1
朱倬王綸尹穡王之望徐俯沈與求翟汝文王庶辛炳
Zhu Zhuo, Wang Lun, Yin Se, Wang Zhiwang, Xu Fu, Shen Yuqiu, Di Ruwen, Wang Shu, and Xin Bing
2
朱倬，字漢章，唐宰相敬則之後，七世祖避地閩中，為閩縣人。 世學《易》，入太學。 宣和五年，登進士第，調常州宜興簿。 金將犯邊，居民求避地，倬為具舟給食，眾賴以濟。 未幾，民告澇於郡，郡檄倬考實，乃除田租什九，守怒，不能奪。 張浚薦倬，召對，除福建、廣東西財用所屬官。 宣諭使明橐再薦于朝，時方以劉豫為憂，倬因賜對，策其必敗。 高宗大喜，詔改合入官。 與丞相秦檜忤，出教授越州。 用張守薦，除諸王府教授。 檜惡言兵，倬論掩骼事，又忤之。
Zhu Zhuo, whose courtesy name was Hanzhang, was descended from the Tang chancellor Jing Ze; seven generations earlier his family had fled into Fujian and settled in Min County. The family had studied the Book of Changes for generations, and he enrolled in the Imperial Academy. In the fifth year of the Xuanhe reign he passed the jinshi examination and was posted as assistant magistrate of Yixing in Changzhou. As the Jin were about to strike the frontier, local people sought refuge elsewhere; Zhuo arranged boats and provisions for them, and many owed their escape to him. Soon afterward the people petitioned the prefecture about flood damage; the prefecture commissioned Zhuo to investigate, and he cut field rents by nine-tenths. The prefect was furious but could not reverse his decision. Zhang Jun recommended him; summoned to an imperial audience, he was appointed to the Fujian and Guangdong West fiscal offices. The imperial envoy Ming Nang recommended him to court again. With Liu Yu then a cause of alarm, Zhuo was granted an audience and predicted his certain downfall. Emperor Gaozong was delighted and ordered his rank advanced to he-ru status. He fell out with Chancellor Qin Hui and was sent out to serve as an instructor in Yuezhou. On Zhang Shou's recommendation he was appointed instructor to the various imperial princes' households. Hui hated discussion of military affairs; when Zhuo spoke about collecting the unburied dead on the battlefield, he offended him once more.
3
梁汝嘉制置浙東，表攝參謀。 有群寇就擒，屬倬鞫問，獨竄二人，餘釋不問。 曰：“吾大父尉崇安日，獲寇二百，坐死者七十餘人。 大父謂此饑民剽食爾，烏可盡繩以法？ 悉除其罪，不以徼賞。 吾其可愧大父乎？ ”通判南劍。 建寇阿魏眾數千，劍鄰於建，兵懦不可用，倬重賞募卒擒獲，境內迄平。
When Liang Rujia was made commissioner for the Eastern Zhe circuit, he recommended Zhuo as acting staff adviser. A band of brigands was taken; interrogation was entrusted to Zhuo. He let only two escape while releasing the rest without further questioning. He said, "When my grandfather was magistrate of Chong'an, he seized two hundred bandits, and more than seventy were put to death." My grandfather said they were starving people looting for food—how could one apply the full weight of the law to them all? He cleared them all of guilt and did not seek reward for doing so. How could I shame my grandfather by acting otherwise? He was then appointed vice-prefect of Nanjian. A band from Jian led by A Wei numbered several thousand men. Because Nanjian bordered Jian, the local troops were too weak to act; Zhuo offered rich bounties to recruit men who captured the rebels, and the district was pacified.
4
除知惠州。 陛辭，因言嘗策劉豫必敗，高宗記其言，問：“卿久淹何所？ ”倬曰：“厄於檜。 ”上愀然慰諭，目送之。 旬日間，除國子監丞，尋除浙西提舉，且命自今在內除提舉官，今朝辭上殿，蓋為倬設也。 既對，上曰：“卿以朕親擢出為部使者，使咸知內外任均。 ”又曰：“人不知卿，朕獨知卿。 ”除右正言，累遷中丞。 嘗言：“人主任以耳目，非報怨任氣之地，必上合天心。 ”每上疏輒夙興露告，若上帝鑒臨。 奏疏凡數十，如發倉廩，蠲米價，減私鹽，核軍食，率焚稿不傳。 知貢舉，遷參知政事。
He was appointed prefect of Huizhou. When he took leave of the throne he mentioned his earlier prediction that Liu Yu would fall. Gaozong remembered and asked, "Where have you been held back all this time?" Zhuo answered, "Blocked by Hui." The emperor's expression darkened; he comforted Zhuo with kind words and watched him depart. Within ten days he was made Vice Director of the Directorate of Education, then Intendant for Western Zhe; the court also ruled that hereafter intendants appointed from the central government must attend morning audience on the day of appointment—arrangements tailored for Zhuo. After the audience the emperor said, "I am personally elevating you to serve as a regional commissioner, so everyone will see that posts at court and in the provinces carry equal weight." He added, "Others do not know you, but I alone do." He was appointed Right Rectifier of Writings and eventually rose to Censor-in-Chief. He once said, "The ruler appoints censors as his eyes and ears; the post is not for settling scores or venting spite—one's words must accord with Heaven's will." Whenever he drafted a memorial he rose before dawn and prayed aloud, as though Heaven itself were watching. He submitted dozens of memorials—on opening granaries, lowering rice prices, curbing private salt, auditing army rations—and as a rule burned his drafts rather than keep copies. After supervising the civil examinations he was promoted to Vice Commissioner of the Secretariat-Chancellery.
5
紹興三十一年，拜尚書右僕射。 金兵犯江，倬陳戰、備、應三策，且謂兵應者勝，上深然之。 又策敵三事：上焉者為耕築計，中焉者守備，下則妄意絕江，金必出下策。 果如所料。 史浩、虞允文、王淮、陳俊卿、劉珙之進用，皆倬所薦也。
In the thirty-first year of the Shaoxing reign he was appointed Right Vice Director of the Ministry of Works—effectively chief minister. When the Jin crossed the Yangzi, Zhuo proposed three policies: active combat, defensive preparation, and flexible response. He argued that victory belonged to those who could adapt; the emperor strongly agreed. He also analyzed three possible enemy moves: the best for them was to consolidate by farming and building fortifications; next was steadfast defense; worst was a rash attempt to cross the river. Jin would surely take the lowest course. Events unfolded exactly as he had foretold. Shi Hao, Yu Yunwen, Wang Huai, Chen Junqing, and Liu Qi all rose through his recommendations.
6
高宗自建康回鑾，有內禪意。 倬密奏曰：“靖康之事正以傳位太遽，盍姑徐之。 ”心不自安，屢求去。 詔以觀文殿學士提舉江州太平興國宮。 孝宗即位，諫臣以為言，降資政殿學士。 明年致仕，卒。 復元職，恤典如宰相，贈特進。 孫著，淳熙十四年登第，仕至吏部尚書。
After Gaozong returned to the capital from Jiankang, he contemplated abdicating the throne. Zhuo secretly memorialized, "The disaster at Jingkang came because the throne passed too hastily; why not proceed more slowly?" Uneasy in his own mind, he repeatedly asked to resign. He was ordered to take up the honorary post of Academician of the Hall for Cultivating Culture and oversee the Taiping Xingguo Palace in Jiangzhou. After Xiaozong's accession, remonstrators raised the issue, and he was demoted to Academician of the Hall of Governance. The following year he retired and died. His former rank was restored; he received a chancellor's funeral honors and was posthumously granted the title of Special Advancement. His grandson Zhu Zhuo passed the examinations in the fourteenth year of Chunxi and rose to Minister of Personnel.
7
王綸，字德言，建康人。 幼穎悟，十歲能屬文。 登紹興五年進士第，授平江府昆山縣主簿，曆鎮江府、婺州、臨安府教授，權國子正。
Wang Lun, whose courtesy name was Deyan, came from Jiankang. Brilliant as a boy, he could write essays by the age of ten. He passed the jinshi in the fifth year of Shaoxing, became recorder of Kunshan in Pingjiang, and later taught in Zhenjiang, Wuzhou, and Lin'an before serving as acting Rectifier of the Imperial Academy.
8
時初建太學，亡舊規，憑吏省記，吏緣為奸。 綸厘正之，其弊稍革。 遷敕令所刪定官、諸王宮大小學教授兼權兵部郎官。 言：“孔門弟子與後世諸儒有功斯文者，皆得從祀先聖，今辟庠序，修禮樂，宜以其式頒諸郡縣。”
The Imperial Academy had only recently been founded, its old rules were gone, and affairs rested on clerks' ledgers—which the clerks exploited for graft. Lun straightened the procedures, and the worst abuses were curbed. He was promoted to Editor of Statutes, instructor at the princes' Great and Small Schools, and acting Secretary in the Ministry of War. He argued that Confucius's disciples and later scholars who had served civilization deserved accompanying sacrifice in the Sage's temple; with schools reopening and ritual music restored, that standard ought to be promulgated through every prefecture and county.
9
二十四年，以御史中丞魏師遜薦，為監察御史，與秦檜論事，忤其意，師遜遂劾綸，且言：“智識淺昧，不能知綸。 ”由此罷去。 逾年，知興國軍。 檜死，召為起居舍人兼崇政殿說書，尋兼權禮部侍郎。
In the twenty-fourth year Wei Shixun, then Censor-in-Chief, recommended him as Investigating Censor. When he disputed policy with Qin Hui and crossed him, Shixun impeached Lun, adding bluntly that his own judgment was too shallow to have recognized Lun's faults. He was removed from office as a result. A year later he was made prefect of Xingguo district. After Hui's death he was recalled as Attendant of the Secretariat, lecturer at the Chongzheng Hall, and soon acting Vice Minister of Rites.
10
二十六年，試中書舍人。 高宗躬親政事，收攬威柄，召諸賢於散地，詔命填委，多綸所草。 綸奏守臣裕民事，乞毋拘五條，從之。 兼侍講。 上喜讀《春秋左氏傳》，綸進講，與上意合。 嘗同講讀官薦興化軍鄭樵學行，召對命官，且給筆劄，錄其所著史。 兼直學士院，遷工部侍郎，仍兼直院。 撰《吳玠神道碑》，稱上旨，賜宸翰褒寵。
In the twenty-sixth year he passed the examination for Secretariat Drafter. Gaozong took government into his own hands, reclaimed authority, and called gifted men back from obscurity; edicts flooded out, most of them in Lun's hand. Lun urged that local officials ease the people's burdens and asked that they not be constrained by five standard formulae; the emperor agreed. He was also made Court Lecturer. The emperor loved the Zuo Commentary to the Spring and Autumn Annals; Lun's lectures matched his tastes. With fellow lecturers he recommended Zheng Qiao of Xinghua for scholarship and integrity; the court summoned him, granted rank, and supplied paper and brushes to copy his historical works. He entered the Hanlin Academy as additional academician, then rose to Vice Minister of Works while keeping his academy duties. He wrote Wu Jie's spirit-road stele in a style the emperor approved, earning imperial calligraphy and praise.
11
二十八年，除同知樞密院事。 金將渝盟，邊報遝至，宰相沈該未敢以聞。 綸率參知政事陳康伯、同知樞密院事陳誠之共白其事，乞備禦。 已而綸病肺暍，告請祠，上遣御醫診視，且賜白金五百兩。
In the twenty-eighth year he was made Vice Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. A Jin commander was preparing to break the treaty; urgent dispatches arrived from the frontier, yet Chancellor Shen Gai dared not inform the throne. Lun, Vice Commissioner Chen Kangbo, and Co-Vice Commissioner Chen Cheng told the emperor together and pleaded for defensive preparations. Soon afterward Lun fell ill with lung heat-stroke, requested leave, and the emperor sent the court physician with five hundred taels of silver.
12
二十九年六月，朝論欲遣大臣為泛使覘敵，且堅盟好。 綸請行，乃以為稱謝使，曹勳副之。 至金，館禮甚隆。 一日，急召使入，金主禦便殿，惟一執政在焉，連發數問，綸條對，金主不能屈。 九月，還朝入見，言：“鄰國恭順和好，皆陛下威德所致。 ”宰臣湯思退等皆賀。 然當時金已謀犯江，特以善意紿綸爾。
In the sixth month of the twenty-ninth year the court debated dispatching a senior minister as envoy to gauge the enemy while reaffirming peaceful relations. Lun volunteered and was appointed Envoy of Gratitude, with Cao Xun as deputy. In Jin territory he was received with elaborate ceremony. One day he was summoned abruptly to the informal hall, where only one Jin minister attended. The ruler fired question after question; Lun answered each in order until the Jin ruler could not best him. He returned in the ninth month and told the emperor, "Our neighbor's courtesy and peaceful bearing come entirely from Your Majesty's august virtue." Chancellor Tang Situ and others congratulated him. Yet the Jin were already planning to cross the Yangzi; they had merely deceived Lun with shows of goodwill.
13
綸舊疾作，力丐外，除資政殿大學士知福州，上解所禦犀帶賜之。 明年，知建康府兼行宮留守。 敵犯江，綸每以守禦利害驛聞，上多從之。 三十一年八月，卒。 贈左光祿大夫，諡章敏。 無子，以兄綽之子為後。
Lun's chronic illness flared again; he begged a post outside the capital and was made Grand Academician of the Hall for Governance and prefect of Fuzhou, with the emperor's own rhinoceros-horn belt as a parting gift. The next year he became prefect of Jiankang and custodian of the mobile palace. When the enemy struck the Yangzi, Lun sent rapid reports on defensive measures, most of which the emperor adopted. He died in the eighth month of the thirty-first year. He was posthumously granted Left Grandee of Splendid Happiness and the posthumous title Zhangmin. Childless, he adopted his brother Wang Chuo's son as heir.
14
尹穡，字少稷。 建炎中興，自北歸南。 紹興三十二年，與陸遊同為樞密院編修官。 權知院史浩、同知王祖舜薦其博學有文，召對稱旨，二人並賜進士出身。 孝宗獎用西北之士，隆興元年，除穡監察御史，尋除右正言。 二年五月，除殿中侍御史。 曆遷諫議大夫，未幾而罷。
Yin Se, whose courtesy name was Shaoji. At the Jianyan restoration he came south from the north. In the thirty-second year of Shaoxing he and Lu You served together as editors at the Bureau of Military Affairs. Acting Commissioner Shi Hao and Co-Commissioner Wang Zushun praised their erudition; both pleased the emperor at audience and were granted jinshi standing. Xiaozong favored scholars from the northwest; in the first year of Longxing he made Se Investigating Censor, then Right Rectifier of Writings. In the fifth month of the second year he became Palace Attendant Censor. He rose to Remonstrator, but was soon dismissed.
15
初，符離師潰，湯思退復相，金帥移書索地，詔侍從台諫集議。 穡時為監察御史，以為國家事力未備，宜與敵和，惟增歲幣，勿棄四州，勿請陵寢，則和議可成。 既而盧仲賢出使，為金所脅，又將遣王之望，張浚極言其不可。 穡為右正言，懼和議弗就，因劾浚跋扈，未幾罷政。 後將割四郡，再易國書，歲幣如所索之數，而敵分兵入寇。 上意中悔。 穡為侍御史，乞置獄，取不肯撤備及棄地者劾其罪，牽引凡二十餘人。
After the debacle at Fuli, Tang Situ returned as chancellor; the Jin commander demanded territory by letter, and the emperor ordered court advisers and censors to debate the response. Se, then Investigating Censor, argued that the state still lacked strength and should treat with the enemy: raise the annual tribute, keep the four prefectures, and do not press for recovery of the imperial tombs—only then could peace hold. Soon Lu Zhongxian's mission was bullied by the Jin; as Wang Zhiwang was about to be sent abroad, Zhang Jun protested fiercely. As Right Rectifier, Se feared the peace would fail; he impeached Jun for arrogance, and Jun was soon driven from office. Later the court prepared to surrender the four prefectures and rewrite the state letters at the tribute level demanded—even as Jin armies crossed the border. The emperor began to regret the course. As Attendant Censor, Se demanded a special inquiry to punish everyone who resisted demilitarization or opposed ceding land—more than twenty officials in all.
16
時方以和為急，擢穡為諫議大夫。 敵勢浸張，遠近震動，都督、同都督相繼辭行。 上書者攻和議之失，且言：“穡專附大臣為鷹犬，如張浚忠誠為國，天下共知，穡不顧公議，妄肆詆誹； 凡大臣不悅者皆逐之，相與表裡，以成奸謀，皆可斬。 ”上雖怒言者，而一時主議之臣與穡，皆相繼廢黜。 先是，胡銓力言主和非是，大臣不悅，命銓與穡分往浙東西措置海道。 二人挈家以行，為言者所劾，遂皆罷，語在《陳康伯傳》。
With peace the urgent priority, Se was promoted to Remonstrator. Enemy strength grew; the realm was alarmed; supreme commanders resigned one after another. Petitioners denounced the peace policy and charged that "Se serves powerful ministers as their hawk and hound. Zhang Jun's loyalty is known throughout the realm, yet Se ignores public opinion and slanders him recklessly." "Every senior official he dislikes is driven out; they work hand in glove to enact treacherous plots—all deserve death." The emperor was enraged by the petitioners, yet the ministers who had backed Se and the peace policy were soon dismissed one after another. Earlier, Hu Quan had fiercely opposed the peace policy, angering the chief ministers, who sent Quan and Se to organize coastal defenses in Eastern and Western Zhe respectively. Both men took their families with them, were impeached by petitioners, and were dismissed; the full account appears in Chen Kangbo's biography.
17
王之望
Wang Zhiwang
18
王之望，字瞻叔，襄陽穀城人，後寓居台州。 父綱，登元符進士第，至通判徽州而卒。 之望初以蔭補，紹興八年，登進士第。 教授處州，入為太學錄，遷博士。 久之，出知荊門軍，提舉湖南茶鹽，改潼川府路轉運判官，尋改成都府路計度轉運副使、提舉四川茶馬。
Wang Zhiwang, whose courtesy name was Zhanshu, came from Gucheng in Xiangyang and later settled in Taizhou. His father Wang Gang passed the jinshi in the Yuanfu reign and served as vice-prefect of Huizhou before his death. Zhiwang entered service through yin privilege and passed the jinshi examination in the eighth year of Shaoxing. He taught in Chuzhou, became Registrar of the Imperial Academy, and was promoted to Erudite. After some years he became prefect of Jingmen, intendant for Hunan tea and salt, then Transport Assessor for Tongchuan Circuit, and soon Deputy Transport Commissioner and fiscal commissioner for Chengdu with authority over Sichuan tea and horses.
19
朝臣薦其才，召赴行在，除太府少卿，總領四川財賦。 金人渝盟，軍書旁午，調度百出，之望區畫無遺事。 第括民質劑未稅者，搜抉隱匿，得錢為緡四百六十八萬，眾鹹怨之。 後升太府卿。
The court recommended his ability; summoned to the mobile capital, he was made Vice Director of the Imperial Treasury and overall supervisor of Sichuan finances. When the Jin broke the treaty, dispatches and requisitions poured in by the hundreds, and Zhiwang handled every detail without lapse. He inventoried untaxed pledges and hunted down hidden assets, raising 4.68 million strings of cash—and earned widespread resentment. He was later promoted to Director of the Imperial Treasury.
20
隆興初，右諫議大夫王大寶疏之望罪，除集英殿修撰、提舉江州太平興國宮。 未幾，權戶部侍郎、江淮都督府參贊軍事。 之望雅不欲戰，請朝，因奏：“人主論兵與臣下不同，惟奉承天意而已。 竊觀天意，南北之形已成，未易相兼，我之不可絕淮而北，猶敵之不可越江而南也。 移攻戰之力以自守，自守既固，然後隨機制變，擇利而應之。 ”有旨留中。 俄兼直學士院。
Early in Longxing, Right Remonstrator Wang Dabao denounced him; he was made Compiler at the Hall for Assembled Eminence and custodian of the Taiping Xingguo Palace in Jiangzhou. Soon afterward he served as acting Vice Minister of Revenue and staff adviser to the Jiang-Huai command headquarters. Zhiwang disliked war by temperament; at audience he argued that a ruler's view of military affairs differs from his subjects'—one need only follow Heaven's will. "Heaven's pattern shows north and south already fixed and hard to unite: we cannot abandon the Huai and march north any more than they can cross the Yangzi and drive south." "Turn offensive strength to defense; once defense is firm, adapt to events, seize advantage, and respond accordingly." The emperor ordered the memorial kept at court. He soon entered the Hanlin Academy as well.
21
湯思退力主息兵，奏除之望吏部侍郎、通問使。 尋議先遣小使覘敵，召之望還。 之望首以守備不足恃為告，上亟罷都督府，以之望為淮西宣諭使，甫拜命，又擢右諫議大夫。 之望因上章極言廷臣執偏見為身謀，乞明詔在庭，平其心於議論之際。 時思退主和議，浚主恢復，之望言似善，實陰為思退地也。
Tang Situ, pressing for peace, had Zhiwang appointed Vice Minister of Personnel and envoy to negotiate with the Jin. The court then debated sending a lesser envoy to scout the enemy first, and Zhiwang was recalled. Zhiwang warned that defenses were unreliable; the emperor quickly abolished the command headquarters, named him imperial envoy for Western Huai, and on appointment promoted him to Right Remonstrator. He then memorialized that ministers clung to partisan views for private ends and begged an edict requiring even hearts in debate. Situ backed peace while Zhang Jun urged recovery; Zhiwang sounded even-handed but secretly aided Situ.
22
既而視師江上。 金復犯邊，遂上和、戰二策，且言措置守禦之備，疏奏未達，拜參知政事。 既入，俄兼同知樞密院事。 敵兵交至，濠、楚守將或棄城遁，上命湯思退督江、淮師； 未行，復令之望督視，改同都督。 力辭不行。 會太學諸生上書，上怒，欲加罪，之望救解之。 遂以參知政事勞師江、淮。
He soon went to inspect troops on the Yangzi. When the Jin invaded again he offered both peace and war plans and detailed defensive measures; before the memorial arrived he was made Vice Commissioner. After taking office he was soon also Co-Vice Commissioner of Military Affairs. As enemy columns advanced, garrisons at Hao and Chu sometimes fled; the emperor ordered Tang Situ to command Jiang-Huai forces. Before Situ left, Zhiwang was ordered to supervise instead and made Co-Commander-in-Chief. He refused strenuously and would not go. When academy students submitted a joint petition the emperor wished to punish them; Zhiwang interceded and won their release. He then went as Vice Commissioner to encourage the Jiang-Huai armies.
23
之望有文藝幹略，當秦檜時，落落不合或謂其有守。 紹興末年，力附和議，與思退相表裡，專以割地啖敵為得計，地割而敵勢益張，之望迄以此廢焉。
Talented and capable, he had kept his distance under Qin Hui—some called that integrity. In late Shaoxing he embraced peace with Situ, treating land grants to the enemy as wisdom; the more territory was ceded the stronger the foe grew—and Zhiwang was ruined by it.
24
徐俯，字師川，洪州分寧人。 以父禧死國事，授通直郎，累官至司門郎。 靖康中，張邦昌僭位，俯遂致仕。 時工部侍郎何昌言與其弟昌辰避邦昌，皆改名。 俯買婢名昌奴，遇客至，即呼前驅使之。 建炎初，落致仕，奉祠。
Xu Fu, whose courtesy name was Shichuan, came from Fenning in Hongzhou. His father Xu Xi died in state service, so Fu received the rank of Gentlemen for Unfailing Fidelity and rose to Director of the Gate of the Capital. During the Jingkang crisis Zhang Bangchang seized the throne, and Fu retired. Vice Minister He Changyan and his brother Changchen, shunning Bangchang, both changed their names. Fu bought a maid named Changnu and, when guests came, would call "Forward!"—a pointed mockery of the He brothers. At the start of Jianyan his retirement was revoked and he received a sacrificial stipend.
25
內侍鄭諶識俯於江西，重其詩，薦于高宗。 胡直孺在經筵，汪藻在翰苑，迭薦之，遂以俯為右諫議大夫。 中書舍人程俱言：“俯以前任省郎遽除諫議，自元豐更制以來未之有。 考之古今，非陽城、種放，則未嘗不循序而進，願姑以所應者命之。 昔元稹在長慶間，擢知制誥，真不忝矣。 緣其為荊南判司，命從中出，召為省郎，便知制誥，遂喧朝論，時謂荊南監軍崔潭峻實引之。 近亦傳俯與宦寺倡酬，稱其警策，恐或者不知陛下得俯之由。 ”不報，俱遂罷。
The inner attendant Zheng Chen met Fu in Jiangxi, admired his poetry, and recommended him to Gaozong. Hu Zhiru in the Classics Lectures and Wang Zao in the Hanlin recommended him in turn, and Fu became Right Remonstrator. Secretariat Drafter Cheng Ju objected that Fu had leapt from a provincial secretaryship to Remonstrator—unheard of since the Yuanfeng reforms. "History shows that except for Yang Cheng or Zhong Fang, no one skipped the proper sequence; Your Majesty should first give him the rank he has earned." "Yuan Zhen in the Changqing era was promoted to drafting edicts—and was not unworthy." "Yet he had been a Jingnan aide; a central order summoned him straight to the Secretariat and at once to drafting edicts, scandalizing the court—rumor said the Jingnan supervising officer Cui Tanjun had pushed him." "Now Fu is said to exchange poems with eunuchs and praise their wit—perhaps not everyone knows how Your Majesty came to favor him." The emperor did not respond, and Ju was dismissed.
26
紹興二年，賜進士出身，兼侍讀。 三年，遷翰林學士，俄擢端明殿學士、簽書樞密院事。 四年，兼權參知政事。 宰相朱勝非言：“襄陽上流，所當先取。 ”帝曰：“盍就委岳飛？ ”參政趙鼎曰：“知上流利害，無如飛者。 ”俯獨持不可，帝不聽。 會劉光世乞入奏，鼎言：“方議出師，大將不宜離軍。 ”俯欲許之，鼎固爭，俯乃求去，提舉洞霄宮。
In the second year of Shaoxing he was granted jinshi standing and made Court Lecturer. In the third year he rose to Hanlin Academician, then Academician of the Hall of Enlightened Governance and Coordinator of Military Affairs. In the fourth year he also served as acting Vice Commissioner. Chancellor Zhu Shengfei said, "Xiangyang on the upper Yangzi should be taken first." The emperor asked, "Why not entrust it to Yue Fei?" Vice Commissioner Zhao Ding replied, "No one knows the river's currents and hazards like Fei." Fu alone objected; the emperor ignored him. When Liu Guangshi asked to attend court, Ding said, "With a campaign under debate, a field commander must not leave his army." Fu wanted to allow it; Ding argued hard; Fu then resigned and was made custodian of the Dongxiao Palace.
27
九年，知信州。 中丞王次翁論其不理郡事，予祠。 明年，卒。 俯才俊，與曾幾、呂本中游，有詩集六卷。
In the ninth year he became prefect of Xinzhou. Censor Wang Ciweng charged him with neglecting the prefecture, and he was given a stipend post. He died the following year. A gifted poet, he moved in the circle of Zeng Ji and Lü Benzhong and left a six-fascicle collection.
28
沈與求
Shen Yuqiu
29
沈與求，字必先，湖州德清人。 登政和五年進士第，累遷至明州通判。 以御史張守薦，召對，除監察御史。 上疏論執政，遷兵部員外郎，自劾以為言苟不當，不應得遷。 上乃行其言，除殿中侍御史。
Shen Yuqiu, whose courtesy name was Bixian, came from Deqing in Huzhou. He passed the jinshi in the fifth year of Zhenghe and rose to vice-prefect of Mingzhou. Zhang Shou recommended him; summoned to audience, he became Investigating Censor. He criticized those in power and was promoted to Secretary in the Ministry of War, then impeached himself on the ground that wrong counsel should not be rewarded. The emperor adopted his advice and made him Palace Attendant Censor.
30
上在會稽，或勸幸饒、信，有急則入閩。 與求以為今日根本正在江、浙，宜進都建康，以圖恢復。 論范宗尹年少為相，恐誤國事。 上不悅，以直龍圖閣知台州。 宗尹罷，召還，再除侍御史。
While the court was at Kuaiji, some urged retreat to Rao and Xin, with Fujian as a last refuge. Yuqiu argued that the realm's foundation lay in Jiang and Zhe and that the court should advance to Jiankang to plan recovery. He warned that Fan Zongyin was too young as chancellor and would harm state affairs. Displeased, the emperor sent him out as prefect of Taizhou with the title Direct Palace. When Zongyin fell he was recalled as Attendant Censor.
31
時軍儲窘乏，措置諸鎮屯田，與求取古今屯田利害，為《集議》二卷上之，詔付戶部看詳。 江西安撫、知江州朱勝非未至，而馬進寇江州陷之，與求論九江之陷，由勝非赴鎮太緩，勝非罷去。 時方多事，百司稽違，與求援元豐舊制，請許台諫官彈奏，上從之。 與求再居言路，或疑凡范宗尹所引用者，將悉論出之。 與求曰：“近世朋黨成風，人才不問賢否，皆視宰相出處為進退。 今當別人才邪正而言之，豈可謂一時所用皆不賢哉？ ”人服其言。
With army stores low, garrison colonies were debated; Yuqiu compiled ancient and modern precedents on military farming in two fascicles and sent them to the Ministry of Revenue for review. Jiangxi commissioner Zhu Shengfei had not reached Jiangzhou when Ma Jin seized it; Yuqiu blamed the loss of Jiujiang on Shengfei's delay, and Shengfei was removed. With affairs pressing and offices stalling, Yuqiu cited Yuanfeng rules allowing censors to impeach, and the emperor agreed. When he returned to the remonstrating post, some feared he would purge everyone Zongyin had appointed. Yuqiu said, "Faction has become habit: men rise or fall according to which chancellor brought them in, not whether they are fit." "We should judge men by honesty and corruption—not declare an entire administration unworthy." His argument carried the day.
32
呂頤浩再相，禦營統制辛永宗、樞密富直柔、右司諫韓璜屢言其短。 與求劾直柔附會永宗兄弟，為致身之資。 上遂出永宗，而璜、直柔亦相繼罷黜。
When Lü Yihao returned as chancellor, Guard Commander Xin Yongzong, Military Affairs Commissioner Fu Zhirou, and Remonstrator Han Huang repeatedly attacked him. Yuqiu impeached Zhirou for currying favor with the Yongzong brothers to advance himself. The emperor removed Yongzong; Huang and Zhirou were dismissed soon after.
33
遷御史中丞。 時禁衛寡弱，諸將各擁重兵，與求言：“漢有南北軍，唐用府兵，彼此相維，使無偏重之勢。 今兵權不在朝廷，雖有樞密院及三省兵房、尚書兵部，但行文字而已。 願詔大臣益修兵政，助成中興之勢。 ”浙西安撫劉光世來朝，以繒帛、方物為獻，上已分乞六宮，與求奏：“今為何時而有此。 ”時已暮，疏入，上命追取斥還。 內侍馮益請別置禦馬院，自領其事，又擅穿皇城便門。 與求劾益專恣，請治其罪。
He was promoted to Censor-in-Chief. With the palace guard weak and generals holding private armies, Yuqiu cited Han's Northern and Southern Armies and Tang's fubing militia as mutual checks against concentrated force. "Today real military power is not at court: the Bureau of Military Affairs, the three departments' military office, and the Ministry of War merely shuffle papers." "Let great ministers restore military governance and build momentum for restoration." When Liu Guangshi of Zhexi brought silks and local gifts—the emperor had already divided them among the palaces—Yuqiu asked, "What season is this for such presents?" It was evening; the memorial arrived and the emperor ordered the gifts seized and sent back. Inner attendant Feng Yi sought a private imperial stud and opened a secret gate in the palace wall on his own authority. Yuqiu impeached him for arrogance and demanded legal punishment.
34
諜報劉豫在淮陽造舟，議者多欲于明州向頭設備。 與求言：“使賊舟至此，則入吾腹心之地。 臣聞海舟自京東入浙，必由泰州石港、通州料角崇明鎮等處，次至平江南北洋，次至秀州金山，次至向頭。 又聞料角水勢湍險，必得沙上水手方能轉運。 宜於石港、料角等處拘收水手，優給錢糧而存養之，以備緩急。”
Spies reported Liu Yu building boats at Huaiyang; many wanted defenses at Xiangtou in Mingzhou. Yuqiu warned, "If enemy ships reach Xiangtou, they will be deep inside our territory." "Sea routes from Jingdong into Zhe pass Shigang in Taizhou, Liaojiao in Tongzhou, Chongming, then Pingjiang's north shore, Jinshan in Xiuzhou, and finally Xiangtou." "Liaojiao's currents are swift and treacherous—only sand pilots can navigate them." "Register sailors at Shigang, Liaojiao, and similar points, pay them well, and keep them ready for emergencies."
35
兩浙轉運副使徐康國自溫州進發宣和間所制間金、銷金屏障什物，與求奏曰：“陛下儉侔大禹，今康國欲以微物累盛德，乞斥而焚之，仍顯黜康國。 ”從之。 與求曆御史三院，知無不言，前後幾四百奏，其言切直，自敵己已下有不能堪者。 上時有所訓敕，每曰：“汝不識沈中丞邪？ ”移吏部尚書兼權翰林學士兼侍讀，遂出為荊湖南路安撫使、知潭州。 引疾丐祠許之。
Deputy Transport Commissioner Xu Kangguo brought Xuanhe-era gold-inlaid screens from Wenzhou; Yuqiu urged, "Your Majesty is thrifty as Yu the Great; these trifles insult that virtue—burn them and demote Kangguo." The emperor agreed. Serving all three censorial bureaus, he spoke without restraint—nearly four hundred memorials, sharp and direct—so that foes and allies alike found him hard to bear. When giving instructions the emperor would say, "Do you not know Vice Censor Shen?" He was made Minister of Personnel, acting Hanlin academician and court lecturer, then sent out as Hunan pacification commissioner and prefect of Tanzhou. He pleaded illness for a sacrificial post and was allowed to retire.
36
四年，出知鎮江府兼兩浙西路安撫使。 復以吏部尚書召，除參知政事。 金人將入寇，上諭輔臣曰：“朕當親總六軍。 ”與求贊之曰：“今日親征，皆由聖斷。 ”上意決親征，書《車攻詩》以賜。 上曰：“朕以二聖在遠，屈己通和。 今豫逆亂如此，安可復忍？ ”與求曰：“和親乃金人屢試之策，不足信也。 ”因奏：“諸將分屯江岸，而敵人往來淮甸，當遣岳飛自上流取間道乘虛擊之，彼必有反顧之憂。 ”上曰：“當如此措置。”
In the fourth year he became prefect of Zhenjiang and pacification commissioner for Western Zhe. Recalled as Minister of Personnel, he was made Vice Commissioner of the Secretariat-Chancellery. With the Jin about to invade, the emperor told his ministers, "I shall personally lead the Six Armies." Yuqiu agreed: "This personal campaign rests entirely on Your Majesty's decision." Resolved on campaigning in person, the emperor copied out the "Chariots in Array" and gave it to him. The emperor said, "With the two captive emperors still in the north, I humbled myself to seek peace." "Now that Yu's rebellion has come to this, how can I bear it any longer?" Yuqiu replied, "Marriage alliances are a trick the Jin have used repeatedly—they are not to be trusted." He urged that while generals held the Yangzi line the enemy moved freely on the Huai—Yue Fei should strike from upstream by a side route and force them to look to their rear. The emperor said, "That is how it should be done."
37
五年，兼權知樞密院事。 時張浚視師江上，以行府為名，言知泰州邵彪及具營田利害事，乞送尚書省。 有旨從之。 與求不能平，曰：“三省、樞密院乃奉行行府文書邪？ ”六年，張浚復欲出視師，不告之同列。 及得旨，乃退而歎曰：“此大事也，吾不與聞，何以居位？ ”遂丐祠，罷，出知明州。
In the fifth year he also served as acting Vice Commissioner of Military Affairs. Zhang Jun, commanding on the Yangzi as a field headquarters, reported on Shao Biao of Taizhou and colony farming and asked the Secretariat to review it. The emperor agreed. Yuqiu protested, "Are the three departments and Military Affairs Bureau merely clerks for a field headquarters?" In the sixth year Zhang Jun again planned to take the field without telling his colleagues. Receiving the order he withdrew and sighed, "This is a grave matter—how can I remain in office if I am not told?" He begged a sacrificial post, resigned, and was sent out as prefect of Mingzhou.
38
七年，上在平江，召見，除同知樞密院事； 從至建康，遷知樞密院事。 薨，贈左銀青光祿大夫，諡忠敏。
In the seventh year, while the emperor was at Pingjiang, he was summoned as Co-Vice Commissioner of Military Affairs; he followed to Jiankang and was promoted to Commissioner of Military Affairs. He died and was posthumously granted Left Silver Grandee of Splendid Happiness with the posthumous title Zhongmin.
39
翟汝文
Di Ruwen
40
翟汝文，字公巽，潤州丹陽人。 登進士第，以親老不調者十年。 擢議禮局編修官，召對，徽宗嘉之，除秘書郎。 三館士建議東封，汝文曰：“治道貴清淨。 今不啟上述三代禮樂，而師秦、漢之侈心，非所願也。 ”責監宿州稅。 久之，召除著作郎，遷起居郎。
Di Ruwen, whose courtesy name was Gongxun, came from Danyang in Runzhou. He passed the jinshi but did not take office for ten years while caring for aged parents. Promoted to ritual compiler and summoned to audience, he pleased Huizong and was made Secretary. When Three Institutes scholars proposed an eastern feng, Ruwen said, "Good government values purity and restraint." "Rather than restoring the rites of the Three Dynasties, you copy Qin and Han extravagance—that is not what I desire." He was demoted to supervisor of the Suzhou tax office. Later he was recalled as Compiler and promoted to Attendant of the Secretariat.
41
皇太子就傅，命汝文勸講，除中書舍人。 言者謂汝文從蘇軾、黃庭堅遊，不可當贊書之任，出知襄州，移知濟州，復知唐州，以謝章自辨罷。 未幾，起知陳州。 召拜中書舍人，外制典雅，一時稱之。 命同修《哲宗國史》，遷給事中。 高麗使入貢，詔班侍從之上，汝文言：“《春秋》之法，王人雖微，序諸侯上。 不可卑近列而尊陪臣。 ”上遂命如舊制。 內侍梁師成強市百姓墓田，廣其園圃。 汝文言于上，師成諷宰相黜汝文，出守宣州。
When the crown prince received tutors, Ruwen lectured for him and was made Secretariat Drafter. Critics said he had traveled with Su Shi and Huang Tingjian and was unfit to draft imperial praise; he served as prefect of Xiang, Jizhou, and Tang, then resigned after self-defense in a thanks memorial. Soon he was appointed prefect of Chenzhou. Recalled as Secretariat Drafter, his edicts were elegant and widely praised. Ordered to compile the National History of Zhezong, he rose to Supervising Secretary. When a Goryeo envoy arrived, an edict placed him above attendants; Ruwen cited the Spring and Autumn Annals: even a king's humble messenger ranks above feudal lords. "He must not be set below nearby ministers while honored above them." The emperor restored the old protocol. Eunuch Liang Shicheng forcibly bought commoners' grave plots to expand his garden. Ruwen reported this; Shicheng persuaded the chancellor to demote him, and he was sent to guard Xuanzhou.
42
先是，汝文在密，檜為郡文學，汝文薦其才，故檜引用之。 然汝文性剛不為檜屈，對案相詬，至目檜為“濁氣”。 汝文風度翹楚，好古博雅，精於篆籀，有文集行於世。
Earlier in Mizhou, Hui had been a literary officer and Ruwen had recommended him—hence Hui later favored him. Yet Ruwen was stubborn and would not bow to Hui; they shouted at each other across the desk, Ruwen even calling Hui "murky air." Distinguished in manner, learned in antiquity, skilled in seal script, he left collected works still read today.
43
先是，河東經制使王燮既遁歸，東京留守宗澤承制以庶權陝西制置使。 會宣諭使謝亮入關，庶移書曰：“夏人之患小而緩，金人之患大而迫，秋高必大舉，盍杖節率兵舉義，驅逐渡河，徐圖恢復。 ”亮不能從。 金人大入，庶調兵自沿河至馮翊，據險以守。 金人先已乘冰渡河犯晉寧，侵丹州，又渡清水河，破潼關，秦、隴皆震。 庶傳檄諸路，會期討賊。 涇原統制曲端雅不欲屬庶，以未受命辭； 居數日，告身至，又辭。 金人知端與庶不協，並兵寇鄜延。 庶在坊州聞之，夜趨鄜延以遏其沖。 金人詭道陷丹州，州界鄜、延之間，庶乃自當延安路。 時端盡統涇原勁兵，庶屢督其進，端訖不行，遂陷延安。 語在端傳。
Earlier, after Hedong commissioner Wang Xie fled home, Tokyo defender Zong Ze provisionally made Wang Shu acting Shaanxi commissioner. When envoy Xie Liang entered the pass, Shu wrote that Xia raids were minor but Jin invasion imminent in autumn—he urged Liang to raise troops, drive the Jin back across the river, and plan recovery. Liang would not agree. When the Jin invaded in force, Shu deployed troops from the river line to Fuping, holding defiles. They crossed the ice at Jining, struck Danzhou, crossed the Qingshui, broke Tong Pass, and shook Qin and Long. Shu issued proclamations along the routes to join in punishing the invaders. Jingyuan commander Qu Duan disliked serving under Shu and refused, saying he had no commission; when the commission arrived days later, he refused again. Learning that Duan and Shu were at odds, the Jin united to attack Yan-Yan. At Fangzhou Shu heard and rode overnight to Yan-Yan to block them. The Jin took Danzhou by a ruse; Shu then covered the Yan'an route himself. Duan held Jingyuan's best troops; Shu urged attack repeatedly, but Duan never moved and Yan'an fell. The account appears in Qu Duan's biography.
44
初，庶聞圍急，自收散亡往援。 觀察使王燮亦將所部發興元。 庶至甘泉而延安已不守，既無所歸，遂以軍付燮，而自將百騎馳至襄樂勞軍，尚倚端為助。 庶至，端令每門減從騎之半，比至帳下，僅數騎。 端厲聲問庶延安失守狀，且曰：“節制固知愛身，不知為天子愛城乎？ ”庶曰：“吾數令不從，誰其愛身者！ ”端怒，謀即軍中誅庶而奪其兵，乃夜走寧州，見謝亮曰：“延安，五路襟喉，今既失矣。 《春秋》大夫出疆之義得以專之，請誅庶。 ”亮曰：“使事有指，今以人臣而擅誅於外，是跋扈也，公則自為之。 ”端沮而歸，乃奪庶節制使印，又拘縻其官屬。 會詔庶守京兆，庶先以失律自劾得罷。 丁內艱。
Hearing the siege was desperate, Shu gathered scattered troops to relieve it. Observation commissioner Wang Xie also marched from Xingyuan. Reaching Ganquan he found Yan'an gone; he gave the army to Xie and rode with a hundred men to Xiang-le to rally troops, still counting on Duan. Duan halved his escort at each gate until only a few riders reached the tent. Duan harshly questioned the fall of Yan'an and sneered, "As commissioner you know how to save yourself—do you not save the emperor's cities?" Shu retorted, "I ordered you many times and you disobeyed—who spared himself?" Enraged, Duan plotted to kill Shu in camp and seize his army; he fled by night to Ningzhou and told Xie Liang, "Yan'an was the throat of the Five Routes—and it is lost." "By the Spring and Autumn rule a minister abroad may act on his own—execute Shu." Liang replied, "If he had explicit orders that would be different; but for a subject to kill abroad is arrogance—you may do it yourself." Frustrated, Duan returned, seized Shu's commissioner seal, and detained his staff. An edict made Shu guard Jingzhao, but he had already impeached himself for misconduct and resigned. He mourned his mother.
45
時張浚自富平敗歸，始思庶及端之言可用，乃並召之。 庶地近先至，力陳撫秦保蜀之策，勸浚收熙河、秦鳳之兵，扼關、隴以為後圖。 浚不納。 求終制，不許，乃版授參議官。 浚念端與庶必不相容，端未至，但復其官，移恭州。 庶因謂浚曰：“端有反心。 ”浚亦畏端得士，始有殺端意矣。 語在《端傳》。
When Zhang Jun returned defeated from Fuping he recalled Shu and Duan's counsel and summoned both. Shu arrived first and urged pacifying Qin and securing Shu, telling Jun to gather Xihe and Qin-Feng troops and hold the passes for a later advance. Jun refused. He begged to finish mourning; denied, he was appointed Deliberation Official by plaque. Jun feared Duan and Shu could not coexist; before Duan arrived he restored Shu but moved him to Gongzhou. Shu then told Jun, "Duan harbors rebellion." Jun also feared Duan's hold on the army and began to contemplate killing him. The account is in Qu Duan's biography.
46
紹興五年，起復知興元府、利夔路制置使。 庶以士卒單寡，籍興、洋諸邑及三泉縣強壯，兩丁取一，三丁取二，號“義士”，日閱於縣，月閱於州，厚犒之，不半年，有兵數萬。 浚言於朝，升徽猷閣直學士。 有讒於浚者，徙庶知成都，改嘉州。 明年，浚劾庶輕率傾險，落職奉祠。 尋起知遂寧，固避得請。
In the fifth year of Shaoxing he left mourning to govern Xingyuan and commission Li-Kui. With few soldiers he enrolled strong men from Xing, Yang, and Sanquan—one per two households or two per three—called "righteous warriors," drilled locally and rewarded; within half a year he had tens of thousands. Jun reported this and he was promoted to Direct Academician of the Hall for Cultivating Culture. Slanderers moved him from Chengdu to Jiazhou. The next year Jun impeached him for rashness and he lost office with only a stipend. Soon offered Suining, he firmly declined and was allowed to rest.
47
六年，除湖北安撫使、知鄂州。 趨闕，上因燕見，庶言：“陛下欲保江南，無所事； 如曰紹復大業，都荊為可。 荊州左吳右蜀，利盡南海，前臨江、漢，出三川，涉大河，以圖中原，曹操所以畏關羽者也。 ”上大異之。 復顯謨閣待制、知荊南府、湖北經略安撫使，又復直學士。
In the sixth year he became Hubei pacification commissioner and prefect of Ezhou. At a banquet audience he said, "If Your Majesty only wishes to hold south of the Yangzi, nothing need be done; "but to restore the empire, Jing should be the capital." "Jing lies between Wu and Shu, commands the southern sea and the Jiang-Han, opens the Three Gorges and the Great River route to the Central Plains—what made Cao Cao fear Guan Yu." The emperor was greatly impressed. He was restored as Awaiting Instruction, made prefect of Jingnan and Hubei pacification commissioner, and again Direct Academician.
48
七年十月，以兵部侍郎召。 明年春，入對，上曰：“召卿之日，張浚已去，趙鼎未來，此朕親擢，非有左右之助。 ”庶頓首謝，因奏：“恢復之功十年未立，其失在偏聽，在欲速，在輕爵賞，是非邪正混淆。 誠能賞功罰罪，其誰不服？ 昔漢光武以兵取天下，不以不急奪其費，不知兵者不可使言兵。 ”又口陳手畫秦、蜀利害。 上大喜，即日遷本部尚書。 閱月，拜樞密副使。
In the tenth month of the seventh year he was summoned as Vice Minister of War. Next spring at audience the emperor said, "When I called you, Zhang Jun was gone and Zhao Ding not yet arrived—this was my own choice, not a favorite's doing." Shu thanked him and said ten years had failed to restore the empire through partial counsel, haste, and careless rewards—right and wrong were blurred. "Reward merit and punish guilt, and who will not obey?" "Guangwu conquered by arms yet did not strip funds from non-soldiers—do not let men ignorant of war dictate war." He also traced Qin and Shu's strategic gains and losses with his hand. The emperor was delighted and that day made him Minister of War. Within a month he became Vice Commissioner of Military Affairs.
49
議者乞遣重臣行邊，遂命庶措置江、淮邊防。 京、湖宣撫使岳飛聞庶行邊，遺書曰：“今歲若不出師，當納節請閑。 ”庶壯之。 庶還朝，論金人變詐，自渝海上之盟，因及飛納節之語。 當是時，秦檜再相，以和戎為事。 金使烏陵思謀至，詔趣庶還。 庶力詆和議，乞誅金使，其言甚切。 金又遣張通古來許割地，還梓宮，歸太后。 庶曰：“和議之事，臣所不知。 ”凡七疏乞免官，乃以資政殿學士知潭州。
When the court sought a senior minister to tour the frontier, Shu was ordered to arrange Jiang-Huai defenses. Yue Fei, pacification commissioner of Jing-Hu, wrote that if no campaign came that year he would surrender his command and retire. Shu was heartened. Back at court he denounced Jin treachery since breaking the sea treaty and cited Fei's threat to resign his command. Qin Hui was again chancellor and pursued appeasement. When Jin envoy Wulingsimou arrived, an edict recalled Shu. Shu fiercely opposed peace and begged the envoy's execution in the strongest terms. Jin sent Zhang Tonggu promising land, imperial coffins, and the empress dowager's return. Shu said, "Peace negotiations are not my affair." He memorialized seven times to resign and was made Academician of the Hall for Governance and prefect of Tanzhou.
50
御史中丞勾龍如淵劾庶本趙鼎所薦，欺君罔上。 庶罷歸，至九江，被命奪職，徙家居焉。 十三年，御史胡汝明論庶譏訕朝政，責響德軍節度副使，道州安置。 至貶所卒。 孝宗思庶言，追復其官，諡敏節。 子六人，之奇，乾道中，知樞密院事。
Censor-in-Chief Gou Longruyuan impeached him as Zhao Ding's protégé who had deceived the throne. Dismissed on his way home, at Jiujiang he was stripped of rank and confined to his house. In the thirteenth year Censor Hu Ruming charged him with ridiculing policy; he was demoted and exiled to Daozhou. He died in exile. Xiaozong remembered his counsel, restored his rank posthumously, and gave the posthumous title Minjie. He had six sons; Zhiqi became Commissioner of Military Affairs in the Qiandao era.
51
辛炳，字如晦，福州候官縣人。 登元符三年進士第，累官至監察御史兼權殿中侍御史。 先是，蔡京廢發運司轉般倉為直達綱，舟入，率侵盜，沉舟而遁，戶部受虛數，人畏京莫敢言。 炳極疏其弊，且以變法後兩歲所得之數，較常歲虧欠一百三十有二萬，支益廣而入寢微，乞下有司計度。 徽宗以問京，京怒，以炳為沮撓，責監南劍州新豐場，尋提舉洞霄宮，起知袁州，移無為軍。 靖康初，召為兵部員外郎。
Xin Bing, whose courtesy name was Ruhui, came from Houguan in Fuzhou. He passed the jinshi in the third year of Yuanfu and rose to Investigating Censor with acting Palace Attendant Censor. Earlier Cai Jing replaced transport granaries with direct convoys; crews often looted, scuttled boats, and fled, leaving the Ministry of Revenue false receipts—none dared speak for fear of Jing. Bing denounced the abuses, showing 1.32 million less revenue in two years under the reform, and begged a full accounting. Huizong asked Jing, who punished Bing as obstructive, posting him to Nanjian; later he became Dongxiao custodian, then prefect of Yuan and Wuwei. At Jingkang's start he was summoned as Secretary in the Ministry of War.
52
高宗即位，除左司員外郎，辭； 未幾，起直龍圖閣、知潭州。 明年，張浚調兵潭州，以炳懦怯不能，罷之，尋以起居舍人召，辭。 紹興二年，復以侍御史召。 首言今日公道壅塞，風俗頹薄，連疏三省所行乖失數十事，請諭大臣勿廢都堂公見之禮。 時福建八州添差至百八十餘員，炳言：“艱危多事之時，冗食之官無益，當罷。 ”從之。
When Gaozong ascended he was made Left Department Secretary but declined; soon he was raised as Direct Palace and prefect of Tanzhou. Next year Zhang Jun mobilized in Tanzhou and removed him as incompetent; summoned as Secretariat Attendant, he again declined. In the second year of Shaoxing he was again summoned as Attendant Censor. He opened by saying public justice was choked and morals decayed, then listed dozens of errors by the three departments and urged ministers to preserve open deliberation. Fujian's eight prefectures held over 180 supernumerary posts; Bing said in hard times such posts should be cut. The emperor agreed.
53
蘇、湖地震，下詔求言。 炳言：“大臣無畏天之心，何事不可為？ ”其言甚峻，由是宰執呂頤浩居家待罪，炳劾罷頤浩。 知樞密院事張浚召赴行在，炳論其敗事誤國，浚坐落職。
Earthquakes struck Su and Hu; the court sought opinions. Bing said, "Ministers who do not fear Heaven will dare anything." His tone was severe; Lü Yihao awaited punishment at home and Bing impeached him out of office. When Zhang Jun was recalled, Bing charged him with failure and harm to the state, and Jun was removed.
54
除御史中丞。 時方遣使議和，炳方言：“金人無信，和議不可恃，宜講求守禦攻戰之策。 ”以疾請外，除顯謨閣直學士、知漳州，未赴而卒。 詔：炳任中執法，操行清修，今其雲亡，貧無以葬，賜銀帛賻其家，贈通議大夫。
He was made Censor-in-Chief. As peace envoys were dispatched, Bing warned that the Jin were faithless and the court must prepare defense and war. Ill, he sought an outside post as Direct Academician and prefect of Zhangzhou but died before taking it. An edict praised his upright service and poverty at death, granted funeral silver, and posthumously made him Grandee for Governance.
55
論曰：秦檜晚薦士以收人望，然一時知名之士，亦豈盡可籠絡者哉！ 朱倬論事輒不合，王綸代言辭合體要，若尹穡、王之望人品雖不同，其附和議則一爾。 徐俯末與赴鼎爭辨，沮抑岳飛，異哉。 沈與求止和親之議，翟汝文善料事，而檜以為異己。 王庶論都荊州，當時諸臣之慮皆不及此。 考夫祈寬之事，庶蓋忠義人也。 辛炳雅志清修，又豈多見也歟。
The Commentary says: Qin Hui late in life promoted scholars for prestige—yet not every famous man could be co-opted. Zhu Zhuo clashed with policy whenever he spoke; Wang Lun's drafts were apt; Yin Se and Wang Zhiwang differed in character yet alike backed peace. Xu Fu finally fought Zhao Ding and blocked Yue Fei—an odd case. Shen Yuqiu opposed peace; Di Ruwen foresaw well, yet Hui counted him an enemy. Wang Shu urged Jing as capital—a vision other ministers lacked. In the matter of pleading for mercy, Shu was plainly loyal and righteous. Xin Bing's lifelong aim was integrity—how rare such men are!