1
于謙子:冕附:吳寧王偉
Yu Qian's son Mian; appended biographies: Wu Ning and Wang Wei
2
于謙，字廷益，錢塘人。 生七歲，有僧奇之曰：「他日救時宰相也。」 舉永樂十九年進士。
Yu Qian, whose style was Tingyi, came from Qiantang. At the age of seven, a monk took him for remarkable and said, "One day you will be the statesman who rescues the realm. He passed the jinshi examination in the nineteenth year of the Yongle reign.
3
宣德初，授御史。 奏對，音吐鴻暢，帝為傾聽。 顧佐為都御史，待寮屬甚嚴，獨下謙，以為才勝己也。 扈蹕樂安，高煦出降，帝命謙口數其罪。 謙正詞嶄嶄，聲色震厲。 高煦伏地戰慄，稱萬死。 帝大悅。 師還，賞賚與諸大臣等。
Early in the Xuande reign he was made a supervising censor. In audience his speech rang clear and resonant, and the emperor listened with rapt attention. Gu Zuo, the censor-in-chief, was severe with his staff yet showed deference only to Qian, judging Qian's ability to exceed his own. On the campaign to Le'an, Zhu Gaoxu came out to surrender, and the emperor ordered Qian to enumerate his crimes aloud. Qian's righteous words cut like a blade; his voice and bearing were fierce and imposing. Gaoxu prostrated himself, trembling, and declared himself deserving of death ten thousand times over. The emperor was greatly pleased. When the army returned, his rewards matched those of the other chief ministers.
4
出按江西，雪冤囚數百。 疏奏陝西諸處官校為民害，詔遣御史捕之。 帝知謙可大任，會增設各部右侍郎為直省巡撫，乃手書謙名授吏部，超遷兵部右侍郎，巡撫河南、山西。 謙至官，輕騎遍曆所部，延訪父老，察時事所宜興革，即俱疏言之。 一歲凡數上，小有水旱，輒上聞。
Sent to inspect Jiangxi, he righted the wrongful imprisonment of several hundred people. He memorialized that official runners across Shaanxi were preying on the people, and an edict sent censors to seize them. The emperor saw that Qian was fit for heavy responsibility. As new vice-ministerial posts were created in each ministry to serve as provincial grand coordinators, he wrote Qian's name by hand and sent it to the Ministry of Personnel, promoting him directly to Vice Minister of War with grand coordination over Henan and Shanxi. On taking office Qian rode light cavalry through his entire jurisdiction, seeking out elders and assessing what the times required to be changed or kept, then memorialized on everything together. In a single year he submitted several memorials; even a minor flood or drought he reported at once.
5
正統六年疏言：「今河南、山西積谷各數百萬。 請以每歲三月，令府州縣報缺食下戶，隨分支給。 先菽秫，次黍麥，次稻。 俟秋成償官，而免其老疾及貧不能償者。 州縣吏秩滿當遷，預備糧有未足，不聽離任。 仍令風憲官以時稽察。」 詔行之。 河南近河處，時有沖決。 謙令厚築堤障，計裏置亭，亭有長，責以督率修繕。 並令種樹鑿井，榆柳夾路，道無渴者。 大同孤懸塞外，按山西者不及至，奏別設御史治之。 盡奪鎮將私墾田為官屯，以資邊用。 威惠流行，太行伏盜皆避匿。 在官九年，遷左侍郎，食二品俸。
In the sixth year of Zhengtong he memorialized: "Henan and Shanxi now each hold grain reserves of several million bushels. Each March, let prefectures, departments, and counties report households among the poor that lack food, and issue grain to them in turn. Issue beans and broomcorn millet first, then panicled millet and wheat, then rice. Let repayment to the state wait until the autumn harvest, and exempt the elderly, the sick, and the destitute who cannot repay. When prefectural and county officials completed their terms, they should not be allowed to depart if reserve grain still fell short. Surveillance officials should also conduct periodic inspections." The court ordered these measures carried out. Along Henan's rivers, dikes were breached again and again. Qian ordered heavy reinforcement of the dikes, placing a watch pavilion every li, each with a chief charged to supervise repairs. He also ordered trees planted and wells sunk; elms and willows lined the highways so no traveler went thirsty. Datong lay isolated beyond the frontier, beyond the reach of the Shanxi inspector; he memorialized to appoint a separate censor to govern it. He seized all privately reclaimed land held by frontier generals and converted it to official military colonies to support border expenditures. His authority and kindness spread through the region, and brigands hiding in the Taihang Mountains all went to ground. After nine years in office he was promoted to Left Vice Minister with second-rank emolument.
6
初，三楊在政府，雅重謙。 謙所奏，朝上夕報可，皆三楊主持。 而謙每議事京師，空橐以入，諸權貴人不能無望。 及是，三楊已前卒，太監王振方用事。 適有御史姓名類謙者，嘗忤振。 謙入朝，薦參政王來、孫原貞自代。 通政使李錫阿振指，劾謙以久不遷怨望，擅舉人自代。 下法司論死，系獄三月。 已而振知其誤，得釋，左遷大理寺少卿。 山西、河南吏民伏闕上書，請留謙者以千數，周、晉諸王亦言之，乃復命謙巡撫。 時山東、陝西流民就食河南者二十余萬，謙請發河南、懷慶二府積粟以振。 又奏令布政使年富安集其眾，授田給牛種，使裏老司察之。 前後在任十九年，丁內外艱，皆令歸治喪，旋起復。
Earlier, while the Three Yangs held power, they greatly valued Qian. Whatever Qian memorialized was approved the same day, always with the Three Yangs behind it. Yet whenever Qian came to the capital on business he arrived with empty pockets, and the powerful could not help but resent him. By then the Three Yangs had all died, and the eunuch Wang Zhen held sway. There happened to be another censor whose name resembled Qian's and who had once crossed Zhen. On entering court Qian recommended the administrating vice commissioners Wang Lai and Sun Yuanzhen to succeed him. Li Xi, chief of the Office of Transmission, curried favor with Zhen and impeached Qian for resenting his long stagnation and for presumptuously naming his own replacement. The case went to the judicial offices for a death sentence, and he was imprisoned for three months. Zhen eventually learned of the mistake; Qian was released but demoted to vice director of the Court of Revision. Officials and commoners of Shanxi and Henan knelt at the palace gate in thousands to beg that Qian stay; the Zhou and Jin princes spoke as well, and Qian was restored to his grand coordination post. More than two hundred thousand refugees from Shandong and Shaanxi had fled to Henan for food; Qian asked that grain reserves in Henan and Huaqing prefectures be opened for relief. He also memorialized that the provincial administration commissioner Nian Fu should settle the refugees, assign fields, and provide oxen and seed, with village elders to oversee them. In all he served nineteen years; when mourning fell upon him for father or mother he was sent home to observe the rites, then promptly recalled.
7
十三年以兵部左侍郎召。 明年秋，也先大入寇，王振挾帝親征。 謙與尚書鄺埜極諫，不聽。 埜從治兵，留謙理部事。 及駕陷土木，京師大震，眾莫知所為。 郕王監國，命群臣議戰守。 侍講徐珵言星象有變，當南遷。 謙厲聲曰：「言南遷者，可斬也。 京師天下根本，一動則大事去矣，獨不見宋南渡事乎！」 王是其言，守議乃定。 時京師勁甲精騎皆陷沒，所餘疲卒不及十萬，人心震恐，上下無固志。 謙請王檄取兩京、河南備操軍，山東及南京沿海備倭軍，江北及北京諸府運糧軍，亟赴京師。 以次經畫部署，人心稍安。 即遷本部尚書。
In the thirteenth year he was recalled as Left Vice Minister of War. The following autumn Esen invaded in force, and Wang Zhen pressed the emperor to lead the campaign himself. Qian and Minister Kuang Ye remonstrated with all their strength, but were not heard. Ye went with the army; Qian was left to manage the ministry's affairs. When the emperor was captured at Tumu, the capital was convulsed with panic and no one knew what to do. The Prince of Cheng took charge of the realm and ordered the ministers to debate whether to fight or to hold the capital. Court lecturer Xu Xing said the heavens showed ominous signs and urged moving the capital south. Qian said sharply: "Whoever speaks of moving south deserves death. The capital is the foundation of the realm; move it and the cause is lost—have you forgotten how the Song fled south across the Yangzi!" The prince agreed, and the decision to defend the capital was settled. The capital's best armor and cavalry had perished; fewer than a hundred thousand exhausted troops remained. Panic gripped every heart, and court and city alike lacked firm resolve. Qian asked the prince to issue orders summoning training troops from the two capitals and Henan, coastal anti-pirate forces from Shandong and Nanjing, and grain-transport troops from Jiangbei and the Beijing prefectures—all to rush to the capital. He arranged deployments in orderly stages, and minds grew somewhat steadier. He was promptly promoted to Minister of War.
8
郕王方攝朝，廷臣請族誅王振。 而振党馬順者，輒叱言官。 於是給事中王竑廷擊順，眾隨之。 朝班大亂，衛卒聲洶洶。 王懼欲起，謙排眾直前掖王止，且啟王宣諭曰：「順等罪當死，勿論。」 眾乃定。 謙袍袖為之盡裂。 退出左掖門，吏部尚書王直執謙手歎曰「國家正賴公耳。 今日雖百王直何能為！」 當是時，上下皆倚重謙，謙亦毅然以社稷安危為己任。
As the Prince of Cheng held court, ministers called for the extermination of Wang Zhen's entire clan. Wang Zhen's follower Ma Shun shouted down the remonstrating officials. Supervising secretary Wang Hong then struck Shun in open court, and the crowd followed. The court ranks dissolved into chaos; the guards' shouts rose in a roar. The prince, frightened, tried to rise; Qian pushed through the throng, seized the prince's arm, and urged him to announce: "Shun and his like deserve death—let it pass." Only then did the crowd quiet. Qian's sleeves were torn to shreds in the crush. Leaving by the Left Flank Gate, Minister of Personnel Wang Zhi took Qian's hand and sighed: "The realm now depends on you alone. Today a hundred men like me could do nothing!" At that moment court and capital alike leaned on Qian, and Qian in turn took the fate of the realm upon himself without hesitation.
9
初，大臣憂國無主，太子方幼，寇且至，請皇太后立郕王。 王驚謝至再。 謙揚言曰：「臣等誠憂國家，非為私計。」 王乃受命。 九月，景帝立，謙入對，慷慨泣奏曰：「寇得志，要留大駕，勢必輕中國，長驅而南。 請飭諸邊守臣協力防遏。 京營兵械且盡，宜亟分道募民兵，令工部繕器甲。 遣都督孫鏜、衛穎、張軏、張儀、雷通分兵守九門要地，列營郭外。 都御史楊善、給事中王竑參之。 徙附郭居民入城。 通州積糧，令官軍自詣關支，以贏米為之直，毋棄以資敵。 文臣如軒輗者，宜用為巡撫。 武臣如石亨、楊洪、柳溥者，宜用為將帥。 至軍旅之事，臣身當之，不效則治臣罪。」 帝深納之。
Earlier, ministers feared the realm had no ruler: the heir was young, the enemy was near, and they asked the empress dowager to enthrone the Prince of Cheng. The prince, alarmed, declined again and again. Qian declared aloud: "We act only from concern for the state, not from private ambition." The prince then accepted. In the ninth month the Jing Emperor was enthroned. Qian came before him, weeping as he spoke: "The enemy has triumphed and will hold the emperor hostage; they will surely despise China and drive south in force. Order every frontier commander to cooperate in defense. The capital garrison's arms are nearly gone—recruit militia at once along several routes, and have the Ministry of Works repair armor and weapons. Send the military commissioners Sun Tang, Wei Ying, Zhang Yuan, Zhang Yi, and Lei Tong to hold the nine gates' critical points with divided forces, and pitch camps outside the walls. Let Censor-in-chief Yang Shan and supervising secretary Wang Hong assist them. Move residents from the suburbs inside the walls. For grain stored at Tongzhou, let troops draw it themselves at the passes, paying with surplus rice so nothing is abandoned to the enemy. Civil officials such as Xuan Ni should serve as grand coordinators. Military men such as Shi Heng, Yang Hong, and Liu Pu should serve as commanders. As for the conduct of war, I will answer for it myself—if I fail, punish me." The emperor accepted his counsel wholeheartedly.
10
十月敕謙提督各營軍馬。 而也先挾上皇破紫荊關直入，窺京師。 石亨議斂兵堅壁老之。 謙不可，曰：「奈何示弱，使敵益輕我。」 亟分遣諸將，率師二十二萬，列陣九門外：都督陶瑾安定門，廣寧伯劉安東直門，武進伯硃瑛朝陽門，都督劉聚西直門，鎮遠侯顧興祖阜成門，都指揮李端正陽門，都督劉得新崇文門，都指揮湯節宣武門，而謙自與石亨率副總兵范廣、武興陳德勝門外，當也先。 以部事付侍郎吳寧，悉閉諸城門，身自督戰。 下令，臨陣將不顧軍先退者，斬其將。 軍不顧將先退者，後隊斬前隊。 於是將士知必死，皆用命。 副總兵高禮、毛福壽卻敵彰義門北，擒其長一人。 帝喜，令謙選精兵屯教場以便調用，復命太監興安、李永昌同謙理軍務。
In the tenth month an edict placed Qian in overall command of all camp forces. Esen, holding the captive emperor, broke through Zijing Pass and pressed toward the capital. Shi Heng urged pulling troops inside the walls and waiting the enemy out. Qian refused: "How can we show weakness and invite the enemy to despise us further?" He immediately sent out his generals with two hundred twenty thousand men, drawing up battle lines outside the nine gates: Tao Jin at Anding, Liu An at Dongzhi, Zhu Ying at Chaoyang, Liu Ju at Xizhi, Gu Xingzu at Fucheng, Li Duan at Zhengyang, Liu Dexin at Chongwen, Tang Jie at Xuanwu—while Qian himself, with Shi Heng, Fan Guang, and Chen De, took position outside Desheng Gate to meet Esen head-on. He left ministry affairs to Vice Minister Wu Ning, shut every gate, and supervised the fighting in person. He issued orders: any general who retreats before his men will be executed. Any soldier who retreats before his commander will be cut down by the rank behind. Officers and men knew they faced certain death, and all fought as ordered. Vice commanders Gao Li and Mao Fushou drove the enemy back north of Zhangyi Gate and captured one of their leaders. The emperor was pleased and ordered Qian to select elite troops and hold them on the drill ground for rapid deployment; eunuchs Xing'an and Li Yongchang were again assigned to assist Qian in military affairs.
11
初，也先深入，視京城可旦夕下。 及見官軍嚴陣待，意稍沮。 叛閹喜寧嗾使邀大臣迎駕，索金帛以萬萬計，復邀謙及王直、胡濙等出議。 帝不許，也先氣益沮。 庚申，寇窺德勝門。 謙令亨設伏空舍，遣數騎誘敵。 敵以萬騎來薄，副總兵范廣發火器，伏起齊擊之。 也先弟孛羅、平章卯那孩中砲死。 寇轉至西直門，都督孫堂禦之，亨亦分兵至，寇引退。 副總兵武興擊寇彰義門，與都督王敬挫其前鋒。 寇且卻，而內官數百騎欲爭功，躍馬競前。 陣亂，興被流矢死，寇逐至土城。 居民升屋，號呼投磚石擊寇，嘩聲動天。 王竑及福壽援至，寇乃卻。 相持五日，也先邀請既不應，戰又不利，知終弗可得志，又聞勤王師且至，恐斷其歸路，遂擁上皇由良鄉西去。 謙調諸將追擊，至關而還。 論功，加謙少保，總督軍務。 謙曰：「四郊多壘，卿大夫之恥也，敢邀功賞哉！」 固辭，不允。 乃益兵守真、保、涿、易諸府州，請以大臣鎮山西，防寇南侵。
At first Esen had driven deep inland, expecting to take the capital within a day. When he saw government troops drawn up in tight formation awaiting him, his confidence faltered. The defecting eunuch Xi Ning urged them to summon ministers to welcome the captive emperor, demanding gold and silk by the myriad, and again invited Qian, Wang Zhi, Hu Ying, and others to come out and negotiate. The emperor refused, and Esen's ardor cooled further. On the gengshen day the enemy probed Desheng Gate. Qian had Heng lay ambush in empty buildings and sent a few horsemen to bait the enemy. Ten thousand enemy horsemen pressed in; Vice Commander Fan Guang fired his guns, and the ambush rose as one to strike them down. Esen's brother Boluo and the pingzhang Onahai were killed by cannon fire. The enemy shifted to Xizhi Gate; Sun Tang held them off, and Heng arrived with reinforcements, and the invaders withdrew. Wu Xing attacked the enemy at Zhangyi Gate; Wang Jing joined him and blunted the vanguard. The enemy was on the verge of retreat when several hundred eunuch horsemen, eager for glory, spurred ahead in a reckless charge. The formation broke; Xing fell to a stray arrow, and the enemy chased the rout to the earthen wall. Residents climbed to their rooftops, shouting and hurling bricks and stones at the invaders until the din shook the sky. Wang Hong and Mao Fushou arrived with reinforcements, and the enemy finally withdrew. After five days of stalemate, Esen's invitations went unanswered and his battles went ill; seeing he could not prevail, and hearing relief armies were near—fearing his retreat would be cut—he led the captive emperor west from Liangxiang. Qian sent the generals in pursuit, halting at the frontier passes. For his merit Qian was made Junior Guardian with overall command of military affairs. Qian said, "When enemies camp at the capital's gates, it is the minister's shame—how dare I claim reward!" He refused firmly, but the court would not hear of it. He reinforced the garrisons at Zhending, Baoding, Zhuozhou, and Yizhou, and asked that a senior minister hold Shanxi against a southern thrust.
12
景泰元年三月，總兵硃謙奏敵二萬攻圍萬全，敕范廣充總兵官禦之。 已而寇退，謙請即駐兵居庸，寇來則出關剿殺，退則就糧京師。 大同參將許貴奏，迤北有三人至鎮，欲朝廷遣使講和。 謙曰：「前遣指揮季鐸、嶽謙往，而也先隨入寇。 繼遣通政王復、少卿趙榮，不見上皇而還。 和不足恃，明矣。 況我與彼不共戴天，理固不可和。 萬一和而彼肆無厭之求，從之則坐敝，不從則生變，勢亦不得和。 貴為介胄臣，而恇怯如此，何以敵愾，法當誅。」 移檄切責。 自是邊將人人主戰守，無敢言講和者。
In the third month of Jingtai 1, Commander Zhu Qian reported twenty thousand enemies besieging Wanquan; Fan Guang was ordered to take command of the defense. When the enemy withdrew, Qian proposed stationing troops at Juyong: sally out to fight when the enemy came, fall back on the capital's grain when they retreated. Xu Gui, vice general at Datong, reported that three men from the north had arrived seeking peace talks with the court. Qian said, "We once sent Commanders Ji Duo and Yue Qian—and Esen invaded right behind them. We then sent Wang Fu and Zhao Rong—they returned without even seeing the captive emperor. Peace cannot be trusted. That much is plain. We and they cannot live under the same sky; by right there can be no peace. Even if we made peace, their demands would know no end; yield and we exhaust ourselves, refuse and war reignites—in either case peace is impossible. A man who wears armor and yet shows such cowardice—how can he fight the enemy? By law he deserves death." He sent a stern rebuke by dispatch. From then on every frontier commander argued for war and defense; none dared speak of peace.
13
初，也先多所要脅，皆以喜寧為謀主。 謙密令大同鎮將擒寧，戮之。 又計授王偉誘誅間者小田兒。 且因諜用間，請特釋忠勇伯把台家，許以封爵，使陰圖之。 也先始有歸上皇意，遣使通款，京師稍解嚴。 謙上言：「南京重地，撫輯須人。 中原多流民，設遇歲荒，嘯聚可虞。 乞敕內外守備及各巡撫加意整飭。 防患未然，召還所遣召募文武官及鎮守中官在內地者。」
At first Esen's endless demands and threats all traced to Xi Ning as mastermind. Qian secretly ordered the Datong commander to seize Xi Ning and execute him. He also set Wang Wei to lure and kill the Mongol agent Xiaotian'er. Through espionage he arranged the release of Batai's family, promising them titles if they would work against Esen from within. Esen began to consider returning the captive emperor, sent envoys to negotiate, and the capital eased its alert. Qian memorialized: "Nanjing is a vital post and needs a capable hand. The central plains hold many refugees; in a famine year they might rise in bands. Order every garrison commander and grand coordinator to tighten discipline. Guard against trouble before it arises, and recall the recruitment officers and interior eunuch supervisors dispatched to the provinces."
14
于時八月，上皇北狩且一年矣。 也先見中國無釁，滋欲乞和，使者頻至，請歸上皇。 大臣王直等議遣使奉迎，帝不悅曰：「朕本不欲登大位，當時見推，實出卿等。」 謙從容曰：「天位已定，寧復有他，顧理當速奉迎耳。 萬一彼果懷詐，我有辭矣。」 帝顧而改容曰：「從汝，從汝。」 先後遣李實、楊善往。 卒奉上皇以歸，謙力也。
It was now the eighth month; the captive emperor had been held in the north nearly a year. Esen, finding no weakness in China, grew eager for peace; envoys came again and again asking for the emperor's return. Wang Zhi and other ministers proposed sending envoys to welcome him home. The emperor said coldly, "I never wanted this throne; you ministers put me here." Qian said evenly, "The throne is settled; there can be no other outcome. Still, we ought to bring him home at once. If they are deceiving us, we will have grounds to refuse them." The emperor's face softened. "Do as you say. Do as you say." Envoys were sent—first Li Shi, then Yang Shan. The former emperor came home at last, and it was Qian's doing.
15
上皇既歸，瓦剌復請朝貢。 先是，貢使不過百人，正統十三年至三千餘，賞賚不饜，遂入寇。 及是又遣使三千來朝，謙請列兵居庸關備不虞。 京師盛陳兵，宴之。 因言和議難恃，條上安邊三策。 請敕大同、宣府、永平、山海、遼東各路總兵官增修備禦。 京兵分隸五軍、神機、三千諸營，雖各有總兵，不相統一，請擇精銳十五萬，分十營團操。 團營之制自此始。 具《兵志》中。 瓦剌入貢，每攜故所掠人口至。 謙必奏酬其使，前後贖還累數百人。
After the emperor's return, the Oirats again sought tributary relations. Once their missions numbered fewer than a hundred; by Zhengtong 13 they brought three thousand men, and when rewards no longer satisfied them, they invaded. Now they sent three thousand envoys again; Qian asked for troops at Juyong Pass against surprise attack. The capital paraded its forces and held a grand banquet for them. He argued that peace could not be trusted and submitted three policies for securing the frontier. He asked that commanders along the Datong, Xuanfu, Yongping, Shanhai, and Liaodong routes strengthen their defenses. Capital troops were scattered across the Five Armies, Divine Engine, and Three Thousand camps without unified command; he proposed selecting one hundred fifty thousand elite troops in ten brigades for joint training. The regiment system dates from this reform. The details appear in the Military Treatise. On each tributary mission the Oirats brought captives taken in earlier raids. Qian always memorialized to reward the envoys properly; in all he ransomed back several hundred captives.
16
初，永樂中，降人安置近畿者甚眾。 也先入寇，多為內應。 謙謀散遣之。 因西南用兵，每有征行，輒選其精騎，厚資以往，已更遣其妻子，內患以息。 楊洪自獨石入衛，八城悉以委寇。 謙使都督孫安以輕騎出龍門關據之，募民屯田，且戰且守，八城遂復。 貴州苗未平，何文淵議罷二司，專設都司，以大將鎮之。 謙曰：「不設二司，是棄之也。」 議乃寢。 謙以上皇雖還，國恥未雪，會也先與脫脫不花構，請乘間大發兵，身往討之，以復前仇，除邊患。 帝不許。
In the Yongle era many surrendered Mongols had been settled near the capital. When Esen invaded, many acted as collaborators within. Qian planned to disperse them. As campaigns opened in the southwest, he selected their best horsemen for each expedition, paid them well, and eventually sent their families after them—the internal threat subsided. When Yang Hong withdrew from Dushi to the capital, all eight border forts were abandoned to the enemy. Qian sent Sun An through Longmen Pass with light cavalry to reclaim them, organized civilian farming colonies, and fought while holding until all eight forts were recovered. With the Guizhou Miao still unrestful, He Wenyuan proposed abolishing the civil and surveillance commissions and garrisoning the region with a regional command and a great general. Qian said, "Without the two commissions we would be abandoning the province." The proposal was dropped. Though the emperor had returned, national humiliation remained unavenged; when Esen fell out with Togto, Qian urged a major campaign to wipe out the old score and end the border threat. The emperor refused.
17
謙之為兵部也，也先勢方張； 而福建鄧茂七、浙江葉宗留、廣東黃蕭養各擁眾僭號； 湖廣、貴州、廣西、瑤、僮、苗、僚所至蜂起。 前後徵調，皆謙獨運。 當軍馬倥傯，變在俄頃，謙目視指屈，口具章奏，悉合機宜。 僚吏受成，相顧駭服。 號令明審，雖勳臣宿將小不中律，即請旨切責。 片紙行萬里外，靡不惕息。 其才略開敏，精神周至，一時無與比。 至性過人，憂國忘身。 上皇雖歸，口不言功。 東宮既易，命兼宮僚者支二俸。 諸臣皆辭，謙獨辭至再。 自奉儉約，所居僅蔽風雨。 帝賜第西華門，辭曰：「國家多難，臣子何敢自安。」 固辭，不允。 乃取前後所賜璽書、袍、錠之屬，悉加封識，歲時一省視而已。
While Qian held the Ministry of War, Esen's power was at its height; Deng Maoqi in Fujian, Ye Zongliu in Zhejiang, and Huang Xiaoyang in Guangdong each raised armies and declared themselves rulers; and across Huguang, Guizhou, and Guangxi the Yao, Zhuang, Miao, and Lao peoples rose everywhere like swarming bees. Every campaign, before and after, Qian directed alone. When armies were in chaos and crises erupted in an instant, Qian's eyes took in everything and his fingers moved; memorials poured from his lips, every one precisely right. His staff received his orders and looked at one another in awed admiration. His orders were clear and exact; even a meritorious veteran who slightly breached discipline was sharply rebuked by imperial order. A slip of paper from his desk reached ten thousand li away, and none who received it failed to tremble. His talent was keen, his energy inexhaustible—none in his age could match him. His nature was surpassing; he forgot himself in devotion to the state. Though the emperor came home, he never spoke of his own merit. When the heir was changed, those appointed as palace tutors were granted double salary. Other ministers declined once; Qian declined twice. He lived frugally in a house that barely kept out wind and rain. The emperor offered him a mansion at Xihua Gate; he declined: "The realm is in crisis—how dare a minister seek comfort?" He refused firmly, but the court insisted. He sealed away every imperial gift—letters, robes, silver ingots—and opened them only once a year to look them over.
18
帝知謙深，所論奏無不從者。 嘗遣使往真定、河間采野菜，直沽造幹魚，謙一言即止。 用一人，必密訪謙。 謙具實對，無所隱，不避嫌怨。 由是諸不任職者皆怨，而用弗如謙者，亦往往嫉之。 比寇初退，都御史羅通即劾謙上功簿不實。 御史顧躭言謙太專，請六部大事同內閣奏行。 謙據祖制折之，戶部尚書金濂亦疏爭，而言者捃摭不已。 諸御史以深文彈劾者屢矣，賴景帝破眾議用之，得以盡所設施。
The emperor knew Qian's depth and never refused his counsel. Once the emperor sent men to gather wild vegetables in Zhending and Hejian and to make dried fish at Zhigu; a single word from Qian ended it. Before appointing anyone, the emperor always consulted Qian in secret. Qian answered truthfully, hiding nothing and sparing no one's feelings. The incompetent resented him; those less capable than he often envied him. As soon as the enemy withdrew, Censor-in-chief Luo Tong impeached Qian for inflating the merit rolls. Censor Gu Dan said Qian held too much power and asked that major matters of the Six Ministries go through the Grand Secretariat. Qian rebutted them on precedent; Minister of Revenue Jin Lian also protested, but the critics kept finding new grievances. Censors impeached him repeatedly on technicalities; only because the Jing Emperor overruled them could Qian carry out his plans.
19
謙性故剛，遇事有不如意，輒拊膺歎曰：「此一腔熱血，意灑何地！」 視諸選耎大臣、勳舊貴戚意頗輕之，憤者益眾。 又始終不主和議，雖上皇實以是得還，不快也。 徐珵以議南遷，為謙所斥。 至是改名有貞，稍稍進用，嘗切齒謙。 石亨本以失律削職，謙請宥而用之，總兵十營，畏謙不得逞，亦不樂謙。 德勝之捷，亨功不加謙而得世侯，內愧，乃疏薦謙子冕。 詔赴京師，辭，不允。 謙言：「國家多事，臣子義不得顧私恩。 且亨位大將，不聞舉一幽隱，拔一行伍微賤，以裨軍國，而獨薦臣子，于公議得乎？ 臣于軍功，力杜僥倖，決不敢以子濫功。」 亨復大恚。 都督張軏以征苗失律，為謙所劾，與內侍曹吉祥等皆素憾謙。
Qian was by nature stern; when things went wrong he would strike his chest and cry, "This heart's hot blood—where shall it be poured!" He held the timid ministers and the old nobility in thinly veiled contempt, and his enemies multiplied. He had never favored peace talks; though the former emperor owed his return to Qian's policy, he was displeased nonetheless. Xu Xing, who had urged moving the capital south, had been rebuked by Qian. By now he had renamed himself Youzhen and was gradually rising; he gnashed his teeth at the mention of Qian. Shi Heng had been stripped of rank for a military offense; Qian had him pardoned and put in command of the ten camps. He feared Qian and could not have his way, and he disliked Qian besides. At Desheng, Heng won a hereditary marquisate while Qian received no added credit; ashamed, he memorialized recommending Qian's son Mian. An edict summoned Mian to the capital; he declined but was overruled. Qian said, "The realm is in crisis; a minister must not put private favor first. And Heng is a great general—has he ever recommended an obscure worthy or promoted a humble soldier for the good of the army? To recommend only my son—can that satisfy public opinion? In matters of military merit I have blocked every shortcut; I would never let my son claim credit he did not earn." Heng was furious anew. Zhang Yuan had been impeached by Qian for a disciplinary breach in the Miao campaign; he and the eunuch Cao Jixiang and others had long borne grudges against Qian.
20
景泰八年正月壬午，亨與吉祥、有貞等既迎上皇復位，宣諭朝臣畢，即執謙與大學士王文下獄。 誣謙等與黃竑構邪議，更立東宮； 又與太監王誠、舒良、張永、王勤等謀迎立襄王子。 亨等主其議，嗾言官上之。 都御史蕭惟禎定讞。 坐以謀逆，處極刑。 文不勝誣，辯之疾，謙笑曰：「亨等意耳，辯何益？」 奏上，英宗尚猶豫曰：「于謙實有功。」 有貞進曰：「不殺于謙，此舉為無名。」 帝意遂決。 丙戌改元天順，丁亥棄謙市，籍其家，家戍邊。 遂溪教諭吾豫言謙罪當族，謙所薦舉諸文武大臣並應誅。 部議持之而止。 千戶白琦又請榜其罪，鏤板示天下，一時希旨取寵者，率以謙為口實。
On renwu day in the first month of Jingtai 8, after Heng, Jixiang, and Youzhen had restored the former emperor and addressed the court, they seized Qian and Grand Secretary Wang Wen and threw them into prison. They accused Qian and others of plotting with Huang Qiong to install a new heir; and of conspiring with eunuchs Wang Cheng, Shu Liang, Zhang Yong, and Wang Qin to enthrone the Prince of Xiang's son. Heng and his faction drove the case and incited censors to submit the charges. Censor-in-chief Xiao Weizhen pronounced sentence. They were convicted of treason and sentenced to death. Wen could not bear the false charges and argued fiercely; Qian smiled and said, "This is Heng's doing—what good is argument?" When the memorial reached him, the Ying Emperor still hesitated: "Yu Qian truly served the realm well." Youzhen said, "If you do not kill Yu Qian, this restoration has no justification." The emperor's mind was made up. On bingxu the reign was renamed Tianshun; on dinghai Qian was executed in the marketplace, his property confiscated, and his family sent to frontier exile. Wu Yu, instructor at Suixi, said Qian's crime warranted extermination of his clan and that every civil and military official Qian had promoted should die as well. The ministries debated the proposal and blocked it. Company commander Bai Qi asked that Qian's crimes be posted and carved on boards for all to see; for a time every sycophant found in Qian a convenient target.
21
謙自值也先之變，誓不與賊俱生。 嘗留宿直廬，不還私第。 素病痰，疾作，景帝遣興安、舒良更番往視。 聞其服用過薄，詔令上方制賜，至醯菜畢備。 又親幸萬歲山，伐竹取瀝以賜。 或言寵謙太過，興安等曰：「彼日夜分國憂，不問家產，即彼去，令朝廷何處更得此人？」 及籍沒，家無餘資，獨正室鐍鑰甚固。 啟視，則上賜蟒衣、劍器也。 死之日，陰霾四合，天下冤之。 指揮朵兒者，本出曹吉祥部下，以酒酹謙死所，慟哭。 吉祥怒，抶之。 明日復酹奠如故。 都督同知陳逵感謙忠義，收遺骸殯之。 逾年，歸葬杭州。 逵，六合人。 故舉將才，出李時勉門下者也。 皇太后初不知謙死，比聞，嗟悼累日。 英宗亦悔之。
From the day of Esen's invasion Qian swore he would not live while the enemy survived. He often slept in his office and never went home. He suffered chronic phlegm disorder; when it flared the Jing Emperor sent Xing'an and Shu Liang in rotation to check on him. Learning how spare his fare was, the emperor ordered the imperial workshops to supply him—even vinegar and vegetables in full measure. The emperor himself went to Longevity Hill, cut bamboo, and sent the sap as medicine. Some said the emperor favored Qian too much; Xing'an replied, "He shares the state's burdens day and night and never tends his own affairs—where will the court find another like him?" When his estate was seized, nothing remained but his main chamber, locked tight. Inside were only the python robes and swords the emperor had bestowed. On the day he died dark clouds closed in from every side; the realm mourned a great injustice. Commander Duo'er, once under Cao Jixiang, poured wine at the place of Qian's death and wept. Jixiang had him beaten. The next day he returned and poured wine again. Chen Kui, vice military commissioner, moved by Qian's loyalty, gathered his remains and gave them burial. A year later his body was brought home to Hangzhou for burial. Chen Kui came from Liuhe. He had been recommended as a military talent and had studied under Li Shimian. The empress dowager had not known of Qian's death; when she learned of it she mourned for days. The Ying Emperor, too, came to regret it.
22
謙既死，而亨党陳汝言代為兵部尚書。 未一年敗，贓累巨萬。 帝召大臣入視，愀然曰：「于謙被遇景泰朝，死無餘資。 汝言抑何多也！」 亨俯首不能對。 俄有邊警，帝憂形於色。 恭順侯吳瑾侍，進曰：「使于謙在，當不令寇至此。」 帝為默然。 是年，有貞為亨所中，戍金齒。 又數年，亨亦下獄死，吉祥謀反族誅，謙事白。
After Qian's death, Heng's follower Chen Ruyan became Minister of War. Within a year he was exposed; his embezzlements ran to tens of thousands. The emperor summoned ministers to inspect the hoard and said bleakly, "Yu Qian served the Jingtai court honorably and died without a penny to his name. And you, Ruyan—how much you have amassed!" Heng bowed his head in silence. Soon a frontier alarm came, and worry showed on the emperor's face. Marquis Wu Jin, attending him, said, "Had Yu Qian lived, the enemy would never have come this far." The emperor said nothing. That year Youzhen was brought down by Heng and exiled to Jinchi. A few years later Heng died in prison; Jixiang rebelled and his clan was exterminated; Qian's case was cleared.
23
成化初，冕赦歸，上疏訟冤，得復官賜祭。 誥曰：「當國家之多難，保社稷以無虞，惟公道之獨恃，為權奸所並嫉。 在先帝已知其枉，而朕心實憐其忠。」 天下傳誦焉。 弘治二年，用給事中孫需言，贈特進光祿大夫、柱國、太傅，諡肅湣。 賜祠於其墓曰「旌功」，有司歲時致祭。 萬曆中，改諡忠肅。 杭州、河南、山西皆世奉祀不絕。
Early in Chenghua, Mian was pardoned and returned; he memorialized to clear his father's name and won restoration of rank and imperial sacrifices. The patent of nobility read: "In the realm's darkest hour he kept the altars secure, standing alone on public duty, and the powerful traitors destroyed him together. The former emperor knew he was wronged; We truly pity his loyalty." The words spread through the realm. In Hongzhi 2, on supervising secretary Sun Xu's recommendation, he was posthumously made Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, Pillar of the State, and Grand Tutor, with the posthumous title Su Min. A shrine called "Commending Merit" was built at his tomb, with annual sacrifices by the local authorities. Under Wanli his posthumous title was changed to Zhong Su (Loyal and Stern). Hangzhou, Henan, and Shanxi have maintained his cult without interruption ever since.
24
子冕
Son: Mian
25
冕，字景瞻，廕授副千戶，坐戍龍門。 謙冤既雪，並復冕官。 自陳不願武職，改兵部員外郎。 居官有幹局，累遷至應天府尹。 致仕卒。 無子，以族子允忠為後，世襲杭州衛副千戶，奉祠。
Mian, styled Jingzhan, inherited a vice company commandership but was exiled to Longmen when his father fell. When Qian's name was cleared, Mian's rank was restored as well. He asked to leave the military service and was made a vice director in the Ministry of War. He proved capable in office and rose to prefect of Yingtian. He retired and died. He had no son and adopted his clansman Yunzhong, who inherited the Hangzhou guard vice commandership and tended the shrine.
26
附吳寧
Appended biography: Wu Ning
27
吳寧，字永清，歙人。 宣德五年進士，除兵部主事。 正統中，再遷職方郎中。 郕王監國，謙薦擢本部右侍郎。 謙禦寇城外，寧掌部事，命赴軍中議方略。 比還，城門弗啟，寇騎充斥，寧立雨中指揮兵士，移時乃入。 寇既退，畿民猶日數驚，相率南徙。 或議仍召勤王兵。 寧曰：「是益之使驚也，莫若告捷四方，人心自定。」 因具奏行之。 景泰改元，以疾乞歸，後不復出。 家居三十餘年卒。
Wu Ning, styled Yongqing, came from She county. He passed the jinshi in Xuande 5 and was made a director in the Ministry of War. Under Zhengtong he rose twice to director in the Bureau of Appointments. When the Prince of Cheng took charge of the realm, Qian recommended him as Right Vice Minister of War. While Qian fought outside the walls, Ning ran the ministry and was sent to the army to plan strategy. On his return the gates were still shut and enemy horsemen filled the streets; Ning stood in the rain directing troops for a long while before he could enter. Even after the enemy withdrew, people around the capital panicked daily and fled south in bands. Some proposed summoning relief armies again. Ning said, "That would only spread panic. Better to announce victory to the four quarters—then minds will steady themselves." He memorialized accordingly and the court acted on it. When the reign was renamed Jingtai he retired on grounds of illness and never served again. He lived at home more than thirty years and died.
28
寧方介有識鑒。 嘗為謙擇婿，得千戶硃驥。 謙疑之，寧曰：「公他日當得其力。」 謙被刑，驥果歸其喪，葬之。 驥自有傳。
Ning was upright and discerning. He once chose a son-in-law for Qian—the company commander Zhu Ji. Qian was doubtful; Ning said, "You will need his strength one day." When Qian was executed, Ji did return his body and gave him burial. Zhu Ji has his own biography.
29
附王偉
Appended biography: Wang Wei
30
王偉，字士英，攸人。 年十四，隨父謫戍宣府。 宣宗巡邊，獻《安邊頌》，命補保安州學生。 舉正統元年進士，改庶起士，授戶部主事。 英宗北狩，命行監察御史事，集民壯守廣平。 謙引為職方司郎中。 軍書填委，處分多中窾會，遂薦擢兵部右侍郎。 出視邊，叛人小田兒為敵間，謙屬偉圖之。 會田兒隨貢使入，至陽和城，壯士從道旁突出，斷其頭去，使者不敢詰。
Wang Wei, styled Shiying, came from You county. At fourteen he followed his father into exile at Xuanfu. When the Xuande Emperor toured the frontier he presented an "Ode on Securing the Frontier" and was enrolled as a student at Bao'an. He passed the jinshi in Zhengtong 1, entered the Hanlin Academy, and was made a director in the Ministry of Revenue. When the emperor was captured in the north, he was assigned censorial duties and rallied militia to hold Guangping. Qian brought him in as director in the Bureau of Appointments. Military papers piled up; his dispositions usually hit the mark, and Qian recommended him as Right Vice Minister of War. On frontier inspection he found the defector Xiaotian'er acting as an enemy agent; Qian charged Wei to deal with him. When Xiaotian'er entered with a tribute mission and reached Yanghe, braves leaped from the roadside and struck off his head; the envoys dared not protest.
31
偉喜任智數。 既為謙所引，恐嫉謙者目己為朋附，嘗密奏謙誤，冀自解。 帝以其奏授謙，謙叩頭謝。 帝曰：「吾自知卿，何謝為？」 謙出，偉問：「上與公何言？」 謙笑曰：「我有失，望君面規我，何至爾邪？」 出奏示之，偉大慚沮。 然竟坐謙黨，罷歸。 成化三年復官，請毀白琦所鏤板。 逾年，告病歸卒。
Wei delighted in stratagem and cunning. Having risen through Qian's patronage, he feared Qian's enemies would see him as a partisan; he once secretly reported Qian's faults, hoping to clear himself. The emperor handed the memorial to Qian; Qian kowtowed in thanks. The emperor said, "I know you well—why thank me?" Qian left; Wei asked, "What did His Majesty say to you?" Qian smiled: "If I err, tell me to my face—why go behind my back?" He showed Wei the memorial; Wei was deeply ashamed. Yet when Qian fell he was dismissed as a partisan. In Chenghua 3 he was restored to office and asked that Bai Qi's carved libel boards be destroyed. A year later he retired on grounds of illness and died at home.
32
贊曰：于謙為巡撫時，聲績表著，卓然負經世之才。 及時遘艱虞，繕兵固圉。 景帝既推心置腹，謙亦憂國忘家，身系安危，志存宗社，厥功偉矣。 變起奪門，禍機猝發，徐、石之徒出力而擠之死，當時莫不稱冤。 然有貞與亨、吉祥相繼得禍，皆不旋踵。 而謙忠心義烈，與日月爭光，卒得復官賜恤。 公論久而後定，信夫。
The encomium reads: As grand coordinator Yu Qian's reputation and achievements were outstanding; he clearly possessed the talent to govern an age. When crisis struck, he repaired the armies and secured the realm. The Jing Emperor trusted him utterly; Qian in turn forgot home for the state, tied his life to the realm's safety, and held the altars in his heart—his achievement was immense. When the coup at the palace gate struck, disaster erupted in an instant; Xu, Shi, and their faction forced him to his death, and all who lived then called it injustice. Yet Youzhen, Heng, and Jixiang each met ruin in turn, almost before they could turn around. Qian's loyal heart and righteous fervor shine with the sun and moon; in the end his rank was restored and imperial consolation granted. Public judgment takes time to settle—how true that is.