2
達奚長儒字富仁，代人也．祖俟，魏定州刺史．父慶，驃騎大將軍、儀同三司．長儒少懷節操，膽烈過人．十五，襲爵樂安公．魏大統中，起家奉車都尉．周太祖引為親信，以質直恭勤，授子都督．數有戰功，假輔國將軍，累遷使持節、撫軍將軍、通直散騎常侍．平蜀之役，恒為先鋒，攻城野戰，所當必破之．除車騎大將軍、儀同三司，增邑三百戶．天和中，除渭南郡守，遷驃騎大將軍、開府儀同三司．從武帝平齊，遷上開府，進爵成安郡公，邑千二百戶，別封一子縣公．宣政元年，除左前軍勇猛中大夫．後與烏丸軌圍陳將吳明徹於呂梁，陳遣驍將劉景率勁勇七千來為聲援，軌令長儒逆拒之．長儒於是取車輪數百，繫以大石，沉之清水，連轂相次，以待景軍．景至，船艦礙輪不得進．長儒乃縱奇兵，水陸俱發，大破之，俘數千人．及獲吳明徹，以功進位大將軍．尋授行軍總管，北巡沙塞，卒與虜遇，接戰，大破之．
Daxi Changru, styled Furen, came from Dai. His grandfather Si had been Wei’s inspector of Dingzhou; his father Qing held the ranks of general of agile cavalry and director of the three departments with equal standing. Even as a young man Changru was known for moral resolve and a daring that outstripped ordinary men. At fifteen he succeeded to the dukedom of Le’an. Under the Great Unity reign of Wei he entered service as commandant of the imperial carriages. Emperor Taizu of Zhou took him into his personal trust, and for his plainspoken loyalty and tireless diligence he received a sub-commandant’s commission. Battle honors followed in number; he was acting general who supports the state, then rose through commissioner bearing the staff, general who pacifies the army, and regular attendant-in-ordinary of the scattered cavalry. In the conquest of Shu he was always in the van—whether in siege or in the field, whatever he struck gave way. He was made general of chariots and cavalry and director of the three departments with equal standing, with three hundred added households in his fief. In the Tianhe period he became administrator of Weinan commandery, then general of agile cavalry and director of a bureau with equal standing. He followed Emperor Wu in the pacification of Qi, was promoted to superior director of the bureau, advanced to duke of Cheng’an with twelve hundred households, and had one son enfeoffed separately as a county duke. In the first year of Xuanzheng he was appointed valiant grand master of the left forward army. Later, with Wuwan Gui, he besieged the Chen commander Wu Mingche at Lüliang. Chen dispatched the fierce general Liu Jing with seven thousand elite troops in relief; Gui ordered Changru to intercept them. Changru took hundreds of cartwheels, lashed heavy stones to them, and sank them in the clear current so that hub followed hub in a barrier across the river. When Jing arrived, his fleet fouled on the wheels and could not pass. Changru then loosed his strike force by land and water together and broke the enemy, taking several thousand prisoners. After Wu Mingche fell into their hands, Changru was promoted to grand general for his achievement. He was soon made commander on campaign and patrolled the northern sands; he suddenly met the barbarians in battle and crushed them.
3
While Emperor Gaozu was still regent, Wang Qian rebelled in Shu. Yang Yong'an of the Shadi Di, a pillar of state of the first rank, roused the six prefectures of Li, Xing, Wu, Wen, Sha, and Long in support of Qian, and an edict sent Changru to break them. Qian’s two sons escaped the capital to join their father; Changru seized and executed them both. When Gaozu took the throne, Changru was promoted to grand general of the first rank and enfeoffed as duke of Qichun commandery with twenty-five hundred households.
4
開皇二年，突厥沙鉢略可汗並弟葉護及潘那可汗眾十餘萬，寇掠而南，詔以長儒為行軍總管，率眾二千擊之．遇於周槃，眾寡不敵，軍中大懼，長儒慷慨，神色愈烈．為虜所衝突，散而復聚，且戰且行，轉鬥三日，五兵咸盡，士卒以拳毆之，手皆見骨，殺傷萬計，虜氣稍奪，於是解去．長儒身被五創，通中者二； 其戰士死傷者十八九．突厥本欲大掠秦、隴，既逢長儒，兵皆力戰，虜意大沮，明日，於戰處焚屍慟哭而去．高祖下詔曰：「突厥猖狂，輒犯邊塞，犬羊之眾，彌亙山原．而長儒受任北鄙，式遏寇賊，所部之內，少將百倍．以晝通宵，四面抗敵，凡十有四戰，所向必摧．兇徒就戮，過半不反，鋒刃之餘，亡魂竄跡．自非英威奮發，奉國情深，撫御有方，士卒用命，豈能以少破眾，若斯之偉？ 言念勳庸，宜隆名器，可上柱國，餘勳迴授一子．其戰亡將士，皆贈官三轉，子孫襲之．」
In the second year of Kaihuang, Shabolue Khan of the Turks, together with his younger brother, the yabghu, and Panna Khan, led a horde of more than a hundred thousand south in plunder. Changru was made commander on campaign and sent against them with two thousand men. They met at Zhoupan. Outnumbered, the army was seized with dread—but Changru only grew more fervent, his face fiercer than before. The barbarians broke his line again and again; his men scattered, re-formed, and fought on as they marched, wheeling through the hills for three days until every weapon was spent. Then they struck the enemy with bare fists until bone showed through their hands. Tens of thousands fell on both sides; the Turks’ spirit finally broke, and they drew off. Changru himself took five wounds, two of them grave. Eight or nine tenths of his fighting men were killed or wounded. The Turks had meant to ravage Qin and Long on a grand scale; meeting Changru, they found every man resisting to the limit, and their spirit collapsed. The next day they burned their dead on the field, wailed over them, and withdrew. Gaozu issued an edict: “The Turks are reckless, ever raiding the frontier; their dog-and-goat hordes blanket hill and plain. Yet Changru, posted to the northern marches, held the raiders at bay though his command held scarcely one man for every hundred of theirs. From dawn through the night he fought on every side in fourteen engagements and broke whatever he met. The enemy were cut down; more than half never returned; the survivors fled the blades in terror to the wilds. Without heroic fire, deep loyalty to the state, skilled command, and soldiers who gave their all, who could have shattered such a host with so few—a feat as great as this? When I consider his service, he deserves the highest honors: let him be pillar of state of the first rank, and let his remaining honors pass to one son. Every officer and soldier who fell in this fight shall receive three posthumous promotions, inheritable by their descendants.”
5
That year he became governor of Ningzhou, then of Binzhou, and left office when his mother died. Deeply filial by nature, he took neither food nor drink for five days; his mourning exceeded the rites and nearly cost him his life, and the emperor marveled at it. Recalled as commander of Xiazhou with authority over three prefectures and six garrisons, he so awed the Xiongnu that they dared not test the border. Illness forced his retirement. He was made commander of Xiangzhou, served two years, then transferred to Lanzhou. Gaozu sent the commanders of Liangzhou, Yuanzhou, and Lingzhou—Dugu Luo, Yuan Bao, and Heruo Yi—to raise troops against the barbarians, all under Changru’s orders. Changru led his men north of the Qilian range as far west as Lake Pulei and returned without meeting the enemy. He was then made commander of Jingzhou with military authority over thirty-six prefectures. Gaozu told him, “Jiangling is the realm’s southern gate; with you there, I need not worry.” A little over a year later he died in office. His posthumous name was Wei. His son Gao, in the Daye reign, rose to vice director of the imperial stud.
7
Helou Zigan, styled Wanshou, was originally from Dai. When the Wei moved south his family settled for generations west of the Pass. His grandfather Daocheng had been Wei’s attendant-in-chief and grand tutor of the heir apparent; his father Jingxian was general of the right guard. From youth Zigan was known for martial daring. Under Emperor Wu of Zhou he entered service as master of waters in the waterways office and was praised as forceful and capable. He rose to junior director of waterways and, for diligent service, was enfeoffed as viscount of Si’an county. He was soon made commissioner bearing the staff and general with equal standing. At the start of the Daxiang era he headed the directorate of armaments, then became governor of Qinzhou and was advanced to earl.
8
When Yuchi Jiong rebelled, Zigan and the registrar Yuwen Shu followed Wei Xiaokuan to suppress him. When the rebels besieged Huaizhou, Zigan and Yuwen Shu and others broke the siege. Gaozu was delighted and wrote in his own hand: “The traitor Yuchi Jiong dared send an ant-like swarm against Huaizhou. You took command and swept them away as the moment required—I can hardly find words for my admiration. A man’s season of wealth and honor is now; build your merit to answer the court’s hopes.” After that he was first over the wall in every fight. When Ye fell, he and Cui Hongdu chased Jiong to the top of a tower. He was promoted to superior director of the bureau, enfeoffed as duke of Wuchuan with three thousand households, and his son Jiao was separately given the earldom of Si’an.
9
開皇元年，進爵鉅鹿郡公．其年，吐谷渾寇涼州，子幹以行軍總管從上柱國元諧擊之，功最優，詔褒美．高祖慮邊塞未安，即令子幹鎮涼州．明年，突厥寇蘭州，子幹率眾拒之，至可洛峐山，與賊相遇．賊眾甚盛，子幹阻川為營，賊軍不得水數日，人馬甚敝，縱擊，大破之．於是冊授子幹為上大將軍曰：「於戲！ 敬聽朕命．唯爾器量閑明，志情強果，任經武將，勤績有聞．往歲凶醜未寧，屢驚疆埸，拓土靜亂，殊有厥勞．是用崇茲賞典，加此車服，往欽哉！ 祗承榮冊，可不慎歟！」 徵授營新都副監，尋拜工部尚書．其年，突厥復犯塞，以行軍總管從竇榮定擊之．子幹別路破賊，斬首千餘級，高祖嘉之，遣通事舍人曹威齎優詔勞勉之．子幹請入朝，詔令馳驛奉見．吐谷渾復寇邊，西方多被其害，命子幹討之．馳驛至河西，發五州兵，入掠其國，殺男女萬餘口，二旬而還．高祖以隴西頻被寇掠，甚患之．彼俗不設村塢，敕子幹勒民為堡，營田積穀，以備不虞．子幹上書曰：「比者兇寇侵擾，蕩滅之期，匪朝伊夕．伏願聖慮，勿以為懷．今臣在此，觀機而作，不得準詔行事．且隴西、河右，土曠民稀，邊境未寧，不可廣為田種．比見屯田之所，獲少費多，虛役人功，卒逢踐暴．屯田疏遠者，請皆廢省．但隴右之民以畜牧為事，若更屯聚，彌不獲安．只可嚴謹斥候，豈容集人聚畜．請要路之所，加其防守．但使鎮戍連接，烽候相望，民雖散居，必謂無慮．」高祖從之．俄而虜寇岷、洮二州，子幹勒兵赴之，賊聞而遁去．
In the first year of Kaihuang he was advanced to duke of Julu commandery. That year the Tuyuhun raided Liangzhou; Zigan, as commander on campaign under the pillar of state Yuan Xie, won the highest distinction, and an edict praised him. Fearing the frontier was still unsettled, Gaozu immediately posted Zigan to garrison Liangzhou. The next year the Turks raided Lanzhou; Zigan led troops to meet them at Mount Keluoqi. The enemy force was overwhelming. Zigan dammed the stream and encamped; for days the enemy could not reach water, and men and horses wore out. He then struck and broke them utterly. An investiture document appointed him grand general of the first rank, reading: “Ah! Hear and heed Our command. Your capacity is broad and your judgment clear; your will is firm and resolute; you are fit to bear a commander’s duties, and your diligent achievements are well known. In years past the wicked were not yet pacified and the borders were repeatedly alarmed; in extending the realm and quieting disorder you have shown outstanding merit. Therefore We raise you with this reward and add these chariots and robes—go and revere them! Reverently receive this glorious patent—will you not be careful?” He was summoned as deputy supervisor of the new capital works, then made minister of works. That year the Turks again raided the frontier; as commander on campaign he followed Dou Rongding. Zigan took a separate route, routed the enemy, and took more than a thousand heads. Gaozu commended him and sent the attendant of affairs Cao Wei with a favoring edict of consolation. Zigan asked to attend court and was ordered to come post-haste by relay. The Tuyuhun raided again and ravaged the west; Zigan was sent against them. He galloped to Hexi, raised troops from five prefectures, invaded their lands, and killed more than ten thousand men and women, returning within twenty days. Gaozu was deeply troubled that Longxi was repeatedly plundered. The people there did not build walled villages; he ordered Zigan to compel them to fortify, open military farms, and store grain against emergencies. Zigan memorialized: “The raiders have been harassing us lately, but their destruction is not far off—I pray Your Majesty not to worry. Here I watch for the moment to act and cannot always follow the statutes to the letter. Longxi and the lands west of the River are wide and thinly peopled; the border is not yet secure, and broad farming is impossible. I have seen that military colonies yield little for great cost, wasting labor only to be overrun. I ask that distant colonies be abolished. The people of Longyou live by herding; if we herd them into colonies they will be still less secure. Strict scouting is enough—we cannot mass people and livestock together. Strengthen the defenses on the main routes; if garrisons link and beacons face one another, the people may live scattered and still be safe.” Gaozu agreed. Soon the barbarians raided Min and Tao; Zigan marched to meet them and they fled at the news.
10
Because Zigan knew the frontier well, Gaozu made him commander of Yuguan with military authority over ten garrisons. A year later he became governor of Yunzhou and was greatly feared by the barbarians. Some years later Yongyulü of the Turks sent envoys to surrender and presented sheep and horses. Zigan was made commander on campaign to go out by the northwest route to receive them. On his return he was commander of Yunzhou; the hundred horses and thousand sheep the Turks had presented were given to him, with an imperial letter: “Since you have guarded the northern gate, the frontier has been quiet. What the Turks presented We return to you.” He left office when his mother died, but the court held that Yuguan could not do without him and soon recalled him. In the fourteenth year he died in office of illness at sixty. Gaozu mourned him long, granted a thousand bolts of silk and a thousand hu of grain and millet, posthumously made him governor of Huai, Wei, and two other prefectures, and gave him the posthumous name Huai. His son Shanzhu succeeded him and rose to administrator of Qian’an.
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14
Shi Wansui came from Duling in Jingzhao. His father Jing had been Zhou’s governor of Cangzhou. From youth Wansui was bold and martial, skilled in riding and archery, swift as if he could fly. He loved military texts and was also expert in divination and celestial signs. At fifteen, when Zhou and Qi fought at Mount Mang, he was with his father in the army. The two hosts were just facing each other when Wansui told his attendants to pack up and leave at once. Soon the Zhou army was routed, and his father marveled at him. Under Emperor Wu he entered service as senior attendant of the guard. In the pacification of Qi his father died in battle; as a loyal minister’s son, Wansui was made director of the bureau with equal standing and inherited the dukedom of Taiping county.
15
During Yuchi Jiong’s rebellion Wansui followed Liang Shiyan. The army halted at Fengyi when a flock of wild geese flew past. Wansui said to Shiyan, “Let me shoot the third bird in the line.” He loosed his arrow and it fell at the twang; the whole army marveled. Whenever they met Jiong’s forces he was first over the wall. Before Ye City the imperial troops began to falter. Wansui told his men, “This is urgent—I will break them.” He spurred his horse and struck, killing dozens; his men rallied with him and the army recovered its nerve. When Jiong was subdued, Wansui was made grand general of the first rank for his merit.
16
Erzhu Ji was executed for treason; Wansui was somewhat implicated, stripped of rank, and sent to Dunhuang as a garrison soldier. The garrison commander was a fierce fighter who often rode alone deep into Turk lands for sheep and horses and always returned with rich spoils. No Turk band, large or small, dared face him. Proud and overbearing, he repeatedly abused Wansui. Wansui, resenting this, said he too had martial skill. The commander tested him at mounted archery and found him expert. The commander laughed, “The fellow will do.” Wansui took bow and horse, raided the Turks again, and came back with great herds. The commander then favored him and often rode with him hundreds of li into Turk territory until his name terrified the northern tribes. When Dou Rongding attacked the Turks, Wansui came to the camp gate and offered to prove himself in service. Rongding had often heard of him and was delighted. He sent word to the Turks: “What crime have ordinary soldiers committed that you kill them? Let each side send one champion to decide the matter.” The Turks agreed and sent a challenger. Rongding sent Wansui out; he galloped forward, struck off the man’s head, and returned. The Turks were terrified, would not fight again, and withdrew. For this Wansui was made director with equal standing of the first rank and general of chariots and cavalry. In the conquest of Chen he was again promoted to superior director of the bureau for his merit.
17
When Gao Zhihui and others rebelled in the south, Wansui followed Yang Su as commander on campaign. With two thousand men he advanced by a separate route from Dongyang, crossed mountains and sea, and took ravine strongholds beyond count. In more than seven hundred fights over a thousand li of hills, for a hundred days no word came from him; everyone thought Wansui was dead. Cut off by land and water, he sealed a letter in a bamboo tube and set it adrift. Someone who drew water found it and told Su. Su was delighted and reported upward. Gaozu marveled and gave his family one hundred thousand cash; on his return Wansui was made general of the left forward army.
18
先是，南寧夷爨翫來降，拜昆州刺史，既而復叛．遂以萬歲為行軍總管，率眾擊之．入自蜻蛉川，經弄凍，次小勃弄、大勃弄，至于南中．賊前後屯據要害，萬歲皆擊破之．行數百里，見諸葛亮紀功碑，銘其背曰：「萬歲之後，勝我者過此．」萬歲令左右倒其碑而進．渡西二河，入渠濫川，行千餘里，破其三十餘部，虜獲男女二萬餘口．諸夷大懼，遣使請降，獻明珠徑寸．於是勒石頌美隋德．萬歲遣使馳奏，請將翫入朝，詔許之．爨翫陰有二心，不欲詣闕，因賂萬歲以金寶，萬歲於是捨翫而還．蜀王時在益州，知其受賂，遣使將索之．萬歲聞而悉以所得金寶沉之於江，索無所獲．以功進位柱國．晉王廣虛衿敬之，待以交友之禮．上知為所善，令萬歲督晉府軍事．明年，爨翫復反，蜀王秀奏萬歲受賂縱賊，致生邊患，無大臣節．上令窮治其事，事皆驗，罪當死．上數之曰：「受金放賊，重勞士馬．朕念將士暴露，寢不安席，食不甘味，卿豈社稷臣也？」 萬歲曰：「臣留爨翫者，恐其州有變，留以鎮撫．臣還至瀘水，詔書方到，由是不將入朝，實不受賂．」上以萬歲心有欺隱，大怒曰：「朕以卿為好人，何乃官高祿重，翻為國賊也？」 顧有司曰：「明日將斬之．」萬歲懼而服罪，頓首請命．左僕射高熲、左衛大將軍元旻等進曰：「史萬歲雄略過人，每行兵用師之處，未嘗不身先士卒，尤善撫御，將士樂為致力，雖古名將未能過也．」上意少解，於是除名為民．歲餘，復官爵．尋拜河州刺史，復領行軍總管以備胡．
Earlier, Cuan Wan of the Ningnan Yi had surrendered and been made governor of Kunzhou, then rebelled again. Wansui was sent as commander on campaign against him. He entered by the Qingling River, passed Nongdong, and halted at Lesser and Greater Bonong before reaching the southern heartland. The rebels held every strong point; Wansui broke them all. After several hundred li he came upon Zhuge Liang’s victory stele, inscribed on the back: “After ten thousand years, whoever surpasses me will pass this place.” Wansui had his men overturn it and march on. He crossed the two western rivers, entered the Quluan River, marched more than a thousand li, and shattered more than thirty tribes, taking more than twenty thousand captives. The Yi were terrified, sent envoys to surrender, and presented a pearl an inch across. He carved a stone praising Sui virtue. Wansui sent a swift report asking that Wan be brought to court; the edict agreed. Wan secretly had no wish to come to the capital and bribed Wansui with gold and jewels; Wansui then left him and returned. The prince of Shu was in Yizhou; learning of the bribe, he sent men to seize the goods. Wansui heard of it and sank everything he had received in the river, and nothing was found. For his merit he was made pillar of state. Prince Jin Guang treated him with open respect as a friend. The emperor, knowing Guang favored him, put Wansui in charge of the prince of Jin’s military affairs. The next year Cuan Wan rebelled again. Prince Xiu of Shu reported that Wansui had taken bribes and released the rebel, bringing border trouble and failing the integrity of a great minister. A full investigation confirmed everything; the crime merited death. The emperor recounted his offenses: “You took gold and let the rebel go, wasting soldiers and horses. When I think of men exposed in the field I cannot sleep or eat with ease—are you a minister of the altars of state?” Wansui said, “I left Cuan Wan because I feared unrest in his prefecture and kept him to pacify the region. When I reached the Lu River your edict had only just arrived, so I did not bring him in. I truly took no bribe.” The emperor, believing he was deceitful, raged: “I thought you a good man—how, with high rank and rich pay, have you become a traitor to the state?” He turned to the officials: “Tomorrow he dies.” Wansui, terrified, confessed and begged for his life. The left vice director Gao Jiong, the general of the left guard Yuan Min, and others said, “Shi Wansui’s strategy surpasses other men; in every campaign he leads from the front. He is especially skilled at winning his men, who gladly give their all—even famous generals of old could not match him.” The emperor’s anger eased somewhat; Wansui was stripped of rank and made a commoner. After a year his titles were restored. He was soon governor of Hezhou and again commander on campaign against the barbarians.
19
開皇末，突厥達頭可汗犯塞，上令晉王廣及楊素出靈武道，漢王諒與萬歲出馬邑道．[一]萬歲率柱國張定和、大將軍李藥王、楊義臣等出塞，至大斤山，與虜相遇．達頭遣使問曰：「隋將為誰？」 候騎報「史萬歲也」．突厥復問曰：「得非敦煌戍卒乎？」 候騎曰：「是也．」達頭聞之，懼而引去．萬歲馳追百餘里乃及，擊大破之，斬數千級，逐北入磧數百里，虜遁逃而還．楊素害其功，因譖萬歲云：「突厥本降，初不為寇，來於塞上畜牧耳．」遂寢其功．萬歲數抗表陳狀，上未之悟．會上從仁壽宮初還京師，廢皇太子，窮東宮黨與．上問萬歲所在，萬歲實在朝堂，楊素見上方怒，因曰：「萬歲謁東宮矣．」以激怒上．上謂為信然，令召萬歲．時所將士卒在朝稱冤者數百人，萬歲謂之曰：「吾今日為汝極言於上，事當決矣．」既見上，言將士有功，為朝廷所抑，詞氣憤厲，忤於上．上大怒，令左右摧殺之．既而悔，追之不及，因下詔罪萬歲曰：「柱國、太平公萬歲，拔擢委任，每總戎機．往以南寧逆亂，令其出討．而昆州刺史爨翫包藏逆心，為民興患．朕備有成敕，令將入朝．萬歲乃多受金銀，違敕令住，致爨翫尋為反逆，更勞師旅，方始平定．所司檢校，罪合極刑，捨過念功，恕其性命，年月未久，即復本官．近復總戎，進討蕃裔．突厥達頭可汗領其兇眾，欲相拒抗，既見軍威，便即奔退，兵不血刃，賊徒瓦解．如此稱捷，國家盛事，朕欲成其勳庸，復加褒賞．而萬歲、定和通簿之日，乃懷姦詐，妄稱逆面交兵，不以實陳，懷反覆之方，弄國家之法．若竭誠立節，心無虛罔者，乃為良將，至如萬歲，懷詐要功，便是國賊，朝憲難虧，不可再捨．」死之日，天下士庶聞者，識與不識，莫不冤惜．
At the end of Kaihuang the Turk khan Tatou raided the frontier. The emperor sent Prince Jin Guang and Yang Su by the Lingwu route, and Prince Han Liang and Wansui by the Mayi route. [1] Wansui led the pillars of state Zhang Dinghe and the grand generals Li Yaowang, Yang Yichen, and others beyond the border. At Mount Dajin they met the enemy. Tatou sent a messenger to ask, “Who is the Sui general?” The scouts answered, “Shi Wansui.” The Turks asked again, “Is he not the garrison soldier from Dunhuang?” The scouts said, “It is he.” When Tatou heard this he withdrew in fear. Wansui galloped after them for more than a hundred li, overtook them, and broke them utterly, taking several thousand heads. He drove the fugitives north into the desert for hundreds of li before they escaped and he returned. Yang Su, jealous of his glory, slandered him: “The Turks had already surrendered and were only pasturing livestock at the border—they were not raiding.” His merit was buried. Wansui memorialized again and again; the emperor would not see it. When the emperor returned from Renshou Palace to the capital, deposed the crown prince, and hunted the eastern palace faction, he asked where Wansui was. Wansui was in fact at court, but Yang Su, seeing his anger, said, “Wansui has gone to the eastern palace,” to inflame him further. The emperor believed it and summoned Wansui. Several hundred soldiers he had commanded were at court petitioning that they had been wronged. Wansui told them, “Today I will speak out for you before the emperor—the matter will be settled.” Before the emperor he spoke of his men’s merit and how the court had suppressed them; his tone was fierce and he gave offense. The emperor raged and ordered his attendants to kill him on the spot. He soon regretted it but could not undo the deed, and issued an edict condemning Wansui: “The pillar of state and duke of Taiping, Wansui, was raised and entrusted with every campaign. When the south rebelled he was sent to punish them. Cuan Wan of Kunzhou harbored treachery and harmed the people. We had made full plans to bring him to court. Wansui took much gold and silver, disobeyed Our plan by leaving him, and Cuan Wan soon rebelled again, costing fresh armies before order returned. The crime merited death; remembering his merit We spared him and soon restored his rank. Recently he commanded the advance against the frontier tribes. Tatou led his fierce horde to resist; at sight of our might they fled—blades unstained, the enemy dissolved. Such a victory is the state’s glory; We meant to crown his merit with new rewards. Yet on the day the registers were filed he and Dinghe lied, claiming they had met the enemy in battle when they had not, mocking the laws of the state. Only one who serves with full loyalty and no deceit is a true general; Wansui, who sought merit by fraud, is a traitor. The statutes cannot bend—we will not spare him again.” On the day he died, all who heard, whether they knew him or not, mourned him.
20
As a commander Wansui did not fuss over camp order; he let his men settle where they were comfortable and kept no strict night watch, yet the barbarians dared not attack him. In battle he adapted without fixed method and was accounted a fine general. He had a son named Huaiyi.
21
Liu Fang came from Chang’an in Jingzhao. Firm and resolute by nature, he had real courage. Under Zhou he was senior attendant of the imperial carriage and soon, for battle merit, director with equal standing of the first rank. When Gaozu was chancellor, Fang followed Wei Xiaokuan in defeating Yuchi Jiong at Xiangzhou, was given the rank of director of the bureau, and enfeoffed as marquis of Heyin with eight hundred households. When Gaozu took the throne he was advanced to duke. In the third year of Kaihuang he followed Prince Shuang of Wei in defeating the Turks at Baidao and was promoted to grand general. He later served as governor of Gan and Gua but was not yet widely known.
22
In the Renshou era the Li chieftain Li Fozi of Jiaozhou rebelled, seized the old city of the King of Yue, sent his nephew Daquan to hold Longbian, and his lieutenant Li Puding to hold Wuyan. The left vice director Yang Su said Fang had a commander’s gifts, and the emperor made him commander on the Jiaozhou route with Jing Deliang of the revenue office as chief clerk, advancing with twenty-seven battalions. Fang’s discipline was severe and his ranks orderly; violators were beheaded on the spot, yet he was kind to his men and nursed the sick himself. Chief clerk Jing Deliang fell gravely ill at Yinzhou and could not continue; Fang left him at the prefectural lodge and wept at their parting so that passersby were moved. With such authority and kindness together, men called him a fine general. At Dulong Ridge more than two thousand rebels attacked; Fang sent the battalion commanders Song Zuan, He Gui, and Yan Yuan to break them. Advancing on Fozi, he first sent men to explain fortune and disaster; Fozi surrendered in fear and was sent to the capital. The stubborn and cunning, lest they rebel again, were all executed.
23
尋授驩州道行軍總管，以尚書右丞李綱為司馬，經略林邑．方遣欽州刺史甯長真、驩州刺史李暈、上開府秦雄以步騎出越常，方親率大將軍張愻、司馬李綱舟師趣比景．高祖崩，煬帝即位，大業元年正月，軍至海口．林邑王梵志遣兵守險，方擊走之．師次闍黎江，賊據南岸立柵，方盛陳旗幟，擊金鼓，賊懼而潰．既渡江，行三十里，賊乘巨象，四面而至．方以弩射象，象中創，卻蹂其陣，王師力戰，賊奔於柵，因攻破之，俘馘萬計．於是濟區粟，度六里，前後逢賊，每戰必擒．進至大緣江，賊據險為柵，又擊破之．逕馬援銅柱，南行八日，至其國都．林邑王梵志棄城奔海，獲其廟主金人，污其宮室，刻石紀功而還．士卒腳腫，死者十四五．方在道遇患而卒，帝甚傷惜之，乃下詔曰：「方肅承廟略，恭行天討，飲冰遄邁，視險若夷．摧鋒直指，出其不意，鯨鯢盡殪，巢穴咸傾，役不再勞，肅清海外．致身王事，誠績可嘉，可贈上柱國、盧國公．」子通仁嗣．
He was soon made commander on the Huanzhou route with Li Gang of the state affairs office as chief of staff to pacify Linyi. Fang sent Ning Changzhen, governor of Qinzhou, Li Yun, governor of Huanzhou, and the superior director Qin Xiong with infantry and cavalry by Yuechang, while he himself led Zhang Xun and Li Gang with the fleet toward Bijing. Gaozu died and Emperor Yang succeeded; in the first month of Daye year one the army reached Haikou. King Fan Zhi of Linyi sent troops to hold the passes; Fang drove them off. At the Zhanli River the enemy held the south bank behind palisades. Fang displayed his banners and beat drums and gongs; the enemy broke in fear. After crossing they marched thirty li when the enemy came on great elephants from every side. Fang shot the elephants with crossbows; wounded, they trampled their own ranks. The imperial army fought hard; the enemy fled to their palisades and were stormed, with tens of thousands taken. They crossed the Qulu and the Six Li, met the enemy again and again, and captured them in every fight. At the Dayuan River the enemy held the passes once more and were broken again. Passing Ma Yuan’s bronze pillar, they marched south eight days to the capital. King Fan Zhi abandoned the city and fled to the sea. They seized the temple’s golden image, defiled the palaces, carved a stone of victory, and returned. The soldiers had swollen feet; four or five in ten died. Fang fell ill on the road and died. The emperor mourned him deeply and issued an edict: “Fang reverently carried out the state’s strategy and Heaven’s punishment, drinking ice as he hastened on, treating peril as level ground. He crushed the vanguard and struck unawares; the enemy were destroyed and their nests overturned; the work was not done twice and the southern sea was cleared. He gave his life to the throne with true merit—let him be posthumously pillar of state of the first rank and duke of Lu.” His son Tongren succeeded him.
25
開皇時，有馮昱、王𢶏、李充、楊武通、陳永貴、房兆，俱為邊將，名顯當時．昱、𢶏，並不知何許人也．昱多權略，有武藝．高祖初為丞相，以行軍總管與王誼、李威等討叛蠻，平之，拜柱國．開皇初，又以行軍總管屯乙弗泊以備胡．突厥數萬騎來掩之，昱力戰累日，眾寡不敵，竟為虜所敗，亡失數千人，殺虜亦過當．其後備邊數年，每戰常大克捷．𢶏驍勇善射，高祖以其有將帥才，每以行軍總管屯兵江北，禦陳寇．數有戰功，為陳人所憚．伐陳之役，及高智慧反，攻討皆有殊績．官至柱國、白水郡公．充，隴西成紀人也．少慷慨，有英略．開皇中，頻以行軍總管擊突厥有功，官至上柱國、武陽郡公，拜朔州總管，甚有威名，為虜所憚．後有人譖其謀反，徵還京師，上譴怒之．充性素剛，遂憂憤而卒．武通，弘農華陰人，性果烈，善馳射．數以行軍總管討西南夷，每有功，封白水郡公，拜左武衛大將軍．時党項羌屢為邊患，朝廷以其有威名，歷岷、蘭二州總管以鎮之．後與周法尚討嘉州叛獠，法尚軍初不利，武通率數千人，為賊斷其歸路．武通於是束馬懸車，出賊不意，頻戰破之．賊知其孤軍無援，傾部落而至．武通轉鬥數百里，為賊所拒，四面路絕．武通輕騎接戰，墜馬，為賊所執，殺而噉之．永貴，隴右胡人也，本姓白氏，以勇烈知名．高祖甚親愛之，數以行軍總管鎮邊，每戰必單騎陷陣．官至柱國、蘭利二州總管，封北陳郡公．兆，代人也，本姓屋引氏，剛毅有武略．頻為行軍總管擊胡，以功官至柱國、徐州總管．並史失其事．
In the Kaihuang era Feng Yu, Wang Biao, Li Chong, Yang Wutong, Chen Yonggui, and Fang Zhao were all frontier generals famous in their day. Yu and Biao’s origins are unknown. Yu was full of stratagems and martial skill. When Gaozu was first chancellor he was commander on campaign with Wang Yi and Li Wei against rebellious tribes and was made pillar of state. At the start of Kaihuang he garrisoned Yifu Po against the barbarians. Tens of thousands of Turk horsemen surprised him; he fought for days but was outnumbered, was defeated, and lost several thousand men—though the enemy dead were equally great. He guarded the frontier for years afterward and won great victories in every fight. Biao was fierce and skilled in archery; Gaozu saw commander’s talent in him and repeatedly posted him north of the River against Chen raiders. He won repeated honors and was feared by Chen. In the conquest of Chen and the suppression of Gao Zhihui he won outstanding merit, rising to pillar of state and duke of Baishui. Chong came from Chengji in Longxi; from youth he was generous and strategically minded. In Kaihuang he repeatedly struck the Turks with merit, rose to pillar of state of the first rank and duke of Wuyang, and commanded Shuozhou with a name the barbarians feared. Later someone accused him of treason; summoned to the capital, he was rebuked by the emperor. Stubborn by nature, he died of grief and anger. Wutong came from Huayin in Hongnong, resolute and skilled at mounted archery. He repeatedly campaigned against the southwestern Yi with merit, was duke of Baishui, and general of the left martial guard. The Tangut Qiang troubled the border; the court posted him to Min and Lan for his renown. With Zhou Fashang he attacked rebel Liao of Jiazhou. Fashang’s army faltered; Wutong led several thousand men cut off from retreat. He bound the horses and lowered the carts, took the enemy unawares, and broke them repeatedly. Knowing his isolated force had no relief, the enemy brought their whole tribes against him. Wutong marched for hundreds of li among the hills until every road was cut. He fought on light horse, fell, was seized, killed, and eaten. Yonggui was a Hu man of Longyou, originally surnamed Bai, famed for courage. Gaozu favored him and repeatedly posted him to the frontier; in every battle he charged alone. He rose to pillar of state, commander of Lan and Li, and duke of Beichen. Zhao came from Dai, originally of the Wuyin clan, firm and strategically minded. He repeatedly campaigned against the barbarians and rose to pillar of state and commander of Xuzhou. For all of them the history has lost the details.
26
史臣曰
The historiographer says:
27
The historiographer says: Changru and the others took up arms from youth; all had fierce, heroic minds and commanded armies, each excelling at defending the realm. Changru with two thousand foot soldiers faced a hundred thousand barbarians; his army was shattered and his arrows gone, yet his courage only burned brighter—how magnificent! Zigan crossed the Qinghai westward and faced the dark northern passes; the tribes feared him and the beacons knew no alarm—this too deserves praise. Wansui truly had wisdom and courage, won his soldiers’ hearts, and every man gladly faced death; his armies never tired. In the north he drove back the Xiongnu; in the south he pacified the Yi and Liao; wherever his blades pointed, his might shook the farthest lands. When merit was debated he spoke with proud spirit, offended powerful ministers, partial listening bred treachery, and he died for a crime not his own—all mourned him, and he had something of Li Guang about him. Liu Fang’s orders were impartial; he governed the army with severity, cut down Linyi, and cleared the southern sea; the hundred tribes beyond the borders all wished to submit. All these generals had wills and valor beyond ordinary men: abroad they bore the weight of the realm’s defense, at home they were the emperor’s trusted claws and teeth. Though Ma Yuan, the General Who Pacifies the Waves, carried his might through the south and Zhao Chongguo’s fame shook the western Qiang, speaking of deeds and weighing merit, each was foremost in his time.
28
校勘記
Collation notes