1
郁新趙羾金忠李慶師逵古樸 〈（向寶）〉 陳壽 〈（馬京許思溫）〉 劉季{虎}劉辰楊砥虞謙 〈（呂升仰瞻嚴本）〉 湯宗
Yu Xin, Zhao Gong, Jin Zhong, Li Qing, Shi Kui, Gu Pu (Xiang Bao)〉 Chen Shou (Ma Jing, Xu Siwen)〉 Liu Jichi, Liu Chen, Yang Di, Yu Qian (Lu Sheng, Yang Zhan, Yan Ben)〉 Tang Zong
2
郁新，字敦本，臨淮人。 洪武中，以人才征，授戶部度支主事。 遷郎中。 逾年，擢本部右侍郎。 嘗問天下戶口田賦，地理險易，應答無遺，帝稱其才。 尋進尚書。 時親王歲祿米五萬石，新定議減五之四，並定郡王以下祿有差。 又以邊餉不繼，定召商開中法，令商輸粟塞下，按引支鹽，邊儲以足。 夏原吉為戶部主事，新重之，諸曹事悉委任焉。 建文二年引疾歸。
Yu Xin, whose style name was Dunben, came from Linhuai. In the Hongwu era he was recruited for ability and made Director of Expenditures in the Ministry of Revenue. He was promoted to director. A year later he was raised to Right Vice Minister of Revenue. When questioned on national population registers, land taxes, and the strategic lay of the realm, he answered exhaustively, and the emperor commended his talent. He was soon promoted to Minister of Revenue. At the time, imperial princes drew fifty thousand piculs of grain a year; Xin drew up a plan to cut that by four-fifths and set graded stipends for commandery princes and those of lower rank. When frontier supplies ran short, he instituted the merchant zhongfa system: merchants delivered grain to the border and drew salt by certificate, and frontier granaries were filled. Xia Yuanji was a director in the ministry; Xin held him in high regard and delegated every bureau matter to him. In Jianwen 2 he pleaded illness and went home.
3
成祖即位，召掌戶部事，以古樸為侍郎佐之。 永樂元年，河南蝗，有司不以聞，新劾治之。 初，轉漕北京，新言：「自淮抵河，多淺灘跌坡，運舟艱阻。 請別用淺船載三百石者，自淮河、沙河運至陳州潁溪口跌坡下，復用淺船載二百石者運至跌坡上，別用大船運入黃河。 至八柳樹諸處，令河南車夫陸運入衛河，轉輸北京。」 從之。 又言：「湖廣屯田所產不一，請皆得輸官。 粟谷、縻黍、大麥、蕎穄二石，準米一石。 稻谷、秫二石五鬥，穇稗三石，各準米一石。 豆、麥、芝麻與米等。」 著為令。 二年，議公、侯、伯、駙馬、儀賓祿，二百石以上者，請如文武官例，米鈔兼給。 三年，以士卒勞困，議減屯田歲收不如額者十之四五，又議改納米北京贖罪者於南京倉。 皆允行。 是年八月卒於官。 帝嘆曰：「新理邦賦十三年，量計出入，今誰可代者？」 輟朝一日，賜葬祭，而召夏原吉還理部事。
After the Yongle Emperor's accession, Xin was called to head the Ministry of Revenue, with Gu Pu as vice minister to aid him. In Yongle 1, locusts ravaged Henan; when officials failed to report it, Xin had them investigated and punished. When grain transport to Beijing was first organized, Xin said: 'From the Huai to the river route there are many shoals and steep drops, and the convoys are badly hindered. He proposed shallow boats of three hundred piculs from the Huai and Sha rivers to below the Chenzhou–Ying Stream drop, then two-hundred-picul shallow boats above the drop, and large boats only for the Yellow River leg. From Baliu Tree and similar points, Henan carters would haul grain overland into the Wei Canal for delivery to Beijing. The emperor approved. He also said: 'Huguang garrison fields yield uneven crops; let every kind be accepted at the granary. Two piculs of millet, glutinous millet, barley, or buckwheat would equal one picul of rice. Paddy or sorghum at two and a half piculs, or barnyard millet and broomcorn at three piculs, would each count as one picul of rice. Beans, wheat, and sesame were rated equal to rice. This was promulgated as law. In Yongle 2, when stipends for dukes, marquises, earls, imperial sons-in-law, and ceremonial sons-in-law were discussed, he proposed that those above two hundred piculs receive grain and paper money as civil and military officials did. In the third year, citing the exhaustion of troops and laborers, he proposed cutting shortfall garrison harvests by forty to fifty percent and moving grain-for-clemency payments from Beijing to the Nanjing granary. All were approved. He died in office that August. The emperor lamented: 'Xin has managed the realm's revenue for thirteen years, balancing every intake and outlay—who can take his place? Court was halted for a day, burial honors were granted, and Xia Yuanji was recalled to run the ministry.
4
新長於綜理，密而不繁。 其所規畫，後不能易。
Xin was skilled at overall management—meticulous without being burdensome. Nothing he designed was later overturned.
5
趙羾，字雲翰，夏人，徙祥符。 洪武中，由鄉舉入太學，授兵部職方司主事。 圖天下要害厄塞，並屯戍所宜以進。 帝以為才，遷員外郎。 建文初，遷浙江參政，建策捕海寇，有功。
Zhao Gong, styled Yunhan, was of Xia descent and had settled in Xiangfu. Under Hongwu he entered the Imperial Academy via the local examination and became Registrar of the Bureau of Operations in the Ministry of War. He charted the realm's critical passes and strongpoints, with recommended garrison placements, and submitted the maps. The emperor judged him capable and promoted him to vice director. Early in Jianwen he became Zhejiang Administration Vice Commissioner, devised measures against sea pirates, and earned merit.
6
永樂二年，使交阯，還奏稱旨。 擢刑部侍郎，改工部，再改禮部。 五年進尚書，賜宴華蓋殿，撤膳羞遺其母。 初，羾每以事為言者所劾，帝不問。 九年秋，朝鮮使臣將歸，例有賜賚，羾不以奏。 帝怒曰：「是且使朕失遠人心。」 遂下之獄。 尋得釋，使督建隆慶、保安、永寧諸州縣，撫綏新集，民安其業。 十五年丁母艱。 起復，改兵部尚書，專理塞外兵事。 帝北征，轉餉有方。
In Yongle 2 he was envoy to Jiaozhi; his report on return pleased the throne. He rose to Vice Minister of Punishments, then Works, then Rites. In the fifth year he became Minister and was feasted in the Hall of the Canopy of Flowers; when the table was cleared he sent the dishes home to his mother. Before this, censors had often impeached Gong over one matter or another, but the emperor paid no heed. In the autumn of the ninth year, Korean envoys were leaving and customary gifts were due, but Gong filed no memorial. The emperor raged: 'This would make me lose the goodwill of distant states. He was thrown into prison. He was soon freed and sent to oversee construction in Longqing, Bao'an, and Yongning; he soothed the new settlers and the people settled into their livelihoods. In the fifteenth year he went into mourning for his mother. Called back from mourning, he was made Minister of War and charged solely with frontier military affairs. On the emperor's northern campaigns, Gong organized supply transport with notable efficiency.
7
仁宗嗣位，改南京刑部。 宣德五年，御史張楷劾羾及侍郎俞士吉怠縱。 召至，命致仕。
Under the Renzong Emperor he was moved to the Nanjing Ministry of Punishments. In Xuande 5, Censor Zhang Kai accused Gong and Vice Minister Yu Shiji of laxity and neglect. He was summoned to court and ordered to retire.
8
羾性精敏，歷事五朝，位列卿，自奉如寒素。 正統元年卒，年七十三。
Gong was sharp and meticulous; he served five reigns and held ministerial rank, yet lived as frugally as a poor scholar. He died in Zhengtong 1 at the age of seventy-three.
9
金忠，鄞人。 少讀書，善《易》卜。 兄戍通州亡，忠補戍。 貧不能行，相者袁珙資之。 既至，編卒伍。 賣卜北平市，多中。 市人傳以為神。 僧道衍稱於成祖。 成祖將起兵，托疾召忠卜，得鑄印乘軒之卦。 曰：「此象貴不可言。」 自是出入燕府中，常以所占勸舉大事。 成祖深信之。 燕兵起，自署官屬，授忠王府紀善，守通州。 南兵數攻城不克。 已，召置左右，有疑輒問，術益驗，且時進謀畫。 遂拜右長史，贊戎務，為謀臣矣。
Jin Zhong came from Yin. As a youth he studied the classics and was adept at Yijing divination. His elder brother had been posted to Tongzhou and died there; Zhong took his place as a garrison soldier. Too poor to make the journey, he was funded by the physiognomist Yuan Gong. On arrival he was enrolled in the ranks. He told fortunes in the Beiping markets and was often accurate. Market folk spread tales that he was uncanny. The monk Daoyan commended him to the Prince of Yan. As the Prince of Yan prepared to rise in arms, he feigned illness and had Zhong cast the hexagram; the reading was 'casting the seal and mounting the carriage.' Zhong said: 'This omen speaks of rank beyond words. Thereafter he frequented the Yan mansion and repeatedly urged the great enterprise on the strength of his readings. The prince came to trust him utterly. When the Yan forces rose, the prince appointed his own staff, made Zhong Recorder of the princely establishment, and left him to defend Tongzhou. Southern forces besieged the city again and again without success. Later he was called to the prince's side; doubts were put to him at once, his divinations proved ever more reliable, and he offered counsel as well. He was made Right Chief Clerk, assisted in military affairs, and became a trusted strategist.
10
成祖稱帝，論佐命功，擢工部右侍郎，贊世子守北京。 尋召還，進兵部尚書。 帝起兵時，次子高煦從戰有功，許以為太子。 至是，淇國公邱福等黨高煦，勸帝立之。 獨忠以為不可，在帝前歷數古嫡孽事。 帝不能奪，密以告解縉、黃淮、尹昌隆。 縉等皆以忠言為是。 於是立世子為皇太子，而忠為東宮輔導官，以兵部尚書兼詹事府詹事。 六年命兼輔皇太孫。
When the prince became emperor, Zhong was rewarded for founding service with the post of Right Vice Minister of Works and was left to help the heir apparent hold Beijing. He was soon recalled and made Minister of War. During the rebellion the emperor's second son, Gaoxu, had fought with distinction and been promised the heirship. Now Qiu Fu, Duke of Qi, and others backed Gaoxu and pressed the emperor to name him heir. Only Zhong objected, and before the throne he cited one after another the disasters of displacing the legitimate heir. The emperor could not override him and secretly informed Xie Jin, Huang Huai, and Yin Changlong. Jin and the others all agreed with Zhong. The heir apparent was then named crown prince; Zhong became an Eastern Palace instructor, holding concurrently the posts of Minister of War and Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent's Household. In the sixth year he was also charged with tutoring the imperial great-grandson.
11
帝北征，留忠與蹇義、黃淮、楊士奇輔太子監國。 是時高煦奪嫡謀愈急，蜚語譖太子。 十二年北征還，悉征東宮官屬下獄。 以忠勛舊不問，而密令審察太子事。 忠言無有。 帝怒。 忠免冠頓首流涕，願連坐以保之。 以故太子得無廢，而宮僚黃淮、楊溥等亦以是獲全。
On the northern campaign the emperor left Zhong with Jian Yi, Huang Huai, and Yang Shiqi to help the crown prince govern. By then Gaoxu's bid for the succession had grown desperate, and whispered calumnies assailed the crown prince. In the twelfth year, after the northern campaign, every Eastern Palace officer was arrested. Zhong was spared on account of his founding merit, but secretly ordered to investigate the crown prince. Zhong reported nothing amiss. The emperor was furious. Zhong doffed his cap, kowtowed with tears, and offered to share punishment in order to shield the heir. Thus the crown prince was not deposed, and palace officers such as Huang Huai and Yang Pu were spared as well.
12
忠起卒伍至大位，甚見親倚，每承顧問，知無不言，然慎密不泄。 處僚友不持兩端，退恒推讓之。 明年四月卒。 給驛歸葬，命有司治祠墓，復其家。 洪熙元年，追贈榮祿大夫少師，謚忠襄。 官子達翰林檢討。 達剛直敢言，仕至長蘆都轉運使。
Raised from the ranks to high office, Zhong enjoyed the emperor's deep trust; on every audience he spoke frankly, yet he was discreet and revealed nothing. Among colleagues he never played both sides; in private he always deferred to others. He died the following April. Courier service was granted for his funeral journey, officials were told to maintain his tomb shrine, and his family was restored to favor. In Hongxi 1 he was posthumously made Grand Mentor of the Palace with the title Grand Master of Splendid Happiness and the posthumous name Zhongxiang. His son Da was made a Hanlin Academician Expositor. Da was forthright and outspoken and rose to Salt Transport Commissioner of Changlu.
13
忠有兄華，負誌節。 忠守通州有功，欲推恩官之，辭不就。 嘗召賜金綺，亦不受。 成祖目為迂叟，放還。 一日，讀《宋史》至王倫附秦檜事，放聲長嘆而逝。 里中稱為「白雲先生」。
Jin Zhong had an elder brother, Hua, who was a man of firm principle. When the court wished to reward Hua for Zhong's defense of Tongzhou, he refused office. Even when summoned and given brocade and silk, he would not take them. The Yongle Emperor called him a stubborn old fellow and let him go home. One day, reading in the Song History how Wang Lun sided with Qin Hui, he sighed aloud and died. His neighbors called him the Master of White Cloud.
14
仁宗立，改兵部，加太子少保。 弋謙以言事忤旨，呂震等交口詆之，惟慶與夏原吉無所言。 帝尋悟，降敕自責，並責震等，震等甚愧此兩人。 山陵事多，趣辦中官有求，執不與，人多嚴憚之，號為「生李」。 奉命侍皇太子謁孝陵，在途約束將士，秋毫無所擾。 太子欲獵，慶諫止。 及太子還北京，遂留慶南京兵部。
When the Renzong Emperor succeeded, Li Qing was moved to the Ministry of War and made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. When Yi Qian offended the throne by speaking out, Lü Zhen and others denounced him in concert, but only Li Qing and Xia Yuanji held their tongues. The emperor soon saw his error, issued a self-rebuke, and rebuked Zhen and the rest; they were deeply shamed before Qing and Xia. Tomb works pressed hard and palace eunuchs demanded favors, but he would not yield; people feared him and called him 'Living Li.' Sent to accompany the crown prince to the Xiaoling tomb, he kept the troops so disciplined that nothing was disturbed along the way. When the crown prince wished to hunt, Qing dissuaded him. When the crown prince went back to Beijing, Qing remained at the Nanjing Ministry of War.
15
宣德二年，安遠侯柳升討黎利，命慶參贊軍務，許擇部曹賢能者自隨。 師至鎮夷關，升意輕賊，不為備。 郎中史安、主事陳鏞言於慶。 時慶已病甚，強起告升。 升不聽，直前，中伏敗死。 慶病遂篤，明日亦死，一軍盡沒。
In Xuande 2, Marquis Liu Sheng marched against Le Loi; Qing was ordered to advise on military affairs and allowed to take able ministry officers with him. At Zhenyi Pass, Sheng underestimated the enemy and took no precautions. Director Shi An and Registrar Chen Yong warned Qing. Qing was already desperately ill but dragged himself up to warn Sheng. Sheng would not listen, pushed forward, was ambushed, and died. Qing's illness worsened and he died the next day; the entire army was lost.
16
師逵，字九達，東阿人。 少孤，事母至孝。 年十三，母疾，思藤花菜。 逵出城南二十餘里求得之。 及歸，夜二鼓，遇虎。 逵驚呼天，虎舍之去。 母疾尋愈。 洪武中，以國子生從御史出按事，為御史所劾，逮至。 帝偉其貌，釋之，謫御史臺書案牘。 久之，擢御史，遷陜西按察使。 獄囚淹系千人，浹旬盡決遣，悉當其罪。 母憂去官，廬墓側，不飲酒食肉者三年。 成祖即位，召為兵部侍郎，改吏部。 永樂四年建北京宮殿，分遣大臣出采木。 逵往湖、湘，以十萬眾入山辟道路，召商賈，軍役得貿易，事以辦。 然頗嚴刻，民不堪，多從李法良為亂。 左中允周幹劾之。 時仁宗監國，以帝所特遣，置不問。 八年，帝北征，命總督饋餉，逵請量程置頓堡，更遞轉輸。 從之。
Shi Kui, styled Jiuda, came from Dong'e. He lost his father young and served his mother with the utmost devotion. At thirteen, when his mother fell ill, she craved wisteria greens. Kui walked more than twenty li south of the city to find them. On his return, near the second watch of night, he met a tiger. Kui cried out to Heaven; the tiger let him go. His mother soon recovered. Under Hongwu, as an Imperial Academy student on censorial duty he was impeached by the censor and arrested. The emperor admired his looks, freed him, and demoted him to clerical work at the Censorate. In time he became a censor, then Surveillance Commissioner of Shaanxi. A thousand prisoners languished in jail; within ten days he tried and released them all, and every sentence fit the crime. He resigned for his mother's mourning, built a hut by her tomb, and ate no meat or wine for three years. On the Yongle Emperor's accession he was made Vice Minister of War, then transferred to Personnel. In Yongle 4, as the Beijing palaces were built, senior ministers were sent to procure timber. Kui went to Hunan and Hubei; with a hundred thousand men he cut mountain roads, drew in merchants, and let troops trade so the work was finished. But he was harsh; the people could not endure it and many joined Li Faliang's revolt. Left Palace Companion Zhou Gan impeached him. The crown prince was then regent; because the emperor had personally sent Kui, the charge was ignored. In the eighth year, on the northern campaign, he was put in charge of supplies; Kui proposed relay forts by distance and rotating transport. The emperor approved.
17
逵佐蹇義在吏部二十年，人不敢幹以私。 仁宗嗣位，與趙羾、古樸皆改官南京，而逵進戶部尚書，兼掌吏部。 宣德二年正月卒官，年六十二。
For twenty years Kui assisted Jian Yi at Personnel; no one dared solicit him privately. Under the Renzong Emperor, he, Zhao Gong, and Gu Pu were moved to Nanjing posts, while Kui became Minister of Revenue and also oversaw Personnel. He died in office in the first month of Xuande 2, aged sixty-two.
18
逵廉，不殖生產，祿賜皆分宗黨。 有子八人，至無以自贍。 成祖在北京嘗語左右曰：「六部扈從臣，不貪者惟逵而已。」 古樸，字文質，陳州人。 洪武中以太學生清理郡縣田賦圖籍，還隸五軍斷事理刑。 自陳家貧，願得祿養母。 帝嘉之，除工部主事。 母歿，官給舟歸葬。 服闋，改兵部，累遷郎中。 建文三年擢兵部侍郎。
Kui was honest and amassed nothing; he divided stipends and gifts among his kin. He had eight sons who could scarcely support themselves. At Beijing the Yongle Emperor once told his attendants: 'Of the six ministries' ministers who follow me, only Kui is not greedy. Gu Pu, styled Wenzhi, came from Chenzhou. Under Hongwu, as an academy student he sorted prefectural land-tax registers, then served in the Five Armies Office judging cases. He said his family was poor and he wished for a salary to support his mother. The emperor approved and made him a director in the Ministry of Works. When his mother died, the government gave him a boat for the funeral journey. After mourning he moved to War and rose to director. In Jianwen 3 he became Vice Minister of War.
19
成祖即位，改戶部。 永樂二年，樸奏：「先奉詔令江西、湖廣及蘇、松諸府輸糧北京，今聞並患水潦，轉運艱難，而北京諸郡歲幸豐。 宜發鈔命有司增價收糴，減南方運。」 從之。 營建北京，命采木江西，以恤民見褒。 七年，帝北巡，皇太子監國。 召還，佐夏原吉理戶部。 仁宗即位，改南京通政使。 明年就拜戶部尚書，出督畿內田賦。 師逵病，命樸代之。 宣德三年二月卒於官。
On the Yongle Emperor's accession he was moved to Revenue. In Yongle 2, Pu memorialized: 'An earlier edict required Jiangxi, Huguang, and Suzhou-Songjiang to ship grain to Beijing. All now suffer floods and transport is hard, while the Beijing region has had good harvests. He proposed issuing paper money for local officials to buy grain at a premium and cut southern shipments. The emperor agreed. When timber was gathered in Jiangxi for Beijing, he was praised for sparing the people. In the seventh year the emperor toured the north while the crown prince governed. Pu was recalled to help Xia Yuanji run Revenue. Under the Renzong Emperor he became Nanjing Commissioner of Transmission. The next year he was made Minister of Revenue and sent to oversee capital-region land tax. When Shi Kui fell ill, Pu replaced him. He died in office in the second month of Xuande 3.
20
初，戶部主事劉良不檢，乞中貴人求上考。 樸不可。 良遂誣奏樸罪，樸就逮。 成祖察其誣，得釋。 他日，吏部奏予良誥。 仁宗曰：「此人素無行，且嘗誣大臣，不可與。」 良後果以贓敗。 樸在朝三十余年，自郎署至尚書，確然有守，不通幹請，與右都御史向寶，俱以清介稱。
Earlier, Revenue Director Liu Liang was unscrupulous and asked a palace eunuch to secure a top rating. Pu refused. Liang then falsely accused Pu, who was arrested. The Yongle Emperor saw the charge was false and freed him. Later Personnel memorialized granting Liang a commendation edict. The Renzong Emperor said: 'This man has always been worthless and once slandered a senior minister; it cannot be granted. Liang was later ruined by corruption. Pu served over thirty years, from director to minister, steadfast and free of solicitations; with Right Censor-in-chief Xiang Bao he was famed for integrity.
21
寶有文學，寬厚愛民，而持身廉直，屢遭困厄不稍易，平居言不及利。 歷仕四十余年，卒之日，家具蕭然。
Bao was learned, generous, and loved the people, yet remained upright; though often in distress he never wavered and never spoke of gain. He served more than forty years and died with bare furnishings at home.
22
與壽同下獄死者，有馬京、許思溫。
Those who died in prison with Chen Shou were Ma Jing and Xu Siwen.
23
京，武功人。 洪武中，以進士授翰林編修，歷左通政、大理卿。 永樂元年為行部左侍郎。 皇太子守北京，命兼輔導，盡誠翊贊，太子甚重之。 數為高煦所譖，謫戍廣西，仍坐前事，逮下獄。
Ma Jing came from Wugong. Under Hongwu, as a presented scholar he became Hanlin Editor, then Left Vice Commissioner of Transmission and Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. In Yongle 1 he was Left Vice Minister of the traveling ministry. When the crown prince held Beijing, he was told to instruct and assist him and won the prince's deep trust. Gaoxu slandered him repeatedly; he was demoted to Guangxi, then arrested again on the old charge.
24
思溫，字叔雍，吳人。 以國子生署刑部主事，累官北平按察副使。 燕師起，思溫佐城守有勞，擢刑部侍郎，改吏部，兼贊善。 亦以讒下獄。 皆瘐死。 仁宗立，贈京少傅，謚文簡； 思溫吏部尚書，官其子俊贊禮郎，進學翰林。
Xu Siwen, styled Shuyong, came from Wu. As an academy student he served as acting Registrar of Punishments and rose to Beiping Vice Surveillance Commissioner. When the Yan forces rose, he helped defend the city, became Vice Minister of Punishments, then Personnel, and also Instructor. He too was slandered and imprisoned. Both died of illness in prison. Under the Renzong Emperor, Jing was posthumously made Junior Tutor of the Palace with the name Wenjian; Siwen was made Minister of Personnel; his son Jun was made Supporter of Rites and entered the Hanlin.
25
劉季{虎}，名韶，以字行，余姚人。 洪武中進士。 除行人。 使朝鮮，卻其饋贐。 帝聞，賜衣鈔，擢陜西參政。 陜有逋賦，有司峻刑督，民不能輸。 季{虎}至，與其僚分行郡縣，悉縱械者，緩為期。 民感其德，悉完納。 陜不產碙砂，而歲有課。 季{虎}言於朝，罷之。 洪渠水溢，為治堰蓄泄，遂為永利。
Liu Jichi, personal name Shao, known by his style name, came from Yuyao. He passed the metropolitan examination under Hongwu. He was made a courier. As envoy to Korea he refused their gifts. The emperor heard of it, gave him robes and paper money, and made him Shaanxi Administration Vice Commissioner. Shaanxi had tax arrears; officials used harsh punishment and the people could not pay. Jichi and his staff toured the prefectures, freed those in shackles, and granted extensions. The people were grateful and paid in full. Shaanxi produced no sal ammoniac, yet paid an annual levy for it. Jichi memorialized and the levy was abolished. When the Hong Canal flooded, he built dikes to store and release the water to lasting benefit.
26
建文中，召為刑部侍郎。 民有為盜所引者，逮至，盜已死，乃召盜妻子使識之。 聽其辭，誣也，釋之。 吏虧官錢，誣千余人，悉為辨免。 河陽逆旅朱、趙二人異室寢。 趙被殺，有司疑朱殺之，考掠誣服。 季{虎}獨曰：「是非夙仇，且其裝無可利。」 緩其獄，竟得殺趙者。 揚州民家，盜夜入殺人，遺刀屍傍，刀有記識，其鄰家也。 官捕鞫之。 鄰曰：「失此刀久矣。」 不勝掠，誣服。 季{虎}使人懷刀就其裏潛察之。 一童子識曰：「此吾家物。」 盜乃得。
Under Jianwen he was summoned as Vice Minister of Punishments. A man was implicated by a thief; when brought in the thief was dead, so Jichi had the thief's family identify him. Their testimony showed a false charge, and he released the man. A clerk owed official funds and falsely implicated over a thousand people; Jichi cleared them all. At an inn in Heyang, Zhu and Zhao slept in separate rooms. Zhao was killed; officials suspected Zhu and tortured him into a false confession. Jichi alone said: 'They were not old enemies, and his luggage held nothing worth killing for. He delayed the trial and eventually found Zhao's real killer. In Yangzhou a thief killed someone at night and left a marked knife by the body that pointed to a neighbor. Officials arrested and interrogated the neighbor. The neighbor said: 'I lost that knife long ago. Under torture he falsely confessed. Jichi sent someone with the knife to search the neighbor's house in secret. A child recognized it and said: 'That is ours. The real thief was caught.
27
永樂初，纂修《大典》，命姚廣孝、解縉及季{虎}總其事。 八年坐失出下獄，謫外任。 逡巡未行，復下獄。 久之始釋。 命以儒服隸翰林院編纂。 尋授工部主事，卒於官。
Early in Yongle, Yao Guangxiao, Xie Jin, and Jichi were put in charge of compiling the Great Compendium. In the eighth year he was jailed for an error in releasing prisoners and demoted to an outside post. Before he could leave he was imprisoned again. Only after a long interval was he freed. He was ordered to compile at the Hanlin in scholar's dress. He was soon made a Works director and died in office.
28
劉辰，字伯靜，金華人。 國初，以署典簽使方國珍。 國珍飾二姬以進，叱卻之。 李文忠駐師嚴州，辟置幕下。 元帥葛俊守廣信，盛冬發民浚城濠。 文忠止之。 不聽。 文忠怒，欲臨以兵。 辰請往諭之。 俊悔謝，事遂已。 以親老辭歸。
Liu Chen, styled Bojing, came from Jinhua. At the dynasty's founding he served as acting Document Attendant to Fang Guozhen. Guozhen offered him two adorned concubines; he refused them. Li Wenzhong camped at Yanzhou and took him onto his staff. Marshal Ge Jun held Guangxin and in deep winter conscripted the people to dredge the moat. Wenzhong forbade it. Ge Jun would not listen. Wenzhong grew angry and meant to march against him. Chen asked to go and reason with him. Ge Jun repented and the matter ended. He pleaded aged parents and went home.
29
建文中，用薦擢監察御史，出知鎮江府，勤於職事。 瀕江田八十余頃，久淪於水，賦如故，以辰言得除。 京口閘廢，轉漕者道新河出江，舟數敗。 辰修故閘，公私皆便。 漕河易涸，仰練湖益水，三鬥門久廢。 辰修築之，運舟既通，湖下田益稔。
Under Jianwen, recommended, he became Investigating Censor and then prefect of Zhenjiang, where he was diligent. Over eighty qing of riverside land had lain under water while tax was still levied; Chen had the levy removed. The Jingkou sluice was abandoned; transport used the new canal to reach the river and boats were often wrecked. Chen restored the old sluice, to everyone's benefit. The canal often ran dry; water from Lian Lake helped, but three sluice gates had long been ruined. Chen rebuilt them; transport flowed again and fields below the lake prospered.
30
永樂初，李景隆言辰知國初事，召至，預修《太祖實錄》。 遷江西布政司參政，奏蠲九郡荒田糧。 歲饑，勸富民貸饑者，蠲其徭役以為之息。 官為立券，期年而償。 辰居官廉勤尚氣，與都司、按察使不相得，數爭，坐免官。 十四年起行部左侍郎，復留南京者三年。 帝念其老，賜敕及鈔幣，今致仕。 卒於途，年七十八。
Early in Yongle, Li Jinglong said Chen knew founding-era affairs; he was summoned to help compile the Taizu Veritable Records. He became Jiangxi Administration Vice Commissioner and memorialized remitting tax on wasteland in nine prefectures. In famine he urged the rich to lend to the hungry and remitted their labor service as interest. The government issued bonds repayable within a year. Chen was honest, diligent, and proud; he clashed with the regional military and surveillance commissions, quarreled often, and was dismissed. In the fourteenth year he became Left Vice Minister of the traveling ministry and stayed at Nanjing three more years. Mindful of his age, the emperor gave him an edict, paper money, and retirement. He died on the journey home, aged seventy-eight.
31
楊砥，字大用，澤州人。 洪武末，由進士授行人司右司副。 上疏言：「揚雄為莽大夫，貽譏萬世。 董仲舒《天人三策》及正誼明道之言，足以扶翼世教。 今孔廟從祀有雄無仲舒，非是。」 帝從之。 歷官湖廣布政司參議。 建文中，言：「帝堯之德始於親九族。 今宜惇睦諸藩，無自剪枝葉。」 不報。 父喪歸。
Yang Di, styled Dayong, came from Zezhou. Late in Hongwu, as a presented scholar he became Right Assistant Director of the Courier Office. He memorialized: 'Yang Xiong served Wang Mang as Grand Master and has been mocked for ages. Dong Zhongshu's Three Strategies and his doctrine of righteous principle could uphold the age's teaching. Yet the Confucian temple honors Xiong but not Zhongshu—that is wrong. The emperor agreed. He served as Huguang Administration Vice Commissioner. Under Jianwen he said: 'Emperor Yao's virtue began in cherishing his kin. Now the feudal princes should be treated with cordial harmony, not pruned like branches. There was no response. He went home for his father's mourning.
32
砥剛介有守，尤篤孝行。 十六年，母喪哀毀，未至家，卒。
Di was upright and principled, especially filial. In the sixteenth year, mourning his mother, he grieved himself to death on the road home.
33
虞謙，字伯益，金壇人。 洪武中，由國子生擢刑部郎中，出知杭州府。
Yu Qian, styled Boyi, came from Jintan. Under Hongwu, from the Imperial Academy he became Punishments director, then prefect of Hangzhou.
34
建文中請限僧道田，人無過十畝，余以均給貧民。 從之。 永樂初召為大理寺少卿。 時有詔。 建文中，上言改舊制者悉面陳。 謙乃言前事請罪。 帝見謙怖，笑曰：「此秀才辟老、佛耳。」 釋弗問。 而僧道限田制竟罷。 都察院論誆騙罪，準洪武榜例梟首以徇。 謙奏：「比奉詔準律斷罪，誆騙當杖流，梟首非詔書意。」 帝從之。 天津衛倉災，焚糧數十萬石。 御史言主者盜用多，縱火自蓋。 逮幾八百人，應死者百。 謙白其濫，得論減。
Under Jianwen he proposed limiting monastic and Daoist land to ten mu per person and distributing the rest to the poor. The proposal was adopted. Early in Yongle he was summoned as Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. An edict was issued. Under Jianwen, anyone who had changed old institutions was to report in person. Qian then confessed his earlier proposal and asked to be punished. Seeing Qian frightened, the emperor laughed: 'This scholar only wanted to drive out Laozi and Buddha. He released him without further inquiry. The monastic land limit was nevertheless abolished. The Censorate sentenced fraud under the Hongwu posted example of decapitation. Qian memorialized: 'The new edict requires judging by the code; fraud warrants beating and exile, not decapitation. The emperor agreed. Fire at the Tianjin garrison granary destroyed hundreds of thousands of piculs of grain. Censors said the chief had embezzled heavily and set the fire to cover it. Nearly eight hundred were arrested and a hundred faced death. Qian showed the case was excessive and secured lighter sentences.
35
七年，帝北巡，皇太子奏謙為右副都御史。 明年，偕給事中杜欽巡視淮、鳳抵陳州災傷，免田租，贖民所鬻子女。 明年，謙請振，太子諭之曰：「軍民困極，而卿等從容請啟，彼汲黯何如人也。」 尋命督兩浙、蘇、松諸府糧，輸南、北京及徐州、淮安。 富民賂有司，率得近地，而貧民多遠運。 謙建議分四等：丁多糧最少者運北京，次少者運徐州，丁糧等者運南京、淮安，丁少糧多者存留本土。 民利賴之。 又言：徐州、呂梁二洪，行舟多阻。 請每洪增挽夫二百，月給廩； 官牛一百，暇時聽民耕，大舟至，用以挽。 人以為便。 嘗督運木，役者大疫。 謙令散處之，疫遂息。 未幾，偕給事中許能巡撫浙江。
In the seventh year, while the emperor toured north, the crown prince made Qian Right Vice Censor-in-chief. The next year, with Du Qin, he inspected disaster areas from Huai-Feng to Chenzhou, remitted land tax, and redeemed children the people had sold. When Qian asked to open relief, the crown prince said: 'People are starving and you ask at leisure—what would Ji An think? He was soon ordered to supervise grain in Zhejiang, Suzhou, and Songjiang for delivery to Nanjing, Beijing, Xuzhou, and Huai'an. The rich bribed officials for nearby routes; the poor hauled grain long distances. Qian proposed four grades: most laborers and least grain to Beijing; next to Xuzhou; equal labor and grain to Nanjing and Huai'an; least labor and most grain to stay home. The people benefited greatly. He also said the Xuzhou and Lüliang rapids blocked shipping. He asked for two hundred haulers at each rapid with monthly rations; and a hundred government oxen for peasants to farm in slack season and haul large boats when they arrived. People found this convenient. Once, supervising timber transport, laborers suffered a great epidemic. Qian had them dispersed to lodging and the epidemic ceased. Soon, with Xu Neng, he toured and pacified Zhejiang.
36
仁宗即位，召還，改大理寺卿。 時呂升為少卿，仰瞻為丞，而謙又薦嚴本為寺正。 帝方矜慎刑獄，謙等亦悉心奏當。 凡法司及四方所上獄，謙等再四參復，必求其平。 嘗語人曰：「彼無憾，斯我無憾矣。」 嘗應詔上言七事，皆切中時務。 有言其奏事不密，市恩於外者。 帝怒，降少卿。 一日，楊士奇奏事畢，不退。 帝問：「欲何言，得非為虞謙乎？」 士奇因具白其誣，且言謙歷事三朝，得大臣體。 帝曰：「吾亦悔之。」 遂命復職。 宣宗立，謙言：「舊制，犯死罪者，罰役終身。 今所犯不等，宜依輕重分年限。」 報可。 宣德二年三月卒於官。 謙美儀觀，風采凝重。 工詩畫，自負才望。 工部侍郎蘇瓚以鄙猥班謙上，恒怏怏，人以是隘其量雲。
Under the Renzong Emperor he was recalled and made Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Lü Sheng was vice minister, Yang Zhan assistant minister, and Qian recommended Yan Ben as court director. The emperor was cautious with punishments; Qian and the others judged with care. Every case from the judicial offices and the provinces they reviewed again and again for fairness. He once said: 'If they have no grievance, I have no grievance. Once he answered an edict with seven proposals, all timely. Someone said he leaked memorials and curried favor abroad. The emperor was angry and demoted him to vice minister. One day Yang Shiqi finished his business but did not leave. The emperor asked: 'What more do you want to say—is it Yu Qian? Shiqi explained the slander and said Qian had served three reigns with a great minister's bearing. The emperor said: 'I regret it too. He then ordered Qian restored to office. Under the Xuande Emperor, Qian said: 'Under the old system, capital offenders served labor for life. Offenses differ now; terms should vary with severity. The court approved. He died in office in the third month of Xuande 2. Qian was handsome and grave in manner. He wrote poetry and painted, and prided himself on his gifts. Works Vice Minister Su Zan, though coarse, ranked above him; Qian was always resentful, and people said his spirit was small.
37
呂升，山陰人。 永樂初為溧陽教諭，歷官江西、福建按察僉事，所至有清慎聲。 入為大理寺少卿。 宣德八年致仕卒。
Lü Sheng came from Shanyin. Early in Yongle he taught at Liyang, then served as Surveillance Vice Commissioner in Jiangxi and Fujian, famed everywhere for integrity. He entered the capital as Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. He retired in Xuande 8 and died.
38
仰瞻，長洲人。 永樂中由虎賁衛經歷遷大理寺丞。 正統間，宦官王振用事，百官多奔走其門，惟瞻與大理卿薛瑄不往。 會與瑄辨殺夫冤獄，益忤振，下獄，謫戍大同。 景泰初，召為右寺丞，執法愈堅，在位者多不悅。 移疾歸，加大理少卿。
Yang Zhan came from Changzhou. Under Yongle he rose from the Tiger Guard Regiment to Assistant Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. In the Zhengtong era, when Wang Zhen held power, officials flocked to his door, but only Zhan and Chief Minister Xue Xuan stayed away. When he and Xuan overturned a wrongful wife-murder case, he further offended Zhen, was jailed, and sent to garrison Datong. Early in Jingtai he was recalled as Right Assistant Minister and grew stricter in law, displeasing many colleagues. He pleaded illness and went home, with the added title of Vice Minister.
39
嚴本，字誌道，江陰人。 少通群籍，習法律，以傅霖《刑統賦》辭約義博，註者非一，乃著《輯義》四卷。 永樂十一年以薦征，試以疑律，敷析明暢。 授刑部主事。 侍郎張本掌部事，官吏少當意者，獨重本，疑獄輒俾訊之。 奉命使徽州，時督辦後期，例罰工，本不忍迫民。 或以為言，本曰：「吾辦矣。」 蓋已寓書其子，鬻田為工作償也。
Yan Ben, styled Zhidao, came from Jiangyin. Youthfully learned in many books and law, he found Fu Lin's Rhymed Compendium of the Penal Code concise yet broad; though many had annotated it, he wrote Collected Explanations in four juan. In Yongle 11 he was summoned on recommendation and, tested on doubtful statutes, analyzed them clearly. He was made a Punishments director. Vice Minister Zhang Ben ran the ministry; few officials pleased him, but he valued Ben alone and sent him doubtful cases. Sent to Huizhou, when supervision ran late the rule was labor service; Ben would not press the people. When criticized, Ben said: 'I will handle it. He had already written his son to sell fields to pay the labor fine.
40
仁宗立，以刑部尚書金純及虞謙薦，改大理寺正。 斷獄者多以「知情故縱」及「大不敬」論罪。 本爭之曰：「律自叛逆數條外，無『故縱』之文。 即『不敬』，情有重輕，豈可概入重比？」 謙韙之，悉為駁正。 良鄉民失馬，疑其鄰，告於丞，拷死。 丞坐決罰不如法，當徒，而告者坐絞。 本曰：「丞罪當。 告者因疑而訴，律以誣告致死，是丞與告者各殺一人，可乎？」 駁正之。 莒縣屯卒奪民田，民訟於官，卒被笞。 夜盜民驢，民搜得之。 卒反以為誣，擒送千戶，民被禁死。 法司坐千戶徒。 本曰：「千戶生，則死者冤矣。」 遂正其故勘罪。 蘇州衛卒十余人夜劫客舟於河西務，一卒死。 懼事覺，誣鄰舟解囚人為盜，其侶往救見殺。 皆誣服。 本疑之曰：「解人與囚同舟。 為盜，囚必知之。」 按驗，果得實，遂抵卒罪。
Under the Renzong Emperor, on Jin Chun's and Yu Qian's recommendation, he became Director of the Court of Judicial Review. Judges often convicted on 'knowing connivance' and 'great irreverence.' Ben argued: 'Apart from rebellion, the code has no deliberate connivance. Even irreverence has degrees—how can all be lumped into the heaviest penalty?' Qian agreed and all were overturned. In Liangxiang a man lost a horse, suspected his neighbor, and reported to the assistant prefect, who tortured the neighbor to death. The assistant prefect was sentenced to corvée for improper sentencing, but the accuser to strangulation. Ben said: 'The assistant prefect is rightly punished. The accuser sued on suspicion; under the code false accusation causing death—did assistant prefect and accuser each kill a man? How can that be? The sentence was overturned. Juxian garrison soldiers seized civilians' land; the people sued and the soldiers were beaten. At night a soldier stole a donkey; the owner caught him. The soldier claimed slander, seized the owner, and sent him to the company commander; the owner died in custody. The judicial offices sentenced the commander to corvée. Ben said: 'If the commander lives, the dead man is wronged. The commander's crime of deliberate false incrimination was applied. Over ten Suzhou garrison soldiers robbed a passenger boat at Hexi Station by night; one soldier died. Fearing discovery, they accused escorts on a neighboring boat of robbery; when companions came to rescue, they were killed. All confessed under torture. Ben doubted: 'Escorts and prisoners shared a boat. If they were robbers, the prisoners would have known. Investigation proved the truth and the soldiers were punished.
41
本立身方嚴，非禮弗履。 其使徽也，知府饋酒肴亦不受。 年七十八卒。
Ben was upright and strict and would not step outside ritual. As envoy to Huizhou he would not accept even wine and food from the prefect. He died at seventy-eight.
42
湯宗，字正傳，浙江平陽人。 洪武末，由太學生擢河南按察僉事，改北平。 建文時上變，言按察使陳瑛受燕邸金錢，有異謀。 詔逮瑛，安置廣西，而遷宗山東按察使。 坐事，左遷刑部郎中，出知蘇州府。 蘇連歲水，民流，逋租百余萬石。 宗諭富民出米代輸。 富民知其愛民，不三月悉完納。
Tang Zong, styled Zhengchuan, came from Pingyang in Zhejiang. Late in Hongwu, from the Imperial Academy he became Henan Surveillance Vice Commissioner, then moved to Beiping. Under Jianwen he reported that Surveillance Commissioner Chen Ying had taken gold from the Yan mansion and plotted treason. An edict arrested Ying and exiled him to Guangxi; Zong became Shandong Surveillance Commissioner. For an offense he was demoted to Punishments director, then made prefect of Suzhou. Suzhou flooded several years; people fled and over a million piculs of tax were owed. Zong told the wealthy to pay grain on others' behalf. Knowing he loved the people, the wealthy paid in full within three months.
43
贊曰：永、宣之際，嚴飭吏治，職事修舉。 若郁新之理賦，楊砥之馬政，劉季{虎}、虞謙之治獄，可謂能其官矣。 李慶、師逵諸人，清介有執，皆列卿之良也。 陳壽、馬京遭讒早廢，惜乎未竟其用。 金忠奮身卒伍，進自藝術末流，而有士君子之行。 當其侃侃持論於文皇父子間，忠直不撓，卒以誠信悟主，豈不偉哉。
The appraiser says: In the Yongle and Xuande eras, officials were disciplined and duties well performed. Yu Xin in revenue, Yang Di in horse administration, and Liu Jichi and Yu Qian in justice fulfilled their offices. Li Qing, Shi Kui, and the like, pure and principled, were exemplary ministers. Chen Shou and Ma Jing were slandered and cast aside early—pity their talents were wasted. Jin Zhong rose from the ranks and the diviner's trade, yet lived as a gentleman. When he spoke plainly between the Yongle Emperor and his son, unbending in loyalty, and won his lord by sincerity—was that not magnificent?