1
劉平，字士衡，開封祥符人。 父漢凝，從太宗征河東岢嵐、憲州，累遷崇儀使。 平剛直任俠，善弓馬，讀書強記。 進士及第，補無錫尉，擊賊殺五人，擢大理評事。 知鄢陵縣，徙南充。 夷人寇淯井監，轉運使以平權瀘州事，平率土丁三千擊走之。 祠汾陰，遷本寺丞。 還，路由安州，遇賊十數人，平發矢斃三賊，餘駭散。 以寇準薦，為殿中丞、知瀘州，夷人懲前敗，不敢擾邊。
Liu Ping, whose courtesy name was Shiheng, came from Xiangfu in Kaifeng. His father Liu Haining had followed Emperor Taizong in the conquest of Ke'en and Xian in Hedong and rose through repeated promotions to the post of Palace Attendant. Ping was forthright and fond of chivalrous deeds; he excelled at archery and horsemanship and read with an unusually retentive memory. After passing the jinshi examination he served as assistant magistrate of Wuxi, slew five bandits in a fight, and was promoted to case reviewer in the Court of Judicial Review. He was magistrate of Yanling County and was later transferred to Nanchong. When the tribesmen raided the Yu Well salt office, the transport commissioner placed Ping in charge of Luzhou; Ping led three thousand local militiamen and repulsed them. After taking part in the Fenyin sacrifices, he was promoted to registrar in the Directorate of Palace Buildings. On the journey home his route passed through An Prefecture, where he met a band of about a dozen robbers; he shot three dead with his bow, and the rest scattered in fright. Recommended by Kou Zhun, he was made palace attendant and prefect of Luzhou; the tribesmen, mindful of their earlier defeat, no longer dared trouble the frontier.
2
召拜監察御史，數上疏論事，為丁謂所忌。 久之，除三司鹽鐵判官、河北安撫，改殿中侍御史、陝西轉運使。 與副使論事不合，徙知襄州。 仁宗即位，遷侍御史。
He was summoned to the post of investigating censor and submitted many memorials on state affairs, which earned him the enmity of Ding Wei. In time he was appointed salt and iron commissioner of the Three Departments and pacification commissioner for Hebei, then transferred to attending censor in the palace and transport commissioner for Shaanxi. When he and the deputy commissioner could not agree on policy, he was transferred to serve as prefect of Xiangzhou. When Emperor Renzong ascended the throne, Ping was promoted to attending censor.
3
初，真宗知其才，將用之。 丁謂乘間曰：「平，將家子，素知兵，若使將西北，可以制敵。」 後章獻太后思謂言，特改衣庫使、知邠州。 屬戶明珠、磨糜族數反覆，平潛兵殺數千人，以功領賓州刺史、鄜延路兵馬鈐轄，徙涇原路，兼知渭州。 胡則為陝西都轉運使，平奏曰：「則，丁謂黨，今隸則部，慮掎摭致罪。」 徙汝州，改淮南、江浙、荊湖制置發運副使，行數驛，召還，真拜信州刺史、知雄州。 居四年，遷忻州團練使、知成德軍。
Earlier Emperor Zhenzong had recognized his ability and was on the point of giving him high office. Ding Wei seized his chance and said, "Ping comes from a military family and has long understood warfare; if he is sent to command in the northwest, he can keep the enemy in check." Later the Empress Dowager Zhangxian, recalling Ding Wei's remark, had him made wardrobe keeper and prefect of Binzhou. When the Hu Mingzhu and Momi clans rose again and again, Ping sent troops in secret and killed several thousand of them; for this he was made prefect of Binzhou and military superintendent on the Fuyan circuit, then transferred to the Jingyuan circuit while also governing Weizhou. When Hu Ze became overall transport commissioner for Shaanxi, Ping memorialized, "Ze belongs to Ding Wei's faction; I now serve under him and fear he will find pretexts to bring charges against me." He was transferred to Ruzhou, then made deputy transport commissioner for Huainan, Jiang-Zhe, and Jing-Hu; after traveling several stages he was recalled and formally appointed prefect of Xinzhou and military governor of Xiongzhou. After four years he was promoted to regimental trainer of Xinzhou and governor of the Chengde army.
4
時呂夷簡為宰相，臺諫官數言政事闕失，平奏書曰：「臣見范仲淹等毀訾大臣，此必有要人授旨仲淹輩，欲逐大臣而代其位者。 臣於真宗朝為御史，顧當時同列，未聞有奸邪黨與詐忠賣直，所為若此。 臣慮小臣以淺文薄伎，偶致顯用，不識朝廷典故，而論事浸淫，遂及管軍將校。 且武人進退，與儒臣異路，若掎摭短長，妄有舉劾，則心搖而怨結矣。 願明諭臺諫官，毋令越職，仍不許更相引薦。 或闕員，則朝廷自擇忠純耆德用之。」 論者以謂希夷簡意也。 改高陽關副總管。
At that time Lü Yijian was chief minister, and the censorate and remonstrance officials were repeatedly criticizing lapses in government. Ping submitted a memorial: "I see Fan Zhongyan and others vilifying senior ministers; some powerful figure must be directing them, intending to drive those ministers out and take their posts. I served as a censor under Emperor Zhenzong, and among my colleagues at that time I never heard of factions of the wicked feigning loyalty and parading their integrity in this fashion. I fear that minor officials of shallow learning and slight talent may by chance rise to prominence without understanding court precedent, and that their criticisms will spread until they reach the commanders and officers who manage the armies. Moreover, the promotion and dismissal of military men follows a different path from that of civil officials; if one seizes on their faults and recklessly impeaches them, their loyalty will waver and resentment will take root. I ask that Your Majesty clearly instruct the censors and remonstrators not to exceed their duties and forbid them to recommend one another in turn. When vacancies arise, the court itself should choose loyal, upright, and venerable men to fill them." Commentators held that the memorial was meant to please Lü Yijian. He was transferred to deputy overall commander at Gaoyang Pass.
5
寶元元年，以殿前都虞候為環慶路馬步軍副總管。 會元昊反，遷邕州觀察使，為鄜延路副總管兼鄜延、環慶路同安撫使。 頃之，兼管勾涇原路兵馬，進步軍副都指揮使、靜江軍節度觀察留後。 獻攻守之策曰：
In the first year of Baoyuan (1038) he was made chief adjutant of the Palace Front Command and deputy overall commander of infantry and cavalry on the Huanqing circuit. When Yuan Hao rebelled, he was promoted to surveillance commissioner of Yongzhou, made deputy overall commander on the Fuyan circuit, and concurrently pacification commissioner for the Fuyan and Huanqing circuits. Soon afterward he was also placed in charge of troops on the Jingyuan circuit and promoted to deputy commander-in-chief of the infantry and military governor-in-waiting of the Jingjiang army. He submitted a strategy for offense and defense, which read:
6
「五代之末，中國多事，唯制西戎為得之。 中國未嘗遣一騎一卒，遠屯塞上，但任土豪為眾所伏者，封以州邑，征賦所入，足以贍兵養士，由是無邊鄙之虞。 太祖定天下，懲唐末藩鎮之盛，削其兵柄，收其賦入，自節度以下，第坐給奉祿，或方面有警，則總師出討，事已，則兵歸宿衛，將還本鎮。 彼邊方世襲，宜異於此，而誤以朔方李彝興、靈武馮繼業一切亦徙內地。 自此靈、夏仰中國戍守，千里運糧，兵民並困。
"At the end of the Five Dynasties the central realm was beset by troubles everywhere, yet only in dealing with the Western Rong did it get matters right. The court never sent a single rider or soldier to garrison the distant frontier. It simply entrusted local strongmen whom the people obeyed, enfeoffing them with prefectures and districts; the revenue from their levies was enough to support troops and officers, and the borders were left untroubled. When Taizu pacified the realm he took warning from the power of the late Tang military governors, stripped them of military authority, and collected their revenues into the central treasury. From the rank of military governor downward they merely received stipends; when a region was threatened the overall commander marched out to campaign, and when the affair was settled the troops returned to the capital guard and the generals to their home commands. The frontier domains with hereditary succession ought to have been treated differently, yet by mistake Li Yixing of Shuofang and Feng Jiye of Lingwu were likewise transferred inland. From that time Ling and Xia depended on Chinese garrisons; grain had to be hauled a thousand li, and both soldiers and civilians were worn down.
7
其後靈武失守，而趙德明懼王師問罪，願為藩臣。 於時若止棄靈、夏、綏、銀，與之限山為界，則無今日之患矣。 而以靈、夏兩州及山界蕃漢戶並授德明，故蓄甲治兵，漸窺邊隙，鄜延、環慶、涇原、秦隴所以不能弛備也。
Later Lingwu fell, and Zhao Deming, fearing punishment by the imperial army, offered to become a vassal. If at that time the court had simply abandoned Ling, Xia, Sui, and Yin and taken the mountains as the boundary, there would be no trouble of today. Instead the two prefectures of Ling and Xia and the barbarian and Chinese households along the mountain frontier were all handed to Deming, so he gathered arms and trained troops and gradually probed the border; that is why the Fuyan, Huanqing, Jingyuan, and Qin-Long circuits cannot relax their defenses.
8
今元昊嗣國，政刑慘酷，眾叛親離，復與唃廝囉構怨，此乃天亡之時。 臣聞寇不可玩，敵不可縱。 或元昊不能自立，別有酋豪代之，西與唃廝囉復平，北約契丹為表裏，則何以制其侵軼？ 今元昊國勢未強，若乘此用鄜延、環慶、涇原、秦隴四路兵馬，分兩道，益以蕃漢弓箭手，精兵可得二十萬，三倍元昊之眾，轉糧二百里，不出一月，可收山界洪、宥等州。 招集土豪，縻之以職，自防禦使以下、刺史以上，第封之，給以衣祿金帛； 又以土人補將校，使勇者貪於祿，富者安於家，不期月而人心自定。 及遣使諭唃廝囉，授以靈武節度，使撓河外族帳，以窘元昊。 復出麟、府、石州蕃漢步騎，獵取河西部族，招其酋帥，離其部眾，然後以大軍繼之，元昊不過鼠竄為窮寇爾，何所為哉！
Now Yuan Hao has succeeded to the throne; his rule and punishments are brutal, his subjects and kin have turned against him, and he is again at odds with Gusiluo—this is the moment Heaven is ready to destroy him. I have heard that bandits must not be trifled with and enemies must not be indulged. If Yuan Hao cannot hold power and another tribal leader replaces him, makes peace with Gusiluo in the west, and allies with the Khitan in the north as mutual support, how will we restrain their raids? Yuan Hao's power is not yet firm; if we seize this moment and deploy the armies of the Fuyan, Huanqing, Jingyuan, and Qin-Long circuits in two columns, reinforced by barbarian and Chinese archers, we can field two hundred thousand picked troops—three times Yuan Hao's strength. With supplies carried only two hundred li, within a month we can recover the mountain-border prefectures Hong, You, and the rest. Summon the local strongmen and bind them with office, enfeoffing them in rank from defense commissioner down to prefect and granting robes, stipends, gold, and silk; and fill officer posts with local men so that the brave are drawn by stipends and the wealthy are content at home; in less than a month the people will settle of their own accord. Then send envoys to Gusiluo, grant him the Lingwu command, and have him harass the tribal encampments beyond the river to press Yuan Hao. Then send out the barbarian and Chinese infantry and cavalry of Lin, Fu, and Shi to harry the tribes west of the river, win over their chiefs, and split their followers; when the main army follows, Yuan Hao will be no more than a rat scurrying before a beaten foe—what can he do?
9
且靈、夏、綏、銀地不產五穀，人不習險阻，每歲資糧，取足洪、宥。 而洪、宥州羌戶勁勇善戰，夏人恃此以為肘腋。 我苟得之，以山為界，憑高據險，下瞰沙漠，各列堡障，量以戎兵鎮守，此天險也。 廟朝之謀，不知出此，而爭靈、夏、綏、銀，連年調發，老師費財，以致中國疲弊，小醜猖獗，此議臣之罪也。
Moreover, Ling, Xia, Sui, and Yin produce no grain, their people are unused to rugged country, and each year's provisions are drawn entirely from Hong and You. The Qiang households of Hong and You are fierce fighters, and the Xia depend on them as their right arm. If we take them, set the mountains as our boundary, hold the heights and the passes, look down on the desert below, and post frontier troops in measured garrisons at each strongpoint—this is terrain Heaven itself has made defensible. The court's counsellors did not see this course, but year after year fought over Ling, Xia, Sui, and Yin, wearing out the armies and draining the treasury until the realm was exhausted and a petty rebel ran wild—the fault lies with the ministers who urged that policy.
10
今朝廷或貸元昊罪，更示含容，不惟宿兵轉多，經費尤甚。 萬一元昊潛結契丹，互為掎角，則我一身二疾，不可並治。 必輕者為先，重者為後，如何減兵以應河北？ 請召邊臣，與二府定守禦長策。」
If the court now pardons Yuan Hao and shows further forbearance, garrison troops will only increase and expenditures grow still heavier. If Yuan Hao secretly allies with the Khitan in mutual support, we shall have two ailments in one body and cannot treat them at once. The lesser threat must be dealt with first and the greater afterward—how then can we reduce troops to meet the danger in Hebei? I ask that frontier officials be summoned to work with the Two Departments on a long-term plan for defense."
11
疏奏未報。
The memorial was submitted, but no reply came.
12
屬元昊盛兵攻保安軍，時平屯慶州，范雍以書召平，平率兵與石元孫合軍趨土門。 既又有告敵兵破金明、圍延州者，雍復召平與元孫救延州。 平素輕敵，督騎兵晝夜倍道行，明日，至萬安鎮。 平先發，步軍繼進，夜至三川口西十里止營，遣騎兵先趨延州爭門。 時鄜延路駐泊都監黃德和將二千餘人，屯保安北碎金谷，巡檢万俟政、郭遵各將所部分屯，范雍皆召之為外援，平亦使人趣其行。 詰旦，步兵未至，平與元孫還逆之。 行二十里，乃遇步兵，及德和、万俟政、郭遵所將兵悉至，將步騎萬餘結陣東行五里，與敵遇。
Just then Yuan Hao massed his army against Bao'an; Ping was stationed at Qingzhou when Fan Yong summoned him by letter. Ping led his troops to join Shi Yuansun and marched toward Tumen. Then word came that the enemy had taken Jinming and was besieging Yanzhou, and Yong again summoned Ping and Yuansun to relieve the city. Ping had always held the enemy lightly in esteem; he drove his cavalry day and night at forced march and reached Wan'an the next day. Ping marched ahead while the infantry followed; that night they camped ten li west of Sanchuan Ford and sent cavalry ahead to seize the gates of Yanzhou. Huang Dehe, garrison commander on the Fuyan circuit, had more than two thousand men at Suijin Valley north of Bao'an; inspectors Moqi Zheng and Guo Zun held separate camps with their detachments. Fan Yong summoned them all as reinforcements, and Ping also sent men to hurry them forward. At dawn the infantry had not yet arrived, and Ping and Yuansun turned back to meet them. After twenty li they met the infantry, and the forces of Dehe, Moqi Zheng, and Guo Zun all came up; with more than ten thousand foot and horse they formed ranks and marched east five li before meeting the enemy.
13
時平地雪數寸，平與敵皆為偃月陣相向。 有頃，敵兵涉水為橫陣，郭遵及忠佐王信薄之，不能入。 官軍並進，殺數百人，乃退。 敵復蔽盾為陣，官軍復擊卻之，奪盾，殺獲及溺水死者幾千人。 平左耳、右頸中流矢。 日暮，戰士上首功及所獲馬，平曰：「戰方急，爾各誌之，皆當重賞汝。」 語未已，敵以輕兵薄戰，官軍引卻二十步。 黃德和居陣後，望見軍卻，率麾下走保西南山，眾從之，皆潰。 平遣其子宜孫馳追德和，執轡語曰：「當勒兵還，倂力抗敵，奈何先奔？」 德和不從，驅馬遁赴甘泉。 平遣軍校杖劍遮留士卒，得千餘人。 轉鬥三日，賊退還水東。 平率餘眾保西南山，立七柵自固。 敵夜使人叩柵，問大將安在，士不應。 復使人偽為戍卒，遞文移平，平殺之。 夜四鼓，敵環營呼曰：「如許殘兵，不降何待！」 平旦，敵酋舉鞭麾騎，自山四出合擊，絕官軍為二，遂與元孫皆被執。
Snow lay several inches deep on the plain; Ping and the enemy both drew up in crescent formations facing one another. Before long the enemy crossed the stream and formed a line; Guo Zun and loyal aide Wang Xin charged them but could not break through. The government troops advanced together, killed several hundred of the enemy, and then fell back. The enemy again raised a shield wall; the government troops struck again and drove them back, seizing shields and killing, capturing, or drowning nearly several thousand. Ping was wounded by arrows in his left ear and right neck. At dusk soldiers came forward with heads and captured horses for credit; Ping said, "The fight is still urgent—mark them down; you will all be richly rewarded." Before he had finished, the enemy sent light troops to press the attack, and the government army fell back twenty paces. Huang Dehe was in the rear; when he saw the army fall back he led his men in flight toward the southwest hills, the rest followed, and the whole force broke. Ping sent his son Yisun in pursuit of Dehe, seized his reins, and said, "You should turn the troops back and fight the enemy together—why run away first?" Dehe would not listen and galloped away toward Ganquan. Ping sent officers with swords to block the fleeing soldiers and held more than a thousand men together. Fighting continued for three days until the enemy withdrew east of the stream. Ping led the survivors to the southwest hills and built seven palisaded camps to hold their ground. That night the enemy sent men to knock on the palisades and ask where the commander was; the soldiers did not answer. They again sent men disguised as garrison troops with documents for Ping; he had them killed. At the fourth watch the enemy surrounded the camp and shouted, "With so few broken troops left, why not surrender!" At daybreak the enemy chief raised his whip; horsemen poured from all sides of the hills, cut the government army in two, and Ping and Yuansun were both taken.
14
初，德和言平降賊，朝廷發禁兵圍其家。 及命殿中侍御史文彥博即河中府置獄，遣龐籍往訊焉，具得其實。 遂釋其家，德和坐腰斬。 而延州吏民亦詣闕訴平戰沒狀，遂贈朔方軍節度使兼侍中，諡壯武，賜信陵坊第，封其妻趙氏為南陽郡太夫人，子孫及諸弟皆優遷，未官者錄之。 其後降羌多言平在興州未死，生子於賊中。 及石元孫歸，乃知平戰時被執，後沒於興州。 弟兼濟。
At first Dehe reported that Ping had surrendered to the enemy, and the court sent palace troops to surround his home. The court ordered attending censor Wen Yanbo to set up a tribunal at Hezhong and sent Pang Ji to investigate; the full truth came out. Ping's family was released, and Dehe was executed by cutting in two at the waist. The officials and people of Yanzhou also went to court to testify how Ping had died fighting; he was posthumously made military governor of the Shuofang army and concurrent palace attendant, given the posthumous title Zhuangwu, granted a residence in Xinling ward, his wife Lady Zhao was enfeoffed as Grand Lady of Nanyang commandery, and his sons, grandsons, and younger brothers were all preferentially promoted, with those without office enrolled in service. Later many surrendered Qiang said that Ping had not died at Xingzhou and had even fathered a son among the enemy. When Shi Yuansun returned, it became known that Ping had been captured in battle and later died at Xingzhou. His younger brother was Jianji.
15
弟兼濟
Younger brother: Jianji
16
兼濟，字寶臣，以父蔭補三班奉職。 善騎射，讀兵書知大旨。 為襄州兵馬監押。 漢江暴漲，兼濟解衣涉水，率眾捍城，州賴以完。 擢閤門祗候、雄霸州界河巡檢，徙晉、絳、澤、潞都巡檢使。 歲饑，太行多盜，禽二百餘人。 改左侍禁、鄜延路兵馬都監，權知保安軍，歷同提點陝西、河東刑獄，徙知籠竿城。
Jianji, whose courtesy name was Baochen, entered service through his father's privilege as a third-rank attendant. He excelled at riding and archery and, in reading military texts, grasped their essential points. He served as military supervisor of Xiangzhou. When the Han River rose in flood, Jianji stripped off his clothes, waded through the water, and led the people in defending the city, so that the prefecture was saved. He was promoted to palace gate attendant and inspector on the frontier river of Xiong-Ba, then transferred to overall inspector for Jin, Jiang, Ze, and Lu. In a famine year bandits were numerous on the Taihang range; he captured more than two hundred of them. He was made left palace guard and overall military supervisor on the Fuyan circuit, acted as commander of Bao'an, served as concurrent judicial intendant for Shaanxi and Hedong, and was transferred to govern Longgan.
17
夏人寇邊，眾號數萬，兼濟將兵千餘，轉戰至黑松林，敗之。 屬其兄平戰沒於三川口，特授內殿崇班、知原州。 入辭，仁宗慰勉之曰：「國憂未弭，家仇未報，不可不力也。」 屬戶明珠族叛，諸將欲亟討。 兼濟第日縱飲擊鞠，繆為不知，以疑其意。 既而叛者自潰，乃追襲之，射殺其酋長，收餘眾以歸。 徙寧州，破靳廝韈砦，徙鄜州。
When the Xia raided the frontier with a force said to number tens of thousands, Jianji led a little more than a thousand men, fought his way to Black Pine Forest, and defeated them. When his elder brother Ping was killed at Sanchuan Ford, he was specially made inner palace attendant and prefect of Yuanzhou. When he came to take leave, Emperor Renzong comforted him and said, "The state's trouble is not yet ended and your family's vengeance is not yet settled—you must not fail to do your utmost." Just then the Hu Mingzhu clan rebelled, and the generals wanted to attack at once. Jianji spent his days drinking and playing cuju, pretending not to notice so as to make the rebels suspect his intentions. Before long the rebels broke up on their own; he pursued them, shot their chief dead, and brought the rest back in submission. He was transferred to Ningzhou, stormed the Jinsiwa stockade, and was then transferred to Fuzhou.
18
元昊既稱藩，徙梓夔路鈐轄，又徙知鎮戎軍。 兼濟御下嚴急，轉運使言士心多怨，請徙諸內地。 改涇原路鈐轄，復知寧州，又知原州，徙冀州、廣信軍。 累遷文思使、惠州刺史、河北緣邊安撫副使，擢西上閤門使、同管勾三班院，出知雄州。
After Yuan Hao had submitted as a vassal, he was made military superintendent on the Zi-Kui circuit and later transferred to command Zhenrong. Jianji ruled his men with harsh severity; the transport commissioner reported widespread resentment among the troops and asked that he be transferred inland. He was made military superintendent on the Jingyuan circuit, again governed Ningzhou and Yuanzhou, and was transferred to Jizhou and Guangxin. He rose through the posts of commissioner of literary exchanges, prefect of Huizhou, and deputy frontier pacification commissioner for Hebei, then was made western upper palace gate attendant and concurrent supervisor of the Three-Rank Bureau before being sent out as prefect of Xiongzhou.
19
先是，邊民避罪逃者，契丹輒納之，守將畏事不敢詰，兼濟悉移檄責還。 徙冀州，逾月，改忻州，復管勾三班院，卒。
Earlier, frontier subjects fleeing punishment were readily sheltered by the Khitan, and garrison commanders, fearing trouble, did not press the issue; Jianji sent dispatches throughout demanding their return. He was transferred to Jizhou; after a month he was moved to Xinzhou, again supervised the Three-Rank Bureau, and died.
20
郭遵 〈附〉
Guo Zun (Appended biography)
21
郭遵者，開封人也，家世以武功稱。 遵少隸軍籍，稍遷殿前指揮使。 乾興中，改左班殿直、幷代路巡檢。 遷右侍禁、慶州柔遠砦兵馬監押。 召試騎射優等，遷左侍禁、閤門祗候。 為秦州三陽砦主，徙延州西路都巡檢使。
Guo Zun was from Kaifeng; his family had been renowned for martial prowess for generations. Zun entered the army rolls in youth and was gradually promoted to commander of the Palace Front. During the Qianxing era he was made left-rank palace attendant and inspector on the Bing-Dai circuit. He was promoted to right palace guard and military supervisor at Rouyuan stockade in Qingzhou. Called to trial in riding and archery, he earned top marks and was made left palace guard and palace gate attendant. He commanded Sanyang stockade in Qinzhou and was later transferred to overall inspector on the western route of Yanzhou.
22
元昊寇延州，遵以裨將屬劉平，遇敵，馳馬入敵陣，殺傷數十人。 敵出驍將揚言當遵，遵揮鐵杵破其腦，兩軍皆大呼。 復持鐵槍進，所向披靡。 會黃德和引兵先潰，敵戰益急。 遵奮擊，期必死，獨出入行間。 軍稍卻，即復馬以殿，又持大槊橫突之。 敵知不可敵，使人持大絭索立高處迎遵馬，輒為遵所斷。 因縱遵使深入，攢兵注射之，中馬，馬仆地，被殺。 特贈果州團練使。 以其父斌為太子右清道率府副率； 母賀，封仁壽郡君； 妻尹，安康郡君； 弟青石侍禁，逵三班奉職。 四子尚幼，仁宗悉為賜名，忠嗣西頭供奉官，忠紹左侍禁，忠裔右侍禁，忠緒左班殿直。 女舊為尼，亦賜紫方袍。
When Yuan Hao raided Yanzhou, Zun served as a deputy under Liu Ping; meeting the enemy, he charged into their ranks on horseback and killed or wounded dozens. The enemy sent out a fierce champion who boasted he would take Zun; Zun swung his iron mace and shattered his skull, and both armies roared. He took up an iron spear again and advanced, cutting down all who stood before him. Just then Huang Dehe broke and fled with his men, and the enemy pressed the attack all the harder. Zun fought on with abandon, resolved to die, charging alone in and out of the enemy lines. When the army fell back he remounted to cover the rear, then took a great spear and charged across the enemy front. Seeing they could not match him, the enemy posted men on high ground with great ropes to snare his horse; Zun cut through them each time. They let him press deep into their lines, then massed archers and shot him down; his horse was hit and fell, and he was killed. He was posthumously made regimental trainer of Guozhou. His father Bin was made deputy leader of the crown prince's Right Clear-Way Guard; his mother He was enfeoffed as Lady of Renshou commandery; his wife Yin as Lady of Ankang commandery; his younger brother Qingshi as palace guard and Kui as third-rank attendant. His four sons were still young; Emperor Renzong gave them all names: Zhongsi as western palace supply officer, Zhongshao as left palace guard, Zhongyi as right palace guard, and Zhongxu as left-rank palace attendant. His daughter, who had formerly been a nun, was also granted a purple monastic robe.
23
遵用鐵杵、槍、槊、共九十斤，其後耕者得其器於戰處，皇祐中，乃倂與其衣冠葬之河南。 逵，自有傳。
The iron mace, spear, and halberd he wielded weighed ninety jin together; later a farmer found them on the battlefield, and in the Huangyou era they were buried with his robes and cap in Henan. Kui has his own biography.
24
任福，字祐之，其先河東人，後徙開封。 咸平中，補衛士，由殿前諸班累遷至遙郡刺史。 元昊反，除莫州刺史、嵐石隰州緣邊都巡檢使。 既辭，奏曰：「河東地介大河，斥堠疏闊，願嚴守備，以戒不虞。」 仁宗善之，命知隴州，擢秦鳳路馬步軍副總管。 詔陝西增城壘、器械，福受命四十日，而戰守之備皆具。 以忻州團練使為鄜延路副總管、管勾延州東路蕃部事。
Ren Fu, whose courtesy name was Youzhi, came originally from Hedong and later moved to Kaifeng. During the Xianping era he entered the guards and rose through the Palace Front ranks to distant-prefecture prefect. When Yuan Hao rebelled, he was made prefect of Mozhou and overall frontier inspector for Lan, Shi, and Xi. On taking leave he memorialized, "Hedong lies beside the Yellow River and its watch-towers are few and far between; I ask that defenses be tightened against the unforeseen." Emperor Renzong approved and made him prefect of Longzhou and deputy overall commander of infantry and cavalry on the Qinfeng circuit. When an edict ordered Shaanxi to strengthen walls and armaments, Fu received the command and within forty days had every preparation for war and defense in place. As regimental trainer of Xinzhou he was made deputy overall commander on the Fuyan circuit and supervisor of eastern-route tribal affairs at Yanzhou.
25
尋知慶州，復兼環慶路副總管。 上言：「慶州去蕃族不遠，願勒兵境上，按亭堡，謹斥堠。」 因經度所過山川道路，以為緩急攻守之備。 帝益善之，聽便宜從事。
Soon afterward he governed Qingzhou and again served as deputy overall commander on the Huanqing circuit. He submitted, "Qingzhou lies close to the tribal lands; I ask to muster troops on the border, inspect the outposts and forts, and keep the watch-towers alert." He then surveyed the mountains, rivers, and roads along his route to prepare for attack and defense in an emergency. The emperor approved still more and allowed him to act at his own discretion.
26
夏人寇保安、鎮戎軍，福與子懷亮、侄婿成暠自華池鳳川鎮聲言巡邊，召諸將牽制敵勢。 行至柔遠砦，犒蕃部，即席部分諸將，攻白豹城。 夜漏未盡，抵城下，四面合擊。 平明，破其城，縱兵大掠，焚巢穴，獲牛馬、橐駝七千有餘，委聚方四十里，平骨咩等四十一族。 以功拜龍神衛四廂都指揮使、賀州防禦使，改侍衛馬軍都虞候。
When the Xia raided Bao'an and Zhenrong, Fu set out from Huachi and Fengchuan with his son Huailiang and nephew-by-marriage Cheng Gao under the pretext of a border patrol and summoned the generals to pin down the enemy. At Rouyuan stockade he feasted the tribes and on the spot assigned the generals to attack Baibao. Before the night watch had ended they reached the walls and attacked from all sides. At daybreak they took the city, let the troops plunder freely, burned the encampments, and captured more than seven thousand cattle, horses, and camels; the booty covered forty square li, and they pacified forty-one tribes including Pinggumie. For this he was made commander of all four wings of the Dragon Divine Guard and defense commissioner of Hezhou, then chief adjutant of the Palace Cavalry Guard.
27
康定二年春，朝廷欲發涇原、鄜延兩路兵西討，詔福詣涇原計事。 會安撫副使韓琦行邊趨涇原，聞元昊謀寇渭州，琦亟趨鎮戎軍，盡出其兵，又募敢勇得萬八千人，使福將之。 以耿傅參軍事，涇原路駐泊都監桑懌為先鋒，鈐轄朱觀、都監武英、涇州都監王珪各以所部從福節制。 琦戒福等倂兵，自懷遠城趨得勝砦，至羊牧隆城，出敵之後。 諸砦相距才四十里，道近糧餉便，度勢未可戰，則據險設伏，待其歸邀擊之。 福引輕騎數千，趨懷遠城捺龍川，遇鎮戎軍西路巡檢常鼎、劉肅，與敵戰於張家堡南，斬首數百。 夏人棄馬羊橐駝佯北，懌引騎趨之，福踵其後。 諜傳敵兵少，福等頗易之。 薄暮，與懌合軍屯好水川，觀、英屯龍落川，相距隔山五里，約翌日會兵川口。 路既遠，芻餉不繼，士馬乏食已三日。 追奔至籠竿城北，遇夏軍，循川行，出六盤山下，距羊牧隆城五里結陣，諸將方知墮敵計，勢不可留，遂前格戰。 懌馳犯其鋒，福陣未成列，賊縱鐵騎突之，自辰至午，陣動，眾傅山欲據勝地。 俄伏發，自山背下擊，士卒多墜崖塹，相覆壓，懌、肅戰死。 敵分兵數千，斷官軍後，福力戰，身被十餘矢。 有小校劉進者，勸福自免。 福曰：「吾為大將，兵敗，以死報國爾。」 揮四刃鐵簡，挺身決鬥，槍中左頰，絕其喉而死。 乃倂兵攻觀、英。 戰既合，王珪自羊牧隆城引兵四千，陣於觀軍之西； 渭州駐泊都監趙津將瓦亭騎兵二千繼至。 珪屢出略陣，陣堅不可破，英重傷，不能視軍。 敵兵益至，官軍遂大潰，英、津、珪、傅皆死； 內殿崇班訾贇、西頭供奉官王慶、侍禁李簡、李禹亨、劉鈞亦戰沒； 軍校死者數十人，士死者六千餘人。 唯觀以兵千餘保民垣，四嚮縱射，會暮，敵引去，與福戰處相距五里，然其敗不相聞也。 福子懷亮亦死之。
In the spring of the second year of Kangding (1041) the court planned a western campaign with troops from the Jingyuan and Fuyan circuits and ordered Fu to Jingyuan to plan it. Pacification deputy commissioner Han Qi was on the frontier and hurried to Jingyuan; learning that Yuan Hao planned to raid Weizhou, Qi rushed to Zhenrong, committed all its troops, and recruited eighteen thousand bold fighters, placing Fu in command. Geng Fu served on his staff; Sang Yi, garrison commander on the Jingyuan circuit, was vanguard; Zhu Guan, Wu Ying, and Jingzhou commander Wang Gui each brought their detachments under Fu's command. Qi instructed Fu and the others to unite, march from Huaiyuan toward Desheng stockade and Yangmulong, and take the enemy from behind. The stockades were only forty li apart and supplies easy to move; if battle seemed unwise, they should hold the passes, set ambushes, and strike the enemy on their return. Fu led several thousand light cavalry toward Nalong Stream below Huaiyuan, joined western-route inspectors Chang Ding and Liu Su of Zhenrong, and fought south of Zhangjiabao, taking several hundred heads. The Xia abandoned horses, sheep, and camels and feigned retreat; Yi led the cavalry in pursuit and Fu followed. Spies reported few enemy troops, and Fu and his officers took them lightly. At dusk he joined Yi and camped at Haoshui Stream; Guan and Ying camped at Longluo Stream, five li apart across a ridge, agreeing to unite at the stream mouth the next day. The road was long, fodder did not keep up, and men and horses had gone without food for three days. Pursuing as far as north of Longgan they met Xia forces, followed the stream, emerged below Liupan Mountain, and formed ranks five li from Yangmulong; the generals then saw they had walked into a trap and, unable to hold back, advanced to fight. Yi charged the enemy van; Fu's ranks were not yet formed when iron cavalry burst upon them; from mid-morning to noon the line wavered and the troops pressed up the slope for better ground. Soon ambushers struck from behind the ridge; many soldiers fell into cliffs and ravines and were crushed together; Yi and Su were killed. The enemy sent several thousand men to cut off the army's rear; Fu fought on and was struck by more than ten arrows. A petty officer named Liu Jin urged Fu to save himself. Fu said, "I am the commander; the army is beaten—I repay the state with my death, nothing more." He swung a four-edged iron mace and fought to the death; a spear struck his left cheek and severed his throat. The enemy then turned their combined force on Guan and Ying. When battle was joined, Wang Gui led four thousand men from Yangmulong and formed ranks west of Guan's force; Zhao Jin, garrison commander of Weizhou, brought two thousand Wating cavalry in support. Gui repeatedly probed the enemy line but could not break it; Ying was gravely wounded and unable to command. More enemy troops arrived and the government army broke completely; Ying, Jin, Gui, and Fu were all killed; Zi Yun, Wang Qing, and palace guards Li Jian, Li Yuheng, and Liu Jun also fell in battle; several dozen officers and more than six thousand soldiers were killed. Only Guan, with a little more than a thousand men, held a village wall and shot in all directions; at dusk the enemy withdrew. He was five li from where Fu fought, yet heard nothing of the defeat. Fu's son Huailiang also died.
28
方元昊傾國入寇，福臨敵受命，所統皆非素撫之兵，既又分出趨利，故至於甚敗。 奏至，帝震悼，贈福武勝軍節度使兼侍中，賜第一區，月給其家錢三萬，粟、麥四十斛。 追封母為隴西郡太夫人，妻為琅琊郡夫人，錄其子及從子凡六人。
Yuan Hao had thrown his whole state into the invasion; Fu took command facing an enemy with troops he had not long commanded, and they had been split apart in pursuit of booty—hence the great defeat. When the report reached court the emperor was stricken with grief; Fu was posthumously made military governor of the Wusheng army and concurrent palace attendant, granted a mansion, and his family given thirty thousand cash a month and forty hu of grain and wheat. His mother was posthumously made Grand Lady of Longxi commandery and his wife Lady of Langya commandery; his sons and nephews, six in all, were enrolled in office.
29
王珪 〈附〉
Wang Gui (Appended biography)
30
王珪，開封人也。 少拳勇，善騎射，能用鐵杵、鐵鞭。 年十九，隸親從官，累遷殿前第一班押班，擢禮賓副使、涇州駐泊都監。
Wang Gui was from Kaifeng. In youth he was bold and skilled at riding and archery, and could wield an iron mace and iron whip. At nineteen he entered the personal attendants, rose to escort commander of the Palace Front first rank, and was made deputy commissioner of ceremonial guests and garrison commander of Jingzhou.
31
康定初，元昊寇鎮戎軍，珪將三千騎為策先鋒，自瓦亭至師子堡，敵圍之數重，
Early in Kangding, when Yuan Hao raided Zhenrong, Gui led three thousand cavalry as raiding vanguard from Wating to Shizi fort, where the enemy surrounded them in layer after layer,
32
珪奮擊披靡，獲首級為多。 叩鎮戎城，請益兵，不許。 城中惟縋糗糧予之。 師既飽，因語其下曰：「兵法，以寡擊眾必在暮，我兵少，乘其暮擊之，可得志也。」 復馳入，有驍將持白幟植槍以詈曰：「誰敢與吾敵者！」 槍直珪胸而傷右臂，珪左手以杵碎其腦。 繼又一將復以槍進，珪挾其槍，以鞭擊殺之。 一軍大驚，遂引去。 珪亦以馬中箭而還，仁宗特遣使撫諭之； 然以其下死傷亦多，止賜名馬二匹，黃金三十兩，裹創絹百匹； 復下詔暴其功塞下，以厲諸將。
Gui fought fiercely and swept the enemy aside, taking more heads than any other. He reached Zhenrong and asked for reinforcements, but none were sent. The city could only lower dry rations down to him on ropes. When his men had eaten, he told them, "By the art of war, the few must strike the many at dusk; we are few—hit them at dusk and we can prevail." He charged in again. A fierce champion planted his spear with a white banner and shouted, "Who dares face me!" The spear struck Gui's chest and wounded his right arm; with his left hand he shattered the man's skull with his mace. Another officer advanced with a spear; Gui seized the spear and killed him with his whip. The whole enemy army was shaken and withdrew. Gui also returned with his horse wounded by arrows; Emperor Renzong specially sent envoys to comfort him; but because his men had also suffered heavy casualties, he received only two fine horses, thirty liang of gold, and a hundred bolts of silk for dressing wounds; and an edict proclaimed his merit on the frontier to encourage the other generals.
33
是歲，改涇原路都監。 明年，為本路行營都臨，勒金字處置牌賜之，使得專誅殺。 尋至黑山，焚敵族帳，獲首級、馬駝甚眾。 會敵大入，以兵五千從任福屯好水川，連戰三日，諸將皆敗。 任福陷圍中，望見麾幟猶在，珪欲援出之，軍校有顧望不進者，斬以徇。 乃東望再拜曰：「非臣負國，臣力不能也，獨有死報爾。」 乃復入戰，殺數十百人，鞭鐵撓曲，手掌盡裂，奮擊自若。 馬中鏃，凡三易，猶馳擊殺數十人。 矢中目，乃還，夜中卒。
That year he was made overall garrison commander on the Jingyuan circuit. The next year he was made overall overseer of the circuit field camp and granted a gold-inscribed disposition tablet with exclusive power of execution. Soon afterward he reached Black Mountain, burned enemy encampments, and took a great many heads, horses, and camels. When the enemy invaded in force he followed Ren Fu with five thousand men to Haoshui Stream; after three days of fighting all the generals were beaten. Ren Fu was trapped in the encirclement; when Gui saw his command banners still flying he tried to rescue him, and beheaded an officer who hung back as a warning to the rest. He bowed twice toward the east and said, "I have not failed the state—my strength is spent; I have only my death left to offer." He went back into the fight, killed scores of the enemy, bent his iron whip, split both palms, and still fought on without faltering. His horse was hit by arrows; he changed mounts three times and still killed dozens more in the charge. An arrow struck his eye; he withdrew and died that night.
34
珪少通陰陽術數之學，始出戰，謂其家人曰：「我前後大小二十餘戰，殺敵多矣，今恐不得還。 我死，可速去此，無為敵所仇也。」 及敵攻瓦亭，購甚急，果如所料。 鎮戎之戰，以所得二槍植山上，其後邊人即其處為立祠。 贈金州觀察使，追封其妻安康郡君，錄其子光祖為西頭供奉官、閤門祗候，後為東上閤門使； 光世，西頭供奉官； 光嗣，左侍禁。
Gui had studied yin-yang lore and divination in youth; as he set out for battle he told his family, "I have fought more than twenty engagements and killed many enemies; I fear I shall not return this time. When I die, leave this place quickly so the enemy cannot take revenge on you." When the enemy attacked Wating the bounty on his family was posted at once, just as he had foreseen. After the battle at Zhenrong he planted the two spears he had captured on a hill, and later the frontier people built a shrine there. He was posthumously made surveillance commissioner of Jinzhou; his wife was enfeoffed as Lady of Ankang commandery; his son Guangzu was enrolled as western palace supply officer and palace gate attendant, later eastern upper palace gate attendant; Guangshi, western palace supply officer; Guangsi, left palace guard.
35
武英 〈附〉
Wu Ying 〈Appended biography〉
36
武英，字漢傑，太原人。 父密，隨劉繼元歸朝，仕至侍禁、鎮定同巡檢。 與契丹戰，沒於望都，贈西京左坊使，錄英為三班借職，以右班殿直為忻、代州同巡檢。 會州將出獵，因留帳飲，英曰：「今空郡而來，萬一敵乘間入城，奈何？」 既而敵百餘騎果入寇，英領眾左右馳射，悉禽獲之。 以功遷左班殿直、監雄州榷場，改右侍禁、閤門祗候，為環州都巡檢使，徙洪德砦主，又徙慶州柔遠砦。
Wu Ying, whose courtesy name was Hanjie, was from Taiyuan. His father Mi had followed Liu Jiyuan in submitting to the Song and rose to palace guard and concurrent inspector of Zhending. He died fighting the Khitan at Wangdu and was posthumously made western capital left ward keeper; Ying was enrolled as borrowed third-rank attendant and made right-rank palace attendant and concurrent inspector of Xin and Dai. The prefect of Huizhou was going hunting and stayed in camp to drink; Ying said, "You have left the prefecture empty—what if the enemy slips into the city?" Before long more than a hundred enemy horsemen did raid in; Ying led his men in a galloping fight and captured them all. For this he was promoted to left-rank palace attendant and supervisor of the Xiongzhou trade office, then made right palace guard and palace gate attendant, overall inspector of Huanzhou, commander of Hongde stockade, and finally Rouyuan stockade in Qingzhou.
37
元昊寇延州，英主兵攻後橋，以分敵勢。 擢內殿承制、環慶路駐泊都監。 破黨平族，又從任福破白豹城，遷禮賓副使，尋兼涇原行營都監。 與任福合諸將戰張家堡，斬首數十百，敵棄羊馬偽遁。 諸將皆趨利爭進，英以為前必有伏，眾不聽，已而伏發。 福等既敗，英猶力戰，自辰至申，矢盡遇害。 贈邢州觀察使。 錄其子三班奉職永符為東頭供奉官、閤門祗候； 永孚，西頭供奉官； 永昌，左侍禁。 侄永保，右班殿直； 永錫，三班奉職。
When Yuan Hao raided Yanzhou, Ying led troops against Houqiao to divide the enemy's strength. He was promoted to inner palace commissioner and garrison commander on the Huanqing circuit. He defeated the Dangping tribe, followed Ren Fu in taking Baibao, was made deputy commissioner of ceremonial guests, and soon also oversaw the Jingyuan field camp. With Ren Fu he united the generals at Zhangjiabao and took several tens or hundreds of heads; the enemy abandoned sheep and horses and feigned retreat. The generals all rushed forward for booty; Ying warned that an ambush lay ahead, but they would not listen, and soon the trap was sprung. After Fu's defeat Ying still fought from mid-morning to mid-afternoon until his arrows were spent and he was killed. He was posthumously made surveillance commissioner of Xingzhou. His son Yongfu, a third-rank attendant, was enrolled as eastern palace supply officer and palace gate attendant; Yongfu, western palace supply officer; Yongchang, left palace guard. His nephew Yongbao was made a right-hand palace guard attendant; Yongxi, third-rank attendant.
38
桑懌 〈附〉
Sang Yi 〈Appended biography〉
39
桑懌，開封雍丘人。 勇力過人，善用劍及鐵簡，有謀略。 其為人不甚長大，與人接，常祗畏若不自足，語言如不出其口，卒遇之，不知其勇且健也。 兄慥，舉進士，有名。 懌以再舉進士，不中。
Sang Yi was from Yongqiu in Kaifeng. Exceptionally brave and strong, skilled with sword and iron mace, and gifted with strategy. He was not tall, and in company he was so deferential one might think him timid; his speech seemed barely to leave his lips; a stranger would never guess how brave and fit he was. His elder brother Cao had passed the jinshi examination and won renown. Yi twice sat for the jinshi examination and failed both times.
40
嘗遭大水，有粟二廩，將以舟載之，見百姓走避水者，遂棄其粟而載之，得皆不死。 歲饑，聚人共食其粟，盡而止。 後徙居汝、潁間，耕龍城廢田數頃以自給。
Once during a great flood he had grain in two granaries and meant to ferry it away, but when he saw people fleeing the water he abandoned the grain and took them aboard instead, and all were saved. In a year of famine he gathered people to share his grain until it was all gone. Later he moved to the region between Ru and Ying and farmed several qing of abandoned fields at Longcheng to support himself.
41
諸縣多盜，懌自請補耆長，得往來察奸，因召里中惡少年戒曰：「盜不可為，吾不汝容也。」 有頃，里老父子死未斂，盜夜脫其衣去，父不敢告縣。 懌疑少年王生者，夜入其家，得其衣，不使之知也。 明日，見而問之曰：「爾許我不為盜，今里中盜屍衣者，非爾邪？」 少年色動，即推仆地，縛之，詰共盜者姓名，盡送縣，皆伏辜。
Banditry was rife in the counties; Yi volunteered as elder chief so he could investigate crime, and summoned the neighborhood's bad youths to warn them, "Do not turn to robbery—I will not spare you." Before long an old man and his son in the lane died and lay unburied; a thief stripped their shrouds one night, and the father dared not report it to the magistrate. Yi suspected a youth named Wang; he entered the house at night, recovered the clothes, and kept Wang from knowing. The next day he confronted him and asked, "You promised me you would not steal—so was it you who robbed the dead in our lane?" The youth's face changed; Yi threw him down, bound him, extracted the names of his accomplices, sent them all to the county, and every one confessed.
42
嘗之郟城，遇尉出捕盜，招懌飲酒。 與俱行，至賊所藏，尉怯甚，陽為不知，將去。 懌曰：「賊在此，欲何之？」 乃下馬，獨格殺數人，因盡縛之。 又聞襄城有盜十許人，獨提一劍以往，殺數人，盡縛其餘，汝旁縣為之無盜。 京西轉運使奏其事，補郟城尉。
Once in Yancheng he met the district captain setting out to catch bandits, who invited him to drink. They went together; when they reached the bandits' hiding place the captain was so afraid he pretended not to see them and was about to turn back. Yi said, "The bandits are right here—where are you going?" He dismounted, killed several in hand-to-hand combat by himself, and bound the rest. Hearing that Xiangcheng had some ten bandits, he went alone with a single sword, killed several, bound the rest, and the counties around Ru were rid of banditry. The Jingxi transport commissioner reported his deeds, and he was appointed district captain of Yancheng.
43
天聖中，河南諸縣多盜，轉運使奏移澠池尉。 群盜保青灰山，時出攘剽。 有宿盜王伯者，尤為民害，朝廷每授巡檢使，必疏姓名使捕之。 懌至官，巡檢偽為宣頭以示懌，牒招致之。 懌不知其偽也，因挺身入賊中，與伯同臥起，十餘日，伯遂與懌出至山口，為巡檢伏兵所執，懌幾不免。 懌曰：「巡檢懼無功爾。」 即以伯與巡檢，使自為功。 巡檢俘獻京師，而懌不復自言。 朝廷知之，為黜巡檢，擢懌右班殿直、永安縣巡檢。
During the Tiansheng era banditry was rife in Henan counties, and the transport commissioner had him transferred to serve as district captain of Mianchi. A band of robbers held Qinghui Mountain and raided the countryside from time to time. A veteran bandit named Wang Bo was especially feared; whenever the court appointed an inspection commissioner, Wang's name was always listed for capture. When Yi took office, the inspection commissioner forged an imperial order to show him and summoned him by dispatch. Not knowing the order was forged, Yi entered the bandits' camp and lived with Bo for more than ten days; when Bo led him out to the pass, the inspector's ambush seized Bo, and Yi nearly died in the trap. Yi said, "The inspector only feared coming away with no credit." He handed Wang Bo over to the inspector and let him claim the credit. The inspector presented the captive in the capital, but Yi never spoke of his own part. When the court learned what had happened, it demoted the inspector and promoted Yi to right-hand palace guard attendant and inspector of Yong'an County.
44
明道末，京西旱蝗，有惡賊二十三人，樞密院召懌至京師，授以賊名姓，使往捕。 懌曰：「盜畏吾名，必潰，潰則難得矣，宜先示之以怯。」 至則閉柵，戒軍吏不得一人輒出。 居數日，軍吏不知所為，數請出自效，輒不許。 夜，與數卒變為盜服以出，跡盜所嘗行處。 入民家，民皆走，獨一媼留，為具飲食，如事群盜。 懌歸，閉柵三日，復往，自攜具就媼饌，而以餘遺媼，媼以為真盜。 乃稍就媼，與語及群盜，一媼曰：「彼聞桑殿直來，皆遁去。 近聞閉營不出，知其不足畏，今皆還矣，某在某處。」 懌又三日往，厚遺之，遂以實告曰：「我桑殿直也，為我察其實而慎勿泄。」 後三日復來，於是媼盡得居處之實以告。 懌明日部分軍士，盡擒諸盜。 其尤強梁者，懌自馳馬以往，士卒不及從，惟四騎追之，遂與賊遇，手殺三人。 凡二十三人者，一日皆獲。
At the end of the Mingdao era drought and locusts struck Jingxi, and twenty-three vicious bandits were at large; the Bureau of Military Affairs summoned Yi to the capital, gave him their names, and sent him to capture them. Yi said, "The bandits fear my name and will scatter; once scattered they are hard to catch. We should first make them think us timid." On arrival he shut the camp gates and ordered that not a single soldier was to leave. After several days the officers did not know what he intended and repeatedly asked permission to go out and fight, but he always refused. One night he and several soldiers dressed as bandits and went out to trace the routes they used. They entered a farmhouse; everyone fled except one old woman, who prepared food and drink for them as if they were real bandits. Yi returned and kept the camp shut for three days, then went back with provisions, ate with the old woman, and left her the leftovers; she took them for genuine bandits. He drew the old woman into talk about the bandits, and she said, "When they heard Palace Attendant Sang was coming, they all fled. But lately they heard the camp was shut and no one came out, so they knew he was nothing to fear; now they have all come back—so-and-so is at such-and-such a place." Three days later Yi returned with generous gifts and told her the truth: "I am Palace Attendant Sang—investigate for me, but be careful not to betray me." Three days later he came again, and by then the old woman had learned every hideout and told him all. The next day Yi deployed his troops in sections and captured every bandit. For the toughest of them Yi galloped ahead himself; his men could not keep up, and only four riders followed; he met the bandits and killed three with his own hand. All twenty-three were captured in a single day.
45
還京師，樞密吏求銀，為致閤門祗候。 懌曰：「用賂得官，非我欲，況貧無銀； 有，固不可也。」 吏怒，匿其功狀，止免其短使而已。 除兵馬監押，未行，會宜州蠻叛，殺海上巡檢，官軍不能制，因命懌往，盡手殺之。 還，乃授閤門祗候。 懌曰：「是行也，非獨吾功，位有居吾上者，吾乃其佐也。 今彼留而我還，我賞厚而彼輕，得不疑我蓋其功而自伐乎？ 受之，徒慚吾心。」 將讓其賞以歸己上者。 或譏以好名，懌歎曰：「士顧其心如何爾，當自信其心以行，若欲避名，則善皆不可為也。」 益辭之，不許。
Back in the capital, a Bureau clerk demanded silver and offered to secure him the post of palace gate attendant. Yi said, "Buying an office with a bribe is not what I want, and besides I am too poor to have silver; and even if I had it, I still could not do such a thing." The clerk was furious, suppressed his merit report, and only exempted him from short-term corvée duty. He was appointed horse and equipment supervisor, but before he could take up the post the Yi tribes of Yizhou rebelled, killed the maritime inspector, and government troops could not suppress them; Yi was sent and killed them all himself. On his return he was made palace gate attendant. Yi said, "On that campaign the credit was not mine alone—there was a man above me in rank, and I was only his deputy. He stayed behind while I came home; my reward is generous and his slight—will he not suspect that I stole his credit and boasted of myself? To accept the post would only shame my conscience." He was about to yield his reward to his superior. Some mocked him for seeking fame; Yi sighed and said, "A gentleman need only heed what is in his heart and act on that faith; if you try to flee reputation, then no good deed can be done at all." He refused all the more, but was not allowed.
46
寶元初，遷西頭供奉官、廣西駐泊都監。 元昊反，參知政事宋庠薦其有勇略，遷內殿崇班、鄜延路兵馬都監。 逾月，徙涇原路，屯鎮戎軍，與任福遇敵於好水川，力戰而死。 贈解州防禦使； 子湜皇城使。
At the beginning of the Baoyuan era he was made western palace supply officer and overall supervisor of the Guangxi garrison. When Yuan Hao rebelled, Vice Grand Councillor Song Qi recommended him for courage and strategy, and he was made inner palace honored attendant and military supervisor of the Yan'an circuit. A month later he was transferred to the Jingyuan circuit, garrisoned at Zhenrong Army, met the enemy with Ren Fu at Haoshuichuan, fought to the end, and was killed. He was posthumously made defense commissioner of Jiezhou; his son Chi was made palace envoy.
47
耿傅 〈附〉
Geng Fu 〈Appended biography〉
48
耿傅，字公弼，河南人。 祖昭化，為蜀州司戶參軍。 盜據城，欲脅以官，昭化大罵，至斷手足，不屈而死。
Geng Fu, courtesy name Gongbi, was from Henan. His grandfather Zhaohua served as revenue registrar of Shuzhou. When bandits seized the city they tried to force an office on him; Zhaohua cursed them until they cut off his hands and feet, but he would not yield and died.
49
傅少喜俠尚氣，初以父蔭為三班奉職，換伊陽縣尉，歷明州司理參軍，遷將作監丞、知永寧縣。 河南守宋綬薦其材，遷通判儀州，徙慶州。 時議進兵西討，以傅督一道糧饋。
In youth Fu loved chivalry and held himself high; through his father's privilege he first became a third-rank attendant, then exchanged to district captain of Yiyang, served as judicial assistant in Mingzhou, and was promoted to construction supervisor of the imperial workshops and magistrate of Yongning County. Henan prefect Song Shou recommended his ability, and he was made vice prefect of Yizhou, then transferred to Qingzhou. When the court was debating a western punitive advance, Geng Fu was assigned to supervise grain transport along one route.
50
會元昊入寇，參任福行營軍事，遇敵姚家川，諸將失利，敵騎益至，武英勸傅避去，傅不答。 英歎曰：「英當死，君文吏，無軍責，奈何與英俱死？」 朱觀亦白傅少避賊鋒，而傅愈前，指顧自若，被數創，乃死。
When Yuanhao invaded, he served on Ren Fu's field staff; at Yaojiachuan they met the enemy, the generals were beaten, and enemy cavalry kept coming. Wu Ying urged Geng Fu to pull back, but he would not answer. Ying sighed and said, "I am the one who ought to die. You are a civil official with no command responsibility—why should you die with me?" Zhu Guan also urged him to give the enemy's point a little ground, but Geng Fu pressed forward all the more, gesturing and glancing about as calmly as before until he had taken several wounds and died.
51
始，傅與觀營籠落川，夜作書遺福，以其日小勝，前與敵大軍遇，深以持重戒之。 自寫題觀名，以致福軍中。 傅死後，韓琦得其書於隨軍孔目官彭忠，奏上之。 詔贈傅右諫議大夫，官其子瑗為太常寺太祝，琚為太常寺奉禮郎，璋為將作監主簿，珪試秘書省校書郎，琬同學究出身。
Earlier, while Geng Fu and Zhu Guan were encamped on the Longluo Stream, he wrote at night to Ren Fu. He noted the day's minor success and warned that the main enemy force lay ahead, urging him in the strongest terms to keep his bearing steady. He wrote it himself, signed it with Zhu Guan's name, and had it delivered into Ren Fu's camp. After Geng Fu's death, Han Qi recovered the letter from the camp clerk Peng Zhong and presented it to the throne. An edict posthumously enfeoffed Geng Fu as Right Remonstrance Grandee and appointed his sons Yuan, Ju, Zhang, Gui, and Wan to offices ranging from arch-sacrificer and court gentleman of sacrifices to registrar of the works directorate, probationary secretariat proofreader, and classicist examination standing.
52
王仲寶 〈附〉
Wang Zhongbao 〈Appended biography〉
53
王仲寶，字器之，密州高密人。 初為刑部史，補齊州章丘尉。 以捕群盜六十餘人有功，用開封府判官鞠仲謀薦，召對，改右班殿直，為鎮、定、保、深、永寧、天雄六州軍巡檢。 又以捕賊功，遷左班，徙河北西路提舉捉賊，擒磁州名賊王遇仙、博州孫流油輩，凡四十人。
Wang Zhongbao, courtesy name Qizhi, was from Gaomi in Mizhou. He began as a clerk in the Ministry of Justice and was appointed sheriff of Zhangqiu in Qizhou. After capturing more than sixty bandits together, he was recommended by Kaifeng judge Ju Zhongmou, summoned to audience, made Right Guard Duty Attendant, and appointed patrol inspector over Zhen, Ding, Bao, Shen, Yongning, and Tianxiong. Further successes against bandits won him promotion to Left Guard Duty Attendant and transfer as Hebei West circuit commissioner for apprehending bandits; he took the notorious Wang Yuxian of Cizhou, Sun Liuyou of Bozhou, and others, forty in all.
54
夜有盜叩戶外乞降，左右欲殺之，為首級論功，仲寶不可，納舍中使寢。 擢閤門祗候，命乘驛捕登州海賊百餘人，獲之。 還，為河北提舉捉賊，又捕斬百餘人。 知信安軍，復為河北提舉捉賊。 有盜百餘依西山，官軍不能捕，仲寶悉招出，隸軍籍，奏以自隨。 徙澤、潞、晉、絳、慈、隰、威勝軍巡檢使，至官才八日，獲太行山宿賊八十人。 累賜金帛、緡錢。 使契丹，積遷內殿承制。
One night a bandit knocked at his door begging to surrender; his men wanted to kill him for the head count, but Zhongbao refused, brought him inside, and let him sleep. Promoted to Gatehouse Attendant, he was sent by post relay to Dengzhou and captured more than a hundred sea pirates. On his return he served again as Hebei commissioner for apprehending bandits and captured and executed more than a hundred more. He governed Xin'an Army, then again served as Hebei commissioner for apprehending bandits. When more than a hundred bandits held the western hills beyond the reach of government troops, Zhongbao induced them all to come out, enrolled them in the army, and memorialized to keep them in his service. Transferred as patrol inspector over Ze, Lu, Jin, Jiang, Ci, Xi, and Weisheng Army, he had been in office only eight days when he took eighty veteran bandits of the Taihang range. He received repeated gifts of gold, silk, and cash. Sent as envoy to the Khitan, he rose step by step to Inner Palace Commissioner.
55
天聖初，知鎮戎軍，改供備庫副使。 破康奴族，獲首領百五十、羊馬七千，詔獎其功。 凡五年，還，巡護惠民河堤岸，遷供備庫使、麟府路兵馬鈐轄、知麟州。 會鎮戎軍蕃族內寇，徙涇原路鈐轄，復知鎮戎軍，又徙原、環二州。 以西京左藏庫使、惠州刺史知利州，徙幷代州鈐轄，改西上閤門使。 建言：「緣邊博糴，屬羌苦之，數逃去。 請寬其法，使得復業，以捍邊境。」 久之，遷東上閤門使。
At the opening of the Tiansheng reign he governed Zhenrong Army and was made Vice Commissioner of the Supply Repository. He broke the Kangnu tribe, took a hundred fifty chieftains and seven thousand sheep and horses, and received an edict commending his achievement. After five years he returned, inspected the Huimin Canal dikes, and was promoted to Supply Repository Commissioner, military superintendent on the Lin-Fu circuit, and prefect of Linzhou. When the tribes at Zhenrong Army rose within the borders, he was transferred as Jingyuan superintendent, again governed Zhenrong Army, and later moved to Yuan and Huan prefectures. As Western Capital Left Treasury Commissioner and Huizhou prefect he governed Lizhou, then became superintendent of Bing and Dai and Western Upper Gate Commissioner. He memorialized, "Along the frontier the government grain-purchase program weighs on the subject Qiang; they suffer under it and keep fleeing. I ask that the regulations be eased so they may return to their livelihoods and hold the border for us." In time he was promoted to Eastern Upper Gate Commissioner.
56
元昊寇延州，仲寶將兵至賀蘭谷，以分兵勢，敗蕃將羅逋於長雞嶺。 遷四方館使，領濮州團練使，為涇原路總管、安撫副使兼管勾秦鳳路軍馬事。 與西羌戰六盤山，俘馘數百人。
When Yuanhao attacked Yanzhou, Zhongbao marched to Helan Valley to divide the enemy's strength and defeated the Tangut general Luo Bu at Changji Ridge. He was made Commissioner of the Four Diplomatic Hostels, nominal regimental commander of Puzhou, overall commander on the Jingyuan circuit, vice pacification commissioner, and overseer of Qinfeng military affairs. At Liupan Mountain he fought the Western Qiang and took several hundred prisoners and heads.
57
時任福大敗好水川，別將朱觀被圍於姚家堡，仲寶以兵救之，拔觀出圍，乘以從馬。 時諸將皆沒，獨仲寶與觀得還。 徙環慶路副都總管、知慶州。 未幾，兼本路經略安撫、招討副使。 破金湯城，復賜詔獎諭，徙澶州副總管。 安撫使范仲淹以仲寶武幹未衰，奏留之。 明年以磁州防禦使知代州，除左屯衛大將軍致仕，卒。
When Ren Fu was routed at Haoshui Stream and Zhu Guan was trapped at Yaojia Fort, Zhongbao fought through to free him from the encirclement and put him on a spare mount. By then every other general had been lost; only Zhongbao and Guan made it back. He was transferred as deputy overall commander on the Huanqing circuit and prefect of Qingzhou. Soon afterward he also served as circuit pacification commissioner and vice commissioner for punitive campaigns. He took Jintang Fortress, received another edict of commendation, and was transferred as deputy overall commander at Chanzou. Pacification Commissioner Fan Zhongyan, judging that Zhongbao's martial vigor had not waned, memorialized to retain him. The following year he governed Daizhou as Cizhou defense commissioner, was granted Grand General of the Left Garrison Guard and retired, and died.
58
論曰：元昊乘中國弛備，悉眾寇邊，王師大衄者三，夫豈天時不利哉？ 亦人謀而已。 好水之敗，諸將力戰以死。 噫，趨利以違節度，固失計矣； 然秉義不屈，庶幾烈士者哉！
The historians comment: Yuanhao took advantage of China's slack defenses, threw all his strength against the border, and the imperial armies suffered three crushing defeats—was that truly Heaven's ill favor? It was human counsel, nothing more. At Haoshui the generals fought to the last and died. Alas, to rush for gain against command was folly in itself; yet in holding to righteousness and refusing to yield, were they not almost martyrs!