1
陳執中
Chen Zhizhong
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陳執中，字昭譽，以父恕任，為秘書省正字，累遷衛尉寺丞、知梧州。 上《復古要道》三篇，真宗異而召之。 帝屬疾，春秋高，大臣莫敢言建儲者，執中進《演要》三篇，以蚤定天下根本為說。 翌日，帝以他疏示輔臣，皆讚曰“善”。 帝指其袖中曰：“又有善於此者。 ”出之，乃《演要》也。 因召對便殿，勞問久之，擢右正言。 逾月，遂立皇太子。 明年，坐考禦試進士卷差謬，貶衛尉寺丞、監岳州酒務。 稍復殿中丞、通判撫州，復右正言。
Chen Zhizhong, courtesy name Zhaoyu, received his first appointment through his father's yin privilege and served as proofreader in the Secretariat. He rose in turn to vice commissioner of the Court of Imperial Stud and prefect of Wuzhou. He presented three memorials on "Essentials for Returning to Antiquity," and Zhenzong, struck by them, called him to court. The emperor was ailing and well advanced in years, and none of the chief ministers dared broach the question of naming an heir. Zhizhong submitted three essays entitled Expository Essentials, urging that the foundations of the empire be secured without delay. The following day the emperor showed his senior advisers another memorial, and they all exclaimed that it was excellent. The emperor tapped his sleeve and said, "I have something still better than that." He produced it—the Expository Essentials. Zhizhong was then summoned to the side hall for a lengthy audience and commendation, and promoted to Right Remonstrator. Within a month the heir apparent had been formally named. The following year he was demoted for mistakes in grading the palace examination papers, reduced to vice commissioner of the Court of Imperial Stud and put in charge of the Yuezhou wine tax. He was soon restored as palace aide and supervisory prefect of Fuzhou, and again made Right Remonstrator.
3
曹利用婿盧士倫除福建運使，憚遠不行，利用為請，乃改京東。 執中嘗劾奏之，利用挾私忿，出執中知漢陽軍。 及利用得罪，乃召為群牧判官、權三司鹽鐵判官、知諫院、提舉諸司庫務，以尚書工部員外郎兼御史知雜、同判流內銓，遷三司戶部副使。
Cao Utilize's son-in-law Lu Shilun was appointed Fujian transport commissioner but shrank from the distant posting; Utilize intervened and the post was switched to the Eastern Capital circuit. Zhizhong had previously impeached him; Utilize, bearing a private grudge, had Zhizhong posted out as military prefect of Hanyang. After Utilize's disgrace Zhizhong was recalled to a string of central posts: aide in the Pasturage Commission, acting salt and iron commissioner, head of the Remonstrance Bureau, and overseer of government storehouses. As vice director of works with concurrent censorial and personnel duties, he rose to vice commissioner of the Three Departments' revenue section.
4
明道中，安撫京東，進天章閣待制。 使還，知應天府，徙江寧府、揚州，再遷工部郎中，改龍圖閣直學士、知永興軍，拜右諫議大夫、同知樞密院事。
In the Mingdao era he served as pacification commissioner for Jingdong and was promoted to Hanlin academician of the Hall of Heavenly Manifestation. After returning from his assignment he governed Yingtianfu, then Jiangning and Yangzhou. He was promoted to director of works, made Dragon Diagram Hall academician and military prefect of Yongxing, and appointed right censor-in-chief and associate commissioner of military affairs.
5
元昊寇延州，手詔諮訪輔臣攻守方略，執中既上對，退，復奏疏曰：“元昊乘中國久不用兵，竊發西垂，以遊兵困勁卒、甘言悅守臣，一旦連犯亭障，延安幾至不保。 此蓋范雍納詭說，失於戒嚴； 劉平輕躁，喪其所部。 上下紛攘，遠近震駭。 自金明李士彬族破，而並邊籬落皆大壞。 塞門、金明相距二百里，宜列修三城，城屯兵千人，益募弓箭手。 寇大至則退保，小至則出鬥。 選閣門祗候以上為寨主、都監，以諸司使為盧關一路都巡檢，以兵二千屬之，使為三砦之援。 熟羌居漢地久者，委邊臣拊存之； 反覆者，破逐之。 至於新拊黠羌，如涇原康奴、滅臧、大蟲族，久居內地，常有叛心，不肆剪除，恐終為患。 今軍須之出，民已愁歎，復欲遍修城池如河北之制，及夏須成，使神運之猶恐不能，民力其堪此乎？ 陝西地險，非如河北，惟涇州、鎮戎軍勢稍平易，若不責外守而勞內營，非策之上也。 宜修並邊城池，其次如延州之鄜、同，環慶之邠、寧，不過五七處，量為營葺，則科率減、民力蘇矣。 今賊勢方張，宜靜守以驕其志，蓄銳以挫其鋒，增土兵以備守禦，省騎卒以減轉餉。 然後徐議蕩平，改張節度，更須主張，將臣橫議不入，則忠臣盡節而捐軀矣。”
When Yuan Hao attacked Yanzhou, the emperor issued a handwritten edict asking his senior ministers for plans of attack and defense. Zhizhong answered at court, then on retiring submitted a further memorial: "Yuan Hao, exploiting the fact that the empire had long gone without war, secretly struck in the western marches. He used skirmishing forces to exhaust our best troops and blandishments to win over frontier commanders. In one swift campaign he overran a chain of border posts, and Yan'an nearly fell." This was because Fan Yong had accepted deceptive advice and let his guard down; Liu Ping acted rashly and lost his entire force. The court and the realm were thrown into turmoil, and alarm spread far and wide. Ever since the destruction of Li Shibin's clan at Jinming, the frontier stockades along the border had been largely wrecked. Saimen and Jinming lie two hundred li apart; three fortified towns should be built in a line, each holding a thousand troops, with additional archers recruited. When the enemy came in strength they would fall back to the forts; when raiders came in small bands they would sally out to fight. Gate attendants and higher officers should be appointed stockade chiefs and chief supervisors; a bureau commissioner should serve as overall inspector of the Luguan route with two thousand troops under him to reinforce the three stockades. Acculturated Qiang who had long lived under Han rule should be left to frontier officials to reassure and support; those who wavered should be crushed and expelled. As for newly pacified but treacherous Qiang such as the Kangnu, Miezang, and Dachong clans of Jingyuan, who had long lived in the interior and often harbored rebellious designs—unless they were rooted out, they would surely become a lasting threat. Military levies already had the people groaning in distress, yet some wished to rebuild city walls everywhere on the Hebei model. Even with supernatural logistics it might not be finished by summer—how could the people's strength bear such a burden? Shaanxi's terrain was rugged, unlike Hebei; only Jingzhou and Zhenrong Army offered somewhat level ground. To burden the interior with construction rather than holding the outer line was poor strategy. The border cities along the frontier should be repaired; next, only five or seven places such as Fu and Tong under Yanzhou and Bin and Ning under Huanqing need be fortified as required, so levies would fall and the people could recover. With the enemy's power still rising, we should hold our positions quietly to lull their arrogance, husband our strength to blunt their momentum, increase local militia for defense, and cut cavalry to reduce supply transport. Only then could we slowly plan a full pacification, reorganize the military commissions, and keep a firm hand at the top. Unless reckless counsel from generals and ministers was kept out, loyal men would exhaust themselves and die for nothing.
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既而議刺土兵，久不決，罷知青州。 又以資政殿學士知河南府，改尚書工部侍郎、陝西同經略安撫招討使。 與夏竦同知永興軍，議邊事多異同，詔令互出巡邊，乃屯涇州，令諸部曰：“寇籍吾水草，鈔邊圖利，不除，且復至。 ”命悉焚之。 表解兵柄，以為兵尚神密，千里稟命，非所以制勝，宜屬四路各保疆圉。 朝議善之，就知陝州，復徙青州。 於是請城傅海諸州，朝廷重興役，有詔不許。 執中不奉詔，卒城之。
Debate over branding local militia then dragged on without resolution, and he was removed as prefect of Qingzhou. He was again made Zizheng Hall academician and prefect of Henan, then promoted to vice director of works and co-commissioner for pacification and punitive campaigns in Shaanxi. Serving with Xia Song as co-military prefect of Yongxing, he often clashed with him over frontier policy, and the court ordered them to inspect the border in turn. He encamped at Jingzhou and told the departments: "The enemy depend on our pasture and water and raid the border for profit—unless we destroy them, they will return." He ordered everything burned. He petitioned to surrender military authority, arguing that war demands secrecy and that taking orders from a thousand li away cannot win battles; each of the four frontier circuits should defend its own territory. The court approved his proposal and made him prefect of Shaanzhou, then transferred him again to Qingzhou. He then sought to fortify the coastal Fu Sea prefectures, but the court, reluctant to impose new corvée labor, issued an edict forbidding it. Zhizhong defied the edict and completed the fortifications anyway.
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明年，沂卒王倫叛，趣淮南，執中遣巡檢傅永吉追至采石磯，捕殺之。 召拜參知政事。 諫官孫甫、蔡襄極論不可，帝遣使馳賜敕告。 逾年，拜同中書門下平章事、集賢殿大學士兼樞密使。 西夏納款，與宰相賈昌朝請解樞密。 七年春，旱，昌朝罷，執中降給事中。 已而加昭文館大學士、監修國史，逾月復官。
The following year the garrison soldier Wang Lun of Yi rebelled and marched toward Huainan. Zhizhong sent inspector Fu Yongji in pursuit to Caishiji, where Wang was captured and killed. He was recalled and appointed vice grand councilor. Remonstrators Sun Fu and Cai Xiang argued fiercely against the appointment, but the emperor sent a courier with an edict confirming it. A year later he was made grand councilor, grand academician of the Hall for Gathering Worthies, and concurrent commissioner of military affairs. When Western Xia submitted, he and chief minister Jia Changchao asked to be relieved of their military affairs posts. In the spring of the seventh year a drought struck; Changchao was dismissed and Zhizhong was demoted to attendant censor. He was soon made grand academician of the Zhaowen Hall and supervisor of the national history; within a month his former rank was restored.
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皇祐初，以足疾辭位，自陳不願為使相、大學士，學士孫抃當制，遂以尚書左丞知陳州。 宰相文彥博、宋庠以為禮薄，帖麻改兵部尚書。 遷吏部、觀文殿大學士。 久之，拜集慶軍節度使、同平章事、判大名府。 河決商胡，走大名，程琳欲為堤，不果成而去。 執中乘年豐調丁夫增築二十里，以障橫潰。 以吏部尚書復拜同平章事、昭文館大學士。 每朝退，閉中書東便門，以防漏泄。 三司勾當公事及監場務官，權勢所引者，皆奏罷之，內外為之肅然。
Early in the Huangyou era he resigned because of a foot ailment, declaring that he did not wish to remain a commissioner-delegate or grand academician. When academician Sun Bian drafted the edict, Zhizhong was made left vice director of the secretariat and prefect of Chenzhou. Chief ministers Wen Yanbo and Song Qi thought the appointment too modest; an edict was issued promoting him to minister of war. He was transferred to the ministry of personnel and made grand academician of the Hall for Viewing Literature. After some time he was appointed military commissioner of Jiqing Army, associate grand councilor, and administrator of Daming. The Yellow River broke through at Shanghu and surged toward Daming. Cheng Lin tried to build a dike but could not finish it before he left office. Zhizhong took advantage of a good harvest year to levy laborers and extend the dike twenty li to contain the breach. As minister of personnel he was again appointed associate grand councilor and grand academician of the Zhaowen Hall. After each court session he shut the east side gate of the Secretariat to prevent leaks. Officials handling Three Departments business and market supervisors who had been advanced through powerful patrons were all memorialized for dismissal, and the court and the realm were awed into order.
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執中在中書八年，人莫敢幹以私，四方問遺不及門，惟殿前都指揮使郭承祐數至其家，為御史所言，遂詔中書、樞密自今非聚廳無見賓客。 及議諡，禮官韓維曰：“執中以公卿子，遭世承平，因緣一言，遂至貴顯。 天子以後宮之喪，問所以葬祭之禮，執中位上相，不能總率群司考正儀典，知治喪皇儀非嬪禦之禮，追冊位號於宮闈有嫌，建廟用樂逾祖宗舊制，皆白而行之，此不忠之大者。 閨門之內，禮分不明，夫人正室疏薄自絀，庶妾賤人悍逸不制，其治家無足言者。 宰相不能秉道率禮，正身齊家，方杜門深居，謝絕賓客，曰：‘我無私也，我不黨也。 ’豈不陋哉？ 諡法：‘寵祿光大曰榮’，‘不勤成名曰靈’。 執中出入將相，以一品就第，寵祿光大矣； 得位行政，賢士大夫無述焉，不勤成名矣； 請諡曰榮靈。 ”後改諡恭襄，詔諡曰恭。 帝篆其墓碑曰“褒忠之碑”。
Zhizhong spent eight years in the Secretariat; no one dared approach him with private requests, and gifts from across the realm never reached his door—only palace front guard commander Guo Chenyou visited repeatedly. When the censors reported this, an edict ordered that the Secretariat and Bureau of Military Affairs receive no guests except in full assembly. When his posthumous title was debated, ritual official Han Wei said: "Zhizhong, born the son of a high minister in a peaceful age, rose to eminence on the strength of a single remark." When the emperor, mourning a woman of the inner palace, asked about burial and sacrifice, Zhizhong as chief minister failed to lead the ministries in correcting the ritual codes. He knew that imperial funeral rites were not those for a consort, that posthumous titles from the inner quarters were improper, and that building a temple with music beyond ancestral precedent was wrong—yet he reported these measures and carried them out. This was gross disloyalty. Within his household ritual order broke down: his lawful wife was neglected and demeaned herself, while low concubines were fierce and unrestrained. His domestic governance was beneath comment. A chief minister who could not uphold the Way, lead in ritual, or order his own household instead shut his doors, lived in seclusion, and refused guests, saying, 'I have no private interests; I form no factions.' ' Is that not contemptible? The posthumous-title canon says: 'Glory' applies when favor and emoluments shine greatly; 'Spirit' applies when one gains a name without diligence. Zhizhong rose through general and minister to retire with the first rank—his favor and emoluments had indeed shone greatly; he held office and governed, yet worthy gentlemen have nothing to recount of him—he had gained a name without diligence; I propose the posthumous title Glory-Spirit. " It was later changed to Respectful-Aid, and an edict finally granted the posthumous title Respectful. The emperor inscribed his tomb stele "Stele in Praise of Loyalty."
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子世儒，官至國子博士，妻李與群婢殺世儒所生母，世儒與謀，皆棄市。
His son Shiru rose to erudite of the Imperial University. Shiru's wife Li and several maidservants murdered his birth mother with Shiru's complicity, and all were executed in the marketplace.
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劉沆，字冲之，吉州永新人。 祖景洪，始，楊行密得江西，衙將彭玕據州自稱太守，屬景洪以兵，欲脅眾附湖南，景洪偽許之。 復以州歸行密，退居不仕。 及徐溫建國，以禮聘之，不起，官其子煦為殿直都虞候。 父素，不仕，以財雄里中，喜賓客。 景洪嘗告人曰：“我不從彭玕，幾活萬人，後世當有隆者。 ”因名所居北山曰後隆山。 山有牛僧孺讀書堂，即故基築台曰聰明台。 沆母夢衣冠丈夫曰牛相公來，已來有娠，乃生沆。
Liu Hang, courtesy name Chongzhi, was a native of Yongxin in Jizhou. His grandfather Jing Hong: when Yang Xingmi seized Jiangxi, yamen guard Peng Gan took the prefecture and styled himself prefect. He assigned troops to Jing Hong and tried to coerce the people into submitting to Hunan; Jing Hong pretended to agree. He then returned the prefecture to Xingmi and retired without taking office. When Xu Wen founded his state he invited Jing Hong with full ceremony, but Jing Hong refused to serve; Wen instead appointed his son Xu as palace attendant and chief commandant. His father Su never held office but dominated the neighborhood through wealth and delighted in entertaining guests. Jing Hong once said: "By refusing Peng Gan I nearly saved ten thousand lives; our descendants will surely produce someone who rises high." He therefore named the northern mountain where he lived Mount Later Prosperity. On the mountain stood Niú Sēng'rú's study hall; on its old foundations he built a terrace called the Terrace of Cleverness. Hang's mother dreamed of a man in official dress who said, "Minister Niu has arrived." After the dream she conceived, and Hang was born.
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及長，倜儻任氣。 舉進士不中，自稱“退士”，不復出，父力勉之。 天聖八年，始擢進士第二，為大理評事、通判舒州，有大獄曆歲不決，沆數日決之。 章獻太后建資聖浮圖，內侍張懷信挾詔命，督役嚴峻，州將至移疾不敢出，沆奏罷懷信。 再遷太常丞、直集賢院，出知衡州。 大姓尹氏欺鄰翁老子幼，欲竊取其田，乃偽作賣券，及鄰翁死，遂奪而有之。 其子訴於州縣，二十年不得直，沆至，復訴之。 尹氏持積歲稅鈔為驗，沆曰：“若田千頃，歲輸豈特此耶？ 爾始為券時，嘗如敕問鄰乎？ 其人固多在，可訊也。 ”尹氏遂伏罪。 遷太常博士，曆三司度支、戶部判官、同修起居注，擢右正言、知制誥、判吏部流內銓。 奉使契丹，館伴杜防強沆以酒，沆沾醉，拂袖起，因罵之，坐是出知潭州。 又降知和州，改右諫議大夫、知江州。
When he grew up he was free-spirited and headstrong. He failed the jinshi examination, styled himself "the retired scholar," and refused to try again until his father pressed him hard. In the eighth year of Tiansheng he finally placed second among jinshi graduates and was made reviewing clerk of the Court of Judicial Review and supervisory prefect of Shuzhou. A major case had dragged on for a year; Hang resolved it in a few days. Empress Dowager Zhangxian was building the Zisheng pagoda; eunuch Zhang Huaixin, wielding an edict, supervised the work with brutal severity until the prefect nearly feigned illness rather than face him. Hang memorialized to have Huaixin removed. He was promoted to vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and academician of the Hall for Gathering Worthies, then posted as prefect of Hengzhou. The powerful Yin clan, seeing that an elderly neighbor had only a young son, forged a deed of sale and seized his fields after the old man died. The son had appealed to prefecture and county for twenty years without justice. When Hang arrived, he appealed again. The Yin clan produced years of accumulated tax receipts as proof. Hang said: "If the fields were a thousand qing, would the annual tax be only this much?" When you first made the deed, did you question the neighbors as the law requires? Those neighbors are surely still alive and can be questioned. The Yin clan thereupon confessed. He was promoted to erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, served as commissioner of the Three Departments' expenditure and revenue sections and co-compiler of the court diary, and was advanced to right remonstrator, edict drafter, and associate director of personnel. On a mission to Khitan, host Du Fang pressed him to drink. Half drunk, Hang swept his sleeve and rose, cursing Du Fang, and was posted out as prefect of Tanzhou. He was demoted again to prefect of Hezhou, then made right censor-in-chief and prefect of Jiangzhou.
13
時湖南蠻徭數出寇，至殺官吏。 以沆為龍圖閣直學士、知潭州兼安撫使，許便宜從事。 沆大發兵至桂陽，招降二千餘人，使散居所部，而蠻酋降者皆奏命以官。 又募土兵分捕餘黨，破桃油平、能家源，斬馘甚眾。 已而賊復出，殺裨將胡元，坐降知鄂州，徙京南，遷給事中，徙洪州。 還，知審刑院，除知永興軍。 頃之，以龍圖閣學士權知開封府，數發隱伏。 祀明堂，遷尚書工部侍郎。 逾年，拜參知政事。
At that time the Man and Yao of Hunan raided repeatedly, even killing officials. Hang was made Dragon Diagram Hall academician, prefect of Tanzhou and pacification commissioner, with authority to act at discretion. Hang mobilized a large force to Guiyang, induced more than two thousand to surrender and disperse to their districts, and memorialized for official appointments every Man chieftain who submitted. He also recruited local militia to hunt down remnant bands, overran Taoyouping and Nengjiayuan, and beheaded many. Before long the bandits reappeared and killed assistant general Hu Yuan. Hang was demoted to prefect of Ezhou, transferred to Jingnan, promoted to attendant censor, and transferred to Hongzhou. On his return he headed the Court of Judicial Review and was appointed military prefect of Yongxing. Shortly afterward, as Dragon Diagram Hall academician he was given acting charge of Kaifeng and repeatedly uncovered hidden crimes. After the Bright Hall sacrifice he was promoted to vice director of works in the Secretariat. A year later he was appointed vice grand councilor.
14
時中書可否多用例，人或援例以訟，而法有不行。 沆進言三弊曰：“近臣保薦辟請，動逾數十，皆浮薄權豪之流交相薦舉。 有司以之貿易，而遂使省、府、台、閣華資要職，路分、監司邊防寄任，授非公選，多出私門。 又職掌吏人遷補有常，而或減選出官、超資換職、堂除便家、先次差遣之類。 此近臣保薦之弊一也。 審官、吏部銓、三班當入川、廣，乃求近地，當入近地，又求在京，及堂除升陟省府、館職、檢討之類。 此近臣陳匄親屬之弊二也。 其敘錢穀管庫之勞、捕賊昭雪之賞，常格雖存，僥幸猶甚。 以法則輕，以例則厚，執政者不能持法，多以例與之。 此敘勞幹進之弊三也。 願詔中書、樞密，凡三事毋用例，餘聽如舊。 ”事既施行，而眾頗不悅，尋如舊。
The Secretariat then relied heavily on precedent; litigants cited precedents while statutes went unenforced. Hang memorialized on three abuses: "Court favorites' recommendations and special appointments often number dozens at a time, all among the frivolous and powerful trading favors." Offices traded in these posts, so splendid provincial, censorial, and academic posts, circuit commissions, and frontier trusts were filled not by public selection but through private patronage. Clerks and functionaries had fixed promotion rules, yet posts were filled by cutting selection quotas, advancing rank beyond qualification, palace appointments for convenience, and preferential dispatch. This was the first abuse of court favorites' recommendations. Those due for Sichuan or Guang through review boards would seek nearby posts; those due for nearby posts would seek the capital; and palace appointments advanced men to provincial, academic, and editorial posts. This was the second abuse of court favorites pleading for relatives. Though regular standards remained for rewarding fiscal service and crime-fighting, favoritism still ran rampant. By statute rewards were light, by precedent heavy; those in power could not uphold the law and mostly granted rewards by precedent. This was the third abuse of merit records won through lobbying. I ask that the Secretariat and Bureau of Military Affairs be ordered not to use precedents in these three matters, while the rest follow established practice. The measure was enacted, but many were displeased, and before long practice reverted to the old ways.
15
文彥博、富弼復入為相。 彥博為昭文館大學士，弼監修國史，沆遷兵部侍郎，位在弼下。 論者以為非故事，由學士楊察之誤，乃帖麻改沆監修國史，弼為集賢殿大學士。 沆既疾言事官，因言：“自慶曆後，台諫官用事，朝廷命令之出，事無當否悉論之，必勝而後已，專務抉人陰私莫辨之事，以中傷士大夫。 執政畏其言，進擢尤速。 ”沆遂舉行御史遷次之格，滿二歲者與知州。 御史范師道、趙抃歲滿求補郡，沆引格出之，中丞張等言沆挾私出御史。 時樞密使狄青亦因御史言，罷知陳州，沆奏曰：“御史去陛下將相，削陛下爪牙，此曹所謀，臣莫測也。 ”升等益論辨不已，罷沆為觀文殿大學士、工部尚書、知應天府。 遷刑部尚書，徙陳州。
Wen Yanbo and Fu Bi again became chief ministers. Yanbo was grand academician of the Zhaowen Hall, Bi supervised the national history, and Hang was made vice director of war, ranking below Bi. Critics held this broke precedent, owing to an error by academician Yang Cha; an edict was posted making Hang supervisor of the national history and Bi grand academician of the Hall for Gathering Worthies. Hang, who already disliked remonstrating officials, said: "Since the Qingli era censors and remonstrators have wielded power. Every court order, right or wrong, they debate until they win, dredging up unverifiable private matters to wound scholar-officials." Those in power feared their words and promoted them all the faster. Hang then implemented the censors' rotation rule: those who had served two full years were given prefectures. Censors Fan Shidao and Zhao Bian, their terms complete, sought prefectural posts; Hang cited the regulation to post them out. Vice censor Zhang Deng and others charged that Hang was acting from private motives. Military affairs commissioner Di Qing had also been dismissed to Chenzhou on censorial complaint. Hang memorialized: "The censors are stripping Your Majesty of generals and ministers and paring Your Majesty's claws and teeth—I cannot fathom what this faction is plotting." Deng and the others argued on without cease, and Hang was dismissed to grand academician of the Hall for Viewing Literature, minister of works, and prefect of Yingtianfu. He was transferred to minister of punishments and posted to Chenzhou.
16
沆長於吏事，性豪率，少儀矩。 然任數，善刺探權近過失，陰持之以軒輊取事，論者以此少之。 卒，贈左僕射兼侍中。 知制誥張瑰草詞詆沆，其家不敢請諡。 帝為篆墓碑曰“思賢之碑”。 子瑾，嘗為天章閣待制，坐法免，後以功復職。
Hang was skilled in administration, bold and forthright by nature, and little given to ceremony. Yet he trusted to stratagem, probed the faults of powerful courtiers, and secretly used them to tip affairs his way; critics thought less of him for it. On his death he was posthumously made left vice director of the Secretariat with concurrent appointment as palace attendant. Edict drafter Zhang Gui drafted the eulogy in terms that slandered Hang, and his family did not dare request a posthumous title. The emperor inscribed his tomb stele "Stele in Memory of the Worthy." His son Jin had once been Hanlin academician of the Hall of Heavenly Manifestation; he was dismissed for a legal offense but later restored for merit.
17
馮拯，字道濟。 父俊，事漢湘陰公劉贇。 贇死，俊與從行千餘人繫侍衛獄，周太祖赦出之，授檢校太子賓客，戍安遠軍馭馬鎮，辭不行，因徙居河陽。
Feng Zheng, courtesy name Daoji. His father Jun served Liu Chong, Duke of Xiangyin of Han. When Chong died, Jun and more than a thousand followers were imprisoned in the guard prison. Zhou Taizu pardoned them, appointed Jun honorary guest of the heir apparent, and ordered him to garrison Yuma Town in Anyuan Army; he declined and moved to Heyang.
18
拯以書生謁趙普，普奇其狀，曰：“子富貴壽考，宜不下我。 ”舉進士，補大理評事、通判峽州，權知澤州，徙坊州，遷太常丞。 江南旱，命馳傳振貸貧乏，察官吏能否，還奏稱旨，權知石州，擢右正言，歲餘代歸。 出使河北，與轉運使樊知古計邊儲，還，判三司戶部理欠憑由司，為度支判官。
Zheng as a young scholar called on Zhao Pu; Pu was struck by his bearing and said, "You will enjoy wealth, honor, and long life—you should rank no lower than I." He passed the jinshi examination, served as reviewing clerk of the Court of Judicial Review and supervisory prefect of Xiazhou, acted as prefect of Zezhou, transferred to Fangzhou, and was promoted to vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. When Jiangnan suffered drought he was sent by express relay to lend grain to the poor and inspect officials' competence; his memorial pleased the emperor. He acted as prefect of Shizhou, was promoted to right remonstrator, and after a year was replaced and recalled. On a mission to Hebei he planned frontier stores with transport commissioner Fan Zhigu; on his return he headed the Three Departments' arrears office and became expenditure commissioner.
19
淳化中，有上封請立皇太子者，拯與尹黃裳、王世則、洪湛伏閣請立許王元僖，太宗怒，悉貶嶺外。 拯知端州，既至，上言請遣使括諸路隱丁、更製版籍及議鹽法通商，凡十餘事。 太宗欲召還參知政事，寇準素不悅拯，乃徙知鼎州。 改通判廣州。 郊祀畢，覃恩，拯與通判彭惟節皆遷尚書員外郎，惟節以太常博士為屯田員外，而拯以左正言為虞部員外。 拯書名舊在惟節上，及奏事如故，準切責之。 拯上書言準阿意不平，準坐此罷。
In the Chunhua era someone submitted a sealed memorial requesting a crown prince. Zheng, Yin Huangshang, Wang Shize, and Hong Zhan lay prostrate at the gate demanding Prince Xu Yuanxi be named heir; Taizong was furious and banished them all beyond the Ling. Zheng was made prefect of Duanzhou; on arrival he memorialized requesting envoys to survey hidden households on all circuits, revise registers, and discuss opening the salt trade—more than ten proposals in all. Taizong wished to recall him as vice grand councilor, but Kou Zhun, who disliked Zheng, had him transferred to Dingzhou instead. He was made supervisory prefect of Guangzhou. After the suburban sacrifice and general amnesty, Zheng and supervisory prefect Peng Weijie were both promoted to vice directors in the Secretariat; Weijie from erudite of imperial sacrifices to vice director of the fields section, and Zheng from left remonstrator to vice director of the parks section. Zheng's name had formerly ranked above Weijie's on memorials, yet he still presented business as before; Kou Zhun sharply rebuked him. Zheng memorialized that Zhun was partial and unfair; Zhun was dismissed on this account.
20
拯以母喪請內徙，命知江州。 真宗即位，進比部員外郎。 御史中丞李惟清表為推直官，判三司度支勾院，遷駕部。 咸平初，坐試開封進士賦涉譏訕，下拯御史台，未幾，釋之。
Zheng, mourning his mother, requested transfer inland and was appointed prefect of Jiangzhou. When Zhenzong acceded he was promoted to vice director of the comptroller section. Vice censor-in-chief Li Weiqing recommended him as investigating commissioner; he headed the Three Departments' expenditure audit office and was promoted to the chariot section. Early in the Xianping era, because the fu composition in testing Kaifeng jinshi candidates involved satire, Zheng was sent to the Censorate; he was soon released.
21
明年，兼侍御史知雜事。 時西北用兵，王超、傅潛將兵出定、瀛間，觀望玩寇，拯極論之，不報。 超等果逗撓覆軍。 命拯按傅獄，抵潛罪，竄流之。 擢祠部郎中、樞密直學士，權判吏部流內銓。 以審官及銓法未備，建請凡蔭補京官，試讀一經，書家狀通習為中格，始得仕。 同勾當三班院。 向敏中宣撫河北、河東，拯及陳堯叟為副，宴餞長春殿。
The following year he was made concurrent attending censor with miscellaneous duties. The northwest was at war; Wang Chao and Fu Qian led troops out between Ding and Ying, watching and toying with the enemy. Zheng argued strenuously but received no response. Chao and the others indeed delayed and lost their army. Zheng was ordered to investigate Fu's case, found Qian guilty, and had him banished. He was promoted to director of the sacrificial section and academician directly attached to military affairs, with acting charge of personnel. Because review and appointment regulations were incomplete, he proposed that all who entered capital office by privilege must pass a test in reading one classic and writing a family biography showing mastery. He concurrently handled affairs in the Three Classes Bureau. Xiang Minzhong was pacification commissioner for Hebei and Hedong; Zheng and Chen Yaosou served as his deputies, with a farewell banquet in the Hall of Everlasting Spring.
22
明年，以右諫議大夫同知樞密院事。 帝欲修綏州，謀諸輔臣，拯與宰相向敏中等皆曰便。 宰相呂蒙正、參知政事王旦、王欽若皆曰宜棄勿修。 帝遣洪湛馳驛往視，還，上七利二害，卒修完之。 時上封者言：“三司多滯務，州郡稟疑事，吏民訴理冤獄，依違不決者輒數歲，水旱或由於此。 ”詔拯選幹強吏同三司使裁冗事、督舉稽留，遂與判度支勾院孫冕省帳牘二十一萬五千本，並廢冗官十五員。
The following year he was made right censor-in-chief and associate commissioner of military affairs. The emperor wished to repair Suizhou and consulted his ministers; Zheng and chief minister Xiang Minzhong and others all said it was expedient. Chief minister Lü Mengzheng and vice grand councilors Wang Dan and Wang Qinruo all said it should be abandoned. The emperor sent Hong Zhan by express relay to inspect; he returned with seven advantages and two disadvantages listed, and the repairs were completed. A sealed memorialist said: "The Three Departments delay many matters; when prefectures report doubtful cases and people appeal unjust lawsuits, indecision often lasts years—drought and flood may stem from this." An edict ordered Zheng to select capable officials to join the Three Departments commissioners in cutting redundancy and pressing delays; with expenditure auditor Sun Mian he reviewed 215,000 account documents and abolished fifteen redundant posts.
23
遷尚書工部侍郎、簽書樞密院事。 賜手劄訪邊事，拯謂：“備邊之要，不扼險以制敵之衝，未易勝也。 若於保州、威虜間，依徐、鮑河為陣，其表勢可取勝矣。 前歲王顯違詔不趨要地，契丹初壓境，王師未行，而契丹騎已入鈔，賴霖雨乃遁去。 比王超奏敵已去，而東路奏敵方來，既聚軍中山以救望都，而兵困糧匱，將臣陷歿幾盡，超等僅以身免。 今防秋，宜於唐河增屯兵至六萬，控定武之北為大陣，邢州置都總管為中陣，天雄軍置鈐轄為後陣，罷莫州狼山兩路兵。 ”從之。 景德中，為參知政事，再遷兵部侍郎。 攝事享太廟，有司供帳幔，守奉人宿廟室前，喧囂不肅，拯以聞。 詔專為廟享製帟幕什器，藏宗正寺，禁吏卒登廟階。
He was promoted to vice director of works and given signing authority in the Bureau of Military Affairs. He received an autograph note inquiring about frontier affairs. Zheng said: "Frontier defense depends on holding the passes to control the enemy's thrust—otherwise victory is difficult." If between Baozhou and Weilu forces were arrayed along the Xu and Bao rivers, the outward disposition could secure victory. The year before, Wang Xian disobeyed the edict and failed to reach the vital point. When Khitan first pressed the border the imperial army had not marched, yet Khitan cavalry had already raided in—they escaped only thanks to heavy rain. When Wang Chao reported the enemy had gone, the eastern route reported they were still coming. Troops massed at Zhongshan to rescue Wangdu, but the army was exhausted and provisions scarce; generals and ministers were nearly all lost, and Chao and the others barely escaped. For autumn defense he proposed increasing Tang River garrisons to sixty thousand, a great array north of Dingwu, an overall commander at Xingzhou as the middle array, a controller at Tianxiong Army as the rear array, and abolishing the two-route forces of Mozhou and Langshan. This was adopted. In the Jingde era he was made vice grand councilor and again promoted to vice director of war. While acting at the Imperial Ancestral Temple sacrifice, attendants lodged before the temple chambers in noisy disorder. Zheng reported it. An edict ordered curtains and utensils made solely for temple sacrifices, stored in the Court of the Imperial Clan, and forbade clerks and soldiers on the temple steps.
24
王濟上編敕，帝以其煩簡不一，語輔臣曰：“顯德敕尤煩，蓋世宗嚴急，出於一時之意，臣下不敢言其失也。 ”王旦進曰：“詔敕宜簡，近亦傷於煩。 ”拯對曰：“開寶間，除諸州通判敕，刑獄、錢穀悉條列約束，今則略矣。 ”時契丹始盟，拯言邊方騷動，武臣幸之以為利。 帝曰：“朝廷以信為守，然戒備不可廢也，此外，當靜治以安吾民爾。 爾其奉承之。”
Wang Ji submitted a compiled code; the emperor, finding it cumbersome and inconsistent, told his ministers: "The Xiande statutes were especially cumbersome—Shizong was severe and acted on impulse, and his subjects dared not speak of the faults." Wang Dan said: "Edicts should be concise; recently they have also grown cumbersome. Zheng replied: "In the Kaibao era edicts appointing supervisory prefects listed criminal and fiscal constraints in full detail—now they are abbreviated. Khitan had just made alliance; Zheng said the frontier was unsettled and military officials profited from it. The emperor said: "The court takes trust as its guard, yet vigilance cannot be abandoned. Beyond that we should govern quietly to settle our people." Carry this out.
25
大中祥符初，嚴貢舉糊名法。 拯與王旦論選舉帝前，拯請兼考策論，不專以詩賦為進退。 帝曰：“可以觀才識者，文論也。 ”拯論事多合帝意如此。 封泰山，為儀仗使。 禮成，進尚書左丞。 以疾在告，數請罷，帝以手詔諭旨，又命宰相王旦就第勸拯起視事。
Early in the Dazhong Xiangfu era the sealed-name method for examinations was strictly enforced. Zheng and Wang Dan discussed selection before the emperor; Zheng asked that policy essays be tested and advancement not depend solely on poetry and fu. The emperor said: "Policy essays reveal talent and insight." Zheng's counsel often accorded with the emperor's intent in this way. For the Mount Tai feng sacrifice he was made commissioner of ceremonial guards. When the rites were completed he was promoted to left vice director of the Secretariat. Ill, he repeatedly requested leave; the emperor sent an autograph note and ordered chief minister Wang Dan to visit his home to urge him back to duty.
26
從祀汾陰，為儀仗使，遷工部尚書。 復以疾求罷，拜刑部尚書、知河南府，聽以府事委官屬。 七年，除御史中丞，又以疾辭，除戶部尚書、知陳州。 真宗嘗謂王旦曰：“拯固求閑郡，何邪？ ”旦對曰：“馬知節嘗譏拯好富貴，所欲節度使爾。 拯恐為知節所量，不敢請大藩，殆為此也。 ”再知河南府，遷兵部尚書，入判尚書都省，以吏部尚書、檢校太傅、同中書門下平章事充樞密使。 其冬，拜右僕射兼中書侍郎、太子少傅、同平章事、集賢殿大學士，進左僕射。
Following the Fenyin sacrifice he was made commissioner of ceremonial guards and promoted to minister of works. Again ill, he sought dismissal and was made minister of punishments and prefect of Henan, permitted to entrust affairs to subordinates. In the seventh year he was made vice censor-in-chief; again pleading illness, he was made minister of revenue and prefect of Chenzhou. Zhenzong once asked Wang Dan: "Why does Zheng keep seeking a quiet prefecture?" Dan replied: "Ma Zhijie once mocked Zheng for loving wealth and honor—what he wants is a military commissioner's post. Zheng fears being sized up by Zhijie and does not dare request a major prefecture—probably for that reason. Again prefect of Henan, then minister of war, presiding over the secretariat directorate, and as minister of personnel, honorary grand tutor, and grand councilor he served as commissioner of military affairs. That winter he was appointed right vice director of the Secretariat with concurrent secretariat vice director, junior tutor of the heir apparent, associate grand councilor, and grand academician of the Hall for Gathering Worthies, and advanced to left vice director.
27
乾興元年，進封魏國公，遷司空兼侍中。 輔臣會食資善堂，召議事，丁謂獨不預。 謂知得罪，頗哀請。 錢惟演遽曰：“當致力，無大憂也。 ”拯熟視惟演，惟演踧踖。 及對承明殿，太后怒甚，語欲誅謂。 拯進曰：“謂固有罪，然帝新即位，亟誅大臣，駭天下耳目。 謂豈有逆謀哉？ 第失奏山陵事耳。 ”太后怒少解。 謂既貶，拯代謂為司徒、玉清昭應宮使、昭文館大學士、監修國史，又為山陵使，奉安真宗御容於西京。 尋在病告，帝賜白金五千兩，拯叩頭稱謝。 五上表願罷相，拜武勝軍節度使、檢校太尉兼侍中、判河南府。 即臥內賜告及旌纛，遣內司賓撫問。 還，奏其家儉陋，被服甚質。 太后賜以衾裯錦綺屏，然拯平居自奉侈靡，顧禁中不知也。 既卒，贈太師、中書令，諡文懿。
In the first year of Qianxing he was enfeoffed as Duke of Wei and made minister of works with concurrent appointment as palace attendant. The chief ministers dined in the Hall for Nurturing Goodness and were summoned to discuss affairs; Ding Wei alone was excluded. Wei knew he had offended and pleaded piteously. Qian Weiyan hastily said: "Exert yourself—there is no great worry." Zheng stared fixedly at Weiyan until Weiyan was abashed. At audience in Chenming Hall the empress dowager was furious and spoke of executing Wei. Zheng stepped forward and said, "Wei is guilty, no doubt—but the emperor has only just taken the throne. To execute a senior minister so soon would shock the entire realm. What treasonous plot could he possibly have had? His offense was merely failing to report on the imperial tomb. " The empress dowager's rage subsided a little. Once Wei was demoted, Zheng succeeded to his posts as minister of education, commissioner of the Jade Pure Temple of Illustrious Response, grand academician of the Hall for Propagation of Culture, and supervising editor of national history. He also served as imperial tomb commissioner, installing Emperor Zhenzong's portrait in the Western Capital. Soon afterward, while on medical leave, the emperor granted him five thousand taels of silver; Zheng kowtowed in gratitude. He submitted five memorials asking to leave the chancellorship and was appointed military commissioner of Wusheng Army, honorary grand marshal and palace secretariat director, and prefect of Henan Prefecture. From the inner chamber the emperor immediately granted him leave and command pennants and sent an Inner Chamber Attendant to inquire after his health. When the attendant returned, he reported that Zheng's home was spare and humble and his clothing and furnishings extremely plain. The empress dowager sent him quilts, brocades, and screens—but in private life Zheng lived lavishly, a fact the palace never learned. After his death he was posthumously made grand preceptor and grand secretariat director, with the posthumous name Wanyi.
28
拯氣貌嚴重，宦者傳詔至中書，不延坐。 工部尚書林特嘗詣第，累日不得通，白以諮事，使詣中書。 既至，又遣堂吏謂之曰：“公事何不自達朝廷？ ”卒不見，特大愧而去。 錢惟演營入相，拯以太后姻家力言之，遂出惟演河陽。 子行己、伸己。
Zheng was stern and imposing in bearing. When eunuchs arrived at the Secretariat to deliver edicts, he never offered them a seat. Minister of Works Lin Te once visited his home but could not get in for days. When Te said he had business to discuss, he was told to go to the Secretariat. When Te arrived, Zheng sent a hall clerk to tell him, "Why don't you take official business straight to the court? " In the end Zheng refused to see him, and Te withdrew in deep humiliation. When Qian Weiyan maneuvered for a seat in the chancellorship, Zheng—related to the empress dowager by marriage—argued forcefully against it, and Weiyan was posted out to Heyang. He had two sons, Xingji and Shenji.
29
〈子〉 行己
〈Sons〉 Xingji
30
行己字肅之，以父任為右侍禁、涇原路駐泊都監、知憲州，因治狀增秩。 曆石、保、霸、冀、莫五州，所至有能稱。
Xingji, courtesy name Suzhi, entered service through his father's privilege as a right palace guard, garrison supervisor on the Jingyuan frontier, and prefect of Xianzhou; his rank was raised for competent administration. He served in turn as prefect of Shi, Bao, Ba, Ji, and Mo, earning a reputation for ability wherever he went.
31
夏人既納款，疆候播言契丹治兵幽燕，大為戰具，議者欲解西備北，行己言：“遼、夏為與國，元昊入貢，容懷詭計，幽燕治兵，或為虛聲，邊鄙之虞，恐不在河朔也。”
After the Tangut submitted, frontier scouts reported that the Khitan were mobilizing in Youyan and stockpiling arms on a large scale, and some argued for easing defenses in the west to reinforce the north. Xingji said, "Liao and Xia are allied. Yuanhao's tribute may conceal a trick; Khitan troop movements in Youyan may be bluff. I suspect the real danger on the frontier may not lie in Hebei at all.
32
皇祐中，知定州，韓琦薦為路鈐轄。 徙知代州，管幹河東緣邊安撫事。 夏人掠麟州，蕃部且盜耕屈野河西田，遇官軍逴邏者，輒聚射。 詔行己計之。 行己言：“此奸民無忌憚，非君長過，不宜以細故啟大釁，但加戒戢足矣。”
During the Huangyou era he served as prefect of Dingzhou; Han Qi recommended him as circuit supervisory commissioner. He was transferred to Daizhou and put in charge of frontier pacification along the eastern Hedong border. Tangut raiders plundered Linzhou, and tribal groups were also farming illegally west of the Quye River; whenever they met government patrols they would mass and shoot. The court ordered Xingji to devise a response. Xingji said, "These are unruly people acting without fear—it is not the fault of their chiefs. We should not start a major conflict over a minor matter. Stronger discipline will suffice.
33
五台山寺調廂兵義勇繕葺，為除和糴穀三萬，行己謂不可損歲入之儲，以事不急之務。 進西上閣門使，四遷客省使，更高陽關、秦鳳、定州、大名府路馬步總管，以衛州防禦使致仕，預洛陽耆英之集。 元祐中，終金州觀察使，年八十四。
Temples on Mount Wutai conscripted garrison troops and volunteers for repairs and sought exemption from thirty thousand units of government grain purchases. Xingji argued that annual revenue reserves should not be drained for non-urgent work. He rose to Western Upper Gate envoy, was promoted four times to Guest Reception envoy, and then served as overall cavalry and infantry commander on the Gaoyang Pass, Qin-Feng, Dingzhou, and Daming circuits. He retired as defender of Weizhou and took part in the gathering of venerable elders at Luoyang. In the Yuanyou era he died in office as military observer of Jinzhou, at the age of eighty-four.
34
〈子〉 伸己
〈Sons〉 Shenji
35
伸己字齊賢，以蔭補右侍禁。 累遷西頭供奉官，授閣門祗候、桂州兵馬都監。 轉運使俞獻可辟知廉州。 久之，安化蠻擾邊，獻可又薦知宜州。
Shenji, courtesy name Qixian, entered service by privilege as a right palace guard. He rose through posts to Western Head Palace Attendant and was appointed gate lieutenant and military commander of Guizhou. Transport commissioner Yu Xiankai appointed him prefect of Lianzhou. Later, when the Anhua tribes raided the frontier, Xiankai again recommended him as prefect of Yizhou.
36
天聖中，改桂、宜、融、柳、象沿邊兵馬都監，遂專溪峒事。 以禮賓使復知宜州。 代還，道改供備庫使、知邕州。 治舍有井，相傳不敢飲，飲輒死。 伸己日汲自供，終更無恙。 旁城數里，有金花木，土俗言花開即瘴起，人不敢近。 伸己故以花盛時酣燕其下，亦復無害。 明道恭謝，改東染院使、領榮州刺史、梓夔路兵馬鈐轄，遷洛苑使、知桂州兼廣西鈐轄。 道江陵，會安化蠻犯邊，官軍不利，仁宗遣中人趣伸己討之。 伸己日夜疾馳至宜州，繕器甲，募丁壯，轉糧餉，由三路以進。 伸己臨軍，單騎出陣，語酋豪曰：“朝廷撫汝甚厚，汝乃自取滅亡耶！ 今我奉天子命來，汝聽吾言則生，不則無噍類矣。 ”眾仰泣羅拜曰：“不圖今日再見馮公也。 ”明日，蠻渠棄兵械率眾降軍門。
In the Tiansheng era he became frontier military commander for Gui, Yi, Rong, Liu, and Xiang and thereafter specialized in stream-gorge affairs. As protocol reception commissioner he again served as prefect of Yizhou. On his way back after completing a tour of duty, he was reassigned en route to storehouse equipment commissioner and prefect of Yongzhou. His official residence had a well that local lore said was deadly—anyone who drank from it would die. Shenji drew from it every day for his own use and finished his term unharmed. A few li outside the city stood golden-flower trees; local custom held that when they bloomed miasma would rise, and no one dared go near. Shenji deliberately held a feast beneath them at the height of bloom and suffered no ill effects. At the Mingdao thanksgiving ceremony he was made Eastern Dyeing Commissioner, prefect of Rongzhou, and cavalry and infantry supervisory commissioner of the Zi-Cui circuit, then promoted to Luoyuan commissioner, prefect of Guizhou, and Guangxi supervisory commissioner. Passing through Jiangling, he learned that the Anhua tribes had invaded the frontier and the government forces were faring badly. Renzong sent a palace envoy to hurry Shenji to suppress them. Shenji raced day and night to Yizhou, repaired arms and armor, recruited able-bodied men, moved supplies, and advanced by three routes. Shenji came before the army, rode out alone to the enemy line, and addressed the tribal chiefs: "The court has treated you generously—will you bring destruction on yourselves? I come now on the Son of Heaven's orders. Heed me and live; refuse, and not one of you will survive. " The crowd looked up, weeping, and prostrated themselves, saying, "We never thought we would see Lord Feng again. " The next day the tribal leaders cast down their arms and led their followers to surrender at the camp gate.
37
初，部卒以覆將畏匿，伸己曰：“紀律不明，主將也，戰士何罪？ ”請於朝，貸其死。 以勞遷西上閣門使、知宜州。 樂善蠻寇武陽，伸己遣諭禍福，蠻大悅，悉還所掠。 又莫世堪負險強黠，抄劫邊戶，為疆場患。 伸己設伏擒捕，皆置於法。 遷果州團練使。 在宜二年，徙桂州，改右武衛大將軍，守本官分司西京，卒。
Earlier, soldiers had hidden because their routed commander had fled in fear. Shenji said, "When discipline breaks down, the fault is the commander's—what crime did the rank and file commit? " He petitioned the court and had their death sentences commuted. For his service he was promoted to Western Upper Gate envoy and prefect of Yizhou. When the Leshan tribes raided Wuyang, Shenji sent envoys to explain the consequences of their actions; the tribes were greatly pleased and returned everything they had taken. Mo Shikan, too, held treacherous ground, was bold and cunning, and raided frontier households, becoming a plague on the border. Shenji laid an ambush, captured them, and punished them all according to law. He was promoted to regimental trainer of Guozhou. After two years at Yizhou he was transferred to Guizhou, made general of the Right Martial Guard, and retained his title while serving in absentia at the Western Capital, where he died.
38
始，安化蠻叛，區希範應募擊賊。 賊平，希範詣闕，自言其功。 朝廷下宜州，伸己謂希範無功妄要賞，遂編管全州。 其後希範遁歸，謀為亂，欲殺伸己，嶺外騷然，議者皆罪伸己焉。
When the Anhua tribes first rebelled, Qu Xifan answered the call to fight the rebels. After the rebels were suppressed, Xifan came to court and claimed credit for himself. The court referred the matter to Yizhou; Shenji judged that Xifan had no merit and was presumptuously seeking reward, and had him registered and banished to Quanzhou. Later Xifan escaped, returned, plotted rebellion, and sought to kill Shenji; turmoil spread across the Lingnan region, and critics all blamed Shenji.
39
賈昌朝
Jia Changchao
40
賈昌朝，字子明，真定獲鹿人。 晉史官緯之曾孫也。 天禧初，真宗嘗祈穀南郊，昌朝獻頌道左，召試，賜同進士出身，主晉陵簿。 賜對便殿，除國子監說書。 孫奭判監，獨稱昌朝講說有師法。 他日書路隨、韋處厚傳示昌朝曰：“君當以經術進，如二公。 ”為潁川郡王院伴讀。 再遷殿中丞，曆知宜興、東明縣。 奭侍讀禁中，以老辭，薦昌朝自代，召試中書，尋復國子監說書。 上言：“禮，母之諱不出於宮。 今章獻太后易月製除，猶諱父名，非尊宗廟也。 ”詔從之。 景祐中，置崇政殿說書，以授昌朝。 誦說明白，帝多所質問，昌朝請記錄以進，賜名《邇英延義記注》，加直集賢院。
Jia Changchao, courtesy name Ziming, was a native of Huolu in Zhending. He was the great-grandson of Jia Wei, historiographer of Jin. Early in the Tianxi era, when Emperor Zhenzong performed the southern-suburb grain-prayer rite, Changchao presented a eulogy by the roadside. Summoned for examination, he was granted jinshi standing and appointed registrar of Jinling. Granted audience in the Convenient Hall, he was appointed lecturer at the Directorate of Education. Sun Shi, director of the directorate, alone praised Changchao's lectures as truly masterful. On another day he copied out the biographies of Lu Sui and Wei Chuhou and showed them to Changchao, saying, "You should rise through classical learning, as these two men did. " He became companion reader for the Prince of Yingchuan. Promoted twice to palace administration director, he served in turn as magistrate of Yixing and Dongming. When Shi served as reader-in-waiting in the palace, he resigned on account of age and recommended Changchao as his successor. Summoned for examination at the Secretariat, Changchao soon resumed as lecturer at the Directorate of Education. He memorialized, "By ritual, taboo on one's mother's name does not extend beyond the palace. Yet Empress Dowager Zhangxian, though her mourning period had ended, still observed taboo on her father's name. That does not honor the ancestral temple. " The emperor issued an edict adopting his recommendation. In the Jingyou era the Chongzheng Hall lectureship was created and given to Changchao. His lectures were lucid, and the emperor questioned him often. Changchao asked that their exchanges be recorded and submitted; the work was titled Record and Annotation of Erecting Excellence and Extending Righteousness, and he was made direct academician of the Assembled Worthies Hall.
41
太平興國寺災，是夕，大雨震雷。 朝廷議修復，昌朝上言：“《易·震》之象曰：‘洊雷震，君子以恐懼修省。 ’近年寺觀屢災，此殆天示警告，可勿繕治，以示畏天愛人之意。 ”西域僧獻佛骨、銅像，昌朝請加賜遣還，毋以所獻示中外。 悉行其言。 天章閣置侍講，亦首命昌朝。 累遷尚書禮部郎中、史館修撰。
When Taiping Xingguo Temple burned, that same night came torrential rain and thunder. The court debated rebuilding it. Changchao memorialized, "The Zhen hexagram in the Book of Changes says, 'Repeated thunder—the noble man, in fear and awe, examines himself and reforms. ' Temples and monasteries have burned repeatedly in recent years—this is surely Heaven's warning. We should refrain from rebuilding, to show that we fear Heaven and cherish the people. When a western monk presented Buddha relics and a bronze image, Changchao asked that he be richly rewarded and sent home, and that the gifts not be displayed at court or abroad. All his recommendations were adopted. When readers-in-waiting were established at the Hall of Heavenly Manifestation, Changchao was again the first appointed. He rose to vice director of the Ministry of Rites and compiler at the Historiography Institute.
42
劉平為元昊所執，邊吏誣平降賊，議收其家。 昌朝曰：“漢族殺李陵，陵不得歸，而漢悔之。 先帝厚撫王繼忠家，終得繼忠用。 平事未可知，使收其族，雖平在，亦不得還矣。 ”乃得不收。 擢知制誥、權判吏部流內銓兼侍講。 初，銓法，縣令奉錢滿萬二千，乃舉令。 昌朝曰：“法如此，則小縣終不得善令。 ”請概舉令，而與之奉如大縣。”
Liu Ping was captured by Yuanhao; frontier officials falsely accused him of surrendering to the enemy, and some argued for confiscating his family's property. Changchao said, "The Han executed Li Ling's clan; Li Ling could not return, and the Han came to regret it. The late emperor treated Wang Jizhong's family generously and in the end was able to use Jizhong again. Ping's fate is still unknown. If we seize his family, even should he survive he will never be able to come home. " The family was spared confiscation. He was promoted to drafter of proclamations, acting director of the Ministry of Personnel's flowing-within selection board, and reader-in-waiting. Under the selection rules, a county magistrate's salary had to reach twelve thousand before he could be promoted to a magistracy. Changchao said, "If the law stands thus, small counties will never get capable magistrates. " He asked that magistrates be promoted broadly and paid at the same rate as those in large counties.
43
進龍圖閣直學士、權知開封府，遷右諫議大夫、權御史中丞兼判國子監。 議者欲以金繒啖契丹使攻元昊，昌朝曰：“契丹許我有功，則責報無窮矣。 ”力止之。 乃上言曰：“太祖初有天下，監唐末五代方鎮武臣、土兵牙校之盛，盡收其威權，當時以為萬世之利。 及太宗時，將帥率多舊人，猶能仗威靈，稟成算，出師禦寇，所向有功。 近歲恩幸子弟，飾廚傳，釣名譽，多非勳勞，坐取武爵，折衝攻守，彼何自而知哉？ 然邊鄙無事，尚得自容。 自西羌之叛，士不練習，將不得人，以屢易之將馭不練之士，故戰則必敗。 此削方鎮太過之弊也。 況親舊、恩幸，出即為將，素不知兵，一旦付以千萬人之命，是驅之死地矣。 此用親舊、恩幸之弊也。 今楊崇勳、李昭亮尚任邊鄙，望速選士代之。 方鎮守臣無數更易，刺史以上，宜慎所授，以待有功。 此救弊之一端也。 ”又上備邊六事：
He was promoted to direct academician of the Dragon Diagram Hall and acting prefect of Kaifeng, then to right remonstration grandee, acting censor-in-chief, and supervisor of the Directorate of Education. Some argued for bribing the Khitan with gold and silk to attack Yuanhao. Changchao said, "If the Khitan agree to help us, their demands for reward will never end. " He forcefully blocked the proposal. He then memorialized, "When Taizu first won the empire, he saw how powerful the frontier military commissioners, local troops, and army clerks of the late Tang and Five Dynasties had become, and he gathered all their authority to the throne. At the time this was thought a blessing for ages to come. Under Emperor Taizong, most commanders were still veterans of the founding generation. Drawing on imperial authority and plans laid down for them, they marched out to repel enemies and won victories wherever they fought. In recent years, sons of imperial favorites have lavished hospitality at relay stations and courted fame. Having done little to earn merit, they have nonetheless sat their way into military ranks. What could such men know of breaking enemy charges, of assault and defense? So long as the borders were quiet, they could still get by. Since the Western Qiang rose in revolt, troops have gone untrained and the wrong men have been put in command. Generals rotated in and out have led raw soldiers into battle—and defeat has followed every time. Such is the cost of having stripped the frontier commands of too much power. Worse still, relatives, old cronies, and imperial favorites are made generals the moment they leave court, though they know nothing of war. To hand them command over millions of lives is to drive those lives—and their own—to ruin. Such is the harm of filling commands with kin, cronies, and favorites. Yang Chongxun and Li Zhaoliang still hold frontier commands today. I urge that qualified replacements be chosen at once. Frontier garrison commanders are rotated endlessly. Appointments from prefect upward should be made carefully and reserved for men who have proven themselves. This would be one step toward setting things right. He further submitted six proposals for strengthening the frontier:
44
其一曰馭將帥。 自古帝王，以恩威馭將帥，賞罰馭士卒，用命則軍政行而戰功集。 太祖脫裘帽賜王全斌曰：“今日居此幄，尚寒不可禦，況伐蜀將士乎？ ”此馭之以恩也。 曹彬、李漢瓊討江南，太祖召彬至前，立漢瓊等於後，授以劍曰：“副將以下，不用命者得專戮之。 ”漢瓊等股栗而退，此馭之以威也。 太祖雖削武臣之權，然一時賞罰及用財集事，皆聽其專，有功則賞，有敗則誅。 今每命將帥，必先疑貳，非近幸不信，非姻舊不委。 今陝西四路，總管而下，鈐轄、都監、巡檢之屬，悉參軍政，謀之未成，事已先漏，甲可乙否，上行下戾，主將不專號令，故動則必敗。 請自今命將，去疑貳，推恩惠，務責以大效，得一切便宜從事。 偏裨有不聽令者，以軍法論，此馭將之道也。
First: governing commanders. Since antiquity, sovereigns have governed their commanders with a blend of grace and authority, and governed soldiers through reward and punishment. When men obey, military discipline holds and victories follow. Emperor Taizu took off his fur coat and cap and gave them to Wang Quanbin, saying, "Even here in this tent I can barely keep warm—what must it be like for the men marching against Shu?" That was governing through kindness. When Cao Bin and Li Hanqiong marched against Jiangnan, Taizu called Bin forward, placed Hanqiong and the others behind him, and presented a sword, saying, "Any deputy commander or officer who disobeys may be put to death at your sole discretion." Hanqiong and the others withdrew with trembling legs. That was governing through fear. Though Taizu had limited the power of military men, he still let them decide rewards, punishments, and spending on the spot. Success was rewarded; failure meant death. Today, every time a commander is appointed, the court begins with distrust. Only imperial favorites are trusted; only kin and old allies receive real authority. In Shaanxi's four frontier circuits today, everyone from the circuit commander down—deputy commanders, supervisors, inspectors—has a hand in military affairs. Plans leak before they are settled; one officer approves what another rejects; orders conflict between top and bottom. With no single voice in command, defeat follows every campaign. Henceforth, when appointing commanders, I urge the court to abandon suspicion, extend trust and favor, hold them accountable for results, and grant full authority to act as need requires. Subordinates who disobey should answer to military law. That is how commanders should be governed.
45
其二曰復土兵。 今河北河東強壯、陝西弓箭手之類，土兵遺法也。 河北鄉兵，其廢已久，陝西土兵，數為賊破，存者無幾。 臣以謂河北、河東強壯，已召近臣詳定法製，每鄉為軍。 其材能絕類者，籍其姓名遞補之。 陝西蕃落弓箭手，貪召募錢物，利月入糧奉，多就黥涅為營兵。 宜優復田疇，使力耕死戰，世為邊用，可以減屯戍、省供饋矣。 內地州縣，增置弓手，如鄉軍之法而閱試之。
Second: restoring local militia. The stalwart militia of Hebei and Hedong, the archers of Shaanxi—these are remnants of the old local militia system. Hebei's village militia were scrapped long ago. Shaanxi's local militia have been shattered again and again by rebels; scarcely any remain. For the stalwart militia of Hebei and Hedong, I believe the court has already summoned senior officials to draw up regulations, organizing each village as a military unit. Men of exceptional ability should be listed by name and promoted in turn. Tribal archers in Shaanxi, drawn by enlistment bonuses and monthly rations, mostly accept tattooing and enlist as regular camp soldiers instead. They should be granted favorable access to farmland, encouraged to farm hard and fight hard, and passed down from generation to generation as frontier auxiliaries. This would cut garrison numbers and save supply costs. In interior prefectures and counties, additional archers should be enrolled and drilled according to the village-army model.
46
其三曰訓營卒。 太祖朝，令諸軍毋得食肉衣帛，營舍有粥酒肴則逐去，士卒有服繒彩者笞責之。 異時被鎧甲、冒霜露，戰勝攻取，皆此曹也。 今營卒驕惰，臨敵無勇。 舊例三年轉員，謂之落權正授，雖未能易此製，即不必一例使為總管、鈐轄，擇有才勇可任將帥者授之。 況今之兵仗製造，殊不適用。 宜按八陣、五兵之法，以時教習。 使啟殿有次序、左右有形勢，前卻相附，上下相援，令之曰：“失一隊長，則斬一隊。 ”何慮眾不為用乎？
Third: training regular soldiers. Under Taizu, armies were forbidden meat and silk clothing. Any camp found serving rich food or wine had it cleared away; soldiers caught in colored silks were whipped. The men who once donned armor, endured frost and cold, and won their battles were exactly these disciplined troops. Today's soldiers are spoiled and slack; they lack courage when the enemy appears. Under the old rule, soldiers rotate every three years from acting to formal rank—a system we need not abolish. But not every man need be made a circuit commander or deputy. Choose those with talent and courage fit for command. Moreover, the weapons produced today are quite unsuited to actual use. Troops should be drilled seasonally according to the Eight Formations and the Five Weapons. Train them to advance and deploy in order, with solid formations on left and right, mutual support in advance and retreat, and coordination between front and rear. Issue this order: "Lose one squad leader, and the entire squad dies." Why then worry that the men will not fight?
47
其四曰制遠人。 今四夷蕩然與中國通，在北則臣契丹，其西則臣元昊，二國合從，有掎角中國之勢。 借使以歲幣羈縻之，臣恐不可勝算。 古之備邊，西有金城、上郡，北則雲中、雁門。 今自滄之秦，綿亙數千里，無山河之阻，獨恃州縣鎮戍爾。 歲所供贍，又不下數千萬，一穀不熟，或至狼狽。 契丹近歲兼用燕人治國，建官一同中夏。 元昊據河南列郡而行賞罰，此中國患也。 宜度西方諸國如沙州、唃廝、明珠、滅臧之族，近北如黑水女真、高麗、新羅之屬，舊通中國，募人往使，誘之使歸我，則勢分而釁生，體解而瓦裂矣。
Fourth: managing distant peoples. Today the border peoples deal freely with the Middle Kingdom. To the north they look to the Khitan; to the west they look to Yuan Hao. Those two powers have joined forces and now threaten to pinch China between them. Even if we tried to buy their loyalty with annual tribute, I fear the cost would be beyond reckoning. In antiquity, frontier defense relied on strongholds: Jincheng and Shangjun in the west, Yunzhong and Yanmen in the north. Today from Cangzhou to Qinzhou the frontier runs thousands of li without river or mountain barriers to shield it—we depend on nothing but prefectural garrisons. Annual frontier supplies cost tens of millions of cash. One failed harvest can leave the whole system in crisis. In recent years the Khitan have put men from Yan to work governing their realm, building an administrative system modeled on China's own. Yuan Hao holds the Henan prefectures and enforces his own law there—that is China's grave concern. Consider the western realms—Shazhou, Gusiluo, Mingzhu, Miezang—and northern peoples such as the Heishui Jurchen, Goryeo, and Silla, all once linked to China. Send envoys to win them back. Their alliance would split, quarrels would arise, and the enemy would break apart like shattered tile.
48
其五曰綏蕃部。 屬戶者，邊垂之屏翰也。 延有金明，府有豐州，皆戎人內附之地。 朝廷恩威不立，強敵迫之，塞上諸州，藐焉孤壘，蕃部既壞，土兵亦衰，破敵之日，未可期也。 臣請陝西緣邊諸路，守臣皆帶“安撫蕃部”之名，擇其族大有勞者為酋帥，如河東折氏之比，庶可為吾藩籬之固也。
Fifth: securing tribal allies. Dependent households are the frontier's shield. Jinming in Yanzhou, Fengzhou in Fuzhou—these are lands where tribal peoples came over to the court. When the court shows neither firm kindness nor authority, powerful enemies press in, and frontier prefectures stand as lonely, neglected outposts. Once tribal allies collapse, local militia weaken too—and victory becomes a distant hope. I propose that frontier officials throughout Shaanxi bear the title "Pacifier of Tribal Allies," with tribal leaders of proven merit appointed as chieftains—following the example of the Zhe clan in Hedong—so they may serve as a firm bulwark for the realm.
49
其六曰謹覘候。 古者守封疆，出師旅，居則有行人之覘國，戰則有前茅之慮無，其謹如此。 太祖命李漢超鎮關南，馬仁瑀守瀛州，韓令坤鎮常山，賀惟忠守易州，何繼筠領棣州，郭進控山西，武守琪戍晉陽，李謙溥守隰州，董遵誨屯環州，王彥升守原州，馮繼業鎮靈武。 筦榷之利，悉輸之軍中，聽其貿易，而免其征稅。 邊臣富於財，得以為間諜，羌夷情狀，無不預知。 二十年間，無外顧之憂。 今日西鄙任邊事者，敵之情狀與山川、道路險易之勢，絕不通曉。 使蹈不測之淵，入萬死之地，肝腦塗地，狼狽相藉，何以破敵制勝耶？ 願監藝祖任將帥之制，邊城財用悉以委之。 募敢勇之士為爪牙，臨陣自衛，無殺將之辱； 募死力為覘候，而望敵知來，無陷兵之恥。
Sixth: vigilant scouting. In antiquity, whether guarding borders or marching to war, peacetime relied on envoys to watch foreign states and wartime on vanguard scouts to guard against surprise—such was their vigilance. Taizu posted Li Hanchao at Guannan, Ma Renyu at Yingzhou, Han Lingkun at Changshan, He Weizhong at Yizhou, He Jiyun at Dizhou, Guo Jin over Shanxi, Wu Shouqi at Jinyang, Li Qianbo at Xizhou, Dong Zunhui at Huanzhou, Wang Yansheng at Yuanzhou, and Feng Jiye at Lingwu. Monopoly revenues went entirely to the frontier armies, which were free to trade without paying taxes. Flush with funds, frontier commanders could run spies and learn everything about tribal movements before events unfolded. For twenty years the court need not fear attack from beyond the borders. Today the men who run the western frontier know almost nothing of the enemy—or of the terrain and roads they must traverse. How can men who stumble into unknown depths and lands where death waits at every step—where brains and blood soak the ground and bodies fall in heaps—hope to defeat the enemy and win? I urge the court to restore Emperor Taizu's practice: give frontier commanders full control over local finances. Recruit bold warriors as personal guards so commanders can defend themselves in battle and avoid the shame of being cut down. Recruit men willing to die as scouts, so the enemy's approach is never a surprise and troops are never trapped in ambush.
50
書奏，多施行之。
The memorial was submitted, and much of it was adopted.
51
昌朝請度經費，罷不急。 詔與三司合議，歲所省緡錢百萬。 又言：“朝臣七十，筋力衰者，宜依典故致仕，有功狀可留者勿拘。 ”因疏耄昏不任事者八人，令致仕。 慶曆三年，拜參知政事。 上言：“用兵以來，天下民力頗困。 請詔諸路轉運使，毋得承例折變科率，須科折者，悉聽奏裁。 雖奉旨及三司文移，於民不便者，亦以上聞。”
Changchao proposed reviewing expenditures and cutting nonessential spending. The court ordered him to confer with the fiscal ministry; they agreed on annual savings of one million strings of cash. He also argued: "Officials of seventy whose strength has waned should retire as precedent dictates; those with proven records of service may remain at their posts." He then named eight officials too aged and feeble to serve and had them retired. In Qingli 3 he was made Vice Grand Councillor. He reported: "Since the war began, the people's resources have been severely strained." I ask that transport commissioners be forbidden to impose forced commutation levies by precedent; wherever commutation is needed, they must seek imperial approval first. Even orders from the throne or the fiscal ministry should be reported upward if they harm the people.
52
以工部侍郎充樞密使，尋拜同中書門下平章事、集賢殿大學士，仍兼樞密使。 居兩月，拜昭文館大學士，監修國史。 元昊歸石元孫，議賜死。 昌朝獨曰：“自古將帥被執，歸者多不死。 ”元孫由是得免。 詔有司議升祔奉慈廟三后，有司論不一。 昌朝曰：“章獻母儀天下，章懿誕育聖躬，宜如詳符升祔元德皇后故事。 章惠於陛下有慈保之恩，當別享奉慈廟如故。 ”乃奉二后神主，升祔真宗廟。 密詔遷中外官一等，優賜諸軍，昌朝與同列力疏，乃止。 又詔遷二府官，益固辭。 元昊既款附，請宰相罷兼樞密使。
As Vice Minister of Works he became Commissioner of Military Affairs; soon he was made Grand Councillor, Grand Academician of the Hall for Collecting Worthies, while retaining his post at Military Affairs. Two months later he was made Grand Academician of the Zhaowen Hall and put in charge of compiling the national history. When Yuan Hao returned the captive Shi Yuansun, the court debated sentencing him to death. Changchao alone argued: "Throughout history, captured generals who were returned were rarely put to death." Yuansun was spared as a result. The court ordered officials to debate enshrining the three empresses alongside the emperor at Fengci Temple, but they could not agree. Changchao argued: "Empress Zhangxian embodied maternal virtue for the realm; Empress Zhangyi bore the emperor. They should be enshrined as Empress Yuande was at Xiangfu." Empress Zhanghui nursed and cared for Your Majesty; she should continue to receive separate rites at Fengci Temple. The spirit tablets of the two empresses were then installed in Emperor Zhenzong's temple. A secret edict ordered a one-rank promotion for all officials and generous bonuses for the armies. Changchao and his colleagues protested forcefully, and the order was withdrawn. When another edict proposed promoting officials of the Two Departments, he refused even more firmly. After Yuan Hao submitted, he asked that grand councillors no longer hold concurrent posts as Commissioner of Military Affairs.
53
六年，日食。 帝謂昌朝等曰：“謫見於天，願歸罪朕躬。 卿宜究民疾苦，思所以利安之。 ”昌朝對曰：“陛下此言，足以弭天變，臣敢不夙夜孜孜以奉陛下。 ”帝又曰：“人主懼天而修德，猶人臣畏法而自新也。 ”昌朝因頓首謝。 明年春，旱，帝避正寢，減膳。 昌朝引漢災異冊免三公故事，上表乞罷。
In the sixth year of the reign, there was a solar eclipse. The emperor told Changchao and the others: "Heaven shows its reproach; let the blame fall on me alone." You must uncover the people's suffering and find ways to ease and restore them. Changchao replied: "Your words alone can appease Heaven's wrath. How could I fail to serve you tirelessly, day and night?" The emperor added: "When a ruler fears Heaven and reforms his conduct, it is like a subject who respects the law and mends his ways." Changchao bowed low in acknowledgment. The following spring drought struck. The emperor moved out of the main palace quarters and cut back his table. Citing the Han precedent of dismissing the Three Excellencies after disasters, Changchao submitted a memorial asking to be removed from office.
54
參知政事吳育數與昌朝爭議上前，論者多不直昌朝。 有向綬者知永靜軍，疑通判譖己，誣以事，迫令自殺。 高若訥知審刑院，附昌朝議，欲從輕坐。 吳育力爭，綬卒減死一等。 未幾，若訥為御史中丞，言大臣廷爭不肅，故雨不時若，遂罷育，而除昌朝武勝軍節度使、檢校太傅、同中書門下平章事、判大名府兼北京留守司、河北安撫使。 帝賜銀飾肩輿。 尋以討貝州賊有功，移山南東道節度使。 楊偕言賊發昌朝部中，不當賞。 弗從。
Vice Grand Councillor Wu Yu often clashed with Changchao before the emperor, and public opinion mostly sided against Changchao. Xiang Shou, military governor of Yongjing, suspected his vice prefect of slandering him. He fabricated charges and drove the man to suicide. Gao Ruonè of the Court of Judicial Review sided with Changchao and argued for a lighter sentence. Wu Yu fought the ruling fiercely, and Xiang Shou's death sentence was reduced by one degree. Soon Gao Ruonè became Censor-in-Chief. He blamed the ministers' unseemly quarrels for the failed rains, and Wu Yu was dismissed. Changchao was made Military Commissioner of Wusheng, Honorary Grand Preceptor, Grand Councillor, Administrator of Daming and director of the northern capital guard, and Hebei Pacification Commissioner. The emperor granted him a palanquin adorned with silver fittings. Soon afterward, rewarded for crushing the Beizhou rebels, he was made Military Commissioner of the Eastern Mountain South Circuit. Yang Xie argued that the rebels had sprung from Changchao's own jurisdiction and that he did not deserve a reward. The emperor did not agree.
55
契丹聚亡卒勇伉者，號“投來南軍”。 邊法，卒亡自歸者死。 昌朝除其法，歸者輒遷補，於是來者稍眾，因廉知契丹事。 契丹遂拒亡卒，黜南軍不用。 邊人以地外質，契丹故稍侵邊界。 昌朝為立法，質地而主不時贖，人得贖而有之，歲餘，地悉復。
The Khitans mustered fugitive soldiers who were bold and fierce into a force they called the "Southern Army of Surrendered Men." Under frontier law, any soldier who deserted and then came back on his own was executed. Changchao abolished the law. Every deserter who returned was reassigned and given a new post, and before long the stream of arrivals swelled. He thus gained detailed intelligence on Khitan affairs. The Khitans then shut their doors to deserters and disbanded the Southern Army altogether. Frontier families had taken to pledging land across the border as collateral, and the Khitans gradually used this to nibble away at the boundary. Changchao drafted a new statute: when pledged land went unredeemed by its owner in the allotted time, anyone else could redeem it and take title. Within a year and more, every acre had been recovered.
56
三司使葉清臣移用河北庫錢，昌朝格詔不與，清臣論列不已，遂出清臣河陽，徙昌朝判鄭州。 過闕入覲，留為祥源觀使，拜尚書右僕射、觀文殿大學士、判尚書都省，朝會班中書門下，視其儀物。 歲中求外，復除山南東道節度使、右僕射、檢校太師兼侍中、判鄭州。 固辭僕射、侍中，改同中書門下平章事。 賜中謝，自昌朝始也。
Ye Qingchen, commissioner of the Three Departments, tried to divert Hebei treasury funds. Changchao blocked the order and refused to release the money. Ye Qingchen kept hammering away in memorials until he was posted to Heyang and Changchao was shifted to administer Zhengzhou. On his way through the capital for an audience, he was kept at court as commissioner of the Xiangyuan Temple and named Right Vice Director of the Secretariat, Grand Academician of the Hall for Observing Culture, and Administrator of the Secretariat Directorate. At court assemblies he took rank alongside the chief ministers and shared their ceremonial insignia. Halfway through the year he asked for a provincial post and was again named Military Commissioner of the Eastern Mountain South Circuit, Right Vice Director, Honorary Grand Preceptor and Palace Attendant, and Administrator of Zhengzhou. He firmly declined the posts of Vice Director and Palace Attendant and was made Grand Councillor instead. The custom of thanking the throne from mid-court began with Changchao.
57
母喪去位，服除，判許州。 召對邇英閣，帝問《乾卦》，昌朝上奏曰：“《乾》之上九稱：‘亢龍有悔。 ’悔者，凶災之萌，爻在亢極，必有凶災。 不言凶而言悔者，以悔有可凶可吉之義，修德則免悔而獲吉矣。 ‘用九，見群龍無首，吉’。 聖人用剛健之德，乃可決萬機。 天下久盛，柔不可以濟，然亢而過剛又不能久。 獨聖人外以剛健決事，內以謙恭應物，不敢自矜為天下首，乃吉也。 ”手詔優答。 又言：“漢、唐都雍，置三輔內翼京師，朝廷都汴，而近京諸郡皆屬他道，制度不稱王畿。 請析京東之曹州，京西之陳、許、滑、鄭，皆隸開封府，以四十二縣為京畿。 ”帝納之。 將行，命講讀官餞於資善堂。 復判大名府兼河北安撫使。 時河決商胡，昌朝請復故道，不從。 語在《河渠志》。 六塔功敗，濱、棣、德、博民多水死，昌朝振救之甚力。 內侍劉恢往視，還，言河決趙征村，與帝名嫌為不祥，時皆謂昌朝使之以搖當國者。 嘉祐元年，進封許國公，又兼侍中，尋以同中書門下平章事為樞密使。
He left office upon his mother's death. When mourning ended, he was appointed Administrator of Xuzhou. Summoned to the Zhying Pavilion, the emperor asked about the Qian hexagram. Changchao replied: "The top line of Qian says: 'The dragon flies too high—there is regret.' "Regret is the seed of calamity. When a line reaches the extreme of excess, disaster is sure to follow." It speaks of regret rather than calamity because regret can lead either way. Cultivate virtue, and one may escape regret and win good fortune instead. "'Employ the nines: behold a host of dragons without a head—good fortune.'" A sage ruler must wield the virtue of strength and vigor before he can decide the myriad affairs of state. The realm has long prospered: softness alone will not suffice, yet excess and overbearing rigidity cannot endure either. Only the sage decides affairs outwardly with strength and vigor, yet inwardly meets the world with humility and deference, never presuming to be first under Heaven—then there is good fortune. The emperor answered with a gracious handwritten edict. He also said: "Han and Tang made their capitals at Yong and established the Three Supports to shield the capital from within. Our court sits at Bian, yet the prefectures nearest the capital all belong to other circuits—a system unworthy of an imperial domain. I ask that Caozhou from the Eastern Capital circuit and Chen, Xu, Hua, and Zheng from the Western Capital circuit be detached and placed under Kaifeng Prefecture, making forty-two counties the imperial domain." The emperor accepted the proposal. Before his departure, he had the lecture and study officials hold a farewell banquet for him in the Hall of Nurturing Virtue. He was again appointed Administrator of Daming Prefecture and Hebei Pacification Commissioner. At the time the Yellow River burst through at Shanghu. Changchao asked that the old channel be restored, but the court refused. The full account appears in the Treatise on Rivers and Canal Works. When the Six Pagodas project failed, countless people in Bin, Di, De, and Bo drowned in the floods. Changchao threw himself into relief work with great energy. The inner attendant Liu Hui went to inspect the breach. On his return he reported that the river had broken through at Zhaozheng Village—a name too close to the emperor's and therefore taken as ill-omened. At the time many believed Changchao had sent him to shake those then in power. In the first year of Jiayou he was promoted to Duke of Xu and also made Palace Attendant. Soon he was shifted from Grand Councillor to Commissioner of Military Affairs.
58
三年，宰相文彥博請罷，諫官、御史恐昌朝代彥博，乃相與言昌朝建大第，別創客位以待宦官，宦官有矯制者，樞密院釋不治。 遂以鎮安軍節度使、右僕射、檢校太師、侍中兼充景靈宮使，出判許州。 又以保平軍節度、陝州大都督府長史移大名府兼安撫使。 英宗即位，徙鳳翔節度使，加左僕射、鳳翔尹，進封魏國公。 治平元年，以侍中守許州，力辭弗許。 明年，以疾留京師，乃以左僕射、觀文殿大學士判尚書都省，卒，年六十八，諡曰文元。 御書墓碑曰“大儒元老之碑”。 所著《群經音辨》、《通紀》、《時令》、《奏議》、《文集》百二十二卷。
In the third year chief minister Wen Yanbo asked to retire. Remonstrance officials and censors, fearing Changchao would succeed him, joined in charging that Changchao had built a grand mansion with separate guest quarters reserved for eunuchs, and that when eunuchs forged edicts the Bureau of Military Affairs let them go unpunished. He was then made Military Commissioner of Zhen'an, Right Vice Director, Honorary Grand Preceptor, Palace Attendant and Commissioner of the Jingling Palace, and sent out to administer Xuzhou. He was then transferred from Military Commissioner of Baoping and Chief Administrator of Shaanzhou to Daming Prefecture as Pacification Commissioner. When Emperor Yingzong came to the throne, Changchao was transferred to Military Commissioner of Fengxiang, given the additional titles of Left Vice Director and Prefect of Fengxiang, and promoted to Duke of Wei. In the first year of Zhiping he was appointed Palace Attendant and guardian of Xuzhou. He pleaded hard to be excused, but the court would not allow it. The following year, ill, he stayed in the capital and was made Left Vice Director, Grand Academician of the Hall for Observing Culture, and Administrator of the Secretariat Directorate. He died at sixty-eight; his posthumous title was Wenyuan. The emperor personally inscribed his tomb stele: "Stele of the Great Confucian Elder." He authored Grouped Classics Phonological Distinctions, Comprehensive Annals, Seasonal Ordinances, Memorials, and Collected Writings—one hundred and twenty-two volumes in all.
59
昌朝在侍從，多得名譽。 及執政，乃不為正人所與，而數有攻其結宦官、宮人者。 初，昌朝侍講時，同王宗道編修資善堂書籍，其實教授內侍，諫官吳育奏罷之。 及張方平留唐詢，而詢譖育，世以為昌朝指也。 然言者謂昌朝釋宦官矯制，後驗問無事實云。
As a court attendant, Changchao won wide esteem. Once he held power, upright men would not stand with him, and he was repeatedly attacked for his ties to eunuchs and palace women. Early on, while Changchao served as lecturer-in-waiting, he and Wang Zongdao were assigned to compile the Hall of Nurturing Virtue library—but in fact they were teaching inner attendants. Remonstrance official Wu Yu memorialized to have the arrangement abolished. Later, when Zhang Fangping kept Tang Xun in office and Xun slandered Wu Yu, many believed Changchao had put him up to it. As for the charge that Changchao had released eunuchs who forged edicts, later investigation found no truth in it.
60
子章，館閣校勘，蚤世。 青，朝請大夫。 弟昌衡。
His son Zhang served as collator in the Hall of Literature and died young. Qing rose to Grandee for Court Audience. His younger brother was Changheng.
61
〈弟〉 昌衡
〈Younger Brother〉 Changheng
62
昌衡字子平。 舉進士，為梓州路轉運判官。 賈人請富順井鹽，吏視賄多寡為先後，昌衡一隨月日給之。 瀘州邊夷蠻，故時守以武吏，昌衡請由東銓調選。 蠻驅馬來市，官第其良駑為二等，上者送秦州，下者輒輕估直而抑買，昌衡請嚴禁之。 徙提點淮南刑獄、廣東轉運使，徙兩浙路。
Changheng, courtesy name Ziping. He passed the jinshi examination and became transport vice-commissioner of the Zizhou Circuit. Merchants applying for salt from the Fushun wells found officials ranking requests by the size of the bribe. Changheng simply issued allotments in the order of the calendar. Luzhou lay on the frontier among the Yi barbarians, and its prefect had always been a military man. Changheng asked that appointments be made through the eastern personnel board instead. When the barbarians drove horses to market, officials graded them good or poor in two classes: the better ones were sent on to Qinzhou, while the poorer ones were undervalued and forcibly bought up. Changheng asked that the practice be strictly forbidden. He was transferred to intendant of Huainan judicial penalties, then Guangdong transport commissioner, and then to the Two Zhe circuit.
63
熙寧更法度，核吏治，昌衡數以利害聞，神宗獎其論奏忠益。 召為戶部副使、提舉市易司，課羨，增秩右諫議大夫，加集賢殿修撰、知河南府，曆陳、鄆、應天府、鄧州。 以正議大夫致仕，卒。 從子炎。
During the Xining reforms, as the government overhauled law and audited official conduct, Changheng repeatedly reported on what would help and what would harm. Emperor Shenzong praised his memorials as loyal and useful. He was summoned as vice commissioner of the Households Ministry and supervisor of the State Trade Bureau. For meeting surplus revenue targets he was promoted to Right Remonstrator, made compiler in the Hall of Assembled Worthies, and appointed prefect of Henan; he went on to govern Chen, Yun, Yingtian, and Deng in succession. He retired with the rank of Grandee of Righteous Discussion and died. His nephew was Yan.
64
〈從子〉 炎
〈Nephew〉 Yan
65
炎字長卿，以昌朝蔭，更曆筦庫，積遷至工部侍郎。 政和中，以顯謨閣待制知應天府，徙鄆州、永興。 初，陝西行鐵錢久，幣益輕。 蔡京設法盡斂之，更鑄夾錫錢，幣稍重。 京去相，轉運使李訁惠、陳敦復見所斂已多，遽請罷鑄。 鐵錢既復行，其輕加初，自關以西皆罷市，民不聊生。 炎獨一切弛禁，聽從其便。 其後，宣徽使童貫又以兩者重輕相形，遂盡廢夾錫不得用，民益以為苦。 炎徙知延安，因表言：“錢法屢變，人心愈惑。 今人以為利者，臣見其害； 以為是者，臣見其非。 中產之家，不過畜夾錫錢一二萬，既棄不用，則惟有守錢而死耳。 邊氓生理蕭條，官又一再變法，鄜延去敵迫近，民殊不安。 民不安則邊不可守，願得內郡以養母。 ”乃命為潁州，未行，復留。 又與貫製疆事不合，貫沮之，改河陽，又改鄧州。 加直學士、知永興。 入對，留為工部侍郎。 貫簽書樞密院河西、北兩房，侍從邀炎俱往賀，炎曰：“故事無簽書兩房者，彼非執政，何賀為？ ”會以疾卒，年五十八。 贈銀青光祿大夫。
Yan, courtesy name Changqing, entered office through Changchao's yin privilege, served in succession in treasury posts, and rose step by step to Vice Minister of Public Works. In the Zhenghe era he was made awaiting draftsman at the Hall of Illustrious Plans and prefect of Yingtian, then transferred to Yun and Yongxing. For a long time iron cash had circulated in Shaanxi, and the currency steadily lost weight. Cai Jing devised a scheme to collect it all and recoin it as tin-alloy cash, and the currency grew somewhat heavier. After Jing left the chancellorship, transport commissioners Li Xinhui and Chen Dunfu, seeing how much had already been collected, abruptly asked that the recoinage be halted. Once iron cash circulated again, it was as light as ever. From the Pass westward markets closed everywhere, and the people could scarcely survive. Yan alone lifted every restriction and let people trade as they saw fit. Later, Palace Domestic Service Commissioner Tong Guan, comparing the relative weight of the two currencies, abolished tin-alloy cash altogether so it could no longer be used, and the people suffered all the more. Yan was transferred to govern Yan'an and submitted a memorial: "The currency law has changed again and again, and the people grow ever more bewildered. What people now call gain, I see as harm; what they call right, I see as wrong. A middle-income household holds at most ten or twenty thousand in tin-alloy cash. Now that it has been cast aside and rendered useless, they can only sit on their coins until they die. Frontier livelihoods are withered, and the government keeps changing the law again and again. The Yan and Yan circuits lie close to the enemy, and the people are deeply unsettled. If the people are unsettled, the frontier cannot be held. I ask to be granted an inner prefecture so I may support my mother." He was appointed to Yingzhou, but before he could leave he was kept at court again. He also clashed with Guan over border policy. Guan blocked him, and he was reassigned to Heyang, then to Deng. He was made Direct Academician and prefect of Yongxing. After an audience at court he was kept in the capital as Vice Minister of Public Works. When Guan was made concurrent signatory for the western and northern chambers of the Bureau of Military Affairs, attendant officials invited Yan to join them in congratulating him. Yan said: "By precedent there is no signatory for two chambers at once. He is not a chief minister—why congratulate him? Just then he died of illness at fifty-eight. He was posthumously granted the title Grandee of Splendid Brightness with Silver Seal.
66
〈伯祖父〉 琰
〈Father's Elder Uncle〉 Yan
67
琰風神峻整，有吏幹，佐太宗居幕府凡五年，勤於所職。 昆弟五人，琰最幼，及琰曆官而諸兄相繼死。 琰拊循孤幼，聚族凡百口，分給衣食，庭無間言，士大夫以此稱之。
Yan had a stern, composed bearing and real administrative talent. He served Taizong in his headquarters for five years in all, diligent in every duty. There were five brothers, and Yan was the youngest. By the time Yan had risen through office, his elder brothers had died one after another. Yan nurtured the orphaned young, gathered the clan—nearly a hundred mouths—and apportioned food and clothing among them. There was no discord in the household, and scholar-officials praised him for it.
68
琰子湜、汾。 湜至軍器庫使。 交阯黎桓之篡丁璿也，朝廷以孫全興將兵討焉。 湜與王僎同掌軍事，黎桓偽降，全興信之，軍遂北，湜、僎並坐失律誅。 汾至殿中丞。 湜子昌符，賜同學究出身。 汾子昌齡，第進士，為屯田員外郎。
Yan's sons were Shi and Fen. Shi rose to Commissioner of the Arsenal. When Li Huan of Jiaozhi usurped Ding Sui, the court sent Sun Quanxing at the head of an army to punish him. Shi and Wang Zhen jointly directed military affairs. Li Huan feigned surrender, Quanxing believed him, and the army withdrew north. Shi and Zhen were both executed for breach of military discipline. Fen rose to Palace Aide. Shi's son Changfu was granted the status of a fellow licentiate. Fen's son Changling passed the jinshi examination and served as outer director of the Bureau of State Farms.
69
梁適，字仲賢，東平人，翰林學士顥之子也。 少孤，嘗輯父遺文及所自著以進，真宗曰：“梁顥有子矣。 ”授秘書省正字。 為開封工曹，知昆山縣。 徙梧州，奏罷南漢時民間折稅。 更舉進士，知淮陽軍，又奏減京東預買百三十萬。 論景祐赦書不當錄朱梁後，仁宗記其名，尋召為審刑詳議官。
Liang Shi, courtesy name Zhongxian, was a native of Dongping and the son of Hanlin Academician Liang Hao. Orphaned young, he once compiled his father's posthumous writings together with his own work and presented them to the throne. Zhenzong said: "Liang Hao has left a son. He was granted the post of collator in the Secretariat. He served as works officer of Kaifeng and prefect of Kunshan County. He was transferred to Wuzhou and memorialized to abolish the fold-tax the people had borne since the Southern Han. He passed the jinshi by special recommendation, became prefect of Huaiyang Army, and again memorialized to cut eastern Jingdong's pre-purchase silk quota by 1.3 million. He argued that the Jingyou amnesty should not list descendants of the Later Liang. Renzong noted his name and soon made him detailed deliberation officer of the Office of Judicial Review.
70
梓州妖人白彥歡依鬼神以詛殺人，獄具，以無傷讞。 適駁曰：“殺人以刃或可拒，而詛可拒乎？ 是甚於刃也。 ”卒論死。 有鳥似鶴集端門，稍下及庭中，大臣或倡以為瑞，適曰“此野鳥入宮庭耳，何瑞之云？”
In Zizhou, the sorcerer Bai Yanhuan used spirits to curse people to death. When the case was complete, the court sentenced him on the ground that no physical injury had occurred. Shi rebutted: "One might resist a blade, but how does one resist a curse? That is worse than a blade. " In the end Bai was sentenced to death. A crane-like bird gathered at the Duan Gate and gradually descended into the courtyard. Some ministers proposed it as an auspicious omen. Shi said, "This is only a wild bird in the palace courtyard—what omen is there in that?
71
嘗與同院燕肅奏何次公案，帝顧曰：“次公似是漢時人字。 ”肅不能對，適進曰：“蓋寬饒、黃霸皆字次公。 ”帝悅，因詢適家世，益器之。 他日宰相擬適提點刑獄，帝曰：“姑留之，俟諫官有闕，可用也。 ”遂拜右正言。
Once, together with his colleague Yan Su, he reported on the case of He Cigong. The emperor looked up and said, "Cigong seems to be the style of a Han man. " Su could not answer. Shi stepped forward and said, "Both Gai Kuangrao and Huang Ba were styled Cigong. " The emperor was pleased, inquired into Shi's family background, and esteemed him all the more. Another day the chief ministers proposed appointing Shi judicial intendant. The emperor said, "Keep him here for now. When a remonstrator's post opens, he can be used. " He was then appointed Right Remonstrator.
72
林瑀由中旨侍講天章閣，適疏其過。 又言：“夏守贇為將無功，不宜復典宥密。 ”會婦黨任中師執政，以嫌改直史館，修起居注。 奉使陝西，與范仲淹條邊機十餘事。 進知制誥、權發遣開封府。 歲餘，出知兗州。 萊蕪冶鐵為民病，當役者率破產以償，適募人為之，自是民不憂冶戶，而鐵歲溢。 再遷樞密直學士、知延州。 告歸治葬，過京師，得入見，自言前為朋黨擠逐，留為翰林學士。 御史交劾之，以侍讀學士知澶州，徙秦州。 入知審刑院，擢樞密副使。
Lin Yu, by imperial order from the inner court, was lecturing at the Hall of Heaven's Manifestations. Shi memorialized against his faults. He also said, "Xia Shouyun achieved nothing as a general and should not again head military affairs. " As it happened, his wife's kinsman Ren Zhongshi was in power; on account of the conflict of interest he was moved to compiler in the Historiography Office and recorder of the imperial diary. On a mission to Shaanxi, he and Fan Zhongyan laid out more than ten matters of border strategy. He was promoted to drafter of proclamations and acting commissioner of Kaifeng. After a little more than a year, he was sent out as prefect of Yanzhou. Iron smelting at Laiwu was a scourge on the people; those liable for corvée duty often ruined their households paying the levy. Shi hired laborers to do the work instead, and from then on the people no longer feared the iron foundries while iron output overflowed year by year. He was again promoted to academician directly attached to military affairs and prefect of Yanzhou. He requested leave to go home and arrange a funeral. Passing through the capital, he gained an audience, said he had earlier been driven out by factional rivals, and was kept on as Hanlin academician. Censors jointly impeached him. He was made academic reader and prefect of Cizhou, then transferred to Qinzhou. Recalled to direct the Office of Judicial Review, he was promoted to vice commissioner of military affairs.
73
張堯佐一日除四使，言者爭之力，帝頗怒。 適曰：“台諫論事，職耳。 堯佐恩實過，恐非所以全之。 ”遂奪二使。 儂智高入寇，移嫚書求邕、桂節度，帝將受其降。 適曰：“若爾，嶺外非朝廷有矣。 ”乃遣狄青討之。 賊平，帝曰：“向非適言，南方安危，未可知也。 ”遷參知政事。 契丹欲易國書稱南北朝，適曰：“宋之為宋，受之於天，不可改也。 契丹亦其國名，自古豈有無名之國哉？ ”遂止。 進同中書門下平章事、集賢殿大學士。 大璫王守忠求為節度使，適持不可； 張貴妃治喪皇儀殿，又以為不可。 將以適為園陵使，適言國朝以來無此制，由是浸與陳執中不合。
Zhang Yaozuo was in one day given four commissioner appointments. Remonstrators argued against it with all their strength, and the emperor grew quite angry. Shi said, "For censors and remonstrators to criticize affairs is simply their duty. Yaozuo's favor has truly gone too far. This may not be the way to protect him. " Two of the appointments were then revoked. Nong Zhigao invaded, sent an insolent letter demanding the military governorships of Yong and Gui, and the emperor was about to accept his surrender. Shi said, "If that were done, the lands beyond the mountains would no longer belong to the court. " Di Qing was then dispatched to suppress him. When the rebels were pacified, the emperor said, "Had Shi not spoken as he did, the south's safety would have been unknowable. " He was promoted to vice grand councilor. The Khitan wished to change the state letters so both sides would be called Northern and Southern Dynasties. Shi said, "Song is Song, received from Heaven—it cannot be changed. Khitan is also their state's name. Since antiquity, has there ever been a nameless state? " The plan was abandoned. He was advanced to grand councilor and grand academician of the Hall for Gathering Worthies. The great eunuch Wang Shouzhong sought appointment as military commissioner; Shi maintained this was impermissible; When Concubine Zhang's funeral was to be held in the Hall of Imperial Rites, again he deemed it impermissible. When the court was about to appoint Shi imperial tomb commissioner, Shi said there had been no such practice since the dynasty's founding, and from this he gradually fell out with Chen Zhizhong.
74
適曉暢法令，臨事有膽力，而多挾智數，不為清議所許。 御史馬遵、吳中復極論其貪黷怙權，罷知鄭州。 京師茶賈負公錢四十萬緡，鹽鐵判官李虞卿案之急，賈懼，與吏為市，內交於適子弟，適出虞卿提點陝西刑獄。 及罷，帝即還虞卿三司。 復加觀文殿大學士、知秦州。 古渭初建砦，間為屬羌所鈔，益兵拒守，羌復驚疑。 適具牛酒，召諭其種人，且罷所益兵，羌不為患。 徙永興軍。 夏人盜耕屈野河西田累年，朝廷欲正封，以適為定國軍節度使、知并州，至則悉復侵地六百里。 還，知河陽，領忠武、昭德二鎮、檢校太師，復為觀文殿大學士，以太子太保致仕，進太傅。 熙寧三年，卒，年七十。 贈司空兼侍中，諡曰莊肅。
Shi was thoroughly versed in law, bold and resolute in action, yet often relied on stratagems and won no approval from the moral critics. Censors Ma Zun and Wu Zhongfu argued forcefully that he was corrupt and abused power. He was dismissed to prefect of Zhengzhou. A Kaifeng tea merchant owed the government four hundred thousand strings. Li Yuqing, vice commissioner of the Salt and Iron Bureau, pressed the case hard. The merchant, in fear, struck a deal with clerks and secretly reached Shi's sons and younger brothers. Shi had Yuqing transferred out as judicial intendant of Shaanxi. When Shi was dismissed, the emperor immediately restored Yuqing to the Three Departments Commission. He was again made grand academician of the Hall for Viewing Literature and prefect of Qinzhou. At Guwei a fort was newly built. It was intermittently raided by dependent Qiang tribes, and when more troops were added to hold it, the Qiang grew alarmed and suspicious again. Shi prepared cattle and wine, summoned the tribal leaders to counsel them, and withdrew the added troops. The Qiang caused no further trouble. He was transferred to Yongxing Army. For years the Tangut had illegally farmed fields west of the Quye River. The court wished to rectify the borders and appointed Shi military commissioner of Dingguo Army and prefect of Bingzhou. On arrival he recovered the full six hundred li of encroached land. Returning, he served as prefect of Heyang, held the two commands of Zhongwu and Zhaode, was made honorary grand preceptor, again became grand academician of the Hall for Viewing Literature, retired as grand guardian of the heir apparent, and was advanced to grand tutor. In the third year of Xining he died at age seventy. He was posthumously awarded Sikong with concurrent appointment as palace attendant; his posthumous title was Zhuangsu.
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〈孫〉 子美
〈Grandson〉 Zimei
76
孫子美，紹聖中，提舉湖南常平。 時新復役法，子美先諸路成役書，就遷提點刑獄。 建中靖國初，除尚書郎中，中書舍人鄒浩封還之，改京西轉運副使。 諫議大夫陳次升又言：“子美緣章惇姻家，連使湖外，承迎其旨意，一時逐臣在封部者，多被其虐，不宜使在近畿。 ”及徙成都路，累遷直龍圖閣、河北都轉運使，傾漕計以奉上，至捐緡錢三百萬市北珠以進。 崇寧間，諸路漕臣進羨餘，自子美始。 北珠出女真，子美市於契丹，契丹嗜其利，虐女真捕海東青以求珠。 兩國之禍蓋基於此，子美用是致位光顯。
Sun Zimei, during the Shaosheng era, served as intendant of the Hunan Ever-Normal Granary. When the corvée law was newly restored, Zimei completed the corvée registers ahead of every other circuit and was promoted on the spot to judicial intendant. At the beginning of Jianzhong Jingguo he was appointed director in the Ministry of the Interior. Central Secretariat drafter Zou Hao returned the sealed appointment, and he was changed to vice transport commissioner of the Jingxi Circuit. Remonstrating grandee Chen Cisheng also said, "Zimei, through his marriage tie to Zhang Dun, was sent in succession to posts beyond the lakes, carrying out Dun's wishes. Many exiled officials within his jurisdiction at the time suffered at his hands. He should not be posted near the capital. " He was transferred to the Chengdu circuit and promoted in succession to academic expositor of the Longtu Hall and chief transport commissioner of Hebei. He drained transport revenue to serve the throne, going so far as to donate three million strings to buy northern pearls for presentation. During the Chongning era, transport commissioners throughout the circuits began presenting surpluses—it began with Zimei. Northern pearls came from the Jurchen. Zimei bought them from the Khitan, and the Khitan, greedy for profit, abused the Jurchen, forcing them to hunt gyrfalcons in exchange for pearls. The calamities of both states were rooted in this, and by it Zimei rose to dazzling prominence.
77
宣和四年，以疾罷為開府儀同三司、提舉嵩山崇福宮，卒，贈少保。 子美為郡，縱侈殘虐，然有幹才，所至辦治雲。
In the fourth year of Xuanhe he was dismissed on account of illness, made grandee of splendid state with equipage equal to the three excellencies and superintendent of the Songshan Chongfu Palace. He died and was posthumously awarded junior guardian. As a prefect, Zimei was extravagant and cruel, yet possessed real ability. Wherever he was posted, he ran affairs with notable efficiency.
78
論曰：此五人者，皆以文吏為宰相。 執中建儲一言，適契上意，不然，何超遷之驟也。 然與劉沆皆寡學少文，希世用事。 馮拯議論多迎合王意，昌朝明經術而尚阿私，梁適曉法令而挾智術，斯君子所不與也。 若執中不受私謁，沆臨事強果，拯從容一言免謂於誅死，此又足稱者焉。
Commentary: These five men all rose from civil clerks to chief ministers. Zhizhong's single word on establishing the heir apparent happened to match the emperor's mind—otherwise, how explain Hang's sudden, rapid rise? Yet he and Liu Hang both had little learning and scant literary polish, currying favor with the times to wield power. Feng Zheng's opinions mostly catered to the emperor's wishes; Changchao was versed in classical learning yet inclined to favoritism; Liang Shi knew the law yet relied on cunning stratagems—these are not men a gentleman would keep company with. Yet Zhizhong would accept no private audiences, Hang was forceful and resolute in action, and Zheng with a single calm word spared Wei from execution—these too are things worthy of praise.