Volume 412 Biographies 171: Meng Gong, Du Gao, Wang Deng, Yang Shan, Zhang Weixiao, Chen Xian

孟珙杜杲子庶王登楊掞張惟孝陳咸

Meng Gong; Du Gao's son, Shu; Wang Deng; Yang Shan; Zhang Weixiao; and Chen Xian

孟珙，字璞玉，隨州棗陽人。四世祖安，嘗從岳飛軍中有功。嘉定十年，金人犯襄陽，駐團山，父宗政時爲趙方將，以兵禦之。珙料其必窺樊城，獻策宗政由羅家渡濟河，宗政然之。越翼日，諸軍臨渡佈陣，金人果至，半渡伏發，殲其半。宗政被檄援棗陽，臨陣嘗父子相失，珙望敵騎中有素袍白馬者，曰：「吾父也。」急麾騎軍突陣，遂脫宗政。以功補進勇副尉。

Meng Gong, whose courtesy name was Puyu, came from Zaoyang in Suizhou. Four generations back, his ancestor An had fought under Yue Fei and earned distinction. In the tenth year of the Jiading reign, the Jin attacked Xiangyang and camped on Mount Tuan. Gong's father Zongzheng was then serving as a general under Zhao Fang and led troops to resist them. Gong judged that the enemy would surely probe Fancheng and advised Zongzheng to cross the river at Luojia Ford. Zongzheng agreed. The following day the Song forces deployed at the ford. The Jin came as expected; when they were halfway across, hidden troops sprang up and annihilated half their column. Zongzheng was summoned by dispatch to relieve Zaoyang. On the battlefield father and son were once separated. Gong looked among the enemy cavalry and saw a man in a plain white robe on a white horse. "That is my father," he said. He immediately ordered the cavalry to charge into the enemy ranks and brought Zongzheng out safely. For this exploit he was granted a supplementary appointment as Vice Warden of Courageous Advance.

十二年，完顏訛可步騎二十萬分兩路攻棗陽，環集城下，珙登城射之，將士驚服。宗政命珙取它道劫金人，破砦十有八，斬首千餘級，大俘軍器以歸，金人遁，以功升下班祗應。

In the twelfth year, Wanyan Eke marched two hundred thousand foot and horse in two wings against Zaoyang and ringed the city. Gong climbed the wall to shoot at them, and the troops were struck with admiration. Zongzheng sent Gong by another road to strike the Jin in the flank. He stormed eighteen stockades, took more than a thousand heads, and returned with a great booty of arms. The Jin withdrew, and for this service he was promoted to Attendant of the Lower Class.

十四年，入謁制置使趙方，一見奇之，辟光化尉，轉進武校尉。十六年，以功特授承信郎。丁父憂，制置使起復之，珙辭，訖葬趣就職，又辭，轉成忠郎。理宗即位，特授忠翊郎，尋差峽州兵馬監押兼在城巡檢，京湖制置司差提督虎翼突騎軍馬，又辟京西第五副將，權管神勁左右軍統制。

In the fourteenth year he went to call on the Pacification Commissioner Zhao Fang, who was amazed at first meeting and appointed him marshal of Guanghua, then promoted him to Captain of Martial Advance. In the sixteenth year he was specially granted the rank of Gentleman of Sincere Trust for his achievements. When his father died he entered mourning. The Pacification Commissioner recalled him to duty, but Gong refused. After the funeral he was pressed to take office again and refused once more, and was then transferred to Gentleman of Loyal Fulfillment. When Emperor Lizong ascended the throne, Gong was specially granted the rank of Gentleman of Loyal Assistance. Soon he was assigned as military supervisor of Xia Prefecture and city inspector, detailed by the Jing-Hu Pacification Office to command the Tiger-Wing Shock Cavalry, and also commissioned as Fifth Deputy General of the Western Capital with acting command of the Divine Valor Left and Right armies.

六年，大元將那顏倴盞追金主完顏守緒，逼蔡，檄珙戍鄂，討金唐、鄧行省武仙。仙時與武天錫及鄧守移剌瑗相掎角，爲金盡力，欲迎守緒入蜀，犯光化，鋒剽甚。天錫者，鄧之農夫，乘亂聚衆二十萬爲邊患。珙逼其壘，一鼓拔之，壯士張子良斬天錫首以獻。是役獲首五千級，俘其將士四百餘人，戶十二萬二十有奇，乃授江陵府副都統制，賜金帶。

In the sixth year the Great Yuan general Nayanzhedan was pressing the Jin emperor Wanyan Shouxu toward Cai. Gong was ordered to garrison E Prefecture and campaign against the Jin Tang-Deng Pacification Commissioner Wu Xian. Xian at that time supported Wu Tianxi and the Deng prefect Yelü Yuan in a pincer, exerting all Jin's remaining strength to welcome Shouxu into Shu. They struck Guanghua with a very sharp spearhead. Tianxi was a farmer of Deng who, taking advantage of the chaos, mustered two hundred thousand men and became a scourge on the frontier. Gong pressed his camp and took it at the first assault. The warrior Zhang Ziliang cut off Tianxi's head and presented it. In that campaign they took five thousand heads, captured more than four hundred officers and men, and over one hundred twenty thousand households. He was then appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Jiangling and given a gold belt.

制置司檄珙問邊事，珙曰：「金人若向呂堰，則八千人不爲少，然須木查、騰雲、呂堰等砦受節制乃可濟。」已而劉全、雷去危兩部與金人戰于夏家橋，小捷。有頃，金人犯呂堰，珙喜曰：「吾計得矣。」亟命諸軍追擊呂堰，進逼大河，退逼山險，砦軍四合，金人棄輜重走，獲甲士五十有二，斬首三千，馬牛橐駝以萬計，歸其民三萬二千有奇。瑗遣其部曲馬天章奉書請降，得縣五，鎮二十二，官吏一百九十三，馬軍千五百，步軍萬四千，戶三萬五千三百，口十二萬五千五百五十三。珙入城，瑗伏階下請死，珙爲之易衣冠，以賓禮見。

The Pacification Office summoned Gong to consult on border affairs. He said, "If the Jin move on Lüyan, eight thousand men would not be too few, but the stockades at Mucha, Tengyun, and Lüyan must come under unified command before the plan can work." Before long the detachments of Liu Quan and Lei Weiju fought the Jin at Xia Family Bridge and won a minor victory. Soon the Jin attacked Lüyan. Gong was delighted and said, "My plan has succeeded." He immediately ordered the armies to pursue them at Lüyan, driving them against the great river ahead and mountain defiles behind until the stockade troops closed in on every side. The Jin abandoned their baggage train and fled. They took fifty-two armored men, beheaded three thousand, and seized horses, oxen, and camels by the tens of thousands, restoring more than thirty-two thousand civilians to their homes. Yuan sent his officer Ma Tianzhang with a letter offering surrender. The submission brought five counties, twenty-two towns, one hundred ninety-three officials, fifteen hundred cavalry, fourteen thousand infantry, thirty-five thousand three hundred households, and one hundred twenty-five thousand five hundred fifty-three people. Gong entered the city. Yuan prostrated himself on the steps and begged to die. Gong had his garments changed and received him with the courtesy due a guest.

初，仙屯順陽，爲宋軍所撓，退屯馬蹬。金順陽令李英以縣降，申州安撫張林以州降，珙言：「歸附之人，宜因其鄉土而使之耕，因其人民而立之長，少壯籍爲軍，俾自耕自守，才能者分以土地，任以職使，各招其徒以殺其勢」制置司是之。七月己酉，仙愛將劉儀領壯士二百降，珙問仙虛實，儀陳：「仙所據九砦，其大砦石穴山，以馬蹬、沙窩、岵山三砦蔽其前；三砦不破，石穴未易圖也。若先破離金砦，則王子山砦亦破，岵山、沙窩孤立，三帥成禽矣。」珙翼日遣兵向離金，廬秀執黑旗帥衆入砦，金人不疑爲宋軍，乃分據巷道，大呼縱火，掩殺幾盡。是夜，壯士楊青等搗王子山砦，護帳軍酣寢，王建入帳中，斬金將首囊佩之，平明視之，金小元帥也。

Earlier Xian had been stationed at Shunyang, but Song forces harried him until he withdrew to Madeng. The Jin magistrate of Shunyang, Li Ying, surrendered the county, and Zhang Lin, pacifier of Shen Prefecture, surrendered the prefecture. Gong said, "Those who come over should be settled on their own lands to farm, leaders chosen from among their people, and the young registered as soldiers so they can farm and defend themselves. Give the capable land and office, and let each recruit his own followers to break up enemy strength." The Pacification Office approved. On the seventh month, day jiyou, Xian's favorite officer Liu Yi came over with two hundred stalwarts. Gong asked him about Xian's real strength. Yi explained that Xian held nine stockades; the main one was Stone-Cave Mountain, shielded in front by Madeng, Shawa, and Hushan. Until those three were broken, Stone-Cave would not be easy to take. If we first break Leaving-Gold stockade, Prince-Mountain will fall too; Hushan and Shawa will stand alone, and the three commanders can be taken alive. The next day Gong sent troops against Leaving-Gold. Lu Xiu carried a black flag and led his men into the stockade. The Jin did not suspect they were Song troops. They seized the lanes, shouted, set fires, and nearly wiped out the garrison. That night stalwarts led by Yang Qing raided Prince-Mountain stockade while the guards slept in a drunken stupor. Wang Jian entered the tent and cut off the Jin officer's head, which he carried in a pouch. At dawn they saw it was a Jin junior commander.

丙辰，出師馬蹬，遣樊文彬攻其前門，成明等邀截西路，一軍圍訖石烈，一軍圍小總帥砦，火燭天，殺僇山積，餘逸去者復爲成明伏軍所得，壯士老少萬二千三百來歸。師還，至沙窩西，與金人遇，大捷。是日，三戰三克。未幾，丁順等又破默候裏砦。珙召儀曰：「此砦既破，板橋、石穴必震，汝能爲我招之乎？」儀曰：「晉德與花腿王顯、金鎮撫安威故舊，招之必來。」乃遣德行，儀又請選婦人三百偽逃歸，懷招軍榜以向，珙從之。威見德，敘情好甚歡，介德往見顯，顯即日以書乞降。德復請珙遣劉儀候之。顯軍約五千，猶未解甲，珙令作栲栳陣；入陣，周視良久，乃去，如素所撫循；饗以牛酒，皆醉飽歌舞。珙料武仙將上岵山絕頂窺伺，令樊文彬詰旦奪岵山，駐軍其下，前當設伏，後遮歸路。已而仙衆果登山，及半，文彬麾旗，伏兵四起，仙衆失措，枕藉崖谷，山爲之赬，殺其將兀沙惹，擒七百三十人，棄鎧甲如山。薄暮，珙進軍至小水河，儀還，具言仙不欲降，謀往商州依險以守，然老稚不願北去，珙曰：「進兵不可緩。」夜漏十刻，召文彬等受方略，明日攻石穴九砦。丙辰，蓐食啟行，晨至石穴。時積雨未霽，文彬患之，珙曰：「此雪夜擒吳元濟之時也。」策馬直至石穴，分兵進攻，而以文彬往來給事。自寅至巳力戰，九砦一時俱破，武仙走，追及於鯰魚砦，仙望見，易服而遁。復戰於銀葫蘆山，軍又敗，仙與五六騎奔。追之，隱不見，降其衆七萬人，獲甲兵無算。還軍襄陽，轉修武郎、鄂州江陵府副都統制。

On day bingchen they marched against Madeng. Fan Wenbin attacked the front gate, Cheng Ming and others blocked the western road, one force encircled Qieshilie, another the Little Commander's stockade. Fires lit the sky and corpses piled on the hills. Those who fled were caught by Cheng Ming's ambush. Twelve thousand three hundred young and old submitted. On the march back, west of Shawa, they met the Jin and won a great victory. That day they fought three battles and won all three. Before long Ding Shun and others also stormed Mohouli stockade. Gong summoned Yi and said, "Now that this stockade is broken, Plank-Bridge and Stone-Cave will surely be shaken. Can you win them over for me?" Yi said, "Jin De is an old friend of Flower-Leg Wang Xian and the Jin pacifier An Wei. If we summon them, they will surely come." He sent De on the mission. Yi also asked to choose three hundred women to pretend they were fleeing home, carrying recruitment proclamations hidden on them. Gong agreed. When Wei saw De they renewed their old friendship with great delight. De went between them to bring Xian in, and Xian that very day sent a letter begging to surrender. De again asked Gong to send Liu Yi to receive him. Xian's force numbered about five thousand and had not yet laid down their arms. Gong ordered a cage-array formation drawn up. He entered the formation, rode around inspecting it for a long time, then left, as if he had always commanded them. He feasted them with beef and wine until all were drunk, full, and singing. Gong expected Wu Xian would climb to the summit of Hushan to spy. He ordered Fan Wenbin at dawn to seize Hushan and camp below it, with ambush ahead and a block on the retreat behind. Soon Xian's men did climb the mountain. At mid-slope Wenbin waved his flags and ambushers rose on every side. Xian's troops panicked; bodies littered the cliffs and ravines until the hills seemed flushed red. They killed his general Wushare, captured seven hundred thirty men, and left armor heaped like mountains. At dusk Gong advanced to the Little Water River. Yi returned and reported that Xian did not wish to surrender and planned to flee to Shang Prefecture to hold difficult ground, but the old and young did not wish to go north. Gong said, "We must advance without delay." At the tenth watch of the night he summoned Wenbin and the others to receive their orders: the next day they would attack the nine Stone-Cave stockades. On day bingchen they ate before dawn and marched out, reaching Stone-Cave at dawn. Rain had been falling for days and had not cleared. Wenbin was troubled. Gong said, "This is the hour when Wu Yuanji was taken on a snowy night." He spurred his horse straight to Stone-Cave, divided his forces to attack, and had Wenbin shuttle back and forth to keep the assault supplied. From the hour of yin to the hour of si they fought fiercely, and all nine stockades fell at once. Wu Xian fled. Pursued to Catfish stockade, when he saw them he changed clothes and slipped away. They fought again at Silver-Gourd Mountain, and his army was defeated again. Xian fled with five or six horsemen. They pursued him, but he vanished from sight. Seventy thousand of his men surrendered, and armor and weapons beyond counting were taken. Returning to Xiangyang, he was promoted to Gentleman of Martial Cultivation and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of E Prefecture and Jiangling.

大元兵遣宣撫王楫約共攻蔡，制置使謀於珙，珙請以二萬人行，因命珙盡護諸將。金兵二萬騎繇真陽橫山南來，珙鼓行而前，金人戰敗，卻走，追至高黃陂，斬首千二百級。

The Great Yuan army sent Pacification Commissioner Wang Ji proposing a joint attack on Cai. The Pacification Commissioner consulted Gong, who asked to lead twenty thousand men and was placed in command of all the generals. Twenty thousand Jin cavalry came from Zhenyang along the south road of Hengshan. Gong advanced with drums beating. The Jin were defeated and fled. Pursued to Gaohuangpo, they took twelve hundred heads.

倴盞遣兔花忒、沒荷過出、阿悉三人來迓，珙與射獵，割鮮而飲，馳入其帳。倴盞喜，約爲兄弟，酌馬湩飲之。金兵萬人自東門出戰，珙遮其歸路，掩入汝河，擒其偏裨八十有七人。得蔡降人，言城中饑，珙曰：「已窘矣，當盡死而守，以防突圍。」珙與倴盞約，南北軍毋相犯。決堰水，布虎落。倴盞遣萬戶張柔帥精兵五千人入城，金人鉤二卒以往，柔中流矢如蝟，珙麾先鋒救之，挾柔以出。撥發官宋榮不肅，將斬之，衆下馬羅拜以請，猶杖之。黎明，珙進逼石橋，鉤致生俘郭山，戰少卻。金人突至，珙躍馬入陣，斬山以徇，軍氣復張，殊死戰，進逼柴潭立柵，俘金人百有二，斬首三百餘級。翼日，命諸將奪柴潭樓。金人爭樓，諸軍魚貫而上。金人又飾美婦人以相蠱，麾下張禧等殺之，遂拔柴潭樓，俘其將士五百三十有七人。蔡人恃潭爲固，外即汝河，潭高於河五六丈，城上金字型大小樓伏巨弩，相傳下有龍，人不敢近，將士疑畏。珙召麾下飲，再行，曰：「柴潭非天造地設，樓伏弩能及遠而不可射近，彼所恃此水耳，決而注之，涸可立待。」皆曰：「堤堅未易鑿。」珙曰：「所謂堅者，止築兩堤首耳，鑿其兩翼可也。」潭果決，實以薪葦，遂濟師攻城，擒其兩將斬之，獲其殿前右副點檢溫端，磔之城下，進逼土門。金人驅其老稚熬爲油，號「人油砲」，人不堪其楚，珙遣道士說止之。

Nedan sent Tuhuaite, Moheguo, and Axi to welcome him. Gong hunted with them, cut raw meat to drink, and galloped straight into Nedan's tent. Nedan was delighted, pledged brotherhood with him, and poured koumiss for them to drink. Ten thousand Jin soldiers came out from the east gate to fight. Gong blocked their retreat and drove them into the Ru River, capturing eighty-seven of their deputies. Captives from Cai said the city was starving. Gong said, "They are already desperate. They will defend to the death to prevent a breakout." Gong agreed with Nedan that the northern and southern armies would not interfere with each other. They broke the dam sluice and set up palisades. Nedan sent the Ten-Thousand Household Zhang Rou with five thousand elite troops into the city. The Jin hooked out two soldiers ahead of them. Rou was struck with arrows thick as hedgehog quills. Gong ordered the vanguard to rescue him and carried Rou out. The artillery officer Song Rong was insubordinate and was to be beheaded. The troops dismounted in circles to plead for him, but he was still flogged. At dawn Gong pressed toward Stone Bridge, took a live captive named Guo Shan, and after a brief fight drew back slightly. The Jin suddenly rushed up. Gong leapt his horse into the ranks and beheaded Shan to warn the troops. Army spirit surged again, and they fought to the death, advancing to erect palisades before Chaitan. They captured one hundred two Jin and beheaded more than three hundred. The next day he ordered the generals to seize Chaitan tower. The Jin fought for the tower, and the Song armies climbed up in single file. The Jin again sent beautiful women to bewitch the troops. Zhang Xi and others under Gong killed them, took Chaitan tower, and captured five hundred thirty-seven officers and men. The people of Cai relied on the pond as their stronghold. Beyond it lay the Ru River. The pond stood five or six zhang above the river. On the wall stood large and small towers in the shape of the character jin, armed with huge crossbows. Tradition said a dragon lay beneath, and no one dared approach. Officers and men were afraid. Gong summoned his officers to drink, then set out again and said, "Chaitan is not heaven-made. The tower crossbows can reach far but cannot shoot near. They rely on this water alone. Break the dam and pour it in, and the pond will dry up at once." All said, "The dyke is firm and not easy to breach." Gong said, "What they call firm is only the two head dykes. Cut the wings and it will work." The pond was indeed breached, filled with straw and reeds, and the army crossed to assault the city. They captured two generals and beheaded them, seized the Palace Front Right Deputy Inspector Wen Duan and dismembered him below the wall, then pressed toward Earth Gate. The Jin drove their old and young to render fat for cannons called "human-oil cannon." People could not bear the torment. Gong sent a Taoist priest to persuade them to stop.

端平元年正月辛丑，黑氣壓城上，日無光，降者言：「城中絕糧已三月，鞍靴敗鼓皆糜煮，且聽以老弱互食，諸軍日以人畜骨和芹泥食之，又往往斬敗軍全隊，拘其肉以食，故欲降者衆。」珙下令諸軍銜枚，分運雲梯布城下。己酉，珙帥師向南門，至金字樓，列雲梯，令諸將聞鼓則進，馬義先登。趙榮繼之，萬衆競登，大戰城上，降其丞相烏古論栲栳，殺其元帥兀林達及偏裨二百人。門西開，招倴盞入，江海執其參政張天綱以歸。珙問守緒所在，天綱曰：「城危時即取寶玉置小室，環以草，號泣自經，曰'死便火我'，煙焰未絕。」珙與倴盞分守緒骨，得金諡寶、玉帶、金銀印牌有差。還軍襄陽，特授武功郎、主管侍衛馬軍行司公事。擢建康府都統制兼權侍衛馬軍行司職事。

On the first month, day xinchou, in the first year of Duanping, black vapor weighed on the city and the sun had no light. Surrenderers said the city had been without grain for three months, that saddles, boots, and worn drums were all stewed and eaten, that the weak were eating one another, that troops daily ate human and animal bones mixed with celery mud, and that defeated units were often cut down whole so their flesh could be eaten. For this reason many wished to surrender. Gong ordered all the armies to hold gag between their teeth and carry siege ladders in relays below the wall. On day jiyou Gong led the army to the south gate. Reaching the golden-character tower, he ranged the siege ladders and ordered the generals to advance at the drum. Ma Yi mounted first. Zhao Rong followed, and ten thousand men scrambled up and fought fiercely on the wall. They induced Grand Councillor Wugulun Kaoluo to surrender and killed Marshal Wulinda and two hundred deputies. The west gate opened, and they summoned Nedan in. Jianghai seized Vice Premier Zhang Tiangang and brought him back. Gong asked where Shouxu was. Tiangang said that when the city was desperate they placed jewels in a small room, heaped grass around it, wept, and hanged himself, saying, "When I die, burn me at once," and the smoke and flame had not yet died away. Gong and Nedan divided Shouxu's bones and obtained the Jin posthumous treasures, jade belt, and gold and silver seals in varying measure. Returning to Xiangyang, he was specially granted Gentleman of Martial Achievement and put in charge of the affairs of the Horse Army Directorate. He was promoted to Commander-in-Chief of Jiankang with acting charge of the Horse Army Directorate.

太常寺簿朱楊祖、看班祗候林拓朝八陵，諜云大元兵傳宋來爭河南府，哨已及盟津，陝府、潼關、河南皆增屯設伏，又聞淮閫刻日進師，衆畏不前。珙曰：「淮東之師，由淮、泗溯汴，非旬余不達，吾選精騎疾馳，不十日可竣事；逮師至東京，吾已歸矣。」於是晝夜兼行，與二使至陵下，奉宣御表，成禮而歸。制置司奏留珙襄陽兼鎮北軍都統制。鎮北軍者，珙所招中原精銳百戰之士萬五千餘人，分屯漅北、樊城、新野、唐、鄧間。俄令赴樞密院稟議，授帶御器械。二年，授主管侍衛馬軍司公事，時暫黃州駐劄，朝辭，上曰：「卿名將之子，忠勤體國，破蔡滅金，功績昭著。」珙對曰：「此宗社威靈，陛下聖德，與三軍將士之勞，臣何力之有？」帝問恢復，對曰：「願陛下寬民力，蓄人材，以俟機會。」帝問和議，對曰：「臣介胄之士，當言戰，不當言和。」賜齎甚厚。兼知光州，又兼知黃州。

The Ministry of Rites clerk Zhu Yangzu and Ceremonial Attendant Lin Tuo were sent to inspect the eight imperial mausoleums. Intelligence reported that Great Yuan troops were passing themselves off as Song forces to seize Henan Prefecture. Pickets had already reached Meng Ford, and Shan Prefecture, Tong Pass, and Henan had all added garrisons and ambushes. They also heard that the Huai Pacification Commissioner would advance on a set day, and the party was afraid to go forward. Gong said, "The Huai-East army would go up the Bian by way of Huai and Si and would not arrive in less than ten days. I will choose elite cavalry and ride hard. In less than ten days the mission will be done. By the time that army reaches the Eastern Capital, I will already be back." Thereupon they traveled day and night, and with the two envoys reached the mausoleums, presented the imperial memorial, completed the rites, and returned. The Pacification Office memorialized to keep Gong at Xiangyang with concurrent command of the North-Pacification Army. The North-Pacification Army was the force of more than fifteen thousand veteran elite from the Central Plains whom Gong had recruited, stationed between the north bank of the Han, Fancheng, Xinye, Tang, and Deng. Soon he was ordered to the Bureau of Military Affairs for consultation and granted the title of Imperial-Equipped Attendant. In the second year he was appointed to direct the Horse Army Directorate and was temporarily stationed at Huang Prefecture. At his audience the emperor said, "You are the son of a famous general, loyal and diligent in serving the state. In destroying Cai and extinguishing Jin, your achievements are bright." Gong replied, "That is the majesty of the altars, Your Majesty's sacred virtue, and the labor of the army. What strength have I of my own?" The emperor asked about recovery. He answered, "I hope Your Majesty will ease the people's burdens, store up talent, and wait for the right opportunity." The emperor asked about peace talks. He answered, "I am a man in armor. I should speak of war, not peace." He was granted generous rewards. He was concurrently appointed prefect of Guang Prefecture and also of Huang Prefecture.

三年，珙至黃，增埤浚隍，搜訪軍實，邊民來歸者日以千數，爲屋三萬間居之，厚加賑貸。又慮兵民雜處，因高阜爲齊安、鎮淮二砦，以居諸軍。創章家山、毋家山兩堡爲先鋒、虎翼、飛虎營。兼主管管內安撫司公事，節制黃蘄光、信陽四郡軍馬。

In the third year Gong reached Huang, raised the parapets and deepened the moats, and searched out military stores. Border people returning came by thousands each day. He built thirty thousand rooms to house them and gave generous relief. He also worried about soldiers and civilians living intermixed, so he built the Qi'an and Zhenhuai stockades on a high ridge to quarter the various armies. He established the forts at Zhangjiashan and Wujiashan as bases for the Vanguard, Tiger Wing, and Flying Tiger battalions. He was also placed in charge of the Regional Pacification Commission's affairs within his jurisdiction and given command over the armies of Huang, Qi, Guang, and Xinyang.

大元兵攻蘄州，珙遣兵解其圍；又攻襄陽，隨守張龜壽、荊門守朱楊祖、郢守喬士安皆委郡去，復州施子仁死之，江陵危急。詔沿江、淮西遣援，衆謂無逾珙者，乃先遣張順渡江，珙以全師繼之。大元兵分兩路：一攻復州，一在枝江監利縣編筏窺江。珙變易旌旗服色，迴圈往來，夜則列炬照江，數十里相接。又遣外弟趙武等共戰，躬往節度，破砦二十有四，還民二萬。嘉熙元年，封隨縣男，擢高州刺史，忠州團練使兼知江陵府、京西湖北安撫副使。未幾，授鄂州諸軍都統制。

When Great Yuan forces attacked Qi Prefecture, Gong sent troops to relieve the siege. The Mongols also attacked Xiangyang. The defenders Zhang Guishou of Suizhou, Zhu Yangzu of Jingmen, and Qiao Shi'an of Ying all abandoned their posts and fled. Shizi Ren of Fu Prefecture died defending his command, and Jiangling stood in grave danger. The court ordered reinforcements dispatched along the Yangzi and west of the Huai. Everyone agreed that no one was better suited than Gong, so Zhang Shun was sent across the river first, with Gong following at the head of his entire force. The Great Yuan army split into two columns: one assaulted Fu Prefecture, while the other at Zhijiang and Jianli counties built rafts to probe the river. Gong changed his banners and uniform colors and circled his forces back and forth. At night he lined torches along the river, their light stretching unbroken for dozens of li. He also sent his brother-in-law Zhao Wu and others into battle, going in person to direct operations. They captured twenty-four stockades and brought back twenty thousand civilians. In the first year of the Jiaxi era, he was enfeoffed as Baron of Suixian, promoted to Prefect of Gaozhou, appointed Regiment Trainer of Zhong Prefecture, and made concurrently Administrator of Jiangling Prefecture and Vice Regional Pacification Commissioner of Jingxi and Hubei. Before long he was appointed Overall Commander of all forces at E Prefecture.

大元大將忒沒䚟入漢陽境，大將口溫不花入淮甸，蘄守張可大、舒州李士達委郡去，光守董堯臣以州降。合三郡人馬糧械攻黃守王鑒，江帥萬文勝戰不利。珙入城，軍民喜曰：「吾父來矣。」駐帳城樓，指畫戰守，卒全其城，斬逗留者四十有九人以徇。御筆以戰功賞將士，特賜珙金碗，珙益以白金五十兩賜之諸將。將士彌月苦戰，病傷者相屬，珙遣醫視療，士皆感泣。

Great Yuan general Temür entered Hanyang, and general Köwenbuqa pushed into the Huai region. The defenders Zhang Kedá of Qi Prefecture and Li Shida of Shuzhou abandoned their posts and fled, while Dong Yaoen of Guang Prefecture surrendered his command. Pooling the men, horses, grain, and arms of the three prefectures, they attacked Wang Jian, the defender of Huang Prefecture. The Jiang commander Wan Wensheng was defeated. When Gong entered the city, soldiers and civilians rejoiced and cried, "Our father has arrived!" He set up his command tent on the city tower and directed the fighting. In the end he saved the city and executed forty-nine men who had hung back, making an example of them. The emperor personally rewarded the officers and soldiers for their valor and specially granted Gong a golden bowl. Gong added fifty taels of his own silver and distributed the reward among his generals. After a month of grueling combat, wounded and sick men kept coming in succession. Gong sent physicians to treat them, and the soldiers wept with gratitude.

二年春，授寧遠軍承宣使、帶御器械、鄂州江陵府諸軍都統制。珙以三軍賞典未頒，表辭。詔曰：「有功不賞，人謂朕何？三軍勳勞，趣其來上。封爵之序，自將帥始，卿奚辭焉？」未幾，授樞密副都承旨、京西湖北路安撫制置副使兼督視行府參謀官。未幾，升制置使兼知岳州。乃檄江陵節制司搗襄、郢，於是張俊復郢州，賀順復荊門軍。十二月壬子，劉全戰於塚頭，戰于樊城，戰于郎神山，屢以捷聞。三年春正月，曹文鏞復信陽軍，劉全復樊城，遂復襄陽。授樞密都承旨、制置使兼知鄂州。全遣譚深復光化軍，息、蔡降，珙命以兵逆之，得壯士百餘，籍爲忠衛軍。

In the spring of the second year he was appointed Military Commissioner of the Ningyuan Army, Bearer of Imperial Armaments, and Overall Commander of all forces at E Prefecture and Jiangling Prefecture. Because the promised rewards for the three armies had not yet been distributed, Gong submitted a memorial declining the appointment. The edict read, "If I fail to reward merit, what will people think of me? Submit the records of the three armies' achievements at once. Enfeoffments begin with the commanders—why should you refuse?" Soon afterward he was appointed Deputy Chief Palace Secretariat Commissioner, Deputy Regional Pacification and Establishment Commissioner of the Jingxi-Hubei Route, and concurrently planning officer of the supervisory field headquarters. Not long after he was promoted to Regional Pacification Commissioner and made concurrently Administrator of Yue Prefecture. He then ordered the Jiangling command to strike at Xiang and Ying. Zhang Jun recovered Ying Prefecture, and He Shun recovered Jingmen. On the renzi day of the twelfth month Liu Quan fought at Zongtou, Fan City, and Langshen Mountain, and victory was reported again and again. In the first month of the third year Cao Wenying recovered Xinyang, Liu Quan recovered Fan City, and Xiangyang was restored. He was appointed Chief Palace Secretariat Commissioner and Regional Pacification Commissioner, with concurrent appointment as Administrator of E Prefecture. Liu Quan sent Tan Shen to recover Guanghua. When Xi and Cai submitted, Gong ordered troops to intercept the surrendering forces and enrolled more than a hundred stalwart men into a new Loyal Guard Army.

初，詔珙收復京、襄，珙謂郢然後可以通饋餉得荊門然後可以出奇兵，由是指授方略，發兵深入，所至以捷聞。珙奏略曰：「取襄不難而守爲難，非將士不勇也，非車馬器械不精也，實在乎事力之不給爾。襄、樊爲朝遷根本，今百戰而得之，當加經理，如護元氣，非甲兵十萬，不足分守。與其抽兵於敵來之後，孰若保此全勝？上兵伐謀，此不爭之爭也。」乃置先鋒軍，以襄、郢歸順人隸焉。

At first the court ordered Gong to recover Jing and Xiang. Gong argued that Ying had to be taken before supply lines could be opened, and Jingmen secured before surprise attacks could be launched. He accordingly devised strategy and sent armies deep into enemy territory, and victory followed wherever they went. Gong submitted a memorial saying, "Capturing Xiangyang is not hard; holding it is. The problem is not lack of courage among our troops, nor poor horses and equipment—it is simply that we lack the resources to sustain the garrison. Xiang and Fan are the foundation of the court's relocated capital. Having won them at such cost, we must consolidate them as carefully as one tends vital energy. Without a hundred thousand troops, we cannot adequately garrison them. Better to preserve this complete victory than to strip troops away only after the enemy arrives. The supreme art of war is to defeat the enemy's strategy—this is victory without fighting." He then formed a Vanguard Army drawn from those who had surrendered in Xiang and Ying.

庚寅，諜報大元兵欲大舉臨江，珙策必道施、黔以透湖湘，請粟十萬石以給軍餉，以二千人屯峽州，千人屯歸州。忠衛舊將晉德自光化來歸，珙獎用之。珙弟瑛以精兵五千駐松滋爲夔聲援，遣於德興增兵守歸州隘口萬戶穀。大元兵自隨窺江，珙密遣劉全拒敵，遣伍思智以千人屯施州。大元大將塔海並禿雪帥師入蜀，號八十萬，珙增置營砦，分佈戰艦，遣張舉提兵間道抵均州防遏。大元兵度萬州湖灘，施、夔震動，珙兄璟時爲湖北安撫副使、知峽州，急以書謀備禦。珙請于督府，帥師西上。璟調金鐸一軍迎拒於歸州大𤦩砦。劉義捷于馬巴東縣之清平村。珙弟璋選精兵二千駐澧州防施、黔路。四年，進封子。

On the gengyin day, scouts reported that the Great Yuan army planned a major push toward the Yangzi. Gong predicted they would pass through Shi and Qian to break into Hunan and Hubei. He requested a hundred thousand shi of grain for supplies and posted two thousand men at Xia Prefecture and one thousand at Gui Prefecture. Jin De, a former Loyal Guard general who had come over from Guanghua, was commended and given command by Gong. Gong's brother Ying posted five thousand elite troops at Songzi to support Kui, and sent Yu Dexing to reinforce the garrison at Wanhu Valley pass in Gui Prefecture. When Great Yuan forces from Suizhou probed the river, Gong secretly sent Liu Quan to block them and posted Wu Sizhi with a thousand men at Shi Prefecture. Great Yuan generals Taqai and Tursun marched into Sichuan at the head of an army said to number eight hundred thousand. Gong added camps and stockades, deployed warships, and sent Zhang Ju by a hidden route to Jun Prefecture to block their advance. When Great Yuan forces crossed the lake shoals at Wanzhou, Shi and Kui were thrown into alarm. Gong's brother Jing, then Vice Regional Pacification Commissioner of Hubei and Administrator of Xia Prefecture, wrote urgently to plan the defense. Gong asked leave of the supervisory headquarters and marched west with his army. Jing sent Jin Duo with an army to meet the enemy at the Daxu stockade in Gui Prefecture. Liu Yi won a victory at Qingping Village in Badong County. Gong's brother Zhang chose two thousand elite troops to garrison Li Prefecture and guard the route through Shi and Qian. In the fourth year his son's rank was advanced.

珙條上流備禦宜爲藩籬三層：乞創制副司及移關外都統一軍于夔，任涪南以下江面之責，爲第一層；備鼎、澧爲第二層；備辰、沅、靖、桂爲第三層。峽州、松滋須各屯萬人，舟師隸焉，歸州屯三千人，鼎、澧、辰、沅、靖各五千人，郴、桂各千人，如是則江西可保。又遣楊鼎、張謙往辰、沅、靖三州，同守倅曉諭熟蠻，講求思、播、施、黔支徑，以圖來上。

Gong proposed a three-tier upstream defense. For the first tier he asked that a deputy command be created and one army of the extramural overall command moved to Kui, charged with defending the river below Fùnan. The second tier would defend Ding and Li. The third tier would defend Chen, Yuan, Jing, and Gui. Xia Prefecture and Songzi would each need ten thousand garrison troops with naval forces attached. Gui would need three thousand; Ding, Li, Chen, Yuan, and Jing five thousand each; and Chen and Gui prefectures one thousand each. With such dispositions Jiangxi could be secured. He also sent Yang Ding and Zhang Qian to Chen, Yuan, and Jing to work with the deputy prefects in winning over local tribes, survey routes through Si, Bo, Shi, and Qian, and submit maps to the court.

會諜知大元兵於襄樊隨、信陽招集軍民布種，積船材于鄧之順陽，乃遣張漢英出隨，任義出信陽，焦進出襄，分路撓其勢。遣王堅潛兵燒所積船材，又度師必因糧于蔡，遣張德、劉整分兵入蔡，火其積聚。制拜甯武軍節度使、四川宣撫使兼知夔州。招集麻城縣、巴河、安樂磯、管公店淮民三百五十有九人，皆沿邊經戰之士，號「甯武軍」，令璋領之。進封漢東郡侯兼京湖安撫制置使。

Intelligence reported that the Great Yuan army was recruiting troops and civilians around Xiang-Fan-Sui and Xinyang to plant crops and was stockpiling ship timber at Shunyang in Deng. Gong sent Zhang Hanying from Suizhou, Ren Yi from Xinyang, and Jiao Jin from Xiang on separate routes to disrupt their preparations. He sent Wang Jian with a covert force to burn the stockpiled ship timber, and anticipating that the enemy would draw supplies from Cai, dispatched Zhang De and Liu Zheng to enter Cai separately and burn their grain stores. The court appointed him Military Commissioner of the Ningwu Army, Sichuan Pacification Commissioner, and concurrently Administrator of Kui Prefecture. He recruited 359 Huai civilians from Macheng County, Bahe, Anleji, and Guangongdian—all battle-tested border men—and organized them as the Ningwu Army under Zhang's command. He was advanced to Marquis of Handong Commandery and appointed concurrently Jing-Hu Regional Pacification Commissioner.

回鶻愛里八都魯帥壯士百餘、老稚百一十五人、馬二百六十匹來降，創「飛鶻軍」，改愛里名艾忠孝，充總轄，乞補以官。四川制置使陳隆之與副使彭大雅不協，交章於朝。珙曰：「國事如此，合智並謀，猶懼弗克，而兩司方勇於私鬥，豈不愧廉、藺之風乎。」馳書責之，隆之、大雅得書大慚。

The Uyghur leader Elibatur surrendered with more than a hundred warriors, 115 elderly and children, and 260 horses. Gong formed the Flying Falcon Army, renamed Elibatur Ai Zhongxiao, made him its overall commander, and petitioned for official ranks for his men. Sichuan Pacification Commissioner Chen Longzhi and his deputy Peng Daya were at odds and each submitted memorials against the other to the court. Gong said, "With the state in such peril, we must combine our wits and still fear we may fail—yet the two of you are boldly fighting a private feud. Have you no shame before the example of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru?" He sent them urgent letters of rebuke. When Longzhi and Daya received them, they were deeply ashamed.

厘蜀政之弊，爲條班諸郡縣，曰差除計蜀，曰功賞不明，曰減克軍糧，曰官吏貪黷，曰上下欺罔。又曰：「不擇險要立砦柵，則難責兵以衛民；不集流離安耕種，則難責民以養兵。」乃立賞罰以課殿最，俾諸司奉行之。黎守閻師古言大理國請道黎、雅入貢，珙報大理自通邕、廣，不宜取道川蜀，卻之。兼夔路制置大使兼屯田大使。軍無宿儲，珙大興屯田，調夫築堰，募農給種，首秭歸，尾漢口，爲屯二十，爲莊百七十，爲頃十八萬八千二百八十，上屯田始末與所減券食之數，降詔獎諭。靖州徭琳賽良爲亂，遣王瑀平之。

He reformed the abuses of Sichuan administration, issuing regulations to all prefectures and counties under five headings: irregular appointments in Shu, unclear reward of merit, skimming of military rations, official corruption, and deception up and down the ranks. He also wrote, "Without stockades at strategic points, we cannot expect soldiers to protect the people. Without resettling refugees for farming, we cannot expect the people to support the army." He then instituted a system of rewards and punishments to evaluate performance and ordered all departments to enforce it. Yan Shigu, defender of Li Prefecture, reported that Dali wished to send tribute through Li and Ya. Gong replied that Dali already had access through Yong and Guang and should not pass through Sichuan, and refused the request. He was also appointed Grand Commissioner for Kui Route Establishment and Grand Commissioner for Military Colonies. With no stored provisions for the army, Gong launched a major military-colony program, conscripting laborers to build irrigation works and recruiting farmers with seed grain from Zigui to Hankou. He established twenty colonies, 170 estates, and 188,280 qing of farmland, submitted a full account of the program and the ration savings achieved, and received an imperial commendation. When the Yao chiefs Lin and Sai Liang rebelled in Jing Prefecture, he sent Wang Yu to suppress them.

淳祐二年，珙以京、襄死節死事之臣請於朝，建祠岳陽，歲時致祭，有旨賜名閔忠廟。淮東受兵，樞密俾珙應援，遣李得帥精兵四千赴之，珙子之經監軍。諜知京兆府也可那延以騎兵三千經商州取鶻嶺關，出房州竹山，遣王令屯江陵，尋進屯郢州，劉全屯沙市，焦進提千人自江陵、荊門出襄。檄劉全齎十日糧，取道南漳入襄，與諸軍合。

In the second year of Chunyou, Gong petitioned the court to honor the loyal dead of Jing and Xiang, requesting a shrine at Yueyang with annual sacrifices. The court granted the name Minzhong Temple. When Huaidong came under attack, the Military Affairs Commission ordered Gong to send reinforcements. He dispatched Li De with four thousand elite troops, with his son Zhijing as army supervisor. Scouts reported that Ke'nayan of Jingzhao was leading three thousand cavalry through Shang Prefecture via Heguling Pass toward Zhushan in Fang Prefecture. Gong posted Wang Ling at Jiangling, then sent him forward to Ying Prefecture. Liu Quan garrisoned Shashi, and Jiao Jin led a thousand men from Jiangling and Jingmen toward Xiangyang. He ordered Liu Quan to carry ten days' rations, enter Xiangyang by way of Nanzhang, and join the other forces.

大元兵至三川，珙下令應出戍主兵官，不許失棄寸土。權開州梁棟乏糧，請還司，珙曰：「是棄城也。」棟至夔州，使高達斬其首以徇。由是諸將稟令惟謹。大元兵至瀘，珙命重慶分司發兵應援，遣張祥屯涪州。拜檢校少保，進封漢東郡公。珙言：「沅之險不如辰，靖之險不如沅，三州皆當措置而靖尤急。今三州粒米寸兵無所從出，出京湖之憂一。江防上自秭歸，下至壽昌，亙二千里，自公安至峽州灘磧凡十餘處，隆冬水涸，節節當防，兵諱備多，此京湖之憂二。今尺籍數虧，既守灘磧，又守關隘，此京湖之憂三。陸抗有言：'荊州國之藩表，如其有虞，非但失一郡，當傾國爭之。若非增兵八萬並力備禦，雖韓、白復生，無所展巧。 '今日事勢大略相似，利害至重。」余玠宣諭四川，道過珙，珙以重慶積粟少，餉屯田米十萬石，遣晉德帥師六千援蜀，之經爲策應司都統制。四年，兼知江陵府。珙謂其佐曰：「政府未之思耳，彼若以兵綴我，上下流急，將若之何？珙往則彼搗吾虛，不往則誰實捍患。」識者是之。

When Great Yuan forces reached Sanchuan, Gong ordered every commander responsible for frontier garrisons not to surrender an inch of ground. Liang Dong, acting administrator of Kai Prefecture, ran short of provisions and asked to return to headquarters. Gong said, "That would be abandoning the city." When Dong reached Kui Prefecture, Gong had Gao Da behead him and display the head as a warning. After that the generals obeyed his orders with scrupulous care. When Great Yuan forces reached Luzhou, Gong ordered the Chongqing branch to dispatch reinforcements and posted Zhang Xiang at Fu Prefecture. He was appointed Acting Junior Mentor and advanced to Duke of Handong Commandery. Gong wrote, "Yuan is less defensible than Chen, and Jing less than Yuan. All three prefectures need attention, but Jing is the most urgent. Today those three prefectures have no grain and no troops to draw on—this is the first worry for the Jing-Hu region. River defenses run two thousand li from Zigui to Shouchang, with more than ten shoals between Gong'an and Xia Prefecture alone. In deep winter when the water falls, every stretch must be guarded, yet our troops are spread too thin—this is the second worry for Jing-Hu. Our muster rolls are already short, yet we must defend both river shoals and mountain passes—this is the third worry for Jing-Hu. Lu Kang once said, 'Jing Province is the outer shield of the state. If it is endangered, it is not a matter of losing one commandery—the whole nation must be risked to defend it.' Unless we add eighty thousand troops and combine our strength for defense, even Han Xin and Bai Qi reborn could accomplish nothing. Today's situation is much the same, and the stakes could not be higher." Yu Jie was on his way to pacify Sichuan and passed through Gong's territory. Finding Chongqing's grain stores low, Gong supplied a hundred thousand shi of colony rice, sent Jin De with six thousand troops to aid Sichuan, and appointed Zhijing Overall Commander of the Planning Response Office. In the fourth year he was also appointed Administrator of Jiangling Prefecture. Gong told his staff, "The court has not thought this through. If the enemy pins us down with troops while crises erupt up and down the river, what then? If I go, they will strike where we are exposed. If I stay, who will actually hold the line?" Those who understood the situation agreed with him.

詔京湖調兵五千戍安豐，援壽春。珙遣劉全將以往。繼有命分兵三千備齊安，珙言：「黃州與壽昌三江口隔一水耳，須兵即度，何必預遣？先一日則有一日之費，無益有損，萬一上游有警，我軍已疲，非計之得也。」不從。五年，御筆以職事修舉，轉行兩官，許令回授。珙至江陵，登城歎曰：「江陵所恃三海，不知沮洳有變爲桑田者，敵一鳴鞭，即至城外。蓋自城以東，古嶺先鋒直至三氵義，無所限隔。」乃脩復內隘十有一，別作十隘於外，有距城數十里者。沮、漳之水，舊自城西入江，因障而東之，俾繞城北入於漢，而三海遂通爲一。隨其高下，爲匱蓄泄，三百里間，渺然巨浸。土木之工百七十萬，民不知役，繪圖上之。

The court ordered Jing-Hu to dispatch five thousand troops to garrison Anfeng and reinforce Shouchun. Gong sent Liu Quan to lead them. Soon afterward came an order to detach three thousand troops to prepare at Qi'an. Gong argued, "Huang Prefecture and Shouchang's Sanjiangkou are separated by only a single channel. Troops can cross the moment they are needed—why send them in advance? Every day they wait adds a day's expense with no benefit and real cost. If trouble breaks out upstream, our forces will already be worn down. That is poor planning." The court did not heed him. In the fifth year the emperor personally rewarded his diligent service with a two-rank promotion, with permission to confer the ranks on others. When Gong arrived at Jiangling he climbed the walls and sighed, "Jiangling relies on its three lakes, but no one notices that marshland can turn to dry ground. At the crack of an enemy whip they could be at the gates. East of the city, from Guling Xianfeng all the way to Sanyi, there was nothing to block an advance." He then restored eleven inner passes and built ten more outer passes, some as far as dozens of li from the city. The Ju and Zhang rivers had once entered the Yangzi west of the city. He dammed and redirected them eastward so they flowed north of the city into the Han, and the three lakes became one continuous moat. Following the terrain's contours, he built basins to store and release water, and within three hundred li there spread a vast inland sea. The earthworks and construction required 1.7 million man-days of labor, yet the people scarcely felt the burden; he submitted illustrated plans to the court.

珙以身鎮江陵，而兄璟帥武昌，故事，無兄弟同處一路者，乞歸田，不允。詔以兵五千援淮，珙使張漢英帥之。樞密調兵五千赴廣西，珙移書執政曰：「大理至邕，數千里部落隔絕，今當擇人分佈數郡，使之分治生夷，險要形勢，隨宜措置，創關屯兵，積糧聚芻于何地，聲勢既張，國威自振。計不出此而聞風調遣，空費錢糧，無補於事。」不聽。大元大將大納至江陵，遣楊全伏兵荊門以戰，珙先期諜知，達於樞密，檄兩淮爲備，兩淮不知也，後果如所報。珙奏：「襄、蜀蕩析，士無所歸，蜀士聚於公安，襄士聚於郢渚。臣作公安、南陽兩書院，以沒入田廬隸之，使有所教養。」請帝題其榜賜焉。

Gong held Jiangling in person while his elder brother Jing commanded at Wuchang. Precedent forbade two brothers in the same circuit; he asked to retire to private life but was denied. The court ordered five thousand men sent to reinforce the Huai frontier, and Gong put Zhang Hanying in command. When the Bureau of Military Affairs sent five thousand troops to Guangxi, Gong wrote the chief ministers: "From Dali to Yong stretches several thousand li of isolated tribal country. We should post capable men across several prefectures to govern the frontier tribes, seize key terrain as needed, open passes, garrison troops, and stock grain and fodder where it matters. Only then will our reach expand and imperial authority recover. Without such a plan, dispatching troops at every rumor will only drain treasury and grain without accomplishing anything." The court did not listen. The Great Yuan general Tadan reached Jiangling and sent Yang Quan to ambush Jingmen. Gong had learned of it beforehand through intelligence, reported to the Bureau of Military Affairs, and ordered the Two Huai circuits to prepare—though they had not yet heard the news. Events unfolded exactly as he had warned. Gong memorialized: "With Xiangyang and Sichuan broken apart, scholars have nowhere to go. Those from Shu have gathered at Gong'an, those from Xiang at Yingzhu. I have founded academies at Gong'an and Nanyang, endowing them with confiscated fields and houses so these men may be educated and cared for." He asked the emperor to inscribe their plaques and grant them as an imperial gift.

初，珙招鎮北軍駐襄陽，李虎、王旻軍亂，鎮北亦潰，乃厚招之，降者不絕。行省范用吉密通降款，以所受告爲質，珙白於朝，不從。珙歎曰：「三十年收拾中原人，今志不克伸矣。」病遂革，乞休致，授檢校少師、甯武軍節度使致仕，終於江陵府治，時九月戊午也。是月朔，大星隕於境內，聲如雷。薨之夕，大風髮屋折木。訃至，帝震悼輟朝，賻銀絹各千，特贈少師，三贈至太師，封吉國公，諡忠襄，廟曰威愛。

Earlier Gong had brought the Northern Garrison Army to hold Xiangyang. After Li Hu and Wang Min mutinied and that army too collapsed, he offered generous terms to win men back, and deserters kept coming in. The Yuan provincial secretary Fan Yongji secretly offered to surrender, pledging the appointment he had received as proof. Gong reported it to court, but they refused to accept. Gong sighed and said, "Thirty years spent rallying men from the Central Plains, and now my purpose can no longer be achieved." His illness then turned critical. He requested retirement and was granted honorary Vice Grandee of Education and Military Commissioner of Ningwu Army with retirement honors. He died at the Jiangling prefectural seat on the wuwu day of the ninth month. On the first day of that month a great star fell within the circuit, with a thunderous crash. On the night he died a violent wind ripped off roofs and snapped trees. When word of his death arrived, the emperor was stricken with grief and suspended court. He sent a thousand taels of silver and a thousand bolts of silk as funeral gifts, posthumously promoted him to Vice Grandee and then, through three further promotions, to Grandee, enfeoffed him as Duke of Jiguo, gave him the posthumous name Zhongxiang, and granted his temple the name Weiai.

珙忠君體國之念，可貫金石。在軍中與參佐部曲論事，言人人異，珙徐以片語折衷，衆志皆愜。謁士遊客，老校退卒，壹以恩意撫接。名位雖重，惟建鼓旗、臨將吏而色凜然，無敢涕唾者。退則焚香掃地，隱幾危坐，若蕭然事外。遠貨色，絕滋味。其學邃于《易》，六十四卦各系四句，名《警心易贊》。亦通佛學，自號「無庵居士」。

Gong's loyalty to the throne and concern for the realm could pierce metal and stone. When he debated matters in camp with staff and officers and each man spoke differently, Gong would slowly reconcile them with a few words until all were content. Visiting scholars, traveling guests, old sergeants, and retired soldiers alike he received with equal kindness. For all his eminence, when he raised drums and banners to face his officers his expression was stern, and none dared even spit or sneeze in his presence. In private he burned incense, swept the floor, and sat upright at his desk as if aloof from the world. He shunned wealth and sensual pleasure and took no rich fare. He was deeply versed in the Book of Changes and attached four lines to each of the sixty-four hexagrams in a work called Admonitions to the Heart on the Changes. He was also learned in Buddhism and styled himself Layman of the No-Abode Hermitage.

杜杲，字子昕，邵武人。父穎，仕至江西提點刑獄，故杲以任授海門買納鹽場，未上，福建提點刑獄陳彭壽檄攝閩尉。民有甲之子死，誣乙殺之，驗發中得沙，而甲舍旁有池沙類發中者，鞫問，子果溺死。

Du Gao, courtesy name Zixin, was a native of Shaowu. His father Ying had risen to Intendant of the Penal Service for Jiangxi, so Gao inherited appointment to the Haimen salt-purchase station. Before he took up that post, Chen Penglif, Intendant of the Penal Service for Fujian, ordered him to serve as acting warden of Min county. A man named Jia accused Yi of killing his son. Examination of the corpse found sand in the hair, and a pond beside Jia's house held sand of the same kind. Under questioning it emerged that the boy had drowned.

江、淮制置使李玨羅致幕下。滁州受兵，檄杲提偏師往援，甫至，民蔽野求入避，滁守固拒，杲啟鑰納之。金人圍城數重，杲登陴中矢，益自奮厲，卒全其城。

Li Jue, Commissioner of the Jiang and Huai Circuits, brought him onto his staff. When Chuzhou came under attack, Gao was ordered to lead a detached force to its relief. He had barely arrived when refugees covered the countryside begging entry, but the prefect refused them. Gao opened the gates and let them in. The Jin invested the city in rings of siege lines. Gao was struck by an arrow on the wall but fought all the harder and in the end saved the city.

調江山丞，兩浙轉運使朱在辟監崇明鎮，崇明改隸淮東總領，與總領岳珂議不合，慨然引去。珂出文書一卷，曰：「舉狀也。」杲曰：「比而得禽獸，雖若丘陵，弗爲。」珂怒，杲曰：「可劾者文林，不可強者杜杲。」珂竟以負蘆錢劾，朝廷察蘆無虧，三劾皆寢。

He was transferred to assistant magistrate of Jiangshan. Zhu Zai, Commissioner of the Liang-Zhe Transport Circuit, appointed him to supervise Chongming garrison. When Chongming was placed under the Huaidong Circuit Chief and Gao clashed with Chief Yue Ke, he resigned in disgust. Ke produced a roll of documents and said, "Here is the recommendation report." Gao said, "To hunt in a pack and take game—even if the catch piled up like hills—I would not do it." Ke grew angry. Gao said, "You may impeach Wen Lin, but you cannot force Du Gao." Ke ultimately impeached him for defaulting on reed-money payments. The court found the reeds had suffered no loss, and all three impeachments were dismissed.

淮西制置曾式中辟廬州節度推官。浮光兵變，杲單騎往誅其渠魁，守將爭餉金幣，悉封貯一室，將行，屬通判鄭准反之。安豐守告戍將扇搖軍情，且爲變，帥欲討之，杲曰：「是激使叛也。」請與兩卒往，呼將諭之曰：「而果無他，可持吾書詣制府。」將即日行，一軍帖然。

Zeng Shizhong, Commissioner of the Huaidong Western Circuit, appointed him military law officer under the Luzhou military commissioner. When troops at Fuguang mutinied, Gao rode alone to execute the ringleaders. The garrison commanders quarreled over gold and coin supplies; he sealed everything in one room. Before he left he entrusted affairs to Vice Prefect Zheng Zhun, who then rebelled. The prefect of Anfeng reported that a garrison commander was stirring unrest and might rebel. The circuit commander wanted to move against him. Gao said, "That would only drive him to revolt." He asked to go with two soldiers, summoned the commander, and said, "If you truly mean no harm, take my letter to the commissioner." The commander left that same day, and the whole army quieted down.

知六安縣，民有嬖其妾者，治命與二子均分。二子謂妾無分法，杲書其牘云：「《傳》云'子從父令'，律曰'違父教令'，是父之言爲令也，父令子違，不可以訓。然妾守志則可，或去或終，當歸二子。」部使者季衍覽之，擊節曰：「九州三十三縣令之最也。」

As magistrate of Lu'an county, he heard a case in which a man who favored his concubine left instructions on his deathbed to divide his estate equally between her and his two sons. The two sons argued that a concubine had no legal claim. Gao wrote on the document: "The Classic of Filial Piety says 'the son follows the father's command,' and the law punishes 'disobeying the father's teaching and command'—the father's words are commands. For sons to defy a father's command cannot serve as a lesson. Yet if the concubine keeps her chastity she may stay; whether she leaves or dies in the end, her share should revert to the two sons." Circuit Inspector Ji Yan read the ruling and, slapping his thigh, said, "The finest of thirty-three county magistrates in the realm."

知定遠縣，會李全犯邊，衍時爲淮帥，辟通判濠州，朝廷以杲久習邊事，擢知濠州。制置大使趙善湘謀復盱眙，密訪杲，杲曰：「賊恃外援，當斷盱眙橋梁以困之。」卒用其策成功。金衆數萬駐榆林阜請降，輜重甚富，或請誘而圖之。杲曰：「殺降不仁，奪貨不義，納之則有後患。諭而遣之。召奏事，差主管官告院，知安豐軍。善湘與趙范、范弟葵出師，遷淮西轉運判官。詔問守禦策，杲上封曰：「沿淮旱蝗，不任征役；中原赤立，無糧可因。若虛內事外，移南實北，腹心之地，必有可慮。」時在外諫出師者惟杲一人。及兵敗洛陽，人始服其先見。奉崇道祠，再知濠州，未行，改安豐。大元兵圍城，與杲大戰。明年，大兵復大至，又大戰。擢將作監，御書慰諭之。丞相李宗勉、參知政事徐榮叟曰：「帥淮西無逾杜杲者。」詔以安撫兼廬州，進太府卿、淮西制置副使兼轉運使。復與大元兵戰。累疏請老，不許。權刑部尚書。

While serving as magistrate of Dingyuan, Li Quan invaded the frontier. Ji Yan, then commander of the Huai region, appointed Gao vice prefect of Haozhou; the court, noting Gao's long experience on the border, promoted him to prefect of Haozhou. Commissioner-in-Chief Zhao Shanxiang planned to recover Xuyi and secretly consulted Gao. Gao said, "The enemy relies on outside support; we should cut the bridges at Xuyi to isolate them." They eventually adopted his plan and succeeded. Several tens of thousands of Jin troops camped at Yulin Mound offering to surrender, with very rich baggage trains. Some urged luring them in and seizing their goods. Gao said, "Killing men who surrender is inhumane, seizing their goods is unjust, and accepting them would bring trouble later. He admonished them and sent them on their way. He was summoned to court, appointed to supervise the Bureau of Official Commissions, and made prefect of Anfeng Army. When Shanxiang marched with Zhao Fan and Fan's younger brother Kui, Gao was transferred to Vice Commissioner of the Huaidong Western Transport Circuit. When the emperor asked for defensive strategy, Gao submitted a sealed memorial: "Along the Huai there has been drought and locust plague; the people cannot bear conscription and corvée; the Central Plains stand stripped bare, with no grain to draw upon. If we hollow out the interior to serve the frontier, shifting our strength from south to north, our heartland will surely become vulnerable." At that time Gao was the only man outside court who counseled against the campaign. When the army was defeated at Luoyang, people at last acknowledged his foresight. He received the Chongdao Temple stipend, was again appointed prefect of Haozhou, but before he could take up the post was reassigned to Anfeng. Great Yuan troops besieged the city and fought a major battle with Gao. The next year the main Mongol force returned in strength, and they fought another major battle. He was promoted to Director of the Directorate of Works, and the emperor sent a personal letter of commendation. Chief Councilor Li Zongmian and Vice Grand Councilor Xu Rongsou said, "There is no one better than Du Gao to command the Huaidong West." An edict appointed him Pacification Commissioner with concurrent charge of Luzhou, promoted him to Minister of the Palace Revenue, and made him Vice Commissioner of the Huaidong Western Circuit with concurrent charge of transport. He again fought the Great Yuan troops. He repeatedly memorialized asking to retire, but was refused. He served as Acting Minister of Justice.

淳祐元年，乞去愈力，擢工部尚書，遂以直學士奉祠。帝欲起之帥廣西，以言者罷。帝曰：「杜杲兩有守功，若脫兵權，使有後禍，朕何以使人？」乃起知太平州。俄擢華文閣學士、沿江制置使、知建康府、行宮留守，節制安慶、和、無爲三郡。

In the first year of Chunyou he pressed ever harder to resign, was promoted to Minister of Works, and then received a temple stipend as Direct Academician. The emperor wished to recall him to command Guangxi, but critics blocked the appointment. The emperor said, "Du Gao twice earned merit in defense. If I strip him of military authority and later harm befalls him, how can I inspire loyalty in others?" He was then recalled to serve as prefect of Taiping. Soon he was promoted to Academician of the Huawen Pavilion, Yangzi Defense Commissioner, Prefect of Jiankang, and Mobile Palace Keeper, with command over Anqing, Hezhou, and Wuwei.

杲罷楊林堡，以其費備曆陽，淮民寓沙上者護以師。首謁程顥祠。總領所即張栻宦游處，陳像設祀焉。置貢士莊，蠲民租二萬八千石。復與大元兵戰於真州。進敷文閣學士，遷刑部尚書，引見，帝加獎勞。乞歸不許，兼吏部尚書。杲隨資格通其礙，銓綜爲精。梁成大子賂當國者求銓試，杲曰：「昔沈繼祖論朱文公，成大亦論真文忠公，皆得罪名教者，子孫宜廢錮，安得仕？」進徽猷閣，奉祀。請老，升寶文閣致仕。帝思前功，進龍圖閣而杲卒，遺表上，贈開府。

Gao abolished Yanglin Fort and used its funds to fortify Liyang; he protected Huai refugees living on sandbars with troops. Upon taking office his first visit was to the shrine of Cheng Hao. The circuit chief's headquarters was where Zhang Shi had once served; he displayed an image and instituted sacrifice there. He established a lodge for examination candidates and remitted twenty-eight thousand shi of rent owed by the people. He again fought the Great Yuan troops at Zhenzhou. He was promoted to Academician of the Fuwen Pavilion and transferred to Minister of Justice; when presented to the emperor, he received further praise and reward. He asked to retire but was refused and given concurrent charge as Minister of Personnel. Gao navigated the qualification rules to clear obstacles and was exceptionally skilled at evaluation and selection. Liang Chengda's son bribed those in power to seek appointment through the selection examinations. Gao said, "In the past Shen Jizu attacked Master Zhu Xi, and Chengda attacked the Loyal and Incorruptible Lord of Zhen—all offenders against the teaching of right conduct. Their descendants should be barred from office. How can they serve?" He was promoted to the Huayou Pavilion and granted a temple stipend. He requested retirement and was elevated to the Baowen Pavilion with retirement honors. The emperor, recalling his past service, promoted him to the Longtu Pavilion, but Gao died before taking up the post. His final memorial was submitted and he was posthumously granted the rank of Kaifu.

杲淹貫多能，爲文麗密清嚴，善行草急就章。晚歲專意理學，嘗言吾兵間無悖謀左畫，得於《四書》。子庶。

Gao was broadly learned and multitalented; his prose was elegant, dense, clear, and rigorous, and he excelled at running and cursive script and rapid composition. In his later years he devoted himself to Neo-Confucian learning and once said that his freedom from rash or ill-advised schemes in military affairs came from the Four Books. His son was Shu.

子庶

His son: Shu.

庶字康侯，幼倜儻有大志，性剛勁，通宋典故，善爲文。從父兵間，習邊事，未人仕已立戰功，明堂恩補官。大元兵圍安豐，兵將不相下，庶調護咸得其歡心，卒協力捍禦。杲帥淮西，辟書寫機宜文字。廬州圍解，庶白事廟堂，諸將饋金助上功費，皆受之，賞典行，歸悉反所饋。遷籍田令兼制機督幹。監呂文德、聶斌軍，與大元兵戰朱皋、白塚，遷將作監簿。

Shu, courtesy name Kanghou, was unconventional and ambitious from youth, firm and forceful in character, versed in Song institutional precedents, and skilled at writing. He followed his father in military service, learned border affairs, and had already won merit in battle before entering official life; he received an appointment by grace at the Bright Hall ceremony. When Great Yuan troops besieged Anfeng, officers and soldiers would not defer to one another. Shu managed relations among them until all were won over, and in the end they united to resist. When Gao commanded the Huaidong West, he appointed Shu to draft strategic documents. When the siege of Luzhou was lifted, Shu reported to court. Generals sent gold to help with the costs of submitting merit reports; he accepted it all, and when the rewards were issued he returned every gift. He was transferred to Registrar of Imperial Fields with concurrent duty as supervisory clerk in the strategic planning office. He supervised the armies of Lü Wende and Nie Bin, fought the Great Yuan at Zhugao and Baizhong, and was transferred to Registrar of the Directorate of Works.

杲在建康，庶通判和州，權知真州。郡素缺備，庶大修守禦，具積排杉木殆十萬株。差知興化軍，奉祀鴻禧觀。起知邕州，改潮州，以言者寢命。赴淮東制司議幕，過闕，遷將作監丞。遷司農丞、知和州，陛辭，言：「今天時不可幸，地利不可恃，人和不可保，苟恃天幸，恃長江，恃清野，而付邊事於素不諳曆之人，未見其可。」帝嘉納。

While Gao was at Jiankang, Shu served as vice prefect of Hezhou and acting prefect of Zhenzhou. The prefecture had long lacked defenses; Shu undertook major fortifications and stockpiled nearly one hundred thousand logs for chevaux-de-frise. He was appointed prefect of Xinghua Army and granted the Hongxi Temple stipend. He was recalled to serve as prefect of Yongzhou, then reassigned to Chaozhou, but critics caused the appointment to be cancelled. He went to serve on the strategy staff of the Huaidong East command, passed through the capital, and was promoted to Vice Director of the Directorate of Works. He was transferred to Vice Director of the Ministry of Revenue and appointed prefect of Hezhou. At his farewell audience, he said: "Heaven's favor are countless on, geographical advantage cannot be relied upon, and popular support cannot be guaranteed. If we rely on Heaven's favor, on the Yangtze, on scorched-earth tactics, and entrust border affairs to men who have never mastered the art of war, I do not see how that can succeed." The emperor praised his counsel and accepted it.

尋兼淮西提點刑獄，浚城濠，增守備，修學宮。知真州兼淮東提點刑獄，逾年，進直秘閣，移淮西兼廬州安撫副使，人歡迎如見慈父，治績甚多。就任加刑部郎中，升寶文閣，與大元兵戰於望仙、白沙城。昇華文閣。開慶元年冬，進大理少卿、淮東轉運副使、兩淮制置司參謀官，特授兩淮制置使、知揚州。射陽湖饑民嘯聚，庶曰：「吾赤子也。」遣將招刺，得丁壯萬餘，戮止首惡數人。明年四月，火，抗章自劾，召赴行在。尋直寶文閣、知隆興府、江西轉運副使，卒。

Shortly afterward he was given concurrent duty as Judicial Intendant of Huaidong West; he dredged the moat, strengthened the defenses, and restored the school. He served as prefect of Zhenzhou with concurrent duty as Judicial Intendant of Huaidong East. After more than a year he was advanced to the Direct Secretariat and transferred to Huaidong West with concurrent appointment as Vice Commissioner of Pacification at Luzhou. The people welcomed him as if greeting a beloved father, and his record of governance was substantial. Upon taking office he was additionally appointed Langzhong in the Ministry of Justice, elevated to the Baowen Pavilion, and fought the Great Yuan at Wangxian and Baisha Castles. He was promoted to the Huawen Pavilion. In the winter of the first year of Kaiqing, he was advanced to Vice Director of the Court of Judicial Review, Vice Transport Commissioner of Huaidong East, and strategy officer of the Two Huai Command, and was specially appointed Commissioner for the Two Huai and prefect of Yangzhou. Hungry people around Sheyang Lake rose in an uproar. Shu said: "They are my own children." He sent generals to recruit and register them, enrolling more than ten thousand able-bodied men, and executed only a few ringleaders. In the fourth month of the following year there was a fire. He submitted a memorial impeaching himself and was summoned to the temporary capital. Shortly afterward he held the Baowen Pavilion, served as prefect of Longxing Prefecture and Vice Transport Commissioner of Jiangxi, and died.

王登，字景宋，德安人。少讀書，喜古兵法，慷慨有大志，不事生產。出制置使孟珙幕府，久之，權知巴東縣。獻俘制置司，登念奮自書生，不拜，吏曰：「不拜則不敢上。」難之，竟棄功去。淳祐四年，舉進士，調興山主簿。總領賈似道檄修江陵城，條畫有法。明年，制置使李曾伯經理襄陽，登在行，以積功升，尋以母憂去。

Wang Deng, courtesy name Jingsong, came from De'an. From youth he studied, delighted in ancient military texts, was ardent and ambitious, and did not engage in farming or trade. He entered the staff of Commissioner Meng Gong. After a long while he was made acting magistrate of Badong County. When presenting captives to the command, Deng thought to himself that he had risen from a mere scholar through hard effort and refused to bow. The clerk said: "If you do not bow, I dare not submit the report." He made an issue of it and in the end abandoned the credit and left. In the fourth year of Chunyou he passed the jinshi examination and was assigned as registrar of Xingshan. General Supervisor Jia Sidao ordered repairs to the walls of Jiangling; his plans were methodical and well executed. The next year Commissioner Li Zengbo managed affairs at Xiangyang; Deng accompanied him, was promoted for accumulated merit, and soon left to observe mourning for his mother.

及吳淵爲制置使，邊事甚亟，因憶弟潛盛言王登才略，具書幣招之。登方與客奕，發書，衣冠拜家廟，長揖出門，問牛幾何，可盡發犒師。淵慨然曰：「事亟矣，奈何？」登曰：「亟呼諸將共議。」衆至，歡躍曰：「景宋在此。」淵曰：「汝輩欲西門出，景宋欲從方城，如何？」衆曰：「惟命！」登曰：「用兵患不一，登書生，不過馮軾觀戰，請五大帥中擇一人爲節制。」淵曰：「請監丞出，正謂此也。」即書銀牌曰：「監丞代某親行，將士用命不用命，賞罰畢具申。」登至沙市，椎牛釃酒，得七千人，誓曰：「登與諸將義同骨肉，今日之事，登不且命，諸將殺登以獻主帥；諸將有一不用命，登有制劄在，不敢私也。」衆股栗聽命，竟立奇功於沮河。趙葵爲制置使，見登握手曰：「景宋一身膽，惜相見晚也。」俾參宣撫司兼京西兩節。馬光祖爲制置使，辟充參謀官，遷軍器少監、京西提點刑獄。

When Wu Yuan became commissioner, border affairs were extremely urgent. Remembering how his younger brother Qian had repeatedly praised Wang Deng's talent and strategy, he sent letters and gifts to summon him. Deng was just playing go with a guest when the letter arrived. He dressed properly, bowed at the family shrine, made a long bow as he left, and asked how many oxen they had, saying all could be sent out to reward the troops. Yuan said with emotion: "The matter is urgent—what is to be done?" Deng said: "Quickly summon the generals to confer together." When the assembly arrived, they cried out in joy: "Jingsong is here!" Yuan said: "You want to go out by the west gate; Jingsong wants to go through Fangcheng—what do you think?" The assembly said: "We obey your command!" Deng said: "In using troops the danger is lack of unity. I am only a scholar and can be no more than a spectator leaning on the chariot rail. Please choose one of the five major commanders to serve as overall commander." Yuan said: "I asked the Vice Director to come out precisely for this." He immediately wrote on a silver plaque: "The Vice Director acts in my place on this expedition in person. Whether officers and soldiers obey or disobey, full authority over rewards and punishments is granted and must be reported." Deng reached Shashi, slaughtered oxen and poured libations, gathered seven thousand men, and swore: "Deng and the generals are bound like flesh and bone. In today's business, if I fail to obey orders, the generals may kill me and present my head to the commander; if any general disobeys, I hold written authorization and will not show favoritism." The assembly trembled and obeyed, and in the end achieved a remarkable victory at the Ju River. When Zhao Kui became commissioner and met Deng, he grasped his hand and said: "Jingsong, your whole body is courage. I regret that we met so late." He had him serve on the Pacification Commission staff with concurrent charge of the two Jingxi military districts. When Ma Guangzu became commissioner, he appointed Deng strategy officer; Deng was transferred to Vice Director of the Armory and Judicial Intendant of Jingxi.

登威聲日振。有餘思忠及徐制幾讒于光祖曰：「京湖知有王景宋，不知有馬制置，非久易位矣。」光祖疑焉，出登屯郢州，後以幹辦鐘蜚英調護，情好如初。侍御史戴慶炣劾思忠，其党過元龍、沈翥在幕中，又傾之，以是議論不合，才略不能施，識者惜焉。

Deng's martial reputation grew daily. Yu Sizhong and Xu Zhiji slandered him to Guangzu, saying: "In Jinghu they know Wang Jingsong and do not know Commissioner Ma—before long the positions will be exchanged." Guangzu became suspicious and posted Deng to garrison at Yingzhou. Later, through the mediation of staff officer Zhong Feiying, their relations were as warm as before. Censor Dai Qinghe impeached Sizhong; his faction members Guo Yuanlong and Shen Zhu were on the staff and again undermined Deng, so that views did not agree and his talent and strategy could not be employed—observers regretted it.

楊掞，字純父，撫州臨川人。少能詞賦，裏陳氏館之教子，數月拂衣去。遊襄、漢，既而代陳中選，陳謝之萬緡，輦以入倡樓，篋垂盡，夜忽自呼曰：「純父來此何爲？」明日遂行。用故人薦，出淮閫杜杲幕，杲曰：「風神如許，它日不在我下。」由是治法征謀多咨於掞。逾年，安豐被兵，掞慨然曰：「事亟矣，掞請行。」乃以奇策解圍，奏補七官。

Yang Shan, courtesy name Chunfu, came from Linchuan in Fuzhou. From youth he could compose lyric prose. The Chen family kept him in their household to teach their sons, but after several months he shook out his robes and left. He traveled through Xiang and Han. Later he stood in for Chen at the provincial examination; Chen gave him ten thousand strings of cash in thanks. He was carried into a pleasure house; when his purse was nearly empty, at night he suddenly cried out to himself: "Chunfu, what did you come here for?" The next day he departed. Through a friend's recommendation he entered the staff of Huai frontier commander Du Gao. Gao said: "With such presence and spirit, one day he will not rank below me." From this time onward Gao often consulted Shan on governance and military planning. After more than a year Anfeng came under attack. Shan said with emotion: "The matter is urgent—I request to go." He then lifted the siege by a clever stratagem and was memorialized for seven promotions in rank.

掞念置身行伍間，騎射所當工，夜以青布籍地，乘生馬以躍，初過三尺，次五尺至一丈，數閃跌不顧。制置使孟珙辟於幕，嘗用其策爲「小子房」，與之茶局，周其資用。掞以本領錢數萬費之，總領賈似道稽數責償，珙以白金六百令掞償之，掞又散之賓客，酣歌不顧。似道欲殺之，掞曰：「漢高祖以黃金四萬斤付陳平，不問出入，公乃顧此區區，不以結豪傑之心邪？」似道始置之。珙嘗燕客，有將校語不遜，命斬之，掞從容曰：「斬之誠是，第方會客廣謀議，非其時非其地也。」珙大服。未幾，有大將立功，珙坐受其拜，掞爲動色，因歎曰：「大將立功，庭參納拜，信兜鍪不如毛錐子也。」於是謝絕賓客，治進士業，遂登第，調麻城尉。

Shan thought that since he was among the ranks, horsemanship and archery were things he ought to master. At night he spread blue cloth on the ground and mounted an untrained horse to leap, first over three feet, then five feet up to one zhang, falling repeatedly but paying no heed. Commissioner Meng Gong recruited him to his staff, often used his plans, called him "Little Zifang," assigned him a tea bureau, and supplied his expenses. Shan spent several ten-thousands of his command funds on it. General Supervisor Jia Sidao checked the accounts and demanded repayment. Gong gave Shan six hundred taels of white silver to repay it, but Shan again distributed it among guests, singing freely and paying no heed. Sidao wanted to kill him. Shan said: "Emperor Gaozu of Han gave Chen Ping forty thousand jin of gold and asked no questions about how it was spent. Sir, you fix on this paltry sum—will you not win the hearts of bold spirits?" Sidao then let the matter drop. Gong once entertained guests when a commander spoke disrespectfully and Gong ordered him beheaded. Shan said calmly: "Beheading him would indeed be right, but we are now receiving guests for broad counsel—this is neither the time nor the place." Gong was greatly impressed. Before long a major general won merit, and Gong received his bow while seated. Shan changed color and sighed: "A major general wins merit and bows in court audience—truly the battle helmet is not equal to the writing brush." He then declined guests, devoted himself to jinshi studies, passed the examination, and was assigned magistrate of Macheng.

向士璧守黃州，檄入幕，尋以戰功升三官。無何，得心疾，曰：「我不可用矣。」遂調潭州節度推官。趙葵爲京湖制置使，掞與偕行，王登迓於沙市，極談至夜分，掞退曰：「王景宋滿身是膽，惜欠沉細者，如掞副之，何事不可爲也，但恐終以勇敗。」後登死，人以爲知言。逾時，士璧守峽州，招之，病不果行而卒，贈架閣。

When Xiang Shibi defended Huangzhou, he summoned Shan to his staff; soon Shan was promoted three ranks for military merit. Before long he developed a heart ailment and said: "I am no longer fit for service." He was then transferred to military judge of Tanzhou. When Zhao Kui became Commissioner of Jinghu, Shan traveled with him. Wang Deng met them at Shashi; they talked until midnight. When Shan withdrew he said: "Wang Jingsong is courage from head to foot, but he lacks a cautious and meticulous partner. With someone like me to assist him, what could not be done? I only fear he will fail in the end through sheer bravery." Later when Deng died, people regarded this as prophetic. After some time Shibi defended Xizhou and summoned him, but illness prevented him from going and he died; he was posthumously granted the rank of Archivist.

張惟孝

Zhang Weixiao

張惟孝，字仲友，襄陽人。長六尺，通《春秋》，下第，乃工騎射。城中亂，爭出關，惟孝拔劍殺數人，趨白河，見一舟壯钜甚，急登之，舟人不可，惟孝曰：「今日之事，非汝即我，能殺我者得此舟。」衆披靡，遂以舟達郢州。兵亂，奔沙洋，別之傑爲帥，盡隘諸湖不泄水，惟孝令二人賈服前行，密窺隘兵，曰：「易與耳。」乃與十騎，衣黑袍，假爲敵兵，曰：「後隊亟至。」守隘四五百人悉潰，舟趨藕池。

Zhang Weixiao, courtesy name Zhongyou, came from Xiangyang. He stood six chi tall, mastered the Spring and Autumn Annals, failed the examination, and then became skilled at horsemanship and archery. When the city fell into disorder and people scrambled to flee through the pass, Weixiao drew his sword and killed several men, hurried to the Bai River, saw a large sturdy boat, and urgently boarded it. The boatmen refused. Weixiao said: "In today's business it is either you or me—whoever can kill me gets this boat." The crowd scattered, and he reached Yingzhou by boat. During the military turmoil he fled to Shayang. Bie Zhijie was commander and blocked all the lakes to hold back the water. Weixiao sent two men in merchant dress ahead to secretly observe the blockade troops and said: "They will be easy to deal with." He then took ten horsemen in black robes, disguised as enemy soldiers, and said: "The rear column is coming at once." The four or five hundred men guarding the blockade all fled, and the boats rushed toward Ou Pond.

開慶元年，卜居江陵，至沙市，衆舟大集，不可涉。頃有峨冠張蓋，從者數十，則宣撫姚希得之弟也，今曰：「敢有爭岸者投水中。」惟孝睥睨良久，提劍驅左右而出，舉白旗以麾，令衆船登岸，毋敢亂次。幹官鐘蜚英見而異之，以告唐舜申，舜申曰：「吾故人也。」具言惟孝平生。蜚英謂曰：「今日正我輩趨事赴功之秋。」惟孝不答，又叩之，則曰：「朝廷負人。」明日，蜚英導希得羅致之，宴仲宣樓，蜚英酒酣曰：「有國而後有家，天下如此，將安歸乎？」惟孝躍然曰：「從公所命。」乃請空名帖三十以還。逾旬，與三十騎俱擁甲士五千至，旗幟鮮明，部伍嚴肅，上至公安，下及墨山，遊踏相繼。希得大喜，請所統姓名，惟孝曰：「朝廷負人，福難禍易，聊爲君侯紓一時之難耳，姓名不可得也。」時鼎、澧五州危甚，於是擊鼓耀兵，不數日，衆至萬人，數戰俱捷，江上平。制使呂文德招之，不就而遁，物色之不可得，或云已趨淮甸，後不知所終。

In the first year of Kaiqing he took up residence at Jiangling. When he reached Shashi, a great gathering of boats made crossing impossible. Presently a man with lofty cap and raised canopy, attended by several dozen followers—the younger brother of Pacification Commissioner Yao Xide—said: "Whoever dares contend for the shore shall be thrown into the water." Weixiao looked askance for a long while, then drew his sword, drove his attendants forward, raised a white flag to command, and ordered all boats to go ashore without breaking formation. Staff officer Zhong Feiying saw this and was struck by it; he told Tang Shunshen, who said: "He is an old acquaintance of mine." He fully recounted Weixiao's life. Feiying said to him: "Today is just the season for us to hurry to serve and achieve merit." Weixiao did not answer. When pressed again, he said: "The court has failed its people." The next day Feiying brought Xide to win him over and entertained him at the Zhongxuan Tower. When Feiying was drunk he said: "There must be a state before there can be a family. With the realm in such a condition, where shall we turn?" Weixiao started up and said: "I follow your command." He then requested thirty blank appointment forms and returned. Within ten days he returned with thirty horsemen leading five thousand armored soldiers. Their banners were bright, their ranks disciplined; from Gong'an above to Moshan below, patrols followed one after another. Xide was greatly pleased and asked the names of those he commanded. Weixiao said: "The court has failed its people; good fortune is hard and disaster easy. I only wished to relieve your momentary difficulty—names cannot be given." At that time the five prefectures of Ding and Li were in extreme peril. He then beat drums and displayed his troops; within days his force reached ten thousand. Several battles were all victorious, and the river region was pacified. Commissioner Lü Wende summoned him, but he did not come and fled. Search parties could not find him; some said he had already gone toward the Huai region, and later no one knew his end.

陳咸，字逢儒，監察御史升卿次子，爲叔父巨卿後。登淳熙二年進士第，調內江縣尉。縣吏受賄，賦民不均，咸以聞于部使者，爲下令聽民自陳利病，而委咸均其賦。改知果州南充縣，轉運司辟主管文字。歲旱，稅司免下戶兩稅，轉運使安節以爲虧漕計，咸白安節曰：「苟利於民，違之不可。」因言：「今楮幣行於四川者幾虧三百萬，苟增印百萬，足以補放免之數。」安節從之。軍多濫請，咸每裁損，帥屬以爲言，咸曰：「咸首可斷，濫請不可得。」蜀歲收激賞權輸絹錢，民以爲病，咸白安節，核入節出，奏歲減二十餘萬緡。擢知資州，時久旱，咸被命即請帥臣發粟二千餘石以振。明年，東、西川皆旱，總制二司議蠲民賦而慮虧國課，咸請增印未補發引百有九萬以償所蠲，議遂決。大修學宮，政以最聞，改知普州。

Chen Xian, courtesy name Fengru, was the second son of Censor Shengqing and was made heir to his uncle Juqing. He passed the jinshi examination in the second year of Chunxi and was assigned magistrate of Neijiang. County clerks took bribes and taxation was uneven among the people. Xian reported this to the provincial envoy, who issued an order allowing the people to state their own grievances and benefits and entrusted Xian with equalizing the tax assessment. He was transferred to serve as magistrate of Nanchong in Guozhou; the Transport Commission recruited him to manage documents. In a year of drought the tax office exempted lower households from the two taxes. Transport Commissioner An Jie thought this would harm the grain transport quota. Xian told An Jie: "If it benefits the people, it must not be opposed." He added: "Paper currency circulating in Sichuan is now nearly three million in deficit. If one million more were printed, it would suffice to cover the amount of the exemptions." An Jie agreed. The army often made excessive claims; Xian always cut them back. The commander's staff complained, and Xian said: "My head may be cut off, but excessive claims will not be granted." Sichuan yearly collected incentive funds as silk-currency payments; the people regarded this as a hardship. Xian told An Jie, audited income and expenditure, and memorialized a yearly reduction of more than two hundred thousand strings. He was promoted to prefect of Zizhou. There had been long drought; as soon as Xian received his appointment he requested that the regional commander release more than two thousand shi of grain for relief. The next year both Eastern and Western Sichuan suffered drought. The two overall control offices debated remitting taxes but feared harm to state revenue. Xian requested printing additional notes to cover the one million ninety thousand not yet issued, to offset the remissions, and the proposal was adopted. He greatly restored the school; his governance was most renowned for this. He was transferred to prefect of Puzhou.

開禧元年，邊事興，四川宣撫使程松奇其才，辟主管機宜文字。咸首貽書論兵不可輕動，勸松搜人才，練軍實；考圖籍以疏財用之源，視險要以決攻守之計；約大將面會，以免疑忌之嫌；捐金帛募死士，以明間探之遠；出虛搗奇之策，審於當用；幸勝趨利之謀，寢而勿行。松復書深納，然實不能用。副使吳曦蔑視松，易置將兵，不關白正使。松務爲簡貴，咸憂之，復說松收梁、洋以北義士爲緩急用；據險厄，立關堡，杜支徑以備不虞。松又不能用。遷利路轉運判官。

In the first year of Kaixi border warfare arose. Sichuan Pacification Commissioner Cheng Song admired his talent and appointed him to manage strategic documents. Xian first sent a letter arguing that troops must not be lightly moved, urging Song to search out talent and drill the army's strength; examine maps and records to clarify the sources of revenue and expenditure, and survey strategic passes to decide plans of attack and defense; Arrange face-to-face meetings with the senior generals to dispel suspicion and jealousy; Spend gold and silks to recruit daring men and extend intelligence networks deep into enemy territory; Propose feints and surprise attacks, but judge carefully when to use them; Plans that gamble on a lucky victory for quick profit should be set aside and never carried out. Song wrote back warmly agreeing, but in fact he could not put any of it into practice. Deputy Commissioner Wu Xi looked down on Song, replaced generals and troops at will, and never informed the chief commissioner. Song affected simplicity and loftiness, which worried Xian. Xian again urged Song to recruit loyal men north of Liang and Yang for use in emergencies; Hold the strategic passes, build barrier forts, and block side paths against the unexpected. Again Song could not act on the advice. He was transferred to serve as Transport Assessor of Li Circuit.

曦叛臣于金，關外四州繼沒，人情大駭。咸留大安軍督軍糧，檄其守楊震仲振流民，備奸盜，衆稍安。安丙密以曦反謀告咸，咸即遣人告松，松不之察。曦以咸蜀名士，欲首脅之以令其餘，檄咸議事。咸不往，遂之利州。抵城外，偽都運使徐景望已挾兵入居台治。英宗諱日，景望大合樂以享，咸力拒之。

Xi rebelled and submitted to the Jin. The four prefectures beyond the passes fell one after another, and the people were terrified. Xian remained at Da'an Army to supervise military grain supplies and ordered its defender Yang Zhenzhong to rally displaced people and guard against bandits. The populace gradually calmed. An Bing secretly informed Xian of Xi's plot to rebel. Xian immediately sent word to Song, but Song did not investigate. Because Xian was a famous scholar of Shu, Xi wanted to coerce him first so the others would follow, and summoned Xian to discuss affairs. Xian refused to go and instead made for Li Prefecture. When he reached the outskirts of the city, the rebel Metropolitan Transport Commissioner Xu Jingwang had already brought troops in to occupy the government offices. On the taboo day of Emperor Yingzong, Jingwang assembled a great musical feast. Xian firmly refused to participate.

初，咸自大安東下，遇偽將褚青與語，青有悔意。至是，以主管文字王釜、福艾可與共事，欲結二人誅景望，燒棧閣，絕曦援兵。既而釜棄官歸，咸以青不可保，謀遂沮。李道傳問咸：「計將安出？」咸曰：「事極不過一死耳，必不爲吾蜀累也。」語家子欽曰：「咸受國厚恩，義當擊賊，恨無兵權，獨有下策，削髮以全臣節。」會曦以書招之急，咸答書勸其稟命，既而欲親諭之，遂行，遇偽統領孟可道，知曦已僭亂，曰：「吾書不可用矣。」還至後𨫼，入帳中以刀自斷其結，披緇而出。景望遣兵拘咸於岸，曦聞怒甚。吳睍勸曦召咸主武興寺，因殺之，安丙力爲救解，乃得釋歸。曦既誅，咸語諸子曰：「吾不能討賊而棄官守，罪也。」上表自劾，安丙、楊輔等皆勉其出。丙尋奏以咸總蜀賦，從之。

Earlier, as Xian traveled east from Da'an, he met the rebel general Chu Qing and spoke with him. Qing showed signs of regret. At this point he judged that the document officer Wang Fu and Fu Ai could work with him. He planned to join with them to kill Jingwang, burn the plank roads, and cut off Xi's reinforcements. Before long Fu abandoned his post and went home. Xian judged that Qing could not be trusted, and the plan fell through. Li Daochuan asked Xian, "What is your plan?" Xian said, "At worst it means death. I will certainly not bring disaster on our Shu." He told his son Qin, "I have received deep grace from the state and ought by right to strike the traitor. I regret that I have no military authority. My only recourse is to shave my head and preserve my integrity as a minister." When Xi urgently summoned him by letter, Xian replied urging him to report to the throne. Wishing then to admonish him in person, he set out, met the rebel commander Meng Kedao, learned that Xi had already declared himself ruler, and said, "My letter can no longer be used." He returned to the rear camp, entered his tent, cut off his topknot with a knife, put on monk's robes, and came out. Jingwang sent troops to detain Xian on the riverbank. When Xi heard of it he was furious. Wu Min urged Xi to summon Xian to Wuxing Temple and then kill him. An Bing strenuously intervened on his behalf, and Xian was released and allowed to return. After Xi was executed, Xian told his sons, "I could not punish the traitor yet abandoned my post. That is a crime." He submitted a memorial impeaching himself. An Bing, Yang Fu, and others all urged him to return to office. Bing soon memorialized that Xian should oversee Shu tax revenues, and the court approved.

時僭亂後，帑藏赤立。咸至武興，與丙商榷利病，兵政財計，合爲一家，請丙奏於朝。核諸司羨余，移支常平廣惠米，鑄當五錢，榜賣官，並權截四路上供，汰弱兵二萬餘，規畫備至，故軍興增支之數八千七百五十餘萬，皆不取於民。咸總賦之始，贍軍帑廩緡不過一千四十五萬餘，糧不過九十一萬餘，料不過二萬餘。咸晝夜精勤，調度有方，不二歲，益昌大軍庫有楮引百八十萬，成都免引場樁撥二百一十餘萬，城下三倉軍糧四十餘萬石，預借米本一百一十餘萬，又別貯軍糧百四十九萬石，料七萬餘，而布帛絲綿、銅鐵錢與祠牒不預焉。

At that time, after the rebellion and disorder, the treasury was utterly bare. Xian reached Wuxing and discussed with Bing the strengths and weaknesses of the situation. Military administration and fiscal planning were united under one authority, and he asked Bing to memorialize the court. He audited surplus funds across all offices, transferred Ever-Normal and Broad-Relief grain, cast five-cash coins, posted notices selling offices, and temporarily diverted tribute from the four routes. He eliminated more than twenty thousand weak troops. The planning was thorough, so the more than eighty-seven million in added military spending was raised without taking anything from the people. When Xian first took charge of tax revenues, funds for provisioning the army in treasury and granary amounted to little more than ten million forty-five thousand cash, grain to little more than nine hundred ten thousand, and fodder to little more than twenty thousand. Xian worked diligently day and night and allocated resources with skill. In less than two years the great military depot at Yichang held one million eight hundred thousand paper notes, the Chengdu tax-exempt depot more than two million one hundred thousand in allocations, more than four hundred thousand shi of army grain in the three city granaries, more than one million one hundred thousand in advance grain principal, and a separate store of one million forty-nine thousand shi of army grain and seventy thousand of fodder—not counting cloth, silk, cotton, copper and iron cash, or temple certificates.

劍外民久苦役調，或建議調東、西兩路及夔路丁壯共其勞。令始下，民憚行，馳訴于安丙，乞計直輸錢以免行，久而不克輸者十五余萬，咸蠲之。蜀錢引舊約兩界五千餘萬，半藏於官，自軍興引皆散于民，宣、總二司增創三界通行八千餘萬，價日益落。咸捐一千二百餘萬緡以收十九界之半，又與丙議合茶馬司之力，再收九十一界，續造九十三界以兌之，於是引價復昂，糴價頓減。

The people beyond Jian Pass had long suffered corvée levies. Some proposed drafting able-bodied men from the Eastern and Western routes and the Kui route to share the labor. When the order first came down the people feared going and rushed to plead with An Bing, begging to pay commutation cash to avoid service. More than one hundred fifty thousand who had long been unable to pay—Xian remitted the debt entirely. Shu paper notes had formerly been contracted at more than fifty million for two zones, half held by the government. Since the military campaign they had all scattered among the people. The Pacification and General offices newly created three-zone circulation of more than eighty million notes, and the price fell daily. Xian contributed more than twelve million strings of cash to buy back half of the nineteenth series, then worked with Bing to combine the Tea-Horse Commission's resources and buy back the ninety-first series, issuing the ninety-third series to redeem them. Note prices rose again and grain prices fell sharply.

嘉陵江流忽淺，或云金人截上流，咸不動，疏而導之，自益昌至於魚梁，饋運無阻。金州地險，咸增饋米以實之，人皆曰：「金州之險，金人不可向，何益之爲？」咸曰：「敵至而慮，無及矣。」未幾，金人犯上津，守賴以固。召爲司農少卿，卒。丙列奏其功，賜諡勤節。初，宣諭使吳獵嘗表其節，詔進二秩，咸乞回贈所生父母焉。

The Jialing River suddenly shoaled. Some said the Jin had blocked the upper reaches. Xian was unmoved, dredged and channeled the river, and from Yichang to Yuliang supply transport went unimpeded. Jin Prefecture's terrain was perilous. Xian increased supply grain to stock it. People said, "Jin Prefecture is so perilous the Jin cannot approach it. What is the use of reinforcing it?" Xian said, "When the enemy arrives and only then you worry, it is too late." Before long the Jin attacked Shangjin, and the defense held thanks to the provisions he had stored. He was summoned to serve as Vice Minister of Agriculture and died in office. Bing memorialized his achievements in detail, and he was granted the posthumous name Diligent Integrity. Earlier, Pacification Commissioner Wu Lie had memorialized his integrity. An edict advanced him two ranks, and Xian asked that the honor be conferred on his biological parents instead.

論曰：宋之辱于金久矣，值我國家興師討罪，聲震河朔，乃遣孟珙帥師夾攻，遂滅其國，以雪百年之恥。而珙說禮樂、敦詩書，誠寡與二。杜杲、王登、楊掞、張惟孝，思以功名自見，雖所立有小大，皆奇才也。陳咸不從逆曦，雖不能死，然理財于喪亂之餘，蜀賴以固守，豈不賢于匹夫而莫經溝瀆者哉！

The commentary says: Song had long suffered humiliation at the hands of the Jin. When our state raised armies to punish their crimes and its fame shook the north, it sent Meng Gong to command a joint assault and extinguished their state, wiping away a century of shame. Yet Gong delighted in rites and music and cherished the classics—truly few could rank with him. Du Gao, Wang Deng, Yang Shan, and Zhang Weixiao all sought to make their names through achievement. Though what they accomplished varied in scale, all were extraordinary men. Chen Xian refused to follow the rebel Xi. Though he could not die for the cause, he managed the finances amid ruin and disorder, and Shu relied on him to hold firm. Is he not more worthy than common men who die in ditches without ever serving a higher purpose?

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