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卷四百八十四 列傳第二百四十三 周三臣 韓通 李筠 李重進

Volume 484 Biographies 243: Three Zhou officials Han Tong, Li Yun, Li Zhongjin

Chapter 484 of 宋史 · History of Song
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Chapter 484
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1
Three Zhou Officials — Han Tong, Li Yun, and Li Chongjin
2
Ouyang Xiu's Historical Records of the Five Dynasties includes a "Biographies of the Six Tang Ministers" — a work meant as satire. The History of Song devotes a chapter to the Three Zhou Officials: the title echoes Ouyang's work, yet the intent differs. What the two share is a commitment to set names right and uphold the moral order. Han Tong had stood shoulder to shoulder with the future Song founder in service to Zhou, only to die on the eve of the Song succession. Had the Song history not taken him up, where would posterity have kept the memory of his loyalty? Earlier histories called Li Yun and Li Chongjin rebels, yet the charge is far from clear. Were not those whom the Zhou called the "stubborn people" of Luoyi in truth loyalists of the fallen Shang? When Confucius edited the Book of Documents, he left its original designations intact. One might object that all three had once served the Tang, the Jin, and the Han. The answer is Yu Rang of the house of Zhi — was he not such a man? Here I write the Biographies of the Three Zhou Officials.
3
使
In the opening year of Qianyou, the future Zhou founder, then Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs, led an army against Hezhong. Finding Tong prudent and steadfast, he kept him at his side. Tong was first over the wall, took six wounds, and was promoted to chief adjutant of the army for his valor. While stationed at Daming, the Zhou founder had Tong made commander of the Tianxiong horse and foot forces and treated him as a trusted confidant. When he marched into Bian, Tong proved indispensable. He was made commander of the Left Sixth Army of the Fengguo Corps and given concurrent charge of Leizhou.
4
使
At the start of Guangshun he commanded the right wing of the Tiger Swift Corps, then the left, served as inspector of Mengzhou, and afterward held the defense commissions of Yong and Mu. On the Zhou founder's personal campaign against Yanzhou, Tong was named chief inspector of the capital's right wing. When the Yellow River burst its banks and inundated Heyin, Tong was sent with twelve hundred Guangrui elite troops to dredge the Bian mouth, rebuild Heyin, and raise new fortifications. Soon afterward he was made acting military governor of the Baoyi circuit, and received the full commission when the Zhou founder offered the suburban sacrifice. When Liu Chong of Bingzhou marched south, Tong was sent under Wang Yanchao of Hezhong to intercept him by way of Jinzhou; the force was beaten at Gaoping. Tong was placed in command of the northern field headquarters against Taiyuan and besieged the city with mining tunnels. The army soon withdrew. Tong was reassigned to Caozhou and given the honorary rank of Grand Guardian.
5
On Emperor Shizong's Huainan campaign, Tong was made chief inspector of the capital. Finding the capital too cramped, Shizong pressed the metropolitan peasantry into building a new outer city and widening the old city's streets. Xue Kexin of the Left Dragon Martial Army, Shi Quan of the Right Guard, Gai Wan of the Right Gate Guard, and Kang Yanhuan of the Right Forest Guard were each assigned one quarter of the work, with Tong directing the entire undertaking. The project was still unfinished when Shizong went south to the Huai. Tong remained in charge of security throughout the capital and served as acting inspector of the Palace Guard. Though the work was budgeted for three years, it was finished in six months. In the third year his victories in Qin and Feng were belatedly honored: he was made military governor of Zhongwu, Honorary Grand Tutor, and chief adjutant of the Palace Guard. While Shizong was at Shouchun, Tong again held chief inspection duties for the entire capital. After Huainan was pacified, he was appointed military governor of Guide.
6
殿 使
The future Song founder marched north under imperial orders; at Chenqiao the troops acclaimed him as emperor. Tong was at the palace when news of the coup reached him. He rushed home in panic. The officer Wang Yansheng overtook Tong in the street and chased him home. Tong reached his gate but could not bar it in time; Yansheng killed him, and his wife and children perished as well. The founder was furious that Yansheng had killed Tong on his own authority, yet in the turmoil of founding the dynasty he swallowed his anger and imposed no punishment. He at once issued an edict: "To change the ruling house and receive Heaven's Mandate is how a true king answers his time; to face peril without compromise is how a loyal minister keeps his integrity whole. The late Han Tong — military governor of Ping, Honorary Grand Commandant, Grand Councilor, and deputy commander of the Palace Guard — rose from the ranks, gave his allegiance to the former dynasty, won conspicuous honors, and climbed again and again through the grades of martial distinction. We had sealed our friendship in the days of the military headquarters and served together at the Gate of Harmony, sharing every hardship; our bond was especially deep. By the favor of Heaven, earth, and the spirits, and with the people's willing acclaim, I had meant to honor this founding companion with exceptional favor — only to learn that he had been struck down in sudden violence. My grief is profound. Let him be posthumously appointed Director of the Secretariat and buried with full state honors. The senior attendant Liang Lingzhen is dispatched to supervise the funeral.
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Tong was rigid and short on counsel; his speech often gave offense, and he ruled by intimidation. Men nicknamed him "Han Stare-Eyes." His son was clever and far-seeing, though crippled from childhood by a hunchback; people called him "the Camel Boy." Seeing the founder's rising prestige, the son repeatedly urged Tong to deal with him while there was still time, but Tong refused to listen. Later, on a visit to Kaibao Temple, the founder came upon wall portraits of Tong and his son and ordered them taken down at once.
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滿 殿使
Li Yun came from Taiyuan in Bingzhou. He was skilled in horsemanship and archery. When the Later Tang Prince of Qin, Li Congrong, took charge of the Six Armies and the palace guards, he recruited bold fighters as his personal retainers. Yun presented himself with bow in hand. His bow required a draw of a hundred jin — none in the prince's household could bend it. Congrong had him shoot: Yun drew to the full with power to spare and hit the mark twice. The prince took him into his service. When Congrong's rebellion collapsed, Yun rode with him to Tianjin Bridge and killed more than ten men with his bow. Realizing the cause was lost, he abandoned his horse and escaped. At the start of the Qingtai reign he enlisted in the Inner Palace Guard and rose to command the Crane Control Corps.
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Late in the Jin Kaiyun era the Khitans stormed Bianjing. Their general Zhao Yanshou, hearing of Yun's prowess, took him into his retinue. When the Khitan emperor withdrew north, he died at Luancheng. Yanshou reached Changshan only to be seized by the Prince of Yongkang. Tens of thousands of Khitans held Changshan before eventually marching north. They left Yelü Heli with barely two thousand horsemen and detached the tribal chief Yang Gun with a thousand riders to raid Xing and Ming. By the time they returned, many court officials were still trapped in the city, Khitans and Chinese living side by side. Heli was greedy and self-indulgent; he cut the Chinese troops' rations until the men were hollow with hunger. Yun exploited their anger and secretly plotted with Wang Rao, Shi Gongba, He Fujin, and others. On the twenty-ninth of the intercalary seventh month, while the Khitan gate guards were at breakfast, they rang the temple bell as signal, seized the armory, set fire to the headquarters gate, roused the townspeople, and struck together. The Khitans panicked and fled through the north gate. Heli rallied his clan and baggage train and formed them up in the open country. The next day he massed his troops and fought into the suburbs. Jin soldiers were off looting on their own, leaving only the Crane Control Corps and townspeople to hold the line; the dead and wounded mounted without pause. That afternoon, hearing the Khitans were in flight, more than a thousand suburban men took up arms and rushed the baggage train to loot it. The guards galloped back to report; Heli gathered his clan and withdrew. When Yun first proposed the plot and called on the generals to join, Bai Zairong of the Crane Control Left Wing hid indoors and would not answer. Yun drew his sword, slashed through the curtain, seized his arm, and dragged him out; the others then fell in behind. By the time the Khitans left, more than two thousand civilians lay dead. The generals quarreled over credit. Yun went to the former chief councilor Feng Dao and asked to take provisional charge of the circuit. Dao replied, "You need only memorialize the throne on current affairs; the acting governorship should go to whichever officer the court deems most deserving." Fearing fresh turmoil from the merit dispute, Dao cited Zairong's senior former rank and had him provisionally named acting governor; order was restored. In this fight Yun's contribution had been greatest. He at once pledged allegiance to the Han founder and sent his son to court; the founder was deeply impressed. The Crane Control Corps was richly rewarded for its fighting; Zairong received the acting governorship, while Yun was given only the prefecture of Bo. Yun was bitterly dissatisfied with so slight a reward.
10
使 西
While the Zhou founder was stationed at Daming, he had Yun made vanguard commander and northern frontier inspector. When the Zhou founder marched on Bian, Yun followed with Guo Chong, routed Murong Yanchao at Liuzi Slope, and drove him east in flight. At the start of Guangshun he was made acting prefect of Hua, then formally appointed military governor of Yicheng. Within months he was transferred to the Zhangde command. When the Northern Han invaded Jinzhou, Wang Jun marched to meet them. Yun too petitioned for a western campaign and received an imperial commendation. He also secured approval to abolish commercial taxes at Huangze Pass. On the Zhou founder's Yan campaign he halted at Pu on the return march; Yun attended court, presented horses, and received a ceremonial robe and gold belt. He accompanied the founder as far as Chan; after the feast he was dismissed to his post. When Chang Si of Luzhou was recalled to court, Yun was left in provisional command of the headquarters; Si was moved to Song and Bo, and Yun received the Zhaoyi military governorship. In the third year he was made Honorary Grand Tutor. Wang Jun then held concurrent command over several circuits; Yun, Wang Yin, and He Fujin were all treated with extra favor as founders of the dynasty. At the start of Xiande, when the Zhou founder offered the suburban sacrifice in person, Yun was made Grand Councilor.
11
退
After Shizong's accession the Northern Han invaded. Their general Zhang Hui led the vanguard through Tuanbai Valley to Lianghou Post, storming and looting every fort along the way until the countryside was scorched bare. Yun sent Mu Lingjun with two thousand infantry and cavalry to meet him. Lingjun camped at Taiping Post, eighty li southeast of Luzhou, but neglected his scouts. Hui struck at dawn. The Luzhou men armed and mounted; Hui feigned retreat, drew them in pursuit, and sprang his ambush. Lingjun fought a fighting retreat. Hundreds of foot soldiers defected to the enemy; a hundred horsemen never returned. The survivors fell back on Luzhou. Shizong personally took Qinzhou and accepted its surrender. Yun was ordered to lead the Qinzhou field army against Taiyuan while Fu Yanqing held Xinkou against Khitan reinforcements. Yanqing asked for reinforcements; Yun and Zhang Yongde were sent with three thousand cavalry. They swung a flanking force behind the Khitans and drove them off in a sharp assault. On the army's return he was additionally appointed Palace Attendant.
12
忿使
In the second year he routed the Northern Han at Yushe and took more than seventy officers, including An Jun and Kang Chao. In the third year he sent his campaign marshal Fan Shoutu into Liaozhou, killed over three hundred enemy troops, and presented several captured junior officers to court. In the fourth year Shoutu again raided into Hedong and took two stockades by surrender. In the fifth year Yun led the assault through Shihui Pass and stormed six Northern Han stockades. That winter he took Liaozhou's Changqing stockade and sent its captured Cizhou prefect Li Daixing to the capital. Soon after he beat the enemy again within his borders and took more than three hundred heads. In the sixth year he pacified Liaozhou and sent two hundred forty-five prisoners to court, including the prefect Zhang Pidan. In his command Yun levied taxes on his own authority, gathered fugitives, and once imprisoned the army inspector in a private vendetta. Shizong was deeply displeased but issued only a reprimand. When Emperor Gong succeeded, Yun was made Honorary Grand Commandant. That autumn his lieutenant Liu Jizhong led Tuguhun allies into Northern Han territory, took the Jia family stockade, killed over a hundred men, and returned with livestock.
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使 使 使 使 西 宿 駿 使使
Early in Jianlong the founder additionally made him Director of the Secretariat and sent envoys to announce the Zhou succession. Yun was ready to refuse outright until his advisers pleaded the mandate of Heaven; he bowed only with reluctance, his manner still openly disrespectful. When he detained the envoy and brought him up to the hall for wine and music, he suddenly demanded the Zhou founder's portrait, hung it on the wall, and wept without stopping. His staff, horrified, told the envoy, "The commander is drunk and not himself — please do not take offense." When Liu Jun of Taiyuan sent a sealed letter proposing a joint rebellion, Yun forwarded a loyal report to the founder even as he nursed treason in his heart. The founder answered with a personal edict of reassurance. Yun's son Shoujie, then commissioner of the Imperial City, pleaded with tears again and again, but Yun would not heed him. The founder sent Shoujie back with a message: "I hear you pleaded with your father and he would not listen. Shall I kill you instead? Go tell him this: when I was not yet emperor he could do as he liked; now that I am emperor, does he alone refuse to bow to me?" Shoujie reported this to his father. Yun's conspiracy deepened; he raised an army and had his staff draft a proclamation full of defiant language. His aide Lüqiu Zhongqing urged him: "You are committing a lone army to rebellion — the odds are desperate. Even with Hedong's help, you may not get the support you need." Daliang's troops are superbly armed — you cannot hope to match them in open battle. Better to descend the Taihang westward, seize Huai and Meng, block Tiger Cage Pass, hold Luoyang, and fight for the empire with your face to the east — that is the superior strategy. Yun replied: "I am a veteran of Zhou, sworn to Shizong like a brother. The palace guards are my old comrades — they will turn their spears to me at once. With Dan Gui's spear and Bo Han's horse, what have I to fear?" Dan Gui was his favorite officer — strong, brave, and master of the spear; Bo Han was his charger, said to cover seven hundred li in a day — hence his boast. He seized the army inspector Zhou Guangxun of Bozhou and the stable commissioner Li Tingyu, and sent Sun Fu and Liu Jizhong to Liu Jun to beg for troops. He also had Zezhou prefect Zhang Fu killed and seized the city.
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西 使
Liu Jun marched to his aid with several thousand Khitans. Yun met him at Taiping Post with the deference of a vassal, then saw how few and weak Jun's troops were and bitterly regretted his choice — but it was too late. Jun made him Prince of Xiping and gave him three hundred horses. In private audience Yun declared that the Zhou founder's kindness bound him to give his life without flinching. Jun, who bore a hereditary feud with the Zhou house, said nothing — and began to doubt him. Jun appointed his palace commissioner Lu Zan to oversee Yun's army. Yun resented the intrusion and clashed with Zan until Jun sent Grand Councilor Wei Rong to patch the quarrel.
15
He kept three thousand horses, drilled them on a polo ground, and plotted rebellion day and night. Leaving Shoujie to hold Shangdang, he marched south with his army. The founder dispatched Shi Shouxin and Gao Huaide to crush the rebellion. The edict ran: "Do not let Yun descend the Taihang. Strike quickly and seal the passes — his defeat is certain." Murong Yanhao and Wang Quanbin were sent by the eastern route to join Shouxin. With the inspector Li Chongju they routed Yun at Changping and took three thousand heads. They stormed and captured the Dahui stockade as well.
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使 使使 使 使 使
The founder took the field in person. The mountain track was steep and littered with boulders. The founder began by carrying stones from horseback; ministers and soldiers followed until a level road was cleared in a single day. Joining Shouxin and Huaide, he shattered thirty thousand of Yun's men south of Ze. Over three thousand surrendered; Lu Zan was killed and Fan Shoutu captured. Yun fled back into Ze. The founder arrived and invested the city. Wang Tinglu of the Dragon Swift Corps and the Tuguhun regent Wang Quande of Fenzhou defected from Zhaoyi with their commands. Yun's isolation deepened. The founder directed the final assault himself. The city fell; Yun drowned himself. Wei Rong, Liu Jun's councilor, was taken prisoner, and Jun fled north in terror. Advancing on Shangdang, the founder accepted Shoujie's surrender, pardoned him, and rewarded him with a ceremonial robe, gold belt, and silver-trapped horse. That evening he feasted his officers with Shoujie present and appointed him training commissioner of Shan; Zhao Chuyuan, deputy governor of Zhaoyi, was made prefect of Ying; Sun Fu, the governor's judge, was made director of the agricultural colonies bureau; Shi Wentong, the observation judge, was made director of the waterways bureau; and the former Liaozhou inner-palace commander Ma Tingyu was made general of the Right Gate Guard with concurrent charge of Bizhou.
17
調
For all his violence, Yun was deeply filial. Whenever rage drove him to execute someone, his mother would call from behind the screen. He would hurry to her side, and she would ask, "I hear you mean to kill someone — can he be spared? It will bring us merit." Yun would release the man at once. Yun had some schooling and loved a jest. His birth name was Rong; to avoid Shizong's taboo he was to rename himself. When someone proposed "Yun," he quipped, "Li Yun, Li Yun — silks and jades raining from the sky!" Everyone who heard it laughed.
18
His favorite concubine Lady Liu had followed him to Ze. As the siege tightened she asked, "How many sound horses remain in the city?" Yun said, "Why do you ask?" She said, "The city is doomed within moments. With a few hundred horses and your closest men you could break out, reach Zhaoyi, and beg Hedong for help — better than waiting here to die." Yun agreed. His attendants counted more than a thousand horses, and he planned a breakout that night. An adviser warned, "The men in council swear loyalty, but once the gate opens anything may happen. If they seize you and surrender, it will be too late for regret." Yun wavered and could not decide. The next day the city fell. Yun prepared to burn himself; Liu meant to die with him, but he sent her away because she was with child. After Shoujie ransomed her, she did indeed bear a son.
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使使 使
Courtesy name Jie, style Dechen. He began as an eastern-head palace attendant. During Guangshun, in a drunken spell of madness he killed an imperial white crane. Yun submitted himself for punishment; an edict pardoned him. Four promotions brought him to commissioner of the Imperial City and training commands in Shan and Ji. In the sixth year of Qiande he was posted to govern Liaozhou. In the third year of Kaibao he was transferred to training commissioner of He. He died in the fourth year, aged thirty-three. He left no heir; the younger son Lady Liu had borne was adopted as his successor.
20
殿 殿使 使殿使 使
Li Chongjin's family came originally from Cangzhou. Nephew of the Zhou founder and son of the Princess of Fuqing, he was born in Taiyuan. Under the Later Jin he served as a palace attendant. At the founding of the Later Han he followed the Zhou founder against Hezhong. At the start of Guangshun he became director of the Inner Palace Guard, took charge of Sizhou, and was made commander of the Junior Guard. In the second year he became chief inspector of the Inner Palace, acting head of the Palace Guard, training commissioner of En, and then commander of the Palace Front Army. In the third year he additionally received the Sizhou defense commission. At the start of Xiande he held the Wuxin military governorship.
21
使
Chongjin was older than Shizong. On his deathbed the Zhou founder summoned him, entrusted him with the succession, and made him bow to Shizong to fix their roles as sovereign and subject. On Shizong's accession he became chief adjutant of the Palace Guard. On Shizong's campaign against Liu Chong, the battle at Gaoping turned sour and generals Fan Aineng and He Hui fled with their men. Only Chongjin and Bai Chongzan held their lines firm. Then the future Song founder struck with his household troops; Chongzan followed with a fierce assault; Shizong led the guards in person; the Zhou line rallied and Liu Chong was routed. For this service he received the Zhongwu command. On the advance against Taiyuan he again served as chief adjutant of the field army. On the army's return he was made Grand Councilor, military governor of Guide, and commander of the Palace Guard.
22
退 退 使
On Shizong's personal Huainan campaign, Chongjin was sent ahead to Zhengyang. Soon word came that Li Gu had failed at Shouchun and fallen back on Zhengyang; Chongjin was ordered to hurry to his aid. The Wu, emboldened by Gu's retreat, marched out more than thirty thousand men, their banners and baggage trains stretching for hundreds of li; two hundred warships to block the crossing, battle lines advancing north with drums and shouts, and tens of thousands of chevaux-de-frise tipped with blades and linked by iron chains; wooden warrior effigies set before the ranks — "horse-blocking boards" — and leather sacks of iron caltrops strewn across the field. The Zhou troops had not yet breakfasted when the Wu host appeared. The Zhou soldiers looked at the enemy array and laughed. The future Song founder led the van with Chongjin and Han Lingkun. One charge broke the Wu line: ten thousand heads, a pursuit of twenty li, the death of Liu Yanzhen, dozens of officers including Sheng Shilang captured, three thousand prisoners, and three hundred thousand sets of arms and armor. Shizong was delighted. An edict praised the victory and replaced Gu with Chongjin as pacification commissioner of the field army, granting him a ceremonial robe, gold belt, jade saddle, and fine horses.
23
使 退
In the third year he was made pacification commissioner for Lu, Shou, and neighboring prefectures. Li Jixun then held Shouchun while Chongjin camped north of the walls. When Huainan forces burned the southern siege tunnels, he was ready to withdraw. The founder was returning from Liuhe and halted at Shouzhou for more than ten days. Chongjin drew fresh confidence from his presence, and army morale revived. The Wu were terrified of him. His dark complexion earned him the name "Black King."
24
Zhang Yongde held Xia'ai and was on bad terms with Chongjin. At every feast Yongde aired Chongjin's faults; once drunk he accused Chongjin of treason, to the horror of every officer present. Yongde sent a trusted courier by post to report the charge; Shizong did not believe it and took no notice. Both generals commanded large forces, and anxiety spread through the ranks. Chongjin rode alone from Shouyang into Yongde's camp, called for wine, and poured for him himself: "We are both pillars of the state, fighting together for the throne — why do you doubt me so bitterly?" Yongde's suspicions melted away, and both armies were calmed. Li Jing of Wu learned of the quarrel and sent a sealed letter tempting Chongjin with rich rewards. Chongjin reported the offer to court. Qi Cangzhen, acting prefect of Hao, also urged Chongjin to defect. Shizong learned of it and had Cangzhen executed on another charge.
25
使
He was ordered to build fortified towns on the Huai at Zhengyang and Xia'ai and submitted the plans when they were complete. Soon after he routed more than two thousand Huainan troops north of Tashan. The siege of Shou had dragged on a year. Wu sent Xu Wenyun and Bian Hao upstream with a fleet of tens of thousands. Wenyun anchored south of the Huai and seized Purple Gold Mountain, a few li from Shou, where he built more than ten linked stockades in beacon contact with the city; and began a walled supply corridor southward toward the city. When the enemy extended stockades north of the city, Chongjin struck, killed more than five thousand, took two stockades, and captured a vast store of arms. Shizong visited Shou, feasted his officers, and rewarded Chongjin with military dress, a jade belt, gold and silver vessels, silks, and a trapped horse. When Shou fell, his merit earned him Honorary Grand Tutor and Palace Attendant, the Tianping command, and retention of the pacification commission.
26
使
In the fourth year he took Haozhou's southern pass; Guo Tingyu surrendered with more than ten thousand men and tens of thousands of hu of grain. He helped pacify Chuzhou and was ordered back to Yangzhou ahead of the main force. In the fifth year, while Shizong was at Yingluan, he sent Chongjin to Luzhou. Li Jing sued for peace with the Yangzi as boundary. Shizong withdrew, leaving Chongjin to garrison the frontier. Jing sent cattle and wine as gifts; Chongjin soon returned to his post. In the sixth year, on Shizong's northern campaign, Chongjin attended him at Bozhou and was feasted at the traveling palace, then sent ahead to the northern front. When Shizong reached Waqiao Pass, Chongjin arrived with the other generals and their armies. The southern passes were pacified and the court debated an advance on Youzhou, but Shizong's illness brought the plan to a halt. He was ordered to Hedong, camped at Baijing Road, routed more than five thousand Northern Han troops, and took over two thousand heads. On Gong's accession he was made Honorary Grand Commandant and military governor of the Huainan circuit.
27
使 西 使
The founder sent Shi Shouxin, Wang Shenqi, Li Chuyun, and Song Wo with palace troops to suppress Chongjin. You Gui arrived and was rewarded with a ceremonial robe, gold belt, gifts, and horse, then made prefect of Chu and supervisor of the vanguard. The founder told his attendants, "I suspect none of Zhou's old ministers. Chongjin has failed to read my intentions and turned rebellious. With the armies already in the field, I should go myself to reassure him." He marched in person and halted at Dayi. Shi Shouxin sent a courier at full speed: Yangzhou would fall within the day and he begged the emperor to come in person. The founder rode straight to the walls and took the city the same day. As the city was falling, his men urged him to kill Si Hui. Chongjin said, "My whole clan is about to die by fire — what good would killing him do?" He set the fire and burned himself; Si Hui was killed by his own followers. The founder encamped in the southwest quarter, reviewed several hundred rebels, and had them all executed. His elder brother Chongxing, prefect of Shen, killed himself on hearing of the rebellion. His brother Chongzan of Jie and his son Yanfu, commissioner of the Imperial Kitchen, were both executed in public.
28
When Chongjin first plotted rebellion, he sent his clerk Zhai Shouyun to Luzhou to conspire secretly with Li Yun. Shouyun knew the founder well. On a trip to the capital he secretly sought Li Chuyun and an audience. The founder asked, "If I grant Chongjin an iron certificate of mercy, will he trust me?" Shouyun replied, "Chongjin will never submit in good faith."
29
殿
The founder richly rewarded Shouyun, promised him rank, and sent him back to urge Chongjin to delay his plot so the two rebels would not rise together and split the imperial armies. Shouyun returned and urged Chongjin to bide his time and not strike rashly. Chongjin trusted him completely. When Li Yun was killed and Chongjin's rebellion was reported, events unfolded exactly as the founder had planned — including Chongjin's refusal to trust the iron certificate, just as Shouyun had predicted. After Yangzhou fell, Shouyun was found and rewarded with appointment as palace attendant, then tribute commissioner.
30
使
There was also Zhang Chonggu, who at the start of Guangshun served as commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. In the second year he was posted to Jie as prefect and acting salt commissioner of the Two Pools, drafting many plans for the salt works. In the third year of Xiande he was transferred to De, then to Si and Ze. His birth name was Chongxun; he changed it when Gong succeeded to avoid the imperial taboo. When Chongjin marched to Huainan he passed through Si, where Chonggu urged him to stock troops and fortify the city. After Chongjin's defeat the plot came to light. An edict ordered his arrest; he was executed in public and his property confiscated.
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