1
柴禹錫
Chai Yuxi
2
柴禹錫，字玄圭，大名人。 少時，有客見之曰：「子質不凡，若輔以經術，必致將相。」 禹錫由是留心問學。 時太宗居晉邸，以善應對，獲給事焉。 太平興國初，授供奉官。 三年，改翰林副使，遷如京使，仍掌翰林司。 每夜直，上以藩府舊僚，多召訪外事。 遷宣徽北院使，賜第寶積坊。 告秦王廷美陰謀，擢樞密副使。 踰年，轉南院使。 服勞既久，益加勤敏。
Chai Yuxi, whose style name was Xuanguī, came from Daming. When he was young, a visitor who met him said, "You have uncommon talent; with the aid of classical studies, you are sure to rise to general or minister." From that time Yuxi applied himself earnestly to learning. While the future Taizong was still lodged at the Jin prince's residence, Yuxi won a place in his service through his skill at ready repartee. At the opening of the Taiping Xingguo reign he was made an Attendant Official. In the third year he became Vice Hanlin Attendant, then was promoted to Envoy to the Capital while continuing to head the Hanlin Office. On his night watches the emperor, remembering him as an old companion from the princely household, often called him in to ask about affairs beyond the palace. He was advanced to Commissioner of the Northern Bureau of the Palace Directorate and given a mansion in Baoji Ward. After he denounced Prince Qin Zhao Tingmei's conspiracy, he was raised to Vice Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. A year later he was moved to Commissioner of the Southern Bureau. The longer he served, the more diligent and alert he became.
3
雍熙中，議廣宮城。 禹錫有別業在表識中，請以易官邸，上因是薄之。 又與宰相宋琪厚善。 會廣州徐休復密奏轉運王延範不軌狀，且言倚附大臣，無敢動搖者。 上因訪琪及禹錫曰：「延範何如人？」 延範與琪妻為疏屬，甚言其忠勤，禹錫亦傍讚之。 上意其交通，滋不悅。 禹錫又為琪請盧多遜故第，上益惡其朋比。 坐琪以詼諧罷相，不欲顯言之也。 下詔切責禹錫，以驍衛大將軍出知滄州。 在任勤於政治，部民詣濱州列狀以聞。 改涪州觀察使，徙澶、鎮二州駐泊部署，俄知潞州，州民乞留三載，詔獎之。 徙知永興軍府，再召為宣徽北院使、知樞密院事。
In the Yongxi era the court debated enlarging the palace city. Yuxi owned a private estate within the surveyed zone and asked to swap it for an official residence; the emperor took a dimmer view of him for it. He was also on intimate terms with Grand Councilor Song Qi. Xu Xiufu of Guangzhou then secretly reported that Transport Commissioner Wang Yanfan was plotting treason, adding that Yanfan leaned on powerful ministers so that no one dared touch him. The emperor thereupon questioned Qi and Yuxi: "What manner of man is Yanfan?" Yanfan was a distant kinsman of Qi's wife; Qi spoke at length of his loyalty and diligence, and Yuxi chimed in from the side. The emperor suspected collusion between them and grew still more displeased. Yuxi also asked on Qi's behalf for Lu Duoxun's former mansion, and the emperor detested their cliquishness all the more. Qi was removed from the chancellorship on grounds of flippant wit, but the emperor did not care to say so openly. An edict sharply rebuked Yuxi and sent him out as Valiant Guard Grand General to govern Cangzhou. In office he was assiduous in administration, and the people of his district went to Bin Prefecture with a joint petition to bring it to the court's attention. He was made Military Governor of Fu Prefecture, then shifted to garrison command of Cao and Zhen; soon afterward he governed Lu Prefecture, where the people asked that he stay three more years and received an imperial commendation. He was transferred to head the Yongxing Military Commission, then summoned back as Commissioner of the Northern Bureau of the Palace Directorate and head of the Bureau of Military Affairs.
4
至道初，制受鎮寧軍節度、知涇州。 入謝日，上謂曰：「由宣徽罷者不過防禦使爾，今委卿旌節，兼之重鎮，可謂優異矣。」 禹錫流涕哽咽而已。 咸平中，移知貝州。 是歲，契丹兵奄至城下，禹錫內嚴備禦，寇尋引去。 明年，徙陝州。
At the start of the Zhidao era he was appointed military commissioner of Zhenning Army and prefect of Jing. On the day he came to give thanks, the emperor told him, "Men dismissed from the Palace Directorate were lucky to keep a defense commission; now I give you a command banner and a major frontier post as well—few could call that anything but exceptional favor." Yuxi could only weep and choke with emotion. During the Xianping era he was transferred to govern Bei Prefecture. That year Khitan forces suddenly appeared beneath the walls; Yuxi tightened defenses within the city, and the raiders soon withdrew. The following year he was moved to Shan Prefecture.
5
景德初，子宗慶選尚，召禹錫歸闕，令公主就第謁見，行舅姑禮，固辭不許。 頃之，還鎮。 未幾，卒，年六十二，贈太尉。 子宗亮，太子中允； 宗慶，永清軍節度。
Early in Jingde his son Zongqing was chosen for an imperial marriage; Yuxi was recalled to court and ordered to receive the princess at his home for the meeting and the rites due a father-in-law from a daughter-in-law, but though he protested firmly he was not allowed to refuse. Before long he returned to his post. Not long afterward he died at sixty-two and was posthumously enfeoffed as Grand Marshal. His son Zongliang served as Crown Prince Middle Attendant; Zongqing became military commissioner of Yongqing Army.
6
張遜，博州高唐人。 數歲喪父，養於叔父職方員外郎幹，後隨母歸魏仁浦家，駙馬都尉咸信，其異父弟也。 太宗在晉邸，召隸帳下。 太平興國初，補左班殿直。 從征太原還，遷文思副使，再遷香藥庫使。 嶺南平後，交阯歲入貢，通關市。 並海商人遂浮舶販易外國物，闍婆、三佛齊、渤泥、占城諸國亦歲至朝貢，由是犀象、香藥、珍異充溢府庫。 遜請於京置榷易署，稍增其價，聽商入金帛市之，恣其販鬻，歲可獲錢五十萬緡，以濟經費。 太宗允之，一歲中果得三十萬緡。 自是歲有增羨，至五十萬。
Zhang Xun came from Gaotang in Bozhou. He lost his father when he was only a few years old and was raised by his uncle Qian, a junior officer in the Bureau of Armaments; later he followed his mother into Wei Renpu's household. The imperial son-in-law Xianxin was his half-brother on his mother's side. When the future Taizong was lodged at the Jin prince's residence, Xun was called to serve on his staff. At the opening of Taiping Xingguo he was made a Left Guard Hall Retainer. After returning from the Taiyuan campaign he was promoted to Vice Commissioner of the Literary Bureau, then again to Commissioner of the Perfume and Medicine Repository. Once Lingnan was pacified, Jiaozhi sent tribute every year and border markets were opened. Coastal merchants then sailed to trade in foreign goods, while Java, Srivijaya, Parhae, Champa, and other lands also sent annual missions to court, so that rhinoceros horn, ivory, aromatics, medicinals, and other rarities overflowed the storehouses. Xun proposed setting up a state trading office in the capital, marking up prices slightly, letting merchants buy the goods with gold and silk and resell them freely—yielding about five hundred thousand strings a year to help meet expenses. Taizong agreed, and in the first year the scheme in fact brought in three hundred thousand strings. Thereafter the annual take kept growing until it reached five hundred thousand.
7
雍熙二年，錄其勞，遷領媯州刺史。 三年，與安忠並命為東上閤門使。 數月，會許仲宣罷判度支，即以遜為度支使。 端拱初，遷鹽鐵使。 二年，授宣徽北院使、簽署樞密院事。 未幾，兼樞密副使、知院事。 與同列寇準不協，每奏事，頗相矛盾。
In the second year of Yongxi his service was recognized and he was promoted to concurrent prefect of Gui. In the third year he and An Zhong were jointly appointed Eastern Upper Gate Commissioners. A few months later, when Xu Zhongxuan left the Directorate of Expenditures, Xun was at once made Expenditures Commissioner. At the start of Duangong he was made Salt and Iron Commissioner. In the second year he was appointed Commissioner of the Northern Bureau of the Palace Directorate and authorized to sign Bureau of Military Affairs documents. Before long he also became Vice Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs and acting head of the bureau. He did not get on with his colleague Kou Zhun, and whenever they memorialized the throne their views often clashed.
8
一日，遜等晚歸私第，準與溫仲舒並轡，有狂民迎馬首拜呼萬歲。 街使王賓舊與遜同事晉邸，遜又嘗舉賓，雅相厚善，因奏民迎準拜呼萬歲。 準自辯：「實與仲舒同行，蓋遜令賓獨奏斥臣。」 辭意俱厲，因互發其私。 太宗惡之，下詔切責，遜左降右領軍衛將軍，準亦罷職。 會判右金吾街仗蔡玉冒奏富人子為州大校，黜官，命遜代掌其事。
One evening Xun and the others were late leaving for home; Zhun was riding abreast with Wen Zhongshu when a deranged commoner met their horses, bowed, and shouted "Long live!" Street Commissioner Wang Bin had once served with Xun at the Jin prince's residence, and Xun had recommended him; they were close friends, so Bin memorialized that the commoner had greeted Zhun with a bow and a cry of "Long live!" Zhun defended himself: "I was in fact riding with Zhongshu; Xun must have had Bin lodge the accusation against me alone." Both sides spoke fiercely and began airing each other's private wrongdoing. Taizong was disgusted and issued a sharp rebuke; Xun was demoted to Right Royal Guard General and Zhun was also removed from office. When Cai Yu, who judged the Right Golden Crow Street Patrol, was dismissed for falsely reporting a rich man's son as a prefectural senior officer, Xun was ordered to take over his duties.
9
子敏中，初補供奉官，遜在宣徽，表言嘗業文，願改秩，即換大理寺丞，累至比部郎中。 次子虛中，娶宗室申國公女，至供奉官、閤門祗候。 敏中子先，進士及第。
His son Minzhong was first made an Attendant Official; while Xun served at the Palace Directorate, Minzhong petitioned that he had studied letters and wished to change rank, and was at once transferred to assistant director in the Court of Judicial Review, rising in time to department director in the Ministry of Revenue. His second son Xuzhong married a daughter of the imperial clansman Duke of Shen and rose to Attendant Official and Gate Attendant. Minzhong's son Xian passed the jinshi examination.
10
楊守一
Yang Shouyi
11
守一性質直勤謹，無他材術，徒以肇自王府，久事左右，適會時機，故歷職通顯，飾終之禮，率加常數焉。 子安期歷國子博士，坐事貶卒。 安期子夢得，進士及第。
Shouyi was upright, diligent, and careful, but possessed no other talent; having begun in the princely household and long served at the emperor's side, he simply happened upon the right moment, and so his offices grew conspicuous and his funeral honors were usually increased beyond the norm. His son Anqi served as a National University academician, was demoted for an offense, and died in exile. Anqi's son Mengde passed the jinshi examination.
12
郭贄參知政事，鎔以同府之舊，嘗有所請托，贄不從。 鎔摭堂吏過失以聞，贄見上，白鎔私謁，即召鎔廷辯。 詞屈，出為梓、遂州都巡檢使，改左驍衛大將軍，領郡如故。 代還，知滄州兼兵馬部署。 鎔在郡完城塹，嚴戰具。 寇嘗數百騎至境上，聞有備，引去。 遷左神武大將軍。 會崔翰知州，改鎔為本州鈐轄。
When Guo Zan served as Vice Grand Councilor, Zhao Rong, as a former colleague in the same office, once asked a favor, but Zan refused. Rong gathered the clerks' faults and reported them; Zan told the emperor of Rong's private solicitation, and the emperor at once summoned Rong for a hearing at court. Unable to answer, he was sent out as combined patrol commissioner of Zi and Sui prefectures, made Left Valiant Guard Grand General, and retained his prefectural duties. When his tour ended and he returned, he was made prefect of Cangzhou and also military deployment commissioner. In the prefecture Rong completed the walls and moats and rigorously prepared arms and armor. The enemy once brought several hundred horsemen to the border, but hearing that defenses were ready, they withdrew. He was promoted to Left Divine Martial Grand General. When Cui Han became prefect, Rong was made military commissioner of the prefecture.
13
鎔少涉獵文史，美書翰，委質晉邸，以勤謹被眷。 本名容，太宗改為鎔，曰：「陶鎔所以成器也。」 鎔性好佛，多蓄古書畫。 三子：忠輔，西京左藏庫副使； 忠愿，虞部員外郎； 忠厚，內殿崇班。
In youth Rong had dipped into letters and history and excelled at calligraphy; he pledged himself at the Jin prince's residence and won favor through diligence and care. His original name was Rong; Taizong changed the written form of his name to one signifying smelting ore and said, "It is through firing clay in a kiln that vessels are formed." Rong was devoted to Buddhism and kept many old books and paintings. He had three sons: Zhongfu, Deputy Commissioner of the Western Capital Left Treasury; Zhongyuan, junior officer in the Ministry of Works; Zhonghou, Inner Hall Honored Attendant.
14
周瑩，瀛州景城人。 右領軍衛上將軍景之子也。 景家富財，好交結，歷事唐、漢、周。 習水利，嘗浚汴口，導鄭州郭西水入中牟渠，修滑州河堤，累遷至是官。
Zhou Ying came from Jingcheng in Ying Prefecture. He was the son of Right Royal Guard Senior General Zhou Jing. The Jing family was wealthy and fond of cultivating connections, and had served through Tang, Later Han, and Zhou. He was skilled in hydraulic works, had once dredged the Bian outlet, channeled the waters west of Zhengzhou's outer wall into the Zhongmou canal, and repaired the Hua Prefecture river dike, rising through repeated promotions to this post.
15
太宗潛邸時，瑩得給事左右。 即位，補殿直，領武騎卒巡警泉、福州。 卒才數百，捕劇賊千餘，遷供奉官。 天雄軍節度孫永祐、轉運使楊緘稱薦之，又使綏、銀州按邊事，還奏稱旨，擢鞍轡庫副使。
While Taizong was still in his princely residence, Ying won a place attending him. After the enthronement he was made a Hall Retainer and led martial cavalry to patrol Quan and Fu prefectures. With only a few hundred men he captured more than a thousand notorious bandits and was promoted to Attendant Official. Tianxiong Military Commissioner Sun Yongyou and Transport Commissioner Yang Chen praised him; he was also sent to inspect border affairs in Sui and Yin prefectures, and on his return his memorial pleased the emperor and he was promoted to Deputy Commissioner of the Saddle and Bridle Repository.
16
雍熙二年，為杭、睦五州都巡檢使兼杭州都監。 會妖僧紹倫為變，瑩擒獲之，逮捕就戮者三百餘人，人以為酷濫。 代還，改崇儀使、滄州都監。 召拜西上閤門使，領鎮、定、高陽關都監，加判四方館事。 與郝守浚護塞宋州決河，俄改三路排陣鈐轄，歷知天雄軍、真定二府，就遷引進使。
In the second year of Yongxi he became combined patrol commissioner of the five prefectures of Hang and Mu and concurrently military commissioner of Hangzhou. When the sorcerer-monk Shaolun raised a revolt, Ying captured him; more than three hundred people were arrested and put to death, and many thought it cruel and excessive. When his tour ended he was made Honored Ceremonial Commissioner and military commissioner of Cangzhou. He was summoned and appointed Western Upper Gate Commissioner, placed in charge of the military commissioners of Zhen, Ding, and Gaoyang Pass, and given additional duty judging the Four Directions Hall. With Hao Shoujun he blocked the breach in the Yellow River at Song Prefecture; soon he was made military commissioner for array formation on the three routes, successively governed Tianxiong Army and Zhending, and was then promoted to Introducing Commissioner.
17
至道二年，代還。 會李繼隆討西夏，詔瑩詣軍前，授以機事，還拜客省使，簽書樞密院諸房公事，俄兼提點宣徽諸房、鼓司、登聞院，與劉承珪並任。
In the second year of Zhidao he returned from his tour. When Li Jilong campaigned against Western Xia, an edict sent Ying to the front and entrusted him with strategy; on his return he was made Guest Reception Commissioner and authorized to sign routine business for the various sections of the Bureau of Military Affairs, and soon also concurrently supervised the various offices of the Palace Directorate, the drum office, and the Petition Court, sharing duty with Liu Chenggui.
18
真宗嗣位，承珪分使河北告諭，加領富州刺史。 上聞其母老病，閔之，特封武功郡太夫人。 秋，拜宣徽北院使。 先是，宣徽著位在樞密副使上，瑩表請居下，從之。 咸平二年，大閱，命為隨駕部署。 從征河朔，又為駕前馬步都部署。
When Zhenzong succeeded to the throne, Chenggui was separately sent to Hebei to proclaim the news, and Ying was additionally given concurrent prefect of Fuyang. Learning that his mother was old and ill, the emperor took pity and specially enfeoffed her as Grand Lady of Wugong commandery. That autumn he was appointed Commissioner of the Northern Bureau of the Palace Directorate. Previously the Palace Directorate's formal rank had stood above the Vice Commissioner of Military Affairs; Ying memorialized asking to rank below, and the request was granted. In the second year of Xianping, at the grand review, he was appointed deployment commissioner accompanying the imperial carriage. On the Hebei campaign he was again appointed Grand Deployment Commissioner of Cavalry and Infantry before the imperial carriage.
19
三年，遷南院使、知樞密院事。 會蜀平，部送脅從者數十百人至闕下。 西川轉運使馬亮因入奏，請赦其罪遣還。 瑩以為當盡誅之。 令瑩、亮廷議，上是亮議，悉原其罪。
In the third year he was promoted to Commissioner of the Southern Bureau and head of the Bureau of Military Affairs. When Shu was pacified, escorts brought several hundred coerced followers to the capital. Western Sichuan Transport Commissioner Ma Liang, on coming to court, asked that their crimes be pardoned and that they be sent home. Ying held that they ought all to be put to death. The emperor had Ying and Liang debate the matter at court, sided with Liang, and pardoned them all.
20
五年，高陽關都部署闕，蕃侯無足領之者，宰相請輟宣徽使以居其任。 時王繼英任北院，上以瑩練達軍事，乃拜永清軍節度，兼領其任，為三路排陣使。 瑩隸人有錢仁度者，頗有軍功，與虎翼小校劉斌相競，為殿直閻渥所發。 以瑩故，詔勿問，止徙斌隸他軍。 契丹入寇，詔步兵赴寧邊軍為援。 瑩至，則寇兵已去，即日還屯所。 上聞曰：「瑩何不持重少留，示以不測。 輕於舉措，非將帥體也。」
In the fifth year the post of deployment commissioner at Gaoyang Pass fell vacant, and no frontier lord seemed fit to hold it, so the councilors asked that a Palace Directorate commissioner be reassigned to the duty. Wang Jiying then held the Northern Bureau, but the emperor, judging Ying skilled in military affairs, made him military commissioner of Yongqing Army with concurrent command of the pass and appointed him Three Routes Array Formation Commissioner. Among Ying's retainers was Qian Rendu, a man of some military merit, who quarreled with a Tiger Wing junior officer named Liu Bin; the affair was exposed by Hall Retainer Yan Wo. On Ying's account an edict forbade further inquiry and merely transferred Bin to another command. When the Khitan invaded, an edict sent infantry to reinforce Ningbian Army. Ying arrived only after the raiders had withdrawn and returned to camp the same day. When the emperor heard of it he said, "Why did Ying not stay a little longer and keep the enemy guessing? Such a light-handed move is unworthy of a commander."
21
景德初，丁內艱，起復，代王顯為天雄軍都部署兼知軍府事。 嘗召洺州騎士千五百人赴大名，道與寇直，力戰，有死傷者，瑩猶謂其玩寇，將悉誅之。 詔賜金帛，諭瑩勿治其罪。 車駕北巡，為駕前東西貝冀路都部署。 明年，改知陝州，俄徙永興軍府，又移邠州，兼環慶路都部署。 時夏州內屬，詔省戍兵還營，以減饋餉之費。 仍手詔諭瑩，瑩遽奏乞留，以張邊威。 上謂瑩庸懦不智，以曹瑋代之，徙知澶州。
Early in Jingde he was mourning his mother, was recalled from mourning, and replaced Wang Xian as deployment commissioner of Tianxiong Army while also governing the military commission. He once summoned fifteen hundred Luozhou horsemen to Daming; on the march they met the enemy head-on, fought hard, and took casualties, yet Ying still accused them of treating the enemy lightly and was about to execute them all. An edict granted them gold and silk and told Ying not to punish them. When the emperor toured the north, he served as deployment commissioner of the eastern and western Bei-Ji routes before the imperial carriage. The next year he was made prefect of Shan, soon transferred to the Yongxing Military Commission, then moved to Bin Prefecture as deployment commissioner of Huanqing Route. Xia Prefecture had then submitted to the court, and an edict ordered garrison troops reduced and returned to camp to save supply costs. The emperor also sent him a handwritten instruction, but Ying at once memorialized asking to keep the troops in order to display frontier strength. The emperor judged Ying mediocre, timid, and dull, replaced him with Cao Wei, and transferred him to govern Cao Prefecture.
22
大中祥符初，改天平軍節度。 明年，為鎮定都部署兼知定州。 轉運使奏其曠弛，徙知澶州，境內屢有寇盜，宰相以瑩任居將帥，不能以威望鎮靖，請徙他郡。 上曰：「處之閑僻，適使其自偷爾。」 遂下詔督責，令其擒捕。 時發卒修河防，而軍中所給糗糧，多腐敗不可食； 又役使不均，瑩不加恤，以故亡命者眾。
Early in the Dazhong Xiangfu era he was made military commissioner of Tianping Army. The following year he became deployment commissioner of Zhen and Ding while also governing Ding Prefecture. The transport commissioner reported his negligence, so he was moved to Cao Prefecture, where bandits repeatedly appeared within the borders; the councilors, noting that he held a commander's post yet could not quiet the region by prestige, asked that he be shifted elsewhere. The emperor said, "Put him somewhere remote and quiet and you will only let him grow slack." An edict was then issued rebuking him and ordering him to capture the bandits. Troops were then mobilized to repair river defenses, yet much of the dry ration issued in camp was rotten and inedible; corvée duties were unevenly assigned as well, and Ying showed no concern, so deserters became numerous.
23
七年，入朝，復遣還鎮。 又以澶淵當契丹之衝，借其廩給之厚，復命知澶州。 九年，被疾，求還京師。 卒，年六十六，贈侍中。 初諡忠穆，後改元惠。 錄其二子供奉官普、顯為內殿崇班，二孫永昌、永吉為殿直。
In the seventh year he came to court and was again sent back to his post. Because Chanyuan lay on the Khitan line of attack and its generous grain stipends were hard to give up, he was again appointed to govern Cao Prefecture. In the ninth year he fell ill and asked to return to the capital. He died at sixty-six and was posthumously made Palace Attendant. He was first given the posthumous title Zhongmu, later changed to Yuanhui. His two sons Pu and Xian, both Attendant Officials, were enrolled as Inner Hall Honored Attendants, and his grandsons Yongchang and Yongji as Hall Retainers.
24
瑩居樞近，無他謀略，及蒞軍旅，歷藩鎮，功業無大過人者。 故事，大禮覃慶，外藩無賜物例。 東封歲，瑩鎮澶淵，車駕所經，故特有襲衣、金帶、器帛之賜。 祀汾陰，瑩知定州，乃預上言：「禮成，所賜望於治所支給。」 人咸笑之。 普後為崇儀副使，顯至內殿承製。
Ying stood close to the center of power but possessed no special stratagems, and whether in command of armies or in frontier posts his achievements never greatly surpassed those of others. By precedent, when great rites extended grace throughout the realm, outer commands received no gifts. In the year of the eastern feng sacrifice Ying held Chanyuan, which lay on the emperor's route, and so received special gifts of court robes, a gold belt, vessels, and silks. When the Fenyin sacrifice was performed, Ying was prefect of Ding and memorialized in advance, "When the rite is complete, I hope the gifts may be paid out at my administrative seat." Everyone laughed at him. Pu later became Vice Honored Ceremonial Commissioner, and Xian rose to Inner Hall Imperial Manufacture.
25
王繼英
Wang Jiying
26
王繼英，開封祥符人。 少從趙普給筆劄，普自罷河陽，為少保，從者皆去，繼英趨事逾謹。 普再入相，繼英隸名中書五房院。
Wang Jiying came from Xiangfu in Kaifeng. In youth he served Zhao Pu by handling his correspondence; when Pu left Heyang for the post of Junior Guardian and his followers all departed, Jiying attended him with redoubled care. When Pu returned to the chancellorship, Jiying was enrolled in the Central Secretariat's Five Houses Office.
27
時真宗在藩邸，選為導吏兼內知客事。 太宗召見，謂曰：「汝昔事趙普，朕所備知。 今奉親賢，尤宜盡節。」 及建儲，授左清道率府副率兼左春坊謁者——謁者本宦職，副率品秩頗崇，非趨走左右者所宜為，俾兼領之，執政之誤也。
While the future Zhenzong was still in his princely residence, Jiying was chosen as guide officer and also put in charge of inner guest affairs. Taizong summoned him and said, "Your service to Zhao Pu is well known to me. Now that you serve the dear and worthy prince, you should devote yourself all the more faithfully." When the heir apparent was named, he was made Vice Commander of the Left Clear Way Rate Office while also Left Spring Palace Usher—the usher's post was originally a eunuch office, and the vice commander's rank was too lofty for a man who merely attended at one's side; having him hold both was a mistake of the administration.
28
真宗即位，擢為引進使。 咸平初，領恩州刺史兼掌閤門使，遷左神武大將軍、樞密都承旨，改客省使。 契丹入寇，繼英密請車駕北巡，上從之，即命繼英馳傳詣鎮、定、高陽關閱視行宮儲頓，宣諭將士。 俄充澶州鈐轄。 會大將傅潛逗撓得罪，令繼英即軍中召還屬吏。
When Zhenzong succeeded to the throne, Jiying was promoted to Introducing Commissioner. Early in Xianping he held En Prefecture concurrently while managing the Gate Commissioners, then became Left Divine Martial Grand General and Chief Receiver of the Bureau of Military Affairs, and finally Guest Reception Commissioner. When the Khitan invaded, Jiying secretly urged the emperor to tour the north; the emperor agreed and at once sent him by express relay to Zhen, Ding, and Gaoyang Pass to inspect palace stores and supplies and to encourage the troops. Soon he served as military commissioner of Cao Prefecture. When the great general Fu Qian was condemned for delay and shirking, Jiying was ordered to summon him back from the army for punishment.
29
尋掌三班，拜宣徽北院使，與周瑩同知樞密院事。 瑩出鎮，繼英遂冠樞宥，小心慎靖，以勤敏稱，上倚賴之。
Soon he took charge of the Three Classes, was appointed Commissioner of the Northern Bureau of the Palace Directorate, and shared headship of the Bureau of Military Affairs with Zhou Ying. When Ying left for a frontier command, Jiying came to head the Bureau of Military Affairs; careful, steady, and known for diligence, he won the emperor's reliance.
30
景德初，授樞密使。 舊制，樞密院使祖母及母止封郡太夫人，有詔特加國封。 嘗因進補軍校，白上曰：「疏外之人急於攀附者，謂臣蒙蔽不為薦引。」 上曰：「此輩雖有夤緣，亦須因事立功，方許擢用，不可過求僥幸，卿勿復言也。」
Early in Jingde he was appointed Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. By old regulation a commissioner's grandmother and mother were enfeoffed only as Grand Ladies of a commandery, but an edict specially raised them to state enfeoffment. Once, while advancing supplemental military officers, he told the emperor, "Outsiders eager to attach themselves claim that I conceal their merits and refuse to recommend them." The emperor replied, "They may have connections, but they must still earn merit in actual service before they can be promoted; they must not press their luck too far, and you need say no more of it."
31
從幸澶州，契丹請和，諏訪經略，繼英預焉。 明年郊祀，加特進、檢校太傅。 三年，卒，年六十一。 上臨哭之，賜白金五千兩，贈太尉、侍中，諡恭懿。 且為葬其祖父，贈其妻賈長樂郡太夫人，錄其子婿、門下親吏數十人。
When the emperor went to Cao Prefecture and the Khitan sought peace, Jiying took part in the strategic consultations. At the suburban sacrifice the following year he was given Exceptional Promotion and Acting Grand Mentor. In the third year he died at sixty-one. The emperor came in person to mourn him, granted five thousand taels of white gold, and posthumously enfeoffed him as Grand Marshal and Palace Attendant with the title Gongyi. He also had Jiying's grandfather buried, enfeoffed his wife Lady Jia as Grand Lady of Changle commandery, and enrolled several dozen of his sons-in-law and personal clerks.
32
初，繼英幼孤，寄育外氏。 既貴，外王父、諸舅有族殯者，時方奏遣其子營葬，會卒，特詔有司給辦焉。 子遵式、遵誨、遵度、遵範，皆至顯宦。
Jiying had been orphaned young and was raised in his maternal clan's household. After he rose high, his maternal grandfather and uncles still had clan burials pending, and a memorial was on the point of sending his son to arrange them when Jiying died; a special edict ordered the relevant offices to handle the burials. His sons Zunshi, Zunhui, Zundu, and Zunfan all rose to prominent office.
33
王顯，字德明，開封人。 初為殿前司小吏，太宗居藩，嘗給事左右。 性謹介，不好狎，未嘗踐市肆。 即位，補殿直，稍遷供奉官。
Wang Xian, whose style name was Deming, came from Kaifeng. He began as a minor clerk in the Hall Front Office and had once attended Taizong when he was still a prince. By nature he was careful and reserved, disliked familiarity, and never set foot in a marketplace. After the enthronement he was made a Hall Retainer and gradually promoted to Attendant Official.
34
太平興國三年，授軍器庫副使，遷尚食使。 踰年，與郭昭敏並為東上閤門使。 八年春，拜宣徽南院使兼樞密副使。 是夏，制授樞密使。 上謂之曰：「卿世家本儒，少遭亂失學，今典朕機務，無暇博覽群書，能熟《軍戒》三篇，亦可免於面牆矣。」 因取是書及道德坊宅一區賜之。
In the third year of Taiping Xingguo he became Deputy Commissioner of the Armory Repository and then Food Commissioner. A year later he and Guo Zhaomin were jointly appointed Eastern Upper Gate Commissioners. In the spring of the eighth year he was made Commissioner of the Southern Bureau of the Palace Directorate and Vice Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. That summer he was formally appointed Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. The emperor told him, "Your family were scholars by origin, but you lost your schooling in the turmoil of youth; now you manage my secret affairs and have no time to read widely, yet if you can master the three chapters of Military Admonitions you need not stand like a man facing a blank wall." He then gave him that book and a residence in Daode Ward.
35
其後居位既久，機務益繁，副使趙昌言、寇準鋒氣皆銳，慢顯，顯或失誤，護短終不肯改，上每面戒之。 淳化三年八月，詔加切責，黜授隨州刺史，充崇信軍節度、觀察等使，遣之任。
Later, as his tenure lengthened and business grew heavier, Vice Commissioners Zhao Changyan and Kou Zhun, both sharp-tongued, treated him with contempt; Xian sometimes blundered yet clung to his mistakes and would not amend them, and the emperor repeatedly admonished him to his face. In the eighth month of the third year of Chunhua sharp rebuke was issued; he was demoted to prefect of Sui, made military and observation commissioner of Chongxin Army, and sent to his post.
36
俄知永興軍，徙延州。 時夏臺、益部寇擾，顯上疏曰：「間歲以來，戎事未息，李繼遷負恩於靈、夏，王小波干紀於巴、邛，河右坤維並興師旅。 而繼遷翻然向化，遣子入覲，願修職貢。 陛下曲加容納，許其內附，示以德信，伸以恩錫，所以綏懷之者至矣。 然而狼子野心，未可深信。 所宜謹屯戍，固城壘，積芻糧，然後遴選才勇，付以邊任，縱有緩急，則備禦有素，彼又奚能為患哉？ 至若蜀寇未平，神人共憤，謂宜申飭將帥，速期蕩平，既免老師以費財，且防事久則生變。 又況邛、蜀物產殷富，其間士卒驕怠，遲留顧戀，實兼有之。 莫若勿憚往來，潛為更代，既可均其勞逸，抑可免於遷延。 至於河北關防所當加謹者，誠以國家方事西南，密謀興舉，若分中朝之勢力，則長外寇之姦謀矣。」
Soon he governed the Yongxing Military Commission, then was transferred to Yan Prefecture. While Xia and Yibu were troubled by raids, Xian memorialized, "In recent years the frontier has not been quiet: Li Jiqian has turned ungrateful in Ling and Xia, Wang Xiaobo has rebelled in Ba and Qiong, and armies have been raised both in Hexi and in the southwest. Yet Jiqian has suddenly turned toward submission, sent his son to court, and asked to resume tribute. Your Majesty has graciously accepted him, allowed his submission, shown virtue and trust, and extended favor and gifts—the measures taken to win him over could hardly go further. Yet the heart of a wolf cub cannot be trusted too far. What is needed is to keep garrisons alert, strengthen walls and ramparts, stock fodder and grain, and then choose able and brave men for the frontier posts; then even in an emergency defenses will already be in order, and what harm can they do? As for the Shu rebels, gods and men alike are indignant; the generals should be sharply admonished to set a quick term for their suppression, both to spare the treasury the cost of a long campaign and to guard against trouble bred by delay. Moreover Qiong and Shu are rich in goods, and the troops there grow proud, slack, and reluctant to leave—both evils are real. It would be better not to shrink from rotation, but quietly to relieve units in turn, balancing labor and rest while avoiding endless delay. As for the Hebei passes, added caution is needed because the state is now engaged in the southwest and secretly planning operations there; to divide the court's strength would only encourage the enemy's designs."
37
時制沿邊糧斛不許過河西，河西青鹽不得過界販鬻，犯者不以多少，處斬。 顯請犯多者依法，自餘別為科斷，以差其罪。 章上未報，移知秦州。
Regulations then forbade frontier grain from crossing west of the river and forbade the sale of western green salt across the border; violators were executed regardless of quantity. Xian asked that the worst offenders be punished by law while the rest receive graded sentences according to the offense. The memorial went unanswered, and he was transferred to govern Qin Prefecture.
38
初，溫仲舒知州日，開拓山林，諷藩部獻其地。 後朝廷雖嘗給還，而採伐如故。 轉運使盧知翰請量給蕃部茶綵，以酬所獻，詔遣張從式與顯同往規度。 顯言：「乃者朝命以趙保吉修貢，邊城務使安靜，若今動眾開斥疆境，非便。」 議遂罷。
When Wen Zhongshu had governed the prefecture, he had opened mountains and forests and prompted frontier tribes to offer their lands. The court had later returned some of the land, yet logging continued as before. Transport Commissioner Lu Zhihan asked that tea and silks be measured out to the tribes in compensation for their lands, and an edict sent Zhang Congshi and Xian together to survey the matter. Xian said, "The court has lately ordered Zhao Baoji to resume tribute and wants the frontier kept quiet; to mobilize men now and push the border outward would be unwise." The proposal was then dropped.
39
咸平初，入朝，改橫海軍節度，出知鎮州。 二年，曹彬卒，復拜樞密使。 郊祀，加檢校太師。 真宗幸大名，內樞惟顯與副使宋湜從，言者多謂顯專司兵要，謀略非長。 會湜卒，乃以參知政事向敏中權同知樞密院事。 三年春，改授山南東道節度、同中書門下平章事、定州路行營都部署、河北都轉運使兼知定州。 秋，吏民詣駐泊都部署孔守正言顯治狀，願借留。 守正以聞。 明年秋，加鎮、定、高陽關三路都部署，許便宜從事。 十月，契丹入寇，前軍過威虜軍。 比時方積雨，契丹以皮為弦，濕緩不堪用，顯因大破之，梟獲名王、貴將十五人及羽林印二鈕，斬首二萬級。 顯上言：「先奉詔令於近邊布陣，及應援北平控扼之路。 無何，敵騎已越亭障，顯之前陣雖有捷克，終違詔命。」 上章請罪。 上降手劄，以慰其憂悸。
Early in Xianping he came to court, was made military commissioner of Henghai Army, and went out to govern Zhen Prefecture. In the second year, after Cao Bin died, he was again appointed Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. At the suburban sacrifice he was given the additional title of Acting Grand Preceptor. When Zhenzong visited Daming, only Xian and Vice Commissioner Song Shi accompanied him within the Military Affairs Bureau, and many said that while Xian handled military essentials well, strategy was not his strength. When Shi died, Vice Grand Councilor Xiang Minzhong was made acting co-head of the Bureau of Military Affairs. In the spring of the third year he was reassigned as military commissioner of Shannan East Circuit, made a Fellow of the Secretariat-Chancellery, campaign deployment commissioner of the Dingzhou Route, chief transport commissioner of Hebei, and prefect of Ding. That autumn the officials and people appealed to garrison deployment commissioner Kong Shouzheng, praising Xian's administration and asking that he be kept longer. Shouzheng reported this to the throne. The following autumn he was also made deployment commissioner of the Zhen, Ding, and Gaoyang Pass routes and allowed to act at his discretion. In the tenth month the Khitan invaded, and their vanguard passed Weilu Army. Rain had been falling steadily, and the Khitan bowstrings of leather had gone slack and useless in the wet; Xian therefore inflicted a great defeat, captured fifteen named princes and noble generals along with two Imperial Guard seal knobs, and took twenty thousand heads. Xian memorialized, "I had earlier been ordered to deploy near the border and to cover the routes supporting Beiping. Before long the enemy cavalry had crossed our outposts; though my forward line won a victory, I still disobeyed the edict in the end." He submitted a memorial asking to be punished. The emperor sent a handwritten note to comfort his anxiety.
40
明年，求致仕，不許，改河陽三城節度。 將之鎮，時議親征契丹，顯言：「盛寒在序，敵未犯塞，鑾輿輕舉，直抵窮邊，寇若不逢，師乃先老。 況今繼遷未滅，西鄙不寧，儻北邊部落，與之結援，則中國之患，未可量也。 議者乃於此時請復幽薊，非計之得也。 凡建議大事，上下協力，舉必成功。 今公卿士大夫以至庶人，尚有異同，未可謂為萬全之舉。 若能選擇將帥，訓練士卒，堅城壘而繕甲兵，亦足以待敵矣。 必欲復燕、薊舊地，則必修文德、養勇銳，同時之利，以奉行天罰而後可。」
The next year he asked to retire, but was refused and made military commissioner of Heyang Three Cities instead. As he was about to take up his post, the court was debating an imperial campaign against the Khitan; Xian said, "Deep winter is upon us and the enemy has not yet crossed the border; if the imperial carriage moves lightly all the way to the remote frontier and the foe is not met, the army will wear itself out first. Moreover Jiqian is not yet destroyed and the western frontier is unsettled; if northern tribes were to ally with him, the harm to the empire could hardly be measured. For advocates now to urge recovering You and Ji is no winning plan. Whenever great affairs are proposed, success depends on cooperation above and below. From grandees and scholar-officials down to commoners there are still disagreements, so this cannot be called a perfectly safe course. If generals are chosen well, troops trained, walls strengthened, and arms repaired, that is enough to await the enemy. If Yan and Ji must be recovered, civil virtue must be cultivated and bold troops nurtured so that when the moment is ripe Heaven's punishment may be carried out."
41
景德初，徙知天雄軍府。 又言：「祖宗以來，多命近臣統領軍旅。 今後宣徽使，宜於文武群臣中擇曉達邊事者為之。 蓋位高則威名著，識遠則勳勞立故也。 武臣以罪黜者，宜加容貸，不以一眚遂廢，苟用之有恩，必得其死力，故曰『使功不如使過』也。 至若臨敵命將，則貴專任，出師應敵，則約束將校，使相應援。 全是數者，則軍威倍壯，人心增勇矣。」 既而上表請赴行在，從之。 是年秋，遣還鎮。
Early in Jingde he was transferred to head the Tianxiong Military Commission. He also said, "Since the founding ancestors, close ministers have often been put in command of armies. Henceforth Palace Directorate commissioners should be chosen from among civil and military ministers who understand frontier affairs. High rank brings renown, and far-sighted knowledge establishes merit—that is why. Military officials dismissed for offenses should be shown forbearance and not cast aside for a single fault; if used with kindness they will give their utmost, as the saying goes, 'It is better to employ a man for his fault than for his merit. When appointing generals on the eve of battle, sole responsibility is prized; when armies march out, officers should be bound to one another so they can support each other. When forces are complete in number, military prestige doubles and men's hearts grow bolder." He then memorialized asking to join the mobile court, and the request was granted. That autumn he was sent back to his post.
42
契丹入寇，上議親征。 顯復陳三策，謂：「大軍方在鎮、定，契丹必不南侵，車駕止駐澶淵，詔鎮、定出兵，會河南軍，合擊之可也。 若契丹母子虛張聲勢，以抗我師，潛遣銳兵南攻駕前諸軍，則令鎮、定之師直衝戎帳，攻其營砦，則沿河遊兵不戰而自屈矣。 否則遣騎兵千、步兵三千於濮州渡河，橫掠澶州，繼以大軍追北掩擊，亦可出其不意也。」 已而契丹請盟，趙德明遣使修貢稱藩，朝廷加賞錫，且許通青鹽以濟邊民，從顯之請也。
When the Khitan invaded, the emperor debated leading the campaign in person. Xian again offered three plans, saying, "The main army is at Zhen and Ding, so the Khitan will surely not push south; let the imperial carriage halt at Chanyuan, order Zhen and Ding to march out, join the Henan forces, and strike together—that will suffice. If the Khitan queen and heir merely feign strength to hold our army while secretly sending elite troops south against the forces before the carriage, let the Zhen and Ding armies strike straight at the barbarian headquarters and storm their camps; the river patrols will then collapse without a fight. Otherwise send one thousand cavalry and three thousand infantry to cross at Pu Prefecture, raid across Cao Prefecture, and follow with the main army in a concealed pursuit from the north—that too would catch them unawares." Before long the Khitan sought peace, Zhao Deming sent envoys with tribute and declared himself a vassal, and the court added rewards and also allowed green salt to be traded to aid the frontier people, following Xian's request.
43
三年冬，被病，詔中使偕尚醫療視。 明年正月，許還京師。 時車駕上陵，顯謂賓佐曰：「余年位偕極，今天子道出虎牢，不得一拜屬車之塵，是遺恨也！」 言訖涕下，至京，信宿卒，年七十六。 車駕至鄭州，聞之，遣宮苑使鄧永遷馳還護喪，贈中書令，諡忠肅。 錄其二子。
In the winter of the third year he fell ill, and an edict sent a palace envoy with the imperial physician to treat him. In the first month of the following year he was permitted to return to the capital. The emperor was then visiting the imperial tombs; Xian told his staff, "My years and rank have both reached their height, yet as the Son of Heaven passes through Hulao I cannot even once bow to the dust of his attendant carriage—that will be my lasting regret!" As he spoke, tears fell; he reached the capital and died within two nights at seventy-six. When the emperor reached Zheng Prefecture and heard the news, he sent Palace Garden Commissioner Deng Yongqian racing back to oversee the funeral, posthumously made Xian Secretariat Director, and gave him the title Zhongsu. His two sons were enrolled in office.
44
顯自三班不數年正樞任，獎擢之速，時無擬之者。 顯吏軍司時，張永德以滑州節制為殿前都點檢。 及顯自樞密鎮孟津兼相帥，永德由太子太師為相帥，同日宣制，永德兼大夫反在顯下，時人訝之。 顯居中執政，矯情以厚胥吏，齪齪自固而已。 在藩鎮，頗縱部曲擾下，論者非之。
From the Three Classes Xian reached the headship of the Bureau of Military Affairs within only a few years, a pace of promotion unmatched in his day. When Xian was still a clerk in the army office, Zhang Yongde, then military commissioner of Huazhou, was Chief Inspector of the Hall Front Office. When Xian left the Bureau of Military Affairs to command Mengjin while also serving as chancellor-commander, Yongde moved from Crown Prince Grand Mentor to the same dual role; their appointments were proclaimed the same day, yet Yongde's concurrent grandee rank still stood below Xian's, to the astonishment of the day. At the center of government Xian affected sentiment to enrich his clerks and was merely petty and self-protective. In frontier commands he allowed his subordinates to harass the people, and critics condemned him for it.
45
子希逸，字仲莊，以蔭補供奉官。 好學，尤熟唐史，聚書萬餘卷。 換秩授朝奉大夫、太子中允。 咸平初，改殿中丞、直史館，預修《冊府元龜》，加祠部員外郎，卒。 希範至如京副使。
His son Xiyi, whose style name was Zhongzhuang, entered service by yin privilege as an Attendant Official. He loved learning, was especially versed in Tang history, and collected more than ten thousand scrolls. He exchanged rank for the posts of Court Gentleman for Court Audience and Crown Prince Middle Attendant. Early in Xianping he became Palace Directorate Assistant and Direct Historiographer, took part in compiling the Prime Tortoise of the Archive, was made a junior officer in the Ministry of Rites, and died. Xifan rose to Deputy Envoy to the Capital.
46
論曰：自柴禹錫而下，率因給事藩邸，以攀附致通顯者凡七人。 若守一之質直，趙鎔之勤謹，服勞雖久而益修乃職，則其被眷遇也宜矣。 張遜優於理財而未免於冒嫉，周瑩練習軍旅而頗傷於酷濫，禹錫素稱勤敏而不能不涉於朋比，王顯雖謹介自將而昧於學識，故莫逃於齪齪之譏。 若以勤謹被信任，耆德冠樞宥，而善終如始者，其惟繼英乎。 《易》曰：「君子有終，吉。」 此之謂也。
The commentary says: From Chai Yuxi downward, seven men in all won prominence by attending the princely establishment and attaching themselves to the future emperor. Men such as the upright Shouyi and the diligent Zhao Rong, who though long in service only grew more careful in duty, deserved the favor they received. Zhang Xun excelled at finance yet could not escape charges of rash jealousy; Zhou Ying was skilled in military affairs yet marred by cruelty; Yuxi was famed for diligence yet could not avoid faction; Wang Xian was careful in conduct yet weak in learning—none escaped the charge of pettiness. But if one asks who was trusted for diligence, stood at the head of the Bureau of Military Affairs in honored age, and ended as he began, surely that was Jiying alone. The Book of Changes says, "The noble man has a good end—auspicious." That is what is meant here.