1
劉錡吳玠吳璘子:挺
Liu Qi, Wu Jie, and Wu Lin — with Wu Lin's son Ting
2
劉錡，字信叔，德順軍人，滬川軍節度使仲武第九子也。 美儀狀，善射，聲如洪鐘。 嘗從仲武征討，牙門水斛滿，以箭射之，拔箭水注，隨以一矢窒之，人服其精。 宣和間，用高俅薦，特授閣門祗候。
Liu Qi, whose courtesy name was Xingshu, came from Deshun Garrison. He was the ninth son of Zhongwu, military governor of Huchuan Garrison. Handsome in bearing, he excelled at archery, and his voice rang out like a tolling bell. On one campaign with Zhongwu, he found the water gauge at headquarters brim-full. He pierced it with an arrow; when he withdrew the shaft water gushed out, then he sealed the hole with a second shot. All who saw it marveled at his skill. In the Xuanhe period he received a special appointment as Attendant of the Inner Gate on the recommendation of Gao Qiu.
3
高宗即位，錄仲武后，錡得召見，奇之，特授閣門宣贊舍人，差知岷州，為隴右都護。 與夏人戰屢勝，夏人兒啼，輒怖之曰：「劉都護來！」 張浚宣撫陝西，一見奇其才，以為涇原經略使兼知渭州。 浚合五路師潰于富平，慕洧以慶陽叛，攻環州。 浚命錡救之，留別將守渭，自將救環。 未幾，金攻渭，錡留李彥琪捍洧，親率精銳還救渭，已無及，進退不可，乃走德順軍。 彥琪遁歸渭，降金。 錡貶秩知綿州兼沿邊安撫。
After Gaozong's accession, Zhongwu's widow was given posthumous honors and Qi was called to court. The emperor took him for remarkable and made him a Bearer of the Inner Gate Office, then sent him to govern Min Prefecture as Protector-General of Longyou. He won battle after battle against the Western Xia. When Xia children cried, their parents would hush them with, "Protector-General Liu is coming!" Zhang Jun, pacification commissioner for Shaanxi, was astonished at his talent on first meeting and appointed him Jingyuan circuit military commissioner while also putting him in charge of Weizhou. Zhang Jun had assembled the five-route armies only to see them shattered at Fuping; Mu Wei then rebelled from Qingyang and laid siege to Huan Prefecture. Zhang Jun sent Qi to the rescue, leaving a deputy to hold Weizhou while he himself marched to relieve Huan. Soon the Jin struck Weizhou. Qi left Li Yanqi to contain Mu Wei and raced back at the head of picked troops, but aid came too late. Caught with no room to advance or retreat, he withdrew to Deshun Garrison. Li Yanqi stole back into Weizhou and went over to the Jin. Qi was reduced in rank and appointed prefect of Mian Prefecture with concurrent duty as frontier pacification commissioner.
4
紹興三年復官，為宣撫司統制。 金人攻拔和尚原，乃分守陝、蜀之地。 會使者自蜀歸，以錡名聞。 召還，除帶禦器械，尋為江東路副總管。 六年，權提舉宿衛親軍。 帝駐平江，解潛、王彥兩軍交鬥，俱罷，命錡兼將之。 錡因請以前護副軍及馬軍，通為前、後、左、右、中軍與游奕，凡六軍，每軍千人，為十二將。 前護副軍，即彥八字軍也。 於是錡始能成軍，扈從赴金陵。 七年，帥合肥； 八年，戍京口。 九年，擢果州團練使、龍神衛四廂都指揮使，主管侍衛馬軍司。
In Shaoxing 3 his offices were restored and he served as unified commander under the Pacification Commission. After the Jin seized Heshang Plain, he was posted to guard the line dividing Shaanxi and Shu. When an envoy returned from Shu, he brought Qi's name to the court's attention. Called back to court, he was given the title Bearer of Imperial Armaments and shortly afterward made deputy overall commander of Jiangdong circuit. In year 6 he was put in charge of the palace guard army in an acting capacity. While the emperor held court at Pingjiang, the forces under Xie Qian and Wang Yan came to blows; both generals were removed and Qi was ordered to take command of them jointly. Qi then asked that the former Protective Deputy Army and the cavalry be reorganized into six corps — front, rear, left, right, center, and raiding — of one thousand men each, with twelve commanders in all. The Protective Deputy Army was Wang Yan's Eight-Character Army. At last Qi had a real army at his disposal and escorted the court south to Jinling. In year 7 he commanded at Hefei; in year 8 he took up garrison duty at Jingkou. In year 9 he rose to regimental commander of Guo Prefecture and four-division commander of the Dragon Spirit Guard, supervising the Palace Cavalry Office.
5
十年，金人歸三京，充東京副留守，節制軍馬。 所部八字軍才三萬七千人，將發，益殿司三千人，皆攜其孥，將駐於汴，家留順昌。 錡自臨安溯江絕淮，凡二千二百里。 至渦口，方食，暴風拔坐帳，錡曰：「此賊兆也，主暴兵。」 即下令兼程而進，未至，五月，抵順昌三百里，金人果敗盟來侵。
In year 10, when the Jin restored the Three Capitals, he was made deputy governor-general of the Eastern Capital with command over the army. His Eight-Character Army mustered only thirty-seven thousand men. Just before departure another three thousand from the Palace Corps joined them, every soldier bringing wife and children — they were to camp at Bian while their families remained at Shunchang. From Lin'an he sailed upstream and crossed the Huai — two thousand two hundred li in all. At Wokou he was at supper when a gale ripped his pavilion from the ground. "This is the enemy's sign," Qi said — "a host coming in fury." He ordered double-time marching at once. He had not yet arrived when, in the fifth month and still three hundred li from Shunchang, the Jin broke the treaty and struck.
6
錡與將佐舍舟陸行，先趨城中。 庚寅，諜報金人入東京。 知府事陳規見錡問計，錡曰：「城中有糧，則能與君共守。」 規曰：「有米數萬斛。」 錡曰：「可矣。」 時所部選鋒、游奕兩軍及老稚輜重，相去尚遠，遣騎趣之，四鼓乃至。 及旦得報，金騎已入陳。
Qi and his officers abandoned the boats and pushed overland, racing ahead into the city. On the gengyin day, scouts reported that the Jin had taken the Eastern Capital. Chen Gui, the acting prefect, came to Qi for counsel. Qi said, "If the city has grain, I can hold it with you." Gui replied, "There are tens of thousands of hu of rice." Qi said, "That will do." His Vanguard and Raider corps, with the elderly, children, and baggage train, were still far behind. He sent riders to fetch them; they arrived at the fourth watch. At daybreak came word that Jin cavalry had already entered Chen.
7
錡與規議斂兵入城，為守禦計，人心乃安。 召諸將計事，皆曰：「金兵不可敵也，請以精銳為殿，步騎遮老小順流還江南。」 錡曰：「吾本赴官留司，今東京雖失，幸全軍至此，有城可守，奈何棄之？ 吾意已決，敢言去者斬！」 惟部將許清號「夜叉」者奮曰：「太尉奉命副守汴京，軍士扶攜老幼而來，今避而走，易耳。 然欲棄父母妻子則不忍； 欲與偕行，則敵翼而攻，何所逃之？ 不如相與努力一戰，于死中求生也。」 議與錡合。 錡大喜，鑿舟沉之，示無去意。 置家寺中，積薪於門，戒守者曰：「脫有不利，即焚吾家，毋辱敵手也。」 分命諸將守諸門，明斥堠，募土人為間探。 於是軍士皆奮，男子備戰守，婦人礪刀劍，爭呼躍曰：「平時人欺我八字軍，今日當為國家破賊立功。」
Qi and Gui agreed to pull the troops inside the walls and prepare a defense, and the people's minds were put at ease. He called the generals together. All said, "The Jin cannot be fought. Let elite troops cover the rear while infantry and cavalry escort the families downstream back to Jiangnan." Qi said, "I was sent here to take up my post at the capital. The Eastern Capital may be lost, but our whole force has reached this place and we have walls to hold — how can we simply abandon them? My mind is made up. Whoever speaks of retreat will be executed!" Only Xu Qing, a staff officer known as "Yaksha," cried out: "The Grand Marshal was ordered to help defend Bianjing. These soldiers came supporting their elders and children. Running away would be easy enough. But who could bear to abandon parents, wives, and children? If we try to take them along, the enemy will strike from both flanks — where would we flee? Better to fight together with all our strength and seek life in the teeth of death." The council fell in with Qi's view. Qi was overjoyed. He had holes drilled in the boats and sank them, making clear that no one was leaving. He lodged his family in a temple, piled firewood at the door, and told the guards: "If the battle goes badly, burn my house at once — do not let the enemy have that dishonor over us." He assigned each general to a gate, posted clear pickets, and recruited local men as scouts and spies. The whole army took fire. Men readied themselves for battle; women sharpened swords and blades, shouting and leaping: "People always looked down on our Eight-Character Army — today we will break the enemy for the state and win glory!"
8
時守備一無可恃，錡於城上躬自督厲，取偽齊所造癡車，以輪轅埋城上； 又撤民戶扉，周匝蔽之； 城外有民居數千家，悉焚之。 凡六日粗畢，而遊騎已涉潁河至城下。 壬寅，金人圍順昌，錡豫於城下設伏，擒千戶阿黑等二人，詰之，云：「韓將軍營白沙渦，距城三十里。」 錡夜遣千餘人擊之，連戰，殺虜頗眾。 既而三路都統葛王褎以兵三萬，與龍虎大王合兵薄城。 錡令開諸門，金人疑不敢近。
There was almost nothing to defend with. Qi himself supervised from the wall, taking siege carts left by the puppet Qi state and burying their axles and shafts atop the ramparts; he also stripped doors from civilian houses and set them around the walls as screens; several thousand dwellings outside the walls were burned to the ground. In six days the work was roughly done, but enemy raiders had already crossed the Ying River and were at the foot of the walls. On renyin day the Jin besieged Shunchang. Qi had already laid an ambush below the walls and captured two Jin thousand-commanders, Ahei among them. Under questioning they said, "General Han's camp is at Baishawo, thirty li from the city." That night Qi sent more than a thousand men against the camp; in repeated clashes they killed a great many of the enemy. Soon Prince Xiu of Ge, Three-Route Commander, arrived with thirty thousand men and joined the Tiger-and-Dragon King in pressing the city. Qi ordered every gate thrown open. The Jin, suspecting a trap, did not dare come near.
9
初，錡傅城築羊馬垣，穴垣為門。 至是，與清等蔽垣為陣，金人縱矢，皆自垣端軼著於城，或止中垣上。 錡用破敵弓翼以神臂、強弩，自城上或垣門射敵，無不中，敵稍卻。 復以步兵邀擊，溺河死者不可勝計，破其鐵騎數千。 特授鼎州觀察使、樞密副都承旨、沿淮制置使。
Earlier Qi had built cavalry parapets along the outer wall and cut gates through them. Now he and Qing and the others took cover behind the parapets in battle order. The Jin loosed volleys, but the arrows sailed over the parapets and struck the wall, or lodged midway on the parapet itself. Qi answered with enemy-breaking bows backed by Divine Arm and heavy crossbows, firing from the wall or through the parapet gates without a miss; the enemy gradually fell back. He then sent infantry to intercept them; countless men drowned in the river, and several thousand armored cavalry were broken. He received special appointment as Observation Commissioner of Ding Prefecture, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Military Affairs, and Commissioner for the Huai Frontier.
10
時順昌受圍已四日，金兵益盛，乃移砦於東村，距城二十里。 錡遣驍將閻充募壯士五百人，夜斫其營。 是夕，天欲雨，電光四起，見辮發者輒殲之。 金兵退十五里。 錡復募百人以往，或請銜枚，錡笑曰：「無以枚也。」 命折竹為嘂，如市井兒以為戲者，人持一以為號，直犯金營。 電所燭則皆奮擊，電止則匿不動，敵眾大亂。 百人者聞吹聲即聚，金人益不能測，終夜自戰，積屍盈野，退軍老婆灣。
Shunchang had now been under siege for four days. The Jin force grew stronger and shifted camp to Dongcun, twenty li from the city. Qi sent the fierce general Yan Chong to raise five hundred stalwarts for a night raid on the enemy camp. That evening rain threatened and lightning flashed on every side; whenever they saw a man with a queue they cut him down. The Jin force fell back fifteen li. Qi raised another hundred men for a second raid. Someone suggested they bite arrows to keep silent. Qi laughed: "No need for that." He had bamboo split into whistles like the toys street children play with; each man carried one as a signal and charged straight into the Jin camp. Where lightning lit the field they struck hard; when it went dark they hid and held still. The enemy ranks fell into chaos. The hundred men rallied at each whistle blast. The Jin could not fathom them; all night they fought one another, corpses covered the field, and the army withdrew to Laopowan.
11
兀朮在汴聞之，即索靴上馬，過淮寧留一宿，治戰具，備糗糧，不七日至順昌。 錡聞兀朮至，會諸將於城上問策，或謂今已屢捷，宜乘此勢，具舟全軍而歸。 錡曰：「朝廷養兵十五年，正為緩急之用，況已挫賊鋒，軍聲稍振，雖眾寡不侔，然有進無退。 且敵營甚邇，而兀朮又來，吾軍一動，彼躡其後，則前功俱廢。 使敵侵軼兩淮，震驚江、浙，則平生報國之志，反成誤國之罪。」 眾皆感動思奮，曰：「惟太尉命。」
Wuzhu at Bian heard the news, called for his boots and mounted at once, paused one night at Huaining south of the Huai to ready weapons and rations, and reached Shunchang in under seven days. When Qi heard Wuzhu had arrived, he gathered the generals on the wall for counsel. Some argued that after so many victories they should seize the momentum, ready the boats, and withdraw the whole army. Qi said, "The court has kept this army for fifteen years precisely for emergencies like this. We have already blunted the enemy's edge and our name is rising. Though we are outnumbered, we advance — we do not retreat. The enemy camp is close at hand, and Wuzhu himself has come. If we move, they will pursue from behind and everything we have won will be lost. If we let the enemy overrun the two Huai regions and shake Jiang and Zhe, the wish of a lifetime to serve the state will become the crime of betraying it." All were stirred and ready to fight. "We await only the Grand Marshal's command," they said.
12
錡募得曹成等二人，諭之曰：「遣汝作間，事捷重賞，第如我言，敵必不汝殺。 今置汝綽路騎中，汝遇敵則佯墜馬，為敵所得。 敵帥問我何如人，則曰：'太平邊帥子，喜聲伎，朝廷以兩國講好，使守東京圖逸樂耳。 '」已而二人果遇敵被執，兀朮問之，對如前。 兀朮喜曰：「此城易破耳。」 即置鵝車炮具不用。 翌日，錡登城，望見二人遠來，縋而上之，乃敵械成等歸，以文書一卷系於械，錡懼惑軍心，立焚之。
Qi recruited Cao Cheng and one other and told them: "I am sending you as spies. Succeed and there will be rich reward. Say exactly what I tell you and the enemy will not kill you. I will place you among the raiding cavalry. When you meet the enemy, pretend to fall from your horse and let yourselves be taken. If the enemy commander asks what sort of man I am, say: 'A son of a frontier commander from the Taiping era, fond of music and entertainers. The court sent him to guard the Eastern Capital for ease and pleasure, since the two states are at peace.' '" Before long the two did meet the enemy and were captured. Wuzhu questioned them and they answered as instructed. Wuzhu said with pleasure, "This city will be easy to take." He immediately set aside the siege towers and artillery and did not use them. The next day Qi mounted the wall, saw the two coming from afar, and had them hauled up by rope. The enemy had sent Cao Cheng and the other back in shackles with a scroll tied to the irons. Fearing it would unsettle morale, Qi burned it at once.
13
兀朮至城下，責諸將喪師，眾皆曰：「南朝用兵，非昔之比，元帥臨城自見。」 錡遣耿訓以書約戰，兀朮怒曰：「劉錡何敢與我戰，以吾力破爾城，直用靴尖趯倒耳。」 訓曰：「太尉非但請與太子戰，且謂太子必不敢濟河，願獻浮橋五所，濟而大戰。」 兀朮曰：「諾。」 乃下令明日府治會食。 遲明，錡果為五浮橋於潁河上，敵由之以濟。
Wuzhu reached the foot of the walls and rebuked his generals for their losses. All said, "The Southern Court fights differently now. Let the commander see for himself at the walls." Qi sent Geng Xun with a letter proposing battle. Wuzhu said angrily, "How dare Liu Qi fight me! With my strength I will break your city — I could kick it over with the toe of my boot." Xun said, "The Grand Marshal not only asks to fight the Prince, but says the Prince surely will not dare cross the river. He offers five pontoon bridges — cross and fight a great battle." Wuzhu said, "Agreed." He then ordered a feast at the prefectural seat for the next day. At daybreak Qi had indeed built five pontoon bridges on the Ying River, and the enemy crossed on them.
14
錡遣人毒潁上流及草中，戒軍士雖渴死，毋得飲於河者； 飲，夷其族。 敵用長勝軍嚴陣以待，諸酋各居一部。 眾請先擊韓將軍，錡曰：「擊韓雖退，兀朮精兵尚不可當，法當先擊兀朮。 兀朮一動，則餘無能為矣。」
Qi had the upper Ying and the grass poisoned, and warned his soldiers that even if they died of thirst they must not drink from the river; whoever drank would have his whole clan put to death. The enemy deployed the Ever-Victorious Army in tight formation to await them; each chieftain held his own section. The assembly asked to strike General Han first. Qi said, "Even if we drive Han back, Wuzhu's elite troops still cannot be withstood. By rule we should strike Wuzhu first. Once Wuzhu moves, the rest can do nothing."
15
時天大暑，敵遠來疲敝，錡士氣閒暇，敵晝夜不解甲，錡軍皆番休更食羊馬垣下。 敵人馬饑渴，食水草者輒病，往往困乏。 方晨氣清涼，錡按兵不動，逮未、申間，敵力疲氣索，忽遣數百人出西門接戰。 俄以數千人出南門，戒令勿喊，但以銳斧犯之。 統制官趙撙、韓直身中數矢，戰不肯已，士殊死鬥，入其陣，刀斧亂下，敵大敗。 是夕大雨，平地水深尺餘。 乙卯，兀朮拔營北去，錡遣兵追之，死者萬數。
The day was fiercely hot. The enemy, coming from afar, were exhausted; Qi's men were calm and rested. The enemy kept their armor on day and night, while Qi's army ate in shifts beneath the cavalry parapets. The enemy's men and horses were hungry and thirsty; those who ate the poisoned grass and water fell ill and grew weak. While the morning air was still cool, Qi held his troops still. By the wei and shen hours, when the enemy were spent, he suddenly sent several hundred men out the west gate to engage. Soon he sent several thousand out the south gate with orders not to shout but only to strike with sharp axes. The unified commanders Zhao Zun and Han Zhi took several arrows but would not stop fighting. The soldiers fought to the death, broke into the enemy formation, and axes and blades rained down; the enemy suffered a great rout. That night heavy rain fell, and water more than a foot deep covered the flat ground. On the yimao day Wuzhu broke camp and marched north. Qi sent troops in pursuit; the dead numbered in the tens of thousands.
16
方大戰時，兀朮被白袍，乘甲馬，以牙兵三千督戰，兵皆重鎧甲，號「鐵浮圖」； 戴鐵兜牟，周匝綴長簷。 三人為伍，貫以韋索，每進一步，即用拒馬擁之，人進一步，拒馬亦進，退不可卻。 官軍以槍標去其兜牟，大斧斷其臂，碎其首。 敵又以鐵騎分左右翼，號「拐子馬」，皆女真為之，號「長勝軍，專以攻堅，戰酣然後用之。 自用兵以來，所向無前； 至是，亦為錡軍所殺。 戰自辰至申，敵敗，遽以拒馬木障之，少休。 城上鼓聲不絕，乃出飯羹，坐餉戰士如平時，敵披靡不敢近。 食已，撤拒馬木，深入斫敵，又大破之。 棄屍斃馬，血肉枕藉，車旗器甲，積如山阜。
During the great battle Wuzhu wore a white robe and rode an armored horse, with three thousand personal guards directing the fight. The soldiers all wore heavy armor and were called "Iron Pagodas"; They wore iron helmets ringed with long brim plates. Three men formed a unit lashed together with leather ropes. With each step forward they pushed the horse-block carts ahead; as the men advanced, the carts advanced too, and retreat was impossible. The government troops knocked off their helmets with spear-blades, cut off their arms with great axes, and smashed their heads. The enemy also deployed iron cavalry on the left and right wings, called "Winged-Horse Formations" — all Jurchen, known as the Ever-Victorious Army, specialized for storming strong points and brought in only when battle was at its fiercest. Since they took the field they had been unstoppable wherever they went; but on this day they too were cut down by Qi's army. The battle ran from the chen hour to the shen hour. The enemy was beaten and hastily screened themselves with horse-block timber for a brief rest. Drums on the wall never stopped; rice and broth were brought out and the fighting men were fed as on any ordinary day. The enemy, broken, did not dare come near. After they had eaten, the horse-block timber was cleared away and they drove deep into the enemy ranks, inflicting another great rout. Abandoned corpses and dead horses lay heaped in layers of flesh and blood; chariots, banners, weapons, and armor piled like hills.
17
初，有河北軍告官軍曰：「我輩元是左護軍，本無鬥志，所可殺者兩翼拐子馬爾。」 故錡兵力擊之。 兀朮平日恃以為強者，什損七八，至陳州，數諸將之罪，韓常以下皆鞭之，乃自擁眾還汴。 捷聞，帝喜甚，授錡武泰軍節度使、侍衛馬軍都虞候、知順昌府、沿淮制置使。
Earlier some Hebei troops had told the government forces: "We were originally Left Guard Army and have no will to fight. What you can kill are only the winged-horse formations on both flanks." So Qi concentrated his strength against them. What Wuzhu had daily counted on as his strength was seven or eight tenths destroyed. Reaching Chen Prefecture he listed the generals' offenses and flogged Han Chang and those below, then personally led the host back to Bian. When victory was reported the emperor was overjoyed and made Qi military governor of Wutai Army, Chief Commandant of the Palace Cavalry, prefect of Shunchang, and Commissioner for the Huai Frontier.
18
是役也，錡兵不盈二萬，出戰僅五千人。 金兵數十萬營西北，亙十五里，每暮，鼓聲震山谷，然營中喧嘩，終夜有聲。 金遣人近城竊聽，城中肅然，無雞犬聲。 兀朮帳前甲兵環列，持燭照夜，其眾分番假寐馬上。 錡以逸待勞，以故輒勝。 時洪皓在燕密奏：「順昌之捷，金人震恐喪魄，燕之重寶珍器，悉徙而北，意欲捐燕以南棄之。」 故議者謂是時諸將協心，分路追討，則兀朮可擒，汴京可復； 而王師亟還，自失機會，良可惜也。
In this battle Qi's army numbered less than twenty thousand; only about five thousand went into the field. Jin troops numbering hundreds of thousands camped to the northwest, stretching fifteen li. Each evening drums shook the valleys, yet the camp rang with clamor all night long. The Jin sent men near the walls to listen; inside the city all was solemn silence — not even a chicken or dog could be heard. Before Wuzhu's tent armored soldiers stood in a ring, candles burning through the night; his host rested in shifts, dozing in the saddle. Qi waited rested for the weary enemy, and for that reason he won again and again. At the time Hong Hao in Yan sent a secret memorial: "The victory at Shunchang left the Jin terrified and bereft of spirit. Yan's precious treasures and rare objects were all moved north; they intended to abandon everything south of Yan." Commentators therefore say that if the generals had united at that moment and pursued by separate routes, Wuzhu could have been captured and Bianjing restored; but the imperial army hurried back and lost the opportunity — a pity indeed.
19
七月，命為淮北宣撫判官，副楊沂中，破敵兵于太康縣。 未幾，秦檜請令沂中還師鎮江，錡還太平州，岳飛以兵赴行在，出師之謀寢矣。
In the seventh month he was appointed deputy pacification commissioner for north of the Huai, assisting Yang Yizhong, and defeated the enemy at Taikang County. Before long Qin Hui asked that Yizhong return the army to garrison Zhenjiang and Qi return to Taiping Prefecture; Yue Fei brought troops to the traveling palace, and the plan for an expedition was shelved.
20
十一年，兀朮復簽兩河兵，謀再舉。 帝亦測知敵情，必不一挫遂已，乃詔大合兵於淮西以待之。 金人攻廬、和二州，錡自太平渡江，抵廬州，與張俊、楊沂中會。 而敵已大入，錡據東關之險以遏其沖，引兵出清溪，兩戰皆勝。 行至柘皋，與金人夾石樑河而陣。 河通巢湖，廣二丈，錡命曳薪壘橋，須臾而成，遣甲士數隊路橋臥槍而坐。 會沂中、王德、田師中、張子蓋之軍俱至。
In the eleventh year Wuzhu again mustered troops from the two He regions and plotted another campaign. The emperor also read the enemy's intent and knew they would not stop after one setback; he ordered a great concentration of troops west of the Huai to await them. When the Jin attacked Luzhou and He Prefecture, Qi crossed the river from Taiping and reached Luzhou, joining Zhang Jun and Yang Yizhong. But the enemy had already driven deep inland. Qi seized the defile at Dong Pass to block their thrust and led troops out through Qingxi; he won both engagements. Reaching Zhegao he drew up battle lines with the Jin on opposite banks of the Shiliang River. The river connected to Chaohu Lake and was two zhang wide. Qi ordered fuel dragged up to build a bridge; in an instant it was done. He sent several companies of armored infantry to lie on the bridge with spears ready. Then the armies of Yizhong, Wang De, Tian Shizhong, and Zhang Ziga all arrived.
21
翌日，兀朮以鐵騎十萬分為兩隅，夾道而陣。 德薄其右隅，引弓射一酋斃之，因大呼馳擊，諸軍鼓噪。 金人以拐子馬兩翼而進。 德率眾鏖戰，沂中以萬兵各持長斧奮擊之，敵大敗； 錡與德等追之，又敗於東山。 敵望見曰：「此順昌旗幟也。」 即退走。
The next day Wuzhu divided a hundred thousand armored cavalry into two wings flanking the road in battle order. De pressed their right wing, shot and killed a chieftain with his bow, then cried out and charged; all the armies raised a battle cry. The Jin sent their winged-horse formations advancing on both wings. De led his troops in fierce battle; Yizhong with ten thousand men wielding long axes struck them down; the enemy suffered a great rout. Qi with De and the others pursued and routed them again on East Mountain. The enemy saw and cried, "Those are the banners of Shunchang!" Then they turned and fled.
22
錡駐和州，得旨，乃引兵渡江歸太平州。 時並命三帥，不相節制。 諸軍進退多出於張俊，而錡以順昌之捷驟貴，諸將多嫉之。 俊與沂中為腹心，而與錡有隙，故柘皋之賞，錡軍獨不與。
Qi garrisoned He Prefecture. When he received the order he led the army back across the river to Taiping Prefecture. At the time three commanders were appointed at once but did not command one another. The armies' movements mostly followed Zhang Jun's lead, and Qi — risen suddenly after Shunchang — made many generals jealous. Jun and Yizhong were trusted allies but had a rift with Qi; thus in the rewards for Zhegao Qi's army alone received nothing.
23
居數日，議班師，而濠州告急。 俊與沂中、錡趨黃連埠援之，距濠六十里，而南城已陷。 沂中欲進戰，錡謂俊曰：「本救濠，今濠已失，不如退師據險，徐為後圖。」 諸將曰：「善。」 三帥鼎足而營，或言敵兵已去，錡又謂曰：「敵得城而遽退，必有謀也，宜嚴備之。」 俊不從，命沂中與德將神勇步騎六萬人，直趨濠州，果遇伏敗還。
After several days they discussed withdrawing the army, but Haozhou sent urgent word. Jun with Yizhong and Qi hurried to Huanglianbu to relieve it — sixty li from Haozhou, but the south city had already fallen. Yizhong wanted to advance and fight. Qi said to Jun: "We came to save Haozhou; now Haozhou is lost. Better withdraw the army to defensible ground and plan what comes next." The generals said, "Good." The three commanders camped in a tripod formation. Some said the enemy had already gone. Qi again said: "The enemy took the city and withdrew at once — they surely have a plan. We should stay on guard." Jun would not listen. He ordered Yizhong and De to lead sixty thousand brave infantry and cavalry straight for Haozhou; they met an ambush and returned defeated.
24
遲明，錡軍至藕塘，則沂中軍已入滁州，俊軍已入宣化。 錡軍方食，俊至，曰：「敵兵已近，奈何？」 錡曰：「楊宣撫兵安在？」 俊曰：「已失利還矣。」 錡語俊：「無恐，錡請以步卒禦敵，宣撫試觀之。」 錡麾下皆曰：「兩大帥軍已渡，我軍何苦獨戰？」 錡曰：「順昌孤城，旁無赤子之助，吾提兵不滿二萬，猶足取勝； 況今得地利，又有銳兵邪？」 遂設三覆以待之。 俄而俊至，曰：「諜者妄也，乃戚方殿后之軍爾。」 錡與俊益不相下。
At dawn Qi's army reached Outang; Yizhong's army had already entered Chuzhou and Jun's army had entered Xuanhua. Qi's army was just at breakfast when Jun arrived and said, "The enemy is close — what shall we do?" Qi said, "Where is Pacification Commissioner Yang's army?" Jun said, "They have already been beaten and withdrawn." Qi said to Jun: "Do not be afraid. Let Qi hold the enemy with infantry — watch and see, Pacification Commissioner." Qi's officers all said, "Both great commanders' armies have already crossed the river — why should our army fight alone?" Qi said, "Shunchang was an isolated city with no common people to help; I led fewer than twenty thousand men and still won; how much more now that we hold favorable ground and have crack troops?" He then set three ambushes to await them. Soon Jun came and said, "The scouts lied — it was only Qi Fang's rearguard." Qi and Jun grew even less able to yield to each other.
25
一夕，俊軍士縱火劫錡軍，錡擒十六人，梟首槊上，餘皆逸。 錡見俊，俊怒謂錡曰：「我為宣撫，爾乃判官，何得斬吾軍？」 錡曰：「不知宣撫軍，但斬劫砦賊爾。」 俊曰：「有卒歸，言未嘗劫砦。」 呼一人出對。 錡正色曰：「錡為國家將帥，有罪，宣撫當言於朝，豈得與卒伍對事？」 長揖上馬去。 已，皆班師，俊、沂中還朝，每言岳飛不赴援，而錡戰不力。 秦檜主其說，遂罷宣撫判官，命知荊南府。 岳飛奏留錡掌兵，不許，詔以武泰之節提舉江州太平觀。
One night Jun's soldiers set fire and looted Qi's camp. Qi captured sixteen men and displayed their heads on spears; the rest escaped. Qi went to see Jun. Jun said angrily: "I am the Pacification Commissioner and you are only the deputy judge — how dare you execute my soldiers?" Qi said, "I did not know they were the Pacification Commissioner's men; I only executed bandits who looted the camp." Jun said, "A soldier came back and said he never looted the camp." He called one man out to confront him. Qi said sternly: "I am a commander of the state. If I am guilty the Pacification Commissioner should report it to the court — how can I argue with common soldiers?" He bowed with hands joined, mounted his horse, and rode off. Before long all withdrew. Jun and Yizhong returned to court and repeatedly said Yue Fei had not come to aid and Qi had not fought hard. Qin Hui backed their account; Qi was dismissed as deputy pacification commissioner and ordered to govern Jingnan Prefecture. Yue Fei memorialized to keep Qi in command of troops; the request was denied. An edict made him director of the Jiangzhou Taiping Abbey with Wutai Army credentials.
26
錡鎮荊南凡六年，軍民安之。 魏良臣言錡名將，不當久閑。 乃命知潭州，加太尉，復帥荊南府。 江陵縣東有黃潭，建炎間，有司決水入江以禦盜，由是夏秋漲溢，荊、衡間皆被水患。 錡始命塞之，斥膏腴田數千畝，流民自占者幾千戶。 詔錡遇大禮許奏文資，仍以其侄汜為江東路兵馬副都監。
Qi governed Jingnan for six years in all; soldiers and people lived in peace. Wei Liangchen said Qi was a famous general and should not long remain idle. He was then ordered to govern Tan Prefecture, promoted to Grand Marshal, and again given command of Jingnan Prefecture. East of Jiangling county lay Huangtan Pool. During Jianyan officials had broken the dyke to let water into the river to repel bandits; thereafter summer and autumn floods overflowed and Jing and Heng circuits all suffered flooding. Qi first ordered it blocked off, reclaiming several thousand mu of fertile fields; nearly a thousand households of displaced people settled there on their own. An edict allowed Qi to recommend civil officials at grand ceremonies; his nephew Si was also made deputy commander of Jiangdong circuit cavalry.
27
三十一年，金主亮調軍六十萬，自將南來，彌望數十里，不斷如銀壁，中外大震。 時宿將無在者，乃以錡為江、淮、浙西制置使，節制逐路軍馬。 八月，錡引兵屯揚州，建大將旗鼓，軍容甚肅，觀者歎息。 以兵駐清河口，金人以氈裹船載糧而來，錡使善沒者鑿沉其舟。 錡自楚州退軍召伯鎮，金人攻真州，錡引兵還揚州，帥劉澤以城不可守，請退軍瓜洲。 金萬戶高景山攻揚州，錡遣員琦拒于皂角林，陷圍力戰，林中伏發，大敗之，斬景山，俘數百人。 捷奏，賜金五百兩、銀七萬兩以犒師。
In the thirty-first year the deposed Jin ruler Prince Liang mustered six hundred thousand troops and came south at their head. For dozens of li as far as the eye could see they stretched unbroken like a silver wall; court and country were shaken. At the time no veteran generals remained; Qi was made Commissioner for the Jiang-Huai-Zhexixi region with authority over military affairs on each route. In the eighth month Qi led troops to encamp at Yangzhou, raised the grand commander's banners and drums; his military bearing was stern and onlookers sighed. He posted troops at Qinghekou. The Jin wrapped boats in felt to transport grain; Qi had skilled divers scuttle them. Qi withdrew from Chuzhou to Zhaobo Town. When the Jin attacked Zhen Prefecture Qi led troops back to Yangzhou. Commander Liu Ze said the city could not be held and asked to withdraw the army to Guazhou. The Jin ten-thousand-commander Gao Jingshan attacked Yangzhou. Qi sent Yuan Qi to resist at Zaojiao Forest. Trapped and fighting with all his strength, ambush in the forest sprang up and routed them; Jingshan was beheaded and several hundred captives taken. When victory was reported he was granted five hundred liang of gold and seventy thousand liang of silver to reward the army.
28
先是，金人議留精兵在淮東以禦錡，而以重兵入淮西。 大將王權不從錡節制，不戰而潰，自清河口退師揚州，以舟渡真、揚之民于江之南，留兵屯瓜洲。 錡病，求解兵柄，留其侄汜以千五百人塞瓜洲渡，又令李橫以八千人固守。 詔錡專防江，錡遂還鎮江。
Earlier the Jin had planned to leave elite troops east of the Huai to hold Qi at bay while sending a heavy force into Huai west. The great general Wang Quan did not obey Qi's command, fled without fighting from Qinghekou to Yangzhou, used boats to ferry the people of Zhen and Yang to the south bank of the river, and left troops encamped at Guazhou. Qi fell ill and asked to relinquish military authority; he left his nephew Si with fifteen hundred men to block the Guazhou crossing and ordered Li Heng with eight thousand men to hold fast. An edict ordered Qi to defend the river exclusively; Qi then returned to garrison Zhenjiang.
29
十一月，金人攻瓜洲，汜以克敵弓射卻之。 時知樞密院事葉義問督師江、淮，至鎮江，見錡病劇，以李橫權錡軍。 義問督鎮江兵渡江，眾皆以為不可，義問強之。 汜固請出戰，錡不從，汜拜家廟而行。 金人以重兵逼瓜洲，分兵東出江皋，逆趨瓜洲。 汜先退，橫以孤軍不能當，亦卻，失其都統制印，左軍統制魏友、後軍統制王方死之，橫、汜僅以身免。
In the eleventh month the Jin attacked Guazhou. Si drove them back with enemy-breaking bows. At the time Ye Yiwen, Director of the Bureau of Military Affairs, supervised the Jiang-Huai armies, came to Zhenjiang, saw Qi was gravely ill, and put Li Heng in temporary command of Qi's army. Yiwen ordered Zhenjiang troops to cross the river; all said it could not be done but Yiwen forced the issue. Si firmly asked to go out and fight; Qi refused. Si bowed at the family shrine and went. The Jin with heavy troops pressed Guazhou and split forces eastward to the river's edge, advancing to cut off Guazhou. Si withdrew first; Heng with an isolated army could not hold and also retreated, losing his overall commander's seal. Left Army Commander Wei You and Rear Army Commander Wang Fang were killed; Heng and Si barely escaped with their lives.
30
方諸軍渡江而北也，錡使人持黃、白幟登高山望之，戒之曰：「賊至舉白幟； 合戰舉二幟，勝則舉黃幟。」 是日二幟舉，逾時，錡曰：「黃幟久不舉，吾軍殆矣。」 錡憤懣，病益甚。 都督府參贊軍事虞允文自採石來，督舟師與金人戰。 允文過鎮江，謁錡問疾。 錡執允文手曰：「疾何必問。 朝廷養兵三十年，一技不施，而大功乃出一儒生，我輩愧死矣！」
As the various armies were crossing north, Qi had men on a high mountain hold yellow and white banners to watch, with orders: "When the enemy comes raise the white banner; when battle is joined raise both banners; when victorious raise the yellow banner." That day both banners went up; after a long while Qi said, "The yellow banner has not risen for so long — our army is probably lost." Qi, filled with rage and frustration, grew sicker still. Yu Yunwen, consulting military officer of the Grand Commander's headquarters, came from Caishi and directed the fleet against the Jin. Yunwen passed through Zhenjiang, called on Qi, and asked after his illness. Qi took Yunwen's hand and said, "Why ask about illness? The court kept the army for thirty years without putting it to use, and the great victory comes from a single scholar — we ought to die of shame!"
31
召詣闕，提舉萬壽觀。 錡假都亭驛居之。 金之聘使將至，留守湯思退除館以待，遣黃衣諭錡徙居別試院，錡疑汜累己，常懼有後命。 三十二年閏二月，錡發怒，嘔血數升而卒。 贈開府儀同三司，賜其家銀三百兩，帛三百匹。 後諡武穆。
Summoned to court, he was made director of the Wanshou Abbey. Qi was lodged at the Capital Pavilion Post Station. When the Jin envoys were about to arrive, the garrison commander Tang Situi cleared a lodge to receive them and sent a palace attendant to tell Qi to move to the Special Examination Hall. Qi suspected Si had implicated him and constantly feared further orders. In the intercalary second month of the thirty-second year Qi flew into a rage, vomited several sheng of blood, and died. He was posthumously granted Grand Preceptor with Ceremonial Equal to the Three Excellencies; his family received three hundred liang of silver and three hundred bolts of silk. Later he was given the posthumous title Wumu.
32
錡慷慨深毅，有儒將風。 金主亮之南也，下令有敢言錡姓名者，罪不赦。 枚舉南朝諸將，問其下孰敢當者，皆隨姓名其答如響，至錡，莫有應者。 金主曰：「吾自當之。」 然錡卒以病不能成功。 世傳錡通陰陽家行師所避就，錡在揚州，命盡焚城外居屋，用石灰盡白城壁，書曰：「完顏亮死於此。」 金主多忌，見而惡之，遂居龜山，人眾不可容，以致是變雲。
Qi was magnanimous and deeply resolute, with the bearing of a scholar-general. When Prince Liang of Jin came south he ordered that whoever dared speak Qi's name would be punished without pardon. He listed the Southern Court's generals one by one and asked his subordinates who dared stand against each; all answered with names as if in chorus. When he came to Qi, no one responded. The Jin ruler said, "I will take him on myself." Yet Qi in the end could not succeed because of illness. Tradition says Qi understood the yin-yang school's rules for what to avoid and seek in campaigning. At Yangzhou he ordered all dwellings outside the walls burned, whitewashed the ramparts with lime, and wrote: "Wanyan Liang dies here." The Jin ruler was deeply superstitious; he saw it and hated it, so he encamped at Guishan, where the crowd could not be accommodated — leading to that turn of events, or so the story goes.
33
吳玠，字晉卿，德順軍隴幹人。 父葬水洛城，因徙焉。 少沉毅有志節，知兵善騎射，讀書能通大義。 未冠，以良家子隸涇原軍。 政和中，夏人犯邊，以功補進義副尉，稍擢隊將。 從討方臘，破之； 及擊河北群盜，累功權涇原第十將。 靖康初，夏人攻懷德軍，玠以百餘騎追擊，斬首百四十級，擢第二副將。
Wu Jie, whose courtesy name was Jinqing, came from Longgan in Deshun Garrison. When his father was buried at Shuilo City the family moved there. From youth he was steady and resolute with a strong sense of honor, understood warfare and excelled at mounted archery, and in reading grasped the larger meaning. Before reaching manhood he entered the Jingyuan Army as a commoner recruit. During the Zhenghe era, when the Xia raided the frontier, he was made Deputy Commandant of Jinyi for merit and gradually rose to squad commander. He joined the campaign against Fang La and helped defeat him; when he struck the bandit gangs of Hebei he accumulated merit and was made acting Tenth Commander of Jingyuan. At the start of Jingkang, when the Xia attacked Huaide Garrison, Jie pursued with more than a hundred cavalry, took a hundred forty heads, and was promoted to Second Deputy Commander.
34
建炎二年春，金人渡河，出大慶關，略秦雍，謀趨涇原。 都統制曲端守麻務鎮，命玠為前鋒，進據青溪嶺，逆擊大破之，追奔三十里，金人始有憚意。 權涇原路兵馬都監兼知懷德軍。 金人攻延安府，經略使王庶召曲端進兵，端駐邠州不赴，且曰：「不如蕩其巢穴，攻其必救。」 端遂攻蒲城，命玠攻華州，拔之。
In the spring of Jianyan 2 the Jin crossed the river, came out through Daqing Pass, overran Qin and Yong, and planned to drive on Jingyuan. Overall Commander Qu Duan held Mawu Town and ordered Jie as vanguard to advance and seize Qingxi Ridge, where he met and routed them, pursuing thirty li; the Jin first began to fear. He was made acting Military Inspector of Jingyuan circuit with concurrent charge of Huaide Garrison. When the Jin attacked Yan'an Prefecture, Military Commissioner Wang Shu summoned Qu Duan to advance; Duan halted at Bin Prefecture and did not come, saying, "Better to destroy their nest and attack where they must rescue." Duan then attacked Pucheng and ordered Jie to attack Hua Prefecture; he took it.
35
三年冬，劇賊史斌寇漢中，不克，引兵欲取長安，曲端命玠擊斬之，遷忠州刺史。 宣撫處置使張浚巡關陝，參議軍事劉子羽誦玠兄弟才勇，浚與玠語，大悅，即授統制，弟璘掌帳前親兵。
In the winter of year 3 the fierce bandit Shi Bin raided Hanzhong without success and led troops intending to take Chang'an; Qu Duan ordered Jie to strike and behead him. Jie was transferred to prefect of Zhong Prefecture. Pacification Commissioner Zhang Jun inspected Guan and Shaanxi; Staff Officer Liu Ziyu praised the talent and courage of the Jie brothers. Jun spoke with Jie and was greatly pleased, immediately making him unified commander while his younger brother Lin took charge of the personal guard before the tent.
36
四年春，升涇原路馬步軍副總管。 金帥婁宿與撒離喝長驅入關，端遣玠拒于彭原店，而擁兵邠州為援。 金兵來攻，玠擊敗之，撒離喝懼而泣，金軍中目為「啼哭郎君」。 金人整軍復戰，玠軍敗績。 端退屯涇原，劾玠違節度，降武顯大夫，罷總管，復知懷德軍。 張浚惜玠才，尋以為秦鳳副總管兼知鳳翔府。 時兵火之余，玠勞來安集，民賴以生。 轉忠州防禦使。
In the spring of year 4 he was promoted to Deputy Overall Commander of Jingyuan circuit cavalry and infantry. The Jin commanders Wushu and Salihuo drove deep through the passes; Duan sent Jie to hold them at Pengyuan Inn while he massed troops at Bin Prefecture as reserve. When the Jin came to attack, Jie defeated them. Salihuo wept in fear; in the Jin army he was called "the Weeping Lordling." The Jin regrouped and fought again; Jie's army was defeated. Duan withdrew to garrison Jingyuan, impeached Jie for disobeying command, reduced him to Grandee of Martial Display, removed him as overall commander, and restored him as prefect of Huaide Garrison. Zhang Jun valued Jie's talent and soon made him Deputy Overall Commander of Qin and Feng with concurrent charge of Fengxiang Prefecture. In the aftermath of war, Jie worked to comfort and settle the people; they relied on him to survive. He was transferred to Defense Commissioner of Zhong Prefecture.
37
九月，浚合五路兵，欲與金人決戰，玠言宜各守要害，須其弊而乘之。 及次富平，都統制又會諸將議戰，玠曰：「兵以利動，今地勢不利，未見其可。 宜擇高阜據之，使不可勝。」 諸將皆曰：「我眾彼寡，又前阻葦澤，敵有騎不得施，何用他徙？」 已而敵驟至，輿柴囊土，藉淖平行，進薄玠營。 軍遂大潰，五路皆陷，巴蜀大震。
In the ninth month Zhang Jun combined the five-route armies intending decisive battle with the Jin. Jie said each should hold key positions and wait for their weakness to strike. When they halted at Fuping the overall commander again gathered the generals to discuss battle. Jie said, "Armies move for advantage; the terrain is unfavorable — I do not see how we can win. We should choose high ground and hold it so they cannot defeat us." All the generals said, "We are many and they few; reeds and marsh block the front so the enemy's cavalry cannot deploy — why move elsewhere?" Before long the enemy arrived suddenly, carrying firewood and bagging earth to fill the mire and advance level, pressing close to Jie's camp. The army then collapsed in rout; all five routes fell and Ba and Shu were greatly shaken.
38
玠收散卒保散關東和尚原，積粟繕兵，列柵為死守計。 或謂玠宜退守漢中，扼蜀口以安人心。 玠曰：「我保此，敵決不敢越我而進，堅壁臨之，彼懼吾躡其後，是所以保蜀也。」 玠在原上，鳳翔民感其遺惠，相與夜輸芻粟助之。 玠償以銀帛，民益喜，輸者益多。 金人怒，伏兵渭河邀殺之，且令保伍連坐； 民冒禁如故，數年然後止。
Jie gathered scattered troops and held Heshang Plain east of San Pass, stored grain, repaired arms, and set palisades planning to hold to the death. Some said Jie should withdraw to hold Hanzhong and choke the Shu passes to settle people's minds. Jie said, "If I hold here the enemy will not dare pass me to advance. Holding fast behind walls facing them, they will fear we strike from behind — that is how Shu is protected." On the plain the people of Fengxiang remembered his past kindness; together they brought fodder and grain by night to help him. Jie repaid them with silver and silk; the people were all the more pleased and more kept bringing supplies. The Jin were enraged, set ambush on the Wei River to intercept and kill them, and ordered mutual responsibility by groups of five and ten; the people defied the ban as before; only after several years did it stop.
39
始，金人之入也，玠與璘以散卒數千駐原上，朝問隔絕，人無固志。 有謀劫玠兄弟北去者，玠知之，召諸將歃血盟，勉以忠義。 將士皆感泣，願為用。 張浚錄其功，承制拜明州觀察使。 居母喪，起復，兼陝西諸路都統制。
At first when the Jin entered, Jie and Lin with several thousand scattered troops garrisoned the plain; communication with court was cut off and men had no firm resolve. Some plotted to seize the Jie brothers and go north; Jie learned of it, summoned the generals to swear a blood oath, and urged them with loyalty and righteousness. Officers and soldiers all wept moved and pledged to serve him. Zhang Jun recorded their merit and by provisional order made Jie Observation Commissioner of Ming Prefecture. While in mourning for his mother he was recalled to service and made concurrent Overall Commander of all Shaanxi routes.
40
金人自起海角，狃常勝，及與玠戰輒北，憤甚，謀必取玠。 婁宿死，兀朮會諸道兵十余萬，造浮梁跨渭，自寶雞結連珠營，壘石為城，夾澗與官軍拒。 十月，攻和尚原。 玠命諸將選勁弓強弩，分番迭射，號「駐隊矢」，連發不絕，繁如雨注。 敵稍卻，則以奇兵旁擊，絕其糧道。 度其困且走，設伏於神坌以待。 金兵至，伏發，眾大亂。 縱兵夜擊，大敗之。 兀朮中流矢，僅以身免。 張浚承制以玠為鎮西軍節度使，璘為涇原路馬步軍副總管。 兀朮既敗，遂自河東歸燕山； 復以撒離喝為陝西經略使，屯鳳翔，與玠相持。
The Jin, since rising from the sea's edge, had grown accustomed to constant victory; whenever they fought Jie they were routed. Enraged, they plotted to take Jie at all costs. When Wushu died, Wuzhu assembled more than a hundred thousand troops from all routes, built pontoon bridges across the Wei, from Baoji linked camps like beads on a string, piled stone into walls, and faced the government army across the ravine. In the tenth month they attacked Heshang Plain. Jie ordered the generals to select powerful bows and strong crossbows and shoot in rotating shifts, called "Stationed-Rank Arrows," firing continuously without pause, thick as pouring rain. When the enemy fell back slightly he sent surprise troops to strike from the flank and cut their supply lines. Judging they were exhausted and about to flee, he set an ambush at Shenfen to await them. When the Jin troops arrived the ambush sprang; the ranks fell into chaos. He unleashed troops in a night attack and routed them. Wuzhu was struck by a stray arrow and barely escaped with his life. Zhang Jun by provisional order made Jie military governor of Zhenxi Army and Lin Deputy Overall Commander of Jingyuan circuit cavalry and infantry. After Wuzhu was defeated he returned from Hedong to Yan Mountains; Salihuo was again made Shaanxi military commissioner, encamped at Fengxiang, and faced Jie in stalemate.
41
二年，命玠兼宣撫處置使司都統制，節制興、文、龍三州。 金久窺蜀，以璘駐兵和尚原扼其沖，不得逞，將出奇取之。 時玠在河池，金人用叛將李彥琪駐秦州，睨仙人關以綴玠； 復令遊騎出熙河以綴關師古，撒離喝自商於直搗上津。 三年正月，取金州。 二月，長驅趨洋、漢，興元守臣劉子羽急命田晟守饒風關，以驛書招玠入援。
In year 2 Jie was ordered to serve concurrently as Overall Commander of the Pacification Commission with authority over Xing, Wen, and Long prefectures. The Jin had long eyed Shu; because Lin garrisoned Heshang Plain blocking their thrust they could not succeed and planned a surprise stroke to take it. At the time Jie was at Hechi; the Jin used the defector Li Yanqi garrisoned at Qin Prefecture, eyeing Xianren Pass to pin Jie; they also sent raiding cavalry out through Xihe to pin Guan Shigu while Salihuo from Shangyu drove straight at Shangjin. In the first month of year 3 they took Jin Prefecture. In the second month they drove deep toward Yang and Han. Liu Ziyu, defender of Xingyuan, urgently ordered Tian Sheng to hold Raofeng Pass and sent dispatch to summon Jie to aid.
42
玠自河池日夜馳三百里，以黃柑遺敵曰：「大軍遠來，聊用止渴。」 撒離喝大驚，以杖擊地曰：「爾來何速耶！」 遂大戰饒風嶺。 金人被重鎧，登山仰攻。 一人先登則二人擁後； 先者既死，後者代攻。 玠軍弓弩亂髮，大石摧壓，如是者六晝夜，死者山積而敵不退。 募敢死士，人千銀，得士五千，將夾攻。 會玠小校有得罪奔金者，導以祖溪間路，出關背，乘高以闞饒風。 諸軍不支，遂潰，玠退保西縣。 敵入興元，劉子羽退保三泉，築潭毒山以自固，玠走三泉會之。
Jie from Hechi raced day and night three hundred li and sent the enemy yellow oranges saying, "The great army comes from afar — these may quench your thirst for the moment." Salihuo was greatly alarmed and struck the ground with his staff, saying, "How did you come so fast!" Then came the great battle at Raofeng Ridge. The Jin wore heavy armor and climbed the mountain attacking upward. When one man climbed first two supported from behind; when the first died the next replaced him in the attack. Jie's army shot bows and crossbows in volleys and rolled down great stones — for six days and nights corpses piled like hills yet the enemy did not retreat. He recruited dare-to-die men at a thousand liang of silver each, got five thousand, and was about to strike from both sides. Just then a petty officer of Jie's who had offended him fled to the Jin and guided them by the Zuxi bypath, coming out behind the pass and seizing the heights to overlook Raofeng. The armies could not hold and collapsed; Jie withdrew to hold Xi County. The enemy entered Xingyuan; Liu Ziyu withdrew to hold Sanquan, built fortifications on Tandu Mountain to secure himself, and Jie raced to Sanquan to join him.
43
未幾，金人北歸，玠急遣兵邀于武休關，掩擊其後軍，墮澗死者以千計，盡棄輜重去。 金人始謀，本謂玠在西邊，故道險東來，不虞玠馳至。 雖入三郡，而失不償得。 進玠檢校少保，充利州路、階成鳳州制置使。
Before long the Jin returned north; Jie urgently sent troops to intercept at Wuxiu Pass and struck their rear in ambush; those who fell into ravines and died numbered in the thousands, and they abandoned all baggage and left. The Jin's original plan had assumed Jie was on the western frontier, so they came east by the perilous route and did not expect Jie to race there. Though they entered three prefectures, the loss did not repay the gain. Jie was promoted to Acting Junior Guardian and made Commissioner for Lizhou circuit and Jie, Cheng, and Feng prefectures.
44
四年二月，敵復大入，攻仙人關。 先是，璘在和尚原，餉饋不繼； 玠又謂其地去蜀遠，命璘棄之，經營仙人關右殺金平，創築一壘，移原兵守之。 至是，兀朮、撒離喝及劉夔率十萬騎入侵，自鐵山鑿崖開道，循嶺東下。 玠以萬人當其沖。 璘率輕兵由七方關倍道而至，與金兵轉戰七晝夜，始得與玠合。
In the second month of year 4 the enemy again invaded in force and attacked Xianren Pass. Earlier Lin had been at Heshang Plain where supplies did not keep up; Jie also said the place was far from Shu and ordered Lin to abandon it, develop Shajinping to the right of Xianren Pass, build a new fort, and move the plain troops to garrison it. At this time Wuzhu, Salihuo, and Liu Kui led a hundred thousand cavalry in invasion, cutting cliffs and opening a road from Tieshan, descending east along the ridge. Jie with ten thousand men blocked their thrust. Lin led light troops by forced march through Qifang Pass and after seven days and nights of successive battles finally joined Jie.
45
敵首攻玠營，玠擊走之。 又以雲梯攻壘壁，楊政以撞竿碎其梯，以長矛刺之。 璘拔刀畫地，謂諸將曰：「死則死此，退者斬！」 金分軍為二，兀朮陣于東，韓常陣於西。 璘率銳卒介其間，左縈右繞，隨機而發。 戰久，璘軍少憊，急屯第二隘。 金生兵踵至，人被重鎧，鐵鉤相連，魚貫而上。 璘以駐隊矢迭射，矢下如雨，死者層積，敵踐而登。 撒離喝駐馬四視曰：「吾得之矣。」 翌日，命攻西北樓，姚仲登樓酣戰，樓傾，以帛為繩，挽之復正。 金人用火攻樓，以酒缶撲滅之。 玠急遣統領田晟以長刀大斧左右擊，明炬四山，震鼓動地。 明日，大出兵。 統領王喜、王武率銳士，分紫、白旗入金營，金陣亂。 奮擊，射韓常，中左目，金人始宵遁。 玠遣統制官張彥劫橫山砦，王俊伏河池扼歸路，又敗之。 以郭震戰不力，斬之。 是役也，金自元帥以下，皆攜孥來。 劉夔乃豫之腹心。 本謂蜀可圖，既不得逞，度玠終不可犯，則還據鳳翔，授甲士田，為久留計，自是不妄動。
The enemy first attacked Jie's camp; Jie struck and drove them off. They again used scaling ladders against the fort walls; Yang Zheng smashed the ladders with battering poles and stabbed with long spears. Lin drew his sword and traced the ground, saying to the generals, "If we die we die here — whoever retreats will be executed!" The Jin divided their army in two: Wuzhu formed battle lines in the east, Han Chang in the west. Lin led crack troops into the gap between the enemy columns, wheeling left and looping right to strike wherever openings appeared. The battle wore on, and Lin's men began to flag; he quickly pulled them back to hold the second defile. Jin reinforcements kept arriving; the men wore heavy armor, hooked together with iron links, and advanced up the pass in a single unbroken column. Lin ordered his stationary archery formations to fire in rotation; arrows poured down like rain until corpses lay in heaps, yet the enemy climbed over the dead and kept coming. Salihuo reined in and surveyed the field on all sides, saying, "I've found the way in." The next day he ordered an assault on the northwest tower. Yao Zhong fought from the top until the structure began to buckle; his men tied it upright again with silk ropes. The Jin tried to burn the tower, but the defenders put the flames out with jars of wine. Jie hurriedly sent the commander Tian Sheng to slash on both flanks with long blades and battle-axes; signal fires blazed on every ridge and war drums shook the ground. The following day he committed his main force. The commanders Wang Xi and Wang Wu led picked men bearing purple and white flags in a raid on the Jin camp, throwing their lines into confusion. Pressing hard, they shot Han Chang in the left eye; the Jin army finally broke and fled by night. Jie dispatched the regimental commander Zhang Yan to strike Hengshan Stockade, while Wang Jun lay in wait at Hechi to cut off their retreat and routed them once more. Guo Zhen was beheaded for fighting halfheartedly. In this campaign every Jin officer from the marshals down had brought his family along. Liu Kui was Liu Yu's closest lieutenant. Having set out thinking Shu could be conquered, they found themselves unable to advance; judging that Jie could not be overcome, they fell back on Fengxiang, armed the troops and put them to farming, and settled in for a long occupation — after which they ventured nothing lightly.
46
捷聞，授玠川、陝宣撫副使。 四月，復鳳、秦、隴三州。 七月，錄仙人關功，拜檢校少師、奉甯保定軍節度使，璘自防禦使升定國軍承宣使，楊政以下遷秩有差。 六年，兼營田大使，易保平、靜難節。 七年，遣裨將馬希仲攻熙州，敗績，又失鞏州，玠斬之。
When word of the victory reached the court, Jie was made vice commissioner of the Sichuan-Shaanxi pacification commission. That April the Song recovered Feng, Qin, and Long prefectures. In the seventh month the court honored the victory at Xianren Pass: Jie was made honorary Junior Preceptor and military governor of the Fengning Baoding Army; Lin rose from defense commissioner to commissioner of the Dingguo Army; Yang Zheng and the other officers received promotions of varying degree. In the sixth year he was also made commissioner for military colonization and transferred from the Baoping and Jingnan commands. In the seventh year he sent the subordinate general Ma Xizhong to attack Xizhou; Ma was routed, Gongzhou fell as well, and Jie had him executed.
47
玠與敵對壘且十年，常苦遠餉勞民，屢汰冗員，節浮費，益治屯田，歲收至十萬斛。 又調戍兵，命梁、洋守將治褒城廢堰，民知灌溉可恃，願歸業者數萬家。 九年，金人請和。 帝以玠功高，授特進、開府儀同三司，遷四川宣撫使，陝西階、成等州皆聽節制。 遣內侍奉親劄以賜，至，則玠病已甚，扶掖聽命。 帝聞而憂之，命守臣就蜀求善醫，且飭國工馳視，未至，玠卒于仙人關，年四十七。 贈少師，賜錢三十萬。
Jie spent nearly ten years facing the enemy across fortified lines. Long supply lines had always drained the populace, so he repeatedly cut excess staff and waste, expanded the garrison farms, and eventually harvested a hundred thousand hu each year. He redeployed frontier garrisons and had the Liang and Yang commanders restore the abandoned Baocheng irrigation works; reassured that water would hold, tens of thousands of families returned to their farms. In the ninth year the Jin sued for peace. The Emperor, honoring Jie's outstanding service, granted him Special Advancement and the Grand Chariot with rites equal to the Three Excellencies, made him Sichuan pacification commissioner, and placed the Shaanxi prefectures of Jie, Cheng, and the rest under his authority. An imperial attendant was dispatched with a letter of personal commendation from the throne; by the time it arrived Jie was gravely ill and had to be helped upright to hear the decree. The Emperor, alarmed, ordered local officials to find skilled doctors in Sichuan and dispatched palace physicians posthaste; before they arrived Jie died at Xianren Pass, aged forty-seven. The court posthumously honored him as Junior Preceptor and granted thirty thousand strings of cash.
48
玠善讀史，凡往事可師者，錄置座右，積久，牆牖皆格言也。 用兵本孫、吳，務遠略，不求小近利，故能保必勝。 禦下嚴而有恩，虛心詢受，雖身為大將，卒伍至下者得以情達，故士樂為之死。 選用將佐，視勞能為高下先後，不以親故、權貴撓之。
Jie was an avid reader of history; every useful lesson from the past he copied out and kept at hand, until in time every wall and window around him was lined with wise sayings. He modeled his generalship on Sunzi and Wuzi, aiming at long-range strategy rather than petty gains, and so could fight with confidence of victory. He commanded with severity tempered by kindness and listened to counsel without pretense; though a great general, he let even common soldiers make their grievances heard, and they served him willingly unto death. When appointing officers he ranked them strictly by merit and ability, never allowing favoritism or court influence to intrude.
49
玠死，胡世將問玠所以制勝者，璘曰：「璘從先兄有事西夏，每戰，不過一進卻之頃，勝負輒分。 至金人，則更進迭退，忍耐堅久，令酷而下必死，每戰非累日不決，勝不遽追，敗不至亂。 蓋自昔用兵所未嘗見，與之角逐滋久，乃得其情。 蓋金人弓矢，不若中國之勁利； 中國士卒，不及金人之堅耐。 吾常以長技洞重甲于數百步外，則其衝突固不能相及。 於是選據形便，出銳卒更迭撓之，與之為無窮，使不得休暇，以沮其堅忍之勢。 至決機於兩陣之間，則璘有不能言者。」
After Jie's death Hu Shijiang asked how his elder brother had won; Lin replied, "When I fought the Western Xia under my brother, battles were usually decided in a single rush — advance, fall back, and the issue was settled. Against the Jin it was another matter: they advanced and withdrew in waves, endured with iron discipline, drove their men under brutal orders to fight to the death, and seldom settled a battle in less than several days — yet in victory they did not rashly pursue, nor break ranks in defeat. Nothing like it had been seen in warfare before; only after long contention did we learn how they truly fought. The Jin bows and arrows were not so powerful as ours; but our troops could not match the Jin in toughness and stamina. We therefore exploited our long-range weapons to pierce heavy armor from hundreds of paces off, keeping their charges from ever closing the gap. Then we chose favorable ground, fed elite troops into the fight in relays to harass them endlessly, and denied them any respite until their endurance gave way. But as for the decisions taken in the heat of battle — there are things I cannot fully explain."
50
晚節頗多嗜欲，使人漁色于成都，喜餌丹石，故得咯血疾以死。 方富平之敗，秦鳳皆陷，金人一意睨蜀，東南之勢亦棘，微玠身當其沖，無蜀久矣。 故西人至今思之。 諡武安，作廟于仙人關，號思烈。 淳熙中，追封涪王。 子五人：拱、扶、捴、擴、揔。 拱亦握兵雲。
In his later years he surrendered to excess: he sent agents to procure women in Chengdu and dabbled in mineral elixirs, which brought on the coughing of blood from which he died. After the disaster at Fuping, when Qin and Feng had fallen and the Jin set their sights on Sichuan while the southeast was also imperiled, Shu would have been lost long ago but for Jie standing in their path. The people of the west still remember him fondly. He was given the posthumous title Wu'an, and a temple called Silie — "In Memory of Fierce Loyalty" — was raised for him at Xianren Pass. During the Chunxi reign he was posthumously ennobled as Prince of Fu. Five sons survived him: Gong, Fu, Zuo, Kuo, and Zong. Gong, too, held a military command.
51
三年，遷榮州防禦使、知秦州，節制階、文。 是歲，玠敗于祖溪嶺，時璘猶在和尚原，玠命璘岔棄原別營仙人關，以防金人深入。 四年，兀朮、撒離喝果以大兵十萬至關下，璘自武、階路入援。 先以書抵玠，謂殺金平地闊遠，前陣散漫，須後陣阻隘，然後可以必勝。 玠從之，急修第二隘。 璘冒圍轉戰，會于仙人關。 敵果極力攻第二隘，諸將有請別擇形勝以守者，璘奮曰：「兵方交而退，是不戰而走也，吾度此敵去不久矣，諸君第忍之。」 震鼓易幟，血戰連日。 金兵大敗，二酋自是不敢窺蜀者數年。
In the third year he was made defense commissioner of Rongzhou and prefect of Qinzhou, with authority over Jie and Wen prefectures. That year Jie was defeated at Zuxi Ridge while Lin still held Heshang Plain; Jie ordered Lin to abandon the plain by a side path and fortify Xianren Pass against a deep Jin thrust into Shu. In the fourth year Wuzhu and Salihuo did arrive at the pass with an army of a hundred thousand; Lin came to the rescue by way of Wu and Jie. First he wrote Jie that at Shajin the terrain was open and flat, which would scatter the front line; only a fallback position in a narrow defile could guarantee victory. Jie agreed and hurriedly strengthened the second defile. Lin fought his way through the enemy ring and rallied at Xianren Pass. The enemy threw everything at the second defile; some officers urged abandoning it for better ground. Lin cried out, "To pull back now would be to flee without a fight; these enemies will not last — gentlemen, hold on." They changed banners and beat the war drums, and fought bloody battles for days on end. The Jin suffered a crushing defeat; the two Jin commanders did not dare look toward Sichuan again for years.
52
露布獻捷，遷定國軍承宣使、熙河蘭廓路經略安撫使、知熙州。 六年，新置行營兩護軍，璘為左護軍統制。 九年，升都統制，尋除秦鳳路經略安撫使、知秦州。 玠卒，授璘龍、神衛四廂都指揮使。
Upon report of victory he was promoted to commissioner of the Dingguo Army, military commissioner and pacifier of the Xihe Lan-Kuo circuit, and made prefect of Xizhou. In the sixth year the court created two mobile guardian armies; Lin commanded the left. In the ninth year he rose to supreme commander and was soon made military commissioner and pacifier of the Qin-Feng circuit and prefect of Qinzhou. At Jie's death Lin was appointed commander-in-chief of all four wings of the Dragon and Divine Guard.
53
時金人廢劉豫，歸河南、陝西地。 樓炤使陝，以便宜欲命三帥分陝而守，以郭浩帥鄜延，楊政帥熙河，璘帥秦鳳，欲盡移川口諸軍於陝西。 璘曰：「金人反覆難信，懼有他變。 今我移軍陝右，蜀口空虛，敵若自南山要我陝右軍，直搗蜀口，我不戰自屈矣。 當且依山為屯，控其要害，遲其情見力疲，漸圖進據。」 炤從之，命璘與楊政兩軍屯內地保蜀，郭浩一軍屯延安以守陝。
At this time the Jin deposed the puppet ruler Liu Yu and handed back Henan and Shaanxi. Lou Zhao went to Shaanxi as envoy and, on his own authority, proposed dividing the frontier among three commanders — Guo Hao over Yan-Yan, Yang Zheng over Xihe, Lin over Qin-Feng — and shifting every garrison from the Sichuan passes westward into Shaanxi. Lin objected: "The Jin are notoriously unreliable; we must guard against a surprise. If we shift our armies into Shaanxi now, the passes into Shu will lie empty; the enemy could come through the southern mountains, cut off our Shaanxi forces, and drive straight for the Shu gates — and we would collapse without a fight. Better to hold the mountain lines for now, seize the key passes, wait until their plans show themselves and their strength flags, and only then advance." Lou Zhao accepted this and ordered Lin and Yang Zheng to keep their armies in the interior to shield Sichuan while Guo Hao alone garrisoned Yan'an to hold Shaanxi.
54
既而胡世將以四川制置權宣撫司事，至河池，璘見之曰：「金大兵屯河中府，止隔大慶一橋爾，騎兵疾馳，不五日至川口。 吾軍遠在陝西，緩急不可追集，關隘不葺，糧運斷絕，此存亡之秋也。 璘家族固不足恤，如國事何！」 時朝廷恃和忘戰，欲廢仙人關。 於是世將抗奏謂：「當外固歡和，內修守禦。 今日分兵，當使陝、蜀相接，近兵宮賀仔諜知撒離喝密謀曰：'要入蜀不難，棄陝西不顧，三五歲南兵必來主之，道路吾已熟知，一發取蜀必矣。 '敵情如是，萬一果然，則我當為伐謀之備，仙人關未宜遽廢，魚關倉亦宜積糧。」 於是璘僅以牙校三隊赴秦州，留大軍守階、成山砦，戒諸將毋得撤備。 世將尋真除宣撫，置司河池。
Soon afterward Hu Shijiang, serving as Sichuan commissioner in charge of the pacification office, reached Hechi. Lin met him and said, "The main Jin force sits at Hezhong Prefecture — only one bridge at Daqing stands between them and us; cavalry at a hard gallop could reach the Sichuan passes in under five days. Our troops are stretched out in distant Shaanxi; we cannot rally them in time, the passes are in disrepair, and supply lines are broken — this is a moment of national survival. My own family is of no account — but what of the realm!" Meanwhile the court, trusting in peace, had grown complacent and proposed dismantling Xianren Pass. Hu Shijiang thereupon submitted a memorial arguing, "Outwardly we should preserve the peace, but inwardly we must strengthen our defenses. As we divide our forces Shaanxi and Sichuan must remain linked. A soldier named Gong Hezi recently reported Salihuo's secret plan: 'Taking Shu would be easy — leave Shaanxi alone; in a few years the southerners will move in to garrison it; I know every road already — one strike and Shu is ours.' If the enemy truly thinks this way, we must be ready to forestall them — Xianren Pass must not be dismantled in haste, and Yuguan Granary should be filled with reserves." Lin therefore sent only three companies of his staff guard to Qinzhou, kept his main force in the Jie and Cheng mountain forts, and ordered his officers not to stand down. Hu Shijiang was soon formally appointed pacification commissioner and established headquarters at Hechi.
55
十年，金人敗盟，詔璘節制陝西諸路軍馬。 撒離喝渡河入長安，趨鳳翔，陝右諸軍隔在敵後，遠近震恐。 時楊政在鞏，郭浩在鄜延，惟璘隨世將在河池。 世將急召諸將議，惟涇原帥田晟與楊政同至，參謀官孫渥謂河池不可守，欲退保仙人原，璘厲聲折之曰：「懦語沮軍，可斬也！ 璘請以百口保破敵。」 世將壯之，指所居帳曰：「世將誓死於此！」 乃遣渥之涇原，命田晟以三千人迎敵。 璘又遣姚仲拒於石壁砦，敗之。 詔同節制陝西諸路軍馬。
In the tenth year the Jin violated the peace; the court ordered Lin to take overall command of all Shaanxi forces. Salihuo crossed the Yellow River into Chang'an and marched on Fengxiang; the Shaanxi garrisons were trapped behind enemy lines, and panic spread throughout the region. Yang Zheng was at Gong, Guo Hao on the Yan-Yan front; only Lin was with Hu Shijiang at Hechi. Hu Shijiang called an urgent council of commanders; only Tian Sheng of Jingyuan arrived along with Yang Zheng. The staff officer Sun Wo argued that Hechi was indefensible and proposed retreating to Xianren Plain. Lin thundered back, "That coward's talk will wreck the army — it deserves death! Lin pledged a hundred lives from his own household on victory." Heartened, Hu Shijiang pointed to his own tent and swore, "I will die here if I must!" He sent Sun Wo to Jingyuan and ordered Tian Sheng forward with three thousand men. Lin also sent Yao Zhong to hold Shibi Stockade and routed the enemy there. An edict formally made him co-commander of all Shaanxi forces.
56
璘以書遺金將約戰，金鶻眼郎君以三千騎沖璘軍，璘使李師顏以驍騎擊走之。 鶻眼入扶風，復攻拔之，獲三將及女真百十有七人。 撒離喝怒甚，自戰百通坊，列陣二十里。 璘遣姚仲力戰破之，授鎮西軍節度使，升侍衛步軍都虞候。 十一年，與金統軍胡盞戰剡家灣，敗之，復秦州及陝右諸郡。
Lin sent a letter challenging the Jin to battle; the Jin commander known as Hawk-Eye Lordling charged with three thousand horse; Lin sent Li Shiyan's crack cavalry to beat him back. Hawk-Eye fled into Fufeng, which Lin recaptured, taking three Jin officers and one hundred seventeen Jurchen soldiers. Enraged, Salihuo took the field himself at Baitong Lane and drew up a battle line twenty li long. Lin sent Yao Zhong to smash the Jin line; for his service Yao was made military governor of the Zhenxi Army and promoted to chief adjutant of the palace guard infantry. In the eleventh year he defeated the Jin commander Hu Zhan at Yanjia Bay and recovered Qinzhou and the western Shaanxi commanderies.
57
初，胡盞與習不祝合軍五萬屯劉家圈，璘請討之。 世將問策安出，璘曰：「有新立疊陣法：每戰，以長槍居前，坐不得起； 次最強弓，次強弩，跪膝以俟； 次神臂弓。 約賊相搏至百步內，則神臂先發； 七十步，強弓併發； 次陣如之。 凡陣，以拒馬為限，鐵鉤相連，俟其傷則更代之。 遇更代則以鼓為節。 騎，兩翼以蔽於前，陣成而騎退，謂之'疊陣'。」 諸將始猶竊議曰：「吾軍其殲於此乎？」 璘曰：「此古束伍令也，軍法有之，諸君不識爾。 得車戰餘意，無出於此，戰士心定則能持滿，敵雖銳，不能當也。 及與二酋遇，遂用之。
Earlier Hu Zhan and Xibuzhu had joined forces — fifty thousand men camped at Liu Family Enclosure — and Lin asked permission to strike them. Hu Shijiang asked how he meant to proceed. Lin replied, "I have devised a new layered formation: in battle the long spears take the front rank and remain seated — they must not stand; behind them come the strongest bowmen, then the strongest crossbowmen, kneeling and waiting; and behind those, the Divine Arm crossbows. When the enemy closes to within a hundred paces, the Divine Arm crossbows fire first; at seventy paces the strong bows unleash together; each rank behind follows the same sequence. Each formation is bounded by caltrop barriers linked with iron hooks; wounded men are rotated out and fresh troops rotated in. Drums signal each rotation. Cavalry covers both flanks until the formation is set, then falls back — this is the 'Layered Formation.' At first the other generals muttered among themselves, "Are we marching our men to their deaths?" Lin replied, "This is the old regulation that binds men in groups of five — it stands in the military code. You simply have not seen it before. Nothing else preserves the spirit of ancient chariot combat so well. When the men stand firm in heart they can keep their bows drawn and ready — however fierce the enemy, they will not break through. When they finally met the two Jin commanders in battle, they deployed it.
58
二酋老於兵，據險自固，前臨峻嶺，後控臘家城，謂我必不敢輕犯。 先一日，璘會諸將問所以攻，姚仲曰：「戰於山上則勝，山下則敗。」 璘以為然，乃告敵請戰，敵笑之。 璘夜半遣仲及王彥銜枚截坡，約二將上嶺而後發火。 二將至嶺，寂無人聲，軍已畢列，萬炬齊發。 敵駭愕曰：「吾事敗矣。」 習不祝善謀，胡盞善戰，二酋異議。 璘先以兵挑之，胡盞果出鏖戰。 璘以疊陣法更休迭戰，輕裘駐馬亟麾之，士殊死鬥，金人大敗。 降者萬人，胡盞走保臘家城，璘圍而攻之。 城垂破，朝廷以驛書詔璘班師，世將浩歎而已。 明年，竟割和尚原以與敵。 撤戍割地，皆秦檜主之也。
Both commanders were seasoned in war. They had dug into strong ground — sheer ridges ahead, Lajia City at their back — convinced we would never dare attack. The day before, Lin gathered his commanders to discuss the assault. Yao Zhong said, "Fight on the heights and we prevail; fight on the lower ground and we are beaten." Lin agreed, then sent word to the enemy offering battle — and they laughed at the proposal. At midnight Lin dispatched Yao Zhong and Wang Yan with wood clenched in their teeth to steal around the slope, with orders to reach the ridge before lighting signal fires. When the two generals gained the ridge, not a sound broke the stillness — the army stood fully deployed below, and ten thousand torches flared at once. The enemy, stunned, cried out, "We are finished!" Xibuzhu was the strategist, Hu Zhan the fighter — and the two commanders could not agree on what to do. Lin sent a probing force first; Hu Zhan, as expected, sallied out to give battle. Lin fought with the layered formation, rotating fresh units in and out. Dressed lightly, he sat his horse and waved his command again and again; the men fought with desperate fury, and the Jin army was routed. Ten thousand men surrendered. Hu Zhan retreated into Lajia City, and Lin laid siege. The city was nearly taken when the court sent an urgent order recalling Lin's army. Hu Shijiang could only sigh in frustration. The next year Heshang Plain was ceded to the enemy after all. The pullout of garrisons and the surrender of territory were Qin Hui's doing.
59
十二年，入覲，拜檢校少師、階成岷鳳四州經略使，賜漢中田五十頃。 十四年，朝議析利州路為東西路，以璘為西路安撫使，治興州，階、成、西和、鳳、文、龍、興七州隸焉。 時和議方堅，而璘治軍經武，常如敵至。 十七年，徙奉國軍節度使，改行營右護軍為御前諸軍都統制，安撫使如故。 二十一年，以守邊安靜，拜少保。 二十六年，領興州駐紮御前諸軍都統制職事，改判興州。 渡江以來未有使相為都統制者，時璘已為開府儀同三司，故改命之。
In the twelfth year he came to court and was made acting Junior Preceptor and commissioner for Jie, Cheng, Min, and Feng Prefectures, with a grant of fifty qing of farmland in Hanzhong. In the fourteenth year the court divided Lizhou Circuit into eastern and western routes. Lin became pacification commissioner of the Western Route, with his seat at Xing Prefecture and seven prefectures — Jie, Cheng, Xihe, Feng, Wen, Long, and Xing — under his command. Peace talks were then at their firmest, yet Lin drilled his troops and kept the frontier on a war footing as though the enemy might arrive at any hour. In the seventeenth year he was made military governor of the Fengguo Army, and the Mobile Right Guard Army was redesignated as overall commander of all imperial armies before the throne; his pacification commission was unchanged. In the twenty-first year, for keeping the border calm and secure, he was promoted to Junior Guardian. In the twenty-sixth year he assumed the duties of overall commander of the imperial armies garrisoned at Xing Prefecture and was reassigned to govern that prefecture. Since the court fled south across the Yangtze, no commissioner-rank minister had held the post of overall commander. Lin already held the rank of Grand Preceptor with honors equal to the Three Ducal Ministers, so the title was adjusted accordingly.
60
三十一年，金主亮叛盟，拜四川宣撫使。 秋，亮渡淮，遣合喜為西元帥，以兵扼大散關，遊騎攻黃牛堡。 璘即肩輿上殺金平，駐軍青野原，益調內郡兵分道而進，授以方略。 制置使王剛中來會璘計事，璘尋移檄契丹、西夏及山東、河北，聲金人罪以致討。 未幾，兼陝西、河東招討使。 璘以病還興州，總領王之望馳書告執政，謂璘多病，猝有緩急，蜀勢必危。 請移璘侄京襄帥拱歸蜀，以助西師。 凡五書未報。 璘已力疾，復上仙人關。
In the thirty-first year, when Prince Liang of Jin tore up the peace treaty, Lin was appointed Sichuan commissioner for military pacification. That autumn Prince Liang crossed the Huai. He dispatched He Xi as western supreme commander to seize Dasanguan Pass, while raiding cavalry struck Huangniu Fort. Lin at once rode a sedan chair up to Shajinping, encamped at Qingye Plain, and called up interior garrisons to march by separate routes, issuing each column its orders. Pacification commissioner Wang Gangzhong came to consult with Lin. Lin then sent proclamations to the Khitan, the Western Xia, and the Shandong and Hebei regions, denouncing Jin crimes and calling for a joint campaign. Soon afterward he was also made commissioner for recruitment and punitive action in Shaanxi and Hedong. Lin fell ill and returned to Xing Prefecture. Overall supervisor Wang Zhiwang wrote urgently to the chief ministers, warning that Lin's health was poor and that if crisis struck suddenly, Sichuan would be in grave danger. He asked that Lin's nephew Gong, the Jingxiang commander, be transferred back to Sichuan to reinforce the western front. He wrote five times and received no answer. Despite his illness Lin forced himself back up to Xianren Pass.
61
三十二年，璘遣姚仲取鞏，王彥屯商、虢、陝、華，惠逢取熙河。 或久攻不下，或既得復失，竟無成功。 金人據大散關六十餘日，相持不能破。 仲舍鞏攻德順已逾四旬，璘以知夔州李師顏代之，遣子挺節制軍馬。 挺與敵戰於瓦亭，敗之。 璘自將至城下，守陴者聞呼「相公來」，觀望咨嗟，矢不忍發。 璘按行諸屯，預治黃河戰地，斬不用命者，先以數百騎嘗敵。 敵一鳴鼓，銳士空壁躍出突璘軍。 璘軍得先治地，無不一當十。 至暮，璘忽傳呼「某將戰不力」，人益奮搏，敵大敗，遁入壁。 黎明，師再出，敵堅壁不動。 會天大風雷，金人拔營去，凡八日而克。 璘入城，市不改肆，父老擁馬迎拜不絕。 璘尋還河池。
In the thirty-second year Lin sent Yao Zhong to seize Gong Prefecture, Wang Yan to hold Shang, Guo, Shan, and Hua, and Huifu to recover Xihe. Some targets resisted for weeks; others were taken and then lost again. Nothing held. The Jin held Dasanguan Pass for over sixty days, and neither side could break the stalemate. Yao Zhong had left Gong to besiege Deshun for more than forty days. Lin replaced him with Li Shiyan, prefect of Kuizhou, and sent his son Ting to take command of the army. Ting met the enemy at Wating and routed them. Lin himself led the army to the walls. Defenders on the ramparts heard the shout "The Commissioner is here!" — they peered down, sighed in awe, and could not bring themselves to shoot. Lin toured the camps, prepared the Huanghe battleground in advance, executed men who disobeyed orders, and sent several hundred cavalry to test the enemy first. At a single drumbeat the enemy's best troops sallied from the walls in an empty-camp charge against Lin's line. Because Lin's men had prepared the ground beforehand, each fought as ten. By evening Lin had a nameless general publicly rebuked for fighting without spirit. The troops fought all the harder; the enemy was crushed and fled back behind the walls. At dawn the army advanced again, but the enemy stayed behind their walls and would not come out. Then a great storm broke over the field. The Jin broke camp and withdrew, and the city fell on the eighth day. When Lin entered the city the shops stayed open as usual, and elders pressed around his horse to bow and welcome him without end. Lin soon returned to Hechi.
62
四月，原州受圍，璘命姚仲以德順之兵往援，璘自趨鳳翔視師。 諸將雖力戰，敵攻益急，增兵至七萬。 五月，仲與敵戰于原州之北嶺，仲敗績。 初，仲自德順至原，由九龍泉上北嶺，令諸軍持滿引行。 以盧士敏兵為前陣，所統軍六千為四陣，姚仲兵為後拒。 隨地便利以列，與敵鏖戰，開合數十。 會輜重隊隨陣亂行，敵兵沖之，軍遂大潰，失將三十餘人。 始，璘出師，王之望嘗言：「此行士卒銳氣，不及前時，仲年來數奇，不可委以要地。」 及仲至原，璘亦貽仲書，謂原圍未即解，且還德順。 書未達而仲敗，璘亦無功還。 尋奪仲兵，欲斬之，或勸而止，械系河池獄。
In the fourth month Yuan Prefecture was besieged. Lin ordered Yao Zhong to march from Deshun to its relief, while he himself hurried to Fengxiang to oversee the campaign. The generals fought hard, but the enemy pressed harder still, swelling their numbers to seventy thousand. In the fifth month Yao Zhong met the enemy on North Ridge outside Yuan Prefecture and was defeated. Earlier, marching from Deshun toward Yuan, Yao Zhong had climbed North Ridge by way of Jiulong Spring and ordered every unit to advance with bows fully drawn. Lu Shimin's men formed the vanguard; Yao Zhong's own six thousand were divided into four formations, with his remaining troops as the rearguard. He deployed according to the ground and fought the enemy in repeated clashes, opening and closing battle dozens of times. Then the baggage train wandered into the battle line in confusion. Enemy troops struck it, the army broke, and more than thirty officers were lost. When Lin first took the field, Wang Zhiwang had warned, "The men lack the fighting spirit they once had, and Yao Zhong has had a run of bad luck these past years — he should not be given a critical command." When Yao Zhong reached Yuan, Lin also wrote urging him that the siege would not break quickly and that he should fall back to Deshun for the time being. The letter never reached him before the defeat. Lin, too, withdrew without gain. Lin soon stripped Yao Zhong of command and wanted him executed, but was talked out of it. Yao was shackled and imprisoned at Hechi.
63
孝宗受禪，賜璘劄，命兼陝西、河東路宣撫招討使。 璘策金人必再爭德順，亟馳赴城下，而完顏悉烈等兵十余萬果來攻。 萬戶豁豁復領精兵自鳳翔繼至。 璘築堡東山以守，敵極力爭之，殺傷太半，終不能克。 時議者以為兵宿於外，去川口遠，恐敵襲之，欲棄三路。 遂詔璘退師。 敵乘其後，璘將士死亡者甚眾，三路復為敵有。 拜少傅。 隆興二年冬，金人侵岷州，璘提兵至祁山，金人聞之，退師，遣使來告曰：「兩國已講和矣。」 會詔至，俱解去。
When Xiaozong took the throne, he sent Lin an imperial letter appointing him additionally as Shaanxi and Hedong Route commissioner for pacification and punitive action. Lin judged that the Jin would fight for Deshun again and raced to the city. Wanyan Xilie and others did arrive with an army of more than a hundred thousand. The ten-thousand-household chief Huo Huo followed with elite troops from Fengxiang. Lin built a fort on East Mountain to hold the position. The enemy threw everything at it; more than half their force was killed or wounded, yet they could not take it. Court opinion held that with the army camped far from the Sichuan passes, the enemy might strike behind them, and many wanted to abandon the three frontier routes. An edict then ordered Lin to withdraw. The enemy pursued them. Many of Lin's officers and men were killed, and the three routes were lost again. He was made Junior Mentor. In the winter of the second year of Longxing the Jin raided Min Prefecture. Lin marched to Qishan; when they heard he was coming, the Jin withdrew and sent envoys saying, "The two states have made peace." The imperial edict arrived at the same moment, and both armies stood down.
64
沈介為四川安撫、制置使，與璘議不協，兵部侍郎胡銓上書，語頗及璘。 璘抗章請朝，上親劄報可。 未半道，請罷宣撫使及致仕，皆不允。 乾道元年詣闕，遣中使勞問，召對便殿，許朝德壽宮。 高宗見璘，歎曰：「朕與卿，老君臣也，可數入見。」 璘頓首謝。 兩宮存勞之使相踵，又命皇子入謁。 拜太傅，封新安郡王。 越數日，詔仍領宣撫使，改判興元府。 及還鎮，兩宮宴餞甚寵。 璘入辭德壽宮，泣下。 高宗亦為之悵然，解所佩刀賜之，曰：「異時思朕，視此可矣。」
Shen Jie was Sichuan pacification and pacification commissioner, and he and Lin could not see eye to eye. Vice Minister of War Hu Quan submitted a memorial that took Lin to task at length. Lin petitioned for an audience at court, and the emperor answered in his own hand granting permission. Before he was halfway to the capital he asked to be relieved of the pacification commission and to retire; both requests were refused. In the first year of Qiandao he reached the capital. The emperor sent palace envoys to greet him, summoned him to audience in the side hall, and allowed him to attend at De Shou Palace. Gaozong received him and sighed, "You and I are old sovereign and minister now. Come see me often." Lin kowtowed in thanks. Envoys of greeting from both palaces arrived one after another, and the emperor even ordered a prince to call on him. He was made Grand Mentor and enfeoffed as Prince of Xin'an Commandery. A few days later an edict restored him as pacification commissioner and reassigned him to govern Xingyuan Prefecture. When he returned to his command, both palaces honored him with lavish farewell banquets. Lin went to De Shou Palace to take leave and wept. Gaozong, moved, unbuckled the saber at his waist and gave it to him, saying, "When you miss me, look at this.
65
璘至漢中，修復褒城古堰，溉田數千頃，民甚便之。 三年，卒，年六十六。 贈太師，追封信王。 上震悼，輟視朝兩日，賻贈加等。 高宗復賜銀千兩。 初，璘病篤，呼幕客草遺表，命直書其事曰：「願陛下毋棄四川，毋輕出兵。」 不及家事，人稱其忠。
Back in Hanzhong, Lin restored the ancient sluice at Bao City and irrigated several thousand qing of farmland — a boon the people welcomed. In the third year he died at sixty-six. He was posthumously promoted to Grand Preceptor and given the title Prince of Xin. The emperor was shaken with grief. Court audiences were suspended for two days, and funeral gifts were granted at the highest grade. Gaozong sent an additional gift of one thousand taels of silver. When his illness turned grave, Lin called a staff officer to draft his final memorial and told him to write plainly: "I beg Your Majesty never to abandon Sichuan, and never to send troops lightly into the field." He said nothing of private affairs, and people praised his loyalty.
66
璘剛勇，喜大節，略苛細，讀史曉大義。 代兄為將，守蜀餘二十年，隱然為方面之重，威名亞於玠。 高宗嘗問勝敵之術，璘曰：「弱者出戰，強者繼之。」 高宗曰：「此孫臏三駟之法，一敗而二勝也。」
Lin was bold and resolute, cared for great matters and brushed aside petty ones, and read history with an eye to its larger lessons. He took his elder brother's place as commander and held Sichuan for more than twenty years, a quiet pillar of the frontier whose fame was second only to Wu Jie's. Gaozong once asked him the secret of defeating the enemy. Lin said, "Send the weaker units out first, and follow with the stronger ones." Gaozong said, "That is Sun Bin's stratagem of the three horse teams — one loss traded for two wins."
67
嘗著《兵法》二篇，大略謂：「金人有四長，我有四短，當反我之短，制彼之長。 四長曰騎兵，曰堅忍，曰重甲，曰弓矢。 吾集蕃漢所長，兼收而並用之，以分隊制其騎兵； 以番休迭戰制其堅忍； 制其重甲，則勁弓強弩； 制其弓矢，則以遠克近，以強制弱。 佈陣之法，則以步軍為陣心、左右翼，以馬軍為左右肋，拒馬布兩肋之間； 至帖撥增損之不同，則系乎臨機。」 知兵者取焉。
He once wrote two chapters on military method, arguing in essence: "The Jin have four strengths and we have four weaknesses; we must turn our weaknesses around and counter their strengths. Their four strengths are cavalry, endurance, heavy armor, and bows and arrows. We should combine the best of tribal and Han troops and deploy them together, using squad formations to break their cavalry; rotate units in rest and combat to wear down their endurance; against heavy armor, use powerful bows and strong crossbows; against their bows and arrows, fight from farther range and with greater force. In deploying formations, place infantry at the center and on both wings, cavalry on the left and right flanks, and abatis between the flanks; how to tighten, loosen, add, or subtract must be decided on the spot." Men who understood war took note.
68
王剛中嘗談劉錡之美，璘曰：「信叔有雅量、無英概，天下雷同譽之，恐不能當逆亮，璘竊憂之。」 剛中不以為然，錡果無功，以憂憤卒。 璘選諸將率以功。 有薦才者，璘曰：「兵官非嘗試，難知其才。 以小善進之，則僥倖者獲志，而邊人宿將之心怠矣。」 子挺。
Wang Gangzhong once praised Liu Qi to the skies. Lin said, "Xingshu has breadth of spirit but not the bold decisiveness of a commander. The whole world repeats the same praise, yet I fear he cannot stand against Prince Liang the usurper — and that worries me." Wang Gangzhong would not agree — and Liu Qi indeed achieved nothing, dying of grief and rage. Lin chose his generals almost entirely by merit. When someone recommended a talented man, Lin said, "You cannot test a military officer in advance — it is hard to know what he can do. Promote him for small virtues and the lucky will get their wish while veteran frontier generals lose heart." His son was Ting.
69
子挺
His son Ting
70
挺字仲烈，以門功補官。 從璘為中郎將，部西兵詣行在。 高宗問西邊形勢、兵力與戰守之宜，挺占對稱旨，超授右武郎、浙西都監兼御前祗候，賜金帶。 尋差利路鈐轄，改利州東路前軍同統制，繼改西路。
Ting, whose courtesy name was Zhonglie, received office through his family's merit. He followed Lin as a middle commander and led western troops to the traveling palace. Gaozong asked about the western frontier's situation, military strength, and what was suitable for attack and defense. Ting answered to his satisfaction and was specially promoted to Right Martial Gentleman, Zhexi overall inspector with concurrent duty as Attendant Before the Throne, and granted a gold belt. Soon he was dispatched as Lizhou circuit controller, then made unified commander of the front army on Lizhou East Route, and afterward transferred to the west route.
71
紹興三十一年，金人渝盟，璘以宣撫使總三路兵禦之，挺願自力軍前，璘以為中軍統制。 王師既復秦州，金將合喜孛堇介叛將張中彥以兵來爭，挺破其治平砦。 已而南市城賊亦掎角為援，轉戰竟日。 挺令前軍統制梅彥麾眾直據城門，眾弗喻，彥亦懼力不敵。 挺督之，彥出兵殊死戰，挺率背嵬騎盡易黃旗繞出敵後，憑高突之。 敵嘩曰：「黃旗兒至矣！」 遂驚敗。 挺不自為功，狀彥第一，士頗多之。 璘亦引嫌，並匿其功。 擢榮州刺史，尋拜熙河經略、安撫使。
In Shaoxing 31 the Jin broke the treaty. Lin as pacification commissioner commanded the three-route armies to resist; Ting wished to exert himself at the front and Lin made him unified commander of the center army. After the imperial army recovered Qin Prefecture, the Jin general Hexi and the defector Zhang Zhongyan came with troops to contest it; Ting broke their Zhiping fort. Before long the enemy at Nanshi city also supported them from the flank, and the battle raged all day. Ting ordered Front Army Commander Mei Yan to lead the troops straight to seize the city gate. The men did not understand, and Yan also feared they were too weak. Ting pressed him; Yan led his troops out to fight to the death. Ting led his personal guard cavalry, all switching to yellow banners, circled behind the enemy and charged down from the heights. The enemy cried out in alarm, "The Yellow Banner Boys are here!" Then they broke in panic. Ting did not claim the credit but ranked Yan first in his report; the soldiers greatly admired this. Lin also avoided suspicion and concealed his merit. He was promoted to prefect of Rong Prefecture and soon made Xixihe military commissioner and pacification commissioner.
72
明年，挺被檄與都統制姚仲率東西路兵攻德順。 金左都監空平涼之眾以援合喜，又遣精兵數萬自鳳翔來會。 仲駐軍六盤，挺獨趨瓦亭，身冒矢石，眾從之。 金人舍騎操短兵奮鬥，挺遣別將盡奪其馬，金眾遂潰。 挺勒兵追之，禽千戶耶律九斤、孛堇等百三十七人。
The next year Ting was ordered by dispatch to join Overall Commander Yao Zhong in leading the east and west route armies to attack Deshun. The Jin Left Director emptied Pingliang's forces to aid Hexi and also sent tens of thousands of elite troops from Fengxiang to join. Zhong halted his army at Liupan; Ting alone pressed toward Wating, exposing himself to arrows and stones, and the troops followed. The Jin abandoned their horses and fought with short weapons; Ting sent a deputy to seize all their horses, and the Jin ranks collapsed. Ting drove his troops in pursuit and captured thousand-commander Yelü Jiujin, jian officers, and one hundred thirty-seven men in all.
73
金人懲前衄，悉兵趨德順。 璘自秦州來督師，先壁於險，且治夾河戰地。 金人果大至，挺誘致之，至所治戰地，盛兵蹙之，敵不能支，一夕遁去。 鞏州久不下，挺以選鋒至城下，諸將咸曰：「西北坡陀地易攻，若分兵各當一面，宜得利。」 挺曰：「西北雖卑而土堅，東南並河多沙礫善圮。 且兵分則少，以少當堅城，可得而下乎？」 乃命悉眾擊東南陬。 不二日，樓櫓俱盡。 夜半，其將雷千戶約降，黎明，城破。 以功授團練使，又以瓦亭功授郢州防禦使。
The Jin, chastened by their earlier defeat, mustered all their troops and rushed toward Deshun. Lin came from Qin Prefecture to supervise the army, first walled up on defensible ground and prepared the battleground along the river. The Jin indeed arrived in force; Ting lured them to the prepared battleground, massed troops and pressed them, the enemy could not hold, and in one night they fled. Gong Prefecture long would not fall. Ting brought the vanguard to the foot of the walls. All the generals said, "The rolling ground to the northwest is easy to attack; if we divide forces to face each side we should gain advantage." Ting said, "Though the northwest is lower the soil is firm; the southeast along the river has much gravel and sand that collapses easily. Moreover if we divide the army we become fewer — with fewer men against strong walls, can we take them?" He then ordered the whole force to strike the southeast corner. In less than two days the siege towers were all destroyed. At midnight their general Thousand-Commander Lei agreed to surrender; at dawn the city fell. For merit he was made regimental commander, and for the Wating achievement also made Defense Commissioner of Ying Prefecture.
74
始，武興所部就餉諸郡，漫不相屬。 挺奏以十軍為名，自北邊至武興列五軍，曰踏白、摧鋒、選鋒、策選鋒、游奕； 武興以西至綿為左、右、後三軍； 而駐武興者前軍、中軍。 營部於是始井井然。 四年，入覲，除知興州、利州西路安撫使。 密修皂郊堡，增二堡，繕戎器，儲於兩庫，敵終不覺。
At first the Wuxing garrison drew rations from various prefectures in a scattered, unconnected way. Ting memorialized to organize ten armies by name: from the northern frontier to Wuxing five armies — Taobai, Cuifeng, Xuanfeng, Cexuanfeng, and Youyi; west of Wuxing to Mian three armies — left, right, and rear; those garrisoned at Wuxing were the front and center armies. The camp organization then became orderly for the first time. In year 4 he came to court for an audience and was made prefect of Xing Prefecture and pacification commissioner of Lizhou West Route. He secretly repaired Zaojiao Fort, added two forts, repaired weapons, and stored them in two arsenals without the enemy ever noticing.
75
十年冬，特加檢校少保。 成州、西和歲大侵，挺力為振恤，諭總賦者分軍儲以佐之，全活殆數千萬。 蜀自諸軍宿師，凡廩賜，官率糴三之一，視價高下給之，名曰「折估」，隨所屯地相為乘除。 歲久屯他徙，廩賜不易舊，至有同部伍而廩相倍蓰者，挺裒為中制上之。
In the winter of year 10 he was specially promoted to Acting Junior Guardian. Cheng and Xihe prefectures suffered great famine that year. Ting worked hard to relieve them, instructing the tax commissioners to divide military stores to assist; nearly tens of millions were saved. Since the armies had long garrisoned Shu, for all grain allowances the government generally purchased one third, giving according to price — called "converted valuation" — adjusted according to where each unit was stationed. Over years units moved elsewhere but allowances were not changed from the old rates, until men in the same company could receive rations differing by multiples. Ting gathered this into a moderate system and submitted it upward.
76
光宗即位，御筆獎勞。 而西和、階、成、鳳、文、龍六州器械弗繕，挺節冗費，屯工徒，悉創為之。 禦軍雖嚴，而能時其緩急，士以不困。 郡東北有二谷水，挺作二堤以捍之。 紹熙二年，水暴發入城。 挺既振被水者，復增築長堤，民賴以安。 詔問備邊急務，即建增儲之策，由是糧糗不乏。 四年春，以疾乞致仕，詔加太尉。 卒，年五十六。 贈少師、開府儀同三司。
When Guangzong took the throne he received an imperial brush commendation. Yet in Xihe, Jie, Cheng, Feng, Wen, and Long six prefectures weapons were unrepaired. Ting cut redundant expenses, gathered laborers, and had them all newly made. Though he governed the army strictly he could time urgency and ease; the soldiers therefore were not worn down. Northeast of the prefecture two valley streams flowed; Ting built two dikes to hold them back. In Shaoxi 2 water burst in and flooded the city. After Ting had relieved those affected by the flood he further built up the long dike; the people relied on it for safety. When an edict asked about urgent frontier matters he immediately proposed a plan to increase stores; thereafter grain and fodder did not run short. In the spring of year 4 he requested retirement on grounds of illness; an edict promoted him to Grand Marshal. He died at fifty-six. He was posthumously granted Junior Preceptor and Grand Preceptor with Ceremonial Equal to the Three Excellencies.
77
挺少起勳閥，弗居其貴，禮賢下士，雖遇小官賤吏，不敢怠忽。 拊循將士，人人有恩。 璘故部曲拜於庭下，輒降答之，即失律，誅治無少貸。 璘嘗對孝宗言，諸子中惟挺可任。 孝宗亦曰：「挺是朕千百人中選者。」 歲時問勞不絕，被遇尤深厚。 光宗賜內府珍奇，以示殊禮。 子五人，曦，其次也。 曦仕至太尉、昭信軍節度使，以叛誅，見別傳。
Ting rose young from a meritorious house but did not dwell on his rank; he honored the worthy and humbled himself before scholars, and even toward petty officials and low clerks did not dare neglect them. He comforted and guided officers and soldiers; every man felt his kindness. When Lin's old retainers bowed in the courtyard he always descended to return the courtesy; yet if they violated discipline he punished them without the least leniency. Lin once told Xiaozong that among his sons only Ting could be entrusted with responsibility. Xiaozong also said, "Ting is one I chose from among thousands." Seasonal inquiries and rewards never ceased; the favor shown him was especially deep. Guangzong granted him rare treasures from the inner palace to show special honor. He had five sons; Xi was the second. Xi rose to Grand Marshal and military governor of Zhaoxin Army; he was executed for rebellion — see his separate biography.
78
論曰：劉錡神機武略，出奇制勝，順昌之捷，威震敵國，雖韓信泜上之軍，無以過焉。 或謂其英概不足，雅量有餘，豈其然乎？ 吳玠與弟璘智勇忠實，戮力協心，據險抗敵，卒保全蜀，以功名終，盛哉！ 挺累從征討，功效甚著，有父風矣。 然玠晚頗荒淫，璘多喪敗，豈狃于常勝，驕心侈歟！ 抑三世為將，釀成逆曦之變，覆其宗祀，蓋有由焉。
The commentator says: Liu Qi's divine stratagem and martial skill, winning by surprise, made the victory at Shunchang shake the enemy state — even Han Xin's army at the Yi River could not surpass it. Some say his heroic spirit was insufficient while his magnanimity was abundant — can that really be so? Wu Jie and his younger brother Lin were wise, brave, loyal, and steadfast; joining strength in one heart they held defensible ground against the enemy, preserved Shu, and ended with fame and achievement — magnificent! Ting repeatedly followed campaigns and his achievements were very notable — he had his father's bearing. Yet Jie in his later years was quite dissolute, and Lin suffered many defeats — was it because they grew accustomed to constant victory and their hearts turned proud and extravagant? Or perhaps three generations as generals bred the rebellion of Xi and the destruction of their ancestral sacrifices — there was reason for it after all.