Volume 281 Biographies 40: Lu Duan, Bi Shiancengsun:zhongyan, Zhong You, Kou Zhun

會秦王廷美尹京，召拜考功員外郎，充開封府判官。太宗征河東，廷美將有居留之命，端白廷美曰：「主上櫛風沐雨，以申吊伐，王地處親賢，當表率扈從。今主留務，非所宜也。」廷美由是懇請從行。尋坐王府親吏請托執事者違詔市竹木，貶商州司戶參軍。移汝州，復為太常丞、判寺事。出知蔡州，以善政，吏民列奏借留。改祠部員外郎、知開封縣，遷考功員外郎兼侍御史知雜事。使高麗，暴風折檣，舟人怖恐，端讀書若在齋閣時。遷戶部郎中、判太常寺兼禮院，選為大理少卿，俄拜右諫議大夫。

When Prince of Qin Zhao Tingmei was put in charge of the capital, Lu Duan was summoned and appointed Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel, serving as administrative judge of Kaifeng. When Emperor Taizong campaigned against Hedong, Tingmei was slated to stay behind; Lu Duan urged him: "The Emperor is braving wind and rain on a punitive expedition to right wrongs. As a prince among the imperial kin, you ought to set the example and march in his train. For you to stay behind and manage affairs now would be inappropriate." Tingmei thereupon begged permission to join the expedition. Soon after, he was demoted to Registrar of Shang Prefecture when a household clerk of the prince's establishment was found to have solicited favors from officials and illegally traded bamboo and timber in violation of an edict. He was transferred to Ru Prefecture and then reappointed Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, with responsibility for its administration. He was posted as prefect of Cai. His effective rule led local officials and the populace to petition collectively asking that he be kept in office. He was reassigned as Vice Director of the Ministry of Rites and magistrate of Kaifeng county, then promoted to Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel and Attending Censor with general supervisory duties. While envoy to Goryeo, a violent storm snapped the mast and terrified the crew, but Lu Duan read on as calmly as if he were in his private study. He rose to Director in the Ministry of Revenue, adjudicated at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and the Office of Rites, was chosen Vice Director of the Court of Judicial Review, and soon appointed Right Remonstrance Grandee.

時趙普在中書，嘗曰：「吾觀呂公奏事，得嘉賞未嘗喜，遇抑挫未嘗懼，亦不形於言，真台輔之器也。」歲餘，左諫議大夫寇準亦拜參知政事。端請居準下，太宗即以端為左諫議大夫，立準上。每獨召便殿，語必移晷。擢拜戶部侍郎、平章事。

While Zhao Pu served in the Secretariat, he remarked: "I have watched Lord Lu present memorials. Praise never elates him, setbacks never frighten him, and he never betrays either in his words — he is truly fit for the highest office." A year later, Kou Zhun, Left Remonstrance Grandee, was also appointed Participant in Governance. Duan asked to rank below Kou Zhun, but the Emperor made him Left Remonstrance Grandee instead, placing him above Kou. Whenever the Emperor summoned him alone to the Hall of Convenience, their conversations always ran until the sundial had shifted markedly. He was promoted to Vice Minister of Revenue and appointed Grand Councillor.

時呂蒙正為相，太宗欲相端，或曰：「端為人糊塗。」太宗曰：「端小事糊塗，大事不糊塗。」決意相之。會曲宴後苑，太宗作《釣魚詩》，有云：「欲餌金鉤深未達，磻溪須問釣魚人。」意以屬端。後數日，罷蒙正而相端焉。初，端兄餘慶，建隆中以藩府舊僚參預大政，端復居相位，時論榮之。端歷官僅四十年，至是驟被獎擢，太宗猶恨任用之晚。端為相持重，識大體，以清簡為務。慮與寇準同列，先居相位，恐準不平，乃請參知政事與宰相分日押班知印，同升政事堂，太宗從之。時同列奏對多有異議，惟端罕所建明。一日，內出手札戒諭：「自今中書事必經呂端詳酌，乃得聞奏。」端愈謙讓不自當。

Lü Mengzheng was then chief minister. When the Emperor wished to appoint Lu Duan in his place, some objected that Duan was hopelessly absent-minded. The Emperor replied: "He may be absent-minded in small matters, but not in great ones." With that, he resolved to make him chief minister. At a private banquet in the rear garden, the Emperor composed "Fishing," which included the lines: "The golden hook has not yet reached the depths I seek — at Pan Brook one must ask the fisherman." The poem was meant to point to Lu Duan. A few days later, Lü Mengzheng was dismissed and Lu Duan was made chief minister. Earlier, Duan's elder brother Yuqing had risen to high office in the Jianlong era as a veteran of the prince's household; now Duan too held the chief ministership, and contemporaries regarded the family with admiration. Lu Duan had served in office for nearly forty years before this sudden elevation, and the Emperor still felt he had been promoted too late. As chief minister he was grave and steady, grasped the larger pattern, and made simplicity and restraint his guiding principles. Fearing that Kou Zhun might resent his having taken the chief ministership first, he asked that the Participants in Governance and the chief minister alternate days holding the seal and enter the Hall of Administration together; the Emperor agreed. His colleagues often disagreed when memorializing in audience, but Lu Duan seldom advanced proposals of his own. One day the palace issued a handwritten directive: "Henceforth no Secretariat business may reach the throne until Lu Duan has reviewed it in detail." Lu Duan became only more modest and insisted he was unworthy of such trust.

初，李繼遷擾西鄙，保安軍奏獲其母。至是，太宗欲誅之，以寇準居樞密副使，獨召與謀。準退，過相幕，端疑謀大事，邀謂準曰：「上戒君勿言於端乎？」準曰：「否。」端曰：「邊鄙常事，端不必與知，若軍國大計，端備位宰相，不可不知也。」準遂告其故，端曰：「何以處之？」準曰：「欲斬於保安軍北門外，以戒凶逆。」端曰：「必若此，非計之得也，願少緩之，端將覆奏。」入曰：「昔項羽得太公，欲烹之，高祖曰：『願分我一杯羹。』夫舉大事不顧其親，況繼遷悖逆之人乎？陛下今日殺之，明日繼遷可擒乎？若其不然，徒結怨仇，愈堅其叛心爾。」太宗曰：「然則何如？」端曰：「以臣之愚，宜置於延州，使善養視之，以招來繼遷。雖不能即降，終可以繫其心，而母死生之命在我矣。」太宗撫髀稱善曰：「微卿，幾誤我事。」即用其策。其母後病死延州，繼遷尋亦死，繼遷子竟納款請命，端之力也。進門下侍郎兼兵部尚書。

Earlier, Li Jiqian had raided the western frontier; Bao'an Army reported that his mother had been taken captive. Now the Emperor wished to put her to death. Because Kou Zhun was Vice Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs, he summoned him alone to deliberate. As Kou Zhun withdrew he passed the chief minister's quarters. Lu Duan suspected some weighty matter was afoot and stopped him: "Did His Majesty tell you not to speak of this to me?" Kou Zhun said, "No." Lu Duan said, "Routine border affairs need not concern me, but if this is a matter of military or state policy, I hold the chief ministership and cannot be kept in the dark." Kou Zhun then told him the whole story. Lu Duan asked, "What do you propose to do?" Kou Zhun said, "I intend to execute her outside the north gate of Bao'an Army as a warning to the rebels." Lu Duan said, "If that is your plan, it is not sound. Please hold off a little — I will memorialize the throne again." Entering audience, he said, "When Xiang Yu seized the Grand Duke and threatened to boil him, Emperor Gao replied, 'I would like a bowl of that broth as well. A man who undertakes great affairs does not spare even his kin — how much less a rebel and traitor like Li Jiqian? If Your Majesty executes her today, will Li Jiqian be captured tomorrow? If not, you will only deepen his hatred and harden his resolve to rebel." The Emperor asked, "Then what should we do?" Lu Duan said, "In my humble view, she should be kept at Yan Prefecture and treated well, to entice Li Jiqian to submit. He may not surrender at once, but in time this will win his heart — and his mother's life or death will rest in our hands." The Emperor slapped his thigh in approval: "Without you, I would nearly have ruined this affair." He immediately adopted the plan. His mother later died of illness at Yan; Li Jiqian soon died as well, and Jiqian's son eventually submitted and sought imperial orders — this was Lu Duan's achievement. He was promoted to Vice Director of the Secretariat and concurrently Minister of War.

太宗不豫，真宗為皇太子，端日與太子問起居。及疾大漸，內侍王繼恩忌太子英明，陰與參知政事李昌齡、殿前都指揮使李繼勳、知制誥胡旦謀立故楚王元佐。太宗崩，李皇后命繼恩召端，端知有變，鎖繼恩於閣內，使人守之而入。皇后曰：「宮車已晏駕，立嗣以長，順也，今將如何？」端曰：「先帝立太子正為今日，今始棄天下，豈可遽違命有異議邪？」乃奉太子至福寧庭中。真宗既立，垂簾引見群臣，端平立殿下不拜，請卷簾，升殿審視，然後降階，率群臣拜呼萬歲。以繼勳為使相，赴陳州。貶昌齡忠武軍司馬，繼恩右監門衛將軍、均州安置，旦除名流潯州，籍其家貲。

When Emperor Taizong fell ill, Zhenzong was crown prince; Lu Duan went daily with the prince to inquire after the Emperor's health. As the illness worsened, the eunuch Wang Jien, resenting the crown prince's brilliance, secretly conspired with Li Changling, Participant in Governance, Li Jixun, Commander of the Palace Front, and Hu Dan, Drafting Academician, to install the former Prince of Chu Zhao Yuanzuo. When Taizong died, Empress Li ordered Wang Jien to summon Lu Duan. Sensing trouble, Duan locked Jien in a side chamber, posted guards, and entered the palace. The Empress said, "The imperial carriage has already departed on its final journey. To establish an heir by seniority is the proper course — what shall we do now?" Lu Duan said, "The late emperor named the crown prince precisely for this day. Now that he has just left the realm, how can we suddenly defy his command and entertain other candidates?" He then escorted the crown prince to the courtyard of Funing. Once Zhenzong was enthroned, the officials were received behind a curtain. Lu Duan stood straight on the hall floor without bowing, asked that the curtain be raised, ascended to scrutinize the new emperor closely, then descended and led the officials in bowing and shouting "Long live ten thousand years!" Li Jixun was made a commissioner on assignment and sent to Chen Prefecture. Li Changling was demoted to military aide of Zhongwu Army; Wang Jien was made Right General of the Jianmen Guard and settled at Jun Prefecture; Hu Dan was dismissed and banished to Xun Prefecture, and their household property was confiscated.

真宗每見輔臣入對，惟於端肅然拱揖，不以名呼。又以端軀體洪大，宮庭階戺稍峻，特令梓人為納陛。嘗召對便殿，訪軍國大事經久之制，端陳當世急務，皆有條理，真宗嘉納。加右僕射，監修國史。明年夏，被疾，詔免常參，就中書視事。上疏求解，不許。十月，以太子太保罷。在告三百日，有司言當罷奉，詔賜如故。車駕臨問，端不能興，撫慰甚至。卒，年六十六，贈司空，諡正惠，追封妻李氏涇國夫人，以其子藩為太子中舍，荀大理評事，蔚千牛備身，藹殿中省進馬。

Whenever Zhenzong received his chief ministers in audience, toward Lu Duan alone he would gravely press his hands in salute and never call him by name. Because Lu Duan's frame was imposing and the palace steps rather steep, the Emperor specially ordered carpenters to make him mounting blocks. Once summoned to the Hall of Convenience, the Emperor asked about longstanding institutions of military and state policy. Lu Duan set forth the urgent affairs of the day in well-ordered fashion, and Zhenzong commended and accepted his counsel. He was given the additional titles Right Vice Director and Supervisor of the National History. The following summer he fell ill. An edict excused him from regular court attendance and allowed him to conduct Secretariat business from home. He memorialized requesting release from office, but the request was denied. In the tenth month he was dismissed with the title Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent. After three hundred days on sick leave, the relevant office ruled that his stipend should cease, but an edict ordered that it continue as before. The Emperor came in person to inquire after him. Lu Duan could not rise, and the imperial consolation was profuse. He died at sixty-six. He was posthumously enfeoffed as Minister of Works with the posthumous title Zhenghui. His wife Lady Li was enfeoffed Lady of Jing. His sons Fan, Xun, Wei, and Ai were appointed Household Attendant of the Heir Apparent, Assessor of the Court of Judicial Review, Guardsman of the Heir Apparent's thousand riders, and Handler of Tribute Horses in the Palace Service, respectively.

端姿儀瑰秀，有器量，寬厚多恕，善談謔，意豁如也。雖屢經擯退，未嘗以得喪介懷。善與人交，輕財好施，未嘗問家事。李惟清自知樞密改御史中丞，意端抑己，及端免朝謁，乃彈奏常參官疾告逾年受奉者，又構人訟堂吏過失，欲以中端。端曰：「吾直道而行，無所愧畏，風波之言不足慮也。」

Lu Duan's bearing was splendid and he possessed great capacity. He was generous and forgiving, skilled in wit and banter, and his mind was broad and at ease. Though repeatedly demoted and dismissed, he never let gain or loss trouble his heart. He made friends easily, was free with wealth and fond of giving, and never troubled himself with household affairs. Li Weiqing, demoted from the Bureau of Military Affairs to Censor in Chief, believed Lu Duan had held him back. When Duan was excused from court attendance, Weiqing impeached regular officials who had received salaries for more than a year on sick leave, and also arranged lawsuits against the hall clerks for misconduct, intending to strike at Duan. Lu Duan said, "I walk the straight path and have nothing to fear. Talk of storms is not worth worrying about."

端祖兗，嘗事滄州節度劉守文為判官。守文之亂，兗舉族被害。時父琦方幼，同郡趙玉冒鋒刃紿監者曰：「此予之弟，非呂氏子也。」遂得免。玉子文度為耀帥，文度孫紹宗十餘歲，端視如己子，表薦賜出身。故相馮道，鄉里世舊，道子正之病廢，端分奉給之。端兩使絕域，其國歎重之，後有使往者，每問端為宰相否，其名顯如此。

Lu Duan's grandfather Yan had once served Liu Shouwen, military commissioner of Cang Prefecture, as administrative aide. During Shouwen's rebellion, Yan's entire clan was slaughtered. His father Qi was still a child. Zhao Yu of the same commandery braved the blades and deceived the guard, saying, "This is my younger brother — not a son of the Lü clan." Thus Qi escaped death. Zhao Yu's son Wendu became military commissioner of Yao. When Wendu's grandson Shaozong was barely ten, Lu Duan treated him as his own son, memorialized recommending him, and secured him initial court rank. Former chief minister Feng Dao was a family friend from their home district. When Dao's son Zheng fell ill and was disabled, Lu Duan shared his stipend to support him. Lu Duan twice served as envoy to distant lands, where his hosts admired him greatly. Later envoys from those countries always asked whether Lu Duan was still chief minister — such was his renown.

景德二年，真宗聞端後嗣不振，又錄蔚為奉禮郎。藩後病足，不任朝謁，請告累年，有司奏罷其奉，真宗特令復舊官，分司西京，給奉家居養病。端不蓄貲產，藩兄弟貧匱，又迫婚嫁，因質其居第。真宗時，出內府錢五百萬贖還之。又別賜金帛，俾償宿負，遣使檢校家事。藩、荀皆至國子博士，蔚至太子中舍。

In the second year of Jingde, Zhenzong heard that Lu Duan's descendants were faring poorly and again appointed Wei as Master of Ceremonials. Fan later suffered crippled feet and could not attend court. After years of sick leave, the relevant office memorialized to cut his salary, but Zhenzong specially restored his former post, assigned him to the Western Capital branch office, and granted a stipend to live at home and nurse his illness. Lu Duan had accumulated no property. Fan and his brothers were destitute and pressed by marriage expenses, and therefore mortgaged the family residence. During Zhenzong's reign, five million coins from the inner treasury were issued to redeem it. Gold and silk were also bestowed separately to pay off old debts, and envoys were sent to inspect the family's affairs. Fan and Xun both rose to Doctor of the National University; Wei reached Household Attendant of the Heir Apparent.

畢士安

Bi Shi'an

畢士安，字仁叟，代州雲中人。曾祖宗昱，本縣令。祖球，本州別駕。父乂林，累辟使府，終觀城令，因家焉。士安少好學，事繼母祝氏以孝聞。祝氏曰：「學必求良師友。」乃與如宋，又如鄭，得楊璞、韓丕、劉錫為友，因為鄭人。

Bi Shi'an, styled Rensou, was a native of Yunzhong in Dai Prefecture. His great-grandfather Zongyu served as magistrate of his home county. His grandfather Qiu served as Vice Governor of the prefecture. His father Yilin was repeatedly summoned to commissioner staffs and finally served as magistrate of Guancheng, where the family then settled. From youth Shi'an loved learning and served his stepmother Lady Zhu with such filial devotion that his reputation spread. Lady Zhu said, "In study one must seek worthy teachers and companions." He then traveled with her to the Song capital and on to Zheng, where he befriended Yang Pu, Han Pi, and Liu Xi, and thus became a man of Zheng.

乾德四年，舉進士。邠帥楊廷璋辟幕府，掌書奏。開寶四年，歷濟州團練推官，專掌筦榷，歲課增羡。改兗州觀察推官。太平興國初，為大理寺丞，領三門發運事。吳越錢俶納土，選知台州，言：「錢氏上圖籍，有司皆張侈賦數，今湖海新民始得天子命吏，宜有安輯，願一用舊籍。」詔從之。明年，遷左贊善大夫，徙饒州，改殿中丞。召還，為監察御史。復出知乾州，以母老願降任就養，改監汝州稻田務。

In the fourth year of Qiande he passed the jinshi examination. Yang Tingzhang, military commissioner of Bin, recruited him to his staff to manage documents and memorials. In the fourth year of Kaibao he served as recorder on the military staff of Ji Prefecture, solely in charge of monopoly revenues, and annual receipts increased substantially. He was transferred to recorder on the observation staff of Yan Prefecture. At the beginning of Taiping Xingguo he was appointed Vice Director of the Court of Judicial Review and placed in charge of the Three Gates transport office. When Qian Chu of Wuyue submitted his territory, Shi'an was chosen prefect of Taizhou and said, "The Qian house has presented its maps and registers, but the offices have inflated the tax quotas. The people of the coastal regions are only now receiving the Son of Heaven's appointed officials and need reassurance. I ask that the old registers be used throughout." An edict approved his request. The following year he was promoted to Left Supporter of Virtue, transferred to Rao Prefecture, and appointed Palace Director. He was recalled to court and appointed Supervising Censor. He was sent out again as prefect of Qian, but with his mother aging he asked for a lower appointment so he could care for her nearby and was made superintendent of the paddy-field office in Ru Prefecture.

雍熙二年，諸王出閤，慎擇僚屬。以虞部郎中王龜從兼陳王府記室參軍，水部員外郎王素兼韓王府記室參軍，秘書丞張茂直兼益王府記室參軍，士安遷左拾遺兼冀王府記室參軍。太宗召謂曰：「諸子生長宮庭，未閒外事，年漸成人，必資良士贊導，使日聞忠孝之道，卿等勉之。」賜襲衣、銀帶、鞍勒馬。

In the second year of Yongxi the princes were formally established in their households, and staff members were chosen with care. Wang Guicong, Director of the Bureau of Parks and Forests, was also appointed recorder for the Prince of Chen; Wang Su, Vice Director of the Bureau of Works, for the Prince of Han; Zhang Maozhi, Secretary of the Secretariat, for the Prince of Yi; and Shi'an was promoted to Left Remonstrance Censor and also made recorder for the Prince of Ji. Emperor Taizong summoned them and said, "My sons have grown up in the palace and know nothing of the world outside. As they come of age, they will need worthy men to guide them and teach them loyalty and filial piety every day. Do your utmost." He also granted them ceremonial robes, silver belts, saddles, bridles, and horses.

士安本名士元，以「元」犯王諱，遂改焉。遷考功員外郎。端拱中，詔王府僚屬各獻所著文，太宗閱視累日，問近臣曰：「其才已見矣，其行孰優？」或以士安對。上曰：「正協朕意。」俄以本官知制誥，王請對願留府邸，不許。淳化二年，召入翰林為學士。大臣以張洎薦，太宗曰：「洎視畢士安詞藝踐歷固不減，但履行遠在下爾。」士安以父名乂林抗章引避，朝議謂二名不偏諱，不聽。

Shi'an had originally been named Shiyuan, but changed it because the character yuan was taboo for one of the princes. He was promoted to Vice Director of the Bureau of Merit. During the Duanhe era, an edict required each member of the princes' staffs to submit his writings. Emperor Taizong read them for days and asked his close ministers, "I can see their talent — but whose character is best?" Someone replied that Shi'an was. The Emperor said, "That is exactly what I think." Soon afterward, while retaining his original rank, he was made Drafting Edict Officer. The Prince asked to keep him at the princely residence, but the request was denied. In the second year of Chunhua he was summoned to the Hanlin Academy as an Academician. Grandees recommended him through Zhang Zhi. Emperor Taizong said, "Zhi is certainly no less accomplished than Bi Shi'an in literary skill and official experience, but in personal conduct he falls far short." Bi Shi'an submitted a memorial asking to withdraw because his father's name was Yilin. Court discussion held that the rule against tabooing only one of two characters in a name did not apply, and the request was denied.

三年，與蘇易簡同知貢舉，加主客郎中。以疾請外，改右諫議大夫、知潁州。真宗以壽王尹開封府，召為判官。及為皇太子，以兼右庶子遷給事中。登位，命權知開封府事，拜工部侍郎、樞密直學士。時近臣有怙勢強取民間定婚女，其家訴於府，士安因對奏，還之。宮府常從為廷職者，每授任於外，必令士安戒勖。

In the third year he served with Su Yijian as co-director of the civil examinations and was additionally appointed Director of the Bureau of Receptions. Citing illness, he requested a provincial appointment and was made Right Remonstrance Grandee and prefect of Ying Prefecture. When Zhenzong, as Prince of Shou, was administering Kaifeng Prefecture, Shi'an was summoned to serve as administrative judge. When Zhenzong became heir apparent, Shi'an was promoted to Supervising Censor while serving additionally as Right Companion. When Zhenzong ascended the throne, he ordered Shi'an to serve temporarily as prefect of Kaifeng and appointed him Vice Minister of Works and Academician Directly Attached to the Bureau of Military Affairs. At that time a close minister used his influence to seize a betrothed commoner's daughter. When her family appealed to the prefecture, Shi'an memorialized at audience and had her returned. Whenever palace attendants who had become court officials were sent out on provincial appointments, Shi'an was always ordered to admonish and instruct them.

咸平初，辭府職，拜禮部侍郎，復為翰林學士。詔選官校勘《三國志》、《晉》、《唐書》。或有言兩晉事多鄙惡不可流行者。真宗以語宰相，士安曰：「惡以戒世，善以勸後。善惡之事，《春秋》備載。」真宗然之，遂命刊刻。士安以目疾求解，改兵部侍郎，出知潞州，特加月給之數。入為翰林侍讀學士。景德初，兼秘書監。契丹謀入境，士安首疏五事應詔，陳選將、餉兵、理財之策，真宗嘉納。

At the beginning of Xianping he resigned his post at the prefecture, was appointed Vice Minister of Rites, and again became a Hanlin Academician. An edict ordered officials selected to collate the Records of the Three Kingdoms, the Jin histories, and the Tang histories. Some argued that the two Jin dynasties contained too many base and shameful episodes to be circulated. Emperor Zhenzong raised the matter with the chief minister. Shi'an said, "Evil warns the age, and good encourages posterity. Good and evil alike — the Spring and Autumn Annals records them in full." Emperor Zhenzong agreed and ordered the texts printed. Shi'an asked to leave office because of eye disease. He was made Vice Minister of War and sent out as prefect of Lu Prefecture, with a special increase to his monthly stipend. He returned to court as Hanlin Academician Reader-in-Waiting. At the beginning of Jingde he additionally served as Director of the Secretariat. When the Khitan plotted to invade, Shi'an was the first to submit a five-point memorial in response to an edict, outlining policies for selecting generals, provisioning troops, and managing finances. Emperor Zhenzong praised and adopted his proposals.

李沆卒，進士安吏部侍郎、參知政事。入謝，真宗曰：「未也，行且相卿。」士安頓首。真宗曰：「朕倚卿以輔相，豈特今日。然時方多事，求與卿同進者，其誰可？」對曰：「宰相者，必有其器，乃可居其位，臣駑朽，實不足以勝任。寇準兼資忠義，善斷大事，此宰相才也。」真宗曰：「聞其好剛使氣。」又對曰：「準方正慷慨有大節，忘身徇國，秉道疾邪，此其素所蓄積，朝臣罕出其右者，第不為流俗所喜。今天下之民雖蒙休德，涵養安佚，而西北跳梁為邊境患，若準者正所宜用也。」真宗曰：「然，當藉卿宿德鎮之。」未閱月，以本官與準同拜平章事。士安兼監修國史，居準上。

When Li Hang died, Shi'an was promoted to Vice Minister of Personnel and appointed Participant in Governance. When he came in to give thanks, Emperor Zhenzong said, "Not yet — soon I shall make you chief minister." Shi'an kowtowed. Emperor Zhenzong said, "I rely on you as my chief minister — and not only today. But these are troubled times. Whom can I promote to serve alongside you?" He replied, "A chief minister must have the capacity for the office before he can hold it. I am worn out and truly unfit for the task. Kou Zhun combines loyalty and righteousness and is adept at deciding great affairs — he has the makings of a chief minister." Emperor Zhenzong said, "I have heard that he is stubborn and quick to anger." He replied again, "Kou Zhun is upright, generous, and possessed of great integrity. He forgets himself in service to the state, upholds the Way, and hates evil — qualities he has long cultivated. Few court ministers surpass him, though he is not popular with the vulgar crowd. The people may enjoy peace and kindness today, but in the northwest the unruly still plague the borders. A man like Kou Zhun is exactly what should be employed." Emperor Zhenzong said, "So be it — I shall rely on your longstanding virtue to keep him in check." Within less than a month, while retaining his original rank, he and Kou Zhun were together appointed Grand Counselors of State. Shi'an additionally supervised compilation of the national history and ranked above Kou Zhun.

準為相，守正嫉惡，小人日思所以傾之。有布衣申宗古告準交通安王元傑，準皇恐，莫知所自明。士安力辯其誣，下宗古吏，具得姦罔，斬之，準乃安。

As chief minister, Kou Zhun upheld integrity and hated evil, and petty men daily schemed to bring him down. A commoner named Shen Zonggu accused Kou Zhun of secret dealings with Prince An Yuanjie. Kou Zhun was terrified and did not know how to clear himself. Shi'an forcefully argued that the charge was false. Zonggu was handed over to the judicial officers, the fraud was fully established, and he was executed — only then did Kou Zhun feel secure.

景德元年九月，契丹統軍撻覽引兵分掠威虜、順安、北平，侵保州，攻定武，數為諸軍所卻，益東駐陽城澱，遂攻高陽，不得逞，轉窺貝、冀、天雄，兵號二十萬。真宗坐便殿，問策安出。士安與寇準條所以禦備狀，又合議請真宗幸澶淵。士安言澶淵之行，當在仲冬；準謂當亟往，不可緩。卒用士安議。

In the ninth month of the first year of Jingde, the Khitan commander-in-chief Tayan led troops to raid Weilu, Shun'an, and Beiping, invaded Ba Prefecture, and attacked Dingwu. He was repeatedly repelled by Song forces, moved east to camp at Yangcheng Marsh, then attacked Gaoyang without success and turned toward Bei, Ji, and Tianxiong. His army was said to number two hundred thousand. Emperor Zhenzong sat in the informal hall and asked where strategy should come from. Shi'an and Kou Zhun laid out the defensive measures in detail and together proposed that Emperor Zhenzong proceed to Chanyuan. Shi'an said the journey to Chanyuan ought to wait until midwinter; Kou Zhun said they should go at once and must not delay. In the end Shi'an's proposal was adopted.

初，咸平六年，雲州觀察使王繼忠戰陷契丹。至是，為契丹奏請議和。大臣莫敢如何，獨士安以為可信，力贊真宗當羈縻不絕，漸許其成。真宗謂敵悍如此，恐不可保。士安曰：「臣嘗得契丹降人，言其雖深入，屢挫不甚得志，陰欲引去而恥無名，且彼寧不畏人乘虛覆其巢穴，此請殆不妄。繼忠之奏，臣請任之。」真宗喜，手詔繼忠，許其請和。

Earlier, in the sixth year of Xianping, Wang Jizhong, Observation Commissioner of Yun Prefecture, had been captured in battle by the Khitan. Now he presented a memorial on the Khitan's behalf requesting peace negotiations. None of the grandees dared say what to do. Only Shi'an deemed the overture credible and strongly urged Emperor Zhenzong to keep diplomatic ties open and gradually allow peace to succeed. Emperor Zhenzong said the enemy was so fierce that he feared peace could not be maintained. Shi'an said, "I once obtained a Khitan defector who said that although they had penetrated deeply, they had suffered repeated setbacks and were not achieving their aims. Secretly they wished to withdraw but were ashamed to do so without a pretext. Moreover, would they not fear that we might exploit the opening to overrun their homeland? This request is probably genuine. As for Jizhong's memorial, I ask to take responsibility for it." Emperor Zhenzong was pleased, personally drafted an edict to Jizhong, and granted the request for peace.

時已詔巡幸，而議者猶哄哄，二三大臣有進金陵及成都圖者。士安亟同準請對，力陳其不可，惟堅定前計。真宗嚴兵將行，太白晝見，流星出上臺北貫斗魁。或言兵未宜北，或言大臣應之。士安適臥疾，移書準曰：「屢請舁疾從行，手詔不許，今大計已定，唯君勉之。士安得以身當星變而就國事，心所願也。」已而少間，追至澶淵，見於行在。時已聚兵數十萬，契丹大震，猶乘眾掠德清。至澶北鄙，為伏弩發射，撻覽死，眾潰遁去。

An edict for the imperial progress had already been issued, yet the deliberators still clamored. Two or three grandees even submitted maps of Jinling and Chengdu. Shi'an quickly joined Kou Zhun in requesting audience, forcefully argued that retreat was impossible, and held firm to the earlier plan. Emperor Zhenzong reviewed troops and was about to depart when Venus appeared in daylight and a shooting star emerged north of Upper Terrace and pierced through the Dipper's ladle. Some said troops ought not go north; others said a grand minister would answer the omen. Shi'an happened to be ill in bed and sent a letter to Kou Zhun: "I have repeatedly asked to be carried despite illness to follow on the journey, but the personal edict did not permit it. Now the great plan is settled — only you must do your utmost. If I could take the celestial anomaly upon myself and thereby serve the state, that would be my heart's desire." After a brief recovery he hurried after them to Chanyuan and was received at the imperial headquarters. By then several hundred thousand troops had been assembled. The Khitan were greatly shaken, yet still trusting their numbers they plundered Deqing. When they reached the northern marches of Chanyuan, hidden crossbows fired. Tayan was killed, and the Khitan army broke up and fled.

會曹利用自契丹使還，具得要領，又與其使者姚東之俱來，講和之議遂定。歲遺契丹銀絹三十萬，朝論皆以為過。士安曰：「不如此，契丹所顧不重，和事恐不能久。」及罷兵，從還，乃按邊要選良守將易置之：雄州以李允則，定州馬知節，鎮州孫全照，保州楊延昭，它所擇用各得其任。令塞上得境外牛馬類者悉還之，通互市，除鐵禁，招流亡，廣儲蓄。未幾，夏州趙德明亦款塞內附。二方既定，中外略安。量時製法，次第施行。復置賢良方正、直言極諫等科，以廣取士。

As it happened, Cao Liyong returned from his mission to the Khitan having fully grasped the essentials, and came together with their envoy Yao Dongzhi. The peace negotiations were then settled. Each year three hundred thousand taels of silver and bolts of silk were sent to the Khitan, and court opinion generally considered the sum excessive. Shi'an said, "If the payment were less, the Khitan would not value the peace highly, and the agreement might not last." When the armies were disbanded and he returned with the Emperor, he surveyed the border strongpoints and appointed capable defending generals: Li Yunze at Xiong Prefecture, Ma Zhijie at Ding Prefecture, Sun Quanzhao at Zhen Prefecture, and Yang Yanzhao at Bao Prefecture. Elsewhere, those he chose also received fitting appointments. He ordered that cattle and horses captured beyond the border be returned, opened mutual markets, lifted the iron ban, summoned back refugees, and expanded reserves. Before long Zhao Deming of Xia Prefecture also offered sincere submission at the border and came within allegiance. With both frontiers settled, the realm was broadly at peace. Laws suited to the times were framed and implemented in sequence. The categories of Worthy and Upright, Straightforward Remonstrance, and the rest were restored to broaden recruitment of talent.

二年，章七八上，以病求免，優詔不允。遣使敦諭，不得已，復起視事。十月晨朝，至崇政殿廬，疾暴作，真宗步出臨視，已不能言。詔內侍竇神寶以肩輿送歸第，卒，年六十八。車駕臨哭，廢朝五日，贈太傅、中書令，諡文簡。以皇城使衛紹欽治葬，有司給鹵簿。錄其子世長為太子中舍，慶長為大理寺丞，孫從古為將作監主簿。

In the second year he submitted seven or eight memorials requesting dismissal on grounds of illness, but gracious edicts refused. An envoy was sent to earnestly instruct him. Having no choice, he rose again to attend to office. In the tenth month, at the morning audience, when he reached the lodge of the Hall of Promoting Governance his illness suddenly seized him. Emperor Zhenzong walked out to look in on him, but Shi'an could already no longer speak. An edict ordered the inner attendant Dou Shenbao to carry him home in a sedan chair. He died at the age of sixty-eight. The Emperor came in person to mourn. Court was suspended for five days. He was posthumously granted the titles Grand Tutor and Grand Counselor of the Secretariat, with the posthumous name Wenhjian. Wei Shaoqin, Commissioner of the Imperial City, was put in charge of the burial, and the relevant offices supplied funeral regalia. His son Shichang was enrolled as Middle Gentleman of the Heir Apparent, Qingchang as Vice Director of the Court of Judicial Review, and his grandson Conggu as Secretary of the Directorate of Works.

士安端方沉雅，有清識醞藉，美風采，善談吐，所至以嚴正稱。年耆目眊，讀書不輟，手自讎校，或親繕寫。又精意詞翰，有文集三十卷。嘗謂人曰：「僕仕宦無赫赫之譽，但力自規檢，庶幾寡過爾。」凡交游無黨援，唯王祐、呂端見引重，王旦、寇準、楊億相友善，王禹偁、陳彭年皆門人也。禹偁，濟州人。幼時以事至士安官舍，士安識其非常童，留之，教以學，舉業日顯。後遂登科進用，更在士安前。及士安知制誥，其命乃禹偁詞也。

Shi'an was dignified, sober, and refined, with clear judgment and cultivated reserve, fine bearing, and skilled discourse. Wherever he served he was known for stern rectitude. In old age his eyes were dim, yet he never ceased reading, personally collating texts or even copying them by hand. He also applied himself diligently to literary composition and left collected writings in thirty scrolls. He once told someone, "In official life I have won no resounding renown. I have only tried to govern myself, hoping to commit few faults — that is all." In all his associations he had no factional backing. Only Wang You and Lu Duan treated him with special esteem. He was friendly with Wang Dan, Kou Zhun, and Yang Yi; Wang Yucheng and Chen Pengnian were both his disciples. Yucheng was a native of Ji Prefecture. When young he came on business to Shi'an's official residence. Shi'an recognized him as an extraordinary child, kept him, and taught him, and his examination work grew conspicuous day by day. Later he passed the examinations and entered service, even ranking ahead of Shi'an. When Shi'an was made Drafting Edict Officer, the appointment decree was in Yucheng's wording.

士安沒後，真宗謂寇準等曰：「畢士安，善人也，事朕南府、東宮，以至輔相。飭躬慎行，有古人之風，遽此淪沒，深可悼惜。」及王旦為相，面奏：「陛下前稱畢士安清慎如古人，在位聞之感歎。仕至輔相，而四方無田園居第，沒未終喪，家用已屈，真不負陛下所知。然使其家假貸為生，宜有以周之者，竊謂當出上恩，非臣敢為私惠。」真宗感歎，賜白金五千兩。

After Shi'an's death, Emperor Zhenzong said to Kou Zhun and others, "Bi Shi'an was a good man. He served me from the Southern Palace and Eastern Palace all the way to chief minister. He disciplined himself and acted with care, bearing the air of the ancients. To perish so suddenly is deeply to be mourned." When Wang Dan became chief minister he addressed the throne, "Your Majesty formerly praised Bi Shi'an as pure and cautious like the ancients. Hearing this while in office I was moved to sigh. He rose to chief minister yet had no estate or residence anywhere in the realm. Before mourning was finished his household funds were exhausted — truly he did not betray Your Majesty's recognition. Yet if his family must borrow to live, they ought to receive assistance. I privately believe imperial grace should be extended — this is not something your subject dares offer as private favor." Emperor Zhenzong was deeply moved and granted five thousand taels of silver.

子世長至衛尉卿，慶長至大府卿。孫從善光祿少卿，從古駕部郎中，從厚、從誨檢校水部員外郎，從簡博羅令，從道殿中丞，從範山南西道節度推官，從益太常寺太祝，從周朝散郎、知洋州。曾孫仲達、仲偃仕至郡守，仲衍、仲游、仲愈。

His son Shichang rose to Chamberlain for Imperial Insignia, and Qingchang to Chamberlain for the Grand Treasury. Among his grandsons, Congshan became Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Entertainments and Conggu Director of the Transport Bureau; Conghou and Conghui served as Supernumerary Vice Directors of the Ministry of Works; Congjian as magistrate of Boluo; Congdao as Palace Censor; Congfan as aide to the military commissioner of Shannan West Circuit; Congyi as Chief Sacrificial Officer of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices; and Congzhou as Gentleman for Miscellaneous Uses and prefect of Yang Prefecture. Among his great-grandsons, Zhongda and Zhongyan became prefects; Zhong Yan, Zhong You, and Zhong Yu are also counted among them.

〈曾孫〉仲衍

〈Great-Grandsons〉 Zhong Yan

仲衍，字夷仲，以蔭為陽翟主簿。張昪，縣人也，方鎮許，請於朝，欲興鄉校。既具材計工，又聽民自以其力輸助。邑子馬宏以口舌橫閭里，謾謂諸豪曰：「張公興學，而縣令乃因以取諸民，由十百而至千萬未已也，君將不堪。誠捐百金予我，我能止役。」豪信其能，予百金。宏即詣府宣言：「縣吏盡私為學之費，又將賦於民。」昪果疑焉，敕縣且止，又揭其事於道。令欲上疏辯，仲衍曰：「亡益也，不如取宏治之，不辯自直矣。」會攝縣事，即逮捕驗治，五日得其姦，言於昪，流宏鄧州，一縣相賀。給事中張問居里中，謂仲衍曰：「諺云『鋤一惡，長十善』，君之謂也。」

Zhong Yan, courtesy name Yizhong, received appointment through hereditary privilege as registrar of Yangdi County. Zhang Bian, a native of the county, was then governing Xu Prefecture. He memorialized the court seeking to establish a local school. After materials were readied and labor costs estimated, the people were also permitted to volunteer their own labor. Ma Hong, a local man who lorded over the neighborhood with his tongue, lied to the gentry magnates: "Master Zhang is founding a school, but the magistrate will use it to squeeze the people — from tens and hundreds to thousands and millions without end. You will not be able to stand it. Give me a hundred in gold in earnest, and I can halt the labor levy. The magnates believed him and paid him a hundred in gold. Hong went at once to the prefecture and declared: "The county clerks are embezzling the school funds and will levy taxes on the people again. Bian did grow suspicious, ordered the county to suspend work for the time being, and posted the accusation along the roads. The magistrate wanted to submit a memorial in his own defense. Zhong Yan said, "That will do no good. Better to arrest Hong and try him — without arguing, your innocence will speak for itself. As it happened he was acting magistrate. He arrested Hong at once and investigated; within five days the fraud was exposed. He reported to Bian, and Hong was exiled to Deng Prefecture. The whole county rejoiced. Supervising Secretary Zhang Wen, a neighbor in the district, said to Zhong Yan, "The proverb runs, 'Uproot one evil and ten virtues grow.' That is you."

舉進士中第，調沈丘令。歐陽修、呂公著薦之，入司農為主簿，升丞。吳充引為中書檢正。奉使契丹，宴射連破的，眾驚異之。且偉其姿容，密使人取其衣為度，制服以賜。時預其元會，盡能記其朝儀節奏，圖畫歸獻。後錢勰出使，契丹主猶問：「畢少卿何官？今安在？」

He passed the metropolitan examination and was posted as magistrate of Shenqiu. Recommended by Ouyang Xiu and Lü Gongzhu, he entered the Ministry of Revenue as registrar and was promoted to vice director. Wu Chong appointed him collating editor of the Secretariat. On an embassy to the Khitan, at a banquet archery contest he hit the target again and again, to everyone's astonishment. They also admired his stature and bearing. Secretly they had his garments measured, had robes made to fit, and bestowed them on him. He attended their New Year assembly, memorized the full order and rhythm of court ritual, and returned with illustrated records to present at court. Later, when Qian Yi went on embassy, the Khitan ruler still asked, "What office does Vice Director Bi hold? Where is he now?"

王珪與充不相能，以仲衍為充所用，數求罪過欲傷之，卒無可乘，但留滯不遷。經四年，乃以秘閣校理同知太常禮院，為官制局檢討官，制文字千萬計，區別分類，損益刪補，皆曲盡其當。凡從中問其事，必須仲衍然後報，他人不知也。撰《中書備對》三十卷，士大夫家爭傳其書。

Wang Gui and Wu Chong were at odds. Because Zhong Yan was Wu Chong's man, Gui repeatedly hunted for faults with which to injure him but never found an opening — he could only leave him stuck without promotion. After four years he was made collating editor of the Secretariat Archive and concurrent administrator of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices ritual office, and served as review officer of the office-reform bureau. He drafted texts numbering in the tens of millions of characters, sorting, revising, adding and deleting until every detail was exactly right. Whenever the court inquired about such matters, the answer had to come from Zhong Yan before a reply could be sent — no one else knew the material. He compiled thirty fascicles of Reference Replies for the Secretariat, and scholar-official households competed to copy and circulate the work.

高麗使入貢，詔館之。上元夕，與使者宴東闕下，作詩誦聖德，神宗次韻賜焉，當時以為寵。官制行，帝自擢起居郎，王珪留除命，謂為太峻，爭於前。帝連稱曰：「是當得爾。」未幾，暴得疾，一夕卒，年四十三。帝遣中使唁其家，賻錢五十萬。

When Goryeo envoys arrived with tribute, an edict directed that they be lodged under his care. On Lantern Festival night he feasted the envoys below the eastern gate and composed poetry praising imperial virtue. Emperor Shenzong responded in matching rhymes — at the time this was taken as high favor. When the new official system took effect, the Emperor personally promoted him to Diary Reader. Wang Gui withheld the appointment decree, calling the rank too steep, and argued the point before the throne. The Emperor said again and again, "He deserves exactly this. Before long he fell suddenly ill and died overnight, aged forty-three. The Emperor sent a palace envoy to condole with his family and granted fifty thousand in funeral assistance.

〈曾孫〉仲游

〈Great-Grandsons〉 Zhong You

仲游，字公叔，與仲衍同登第，調壽丘柘城主簿、羅山令、環慶轉運司干辦公事。從高遵裕西征，運期迫遽，陝西八十縣饋輓之夫三十萬，一旦悉集，轉運使范純粹、李察度受其賦而給之食，必曠日乃可。會僚屬議，皆不知所為，以諉仲游。仲游集諸縣吏，令先效金帛緡錢之最，戒勿啟扃鐍，共簿其名數以為質，預飭其斛量數千，洞撤倉庾牆壁，使贏糧者至其所，人自𣂏槩，輸其半而以半自給，不終朝霍然而散。翌日，大軍遂行。純粹、察歎且謝曰：「非君幾敗吾事。」

Zhong You, courtesy name Gongshu, passed the examinations together with Zhong Yan. He served as registrar of Shouqiu and Zhecheng, magistrate of Luoshan, and staff officer on the Huanqing Transport Commission. When he followed Gao Zunyu on the western campaign, transport deadlines were tight. Three hundred thousand corvée haulers from eighty Shaanxi counties gathered overnight. Transport commissioners Fan Chunzui and Li Cha intended to collect their labor dues first and only then issue rations — which would necessarily take days. When the staff met to discuss the crisis, no one knew what to do and pushed the problem onto Zhong You. Zhong You gathered the county clerks, had each pledge his maximum in gold, silk, and cash, forbade them to break seals, and recorded all names and amounts as bond. He prepared thousands of bushel measures in advance, opened the granaries and knocked down the walls so grain carriers could reach them directly. Each man measured his own ration, turned in half and kept half for himself — and before noon the whole host had dispersed. The next day the main army marched. Chunzui and Cha sighed and thanked him: "Without you we would almost have ruined the whole operation."

元祐初，為軍器衛尉丞。召試學士院，同策問者九人，乃黃庭堅、張耒、晁補之輩。蘇軾異其文，擢為第一。加集賢校理、開封府推官，出提點河東路刑獄。韓縝以故相在太原，按視如列郡，縝奴告有卒剽其衣於公堂之側，縝怒，將置卒於理。仲游曰：「奴衣服鮮薄而敢掠之於帥牙，非人情也。」取以付獄治，卒得免。太原銅器名天下，獨不市一物，懼人以為矯也，且行，買二茶匕而去。縝曰：「如公叔可謂真清矣。」

At the beginning of the Yuanyou era he served as Vice Director of the Armory and Ceremonials. He was summoned to the Hanlin examination hall. Nine others answered the policy questions with him, among them Huang Tingjian, Zhang Lei, and Chao Buzhi. Su Shi was struck by his essay and placed him first. He was further appointed collating editor of the Hall of Assembled Worthies and investigating officer of Kaifeng prefecture, then sent out as judicial intendant of Hedong East Circuit. Han Zhen, a former chief minister, was in Taiyuan and inspected the circuit as though it were an ordinary prefecture. One of Zhen's slaves reported that a soldier had stripped him of his clothes beside the public hall. Zhen was enraged and meant to prosecute the soldier. Zhong You said, "The slave's clothes were fine and light — yet he claims robbery at the commander's very gate? That is not credible. He took the slave into custody for investigation, and the soldier was cleared. Taiyuan bronze was famed throughout the realm, yet he alone bought nothing, fearing people would call it affectation. As he was about to leave, he bought two tea spoons and went. Zhen said, "A man like Gongshu may truly be called incorruptible."

召拜職方、司勳二員外郎，改秘閣校理、知耀州。是歲大旱，仲游先民之未飢，揭喻境內曰：「郡振施與平糴若干萬石。」實虛張其數。富室知有備，亦相勸發廩。凡民就食者十七萬九千口，無一人去其鄉。

He was summoned and appointed Vice Director of both the Bureau of Posts and the Bureau of Honors, then transferred to collating editor of the Secretariat Archive and prefect of Yao Prefecture. That year brought severe drought. Before the people went hungry, Zhong You posted notices throughout the prefecture: "The commandery will distribute relief grain and sell at fair price — several million bushels in all. In fact he had greatly inflated the number. Wealthy households, seeing that reserves were in place, also urged one another to open their storehouses. In all, 179,000 people received rations, and not one abandoned his home district.

徽宗時，歷知鄭、鄆二州，京東、淮南轉運副使。入為吏部郎中，言孔子廟自顏回以降，皆爵命於朝，冠冕居正，而子鯉、孫伋乃野服幅巾以祭，為不稱。詔皆追侯之。

Under Emperor Huizong he successively governed Zheng and Yun prefectures and served as deputy transport commissioner for Jingdong and Huainan. After entering office as Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel, he observed that in Confucius's temple everyone from Yan Hui downward held court rank and wore official caps in the central place, while Zili and Sun Ji sacrificed in plain dress and headcloths — which he said was unfitting. An edict ordered that they all be posthumously ennobled as marquises.

仲游早受知於司馬光、呂公著，不及用。范純仁尤知之，當國時，又適居母喪，故未嘗得尺寸進。然亦墮黨籍，坎𡒄散秩而終，年七十五。

Zhong You had won early recognition from Sima Guang and Lü Gongzhu, yet was never put to use in time. Fan Chunren knew him especially well, but when Chunren held power Zhong You happened to be in mourning for his mother, so he never received even the smallest promotion. He nevertheless fell into the faction list as well and ended his days in obstructed, minor posts, dying at seventy-five.

仲游為文切於事理而有根柢，不為浮誇詭誕、戲弄不莊之語。蘇軾在館閣，頗以言語文章規切時政。仲游憂其及禍，貽書戒之曰：

Zhong You's prose cut straight to the logic of affairs and rested on solid foundations. He wrote none of the inflated, bizarre, or flippantly irreverent language common in his day. While serving in the Hanlin archives, Su Shi often used speech and essays to criticize current policy. Fearing that disaster would reach him, Zhong You sent a letter of warning:

「孟軻不得已而後辯，孔子欲無言，古人所以精謀極慮，固功業而養壽命者，未嘗不出乎此。君自立朝以來，禍福利害繫身者未嘗言，顧直惜其言爾。夫言語之累，不特出口者為言，其形於詩歌、贊於賦頌、託於碑銘、著於序記者，亦語言也。今知畏於口而未畏於文，是其所是則見是者喜，非其所非則蒙非者怨；喜者未能濟君之謀，而怨者或已敗君之事矣。天下論君之文，如孫臏之用兵，扁鵲之醫疾，固所指名者矣。雖無是非之言，猶有是非之疑，又況其有耶？官非諫臣，職非御史，而非是人所未是，危身觸諱以游其間，殆猶抱石而救溺也。」

"Mencius argued only when he could not do otherwise; Confucius wished to be without words. Among the ancients, those who through careful planning secured their achievements and preserved their lives never strayed from this principle. Since you entered court you have never spoken of fortune or misfortune touching your own person — you have simply been sparing of words. The burden of language is not limited to what leaves the mouth. What takes shape in song, appears in rhapsodies and eulogies, is entrusted to stele inscriptions, or is set down in prefaces and records — that too is language. Now you fear the mouth but not the written word. When you affirm what others affirm, those who see the affirmation rejoice; when you deny what others deny, those who are denied grow resentful; those who rejoice cannot advance your designs, while those who resent you may already have ruined your affairs. The realm reads your writing as it reads Sun Bin's warfare or Bian Que's medicine — your targets are already plain. Even without explicit words of right and wrong, suspicion of right and wrong remains — how much more when such words are truly there? Your office is not that of remonstrance officer, your duty not that of censor — yet you deny what others have not denied and risk your person by touching taboos as you move among them. That is nearly like embracing a stone to save a drowning man."

司馬光為政，反王安石所為，仲游予之書曰：

When Sima Guang took power and reversed Wang Anshi's policies, Zhong You sent him a letter saying:

「昔安石以興作之說動先帝，而患財之不足也，故凡政之可以得民財者無不用。蓋散青苗、置市易、斂役錢、變鹽法者，事也；而欲興作、患不足者，情也。苟未能杜其興作之情，而徒欲禁其散斂變置之事，是以百說而百不行。今遂廢青苗，罷市易，蠲役錢，去鹽法，凡號為利而傷民者，一掃而更之，則向來用事於新法者必不喜矣。不喜之人，必不但曰『青苗不可廢，市易不可罷，役錢不可蠲，鹽法不可去』，必操不足之情，言不足之事，以動上意，雖致石人而使聽之，猶將動也。如是，則廢者可復散，罷者可復置，蠲者可復斂，去者可復存矣。則不足之情，可不預治哉？

"In the past Wang Anshi moved the late Emperor with talk of grand undertakings and worried that funds were insufficient; therefore every policy that could draw wealth from the people was put to use. Dispersing Green Sprouts loans, establishing the Market Exchange, collecting labor-exemption money, and reforming the salt laws — these were matters; the wish to undertake grand projects and the anxiety over insufficiency were dispositions. If one cannot stop the disposition toward grand undertakings and merely tries to forbid the matters of dispersing, collecting, and rearranging revenue, then a hundred proposals will be made and a hundred will fail. Now Green Sprouts is abolished, the Market Exchange halted, labor-exemption money remitted, and the salt laws removed — every measure called profit at the people's expense is swept away and replaced. Those who formerly wielded the New Policies will surely be displeased. Those who are displeased will not merely say, "Green Sprouts cannot be abolished, the Market Exchange cannot be halted, labor-exemption money cannot be remitted, the salt laws cannot be removed." They will seize on the disposition of insufficiency and speak of matters of insufficiency to move the sovereign's mind — even if a stone man were made to listen, he would still be moved. If so, what was abolished can again be dispersed, what was halted can again be established, what was remitted can again be collected, and what was removed can again survive. Should not the disposition of insufficiency be treated in advance?

為今之策，當大舉天下之計，深明出入之數，以諸路所積之錢粟一歸地官，使經費可支二十年之用。數年之間，又將十倍於今日。使天子曉然知天下之餘於財也，則不足之論不得陳於前，然後所論新法者，始可永罷而不可行矣。

The policy for today should be to take comprehensive account of the realm's finances, clarify revenues and expenditures in depth, and gather all cash and grain accumulated in the circuits under the Ministry of Revenue so that operating expenses can be met for twenty years. Within a few years the stores will again be ten times what they are today. If the Son of Heaven clearly sees that the realm abounds in wealth, then talk of insufficiency cannot be set before him — only then can the New Policies be permanently halted and kept from execution.

昔安石之居位也，中外莫非其人，故其法能行。今欲救前日之敝，而左右侍從、職司、使者，十有七八皆安石之徒，雖起二三舊臣，用六七君子，然累百之中存基十數，烏在其勢之可為也。勢未可為而欲為之，則青苗雖廢將復散，況未廢乎？市易雖罷且復置，況未罷乎？役錢、鹽法亦莫不然。以此救前日之敝，如人久病而少間，其父子兄弟喜見顏色而未敢賀者，以其病之猶在也。」

When Wang Anshi held office, inside and outside the court there were almost none who were not his men; therefore his laws could be enforced. Now you wish to remedy the abuses of earlier days, yet seven or eight tenths of those at the sovereign's side, in office, and on commission are Wang Anshi's followers. Even if two or three old ministers are raised up and six or seven gentlemen employed, of several hundred only a dozen or so remain — how can the situation be workable? When the situation is not workable yet one tries to work it, then even if Green Sprouts is abolished it will again be dispersed — how much more when it is not yet abolished? Even if the Market Exchange is halted it will again be established — how much more when it is not yet halted? Labor-exemption money and the salt laws are no different. To remedy the abuses of earlier days in this way is like a man long ill who shows a little improvement: father, sons, and brothers are glad to see color return to his face yet dare not congratulate him, because the illness is still there."

光、軾得書聳然，竟如其慮。

Guang and Shi received the letter and started — in the end events unfolded exactly as he had foreseen.

仲愈歷國子監丞、諸王府侍講、知鳳翔府，坐兄仲游陷黨籍，例廢黜。徽宗曰：「畢仲衍被遇先帝，可除罪籍。」以仲愈為都官郎中，擢秘書少監，卒。

Zhong Yu served as vice director of the Directorate of Education, lecturer in the princes' households, and prefect of Fengxiang. Because his elder brother Zhong You fell into the faction list, he was dismissed by precedent. Emperor Huizong said, "Bi Zhongyan received favor from the late Emperor; he may be removed from the proscribed registry. Zhong Yu was appointed Vice Director of the Ministry of Justice, promoted to Vice Director of the Secretariat, and died.

寇準，字平仲，華州下邽人也。父相，晉開運中，應辟為魏王府記室參軍。準少英邁，通《春秋》三傳。年十九，舉進士。太宗取人，多臨軒顧問，年少者往往罷去。或教準增年，答曰：「準方進取，可欺君邪？」後中第，授大理評事，知歸州巴東、大名府成安縣。每期會賦役，未嘗輒出符移，唯具鄉里姓名揭縣門，百姓莫敢後期。累遷殿中丞、通判鄆州。召試學士院，授右正言、直史館，為三司度支推官，轉鹽鐵判官。會詔百官言事，而準極陳利害，帝益器重之。擢尚書虞部郎中、樞密院直學士，判吏部東銓。嘗奏事殿中，語不合，帝怒起，準輒引帝衣，令帝復坐，事決乃退。上由是嘉之，曰：「朕得寇準，猶文皇之得魏徵也。」

Kou Zhun, courtesy name Pingzhong, was a native of Xiayu in Hua Prefecture. His father Xiang, during the Kaiyun era of Later Jin, accepted summons as recorder of the Prince of Wei's establishment. In youth Kou Zhun was brilliant and far-reaching, mastering the three commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals. At nineteen he passed the civil service examination. In selecting officials, Emperor Taizong often questioned candidates in person at the imperial hall. Young men were frequently sent away. Some urged Kou Zhun to inflate his age. He replied, "I am just beginning my career — how could I deceive the Emperor?" Later he passed the examination. He was appointed case reviewer of the Court of Judicial Review and put in charge of Badong in Guizhou and Cheng'an County in Daming Prefecture. Whenever taxes and corvée labor came due, he never casually issued official summons. He merely posted residents' names and hamlets at the county gate, and no one dared miss the deadline. He rose through successive appointments to palace attendant and administrative assistant at Yanzhou. Summoned for examination at the Hanlin Academy, he received appointment as Right Remonstrance Grandee and compiler in the Historiography Institute, served as investigating officer of the Revenue Bureau of the Three Commissions, and was then transferred to salt and iron commissioner. When an edict called on all officials to speak on affairs of state, Kou Zhun laid out the pros and cons at length, and the Emperor came to esteem him all the more. He was promoted to Gentleman of the Department of Parks and Forests in the Ministry of Works and Hanlin Academician of the Bureau of Military Affairs, and put in charge of the eastern selection board of the Ministry of Personnel. Once, while reporting in the hall, their words failed to agree. The Emperor rose in anger. Kou Zhun immediately seized the Emperor's robe and made him sit again; he withdrew only after the matter was settled. The Emperor thereupon praised him, saying, "In gaining Kou Zhun, I am like Emperor Taizong of Tang in gaining Wei Zheng."

淳化二年春，大旱，太宗延近臣問時政得失，眾以天數對。準對曰：「《洪範》天人之際，應若影響，大旱之證，蓋刑有所不平也。」太宗怒，起入禁中。頃之，召準問所以不平狀，準曰：「願召二府至，臣即言之。」有詔召二府入，準乃言曰：「頃者祖吉、王淮皆侮法受賕，吉贓少乃伏誅；淮以參政沔之弟，盜主守財至千萬，止杖，仍復其官，非不平而何？」太宗以問沔，沔頓首謝，於是切責沔，而知準為可用矣。即拜準左諫議大夫、樞密副使，改同知院事。

In the spring of the second year of Chunhua, a severe drought struck. Emperor Taizong summoned his close ministers to discuss what was right and wrong in current governance. Most answered in terms of Heaven's will. Kou Zhun answered, "The Hong Fan treats the bond between Heaven and man as responding like shadow to form. This great drought is a sign that punishments have been unjust." Emperor Taizong grew angry, rose, and withdrew into the inner palace. Before long he summoned Kou Zhun and asked for particulars of the injustice. Kou Zhun said, "Summon the two bureaus, and I will speak." An edict summoned the two bureaus. Kou Zhun then said, "Recently Zu Ji and Wang Huai both flouted the law and accepted bribes. Ji, whose illicit gains were comparatively small, was executed; Huai, as younger brother of Participating Grand Counselor Li Mian, embezzled funds under his custody to the tune of ten million, yet received only a beating with the rod and was restored to office — what is this if not injustice?" Emperor Taizong questioned Li Mian. Mian bowed his head and apologized. The Emperor then sharply rebuked him and came to recognize that Kou Zhun was a man he could use. He immediately appointed Kou Zhun Left Remonstrance Grandee and Vice Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs, with the concurrent title co-administrator of the bureau.

準與知院張遜數爭事上前。他日，與溫仲舒偕行，道逢狂人迎馬呼萬歲，判左金吾王賓與遜雅相善，遜嗾上其事。準引仲舒為證，遜令賓獨奏，其辭頗厲，且互斥其短。帝怒，謫遜，準亦罷知青州。

Kou Zhun and the bureau commissioner Zhang Xun often argued before the Emperor. One day, walking with Wen Zhongshu, they met a madman who ran up to their horses crying "Long live the Emperor!" Left Commandant of Golden Guards Wang Bin was close to Zhang Xun, and Xun prompted the Emperor regarding the incident. Kou Zhun cited Zhongshu as witness. Xun had Bin report alone. The language was harsh, and they mutually exposed one another's faults. The Emperor grew angry, demoted Zhang Xun, and also dismissed Kou Zhun from his post as prefect of Qingzhou.

帝顧準厚，既行，念之，常不樂。語左右曰：「寇準在青州樂乎？」對曰：「準得善藩，當不苦也」數日，輒復問。左右揣帝意且復召用準，因對曰：「陛下思準不少忘，聞準日縱酒，未知亦念陛下乎？」帝默然。明年，召拜參知政事。

Emperor Taizong had deep affection for Kou Zhun. After Kou Zhun left, he missed him and was often melancholy. He said to those around him, "Is Kou Zhun happy in Qingzhou?" They answered, "Kou Zhun has been given a pleasant prefecture — he is probably not suffering." Within days he asked again. Those around him guessed the Emperor intended to recall Kou Zhun and answered, "Your Majesty thinks of Kou Zhun and seldom forgets him. I hear Kou Zhun drinks heavily every day — one wonders whether he also thinks of Your Majesty?" The Emperor fell silent. The next year Kou Zhun was recalled and appointed Participant in Governance.

自唐末，蕃戶有居渭南者。溫仲舒知秦州，驅之渭北，立堡柵以限其往來。太宗覽奏不懌，曰：「古羌戎尚雜處伊、洛，彼蕃夷易動難安，一有調發，將重困吾關中矣。」準言：「唐宋璟不賞邊功，卒致開元太平。疆埸之臣邀功以稔禍，深可戒也。」帝因命準使渭北，安撫族帳，而徙仲舒鳳翔。

Since the end of the Tang, barbarian households had settled south of the Wei River. When Wen Zhongshu served as prefect of Qinzhou, he drove them north of the Wei and built stockades to restrict their movements. Emperor Taizong read the memorial with displeasure and said, "In antiquity the Qiang and Rong still lived among the people along the Yi and Luo. Those frontier tribes are easily stirred and hard to pacify. Once orders for mobilization go out, our Guanzhong region will be severely burdened." Kou Zhun said, "Under the Tang, Song Jing refused to reward frontier achievements, and in the end helped bring about the peace of the Kaiyuan reign. When frontier officials seek credit and thereby accumulate disaster, the lesson is grave indeed." The Emperor thereupon sent Kou Zhun north of the Wei to pacify the tribal households and transferred Wen Zhongshu to Fengxiang.

至道元年，加給事中。時太宗在位久，馮拯等上疏乞立儲貳，帝怒，斥之嶺南，中外無敢言者。準初自青州召還，入見，帝足創甚，自褰衣以示準，且曰：「卿來何緩耶？」準對曰：「臣非召不得至京師。」帝曰：「朕諸子孰可以付神器者？」準曰：「陛下為天下擇君，謀及婦人、中官，不可也；謀及近臣，不可也；唯陛下擇所以副天下望者。」帝俯首久之，屏左右曰：「襄王可乎？」準曰：「知子莫若父，聖慮既以為可，願即決定。」帝遂以襄王為開封尹，改封壽王，於是立為皇太子。廟見還，京師之人擁道喜躍，曰：「少年天子也。」帝聞之不懌，召準謂曰：「人心遽屬太子，欲置我何地？」準再拜賀曰：「此社稷之福也。」帝入語後嬪，宮中皆前賀。復出，延準飲，極醉而罷。

In the first year of Zhidao he was additionally appointed Supervising Secretary. By then Emperor Taizong had reigned a long while. Feng Zheng and others submitted a memorial requesting that a crown prince be named. The Emperor grew angry and banished them to Lingnan. No one inside or outside the court dared speak further. When Kou Zhun was first recalled from Qingzhou and granted an audience, the Emperor's foot wound was severe. He lifted his own robe to show Kou Zhun and said, "Why did you take so long to come?" Kou Zhun answered, "I could not reach the capital unless summoned." The Emperor said, "Which of my sons can be entrusted with the imperial succession?" Kou Zhun said, "Your Majesty is choosing a ruler for the realm. You must not consult women or eunuchs; you must not consult close ministers, either; only Your Majesty should choose one who fulfills the hopes of the realm." The Emperor bowed his head a long while, dismissed those around him, and said, "Would the Prince of Xiang do?" Kou Zhun said, "No one knows a son like his father. Since Your Majesty already deems him suitable, please decide at once." The Emperor thereupon made the Prince of Xiang Commissioner of Kaifeng, renamed him Prince of Shou, and established him as crown prince. After the temple audience and his return, the people of the capital thronged the road in delight, crying, "A young Son of Heaven!" The Emperor heard this with displeasure, summoned Kou Zhun, and said, "The people's hearts have suddenly turned to the crown prince — where does that leave me?" Kou Zhun bowed twice in congratulations and said, "This is a blessing for the altars of state." The Emperor went inside to tell the consorts, and throughout the palace all came forward to congratulate. He came out again, invited Kou Zhun to drink, and sent him away only when he was thoroughly drunk.

二年，祠南郊，中外官皆進秩。準素所喜者多得臺省清要官，所惡不及知者退序進之。彭惟節位素居馮拯下，拯轉虞部員外郎，惟節轉屯田員外郎，章奏列銜，惟節猶處其下。準怒，堂帖戒拯毋亂朝制。拯憤極，陳準擅權，又條上嶺南官吏除拜不平數事。廣東轉運使康戩亦言：呂端、張洎、李昌齡皆準所引，端德之，洎能曲奉準，而昌齡畏愞，不敢與準抗，故得以任胸臆，亂經制。太宗怒，準適祀太廟攝事，召責端等。端曰：「準性剛自任，臣等不欲數爭，慮傷國體。」因再拜請罪。及準入對，帝語及馮拯事，自辯。帝曰：「若廷辯，失執政體。」準猶力爭不已，又持中書簿論曲直於帝前，帝益不悅，因歎曰：「鼠雀尚知人意，況人乎？」遂罷準知鄧州。

In the second year, when sacrifices were offered at the Southern Suburb, officials throughout the government all received promotions in rank. Those Kou Zhun favored mostly received coveted posts in the censorate and secretariat. Those he disliked, before they even knew it, were pushed back in the promotion queue. Peng Weijie's rank had always been below Feng Zheng's. Zheng was promoted to Assistant Director of the Department of Parks and Forests and Weijie to Assistant Director of the Department of Public Works, but when their names appeared together on memorials, Weijie still ranked below. Kou Zhun grew angry and issued an office notice warning Feng Zheng not to flout court regulations. Feng Zheng was furious. He accused Kou Zhun of arrogating authority and itemized several cases of unjust appointments among Lingnan officials. Guangdong Transport Commissioner Kang Zhan also said that Lu Duan, Zhang Zhi, and Li Changling had all been promoted by Kou Zhun. Duan admired his integrity, Zhi could flatter him, and Changling was timid and dared not oppose him — so Kou Zhun indulged his whims and disrupted established regulations. Emperor Taizong grew angry. Kou Zhun happened to be officiating at sacrifices at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. The Emperor summoned Lu Duan and the others and rebuked them. Lu Duan said, "Kou Zhun is by nature rigid and self-willed. We did not wish to argue with him repeatedly, fearing harm to the dignity of state." He bowed twice and asked forgiveness. When Kou Zhun entered for audience, the Emperor brought up the Feng Zheng affair, and Kou Zhun defended himself. The Emperor said, "Open debate in court undermines the dignity of the governing administration." Kou Zhun still argued fiercely, and even brought the Secretariat register before the Emperor to argue right and wrong. The Emperor grew all the more displeased and sighed, "Even mice and sparrows know what people want — how much more so men?" He then dismissed Kou Zhun from his post as prefect of Dengzhou.

真宗即位，遷尚書工部侍郎。咸平初，徙河陽，改同州。三年，朝京師，行次閿鄉，又徙鳳翔府。帝幸大名，詔赴行在所，遷刑部，權知開封府。六年，遷兵部，為三司使。時合鹽鐵、度支、戶部為一使，真宗命準裁定，遂以六判官分掌之，繁簡始適中。

When Emperor Zhenzong ascended the throne, Kou Zhun was transferred to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works. At the beginning of Xianping he was transferred to Heyang and then reassigned to Tongzhou. In the third year, while traveling to the capital for court, he was transferred again to Fengxiang Prefecture when he reached Wenxiang. When the Emperor visited Daming, an edict ordered Kou Zhun to his temporary residence. He was transferred to the Ministry of Justice and given provisional charge of Kaifeng Prefecture. In the sixth year he was transferred to the Ministry of War and made commissioner of the Three Commissions. At the time the salt and iron, revenue, and household bureaus were combined into one commission. Emperor Zhenzong ordered Kou Zhun to determine the arrangement. He divided oversight among six deputy commissioners, and the workload was finally brought into balance.

帝久欲相準，患其剛直難獨任。景德元年，以畢士安參知政事，逾月，並命同中書門下平章事，準以集賢殿大學士位士安下。是時，契丹內寇，縱游騎掠深、祁間，小不利輒引去，徜徉無鬥意。準曰：「是狃我也。請練師命將，簡驍銳據要害以備之。」是冬，契丹果大入。急書一夕凡五至，準不發，飲笑自如。明日，同列以聞，帝大駭，以問準。準曰：「陛下欲了此，不過五日爾。」因請帝幸澶州。同列懼，欲退，準止之，令候駕起。帝難之，欲還內，準曰：「陛下入則臣不得見，大事去矣，請毋還而行。」帝乃議親征，召群臣問方略。

The Emperor had long wished to make Kou Zhun chief minister, but feared his rigidity and uprightness made him difficult to employ on his own. In the first year of Jingde, Bi Shi'an was appointed Participant in Governance. More than a month later both were appointed Grand Counselors of State. Kou Zhun, as Hanlin Academician of the Hall for Cherishing Worthies, ranked below Bi Shi'an. At this time the Khitans raided deep into Song territory. Their roaming cavalry plundered between Shenzhou and Qizhou. At the slightest setback they withdrew and wandered at leisure, showing no desire to fight. Kou Zhun said, "They are trying to make us complacent. Train the troops, appoint generals, and post picked elite forces at strategic points to guard against them." That winter the Khitans indeed invaded in force. Urgent dispatches arrived five times in one night. Kou Zhun did not open them but drank and laughed as usual. The next day his colleagues reported this to the Emperor. The Emperor was greatly alarmed and questioned Kou Zhun. Kou Zhun said, "If Your Majesty wishes to settle this affair, it will take no more than five days." He then asked the Emperor to proceed to Chuanzhou. His colleagues were frightened and wished to withdraw. Kou Zhun stopped them and ordered them to wait until the imperial procession set out. The Emperor hesitated and wanted to go back inside. Kou Zhun said, "If Your Majesty withdraws, I will not be able to see you and the great affair will be lost. Please do not go back — proceed at once." The Emperor then deliberated on leading the campaign in person and summoned the grand assembly to ask their counsel.

既而契丹圍瀛州，直犯貝、魏，中外震駭。參知政事王欽若，江南人也，請幸金陵。陳堯叟，蜀人也，請幸成都。帝問準，準心知二人謀，乃陽若不知，曰：「誰為陛下畫此策者，罪可誅也。今陛下神武，將臣協和，若大駕親征，賊自當遁去。不然，出奇以撓其謀，堅守以老其師，勞佚之勢，我得勝算矣。奈何棄廟社欲幸楚、蜀遠地，所在人心崩潰，賊乘勢深入，天下可復保邪？」遂請帝幸澶州。

Before long the Khitans besieged Yingzhou and drove straight at Bei and Wei. Court and country alike were shaken with terror. Participating Grand Counselor Wang Qinruo, a native of Jiangnan, urged the Emperor to proceed to Jinling. Chen Yaosou, a native of Shu, urged the Emperor to proceed to Chengdu. The Emperor asked Kou Zhun. Kou Zhun knew the two men were behind the proposal, but feigned ignorance and said, "Whoever devised this strategy for Your Majesty deserves death. Your Majesty is divinely martial, and generals and ministers are in harmony. If you lead the campaign in person, the enemy will flee of their own accord. If not, strike with unexpected moves to thwart their designs and hold firm to wear down their troops. With fatigue and rest weighing in our favor, victory is assured. How can we abandon the altars of state and flee to distant Jinling or Chengdu? Hearts will collapse wherever you go, and the enemy will ride the momentum and strike deep — how can the realm be preserved?" He then asked the Emperor to proceed to Chuanzhou.

及至南城，契丹兵方盛，眾請駐蹕以覘軍勢。準固請曰：「陛下不過河，則人心益危，敵氣未懾，非所以取威決勝也。且王超領勁兵屯中山以扼其亢，李繼隆、石保吉分大陣以扼其左右肘，四方征鎮赴援者日至，何疑而不進？」眾議畢懼，準力爭之，不決。出遇高瓊於屏間，謂曰：「太尉受國恩，今日有以報乎？」對曰：「瓊武人，願效死。」準復入對，瓊隨立庭下，準厲聲曰：「陛下不以臣言為然，盍試問瓊等？」瓊即仰奏曰：「寇準言是。」準曰：「機不可失，宜趣駕。」瓊即麾衛士進輦，帝遂渡河，御北城門樓，遠近望見御蓋，踴躍歡呼，聲聞數十里。契丹相視驚愕，不能成列。

When they reached the southern city, Khitan forces were at full strength. Many urged halting the imperial progress to assess the military situation. Kou Zhun pressed firmly: "If Your Majesty does not cross the river, hearts will grow more fearful and the enemy will not be cowed — this is not how to display imperial might and decide the battle. Moreover, Wang Chao holds elite troops at Zhongshan to check their throat; Li Jilong and Shi Baoji deploy great formations to check their flanks. Reinforcements from expeditionary commands arrive daily from all quarters — why hesitate to advance?" Deliberation ended in fear. Kou Zhun argued fiercely, but no decision was reached. On his way out he met Gao Qiong between the screens and said, "Grand Commandant, you have received the state's favor — can you repay it today?" He answered, "I am a military man — I am ready to die in your service." Kou Zhun re-entered for audience. Gao Qiong followed and stood in the courtyard below. Kou Zhun said sternly, "If Your Majesty does not accept my counsel, why not ask Gao Qiong and the others?" Gao Qiong looked up and reported, "Kou Zhun is right." Kou Zhun said, "The moment must not be lost — urge the imperial carriage forward." Gao Qiong waved the imperial guards to advance the carriage. The Emperor crossed the river and mounted the northern gate tower. From far and near all who saw the imperial canopy leaped and shouted for joy; their cries carried for dozens of li. The Khitan stared at one another in shock, unable to hold their formation.

帝盡以軍事委準，準承制專決，號令明肅，士卒喜悅。敵數千騎乘勝薄城下，詔士卒迎擊，斬獲大半，乃引去。上還行宮，留準居城上，徐使人視準何為。準方與楊億飲博，歌謔歡呼。帝喜曰：「準如此，吾復何憂？」相持十餘日，其統軍撻覽出督戰。時威虎軍頭張瑰守床子弩，弩撼機發，矢中撻覽額，撻覽死，乃密奉書請盟。準不從，而使者來請益堅，帝將許之。準欲邀使稱臣，且獻幽州地。帝厭兵，欲羈縻不絕而已。有譖準幸兵以自取重者，準不得已，許之。帝遣曹利用如軍中議歲幣，曰：「百萬以下皆可許也。」準召利用至幄，語曰：「雖有敕，汝所許毋過三十萬，過三十萬，吾斬汝矣。」利用至軍，果以三十萬成約而還。河北罷兵，準之力也。

The Emperor entrusted all military affairs to Kou Zhun, who exercised sole authority under imperial commission. His orders were clear and strict, and the soldiers were pleased. Several thousand enemy horsemen pressed the walls in pursuit of victory. He ordered troops to sally forth; more than half were killed or captured, and the rest withdrew. The Emperor returned to the traveling palace and left Kou Zhun on the wall, then gradually sent someone to see what he was doing. Kou Zhun was drinking and gambling with Yang Yi, singing, jesting, and cheering. The Emperor said happily, "With Kou Zhun like this, what have I to worry about?" The stalemate lasted more than ten days, until the Khitan commander Dalai came out to direct the fighting. Zhang Gui, commander of the Weihu Corps, was operating a bed-mounted crossbow. When the weapon shook and released, the bolt struck Dalai in the forehead and killed him. The Khitan then secretly sent envoys requesting peace. Kou Zhun refused, but the envoys pressed their request ever more firmly, and the Emperor was about to agree. Kou Zhun wanted to require them to acknowledge vassalage and cede the Youzhou region. Weary of war, the Emperor wanted only to keep them loosely bound without breaking ties. Someone accused Kou Zhun of exploiting the military crisis to aggrandize himself, and Kou Zhun, having no choice, consented. The Emperor sent Cao Liyong to the army to negotiate the annual tribute, saying, "You may agree to anything below one million." Kou Zhun summoned Cao Liyong to his tent and said, "Despite the edict, you must agree to no more than three hundred thousand. If you promise more, I will have your head." Cao Liyong reached the enemy camp, concluded the pact at three hundred thousand, and returned. The end of fighting in Hebei was Kou Zhun's doing.

準在相位，用人不以次，同列頗不悅。它日，又除官，同列因吏持例簿以進。準曰：「宰相所以進賢退不肖也，若用例，一吏職爾。」二年，加中書侍郎兼工部尚書。準頗自矜澶淵之功，雖帝亦以此待準甚厚。王欽若深嫉之。一日會朝，準先退，帝目送之，欽若因進曰：「陛下敬寇準，為其有社稷功邪？」帝曰：「然。」欽若曰：「澶淵之役，陛下不以為恥，而謂準有社稷功，何也？」帝愕然曰：「何故？」欽若曰：「城下之盟，《春秋》恥之。澶淵之舉，是城下之盟也。以萬乘之貴而為城下之盟，其何恥如之！」帝愀然為之不悅。欽若曰：「陛下聞博乎？博者輸錢欲盡，乃罄所有出之，謂之孤注。陛下，寇準之孤注也，斯亦危矣。」

As chancellor, Kou Zhun appointed men out of turn, to the considerable displeasure of his colleagues. On another occasion, when making appointments, his colleagues had a clerk bring forward the roster of precedents. Kou Zhun said, "A chancellor exists to advance the worthy and remove the unworthy. If one need only follow precedent, that is a clerk's job." In the second year of his tenure he was made Vice Director of the Secretariat and concurrently Minister of Works. Kou Zhun rather prided himself on his success at Chanyuan, and even the Emperor treated him very generously on that account. Wang Qinruo deeply resented him. One day at court, Kou Zhun withdrew first while the Emperor watched him go. Wang Qinruo stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty holds Kou Zhun in high regard — is it because he has rendered great service to the realm?" The Emperor said, "It is." Wang Qinruo said, "At Chanyuan, Your Majesty does not consider it shameful, yet you call Kou Zhun a savior of the realm — why?" The Emperor asked, startled, "Why do you say that?" Wang Qinruo said, "A treaty sworn beneath the walls is a disgrace in the Spring and Autumn Annals. What happened at Chanyuan was exactly such a treaty beneath the walls. For the sovereign of ten thousand chariots to swear a treaty beneath the walls — what could be more shameful!" The Emperor's face darkened and he was deeply displeased. Wang Qinruo said, "Your Majesty, have you heard of gambling? When gamblers, having lost heavily, wish to stake everything they have left, they pour it all out in one last bet — this is called staking everything on a single throw. Your Majesty, you were Kou Zhun's lone wager — and that too was perilous."

由是帝顧準浸衰。明年，罷為刑部尚書、知陝州，遂用王旦為相。帝謂旦曰：「寇準多許人官，以為己恩。俟行，當深戒之。」從封泰山，遷戶部尚書、知天雄軍。祀汾陰，命提舉貝、德、博、洺、濱、棣巡檢捉賊公事，遷兵部尚書，入判都省。幸亳州，權東京留守，為樞密院使、同平章事。

From this the Emperor's favor toward Kou Zhun gradually waned. The next year he was removed as chancellor, appointed Minister of Justice and prefect of Shaanzhou, and Wang Dan was made chancellor in his place. The Emperor told Wang Dan, "Kou Zhun often hands out appointments to bind men to him in gratitude. When he leaves, you must warn him firmly against this." He accompanied the feng sacrifice at Mount Tai and was transferred to Minister of Revenue and commissioner of the Tianxiong command. During the Fenyin sacrifice he was charged with suppressing banditry in the Bei, De, Bo, Ming, Bin, and Di circuits, promoted to Minister of War, and recalled to the capital as director of the Central Secretariat. When the Emperor visited Bozhou, Kou Zhun served as provisional Eastern Capital intendant and was made commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs and Associate Grand Councillor.

林特為三司使，以河北歲輸絹闕，督之甚急。而準素惡特，頗助轉運使李士衡而沮特，且言在魏時嘗進河北絹五萬而三司不納，以至闕供，請劾主吏以下。然京師歲費絹百萬，準所助才五萬。帝不悅，謂王旦曰：「準剛忿如昔。」旦曰：「準好人懷惠，又欲人畏威，皆大臣所避。而準乃為己任，此其短也。」未幾，罷為武勝軍節度使、同平章事、判河南府，徙永興軍。

Lin Te, commissioner of the Three Departments, pressed urgently for the annual silk tribute from Hebei, which was in arrears. Kou Zhun had long disliked Lin Te and aided transport commissioner Li Shiheng while blocking Lin Te. He claimed that while stationed at Wei he had once sent fifty thousand bolts of Hebei silk that the Three Departments refused to accept, causing the shortfall, and asked that the responsible clerks be impeached. Yet the capital's annual silk requirement was one million bolts — Kou Zhun's contribution was a mere fifty thousand. The Emperor was displeased and told Wang Dan, "Kou Zhun is as stubborn and irascible as ever." Wang Dan said, "Kou Zhun likes men to feel obliged to him and also wants them to fear his wrath — both are traits a statesman should avoid. Yet Kou Zhun makes them his business — that is his flaw." Shortly afterward he was removed, made military commissioner of Wusheng and Associate Grand Councillor with jurisdiction over Henan Prefecture, then transferred to Yongxing Command.

天禧元年，改山南東道節度使，時巡檢朱能挾內侍都知周懷政詐為天書，上以問王旦。旦曰：「始不信天書者準也。今天書降，須令準上之。」準從上其書，中外皆以為非。遂拜中書侍郎兼吏部尚書、同平章事、景靈宮使。

In the first year of Tianxi he was transferred to military commissioner of Shannan East Circuit. At that time inspector Zhu Neng, with the palace eunuch director Zhou Huaizheng, forged a Heavenly Scripture. The Emperor consulted Wang Dan. Wang Dan said, "Kou Zhun was the first to reject the Heavenly Scriptures. Now that a Heavenly Scripture has appeared, Kou Zhun must be the one to present it." Kou Zhun obeyed and presented the scripture, and opinion inside and outside the court held this unseemly. He was thereupon made Vice Director of the Secretariat and Minister of Personnel, Associate Grand Councillor, and commissioner of the Jingling Palace.

三年，祀南郊，進尚書右僕射、集賢殿大學士。時真宗得風疾，劉太后預政於內，準請間曰：「皇太子人所屬望，願陛下思宗廟之重，傳以神器，擇方正大臣為羽翼。丁謂、錢惟演，佞人也，不可以輔少主。」帝然之。準密令翰林學士楊億草表，請太子監國，且欲援億輔政。已而謀泄，罷為太子太傅，封萊國公。時懷政反側不自安，且憂得罪，乃謀殺大臣，請罷皇后預政，奉帝為太上皇，而傳位太子，復相準。客省使楊崇勳等以告丁謂，謂微服夜乘犢車詣曹利用計事，明日以聞。乃誅懷政，降準為太常卿、知相州，徙安州，貶道州司馬。帝初不知也，他日，問左右曰：「吾目中久不見寇準，何也？」左右莫敢對。帝崩時亦信惟準與李迪可託，其見重如此。

In the third year, during the southern suburb sacrifice, he was promoted to Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and Grand Academician of the Hall for Assembling Worthies. Emperor Zhenzong was afflicted with wind disorder. Empress Dowager Liu was already involved in palace governance. Kou Zhun requested a private audience and said, "The Crown Prince enjoys the people's hopes. I urge Your Majesty to consider the weight of the ancestral temple, pass the imperial succession to him, and choose upright ministers to support him. Ding Wei and Qian Weiyan are sycophants — they must not assist the young sovereign." The Emperor agreed. Kou Zhun secretly had Hanlin Academician Yang Yi draft a memorial asking that the Crown Prince supervise the state, and planned to bring Yang Yi into the regency as well. Before long the plot leaked. He was removed as chancellor, appointed Grand Preceptor of the Crown Prince, and enfeoffed as Duke of Lai. Zhou Huaizheng, restless and fearing punishment, plotted to kill senior ministers, strip the empress of her role in governance, declare the Emperor retired, transfer the throne to the Crown Prince, and restore Kou Zhun as chancellor. Reception Corps commissioner Yang Chongxun and others informed Ding Wei, who went in disguise by night in a calf cart to consult Cao Liyong; the next day he reported the matter to the throne. Zhou Huaizheng was executed. Kou Zhun was demoted to Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and prefect of Xiangzhou, transferred to Anzhou, and finally banished as militia officer of Daozhou. At first the Emperor knew nothing of this. One day he asked his attendants, "I have not seen Kou Zhun in some time — why is that?" None of his attendants dared reply. Even at his death the Emperor believed that only Kou Zhun and Li Di were fit to be entrusted with the realm — such was the esteem in which he was held.

乾興元年，再貶雷州司戶參軍。初，丁謂出準門至參政，事準甚謹。嘗會食中書，羹污準須，謂起，徐拂之。準笑曰：「參政國之大臣，乃為官長拂鬚邪？」謂甚愧之，由是傾構日深。及準貶未幾，謂亦南竄，道雷州，準遣人以一蒸羊逆境上。謂欲見準，準拒絕之。聞家僮謀欲報讎者，乃杜門使縱博，毋得出，伺謂行遠，乃罷。

In the first year of Qianxing he was banished again, to the post of registrar of Leizhou. In the beginning Ding Wei had risen through Kou Zhun's patronage to high office and served him with great deference. Once at a banquet in the Secretariat, soup splashed on Kou Zhun's beard. Ding Wei rose and gently wiped it clean. Kou Zhun laughed and said, "Grand Councillor, you are a minister of state — and you wipe your superior's beard?" Ding Wei was deeply humiliated, and from that day his intrigues against Kou Zhun grew ever deeper. Not long after Kou Zhun's banishment, Ding Wei too was exiled to the south. When he passed Leizhou, Kou Zhun sent a man to meet him on the road with a gift of steamed mutton. Ding Wei wished to see Kou Zhun, but Kou Zhun refused. Learning that his servants plotted revenge, he kept them indoors gambling and forbade them to leave until Ding Wei was far away.

天聖元年，徙衡州司馬。初，太宗嘗得通天犀，命工為二帶，一以賜準。及是，準遣人取自洛中，既至數日，沐浴，具朝服束帶，北面再拜，呼左右趣設臥具，就榻而卒。

In the first year of Tiansheng he was transferred to the post of militia officer of Hengzhou. Long ago, Emperor Taizong had obtained a piece of sky-piercing rhinoceros horn and had craftsmen fashion two belts, one of which he gave to Kou Zhun. At this point Kou Zhun sent for the belt from Luoyang. A few days after it arrived he bathed, donned court robes and girded himself with the belt, bowed twice facing north, called for his bed to be made, lay down, and died.

初，張詠在成都，聞準入相，謂其僚屬曰：「寇公奇材，惜學術不足爾。」及準出陝，詠適自成都罷還，準嚴供帳，大為具待。詠將去，準送之郊，問曰：「何以教準？」詠徐曰：「《霍光傳》不可不讀也。」準莫諭其意，歸取其傳讀之，至「不學無術」，笑曰：「此張公謂我矣。」

When Zhang Yong was in Chengdu and heard that Kou Zhun had become chancellor, he told his staff, "Lord Kou is a rare talent — it is only a pity his learning is not quite equal to it." When Kou Zhun left his post in Shaanzhou, Zhang Yong happened to be returning dismissed from Chengdu. Kou Zhun prepared a lavish welcome and entertained him generously. As Zhang Yong prepared to leave, Kou Zhun escorted him to the outskirts and asked, "What counsel do you have for me?" Zhang Yong replied slowly, "You must read the biography of Huo Guang." Kou Zhun did not grasp his meaning. When he returned home he read the biography and, coming to the phrase "lacking learning and lacking method," laughed and said, "That is what Lord Zhang meant about me."

準少年富貴，性豪侈，喜劇飲，每宴賓客，多闔扉脫驂。家未嘗爇油燈，雖庖匽所在，必然炬燭。

Kou Zhun rose to wealth and rank while still young; extravagant by nature, he loved heavy drinking. When he entertained guests he often barred the doors and had the horses unhitched from their carriages so none could leave. His household never used oil lamps — even kitchens and privies were always lit by wax candles.

在雷州逾年。既卒，衡州之命乃至，遂歸葬西京。道出荊南公安，縣人皆設祭哭於路，折竹植地，掛紙錢，逾月視之，枯竹盡生筍。眾因為立廟，歲時享之。無子，以從子隨為嗣。準歿後十一年，復太子太傅，贈中書令、萊國公，後又賜諡曰忠愍。皇祐四年，詔翰林學士孫抃撰神道碑，帝為篆其首曰「旌忠」。

He spent more than a year in Leizhou. After his death the order transferring him to Hengzhou only then arrived; his body was returned and buried in the Western Capital. When the procession passed through Gong'an in Jingnan, the local people wept along the road and set out offerings. They planted bamboo stakes hung with paper money; more than a month later, every withered stalk had sprouted new shoots. The people therefore built him a temple and offered seasonal sacrifices. He had no son and adopted his nephew Sui as his heir. Eleven years after Kou Zhun's death he was reinstated as Grand Preceptor of the Crown Prince, posthumously ennobled as Director of the Secretariat and Duke of Lai, and later granted the posthumous name Loyal and Lamented. In the fourth year of Huangyou, the court ordered Hanlin Academician Sun Bian to compose his spirit-way stele; the Emperor personally inscribed the heading in seal script: "In Praise of Loyalty."

論曰：呂端諫秦王居留，表表已見大器，與寇準同相而常讓之，留李繼遷之母不誅。真宗之立，閉王繼恩於室，以折李后異謀，而定大計；既立，猶請去簾，升殿審視，然後下拜，太宗謂之「大事不糊塗」者，知臣莫過君矣。宰相不和，不足以定大計。畢士安薦寇準，又為之辨誣。契丹大舉而入，合辭以勸真宗，遂幸澶淵，終卻鉅敵。及議歲幣，因請重賄，要其久盟；由是西夏失牽制之謀，隨亦內附。景德、咸平以來，天下乂安，二相協和之所致也。準於太宗朝論建太子，謂神器不可謀及婦人、謀及中官、謀及近臣。此三言者，可為萬世龜鑒。澶淵之幸，力沮眾議，竟成雋功，古所謂大臣者，於斯見之。然挽衣留諫，面詆同列，雖有直言之風，而少包荒之量。定策禁中，不慎所與，致啟懷政邪謀，坐竄南裔。勳業如是而不令厥終，所謂「臣不密則失身」，豈不信哉！

Commentary: Lu Duan remonstrated against Prince Qin's prolonged stay — even then his greatness was evident. As Kou Zhun's fellow chancellor he often deferred to him, and he spared Li Jiqian's mother from execution. In securing Zhenzong's succession he confined Wang Jien to break Empress Li's conspiracy and settle the dynasty's course; After the investiture he still insisted the curtain be lifted so he could see the new emperor clearly before bowing. Taizong called him a man who "never muddles great affairs" — truly, no ruler ever knew his ministers better. Without harmony among chancellors, great affairs cannot be settled. Bi Shi'an recommended Kou Zhun and defended him against slander. When the Khitan invaded in force they jointly urged Zhenzong forward, and he proceeded to Chanyuan and ultimately drove back the great enemy. In negotiating the annual tribute he demanded heavy payments to secure a lasting peace; thereby depriving Western Xia of its leverage, which soon submitted as well. From the Jingde and Xianping eras onward the realm enjoyed peace — the fruit of harmony between the two chancellors. In Taizong's reign Kou Zhun argued for naming the Crown Prince, declaring that the succession must never be decided with women, eunuchs, or favored courtiers. These three warnings should be mirrors for all generations to come. At Chanyuan he forcefully held back the court's wavering counsels and in the end won a signal achievement — in him one sees what the ancients meant by a great minister. Yet he seized colleagues by the robe to detain them in argument and reviled his peers to their faces. Though he had the spirit of blunt speech, he lacked the magnanimity to bear with others' faults. In settling policy within the palace he was careless in his associates, which opened the way for Zhou Huaizheng's treacherous scheme and led to his exile in the far south. Merit such as his yet no fair end — truly, as the saying goes, "when the minister is not discreet, he loses his person." Can one doubt it?

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