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梁書卷第五十五列傳第四十九
Book of Liang, Volume 55, Biography 49
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豫章王綜武陵王紀臨賀王正德河東王譽
Prince Xiao Zong of Yuzhang; Prince Xiao Ji of Wuling; Prince Zhengde of Linhe; Prince Yu of Hedong
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豫章王綜字世謙，高祖第二子也。 天監三年，封豫章郡王，邑二千戶。 五年，出爲使持節、都督南徐州諸軍事、仁威將軍、南徐州刺史，尋進號北中郎將。 十年，遷都督郢、司、霍三州諸軍事、雲麾將軍、郢州刺史。 十三年，遷安右將軍、領石頭戍軍事。 十五年，遷西中郎將，兼護軍將軍，又遷安前將軍、丹陽尹。 十六年，復爲北中郎將、南徐州刺史。 普通二年，入爲侍中、鎮右將軍，置佐史。
Prince Xiao Zong of Yuzhang, styled Shiqian, was Gaozu's second son. In the third year of Tianjian he was enfeoffed as Prince of Yuzhang commandery, fief of two thousand households. In the fifth year he went out as bearer of the staff, commander of South Xuzhou military affairs, General of Benevolent Might, and inspector of South Xuzhou; soon he was advanced to North Central General. In the tenth year he was transferred to commander of E, Si, and Huo military affairs, Cloud Command General, and inspector of E. In the thirteenth year he was transferred to Secure Right General, overseeing Stone Fort garrison affairs. In the fifteenth year he was transferred to Western Central General, concurrently Protector General, then to Secure Front General and governor of Danyang. In the sixteenth year he again became North Central General and inspector of South Xuzhou. In the second year of Putong he entered court as Attendant-in-Ordinary and Secure Right General, with staff officers appointed.
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初，其母吳淑媛自齊東昏宮得幸於高祖，七月而生綜，宮中多疑之者。 及淑媛寵衰怨望，遂陳疑似之說，故綜懷之。 旣長，有才學，善屬文。 高祖御諸子以禮，朝見不甚數，綜恒怨不見知。 每出籓，淑媛恒隨之鎮。 至年十五六，尚躶袒嬉戲於前，晝夜無別，內外咸有穢議。 綜在徐州，政刑酷暴。 又有勇力，手制奔馬。 常微行夜出，無有期度。 每高祖有敕疏至，輒忿恚形於顏色，羣臣莫敢言者。 恒於別室祠齊氏七廟，又微服至曲阿拜齊明帝陵。 然猶無以自信，聞俗說以生者血瀝死者骨，滲，卽爲父子。 綜乃私發齊東昏墓，出骨，瀝臂血試之。 幷殺一男，取其骨試之，皆有驗，自此常懷異志。
At first his mother Lady Wu Shuyuan, favored by Gaozu after leaving the palace of Qi Emperor Dong Hun, gave birth to Zong in the seventh month; many in the palace doubted him. When Shuyuan's favor waned and she nursed resentment, she put forward the suspicion—and so Zong harbored it. When grown he had talent in learning and skill in literary composition. Gaozu governed his sons by ritual propriety and summoned them to court infrequently; Zong constantly resented that he was not recognized. Whenever he went out to a fief, Shuyuan always accompanied him to his post. By fifteen or sixteen he still played naked before her, day and night undistinguished—inside and outside there was filthy talk. When Zong was in Xuzhou, his government and punishments were cruel and violent. He also had courage and strength, and could by hand subdue a galloping horse. He often went out in disguise at night, without any fixed schedule. Whenever Gaozu's edicts or letters arrived, rage showed on his face; no minister dared speak. He constantly worshipped the Qi line's seven ancestral temples in a separate chamber, and in plain dress went to Qu'e to pay respects at Emperor Ming of Qi's tomb. Yet he still could not trust himself; he heard a folk saying that if living blood dripped on a dead man's bone and seeped in, they were father and son. Zong then privately opened the tomb of Dong Hun of Qi, took out the bone, and dripped blood from his arm to test it. He also killed a boy and tested with his bone—the results all matched; from then he constantly harbored disloyal intent.
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四年，出爲使持節、都督南兗兗徐青冀五州諸軍事、平北將軍、南兗州刺史，給鼓吹一部。 聞齊建安王蕭寶寅在魏，遂使人入北與之相知，謂爲叔父，許舉鎮歸之。 會大舉北伐。 六年，魏將元法僧以彭城降，高祖乃令綜都督衆軍，鎮于彭城，與魏將安豊王元延明相持。 高祖以連兵旣久，慮有釁生，敕綜退軍。 綜懼南歸則無因復與寶寅相見，乃與數騎夜奔于延明，魏以爲侍中、太尉、高平公、丹陽王，邑七千戶，錢三百萬，布絹三千匹，雜彩千匹，馬五十匹，羊五百口，奴婢一百人。 綜乃改名纘，字德文，追爲齊東昏服斬衰。 於是有司奏削爵土，絕屬籍，改其姓爲悖氏。 俄有詔復之，封其子直爲永新侯，邑千戶。 大通二年，蕭寶寅在魏據長安反，綜自洛陽北遁，將赴之，爲津吏所執，魏人殺之，時年四十九。
In the fourth year he went out as bearer of the staff, commander of South Yan, Yan, Xu, Qing, and Ji military affairs, Pacification North General, and inspector of South Yan, granted one suite of martial music. Hearing that Xiao Baoyin, Prince of Jian'an of Qi, was in Wei, he sent men north to establish contact, called him uncle, and promised to raise his post in surrender to him. It happened that a great northern campaign was mounted. In the sixth year, Wei general Yuan Faseng surrendered Pengcheng; Gaozu then had Zong command the armies, garrison at Pengcheng, and stand off against Wei general Prince Yuan Yanming of Anfeng. Gaozu, because the campaign had dragged on, feared trouble would arise and ordered Zong to withdraw the army. Zong feared that returning south would leave him no chance to see Baoyin again; with several horsemen he fled by night to Yanming. Wei made him Attendant-in-Ordinary, Grand Commandant, Duke of Gaoping, Prince of Danyang, fief of seven thousand households, three million cash, three thousand bolts of cloth and silk, one thousand bolts of mixed brocade, fifty horses, five hundred sheep, and a hundred male and female servants. Zong then changed his name to Zuan, styled Dewen, and went into the one-year mourning hemp for Dong Hun of Qi. Thereupon the relevant offices memorialized to strip his rank and fief, cut him from the genealogical register, and change his surname to the Bo clan. Soon an edict restored him; his son Zhi was enfeoffed as Marquis of Yongxin, fief of a thousand households. In the second year of Datong, Xiao Baoyin held Chang'an in rebellion within Wei; Zuan fled north from Luoyang intending to join him, was seized by the ferry clerk, and the Wei people killed him—aged forty-nine.
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初，綜旣不得志，嘗作《聽鐘鳴》、《悲落葉》辭，以申其志。 大略曰：
Earlier, when Zong had not realized his ambitions, he composed the lyrics "Listening to the Bell" and "Grieving Fallen Leaves" to express his intent. The gist runs:
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聽鐘鳴，當知在帝城。 參差定難數，歷亂百愁生。 去聲懸窈窕，來響急徘徊。 誰憐傳漏子，辛苦建章臺。
Listening to the bell toll—you know you are in the imperial city. The uneven strikes are hard to count; layer upon layer, a hundred sorrows rise. The departing note hangs delicate and far; the returning sound hurries and wavers. Who pities the night-watch drummer, toiling at Jianzhang Terrace?
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聽鐘鳴，聽聽非一所。 懷瑾握瑜空擲去，攀松折桂誰相許？ 昔朋舊愛各東西，譬如落葉不更齊。 漂漂孤雁何所棲，依依別鶴夜半啼。
Listening to the bell—listening everywhere, never in one place alone. Jade held in the bosom, gems in the hand—cast aside to nothing; who will grant you pine-climbing and cassia-gathering? Old friends and loves scattered east and west, like fallen leaves that never align again. Where shall the drifting lone goose find rest? The parting crane calls plaintively at midnight.
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聽鐘鳴，聽此何窮極？ 二十有餘年，淹留在京域。 窺明鏡，罷容色，雲悲海思徒掩抑。
Listening to the bell—when will this listening end? Twenty-some years detained in the capital realm. Peering into the bright mirror, abandoning one's looks—cloud-sorrow and sea-longing can only be buried and suppressed.
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其《悲落葉》云：
His "Grieving Fallen Leaves" reads:
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悲落葉，連翩下重疊。 落且飛，縱橫去不歸。
Grieving fallen leaves—fluttering down in layered drifts. Falling yet flying, scattered every way, never returning.
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悲落葉，落葉悲。 人生譬如此，零落不可持。
Grieving fallen leaves—fallen leaves grieve. Human life is like this—scattered, nothing to hold.
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悲落葉，落葉何時還？ 夙昔共根本，無復一相關。
Grieving fallen leaves—when will the leaves return? Once sharing the same root—no longer linked at all.
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當時見者莫不悲之。
Those who saw them at the time all grieved.
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武陵王紀字世詢，高祖第八子也。 少勤學，有文才，屬辭不好輕華，甚有骨氣。 天監十三年，封爲武陵郡王，邑二千戶。 歷位寧遠將軍、琅邪彭城二郡太守、輕車將軍、丹陽尹。 出爲會稽太守，尋以其郡爲東揚州，仍爲刺史，加使持節、東中郎將。 徵爲侍中，領石頭戍軍事。 出爲宣惠將軍、江州刺史。 徵爲使持節、宣惠將軍、都督揚南徐二州諸軍事、揚州刺史。 尋改授持節、都督益梁等十三州諸軍事、安西將軍、益州刺史，加鼓吹一部。 大同十一年，授散騎常侍、征西大將軍、開府儀同三司。
Prince Xiao Ji of Wuling, styled Shixun, was Gaozu's eighth son. In youth he studied diligently; he had literary talent, disliked frivolous ornament in composition, and possessed considerable backbone. In the thirteenth year of Tianjian he was enfeoffed as Prince of Wuling commandery, fief of two thousand households. He held in succession General Who Calms the Distance, administrator of the two commanderies Langye and Pengcheng, Light Chariot General, and governor of Danyang. He went out as administrator of Kuaiji; soon that commandery became East Yangzhou, and he remained as inspector, additionally bearer of the staff and East Central General. He was summoned as Attendant-in-Ordinary, overseeing Stone Fort garrison affairs. He went out as Propagation and Grace General and inspector of Jiangzhou. He was summoned as bearer of the staff, Propagation and Grace General, commander of Yang and South Xu military affairs, and inspector of Yangzhou. Soon he was reassigned bearer of the staff, commander of Yi, Liang, and eleven other provinces, Pacification West General, and inspector of Yizhou, granted one suite of martial music. In the eleventh year of Datong he was granted Attendant-in-Ordinary of the Scattered Cavalry, Great General Who Conquers the West, and Grand Mausoleum with Protocol Equal to the Three Dukes.
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初，天監中，震太陽門，成字曰「紹宗梁位唯武王」，解者以爲武王者，武陵王也，於是朝野屬意焉。 及太清中，侯景亂，紀不赴援。 高祖崩後，紀乃僭號於蜀，改年曰天正。 立子圓照爲皇太子，圓正爲西陽王，圓滿竟陵王，圓普南譙王，圓肅宜都王。 以巴西、梓潼二郡太守永豊侯撝征西大將軍、益州刺史，封秦郡王。 司馬王僧略、直兵參軍徐怦並固諫，紀以爲貳於己，皆殺之。 永豊侯撝歎曰：「王不免矣！ 夫善人、國之基也，今反誅之，不亡何待！」 又謂所親曰：「昔桓玄年號大亨，識者謂之『二月了』，而玄之敗實在仲春。 今年曰天正，在文爲『一止』，其能久乎？」
At first, in the Tianjian era, the Sun Gate was struck by earthquake; a sign read "The Liang throne belongs only to the Prince of Wu"—interpreters held that the Prince of Wu meant Prince Ji of Wuling, and court and commoners looked to him. During the Taiping era, when Hou Jing rebelled, Ji did not come to the rescue. After Gaozu died, Ji seized imperial title in Shu, changing the era name to Tianzheng. He made his son Yuanzhao crown prince, Yuanzheng Prince of Xiyang, Yuanman Prince of Jingling, Yuanpu Prince of Nanqiao, and Yuansu Prince of Yidu. Marquis Huo of Yongfeng, administrator of Baxi and Zitong, was appointed Great General Who Conquers the West and inspector of Yizhou, enfeoffed as Prince of Qin commandery. Master of Affairs Wang Senglue and Direct Service Army Officer Xu Ping both remonstrated firmly; Ji took this as disloyalty and had both killed. Marquis Huo of Yongfeng sighed, "The prince is doomed! good men are the foundation of a state; now he kills them—how can it not perish!" he also told his intimates, "In the past Huan Xuan took the era name Daheng; interpreters called it 'the second month is done,' and his defeat indeed came in the second month. this year is called Tianzheng—in writing it is 'one stop'—how long can it last?"
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太清五年夏四月，紀帥軍東下至巴郡，以討侯景爲名，將圖荊陝。 聞西魏侵蜀，遣其將南梁州刺史譙淹迴軍赴援。 五月日，西魏將尉遲迥帥衆逼涪水，潼州刺史楊乾運以城降之，迥分軍據守，卽趨成都。 丁丑，紀次于西陵，舳艫翳川，旌甲曜日，軍容甚盛。 世祖命護軍將軍陸法和於硤口夾岸築二壘，鎮江以斷之。 時陸納未平，蜀軍復逼，物情恇擾，世祖憂焉。 法和告急，旬日相繼。 世祖乃拔任約於獄，以爲晉安王司馬，撤禁兵以配之； 幷遣宣猛將軍劉棻共約西赴。 六月，紀築連城，攻絕鐵鏁。 世祖復於獄拔謝答仁爲步兵校尉，配衆一旅，上赴法和。 世祖與紀書曰：「皇帝敬問假黃鉞太尉武陵王：自九黎侵軼，三苗寇擾，天長喪亂，獯醜馮陵，虔劉象魏，黍離王室。 朕枕戈東望，泣血西浮，殞愛子於二方，無諸侯之八百，身被屬甲，手貫流矢。 俄而風樹之酷，萬恨始纏，霜露之悲，百憂繼集，扣心飲膽，志不圖全。 直以宗社綴旒，鯨鯢未剪，嘗膽待旦，龔行天罰，獨運四聰，坐揮八柄。 雖復結壇待將，褰帷納士，拒赤壁之兵，無謀於魯肅； 燒烏巢之米，不訪於荀攸； 才智將殫，金貝殆竭，傍無寸助，險阻備嘗。 遂得斬長狄於駒門，挫蚩尤於楓木。 怨恥旣雪，天下無塵，經營四方，專資一力，方與岳牧，同茲清靜。 隆暑炎赫，弟比何如？ 文武具僚，當有勞弊。 今遣散騎常侍、光州刺史鄭安忠，指宣往懷。」 仍令喻意於紀，許其還蜀，專制岷方。 紀不從命，報書如家人禮。 庚申，紀將侯叡率衆緣山將規進取，任約、謝答仁與戰，破之。 旣而陸納平，諸軍並西赴，世祖又與紀書曰：「甚苦大智！ 季月煩暑，流金爍石，聚蚊成雷，封狐千里，以茲玉體，辛苦行陣。 乃眷西顧，我勞如何？ 自獯醜憑陵，羯胡叛換，吾年爲一日之長，屬有平亂之功，膺此樂推，事歸當璧。 儻遣使乎，良所遲也。 如曰不然，於此投筆。 友于兄弟，分形共氣。 兄肥弟瘦，無復相代之期； 讓棗推梨，長罷歡愉之日。 上林靜拱，聞四鳥之哀鳴； 宣室披圖，嗟萬始之長逝。 心乎愛矣，書不盡言。」 大智，紀之別字也。 紀遣所署度支尚書樂奉業至于江陵，論和緝之計，依前旨還蜀。 世祖知紀必破，遂拒而不許。 丙戌，巴興民苻昇、徐子初等斬紀硤口城主公孫晃，降于衆軍。 王琳、宋簉、任約、謝答仁等因進攻侯叡，陷其三壘，於是兩岸十餘城遂俱降。 將軍樊猛獲紀及其第三子圓滿，俱殺之於硤口，時年四十六。 有司奏請絕其屬籍，世祖許之，賜姓饕餮氏。
In the fourth month of summer in the fifth year of Taiping, Ji led his army east to Ba commandery, claiming to attack Hou Jing but intending to seize Jing and Shan. Hearing Western Wei invade Shu, he sent his general Qiao Yan, inspector of Southern Liangzhou, to turn the army back for relief. On the fifth month day, Western Wei general Yuchi Tong led troops to press the Fu River; Tongzhou inspector Yang Qianyun surrendered the city, and Tong divided his forces to hold it and rushed straight for Chengdu. On day dingchou, Ji halted at Xiling; warships crowded the river, banners and armor dazzled the sun—the army's appearance was very grand. Shizu ordered Protector General Lu Fahe to build two ramparts on both banks at the Gorge Mouth to hold the river and block him. At the time Lu Na was not yet pacified and the Shu army pressed again; public sentiment was alarmed and Shizu worried. Lu Fahe's urgent reports came one after another for ten days. Shizu then pulled Ren Yue from prison and made him Master of Affairs to Prince Jin'an, assigning palace guard troops to him; and also sent Fierce Attack General Liu Fen to go west with Yue. In the sixth month, Ji built linked ramparts and attacked, severing the iron chains. Shizu again pulled Xie Daren from prison and made him Colonel of Footsoldiers, assigning him a brigade to go up and relieve Lu Fahe. Shizu wrote Ji a letter: "The Emperor respectfully inquires of the Acting Holder of the Yellow Battle-Axe, Grand Commandant, Prince of Wuling: Since the Nine Li raided our borders and the Three Miao harassed us, Heaven long abandoned order, barbarians pressed against the capital, devoutly laid waste to the realm, and the royal house knew the sorrows of millet and thorn— I sleep with my spear at my pillow looking east, weeping blood as I float west; I lost my beloved sons in two directions, without the eight hundred feudal lords; I wore armor myself and pierced flowing arrows with my hand. suddenly the cruelty of wind and tree came—ten thousand hates first entwined; frost and dew griefs piled on by the hundred; I beat my heart and swallowed gall, my will no longer to preserve myself whole. only because the altar and temple hang by a thread, the whale and crocodile are not yet cut down, I tasted gall awaiting dawn, marched Heaven's punishment, alone wielded the four keen ears, sat and commanded the eight handles. though again I raised an altar awaiting generals, lifted the curtain to welcome scholars, and repelled the Red Cliffs army—without Lu Su's counsel; burned the grain at Wuchao—without consulting Xun You; talent and wisdom nearly spent, gold and shell nearly exhausted, not a fingerbreadth of aid beside me, dangers and hardships all tasted. yet I was able to behead the long Di at Jumen and humble Chiyou at Maplewood. shame and grievance now washed, the realm without dust; I manage the four directions, relying on one strength alone; I shall with the peaks and pastors share this clarity and quiet. in this fierce summer heat, how fares my younger brother? civil and military officials must be worn and weary. now I send Attendant-in-Ordinary of the Scattered Cavalry and inspector of Guangzhou Zheng Anzhong to declare this and carry my embrace." he still had him convey his intent to Ji, promising his return to Shu and sole rule over Minfang. Ji refused and replied as between kin. On gengshen day, Ji's general Hou Rui led men along the ridges to push forward; Ren Yue and Xie Daren met them in battle and broke them. Soon Lu Na was subdued and every army marched west; Emperor Yuan wrote again to Ji: "How you must suffer, Great Wisdom! Late summer scorches until metal runs and stone glows; mosquitoes swarm like thunder and foxes haunt the hills for a thousand li—yet you wear this royal frame through the camps. I look west and wonder—what toll has this taken on me? Since the northern scourge overran the land and the Jie turned traitor, I am the elder by a day and was given the work of quelling chaos—heaven's choice fell to me, and the jade scepter is mine to hold. If you would send envoys, that is what I have waited for. If not, I set down my brush here and say no more. Brothers should be friends—one body, one breath. One brother grows stout while the other wastes away—we shall never take turns again; No more yielding jujubes or pushing pears—the days of shared delight are gone. In Shanglin I sit in stillness and hear four birds cry in mourning; In the Xuan Chamber I unroll the maps and grieve that our Founder's life has long fled. My heart is full of love, yet ink cannot say it all." "Great Wisdom" was Ji's courtesy name. Ji sent his Minister of Revenue Le Fengye to Jiangling to negotiate peace and return to Shu on the old terms. Emperor Yuan knew Ji was doomed and refused outright. On bingxu day, Fu Sheng and Xu Zichu of Baxiing cut down Xiakou commander Gongsun Huang and surrendered to the host. Wang Lin, Song Zao, Ren Yue, and Xie Daren pressed Hou Rui, took his three ramparts, and more than ten cities on both shores submitted at once. General Fan Meng seized Ji and his third son Yuanman and killed them both at Xiakou; Ji was forty-six. The court memorialized to strike him from the clan register; Emperor Yuan assented and gave the surname Taotie.
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初，紀將僭號，妖怪非一。 其最異者，內寢柏殿柱繞節生花，其莖四十有六，靃靡可愛，狀似荷花。 識者曰：「王敦杖花，非佳事也。」 紀年號天正，與蕭棟暗合，僉曰「天」字「二人」也，「正」字「一止」也。 棟、紀僭號，各一年而滅。
When Ji first planned to take the throne, omens multiplied. Strangest of all, in the Cypress Hall's inner chamber the pillars put forth flowers at every joint—forty-six stems, soft and lovely as lotus blooms. Men versed in such things said, "When Wang Dun's staff bloomed, it foretold ruin." Ji's reign era was Tianzheng, echoing Xiao Dong's in secret; people read tian as "two men" and zheng as "one halt." Dong and Ji each reigned a single year before they perished.
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臨賀王正德字公和，臨川靖惠王第三子也。 少粗險，不拘禮節。 初，高祖未有男，養之爲子。 及高祖踐極，便希儲貳，後立昭明太子，封正德爲西豊侯，邑五百戶。 自此怨望，恒懷不軌，䁹睨宮扆，覬幸災變。 普通六年，以黃門侍郎爲輕車將軍，置佐史。 頃之，遂逃奔于魏，有司奏削封爵。 七年，又自魏逃歸，高祖不之過也。 復其封爵，仍除征虜將軍。
Prince of Linhe Zhengde, styled Gonghe, was the third son of Prince Jinghui of Linchuan. As a youth he was rough and reckless and cared nothing for propriety. Early on, before Gaozu had a son of his own, he adopted Zhengde. Once Gaozu took the throne, Zhengde coveted the heirship; when the Zhaoming Heir Apparent was named, Zhengde received only the marquisate of Xifeng—five hundred households. Thereafter he brooded on slights, plotted treason, eyed the palace throne, and prayed for disaster. In the sixth year of Putong he rose from Gentleman at the Yellow Gate to General of Light Chariots with a staff. Soon he fled to Wei; the court moved to strip his rank and fief. In the seventh year he slipped back from Wei; Gaozu let the matter pass. His honors were restored and he was made General Who Pacifies the Barbarians.
20
中大通四年，爲信武將軍、吳郡太守。 徵爲侍中、撫軍將軍，置佐史，封臨賀郡王，邑二千戶，又加左衛將軍。 而凶暴日甚，招聚亡命。 侯景知其有姦心，乃密令誘說，厚相要結。 遺正德書曰：「今天子年尊，姦臣亂國，憲章錯謬，政令顛倒，以景觀之，計日必敗。 況大王屬當儲貳，中被廢辱，天下義士，竊所痛心，在景愚忠，能無忿慨？ 今四海業業，歸心大王，大王豈得顧此私情，棄茲億兆！ 景雖不武，實思自奮。 願王允副蒼生，鑒斯誠款。」 正德覽書大喜曰：「侯景意暗與我同，此天贊也。」 遂許之。 及景至江，正德潛運空舫，詐稱迎荻，以濟景焉。 朝廷未知其謀，猶遣正德守朱雀航。 景至，正德乃引軍與景俱進，景推正德爲天子，改年爲正平元年，景爲丞相。 臺城沒，復太清之號，降正德爲大司馬。 正德有怨言，景聞之，慮其爲變，矯詔殺之。
In the fourth year of Zhongdatong he served as Trustworthy Martial General and administrator of Wu commandery. He was recalled as Attendant-in-Ordinary and General Who Pacifies the Army, enfeoffed Prince of Linhe with two thousand households, and made Left Guard General besides. His cruelty deepened by the day as he gathered fugitives and desperate men. Hou Jing sensed his treachery and secretly wooed him with lavish pledges. He wrote to Zhengde: "The Son of Heaven is old, corrupt ministers ruin the realm, law and order are upside down—in my reading, collapse comes within days. You were born to the succession yet cast aside in shame—righteous men everywhere ache at it; can even my blunt loyalty stay cold? The realm trembles and hearts turn to you—will you choose private feeling over a hundred million lives? I am no soldier, yet I mean to fight. Grant my plea, serve the people, and read this as honest intent." Zhengde read it and exulted: "Hou Jing thinks as I do—Heaven is with us." He agreed. When Jing reached the river, Zhengde sent empty boats under the pretense of collecting reeds and ferried him across. The court still knew nothing of the plot and sent Zhengde to hold the Zhuque crossing. Jing came; Zhengde opened the gates and marched with him. Jing proclaimed Zhengde emperor, named the era Zhengping year one, and took the chancellorship himself. When the palace city fell, the Taqing era was restored and Zhengde was reduced to Grand Marshal. Zhengde grumbled; Jing, fearing betrayal, forged an edict and had him killed.
21
河東王譽字重孫，昭明太子第二子也。 普通二年，封枝江縣公。 中大通三年，改封河東郡王，邑二千戶。 除寧遠將軍、石頭戍軍事。 出爲琅邪、彭城二郡太守。 還除侍中、輕車將軍，置佐史。 出爲南中郎將、湘州刺史。
Prince of Hedong Yu, styled Chongsun, was the second son of the Zhaoming Heir Apparent. In the second year of Putong he was made Duke of Zhijiang county. In the third year of Zhongdatong he was re-enfeoffed Prince of Hedong commandery with two thousand households. He was appointed General of Distant Peace and put in charge of the Shitou garrison. He went out to govern Langye and Pengcheng commanderies. On return he became Attendant-in-Ordinary and General of Light Chariots with a staff. He went out as General of the Southern Center and inspector of Xiangzhou.
22
未幾，侯景寇京邑，譽率軍入援，至青草湖，臺城沒，有詔班師，譽還湘鎮。 時世祖軍于武城，新除雍州刺史張纘密報世祖曰：「河東起兵，岳陽聚米，共爲不逞，將襲江陵。」 世祖甚懼，因步道間還，遣諮議周弘直至譽所，督其糧衆。 譽曰：「各自軍府，何忽隸人？」 前後使三反，譽並不從。 世祖大怒，乃遣世子方等征之，反爲譽所敗死。 又令信州刺史鮑泉討譽，幷與書陳示禍福，許其遷善。 譽不答，修浚城池，爲拒守之計。 謂鮑泉曰：「敗軍之將，勢豈語勇？ 欲前卽前，無所多說。」 泉軍于石槨寺，譽帥衆逆擊之，不利而還。 泉進軍于橘洲，譽又盡銳攻之，不剋。 會已暮，士卒疲弊，泉因出擊，大敗之，斬首三千級，溺死者萬餘人。 譽於是焚長沙郭邑，驅居民於城內，鮑泉度軍圍之。 譽幼而驍勇，兼有膽氣，能撫循士卒，甚得衆心。 及被圍旣久，雖外內斷絕，而備守猶固。 後世祖又遣領軍將軍王僧辯代鮑泉攻譽，僧辯築土山以臨城內，日夕苦攻，矢石如雨，城中將士死傷者太半。 譽窘急，乃潛裝海船，將潰圍而出。 會其麾下將慕容華引僧辯入城，譽顧左右皆散，遂被執，謂守者曰：「勿殺我！ 得一見七官，申此讒賊，死亦無恨。」 主者曰：「奉命不許。」 遂斬之，傳首荊鎮，世祖反其首以葬焉。
Soon Hou Jing struck the capital; Yu marched to relieve it, reached Qingcao Lake, then heard the city had fallen, received orders to withdraw, and returned to his post in Xiang. Emperor Yuan was then at Wucheng; the new inspector of Yongzhou, Zhang Zuan, secretly warned him: "Hedong has risen and Yueyang is hoarding grain—they plot mischief and mean to strike Jiangling." Emperor Yuan was terrified; he slipped back by side roads and sent Adviser Zhou Hongzhi to Yu's camp to take command of grain and troops. Yu said, "Each man has his own command—why suddenly place me under another?" Three envoys came and went; Yu refused each time. Enraged, Emperor Yuan sent his heir Fangdeng against him; Yu defeated and killed him. He then ordered Bao Quan, inspector of Xinzhou, to attack Yu, writing to show reward and ruin and offering a path to repentance. Yu made no answer; he strengthened walls and moats and prepared to stand siege. He told Bao Quan, "A beaten general has no right to speak of courage. Advance if you will—say no more." Quan camped at Shigu Temple; Yu led a counterattack, failed, and pulled back. Quan moved on Juzhou; Yu threw in every crack soldier and still could not break him. At dusk, with Yu's men spent, Quan counterstruck and shattered them—three thousand heads taken and more than ten thousand drowned. Yu burned Changsha's outer suburbs, herded the people within the walls, and Bao Quan brought his army across to invest the city. Yu had been bold since boyhood, fearless and skilled at winning soldiers' hearts. Besieged for months, cut off within and without, he still held firm. Later Emperor Yuan sent Wang Sengbian, commandant of the army, to replace Bao Quan; Sengbian raised earthworks against the inner wall and assaulted day and night until arrows and stones fell like rain and more than half the garrison lay dead or wounded. Desperate, Yu secretly prepared sea boats to burst the siege and flee. Then his officer Murong Hua admitted Sengbian into the city; Yu's followers scattered and he was taken. He cried to his guards, "Do not kill me! Let me see the Seventh Officer once and denounce this slanderer—then I can die without regret." The officer said, "My orders forbid it." He was beheaded; the head was sent to the Jing garrison, and Emperor Yuan returned it for burial.
23
初，譽之將敗也，私引鏡照面，不見其頭； 又見長人蓋屋，兩手據地瞰其齋； 又見白狗大如驢，從城而出，不知所在。 譽甚惡之，俄而城陷。
Before his fall, Yu once looked in a mirror and saw himself headless; he dreamed of a giant roofing a house, hands on the ground, staring into his hall; he also saw a white dog the size of a donkey leave the city and vanish. Yu loathed these signs; soon the city fell.
24
史臣曰：蕭綜、蕭正德並悖逆倡狂，自致夷滅，宜矣。 太清之寇，蕭紀據庸、蜀之資，遂不勤王赴難，申臣子之節； 及賊景誅剪，方始起兵，師出無名，成其釁禍。 嗚呼！ 身當管、蔡之罰，蓋自貽哉。 [1]
The historian writes: Xiao Zong and Xiao Zhengde were rebels and madmen who destroyed themselves—no more than they deserved. In the Taqing disaster Xiao Ji held the wealth of Yong and Shu yet never rushed to the throne's rescue or kept a son's or subject's duty; only after Hou Jing was destroyed did he march—an army without just cause, sealing his own ruin. Alas! He suffered the fate of Guan and Cai—and had only himself to blame. Editorial footnote marker in the source text.
25
全文以中華書局、一九七三年五月版《梁書》爲本校。
The full text was collated against the Zhonghua Shuju edition of the Book of Liang (May 1973).