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卷五十七 列傳第三十八 魏虜

Volume 57 Biographies 38: Wei Prisoners

Chapter 57 of 南齊書 · Book of Southern Qi
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1
The Northern Wei
2
The Northern Wei were of Xiongnu descent and took the surname Tuoba. During the Jin, Liu Kun, governor of Bing Province, came under attack by the Tugehu chieftain Liu Cong. Yilu of the Suotou Xianbei sent his son Li-sun with an army to relieve Kun at Taiyuan, and Yilu then settled in Dai Commandery; they were also known as Xianbei. Because they wore their hair loose and folded their coats to the left, they were called Suotou—"Disheveled Heads."
3
Yilu's grandson Shiyijian, courtesy name Yulüzhan, later withdrew to Yinshan as Shanyu and led the various Xiongnu tribes. Fu Jian sent his puppet governor of Bing, Fu Luo, against Shiyijian, shattered Longting, seized him, and brought him to Chang'an, where he was given a house and instructed in letters and learning. His followers were split among four commanderies, Yunzhong among them; tribal chiefs came to court each winter and were allowed to see Shiyijian, while levies from the tribes were assigned to maintain him.
4
使
After Fu Jian's fall, his son Gui, courtesy name Shegui, followed his uncle Murong Chui in occupying Zhongshan, resumed leadership of his people, and gradually grew powerful. Gui defeated Murong Bao at Zhongshan, seized Bing Province, declared himself ruler of Wei, and adopted the reign title Tian (auspicious omen) [Gift]—completing the era name Tianci, "Heaven's Gift." Shiyijian was posthumously titled Emperor Liezu Wenping. When Gui died he received the temple name Emperor Daowu. His son Mumu succeeded under the era Taichang; at his death he was styled Emperor Mingyuan. His son Tao, courtesy name Foli, came to the throne and took the era Taiping Zhenjun. During Song's Yuanjia reign, Crown Prince Huang fell out with ministers of the Cui and Kou families, who then slandered him to the throne. The Daoist master Xuan Gao possessed occult powers; Huang had him perform seven days and seven nights of prayer. Foli dreamed that his grandfather Bing stood before him in rage, blade raised, crying, "Why do you heed slander and seek to destroy the crown prince!" Startled awake, Foli issued an edict: "A king's great enterprise rests above all on succession; investiture of the heir is the immemorial custom of the hundred kings. Henceforth, whether the matter be great or small, it must go through the crown prince before reaching me." Later Huang plotted to assassinate Foli and was put to death. When Tao died he received the temple name Emperor Taiwu. Huang's son Jun succeeded, courtesy name Wulei Zhiqin, under the era Heping. Huang was posthumously titled Emperor Jingmu. When Jun died he was styled Emperor Wencheng. His son Hong, courtesy name Wanmin, came to the throne under the era Tian'an. When Crown Prince Hong was born, the reign was renamed Huangxing.
5
西 西 殿 西 殿西殿綿 使 使
When Shiyijian first established his capital at Pingcheng, the people still followed pasture and water and had no walled towns; only under Mumu did they begin to live in settled habitations. Foli conquered Liangzhou and Huanglong, relocated the inhabitants, and undertook large-scale construction of walled districts. The western section of Pingcheng was taken as the palace precinct, with towers at each corner and crenellated parapets; the gates had no gatehouses, and there was no moat. Two earthen gates stood outside the south gate; inside were ancestral temples with four gates painted according to the colors of the four directions—five temples in all, one hall per reign, roofed with tile. To the west stood the Grand Altar of Soil. Foli's residence included three halls such as the Mica Hall; upper stories were added, and he lived on the top floor. The dining kitchen was called the "Azhen Kitchen" and lay to the west; Empress Kesun regularly went there herself for meals. Earlier, Yao Xing had appointed the frontier chieftain Helian Bobo Pacifier of the North, with command over the Five-Department Hu, garrisoned at Dacheng; after Yao Hong's defeat he entered Chang'an. Foli defeated Bobo's son Chang and married Bobo's daughter as his empress. During the Yixi era, Duke Yang Sheng of Chouchi wrote in a memorial that "the Suotou chieftain Bobo is the legitimate Xiongnu line"—meaning this connection. Kesun had once served among the concubine attendants. West of the hall stood more than forty rooms of the armory; north of the hall, more than ten earthen storehouses for silk, cotton, cloth, and brocade. The crown prince's palace lay east of the city, likewise with four gates, tiled roofs, and corner towers. Consorts and concubines all dwelled in earthen houses. Over a thousand maidservants wove damask and brocade for market, sold wine, kept pigs and sheep, tended cattle and horses, and grew vegetables for profit. The imperial kitchen maintained more than eighty granaries, each holding four thousand hu—half grain, half rice. Several dozen tiled rooms held suspended provisions; the Imperial Workshop produced iron and woodwork. Robes and garments were made by women of the inner palace. The crown prince maintained separate storehouses of his own.
6
西 西簿 西
The outer city ringed the palace to the south, entirely laid out in wards with lanes opening between them. The largest wards held four or five hundred households; the smallest, sixty or seventy. Southern wards were searched regularly to guard against subversion and fraud. Seven li southwest of the city stood Mount Baideng, where separate ancestral shrines to the forefathers were built at the mountain's foot. West of the city stood a Heaven altar with forty-nine wooden figures some ten feet tall, wearing white headcloths, white skirts, and horsehair cloaks. On the fourth day of the fourth month cattle and horses were sacrificed; the full guard of honor was displayed, and riders circled the altar at a gallop, performing music and acrobatics. Three li west of the city, stone stelae were inscribed with the Five Classics and the Wei state chronicle; sixty foundation blocks from Shi Hu's carved stone halls at Ye, each over ten feet long, were brought for the work.
7
殿殿 使
Within the realm the inner attendants were called zhizhen, the outer wu'aizhen; bureau clerks bidezhen; robe-bearers pudazhen; arms-bearers huluozhen; interpreters qiwanzhen; gatekeepers kebozhen; the court's humble courier-runners fuzhuzhen; provincial couriers xianzhen; executioners qihaizhen; agents who took testimony abroad zhekuizhen; and noble cooks fuzhen. The Three Excellencies and great nobles were collectively termed yangzhen. Foli appointed the Three Excellencies, Grand Steward, Director of the Department of State Affairs, Vice Director, and Attendants-in-Ordinary, who deliberated on state affairs together with the crown prince. The Palace Director oversaw troops, horses, and stores within the palace; the Music Director, performers, musicians, and guard detachments; the Chariot Director, cattle, horses, donkeys, and mules; the Southern Director, southern frontier provinces; and the Northern Director, northern frontier provinces. There was also the office of qinhun dihe, comparable to Director; moti, comparable to provincial inspector; yuruo, comparable to the two-thousand-dan grade; and shoubieguan, comparable to feudal lords. Every bureau maintained storehouses and parallel offices; incumbents were required to know both Xianbei and Chinese for relay work. The Orchid Terrace housed censors who oversaw affairs within the capital. A jiudouhe office was also established; all civilian households within three li of the palace whose registers were not attached to garrisons came under its jurisdiction.
8
殿 殿 殿
Their carriages included great and small imperial litters, each of five tiers mounted on four wheels and drawn by two or three hundred men, with ropes rigged on all four sides against tipping. Light carriages flew dragon banners; black was the preferred color. Consorts and empresses rode under multicolored canopies without pennant streamers. When the empress dowager went abroad, armored women on horseback flanked the litter. On ordinary outings the Wei ruler and his consorts rode silver-inlaid sheep carts without curtains, sitting sideways with their legs dangling over the shafts; in the hall they likewise sat with legs drawn up beneath them. The main hall was hung with tasseled curtains, a golden Boshan incense mountain, red-lacquered dragon-and-phoenix screens, and woven valances. Wool rugs and cushions were spread for seating. Before them stood golden censers, glass bowls, gold dishes, and vessels for assorted foods. Guests were served on long trays a foot wide; the imperial banquet was laid on a round platter ten feet across. The platter was mounted on a four-wheeled cart; on New Year's day sixty or seventy men hauled it into the hall. On the La festival they performed the year-end expulsion; at the city gates a rooster was sacrificed and reed ropes with peach staffs set up, following Han custom.
9
殿西 殿西
From Foli's reign through Wanmin's, each generation added further ornament. West of the main hall rose an earthen terrace called the White Tower. After Wanmin abdicated he often strolled there to take in the view. South of the terrace stood a Star-Watching Tower. West of the main hall were shrine halls roofed with glazed tiles. Palace gates were given modest roof coverings, but they had not yet adopted true multi-storied gate towers. Colored plaster reliefs were installed, depicting vajra guardian figures. Barbarian custom favored water symbolism; coiling black dragons were painted as charms against evil.
10
Wanmin abdicated in favor of his son Hong and took the title Retired Emperor. Hong came to the throne; his reign title [follows in the next line]. In the sixth year of his reign Wanmin died and was posthumously titled Emperor Xianwen. The era was changed to Chengming year one—the year of his death. His grandmother, Lady Feng of Huanglong, helped administer state affairs. Foli's birth mother had been Han and was killed by Mumu; Foli raised his wet nurse to empress dowager. Thereafter, whenever a crown prince was enthroned, his mother was executed. Another account holds that the Fengs were originally from Jiangdu; Foli seized Lady Feng on a southern campaign, and Jun took her as a concubine—she alone escaped the customary fate. The following year, a dingsi year, the reign was renamed Taihe.
11
使
In the last years of Emperor Ming of Song, peace was first made with the Northern Wei. During the Yuanhui and Shengming reigns, Wei envoys arrived annually. This was the third year of the Wei era Taihe. When Hong learned that the Founding Emperor of Qi had taken the throne, that winter he mobilized an army and sent Prince Liu Chang of Danyang as Grand Preceptor to raid Si and Yu provinces. The following year an imperial edict ordered a general northern expedition. Hong sent the generals Yudoujuan and Duan Changming against Shouyang and Zhongli, but they were routed by Yuan Chongzu, governor of Yu, Right General Zhou Panlong, Cui Wenzong, governor of Xu, and their colleagues.
12
退
Hong again sent the Southern Director Tuoba and others toward Si Province while detachments crossed from Yan and Qing; a hundred thousand troops besieged Qushan, whose commander Xuan Yuandu shut the gates and held out. Lu Shaozhi, governor of Qing and Ji, sent his son Huan with reinforcements. When food ran short inside the city, Shaozhi withdrew to Shitou Pavilion south of the provincial seat and shipped grain and fuel across the sea to sustain the garrison. The Wei forces severed the sea lanes and pressed the assault along the shore, but a great tide swept in and drowned many; Yuandu sallied out and struck hard, inflicting a crushing defeat. The court dispatched commanders Cui Lingjian, Yang Fachi, and Fang Lingmin with over ten thousand men from the Huai down to the sea; at night each ship raised two signal fires. The Wei troops, seeing them, believed a great southern fleet had arrived and fled in panic.
13
退 祿
Yuandu had long claimed a birthmark on his arm foretelling ennoblement; during Song he showed it to the future Founding Emperor, then crown prince, who wrote back: "Strive to make good on that mark upon your arm." When the Wei army withdrew, the court debated rewards of rank; Yuandu credited Shaozhi, and Shaozhi declined in turn, so both ennoblements were set aside. The emperor instead promoted Shaozhi to Gentleman at the Yellow Gates. Yuzhou renamed Shitou Pavilion the Pacify-Barbarians Pavilion. Shaozhi, courtesy name Zixu, came from Fanyang and claimed descent from Lu Chen in the fourth generation. During Song's Daming reign, in the campaign against Guangling, when merit rolls were submitted Shaozhi stepped forward on his own; the emperor appointed him provincial administrator and treated him as a trusted confidant. He rose to Grand Master of Splendid Happiness. He died in office.
14
In the third year, General of the Guards Li Anmin and Left General Sun Wenxian met the Wei army at Huaiyang and won a great victory. When the Wei first invaded, they ravaged the Huai line; north-bank inhabitants, still remembering Foli's campaigns, fled in panic beyond all restraint. The court posted two armies at Liangshan, three to the south, one at Cilao, two at Liezhou, two at Sanshan, one at Baishazhou, five at Caizhou, three at Changlu, two at Gupu, and one at Xupu, distributing ranks and rewards throughout the command to display both favor and severity.
15
The Prince of Changli Feng Sha marched on Si Province; the frontier leader Huan Tiansheng assured him that "all the southern tribes will rise in answer." When Sha arrived, the tribes never stirred. Enraged, Sha hunted along the Huai and withdrew. After defeat at Shouyang and failure at Qushan, the Wei ruler moved to Ding Province and repaired the roads on a grand scale, proclaiming a southern march but daring not advance. He confided to the Prince of Liang Commandery: "Once our men were between the Peng and Si, they lost heart; we need only a battle or two before we can turn home." Defeated at Huaiyang, they broke and ran. Volunteer bands in Qing and Xu had earlier ambushed Wei supply trains and sometimes preyed on one another, yet thousands of households often made their way back south.
16
使 便 使 使 忿調使
The emperor, not yet ready for further campaigns abroad, sent Rear Army Adjutant Che Senglang north as envoy—both because the Wei were already broken and because he wished to show strength joined to conciliation. The Wei asked Senglang: "Qi has assisted Song only briefly—why seize the throne so soon?" Senglang replied: "Yu and Xia took power by elevation and personally performed the transfer of the mandate; Wei and Jin assisted (battle) [the throne], bequeathing it to their descendants. Were those two sage rulers to hurry onto the throne, or those two worthy ministers to retire into private virtue alone? Times differ in what they require—how could one rule fit all? When the times demand it, one bends oneself to answer circumstance." They asked again: "What deeds has the lord of Qi to his credit?" Senglang answered: "Our lord is sage and humane by nature, with vision granted from heaven. In youth Emperor Wen of Song singled him out for favor and brought him into the palace guard. At the opening of Taishi, rebellion broke out everywhere; he pacified Liu Zifang and Zhang Yan in the east, campaigned north against Xue Suo'er, held joint civil and military authority, and received the regent's charge for Yu and Si provinces. The princes of Guiyang and Jianping raised armies in civil war; he destroyed them at a single stroke. Prince Cangwu violated the Way and outdid Jie and Zhou in wickedness; following the example of Yi Yin and Huo Guang, our lord deposed and enthroned rulers. When Yuan Can, Liu Bing, and Shen Youzhi joined in rebellion, he took up banner and axe and crushed the traitor faction. For more than forty years he labored to sustain the age, and for fifteen or sixteen he steered the state through calm and crisis—merit and virtue on which none can disagree." They pressed again: "The south no longer holds Qi lands—why take the title Qi?" Senglang replied: "Yingqiu faces the sea—it was always a great state. The Song dynasty, expanding its realm, held this to be the original fief of Lü Shang. Between the Huai and the sea Qing and Qi still stand—we are not without territory." They asked further: "Why was Prince Cangwu executed outright?" Senglang said: "Cangwu's cruelty exceeds anything in the records; King Wu slew Zhou and displayed his head on the yellow axe—both are matters of record. Where is the injury to righteousness?" During Shengming, envoys Yin Lingdan and Gou Zhaoxian were detained in the north. When they heard the Founding Emperor had taken the throne, Lingdan told the Wei Master of Guests: "Song and Wei were allies who shared common perils. Song is now destroyed and Wei did not save it—of what use is alliance by marriage?" When the Wei invaded Yu Province, Lingdan asked to serve as Liu Chang's marshal but was refused. When Senglang arrived in the north, the Wei seated him below Lingdan. Senglang rose and said: "Lingdan was once Song's envoy; he is now a subject of Qi. I trust the Wei ruler will treat him with courtesy." Lingdan answered hotly and they traded insults. He told the Wei: "This envoy failed his court in loyalty—I am deeply ashamed." Liu Chang bribed an agent to have Xie Fengjun assassinate Senglang at a banquet. The Wei seized Fengjun and executed him, prepared Senglang's body for burial, sent the funeral south with Lingdan's party, and granted lavish compensation. When the Founding Emperor ascended the throne, Zhaoxian reported the full story; Lingdan died in prison; Senglang was posthumously made Gentleman Attendant at the Palace Steeds.
17
使 使 使
That winter Swift Cavalry General Liu Zuan and Vanguard General Zhang Mo were dispatched as envoys to the Wei. The following winter the Wei envoy Li Daogu came on a return visit; the Founding Emperor reviewed naval forces on Xuanwu Lake, boarded the dragon boat, and received him. Thereafter envoys exchanged visits yearly and the frontier remained quiet.
18
西西
In the third year the state first ordered each ward to appoint a head: five households formed a neighborhood, five neighborhoods a hamlet, five hamlets a ward. In the fourth year household registers were drawn up. Provinces and commanderies were reorganized: Yong, Liang, Qin, Sha, Jing, Hua, Qi, He, Xihua, Ning, Shan, Luo, Jing, Ying, North Yu, East Jing, South Yu, West Yan, East Yan, South Xu, East Xu, Qing, Qi, and Ji—twenty-five provinces south of the Yellow River; (Xiang) Xiang Province, Huai Province, (Qin) Fen Province, East Yong, Si, Ding, Ying, Shuo, Bing, Ji, You, Ping, and Si—thirteen provinces north of the Yellow River. Altogether the former Wei and Jin lands of Si, Yu, Qing, Yan, Ji, Bing, You, Qin, Yong, and Liang, together with the Huai-north territories Song had lost, were reorganized into thirty-eight provinces.
19
The following year the frontier leader Huan Tiansheng rose in revolt; the Wei sent more than ten thousand foot and horse to his aid, but at Biyang they were routed by Pacifier of the Barbarians Dai Sengjing and his colleagues. The frontier leader Hu Qiuji rebelled at Xuancheng, was beaten by the Wei, and fled south in defeat. The Pacifier of the South, Duke of Liaodong, and the Pacifier of the South, Duke of Shanggu, attacked Wuyin again; the garrison commander Yin Gongmin, Support-the-State General, held the city and repulsed them. In the sixth year the Wei again sent troops to aid Huan Tiansheng; they met Support-the-State General Cao Hu and suffered a crushing defeat at Gecheng.
20
使 使
In the seventh year envoys Xing Chan and Hou Lingshao were dispatched to renew friendly relations. Earlier Liu Zuan had again served as envoy to the Wei; Empress Dowager Feng took a liking to him and received him warmly. Lady Feng was resourceful and composed eighteen chapters of Imperial Admonitions; the Left Vice Director Li Sichong signed himself as historiographer and supplied commentary. That year Lady Feng died. In the eighth year the Founding Emperor repatriated more than two thousand captives taken at Gecheng.
21
Since Foli's reign they had gradually adopted Chinese institutions, while barbarian custom and state usage intermingled in confusion. Hong was versed in philosophical discourse and literary composition, quick and decisive, with far-reaching designs. On a tour north of the Yellow River he came to Bigan's tomb and wrote an elegy: "Had King Wu not risen, who would have sealed this grave? Alas! (divided earth) [loyal knight]—why will you not be my minister!" In a jisi year Hong established the Round Mound and Square Pond altars and appointed three chief consorts and nine imperial concubines. South of Pingcheng runs the Gan River, which rises in Dingxiang and flows to the sea; fifty li from the city it was known as Suogan Du. The climate was bitterly cold, sandstorms constant, and snow fell even in the sixth month. The court debated relocating the capital to Luoyang.
22
使使 殿 使 使
In the ninth year envoys Li Daogu and Jiang Shaoyou came on a return mission. Shaoyou was clever with his hands; he was secretly instructed to study the layout of the capital palaces. Cui Yuanzu of Qinghe wrote to the Founding Emperor: "Shaoyou is my sister's son and possesses the ingenuity of Gongshu Ban. Captured in Song times, he was made chief craftsman among the Wei. As deputy envoy he will surely copy our palace models. How can we let a felt-tent frontier copy the celestial palace? I urge that Shaoyou be detained while the chief envoy returns to deliver his report. The Founding Emperor, judging this incompatible with good relations, refused. Shaoyou came from Anle. The Wei palace system owed everything to his designs.
23
穿使穿 穿 殿
When Foli campaigned against the Jie Hu in Chang'an, he slaughtered the Buddhist clergy almost to a man. During the Yuanjia invasion he captured monks and confined them in iron cages. Later Foli fell gravely ill; thereafter he revered Buddhism and built pagodas and temples. After abdicating, Hong's father wore Daoist caps and plain robes, kept the precepts, chanted sutras, and lived at the Stone Grotto Temple. Under Hong the monk Faxiu conspired with King Gou'er, King Arugui, and others; when exposed he was imprisoned in an iron cage and shackles, yet broke free unaided; the Wei pierced his neck and bade him swear: "If you have divine power, let the blade not pierce your flesh." They pierced him through and put him to death; he lingered three days before dying. The Prince of Xianyang again sought to slaughter all monks, but Empress Dowager Feng forbade it. Hong was deeply devout, had some grasp of doctrine, and built pagodas within the palace.
24
After touring ancient Luoyang, Hong that year addressed Director Si Shen in an edict: "Heaven and earth unfold their transforming power only through the working of the four seasons; Sun and moon likewise need the five planets to lend their brilliance. Looking up to the holy mother: her wisdom is heaven-sent, her achievement towers over antiquity; she will consult the canonical models and renew the imperial order day by day. We never imagined that crime and rebellion would bring such calamity; suddenly she suffered the final penalty. Looking back, our sorrow is boundless — we can never reach her again. Mindful of her last wishes, I order that a model of the Bright Hall be prepared. The form you have devised encompasses the six directions, surpasses the standards of middle antiquity, and is complete in principle and rite — a pattern that may guide us for a thousand years. You are truly a man for the times, a pillar that will stand firm for generations. When the ministers saw the model, all agreed they wanted it built at once; I too, though unlearned, wish to perform this great ceremony. This year you shall suspend work on the palace city and build this structure instead, raising an extraordinary monument for our dynasty — fulfilling her distant wish and satisfying my present desire. He also ordered the ministers and nobles to collaborate on revising the penal statutes. He also abolished the pre-Laba exorcism, retaining only one annual exorcism rite. He also decreed: "There is no fixed precedent for winter-end court congratulations. Military dress is not what ritual decorum calls for, and issuing cold-weather court robes would only add needless trouble. Henceforth the minor New Year audience is abolished; there shall be a single New Year audience each year." He also decreed: "The title of king is not for common clans to assume; the rank of earl is the standing grade within the five ranks. Descendants of the Founding Ancestor keep their original royal titles; all other kings become dukes, dukes become marquises, marquises become earls, and viscounts and barons remain unchanged. Though the names differ from what they were, the ranks themselves remain as before. Duke is first rank, marquis second, earl third, viscount fourth, and baron fifth."
25
使 西 使 使
In the tenth year, the emperor dispatched Staff Officers Xiao Chen and Fan Yun as envoys to the north. Hong worshipped at the western suburbs, the same place where the heaven altar had stood before. Hong and the pseudo court ministers, with more than twenty mounted attendants in military dress, circled the altar — Hong once, the ministers seven times — in what was called "treading the altar." The next day, again in military dress they ascended the altar to worship Heaven; Hong circled three times and the ministers seven — this was called "encircling Heaven." Ropes were woven together, wooden poles lashed and braced, and the whole covered with green silk; the structure was flat and round, with space below for a hundred people to sit. They called it an "umbrella," or alternatively a "hundred-sons tent." Beneath it they held their feast and rested. They then worshipped at the ancestral temple and displayed governance at the Bright Hall, each time inviting the southern court's envoys to watch. Whenever envoys arrived, Hong received them in person and discoursed on matters of principle. He held men of Qi in high regard and often told his ministers, "South of the Yangtze has many excellent ministers." The pseudo attendant Li Yuankai replied, "South of the Yangtze has many fine ministers — they change their ruler every year; north of the Yangtze has no fine ministers, yet one ruler endures for a hundred years." Hong was deeply embarrassed. He posted Yuankai to Yong Province as chief administrator, then soon recalled him to court.
26
使 使
Early in the reign of Emperor Wu, Hong developed Baixia and told others, "I intend to use this city as my forward staging base." Later at Shitou he constructed open three thousand open carts, planning to reach Pengcheng by land march; his designs became quite obvious. Earlier, when the eighth-year northern envoys Yan Youming and Liu Siqiao returned, the pseudo Director of the Southern Department Li Sichong said, "Peace between our two states exists to shelter the people. I hear the southern court is building ships and chariots on a large scale, intending to strike the Huai and Si. We pledged our hearts to one another — how could this be?" Youming said, "Our sovereign is now extending great good faith throughout the realm, never failing in the bond between lord and subject. Now that we have restored harmony, how could we be double-dealing? Reports from the frontier are scarcely to be trusted. Moreover, if the court were truly to fly into furious wrath fly into furious wrath, the frontier garrisons are stationed far afield and would not draw near each other along the Huai." Sichong said, "Our state is strong; if we planned to advance east of the Huai, what would prevent us from sweeping to the eastern sea and Mt. Heng? All that matters is keeping our pledged word. Besides, now that friendship is established, how could distrust arise again? In antiquity Hua Yuan and Zifan, even in the midst of battle, could still speak to each other with sincerity — that spirit is truly worth emulating." Youming said, "You are not in Zifan's desperate straits — why ask for the privilege of sharing his couch?"
27
西 使
After this Hong also planned a southern invasion of Xu and Yu, stockpiling horse fodder in great quantities between the Huai and Si. In the eleventh year he issued open proclamations and a memorial announcing that he would raid the south. Emperor Wu mobilized the conscript levies of Yang and Xu provinces and greatly expanded recruitment. Zhi You of Beidi gathered several thousand men and rose in rebellion on Western Mountain north of Chang'an. He dispatched envoys to notify Yin Zhibo, Governor of Liang Province. Wang Duren of Qin Province rebelled in support of You, attacking and capturing the pseudo Governor Liu Zao. The people of seven provinces between Qin and Yong rose in response; their forces reached a hundred thousand, each holding fortified walls and awaiting imperial relief. Hong sent his brother, the pseudo Prince of Henan Gan, and Director Lu Yangwu to attack the loyalist forces in Qin and Yong; Gan suffered a crushing defeat. You gave battle, advancing to Turbid Valley north of Xianyang and besieging the pseudo Minister of Works, Prince of Changluo Miao Laosheng. In the general engagement he routed them again, and Laosheng fled back to Chang'an. Yin Zhibo, Governor of Liang Province, sent Commanders Xi Deren and Zhang Honglin with several thousand men to join You's forces and advance on Chang'an; everywhere they went, resistance collapsed.
28
退 使鹿 使 便 使
Just then Emperor Wu died. Hong, learning that Guanzhong was in peril, announced that he was withdrawing his army upon hearing of the mourning. In the eighth month, Lu Shusheng — envoy bearing credentials, General Who Pacifies the South, Commander-in-chief of military affairs in Xu, Qing, and Qi provinces, Captain of the Southern Gentlemen, Chief Administrator of the Marquis of Guangling's household, and concurrent Administrator of Huaiyang — addressed the Chief Administrator's office of Yan Province in Qi: "I have received the command transmitted by the Office of the Director of the Department in the official dispatch: 'The imperial army thunders forth, banners turn southward; we swear to cleanse the Yangtze of evil and to clear away the mists of Mt. Heng. Toward the end of last month we crossed the river and encamped at the Luo. When the earlier envoys Xing Luan and others arrived, we learned that they had suffered a great bereavement. In accordance with the principle of the Spring and Autumn Annals, upon hearing of mourning one ceases campaigning. Accordingly I have ordered the officials to halt the imperial carriage and draw rein, rest the horses at Huayang, and sheathe the weapons north of Song. He will then inaugurate the rites of Zhou, bring light to the central realm, establish the imperial foundation for eternity, and extend this glorious enterprise for ten thousand generations. imperial throne The imperial throne holds firm the orthodox succession; the great transforming power grows ever new; the four seas receive blessings, and all inscribe this rejoicing.' Therefore this is sent forth for your information — let it be carried out as decreed." He also sent envoys to offer condolences on the state's bereavement. Hong sent the pseudo generals Yang Dayan and Zhang Congming with tens of thousands of men to attack You; You, Guang, and the others were all killed.
29
使
The court sent Staff Officer Liu Jiao of the Department of State Affairs and Cavalry Attendant Shen Hong as return envoys to the north. Hong used the style Xuanlan, "Profound View." That summer the Northern Wei general Lu Zhiqing of Pingbei surrendered with his troops. Hong appointed him to supervise military affairs in Luo Province, with concurrent titles as Colonel Who Pacifies the Barbarians, General Who Punishes the Barbarians, and Governor of Luo Province. That year Hong moved the capital to Luoyang and changed the imperial surname to Yuan. Long ago a Xiongnu woman named Tuoba married Li Ling; by barbarian custom the mother's name became the clan name, so the Northern Wei were said to be Li Ling's descendants. They fiercely suppressed this claim — anyone who said they were Li Ling's heirs was put to death. Only now did they change the surname.
30
Hong heard that Emperor Ming's accession was illegitimate; having just moved the capital, he also wished to display his power on a grand scale. That winter he personally led a great army in divided raids against the four provinces of Yu, Xu, Si, and Liang. He sent the pseudo Governor of Jing Province Xue Zhendu and Director Xi Qi'a'po out from Nanyang toward Shapo, where they built fortifications and dug trenches; Fang Yuyu, Administrator of Nanyang, and Liu Siji, Administrator of Xinye, defeated them.
31
殿
In spring Emperor Ming sent General Who Guards the South Wang Guangzhi out from Si Province, Right Vice Director Shen Wenji out from Yu Province, and Captain of the Left Guard Cui Huijing out from Xu Province. Hong personally led his army to Shouyang. The camp included a black felt travelling hall seating twenty men; beside the imperial carriage stood Three-Rank Halazhen guards, spears mostly tipped with white yak-hair tufts, and iron cavalry massed in continuous ranks. The infantry all bore black-shield spears, arrayed in linked formation behind black toad banners. Ox carts, donkeys, and camels carried military supplies and camp followers — some three hundred thousand people in all. He did not besiege the city; instead he ascended Mount Bagong, composed a poem, and withdrew. Separately he besieged Zhongli. Xiao Huixiu, Governor of Xu Province, and Shen Xizu, General Who Assists the State, defended the city; sallying forth in fierce counterattack they routed Hong's army, many of whom drowned in the Huai. He then divided his forces to hold Shaoyang Province, blocking the waterways with palisades and building two cities on either flank. Xiao Tanzhi, Captain of the Right Guard, sent Commander Pei Shuye to attack the two cities and captured them. Huixiu also recruited men to sally out and burn the barbarians' siege engines; the barbarians exhausted their strength and could not capture the city.
32
退
After Wang Huanzhi was executed, his son Su fled to the Northern Wei; Hong appointed him General Who Guards the South and Governor of Southern Yu Province. He sent Su together with Liu Chang — their combined force said to number two hundred thousand — to besiege Yiyang. Xiao Dan, Governor of Si Province, resisted in battle. The barbarians built three rings of trenches and palisades, burned the surrounding settlements to the ground, and concentrated all their strength on the assault; inside the city the defenders stood behind their shields. Wang Guangzhi came as overall commander to relieve the city. The barbarians sent more than thirty thousand men to intercept Crown Prince's Captain of the Right Xiao Jichang at Xialiang; Jichang fought poorly. With Si Province's capital in urgent peril, Wang Guangzhi sent Commander Liang Wang by a hidden route to advance first, joining Crown Prince's Captain of the Right Xiao Shuo, General Who Assists the State Xu Xuanqing, and Jing Province commander Lu Xiulie to seize Mount Xianshou and take the barbarians by surprise. Seeing the relief force arrive, Xiao Dan sent Chief Administrator Wang Boyu and Commander Cui Gongzu to sally out and attack the barbarian palisades. They set fire with the wind while Liang Wang and the other armies struck from without; Liu Chang and Su abandoned the siege and withdrew, and the pursuers routed them.
33
西 退
Huan He, General Who Assists the State, marched out from Western Yinping. The pseudo Duke of Lu, Tancheng garrison commander Dai Molou, and Jiang Daoseng, Administrator of Donghai, set an ambush along the road; He joined battle and routed them completely. More than a hundred families from Qing and Xu surrendered. Wang Hongfan, Governor of Qing and Ji provinces, sent Commander Cui Yan to attack the barbarian-held city of Ji and captured it. Earlier Hong had also sent the pseudo Director Lu Yangwu and Hua Province Governor Wei Lingzhi to attack Zheyang; Cheng Gongqi, Administrator of Northern Xiangcheng, held the city in defense. The barbarians besieged the city for more than a hundred days, deploying hook-rams without pause day or night; Gongqi's defenders killed and wounded several thousand of them. The court also sent Commanders Yuan Lisheng and Cai Daogui to relieve the city; Yangwu and the others withdrew, and the imperial army pursued and defeated them. In summer the barbarians again attacked the two garrisons at Licheng in Si Province; garrison commanders Wei Sengmin and Zhu Sengqi repulsed and defeated them.
34
退退
The pseudo General Who Pacifies the South and Governor of Liang Province, Prince of Wei Commandery Yuan Ying, with more than a hundred thousand men passed through Xiegou and raided Nanzheng. Xiao Yi, Governor of Liang Province, sent Commanders Jiang Shan'an, Zhao Chaozong, and others — several armies totaling more than ten thousand men — to hold Jiaonu, Baima, and Jushui and resist; they were utterly defeated. Ying advanced to besiege Nanzheng, building earth mounds and deploying battering rams without cease day or night. Yi led his eastern followers, more than two thousand men, to hold the city and resist; whenever the enemy attacked he beat them back. Ying besieged the city from spring through summer for more than sixty days without capturing it; casualties were extremely heavy, provisions ran out, and the army pounded grain stalks for food while stored vegetable leaves fetched a thousand cash apiece. Yi had earlier sent Commander Han Song and others to campaign against the Liao; they turned back to relieve the provincial capital but were defeated by the barbarians at Huangniu Stream. Yi sent the Di tribesman Yang Yuanxiu back to Chouci to persuade the Di to rise and cut the barbarians' supply lines; the Di immediately mustered and captured the six barbarian garrisons at Licheng, Gaolan, Luogu, Chouci, Pingluo, and Sule. The pseudo Director and Governor of Northern Liang Province Xin Heimo was killed in battle. Ying sent Army Vice-Commander Lord of Chouci Yang Lingzhen to hold Nigong Mountain. Wuxing City Commander Yang Jishi sent his younger brother Jilang, together with the returned-country Di Yang Fuzhi and Righteous Army Commander Xu Yaofu, to meet them in battle at Huanggen; they were routed and fled back. At the time, Liang Province local magnates Fan Ning and Liang Jiqun invited Ying to a feast at home and lay in ambush to kill him; when the plot was discovered Ying seized Jiqun and put him to death, while Ning fled into hiding. Ying withdrew to defend Zhuoshui; hearing that Di forces were strong, he and Yang Lingzhen retreated together into Xiegu. Heavy rain soaked horses and men alike; they cut bamboo to cook rice and ate on horseback, torches in hand. When Ying reached Xiabian, Lingzhen's younger brother Poluo Abu Zhen rebelled and attacked; Ying's troops scattered and an arrow struck him in the cheek. The pseudo Lingjiang General Yue Yangsheng led armored cavalry in a desperate fight to save him, and he escaped. Liang and Han were pacified. Wudu Prefect Du Lingyuan, Fierce-Warrior General Wang Faxi, Pacifying-North General Wang Fatai, and Provincial Senior Clerk Huangfu Dan all resisted the barbarians and died fighting. Lingyuan and Faxi were posthumously enfeoffed as Supervisors of the Feathered Forest Guard, and Fatai as Accumulative-Shooting General.
35
西退
At the time the pseudo Governor of Luozhou Jia Yi raided Jiakou and was routed by Shangluo Prefect Li Jing. In the third year the barbarians again attacked Lik City in Sizhou and were beaten back by Garrison Commander Wei Songmin. That autumn the barbarians raided Lian Estuary. Donghai Prefect Zheng Yanzhi abandoned the west city and fled while the east city continued to hold. The Court sent Champion General and Yanzhou Inspector Xu Xuanqing to relieve the siege; the barbarians withdrew and Yanzhi submitted to punishment.
36
使 便
Earlier, Empress Dowager Feng's brother, Prince of Changli Feng Sha, had two daughters. The elder Feng was beautiful but afflicted with illness and became a nun; the younger Feng was Hong's empress and bore the pseudo crown prince Xun. Later, when the elder Feng recovered from her illness, Hong took her in as Worthy Lady. When Hong first moved the capital, Xun was unhappy and longed to return to Sanggan. Hong had court robes made for him; Xun secretly ripped them apart, wore his hair loose, and dressed in braided nomad garb with the left lapel forward. The elder Feng held Hong's favor and slandered Xun day and night. When Hong went out from Ye for mounted archery, Xun seized the chance to plot rebellion and flight north, secretly choosing three thousand palace horses and stationing them on the south bank of the river. The empress learned of it, had Xun seized, and sent a fast courier to Hong; Hong exiled Xun to Wubi City, two li north of He Bridge, soon had him killed, and buried him with the rites due a commoner. The elder Feng was installed as empress, and the pseudo crown prince Ke was immediately established; that year they altered the reign title.
37
鹿鹿鹿西
The pseudo North-Conquering General and Hengzhou Inspector Duke of Julu Fulu Gu Heluhun held Sanggan, while Hong's cousin Prince of Pingyang An Shou garrisoned the Huai palisade northwest of Sanggan. Heluhun resented Hong's reliance on Chinese officials; with the pseudo Dingzhou Inspector Duke of Fengyi Mu Lin and Duke of Anle Tuoba A'gan'er he plotted to install An Shou and carve up the lands north of the River. When the long-delayed plot failed to come off, An Shou feared exposure and reported to Hong. Hong killed Heluhun and several hundred others, but left An Shou in his post as before.
38
退 退
Earlier the pseudo Jingzhou Inspector Xue Zhendu and Director Qiqi Apo had been defeated by Fang Boyu. Hong flew into a rage — over a mere southern commandery like Nanyang he swore total destruction. In the fourth year he personally led an army toward Yong Province. Hong reached Nanyang first; Fang Boyu barred the gates and held the city. Hong followed with tens of thousands of horsemen beneath a yellow imperial parasol, halting one li from the city. He sent the pseudo Palace Secretariat Attendant Gongsun Yun to address Boyu: "I mean now to sweep all within the four seas, and my conduct differs from that of my predecessors after — my ways differ. Previous emperors marched out in winter and returned in spring, never tarrying long; Now I swear that unless I conquer I shall never return north; I may remain here three or even five years. Your city is the foremost target of my six dragon-banners — it must be taken first. At most a year; at middle distance no more than a hundred days; at nearest less than a month — hardly difficult to destroy. If you do not repent, I shall take your head and display it before the army gate. Surely the whole city can turn disaster to fortune — there must be no divided loyalty. You have committed three crimes, and I shall name them. You once served Emperor Wu at his side, yet you did not die for your former lord while you now die for your present one — that is your first crime. Last year I sent Xue Zhendu here at the head of a detached force; you routed and wounded him — that is your second crime. Emperor Wu's line was wiped out, yet you owed them nothing and now die for another master — defying Heaven and reason — that is your third crime. This cannot be forgiven. Think carefully — do not bring suffering upon the whole city. Boyu sent Army Vice-Commander Yue Zhirou to reply: "Hearing that you mean to besiege us and must prevail — a humble man like me, able to resist your great majesty — I may truly call this finding the place where I shall die. I first received Emperor Wu's special selection and promotion, granted a place at his side — even a dog or horse knows gratitude; could I be without feeling? Yet the Longchang and Yanxing reigns were corrupt and lawless; the wise sovereign succeeded to the throne — family and realm are one. Advancing I betray no one's trust; retreating I need feel no shame before the dead. Last year Xue Zhendu incited our border folk and we drove him off — having received the state's grace, I did no more than brush him aside. As for myself, that charge should be set aside. Hong halted his army before the south-city temple and crossed via the ditch bridge at the southeast corner. Boyu had sent several warriors in spotted robes and tiger-head caps to burst from hidden tunnels below; Hong's men panicked and retreated, and several were killed. Hong summoned the archer General Yuan Lingdu, who felled them as each bowstring sang. Hong then crossed. Hong then launched a great southern campaign. The pseudo Prince of Xianyang Yuan Xi, Prince of Pengcheng Yuan Xie, Regular Attendant Yuan Song, Prince of Baozhang Yuan Li, Marquis of Guangling Yuan Xie, and Grand Generals-in-Chief Liu Chang, Wang Su, Yang Dayan, Xi Kangsheng, and Zhangsun Zhi led thirty-six armies in succession; the host was said to number a million. Princes' hosts carried vermilion drums; dukes and marquises green drums; viscounts, barons, and lesser nobles black drums — war drums and horns together made the earth shake.
39
西 便
Hong left the pseudo Prince of Xianyang Xi to besiege Nanyang and marched on Xinye, where Prefect Liu Siji also barred the gates and defended. The Court had already sent Commander Direct-Gate General Hu Song to help Beixiangcheng Prefect Cheng Gongqi hold Zheyang, and Commander Bao Ju to help Huang Yaoqi, Prefect of West Runan and North Yiyang, garrison Wuyin. Hong besieged Xinye and fighting raged without pause. He sent men to address the city: "Fang Boyu has already surrendered; Runan why why must you alone seek your own destruction? Siji sent a reply: "The city still has ample troops and grain — we have no time for talk with you barbarian whelps. Yong Province Inspector Cao Hu sent troops to Jun Estuary but halted without advancing. In the first year of Yongtai the city fell; Hong bound Siji and asked: "Do you wish to surrender now? Siji answered: "I would rather be a ghost in the south than a subject in the north. Then he died. He was posthumously enfeoffed Champion General and Liang Province Inspector. Panic spread north of the Mian. Husyang Garrison Commander Cai Daofu, Zheyang Commander Cheng Gongqi, Commander Hu Song, Wuyin Commander Huang Yaoqi, Commander Bao Ju, and Congyang Prefect Xi Qian all abandoned their posts and fled. The barbarian pursuit captured Yaoqi; Wang Su paid men to carve up his flesh and eat it. Yaoqi was posthumously enfeoffed Champion General and Yanzhou Inspector. Within days Fang Boyu surrendered the city. Boyu was from Qinghe. After his surrender the barbarians offered him the title Dragon-Steed General; Boyu refused. Emperor Gaozong understood his loyalty and each month sent his son Xizhe five thousand cash and twenty hu of grain. Later Boyu asked the barbarians for a post on the southern frontier and became Fengyi Prefect; though his son was still young he taught him horsemanship, always longing to return south. At the end of Yongyuan, Xizhe entered barbarian territory; Boyu raged and said: "My strength has bent to this point — unable to die in loyalty — yet I still hoped you would remain in our court to repay the state's grace. Had I followed my own heart, I too would have braved every pass to flee back. Why have you lost your wits? He died soon after in barbarian territory.
40
The barbarians took five commanderies north of the Mian. Hong personally led two hundred thousand cavalry to defeat the crown prince and Cui Huijing at Deng City, advanced to Fancheng on the Mian, and then withdrew. On returning to Luoyang he learned that Grand Commandant Chen Xianda had seized five commanderies and was besieging Maquan; Hong marched south again with a vast army, routed Xianda, and killed him. As the funeral procession returned, still over four hundred li from Luoyang, orders were issued in Hong's name summoning the pseudo crown prince Ke to Luyang. When Ke arrived, Xie dressed him in Hong's mourning regalia by barbarian custom, and mourning was formally begun. Reaching Luoyang, they announced the death throughout the realm, raised lamentation, and invested Hong with the posthumous title Emperor Xiaowen.
41
That year Wang Su established official grades and a full bureaucracy for the barbarians on the Chinese model. There were nine grades in all, each divided into two ranks. When Su first defected he told how his family had been executed; Hong wept at the tale. Hong gave him his sixth sister, the pseudo Princess of Pengcheng, in marriage. Su was enfeoffed Duke of Pingyuan Commandery. A mansion was built for him, its walls coated with perfumed paste. He soon won Hong's full trust. Ke succeeded to the throne and altered the reign title; it was the second year of Yongyuan.
42
使西
Yuzhou Inspector Pei Shuye surrendered Shouchun to the barbarians. Earlier the pseudo East Xuzhou Inspector Shen Ling had defected with his followers. Ling was from Wuxing. He had first defected to the barbarians in frustration and rose high in their service; after Hong's death he returned south and was repeatedly made Inspector of Xu and Yue. At the time Wang Su held the titles pseudo South-Conquering General and Yuzhou Inspector-General. The court had just lost a major stronghold, and wanderers from the frontier spread rumors that Su meant to return home. The Young Emperor appointed Su Bearer of the Staff of Authority, Palace Attendant, Inspector-General of Yu, Xu, and Si, Right General and Inspector of Yuzhou, Duke of Xifeng with two thousand households.
43
After taking Huainan, the barbarians that summer sent the pseudo Champion General and South Yuzhou Inspector Xi Fayou to attack Jian'an, where Hu Jinglüe, Prefect of North Xincai and Anfeng, held out. More than ten thousand perished; after a hundred days without relief from the court the city fell and the barbarians carried Jinglüe away captive. That winter the barbarians sent General Huan Daofu against Suixiang Prefect Cui Shizhao and routed him.
44
殿便
Later Prince Xi of Xianyang, finding Ke still young, conspired with the Di leaders Yang Qishi and Yang Lingyou, Qifo Maju, and more than ten Wei officers including Zhi Hu and Li Boshang to meet at Hongchi Pond, lure Ke to hunt on North Mang, and kill him. Xi wavered and could not strike, and wished to choose another day. Maju urged Xi: "If you do not go to North Mang, turn the army about, seize Luoyang, and shut the four gates. When the emperor hears of it, he will surely flee north of the river flee to Sanggan, cut the river bridge, and reign as emperor south of the river. To rule from south of the river—this chance must not be missed." Again Xi refused. Lingyou suspected Xi would betray him and galloped to warn Ke. When Xi learned the plot had failed, he tried to flee across the river, but rain and darkness confused the roads; at Xiaoyi Post he found Ke already held Luoyang. He sent his younger brother Du Prince Guang of Ping with several hundred horsemen to enter the palace first; finding no trouble, they returned. He sent the Direct Guard to seize and execute Xi. By Wei law rebels received no burial; Xi's body was cast out on North Mang. Wang Su died of illness.
45
【Discussion】
46
姿 𠘶
The historian writes: With Qi and the Wei divided, the south of the Yangtze sustained three dynasties as a realm. The heartland fractured and the old capital lay in shards; rebellion blocked the way, and the enterprise of Eastern Jin arose. The two Yuans, leaning on their status as imperial uncles, claimed independent command; Yuan Gui lost his army at Zhucheng, and Zhigong withdrew at Xiangyang. Chu Ai and the elite of Xu and Yan were wiped out at Zou and Lu. Yin Hao led the armies of Yang and Yu to crushing defeat at Shansang. Huan Wen, heroic in youth, used the prestige of conquering Shu to march to Xian Pass and fight at Luoyang and Ye. Then the Xianbei held the coast, while Qiang and Di held Qin and Dai as rival states; when peril and division opened a path, Emperor Wu of Song seized the moment and destroyed them one by one. Once the Northern Wei united the north, the lands south of the Yellow River were lost, and armies, horses, and territory were never again what they had been. Emperor Wen of Song gained able advisers yet could not read the enemy; his generals won nothing, and every battle brought disaster. From Taishi on, border commanders rebelled and Huai-north was lost; with strategy in decline, the court turned to marriage alliances. The Founding Emperor had barely raised the mandate when war broke out on the frontier; Huai and Yu were won, Qing and Hai swept clean—the court met force with ease and won a hundred victories without stirring. After four provinces were lost, the people still clung to the dynasty; when the state was renewed they praised its power, took up arms of their own will, and behind deep walls watched for the southern banners. The emperor, skilled in frontier war, took advantage of disorder to issue military law; had the earlier hosts marched on schedule to sweep Lin and Peng, but commanders delayed and reinforcements came too dawn late, those who had turned to the cause would have poured out family and home. The moment was lost; the court chose to let the northern campaign sleep, sheathe swords and cultivate learning, and wait for another day. Under Yongming the court rested on settled policy; envoys passed back and forth and the frontier stayed calm. Border folk lived at peace without intrigue; farmers kept to their fields and silkworms—this was part of the reason. Thorns grow where armies pass; once invaders strike, wounds heal slowly—is this not proof? At the start of Jianwu the Xiongnu pressed south; the great fortresses of Yu and Xu manned their walls and dared not meet the enemy in battle. Their horses overran the Huai and Fei, yet they fought again and again on the same ground. The ruin of siege ladders and battering rams, the loss to raid and drum—nothing like it had been seen since Jianyuan. The nomad court moved to grandeur and made the old capital its ritual center; northern Yong and Si lay close to Xu and Luo; level roads for hundreds of li bore post-horses and wheel tracks—the Han imperial way ran to Zhangling; where the whip pointed, one could leave at dawn and return by dusk. The Wei wielded the power of a united north and the strategy of wide lands; with vast armies the emperor himself came to crush the south; banners and drums sounded for years, arrows and stones without end. The court policy was timid and none could save the frontier; Nanyang's walls fell and Xinye collapsed; farmers' fields became barbarian strongholds. Though troops were sent to Huainan, the crisis north of the Mian was not eased before defeat at Woyang deepened the wound. Taxes drained the interior and lives were spent on the frontier; household after household knew no peace. The rhythm of rest and exertion has its heavenly pattern; the record of gain and loss belongs to human choice. Was it not because commanders faced one another, greedy for merit and blind to reward, desperate over victory and defeat, and unwilling to aid or yield? Unclear orders—this was truly China's weakness.
47
The eulogy says: Heaven raised the fierce Hu, who seized the imperial design. They settled among the Chinese, took reign titles, and styled themselves rulers. The people of Qi suffered pressing calamity; towns and hamlets were burned and gutted.
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