1
滕元發
Teng Yuanfa
2
滕元發，初名甫，字元發。 以避高魯王諱，改字為名，而字達道，東陽人。 將生之夕，母夢虎行月中，墮其室。 性豪雋慷慨，不拘小節。 九歲能賦詩，范仲淹見而奇之。 舉進士，廷試第三，用聲韻不中程，罷，再舉，復第三。 授大理評事、通判湖州。 孫沔守杭，見而異之，曰：「奇才也，後當為賢將。」 授以治劇守邊之略。
Teng Yuanfa was originally named Fu, with the courtesy name Yuanfa. To avoid the taboo on the Prince of Gaolu's name, he adopted Yuanfa as his given name and took Dadao as his new courtesy name. He was from Dongyang. On the night before he was born, his mother dreamed that a tiger was walking in the moon and fell into her room. He was bold, brilliant, and magnanimous by nature, and cared little for petty proprieties. At the age of nine he could already write poetry, and Fan Zhongyan was struck by his talent. He passed the jinshi examination and placed third in the palace exam, but was disqualified for failing the rhyme requirements. He sat the exam again and once more came in third. He was appointed as a Dali pingshi and vice-prefect of Huzhou. Sun Kan, who was prefect of Hangzhou, was greatly impressed when he met him and said, "This is a rare talent; one day he will make an outstanding general." He then taught him the arts of governing demanding jurisdictions and holding the border.
3
召試，為集賢校理、開封府推官、鹽鐵戶部判官、同修起居注。 英宗書其姓名藏禁中，未及用。 神宗即位，召問治亂之道，對曰：「治亂之道如黑白、東西，所以變色易位者，朋黨汩之也。」 神宗曰：「卿知君子小人之黨乎？」 曰：「君子無黨，辟之草木，綢繆相附者必蔓草，非松柏也。 朝廷無朋黨，雖中主可以濟； 不然，雖上聖亦殆。」 神宗以為名言，太息久之。 進知制誥、知諫院。 御史中丞王陶論宰相不押班為跋扈，神宗以問元發，元發曰：「宰相固有罪，然以為跋扈，則臣以為欺天陷人矣。」
Summoned for an imperial examination, he was made collator in the Hall of Assembled Worthies, investigating clerk of the Kaifeng prefecture, salt and iron bureau and Ministry of Revenue judge, and co-compiler of the court diary. Emperor Yingzong wrote down his name and kept it in the palace archives, but never had the chance to appoint him. When Emperor Shenzong came to the throne, he summoned Teng and asked about the principles of order and disorder. Teng answered, "Order and disorder are as clear as black and white, east and west; what makes them seem to change is that partisan factions muddy the waters." The emperor asked, "Do you understand the difference between the factions of gentlemen and petty men?" He replied, "Gentlemen form no factions. Think of plants in a grove: what clings and twines together must be creeping vines, not pines and cypresses. When the court is free of partisan cliques, even a middling ruler can govern well; otherwise, even the greatest sage on the throne will be in danger." The emperor took this for a memorable saying and sighed at length. He was promoted to drafter of edicts and head of the Remonstrance Bureau. When Censor-in-Chief Wang Tao charged the chief councilors with arrogance for not attending the morning audience in person, the emperor asked Yuanfa's view. Yuanfa replied, "The councilors are indeed at fault, but to call this arrogance is, in my view, to deceive Heaven and frame innocent men."
4
拜御史中丞。 种諤擅築綏州，且與薛向發諸路兵，環、慶、保安皆出剽掠，夏人誘殺將官楊定。 元發上疏極言諒祚已納款，不當失信，邊隙一開，兵連民疲，必為內憂。 又中書、樞密制邊事多不合，中書賞戰功而樞密降約束，樞密詰修堡而中書降褒詔，元發言：「戰守，大事也，而異同如是，願敕二府必同而後下。」 宰相以其子判鼓院，諫官謂不可，神宗曰：「鼓院傳達而已，何與於事。」 元發曰：「人有訴宰相，使其子達之，可乎？」 神宗悟，為罷之。
He was appointed censor-in-chief. Chong E built up Suizhou on his own authority, and together with Xue Xiang mobilized troops from several circuits. Huan, Qing, and Bao'an all sent out raiding parties, and the Xia lured and killed the officer Yang Ding. Yuanfa submitted a memorial insisting that Liangzuo had already submitted to the court and that breaking faith was wrong. Once the border quarrel was opened, endless warfare would exhaust the people and create grave troubles at home. The Secretariat and the Bureau of Military Affairs also often clashed over border policy: the Secretariat would reward military achievements while the Bureau issued restraining orders; the Bureau would question fort-building while the Secretariat issued commendatory edicts. Yuanfa said, "War and defense are matters of the highest importance, yet the two offices disagree in this way. I beg Your Majesty to require them to reach agreement before any order is issued." The chief councilor had his son appointed judge of the Drum Court, and remonstrance officials objected. The emperor said, "The Drum Court only relays petitions—what harm can that do?" Yuanfa replied, "If someone wished to lodge a complaint against the chief councilor, would it be acceptable to have his son deliver it?" The emperor saw the point and cancelled the appointment.
5
京師郡國地震，元發上疏指陳致災之由，大臣不悅，出知秦州。 神宗曰：「秦州，非朕意也。」 留不遣。 館伴契丹使楊興公，開懷與之語，興公感動，將去，泣之而別。 河北地大震，命元發為安撫使。 時城舍多圮，吏民懼壓，皆幄寢茇舍，元發獨處屋下，曰：「屋摧民死，吾當以身同之。」 瘞死食饑，除田租，修堤障，察貪殘，督盜賊，北道遂安。 除翰林學士、知開封府。 民王穎有金為鄰婦所隱，閱數尹不獲直。 穎憤而致傴，扶杖訴於庭。 元發一問得實，反其金，穎投杖仰謝，失傴所在。
When earthquakes struck the capital and the provinces, Yuanfa submitted a memorial identifying what he believed had brought on the disaster. The chief ministers were displeased, and he was sent out to serve as prefect of Qinzhou. The emperor said, "Sending you to Qinzhou was not my wish." He kept him at court and did not let him go. While serving as host to the Khitan envoy Yang Xinggong, he spoke with him candidly and won his trust. When the envoy was about to leave, he wept as they parted. When Hebei was struck by a major earthquake, Yuanfa was appointed pacification commissioner. Many buildings in the cities had collapsed, and officials and commoners alike, fearing they would be crushed, slept in tents and thatched shelters. Yuanfa alone stayed inside a house and said, "If these buildings fall and the people die, I should share their fate." He buried the dead, fed the hungry, remitted field taxes, repaired dikes and barriers, investigated corrupt and cruel officials, and cracked down on banditry, until the northern route was secure again. He was appointed Hanlin academician and prefect of Kaifeng. A commoner named Wang Ying had had his gold hidden by a neighbor's wife, and through several successive prefects he had been unable to obtain justice. In his frustration Wang Ying had become bent with age; leaning on a staff, he brought his case before the prefect's court. Yuanfa questioned the case once, learned the truth, and returned the gold. Wang Ying threw down his staff and looked up in gratitude—and found that his bent back was gone.
6
夏國主秉常被篡，元發言：「繼遷死時，李氏幾不立矣。 當時大臣不能分建諸豪，乃以全地王之，至今為患。 今秉常失位，諸將爭權，天以此遺陛下，若再失此時，悔將無及。 請擇立一賢將，假以重權，使經營分裂之，可不勞而定，百年之計也。」 神宗奇其策，然不果用。
When the Xia ruler Bingchang was overthrown, Yuanfa said, "When Jiqian died, the Li clan nearly failed to hold power at all. The court ministers of that day could not divide power among the various chieftains but instead invested one man with the whole territory as king—a mistake that has troubled us ever since. Now Bingchang has lost his throne and the generals are fighting for power. Heaven is offering this moment to Your Majesty; if you miss it again, you will have nothing but regret. Choose one able general, grant him broad authority, and set him to divide their power. The Xia could be settled without great effort—this would be a strategy for a century." The emperor was impressed by the plan but never put it into practice.
7
元發在神宗前論事，如家人父子，言無文飾，洞見肝鬲。 神宗知其誠藎，事無巨細，人無親疏，輒皆問之。 元發隨事解答，不少嫌隱。 王安石方立新法，天下詾詾，恐元發有言，神宗信之也，因事，以翰林侍讀學士出知鄆州。 徙定州。 初入郡，言新法之害，且曰：「臣始以意度其不可耳，既為郡，乃親見之。」 歲旱求言，又疏奏：「新法害民者，陛下既知之矣，但下一手詔，應熙寧三年以來所行有不便者，悉罷之，則民心悅而天意解矣。」 皆不聽。
Before the emperor, Yuanfa spoke as freely as a son to his father, without rhetorical ornament, laying bare what was truly in men's hearts. The emperor knew how loyal and forthright he was, and on matters great or small, concerning persons near or far, he would always seek his counsel. Yuanfa answered each question directly, concealing nothing. Wang Anshi was then introducing the New Policies, and the realm was in uproar. His faction feared that Yuanfa would speak against them and that the emperor would listen, so on a pretext he was sent out as Hanlin attendant academician and prefect of Yanzhou. He was transferred to Dingzhou. Soon after he took up his post he spoke of the harm the New Policies were doing and said, "At first I only suspected they would not work; now that I govern a prefecture, I have seen it for myself." When drought brought a call for candid advice, he submitted another memorial: "Your Majesty already knows which New Policies harm the people. Issue a personal edict abolishing every measure enacted since the third year of Xining that has proved burdensome, and the people will be content and Heaven's displeasure will lift." None of this was heeded.
8
歷青州、應天府、齊、鄧二州。 會婦黨李逢為逆，或因以擠之，黜為池州，未行，改安州。 流落且十歲，猶以前過貶居筠州。 或以為復有後命，元發談笑自若，曰：「天知吾直，上知吾忠，吾何憂哉。」 遂上章自訟，有曰：「樂羊無功，謗書滿篋； 即墨何罪，毀言日聞。」 神宗覽之惻然，即以為湖州。
He served in turn as prefect of Qingzhou, Yingtian, Qi, and Deng. When his wife's kinsman Li Feng was implicated in treason, his enemies used the connection to force him out. He was demoted to Chizhou, and before he could depart was reassigned to Anzhou. He spent nearly ten years in exile, and was still further demoted to Yunzhou on account of his earlier offense. Some thought he might yet receive another appointment, but Yuanfa talked and laughed as calmly as ever and said, "Heaven knows I am upright, and the emperor knows I am loyal—what is there for me to fear?" He then submitted a memorial in his own defense, writing, "Yue Yang won no merit, yet his satchels were stuffed with slander; what crime had Jimo committed, that calumny against it was heard every day? The emperor read this with compassion and immediately appointed him prefect of Huzhou.
9
哲宗登位，徙蘇、揚二州，除龍圖閣直學士，復知鄆州。 學生食不給，民有爭公田二十年不決者，元發曰：「學無食而以良田飽頑民乎？」 乃請以為學田，遂絕其訟。 時淮南、京東饑，元發慮流民且至，將蒸為癘疫。 先度城外廢營地，召諭富室，使出力為席屋，一夕成二千五百間，井灶器用皆具。 民至如歸，所全活五萬。 徙真定，又徙太原。
When Emperor Zhezong came to the throne, Yuanfa was transferred to Suzhou and Yangzhou, made a direct academician of the Dragon Diagram Hall, and again appointed prefect of Yanzhou. The students lacked food, and commoners had been disputing public fields for twenty years without resolution. Yuanfa said, "Shall the academy go hungry while fertile land feeds obstinate litigants?" He then had the land assigned to the academy, and the litigation came to an end. Huainan and Jingdong were then suffering famine, and Yuanfa feared that refugees would soon arrive and breed epidemic disease. He first surveyed abandoned camp grounds outside the walls, summoned wealthy households, and had them build mat shelters. In a single night two thousand five hundred rooms were finished, complete with wells, stoves, and utensils. When the refugees arrived they felt as if they had come home, and fifty thousand lives were saved. He was transferred to Zhending and then to Taiyuan.
10
元發治邊凜然，威行西北，號稱名帥。 河東十二將，其八以備西邊，分半番休。 元發至之八月，邊遽來告，請八將皆防秋。 元發曰：「夏若併兵犯我，雖八將不敵； 若其不來，四將足矣。」 卒遣更休。 防秋將懼，扣閣爭之。 元發指其頸曰：「吾已舍此矣，頭可斬，兵不可出。」 是歲，塞上無風塵警，詔以四砦賜夏人，葭蘆在河東，元發請先畫境而後棄，且曰：「取城易，棄城難。」 命部將訾虎領兵護邊，夏不敢近。 夏既得砦，又欲以綏德城為說，畫境出二十里外。 元發曰：「是一舉而失百里，必不可。」 九上章爭之。
Yuanfa governed the frontier with stern authority; his reputation spread through the northwest, and he was acclaimed as a famous commander. Of Hedong's twelve generals, eight were assigned to guard the western border, rotating at half strength for rest. Eight months after Yuanfa took up his post, an urgent report came from the border requesting that all eight generals be kept on autumn defense. Yuanfa said, "If the Xia mass their forces against us, even eight generals would not suffice; if they do not come, four generals will be enough." In the end he sent them to rotate for rest as usual. The generals on autumn defense were alarmed and came to his gate to protest. Yuanfa pointed at their necks and said, "I have staked my life on this decision. You may cut off my head, but you will not move the troops." That year the frontier saw no alarm of war. An edict ceded four forts to the Xia. Jialu lay in Hedong, and Yuanfa asked that the border be demarcated before any fort was abandoned, saying, "It is easy to take a fort and hard to give one up." He ordered his subordinate Zi Hu to lead troops guarding the border, and the Xia did not dare approach. Once the Xia had taken the forts, they tried to use Suide as a pretext to push the border more than twenty li outward. Yuanfa said, "That would surrender a hundred li in a single stroke—it cannot be allowed." He submitted nine memorials protesting the move.
11
以老力求淮南，乃為龍圖閣學士，復知揚州，未至而卒，年七十一，贈左銀青光祿大夫，諡曰「章敏」。
Pleading old age, he strongly requested a post in Huainan. He was made academician of the Dragon Diagram Hall and again appointed prefect of Yangzhou, but died before he could take up the post, at the age of seventy-one. He was posthumously awarded Left Silver-Gleam Grandee of Splendid Happiness, with the posthumous title Zhangmin.
12
李師中
Li Shizhong
13
李師中，字誠之，楚丘人。 年十五，上封事言時政。 父緯為涇原都監，夏人十餘萬犯鎮戎，緯帥兵出戰，而帥司所遣別將郭志高逗遛不進，諸將以眾寡不敵，不敢復出，緯坐責降。 師中詣宰相辯父無罪，時呂夷簡為相，詰問不屈，夷簡怒，以為非布衣所宜言。 對曰：「師中所言，父事也。」 由是知名。
Li Shizhong, whose courtesy name was Chengzhi, was from Chuqiu. At the age of fifteen he submitted a sealed memorial on current affairs. His father Wei was commander of Jingyuan circuit when more than a hundred thousand Xia troops invaded Zhenrong. Wei led his men out to fight, but the detached commander Guo Zhigao, sent by headquarters, held back and would not advance. The other generals, judging themselves outnumbered, dared not sally again, and Wei was demoted for the failure. Shizhong went to the chief councilor to argue his father's innocence. Lü Yijian was then chief councilor; he questioned him sharply, but Shizhong would not yield. Yijian grew angry and said such words were not for a commoner to speak. He replied, "What I speak of concerns my father." From that time his name became known.
14
舉進士，鄜延龐籍辟知洛川縣。 民有罪，妨其農時者必遣歸，令農隙自詣吏。 令當下者榜於民，或召父老諭之。 租稅皆先期而集。 民負官茶直十萬緡，追繫甚眾，師中為脫桎梏，語之曰：「公錢無不償之理，寬與汝期，可乎？」 皆感泣聽命。 乃令鄉置一匱，籍其名，許日輸所負，一錢以上輒投之。 書簿而去。 比終歲，逋者盡足。 官移諸郡粟於邊，已而反之，盛冬大雪，勞且費，至賤售予兼並家。 師中令過縣願輸者聽，躬坐庾門，執契以須，數日，得萬斛。 使下其法於他縣。 嘗出鄉亭，見戎人雜耕，皆兵興時入中國，人藉其力，往往結為婚姻，久而不歸。 師中言若輩不可雜處，言之經略使，並索旁郡者，徙諸絕塞。
He passed the jinshi examination, and Pang Ji of Fuyan circuit recruited him as magistrate of Luochuan county. When commoners committed offenses that would interfere with the farming season, he always sent them home and told them to report to the magistrate during the slack season. When someone was to be detained, he posted a notice for the people or summoned the village elders to explain the matter. Rent and taxes were all collected ahead of schedule. The people owed a hundred thousand strings on official tea accounts, and many had been imprisoned for it. Shizhong removed their shackles and said, "Public debts must eventually be paid, but I will give you a generous deadline—will that do?" All wept in gratitude and agreed. He then had each village set up a chest, register names, and allow daily payments of whatever each person owed, even a single cash. They would record the payment in the ledger and go home. By year's end every debtor had paid in full. The government had moved grain from the commanderies to the border and then moved it back again. In deep winter snow the labor and expense were enormous, and grain was sold cheaply to great landholding families. Shizhong allowed anyone passing through the county who wished to deliver grain to do so. He sat in person at the granary gate with contracts in hand, and within a few days collected ten thousand hu. He had the same method adopted in other counties. Once when he went out to a village pavilion he saw Rong tribesmen farming among the local population. They had all entered China during the wars, and people relied on their labor; many had married local families and had not returned home for years. Shizhong said such people could not be allowed to live intermingled with the population. He reported to the frontier commissioner, gathered those in neighboring commanderies as well, and relocated them all to remote border passes.
15
龐籍為樞密副使，薦其才。 召對，轉太子中允、知敷政縣，權主管經略司文字。 夏人以歲賜緩，移邊曰：「願勿逾歲暮。」 詔吏報許，師中更牒曰：「如故事。」 樞密院劾為擅改制書，師中曰：「所改者郡牒耳，非制也。」 朝廷是之，薄其過。
When Pang Ji became vice commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs, he recommended Shizhong's ability. Summoned for an audience, he was promoted to junior mentor in the Eastern Palace, appointed magistrate of Fuzheng county, and given acting charge of the frontier commissioner's documents. Because the annual gifts were delayed, the Xia sent word to the border: "We ask that payment not be delayed past year's end." The court ordered officials to reply that permission was granted, but Shizhong sent a further dispatch: "As precedent provides." The Bureau of Military Affairs impeached him for altering an imperial order on his own authority. Shizhong replied, "I altered only a commandery dispatch, not an edict." The court agreed with him and treated his offense lightly.
16
提點廣西刑獄。 桂州靈渠故通漕，歲久石窒舟滯，師中即焚石，鑿而通之。 邕管有馬軍五百，馬不能夏，多死。 師中謂地皆險阻，無所事騎，奏罷之。 士人補攝官，銓授無法，權在吏。 悉記其名，使待除於家。
He was appointed judicial intendant of Guangxi. At Guizhou the Ling Canal had once carried grain transport, but over the years stones had choked it and boats were stalled. Shizhong had the obstructions burned and chiseled away until the channel was open again. Yong and Guan had five hundred cavalry horses, but they could not endure the southern heat and many died. Shizhong argued that the terrain was too rugged for cavalry and memorialized to abolish the unit. When scholars were appointed to acting posts, there was no fixed method of selection; power lay entirely with the clerks. He recorded all their names and had them wait at home for regular appointment.
17
初，邕州蕭注、宜州張師正謀啟邊釁，注欲以所管蠻峒酋豪往討交阯，云不用朝廷兵食。 詔下經略使蕭固、轉運使宋咸，二人為注所餌，合詞稱便，而師中至，詔以注奏付之。 師中邀注來，難之曰：「君以酋豪伐交阯，能保必勝乎？」 曰：「不能。」 師中曰：「既不能保必勝，脫有敗衄，奈何？」 注知不可，遂罷議。 會蠻徭申紹泰入追亡者，害巡檢宋士堯，注又張皇為駭奏，仁宗為之旰食。 師中言無足憂，因劾注邀功生事，掊斂失眾心，卒致將率敗覆，按法當斬。 於是注責泰州安置，並按固、咸，皆坐貶。 師中攝帥事。 交阯耀兵於邊，聲言將入寇。 師中方宴客，飲酒自若，草六榜揭境上，披以其情得，不敢動，即日貢方物。 紹泰懼，委巢穴遁去。 儂智高子宗旦保火峒，眾無所屬，前將規討以幸賞，遂固守。 師中檄諭禍福，立率其族以地降。 邊人化其德，多畫象立祠以事，稱為桂州李大夫，不敢名。
Earlier, Xiao Zhu of Yongzhou and Zhang Shizheng of Yizhou had plotted to provoke trouble on the frontier. Zhu proposed to attack Jiaozhi with the chieftains of the barbarian cave districts under his command, claiming that no court troops or provisions would be needed. An edict went to frontier commissioner Xiao Gu and transport commissioner Song Xian. Both had been won over by Zhu and spoke together in favor of the plan. When Shizhong arrived, the court entrusted Zhu's memorial to him for review. Shizhong invited Zhu to meet him and challenged him: "If you attack Jiaozhi with tribal chieftains, can you guarantee victory?" Zhu answered, "No, I cannot." Shizhong said, "If you cannot guarantee victory, what if you are defeated—what then?" Zhu saw that the plan would not work, and the proposal was dropped. When the Man and Yao chieftain Shen Shaotai crossed the border in pursuit of a fugitive and killed patrol inspector Song Shiyao, Zhu again exaggerated the incident in an alarming memorial, and Emperor Renzong was too anxious to eat. Shizhong said there was no cause for alarm and impeached Zhu for stirring up trouble to win merit, for extortion that lost him the people's support, and for ultimately causing commanders to be defeated—by law he deserved execution. Zhu was banished to Taizhou, and Gu and Xian were investigated and demoted as well. Shizhong acted as commander in chief. Jiaozhi displayed troops on the border and announced an impending invasion. Shizhong was entertaining guests and drinking as calmly as ever. He drafted six proclamations and posted them on the border. When the enemy learned their contents, they dared not move and sent tribute that same day. Shaotai was frightened, abandoned his stronghold, and fled. Nong Zhigao's son Zongdan held Huodong pass, and his followers had nowhere else to turn. Former generals had hoped to attack him for reward, so he held firm. Shizhong sent a proclamation explaining the consequences of resistance and surrender, and Zongdan at once led his clan to submit their territory. The border people were moved by his virtue; many painted his portrait and set up shrines in his honor, calling him Master Li of Guizhou and not daring to speak his personal name.
18
還，知濟、兗二州。 濟水堙塞久，師中訪故道，自兗城西南啟鑿之，功未半而去。 遷直史館、知鳳翔府。 种諤取綏州，師中言：「西夏方入貢，叛狀未明，恐彼得以藉口，徒啟其釁端也。」 鄜延路覘知西夏駐兵綏、銀州，檄諸路當牽制，師中疏論牽制之害。 時諸將皆請行，師中曰：「不出兵，罪獨在帥，非諸將憂也。」 既而此舉卒罷。
On his return he served as prefect of Ji and Yan. The Ji River had long been blocked by silt. Shizhong traced the old channel and began to reopen it southwest of Yan city, but left before the work was half finished. He was transferred to the Imperial Archives as a compiler and appointed prefect of Fengxiang. When Chong E took Suizhou, Shizhong said, "Western Xia is still sending tribute, and their rebellious intent is not yet clear. I fear they will use this as a pretext and we will only provoke a quarrel." Scouts on the Fuyan circuit learned that Western Xia had stationed troops at Suizhou and Yinzhou and ordered the various circuits to pin them down. Shizhong submitted a memorial on the harm of such diversionary operations. All the generals were asking to take the field. Shizhong said, "If no troops are sent out, only the commander will be blamed—it is not the generals who need to worry." In the end the operation was abandoned.
19
熙寧初，拜天章閣待制、河東都轉運使。 西人入寇，以師中知秦州。 詔賜以《班超傳》，師中亦以持重總大體自處。 前此多屯重兵於境，寇至則戰，嬰其銳鋒，而內無以遏其入。 師中簡善守者列塞上，而使善戰者中居，令諸城曰：「即寇至，堅壁固守； 須其去，出戰士尾襲之。」 約束既熟，常以取勝。
At the beginning of the Xining era he was made attendant academician of the Hall of Heavenly Manifestation and transport commissioner of Hedong. When the western tribes invaded, Shizhong was appointed prefect of Qinzhou. The court bestowed on him the Biography of Ban Chao, and Shizhong likewise conducted himself with deliberate weight and attention to the larger strategy. Previously heavy forces had been massed on the border; when raiders came the garrisons fought and met their full strength head-on, yet there was no way to stop them from penetrating inland. Shizhong selected skilled defenders to man the border passes and placed his best fighters in the interior, instructing every city: "When raiders come, hold the walls and stand firm; wait until they withdraw, then send fighting troops to strike them from the rear." Once these rules were well understood, he often prevailed.
20
王韶築渭、涇上下兩城，屯兵以脅武勝軍，撫納洮、河諸部。 下師中議，遂言：「今修築必廣發兵，大張聲勢，及令蕃部納土，招弓箭手，恐西蕃及洮、河、武勝軍部族生疑。 今不若先招撫青唐、武勝及洮、河諸族，則西蕃族必乞修城砦，因其所欲，量發兵築城堡，以示斷絕夏人鈔略之患，部人必歸心。 唐於西域，每得地則建為州，其後皆陷失，以清水為界。 大抵根本之計未實，腹心之患未除，而勤遠略、貪土地者，未有不如此者。」 詔師中罷師事。 韶又請置市易，募人耕緣邊曠土，師中奏阻其謀。 王安石方主韶，坐以奏報反覆罪，削職知舒州。 徙洪、登、齊，復待制、知瀛州。 又乞召司馬光、蘇軾等置左右。 師中言時政得失，又自稱薦曰：「天生微臣，蓋為聖世，有臣如此，陛下其舍諸。」 呂惠卿敭其語，以為罔上，遂貶和州團練副使安置。 還右司郎中，卒，年六十六。
Wang Shao built two cities on the upper and lower Wei and Jing, stationed troops to pressure Wusheng army, and won over the tribes of Tao and He. The matter was referred to Shizhong for discussion. He said, "Building now will require a large mobilization and a great show of force. When we order the tribal peoples to submit territory and recruit bowmen, I fear the western tribes and the peoples of Tao, He, and Wusheng will grow suspicious. It would be better first to win over Qingtang, Wusheng, and the tribes of Tao and He. The western tribes will then ask us to build forts for them. Send troops in measured numbers to build castles as they wish, showing that Xia raiding will be cut off, and the tribes will give us their loyalty. Under the Tang, every stretch of the western regions they gained was made a prefecture, yet all were later lost and Qingshui became the boundary. In general, when the fundamental plan is not sound and troubles at the heart remain unresolved, those who are zealous for distant campaigns and greedy for territory have never failed to end in this way." An edict relieved Shizhong of military command. Shao again proposed government trade monopolies and recruiting people to farm vacant border land. Shizhong memorialized to block these plans. Wang Anshi was then backing Shao. Shizhong was punished for contradictory memorials, stripped of rank, and made prefect of Shuzhou. He was transferred to Hong, Deng, and Qi, then restored as attendant academician and appointed prefect of Yingzhou. He again asked that Sima Guang, Su Shi, and others be summoned to serve at the emperor's side. Shizhong spoke of the strengths and failings of current policy and also recommended himself, saying, "Heaven gave birth to this humble servant for a sage age; with a minister such as me, would Your Majesty cast me aside?" Lü Huiqing publicized his words and charged him with deceiving the throne. He was demoted and assigned as vice military training commissioner of Hezhou. He was restored as right bureau director and died at the age of sixty-six.
21
師中始仕州縣，邸狀報包拯參知政事，或云朝廷自此多事矣。 師中曰：「包公何能為，今鄞縣王安石者，眼多白，甚似王敦，他日亂天下，必斯人也。」 後二十年，言乃信。
When Shizhong first served in the counties, courier reports announced that Bao Zheng had become vice grand councilor, and some said the court would see much trouble from that day on. Shizhong said, "What can Lord Bao accomplish? The Wang Anshi of Yin county today has much white in his eyes and greatly resembles Wang Dun. One day he will throw the realm into disorder—it will be this man." Twenty years later his words proved true.
22
其志尚甚高，每進見，多陳天人之際、君臣大節，請以進賢退不肖為宰相考課法。 在官不貴威罰，務以信服人，至明而恕。 去之日，民擁道遮泣，馬不得行。 杜衍、范仲淹、富弼皆薦其有王佐才。 然好為大言，以故不容於時而屢黜，氣未嘗少衰。
His aspirations were very high. Whenever he had an audience he often spoke of the relation between Heaven and man and the great duties of ruler and minister, and asked that promotion of the worthy and removal of the unworthy be made the standard for evaluating chief councilors. In office he did not rely on harsh punishment but strove to win people through trust and persuasion. He was exceptionally clear-minded and forgiving. On the day he left office, the people crowded the road, weeping and blocking his path until his horse could not move. Du Yan, Fan Zhongyan, and Fu Bi all recommended him as having the talent to assist a true king. Yet he liked grand pronouncements, and for that reason was not tolerated at court and was repeatedly demoted, though his spirit never flagged.
23
陸詵，字介夫，餘杭人。 進士起家，簽書北京判官。 貝州亂，給事不乏興； 賊平，又條治其獄，無濫者。 加集賢校理、通判秦州。 范祥城古渭，詵主饋餉，具言：「非中國所恃，而勞師屯戍，且生事。」 既而諸羌果怒爭，塞下大擾，經二歲乃定。
Lu Shen, whose courtesy name was Jiefu, was from Yuhang. He entered service as a jinshi and served as signing clerk and judge of the Northern Capital. When Beizhou rebelled, he kept provisions flowing without interruption; and when the rebels were pacified, he reviewed the cases with care so that no one was punished unjustly. He was made collator in the Hall of Assembled Worthies and vice-prefect of Qinzhou. When Fan Xiang fortified Guwei, Shen was in charge of supplies and argued at length: "This place is no foundation for the empire, yet it wearies the army with garrison duty and stirs up trouble besides." Before long the Qiang tribes were indeed provoked to conflict, the border region was thrown into turmoil, and order was not restored for two years.
24
判太常禮院、吏部南曹，提點開封縣鎮。 咸平龍騎軍皆故群盜，牢廩不時得，毆蒞給官，還營不自安，大校柴元煽使亂。 詔詵往視，許元以不死，命取始禍者自贖，眾皆帖然。
He served as judge of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and the southern bureau of the Ministry of Personnel, and as intendant of Kaifeng's counties and market towns. The Dragon Cavalry of Xianping were all former bandits. Their rations were not delivered on time; they beat the supply officers and returned to camp uneasy. Senior officer Chai Yuan incited them to mutiny. The court ordered Shen to investigate. He promised Yuan his life and required only that the ringleader atone for the trouble—the men all submitted.
25
提點陝西刑獄。 時鑄錢法壞，議者欲變大錢當一，詵言：「民間素重小銅錢而賤大鐵錢，他日以一當三猶輕之，今減令均直，大錢必廢。 請以一當二，則公私所損亡幾，而商賈可以通行； 兼盜鑄者計其直無贏，將必自止。」 從之。
He was appointed judicial intendant of Shaanxi. The coinage system was then in disorder, and some proposed making large coins worth one each. Shen said, "The people have always valued small copper coins and despised large iron ones. Even when one large coin was worth three they still disdained it. If you now make them equal in value, large coins will surely be abandoned. I ask that one large coin be made worth two; public and private losses will be slight, and merchants can use them in trade; and counterfeiters, finding no profit in the trade, will surely stop on their own." His proposal was adopted.
26
徙湖南、北轉運使，直集英院，進集賢殿修撰、知桂州。 奏言：「邕去桂十八驛，異時經略使未嘗行飭武備，臣願得一往，使群蠻知省大將號令，因以聲震南交。」 詔可。 自儂徭定後，交人浸驕，守帥常姑息。 詵至部，其使者黎順宗來，偃蹇如故態。 詵絀其禮，召問折諭，導以所當為，懾伏而去。 詵遂至邕州，集左、右江四十五峒首詣麾下，閱簡工丁五萬，補置將吏，更鑄印給之，軍聲益張。 交人滋益恭，遣使入貢。 召為天章閣待制、知諫院，命張田代之，英宗戒以毋得改詵法。
He was transferred to transport commissioner of Hunan and Hubei, made a compiler in the Hall for the Cultivation of Literature, and promoted to compiler in the Hall of Assembled Worthies and prefect of Guizhou. He memorialized: "Yong lies eighteen post-stages from Gui. Former frontier commissioners never went there to inspect military preparations. I wish to make one journey so the tribal peoples will know the provincial commander's authority and our name will resound in southern Jiaozhi." The court approved. Since the Nong and Yao rebellions were pacified, the people of Jiaozhi had grown increasingly arrogant, and frontier commanders often indulged them. When Shen reached his post, their envoy Li Shunzong came, as arrogant as before. Shen reduced his ceremonial treatment, summoned him for questioning, admonished him on proper conduct, and sent him away subdued. Shen then went to Yongzhou, assembled the forty-five cave chieftains of the left and right rivers, reviewed fifty thousand laborers for service, appointed generals and officials, and recast and distributed seals to them. The army's reputation grew ever stronger. The people of Jiaozhi grew ever more respectful and sent envoys with tribute. He was summoned as attendant academician of the Hall of Heavenly Manifestation and head of the Remonstrance Bureau. Zhang Tian was appointed to replace him, and Emperor Yingzong warned that Shen's methods must not be altered.
27
道除知延州，趣入覲，帝勞之曰：「卿在嶺外，施設無不當者。 鄜延最當敵要，今將何先？」 對曰：「邊事難以隃度，未審陛下欲安靜邪，將威之也？」 帝曰：「大抵邊陲當安靜。 昨王素為朕言，惟朝廷與帥臣意如此； 至如諸將，無不貪功生事者。 卿謂何如？」 詵曰：「素言是也。」 諒祚寇慶州，以敗還，聲言益發人騎，且出嫚辭，復攻圍大順城。 詵謂由積習致然，不稍加折誚，則國威不立。 乃留止請時服使者及歲賜，而移宥州問故。 帝喜曰：「固知詵能辦此。」 諒祚聞之大沮，盤旋不敢入，乃報言：「邊吏擅興兵，今誅之矣。」 朝廷遣何次公持詔書諭告，詵以為未可。 明年，又乞留賜冬服及大行遺留二使，而自以帥牒告之故。 諒祚始因詵謝罪，共貢職。
En route he was appointed prefect of Yanzhou and urged to come for an audience. The emperor praised him: "In the far south, nothing you did was ill judged. Fuyan faces the enemy's main thrust. What will you do first?" He replied, "Border affairs are hard to predict. I do not yet know whether Your Majesty wishes peace or intends to overawe the enemy?" The emperor said, "In general the frontier ought to be kept peaceful. Wang Su told me yesterday that only the court and the frontier commanders think this way; as for the generals, every one of them seeks merit by stirring up trouble. What do you think?" Shen said, "Wang Su is right." Liangzuo raided Qingzhou and retreated in defeat, but announced he would send more troops and cavalry, uttered insults, and again attacked and besieged Dashun. Shen said this came from long habit; unless they were rebuked, national prestige would never be established. He detained the envoys requesting seasonal garments and the annual gifts, and sent a dispatch to Youzhou demanding an explanation. The emperor was pleased and said, "I knew Shen could handle this." When Liangzuo heard this he was greatly discouraged, hesitated at the border and dared not advance, and sent word: "Border officials raised troops on their own authority; they have now been executed." The court dispatched He Cigong with an imperial edict to deliver its message, but Lu Shen held that the time was not yet right. The following year Liangzuo again asked to keep the winter robes and the two envoys left over from the late emperor's funeral, while Lu Shen himself explained the reason in a military dispatch. Liangzuo at last apologized through Lu Shen and resumed paying tribute.
28
銀州監軍嵬名山與其國隙，扣青澗城主种諤求內附，諤以狀聞，遂欲因取河南地。 詵曰：「數萬之眾納土容可受，若但以眾來，情偽未可知，且安所置之。」 戒諤毋妄動。 諤持之力，詔詵召諤問狀，與轉運使薛向議撫納。 詵、向言：「名山誠能據橫山以捍敵，我以刺史世封之，使自為守，故為中國之利。 今無益我而輕啟西釁，非計也。」 乃共畫三策，令幕府張穆之入奏，而穆之陰受向指，詭言必可成。 神宗意詵不協力，徙知秦鳳。 諤遂發兵取綏州，詵欲理諤不稟節制之狀，未及而徙。 詵馳見帝，請棄綏州而上諤罪，帝愈不懌，罷知晉州。 既諤抵罪，向、穆之皆坐貶，以詵知真定，改龍圖閣學士、知成都。
Wuming Mountain, the Yinzhou garrison commander, fell out with his own state and asked Chong E, commander of Qingjian Fort, to accept his defection; Chong E reported this to the court and then sought to use the opportunity to seize territory south of the Yellow River. Lu Shen said, "Accepting tens of thousands of people together with their land might be workable, but if they come with troops alone, we cannot yet tell whether their intentions are genuine, and we have nowhere to resettle them." He warned Chong E not to move without authorization. Chong E pressed his case hard, so the emperor ordered Lu Shen to summon him for an inquiry and discuss acceptance of the defection with transport commissioner Xue Xiang. Lu Shen and Xue Xiang argued, "If Wuming Mountain can truly hold the Hengshan region against the enemy, we could enfeoff him as a hereditary prefect and let him defend the frontier on his own — that would serve China's interests. As things stand it would not help us and would only needlessly provoke trouble on the western frontier — that is no sound policy." They drafted three plans together and sent staff officer Zhang Muzhi to report to the throne, but Muzhi secretly took Xue Xiang's side and falsely assured the emperor that success was certain. Emperor Shenzong concluded that Lu Shen was not fully cooperating and reassigned him as prefect of Qinfeng. Chong E then sent troops to seize Suizhou; Lu Shen intended to bring charges against him for acting without authorization, but was transferred before he could do so. Lu Shen hurried to the capital and asked the emperor to give up Suizhou and punish Chong E; the emperor grew even angrier and removed him as prefect of Jinzhou. Once Chong E had been punished, Xue Xiang and Zhang Muzhi were both demoted; Lu Shen was made prefect of Zhending and then promoted to Dragon Diagram Pavilion Academician and prefect of Chengdu.
29
青苗法出，詵言：「蜀峽刀耕火種，民常不足。 今省稅科折已重，其民輕侈不為儲積，脫歲儉不能償逋，適陷之死地，願罷四路使者。」 詔獨置成都府一路。 熙寧三年，卒，年五十九。 子師閔。
When the Green Sprouts Law was introduced, Lu Shen said, "In the gorges of Shu people farm by slash-and-burn, and they are chronically short of grain. Provincial taxes are already heavy, and the people spend freely and save little; if a lean year comes they cannot repay what they owe and are driven to ruin. I ask that the commissioners in the four circuits be abolished." The emperor ordered that only the Chengdu Prefecture circuit commissioner be retained. He died in the third year of the Xining era, at the age of fifty-nine. He had a son, Shi Min.
30
子師閔
Shi Min
31
師閔以父任為官。 熙寧末，李稷提舉成都路茶場，辟幹當公事； 不三年，提舉本路常平，遂居稷職。 在蜀茶額三十萬，稷既增而五之，師閔又衍為百萬。 稷死，師閔訟其前功，乞賜之土田。 詔賜稷十頃，進師閔都大提舉成都、永興路榷茶，位視轉運使。 又兼買馬、監牧，事權震灼，建請無不遂志，所行職事，他司莫預聞。 茶禍既被於秦、蜀，又欲延荊、楚、兩河，神宗不許。 元祐初，用御史中丞劉摯言，遣黃廉入蜀訪察。 右司諫蘇轍論其六害，謂：「李稷引師閔共事，增額置場，以金銀貨拘民間物折博，賤取而貴出之，其害過於市易。 自法始行，至今四變，利益深，民益困。 立法之虐，未有甚於此者。」 廉奏至，如轍所陳。 乃貶師閔主管東嶽廟。
Shi Min entered government service through the privilege granted to an official's son. Near the end of the Xining era, Li Ji, who supervised the Chengdu circuit tea monopoly, recruited Shi Min as a staff officer; In less than three years he was made supervisor of the circuit's Ever-Normal Granary and thereby succeeded to Li Ji's position. The tea quota in Shu was three hundred thousand units; Li Ji had already raised it fivefold, and Shi Min pushed it up to one million. After Li Ji died, Shi Min petitioned on behalf of his predecessor's accomplishments and asked that land be granted in reward. The court granted Li Ji ten qing of land and promoted Shi Min to chief supervisor of the tea monopoly in the Chengdu and Yongxing circuits, with rank equal to a transport commissioner. He also took charge of horse purchasing and pastoral administration, and his power became overwhelming; every proposal he made was approved, and other offices were kept in the dark about what he was doing. After the tea monopoly had already brought hardship to Qin and Shu, he also wanted to extend it to Jing, Chu, and the two Yellow River circuits, but Emperor Shenzong refused. Early in the Yuanyou era, following a recommendation from Censor-in-Chief Liu Zhe, Huang Lian was sent into Shu to investigate. Right-remonstrance Su Che listed six harms and said, "Li Ji brought Shi Min in to work with him, raised the quotas and established new stations, and used gold and silver goods to compel the people to trade their goods at fixed rates, buying cheap and selling dear — the harm was worse than that of the Market Exchange system. Since the law took effect it has been revised four times, each revision deepening the profit-taking and leaving the people more burdened. No law has ever oppressed the people more severely than this one." When Huang Lian's report arrived, it confirmed everything Su Che had said. Shi Min was then demoted to supervisor of the Eastern Peak Temple.
32
久之，起知蘄州。 會復置常平官，李清臣在中書，即以師閔使河北。 尋加直秘閣，復領秦、蜀茶事，於是一切如初。 又使掾屬詣闕奏券馬事，安燾、韓忠彥議頗異，獨曾布以為然，曰：「但行之一年，而以較綱馬，利害即可見矣。」 師閔遂詳令蕃漢商人願持馬受券者，於熙、秦兩路印驗價給之，而請直於太僕，若此券盛行，則買馬場可罷。 既用其策，明年，太僕會綱馬之籍，死者至什二，而券馬所損才百分一。 詔獎之，賜以金帛。 改陝西轉運使，加集賢殿修撰、知秦州。
After some time he was recalled and appointed prefect of Qizhou. When the Ever-Normal offices were restored, Li Qingchen was serving in the Secretariat and immediately sent Shi Min to Hebei as commissioner. He was soon made a Secret Keeper and again put in charge of tea affairs in Qin and Shu, and everything reverted to the way it had been before. He also sent a staff member to the capital to report on the certificate-horse scheme; An Yan and Han Zhongyan disagreed sharply, but Zeng Bu alone approved it, saying, "Try it for one year and compare the results with corral horses — the advantages and disadvantages will be clear at once." Shi Min then issued detailed orders that any Tangut or Han merchant willing to bring horses in exchange for certificates would have them inspected, stamped, and paid for on the Xi and Qin circuits, with reimbursement requested from the Imperial Horse Administration; if the certificates became widely used, the horse-buying stations could be abolished. Once his plan was adopted, the Imperial Horse Administration reviewed the corral horse records the following year and found that two-tenths had died, while losses among certificate horses amounted to only one percent. The emperor issued an edict commending him and rewarded him with gold and silk. He was made transport commissioner of Shaanxi, appointed Palatial Academician, and assigned as prefect of Qinzhou.
33
諸道方進築被爵賞，師閔在秦無所事，怏怏不釋。 曾布議使督本部兵赴熙河共攻，師閔承命踴躍，集兵四萬以待。 而章惇陰諷熙帥鍾傳先出塞，敕師閔聽傳節制，築淺井，又築癿羅，皆不成而還。 傳更檄會兵於顛耳關，未至復卻。 秦鳳之師再出再返，勞且弊，言者乞加責，不聽。
While other circuits were advancing fortifications and receiving titles and rewards, Shi Min at Qinzhou had nothing to do and brooded in dissatisfaction. Zeng Bu proposed that he lead his circuit's troops to Xihe for a joint campaign; Shi Min accepted the order eagerly and assembled forty thousand men to await action. But Zhang Dun secretly urged Xi commander Zhong Chuan to cross the border first; Shi Min was ordered to obey Chuan's command, built Qianjing and then Qièluó, but both efforts failed and the troops withdrew. Chuan then issued orders to assemble troops at Dian'er Pass, but they turned back before reaching it. The Qin-Feng army marched out twice and returned twice, worn out and demoralized; critics called for further punishment, but the court refused.
34
旋進寶文閣待制，召為戶部侍郎。 未及拜，坐秦州詐增首虜事，落職知鄞。 未幾，還之。 歷河南、永興軍、延安府，卒。
He was soon promoted to Attendant of the Baowen Pavilion and summoned to serve as Vice Minister of Revenue. Before he could assume the post, he was punished for falsifying enemy kill counts at Qinzhou, stripped of rank, and demoted to prefect of Yin. Before long he was recalled. He later served in Henan, Yongxing Army, and Yan'an Prefecture, and then died.
35
趙禼，字公才，邛州依政人。 第進士，為汾州司法參軍。 郭逵宣撫陝西，辟掌機宜文字。 种諤擅納綏州降人數萬，朝廷以其生事，議誅諤，反故地歸降人，以解仇釋兵。 禼上疏曰：「諤無名興舉，死有餘責。 若將改而還之，彼能聽順而亡絕約之心乎？ 不若諭以彼眾餓莩，投死中國，邊臣雖擅納，實無所利，特以往年俘我蘇立、景詢輩爾。 可遣詢等來，與降人交歸，各遵紀律，而疆場寧矣。 如其蔽而不遣，則我留橫山之眾，未為失也。」
Zhao Xie, styled Gongcai, was a native of Yizheng in Qiong Prefecture. He passed the jinshi examination and was appointed judicial military officer of Fen Prefecture. When Guo Kui served as pacification commissioner of Shaanxi, he recruited Zhao Xie as his records officer. Chong E had on his own authority accepted tens of thousands of surrendering people from Suizhou; because he had provoked trouble, the court debated executing him, returning the former territory, and sending the surrendered people back in order to end the conflict. Zhao Xie submitted a memorial saying, "Chong E acted without authorization; even death would not fully atone for his offense. If we now change course and send them back, will they obey willingly, or will they only think of breaking the agreement? It would be better to explain that their people came starving and desperate to surrender to China; although the border official accepted them on his own authority, he gained nothing from it — he acted only because they had captured our men Su Li, Jing Xun, and others in earlier years. We can send Jing Xun and the others to come and exchange them for the surrendered people; if both sides keep to the agreement, the frontier will be secure. If they refuse to send them back, then our keeping the people of Hengshan will not be a loss either."
36
又徙逵帥鄜延，為逵移書執政，請存綏州以張兵勢，先規度大理河川，建堡砦，畫稼穡之地三十里，以處降者。 若棄綏不守，則無以安新附之眾。 援种世衡招蕃兵部敵屯青澗城故事。 朝廷從之，活降人數萬，為東路捍蔽。 熙寧初，夏人誘殺知保安軍楊定等，既而以李崇貴、韓道喜來獻，且請和。 朝廷欲官其任事之酋，鐫歲賜以為俸給，因使納塞門、安遠二砦而還綏州。 禼言：「綏實形勢之地，宜增廣邊障，乃無窮之利。 若存綏以觀其變，計之得也。」 神宗召問狀，對曰：「綏之存亡，皆不免用兵。 降二萬人入吾肝脾，釁隙已深，不可亡備。」 神宗然之。 除集賢校理。
When Guo Kui was transferred to command Yan-Yan, Zhao Xie also wrote to the chief ministers on his behalf, asking that Suizhou be retained to strengthen military posture, that the Dali River valley be surveyed first, forts built, and thirty li of farmland marked out to resettle the surrendered people. If Suizhou is abandoned and left undefended, there will be no way to reassure the newly surrendered population. He cited the precedent of Zhong Shiheng, who had recruited Tangut troops to fight the enemy and stationed them at Qingjian Fort. The court accepted the proposal, saving tens of thousands of surrendered people and turning them into a defensive screen for the eastern frontier. Early in the Xining era, the Tangut Xia treacherously killed Yang Ding, commander of Bao'an Army, and others; afterward Li Chonggui and Han Daoxi came to offer tribute and request peace. The court wanted to appoint the chieftains who had handled the matter to office, set aside part of the annual gifts as their stipends, and have them surrender Saimen and Anyuan forts in exchange for the return of Suizhou. Zhao Xie said, "Suizhou occupies a genuinely strategic position; expanding the border defenses there would bring lasting advantage. Keeping Suizhou while watching how they behave would be the wiser course." Emperor Shenzong summoned him to explain the situation, and he replied, "Whether Suizhou is kept or surrendered, war cannot be avoided in either case. Twenty thousand surrendered people are now inside our borders; the breach of trust runs deep, and we cannot afford to drop our guard." The emperor accepted his view. He was appointed collator in the Hall of Assembled Worthies.
37
夏人犯環慶，後復來賀正。 禼請邊吏離其心腹，因以招橫山之眾，此不戰而屈人兵也。 遷提點陝西刑獄。 韓絳宣撫陝西，河東兵西討，禼為絳言：「大兵過山界，皆砂磧，乏善水草，又亡險隘可以控扼，今切危之。 若乘兵威招誘山界人戶，處之生地，當先經畫山界控扼之地，然後招降； 不爾，勞師遠攻，未見其利。」 絳欲取橫山，納种諤之策，遂城囉兀，以禼權宣撫判官。 諤趣河東兵會銀川，規以後期斬將。 禼白絳，令諤自往中路迎東兵。 諤懼違節制，乃不敢逞。 加直龍圖閣、知延州。
The Tangut Xia raided Huanqing, yet afterward they again came to offer New Year's greetings. Zhao Xie urged border officials to turn the Xia leaders against their own trusted followers and thereby win over the people of Hengshan — this, he said, was defeating the enemy without fighting. He was promoted to intendant of judicial affairs in Shaanxi. When Han Jiang served as pacification commissioner of Shaanxi and Hedong troops marched west to attack, Zhao Xie warned him, "When a large army crosses the mountain frontier it enters nothing but sandy desert, with poor water and forage and no defensible passes to hold; the situation is dangerously exposed. If we use military pressure to entice the mountain frontier households and resettle them on livable land, we should first secure controlling positions in the mountain frontier and only then accept surrenders; otherwise an army will exhaust itself on a distant campaign with no clear gain." Han Jiang wanted to seize the Hengshan region and adopted Chong E's plan; he then fortified Luowu and made Zhao Xie acting pacification judge. Chong E pressed the Hedong troops to rendezvous at Yinchuan and planned to execute the commander if he arrived late. Zhao Xie reported this to Han Jiang and ordered Chong E to go himself along the middle route to meet the eastern army. Chong E, fearing a charge of disobedience, did not dare carry out his plan. He was made a Direct Dragon Diagram Pavilion academician and appointed prefect of Yanzhou.
38
夏人屢欲款塞，每以虛聲搖邊。 詔問方略，禼審計形勢，為破敵之策以獻。 遣裨將曲珍、呂真以兵千人分巡東西路。 夏人方以四萬眾自間道欲取綏，道遇珍，皇駭亟戰，真繼至，夏眾敗走。 夏自失綏，意未能已。 禼揣知其情，奏言：「夏使請和，必欲畫綏界，願聽本路經略司分畫； 歲賜，則俟通和之日復焉。」 明年，遂用禼策，以綏為綏德城。
The Tangut Xia repeatedly sought to open peace talks with the border, but each time they also used empty threats to unsettle the frontier. When the emperor asked for a strategy, Zhao Xie carefully assessed the situation and submitted a plan for defeating the enemy. He sent deputy generals Qu Zhen and Lü Zhen, each with a thousand men, to patrol the eastern and western routes. The Tangut Xia had forty thousand men moving by a hidden route to seize Suizhou when they encountered Qu Zhen on the road; terrified, they fought at once, but when Lü Zhen arrived in support the Xia force was routed and fled. After losing Suizhou, the Tangut Xia had not yet abandoned their designs. Zhao Xie guessed their intentions and memorialized, "When Tangut envoys request peace, they will certainly demand that the Suizhou border be redrawn; I ask that the circuit strategic administration be allowed to conduct the demarcation; as for the annual gifts, let them be restored only after peace has truly been established." The following year the court adopted Zhao Xie's plan and renamed Suizhou as Suide Fort.
39
初，鄜延地皆荒瘠，占田者不出租賦，倚為藩蔽。 寶元用兵後，凋耗殆盡，其曠土為諸酋所有。 禼因招問曰：「往時汝族戶若干，今皆安在？」 對：「大兵之後，死亡流散，其所存止此。」 禼曰：「其地存乎？」 酋無以對。 禼曰：「聽汝自募丁，家使占田充兵，若何？ 吾所得者人爾，田則吾不問也。」 諸酋皆感服歸募，悉補亡籍。 又檢括境內公私閑田，得七千五百餘頃，募騎兵萬七千。 禼以異時蕃兵提空簿，漫不可考，因議涅其手。 屬歲饑，令蕃兵願刺手者，貸常平穀一斛，於是人人願刺，因訓練以時，精銳過於正兵。 神宗聞而嘉之，擢天章閣待制。
At first the Yan-Yan region was largely barren; those who occupied farmland there paid no rent or tax and were relied on as a defensive screen. After the Baoyuan campaign the population was nearly wiped out, and the vacant land fell into the hands of various chieftains. Zhao Xie summoned them and asked, "How many households did your clans once have, and where are they all now?" They answered, "After the great campaign there was death and dispersal; only this many remain." Zhao Xie asked, "Does the land still exist?" The chieftains had no answer. Zhao Xie said, "I will let you recruit men on your own; let each household reclaim land and serve as soldiers — what do you say? What I want from you is manpower; as for the land itself, I will not inquire." All the chieftains were moved and submitted recruits; every gap in the registers was filled. He again surveyed idle public and private land within the prefecture, turning up more than 7,500 qing, and raised seventeen thousand mounted troops. Because tribal troops had sometimes turned in blank rolls that could not be checked, Tie proposed tattooing their hands for identification. When famine struck that year, he offered one hu of Ever-Normal grain to any tribal soldier who agreed to be tattooed. Every man volunteered, and after regular drill they proved even sharper than the regular army. The emperor heard of these measures and approved; Tie was promoted to Hanlin Attendant at the Hall of Heavenly Manifestations.
40
交阯叛，詔為安南行營經略、招討使，總九將軍討之，以中官李憲為貳。 禼與議不合，請罷憲。 神宗問可代者，禼以郭逵老邊事，願為裨贊，於是以逵為宣撫使，禼副之。 逵至，輒與禼異：禼欲乘兵形未動，先撫輯兩江峒丁，擇壯勇啖以利，使招徠攜貳，隳其腹心，然後以大兵繼之，逵不聽； 禼又欲使人齎敕榜入賊中招納，又不聽。 遂令燕達先被廣源，復還永平。 禼以為廣源間道距交州十二驛，趣利掩擊，出其不意，川途並進，三路致討，勢必分潰，固爭不能得。 賊乘緩遂據江列戰艦數百艘，官軍不能濟。 禼分遣將吏伐木治攻具，機石如雨，其艦被擊皆廢。 徐以罷卒致賊，設伏擊之，斬首數千級，馘其渠酋，遂皆降。 逵怍於玩寇，乃移疾先還。 逵既坐貶，禼亦以不即平賊，降為直龍圖閣、知桂州。 後復天章閣待制、權三司使。
When Jiaozhi rose in revolt, Tie was named Pacification Commissioner and Campaign Commander of the Annam Field Headquarters, placed in command of nine generals with the eunuch Li Xian as his deputy. Tie could not work with him and asked that Xian be dismissed. When the emperor asked who might replace Xian, Tie named Guo Kui, a veteran of border affairs, and offered to serve under him. Kui was made Pacification Commissioner with Tie as his deputy. Once Kui arrived, the two men soon clashed. Tie wanted to strike before the enemy army stirred: first win over the cave tribes of the Two Rivers, reward the brave among them, use them to peel off defectors and gut the rebels' heartland, then follow with the main force. Kui refused. Tie also proposed sending envoys with imperial edicts into rebel territory to accept surrenders — again, Kui would not listen. Kui instead ordered Yan Da to strike Guangyuan first, then fall back to Yongping. Tie argued that a hidden route from Guangyuan to Jiaozhou was only twelve stages long — ideal for a swift surprise strike by river and land together on three fronts, which would surely break the enemy apart. He pressed his case but could not prevail. The rebels used the delay to seize the river and deploy hundreds of warships; the imperial army could not cross. Tie sent officers to cut timber and build siege engines. Catapult stones rained down; every warship hit was smashed. He then sent a tired detachment to bait the enemy, ambushed them, took several thousand heads including the rebel chiefs, and the rest surrendered. Ashamed at having let the rebels linger, Kui pleaded illness and went home ahead of the army. When Kui was punished and demoted, Tie too was faulted for failing to finish off the rebels and was reduced to Direct Associate of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion and prefect of Guizhou. He was later restored to Hanlin Attendant at the Hall of Heavenly Manifestations and made acting head of the Three Fiscal Departments.
41
時西師大舉，五路並進，以禼為河東轉運使，領降卒赴鄜延餉种諤軍。 諤抵罪，禼又坐餽免不給，黜知相州。 既而鐫職知淮陽軍，居數月，盡復故職。
When the great western campaign opened on five fronts, Tie was named Transport Commissioner of Hedong and sent with surrendered troops to Fuyan to provision Chong E's army. After E was convicted, Tie was blamed for failed provisioning and dismissed to serve as prefect of Xiangzhou. His rank was then reduced further and he was posted to Huaiyang; within months all his former offices were restored.
42
知慶州。 羌移名昌詭稱送幣，將入寇，禼知蕃主白信可使，信適以罪係獄。 破械出之，告以其故，約期日使往，果縛取以歸。 明年，夏人欲襲取新壘，大治攻械。 禼具上撓夏計。 及夏侵蘭州，禼遣曲珍將兵直抵鹽韋，俘馘千，驅孳畜五千。 其酋栧厥嵬名宿兵於賀蘭原，時出攻邊，禼遣將李照甫、蕃官歸仁各將兵三千左右分擊，耿端彥兵四千趍賀蘭原，戒端彥曰：「賀蘭險要，過嶺，則砂磧也。 使敵入平夏，無繇破之。」 又選三蕃官各輕兵五百，取間道出敵砦後，邀其歸路。 端彥與戰賀羅平，敵敗，果趍平夏。 千兵伏發，敵駭潰，斬馘甚眾，生擒嵬名，斬首領六，獲戰馬七百，牛羊、老幼三萬餘。 遷龍圖閣直學士，復帥延安。
He was appointed prefect of Qingzhou. A Tangut chief named Mingchang pretended he was bringing tribute but was preparing to raid. Tie knew the tribal leader Bai Xin could handle the matter, but Xin happened to be in prison on a charge. Tie had him released from irons, explained the situation, and set a date for him to act. Xin went as arranged, bound Mingchang, and brought him back. The next year the Tanguts prepared a major assault on the new fort, building siege equipment on a large scale. Tie submitted a detailed plan to disrupt the Tangut attack. When the Tanguts struck Lanzhou, Tie sent Qu Zhen straight into Yanwei, taking a thousand captive or slain and driving off five thousand head of livestock. Their chieftain Miejue Weiming camped on Helan Plain and raided the border at intervals. Tie sent Li Zhaofu and the tribal officer Guiren, each with about three thousand men, to strike from both sides, and Geng Duanyan with four thousand to Helan Plain. He warned Duanyan: Helan is a vital pass. Once you cross the ridge, you enter open desert. If you let the enemy reach Pingxia, you will have no way to destroy them. He also picked three tribal officers, each with five hundred light troops, to steal along hidden paths behind the enemy camp and block their retreat. Duanyan fought at Heluo Plain and routed the enemy, who fled toward Pingxia as expected. The ambush of a thousand men sprang up; the enemy broke in panic. The toll in slain and captured was great — Weiming was taken alive, six chieftains were killed, seven hundred war horses seized, and more than thirty thousand people and livestock rounded up. He was promoted to Direct Academician of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion and again given command at Yan'an.
43
元祐初，梁乙埋數擾邊，禼知夏將入侵，檄西路將劉安、李儀曰：「夏即犯塞門，汝徑以輕兵搗其腹心。」 後果來犯，安等襲洪州，俘斬甚眾，夏遂入貢。 既而以重兵壓境，諸將亟請益戍兵為備，禼徐諭之曰：「第謹斥堠、整戈甲，無為寇先，戍兵不可益也。」 因遣人詰夏，夏兵遂去。 遷樞密直學士。
Early in the Yuanyou reign, Liang Yimai raided the border repeatedly. Anticipating a Tangut invasion, Tie wrote the western generals Liu An and Li Yi: When the Tanguts strike Saimen, take light troops straight into their heartland. The Tanguts did invade; An and his colleagues raided Hongzhou, taking many captives and heads, and the Tanguts soon sent tribute missions. When a large Tangut force massed on the border, the generals urgently asked for more garrison troops. Tie told them calmly: Man the watchposts, keep arms ready, and do not show fear first. Do not increase the garrison. He then sent envoys to rebuke the Tanguts, and their army withdrew. He was promoted to Direct Academician of the Bureau of Military Affairs.
44
乙埋終不悛。 使間以善意問乙埋：「何苦與漢為仇。 必欲寇，第數來，恐汝所得不能償所亡，洪州是也。 能改之，吾善遇汝。」 遺之戰袍、錦彩，自是乙埋不復窺塞。 禼乃縱間，國中疑而殺之。
Yimai remained unreformed to the end. Through an intermediary he asked Yimai in friendly terms: Why must you be the Han court's enemy? If you must raid, come as often as you like — but what you win will not cover what you lose. Hongzhou proved that. Reform your ways, and I will treat you generously. He sent Yimai a battle robe and brocades, and from then on Yimai ceased probing the border passes. Tie then spread rumors through agents; rivals in the Tangut court grew suspicious and had Yimai killed.
45
五年，拜端明殿學士，遷太中大夫。 夏遣使以地界為請，朝廷許還葭蘆、米脂、浮屠、安疆四砦，以禼領分畫之議。 夏既得四砦，猶未有恭順意，未幾復犯涇原。 會禼卒，年六十五，贈右光祿大夫。 紹聖四年，以禼與元祐棄地議，係其名於黨籍。
In the fifth year of Yuanyou he was made Academician of the Hall of Enlightened Governance and promoted to Grandee of Palace Administration. The Tanguts sent envoys to negotiate borders. The court agreed to return the four forts of Jialu, Mizhi, Futu, and Anjiang, and put Tie in charge of the demarcation talks. Even after recovering the four forts, the Tanguts showed no goodwill; soon they raided Jingyuan again. Tie died at sixty-five and was posthumously granted the title Right Grandee for Splendid Happiness. In the fourth year of Shaosheng, Tie was listed on the faction roll for his role in the Yuanyou land-ceding policy.
46
孫路，字正甫，開封人。 進士及第。 元豐中，為司農丞。 鄧潤甫薦為御史，召對，其言不合新政，神宗語輔臣以為不可用，下遷主簿。 路鞅鞅不釋，求通判河州，徙蘭州。 夏人入寇，論捍禦功，進五階，除陝西轉運判官。
Sun Lu, styled Zhengfu, was from Kaifeng. He passed the civil service examination at the jinshi level. During the Yuanfeng era he served as an assistant in the Agriculture Ministry. Deng Runfu recommended him for the censorate. At court audience his views clashed with the New Policies. The emperor told his ministers that Sun Lu was unsuitable and had him demoted to registrar. Smarting from the setback, Sun Lu asked for a post as vice-prefect of Hezhou and was transferred to Lanzhou. When the Tanguts raided, his record in defense earned him five promotions and appointment as assistant transport commissioner for Shaanxi.
47
元祐初，為吏部、禮部員外郎，侍講徐王府。 司馬光將棄河、湟，邢恕謂光曰：「此非細事，當訪之邊人，孫路在彼四年，其行止足信，可問也。」 光亟召問，路挾輿地圖示光曰：「自通遠至熙州才通一徑，熙之北已接夏境，今自北關辟土百八十里，瀕大河，城蘭州，然後可以捍蔽。 若捐以予敵，一道危矣。」 光幡然曰：「賴以訪君，不然幾誤國事。」 議遂止。
Early in Yuanyou he served as a vice-director in the Ministries of Personnel and Rites and as lecturer at the Prince of Xu's palace. Sima Guang was preparing to abandon the He and Huang territories. Xing Shu told him: This is no small matter. Ask the men on the frontier — Sun Lu has spent four years there and is utterly reliable. Guang summoned him at once. Sun Lu brought maps and showed him: From Tongyuan to Xizhou there is only one road. North of Xizhou lies Tangut territory. We have opened a hundred and eighty li of land from Beiguan to the great river and fortified Lanzhou — only thus can the frontier be held. Give that away to the enemy and the entire corridor is lost. Guang changed color and said: Your counsel saved us — I was on the verge of a grave mistake. The proposal was dropped.
48
遷右司郎中，以直龍圖閣知慶州。 章惇柄國，復議取棄地。 時諸道相視未進，路聲言修舊壘，載器甲樓鹵，頓大順城下，夜半趍安疆，遲明據之，六日而城完。 加寶文閣待制，遂築興平、橫山。 進龍圖閣直學士，徙知熙州。
He was promoted to Right Section Director and made Direct Associate of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion and prefect of Qingzhou. When Zhang Dun took power, the recovery of abandoned territories was debated again. While commanders elsewhere hesitated, Sun Lu announced he would repair old fortifications, loaded armor and siege equipment, camped below Dashun City, marched at midnight to Anjiang, seized it by dawn, and finished the walls in six days. He was made Hanlin Attendant at the Hall of Treasured Culture and went on to build the forts at Xingping and Hengshan. Promoted to Direct Academician of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion, he was transferred to Xizhou as prefect.
49
涇原城西安，詔出師牽制其勢。 路即將眾臨會州，遂建取青唐之策。 大將王湣、王贍搗邈川，贍先至，下之。 湣與爭功，路右湣，顓屬以兵； 贍有請，輒弗應。 贍訴諸朝，召拜路兵部尚書，以龍圖閣學士知成都。 未行，坐他事削職，知興國軍。 徽宗立，歷太原、河南、永興軍、河中府，卒。
The Jingyuan command was fortifying Xi'an; the court ordered a sortie to tie down the enemy. Sun Lu marched to Huizhou and proposed the campaign to take Qingtang. The generals Wang Min and Wang Shan struck Miaochuan; Shan arrived first and took it. Min quarreled over credit; Sun Lu favored Min and gave him sole command of the troops; whenever Shan made a request, Sun Lu ignored it. Shan complained to the court. Sun Lu was recalled, named Minister of War, and made Academician of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion and prefect of Chengdu. Before he could leave, another charge cost him his rank; he was posted as military prefect of Xingguo. Under Emperor Huizong he served in Taiyuan, Henan, Yongxing, and Hezhong, and died in office.
50
遊師雄
You Shixiong
51
遊師雄，字景叔，京兆武功人。 學於張載，第進士。 為儀州司戶參軍，遷德順軍判官。 鄜延將劉琯與主帥議戰守策，欲自延安入安定、黑水，師雄以地薄賊境，懼有伏，請由他道。 既而諜者言夏伏精騎於黑水傍，琯謝曰：「微君言，吾不返矣。」
You Shixiong, styled Jingshu, was from Wugong in Jingzhao. He studied under Zhang Zai and passed the jinshi examination. He served as revenue clerk of Yizhou and was transferred to administrative aide at Deshun Command. The Fuyan general Liu Quan and his commander debated strategy. Quan wanted to march from Yan'an through Anding toward Heishui. Shixiong warned that the route skirted enemy territory and asked for another way. Spies soon reported Tangut elite cavalry lying in wait near Heishui. Quan thanked him: Without your warning, I would not have come back alive.
52
趙禼帥延安，辟為屬。 時夏人擾邊，戍兵在別堡，龍安以北諸城兵力咸弱，禼患之。 師雄請發義勇以守，多聚石城上，待其至。 夏人知有備，不敢入，但襲荒堆、三泉而還。 歲饑，行諸壘振貸，計口賦糧，人無殍亡。 運石瑩甲，深溝繕城，邊備益固。
When Zhao Tie commanded Yan'an, he recruited Shixiong as an aide. The Tanguts were raiding the border. Garrison troops were scattered in outlying forts, and every city north of Long'an was undermanned. Tie was alarmed. Shixiong proposed calling up local militia, stacking stones on the ramparts, and waiting for the enemy. Learning the cities were ready, the Tanguts did not dare enter but only hit Huangdui and Sanquan before withdrawing. In a famine year he toured the garrisons distributing relief grain by head count, and no one starved. He brought in stone to repair armor, dug deep moats, and rebuilt the walls until the frontier defenses were solid.
53
元祐初，為宗正寺主簿。 執政將棄四砦，訪於師雄。 師雄曰：「此先帝所立，以控制夏人者也，若何棄之，不惟示中國之怯，將起敵人無厭之求。 儻瀘、戎、荊、粵視以為請，亦將與之乎？ 萬一燕人遣一乘之使，來求關南十縣，為之奈何？」 不聽。 因著《分疆錄》。 遷軍器監丞。
Early in Yuanyou he served as registrar of the Court of the Imperial Clan. The chief ministers were preparing to give up the four forts and asked Shixiong's view. Shixiong replied: The late emperor placed those forts to hold the Tanguts in check. Surrender them and you show the empire's weakness — and invite endless demands. If the southwest — Lu, Rong, Jing, and Yue — see this and ask for the same, will you give in to them as well? And if the Khitans send a single envoy demanding the ten counties south of the Pass — what then? They paid no heed. He thereupon wrote the Record of Border Demarcation. He was promoted to assistant director of the Directorate of Armaments.
54
吐蕃寇邊，其酋鬼章青宜結乘間脅屬羌構夏人為亂，謀分據熙河。 朝廷擇可使者與邊臣措置，詔師雄行，聽便宜從事。 既至，諜知夏人聚兵天都山，前鋒屯通遠境。 吐蕃將攻河州，師雄欲先發以制之，請於帥劉舜卿。 舜卿曰：「彼眾我寡，奈何？」 師雄曰：「在謀不在眾。 脫事不濟，甘受首戮。」 議三日乃定，遂分兵為二，姚兕將而左，种誼將而右。 兕破六逋宗城，斬首千五百級，攻講朱城，斷黃河飛梁，青唐十萬眾不得度。 誼破洮州，擒鬼章及大首領九人，斬首千七百級。 捷書聞，百僚表賀，遣使告永裕陵。 將厚嘗師雄，言者猶以為邀功生事，止遷一官，為陝西轉運判官、提點秦鳳路刑獄。
Tibetans raided the frontier. Their chieftain Qingyijie of the Guizhang clan seized the moment, pressed subordinate Qiang tribes to join with the Tanguts, and plotted to divide the Xihe region. The court chose an envoy to work with frontier commanders; Shixiong was dispatched with discretionary authority. On arrival his scouts reported Tangut forces massing on Tiandu Mountain, vanguard units already on the Tongyuan border. The Tibetans were preparing to strike Hezhou. Shixiong wanted to strike first and asked his commander Liu Shunqing for permission. Shunqing said: They outnumber us — what can we do? Shixiong replied: Victory lies in planning, not numbers. If it fails, I accept death by beheading. After three days of debate the plan was set. The army was split in two: Yao Ni took the left wing, Chong Yi the right. Ni took Liupuzong City and killed fifteen hundred men. He stormed Jiangzhu City and destroyed the pontoon bridge over the Yellow River, blocking a hundred thousand Qingtang troops from crossing. Yi captured Taozhou, took Guizhang and nine senior chieftains prisoner, and killed seventeen hundred men. When the victory reports arrived, the whole court sent congratulations, and messengers were dispatched to notify the Yongyu Mausoleum. The court had intended to reward Shixiong handsomely, but critics still accused him of seeking glory and stirring trouble. He received only a single promotion — assistant transport commissioner for Shaanxi and concurrent intendant of criminal affairs on the Qinfeng Circuit.
55
夏人侵涇原，復入熙河，師雄言：「蘭州距賊一舍，通遠不百里，非有重山復嶺之阻。 宜於定西、通渭之間建安遮、納迷、結珠三柵，及護耕七堡，以固藩籬，此無窮之利也。」 詔付范育，皆如初議。
When the Tanguts raided Jingyuan and pushed back into Xihe, Shixiong argued: Lanzhou is only thirty li from the enemy, and Tongyuan less than a hundred — there are no mountains between them. He proposed building three forts — Anzhe, Nami, and Jiezhu — between Dingxi and Tongwei, plus seven garrison-farming strongholds, to shore up the frontier. The long-term gain would be immense. The emperor ordered Fan Yu to implement the plan exactly as Shixiong had proposed.
56
入拜祠部員外郎，加集賢校理，為陝西轉運使。 內地移粟於邊，民以輦僦為病。 師雄言：「往者邊土不耕，仰給於內，今積粟已多，軍食自足，宜令內地量轉輸致之直，以免大費。」 報可。 召詣闕，哲宗勞之曰：「洮州之役，可謂雋功，但恨賞太薄耳。」 對曰：「皆上稟廟算，臣何力之有焉。 唯當時將士勳勞未錄，此為欠也。」 因陳其本末。 拜衛尉少卿。 哲宗數訪邊防利病，師雄具慶曆以來邊臣施置之臧否，朝廷謀議之得失，及方今禦敵之要，凡六十事，名曰《紹聖安邊策》，上之。
He was summoned to court as vice-director in the Ministry of Rites, given an additional post as collator in the Hall of Assembled Worthies, and appointed transport commissioner for Shaanxi. Moving grain from the interior to the frontier was crippling the people with transport costs. Shixiong argued: In the past the frontier could not feed itself and drew on the interior. Now the garrisons have ample stores. Charge the interior only the cost of transport — not the full hauling burden. The court approved. Summoned to court, Emperor Zhezong praised him: The Taozhou campaign was outstanding work — I only regret the reward was too small. He replied: That victory followed Your Majesty's plan from the start. What credit is mine? What truly grieves me is that the officers and soldiers who fought have not yet had their service recorded. He then recounted the campaign from start to finish. He was made vice minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Zhezong repeatedly questioned him on frontier defense. Shixiong drew up sixty recommendations — the successes and failures of border commanders since the Qingli era, the rights and wrongs of court debate, and the essentials of holding the enemy today — and submitted them as Policies for Securing the Border in the Shaosheng Era.
57
出知邠州，改河中府，進直龍圖閣、知秦州，未至，詔攝熙州。 以夏人擾邊，詔使者與熙帥、秦帥共謀之。 使者銳於討擊，師雄謂：「進築城壘以自蔽，席卷之師未應深入也。」 上章爭之，不報。 既而使者知攻取之難，卒用師雄策。
He was posted prefect of Binzhou, then transferred to Hezhong, promoted to Direct Associate of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion and prefect of Qinzhou. Before he could take up the Qinzhou post, he was ordered to serve as acting prefect of Xizhou. Tangut raids on the frontier prompted an imperial envoy to join the Xizhou and Qinzhou commanders in planning a response. The envoy favored a sharp offensive. Shixiong objected: Our troops should advance only to build fortifications for cover. A sweeping campaign should not plunge deep yet. He memorialized the throne in protest. No answer came. Before long the envoy saw how hard conquest would be and adopted Shixiong's approach after all.
58
自復洮州之後，于闐、大食、佛林、邈黎諸國皆懼，悉遣使入貢。 朝廷令熙河限其二歲一進。 師雄曰：「如此，非所以來遠人也。」 未幾還秦，徙知陝州。 卒，年六十。 師雄慷慨豪邁，有志事功，議者以用不盡其材為恨。
After Taozhou was retaken, Khotan, the Arabs, Fulin, Miaoli, and other states, alarmed by Song power, all sent tribute missions. The court ordered Xihe to accept tribute missions only once every two years. Shixiong protested: That is no way to win over distant peoples. Before long he returned to Qinzhou and was transferred to Shaanzhou as prefect. He died at sixty. Shixiong was openhanded and bold, with a genuine drive to serve. Later critics regretted that the court never fully used his talents.
59
穆衍，字昌叔，河內人，徙河中。 第進士，調華池令。 民牛為仇家斷舌而不知何人，訟於縣，衍命殺之。 明日，仇以私殺告，衍曰：「斷牛舌者乃汝耶？」 訊之具服。
Mu Yan, styled Changshu, was originally from Henei but later settled in Hezhong. A jinshi graduate, he was posted magistrate of Huachi County. A farmer's ox had its tongue cut off by a neighbor's family, but no one could identify the culprit. He brought suit at the county seat. Yan ordered the ox slaughtered. The next day the neighbor sued for unlawful slaughter. Yan said: So you were the one who cut off the ox's tongue? Under questioning he confessed completely.
60
後知淳化，耀之屬縣。 衍從韓絳宣撫陝西，遇慶卒潰亂，衍念母在耀，亟謁歸，信宿走七驛。 比至，慶卒嘗戍華池，知衍名，不敢近。 時諸郡捕賊兵糧糒無以給，遂擅發常平倉，且懼得罪。 衍曰：「饑之不恤，則吾丘將為慶卒矣。」 衍考課為一路最。 元豐中，种諤西征，參其軍事。 諤第賞，以死事為下。 衍曰：「此非所以勸忠也。」 力爭之。 諤還入塞，詔往靈武援渭、慶兩軍。 將行，衍曰：「吾兵惰，歸未及解甲，安能犯不測於千里外哉？」 諤乃止。 同幕畏罪，陽謝衍曰：「師不再舉，君之力也。」 衍識其意，曰：「全萬眾之命，以一身塞責，衍無憾焉。」
He later served as magistrate of Chunhua, a county under Yao Prefecture. Yan accompanied Han Jiang on a pacification tour of Shaanxi. When Qingzhou mutineers broke into rebellion, he remembered his mother was in Yao and raced home, covering seven post stations in two nights. By the time he arrived, the mutineers — who had once garrisoned Huachi and knew his reputation — did not dare come near. With no grain to feed the troops hunting bandits, he opened the Ever-Normal Granary on his own authority — and feared punishment for it. Yan said: Fail to feed them in famine and our bones will lie in heaps like the mutineers'. Yan received the top performance rating in his circuit. During the Yuanfeng era he joined Chong E's western campaign as a staff officer. When Chong E ranked rewards, he placed those killed in action last. Yan protested: That is no way to encourage loyalty. He fought the decision vigorously. When Chong E returned inside the frontier passes, the court ordered him to march to Lingwu to relieve the Wei and Qing garrisons. As the march was about to begin, Yan warned: Our men are exhausted. They have barely returned and not yet laid aside their armor — how can they risk an unknown battle a thousand li away? Chong E called off the march. Staff colleagues, fearing blame, made a show of thanking Yan: The army did not march again — that was your doing. Yan saw through them and replied: If one man's disgrace saves ten thousand lives, I have no regrets.
61
元祐初，大臣議棄熙、蘭，衍與孫路論疆事，以為「蘭棄則熙危，熙棄則關中震。 唐自失河、湟，西邊一有不順，則警及京都。 今二百餘年，非先帝英武，孰能克復。 若一旦委之，恐後患益前，悔將無及矣」。 議遂止。 改陝西轉運判官，金部、戶部員外郎。 熙河分畫未決，詔衍視之。 還言：「質孤、勝如據兩川美田，實彼我必爭之地，自西關失利，遂廢不守。 請界二壘之間，城李諾平以控要害，及他城堡皆起亭障，以通涇原。」 明年，遂城李諾，名曰定遠。 三遷左司郎中。
Early in Yuanyou, when ministers debated abandoning Xizhou and Lanzhou, Yan and Sun Lu argued on frontier policy: Give up Lanzhou and Xizhou is threatened; give up Xizhou and Guanzhong itself trembles. Since Tang lost the He and Huang territories, any trouble on the western frontier had quickly echoed in the capital. For more than two centuries we held nothing there. Only the late emperor's martial brilliance made recovery possible. Surrender them now and the future trouble will exceed anything past — and remorse will come too late. The proposal was dropped. He was made assistant transport commissioner for Shaanxi and vice-director in the Ministries of Revenue. With the Xihe boundary still unsettled, the court ordered Yan to survey the terrain. On his return he reported: Zhigu and Sheng Ru hold fertile land in twin valleys — ground both sides must fight for. Since our defeat at Xiguan the position had been abandoned. He proposed building between the two garrison lines, fortifying Linuoping to hold the key point, and erecting watch-towers at other strongholds to link with Jingyuan. The following year Linuo was fortified and named Dingyuan. After three promotions he was named Left Section Director.
62
紹聖初，以直秘閣為陝西轉運使，加直龍圖閣、知慶州，徙延安，又徙秦州，未行而卒。 年六十三。 敕河中官庀其葬，後追錄不棄蘭州議，官其一子。
Early in Shaosheng he served as transport commissioner for Shaanxi with the title Direct Associate of the Secret Archive, then gained Direct Associate of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion and the Qingzhou prefecture, was transferred to Yan'an and then to Qinzhou — and died before he could take up the last post. He was sixty-three. The throne ordered Hezhong officials to arrange his funeral. Later his counsel against abandoning Lanzhou was posthumously honored and one son received an official appointment.
63
論曰：自熙寧至於紹聖，四方之事多矣。 夏人乍服乍叛，其地或予或奪，廟堂之上，論靡有定，相為短長，元發、師中輩七人，一時謀謨，蓋可考也。 元發論君子小人，言簡而盡，足動人主，而神宗惑安石之言，竟弗之悟。 師中豫識安石於鄞令，以為目肖王敦，將亂天下，蓋又先於呂誨矣。 詵能鎮撫西夏，又能靖交阯之難，誠有禦邊之才； 其子師閔為時籠利，無足取者。 趙禼狃於西陲之勝，取敗南裔，後獲嵬名，庶足自贖。 朝臣議棄河、湟，孫路以一言止之，使司馬光自悔幾於誤國； 及取青唐，下邈川，可驗其能，然右王湣而困王贍，非大將之器也。 遊師雄之禽鬼章，復洮州，以致諸國入貢，校之諸將，其功獨為雋偉。 衍為政得民心，既去而亂兵不忍驚其母，德之足以感人，有如是夫。
Commentary: From the Xining era through Shaosheng, events erupted on every frontier. The Tanguts submitted one year and rebelled the next; territory was yielded and retaken in turn. Court debate never settled. Yuanfa, Shizhong, and five others — their counsel from that age is worth examining. Yuanfa's discourse on gentlemen and petty men was concise and complete, enough to stir an emperor — yet Shenzong remained swayed by Wang Anshi and never saw the truth. Shizhong had read Wang Anshi early, when Anshi was still magistrate of Yin, and saw in his eyes the look of Wang Dun — a man who would throw the realm into chaos. He saw it before Lü Hui did. Lu Shen could pacify the Western Xia and settle the crisis in Jiaozhi — genuine frontier talent; His son Shimin traded on influence for gain — a man of no account. Zhao Tie, intoxicated by victories on the western frontier, met disaster in the south. His later capture of Weiming went some way toward redeeming him. When ministers debated giving up the He and Huang territories, Sun Lu stayed their hand with a single speech — enough to make Sima Guang admit he had nearly blundered into national ruin; His capture of Qingtang and reduction of Miaochuan proved his ability. Yet favoring Wang Min while sidelining Wang Shan showed he lacked a great commander's breadth. You Shixiong's capture of Guizhang, recovery of Taozhou, and the tribute missions that followed stand alone among the generals of his age — outstanding merit. Mu Yan governed in a way that won people's hearts. Even after he left, mutineers would not disturb his mother. Such is the power of real virtue.