，吾盡以為賜，汝等勿患富貴。」 頃之，有卒私言曰：「我知侍中銀皆鐵胎，得之何用？」 於是諸軍聞之，稍稍解體，未幾城陷。 及高祖之入也，有司閱其庫藏，其間銀鐵胎者果十有七八。 初，彥超常令人開質庫，有以鐵胎銀質錢者，經年後，庫吏始覺，遂言之於彥超。 初甚怒，頃之謂吏曰：「此易致耳，汝宜偽竇刂庫墻，凡金銀器用暨縑帛等，速皆藏匿，仍亂撤其餘以為賊踐，然後申明，吾當擒此輩矣。」 庫吏如其教，於是彥超下令曰：「吾為使長典百姓，而又不謹，遭賊竇刂去，其過深矣。 今恐百姓疑彥超隱其物，宜令三日內各投狀，明言質物色，自當陪償之，不爾者有過。」 百姓以為然，於是投狀相繼，翌日鐵胎銀主果出。 於是擒之，置之深屋中，使教部曲輩晝夜造，用廣府庫，此銀是也。）〉
Murong Yanchao, (Editorial note: There is lacuna below this point.)〉 He served as military governor of Yan Prefecture; Yanchao was a younger brother of the same mother as the Han founder Liu Zhiyuan. He had once passed himself off under the Yan surname; dark-skinned and pockmarked, men called him "Yan the Kunlun." While Yanchao governed Yan Prefecture, Emperor Yindi of Later Han plotted to kill Guo Wei and summoned him. Yanchao was in the middle of a meal but set down his utensils and set out at once. When Zhou troops marched on the capital, Yindi went out to review the army. The empress dowager ordered Yanchao to protect the emperor. Yanchao said, "What can northern soldiers do? I will stand on the field and call the commissioner to return to camp." Yanchao was beaten, fled to Yan, and Yindi was murdered. Under the Zhou founder, Yanchao submitted a letter purportedly from Gao Xingzhou, military governor of Yan Prefecture, whose wording suggested that Xingzhou had slandered the emperor and was conspiring with Yanchao. Guo Wei read it and laughed: "This must be Yanchao's trick." He had it examined, and it proved to be a forgery. The genuine Yanzhou seal had a flaw where the characters did not meet; the forged seal had no such gap. The emperor soon sent the letter to Xingzhou to show him the truth, and Xingzhou memorialized his thanks. Earlier the planet Saturn had entered the lodges Horn and Neck. Diviners said, "Horn is the astral allotment of Zheng, and Yan Prefecture falls within it." Yanchao led his staff on foot thirty li beyond the west gate to offer sacrifice, welcomed the omen at Kaiyuan Temple, and set up an image to worship, calling it the "Bodhisattva." He prayed daily and ordered households to raise yellow banners to ward off ill fortune. When the city fell, Yanchao was still burning incense in the Saturn Courtyard; he galloped away in alarm. (Supplement to the History of the Five Dynasties: Murong Yanchao had long been a master of schemes. At Yan Prefecture a thief posed as a great official's retainer, rode a donkey through the market, and bought more than ten bolts of silk. Once the price was set he led the seller to a mansion gate, handed him the donkey, and said, "This is our house messenger—wait here while I go in and ask the master for payment." The seller agreed. Before long all was silent. The seller, angry that no one came out, knocked and called at the gate—and found an empty house. He then cried "Thief!" again and again. The patrol came, suspected him of fraud, and took him and the donkey to the prefectural office. Yanchao took pity on him and said, "Do not worry—I will catch the thief for you." He kept the seller at the yamen, told the stable hand to tie the donkey high and withhold fodder and water all night, then secretly sent a trusted man to lead it into the main street and turn it loose, saying, "This is the thief's donkey—it has had no food or water since yesterday and must be desperate with hunger and thirst. Turn it loose and it will run home; follow its tracks and watch—the thief cannot escape." The man did as told. The donkey entered a small lane and wound through several turns. A child playing by a gate saw it and cried again and again, "The donkey's back! The donkey's back!" The thief heard, came out gladly to look, and was seized. When the founder took the throne he changed the era name from Qianyou to Guangshun. That year Murong Yanchao rebelled at Yan Prefecture. The founder marched in person. As the city was about to fall, he dreamed at night of a man of strange and imposing mien in kingly robes who said to him, "Your Majesty will take the city tomorrow." When he woke, dawn had not yet broken. The founder said to himself: With an omen like this, how could he fail to prepare! He then personally directed his generals in a fierce assault, and by noon the city had fallen. As the imperial carriage was about to enter, the officials asked that he enter by the "live" route with swords drawn in their scabbards. He took another lane instead, wound through several turns, and came upon a gate and walls of great height. Inquiring, he was told it was the temple of Confucius. His mind cleared at once. He said to his close ministers, "Was the figure in my dream none other than the Master? If not, why should we have come by this road?" He dismounted to look. As he entered the hall he saw the sage's image—just as in his dream. Overjoyed, he bowed twice. Some close ministers objected that the Son of Heaven ought not bow to a minister of another age. The founder said, "The Master is a sage whom a hundred kings take as their model. He warned me in a dream—was that not his hidden blessing at work? How could I not bow!" He made several dozen households near the temple responsible for sweeping it, and appointed the Kong clan heir to the title Duke of Literary Propagation as headman of the county. While Murong Yanchao was under siege he climbed the wall and saw the founder himself in the hail of arrows and stones. The assault could not be withstood. He withdrew in dread and urged his men: "Fight to the death for me. Gold and silver in my treasury are heaped like mountains—if we hold the city I will give it all to you. You need not fear for wealth or rank." Soon a soldier muttered, "I know the commander's silver is all iron at the core—what good is that?" The troops heard it, and morale slowly crumbled. Before long the city fell. When the founder entered, officials inspected the treasury. Seven or eight tenths of the silver proved to be iron at the core. Earlier Yanchao had often run a pawnshop. Some customers pawned silver that was iron at the core. Years passed before a clerk noticed and told Yanchao. At first he was furious; then he told the clerk, "This is easy to turn to account. Pretend thieves have broken through the treasury wall. Hide all gold and silver vessels and silks at once, scatter the rest as if robbers had trampled them, then report it—I will catch the culprits." The clerk obeyed. Yanchao then proclaimed, "As commissioner I am charged with the people, yet I was careless—thieves broke in and stole goods. The fault is grave. I fear the people think I have hidden their goods. Within three days each of you must file a statement describing your pawned goods by kind, and I will repay you in full—otherwise you will be at fault." The people believed him. Statements poured in, and the next day the owners of the iron-core silver came forward. He seized them, shut them in a back room, and made them teach his personal troops to forge day and night, swelling the prefectural treasury—that was the source of the silver.)〉
8
閻宏魯者，後唐邢州節度使寶之子也。 寶，《唐書》有傳。 宏魯事唐明宗、晉高祖，累歷事任。 家本魯中，洎告疾歸裏，慕容彥超初臨，禮待極厚。 及謀大逆，以宏魯子希俊為鎮寧軍節度副使，在世宗幕下而惡之。 聞朝廷出兵堤防，即責宏魯曰：「爾教兒捍我於朝，將覆吾族耶！」 故罹其禍。
Yan Honglu was the son of Yan Bao, military governor of Xing Prefecture under Later Tang. Bao has a biography in the Tang History. Honglu served under Emperor Mingzong of Tang and the Jin founder, rising through a series of offices. His family was from central Shandong. When he fell ill and went home, Murong Yanchao on first taking Yan treated him with the greatest courtesy. When Yanchao plotted rebellion he made Honglu's son Xijun deputy military governor of Zhenning—but Xijun was on Shizong's staff, and Yanchao resented him. Hearing that the court was sending troops, he at once rebuked Honglu: "You taught your son to oppose me at court—do you mean to destroy my whole clan?" For this he suffered death.
9
崔周度者，父光表，舉進士甲科，盧質節制橫海，辟為支使。 周度有文學，起家長蘆令，登朝歷監察御史、右補闕，以家在齊州，欲謀葬事，懇求外任，除泰寧軍節度判官。 而性剛烈，又以嘗為諫官，睹兇帥之不法，不忍坐視其弊，因極言以諫彥超，故及斯禍。
Cui Zhoudu's father Guangbiao passed the jinshi examination in the top class. When Lu Zhi was military commissioner of Heng-hai he recruited him as branch commissioner. Zhoudu was a man of letters. He began as magistrate of Changlu, entered court as investigating censor and right remonstrator, then because his family was in Qi Prefecture sought an outside post to arrange burial matters and was made judge on the staff of the Taining military governor. His nature was fierce and upright. Having once been a remonstrating officer, he could not sit by while the rebel commander broke the law, and remonstrated with Yanchao to the limit—so he too met this fate.
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太祖平兗州，詔曰：「閻宏魯、崔周度，死義之臣，禮加二等，所以滲漏澤而賁黃泉也。 爾等貞節昭彰，正容肅厲，以從順為己任，以立義作身謀，履此禍機，並罹冤橫，宜伸贈典，以慰貞魂。 宏魯可贈左驍衛大將軍，周度可贈秘書少監。」
When the founder pacified Yan Prefecture, an edict said, "Yan Honglu and Cui Zhoudu died for righteousness. Their rites shall be raised two grades, that seeping favor may reach them even in the yellow springs. Your steadfast loyalty shines forth; your bearing was upright and stern. You took obedience as your duty and righteousness as your life's aim, yet fell into this calamity and met wrongful death together. Posthumous honors are fitting to comfort your faithful spirits. Honglu shall be posthumously made General of the Left Brave Guards; Zhoudu shall be posthumously made Vice Director of the Secretariat."