1
梁書卷第五十六列傳第五十
Book of Liang, Volume 56, Biography 50
2
臣聞股肱體合，則四海和平； 上下猜貳，則封疆幅裂。 故周、邵同德，越常之貢來臻； 飛、惡離心，諸侯所以背叛。 此蓋成敗之所由，古今如畫一者也。
I have heard that when the body and its limbs move as one, the realm is at peace; when those above and below doubt one another, the frontiers split apart. When the Duke of Zhou and the Duke of Shao stood together in virtue, distant Yuechang sent tribute. When Fei and E fell out, the lords turned against their king. This is what decides triumph and ruin—the same in every age, as though drawn with a single stroke.
3
臣昔與魏丞相高王並肩戮力，共平災釁，扶危戴主，匡弼社稷。 中興以後，無役不從； 天平及此，有事先出。 攻城每陷，野戰必殄； 筋力消於鞍甲，忠貞竭於寸心。 乘藉機運，位階鼎輔； 宜應誓死罄節，仰報時恩，隕首流腸，溘焉罔貳。 何言翰墨，一旦論此？ 臣所恨義非死所，壯士弗爲。 臣不愛命，但恐死之無益耳。
Once I fought side by side with Wei's Grand Chancellor Prince Gao to put down rebellion, save the throne, and uphold the realm. Since the restoration I have joined every campaign; and from the Tianping era onward I have always been first into the field. Every siege fell; every battle ended in the enemy's destruction. I wore out my body in saddle and mail and spent every ounce of loyalty I had. Fortune raised me to stand beside the throne as chief minister; I should have sworn to die where honor required, repaying every debt with my life and never wavering. Why must I put this to writing, all at once, on a day like this? What grieves me is that there is no honorable place left for me to die—the sort of death no true man would choose. I do not cling to life; I only fear that death would accomplish nothing.
4
而丞相旣遭疾患，政出子澄。 澄天性險忌，觸類猜嫉，諂諛迭進，共相構毀。 而部分未周，累信賜召； 不顧社稷之安危，惟恐私門之不植。 甘言厚幣，規滅忠梗。 其父若殞，將何賜容。 懼讒畏戮，拒而不返，遂觀兵汝、潁，擁斾周、韓。 乃與豫州刺史高成、廣州刺史郎椿、襄州刺史李密、兗州刺史邢子才、南兗州刺史石長宣、齊州刺史許季良、東豫州刺史丘元征、洛州刺史朱渾願、揚州刺史樂恂、北荊州刺史梅季昌、北揚州刺史元神和等，皆河南牧伯，大州帥長，各陰結私圖，剋相影會，秣馬潛戈，待時卽發。 函谷以東，瑕丘以西，咸願歸誠聖朝，息肩有道，戮力同心，死無二志。 惟有青、徐數州，僅須折簡，一驛走來，不勞經略。
But the Grand Chancellor is ill, and power has passed to his son Cheng. Cheng is suspicious and cruel by nature. Flatterers crowd in one after another and together weave false accusations. Before my plans were fully laid, letter after letter summoned me— indifferent to the realm's safety, caring only to secure his own house. With honeyed speech and heavy bribes he sought to destroy every loyal man. If his father dies, what place will he leave for me? Afraid of false charges and of being killed, I would not go back. I gathered my army on the Ru and Ying and marched under my banners through Zhou and Han. Together with the inspectors Gao Cheng of Yuzhou, Lang Chun of Guangzhou, Li Mi of Xiangzhou, Xing Zicai of Yanzhou, Shi Changxuan of South Yanzhou, Xu Jiliang of Qizhou, Qiu Yuanzheng of East Yuzhou, Zhu Hunyuan of Luozhou, Le Xun of Yangzhou, Mei Jichang of North Jingzhou, Yuan Yuanhe of North Yangzhou, and other great lords of Henan, each has made secret plans, matched his timing to the rest, readied horses and hidden arms, and waits only for the signal to rise. From east of Hangu to west of Xiaqiu, all long to return to the imperial court, find rest under a righteous sovereign, and fight as one to the death. Only Qing and Xu need a brief summons; one courier ride will bring them in, with no great campaign required.
5
且臣與高氏釁隙已成，臨患賜徵，前已不赴，縱其平復，終無合理。 黃河以南，臣之所職，易同反掌，附化不難。 羣臣顒仰，聽臣而唱。 若齊、宋一平，徐事燕、趙。 伏惟陛下天網宏開，方同書軌，聞茲寸款，惟應霈然。
My breach with the Gao house is already complete. They summoned me once in crisis and I refused; even if peace were restored, there would be no lasting trust. South of the Yellow River lies the territory under my command. To turn it over would be as easy as turning my hand; winning the people would not be hard. The officials look to me and wait for my signal. Once Qi and Song are settled, Yan and Zhao can be dealt with in turn. Your Majesty's net of Heaven is broad, and the realm is moving toward unity. I beg you to receive this small pledge with overflowing mercy.
6
丁和旣至，高祖召羣臣廷議。 尚書僕射謝舉及百辟等議，皆云納侯景非宜，高祖不從是議而納景。
When Ding He arrived, Gaozu called the ministers into court to debate the matter. Vice Minister Xie Ju and the whole court argued that taking Hou Jing in would be unwise. Gaozu rejected their advice and received him.
7
及齊神武卒，其子澄嗣，是爲文襄帝。 高祖乃下詔封景河南王、大將軍、使持節、董督河南南北諸軍事、大行臺，承制輒行，如鄧禹故事，給鼓吹一部。 齊文襄遣大將軍慕容紹宗圍景於長社，景請西魏爲援，西魏遣其五城王元慶等率兵救之，紹宗乃退。 景復請兵於司州刺史羊鴉仁，鴉仁遣長史鄧鴻率兵至汝水，元慶軍又夜遁。 於是據懸瓠、項城，求遣刺史以鎮之。 詔以羊鴉仁爲豫、司二州刺史，移鎮懸瓠； 西陽太守羊思建爲殷州刺史，鎮項城。
When Gao Huan of Northern Qi died, his son Cheng succeeded him as Emperor Wenxiang. Gaozu then enfeoffed Jing as Prince of Henan and Great General, gave him the staff with full discretion, made him director of all military affairs north and south of the Yellow River, and set up a Grand Commandery Platform with authority to act on imperial mandate after the model of Deng Yu, along with one suite of martial music. Emperor Wenxiang sent Great General Murong Shaozong to besiege Jing at Changshe. Jing asked Western Wei for help, and Western Wei sent Prince Yuan Qing of Wucheng with an army to relieve him. Shaozong then withdrew. Jing asked Inspector Yang Yaren of Sizhou for troops as well. Yaren sent Senior Clerk Deng Hong to the Ru River, and Yuan Qing's army fled overnight. He then held Xuanyong and Xiangcheng and asked that inspectors be sent to garrison them. An edict appointed Yang Yaren inspector of Yu and Si and moved him to garrison Xuanyong; and made Yang Sijian, administrator of Xiyang, inspector of Yin with his seat at Xiangcheng.
8
魏旣新喪元帥，景又舉河南內附，齊文襄慮景與西、南合從，方爲己患，乃以書喻景曰：
Wei had just lost its commander, and Jing had surrendered Henan to the Liang. Wenxiang feared that Jing would join forces with Western Wei and the Liang, and so he sent a letter to reason with him:
9
蓋聞位爲大寶，守之未易； 仁誠重任，終之實難。 或殺身成名，或去食存信； 比性命於鴻毛，等節義於熊掌。 夫然者，舉不失德，動無過事； 進不見惡，退無謗言。
It is said that high rank is a great treasure, and to keep it is no easy thing; and that duty and good faith are heavy charges, hard to carry to the end. Some give their lives to preserve their name; some go hungry to keep their word; they weigh life against a goose feather and honor against a bear's paw. When men act thus, they keep their virtue intact and make no misstep; going forward they earn no hatred; stepping back they leave no reproach.
10
先王與司徒契闊夷險，孤子相於，偏所眷屬，繾綣衿期，綢繆寤語，義貫終始，情存歲寒。 司徒自少及長，從微至著，共相成生，非無恩德。 旣爵冠通侯，位標上等，門容駟馬，室饗萬鐘，財利潤於鄉党，榮華被於親戚。 意氣相傾，人倫所重，感於知己，義在忘軀。 眷爲國士者，乃立漆身之節； 饋以壺飱者，便致扶輪之效。 若然尚不能已，況其重於此乎！
My father and you, Marshal, shared every danger together. I regarded you as one of my own and favored you above others, bound to you in close trust and long counsel. Our bond ran from beginning to end, and did not fade with the years. You, Marshal, rose from humble beginnings to great standing, and we grew up together. That history was not without kindness and reward. You were ennobled as a full marquis, given one of the highest ranks, a gate fit for four-horse carriages, and a household fed from ten thousand zhong. Wealth flowed to your kin, and honor spread through your clan. Kindred souls are prized among men. When one finds a true patron, honor demands that he forget himself. A man honored as champion of the state will even lacquer his flesh for his lord; and one who receives even a basket of food will repay it by bracing the chariot wheel. If such obligations cannot be cast aside, how much heavier is the debt between us!
11
幸以故舊之義，欲持子孫相託，方爲秦晉之匹，共成劉范之親。 假使日往月來，時移世易，門無強廕，家有幼孤，猶加璧不遺，分宅相濟，無忘先德，以恤後人。 況聞負杖行歌，便已狼顧犬噬，於名無所成，於義無所取，不蹈忠臣之跡，自陷叛人之地。 力不足以自強，勢不足以自保； 率烏合之衆，爲累卵之危。 西求救於黑泰，南請援於蕭氏，以狐疑之心，爲首鼠之事。 入秦則秦人不容，歸吳則吳人不信。 當今相視，未見其可，不知終久，持此安歸。 相推本心，必不應爾。 當是不逞之人，曲爲口端之說，遂懷市虎之疑，乃致投杼之惑耳。
Out of old friendship I would entrust my sons and grandsons to you, binding our houses like Qin and Jin, joining our fates like Liu and Fan. Even if time passed, fortunes turned, and my house were left with only weak protection and young orphans, I would still give jade without stint, share my home to help you, remember past kindness, and care for those who came after. Yet I hear that you lean on your staff and sing as you walk, already looking back like a wolf and snapping like a dog. You win nothing in reputation and gain nothing in honor. You leave the path of loyal ministers and cast yourself among rebels. You are not strong enough to stand alone, nor powerful enough to defend yourself; you lead a rabble and stand in peril as fragile as a tower of eggs. To the west you beg Yuwen Tai for help; to the south you ask the Xiao for rescue. With a wavering heart you play both sides at once. Go west and the westerners will not keep you; turn south and the southerners will not trust you. Seen clearly, none of this can succeed. In the end, how long can you hold on, and where will you go? If you search your own heart, you cannot truly mean to go on like this. Surely some schemer has twisted your ear, planted false rumors, and driven you into needless fear.
12
比來舉止，事已可見，人相疑誤，想自覺知，合門大小，並付司寇。 近者，聊命偏師，前驅致討，南兗、揚州，應時剋復。 卽欲乘機，長驅懸瓠； 屬以炎暑，欲爲後圖。 方憑國靈，龔行天罰，器械精新，士馬強盛。 內外感德，上下齊心，三令五申，可蹈湯火。 若使旗鼓相望，埃塵相接，勢如沃雪，事等注螢。
Your recent actions have already shown your intent, and everyone sees the mistake. I think you know it yourself. Your whole household, great and small, has been handed over to the Minister of Justice. Not long ago I sent a vanguard force against you, and South Yan and Yangzhou fell back into our hands at once. I meant to press on at once to Xuanyong; but the heat forced me to wait and plan for another day. Backed by the fortune of the state, I shall march under Heaven's judgment with fresh arms and strong horses. Within and without answer to virtue, and high and low are of one mind. With repeated commands my men would walk through fire. If our banners meet and our dust clouds join, your force will melt like snow on boiling water and fail like water poured on embers.
13
夫明者去危就安，智者轉禍爲福。 寧使我負人，不使人負我。 當開從善之門，決改先迷之路。 今刷心蕩意，除嫌去惡，想猶致疑，未便見信。 若能卷甲來朝，垂櫜還闕者，當授豫州刺史。 卽使終君之世，所部文武更不追攝。 進得保其祿位，退則不喪功名。 君門眷屬，可以無恙； 寵妻愛子，亦送相還。 仍爲通家，卒成親好。 所不食言，有如皎日。
The clear-eyed leave danger for safety; the wise turn ruin into blessing. Better that I wrong another than that another wrong me. Open the door to good counsel and leave the road of your former error. I speak now with a cleared heart and without malice. Yet I know you still doubt me and are not ready to believe. If you lay down your arms, come to court, and return in peace, I will make you inspector of Yuzhou. For the rest of your life none of the officers and soldiers once under you will be pursued. Come forward and you keep your rank and pay; step back and you lose neither honor nor credit. Your family at home may remain unharmed; your wife and children will be returned to you as well. We shall again be joined as one house and become close friends. What I promise I do not break—my word is as clear as the sun.
14
君旣不能東封函谷，南向稱孤，受制於人，威名頓盡。 空使兄弟子侄，足首異門，垂發戴白，同之塗炭，聞者酸鼻，見者寒心，矧伊骨肉，能無愧也？
You could not hold Hangu in the east or rule in the south on your own. Now, dependent on others, your power and name are spent. Your brothers, sons, and nephews will be scattered to different fates, worn white before their time, and ruined alike. Those who hear of it will weep; those who see it will shudder. For your own flesh and blood, can there be no shame?
15
孤子今日不應方遣此書，但見蔡遵道云：司徒本無歸西之心，深有悔禍之意，聞西兵將至，遣遵道向崤中參其多少； 少則與其同力，多則更爲其備。 又云：房長史在彼之日，司徒嘗欲遣書啓，將改過自新。 已差李龍仁，垂欲發遣，聞房已遠，遂復停發。 未知遵道此言爲虛爲實，但旣有所聞，不容不相盡告。 吉凶之理，想自圖之。
I would not be writing this now, but Cai Zundao told me that you never truly meant to go west, that you deeply regretted what had happened, and that when you heard Western Wei was marching you sent Zundao into the Xiao Mountains to learn how many they were; if they were few, you would join them; if many, you would prepare against them. He also said that while Senior Clerk Fang was with you, you once meant to send a letter and turn back to the right path. You had already sent Li Longren and were about to dispatch him, but when you learned Fang was far away you halted the message. I do not know whether Zundao spoke truth or falsehood, but since I have heard this I cannot keep it from you. The way fortune and ruin turn—surely you will judge that for yourself.
16
景報書曰：
Jing answered in a letter:
17
蓋聞立身揚名者，義也； 在躬所寶者，生也。 苟事當其義，則節士不愛其軀； 刑罰斯舛，則君子實重其命。 昔微子發狂而去殷，陳平懷智而背楚者，良有以也。
It is said that to stand with honor and leave a name behind is righteousness; and that what a man holds dear in his own body is life. When the cause is just, a man of honor does not spare himself; but when punishment is unjust, even a gentleman will guard his life. Long ago Weizi feigned madness and quit Yin; Chen Ping used his wit and turned from Chu. They had cause.
18
僕鄉曲布衣，本乖藝用。 初逢天柱，賜忝帷幄之謀； 晚遇永熙，委以干戈之任。 出身爲國，綿歷二紀，犯危履難，豈避風霜。 遂得躬被袞衣，口飱玉食，富貴當年，光榮身世。 何爲一旦舉旌斾，援桴鼓，而北面相抗者，何哉？ 實以畏懼危亡，恐招禍害，捐軀非義，身名兩滅故耳。 何者？ 往年之暮，尊王遘疾，神不祐善，祈禱莫瘳。 遂使嬖幸擅威權，閽寺肆詭惑，上下相猜，心腹離貳。 僕妻子在宅，無事見圍； 段康之謀，莫知所以； 盧潛入軍，未審何故。 翼翼小心，常懷戰慄，有靦面目，寧不自疑。 及廻師長社，希自陳狀，簡書未達，斧鉞已臨。 旣旌旗相對，咫尺不遠，飛書每奏，兼申鄙情； 而羣率恃雄，眇然不顧，運戟推鋒，專欲屠滅。 築圍堰水，三板僅存，舉目相看，命懸晷刻，不忍死亡，出戰城下。 禽獸惡死，人倫好生，送地拘秦，非樂爲也。 但尊王平昔見與，比肩共獎帝室，雖形勢參差，寒暑小異，丞相司徒，雁行而已。 福祿官榮，自是天爵，勞而後受，理不相干，欲求吞炭，何其謬也！ 然竊人之財，猶謂爲盜，祿去公室，相爲不取。 今魏德雖衰，天命未改，祈恩私第，何足關言。
I am a plain countryman, ill suited by nature to polished arts. When I first met the Heavenly Pillar, I was honored with a place in the command tent; and later, in the Yongxi era, I was entrusted with command of the army. I entered service for the state more than twenty years ago, facing danger and hardship without shrinking from wind or frost. Thus I came to wear the imperial robe myself, dine on food fit for jade, enjoy wealth and honor in my prime, and bring glory to my person and lineage. Why then did I suddenly raise banners, beat the drums, and turn north to resist you? Because I feared ruin and dreaded inviting disaster—dying for no righteous cause destroys both body and name. Why? At the end of last year my lord fell ill; heaven did not protect the good, and no prayer could cure him. Favored minions seized power, eunuchs spun deceit, court and camp turned on each other, and trusted men divided their loyalties. My wife and children were at home, yet for no reason they were besieged; the plot involving Duan Kang—I do not know why; Lu Qian entered the army—for what reason I could not tell. I walked on eggshells and lived in dread; with shame burning on my face, how could I not doubt myself? When I returned to the army at Changshe hoping to explain myself, my letter had not even arrived before the executioner's axe was at my throat. Our banners already faced each other, barely a spear's length apart; I sent letter after letter, pleading my case as best I could; yet your army trusted its numbers, ignored me completely, wheeled halberds and drove the blades, bent on nothing but annihilation. They built earthworks and dammed the water; only three layers of wall remained; we stared at one another with our lives on the clock; unable to wait for death, I went out to fight beneath the walls. Beasts hate death and men love life—surrendering land and submitting to Qin was no pleasure of mine. Yet in the past my lord treated me as an equal, shoulder to shoulder in serving the imperial house—though our stations differed and seasons changed, Chancellor and Minister of Works were only geese in a single flight. Fortune, salary, rank, and glory are gifts of Heaven, earned only after toil—the cases have nothing to do with each other; to demand I swallow charcoal—how absurd! Stealing another man's wealth is still called theft; when salary left the public treasury, we both refused to take what was not ours. Wei's virtue may be fading, but Heaven's mandate has not changed—begging for grace in a private house is hardly worth discussing.
19
賜示「不能東封函谷，受制於人」，當似教僕賢祭仲而襃季氏。 無主之國，在禮未聞，動而不法，何以取訓？ 竊以分財養幼，事歸令終，捨宅存孤，誰云隙末？
You wrote that I was "unable to seal Hangu in the east and subject to others' control"—as if instructing me to praise Ji Zhong while exalting the Ji clan. A state without a lord is nowhere mentioned in ritual; to act without law—how can one learn from that? I believe that sharing wealth to raise the young is a proper ending, and giving up a house to save orphans—who would call that a petty break?
20
復言僕「衆不足以自強，危如累卵」。 然紂有億兆夷人，卒降十亂； 桀之百剋，終自無後。 潁川之戰，卽是殷監。 輕重由人，非鼎在德。 苟能忠信，雖弱必強。 殷憂啓聖，處危何苦。 況今梁道邕熙，招攜以禮，被我獸文，縻之好爵。 方欲苑五岳而池四海，掃夷穢以拯黎元，東羈甌越，西通汧、隴。 吳、楚剽勁，帶甲千羣； 吳兵冀馬，控弦十萬。 兼僕所部義勇如林，奮義取威，不期而發，大風一振，枯幹必摧，凝霜暫落，秋蒂自殞。 此而爲弱，誰足稱強！
You also say my forces "are too few to stand alone, perilous as piled eggs." Yet Zhou had billions of subjects and in the end fell to the Ten Disorders; Jie won a hundred battles and in the end left no heir. The battle at Yingchuan is the warning mirror of the Shang. Whether a state stands or falls depends on its men, not on the tripod alone. If one can be loyal and faithful, even the weak must grow strong. Deep worry breeds wisdom—what hardship is there in standing in danger? Moreover the Liang Way is now broad and bright; it gathers the distant by ritual, robes us in tiger-pattern insignia, and binds us with noble ranks. It means to make the Five Peaks its park and the Four Seas its pond, sweep away barbarian filth to save the people, bind Ou and Yue in the east, and open Qian and Long in the west. Wu and Chu are fierce and sharp, with a thousand armored hosts; Wu troops and Ji horses, a hundred thousand bowstrings drawn. Add the righteous warriors under my command, thick as a forest, rousing righteousness to win glory and striking without warning—a great wind one gust and dry trunks snap; frost falls for a moment and autumn fruit drops by itself. If this is weak, who has the right to call himself strong!
21
又見誣兩端，受疑二國。 斟酌物情，一何至此！ 昔陳平背楚，歸漢則王； 百里出虞，入秦斯霸。 蓋昏明由主，用捨在時，奉禮而行，神其庇也。
Again I am slandered from both sides and suspected by two states. Weighing how men feel—how could it come to this! In the past Chen Ping abandoned Chu; when he returned to Han he was made king; Baili left Yu; entering Qin he became hegemon. Clarity and obscurity depend on the ruler; use and discard depend on the times—follow ritual and act, and the spirits will protect you.
22
書稱士馬精新，剋日齊舉，誇張形勝，指期蕩滅。 竊以寒飂白露，節候乃同； 秋風揚塵，馬首何異。 徒知北方之力爭，未識西、南之合從，苟欲徇意於前途，不覺坑穽在其側。 若云去危令歸正朔，轉禍以脫網羅，彼旣嗤僕之愚迷，此亦笑君之晦昧。 今已引二邦，揚旌北討，熊虎齊奮，剋復中原，荊、襄、廣、潁已屬關右，項城、懸瓠亦奉南朝，幸自取之，何勞恩賜。 然權變不一，理有萬途。 爲君計者，莫若割地兩和，三分鼎峙，燕、衛、晉、趙足相奉祿，齊、曹、宋、魯悉歸大梁，使僕得輸力南朝，北敦姻好，束帛交行，戎車不動。 僕立當世之功，君卒祖禰之業，各保疆界，躬享歲時，百姓乂寧，四民安堵。 孰若驅農夫於隴畝，抗勍敵於三方，避干戈於首尾，當鋒鏑於心腹。 縱太公爲將，不能獲存，歸之高明，何以剋濟。
Your letter says troops and horses are fresh, that on a fixed day all will march together, boasting of strategic advantage and promising total destruction by a set date. I note that cold wind and white dew—the seasons are the same; autumn wind raises dust from the horses' hooves—what difference does that make? You see only the power struggle in the north, not the alliance of west and south; if you indulge your will on the road ahead, you will not notice the pitfall beside you. If you say to leave danger, return to the true calendar, and turn calamity into escape from the net—there they already mock my folly, and here they laugh at your blindness. I have already drawn in two states, raised banners for a northern campaign, and roused bear and tiger together to recover the Central Plain—Jing, Xiang, Guang, and Ying already belong to the west; Xiangcheng and Xuan'gu already serve the Southern Court; take them yourself if you wish—why need your gracious grant? Yet expedients vary endlessly; reason has ten thousand paths. For your planning, nothing beats dividing the land and making peace in two—three kingdoms standing like tripods—Yan, Wei, Jin, and Zhao supplying one another's salaries; Qi, Cao, Song, and Lu all returning to Great Liang—let me serve the Southern Court, bind ties with the north, exchange silks, and keep war chariots still. I would win merit for the age; you would finish the work of ancestors and fathers—each keeping his borders, enjoying the seasons in peace, the people tranquil, the four classes settled. How much better that than driving farmers from the fields, facing fierce enemies on three sides, dodging weapons at both ends, and taking blades and arrows in the heart— even with the Grand Duke as general one could not survive; given to your lofty wisdom—how could you overcome and succeed?
23
復尋來書云，僕妻子悉拘司寇。 以之見要，庶其可及。 當是見疑褊心，未識大趣。 何者？ 昔王陵附漢，母在不歸； 太上囚楚，乞羹自若。 矧伊妻子，而可介意。 脫謂誅之有益，欲止不能； 殺之無損，徒復坑戮。 家累在君，何關僕也？
Reading your letter again, it says my wife and children are all held by the Minister of Justice. Using them to threaten me—perhaps that could work. That must be narrow suspicion, not understanding the larger design. Why? In the past Wang Ling sided with Han—though his mother lived, he did not return; the Supreme One was prisoner of Chu—he begged for broth as if nothing were wrong. How much less, then, should mere wife and children matter? If killing them were said to help, you might want to stop but could not; killing them without loss would only add pointless slaughter. My family's lives are in your hands—what has that to do with me?
24
而遵道所傳，頗亦非謬，但在縲紲，恐不備盡，故重陳辭，更論款曲。 所望良圖，時惠報旨。 然昔與盟主，事等琴瑟，讒人間之，翻爲讎敵。 撫弦搦矢，不覺傷懷，裂帛還書，知何能述。
What Zun Dao reported is not entirely wrong, but while in chains I fear I cannot say everything—so I restate my case and speak again of sincerity. What I hope for is a wise plan; please reply in good time. Yet in the past with our covenant lord our bond was like lute and zither—slanderers came between us and we became enemies. Touching the strings and grasping the arrow, I wound my own heart without noticing; tearing silk to write back—how can words say enough?
25
十二月，景率軍圍譙城不下，退攻城父，拔之。 又遣其行臺左丞王偉、左民郎中王則詣闕獻策，求諸元子弟立爲魏主，輔以北伐，許之。 詔遣太子舍人元貞爲咸陽王，須渡江，許卽偽位，乘輿副御以資給之。
In the twelfth month Jing led troops to besiege Qiao but failed to take it; he withdrew to attack Chengfucheng and captured it. He also sent his Mobile Headquarters Left Director Wang Wei and Left Civil Affairs Attendant Wang Ze to court with a plan, asking that a Yuan prince be installed as Wei ruler to assist a northern campaign—the court agreed. An edict sent Crown Prince's Aide Yuan Zhen as Prince of Xianyang; once he crossed the river he would take the false throne, with imperial carriage attendants provided for him.
26
齊文襄又遣慕容紹宗追景，景退入渦陽，馬尚有數千匹，甲卒數萬人，車萬餘輛，相持於渦北。 景軍食盡，士卒並北人，不樂南渡，其將暴顯等各率所部降於紹宗。 景軍潰散，乃與腹心數騎自峽石濟淮，稍收散卒，得馬步八百人，奔壽春，監州韋黯納之。 景啓求貶削，優詔不許，仍以爲豫州牧，本官如故。
Qi Wenxiang again sent Murong Shaozong to pursue Jing; Jing withdrew into Woyang with several thousand horses, tens of thousands of armored men, and more than ten thousand carts—a standoff north of the Wo River. Jing's army ran out of food; his soldiers were all northerners and unwilling to cross south; generals such as Bao Xian each led their units to surrender to Shaozong. Jing's army broke and scattered; with a few trusted horsemen he crossed the Huai at Xiashi himself, slowly gathered scattered troops until he had eight hundred foot and horse, fled to Shouyang, and Acting Prefect Wei An took him in. Jing memorialized asking to be demoted and stripped; a gracious edict refused; he remained Inspector of Yuzhou with his original posts unchanged.
27
景旣據壽春，遂懷反叛，屬城居民，悉召募爲軍士，輒停責市估及田租，百姓子女悉以配將卒。 又啓求錦萬匹，爲軍人袍，領軍朱异議，以御府錦署止充頒賞遠近，不容以供邊城戎服，請送青布以給之。 景得布，悉用爲袍衫，因尚青色。 又以臺所給仗，多不能精，啓請東冶鍛工，欲更營造，敕並給之。 景自渦陽敗後，多所徵求，朝廷含弘，未嘗拒絕。
Once Jing held Shouchun he turned rebellious; residents of subordinate cities were all conscripted as soldiers; market dues and land tax were stopped; commoners' sons and daughters were all assigned to officers and soldiers. He also memorialized requesting ten thousand bolts of brocade for soldiers' robes; Supreme Commander Zhu Yi argued the imperial brocade office only supplied rewards near and far and could not clothe border garrisons—blue cloth should be sent instead. Jing got the cloth, used it all for robes and jackets, and from then on favored azure. Because the weapons supplied by the court were mostly poor, he memorialized requesting Eastern Workshop smiths to rebuild them—an edict granted all he asked. After Jing's defeat at Woyang he made many demands; the court was tolerant and never refused.
28
先是，豫州刺史貞陽侯淵明督衆軍圍彭城，兵敗沒于魏。 至是，遣使還述魏人請追前好。 二年二月，高祖又與魏連和。 景聞之懼，馳啓固諫，高祖不從。 爾後表疏跋扈，言辭不遜。 鄱陽王範鎮合肥，及司州刺史羊鴉仁俱累啓稱景有異志，領軍朱异曰：「侯景數百叛虜，何能爲役？」 並抑不奏聞，而逾加賞賜，所以姦謀益果。 又知臨賀王正德怨望朝廷，密令要結，正德許爲內啓。 八月，景遂發兵反，攻馬頭、木柵，執太守劉神茂、戍主曹璆等。 於是詔郢州刺史鄱陽王範爲南道都督，北徐州刺史封山侯正表爲北道都督，司州刺史柳仲禮爲西道都督，通直散騎常侍裴之高爲東道都督，同討景，濟自歷陽； 又令開府儀同三司、丹陽尹、邵陵王綸持節，董督衆軍。
Earlier, Yuzhou Inspector Marquis Yuanming of Zhenyang had commanded the armies besieging Pengcheng; the army was defeated and he perished in Wei. At this time he sent envoys back saying the Wei people asked to renew the former friendship. In the second month of the second year Gaozu again made alliance with Wei. Jing heard and was afraid; he sent urgent memorials firmly remonstrating, but Gaozu would not listen. Thereafter his memorials grew arrogant and his words irreverent. Prince Fan of Poyang held Hefei, and Si Province Inspector Yang Yaren both repeatedly memorialized that Jing had rebellious intent; Zhu Yi said, "Hou Jing—a few hundred rebel captives—how can he be of any use?" All were suppressed without being reported upward, yet rewards only increased—so his treacherous plot grew bolder. He also knew Prince Zhengde of Linhe resented the court; he secretly sent to win him over, and Zhengde promised to open the gates from within. In the eighth month Jing raised troops in rebellion, attacked Matou and Mu Fort, and seized Administrator Liu Shenmao, garrison commander Cao Qiu, and others. Thereupon an edict made Yingzhou Inspector Prince Fan of Poyang southern-route commander, North Xuzhou Inspector Marquis Zhengbiao of Fengshan northern-route commander, Si Province Inspector Liu Zhongli western-route commander, and General-of-Regular-Gateway Attendant Pei Zhigao eastern-route commander, all to attack Jing together, crossing from Liyang; It also ordered General with Staff Equal to the Three Dukes, Danyang governor, Prince Lun of Shaoling to bear the staff and supervise the armies.
29
十月，景留其中軍王顯貴守壽春城，出軍偽向合肥，遂襲譙州，助防董紹先開城降之，執刺史豊城侯泰。 高祖聞之，遣太子家令王質率兵三千巡江遏防。 景進攻歷陽，歷陽太守莊鐵遣弟均率數百人夜斫景營，不克，均戰沒，鐵又降之。 蕭正德先遣大船數十艘，偽稱載荻，實裝濟景。 景至京口，將渡，慮王質爲梗。 俄而質無故退，景聞之尚未信也，乃密遣覘之。 謂使者曰：「質若審退，可折江東樹枝爲驗。」 覘人如言而返，景大喜曰：「吾事辦矣。」 乃自採石濟，馬數百匹，兵千人，京師不之覺。 景卽分襲姑孰，執淮南太守文成侯寧，遂至慈湖。 於是詔以揚州刺史宣城王大器爲都督城內諸軍事，都官尚書羊侃爲軍師將軍以副焉； 南浦侯推守東府城，西豊公大春守石頭城，輕車長史謝禧守白下。
In the tenth month Jing left Central Army Wang Xiankui to hold Shouchun, marched out feigning toward Hefei, then suddenly attacked Qiaozhou; Assistant Defender Dong Shaoxian opened the gates and surrendered; Inspector Marquis Tai of Fengcheng was seized. Gaozu heard and sent Crown Prince House Steward Wang Zhi with three thousand troops to patrol the river and block the crossing. Jing advanced to attack Liyang; Liyang Administrator Zhuang Tie sent his younger brother Jun with several hundred men to raid Jing's camp by night but failed; Jun died in battle, and Tie surrendered to him again. Xiao Zhengde first sent several dozen large ships, falsely claiming to carry reeds but in reality ready to ferry Jing. Jing reached Jingkou and was about to cross, fearing Wang Zhi would block him. Suddenly Zhi withdrew for no apparent reason; Jing heard but did not yet believe it, and secretly sent scouts. He told the messenger, "If Zhi has truly withdrawn, break branches from east-of-river trees as proof." The scout returned as instructed; Jing rejoiced greatly and said, "My business is accomplished." Then he crossed from Caishi himself—several hundred horses, a thousand soldiers—and the capital did not notice. Jing then divided his forces to strike Gudu, seized Huainan Administrator Marquis Ning of Wencheng, and reached Cihu. Thereupon an edict made Yangzhou Inspector Prince Daqi of Xuancheng commander of all forces within the walls, and Minister of Justice Yang Kan Army Advisor General to assist him; Marquis Tui of Nanpu held the Eastern Palace city, Duke Dachun of Xifeng held Stone City, and Light Chariot Chief Clerk Xie Xi held Baixia.
30
旣而景至朱雀航，蕭正德先屯丹陽郡，至是，率所部與景合。 建康令庾信率兵千餘人屯航北，見景至航，命徹航，始除一舶，遂棄軍走南塘，遊軍復閉航渡景。 皇太子以所乘馬授王質，配精兵三千，使援庾信。 質至領軍府，與賊遇，未陣便奔走，景乘勝至闕下。 西豊公大春棄石頭城走，景遣其儀同于子悅據之。 謝禧亦棄白下城走。 景於是百道攻城，持火炬燒大司馬、東西華諸門。 城中倉卒，未有其備，乃鑿門樓，下水沃火，久之方滅。 賊又斫東掖門將開，羊侃鑿門扇，刺殺數人，賊乃退。 又登東宮牆，射城內，至夜，太宗募人出燒東宮，東宮臺殿遂盡。 景又燒城西馬廄、士林館、太府寺。 明日，景又作木驢數百攻城，城上飛石擲之，所值皆碎破。 景苦攻不剋，傷損甚多，乃止攻，築長圍以絕內外，啓求誅中領軍朱异、太子右衛率陸驗、兼少府卿徐驎、制局監周石珍等。 城內亦射賞格出外：「有能斬景首，授以景位，幷錢一億萬，布絹各萬匹，女樂二部。」
Soon Jing reached the Zhuque Bridge. Xiao Zhengde had been garrisoned at Danyang; now he marched out with his men to join him. Jiankang magistrate Yu Xin held the north bank with a thousand-odd troops. Seeing Jing at the bridge, he ordered it broken—but only one boat was cleared before he fled to Nantang with his force abandoned. Patrol units then reclosed the bridge and let Jing cross. The crown prince gave Wang Zhi his own horse and three thousand picked troops to relieve Yu Xin. Zhi reached the commandant's headquarters, met the rebels, and broke before he could form ranks. Jing rode the momentum to the palace gates. Western Feng duke Dachun abandoned Stone Fort and fled. Jing sent his Yitong Yu Ziyue to occupy it. Xie Xi likewise abandoned Baixia and fled. Jing assaulted from every direction, torches in hand, setting fire to the Grand Marshal Gate and the East and West Flower gates. The city was caught flat-footed. They hacked through the gate tower and poured water on the flames; only after a long while did the fire die. The rebels hacked at the East Side Gate as it was about to open. Yang Kan smashed the gate panels and killed several men, and the rebels fell back. They scaled the Eastern Palace wall and shot into the city. That night Taizong raised volunteers to burn the Eastern Palace; its halls and towers were consumed entirely. Jing also burned the western horse stables, Scholars Grove Hall, and the Grand Treasury. The next day Jing built hundreds of wooden siege tortoises. Stones flew from the walls; whatever they hit shattered. Unable to break the city despite heavy losses, Jing stopped the assault and built a long encirclement to seal inside from out. He petitioned for the heads of Central Commandant Zhu Yi, Crown Prince Right Guard leader Lu Yan, concurrent Palace Treasury minister Xu Lin, Manufacture Supervisor Zhou Shizhen, and others. The city shot out reward placards: "Whoever brings Jing's head gets his rank, a hundred million cash, ten thousand bolts of cloth and silk each, and two troupes of female musicians."
31
十一月，景立蕭正德爲帝，卽偽位於儀賢堂，改年曰正平。 初，童謠有「正平」之言，故立號以應之。 景自爲相國、天柱將軍，正德以女妻之。
In the eleventh month Jing set up Xiao Zhengde as emperor. Zhengde took the false throne at the Hall of Virtuous Worthies and changed the era to Zhengping. A children's rhyme had already spoken of "Zhengping," so he chose that name to answer the omen. Jing made himself chancellor and Pillar of Heaven General. Zhengde gave him his daughter in marriage.
32
景又攻東府城，設百尺樓車，鉤城堞盡落，城遂陷。 景使其儀同盧暉略率數千人，持長刀夾城門，悉驅城內文武裸身而出，賊交兵殺之，死者二千餘人。 南浦侯推是日遇害。 景使正德子見理、儀同盧暉略守東府城。
Jing attacked the Eastern Palace city again with hundred-foot tower wagons. Hooks tore down the battlements, and the city fell. Jing sent Yitong Lu Huilue with several thousand men, long knives flanking the gates, driving every official inside out stripped bare. The rebels cut them down—more than two thousand dead. Marquis Tui of Nanpu died that day. Jing put Zhengde's son Jianli and Yitong Lu Huilue in charge of the Eastern Palace city.
33
景又於城東西各起一土山以臨城內，城內亦作兩山以應之，王公以下皆負土。 初，景至，便望克定京師，號令甚明，不犯百姓。 旣攻城不下，人心離阻，又恐援軍總集，衆必潰散，乃縱兵殺掠，交屍塞路，富室豪家，恣意裒剝，子女妻妾，悉入軍營。 及築土山，不限貴賤，晝夜不息，亂加毆棰，疲羸者因殺之以填山，號哭之聲，響動天地。 百姓不敢藏隱，並出從之，旬日之間，衆至數萬。
Jing raised earthen mounds east and west to overlook the city. Inside, two counter-mounds went up; princes and officials down to the lowest ranks all carried earth. When Jing first arrived he expected a quick capture of the capital. His orders were strict, and he did not molest the people. When the city would not fall, morale cracked and fear spread. Afraid relief armies would mass and his host dissolve, he let his troops kill and loot. Corpses choked the roads; rich houses were stripped bare; sons, daughters, wives, and concubines—all were taken into camp. To build the mounds, noble and common alike were driven day and night without rest, beaten at random. The weak were killed to fill the earthworks. Wailing shook heaven and earth. The people dared not hide and turned out to serve him. Within ten days his numbers swelled to tens of thousands.
34
景儀同範桃棒密遣使送款乞降，會事泄見殺。 至是，邵陵王綸率西豊公大春、新塗將軍永安侯確、超武將軍南安鄉侯駿、前譙州刺史趙伯超、武州刺史蕭弄璋、步兵校尉尹思合等，馬步三萬發自京口，直據鐘山。 景黨大駭，具船舟咸欲逃散，分遣萬餘人距綸，綸擊大破之，斬首千餘級。 旦日，景復陳兵覆舟山北，綸亦列陣以待之。 景不進，相持。 會日暮，景引軍還，南安侯駿率數十騎挑之，景迴軍與戰，駿退。 時趙伯超陳於玄武湖北，見駿急，不赴，乃率軍前走，衆軍因亂，遂敗績。 綸奔京口。 賊盡獲輜重器甲，斬首數百級，生俘千餘人，獲西豊公大春、綸司馬莊丘惠達、直閣將軍胡子約、廣陵令霍儁等，來送城下徇之，逼云「已擒邵陵王」，儁獨云「王小小失利，已全軍還京口，城中但堅守，援軍尋至」。 賊以刀毆之，儁言辭顏色如舊，景義而釋之。
Jing's Yitong Fan Taobang secretly sent envoys to offer surrender. The plot leaked, and he was executed. Then Prince of Shaoling Lun led Western Feng duke Dachun, New Tu general Marquis Que of Yong'an, Super-Martial general Marquis Jun of Nanxiang, former Qiao inspector Zhao Bochao, Wu inspector Xiao Nongzhang, Colonel of Footsoldiers Yin Sihe, and others—thirty thousand horse and foot from Jingkou, seizing Zhong Mountain outright. Jing's men were terrified. Everyone with a boat wanted to flee. He sent ten thousand-odd men to stop Lun, but Lun routed them and took more than a thousand heads. At dawn Jing formed ranks north of Fuzhou Mountain. Lun lined up to meet him. Jing did not advance. The two armies stood facing each other. At dusk Jing pulled back. Marquis Jun of Nan'an rode out with several dozen men to taunt him. Jing turned and fought; Jun withdrew. Zhao Bochao was posted north of Xuanwu Lake. Seeing Jun in trouble, he did not go to his aid but fled forward with his own force. The army broke ranks and was routed. Lun fled back to Jingkou. The rebels took all baggage, armor, and arms, killed several hundred, and captured more than a thousand alive—including Western Feng duke Dachun, Lun's staff officer Zhuangqiu Huida, Direct Gate general Hu Ziyue, and Guangling magistrate Huo Jun. They were paraded beneath the wall and forced to cry that the Prince of Shaoling had been taken. Only Huo Jun said, "My lord met a small reverse and has returned whole to Jingkou. Hold the city—relief is near." They beat him with blades, but Jun's words and face never changed. Jing admired his courage and let him go.
35
是日，鄱陽世子嗣、裴之高至後渚，結營于蔡洲。 景分軍屯南岸。
That day the Prince of Poyang's heir Si and Pei Zhigao reached Later Islet and camped on Cai Isle. Jing split his force to hold the south bank.
36
十二月，景造諸攻具及飛樓、橦車、登城車、登堞車、階道車、火車，並高數丈，一車至二十輪，陳於闕前，百道攻城並用焉。 以火車焚城東南隅大樓，賊因火勢以攻城，城上縱火，悉焚其攻具，賊乃退。 又築土山以逼城，城內作地道以引其土山，賊又不能立，焚其攻具，還入于柵。 材官將軍宋嶷降賊，因爲立計，引玄武湖水灌臺城，城外水起數尺，闕前御街並爲洪波矣。 又燒南岸民居營寺，莫不咸盡。
In the twelfth month Jing built every sort of siege engine—flying towers, rams, scaling wagons, battlement climbers, ramp carts, fire carts—each several zhang tall, some with twenty wheels. They stood before the palace gates and were all deployed in the hundred-direction assault. Fire wagons burned the great tower at the southeast corner. The rebels used the blaze to press the attack, but the defenders set counter-fires from the wall and burned every engine. The rebels withdrew. They raised earthworks again to press the city. Defenders dug tunnels to undercut the mounds. Unable to hold, the rebels burned their engines and fell back to their stockade. Materials-and-works general Song Ni defected and advised diverting Xuanwu Lake to flood Terrace City. Water rose several feet outside the walls, and the imperial avenue before the palace became a surging flood. They burned the dwellings and temples on the south bank until nothing remained.
37
司州刺史柳仲禮、衡州刺史韋粲、南陵太守陳文徹、宣猛將軍李孝欽等，皆來赴援。 鄱陽世子嗣、裴之高又濟江。 仲禮營朱雀航南，裴之高營南苑，韋粲營青塘，陳文徹、李孝欽屯丹陽郡，鄱陽世子嗣營小航南，並緣淮造柵。 及曉，景方覺，乃登禪靈寺門樓望之，見韋粲營壘未合，先渡兵擊之。 粲拒戰敗績，景斬粲首徇於城下。 柳仲禮聞粲敗，不遑貫甲，與數十騎馳赴之，遇賊交戰，斬首數百，投水死者千餘人。 仲禮深入，馬陷泥，亦被重創。 自是賊不敢濟岸。
Si inspector Liu Zhongli, Heng inspector Wei Can, Nanling administrator Chen Wenche, Proclamation-Fierce general Li Xiaoqin, and others all marched to relieve the city. The Prince of Poyang's heir Si and Pei Zhigao crossed the river as well. Zhongli camped south of Zhuque Bridge; Pei Zhigao at South Park; Wei Can at Qingtang; Chen Wenche and Li Xiaoqin at Danyang; the Prince of Poyang's heir Si south of Little Bridge—all building stockades along the river. At dawn Jing finally saw them. From the gate tower of Zen Spirit Temple he looked out, saw Wei Can's camp still open, and sent troops across first to strike. Can fought but was routed. Jing cut off his head and displayed it below the wall. Hearing Can had fallen, Liu Zhongli galloped out with several dozen men before he could arm fully. He met the rebels, took several hundred heads, and more than a thousand drowned. Zhongli pressed too far in. His horse sank in mud, and he was badly wounded himself. After that the rebels dared not cross to the bank.
38
邵陵王綸與臨成公大連等自東道集于南岸，荊州刺史湘東王繹遣世子方等、兼司馬吳曄、天門太守樊文皎下赴京師，營于於湘子岸前，高州刺史李遷仕、前司州刺史羊鴉仁又率兵繼至。 旣而鄱陽世子嗣、永安侯確、羊鴉仁、李遷仕、樊文皎率衆渡淮，攻賊東府城前柵，破之，遂結營于青溪水東。 景遣其儀同宋子仙頓南平王第，緣水西立柵相拒。 景食稍盡，至是米斛數十萬人相食者十五六。
Prince of Shaoling Lun and Duke of Lincheng Dalian gathered on the south bank from the east. Jing inspector Prince of Xiangdong Yi sent his heir Fangde, staff officer Wu Ye, and Tianmen administrator Fan Wenjiao toward the capital, camping before Xiangzi Shore. Gaozhou inspector Li Qianshi and former Si inspector Yang Yaren followed with more troops. Soon the Prince of Poyang's heir Si, Marquis Que of Yong'an, Yang Yaren, Li Qianshi, and Fan Wenjiao crossed the river, stormed the stockade before the Eastern Palace city, broke it, and camped east of Qingxi River. Jing posted Yitong Song Zixian at the Prince of Nanping's mansion and built stockades west along the water to block them. Jing's provisions dwindled. A hu of rice now cost several hundred thousand cash, and one or two people in ten turned to eating human flesh.
39
初，援兵至北岸，百姓扶老攜幼以候王師，才得過淮，便競剝掠，賊黨有欲自拔者，聞之咸止。 賊之始至，城中才得固守，平蕩之事，期望援軍。 旣而四方雲合，衆號百萬，連營相持，已月餘日，城中疾疫，死者太半。
When relief first reached the north bank, people old and young waited for the royal army. But the moment troops crossed the river they looted one another. Rebels who meant to defect heard this and held back. When the rebels first came, the city barely held. Everyone looked to the relief armies to finish the work. Forces gathered from every quarter, said to number a million. Camps faced one another for more than a month. Inside the city plague raged, and more than half the people died.
40
景自歲首以來乞和，朝廷未之許，至是事急乃聽焉。 請割江右四州之地，幷求宣城王大器出送，然後解圍濟江； 仍許遣其儀同于子悅、左丞王偉入城爲質。 中領軍傅岐議以宣城王嫡嗣之重，不容許之。 乃請石城公大款出送，詔許焉。 遂於西華門外設壇，遣尚書僕射王克、兼侍中上甲鄉侯韶、兼散騎常侍蕭瑳與于子悅、王偉等，登壇共盟。 左衛將軍柳津出西華門下，景出其柵門，與津遙相對，刑牲歃血。
Since the year's start Jing had asked for peace, and the court had refused. Now, with crisis pressing, they agreed. He asked to keep the four Jiangyou provinces and demanded that Prince of Xuancheng Daqi be sent out as hostage; then he would lift the siege and cross the river. He also agreed to send his Yitong Yu Ziyue and Left Director Wang Wei into the city as hostages. Central Commandant Fu Qi argued that the Prince of Xuancheng, as legitimate heir, was too important to hand over. They asked instead for Duke of Stone Fort Dakuan, and an edict approved. Outside the West Flower Gate they raised an altar. Palace Secretary Wang Ke, concurrent Palace Attendant Marquis Shao of Shangjia, and concurrent Palace Cadet Xiao Chuo joined Yu Ziyue, Wang Wei, and others on the altar to swear the pact. Left Guard general Liu Jin went out below the West Flower Gate. Jing came out his stockade gate. They faced each other from afar and swore over slaughtered victims and blood.
41
南兗州刺史南康嗣王會理、前青、冀二州刺史湘潭侯退、西昌侯世子彧率衆三萬，至于馬邛州。 景慮北軍自白下而上，斷其江路，請悉勒聚南岸，敕乃遣北軍進江潭苑。 景啓稱：「永安侯、趙威方頻隔柵見詬臣，云『天子自與汝盟，我終當逐汝』。 乞召入城，卽當進發。」 敕並召之。 景又啓云：「西岸信至，高澄已得壽春、鐘離，便無處安足。 權借廣陵、譙州，須征得壽春、鐘離，卽以奉還朝廷。」
South Yanzhou inspector Prince of Nankang heir Huili, former Qing and Ji inspector Marquis Tui of Xiangtan, and the Heir of Marquis of Xichang Yu led thirty thousand men to Magongzhou. Jing feared northern troops coming up from Baixia would cut his river line. He asked that all armies mass on the south bank. An edict then sent the northern force into Jiangtan Park. Jing petitioned: "Marquis Que of Yong'an and Zhao Wei keep shouting across the stockade at me, 'The Son of Heaven made peace with you himself—I will still drive you out. Summon them into the city, and I will advance at once." An edict summoned them both. Jing petitioned again: "Word from the west bank says Gao Cheng has taken Shouyang and Zhongli. I have nowhere left to stand. Let me hold Guangling and Qiao for now. Once I recover Shouyang and Zhongli I will return them to the court."
42
初，彭城劉邈說景曰：「大將軍頓兵已久，攻城不拔，今援衆雲集，未易而破； 如聞軍糧不支一月，運漕路絕，野無所掠，嬰兒掌上，信在於今。 未若乞和，全師而返，此計之上者。」 景然其言，故請和。 後知援軍號令不一，終無勤王之效； 又聞城中死疾轉多，必當有應之者。 景謀臣王偉又說曰：「王以人臣舉兵背叛，圍守宮闕，已盈十旬，逼辱妃主，淩穢宗廟，今日持此，何處容身？ 願王且觀其變。」 景然之，乃抗表曰：
Earlier Liu Miao of Pengcheng told Jing: "Great General, you have stalled too long and still cannot take the city. Relief armies are massing like clouds—not easy to break now. I hear your grain will not last a month, your supply lines are cut, and the countryside is bare. The matter is like a child in the palm—the truth is plain today. Better to sue for peace and withdraw whole. That is the best course." Jing accepted this and therefore asked for peace. Later he learned the relief armies gave conflicting orders and would never truly save the throne. He also heard that deaths and sickness inside the city kept mounting—surely someone would answer. Jing's counselor Wang Wei also said: "My lord, you rose in rebellion as a subject, besieged the palace for more than a hundred days, humiliated consorts and princesses, and defiled the ancestral temple. With that on your hands, where can you go? Watch for what changes, my lord." Jing agreed and submitted a defiant memorial:
43
臣聞「書不盡言，言不盡意」。 然則意非言不宣，言非筆不盡，臣所以含憤蓄積，不能默已者也。 竊惟陛下睿智在躬，多才多藝。 昔因世季，龍翔漢、沔，夷凶剪亂，克雪家怨，然後踵武前王，光宅江表，憲章文、武，祖述堯、舜。 兼屬魏國淩遲，外無勍敵，故能西取華陵，北封淮、泗，結好高氏，輶軒相屬，疆埸無虞，十有餘載。 躬覽萬機，劬勞治道。 刊正周、孔之遺文，訓釋真如之秘奧。 享年長久，本枝磐石。 人君藝業，莫之與京。 臣所以踴躍一隅，望南風而歎息也，豈圖名與實爽，聞見不同？ 臣自委質策名，前後事蹟，從來表奏，已具之矣。 不勝憤懣，復爲陛下陳之：
Your servant has heard that writing cannot exhaust words, and words cannot exhaust meaning. Yet meaning needs words, and words need the brush. That is why your servant stores up anger and cannot stay silent. Your servant considers that Your Majesty carries wisdom in your person and mastery in many arts. In a fallen age you rose like a dragon over Han and Mian, cut down the wicked and stilled chaos, and avenged your house. Then you followed the former kings, lit the lands south of the river, took Wen and Wu as your model, and claimed Yao and Shun as your line. Wei declined abroad and you had no strong enemy, so you took Hualing in the west, sealed Huai and Si in the north, and allied with the Gao clan. Envoys came and went without cease, and the borders were quiet for more than ten years. You personally handle every affair and toil at governance. You corrected the surviving texts of Zhou and Confucius and explained the hidden depths of True Suchness. Long life, and the root branch firm as bedrock. No ruler's achievements can match yours. That is why your servant rejoiced in my corner and sighed toward the south wind. Who thought name and reality would part, that what I heard and what I see would differ? From the day I pledged myself and entered your service, my deeds and memorials have already been laid out in full. Unable to bear my anger, I lay this again before Your Majesty:
44
陛下與高氏通和，歲踰一紀，舟車往復，相望道路，必將分災卹患，同休等戚； 寧可納臣一介之服，貪臣汝、潁之地，便絕好河北，檄詈高澄，聘使未歸，陷之虎口，揚兵擊鼓，侵逼彭、宋。 夫敵國相伐，聞喪則止，匹夫之交，托孤寄命。 豈有萬乘之主，見利忘義若此者哉！ 其失一也。
Your Majesty was at peace with the Gao clan for more than twelve years. Boats and carts traveled back and forth on every road—you were bound to share disaster and ease suffering, to share joy and grief alike. How could you take in one worn servant, covet my lands of Ru and Ying, then break with Hebei, send indictments cursing Gao Cheng, trap his envoys in a tiger's maw before they returned, and march drums and troops against Peng and Song? When enemy states fight, they stop at news of mourning. Even a common man's bond can hold orphans and entrust lives. Can a lord of ten thousand chariots forget righteousness for profit like this! That is your first fault.
45
臣與高澄，旣有仇憾，義不同國，歸身有道。 陛下授以上將，任以專征，歌鐘女樂，車服弓矢。 臣受命不辭，實思報效。 方欲掛旆嵩、華，懸旌冀、趙，劉夷蕩滌，一匡宇內； 陛下朝服濟江，告成東岳，使大梁與軒黃等盛，臣與伊、呂比功，垂裕後昆，流名竹帛，此實生平之志也。 而陛下欲分其功，不能賜任，使臣擊河北，欲自舉徐方，遣庸懦之貞陽，任驕貪之胡、趙，裁見旗鼓，鳥散魚潰，慕容紹宗乘勝席捲，渦陽諸鎮靡不棄甲。 疾雷不及掩耳，散地不可固全，使臣狼狽失據，妻子爲戮，斯實陛下負臣之深。 其失二也。
Your servant and Gao Cheng bear old hatred. Righteousness forbids sharing one state, so I turned to the Way. Your Majesty made me grand general, gave me sole command, song bells, female musicians, chariots, robes, bows, and arrows. I took the commission without hesitation, meaning to repay it in full. I meant to plant banners on Song and Hua, raise standards in Ji and Zhao, sweep the land clean, and set the realm right— You would cross the river in court robes, proclaim victory at the Eastern Peak, lift Great Liang to the glory of Xuanyuan and Huangdi, and I would stand beside Yi Yin and Lü Shang in fame—blessing posterity, my name in the histories. That was my life's wish. Yet you wanted to share the glory, withheld full command, sent me against Hebei while you meant to raise Xu yourself, put timid Zhenyáng in the field and arrogant, greedy Hu and Zhao in charge—and at the first drum they broke like fish in a net. Murong Shaozong swept the victory onward, and every Woyang garrison threw down its arms. Thunder strikes before you can cover your ears; scattered ground cannot be held. You left me ruined and bereft, my wife and children killed—this is how deeply you have wronged me. That was the second fault.
46
韋黯之守壽陽，衆無一旅，慕容凶銳，欲飲馬長江，非臣退保淮南，其勢未之可測。 旣而逃遁，邊境獲寧，令臣作牧此州，以爲蕃捍。 方欲收合餘燼，勞來安集，勵兵秣馬，剋申後戰，封韓山之屍，雪渦陽之恥。 陛下喪其精魄，無復守氣，便信貞陽謬啓，復請通和。 臣頻陳執，疑閉不聽。 翻覆若此，童子猶且羞之； 況在人君，二三其德。 其失三也。
Wei An held Shouyang with less than a brigade while Murong's fierce troops meant to water their horses in the Yangtze. Had I not fallen back to the south Huai, no one could have guessed what would follow. Once he fled the border quieted, and you made me governor here as a frontier shield. I was gathering the survivors, settling the people, sharpening arms and feeding horses, to fight again—bury Hanshan's dead and wipe away Woyang's shame. You lost heart entirely, believed Zhenyáng's lying dispatches, and again sued for peace. I argued again and again, yet you closed your ears in suspicion and refused to hear me. To flip back and forth like this—even a child would blush; how much more a ruler whose word should stand firm. That was the third fault.
47
夫畏懦逗留，軍有常法。 子玉小敗，見誅於楚； 王恢失律，受戮於漢。 貞陽精甲數萬，器械山積，慕容輕兵，衆無百乘，不能拒抗，身受囚執。 以帝之猶子，而面縛敵庭，實宜絕其屬籍，以釁征鼓。 陛下曾無追責，憐其苟存，欲以微臣，規相貿易。 人君之法，當如是哉？ 其失四也。
Cowardice and delay on campaign are punished by fixed military law. Ziyu lost a minor battle and Chu put him to death; Wang Hui violated command and Han executed him. Zhenyáng had tens of thousands in fine armor and weapons heaped like hills; Murong's light force was less than a hundred chariots wide—yet Zhenyáng could not hold and was taken alive. As the Emperor's own nephew, bound before the enemy, he should have been cut from the clan register and offered to the war drums. You never held him to account; pitying his survival, you meant to trade me away for him. Is this how a ruler's law should work? That was the fourth fault.
48
懸瓠大籓，古稱汝、潁。 臣舉州內附，羊鴉仁固不肯入； 旣入之後，無故棄之，陛下曾無嫌責，使還居北司。 鴉仁棄之，旣不爲罪，臣得之不以爲功。 其失五也。
Xuanchuo was a great frontier command, anciently known as Ru and Ying. I brought the whole province over to you, yet Yang Yaren would not enter it; and once he did enter, he abandoned it for no reason. You never blamed him and sent him back to North Si. Yaren lost it without punishment; I took it without reward. That was the fifth fault.
49
臣渦陽退衂，非戰之罪，實由陛下君臣相與見誤。 乃還壽春，曾無悔色，祗奉朝廷，掩惡揚善。 鴉仁自知棄州，切齒歎恨，內懷慚懼，遂啓臣欲反。 欲反當有形迹，何所徵驗？ 誣陷頓爾，陛下曾無辯究，默而信納。 豈有誣人莫大之罪，而可並肩事主者乎？ 其失六也。
My retreat from Woyang was no defeat in the field—it came from you and your ministers misleading one another. Yet he returned to Shouyang unashamed, dutiful toward the court, hiding faults and praising virtues. Yaren knew he had abandoned the province; gnashing his teeth in shame and fear, he then reported that I meant to rebel. Rebellion ought to leave signs—what evidence was there? The accusation came out of nowhere, yet you never investigated and silently believed it. How can a man guilty of the gravest slander still stand beside his lord in service? That was the sixth fault.
50
趙伯超拔自無能，任居方伯，惟漁獵百姓，多蓄士馬，非欲爲國立功，直是自爲富貴，行貨權幸，徼買聲名。 朱异之徒，積受金貝，遂使咸稱胡、趙，比昔關、張，誣掩天聽，謂爲真實。 韓山之役，女妓自隨，裁聞敵鼓，與妾俱逝，不待貞陽，故只輪莫返。 論其此罪，應誅九族； 而納賄中人，還處州任。 伯超無罪，臣功何論？ 賞罰無章，何以爲國？ 其失七也。
Zhao Bochao was raised from nothing though he had no ability; as a frontier governor he preyed on the people and hoarded troops and horses—not to serve the state but to make himself rich, bribing the powerful and buying a name. Zhu Yi and his circle, fat with gold and treasure, made everyone call Hu and Zhao the equals of Guan and Zhang, deceiving the throne into believing it. At Hanshan he brought singing girls with him; at the first enemy drum he fled with his concubines, never waiting for Zhenyáng—not one chariot wheel came back. For that crime he deserved death to the ninth degree of kin; yet after bribing the inner court he returned to his provincial post. Bochao went free—what credit did my service receive? When reward and punishment have no order, how can a state endure? That was the seventh fault.
51
臣禦下素嚴，無所侵物，關市征稅，咸悉停原，壽陽之民，頗懷優復。 裴之悌等助戍在彼，憚臣檢制，遂無故遁歸； 又啓臣欲反。 陛下不責違命離局，方受其浸潤之譖。 處臣如此，使何地自安？ 其失八也。
I have always ruled strictly and taken nothing from the people; market taxes were all waived, and the folk of Shouyang knew real relief. Pei Zhidi and others who helped garrison there feared my discipline and fled home without cause; and again reported that I meant to rebel. You did not punish their desertion but swallowed their dripping slander instead. Treat me like this—where could I rest secure? That was the eighth fault.
52
臣雖才謝古人，實頗更事，撫民率衆，自幼至長，少來運動，多無遺策。 及歸身有道，罄竭忠規，每有陳奏，恒被抑遏。 朱异專斷軍旅，周石珍總尸兵杖，陸驗、徐驎典司穀帛，皆明言求貨，非令不行。 境外虛實，定計於舍人之省； 舉將出師，責奏於主者之命。 臣無賄於中，故恒被抑折。 其失九也。
Though I am no match for the ancients in talent, I have seen much of war; from youth to age, leading people and armies, I have rarely acted without a plan that held. Since I submitted to your court I have poured out loyal counsel—yet every memorial was stifled. Zhu Yi ruled the armies alone; Zhou Shizhen held all weapons; Lu Yan and Xu Lin controlled grain and cloth—all openly asking for bribes, and nothing moved without payment. The enemy's strength beyond the border was decided in the Secretariat; generals were chosen and armies sent out only after reports reached the chief clerk's desk. I paid no one in the inner court, and so was constantly overruled. That was the ninth fault.
53
鄱陽之鎮合肥，與臣鄰接。 臣推以皇枝，每相祗敬； 而嗣王庸怯，虛見備御，臣有使命，必加彈射，或聲言臣反，或啓臣纖介。 招攜當須以禮，忠烈何以堪於此哉！ 其失十也。
Poyang held Hefei on my border. I treated him as imperial kin and always showed respect; yet the heir prince was timid and cowardly, pretending to guard the frontier; whenever I had business he attacked—sometimes crying rebellion, sometimes reporting petty faults. Winning men requires courtesy—how can the loyal and fierce bear such treatment! That was the tenth fault.
54
其餘條目，不可具陳。 進退惟谷，頻有表疏。 言直辭強，有忤龍鱗，遂發嚴詔，便見討襲。 重華純孝，猶逃凶父之杖； 趙盾忠賢，不討殺君之賊。 臣何親何罪，而能坐受殲夷？ 韓信雄桀，亡項霸漢，末爲女子所烹，方悔蒯通之說。 臣每覽書傳，心常笑之。 豈容遵彼覆車，而快陛下佞臣之手？ 是以興晉陽之甲，亂長江而直濟，願得升赤墀，踐文石，口陳枉直，指畫臧否，誅君側之惡臣，清國朝之粃政，然後還守籓翰，以保忠節，實臣之至願也。
The rest cannot all be set down here. Whether I advanced or withdrew I stood in peril, memorial after memorial. My words were blunt and my tone fierce, touching the dragon's scales—so a stern edict came down and I was marked for attack. Even Shun, filial to the core, fled his brutal father's beating; Zhao Dun the loyal minister did not hunt the king-killer. What kinship or crime do I have, that I should sit still and be destroyed? Han Xin was a towering hero who overthrew Xiang Yu and helped Han rule—yet in the end a woman boiled him alive, and only then did he regret ignoring Kuai Tong. Whenever I read that in the histories I laugh to myself. How could I follow that overturned cart and please your sycophants? So I have raised the armies of Jinyang, crossed the Yangtze in force, hoping to climb the red steps, stand on the court stones, speak wrong and right aloud, mark good and ill with my hand, kill the evil ministers at your side, purge the state's rotten policy, then return to guard the frontier and keep my loyalty—that is my deepest wish.
55
三月朔旦，城內以景違盟，舉烽鼓噪，於是羊鴉仁、柳敬禮、鄱陽世子嗣進軍於東府城北。 柵壘未立，爲景將宋子仙所襲，敗績，赴淮死者數千人。 賊送首級於于闕下。
On the first day of the third month the city raised beacon fires and drums because Jing had broken the treaty; then Yang Yaren, Liu Jingli, and the Poyang heir Si advanced on the north wall of the East Palace quarter. Their palisades were not yet up when Jing's general Song Zixian struck them; they were routed, and thousands drowned in the Huai. The rebels sent the heads to the palace gate.
56
景又遣于子悅至，更請和。 遣御史中丞沈浚至景所，景無去意，浚固責之。 景大怒，卽決石闕前水，百道攻城，晝夜不息，城遂陷。 於是悉鹵掠乘輿服玩、後宮嬪妾，收王侯朝士送永福省，撤二宮侍衛。 使王偉守武德殿，于子悅屯太極東堂，矯詔大赦天下，自爲大都督、督中外諸軍事、錄尚書，其侍中、使持節、大丞相、王如故。 初，城中積屍不暇埋瘞，又有已死而未斂，或將死而未絕，景悉聚而燒之，臭氣聞十餘里。 尚書外兵郎鮑正疾篤，賊曳出焚之，宛轉火中，久而方絕。 於是援兵並散。
Jing again sent Yu Ziyue to ask for peace once more. The court sent Censor-in-Chief Shen Jun to Jing's camp; Jing had no thought of leaving, and Jun pressed him hard. Jing flew into rage, broke the water before the Stone Gate, and assaulted from a hundred directions day and night without pause until the city fell. Then he looted the imperial carriage and regalia and the palace women, gathered princes and court officials into Yongfu Province, and stripped both palaces of their guards. He put Wang Wei in Wude Hall, garrisoned Yu Ziyue in the Eastern Hall of Taiji, forged a general amnesty, and made himself Grand Commander of all armies at home and abroad and Recorder of the Masters of Writing—keeping his posts as Palace Attendant, Commissioner Bearing the Staff, Grand Chancellor, and Prince. At first corpses piled in the city faster than they could be buried; some dead and unshrouded, some not yet dead—Jing gathered them all and burned them, and the stench carried more than ten li. Palace Attendant for External Armies Bao Zheng lay gravely ill; rebels dragged him out and burned him alive, writhing in the fire a long while before he died. The relief armies then broke apart.
57
景矯詔曰：「日者，姦臣擅命，幾危社稷，賴丞相英發，入輔朕躬，征鎮牧守可各復本任。」 降蕭正德爲侍中、大司馬，百官皆復其職。
Jing forged an edict: "Recently wicked ministers seized command and nearly destroyed the state; thanks to the Chancellor's timely rise to assist Us in person, frontier generals and provincial governors may each resume their original posts." He demoted Xiao Zhengde to Palace Attendant and Grand Marshal, and all officials resumed their posts.
58
景遣董紹先率兵襲廣陵，南兗州刺史南康嗣王會理以城降之。 景以紹先爲南兗州刺史。
Jing sent Dong Shaoxian to strike Guangling; Prince Huili of Nankang, inspector of South Yanzhou, surrendered the city. Jing made Shaoxian inspector of South Yanzhou.
59
初，北兗州刺史定襄侯祗與湘潭侯退，及前潼州刺史郭鳳同起兵，將赴援。 至是，鳳謀以淮陰應景，祗等力不能制，並奔于魏。 景以蕭弄璋爲北兗州刺史，州民發兵拒之，景遣廂公丘子英、直閣將軍羊海率衆赴援，海斬子英，率其軍降于魏，魏遂據其淮陰。
Earlier Marquis Zhi of Dingxiang, inspector of North Yanzhou, Marquis Tui of Xiangtan, and former Tongzhou inspector Guo Feng had raised troops together to march to the relief. Now Feng plotted to hand Huaiyin to Jing; Zhi and the others could not restrain him and all fled to Wei. Jing made Xiao Nongzhang inspector of North Yanzhou; the province's people raised troops to resist. Jing sent Colonel Qiu Ziying and Direct Gate General Yang Hai to aid him; Hai killed Ziying, led his army to surrender to Wei, and Wei then held Huaiyin.
60
景又遣儀同于子悅、張大黑率兵入吳，吳郡太守袁君正迎降。 子悅等旣至，破掠吳中，多自調發，逼掠子女，毒虐百姓，吳人莫不怨憤，於是各立城柵拒守。
Jing again sent Commandants Yu Ziyue and Zhang Dahei into Wu; Wu commandery administrator Yuan Junzheng welcomed them and surrendered. When Ziyue and the others arrived they ravaged Wu, requisitioning at will, seizing sons and daughters, brutalizing the people—every man in Wu nursed rage, and each district raised palisades to resist.
61
是月，景移屯西州，遣儀同任約爲南道行臺，鎮姑孰。
That month Jing moved camp to West Province and sent Commandant Ren Yue as Southern Route Mobile Headquarters to garrison Gushu.
62
五月，高祖崩于文德殿。 初，臺城旣陷，景先遣王偉、陳慶入謁高祖，高祖曰：「景今安在？ 卿可召來。」 時高祖坐文德殿，景乃入朝，以甲士五百人自衛，帶劍升殿。 拜訖，高祖問曰：「卿在戎日久，無乃爲勞？」 景默然。 又問：「卿何州人，而敢至此乎？」 景又不能對，從者代對。 及出，謂廂公王僧貴曰：「吾常據鞍對敵，矢刃交下，而意氣安緩，了無怖心。 今日見蕭公，使人自懾，豈非天威難犯？ 吾不可再見之。」 高祖雖外跡已屈，而意猶忿憤，時有事奏聞，多所譴卻。 景深敬憚，亦不敢逼。 景遣軍人直殿省內，高祖問制局監周石珍曰：「是何物人？」 對曰：「丞相。」 高祖乃謬曰：「何物丞相？」 對曰：「是侯丞相。」 高祖怒曰：「是名景，何謂丞相！」 是後，每所徵求，多不稱旨，至於御膳亦被裁抑，遂憂憤感疾而崩。
In the fifth month Gaozu died in Wende Hall. When the Terrace City fell, Jing first sent Wang Wei and Chen Qing to call on Gaozu. Gaozu asked, "Where is Jing now? Summon him here." Gaozu sat in Wende Hall; Jing then came to court with five hundred armored men as escort, sword at his side as he climbed the steps. After the bow Gaozu asked, "You have been long in the field—is the work not wearying?" Jing said nothing. Again he asked, "What province are you from, that you dare come here?" Jing could not answer; a follower answered for him. On leaving, he said to Colonel Wang Senggui: "I have often sat my saddle facing the enemy, arrows and blades falling together, yet my spirit stayed easy—I had no fear at all. Today, meeting Lord Xiao, I felt myself shrink with awe. Is that not majesty Heaven itself makes untouchable? I cannot face him again." Gaozu had bowed in appearance, but rage still burned in him. Memorial after memorial came up; he rejected most with sharp rebuke. Jing held him in deep awe and did not dare push further. Jing posted soldiers inside the Palace Secretariat. Gaozu asked Zhou Shizhen, director of the bureau of manufactures, "What sort of men are these?" He answered, "The chancellor." Gaozu feigned ignorance. "What chancellor?" He answered, "Chancellor Hou." Gaozu flared. "His name is Jing. Why call him chancellor!" After that Jing's every demand missed the mark. Even the imperial table was pared back. Gaozu sickened from grief and rage, and died.
63
景乃密不發喪，權殯于昭陽殿，自外文武咸莫知之。 二十餘日，升梓宮於太極前殿，迎皇太子卽皇帝位。 於是矯詔赦北人爲奴婢者，冀收其力用焉。
Jing kept the death secret. The coffin lay provisionally in Zhaoyang Hall, and outside the palace no civil or military officer knew. After more than twenty days the imperial coffin was moved to the front hall of Taiji, and the crown prince was brought forward to take the throne. A forged edict then freed northerners held as slaves and servants, hoping to win their labor and arms.
64
又遣儀同來亮率兵攻宣城，宣城內史楊華誘亮斬之； 景復遣其將李賢明討華，華以郡降。 景遣儀同宋子仙等率衆東次錢塘，新城戍主戴僧易據縣拒之。
He also sent Yitong Lai Liang against Xuancheng. Xuancheng administrator Yang Hua lured Liang in and had him killed. Jing sent his general Li Xianming against Hua, and Hua surrendered the commandery. Jing sent Yitong Song Zixian and others east to Qiantang. Xincheng garrison commander Dai Shengyi held the county and blocked them.
65
是月，景遣中軍侯子鑒入吳軍，收于子悅、張大黑，還京誅之。
That month Jing sent Central Army Hou Zijian into the Wu forces, seized Yu Ziyue and Zhang Dahei, returned to the capital, and executed them.
66
時東揚州刺史臨成公大連據州，吳興太守張嵊據郡，自南陵以上，皆各據守。 景制命所行，惟吳郡以西、南陵以北而已。
East Yangzhou inspector Prince of Lincheng Dalian held the province. Wuxing administrator Zhang Song held the commandery. From Nanling upstream each stronghold held its own ground. Jing's commands ran only west of Wu commandery and north of Nanling.
67
六月，景以儀同郭元建爲尚書僕射、北道行臺、總江北諸軍事，鎮新秦。
In the sixth month Jing made Yitong Guo Yuanjian vice director of the Masters of Writing, northern route mobile headquarters, and commander of all Jiangbei forces, garrisoning Xinqin.
68
郡人陸緝、戴文舉等起兵萬餘人，殺景太守蘇單于，推前淮南太守文成侯寧爲主，以拒景。 宋子仙聞而擊之，緝等棄城走。 景乃分吳郡海鹽、胥浦二縣爲武原郡。
Lu Ji, Dai Wenju, and others in the commandery raised more than ten thousand men, killed Jing's administrator Su Chanyu, and set up former Huainan administrator Wen-cheng Marquis Ning to resist Jing. Song Zixian heard and struck. Ji and the rest abandoned the city and fled. Jing then split Haiyan and Xupu of Wu commandery into Wuyuan commandery.
69
至是，景殺蕭正德於永福省。 封元羅爲西秦王，元景龍爲陳留王，諸元子弟封王者十餘人。 以柳敬禮爲使持節、大都督，隸大丞相，參戎事。
By then Jing killed Xiao Zhengde in Yongfu Office. He enfeoffed Yuan Luo as Prince of Western Qin and Yuan Jinglong as Prince of Chenliu; more than ten Yuan clansmen received princely titles. He made Liu Jingli bearer of the staff and grand commander under the Grand Chancellor, to share in military affairs.
70
景遣其中軍侯子鑒監行臺劉神茂等軍東討，破吳興，執太守張嵊父子送京師，景並殺之。
Jing sent Central Army Hou Zijian to oversee mobile headquarters Liu Shenmao's eastern campaign. They broke Wuxing, seized administrator Zhang Song and his son, sent them to the capital, and Jing had them all killed.
71
景以宋子仙爲司徒，任約爲領軍將軍，尒朱季伯、叱羅子通、彭儁、董紹先、張化仁、于慶、魯伯和、紇奚斤、史安和、時靈護、劉歸義，並爲開府儀同三司。
Jing made Song Zixian minister of works and Ren Yue general of the garrison army. Erzhu Jibo, Chiluo Zitong, Peng Jun, Dong Shaoxian, Zhang Huaren, Yu Qing, Lu Bohe, Hexi Jin, Shi Anhe, Shi Linghu, and Liu Guiyi were all made opened-office yitong of the three dukes.
72
是月，鄱陽嗣王範率兵次柵口，江州刺史尋陽王大心要之西上。 景出頓姑孰，範將裴之悌、夏侯威生以衆降景。
That month Prince of Poyang successor Fan led troops to Zankou, and Jiangzhou inspector Prince of Xunyang Daxin asked him to come west. Jing moved out and encamped at Gushu. Fan's generals Pei Zhi and Xiahou Weisheng surrendered with their troops to Jing.
73
十一月，宋子仙攻錢塘，戴僧易降。 景以錢塘爲臨江郡，富陽爲富春郡。 又王偉、元羅並爲儀同三司。
In the eleventh month Song Zixian attacked Qiantang, and Dai Shengyi surrendered. Jing made Qiantang into Linjiang commandery and Fuyang into Fuchun commandery. Wang Wei and Yuan Luo were also made opened-office yitong of the three dukes.
74
十二月，宋子仙、趙伯超、劉神茂進攻會稽，東揚州刺史臨成公大連棄城走，遣劉神茂追擒之。 景以裴之悌爲使持節、平西將軍、合州刺史，以夏侯威生爲使持節、平北將軍、南豫州刺史。
In the twelfth month Song Zixian, Zhao Bochao, and Liu Shenmao attacked Kuaiji. East Yangzhou inspector Prince of Lincheng Dalian abandoned the city and fled; Liu Shenmao was sent in pursuit and captured him. Jing made Pei Zhi bearer of the staff, Pacification West General, and Hefei inspector, and Xiahou Weisheng bearer of the staff, Pacification North General, and South Yuzhou inspector.
75
是月，百濟使至，見城邑丘墟，於端門外號泣，行路見者莫不灑淚。 景聞之大怒，送小莊嚴寺禁止，不聽出入。
That month Baekje envoys arrived. Seeing the cities in ruins, they wailed outside the Main Gate, and every passerby wept. Jing heard and was furious. He sent them to Minor Zhuangyan Temple under confinement, forbidden to enter or leave.
76
大寶元年正月，景矯詔自加班劍四十人，給前後部羽葆鼓吹，置左右長史、從事中郎四人。
In the first month of Dabao year one Jing forged an edict adding forty sword-bearers, granting front and rear guard feather-canopies and martial music, and appointing four left and right chief clerks and attending cadres.
77
前江都令祖皓起兵於廣陵，斬景刺史董紹先，推前太子舍人蕭勔爲刺史； 又結魏人爲援，馳檄遠近，將以討景。 景聞之大懼，卽日率侯子鑒等出自京口，水陸並集。 皓嬰城拒守，景攻城，陷之。 景車裂皓以徇，城中無少長皆斬之。 以侯子鑒監南兗州事。
Former Jiangdu magistrate Zu Hao raised troops at Guangling, killed Jing's inspector Dong Shaoxian, and set up former crown prince house steward Xiao Min as inspector. He also sought Wei allies, sent proclamations far and wide, and prepared to march against Jing. Jing heard and was terrified. That same day he led Hou Zijian and others out from Jingkou, land and river forces massing together. Hao shut the city and held out. Jing stormed it and took it. Jing had Hao torn apart by chariots as a warning, then beheaded every soul in the city, young and old alike. He put Hou Zijian in charge of South Yanzhou.
78
是月，景召宋子仙還京口。
That month Jing recalled Song Zixian to Jingkou.
79
四月，景以元思虔爲東道行臺，鎮錢塘。 以侯子鑒爲南兗州刺史。
In the fourth month Jing made Yuan Siqian eastern route mobile headquarters and garrisoned him at Qiantang. He made Hou Zijian South Yanzhou inspector.
80
文成侯寧於吳西鄉起兵，旬日之間，衆至一萬，率以西上。 景廂公孟振、侯子榮擊破之，斬寧，傳首于景。
Wen-cheng Marquis Ning raised troops in Wu's western townships. Within ten days his force reached ten thousand, and he led them west. Jing's colonels Meng Zhen and Hou Zirong broke them, beheaded Ning, and sent his head to Jing.
81
七月，景以秦郡爲西兗州，陽平郡爲北兗州。
In the seventh month Jing made Qin commandery into Western Yanzhou and Yangping commandery into Northern Yanzhou.
82
任約、盧暉略攻晉熙郡，殺鄱陽世子嗣。
Ren Yue and Lu Huilue attacked Jinxi commandery and killed Poyang heir prince Si.
83
景以王偉爲中書監。
Jing made Wang Wei director of the Secretariat.
84
任約進軍襲江州，江州刺史尋陽王大心降之。 世祖時聞江州失守，遣衛軍將軍徐文盛率衆軍下武昌，拒約。
Ren Yue marched against Jiangzhou. Jiangzhou inspector Prince of Xunyang Daxin surrendered to him. When Shizu heard Jiangzhou had fallen, he sent Guard General Xu Wensheng with the main armies down to Wuchang to block Yue.
85
景又矯詔自進位爲相國，封泰山等二十郡爲漢王，入朝不趨，贊拜不名，劍履上殿，如蕭何故事。
Jing forged another edict promoting himself to chancellor of state and enfeoffing him as Prince of Han over twenty commanderies including Taishan, with privilege to enter court without haste, to be saluted without naming, and to wear sword and shoes in the hall—after the precedent of Xiao He.
86
景以柳敬禮爲護軍將軍，姜詢義爲相國左長史，徐洪爲左司馬，陸約爲右長史，沈衆爲右司馬。
Jing made Liu Jingli protector general, Jiang Xunyi left chief clerk to the chancellor of state, Xu Hong left marshal, Lu Yue right chief clerk, and Shen Zhong right marshal.
87
是月，景率舟師上皖口。
That month Jing led his fleet up the river to Wankou.
88
十月，盜殺武林侯諮于廣莫門。 諮常出入太宗臥內，景党不能平，故害之。
In the tenth month robbers killed Marquis of Wulin Zi at Guangmo Gate. Zi often entered and left Taizong's bedchamber. Jing's men could not abide it, and so they killed him.
89
景又矯詔曰：「蓋懸象在天，四時取則於辰斗； 羣生育地，萬物仰照於大明。 是以垂拱當扆，則八枿共輳； 負圖正位，則九域同歸。 故乃雲名水號之君，龍官人爵之後，莫不啓符河、洛，封禪岱宗，奔走四夷，來朝萬國。 逖聽虞、夏，厥道彌新。 爰及商、周，未之或改。 逮幽、厲不競，戎馬生郊； 惠、懷失御，胡塵犯蹕。 遂使豺狼肆毒，侵穴伊、瀍； 獫狁孔熾，巢棲咸、洛。 自晉鼎東遷，多歷年代，周原不復，歲實永久。 雖宋祖經略，中息遠圖，齊號和親，空勞冠蓋。 我大梁膺符作帝，出震登皇。 浹㝢歸仁，綿區飲化。 開疆辟土，跨瀚海以揚鑣； 來庭入覲，等塗山而比轍。 玄龜出洛，白雉歸豊。 鳥塞同文，胡天共軌。 不謂高澄跋扈，虔劉魏邦，扇動華夷，不供王職，遂乃狼顧北侵，馬首南向。 值天厭昏偽，醜徒數盡，龍豹應期，風雲會節。 相國漢王，上德英姿，蓋惟天授； 雄謨勇略，出自懷抱。 珠魚表應，辰昴葉暉； 剖析六韜，錙銖四履。 騰文豹變，鳳集虬翔； 奮翼來儀，負圖而降。 爰初秉律，實先啓行； 奉茲廟算，克除獯醜。 直以鼎湖上征，六龍晏駕； 干戈暫止，九伐未申。 而惡稔貫盈，元凶殞斃； 弟洋繼逆，續長亂階。 異彼洋音，同茲荐食； 偷竊偽號，心希舉斧。 豊水君臣，奉圖乞援； 關河百姓，泣血請師。 咸願承奉國靈，思睹王化。 朕以寡昧，纂戎下武，庶拯堯黎，冀康禹跡。 且夫車服以庸，名因事著。 周師克殷，鷹揚創自尚父； 漢征戎狄，明友實始度遼。 況乃神規叡算，眇乎難測，大功懋績，事絕言象，安可以習彼常名，保茲守固。 相國可加宇宙大將軍、都督六合諸軍事，餘悉如故。」 以詔文呈太宗，太宗驚曰：「將軍乃有宇宙之號乎！」
Jing forged another edict: "Heaven hangs its signs on high; the four seasons take their measure from the stars of Chen and Dou. All living things are born on earth and turn to the great brightness for light. When the ruler sits in yielding governance, the eight pillars of the realm draw close as one wheel; when he bears the chart in rightful place, the nine provinces return to a single allegiance. So from lords named for clouds and rivers, from dragon officers and noble heirs of men—none failed to open their tally at the River and Luo, to perform feng and shan on Mount Tai, to drive the four quarters, and to come in homage from ten thousand states. Listening back to Yu and Xia, their Way grew ever fresh. Down through Shang and Zhou, none changed it. Then You and Li lost their strength, and war-horses foaled in the capital outskirts; Hui and Huai lost the reins, and barbarian dust fouled the imperial road. Wolves and dogs ran wild, gnawing at the heartlands of Yi and Luo; the Xianyun burned bright and nested in Xian and Luo. Since the Jin cauldron moved east, years piled into ages, and the plains of Zhou were never restored. Though Emperor Wu of Song took up strategy and for a time checked distant ambition, and Qi spoke of harmony through marriage, crown and canopy achieved nothing but empty toil. Our Great Liang received Heaven's mandate and took the throne, rising out of thunder to ascend the imperial seat. Within the four seas all returned in benevolence; across the realm all drank in royal transformation. It opened borders and spread its soil, spanning the Han Sea to drive its steeds; it received envoys at court and in audience, matching the rites of Tushan, wheel following wheel. The black tortoise came forth from the Luo; the white pheasant returned to the capital of abundance. Bird barriers shared one script; northern heavens one wheel-track. Who thought Gao Cheng would grow so overbearing—slaughtering and ravaging Wei, stirring all Huaxia, refusing the king's command—then turning wolf-eyed north to invade and horse-head south? Heaven grew weary of dark falsehood; the ugly faction's days ran out. Dragon and leopard answered the season; wind and cloud met at the turning. The Chancellor of State, Prince of Han, bears supreme virtue and a heroic mien—surely Heaven's gift; bold stratagems and brave designs born straight from the heart. Pearl-fish marked the omen; Chen and Mao leaves caught the light; he parsed the Six Secret Treatises and weighed the four quarters to a hair. Spotted leopard leapt in new patterns; phoenix gathered and horned dragon soared; spreading wings he came as an omen; bearing the chart he descended. At first, wielding law, he truly led the van; holding to the temple's calculations, he cut down the savage foe. Only because at Dinghu the Emperor ascended and the six dragons rested in stillness; blades halted for a time, and the nine punitive expeditions went unproclaimed. Yet evil ripened to fullness, and the chief villain perished; younger brother Yang carried on the rebellion, prolonging chaos step by step. Unlike that Yang in name alone, alike in devouring the people; stealing a false title, in heart reaching for the uplifted axe. The lords and ministers by the Feng offered the chart and begged for aid; the people of the passes and rivers wept blood and begged for armies. All wished to receive the nation's numen and behold royal transformation. I, though dull and obscure, inherited the martial mantle of King Wu, hoping to rescue Yao's people and restore Yu's traces. Moreover, carriage and raiment reward merit, and name follows the deed. When Zhou's army conquered Yin, the hawk-flourish began with Lord Shang; When Han fought the northern tribes, Ming You was first to cross the Liao. His divine strategy and keen wit are beyond gauging; merit so great it outruns language—how could ordinary titles suffice for such a man? The Chancellor shall be made Grand General of the Universe and supreme commander of all armies under Heaven; all else stays as before." The edict was shown to Taizong, who cried in alarm, "The General has taken the title Universe!"
90
齊遣其將辛術圍陽平，景行臺郭元建率兵赴援，術退。
Qi sent general Xin Shu to besiege Yangping; Jing's mobile headquarters Guo Yuanjian marched to relieve it, and Shu withdrew.
91
徐文盛入資磯，任約率水軍逆戰，文盛大破之，仍進軍大舉口。
Xu Wensheng took Ziji; Ren Yue led the river fleet against him. Wensheng routed him and advanced to Dajukou.
92
時景屯於皖口，京師虛弱，南康王會理及北兗州司馬成欽等將襲之。 建安侯賁知其謀，以告景，景遣收會理與其弟祈陽侯通理、柳敬禮、成欽等，並害之。
Jing was encamped at Wankou while the capital lay weakened; Prince Kuili of Nankang and North Yanzhou aide Cheng Qin plotted to strike him. Marquis Ben of Jian'an discovered the plot and warned Jing. Jing had Kuili, his brother Marquis Tongli of Qiyang, Liu Jingli, and Cheng Qin seized and killed.
93
十二月，景矯詔封賁爲竟陵王，賞發南康之謀也。
In the twelfth month Jing forged an edict making Ben Prince of Jingling, a reward for revealing the Nankang conspiracy.
94
是月，張彪起義於會稽，攻破上虞，景太守蔡臺樂討之，不能禁。 至是，彪又破諸暨、永興等諸縣，景遣儀同田遷、趙伯超、謝答仁等東伐彪。
That month Zhang Biao rebelled in Kuaiji and took Shangyu; Jing's administrator Cai Taile could not stop him. Biao had also overrun Zhuji, Yongxing, and other counties. Jing sent Yitong Tian Qian, Zhao Bochao, Xie Daren, and others east to crush him.
95
二年正月，彪遣別將寇錢塘、富春，田遷進軍與戰，破之。
In the first month of year two Biao sent a detachment against Qiantang and Fuchun; Tian Qian advanced and broke them.
96
景以王克爲太師，宋子仙爲太保，元羅爲太傅，郭元建爲太尉，張化仁爲司徒，任約爲司空，于慶爲太子太師，時靈護爲太子太保，紇奚斤爲太子太傅，王偉爲尚書左僕射，索超世爲尚書右僕射。
Jing made Wang Ke Grand Preceptor, Song Zixian Grand Guardian, Yuan Luo Grand Tutor, Guo Yuanjian Grand Commandant, Zhang Huaren Minister of Education, Ren Yue Minister of Works, Yu Qing Grand Preceptor to the Crown Prince, Shi Linghu Grand Guardian to the Crown Prince, Hexi Jin Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, Wang Wei Left Vice Director of the Masters of Writing, and Suo Chaoshi Right Vice Director of the Masters of Writing.
97
北兗州刺史蕭邕謀降魏，事泄，景誅之。
North Yanzhou inspector Xiao Yong plotted to surrender to Wei; when the plot leaked, Jing had him killed.
98
是月，世祖遣巴州刺史王珣等率衆下武昌助徐文盛。 任約以西臺益兵，告急於景。 三月，景自率衆二萬，西上援約。 四月，景次西陽，徐文盛率水軍邀戰，大破之。 景訪知郢州無備，兵少，又遣宋子仙率輕騎三百襲陷之，執刺史方諸、行事鮑泉，盡獲武昌軍人家口。 徐文盛等聞之，大潰，奔歸江陵，景乘勝西上。
That month Shizu sent Bazhou's Wang Xun and others with troops to Wuchang to aid Xu Wensheng. Ren Yue sent urgent word to Jing asking the Western Headquarters for more troops. In the third month Jing led twenty thousand men west himself to rescue Yue. In the fourth month Jing camped at Xiyang; Xu Wensheng intercepted him on the water and routed his fleet. Jing learned Yingzhou was undefended and sent Song Zixian with three hundred light horse to take it by surprise, seizing inspector Fang Zhu and acting administrator Bao Quan and all the families of the Wuchang army. Xu Wensheng's troops heard and broke in panic, fleeing to Jiangling; Jing pressed west on momentum.
99
初，世祖遣領軍王僧辯率衆東下代徐文盛，軍次巴陵，會景至，僧辯因堅壁拒之。 景設長圍，築土山，晝夜攻擊，不克。 軍中疾疫，死傷太半。 世祖遣平北將軍胡僧祐率兵二千人救巴陵，景聞，遣任約以精卒數千逆擊僧祐，僧祐與居士陸法和退據赤亭以待之，約至與戰，大破之，生擒約。 景聞之，夜遁。 以丁和爲郢州刺史，留宋子仙、時靈護等助和守，以張化仁、閻洪慶守魯山城，景還京師。 王僧辯乃率衆東下，次漢口，攻魯山及郢城，皆陷之。 自是衆軍所至皆捷。
Shizu had already sent army commander Wang Sengbian east to replace Xu Wensheng. Sengbian halted at Baling; when Jing arrived he fortified and refused battle. Jing laid a long siege, piled earthworks, and assaulted day and night without breaching the walls. Plague swept the army; more than half were dead or wounded. Shizu sent Pacification North General Hu Sengyou with two thousand men to relieve Baling. Jing sent Ren Yue with thousands of elite troops to cut him off. Sengyou and the layman Lu Fahe fell back to Chiting to wait; when Yue arrived they routed him and captured him alive. Jing heard and fled overnight. He appointed Ding He inspector of Yingzhou, left Song Zixian and Shi Linghu to help him hold the city, garrisoned Zhang Huaren and Yan Hongqing at Lushan, and returned to the capital. Wang Sengbian marched east to Hankou and took Lushan and Ying city. After that the loyal armies won wherever they marched.
100
景乃廢太宗，幽於永福省。 作詔草成，逼太宗寫之，至「先皇念神器之重，思社稷之固」，歔欷嗚咽，不能自止。 是日，景迎豫章王棟卽皇帝位，升太極前殿，大赦天下，改元爲天正元年。 有回風自永福省吹其文物，皆倒折，見者莫不驚駭。
Jing deposed Taizong and confined him in Yongfu Province. The abdication edict was drafted and Taizong was forced to write it out; at "The late emperor pondered the weight of the throne and the realm's security" he wept until he could not continue. That day Jing set Prince Dong of Yuzhang on the throne, ascended the Hall before Taiji, declared amnesty, and renamed the era Tianzheng. A gust from Yongfu Province blew over the ritual vessels; every witness was horrified.
101
初，景旣平京邑，便有篡奪之志，以四方須定，且未自立； 旣巴陵失律，江、郢喪師，猛將外殲，雄心內沮，便欲偽僭大號，遂其姦心。 其謀臣王偉云「自古移鼎，必須廢立」，故景從之。 其太尉郭元建聞之，自秦郡馳還，諫景曰：「四方之師所以不至者，政爲二宮萬福； 若遂行弑逆，結怨海內，事幾一去，雖悔無及。」 王偉固執不從。 景乃矯棟詔，追尊昭明太子爲昭明皇帝，豫章安王爲安皇帝，金華敬妃爲敬皇后，豫章國太妃王氏爲皇太后，妃張氏爲皇后； 以劉神茂爲司空，徐洪爲平南將軍，秦晃之、王曄、李賢明、徐永、徐珍國、宋長寶、尹思合併爲儀同三司。
From the moment Jing took the capital he meant to seize the throne—but the realm was still unsettled, so he held back. After Baling fell, Jiang and Ying lost their armies, his best generals were gone, and his ambition turned inward—he meant to take the throne himself and satisfy his treachery. His adviser Wang Wei said, "Since antiquity, whoever moved the sacred vessel had first to depose one ruler and install another"—and Jing did as he said. Grand Commandant Guo Yuanjian heard and rode back from Qin in haste, pleading with Jing: "The armies of the realm hold back only because both palaces still stand; if you murder the emperor and turn the whole realm against you, the moment will pass—and no repentance will save you." Wang Wei refused to listen. Jing forged an edict in Dong's name posthumously elevating Crown Prince Zhaoming to Emperor Zhaoming, Prince An of Yuzhang to Emperor An, Consort Jing of Jinhua to Empress Jing, Yuzhang Grand Consort Lady Wang to Empress Dowager, and Consort Zhang to Empress; he made Liu Shenmao Minister of Works, Xu Hong Pacification South General, and Qin Huangzhi, Wang Ye, Li Xianming, Xu Yong, Xu Zhenguo, Song Changbao, and Yin Sihe all commissioners equal in prestige to the Three Dukes.
102
景以哀太子妃賜郭元建，元建曰：「豈有皇太子妃而降爲人妾？」 竟不與相見。
Jing gave the late crown prince's wife to Guo Yuanjian; Yuanjian said, "What crown prince's wife becomes another man's concubine?" He would not even meet her.
103
十月壬寅夜，景遣其衛尉彭儁、王脩纂奉酒於太宗曰：「丞相以陛下處憂旣久，故令臣等奉進一觴。」 太宗知其將弑，乃大酣飲酒，旣醉還寢，脩纂以帊盛土加於腹，因崩焉。 斂用法服，以薄棺密瘞於城北酒庫。
On the night of renyin in the tenth month Jing sent Guard Commandant Peng Jun and Wang Xiuzuan with wine for Taizong, saying, "The Chancellor sees you have suffered long and bids us offer this cup." Taizong knew murder was coming, drank himself senseless, and went to bed; Xiuzuan smothered him with a cloth sack of earth. They clad him in court dress, placed him in a thin coffin, and secretly buried him at the northern wine storehouse.
104
初，太宗久見幽縶，朝士莫得接覲，慮禍將及，常不自安； 惟舍人殷不害後稍得入，太宗指所居殿謂之曰：「龐涓當死此下。」 又曰：「吾昨夜夢吞土，卿試爲思之。」 不害曰：「昔重耳饋塊，卒反晉國。 陛下所夢，將符是乎？」 太宗曰：「儻幽冥有徵，冀斯言不妄耳。」 至是見弑，實以土焉。
Taizong had been confined so long that no courtier could see him; dreading what was coming, he lived in constant fear; only attendant Yin Buhai was later admitted. Taizong pointed at his hall and said, "It is here that Pang Juan should die." He also said, "I dreamed I ate earth last night—what do you make of it?" Buhai said, "When Chong'er was given a clod of earth he returned to rule Jin. Could your dream mean the same?" Taizong said, "If the dead send a sign, I hope this is true." When he was killed, earth was indeed the means.
105
是月，景司空東道行臺劉神茂、儀同尹思合、劉歸義、王曄、雲麾將軍桑乾王元頵等據東陽歸順，仍遣元頵及別將李占、趙惠朗下據建德江口。 尹思合收景新安太守元義，奪其兵。
That month Liu Shenmao of Jing's eastern mobile headquarters, Yin Sihe, Liu Guiyi, Wang Ye, and Cloud Banner General Prince Yun of Sanggan held Dongyang and defected; Yun and detachments under Li Zhan and Zhao Huilang seized Jiande River mouth. Yin Sihe seized Jing's Xin'an administrator Yuan Yi and took his army.
106
張彪攻永嘉，永嘉太守秦遠降彪。
Zhang Biao attacked Yongjia; administrator Qin Yuan surrendered.
107
十一月，景以趙伯超爲東道行臺，鎮錢塘，遣儀同田遷、謝答仁等將兵東征神茂。
In the eleventh month Jing put Zhao Bochao in charge of the eastern mobile headquarters at Qiantang and sent Tian Qian, Xie Daren, and others east against Shenmao.
108
景矯蕭棟詔，自加九錫之禮，置丞相以下百官。 陳備物於庭，忽有野鳥翔于景上，赤足丹觜，形似山鵲，賊徒悉駭，競射之不能中。 景以劉勸、戚霸、硃安王爲開府儀同三司，索九升爲護軍將軍。 南兗州刺史侯子鑒獻白麞，建康獲白鼠以獻，蕭棟歸之于景。 景以郭元建爲南兗州刺史，太尉、北行臺如故。
Jing forged an edict in Xiao Dong's name, giving himself the Nine Bestowments and filling every office down to Chancellor. As the ritual gear was set in the courtyard a wild bird flew over Jing—red feet, red beak, like a mountain magpie—and the rebels panicked, shooting wildly without a hit. Jing made Liu Quan, Qi Ba, and Zhu Anwang commissioners equal to the Three Dukes, and Suo Jiusheng Protector General. South Yanzhou inspector Hou Zijian offered a white roe deer; Jiankang caught a white rat as tribute—Xiao Dong passed both to Jing. Jing made Guo Yuanjian inspector of South Yanzhou while keeping him Grand Commandant and northern mobile headquarters.
109
景又矯蕭棟詔，追崇其祖爲大將軍，考爲丞相。 自加冕，十有二旒，建天子旌旗，出警入蹕，乘金根車，駕六馬，備五時副車，置旄頭雲罕，樂儛八佾，鐘虡宮懸之樂，一如舊儀。
Jing forged another edict in Dong's name, posthumously making his grandfather Grand General and his father Chancellor. He took a twelve-tassel crown, imperial banners, royal escort, the golden chariot with six horses and seasonal outriders, yak-tail standards and cloud canopy, eight rows of dancers, and full court music—everything by the old imperial rite.
110
景又矯蕭棟詔，禪位於己。 於是南郊，柴燎于天，升壇受禪文物，並依舊儀。 以轜車床載鼓吹，橐駝負犧牲，輦上置筌蹄、垂腳坐。 景所帶劍水精標無故墮落，手自拾之。 將登壇，有兔自前而走，俄失所在； 又白虹貫日。 景還升太極前殿，大赦，改元爲太始元年。 封蕭棟爲淮陰王，幽于監省。 偽有司奏改「警蹕」爲「永蹕」，避景名也。 改梁律爲漢律，改左民尚書爲殿中尚書，五兵尚書爲七兵尚書，直殿主帥爲直寢。 景三公之官動置十數，儀同尤多，或匹馬孤行，自執羈絆。 其左僕射王偉請立七廟，景曰：「何謂爲七廟？」 偉曰：「天子祭七世祖考，故置七廟。」 幷請七世之諱，敕太常具祭祀之禮。 景曰：「前世吾不復憶，惟阿爺名標。」 衆聞咸竊笑之。 景黨有知景祖名周者，自外悉是王偉制其名位，以漢司徒侯霸爲始祖，晉徵士侯瑾爲七世祖。 於是追尊其祖周爲大丞相，父標爲元皇帝。
Jing forged yet another edict in Dong's name, handing him the throne. At the southern altar he burned offerings to Heaven, mounted the ritual platform, and took the regalia of abdication by the old forms. Wagon beds carried drums and pipes; camels bore the sacrifice; the carriage held foot-rests and dangling-leg seats. The crystal pommel on Jing's sword fell off without cause; he bent and picked it up himself. As he was about to mount the altar a rabbit darted before him and vanished; a white rainbow cut across the sun. Jing mounted the Hall before Taiji, declared amnesty, and renamed the era Taishi. He made Xiao Dong Prince of Huaiyin and locked him in the oversight compound. The puppet court asked to rename the imperial escort "eternal escort" to avoid Jing's name. Liang law became Han law; Left Director of the People became Director of the Palace; Five Arms became Seven Arms; Direct Palace chiefs became Direct Quarters chiefs. Jing stuffed each of the Three Excellencies with a dozen appointees; Yitong posts proliferated—some men rode alone, reins in hand. Left Vice Director Wang Wei asked to build seven ancestral temples. Jing said, "What are seven temples?" Wei said, "A Son of Heaven sacrifices to seven generations—that is why one builds seven temples." He also requested seven generations of taboo names and ordered the Director of Ceremonials to prepare the sacrifices. Jing said, "I remember no earlier generations—only that Grandpa was called Biao." Everyone who heard laughed behind their hands. Only one man in Jing's camp knew his grandfather was Zhou; every other name and title was Wang Wei's invention—Han Minister Hou Ba as founding ancestor, Jin recluse Hou Jin as seventh-generation forebear. So he posthumously made Zhou Grand Chancellor and Biao Founding Emperor.
111
十二月，謝答仁、李慶等至建德，攻元頵、李占柵，大破之，執頵、占送景。 景截其手足徇之，經日乃死。
In the twelfth month Xie Daren and Li Qing reached Jiande, stormed the palisades of Yun and Li Zhan, captured them, and sent them to Jing. Jing cut off their limbs and displayed them as a warning; they died after a day.
112
景二年正月朔，臨軒朝會。 景自巴丘挫衂，軍兵略盡，恐齊人乘釁與西師掎角，乃遣郭元建率步軍趣小峴，侯子鑒率舟師向濡須，曜兵肥水，以示武威。 子鑒至合肥，攻羅城，剋之。 郭元建、侯子鑒俄聞王師旣近，燒合肥百姓邑居，引軍退，子鑒保姑孰，元建還廣陵。
On New Year's Day of Jing's second year he held imperial audience. Broken at Baling, his army nearly spent, he feared Qi would exploit the moment and link arms with the western host—so he sent Guo Yuanjian's infantry toward Xiaoxian and Hou Zijian's fleet toward Ruru, parading troops on the Fei to show strength. Zijian reached Hefei, stormed the outer wall, and took it. Guo Yuanjian and Hou Zijian soon heard the loyal armies were closing in; they burned Hefei's settlements and retreated—Zijian to Gudu, Yuanjian to Guangling.
113
時謝答仁攻劉神茂，神茂別將王華、麗通並據外營降答仁。 劉歸義、尹思合等懼，各棄城走。 神茂孤危，復降答仁。
Xie Daren was pressing Liu Shenmao; Shenmao's generals Wang Hua and Li Tong held the outer camps and surrendered. Liu Guiyi, Yin Sihe, and the rest fled their posts in fear. Shenmao, isolated and desperate, surrendered to Daren.
114
王僧辯軍至蕪湖，蕪湖城主宵遁。 景遣史安和、宋長貴等率兵二千，助子鑒守姑孰，追田遷等還京師。 是月，景黨郭長獻馬駒生角。 三月，景往姑孰，巡視壘柵，又誡子鑒曰：「西人善水戰，不可與爭鋒，往年任約敗績，良爲此也。 若得馬步一交，必當可破，汝但堅壁以觀其變。」 子鑒乃舍舟登岸，閉營不出。 僧辯等遂停軍十餘日，賊黨大喜，告景曰：「西師懼吾之強，必欲遁逸，不擊，將失之。」 景復命子鑒爲水戰之備。 子鑒乃率步騎萬餘人渡洲，幷引水軍俱進，僧辯逆擊，大破之，子鑒僅以身免。 景聞子鑒敗，大懼涕下，覆面引衾以臥，良久方起，歎曰：「誤殺乃公！」
Wang Sengbian reached Wuhu; its commander fled overnight. Jing sent Shi Anhe and Song Changgui with two thousand men to help Zijian hold Gudu and recalled Tian Qian and others to the capital. That month Jing's man Guo Chang offered a foal born with horns. In the third month Jing went to Gudu, inspected the defenses, and warned Zijian: "Westerners fight best on water—never meet them there. Ren Yue lost for exactly that reason. One clash on land and you will break them—just hold your walls and wait." Zijian left his boats, went ashore, shut camp, and would not come out. Sengbian halted for ten-odd days; the rebels rejoiced and told Jing, "The western host fears us and means to run—strike now or they escape." Jing ordered Zijian to ready the fleet again. Zijian led ten thousand horse and foot across the ford, fleet and army together; Sengbian counterattacked and shattered him—Zijian escaped by a hair. When Jing heard Zijian was broken he wept in terror, hid his face under the covers, and lay a long while before rising with a sigh: "I killed my father-in-law!"
115
僧辯進軍次張公洲。 景以盧暉略守石頭，紇奚斤守捍國城，悉逼百姓及軍士家累入臺城內。 僧辯焚景水柵，入淮，至祥靈寺渚。 景大驚，乃緣淮立柵，自石頭至朱雀航。 僧辯及諸將遂於石頭城西步上連營立柵，至於落星墩。 景大恐，自率侯子鑒、于慶、史安和、王僧貴等，於石頭東北立柵拒守。 使王偉、索超世、呂季略守臺城，宋長貴守延祚寺。 遣掘王僧辯父墓，剖棺焚屍。 王僧辯等進營於石頭城北，景列陣挑戰。 僧辯率衆軍奮擊，大破之，侯子鑒、史安和、王僧貴各棄柵走，盧暉略、紇奚斤並以城降。
Sengbian marched his army to Zhang Gong Isle. Jing put Lu Huilue in Stone Fort and Hexijin in Defend-the-State city, and forced every civilian and soldier's kin into Terrace City. Sengbian burned Jing's river barriers, crossed into the Huai, and reached Xiangling Temple shoal. Jing was terrified and ran palisades along the Huai from Stone Fort to Vermilion Bird Ford. Sengbian and his generals then linked camps on foot west of Stone Fort and raised palisades to Falling Star Mound. Jing was badly shaken. He himself led Hou Zijian, Yu Qing, Shi Anhe, Wang Senggui, and others to raise palisades northeast of Stone Fort and stand firm. He sent Wang Wei, Suo Chaoshi, and Lü Jilue to hold Terrace City and Song Changgui to hold Yanzuo Temple. He had Wang Sengbian's father's tomb opened, the coffin broken, and the body burned. Wang Sengbian and the others moved camp north of Stone Fort; Jing formed ranks and challenged them. Sengbian led the whole army in a furious charge and broke them completely. Hou Zijian, Shi Anhe, and Wang Senggui fled their palisades; Lu Huilue and Hexijin surrendered both cities.
116
景旣退敗，不入宮，斂其散兵，屯于闕下，遂將逃竄。 王偉攬轡諫曰：「自古豈有叛天子！ 今宮中衛士，尚足一戰，寧可便走，棄此欲何所之？」 景曰：「我在北打賀拔勝，破葛榮，揚名河、朔，與高王一種人。 今來南渡大江，取臺城如反掌，打邵陵王於北山，破柳仲禮於南岸，皆乃所親見。 今日之事，恐是天亡。 乃好守城，我當復一決耳。」 仰觀石闕，逡巡歎息。 久之，乃以皮囊盛二子掛馬鞍，與其儀同田遷、范希榮等百餘騎東奔。 王偉委臺城竄逸，侯子鑒等奔廣陵。
Beaten back, Jing would not enter the palace. He gathered scattered troops below the gate-towers and prepared to run. Wang Wei seized the bridle and pleaded, "Since antiquity, who has ever betrayed the Son of Heaven! The guards in the palace could still fight one battle. How can you flee now? If you leave this, where will you go?" Jing said, "In the north I fought He Ba Sheng, broke Ge Rong, and made my name on the Yellow River and beyond the frontier. I am a man of Gao Wang's kind. Coming south across the great river I took Terrace City as easily as turning my hand. At North Hill I struck Prince Shao of Shaoling; on the south bank I broke Liu Zhongli. I saw it all myself. What has happened today, I fear, is Heaven decreeing my end. Hold the city well. I will make one more stand." He looked up at the stone gate-towers, hesitated, and sighed. After a long while he hung his two sons in leather sacks from his saddle and fled east with his Yitong Tian Qian, Fan Xirong, and more than a hundred riders. Wang Wei deserted Terrace City and fled; Hou Zijian and the others ran to Guangling.
117
王僧辯遣侯瑱率軍追景。 景至晉陵，劫太守徐永東奔吳郡，進次嘉興，趙伯超據錢塘拒之。 景退還吳郡，達松江，而侯瑱軍掩至，景衆未陣，皆舉幡乞降。 景不能制，乃與腹心數十人單舸走，推墮二子于水，自滬瀆入海。 至壺豆洲，前太子舍人羊鯤殺之，送屍于王僧辯，傳首西臺，曝屍于建康市。 百姓爭取屠膾啖食，焚骨揚灰。 曾罹其禍者，乃以灰和酒飲之。 及景首至江陵，世祖命梟之於市，然後煮而漆之，付武庫。
Wang Sengbian sent Hou Tian after Jing with an army. Jing reached Jinling, seized Prefect Xu Yong, and fled east to Wu commandery. He halted at Jiaxing, where Zhao Bochao held Qiantang against him. Jing retreated to Wu commandery and reached Song River, but Hou Tian's army fell on him before his men could form ranks. They all raised banners and begged to surrender. Jing could not hold them. With a few dozen trusted men in one boat he fled alone, threw his two sons into the water, and put to sea from Hudu outlet. At Hudou Isle, former crown prince household attendant Yang Kun killed him, sent the body to Wang Sengbian, forwarded the head to the Western Terrace, and exposed the corpse in Jiankang market. The people fought to carve and eat his flesh, burned his bones, and scattered the ash. Those he had once harmed mixed the ash with wine and drank it down. When Jing's head reached Jiangling, Shizu had it displayed in the market, then boiled, lacquered, and stored in the armory.
118
景長不滿七尺，而眉目疏秀。 性猜忍，好殺戮。 刑人或先斬手足，割舌劓鼻，經日方死。 曾於石頭立大舂碓，有犯法者，皆搗殺之，其慘虐如此。 自篡立後，時著白紗帽，而尚披青袍，或以牙梳插髻。 床上常設胡床及筌蹄，著靴垂腳坐。 或匹馬遊戲於宮內，及華林園彈射烏鳥。 謀臣王偉不許輕出，於是鬱怏，更成失志。 所居殿常有鵂鶹鳥鳴，景惡之，每使人窮山野討捕焉。 普通中，童謠曰：「青絲白馬壽陽來。」 後景果乘白馬，兵皆青衣。 所乘馬，每戰將勝，輒躑躅嘶鳴，意氣駿逸，其奔衂，必低頭不前。
Jing stood under seven feet, yet his brows and eyes were fine and handsome. He was suspicious and cruel by nature and loved killing. When he punished men he first cut off hands and feet, sliced out the tongue, and cut off the nose. They would not die until a full day had passed. Once at Stone Fort he erected a great pounding mortar. Every lawbreaker was pounded to death. His cruelty was like that. After seizing the throne he often wore a white gauze cap over a green robe, or stuck an ivory comb in his hair. His bed always held a camp stool and a folding seat. Booted, he sat with his legs dangling. Sometimes he sported alone on horseback inside the palace, or shot birds in Hualin Garden. Counselor Wang Wei would not let him go out lightly. He grew sullen and lost heart. Owls often cried in the hall where he lived. Jing hated it and constantly sent men to scour hills and wilds to catch them. In the Putong era a children's rhyme ran, "Green silk, white horse—Shouyang comes." Later Jing did ride a white horse, and his soldiers all wore green. His horse, whenever victory was near, would paw and neigh, fierce and swift. When he fled, it always hung its head and refused to go on.
119
初，中大同中，高祖嘗夜夢中原牧守皆以地來降，舉朝稱慶，寤甚悅之。 旦見中書舍人朱异說所夢，异曰：「此豈宇內方一，天道前見其徵乎？」 高祖曰：「吾爲人少夢，昨夜感此，良足慰懷。」 及太清二年，景果歸附，高祖欣然自悅，謂與神通，乃議納之，而意猶未決。 曾夜出視事，至武德閣，獨言：「我家國猶若金甌，無一傷缺，今便受地，詎是事宜，脫致紛紜，非可悔也。」 朱异接聲而對曰：「聖明御宇，上應蒼玄，北土遺黎，誰不慕仰？ 爲無機會，未達其心。 今侯景據河南十餘州，分魏土之半，輸誠送款，遠歸聖朝，豈非天誘其衷，人獎其計？ 原心審事，殊有可嘉。 今若拒而不容，恐絕後來之望，此誠易見，願陛下無疑。」 高祖深納異言，又信前夢，乃定議納景。 及貞陽覆敗，邊鎮恇擾，高祖固已憂之，曰：「吾今段如此，勿作晉家事乎？」
Earlier, in the Zhongdatong era, Gaozu dreamed one night that every governor of the central plains came offering land in surrender. The whole court called it auspicious, and he woke very pleased. At dawn he told palace secretariat attendant Zhu Yi of the dream. Yi said, "Does this not mean the realm is becoming one—that Heaven shows its sign in advance?" Gaozu said, "I rarely dream. Last night this came to me, and it truly comforts the heart." In Taiqing year two Jing did come to submit. Gaozu was delighted, took it for a sign, and debated taking him in, but his mind was still unsettled. Once at night he went out to conduct affairs, reached Wude Pavilion, and said alone, "My realm is still a golden bowl without a chip. To accept territory now—how can that be right? If trouble follows, it cannot be undone." Zhu Yi answered at once, "The sage rules the realm, matching Heaven above. Who among the remnant folk of the north does not look up in longing? Without opportunity, their hearts could not be known. Now Hou Jing holds more than ten provinces south of the Yellow River, half of Wei's land, renders loyalty and sends pledges, and comes from afar to the holy court. Is this not Heaven guiding his heart and men applauding his plan? Reading his intent and weighing the matter, there is much to praise. If you refuse him now, I fear later comers will lose hope. That is easy to see. Your Majesty need not doubt." Gaozu took Yi's words to heart, trusted the earlier dream as well, and decided to receive Jing. When Zhenyang fell and the border garrisons panicked, Gaozu was already worried. He said, "I am like this now—are we not repeating Jin's fate?"
120
先是，丹陽陶弘景隱於華陽山，博學多識，嘗爲詩曰：「夷甫任散誕，平叔坐談空。 不意昭陽殿，化作單于宮。」 大同末，人士競談玄理，不習武事； 至是，景果居昭陽殿。
Earlier Tao Hongjing of Danyang, living in seclusion on Mount Hua, learned and widely read, once wrote a poem: "Yi Fu lived in idle dissipation; Ping Shu sat discoursing on emptiness. Who would have thought Zhaoyang Hall would become a Xiongnu palace." At the end of Datong, gentlemen rivaled one another in discussing arcane principle and did not practice military affairs; Now Jing did occupy Zhaoyang Hall.
121
天監中，有釋寶志曰：「掘尾狗子自發狂，當死未死齧人傷，須臾之間自滅亡，起自汝陰死三湘。」 又曰：「山家小兒果攘臂，太極殿前作虎視。」 掘尾狗子、山家小兒，皆猴狀。 景遂覆陷都邑，毒害皇室。
In the Tianjian era the monk Baozhi said, "The tail-digging dog goes mad by itself. When it should die but does not, it bites and wounds men. In a moment it perishes—rising from Ruyin, dying in the Three Xiang." He also said, "The mountain man's child flings up his sleeves and at the front of Taiji Hall stares like a tiger." "Tail-digging dog" and "mountain man's child" both suggest a monkey's shape. Jing then overthrew the capital and poisoned the imperial house.
122
大同中，太醫令朱躭嘗直禁省，無何，夜夢犬羊各一在御坐，覺而惡之，告人曰：「犬羊者，非佳物也。 今據御坐，將有變乎？」 旣而天子蒙塵，景登正殿焉。
During Datong, court physician Zhu Zhan attended the forbidden precinct. One night he dreamed a dog and a sheep each on the imperial seat. Waking, he hated it and told others, "Dog and sheep are no good omen. Now on the imperial seat—will there be upheaval?" Before long the Son of Heaven suffered exile in the dust, and Jing ascended the main hall.
123
及景將敗，有僧通道人者，意性若狂，飲酒噉肉，不異凡等，世間遊行已數十載，姓名鄉里，人莫能知。 初言隱伏，久乃方驗，人並呼爲闍梨，景甚信敬之。 景嘗於後堂與其徒共射，時僧通在坐，奪景弓射景陽山，大呼云「得奴已」。 景後又宴集其黨，又召僧通。 僧通取肉揾鹽以進景，問曰：「好不？」 景答：「所恨太咸。」 僧通曰：「不鹹則爛臭。」 果以鹽封其屍。
When Jing was about to fall, there was a monk called Tong whose mind seemed half mad. He drank wine and ate meat like any ordinary man. He had wandered the world for decades, and no one knew his name or home. At first his words were obscure; only long afterward were they verified. All called him acarya, and Jing trusted and honored him deeply. Jing once shot with his followers in the rear hall. Monk Tong was there, seized Jing's bow, and shot at Jingyang Hill, shouting, "Got the slave!" Later Jing feasted his faction again and summoned Monk Tong once more. Monk Tong took meat dipped in salt and offered it to Jing, asking, "Good?" Jing answered, "My only regret is it is too salty." Monk Tong said, "Without salt it rots and stinks." Indeed his corpse was sealed with salt.
124
王偉，陳留人。 少有才學，景之表、啓、書、檄，皆其所制。 景旣得志，規摹篡奪，皆偉之謀。 及囚送江陵，烹於市，百姓有遭其毒者，並割炙食之。
Wang Wei came from Chenliu. In youth he had literary talent. Jing's memorials, reports, letters, and proclamations were all his work. Once Jing had his way, every plan for usurpation was Wei's counsel. When he was bound and sent to Jiangling, he was boiled in the market. Commoners who had suffered his poison sliced and roasted his flesh to eat.
125
【評】
Marker denoting the historian's commentary section in the source text.
126
史臣曰：夫道不恒夷，運無常泰，斯則窮通有數，盛衰相襲，時屯陽九，蓋在茲焉。 若乃侯景小豎，叛換本國，識不周身，勇非出類，而王偉爲其謀主，成此姦慝。 驅率醜徒，陵江直濟，長戟強弩，淪覆宮闕，禍纏宸極，毒遍黎元，肆其恣睢之心，成其篡盜之禍。 嗚呼！ 國之將亡，必降妖孽。 雖曰人事，抑乃天時。 昔夷羿亂夏，犬戎厄周，漢則莽、卓流災，晉則敦、玄構禍，方之羯賊，有逾其酷，悲夫！ [1]
The historian writes: The Way is not always smooth; fortune is not always secure. Rise and fall have their measure, prosperity and decline follow in turn. The age stalls in yang's ninth calamity—and that is here. As for the petty wretch Hou Jing—rebellious to his own state, insight not reaching his person, courage nothing out of the ordinary—Wang Wei was his chief strategist and made this wicked treachery possible. He drove ugly followers straight across the river, long halberds and strong crossbows overturning palace and tower, disaster coiling around the throne, poison spreading through the people, indulging his will to the full, completing his usurping crime. Alas! When a state is about to perish, monsters and freaks descend. Though men call it human affairs, it is Heaven's timing. In old times Yi of Xia brought chaos to Xia and the Quan Rong threatened Zhou. Under Han, Wang Mang and Dong Zhuo spread disaster; under Jin, Wang Dun and Huan Xuan engineered calamity. Compared with the Jie bandit, this was crueller still. Alas! [1] Editorial footnote marker.
127
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).