1
楊棟姚希得包恢常挺陳宗禮常家鉉翁李庭芝
Yang Dong, Yao Xide, Bao Hui, Chang Ting, Chen Zongli, Chang Mao, Jia Xuanweng, and Li Tingzhi.
2
楊棟,字元極,眉州青城人。 紹定二年進士第二。 授簽書劍南西川節度判官廳公事。 未上,丁母憂。 服除,遷荊南製置司,改辟西川,入為太學正。 丁父憂,服除,召試授秘書省正字兼吳益王府教授,遷校書郎、樞密院編修官。 入對,言:“飛蝗蔽天,願陛下始終一德,庶幾感格天心,消弭災咎。 ”又言:“邇來中外之臣,如主兵理財,聽其言無非可用,跡其實類皆欺誣,上下相蒙,無一可信。 陛下先之以至誠,而後天下之事可為也。 ”又言:“祖宗立國,不恃兵財法,惟恃民心固結而已。 願陛下常存忠厚之意,勿用峻急之人。 ”理宗悅,以臣僚言奉祠。
Yang Dong, whose style name was Yuanji, came from Qingcheng in Meizhou. In 1229 he finished second in the jinshi civil service examination. He received an appointment as signing clerk in the Jiannan West Circuit commissioner’s office. Before he could take up the post, his mother died and he went into mourning. After his mourning period he served on the Jingnan Pacification Commission, was later recruited in western Sichuan, and then entered the capital as director of the Imperial Academy. After his father’s death and the end of mourning, he was examined and appointed collator in the Secretariat while also teaching in the household of Prince Wu-Yi; he was later promoted to proofreader and compiler at the Bureau of Military Affairs. At an imperial audience he said, “Locusts are blotting out the sky. I beg Your Majesty to hold fast to one consistent virtue, so that Heaven may be moved and these disasters may pass.” He went on, “Lately the ministers who run the armies and the treasury sound wholly capable when they speak, yet their actions are almost all deceit. Court and provinces deceive one another, and nothing they say can be trusted.” If Your Majesty leads with utmost sincerity, then the affairs of the realm can be set right. He also said, “Our founders did not rely on armies, treasure, or statutes alone—they relied on keeping the people’s hearts bound to the throne.” I beg Your Majesty to keep a spirit of generous loyalty and not to employ harsh, precipitate men. The emperor was pleased, but other officials objected and he was given a temple sinecure instead.
3
起知興化軍。 孔子之裔有居氵亟頭鎮者,棟為建廟辟田,訓其子弟。 遷福建提點刑獄,尋加直秘閣兼權知福州,兼本路安撫使,遷都官郎官,又遷左司郎官,尋為右司郎官兼玉牒所檢討官,除宗正少卿。 進對,帝曰:“止是正心修身之說乎? ”棟對曰:“臣所學三十年,止此一說。 用之事親取友,用之治凋郡、察冤獄,至為簡易。 ”時有女冠出入宮禁,頗通請謁,外廷多有以為言者。 棟上疏曰:“陛下何惜一女冠,天下所側目而不亟去之乎? ”帝不謂然。 棟曰:“此人密交小人,甚可慮也。 ”又言:“京、襄、兩淮、四川殘破郡縣之吏,多是兵將權攝,科取無藝,其民可矜,非陛下哀之,誰實哀之。 ”帝從之。
He was recalled and appointed prefect of Xinghua Circuit. Confucius’s descendants lived at Jietou Town; Dong built them a temple, set aside land, and taught their sons and younger kin. He became Fujian judicial intendant, was soon made a Privy Archives scholar and acting prefect of Fuzhou with concurrent charge of the circuit’s pacification, rose through the Justice and Left and Right Department posts, served as compiler at the Imperial Genealogy Office, and was appointed vice director of the Imperial Clan Court. At an audience the emperor asked, “Is that all—just the teaching about rectifying the mind and cultivating the person?” Dong answered, “For thirty years what I have studied has been only this one teaching.” Apply it in serving parents and choosing friends, in governing depleted prefectures and examining wrongful cases—it is, in the end, quite simple. At the time a Daoist nun was entering and leaving the palace and was widely used for petitions and audiences, and many at court spoke against it. Dong memorialized the throne: “Why should Your Majesty spare one Daoist nun whom the whole realm watches with dismay, and not remove her at once?” The emperor disagreed. Dong said, “She secretly consorts with petty men—that is deeply worrying.” He also said, “In the ravaged prefectures of the capital region, Xiangyang, the two Huai, and Sichuan, officials are mostly generals holding provisional authority who levy exactions without restraint. Those people deserve pity—if Your Majesty does not pity them, who will?” The emperor accepted his advice.
4
遷太常少卿、起居郎,差知滁州,以殿中侍御史周坦論罷。 起直龍圖閣、知建寧府,不拜。 提舉千秋鴻禧觀,遷起居郎兼權侍左侍郎、崇政殿說書,繼遷吏部侍郎兼同修國史、實錄院同修撰兼侍讀,以集英殿修撰兼中書舍人兼侍講,出知太平州,以右補闕蕭泰來論罷,依舊職提舉太平興國宮。 起知婺州。 召奏事,以舊職奉祠。 度宗立為太子,帝親擢棟太子詹事。 遷工部侍郎,仍為詹事兼同修國史、實錄院同修撰兼中書舍人,兼直學士院,權刑部尚書兼國子祭酒,遷禮部尚書,加端明殿學士、同簽書樞密院事兼太子賓客,進同知樞密院事兼權參知政事,拜參知政事。
He was promoted to vice minister of rites and recorder of the emperor’s words, assigned as prefect of Chuzhou, and dismissed after Palace Censor Zhou Tan impeached him. He was recalled as a Dragon Diagram Hall scholar and prefect of Jianning, but declined the appointment. He superintended the Qianqiu Hongxi Abbey, became recorder of the emperor’s words with concurrent acting left vice minister and lecturer at the Chongzheng Hall, then vice minister of personnel with concurrent duties on the national history and as reader-in-waiting; as Jiying Hall compiler and drafting secretary he went out as prefect of Taiping, was dismissed after Remonstrance Official Xiao Tailai objected, and was made superintendent of the Taiping Xingguo Abbey in his former rank. He was recalled and appointed prefect of Wuzhou. He was summoned to report on affairs, then given a temple sinecure at his former rank. When Duzong was made heir apparent, the emperor personally appointed Dong grand tutor of the heir. He rose to vice minister of works while remaining grand tutor with concurrent duties on the national history, as drafting secretary and Hanlin academician, then acting minister of justice and director of the Imperial University, then minister of rites; he became a Duanming Hall scholar, co-signatory at the Bureau of Military Affairs and guest of the heir, then associate director of the bureau with acting vice grand councilor, and finally vice grand councilor.
5
台州守王華甫建上蔡書院,言於朝,乞棟為山主,詔從之。 因卜居於台。 尋授資政殿學士、知建寧府,不拜。 以舊職提舉洞霄宮,復依舊職知慶元府、沿海製置使。 以監察御史胡用虎言罷,仍奉祠。 加觀文殿學士知慶元府、沿海製置使,又不拜,仍奉祠。 乃以資政殿大學士充萬壽觀使。 卒,遺表上,帝輟朝,特贈少保。
Wang Huafu, prefect of Taizhou, founded the Shangcai Academy and asked the court to make Dong its head; the emperor agreed. He accordingly made his home in Taizhou. He was soon made a Zizheng Hall scholar and prefect of Jianning, but again declined. At his former rank he superintended the Dongxiao Abbey, then was again appointed prefect of Qingyuan and coastal pacification commissioner at the same rank. Investigating Censor Hu Yonghu impeached him and he was dismissed, again receiving a temple sinecure. He was made a Guanwen Hall scholar with concurrent posts as prefect of Qingyuan and coastal pacification commissioner, declined once more, and again held a temple sinecure. He was then appointed grand academician of the Zizheng Hall and superintendent of the Wanshou Abbey. When he died his final memorial reached the throne; the emperor suspended court and posthumously enfeoffed him as Junior Guardian.
6
棟之學本諸周、程氏,負海內重望。 方賈似道入相,登用故老,列之從官,棟亦預焉。 及彗星見,棟乃言蚩尤旗,非彗也,故為世所少雲。 或謂棟姑為是言,陰告於帝,謀逐似道,似道覺之,遂蒙疑而去。 所著有《崇道集》、《平舟文集》。
Dong’s learning came from the Zhou and Cheng traditions, and he enjoyed great renown throughout the empire. When Jia Sidao became chief councilor he brought back elder statesmen and placed them among his attendants; Dong was among them. When a comet appeared, Dong insisted it was the Banner of Chiyou rather than a comet, and for this won little praise. Some said Dong spoke thus only for appearance’s sake while secretly urging the emperor to oust Sidao; Sidao found out, Dong fell under suspicion, and he left office. He wrote the Chongdao Collection and the Pingzhou Anthology.
7
姚希得,字逢原,一字叔剛,潼川人,嘉定十六年進士。 授小溪主簿,待次三年,朝夕討論《六經》、諸子百家之言。 調盤石令。 會蜀有兵難,軍需調度不擾而集,更調嘉定府司理參軍。 改知蒲江縣。 巨室挾勢,邑號難治。 希得綏強扶弱,聲聞著聞。 同知樞密院事遊似以希得名聞,召審察,遷行在都進奏院,通判太平州,改福州,徒步至候官,吏不知為通判也。
Yao Xide, whose style names were Fengyuan and Shugang, came from Tongchuan and passed the jinshi examination in 1223. Appointed registrar of Xiaoxi, he spent three years awaiting assignment studying the Six Classics and the hundred schools from morning till night. He was transferred to serve as magistrate of Panshi. When war broke out in Sichuan he mustered military supplies without harassing the people and was transferred to judicial aide in Jiading Prefecture. He was appointed magistrate of Pujiang County. Powerful local clans dominated the county, which was known as difficult to govern. Xide restrained the powerful and aided the weak, and his reputation spread widely. Associate Director You Si of the Bureau of Military Affairs heard of Xide’s reputation and had him summoned for review; he served at the capital memorial office, as vice prefect of Taiping, then of Fuzhou, walking on foot to Houguan so that the clerks did not even recognize him as vice prefect.
8
召為國子監丞,遷太府寺丞,時暫書擬金部文字兼沂靖王府教授。 時帝斥逐權奸,收召名德,舉朝相慶。 希得以為外觀形狀,似若清明之朝; 內察脈息,有類危亡之證。 乃上疏言:“堯、舜、三代之時,無危亡之事,而常喜危亡之言; 秦、漢以來,多危亡之事,而常諱危亡之言。 夫危亡之事不可有,而危亡之言不可亡。 後世人主乃履危如履坦,諱言如諱病。 ”又言:“君子非不收召,而意向猶未調一; 小人非不斥逐,而根株猶未痛斷。 大權若操握,而不能無旁蹊曲逕之疑; 大勢若更張,而未見有長治久安之道。 廷臣之所諷諫,封囊之所奏陳,非不激切,而陛下固不之罪,亦不之行。 自古甘蹈危亡之機,非獨暗主,而明君亦有焉,此臣之所甚懼。 朝廷者,萬化之所自出也,實根於人君之一心。 夫何大明當天,猶有可議者? 內小學之建,人皆知陛下有意建儲也。 然歲月逾邁,未睹施行,人心危疑,無所係屬。 秦、漢而下,嗣不蚤定,事出倉卒,或宮闈出令,或宦寺主謀,或奸臣首議,此皆足以危人之國也。 陛下何憚而不蚤定大計? 邸第之盛,人皆知篤於親愛也。 然依馮者眾,輕視王法,請托之行,捷於影響。 楊幹,晉侯弟也,亂行於曲梁,而魏絳戮其仆,晉侯始怒而終悔,晉卒以霸。 平原君,趙王弟也,不出租稅,而趙奢刑其用事者,趙王賢而用之,趙卒以強。 皆足以興人之國也。 陛下何為而不少伸國法? 今女冠者流,眾所指目; 近璫小臣,時竊威福。 此皆陛下之心乍明乍晦之所致,豈不謂之危乎? 國有善類,猶人有元氣,善類一敗一消,元氣一病一衰。 善類能幾,豈堪數消,消極則國隨之矣。 陛下明於知人,公於用人,固無權奸再用之意。 然道路之人往往竊議,此元祐、紹聖將分之機也。 禍根猶伏而未去,不幾於安其危乎? ”帝改容曰:“朕決不用史嵩之。”
He was summoned as vice director of the Directorate of Education, promoted to vice director of the Court of the Imperial Treasury, temporarily drafted Revenue Ministry documents, and concurrently taught in the household of Prince Yi-Jing. The emperor had just expelled powerful traitors and recalled men of renown, and the whole court rejoiced. Xide thought that outward appearances made the court seem clear and enlightened; but when he felt the pulse within, he found signs like those of a state nearing collapse. He memorialized: “Under Yao, Shun, and the Three Dynasties there was no ruin, yet rulers welcomed talk of ruin; since Qin and Han there have been many ruinations, yet rulers constantly taboo such talk.” Ruin itself must not come about, but talk of ruin must never die out. Later rulers tread on danger as if it were level ground and shun such words as they shun sickness. He also said, “Worthies are being recalled, yet their intentions are not yet unified; petty men are being expelled, yet their roots are not yet cut out entirely. Great power seems held firmly, yet suspicion of back channels remains; the great reform seems under way, yet no path to lasting peace is in sight. Court remonstrances and sealed memorials are earnest enough, yet Your Majesty neither punishes them nor acts on them.” Throughout history rulers willing to court ruin were not only benighted ones—enlightened rulers have done so too. That is what I fear most. The court is where all transformations begin; it is truly rooted in the sovereign’s mind alone. How can there still be matters in dispute when great brightness fills the heavens? Everyone knows that establishing the inner elementary school shows Your Majesty intends to name an heir. Yet months and years pass without action; hearts grow anxious and doubtful, with nothing to hold to. Since Qin and Han, when succession was not settled early, crises arose in haste—orders from the inner palace, plots led by eunuchs, or schemes begun by treacherous ministers—all enough to endanger a state. Why should Your Majesty hesitate to settle this great matter early? Everyone knows the splendor of the princely mansions shows Your Majesty’s deep affection for kin. Yet many lean on such patronage, scorn the law, and petitions move faster than shadow follows form. Yang Gan, younger brother of the Marquis of Jin, misconducted himself at Quiliang; Wei Jiang executed his attendants; the marquis was angry at first but later repented, and Jin eventually became hegemon. Lord Pingyuan, the King of Zhao’s brother, paid no rent or tax; Zhao She punished his agents; the king valued him and employed him, and Zhao grew strong. Both examples show how a state can be revived. Why does Your Majesty not enforce the law even a little among kin? Today Daoist nuns are what everyone points at; nearby eunuchs and petty officials at times steal power and favor. All this comes from Your Majesty’s mind turning bright and dim by turns—is that not danger? A state has good men as a person has vital energy; as good men fail and fade, so vital energy sickens and wanes. Good men are few—how can they bear repeated losses? When they are gone, the state follows. Your Majesty knows men clearly and employs them fairly and surely has no wish to reuse powerful traitors. Yet people on the roads whisper—this is like the moment before the Yuanyou and Shaosheng factions split. The roots of disaster still lie hidden—is that not treating danger as safety? The emperor’s expression changed. “I will never employ Shi Songzhi,” he said.
9
遷知大宗正丞兼權金部郎官。 李韶以病告,十上疏欲去。 希得言:“韶有德望,雖以病告,曷若留奉內祠,侍經幄,亦足為朝廷重。 ”又言:“財用困竭,民生憔悴,移此不急之費,以實軍儲,以厚民生,敬天莫大於此,豈在崇大宮宇,莊嚴設像哉! ”又條救錢楮三策,請置惠民局,帝皆以為可行。
He was promoted to director of the Imperial Clan Court with acting duties in the Revenue Ministry. Li Shao reported illness and submitted ten memorials asking to retire. Xide said, “Shao has virtue and standing; though ill, better to keep him at an inner abbey sinecure attending the classics mat—he would still lend weight to the court.” He also said, “Treasury and people are exhausted; shift non-urgent spending to fill military stores and relieve the people—nothing honors Heaven more. Is reverence found in enlarging palaces and setting up images?” He also laid out three policies to rescue paper currency and asked for a Bureau to Benefit the People; the emperor approved all of them.
10
進秘書丞,尋遷著作郎,授江西提舉常平。 役法久壞,臨川富室有賂吏求免者,希得竟罪之。 遂提點刑獄,加直秘閣。 未幾,加度支員外郎,尋直寶章閣,移治贛州。 盜有偽號“崔太尉”者,據石壁,連結數郡; 劉老龍等聚眾焚掠,一方繹騷。 希得指授方略,不五旬平之。 以直寶謨閣、廣西轉運判官兼權靜江府。 尋授直徽猷閣、知靜江府、主管廣西經略安撫司公事兼轉運判官。 母喪,免。 召為秘書少監兼中書門下省檢正諸房公事。 入對,言君子小人邪正之辯,且曰:“君子犯顏敢諫,拂陛下之意,退甘家食,此乃為國計,非為身計也。 小人自植朋黨,擠排正人,甘言佞語,一切順陛下之意,遂取陛下官爵,此乃為身計,非為國計也。 ”遷宗正少卿兼國史編修、實錄檢討兼權給事中,兼權刑部侍郎、同修國史、實錄院同修撰。 時西方用兵,有為嵩之復出計者,謂非此人不能辦。 帝有意再用,知希得必執之,出旨諭意,希得毅然具疏密奏,不報。 又繳鄧泳予祠之命。 右正言邵澤、監察御史吳衍、殿中侍御史朱熠相繼論罷。
He was promoted to Secretariat secretary, then compiler, and appointed Jiangxi intendant of the Ever-Normal Granaries. The labor-service law had long broken down; wealthy families in Linchuan bribed clerks to escape service, and Xide punished them. He then became judicial intendant and was made a Privy Archives scholar. Soon he was made an outer aide in the Revenue Ministry, then a Baozhang Pavilion scholar, and transferred to govern Ganzhou. A bandit calling himself Grand Marshal Cui held Shibi and linked several prefectures; Liu Laolong and others gathered mobs to burn and plunder, throwing the region into turmoil. Xide directed operations and pacified them in less than fifty days. He was appointed direct associate of the Baomoge Pavilion, Guangxi transport commissioner-assistant, with acting authority over Jingjiang Prefecture. Soon he was made direct associate of the Huiyu Pavilion, prefect of Jingjiang, in charge of the Guangxi pacification commissionerate while retaining his transport post. When his mother died, he left office for mourning. He was recalled as vice director of the Secretariat with concurrent duty rectifying the various bureaus of the Secretariat-Chancellery. At audience he spoke on the difference between gentlemen and petty men, right and wrong, and said, “A gentleman offends you to your face and dares remonstrate, goes against your wishes, and in retirement is content with a private life—that is planning for the state, not suited for himself.” “The petty man builds factions, drives out upright men, flatters you in everything you wish, and so wins your offices and ranks—that is planning for himself, not suited for the state.” He was promoted to vice director of the Imperial Clan Court, compiler of the National History, examiner of the Veritable Records, acting supervising secretary and acting vice minister of Justice, and co-compiler at the National History and Veritable Records offices. The empire was fighting in the west, and some plotted to bring Shi Songzhi back, claiming no one else could manage it. The emperor meant to reuse him; knowing Xide would oppose it, he issued an edict stating his intent. Xide resolutely submitted a confidential memorial in full, but received no answer. He also returned the order granting Deng Yong a temple sinecure. Right remonstrator Shao Ze, investigating censor Wu Yan, and palace censor Zhu Yi were impeached and dismissed one after another.
11
久之,以集英殿修撰提點千秋鴻禧觀。 未幾,依舊職兩淮宣撫使司判官,俄加寶謨閣待制,移京西、湖南北、四川。 詔敘復元官。 護江陵有功,召為戶部侍郎。 帝曰:“姚希得才望可為閫帥。 ”乃進煥章閣待制、知慶元府、沿海製置使,繼升敷文閣待制。 詔增沿海舟師,希得為之廣募水軍,造戰艦,蓄糧食,蠲米一萬二千石、舊逋一百萬。 去官,庫餘羨悉以代民輸。 召為工部尚書兼侍讀。 入侍經筵,帝問慶元之政甚悉。 以華文閣直學士、沿江製置使知建康府、江東安撫使、行宮留守。 希得按行江上,慰勞士卒,眾皆歡說。 溧陽饑,發稟勸分,全活者眾。 創寧江軍,自建康、太平至池州列砦置屋二萬餘間,屯戍七千餘人。 帝聞之,一再降詔獎諭。 加寶章閣學士,尋加刑部尚書,依舊任兼淮西總領。
After some time he was made Hanlin academy compiler and intendant of the Qianqiu Hongxi Abbey. Soon he returned as commissioner-assistant of the Two Huai pacification office, was made Baomoge Pavilion academician, and served in Jingxi, Hunan North and South, and Sichuan. An edict restored his original rank. For defending Jiangling he was summoned as vice minister of Revenue. The emperor said, “Yao Xide’s talent and standing suit him for frontier command.” He was advanced to Huanzhang Pavilion academician, prefect of Qingyuan, and coastal commissioner, then promoted to Fuwen Pavilion academician. When an edict enlarged the coastal fleet, Xide widely recruited sailors, built warships, stored grain, and remitted twelve thousand piculs of rice and a million in old arrears. On leaving office he used the entire treasury surplus to pay levies owed by the people. He was summoned as minister of Works and reader-in-waiting. At the classics mat the emperor questioned him thoroughly on affairs in Qingyuan. He was made Huawen Pavilion academician, Yangtze coastal commissioner, prefect of Jiankang, Jiangdong pacification commissioner, and palace resident. Xide toured the river line, comforted the troops, and the men rejoiced. When Liyang suffered famine he opened granaries and urged sharing, saving many lives. He created the Ningjiang Army, building more than twenty thousand quarters in stockades from Jiankang and Taiping to Chizhou and stationing over seven thousand troops. The emperor heard of it and repeatedly issued edicts praising him. He was made Baozhang Pavilion academician, soon minister of Justice as well, retaining his posts while also serving as Huai-West chief steward.
12
景定五年,召為兵部尚書兼侍讀。 乃言用人才、修政事、治兵甲、惜財用四事。 拜端明殿學士、簽書樞密院事兼太子賓客。 公星變,上疏引咎,乞解機務。 兼權參知政事。 度宗即位,授同知樞密院事兼權參知政事,尋授參知政事。 以言罷,授資政殿學士、提舉洞霄宮。 起知潭州、湖南安撫使,以疾甚,辭,乃仍舊職奉祠。 請致仕,詔不許,力請,以資政殿大學士、金紫光祿大夫、依舊潼川郡公致仕。 鹹淳五年,卒。 遺表聞,帝輟朝,贈少保。
In Jingding year 5 he was summoned as minister of War and reader-in-waiting. He spoke on four matters: employing talent, repairing government, ordering arms, and sparing expenditure. He was appointed Duanming Hall academician, deputy director of the Bureau of Military Affairs, and guest of the heir apparent. When a public star changed he memorialized taking blame and asked to leave state affairs. He was made acting vice grand councilor. When Duzong succeeded he was made associate director of the Bureau of Military Affairs and acting vice grand councilor, then full vice grand councilor. Dismissed after remonstrance, he was made Zizheng Hall academician and intendant of the Dongxiao Palace. Recalled as prefect of Tanzhou and Hunan pacification commissioner, he declined because of grave illness and returned to his temple sinecure. He asked to retire; the court refused, but he pressed again and retired as grand academician of the Zizheng Hall, Grandee of Splendid Happiness with Golden Seal and Purple Ribbon, still Duke of Tongchuan. He died in Xianchun year 5. When his final memorial arrived the emperor halted court and posthumously made him Junior Guardian.
13
希得忠亮平實,清儉自將,好引善類,不要虛譽,蓋有誦薦於上而其人莫之知者。 廣西官署以錦為帟幕,希得曰:“吾起身書生安用此! ”命以繒纈易之。 蜀之親族姻舊相依者數十家,希得廩之終身,昏喪悉損己力,晚年計口授田,各有差。 所著有《續言行錄》、《奏稿》、《橘州文集》。
Xide was loyal, upright, plain, and frugal, fond of advancing good men and scorning empty fame; he would recommend people to the throne who never knew he had spoken for them. The Guangxi government used brocade for curtains; Xide said, “I am only a scholar risen from the ranks—what need have I for this!” He ordered it replaced with plain silk. Several dozen Sichuan kin and old associates relied on him; Xide supported them for life, paid for every wedding and funeral himself, and in old age allotted fields by household, each according to need. His works include Continued Records of Words and Deeds, Memorial Drafts, and Collected Works of Juzhou.
14
包恢,字宏父,建昌人。 自其父揚、世父約、叔父遜從朱熹、陸九淵學。 恢少為諸父門人講《大學》,其言高明,諸父驚焉。 嘉定十三年,舉進士。 調金谿主簿。 邵武守王遂辟光澤主簿,平寇亂。 建寧守袁甫薦為府學教授,監虎翼軍,募土豪討唐石之寇。 授掌故,改沿海製置司幹官。 會歲饑,盜起金壇、溧陽之間,恢部諸將為十誅夷之。 沿江製置使陳韡辟為機宜,復有平寇功,改知吉州永豐縣,未行,差發運幹官。 福建安撫使陳塏檄平寇,遷武學諭、宗正寺主簿,添差通判台州。 徐鹿卿討溫寇,辟兼提點刑獄司主管文字,議收捕。 改通判臨安府,遷宗正寺主簿、知台州。 有妖僧居山中,號“活佛”,男女爭事之,因為奸利,豪貴風靡,恢誅其僧。
Bao Hui, style Hongfu, was from Jianchang. His father Yang, his uncle Yue, and his uncle Xun had studied with Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan. As a youth Hui lectured on the Great Learning to his uncles’ students; his exposition was so penetrating that they were astonished. In the first year of Jiading3 he passed the jinshi examination. He was appointed registrar of Jinxi. Shaowu prefect Wang Sui recruited him as registrar of Guangze, where he pacified bandit unrest. Jianning prefect Yuan Fu recommended him as prefectural school instructor; he supervised the Tiger Wing Army, recruited local militia, and suppressed the Tangshi bandits. He was made archivist, then staff officer of the coastal commissionerate. In a famine year bandits rose between Jintan and Liyang; Hui sent his generals in ten columns and exterminated them. Coastal commissioner Chen Wei made him confidential staff; after further success against bandits he was named magistrate of Yongfeng in Jizhou but did not take up the post and was assigned transport staff officer instead. Fujian pacification commissioner Chen Kai ordered him to pacify bandits; he was promoted to Military School instructor and Imperial Clan registrar, with supernumerary duty as vice prefect of Taizhou. Xu Luqing campaigned against Wenzhou bandits and recruited him to manage documents for the judicial intendant, planning their capture. He became vice prefect of Lin’an, then Imperial Clan registrar and prefect of Taizhou. A sorcerer-monk in the mountains called himself the “Living Buddha”; men and women flocked to him for illicit gain, and the gentry followed the fashion until Hui executed him.
15
進左司郎官,未行,改湖北提點刑獄,未行,移福建兼知建寧。 閩俗以九月祠“五王”生日,靡金帛,傾市奉之。 恢曰:“彼非犬豕,安得一日而五子同生,非不祥者乎? 而尊畏之若是。 ”眾感悟,為之衰止。 兼轉運判官,以侍御史周坦論罷。 光州布衣陳景夏上書云:“包恢剛正不屈之臣,言者汙蔑之耳。 ”又四年,起為廣東轉運判官,權經略使,遷侍右郎官,尋為大理少卿,即日除直顯文閣、浙西提點刑獄。 是時海寇為亂,恢單車就道、調許、澉浦分屯建砦,一旦集諸軍討平之。 嘉興吏因和糴受賕百萬,恢被旨慮囚,曰:“吾用此消沴氣。 ”乃減死,斷其手。
Promoted to left bureau director, he did not take up the post; named Hubei judicial intendant, he again did not go; he was transferred to Fujian as concurrent prefect of Jianning. Fujian custom held a ninth-month rite for the “Five Kings’” birthdays, squandering gold and silk as the whole market turned out to worship. Hui said, “They are not dogs or swine—how could five sons be born on one day? Is that not an ill omen?” “Yet you honor and fear them like this.” The crowd took his point and the rite dwindled away. As concurrent transport commissioner-assistant he was impeached and dismissed by attendant censor Zhou Tan. Guangzhou commoner Chen Jingxia memorialized, “Bao Hui is an upright, unyielding minister; his critics have only slandered him.” Four years later he was recalled as Guangdong transport commissioner-assistant and acting pacification commissioner, promoted to right attendant director, soon vice director of the Court of Judicial Review, and the same day made direct associate of the Xianwen Pavilion and Zhexi judicial intendant. Sea bandits were then in revolt; Hui went alone, stationed troops at Xu and Ganpu, and in one day gathered the armies and crushed them. A Jiaxing clerk took a million in bribes over regulated grain purchases; ordered to review prisoners, Hui said, “I will use this to dispel corruption.” He commuted the death sentence and cut off the man’s hand.
16
進直龍圖閣、權發運,升秘閣修撰,知隆興府兼江西轉運。 沈妖妓於水,化為狐,人皆神之。 有母訴子者,年月後狀作“疏”字,恢疑之,呼其子至,泣不言。 及得其情,母孀居,與僧通,惡其子諫,以不孝坐之,狀則僧為之也。 因責子侍養跬步不離,僧無由至。 母乃托夫諱日,入寺作佛事,以籠盛衣帛,因納僧於內以歸。 恢知之,使人要之,置籠公庫,逾旬,吏報籠中臭達於外,恢命沉於江,語其子曰:“為汝除此害矣。 ”又姑死者假子婦棺以斂,家貧不能償,婦於恢,恢怒,買一棺,紿其婦臥棺中以試,就掩而葬之。 改湖南轉運使,罷。
He was promoted to direct associate of the Longtu Pavilion and acting transport commissioner, then Privy Archives compiler, prefect of Longxing, and Jiangxi transport commissioner. He drowned a sorceress in the river; she was said to turn into a fox, and people took it as miraculous. A mother sued her son; in the date on the plaint the character for “close” was written as “estranged”; Hui grew suspicious, summoned the son, who wept and would not speak. The truth was that the widowed mother was carrying on with a monk, hated her son’s warnings, and had him charged with unfilial conduct on a plaint the monk had drafted. He ordered the son to wait on her and never leave her side, so the monk could not come near. The mother used her husband’s death anniversary to enter a temple for Buddhist rites, hid clothing in a basket, and smuggled the monk home inside it. Hui learned of it, had them intercepted, and put the basket in the government storehouse; after ten days clerks reported the stench spreading outside; Hui ordered it sunk in the river and told the son, “I have removed this scourge for you.” When an aunt died she borrowed her daughter-in-law’s coffin; the family was too poor to replace it, and the daughter-in-law appealed to Hui. Enraged, he bought a coffin, tricked her into lying in it “to try the fit,” and had it sealed and buried at once. He was made Hunan transport commissioner and then dismissed.
17
景定初,拜大理卿、樞密都承旨兼侍講,權禮部侍郎,尋為中書舍人。 林希逸奏恢守法奉公,其心如水。 權刑部侍郎,進華文閣直學士、知平江府兼發運。 豪有奪民包舉田寄公租誣上者,恢上疏,指為以小民祈天永命之一事,帝覽奏惻然,罪任事者,即歸民田。 召赴闕,辭,改知紹興,又辭。 度宗即位,召為刑部尚書,進端明殿學士,簽書樞密院事,封南城縣侯。 郊祀禮成,還,以資政殿學士致仕。
Early in Jingding he was made director of the Court of Judicial Review, chief bearer of the Bureau of Military Affairs, lecturer, acting vice minister of Rites, and soon Secretariat drafter. Lin Xiyi memorialized that Hui upheld the law and served the public with a mind clear as water. As acting vice minister of Justice he was promoted to Huawen Pavilion academician, prefect of Pingjiang, and transport commissioner. A magnate had seized commoners’ tax-contract fields, registered them as public rent, and deceived the court; Hui memorialized that this struck at the people’s plea to Heaven for enduring mandate. The emperor was deeply moved, punished the officials involved, and immediately returned the land. Summoned to court, he declined; named prefect of Shaoxing, he declined again. When Duzong succeeded he was summoned as minister of Justice, made Duanming Hall academician and deputy director of the Bureau of Military Affairs, and enfeoffed as Marquis of Nancheng. After the suburban sacrifice he returned and retired as Zizheng Hall academician.
18
恢曆仕所至,破豪猾,去奸吏,治蠱獄,課盆鹽,理銀欠,政聲赫然。 嚐因輪對曰:“此臣心惻隱所以深切為陛下告者,陛下惻隱之心如天地日月,其閉而食之者曰近習、曰外戚耳。 ”參知政事董槐見而歎曰:“吾等有慚色矣。 ”他日講官因稱恢疏剴切,願容納。 理宗欣然曰:“其言甚直,朕何嚐怒直言! ”經筵奏對,誠實懇惻,至身心之要,未嚐不從容諄至。 度宗至比恢為程顥、程頤。 恢侍其父疾,滌濯拚除之役不命僮仆。 年八十有七,臨終,舉盧懷慎臥簀窮約事戒諸子斂以深衣,作書別親戚而後卒,有光隕其地。 遺表聞,帝輟朝,贈少保,諡文肅,賻銀絹五百。
Wherever he served, Hui broke powerful bullies, removed corrupt clerks, tried witchcraft cases, assessed basin salt, and cleared silver arrears; his reputation for governance was resounding. At rotation audience he once said, “What my heart most urgently tells Your Majesty is this: your compassionate heart is like heaven and earth, sun and moon; those who shut it in and feed on it are your intimate attendants and your in-laws, nothing more.” Vice grand councilor Dong Huai read it and sighed, “We ought to blush.” Another day a lecturer praised Hui’s memorial as earnest and urged the emperor to heed it. Emperor Lizong said gladly, “His words are very blunt—when have I ever been angry at blunt speech!” At the classics mat his answers were sincere and earnest; on matters touching body and mind he was always patient and thorough. Duzong even compared Hui to Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi. When his father was ill Hui washed, scrubbed, and swept without calling servants. At eighty-seven, dying, he cited Lu Huaishen’s straw mat and plain coffin to warn his sons to bury him in simple deep garments, wrote farewell letters to kin, and died; a light was seen to fall there. When his final memorial arrived the emperor halted court, posthumously made him Junior Guardian, gave the posthumous title Wensu, and granted five hundred in silver and silk.
19
常挺字方叔,福州人。 嘉熙二年進士。 曆官為太學錄,召試館職,遷秘書省正字兼莊文府教授,升校書郎。 輪對,乞以李若水配享高宗。 改秘書郎兼考功郎官,出知衢州,拜監察御史兼崇政殿說書。 疏言邊閫三事:曰辟實才,曰奏實功,曰招實兵。 朝廷二事:曰選良吏,曰擢正人。 又言:“願陛下深思宏遠之規模,奮發清明之誌氣,立綱陳紀必為萬世之法程,昭德塞違以示百官之憲度。 ”遷太常少卿兼國子司業,兼國史編修、實錄檢討兼直舍人院。 遷起居郎,權工部侍郎兼直學士院。 遷工部侍郎、給事中。 右諫議大夫陳堯道論罷。 以寶章閣直學士知漳州,改知泉州,權兵部尚書兼侍讀,權禮部尚書兼同修國史、實錄院同修撰。 進《帝學發題》,遷吏部尚書。 鹹淳三年,授同知樞密院事兼權參知政事,封合沙郡公,拜參知政事。 四年,致仕,尋卒,贈少保。
Chang Ting, style Fangshu, was from Fuzhou. He passed the jinshi examination in Jiaxi year 2. He served as Imperial Academy recorder, passed the archive examination, became Secretariat rectifier and Zhuangwen Palace instructor, and was promoted to collator. At rotation audience he asked that Li Ruoshui be granted associated sacrifice in Gaozong’s temple. He became Secretariat secretary with concurrent duty in the Personnel Ministry’s merit section, went out as prefect of Quzhou, and was made investigating censor and lecturer at the Chongzheng Hall. In a memorial he urged three reforms for frontier command: recruit real talent, report real merit, and recruit real troops. For the central government he urged two priorities: appoint capable officials and elevate men of integrity. He also urged: “Your Majesty should ponder designs of lasting scope and rouse a spirit of clarity; lay down frameworks and regulations fit to govern ten thousand generations, display virtue and shut out wrongdoing, and thereby set the standard for every office.” He was then made Vice Director of the Court of Sacrifices and of the Directorate of Education, and concurrently compiler of the national history, collator of the veritable records, and holder of the Imperial Drafting Academy. He was promoted to Diarist, with acting appointment as Vice Minister of Works and concurrent duty in the Hanlin Academy. He was made Vice Minister of Works and Attendant-in-ordinary. Right Remonstrance Counselor Chen Yaodao remonstrated against him and he was dismissed. He served as Baozhang Pavilion academician and prefect of Zhangzhou, then Quanzhou; he held acting appointments as Minister of War and Reader-in-waiting, then as Minister of Rites with concurrent co-compiler of the national history and veritable records. He submitted Imperial Learning: Essay Topics and was promoted to Minister of Personnel. In Xianchun year 3 he became Vice Director of the Privy Council and acting Vice Grand Councilor, was enfeoffed Duke of Heshha Commandery, and received appointment as Vice Grand Councilor. In the fourth year he retired; he died soon afterward and was posthumously honored as Junior Mentor.
20
陳宗禮字立之。 少貧力學,袁甫為江東提點刑獄,宗禮往問學焉。 淳祐四年,舉進士。 調邵武軍判官,入為國子正,遷太學博士、國子監丞,轉秘書省著作佐郎。 入對,言火不循軌。 帝以星變為憂,宗禮曰:“上天示戒,在陛下修德布政以回天意。 ”又曰:“天下方事於利欲之中,士大夫奔競趨利,惟至公可以遏之。 ”兼考功郎官,兼國史實錄院校勘,兼景獻府教授,升著作郎,遷尚左郎官兼右司。 時丁大全擅國柄,以言為諱。 宗禮歎曰:“此可一日居乎! ”陛對,言:“願為宗社大計,毋但為倉廩府庫之小計; 願得天下四海之心,毋但得左右便嬖戚畹之心; 願寄腹心於忠良,毋但寄耳目於卑近; 願四通八達以來正人,毋但旁蹊曲徑類引貪濁。 ”拜太常少卿,以直寶謨閣、廣東提點刑獄進直煥章閣,遷秘書監。 以監察御史虞慮言追兩官,送永州居住。
Chen Zongli, style Lizhi. Poor in youth, he studied hard; when Yuan Fu served as Jiangdong judicial intendant, Zongli went to study under him. In Chunyou year 4 he passed the jinshi examination. He served as judge of Shaowu Circuit, then entered the capital as Directorate rectifier, became Imperial Academy erudite and Directorate vice director, and was transferred to Secretariat assistant compiler. At audience he warned that fire was straying from its proper path—a celestial omen. The emperor was anxious about unusual stars; Zongli said, “Heaven is warning us. Your Majesty must cultivate virtue and govern well to move Heaven’s heart back to favor.” He added, “The empire is caught up in profit and desire; officials scramble for gain. Only absolute fairness can restrain it.” He served concurrently in the merit section, as collator of the national history and veritable records, and as instructor of the Jingxian Palace; he was promoted to compiler, then became Left Department officer with concurrent Right Department duty. Ding Daquan then held sole sway over government and treated frank speech as forbidden. Zongli sighed, “How can one stay in such a court even a day longer? At palace audience he urged, “Act for the altars of state and the realm’s long survival, not merely for granaries and treasuries; win the hearts of the whole empire, not only those of attendants, favorites, and consort kin; entrust your inner counsel to the loyal and worthy, not your eyes and ears to the low and near at hand; and bring upright men by open highways, not by back alleys that recruit the greedy and corrupt.” He was made Vice Director of the Court of Sacrifices, advanced from Baomo Pavilion academician and Guangdong judicial intendant to Huanzhang Pavilion academician, and then became Director of the Secretariat. Investigating censor Yu Lü denounced him; he was stripped of two ranks and exiled to Yongzhou.
21
景定四年,拜侍御史,直龍圖閣、淮西轉運判官,遷刑部尚書。 以起居舍人曹孝慶言罷。 度宗即位,兼侍講,拜殿中侍御史。 疏言:“恭儉之德自上躬始,清白之規自宮禁始,左右之言利者必斥,蹊隧之私獻者必誅。 ”以《詩》進講,因奏:“帝王舉動,無微不顯,古人所以貴於慎獨也。 ”權禮部侍郎兼給事中。 進讀《孝宗聖訓》,因奏:“安危治亂,常起於一念慮之間,念慮少差,禍亂隨見。 天下之亂未有不起於微而成於著。 ”又言:“不以私意害公法,乃國家之福。 ”帝曰:“孝宗家法,惟賞善罰惡為尤謹。 ”宗禮言:“有功不賞,有罪不罰,雖堯舜不能治天下,信不可不謹也。”
In Jingding year 4 he became Attending Censor, Dragon Diagram Hall academician and Huai West transport vice commissioner, and was promoted to Minister of Justice. Diarist-attendant Cao Xiaoqing remonstrated against him and he was dismissed. When Duzong acceded, he was made concurrent lecturer and Palace Attending Censor. In a memorial he wrote, “Respect and frugality must begin with Your Majesty; purity must begin in the inner palace. Banish attendants who urge profit, and punish secret gifts brought through back channels.” Lecturing on the Book of Songs, he added, “A ruler’s every act, however small, shows itself in the end. That is why the ancients prized vigilance even when alone.” He served as acting Vice Minister of Rites and Attendant-in-ordinary. Reading Xiaozong’s Sacred Instructions, he said, “Order and chaos often begin in a single thought. Stray slightly in intent, and disaster follows at once. No empire has ever fallen to chaos that did not start small and grow plain to see.” He also said, “The state is blessed when private whim does not damage public law.” The emperor said, “In Xiaozong’s household way, rewarding good and punishing evil were especially strict.” Zongli replied, “Without rewarding merit or punishing guilt, even Yao and Shun could not rule the realm. This truly cannot be neglected.”
22
遷禮部侍郎,尋權禮部尚書,乞奉祠,帝曰:“豈朕不足與有為耶? ”以華文閣直學士知隆興府,再辭,依舊職與待次差遣。 逾年,依舊職廣東經略安撫使兼知廣州,加端明殿學士、簽書樞密院事,尋兼權參知政事。 疏奏:“國所以立,曰天命人心。 因其警而加敬畏,天命未有不可回也; 因其未墜而加綏定,人心未嚐不可回也。 ”卒官,遺表上,贈開府儀同三司、盱江郡侯,諡文定。 所著有《寄懷斐稿》、《曲轅散木集》、《兩朝奏議》、《經筵講義》、《經史明辨》、《經史管見》、《人物論》。
He was made Vice Minister of Rites, then acting Minister of Rites, and asked for a temple sinecure. The emperor said, “Do you think I am not worth serving?” He was appointed Huawen Pavilion academician and prefect of Longxing, declined again, and kept his former rank pending the next assignment. A year later he became Guangdong pacification commissioner and prefect of Guangzhou, was made Duanming Hall academician and Signing Secretary of the Privy Council, and soon acting Vice Grand Councilor as well. In a memorial he wrote, “A state stands on Heaven’s mandate and the people’s hearts. Heed warnings and grow reverent, and Heaven’s mandate may yet be turned; while the realm has not yet fallen, steady the people, and their hearts have never been beyond recall.” He died in office; his final memorial reached the throne. He was posthumously honored Grand Preceptor of equal ceremonial rank to the Three Excellencies, Marquis of Xujiang Commandery, with the posthumous title Wendiing. His writings include Drafts of Cherished Thoughts, Collected Writings of Crooked Axle and Scattered Timber, Memorials of Two Reigns, Lectures for the Classics Colloquium, Discriminations in Classics and History, Overview of Classics and History, and Discourses on Persons.
23
常楙字長孺,顯謨閣直學士同之曾孫。 入太學。 淳祐七年舉進士。 調常熟尉。 公廉自持,不畏強禦,部使者交薦之。 調婺州推官。 疏決滯訟,以剸繁裁劇稱。 臨安府尹馬光祖又薦於朝,辟差平江府百萬倉檢察,不受和糴事例,戢吏卒苛取。 發運使趙與芮兼提點刑獄,屬楙檢核,雪無錫翟氏冤獄。 監江淮茶鹽所蕪湖局,不受商稅贏,光祖益敬之。 改知嘉定縣。 歲大水,勸分和糴,按籍均敷。 發運使王爚、提點刑獄孫子秀俱特薦於朝,簽書臨安府判官,不為權勢撓。 有為淮東提舉常平,辟楙提管,楙知其不可與共事,笑而卻之。 未幾,政府強楙行,遂拂衣去,朝野高之。 主管城南廂,聽訟嚴明,豪石益憚之。 都城火後,瓦礫充斥,差民船徙運,在籍者百五十家,惟二十有五家應役,餘率為勢要宦官所庇。 楙悉追之,不服者杖其人,械於他所,無不聽命。 又力拒戶部科買。 葉夢鼎、陳昉深期獎焉。 添差臨安通判。 朝命鞫封樁庫吏範成獄,不肯承廟堂風旨,無辜者悉出之。
Chang Mao, style Changru, was the great-grandson of Xianmo Pavilion academician Chang Tongzhi. He entered the Imperial Academy. In Chunyou year 7 he passed the jinshi examination. He was assigned assistant magistrate of Changshu. Upright and incorrupt, he did not fear the powerful; circuit envoys repeatedly recommended him. He was assigned investigating officer of Wuzhou. He cleared backlog lawsuits and won renown for mastering complex and urgent cases. Lin’an prefect Ma Guangzu recommended him again; as inspector of Pingjiang’s Million-Granary he refused improper state-purchase quotas and curbed clerks’ and soldiers’ harsh exactions. Transport commissioner and judicial intendant Zhao Yuru had Mao review cases and cleared the wrongful conviction of the Zhai family of Wuxi. As superintendent of the Jiang-Huai Tea and Salt bureau at Wuhu he refused excess merchant levies, and Guangzu respected him still more. He was made magistrate of Jiading County. When flood struck he urged shared relief and state grain purchases, distributing burdens evenly by household register. Wang Can and Sun Zixiu both specially recommended him; as signing judge of Lin’an he would not bend to powerful interests. When You Wei, Huai East Ever-Normal intendant, summoned Mao to serve under him, Mao knew they could not work together and declined with a smile. Soon the government forced him to accept; he resigned on the spot, and court and country held him in high esteem. As superintendent of the South City Ward he heard cases with stern clarity, and local magnates feared him still more. After the capital fire, rubble filled the streets and commoners’ boats were drafted to haul it away. Of 150 registered households only 25 performed service; the rest were shielded by powerful men and eunuchs. Mao pursued them all; he caned resisters and shackled them elsewhere until every household obeyed. He also firmly resisted the Revenue Ministry’s forced purchases. Ye Mengding and Chen Fang held him in the highest regard. He received an added assignment as vice prefect of Lin’an. Ordered to try sealed-reserve clerk Fan Cheng, he refused to follow the council’s bent and freed every innocent defendant.
24
知廣德軍。 郡有水災,發社倉粟以活饑民,官吏難之,楙先發而後請專命之罪,置慈幼局,立先賢祠。 故事,郡守秋苗例可得米千石,乃以代屬縣償大農綱欠。 拜監察御史,知無不言。 嚐論天變及賈似道家爭田事,論繼皇子竑嗣,觸度宗怒,遷司農卿,尋為兩浙轉運使。 禁戢吏奸,不以急符督常賦。 海鹽歲為鹹潮害稼,楙請於朝,捐金發粟,復輟己帑,大加修築新塘三千六百二十五丈,名曰海晏塘。 是秋,風濤大作,塘不浸者尺許,民得奠居,歲復告稔,邑人德之。
He became prefect of Guangde Circuit. When flood struck the commandery he opened community granaries to feed the hungry. Officials hesitated; Mao released grain first, then asked to be punished for acting without authorization. He founded a charity bureau for orphans and built a shrine to former sages. By custom a prefect’s autumn grain share was a thousand piculs of rice; he used it to cover subordinate counties’ shortfalls in the state grain transport quota. Appointed investigating censor, he spoke without reserve on every matter he knew. He spoke on celestial omens and Jia Sidao’s land dispute, and urged succession for Prince Qi—angering Duzong, who transferred him to Director of the Court of Agriculture and soon made him Two Zhe transport commissioner. He curbed corrupt clerks and refused to press regular taxes with urgent orders. Each year brine tides from the sea damaged Haiyan’s fields; Mao petitioned the court, donated funds and grain, and gave from his own purse to build a new dyke 3,625 zhang long, which he named the Calm Sea Dyke. That autumn fierce winds and waves struck; the dyke was flooded only a foot deep, the people kept their homes, the harvest was good again, and the district honored him.
25
遷戶部侍郎。 受四方民詞,務通下情。 兼中書門下省檢正諸房公事,兼刑部侍郎。 極論檢覆之敝。 上進故事,首論雷雪非時之變,帝意不悅。 丐祠,不許,以集英殿修撰知平江。 值旱。 故事,郡守合得緡錢十五萬,悉以為民食、軍餉助。 蠲苗九萬、稅十三萬、版帳十六萬,又蠲新苗二萬八千,大寬公私之力。 飛蝗幾及境,疾風飄入太湖。 節浮費,修府庫。 既代,有送還事例,自給吏卒外,餘金萬楮,楙悉不受。 吏驚曰:“人言常侍郎不愛錢,果然。 ”改浙東安撫使。 值水災,捐萬楮以振之,復請糴於朝,得米萬石,蠲新苗三萬八千。 又以諸暨被水尤甚,給二萬楮付縣折運,民食不至乏絕。 民各祀於家。 兩浙及會稽、山陰死者暴露與貧而無以為殮者,乃以十萬楮置普惠庫,取息造棺以給之。 尋以刑部侍郎召。 申明期赦敘改法,與廟堂爭可否,辨偽關獄,救八倉虧欠免死罪,平反天井巷殺人獄,全活者甚眾。 兼給事中,封還隆國夫人從子黃進觀察使錄黃。 帝怒,似道以禦書令委曲書行,楙迄不奉命。 以寶章閣待制提舉太平興國宮。
He was promoted to Vice Minister of Revenue. He received petitions from across the realm and worked to bring the people’s concerns to the court. He concurrently rectified affairs in the Secretariat-Chancellery bureaus and served as Vice Minister of Justice. He spoke at length against abuses in fiscal review and verification. Presenting historical precedents to the throne, he began with untimely thunder and snow; the emperor took offense. He asked for a temple sinecure but was refused; instead he was made Jiying Hall compiler and prefect of Pingjiang. A drought struck. By custom a prefect was entitled to 150,000 strings of cash; he gave it all to feed the people and supply the troops. He remitted 90,000 in seed grain, 130,000 in tax, and 160,000 in register levies, plus another 28,000 in new seed grain, greatly easing burdens on public and private alike. Locust swarms nearly reached the prefecture, but a fierce wind blew them into Lake Tai. He cut wasteful spending and restored the prefectural treasury. When he left office, custom allowed send-back gifts; beyond provisions for his staff, ten thousand notes remained—and Mao refused every one. A clerk exclaimed, “People say Vice Minister Chang cares nothing for money—and it is true! He was transferred to Eastern Zhe pacification commissioner. When flood struck he donated ten thousand notes for relief, petitioned the court for grain purchases and obtained ten thousand piculs, and remitted 38,000 in new seed grain. Zhuji was hit especially hard; he gave the county twenty thousand notes for transport and conversion so the people did not go hungry. The people enshrined him in their homes. For the unburied dead and the poor who could not afford funerals in Two Zhe, Kuaiji, and Shanyin, he deposited 100,000 notes in a Universal Benefit warehouse and used the interest to provide coffins. He was soon recalled as Vice Minister of Justice. He clarified the law on scheduled amnesty and rank restoration, disputed policy with the council, exposed a false customs case, spared granary officials facing death for deficits, reversed the Heavenly Well Lane murder conviction, and saved many lives. As concurrent Attendant-in-ordinary he sealed and returned the edict appointing Lady of Long State’s nephew’s son Huang Jin observation commissioner. The emperor was furious; Jia Sidao sent an imperial order to draft and execute the appointment tactfully, but Mao refused to the end. He was made Baozhang Pavilion awaiting draftsman and superintendent of the Taiping Xingguo Abbey.
26
德祐元年,拜吏部尚書,以老病辭,累詔不許,專官趣行甚峻。 楙入見,首言“霅川之變,非其本心,置之死,過矣,不與立後,又過矣。 巴陵帝王之胄,生不得正命,死不得血食,沉冤幽憤,鬱結四五十年之久,不為妖為劄於冥冥中者幾希。 願陛下勿搖浮議,特發神斷,宗社幸甚”。 於是詔國史院討論典故以聞。 明堂禮成,進端明殿學士、提領戶部財用,特與執政恩數。 楙以國步方艱,非臣子貪榮之時,力辭恩數。 與廟堂議事不合,以疾謁告。 二年春,拜參知政事,為夏士林繳駁,拜疏出關,後六年卒。
In the first year of Deyou he was appointed Minister of Personnel; he declined citing age and illness, but repeated edicts refused him, and a special envoy was sent with stern orders to hurry him to court. At audience Mao spoke first: “The Shechuan affair was not Prince Qi’s true intent. Putting him to death was excessive; denying him an heir was excessive as well. He was of the Baling imperial line: denied a proper fate in life and sacrificial offerings in death. Grievance and silent rage have festered for forty or fifty years; it is little short of a miracle that no demon or haunting spirit has risen from the shades. I beg Your Majesty not to waver before loose talk, but to reach a decisive judgment on your own—the dynasty would be greatly blessed.” The court then ordered the National History Academy to research precedents and report back. After the Bright Hall ceremony he was promoted to Duanming Hall academician and put in charge of Ministry of Revenue finances, with the special perquisites granted to chief ministers. Mao held that with the realm in crisis it was no hour for ministers to seek honor, and he firmly refused the special grants. He fell out with court policy and took leave citing illness. In the spring of year 2 he was appointed Vice Grand Councilor; Xia Shilin blocked the appointment, and Mao memorialized and left the capital. He died six years later.
27
家鉉翁,眉州人。 以蔭補官。 累官知常州,政譽翕然。 遷浙東提點刑獄,入為大理少卿,直華文閣,以秘閣修撰充紹興府長史,遷樞密都丞旨,知建寧府兼福建轉運副使,權戶部侍郎兼知臨安府、浙西安撫使,遷戶部侍郎,權侍右侍郎,仍兼樞密都丞旨。 賜進士出身,拜端明殿學士、簽書樞密院事。
Jia Xuanweng was from Meizhou. He entered office through hereditary privilege. He rose through the ranks to prefect of Changzhou, where his governance won wide praise. He became judicial intendant of eastern Zhejiang, then Vice Director of the Court of Judicial Review in the capital and holder of the Huawen Pavilion; he served as Shaoxing chief administrator and Secretariat compiler, chief clerk of the Privy Council, prefect of Jianning with concurrent Fujian transport vice commissioner, acting Vice Minister of Revenue with concurrent prefect of Lin’an and Zhexi pacification commissioner, then Vice Minister of Revenue and acting Vice Minister of the Right, still holding the Privy Council chief clerkship. He was granted jinshi standing and made Duanming Hall academician and signing clerk of the Privy Council.
28
大元兵次近郊,丞相吳堅、賈餘慶檄告天下守令以城降,鉉翁獨不署。 元帥遣使至,欲加縛,鉉翁曰:“中書省無縛執政之理。 ”堅奉表祈請於大元,以鉉翁介之,禮成不得命,留館中。 聞宋亡,旦夕哭泣不食飲者數月。 大元以其節高欲尊官之,以示南服。 鉉翁義不二君,辭無詭對。 宋三宮北還,鉉翁再率故臣迎謁,伏地流涕,頓首謝奉使無狀,不能感動上衷,無以保存其國。 見者莫不歎息。 文天祥女弟坐兄故,係奚官,鉉翁傾橐中裝贖出之,以歸其兄璧。
As Yuan forces camped near the capital, Grand Councillors Wu Jian and Jia Yuqing circulated a proclamation ordering every prefect and magistrate to surrender his city. Xuanweng alone refused to sign. The marshal sent men intending to bind him. Xuanweng said, “The Secretariat has no precedent for seizing a chief minister. ” Wu Jian submitted a petition to the Yuan court and sent Xuanweng as envoy. When the audience ended he was given no leave to depart and was detained in the guest lodge. Learning that Song had fallen, he wept day and night and took no food or drink for months. The Yuan court, admiring his integrity, wished to elevate him to high office as an example to the south. Xuanweng would not betray his sovereign; in refusing office he gave no evasive reply. When the Song imperial household was sent north, Xuanweng again led former ministers to receive them. He prostrated himself, weeping, and kowtowed in apology: as envoy he had failed, could not move the emperor’s heart, and could not save the realm. All who witnessed it sighed. Wen Tianxiang’s sister, implicated in her brother’s case, was held by a Xi official. Xuanweng spent all he had to ransom her and sent her back to her brother Bi.
29
鉉翁狀貌奇偉,身長七尺,被服儼雅。 其學邃於《春秋》,自號則堂,改館河間,乃以《春秋》教授弟子,數為諸生談宋故事及宋興亡之故,或流涕太息。 大元成宗皇帝即位,放還,賜號“處士”,錫齎金幣,皆辭不受。 又數年以壽終。
Xuanweng was striking in appearance—seven chi tall, dressed with grave elegance. He was a master of the Spring and Autumn Annals and took the style Zetang. Resettled at Hejian, he taught the classic to his pupils and often recounted Song history and the dynasty’s fall—sometimes weeping aloud. When Emperor Chengzong of Yuan succeeded, he was sent home and given the title Recluse, with gifts of gold and coin—all of which he refused. Some years later he died at an advanced age.
30
李庭芝,字祥甫。 其先汴人,十二世同居,號“義門李氏”,後徙隨之應山縣。 金亡,襄、漢被兵,又徙隨。 然特以武顯。
Li Tingzhi, style Xiangfu. His forebears were from Bian. Twelve generations lived under one roof as the “Li clan of the Righteous Gate,” later moving to Yingshan in Suizhou. When Jin fell and Xiang and Han were ravaged by war, the family moved again to Suizhou. The clan was known above all for military prowess.
31
庭芝生時,有芝產屋棟,鄉人聚觀,以為生男祥也,遂以名之。 少穎異,日能誦數千言,而智識恒出長老之上。 王旻守隨,庭芝年十八,告其諸父曰:“王公貪而不恤下,下多怨之,隨必亂,請徙家德安以避。 ”諸父勉強從之,未浹旬,旻果為部曲挾之以叛,隨民死者甚眾。 嘉熙末,江防甚急,庭芝得鄉舉不行,以策幹荊帥孟珙請自效。 珙善相人,且夜夢車騎稱李尚書謁己,明日庭芝至。 珙見其魁偉,顧諸子曰:“吾相人多,無如李生者,其名位當過我。 ”時四川有警,即以庭芝權施之建始縣。 庭芝至,訓農治兵,選壯士雜官軍教之。 期年,民皆知戰守,善馳逐,無事則植戈而耕,兵至則悉出而戰。 夔帥下其法於所部行之。 淳祐初始去,舉進士,中第。 辟珙幕中,主管機宜文字。 珙卒,遺表舉賈似道自代,而薦庭芝於似道,庭芝感珙知己,扶其柩葬之興國,即棄官歸,為珙行三年喪。
At his birth fungus appeared on the roof beam; neighbors gathered to see it as an omen of a son, and so he was named. As a boy he was unusually gifted, reciting thousands of characters a day, and his judgment often outstripped his elders. When Wang Min held Suizhou, the eighteen-year-old Tingzhi told his uncles, “Lord Wang is greedy and heedless of his men; they resent him. Suizhou will surely rebel. Move our household to De’an while we can. ” His uncles reluctantly agreed. Within ten days Wang Min’s troops had seized him and risen in revolt, and countless people of Suizhou perished. Near the end of the Jiaxi era, with river defense critical, Tingzhi passed the provincial examination but declined office and went to Jingnan commander Meng Gong with a plan, offering his service. Meng Gong was skilled at reading faces and had dreamed that night of an entourage announcing that Vice Minister Li sought audience; the next day Tingzhi came. Seeing Tingzhi’s imposing frame, Meng Gong told his sons, “I have judged many men, but none like this Li. His rank will exceed mine. ” Sichuan was then under threat, and Tingzhi was immediately appointed acting magistrate of Jianshi in Shi Prefecture. On arrival he trained farmers for war, selected strong men, and drilled them alongside regular troops. Within a year every man knew how to fight: they farmed with spears at hand and turned out in full when the enemy came. The Kuizhou commander adopted his system throughout his jurisdiction. At the start of the Chunyou era he left office, sat for the jinshi, and passed. He joined Meng Gong’s staff as director of confidential documents. At Meng Gong’s death his final memorial named Jia Sidao as successor and commended Tingzhi to him. Grateful for Meng Gong’s trust, Tingzhi bore the coffin to burial at Xingguo, resigned, and observed three years’ mourning for his patron.
32
似道鎮京湖,起為製置司參議,移鎮兩淮,與似道議柵清河五河口,增淮南烽百二十。 繼知濠州,復城荊山以備淮南。 皆切中機會。 開慶元年,似道宣撫京湖,留庭芝權揚州。 尋以大兵在蜀,奏知峽州,以防蜀江口。 朝廷以趙與芮為淮南製置,李應庚為參議官。 應庚發兩路兵城南城,大暑中暍死者數萬。 李亶窺其無謀,奪漣水三城,渡淮奪南城。 鄂兵解,庭芝丁母憂去。 朝議擇守揚者,帝曰:“無如李庭芝。 ”乃奪情主管兩淮製置司事。 庭芝再破亶兵,殺亶將厲元帥,夷南城而歸。 明年,復敗亶於喬村,破東海、石圃等城。 又明年,亶降,徙三城民於通、泰之間。 又破蘄縣,殺守將。
When Sidao held Jinghu, Tingzhi became planning staff on his commission, then moved to the two Huai, where together they built palisades at Qinghe’s five river mouths and added a hundred twenty beacon towers along Huainan. He was then made prefect of Hao and rebuilt Jingshan to shield Huainan. Each measure struck at the right moment. In the first year of Qingqing, with Sidao pacification commissioner of Jinghu, Tingzhi was left in charge at Yangzhou. Soon, with major forces in Sichuan, he asked to be made prefect of Xia to guard the Sichuan river mouth. The court appointed Zhao Yourui Huainan commissioner and Li Yinggeng as planning staff. Li Yinggeng marched both circuits’ troops against the southern city; in the midsummer heat tens of thousands died of sunstroke. Li Dan, seeing their folly, took the three Lianshui cities, crossed the Huai, and seized the southern city. When the relief from Ezhou arrived, Tingzhi left to mourn his mother. The court debated who should hold Yangzhou; the emperor said, “No one but Li Tingzhi. ” He was recalled from mourning to head the two-Huai commission. Tingzhi again routed Li Dan, killed his general Li Yuanshuai, razed the southern city, and withdrew. The following year he defeated Dan again at Qiaocun and took Donghai, Shipu, and other cities. The year after, Li Dan surrendered and the three cities’ populace was resettled between Tong and Tai. He also took Qizhou and killed its defender.
33
庭芝初至揚時,揚新遭火,廬舍盡毀。 州賴鹽為利,而亭戶多亡去,公私蕭然。 庭芝悉貸民負逋,假錢使為屋,屋成又免其假錢,凡一歲,官民居皆具。 鑿河四十里入金沙餘慶場,以省車運。 兼浚他運河,放亭戶負鹽二百餘萬。 亭民無車運之勞,又得免所負,逃者皆來歸,鹽利大興。 始,平山堂瞰揚城,大元兵至,則構望樓其上,張車弩以射城中。 庭芝乃築大城包之,城中募汴南流民二萬人以實之,有詔命為武銳軍。 又大修學,為詩書、俎豆,與士行習射禮。 郡中有水旱,即命發廩,不足則以私財振之。 揚民德之如父母。 劉槃自淮南入朝,帝問淮事,槃對曰:“李庭芝老成謹重,軍民安之。 今邊塵不驚,百度具舉,皆陛下委任得人之效也。”
When Tingzhi first reached Yangzhou, the city had just burned and every house lay in ruins. The prefecture depended on the salt trade, yet saltern households had fled in droves; public and private coffers alike were empty. Tingzhi canceled overdue debts, lent money for rebuilding, then forgave the loans when houses were finished. Within a year both official quarters and private homes stood restored. He dug a forty-li canal to the Jinsha Yuqing saltern, sparing cart haulage. He dredged other transport canals and wrote off more than two million in saltern salt debt. Saltern workers were spared cart labor and freed of debt; refugees returned, and the salt trade revived. Pingshan Hall had overlooked the city; when Yuan forces came they built a watchtower there and mounted ballistae to rain bolts on Yangzhou. Tingzhi encircled it with a great outer wall and enrolled twenty thousand refugees from south of Bian to man it; the court named them the Wurui Army. He rebuilt the school, furnished classics and ritual vessels, and drilled the gentry in archery ceremony. In flood or drought he opened the granaries at once, and when stores ran short he spent his own wealth on relief. The people of Yangzhou loved him as a parent. Liu Pan came to court from Huainan. Asked about the Huai front, he said, “Li Tingzhi is steady and prudent; soldiers and civilians are secure. The border is quiet and every undertaking prospers—all because Your Majesty appoints the right men.”
34
鹹淳五年,北兵圍襄陽急,夏貴入援,大敗虎尾州; 範文虎總諸兵再入,又敗,文虎以輕舠遁,兵亂,士卒溺漢水死者甚眾。 冬,命庭芝以京湖製置大使督師援襄陽。 文虎聞庭芝至,貽書似道曰:“吾將兵數萬入襄陽,一戰可平,但無使聽命於京閫,事成則功歸恩相矣。 ”似道喜,即除文虎福州觀察使,其兵從中製之。 文虎日攜美妾,走馬擊球軍中為樂。 庭芝屢欲進兵,曰:“吾取旨未至也。 ”明年六月,漢水溢,文虎不得已始一出師,未至鹿門,中道遁去。 庭芝數自劾請代,不允,竟失襄陽。 陳宜中請誅文虎,似道庇之,止降一官知安慶府,而貶庭芝及部將蘇劉義、範友信廣南。 庭芝罷居京口。
In Xianchun year 5 the northern army pressed Xiangyang hard. Xia Gui marched to relieve it and was routed at Huwei; Fan Wenhu led a second relief force and was beaten again; he fled in a light craft while troops broke ranks, and countless men drowned in the Han. That winter Tingzhi was ordered as Jinghu Grand Commissioner to lead the Xiangyang relief. Hearing of Tingzhi’s arrival, Wenhu wrote Sidao: “I have tens of thousands of men; one battle will end it—only keep me from orders out of the capital command. Then the credit will be yours. ” Sidao was delighted, made Wenhu observation commissioner of Fuzhou, and kept his army under central control. Wenhu spent his days with concubines, riding and playing ball in camp. Tingzhi repeatedly urged an advance, saying, “I have not yet received the imperial order. ” The next sixth month the Han flooded; Wenhu at last marched once, then fled before reaching Lumen. Tingzhi repeatedly asked to be relieved; the court refused, and Xiangyang fell. Chen Yizhong demanded Wenhu’s execution; Sidao shielded him with a single-rank demotion to Anqing prefect, while Tingzhi and generals Su Liuyi and Fan Youxin were exiled to Guangnan. Tingzhi retired to Jingkou.
35
未幾,大元兵圍揚州,製置印應雷暴死,即起庭芝製置兩淮。 庭芝請分淮西夏貴,而己得專力淮東,從之。 十年,築清河口,詔以為清河軍。 十二月,大元兵破鄂,詔天下勤王,庭芝首遣兵為諸道倡。 德祐元年春,似道兵潰蕪湖,沿江諸郡或降或遁,無一人能守者。 庭芝率所部郡縣城守。 有李虎者持招降榜入揚州,庭芝誅虎,焚其榜。 總製張俊出戰,持孟之縉書來招降,庭芝焚書,梟俊五人於市。 而日調苗再成戰其南,許文德戰其北,薑才、施忠戰其中。 時出金帛牛酒燕犒將士,人人為之死鬥。 朝廷亦以督府金勞之,加庭芝參知政事。 七月,以知樞密院事征入朝,徙夏貴知揚州,貴不至,事遂已。
Soon Yuan forces besieged Yangzhou; commissioner Yin Yinglei died suddenly, and Tingzhi was recalled to command the two Huai. Tingzhi asked to split the front: Xia Gui would hold western Huai while he focused on the east, and the court agreed. In year 10 he fortified the Qinghe mouth, which the court chartered as Qinghe Army. In the twelfth month Yuan forces took Ezhou; the court called for loyalist armies, and Tingzhi was first to send troops, leading every circuit. In the spring of Deyou year 1, Sidao’s army was shattered at Wuhu; along the Yangtze prefectures surrendered or fled—none held. Tingzhi held every city in his jurisdiction. A man named Li Hu brought a surrender placard into Yangzhou; Tingzhi killed him and burned it. General Zhang Jun came out to fight bearing Meng Zhijin’s surrender letter; Tingzhi burned it and displayed Jun and five others in the marketplace. Each day he sent Miao Zaicheng to the south, Xu Wende to the north, and Jiang Cai and Shi Zhong in the center. He feasted his troops on gold, silk, cattle, and wine, and every man fought for him unto death. The court sent command gold as reward and promoted Tingzhi to Vice Grand Councilor. In the seventh month he was summoned as Director of the Privy Council; Xia Gui was named to replace him at Yangzhou but never came, and the plan lapsed.
36
十月,大元丞相伯顏入臨安,留元帥阿術軍鎮江以遏淮兵。 阿術攻揚久不拔,乃築長圍困之。 冬,城中食盡,死者滿道。 明年二月,饑益甚,赴濠水死者日數百,道有死者,眾爭割啖之立盡。 宋亡,謝太后及瀛國公為詔諭之降,庭芝登城曰:“奉詔守城,未聞有詔諭降也。 ”已而兩宮入朝,至瓜州,復詔庭芝曰:“比詔卿納款,日久未報,豈未悉吾意,尚欲固圉邪? 今吾與嗣君既已臣伏,卿尚為誰守之? ”庭芝不答,命發弩射使者,斃一人,餘皆退去。 薑才出兵奪兩宮,不克,復閉城守。 三月,夏貴以淮西降,阿術驅降兵至城下以示之,旌旗蔽野,幕客有以言覘庭芝者,庭芝曰:“吾惟一死而已。 ”阿術使者持詔來招降,庭芝開壁納使者,斬之,焚詔陴上。 已而知淮安州許文德、知盱眙軍張思聰、知泗州劉興祖皆以糧盡降。 庭芝猶括民間粟以給兵,粟盡,令官人出粟,粟又盡,令將校出粟,雜牛皮、曲糵以給之。 兵有烹子而食者,猶日出苦戰。 七月,阿術請赦庭芝焚詔之罪,使之降,有詔從之。 庭芝亦不納。 是月,益王遣使以少保、左丞相召庭芝,庭芝以朱煥守揚,與薑才將兵七千人東入海,至泰州,阿術將兵追圍之。 朱煥既以城降,驅庭芝將士妻子至泰州城下,陴將孫貴、胡惟孝等開門降。 庭芝聞變,赴蓮池,水淺不得死。 被執至揚州,朱煥請曰:“揚自用兵以來,積骸滿野,皆庭芝與才所為,不殺之何俟? ”於是斬之。 死之日,揚之民皆泣下。
In the tenth month Chancellor Bayan entered Lin’an and left Marshal Achu at Zhenjiang to pin the Huai armies. Achu assaulted Yangzhou for months without success, then threw up a long encirclement. By winter the city was starving; corpses choked the streets. The next second month famine worsened; hundreds leapt into the moat each day. Where a body lay in the street, crowds fought to carve and devour it on the spot. After Song fell, Empress Dowager Xie and Emperor Yingguo sent orders to surrender. Tingzhi mounted the wall and said, “I was ordered to defend this city; I have heard no order to surrender. ” Soon the imperial household went north; at Guazhou they wrote again: “We ordered you to submit, yet days pass without answer—do you still not grasp Our meaning, and mean to hold the walls?” Now that the heir and I have already submitted, for whom are you still holding out? Tingzhi made no reply, ordered crossbows fired at the envoys, killed one, and the rest withdrew. Jiang Cai led troops out to recover the two palaces, failed, and the city was shut again for defense. In the third month Xia Gui surrendered Huai West; Achu marched surrendered troops to the walls as a display, banners covering the plain. When a staff member tried to probe him, Tingzhi said, “I have only death left.” Achu’s envoy came with an edict offering surrender; Tingzhi opened the gate, admitted him, beheaded him, and burned the edict on the wall. Soon word came that Xu Wende of Huai’an, Zhang Sicong of Xuyi, and Liu Xingzu of Sizhou had all surrendered when their grain ran out. Tingzhi still requisitioned civilian grain for the army; when it was gone he ordered officials to give grain, then officers, mixing ox hide and ferment mash to feed the men. Some soldiers boiled their children for food, yet still went out to fight bitterly every day. In the seventh month Achu asked that Tingzhi be pardoned for burning the edict so he might surrender; the court agreed. Tingzhi still refused. That month Prince Yi summoned Tingzhi as Junior Guardian and left grand councilor; Tingzhi left Zhu Huan to hold Yangzhou and with Jiang Cai led seven thousand men east toward the sea to Taizhou, where Achu pursued and besieged them. After Zhu Huan surrendered the city, he drove the families of Tingzhi’s men to Taizhou’s walls; defenders Sun Gui and Hu Weixiao opened the gates and surrendered. When he heard what had happened, Tingzhi threw himself into Lotus Pond, but the water was too shallow and he could not drown. Captured and taken to Yangzhou, Zhu Huan said, “Since the fighting began at Yangzhou, the fields have been heaped with corpses—all Tingzhi and Cai’s doing. Why wait to kill them?” They were beheaded. On the day they died, the people of Yangzhou wept.
37
有宋應龍者為泰州谘議官,泰守孫良臣之弟舜臣自軍中來說降,良臣召應龍與計,應龍極陳國家恩澤,君臣大義,請殺舜臣以戒持二心者,良臣不得已殺之。 及泰州降,應龍夫婦自經死。 提刑司諮議褚一正置司高郵,督戰被創,沒水死。 知興化縣胡拱辰,城破亦死。
Song Yinglong was Taizhou deliberation officer; Prefect Sun Liangchen’s brother Shunchen came from the army to urge surrender. Liangchen consulted Yinglong, who spoke at length of the state’s grace and loyalty between ruler and minister and asked that Shunchen be killed to warn waverers; Liangchen reluctantly killed him. When Taizhou fell, Yinglong and his wife hanged themselves. Chu Yizheng, deliberation officer of the judicial intendant’s office, was posted at Gaoyou, urged the fighting, was wounded, and drowned. Hu Gongchen, magistrate of Xinghua, also died when his city fell.
38
論曰:楊棟學本伊、洛,而尼於權臣,速謗召尤,誰之過歟? 姚希得藹然君子。 包恢以嚴為治,抑以衰世之民非可以縱馳待之耶? 常挺、陳宗禮咸通濟,著聲望。 常楙晚訟皇子竑事,光明正大,公義炳然。 家鉉翁義不二君,足為臣軌。 李庭芝死於國難,其可憫哉!
The historians comment: Yang Dong’s learning came from the Yi and Luo traditions, yet he was hemmed in by a powerful minister, quickly slandered and blamed—whose fault was that? Yao Xide was a gentle, amiable gentleman. Bao Hui governed with severity—was that not because a people in a declining age cannot be handled with lax indulgence? Chang Ting and Chen Zongli were both skilled in statecraft and won wide renown. Chang Mao in his later years pleaded the case of Prince Qi—open, upright, and radiant with public justice. Jia Xuanweng’s loyalty to one ruler alone is enough to stand as a model for ministers. Li Tingzhi died in the nation’s calamity—how pitiable!