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列傳一百五十二
Biography 152
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覺羅寶興宗室敬徵宗室禧恩陳官俊卓秉恬
Jueluo Baoxing, the imperial clansmen Jingzheng and Xi'en, Chen Guanjun, and Zhuo Bingtian
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覺羅寶興，字獻山，隸鑲黃旗。 嘉慶十五年進士，選庶吉士，授編修。 累遷少詹事，入直上書房。 十八年，仁宗幸熱河，林清逆黨突入禁城，寶興散直，至東華門與賊遇，急入告警。 宣宗方在上書房，聞警戒備，賊不得逞。 上還京，擢寶興內閣學士。 十九年，授禮部侍郎。 以事忤旨，詔斥寶興不學，降大理寺卿，罷直書房。 复坐部刊科場條例誤「高宗」為「高祖」，降二級調用。 尋予三等侍衛，充吐魯番領隊大臣。
Jueluo Baoxing (style name Xianshan) belonged to the Bordered Yellow Banner. He took his jinshi degree in Jiaqing 15 (1810), entered the Hanlin as a bachelor, and was appointed a compiler. He rose step by step to vice chamberlain of the Hanlin Academy and was assigned to the Upper Study on standing duty. In Jiaqing 18 (1813), while the Jiaqing Emperor was at Rehe, Lin Qing's rebels broke into the Forbidden City. Baoxing was between shifts; at the East Flowery Gate he ran into the assailants and dashed inside to sound the alarm. The future Daoguang Emperor was in the Upper Study; once the warning spread, the palace was put on guard and the rebels were thwarted. After the emperor returned to Beijing, Baoxing was promoted to Grand Secretariat academician. In Jiaqing 19 (1814) he was made vice minister of Rites. He later offended the throne on another matter; an edict called him unlearned, stripped him of Upper Study duty, and demoted him to president of the Court of Judicial Review. He was penalized again when regulations his ministry published for the civil service examinations named the High Ancestor instead of the High Ancestor Gaozong; he dropped two ranks and was reassigned. Shortly afterward he received the rank of third-class imperial bodyguard and was sent as the Turpan expedition commissioner.
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道光二年，召為大理寺少卿。 復因事降通政司參議，歷左副都御史、兵部侍郎，出為泰宁鎮總兵。 八年，授理籓院侍郎，調兵部。 迭命偕戶部尚書王鼎察治長蘆、兩淮鹽務，籌議整頓，詳王鼎傳。 十年，出為吉林將軍，疏言：「松花江西岸、輝發河北岸舊例封禁，其餘閒曠山場均設卡倫，惟許兵丁打捕牲畜，以備貢品。 民人無照，私出挖蓡斫木者，查拏治罪。」 又言：「伯都訥珠爾山荒田先後開墾五千二百六十二晌，其租息請自道光十五年為始，以其半分賞兵丁，半存備報修工程。 此外尚有可墾荒地五萬六千餘晌，作為官荒，將來奏請招佃徵租。 烏拉涼水泉已墾七萬三千九百餘晌，請撥二道河東二萬晌，以七成給烏拉總管衙門，三成給協領衙門，資為津貼。 餘未墾地五萬三千餘晌，亦作官荒。」 並從之。 調盛京，又調成都。
In Daoguang 2 (1822) he was recalled to serve as vice president of the Court of Judicial Review. After another demotion he became a secretary in the Office of Transmission, then left censor-in-chief and vice minister of War, before leaving the capital as commanding general of Taining. In Daoguang 8 (1828) he was made vice president of the Lifan Court, then transferred to the Ministry of War. He was repeatedly ordered, together with Wang Ding of the Ministry of Revenue, to investigate salt affairs at Changlu and the Huai region and propose reforms; see Wang Ding's biography. In Daoguang 10 (1830) he was posted governor-general of Jilin. He memorialized that lands west of the Songhua and north of the Huifa had long been under closure edicts, while other vacant hills were patrolled by guard posts and only garrison troops might hunt for tribute game. Anyone without a license who ventured out to dig ginseng or harvest timber was to be arrested and punished. He also asked that rents from 5,262 shang of reclaimed wasteland at Boduna Zhuer Mountain begin in Daoguang 15 (1835), with half disbursed to the troops and half banked for maintenance projects. Another 56,000-odd shang of reclaimable land should be held as official wasteland until the court could approve tenant settlement and taxation. At Wula's Liangshui Spring some 73,900 shang were already under cultivation; he proposed setting aside 20,000 shang east of the Second River—seventy percent to the Wula commandant and thirty percent to the assistant commandant—as stipends. The remaining 53,000-plus shang not yet opened would likewise remain official wasteland. The throne approved everything. He was transferred first to Shengjing, then to Chengdu.
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十七年，署四川總督，逾年實授。 時馬邊、越巂邊外夷匪數出為患。 十九年，疏言：「禦邊之策，不外剿、撫、防三者，撫之之道，在施於平時，斷無失利之後轉而就撫之理。 比來勞師糜餉，迄無成功。 為今計者，以修邊防為急務，陳防邊五事：一、增兵額，請於馬邊增兵千二百，雷波、普安、安阜、越巂、寧越各增兵八百，瓘邊、屏山各增兵四百； 一、改營製，請以綏定協副將移駐馬邊廳城，游擊、都司以下各增設移駐有差； 一、築碉堡，飭各廳縣因地制宜，多修堡寨，責令各集團練，官給抬砲，督率教演，擇要隘築砲台，增設大砲； 一、定期巡閱，歲春夏之交，建昌道赴越巂、瓘邊，永寧道赴馬邊、雷波、屏山，週曆巡閱各一次，秋冬責成提督與建昌總兵分赴巡行察勘邊隘； 一、優獎邊吏，馬邊、越巂兩廳同知，請三年俸滿，以題調選缺知府升補。」 疏下議行。 言官論奏四川提督應如湖南例，半年駐越巂等處。 寶興議：「馬邊、越巂相距遼遠，請於春秋夷匪出沒之時，提督往駐馬邊、瓘邊、雷波三廳，建昌總兵往駐越巂、寧越。」 又言：「越巂邊防以大路為重，麥子營、利濟站均應增駐弁兵，乾溝諸汛應酌量移撤，分設於馬日槓諸處。 越巂、寧越兩營相距頗遠，聲勢不能相及。 前請以建昌左營游擊移駐大菩薩地，遠在寧越之東，而越巂營參將復與游擊不相統屬。 請越巂、寧越適中之界牌樓，以建昌鎮右營都司移駐，專管麥子營、利濟站兩汛。」 並從之。
In Daoguang 17 (1837) he acted as governor-general of Sichuan and received the full appointment a year later. Along the Ma Bian and Yuexi frontiers, Yi and other tribesmen were raiding repeatedly. In Daoguang 19 (1839) he argued in a memorial that frontier policy rests on suppression, conciliation, and defense, but conciliation works only in quiet times—not as a fallback after military failure. Campaigns had drained men and money without result. His immediate proposal was to fortify the frontier. He listed five measures: first, raise troop quotas—1,200 more at Ma Bian, 800 each at Leibo, Pu'an, Anfu, Yuexi, and Ningyue, and 400 each at Huanbian and Pingshan; second, reorganize the garrison layout—move the Suiding brigade deputy commander to Ma Bian city and add or redeploy brigade, battalion, and company officers as needed; third, build forts and stockades—each subprefecture and county should adapt to terrain, multiply fortified villages, drill local militia, issue swivel guns, supervise training, erect batteries at key passes, and add heavy artillery; fourth, institute regular inspections—in late spring the Jiancheng intendant would tour Yuexi and Huanbian, the Yongning intendant Ma Bian, Leibo, and Pingshan, each once a year; in autumn the provincial commander and Jiancheng regional commander would split patrols to survey the passes; fifth, reward frontier officials—after three years' service the subprefects of Ma Bian and Yuexi should be elevated by special selection to prefectural posts. The memorial was sent down for deliberation and carried out. Memorialists argued that the Sichuan commander-in-chief, like his Hunan counterpart, should spend half the year on the Yuexi frontier. Baoxing countered that Ma Bian and Yuexi were too far apart: in spring and autumn, when raiders were active, the commander-in-chief should camp at Ma Bian, Huanbian, and Leibo, while the Jiancheng regional commander held Yuexi and Ningyue. He also urged strengthening the main road through Yuexi—more troops at Maiziying and Lijizhan, and shifting detachments from Qiangou to Marigang and similar posts. The Yuexi and Ningyue garrisons lay too far apart to lend each other mutual support. An earlier plan to move the Jiancheng Left Battalion brigade commander to Dapusa—far east of Ningyue—left the Yuexi colonel outside his command. He proposed stationing the Jiancheng Right Battalion commander at Jiepailou, midway between Yuexi and Ningyue, to command Maiziying and Lijizhan directly. The throne approved everything.
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先是寶興以馬邊諸廳縣增設防兵，籌議邊防經費，請按糧津貼，計可徵銀百萬兩，以三十萬為初設防兵之需。 每歲經費，即以餘銀七十萬兩生息，置田供支。 上以津貼病民，撥部帑銀百萬。 翰林院侍讀學士王炳瀛奏：「四川前買義田，遍及百餘州縣，若更以數十萬帑銀於各州縣買田收租，膏腴將盡歸公產。 請限於四廳近邊地收買，安置屯防。」 下寶興妥議，疏言：「邊防完竣，用銀二十二萬兩有奇，以三十七萬發鹽茶各商，歲得息三萬七千餘兩，足敷增設練勇餉械之需。 餘銀四十萬，聽部撥別用。」 遂罷買田議，二十一年，拜文淵閣大學士，留四川總督任。 時大學士琦善、協辦大學士伊里布相繼罷，在朝滿洲大臣鮮當上意，故有是授。 二十六年，入覲，命留京管理刑部，充上書房總師傅，兼翰林院掌院學士。 二十八年元旦，加恩年老諸臣，加太保。 十月，卒，年七十二，諡文莊。
To pay for new garrisons along the Ma Bian line, Baoxing had proposed a grain surcharge expected to yield one million taels—three hundred thousand for startup costs. The remaining seven hundred thousand taels would be invested and used to buy land whose rents would cover yearly upkeep. The emperor rejected the surcharge as burdensome and allotted one million taels from central funds instead. Hanlin reader Wang Bingying warned that Sichuan already held charitable estates in over a hundred jurisdictions; spending hundreds of thousands more taels to buy land province-wide would turn most fertile soil into government holdings. He asked that purchases be confined to land near the four frontier subprefectures for garrison settlement. Baoxing was told to work out the details. He reported that finishing the frontier works would take just over 220,000 taels; lending 370,000 to salt and tea merchants would yield 37,000 taels a year—enough for the new militia's pay and equipment. The remaining 400,000 taels would revert to the ministry for other uses. The land-purchase scheme was dropped. In Daoguang 21 (1841) he became a Grand Secretary of the Hall of Literary Glory while remaining governor-general of Sichuan. Qishan and Yilibu had just been removed from office, and few Manchu ministers in Beijing still enjoyed the emperor's trust—hence Baoxing's elevation. In Daoguang 26 (1846) he was summoned to court, kept in Beijing to head the Ministry of Justice, made chief tutor of the Upper Study, and named chancellor of the Hanlin Academy. At the New Year audience of Daoguang 28 (1848) he received the honorary rank of Grand Tutor among favors granted to senior ministers. He died in the tenth month at seventy-two and was posthumously titled Wenzhuang.
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宗室敬徵，隸鑲白旗，肅親王永錫子。 嘉慶十年，封輔國公，授頭等侍衛，兼委散秩大臣、副都統。 十九年，授內閣學士，兼鑾儀使，充總族長。 二十二年，失察宗室海康等習紅陽教，褫職，謫居盛京。 尋予四等侍衛，乾清門行走。 道光初，累遷工部侍郎，授內務府大臣，調戶部。 八年，偕尚書王鼎察治長蘆鹽務，奏定歸補帑課章程，詳王鼎傳。 十二年，南河奸民陳堂等盜決於家灣官堤，命偕尚書硃士彥往勘。 疏陳：「諸口已合，壩下尚未閉氣，間有蟄陷。 陳堂等聽從逸犯陳端糾眾，以為從例問擬，疏防各官遣戍。 通判張懋祖賠修壩工不實，罰賠枷號。 覆勘湖河各工，請擇要興修，高堰、山盱卑矮石工，分年改砌碎石； 信壩補還石工，智壩、仁河、義河壩改修石底； 里河福興閘塌卸，急築； 揚河西岸加高磚工，改拋碎石。」 並從之。 又會同兩江總督陶澍議定淮鹽票引兼行，言官所論官票運私、侵礙暢岸、爭佔馬頭三者皆可無慮，詔如原議行。
The imperial clansman Jingzheng belonged to the Bordered White Banner and was a son of Prince Su Yongxi. In Jiaqing 10 (1805) he was made Duke Who Assists the State, given first-class imperial bodyguard rank, and also served as an extraordinary minister and lieutenant-general. In Jiaqing 19 (1814) he became a Grand Secretariat academician, also directed the Imperial Procession, and served as chief clan head. In Jiaqing 22 (1817) he was dismissed for failing to detect clansmen including Haikang practicing the Hongyang sect and was exiled to Shengjing. He was soon restored as fourth-class imperial bodyguard with duty at the Gate of Heavenly Purity. Early in the Daoguang reign he rose to vice minister of Works, headed the Imperial Household, and was transferred to the Ministry of Revenue. In Daoguang 8 (1828) he and Wang Ding investigated Changlu salt administration and framed rules for repaying arrears to the treasury; see Wang Ding's biography. In Daoguang 12 (1832), when ruffians led by Chen Tang cut the official dike at Yujiawan on the Southern Rivers, he was sent with Zhu Shiyan to inspect the damage. He reported that the breaks were sealed but the foot of the dam had not fully compacted and sinkholes still appeared. Chen Tang's gang had followed the fugitive Chen Duan; as accomplices they received reduced sentences, while negligent officials were banished. Subprefect Zhang Maozu had falsified his dike-repair accounts and was fined, ordered to make restitution, and put in the cangue. Re-inspecting lake and river projects, he urged repairs where most needed—the low stone revetments at Gaoyan and Shanyu to be rebuilt in rubble over several years; restore stonework at Xin Dam; rebuild the stone foundations at Zhi Dam and the Renhe and Yihe barrages; the collapsed Fuxing Sluice on the inner canal needed urgent rebuilding; raise the brick facing on the Yangzhou River's west bank and replace it with dumped rubble. The throne approved everything. With Tao Shu, governor-general of the Two Jiangs, he finalized the combined ticket-and-permit system for Huai salt. Memorialists' fears—that official tickets would smuggle private salt, squeeze licensed markets, or monopolize wharves—were dismissed, and the original scheme was approved.
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十四年，授左都御史。 偕侍郎吳椿勘浙江海塘，疏言：「念裡亭至尖山柴工尚資禦溜，石塘仍當修整，鎮海及戴家橋汛議改竹簍，塊石不如條石坦水舊法為堅實。 烏龍廟以東，冬工暫緩。」 回京，擢兵部尚書，調工部。 十五年，以孝穆皇后、孝慎皇后梓宮奉安龍泉峪，諏日不慎，罷尚書、都統，仍充內務府大臣。 十六年，署戶部侍郎，累遷工部尚書，兼都統。 東河總督栗毓美多用磚工，御史李蓴言其不便，命敬徵偕蓴往勘。 疏陳：「已辦磚工尚屬整齊，輿論謂保灘護崖可資其力。 水深溜急之處，不及埽工鞏固，搶辦險工，未可深恃。 請停止燒磚，改辦碎石。」 從之。 十八年，調戶部。
In Daoguang 14 (1834) he was made left censor-in-chief. With Vice Minister Wu Chun he surveyed Zhejiang's seawalls and reported that fascine works from Nianli Pavilion to Jianshan still helped break the surf and stone dikes needed repair; proposed bamboo baskets at Zhenhai and Daijiaqiao were inferior to the older strip-stone apron method. Winter construction east of Wulong Temple could wait. Back in Beijing he was promoted to minister of War, then transferred to Works. In Daoguang 15 (1835), after an ill-chosen date for entombing Empresses Xiaomu and Xiaoshen at Longquan Valley, he lost his posts as minister and banner commander but kept his Imperial Household portfolio. In Daoguang 16 (1836) he acted as vice minister of Revenue, then rose to minister of Works while also commanding a banner. When Eastern Rivers governor Li Yumei favored brick revetments, Censor Li Chun objected, and Jingzheng was sent with Li Chun to inspect. He reported that existing brickworks were still sound and local opinion held they useful for protecting banks and cliffs. In deep, fast water they were less reliable than fascine revetments, and emergency repairs at danger spots could not be counted on indefinitely. He recommended halting new brick kilns and using rubble stone instead. The throne agreed. In Daoguang 18 (1838) he was transferred to the Ministry of Revenue.
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二十二年，南河揚河漫口，水由灌河入海。 有議即改新河，河督麟慶以河流未定，遽難決議，命敬徵偕尚書廖鴻荃往勘。 疏言：「改河之議，在因勢利導。 今查灌河海口至蕭莊口門三百六十餘裡。 新河正溜，由六塘出達灌口，其下游東北一百十里，滔滔直注。 惟當潮漲時，黃水相逼，壅閼不前，而上游自口門至響水口二百餘裡，支流忽分忽合，必須兩岸築堤束水，方免汎濫。 計工長三百餘裡，經費難籌。 且中河運道為黃流橫截，不得不移塘灌運。 清水本弱，仍恃借黃以濟。 空船引轉需時，重運更形艱滯。 是移塘乃權宜之計，常年行之，恐妨運道。 舊黃河自蕭莊迄舊海口四百二十餘裡，尾閭寬暢。 自漫口斷流，河身益淤。 若挽歸故道，堵口挑河，共費五六百萬，較改河築堤撙節實多。 請定明歲春融興工，俟軍船回空後築壩合龍。」 詔如議行。 尋以戶部尚書協辦大學士。
In Daoguang 22 (1842) the Yangzhou River on the Southern Rivers overflowed and the current poured to sea through the Guan River. Some urged an immediate course change, but River Governor Lin Qing argued the stream was still unstable; Jingzheng was dispatched with Liao Hongquan to survey the scene. They memorialized that redirecting the river meant working with the terrain, not against it. From the Guan estuary to the Xiaozhuang outlet they measured more than 360 li. The new main channel ran from Liutang to the Guan mouth, then northeast for 110 li in a straight, roaring torrent. At high tide Yellow River water backed up and stalled the flow; upstream, over 200 li from the mouth to Xiangshui, channels split and rejoined unpredictably—only twin dikes could confine the water and prevent floods. Dikes along 300-plus li would be prohibitively expensive. The Grand Canal trunk was cut by Yellow River water, forcing grain transport onto the Liutang–Guan detour. The clear-water section was already weak and still depended on Yellow River water to keep moving. Empty barges took longer to turn; laden grain convoys would fare even worse. The Liutang detour was a temporary fix; making it permanent would likely cripple the canal. The old Yellow River course from Xiaozhuang to the former mouth ran 420-plus li with a wide, open outlet. Since the breach cut off the flow, the old channel had silted even further. Returning the river to its old bed—sealing the breach and dredging—would cost five or six million taels but still save far more than building new dikes on the Guan route. He proposed starting when the ice broke the following spring and closing the breach after the grain fleet had returned empty. The emperor approved the plan. He was soon appointed Associate Grand Secretary while retaining the Ministry of Revenue.
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二十三年，偕侍郎何汝霖赴南河勘工，又赴河南察視中河廳漫口。 疏陳築壩挑河工費需銀五百十八萬兩，較祥符工費為節省，允之。 二十五年，奏：「河南下北河廳廟工，乃北岸七廳適中之所，河臣宜常年駐此，便於控制。」 詔河督每於伏汛前移駐廟工，立冬後仍回濟寧。 尋坐濫保駐藏大臣孟保，降內閣學士。 未幾，复授工部尚書。 又坐濫保科布多參贊大臣果勒明阿，褫職。 三十年，署正白旗滿洲副都統。 咸豐元年，卒，詔念前勞，予一品銜，依尚書例賜卹，諡文★。 子恆恩，左副都御史； 孫盛昱，自有傳。
In Daoguang 23 (1843) he and Vice Minister He Rulin inspected Southern Rivers projects, then surveyed the Middle River breach in Henan. He reported that sealing the breach and dredging would cost 5.18 million taels—less than the Xiangfu works—and the court agreed. In Daoguang 25 (1845) he proposed that the Henan river governor keep his headquarters at Miaogong, centrally placed among the seven north-bank offices. The throne ordered river governors to camp at Miaogong before the summer floods and return to Jining after winter. He was soon demoted to Grand Secretariat academician for improperly recommending Tibet resident minister Mengbao. Shortly afterward he was restored as minister of Works. He lost his post again for improperly recommending Kobdo commissioner Guoleming'a. In Daoguang 30 (1850) he acted as lieutenant-general of the Plain White Banner. He died in Xianfeng 1 (1851); the court honored his past service with first-rank insignia, ministerial burial rites, and the posthumous title Wen. His son Heng'en became left censor-in-chief; his grandson Sheng Yu is treated in a separate biography.
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宗室禧恩，字仲蕃，隸正藍旗，睿親王淳穎子。 嘉慶六年，賜頭品頂戴，授頭等侍衛，乾清門行走。 十年，晉御前侍衛，兼副都統、鑾儀使、上駟院卿，轉奉宸院卿，遷內閣學士。 十八年，擢理籓院侍郎。 二十年，授內務府大臣，調戶部侍郎。 二十五年，仁宗崩於熱河避暑山莊，事出倉猝，禧恩以內廷扈從，建議宣宗有定亂勳，當繼位。 樞臣托津、戴均元等猶豫，禧恩抗論，眾不能奪。 會得秘匱硃諭，乃偕諸臣奉宣宗即位，命在御前大臣、領侍衛大臣上行走。
The imperial clansman Xi'en (style name Zhongfan) belonged to the Plain Blue Banner and was a son of Prince Rui Chunying. In Jiaqing 6 (1801) he received first-rank insignia, became a first-class imperial bodyguard, and served at the Gate of Heavenly Purity. In Jiaqing 10 (1805) he rose to imperial guard before the throne, also commanding a banner, directing the Imperial Procession, and heading the Imperial Stud, then the Imperial Parks, and finally the Grand Secretariat. In Jiaqing 18 (1813) he became vice president of the Lifan Court. In Jiaqing 20 (1815) he headed the Imperial Household, then moved to vice minister of Revenue. When the Jiaqing Emperor died suddenly at Rehe in 1820, Xi'en—present in the inner court—argued that the Daoguang Emperor, who had helped suppress the Lin Qing rebellion, should succeed. Grand councillors Tuojin and Dai Junyuan wavered, but Xi'en's insistence carried the day. Once the sealed succession edict appeared, he helped install the Daoguang Emperor and was ranked above the chief palace guards.
12
道光二年，擢理籓院尚書。 時哈薩克部眾潛聚烏梁海，議遷徙安置，增設卡倫。 吏部尚書松筠諳習邊事，上每垂詢，禧恩因以諮之。 松筠素坦率，遂代刪改疏稿。 禧恩怒，以上聞，松筠坐越職干預被譴。 尋調工部，仍兼署理籓院尚書。 六年，調戶部。 八年，加太子少保，署吏部尚書。 九年，隨扈盛京，詔念睿親王多爾袞數定大勳，加恩後裔，賜禧恩雙眼花翎。
In Daoguang 2 (1822) he became minister of the Lifan Court. Kazakh groups were gathering covertly at Ulianghai; the court debated resettlement and new guard posts. Because Minister Songyun knew frontier affairs, Xi'en consulted him whenever the emperor asked. The outspoken Songyun took it upon himself to edit Xi'en's memorial. Xi'en complained to the throne; Songyun was punished for meddling beyond his office. He soon moved to the Ministry of Works while continuing to act for the Lifan Court. In Daoguang 6 (1826) he transferred to Revenue. In Daoguang 8 (1828) he received the Junior Guardian rank and acted as minister of Personnel. On the Shengjing tour in Daoguang 9 (1829), the court honored Dorgon's service and granted Xi'en double peacock feathers.
13
十二年，湖南江華瑤趙金龍作亂，命禧恩偕盛京將軍瑚松額督師，未至，總督盧坤、提督羅思舉已平之，殲金龍。 禧恩素貴倨，奉命視師，意氣甚盛，嗛諸將不待而告捷，謂金龍死未可信。 思舉以金龍焚骸及佩物為證，議始息。 廣東瑤匪趙仔青竄入湖南，率提督餘步雲、總兵曾勝追剿之； 偕巡撫吳榮光疏陳善後事。 湖南既定，而兩廣總督李鴻賓剿連山瑤，閱半年，軍屢挫。 詔逮鴻賓，以禧恩署總督，由湖南進兵。 遣步雲、勝等先後破賊，擒首逆鄧三、盤文理，毀其巢。 甫一月，諸瑤乞降。 詔嘉其奏功迅速，賜三眼花翎，封不入八分輔國公。 班師，途次丁母憂，溫諭慰之。
In Daoguang 12 (1832), when the Yao leader Zhao Jinlong rose in Jianghua, Xi'en was sent with General Husong'e—but Lu Kun and Luo Siju had already crushed the revolt and killed Jinlong before they arrived. Accustomed to privilege, Xi'en marched in high style and refused to believe the victory reports, insisting Jinlong might still be alive. Luo Siju produced Jinlong's charred body and belongings, ending the argument. When the Guangdong Yao rebel Zhao Zaiqing fled into Hunan, he led Yu Buyun and Zeng Sheng in pursuit; and with Governor Wu Rongguang memorialized on postwar arrangements. Hunan was quiet, but in Guangdong Li Hongbin's campaign against the Lianshan Yao stalled for six months. Li Hongbin was arrested and Xi'en took over as acting governor-general, advancing from Hunan. He sent Buyun and Sheng to rout the rebels, capture leaders Deng San and Pan Wenli, and destroy their strongholds. Within a month the Yao surrendered. The court praised his speed, gave him triple peacock feathers, and made him Duke Who Assists the State outside the eight grades. On the march home he entered mourning for his mother; the emperor sent condolences.
14
十三年，孝慎皇后薨，命理喪儀，坐議禮徵引違制，褫御前大臣、戶部尚書、內務府大臣。 尋复授理籓院尚書。 以生日受屬員饋送，為御史趙敦詩所劾，疏辯得直，敦詩坐譴。 十四年，因相度龍泉峪萬年吉地，加太子太保。 調兵部尚書，兼署禮部戶部。 十八年，詔以南苑牲畜不蕃，禧恩久管奉宸苑，廢弛疏懈，罷其兼領。 尋得員司積弊狀，盡罷諸兼職，降內閣學士。 二十二年，署盛京將軍，授理籓院侍郎，留將軍署任。 英吉利內犯，海疆戒嚴，命治盛京防務。 既而和議成，疏陳善後十事，並巡洋章程，如議行。
In Daoguang 13 (1833), while arranging Empress Xiaoshen's funeral, he lost his guard, Revenue, and Imperial Household posts for improper ritual citations. He was soon restored as Lifan minister. Censor Zhao Dunshi accused him of taking birthday gifts from subordinates; Xi'en's defense prevailed and Zhao was punished. In Daoguang 14 (1834), for surveying the imperial tomb site at Longquan Valley, he received the Grand Guardian rank. He became minister of War while also acting for Rites and Revenue. In Daoguang 18 (1838) the emperor blamed him for declining herds in the Southern Park and stripped his concurrent offices. Clerical corruption then came to light; he lost every concurrent post and dropped to Grand Secretariat academician. In Daoguang 22 (1842) he acted as Shengjing governor-general and became Lifan vice president while keeping that command. During the Opium War he was told to prepare Shengjing's defenses. After the peace settlement he proposed ten coastal reforms and patrol rules, all adopted.
15
二十五年，以病解職。 坐失察內地民人越朝鮮界墾地，削公爵，降二等輔國將軍。 三十年，起署馬蘭鎮總兵、密雲副都統。 咸豐元年，召授戶部侍郎。 二年，擢戶部尚書，協辦大學士，管理籓院事。 尋卒，贈太子太保，諡文莊。
In Daoguang 25 (1845) he retired citing illness. He lost his dukedom for failing to stop Chinese settlers encroaching on Korean territory and was reduced to second-rank brigadier general. In Daoguang 30 (1850) he returned as Malan garrison commander and Miyun deputy commander. In Xianfeng 1 (1851) he was recalled as vice minister of Revenue. In Xianfeng 2 (1852) he became Revenue minister, Associate Grand Secretary, and head of Lifan affairs. He died shortly after, posthumously made Grand Guardian with the title Wenzhuang.
16
禧恩自道光初被恩眷，及孝全皇后被選入宮，家故寒素，賴其資助，遂益用事。 遍膺禁近要職，兼攝諸部，凌轢同列，人皆側目。 後晚寵衰，禧恩亦數獲譴罷斥。 文宗即位，乃復起，不兩年登協揆焉。
Favored from early Daoguang, Xi'en backed the impecunious family of the future Empress Xiaoquan and grew still more powerful. He monopolized palace posts and ministries alike, bullying peers until courtiers watched him with resentment. When the empress later fell from favor, Xi'en was punished and dismissed repeatedly. Under the Xianfeng Emperor he was restored and reached the Grand Secretariat within two years.
17
陳官俊，字偉堂，山東濰縣人。 嘉慶十三年進士，選庶吉士，授編修，遷贊善。 二十一年，入直上書房。 大考二等，擢洗馬，累遷右庶子。 典陝西鄉試，督山西學政。 道光元年，命各省明定陋規，中外臣工多言窒礙，官俊亦疏陳不可行，詔嘉之，予議敘。 會密諭留心察訪官吏賢否、政治得失，官俊恃曾直內廷為宣宗所眷，意氣甚張。 尋遷侍講學士，命回京，仍直上書房。 山西巡撫成格追劾官俊在學政任毆差買妾，妄作威福，大開奔競。 上以官俊於毆差買妾已自承不諱，曾薦舉魏元烺、邱鳴泰，人材尚不繆； 惟所述太監往河東查訪鹽務控案，事出無稽，解職就質，命長齡道出山西，傳旨面詰成格，亦以不能指實引咎，遂兩斥之。
Chen Guanjun (style name Weitang) was from Weixian, Shandong. He took his jinshi in Jiaqing 13 (1808), entered the Hanlin, became a compiler, and rose to mentor of the heir. In Jiaqing 21 (1816) he joined the Upper Study. After placing second class in the palace examination he became groom of the heir's stable and then right vice director of the Studies. He ran the Shaanxi provincial exams and served as Shanxi education commissioner. In Daoguang 1 (1821), when the court ordered provinces to abolish informal fees, most officials objected; Guanjun agreed and was commended and marked for promotion. Entrusted with secret orders to report on officials, he grew arrogant, trusting in his old intimacy with the emperor. He was soon made attendant reader, recalled to Beijing, and kept on Upper Study duty. Shanxi Governor Cheng Ge then accused him of beating runners, buying a concubine, and encouraging corruption while education commissioner. The emperor noted Guanjun had confessed to the beating and concubine, and that his nominees Wei Yuanhuang and Qiu Mingtai showed he could still judge talent; but the story of eunuchs investigating salt at Hedong was fiction. Guanjun was dismissed to stand trial; Changling was sent to confront Cheng Ge, who could not prove his charges, and both men were removed.
18
官俊降編修，罷直上書房。 連典貴州、江西鄉試，歷中允、祭酒、侍講學士、內閣學士。 十六年，授禮部侍郎，調吏部。 十九年，擢工部尚書。 東陵郎中慶玉侵帑籍沒，主事全孚預告，多所寄頓。 事覺，語由官俊閒談漏洩，回奏复諱飾，詔斥失大臣體，褫職。 二十一年，起為通政使。 歷戶部、吏部侍郎，管理三庫。 擢禮部尚書，調工部。 二十四年，以吏部尚書協辦大學士。
Guanjun was reduced to compiler and expelled from the Upper Study. He later ran the Guizhou and Jiangxi exams and held posts from vice director of studies to Grand Secretariat academician. In Daoguang 16 (1836) he became vice minister of Rites, then Personnel. In Daoguang 19 (1839) he was made minister of Works. When Eastern Tombs official Qingyu embezzled funds and was ruined, clerk Quan Fu had tipped him off and much property was hidden. Word spread through Guanjun's loose talk; he then covered up in his memorial and was dismissed for unworthy conduct. In Daoguang 21 (1841) he returned as transmission commissioner. He served as vice minister of Revenue and Personnel and managed the three treasuries. He rose to minister of Rites, then Works. In Daoguang 24 (1844) he became Associate Grand Secretary while heading Personnel.
19
官俊再起，歷典鄉會試、殿廷禦試，每與衡校。 充上書房總師傅。 編修童福承素無行，直上書房授皇子讀。 給事中陳壇劾之，語及福承為官俊妻作祭文，措詞過當。 福承譴黜，詔斥官俊容隱不奏，罷總師傅，議降三級調用，從寬留任。 二十九年，卒，優詔賜卹，稱其心田坦白，贈太子太保，入祀賢良祠，諡文愨。 賜其孫厚鍾、厚滋並為舉人。
Restored to favor, he repeatedly chaired provincial, metropolitan, and palace examinations. He became chief tutor of the Upper Study. Compiler Tong Fucheng, notoriously dissolute, still taught princes in the Upper Study. Censor Chen Tan impeached him, citing an overwrought funeral elegy Tong had written for Guanjun's wife. Tong was dismissed; Guanjun was rebuked for shielding him, stripped of the chief tutorship, and spared demotion on leniency. He died in Daoguang 29 (1849) with generous rites, praised as frank-hearted, posthumously made Grand Guardian, enshrined among worthies, and titled Wenque. His grandsons Houchong and Houzi were both granted juren degrees.
20
官俊初直上書房，授宣宗長子奕緯讀，宣宗嘉其訓迪有方。 後皇長子逾冠而薨，上深以為恫，故遇官俊特厚，屢獲咎而恩禮始終不衰。
He had tutored the Daoguang Emperor's eldest son Yizhi; the emperor praised his teaching. After the crown prince died young, the grieving emperor favored Guanjun throughout, pardoning repeated faults.
21
子介祺，道光二十五年進士，官編修。 咸豐中，助軍餉，加侍講學士銜。 後在籍治團練，守城，賑饑，賜二品頂戴。 介祺績學好古，所藏鐘鼎、彝器、金石為近代之冠。
His son Jieqi, a Daoguang 25 jinshi, became a compiler. In the Xianfeng era he contributed to military funds and received attendant reader rank. At home he raised militia, defended the city, and ran famine relief, earning second-rank insignia. Jieqi was a scholar-collector whose bronzes and epigraphy ranked among the finest of his day.
22
卓秉恬，字靜遠，四川華陽人。 嘉慶七年進士，選庶吉士，年甫逾冠，授檢討。 典陝西鄉試。 十八年，改御史，歷給事中，章疏凡數十上。 論盜風未息，由捕役與盜賊因緣為奸，捕役藉盜賊以漁利，盜賊仗捕役為護符，民間控告，官不為理，盜賊結恨，又召荼毒； 直隸之大名、滄州，河南之衛輝、陳州、山東之曹州、東昌、武定，江甦之徐州最甚，請飭實力禁懲。 巡漕山東，履勘泰安、兗州各屬，探濬新泉四十三處，定名勒石。 歷鴻臚寺少卿、順天府丞。
Zhuo Bingtian (style name Jingyuan) was from Huayang, Sichuan. He took his jinshi in Jiaqing 7 (1802), entered the Hanlin at barely twenty, and became a reviser. He ran the Shaanxi provincial examination. In Jiaqing 18 (1813) he became a censor, then supervising secretary, filing dozens of memorials. He argued banditry persisted because constables and thieves colluded—constables profited, thieves enjoyed protection, lawsuits went nowhere, and victims were punished again; worst in Daming, Cangzhou, Weihui, Chenzhou, Caozhou, Dongchang, Wuding, and Xuzhou; he demanded stern enforcement. Inspecting the Shandong canal he surveyed Tai'an and Yanzhou, opened forty-three springs, and recorded their names on stone. He rose to vice minister of the Court of State Ceremonial and vice prefect of Shuntian.
23
二十五年，疏言：「由陝西略陽迄東至湖北鄖西，謂之南山老林； 由陝西寧羌迄南而東，經四川境至湖北保康，謂之巴山老林。 地皆磽瘠，糧徭極微。 無業遊民，給地主錢數千，即租種數溝數嶺。 歲薄不收則徙去，謂之棚民。 良莠莫辨，攘奪時聞。 一遇旱澇，一二奸民為之倡，即蟻附蜂起。 州縣以地方遼闊，莫能追捕，遂至互相容隱。 迨釀成大案，即加參劾，事已無濟。 且事連三省，大吏往返諮商，州縣奉文辦理，恆在數月之後。 與其即一隅而專謀之，何如合三省而共議之。 請於扼要之地，專設大員控制。」 宣宗深韙之，詔下三省會議，未果行，僅將邊境文武酌就要地改駐添設。
In Daoguang 25 (1845) he memorialized that from Lueyang in Shaanxi east to Yunxi in Hubei lay the Southern Mountains Old Forest; from Ningqiang south and east through Sichuan to Baokang in Hubei lay the Ba Mountains Old Forest. The soil was poor and taxes light. Jobless migrants paid landlords a few thousand cash to farm scattered ravines and hillsides. They moved on after bad harvests and were known as shed dwellers. Good and bad mixed together, and robbery was common. Drought or flood could set a few agitators off and crowds would rise like swarming insects. Local officials, unable to police such vast terrain, covered for one another. Impeachment came only after full-blown outbreaks, when it was too late. Cases spanned three provinces; provincial leaders took months to coordinate, and local orders arrived still later. Better to govern the region jointly than to treat each corner separately. He proposed posting senior officials at key points to supervise the area. The Daoguang Emperor approved, but interprovincial talks came to nothing; only a few border posts were reinforced or relocated.
24
道光四年，調奉天府丞，丁父憂去。 服闋，歷太僕寺、大理寺少卿，太僕寺卿，宗人府丞，內閣學士，典江南鄉試。 十五年，遷禮部侍郎，調吏部。 督浙江學政。 擢左都御史，召還京，兼管順天府尹事。 歷兵部、戶部、吏部尚書、協辦大學士。 二十四年，拜文淵閣大學士，晉武英殿。 歷管兵部、戶部、工部，賜花翎。 咸豐五年，卒，年七十四，贈太子太保，諡文端。
In Daoguang 4 (1824) he became vice prefect of Shuntian, then left for mourning. After mourning he rose through the Stud and Judicial Review courts, the Clan Court, the Grand Secretariat, and chaired the Jiangnan provincial exams. In Daoguang 15 (1835) he became vice minister of Rites, then Personnel. He served as Zhejiang education commissioner. Promoted to left censor-in-chief, he returned to Beijing and also ran Shuntian prefecture. He headed War, Revenue, and Personnel in turn and became Associate Grand Secretary. In Daoguang 24 (1844) he entered the Grand Secretariat at the Hall of Literary Profundity and moved to the Hall of Military Eminence. He oversaw War, Revenue, and Works in turn and received peacock feathers. He died in Xianfeng 5 (1855) at seventy-four, posthumously made Grand Guardian with the title Wenduan.
25
秉恬兼管京尹最久，凡十有八年。 時九卿會議，一二王公樞相主之，餘率佔位畫諾。 秉恬在列，時有辯論，不為用事者所喜。 子枟，道光二十年進士，官至吏部侍郎。
Bingtian ran the capital prefecture longer than anyone—eighteen years in all. At ministerial conferences a prince or grand councillor led while the rest rubber-stamped. Bingtian often spoke up in debate, which displeased the power holders. His son Song, a Daoguang 20 jinshi, became vice minister of Personnel.
26
論曰：自設軍機處，閣臣不預樞務。 始猶取名德較著者表望中朝，繼則旅進旅退之流，且以年資眷睞，馴躋鼎鉉矣。 寶興號嫺吏事，而蒙簠簋不飭之聲； 敬徵數視河工，差著勞勚； 禧恩、陳官俊並恃恩私，崛而復起； 卓秉恬以言官進，視緘默自安者稍表異焉。
The historians comment: After the Grand Council was created, Grand Secretariat ministers no longer handled core state secrets. At first the court still chose men of real standing; later mediocrities rose by seniority and favor to the highest offices. Baoxing was considered capable in administration yet suspected of loose integrity; Jingzheng earned some credit on repeated river inspections; Xi'en and Chen Guanjun both rode private favor back into power after falls; Zhuo Bingtian, who entered as a memorializing censor, stood somewhat apart from officials who kept quiet to stay safe.