1
=沈兆霖=沈兆霖，字朗亭，浙江錢塘人。 道光十六年進士，選庶吉士，授編修。 十九年，大考二等。 二十五年，遷司業。 二十六年，遷侍講，入直上書房，授惇郡王讀。 二十九年，遷侍講學士，直南書房。 歷詹事、內閣學士。 咸豐二年，擢吏部侍郎，督江西學政。
Shen Zhaolin, courtesy name Langting, was from Qiantang, Zhejiang. He passed the jinshi examination in the sixteenth year of the Daoguang reign, entered the Hanlin Academy as a bachelor, and was appointed a Compiler. In the nineteenth year he earned the second grade in the triennial evaluation. In the twenty-fifth year he was transferred to the post of Vice-Director of Studies. In the twenty-sixth year he became a Reader-in-Waiting, entered service in the Upper Study, and was appointed tutor to the Prince of Dun. In the twenty-ninth year he was promoted to Doctor Reader-in-Waiting and assigned to the Southern Study. He served in turn as Junior Tutor and as Grand Secretary of the Grand Council. In the second year of Xianfeng he was promoted to Vice Minister of the Board of Civil Office and made Educational Commissioner of Jiangxi.
2
三年，粵匪自武昌下九江，兆霖請速援南昌。 上諮以軍事，兆霖奏言：「江西會城雖暫可無慮，賊擾外府，省兵不能兼顧。 外府各有團練，如肯齊心協力，何藉分兵？ 即如撫州鄉團不下數万，皆留保本村，官兵祗三百，已調赴會城。 如團練不能合力，賊至何以御之？ 其故皆因堅壁清野，舊議祗守本村，並不出戰，不知事與嘉慶間川、楚教匪不同。 川、楚教匪劫掠村莊，自以堅守堡寨為是，今賊專攻省會、郡縣城池，城既破，鄉勇亦相與解散矣。 撫州如此，各省各府亦必皆然。 乞飭直省當於練勇中精選十之二三，聯爲鄉兵，統以練達有位望之人。 遇本縣有警，互相救援。 其外府、外縣仍不得調往，以免擾累。」 得旨允行。 尋以病乞罷。
In the third year, as the Taiping rebels pushed from Wuchang toward Jiujiang, Zhaolin urged that Nanchang be reinforced at once. When the emperor asked his view on military affairs, Zhaolin memorialized: "Although the provincial capital of Jiangxi may be safe for the moment, the rebels are raiding the outlying prefectures, and the provincial troops cannot be everywhere at once. Each outlying prefecture already has local militia; if they would act together, why must regular troops be split up to defend them? At Fuzhou, for instance, village militia number in the tens of thousands, yet all stay home to guard their own hamlets, while the government garrison is only three hundred men—and those have already been called to the capital. If the militia cannot fight as one, how will they resist the rebels when they come? The trouble is the "fortify and clear" doctrine: the old rule was to hold one's own village and never march out, as if this war were the same as the sectarian rebellions in Sichuan and Hubei under Jiaqing—but it is not. Those sect rebels looted the countryside, so clinging to fortified hamlets made sense; today's enemy strikes provincial and prefectural seats. Once a city falls, the village militia scatter with it. What is true of Fuzhou will be true everywhere else. I ask that each province pick the best two or three men in ten from its trained militia, form them into local companies, and put them under capable leaders of local standing. When any county in the network is attacked, the others should come to its aid. Men from other prefectures and counties should still not be drafted away, so the people are not harassed further." The emperor approved the proposal. He soon resigned, citing illness.
3
五年，病痊，署吏部侍郎，仍直南書房。 兆霖疏言：「安徽各郡，江北安、廬、和，江南池、太，皆為賊踞。 巡撫駐廬州，東北徽、寧、廣三屬，幾為巡撫號令所不及。 事急則向浙江請餉，事平則洩沓如前，不加整飭，旋收旋失，糜餉殃民。 臣察徽、寧二府，山川險固，地皆可守，民亦健奮，歙、休寧二縣，尤多富民。 宜於皖南設大員，專轄四府、一州，庶以飭吏治，固民心。 度險設防，皖撫得專心於江北，浙撫亦不至牽制於皖南。」 疏下廷議，改池太道為皖南道，得專摺奏事，如福建台灣道例，從之。 尋兼署工、兵二部。
In the fifth year, recovered from illness, he returned as acting Vice Minister of the Board of Civil Office and resumed duty in the Southern Study. Zhaolin wrote: "Across Anhui, the northern prefectures of Anqing, Luzhou, and Hezhou and the southern prefectures of Chizhou and Taiping are all in rebel hands. The governor-general sits at Luzhou, while Huizhou, Ningguo, and Guangde in the northeast lie almost outside his command. In crisis they beg Zhejiang for pay; in quiet they lapse into the old slackness, never tightening control—ground won is ground lost, money is squandered, and the people pay the price. I find that Huizhou and Ningguo are rugged and defensible, their people hardy and willing to fight; She and Xiuning counties in particular abound in wealthy families. Southern Anhui needs a senior commissioner with sole charge of four prefectures and one department, to tighten administration and win the people's loyalty. With defenses planned for the terrain, the Anhui governor can focus on the north bank, and the Zhejiang governor will not be pulled into southern Anhui." The court debated the proposal and approved it: the Chitai Circuit became the Southern Anhui Circuit, with authority to memorialize the throne directly, as with the Taiwan circuit in Fujian. He soon added concurrent acting appointments at the Boards of Works and War.
4
六年，授吏部侍郎，調工部，復調戶部。 八年，命往通州察覈通濟庫，奏請如戶部三庫例，以倉場侍郎兼管，佩印鑰，著為令。 九年，擢左都御史。 十年，署戶部尚書。 七月，英吉利、法蘭西兵內犯，兆霖疏請專講守禦，勿汲汲言撫。 九月，授兵部尚書。 撫議既定，上猶駐熱河，兆霖與諸大臣奏請回鑾，上命待明年。 兆霖復奏請明年春融，即啟蹕還京。 尋調戶部。
In the sixth year he was made Vice Minister of the Board of Civil Office, then moved to Works and then to Revenue. In the eighth year he was sent to Tongzhou to audit the Tongji Granary and proposed that, as with the Board of Revenue's three treasuries, the Granary Commissioner should manage it concurrently, bearing seal and keys—a rule then made permanent. In the ninth year he was promoted to Left Censor-in-Chief. In the tenth year he served as acting Minister of the Board of Revenue. In the seventh month, as British and French forces advanced inland, Zhaolin urged the court to focus on defense and not rush toward negotiation. In the ninth month he was appointed Minister of the Board of War. Peace was made, yet the emperor still stayed at Rehe; Zhaolin and his colleagues asked him to return to Beijing, but he told them to wait until the following year. Zhaolin pressed again that the court should leave as soon as the roads thawed in spring. He was soon transferred back to the Board of Revenue.
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十一年，穆宗回鑾即位，命充軍機大臣。 甘肅西寧撒回為亂，總督樂斌遣提督成瑞率兵討之，逗撓不進。 樂斌用西寧辦事大臣多慧議招撫，亂久未定。 上命兆霖偕尚書麟魁往按，盡發樂斌等瞻徇貽誤狀，樂斌戍新疆，成瑞、多慧逮京治罪。 同治元年，命兆霖署陝甘總督，親督兵自碾伯進擊撒回，屢敗之，撒回乞降。 七月，師還，次平番二道嶺溝，雨雹，山水驟發，兆霖及從行兵役並沒。 水退，得兆霖屍，猶端坐輿中。 布政使恩麟以聞，上深惜之，賜卹，贈太子太保，諡文忠。
In the eleventh year, when the Tongzhi Emperor returned to Beijing and ascended the throne, Zhaolin was made a Grand Councilor. The Salar Muslims of Xining, Gansu, rebelled; Governor-General Yue Bin sent Regional Commander Cheng Rui against them, but Cheng stalled and would not march. Yue Bin adopted the conciliation plan of Duo Hui, the Xining commissioner, and the revolt dragged on. The emperor sent Zhaolin with Minister Lin Kui to investigate; they exposed Yue Bin's favoritism and delay—Yue was exiled to Xinjiang, and Cheng Rui and Duo Hui were brought to Beijing for trial. In the first year of Tongzhi he was made acting Governor-General of Shaanxi-Gansu, led the army from Nianbo against the Salars, routed them repeatedly, and they sued for peace. In the seventh month, on the march home, the column halted at Erdao Linggou in Pingfan; hail fell and a flash flood swept down—Zhaolin and every man with him were drowned. When the waters fell, his body was found still seated upright in his sedan chair. Financial Commissioner En Lin reported the death; the emperor mourned him deeply, granted funeral honors, posthumously made him Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent, and gave him the posthumous name Wenzhong, "Loyal and Upright."
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=曹毓瑛=曹毓瑛，字琢如，江蘇江陰人。 道光十七年拔貢，授兵部七品小京官，遷主事，充軍機章京。 二十三年，舉順天鄉試，再遷郎中。 咸豐十年，擢鴻臚寺少卿。 時江南大營潰，總督何桂清棄常州，蘇、常相繼陷。 毓瑛疏陳軍事，略曰：「拯溺救焚，其事宜急而不宜緩。 搗虛批亢，其事宜合而不宜分。 臣前讀都興阿奏，擬自英山由豫境繞赴徐、宿，以達江北，而曾國籓通籌方略，擬分三路進剿，俟八月大舉。 竊謂都興阿由豫境以達江北，程途紆遠，非兩月不能到。 浙江自蕭翰慶陣亡，江長貴自平望退守，銳氣盡消。 以屢潰之孱兵，禦剽悍之勍賊，待至八月，松、太、杭、嘉、湖諸郡勢將瓦解，蔓延愈廣，規复愈難。 為今計者，都興阿宜自英、霍取道臨、鳳以抵江北，不過旬日，即由通、泰渡江，直抵江陰，進攻常州、無錫為一路，而以周沐潤所募沙勇副之； 鎮江現有兵萬餘，巴棟阿、馮子材、向奎進規丹陽為一路； 薛煥在上海增募勇丁萬人，由嘉定、太倉、崑山進攻蘇州為一路，而命張玉良出嘉興、平望以副之； 曾國籓率楚師由寧國取道廣德，進抵嘉、湖為一路，策應諸軍，而令米興朝攻宜興、溧陽，週天受攻高淳、東壩，曾秉忠督長龍船入太湖以副之。 攻賊之所必救，據賊之所必爭。 俟曾國籓新募勇至，然後分路進剿，庶於事有濟。」
Cao Yuying, courtesy name Zhuoru, was from Jiangyin, Jiangsu. Selected as a tribute scholar in the seventeenth year of Daoguang, he entered the Board of War as a seventh-rank clerk, rose to Director, and served on the Grand Council staff. In the twenty-third year he passed the metropolitan provincial examination and was promoted again to Bureau Director. In the tenth year of Xianfeng he was promoted to Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments. The great Jiangnan army camp had just collapsed; Governor-General He Guiqing fled Changzhou, and Suzhou and Changzhou fell one after another. Yuying laid out a military plan, writing in part: "Rescue must come quickly, not slowly. Strikes at the enemy's weak points must be coordinated, not scattered. I have read Du Xing'a's plan to march from Yingshan through Henan to Xuzhou and Suzhou and reach the north bank, and Zeng Guofan's scheme for a three-pronged advance in the eighth month. Du Xing'a's detour through Henan is so long that he cannot reach the north bank in under two months. In Zhejiang, after Xiao Hanqing was killed and Jiang Changgui fell back from Pingwang, morale has collapsed. Weak troops that have been routed again and again cannot hold off fierce rebels—wait until August and Songjiang, Taicang, Hangzhou, Jiaxing, and Huzhou will crumble; the rebellion will spread and recovery will be harder still. Du Xing'a should march from Yingzhou and Huozhou through Linhuai and Fengyang to the north bank—within ten days he can cross from Tongzhou and Taizhou, land at Jiangyin, and drive on Changzhou and Wuxi as one column, supported by Zhou Murun's river braves; Zhenjiang already has ten thousand men—Ba Dong'e, Feng Zicai, and Xiang Kui should press Danyang as a second column; Xue Huan should recruit ten thousand more men at Shanghai and attack Suzhou from Jiading, Taicang, and Kunshan as a third column, with Zhang Yuliang moving from Jiaxing and Pingwang in support; Zeng Guofan should lead his Hunan troops from Ningguo through Guangde into Jiaxing and Huzhou as a fourth column to coordinate the rest, while Mi Xingchao strikes Yixing and Liyang, Zhou Tianshou takes Gaochun and Dongba, and Zeng Bingzhong sends the long dragon boats into Lake Tai. Strike where the enemy must respond; seize what he cannot afford to lose. Only after Zeng Guofan's new recruits arrive should the columns move out separately—then there may be hope of success."
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英、法兩國合兵犯京師，上幸熱河，軍書旁午，樞臣未全從，上命擇章京資深才優者佐諸大臣辦事。 毓瑛在直久，諸大臣欲舉以應，固辭，遂越次用焦祐瀛。 十一年，穆宗即位，諸大臣皆譴罷，乃命毓瑛在軍機大臣上學習行走，遷順天府丞。 同治元年，遷大理寺卿，授軍機大臣。 二年，擢工部侍郎，調兵部。 三年，江南平，加頭品頂戴，賜花翎，署兵部尚書。 四年，擢左都御史，尋授兵部尚書。 五年，卒，贈太子少保，諡恭愨。
When Britain and France marched on Beijing and the emperor fled to Rehe, dispatches flooded in; not all Grand Councilors had followed him, and he ordered that a senior, capable clerk be chosen to assist the ministers still at court. Yuying had served on the council staff for years; the ministers wanted to name him, but he firmly declined, and Jiao Youying was appointed ahead of him. In the eleventh year, when Tongzhi took the throne, the old councilors were dismissed; Yuying was attached to the Grand Council as a trainee and made Vice Governor of Shuntian Prefecture. In the first year of Tongzhi he became President of the Court of Judicial Review and a full Grand Councilor. In the second year he was promoted to Vice Minister of Works and transferred to War. In the third year, after Jiangnan was pacified, he received the first-rank court button and peacock feather and served as acting Minister of War. In the fourth year he became Left Censor-in-Chief and soon after Minister of War. He died in the fifth year and was posthumously made Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent with the posthumous name Gongque, "Respectful and Cautious."
8
方端華、肅順擅政，毓瑛獨不附。 及佐樞政，廉慎勿懈，每謂：「軍旅大事，患在信任不專，事權不一。 古來良將，率以掣肘不能成功。」 時以為名言雲。
When Duanhua and Sushun dominated the court, Yuying alone refused to join their faction. In council he remained scrupulous and tireless, and often said: "The curse of military affairs is divided trust and split command. History's best generals have usually been ruined by interference from above." Men at the time took this for a maxim.
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=許乃普=許乃普，字滇生，浙江錢塘人。 拔貢，考授七品小京官，充軍機章京。 嘉慶二十五年，成一甲二名進士，授編修。 道光三年，直南書房。 四年，大考二等，擢洗馬。 五年，督貴州學政，任滿回京，仍直南書房，累遷侍讀。 十三年，復以大考二等擢侍講學士，督江西學政，三遷內閣學士。 十八年，擢刑部侍郎，罷直南書房，專治部事。 調吏部，又調戶部。 二十一年，擢兵部尚書。 二十五年，坐事鐫五級，補太常寺少卿，遷光祿寺卿。
Xu Naipu, courtesy name Diansheng, was from Qiantang, Zhejiang. Selected as a tribute scholar, he passed the capital examination for a seventh-rank clerk and joined the Grand Council staff. In the twenty-fifth year of Jiaqing he took second place in the top tier of the jinshi examination and was appointed a Compiler. In the third year of Daoguang he entered the Southern Study. In the fourth year he earned the second grade in the triennial evaluation and was promoted to Junior Mentor of the Heir Apparent. In the fifth year he became Educational Commissioner of Guizhou; when his term ended he returned to the Southern Study and rose to Reader-in-Waiting. In the thirteenth year he again took second grade in the evaluation, became Doctor Reader-in-Waiting, served as Educational Commissioner of Jiangxi, and rose three ranks to Grand Secretary of the Grand Council. In the eighteenth year he became Vice Minister of Punishments, left the Southern Study, and focused on his ministry. He was transferred to Civil Office, then to Revenue. In the twenty-first year he was promoted to Minister of War. In the twenty-fifth year he was demoted five ranks for an offense, appointed Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and then Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments.
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三十年，文宗御極，命仍直南書房。 詔求言，乃普疏言：「方今先務，莫急於正君心，培聖德。 請敕館臣合列朝聖訓，依類分門，排日進呈，庶政奉以為宗。 恩詔各省保舉孝廉方正，請敕下各直省學政考覈學官，學官得人，所舉庶幾可恃。 刑部於致死胞伯叔及胞兄之案，以事關服制，往往夾簽聲明，並非有心干犯，巧為開脫。 請敕下刑部斟情酌理，俾無枉縱。 各省綠營弁兵平時宜加意訓練，武職到京，兵部驗看時，當令兼演火器。」 疏上，得旨：「下所司議奏。」 復申諭刑部及各督撫，服制案罪名務得實情。 咸豐二年，授內閣學士。 乃普疏論軍營奏報欺飾，得旨，令各路統兵大臣及各督撫力除積習，嚴為稽察，其朦混掩飾者，據實嚴參。 擢兵部侍郎。 三年，粵匪陷九江，擾皖北，覬覦北鄉，而廬、鳳守禦單弱，乃普疏請調黑龍江兵，道山東、江南，徑赴安徽，遠可張蘇、浙之聲援，近可固廬、鳳之門戶。 調刑部，尋擢工部尚書，調刑部。
In the thirtieth year, when the Xianfeng Emperor ascended the throne, he was ordered back to the Southern Study. When the throne called for candid advice, Naipu wrote: "Nothing matters more now than rectifying the emperor's mind and nurturing his virtue. Have the Hanlin compile the sacred instructions of past reigns by topic and present them day by day, so that government may take them as its guide. The amnesty edict calls for recommending filial and upright men from each province; order the educational commissioners to inspect local school officials—worthy teachers will yield trustworthy nominees. In cases of killing a paternal uncle or an elder brother, the Board of Punishments often slips in a note that mourning obligations were involved and there was no deliberate violation—an artful way to let offenders off. Order the Board of Punishments to weigh each case on its merits, so that none escape unjustly and none are punished unjustly. Green Standard troops in every province should train harder in peacetime; when officers come to Beijing for inspection, the Board of War should require them to demonstrate firearms as well." The emperor replied: "Refer this to the relevant offices for deliberation." He also instructed the Board of Punishments and all governors that charges in mourning-obligation cases must reflect the true facts. In the second year of Xianfeng he was appointed Grand Secretary of the Grand Council. Naipu wrote on falsified military reports; the emperor ordered every field commander and governor to root out the old habit of deception, inspect strictly, and impeach anyone who concealed the truth. He was promoted to Vice Minister of War. In the third year, the Taiping rebels took Jiujiang, raided northern Anhui, and turned their gaze toward Beixiang. With Luzhou and Fengyang poorly defended, Naipu submitted a broad memorial asking that Heilongjiang troops be redeployed through Shandong and Jiangnan straight into Anhui—far away to lend strength to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and close by to hold the gates of Luzhou and Fengyang. He was moved to the Ministry of Punishments, soon promoted to Minister of Works, and then transferred back to the Ministry of Punishments.
11
國子監司業崇福奏請豫徵山西咸豐四年錢糧，軍機大臣等會議，推及陝西、四川兩省，乃普偕侍郎何彤雲奏言：「各省情形不一，應由各督撫體察情形。 山西被賊各州縣及陝西之延安、榆林、綏德、興安，四川之寧遠各府，地瘠民貧，均請免其借徵。 至畸零小戶，有田數畝或數十畝，僅足餬口，仍令照常例完納，庶民力不至重困。」 又奏言：「時值嚴寒，用兵尤宜撫卹。 聞通永鎮兵四百名，去賊最近，而強半尚衣秋衣； 重以行營所在，百物昂貴，無錢者往往須取於民，以致負販裹足，兵士轉不免於飢寒。 請飭統兵大臣悉心籌度。」 從之。 又言：「江南大營老師糜餉，皆由琦善等意見不和，舒興阿自陝赴皖，所在稽留，沿途需索。 今命與江忠源會剿，不獨難以和衷，且恐因之掣肘。 又方今餉需艱難，軍務一日未蕆，即度支一日不敷，惟在大師刻日奏功，以紓天下之困。 請皇上嚴加督責，信賞必罰，以振暮氣。」 疏上，嘉納之。
Chong Fu, Vice Director of the Imperial Academy, asked to levy Shanxi's Xianfeng fourth-year taxes in advance. After the Grand Council extended the proposal to Shaanxi and Sichuan, Naipu and Vice Minister He Tongyun submitted that conditions differed from province to province and that each governor-general and governor should assess the situation on the ground. They asked that advance collection be waived in Shanxi's bandit-ravaged counties, in Shaanxi's prefectures of Yan'an, Yulin, Suide, and Xing'an, and in Sichuan's Ningyuan—regions where the soil was poor and the people destitute. For scattered smallholders with only a few or a few dozen mu of land—barely enough to live on—they proposed that normal annual payments still be collected, so the common people would not be crushed under an even heavier load. They added: "The weather is fiercely cold, and troops in the field above all need comfort and relief. They had heard that of the four hundred men at Tongyong—the post nearest the enemy—more than half were still in autumn uniforms; Worse still, wherever the camp moved, prices soared; men without cash often extorted the local people, peddlers stopped coming, and the soldiers themselves went hungry and cold. They asked that the field commanders be instructed to address the problem thoroughly. The court approved. They went on: "The Jiangnan Grand Camp's stalemate and wasted pay stem from the mutual distrust of Qishan and his colleagues. Shu Xing'a, sent from Shaanxi to Anhui, dawdled at every stop and requisitioned all along the road. Now that he has been ordered to campaign jointly with Jiang Zhongyuan, they will not only find it hard to cooperate—they may well tie each other's hands. With supplies scarce, every day the war continued was another day the treasury could not keep up. Only swift victory by the main armies could ease the empire's strain. They urged the emperor to press his commanders hard, reward merit and punish failure without exception, and shake off the army's torpor. The emperor read the memorial and approved it warmly.
12
四年，刑部主事王式言坐承審命案，聽授請託，失入絞罪。 事聞，上命裕誠等按治，乃普以式言本門生，奏請迴避，弗許。 既而裕誠等讞式言僕受賕，上責乃普回護，降補內閣學士，罷直南書房。 尋遷禮部侍郎，擢左都御史。 六年，遷工部尚書。 八年，命督五城團防。 九年，調吏部。 十年，文宗三旬慶辰，加太子太保。 九月，以病乞罷。 同治五年，卒，諡文恪。
In the fourth year, Wang Shiyan, a principal clerk of the Ministry of Punishments, was convicted of hearing a capital case, taking improper requests, and wrongly sentencing the defendant to strangulation. When the case was reported, the emperor ordered Yucheng and others to investigate. Naipu, Shiyan's former teacher, asked to recuse himself, but the request was denied. Yucheng's inquiry then found that Shiyan's servant had taken a bribe. The emperor blamed Naipu for covering for him, reduced him to a Grand Secretariat academician, and stripped him of his Southern Studio post. He was soon made Vice Minister of Rites and then promoted to Left Censor-in-Chief. In the sixth year he became Minister of Works. In the eighth year he was put in charge of the Five Cities' militia defense. In the ninth year he was moved to the Ministry of Personnel. In the tenth year, on Emperor Wenzong's thirtieth birthday, he was made Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent. In the ninth month he asked to retire on grounds of illness. He died in the fifth year of Tongzhi and was posthumously titled Wenkai.
13
子彭壽，字仁山。 道光二十七年進士，選庶吉士，授編修，累遷少詹事。 咸豐十一年，文宗崩，命議郊配禮，彭壽偕大理寺少卿潘祖廕奏言：「臣讀大行皇帝聖制甲寅孟夏齋宮即事詩，末句'以後無須再變更'，注云：'天壇配享，三祖、五宗為定，永不增配位。 恐後代無知故違，則儀文太繁。 '臣等仰瞻聖藻，躬懸齋宮，言法行則，非博謙讓虛名。 弓劍未寒，不忍頓生異議。」 禮遂定。
His son Peng Shou, styled Renshan. A jinshi of Daoguang 27, he entered the Hanlin as a probationer, served as a compiler, and rose eventually to Junior Commissioner of the Heir Apparent's Education. In Xianfeng 11, after Emperor Wenzong's death, he was ordered to help settle the rites of suburban sacrifice and spirit-tablet pairing. Peng Shou and Pan Zuyin, Vice Director of the Court of Judicial Review, cited the late emperor's poem composed at the fasting palace in the first month of Jiayin, whose closing line—"after this, let nothing be changed again"—was glossed: "Heaven Altar pairings are fixed at the Three Ancestors and Five Emperors; no paired seats are ever to be added. They feared that later ages, forgetting this rule, would needlessly multiply the ritual. The sacred text still hangs in the fasting palace; his word was law, not a gesture of false humility. His bow and sword are scarcely cold; we cannot bear to reopen the question now. The rites were settled accordingly.
14
時肅順等獲罪，彭壽請察治黨援，旨令指實。 奏言侍郎成琦，太僕寺卿德克津泰，候補京堂富績，侍郎劉昆、黃宗漢。 得旨：「糾彈諸事，朕早有聞，特懲一儆百，力挽頹靡。 此後不諮既往，諸臣亦毋以黨援陳奏，致啟訐陷。」 於是陳孚恩等譴黜有差。 彭壽又以載垣等隨事刻深，戶部五宇官錢案請再清釐，從之。 同治初，再遷內閣學士，署禮部左侍郎。 五年，卒。
When Sushun and his circle fell, Peng Shou asked that their associates be investigated; the throne told him to name names and prove his charges. He named Vice Minister Cheng Qi, Court of the Imperial Stud Director De Kejintai, capital-office candidate Fu Ji, and Vice Ministers Liu Kun and Huang Zonghan. The response read: "These impeachments are no surprise to me. I punish one man to warn the rest and forcefully pull the court back from its slide into slackness. Hereafter I will not rake up the past, and you officials must not use factional ties as grounds for memorials that invite mutual denunciation. Chen Fu'en and others were then punished and removed in varying degrees. Peng Shou also argued that Zaituan and his allies had been excessively severe, and asked for a fresh audit of the Ministry of Revenue's "five-character" official-funds case. The court agreed. Early in Tongzhi he was again made a Grand Secretariat academician and acted as Left Vice Minister of Rites. He died in the fifth year.
15
=趙光=趙光，字蓉舫，雲南昆明人。 嘉慶二十五年進士，選庶吉士，授編修。 遷御史、給事中，轉光祿寺少卿，五遷內閣學士。 擢兵部侍郎，調戶部。
Zhao Guang, courtesy name Rongfang, was from Kunming, Yunnan. He passed the jinshi examination in the twenty-fifth year of Jiaqing, entered the Hanlin as a bachelor, and was appointed a Compiler. He served as censor and supervising secretary, then as Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Entertainments, and after five promotions became Grand Secretary of the Grand Council. He was promoted to Vice Minister of War and then transferred to the Board of Revenue.
16
文宗即位，奏陳時務，略言：「安民先察吏，州縣為親民之官，秩卑責重。 捐例屢開，仕塗益雜。 幕友招搖，書役播弄，賄囑情託，靡所不至。 正供則挪移侵虧，訟案則株連擱壓，偶或參劾，輒籌抵制。 大吏慮其噬臍，曲予寬容，同僚相率效尤，成為習慣。 應請飭令督、撫、司、道，嚴行舉錯，以肅官方。 國家糜餉養兵，冀收實用，近日營伍將弁，虛文操演，廝役士卒，養尊處優。 空名漁利，器械不修，槍砲無準，而水師尤為窳敝。 往往居岸自適，風沙水線，都未研習，洋面不靖，盜劫頻聞。 前者海疆有事，船遠距而彈施，敵近前而藥罄，束手無策，栗體先逃。 凡諸軍備，轉為寇齎。 甚至軌律盡隳，沿途坐索，長官乞哀，乃始進行。 軍威不肅，一至於此。 夫練兵必先練將，材藝邁眾，忠勇無前，如昔時楊遇春輩，渺不可得，緩急何恃？ 應請飭令將軍、督、撫、提、鎮，整齊營伍，鼓勵人才，以修武備。 詰姦除暴，莫如保甲，近來直隸、山東盜賊日眾，至河南之捻匪，四川之啯匪，廣東之土匪，貴州之苗匪，雲南之回匪，肆意強橫，目無法紀，邪教充斥，名目紛繁。 煽誘既眾，蹂躪彌多。 地方文武，恐滋事端，惟務姑息。 胥差既豢賊縱容，兵弁復得規徇隱。 幹吏嚴拘，則聲息潛通，奪犯戕官，釀成巨患。 其愚懦者，但期文過，諱盜為竊，避重就輕，以至匪徒益無忌憚，禍不勝言。 應請飭令各直省督撫，認真整頓，奉行保甲，緝捕勤能，據實獎勵； 疲玩者撤參重處，以戢盜風。 直省倉庫錢糧，各有定額，州縣官如果侭數徵解，交代清晰，何至虧空盈千累萬？ 其致此之由，厥有數端：或紈褲而登仕版，習尚奢華； 或庸瞶而暱親隨，開銷浮濫； 或負累已深，官項償其私債； 或交游太廣，正款供其應酬。 寅支卯糧，東挪西掩，有漕者藉口於幫丁之需索，解庫者歸咎於糧價之增昂。 道府察知，往往礙於情面，曲意彌縫，後任慮招重怨而不敢發，上司恐興大獄而不敢參，即使查抄，終歸無著。 是以州縣交代，有歷數任而未算結者，有合數十州縣而未盤查者。 前者欽差大臣會同各督撫清查整理，嚴定章程，虧短各案，業已分別攤賠。 第恐舊虧未完，新虧已續，應請敕令各直省督撫督同司道各官詳細查覈，交代未清者，停其委署升補，虧那者嚴參，以清積弊。」 疏入，優詔嘉納。
When the Xianfeng Emperor took the throne, Zhao Guang submitted a policy memorial arguing that to settle the people one must first judge the officials. Prefectural and county magistrates, though low in rank, bore the heaviest burden of governing the people directly. Office-selling quotas had been opened again and again, filling the bureaucracy with unqualified men. Private secretaries threw their weight around, yamen clerks twisted cases, and bribery and backdoor favor reached into every corner. They diverted and embezzled regular tax payments, entangled litigants and shelved lawsuits, and whenever impeachment threatened, they organized to block it. Superiors, fearing retaliation, looked the other way; colleagues copied them until indulgence became habit. He asked that governors-general, governors, provincial judges, and circuit intendants be ordered to promote the worthy and remove the unfit, and so restore official discipline. The state poured out pay to maintain armies meant for real service, yet officers now treated drill as empty form, let servants boss the rank and file, and lived in ease and privilege. They kept hollow ranks for profit while arms went unrepaired, muskets and cannon untested, and the navy rotted worst of all. They preferred the comfort of shore, never training in wind, shoals, or coastal waters; with the seas unsafe, piracy and robbery were reported constantly. When trouble came before, ships opened fire from too far away, ran out of shot as the enemy closed, and then fled in panic with nothing left to do. In the end, the empire's own stores supplied the raiders. Discipline collapsed so far that troops ignored every rule, extorted towns along the march, and moved on only after their commanders pleaded with them. Military discipline had sunk to that level. To train soldiers one must first train commanders, yet men of surpassing skill and fearless loyalty like Yang Yuchun were now almost impossible to find. In a crisis, whom could the state trust? He asked that generals, governors, provincial commanders, and garrison commanders be ordered to restore order in the camps, nurture capable men, and rebuild the armed forces. For rooting out crime, nothing matched the baojia system. Yet banditry was swelling in Zhili and Shandong, while Nian rebels in Henan, Gufei in Sichuan, local bandits in Guangdong, Miao rebels in Guizhou, and Hui rebels in Yunnan ran rampant, scorned the law, and multiplied under a tangle of sects and names. The more they recruited followers, the wider the destruction spread. Local civil and military officers, afraid of provoking incidents, chose only to appease. Yamen runners fed the bandits and looked the other way, while soldiers and petty officers profited by hiding them. When able officers tried to crack down, warnings leaked out; prisoners were rescued, officials murdered, and disaster followed. The timid and incompetent merely papered over the record—calling robbery mere theft, choosing lesser charges over graver ones—until outlaws lost all fear and the harm became incalculable. He urged every provincial governor to enforce the baojia system in earnest and reward officials who pursued bandits diligently and effectively; negligent ones should be removed and punished severely to curb the tide of banditry. Every provincial treasury had fixed quotas. If magistrates collected and remitted in full and kept clear accounts on transfer, how could deficits pile into the thousands and tens of thousands? The causes were many: some took office as pampered youths addicted to display. Some were mediocre men who favored personal cronies and spent recklessly. Some were already deep in debt and used public money to pay private creditors. Others kept too wide a social circle and spent official funds on entertainment and favors. They spent tomorrow's revenue today, robbing one account to patch another; grain-transport officials blamed transport crews' exactions, and remitting officers blamed rising grain prices. Circuit intendants and prefects who learned of it often smoothed matters over for friends; successors feared bitter reprisals and kept silent; superiors feared major scandals and held back impeachments; even searches usually recovered nothing. Hence magistrates sometimes served term after term without a settled account, and whole groups of counties went unaudited for years. Imperial commissioners working with the governors had already audited the books, fixed new rules, and apportioned past shortages for repayment. But old deficits remained unsettled while new ones opened. He asked that governors supervise a thorough audit: officials with unsettled accounts should be barred from promotion or acting appointments, and embezzlers severely impeached, until the accumulated rot was cleared away. The emperor received the memorial and commended it in a warm edict.
17
三年，擢工部尚書，調刑部。 八年，命偕尚書周祖培等督五城團防事宜，歷兼署工部、兵部、戶部、吏部尚書。 四年，卒，諡文恪。
In the third year he was promoted to Minister of Works, then transferred to the Ministry of Punishments. In the eighth year he was ordered, together with Minister Zhou Zupei and others, to oversee the Five Cities' militia defense, and concurrently acted as Minister of Works, War, Revenue, and Personnel in turn. In the fourth year he died and was posthumously titled Wenkai.
18
=硃嶟=硃嶟，字致堂，雲南通海人。 嘉慶二十四年進士，選庶吉士，授檢討，遷御史。 道光十二年，畿輔災，廣東副貢生潘仕成捐貲助賑，賜舉人。 有援案以請者，嶟疏言：「仕成本副貢，去舉人一間，賜以舉人，於破格之中，仍寓量才之意。 厥後葉元堃、黃立誠次第援請，若因此遂成定例，生富人徼幸，阻寒士進修，於事不便。 應請旨飭各督撫，水旱偏災，捐輸應獎，不得援引前案。」 上嘉納之。 五遷至內閣學士。 十七年，擢兵部侍郎，迭兼署吏、戶二部，坐事鐫五秩。 二十六年，補內閣侍讀學士。
Zhu Zun, courtesy name Zhitang, was from Tonghai, Yunnan. He passed the jinshi examination in the twenty-fourth year of Jiaqing, entered the Hanlin as a bachelor, served as a proofreader, and was then made a censor. In the twelfth year of Daoguang, when the capital region suffered famine, Pan Shicheng, a Guangdong stipend student, donated relief funds and was granted juren status. When others cited his case to seek the same favor, Zhu Zun argued that Pan Shicheng, though only a stipend student one rank below juren, had been rewarded within an exceptional rule that still respected merit. Later Ye Yuanjun and Huang Licheng invoked the same precedent. If that became standard practice, rich men would chase windfalls and block poor scholars from advancement. He asked that governors be instructed: after floods, droughts, or localized disasters, donors might still be rewarded, but no one should cite earlier cases as precedent. The emperor approved. After five promotions he became Grand Secretary of the Grand Council. In the seventeenth year he was made Vice Minister of War and concurrently acted as Minister of Personnel and Revenue; later he was demoted five ranks for an offense. In the twenty-sixth year he was restored as a Reader of the Grand Secretariat.
19
御史劉良駒條奏銀錢畫一，上命各省督撫議奏。 嶟疏言：「泉布之寶，國專其利，故定賦以粟，而平貨以錢。 物賤由乎錢少，少則重，重則加鑄而散之使輕； 物貴由乎錢多，多則輕，輕則作法而斂之使重。 一輕一重，張弛在官，而權操於上。 今出納以銀，錢幾置諸無用。 雖國寶流通，然流於下而不轉於上。 於是富商市儈，得乘其乏、操其贏，而任意以為輕重。 若使官為定價，且必格而不行。 要在因其便使人易從，通其變使人不怨，行其權使人不疑。 方今鹽務疲敝，皆以銀貴錢賤為詞，以鹽賣錢而不賣銀也。 賣錢即解錢，人必樂從，長蘆鹽價可解京充餉。 請於東西城建庫藏錢，以戶、工左右侍郎掌之，按時價搭放各旗，就近赴庫請領，以免其轉運，並嚴禁剋扣、短陌、攙雜諸弊。 兩淮鹽價，解備河工歲修。 淮上全工，水路皆通，輓運較易，工次僱夫購料，俱系用錢，此兩便之道也。 農民以錢輸賦，天下十居七八。 地方官收錢解銀，每致賠累。 江西撫臣吳文鎔前奏：'本省坐支之項，收錢放錢； 解部候撥之款，徵銀解銀； 兵餉役食，請照時價改折。 '其言不為無見。 惟全行收錢，往返搬運，倍增勞費。 通省絕無銀幣，亦未免偏枯。 擬請州縣徵收，向來徵銀解銀者置無論，但照現在收錢者，量錢糧多少，視附近地方兵役眾寡，酌減應解銀數，以紓其困。 除易銀解司之外，即以錢抵銀，每銀一兩，折錢若干，酌定數目，按照時價，支放兵餉役食。 應有耗羨平餘，仍行提出解司，而本管同城之官俸，本州縣之書工、役食、祭祀、驛站，本地方分汛之兵餉，俱準坐支。 餘則視道路之遠近，解存道、府、籓各庫，以放兵餉。 時價則視省垣為準，以開徵前十日為定，由籓司通飭遵照，半年一更。 餉銀每兩折錢多不過千七百，少不過千二百，取為定則，不得再減。 至文武官廉俸無可坐支者，兵丁屯駐之區，附近州縣無收錢者，皆發銀如故。 官局錢搭放向有成例者亦如故。 如是，則雖變而實因，不至糾紛窒礙。 至如百姓出粟米麻絲易錢輸賦，久已習為故常，向收若干，今折若干，凡自封投櫃者，不遽改折，是於民無擾也。 兵丁領銀，仍須易錢然後適用。 每至兵領餉時，不准鋪戶抑價，今照定價放給滿錢，此於兵無虧也。 先時銀多，則官以收錢漁利； 今時錢賤，則官以易錢賠累。 多用錢則少解銀，即累亦因而減，迨銀價平時，又復可獲羨餘，此於官有益也。 或謂錢收於上，則廛市一空，恐致錢荒。 不知兵役領錢，仍行於市，地方官除存庫外，尚有大半必須易銀解司，則其錢亦行於市。 且今日之弊，不在錢荒而在錢濫，欲救其弊，莫利於收錢，尤莫利於停鑄。 當此錢賤之時，暫停鼓鑄，以工本之銀，發出易錢，實收上庫。 薄小者汰之，則私鑄難行，而官錢日多，錢價可平，而制錢一千準銀一兩之例，可得而行矣。 是知停鑄者用錢之轉關，平價者絕私之微權也。 將欲平價，非使銀錢相埒不可，為平價而暫停鑄，迨價平而復開爐，所謂欲贏先縮，一張一弛之道也。 夫損上必期益下，今錢值日賤，物價日貴，泉府費兩錢而成一錢，官兵領一錢則僅當半錢。 無益於民，有損於國，孰得孰失，必有能辨之者。 總之可用錢則用錢，必須用銀則仍用銀。 附近則用錢，致遠則用銀。 子母相權，贏縮有制，補偏救弊，無逾於此。 惟各省情形不一，因地制宜，隨時變通。 當責各督撫體察酌議盡善。」 疏入，上命軍機大臣會同戶部議行。
Censor Liu Liangju memorialized on unifying silver and copper currency, and the emperor ordered the provincial governors to study the question and reply. Zhu Zun replied that coinage was a state monopoly: taxes were assessed in grain, while commerce was settled in cash. When goods were cheap, money was scarce; scarcity made it heavy, and the state responded by minting more to lighten it; when goods were dear, money was plentiful; abundance made it light, and the state devised means to draw it in and restore weight. Light and heavy, tight and loose—the officials administered the cycle, but authority rested with the throne. Now receipts and payments ran in silver, and copper cash was all but abandoned. Though currency still moved through the economy, it flowed down to the people and did not circulate back to the state. Rich merchants and brokers then exploited shortages, controlled the spread, and set the value of money as they pleased. Even if the state fixed prices, he warned, the rule would not hold. The art was to follow what people found convenient so they would comply readily, allow for change so they would not resent it, and exercise discretion so they would not doubt the policy. The salt administration was now in distress, and all blamed dear silver and cheap cash: salt was sold for copper, not silver. Sell for cash and remit the cash at once—people would gladly comply, and Changlu salt revenues could be sent to the capital for pay. He proposed cash treasuries in the Eastern and Western Cities under the Left and Right Vice Ministers of Revenue and Works, disbursing to each banner at market rates so troops could draw nearby and avoid transport costs, with strict bans on skimming, short counts, adulteration, and like abuses. Liang Huai salt revenues were remitted to fund annual river conservancy. On the Huai all works were complete and waterways open, so cart transport was easy and labor and materials were paid in cash—a double advantage. Farmers paid taxes in copper cash; they made up seven or eight tenths of the empire. When local officials collected cash and remitted silver, they often suffered losses. Jiangxi Governor Wu Wenrong had earlier argued: 'For items retained locally, collect and disburse cash; for funds remitted to the ministry pending allocation, levy and remit silver; for military pay and corvée rations, convert at market rates. There was merit in what he said. Yet collecting cash alone everywhere would double the labor and cost of transport back and forth. A province with no silver at all would likewise be lopsided. He proposed that counties still levying and remitting silver be left as they were, but where cash was already collected, the silver due for remission be reduced according to tax volume and the number of nearby troops and corvée laborers, to ease local hardship. Beyond what was exchanged for silver and sent to the provincial treasury, cash would stand in for silver at a fixed rate per tael, paid at market price for military and corvée rations. Wastage and surplus would still go to the provincial treasury, but salaries of city officials, county clerks and corvée rations, sacrifices, post stations, and local garrison pay would all be retained locally. The rest would be deposited in circuit, prefectural, or provincial treasuries according to distance, for military pay. Market rates would be set by the provincial capital, fixed ten days before collection opened, announced by the provincial treasurer, and revised every six months. Military pay would convert each tael of silver to no more than 1,700 and no less than 1,200 cash—a fixed rule that could not be cut further. Civil and military salaries that could not be retained locally, garrison districts where nearby counties collected no cash—all would still receive silver as before. Existing rules for government cash disbursement would also stand. Thus, though the form changed, the substance continued, and wrangling and deadlock would be avoided. Where peasants had long exchanged grain, hemp, and silk for cash to pay taxes, those who sealed payment at the counter would not face abrupt conversion changes—no disturbance to the people. Soldiers who received silver still had to exchange it for cash before they could spend it. When soldiers drew pay, shops would no longer be allowed to undercut the rate; they would receive full-weight cash at the fixed price—no loss to the troops. When silver had been plentiful, officials profited by collecting cash; now, with cash cheap, officials lost money exchanging for it. More cash meant less silver remitted, reducing losses; when silver prices stabilized, surplus could be recovered—this benefited officials. Some warned that collecting cash into government treasuries would drain the markets and cause a cash shortage. But troops and corvée laborers paid in cash would still spend it in the market, and local officials, beyond what they kept on hand, would still exchange most of it for silver to remit upward—so cash would still circulate. Today's problem was not too little cash but too much debased cash; the best remedy was to collect cash—and above all to halt minting. While cash was cheap, minting should pause; production-cost silver would be sent out to buy cash back into the state treasury. Reject thin, undersized coins and private casting would fail; official cash would grow, prices would stabilize, and the rule of one thousand standard cash per tael of silver could hold. Halting minting was the pivot of cash policy; leveling prices meant stripping private casters of their petty leverage. To stabilize prices, silver and cash had to reach parity; minting would pause until they did, then resume—a case of contracting before expanding, tightening before loosening. What harmed the state should benefit the people—but cash fell daily while prices rose; the mint spent two coins to make one, and troops received coins worth only half their face value. The people gained nothing; the state lost. Anyone could see which side bore the cost. In sum: use cash where cash would serve; use silver where silver was required. Cash for what was near; silver for what was far. Principal and subsidiary currencies in balance, expansion and contraction under control—no better way to correct bias and cure abuse. Each province differed; policy should follow local conditions and change with the times. Governors should be charged to investigate local conditions and devise the best measures. When the memorial reached the throne, the emperor ordered the Grand Council and the Ministry of Revenue to study it and act.
20
歷通政副使、內閣學士。 二十九年，授倉場侍郎。 咸豐四年，病，乞罷。 五年，病痊，复授戶部侍郎。 六年，擢左都御史。 迭署兵、禮二部尚書。 十一年，又以病乞罷。 同治元年，卒，諡文端。
He served as Vice Commissioner of the Transmission Office and as a Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat. In the twenty-ninth year he was appointed Vice Minister of Granary Storage. In the fourth year of Xianfeng he fell ill and asked to retire. In the fifth year, recovered from illness, he was again made Vice Minister of Revenue. In the sixth year he was promoted to Left Censor-in-Chief. He served in turn as Acting Minister of War and Acting Minister of Rites. In the eleventh year he again fell ill and asked to retire. In the first year of Tongzhi he died and was posthumously titled Wenduan.
21
=李菡=李菡，字豐垣，順天寶坻人。 道光二年進士，選庶吉士，授編修。 再遷侍講，大考二等，擢侍講學士。 二十一年，遷少詹事，督安徽學政，累遷通政使。 二十五年，擢左副都御史。
Li Han, courtesy name Fengyuan, was from Baodi, Shuntian. He passed the jinshi examination in the second year of Daoguang, entered the Hanlin as a bachelor, and was appointed a compiler. Promoted to Lecturer, he earned the second grade in the triennial evaluation and was made Lecturer-in-Waiting. In the twenty-first year he became Junior Sub-Reader, served as Educational Commissioner of Anhui, and rose in turn to Transmission Commissioner. In the twenty-fifth year he was promoted to Left Vice Censor-in-Chief.
22
咸豐元年，署禮部侍郎，應詔上疏：「請戒飭諸臣：一曰振因循。 積習相仍，中外一轍。 用兵無可退之理，乃引疾歸田，抽身保位，則因循在軍旅矣。 治水為難緩之功，乃自冬徂夏，漫口未合，則因循在河防矣。 雍沙番案，琦善以總督大員，猶复語多狡飾，以至往返鞫訊，則因循在刑法矣。 順天武清縣逃犯，竟敢窩藏匪徒，浙江奉化縣刁民並敢迫脅官長，則因循又在郡縣矣。 伏原皇上乾綱獨振，力挽頹風，聞嘉謨則立見施行，睹弊政則悉除支蔓。 惰者責之，勇者獎之，勤者進之，昏者黜之，庶奮庸熙載，百廢俱修矣。 一曰除欺飾。 粵西逆匪，萌蘗在十數年之前，使撫臣早為奏聞，何難根株立絕？ 乃養癰成患，諱莫如深。 比及有人指陳，勢已不可撲滅。 年來勞師糜餉，迄無成功，禍首罪魁，實由欺始。 夫獻可替否，宰相之責也； 拾遺補闕，諫官之職也。 伏望皇上開誠佈公，虛懷善納，導之使言，言之使盡，執兩用中，歸於至當。 至科道職司言責，尤朝廷耳目之官，風聞偶誤，小過可容，庶贛直得效其愚，萋菲莫行其罔，而宸聰四達矣。 一曰屏偏私。 人之氣質，不能無偏，意見少有參差，議論遂多齟《齒吾》。 相持不下，教令紛更，屬員既無所適從，宵小遂從而讒構。 嫌隙日深，乖氣致戾。 刑部越獄一事，非其明驗乎？ 夫師克在和不在眾，兩粵會剿，湖南防堵，將帥不應有諉罪爭功之見，督撫不可存此疆爾界之私，同德同心，群策效力。 苟無隙之可乘，定膚功之克奏。 河、漕本屬一體，未有河不治而漕治者。 從前督臣、漕臣，曾因參劾廳員，各執己見，現在漫口不能合龍，漕船何由利濟？ 億萬姓饑民待賑，數百萬帑項虛糜，正大臣憂患與共之時。 此即屏除嫌怨，共秉公忠，猶恐難以濟時屯而紓民患； 倘仍芥蒂未化，籌畫分歧，不和政龐，咎將誰執？ 伏讀仁宗御製和同論，諄諄以臣下偏私為戒。 原皇上一德交孚，與百僚共襄上理焉。 一曰防玩法。 現今軍務、河工，貽誤諸臣，厥咎匪細。 仰蒙寬典，僅予薄懲，恕其既往之愆，責其將來之報。 而且失伍之將弁，准其帶罪立功，潰防之河員，許其留工效力，恢宏大度，格外矜全，天下皆曉然於聖人不得已之苦心，與夫通變權宜之計，該大臣等久蒙倚任，渥荷優容，自無不激厲圖功，竭忠矢志。 第恐奔走禦侮，難得賢員，幸澤恃恩，復萌故智。 始猶懼罪之不可逭，一旦獲宥，遂謂罪有可原矣； 初猶慮法之不能逃，幸而苟免，遂謂法止於是矣。 伏原皇上奮天錫之勇，播神武之風，寬大之詔，能發而即能收，希冀之恩，可一而不可再。 則德威惟畏，玩縱之萌，不戢自止矣。 以上四條，皆臣道之防，實切時之弊，而其本由於得人。 進英銳，則因循者退矣； 取誠篤，則欺飾者鮮矣。 惟在皇上任賢勿疑，用材器使，俾朝無幸位，莫不圖易思艱，庶可挽天災民變之窮，而上副引咎納言之至意。」 疏入，上嘉納之。
In the first year of Xianfeng, as Acting Vice Minister of Rites, he answered an imperial edict with a memorial: "I urge Your Majesty to admonish the officials. First, shake off routine inertia. Stale habits persisted; court and provinces marched in lockstep. War brooked no retreat, yet officers pleaded illness, retired to their estates, and slipped away to save their posts—inertia had infected the armies. River works could not wait, yet from winter through summer the breach stayed open—inertia had infected flood control. In the Yongsha border case, even Governor-General Qishan hedged and evaded until hearings dragged on—inertia had infected the law. In Wuqing, Shuntian, a fugitive dared shelter bandits; in Fenghua, Zhejiang, rowdies dared coerce their magistrate—inertia had reached the counties too. May Your Majesty alone stiffen the imperial will, reverse the slide, act on good counsel at once, and cut faulty policy to the root. Punish the slack, reward the bold, promote the diligent, dismiss the dull—then every neglected office might stir again. Second, end deception and cover-ups. Guangxi rebels had been sprouting for more than a decade; had the governor reported early, they could have been uprooted at once. Instead officials nursed the sore into a plague and buried the truth. By the time anyone spoke up, the fire could no longer be stamped out. Years of armies exhausted and treasury drained, with nothing won—the chief culprit was deception from the start. To offer what works and replace what fails is the prime minister's duty; to gather omissions and mend gaps is the censor's office. May Your Majesty speak plainly, listen openly, draw men out until they have said all they mean, hold the mean, and arrive at what is right. The censorate bears the duty of speech and serves as the court's eyes and ears; if rumor errs, small faults may pass, so blunt honesty can do its work and slander cannot deceive—and the throne will hear in every direction. Third, banish faction and private interest. No temperament is without bias; slight differences of view soon breed friction in debate. Deadlock breeds shifting orders; subordinates no longer know whom to obey, and petty men seize the chance to slander and plot. Resentment deepens; ill will breeds disaster. The Ministry of Punishments prison break—is that not proof enough? Victory lies in harmony, not numbers. In joint campaigns in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hunan, generals must not trade blame or vie for credit, nor governors guard petty boundaries—unite in purpose and pool strength. Leave no gap for the enemy, and victory will follow. Rivers and the grain transport are one system; transport cannot thrive while rivers are neglected. River and transport commissioners once impeached an agency officer and each clung to his view; now the breach will not close and grain boats cannot pass—how can transport prosper? Millions starve awaiting relief; millions in treasury funds are wasted—this is when great ministers should share the nation's burden. Even if they set aside grudges and acted in loyal concert, it might still be hard to meet the crisis and ease the people's pain; if grudges linger and plans diverge, who will answer when policy fails? I have read the Renzong Emperor's essay On Harmony, which earnestly warns officials against partiality. May Your Majesty unite in virtue with all officials and govern as one. Fourth, guard against lax regard for law. In military affairs and river works today, those who have caused delay bear no small blame. By imperial grace they received only light punishment—past faults forgiven, future service required. Demoted officers were allowed to redeem themselves in battle; failed river officials were kept on the works—grace beyond measure. The empire understood the emperor's reluctant heart and his expedient mercy; these long-favored ministers could hardly fail to rouse themselves and serve with full loyalty. I fear only that in the rush to defend the realm worthy men are scarce, while the favored rely on indulgence and fall back on old habits. At first they still feared guilt could not be escaped; once pardoned, they decide guilt can be forgiven; at first they still feared the law could not be dodged; having narrowly escaped, they decide the law stops here. May Your Majesty summon heaven-given courage and show divine martial bearing: a decree of mercy can be issued and withdrawn; favor hoped for may be granted once, not twice. Then virtue and awe together will inspire fear, and lax indulgence will die unbidden. These four points guard ministerial duty and cut to present evils; their root is getting the right men. Promote the sharp and keen, and the routine-bound will fall away; choose the sincere and honest, and deceivers will grow rare. Only if Your Majesty appoints the worthy without hesitation and uses each man according to his gifts, so that the court holds no posts won by favor and every official thinks of hardship while living in ease, can heaven's disasters and popular unrest perhaps be reversed—and Your Majesty's purpose of accepting blame and heeding counsel be fully answered." When the memorial was submitted, the emperor praised and accepted it.
23
三年，授兵部侍郎，署倉場侍郎。 廉得奸人把持倉務，置於法。 十年，調工部，復調吏部。 同治元年，擢工部尚書。 二年，卒，諡文恪。
In the third year he was appointed Vice Minister of War and served concurrently as acting Vice Commissioner of the Granaries. Through investigation he found rascals controlling granary affairs and had them punished by law. In the tenth year he was transferred to the Board of Works, then to the Board of Civil Office. In the first year of Tongzhi he was promoted to Minister of Works. In the second year he died; his posthumous title was Wenke.
24
=張祥河=張祥河，字詩舲，江蘇婁縣人。 嘉慶二十五年進士，授內閣中書，充軍機章京。 遷戶部主事，累轉郎中。 道光十一年，出為山東督糧道。 十七年，擢河南按察使，以父憂去官。 服除，仍授河南按察使，署布政使。 二十二年，祥符決口合龍，賜花翎，詔以河南迭被水災，始終克勤其事，予優敘。 二十四年，遷廣西布政使，擢陝西巡撫。 西安、同州有刀匪擾害閭閻，祥河飭嚴捕百餘人置諸法，詔嘉之。 三十年，文宗即位，應詔陳言，請述祖德，守成法，勵官方，蠲民欠。 疏入，報聞。 祥河優於文事，治尚安靜，不擾民，言者劾其性耽詩酒。
Zhang Xianghe, courtesy name Shi'ting, was from Lou County, Jiangsu. He passed the jinshi examination in the twenty-fifth year of Jiaqing, was appointed a Grand Secretariat secretary, and served as a Grand Council clerk. He was transferred to the Board of Revenue as a secretary and rose in succession to director. In the eleventh year of Daoguang he was posted out as Grain Transport Commissioner of Shandong. In the seventeenth year he was promoted to Judicial Commissioner of Henan but left office to mourn his father. When mourning ended, he was again appointed Judicial Commissioner of Henan and served concurrently as acting Financial Commissioner. In the twenty-second year, after the breach at Xiangfu was closed, he received the peacock feather; an edict noted that Henan had suffered repeated floods and that he had worked diligently throughout, and granted him preferential promotion. In the twenty-fourth year he was transferred to Financial Commissioner of Guangxi and promoted to Governor of Shaanxi. In Xi'an and Tongzhou, knife-wielding bandits terrorized the people; Xianghe ordered strict arrests, and more than a hundred were punished by law; an edict praised him. In the thirtieth year, when Emperor Wenzong ascended the throne, he answered the imperial call with a memorial asking that ancestral virtue be recounted, established law upheld, official discipline strengthened, and popular arrears remitted. The memorial was submitted and acknowledged. Xianghe excelled at literary affairs; his administration favored quiet and did not disturb the people, but critics impeached him for indulging in poetry and wine.
25
咸豐二年，東南軍事日棘，祥河奏言：「陝西興安等地毗連楚境，應舉行團練，擇要防堵。 惟鄉勇良莠不齊，易聚難散，不如力行保甲，為緝姦良法。」 三年，召還京。 四年，授內閣學士，尋遷吏部侍郎，督順天學政。 六年，以病罷。 病痊，仍授吏部侍郎。 八年，擢左都御史，遷工部尚書。 十年，加太子太保。 十一年，以病乞罷。 同治元年，卒，諡溫和。
In the second year of Xianfeng, as military affairs in the southeast grew daily more pressing, Xianghe memorialized: "Xing'an and other districts in Shaanxi border Chu territory; militia training should be organized and key points chosen for defense. But village braves are a mixed lot, easy to gather and hard to disperse; it would be better to enforce the baojia system vigorously, a sound method for suppressing crime." In the third year he was recalled to the capital. In the fourth year he was appointed a Grand Secretariat grand secretary; soon afterward he was transferred to Vice Minister of Civil Office and appointed Educational Commissioner of Shuntian. In the sixth year he was dismissed on account of illness. When his illness was cured, he was again appointed Vice Minister of Civil Office. In the eighth year he was promoted to Left Censor-in-Chief and transferred to Minister of Works. In the tenth year he was given the additional title of Senior Guardian of the Heir Apparent. In the eleventh year he requested dismissal on grounds of illness. In the first year of Tongzhi he died; his posthumous title was Wenhe.
26
=羅惇衍=羅惇衍，字椒生，廣東順德人。 道光十五年進士，選庶吉士，授編修。 十七年，督四川學政，召對，上以惇衍年少，語多土音，留不遣。 二十三年，大考一等，擢侍講。 累遷侍讀學士，轉通政副使、太僕寺卿。 二十六年，督安徽學政，遷通政使。
Luo Dunyan, courtesy name Jiaosheng, was from Shunde, Guangdong. He passed the jinshi examination in the fifteenth year of Daoguang, entered the Hanlin as a bachelor, and was appointed a compiler. In the seventeenth year he was appointed Educational Commissioner of Sichuan; summoned for audience, the emperor, finding Dunyan young and his speech heavily accented, kept him in the capital and did not send him out. In the twenty-third year he earned the first grade in the triennial evaluation and was promoted to Reader-in-Waiting. He rose in succession to Doctor Reader-in-Waiting, then became Vice Commissioner of Transmission and Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud. In the twenty-sixth year he was appointed Educational Commissioner of Anhui and promoted to Transmission Commissioner.
27
三十年，文宗即位，應詔陳言，略言：「古帝王治天下，根源祗在一心，要在覽載籍，勤省察，居敬窮理，以檢攝此心。 聖祖仁皇帝御纂性理精義，於存養省察、致知力行，以及人倫性命，皆有程途階級，其論君道，尤極詳備。 惟在皇上講習討論，身體力行。 世宗憲皇帝硃批諭旨，於臣工奏摺，指示得失，明見萬里。 皇上幾暇，日閱一二事，凡督撫陳奏，如能深謀遠慮，措置得宜，即予以褎答； 若有飾詐懷私，亦為之指示，庶大吏皆知警戒。 他若御纂資政要覽、庭訓格言諸書，皆本心出治，一以貫之。 伏原皇上法祖以修己，推而知人安民，皆得其道。」 又請諭部院大臣各舉所知，備京卿及講讀之任； 敕直省督撫、提鎮、學政皆得犯顏直諫，指陳利病，無所忌諱，籓臬亦許密封由督撫代為呈奏。 疏入，上嘉納之。 咸豐元年，疏陳風俗侈靡，民生日困，請崇儉禁奢，以蓄物力。 二年，署吏部侍郎，授左副都御史。
In the thirtieth year, when Emperor Wenzong ascended the throne, he answered the imperial call with a memorial stating in part: "Ancient emperors and kings governed the realm; the root lay in the heart alone—what mattered was reading the records, examining oneself diligently, holding reverence and investigating principle to govern the heart. The Kangxi Emperor's personally compiled Essentials of Principle and Nature lays out graduated stages for preserving and nourishing the self, self-examination, extending knowledge and acting on it, and for human relations and life's nature; his discussion of the way of rulership is especially thorough. Only if Your Majesty studies and discusses them and puts them into practice in person. The Yongzheng Emperor's vermilion rescripts on ministers' memorials pointed out right and wrong with insight that reached across the realm. In Your Majesty's leisure hours, read one or two cases each day: whenever governors-general and governors memorialize, if their plans are far-sighted and their arrangements sound, grant them commendation; if they dissemble or harbor private aims, point this out as well, so that grand officials may all know to be on guard. As for other works such as the Imperially Compiled Essential Mirror for Governance and Precepts of the Court Instruction—all proceed from the heart as the source of rule and run through as one. May Your Majesty follow the ancestors in cultivating the self and, extending this, know men and settle the people—all in their proper way." He also asked that ministers of the departments and boards each be instructed to recommend men they knew for Beijing posts and lecturing and reading appointments; and that governors-general, governors, provincial commanders, garrison commanders, and educational commissioners in every province be ordered to speak bluntly and remonstrate directly, setting forth benefits and harms without reserve; provincial treasurers and judicial commissioners should also be permitted sealed memorials submitted through governors. The memorial was submitted, and the emperor praised and accepted it. In the first year of Xianfeng he memorialized that customs had grown extravagant, the people's livelihood daily more straitened, and asked that frugality be honored and luxury forbidden to conserve resources. In the second year he served as acting Vice Minister of Civil Office and was appointed Associate Left Censor-in-Chief.
28
三年，擢刑部侍郎，仍兼權吏部。 時軍需孔亟，戶部令京師商民以賃舍金一月納公家，惇衍以為非政體，疏乞明定限制。 又疏薦廣東在籍給事中蘇廷魁等任籌軍餉。 江寧既陷，寇氛复溯江上犯，惇衍疏請敕曾國籓練楚勇，自湖南移駐武昌，杜賊窺伺荊襄； 蘇廷魁募粵勇援江西； 袁甲三回河南防捻匪，並會同已革兩廣總督徐廣縉募新兵堵禦鳳、潁，遏賊北竄諸路； 多被採納。 命隨同惠親王巡防京師，調戶部。 五年，以父憂歸。
In the third year he was promoted to Vice Minister of Punishments while still concurrently acting for the Board of Civil Office. At the time military needs were urgent; the Board of Revenue ordered Beijing merchants and townspeople to turn over one month's rent to the government; Dunyan considered this improper to governance and memorialized asking that limits be clearly fixed. He also memorialized recommending Su Tingkui of Guangdong, a former memorialist-at-large, and others to raise military funds. After Nanjing fell and rebel pressure again surged up the Yangzi, Dunyan memorialized asking that Zeng Guofan be ordered to drill Chu braves, move from Hunan to garrison Wuchang, and block the rebels from eyeing Jing and Xiang; that Su Tingkui raise Guangdong braves to aid Jiangxi; that Yuan Jiasan return to Henan to guard against Nian bandits, and together with the dismissed Governor-General of Liangguang Xu Guangjin raise new troops to block the Feng and Ying regions and check rebel thrusts northward on all routes; Many of these were adopted. He was ordered to accompany Prince Yi in patrolling the defenses of the capital and was transferred to the Board of Revenue. In the fifth year he returned home to mourn his father.
29
七年，英吉利兵攻陷廣州，八年正月，命惇衍及在籍太常寺卿龍元僖、給事中蘇廷魁為團練大臣。 十年，款議定。 十一年，召來京，擢左都御史。
In the seventh year English troops captured Guangzhou; in the first month of the eighth year Dunyan, together with Long Yuanxi, former Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and Su Tingkui, supervising censor, were appointed militia-training commissioners. In the tenth year the peace settlement was concluded. In the eleventh year he was summoned to the capital and promoted to Left Censor-in-Chief.
30
同治元年，兩廣總督勞崇光被劾任用非人，調度乖方，命惇衍偕廣州將軍穆克德訥按治，崇光坐罷。 遷戶部尚書，疏言：「吏治日壞，當獎廉懲貪。 四川總督駱秉章、湖北巡撫嚴樹森、山西布政使鄭敦謹、山東按察使吳廷棟，清操較著，請獎之，以勵其餘。」 又疏言：「皇上求賢若渴，應詔者寥寥，即有登諸薦牘者，或由他省督撫保舉，必待本省給諮，始能赴部，非所以示虛懷延攬之道。 且但令封疆大吏保舉，而未及京卿，恐馴致外重內輕，不可不防其漸。 內閣、六部、九卿等朝廷重臣，素所親信，必俾其各舉所知，眾正盈廷，然後可反危為安，轉亂為治。 請不必限以時日，拘以人數，但有操守廉潔，才猷卓越者，即許隨時疏薦。 倘所舉之人，將來或犯貪污，罪其舉主。」 二年，兼署左都御史。
In the first year of Tongzhi, Governor-General of Liangguang Lao Chongguang was impeached for appointing unsuitable men and directing operations wrongly; Dunyan was ordered together with Mukedena, General of Guangzhou, to investigate, and Chongguang was dismissed from office. He was transferred to Minister of Revenue and memorialized: "Official governance grows daily worse; integrity should be rewarded and corruption punished. Sichuan Governor-General Luo Bingzhang, Hubei Governor Yan Shusen, Shanxi Financial Commissioner Zheng Dunjin, and Shandong Judicial Commissioner Wu Tingdong are notably upright in conduct—I ask that they be commended to encourage the rest." He also memorialized: "Your Majesty seeks the worthy as if parched, yet responses to the imperial call are few; even those placed on recommendation rolls, if recommended by governors of other provinces, must wait for endorsement from their home province before proceeding to the ministry—this is not the way to show open-minded recruitment. Moreover, if only frontier grand officials are told to recommend men but Beijing ministers are not included, I fear this will by degrees make the outer heavy and the inner light—the trend must be guarded against. The Grand Secretariat, Six Boards, Nine Chief Ministries, and other weighty ministers of the court, long trusted by Your Majesty—each must be made to recommend men they know; with the upright filling the court, only then may danger be turned to safety and chaos to order. I ask that no limit be set on time or number: whenever there is integrity and outstanding ability, memorial recommendation be permitted at any time. If men recommended later commit corruption, punish those who recommended them." In the second year he served concurrently as acting Left Censor-in-Chief.
31
四年，兼管三庫，署翰林院掌院學士。 伊犁參贊大臣聯捷、御史陳廷經先後論劾「陝西布政使林壽圖沉湎於酒，巡撫劉蓉未諳公事，舉劾悉聽壽圖」，及「蓉疏奏失體，漏洩密保」。 命偕協辦大學士瑞常赴陝西按治。 惇衍等為疏辨，僅以微過議處，吏議壽圖遷調，蓉革職留任。 尋蓉復以他事罷，陝民為蓉、壽圖訟冤，總督楊岳斌以聞。 惇衍等已回京復命覆奏，遂合疏言：「劉蓉秉性樸直，辦理甘肅潰勇，不動聲色，悉臻妥善。 甘肅亂回竄擾，遣兵分佈要隘，陝民以安。 林壽圖身任勞怨，勤奮有為，惟參劾屬員，間有輕重失當，致謗毀紛興，而其廉潔之操，究不能稍加訾議。」 詔蓉仍署巡撫，壽圖來京候簡用。 六年，兼署工部。 八年，以母憂歸。 十三年，卒，諡文恪。
In the fourth year he concurrently managed the Three Treasuries and served as acting Chancellor of the Hanlin Academy. Lianjie, Imperial Resident at Ili, and Supervising Censor Chen Tingjing successively impeached: "Shaanxi Financial Commissioner Lin Shoutu is sunk in wine; Governor Liu Rong is unversed in official business and follows Shoutu in all promotions and dismissals," and "Rong's memorials are improper in form and leak confidential recommendations." He was ordered together with Associate Grand Secretary Ruichang to go to Shaanxi to investigate. Dunyan and the others submitted a memorial in their defense; only minor faults were punished; the personnel office recommended transferring Shoutu and stripping Rong of office while retaining him in post. Soon afterward Rong was again dismissed for other matters; the people of Shaanxi petitioned on behalf of Rong and Shoutu, and Governor Yang Yuebin reported this. Dunyan and the others had already returned to the capital to report; in a joint follow-up memorial they stated: "Liu Rong's nature is plain and straight; in handling the routed braves from Gansu he moved without show and brought everything to proper order. When disorderly Muslims from Gansu raided and harassed, he dispatched troops to key passes and the people of Shaanxi were settled. Lin Shoutu personally bore hardship and blame and was diligent and effective; only in impeaching subordinates he sometimes misjudged severity, which provoked slander—but his integrity cannot in the end be faulted in the least." An edict ordered that Rong continue as acting governor and that Shoutu come to the capital to await appointment. In the sixth year he served concurrently as acting Minister of Works. In the eighth year he returned home to mourn his mother. In the thirteenth year he died; his posthumous title was Wenke.
32
惇衍學宗宋儒，立朝正色，抗論時事，章凡數十上，無所顧避。 著有集義編、百法百戒、庸言、孔子集語等書。
Dunyan's learning followed the Song Neo-Confucians; in court he maintained a stern mien and disputed current affairs; he submitted dozens of memorials without stint or fear. He authored works including Collected Meaning, A Hundred Laws and A Hundred Admonitions, Common Words, and Collected Sayings of Confucius.
33
=鄭敦謹=鄭敦謹，字小山，湖南長沙人。 道光十五年進士，選庶吉士，散館授刑部主事。 再遷郎中，出為山東登州知府，擢河南南汝光道。 咸豐元年，泌陽土匪喬建德踞角子山，敦謹與南陽鎮總兵圖塔布督兵捕獲之，被議敘，署布政使。 二年，授廣東布政使，仍留署任。
Zheng Dunjin, courtesy name Xiaoshan, was from Changsha, Hunan. He passed the jinshi examination in the fifteenth year of Daoguang, entered the Hanlin as a bachelor, and upon graduation was appointed a secretary of the Board of Punishments. After a second promotion to director, he was posted out as Prefect of Dengzhou in Shandong and promoted to Circuit Intendant of Nannu and Guang in Henan. In the first year of Xianfeng the bandit Qiao Jiande of Biyang occupied Jiaozi Mountain; Dunjin together with Tutabu, Brigadier-General of Nanyang, directed troops and captured him; he received a merit citation and served as acting Financial Commissioner. In the second year he was appointed Financial Commissioner of Guangdong but remained to serve in his acting post.
34
粵匪入湖北，命赴信陽，會南陽鎮總兵柏山扼要設防。 三年，命河南巡撫陸應穀統兵駐南陽，會城及信陽有事，許敦謹專摺馳奏。 欽差大臣琦善督師援安徽，檄敦謹總理信陽糧台。 及師屯江北，糧台移設徐州，仍令敦謹往任其事。 尋調授河南布政使，留筦糧台如故。 四年，光州、陳州捻匪起，巡撫英桂出駐汝陽，詔敦謹赴本任。 省城戒嚴，敦謹督率官紳倡捐經費，興團練。 皖捻犯永城、夏邑，增調兵勇防黃河各渡口，斷寇北竄。 尋命暫署巡撫。
When Guangdong rebels entered Hubei, he was ordered to Xinyang and coordinated with Baishan, Brigadier-General of Nanyang, to hold key points in defense. In the third year Henan Governor Lu Yinggu was ordered to command troops garrisoned at Nanyang; when the provincial capital or Xinyang were affected, Dunjin was permitted to submit urgent memorials directly. Imperial Commissioner Qishan directed troops to aid Anhui and ordered Dunjin to oversee the grain depot at Xinyang. When the army encamped north of the Yangzi, the grain depot was moved to Xuzhou and Dunjin was still ordered to take charge. Soon afterward he was transferred and appointed Financial Commissioner of Henan while remaining in charge of the grain depot as before. In the fourth year Nian bandits rose in Guangzhou and Chenzhou; Governor Ying Gui moved out to garrison Ruyang, and Dunjin was ordered to proceed to his regular post. The provincial capital was placed under martial law; Dunjin supervised officials and gentry in collecting donated funds and organizing local militia. When Anhui Nian raided Yongcheng and Xiayi, he added troops to guard the Yellow River crossings and block rebel thrusts northward. Soon afterward he was ordered to serve temporarily as acting governor.
35
五年，坐欠解甘肅兩年協餉，降調。 召還京，以四品京堂候補，授太常寺少卿。 八年，督山東學政，累遷大理寺卿。 同治元年，署戶部侍郎，復出為山西布政使，調署陝西布政使，調授直隸布政使，擢河東河道總督。 四年，授湖北巡撫，尋召授戶部侍郎。 五年，調刑部。
In the fifth year, for failure to deliver two years' cooperative pay to Gansu, he was demoted and transferred. Recalled to the capital, he awaited appointment as a fourth-rank Beijing official and was appointed Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. In the eighth year he was appointed Educational Commissioner of Shandong and rose in succession to Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. In the first year of the Tongzhi reign he served as Acting Vice Minister of Revenue, then returned to the provinces as Financial Commissioner of Shanxi, was transferred to act as Financial Commissioner of Shaanxi, was appointed Financial Commissioner of Zhili, and was promoted to Director-General of the East Yellow River Conservancy. In the fourth year he was appointed Governor of Hubei; soon afterward he was recalled and made Vice Minister of Revenue. In the fifth year he was transferred to the Ministry of Punishments.
36
六年，擢左都御史。 捻匪渡河入山西境，巡撫趙長齡、按察使陳湜疏防被劾，詔敦謹往按，長齡、湜並坐罷，即命敦謹署山西巡撫。 七年，出省治防，移軍駐澤州欄車鎮，為各路策應。 授工部尚書，仍留署巡撫。 回匪入河套，近邊震動。 敦謹移駐寧武督防，別遣兵守榆林、保德下游各隘。 增募砲勇，補葺河曲邊牆。 回匪窺包頭鎮，沿河堵禦，會綏遠城將軍定安遣隊迎剿，總兵張曜自河曲截擊，破走之。 八年，調兵部尚書，回京。
In the sixth year he was promoted to Left Censor-in-Chief. When Nian rebels crossed the Yellow River into Shanxi, Governor Zhao Changling and Surveillance Commissioner Chen Shi were impeached for lax defense. The court ordered Dunjin to investigate; Zhao and Chen were both removed from office, and Dunjin was immediately appointed Acting Governor of Shanxi. In the seventh year he went out to manage the defenses himself, shifted his headquarters to Lanche Fort in Zezhou, and coordinated support for the various field commands. He was appointed Minister of Works but remained Acting Governor. Hui rebels entered the Ordos Loop, and the frontier was thrown into alarm. Dunjin moved to Ningwu to direct the defenses and sent separate detachments to hold the passes downstream from Yulin and Baode. He raised additional artillery troops and repaired the border wall at Hequ. When Hui rebels probed Baotou, defenses were thrown up along the river. General Ding'an of Suiyuancheng sent a column to meet them, and Brigade General Zhang Yao cut them off at Hequ and drove them back. In the eighth year he was transferred to Minister of War and returned to the capital.
37
九年，調刑部。 兩江總督馬新貽被刺，獲兇犯張汶祥，江寧將軍魁玉、漕運總督張之萬會讞，言汶祥為洪秀全餘黨，其戕新貽，別無主謀者。 命敦謹往會鞫，仍以初讞上，論極刑。 十年春，敦謹還京，至清江浦，上疏以病乞罷。 光緒十一年，卒，諡恪慎。
In the ninth year he was transferred again to the Ministry of Punishments. Governor-General Ma Xinyi of Liangjiang was assassinated. The assassin Zhang Wenxiang was captured. General Kuiyu of Jiangning and Grain Transport Director-General Zhang Zhiwan jointly reheard the case and reported that Wenxiang was a remnant of Hong Xiuquan's forces, that he had killed Xinyi on his own, and that no other mastermind was involved. Dunjin was ordered to join the investigation; he upheld the original verdict and recommended execution. In the spring of the tenth year Dunjin was returning to the capital. At Qingjiangpu he memorialized, pleading illness and asking to be relieved. In the eleventh year of the Guangxu reign he died and was posthumously honored with the title Késhen, "Respectful and Cautious."
38
=龐鍾璐=龐鍾璐，字寶生，江蘇常熟人。 道光二十七年一甲三名進士，授編修。 咸豐二年，大考一等，擢庶子，遷侍講學士，署祭酒。 明年，授光祿寺卿。 八年，擢內閣學士，署工部侍郎，以父憂歸。 十年，江南大營潰，蘇、常淪陷，督團勇防禦。 上命鍾璐陳奏軍事，鍾璐疏言：「常、昭三面皆賊，惟恃民團抵禦。 器械不精，紀律不明，若大兵不速至，恐裹脅愈多，愈難措手。 請飭督臣曾國籓迅由祁門統師南下，常、昭庫款無存，惟賴捐輸充餉，軍需浩穰，捐戶搜括無遺。 並請飭督臣於就近完善之區，籌貲接濟。」 又奏：「江北惟通州最完善，與常、昭有脣齒之依。 在籍布政使徐宗幹廉能素著，請飭令督辦通、泰一路捐輸，並會籌常、昭防剿。」 從之。
Pang Zhonglu, courtesy name Baosheng, was from Changshu, Jiangsu. In the twenty-seventh year of the Daoguang reign he finished third among the top-tier jinshi and was appointed a Compiler. In the second year of the Xianfeng reign he earned the first grade in the triennial evaluation, was promoted to Junior Tutor, transferred to Lecturer-in-Waiting, and served as Acting Chief of the Directorate of Education. The following year he was appointed Director of the Court of Imperial Entertainments. In the eighth year he was promoted to Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet, served as Acting Vice Minister of Works, and returned home to mourn his father. In the tenth year the Jiangnan Grand Camp collapsed and Suzhou and Changzhou fell. He took charge of the local militia in defense. The throne ordered Zhonglu to report on military affairs. Zhonglu memorialized: "Changzhou and Zhaoshu are surrounded on three sides by rebels and can rely only on local militia for defense. Their weapons are poor and their discipline lax. If regular troops do not arrive soon, I fear ever more people will be swept up by coercion, and the situation will become harder to manage. I ask that Governor Zeng Guofan be ordered to lead his army swiftly south from Qimen. Changzhou and Zhaoshu have no funds left in their treasuries and depend entirely on voluntary contributions for pay; military needs are enormous, and donors have already been squeezed dry. I also ask that the governor be instructed to raise funds in nearby districts that remain intact and send relief. He also memorialized: "In northern Jiangsu, Tongzhou alone remains intact; it and Changzhou and Zhaoshu depend on one another like lip and teeth. Retired Financial Commissioner Xu Zonggan is widely known for integrity and competence. I ask that he be ordered to supervise contributions along the Tongzhou–Taizhou route and jointly plan the defense and suppression of Changzhou and Zhaoshu. The request was granted.
39
尋命督辦江南團練。 賊由江陰東竄，偪常熟，鍾璐率團勇數戰，亡其精銳，奏請江北諸軍速援。 上以水陸各軍勢難兼顧，溫詔慰勉。 八月，賊陷常熟，鍾璐奏自劾，並請飭荊州將軍都興阿統楚師兼程進駐通州防北竄，上責令規复。 鍾璐自崇明赴上海，設局勸捐，集團守禦。 薦上海知縣劉郇膏循聲卓著，為江南州縣之冠，報聞。 又以軍需餉急，奏請令失守地方官罰鍰免治罪，諭有「捐輸巨款、募勇殺賊、隨官兵克復城池者，得據實聲明請旨」。 尋奏言：「賊所脅之眾數百萬人，何一非皇上赤子？ 若非設法解散，窮無所歸，必鋌而走險。 請明降諭旨，予以自新，釋兵歸降者勿殺，薙發投順者勿殺。 又陷賊州縣，多設立偽官，迫索錢米，以減輕田賦，搖動人心。 歷來被兵州縣，錢糧均奉恩旨蠲免。 此次蘇省被賊，戶口散亡，收復之後，無從徵收，不如施恩於未復之先，使愚民不為所惑。」 詔如所請。
Soon afterward he was ordered to supervise the Jiangnan militia. Rebels broke east from Jiangyin and pressed on Changshu. Zhonglu led the militia in several battles, losing his best troops, and memorialized asking the northern Jiangsu armies to come quickly to their aid. The throne replied that the river and land forces could hardly attend to both fronts at once, and sent a warm edict of encouragement. In the eighth month rebels took Changshu. Zhonglu memorialized to impeach himself and asked that General Duxing'a of Jingzhou lead Hubei troops at forced march to garrison Tongzhou and guard against a northern incursion. The throne rebuked him and ordered the city recovered. Zhonglu went from Chongming to Shanghai, set up bureaus to solicit contributions, and gathered militia for defense. He recommended Shanghai Magistrate Liu Xinggao, whose reputation for upright governance was outstanding and the finest among Jiangnan prefectures and counties. The recommendation was reported to the throne. Because military funds were urgently needed, he memorialized that officials who had lost their posts might pay fines in lieu of punishment, with an edict stating that those who contributed large sums, raised troops to kill rebels, or joined the army in recovering cities could report the facts and request imperial consideration. Soon he memorialized: "The millions coerced by the rebels—are they not every one the Emperor's own children? If we do not find a way to disband them, with nowhere else to turn they will surely take desperate risks. I ask that a clear edict be issued offering them a chance to reform: those who lay down arms and surrender are not to be killed, and those who shave their heads and submit are not to be killed. In counties fallen to the rebels, many false officials have been installed who extort grain and money by promising reduced land tax, unsettling the people. Throughout history, counties ravaged by war have had their grain and tax payments remitted by imperial grace. This time Jiangsu has been overrun: populations scattered and lost. Even after recovery, collection will be impossible. Better to grant the favor before recovery, so that simple people are not misled. An edict approved his request.
40
十一年春，賊自平湖、乍浦窺金山，鍾璐督團勇進擊，斬馘甚眾。 新埭賊擾大泖港，楓涇賊窺角鉤灣，復會官兵破之。 是年冬，以蘇、常淪陷，吳民待援，有逾飢渴，复疏請敕曾國籓分兵急取蘇、常。 與江蘇諸士紳貽書國籓，言：「上海餉源重地，請以奇兵萬人，一勇將統之，倍道而來，可當十萬之用。」 國籓乃遣李鴻章率師浮江而東。 俄、法兩國請助兵討寇，鍾璐奏言：「中國平內亂，原無待藉手外人，而值賊勢蔓延，兵力單薄，不能不為從權之計。 惟外人助攻，為通商而起，必先自有把握，方裨大局。」 諭江蘇巡撫薛煥妥籌酌行。
In the spring of the eleventh year rebels from Pinghu and Zhapu probed Jinshan. Zhonglu directed the militia in attack and killed many. Rebels at Xindai harassed Damao Harbor, and rebels at Fengjing probed Jiaogou Bay. He joined regular troops again and defeated them. That winter, with Suzhou and Changzhou fallen and the people of Wu awaiting relief with a hunger beyond thirst, he again memorialized urging Zeng Guofan to detach troops and swiftly recover Suzhou and Changzhou. Together with Jiangsu gentry he wrote to Guofan: "Shanghai is a vital source of supplies. Send ten thousand elite troops under one brave general, marching at forced speed—they will count for a hundred thousand. Guofan then sent Li Hongzhang to lead an army east down the river. Russia and France offered troops to help suppress the rebels. Zhonglu memorialized: "China ought to be able to quell internal disorder without foreign help. Yet with rebels spreading and forces thin, we cannot but adopt expedients. Foreign assistance arises from trade interests; we must first have our own control before it can truly serve the larger cause. An edict instructed Governor Xue Huan of Jiangsu to arrange matters properly.
41
尋裁各省團練大臣，召還京，再授內閣學士。 同治元年，遷禮部侍郎，迭署工、吏諸部，督順天學政。 四年，呈所纂文廟祀典考。 六年夏，畿輔亢旱，疏陳荒政十事，下部議行。 命偕大學士賈楨等督五城團防，歷戶、兵、吏諸部。 九年，擢左都御史，署工部尚書。 十年，授刑部尚書。 丁母憂，歸。 光緒二年，卒，諡文恪。
Soon the provincial militia commissioners were abolished. He was recalled to the capital and again appointed Grand Secretary of the Inner Cabinet. In the first year of the Tongzhi reign he was transferred to Vice Minister of Rites, served in succession as acting head of Works, Personnel, and other ministries, and supervised the Shuntian examinations. In the fourth year he submitted his compiled Inquiry into the Rites of the Confucian Temple. In the summer of the sixth year the capital region suffered severe drought. He memorialized ten points on famine administration, and the ministries deliberated and put them into practice. He was ordered, together with Grand Secretary Jia Zhen and others, to supervise the Five-City militia defenses, and served in Revenue, War, Personnel, and other ministries. In the ninth year he was promoted to Left Censor-in-Chief and served as Acting Minister of Works. In the tenth year he was appointed Minister of Punishments. He returned home to mourn his mother. In the second year of the Guangxu reign he died and was posthumously honored with the title Wénkè, "Cultured and Respectful."
42
子鴻文，光緒二年進士； 鴻書，光緒六年進士：同官翰林院編修。 鴻文至通政司副使，鴻書至貴州巡撫。
His son Hongwen passed the jinshi examination in the second year of the Guangxu reign; Hongshu in the sixth year of the Guangxu reign; both served as Compilers in the Hanlin Academy. Hongwen rose to Vice Transmission Commissioner; Hongshu became Governor of Guizhou.
43
=【論】=論曰：同治初政，沈兆霖、曹毓瑛入贊樞府，兆霖暫領陝督，督師定西寧，以死勤事； 毓瑛慎密練達，克副簡拔。 許乃普等皆以清謹負時望，鄭敦謹尤易攵歷有名績。 江寧之獄，論者多謂未盡得其情，敦謹未覆命，遽解官以去，其亦有所未慊於衷歟？
Commentary says: In the early Tongzhi reign, Shen Zhaolin and Cao Yuying entered the Grand Council. Zhaolin briefly held Shaanxi, directed the army to pacify Xining, and died in the performance of his duties. Yuying was careful, thorough, and seasoned, fully worthy of the selection that had elevated him. Xu Naipu and the others were all known for integrity and commanded public esteem; Zheng Dunjin in particular built a record of distinction through many posts. In the Jiangning case, many commentators hold that the full truth was never reached. Dunjin resigned before reporting back—did he too leave with something still unresolved in his heart?