Volume 1 Annals 1: Emperor Gao of Southern Qi 1

太祖高皇帝諱道成，字紹伯，姓蕭氏，小諱鬬將，漢相國蕭何二十四世孫也。何子酇定侯延生侍中彪，彪生公府掾章，章生皓，皓生仰，仰生御史大夫望之，望之生光祿大夫育，育生御史中丞紹，紹生光祿勳閎，閎生濟陰太守闡，闡生吳郡太守永，永生中山相苞，苞生博士周，周生蛇丘長矯，矯生州從事逵，逵生孝廉休，休生廣陵府丞豹，豹生太中大夫裔，裔生淮陰令整，整生即丘令儁，儁生輔國參軍樂子，宋昇明二年九月贈太常，生皇考。蕭何居沛，侍中彪免官居東海蘭陵縣中都鄉中都里。晉元康元年，分東海為蘭陵郡。中朝亂，淮陰令整字公齊，過江居晉陵武進縣之東城里。寓居江左者，皆僑置本土，加以南名，於是為南蘭陵蘭陵人也。

Emperor Gao, canonically titled Grand Progenitor, bore the name Daocheng and the style Shaobo; his clan was Xiao, and in childhood he was called Doujiang. He was the twenty-fourth in descent from Xiao He, Chancellor of State of Han. Xiao He's son Yan, Marquis of Ding of Zan, fathered Palace Attendant Biao; from Biao the line ran through a grand secretariat aide named Zhang, then Hao, Yang, the censor-in-chief Wangzhi, the household minister Yu, the imperial secretary Shao, the director of the imperial secretariat Hong, the administrator of Jiyin Chan, the administrator of Wu Yong, the chancellor of Zhongshan Bao, the erudite Zhou, the chief of Sheqiu Jiao, the provincial attendant Kui, the filial and incorrupt Xiu, a Guangling commandery aide Bao, the grand master of palace counsel Yi, the magistrate of Huaiyin Zheng, the magistrate of Jiuqiu Jun, and the staff officer for assisting the state Yuezi—posthumously raised to Grand Minister of Ceremonies in the ninth month of Song's second Shengming year—who fathered the Imperial Father. Xiao He had lived in Pei; after Palace Attendant Biao was dismissed, he settled in Zhongdu village, Zhongdu township, Lanling county in Donghai. In Jin's first Yuankang year, Donghai was split off to form Lanling commandery. In the turmoil of the central court, Huaiyin's magistrate Zheng, styled Gongqi, crossed the Yangtze and settled in the Eastern City ward of Wujin in Jinling. Émigrés south of the Yangtze had their home districts registered in exile prefectures with "Southern" prefixed to the name; thus the clan became natives of Lanling in Southern Lanling.

皇考諱承之，字嗣伯。少有大志，才力過人，宗人丹陽尹摹之、北兖州刺史源之竝見知重。初為建威府參軍，義熙中，蜀賊譙縱初平，皇考遷揚武將軍、安固汶山二郡太守，善於綏撫。

The Imperial Father bore the name Chengzhi and the style Sibo. In youth he nursed great ambition, and his talent and force outstripped other men. His kinsmen Mu Zhi, administrator of Danyang, and Yuanzhi, inspector of North Yanzhou, both marked him for trust. He first served on the staff of the Establishing Might office. In the Yixi era, when the Shu rebel Qiao Zong was newly subdued, the Imperial Father was made General Who Raises Martial Might and administrator of Angu and Wenshan, and proved adept at pacification.

元嘉初，徙為威烈將軍、濟南太守。七年，右將軍到彥之北伐大敗，虜乘勝破青部諸郡國，別帥安平公乙旃眷寇濟南，皇考率數百人拒戰，退之。虜眾大集，皇考使偃兵開城門。眾諫曰：「賊眾我寡，何輕敵之甚！」皇考曰：「今日懸守窮城，事已危急，若復示弱，必為所屠，惟當見彊待之耳。」虜疑有伏兵，遂引去。青州刺史蕭思話欲委鎮保險，皇考固諫不從，思話失據潰走。明年，征南大將軍檀道濟於壽張轉戰班師，滑臺陷沒，兖州刺史竺靈秀抵罪。宋文帝以皇考有全城之功，手書與都督長沙王義欣曰：「承之理民直亦不在武幹後，今擬為兖州，□□檀征南詳之。」皇考與道濟無素故，事遂寢。遷輔國鎮北中兵參軍、員外郎。

Early in the Yuanjia reign he was transferred to General Who Establishes Martial Glory and made administrator of Jinan. In the seventh year, Right General Dao Yanzhi was routed on the northern expedition. The enemy pressed the victory, overrunning the commanderies of Qing, while a detached force under the Duke of Ping'an, Yizhan Juan, struck at Jinan. The Imperial Father led several hundred men to meet them and beat them back. When the enemy host massed in strength, the Imperial Father ordered his men to stand down and opened the city gates. His officers protested: "The enemy outnumber us—why show them such contempt?" The Imperial Father said, "We cling to a doomed city on a hair trigger. If we show fear again, they will cut us down. We must meet them as though we were the stronger." The enemy suspected a trap and drew off. Qing's inspector Xiao Sihua meant to abandon his seat and cling to mountain strongholds. The Imperial Father argued against it in vain; Sihua lost his footing and fled in rout. The following year Grand General Who Conquers the South Tan Daoji broke off fighting at Shouzhang and marched home; Huatai was lost, and Yanzhou's inspector Zhu Lingxiu was called to account. Emperor Wen of Song, crediting the Imperial Father with saving the city intact, wrote in his own hand to the commander-in-chief, Prince Yixin of Changsha: "Chengzhi governs with integrity and is no laggard in martial affairs. I propose him for Yanzhou—[text lost]—let Grand General Tan Daoji advise." The Imperial Father had no old connection with Tan Daoji, and the appointment came to nothing. He was transferred to central corps commander of the Assisting State and Pacifying North armies and to outer court gentleman.

十年，蕭思話為梁州刺史，皇考為其橫野府司馬、漢中太守。氐帥楊難當寇漢川，梁州刺史甄法護棄城走，思話至襄陽不進，皇考輕軍前行，攻氐偽魏興太守薛健於黃金山，剋之。黃金山，張魯舊戍，南接漢川，北枕驛道，險固之極。健既潰散，皇考即據之。氐偽梁、秦二州刺史趙溫先據州城，聞皇考至，退據小城，薛健退屯下桃城，立柴營，皇考引軍與對壘，相去二里。健與偽馮翊太守蒲（旱）〔早〕子悉力出戰，皇考大破之，健等閉營自守不敢出，思話繼至，賊乃稍退。皇考進至峨公山，為左衞將軍、沙州刺史呂平大眾所圍積日，建武將軍蕭汪之、平西督護段虯等至，表裏奮擊，大破之。難當又遣息和領步騎萬餘人，夾漢水兩岸，援趙溫，攻逼皇考。相拒四十餘日。賊皆衣犀甲，刀箭不能傷。皇考命軍中斷槊長數尺，以大斧搥其後，賊不能當，乃焚營退。皇考追至南城，眾軍自後而進，連戰皆捷，梁州平。詔曰：「承之稟命先驅，蒙險深入，全軍屢剋，奮其忠果，可龍驤將軍。」隨府轉寧朔司馬，太守如故。

In the tenth year Xiao Sihua became inspector of Liang, and the Imperial Father served as his Wild Expansion army marshal and administrator of Hanzhong. The Di chieftain Yang Nandang raided the Han basin. Liang's inspector Zhen Fahu abandoned his city and fled; Sihua halted at Xiangyang and would not advance. The Imperial Father pushed ahead with a light column, attacked the Di puppet administrator of Weixing, Xue Jian, at Golden Mountain, and took him. Golden Mountain had been Zhang Lu's old stronghold, joining the Han country to the south and commanding the post road to the north—ground of the utmost strength. Once Jian's force was broken, the Imperial Father seized the height at once. The Di puppet inspectors of Liang and Qin, Zhao Wen, already held the provincial seat; when he heard the Imperial Father was coming, he fell back to a lesser city. Xue Jian withdrew to Xiatao and threw up stockades. The Imperial Father drew up facing them two li away. Jian and the puppet administrator of Fufeng, Pu —Han— [Zao]'s son threw everything into the fight; the Imperial Father broke them utterly. Jian and his men shut themselves in camp and dared not stir; Sihua came up behind, and the enemy at last drew off. The Imperial Father pushed on to Mount E'gong and was hemmed in for days by the great host of Lü Ping, Left Guards general and inspector of Shazhou. When the Establishing Martial general Xiao Wangzhi and the Pacifying West staff commander Duan Jiu came up, they struck from within and without and won a crushing victory. Nandang also sent his son He with more than ten thousand foot and horse along both banks of the Han to reinforce Zhao Wen and press the Imperial Father. The two sides stood off for more than forty days. The enemy all wore rhinoceros-hide armor against which blade and arrow could not bite. The Imperial Father ordered spears cut several chi long and driven home with great axes from behind; the enemy could not stand before them, burned their camps, and withdrew. The Imperial Father pursued to Nancheng. The main columns came up from behind and fought in succession, winning every engagement, and Liang Province was pacified. An edict declared: "Chengzhi, taking the mandate as vanguard, braved peril in deep country, and with the whole army won again and again, showing loyal valor—let him be made General of Dragon Cavalry." He followed the establishment in transfer to marshal of the Pacifying North army while retaining his governorship.

入為太子屯騎校尉。文帝以平氐之勞，青州缺，將欲授用。彭城王義康秉政，皇考不附，乃轉為江夏王司徒中兵參軍、龍驤將軍、南泰山太守，封晉興縣五等男，邑三百四十戶。遷右軍將軍。元嘉二十四年殂，年六十四。梁土民思之，於峨公山立廟祭祀。昇明二年，贈散騎常侍、金紫光祿大夫。

He entered the capital as Colonel of Rapid Cavalry on the heir apparent's staff. Emperor Wen, honoring the Di campaign, meant to give him the vacant Qingzhou post. Prince Yikang of Pengcheng held the government, and the Imperial Father would not join his faction; he was therefore shifted to central corps commander on Prince Jiangxia's staff as grand minister of education, made General of Dragon Cavalry and administrator of South Taishan, and enfeoffed as fifth-rank baron of Jinxing with three hundred forty households. He was promoted to General of the Right Army. In the twenty-fourth year of Yuanjia he died, at the age of sixty-four. The people of Liang longed for him; on Mount E'gong they raised a temple in his honor. In the second Shengming year he was posthumously made Regular Attendant and Household Minister with the golden seal and purple cord.

太祖以元嘉四年丁卯歲生。姿表英異，龍顙鍾聲，鱗文遍體。儒士雷次宗立學於鷄籠山，太祖年十三，受業，治禮及左氏春秋。十七年，宋大將軍彭城王義康被黜，鎮豫章，皇考領兵防守，太祖舍業南行。十九年，竟陵蠻動，文帝遣太祖領偏軍討沔北蠻。二十一年，伐索虜，至丘檻山，竝破走。二十三年，雍州刺史蕭思話鎮襄陽，啟太祖自隨，戍沔北，討樊、鄧諸山蠻，破其聚落。初為左軍中兵參軍。二十七年，索虜圍汝南戍主陳憲，臺遣寧朔將軍臧質、安蠻司馬劉康祖救之，文帝使太祖宣旨，授節度。聞虜主拓跋燾向彭城，質等回軍救援，至盱眙，太祖與質別軍主胡宗之等五軍，步騎數千人前驅，燾已潛過淮，卒相遇於莞山下，合戰敗績，緣淮奔退，宗之等皆陷沒。太祖還就質固守，為虜所攻圍，甚危急，事寧，還京師。二十九年，領偏軍征仇池。梁州西界舊有武興戍，晉隆安中沒屬氐；武興西北有蘭皋戍，去仇池二百里。太祖擊二壘，皆破之。遂從谷口入關，未至長安八十里，梁州刺史劉秀之遣司馬馬注助太祖攻談堤城，拔之，虜偽河閒公奔走。虜救兵至，太祖軍力疲少，又聞文帝崩，乃燒城還南鄭。襲爵晉興縣五等男。孝建初，除江夏王大司馬參軍，隨府轉太宰，遷員外郎、直閤中書舍人、西（陵）〔陽〕王撫軍參軍、建康令。新安王子鸞有盛寵，簡選僚佐，為北（軍）中郎中兵參軍。陳太后憂，起為武烈將軍，復為建康令，中兵如故。景和世，除後軍將軍。值明帝立，為右軍將軍。

Xiao Daocheng was born in the fourth year of Yuanjia, the cyclical year dingmao. His bearing was striking, with a dragon's brow and a bell's resonance; scale-like markings covered his body. The scholar Lei Cizong founded a school on Cock Cage Mountain; at thirteen Xiao Daocheng took instruction there in ritual and the Zuo Commentary to the Spring and Autumn Annals. In the seventeenth year the Song grand general, Prince Yikang of Pengcheng, was deposed and garrisoned Yuzhang; the Imperial Father led troops to hold the line, and Xiao Daocheng left his studies to go south. In the nineteenth year the Jingling tribes rose; Emperor Wen sent Xiao Daocheng with a detached force against the barbarians north of the Mian. In the twenty-first year, on campaign against the Northern Wei, he reached Mount Qiujian and together routed the enemy. In the twenty-third year Yong's inspector Xiao Sihua held Xiangyang and asked that Xiao Daocheng accompany him; he garrisoned north of the Mian, struck the mountain barbarians of Fan and Deng, and destroyed their settlements. His first post was as central corps commander on the Left Army staff. In the twenty-seventh year of Yuanjia, the Wei laid siege to Chen Xian at the Runan garrison. The court sent Zang Zhi, General Who Pacifies the North, and Liu Kangzu, chief of staff for the Pacification of the Barbarians, to relieve him. Emperor Wen dispatched Xiao Daocheng to deliver the imperial instructions and invest him with operational authority. When word came that the Wei emperor Tuoba Tao was bearing down on Pengcheng, Zang Zhi and his force wheeled about to relieve the city. At Xuyi, Xiao Daocheng, with Zang Zhi's detached commanders Hu Zongzhi and others—five armies, several thousand foot and horse in the van—found that Tao had already stolen across the Huai. They clashed without warning below Mount Guan, were routed, and fled along the river; Zongzhi and his fellows were swallowed up. Xiao Daocheng fell back to hold the line with Zang Zhi. The enemy hemmed them in and the danger was acute; when the crisis passed, he returned to the capital. In the twenty-ninth year he took command of a detached force and marched against Chouchi. Liang Province's western marches had long held the Wuxing garrison, but in Jin's Long'an era it fell to the Di. Northwest of Wuxing stood the Langao garrison, two hundred li from Chouchi. Xiao Daocheng stormed both strongholds and took them. He then entered the pass by Gukou. Still eighty li short of Chang'an, Liang Province inspector Liu Xiuzhi sent his marshal Ma Zhu to help Xiao Daocheng take Tandi; the city fell, and the Wei puppet Prince of Hejian ran. Wei reinforcements arrived while Xiao Daocheng's men were spent and few. When he heard that Emperor Wen had died, he fired the city and withdrew to Nanzheng. He succeeded to the fifth-rank barony of Jinxing County. Early in the Xiaojian reign he was named staff officer to the Prince of Jiangxia's grand marshal; when that household became the Grand Preceptor's establishment he went with it, rising to outer court gentleman, attendant in the Direct Access Office, and aide to the Prince of Western —Ling— [Yang], as military aide on the prince's staff and magistrate of Jiankang. Prince Ziluan of Xin'an stood in the emperor's highest favor; when the prince chose his staff, Xiao Daocheng was appointed to the Northern Army Army post of central corps commander. At the opening of mourning for Empress Dowager Chen he was recalled as General Who Establishes Martial Glory, again made magistrate of Jiankang while retaining his central corps command. During the Jinghe reign he was made General of the Rear Army. When Emperor Ming took the throne, he was promoted to General of the Right Army.

時四方反叛，會稽太守尋陽王子房及東諸郡皆起兵，明帝加太祖輔國將軍，率眾東討。至晉陵，與賊前鋒將程捍、孫曇瓘等戰，一日破賊十二壘。分軍定諸縣，晉陵太守袁摽棄城走，東境諸城相繼奔散。

Rebellion flared on every side. Kuaiji's administrator, Prince Zifang of Xunyang, and the eastern prefectures all took up arms. Emperor Ming gave Xiao Daocheng the rank of General Who Assists the State and sent him east to suppress them. At Jinling he met the rebel van under Cheng Han, Sun Tanwan, and others and in one day shattered twelve encampments. He detached columns to pacify the counties. Jinling's administrator Yuan Biao fled his city, and stronghold after stronghold in the east gave way.

徐州刺史薛安都反彭城，從子索兒寇淮陰，山陽太守程天祚舉城叛，徐州刺史申令孫又降，徵太祖討之。時太祖平東賊還，又將南討，出次新亭，前軍已發，而索兒自睢陵渡淮，馬步萬餘人，擊殺臺軍主孫耿，縱兵逼前軍張永營，告急。明帝聞賊渡，遽追太祖往救之，屯破釜。索兒向鍾離，永遣寧朔將軍王寬據盱眙，遏其歸路。索兒擊破臺軍主高道慶，走之於石鼈，將西歸。王寬與軍主任農夫先據白鵠澗，張永遣太祖馳督寬，索兒東要擊太祖，使不得前。太祖鼓行結陣，直入寬壘，索兒望見不敢發。經數日，索兒引軍頓石梁，太祖追之至葛冢，候騎還云賊至，太祖乃頓軍引管，分兩馬軍夾營外以待之。俄頃，賊馬步奄至，又推火車數道攻戰。相持移日，乃出輕兵攻賊西，使馬軍合擊其後，賊眾大敗，追奔獲其器仗。進屯石梁澗北。索兒夜遣千人來斫營，營中驚，太祖臥不起，宣令左右案部不得動，須臾賊散。太祖議欲於石梁西南高地築壘通南道，斷賊走路，索兒果來爭之，太祖率軍擊破之，賊馬自相踐藉死。索兒走向鍾離，太祖追至黯黮而還。除驍騎將軍，封西陽縣侯，邑六百戶。

Xuzhou inspector Xue Andu revolted at Pengcheng. His nephew Suo'er struck at Huaiyin; Shanyang's administrator Cheng Tianzuo turned his city; inspector Shen Lingsun of Xuzhou also went over. Xiao Daocheng was called up to crush them. Xiao Daocheng had barely finished in the east and was turning south when he halted at Xinting. His vanguard was already abroad, but Suo'er forded the Huai at Suiling with ten thousand-odd horse and foot, killed the court commander Sun Geng, and pressed Zhang Yong's forward camp, crying for relief. When Emperor Ming learned the enemy had crossed the river, he rushed Xiao Daocheng to the rescue. Xiao Daocheng took station at Pofu. Suo'er bore down on Zhongli. Zhang Yong posted Wang Kuan, General Who Pacifies the North, at Xuyi to cut off his retreat. Suo'er broke the court officer Gao Daoqing and chased him to Shibie, then prepared to march west. Wang Kuan and the army commander Ren Nongfu seized Baihe Stream first. Zhang Yong sent Xiao Daocheng at the double to supervise Kuan, but Suo'er swung east to bar his path. Xiao Daocheng beat the drums, dressed his lines, and marched straight into Kuan's camp. Suo'er looked on and did not dare engage. Several days later Suo'er halted at Shiliang. Xiao Daocheng followed him to Gezhong. When scouts reported the enemy at hand, he halted, took the command in hand, and split two cavalry wings to lie in wait beyond the camp. Presently the rebel horse and foot swarmed in, rolling several lines of fire-carts into the battle. The fight wore on until he sent light troops against their western wing and ordered the horse to close on their rear. The rebel host broke; the pursuit heaped up their arms and baggage. He pushed forward and camped north of Shiliang Stream. Suo'er sent a thousand men to raid the camp by night. The lines erupted in alarm, but Xiao Daocheng lay still and gave orders that none should stir from his post; presently the raiders melted away. Xiao Daocheng planned a fort on the heights southwest of Shiliang to open a road south and sever the enemy's retreat. Suo'er came to dispute the ground as foreseen; Xiao Daocheng led his men and broke him, and the rebel horses stampeded each other to death. Suo'er fled toward Zhongli. Xiao Daocheng chased until dark and turned back. He was made General of Rapid Cavalry and enfeoffed as Marquis of Xiyang, with a fief of six hundred households.

遷巴陵王衞軍司馬，隨鎮會稽。江州刺史晉安王子勛遣臨川內史張淹自鄱陽嶠道入三吳，臺軍主沈思仁與偽龍驤將軍任皇、鎮西參軍劉越緒各據險相守。明帝遣太祖領三千人討之。時朝廷器甲皆充南討，太祖軍容寡闕，乃編椶皮為馬具裝，析竹為寄生，夜舉火進軍，賊望見恐懼，未戰而走。還除桂陽王征北司馬、南東海太守、行南徐州事。

He was moved to army marshal on the Prince of Baling's guard staff and went with the prince to garrison Kuaiji. Jiang Province inspector Prince Zixun of Jin'an sent Linchuan's interior administrator Zhang Yan over the Poyang ridge into the Three Wu. The court commander Shen Siren and the rebel generals Ren Huang and Liu Yuexu each held defiles and stood off. Emperor Ming dispatched Xiao Daocheng with three thousand men to bring them to battle. The court's arms had all gone south, and Xiao Daocheng's column was thinly equipped. He plaited palm bark into horse armor, cut bamboo for cavalry screens, and marched by night with torches lifted. The enemy took fright at the sight and ran before a blow was struck. When he returned he was made army marshal on Prince Guiyang's northern campaign staff, administrator of Southern Donghai, and acting inspector of South Xuzhou.

初，明帝遣張永、沈攸之以眾喻降薛安都，謂太祖曰：「吾今因此北討，卿意以為何如？」太祖對曰：「安都才識不足，狡猾有餘。若長轡緩御，則必遣子入朝；今以兵逼之，彼將懼而為計，恐非國之利也。」帝曰：「眾軍猛銳，何往不剋。卿每杖策，幸勿多言。」安都見兵至，果引索虜，永等敗於彭城。淮南孤弱，以太祖為假冠軍將軍、持節、都督北討前鋒諸軍事，鎮淮陰。

Earlier Emperor Ming had sent Zhang Yong and Shen Youzhi with a large force to win Xue Andu over by persuasion. He asked Xiao Daocheng, "I intend to turn this into a northern expedition—what is your view?" Xiao Daocheng answered, "Andu is short on ability and judgment but long on guile. Hold the reins long and drive gently, and he is sure to send his son to court; but press him now with an army and fear will drive him to scheme. I doubt that will serve the realm." The emperor said, "Our hosts are fierce and sharp—what place would they not take? You lean on your staff and counsel at every turn; for once, say no more." When Andu saw the army come, he did indeed call in the Wei. Zhang Yong and his fellows were broken at Pengcheng. With Huainan left exposed and weak, the court made Xiao Daocheng Acting Champion General, gave him the staff of authority, and set him to command the northern vanguard from a base at Huaiyin.

泰始三年，沈攸之、吳喜北敗於睢口，諸城戍大小悉奔歸，虜遂（退）〔進〕至淮北，圍角城，戍主賈法度力弱不敵。諸將勸太祖渡岸救之，太祖不許，遣軍主高道慶將數百張弩浮艦淮中，遙射城外虜，弩一發數百箭俱去，虜騎相引避之，乃命進戰，城圍即解。遷督南兖徐二州諸軍事、南兖州刺史，持節、假冠軍、督北討如故。五年，進督兖、青、冀三州。六年，除黃門侍郎，領越騎校尉，不拜。復授冠軍將軍，留本任。

In the third Taishi year Shen Youzhi and Wu Xi were routed north of the Huai at Suikou; strongholds up and down the line abandoned their posts and fled, and the barbarians then —retreated— advanced to the north bank of the Huai and laid siege to Jiaocheng, whose commander Jia Fadu was too few to hold them off. His officers begged him to cross the river and relieve the town. He refused, but sent Gao Daoqing with hundreds of repeating crossbows on rafts midstream to rain bolts on the enemy outside the walls—one pull could send hundreds of shafts flying, and the barbarian horse drew back in chain. Only then did he order the assault, and the siege lifted at once. He was promoted to supervise the armies of South Yanzhou and Xuzhou and made inspector of South Yanzhou, retaining his staff, his acting champion rank, and his northern command. In the fifth year his authority was extended over Yanzhou, Qingzhou, and Jizhou. In the sixth year he was offered the Yellow Gate and the colonelcy of the Valiant Cavalry; he declined both. He was again made Champion General and kept his existing duties.

明帝常嫌太祖非人臣相，而民間流言，云「蕭道成當為天子」，明帝愈以為疑，遣冠軍將軍吳喜以三千人北使，令喜留軍破釜，自持銀壺酒封賜太祖。太祖戎衣出門迎，即酌飲之。喜還，帝意乃悅。七年，徵還京師，部下勸勿就徵，太祖曰：「諸卿闇於見事。主上自誅諸弟，為太子稚弱，作萬歲後計，何關佗族。惟應速發，事緩必見疑。今骨肉相害，自非靈長之運，禍難將興，方與卿等勠力耳。」拜散騎常侍、太子左衞率。時世祖以功當別封贛縣，太祖以一門二封，固辭不受，詔許之。加邑二百戶。

Emperor Ming had long thought Xiao Daocheng's face was not that of a loyal minister, and when the streets began to murmur that "Xiao Daocheng will be Son of Heaven," his suspicion deepened. He dispatched Champion General Wu Xi north with three thousand men, told Xi to halt the army at Pofu, and came himself with a sealed silver flask of wine for Xiao Daocheng. Xiao Daocheng met him at the gate in field dress, poured at once, and drank. When Xi came back, the emperor was satisfied. In the seventh year he was recalled to the capital. His officers urged him not to go. Xiao Daocheng said, "You do not see what is before you. The throne has just slaughtered its own brothers; the crown prince is a child. They are laying plans for the long years ahead. What has any of that to do with our house? We should go at once. Delay will only breed doubt. When kin begin to devour kin, the mandate is already broken. Disaster is coming. Then we must stand together. He was made Regular Attendant and Left Commandant of the Heir Apparent's Guard. The future Emperor Wu had earned a separate fief in Gan county. Xiao Daocheng, saying one family could not hold two enfeoffments, refused firmly, and the court allowed it. Two hundred households were added to his fief.

明帝崩，遺詔為右衞將軍，領衞尉，加兵五百人。與尚書令袁粲、護軍褚淵、領軍劉勔共掌機事。又別領東北選事。尋解衞尉，加侍中，領石頭戍軍事。

On Emperor Ming's death the testament named him General of the Right Guard and acting Commandant of the Guard, with five hundred extra men. He shared control of state affairs with Yuan Can, director of the Secretariat, Chu Yuan, Protector of the Army, and Liu Xu, Army Director. He also took charge of appointments in the northeast. Soon he left the commandant's office, became Palace Attendant, and took command of the Stone City garrison.

明帝誅戮蕃戚，江州刺史桂陽王休範以人凡獲全。及蒼梧王立，更有窺窬之望，密與左右閹人於後堂習馳馬，招聚亡命。元徽二年五月，舉兵於尋陽，收略官民，數日便辦，眾二萬人，騎五百匹。發盆口，悉乘商旅船舫。大雷戍主杜道欣、鵲頭戍主劉諐期告變，朝廷惶駭。太祖與護軍褚淵、征北張永、領軍劉勔、僕射劉秉、游擊將軍戴明寶、驍騎將軍阮佃夫、右軍將軍王道隆、中書舍人孫千齡、員外郎楊運長集中書省計議，莫有言者。太祖曰：「昔上流謀逆，皆因淹緩，至於覆敗。休範必遠懲前失，輕兵急下，乘我無備。今應變之術，不宜念遠，若偏師失律，則大沮眾心。宜頓新亭、白下，堅守宮掖、東府、石頭以待。賊千里孤軍，後無委積，求戰不得，自然瓦解。我請頓新亭以當其鋒；征北可以見甲守白下；中堂舊是置兵地，領軍宜屯宣陽門為諸軍節度；諸貴安坐殿中，右軍諸人不須競出，我自前驅，破賊必矣。」因索筆下議，竝注同。中書舍人孫千齡與休範有密契，獨曰：「宜依舊遣軍據梁山、魯顯閒，右衞若不出白下，則應進頓南州。」太祖正色曰：「賊今已近，梁山豈可得至。新亭既是兵衝，所以欲死報國耳。常日乃可屈曲相從，今不得也。」座起，太祖顧謂劉勔曰：「領軍已同鄙議，不可改易。」乃單車白服出新亭。加太祖使持節、都督征討諸軍、平南將軍，加鼓吹一部。

Emperor Ming had cut down the imperial clansmen. Only Liu Xiufan, Prince of Guiyang and governor of Jiangzhou, lived—spared because men thought him a nobody. When the Depraved Earl took the throne, Xiufan again nursed treason. In the rear hall he drilled horsemanship with his eunuchs in secret and gathered desperate men. In the fifth month of Yuanhui year two he rose at Xunyang, swept up officials and commoners, and within days had twenty thousand men and five hundred horses. He sailed from Penkou on merchant craft alone. Du Daoxin at Dalei and Liu Yanqi at Quetou sent word of the revolt, and the court panicked. Xiao Daocheng met at the Secretariat with Chu Yuan, Zhang Yong, Liu Xu, Liu Bing, Dai Mingbao, Ruan Dianfu, Wang Daolong, Sun Qianling, and Yang Yunchang to plan the response. No one spoke. Xiao Daocheng said, "Every upriver revolt in memory was lost to hesitation and slow movement. Xiufan will take those lessons to heart and strike light and fast while we are still unready. Our answer cannot be a distant plan. One misstep by a flank force will break the army's nerve. Hold Xinting and Baixia, and lock the palace, the Eastern Establishment, and Stone City until they come. They are a thousand li from home with empty magazines. Denied battle, they will fall apart on their own. I will take Xinting and meet their van; Zhang Yong can show his armor at Baixia; the Army Director should hold Xuanyang Gate, where troops were always stationed, and direct the rest; the great ministers should stay seated in the hall; the Right Army need not crowd forward. I will ride in front myself, and the rebels will break." He asked for brush and paper, set the plan down, and every man signed his name to it. Sun Qianling, who was in secret league with Xiufan, alone objected: "Send the army to the gap between Liangshan and Luyan as before. If the Right Guard will not leave Baixia, we should move up to Nanzhou." Xiao Daocheng's face hardened. "The enemy is almost here. Liangshan is out of reach. Xinting is where the road narrows. That is why I am willing to die there for the realm. On other days I might yield. Not today." He stood and said to Liu Xu, "The Army Director has already sided with me. There is no changing this." Then he went to Xinting alone, in plain white dress. He was made envoy with full staff, commander of all punitive forces, General Who Pacifies the South, and given a band of martial music.

治新亭城壘未畢，賊前軍已至，太祖方解衣高臥，以安眾心。乃索白虎幡，登西垣，使寧朔將軍高道慶、羽林監陳顯達、員外郎王敬則浮舸與賊水戰，自新林至赤岸，大破之，燒其船艦，死傷甚眾。賊步上新林，太祖馳使報劉勔，急開大小桁，撥淮中船舫，悉渡北岸。

The rebel van reached Xinting before its walls were done. Xiao Daocheng stripped, stretched out on the rampart, and feigned ease to calm the ranks. He raised the White Tiger banner, took the western wall, and sent Gao Daoqing, Chen Xianda, and Wang Jingze out on light craft. From Xinlin to Chian they shattered the rebel fleet, burned the ships, and left the water strewn with dead. Rebel foot came up through Xinlin. Xiao Daocheng galloped word to Liu Xu to open the great and small bridges, gather every boat on the Huai, and ferry the force to the north bank.

休範乘肩輿率眾至壘南，上遣寧朔將軍黃回、馬軍主周盤龍將步騎出壘對陣。休範分兵攻壘東，短兵接戰，自巳至午，眾皆失色。太祖曰：「賊雖多而亂，尋破也。」楊運長領三齊射手七百人，引彊命中，故賊不得逼城。未時，張敬兒斬休範首。太祖遣隊主陳靈寶送首還臺，靈寶路中遇賊軍，埋首道側。臺軍不見休範首，愈疑懼。賊眾亦不知休範已死，別率杜黑蠡急攻壘東，司空主簿蕭惠朗數百人突入東門，叫噪至堂下，城上守門兵披退。太祖挺身上馬，率數百人出戰，賊皆推楯而前，相去數丈，分兵橫射，太祖引滿將發，左右將戴仲緒舉楯扞之，箭應手飲羽，傷百餘人，賊死戰不能當，乃卻。眾軍復得保城，與黑蠡拒戰，自晡達明旦，矢石不息。其夜大雨，皷叫不復相聞，將士積日不得寢食，軍中馬夜驚，城內亂走，太祖秉燭正坐，厲聲呵止之，如此者數四。

Xiufan came in a litter at the head of his host to the foot of the wall. The throne sent Huang Hui and the cavalry chief Zhou Panlong with mixed foot and horse out to meet him in line. Xiufan split his men to storm the east face. Steel met at arm's length from mid-morning to noon, and every face went white. Xiao Daocheng said, "They are numerous but in disarray. They will break in a moment." Yang Yunchang led seven hundred archers of the Three Qi. Every shaft he loosed found its mark, and the rebels could not close on the wall. In mid-afternoon Zhang Jing'er took Xiufan's head. Xiao Daocheng sent Chen Lingbao to bear the head to the capital. On the road Lingbao ran into rebels and buried the head by the wayside. Without the head, the capital troops only grew more fearful and uncertain. The rebels did not know Xiufan was dead either. Du Heilai led a separate force in a rush on the east wall. Xiao Huilang, chief clerk to the Minister of Works, broke through the east gate with hundreds of men, yelling to the very hall. The gate guards on the wall broke and ran. Xiao Daocheng mounted, drew his sword, and led several hundred men out. The enemy came on behind shields. At a few yards they split and shot from the flanks. He bent his bow to the ear; Dai Zhongxu on his left lifted a shield, and arrows sank to the feathers in the wood. More than a hundred fell. The rebels fought until they could not hold and drew back. The garrison held again and fought Heilai from dusk until dawn without pause of bolt or stone. That night the rain came down in torrents until drum and shout were drowned. For days the men had not slept or eaten. Horses stampeded in the dark; inside the wall men ran wild. Xiao Daocheng sat by candlelight and shouted them down, again and again, four times or more.

賊帥丁文豪設伏破臺軍於皁莢橋，直至朱雀桁，劉勔欲開桁，王道隆不從，勔及道隆竝戰沒。初，勔高尚其意，託造園宅，名為「東山」，頗忽世務。太祖謂之曰：「將軍以顧命之重，任兼內外，主上春秋未幾，諸王竝幼沖，上流聲議，遐邇所聞，此是將軍艱難之日，而將軍深尚從容，廢省羽翼，一朝事至，雖悔（可）〔何〕追。」勔竟不納。

The rebel chief Ding Wenhao ambushed the capital force at Zaojia Bridge and drove through to Zhuque Bridge. Liu Xu wanted the bridge opened; Wang Daolong refused. Both Liu and Wang fell in the fighting. Earlier Liu had turned to high-minded ease, building a garden estate he called Eastern Hill, and let the world go by. Xiao Daocheng told him, "You carry a deathbed trust and command inside and outside the court. The emperor is a child; the princes are infants. Rumor on the upper river is heard everywhere. This is your hard season—yet you prize leisure and strip away your own wings. When crisis comes overnight, though you may regret —it— [how] can you make it right? Liu never took the warning.

賊進至杜姥宅，車騎典籤茅恬開東府納賊，冠軍將軍沈懷明於石頭奔散，張永潰於白下，宮內傳新亭亦陷，太后執蒼梧王手泣曰：「天下敗矣！」太祖遣軍主陳顯達、任農夫、張敬兒、周盤龍等，從石頭濟淮，閒道從承明門入衞宮闕。

The enemy pushed to the Du family manor. Mao Tian of the Chariot Establishment opened the Eastern Palace to them. Shen Huaiming, Champion General, broke and fled from Stone City; Zhang Yong was beaten at Baixia. Word ran through the palace that Xinting had fallen. The empress dowager seized the Depraved Earl's hand and wept, "The empire is undone!" Xiao Daocheng sent Chen Xianda, Ren Nongfu, Zhang Jing'er, Zhou Panlong, and others from Stone City across the Huai by a hidden route and in through Chenming Gate to hold the palace.

休範既死，典籤許公與詐稱休範在新亭，士庶惶惑，詣壘投名者千數，太祖隨得輒燒之，乃列兵登城北，謂曰：「劉休範父子先昨皆已即戮，屍在南岡下，身是蕭平南，諸君善見觀！君等名皆已焚除，勿有懼也。」臺分遣眾軍擊杜姥宅、宣陽門諸賊，皆破平之。太祖振旅凱入，百姓緣道聚觀，曰：「全國家者此公也。」

Xiufan was dead, but Xu Gonghe of the registry spread word that he still held Xinting. Gentry and commoners panicked; thousands came to the wall to give their names. Xiao Daocheng burned every list on receipt, then lined the north wall and called out, "Liu Xiufan and his son were killed yesterday. Their bodies lie on the southern slope. I am Xiao the Pacifier of the South—see me for yourselves! Your names are already ash. You have nothing to fear." The court sent its columns against the Du manor and Xuanyang Gate; every band was crushed. Xiao Daocheng marched in victory. The people crowded the roads and said, "The realm stands because of this man."

太祖與袁粲、褚淵、劉秉引咎解職，不許。遷散騎常侍、中領軍、都督南兖徐兖青冀五州軍事、鎮軍將軍、南兖州刺史，持節如故。進爵為公，增邑二千戶。太祖欲分其功，請益粲等戶，更日入直決事，號為「四貴」。秦時有太后、穰侯、涇陽、高陵君，稱為「四貴」，至是乃復有焉。四年，加太祖尚書左僕射，本官如故。

Xiao Daocheng, Yuan Can, Chu Yuan, and Liu Bing asked to lay down office and take blame. The throne refused. He was made Regular Attendant, Central Army Director, supervisor of the five provinces from South Yanzhou through Jizhou, General Who Guards the Army, and inspector of South Yanzhou, keeping his staff. He was raised to duke, with two thousand households added to his fief. Wanting to spread the credit, he asked that Yuan Can and the others receive added households too. They took turns in court to decide policy and were called the Four Exalted. Under Qin the empress dowager, the Marquis of Rang, and the lords of Jingyang and Gaoling had been called the Four Exalted; now the title lived again. In the fourth year he was also made Left Vice Director of the Secretariat, retaining his other posts.

休範平後，蒼梧王漸行凶暴，南徐州刺史建平王景素少有令譽，朝野歸心。景素亦潛為自全之計，布款誠於太祖，太祖拒而不納。七月，羽林監袁祗奔景素，便舉兵，太祖出屯玄武湖，遣眾軍北討，事平乃還。

Once Xiufan was down, the Depraved Earl turned ever more savage. Liu Jingsu, Prince of Pingping and governor of South Xuzhou, was young but widely trusted; men looked to him. Jingsu too plotted to save himself and sent pledges of loyalty to Xiao Daocheng, who would not hear them. In the seventh month Yuan Zhi of the Feathered Forest defected to Jingsu and rose in arms. Xiao Daocheng camped at Xuanwu Lake, sent the hosts north, and came back only when the revolt was crushed.

太祖威名既重，蒼梧王深相猜忌，幾加大禍。陳太妃罵之曰：「蕭道成有功於國，今若害之，後誰復為汝著力者？」乃止。

Xiao Daocheng's name weighed on every mind. The Depraved Earl hated and feared him and nearly had him killed. Honored Consort Chen cursed the emperor: "Xiao Daocheng has earned the realm. Kill him, and who will ever strike a blow for you again?" The emperor stayed his hand.

太祖密謀廢立。五年七月戊子，帝微行出北湖，常單馬先走，羽儀禁衞隨後追之，於堤塘相蹈藉，左右張互兒馬墜湖，帝怒，取馬置光明亭前，自馳騎刺殺之，因共屠割，與左右作羌胡伎為樂。又於蠻岡賭跳。際夕乃還仁壽殿東阿氈屋中寢。語左右楊玉夫：「伺織女度，報我。」時殺害無常，人懷危懼。玉夫與其黨陳奉伯等二十五人同謀，於氈屋中取千牛刀殺蒼梧王，稱敕，使廂下奏伎，因將首出與王敬則，敬則送太祖。太祖夜從承明門乘常所騎赤馬入，殿內驚怖，既知蒼梧王死，咸稱萬歲。及太祖踐阼，號此馬為「龍驤將軍」，世謂為「龍驤赤」。

Xiao Daocheng began to plan the removal of the throne. On the seventh month, day wuzi of year five, the emperor stole out to the northern lake. He always galloped ahead alone while guards and household troops pounded after. On the dike men tripped over one another. Zhang Hu'er's horse went into the water. The emperor, furious, had the animal brought to the Bright Light Pavilion, ran it down himself with a lance, then carved it up with his companions and staged Qiang and Hu horse games for amusement. He wagered on jumping games at the Barbarian Mound. He did not return until evening, to sleep in the felt tent east of the Hall of Benevolent Longevity. He told Yang Yufu, "When the weaving girls go by, let me know." Murder had no pattern then; every man feared for his life. Yufu joined Chen Fengbo and twenty-three others in a plot. In the felt tent they took the great ox-knife and slew the Depraved Earl, cried an edict, and ordered musicians in the side hall to play. They bore the head to Wang Jingze, and Jingze brought it to Xiao Daocheng. That night Xiao Daocheng rode his usual red horse in through Chenming Gate. The halls shook with fear; once they knew the Depraved Earl was dead, every voice shouted ten thousand years. When he took the throne he gave the horse the title General Dragon Charger; folk called it the Red Dragon Charger.

明日，太祖戎服出殿庭槐樹下，召四貴集議。太祖謂劉秉曰：「丹陽國家重戚，今日之事，屬有所歸。」秉讓不當。太祖次讓袁粲，粲又不受。太祖乃下議，備法駕詣東城，迎立順帝。於是長刀遮粲、秉等，各失色而去。甲午，太祖移鎮東府，與袁粲、褚淵、劉秉各甲仗五十人入殿。丙申，進位侍中、司空、錄尚書事、驃騎大將軍，持節、都督、刺史如故，封竟陵郡公，邑五千戶，給油幢絡車，班劍三十人。太祖固辭上台，即驃騎大將軍、開府儀同三司。庚戌，進督南徐州刺史。封楊玉夫等二十五人爵邑各有差。十月戊辰，又進督豫、司二州。

Next day he came out in armor under the locust in the court and called the Four Exalted to meet. He said to Liu Bing, "Danyang is the throne's chief kinsman. What is done today must have its rightful heir." Bing refused, saying it was not his place. Xiao Daocheng turned to Yuan Can next; Can would not take it either. Then he put it to the assembly, ordered the full imperial train to the eastern palace, and had Emperor Shun brought to the throne. Long knives closed around Yuan Can and Bing; each man went white and left. On day jiawu he shifted his seat to the Eastern Establishment. He and Yuan Can, Chu Yuan, and Liu Bing entered the hall each with fifty armored guards. On day bingshen he rose to Palace Attendant, Minister of Works, and Recorder of the Master of Writing, while keeping his staff, his overall command, and his provincial posts; he was made Duke of Jingling with five thousand households, given an oil-canopy carriage, and attended by thirty halberd bearers. Xiao Daocheng refused the top posts and held to General of Agile Cavalry with a household matching the Three Excellencies. On day gengxu his authority was extended over South Xuzhou. Yang Yufu and twenty-four others received noble ranks and fiefs, each according to merit. In the tenth month, day wuchen, he was given supervision of Yu and Si as well.

初，荊州刺史沈攸之與太祖於景和世同直殿省，申以歡好，以長女義興公主妻攸之第三子元和。攸之為郢州，值明帝晚運，陰有異圖。自郢州遷為荊州，聚斂兵力，將吏逃亡，輒討質隣伍。養馬至二千餘匹，皆分賦戍邏將士，使耕田而食，廩財悉充倉儲。荊州作部歲送數千人仗，攸之割留，簿上供討四山蠻。裝治戰艦數百千艘，沈之靈溪裏，錢帛器械巨積，朝廷畏之。高道慶家在華容，假還過江陵，道慶素便馬，攸之與宴飲，於聽事前合馬槊，道慶槊中破攸之馬鞍，攸之怒，索刃槊，道慶馳馬而出。還都，說攸之反狀，請三千人襲之，朝議慮其事難濟，太祖又保持不許。太祖既廢立，遣攸之子司徒左長史元琰賫蒼梧王諸虐害器物示之，攸之未得即起兵，乃上表稱慶，并與太祖書推功。

Long before, Shen Youzhi of Jing Province and Xiao Daocheng had shared duty in the Palace Directorate under Emperor Qianfei and sworn close friendship; Youzhi gave his eldest daughter, Princess Yixing, to his third son Yuanhe. While Youzhi held Ying Province, in Emperor Ming's last years he was already turning traitor in his heart. Moved from Ying to Jing, he stockpiled men and money; any officer who ran was answered by collective punishment on his neighbors. He bred more than two thousand horses and set border garrisons to feed them by the plow, while every grain of the treasury went into his own stores. The provincial workshops sent up thousands of weapons each year; Youzhi skimmed them off and wrote in the books that they were for war on the mountain tribes. He built hundreds of warships and moored them in Lingxi Lane; coin, silk, and steel piled until the throne itself grew afraid. Gao Daoqing, whose people were at Huarong, came home on leave through Jiangling. A fine horseman, he drank with Youzhi, and before the hall they tilted with cavalry lances until Daoqing's blow shattered Youzhi's saddle. Youzhi roared for a bladed lance; Daoqing spurred away. In the capital he laid out Youzhi's treason and begged three thousand men to take him. The court doubted the odds, and Xiao Daocheng, keeping his own counsel, would not allow it. Once Xiao Daocheng had set the throne right, he sent Youzhi's son Yuan Yan, chief clerk on the left, with the very things used to torment the Lord of Cangwu to death. Youzhi still could not march, so he sent a memorial of felicitation and a letter pushing the glory onto Xiao Daocheng.

攸之有素書十數行，常韜在裲襠角，云是明帝與己約誓。十二月，遂舉兵。其妾崔氏、許氏諫攸之曰：「官年已老，那不為百口計！」攸之指裲襠角示之，稱太后令召己下都。京師恐懼。乙卯，太祖入居朝堂，命諸將西討，平西將軍黃回為都督前驅。

Youzhi kept a private note of a dozen lines sewn in his vest, claiming it was Emperor Ming's bond with him. In the twelfth month he raised his banners. His concubines Cui and Xu pleaded with him: "My lord, you are old—will you spare a thought for the hundred lives under your roof?" Youzhi tapped the hidden letter in his vest and said the empress dowager herself had called him downriver to the capital. Fear ran through the capital. On day yimao Xiao Daocheng moved into the court hall, sent the armies west against the rebel, and set Pacifying West Huang Hui at the head of the van.

前湘州刺史王蘊，太后兄子，少有膽力，以父揩名宦不達，欲以將途自奮。每撫刀曰：「龍淵、太阿，汝知我者。」叔父景文誡之曰：「阿答，汝滅我門戶！」蘊曰：「答與童烏貴賤覺異。」童烏，景文子絢小字；答，蘊小字也。蘊遭母喪罷任，還至巴陵，停舟一月，日與攸之密相交構。時攸之未便舉兵，蘊乃下達郢州。世祖為郢州長史，蘊期世祖出弔，因作亂據郢城，世祖知之，不出。蘊還至東府前，又期太祖出，太祖又不出弔，再計不行，外謀愈固。

Wang Yun, once inspector of Xiang and nephew to the empress dowager, had been bold since boyhood. His father Kui had never won high rank, and Yun meant to force his way up with the sword. He would run a hand along his blades and murmur, "Dragon Spring, Grand Might—you know who I am." His uncle Jingwen warned him, "A-Da, you will bring our line to ashes!" Yun said, "A-Da and Tongwu were never equals in birth or worth." Tongwu was the pet name of Jingwen's son Xuan; A-Da was Yun's own pet name. When his mother died Yun left his post and sailed back to Baling, where he lay at anchor a full month, plotting each day with Youzhi in secret. Youzhi was not ready to move; Yun went on to Ying Province. The future Emperor Wu was chief clerk at Ying. Yun waited for him to come out for mourning so he could seize the city in revolt; the prince saw through it and stayed within. Yun came back to wait before the Eastern Establishment and again timed Xiao Daocheng's exit; again Xiao Daocheng would not attend the mourning. With two schemes spoiled, the open plot only hardened.

司徒袁粲、尚書令劉秉見太祖威權稍盛，慮不自安，與蘊及黃回等相結舉事，殿內宿衞主帥，無不協同。攸之反問初至，太祖往石頭與粲謀議，粲稱疾不相見。剋壬申夜起兵據石頭，劉秉恇怯，晡時，從丹陽郡載婦女入石頭，朝廷不知也。其夜，丹陽丞王遜告變，秉從弟領軍（韜）〔韞〕及直閤將軍卜伯興等嚴兵為內應。太祖命王敬則於宮內誅之。遣諸將攻石頭，王蘊將數百精手帶甲赴粲，城門已閉，官軍又至，乃散。眾軍攻石頭，斬粲，劉秉走雒檐湖，蘊逃鬪場，並禽斬之。

Yuan Can of the Secretariat and Liu Bing, director of the Master of Writing, watched Xiao Daocheng's power swell and feared for their seats. With Yun, Huang Hui, and the rest they set a rising afoot, and among the night guards of the inner palace not one stood aside. At the first news of Youzhi's revolt Xiao Daocheng went to Stone City to take counsel with Can; Can claimed sickness and shut the door. They set the night of renshen to seize Stone City. Liu Bing was faint of heart; in the afternoon he had women ferried in from Danyang commandery, and the court suspected nothing. That night Danyang's assistant Wang Xun raised the alarm; Bing's younger cousin, defender of the palace —Tao— Yun, Chief of the Direct Office Bu Boxing, and the rest armed men within as their inner hand. Xiao Daocheng sent Wang Jingze to cut them down inside the palace. He sent his generals against Stone City. Wang Yun rushed with several hundred armored picked men to Can's side, but the gates were shut, the loyal troops were already there, and Yun's band broke apart. The columns took Stone City and struck off Can's head. Liu Bing ran for Luoyan Lake, Yun for the execution ground; both were taken and slain.

粲位任雖重，無經世之略，踈放好酒，步屧白楊郊野閒，道遇一士大夫，便呼與酣飲。明日，此人謂被知顧，到門求通，粲曰：「昨飲酒無偶，聊相要耳。」竟不與相見。嘗作五言詩云：「訪迹雖中宇，循寄乃滄州。」蓋其志也。

Can's rank was great but he had no gift for governing the times. He was careless and in love with wine, strolling in sandals through the white poplars outside the walls, and any scholar he met on the road he would drag into his cup. The next day the man, sure he had been noticed, came to the gate for an audience. Can said, "Yesterday I lacked a drinking partner and only asked you along." He never received him. He once wrote a five-word poem: "I walk the middle kingdom, yet my heart is moored on the dark sea." That was the man he meant to be.

劉秉少以宗室清謹見知，孝武世，秉弟遐坐通嫡母殷氏養女，殷亡口中血出，眾疑行毒害，孝武使秉從弟祗諷秉啟證其事。秉曰：「行路之人，尚不應爾，今日迺可一門同盡，無容奉敕。」眾以此稱之。故為明帝所任。蒼梧廢，秉出集議，於路逢弟韞，韞開車迎問秉曰：「今日之事，固當歸兄邪？」秉曰：「吾等已讓領軍矣。」韞槌胷曰：「君肉中詎有血！」

Liu Bing had been known since youth in the clan for sober care. Under Emperor Xiaowu his brother Xia was accused of lying with their stepmother Lady Yin's foster daughter; when Yin died with blood on her lips many cried poison. The emperor sent Bing's cousin Zhi to press him to testify. Bing said, "A stranger on the road would deserve better than this; now you would wipe out a whole house at once. I will not carry out the order." Men praised him for it. That was why Emperor Ming relied on him. When the Lord of Cangwu was cast down, Bing went to council. On the road he met Yun, who leaned from his carriage and asked, "Brother—surely today's prize is yours?" Bing said, "We have already given way to the Defender of the Palace." Yun struck his chest and cried, "Is there any blood in you at all!"

粲典籤莫嗣祖知粲謀，太祖召問嗣祖：「袁謀反，何不啟聞？」嗣祖曰：「事主義無二心，雖死不敢泄也。」蘊嬖人張承伯藏匿蘊。太祖竝赦而用之。黃回頓新亭，聞石頭鼓噪，率兵來赴之，朱雀𦨵有戍軍，受節度，不聽夜過，會石頭已平，因稱救援。太祖知而不言，撫之愈厚，遣回西上，流涕告別。

Can's registrar Mo Sizu had known the plot. Xiao Daocheng called him in: "Yuan rebelled—why did you not speak?" Sizu said, "To serve a lord is to have one loyalty; I would die before I betrayed him." Yun's favorite Zhang Chengbai concealed him. Xiao Daocheng pardoned them both and kept them in service. Huang Hui lay at Xinting. Hearing uproar at Stone City he marched to join it, but the garrison at Zhuque Ford, under orders, barred him at night. When Stone City had already fallen he said he had come to save it. Xiao Daocheng knew and said nothing, only treated him the more kindly, sent him west again, and wept as they parted.

太祖屯閱武堂，馳結軍旅。閏月辛丑，詔假黃鉞，率大眾出屯新亭中興堂，治嚴築壘。教曰：「河南稱慈，諒由掩胔，廣漢流仁，實存殯朽。近袤製茲營，崇溝浚塹，古墟曩隧，時有湮移，深松茂草，或致刊薙。憑軒動懷，巡隍增愴。宜竝為收改葬，并設薄祀。」

Xiao Daocheng took the Review of Arms Hall and whipped the host into order. In the intercalary month, day xinchou, he was lent the yellow battle-axe and led the main force to camp at the Hall of Middle Revival in Xinting, drawing up ranks and digging earthworks. An instruction ran: "Henan won the name of mercy for covering the unburied; Guanghan won the name of kindness for tending the bones of the dead. Of late this camp has been widened, its trenches cut deep; old tombs and buried ways shift with time, and tall pines and heavy grass are sometimes cleared away. At the parapet the heart is stirred; along the wall grief deepens. Let the dead be gathered and buried anew, and let simple rites be offered as well."

二年正月，沈攸之攻郢城不剋，眾潰，自經死，傳首京邑。丙子，太祖旋鎮東府。二月癸未，進太祖太尉，增封三千戶，都督南徐、南兖、徐、兖、青、冀、司、豫、荊、雍、湘、郢、梁、益、廣、越十六州諸軍事。太祖解驃騎，辭都督，不許，乃表送黃鉞。三月己酉，增班劍為四十人、甲仗百人入殿。丙子，加羽葆鼓吹，餘竝如故。

In the second year's first month Youzhi besieged Ying and failed. His army dissolved; he hanged himself, and his head was sent to the capital. On day bingzi Xiao Daocheng went back to his seat at the Eastern Establishment. On day guiwei in the second month he was made Grand Marshal, given three thousand more households, and set over sixteen provinces from South Xu to Yue. He laid down Agile Cavalry and refused overall command; the throne would not hear it, so he sent back the yellow battle-axe in memorial. On day jiyou in the third month his halberd escort rose to forty and a hundred armored men could enter the hall with him. On day bingzi he received feathered canopy and drum escort; all else stood as before.

辛卯，太祖誅鎮北將軍黃回。

On day xinmao Xiao Daocheng put Pacifying North Huang Hui to death.

大明泰始以來，相承奢侈，百姓成俗。太祖輔政，罷御府，省二尚方諸飾玩。至是又上表禁民閒華偽雜物：不得以金銀為箔，馬乘具不得金銀度，不得織成繡裙，道路不得著錦履，不得用紅色為幡蓋衣服，不得翦綵帛為雜花，不得以綾作雜服飾，不得作鹿行錦及局腳檉柏床、牙箱籠雜物、綵帛作屏鄣、錦緣薦席，不得私作器仗，不得以七寶飾樂器又諸雜漆物，不得以金銀為花獸，不得輒鑄金銅為像。皆須墨敕，凡十七條。其中宮及諸王服用，雖依舊例，亦請詳衷。

Since Daming's Taishi and Taiyuan reigns, luxury had been handed down until the folk wore it as habit. When Xiao Daocheng held the reins he shut the imperial workshops and stripped the two Palace Workshops of their gewgaws. He memorialized again to curb vulgar luxury among the people: no gold or silver foil, no gilt harness, no brocade skirts, no silk shoes on the road, no red for banners or dress, no cut-silk flowers, no damask finery, no deer-brocade or camphor beds with splayed feet, no ivory cases or cages, no silk screens or brocade-edged mats, no private arms, no seven-jewel instruments or fancy lacquer, no gold or silver beasts, no casting of images in gold or copper. Every item required the emperor's written order; there were seventeen clauses. Even for the palace and the imperial princes, though old usage might stand, he asked that each case be judged with care.

九月丙午，進位假黃鉞、都督中外諸軍事、太傅、領揚州牧，劍履上殿，入朝不趨，贊拜不名。置左右長史、司馬、從事中郎、掾、屬各四人，使持節、太尉、驃騎大將軍、錄尚書、南徐州刺史如故。固辭，詔遣敦勸，乃受黃鉞，辭殊禮。甲寅，給三望車。

On day bingwu in the ninth month he received the acting yellow battle-axe, command inside and outside the realm, the Grand Tutorship, and the governorship of Yangzhou, with sword in court and shoes on the dais, no need to hurry, and no name called in praise. Four chief clerks, marshals, attendants, aides, and clerks were appointed to left and right; he kept his staff, grand marshal's seal, Agile Cavalry, the recorder's brush, and South Xu. He refused; the throne sent envoys to press him until he took the yellow battle-axe and turned away the extraordinary rites. On day jiayin he was granted the three-peaked carriage.

三年正月乙巳，太祖表蠲百姓逋負。丙辰，加前部羽葆鼓吹。丁巳，命太傅府依舊辟召。丁卯，給太祖甲仗五百人，出入殿省。甲午，重申前命，劍履上殿，入朝不趨，贊拜不名。三月甲辰，詔進位相國，總百揆，封十郡為齊公，備九錫之禮，加璽紱遠遊冠，位在諸侯王上，加相國綠綟綬，其驃騎大將軍、揚州牧、南徐州刺史如故。太祖三讓，公卿敦勸固請，乃受。甲寅，策相國齊公曰：

In the third year's first month, day yisi, he memorialized to cancel the people's tax arrears. On day bingchen he was given the front feathered canopy and drum escort. On day dingsi the Grand Tutor's office was told to recruit officers as before. On day dingmao he was given five hundred armored guards for the palace halls. On day jiawu the earlier grants were renewed: sword in court, shoes on the dais, no hurrying, no name in praise. On day jiachen in the third month he was made Chancellor of State over the hundred offices, enfeoffed as Duke of Qi across ten commanderies with the Nine Bestowals, given the far-wandering cap and seal cord and rank above every prince, the chancellor's green ribbon, while Agile Cavalry, Yangzhou, and South Xu stayed with him. Xiao Daocheng refused three times; the court pressed until he yielded. On day jiayin the edict enfeoffing the Duke of Qi, Chancellor of State, ran:

:天地變通，莫大乎炎涼，懸象著明，莫崇乎日月。嚴冬播氣，貞松之操自高，光景時昏，若華之暎彌顯。是故英睿當亂而不移，忠賢臨危而盡節。自景和昏虐，王綱弛紊，太宗受命，紹開中興，運屬屯難，四郊多壘。蕭將軍震威華戎，寔資義烈，康國濟民，於是乎在。朕以不造，夙罹閔凶。嗣君失德，書契未紀。威侮五行，虔劉九縣，神歇靈繹，海水羣飛，彝器已塵，宗禋誰主，綴旒之殆，未足為譬，豈直小宛興刺，黍離作歌而已哉。天贊皇宋，實啟明宰，爰登寡昧，纂承大業，鴻緒再維，閎基重造，高勳至德，振古絕倫。昔保衡翼殷，博陸匡漢，方斯蔑如也。今將授公典禮，其敬聽朕命。

Heaven and earth turn; nothing surpasses cold and heat. The signs above shine; nothing outranks sun and moon. Deep winter breathes out and the pine stands higher; when the hour grows dim, the blossom's fire burns brighter. So the wise hold firm in chaos, and the loyal spend themselves at the brink. Since Jinghe's tyranny the bonds of rule had frayed; the Founding Emperor took the mandate and opened the middle revival; fortune met hardship after hardship, and on every quarter of the land a camp went up. General Xiao struck fear through the heartland and the frontier, leaning on righteous fire; to steady the realm and feed the people—that was his place. I, unworthy, have known grief since boyhood. The heir lost the Way, and the covenant of rule went unwritten. He outraged the Five Phases and ravaged the nine provinces; spirits slept and omens broke; the sea itself seemed to boil; the sacred vessels were dust; who would tend the altars? The danger to the crown is more than a dangling string can picture—not merely the sting of "Little Millet" or the lament of "Millet Sigh." Heaven blessed Great Song and raised a luminous minister; I, dull as I am, took up the great work; the main thread was woven again, the wide base set anew; merit and virtue such as these have no peer in any age. Yi Yin once steadied Yin, Huo Guang once righted Han—beside this they dwindle to nothing. Now I invest you with the canonical rites; hear my command with respect.

:乃者，袁（劉）〔鄧〕構禍，寔繁有徒，子房不臣，稱兵協亂，跨蹈五湖，憑陵吳、越，浮祲虧辰，沈氛晦景，桴鼓振於王畿，鋒鏑交乎天邑。顧瞻宮掖，將成茂草，言念邦國，翦為仇讎。當此之時，人無固志。公投袂殉難，超然奮發，執金板而先馳，登寅車而戒路，軍政端嚴，卒乘輯睦，麾鉞一臨，凶黨冰泮。此則霸業之基，勤王之始也。安都背叛，竊據徐方，敢率犬羊，陵虐淮滸，索兒愚悖，同惡相濟，天祚無象，背順歸逆，北鄙黔黎，奄墜塗炭，均人廢職，邊師告警。公受命宗祊，精貫朝日，擁節和門，氣踰霄漢，破釜之捷，斬馘蔽野，石梁之戰，禽其渠帥，保境全民，江陽即序。此又公之功也。張淹迷昧，弗顧本朝，（受）〔爰〕自南區，志圖東夏，潛軍閒入，竊覬不虞。于時江服未夷，皇塗荐阻。公忠誠慷慨，在險彌亮，深識九變，妙察五色，以寡制眾，所向風偃。朝廷無東顧之憂，閩、越有來蘇之慶。此又公之功也。匈奴野心，侵掠疆埸，前師失律，王旅崩撓，灑血成川，伏尸千里。醜羯侜張，勢振彭、泗，乘勝長驅，窺覦京甸，冠帶之軌將湮，被髮之容行及。公奉辭伐罪，戒旦晨征，兵車始交，氛祲時蕩，弔死撫傷，弘宣皇澤，俾我淮、肥，復沾盛化。此又公之功也。自茲厥後，獫狁孔熾，封豕長蛇，重窺上國。而世故相仍，師出日老，戰士無臨陣之心，戎卒有懷歸之思。是以下邳精甲，望風振恐，角城高壘，指日淪陷。公眷言王事，發憤忘食，躬擐甲冑，視險若夷，短兵纔接，巨猾鳥散，分疆畫界，開創青、兖。此又公之功也。泰始之末，入參禁旅，任兼軍國，事同顧命。桂陽負眾，輕問九鼎，裂冠毀冕，拔本塞源，入兵萬乘之國，頓戟象魏之下，烈火焚於王城，飛矢集乎君屋。機變儵忽，終古莫二，羣后憂惶，元戎無主。公按劍凝神，則奇謀貫世，秉旄指麾，則懦夫成勇。曾不崇朝，新亭獻捷，信宿之閒，宣陽底定，雲霧廓清，區宇康乂。此又公之功也。皇室多難，釁起戚蕃，邘、晉、應、韓，翻為讎敵，建平失圖，興兵內侮。公又指授六師，義形乎色，役未踰旬，朱方寧晏。此又公之功也。蒼梧肆虐，諸夏麋沸，淫刑以逞，誰則無罪，火炎崐岡，玉石俱焚，黔首相悲，朝不謀夕，高祖之業已淪，（大）〔文〕、明之軌誰嗣。公遠稽殷、漢之義，近遵魏、晉之典，猥以眇身，入奉宗祏，七廟清謐，九區反政。此又公之功也。袁粲無質，劉秉攜貳，（韜）〔韞〕、述相扇，成此亂階，醜圖潛構，危機竊發，據有石頭，志犯應、路。公神謀內運，霜鋒外舉，妖沴載澄，國塗悅穆。此又公之功也。沈攸之苞禍，歲月滋彰，蜂目豺聲，阻兵安忍。哀彼荊漢，獨為匪民，乃眷西顧，緬同異域。而經綸維始，九伐未申，長惡不悛，遂逞凶逆。驅合姦回，勢過虓虎，朝野憂疑，三軍沮氣。公秉鉞出關，凝威江甸，正情與曒日同亮，明略與秋雲競爽。至義所感，人百其心，鼖鼓一麾，夏首寧謐，雲梯未舉，魯山剋定。積年逋誅，一朝顯戮，沮浦安流，章臺順軌。此又公之功也。公有濟天下之勳，重之以明哲，道庇生民，志匡宇宙，勠力肆心，劬勞王室，自東徂西，靡有寧晏，險阻艱難，備嘗之矣。若乃締構宗稷之勤，造物資始之澤，雲布霧散，光被六幽，弼予一人，永清四海。是以秬草騰芳於郊園，景星垂暉於清漢，遐方款關而慕義，荒服重譯而來庭，（注）〔汪〕哉邈乎！無得而名焉。

Of late, Yuan —Liu— Deng Wan raised rebellion with a multitude at his back; Liu Zifang turned traitor and joined arms in revolt, spanning the Five Lakes and pressing Wu and Yue; ill omens veiled the stars, murk swallowed the daylight, war-drums thundered at the capital gates, and steel clashed under the walls of the throne. The palace seemed ready to go to weeds; the kingdom itself was being carved into enemy camps. In that hour, hearts failed everywhere. You tore free your sleeve to meet the peril, surged forward in a blaze of resolve, took the golden tally and rode at the van, boarded the dawn-chariot and took the road; discipline held the host, chariot and foot kept step, and at a single sweep of your command-staff the rebels dissolved like ice in spring. That was the ground of empire, the first stroke of loyalty to the crown. Xue Andu rebelled and clutched the Xu region, driving barbarian rabble to ravage the Huai; Cheng So'er, witless and wild, joined the same crime; Heaven gave no omen of favor as men turned traitor; the people of the north were plunged into ash; garrisons threw down their duty, and the frontier flared with warning. You took heaven's charge at the royal shrine, spirit bright as the rising sun; you bore the credential-staff at the Harmonious Gate, valor towering to the sky; at Broken Cauldron the slain heaped the fields; at Stone Bridge you took the rebel chief; you held the line and saved the people, and Jiangyang returned to peace. That too was your deed. Zhang Yan lost his way and turned his back on the throne, —Shou— From the south he schemed against the eastern lands, stole in with hidden columns, and hunted for an unguarded hour. The river country was still unsettled, and the throne's path lay choked again and again. You met danger with fiercer loyalty, read the nine shifts of war, weighed every sign in the field, and with slender forces broke the mass; where you advanced, enemies fell like grass before the gale. The throne need no longer fear the east; Fujian and Yue tasted deliverance at last. That too was your deed. Northern hordes hungered for the marches; our front lines broke, the imperial columns crumbled; blood ran in streams, and the dead carpeted the roads for a thousand li. Barbarian hosts flaunted their strength from Pengcheng to the Si, drove hard toward the heartland, and fixed their gaze on the capital; the civilized world teetered on the brink, and wild men of the steppe were almost at the gate. You took the throne's word to chastise evil, roused the army at daybreak and marched; the moment battle joined, the evil air cleared; you buried the fallen and healed the hurt, spread the emperor's mercy abroad, and brought Huai and Fei back under civil rule. That too was your deed. After that the northern foe burned hotter still; like a boar and serpent they turned their eyes once more upon the empire. War followed war; campaigns dragged on until the troops were spent; men would not stand to fight, and the garrisons dreamed only of return. The hardened men of Xiapi quailed at rumor; the towers of Jiaocheng were marked to fall overnight. You brooded on the throne's need, raged till you skipped meals, buckled on mail yourself, and walked into danger as if it were flat earth; at hand-strokes the chief rebels broke like birds; you carved new lines on the map and opened Qing and Yan. That too was your deed. In the last years of Taishi you entered the palace guard, bearing both army and state on your shoulders, trusted as though at a deathbed charge. The Prince of Guiyang mustered his crowds and reached for the throne; he defied crown and law, struck at the root of rule; his army poured into the capital, his halberds stood below the royal tower; flame licked the palace, arrows thudded into the emperor's hall. Fortune turned in an eyeblink such as history rarely sees; the great lords trembled, and the host was leaderless. When you gripped your sword and stilled your mind, stratagems flashed across the age; when you raised the standard, the timid found courage. Before the morning was spent, Xinting sent up triumph; within two days Xuanyang stood firm; the murk lifted, and the land breathed again. That too was your deed. The clan was riven by disaster; rebellion flared among the princes on the marches; Gan, Jin, Ying, and Han became enemies of the throne; Jianping misread the hour and turned his soldiers inward against the court. You took command of the six hosts, justice written on your brow; in less than ten days Zhufang was quiet again. That too was your deed. The Lord of Cangwu ran wild; the realm boiled; torture answered his whim and innocence meant nothing; fire on Kun's slopes consumed jade and common stone alike; the people wept, the court could not see tomorrow; the founder's work was already undone, —Da— who would carry on the way of Wen and Ming? You looked back to Yin and Han, took Wei and Jin as your model, and though your person was slight, took up the ancestral shrine; the seven temples grew quiet, and the nine provinces turned again to law. That too was your deed. Yuan Can was hollow at the core; Liu Bing wavered between two masters, —Tao— Liu Yun and Liu Shu stirred one another on until rebellion climbed its steps; they hid treason, struck by surprise, seized Stone City, and meant to cut the roads to Ying and Lu. Your counsel moved within like fate; your armies fell like winter steel; the evil air was washed clean, and the realm's way grew bright again. That too was your deed. Shen Youzhi nursed treason until none could miss it; his gaze was fierce, his voice was brutal, and he fed on war and ruthlessness. Jing and Han were pitied as outlaws alone; he looked west as if the throne were already another country. While the realm was still being knit together, the full chastisement had not yet fallen; he would not turn from old crimes and finally rushed headlong into open revolt. He rallied every villain; his power outmatched the fiercest beast; court and camp alike wavered, and the army's heart failed. You took the axe beyond the passes and let your awe settle over the river lands; your justice matched the noon sun, your design rivaled autumn clarity. Where justice led, every man stood as one; one drumbeat and Xiaoshou lay quiet; before the siege engines rose, Lushan had fallen. A traitor who had escaped judgment for years died in a single dawn; the Ju flowed easy again, Zhangtai bowed back to law. That too was your deed. You had saved the world and added wisdom to the deed; you sheltered the people, aimed your will at heaven; you spent yourself for the Song house; from east to west nowhere lay at rest; every hardship of the road you had drunk to the dregs. In building the altars anew, in the gift of beginning like rain from heaven, your light reached the farthest shadow; you steadied me alone and promised peace to all beneath the sky. Black millet sweetened the royal fields, lucky stars burned in the clear sky; far peoples came to the gates in love of right, and barbarian lands sent envoys through double tongues to bow at court, —Zhu— How vast and far! No words can hold it.

:朕聞疇庸表德，前王盛典，崇樹侯伯，有國攸同。所以文命成功，玄珪顯錫，姬旦秉哲，曲阜啟蕃，或改玉以弘風，或胙土以宣化，禮絕常班，寵冠羣辟，爰逮桓文，車服異數。惟公勳業超於先烈，而褒賞闕於舊章，古今之道，何其爽歟？靜言欽歎，良有缺然。今進授相國，以青州之齊郡，徐州之梁郡，南徐州之蘭陵、魯郡、琅邪、東海、晉陵、義興，揚州之吳郡、會稽，凡十郡，封公為齊公。錫茲玄土，苴以白茅，定爾邦家，用建冢社。斯實尚父故蕃，世作盟主，紀綱侯甸，率由舊則。往者周、邵建國，師保兼任，毛、畢執珪，入作卿士，內外之寄，同規在昔。〔今〕命使持節、兼太尉、侍中、中書監、司空、衞將軍、雩都縣開國侯淵授〔公〕相國印綬，齊公璽紱；持節、兼司空副、守尚書令僧虔授齊公茅土，金虎符第一至第五左，竹使符第一至第十左。相國位總百辟，秩踰三鉉，職以禮移，號隨事革。其以相國總百辟，去錄尚書之稱。送所假節、侍中貂蟬、中外都督太傅太尉印綬、竟陵公印策。其驃騎大將軍、揚州牧、南徐州刺史如故。又加公九錫，其敬聽後命：以公秉禮弘律，儀刑區宇，遐邇一體，民無異業，是用錫公大輅、戎輅各一，玄牡二駟。公崇脩南畝，所寶惟穀，王府充實，百姓繁阜，是用錫公袞冕之服，赤舄副焉。公居身以謙，導物以義，鎔鈞庶品，罔不和悅，是用錫公軒縣之樂，六佾之儛。公翼贊王猷，聲教遠洽，蠻夷竭歡，回首內附，是用錫公朱戶以居。公明鑒人倫，澄辨涇渭，官方與能，英乂克舉，是用錫公納陛以登。公保佑皇朝，厲身化下，杜漸防萌，含生夤式，是用錫公虎賁之士三百人。公禦宄以刑，禦姦以德，君親無將，將而必誅，是用錫公鈇鉞各一。公鳳舉四維，龍騫八表，威靈所振，異域同文，是用錫公彤弓一，彤矢百，玈弓十，玈矢千。公明發載懷，肅恭禋祀，孝敬之重，義感靈祇，是用錫公秬鬯一卣，珪瓚副焉。齊國置丞相以下，一遵舊式。往欽哉！其祗服朕命，經緯乾坤，宏亮洪業，茂昭爾大德，闡揚我高祖之休命。

I have heard that to honor merit and show forth virtue is the ancient kings' highest rite, and to raise feudal lords is the same for every man who receives a state. When Yu finished the work of rule, the dark jade was granted in glory; when the Duke of Zhou held wisdom, Qufu was opened as a fief; some changed jade to widen the wind of rule, some took soil to spread the king's teaching—honors beyond the common roll, favor above every lord; even to Huan and Wen of old, carriage and robe bore special marks. Your deeds outshine the heroes of old, yet the rewards of custom do not match—how wide the gulf between then and now! I ponder in silence and sigh; plainly something is owed. Now I raise you to Chancellor of State and give you ten commanderies: Qi in Qingzhou, Liang in Xuzhou, six commands of South Xu, and Wu and Kuaiji in Yangzhou—and create you Duke of Qi. I grant you the black soil bound in white thatch; fix your state and kin, and found your house shrine. This was the ancient fief of the Grand Duke, for ages the chief of the covenant; to bind the feudal lords is to walk the old path. Once the Zhou and Shao founded states and shared tutor and protector alike; Mao and Bi bore the jade tally and became ministers at court; inner trust and outer command followed the same ancient measure. Now I command Bearer of the Staff, Acting Grand Commandant, Palace Attendant, Director of the Secretariat, Minister of Works, Defender of the Realm, and Marquis of Yudu, Chu Yuan, to present the Chancellor of State's seal and cord and the Duke of Qi's seal and ribbon; Bearer of the Staff, Acting Vice Minister of Works, and Acting Director of the Master of Writing Wang Sengqian to deliver the feudal soil, gold tiger tallies one through five on the left, and bamboo envoy tallies one through ten on the left. The chancellor stands above the hundred offices; his rank exceeds the three highest posts; title and duty move with the rites of the hour. As Chancellor of State he shall head the hundred offices and lay down the title Recorder of the Master of Writing. Send back the lent staff, the palace attendant's fin, the seals of Grand Tutor, Grand Commandant, and commander inside and outside the realm, and the patent of Duke of Jingling. General of Agile Cavalry, Governor of Yangzhou, and Inspector of South Xu remain unchanged. I add the Nine Bestowals; hear what follows with respect: You hold to ritual and widen the law, set the pattern for the realm, and make near and far one household with a single calling—therefore I give a state carriage and a war carriage, and two teams of black stallions. You honor the southern acre and treasure grain above all; the royal granaries are full and the people multiply—therefore I give the twelve-symbol robe and crown, with scarlet shoes. You live in humility and lead by righteousness; you temper the myriad things until all are at peace—therefore I give the bell-stand music and dancers in six rows. You brace the king's design; your teaching runs to the horizon; barbarians rejoice and turn homeward to the throne—therefore I give vermilion gates for your dwelling. You mirror human bonds and separate the muddy from the clear; office finds the able and heroes rise—therefore I give the jade ascent to your hall. You guard the dynasty, teach by your own conduct, cut evil at the bud; the world takes you as its pattern—therefore I give three hundred tiger guards. You meet violence with punishment and treachery with virtue; no subject may play the general against his prince—and if he does, he dies—therefore I give one battle-axe and one great axe. You lift like a phoenix to the four quarters and soar like a dragon across the eight directions; where your majesty falls, barbarians learn our writing—therefore I give one red bow, a hundred red arrows, ten black bows, and a thousand black arrows. You rise at dawn with the rites upon you, grave in sacrifice to heaven; filial awe moves the gods—therefore I give a jar of sacred ale and jade vessels for libation. In Qi, from the chancellor downward, every office follows the former pattern. Go—and bear this with reverence! Take my command with reverence, bind heaven and earth, widen and illumine the great work, make your virtue shine, and lift high the Founding Emperor's blessed order.

太祖三讓，公卿敦勸固請，乃受之。

The Grand Progenitor refused three times; the court pressed until he yielded.

丁巳，下令赦國內殊死以下，今月十五日昧爽以前，一皆原赦，鰥寡孤獨不能自存者，賜穀五斛，府州所領，亦同蕩然。

On day dingsi he decreed amnesty through the realm for all but death sentences; before dawn on the fifteenth of the month every debt of blood and purse was wiped clean; the widowed, orphaned, and destitute received five hu of grain; every district under his rule was cleared the same way.

宋帝詔齊公十郡之外，隨宜除用。以齊國初建，給錢五百萬，布五千匹，絹五千匹。四月癸酉，詔進齊公爵為王，以豫州之南梁、陳郡、潁川、陳留，南兖州之盱眙、山陽、秦郡、廣陵、海陵、南沛十郡增封。使持節、司空、衞將軍褚淵奉策授璽紱，金虎符第一至第五左，竹使符第一至第十左，錫茲玄土，苴白茅，改立王社。相國、揚州牧、驃騎大將軍、南徐州刺史如故。丙戌，命齊王冕十有二旒，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，設鍾虡宮縣。王世子為太子，王女王孫爵命一如舊儀。

The Song emperor allowed him to fill posts beyond the ten Qi commanderies as he saw fit. With Qi newly founded, he received five million cash, five thousand bolts of cloth, and five thousand bolts of silk. In the fourth month, day guiyou, an edict raised the Duke of Qi to king and added ten commands: Nanliang, Chen, Yingchuan, and Chenliu in Yuzhou; Shuyang, Shanyang, Qin, Guangling, Hailing, and Nanpei in South Yanzhou. Bearer of the Staff, Minister of Works, and Defender of the Realm Chu Yuan came with the patent and gave seal and ribbon, gold tiger tallies one through five on the left, bamboo tallies one through ten on the left, the black soil and white thatch, and raised a king's altar in place of the duke's. Chancellor of State, Governor of Yangzhou, General of Agile Cavalry, and Inspector of South Xu stayed with him. On day bingxu he gave the King of Qi the twelve royal tassels, the imperial banners, guards before and behind on the road, the golden-root chariot with six horses, five seasonal spare carriages, yak-tail and cloud pennants, dancers in eight rows, and the bell-stands of a royal court. His heir became crown prince; titles for daughters and grandsons followed the former rites.

辛卯，宋帝禪位，下詔曰：

On day xinmao the Song emperor yielded the throne and proclaimed:

:惟德動天，玉衡所以載序，窮神知化，億兆所以歸心，用能經緯乾坤，彌綸宇宙，闡揚鴻烈，大庇生民。晦往明來，積代同軌，前王踵武，世必由之。宋德湮微，昏毀相襲，景和騁悖於前，元徽肆虐於後，三光再霾，七廟將墜，璇極委馭，含識知泯，我文、武之祚，眇焉如綴。靜惟此紊，夕惕疚心。

Virtue stirs heaven, and the heavens keep their measure; insight into the unseen turns the hearts of millions; by this one binds heaven and earth, robes the cosmos in order, lifts the great flame of rule, and shelters all who live. Night yields to day as age follows age; every king who came before walked this road of transfer; none may escape the path. Song's mandate thinned; folly and ruin came hand in hand; Jinghe's madness led, Yuanhui's cruelty followed; sun, moon, and stars were veiled again, the seven temples tottered; the throne's pivot slipped away, and the world seemed already dead; the fortune Wen and Wu left hung by a thread no thicker than a single strand. I ponder this chaos in silence and feel guilt at every turn of the day.

:相國齊王，天誕叡聖，河嶽炳靈，拯傾提危，澄氛靜亂，匡濟艱難，功均造物。宏謀霜照，祕筭雲回，旌旆所臨，一麾必捷，英風所拂，無思不偃，表裏清夷，遐邇寧謐。既而光啟憲章，弘宣禮教，姦宄之類，覩隆威而隔情，慕善之儔，仰徽猷而增厲。道邁於重華，勳超乎文命，蕩蕩乎無得而稱焉。是以辮髮左衽之酋，款關請吏，木衣卉服之長，航海來庭，豈惟肅慎獻楛，越（嘗）〔裳〕薦翬而已哉。故四奧載宅，六府克和，川陸効珍，禎祥鱗集，卿煙玉露，旦夕揚藻，嘉穟芝英，晷刻呈茂。革運斯炳，代終彌亮，負扆握樞，允歸明哲，固以獄訟去宋，謳歌適齊。

The Chancellor of State, King of Qi, was born with heaven's clarity; rivers and peaks shone in his making; he propped the tottering throne, stilled the storm, bore the realm through peril, and his merit matched the work of heaven itself. His plans were bright as frost, his hidden counts swift as cloud; where his banners turned, one gesture won the field; where his spirit passed, every will bent; within and without grew clear, near and far lay still. Then he opened the laws in glory and spread ritual abroad; villains, seeing his majesty, shrank from their designs; men who loved the good, lifting their eyes to his teaching, strove the harder. His Way outran Shun, his merit outran Yu; so vast that no praise could compass him. Chiefs with braided hair and left lapels came to the gates to swear fealty; lords in bark and leaves crossed the sea to court—was it only Sushen with their hazel bows, or Yue -[the cited text]- of Yue with their pheasant plumes, and nothing more? The four quarters held their homes, the six treasuries chimed, river and road yielded wonders, omens crowded in, courtly mist and jade dew lifted at dawn and dusk, and lucky grain and spirit fungus flourished hour by hour. The mandate turned and flared; as the dynasty ended, light gathered on the throne; the screen and the pivot belonged at last to wisdom—so the people's suits quit Song and their songs ran toward Qi.

:昔金政既淪，水德締構，天之曆數，皎焉攸徵。朕雖寡昧，闇于大道，稽覽隆替，為日已久，敢忘列代遺則，人神至願乎？便遜位別宮，敬禪于齊，一依唐虞、魏晉故事。

Of old the Metal reign had fallen and the Water reign was being woven; Heaven's count was plain for all to read. I am dull and small, blind to the Great Way, yet I have weighed fortune's turns for years—how could I forget the models of the past or what men and gods desire? I will yield the throne at once and withdraw to the eastern lodge, abdicating in full reverence to Qi after the manner of Yao, Shun, Wei, and Jin.

是日宋帝遜于東邸，備羽儀，乘畫輪車，出東掖門，問今日何不奏鼓吹，左右莫有答者。

That day the Song emperor left for the Eastern Lodge in full regalia, rode the painted carriage out the Eastern Flank Gate, and asked why no drums and pipes sounded today; no one beside him spoke.

壬辰，策命齊王曰：

On day renchen the investiture edict to the King of Qi read:

:伊太古初陳，萬物紛綸，開耀靈以鑑品物，立元后以馭蒸人。若夫容成、大庭之世，宓羲、五龍之辰，靡得而詳焉。自軒黃以降，墳素所紀，略可言者，莫崇乎堯舜。披金繩而握天鏡，開玉匣而總地維，德之休明，宸居靈極。期運有終，歸禪與能。所以大唐遜位，䜎然興歌，有虞揖讓，卿雲發采。亮符命之攸臻，坦至公以成務，懷生載懌，靈祇効祉，遺風餘烈，光被無垠。漢魏因循，弗敢失墜，爰逮晉氏，亦遵前儀。惟我祖宗英叡，勳格幽顯，從天人而齊七政，凝至德而撫四維。末葉不造，仍世多故，（難滅星謀）〔日蝕星隕〕，山淪川竭。

At the first dawn of time the ten thousand things were chaos; the bright spirit was opened to judge all kinds, and the first queen was raised to rule the people. Of Rongcheng, of Great Court, of Fuxi and the Five Dragons—no one can speak them whole. From the Yellow Emperor on, what the old books allow us to name—nothing stands higher than Yao and Shun. They took up the golden rope and the sky's mirror, opened the jade box and held the earth's warp; their virtue shone, and the throne stood at the pole. When their term was done, they yielded the throne to worthier men. So Great Tang abdicated and the people burst into song; Shun bowed and yielded, and lucky clouds burned bright. Heaven's signs gathered, public heart was open, all under heaven rejoiced, gods and earth sent blessing, and the fame of those days still lights the horizon. Han and Wei followed one another and never dropped the rite; Jin too held to the old way. Our forebears were keen and bright; their merit reached ghost and world; they matched heaven and earth in the seven regulators and gathered utmost virtue to calm the four quarters. The last branches were ill-fated; generation after generation knew disaster, —[eclipses and falling stars]— eclipses darkened the sky and stars fell, mountains sank and rivers failed.

:惟王聖哲淵明，榮鏡㝢宙，體望日之威，資就雲之澤，臨下以簡，御眾以寬，仁育羣生，義征不譓，國塗荐阻，弘五慮而乂寧，皇緒將湮，秉六術以匡濟。及至權臣內侮，蕃屏陵上，兵革雲翔，萬邦震駭，裁之以武風，綏之以文化，遐邇清夷，表裏肅穆。戢琱戈而事黼黻，委旌門而恭儒館，聲化遠洎，荒服無塵，殊類同規，華戎一揆。是以五光來儀於軒庭，九穗含芳於郊牧。象緯昭澈，布新之符已顯，圖讖彪炳，受終之義既彰。靈祇乃眷，兆民引領。朕聞至道深微，惟人是弘，天命無常，惟德是與。所以仰鑒玄情，俯察羣望，敬禪神器，授帝位于爾躬。四海困窮，天祿永終。於戲！王其允執厥中，儀刑前式，以副率土之欣望。命司裘而謁蒼昊，奏雲門而升圓丘，時膺大禮，永保洪業，豈不盛歟！

The King alone is deep and wise, a bright mirror to all under heaven; he has the sun's majesty and the cloud's rain; simple with those below, broad with the masses, he feeds the people with benevolence and chastises the stubborn with righteousness; when the realm was choked he opened five counsels and made it quiet, and when the royal thread was drowning he took up six arts and saved it. When great ministers preyed within and the imperial kin bullied the throne, war rose like storm clouds and every state shook—he struck with the sword and soothed with culture until near and far were clean and court and country stood in awe. He sheathed the weapons and took up brocade, left the camp gate for the school; his fame ran to the ends of the earth, the wild marches went quiet, barbarian and Chinese walked one path. So the five-colored lights appeared in the hall, and nine-headed grain bloomed fragrant in the fields. Heaven's signs shone clear, the mark of a new age was plain, omens and prophecies flared, and the mandate to receive the succession stood open. Gods and earth turned their gaze; the people stretched their necks to see. The highest Way is deep and fine, and lives only in men; Heaven's mandate does not stay—only virtue keeps it. So, reading heaven above and the people's longing below, I yield the sacred throne and set the imperial seat on you. The four seas are spent; Heaven's tenure is finished. Ah! King, hold the middle way, follow the ancient kings, and meet the joy of all under heaven. Send the Master of Robes to worship Heaven, play the Cloud Gate and climb the Round Mound; take the great rites in their season and keep the great work forever—what glory could exceed this!

再命璽書曰：

A second letter under the imperial seal said:

:皇帝敬問相國齊王。大道之行，與三代之英，朕雖闇昧，而有志焉。夫昏明相襲，晷景之恆度，春秋遞運，時歲之常序。求諸天數，猶且隆替，矧伊在人，能無終謝。是故勛華弘風於上葉，漢魏垂式於後昆。

The Emperor respectfully addresses the Chancellor of State, King of Qi. The Great Way once walked the earth, and the heroes of the Three Dynasties shone—dim as I am, I have wished for that. Night and day take turns—that is the sundial's law; spring and autumn wheel on—that is the year's order. Even in Heaven's count there is waxing and waning—how could men escape their end? So Yao and Shun set the tone in the high age, and Han and Wei left a model for those who came after.

:昔我高祖，欽明文思，振民育德，皇靈眷命，奄有四海。晚世多難，姦宄寔繁，鼖鼓宵聞，元戎旦警，億兆夷人，啟處靡厝。加以嗣君荒怠，敷虐萬方，神鼎將遷，寶策無主，實賴英聖，匡濟艱危。惟王體天則地，舍弘光大，明竝日月，惠均雲雨。國步斯梗，則稜威外發，王猷不造，則淵謨內昭。重構閩、吳，再寧淮、濟，靜九江之洪波，卷海沂之氛沴，放斥凶昧，存我宗祀，舊物惟新，王光改照。逮至寵臣裂冠，則裁以廟略，荊漢反噬，則震以雷霆。麾旆所臨，風行草靡，神筭所指，龍舉雲屬。諸夏廓清，戎翟思韙，興文偃武，闡揚洪烈。明保沖昧，翺翔禮樂之場，撫柔黔首，咸（濟）〔躋〕仁壽之域。自霜露所墜，星辰所經，正朔不通，人跡罕至者，莫不踰山越海，北面稱蕃，款關重譯，脩其職貢。是以禎祥發采，左史載其奇，玄象垂文，保章審其度，鳳書表肆類之運，龍圖顯班瑞之期。重以珠衡日角，神姿特挺，君人之義，在事必彰。書不云乎，「皇天無親，惟德是輔」。民心無常，惟惠之懷。神祇之眷如彼，蒼生之願如此。笙管變聲，鍾石改調。朕所以擁琁持衡，傾佇明哲。

Our High Ancestor was reverent, bright, learned, and deep; he roused the people and fed virtue until the sacred spirit smiled and the four seas were his. The late reign knew one disaster after another; villains swarmed; drums beat all night and the host was armed at dawn; millions of people could not find rest from dawn to dark. The heir was idle and cruel and scourged the realm; the sacred vessel was shifting and the registers had no lord—we lived only by a hero's hand in the storm. The King alone takes heaven and earth as his pattern, vast and bright; his light is the sun and moon, his kindness is cloud and rain. When the realm stumbled, his stern light struck outward; when the royal design was unclear, his deep counsel lit the court within. He rebuilt Min and Wu, stilled Huai and Ji again, calmed the Jiujiang floods, swept the coastal plague, cast out the wicked, kept our altars burning, made the old new, and turned the King's light across the land. When court favorites broke rank, he cut them with statecraft; when Jing and Han rose against him, he answered with thunder. Where his banners went, grass bent in the wind; where his strategy pointed, hosts rose like dragons on clouds. The heartland was cleared, the barbarians turned to right; he raised learning and stilled arms and widened the great flame. Guarding his own modesty, he moved in ritual and music; gentling the people, all —[ascended]— ascended to the land of benevolent long life. From the reach of frost to the track of stars, wherever the calendar had not run and feet seldom walked—none failed to cross sea and mountain, turn north as vassals, come through many tongues to the gate, and keep their tribute. Omens flared, the Left Historian wrote the wonder, heaven's signs wrote their text, the omen officer judged their degree, the phoenix book marked the age of the peoples, and the dragon chart showed the hour of grace. And with pearl brow and sun corner, his godlike form stood apart; a king's bearing shows itself in every deed. The Book says: "High Heaven has no favorites—it helps only the virtuous." Hearts shift; only grace wins them. Gods and earth favored him so; the people wished it so. Pipes and bells were already changing their pitch. So I hold the jade and the scale and wait, bowed toward wisdom.

:昔金德既淪，而傳祚于我有宋，曆數告終，寔在茲日，亦以水德而傳于齊。式遵前典，廣詢羣議，王公卿士，咸曰惟宜。今遣使持節、兼太保、侍中、中書監、司空、衞將軍、雩都縣侯淵，兼太尉、守尚書令僧虔奉皇帝璽綬，受終之禮，一依唐虞故事。王其允副幽明，時登元后，寵綏八表，以酬昊天之休命。

When the Metal reign fell, the line came to our Song; the count ends today and by Water's turn passes to Qi. By the old rite I asked far and wide; princes and ministers alike said it must be done. I now send Staff-Bearer Chu Yuan, Grand Tutor, Palace Attendant, Secretariat Director, Minister of Works, Guard General, and Marquis of Yudu, with Grand Commandant Wang Sengqian, Acting Master of Writing, to deliver the imperial seal and cord and complete the abdication rite as in the time of Yao. King, answer heaven and earth, mount the throne in season, soothe the eight directions, and repay Heaven's bright mandate.

太祖三辭，宋帝王公以下固請。兼太史令、將作匠陳文建奏符命曰：「六，亢位也。後漢自建武至建安二十五年，一百九十六年而禪魏；〔魏〕自黃初至咸熙二年，四十六年而禪晉；晉自太始至元熙二年，一百五十六年而禪宋；宋自永初元年至昇明三年，凡六十年：咸以六終六受。六，亢位也。驗往揆今，若斯昭著。敢以職任，備陳管穴。伏願順天時，膺符瑞。」二朝百辟又固請。尚書右僕射王儉奏：「被宋詔遜位。臣等參議，宜剋日輿駕受禪，撰立儀注。」太祖乃許焉。

The Founding Emperor refused three times; the Song emperor and the whole court pressed until he could not refuse. Grand Astrologer and Master of Works Chen Wenjian submitted on the heavenly signs: "Six is the Kang position. Later Han from Jianwu to Jian'an twenty-five: one hundred ninety-six years, then abdication to Wei; Wei from Huangchu to Xianxi two: forty-six years, then abdication to Jin; Jin from Taishi to Yuanxi two: one hundred fifty-six years, then abdication to Song; Song from Yongchu one to Shengming three: sixty years in all—each dynasty ended in six and received in six. Six is the Kang position. Past and present alike show it plain. In my office I dare offer this small glimpse through the tube. I bow and ask you to follow Heaven's hour and take the signs." Then the ministers of both courts pressed again. Right Vice Director of the Master of Writing Wang Jian submitted: "We have received the Song order to abdicate. We have met and hold that the abdication should be set for a fixed day, with rites drafted and established." The Founding Emperor then agreed.

史臣曰：案太一九宮占推漢高五年，太一在四宮，主人與客俱得吉，計先舉事者勝，是歲高祖破楚。晉元興二年，太一在七宮，太一為帝，天目為輔佐，迫脅太一，是年安帝為桓玄所逼出宮。大將在一宮，參相在三宮，格太一。經言格者，已立政事，上下格之，不利有為，安居之世，不利舉動。元興三年，太一在七宮，宋武破桓玄。元嘉元年，太一在六宮，不利有為，徐、傅廢營陽王。七年，太一在八宮，關囚惡歲，大小將皆不得立，其年到彥之北伐，初勝後敗，客主俱不利。十八年，太一在二宮，客主俱不利，是歲氐楊難當寇梁、益，來年仇池破。十九年，大小將皆見關不立，凶，其年裴方明伐仇池，剋百頃，明年失之。泰始元年，太一在二宮，為大小將奄擊之，其年景和廢。二年，太一在三宮，不利先起，主人勝，其年晉安王子勛反。元徽二年，太一在六宮，先起敗，是歲桂陽王休範反，竝伏誅。四年，太一在七宮，先起者客，西北走，其年建平王景素敗。昇明元年，太一在七宮，不利為客，安居之世，舉事為主人，應發為客，袁粲、沈攸之等反，伏誅。是歲太一在杜門，臨八宮，宋帝禪位，不利為客，安居之世，舉事為主人，禪代之應也。

The historian writes: On the Taiyi Nine Palaces chart, in Gaozu's fifth year Taiyi stood in the fourth palace; host and guest were both lucky, and whoever moved first would win—that year Gaozu broke Chu. Jin, Yuanxing two: Taiyi in the seventh palace; Taiyi as emperor, Tianmu as aide, pressing Taiyi—that year Emperor An was driven from the palace by Huan Xuan. The Great General stood in the first palace, the Participating Minister in the third, blocking Taiyi. The text says checking means government is fixed and all sides resist it—bad for action; in quiet times, bad for stirring. Yuanxing three: Taiyi in the seventh palace; Song Wu broke Huan Xuan. Yuanjia one: Taiyi in the sixth palace, ill for action; Xu and Fu deposed Prince Yingyang. Year seven: Taiyi in the eighth palace, a caged, evil year; neither general could hold; that year Dao Yanzhi's northern campaign won, then lost; both sides suffered. Year eighteen: Taiyi in the second palace, both sides hurt; Yang Nandang of the Di raided Liang and Yi; Qiu Chi fell the year after. Year nineteen: both generals blocked and could not stand—ill luck; Pei Fangming took Qiu Chi and a hundred qing, then lost it all the next year. Taishi one: Taiyi in the second palace, crushed by both generals; that year Emperor Jinghe was deposed. Year two: Taiyi in the third palace, bad to strike first, the host wins; Prince Zixun of Jin'an rose that year. Yuanhui two: Taiyi in the sixth palace, first mover lost; Prince Guiyang Huo Fan rebelled and was killed with his party. Year four: Taiyi in the seventh palace, first mover was guest and fled northwest; Prince Jianping Jing Su was ruined that year. Shengming one: Taiyi in the seventh palace, ill to be guest; in peace, the mover is host, the responder guest; Yuan Can, Shen Youzhi, and the rest rose and were put to death. That year Taiyi stood at Du Gate over the eighth palace; the Song emperor abdicated—ill to be guest, good for the host who holds peace; that was the omen of transfer.

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