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梁書卷第十二列傳第六
Book of Liang, Volume 12, Biographies 6
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At seventeen, with Emperor Wu of Qi as central army commander, Tan became his retainer, then chief clerk. Early in Qi he entered the secretariat as three-ducal attendant, rose to crown prince gentleman companion, and was made Friend of the Prince of Badong, Zi Xiang. When Zi Xiang went to Jing province, Tan followed him there. Zi Xiang clung to petty men; Tan foresaw ruin, claimed illness, and went back to the capital. When trouble came, Tan escaped because he had returned first. He was gentleman of the secretariat and long-term staff officer to the central guard. He went out as Xin'an prefect, achieved nothing in office, and was sent home. Long afterward he became an advisory staff officer of the right army.
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At the end of Jianwu he was western rong colonel and inspector of Liang and Southern Qin. When Gaozu rose in arms, Tan raised Hanzhong for the cause. Emperor He made him attendant within and acting front army general. Gaozu summoned him as protector of the army; before he took the post he became heir apparent household head and scattered cavalry attendant. For merit he was made marquis of Qujiang with one thousand households. At a feast Gaozu wrote a poem for Tan: "You alone crown the lords; only you keep my deeds in mind." Another time at court Gaozu said, "Xu Yuanyu rebelled in Lingnan. The Book of Zhou says punishment does not chain to kin—I have pardoned his sons. What say you?" Tan answered, "Punishment stops at the man; reward flows to his line—we see that again in this sage reign." Men called it words that knew the times. He was soon made right vice director of the masters of writing.
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In Tianjian year four the court launched a great northern campaign; the Prince of Linchuan, Hong, commanded the armies with Tan as deputy. When the armies came home he was again vice director. Long illness moved him to golden crown and purple light grandee, scattered cavalry attendant, and twenty trusted retainers. Before he took office he went out with credentials as pacify-the-south general and Xiangzhou inspector. In the tenth month of year six he died in the province at forty-six. Gaozu wore undyed robes and mourned him. Posthumously he was attendant within and pacify-the-army general, with one suite of drums and pipes. Posthumous name Mu. Tan wrote Record of Benevolent Government and poems and fu with modest literary force. His son Zhao inherited the title.
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惔第四弟憕，亦有美譽，歷侍中、鎮西長史。 天監十二年，卒，贈寧遠將軍、豫州刺史。
Tan's fourth brother Cheng was also praised; he was attendant within and pacify-the-west long-term staff officer. In Tianjian year twelve he died and was posthumously pacify-the-distant general and Yuzhou inspector.
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Chen, styled Wenruo, was Tan's fifth brother. Still a child, he tended his father Shilong and mother Lady Yan through long illness without undoing his belt for a year. In mourning his grief was famed for wrecking his body. He began on the minister of education's staff, rose to crown prince gentleman companion, western Zhonglang chief clerk, and merit-records officer.
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Dong Hun sent Brazil prefect Liu Shanyang from Jing against Gaozu; Xiao Yingzhou, western Zhonglang long-term staff officer, had no plan yet and called Chen, Xi Chanwen, and others to a night council. Chen said, "The court is deranged and wicked, and its crimes swell daily. Lately I hear that in the capital the old and honored dare not breathe aloud; we are lucky to be distant and may steal a day's peace. As for Yongzhou, for now let it kill them for us. Have you not seen Commander Xiao? A few thousand elite troops broke Cui's hundred thousand, yet villains trapped him and ruin followed ruin. What came before, if remembered, teaches what comes after. If their evil will is satisfied, do you think our lord will not be chained next? Yongzhou has sharp troops and full granaries; Commander Xiao's heroism tops the age—Liu Shanyang cannot compare; break Liu Shanyang and Jingzhou again pays for failure in arms. Advance or retreat, there is no road—think hard on this." Xi Chanwen too pressed hard for alliance with Gaozu. Yingzhou baited and killed Shanyang and made Chen pacify-the-north general.
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Emperor He made him personnel gentleman of the masters of writing, then supporting state general and Nanping prefect. Soon he was attendant within and champion general, still holding the prefecture. He was offered minister of the masters of writing and declined. When Yingzhou was pacified, Yingzhou debated moving the capital to Xiakou; Chen again remonstrated firmly that Ba and the Gorges were not yet subdued and one should not lightly abandon the root and shake the people's hearts. Yingzhou would not listen. Soon Ba-Dong troops reached the gorge and the move was dropped. Men said he had read the times.
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Gaozu made him minister of the five armies and acting valiant cavalry general. For founding merit he was baron of Zhouling with seven hundred households. In Tianjian year two he was pacify-the-west long-term staff officer, champion general, and Nan commandery prefect. In year six he was summoned as extraordinary scattered-cavalry attendant and heir apparent right guard commandant. Before he left he became credentialed envoy, Xiang military supervisor, supporting state general, and Xiangzhou inspector. In year eight he was removed for freeing conscripts without leave. Soon he was secretariat director, then scattered-cavalry attendant, then minister of sacrifices; illness came before he took office and an edict made him palace supervisor and splendid-light grandee, but he was too ill to accept. In year ten he died at home at forty-one. Posthumously he was director of the secretariat; posthumous name Mu. His son Fan inherited the line.
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Xi Chanwen came from Linjing in Anding. Orphaned and poor in youth, he read widely in books and histories. Early in Qi he was central army retainer to Yongzhou inspector Xiao Chifu and grew close to his son Yingzhou. He later was western Zhonglang central army retainer and held the city bureau. As Gaozu prepared to rise, Chanwen urged him hard; Yingzhou agreed and sent Tian Zugong secretly to Gaozu with a silver-mounted knife—Gaozu answered with a gold ruyi.
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When Emperor He took the throne Chanwen was yellow-gates attendant, then court commandant. Yingzhou died suddenly and the province shook; Chanwen said the emperor was young and the midstream heavy—Prince of Shixing Dan held Yong, and Chanwen with western ministers brought him to head the province and calm the land.
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When Gaozu took the throne Chanwen was minister of punishments and supporting state general. He was baron of Shanyang with seven hundred households. He went out as Dongyang prefect, then was re-enfeoffed as baron of Xiangxi with the same fief. In two years in office his integrity was famed; he died there. An edict granted thirty thousand cash and fifty bolts of cloth. Posthumous name Wei.
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Wei Rui, styled Huaiwen, came from Duling in Jingzhao. Since Han chancellor Xian, for generations the clan was a great house of the three metropolises. His grandfather Xuan hid on Chang'an's southern hills to avoid office. Song's Emperor Wu entering the passes summoned him as grand commandant aide; he did not go. His uncle Zuzheng, late in Song, was chamberlain for attendants. His father Zugui was pacify-the-distant long-term staff officer. Rui was famed for filial service to his stepmother. His elder brothers Zuan and Chan were known early as well. Zuan and Rui loved study; Chan had clear integrity. Zuzheng held many prefectures and always took Rui along, treating him like a son. Then his brother-in-law Wang Cheng and cousin Du Yun were famed in the district. Zuzheng asked Rui, "How do you think you compare to Cheng and Yun?" Rui modestly would not answer. Zuzheng said, "Your writing may fall a little short, but your learning should exceed theirs; yet in serving the state and winning great deeds, none can match you." Cousin Du Youwen was Liangzhou inspector and asked Rui to accompany him. Liang was rich; many who went there were ruined by bribes; yet Rui, though young, alone was famed for integrity.
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In Song's first Yongguang year Yuan Yan was Inspector of Yongzhou; he saw Rui, marveled, and made him chief clerk. Yan reached his post and rose with Deng Wan; Rui secured an exit as administrator of Yicheng and missed Yan's downfall. He became regular attendant to the Prince of Jinping, then staff officer to the Prince of Guiyang under the Minister of Works, and followed Liu Shilong in the defense of Yingcheng against Shen Youzhi. After Youzhi's defeat he was made army aide of the van. In time he became magistrate of Guangde. He advanced through administrator of Qixing, provincial aide, colonel of the Long River, and general of the right. Qi's last days were full of upheaval; he did not wish to leave his native hills and asked for Shangyong, with the added title general who establishes might. Soon Chen Xianda and Cui Huijing harried the capital repeatedly; fear ran wild and the west turned to Rui for a plan. Rui said, "Chen is a veteran, yet not a man born for the times; Cui has weathered many storms, yet he is soft and no soldier. They deserve the extinction of their houses—of course they do! The man Heaven favors will probably rise from our province." With that he sent his two sons to bind themselves to Gaozu.
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The call to arms came; Rui had his district cut bamboo rafts, marched night and day, and arrived with two thousand foot and two hundred horse. Gaozu rejoiced at the sight of him and smote the table: "I might have met your face another day; today I meet your heart—my work is done." The righteous army took Ying and Lu and pacified Jiahu; Rui's counsel was offered at every turn and taken. The host marched from Ying and debated a garrison commander; Gaozu could find no fit man. At length he looked at Rui and said, "To abandon a stallion and go begging for another mount—what sort of hurry is that?" That day he was made general of the champions, administrator of Jiangxia, and acting head of the Ying prefecture. When Ying had been besieged, nearly a hundred thousand people were trapped inside for a year; plague killed seven or eight in ten—they piled the dead beneath the beds and slept above, house after house packed to the rafters. Rui sorted the neglected and the suffering and set everything right; the dead were buried, the living went back to their work, and the people lived by his hand.
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When the Liang platform rose he was called to be grand judge. At Gaozu's accession he became minister of justice, enfeoffed viscount of Duliang with three hundred households. In Tianjian year 2 he was re-enfeoffed as Yongchang, fief and households unchanged. The eastern palace rose; he became right commandant of the crown prince's guard, then went out as general who assists the state, inspector of Yuzhou, and administrator of Liyang. In year 3 Wei raided; he led the province's soldiers and beat them back.
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四年，王師北伐，詔叡都督衆軍。 叡遣長史王超宗、梁郡太守馮道根攻魏小峴城，未能拔。 叡巡行圍柵，魏城中忽出數百人陳於門外，叡欲擊之，諸將皆曰：「向本輕來，未有戰備，徐還授甲，乃可進耳。」 叡曰：「不然。 魏城中二千餘人，閉門堅守，足以自保，無故出人於外，必其驍勇者也，若能挫之，其城自拔。」 衆猶遲疑，叡指其節曰； 「朝廷授此，非以爲飾，韋叡之法，不可犯也。」 乃進兵。 士皆殊死戰，魏軍果敗走，因急攻之，中宿而城拔。 遂進討合肥。 先是，右軍司馬胡略等至合肥，久未能下，叡按行山川，曰：「吾聞『汾水可以灌平陽，絳水可以灌安邑』，卽此是也。」 乃堰肥水，親自表率，頃之，堰成水通，舟艦繼至。 魏初分築東西小城夾合肥，叡先攻二城。 旣而魏援將揚靈胤帥軍五萬奄至，衆懼不敵，請表益兵。 叡笑曰：「賊已至城下，方復求軍，臨難鑄兵，豈及馬腹？ 且吾求濟師，彼亦徵衆，猶如吳益巴丘，蜀增白帝耳。 『師克在和不在衆』，古之義也。」 因與戰，破之，軍人少安。
In year 4 the court marched north; Rui was ordered to command the armies. He sent chief clerk Wang Chaozong and Liangjun administrator Feng Daogen against Xiaokeng; they failed to crack the walls. Rui toured the encirclement; hundreds of Wei soldiers burst from the gate and drew up outside. He meant to hit them, but his officers said, "We came lightly, without armor—fall back, arm, then fight." Rui said, "No. Two thousand-odd men behind barred gates can hold that place. If they come out without reason, these are their bravest; crush them and the city will take itself." The army still hung back; Rui pointed to his command baton and said: "The throne gave me this, not for show. Wei Rui's law is not to be broken." He marched. The soldiers fought to the death; Wei broke and ran, and he pressed hard—before midnight the walls were his. Then he moved against Hefei. Hu Lue and the rest had besieged Hefei without success. Rui walked the ground and said, "They say 'the Fen flooded Pingyang and the Jiang flooded Anyi'—here is the same trick." He dammed the Fei and led the work in person; soon the water flowed, and warships followed one after another. Wei had split Hefei with twin forts east and west; Rui struck those first. Then Yang Lingyin came with fifty thousand in relief; fear spread, and they asked to petition for more troops. Rui laughed: "The foe is at the wall and you want more men—to cast weapons mid-battle, will that reach the horse's belly? If we beg for reinforcements, they will summon theirs too—Wu thickening Baqiu while Shu thickened White Emperor. 'The army wins by unity, not by mass'—so the ancients taught." He fought and routed them; the men drew breath again.
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初，肥水堰立，使軍主王懷靜築城於岸守之，魏攻陷懷靜城，千餘人皆沒。 魏人乘勝至叡堤下，其勢甚盛，軍監潘靈祐勸叡退還巢湖，諸將又請走保三叉。 叡怒曰：「寧有此邪！ 將軍死綏，有前無却。」 因令取傘扇麾幢，樹之堤下，示無動志。 叡素羸，每戰未嘗騎馬，以板輿自載，督厲衆軍。 魏兵來鑿堤，叡親與爭之，魏軍少卻，因築壘於堤以自固。 叡起鬬艦，高與合肥城等，四面臨之。 魏人計窮，相與悲哭。 叡攻具旣成，堰水又滿，魏救兵無所用。 魏守將杜元倫登城督戰，中弩死，城遂潰。 俘獲萬餘級，牛馬萬數，絹滿十間屋，悉充軍賞。 叡每晝接客旅，夜算軍書，三更起張燈達曙，撫循其衆，常如不及，故投募之士爭歸之。 所至頓舍脩立，館宇籓籬牆壁，皆應準繩。
When the dam went up he left Wang Huaijing to fortify the bank; Wei stormed that fort and a thousand men were lost. Wei surged to the dike in strength; Pan Lingyou urged retreat to Chaohu, and the officers again begged to fall back to Sancha. Rui raged, "How could there be such a thing! A general dies with his banner—forward only, never back." He had parasols and command pennons set on the dike to show he would not stir. Rui was slight of body; he never mounted in battle, riding a wooden litter while he harried the ranks. Wei came to cut the dike; Rui fought them hand to hand, they gave ground, and he threw up ramparts on the bank. He built fighting towers level with Hefei's walls and closed in on four sides. Wei was spent; men wept in each other's arms. His engines were ready and the water stood high; Wei's rescuers were useless. Du Yuanlun commanded from the wall, took a bolt, and fell; the city broke. Prisoners passed ten thousand; cattle and horses beyond count; silk filled ten chambers—everything went to the soldiers. By day he met guests; by night he tallied dispatches—up at the third watch, lamps to dawn, tending his men as if he could never finish, so volunteers fought to serve under him. Every halt became a measured camp—quarters, palisades, and walls squared to the rule.
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Hefei fell; Gaozu ordered the hosts forward to Dongling. Dongling stood twenty li from Wei's Brick City; as battle neared, orders came to withdraw. The foe was near; he sent wagons ahead and rode a small litter in the rear—Wei feared his name and would not close; the army came home whole. Then the seat of Yuzhou was shifted to Hefei.
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五年，魏中山王元英寇北徐州，圍刺史昌義之於鐘離，衆號百萬，連城四十餘。 高祖遣征北將軍曹景宗，都督衆軍二十萬以拒之。 次邵陽洲，築壘相守，高祖詔叡率豫州之衆會焉。 叡自合肥逕道由陰陵大澤行，值澗穀，輒飛橋以濟。 師人畏魏軍盛，多勸叡緩行。 叡曰：「鐘離今鑿穴而處，負戶而汲，車馳卒奔，猶恐其後，而況緩乎！ 魏人已墮吾腹中，卿曹勿憂也。」 旬日而至邵陽。 初，高祖敕景宗曰：「韋叡，卿之鄉望，宜善敬之。」 景宗見叡，禮甚謹。 高祖聞之，曰：「二將和，師必濟矣。」 叡於景宗營前二十里，夜掘長塹，樹鹿角，截洲爲城，比曉而營立。 元英大驚，以杖擊地曰：「是何神也！」 明旦，英自率衆來戰，叡乘素木輿，執白角如意麾軍，一日數合，英甚憚其強。 魏軍又夜來攻城，飛矢雨集，叡子黯請下城以避箭，叡不許。 軍中驚，叡於城上厲聲呵之，乃定。 魏人先於邵陽洲兩岸爲兩橋，樹柵數百步，跨淮通道。 叡裝大艦，使梁郡太守馮道根、廬江太守裴邃、秦郡太守李文釗等爲水軍。 值淮水暴長，叡卽遣之，鬬艦競發，皆臨敵壘。 以小船載草，灌之以膏，從而焚其橋。 風怒火盛，煙塵晦冥，敢死之士，拔柵斫橋，水又漂疾，倏忽之間，橋柵盡壞。 而道根等皆身自搏戰，軍人奮勇，呼聲動天地，無不一當百，魏人大潰。 元英見橋絕，脫身遁去。 魏軍趨水死者十餘萬，斬首亦如之。 其餘釋甲稽顙，乞爲囚奴，猶數十萬。 所獲軍實牛馬，不可勝紀。 叡遣報昌義之，義之且悲且喜，不暇答語，但叫曰：「更生！ 更生！」 高祖遣中書郎周捨勞於淮上，叡積所獲於軍門，捨觀之，謂叡曰：「君此獲復與熊耳山等。」 以功增封七百戶，進爵爲侯，徵通直散騎常侍、右衛將軍。
In year 5 Yuan Ying, prince of Zhongshan, struck North Xuzhou and penned Chang Yizhi at Zhongli—"a million" men, forty-odd camps chained together. Gaozu sent Cao Jingzong, general who pacifies the north, with two hundred thousand to meet them. They held Shaoyang Isle behind fresh ramparts; Gaozu told Rui to bring Yuzhou's army to the rendezvous. He left Hefei by the straight track through Yinling's great bogs, bridging every gully as he came. His men dreaded Wei's numbers and begged him to march slowly. Rui said, "At Zhongli they burrow in the earth and haul water on their shoulders; chariots fly and runners dash, and still they fear they are late—shall we crawl? Wei is already in my gut—have no fear." In ten days he was at Shaoyang. Gaozu had told Jingzong, "Wei Rui is the great man of your district—treat him with respect." Jingzong received him with deep courtesy. Gaozu heard and said, "Two generals in accord—the host will win." Twenty li short of Jingzong's lines he dug a trench by night, planted stakes, and walled off the isle—by dawn a camp stood. Yuan Ying was thunderstruck and beat the earth with his staff: "What sorcery is this!" At first light Ying came in person; Rui sat in a plain wooden litter, white ruyi in hand, and fought several rounds in a day—Ying dreaded his power. Wei stormed the wall by night; arrows poured. His son An begged to come down; Rui refused. The ranks wavered; he roared from the battlements and they steadied. Wei had bridged both shores of Shaoyang with palisades for hundreds of paces, a road across the Huai. He fitted great ships and set Feng Daogen of Liangjun, Pei Sui of Lujiang, and Li Wenzhao of Qinjun over the fleet. The Huai swelled; he launched at once—tower-ships leaped forward and closed on the Wei lines. Small craft heaped greased grass and fired the bridges in their wake. Wind made a furnace of the sky; men who did not care for life wrenched down stakes and chopped bridges while the flood raced—bridges and palisades vanished in a breath. Feng Daogen and the others fought in the van; the soldiers roared till heaven shook, each man worth a hundred—Wei broke completely. Yuan Ying saw the bridges destroyed and ran. Men drowning in the river ran to the hundred-thousands; heads heaped as high. The rest dropped their armor and kowtowed, begging to become prisoners and slaves--still hundreds of thousands. Booty in arms, cattle, and horses passed counting. Rui sent to Chang Yizhi; Yizhi wept and laughed, unable to answer, and could only shout, "Born again! Born again!" Gaozu sent Zhou She to comfort the Huai army; Rui heaped booty at the gate. She said, "This haul matches Bear-Ear Mountain." His fief grew by seven hundred households, he became a marquis, and was called to court as regular attendant of direct transmission and right guard general.
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In year 7 he became left guard general, then chief clerk of Anxi and administrator of Nanjun at two-thousand-dan rank. Ma Xianbi of Sizhou marched north and was chased home by Wei; the Three Passes trembled, and Rui was ordered to command the rescue. At Anlu he raised walls two zhang higher, dug a deep moat, and built tall towers—many sneered that he showed weakness. Rui said, "No—a general must know fear; bravery alone will not do." Yuan Ying chased Xianbi again to avenge Shaoyang; hearing Rui had arrived, he retreated. The throne recalled the host. Next year he became trustworthy-war general and inspector of Jiangzhou. In year 9 he was recalled as supernumerary regular attendant of the scattered cavalry and right guard general, then advanced through left guard general and supervisor of the crown prince's household, with the added title regular attendant of direct transmission. In year 13 he was made Intelligent Martial General and intendant of Danyang, then dismissed on public business. Soon he was recalled as Central Protector General.
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十四年，出爲平北將軍、寧蠻校尉、雍州刺史。 初，叡起兵鄉中，客陰儁光泣止叡，叡還爲州，儁光道候叡，叡笑謂之曰：「若從公言，乞食於路矣。」 餉耕牛十頭。 叡於故舊，無所遺惜，士大夫年七十以上，多與假板縣令，鄉里甚懷之。 十五年，拜表致仕，優詔不許。 十七年，徵散騎常侍、護軍將軍，尋給鼓吹一部，入直殿省。 居朝廷，恂恂未嘗忤視，高祖甚禮敬之。 性慈愛，撫孤兄子過於己子，歷官所得祿賜，皆散之親故，家無餘財。 後爲護軍，居家無事，慕萬石、陸賈之爲人，因畫之於壁以自玩。 時雖老，暇日猶課諸兒以學。 第三子稜，尤明經史，世稱其洽聞，叡每坐棱使說書，其所發擿，稜猶弗之逮也。 高祖方銳意釋氏，天下咸從風而化； 叡自以信受素薄，位居大臣，不欲與俗俯仰，所行略如他日。
In year 14 he went out as General Who Pacifies the North, Pacify Barbarians Commandant, and inspector of Yongzhou. When Rui first raised troops at home, his guest Yin Junguang wept and tried to stop him; on returning as inspector, Junguang met him on the road, and Rui laughed and said, "Had I taken your advice, I would be begging along the highway." He gave him ten draft oxen. Toward old friends Rui was unstinting; for gentry over seventy he often gave acting county magistrate posts, and the district loved him for it. In year 15 he petitioned to retire; a gracious edict refused. In year 17 he was summoned as Regular Attendant and Protector of the Army; soon he received martial pipes and drums and took regular duty in the Hall Department. At court he was deferential and never met others' eyes; Gaozu treated him with great respect. Kind by nature, he raised his orphaned nephews more devotedly than his own sons and gave every salary and gift to kin and friends, leaving nothing at home. Later, idle at home as Protector of the Army, he admired the Wan Shi and Lu Jia and painted them on his wall for amusement. Though old, on free days he still drilled his sons in learning. His third son Ling knew the classics and histories especially well and was called broadly learned. Rui always seated Ling and had him lecture on books; the points Rui raised, Ling still could not match. Gaozu was then intent on Buddhism, and the realm followed; Rui felt his faith had always been thin; as a great minister he would not bob with fashion, and lived much as before.
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In summer of Putong year 1 he was made Attendant-in-Ordinary and General of Chariots and Cavalry but did not take office because of illness. In the eighth month he died at home at seventy-nine. He ordered a plain burial in seasonal dress. Gaozu came to mourn that same day and wept bitterly. He received a hundred thousand cash, two hundred bolts of cloth, eastern-garden funeral vessels, one court robe and one suit of clothes; the offices supplied the funeral, and a Secretariat Gentleman oversaw it. Posthumously he was made Attendant-in-Ordinary, General of Chariots and Cavalry, and Acting Three Excellencies with Opening Office. Posthumous title: Yan.
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At Shaoyang, Chang Yizhi was deeply grateful to Rui and asked Cao Jingzong to meet him; they wagered two hundred thousand cash. Jingzong threw pheasant; Rui slowly threw black, flipped one piece, said "Strange!" and forced a tie. Jingzong often raced other commanders to report victory first; Rui alone held back. He seldom cared to win, and the age prized him for it. His sons Fang, Zheng, Ling, and An; Fang has a separate biography.
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Zheng, styled Jingzhi, began on the Prince of Nankang's staff, rose to Secretariat Gentleman, and went out as administrator of Xiangyang. Zheng had been close to Wang Sengru of Donghai; when Sengru became Director of Personnel and ran the great selection, friends all courted him—Zheng alone stayed aloof. After Sengru fell, Zheng kept their old bond warmer than before, and men praised him. He rose to Attendant-in-Ordinary of the Yellow Gate.
28
Ling, styled Weizhi, was quiet and plain, lived in books and histories, was broadly learned with a strong memory, and men of the age came to him with questions. He began on the Prince of Ancheng's staff, rose to Imperial Censor, Heir Apparent's Household Steward, and Director of the Bright Halls. He wrote Continued Lessons on the Han in three scrolls.
29
An, styled Wuzhi, was forceful and upright; in youth he studied the classics and histories and wrote well. He began as Heir Apparent's Household Attendant, rose to Minister of the Imperial Studs, inspector of South Yuzhou, and Minister of the Grand Storehouse. When Hou Jing crossed the Yangzi, An held the Six Gates; soon he was made commander of the western defenses. Jing built east and west earthen mounds outside the wall and matching mounds within; Taizong personally carried earth, and the Lamenting Heir Apparent and those below him carried earth with shovel and basket. An held the western mound and fought day and night; for merit he was made General of Light Chariots with staff of authority. He died in the city and was posthumously made Regular Attendant and Left Guard General. Rui's cousin Ai.
30
Ai, styled Xiaoyou, was calm and had real capacity. His great-great-grandfather Guang was Jin Rear Army General and administrator of Beiping. His great-grandfather Gui, at the start of Emperor Xiaowu's Taiyuan era, moved south to Xiangyang, became the province's Separate Cart, then Regular Attendant. His grandfather Gongxun was Song administrator of Yiyang. His father Yizheng died young.
31
Ai lost his father early and was known for filial service to his mother. Pure and aloof, he made friends carefully yet loved learning; he often sat alone with his mind in the classics, dust on the mat, silent as if alone. At twelve he was in the capital when the Son of Heaven went to the Southern Park; the streets roared as old and young competed to watch. Ai alone sat upright reading and never put down his scroll, and all his kinsmen who saw him marveled at him. Grown, he was broadly learned and literary, especially skilled in the Changes and the Zuo Tradition to the Annals.
32
Yuan Hao, inspector of Yongzhou, recruited him as chief clerk. At his mother's death he built a hut by the tomb and carried earth for the mound. When Gaozu held Yongzhou he heard and came in person to mourn. When mourning ended he was made Central Army Aide. When the righteous army rose, Ai was made Valiant Martial General and major to the Prince of Nanping, Champion, with concurrent charge as magistrate of Xiangyang. The capital was unsettled and Yongzhou empty; Wei Xing administrator Yan Sangdu and others held the commandery in revolt, and the province shook. Ai was deep, keen, and trusted in the district; he won hearts with open care and showed who was loyal and who rebel; he also recruited more than a thousand men locally and routed Sangdu south of Shiping commandery; the people were at peace.
33
When Xiao Yingchen died, Emperor He summoned troops at Xiangyang; Ai followed Prince of Shixing Dan. Earlier Eastern Ba administrators Xiao Huang and Lu Xiulie had raised troops against Jingzhou; when Dan came he had Ai write to them, and Huang surrendered the same day.
34
In Zhongxing year 2 he followed Emperor He east. When Gaozu took the throne, Ai was advanced to General Who Assists the State, then kept as General of Valiant Cavalry, made administrator of Ning Shu, and with Yizhou inspector Deng Yuanqi went west against Liu Jilian; at Gong'an he died on the road and was posthumously made Minister of the Guard. His son Ganxiang rose to General of Valiant Cavalry, chief clerk on the northern expedition, and administrator of Ruyin and Zhongli.
35
Chen Minister of Personnel Yao Cha said: Dou Rong once submitted Hexi to Han and became a great clan; Liu Tan raised Nan Zheng in response and followed, yet his family name did not sink—the times favored it! Liu Chen's plans too succeeded—how wise! Wei Rui rose from Shangyong for the righteous cause; his base was poorer than Tan's, yet at Hefei and Shaoyang his merit was great, and he yielded without claiming it—a gentleman indeed!