1
何灌李熙靖王雲譚世勣梅執禮程振劉延慶
He Guan, Li Xijing, Wang Yun, Tan Shiji, Mei Zhili, Cheng Zhen, and Liu Yanqing
2
何灌，字仲源，開封祥符人。 武選登第，為河東從事。 經略使韓縝雖數試其材，而常沮抑之，不假借。 久乃語之曰：「君奇士也，他日當據吾坐。」 為府州、火山軍巡檢。 盜蘇延福狡悍，為二邊患，灌親梟其首。 賈胡疃有泉，遼人常越境而汲，灌親申畫界堠，遏其來，忿而舉兵犯我。 灌迎高射之，發輒中，或著崖石皆沒鏃，敵驚以為神，逡巡斂去。 後三十年，契丹蕭太師與灌會，道曩事，數何巡檢神射，灌曰：「即灌是也。」 蕭矍然起拜。
He Guan, courtesy name Zhongyuan, was a native of Xiangfu in Kaifeng. He passed the military civil-service examination and became an aide in Hedong. Although the frontier commissioner Han Zhen repeatedly tested his abilities, he constantly held Guan back and gave him no backing. After a long while Han told him, "You are an extraordinary man; one day you will sit in my chair." Guan was appointed inspector of Fuzhou and the Huoshan Army. The bandit Su Yanfu was cunning and fierce and plagued both frontiers; Guan personally took his head. At Jiahu Tan there was a spring that Liao subjects often crossed the border to use. Guan personally laid out and marked the boundary to block them; enraged, they raised an army and attacked our territory. Guan met them from higher ground and shot; every arrow struck, and some buried in cliff rock to the fletching. The enemy took him for a god and withdrew after hesitating. Thirty years later the Khitan Grand Preceptor Xiao met Guan and spoke of old times, repeatedly asking about Inspector He's miraculous shooting. Guan said, "That was I." Xiao started up in alarm and bowed to him.
3
為河東將，與夏人遇，鐵騎來追，灌射皆徹甲，至洞胸出背，疊貫後騎，羌懼而引卻。 知甯化軍、豐州，徙熙河都監，見童貫不拜，貫憾焉。 張康國薦于徽宗，召對，問西北邊事，以笏畫禦榻，指坐衣花紋為形勢。 帝曰：「敵在吾目中矣。」
As a Hedong general he met the Xia; iron cavalry pursued him, and every shot Guan loosed pierced armor—some through the chest and out the back, skewering riders behind as well. The Qiang were terrified and withdrew. He served as prefect of Ninghua Army and Fengzhou, then was transferred to superintendent of the Xida River circuit. When he met Tong Guan he did not bow, and Tong resented it. Zhang Kangguo recommended him to Emperor Huizong. Summoned for audience, Guan was questioned on northwest frontier affairs; he traced on the imperial couch with his tablet and used the patterns on the emperor's robe to illustrate the terrain. The emperor said, "The enemy is plain before my eyes."
4
提點河東刑獄，遷西上閣門使、領威州刺史、知滄州。 以治城鄣功，轉引進使。 詔運粟三十萬石於並塞三州，灌言：「水淺不勝舟，陸當用車八千乘，沿邊方登麥，願以運費增價就糴之。」 奏上，報可。 安撫使忌之，劾雲板築未畢而冒賞，奪所遷官，仍再貶秩，罷去。
He was judicial intendant of Hedong, then promoted to West Upper Inner Gate Commissioner, acting prefect of Weizhou, and prefect of Cangzhou. For his work repairing walls and fortifications, he was promoted to Commissioner for Promotion of Merit. An edict ordered three hundred thousand shi of grain shipped to three frontier prefectures on the Bian line. Guan argued, "The water is too shallow for boats; overland would require eight thousand carts. Wheat is just coming up along the border—I ask that the transport costs be used instead to buy grain on the spot at a premium." He memorialized the court, and the proposal was approved. The pacification commissioner, jealous of him, impeached him for claiming rewards before the cloud-board fortifications were finished. Guan was stripped of his latest promotion, demoted again in rank, and removed from office.
5
未幾，知岷州，引邈川水溉間田千頃，湟人號廣利渠。 徙河州，復守岷，提舉熙河蘭湟弓箭手。 入言：「漢金城、湟中谷斛八錢，今西寧、湟、廓即其地也，漢、唐故渠尚可考。 若先葺渠引水，使田不病旱，則人樂應募，而射士之額足矣。」 從之。 甫半歲，得善田二萬六千頃，募士七千四百人，為他路最。 童貫用兵西邊，灌取古骨龍馬進武軍，加吉州防禦使，改知蘭州。 又攻仁多泉城，炮傷足不顧，卒拔城，斬首五百級。 尋改廓州防禦使。
Before long he was prefect of Minzhou. He diverted Miaochuan water to irrigate a thousand qing of dry fields; the people of Huang called the project the Broad Benefit Canal. He was transferred to Hezhou, then returned to hold Minzhou and was put in charge of the Xida River, Lan, and Huang archer militia. He went to court and said, "Under the Han, Jincheng and Huangzhong sold grain at eight cash per hu; present-day Xining, Huang, and Kuo occupy that same ground, and the old Han and Tang canals can still be traced. If we first repair the canals and bring in water so the fields are spared drought, people will gladly enlist and the archer quotas will be filled." The court agreed. In only half a year he brought under cultivation twenty-six thousand qing of good land and recruited seventy-four hundred men—the highest figure in any circuit. When Tong Guan campaigned in the west, Guan seized Gulong horses of antiquity for the Wujun Army, was made defense commissioner of Jizhou, and was reassigned as prefect of Lanzhou. He also attacked Renduo Spring city. A cannon ball wounded his foot, but he ignored it, finally stormed the city, and took five hundred heads. Soon afterward he was made defense commissioner of Kuo prefecture.
6
宣和初，劉法陷於敵，震武危甚，熙帥劉仲武使灌往救。 灌以眾寡不敵，但張虛聲駭之，夏人宵遁。 灌恐覘其實，遽反兵，仲武猶奏其逗遛，罷為淮西鈐轄。 從平方臘，獲賊帥呂師囊，遷同州觀察使、浙東都鈐轄，改浙西。
Early in the Xuanhe era Liu Fa was trapped by the enemy and Zhenwu was in grave peril; the Xida commander Liu Zhongwu sent Guan to relieve him. Outnumbered, Guan only spread false alarms to frighten them, and the Xia withdrew by night. Fearing the enemy would discover the truth, Guan hurriedly turned his army about. Zhongwu still reported him for stalling, and he was demoted to Huaixi command. He took part in suppressing Fang La, captured the rebel leader Lu Shinai, was made observation commissioner of Tongzhou and overall commander of eastern Zhe, then transferred to western Zhe.
7
童貫北征，檄統制兵馬，涿、易平，以知易州，遷甯武軍承宣使、燕山路副都總管，又加龍、神衛都指揮使。 夔離不取景州，圍薊州。 貫諉以兵事，即復景城，釋薊圍。 郭藥師統蕃、漢兵，灌白：「頃年折氏歸朝，朝廷別置一司，專部漢兵，至於克行，乃許同營。 今但宜令藥師主常勝軍，而以漢兵委灌輩。」 貫不聽。 召還，管幹步軍司。
On Tong Guan's northern campaign Guan was ordered to take overall command of the forces. Zhuo and Yi were pacified; he became prefect of Yi, was promoted to commissioner of the Ningwu Army and deputy overall commander of the Yan Mountain route, and was also made commander of the Dragon and Divine Guard. Aguda bypassed Jingzhou and besieged Jizhou. Guan took responsibility for the military situation, quickly recovered Jing city, and lifted the siege of Ji. Guo Yaoshi commanded both tribal and Han troops. Guan told him, "When the Zhe clan submitted in earlier years, the court set up a separate office to command Han troops alone; only under Kexing were the two allowed to camp together. Now Yaoshi should command only the Ever-Victorious Army, and the Han troops should be entrusted to me and my colleagues." Tong Guan would not listen. Recalled to court, he took charge of the Infantry Bureau.
8
陪遼使射玉津園，一發破的，再發則否。 客曰：「太尉不能耶？」 曰：「非也，以禮讓客耳。」 整弓復中之，觀者誦歎，帝親賜酒勞之。 遷步軍都虞候。
While accompanying Liao envoys at archery in Jade Ford Garden, his first shot struck the target; the second did not. A guest asked, "Cannot the Grand Marshal do it?" He replied, "No—I was simply yielding the honor to our guest." He strung his bow again and hit the mark. The onlookers exclaimed in admiration, and the emperor personally bestowed wine to reward him. He was promoted to deputy commander of the Infantry.
9
金師南下，悉出禁旅付梁方平守黎陽。 灌謂宰相白時中曰：「金人傾國遠至，其鋒不可當。 今方平掃精銳以北，萬有一不枝梧，何以善吾後，盍留以衛根本。」 不從，明日，又命灌行，辭以軍不堪戰，強之，拜武泰軍節度使、河東河北制置副使。 未及行而帝內禪，灌領兵入衛。 鄆王楷至門欲入，灌曰：「大事已定，王何所受命而來？」 導者懼而退。 灌竟行，援兵二萬不能足，聽募民充數。
When the Jin armies marched south, the entire palace guard was sent out under Liang Fangping to hold Liyang. Guan told the chief minister Bai Shizhong, "The Jin have thrown the whole kingdom into this expedition from far away; their momentum cannot be withstood. Fangping is now sweeping our best troops north. If they should fail to hold, how will we secure our rear? We ought to keep a force here to guard the capital itself." They did not listen. The next day Guan was ordered out again; he pleaded that his troops were unfit to fight but was overruled and appointed military commissioner of the Wutai Army and deputy commissioner for Hedong and Hebei. Before he could set out the emperor abdicated; Guan led his troops in to guard the capital. Prince Yun Cai came to the gate wishing to enter. Guan said, "The succession is already settled—under whose orders does Your Highness come?" The prince's attendants, alarmed, withdrew. Guan set out after all. He could not muster the promised twenty thousand reinforcements and was allowed to recruit civilians to fill the ranks.
10
靖康元年正月二日，次滑州，方平南奔，灌亦望風迎潰。 黃河南岸無一人禦敵，金師遂直叩京城。 灌至，乞入見，不許，而令控守西隅。 背城拒戰凡三日，被創，沒於陣，年六十二。 帳下韓綜、雷彥興，奇士也，各手殺數人，從以死。 欽宗哀悼，賜金帛，命官護葬。 已而言者論其不守河津，追削官秩。
On the second day of the first month of Jingkang 1 he encamped at Huazhou. Fangping fled south, and Guan too broke and ran at the first sign of defeat. Not a man on the south bank of the Yellow River stood to oppose them, and the Jin armies marched straight on the capital. When Guan reached the city he begged an audience but was refused and ordered to hold the western sector. With the city at his back he fought for three days, was wounded, and fell in battle at the age of sixty-two. Han Zong and Lei Yanxing under his command were men of rare valor; each killed several enemies with his own hand and died with him. Emperor Qinzong mourned him, granted gold and silk, and ordered officials to escort his burial. Later critics charged that he had failed to hold the river crossings, and his ranks were posthumously stripped.
11
長子薊，至閣門宣贊舍人。 從父戰，箭貫左臂，拔出之，病創死。 紹興四年，中子蘚以灌事泣訴於朝，詔復履正大夫、忠正軍承宣使。
His eldest son Ji rose to the post of Gate Proclamation Attendant. He fought at his father's side; an arrow pierced his left arm. He pulled it out and died of the wound. In Shaoxing 4 his middle son Xian wept before the court over his father's case; an edict restored Guan's ranks as Left Vice Minister of Works and commissioner of the Loyal and Upright Army.
12
李熙靖
Li Xijing
13
李熙靖，字子安，常州晉陵人，唐衛公德裕九世孫也。 祖均、父公弼皆進士第。 公弼，崇甯初通判潞州，以議三舍法不便，使者劾其沮格詔令，坐削黜以死。 熙靖擢第，又中詞學兼茂，選為辟雍錄、太學正，升博士。 以父老丐外，除提舉淮東學事便養，命下，乃得河東； 而為淮東者，臧祐之也。 蓋省吏取祐之賂，輒易之。 或教使自言，熙靖曰：「事君不擇地，吾其可發人之私，求自便也？」 宰相聞而賢之，留為兵部員外郎。 遭父憂去，還，為右司員外郎。
Li Xijing, courtesy name Zi'an, was a native of Jinling in Changzhou and a ninth-generation descendant of the Tang Duke of Wei, Li Deyu. His grandfather Jun and his father Gongbi had both passed the jinshi examination. Gongbi, early in the Chongning era, was vice-prefect of Luzhou. He argued that the Three Colleges law was unworkable; an envoy impeached him for obstructing imperial orders, and he was stripped of office and died in disgrace. Xijing passed the civil examination and also the erudite literary examination, was appointed recorder of the Imperial Academy and director of the National University, and was promoted to erudite. Because his father was elderly he asked for an outside post and was appointed to supervise educational affairs in Huaidong so he could care for his parents at home. When the appointment was issued, he had been given Hedong instead; the man who received Huaidong was Zang Youzhi. A clerk in the Secretariat had taken a bribe from Youzhi and simply swapped the two appointments. Someone urged him to report the matter himself. Xijing said, "In serving one's lord one does not choose the place—how could I expose another man's private wrongdoing for my own convenience?" The chief minister heard of this and admired him; Xijing was kept at court as vice director of the Ministry of War. He left office to mourn his father, then returned as vice director of the Right Office.
14
王黼乙太宰領應奉司，又方事燕雲，立經撫房於中書獨專之，他執政皆不得預。 熙靖與言曰：「應奉之職，非宰相所當預。 尚書、樞密皆有兵房，足以治疆事，經撫何為者哉？」 黼積不樂。 同列五人皆躐躋禁從，獨滯留四年。 都水丞失職，移過於熙靖，貶其兩秩，又將左轉為國子司業，執政交言不可，僅遷太常少卿。 黼罷，乃拜中書舍人，蔡攸又惡之，出知拱州。
Wang Fu had stepped down as Grand Chancellor but still headed the Imperial Offerings Office. He was then pursuing the Yan-Yun campaign and set up a frontier pacification office within the Secretariat that he alone controlled; the other chief ministers were excluded. Xijing told him, "The duties of the Imperial Offerings Office are not what a chief minister should take on. The Ministry and the Bureau of Military Affairs each have military sections fully able to handle frontier affairs—what need is there for a separate pacification office?" Fu grew steadily more displeased with him. Five colleagues all vaulted into palace attendance posts while he alone was held back for four years. When the director of waterways lost his post he shifted the blame to Xijing, who was demoted two ranks and slated for transfer to director of the National University. The chief ministers protested that this was unacceptable, and he was moved only to vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. After Fu fell from power Xijing was made a Secretariat drafter, but Cai You also disliked him and he was sent out as prefect of Gongzhou.
15
越兩月，復以故官召，入對言：「燕山雖定，宜益謹思患豫防之戒。」 徽宗曰：「《詩》所謂'迨天之未陰雨，徹彼桑土，綢繆牖戶'者是也。」 熙靖進曰：「孔子云：'為此詩者，其知道乎！ 能治其國家，誰敢侮之？ '願陛下為無疆之計。」 帝嘉之。
Two months later he was recalled to his former post. At audience he said, "Though Yan Mountain is settled, we should be all the more careful to heed the warning to think of trouble before it comes and take preventive measures." Emperor Huizong said, "That is what the Odes mean: 'Before the sky has darkened with rain, gather mulberry bark and bind up the windows and doors.'" Xijing went on, "Confucius said of that ode, 'Its author knew the Way! He who can govern his state well—who would dare insult him? I pray Your Majesty will plan for lasting security. The emperor commended him.
16
靖康初，同譚世勣事龍德宮，改顯謨閣待制、提舉醴泉觀。 道君待之甚厚，常從容及內禪事，曰：「外人以為吳敏功，殊不知此自出吾意耳，吾苟不欲，人言且滅族，誰敢哉？ 或謂吾似唐睿宗上畏天戒，故為之，吾有此心久矣。」 熙靖再拜賀。 敏聞而忌之，以進對不時受罰。
Early in the Jingkang era he served at Longde Palace together with Tan Shiji, was made attendant of the Xianmo Hall, and put in charge of the Liquan Abbey. The Retired Emperor treated him with great favor and often spoke calmly of his abdication, saying, "Outsiders credit Wu Min, but they do not know this came from my own wish. If I had not wanted it, rumor would have destroyed my whole clan—who would have dared oppose me? Some say I resemble Tang Ruizong, who abdicated in awe of heaven's warning—but I have had this intention for a long time." Xijing bowed twice in congratulation. When Min heard of this he grew jealous and had Xijing punished for presenting himself at audience at an improper time.
17
既拒張邦昌之命，憂憤廢食，家人進粥藥寬譬之，終無生意。 故人視其病，相持啜泣，索筆書唐王維所賦「百官何日再朝天」之句，明日遂卒，年五十三，與世勣同贈端明殿學士。
After he refused Zhang Bangchang's summons he was consumed by grief and anger and would not eat. His family brought porridge and medicine to comfort him, but he had no will to live. An old friend came to see him in his illness; they embraced and wept. He asked for a brush and wrote Wang Wei's line, "When will the hundred officials again bow at dawn court?" He died the next day at fifty-three; he and Shiji were both posthumously made academicians of the Duanming Hall.
18
王雲，字子飛，澤州人。 父獻可，仕至英州刺史、知瀘州。 黃庭堅謫於涪，獻可遇之甚厚，時人稱之。 雲舉進士，從使高麗，撰《雞林志》以進。 擢秘書省校書郎，出知簡州，遷陝西轉運副使。 宣和中，從童貫宣撫幕，入為兵部員外郎、起居中書舍人。
Wang Yun, courtesy name Zifei, was a native of Zezhou. His father Xiankhe rose to prefect of Yingzhou and administrator of Luzhou. When Huang Tingjian was exiled to Fu, Xiankhe treated him with great kindness, and contemporaries praised him for it. Yun passed the jinshi examination, accompanied an embassy to Goryeo, and composed the Record of Goguryeo, which he presented to the throne. He was promoted to collator in the Secretariat, served as prefect of Jianzhou, and was transferred to vice transport commissioner of Shaanxi. During the Xuanhe era he served on Tong Guan's pacification staff, then entered court as vice director of the Ministry of War and Secretariat drafter for imperial audiences.
19
靖康元年，以給事中使斡離不軍，議割三鎮以和。 使還，傳道斡離不之意，以為黏罕得朝廷所與餘睹蠟書，堅雲中國不可信，欲敗和約。 執政以為不然，罷為徽猷閣待制、知唐州。
In Jingkang 1 he was sent as supervising secretary to Wanyan Zonghan's camp to negotiate ceding the three prefectures in exchange for peace. On his return he reported Zonghan's message: Aguda had obtained a wax-sealed letter from the court to Yelü Yu and insisted that the Song could not be trusted, intending to break the peace treaty. The chief ministers disagreed and demoted him to attendant of the Xianyou Hall and prefect of Tangzhou.
20
金人陷太原，召拜刑部尚書，再出使，許以三鎮賦入之數。 雲至真定，遣從吏李裕還言：「金人不復求地，但索五輅及上尊號，且須康王來，和好乃成。」 欽宗悉從之，且命王及馮澥往。 未行，而車輅至長垣，為所卻，雲亦還。 澥奏言雲誕妄誤國，雲言：「事勢中變，金人必欲得三鎮，不然，則進兵取汴都。」 中外震駭，詔集百官議，雲固言：「康王舊與斡離不結歡，宜將命。」 帝慮為所留，雲曰：「和議既成，必無留王之理，臣敢以百口保之。」 王遂受命，而雲以資政殿學士為之副。
When the Jin captured Taiyuan he was recalled as Minister of Justice and sent on another embassy, offering the tax revenue of the three prefectures. Yun reached Zhending and sent his attendant Li Yu back with word that the Jin no longer demanded territory but wanted the five imperial carriages and an exalted title for the emperor, and that the Prince of Kang must come before peace could be made. Emperor Qinzong agreed to everything and ordered Wang and Feng Xie to go as well. Before they could set out the imperial carriages reached Changyuan and were turned back, and Yun returned as well. Feng memorialized that Yun's fabrications had harmed the state. Yun said, "The situation has changed—the Jin will certainly demand the three prefectures, or they will advance on the capital at Bian." Court and country were shaken. An edict summoned all officials to deliberate. Yun insisted, "The Prince of Kang once won Zonghan's favor and should carry the mission." The emperor feared the prince would be detained. Yun said, "Once peace is made there will be no grounds to hold him—I stake the lives of my entire household on it." The prince accepted the commission, with Yun as his deputy in the rank of academician of the Zizheng Hall.
21
頃雲奉使過磁、相，勸兩郡徹近城民舍，運粟入保，為清野之計，民怨之。 及是，次磁州，又與守臣宗澤有憾。 於是王出謁嘉應神祠，雲在後，民遮道諫曰：「肅王已為金人所留，王不宜北去。」 厲聲指雲曰：「清野之人，真奸賊也。」 王出廟行，或發雲笥，得烏絁短巾，蓋雲夙有風眩疾，寢則以護首者。 民益信其為奸，噪而殺之。 王見事勢洶洶，乃南還相州。 是役也，雲不死，王必北行，議者以是驗天命雲。 建炎初，贈觀文殿學士。
Earlier, on embassy, Yun had passed through Ci and Xiang and urged both prefectures to clear dwellings near the cities, move grain into the forts, and adopt a scorched-earth strategy—the people resented him for it. On this journey he halted at Cizhou and again bore a grudge against the defending official Zong Ze. The prince went out to pay respects at the Jiaying Spirit Shrine with Yun behind him. The people blocked the road and pleaded, "Prince Su was already detained by the Jin—Your Highness must not go north." They pointed at Yun and shouted, "The man who ordered the scorched earth—he is a true traitor!" As the prince left the shrine someone opened Yun's trunk and found a black silk headcloth—Yun had long suffered from vertigo and wore it to protect his head when he slept. The crowd was convinced he was a traitor, raised a clamor, and killed him. Seeing the uproar, the prince turned south and returned to Xiangzhou. Had Yun not died on this mission, the prince would surely have gone north; commentators took his death as proof that Heaven had intervened through Yun. Early in the Jianyan era he was posthumously made academician of the Guanwen Hall.
22
雲兄霽，崇甯時，為謀議司詳議官，上書告蔡京罪，黥隸海島。 欽宗復其官，從種師中戰死。
Yun's elder brother Ji, during the Chongning era, served as a detailed reviewer in the Policy Deliberation Office. He memorialized accusing Cai Jing of crimes and was tattooed and exiled to a sea island. Emperor Qinzong restored his rank; he followed Zhong Shizhong and died in battle.
23
譚世勣
Tan Shiji
24
譚世勣字彥成，潭州長沙人。 第進士，教授郴州。 時王氏學盛行，世勣雅不喜。 或問之，曰：「說多而屢變，無不易之論也。」 置其書不觀。 又中詞學兼茂科，除秘書省正字。 時相蔡京子攸領書局，同舍郎多翕附以取貴仕。 世勣獨坐直廬，繙書竟日。 梁師成之客與為鄰居，數致師成願交意，謝不答。
Tan Shiji, courtesy name Yancheng, was a native of Changsha in Tanzhou. He passed the jinshi examination and served as instructor at Chenzhou. Wang Anshi's school was then in vogue, but Shiji had never cared for it. When asked about it he said, "Too many doctrines and too many changes—there is no teaching that does not shift." He set their books aside and would not read them. He also passed the erudite literary examination and was appointed collator in the Secretariat. The chief minister's son Cai You headed the book bureau, and many colleagues curried favor with him to win high office. Shiji alone sat in the duty lodge reading books all day. A client of Liang Shicheng lived nearby and repeatedly conveyed Liang's wish for friendship; Shiji declined.
25
在館六年不遷，京罷，用久次為司門員外郎。 又三年，遷吏部。 京復相，嫌不附己，罷提點太平宮。 久之，復還吏部。 幸臣妄引恩澤任子，持不與。 吏白有某例，世勣曰：「豈當以暫例破成法！」 已而取中旨行之。 進少府監，擢中書舍人，以謹命令、惜名器、廣言路、吝賜予、正上供、省浮費六事言於上，又為當路所嫉。 以徽猷閣待制知婺州，未行，復留之。
After six years in the lodge without promotion, when Cai Jing fell he was appointed vice director of the Gate Office by seniority. Three years later he was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel. When Cai Jing returned to power he resented Shiji's independence and dismissed him to supervise the Taiping Palace. After a long while he was restored to the Ministry of Personnel. A favored minister tried to use imperial favor to appoint his son; Shiji refused. A clerk cited a precedent. Shiji said, "How can a temporary precedent overturn established law!" Soon afterward they obtained an inner edict and carried it out anyway. Promoted to director of the Palace Workshops and then to Secretariat drafter, he addressed the throne on six matters—strict enforcement of orders, respect for official titles, a broader avenue of remonstrance, restraint in grants, correction of tribute, and reduction of waste—and again earned the jealousy of those in power. He was appointed attendant of the Xianyou Hall and prefect of Wuzhou, but before he could leave he was kept at court.
26
徽宗禪位東幸，且還，使與李熙靖副執政奉迎，遂同主管龍德宮。 請辨正宣仁國史之謗，述欽聖遺旨以復瑤華，大享神祖仍用富弼侑食，釋奠先聖不當以王安石配，後皆施行。
When Emperor Huizong abdicated, traveled east, and then returned, Shiji and Li Xijing were made deputies to the chief ministers to welcome him and together took charge of Longde Palace. He petitioned to correct the slanders in the national history concerning Empress Xuanren, cited Empress Qinsheng's testament to restore Yaohua, argued that great sacrifices to Shenzong should still use Fu Bi as companion spirit, and that Wang Anshi should not share the sage's altar—all were later adopted.
27
秋七月，彗出東方，大臣或謂此四夷將衰之兆，世勣面奏：「垂象可畏，當修德以應天，不宜惑諛說。」 進給事中兼侍讀。 內侍喧爭殿門，詔以贖論，世勣駁其不恭，因言：「童貫輩初亦甚微，小惡不懲，將馴至大患。」 疏入，同類側目。 何栗建議分外郡為四道，置都總管，事得顓決。 世勣言：「裂天下以付四人，而王畿所治者才十六縣，獨無尾大不掉之慮乎？」 栗不樂。 改禮部侍郎。
In the seventh month a comet appeared in the east. Some ministers said it foretold the decline of the barbarians. Shiji addressed the throne: "Heaven's signs are alarming—we should cultivate virtue to answer Heaven, not be misled by flattery." He was promoted to supervising secretary and concurrent reader-in-waiting. Inner attendants quarreled loudly at the palace gate; an edict proposed handling the matter with fines. Shiji objected to their disrespect and said, "Men like Tong Guan were once insignificant too—if small offenses go unpunished, great disasters will follow." When his memorial was submitted, his peers glared at him. He Li proposed dividing the outer prefectures into four circuits, each with an overall commander empowered to decide affairs on his own. Shiji said, "To split the realm among four men while the capital district governs only sixteen counties—do we not fear a tail too heavy to control?" He Li was displeased. He was transferred to vice minister of Rites.
28
金騎駸駸南下，世勣言：「守邊為上策； 今邊不得守，守河則京畿自固，中策也； 巡幸江、淮，會東南兵以捍敵，下策也。 金人既渡河，又請遣大將秦元以所部京畿保甲，分護國門，使兵勢連屬，首尾相援，即金人不敢逼。 孫傅深然之，又格于栗議。 再扈車駕至金帥帳，以十害說其用事者，言講解之利，詞意忠激，金人聳聽。
As Jin cavalry pressed south in waves, Shiji said, "Holding the frontier is the best strategy; now that the frontier cannot be held, holding the Yellow River will secure the capital region—the middle strategy; touring the Yangzi and Huai and gathering southeast troops to resist the enemy—the worst strategy. After the Jin crossed the river he again asked that the general Qin Yuan be sent with his capital-region militia to guard the city gates in sections so forces could link up from end to end—then the Jin would not dare press the city. Sun Fu strongly agreed, but the plan was blocked by He Li's opposition. He again accompanied the imperial carriage to the Jin commander's tent, laid out ten harms to persuade their leaders, and argued the benefits of negotiation with loyal, impassioned words that made the Jin listen intently.
29
張邦昌僭國，令與李熙靖同直學士院，皆稱疾臥不起，以憂卒，年五十四。 建炎初，褒其守節，贈端明殿學士。
When Zhang Bangchang usurped the throne he ordered Shiji and Li Xijing to serve together in the Hanlin Academy. Both claimed illness and refused to rise; Shiji died of grief at fifty-four. Early in the Jianyan era his steadfast integrity was praised and he was posthumously made academician of the Duanming Hall.
30
梅執禮
Mei Zhili
31
梅執禮，字和勝，婺州浦江人。 第進士，調常山尉未赴，以薦為敕令刪定官、武學博士。 大司成強淵明賢其人，為宰相言，相以未嘗識面為慊。 執禮聞之曰：「以人言而得，必以人言而失，吾求在我者而已。」 卒不往謁。
Mei Zhili, courtesy name Hesheng, was a native of Pujiang in Wuzhou. He passed the jinshi examination and was assigned as assistant magistrate of Changshan but did not take up the post. By recommendation he became an editor of imperial commands and doctor of the Military Academy. The grand director Qiang Yuanming admired him and spoke of him to the chief minister, who regretted that he had never met him. Zhili heard this and said, "What is gained through others' words can be lost through others' words—I rely only on what is in myself." In the end he never went to pay his respects.
32
曆軍器、鴻臚丞，比部員外郎，比部職勾稽財貨，文牘山委，率不暇經目。 苑吏有持茶券至為錢三百萬者，以楊戩旨意迫取甚急。 執禮一閱，知其妄，欲白之，長貳疑不敢，乃獨列上，界詐也。 改度支、吏部，進國子司業兼資善堂翊善，遷左司員外郎，擢中書舍人、給事中。
He served in the Armory and Honglu bureaus, then as vice director of the Revenue Section, whose duty was to audit goods and funds. Documents piled up like mountains and he generally had no time to read them all. A park clerk presented a tea certificate worth three million cash and, on Yang Kai's orders, pressed for payment with great urgency. Zhili read it once and saw it was fraudulent. His superiors hesitated to report it, so he memorialized alone that it was a false claim. He was transferred to Revenue and Personnel, promoted to vice director of the National University and concurrent tutor of the Zishan Hall, moved to vice director of the Left Office, and elevated to Secretariat drafter and supervising secretary.
33
林攄以前執政赴闕宿留，冀復故職，執禮論去之。 孟昌齡居鄆質人屋，當贖不肯與，而請中旨奪之，外郡卒留役中都者萬數，肆不逞為奸，詔悉令還，楊戩占不遣； 內侍張佑董葺太廟，僭求賞：皆駁奏弗行。 遷禮部侍郎。
Lin Shu, a former chief minister, came to court and lingered, hoping to recover his old post; Zhili argued for his dismissal. Meng Changling occupied a house in Yun pledged to a creditor and, when it should have been redeemed, refused to yield it and sought an inner edict to seize it. Tens of thousands of soldiers from outer prefectures left on service in the capital ran riot—an edict ordered them all sent home, but Yang Kai held them back; the inner attendant Zhang You supervised repairs to the Imperial Ancestral Temple and presumptuously sought a reward—Zhili memorialized against each request and none was granted. He was transferred to vice minister of Rites.
34
素與王黼善，黼嘗置酒其第，誇示園池妓妾之盛，有驕色。 執禮曰：「公為宰相，當與天下同憂樂。 今方臘流毒吳地，瘡痍未息，是豈歌舞宴樂時乎？」 退又戒之以詩。 黼愧怒，會孟饗原廟後至，以顯謨閣待制知蘄州，又奪職。
He had long been on good terms with Wang Fu, who once gave a banquet at Zhili's residence and displayed the splendor of his gardens, ponds, and courtesans with evident pride. Zhili said, "As chief minister you should share the realm's joys and sorrows. Fang La's poison still ravages Wu, and the wounds have not healed—is this a time for song, dance, and feasting?" On leaving he admonished him again in verse. Fu was shamed and angry. When Zhili arrived late after the Meng sacrifice at the original temple he was demoted to attendant of the Xianmo Hall and prefect of Qizhou, then stripped of office again.
35
明年，徙滁州，復集英殿修撰。 時賦鹽虧額，滁亦苦抑配。 執禮曰：「郡不能當蘇、杭一邑，而食鹽乃倍粟數，民何以堪？」 請於朝，詔損二十萬，滁人德之。
The next year he was transferred to Chuzhou and restored as compiler of the Jiying Hall. At the time the salt tax fell short of its quota, and Chuzhou also suffered from forced allotment. Zhili said, "This prefecture cannot equal a single district of Suzhou or Hangzhou, yet the salt levy doubles the grain quota—how can the people bear it?" He petitioned the court; an edict reduced the levy by two hundred thousand, and the people of Chuzhou were grateful.
36
欽宗立，徙知鎮江府，召為翰林學士，道除吏部尚書，旋改戶部。 方軍興，調度不足，執禮請以禁內錢隸有司，凡六宮廩給，皆由度支乃得下。 嘗有小黃門持中批詣部取錢，而封識不用璽，既悟其失，復取之。 執禮奏審，詔責典寶夫人而杖黃門。
When Emperor Qinzong ascended the throne he was transferred to Zhenjiang, summoned as Hanlin academician, appointed Minister of Personnel en route, then soon transferred to Minister of Revenue. With war under way, funds ran short. Zhili asked that palace funds be placed under the regular offices so that all provisions for the six palaces would pass through the Revenue Bureau before release. Once a minor palace attendant came to the ministry with an inner draft to withdraw money, but the seal did not bear the imperial seal. Realizing the error, he took the draft back. Zhili memorialized for investigation; an edict rebuked the keeper of the seals and had the attendant beaten.
37
金人圍京都，執禮勸帝親征，而請太上帝后、皇后、太子皆出避，用事者沮之。 洎失守，金人質天子，邀金帛以數百千萬計，曰：「和議已定，但所需滿數，則奉天子還闕。」 執禮與同列陳知質、程振、安扶皆主根索，四人哀民力已困，相與謀曰：「金人所欲無藝極，雖銅鐵亦不能給，盍以軍法結罪，儻窒其求。」 而宦者挾宿怨語金帥曰：「城中七百萬戶，所取未百一，但許民持金銀換粟麥，當有出者。」 已而果然。 酋怒，呼四人責之，對曰：「天子蒙塵，臣民皆願致死，雖肝腦不計，于金繒何有哉？ 顧比屋枵空，亡以塞命耳。」 酋問官長何在，振恐執禮獲罪，遂前曰：「皆官長也。」 酋益怒，先取其副胡舜陟、胡唐老、姚舜明、王俁，各杖之百。 執禮等猶為之請，俄遣還，將及門，呼下馬撾殺之，而梟其首，時靖康二年二月也。 是日，天宇晝冥，士庶皆隕涕憤歎。
When the Jin besieged the capital Zhili urged the emperor to take the field in person and asked that the Retired Emperor, the empress, and the crown prince all withdraw to safety—those in power blocked the plan. When the city fell the Jin held the emperor hostage and demanded gold and silk in the tens of millions, saying, "Peace is already settled—once the full sum is paid we will return the Son of Heaven to the palace." Zhili and his colleagues Chen Zhizhi, Cheng Zhen, and An Fu all headed the search for funds. Grieving that the people were exhausted, the four plotted together: "The Jin demands are boundless—even copper and iron could not satisfy them. Why not fix guilt under military law and perhaps block their demands?" But eunuchs bearing old grudges told the Jin commander, "The city holds seven million households—you have taken less than one in a hundred. Allow the people to exchange gold and silver for grain and wheat and they will come forward." Before long it proved true. The chieftain was furious and summoned the four to rebuke them. They replied, "The Son of Heaven suffers in the dust—ministers and people alike would die for him without counting liver or brain; what of gold and silk? Only every household is hollow and empty—there is nothing with which to fulfill your command." The chieftain asked where the chief officials were. Zhen, fearing Zhili would bear the blame alone, stepped forward and said, "We are all chief officials." The chieftain grew still angrier and first seized his deputies Hu Shunzhi, Hu Tanglao, Yao Shunming, and Wang Hou, caning each a hundred strokes. Zhili and the others still pleaded for them. They were soon sent back, but as they neared the gate they were called down from their horses, beaten to death, and their heads displayed—it was the second month of Jingkang 2. That day the sky darkened at noon; scholars and commoners alike wept in grief and outrage.
38
初，車駕再出，執禮與宗室子昉、諸將吳革等謀集兵奪萬勝門，夜搗金帥帳，迎二帝以歸。 而王時雍、徐秉哲使範瓊泄其謀，故不克。 死時，年四十九。 高宗即位，詔贈通奉大夫、端明殿學士。 議者以為薄，復加資政殿學士。
Earlier, when the imperial carriage went out again, Zhili joined the imperial clansman Zifang and the generals Wu Ge and others in a plot to gather troops, seize the Wansheng Gate, raid the Jin commander's tent by night, and bring the two emperors home. But Wang Shiyong and Xu Bingzhe had Fan Qiong betray the plot, and it failed. He was forty-nine when he died. When Emperor Gaozong ascended the throne, an edict posthumously granted Zhili the rank of Senior Grandee of the Court for Imperial Offerings and made him academician of the Duanming Hall. Critics thought the reward too modest, and he was further made academician of the Zizheng Hall.
39
程振，字伯起，饒州樂平人。 少有軼材，入太學，一時名輩多從之遊。 徽宗幸學，以諸生右職除官，為辟雍錄，升博士，遷太常博士，提舉京東、西路學事。 請立廟于鄒祀孟軻，以公孫醜、萬章、樂正克等配食，從之。
Cheng Zhen, courtesy name Boqi, was a native of Leping in Raozhou. As a youth he showed outstanding talent. He entered the National University, and many celebrated men of the day sought his company. When Emperor Huizong visited the university, Zhen was appointed from among the students to a senior post, became recorder of the Imperial Academy, was promoted to erudite, transferred to erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and supervised educational affairs in eastern and western Jing. He petitioned to establish a temple at Zou to sacrifice to Mencius, with Gongsun Chou, Wan Zhang, Yuezheng Ke, and others as companion spirits at the altar, and the court agreed.
40
提舉京西常平，入為膳部員外郎、監察御史、辟雍國子司業、左司員外郎兼太子舍人。 始至，即言：「古者大祭禮登餕受爵，必以上嗣，既《禮經》所載，且元豐彝典具存。 昨天子展事明堂，而殿下不預，非所以尊宗廟、重社稷也。」 太子矍然曰：「宮僚初無及此者。」 由是特加獎異。
He supervised the Ever-Normal Granaries of western Jing, then entered court as vice director of the Provisions Bureau, investigating censor, vice director of the National University at the Imperial Academy, and vice director of the Left Office concurrent with attendant to the crown prince. As soon as he took up his post he said, "In antiquity at the great sacrifice, when the offering was set out and wine received, it had to be the eldest heir—this is recorded in the Book of Rites, and the Yuanfeng canonical regulations still stand intact. Yesterday the Son of Heaven performed the rites at the Bright Hall while Your Highness did not take part—this is not how to honor the ancestral temple and esteem the altars of soil and grain." The crown prince started and said, "None of my palace staff had ever raised this before." From this he won special praise and favor.
41
方臘起，振謂王黼宜乘此時建革天下弊事，以上當天意，下順人心。 黼不懌，曰：「上且疑黼挾寇，奈何？」 振知黼忌其言，趨而出，然太子薦之甚力，遂擢給事中。 黼白振資淺，且雅長書命，請以為中書舍人。 侍郎馮熙載出知亳州，黼怨熙載，欲振詆以醜語，振不肯。 黼使言者劾為黨，罷提舉沖佑觀。 居三年，復還故官。
When Fang La rose, Zhen told Wang Fu he should seize the moment to reform the abuses of the realm, answering Heaven above and winning the people below. Fu was displeased and said, "His Majesty already suspects me of using the rebels for my own ends—what can I do?" Zhen knew Fu resented his words and hurried out, but the crown prince strongly recommended him and he was elevated to supervising secretary. Fu told the court that Zhen's qualifications were shallow and that he excelled at drafting documents, and asked that he be made a Secretariat drafter instead. Vice Minister Feng Xizai was sent out as prefect of Bozhou. Fu resented him and wanted Zhen to slander him with ugly words, but Zhen refused. Fu had critics impeach him as a factionalist, and he was dismissed to supervise the Chongyou Abbey. After three years he was restored to his former office.
42
靖康元年，進吏部侍郎，為欽宗言：「柄臣不和，論議多駁，詔令輕改，失於事幾。 金人交兵半歲，而至今不解者，以和戰之說未一故也。 裁抑濫賞，如白黑易分，而數月之間，三變其議，以私心不除，各蔽其黨故也。 今日一人言之，以為是而行； 明日一人言之，以為非而止。 或聖斷隃度而不暇疇咨，或大臣偏見而遂形播告，所以動未必善，處未必宜，乃輒為之反汗，其勢不得不爾也。」
In Jingkang 1 he was promoted to vice minister of Personnel and told Emperor Qinzong, "The power-holders are not in harmony, deliberations are constantly overturned, and edicts are lightly changed—opportunities are lost. The Jin have been at war for half a year and the conflict remains unresolved because the court cannot agree on peace or war. Restraining excessive rewards should be as clear as black and white, yet within a few months the policy changed three times because private motives were not removed and each faction sheltered its own. Today one man speaks and it is thought right and carried out; tomorrow another speaks and it is thought wrong and stopped. Sometimes the emperor decides in secret without time for broad consultation; sometimes a minister's bias is broadcast as policy—so actions are not necessarily sound, measures not necessarily fitting, and edicts are repeatedly reversed. The situation cannot be otherwise."
43
時金兵至河北，振請糾諸道兵掎角擊之，曰：「彼猖獗如此，陛下尚欲守和議，而不使之少有懲艾乎？」 上嗟味其言，而牽於外廷，不能用。 拜開封尹。 故時，大辟有情可矜，多奏取原貸； 崇寧以來，議者謂輦轂先彈壓，率便文殺之。 振請復舊制。 詔捕亡命卒，得數千人，振請以隸步軍而除其罪。 步軍司欲論如法，振曰：「方多事之際，而一日殺數千人，必大駭觀聽。」 乃盡釋之。 改刑部侍郎。
When Jin troops reached Hebei, Zhen asked to gather troops from all circuits to strike them from converging angles. He said, "They are so rampant—does Your Majesty still wish to cling to peace and deny them even a little punishment?" The emperor sighed over his words but was constrained by the outer court and could not act on them. He was appointed prefect of Kaifeng. In former times, for capital crimes where mercy was possible, many were memorialized for pardon; but since the Chongning era critics argued that the capital must be suppressed first and generally expedited execution by document. Zhen asked to restore the old system. An edict ordered fugitive soldiers captured; several thousand were taken. Zhen asked to assign them to the Infantry and remit their crimes. The Infantry Bureau wished to judge them according to law. Zhen said, "At a time of crisis, to kill several thousand men in one day would greatly alarm the public." They were all released. He was transferred to vice minister of Punishments.
44
金騎在郊，邀車駕出城，振為何栗言：「宜思所以折之之策。」 栗不從。 未幾，及於難，年五十七。 金人去，從子庭訪得其首歸葬之。 初，王黼使其客沈積中圖燕，振戒以後禍，積中懼而言不可。 既而振乃用是死，聞者痛之。
Jin cavalry were in the suburbs and demanded the imperial carriage leave the city. Zhen told He Li, "We must devise a strategy to rebuff them." He Li would not listen. Before long he met calamity at the age of fifty-seven. After the Jin departed, his nephew Ting recovered his head and brought it home for burial. Earlier Wang Fu had his client Shen Jizhong plot the Yan campaign. Zhen warned of future disaster, and Jizhong, afraid, said it could not be done. Yet in the end Zhen died for this very cause, and those who heard of it grieved.
45
初，宣和崇道家之說，振侍坐東宮，從容言：「孔子以《鴟鴞》之詩為知道，其詞不過曰'迨天之未陰雨，綢繆牖戶'而已。 老子亦云：'為之於未有，治之於未亂。 '今不固根本於無事之時，而事目前區區，非二聖人意。」 他日，太子為徽宗道之。 徽宗寤，頗欲去健羨，疏左右近習，而宦寺楊戩輩方大興宮室，懼不得肆，因讒家令楊馮，以為將輔太子幸非常。 徽宗震怒，執馮誅之，而太子之言亦廢。 振尹京時，兩宮方困於惎間，振極意彌縫，治龍德梁忻獄，寬其罪，不使有纖介可指。
Earlier, in the Xuanhe era Daoist teachings were honored. Attending the Eastern Palace, Zhen said calmly, "Confucius took the ode 'Owl' as knowing the Way; its words are no more than 'Before the sky has darkened with rain, bind up the windows and doors. Laozi also said, 'Act when it does not yet exist; govern when disorder has not yet arisen.' If we do not secure the foundation in a time of peace but attend only to petty present matters, this is not the intent of the two sages." Another day the crown prince reported this to Emperor Huizong. Huizong took the point and wished to cut excess and distance his close attendants, but eunuchs like Yang Kai were building palaces on a grand scale and feared they would lose their freedom. They slandered the household steward Yang Feng, claiming he would help the crown prince seize power irregularly. Huizong was furious, seized Feng and executed him, and the crown prince's counsel was abandoned as well. When Zhen was prefect of Kaifeng the two palaces were troubled by mutual suspicion. He did his utmost to mend matters, handled the Longde and Liang Xin case, lightened the offenses, and left no fault that could be seized upon.
46
劉延慶
Liu Yanqing
47
劉延慶，保安軍人。 世為將家，雄豪有勇，數從西伐，立戰功，積官至相州觀察使、龍神衛都指揮使、鄜延路總管。 遷泰寧軍節度觀察留後，改承宣使。 破夏人成德軍，擒其酋賞屈，降王子益麻党征。 拜保信軍節度使、馬軍副都指揮使。 從童貫平方臘，節度河陽三城。 又從北伐，以宣撫都統制督兵十萬，渡白溝。
Liu Yanqing was a native of Bao'an Army. His family had been military men for generations. Bold and brave, he took part in several western campaigns, won battle honors, and rose to observation commissioner of Xiangzhou, commander of the Dragon and Divine Guard, and overall commander of the Fuyan route. He was transferred to military commissioner and observation regent of the Taining Army, then made a commissioner. He defeated the Xia at Chengde Army, captured their chieftain Shangqu, and received the surrender of the prince Yima Dangzheng. He was appointed military commissioner of the Baoxin Army and deputy commander of the Cavalry. He followed Tong Guan in suppressing Fang La and served as military commissioner of the three cities of Heyang. He again joined the northern campaign as overall commander of the pacification forces, leading one hundred thousand troops across the Bai Gou.
48
延慶行軍無紀律，郭藥師扣馬諫曰：「今大軍拔隊行而不設備，若敵人置伏邀擊，首尾不相應，則望塵決潰矣。」 不聽。 至良鄉，遼將蕭幹帥眾來，延慶與戰，敗績，遂閉壘不出。 藥師曰：「幹兵不過萬人，今悉力拒伐，燕山必虛，願得奇兵五千，倍道襲取，令公之子三將軍簡師為後繼。」 延慶許之，遣大將高世宣與藥師先行，即入燕城，幹舉精甲三千巷戰。 三將軍者，光世也。
Yanqing marched without discipline. Guo Yaoshi seized his horse and remonstrated, "The great army is marching in column without precautions. If the enemy sets an ambush, the van and rear cannot support each other and the troops will break at the first sign of dust." Yanqing would not listen. At Liangxiang the Liao general Xiao Gan led his forces against him. Yanqing fought and was defeated, then shut himself in the fort and would not come out. Yaoshi said, "Gan's troops number no more than ten thousand. He is exerting all his strength to resist us, so Yan Mountain must be empty. Give me five thousand picked troops to march by forced stages and seize it, with your son the Third General Jian leading the follow-up force." Yanqing agreed and sent the general Gao Shixuan with Yaoshi ahead. They entered Yan city at once, and Gan raised three thousand picked armored troops for street fighting. The Third General was Liu Guangshi.
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渝約不至，藥師失援敗走，世宣死之。 延慶營于盧溝南，幹分兵斷餉道，擒護糧將王淵，得漢軍二人，蔽其目，留帳中，夜半偽相語曰：「聞漢軍十萬壓吾境，吾師三倍，敵之有餘。 當分左右翼，以精兵沖其中，左右翼為應，殲之無遺。」 陰逸其一人歸報。 明旦，延慶見火起，以為敵至，燒營而奔，相蹂踐死者百余裏。 自熙、豐以來，所儲軍實殆盡。 退保雄州，燕人作賦及歌誚之。 朝議延慶喪師，不可不行法，坐貶率府率，安置筠州。 契丹知中國不能用兵，由是輕宋。
Guangshi broke the agreement and did not come. Yaoshi lost support, was defeated and fled, and Shixuan was killed. Yanqing encamped south of the Lu Gou. Gan divided his forces to cut the supply route, captured the grain escort general Wang Yuan, and took two Han soldiers. He blindfolded them and kept them in his tent. At midnight he feigned conversation: "I hear a hundred thousand Han troops press our border. Our army is triple theirs—more than enough to handle the enemy. We should divide into left and right wings, strike the center with picked troops, and have the wings respond—we will annihilate them to the last man." Secretly he let one man escape to return and report. At dawn Yanqing saw fires rise, thought the enemy had come, burned his camp and fled. Men trampled one another to death for more than a hundred li. Since the Xi and Feng eras the stored military supplies were nearly exhausted. He withdrew to hold Xiongzhou, and the people of Yan composed fu and songs to mock him. The court held that Yanqing had lost the army and the law could not go unenforced. He was demoted to commandant of the Commandant's Office and settled at Yunzhou. The Khitan concluded that China could not wage war and from this despised the Song.
50
未幾，復為鎮海軍節度使。 靖康之難，延慶分部守京城，城陷，引秦兵萬人奪開遠門以出，至龜兒寺，為追騎所殺。 光世自有傳。
Before long he was again made military commissioner of the Zhenhai Army. During the Jingkang calamity Yanqing divided his forces to defend the capital. When the city fell he led ten thousand Qin troops to seize the Kaiyuan Gate and break out, but at Guier Temple he was killed by pursuing cavalry. Guangshi has his own biography.
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論曰：靖康之變、執禮、振不忍都人塗炭，拒強敵無厭之欲，親逢其凶。 熙靖、世勣不肯以一身事二姓，悲不食以終。 灌、延慶戰敗而沒。 此數人者，其所遭不同，至於死國難則一而已。 雲之死，雖其有以取之，殆亦天未欲絕宋祀也； 不然，是行也，康王其危哉！
The commentators say: In the Jingkang transformation Zhili and Zhen could not bear to see the people of the capital suffer; they resisted the strong enemy's insatiable demands and personally met disaster. Xijing and Shiji would not serve two dynasties with one body and died refusing food in grief. Guan and Yanqing were defeated in battle and perished. These men met different fates, yet in dying for the state's calamity they were one. Yun's death, though he had brought it on himself, was perhaps also because Heaven did not yet wish to end the Song line; otherwise on that journey the Prince of Kang would have been in grave peril!