Volume 53: Li Xiaobo, Li Chong

李孝伯李沖

Li Xiaobo; Li Chong

李孝伯，趙郡人也，高平公順從父弟。父曾，少治鄭氏禮、左氏春秋，以教授為業。郡三辟功曹不就，門人勸之，曾曰：「功曹之職，雖曰鄉選高第，猶是郡吏耳。北面事人，亦何容易。」州辟主簿，到官月餘，乃歎曰：「梁叔敬有云：州郡之職，徒勞人耳。道之不行，身之憂也。」遂還家講授。太祖時，徵拜博士，出為趙郡太守，令行禁止，劫盜奔竄。太宗嘉之。并州丁零，數為山東之害，知曾能得百姓死力，憚不入境。賊於常山界得一死鹿，謂趙郡地也，賊長責之，還令送鹿故處。隣郡為之謠曰：「詐作趙郡鹿，猶勝常山粟。」其見憚如此。卒，贈平南將軍、荊州刺史、栢仁子，諡曰懿。

Li Xiaobo came from Zhao Commandery and was a younger male cousin of Duke of Gaoping Shun. His father Zeng had studied the Zheng school's Rites and the Zuo Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals in his youth and made a living by teaching. The commandery summoned him three times to serve as Merit Officer, but he declined each time. When his students pressed him to accept, Zeng said, "The Merit Officer may be the district's top nominee, but he is still only a commandery clerk. To bow northward and wait on others — that is no light thing." The province then nominated him as Chief Clerk, but after little more than a month in office he sighed and said, "Liang Shujing once remarked that provincial and commandery posts do nothing but wear a man down. When the Way cannot be practiced, the trouble is one's own." He went home and resumed his teaching. Under Emperor Daowu he was summoned and made an Erudite, then sent out as administrator of Zhao Commandery, where his commands were obeyed and his prohibitions heeded until bandits scattered in flight. Emperor Mingyuan commended him for it. The Dingling tribes of Bing Province had long raided the country east of the mountains, but knowing that Zeng could command the people to fight to the death for him, they dared not cross his borders. Once, when bandits found a dead deer on the Changshan frontier and mistook the spot for Zhao Commandery, their chief scolded them and ordered the carcass returned to where it had lain. Neighboring commanderies sang of it: "Pretending to be a Zhao Commandery deer is still better than Changshan grain." Such was the awe he inspired. When he died, he was posthumously honored as General Who Pacifies the South, inspector of Jing Province, and Baron of Boren, with the posthumous name Yi.

孝伯少傳父業，博綜羣言。美風儀，動有法度。從兄順言之於世祖，徵為中散，世祖見而異之，謂順曰：「真卿家千里駒也。」遷祕書奏事中散，轉侍郎、光祿大夫，賜爵南昌子，加建威將軍，委以軍國機密，甚見親寵。謀謨切祕，時人莫能知也。遷比部尚書。以頻從征伐規略之功，進爵壽光侯，加建義將軍。

Xiaobo inherited his father's scholarship in youth and gained a wide mastery of the classics. He was handsome in bearing and graceful in manner, and even in small gestures he kept to proper form. His cousin Shun recommended him to Emperor Taiwu, who summoned him as a palace attendant. When the emperor met him, he was greatly impressed and told Shun, "Your clan has bred a steed that can run a thousand li." He rose to palace attendant handling memorials for the Secretariat, then became gentleman attendant and household minister of the imperial clan, was enfeoffed as Baron of Nanchang, and was given the additional rank of General Who Establishes Might. State and military secrets were placed in his hands, and he enjoyed exceptional favor. His stratagems were kept in the strictest confidence, and contemporaries could learn nothing of them. He was promoted to minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Because of his repeated service on campaign and his merit in planning, he was raised to Marquis of Shouguang and given the additional title General Who Establishes Righteousness.

真君末，車駕南伐，將出彭城。劉義隆子安北將軍、徐州刺史、武陵王駿，遣將馬文恭率步騎萬餘至蕭城。前軍擊破之，文恭走免，執其隊主蒯應。義隆聞大駕南巡，又遣其弟太尉、江夏王義恭率眾赴彭城。世祖至彭城，登亞父冢以望城內，遣送蒯應至小市門，宣世祖詔，勞問義恭等，[1]并遣自陳蕭城之敗。義恭等問應：「魏帝自來以不？」應曰：「自來。」又問：「今在何處？」應曰：「在城西南。」又問：「士馬多少？」應曰：「中軍四十餘萬。」駿遣人獻酒二器、甘蔗百梃，并請駱駝。

Near the end of the Zhenjun reign period the emperor marched south in person and was preparing to move out from Pengcheng. Liu Yilong's son Jun, Prince of Wuling, who held the posts of General Who Pacifies the North and inspector of Xu Province, dispatched the general Ma Wengong with more than ten thousand foot and horse to Xiaocheng. The forward army routed them; Wengong fled for his life, and his squad leader Kuai Ying was taken prisoner. When Yilong learned that the emperor was advancing south in person, he sent his younger brother Yigong, Prince of Jiangxia and grand marshal, with an army to relieve Pengcheng. When Emperor Taiwu reached Pengcheng, he climbed the mound of the Lesser Lord of Pei to survey the city within the walls, then sent Kuai Ying to the Lesser Market Gate to proclaim the imperial edict, express concern for Yigong and his colleagues,[1] and have him recount in his own words the rout at Xiaocheng. Yigong and the others questioned Ying: "Has the Wei emperor come here himself?" Ying answered, "He has come in person." They asked again, "Where is he now?" Ying replied, "Southwest of the city." They pressed further: "How many men and horses?" Ying said, "The central army numbers more than four hundred thousand." Jun sent envoys with two jars of wine and a hundred stalks of sugarcane, and asked for camels as well.

世祖明旦復登亞父冢，遣孝伯至小市，駿亦遣其長史張暢對孝伯。孝伯遙問暢姓，暢曰：「姓張。」孝伯曰：「是張長史也。」暢曰：「君何得見識？」孝伯曰：「既涉此境，何容不悉。」暢問孝伯曰：「君復何姓？居何官也？」孝伯曰：「我戎行一夫，何足致問。然足與君相敵。」孝伯曰：「主上有詔：『太尉、安北可暫出門，欲與相見，朕亦不攻彭城，何為勞苦將士，城上嚴備？』今遣賜駱駝及貂裘雜物。」暢曰：「有詔之言，政可施於彼國，何得稱之於此？」孝伯曰：「卿家太尉、安北，是人臣不？」暢曰：「是也。」孝伯曰：「我朝廷奄有萬國，率土之濱，莫敢不臣，縱為隣國之君，何為不稱詔於隣國之臣？」孝伯又問暢曰：「何至忽遽杜門絕橋？」暢曰：「二王以魏帝壁壘未立，將士疲勞，此精甲十萬，人思致命，恐輕相凌踐，故且閉城耳。待休息士馬，然後共治戰場，剋日交戲。」孝伯曰：「令行禁止，主將常事，宜當以法裁物，何用發橋杜門？窮城之中，復何以十萬誇大？我亦有良馬百萬，復可以此相矜。」暢曰：「王侯設險，何但法令而已也。我若誇君，當言百萬，所以言十萬者，正是二王左右素所畜養者耳。此城內有數州士庶，工徒營伍猶所未論。我本鬬人，不鬬馬足。且冀之北土，馬之所生，君復何以逸足見誇也？」孝伯曰：「王侯設險，誠如來言，開閉有常，何為杜塞？絕橋之意，義在何也？此城守君之所習，野戰我之所長，我之恃馬，猶如君之恃城耳。」城內有貝思者，[2]嘗至京師，義恭遣視之，思識是孝伯。思前問孝伯曰：「李尚書行途有勞。」孝伯曰：「此事應相與共知。」思答曰：「緣共知，所以仰勞。」孝伯曰：「感君至意。」

At dawn the next day Emperor Taiwu again climbed the mound of the Lesser Lord of Pei and sent Xiaobo to the Lesser Market, while Jun dispatched his chief clerk Zhang Chang to parley with him. From a distance Xiaobo called out to ask Chang's surname. Chang answered, "Zhang." Xiaobo said, "So you are Chief Clerk Zhang." Chang asked, "How do you know who I am?" Xiaobo replied, "Having crossed into these lands, how could I fail to know everyone of note?" Chang then asked Xiaobo, "And your surname? What office do you hold?" Xiaobo said, "I am only a common soldier — hardly worth your inquiry. Still, I am a match for you." Xiaobo said, "Our sovereign has issued an edict: 'Grand Marshal and General Who Pacifies the North may step outside the gate for a time; he wishes to meet you. I have no intention of assaulting Pengcheng — why trouble your officers and men with such heavy defenses on the walls? He now sends camels, sable furs, and other gifts." Chang said, "Imperial edicts may be proclaimed in your own realm — how can you speak of them here?" Xiaobo retorted, "Are your Grand Marshal and General Who Pacifies the North not subjects of their ruler?" Chang admitted, "They are." Xiaobo said, "Our court holds sway over ten thousand realms; along every shore of the empire none dares refuse submission. Even if he is a neighboring sovereign, why should he not speak of an edict to the subjects of a neighboring state?" Xiaobo pressed Chang again: "Why must you so hastily bar the gates and sever the bridges?" Chang answered, "The two princes judge that the Wei emperor's camp is not yet established and that your troops are weary. We have a hundred thousand armored men here, each ready to die where he stands, and we fear a rash clash — that is why the gates remain shut for now. Once men and horses have recovered, we can agree on a field of battle and fix a day to meet in combat." Xiaobo replied, "Command and discipline are a general's daily business; he should govern by law — why burn bridges and seal the gates? Inside a trapped city, how can you boast of a hundred thousand men? We too have a million fine horses and could boast in the same fashion." Chang said, "When princes fortify their positions, they rely on more than statutes and commands alone. If I wished to boast, I would claim a million; I speak of only a hundred thousand because that is the force the two princes have long maintained at their side. Inside these walls are people from several provinces, to say nothing of artisans, laborers, and garrison units. I fight with men, not with horses. Besides, the northern country of Ji is the very homeland of horses — what swift steeds have you to boast of?" Xiaobo said, "Princes do fortify their positions, as you say, and gates open and close by rule — so why seal everything shut? What is the point of destroying the bridges? You are skilled at holding a city; we excel in open battle. Our reliance on horses is no different from your reliance on walls." Inside the city was a man named Bei Si[2] who had once visited the capital; Yigong sent him to observe, and Si recognized Xiaobo at once. Si came forward and greeted Xiaobo: "Minister Li, you must be weary from the road." Xiaobo replied, "That is something we both already know." Si answered, "Precisely because we both know it, I wished to offer my respects for your trouble." Xiaobo said, "I am grateful for your kindness."

既開門，暢屏人却仗，出受賜物。孝伯曰：「詔以貂裘賜太尉，駱駝、騾、馬賜安北，蒲萄酒及諸食味當相與同進。」暢曰：「二王敬白魏帝，知欲垂見，常願面接，但受命本朝，忝居藩任，人臣無境外之交，故無容私覿。」義恭獻皮袴褶一具，駿奉酒二器、甘蔗百梃。孝伯曰：「又有詔：『太尉、安北，久絕南信，殊當憂悒。若欲遣信者，當為護送，脫須騎者，亦當以馬送之。』」暢曰：「此方間路甚多，使命日夕往復，不復以此勞魏帝也。」孝伯曰：「亦知有水路，似為白賊所斷。」暢曰：「君著白衣，稱白賊也。」孝伯大笑曰：「今之白賊，似異黃巾、赤眉。」暢曰：「黃巾、赤眉，不在江南。」孝伯曰：「雖不在江南，亦不離徐方也。」孝伯曰：「向與安北相聞，何以久而不報？」暢曰：「二王貴遠，啟聞為難。」孝伯曰：「周公握髮吐餔，二王何獨貴遠？」暢曰：「握髮吐餐，不謂隣國之人也。」孝伯曰：「本邦尚爾，隣國彌應盡恭。且賓至有禮，主人宜以禮接。」暢曰：「昨見眾賓至門，未為有禮。」孝伯曰：「非是賓至無禮，直是主人怱怱，無待賓調度耳。」孝伯又言：「有詔：『程天祚一介常人，誠知非江南之選，近於汝陽，身被九槍，落在溵水，我使牽而出之。凡人骨肉分張，並思集聚，聞其弟在此，如何不遣暫出？尋自令反，豈復苟留一人。』」暢曰：「知欲程天祚兄弟集聚，已勒遣之，但其固辭不往。」孝伯曰：「豈有子弟聞其父兄而反不肯相見，此便禽獸之不若。貴土風俗，何至如此。」

When the gate was opened, Chang sent away his attendants, laid aside his weapons, and went out to accept the gifts. Xiaobo said, "By edict, sable furs are granted to the Grand Marshal, and camels, mules, and horses to the General Who Pacifies the North; grape wine and other delicacies are to be shared together." Chang replied, "The two princes respectfully inform the Wei emperor that, though they have long wished to meet him face to face, they serve their own court in a frontier command. Subjects may not enter relations beyond their realm, and so a private audience is impossible." Yigong sent a set of leather riding dress, and Jun presented two jars of wine and a hundred stalks of sugarcane. Xiaobo added, "There is a further edict: 'Grand Marshal and General Who Pacifies the North, cut off so long from news from the south, must be deeply troubled. If you wish to send messengers, we will escort them; if you need mounts, we will provide horses as well.'" Chang answered, "There are many hidden routes here, and messengers travel back and forth day and night — there is no need to trouble the Wei emperor on that account." Xiaobo said, "We know of the water route as well — it appears to have been cut off by the White Bandits." Chang retorted, "You wear white — you are the White Bandits." Xiaobo laughed aloud and said, "Today's White Bandits hardly resemble the Yellow Turbans and Red Eyebrows." Chang replied, "The Yellow Turbans and Red Eyebrows were not in the south." Xiaobo answered, "They may not have been in the south, but they were not far from the Xu region either." Xiaobo asked, "We exchanged messages with the General Who Pacifies the North earlier — why has no reply come for so long?" Chang said, "The two princes hold themselves aloof; it is hard to relay every message promptly." Xiaobo said, "The Duke of Zhou would interrupt his toilet and leave his meal half eaten to receive guests — why should your two princes alone claim such lofty distance?" Chang replied, "The Duke of Zhou did not perform such courtesies for envoys from a neighboring state." Xiaobo said, "If he did so even for his own people, all the more should courtesy be shown to a neighboring state. Besides, when guests arrive, the host should receive them with proper ceremony." Chang said, "Yesterday I saw your hosts swarm the gate — that was hardly courteous." Xiaobo replied, "It was not the guests who lacked courtesy — the host was simply in too great a hurry to receive them properly." Xiaobo added, "There is an edict: 'Cheng Tianzuo is only a common fellow — certainly no elite of the south. Near Ruyang he was struck by nine spears and fell into the Yin River; I had him dragged out. When kin are separated, every man longs to be reunited; hearing that his brother is here, why will you not let him come out for a time? I shall soon send him back — why should I keep even one man?" Chang answered, "Knowing that you wish the Cheng brothers reunited, we have already ordered him to go out, but he steadfastly refuses." Xiaobo said, "What son or younger brother, hearing that his kin are near, would refuse to meet them? That falls below the conduct of beasts. What sort of customs prevail in your noble realm, that they should come to this?"

世祖又遣賜義恭、駿等氈各一領，鹽各九種，并胡豉。孝伯曰：「有後詔：『凡此諸鹽，各有所宜。白鹽食鹽，主上自食；黑鹽治腹脹氣滿，末之六銖，以酒而服；胡鹽治目痛；戎鹽治諸瘡；赤鹽、駁鹽、臭鹽、馬齒鹽四種，並非食鹽。太尉、安北何不遣人來至朕間？彼此之情，雖不可盡，要復見朕小大，知朕老少，觀朕為人。』」暢曰：「魏帝久為往來所具，李尚書親自銜命，不患彼此不盡，故不復遣信。」義恭獻蠟燭十梃，駿獻錦一匹。

Emperor Taiwu again sent gifts: to Yigong, Jun, and the others he gave a piece of felt each, nine kinds of salt each, and fermented bean paste besides. Xiaobo said, "There is a further edict: 'Each of these salts has its proper use. White salt and table salt are for the sovereign's own table; black salt treats bloating and distension — grind six zhu of it fine and take it with wine; barbarian salt treats sore eyes; Rong salt treats various sores and wounds; Red salt, mottled salt, foul salt, and horse-tooth salt — these four kinds are not for eating. Why do the Grand Marshal and General Who Pacifies the North not send envoys to my court? Though our mutual regard cannot be fully expressed, they should at least see my stature, learn my age, and judge what manner of man I am.'" Chang replied, "The Wei emperor has long been kept fully informed by our exchanges, and Minister Li has come in person on imperial orders — there is no risk that either side will hold back, so there is no need to send further envoys." Yigong sent ten candles, and Jun offered a length of brocade.

孝伯曰：「君南土士人，何為著屩？君而著此，將士云何？」暢曰：「士人之言，誠為多愧。但以不武，受命統軍，戎陳之間，不容緩服。」孝伯曰：「永昌王自頃恒鎮長安，今領精騎八萬直造淮南，壽春亦閉門自固，不敢相禦。向送劉康祖首，彼之所見。王玄謨甚是所悉，亦是常才耳。何意作如此任使，以致奔敗。自入境七百餘里，主人竟不能一相拒抗。鄒山之險，彼之所憑，前鋒始得接手，崔邪利便爾入穴，將士倒曳出之。主上丐其生命，今從在此。復何以輕脫，遣馬文恭至蕭縣，使望風退撓也。彼之民人，甚相忿怨，言清平之時，賦我租帛，至有急難，不能相拯。」暢曰：「知永昌已過淮南。康祖為其所破，比有信使，無此消息。王玄謨南土偏將，不謂為才，但以其北人，故為前驅引導耳。大軍未至，而河冰向合，玄謨量宜反旆，未為失算，但因夜回歸，致戎馬驚亂耳。我家懸瓠小城，陳憲小將，魏帝傾國攻圍，累旬不克。胡盛之偏裨小帥，眾無三旅，始濟翮水，[3]魏國君臣奔散，僅得免脫。滑臺之師，無所多愧。鄒山小戍，雖有微險，河畔之民，多是新附，始慕政化，姦盜未息，示使崔邪利撫之而已。 [4]今雖陷沒，何損於國。魏帝自以十萬之師而制一崔邪利，乃復足言也？近聞蕭縣百姓並依山險，聊遣馬文恭以十隊迎之耳。文恭前以三隊出，還走彼大營。嵇玄敬以百舸至留城，魏軍奔敗。輕敵致此，亦非所卹。王境人民，列居河畔，二國交兵，當互加撫養。而魏師入境，事生意外，官不負民，民亦何怨。知入境七百里，無相捍拒，此自上由太尉神算，次在武陵聖略，軍國之要，雖不預聞，然用兵有機間，亦不容相語。」孝伯曰：「君藉此虛談，支離相對，可謂遁辭知其所窮。且主上當不圍此城，自率眾軍直造瓜步。南事若辦，城故不待攻圍；南行不捷，彭城亦非所欲也。我今當南，欲飲馬江湖耳。」暢曰：「去留之事，自適彼懷。若魏帝遂得飲馬長江，便為無復天道。」孝伯曰：「自北而南，實惟人化，飲馬長江，豈獨天道？」暢將還城，謂孝伯曰：「冀蕩定有期，相見無遠。君若得還宋朝，今為相識之始。」孝伯曰：「今當先至建業以待君耳。恐爾日君與二王面縛請罪，不暇為容。」

Xiaobo said, "You are a southern gentleman — why are you wearing wooden clogs? If you dress like this, what are your officers and men to do?" Chang answered, "Your remark about gentlemen shames me deeply. Yet I am no warrior, and having been entrusted with command of the army, I cannot dress at ease while standing in the battle line." Xiaobo said, "The Prince of Yongchang has long held Chang'an; now he leads eighty thousand elite horsemen straight toward Huainan, and even Shouchun has barred its gates and dares not offer battle. We have just sent them Liu Kangzu's head — that is what they have seen for themselves. Wang Xuemo is well known to us as well, and he is only an ordinary commander. Why entrust him with such a command and bring on this rout? Since crossing the border more than seven hundred li inland, your side has not mounted a single effective resistance. They trusted to the defenses of Mount Zou, yet as soon as our vanguard engaged, Cui Xieli fled into a cave and had to be dragged out bodily by our men. Our sovereign spared his life, and he is here with us now. Why send Ma Wengong so lightly to Xiaoxian, only to have him break and run at the first sight of our army? Their people are full of resentment, saying that in peaceful times you exact grain and silk from them, yet in crisis you cannot protect them." Chang said, "We know the Prince of Yongchang has already crossed into Huainan. Kangzu was defeated by your forces, but our recent messengers brought no word of this. Wang Xuemo is only a secondary southern commander — we never considered him gifted, but because he knew the north he was sent ahead as a guide. The main force had not yet arrived and the river was freezing; Xuemo judged it wise to withdraw — that was no blunder, but his night retreat threw the army into panic. At our small city of Xuanhuo, the minor commander Chen Xian held out while the Wei emperor threw the whole kingdom against it for weeks without success. Hu Shengzhi was only a junior deputy with fewer than three companies; when he first crossed the Yi River,[3] the Wei court fled in disorder and barely escaped capture. As for the army at Huatai, we have little to be ashamed of. The post at Mount Zou was only a minor strongpoint; the river folk were mostly new subjects whose loyalty was still unsettled, and Cui Xieli was sent merely to reassure them. [4] Even if it has fallen, what harm does that do the realm? Is the Wei emperor really to boast of bringing a hundred thousand men against one Cui Xieli? We recently heard that the people of Xiaoxian had taken to the hills; we only sent Ma Wengong with ten companies to escort them. Wengong went out earlier with three companies and retreated toward your main camp. When Ji Xuanjing reached Liucheng with a hundred boats, the Wei army broke and fled. They brought this on themselves by underestimating the enemy — that is no cause for grief on our part. The people of our realm live along the river; when two states are at war, each side ought to protect them. When the Wei army crossed the border, unforeseen events occurred; the officials did not abandon the people, so why should they complain? As for your claim that we offered no resistance for seven hundred li — that was first the Grand Marshal's master strategy, then the Prince of Wuling's design. I was not privy to military secrets, but in war there are stratagems that cannot be disclosed." Xiaobo said, "You patch together this empty talk in disjointed replies — evasive words that betray how far you have been driven. Moreover, our sovereign will not linger to besiege this city but will lead the main army straight to Guabu. If the southern campaign succeeds, the city will fall without a siege; if the southern march fails, Pengcheng is not what we seek either. I am going south now — I mean to water my horses in the Yangtze." Chang replied, "Whether you stay or go is for your sovereign to decide. If the Wei emperor should truly water his horses in the Yangtze, Heaven itself would have abandoned the south." Xiaobo answered, "The shift from north to south is the work of men; watering horses in the Yangtze depends on human effort, not Heaven alone." As Chang prepared to return to the city, he told Xiaobo, "I trust order will soon be restored; we shall meet again ere long. If you ever return to the Song court, let today mark the beginning of our friendship." Xiaobo replied, "I shall reach Jiankang first and wait for you there. I fear that by then you and the two princes will be bound and begging for mercy, with no time left for pleasantries."

孝伯風容閑雅，應答如流，暢及左右甚相嗟歎。世祖大喜，進爵宣城公。

Xiaobo's manner was calm and elegant, his replies effortless; Chang and his attendants marveled at him. Emperor Taiwu was delighted and raised him to Duke of Xuancheng.

興安二年，出為使持節、散騎常侍、平西將軍、秦州刺史。 [5]太安五年卒，高宗甚悼惜之。贈鎮南大將軍、定州刺史，諡曰文昭公。

In the second year of the Xing'an era he was sent out as bearer of the staff of authority, regular attendant of the scattered cavalry, General Who Pacifies the West, and inspector of Qin Province. [5] He died in the fifth year of the Tai'an era, and Emperor Gaozong grieved deeply for him. He was posthumously honored as General Who Guards the South and inspector of Ding Province, with the posthumous title Duke Wen of Zhao.

孝伯體度恢雅，明達政事，朝野貴賤，咸推重之。恭宗曾啟世祖廣徵俊秀，世祖曰：「朕有一孝伯，足治天下，何用多為？假復求訪，此人輩亦何可得。」其見賞如此。性方慎忠厚，每朝廷大事有不足，必手自書表，切言陳諫，或不從者，至於再三。削滅稿草，家人不見。公庭論議，常引綱紀，或有言事者，孝伯恣其所陳，假有是非，終不抑折。及見世祖，言其所長，初不隱人姓名以為己善，故衣冠之士，服其雅正。自崔浩誅後，軍國之謀，咸出孝伯。世祖寵眷有亞於浩，亦以宰輔遇之。獻替補闕，其迹不見，時人莫得而知也。卒之日，遠近哀傷焉。孝伯美名，聞於遐邇，李彪使於江南，蕭賾謂之曰：「孝伯於卿遠近？」其為遠人所知若此。孝伯妻崔賾女，高明婦人，生一子元顯。崔氏卒後，納翟氏，不以為妻也。憎忌元顯。後遇劫，元顯見害，世云翟氏所為也。元顯志氣甚高，為時人所傷惜。翟氏二子，安民、安上，並有風度。

Xiaobo was magnanimous and refined in bearing, clear-sighted in government, and esteemed alike by court and country, high and low. Emperor Gong once urged Emperor Taiwu to recruit outstanding men widely; the emperor replied, "I have Xiaobo — he is enough to govern the realm. Why seek more? Even if we searched further, where would we find another like him?" Such was the esteem in which he was held. Upright, cautious, and loyal by nature, whenever he found fault with a major court decision he would draft a memorial himself and argue his case forcefully, repeating it two or three times if ignored. He destroyed the drafts afterward, so his family never saw them. In court debate he often invoked precedent; when others spoke, Xiaobo let them state their views fully and never silenced them, even when he disagreed. When he reported to the emperor, he named others' merits openly and never claimed credit for himself, and for this the gentry revered his integrity. After Cui Hao's execution, military and state strategy passed entirely into Xiaobo's hands. Emperor Taiwu favored him almost as he had favored Hao and treated him as a chief minister. His counsel and corrections left no visible trace, and contemporaries could not learn what he had done. When he died, grief spread far and near. Xiaobo's reputation reached distant lands; when Li Biao served as envoy to the south, Xiao Ze asked him, "How well do you know Xiaobo?" Such was his fame even among foreigners. Xiaobo's wife was a daughter of Cui Zhen, a woman of great ability, and bore a son named Yuanxian. After Lady Cui died, he took in a woman of the Zhai clan but did not marry her. She hated and resented Yuanxian. Later, during a robbery, Yuanxian was killed; rumor held that Lady Zhai was behind it. Yuanxian was a man of proud spirit, and his contemporaries mourned his loss. Lady Zhai's two sons, Anmin and Anshang, both possessed fine bearing.

安民，襲爵壽光侯，司徒司馬。卒，贈郢州刺史。無子，爵除。

Anmin inherited the marquisate of Shouguang and served as marshal of the Ministry of Education. At his death he was posthumously named inspector of Ying Province. He left no son, and the title lapsed.

安上，鉅鹿太守，亦早卒。

Anshang served as administrator of Julu and also died young.

安民弟豹子。正光三年上書曰：

Anmin's younger brother was Baozi. In the third year of the Zhengguang era he submitted a memorial that read:

竊惟庸勳賞勞，有國恒典；興滅繼絕，哲后所先。是以積德累忠，春秋許宥十世；立功著節，河山誓其永久。伏惟世祖太武皇帝，英叡自天，籠罩日域，東清遼海，西定玉門，凌滅漠北，飲馬江水。臣亡父故尚書、宣城公先臣孝伯，冥基感會，邀幸昌辰，綢繆幃幄，繾綣侍從，廟算嘉謀、每蒙顧採。于時儲后監國，奏請徵賢，詔報曰：「朕有一孝伯，足以治天下，何用多為？」其見委遇，乃至於此。是用寵以元、凱，爵以公侯，詔冊曰：「江陽之巡，奇謀屢進，六師大捷，亦有勳焉。」出內勤王，寵遇隆厚，方開大賞，而世祖登遐。梓宮始遷，外任名岳。高宗沖年纂運，未及追敍。

I reflect that rewarding merit and honoring service is the constant practice of every state; and restoring fallen lines and continuing severed houses is what wise rulers prize above all. Thus the Spring and Autumn Annals allow ten generations of pardon for accumulated virtue and loyalty; and for those who establish merit and display integrity, rivers and mountains witness eternal reward. I humbly reflect that Emperor Taiwu, wise and keen as Heaven itself, held sway over the empire, pacified the Liao Sea in the east, secured Jade Gate in the west, swept the northern steppe, and watered his horses in the Yangtze. My late father, the former minister and Duke of Xuancheng Li Xiaobo, was favored by fate in a prosperous age, served intimately within the imperial curtain, and his stratagems were repeatedly adopted. When the crown prince was regent, he memorialized asking to recruit talent widely; the reply came, "I have Xiaobo — he is enough to govern the realm. Why seek more?" Such was the trust placed in him. He was honored like the great ministers of old and enfeoffed as duke; the patent of nobility declared, "On the Jiangyang campaign he offered repeated stratagems, and the six armies won a great victory — in this too he had merit." He served the throne both at court and in the field with exceptional favor, and great rewards were about to be granted when Emperor Taiwu died. Hardly had the imperial coffin begun its journey when he was sent out to a frontier post. Emperor Gaozong succeeded while still young and had not yet time to grant posthumous honors.

臣行舛百靈，先臣棄世，微績未甄，誠志長奪，搢紳僉傷早世，朝野咸哀不永。臣亡兄襲，無子封除。永惟宗構，五情崩圮。先臣榮寵前朝，勳書王府，同之常倫，爵封堙墜，準古量今，實深荼苦。竊惟朝例：廣川王遵、太原公元大曹等，並以勳重先朝，世絕繼祀，或以傍親，或聽弟襲，皆傳河山之功，垂不世之賞。況先臣在蒙委任，[6]運籌幃帟，勳著於中，聲傳於外。事等功均，今古無易。是以漢賞信布，裁重良平；魏酬張徐，不棄荀郭。今數族追賞於先朝之世，先臣絕封於聖明之時，瞻流顧侶，存亡永恨。竊見正始中，爰發存亡之詔，褒賢報功之旨。熙平元年，故任城王澄所請十事，復新前澤，成一時之盛事，垂曠代之茂典，凡在纓紱，誰不感慶？蓋以奬勸來今，垂範萬古。且劉氏偽書，翻流上國，尋其訕謗，百無一實，前後使人，不書姓字，亦無名爵。至於張暢傳中，略敍先臣對問，雖改脫略盡，自欲矜高，然逸韻難虧，猶見稱載，非直存益於時，沒亦有彰國美。乞覽此書，昭然可見。則微微衰構，重起一朝，先臣潛魂，結草於千載矣。

I have been most unfortunate; my father died before his modest merits could be recognized or his loyal service fully rewarded; officials and commoners alike grieved his early death, and court and country mourned that his life was cut short. My late elder brother Xi inherited the title but left no son, and the fief was extinguished. When I contemplate the fate of our clan, my heart is overwhelmed with grief. My father was honored by the former court and his merit recorded in the imperial archives; yet by ordinary rule his title has lapsed — comparing past and present, the bitterness is profound. I note court precedents: Prince of Guangchuan Zun, Prince of Taiyuan Yuan Dacao, and others, whose lines were continued through collateral kin or younger brothers when direct heirs failed, all perpetuating merit sworn on rivers and mountains and receiving rewards for generations. How much more so my father, who received high trust,[6] devised strategy within the imperial tent, won merit at court, and spread his fame abroad. His service was equal in merit — past and present offer no difference in principle. Thus Han rewarded Xin Bu and held Zhang Liang and Chen Ping in highest esteem; and Wei repaid Zhang and Xu and did not abandon Xun and Guo. Today several families receive posthumous honors from the previous reign, while my father's line is extinguished under the present sage rule — comparing those who prosper with our fallen house, the living and dead alike bear eternal regret. I note that during the Zhengshi era an edict was issued on preserving the living and honoring the dead, with the aim of rewarding virtue and repaying service. In the first year of Xiping, the ten proposals submitted by the late Prince of Rencheng Cheng renewed earlier imperial favors, creating a great occasion of the age and a splendid precedent for generations; who among the gentry would not rejoice? Surely this was meant to reward and encourage future generations and to set an example for all time. Moreover, the forged histories of the Liu house have circulated into our realm; search their slanders and scarcely one word in a hundred is true. Their envoys, past and present, give no surnames or personal names, nor any official titles. In the biography of Zhang Chang there is a brief account of my father's exchanges with him; though the text has been revised and cut nearly to nothing and Chang sought to aggrandize himself, his graceful manner still shines through and he is praised even so. This brought credit not only in his lifetime — in death it still reflects honor on the state. I beg Your Majesty to read that book; the truth will be plain. Then this faintly crumbling house would rise again in a day, and my father's spirit below would repay his debt of gratitude for a thousand years.

卒不得襲。

In the end he was not allowed to inherit.

孝伯兄祥，字元善。學傳家業，鄉黨宗之。世祖詔州郡舉賢良，祥應貢，對策合旨，除中書博士。時南土未賓，世祖親駕，遣尚書韓元興率眾出青州，以祥為軍司。略地至于陳汝，淮北之民詣軍降者七千餘戶，遷之於兗豫之南，置淮陽郡以撫之，拜祥為太守，加綏遠將軍，流民歸之者萬餘家，勸課農桑，百姓安業。世祖嘉之，賜以衣馬。遷河間太守，有威恩之稱。太安中，徵拜中書侍郎，民有千餘，上書乞留數年，高宗不許。卒官，追贈定州刺史、平棘子，諡曰憲。

Xiaobo's elder brother Xiang, courtesy name Yuanshan. He mastered and carried on the family's scholarly tradition, and his neighbors and kinsmen looked up to him. Emperor Taiwu ordered the commanderies and prefectures to recommend worthy men. Xiang presented himself as tribute, his examination answers pleased the court, and he was appointed Erudite of the Secretariat. When the south had not yet submitted, Emperor Taiwu led the campaign in person. He sent Secretary Han Yuanshing with troops from Qingzhou and appointed Xiang Army Supervisor. They took territory as far as Chen and Ru. More than seven thousand households north of the Huai came to the army and surrendered. They were resettled south of Yan and Yu, Huaiyang Commandery was established to govern them, and Xiang was made its administrator with the additional rank of General Who Pacifies the Distant. More than ten thousand refugee households returned; he promoted farming and sericulture, and the people lived in peace. Emperor Taiwu praised him and rewarded him with clothing and horses. He was transferred to Administrator of Hejian, where he won a reputation for authority tempered with kindness. During the Tai'an era he was summoned and appointed Vice Director of the Secretariat. More than a thousand commoners submitted memorials asking that he be kept several years longer, but Emperor Gaozong refused. He died in office. Posthumously he was made Inspector of Dingzhou and Viscount of Pingji, with the posthumous name Xian.

子安世，[7]幼而聰悟。興安二年，高宗引見侍郎、博士之子，簡其秀儁者欲為中書學生。安世年十一，高宗見其尚小，引問之。安世陳說父祖，甚有次第，即以為學生。高宗每幸國學，恒獨被引問。詔曰：「汝但守此至大，不慮不富貴。」居父憂以孝聞。天安初，拜中散，以溫敏敬慎，顯祖親愛之。累遷主客令。

His son Anshi,[7] was clever and perceptive from childhood. In the second year of Xing'an, Emperor Gaozong received the sons of vice directors and erudites and selected the most talented to become students of the Secretariat. Anshi was eleven. Emperor Gaozong saw that he was still young and questioned him personally. Anshi described his father and grandfather in well-ordered detail and was immediately enrolled as a student. Whenever Emperor Gaozong visited the National Academy, Anshi alone was always singled out for questioning. The emperor said to him, "If you keep to this supreme virtue, you need never fear that you will not be rich and honored." During mourning for his father he became known for filial devotion. At the beginning of Tian'an he was appointed Attendant Scattered Cavalier. Gentle, quick, reverent, and careful, he won the personal affection of Emperor Xianzu. He rose through successive appointments to Director of Guests.

蕭賾使劉纘朝貢，安世美容貌，善舉止，纘等自相謂曰：「不有君子，其能國乎？」纘等呼安世為典客，安世曰：「三代不共禮，五帝各異樂，安足以亡秦之官，稱於上國。」纘曰：「世異之號，凡有幾也？」安世曰：「周謂掌客，秦改典客，漢名鴻臚，今曰主客。君等不欲影響文武，而殷勤亡秦。」纘又指方山曰：「此山去燕然遠近？」安世曰：「亦由石頭之於番禺耳。」國家有江南使至，多出藏內珍物，令都下富室好容服者貨之，令使任情交易。使至金玉肆問價，纘曰：「北方金玉大賤，當是山川所出？」安世曰：「聖朝不貴金玉，所以賤同瓦礫。又皇上德通神明，山不愛寶，故無川無金，無山無玉。」纘初將大市，得安世言，慚而罷。遷主客給事中。

When Xiao Ze sent Liu Zuan on a tribute mission, Anshi's handsome features and graceful bearing led Zuan and his companions to remark among themselves, "Without such a gentleman, how could a state endure?" Zuan and his party addressed Anshi as Director of Ceremonial Guests. Anshi replied, "The Three Dynasties did not share one ritual code, and the Five Emperors each had different music — how can a title from the fallen Qin be used to address an official of our realm?" Zuan asked, "How many such titles have changed from age to age?" Anshi answered, "In Zhou it was Director of Guests; Qin changed it to Director of Ceremonial Guests; Han called it Grand Master of Ceremonies; today it is Director of Guests. You gentlemen would not follow the example of King Wen and King Wu, yet you warmly invoke the fallen Qin." Zuan then pointed to Mount Fang and asked, "How far is this mountain from Mount Yanran?" Anshi replied, "About the same as from Shitou to Panyu." When southern envoys arrived, the court often brought out precious goods from the imperial stores and had wealthy families in the capital who loved fine dress buy them, allowing the envoys to trade freely. When the envoys visited gold and jade shops to ask prices, Zuan said, "Gold and jade are so cheap in the north — surely they come from your mountains and rivers?" Anshi replied, "Our sage dynasty does not prize gold and jade, and so they are valued no more than tiles and pebbles. Moreover, His Majesty's virtue reaches the spirits; mountains do not hoard their treasures, and so there is no stream without gold and no mountain without jade." Zuan had intended a large purchase, but after Anshi's reply he was ashamed and abandoned the plan. He was promoted to Attendant Within for Guests.

時民困飢流散，豪右多有占奪，安世乃上疏曰：「臣聞量地畫野，經國大式；邑地相參，致治之本。井稅之興，其來日久；田萊之數，制之以限。蓋欲使土不曠功，民罔游力。雄擅之家，不獨膏腴之美；單陋之夫，亦有頃畝之分。所以恤彼貧微，抑茲貪欲，同富約之不均，一齊民於編戶。竊見州郡之民，或因年儉流移，棄賣田宅，漂居異鄉，事涉數世。三長既立，[8]始返舊墟，廬井荒毀，桑榆改植。事已歷遠，易生假冒。強宗豪族，肆其侵凌，遠認魏晉之家，近引親舊之驗。又年載稍久，鄉老所惑，羣證雖多，莫可取據。各附親知，互有長短，兩證徒具，聽者猶疑，爭訟遷延，連紀不判。良疇委而不開，柔桑枯而不採，僥倖之徒興，繁多之獄作。欲令家豐歲儲，人給資用，其可得乎！愚謂今雖桑井難復，宜更均量，審其徑術，令分藝有準，力業相稱，細民獲資生之利，豪右靡餘地之盈。則無私之澤，乃播均於兆庶；如阜如山，可有積於比戶矣。又所爭之田，宜限年斷，事久難明，悉屬今主。然後虛妄之民，絕望於覬覦；守分之士，永免於凌奪矣。」高祖深納之，後均田之制起於此矣。

At that time the people suffered famine and displacement, and powerful families often seized land by force. Anshi submitted a memorial: "I have heard that measuring the land and dividing the fields is the great model for governing a state; matching settlements to land is the foundation of good government. The well-field tax has a long history; and the extent of cultivated and fallow land is regulated by fixed limits. The aim was to keep land from lying idle and the people from idling without work. Powerful families did not monopolize the best land alone; and poor and humble men also had their share of fields. Thus relieving the poor, restraining greed, easing inequality of wealth, and bringing the common people together under the same registers. I observe that people in the commanderies and prefectures, driven by famine, have drifted away, sold their fields and homes, and settled in distant places — sometimes for generations. Once the three-chief system was established,[8] they began returning to their old homes, but dwellings and wells lay in ruins and mulberry and elm had been replanted elsewhere. Because so much time had passed, false claims became easy to make. Powerful clans and great families encroached at will, claiming distant Wei and Jin holdings or citing kin and old associates as proof. As years passed, village elders grew confused; though witnesses were many, none could be relied upon. Each side rallied kin and friends, each with its own strengths and weaknesses; both sets of testimony were offered, yet judges remained in doubt. Lawsuits dragged on for years without resolution. Good fields lay untilled, tender mulberry withered unharvested; opportunists flourished, and lawsuits multiplied. How can households grow rich, harvests be stored, and people provided for under such conditions? I humbly suggest that although old fields and wells cannot easily be restored, land should be remeasured and boundaries verified so that shares are fixed, labor matches holdings, common people gain the means to live, and powerful families have no surplus land to hoard. Then impartial bounty would be spread equally among the people; and every household could accumulate stores like hills and mountains. Disputed fields should be settled by a time limit: when the facts can no longer be clarified, ownership should pass to the present holder. Then false claimants would abandon their hopes of seizure; and those who kept to their proper shares would forever be free from encroachment." Emperor Xiaowen accepted the proposal wholeheartedly, and the equal-field system later arose from it.

出為安平將軍、相州刺史、假節、趙郡公。敦勸農桑，禁斷淫祀。西門豹、史起，有功於民者，為之修飾廟堂。表薦廣平宋翻、陽平路恃慶，皆為朝廷善士。初，廣平人李波，宗族強盛，殘掠生民。前刺史薛道𢷋親往討之，波率其宗族拒戰，大破𢷋軍。遂為逋逃之藪，公私成患。百姓為之語曰：「李波小妹字雍容，褰裙逐馬如卷蓬，左射右射必疊雙。婦女尚如此，男子那可逢！」安世設方略誘波及諸子姪三十餘人，斬于鄴市，境內肅然。以病免。太和十七年卒于家。安世妻博陵崔氏，生一子瑒。崔氏以妬悍見出，又尚滄水公主，生二子，謐、郁。

He was sent out as General of Tranquil Peace, Inspector of Xiangzhou, with provisional authority, and Duke of Zhao Commandery. He earnestly promoted farming and sericulture and banned improper sacrifices. He restored and adorned the temple halls of Hsi-men Pao and Shih Ch'i, who had served the people with merit. He recommended Sung Fan of Guangping and Lu Shih-ch'ing of Yangping in memorials; both were worthy men of the court. Earlier, Li Po of Guangping headed a powerful clan that plundered the people. The former inspector Hsueh Tao-jen went in person to suppress him, but Po rallied his clan to fight and routed Hsueh's army. The place became a refuge for fugitives and a plague to officials and commoners alike. The people sang: "Li Po's younger sister, called Yung-jung, lifts her skirt and chases horses like wind-blown wormwood; shooting left and right, she never misses a pair. If the women are like this, who would dare face the men!" Anshi devised a plan to lure Po and more than thirty of his sons and nephews, then had them beheaded in the market at Ye. The region was subdued at once. He resigned on grounds of illness. He died at home in the seventeenth year of Taihe. Anshi's wife was Lady Ts'ui of Boling; she bore one son, Yang. Lady Ts'ui was divorced for jealousy and harshness. He then married the Princess of Cangshui, who bore two sons, Mi and Yu.

瑒，字琚羅。涉歷史傳，頗有文才，氣尚豪爽，公強當世。延昌末，司徒行參軍，遷司徒長兼主簿。太師、高陽王雍表薦瑒為其友，正主簿。

Yang, courtesy name Chu-lo. He ranged widely through history and the classics, possessed considerable literary talent, and had a bold, open temperament; he was forceful and prominent in his day. Late in Yan-ch'ang he served as acting army supervisor under the Minister of Education, then rose to chief clerk and concurrent chief secretary. The Grand Preceptor, Prince of Gaoyang Yong, recommended Yang as his companion and appointed him regular chief secretary.

于時民多絕戶而為沙門，瑒上言：「禮以教世，法導將來，跡用既殊，區流亦別。故三千之罪，莫大不孝，不孝之大，無過於絕祀。然則絕祀之罪，重莫甚焉。安得輕縱背禮之情，而肆其向法之意也？正使佛道，亦不應然，假令聽然，猶須裁之以禮。一身親老，棄家絕養，既非人理，尤乖禮情，堙滅大倫，且闕王貫。交缺當世之禮，而求將來之益，孔子云『未知生，焉知死』，斯言之至，亦為備矣。安有棄堂堂之政，而從鬼教乎！又今南服未靜，眾役仍煩，百姓之情，方多避役。若復聽之，恐捐棄孝慈，比屋而是。」沙門都統僧暹等忿瑒鬼教之言，以瑒為謗毀佛法，泣訴靈太后，太后責之。瑒自理曰：「竊欲清明佛法，使道俗兼通，非敢排棄真學，妄為訾毀。且鬼神之名，皆通靈達稱，自百代正典，敍三皇五帝，皆號為鬼。天地曰神祇，人死曰鬼。易曰『知鬼神之情狀』，周公自美，亦云『能事鬼神』，禮曰『明則有禮樂，幽則有鬼神』。是以明者為堂堂，幽者為鬼教。佛非天非地，本出於人，應世導俗，其道幽隱，名之為鬼，愚謂非謗。且心無不善，以佛道為教者，正可未達眾妙之門耳。」靈太后雖知瑒言為允，然不免暹等之意，猶罰瑒金一兩。 [9]

At that time many people abandoned their households to become monks. Yang submitted a memorial: "Rites teach the present age; the Law guides the future — their practices differ, and their spheres must be kept apart. Among the three thousand offenses, none is greater than unfilial conduct, and the greatest unfilial act is to cut off ancestral sacrifice. The offense of cutting off sacrifice is therefore the gravest of all. How can one lightly indulge feelings that violate rites and freely expand intentions that turn toward the Law? Even if the Buddhist way allowed it, it should not be so; even if permission were granted, it would still need to be restrained by rites. When one's parents are aged, to abandon the family and cut off support violates human reason, offends ritual propriety, destroys the great human bonds, and breaks the thread of royal governance. To neglect the rites of this life and seek benefit in the next — Confucius said, 'If you do not yet understand life, how can you understand death?' That saying is complete in itself. How can one abandon the august governance of the bright realm and follow ghost-teaching! Moreover, the south is not yet pacified, corvée labor remains heavy, and the people are already inclined to evade service. If this is permitted again, I fear filial piety and kindness will be cast aside in household after household." The Chief of Monks Seng Xian and others, angered by Yang's words about ghost-teaching, accused him of slandering the Buddhist Law and weeping appealed to Empress Dowager Ling, who rebuked Yang. Yang defended himself: "I wished only to clarify the Buddhist Law so that clergy and laity might both understand it. I did not dare reject true learning or recklessly slander it. Moreover, the names of ghosts and spirits are terms that reach the numinous realm. In the canonical texts of a hundred generations, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors are all called ghosts. Heaven and earth are called spirits; the dead are called ghosts. The Changes say, 'Know the nature of ghosts and spirits'; the Duke of Zhou praised himself, saying, 'Able to serve ghosts and spirits'; and the Rites say, 'In the bright realm there are rites and music; in the dark realm there are ghosts and spirits. Therefore the bright realm is called the august way, and the dark realm is called ghost-teaching. The Buddha is neither heaven nor earth; he arose from humanity, responding to the age and guiding custom. His way is hidden and obscure, and to call it ghost-teaching, I believe, is not slander. Moreover, those whose hearts are without unkindness and who take the Buddhist way as their teaching may simply not yet have reached the gate of manifold subtleties." Although Empress Dowager Ling knew Yang's argument was sound, she could not disregard the feelings of Xian and his party, and still fined Yang one liang of gold. [9] Textual note: in the phrase 'still fined Yang one liang of gold,' various editions wrongly read 'still' as 'only'; the reading is corrected according to the Northern History, fascicle 33, Li Xiaobo with appended biography of Li Yang, and Cefu yuan.gui, fascicle 530.

轉尚書郎，加伏波將軍。隨蕭寶夤西征，以瑒為統軍，假寧遠將軍。瑒德洽鄉閭，招募雄勇，其樂從者數百騎，瑒傾家賑恤，率之西討。寶夤見瑒至，乃拊瑒肩曰：「子遠來，吾事辦矣。」故其下每有戰功，軍中號曰「李公騎」。寶夤又啟瑒為左丞，仍為別將，軍機戎政，皆與參決。寶夤又啟為中書侍郎。還朝，除鎮遠將軍、岐州刺史，坐辭不赴任免官。建義初，於河陰遇害，時年四十五。初贈鎮東將軍、尚書右僕射、殷州刺史，太昌中重贈散騎常侍、驃騎大將軍、儀同三司、冀州刺史。

He was transferred to the Masters of Writing as a gentleman-attendant and given the additional rank of General Who Quells Waves. When Xiao Baoyin marched west, Yang served as army commander with the acting rank of General of Pacifying the Distant. Yang was deeply respected in his home district. He rallied brave men—several hundred horsemen gladly joined him—and spent his family's whole fortune to equip and supply them before leading them west to war. When Baoyin saw Yang arrive, he clapped him on the shoulder and said, "You came all this way — my task is as good as done." From then on, whenever his troops won distinction in battle, the army called them "Lord Li's Horsemen." Baoyin also had Yang appointed Left Assistant Director and separate commander; Yang took part in every decision on military strategy and martial administration. Baoyin soon had him appointed Secretariat Gentleman as well. After returning to court he was appointed General of Pacifying the Distant and Inspector of Qi Province, but when he declined the appointment and did not take up the post, he was removed from office. At the beginning of the Jianyi era he was killed at Heyin, aged forty-five. He was first posthumously honored as General of Pacifying the East, Right Vice Director of the Masters of Writing, and Inspector of Yin Province; during Taichang he received further posthumous honors as Attendant-in-Ordinary of the Scattered Cavalry, Grand General of Agile Cavalry, Honors Equal to the Three Ducal Ministers, and Inspector of Ji Province.

瑒俶儻有大志，好飲酒，篤於親知，每謂弟郁曰：「士大夫學問，稽博古今而罷，何用專經為老博士也？」與弟謐特相友愛，謐在鄉物故，瑒慟哭絕氣，久而方蘇，不食數日，期年之中，[10]形骸毀悴。人倫哀歎之。瑒三子。

Yang was bold and high-minded, fond of drink, and fiercely loyal to kin and friends. He often told his brother Yu, "A gentleman's education should range broadly over past and present — why bury yourself in the classics only to become some dusty old pedant?" He and his brother Mi were deeply devoted to each other. When Mi died at home, Yang wept until he lost consciousness and revived only after a long while. For days he would not eat; within the year [10] he was gaunt and broken in body. All who knew him in the bonds of human affection mourned his grief. Yang had three sons.

長子義盛，武定中，司徒倉曹參軍。

His eldest son Yisheng served during the Wuding era as commissariat staff officer under the Minister of Education.

瑒弟謐，字永和。在逸士傳。

Yang's younger brother Mi, courtesy name Yonghe, is recorded in the Biographies of Reclusive Scholars.

謐弟郁，字永穆。好學沉靜，博通經史。自著作佐郎為廣平王懷友，懷深相禮遇。時學士徐遵明教授山東，生徒甚盛，懷徵遵明在館，令郁問其五經義例十餘條，遵明所答數條而已。稍遷國子博士。自國學之建，諸博士率不講說，朝夕教授，惟郁而已。謙虛雅寬，甚有儒者之風。遷廷尉少卿，加冠軍將軍，轉通直散騎常侍。建義中，以兄瑒卒，遂撫育孤姪，歸於鄉里。永熙初，除散騎常侍、大將軍、[11]左光祿大夫、兼都官尚書，尋領給事黃門侍郎。三年春，於顯陽殿講禮，詔郁執經，解說不窮，羣難鋒起，無廢談笑。出帝及諸王公凡預聽者，莫不嗟善。尋病卒，贈散騎常侍、都督定冀相滄殷五州軍事、驃騎大將軍、尚書左僕射、儀同三司、定州刺史。

Mi's younger brother Yu, courtesy name Yongmu, was a quiet, devoted scholar with a thorough command of the classics and histories. After serving as assistant in the Composition Office, he became companion to Prince of Guangping Huai, who honored and favored him greatly. The eminent teacher Xu Zunming then lectured in the eastern provinces to a vast following. Huai invited him to his mansion and had Yu pose more than a dozen questions on the Five Classics; Zunming could answer only a few. He was soon promoted to Erudite of the Imperial University. Since the national academy was established, most erudites had ceased to lecture; Yu alone taught day and night. Humble, gracious, and generous, he had the true bearing of a Confucian gentleman. He rose to Vice Director of the Court of Judicial Review, received the additional rank of Champion General, and was then appointed Attendant-in-Ordinary of Direct and Upright Scattered Cavalry. During Jianyi, after his brother Yang died, he took in his orphaned nephews and retired to his home district. At the opening of Yongxi he was appointed Attendant-in-Ordinary of the Scattered Cavalry, Great General, [11] Left Grand Master for the Brilliant Purpose, and concurrent Director of the Ministry of Justice; he soon added the post of Secretary of Attendance in the Yellow Gate. In the spring of the third year, at the Hall of Manifest Yang the court held a ritual lecture. Yu was ordered to expound the classics. His explanations seemed without end; sharp questions rose from every side, yet he answered without breaking his easy manner or his smile. Emperor Chu and every prince and noble who attended sighed in admiration. He soon fell ill and died. He was posthumously honored as Attendant-in-Ordinary of the Scattered Cavalry, commander of military affairs in Ding, Ji, Xiang, Cang, and Yin provinces, Grand General of Agile Cavalry, Left Vice Director of the Masters of Writing, Honors Equal to the Three Ducal Ministers, and Inspector of Ding Province.

子士謙，儀同開府參軍事。

His son Shiqian served as army staff officer in an honor-equal fief command.

李沖，字思順，隴西人，敦煌公寶少子也。少孤，為長兄滎陽太守承所攜訓。承常言：「此兒器量非恒，方為門戶所寄。」沖沈雅有大量，隨兄至官。是時牧守子弟多侵亂民庶，輕有乞奪，沖與承長子韶獨清簡皎然，無所求取，時人美焉。

Li Chong, courtesy name Sishun, came from Longxi and was the youngest son of Duke of Dunhuang Bao. Orphaned young, he was raised and educated by his eldest brother Cheng, administrator of Xingyang. Cheng often said, "This boy's mettle is uncommon. The fortunes of our house will rest on him." Chong was grave, refined, and broad-minded; he accompanied his brother to his post. At the time, the sons of provincial officials often preyed on the people, taking what they wanted at will. Chong and Cheng's eldest son Shao alone remained scrupulously clean and took nothing for themselves, and people praised them for it.

顯祖末，為中書學生。沖善交遊，不妄戲雜，流輩重之。高祖初，以例遷祕書中散，典禁中文事，以修整敏惠，漸見寵待。遷內祕書令、南部給事中。

Near the end of Emperor Xianzu's reign he enrolled as a Secretariat student. Chong made friends easily but never in idle or unseemly company, and his peers respected him. When Emperor Xiaowen first came to the throne, Li Chong was promoted by precedent to Attendant Scattered Cavalier of the Secretariat, charged with confidential palace affairs. Orderly, quick, and clever, he gradually won the emperor's favor. He was then made Director of the Inner Secretariat and Attendant-in-Attendance of the Southern Section.

舊無三長，惟立宗主督護，所以民多隱冒，五十、三十家方為一戶。沖以三正治民，所由來遠，於是創三長之制而上之。文明太后覽而稱善，引見公卿議之。中書令鄭羲、祕書令高祐等曰：「沖求立三長者，乃欲混天下一法。言似可用，事實難行。」羲又曰：「不信臣言，但試行之，事敗之後，當知愚言之不謬。」太尉元丕曰：「臣謂此法若行，於公私有益。」咸稱方今有事之月，校比民戶，新舊未分，民必勞怨，請過今秋，至冬閑月，徐乃遣使，於事為宜，沖曰：「民者，冥也，可使由之，不可使知之。若不因調時，百姓徒知立長校戶之勤，未見均徭省賦之益，心必生怨。宜及課調之月，令知賦稅之均。既識其事，又得其利，因民之欲，為之易行。」著作郎傅思益進曰：「民俗既異，險易不同，九品差調，為日已久，一旦改法，恐成擾亂。」太后曰：「立三長，則課有常準，賦有恒分，苞蔭之戶可出，僥倖之人可止，何為而不可？」羣議雖有乖異，然惟以變法為難，更無異義。遂立三長，公私便之。

Under the old system there were no Three Chiefs—only clan lords and overseers—so many people hid behind false registrations; it took fifty or thirty households together to count as one tax unit. Li Chong argued that governing the people through Three Chiefs was an ancient principle, and he therefore devised the Three Chiefs system and submitted it to the throne. Empress Dowager Wenming read the proposal, praised it, and summoned the chief ministers to discuss it. The Director of the Secretariat Zheng Yi, the Director of the Palace Library Gao You, and others objected, "Li Chong's proposal to establish Three Chiefs is really an attempt to impose one uniform law on the entire realm. It sounds workable in theory, but in practice it will never succeed." Zheng Yi added, "If you doubt me, try it anyway. When it fails, you will see that I was right." Grand Commandant Yuan Pi said, "I believe this measure, if implemented, will benefit both state and people." Others agreed but argued that with matters pressing this month, a household census would confuse old and new records and provoke fatigue and resentment. They asked to wait until the quieter winter months before dispatching officials. Li Chong replied, "The common people are in the dark: one may lead them to act, but one should not try to make them understand. If we do not tie this to the regular tax assessment, the people will see only the trouble of appointing chiefs and checking households, not the benefit of equalized corvée and lighter taxes—and they will resent it. We should implement it during the assessment month so the people see that taxes are fairly apportioned. Once they understand the measure and feel its benefit, it will go smoothly because it follows what they want." The Gentleman-attendant of Composition Fu Siyi objected, "Local customs differ, terrain varies from easy to harsh, and the nine-tier differential tax system has stood for years. To change the law overnight may throw everything into disorder." The empress dowager replied, "With Three Chiefs, assessments will have fixed standards and taxes fixed shares. Hidden households under powerful patrons can be exposed, and freeloaders checked. Why should we not do it?" Although opinions differed, everyone agreed only that reform itself was difficult; no one offered any further objection. The Three Chiefs system was duly established, to the benefit of both government and people.

遷中書令，加散騎常侍，給事中如故。尋轉南部尚書，賜爵順陽侯。沖為文明太后所幸，恩寵日盛，賞賜月至數千萬，進爵隴西公，密致珍寶御物以充其第，外人莫得而知焉。沖家素清貧，於是始為富室。而謙以自牧，積而能散，近自姻族，逮于鄉閭，莫不分及。虛己接物，垂念羇寒，衰舊淪屈由之躋敍者，亦以多矣。時以此稱之。

He was promoted to Director of the Secretariat with the additional rank of Attendant-in-Ordinary of the Scattered Cavalry, while retaining his post as Attendant-in-Attendance. He was soon made Director of the Southern Section of the Masters of Writing and enfeoffed as Marquis of Shunyang. Li Chong won Empress Dowager Wenming's favor, and his credit rose daily. Monthly gifts reached tens of millions. He was raised to Duke of Longxi, and precious treasures and imperial goods were secretly sent to fill his mansion—of which outsiders knew nothing. The Li family had always been poor; now for the first time they became a great house. Yet he remained modest, gathering wealth only to give it away—from close kin by marriage to neighbors far and near, everyone received a share. He received others without pretension and remembered the dispossessed and poor. Many aged men who had fallen from rank recovered their standing through his help. People of the time praised him for it.

初，沖兄佐與河南太守來崇同自涼州入國，素有微嫌。佐因緣成崇罪，餓死獄中。後崇子護又糾佐贓罪，佐及沖等悉坐幽繫，會赦乃免，佐甚銜之。至沖寵貴，綜攝內外，護為南部郎，深慮為沖所陷，常求退避，而沖每慰撫之。護後坐贓罪，懼必不濟。沖乃具奏與護本末嫌隙，乞原恕之，遂得不坐。沖從甥陰始孫孤貧，往來沖家，至如子姪。有人求官，因其納馬於沖，始孫受輒而不為言。後假方便，借沖此馬，馬主見沖乘馬而不得官，後乃自陳始末。沖聞之，大驚，執始孫以狀款奏，始孫坐死。其處要自厲，不念愛惡，皆此類也。

Earlier, Li Chong's brother Zuo and Lai Chong, administrator of Henan, had entered Wei together from Liang Province; a small grudge had long stood between them. Zuo seized an opportunity to have Lai Chong convicted; Lai starved to death in prison. Later Lai Chong's son Hu charged Zuo with corruption. Zuo, Li Chong, and others were all imprisoned but released in a general amnesty. Zuo nursed a deep grudge. When Li Chong rose to power over both court and camp, Hu served in the Southern Section. Fearing Li Chong would destroy him, he constantly tried to keep his distance—but Li Chong always reassured him. When Hu later faced a corruption charge, he feared he would not survive it. Li Chong submitted a full account of his old feud with Hu and begged forgiveness; Hu escaped punishment. Li Chong's nephew by marriage Yin Shisun was orphaned and poor; he lived in and out of Li Chong's house like a son. A man seeking office gave Li Chong a horse through Yin Shisun; Shisun accepted it but never mentioned the man to Li Chong. Later Shisun borrowed the horse on some pretext. The donor saw Li Chong riding it yet received no appointment, and finally told Li Chong the whole story himself. Li Chong was shocked. He had Shisun arrested and submitted a full confession; Shisun was executed. In high office he held himself to strict standards and set aside personal likes and grudges—this was typical of his conduct.

是時循舊，王公重臣皆呼其名，高祖常謂沖為中書而不名之。文明太后崩後，高祖居喪，引見待接有加。及議禮儀律令，潤飾辭旨，刊定輕重，高祖雖自下筆，無不訪決焉。沖竭忠奉上，知無不盡，出入憂勤，形於顏色，雖舊臣戚輔，莫能逮之，無不服其明斷慎密而歸心焉。於是天下翕然，及殊方聽望，咸宗奇之。高祖亦深相杖信，親敬彌甚，君臣之間，情義莫二。及改置百司，開建五等，以沖參定典式，封滎陽郡開國侯，食邑八百戶，拜廷尉卿。尋遷侍中、吏部尚書、咸陽王師。東宮既建，拜太子少傅。高祖初依周禮，置夫、嬪之列，以沖女為夫人。

By custom, princes and great ministers were addressed by personal name—but Emperor Xiaowen habitually called Li Chong "Secretariat" instead of naming him. After Empress Dowager Wenming died, while Emperor Xiaowen held mourning, he received Li Chong with even greater favor. In drafting rites, etiquette, and law—polishing language, weighing penalties—Emperor Xiaowen wrote with his own hand, yet consulted Li Chong on every point. Li Chong served with tireless loyalty, holding nothing back. Care and strain showed plainly on his face. Even veteran ministers and imperial kin could not match him; all submitted to his clarity, discretion, and judgment. Within the realm opinion converged on him; even distant lands that watched from afar regarded him with wonder. Emperor Xiaowen relied on him deeply and honored him ever more closely; between emperor and minister there was no second loyalty. When the bureaucracy was reorganized and the five ranks instituted, Li Chong helped set the standards. He was enfeoffed as founding Marquis of Xingyang with eight hundred households and appointed Director of the Court of Judicial Review. He was soon made Palace Attendant, Director of the Ministry of Personnel, and tutor to the Prince of Xianyang. When the heir apparent was formally installed, he was appointed Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince. When Emperor Xiaowen first reorganized the inner palace on the model of the Rites of Zhou, he made Li Chong's daughter a Lady.

詔曰：「昔軒皇誕御，垂棟宇之構；爰歷三代，興宮觀之式。然茅茨土堦，昭德於上代；層臺廣厦，崇威於中葉。良由文質異宜，華樸殊禮故也。是以周成繼業，營明堂於東都；漢祖聿興，建未央於咸鎬。蓋所以尊嚴皇威，崇重帝德，豈好奢惡儉，苟弊民力者哉？我皇運統天，協纂乾曆，銳意四方，未遑建制，宮室之度，頗為未允。太祖初基，雖粗有經式，自茲厥後，復多營改。至於三元慶饗，萬國充庭，觀光之使，具瞻有闕。朕以寡德，猥承洪緒，運屬休期，事鍾昌運，宜遵遠度，式茲宮宇。指訓規模，事昭於平日；明堂、太廟，已成於昔年。又因往歲之豐資，藉民情之安逸，將以今春營改正殿。違犯時令，行之惕然。但朔土多寒，事殊南夏，自非裁度當春，興役徂暑，則廣制崇基，莫由克就。成功立事，非委賢莫可；改制規模，非任能莫濟。尚書沖器懷淵博，經度明遠，可領將作大匠；司空、長樂公亮，可與大匠共監興繕。其去故崇新之宜，修復太極之制，朕當別加指授。」

An edict declared, "When the Yellow Emperor first took the throne, he laid down the pattern of palace halls; Through the Three Dynasties, the forms of palace and tower rose. Thatched roofs and earthen steps proclaimed virtue in antiquity; tiered terraces and vast halls exalted imperial majesty in the middle ages. This was because ornament and substance suit different ages, and splendor and plainness follow different ritual norms. Hence King Cheng of Zhou, inheriting the throne, built the Bright Hall at the eastern capital; and the Founding Emperor of Han raised Weiyang Palace at Xian and Hao. All this was to lend dignity to imperial majesty and weight to imperial virtue—not from love of luxury or contempt for thrift, nor from any wish to waste the people's labor? Our emperor's destiny accords with Heaven and continues the Mandate of old. Intent on the four quarters of the realm, he has had no leisure to set the palace in order; our halls are still not what they should be. When Emperor Daowu first established the capital, a rough standard was set, but since then there have been repeated changes and additions. At the great seasonal feasts, when all lands filled the court, foreign envoys who came to witness our splendor found the spectacle wanting. I, of little merit, have unworthily received this great inheritance. Fortune favors this bright season; the times call for prosperity. I should follow the ancient precedent and set our palace halls in proper form. The plan and scale were announced long ago; the Bright Hall and Grand Ancestral Temple were finished in years past. With last year's abundance and the people's present ease, I mean this spring to rebuild the main hall. To begin work out of season fills me with dread. But the northern realm is cold, unlike the south. Unless we measure out the work in spring and carry the labor through into summer, this great foundation and high structure cannot be completed. To bring great work to success, nothing avails unless the worthy are entrusted with it; To reshape institutions and measure, nothing succeeds unless the capable are given charge. Minister of the Secretariat Li Chong's mind is broad and deep, his planning far-sighted; let him lead as Director of Palace Construction; The Minister of Works, Prince of Changle Liang, shall jointly supervise construction with the Director. As for what to remove and what to build anew, and how to restore the Grand Ultimate Palace—I shall give separate instructions."

車駕南伐，加沖輔國大將軍，統眾翼從。自發都至於洛陽，霖雨不霽，仍詔六軍發軫。高祖戎服執鞭，御馬而出，羣臣啟顙於馬首之前。高祖曰：「長驅之謀，廟算已定，今大軍將進，公等更欲何云？」沖進曰：「臣等不能折衝帷幄，坐制四海，而令南有竊號之渠，實臣等之咎。陛下以文軌未一，親勞聖駕，臣等誠思亡軀盡命，効死戎行。然自離都淫雨，士馬困弊，前路尚遙，水潦方甚。且伊洛境內，小水猶尚致難，況長江浩汗，越在南境。若營舟檝，必須停滯，師老糧乏，進退為難，矜喪反旆，於義為允。」高祖曰：「一同之意，前已具論。卿等正以水雨為難，然天時頗亦可知。何者？夏既炎旱，秋故雨多，玄冬之初，必當開爽。比後月十間，[12]若雨猶不已，此乃天也，脫於此而晴，行則無害。古不伐喪，謂諸侯同軌之國，非王者統一之文。已至於此，何容停駕。」沖又進曰：「今者之舉，天下所不願，唯陛下欲之。漢文言，吾獨乘千里馬，竟何至也？臣有意而無其辭，敢以死請。」高祖大怒曰：「方欲經營宇宙，一同區域，而卿等儒生，屢疑大計，斧鉞有常，卿勿復言！」策馬將出。於是大司馬、安定王休，兼左僕射、任城王澄等並殷勤泣諫。高祖乃諭羣臣曰：「今者興動不小，動而無成，何以示後？苟欲班師，無以垂之千載。朕仰惟遠祖，世居幽漠，違眾南遷，以享無窮之美，豈其無心，輕遺陵壤。今之君子，寧獨有懷？當由天工人代、王業須成故也。若不南鑾，即當移都於此，光宅土中，機亦時矣，王公等以為何如？議之所決，不得旋踵，欲遷者左，不欲者右。」安定王休等相率如右。前南安王楨進曰：[13]「夫愚者闇於成事，智者見於未萌。行至德者不議於俗，成大功者不謀於眾，非常之人乃能建非常之事。 [14]廓神都以延王業，度土中以制帝京，周公啟之於前，陛下行之於後，故其宜也。且天下至重，莫若皇居，人之所貴，寧如遺體？請上安聖躬，下慰民望，光宅中原，輟彼南伐。此臣等願言，蒼生幸甚。」羣臣咸唱「萬歲」。

When the emperor marched south on campaign, Li Chong was further appointed General Who Assists the State and placed in command of the flank forces. From the day they left the capital until they reached Luoyang, the rains never let up—yet an edict still ordered the six armies to march. Emperor Xiaowen put on armor, took the whip, mounted his horse, and rode out; the assembled ministers prostrated themselves before his mount. Emperor Xiaowen said, "The plan for a long advance was settled in council. The great army is about to move—what more do you gentlemen wish to say?" Li Chong stepped forward and said, "We have failed to break the enemy at the command tent and rule the four seas from our seats, yet usurpers still hold sway in the south—that fault is ours. Your Majesty, because civilization is not yet unified, has come in person at the head of the army; we are ready to give our lives on the battlefield. Yet since we left the capital the rains have not ceased; men and horses are worn out, the road ahead is still long, and the floods are severe. Even within the Yi and Luo region small streams still pose difficulties—how much more the vast Yangzi, lying far to the south. If we must build boats and oars, we shall be forced to halt; the army will grow weary, provisions will run short, and advance and retreat will both be hard. To show mercy to a state in mourning and turn the banners homeward would be the right course." Emperor Xiaowen said, "My intent to unify the realm—I have already explained it fully. You take the rain as your difficulty, yet the seasons can to some extent be read. How so? Summer was hot and dry, so autumn brings heavy rains; at the start of deep winter the skies must clear. Within the next ten days or so, [12] if the rain still does not stop, that will be Heaven's decree; but if it clears, marching will do no harm. The ancients did not attack a state in mourning—but that applied to feudal lords of equal rank, not to a king's enterprise of unification. Having come this far, how can we halt the imperial progress?" Li Chong stepped forward again and said, "This campaign is what the realm does not want—only Your Majesty wants it. Emperor Wen of Han said, 'I alone ride the swift horse—where will that take me?' I have the thought but not the words to express it; I beg you with my life." Emperor Xiaowen flew into a rage. "Just as I mean to plan the cosmos and unify the realm, you Confucian scholars keep doubting my great design. The law of axe and blade is fixed—speak no more!" He spurred his horse and was about to ride out. Then the Grand Marshal, Prince of Anding Xiu, together with the Concurrent Left Vice Director, Prince of Rencheng Cheng, and others all wept and earnestly remonstrated. Emperor Xiaowen then addressed the assembled ministers: "This mobilization is no small affair. To mobilize and fail—what would we show posterity? If we withdraw now, we shall have nothing to leave to a thousand generations. I reflect on our remote ancestors, who for generations dwelt in the northern wastes, then defied popular sentiment and migrated south to enjoy boundless prosperity—did they act without purpose, lightly abandoning their ancestral tombs and native soil? Are you gentlemen of today alone moved by such thoughts? Surely it was because Heaven works through men, and the royal enterprise had to be fulfilled. If we do not march south, then we should move the capital here and gloriously establish ourselves in the Central Land—the moment is ripe. What do you princes and dukes think? Decide at once—do not hesitate. Those who favor moving the capital, stand to the left; those who do not, to the right." Prince of Anding Xiu and the others in succession stood to the right. Former Prince of Nan'an Zhen stepped forward and said, [13] "The fool sees only what is already done; the wise see what has not yet begun. One who walks in supreme virtue does not debate with the crowd; one who achieves great deeds does not consult the multitude—only extraordinary men can accomplish extraordinary things. [14] To broaden the sacred capital and extend the royal enterprise, to measure the Central Land and establish the imperial capital—the Duke of Zhou began this in antiquity, and Your Majesty completes it now. How fitting. Moreover, nothing in the realm weighs more heavily than the imperial residence; what do men cherish more than the body bequeathed by their forebears? We beg Your Majesty above to secure your sacred person and below to satisfy the people's hopes—gloriously establish yourself in the Central Plains, and halt this southern campaign. This is our earnest wish; the common people would be greatly fortunate." The assembled ministers all shouted, "Ten thousand years!"

高祖初謀南遷，恐眾心戀舊，乃示為大舉，因以脅定羣情，外名南伐，其實遷也。舊人懷土，多所不願，內憚南征，無敢言者，於是定都洛陽。沖言於高祖曰：「陛下方修周公之制，定鼎成周。然營建六寢，不可遊駕待就；興築城郛，難以馬上營訖。願暫還北都，令臣下經造，功成事訖，然後備文物之章，和玉鑾之響，巡時南徙，軌儀土中。」高祖曰：「朕將巡省方岳，至鄴小停，春始便還，未宜遂不歸北。」尋以沖為鎮南將軍，侍中、少傅如故，委以營構之任。改封陽平郡開國侯，邑戶如先。

Emperor Xiaowen had from the first planned to move the capital south. Fearing that the people clung to the old capital, he presented the move as a great military undertaking, thereby forcing consensus—outwardly a southern campaign, in reality a migration. The old families cherished their homeland and mostly did not wish to move; inwardly they dreaded the southern campaign, but none dared speak out. Thus the capital was fixed at Luoyang. Li Chong said to Emperor Xiaowen, "Your Majesty is now following the Duke of Zhou's institutions, fixing the tripod and completing Zhou. Yet the six palace chambers cannot be built while the imperial carriage waits on the road; nor can walls and suburbs be raised and finished from horseback. I ask that Your Majesty temporarily return to the northern capital and leave your ministers to oversee construction. When the work is complete, then prepare the full regalia of state, harmonize the jade carriage's sound, and at the proper season move south with full ceremonial splendor to the Central Land." Emperor Xiaowen said, "I shall tour the sacred mountains, pause briefly at Ye, and return at the start of spring—it is not yet time to abandon the north altogether." Soon Li Chong was appointed General Who Guards the South; his posts as Palace Attendant and Junior Tutor remained unchanged, and construction duties were entrusted to him. His title was changed to Founding Marquis of Yangping Commandery, with the same number of fief households as before.

車駕南伐，以沖兼左僕射，留守洛陽。車駕渡淮，別詔安南大將軍元英、平南將軍劉藻討漢中，召雍涇岐三州兵六千人擬戍南鄭，克城則遣。沖表諫曰：「秦州險阨，地接羌夷，自西師出後，餉援連續，加氐胡叛逆，所在奔命，運糧擐甲，迄茲未已。今復豫差戍卒，懸擬山外，雖加優復，恐猶驚駭，脫終攻不克，徒動民情，連胡結夷，事或難測。輒依旨密下刺史，待軍克鄭城，然後差遣，如臣愚見，猶謂未足。何者？西道險阨，單徑千里，今欲深戍絕界之外，孤據羣賊之中，[15]敵攻不可卒援，食盡不可運糧。古人有言，『雖鞭之長，不及馬腹』，南鄭於國，實為馬腹也。且昔人攻伐，或城降而不取；仁君用師，或撫民而遺地。且王者之舉，情在拯民；夷寇所守，意在惜地。校之二義，德有淺深。惠聲已遠，何遽於一城哉？且魏境所掩，九州過八，民人所臣，十分而九。所未民者，惟漠北之與江外耳。羈之在近，豈急急於今日也？宜待大開疆宇，廣拔城聚，多積資糧，食足支敵，然後置邦樹將，為吞并之舉。今鍾離、壽陽，密邇未拔；赭城、新野，跬步弗降。 [16]所克者舍之而不取，所降者撫之而旋戮。東道既未可以近力守，西蕃寧可以遠兵固？若果欲置者，臣恐終以資敵也。又今建都土中，地接寇壤，方須大收死士，平蕩江會。輕遣單寡，棄令陷沒，恐後舉之日，眾以留守致懼，求其死効，未易可獲。推此而論，不戍為上。」高祖從之。

When the emperor marched south on campaign, Li Chong was concurrently appointed Left Vice Director and left to guard Luoyang. When the emperor crossed the Huai, a separate edict ordered General Who Pacifies the South Yuan Ying and General Who Levels the South Liu Zao to attack Hanzhong, and summoned six thousand troops from Yong, Jing, and Qi provinces to garrison Nanzheng once the city was taken. Li Chong submitted a memorial of remonstrance: "Qin Province is rugged and borders Qiang and barbarian lands. Since the western army marched out, supplies and reinforcements have flowed without cease; with Di and Hu in rebellion, troops everywhere are rushing to and fro, hauling grain and donning armor—a burden that has not ended to this day. Now to pre-assign garrison troops for deployment beyond the mountains—even with tax exemptions, I fear the people will still be alarmed. If the attack should fail, we will have stirred popular unrest for nothing, and by linking Hu tribes with barbarians, the consequences may be hard to foretell. I have already followed the edict and secretly instructed the governors to wait until the army captures Zheng city before dispatching troops—but in my humble view, even that is not enough. Why? The western route is rugged, a single path stretching a thousand li. To garrison deep beyond the border, isolated among masses of bandits, [15] means that when the enemy attacks, relief cannot arrive in time, and when provisions run out, grain cannot be transported. The ancients said, 'Though the whip is long, it does not reach the horse's belly'—Nanzheng is truly the horse's belly for our state. Moreover, men of old in their campaigns sometimes let cities surrender without taking them; benevolent rulers sometimes comforted the people yet abandoned the land. The intent of a king's enterprise lies in saving the people; what barbarian invaders hold dear is the land itself. Compare the two motives, and the difference in virtue is plain. Our benevolent reputation already reaches far—why be so eager over one city? Moreover, Wei already covers more than eight of the Nine Provinces; nine-tenths of the people already submit to us. Those not yet our subjects are only the lands north of the desert and beyond the Yangzi. To bring them under our sway is within reach—why the urgency of today? We should wait until we have greatly expanded our borders, seized many walled settlements, and amassed abundant supplies—until our grain is sufficient to sustain war—then establish garrisons and appoint commanders for a campaign of conquest. Now Zhongli and Shouyang, close at hand, are not yet taken; Zhecheng and Xinye, a short march away, still do not surrender. [16] Cities we capture we abandon without holding; those who surrender we comfort and then promptly execute. If we cannot hold the eastern route with nearby forces, how can we secure the western borderlands with distant troops? If we truly establish garrisons there, I fear we shall in the end supply the enemy. Moreover, now that we are establishing the capital in the Central Land, with enemy territory at our borders, we need above all to gather loyal fighters and sweep the Yangtze confluence. To send out isolated detachments lightly and abandon them to destruction—I fear that when the next campaign comes, the troops will dread being left behind on garrison duty, and we shall not easily obtain their willingness to fight to the death. Weighing all this, not to garrison is best." Emperor Xiaowen accepted his advice.

車駕還都，引見沖等，謂之曰：「本所以多置官者，慮有令僕闇弱，百事稽壅，若明獨聰專，則權勢大併。 [17]今朕雖不得為聰明，又不為劣闇，卿等不為大賢，亦不為大惡。且可一兩年許，少置官司。」

When the emperor returned to the capital, he summoned Li Chong and others and said to them, "The reason I originally established so many offices was fear that some directors and vice directors would be dull and weak, and a hundred affairs would stall. If one man alone were bright and wise, authority and power would become too concentrated. [17] Now, I am neither especially wise nor especially dull; you are neither greatly worthy nor greatly wicked. For a year or two, we may reduce the number of offices."

高祖自鄴還京，汎舟洪池，乃從容謂沖曰：「朕欲從此通渠於洛，南伐之日，何容不從此入洛，從洛入河，從河入汴，從汴入清，以至於淮？下船而戰，猶出戶而鬬，此乃軍國之大計。今溝渠若須二萬人以下、六十日有成者，宜以漸修之。」沖對曰：「若爾，便是士無遠涉之勞，戰有兼人之力。」遷尚書僕射，仍領少傅。改封清淵縣開國侯，邑戶如前。乃太子恂廢，沖罷少傅。

Emperor Xiaowen, returning from Ye to the capital, was boating on Hong Pool when he said at leisure to Li Chong, "I wish to open a canal from here to Luoyang. On the day of the southern campaign—how can we not enter Luoyang from here, from Luoyang enter the river, from the river enter the Bian, from the Bian enter the Qing, and reach the Huai? Fighting after disembarking is like fighting after stepping out the door—this is a great plan for army and state. If any canal or ditch can be completed within sixty days with fewer than twenty thousand men, it should be built gradually." Li Chong replied, "If so, soldiers would be spared the toil of long marches, and in battle each man would fight with the strength of two." He was transferred to Vice Director of the Secretariat, while retaining his post as Junior Tutor. His title was changed to Founding Marquis of Qingyuan County, with the same number of fief households as before. When Crown Prince Xun was deposed, Li Chong was relieved of his post as Junior Tutor.

高祖引見公卿於清徽堂，高祖曰：「聖人之大寶，惟位與功，是以功成作樂，治定制禮。今徙極中天，創居嵩洛，雖大構未成，要自條紀略舉。但南有未賓之豎，兼兇蠻密邇，朕夙夜悵惋，良在於茲。取南之計決矣，朕行之謀必矣。若依近代也，則天子下帷深宮之內；準上古也，則有親行，祚延七百。 [18]魏晉不征，旋踵而殞，祚之修短，在德不在征。今但以行期未知早晚。知幾其神乎，朕既非神，焉能知也。而頃來陰陽卜術之士，咸勸朕今征必克。此既家國大事，宜共君臣各盡所見，不得以朕先言，便致依違，退有同異。」沖對曰：「夫征戰之法，先之人事，然後卜筮，今卜筮雖吉，猶恐人事未備。今年秋稔，有損常實，又京師始遷，眾業未定，加之征戰，以為未可。宜至來秋。」高祖曰：「僕射之言，非為不合。朕意之所慮，乃有社稷之憂。然咫尺寇戎，無宜自安，理須如此。僕射言人事未從，亦不必如此。朕去十七年，擁二十萬眾，行不出畿甸，此人事之盛，而非天時。往年乘機，天時乃可，而闕人事，又致不捷。若待人事備，復非天時，若之何？如僕射之言，便終無征理。朕若秋行無克捷，三君子並付司寇。不可不人盡其心。」罷議而出。

Emperor Xiaowen received the dukes and ministers at Qinghui Hall and said, "The sage's great treasures are position and merit—therefore when merit is achieved one composes music, and when governance is settled one establishes rites. Now we have moved to the center of Heaven and newly established ourselves at Song and Luo. Though the great structure is not yet complete, the essential statutes and regulations should at least be broadly set forth. But in the south there are unreceived upstarts, and fierce barbarians press close upon us—I brood on this morning and night. My plan to take the south is decided; my resolve to carry it out is firm. If we follow recent ages, the Son of Heaven hangs curtains within the deep palace; if we measure by high antiquity, there was personal campaigning, and the throne endured seven hundred years. [18] Wei and Jin did not campaign—and in the turning of a heel their dynasties perished. The length of a throne depends on virtue, not on campaigning. Now only the date of the march is uncertain—whether early or late. To know the subtle turning points—is that not divine? I am no divinity—how can I know? Yet recently masters of yin-yang and divination have all urged that if I campaign now, I must prevail. This is a great matter for family and state. Ruler and ministers should each state their views fully—you must not, because I spoke first, agree in my presence yet hold different views in private." Li Chong replied, "In the art of war, human affairs come first and divination second. Though divination now is auspicious, I still fear that human affairs are not yet in order. This year's harvest is in, but yields fall short of normal. The capital has only just been relocated, and a thousand trades are still unsettled. To campaign on top of that, I believe, is not yet feasible. It would be better to wait until next autumn." Emperor Xiaowen said, "What the Vice Director says is not without merit. What weighs on my mind is the peril facing the realm itself. Yet the foe stands at our very threshold. There is no warrant for complacency; reason demands we act. You say human affairs are not yet in order—but that need not bind us so absolutely. For seventeen years I have held two hundred thousand men and never marched beyond the capital domain. That is human affairs at their fullest—not heaven's chosen moment. In years past we seized the moment when heaven favored us, yet human affairs fell short—and again we failed to win. If we wait until every human affair is ready, heaven's season will have passed—then what? If I followed your counsel, there would never be a season fit for war. If I march this autumn and do not prevail, all three of you shall answer to the Minister of Justice. Each of you must give me your utmost." The council adjourned and he left.

後世宗為太子，高祖醼於清徽堂。高祖曰：「皇儲所以纂歷三才，光昭七祖，斯乃億兆咸悅，天人同泰，故延卿就此一醼，以暢忻情。」高祖又曰：「天地之道，一盈一虛，豈有常泰。天道猶爾，況人事乎？故有升有黜，自古而然。悼往欣今，良用深歎。」沖對曰：「東暉承儲，蒼生咸幸。但臣前忝師傅，弗能弼諧，仰慚天日，慈造寬含，得預此醼，慶愧交深。」高祖曰：「朕尚弗能革其昏，師傅何勞愧謝也。」

Later, when the Crown Prince who would become Emperor Xuanwu was invested, Emperor Xiaowen held a feast in the Hall of Clear Emblems. Emperor Xiaowen said, "The Crown Prince is heir to the three realms and bearer of glory for seven generations of ancestors. The myriad people rejoice; heaven and earth are at peace. I have invited you to this feast so we may share our joy together." Emperor Xiaowen went on, "Heaven and earth wax and wane in turn. How could peace endure forever? If even heaven's course is so, how much more the affairs of men? Rise and fall, appointment and removal—this has been true since antiquity. To mourn what is gone and rejoice in what is now—this moves me to a deep sigh." Li Chong replied, "The eastern sun has received the succession; the people are blessed. Yet I once served as Tutor and failed to guide him well. I am ashamed before heaven itself. Your gracious indulgence has allowed me to join this feast—gratitude and remorse mingle in me deeply." Emperor Xiaowen said, "I myself have not yet cured his dullness. Why should the Tutor burden himself with apologies?"

後尚書疑元拔、穆泰罪事，沖奏曰：「前彭城鎮將元拔與穆泰同逆，養子降壽宜從拔罪。而太尉、咸陽王禧等，以為律文養子而為罪，父及兄弟不知情者不坐。謹審律意，以養子於父非天性，於兄弟非同氣，敦薄既差，故刑典有降，是以養子雖為罪，而父兄不預。然父兄為罪，養子不知謀，易地均情，豈獨從戮乎？理固不然。臣以為：依據律文，不追戮於所生，則從坐於所養，[19]明矣。又律惟言父不從子，不稱子不從父，[20]當是優尊厲卑之義。臣禧等以為：『律雖不正見，互文起制，於乞也舉父之罪，於養也見子坐，是為互起。互起兩明，無罪必矣。若以嫡繼養與生同，則父子宜均，祇明不坐。且繼養之注云：若有別制，不同此律。又令文云：諸有封爵，若無親子，及其身卒，雖有養繼，國除不襲。是為有福不及己，有罪便預坐。均事等情，律令之意，便相矛盾。伏度律旨，必不然也。』臣沖以為：指例條尋，罪在無疑，準令語情，頗亦同式。」詔曰：「僕射之議，據律明矣；太尉等論，於典矯也。 [21]養所以從戮者，緣其已免所生，故不得復甄於所養。此獨何福，長處吞舟？于國所以不襲者，重列爵，特立制，因天之所絕，推而除之耳，豈復報對刑賞？于斯則應死，可特原之。」

Later the Masters of Writing raised questions about the cases of Yuan Ba and Mu Tai. Li Chong memorialized, "The former garrison commander of Pengcheng, Yuan Ba, rebelled alongside Mu Tai. The adopted son Jiang Shou should share Ba's punishment. But the Grand Commandant, Prince Xi of Xianyang, and others argued that the statute provides: when an adopted son commits a crime, the father and brothers who knew nothing of it shall not be punished. On careful review of the statute's intent: an adopted son bears no natural bond to his father, no shared blood with his brothers. Affection and obligation differ accordingly, and the penal code therefore mitigates punishment. Though the adopted son is guilty, his father and elder brothers are not implicated. Yet if the father and elder brothers commit a crime and the adopted son knew nothing of the plot, would we, reversing the roles and weighing the feelings equally, execute him alone? Reason cannot allow that. Your servant holds that by the statute's logic, if the birth father is not pursued for execution, then one shares punishment with the adoptive father—[19] this is clear. Moreover the statute speaks only of the father not sharing the son's guilt, not of the son not sharing the father's—[20] surely this reflects the principle of honoring superiors and restraining inferiors. We, Xi and others, hold: "Though the statute does not state the rule outright in one passage, it establishes it through complementary clauses—in adoption by petition it cites the father's crime; in formal adoption it shows the son's punishment. This is mutual establishment. Read together, both passages make innocence certain. If legitimate succession adoption is treated as equal to birth, then father and son should be treated alike—the statute only clarifies that they are not punished. Furthermore the commentary on succession adoption states: where separate regulations exist, they override this statute. The ordinance further states: holders of fiefs and ranks who leave no natural son—forfeit their title at death even if an adopted heir exists; the fief is abolished and not inherited. This means benefit does not accrue to the adopter, yet guilt immediately implicates him. Weighing the matter and the feelings equally, the intent of statute and ordinance plainly contradict each other. We submit that the statute's intent cannot be so." Li Chong held: tracing the precedents and articles, guilt is beyond doubt; measured against the ordinance's language and intent, the cases align closely." An edict declared, "The Vice Director's argument, grounded in statute, is clear; the Grand Commandant and his colleagues twist the canon. [21] An adopted son shares execution because he is already exempt regarding his birth father; he cannot claim exemption a second time regarding his adoptive father. What special privilege is this, that chronic wrongdoing may swallow even great offenders? As for the fief not passing to an adopted heir: ranked nobility is weighty matter, and a separate regulation was established. When heaven cuts off a line, the title is abolished—how could that be weighed against criminal liability? By this standard he deserves death—but let him be specially pardoned."

沖機敏有巧思，北京明堂、圓丘、太廟，及洛都初基，安處郊兆，新起堂寢，皆資於沖。勤志強力，孜孜無怠，旦理文簿，兼營匠制，几案盈積，剞劂在手，終不勞厭也。然顯貴門族，務益六姻，兄弟子姪，皆有爵官，一家歲祿，萬匹有餘，是其親者，雖復癡聾，無不超越官次。時論亦以此少之。

Li Chong was quick-witted and ingenious. The Bright Hall, Round Mound, and Grand Temple at the northern capital; the founding of the eastern capital at Luoyang; the placement of suburban altars; the raising of new halls and chambers—all drew on his expertise. Diligent and tireless, he managed documents by day while directing craftsmen's designs. Desks piled high, carving knife in hand—he never wearied of the labor. Yet as head of a great clan he enriched all six branches of kin. Brothers, sons, and nephews all held rank and office; the household's annual stipend exceeded ten thousand bolts of silk. Among his relatives, even the dull and deaf rose above their proper station. Contemporary opinion held this against him.

年纔四十，而鬢髮班白，姿貌豐美，未有衰狀。李彪之入京也，孤微寡援，而自立不羣，以沖好士，傾心宗附。沖亦重其器學，禮而納焉，每言之於高祖，公私共相援益。及彪為中尉、兼尚書，為高祖知待，便謂非復藉沖，而更相輕背，惟公坐斂袂而已，無復宗敬之意也。沖頗銜之。後高祖南征，沖與吏部尚書、任城王澄並以彪倨傲無禮，遂禁止之。奏其罪狀，沖手自作，家人不知，辭甚激切，因以自劾。高祖覽其表，歎悵者久之，既而曰：「道固可謂溢也，僕射亦為滿矣。」沖時震怒，[22]數數責彪前後愆悖，瞋目大呼，投折几案。盡收御史，皆泥首面縛，詈辱肆口。沖素性溫柔，而一旦暴恚，遂發病荒悸，言語亂錯，猶扼腕叫詈，稱李彪小人。醫藥所不能療，或謂肝藏傷裂。旬有餘日而卒，時年四十九。高祖為舉哀於懸瓠，發聲悲泣，不能自勝。詔曰：「沖貞和資性，德義樹身，訓業自家，道素形國。太和之始，朕在弱齡，早委機密，實康時務。鴻漸瀍洛，朝選開清，升冠端右，惟允出納。忠肅柔明，足敷睿範，仁恭信惠，有結民心。可謂國之賢也，朝之望也。方昇寵秩，以旌功舊，奄致喪逝，悲痛于懷。既留勤應陟，兼良宿宜褒，可贈司空公，給東園祕器、朝服一具、衣一襲，贈錢三十萬、布五百匹、蠟二百斤。」有司奏諡曰文穆。葬於覆舟山，近杜預冢，高祖之意也。後車駕自鄴還洛，路經沖墓，左右以聞，高祖臥疾望墳，掩泣久之。詔曰：「司空文穆公，德為時宗，勳簡朕心，不幸徂逝，託墳邙嶺，旋鑾覆舟，躬睇塋域，悲仁惻舊，有慟朕衷。可遣太牢之祭，以申吾懷。」及與留京百官相見，皆敍沖亡沒之故，言及流淚。高祖得留臺啟，知沖患狀，謂右衞宋弁曰：「僕射執我樞衡，總釐朝務，清儉居躬，知寵已久。朕以仁明忠雅，委以台司之寄，使我出境無後顧之憂，一朝忽有此患，朕甚懷愴慨。」其相痛惜如此。

Though only forty, his temples had turned white; his bearing remained full and handsome, with no sign of decline. When Li Biao came to the capital, he was alone and without patrons, yet stood apart from the crowd. Li Chong loved men of talent, and Biao devoted himself to him wholeheartedly. Li Chong valued his talent and learning, received him with honor, and spoke of him often to Emperor Xiaowen. In public and private they supported each other. When Biao became Commandant of the Guards and concurrent Master of Writing, and won Emperor Xiaowen's favor, he decided he no longer needed Li Chong. They grew mutually contemptuous. At court Biao merely drew in his sleeves—no trace of former respect remained. Li Chong deeply resented this. Later, during Emperor Xiaowen's southern campaign, Li Chong and the Minister of Personnel, Prince Cheng of Ren, jointly placed Biao under restraint for his arrogance and discourtesy. They memorialized his offenses in a document Li Chong wrote in his own hand, unknown even to his household. The language was fierce and cutting, and he impeached himself in the same memorial. Emperor Xiaowen read the memorial and sighed for a long while. Then he said, "Daogu may be called overflowing—and the Vice Director, too, is brimful." Li Chong flew into a rage. [22] Again and again he upbraided Biao for his past and present offenses, glaring and shouting, hurling desks until they snapped. He had every censor seized, heads bowed in the dust, faces bound, and reviled them without restraint. Li Chong was gentle by nature, yet this sudden fury brought on delirium and palpitations. His speech grew confused; still he clutched his wrists and shouted curses, calling Li Biao a contemptible wretch. Medicine could not help him; some said his liver had ruptured. After little more than ten days he died, at the age of forty-nine. Emperor Xiaowen mourned him at Xuanhu, weeping aloud until he could no longer contain himself. An edict declared, "Li Chong was upright and harmonious by nature. He rooted himself in virtue and righteousness, brought learning from his own house, and embodied integrity for the realm. At the opening of the Taihe era, when I was still young, he was early entrusted with state secrets and truly steadied the affairs of the age. When the court moved to the Luo, he helped open a new era of clear appointments, rose to the highest ministerial rank, and faithfully managed all that passed in and out of the throne. Loyal, solemn, gentle, and wise, he spread the emperor's example. Benevolent, reverent, trustworthy, and gracious, he won the people's hearts. He was the state's worthy servant and the court's pillar of hope. Just as I was about to raise him in rank to honor his long service, death seized him suddenly. Grief fills my breast. His enduring diligence merited advancement; his long service deserved honor. Let him be posthumously created Duke of the Ministry of Works, with the eastern garden burial vessels, one set of court robes, one suit of garments, thirty thousand cash, five hundred bolts of cloth, and two hundred jin of wax." The relevant offices proposed the posthumous name Wenmu. He was buried at Mount Fuzhou, near the tomb of Du Yu—by Emperor Xiaowen's own wish. Later the imperial carriage returned from Ye to Luoyang. Passing Li Chong's tomb, attendants informed the emperor. Emperor Xiaowen, lying ill, gazed toward the grave and wept behind his sleeve for a long while. An edict declared, "Duke Wenmu of the Ministry of Works—his virtue was the age's standard, his merit engraved on my heart. He has passed away, laid to rest on the Mang Ridge. As my carriage turned at Mount Fuzhou and I gazed upon his grave, pity for an old friend pierced my heart. Let the great sacrificial offering be sent to express my grief." When he met the officials who had remained in the capital, he recounted Li Chong's death to each of them, and wept as he spoke. Emperor Xiaowen received the capital's report on Li Chong's illness and said to Song Bian of the Right Guard, "The Vice Director held the keys of state, measured all court affairs, and lived in purity and frugality. I have long known and favored him. For his benevolence, wisdom, loyalty, and refinement I entrusted him with the highest office, so that when I marched abroad I had no worry behind me. To lose him so suddenly fills me with deep sorrow." Such was the depth of his grief.

沖兄弟六人，四母所出，頗相忿䦧。及沖之貴，封祿恩賜皆以共之，內外輯睦。父亡後同居二十餘年，至洛乃別第宅，更相友愛，久無間然。皆沖之德也。始沖之見私寵也，兄子韶恒有憂色，慮致傾敗。後榮名日顯，稍乃自安。而沖明目當官，圖為己任，自始迄終，無所避屈。其體時推運，皆此類也。子延寔等，語在外戚傳。

Li Chong had six brothers, born of four different mothers, and they were often mutually resentful. When Li Chong rose to power, he shared every fief, stipend, and gift with them, and the family grew harmonious within and without. After their father's death they lived together for more than twenty years. Only when they moved to Luoyang did they take separate residences. Thereafter they grew ever closer, and for long years there was no estrangement. All this was Li Chong's doing. When Li Chong first won the emperor's private favor, his nephew Shao wore a constant look of worry, fearing the family would be brought down. Later, as Li Chong's fame grew daily, Shao gradually found peace. Li Chong, meanwhile, served office with clear-eyed integrity, treating governance as his own duty from first to last, never shirking or bending. His conduct in advancing the fortunes of the age was always of this sort. His sons Yan Shi and others are treated in the biography of the consort kin.

史臣曰：燕趙信多奇士。李孝伯風範鑒略，蓋亦過人遠甚。世祖雄猜嚴斷，崔浩已見誅夷，而入參心膂，出幹政事，獻可替否，無際可尋，故能從容任遇，以功名始卒。其智器固以優乎？安世識具通雅，時幹之良。瑒以豪俊達，郁則儒博顯。李沖早延寵眷，入幹腹心，風流識業，固乃一時之秀。終協契聖主，佐命太和，位當端揆，身任梁棟，德洽家門，功著王室。蓋有魏之亂臣也。

The historiographer writes: Yan and Zhao have ever produced extraordinary men. Li Xiaobo's bearing, discernment, and strategic vision surpassed ordinary men by far. Emperor Taiwu was fierce, suspicious, and ruthlessly decisive. Cui Hao had already been executed. Yet Xiaobo served at the emperor's side and managed affairs of state, offering counsel for and against with no trace of self-interest. Thus he moved through favor calmly and kept his merit and name to the end. Was his talent not truly superior? An Shi was broadly learned and refined—a fine servant of his age. Yang rose through bold excellence; Yu distinguished himself through Confucian breadth. Li Chong won early favor, served at the emperor's innermost counsel, and with elegant bearing, learning, and achievement stood among the finest men of his generation. In the end he joined in covenant with the sage emperor, helped establish the Taihe era, stood at the summit of office, bore the weight of state like beam and pillar, spread virtue through his clan, and left his mark on the royal house. Surely he was among Northern Wei's greatest ministers.

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校勘記

Textual collation notes

宣世祖詔勞問義恭等諸本「等」訛「率」，不可通，今據北史卷三三李孝伯傳、冊府卷六六０〈七八九四頁〉改。

On the passage "proclaiming Emperor Taiwu's edict expressing concern for Yigong and others": various editions wrongly read deng (and others) as shuai, which is unintelligible. The text now follows Biography of Li Xiaobo, juan 33 of the Book of Northern History, and Cefu yuangui juan 660 〈Page 7894〉 Corrected.

眾無三旅始濟翮水冊府卷六六０宋本同，明本〈七八九六頁〉「三」作「一」。按宋書卷五九張暢傳也作「一」，據文義作「一」是。又冊府〈同上卷頁〉及宋書張暢傳「翮水」並作「融水」。檢宋書卷七二南平王鑠傳，云：「鑠遣參軍胡盛之出汝南、上蔡，向長社。」汝潁一帶不聞有翮水或融水，疑有誤。

Textual note on the passage "the crowd had not even three companies when they first crossed Heshui": Cefu yuangui juan 660 — the Song edition agrees; the Ming edition 〈Page 7896〉 reads "three" as "one." Biography of Zhang Chang, juan 59 of the Book of Song, likewise has "one" — contextually, that reading is correct. Cefu yuangui, same juan, 〈same juan and page as above〉 Biography of Zhang Chang in the Book of Song likewise reads "Heshui" as "Rongshui." Consulting Biography of Prince of Nanping Shuo, juan 72 of the Book of Song: "Shuo dispatched Military Advisor Hu Shengzhi from Runan and Shangcai toward Changshe." Neither Heshui nor Rongshui is attested in the Ru-Ying region — the reading is probably wrong.

示使崔邪利撫之而已冊府〈同上卷頁〉、宋書卷五九張暢傳「示」作「亦」，較長。作「示」亦通，今不改。

Textual note on "showing [them] and sending Cui Xieli to pacify them, and that was all": Cefu yuangui 〈same juan and page as above〉 , and Zhang Chang's biography in juan 59 of the Book of Song writes "show" as "also," which is longer. Writing "show" is also acceptable; not changed here.

興安二年出為使持節散騎常侍平西將軍秦州刺史墓誌集釋肅宗充華盧令媛墓誌〈圖版三七〉稱祖淵，「夫人趙郡李氏，父孝伯，散騎常侍、尚書、使持節、平西將軍、泰州刺史、宣城公」。集釋卷二歷引錢大昕以來諸家之說，證地形志〈卷一０六下〉治蒲坂之秦州為泰州之訛，並以此傳「秦州」亦「泰州」之訛。按此「秦州」當作「泰州」。但傳文無治蒲坂明文，今不改。

Textual note on the appointment in the second year of Xing'an as Bearer of the Staff of Authority, Palace Attendant, General Who Pacifies the West, and Inspector of Qin Province: Collected Epitaph Inscriptions, Epitaph of Empress Consort Lu Lingyuan of Emperor Suzong 〈Plate 37〉 The epitaph gives the ancestral house as Yuan and records: "The Lady, née Li of Zhao Commandery; her father Xiaobo held the posts of Palace Attendant, Minister of the Masters of Writing, Bearer of the Staff of Authority, General Who Pacifies the West, Inspector of Tai Province, and Duke of Xuancheng." Juan 2 of Collected Explanations marshals scholars from Qian Daxin onward to show that in the Treatise on Geography 〈juan 106B〉 the Qin Province administered from Puban is a miswriting of Tai Province, and that this biography's "Qin Province" should likewise be "Tai Province." On this basis, "Qin Province" here should be Tai Province. The biography itself never explicitly says the post was at Puban, so the text is left unchanged.

況先臣在蒙委任冊府卷八七五〈一０三七三頁〉「在」作「往」，疑是。

Textual note on "moreover, your former minister, while entrusted with office": Cefu yuangui juan 875 〈Page 10373〉 "At" is written as "went to"; suspected correct.

子安世諸本卷末殿本入考證，不注所出。有宋人校語云：「高氏小史，魏書列傳第四十五高祐、崔挺、李安世三人。其傳云：『李安世，趙郡人也。宣城公孝伯之兄子，父祥，中書博士。』今魏書諸本，祥及安世事皆附此卷孝伯傳後。按李肇經史釋題、楊九齡經史目錄，第四十五卷高祐、崔挺、李安世三人。宗諫史目、殷藏用十三代史目惟高祐、崔挺而無李安世。此卷論安世及瑒、郁與北史同，疑李延壽用魏書舊語，後人移安世傳附孝伯，因取北史論安世父子事於此篇，亦不可考證。故載之目錄同異，以備傳疑。」

Textual note on the section "His son Anshi": various editions and the Palace Edition tuck it into the critical apparatus at juan end without citing a source. A Song-dynasty collation note reads: "Gao's Brief History places three men in Wei Shu biographies juan 45: Gao You, Cui Ting, and Li Anshi. That biography says: 'Li Anshi was from Zhao Commandery. He was a nephew of Duke of Xuancheng Xiaobo; his father Xiang served as Erudite of the Secretariat.' In current Wei Shu editions, the accounts of Xiang and Anshi are appended to Xiaobo's biography in this juan. Li Zhao's Explanations of Classics and Histories and Yang Jiuling's Catalogue of Classics and Histories list Gao You, Cui Ting, and Li Anshi together in juan 45. Zong Jian's History Catalogue and Yin Cangyong's Catalogue of the Thirteen Dynasties name only Gao You and Cui Ting — not Li Anshi. This juan's remarks on Anshi, Yang, and Yu match the Northern History. Li Yanshou may have drawn on old Wei Shu wording; later editors may have moved Anshi's biography under Xiaobo and imported the Northern History passage on Anshi and his father — none of this can be verified. The catalogue variants are recorded here to flag uncertainty about textual transmission."

三長既立冊府卷四九五〈五九二四頁〉「三長」作「子孫」。按下文說由於李安世上疏「均田之制，起於此矣」。均田制頒佈在太和九年〈四八五〉十月〈見卷七上高祖紀上〉，安世上疏，必在其前。而立三長却在太和十年二月〈見卷七下高祖紀下〉。安世上疏時，尚未頒佈均田制，當然更沒有立三長。疏中所謂「三長既立」，解釋不通。疑作「子孫既立」是。

Textual note on "once the Three Chiefs were established": Cefu yuangui juan 495 〈Page 5924〉 reads "Three Chiefs" as "descendants." The passage below ties the reform to Li Anshi's memorial: "Thus began the equal-field system." The equal-field system was promulgated in Taihe 9 〈485〉 October 〈see Basic Annals of Emperor Gaozu, Part A, juan 7〉 Li Anshi's memorial must therefore predate that promulgation. Establishment of the Three Chiefs came only in the second month of Taihe 10 〈see Basic Annals of Emperor Gaozu, Part B, juan 7〉 At the time of Anshi's memorial, neither the equal-field system nor the Three Chiefs system yet existed. The phrase "once the Three Chiefs were established" in the memorial makes no chronological sense. The correct reading is probably "once descendants were established."

猶罰瑒金一兩諸本「猶」訛「獨」，今據北史卷三三李孝伯附李瑒傳、冊府卷五三０〈六三三五頁〉改。

On "still fined Yang one liang of gold" — in various editions "still" is erroneous as "only"; now according to Northern History juan 33, Li Xiaobo with appended Li Yang biography, and Cefu yuangui juan 530 〈Page 6335〉 Corrected.

期年之中諸本「期」作「暮」，北史卷三三、冊府卷八五二〈一０一二六頁〉作「朞」。「暮」乃「朞」字形近而訛，今據改，統一作「期」。

Textual note on "within the space of a full year": various editions write the cited text as the cited text; Northern History juan 33 and Cefu yuangui juan 852 〈Page 10126〉 reads the cited text. the cited text is a graphic corruption of the cited text; amended here and standardized as the cited text throughout.

永熙初除散騎常侍大將軍北史卷三三「大將軍」上有「衞」字。按大將軍第一品，班在三公上〈見卷一一三官氏志〉，與所除之散騎常侍、左光祿大夫、都官尚書等官品不相當。且李郁死後贈驃騎大將軍，豈有生前已為大將軍之理。這裏「大將軍」上當脫「衞」字。

Textual note on "at the beginning of Yongxi appointed Palace Attendant and Grand General": Northern History juan 33 inserts the cited text before Grand General. Grand General was first rank — above the Three Ducal Ministers 〈see Offices and Clans Treatise, juan 113〉 — incompatible with the ranks of Palace Attendant, Left Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, Minister of Justice, and the other posts actually conferred. Li Yu was posthumously honored as General of Agile Cavalry after death — he could hardly already have held Grand General while alive. the cited text must be missing before Grand General here.

比後月十間冊府卷五四一〈六四八五頁〉「月十」作「十月」，疑是。

Textual note on "after this, within ten months": Cefu yuangui juan 541 〈Page 6485〉 "Month ten" is written as "tenth month"; suspected correct.

前南安王楨進曰諸本無「前」字，北史卷三三李沖傳、冊府卷一三〈一四八頁〉有。按卷一九下南安王楨傳，楨先以聚斂「削除官爵，禁錮終身」，後以議定遷都，復封。這時王爵未復，故稱「前」。冊府採魏書而與北史同，知這裏脫「前」字，今據補。

Textual note on "Former Prince of Nan'an Zhen stepped forward and said": various editions omit the cited text; Northern History juan 33, Biography of Li Chong, and Cefu yuangui juan 13 〈Page 148〉 include it. Biography of Prince of Nan'an Zhen, juan 19B: Zhen was first stripped of rank and imprisoned for life on charges of extortion, then re-enfeoffed for his role in the debate over moving the capital. At this time his princely rank had not yet been restored, hence the title "Former." Cefu yuangui follows the Wei Shu yet matches the Northern History here; the cited text was omitted and is restored on that authority.

非常之人乃能建非常之事諸本「乃能」下脫「建」字，今據冊府卷一三〈一四八頁〉補。

Textual note on "only an extraordinary man can accomplish an extraordinary deed": various editions drop the cited text after the cited text; restored from Cefu yuangui juan 13 〈Page 148〉 Restored.

孤據羣賊之中諸本「中」作「口」，冊府卷五三０〈六三二七頁〉、通鑑卷一四０〈四三八三頁〉並作「中」。按「中」和上「深戍絕界之外」相對，「口」字訛，今據改。

Textual note on "I alone hold position amid a host of bandits": various editions read the cited text as the cited text; Cefu yuangui juan 530 〈Page 6327〉 and Zizhi tongjian juan 140 〈Page 4383〉 Both write "middle/amid." the cited text pairs with the earlier phrase "deeply garrisoned beyond the frontier"; the cited text is a corruption - amended accordingly.

赭城新野跬步弗降諸本「赭」作「諸」，通鑑卷一四０〈四三八三頁〉作「赭」，考異不言有異文。按卷一０六中地形志中南青州東莞郡有諸縣，也即漢琅邪郡的諸縣，故城在今山東諸城縣西南。其地自皇興三年〈四六九〉慕容白曜取青州後，久屬北魏，不得云「跬步弗降」。「赭城」即赭陽〈見通鑑胡注〉，和新野都是南齊邊界要地，太和二十一年〈四九七〉元宏親自統軍南下，赭陽、新野始被攻佔〈見卷七下高祖紀下〉。這裏「諸」字顯為「赭」字形訛，今據通鑑改。

Textual note on "Zhecheng and Xinye did not submit even step by step": various editions read the cited text as the cited text; Zizhi tongjian juan 140 〈Page 4383〉 has the cited text; the Collation Notes note no variants. Treatise on Geography, juan 106 Central, lists Zhu County in Southern Qing Province's Dongguan Commandery — the Han Langya Zhu County, southwest of present-day Zhucheng in Shandong. From Huangxing 3 that region 〈469〉 after Murong Baiyao's conquest of Qing Province it long belonged to Northern Wei — "did not submit even step by step" cannot refer to it. Zhecheng is Zheyang 〈see Hu Sanxing's Zizhi tongjian commentary〉 and Xinye were both vital Southern Qi frontier posts; in Taihe 21 〈497〉 Emperor Yuanhong led the army south in person, and only then were Zheyang and Xinye taken. 〈see Basic Annals of Emperor Gaozu, Part B, juan 7〉 Here the cited text is plainly a corruption of the cited text - amended from the Zizhi tongjian.

若明獨聰專則權勢大併冊府卷四六〈五二二頁〉此句作「若明，則聽斷獨專；聰，則權勢大併」，語意較明白，疑傳本訛脫。

Textual note on the compressed phrase "if clear-sighted, alone perceptive, exclusive, then power greatly combined": Cefu yuangui juan 46 〈Page 522〉 Cefu yuangui expands the line: "If clear-sighted, then hearing and judging exclusively; if perceptive, then power greatly combined" — a clearer reading; the transmitted text probably dropped characters."

準上古也則有親行祚延七百冊府卷五七〈六三四頁〉「親行」上有「周武」二字。按「周武親行，祚延七百」與下「魏晉不征，旋踵而殞」相對。「則有」下當有脫文，冊府殘存「周武」二字，但所脫不止此，「則有」下當有與上句「天子下帷深宮之內」作對的幾個字，然後接「周武親征」云云。

Textual note on "matching high antiquity, then there is close kinship and the mandate extended seven hundred": Cefu yuangui juan 57 〈page 634〉 The Cefu yuangui fragment inserts the two characters "Zhou Wu" before "personally conducted." The phrase "Zhou Wu campaigned in person, and the mandate lasted seven hundred years" is meant to parallel the following line on Wei and Jin, who did not campaign and fell in a moment. Text is missing after "then there is"; the Cefu fragment preserves only "Zhou Wu," but the lacuna is larger—several characters should balance "the Son of Heaven draws the curtain within the deep palace," before the passage on Zhou Wu's personal campaign.

不追戮於所生則從坐於所養諸本「追」上無「不」字。冊府卷六一五〈七三九一頁〉有。按李沖意謂據律文，養子不因生父犯罪而連坐，那麼養父犯罪就該連坐。無「不」字不可通，今據補。

Textual note on "if one does not pursue punishment against the birth father, then one is implicated through the adoptive father": various editions omit bu (not) before "pursue." Cefu yuangui, fascicle 615 〈page 7391〉 has it. Li Chong argues from the statute that an adopted son is not punished for his birth father's crime; by symmetry, he should be implicated when his adoptive father offends. Without bu (not) the passage is unintelligible; it is restored on that authority.

不稱子不從父百衲本此句作「稱子不不從父」，顯誤，北本、汲本、殿本作「稱子不從父」，南本、局本如上摘句。冊府〈同上卷頁〉作「不言子不從父」。按百衲本「稱」上「不」字誤移在「子」字下，致不成語，北、汲、殿三本刪一「不」字，上下語意不貫，冊府「稱」字作「言」，但上同有「不」字，知南本、局本是，今從之。

Textual note on "does not say that the son does not follow the father": the patchwork edition's garbled reading is clearly wrong; the Northern, Ji, and Palace editions read "says the son does not follow the father"; the Southern and Bureau editions match the quotation above. Cefu yuangui 〈same fascicle and page as above〉 reads "does not say that the son does not follow the father." In the patchwork edition bu (not) was misplaced after "son," producing nonsense. The Northern, Ji, and Palace editions delete one bu, but the argument no longer holds. Cefu reads cheng (says) as yan (speaks) yet retains bu above; the Southern and Bureau readings are adopted here.

於典矯也諸本「典」訛「曲」，不可通，今據冊府〈同上卷頁〉改。

Textual note on "is a distortion of the canon": various editions wrongly read dian (canon) as qu (bent); the text now follows Cefu yuangui 〈same fascicle and page as above〉 amended.

沖時震怒諸本「怒」作「恐」，北史卷一００自序、冊府卷四七八〈五七一０頁〉作「怒」。按下文極言李沖暴怒之狀，且李彪與沖權勢不敵，沖何故震恐？「恐」乃「怒」之形訛，今據改。

Textual note on "Chong at that time was shaken with anger": various editions read nu (anger) as kong (fear); Northern History juan 100, Author's Preface, and Cefu yuangui juan 478 〈page 5710〉 reads "anger." The passage below describes Li Chong's violent rage in detail, and Li Biao was no match for him in power—why would Chong have been terrified? Kong (fear) is a graphic corruption of nu (anger); amended accordingly.

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