Volume 313 Biographies 72: Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo

富弼，字彥國，河南人。初，母韓有娠，夢旌旗鶴雁降其庭，云有天赦，已而生弼。少篤學，有大度，范仲淹見而奇之，曰：「王佐才也。」以其文示王曾、晏殊，殊妻以女。

Fu Bi, whose style name was Yanguo, came from Henan. When his mother Lady Han was still pregnant with him, she dreamed that standards, cranes, and wild geese alighted in her courtyard and a voice announced a heavenly amnesty; soon afterward Bi was born. As a young man he studied with deep devotion and showed uncommon breadth of character. When Fan Zhongyan met him he was struck with wonder and said, "Here is a man with the makings of a king's right hand." He had his essays shown to Wang Zeng and Yan Shu, and Shu married his daughter to him.

元昊寇鄜延，破金明，鈐轄盧守懃不救，內侍黃德和引兵走，大將劉平戰死，德和誣其降賊。弼請按竟其獄，德和坐要斬。夏守贇為陝西都部署，又以入內都知王守忠為鈐轄，弼言：「用守贇既為天下笑，今益以守忠，殆與唐監軍無異。守懃、德和覆車之轍，可復蹈乎！」詔罷守忠。又請令宰相兼領樞密院。時西夏首領二人來降，位補借奉職。弼言當厚賞以勸來者。事下中書，宰相初不知也。弼歎曰：「此豈小事，而宰相不知邪！」更極論之，於是從弼言。除鹽鐵判官、史館修撰，奉使契丹。慶曆二年，為知制誥，糾察在京刑獄。堂吏有偽為僧牒者，開封不敢治。弼白執政，請以吏付獄，呂夷簡不悅。

When Yuanhao invaded Fuyan and took Jinming, Supervisory Commissioner Lu Shouqin failed to relieve the post, Palace Attendant Huang Dehe fled with his troops, and Major General Liu Ping was killed in battle—after which Dehe slandered Liu as having gone over to the enemy. Bi asked that the matter be prosecuted to the end; Dehe was condemned to execution. Xia Shouyun was appointed overall deployment commissioner for Shaanxi, and Wang Shouzhong, Director of the Inner Service, was again named supervisory commissioner. Bi said, "Appointing Shouyun has already made the court a laughingstock; to add Shouzhong now is little different from the Tang dynasty's eunuch army supervisors. Shouqin and Dehe have already shown us where that road leads—are we to follow their tracks again?" The emperor ordered Shouzhong dismissed. He also urged that the chief ministers take charge of the Bureau of Military Affairs in addition to their civil duties. At that time two Tangut leaders defected to the Song, and they were given only provisional stipendiary appointments. Bi argued that they should be rewarded generously so as to encourage others to follow. When the matter reached the Secretariat, the chief ministers had not even been informed. Bi sighed and said, "Surely this is no trifle—yet the chief ministers know nothing of it!" He pressed his argument further, and the court at last adopted his view. He was made Salt and Iron Commissioner and reviser at the History Office, and was dispatched as envoy to the Khitan court. In Qingli 2 (1042) he was appointed drafting official for the Secretariat and charged with investigating capital criminal cases. A clerk in the chief ministers' office had forged a Buddhist ordination certificate, and the Kaifeng magistracy did not dare take action. Bi reported to the chief administrators and asked that the clerk be handed over for trial; Lü Yijian took offense.

會契丹屯兵境上，遣其臣蕭英、劉六符來求關南地。朝廷擇報聘者，皆以其情叵測，莫敢行，夷簡因是薦弼。歐陽修引顏真卿使李希烈事，請留之，不報。弼即入對，叩頭曰：「主憂臣辱，臣不敢愛其死。」帝為動色，先以為接伴。英等入境，中使迎勞之，英託疾不拜。弼曰：「昔使北，病臥車中，聞命輒起。今中使至而君不拜，何也？」英矍然起拜。弼開懷與語，英感悅，亦不復隱其情，遂密以其主所欲得者告曰：「可從，從之；不然，以一事塞之足矣。」弼具以聞。帝唯許增歲幣，仍以宗室女嫁其子。

Just then the Khitan stationed troops along the frontier and sent ministers Xiao Ying and Liu Liufu to demand the territory south of the mountain passes. The court sought an envoy to answer the embassy, but everyone judged the Khitan intentions too uncertain to risk the mission, and no one would go—so Yijian recommended Bi. Ouyang Xiu cited Yan Zhenqing's fatal embassy to Li Xilie and urged that Bi be kept at home, but the emperor did not reply. Bi went in at once to audience, kowtowed, and said, "When the sovereign is troubled, the minister is disgraced—I dare not cling to my life." The emperor's expression changed, and he first named Bi to receive the envoys. When Ying and his party crossed the border, a palace envoy came out to welcome them, but Ying claimed illness and refused to bow. Bi said, "On my earlier embassy to the north I was sick and lying in my carriage, yet I rose the moment I heard the summons. A palace envoy stands before you and you will not bow—why is that?" Ying started in alarm and rose to bow. Bi spoke with him candidly; Ying was won over and no longer hid his court's real aims, and confided what his sovereign wanted, saying, "If you can grant it, grant it; if not, fob them off with some other concession and that will be enough." Bi reported the whole matter to the throne. The emperor would agree only to raising the annual tribute and to marrying an imperial clanswoman to the Khitan heir.

進弼樞密直學士，辭曰：「國家有急，義不憚勞，奈何逆以官爵賂之。」遂為使報聘。既至，六符來館客。弼見契丹主問故，契丹主曰：「南朝違約，塞雁門，增塘水，治城隍，籍民兵，將以何為？群臣請舉兵而南，吾以謂不若遣使求地，求而不獲，舉兵未晚也。」弼曰：「北朝忘章聖皇帝之大德乎？澶淵之役，苟從諸將言，北兵無得脫者。且北朝與中國通好，則人主專其利，而臣下無獲；若用兵，則利歸臣下，而人主任其禍。故勸用兵者，皆為身謀耳。」契丹主驚曰：「何謂也？」弼曰：「晉高祖欺天叛君，末帝昏亂，土宇狹小，上下離叛，故契丹全師獨克，然壯士健馬物故太半。今中國提封萬里，精兵百萬，法令修明，上下一心，北朝欲用兵，能保其必勝乎？就使其勝，所亡士馬，群臣當之歟，抑人主當之歟？若通好不絕，歲幣盡歸人主，群臣何利焉？」契丹主大悟，首肯者久之。弼又曰：「塞雁門者，以備元昊也。塘水始於何承矩，事在通好前。城隍皆修舊，民兵亦補闕，非違約也。」契丹主曰：「微卿言，吾不知其詳。然所欲得者，祖宗故地耳。弼曰：「晉以盧龍賂契丹，周世宗復取關南，皆異代事。若各求地，豈北朝之利哉？」

He was promoted to expositor-academician of the Bureau of Military Affairs, but declined, saying, "When the realm is in crisis, duty does not flinch from hardship—how can I accept rank and title pressed on me beforehand like a bribe?" He then went north as the returning envoy. On his arrival Liu Liufu came to receive him as guest. Bi was received by the Khitan emperor and asked the reason for the mission. The emperor said, "The Southern Court has broken faith—closing Yanmen Pass, expanding the border ponds, repairing walls and moats, registering militia—what do you intend by all this? My ministers all urge me to march south with an army, but I thought it wiser to send envoys to demand territory first—if that fails, war will not be too late." Bi said, "Has the Northern Court forgotten the great grace shown by Emperor Zhenzong? At Chanyuan, had he listened to his generals, not a single northern soldier would have returned alive. Moreover, when north and south are at peace, the sovereign keeps the profit for himself and his ministers gain nothing; but if war is waged, the profit falls to the ministers while the ruler bears the ruin. Those who urge war, then, are all plotting for their own advantage." The Khitan emperor started and said, "What do you mean by that?" Bi said, "When Gaozu of Jin defied Heaven and betrayed his sovereign, and the last Jin emperor ruled in confusion over a shrunken realm with court and country torn apart, the Khitan could overrun them with a single army—yet even then more than half your brave men and fine horses were lost. Today China spans ten thousand li, fields a million seasoned troops, keeps its laws in good order, and stands united from throne to frontier—if the Northern Court goes to war, can you be sure of victory? Even if you did win, would the ministers pay for the men and horses lost, or would the sovereign? If peace continues, the annual tribute all flows to the throne—what do your ministers gain from that?" The Khitan emperor was deeply struck and nodded for a long while in silence. Bi went on, "Yanmen was closed to guard against Yuanhao. The border ponds were begun by He Chengjue long before the peace treaty. The walls and moats are only old defenses restored, and the militia rolls merely fill gaps—none of this breaks the treaty." The emperor said, "Without your explanation I would never have known the truth of these matters. All we seek, however, is the land of our forefathers. Bi said, "Jin gave up the Lu-long circuit to buy Khitan favor; Shizong of Zhou retook the southern passes—each belongs to a different age. If every dynasty in turn demanded its old borders back, what advantage would that bring the north?"

既退，六符曰：「吾主恥受金帛，堅欲十縣，何如？」弼曰：「本朝皇帝言，朕為祖宗守國，豈敢妄以土地與人。北朝所欲，不過租賦爾。朕不忍多殺兩朝赤子，故屈己增幣以代之。若必欲得地，是志在敗盟，假此為詞耳。澶淵之盟，天地鬼神實臨之。今北朝首發兵端，過不在我。天地鬼神，其可欺乎！」明日，契丹主召弼同獵，引弼馬自近，又言得地則歡好可久。弼反覆陳必不可狀，且言：「北朝既以得地為榮，南朝必以失地為辱。兄弟之國，豈可使一榮一辱哉？」獵罷，六符曰：「吾主聞公榮辱之言，意甚感悟。今惟有結婚可議耳。」弼曰：「婚姻易生嫌隙。本朝長公主出降，齎送不過十萬緡，豈若歲幣無窮之利哉？」契丹主諭弼使歸，曰：「俟卿再至，當擇一受之，卿其遂以誓書來。」

After they withdrew, Liufu said, "Our sovereign is ashamed to take gold and silk and is set on the ten counties—what say you?" Bi said, "Our emperor has declared, 'I hold this realm for my ancestors—how could I rashly cede territory to another power? What the north truly wants is nothing but the revenue of those lands. I cannot bear to see the common people of both courts slaughtered in war, and so I humble myself and increase the annual tribute in their stead. If you insist on taking the land, your aim is to break the treaty and this demand is only a pretext. The covenant of Chanyuan was witnessed by Heaven, earth, and the spirits. Now the north has been first to threaten war—the fault is not ours. Heaven, earth, and the spirits—can they be deceived?" The next day the Khitan emperor invited Bi to join a hunt, drew his horse up beside Bi's, and again said that if the land were granted, good relations could last. Bi argued again and again that it could not be done, and said, "If the north counts gaining territory as honor, the south must count losing it as disgrace. As brother realms, how can one be honored while the other is humiliated?" When the hunt ended, Liufu said, "Our sovereign was deeply moved by what you said about honor and shame. Now only a marriage alliance remains open to discussion." Bi said, "Marriage alliances easily breed suspicion and quarrels. When an eldest imperial princess of our house is sent in marriage, her dowry never exceeds one hundred thousand strings of cash—how can that match the endless profit of annual tribute?" The Khitan emperor told Bi to return home and said, "When you come again we shall choose one option and accept it—bring the treaty text with you then."

弼歸覆命，復持二議及受口傳之詞於政府以往。行次樂壽，謂副使張茂實曰：「吾為使者而不見國書，脫書詞與口傳異，吾事敗矣。」啟視果不同，即馳還都，以晡時入見，易書而行。及至，契丹不復求婚，專欲增幣，曰：「南朝遺我之辭當曰『獻』，否則曰『納』。」弼爭之，契丹主曰：「南朝既懼我矣，於二字何有？若我擁兵而南，得無悔乎！」弼曰：「本朝兼愛南北，故不憚更成，何名為懼？或不得已至於用兵，則當以曲直為勝負，非使臣之所知也。」契丹主曰：「卿勿固執，古亦有之。」弼曰：「自古唯唐高祖借兵於突厥，當時贈遺，或稱獻納。其後頡利為太宗所擒，豈復有此禮哉！」弼聲色俱厲，契丹知不可奪，乃曰：「吾當自遣人議之。」復使劉六符來。弼歸奏曰：「臣以死拒之，彼氣折矣，可勿許也。」朝廷竟以「納」字與之。始受命，聞一女卒；再命，聞一子生，皆不顧。又除樞密直學士，遷翰林學士，皆懇辭，曰：「增歲幣非臣本志，特以方討元昊，未暇與角，故不敢以死爭，其敢受乎！」

Bi returned to report and again carried the two proposals and the orally transmitted terms to the government before setting out once more. At Leshou he said to Vice-envoy Zhang Maoshi, "I am the chief envoy yet I have not seen the state letter—if its wording differs from what was orally agreed, my mission is ruined." He opened it and found they did differ; he galloped straight back to the capital, was received in audience that afternoon, had the letter revised, and set out again. On his arrival the Khitan no longer asked for a marriage but pressed only for higher tribute, saying, "The Southern Court's wording for what it gives us must read xian ('presented')—otherwise na ('tendered')." Bi resisted; the Khitan emperor said, "The Southern Court already fears us—what are two characters to you? If I march south at the head of an army, will you not regret this!" Bi said, "Our court cares equally for north and south, and therefore does not shrink from renewing the treaty—how is that fear? If matters come to war, right and wrong will decide the outcome—that is not suited for an envoy to say." The emperor said, "Do not be stubborn—even antiquity offers precedents." Bi said, "In all history only Gaozu of Tang borrowed troops from the Turks, and only then were gifts sometimes called presented or tendered. After Jieli Khan was captured by Taizong, was such language ever used again?" Bi's voice and bearing were fierce; seeing they could not shake him, the Khitan said, "I shall send envoys of my own to settle this." Liu Liufu was again sent south. On his return Bi reported, "I resisted even at the cost of my life; their spirit is broken—they need not be granted this point." The court in the end conceded the word na ('tendered'). When he first received his commission he learned that a daughter had died; when he was commissioned a second time he heard a son had been born—he gave neither event a thought. He was again made expositor-academician of the Bureau of Military Affairs and promoted to Hanlin academician, but declined each post earnestly, saying, "Raising the annual tribute was never my intent; I did not fight to the death only because we were busy campaigning against Yuanhao—how then could I accept reward?"

三年，拜樞密副使，辭之愈力，改授資政殿學士兼侍讀學士。七月，復拜樞密副使。弼言：「契丹既結好，議者便謂無事，萬一敗盟，臣死且有罪。願陛下思其輕侮之恥，坐薪嘗膽，不忘修政。」以誥納上前而罷。逾月，復申前命，使宰相諭之曰：「此朝廷特用，非以使遼故也。」弼乃受。帝銳以太平責成宰輔，數下詔督弼與范仲淹等，又開天章閣，給筆札，使書其所欲為者；且命仲淹主西事，弼主北事。弼上當世之務十餘條及安邊十三策，大略以進賢退不肖、止僥倖、去宿弊為本，欲漸易監司之不才者，使澄汰所部吏，於是小人始不悅矣。

In the third year of Qingli he was named vice commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs; he declined with still greater force and was instead made academician of the Hall for Cultivating Governance and concurrent reader-in-waiting. In the seventh month he was again appointed vice commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. Bi said, "Now that peace with the Khitan is settled, courtiers treat the frontier as settled—but if the treaty should fail, I would be guilty even in death. I beg Your Majesty to remember the humiliation of their contempt, to sleep on brushwood and taste gall, and never cease to strengthen the realm." He laid the appointment patent before the throne and withdrew. After more than a month the appointment was offered again, and the chief ministers were sent to tell him, "This is a special appointment by the court, not because of your embassy to Liao." Only then did Bi accept. The emperor urgently looked to his chief ministers to deliver peace and repeatedly issued edicts pressing Bi, Fan Zhongyan, and the rest; he opened the Tianzhang Pavilion, supplied writing materials, and asked them to set down what they wished to accomplish; and ordered Zhongyan to take charge of western affairs and Bi of northern affairs. Bi submitted more than ten memoranda on the urgent business of the day and thirteen strategies for securing the borders, grounded chiefly in promoting the capable, removing the unfit, ending favoritism, and rooting out long-standing abuses; he sought gradually to replace incompetent regional supervisors and have them purge the clerks under their command—and from that point petty men first turned against him.

元昊遣使以書來，稱男不稱臣。弼言：「契丹臣元昊而我不臣，則契丹為無敵於天下，不可許。」乃卻其使，卒臣之。四年，契丹受禮雲中，且發兵會元昊伐呆兒族，於河東為近，帝疑二邊同謀。弼曰：「兵出無名，契丹不為也。元昊本與契丹約相左右，今契丹獨獲重幣，元昊有怨言，故城威塞以備之。呆兒屢寇威塞，契丹疑元昊使之，故為是役，安能合而寇我哉？」或請調發為備，弼曰：「如此正墮其計，臣請任之。」帝乃止，契丹卒不動。夏竦不得志，中弼以飛語。弼懼，求宣撫河北，還，以資政殿學士出知鄆州。歲餘，讒不驗，加給事中，移青州，兼京東路安撫使。

Yuanhao sent envoys with a letter that addressed him as the emperor's son but not as his subject. Bi said, "If the Khitan acknowledge Yuanhao as their subject while we do not, the Khitan will stand unrivaled under Heaven—that cannot be allowed." He sent the envoys back and in the end compelled Yuanhao to acknowledge Song suzerainty. In the fourth year the Khitan held rites at Yunzhong and also sent troops to join Yuanhao against the Daier tribe; because this lay close to Hedong, the emperor suspected a joint plot on both frontiers. Bi said, "The Khitan would not march without just cause. Yuanhao had once pledged mutual support with the Khitan, but now the Khitan alone received heavy tribute while Yuanhao nursed grievances, and so he fortified Weisai against them. The Daier had repeatedly raided Weisai, and the Khitan suspected Yuanhao of instigating them—this campaign was aimed at him, not at us. How could the two join to attack us?" Some urged mobilizing troops in precaution; Bi said, "That would play straight into their scheme—let me take responsibility for this." The emperor held back, and the Khitan in the end made no move. Xia Song, frustrated in his ambitions, attacked Bi with whispered slanders. Bi, alarmed, asked to be made pacification commissioner of Hebei; on his return he was made academician of the Hall for Cultivating Governance and sent out as prefect of Yanzhou. After more than a year the slanders proved false; he was given the additional title supervising censor, transferred to Qingzhou, and made concurrent pacification commissioner of the Jingdong circuit.

河朔大水，民流就食。弼勸所部民出粟，益以官廩，得公私廬舍十餘萬區，散處其人，以便薪水。官吏自前資、待缺、寄居者，皆賦以祿，使即民所聚，選老弱病瘠者廩之，仍書其勞，約他日為奏請受賞。率五日，輒遣人持酒肉飯糗慰藉，出於至誠，人人為儘力。山林陂澤之利可資以生者，聽流民擅取。死者為大冢葬之，目曰「叢冢」。明年，麥大熟，民各以遠近受糧歸，凡活五十餘萬人，募為兵者萬計。帝聞之，遣使褒勞，拜禮部侍郎。弼曰：「此守臣職也。」辭不受。前此，救災者皆聚民城郭中，為粥食之，蒸為疾疫，及相蹈藉，或待哺數日不得粥而仆，名為救之，而實殺之。自弼立法簡便周盡，天下傳以為式。

Great floods struck the north of the Yellow River and the people wandered in search of food. Bi urged the people under his jurisdiction to contribute grain, supplemented it from government stores, secured more than one hundred thousand public and private buildings, and scattered the refugees among them so fuel and water would be easier to obtain. Officials of every status—former appointees, men awaiting posts, sojourners—were all paid salaries and sent to refugee camps; the old, weak, sick, and wasted were selected for grain relief, their service recorded with a promise of future reward. Every five days or so he sent men with wine, meat, rice, and dry provisions to comfort them; his sincerity was so complete that everyone gave his utmost. Refugees were allowed to take freely whatever the hills, forests, marshes, and lakes could provide for their livelihood. The dead were buried in great mounds called the Clustered Tombs. The next year the wheat crop was abundant; people returned home according to distance to receive grain—in all more than five hundred thousand lives were saved, and those recruited as soldiers numbered in the tens of thousands. When the emperor heard of this he sent envoys to praise and comfort him and appointed him vice minister of rites. Bi said, "That is simply a local official's duty." He declined and would not accept. Before this, relief efforts had always herded refugees inside walled towns and fed them porridge; pestilence spread, people trampled one another, and some waited days without a bowl and collapsed—in name they were saved, in fact they were killed. Bi's methods—simple, thorough, and complete—were taken as the model throughout the empire.

王則叛，齊州禁兵欲應之，或詣弼告。齊非弼所部，恐事泄變生，適中貴人張從訓銜命至青，弼度其可用，密付以事，使馳至齊，發吏卒取之，無得脫者。即自劾顓擅之罪，帝益嘉之，復以為禮部侍郎，又辭不受。遷大學士，徙知鄭、蔡、河陽，加觀文殿學士，改宣徽南院使、判幷州。至和二年，召拜同中書門下平章事、集賢殿大學士，與文彥博並命。宣制之日，士大夫相慶於朝。帝微覘知之，以語學士歐陽修曰：「古之命相，或得諸夢卜，豈若今日人情如此哉？」修頓首賀。帝弗豫，大臣不得見，中外憂慄。弼、彥博入問疾，因託禳禬事止宿連夕，每事皆關白乃行，宮內肅然，語在《彥博傳》。嘉祐三年，進昭文館大學士、監修國史。

When Wang Ze rebelled, the garrison troops of Qizhou were ready to join him, and someone came to warn Bi. Qizhou was outside Bi's jurisdiction, and he feared that if word leaked the situation would turn violent; just then the palace favorite Zhang Congxun arrived at Qing on imperial business. Bi judged him reliable, secretly entrusted him with the matter, and had him gallop to Qizhou to seize the conspirators with local troops—not one escaped. He immediately impeached himself for acting on his own authority; the emperor praised him all the more, again offered him the post of vice minister of rites, and again he declined. He was promoted to grand academician, served in turn as prefect of Zheng, Cai, and Heyang, was made academician of the Hall for Viewing Culture, and was appointed commissioner of the southern bureau of the palace domestic service with concurrent administration of Bingzhou. In Zhihe 2 (1055) he was summoned and appointed associate chief councillor and grand academician of the Hall for Assembling the Worthy, on the same day as Wen Yanbo. On the day the appointments were proclaimed, the scholar-officials congratulated one another throughout the court. The emperor noticed this in secret and said to academician Ouyang Xiu, "In antiquity chief ministers were sometimes chosen by dreams or divination—how can that compare with the feeling at court today?" Xiu kowtowed in congratulation. When the emperor fell ill the chief ministers could not see him, and anxiety spread through court and country. Bi and Yanbo went in to inquire after his health and, on the pretext of performing exorcisms, lodged in the palace night after night; every matter had to be reported before it was carried out, and order was restored within the palace—the account is in Yanbo's biography. In Jiayou 3 (1058) he was advanced to grand academician of the Hall of Brilliance in Literature and supervisor of the national history.

弼為相，守典故，行故事，而傅以公議，無容心於其間。當是時，百官任職，天下無事。六年三月，以母憂去位，詔為罷春宴。故事，執政遭喪皆起復。帝虛位五起之，弼謂此金革變禮，不可施於平世，卒不從命。英宗立，召為樞密使。居二年，以足疾求解，拜鎮海軍節度使、同中書門下平章事、判揚州，封祁國公，進封鄭。

As chief councillor Bi observed precedent, followed established practice, and grounded every decision in open deliberation, without private inclination. At that time the officials fulfilled their duties and the realm was at peace. In the third month of the sixth year he left office to mourn his mother, and an edict canceled the spring banquet on his account. By precedent, chief administrators in mourning were always recalled to office. The emperor left the post vacant and summoned him five times; Bi held that this wartime exception to mourning could not be applied in a peaceful age, and in the end refused. When Emperor Yingzong ascended the throne, Bi was summoned as commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. After two years he asked to retire on account of foot ailment, was appointed military commissioner of the Zhenhai army, associate chief councillor, and concurrent administrator of Yangzhou, enfeoffed as Duke of Qi, and later advanced to Duke of Zheng.

熙寧元年，徙判汝州。詔入覲，許肩輿至殿門。神宗御內東門小殿，令其子掖以進，且命毋拜，坐語，從容訪以治道。弼知帝果於有為，對曰：「人主好惡，不可令人窺測；可測，則奸人得以傅會。當如天之監人，善惡皆所自取，然後誅賞隨之，則功罪無不得其實矣。」又問邊事，對曰：「陛下臨御未久，當布德行惠，願二十年口不言兵。」帝默然。至日昃乃退。欲以集禧觀使留之，力辭赴郡。明年二月，召拜司空兼侍中，賜甲第，悉辭之，以左僕射、門下侍郎同平章事。

In Xining 1 (1068) he was transferred to concurrent administration of Ruzhou. He was ordered to attend audience and permitted a sedan chair as far as the palace gate. Emperor Shenzong received him in the small hall at the inner eastern gate, had his son support him as he entered, ordered that he not bow, and sat with him in conversation, calmly inquiring about the way of governance. Bi knew the emperor was determined to act and replied, "A ruler's likes and dislikes must not be legible to others; if they can be read, wicked men will attach themselves to them. He should be like Heaven watching over men, from whom good and evil are freely chosen; only then should punishments and rewards follow, so that merit and fault receive their true measure." Asked about frontier affairs, he replied, "Your Majesty has not long held the throne; you should spread virtue and bestow kindness—I beg that for twenty years you will not speak of war." The emperor was silent. He withdrew only when the sun was setting. The court wished to keep him as commissioner of the Jixi Abbey, but he firmly declined and went to his post. In the second month of the following year he was summoned as minister of works and palace attendant and offered a fine mansion—all of which he declined—and was made left vice director of the Imperial Secretariat, vice director of the Chancellery, and associate chief councillor.

時有為帝言災異皆天數，非關人事得失所致者。弼聞而歎曰：「人君所畏惟天，若不畏天，何事不可為者！此必奸人欲進邪說，以搖上心，使輔拂諫爭之臣，無所施其力。是治亂之機，不可以不速救。」即上書數千言，力論之。又言：「君子小人之進退，繫王道之消長，願深加辨察，勿以同異為喜怒、喜怒為用舍。陛下好使人伺察外事，故奸險得志。又多出親批，若事事皆中，亦非為君之道；脫十中七八，積日累月，所失亦多。今中外之務漸有更張，大抵小人惟喜生事，願深燭其然，無使有悔。」是時久旱，群臣請上尊號及用樂，帝不許，而以同天節契丹使當上壽，故未斷其請。弼言此盛德事，正當以此示之，乞並罷上壽。帝從之，即日雨。弼又上疏，願益畏天戒，遠奸佞，近忠良。帝手詔褒答之。

At the time someone told the emperor that omens and anomalies were all Heaven's fixed decree and had nothing to do with human conduct. When Bi heard this he sighed and said, "What a ruler should fear is Heaven alone—if he does not fear Heaven, what act will be beyond him? This must be wicked men seeking to advance perverse doctrines, shake the sovereign's mind, and render loyal remonstrators powerless. This strikes at the hinge of order and chaos and must be remedied at once." He at once submitted a memorial of several thousand characters arguing the point at length. He also said, "Whether gentlemen or petty men rise or fall bears on the waxing and waning of the kingly way—I beg Your Majesty to judge deeply and not to make likes and dislikes out of agreement and disagreement, nor appointments out of likes and dislikes. Your Majesty likes to have men spy on affairs outside the court, and therefore the treacherous prosper. You also issue many personal rescripts; even if every decision were correct, that would still not be the way to rule; and if only seven or eight of ten are right, the losses over days and months will still be great. Affairs at court and in the provinces are now being changed; petty men generally delight only in stirring trouble—I beg Your Majesty to see this clearly and not allow regret." Drought had long continued; the ministers asked that an honorific title be adopted and music be used—the emperor refused, but because Khitan envoys for the Tongtian festival were due to offer birthday felicitations, he had not yet ruled on their request. Bi said this was precisely the moment to display great virtue and begged that the birthday felicitations also be canceled. The emperor agreed, and rain fell that very day. Bi submitted another memorial urging the emperor to fear Heaven's warnings all the more, keep the treacherous at a distance, and draw the loyal near. The emperor replied with a personal edict of praise.

王安石用事，雅不與弼合。弼度不能爭，多稱疾求退，章數十上。神宗將許之，問曰：「卿即去，誰可代卿者？」弼薦文彥博，神宗默然，良久曰：「王安石何如？」弼亦默然。拜武寧節度使、同中書門下平章事、判河南，改亳州。青苗法出，弼以謂如是則財聚於上，人散於下，持不行。提舉官趙濟劾弼格詔旨，侍御史鄧綰又乞付有司鞫治，乃以僕射判汝州。安石曰：「弼雖責，猶不失富貴。昔鯀以方命殛，共工以象恭流，弼兼此二罪，止奪使相，何由沮奸？」帝不答。弼言：「新法，臣所不曉，不可以治郡。願歸洛養疾。」許之。遂請老，加拜司空，進封韓國公致仕。弼雖家居，朝廷有大利害，知無不言。郭逵討安南，乞詔逵擇利進退，以全王師；契丹爭河東地界，言其不可許；星文有變，乞開廣言路；又請速改新法，以解倒縣之急。帝雖不盡用，而眷禮不衰，嘗因安石有所建明，卻之曰：「富弼手疏稱『老臣無所告訴，但仰屋竊歎』者，即當至矣。」其敬之如此。

Wang Anshi held power and had never been in accord with Bi. Bi judged that he could not prevail and repeatedly pleaded illness to retire, submitting dozens of memorials. Shenzong was about to grant his request and asked, "If you go, who can replace you?" Bi recommended Wen Yanbo. Shenzong was silent, and after a long pause said, "What of Wang Anshi?" Bi too was silent. He was appointed military commissioner of the Wuning army, associate chief councillor, and concurrent administrator of Henan, then transferred to Bozhou. When the Green Sprouts law was promulgated, Bi held that it would concentrate wealth at the top and scatter the people below, and he refused to implement it. Intendant Zhao Ji impeached Bi for defying the edict; attending censor Deng Guan asked that he be handed over for investigation—whereupon he was made vice director with concurrent administration of Ruzhou. Anshi said, "Though Bi is punished, he still keeps his wealth and rank. Gun was executed for defying orders and Gong Gong was banished for hollow courtesy—Bi has committed both offenses, yet loses only his envoy and chief councillor posts—how will treachery be deterred?" The emperor did not reply. Bi said, "The new laws are what I do not understand—I cannot govern a prefecture by them. I wish to return to Luoyang and nurse my illness." This was granted. He then requested retirement on account of age, was further appointed minister of works, advanced to Duke of Han, and retired from office. Though he lived in retirement, whenever the court faced grave matters he spoke without reserve. When Guo Kui campaigned against Annan, he asked that the emperor order Kui to advance or withdraw as advantage dictated, so as to preserve the imperial army; when the Khitan disputed the Hedong boundary, he said it must not be conceded; when the stars showed anomalies, he asked that the path of remonstrance be widened; and again urged that the new laws be changed at once to relieve the empire's desperate strain. Though the emperor did not follow all his advice, his favor never waned; once when Anshi made some proposal, the emperor rejected it, saying, "Fu Bi's private memorial saying 'this old minister has nowhere to turn but looks up at the rafters and sighs' will soon arrive." Such was the respect in which he was held.

元豐三年，王堯臣之子同老上言：「故父參知政事時，當仁宗服藥，嘗與弼及文彥博議立儲嗣，會翌日有瘳，其事遂寢。」帝以問彥博，對與同老合，帝始知至和時事。嘉弼不自言，以為司徒。六年八月，薨，年八十。手封遺奏，使其子紹庭上之。其大略云：

In the third year of Yuanfeng (1080), Wang Yaochen's son Tonglao submitted a statement: "When my late father was associate chief councillor, during Emperor Renzong's illness he once deliberated with Bi and Wen Yanbo on establishing an heir; the emperor recovered the next day and the matter was dropped." The emperor questioned Yanbo; his account agreed with Tonglao's, and the emperor first learned what had happened in the Zhihe period. He praised Bi for never having spoken of it himself and appointed him minister of education. In the eighth month of the sixth year he died, aged eighty. He personally sealed a final memorial and had his son Shaoting present it. Its general purport was as follows:

「陛下即位之初，邪臣納說圖任之際，聽受失宜，上誤聰明，浸成禍患。今上自輔臣，下及多士，畏禍圖利，習成敝風，忠詞讜論，無復上達。臣老病將死，尚何顧求？特以不忍上負聖明，輒傾肝膽，冀哀憐愚忠，曲垂採納。

"At the beginning of Your Majesty's reign, when wicked ministers offered doctrines and plotted for office, what was heard and accepted was wrong, Your Majesty's judgment was misled, and calamity gradually took shape. Now from the chief ministers down to the scholar-officials, all fear disaster and scheme for profit; a corrupt custom has taken hold, and loyal remonstrance no longer reaches the throne. I am old, ill, and about to die—what is there left for me to seek? Only because I cannot bear to fail Your Sagely Majesty do I pour out my heart, hoping you will pity this foolish loyalty and deign to accept it.

去年永樂之役，兵民死亡者數十萬。今久戍未解，百姓困窮，豈諱過恥敗，不思救禍之時乎？天地至仁，寧與羌夷校曲直勝負？願歸其侵地，休兵息民，使關、陝之間，稍遂生理。兼陝西再團保甲，又葺教場，州縣奉行，勢侔星火，人情惶駭，難以復用，不若寢罷以綏懷之。臣之所陳，急於濟事。若夫要道，則在聖人所存，與所用之人君子、小人之辨耳。陛下審觀天下之勢，豈以為無足慮邪？」

In last year's Yongle campaign, several hundred thousand soldiers and civilians died. Long campaigns drag on without end and the people are destitute—is this the time to hide mistakes, shrink from defeat, and refuse to think of saving the realm from disaster? Heaven and earth are supremely benevolent—would they settle right and wrong in contest with frontier tribes? I beg that their seized lands be returned, the armies rested and the people given peace, so that between the passes and Shaanxi life may gradually return to normal. Moreover Shaanxi is again mustering baojia militia and repairing drill grounds; prefectures and counties carry this out with meteoric urgency, and the people are terrified—it cannot be sustained. Better to let these measures lapse and soothe the people instead. What I have stated bears urgently on practical relief. The essential way, however, lies in what the sage holds in mind and in distinguishing gentlemen from petty men among those he employs. Your Majesty should carefully observe the trend of the realm—do you think it is not worth concern?"

帝覽奏震悼，輟朝三日，內出祭文致奠，贈太尉，諡曰文忠。

When the emperor read the memorial he was shaken with grief, suspended court for three days, issued a funerary text from within the palace, posthumously granted him grand guardian, and gave him the posthumous title Cultured and Loyal.

弼性至孝，恭儉好修，與人言必盡敬，雖微官及布衣謁見，皆與之亢禮，氣色穆然，不見喜慍。其好善嫉惡，出於天資。常言：「君子與小人並處，其勢必不勝。君子不勝，則奉身而退，樂道無悶。小人不勝，則交結構扇，千岐萬轍，必勝而後已。迨其得志，遂肆毒於善良，求天下不亂，不可得也。」其終身皆出於此云。元祐初，配享神宗廟庭。哲宗篆其碑首曰：「顯忠尚德」，命學士蘇軾撰文刻之。紹聖中，章惇執政，謂弼得罪先帝，罷配享。至靖康初，詔復舊典焉。

Bi was profoundly filial by nature, respectful, frugal, and devoted to self-cultivation; in conversation he was always fully courteous—even minor officials and commoners in plain dress received equal treatment; his bearing was grave and serene, with no sign of joy or anger. His love of good and hatred of evil sprang from inborn nature. He often said, "When gentlemen and petty men dwell together, the gentleman cannot prevail. If the gentleman does not prevail, he withdraws with dignity and delights in the Way without vexation. If the petty man does not prevail, he forms cliques and stirs factions by every means, and will not stop until he wins. When they achieve their aims, they unleash poison on the good—then to seek that the realm not fall into chaos is impossible." His whole life issued from this principle. At the beginning of Yuanyou he was granted joint sacrifice in Emperor Shenzong's temple. Emperor Zhezong inscribed the stele head Manifest Loyalty and Esteem Virtue and ordered academician Su Shi to compose and carve the text. During Shaosheng, Zhang Dun held power and said Bi had offended the late emperor; his joint sacrifice was revoked. By the beginning of Jingkang an edict restored the former rite.

子紹庭

Son: Shaoting

紹庭，字德先，性靖重，能守家法。弼薨，兩女與婿及甥皆同居，紹庭待之與父時不殊，一家之事毫髮不敢變，族里稱焉。歷宗正丞、提舉三門白波輦運、通判絳州。建中靖國初，除提舉河北西路常平，辭曰：「熙寧變法之初，先臣以不行青苗被罪，臣不敢為此官。」徽宗嘉之，擢祠部員外郎。未幾，出知宿州。卒，年六十八。子直柔，紹興中，同知樞密院事，別有傳。

Shaoting, whose style name was Dexian, was calm and weighty by nature and able to uphold the family rules. When Bi died, two daughters with their husbands and nephews all lived together; Shaoting treated them exactly as in his father's day and did not dare alter the slightest household custom—the clan praised him for it. He served as vice director of the imperial clan court, intendant of the Sanmen Baibo imperial transport, and vice prefect of Jiangzhou. At the beginning of Jianzhong Jingguo he was appointed intendant of the Hebei West circuit Ever-Normal Granaries but declined, saying, "At the beginning of the Xining reforms my late father was punished for refusing to implement the Green Sprouts law—I dare not hold this office." Emperor Huizong praised this and promoted him to vice director of the Ministry of Rites. Before long he was sent out as prefect of Suzhou. He died, aged sixty-eight. His son Zhirou, who in the Shaoxing period served as vice commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs, has a separate biography.

文彥博

Wen Yanbo

文彥博，字寬夫，汾州介休人。其先本敬氏，以避晉高祖及宋翼祖諱改焉。少與張昪、高若訥從潁昌史炤學，炤母異之，曰：「貴人也。」待之甚厚。及進士第，知翼城縣，通判絳州，為監察御史，轉殿中侍御史。

Wen Yanbo, whose style name was Kuanfu, came from Jiexiu in Fenzhou. His ancestors were originally of the Jing clan and changed the name to avoid the taboo names of Jin Gaozu and the Song founder ancestor. As a youth he studied with Zhang Bian and Gao Ruonuo under Shi Zhao of Yingchang; Zhao's mother marveled at him and said, "Here is a man of rank." She treated him with great generosity. After attaining the jinshi degree he was magistrate of Yicheng county, vice prefect of Jiangzhou, made investigating censor, and transferred to attending censor within the palace.

西方用兵，偏校有監陳先退、望敵不進者，大將守著令皆申覆。彥博言：「此可施之平居無事時爾。今擁兵數十萬，而將權不專，兵法不峻，將何以濟？」仁宗嘉納之。黃德和之誣劉平降虜也，以金帶賂平奴，使附己說以證。平家二百口皆械繫。詔彥博置獄於河中，鞫治得實。德和黨援盛，謀翻其獄，至遣他御史來。彥博拒不納，曰：「朝廷慮獄不就，故遣君。今案具矣，宜亟還，事或弗成，彥博執其咎。」德和並奴卒就誅。以直史館為河東轉運副使。麟州餉道回遠，銀城河外有唐時故道，廢弗治，彥博父洎為轉運使日，將復之，未及而卒。彥博嗣成父志，益儲粟。元昊來寇，圍城十日，知有備，解去。遷天章閣待制、都轉運使，連進龍圖閣、樞密直學士、知秦州，改益州。嘗擊球鈐轄廨，聞外喧甚，乃卒長杖一卒，不伏。呼入問狀，令引出與杖，又不受，復呼入斬之，竟球乃歸。召拜樞密副使、參知政事。

When war was waged in the west, some deputy commanders supervised the line but retreated first or faced the enemy without advancing; the senior generals followed regulations and submitted every case for higher review. Yanbo said, "That may do in peaceful times when nothing is amiss. Now we field several hundred thousand troops, yet command is not unified and military law is not strict—how can that succeed?" Emperor Renzong praised and adopted his advice. When Huang Dehe falsely accused Liu Ping of surrendering to the enemy, he bribed Ping's slave with a gold belt to support his story. Ping's household of two hundred persons were all shackled and imprisoned. An edict ordered Yanbo to set up a court at Hezhong; investigation established the truth. Dehe's faction was powerful and plotted to overturn the verdict, even sending another censor. Yanbo refused to accept him and said, "The court feared the case would fail, and therefore sent you. The case is complete now—you should return at once; if anything goes wrong, Yanbo will bear the blame." Dehe and the slave were executed. As compiler at the Historiography Office he became vice transport commissioner of Hedong. The supply route to Linzhou was long and circuitous; beyond Yincheng River lay an old Tang road that had been abandoned; when Yanbo's father Ji was transport commissioner he had planned to restore it but died before finishing. Yanbo fulfilled his father's intent and stored more grain. When Yuanhao invaded, he besieged the city for ten days, saw that it was prepared, and withdrew. He was transferred to Hanlin academician awaiting orders at the Tianzhang Pavilion and overall transport commissioner, then successively promoted to the Dragon Diagram Hall, expositor-academician of the Bureau of Military Affairs, and administrator of Qinzhou, and later transferred to Yizhou. Once while playing ball at the supervisory commissioner's office he heard a great uproar outside—a company commander was beating a soldier who refused to submit. He summoned the man in to question him, ordered him led out for beating, and when he still refused, summoned him in again and beheaded him; only then did he finish the game and return. He was summoned and appointed vice commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs and associate chief councillor.

貝州王則反，明鎬討之，久不克。彥博請行，命為宣撫使，旬日賊潰，檻則送京師。拜同中書門下平章事、集賢殿大學士。薦張環、韓維、王安石等恬退守道，乞褒勸以厲風俗。與樞密使龐籍議省兵，凡汰為民及給半廩者合八萬，論者紛然，謂必聚為盜，帝亦疑焉。彥博曰：「今公私困竭，正坐兵冗。脫有難，臣請死之。」其策訖行，歸兵亦無事。進昭文館大學士。御史唐介劾其在蜀日以奇錦結宮掖，因之登用。介既貶，彥博亦罷為觀文殿大學士、知許州，改忠武軍節度使、知永興軍。至和二年，復以吏部尚書同中書門下平章事、昭文館大學士，與富弼同拜，士大夫皆以得人為慶，語見《弼傳》。

Wang Ze rebelled at Beizhou; Ming Hao campaigned against him but could not defeat him for a long time. Yanbo asked to go; he was appointed pacification commissioner, and within ten days the rebels collapsed; Ze was caged and sent to the capital. He was appointed associate chief councillor and grand academician of the Hall for Assembling the Worthy. He recommended Zhang Huan, Han Wei, Wang Anshi, and others as men of quiet integrity and begged that they be praised and encouraged to sharpen public morals. With military affairs commissioner Pang Ji he planned to reduce the army; those demobilized as civilians and those given half stipends totaled eighty thousand; critics protested that they would surely become bandits, and the emperor also had doubts. Yanbo said, "Public and private resources are exhausted precisely because the army is bloated. If trouble arises, I ask to answer for it with my life." The policy was carried out, and the demobilized troops caused no trouble. He was advanced to grand academician of the Hall of Brilliance in Literature. Censor Tang Jie impeached him for using rare brocades while in Shu to win favor in the inner palace and thereby gain promotion. After Jie was demoted, Yanbo was also dismissed as academician of the Hall for Viewing Culture and administrator of Xuzhou, then made military commissioner of the Zhongwu army and administrator of the Yongxing army. In Zhihe 2 (1055) he was again made minister of personnel, associate chief councillor, and grand academician of the Hall of Brilliance in Literature, appointed on the same day as Fu Bi; scholar-officials celebrated that the right men had been chosen—the account is in Bi's biography.

三年正月，帝方受朝，疾暴作，扶入禁中。彥博呼內侍史志聰問狀，對曰：「禁密不敢漏言。」彥博叱之曰：「爾曹出入禁闥，不令宰相知天子起居，欲何為邪？自今疾勢增損必以告，不爾，當行軍法。」又與同列劉沆、富弼謀啟醮大慶殿，因留宿殿廬。志聰曰：「無故事。」彥博曰：「此豈論故事時邪？」知開封府王素夜叩宮門上變，不使入；明旦言，有禁卒告都虞候欲為亂。沆欲捕治，彥博召都指揮使許懷德，問都虞候何如人，懷德稱其願可保。彥博曰：「然則卒有怨，誣之耳。當亟誅之以靖眾。」乃請沆判狀尾，斬於軍門。

In the first month of the third year, as the emperor was holding court, he was suddenly stricken with illness and helped into the inner palace. Yanbo summoned the inner attendant Shi Zhicong to ask after the emperor's condition; he replied, "It is forbidden and secret—I dare not speak of it." Yanbo rebuked him, "You go in and out of the forbidden gates yet keep the chief ministers ignorant of the Son of Heaven's condition—what do you intend? From now on you must report whether his condition worsens or improves—otherwise you will face military law." He also planned with his colleagues Liu Hang and Fu Bi to perform a ritual at the Great Celebration Hall and lodged overnight in the hall quarters. Zhicong said, "There is no precedent." Yanbo said, "Is this a time to discuss precedent?" The Kaifeng administrator Wang Su knocked at the palace gate at night to report an emergency and was not admitted; the next morning he reported that a palace guardsman had accused the company commander of plotting rebellion. Hang wished to arrest and try him; Yanbo summoned the overall commander Xu Huaide and asked what sort of man the company commander was—Huaide said he was honest and could be trusted. Yanbo said, "Then the guardsman bears a grudge and has falsely accused him. The accuser should be executed at once to quiet the troops." He then asked Hang to endorse the report, and the accuser was beheaded at the army gate.

先是，弼用朝士李仲昌策，自澶州商胡河穿六漯渠，入橫壠故道。北京留守賈昌朝素惡弼，陰約內侍武繼隆，令司天官二人俟執政聚時，於殿庭抗言國家不當穿河於北方，致上體不安。彥博知其意有所在，然未有以制之，後數日，二人又上言，請皇后同聽政，亦繼隆所教也。史志聰以其狀白執政。彥博視而懷之，不以示同列，而有喜色，徐召二人詰之曰：「汝今日有所言乎？」曰：「然。」彥博曰：「天文變異，汝職所當言也。何得輒預國家大事？汝罪當族！」二人懼，色變。彥博曰：「觀汝直狂愚耳，未忍治汝罪，自今無得復然。」二人退，乃出狀示同列。同列皆憤怒曰：「奴敢爾僭言，何不斬之？」彥博曰：「斬之，則事彰灼，於中宮不安。」眾皆曰：「善。」既而議遣司天官定六漯方位，復使二人往。繼隆白請留之，彥博曰：「彼本不敢妄言，有教之者耳。」繼隆默不敢對。二人至六漯，恐治前罪，更言六漯在東北，非正北也。帝疾愈，彥博等始歸第。當是時，京師業業，賴彥博、弼持重，眾心以安。沆密白帝曰：「陛下違豫時，彥博擅斬告反者。」彥博聞之，以沆判呈，帝意乃解。御史吳中復乞召還唐介。彥博因言，介頃為御史，言臣事多中臣病，其間雖有風聞之誤，然當時責之太深，請如中復奏。時以彥博為厚德。久之，以河陽三城節度使同平章事、判河南府，封潞國公，改鎮保平、判大名府。又改鎮成德，遷尚書左僕射、判太原府。俄復鎮保平、判河南。丁母憂，英宗即位，起復成德軍節度使，三上表乞終喪，許之。

Earlier, Bi had adopted court scholar Li Zhongchang's plan to cut a canal from the Shanghu River at Dazhou through the Six Luo channels into the old Henglong course. The Beijing garrison commander Jia Changchao had long hated Bi and secretly arranged with the inner attendant Wu Jilong to have two astronomical officials, when the chief administrators gathered, declare in court that the state ought not cut a canal in the north, lest the sovereign's health suffer. Yanbo knew their statements had a hidden source but had no means to stop it; several days later the two again memorialized asking that the empress jointly hear government—this too was Jilong's doing. Shi Zhicong reported their statements to the chief administrators. Yanbo read it and kept it to himself without showing his colleagues, yet with a pleased expression; he slowly summoned the two and asked, "Did you have something to say today?" They said, "Yes." Yanbo said, "Celestial anomalies are what your office should report. How dare you intervene in great affairs of state? Your crime deserves the extermination of your clan!" The two were terrified and turned pale. Yanbo said, "You are plainly mad and foolish; I cannot bear to punish you—do not do this again." When the two withdrew, he produced the statements and showed his colleagues. His colleagues were all angry and said, "How dare these men speak so presumptuously—why not behead them?" Yanbo said, "If we behead them, the matter will blaze forth and the inner palace will be unsettled." All said, "Good." Soon after they decided to send astronomical officials to fix the Six Luo positions and again sent the two men. Jilong asked to keep them; Yanbo said, "They did not dare speak rashly on their own—someone taught them, that is all." Jilong was silent and did not dare reply. When the two reached the Six Luo, fearing punishment for their earlier offense, they said the Six Luo lay in the northeast, not due north. When the emperor recovered, Yanbo and the others at last returned home. At that time the capital was fearful and uneasy; relying on Yanbo and Bi's steady authority, the people's hearts were calmed. Hang secretly reported to the emperor, "When Your Majesty was ill, Yanbo on his own authority beheaded the man who reported a plot." When Yanbo heard of this he presented Hang's endorsement, and the emperor's suspicions were cleared. Censor Wu Zhongfu memorialized to recall Tang Jie. Yanbo said, "Jie was recently censor; in criticizing me he often struck home, and though some charges rested on rumor, he was punished too harshly—I beg that Your Majesty follow Zhongfu's memorial." At the time Yanbo was regarded as a man of deep virtue. After a long while he was made military commissioner of the Heyang Three Cities, associate chief councillor, and concurrent administrator of Henan, enfeoffed as Duke of Lu, then transferred to garrison Baoping and administer Daming. He was again transferred to garrison Chengde, promoted to left vice director of the Imperial Secretariat, and made concurrent administrator of Taiyuan. Soon he again garrisoned Baoping and administered Henan. When he mourned his mother, Yingzong on ascending recalled him from mourning as military commissioner of the Chengde army; he submitted three memorials begging to complete mourning, and was granted permission.

初，仁宗之不豫也，彥博與富弼等乞立儲嗣。仁宗許焉，而後宮將有就館者，故其事緩。已而彥博去位，其後弼亦以憂去。彥博既服闋，復以故官判河南，有詔入覲。英宗曰：「朕之立，卿之力也。」彥博竦然對曰：「陛下入繼大統，乃先帝聖意，皇太后協贊之力，臣何聞力之有？兼陛下登儲纂極之時，臣方在外，皆韓琦等承聖志受顧命，臣無與焉。」帝曰：「備聞始議，卿於朕有恩。」彥博遜避不敢當。帝曰：「暫煩西行，即召還矣。」尋除侍中，徙鎮淮南、判永興軍，入為樞密使、劍南西川節度使。

Early on, when Emperor Renzong fell ill, Yanbo with Fu Bi and others begged to establish an heir. Renzong assented, but a consort in the inner palace was about to give birth, and so the matter was delayed. Before long Yanbo left office; afterward Bi also left on account of mourning. When Yanbo had completed mourning he resumed his former post administering Henan, and an edict ordered him to attend audience. Yingzong said, "My accession was your doing." Yanbo started in alarm and replied, "Your Majesty's succession was the late emperor's sagely intent and the empress dowager's support—what strength had I in it? Moreover when Your Majesty was named heir and ascended the throne, I was still abroad—it was Han Qi and others who received the late emperor's charge; I had no part in it." The emperor said, "I have heard of the early deliberations—you showed me favor." Yanbo modestly declined and would not accept the credit. The emperor said, "For the moment we trouble you to go west—you will be recalled soon." Soon he was appointed palace attendant, transferred to garrison Huainan and administer the Yongxing army, and entered court as military affairs commissioner and military commissioner of the Jiannan West circuit.

熙寧二年，相陳升之，詔：「彥博朝廷宗臣，其令升之位彥博下，以稱遇賢之意。」彥博曰：「國朝樞密使，無位宰相上者，獨曹利用嘗在王曾、張知白上。臣忝知禮義，不敢效利用所為，以紊朝著。」固辭乃止。夏人犯大順，慶帥李復圭以陳圖方略授鈐轄李信等，趣使出戰。及敗，乃妄奏信罪。彥博暴其非，宰相王安石曲誅信等，秦人冤之。慶州兵亂，彥博言於帝曰：「朝廷行事，務合人心，宜兼採眾論，以靜重為先。陛下厲精求治，而人心未安，蓋更張之過也。祖宗法未必皆不可行，但有偏而不舉之敝爾。」安石知為己發，奮然排之曰：「求去民害，何為不可？若萬事隳脞，乃西晉之風，何益於治？」御史張商英欲附安石，摭樞密使他事以搖彥博，坐不實貶。彥博在樞府九年，又以極論市易司監賣果實，損國體斂民怨，為安石所惡，力引去。拜司空、河東節度使、判河陽，徙大名府。身雖在外，而帝眷有加。

In Xining 2 (1069), Chen Shengzhi was made chief councillor; an edict said, "Yanbo is a dynastic elder of the court—let Shengzhi's rank be below Yanbo, to honor the worthy." Yanbo said, "In our dynasty no military affairs commissioner has ranked above the chief councillor except Cao Liyong, who once ranked above Wang Zeng and Zhang Zhibai. I am shamed to know ritual and righteousness and dare not imitate Liyong's conduct and disorder court regulations." He firmly declined and the matter was dropped. The Tangut attacked Dashun; the Qingzhou commander Li Fugui gave Chen Tu's battle plan to supervisory commissioner Li Xin and others and urged them into battle. When they were defeated, he falsely memorialized that Xin was to blame. Yanbo exposed the injustice; chief councillor Wang Anshi bent the law to execute Xin and others—the people of Qin regarded it as a grievous wrong. When Qingzhou troops mutinied, Yanbo said to the emperor, "The court's actions must accord with the people's hearts; it should heed many opinions and put calm steadiness first. Your Majesty strives for good governance, yet the people's hearts are not at ease—this is likely the fault of sweeping change. The laws of the ancestors are not necessarily all unworkable—there is only the flaw of enforcing them selectively." Anshi knew this was aimed at him and vehemently rebutted, "Seeking to remove harm to the people—why may that not be done? If every matter is chipped away in petty caution, that is the style of Western Jin—what benefit is there to governance?" Censor Zhang Shangying wished to attach himself to Anshi and gathered other charges against the Bureau of Military Affairs to shake Yanbo; when they proved false he was demoted. Yanbo served in the Bureau of Military Affairs nine years; he also argued forcefully that the Market Exchange Office's monopoly on fruit harmed state dignity and stirred popular resentment, was hated by Anshi, and forcefully sought to leave. He was appointed minister of works, military commissioner of Hedong, and concurrent administrator of Heyang, then transferred to Daming. Though he served outside the capital, the emperor's favor toward him only increased.

時監司多新進少年，轉運判官汪輔之輒奏彥博不事事，帝批其奏以付彥博曰：「以侍中舊德，故煩臥護北門，細務不必勞心。輔之小臣，敢爾無禮，將別有處置。」未幾，罷去。初，選人有李公義者，請以鐵龍爪治河，宦者黃懷信沿其制為濬川杷，天下指笑以為兒戲，安石獨信之，遣都水丞范子淵行其法。子淵奏用杷之功，水悉歸故道，退出民田數萬頃。詔大名核實，彥博言：「河非杷可濬，雖甚愚之人，皆知無益，臣不敢雷同罔上。」疏至，帝不悅，復遣知制誥熊本等行視，如彥博言。子淵乃請覲，言本等見安石罷，意彥博復相，故傅會其說。御史蔡確亦論本奉使無狀。本等皆得罪，獨彥博勿問。尋加司徒。

At the time many supervisory officials were newly advanced youths; transport vice commissioner Wang Fuzhi memorialized that Yanbo neglected his duties; the emperor annotated the memorial and sent it to Yanbo, saying, "Because of your long-standing virtue as palace attendant, we trouble you to guard the northern gate in repose—minor matters need not weary your mind. Fuzhi is a petty official who dares such rudeness—he will be dealt with separately." Before long Fuzhi was dismissed. Early on, a candidate named Li Gongyi proposed using iron dragon claws to control the river; the eunuch Huang Huaixin adapted the design into a river-dredging rake; the empire laughed at it as child's play—Anshi alone trusted it and sent director of waterways Fan Ziyuan to carry out the method. Ziyuan memorialized the rake's success—the water all returned to the old course and tens of thousands of qing of civilian fields were restored. An edict ordered Daming to verify; Yanbo said, "The river cannot be dredged with a rake—even the most foolish person knows it is useless—I dare not echo falsehood to the throne." When the memorial arrived the emperor was displeased and again sent drafting official Xiong Ben and others to inspect on site—as Yanbo had said. Ziyuan then requested audience, saying Ben and the others saw Anshi dismissed and thought Yanbo would again be chief councillor, and therefore sided with his account. Censor Cai Que also argued that Ben's conduct on the mission was unseemly. Ben and the others were all punished; Yanbo alone was not questioned. Soon he was given the additional title minister of education.

元豐三年，拜太尉，復判河南。於是王同老言至和中議儲嗣事，彥博適入朝，神宗問之，彥博以前對英宗者復於帝曰：「先帝天命所在，神器有歸，實仁祖知子之明，慈聖擁佑之力，臣等何功？」帝曰：「雖云天命，亦繫人謀。卿深厚不伐善，陰德如丙吉，真定策社稷臣也。」彥博曰：「如周勃、霍光，是為定策。自至和以來，中外之臣獻言甚眾，臣等雖嘗有請，弗果行。其後韓琦等訖就大事，蓋琦功也。」帝曰：「發端為難，是時仁祖意已定，嘉祐之末，止申前詔爾。正如丙吉、霍光，不相掩也。」遂加彥博兩鎮節度使，辭不拜。將行，賜宴瓊林苑，兩遣中謁者遺詩祖道，當世榮之。

In the third year of Yuanfeng (1080) he was appointed grand guardian and again administered Henan. Thereupon Wang Tonglao spoke of the Zhihe deliberation on establishing an heir; Yanbo happened to enter court; Shenzong questioned him; Yanbo repeated to the emperor what he had earlier told Yingzong: "The late emperor's mandate of Heaven was fixed and the sacred vessel had its destination—it was truly Renzong's wisdom in knowing his son and the empress dowager's power of support—what merit had we?" The emperor said, "Though it is called Heaven's mandate, it also depends on human design. You are deep and weighty and do not boast of your deeds; your hidden virtue is like Bing Ji's—you are truly a minister who settled the succession." Yanbo said, "Men like Zhou Bo and Huo Guang—that is what is called settling the succession. From Zhihe onward many ministers offered advice; we too once made requests, but they were not carried out. Afterward Han Qi and others at last accomplished the great affair—that was Qi's merit." The emperor said, "To begin is the hard part; at that time Renzong's intent was already fixed—in the last years of Jiayou it was only reiterating the earlier edict. Just as with Bing Ji and Huo Guang, their merits do not obscure one another." He thereupon offered Yanbo two additional military commissioner posts; Yanbo declined. As he was about to depart, a banquet was granted at the Qionglin Garden; twice palace ushers were sent with poems to bid him farewell on the road—the age regarded it as a great honor.

王中正經制邊事，所過稱受密旨募禁兵，將之而西。彥博以無詔拒之，中正亦不敢募而去。久之，請老，以太師致仕，居洛陽。元祐初，司馬光薦彥博宿德元老，宜起以自輔。宣仁后將用為三省長官，而言事者以為不可，及命平章軍國重事，六日一朝，一月兩赴經筵，恩禮甚渥。然彥博無歲不求退，居五年，復致仕。紹聖初，章惇秉政，言者論彥博朋附司馬光，詆毀先烈，降太子少保。卒，年九十二。崇寧中，預元祐黨籍。後特命出籍，追復太師，諡曰忠烈。

Wang Zhongzheng directed frontier affairs; wherever he passed he claimed secret instructions to recruit palace guards and was taking them west. Yanbo refused on the grounds there was no edict; Zhongzheng also did not dare recruit and departed. After a long while he requested retirement on account of age, retired as grand preceptor, and dwelt in Luoyang. At the beginning of Yuanyou, Sima Guang recommended Yanbo as an elder of long virtue who should be raised to assist the court. Empress Xuanren was about to make him head of the Three Departments, but remonstrators objected; he was then ordered to oversee weighty affairs of state and army, attend court every six days, and go twice a month to the classics lecture—the favor shown him was very generous. Yet Yanbo every year sought to withdraw; after five years he retired again. At the beginning of Shaosheng, Zhang Dun held power; remonstrators argued Yanbo had cliqued with Sima Guang and slandered the former worthies—he was demoted to junior guardian of the heir apparent. He died, aged ninety-two. During Chongning he was entered on the Yuanyou faction register. Later by special order he was removed from the register, posthumously restored as grand preceptor, and given the posthumous title Loyal and Ardent.

彥博逮事四朝，任將相五十年，名聞四夷。元祐間，契丹使耶律永昌、劉霄來聘，蘇軾館客，與使入覲，望見彥博於殿門外，卻立改容曰：「此潞公也邪？」問其年，曰：「何壯也！？軾曰：「使者見其容，未聞其語。其綜理庶務，雖精練少年有不如；其貫穿古今，雖專門名家有不逮。」使者拱手曰：「天下異人也。」既歸洛，西羌首領溫溪心有名馬，請於邊吏，願以饋彥博，詔許之。其為外國所敬如此。

Yanbo served four reigns, held general and councillor posts for fifty years, and his name was known among the four barbarians. During Yuanyou, Khitan envoys Yelü Yongchang and Liu Xiao came on embassy; Su Shi received them as host and entered audience with them; seeing Yanbo outside the hall gate they stepped back and changed expression, saying, "Is this the Duke of Lu?" They asked his age and exclaimed, "How vigorous he still is! Shi said, "The envoys have seen his bearing but not yet heard his speech. In managing the myriad affairs of state, even skilled young officials are not his equal; in penetrating past and present, even specialized masters do not reach him." The envoys bowed with clasped hands and said, "A rare man under Heaven." After returning to Luoyang, the Western Qiang leader Wenxixin had a famous horse and requested through frontier officials that he might present it to Yanbo—an edict permitted it. Such was the respect shown him by foreign states.

彥博雖窮貴極富，而平居接物謙下，尊德樂善，如恐不及。其在洛也，洛人邵雍、程灝兄弟皆以道自重，賓接之如布衣交。與富弼、司馬光等十三人，用白居易九老會故事，置酒賦詩相樂，序齒不序官，為堂，繪像其中，謂之「洛陽耆英會」，好事者莫不慕之。神宗導洛通汴，而主者遏絕洛水，不使入城中，洛人頗患苦之。彥博因中使劉惟簡至洛，語其故，惟簡以聞。詔令通行如初，遂為洛城無窮之利。

Though Yanbo reached the utmost in rank and wealth, in daily life he received others with humility, honoring virtue and delighting in good as if he could never do enough. When he was in Luoyang, Shao Yong and the Cheng brothers Hao and Yi all took the Way as their standard; he received them as guests like friends among commoners. With Fu Bi, Sima Guang, and twelve others he followed Bai Juyi's Nine Elders' gathering, set out wine and composed poetry for mutual pleasure, ordering by age not by office; they built a hall and painted portraits within, calling it the Luoyang Gathering of Worthy Elders—men of affairs all admired it. Shenzong guided the Luo River to connect with the Bian, but those in charge blocked the Luo and did not let it enter the city—the people of Luoyang suffered greatly. When palace envoy Liu Weijian came to Luoyang, Yanbo told him the reason, and Weijian reported it to the throne. An edict ordered passage restored as before, and it became an inexhaustible benefit for Luoyang.

彥博八子，皆歷要官。第六子及甫，初以大理評事直史館，與邢恕相善。元祐初，為吏部員外郎，以直龍圖閣知同州。彥博平章軍國，及甫由右司員外郎引嫌改衛尉、光祿少卿。彥博再致仕，及甫知河陽，召為太僕卿，權工部侍郎，罷為集賢殿修撰、提舉明道宮。蔡渭、邢恕持及甫私書造梁燾、劉摯之謗，逮詣詔獄，及甫有憾於元祐，從而實之，亦坐奪職。未幾，復之，卒。

Yanbo had eight sons, all of whom held important offices. The sixth son Jifu was first made evaluator at the Court of Judicial Review and compiler at the Historiography Office, and was on good terms with Xing Shu. At the beginning of Yuanyou he was vice director of the Ministry of Personnel and, as compiler at the Dragon Diagram Hall, administered Tongzhou. When Yanbo oversaw state and army affairs, Jifu withdrew on grounds of conflict of interest from his post as vice director of the right secretariat and was made vice director of the imperial guard and vice director of the imperial household. When Yanbo retired again, Jifu administered Heyang, was summoned as director of the imperial stud and acting vice director of the Ministry of Works, then dismissed as reviser at the Hall for Assembling the Worthy and intendant of the Mingdao Palace. Cai Wei and Xing Shu used Jifu's private letter to fabricate slander against Liang Tao and Liu Zhi; when brought before the edict prison Jifu, bearing grievance against Yuanyou, followed in substantiating it and was also stripped of office. Before long he was restored, then died.

論曰：國家當隆盛之時，其大臣必有耆艾之福，推其有餘，足芘當世。富弼再盟契丹，能使南北之民數十年不見兵革。仁人之言，其利博哉！文彥博立朝端重，顧盼有威，遠人來朝，仰望風采，其德望固足以折衝禦侮於千里之表矣。至於公忠直亮，臨事果斷，皆有大臣之風，又皆享高壽於承平之秋。至和以來，建是大計，功成退居，朝野倚重。熙、豐而降，弼、彥博相繼衰老，憸人無忌，善類淪胥，而宋業衰矣！《書》曰：「番番良士，膂力既愆，我尚有之。」豈不信然哉！

The commentary says: When a state is at the height of prosperity, its great ministers enjoy the blessing of venerable age; extending what they have in surplus is enough to shelter the age. Fu Bi twice made peace with the Khitan and kept the peoples of north and south free of war for decades. The words of a benevolent man—their benefit is vast! Wen Yanbo stood at court with upright dignity; his gaze commanded authority; when men from afar came to court they looked up to his bearing—his virtue and standing were enough to repel insult a thousand li away. In public loyalty, directness, and brightness, and in decisive action in affairs, both had the manner of great ministers, and both enjoyed long life in an age of peace. From Zhihe onward they established the great design; when the work was done they withdrew, and court and countryside relied on their weight. From the Xi and Feng reigns downward, Bi and Yanbo in succession grew old; crafty men were without restraint, the good were ruined together, and the Song enterprise declined! The Documents says, "Steadfast worthy men—though their strength is spent, I still have them." How can this not be truly so!

Cite this Chapter