1
蔡京弟:卞子:攸翛族子:崈趙良嗣附:張覺郭藥師
Cai Jing; younger brother, Bian; sons, You and Shu; clansman, Chong; with appended biographies of Zhao Liangsi, Zhang Jue, and Guo Yaoshi
2
蔡京字元長，興化仙遊人。 登熙甯三年進士第，調錢塘尉、舒州推官，累遷起居郎。 使遼還，拜中書舍人。 時弟卞已為舍人，故事，入官以先後為序，卞乞班京下。 兄弟同掌書命，朝廷榮之。 改龍圖閣待制、知開封府。
Cai Jing, whose style name was Yuanchang, came from Xianyou in Xinghua prefecture. He earned his jinshi degree in the third year of the Xiuning era, served as sheriff of Qiantang and judicial reviewer in Shuzhou, and rose through several posts to Attendant Gentleman. After returning from a mission to the Liao, he was appointed a drafter in the Central Secretariat. His younger brother Bian was already a drafter. By custom, colleagues entering office were ranked by seniority, but Bian asked to be placed below Jing. The two brothers jointly controlled imperial drafting, and the court regarded it as a mark of honor. He was transferred to Attendant Drafter in the Dragon Diagram Hall and appointed prefect of Kaifeng.
3
元豐末，大臣議所立，京附蔡確，將害王珪以貪定策之功，不克。 司馬光秉政，復差役法，為期五日，同列病太迫，京獨如約，悉改畿縣雇役，無一違者。 詣政事堂白光，光喜曰：「使人人奉法如君，何不可行之有！」 已而台諫言京挾邪壞法，出知成德軍，改瀛州，徙成都。 諫官范祖禹論京不可用，乃改江、淮、荊、浙發運使，又改知揚州。 曆鄆、永興軍，遷龍圖閣直學士，復知成都。
Near the end of the Yuanfeng era, as senior ministers debated the succession, Jing sided with Cai Que and tried to destroy Wang Gui so he could claim credit for settling the question, but failed. When Sima Guang took power and revived the corvée system, he set a five-day deadline. His colleagues protested that it was too harsh, but Jing alone met the deadline and converted hired service in every metropolitan county without exception. He went to the Secretariat to report to Guang, who said delightedly, "If everyone obeyed the law as you do, how could the policy fail?" Soon afterward censors charged that Jing was devious and was undermining the law. He was sent out to govern Chengde, then reassigned to Yingzhou and later transferred to Chengdu. The remonstrator Fan Zuyu argued that Jing should not be employed, so he was made transport commissioner for the Jiang-Huai-Jing-Zhe region and later prefect of Yangzhou. He served in Yun prefecture and Yongxing, was promoted to expositor academician in the Dragon Diagram Hall, and again governed Chengdu.
4
紹聖初，入權戶部尚書。 章惇復變役法，置司講議，久不決。 京謂惇曰：「取熙甯成法施行之爾，何以講為？」 惇然之，雇役遂定。 差雇兩法，光、惇不同。 十年間京再蒞其事，成於反掌，兩人相倚以濟，識者有以見其奸。
Early in the Shaosheng era he returned to the capital as acting Minister of Revenue. Zhang Dun sought again to change the service law and set up a deliberation office, but debate dragged on without resolution. Jing told Dun, "Simply take the finished Xiuning statutes and enforce them. What is there to debate?" Dun agreed, and the hired-service system was settled at last. Guang and Dun had stood on opposite sides of the corvée and hired-service laws. Within a decade Jing took up the matter again and finished it with ease. The two men leaned on each other to get their way, and perceptive observers could already see their duplicity.
5
卞拜右丞，以京為翰林學士兼侍讀，修國史。 文及甫獄起，命京窮治，京捕內侍張士良，令述陳衍事狀，即以大逆不道論誅，並劉摯、梁燾劾之。 衍死，二人亦貶死，皆錮其子孫。 王岩叟、范祖禹、劉安世復遠竄。 京覬執政，曾布知樞密院，忌之，密言卞備位承轄，京不可以同升，但進承旨。
When Bian became Right Vice Director, Jing was made a Hanlin academician, concurrent imperial reader, and compiler of the national history. When the Wen Jifu affair broke out, Jing was ordered to pursue it to the end. He arrested the inner attendant Zhang Shiliang, forced him to recount Chen Yan's actions, and immediately secured convictions for treason, while also impeaching Liu Zhi and Liang Tao. Yan was executed, and the other two died in exile as well. Their descendants were all barred from office. Wang Yansou, Fan Zuyu, and Liu Anshi were banished even farther away. Jing coveted real power in government. Zeng Bu, who controlled the Bureau of Military Affairs, resented him and secretly argued that with Bian already in a supporting post, Jing should not be promoted alongside him but only to Hanlin Academician-in-Waiting.
6
童貫以供奉官詣三吳訪書畫奇巧，留杭累月，京與遊，不舍晝夜。 凡所畫屏幛、扇帶之屬，貫日以達禁中，且附語言論奏至帝所，由是帝屬意京。 又太學博士范致虛素與左街道錄徐知常善，知常以符水出入元符後殿，致虛深結之，道其平日趣向，謂非相京不足以有為。 已而宮妾、宦官合為一詞譽京，遂擢致虛右正言，起京知定州。 崇甯元年，徙大名府。 韓忠彥與曾布交惡，謀引京自助，復用為學士承旨。 徽宗有意修熙、豐政事，起居舍人鄧洵武黨京，撰《愛莫助之圖》以獻，徽宗遂決意用京。 忠彥罷，拜尚書左丞，俄代曾布為右僕射。 制下之日，賜坐延和殿，命之曰：「神宗創法立制，先帝繼之，兩遭變更，國是未定。 朕欲上述父兄之志，卿何以教之？」 京頓首謝，願盡死。 二年正月，進左僕射。
Tong Guan went to the lower Yangzi region as a palace supply officer to hunt for rare books, paintings, and curios. He stayed in Hangzhou for months, and Jing kept him company day and night. Every day Guan sent painted screens, fans, belts, and the like into the palace, along with messages that carried Jing's views to the emperor. From this the emperor began to favor Jing. The Imperial University erudite Fan Zhixu was also close to Xu Zhichang, registrar of the Left Avenue, who used ritual water to enter the Yuanfu Rear Hall. Fan cultivated him deeply and told him of Jing's ambitions, saying that nothing important could be done unless Jing became chief minister. Soon palace women and eunuchs were all praising Jing in one voice. Fan Zhixu was promoted to Right Remonstrator, and Jing was recalled to govern Dingzhou. In the first year of Chongning he was transferred to Daming. Han Zhongyan and Zeng Bu were at odds and plotted to bring Jing in as an ally. He was again appointed Hanlin Academician-in-Waiting. Emperor Huizong wished to revive the policies of the Xi and Feng eras. Deng Xunwu, an attendant gentleman, sided with Jing and presented a chart titled "No One Can Help" to show how few allies the reformers still had. Huizong then decided to use Jing. After Zhongyan was dismissed, Jing was made Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and soon replaced Zeng Bu as Right Grand Councilor. On the day of his appointment he was given a seat in the Yanhe Hall. The emperor told him, "Shenzong created new laws and institutions, and my father continued them, yet they were overturned twice and the state's course remains unsettled. I wish to carry out the aims of my father and grandfather. What counsel do you have for me?" Jing kowtowed and pledged to serve unto death. In the first month of the second year he was promoted to Left Grand Councilor.
7
京起於逐臣，一旦得志，天下拭目所為，而京陰托「紹述」之柄，箝制天子，用條例司故事，即都省置講議司，自為提舉，以其党吳居厚、王漢之十余人為僚屬，取政事之大者，如宗室、冗官、國用、商旅、鹽澤、賦調、尹牧，每一事以三人主之。 凡所設施，皆由是出。 用馮澥、钱遹之議，復廢元祐皇后。 罷科舉法，令州縣悉仿太學三舍考選，建辟雍外學于城南，以待四方之士。 推方田於天下。 榷江、淮七路茶，官自為市。 盡更鹽鈔法，凡舊鈔皆弗用，富商巨賈嘗齎持數十萬緡，一旦化為流丐，甚者至赴水及縊死。 提點淮東刑獄章糸宰見而哀之，奏改法誤民，京怒，奪其官。 因鑄當十大錢，盡陷糸宰諸弟。 御史沈畸等用治獄失意，羈削者六人。 陳瓘子正匯以上書黥置海島。
Jing had risen from exile, and once he gained power the whole realm watched what he would do. In secret he seized the slogan of "continuing the legacy," constrained the emperor, and, following the old Regulations Office model, set up a Deliberation Office at the Metropolitan Secretariat with himself as superintendent. More than ten allies, including Wu Juho and Wang Hanzhi, served on its staff. Major areas of policy—the imperial clan, redundant offices, state finances, commerce, salt administration, taxation, and local government—were each placed under a trio of directors. Every measure he introduced came out of that office. Following proposals by Feng Xi and Qian Yuzhi, he again deposed the Yuanyou empress. He abolished the civil service examinations and ordered every prefecture and county to adopt the Imperial University's three-college selection system. An outer college was built south of the capital to receive scholars from across the realm. He extended the square-field land survey across the empire. He imposed a state tea monopoly over seven circuits in the Jiang-Huai region, with the government itself acting as trader. He overhauled the salt certificate system and voided every old certificate. Wealthy merchants who had held certificates worth hundreds of thousands of strings were ruined overnight; some drowned themselves or hanged themselves in despair. Zhang Zai, judicial intendant of Huaidong, saw their suffering and memorialized that the new law was harming the people. Jing was furious and stripped him of his post. He then minted ten-cash coins and used the case to implicate all of Zhang Zai's younger brothers. Because censors such as Shen Ji displeased him in handling legal cases, six of them were detained and demoted. Chen Zhenghui, son of Chen Guan, was tattooed and exiled to a coastal island for submitting a memorial.
8
南開黔中，築靖州。 辰溪徭叛，殺漵浦令，京重為賞，募殺一首領者賜之絹三百，官以班行，且不令質究本末。 荊南守馬马珹言：「有生徭，有省地徭，今未知叛者為何種族，若計級行賞，俱不能無枉濫。」 蔣之奇知樞密院，恐忤京意，白言珹不體國，京罷珹，命舒亶代之，以剿無群徭為期。 西收湟川、鄯、廓，取牱、夜郎地。
In the south he opened Qianzhong and built Jing prefecture. When the Yao of Chenxi rebelled and killed the magistrate of Xupu, Jing offered rich rewards: three hundred bolts of silk and an official rank to anyone who killed a tribal leader, without requiring proof of who had actually rebelled. The prefect of Jingnan, Ma Qi, said, "There are native Yao and Yao living on provincial lands. We do not even know which group has rebelled. If rewards are handed out by the head, innocent people are bound to be killed." Jiang Zhiqi, who controlled the Bureau of Military Affairs, feared to cross Jing and reported that Ma Qi was disloyal to the state. Jing dismissed Ma Qi and sent Shu Dan in his place with orders to exterminate every Yao band. In the west he recovered Huangchuan, Shan, and Kuo and seized the territories of Zangke and Yelang.
9
擢童貫領節度使，其後揚戩、藍從熙、譚稹、梁師成皆踵之。 凡寄資一切轉行，祖宗之法蕩然無餘矣。 又欲兵柄士心皆歸己，建澶、鄭、曹、拱州為四輔，各屯兵二萬，而用其姻昵宋喬年、胡師文為郡守。 禁卒幹扌取月給錢五百，驟增十倍以固結之。 威福在手，中外莫敢議。 累轉司空，封嘉國公。
He promoted Tong Guan to a frontier military commissionership, and afterward Yang Jian, Lan Congxi, Tan Zhen, and Liang Shicheng followed the same path. Every provisional appointment was converted into a regular post, until the institutions of the founding emperors had been swept away entirely. He also wanted military power and the loyalty of the officer corps concentrated in his hands. He made Chan, Zheng, Cao, and Gong the Four Supporting prefectures, each with a garrison of twenty thousand men, and appointed his relatives Song Qiaonian and Hu Shiwen as their prefects. Palace guards who had been pressing for a monthly stipend of five hundred cash suddenly had it raised tenfold to secure their loyalty. With power and favor firmly in his grasp, no one inside or outside the court dared criticize him. He rose through several posts to Minister of Works and was enfeoffed as Duke of Jia.
10
京既貴而貪益甚，已受僕射奉，復創取司空寄祿錢，如粟、豆、柴薪與亻兼從糧賜如故，時皆折支，亦悉從真給，但入熟狀奏行，帝不知也。
Once elevated, Jing grew greedier still. He already drew a grand councilor's salary, yet also claimed the nominal stipend of Minister of Works along with grain, beans, firewood, and attendant rations as before. Although such payments were usually commuted to cash, he insisted on receiving them in kind. He merely filed routine approval memorials, and the emperor never knew.
11
時元祐群臣貶竄死徙略盡，京猶未愜意，命等其罪狀，首以司馬光，目曰奸党，刻石文德殿門，又自書為大碑，遍班郡國。 初，元符末以日食求言，言者多及熙寧、紹聖之政，則又籍範柔中以下為邪等凡名在兩籍者三百九人，皆錮其子孫，不得官京師及近甸。 五年，進司空、開府儀同三司、安遠軍節度使，改封魏國。
By then the Yuanyou ministers had been exiled, demoted, or killed until almost none remained, yet Jing was still unsatisfied. He ordered their offenses ranked, placed Sima Guang at the head, and labeled them the Treacherous Faction. The list was carved in stone at the gate of the Wende Hall, and Jing himself wrote a great stele that was sent to every prefecture. Earlier, after an eclipse at the end of the Yuanfu era, the court had solicited opinions, and many memorials had defended the policies of Xiuning and Shaosheng. Jing then registered Fan Rouzhong and others as a second list of malign officials. In all, 309 men on the two lists had their descendants barred from office in the capital and its vicinity. In the fifth year he was promoted to Minister of Works, Defender-in-Chief with Three-Duke honors, and military commissioner of Anyuan, and his enfeoffment was changed to Duke of Wei.
12
時承平既久，帑庾盈溢，京倡為豐、亨、豫、大之說，視官爵財物如糞土，累朝所儲掃地矣。 帝嘗大宴，出玉琖、玉卮示輔臣曰：「欲用此，恐人以為太華。」 京曰：「臣昔使契丹，見玉盤琖，皆石晉時物，持以誇臣，謂南朝無此。 今用之上壽，於禮無嫌。」 帝曰：「先帝作一小台財數尺，上封者甚眾，朕甚畏其言。 此器已就久矣，倘人言復興，久當莫辨。」 京曰：「事苟當於理，多言不足畏也。 陛下當享天下之奉，區區玉器，何足計哉！」
Peace had lasted so long that the treasuries overflowed. Jing preached the doctrine of Abundance, Success, Ease, and Greatness, treating offices and wealth like dirt, and the savings of many reigns were squandered. At one grand banquet the emperor brought out jade bowls and goblets and told his chief ministers, "I would like to use these, but I fear people will say it is too extravagant." Jing replied, "When I was envoy to the Khitan, they showed me jade plates and bowls from the Later Jin and boasted that the Song had nothing like them. Using them now for a longevity toast would be perfectly proper." The emperor said, "My father built a small terrace that cost only a few feet of timber, yet he was flooded with remonstrances. I am very afraid of such criticism. These vessels have been finished for a long time. If criticism flares up again, in time no one will remember when they were made." Jing said, "If a matter is reasonable, much talk is nothing to fear. Your Majesty ought to enjoy the tribute of the realm. Why fuss over a few jade vessels?"
13
五年正月，彗出西方，其長竟天。 帝以言者毀黨碑，凡其所建置，一切罷之。 京免為開府儀同三司、中太乙宮使。 其党陰援于上，大觀元年，復拜左僕射。 以南丹納土，躐拜太尉，受八寶，拜太師。
In the first month of the fifth year a comet appeared in the west with a tail that stretched across the sky. Because critics attacked the faction stele, the emperor abolished everything Jing had established. Jing was dismissed from office and made Defender-in-Chief with Three-Duke honors and commissioner of the Central Taiyi Palace. His faction secretly worked on his behalf at court, and in the first year of Daguan he was again appointed Left Grand Councilor. When Nandan submitted its territory, he was promoted in one leap to Grand Commandant, received the Eight Treasures, and was made Grand Preceptor.
14
三年，台諫交論其惡，遂致仕。 猶提舉修《哲宗實錄》，改封楚國，朝朔望。 太學生陳朝老追疏京惡十四事，曰瀆上帝、罔君父、結奧援、輕爵祿、廣費用、變法度、妄製作、喜導諛、箝台諫、熾親黨、長奔競、崇釋老、窮土木、矜遠略。 乞投畀遠方，以禦魑魅。 其書出，士人爭相傳寫，以為實錄。 四年五月，彗復出奎、婁間，御史張克公論京輔政八年，權震海內，輕錫予以蠹國用，托爵祿以市私恩，役將作以葺居第，用漕船以運花石。 名為祝聖而修塔，以壯臨平之山； 托言灌田而決水，以符「興化」之讖。 法名退送，門號朝京。 方田擾安業之民，圜土聚徙郡之惡。 不軌不忠，凡數十事。 先是，御史中丞石公弼、侍御史毛注數劾京，未允，至是，貶太子少保，出居杭。
In the third year censors and remonstrators joined in denouncing his crimes, and he retired from office. He still supervised compilation of the Veritable Records of Zhezong, was enfeoffed as Duke of Chu, and attended court on the first and fifteenth of each month. The university student Chen Chaolao submitted a follow-up memorial listing fourteen crimes of Jing: blasphemy against Heaven, deceiving ruler and father, building secret patronage networks, treating offices lightly, expanding expenditures, changing laws, reckless innovations, encouraging flattery, silencing remonstrators, inflaming factionalism, encouraging frantic office-seeking, exalting Buddhism and Daoism, exhausting the realm with construction, and boasting of grand foreign campaigns. He begged that Jing be cast into a distant place to ward off evil spirits. When the text circulated, scholars copied it eagerly and treated it as an unofficial veritable record. In the fifth month of the fourth year the comet reappeared between the constellations Kui and Lou. Censor Zhang Kegong charged that during eight years as chief minister Jing's power had shaken the realm, that he squandered state funds with careless rewards, traded offices for private loyalty, used the Directorate of Works to repair his mansion, and commandeered transport barges to ship ornamental stones. He built a pagoda in the name of praying for the emperor's longevity to magnify the mountain at Linping; and under the pretext of irrigating fields he released floodwaters to fulfill the omen embedded in his native place name, Xinghua. His Buddhist name was "Sending Back," and his gate was called "Facing the Capital." The square-field survey harassed people secure in their livelihoods, and the round-earth prisons gathered criminals from relocated prefectures. His disloyalty and misconduct ran to dozens of charges. Earlier the censor-in-chief Shi Gongbi and attending censor Mao Zhu had impeached Jing repeatedly without success. Now he was demoted to Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent and sent to live in Hangzhou.
15
政和二年，召還京師，復輔政，徙封魯國，三日一至都堂治事。 京之去也，中外學官頗有以時政為題策士者。 提舉淮西學士蘇棫欲自售，獻議請索五年間策問，校其所詢，以觀向背，於是坐停替者三十餘人。 初，國制，凡詔令皆中書門下議，而後命學士為之。 至熙寧間，有內降手詔不由中書門下共議，蓋大臣有陰從中而為之者。 至京則又患言者議己，故作御筆密進，而丐徽宗親書以降，謂之御筆手詔，違者以違制坐之。 事無巨細，皆托而行，至有不類帝劄者，群下皆莫敢言。 由是貴戚、近臣爭相請求，至使中人楊球代書，號曰「書楊」，京復病之而亦不能止矣。
In the second year of Zhenghe he was recalled to the capital, resumed assisting government, was enfeoffed as Duke of Lu, and came to the Metropolitan Secretariat every three days to conduct business. After Jing left office, many school officials inside and outside the capital set examination topics drawn from current politics. Su Chou, academic superintendent of Huaidong, sought to curry favor and proposed seizing five years of examination questions to see which candidates had leaned against Jing. More than thirty men lost their posts as a result. Originally, by state regulation every edict was debated by the Secretariat and Chancellery before an academician was ordered to draft it. By the Xiuning era there were handwritten edicts issued from within the palace that bypassed Secretariat and Chancellery review, probably because powerful ministers were manipulating the process in secret. Jing, fearing remonstrance, had secret drafts submitted as imperial brush writings and begged Huizong to copy them out personally. These were called Imperial Brush Handwritten Edicts, and anyone who disobeyed them was punished for violating regulations. Great and small affairs alike were carried out through them, and some did not even sound like the emperor's own writing. No one below dared object. Imperial relatives and favored ministers then competed to obtain such edicts, even having the inner attendant Yang Qiu write them on their behalf, earning the nickname "Writer Yang." Jing disliked this too but could not stop it.
16
既又更定官名，以僕射為太、少宰，自稱公相，總治三省。 追封王安石、蔡確皆為王，省吏不復立額，至五品階以百數，有身兼十餘奉者。 侍御史黃葆光論之，立竄昭州。 拔故吏魏伯芻領榷貨，造料次錢券百萬緡進入，徽宗大喜，持以示左右曰：「此太師與我奉料也。」 擢伯芻至徽猷閣待制。
He then revised official titles again, renaming the grand councilors as Grand and Junior Chancellors, styling himself Duke Chancellor, and placing all three departments under his control. He posthumously enfeoffed Wang Anshi and Cai Que as kings. Department clerks no longer kept salary quotas straight, fifth-rank posts ran into the hundreds, and some men held more than ten stipends at once. Attending censor Huang Baoguang criticized this and was immediately exiled to Zhaozhou. He promoted his former clerk Wei Bochu to head the Monopoly Bureau. Wei fabricated commodity money certificates worth a million strings and presented them to the throne. Huizong was delighted, showed them to his attendants, and said, "This is the Grand Preceptor's provision stipend for me." He then promoted Bochu to Attendant Drafter in the Huaiyou Hall.
17
京每為帝言，今泉幣所積贏五千萬，和足以廣樂，富足以備禮，於是鑄九鼎，建明堂，修方澤，立道觀，作《大晟樂》，制定命寶。 任孟昌齡為都水使者，鑿大伾三山，創天成、聖功二橋，大興工役，無慮四十萬。 兩河之民，愁困不聊生，而京僴然自以為稷、契、周、召也。 又欲廣宮室求上寵媚，召童貫輩五人，風以禁中逼側之狀。 貫俱聽命，各視力所致，爭以侈麗高廣相誇尚，而延福宮、景龍江之役起，浸淫及于艮嶽矣。
Jing often told the emperor that the treasury now held a surplus of fifty million strings, enough harmony to expand music, and enough wealth to supply ritual. On that basis he had the Nine Cauldrons cast, the Bright Hall built, the Square Mound repaired, Daoist abbeys established, the "Great Splendor Music" composed, and the Mandate Treasures ordained. He appointed Meng Changling Director of Waterways, excavated the three mountains of Dayi, built the Tiancheng and Shenggong bridges, and launched vast public works employing some four hundred thousand men. The people of the Yellow River valleys were destitute and desperate, yet Jing complacently compared himself to the sage ministers Ji, Qi, the Duke of Zhou, and the Duke of Shao. He also wanted to enlarge the palaces to win the emperor's favor and summoned Tong Guan and four others, hinting at how cramped the inner palace had become. They all obeyed. Each man did what he could and competed to make his projects more lavish, grand, and vast. Work began on Yanfu Palace and the Jinglong River, and eventually the Genyue mound project followed.
18
子攸、儵、翛，攸子行，皆至大學士，視執政。 鞗尚茂德帝姬。 帝七幸其第，賚予無算。 命坐傳觴，略用家人禮。 廝養居大官，媵妾封夫人，然公論益不與，帝亦厭薄之。
His sons You, Shu, and Xiu, along with You's son Xing, all rose to Grand Academician and were treated like chief ministers. Tiao married Princess Maode of the imperial house. The emperor visited his mansion seven times and lavished gifts on him beyond reckoning. He was told to sit and pass the wine cup, in a manner that roughly followed family etiquette. Servants held high office, concubines were ennobled as ladies, public opinion turned ever more against him, and even the emperor grew weary of him.
19
宣和二年，令致仕。 六年，以朱勔為地，再起領三省。 京至是四當國，目昏眊不能事事，悉决于季子絛。 凡京所判，皆絛為之，且代京入奏。 每造朝，侍從以下皆迎揖，呫囁耳語，堂吏數十人，抱案後從，由是恣為奸利，竊弄威柄，驟引其婦兄韓梠为户部侍郎，媒糵密謀，斥逐朝士，創宣和庫式貢司，四方之金帛與府藏之所儲，盡拘括以實之，為天子之私財。 宰臣白時中、李邦彥惟奉行文書而已，既不能堪。 兄攸亦發其事，上怒，欲竄之，京力丐免，特勒停侍養，而安置韓梠黄州。 未幾，褫絛侍讀，毀賜出身敕，而京亦致仕。 方時中等白罷絛以撼京，京殊無去意。 帝呼童貫使詣京，令上章謝事，貫至，京泣曰：「上何不容京數年，當有相讒譖者。」 貫曰：「不知也。」 京不得已，以章授貫，帝命詞臣代為作三表請去，乃降制從之。
In the second year of Xuanhe he was ordered to retire from office. In the sixth year, with Zhu Mian paving the way, he was brought back to head all three departments. By then Jing had held power four times. His eyes had failed and he could no longer manage affairs himself, so everything was decided by his youngest son Tao. Whatever Jing was supposed to decide, Tao decided for him and even entered court to report in his place. Whenever he came to court, attendants and lower officials bowed to greet him while he whispered in their ears. Dozens of clerks followed carrying documents. He then pursued illicit profit at will, manipulated power in secret, and abruptly promoted his wife's elder brother Han Liu to Vice Minister of Revenue. Through secret plotting he drove out court officials, created the Xuanhe Treasury Tribute Office, and seized gold, silk, and state reserves from across the realm to fill the emperor's private coffers. Chief ministers Bai Shizhong and Li Bangyan could do nothing but carry out his paperwork, and they could not endure it. His elder brother You also exposed the affair. The emperor was furious and wanted to exile Tao, but Jing begged hard for mercy. Tao was ordered to suspend court attendance and remain at home, while Han Liu was banished to Huangzhou. Soon afterward Tao was stripped of his post as imperial reader and his bestowed jinshi decree was revoked. Jing retired as well. Bai Shizhong and others had memorialized to dismiss Tao in order to undermine Jing, yet Jing showed no intention of leaving. The emperor sent Tong Guan to tell Jing to submit a resignation memorial. When Guan arrived, Jing wept and said, "Why will Your Majesty not keep me on for a few more years? Someone must be slandering me." Guan replied, "I do not know." Jing had no choice but to hand the memorial to Guan. The emperor ordered literary officials to draft three resignation memorials for him and then issued an edict accepting his retirement.
20
欽宗即位，邊遽日急，京盡室南下，為自全計。 天下罪京為六賊之首，侍御史孫覿等始極疏其奸惡，乃以秘書監分司南京，連貶崇信、慶遠軍節度副使，衡州安置，又徙韶、儋二州。 行至潭州死，年八十。
When Emperor Qinzong ascended the throne, the frontier crisis grew daily worse. Jing moved his entire household south in a bid to save himself. The realm condemned Jing as the leader of the Six Traitors. Attending censor Sun Jue and others submitted fierce memorials detailing his crimes. He was made superintendent of the Palace Library at Nanjing, then demoted repeatedly to vice military commissioner of Chongxin and Qingyuan, assigned to Hengzhou, and finally transferred to Shao and Dan. He died at Tanzhou on the way, at the age of eighty.
21
京天資凶譎，舞智禦人，在人主前，顓狙伺為固位計，始終一說，謂當越拘攣之俗，竭四海九州之力以自奉。 帝亦知其奸，屢罷屢起，且擇與京不合者執政以柅之。 京每聞將退免，輒入見祈哀，蒲伏扣頭，無復廉恥。 燕山之役，京送攸以詩，陽寓不可之意，冀事不成得以自解。 見利忘義，至於兄弟為參、商，父子如秦、越。 暮年即家為府，營進之徒，舉集其門，輸貨僮隸得美官，棄紀綱法度為虛器。 患失之心無所不至，根株結盤，牢不可脫。 卒致宗社之禍，雖譴死道路，天下猶以不正典刑為恨。
Jing was fierce and treacherous by nature, using his wits to manipulate others. Before the throne he schemed constantly to hold his position, always preaching that the court should break free of restrictive custom and exhaust the strength of the entire realm to supply the emperor's pleasures. The emperor knew he was treacherous, dismissed him repeatedly yet brought him back, and even appointed ministers who opposed Jing to restrain him. Whenever he heard he was to be dismissed, he rushed into audience to beg for mercy, kowtowing without a trace of shame left. During the Yan Mountains campaign, Jing sent You a poem that outwardly expressed disapproval, hoping the venture would fail so he could distance himself from it. He forgot righteousness for profit, until brothers were estranged like opposing stars and father and sons were divided like enemy states. In his later years he turned his house into a private court. Office-seekers flocked to his gate, buying posts with bribes and slaves, while law and institutions became empty forms. His fear of losing power knew no bounds. His network of patronage was so deeply rooted that it could not be torn out. He ultimately brought disaster on the dynasty. Though he died in exile on the road, the realm still resented that he had never received proper punishment.
22
子八人，儵先死，攸、翛伏誅，絛流白州死，鞗以尚帝姬免竄，余子及諸孫皆分徙遠惡郡。
He had eight sons. Shu died first; You and Xiu were executed; Tao was exiled to Baizhou and died there; Tiao escaped punishment because he had married an imperial princess; the remaining sons and grandsons were banished to remote prefectures.
23
弟卞
Younger brother: Bian
24
卞字元度，與京同年登科，調江陰主簿。 王安石妻以女，因從之學。 元豐中，張璪薦為國子直講，加集賢校理、崇政殿說書，擢起居舍人，曆同知諫院、侍御史。 居職不久，皆以王安石執政親嫌辭。 拜中書舍人兼侍講，進給事中。
Bian, whose style name was Yuandu, passed the civil service examination in the same year as Jing and was appointed registrar of Jiangyin. Wang Anshi gave him a daughter in marriage, and he studied under Wang as a result. During the Yuanfeng era Zhang Zuan recommended him as erudite lecturer of the Imperial University. He became collator in the Hall of Assembled Worthies and lecturer at the Chongzheng Hall, then rose to attendant gentleman and served as associate remonstrance official and attending censor. He did not remain long in any post, resigning each time on grounds of kinship with Wang Anshi, who was then in power. He was appointed drafter in the Central Secretariat and concurrent lecturer, then promoted to supervising censor.
25
哲宗立，遷禮部侍郎。 使於遼，遼人頗聞其名。 卞適有寒疾，命載以白馳車，典客者曰：「此，君所乘，蓋異禮也。」 使還，以龍圖閣待制知宣州，徙江寧府，曆揚、廣、越、潤、陳五州。 廣州寶貝叢湊，一無所取。 及徙越，夷人清其去，以薔薇露灑衣送之。
When Emperor Zhezong ascended the throne, he was made Vice Minister of Rites. On a mission to the Liao, the Khitan had already heard of his reputation. Bian happened to be ill with a cold and was ordered carried in a white swift carriage. The protocol officer said, "This is the carriage Your Lordship rides—it is an exceptional courtesy." After returning from his mission he was made attendant drafter in the Dragon Diagram Hall and prefect of Xuanzhou, then transferred to Jiangning and served in Yang, Guang, Yue, Run, and Chen. Guangzhou was crowded with precious goods, yet he took none of them. When he left for Yue, local tribesmen cleared his path and sprinkled rose dew on his robes as a farewell gift.
26
紹聖元年，復為中書舍人，上疏言：「先帝盛德大業，卓然出千古之上，發揚休光，正在史策。 而實錄所紀，類多疑似不根，乞驗索審訂，重行刊定，使後世考觀，無所迷惑。」 詔從之。 以卞兼國史修撰。 初，安石且死，悔其所作《日錄》，命從子防焚之，防詭以他書代。 至是，卞即防家取以上，因芟落事實，文飾奸偽，盡改所修實錄、正史，於是呂大防、范祖禹、趙彥若、黃庭堅皆獲深譴。 遷翰林學士。
In the first year of Shaosheng he again became a Central Secretariat drafter and memorialized, "The late emperor's magnificent virtue and great achievements stand above a thousand ages. To display his glory depends on the historical record. Yet the Veritable Records contain much that is doubtful and unsubstantiated. I beg that they be examined, revised, and republished so that later ages will not be misled." The court approved his request. Bian was appointed concurrent compiler of the National History. Earlier, as Wang Anshi lay dying, he regretted his "Daily Records" and ordered his nephew Fang to burn them. Fang deceitfully substituted other books instead. Now Bian retrieved them from Fang's house and presented them to the throne. He pruned facts, embellished falsehoods, and rewrote the Veritable Records and standard histories he edited. Lü Dagui, Fan Zuyu, Zhao Yanruo, and Huang Tingjian were all severely punished as a result. He was promoted to Hanlin academician.
27
四年，拜尚書左丞，專托「紹述」之說，上欺天子，下脅同列。 凡中傷善類，皆密疏建白，然後請帝親劄付外行之。 章惇雖钜奸，然猶在其術中。 惇輕率不思，而卞深阻寡言，論議之際，惇毅然主持，卞或噤不啟齒。 一時論者以為惇跡易明，卞心難見。
In the fourth year he became Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. He relied wholly on the slogan of "continuing the legacy," deceiving the emperor above and intimidating his colleagues below. Whenever he wanted to destroy a good official, he first submitted a secret memorial and then asked the emperor to issue a personal brush edict for enforcement. Even Zhang Dun, great traitor though he was, still fell within Bian's manipulations. Dun was rash and unthinking, while Bian was secretive and taciturn. In deliberations Dun would speak boldly and take charge, while Bian sometimes remained silent. Contemporaries said Dun's actions were easy to see through, but Bian's intentions were hard to discern.
28
徽宗即位，諫官陳瓘、任伯雨、御史龔夬疏其兄弟奸惡，瓘并数卞尊私史以厭宗廟之罪，伯雨言：「卞之惡有過於惇。 去年封事，數千人皆乞斬惇、卞，公議於此可見矣。」 遂陳其大罪有六，曰：「誣罔宣仁聖烈保佑之功，欲行追廢，一也； 凡紹聖以來竄逐臣僚，皆卞啟而後行，二也； 宮中厭勝事作，哲宗方疑，未知所處，惇欲召禮法官通議，卞云：'既犯法矣，何用禮法官議？ '皇后以是得罪，三也； 編排元祐章牘，萋菲語言，被罪者數千人，議自卞出，四也； 鄒浩以言忤旨，卞激怒哲宗，致之遠謫，又請治其親故送別之罪，五也； 蹇序辰建看詳訴理之議，章惇遲疑未應，卞即以二心之言迫之，惇默不敢對，即日置局，士大夫得罪者八百三十家，凡此皆卞謀之而惇行之，六也。 願亟正典刑，以謝天下。」 詔以資政殿學士知江甯府，連貶少府少監、分司池州。
When Emperor Huizong ascended the throne, remonstrators Chen Guan and Ren Boyu and censor Gong Fu memorialized against the brothers' crimes. Guan also charged Bian with honoring a private history in a way that offended the ancestral temple. Boyu said, "Bian's wickedness surpasses Dun's. Last year thousands of sealed memorials demanded the execution of Dun and Bian. Public opinion could hardly be clearer." He then listed six great crimes: "First, falsely denying the merit of Empress Xuanren Shengle and seeking her posthumous deposition; second, all exiles since the Shaosheng era were proposed by Bian before they were carried out; third, when palace sorcery cases arose and Zhezong was uncertain what to do, Dun wanted ritual officials consulted, but Bian said, "They have already broken the law. Why consult ritual officials?" The empress was condemned on that account; fourth, compiling Yuanyou memorials into slanderous indictments that condemned thousands, a plan that came from Bian; fifth, when Zou Hao offended the throne with his words, Bian enraged Zhezong and had him exiled far away, then sought to punish relatives and friends who saw him off; sixth, when Jian Xuchen proposed a review and appeal bureau, Zhang Dun hesitated, but Bian accused him of divided loyalty until Dun dared not answer. The bureau was established that same day, and 830 households of scholar-officials were condemned. All of this was plotted by Bian and carried out by Dun. I beg that proper punishment be applied at once to satisfy the realm." He was demoted to academician of the Hall for Assisting Governance and prefect of Jiangning, then further to junior supervisor of the Palace Workshops and superintendent at Chizhou.
29
才逾歲，起知大名府，徙揚州，召為中太乙宮使，擢知樞密院。 時京居相位，卞禮辭，不許。 帝謀復湟、鄯，問于卞，卞以王厚、高永年對。 與京合謀，竭府藏以事邊，募商人運糧，不復問其直貴賤。 鄯、廓至斗米錢四千，束芻錢千二百，秦中騷困。 及取三州，進金紫光祿大夫，永年竟為帳下執去以降。 自是西方交兵，連年不息，追仇任伯雨所言，曲自辦理。 至欲會獄證治，諸人坐貶。
After little more than a year he was recalled to govern Daming, transferred to Yangzhou, summoned as commissioner of the Central Taiyi Palace, and promoted to control the Bureau of Military Affairs. Jing was then chief minister. Bian declined the post on grounds of propriety, but was not allowed to refuse. The emperor planned to recover Huang and Shan and asked Bian whom to use. Bian recommended Wang Hou and Gao Yongnian. Together with Jing he exhausted the treasuries for frontier campaigns, hired merchants to transport grain, and no longer asked what price they charged. In Shan and Kuo grain reached four thousand cash per dou and fodder twelve hundred per bundle. The Qin region was thrown into turmoil. When the three prefectures were taken, Bian was promoted to Grandee of the Golden Girdle and Purple Clarity, but Yongnian was eventually seized under his command and forced to surrender. From then on fighting on the western frontier continued year after year. Nursing a grudge against Ren Boyu's accusations, he twisted matters to justify himself. He even tried to open a joint trial to prove his case, and many men were demoted as a result.
30
卞居心傾邪，一意以婦公王氏所行為至當。 兄晚達而位在上，致己不得相，故二府政事時有不合。 京以中旨用童貫為陝西制置使，卞言不宜用宦者，右丞張康國引李憲故事以對，卞曰：「用憲已非美事，憲猶稍習兵，貫略無所長，異時必誤邊計。」 帝令中書行之。 京于帝前詆卞，卞求去，以資政殿大學士知河南。
Bian was devious at heart and regarded everything his father-in-law Wang Anshi had done as absolutely correct. His elder brother had risen late yet ranked above him, preventing Bian from becoming chief minister himself. Their policies in the two departments therefore sometimes clashed. Jing used an inner-court order to appoint Tong Guan Shaanxi commissioner. Bian said eunuchs should not be used. Right Vice Director Zhang Kangguo cited Li Xian as a precedent. Bian replied, "Even Li Xian was a bad choice, and he at least knew something of warfare. Guan has almost no talent and will surely ruin frontier strategy in time." The emperor ordered the Secretariat to proceed anyway. Jing slandered Bian before the emperor. Bian asked to resign and was made grand academician of the Hall for Assisting Governance and prefect of Henan.
31
妖人張懷素敗，卞素與之遊，謂其道術通神，嘗識孔子、漢高祖，至稱為大士，坐降職。 旋加觀文殿學士，拜昭慶軍節度使，入為侍讀，進檢校少保、開府儀同三司，易節鎮東。
When the sorcerer Zhang Huai Su was exposed, it came out that Bian had long associated with him, claiming his arts were divine and that he had known Confucius and Emperor Gaozu of Han, even calling them great masters. Bian was demoted for this. Soon he was made academician of the Hall for Viewing Literature, military commissioner of Zhaoqing, imperial reader, junior guardian with Three-Duke honors, and then transferred to the eastern commission.
32
政和末，謁歸上塚，道死，年六十。 贈太傅，諡曰文正。 高宗即位，追責為甯國軍節度副使。 紹興五年，又貶單州團練副使。
At the end of the Zhenghe era he asked leave to return home and visit his ancestral tomb. He died on the road at the age of sixty. He was posthumously made Grand Preceptor with the posthumous title Wenzheng, "Correct in Culture." When Emperor Gaozong ascended the throne, he was posthumously demoted to vice military commissioner of Ningguo. In the fifth year of Shaoxing he was demoted again to vice training commissioner of Danzhou.
33
子攸
Son: You
34
崇寧三年，自鴻臚丞賜進士出身，除秘書郎，以直秘閣、集賢殿修撰編修《國朝會要》，二年間至樞密直學士。 京再入相，加龍圖閣學士兼侍讀，詳定《九域圖志》，修《六典》，提舉上清寶箓宫、秘書省兩街道錄院、禮制局。 道、史官僚合百人，多三館雋遊，而攸用大臣子領袖其間，懵不知學，士論不與。 初置宣和殿，命為大學士，賜球文方團金帶，改淮康軍節度使。
In the third year of Chongning he was granted jinshi status from his post as Honglu assistant, appointed secretary gentleman, and within two years rose to associate academician of the Bureau of Military Affairs while compiling the "Institutional Essentials of Our Dynasty." When Jing returned to power, You was made Dragon Diagram Hall academician and imperial reader, directed revision of the "Gazetteer of the Nine Regions," supervised compilation of the "Six Canons," and headed the Shangqing Precious Register Palace, the Secretariat's two Daoist registrar offices, and the Ritual Regulations Bureau. The Daoist and historical offices together numbered a hundred men, mostly talented scholars from the Three Halls. Yet You, a great minister's son, led them though he knew nothing of learning, and scholarly opinion rejected him. When the Xuanhe Hall was first established, he was made Grand Academician, granted a square gold belt with ball pattern, and appointed military commissioner of Huaikang.
35
帝將去京，先逐其党劉昺、劉煥等，使御史中丞王安中劾之。 攸通籍禁庭，聞其事，亟請間百拜以懇，帝意遂解。 其後與京權勢日相軋，浮薄者復間之，父子各立門戶，遂為仇敵。 攸別居賜第，嘗詣京，京正與客語，使避之，攸甫入，遽起握父手為胗視狀，曰：「大人脈勢舒緩，體中得無有不適乎？」 京曰：「無之。」 攸曰：「禁中方有公事。」 即辭去。 客竊窺見，以問京，京曰：「君固不解此，此兒欲以為吾疾而罷我也。」 閱數日，京果致仕。 以季弟絛鍾愛于京，數請殺之，帝不許。
When the emperor was about to dismiss Jing, he first expelled his allies Liu Bing and Liu Huan and had censor-in-chief Wang Anzhong impeach them. You had access to the inner palace. Hearing of the move, he urgently requested a private audience and kowtowed a hundred times in plea until the emperor relented. Afterward his power clashed daily with Jing's. Shallow men sowed division between them, father and son each built his own faction, and they became enemies. You lived in a separate imperial mansion. Once he visited Jing while Jing was talking with a guest and had the guest withdraw. As soon as You entered, Jing rose abruptly, took his father's hand as if to feel his pulse, and said, "Father, your pulse is calm and slow. Are you feeling unwell?" Jing said, "No." You said, "There is urgent business in the palace." He then left at once. A guest who had been watching in secret asked Jing about it. Jing said, "You do not understand this at all — the boy wants people to think I am sick so he can have me dismissed." Within a few days, Jing did in fact retire. Because his youngest brother Tao was Jing's favorite, You repeatedly asked that he be killed, but the Emperor refused.
36
攸曆開府儀同三司、鎮海軍節度使、少保，進見無時，益用事，與王黼得預宮中秘戲，或侍曲宴，則短衫窄褲，塗抹青紅，雜倡優侏儒，多道市井淫媟謔浪語，以蠱帝心。 妻宋氏出入禁掖，子行領殿中監，視執政，寵信傾其父。 帝留意道家者說，攸獨倡為異聞，謂有珠星璧月、跨鳳乘龍、天書雲篆之符，與方士林靈素之徒爭證神變事。 於是神霄、玉清之祠遍天下，咎端自攸興矣。
You rose through the ranks to Commissioner with the Staff Equal to the Three Excellencies, Military Commissioner of the Zhenhai Army, and Junior Guardian. He could see the Emperor at any hour and grew ever more powerful. He and Wang Fu were let into the palace's private entertainments; at informal banquets they wore short jackets and tight trousers, painted their faces green and red, mixed with singers, acrobats, and dwarfs, and filled the air with lewd street banter meant to bewitch the Emperor. His wife Lady Song moved freely in the inner palace; his son Xing headed the Palace Domestic Service and was treated like a chief minister. Favor and trust for them exceeded even what Jing himself enjoyed. The Emperor was drawn to Daoist doctrine, and You alone peddled marvels — pearl stars and jade moons, phoenix-riding and dragon-mounting, heavenly books written in cloud script — and debated matters of divine transformation with masters such as Lin Lingsu. Temples to the Divine Empyrean and Jade Purity then sprang up across the empire. The roots of disaster began with You.
37
童貫伐燕，以攸副宣撫，攸童騃不習事。 謂功業可唾手致。 入辭之日，二美嬪侍上側，攸指而請曰：「臣成功歸，乞以是賞。」 帝笑而弗責。 涿州留守郭藥師擁所部八千人舉涿、易二州降，進攸少傅。 王師入燕，進少師，封英國公。 還，領樞密院。 王黼罷政，帝欲大用攸，既而悔之，但進太保，徙封燕。 帝欲內禪，親書「傳位東宮」字授李邦彥，邦彥卻立不敢承，遂以付攸。 攸退，屬其客給事中吳敏，議遂定。
When Tong Guan marched against Yan, You was made deputy pacification commissioner. He was childish, foolish, and knew nothing of statecraft. He thought glory could be seized as easily as snapping his fingers. On the day he departed, two beautiful consorts stood at the Emperor's side. You pointed to them and said, "When I return victorious, I ask that these be my reward." The Emperor laughed and did not reprove him. Guo Yaoshi, garrison commander of Zhuozhou, brought his eight thousand men to surrender Zhuo and Yi prefectures, and You was promoted to Junior Tutor. When the imperial army entered Yan, he was made Junior Preceptor and enfeoffed as Duke of Ying. On his return he took charge of the Bureau of Military Affairs. After Wang Fu fell from power, the Emperor meant to give You great authority, then changed his mind and only promoted him to Grand Guardian, changing his title to Duke of Yan. The Emperor wished to abdicate in favor of the heir apparent and personally wrote the words "Transfer the throne to the Eastern Palace," handing the note to Li Bangyan. Bangyan stepped back and would not take it, so it was passed to You instead. You withdrew and entrusted the matter to his client Wu Min, a Supervising Secretary, and the plan was settled.
38
子翛
Son: Shu
39
翛初以恩澤為親衛郎、秘書丞，至保和殿學士。 宣和中，拜禮部尚書兼侍講。 時翛弟兄亦知事勢日異，其客傅墨卿、孫傅等復語之曰：「天下事必敗，蔡氏必破，當亟為計。」 翛心然之，密與攸議，稍持正論，故與京異。 然皆蓄縮不敢明言，遂引吳敏、李綱、李光、楊時等用之，以挽物情。 尋加大學士，提舉醴泉觀。
Shu first entered office by imperial favor as Attendant of the Imperial Guard and Secretary, and rose to Academician of the Hall of Preservation and Harmony. In the Xuanhe reign he was appointed Minister of Rites and Palace Lecturer. By then Shu and his brothers could see that the times were turning against them. His clients Fu Moqing, Sun Fu, and others urged him again: "The empire is doomed to collapse, the Cai clan is doomed to fall — you must act at once." Shu agreed in his heart and secretly consulted with You, gradually taking more upright positions, and so came to differ from Jing. Yet they all shrank back and dared not speak plainly, and so brought in Wu Min, Li Gang, Li Guang, Yang Shi, and others to win back public opinion. He was soon made Grand Academician and put in charge of the Shrine of Sweet Springs.
40
欽宗立，翛上募兵陝西策，自請行，又勸西幸，帝頗採納，俾知京兆府。 計垂就，攸忌其功成，會金破濬州，徽宗南幸，攸假徽宗旨，請翛守鎮江，改資政殿大學士。 或謂翛前計已乖，宜勿行。 翛幸得去，不復辭。 流言至京師，謂將復辟於鎮江。 帝趣迎上皇還，而責翛昭信軍節度副使。
When Emperor Qinzong came to the throne, Shu submitted a plan to raise troops in Shaanxi, asked to lead it himself, and urged the court to move west. The Emperor largely accepted his advice and appointed him governor of the Capital Prefecture. Just as the plan was nearing success, You, jealous that Shu would win credit, took advantage of the Jin capture of Junzhou and Huizong's flight south. Invoking Huizong's authority, he had Shu posted to guard Zhenjiang and changed his title to Grand Academician of the Hall for Aid in Governance. Some advised Shu that his earlier plan had already failed and that he should not go. Shu was only too glad to leave and raised no objection. Rumors reached the capital that he would restore Huizong to power at Zhenjiang. The Emperor urgently ordered Huizong brought back and demoted Shu to Vice Military Commissioner of the Zhaoxin Army.
41
攸之誅也，御史陳述且行，帝取詔批其尾曰：「翛亦然。」 於是並誅。
When You was executed, Censor Chen Shu was about to carry out the edict when the Emperor took it and wrote at the end, "The same for Shu." Both were then executed.
42
族子崈
Clan nephew: Chong
43
崈者，京族子也。 性矯妄，善談鬼神事。 當承門蔭，固推與庶兄，宗族稱為賢。 崇甯初，京黨以學行修飭聞諸朝，與泉州布衣呂注皆著道士服。 召入謁，累官拜給事中兼侍讀。
Chong was a clansman of Jing's. By nature he was arrogant and eccentric, and skilled at talk of spirits and demons. When he was due to inherit office by family privilege, he firmly yielded the place to his elder half-brother, and the clan praised him as virtuous. At the start of the Chongning reign, Jing's faction commended him to the court for cultivated learning and conduct. He and the commoner Lu Zhu of Quanzhou both wore Daoist robes. Summoned to court, he rose through successive posts until he was appointed Supervising Secretary and Imperial Reader.
44
京去位，為言者所攻，以顯謨閣待制提舉崇福宮。 言者復論其不學無文，結豪民，規厚利，持道家吐納之說以為論思，侍立集英瞑目自若為不恭，遂奪職。 陳正匯上京變事，置獄京師，具陳在杭州時，日聞崈盛言京有後福，獄上，詔削其籍。 京復相，徽宗戒毋得用崈但復集英殿修撰，旋還待制，提點洞霄宮。 宣和中，卒。
When Jing left office, critics attacked him, and Chong was made Gentleman Consultant of the Hall of Manifest Counsel and put in charge of the Shrine of Blessings and Prosperity. Critics again accused him of being unlearned and uncultured, of consorting with powerful locals for profit, of offering Daoist breathing techniques as counsel to the throne, and of standing in attendance in the Hall of Assembled Excellence with eyes closed as if at ease — conduct deemed disrespectful. His office was then stripped from him. Chen Zhenghui reported Jing's crimes, and a case was opened in the capital. He testified that while in Hangzhou he had daily heard Chong declare at length that Jing would yet enjoy great fortune. When the case was submitted, an edict removed Chong from the official rolls. When Jing returned as chief minister, Huizong warned that Chong must not be used, but restored him only as Compiler of the Hall of Assembled Excellence. He soon regained his Gentleman Consultant title and was put in charge of the Cave of Heaven Abode. He died in the Xuanhe reign.
45
趙良嗣
Zhao Liangsi
46
趙良嗣，本燕人馬植，世為遼國大族，仕至光祿卿。 行汙而內亂，不齒於人。 政和初，童貫出使，道盧溝，植夜見其侍史，自言有滅燕之策，因得謁。 童貫與語，大奇之，載與歸，易姓名曰李良嗣。 薦諸朝，即獻策曰：「女真恨遼人切骨，而天祚荒淫失道。 本朝若遣使自登、萊涉海，結好女真，與之相約攻遼，其國可圖也。」 議者謂祖宗以來，雖有此道，以其地接諸蕃，禁商賈舟船不得行，百有餘年矣。 一旦啟之，懼非中國之利。 徽宗召見，問所來之因，對曰：「遼國必亡，陛下念舊民遭塗炭之苦，復中國往昔之疆，代天譴責，以治伐亂，王師一出，必壺漿來迎。 萬一女真得志，先發制人，後發制於人，事不侔矣。」 帝嘉納之，賜姓趙氏，以為秘書丞，圖燕之議自此始。 遷直龍圖閣，提點萬壽觀，加右文殿修撰。
Zhao Liangsi was originally Ma Zhi of Yan. His family had for generations been a great clan of the Liao state, and he rose to Grandee for Splendid Happiness. His conduct was foul and his household chaotic, and respectable people would not associate with him. At the start of the Zhenghe reign, Tong Guan went on a mission and passed Lugou Bridge. Zhi visited his attendant by night, saying on his own that he had a plan to destroy Yan, and thereby gained an audience. Tong Guan spoke with him and was greatly impressed. He brought him back and changed his name to Li Liangsi. Recommended to court, he at once submitted a plan: "The Jurchens hate the Liao to the bone, while Tianzuo is dissolute and has lost the Way. If our dynasty sends envoys from Deng and Lai across the sea to befriend the Jurchens and join them in attacking Liao, that state can be taken." Critics replied that although this route had existed since the time of the founding ancestors, the region bordered foreign peoples and merchant shipping had been forbidden there for more than a hundred years. To reopen it now, they feared, would not serve China's interests. Huizong summoned him and asked why he had come. He answered, "The Liao state is doomed to fall. Your Majesty, moved by the suffering of the old subjects, should restore China's former borders, punish evil in Heaven's name, and use order to overthrow chaos. When the imperial army marches forth, the people will surely come out with food and drink to welcome it. If by any chance the Jurchens prevail, he who strikes first controls others, while he who strikes later is controlled by others — the outcomes would not be the same." The Emperor praised and accepted the plan, granted him the surname Zhao, and appointed him Secretary. From this the plan to take Yan began. He was transferred to Direct Associate of the Dragon Diagram Hall, put in charge of the Shrine of Ten Thousand Longevities, and made Compiler of the Hall of Right Literature.
47
宣和二年二月，使于金國，見其主阿骨打，議取燕、雲。 使還，進徽猷閣待制。 自是將命至六七，頗能緩頰盡心，與金爭議，進龍圖閣直學士。 既得燕山，又加延康殿學士、提舉上清宮，官至光祿大夫。
In the second month of the second year of Xuanhe, he was sent as envoy to the Jin state, met their ruler Aguda, and negotiated the recovery of Yan and Yun. When the mission returned, he was promoted to Gentleman Consultant of the Hall of Manifest Strategy. From then on he carried out imperial missions six or seven times, pleading earnestly and arguing hard with the Jin. He was promoted to Direct Academic of the Dragon Diagram Hall. Once Yanshan had been taken, he was further made Academic of the Hall of Extended Tranquility and put in charge of the Upper Clarity Palace, rising to Grandee of Splendid Happiness.
48
良嗣言：「頃在北國，與燕中豪士劉范、李奭及族兄柔吉三人結義同心，欲拔幽、薊歸朝，瀝酒於北極祠下，祈天為約，俟他日功成，即掛冠謝事，以表本心，初非取功名而徼富貴也。 賴陛下威靈，今日之事幸而集，顧前日之約豈可欺哉？ 願許臣致仕，使得買田歸耕，令有識者曰：'此平燕首謀之人，得請閑退，天下美事也。 '不然，則臣為敢欺神明，何所不至？」 凡三上章，詔不許。 既而朝廷納張覺，良嗣爭之云：「國家新與金國盟，如此必失其歡，後不可悔。」 不聽。 坐奪職，削五階。
Liangsi said, "Not long ago in the northern state I swore brotherhood with three like-minded men — the gallant men of Yan, Liu Fan and Li Shang, and my clansman Rouji — intending to wrest You and Ji back to the court. We poured wine at the shrine of the North Pole and prayed Heaven to witness our oath: when success came one day, we would at once resign and retire, to show our true hearts. We never sought fame or fortune in the first place. Thanks to Your Majesty's majesty, today's success has come together — yet how can I break the oath of former days? I beg to be allowed to retire, to buy fields and return to farming, so that men of discernment may say, 'The man who first plotted the pacification of Yan has been granted a quiet withdrawal — a fine thing for all under Heaven.' Otherwise, if your servant dares deceive the spirits, what would I not dare to do?' He submitted three memorials in all, but an edict refused his request. Soon afterward the court accepted Zhang Jue. Liangsi objected, saying, "The state has just allied with the Jin. If we do this we will surely lose their goodwill, and later we will not be able to undo it." The court did not listen. For this he was stripped of office and demoted five ranks.
49
靖康元年四月，御史胡舜陟論其結成邊患，敗契丹百年之好，使金寇侵陵，禍及中國，乞戮之於市。 時已竄郴州，詔廣西轉運副使李升之即所至梟其首，徙妻子于萬安軍。
In the fourth month of the first year of Jingkang, Censor Hu Shunzhi argued that he had created border troubles, ruined a century of good relations with the Khitans, brought Jin invaders down upon the realm, and spread calamity across China. He asked that Liangsi be executed in the marketplace. He had already been banished to Chenzhou. An edict ordered Li Shengzhi, Vice Transport Commissioner of Guangxi, to behead him wherever he was found, and his wife and children were exiled to Wanan Prefecture.
50
張覺，平州義豐人也。 在遼國第進士，為遼興軍節度副使。 鎮民殺其節度使蕭諦裏，覺拊定亂者，州人推領州事。 燕王淳死，覺知遼必亡，籍丁壯五萬人，馬千匹，練兵為備。 蕭後遣時立愛來知州，拒弗納。
Zhang Jue was a native of Yifeng in Ping Prefecture. He had passed the highest examinations in the Liao state and served as Vice Military Commissioner of the Liaoxing Army. The townspeople killed their Military Commissioner Xiao Dili. Jue comforted those who had restored order, and the people of the prefecture urged him to take charge of its affairs. When Prince Chun of Yan died, Jue knew the Liao was doomed. He registered fifty thousand able-bodied men and a thousand horses and drilled troops in preparation. Empress Xiao sent Shi Li'ai to govern the prefecture, but Jue refused to accept him.
51
金人入燕，訪覺情狀於遼故臣康公弼，公弼言彼何能為，當示以不疑，乃以為臨海軍節度使，任知平州。 遼相左企弓等將歸東，粘罕欲先遣兵擒覺，公弼曰：「如此是趣之叛也，我請使焉而觀之。」 遂往見覺。 覺曰：「契丹八路皆陷，今獨平州存，敢有異志？ 所以未釋甲者，防蕭幹耳。」 厚賂公弼使還。 公弼道其語，粘罕信之，升平州為南京，加覺同中書門下平章事。 企弓、公弼與曹勇義、虞仲文皆東遷。
When the Jurchens entered Yan, they asked the former Liao minister Kang Gongbi about Jue's situation. Gongbi said, "What can he do? We should show him we do not suspect him." Jue was therefore made Military Commissioner of the Linhai Army and charged with governing Ping Prefecture. The Liao chancellor Zuo Qigong and others were about to return east. Nianhan wanted first to send troops to seize Jue. Gongbi said, "That would only drive him to rebel. Let me go as envoy and see for myself." He then went to see Jue. Jue said, "The Khitan Eight Circuits have all fallen; only Ping Prefecture remains. How would I dare harbor a different intent? The reason I have not yet laid down my arms is only to guard against Xiao Gan." He bribed Gongbi heavily and sent him back. Gongbi reported his words. Nianhan believed him, elevated Ping Prefecture to Southern Capital, and made Jue Associate Grand Counselor. Qigong, Gongbi, Cao Yongyi, and Yu Zhongwen all moved eastward.
52
時燕民盡徙，流離道路。 或詣覺訴：「公弼、企弓等不能守燕，致吾民如是。 能免我者，非公而誰？」 覺召僚屬議，皆曰：「近聞天祚復振於松漠，金人所以急趨山西者，畏契丹議其後也。 公能仗大義，迎故主以圖興復，責企弓等之罪而殺之，縱燕人歸燕，南朝宜無不納。 儻金人西來，內用營、平之兵，外藉南朝之援，何所懼乎？」 覺又訪于翰林學士李石，亦以為然。 乃殺企弓等四人，復稱保大三年，繪天祚像於廳事，每事告而後行。 呼父老諭曰：「女真，仇也，豈可從？」 指其像曰：「此非汝主乎，豈可背？ 當相約以死，必不得已則歸中國。」 燕人尚義，皆景從。 於是悉遣徙民歸。
At that time the people of Yan were being relocated en masse and wandered destitute along the roads. Some came to Jue to plead, "Gongbi, Qigong, and the rest could not hold Yan and have reduced our people to this. Who but you can deliver us?" Jue summoned his staff to consult. All said, "We have lately heard that Tianzuo has revived in Songmo. The reason the Jurchens hurry west toward Shanxi is that they fear the Khitans will strike from behind. If you uphold great righteousness, welcome the former ruler to plan restoration, charge Qigong and the others with their crimes and execute them, and let the people of Yan return to Yan, the Southern Court ought not to refuse them. If the Jurchens come from the west, using the troops of Ying and Ping within and borrowing aid from the Southern Court without, what is there to fear?" Jue also consulted Hanlin Academician Li Shi, who agreed. Thereupon he killed Qigong and three others, restored the reign title to the third year of Bao Da, painted Tianzuo's portrait in the main hall, and reported every matter to it before acting. He summoned the elders and told them, "The Jurchens are our enemies — how can we follow them?" Pointing to the portrait, he said, "Is this not your lord? How can you betray him? Let us covenant to die together; if there is no other choice, then return to China." The people of Yan valued righteousness and all followed him in admiration. He then sent all the relocated people back.
53
石更名安弼，偕故三司使高党往燕山說王安中曰：「平州自古形勝之區，地方數百里，帶甲十余萬，覺文武全才，若為我用，必能屏翰王室。 苟為不然，彼西迎天祚，北通蕭幹，將為吾肘腋患矣。」 安中深然之，具奏於朝，願以身任其責，令安弼、党詣京師。 徽宗以手劄付詹度曰：「本朝與金國通好，信誓甚重，豈當首違？ 金人昨所以不即討覺者，以兵在關中而覺抗榆關故也。 今既已東去，他日西來，則覺蕞爾數城，恐未易當。 為今之計，姑當密示羈縻足矣。」 而度數誘致之，諷令內附。
Shi changed his name to An Bi and, together with the former Commissioner of the Three Departments Gao Dang, went to Yanshan to persuade Wang Anzhong. He said, "Ping Prefecture has since antiquity been a strategic region — its territory spans several hundred li, with more than a hundred thousand troops under arms. Jue is a man of complete civil and military talent. If we put him to our use, he can surely shield and buttress the throne. If we do not, he may welcome Tianzuo from the west and link with Xiao Gan in the north, and become a trouble at our very elbow." Wang Anzhong strongly agreed, reported fully to court, offered to bear the responsibility himself, and ordered An Bi and Dang to proceed to the capital. Huizong handed a personal note to Zhan Du, saying, "Our dynasty and the Jin state are on terms of friendship, and our sworn pledge is weighty indeed. How can we be the first to break it? The Jin had not attacked Jue immediately because their troops were tied down in Guanzhong while Jue held Yuguan Pass. Now that they have moved east, if they return west another day, Jue's few small cities may not be easy to defend. For now the best policy is quietly to show restraint and keep him on a leash." Yet Du repeatedly enticed him and hinted that he should submit to the Song.
54
宣和五年六月，覺遣書至安撫司云：「金虜恃虎狼之強，驅徙燕京富家巨室，止留空城以塞盟誓，緬想大朝，亦非得已。 遺民假道當管，冤痛之聲，盈于衢路。 州人不忍，僉謂宜抗賊命，以存生靈，使復父母之邦，且為大朝守禦之備，已盡遣其人過界，謹令掌書記張鈞、參謀軍事張敦固詣安撫司聽命。」
In the sixth month of the fifth year of Xuanhe, Jue wrote to the Pacification Commission, "The Jin rely on brute force, driving the wealthy families of Yanjing into exile and leaving only empty cities to satisfy the treaty. When I think of the great court, I know this was not without reason. Displaced people passed through our territory, and cries of grief filled the roads. The people could not endure it and agreed to resist the enemy, preserve the living, restore their homeland, and prepare defenses for the great court. I have already sent them across the border and respectfully dispatch Recorder Zhang Jun and Staff Officer Zhang Dun'gu to the Pacification Commission for orders."
55
金人聞覺叛，遣闍母國王將三千騎來討，覺帥兵迎拒之于營州，闍母以兵少，不交鋒而退，大書於門，有「今冬復來」之語。 覺遂妄以大捷聞，朝廷建平州為泰寧軍，拜覺節度使，以安弼、黨、鈞、敦固皆為徽猷閣待制，宣撫司犒以銀絹數萬。 詔命至，覺喜，遠出迎。 金人諜知，舉兵來，覺不得返，同其弟挾所被詔敕奔燕。 母妻先寓營州，為金人所得，弟聞之，亟往降，獻其詔敕。 金人圍平州，覺之從弟及侄固守，金人以納叛為責，且求餉糧，凡攻擊數月，州民數千潰圍走，莫肯降。
When the Jin learned of Jue's rebellion, they sent the Prince of Zhamu with three thousand cavalry to attack. Jue met them at Yingzhou. Zhamu, finding his force too small, withdrew without fighting and wrote on the gate, "We shall return this winter." Jue falsely reported a great victory. The court made Ping into Taiping Army, appointed Jue military commissioner, made An Bi, Dang, Jun, and Dun'gu attendants in the Huaiyou Hall, and the Pacification Commission rewarded them with tens of thousands in silver and silk. When the edict arrived, Jue rejoiced and went far out to meet it. Jin spies learned of this and marched against him. Jue could not return and fled to Yan with his younger brother, carrying the edicts he had received. His mother and wife had been staying at Yingzhou and were captured by the Jin. Hearing this, his brother hurried to surrender and handed over the edicts. The Jin besieged Ping Prefecture while Jue's cousins and nephews held out. The Jin accused them of harboring a rebel and demanded supplies. After months of assault, thousands of townspeople broke out and fled rather than surrender.
56
金人既平二州，始來索覺，王安中諱之。 索愈急，乃斬一人貌類者去。 金人曰：「此非覺也。 覺匿于王宣撫甲仗庫，若不與我，我自以兵取之。」 安中不得已，引覺出，數其過，使行刑，覺語殊不遜。 既死，函首送之，燕之降將及常勝軍皆泣下，郭藥師曰：「若來索藥師，當奈何？」 自是解體，金人終用是啟釁雲。
After the Jin pacified the two prefectures, they demanded Jue. Wang Anzhong concealed him. As the demand grew more urgent, he beheaded a look-alike and sent the head. The Jin said, "This is not Jue. Jue is hidden in Commissioner Wang's armory. If you do not hand him over, I shall take him by force." Anzhong had no choice but to produce Jue, recite his crimes, and execute him. Jue spoke with shocking insolence. After his death they sent his head in a box. Yan's surrendered generals and the Ever-Victorious Army wept. Guo Yaoshi said, "If they come for me next, what then?" From that moment morale collapsed, and the Jin ultimately used the affair to justify war.
57
郭藥師
Guo Yaoshi
58
郭藥師，渤海鐵州人也。 遼之將亡，燕王淳募遼東饑民為兵，使之報怨於女真，目曰「怨軍」，藥師為之渠首。 明年，其兩營叛，藥師殺叛者羅青。 都統蕭幹留二千人為四營，以藥師及張令徽、劉舜仁、甄五臣為將。 淳建號于燕，改「怨軍」為「常勝軍」，擢藥師至諸衛上將軍、涿州留守。 淳死，蕭後立，蕭幹專，國人貳。
Guo Yaoshi came from Tiezhou in Bohai. As Liao was collapsing, the Prince of Yan Chun recruited starving people of eastern Liao to strike at the Jurchen, calling them the "Grievance Army." Yaoshi was their leader. The next year two camps rebelled, and Yaoshi killed the rebel leader Luo Qing. Commander Xiao Gan kept two thousand men in four camps under Yaoshi, Zhang Linghui, Liu Shunren, and Zhen Wuchen. Chun declared himself ruler in Yan, renamed the Grievance Army the Ever-Victorious Army, and promoted Yaoshi to general-in-chief of the guards and garrison commander of Zhuozhou. After Chun died, Empress Xiao took power, Xiao Gan dominated the court, and the realm grew disloyal.
59
宣和四年九月，藥師擁所部八千人奉涿、易二州來歸，詔以為恩州觀察使。 王師北討，劉延慶與幹軍于盧溝，藥師曰：「幹以全師抗我，燕城必虛，選勁騎襲之，可得也。」 延慶遣藥師與諸將帥兵六千，夜半渡河，倍道而進。 質明，甄五臣領五千騎奪迎春門以入，大軍繼至，下令納燕人降而盡殺契丹雜虜。 藥師遣人諭蕭後，使趣降，後密詔蕭幹還戰於三市，藥師失馬，幾為所擒，遂以敗還，猶進安遠軍承宣使。 十二月，拜武泰軍節度使。 五年正月，加檢校少保，同知燕山府。
In the ninth month of the fourth year of Xuanhe, Yaoshi brought his eight thousand men and the prefectures of Zhuo and Yi in submission. He was appointed observation commissioner of Enzhou. When the imperial army marched north, Liu Yanqing faced Gan at Lugou. Yaoshi said, "Gan has committed his whole army to us, so Yan must be empty. Send crack cavalry in a surprise strike and we can take it." Yanqing sent Yaoshi and other generals with six thousand men. They crossed the river at midnight and marched at forced pace. At dawn Zhen Wuchen led five thousand cavalry through the Yingchun Gate. The main army followed with orders to accept Yan submissions but slaughter all Khitan and other barbarians. Yaoshi urged Empress Xiao to surrender quickly. She secretly ordered Xiao Gan back to fight at the Three Markets. Yaoshi lost his horse and was nearly captured, then retreated in defeat, yet was still promoted to pacification commissioner of Anyuan. In the twelfth month he was appointed military commissioner of Wutai. In the first month of the fifth year he was made junior guardian with the rank and associate prefect of Yanshan.
60
詔入朝，徽宗禮遇甚厚，賜以甲第姬妾。 張水嬉于金明池，使觀之，命貴戚大臣更互設宴。 又召對於後苑延春殿，藥師拜廷下，泣言：「臣在虜，聞趙皇如在天上，不謂今日得望龍顏。」 帝深褒稱之，委以守燕，對曰：「願效死。」 又令取天祚以絕燕人之望，變色而言曰：「天祚，臣故主也，國破出走，臣是以降。 陛下使臣畢命他所，不敢辭，若使反故主，非所以事陛下，願以付他人。」 因涕泣如雨。 帝以為忠，解所禦珠袍及二金盆以賜。 藥師出，諭其下曰：「此非吾功，汝輩力也。」 即剪盆分給之。 加檢校少傅，歸鎮。
He was summoned to court. Huizong treated him with exceptional honor and gave him a fine mansion and concubines. He staged water games at the Jinming Pool for him to watch and ordered nobles and ministers to host banquets in turn. He summoned him again to the Yanchun Hall in the rear garden. Yaoshi kowtowed and wept, saying, "When I was among the barbarians, I heard the Song emperor was like a god in Heaven. I never expected to see your face today." The emperor praised him warmly and entrusted Yan to him. He replied, "I am willing to die in your service." He also ordered him to capture Tianzuo to destroy Yan hopes of restoration. Yaoshi's face changed and he said, "Tianzuo was my former lord. When the state fell he fled, and that is why I surrendered. If Your Majesty orders me to die elsewhere, I dare not refuse. But to make me turn against my former lord is not how I should serve you. Please give the task to someone else." He wept profusely. The emperor took this as loyalty, removed his own pearl robe and two gold basins, and gave them to him. When Yaoshi left, he told his men, "This honor is not mine alone. It is yours." He immediately cut up the basins and distributed the pieces among them. He was made junior tutor with the rank and returned to his post.
61
蕭干犯塞，藥師破其眾於峰山，生擒阿魯太師，獲耶律德光尊號寶劍檢、塗金印，幹尋為部下所殺。 策勳加檢校太傅。
When Xiao Gan raided the frontier, Yaoshi defeated him at Feng Mountain, captured Alu Taishi alive, and seized the sword tally and gilded seal bearing the honorific title of Emperor Taizong of Liao. Gan was soon killed by his own men. For his merit he was made grand tutor with the rank.
62
初，王安中知燕山府，詹度與藥師同知，藥師自以節鉞，欲居度上。 度稱御筆所書有序，藥師不從。 加以常勝軍肆橫，藥師右之，度不能制，告於朝廷。 慮其交惡，命度與河間蔡靖兩易。 靖至，坦懷待之，藥師亦重靖，稍為抑損，安中但諂事之，朝廷亦曲徇其意，所請無不從。 良械精甲，多遣部曲貿易他道，為奇巧之物以奉權貴宦侍，於是譽言日聞。 專制一路，增募兵號三十萬，而不改左衽，朝論頗以為慮。 亟拜太尉，召入朝，辭不至。
At first Wang Anzhong governed Yanshan, with Zhan Du and Yaoshi as associate prefects. Yaoshi, holding a military commission, wanted precedence over Du. Du cited an order in the emperor's own brush writing, but Yaoshi refused to obey. The Ever-Victorious Army also ran wild with Yaoshi's support, and Du could not control them, so he reported to court. Fearing open conflict, the court swapped Du with Cai Jing of Hejian. When Jing arrived he treated Yaoshi openly, and Yaoshi respected him and restrained himself somewhat. Anzhong only flattered him, and the court indulged his every request. He stockpiled fine armor, sent retainers to trade along other routes, and presented ingenious curios to powerful nobles and eunuchs, so praise of him spread daily at court. He ruled the circuit as his own domain, raised his force to a claimed three hundred thousand men, and still dressed in the Jurchen style. Court opinion grew alarmed. He was soon made Grand Commandant and summoned to court, but refused to come.
63
帝令童貫行邊，陰察其去就，不然，則挾之偕來。 貫至燕，藥師迎于易州，再拜帳下，貫避之，曰：「汝今為太尉，位視二府，與我等耳，此禮何為？」 藥師曰：「太師，父也。 藥師唯拜我父，焉知其他？」 貫釋然。 遂邀貫視師，至於迥野，略無人跡，藥師下馬，當貫前掉旗一揮，俄頃，四山鐵騎耀日，莫測其數。 貫眾皆失色。 歸為帝言，藥師必能抗虜，蔡攸亦從中力主之。 金使賀天寧節歸，送伴使見藥師兵，遇之于道，金使為之斂馬引避。 鄉兵或持矛揭取其羊羜，皆不敢爭，奏言藥師威聲遠振，攸益謂其可倚，故內地不復防制。 屢有告變及得其通金國書，輒不省。
The emperor sent Tong Guan to tour the frontier and secretly observe his intentions, or if necessary bring him back by force. When Guan reached Yan, Yaoshi welcomed him at Yizhou and bowed twice before his tent. Guan stepped aside and said, "You are Grand Commandant now, equal in rank to us. Why this ceremony?" Yaoshi replied, "Grand Preceptor, you are like a father to me. I bow only to my father. What do I know of anything else?" Guan was appeased. He then invited Guan to review his troops in open country where no one else was in sight. Yaoshi dismounted and waved a banner before him. In an instant iron cavalry blazed on four mountains, beyond counting. Guan and his party were stunned. On returning he told the emperor that Yaoshi could surely resist the barbarians, and Cai You strongly backed him from within. A Jin envoy returning from the Tianning Festival saw Yaoshi's troops on the road and reined in his horse to give way. Local soldiers sometimes seized their sheep and carts with spears, yet none dared resist. Memorials praised Yaoshi's far-reaching reputation. You increasingly argued he could be trusted, and the interior ceased guarding against him. Repeated reports of rebellion and intercepted letters to the Jin were ignored.
64
七年十二月，詹度言：「藥師瞻視不常，趣向懷異，蜂目烏喙，怙寵恃功，逆節已萌，兇橫日甚。 今聞與金人交結，背負朝廷，興禍不遠，願早為之慮。」 始詔遣官究實，而金兵已南下破檀、薊，至玉田。 蔡靖遣藥師、張令徽、劉舜仁帥師出禦，其夕，令徽遁歸，靖與部使者詣藥師計事，藥師欲降，靖曰：「靖誓死報國，此何言邪？」 引佩刀將自剄，藥師抱持之，並諸使者悉鎖于家。 斡離不及郊，藥師率軍官迎拜，遂從以南。 叛報至，帝猶秘其事，議封為燕王，割地與之，使世守，而已無及。
In the twelfth month of the seventh year Zhan Du memorialized, "Yaoshi's gaze is unsettled and his intentions suspect. With wasp eyes and a crow's beak, he relies on favor and merit. Rebellion is already budding and his violence grows daily. I now hear he is in league with the Jin and has turned against the court. Disaster is near. I beg the court to act early." The court finally ordered an investigation, but Jin troops had already marched south, taken Tan and Ji, and reached Yutian. Cai Jing sent Yaoshi, Zhang Linghui, and Liu Shunren to resist the invaders. That evening Linghui fled. Jing and the envoys went to consult Yaoshi, who wished to surrender. Jing said, "I have sworn to die for the state. What talk is this?" He drew his dagger to kill himself. Yaoshi seized him and locked all the envoys in his house. When Wolibu reached the suburbs, Yaoshi led his officers out to welcome him and then followed him south. When news of the betrayal arrived, the emperor still kept it secret and discussed making him Prince of Yan with hereditary territory—but it was already too late.
65
斡離不至慶源，聞天子內禪，欲回軍，藥師曰：「南朝未必有備，不如姑行。」 其後趑趄京城，詰索宮省與邀取寶器服玩，皆藥師導之也。
When Wolibu reached Qingyuan and heard the emperor had abdicated, he wanted to turn back. Yaoshi said, "The Southern Court may not be ready. Better to press on for now." Afterward, as the Jin hesitated before the capital, demanded palace offices, and seized precious vessels and ornaments, Yaoshi guided them in everything.