1
=阿桂=阿桂，字廣庭，章佳氏。 初為滿洲正藍旗人，以阿桂平回部駐伊犁治事有勞，改隸正白旗。 父大學士阿克敦，自有傳。
A Gui, whose style name was Guangting, belonged to the Zhangjia clan. He was originally registered in the Manchu Plain Blue Banner; after he helped pacify the Muslim west and distinguished himself administering Yili, he was reassigned to the Plain White Banner. His father was Grand Secretary Akedun, treated in a separate biography.
2
阿桂，乾隆三年舉人。 初以父廕授大理寺丞，累遷吏部員外郎，充軍機處章京。 十三年，從兵部尚書班第參金川軍事。 訥親、張廣泗以無功被罪，岳鍾琪劾阿桂結張廣泗蔽訥親，逮問。 十四年，上以阿克敦年老，無次子，治事勤勉； 阿桂罪與貽誤軍事不同，特旨宥之。 尋复官，擢江西按察使，召補內閣侍讀學士。 二十年，擢內閣學士。 時方徵準噶爾，命阿桂赴烏里雅蘇台督台站。 逾年，父喪還京。 旋復遣赴軍，授參贊大臣，命駐科布多，授鑲紅旗蒙古副都統。 二十二年秋，授工部侍郎。 輝特頭人舍楞約降，唐喀祿以兵往會，為所襲，阿桂率兵策應，上嘉之，賜花翎。 上命阿桂與策布登扎布合軍擊舍楞，毋使逃入俄羅斯。 阿桂言：「得降賊，謂舍楞將逃土爾扈特； 或不達，且復回準噶爾。 邀之中路，可擒獻。」 上責其觀望，召還京。 是年準部平，復命赴西路，與副將軍富德追捕餘賊。
A Gui passed the provincial examination in the third year of the Qianlong reign. He first entered service by hereditary privilege as vice director of the Court of Judicial Review, then rose through several posts to vice director in the Ministry of Personnel and served as a Grand Council clerk. In the thirteenth year he accompanied Minister of War Ban Di on the Jinchuan campaign. When Neqin and Zhang Guangsi were punished for their failures, Yue Zhongqi accused A Gui of colluding with Zhang Guangsi to cover for Neqin, and he was taken into custody for investigation. In the fourteenth year the emperor noted that Akedun was old, had no other son, and had served diligently; A Gui's fault was not of the sort that had derailed the campaign, and the emperor specially pardoned him. He was soon restored to office, promoted to surveillance commissioner of Jiangxi, and recalled to serve as associate reader in the Grand Secretariat. In the twentieth year he was promoted to Grand Secretariat academician. While the campaign against the Dzungars was in progress, he was sent to Uliassutai to oversee the courier stations. A year later, after his father's death, he returned to Beijing. He was soon sent back to the front as assisting commander, stationed at Khobdo, and appointed Mongol vice commander-in-chief of the Bordered Red Banner. That autumn of the twenty-second year he was appointed vice minister of Works. When the Khoit chief Sereng offered to submit, Tang Kalu marched out to receive him and was ambushed; A Gui brought up reinforcements, and the emperor praised him and awarded peacock feathers. The emperor ordered A Gui and Tsebudengjab to combine forces against Sereng and keep him from fleeing into Russia. A Gui reported: "From the surrendered rebels we hear that Sereng intends to flee to the Torghuts; and if he cannot reach them, he may yet circle back into Dzungaria. If we cut him off along the route, we can take him alive and present him as a captive." The emperor accused him of hesitation, and recalled him to Beijing. That year, with Dzungaria pacified, he was again sent west with Deputy Commander Fude to hunt down the remaining rebels.
3
霍集占叛，二十四年，命赴霍斯庫魯克從富德進討。 八月，逐賊至阿勒楚爾，又至伊西洱庫爾淖爾，回眾降。 霍集占走拔達克山。 是年回部平。 上以阿克蘇新附，為回部要地，命阿桂駐軍綏撫。 二十五年，移駐伊犁。 阿桂上言伊犁屯田、阿克蘇調兵諸事。 上嘉其勇往，命專司耕作營造，務使軍士、回民皆樂於從事。 時西域初定，地方萬餘裡，伏莽尚眾，與俄羅斯鄰。 上詔統兵諸大臣議，咸謂沙漠遼遠，牲畜凋耗，難駐守。 阿桂疏言：「守邊以駐兵為先，駐兵以軍食為要。 伊犁河以南海努克等處，水土沃衍，宜屯田。 請增遣回民嫺耕作者往屯； 增派官兵駐防，協同耕種； 次第建置城邑； 預籌馬駝，置台站； 運沿邊米赴伊犁； 簡各省流人嫺工藝者，發備任使。」 又奏定山川、土穀諸祀典，上用其議。 阿桂造農器，督諸屯耕穫，歲大豐。
When Hojijan rose in revolt, in the twenty-fourth year he was ordered to Hoskurluk to join Fude's advance. In the eighth month he drove the rebels to Altishahr and then to Lake Yashilkul, where the Muslim communities submitted. Hojijan fled into Badakhshan. That year the Muslim west was brought under control. Because Aksu had only recently submitted and was a strategic point in the Muslim west, the emperor ordered A Gui to station troops there and pacify the region. In the twenty-fifth year he transferred his headquarters to Yili. A Gui submitted memorials on garrison farming at Yili, troop deployments from Aksu, and related measures. The emperor praised his energy and put him in charge of farming and construction, insisting that both soldiers and Muslim settlers take satisfaction in the work. The western frontier had only just been secured: the territory stretched more than ten thousand li, armed bands still lurked in the hills, and the border lay against Russia. The emperor convened the field commanders for discussion; they all argued that the deserts were too vast, livestock too scarce, and permanent garrisons impracticable. A Gui argued in a memorial: "Frontier defense depends first on keeping troops in place, and keeping troops in place depends on food supplies. South of the Ili River, around Hanuke and elsewhere, the land is fertile and well suited to garrison colonies. I ask that more Muslim farmers skilled at cultivation be sent to settle there; that additional troops be posted to garrison the area and farm alongside them; that towns be built up step by step; that horses and camels be provisioned in advance and courier stations set up; that grain from the border provinces be shipped to Yili; and that exiled convicts from the provinces who are skilled in crafts be selected and assigned as required." He also drew up the ritual regulations for sacrifices to mountains, rivers, and the god of soil and grain, which the emperor approved. A Gui designed farm tools, oversaw the garrison farms through planting and harvest, and that year the yields were abundant.
4
二十六年，疏言：「伊犁牧群蕃息，請停內地購馬駝。 增招葉爾羌、喀什噶爾、阿克蘇、烏什回民詣伊犁，廣屯田。」 皆稱旨。 迭授內大臣、工部尚書、鑲藍旗漢軍都統，仍駐伊犁。 奏瑪納斯庫爾、喀喇烏蘇、晶河三地屯田，人授十五畝。 二十七年，疏定約束章程，建綏定、安遠二城，兵居、民房次第立，一如內地，數千里行旅晏然，予騎都尉世職。 召還，賜紫禁城騎馬，命軍機處行走。 調正紅旗滿洲都統，加太子太保。 二十九年，命署伊犁將軍。 尋調署四川總督。 時金川土司郎卡與綽斯甲布等九土司構釁，阿桂巡邊，盡得郎卡狡獪怙惡狀，並悉其山川形勢，入奏。 是冬，召還京。 三十年，上南巡，命留京治事。
In the twenty-sixth year he reported: "The herds at Yili have flourished; I ask that the court stop buying horses and camels from the interior provinces. Recruit more Muslims from Yarkand, Kashgar, Aksu, and Ush to settle at Yili and expand the garrison farms. All of these proposals met with the emperor's approval. He was successively appointed inner court minister, Minister of Works, and commander-in-chief of the Bordered Blue Banner Chinese forces, while remaining stationed at Yili. He proposed garrison colonies at Manas, Kur, Karasu, and Jinghe, with fifteen mu allotted to each settler. In the twenty-seventh year he drew up governing regulations, founded the cities of Suiding and Anyuan, and had barracks and civilian quarters built up in the manner of the interior provinces; for thousands of li travelers passed in safety, and he was granted the hereditary rank of commandant of cavalry. Recalled to court, he was granted the rare privilege of riding a horse inside the Forbidden City and appointed to serve in the Grand Council. He was made commander-in-chief of the Plain Red Banner Manchus and given the additional title Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent. In the twenty-ninth year he was appointed acting general of Yili. He was soon transferred to serve as acting governor-general of Sichuan. The Jinchuan chieftain Langka and nine neighboring chieftains including Choosjab were then stirring up trouble; A Gui toured the frontier, documented Langka's deceit and defiance in full, mapped the terrain, and reported to the throne. That winter he was recalled to Beijing. In the thirtieth year, while the emperor toured the south, he was left in Beijing to manage state affairs.
5
烏什回賴黑木圖拉作亂，詔馳赴烏什與將軍明瑞攻之，賴黑木圖拉中矢死，眾伯克復推額色木圖拉抗我師，自三月至八月，攻城不下。 明瑞軍其北，阿桂軍其南，作長圍困之，絕其水道。 賊糧盡，內訌，沙布勒者擒額色木圖拉以獻，烏什平。 上責其遲延，示怯損威，部議奪官，命留任，駐雅爾城。 旋复奪尚書，命還伊犁助明瑞治事。 阿桂疏請移雅爾城於楚呼楚，從之。 三十二年，授伊犁將軍。 請自楚呼楚至烏爾圖布拉克設三台，以通雅爾，下部行。
When the Ush Muslim leader Lai Heimutula rose in revolt, an edict sent A Gui posthaste to join General Mingrui; Lai Heimutula fell to an arrow, but the begs then rallied behind Esemutula to resist the Qing forces, and from the third month through the eighth month the siege would not break. Mingrui took the north and A Gui the south, tightening a long encirclement around the city and cutting off its water supply. With their stores exhausted and faction fighting within the walls, Shabulezhe seized Esemutula and handed him over, and Ush was pacified. The emperor blamed them for the delay, saying it had shown weakness and cost imperial prestige; although the ministry recommended dismissal, he kept them in office and stationed A Gui at Yarkand. He was soon stripped of his ministerial rank again and sent back to Yili to assist Mingrui in administration. A Gui proposed relocating the Yarkand garrison to Chuchu, and the court approved. In the thirty-second year he was appointed general of Yili. He asked that three courier stations be established from Chuchu to Urtubulak to open communications with Yarkand, and the ministries were ordered to carry this out.
6
緬甸擾邊，總督劉藻、楊應琚先後得罪去，上命明瑞率師討之，至猛育，糧盡，戰沒。 大學士傅恆自請行，三十三年，以傅恆為經略，阿桂及阿里袞為副將軍，仍授阿桂兵部尚書、雲貴總督。 三十四年，以明德為總督，令阿桂專治軍事。 阿桂請由銅壁關抵蠻暮，伐木造舟，俟經略至軍，進攻老官屯，且言軍糧不給。 上以為畏怯，罷副將軍，改授參贊大臣。 九月，舟成，傅恆亦至，分三路進：傅恆出萬仞關，由大金沙江西經猛拱、暮魯至老官屯； 阿里袞率舟師循江下； 阿桂率蠻暮新舟出江會之，先伏兵甘立寨。 緬人從猛戛來拒，寨兵出擊，沉三舟，舟師噪應之，緬人大潰，殲其渠，遂與西岸軍合。 老官屯守禦堅，軍士多病瘴，阿里袞卒於軍，复授阿桂副將軍。 傅恆亦病，上命班師，而緬酋懵駁亦懲甘立寨之敗，遣使議受約束，乃召傅恆還。 命阿桂留辦善後，授禮部尚書。
When Burma raided the frontier, Governors-General Liu Zao and Yang Yingju were dismissed in turn; the emperor sent Mingrui to lead a punitive expedition, but at Mengyu his supplies gave out and he was killed in action. Grand Secretary Fu Heng offered to take the field himself; in the thirty-third year he was made commander-in-chief, with A Gui and Aligun as his deputies, while A Gui was again appointed Minister of War and governor-general of Yunnan-Guizhou. In the thirty-fourth year Mingde became governor-general, leaving A Gui to handle military affairs alone. A Gui proposed advancing from Tongbi Pass to Manmu, felling timber to build boats, and attacking Laoguantun once the commander-in-chief arrived, while warning that army rations were inadequate. The emperor took this as cowardice, stripped him of the deputy command, and made him assisting commander instead. In the ninth month the fleet was ready and Fu Heng reached the front; the army advanced in three columns: Fu Heng marched from Wanren Pass along the west bank of the upper Irrawaddy through Menggong and Mulu toward Laoguantun; Aligun led the river fleet downstream; A Gui brought the new boats built at Manmu onto the river to rendezvous with them, having first posted ambush troops at Ganli Stockade. When the Burmese advanced from Mengga to block them, the ambush force struck, sinking three boats; the fleet roared in support, the Burmese broke completely, their leaders were wiped out, and the columns united on the west bank. Laoguantun held firm, malaria swept the ranks, Aligun died in camp, and A Gui was again made deputy commander. Fu Heng fell ill as well; the emperor ordered a withdrawal, but the Burmese ruler Meng Bo, sobered by the defeat at Ganli Stockade, sent envoys to negotiate submission, and Fu Heng was recalled. A Gui was left behind to manage the aftermath and appointed Minister of Rites.
7
三十五年，兼鑲紅旗漢軍都統。 命赴騰越待緬人入貢。 遣都司蘇爾相賚檄至老官屯，緬人拘之，索還木邦等三土司。 疏入，上命罷尚書、都統，以內大臣留辦副將軍事。 三十六年，疏請大舉徵緬，入覲陳機密。 上手詔詰責，命奪官留軍效力。 是時金川酋郎卡已死，其子索諾木及小金川酋澤旺子僧格桑擾邊，四川總督阿爾泰徵之無功，上命阿桂隨副將軍、尚書溫福進討。 十二月，署四川提督，克巴朗拉、達木巴宗各寨。 三十七年二月，克資哩山，進克阿喀木雅。 松潘總兵宋元俊亦復革布什咱。 兩金川勢日蹙，合謀抗我師。 上命溫福等三路進討，阿桂出西路阿喀木雅攻喇卜楚克，克之，奪普爾瑪寨，進逼美美卡。 澤旺為子謝罪，索諾木亦代僧格桑請還侵地，上不許。 時侍郎桂林代阿爾泰為總督，並領其眾，至墨隴溝，失利，副將薛琮死之，阿爾泰劾罷桂林。 上授阿桂參贊大臣，命赴南路接剿。 僧格宗者，小金川門戶也。 甲爾木山梁為僧格宗要徑。 阿桂乘賊怠，潛赴墨隴溝，夜半大霧，襲據之，進逼僧格宗，突入毀其碉，殲賊無算。 上授溫福定邊將軍，豐升額、阿桂俱授副將軍，分道取美諾。 阿桂克美都喇嘛寺，俯瞰美諾。 僧格桑遁布朗郭宗，而溫福亦克西路來會，進剿布朗郭宗。 僧格桑送孥金川而遁底木達，求見父澤旺，澤旺不納，渡河走金川。 澤旺降，械送京師，小金川平。 於是議討金川，金川賊巢二：曰噶拉依，曰勒烏圍。 溫福由功噶爾拉，阿桂由當噶爾拉，合攻噶拉依； 豐升額由綽斯甲布徑攻勒烏圍。 复授禮部尚書。
In the thirty-fifth year he was also made commander-in-chief of the Bordered Red Banner Chinese forces. He was sent to Tengyue to receive the Burmese tribute embassy. He dispatched Colonel Su Erxiang with an imperial message to Laoguantun; the Burmese seized him and demanded the restoration of Mubang and two other former tributary domains. When his report reached court, the emperor removed him as minister and banner commander but kept him on as inner court minister to continue deputy command duties. In the thirty-sixth year he urged a full-scale campaign against Burma and came to court in person to lay out his confidential strategy. The emperor rebuked him in a personal edict, stripped him of rank, and ordered him to remain with the army and earn his way back through service. By then the Jinchuan chieftain Langka was dead, but his son Sonom and Zewang's son Senggesang of Lesser Jinchuan were raiding the frontier; Governor-General Ertai's campaign had failed, and the emperor ordered A Gui to join Deputy Commander Wenfu in the advance. In the twelfth month, acting as provincial military commander of Sichuan, he took the stockades at Balangla and Damubazong. In the second month of the thirty-seventh year he seized Zili Mountain and pressed on to capture Akemuya. Song Yuanjun, regional commander of Songpan, also recovered Gebushizan. With both Jinchuan domains growing desperate, they joined forces to resist the Qing armies. The emperor ordered a three-pronged advance under Wenfu; A Gui took the western route from Akemuya against Labchuk, captured it, seized Puerma Stockade, and closed on Meimeika. Zewang apologized for his son, and Sonom likewise asked on Senggesang's behalf to return occupied territory; the emperor refused. Vice Minister Guilin had replaced Ertai as governor-general and led his troops to Molong Ravine, where they were beaten and Vice Commander Xue Cong was killed; Ertai impeached Guilin and had him removed. The emperor made him assisting commander and sent him to the southern front to take over the pursuit. Sengge Stockade was the gateway to Lesser Jinchuan. The Jiaermu ridge was the critical approach to Sengge Stockade. Taking advantage of rebel complacency, A Gui stole to Molong Ravine and, in a midnight fog, seized it by surprise; he then pressed on Sengge Stockade, stormed in, smashed its blockhouses, and killed rebels beyond count. Wenfu was made Pacification General of the Border, with Fengsheng'e and A Gui as his deputies, each marching by a different route to take Meinuo. A Gui captured the Meidu Lama temple, commanding a view over Meinuo below. Senggesang fled to Bulangguo Stockade; Wenfu, having cleared the western route, joined him and they advanced together on Bulangguo Stockade. Senggesang sent his family ahead into Jinchuan and fled to Dimuda to see his father Zewang, who refused him; he then crossed the river and fled into Greater Jinchuan. Zewang surrendered, was sent to Beijing in chains, and Lesser Jinchuan was pacified. Plans were then laid to attack Greater Jinchuan, whose rebel strongholds were Galaiyi and Lewuwei. Wenfu advanced by Gongga'erla and A Gui by Dangga'erla to combine against Galaiyi; Fengsheng'e took the Choosjab route straight against Lewuwei. He was again appointed Minister of Rites.
8
三十八年正月朔，冒大雪，進奪當功噶爾拉諸碉，而溫福至木果木，索諾木誘降番叛襲軍後，斷登春糧道，我師潰，溫福死之。 小金川與美諾等相繼陷。 阿桂悉收降番械，毀碉寨，分置其人章谷、打箭爐，斬其桀驁者，親殿軍退駐達河。 事聞，上怒甚，命發健銳、火器兩營，黑龍江、吉林、伊犁額魯特兵五千，授阿桂定西將軍，明亮、豐升額副將軍，舒常參贊大臣，整師再出。 十月，攻下資哩。 用番人木塔爾策，分師由中、南兩路進，潛軍登北山巔，遂取美諾，明亮等亦克僧格宗來會，凡七日，小金川平。
On New Year's Day of the thirty-eighth year, the army pushed through heavy snow and captured the Danggongga'erla forts. Meanwhile Wenfu had reached Muguomu; Sonom persuaded the surrendered tribes to rise and strike from the rear, severing the Dengchun supply line. Our forces collapsed, and Wenfu was killed. Lesser Jinchuan, Meinuo, and other strongholds fell one after another. A Gui disarmed the surrendered tribes, demolished their forts and stockades, and resettled the people at Zhanggu and Dajianlu; he executed the most unruly among them, then personally brought up the rear as the army withdrew to the Da River. When the emperor learned of this, he was furious. He sent the Jianrui and Firearms camps and five thousand Oirat troops from Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Yili, made A Gui Pacification General of the West with Mingliang and Fengsheng'e as deputies and Shuchang as assisting commander, and ordered the army out again under a fresh command. In the tenth month they captured Zili. Following the tribal guide Mutar, they split the force along central and southern routes while secretly posting men on the northern ridge, then seized Meinuo. Mingliang's column also took Sengge Stockade and linked up. Within seven days, Lesser Jinchuan was subdued.
9
三十九年正月朔，阿桂抵布朗郭宗，人裹十日糧，分三隊進，轉戰以前，克喇穆左右二山，贊巴拉克山、色依谷山。 二月，克羅博瓦山，勒烏圍門戶也。 賊退守喇穆山。 部將海蘭察從間道破色漰普寨，繞出山後，賊退守薩甲山嶺。 海蘭察奪其峭壁大碉，諸寨奪氣，同時下，乘勝臨遜克爾宗。 僧格桑死於金川，金川酋獻其屍，而死守遜克爾宗。 十月，阿桂用策先克默格爾山及凱立葉，於是日爾巴當噶諸碉反在我師後，遂悉平之。 賊退守康薩爾山。 時豐升額出北路，師至凱立葉，望見煙火，以師來會； 而明亮出南路，阻於庚額山； 阿桂令移軍，冒雨破宜喜，與明亮軍隔河相望。 十一月，克格魯克古丫口，金川東北之賊殆盡。
On New Year's Day of the thirty-ninth year, A Gui reached Bulangguo Stockade. Each soldier carried ten days' rations; advancing in three columns and fighting as they went, they took the two mountains on either side of Lamu, along with Zhabalake Mountain and Seyigu Mountain. In the second month they captured Luobowa Mountain, the gateway to Lewuwei. The rebels fell back to defend Lamu Mountain. Subordinate general Hailancha took Seyongpu Stockade by a hidden route and swung around behind the mountain; the rebels fell back to the Sa'jia Mountain ridge. Hailancha stormed their cliff-top fortress; the other stockades lost heart and surrendered together. Riding the momentum, the army pressed on to Xunke'erzong. Senggesang had died in Jinchuan, and the Jinchuan chieftain delivered up his body, but the defenders still held Xunke'erzong to the last. In the tenth month A Gui first took Mogeer Mountain and Kailiye by stratagem; the forts at Ri'erdangga and elsewhere, which now lay behind our lines, were then cleared one by one. The rebels fell back to defend Kangsa'er Mountain. Meanwhile Fengsheng'e was moving along the northern route; when his column reached Kailiye and saw the beacon fires, he knew the main army was coming to link up. Mingliang, coming up from the south, was held up at Geng'e Mountain. A Gui shifted his forces, broke through Yixi in the rain, and took up a position facing Mingliang's army across the river. In the eleventh month they took Gelukeguyakou, and the rebel forces in northeastern Jinchuan were all but destroyed.
10
四十年正月，克康薩爾山梁。 二月，克沿河斯莫思达寨。 四月，克木思工噶克丫口。 五月，克下巴木通及勒吉爾博山梁，進據得式梯，复克噶爾丹寺、噶明噶等寨。 進攻巴佔，屢攻不下。 分兵從舍圖枉卡繞擊，牽賊勢。 七月，克昆色爾及果克多山，進克拉栝寺、菑則大海山梁，旋克章噶。 八月，克隆斯得寨，遂克勒烏圍。 捷聞，上遣阿桂子阿必達齎紅寶石頂賜之。 九月，克當噶克底諸寨。 十月，克達木噶。 十一月，克西里山雅瑪朋寨。 十二月，克薩爾歪諸寨，進據噶佔。 四十一年正月，克瑪爾古當噶碉寨五百餘，遂圍噶拉依。 索諾木母先赴河西集餘眾，大兵合圍，與其子絕，遂降。 阿桂令作書招索諾木，而其頭目降者相繼，索諾木乃率眾降。 金川平，安置降番，設副將、同知分駐其地。 詔封一等誠謀英勇公，進協辦大學士、吏部尚書、軍機處行走。 四月，班師。 上幸良鄉城南行郊勞禮，賜御用鞍馬。 還京獻俘，禦紫光閣，行飲至禮，賜紫韁、四開褉袍。
In the first month of the fortieth year they captured the Kangsa'er Mountain ridge. In the second month they captured the Simosi stockade on the riverbank. In the fourth month they took the Musigongakeyakou pass. In the fifth month they took Xiabamutong and the Leji'erbo ridge, pushed forward to Deshiti, and also captured Gama'erdan Monastery, Gamin'ga, and other stockades. They assaulted Bazhan again and again but could not bring it down. They split the force to outflank through Shetuwangka and pull the enemy in two directions. In the seventh month they took Kunse'er and Guokeduo Mountain, advanced on Kaluo Monastery and the Zhai Ze Daha ridge, and shortly afterward captured Zhangga. In the eighth month they captured Longside Stockade and then took Lewuwei. When news of the victory arrived, the emperor sent A Gui's son Abida to confer on him a ruby finial. In the ninth month they captured Danggakdi and the surrounding stockades. In the tenth month they captured Damuga. In the eleventh month they took the Yamapeng stockade on Xili Mountain. In the twelfth month they captured Sa'erwai and the other stockades and pushed forward to hold Gachan. In the first month of the forty-first year they overran more than five hundred forts and stockades at Ma'ergudangga and then besieged Galaiyi. Sonom's mother had crossed to the west of the river to rally the remnants; once the main force completed the encirclement and severed her from her son, she surrendered. A Gui sent written summons to Sonom; as his headmen surrendered in succession, Sonom at last came in with his followers. With Jinchuan pacified, the surrendered tribes were resettled and deputy generals and subprefects were stationed across the territory. An edict enfeoffed him as first-rank Duke Chengmou Yingyong, promoted him to associate grand secretary and Minister of Personnel, and appointed him to the Grand Council. In the fourth month the army marched home in triumph. The emperor went to the southern outskirts of Liangxiang to perform the victory ceremony and granted him an imperial saddle and horse. Back in the capital he presented the captives; at the Hall of Purple Splendor the emperor held the feast of triumph and bestowed on him a purple-bridled horse and a four-panel ceremonial robe.
11
初，阿桂去雲南，緬甸遣使議入貢，械送京師下獄。 至是誅索諾木母子頭人，上命釋緬使令觀，譯告以故，縱之歸，冀以威武風動之。 四十二年，署雲貴總督圖思德奏：「懵駁已死，子贅角牙立，輸誠納貢，原歸中國人。 請開關通市。」 上以事重，當有重臣相度受成，命阿桂往蒞。 五月，授武英殿大學士，管理吏部，兼正紅旗滿洲都統。 緬甸使不至，遣蘇爾相等歸，遂召阿桂還。 未幾，緬甸內亂。 又十餘年，國王孟隕具表祝上八旬聖壽，定十年一貢。 南徼始安。
Earlier, when A Gui had left Yunnan, Burma had sent envoys to discuss paying tribute; they were shackled and sent to the capital for imprisonment. Now, after Sonom, his mother, and the tribal chiefs were put to death, the emperor ordered the Burmese envoys released to watch; an interpreter explained why, and they were sent home in the hope that imperial might would strike them with fear. In the forty-second year the acting Yunnan-Guizhou governor Tusi De memorialized: "Meng Bo is dead; his son Zhuajiaoya has succeeded, professes loyalty, offers tribute, and wishes to return to Chinese rule. He asks that the border be opened for trade." The emperor judged the matter too weighty to be settled lightly and ordered A Gui to go and oversee it in person. In the fifth month he was appointed Grand Secretary of the Hall of Military Glory, given charge of the Ministry of Personnel, and concurrently made commander of the Plain Red Banner. When the Burmese envoys failed to appear, Su Erxiang and his party were sent home and A Gui was recalled. Not long afterward civil war erupted in Burma. More than ten years later King Mengyun sent a memorial congratulating the emperor on his eightieth birthday and agreed to tribute once every ten years. The southern frontier was finally at peace.
12
四十四年，河決儀封、蘭陽，奉命往按。 阿桂令開郭家莊引河，築攔黃壩； 又於下流王家莊，築順黃壩：蓄水勢，逼溜直入引河。 四十五年三月，堤工蕆，還京。 兼翰林院掌院學士。 旋命勘浙江海塘，築魚鱗石塘、柴塘，及范公塘。 四十六年，工成，命順道勘清江陶莊河道高堰石工。
In the forty-fourth year the Yellow River burst its banks at Yifeng and Lanyang, and he was ordered to go and inspect the breach. A Gui had the Guojiazhuang diversion channel cut and a blocking dam built against the Yellow River. Farther downstream at Wangjiazhuang he also built a guiding dam that pooled the water and forced the current directly into the diversion channel. In the third month of the forty-fifth year the dike works were finished and he returned to the capital. He was also appointed Chancellor of the Hanlin Academy. He was soon ordered to inspect the Zhejiang seawalls and build fish-scale stone dikes, brush dikes, and the Fan Gong Dike. In the forty-sixth year, once the works were done, he was instructed on his return to inspect the Gaoyan stone works on the Tao Zhuang channel in Qingjiang.
13
甘肅撒拉爾新教蘇四十三與老教仇殺，戕官吏。 總督勒爾謹捕教首馬明心下獄，同教回民二千餘夜濟洮河犯蘭州，噪索明心。 布政使王廷贊誅明心，賊愈熾。 上命阿桂視師，時阿桂猶在工。 命和珅往督戰，失利。 賊據龍虎、華林諸山，道險隘。 阿桂至，設圍絕其水道，進攻之，賊大潰。 殲蘇四十三，餘黨奔華林寺，焚之，無一降者。 甘肅冒賑事發，命按治，盡得大小官吏舞弊分賕狀，讞定，疏請增設倉廒，廣儲糧石，以濟民食。
In Gansu, Su Forty-three of the New Salar sect clashed with the Old Teaching and murdered officials. Governor Le'erjin arrested the sect leader Ma Mingxin and jailed him; more than two thousand fellow Muslims crossed the Tao River by night, marched on Lanzhou, and demanded Mingxin's release. Financial commissioner Wang Tingzan had Mingxin executed, and the rebellion flared hotter. The emperor ordered A Gui to take field command, though he was still overseeing the construction works. Heshen was sent to supervise the campaign and was defeated. The rebels held Longhu, Hualin, and other mountains where the passes were steep and narrow. When A Gui arrived he blockaded their water routes and attacked; the rebels broke and fled in disarray. Su Forty-three was killed; the survivors retreated to Hualin Monastery, which was burned over them—not one surrendered. When a scandal over fraudulent famine relief broke out in Gansu, he was ordered to investigate and fully exposed bribery and corruption among officials high and low. After the verdicts were handed down, he memorialized for new granaries and larger grain reserves to feed the people.
14
秋，河決河南青龍岡，命自甘肅赴河南會河道總督李奉翰督塞河。 故事，河決，當決處兩端築壩，漸近漸合，謂之「合龍」。 十二月，兩壩將合，副將李榮吉謂水勢盛，宜緩，阿桂督之急。 既合，屬吏入賀，榮吉獨不至，召之，則對使者曰：「為榮吉謝相公，壩不可恃，不敢離也。」 越二日，果復決，阿桂馳視。 榮吉已墮水，懸千金賞救之起，解御賜黑狐端罩覆之。 因上疏自劾，請別簡大臣董其役，上詔答，略曰：「近年諸臣中能勝治河任者，舍阿桂豈復有人？ 惟當安心靜鎮，別求善策。」 四十七年，奏請於下游疏引河，上游築大堤，並於北岸建壩，迫溜南趨。 四十八年，工始竟，詣熱河行在，復命仍赴工次，審定章程。
That autumn the river burst at Qinglonggang in Henan; he was ordered to leave Gansu for Henan to join River Commissioner Li Fenghan in closing the breach. By custom, when a river breaks its banks, dams are built at both ends of the breach and slowly closed until they meet—this is called "closing the dragon." In the twelfth month, as the two dams were nearly joined, Deputy General Li Rongji argued the current was too fierce and closure should wait; A Gui drove the work forward. Once the closure was complete, his subordinates came to congratulate him, but Li Rongji alone stayed away. When summoned, he told the messenger: "Thank the minister for me—Li Rongji cannot trust this dam and dares not leave his post." Two days later the breach broke open again, and A Gui galloped out to inspect it. Li Rongji had already fallen into the water; A Gui posted a reward of a thousand taels for his rescue, and when he was hauled out, draped him in an imperial black-fox surcoat. He then memorialized impeaching himself and asking that another senior minister be appointed to oversee the works. The emperor replied in an edict that, in essence, said: "Of all the ministers in recent years who can manage the rivers, who besides A Gui is fit for the task? You need only keep your composure and find a better plan." In the forty-seventh year he memorialized for diversion channels downstream, major dikes upstream, and dams on the north bank to drive the current south. In the forty-eighth year the works were finally finished; he went to the imperial camp at Rehe to report, received fresh orders, and was sent back to the site to fix the regulations.
15
浙江布政使盛住疏論總督陳輝祖籍王亶望家有所私，命阿桂如浙江按治。 還，又命勘江南鹽河水道，又命勘河南蘭陽十二堡堤工，並於戴村建閘。 四十九年，甘肅鹽茶廳回民張阿渾據石峰堡以叛。 上遣福康安、海蘭察等討之，復命阿桂視師。 兩月餘，破堡，戮張阿渾等，加一等輕車都尉世職。 又命督河南睢州堤工。 五十年，舉千叟宴，阿桂領班。 又命勘河南睢州河工，並察洪澤湖、清口形勢。 五十一年，又命勘清口堤工，並如浙江按倉庫虧缺，勘海塘； 又命勘江南桃源、安東河決。 再如浙江按治平陽知縣黃梅重徵，論如律。
Zhejiang financial commissioner Sheng Zhu reported that Governor Chen Huizu was privately tied to the family of Wang Tanwang; the emperor ordered A Gui to Zhejiang to investigate. On his return he was again ordered to inspect the salt-river channels in Jiangnan, the dike works at Lanyang's Twelve Forts in Henan, and to build a sluice at Daicun. In the forty-ninth year the Muslim Zhang Ahun of Yancha Department in Gansu seized Shifeng Fort and rose in rebellion. The emperor sent Fuk'anggan, Hailancha, and others to suppress him and again ordered A Gui to oversee the campaign. In little more than two months the fort fell; Zhang Ahun and his followers were executed, and A Gui was granted the additional hereditary rank of first-class Commandant of Light Chariots. He was again ordered to supervise the Suizhou dikes in Henan. In the fiftieth year, at the Feast of a Thousand Elders, A Gui led the assembly. He was again ordered to inspect the Suizhou river works in Henan and survey Hongze Lake and Qingkou. In the fifty-first year he was again ordered to inspect the Qingkou dikes, investigate granary shortfalls in Zhejiang, and inspect the seawalls. He was also ordered to inspect the river breaches at Taoyuan and Andong in Jiangnan. He went again to Zhejiang to investigate Pingyang magistrate Huang Mei for excessive levies; the verdict followed the law.
16
五十二年，又命督塞睢州十三堡河決。 時台灣民林爽文叛，上命福康安討之，諮阿桂軍事。 阿桂疏論師當扼要害，分道並進，先通諸羅道，廓清後路，自大甲溪進兵。 諭曰：「所見與朕略同，已諭福康安奉方略。」 睢州工竟，又命勘江南臨湖磚石堤工。 五十三年，又命按湖北荊州水災。 請疏窖金洲以導水，修萬城堤以護城。 五十四年，命再勘荊州堤工。 嘉慶元年，高宗內禪，阿桂奉冊寶。 再舉千叟宴，仍領班，於是阿桂年八十矣，疏辭領兵部。 二年八月，卒，仁宗臨其喪。 贈太保，祀賢良祠，諡文成。
In the fifty-second year he was again ordered to supervise closing the breach at Suizhou's Thirteen Forts. At that time the Taiwan commoner Lin Shuangwen rebelled; the emperor ordered Fuk'anggan to suppress him and consulted A Gui on strategy. A Gui memorialized that the army should hold the critical points, advance on separate routes at once, first reopen the road to Zhuluo and secure the rear, then push forward from the Dajia River. An edict replied: "Your view largely matches my own; Fuk'anggan has already been instructed to follow it." Once the Suizhou works were complete, he was again ordered to inspect the lakeside brick-and-stone dikes in Jiangnan. In the fifty-third year he was again ordered to investigate the flooding in Jingzhou, Hubei. He memorialized to dredge Jinjizhou to draw off the water and repair the Wancheng Dike to protect the city. In the fifty-fourth year he was ordered to inspect the Jingzhou dikes again. In the first year of Jiaqing, when the Gaozong Emperor abdicated, A Gui bore the imperial seals and regalia. At the second Feast of a Thousand Elders he again led the assembly; by then A Gui was eighty and memorialized to resign as Minister of War. In the eighth month of the second year he died, and the Renzong Emperor came in person to mourn him. He was posthumously made Grand Preceptor, enshrined in the Temple of Worthies, and given the posthumous title Wencheng.
17
阿桂屢將大軍，知人善任使。 諸將有戰績，獎以數語，或賚酒食，其人輒感激效死終其身。 臨敵，夜對酒，深念得策，輒持酒以起，旦必有所號令。 方溫福敗，受命代將。 一日日欲暮，率十數騎升高阜覘賊砦。 賊望見，獷騎數百環阜上。 阿桂令從騎皆下馬，解衣裂懸林木，乃令上馬徐下阜。 賊迫阜，從落日中睹旂幟，疑我師眾，方遣騎出偵，阿桂已還軍矣。 師薄噶拉依，索諾木約以明日降，城柵盡毀。 日暮，諸將謁阿桂，謂：「今日必生致索諾木，不然，慮有他。」 阿桂不答，入帳臥。 明旦，索諾木自縛詣帳下。 阿桂謂諸將曰：「諸君昨日語，蓋慮索諾木他竄，或且死。 我已得險要，竄安之？ 且能死，豈至今日？ 故吾以為無慮。」 諸將皆謝服。 及執政，尤識大體。 康熙中，諸行省提鎮以次即有空名坐糧，雍正八年著為例。 乾隆四十七年詔補實額，別給養廉。 阿桂疏言：「國家經費驟加不覺其多，歲支則難為繼。 此新增之餉，歲近三百萬，二十餘年即需七千萬。 請除邊省外，無庸概增。」 上不從。 是時帑藏盈溢，其後漸至虛匱。 此其一端也。 乾隆末，和珅勢漸張，阿桂遇之不稍假借。 不與同直廬，朝夕入直，必離立數十武。 和珅就與語，漫應之，終不移一步。 阿桂內念位將相，受恩遇無與比，乃坐視其亂政，徒以高宗春秋高，不敢遽言，遂未竟其志。
Time and again A Gui led major armies, knowing how to recognize talent and put it to use. When a general distinguished himself, A Gui might reward him with a brief word of praise or a gift of wine and food; the man would then serve him unto death for the rest of his days. On the eve of battle he would drink deep into the night; when a plan took shape in his mind he would rise with his cup, and by morning there was always a new command. When Wenfu's army collapsed, he was ordered to take command in his place. One evening he took a dozen horsemen up a high knoll to scout the rebel fortifications. The rebels spotted them, and several hundred mounted warriors surrounded the height. A Gui had his escort dismount, hung their cloaks on the trees to resemble additional troops, remounted, and rode slowly down the slope. The rebels closed on the hill; in the sunset they mistook the hanging garments for banners and feared a large army—by the time their scouts rode out, A Gui was already back in camp. As the army closed on Galaiyi, Sonom promised to surrender the next day and had the outer defenses torn down. At dusk his generals urged him: "We must seize Sonom tonight, or he may yet slip away." A Gui said nothing and retired to his tent to sleep. At dawn Sonom arrived at the tent with his hands bound. A Gui told the generals: "Yesterday you worried that Sonom might flee or take his own life. I have already seized the passes—where could he run? If he meant to die for his cause, would he have waited until today? That is why I was not worried." The generals bowed in acknowledgment. In office he was especially attentive to the larger interests of state. Under Kangxi, provincial commanders and generals had long kept phantom names on the rolls; in the eighth year of Yongzheng this practice was codified. In Qianlong's forty-seventh year an edict required real troop numbers on the rolls and separate integrity-nurturing allowances. A Gui warned: "When spending rises all at once, the total is easy to miss; stretched out year by year, it becomes impossible to maintain. These new salaries come to nearly three million taels a year; in little more than twenty years that will mean seventy million. I ask that increases be limited to the frontier provinces and not applied everywhere." The emperor did not accept his advice. The treasury was then flush; in time it was gradually drained. This was one reason why. Late in Qianlong's reign, as Heshen's power grew, A Gui never indulged him in the least. He refused to share a duty room; when they reported for duty morning and evening, he always stood dozens of paces away. If Heshen came over to talk, he answered briefly and never shifted his footing. Privately he knew that, having risen to the highest civil and military rank on unmatched imperial favor, he was watching Heshen's abuses without stopping them; with the emperor aged, he dared not speak out boldly, and so died with his purpose unfulfilled.
18
高宗圖功臣於紫光閣，前後凡四舉，列於前者親為之贊。
The Gaozong Emperor commissioned portraits of meritorious ministers in the Hall of Purple Splendor on four occasions; for those ranked foremost he wrote the laudatory inscriptions himself.
19
定伊犁回部五十人：大學士傅恆，將軍兆惠、班第、納木札爾，副將軍策布登扎布、富德、薩拉爾，大學士總督黃廷桂，參贊大臣親王色布騰巴爾珠爾，貝子扎拉豐阿，郡王羅卜藏多爾濟、額敏和卓，尚書舒赫德、阿里袞，總督鄂容安，侍郎明瑞、阿桂、三泰、鄂實，領隊大臣內大臣博爾奔察，提督豆斌、高天喜，副都統端濟布，護軍統領愛隆阿，前鋒統領瑪巘，副都統巴圖濟爾噶爾，散秩大臣齊凌扎布、噶布舒，郡王霍集斯，貝子鄂對，內大臣鄂齊爾，散秩大臣阿玉錫、達什策淩，副都統鄂博什、溫布、由屯、三格，侍衛奇徹布、老格、達克、塔納、薩穆坦、璊綽爾圖、塔瑪鼐、富錫爾、海蘭察、富紹、扎奇圖、阿爾丹察、五十保。
For the pacification of Yili and the Muslim west, fifty men were honored: Grand Secretary Fu Heng; Generals Zhao Hui, Ban Di, and Namuzha'er; Deputy Generers Tsebudengjab, Fude, and Salar; Grand Secretary and Governor-General Huang Tinggui; Assisting Commander Prince Sebeteng Baljur; Princes Zhalafeng'a, Luobuzang Duo'erji, and Emin Hezhuo; Ministers Shuhede and Aligun; Governor-General E Rong'an; Vice Ministers Mingrui, A Gui, Santai, and E Shi; Inner Court Minister and column commander Bo'erbengcha; regional commanders Dou Bin and Gao Tianxi; vice commanders Duanjibu and Ailong'a; vanguard commander Ma Yan; and the many other officers, princes, guards, and ministers listed in the roster, ending with Wushibao.
20
定金川五十人：將軍阿桂，副將軍豐升額、明亮，大學士舒赫德、於敏中，尚書福隆安，參贊大臣親王色布騰巴爾珠爾，都統海蘭察，護軍統領額森特、舒常，領隊大臣都統奎林、和隆武、福康安，副都統普爾普，荊州將軍興兆，參贊大臣提督哈國興，領隊大臣提督馬彪、馬全、書麟，副都統三保、烏什哈達、瑚尼爾圖、珠爾格德、阿爾都、阿爾薩朗、舒亮、科瑪、伊蘭保、佛倫泰、富興、德赫布、莽喀察，總兵海祿、敖成、官達色、成德、欽保、曹順、保寧、特成額、烏爾納，總兵敦柱，侍衛額爾特、托爾托保、泰斐英阿、柏凌、達蘭泰、薩爾吉岱，佐領特爾惇澈，副將興奎。
For the pacification of Jinchuan, fifty men were honored, headed by General A Gui with Deputy Generals Fengsheng'e and Mingliang, Grand Secretaries Shuhede and Yu Minzhong, Minister Fulong'an, Prince Sebeteng Baljur, Commander-in-Chief Hailancha, Guard Commanders Esente and Shuchang, column commanders Kuilin, Helongwu, and Fuk'anggan, and the full roster of vice commanders, regional commanders, guards, and adjutants ending with Vice General Xingkui.
21
定台灣二十人：大學士阿桂、和珅、王杰，協辦大學士福康安，領侍衛內大臣海蘭察，尚書福長安、董誥，總督李侍堯、孫士毅，巡撫徐嗣曾，成都將軍鄂輝，護軍統領舒亮、普爾普，提督蔡攀龍、梁朝柱、許世亨，總兵穆克登阿、張芝元、普吉保，散秩大臣穆塔爾。
For the pacification of Taiwan, twenty men were honored: Grand Secretaries A Gui, Heshen, and Wang Jie; Associate Grand Secretary Fuk'anggan; Inner Court Minister Hailancha; Ministers Fuchang'an and Dong Gao; Governors-General Li Shiyao and Sun Shiyi; Governor Xu Siceng; Chengdu General E Hui; guard commanders Shuliang and Pu'erpu; regional commanders Cai Panlong, Liang Chaozhu, Xu Shiheng, Mukedeng'a, Zhang Zhiyuan, and Pujibao; and Minister without Portfolio Mutar.
22
定廓爾喀十五人：大學士福康安、阿桂、和坤、王杰、孫士毅，領侍衛內大臣海蘭察，尚書福長安、董誥、慶桂、和琳，總督惠齡，護軍統領台斐英阿、額勒登保，副都統阿滿泰、成德。
For the pacification of Gurkha, fifteen men were honored: Grand Secretaries Fuk'anggan, A Gui, Heshen, Wang Jie, and Sun Shiyi; Inner Court Minister Hailancha; Ministers Fuchang'an, Dong Gao, Qing Gui, and Helin; Governor-General Hui Ling; Guard Commanders Taifeiying'a and E'erdengbao; and Vice Commanders A'mantai and Chengde.
23
功稍次者列於後，儒臣為之贊，惟阿桂與海蘭察四次皆前列。 阿桂定金川元功，定台灣首輔，皆第一； 定廓爾喀以爵复第一，讓於福康安。 道光三年二月，宣宗命配饗太廟。 子阿迪斯、阿必達。
Men of slightly lesser merit were listed behind them, with encomia composed by scholar-officials; only A Gui and Hailancha were placed foremost on all four lists. In the Jinchuan roll his was the decisive merit; in the Taiwan roll he was the leading minister—in both he stood first. For Gurkha he would again have ranked first by merit, but he yielded the place to Fuk'anggan. In the second month of Daoguang's third year, the Xuanzong Emperor ordered him accorded paired sacrifice in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. His sons were Adisi and Abida.
24
阿迪斯，初以三等侍衛坐阿桂徵緬甸無功，奪職，發遣廣西右江鎮。 逾年赦复官。 累遷兵部侍郎，襲一等公。 复累遷成都將軍。 以川西盜發，逮問，發遣伊犁。 赦歸。 卒。
Adisi began as a third-rank guardsman but lost his post when his father's Burma campaign failed, and was exiled to Youjiang in Guangxi. A year later he was pardoned and restored to office. He rose through several posts to vice minister of War and inherited the first-rank dukedom. He was later promoted to general of Chengdu. When banditry erupted in western Sichuan he was arrested, tried, and exiled to Yili. He was later pardoned and allowed to return. He died.
25
阿必達，初名阿彌達，高宗命更名。 阿桂得罪，奪藍翎侍衛，發遣廣東雷瓊鎮。 赦歸，复官。 擢二等侍衛，命赴西寧祭告河神，探黃河真源，上命輯入河源紀略。 累遷工部侍郎。 卒。 阿必達子那彥寶，官至成都將軍； 那彥成，自有傳。
Abida, originally named Amita, was renamed by imperial order. When A Gui fell from favor, Abida was stripped of his blue-lanyard guardsman's rank and exiled to Leiqiong in Guangdong. He was pardoned, restored to office, and allowed to return. Promoted to second-rank guardsman, he was sent to Xining to announce sacrifices to the river god and trace the true source of the Yellow River; the emperor ordered his report compiled into the Records of the River Source. He rose through several posts to vice minister of Works. He died. Abida's son Nayenbao rose to general of Chengdu. Nayancheng is treated in a separate biography.
26
=【論】=論曰：將者國之輔，智信仁勇，合群策群力冶而用之，是之謂大將。 由是道也，佐天子辨章國政，豈有二術哉？ 乾隆間，國軍屢出，熊羆之士，因事而有功； 然開誠佈公，謀定而後動，負士民司命之重，固無如阿桂者。 還領樞密，決疑定計，瞻言百里，非同時諸大臣所能及，豈不偉歟？
The commentary observes: A general is the state's pillar. Wisdom, trustworthiness, benevolence, and courage, together with the pooled counsel and strength of many, shaped and deployed as one—this is what makes a great commander. By that same path one assists the Son of Heaven in governing the realm—what second art is there? Under Qianlong the armies marched out again and again, and fierce fighters won fame as events demanded. Yet in candor, in settling plans before acting, and in bearing the lives of soldiers and civilians alike, none matched A Gui. Back at the helm of the Grand Council, resolving doubts and fixing strategy with foresight far beyond his peers—he stood above the other great ministers of his age. Was that not magnificent?