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卷二十五 列傳第六 垣崇祖 張敬兒

Volume 25 Biographies 6: Yuan Chongzu, Zhang Jing Er

Chapter 25 of 南齊書 · Book of Southern Qi
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Chapter 25
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1
Yuan Chongzu
2
Yuan Chongzu, styled Jingyuan, was a man of Xiapi. The clan was great and strong; under Shi Hu they had moved from Lueyang to Ye. His great-grandfather Chang had been minister of the masters of writing under Murong De's puppet court. His grandfather Miao, when Song's Emperor Wu attacked Guanggu, brought his private following over in surrender and made his home at Xiapi; he reached general of the flying dragon and administrator of Runan and Xincai. His father Xunzhi was general of accumulated shot; he fell in the service of Emperor Xiaowu of Song and was posthumously made inspector of Ji.
3
簿 使
At fourteen Chongzu already showed talent and resolve; his uncle Huzhi, inspector of Yu, told the kindred: "This boy will surely make our line great—you cannot equal him." Inspector Liu Daolong took him on as chief clerk and favored him warmly. He was named senior general of the kingdom of Xin'an. In the Jinghe years Daolong sought a posting as inspector of Liang and had Chongzu moved to acting staff officer on Prince of Yiyang's northern campaign staff; they went together, and Daolong sent him back to Xiapi to recruit men.
4
使 使
When Emperor Ming came to the throne, Daolong was put to death. Xue Andu rose in revolt; Emperor Ming sent Zhang Yong and Shen Youzhi north against him, and Andu set his generals Pei Zulong and Li Shixiong to hold Xiapi. Zulong called Chongzu to fight at his side; then Liu Mizhi, who led the Qingzhou relief, betrayed his post and surrendered, Zulong's host broke, and Chongzu with a few dozen close men went out by night to save Zulong and escaped with him to Pengcheng. Once the northerners held Xu province, Chongzu stayed on as a roaming officer in the Langya country and would not come back; the enemy could not rein him in. He sent men in secret to Pengcheng to bring out his mother, planning to run south; the affair came to light, and the northerners took his mother hostage. Chongzu's brother-in-law Huangfu Su was tied by marriage to Xue Andu—his elder brother's wife was Andu's daughter—so the enemy trusted him. Su then moved his family and Chongzu's mother to Qushan; Chongzu gathered his troops, held the town, and sent envoys to offer his allegiance. The Grand Ancestor was at Huaiyin; he named Chongzu commander of the Qushan garrison, had his mother escorted to the capital, and Emperor Ming received him.
5
退 退
Qushan hugged the coast, cut off and steep; the people there were still uneasy. Chongzu kept boats afloat along the shore so that if trouble came he could slip out to sea. An officer who had been punished deserted and laid the whole matter before the enemy. The enemy's puppet commandant of Weicheng, Duke Cheng of Gu, inspector of East Xu, had only just won Qingzhou; when he heard the turncoat's story he sent twenty thousand infantry and cavalry against Chongzu and camped at Luoyao, twenty li from the walls of Qushan. Chongzu was still abroad seeing a guest off; inside the walls fear ran high, and men scrambled for the boats to flee. Chongzu returned and said to his intimates: "The foe is only probing as rumor suggests—not a major campaign, just men sent because someone talked. They can be fooled. Bring back a hundred-odd men and the thing is done. But one fright scatters the crowd beyond recall. Go quickly two li out, then come back yelling, "The Aitang loyalists have routed the northerners—the garrison must hurry to help finish them!"" Men in the boats took heart at once and fought to land; Chongzu brought them inside the walls and sent the weak onto the islands. He sent men up the hill with two beacon fires, beating drums and shouting. Enemy scouts decided the garrison was far stronger than they had thought, and pulled back.
6
Chongzu wrote to Emperor Ming: "North of the Huai the people have been broken by the northerners; they look south day and night. My father and uncles held command north of the Huai; our house is planted along the frontier and the people believe in us—one shout and the deed is there for the taking. Yet my name and rank are still too light to overawe the crowd; grant me a borrowed title so all may see." The emperor named him general who assists the state and administrator of North Langya and Lanling. A fugitive named Sima Congzhi plotted to take the commandery by surprise; Chongzu ran him down and struck off his head. He pressed plan after plan, bent on winning back the Huai north.
7
退 使 退 退
Rumors said the northerners would cross into Huainan; the emperor asked Chongzu, who answered that "a light force should drive deep and catch them unaware—go forward, and a fame beyond the age is there for the taking; draw back, and their hunger to pry south is ended." The emperor agreed. Chongzu took several hundred men seven hundred li into enemy country, held South City, fortified Mount Meng, and set the prefectures and counties alight. The enemy came in force; their detached commander Liang Zhan's mother was in their hands, and they took her and made Zhan call to his men: "The main host has left—why stand alone here!" At once hearts split and the men ran. Chongzu said to his men: "If we all run now, not one of us will get away." He stayed behind and fought his way out, shattered the pursuers, and came home. After long toil he was made baron of Xiapi.
8
退
In the first year of Taiyu, he was given acting charge of Xu, shifted the garrison to Longju on the south side of Qushan. Chongzu proposed to dam the stream and flood the flats so northern horses could not pass. The emperor consulted Liu Huaizhen, who said the plan would hold. Chongzu led his officers and clerks to seal the channel, but the work was not yet done. The northern king told the puppet commander at Pengcheng, the Duke of Pingyang: "If Longju is finished, it shames the state—fight for it with your lives." Tens of thousands of horsemen swept down on them without warning. Chongzu led a cavalry charge with the lance but could not break through; he walled a camp and held inside. Rain fell for more than ten days; the northern foe withdrew. Longju was never built in the end. He held in turn the three prefectures of Xuyi, Pingyang, and Donghai; his rank as general stayed the same. He was made southern center-section marshal to the Prince of Shaoling, then again administrator of Donghai.
9
Early on Chongzu met the Founder at Huaiyin; struck by his courage, the Founder favored him. Chongzu told Huangfu Su: "This is my true sovereign; I have found my lord at last—the chance of a lifetime." He began at once to weave his loyalty in secret. Late in the Yuanhui era the Founder grew anxious; he told Chongzu that on taking his orders he was to leave his family with Huangfu Su, gather several hundred men, and cross into enemy country until word came again. When Emperor Cangwu was cast down, the Founder called Chongzu and his men home and made him General of Raiding Attack.
10
使
After Shen Youzhi was crushed, Chongzu was given the staff of authority over Yan, Qing, and Ji, then rose to General of Champion Armies and governor of Yan. When the Founder took the throne he told Chongzu: "I am new to the empire; the northerners cannot read the times and will swarm like ants, using Liu Chang's restoration as their pretext. Their blow will fall on Shouchun. No one but you can stop them." He was made extraordinary bearer of the staff over Yu and Si, governor of Yu, with his rank unchanged. He was enfeoffed as Marquis of Wangcai with a fief of seven hundred households,
11
退 便 西使 西 退
In the second year of Jianyuan, the enemy sent the false Prince of Liang Yudouquan and Liu Chang with a host said to be two hundred thousand foot and horse against Shouchun. Chongzu gathered his officers and said: "They outnumber us; we must beat them with guile. We should strengthen the outer wall and wait. The circuit is broad and cannot hold without water. I mean to dam the Fei and let it flood back on three sides—what say you?"" The officers replied: "When Fotu crossed the border, the Prince of Nanping of Song had his army intact, yet the outer works were too large to hold and he fell back to the inner city. Today's danger is tenfold worse. For generations no one has built the Fei dam; the ground is wrong and pooled water does no good. If we press ahead, I fear it will not serve." Chongzu said: "You see one thing and miss the other. Abandon the outer wall and they will take it, raise towers outside and a long ring inside; with nothing between, we are caught from both sides—that is to sit and hand ourselves over. Hold the outer works and build the dam—that is the plan I have pressed from the first." On the city's northwest they threw up a dam across the Fei; north of it they built a small fort ringed with a deep trench and posted several thousand men. Chongzu told his chief clerk Feng Yanbo: "The enemy are greedy and rash; they will throw everything at the small fort to smash the dam. The trench is narrow and the fort small—they will think one push will take it and climb like ants. Let the flood go in one rush, swift as through the Three Gorges; when they break and run, they will drown of themselves. Is that not a little labor for a great prize?" The enemy massed on the west road south of the dam and sent a column up the east road to storm the small fort at close quarters. Chongzu put on a white gauze cap, was carried shoulder-high onto the wall, and worked the sluice with his own hands. At sunset he broke the Xiaoshi dam. The flood poured down; the attackers were swept into the trench; thousands of men and horses drowned, and the host broke and ran.
12
便 西
Earlier, at Huaiyin, Chongzu had told the emperor he was another Han Xin or Bai Qi; none believed him but the throne alone; Chongzu bowed twice and took the word. When news of the victory came in, the emperor told the court: "Chongzu vowed he would break the northerners for me—and so he has. He always named himself with Han Xin and Bai Qi; today he has earned the name." He was promoted to grand marshal as General Who Pacifies the West, and his fief was raised to fifteen hundred households. Hearing that Chen Xianda and Li Anmin had both been granted extra military pomp, Chongzu asked the throne for drums, pipes, and transverse flutes. The emperor wrote back: "Men like Han Xin and Bai Qi must stand apart." He was given one suite of drums and pipes.
13
Fearing another strike north of the Huai, Chongzu asked to shift the Xiaocai garrison to the river's east bank. That winter the enemy did mean to take Xiaocai; learning the garrison had moved inland, they announced they would raze the old town. Many thought the enemy would hold the old town; Chongzu said: "Xiaocai lies a stone's throw from headquarters—the northerners would never dare leave a post there; they only want the old walls gone. They fear only that routed men will escape the slaughter." The enemy did level Xiaocai; Chongzu crossed the Huai at the head of his men, broke them, chased them several tens of li, and killed or captured by the thousand.
14
使
The emperor sent an envoy through the passes to learn the enemy's movements; on his return he told Chongzu: "Do you think I mean only to hold the lands east of the Yangtze? What we lack is grain—work the fields with all your might, and the last of the enemy will fall of themselves." He ordered Chongzu to restore and work the Shao Po irrigation lands.
15
西 使 便 西 便
When Shizu took the throne, Chongzu was called back as Attendant Cavalier-in-Ordinary and General of the Left Guard. Soon an edict kept him in his present post and added the style Pacifies the West. He was then made Minister of the Five Armies, while retaining the post of General of Raiding Cavalry. Earlier the Prince of Yuzhang stood in high favor; while Shizu was crown prince at the Eastern Palace, Chongzu would not court him. After the northern enemy was broken, an edict brought him to court for secret talks with the crown prince. Shizu distrusted him yet treated him with studied honor; after wine he told Chongzu: "The rumors in the world—I have emptied them from my breast. From this day forward, fortune and office are entrusted to you." Chongzu bowed his thanks. When Chongzu had gone, the throne again sent Xun Boyu with an oral command: on border business he was to take orders and ride out that same night, without farewell at the Eastern Palace. Shizu read this as proof that Chongzu's loyalty was hollow, and he nursed the wound. At the Founding Emperor's death, fearing Chongzu might turn dangerous, the court moved him inland. On the ninth day of the fourth month of Yongming 1, an edict ran: "Yuan Chongzu is brutal, foul-tongued, reckless, and hot-tempered; in youth he showed no decent way of life. In days when army and realm were beset on every side, we used what little one man could offer. When the great mandate brightened, he was raised again and again—yet gully and ravine could not fill him, and his appetite only widened. Last year in the west he conspired beyond the frontier; his disloyal heart was plain to all, near and far. We treated him with special forbearance, hoping he might mend his ways. Instead his duplicity deepened, his will set on rebellion. With Xun Boyu he rallied the restless, eyed what was not his to take, and fanned trouble on the marches—court and border acting as one skin. General of Pacifying the North Sun Jingyu uncovered the whole treachery and laid it before the throne. To destroy evil you must cut the root; on such guilt the law knows no mercy. Take him now, and let justice run its course." He was put to death at forty-four. His son Huilong was exiled to Panyu and died there.
16
Zhang Jing'er
17
Zhang Jing'er came from Guanjun in Nanyang commandery. He had been named Gou'er; Emperor Ming of Song thought the name base and gave him another. His father Zhang Chou was a commandery general and rose to staff aide on a frontier headquarters.
18
便 退
From boyhood Jing'er excelled at bow and saddle, had nerve to spare, loved hunting tigers, and never missed. Xinye in Nanyang bred riders and archers, and Jing'er had uncommon thews. He asked to enter the ranks as relay captain at the Qu'e garrison; the province posted him as a headquarters guard, then as deputy of the commandery horse troop, and at last troop chief. He rose to acting staff officer on the Pacify-the-Barbarians staff. With his countryman Liu Hu he marched under the army commander against the hill Man of Xiangyang, plunging into the roughest ground and shattering every force he met. He fought the Huyang Man as well. The imperial column fell back; thousands of tribesmen gave chase. Jing'er alone brought up the rear, drove into the pursuers through dozens of passes, cut down scores of men, and took an arrow under the left arm—yet the enemy could not bring him down.
19
西
Wang Xiuyou, Prince of Shanyang, General Who Pacifies the West, held Shouyang and wanted men who could ride and shoot. Jing'er volunteered and won his notice, becoming senior acting staff officer commanding the white-guard company. At the opening of the Taishi era he was made General of Pacifying the North, followed the staff as aide on the Rapid Cavalry headquarters, and was placed in charge of central military affairs. When the army commander marched against the Yijia rebels, he held Liu Hu at Magpie-Tail Isle, asked Emperor Ming for his home command, and after victory received Nanyang as administrator, his general's rank unchanged. Earlier, when Wang Xuamo governed Yong, the land census had shifted Jing'er's kin to Wuyin; once Jing'er took office he moved them back to Guanjun.
20
In the third year Boling, Huanlong, and other sons of Xue Andu seized Shunyang and Guangping and raided Yicheng and Fufeng. Wang Xiuruo, Prince of Baling, as inspector, sent Jing'er and Liu Rangbing of Xinye against them; in joint battle they broke the rebels and drove them out. He was transferred to Shunyang as administrator, still holding his general's rank.
21
When the Nanyang tribes stirred, Jing'er was again named administrator of Nanyang. Mourning his mother, he went home. The court feared a move by Wang Xiufan, Prince of Guiyang, and quietly made ready; Jing'er was then recalled as General of Pacifying the North and Commandant of Valiant Cavalry. When Guiyang rose, he served under the Founding Emperor at Xinting. Stones and bolts were already flying when Xiufan came below the wall in white robes on a litter to cheer his men; from the city his guard looked few. Jing'er and Huang Hui urged the Founding Emperor: "Guiyang's post is lightly held. Feign surrender and close on him—he can be taken."" The Founding Emperor said: "If you bring this off, I will give you the province as your prize."" The two went out the south gate, threw down their arms, and fled, crying that they yielded. Xiufan rejoiced and called them to his litter; Huang spoke aloud the Founding Emperor's secret plan, and Xiufan trusted him. Huang caught Jing'er's eye; Jing'er snatched Xiufan's own blade and struck off his head. Several hundred of Xiufan's men broke and ran. Jing'er raced to Xinting with the head in his hand. He was named General of Raiding Cavalry and also General Who Assists the State.
22
便使
The Founding Emperor thought Jing'er still too slight in standing to trust with the great post at Xiangyang. Jing'er would not cease his pleading, and at last nudged him: "Shen Youzhi sits in Jing Province—do you know what he intends? If you do not send me to hold him in check, I doubt it will serve your interest."" The Founding Emperor smiled and did not answer, then made Jing'er Bearer of the Staff, overall commander of Yong and Liang and of two Ying and Si commanderies, Inspector of Yong, with his general's rank as before, and enfeoffed him as Marquis of Xiangyang at two thousand households. His column lay at Hankou. Jing'er crossed the river in a skiff to pay his respects to Xiao Xie, Prince of Jinxi. Midstream a gale struck and the boat went over. The strong swimmers on his left and right each struck out alone; two junior clerks were caught under the deck, shouting "My lord!" Jing'er pinned one under each arm. The skiff rolled and righted, rolled and righted again, yet he stayed on the surface; so he was thrown along for many li before a rescue boat took him up. He had lost the credential staff he bore; the court gave him another.
23
When Shen Youzhi learned that Jinger had gone to his command, he sent men to watch him. He saw the Yongzhou welcoming column drawn up in great state, feared a sudden strike, and quietly braced himself. Once Jinger was in the province, he courted Youzhi hard; gifts and messages flowed without pause. He learned Youzhi's every move and sent secret word to the Grand Ancestor. Youzhi received the Grand Ancestor's letters about the secret selection of regional governors and kept showing them to Jinger, hoping to bait a double game—but Jinger never broke faith. Late in Yuanhui, Xiangyang was struck by flood; level ground lay several zhang deep, the people's wealth was washed away, and the region was left empty. The Grand Ancestor wrote to Youzhi telling him to open relief grain; Youzhi never so much as looked to the task.
24
使使
Jinger and Youzhi's chief aide Liu Rangbing were close; when Cangwu was cast down, Jinger feared Youzhi would seize the hour to rise, and quietly put the question to Rangbing. Rangbing answered not a word, only sent him a single stirrup—and Jinger armed himself at once. In the winter of Shengming 1, Youzhi turned rebel and sent an envoy to Jinger; Jinger welcomed him with every courtesy, set food and wine before him, and said, "Why has Lord Shen sent you so suddenly, sir? You are ripe for the headsman." Then he drew up his men before the hall and struck off the envoy's head, mustered his command, watched Youzhi's lower camps, and made to fall on Jiangling.
25
使 使 使 西 殿
At that time Youzhi sent the Grand Ancestor a letter, which read: I have heard that fish forget one another in rivers and lakes, and men forget one another in the arts of the Way; you and I may be said to have understood this. In the Daming era, mistakenly serving the sage ruler, I was shamefully joined with you in attendance and guard. Our bond endured hardship and separation; our loyalty was as firm as metal cut in two. We divided cloth for clothing and shared grain for food. When we met Jinghe's benighted violence, our hearts rotted and our bodies burned; how could such suffering be fully expressed? I resigned myself to having my head smashed below the palace stairs, and you too feared the extermination of your clan by the palace attendants. At that time our hearts were already firm as bedrock, and in duty there was no second plan; pressed by the difficulty of the times, we drew one another along seeking survival. The Way of Heaven pities the good; this principle is not empty. The beginning of our marriage alliance truly rested on this depth of feeling. When Emperor Ming rose like a dragon, all those men became ghosts. You and I received the great act of creation. Our closeness surpassed old favor; we were treated like ministers of a new age, our hearts and deeds were recorded, and again we were shamefully employed. On the day he approached death, I was included among those entrusted with his charge, and was given added honor and favor, with deep grace and high rank. Though my feelings fall short of men of old, I roughly understand loyalty and integrity; I swore in my heart to repay him above, expecting certain death. This sincere intent was never carried out, and when the Former Emperor ascended afar, my small wish was forever taken away. From then on, speech and meetings with you have nearly ceased. It is not only that our outward traces separated; matters naturally came to this. Whenever you deigned to send me a message, I never failed to weep over the paper. How would I wish to rebuke you now? But if I have something in my heart, I cannot keep from stating it. At first I received your worthy son Ze's note, saying that a family letter had arrived and that you had undertaken the matter of deposition and enthronement, bringing peace to the state and calm to the people. This achievement was towering, not something ordinary men like us could believe. Soon I received the Empress Dowager's provisional order, saying that you had secretly formed a deep strategy and decided it alone in your breast. How strong you were! Yet though a cap be worn out, it cannot be used to support the feet; that is because all alike honor what is high. You bound yourself to those at the ruler's side and personally carried out killing and rebellion to avoid danger to yourself. You must think Longfeng and Bigan were merely fools. In general, a great matter of deposition and enthronement cannot be broadly discussed. Yet Yuan and Chu were entrusted with the former charge, and Liu was a close relative of the state. These several ministers had rich and fertile standing and ancestry, and in person and rank all held the expectation of the time. If men like these were not consulted, with whom could you lay bare your heart? The replacement of darkness by brightness has existed since antiquity; was the Great Song alone to suffer blockage? The splendid precedents of former ages shine throughout the histories; allow me to speak of them for you. The assembled lords should have deliberated together, reported to the Empress Dowager, received her order, and acted, sending him from the palace with the rites of a prince. Could you fail to understand the great principle? You should have listened to the words of gentlemen. How could you wipe out Heaven's order so completely, to such a point as this? The Classic of Filial Piety says, "Taking service to one's father as the basis for serving one's ruler." Even if this was a great plan for the ancestral temple and altars of soil, if it was not so, did you not know there is meaning in ruler and kin? Then again you frightened them with danger to their families and baited them with titles and rewards. Base men, without character, then carried out murder. Though my understanding is slight, I privately seek comparisons in antiquity: was there ever a minister who did what was done in recent days? To make him suddenly suffer poison and bitterness, with body and head separated: while alive he may have been hateful, but what crime had the dead man? Moreover, there were rewards for entering the chamber; from what statute did this provision come? Among all ministers and servants, who was not grieved and horrified? Chinese and foreigners beat their hearts, and travelers on the road wept blood. It even came to not encoffining him, letting crawling insects remain at the door. Since antiquity, how many precedents are there for this? The state of Wey was tiny, yet it had Hong Yan; I had not thought that our Song alone would lack such a man. I beat my breast in grief and cannot stop myself. How are you different from those who killed him before? Human feeling easily turns back and becomes sighing grief; is it not difficult to be son and ruler? Is this any different from the parable of trampling another's field path? Guan Zhong had a saying: when the ruler was good, he never failed to remonstrate. No remonstrance from you was heard; you willingly accepted Cui Zhu's crime. How bitterly wicked and rebellious! In the past, when Taijia was restored to the throne, Yi Yin had no doubts about himself. The faults of Changyi were beyond counting, yet Huo Guang, bearing his charge, still deliberated together with the court ranks and only afterward deposed him. Because there was the grant of a bath-town estate, commentators did not name it coercing the ruler. Huan Wen's heart had not forgotten usurpation. Haixi lost the Way and human relations were utterly exhausted, yet when Huan Wen deposed him publicly, he still treated him with ritual. When Wen was powerful and flourishing, who could resist him? Yet he still feared appearances, and within the four seas men were not satisfied; there had never been anyone who gladly promoted him. Yi Yin and Huo Guang have names lofty in ministerial integrity, and the Huan clan too managed to avoid the charge of coercive seizure. All these matters are spread through the books; being so easy to understand, how could they require pointing out on the palm? You often said you matched your steps to Boyi and Shuqi; how could you in one morning act worse than Jie and Zhi? When sage brightness opened its fortune and the black-haired people were created anew, under all Heaven and throughout the land, who did not sing and clap? It truly was a day to open one's heart, exhaust one's integrity, serve the public, and forget the private. Yet you made a great seizure of palace women, plundered the imperial stores, and surely filled your private rooms with weapons, gold, and treasures. You shifted and changed the old court, installed your private faction, entered the palace in armor, and put all keys to the inner and outer palace gates in the hands of your family members. I do not know whether Zimeng and Kongming left instructions like this. Did the Wang, Xie, Tao, and Yu clans act in this way? Moreover, Zhufang is the imperial homeland and is not entrusted to any but kin. You are not a relative of the state, yet in one morning you acted with arbitrary license and planted yourself there, saying, "The son guards Taicheng and the father occupies the Eastern Office." What differs from a single family holding two recorderships? I know your defenses and barriers are repeated layer on layer, with suspicion and fear in ten thousand forms. You say they guard against the distant, but in truth they guard against those within. If your virtue satisfied the hopes of others, even Yi and Mo peoples could open their hearts and live with you; if you lose principle and go against the Way, walls of metal and moats of boiling water are of no use. Wen Chang guarded himself with spears and halberds; how did that save him from destruction? Wu Qi said, "If duty and ritual are not cultivated, all the men in the boat are enemies." Since you have none of Wu Yuan's grief and merely harbor greed, with a heart to injure Song, how could I abandon Shen Bao's integrity? I have heard that those who seek loyal ministers must find them in the gates of filial sons. Your loyalty and filiality are exhausted here! Now you steal gold and silk from the imperial treasury to carry out treacherous favors, and rob the state of authority and titles to bind men's feelings. Moreover, grants are not made according to principle: whoever joins you is rewarded. This method already cannot be used constantly, and once it has been used up, I fear it will not be a loyal strategy. Furthermore, those who receive them are not grateful, and those who understand do not approve. You cannot halt treachery or break plots; sincere integrity is moved to grief. Separated by several thousand li of obstruction, I have no means to face you myself. I do not know with what feeling or face I could again recount with you the old affection of our lives. I have heard that former worthies, when breaking off friendship, did not issue evil words. This is only to state the name and integrity in my breast, and thereby say farewell for a thousand years. As I set down the brush my sighs increase; for public and private reasons tears fall. I imagine you will not deeply resent the words above. Yet the ears and eyes of the realm cannot be deceived. You should also know yourself that when the staff is thrown into the boundless, it will surely reach you first.
26
便 使 便 便 西 殿西 西 使 西 西
The Grand Ancestor moved out to camp at Xinting and answered Youzhi in a letter, saying: I received your letter of reproach. That our friendship has not lasted is shame enough. If you wish to come down, then come; why so often wrong a gentleman? From youth I entered service; how could I have expected great things? I was moved by Zilu's words and never chose office before serving. By Emperor Wen's time, I first received the sage and enlightened ruler's recognition and favor; and in Emperor Xiaowu's court, I again received the heroic ruler's regard. Because of this I was moved with gratitude and could not turn back upon myself. When I joined sleeves with you and fixed our friendship, our affection was clear and our bond distinct; did we ever fail to admire the hearts of ancient state heroes and prize the loyal integrity of former worthies? As for our hard times and cups of wine, our earnest clasping of sleeves, my offering a daughter to make a marriage, and our wills pledging assent to each other, who could come between such deep duty and trust? Then during Jinghe's oppressive cruelty, matters pressed us with fear and anxiety. When Emperor Ming took his proper place, our fortunes shared in his rest and splendor; opening our breasts and speaking our hearts, how could we differ in danger or safety? At the end of Yuanhui, he listened to Gao Daoqing's crooked words and wished to attack us, issuing threats and edicts already carried out inside and outside the court. At that time ministers and subjects clamped their mouths, and people on the roads spoke only with their eyes. Because the duty of our shared friendship was weighty and hardship should be borne equally, I faced naked blades and guaranteed your safety. The perverse ruler's handwritten edict is now sealed and sent for your inspection. Was I not afraid of his power? I simply thought of the duty by which we had moved together. Considering this hidden favor, what shame is there in my breast? I did not say you vilely harbored calamitous deceit. Earlier I sent Wang Siwen with a note on court affairs; my feeling was that family and state were alike, and that we should examine together whether the plan was sincere. With an empty heart, in great matters and small, I always laid my thoughts before you first. I asked, when Zhang of Yongzhou was to be replaced, whom did you intend to propose? This was originally advance discussion of future affairs, not a wish to replace Zhang, yet you sealed it and showed it to Zhang, stirring him to anger. If Zhang was misled by one phrase and truly became resentful, that betrayed our ordinary refinement and is something a gentleman would not do. Moreover, Zhang's service to the state has a foundation in loyalty and clarity, and his feeling toward me and his accord in intention are not divided. Again, Zhang of Yongzhou memorialized that the Man there were moving and that the people had also suffered flooding; an edict ordered you to consider plans to manage and rescue them. I too had a statement: discussing the state as one would a family, I set out my feelings and sent them, always hoping for open understanding. Yet whenever matters touched each other, there was always suspicion and separation. Instead you said that sending a messenger without cause was spying. A level and honest breast was obstructed whenever it moved; who caused this injury to the trust of our hearts? Previously you sent a letter, seeking our covenant and strengthening old bonds, urging that we end with sincerity. I merely attached a reply, fully stating the root of my feelings, and our distant pledge was then firm as metal and stone. In today's conduct, who is truly ashamed before those long-standing words? The failed virtue at the end of Yuanhui and the situation in which sacrifice was about to perish are things you fully heard; there is no need to repeat them urgently. The Empress Dowager was anxious and followed the former command; the plan of raising up and casting down fell to my humble person. Deposing darkness and establishing brightness truly followed former models; calming the clan and quieting the state, how did I shame earlier worthies? Deposition and enthronement had proper order, and you approved it. With what words will you make the reproach about a worn-out cap? Was enfeoffing him as a commandery prince really a loss of ritual? Jinghe had no title; compared with that, was this not better? Longfeng possessed the beauty of a common man, while Yi Yin and Huo Guang were ministers of the altars. To multiply sameness and difference together is not something I accept. There were rewards for entering the chamber; Shouji had already received them before. Those who shared the plan obtained merit; the Ming Emperor had also done this in the past. These are accomplished precedents following one upon another; who would dare object? You say that I made a great seizure of palace women, plundered the imperial stores, and surely filled my private rooms with weapons, gold, and treasure. If one falsely creates a tiger in the marketplace, it can be more than these words; but if this is used to deceive the people, need the realm fear it has no eyes? If the heart has no flaw, this is not something to trouble over. The granting of armor and weapons is an old institution. Have you ever seen one entrusted with guarding the state and family, whose merit passed through settling the ruler, yet who could come and go lightly and alone, without relying on favored guards? This concern and anxiety was not merely worry for my own person. Reverently receiving this favor, my duty lay only in the principle of the matter. The governorship of Zhufang was the unanimous view of the dukes and ministers; I too thought that, after my slight merit, I would not disgrace one province. Moreover, in the old affairs of Wei and Jin, when the imperial homeland was a provincial office, when did Yuzhou always have to be held by a Cao or Sizhou by a Sima? Receiving the post as a bent glue support is no shame in substance. When Yuan Can held Shitou, you found nothing unacceptable; but when I guarded the Eastern Office, your letter immediately called it wrong. Every movement of my face is met with hatred, and repeated smiles are taken as crimes. Has it come to this? Yuan Can and Liu Bing had received deep and weighty treatment; once family and state were secure, they did not think to soothe and stabilize them, but instead secretly plotted with you inside and outside. On the night they occupied the city, how did they care for the altars? Fortunately Heaven did not prolong the disorder, and the ancestral temple had spirit; I immediately joined plans with Chu, General of the Guard, made a righteous decision, and destroyed them in time. I imagine that when you heard of it, you were disappointed, isolated, and dejected. My young son shamefully held the post of Attendant-in-Ordinary, a grace passed down through generations; when he happened to serve on duty in the upper offices, you immediately called it one family holding two recorderships. You spoke without choosing your words; truly this was excessive. My heart is something men of old have all spoken of, yet you use former worthies such as Tao and Yu to reproach me greatly. Examine yourself: how could you present me with this? To compare my tracks with Boyi and Shuqi may be acceptable when speaking of me; to say my conduct surpasses Jie and Zhi is surely close to slander. You say I did not attend court; this is good instruction. As to whether I attended or not, I expect you should ask again. You received the Former Emperor's grace and held troops in the western province. On the day of Dinghu, all the land rushed in mourning, yet you feasted at ease in midstream and drank heavily as if nothing had happened, already harboring a wolf's ambition and insulting the imperial court. His Highness of Jinxi, as the emperor's younger brother, went to replace you in the command, but you cut off the welcoming parties, slighted the imperial kinsman, drove off and seized soldiers and horses, and sent them all westward, leaving in Ying only the inferior and weak. In the past, when tribute grass was not sent in, righteous armies were still mobilized; how much more when Jingzhou, with its products and its meeting point with Yong, Min, Jiao, and Liang, has offered what goods since you became its governor? Fine horses and strong soldiers are not lacking there; good hides and beautiful rugs gather through trade and gifts. How much tribute has been offered before and after? I have heard only that food has sometimes been sent to the Grand Provisioner. During the Guiyang crisis, you sat watching success or failure, considering yourself so composed south of the Han that you could be compared to the Earl of the West. Thanks to the fact that Yuan soon died, your improper hopes also vanished. You also gathered fugitives, cut off travelers, repaired boats and tested warships, constantly took the court as your target, fed horses and gripped your sword, and always wished for dust storms under Heaven. Is this truly how a subject acts? You even failed to obey imperial documents, treated edicts as empty, blocked the state's grace from being carried out, obstructed commands, replaced appointments to commanderies and counties with your own temporary commissions, and forbade dismissed officials returning to the capital. When wicked men left your territory, you always pursued them a thousand li, yet you recruited generals from the court, richly rewarding any who came. When the Grand Consort sent envoys to buy horses and carry valuables to Shu, you cut them all off and took them as private wealth. All this has been heard far and near and is exposed to sight and hearing. When the sovereign, in his brilliant wisdom, held the jade disk, the realm rejoiced together, distant lands offered gifts, and ten thousand states sent letters; yet you lingered a hundred days before there was even a single rider. That your intent lay merely in seeing off the past can be proven from this. With nonattendance like this, who should receive reproach? For you instead to scold me is not something I can rest easy with. Now you marshal troops to peer into the Elephant Hall and point long halberds at the palace gates. Is this not something to make loyal ministers and filial sons grieve in heart and ache in head? Your worthy son Yuanyan escaped the tiger's mouth, and when he crossed the waves westward, I was the one who sent him off. I still extended my old feelings and did not fear ridicule. Yet you still destroy the order between ruler and subject; how much more my common-cloth friendship with you? What is already done cannot be remonstrated against, and what is past is hard to blame. Now the six armies face west, and I worry for you.
27
使 使 西
Youzhi, with acting chief clerk Jiang Yi, registrar Fu Xuan, and the rest, held Jiangling. They thought Jinger's host too slight to matter and set it aside. When Jinger's messenger came with word of the betrayal, the Grand Ancestor was overjoyed; Jinger was raised to General Who Pacifies the Army, made Regular Attendant of the Scattered Riders, named overall commander, and given a suite of martial music. Youzhi was broken at Ying and fled; his son Yuan Yan, with Jiang Yi, Fu Xuan, and the rest, still held Jiangling. Jinger's army came to White Water; Yuan Yan heard cranes beyond the wall and mistook them for battle cries—his heart failed and he meant to bolt. That night Jiang Yi and Fu Xuan opened the gates and ran; the defenses gave way; Yuan Yan fled to Chong Isle and was slain. The people were already tearing at one another; when Jinger entered Jiangling he killed Youzhi's kin and allies, seized goods worth several hundred thousand, and kept every coin for himself. Youzhi hanged himself at Tangzhu village; the locals sent his head to Jing; Jinger had it carried on a shield under a green canopy, displayed through the wards, and then forwarded to the capital. He was raised to General Who Pacifies the West, made duke, and his fief increased to four thousand households.
28
西
Jinger raised a great house west of Xiangyang and piled up treasure. He also meant to shift Yang Hu's Weeping Stele and build a terrace where it stood; his steward pleaded, "Grand Tutor Yang's grace still lingers here—it should not be moved." Jinger said, "Grand Tutor? Who is that? I never heard of him." Jinger's younger brother Gong'er refused office and lived in Shangbao village no differently from the neighbors. Jinger called him in and lavished gifts on him; Gong'er came once a month to visit and always went home again. Gong'er had been named Zhuer and changed his name when he followed Jinger.
29
使 使
When Jinger first struck down Shen Youzhi, he reported to Suixian Administrator Liu Daozong; Daozong mustered more than a thousand men and made camp. Sizhou Inspector Yao Daohe spared Youzhi's envoy and secretly told Daozong to stand his men down. When Youzhi besieged Ying, Daohe sent a column to hold Jincheng in Ying's aid; when the war ended he took honors and reward like the rest. Jinger laid the whole matter before the throne. In the first year of Jianyuan, the Grand Ancestor ordered the offices to indict Daohe, and he was put to death. Daohe, styled Jingyong, was grandson to the Di king Yao Xing. His father Wanshou had been a puppet Grand General Who Pacifies the East, surrendered to Emperor Wu of Song, and died as Attendant-in-Ordinary of the Scattered Riders. Daohe first served as acting staff on Emperor Xiaowu's Pacifying North campaign, came of a great house, and read widely in the histories. He loved to brag: "Grandfather was Son of Heaven, father was Son of Heaven, and I myself was once within a breath of the crown prince." In Yuanhui he was General of the Rapid Attack; at Xinting with the Grand Ancestor he helped crush the Guiyang rebels and won merit, became Chief Aide of the Pacifying Army, and went out as inspector of Sizhou—but doubt and timidity left him without judgment, and that brought him to the axe.
30
In the third year Jinger was called in as General of the Protecting Army, Regular Attendant as before. Jinger was a soldier and knew nothing of court forms; when he heard he was to enter the capital, he cleared a inner room, sent everyone out, and rehearsed bows, steps, and answers to the throne, bobbing at the empty air all day while his women stole looks and laughed. When the Grand Ancestor took the throne, Jinger was made Palace Attendant and General of the Central Army. Jinger's rank had already touched the fifth degree of nobility, so his old fief was left as it was. In the second year of Jianyuan, soon he was shifted to Regular Attendant of the Scattered Riders and General of the Flying Cavalry, with a full staff. When the Grand Ancestor died, Jinger wept at home and said, "The old emperor is gone—what a pity for the Son of Heaven! The crown prince is young; he will never favor me as the old man did." The testamentary edict made him Defender of the State with ritual parity of the Three Excellencies; on the eve of the audience he told his women, "Once I take the seal, the Yellow Gate should swing wide." And he beat a drum pattern with his mouth. After the rites Wang Jingze mocked him and hailed him as Chu Yuan. Jinger said, "What I won in the saddle will never turn me into one of those Huailin Pavilion courtiers." Jingze hated him for it from that day on.
31
滿便
Jing'er began illiterate; not until he was a regional governor did he take up study and read the Classic of Filial Piety and the Analects. At the Cimu Shrine in Xinlin he sent a concubine to beg alms and pray to the spirit, styling herself a member of the Three Excellencies. He knew, though, when he had enough; the first time he was granted martial drums and pipes, he was too ashamed to let them sound.
32
使 西 便
His first marriage was to the Lady Mao; she bore Daowen. Later he married the Lady Shang, who was beautiful; Jing'er cast off his first wife and brought her in. Lady Shang stayed in the Xiangyang house and would not follow; afraid he would never leave the capital again, he moved the whole household down to court. He memorialized Emperor Shizu and won no gracious reply; Jing'er's heart turned doubtful. When Yuan Chongzu died his terror mounted. His wife told Jing'er: "Long ago I dreamed my hand burned like fire, and you won Nanyang commandery. In the Yuangui years I dreamed half my body burned, and you won this province. Now I dream my whole body burns again." A palace eunuch heard her and told others. Word reached Emperor Shizu. Jing'er also sent envoys to traffic with the southern barbarians; Shizu suspected treason in his heart. In the first year of Yongming, he ordered the court to the Hualin Eight Precepts fast and took Jing'er in his seat. Jing'er's attendant Lei Zhongxian knew something was wrong, held Jing'er, and wept. Jing'er stripped off his sable cap and flung it down, saying: "This is what destroyed me." Within days he was put to death. The edict read: Jing'er was stupid, from this border stock, benighted and uncultivated. He happened to meet the many troubles at the end of Song and gained some credit for fighting in the field. He rose from the ranks and leapt beyond his proper station. Yet his foolish rashness never ceased, and his boasting and self-praise grew deeper. When he formerly governed his home province, he had long harbored disloyal intentions. In the past We showed broad forbearance, hoping he might be chastened and reform. His rank stood among the Three Excellencies and his noble grade reached the highest of the five orders, yet no sound of gratitude was heard, and treacherous perversity was repeatedly formed. From last year to now, suspicion and duplicity have grown ever worse. General Who Guards the East Jingze and Yin Anmin of Danyang, whenever they attended and met with Us, stated that he was vicious and crafty and would surely plot to bite back. We still thought that moved by grace and duty, his basic nature might change. Recently, however, his offenses and perversity became manifest. Thinking his sons and younger kinsmen in the west were enough to stir alien peoples, he summoned and incited the various Man, scheming to disturb Fan and Xia. He falsely relied on shamans and witches to frighten and delude them, fabricated portents and auspicious signs, and secretly plotted to ask after the tripods. He trod frost in the hour when fortune opened, and hard ice formed in the age that inherited the enterprise. If this can be tolerated, what cannot be endured? The Way of Heaven brings disaster on excess, and his rebellious plot has been exposed. Tang Tianhuo, a commoner of Jiankang, traveled among the Man for trade and fully saw the treacherous plan; courier letters and written messages make the proof brilliantly clear. He may therefore be arrested at once, to set punishments and laws right; as for those reached as his associates, all are specially pardoned.
33
His sons Daowen, administrator of Wuling; Daochang, registrar on the staff of the General Who Punishes the Barbarians; and Daogu's younger brother Daoxiu were all put to death. The youngest son, Daoqing, was pardoned. Years on, at the third-day spring banquet by the winding stream, a skiff drifted to the throne and sank; the emperor spoke of Jing'er and rued having killed him.
34
Gong'er reached the post of Outer Attendant. At Xiangyang, when he heard Jing'er had fallen, he rode off with several dozen followers into the barbarian hills; hunters could not take him. Later he came forward of his own accord; the emperor forgave his crime.
35
Historical appraisal
36
The historian writes: In settled ages a fighting man who means to keep his skin must either seem dull enough to be trusted or sharp enough to slip away—only when mind and deed raise no bar does he win easy grace. Chongzu's grudge was knotted with the eastern court; Jing'er's heart read the proverb of birds spent and bow stowed—the new reign had barely opened, yet their bones were given to harsh law. If the heart is not moved by outrage but by reward, then between fame and gain such deeds are hardly worth the name.
37
In praise: Chongzu the commander—his will lived in the gallop after enemies. He plotted to rake the Huai country and raise his fame as lord of Yu. Jing'er held Yong, his inmost thought a wall against Chu. Was it not labor? In truth he set armies marching. Cook the hound and stash the bow—one road home, two threads of fate.
38
"Lai yuan ji da shi"—doubtful reading.
39
Note
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