Volume 342 Biographies 101: Liang Dao, Wang Yansou, Zheng Yong, Sun Yong

梁燾王岩叟鄭雍孫永

Liang Dao, Wang Yansou, Zheng Yong, and Sun Yong

梁燾，字況之，鄆州須城人。父蒨，兵部員外郎、直史館。燾以蒨任，為太廟齋郎。舉進士中第，編校秘閣書籍，遷集賢校理、通判明州，檢詳樞密五房文字。

Liang Dao, styled Kuangzhi, came from Xucheng in Yanzhou. His father Qian served as Vice Director of the Ministry of War and held a direct appointment in the Historical Archives. Through his father's position, Dao received a yin privilege appointment as ritual officer at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. He passed the jinshi examination, edited books in the Secret Repository, and was promoted to collator in the Hall of Assembled Worthies, vice commissioner of Mingzhou, and examiner of documents in the Five Bureaus of the Bureau of Military Affairs.

元豐時久旱，上書論時政曰：

In the Yuanfeng period, when drought had long persisted, he submitted a memorial on affairs of state, saying:

陛下日者閔雨，靖惟政事之闕，惕然自責。丁卯發詔，癸酉而雨，是上天顧聽陛下之德言，而喜其有及民之意也。當四方仰雨十月之久，民刻於新法，嗷嗷如焦，而京師尤甚，闤闠細民，罔不失職，智愚相視，日有大變之憂。陛下既惠以詔旨，又施之行事，講除刻文，蠲損緡錢等，一日之間，歡聲四起。距誕節三日而膏澤降，是天以雨壽陛下之萬年，感聖心於大寤，有以還其仁政也。

Your Majesty recently lamented the drought, gave quiet thought to gaps in governance, and took yourself sternly to task. An edict went out on dingmao day, and rain came on guiyou day—proof that Heaven heard Your Majesty's worthy words and was pleased by your intent to benefit the people. For ten months the land had prayed for rain while the people were ground down by the New Policies, wailing as though baked dry—and nowhere was the suffering worse than in the capital. Shopkeepers and humble townsfolk lost their means of living without exception; the learned and the simple stared at one another, day after day fearing catastrophe. Your Majesty has shown mercy in your proclamations and put that mercy into practice—easing oppressive rules, cutting back cash levies, and the like—so that in a single day shouts of rejoicing broke out everywhere. Three days before your birthday the timely rains fell—Heaven sent rain to grant Your Majesty long life, stirred by the great awakening of your sacred heart and your return to humane rule.

然法令乖戾，為毒於民者，所變才能萬一。人心之不解，故天意亦未釋，而雨不再施。陛下亦以此為戒，而夙夜慮之乎？今陛下之所知者，市易事耳。法之為害，豈特此耶？曰青苗錢也，助役錢也，方田也，保甲也，淤田也。兼是數者，而天下之民被其害。青苗之錢未一及償，而責以免役；免役之錢未暇入，而重以淤田；淤田方下，而復有方田；方田未息，而迫以保甲。是徒擾百姓，使不得少休於聖澤。其為害之實，雖一有言之者，必以下主吏，主吏妄報以無是，則從而信之，恬不復問，而反坐言者。雖間遣使循行，而苟且寵祿，巧為妄誕，成就其事，至請遍行其法，上下相隱，習以成風。

Yet among the statutes and regulations that violate justice and poison the people, perhaps one part in ten thousand has been altered. Because the people's hearts are still not at peace, Heaven's displeasure has not lifted either, and the rains have not returned. Does Your Majesty take this as a warning and brood over it day and night? What Your Majesty is aware of at present is only the Market Exchange policy. Can the damage wrought by these laws really be confined to that alone? There are the Green Sprouts loans, the labour-exemption fees, equal-field surveys, the mutual-responsibility militia system, and silt-field reclamation. Taken together, these policies have brought suffering to the people across the empire. Before Green Sprouts loans have even begun to be repaid, labour-exemption fees are already demanded; before labour-exemption payments have even been gathered in, silt-field levies are piled on top; silt-field orders have scarcely been issued when equal-field surveys follow again; before equal-field work has even quieted down, the mutual-responsibility militia system is forced upon them. This does nothing but torment the common people and deny them even a moment's rest under Your Majesty's gracious rule. When anyone reports the harm these policies truly cause, the matter is always referred to the local magistrate; the magistrate falsely reports that nothing of the kind has occurred, the court accepts this without further inquiry, and the accuser is punished instead. Even when inspectors are occasionally dispatched on circuit, they care only to safeguard their stipends, craftily invent false reports, and see the policies through—even urging that the laws be applied everywhere—while officials at every level cover for one another until concealment becomes the norm.

臣謂天下之患，不患禍亂之不可去，患朋黨蔽蒙之俗成，使上不得聞所當聞，故政日以敝，而禍亂卒至也。陛下可不深思其故乎？

I believe the empire's peril lies not in the difficulty of dispelling chaos and rebellion, but in the rise of a factional culture of concealment that keeps those above from hearing what they must hear—so that government grows more corrupt by the day until catastrophe finally arrives. Surely Your Majesty will give deep thought to why this is so?

疏入，不報。

The memorial was submitted, but no response was issued.

內侍王中正將兵出疆，干賞不以法。燾爭之不得，請外，出知宣州。入辭，神宗曰：「樞臣雲卿不肯安職，何也？」對曰：「臣居官五年，非敢不安職，恐不勝任使，故去耳。」神宗曰：「王中正功賞文書，何為獨不可？」曰：「中正罔冒僥覬，臣不敢屈法以負陛下。」未幾，提點京西刑獄，哲宗立，召為工部郎中，遷太常少卿、右諫議大夫。有請宣仁後御文德殿服袞冕受冊者，燾率同列諫，引薛奎諫章獻明肅皇后不當以王服見太廟事，宣仁後欣納。又論市易已廢，乞蠲中下戶逋負；又乞欠青苗下戶，不得令保人備償。

The palace eunuch Wang Zhongzheng led troops across the frontier and demanded rewards in violation of the regulations. Dao contested the matter but could not prevail; he asked for an outside appointment and was sent out as prefect of Xuanzhou. When he came to bid farewell, Emperor Shenzong said, "The chief minister tells me you are unwilling to remain at your post in peace—why is that?" He answered, "I have served in office for five years. It is not that I refuse to stay at my post in peace—I fear I am not equal to the task, and that is why I am leaving." Emperor Shenzong said, "The papers granting Wang Zhongzheng merit rewards—why alone may they not be approved?" He replied, "Zhongzheng acts with reckless presumption and greedy ambition; I dare not distort the law and betray Your Majesty." Before long he was appointed fiscal commissioner for the judicial circuit of the western capital region. When Emperor Zhezong took the throne, he was recalled as Director in the Ministry of Works, then promoted to Vice Director of the Court of Ritual and Right Remonstrance Councillor. When others proposed that Empress Dowager Xuanren should receive investiture at Wende Hall dressed in sacrificial robes and full regalia, Dao led his colleagues in remonstrance, citing Xue Kui's argument that Empress Dowager Zhangxian-Mingsu ought not to appear before the Imperial Ancestral Temple in kingly garb; the Empress Dowager gladly accepted their counsel. He also argued that since Market Exchange had been abolished, overdue debts owed by middle and lower households should be forgiven; and he also petitioned that lower households in arrears on Green Sprouts loans should not be forced to have guarantors make good the debt.

文彥博議遣劉奉世使夏國，御史張舜民論其不當遣，降通判虢州。燾言：「御史持紀綱之官，得以犯顏正論，況臣下過失，安得畏忌不言哉？今御史敢言大臣者，天下之公議；大臣不快御史者，一夫之私心。罪天下敢言之公議，便一夫不快之私心，非公朝盛事也。」時同論者傅堯俞、王岩叟、朱光庭、王覿、孫升、韓川，凡七人，悉召至都堂，敕諭以「事當權其輕重，故不惜一新進御史，以慰老臣。」燾又言：「若論年齡爵祿，則老臣為重；若論法度綱紀，則老臣為輕。御史者，天子之法官也，不可以大臣鞅鞅而斥去。願還舜民，以正國體。」章十上，不聽。

When Wen Yanbo proposed dispatching Liu Fengshi as envoy to Western Xia, Censor Zhang Shunmin argued against the appointment and was demoted to vice commissioner of Guozhou. Dao said, "The censor is the officer charged with upholding discipline; he is entitled to speak bluntly to the throne and set wrongs right. When a minister is at fault, how can one stay silent out of fear? When a censor dares to criticize a great minister, that voice belongs to the public judgment of the empire; when a great minister resents a censor, that is the private spite of one man. To punish the empire's public voice for speaking out, and to indulge one man's private displeasure—this is no credit to the court." At the time, the seven who had spoken together—Fu Yaoyu, Wang Yansou, Zhu Guangting, Wang Di, Sun Sheng, and Han Chuan—were all summoned to the chief councillors' hall and told, "The matter must be weighed for its relative gravity; that is why we do not hesitate to sacrifice one newly appointed censor in order to placate a senior minister." Dao also said, "If one measures by age, rank, and emolument, the senior minister counts for more; but if one measures by law, institutions, and discipline, the senior minister counts for less. The censor is the Son of Heaven's officer of justice; he must not be driven out because a great minister is displeased. I ask that Shunmin be restored to office, so that the proper dignity of the state may be upheld." He submitted ten memorials in all; the court paid no heed.

燾又面責給事中張問不能駁還舜民制命，以為失職。坐詬同列，出為集賢殿修撰、知潞州，辭不拜，曰：「臣本論張舜民不當罷，如以為非，即應用此受斥。今乃得以微罪冒美職，守劇郡，如此則朝廷命令，不能明辨曲直，以好惡示天下矣。」不報。至潞，值歲飢，不待命發常平粟振民。流人聞之，來者不絕，燾處之有條，人不告病。

Dao also confronted Supervising Secretary Zhang Wen face to face, rebuking him for failing to return and reject the edict demoting Shunmin, which he regarded as a dereliction of duty. For insulting his colleagues he was demoted to collator in the Hall of Assembled Worthies and prefect of Luzhou; he refused to accept the appointment, saying, "I originally argued that Zhang Shunmin should not be removed. If I was in the wrong, I ought to be punished for that very reason. Yet now, on a minor charge, I am offered a handsome post and a demanding prefecture—if that is how it stands, then the court's orders cannot clearly distinguish right from wrong or show the empire where favor and disfavor truly lie." No response was issued. Upon reaching Luzhou, he found famine that year; without waiting for authorization he opened the ever-normal granaries to feed the people. Refugees heard of this and came in an endless stream; Dao managed them with order and efficiency, and no one reported distress.

明年，以左諫議大夫召。甫就道，民攀轅不得行，逾太行，抵河內乃已。既對，上書言：「帝富於春秋，未專宸斷；太皇保佑聖主，制政簾帷，奸人易為欺蔽。願正綱紀，明法度，採用忠言，講求仁術。」兩宮嘉納焉。

The following year he was recalled to serve as Left Remonstrance Councillor. He had scarcely begun his journey when the people seized the shafts of his carriage and would not let him leave; they escorted him over the Taihang range and did not turn back until he reached Henei. After his audience he submitted a memorial saying, "The Emperor is still young and has not yet assumed full personal authority; the Grand Empress Dowager protects the sacred sovereign and governs from behind the curtain, where unscrupulous men can easily mislead and deceive. I ask that discipline be restored, laws and institutions clarified, loyal counsel heeded, and humane governance pursued." Both palaces praised and accepted his advice.

前宰相蔡確作詩怨謗，燾與劉安世交攻之。燾又言：「方今忠於確者，多於忠朝廷之士；敢為奸言者，多於敢正論之人。以此見確之氣焰凶赫，根株牽連，賊化害政，為患滋大。」確卒竄新州。燾進御史中丞。鄧潤甫除吏部尚書，燾論潤甫柔佞不立，巧為進取。不聽。改權戶部尚書，不拜，以龍圖閣直學士知鄭州。旬日，入權禮部尚書，為翰林學士。

The former chief councillor Cai Que wrote poems full of resentment and slander; Dao joined Liu Anshi in pressing the case against him. Dao also said, "Today those who are loyal to Que outnumber those loyal to the court; and those who dare speak treacherous words outnumber those who dare speak honest ones; From this one can see that Que's influence is fierce and overbearing, his network of connections deep and wide; he corrupts public morals, poisons governance, and the harm he does grows ever greater." Que was ultimately exiled to Xinzhou. Dao was promoted to Censor-in-Chief. When Deng Runfu was appointed Minister of Personnel, Dao argued that Runfu was pliant, fawning, and without principle, and artful in pursuing advancement. The court did not heed him. He was transferred to acting Minister of Revenue; he refused the appointment and was instead made a direct academician of the Dragon Diagram Hall and prefect of Zhengzhou. Ten days later he entered the capital as acting Minister of Rites and was appointed Hanlin Academician.

元祐七年，拜尚書右丞，轉左丞。蔡京帥蜀，燾曰：「元豐侍從，可用者多；惟京輕險貪愎，不可用。」又與同列議夏國地界，不能合，遂丐去。哲宗遣近臣問所以去意，且令密訪人才。燾曰：「信任不篤，言不見聽，而詢問人才，非臣所敢當也。」使者再至，乃言：「人才可大任者，陛下自知之。但須識別邪正，公天下之善惡，圖任舊人中堅正純厚有人望者，不牽左右好惡之言以移聖意，天下幸甚。」

In the seventh year of Yuanyou he was appointed Vice Director of the Right in the Secretariat, then promoted to Vice Director of the Left. When Cai Jing was appointed military commissioner of Shu, Dao said, "Among the Yuanfeng court attendants, many men could serve; only Jing is reckless, treacherous, greedy, and stubborn—he must not be used." He also deliberated with his colleagues over the border with Western Xia but could not reach agreement, and so asked to resign. Emperor Zhezong sent a close attendant to inquire why he wished to leave and also instructed him secretly to recommend men of talent. Dao said, "Your Majesty's trust is not firm, and my counsel goes unheard—how dare I take it upon myself to recommend men of talent?" When the envoy came again, he finally said, "As for men fit for great responsibility, Your Majesty already knows them yourself. You need only distinguish the wicked from the upright, weigh good and evil for the empire's sake, place trust in upright, sincere, and substantial veterans of proven standing, and refuse to let the private preferences of those at your side sway the imperial mind—the empire would be greatly fortunate."

燾自立朝，一以引援人物為意。在鄂作《薦士錄》，具載姓名。客或見其書，曰：「公所植桃李，乘時而發，但不向人開耳。」燾笑曰：「燾出入侍從，至位執政，八年之間所薦，用之不盡，負愧多矣。」其好賢樂善如此。

From the time he entered court service, Dao consistently made the advancement of worthy men his chief concern. While serving in Ezhou he compiled the Record of Recommended Scholars, setting down every name in full. A visitor who saw the book remarked, "The peach and plum you have planted will bloom in their season—but you never show their blossoms to anyone." Dao laughed and said, "From my years in attendance at court until I reached the highest office, over eight years the men I recommended could not all be appointed—I have much to feel ashamed of." Such was his love of the worthy and delight in doing good.

王岩叟

Wang Yansou

王岩叟，字彥霖，大名清平人。幼時，語未正已知文字。仁宗患詞賦致經術不明，初置明經科，岩叟年十八，鄉舉、省試、廷對皆第一。調欒城簿、涇州推官，甫兩月，聞弟喪，棄官歸養。

Wang Yansou, styled Yanlin, came from Qingping in Daming. As a child, before he could even speak properly, he already knew written characters. Emperor Renzong, troubled that the examination essays were eclipsing classical learning, established the Mingjing degree for the first time; Yansou, at eighteen, took first place in the prefectural, provincial, and palace examinations. He was appointed recorder of Luancheng and investigating officer in Jingzhou; after only two months he learned of his younger brother's death, resigned his post, and returned home to observe mourning.

熙寧中，韓琦留守北京，以為賢，辟管勾國子監，又辟管勾安撫司機宜文字，監晉州折博、煉鹽務。韓絳代琦，復欲留用。岩叟謝曰：「岩叟，魏公之客，不願出他門也。」士君子稱之。後知定州安喜縣，有法吏罷居鄉里，導人為訟，岩叟捕撻於市，眾皆竦然。定守呂公著嘆曰：「此古良吏也。」有詔近臣舉御史，舉者意屬岩叟而未及識，或謂可一往見。岩叟笑曰：「是所謂呈身御史也。」卒不見。

During the Xining period, Han Qi, serving as regent of the northern capital, recognized his talent and recruited him as administrator of the Directorate of Education; he was later recruited again as administrator of the pacification commission's secretariat and as supervisor of the Jinzhou salt monopoly and refining office. When Han Jiang succeeded Qi, he too wished to keep Yansou in service. Yansou declined, saying, "I am Duke Wei's client; I am not willing to enter service through another patron's gate." Men of principle praised him for it. Later, as magistrate of Anxi in Dingzhou, he discovered a dismissed legal clerk living in the countryside who was inciting people to sue; Yansou had him arrested and publicly flogged in the marketplace, and the crowd was struck with awe. The prefect Lü Gongzhu exclaimed, "This is an official in the old worthy style." When an edict called on close ministers to recommend censors, one recommender had Yansou in mind though he had not yet met him, and someone suggested he might pay Yansou a visit. Yansou laughed and said, "That is what people call a censor who curries favor to win appointment." He never went.

哲宗即位，用劉摯薦，為監察御史。時六察尚未言事，岩叟入台之明日，即上書論社稷安危之計，在從諫用賢，不可以小利失民心。遂言役錢斂法太重，民力不勝，願復差法如嘉祐時。又言河北榷鹽法尚行，民受其弊，貧者不復食。錄大名刻石《仁宗詔書》以進，又以河北天下根本，自祖宗以來，推此為惠。願復其舊。

When Emperor Zhezong ascended the throne, he was appointed investigating censor on Liu Zhi's recommendation. At the time the Six Investigations had not yet begun to speak on state affairs; the day after Yansou entered the Censorate he submitted a memorial on the safety and peril of the realm, arguing that the court must heed remonstrance, employ the worthy, and never sacrifice the people's loyalty for petty advantage. He went on to argue that the levy of corvée funds was excessively burdensome and beyond what the people could sustain, and urged a return to the quota system used in the Jiayou era. He also noted that the state salt monopoly in Hebei remained in effect, afflicting the populace to the point that the poor could no longer afford salt. He had transcribed and submitted the stone-carved edict of Emperor Renzong at Daming, adding that Hebei was the empire's foundation—and that since the founding ancestors, the court had granted that region this very benefit. He asked that the old arrangement be restored.

江西鹽害民，詔遣使者往視。岩叟曰：「一方病矣，必待使還而後改為，恐有不及被德澤而死者。願亟罷之。」又極陳時事，以為「不絕害本，百姓無由樂生；不屏群邪，太平終是難致。」時下詔求民疾苦，四方爭以其情赴訴，所司憚於省錄，頗成壅滯。岩叟言：「不問則已，言則必行之。不然，天下之人必謂陛下以空言說之，後有詔令，孰肯取信？」李定不持所生母仇氏服，岩叟論其不孝，定遂分司。

When the salt policy in Jiangxi was harming the people, the throne ordered envoys to inspect the situation. Yansou said, "That region is already suffering. If we must wait for the envoys to return before altering policy, I fear some will die before they can receive imperial relief. He urged that it be abolished at once." He also spoke at length on affairs of the day, arguing that "unless the sources of harm are eliminated, the people will have no path to a secure livelihood; and "unless wicked factions are driven from court, lasting peace will remain out of reach." Around that time the throne had issued an edict inviting reports of popular hardship, and people from every region rushed to lodge complaints—but the responsible offices shrank from recording them, and petitions piled up in backlog. Yansou said, "If the court will not inquire, so be it—but once it asks, it must follow through. Otherwise the people will take Your Majesty's words as mere rhetoric—and who will believe future edicts?" Li Ding had failed to wear mourning for his biological mother, Lady Chou. Yansou indicted him for filial impiety, and Li was relegated to an outside assignment.

宰相蔡確為裕陵復土使，還朝，以定策自居。岩叟曰：「陛下之立，以子繼父，百王不易之道。且太皇太后先定於中，而確敢貪天自伐。章惇讒賊狼戾，罔上蔽明，不忠之罪，蓋與確等。近簾前爭役法，詞氣不遜，無事上之禮。今聖政不出房闥，豈宜容此大奸猶在廊廟！」於是二人相繼退斥。

Chief Minister Cai Que, who had served as commissioner for re-interring the remains at Emperor Shenzong's tomb, returned to court claiming credit for securing the succession. Yansou said, "Your Majesty's enthronement followed the immemorial principle of a son succeeding his father. The Grand Empress Dowager had already settled the matter within the palace—yet Cai dared to arrogate Heaven's credit to himself. Zhang Dun was a slanderous, ruthless schemer who deceived his sovereign and obscured the truth—his disloyalty was no less than Cai's. Not long ago, in audience before the curtain, he had disputed the corvée law in insubordinate tones, without the deference owed a sovereign. With sagely governance no longer confined to the inner quarters, how can such great villains remain in the halls of power? Both men were subsequently dismissed from court.

遷左司諫兼權給事中。時並命執政，其間有不協時望者，岩叟即繳錄黃，上疏諫。既而命不由門下省以出，岩叟請對，言之益切。退就閣上疏曰：「臣為諫官既當言，承乏給事又當駁，非臣好為高論，喜忤大臣，恐命令斜出，尤損紀綱。」疏凡八上，命竟寢。又言：「三省胥吏，月饗厚奉，歲累優秩。而朝廷每舉一事，輒計功論賞，不知平日祿賜，將焉用之？姑息相承，流弊已極。望飭勵大臣，事為之制。」即詔裁抑僥倖，定為十七條。

He was promoted to remonstrator in the Left Remonstrance Bureau and concurrently served as acting Supervising Secretariat drafter. When several executive appointments were issued at once, Yansou would return any draft that fell short of public expectation and submit a remonstrance memorial. When an appointment was then issued without routing through the Secretariat, Yansou requested a personal audience and spoke all the more forcefully. Back in his office he memorialized: "As remonstrator I am bound to speak out; as acting Supervising Secretariat drafter I am bound to reject improper drafts. This is not because I relish grandstanding or offending senior ministers—I fear that edicts issued by irregular channels will corrode institutional discipline above all." He submitted the memorial eight times in all, and the appointment was ultimately withdrawn. He also observed: "Clerks in the Three Departments receive generous monthly pay and accumulate preferential promotions year after year. Yet whenever the court undertakes any project, it immediately tallies merit and dispenses rewards—as though the routine salaries served no purpose. A culture of indulgence had compounded itself until the abuses were extreme. He asked that senior ministers be urged to set firm rules governing such practices. An edict was promptly issued to curb opportunistic favoritism, codified in seventeen articles.

遷侍御史。兩省正言久闕，岩叟上疏曰：「國朝仿近古之制，諫臣才至六員，方之先王，已為至少。今復虛而不除，臣所未諭。豈以為治道已清，而無事於言邪？人材難稱，不若虛其位邪？二者皆非臣所望於今日也。願趣補其闕，多進正人以壯本朝；正人進，則小人自消矣。」

He was promoted to palace censor. The rectifier posts in both departments had long stood vacant. Yansou memorialized: "Our dynasty follows institutions modeled on antiquity, yet remonstrators number only six—already fewer than under the sage kings of old. That they should stand vacant still is something I cannot understand. Does the court believe governance is already perfected and no remonstrance is needed? Or is it because no worthy candidate has been found, and the posts are better left empty? Neither explanation is what I would hope for in our present age. I urge that the vacancies be filled promptly and upright men advanced to strengthen the court— for when upright men rise, petty ones fade away of their own accord."

諸路水災，朝廷行振貸，戶部限以災傷過七分、民戶降四等始許之。岩叟言：「中戶以上，蓋亦艱食。乞毋問分數、等級，皆得貸，庶幾王澤無間，以召至和矣。」坐張舜民事，改起居舍人，不拜，以直集賢院知齊州。請河北所言鹽法，行之京東。明年，復以起居舍人召。嘗侍邇英講，進讀《寶訓》，至節費，岩叟曰：「凡言節用，非偶節一事便能有濟。當每事以節儉為意，則積久累日，國用自饒。」讀仁宗知人事，岩叟曰：「人主常欲虛心平意，無所偏系，觀事以理，則事之是非，人之邪正，自然可見。」

When flooding struck several circuits, the court authorized relief loans—but the Ministry of Revenue restricted them to cases where disaster losses exceeded seventy percent and households had fallen four tax grades. Yansou said, "Households above the lowest rank are also going hungry. I ask that loans be granted without regard to damage percentages or tax grades, so that imperial bounty reaches all without distinction and true harmony may be restored." Because of his involvement in the Zhang Shunmin case, he was reassigned as a diary drafter—but declined to accept—and served as a Hanlin associate while governing Qi Prefecture. He petitioned that the salt policy he had proposed for Hebei be extended to Jingdong. The following year he was summoned back as a diary drafter. Once, while lecturing in the Hall for Close Reading from the Precious Admonitions, they reached the passage on thrift. Yansou said, "Economizing cannot mean sporadically cutting a single expense and expecting results. Every undertaking must be guided by thrift—and over time, state revenues will grow ample of themselves." When they read of Emperor Renzong's insight into men, Yansou said, "A sovereign must cultivate an open mind and level heart, free of partiality. View affairs by reason alone, and the rights and wrongs of matters—and the integrity or corruption of men—will reveal themselves naturally."

司馬康講《洪范》，至「乂用三德」，哲宗曰：「止此三德，為更有德。」蓋哲宗自臨御，淵默不言，岩叟喜聞之，因欲風諫，退而上疏曰：「三德者，人君之大本，得之則治，失之則亂，不可須臾去者也。臣請別而言之。夫明是非於朝廷之上，判忠邪於多士之間，不以順己而忘其惡，不以逆己而遺其善，私求不徇於所愛，公議不遷於所憎。竭誠盡節者，任之當勿二；罔上盜寵者，棄之當勿疑。惜紀綱，謹法度，重典刑，戒姑息，此人主之正直也。遠聲色之好，絕盤游之樂，勇於救天下之弊，果於斷天下之疑，邪說不能移，非道不能說，此人主之剛德也。居萬乘之尊而不驕，享四海之富而不溢，聰明有餘而處之若不足，俊傑並用而求之如不及，虛心以訪道，屈己以從諫，懼若臨淵，怯若履薄，此人主之柔德也。三者足以盡天下之要，在陛下力行何如耳。」岩叟因侍講，奏曰：「陛下退朝無事，不知何以消日？」哲宗曰：「看文字。對曰：「陛下以讀書為樂，天下幸甚。聖賢之學，非造次可成，須在積累。積累之要，在專與勤。屏絕它好，始可謂之專；久而不倦，始可謂之勤。願陛下特留聖意。」哲宗然之。

Sima Kang was lecturing on the Great Plan, at the passage on "governing through the three virtues," when Zhezong asked, "Are these three virtues the only ones—or are there more?" Since Zhezong had begun to reign he had been unusually reserved and seldom spoke, so Yansou was heartened to hear him and set out to offer indirect remonstrance. After retiring he memorialized: "The three virtues are a ruler's supreme foundation—possess them and there is order, lose them and there is chaos. They cannot be set aside even for a moment. Allow me to treat each in turn. To discern right from wrong at court and loyalty from treachery among the officials; to remember a man's faults even when he agrees with you, and a man's virtues even when he opposes you; to refuse private favor for those you love, and hold public judgment firm even against those you hate— to appoint with undivided trust those who serve with whole-hearted loyalty; and to cast aside without hesitation those who deceive their sovereign and claw for favor. To cherish institutional discipline, uphold law with rigor, treat punishments as weighty matters, and guard against undue leniency—this is the ruler's virtue of integrity. To keep one's distance from sensual pleasures, renounce idle diversions, courageously remedy the empire's ills, and decisively cut through its uncertainties; to remain unmoved by heterodox doctrine and unpersuaded by what diverges from the Way—this is the ruler's virtue of firmness. To hold the throne without arrogance, enjoy the empire's wealth without excess, possess ample wisdom yet comport oneself as though it were never enough; to employ the talented together and seek them as urgently as though falling short; to inquire humbly after the Way, bow to remonstrance, and stand in awe as if over an abyss, treading as if on thin ice—this is the ruler's virtue of gentleness. These three virtues encompass all that matters under Heaven—it rests entirely on how resolutely Your Majesty puts them into practice. During a lecture session, Yansou asked, "When Your Majesty withdraws from court with leisure time, how do you spend the day?" Zhezong replied, "Reading. Yansou answered, "That Your Majesty finds joy in reading is the good fortune of the realm. The learning of the sages cannot be mastered overnight—it must be built up over time. The keys to that accumulation are single-mindedness and persistence. Shut out other distractions—that is single-mindedness; persevere without tiring—that is diligence. I pray Your Majesty will keep this specially in mind. Zhezong agreed.

岩叟館伴遼賀正旦使耶律寬，寬求觀《元會儀》，岩叟曰：「此非外國所宜知。」止錄《笏記》與之，寬不敢求。進權吏部侍郎、天章閣待制、樞密都承旨。湖北諸蠻互出擾邊，無有寧歲，岩叟請專以疆事委荊南唐義問。遂自草檄文，喻義問以朝廷方敦尚恩信，勿為僥倖功賞之意，後遂安輯。

Yansou served as host to the Liao envoy Yelü Kuan, who had come to offer New Year's greetings. When Kuan asked to observe the New Year's Assembly rites, Yansou said, "That is not something a foreign envoy should be allowed to see." He provided only a copy of the court ceremonial memorandum—and Kuan did not dare press the matter. He was promoted to acting vice minister of personnel, Hanlin attendant, and chief clerk of the Bureau of Military Affairs. Man tribes in Hubei raided the frontier in turn, year after year without respite. Yansou urged that border affairs be entrusted entirely to Tang Yiwen at Jingnan. He himself drafted the proclamation, instructing Yiwen that the court was committed to grace and good faith—not opportunistic raids for merit—and the region was subsequently pacified.

初，夏人遣使入貢，及為境上之議，故為此去彼來，牽致勞苦，每違期日。岩叟請預戒邊臣，夏違期，一不至則勿復應，自後不復敢違。質孤、勝如二堡，漢趙充國留屯之所，自元祐講和，在蘭州界內，夏以為形勝膏腴之地，力爭之。二堡若失，則蘭州、熙河遂危。延帥欲以二堡與夏，蘇轍主其議。及熙河、延安二捷同報，轍奏曰：「近邊奏稍頻，西人意在得二堡。今盛夏猶如此，入秋可虞，不若早定議。」意在與之也。岩叟曰：「形勢之地，豈可輕棄，不知既與，還不更求否？」太皇太后曰：「然。」議遂止。

Earlier, when the Western Xia sent tribute missions or negotiated border matters, they insisted on alternating which side crossed the frontier—a burdensome arrangement that often led to missed deadlines. Yansou proposed that frontier officials be instructed in advance: if the Xia missed a deadline even once, the court should cease responding—and from then on they did not dare miss again. The forts of Zhigu and Shengru, where the Han general Zhao Chongguo had once stationed troops, lay within Lanzhou's borders after the Yuanyou peace—but the Xia considered them strategically vital, fertile ground and contested them fiercely. Lose those two forts and Lanzhou and Xihe would be imperiled. The commander of Yanzhou wanted to surrender the two forts to the Xia, and Su Zhe led the faction supporting the idea. When news of victories at Xihe and Yan'an arrived together, Su Zhe memorialized: "Frontier reports have lately been frequent—the Western Xia's aim is to secure those two forts. If they are this aggressive in high summer, autumn will be worse—it is better to reach a decision now." His meaning was to give the forts up. Yansou said, "How can we lightly surrender such strategic ground? Once we yield it, will they not demand more?" The Grand Empress Dowager agreed: "Exactly so." The proposal was dropped.

夏人數萬侵定西之東、通遠之北，壞七厓匙堡，掠居人，轉侵涇原及河外鄜、府州，眾遂至十萬。熙帥范育偵伺夏右廂種落大抵趣河外，三疏請乘此進堡砦，築龕谷、勝如、相照、定西而東徑隴諾城。朝議未一，或欲以七巉經毀之地，皆以與夏。岩叟力言不可與，彼計得行，後患未已。因請遣官諭熙帥，即以戶部員外郎穆衍行視，築定遠以據要害。其調兵貲費，一從便宜，不必中覆。定遠遂城，皆岩叟之力。

Tens of thousands of Xia troops invaded east of Dingxi and north of Tongyuan, destroyed Qiyanshi Fort, pillaged local inhabitants, and swept on into Jingyuan and the prefectures of Fu and Fuzhou beyond the river, until their forces reached one hundred thousand. The Xi Prefecture commander Fan Yu detected that most of the Xia Right Wing tribes were heading beyond the river and thrice petitioned to seize the moment and advance with new fortifications—building at Kangu, Shengru, Xiangzhao, and east from Dingxi through to Longnuo City. Court opinion was divided; some argued that all the ravaged territory around the Seven Cliffs should be surrendered to the Xia. Yansou insisted they must not be surrendered—if the enemy's scheme succeeded, trouble would never end. He petitioned that an official be sent to instruct the Xi commander, and Mu Yan of the Ministry of Revenue was dispatched on an inspection tour to build Dingyuan and hold the key positions. Troop deployments and expenditures were to be managed as local circumstances required, without awaiting central approval. The fortification of Dingyuan was entirely due to Yansou's efforts.

拜中書舍人。滕甫帥太原，為走馬承受所撼，徙潁昌。岩叟封還詞頭，言：「進退帥臣，理宜重慎。今以小臣一言易之，使後人畏憚不自保，此風浸長，非委任安邊之福。」乃止。

He was appointed as a Secretariat drafter. Teng Fu, commanding Taiyuan, was undermined by a roaming inspector and was transferred to Yingchang. Yansou returned the draft appointment unapproved, stating: "The appointment and removal of frontier commanders ought to be weighed with the utmost care. To transfer a commander on a single underling's word will make future appointees live in fear for their posts. As this practice spreads, it bodes ill for stable frontier command." The transfer was halted.

復為樞密都承旨、權知開封府。舊以推、判官二人分左右廳，共治一事，多為異同，或累日不竟，吏疲於咨稟。岩叟創立逐官分治之法，自是署為令。都城群偷所聚，謂之「大房」，每區容數十百人，淵藪詭僻，不可勝究。岩叟令掩捕撤毀，隨輕重決之，根株一空。供備庫使曹續以產貿萬緡，市儈逾年負其半，續儘力不可取。一日啟戶，則所負皆在焉。驚扣其故，儈曰：「王公今日知府矣。」初，曹氏之隸韓絢與同隸訟，事連其主，就逮之。曹氏者，慈聖後之族也。岩叟言：「部曲相訟，不當論其主。今不惟長告訐之風，且傷孝治。慈聖仙游未遠，一旦因廝役之過，使其子孫對吏，殆聖情有所不忍。」詔竄絢而絕其獄。岩叟常謂：「天下積欠多名，催免不一，公私費擾，乞隨等第多寡為催法。」朝廷乃定五年十科之令。

He again served as chief clerk of the Bureau of Military Affairs while acting as prefect of Kaifeng. Under the old system, two deputy administrators and judges split the left and right offices and jointly handled every case, often disagreeing—cases could drag on for days, and clerks were worn down by the constant back-and-forth. Yansou instituted a system whereby each official handled cases separately—and it became standing practice. Thieves in the capital gathered in dens they called "great houses," each large enough for scores or even hundreds of men—hidden lairs in labyrinthine quarters beyond thorough policing. Yansou ordered raids to destroy these dens, punishing offenders according to severity until the entire network was uprooted. Cao Xu, commissioner of the Commissary Depot, had sold property for ten thousand strings of cash; the buyer still owed half after more than a year, and despite every effort Xu could not collect the debt. One day when he opened his door, the full sum owed had been placed there. Astonished, he asked how this had happened. The merchant replied, "Lord Wang was appointed prefect today." Earlier, Han Xuan, a bondservant of the Cao family, had brought suit against another bondservant; because the matter implicated his master, the master was arrested. The Cao clan were kin of Empress Dowager Cisheng. Yansou argued, "When retainers bring lawsuits against one another, their lord should not be put on trial. To proceed would not only nourish the habit of denunciation—it would also undermine a reign grounded in filial virtue. Empress Dowager Cisheng has only lately passed away. To drag her descendants before the magistrates over a servant's offense—the sage woman's heart would scarcely endure it." An imperial decree banished Han Xuan and closed the case. Yansou had long urged, "Arrears across the empire are recorded under countless names, with collection and remission applied unevenly, bedeviling both government and populace. I ask that collection be regulated according to rank and the size of the debt." The court accordingly promulgated the rule of collection in ten installments over five years.

元祐六年，拜樞密直學士、簽書院事。入謝，太皇太后曰：「知卿才望，不次超用。」岩叟又再拜謝，進曰：「太后聽政以來，納諫從善，務合人心，所以朝廷清明，天下安靜。願信之勿疑，守之勿失。」復少進而西，奏哲宗曰：「陛下今日聖學，當深辨邪正。正人在朝，則朝廷安，邪人一進，便有不安之象。非謂一夫能然，蓋其類應之者眾，上下蔽蒙，不覺養成禍胎爾。」又進曰：「或聞有以君子小人參用之說告陛下者，不知果有之否？此乃深誤陛下也。自古君子小人，無參用之理。聖人但云：『君子在內，小人在外則泰，小人在內、君子在外則否。」小人既進，君子必引類而去。若君子與小人競進，則危亡之基也。此際不可不察。」兩宮深然之。

In the sixth year of the Yuanyou reign, he received appointment as Privy Council Academician and Vice Grand Councilor. When he came to give thanks for the appointment, the Grand Empress Dowager said, "Knowing your talent and standing, I have advanced you out of turn." Yansou bowed low again and stepped forward. "Since Your Majesty took up the regency, you have heeded counsel and embraced what is right, striving always to align with the people's hearts. That is why the court is upright and the realm at peace. I beg you to believe in this without doubt and to hold to it without letting it slip." He then moved a few steps westward and addressed Emperor Zhezong. "In Your Majesty's studies today, you must learn to discern clearly the upright from the wicked. When upright men hold office, the court is secure; let but one wicked man slip in, and signs of disorder appear at once. I do not mean that one man alone can bring this about—but his kind rally in numbers; court and countryside fall under a fog, and before anyone notices, the seeds of calamity have been sown." He stepped forward once more. "I have heard it rumored that someone has advised Your Majesty to employ upright men and petty men side by side—I do not know whether there is any truth to this. Such counsel deeply misleads Your Majesty. From antiquity, there has never been sound reason to employ upright men and petty men together. The sages say only this: "When upright men are within and petty men without, there is prosperity; when petty men are within and upright men without, there is ruin." Once petty men gain entry, upright men inevitably withdraw—and their allies go with them. Should upright men and petty men compete for office together, that is the groundwork of national collapse. Your Majesty must heed this moment with utmost care. Both the Grand Empress Dowager and the Emperor found his words deeply convincing.

上清儲詳宮成，太皇太后謂輔臣曰：「此與皇帝皆出閣中物營之，以成先帝之志。」岩叟曰：「陛下不煩公，不勞民，真盛德事。然願自今以土木為戒。」又以宮成將戒肆赦，岩叟曰：「昔天禧中，祥源成，治平中，醴泉成，皆未嘗赦。古人有垂死諫君無赦者，此可見赦無益於聖治也。」

When the Shangqing Chuxiang Palace was completed, the Grand Empress Dowager told the chief ministers, "This palace, like the emperor's own quarters, was built entirely from goods already held in the inner storehouses—to fulfill the late emperor's wish." Yansou replied, "Your Majesty has accomplished this without burdening the state coffers or exhausting the people—a deed of truly great virtue. Yet I pray that from this day forward Your Majesty will treat such building projects as a warning." When the palace's completion was to be marked by a general amnesty, Yansou objected: "In the Tianxi era, when Xiangyuan Palace was finished, and in the Zhiping era, when Liquan Palace was finished—neither was celebrated with an amnesty. There were ancients who, even on their deathbeds, urged their rulers not to grant amnesties—clear proof that pardons do nothing for enlightened rule."

哲宗方選後，太皇太后曰：「今得狄諮女，年命以便，然為是庶出過房，事須評議。」岩叟進曰：「按《禮經·問名篇》，女家答曰：『臣女，夫婦所生。』及外氏官諱，不識今者狄氏將何辭以進？」議遂寢。哲宗選後既定，太皇太后曰：「帝得賢后，有內助功，不是小事。」岩叟對曰：「內助雖後事，其正家須在皇帝。聖人言：『正家而得天下』。當慎之於始。」太皇太后以是語哲宗者再。岩叟退取歷代後事可為法者，類為《中宮懿范》上之。

While Emperor Zhezong was choosing an empress, the Grand Empress Dowager said, "We have settled on the daughter of Di Zi—her age and horoscope are suitable—but she was born to a concubine and given in adoption elsewhere. The matter requires careful discussion." Yansou stepped forward. "According to the 'Inquiry of Names' chapter of the Book of Rites, when asked the bride's name the family replies, 'My daughter, born of our lawful union. As for taboo names connected with the maternal family's official posts—I wonder what language the Di family could use in presenting her?" The deliberations were dropped. After the empress was finally chosen, the Grand Empress Dowager remarked, "For the emperor to gain a worthy consort, with all the benefit that brings within the palace—this is no trivial matter." Yansou answered, "Domestic support may come afterward, but ordering the household properly falls to the emperor himself. The sage says, 'Rectify the family, and you will secure the realm.' Caution is needed from the very beginning." The Grand Empress Dowager repeated this counsel to Emperor Zhezong more than once. Yansou withdrew and compiled exemplary precedents concerning empresses from dynastic history into a work titled Imperial Models of Virtue for the Inner Palace, which he presented to the throne.

宰相劉摯、右丞蘇轍以人言求避位，岩叟曰：「元祐之初，排斥奸邪，緝熙聖治，摯與轍之功居多。原深察讒毀之意，重惜腹心之人，無輕其去就。」兩宮然之。後摯竟為御史鄭雍所擊，岩叟連上疏論救。摯去位，御史遂指為黨，罷為端明殿學士、知鄭州。言者猶未厭，太皇太后曰：「岩叟有大功，今日之命，出不獲已耳。」

When Chief Councilor Liu Zhe and Vice Grand Councilor Su Che asked to step down amid public criticism, Yansou argued, "At the outset of the Yuanyou era, in rooting out the corrupt and restoring enlightened governance, no one contributed more than Zhe and Che. I beg Your Majesties to see through the malice behind these attacks and to hold fast to your most trusted advisers—do not treat their standing lightly." Both the Grand Empress Dowager and the Emperor agreed. Liu Zhe was eventually attacked by Censor Zheng Yong, and Yansou repeatedly submitted memorials in his defense. When Liu Zhe left office, the censorate denounced him as a factional leader and demoted him to Academician of the Hall of Manifest Brightness and prefect of Zhengzhou. The accusers were still not satisfied. The Grand Empress Dowager said, "Yansou has rendered great service. Today's order was issued only because we had no choice."

明年，徙河陽，數月卒，年五十一。贈左正議大夫。紹聖初，追貶雷州別駕。司馬光以其進諫無隱，稱之曰：「吾寒心栗齒，憂在不測，公處之自如，至於再三，或累十數章，必行其言而後已。」為文語省理該，深得制誥體。有《易》、《詩》、《春秋傳》行於世。

The following year he was transferred to Heyang; within a few months he died, at the age of fifty-one. He was posthumously granted the title Left Direct Remonstrance Grandee. At the opening of the Shaosheng era, his posthumous honors were revoked and he was degraded to Vice-Prefect of Leizhou. Sima Guang, speaking of his fearless candor in remonstrance, praised him thus: "I myself trembled with fear of what might come—and yet you remonstrated with perfect calm, submitting again and again, sometimes a dozen memorials in succession, never resting until your counsel was heeded." His prose was spare yet comprehensive in argument, in full mastery of the edict form. His commentaries on the Book of Changes, the Book of Odes, and the Spring and Autumn Annals circulated widely.

鄭雍，字公肅，襄邑人。進士甲科，調兗州推官。韓琦上其文，召試秘閣校理、知太常禮院。英宗之喪，論宗室不當嫁娶，與時相忤，通判峽州，知池州，復還太常禮院，歷開封府判官。

Zheng Yong, courtesy name Gongsu, was a native of Xiangyi. He placed in the top tier of the jinshi examination and was assigned as judicial assistant in Yan Prefecture. Han Qi forwarded his writings to the throne; Zheng was summoned for examination and appointed Collator of the Secretariat Archive and director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. During the mourning period for Emperor Yingzong, he argued that members of the imperial clan should not marry—a position that put him at odds with the chief ministers. He was transferred to vice-prefect of Xia Prefecture, then prefect of Chi Prefecture, then recalled to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and eventually served as judicial administrator of the Kaifeng Prefecture government.

熙寧、元豐間，更制變令，士大夫多違己以求合，雍獨靜默自守。改嘉王、岐王府記室參軍。神宗末年，二王既長，猶居禁中，雍獻四箴規戒，且諷使求出外邸。凡在邸七年，用久次，以轉運使秩留。宣仁後知其賢，及臨政，擢為起居郎，進中書舍人。

During the Xining and Yuanfeng periods, as reforms and regulations shifted repeatedly, most scholar-officials bent their principles to stay in favor—but Zheng Yong alone held his silence and his integrity. He was reassigned as secretary in the households of Princes Jia and Qi. In Shenzong's final years, though both princes had come of age, they still lived within the palace precincts. Zheng submitted four admonitory essays and delicately urged them to request quarters outside the palace. He remained at the princes' mansions for seven years in all, and by seniority of service was retained at the rank of transport commissioner. Empress Dowager Xuanren, recognizing his talent, elevated him to Palace Diarist when she took power, then promoted him to Drafting Secretary of the Secretariat.

鄧潤甫除翰林承旨，雍當制。制未出，言事者五人交章攻之，換為侍讀學士。雍言：二職皆天下精選，以潤甫之過薄，不當革前命；以為奸邪，不當在經幄。今中外咸謂朝廷姑以是塞言者，如此則邪正何由可辨，善惡何由可明？若每事必待言，是賞罰之柄，不得已而行，非所以示信天下之道。」潤甫仍為承旨。周童乞以王安石配享神宗廟，雍言：「安石持國政，不能上副屬任，非先帝神明，遠而弗用，則其所敗壞，可勝言哉！今穜以小臣輒肆橫議，願正其罪。」從之。

When Deng Runfu was appointed Chief Academician of the Hanlin Academy, Zheng Yong was assigned to draft the appointment edict. Before the edict could be issued, five memorialists submitted overlapping attacks on the appointment, and Deng was given the lesser post of Lecturer Academician instead. Zheng Yong argued: "Both offices represent the most select appointments in the realm. Given the minor nature of Runfu's faults, the original appointment should not have been overturned; and if he is truly wicked, he ought not to serve in the imperial lecture hall at all. Now court and countryside alike believe the court merely offered this compromise to silence critics. But if that is so, how are the wicked to be distinguished from the upright, and good from evil? If every decision must wait for criticism before it is corrected, then reward and punishment are wielded only under duress—not the way to inspire confidence throughout the realm. Deng Runfu retained his post as Chief Academician after all. When Zhou Zhongtong petitioned to have Wang Anshi enshrined as a companion sacrifice in Emperor Shenzong's temple, Zheng Yong objected: "Anshi held the reins of government yet failed to fulfill the trust placed in him. Had the late emperor not possessed the wisdom to keep him at arm's length, the destruction he would have wrought—could words even encompass it? That this minor official should now brazenly advance such reckless opinion—I ask that he be duly punished." The request was granted.

使契丹還，徙右諫議大夫，言：「朝廷重內輕外，選用牧伯，罕輟從班，以閥閱輕淺者充員，不復為來日慮。願自今稍積資望，以慚試之。」吳中大飢，方議振恤，以民習欺誕，敕本部料檢，家至戶到。雍言：「此令一布，吏專料民而不救災，民皆死於飢。今富有四海，奈何謹圭撮之濫，而輕比屋之死乎？」哲宗悟，追止之。

On returning from an embassy to the Khitan, he was appointed Right Remonstrance Censor and memorialized: "The court esteems capital posts and undervalues provincial service. When appointing prefects, it seldom releases officials from the senior inner ranks, filling vacancies instead with men of shallow pedigree—with no thought for the future. I ask that from now on qualifications and standing be accumulated over time, and that such men be given provincial posts as a proving ground." When a severe famine struck Wu, and relief was under discussion, the court ordered a house-to-house inspection—on the grounds that the populace was prone to deception. Zheng Yong warned: "Once this order is issued, officials will devote themselves entirely to inspection rather than to relief—and the people will starve to death. The empire possesses boundless wealth—how can we fuss over petty fraud while treating whole households dying of hunger as a matter of little consequence?" Emperor Zhezong saw the point and revoked the order.

侍御史賈易沽激自喜，中丞趙彥若懦不自立，雍並論之，遂罷易，左轉彥若，以雍為中丞。雍辭曰：「中丞以臣言去而身承其乏，非所以厚風俗也。」不許。時二府禁謁加嚴，雍嘆曰：「旁招俊乂，列於庶位，宅百揆職也。彼有足不及公卿之門者，猶當物色致之，奈何設禁若是！且二府皆天子所改容而體貌之者，乃復防閒其私如此乎？」於是援賈誼廉恥節行之說以諫，詔弛其禁。

Supervising Censor Jia Yi was vain and self-aggrandizing; Censor-in-Chief Zhao Yanruo was timid and spineless. Zheng condemned them both. Jia Yi was dismissed, Zhao Yanruo was demoted, and Zheng Yong was appointed Censor-in-Chief in his place. Zheng Yong declined the appointment, saying, "The censor-in-chief was removed because of my memorial—yet I would personally succeed to his vacant post. That is no way to uphold public morals." His resignation was not accepted. At the time both councils had tightened restrictions on callers. Zheng Yong sighed and said, "It is the chief ministers' duty to seek out the worthy and place them in office throughout the government. Even men whose means do not allow them to visit the halls of the great should still be sought out and brought forward—why impose restrictions such as these? And the two councils are the very offices before which the Son of Heaven shows special deference—must they really be walled off from private contact to this degree?" He thereupon memorialized, invoking Jia Yi's teachings on integrity and shame—and an edict relaxed the restrictions.

刑部讞囚，宰執論殺之，有司以為可生，不奉詔，得罪。雍言：「是固可罪，然究其用心，在於廣好生之德耳，若遽以為罪，臣恐鄰於嗜殺。今使有司欲殺而朝廷生之，猶恐仁恩德意不白於天下，而況反是者哉！」哲宗嘉納，囚遂得生。

When the Ministry of Justice reviewed a capital case, the chief ministers argued for execution, but the officials responsible judged the prisoner deserving of mercy and refused to carry out the order—whereupon they were punished. Zheng Yong argued, "They are indeed at fault—but their intent was to extend the virtue of sparing life. To punish them abruptly, I fear, would border on a love of killing. When officials wish to execute but the court chooses clemency, we still worry that the emperor's merciful intent may not reach the people—how much worse when officials choose mercy and the court punishes them for it!" Emperor Zhezong approved the argument, and the prisoner was spared.

初，邢恕以書抵宰相劉摯，摯答之，有『自愛以俟休復』之語，排岸司茹東濟錄書示雍與殿中侍御史楊畏，雍、畏釋其語曰：「『俟休復』者，俟他日太后復辟也。」遂並以此事論摯威福自恣，乞罷之以收主柄。又論王嚴叟、朱光庭、梁燾等三十人皆為摯黨，以閉其援。及摯出知鄆州，光庭方為給事中，繳還摯麻詞，嚴叟、燾力救之，哲宗以先入之言，不納。雍之攻摯，人以為附左相呂大防也。又有請暴摯陰事者，雍曰：「吾為國擊宰相，非仇摯也。彼之陰事，何有於國哉？」置不以聞。

Earlier, Xing Shu had written to Chief Councilor Liu Zhe, who replied with the phrase, "Take care of yourself and await restoration." Ru Dongji of the river patrol office copied the letter and showed it to Zheng Yong and Palace Censor Yang Wei. Yong and Wei interpreted the phrase: "'Await restoration' means to await the day when the Empress Dowager resumes the regency." Together they used this to accuse Liu Zhe of arrogating power, petitioning for his removal so that imperial authority might be restored. They further denounced Wang Yansou, Zhu Guangting, Liang Dao, and thirty others as members of Liu Zhe's faction, seeking to cut off his support. When Liu Zhe was sent out as prefect of Yun, Zhu Guangting, then Drafting Speaker, returned Liu's appointment edict unsigned. Yansou and Liang Dao pressed hard for his reinstatement, but Emperor Zhezong, influenced by earlier accusations, refused. Many believed Zheng Yong's attack on Liu Zhe was done to curry favor with Left Chief Councilor Lü Dafang. When others urged him to expose Liu Zhe's private scandals, Zheng Yong replied, "I am moving against a chief councilor for the good of the state—not out of personal enmity toward Liu Zhe. What do his private failings have to do with the interests of the realm?" He ignored the suggestion and made no report.

拜尚書右丞，改左丞。雍在政地，哲宗稱其事上有禮。紹聖初，治元祐眾臣，雍頓首自列，哲宗明其亡他心，諭使勿去。周秩乘隙抵之，謂雍初為侍從時，因徐王私於權臣以進。哲宗怒曰：「此是何言也！使徐王聞之，豈能自安？」黜秩知廣德軍，敕銀台毋受雍辭去奏章，東府吏毋聽雍妻子輒出，且令學士錢勰善為留詔。二年，始以資政殿學士知陳州，徙北京留守。

He was appointed Right Vice Grand Councilor, then transferred to Left Vice Grand Councilor. While Zheng Yong held high office, Emperor Zhezong commended his respectful and proper conduct toward his superiors. At the opening of the Shaosheng era, when Yuanyou officials came under investigation, Zheng Yong prostrated himself and voluntarily included himself among them. Emperor Zhezong understood he harbored no ulterior motive and urged him to remain in office. Zhou Zhi seized the moment to attack him, alleging that in his early days as an imperial attendant, Zheng Yong had advanced through secret dealings with Prince Xu and powerful ministers at court. Emperor Zhezong said in anger, "What kind of accusation is this! If Prince Xu were to hear such a thing, how could he rest easy?" He sent Zhou Zhi away to serve as prefect of Guangde Army, ordered the Silver Terrace to refuse any memorial in which Zheng Yong tried to resign, forbade the Eastern Chancellery staff to let Zheng Yong's wife and children leave on their own, and told Academician Qian Su to prepare a carefully worded edict to keep him in office. In the second year Zheng Yong was at last made a Privy Council academician and prefect of Chenzhou, and then transferred to serve as garrison commissioner of Beijing.

初，章惇以白帖貶謫元祐臣僚，安燾爭論不已，哲宗疑之。雍欲為自安計，謂惇曰：「熙寧初，王安石作相，常用白帖行事。」惇大喜，取其案牘懷之，以白哲宗，遂其奸。雍雖以此結惇，然卒罷政，坐元祐黨，奪職知鄭州。數日，改成都府。元符元年，提舉崇福宮，歸，未至而卒，年六十八。政和中，復資政殿學士。

Earlier, Zhang Dun had demoted and exiled Yuanyou officials by means of informal white notes. An Tuo kept arguing against the practice, and Zhezong began to have doubts. Looking for a way to protect himself, Zheng Yong told Dun, "In the early Xining years, when Wang Anshi was chief minister, he often governed by informal white notes." Dun was delighted, tucked the case documents into his robe, reported the matter to Zhezong, and thus got his way. Zheng Yong did win Dun's favor by this, but he was still driven from office in the end, condemned as a Yuanyou partisan, stripped of his post, and sent to govern Zhengzhou. A few days later he was reassigned to Chengdu. In Yuanfu 1 he was appointed overseer of Chongfu Palace. He set out for home but died on the road before he arrived, aged sixty-eight. During the Zhenghe reign his title of Privy Council academician was posthumously restored.

孫永，字曼叔，世為趙人，徙長社。年十歲孤，祖給事中沖，列為子行，蔭將作監主簿，肄業西學，群試常第一。沖戒之曰：「洛陽英雋所萃，汝年少，不宜多上人。」自是不覆試。沖卒，喪除，復列為孫，換試銜，擢進士第，調襄城尉、宜城令，至太常博士。御史中丞賈黯薦為御史，以母老不就。韓琦讀其詩，嘆譽之，引為諸王府侍讀。神宗為潁王，出新錄《韓非子》畀宮僚讎定，永曰：「非險薄刻核，其書背《六經》之旨，願毋留意。」王曰：「廣藏書之數耳，非所好也。」及為皇太子，進舍人；即位，擢天章閣待制，安撫陝西。民景詢外叛，詔捕送其孥，勿以赦原。永言：「陛下新御極，曠澤流行，惡逆者猶得虧除。今緣坐者弗宥，非所以示信也。」

Sun Yong, whose courtesy name was Manshu, came from a Zhao family that had moved to Changshe. He lost his father at ten. His grandfather, Supervising Secretary Chong, had him entered in the family register as a son. By inherited privilege he became a registrar in the Directorate of Palace Buildings, pursued his studies at the Western Academy, and repeatedly placed first in the group examinations. Chong warned him, "Luoyang draws the brightest men in the empire. You are still young; you should not so often place above your seniors." After that he stopped sitting for the examinations again. After Chong's death and the period of mourning, he was entered once more as a grandson, converted his privilege into examination standing, passed the jinshi examination, and served successively as magistrate of Xiangcheng and Yicheng before rising to Erudite of the Grand Sacrifices. Vice Censor-in-Chief Jia An recommended him for appointment as a censor, but he declined because his mother was elderly. Han Qi read his poems, admired them greatly, and had him appointed lecturer in the princes' household. When the future Shenzong was Prince of Ying, he circulated a newly edited Han Feizi for the palace staff to review. Yong said, "Han Fei was treacherous, harsh, and unyielding, and his book runs counter to the Six Classics. I hope Your Highness will pay it no mind." The prince replied, "I only mean to enlarge the library. It is not a book I care for." When he became crown prince, Yong was promoted to Gentleman Attendant. When the prince ascended the throne, Yong was promoted to Attendant Gentleman of the Tiantang Pavilion and made pacification commissioner of Shaanxi. A commoner named Jing Xun defected beyond the border. The court ordered his wife and children seized and sent in, and decreed that no amnesty should apply to those implicated with him. Yong said, "Your Majesty has only just taken the throne. A wide clemency is being proclaimed, and even the wicked and rebellious may have their penalties reduced. To withhold pardon from those punished only by association is not the way to show the people that the throne keeps its word."

歷河北、陝西都轉運使。時邊用不足，以解鹽、市馬別為一司，外台不得與。永奏曰：「鹽、馬，國之大計，使主者專其柄，既無以統隸，苟為非法，孰從而制之？」

He served in turn as transport commissioner for Hebei and Shaanxi. At that time frontier funds were short, so salt vouchers and horse procurement were placed in a separate agency beyond the reach of the regional transport commissions. Yong memorialized, "Salt and horses are vital to the state. If the officials in charge hold sole authority with no superior to command them, and they turn to illegal practices, who will be able to check them?"

加龍圖閣直學士、知秦州。王韶以布衣入幕府，建取熙河策，永折之曰：「邊陲方安靜，無故騷動，恐變生不測。」會新築劉家堡失利，眾請戮偏裨以塞責。永曰：「居敵必爭之地，軍孤援絕，兵法所謂不得而守者也。尤人以自免，於我安乎？」竟用是降天章閣待制、知和州，以詳定編敕知審官東院召還，神守問：「青苗、助役之法，於民便否？」對曰：「法誠善，然強民出息輸錢代徭，不能無重斂之患。若用以資經費，非臣所知也。」時倉法峻密，庾吏受百錢，則黥為卒，府史亦如之。神宗又問：「此法既下，吏尚為奸乎？」對曰：「強盜罪死，犯者猶眾，況配隸邪？使人畏法而不革心，雖在府史，臣亦不敢必其無犯也。」議復肉刑，事下永。永奏曰：「刻人肌膚，深害仁政，漢文帝所不忍，陛下忍之乎？」神宗曰：「事固未決，待卿始定耳。」不果行。

He was made Direct Academician of the Dragon Diagram Hall and prefect of Qinzhou. Wang Shao joined the staff as a commoner and urged a campaign to take the Xihe region. Yong objected: "The borderlands have only just settled down. To provoke unrest without cause may bring disaster we cannot foresee." Soon afterward the newly built Liujia Fort was lost in battle, and many demanded that junior officers be executed to satisfy blame. Yong said, "They held ground the enemy was sure to fight for, with a lone force and no relief. That is what the military classics call a place that cannot be held. To shift blame onto others to save ourselves—how can we live with that?" Because of this he was eventually demoted to Attendant Gentleman of the Tiantang Pavilion and prefect of Hezhou. Later, while serving as compiler of statutes and director of the Eastern Bureau for Review of Appointments, he was recalled to court. Shenzong asked, "Do the Green Sprouts and corvee substitution laws benefit the people?" He answered, "The laws are sound in principle, but when common people are forced to pay interest and cash in lieu of corvee, the burden of heavy levies cannot be avoided. Whether they should be used to finance state expenditure is beyond what I can judge." At that time the granary regulations were harsh. If a granary clerk took so little as a hundred cash, he was tattooed and enrolled as a soldier; prefectural clerks were subject to the same rule. Shenzong asked again, "Since this law was promulgated, do clerks still commit fraud?" He replied, "Highway robbery carries the death penalty, yet offenders remain numerous. How much more so when the punishment is only assignment to corvee? If people fear punishment but do not change within, then even among prefectural clerks I would not dare swear that none will offend." When the court debated restoring corporal mutilation as punishment, the matter was sent down to Yong. Yong memorialized, "To cut and mutilate human flesh does grave injury to humane rule. Emperor Wen of Han could not bear such a thing. Can Your Majesty?" Shenzong said, "The matter is still unsettled. I was waiting for you to decide it." In the end the proposal was not adopted.

復學士，知瀛州。河決，於貝、瀛、冀尤甚，民租以災免者，州縣懼常平法，征催如故。永連章論止，神宗從之，仍命發廩粟以振。白溝巡檢趙用以遼人漁界河，擅引兵北度，盪其族帳，遼持此兆釁，數暴邊上，神宗遣使問故，永請正用罪以謝，未報，遼屯兵連營互四十里，永好諭之曰：「疆吏冒禁，已置之獄矣，今何為者？」敵意解，但求醪Я犒師而旋。

He was restored to academician and appointed prefect of Yingzhou. The Yellow River burst its dikes. Bei, Ying, and Ji were hit hardest. Although land tax had been remitted because of the disaster, local officials, afraid of the Ever-Normal Granary rules, kept collecting and pressing for payment as before. Yong submitted repeated memorials demanding that the collections cease. Shenzong agreed and also ordered grain from the state granaries distributed in relief. Zhao Yong, patrol inspector at Baimao, saw Liao fishermen working the border river and on his own authority led troops north across the river to raid their camps. The Liao took this as a pretext for hostilities and repeatedly struck the frontier. Shenzong sent an envoy to inquire into the cause. Yong asked that Zhao Yong be punished according to law as an apology to Liao. Before any answer arrived, Liao troops camped in linked encampments stretching forty li. Yong reasoned with them gently: "The frontier official who broke the prohibition is already in prison. What is the purpose of this?" The Liao relented. They asked only for wine and provisions to reward their troops, then withdrew.

進樞密直學士、知開封府。呂嘉問言，吏欲使都人列肆輸錢以免直。下府詢究，曹椽以為便。永占書紙尾，不暇省。既乃行市易抵當法，貸民錢而為之期，有不能償而死者。神宗頗知之，嘉問妄變其名以罔聽。神宗慮立法未盡，詔永及韓維究實。永奏言：「市算下逮錐刀，為人患苦。」御史張琥劾永棄同即異，罷為提舉中太一宮。

He was promoted to Direct Academician of the Privy Council and appointed prefect of Kaifeng. Lü Jiawen reported that officials wanted shopkeepers throughout the capital to pay cash in place of corvee service. The proposal was referred to the prefectural office for investigation, and the bureau clerks judged it expedient. Yong initialed the bottom of the document without taking time to read it through. Only afterward was the market trade and pawn law implemented, lending money to common people on fixed terms. Some who could not repay died under the burden. Shenzong had some knowledge of this, but Jiawen changed the name of the scheme to mislead the throne. Concerned that the legislation was still incomplete, Shenzong ordered Yong and Han Wei to investigate the facts. Yong memorialized, "Market taxes reach even to knives and awls, causing the people great suffering." Censor Zhang Hu impeached Yong for agreeing with the policy and then turning against it. Yong was removed and made overseer of the Zhongtaiyi Palace.

元豐中，判軍器監。有司病皮革不給，嚴隱匿之科，亡賴輩肆情為訐，至婦人冠飾亦不免。永請聽人以所藏之善者售於官，得貸其餘，訐訟既息，國用亦濟。出知太原，且行，神宗訪以時務，永言：「近者造戎器倍常，外間謂將有事於征討。兵非輕用之物，原軫不戢自焚之戒。」神宗曰：「此備豫不虞，若四方安平，豈有輕動之理？卿言是也。」忻、代產鹽，苦惡不堪食，轉運使必欲理之，以盜販闌越之罪罪兵吏。永言：「鹽，民食也，不可禁；兵，武備也，不可闕。顧以惡鹽累防兵，非計也。」詔弛其禁。

During the Yuanfeng reign he served as vice director of the Directorate of Armaments. The offices complained of insufficient leather supplies and imposed harsh penalties for concealment. Idle troublemakers filed malicious accusations freely, so that even women's headdresses were not exempt. Yong asked that people be allowed to sell their best stored hides to the government and borrow against the remainder. Malicious lawsuits died down, and state needs were met as well. When he was sent to govern Taiyuan and was about to leave, Shenzong asked his view of current affairs. Yong said, "Recently weapons production has doubled the usual rate. Outside the palace people believe a campaign is coming. Arms are not to be used lightly. I beg Your Majesty to take to heart Yuanzhen's warning about failing to restrain oneself and destroying oneself in the end." Shenzong said, "This is precaution against the unforeseen. If the realm is at peace on every side, why would we act rashly? What you say is right." Salt from Xin and Dai was bitter and unfit to eat, yet the transport commissioner insisted on regulating it and punished frontier soldiers and clerks for smuggling and illegal crossing. Yong said, "Salt is the people's food and cannot be forbidden. Soldiers are the foundation of defense and cannot be neglected. To burden frontier troops over bad salt is no sound policy." An edict relaxed the prohibition.

永外和內勁，論議常持平，不求詭異。事或悖於理，雖逼以勢，亦不為屈。未嘗以矯亢形於色辭，與人交，終身無怨仇。范純仁、蘇頌皆稱之為國器。

Outwardly mild and inwardly firm, Yong usually argued from the middle ground and never courted the bizarre. When a matter violated reason, he would not bend even under pressure. He never wore haughtiness on his face or in his words, and in all his dealings he made no lifelong enemies. Fan Chunren and Su Song both called him material fit to sustain the state.

論曰：「宋之衰也，人才尚多。梁燾、王岩叟盡忠事上，凡有過舉，知無不言，雖或從或違，而隱然有虎豹在山之勢矣。第以新州之舉，於是為過。故他日紹聖復以藉口，使元祐眾賢皆罹其禍，由是再變而為宣、政之奸臣，國日危矣。鄭雍易其所守，肆擊劉摯，波及者三十人，欲結章惇以取容，然而終亦不免。小人反覆，專務自全，竟何益哉？孫永之為人，庶得其中焉。

The commentators say: "Even in Song's decline, men of talent were still plentiful. Liang Dao and Wang Yansou served the throne with complete loyalty. Whenever the court erred, they spoke without reserve. Whether heeded or rejected, they still carried, unseen, the force of tigers and leopards on the mountain. Only in the Xinzhou affair did they go too far. Later, in the Shaosheng era, that very episode became a pretext again, and the worthy men of Yuanyou were swept into calamity. From that point the court turned once more toward the corrupt ministers of the Xuanhe and Zhenghe reigns, and the state grew more perilous by the day. Zheng Yong abandoned his former principles, attacked Liu Zhi without restraint, and implicated thirty men, hoping to curry favor with Zhang Dun—yet in the end he could not save himself. Petty men turn with every wind and devote themselves only to self-preservation. What good does it do them in the end? In his character, Sun Yong may be said to have kept to the middle way.

Cite this Chapter