1
古之有天下國家者，其興亡治亂，未始不以德，而自戰國、秦、漢以來，鮮不以兵。 夫兵豈非重事哉！ 然其因時制變，以苟利趨便，至於無所不為，而考其法制，雖可用於一時，而不足施於後世者多矣，惟唐立府兵之制，頗有足稱焉。
Since antiquity, the rise and fall of every realm had turned on virtue—yet from the Warring States through Qin and Han, scarcely any dynasty had endured without the sword. Surely the business of war is no small thing! Yet as institutions shifted with the times, rulers chased profit and convenience until no expedient was left untried; most of their military codes served a moment but failed the ages—only the Tang fubing militia, in this regard, merits real praise.
2
蓋古者兵法起於井田，自周衰，王制壞而不復； 至於府兵，始一寓之於農，其居處、教養、畜材、待事、動作、休息，皆有節目，雖不能盡合古法，蓋得其大意焉，此高祖、太宗之所以盛也。 至其後世，子孫驕弱，不能謹守，屢變其制。 夫置兵所以止亂，及其弊也，適足為亂，又其甚也，至困天下以養亂，而遂至於亡焉。
Ancient military organization had grown out of the well-field system, but once the Zhou declined the royal order broke apart and never returned; The fubing militia reunited soldiering with the soil: dwelling, training, stockpiling, waiting for call-up, marching, and rest all followed fixed rules. Though not a perfect revival of antiquity, the system captured its spirit—and therein lay the strength of Gaozu and Taizong. Later heirs grew soft and arrogant, failed to hold the system fast, and altered it again and again. Armies exist to quell chaos, yet in decay they breed it; at the worst the whole realm is drained to sustain rebellion—and so the dynasty perishes.
3
蓋唐有天下二百餘年，而兵之大勢三變，其始盛時有府兵，府兵後廢而為彍騎，彍騎又廢，而方鎮之兵盛矣。 及其末也，彊臣悍將兵布天下，而天子亦自置兵於京師，曰禁軍。 其後天子弱，方鎮彊，而唐遂以亡滅者，措置之勢使然也。 若乃將卒、營陣、車旗、器械、征防、守衞，凡兵之事不可以悉記，記其廢置、得失、終始、治亂、興滅之迹，以為後世戒云。
Through more than two centuries of Tang rule, military power shifted three times: first the fubing militia at the height of the dynasty; then, after its abolition, the Expanded Cavalry; and when that too failed, the regional commands rose to dominance. In the end, strong ministers and hard generals garrisoned the empire, while the emperor maintained his own troops in the capital—the Forbidden Army. When the throne weakened and the regional commands hardened, Tang fell—such was the logic of how power had been arranged. Generals and ranks, camps and banners, chariots, arms, campaigns, garrisons, and guard duty—the whole apparatus of war cannot be set down in full. I record only how institutions were created and cast aside, what was gained and lost, and the arc from order to ruin, as a warning to those who come after.
4
府兵之制，起自西魏、後周，而備於隋，唐興因之。 隋制十二衞，曰翊衞，曰驍騎衞，曰武衞，曰屯衞，曰禦衞，曰候衞，為左右，皆有將軍以分統諸府之兵。 府有郎將、副郎將、坊主、團主，以相統治。 又有驃騎、車騎二府，皆有將軍。 後更驃騎曰鷹揚郎將，車騎曰副郎將。 別置折衝、果毅。
The fubing militia took shape under Western Wei and Later Zhou, reached full form in Sui, and Tang adopted it at the founding. Sui organized twelve guard offices—Assistants, Valiant Cavalry, Martial, Garrison, Imperial, and Outpost guards, each in left and right wings—with generals apportioned to command the militia districts. Each district was ruled through Commandant Lang, Deputy Commandant Lang, ward chiefs, and regiment chiefs in descending order. Two headquarters oversaw them—the Fast Cavalry Office and the Chariot Cavalry Office—each headed by a general. Later the Fast Cavalry post became Hawk-Strike Commandant Lang and the Chariot Cavalry post Deputy Commandant Lang. Strike Commandant and Resolute Commandant ranks were added as separate offices.
5
自高祖初起，開大將軍府，以建成為左領大都督，領左三軍，燉煌公為右領大都督，領右三軍，元吉統中軍。 發自太原，有兵三萬人。 及諸起義以相屬與降羣盜，得兵二十萬。 武德初，始置軍府，以驃騎、車騎兩將軍府領之。 析關中為十二道，曰：萬年道、長安道、富平道、醴泉道、同州道、華州道、寧州道、岐州道、豳州道、西麟州道、涇州道、宜州道，皆置府。 三年，更以萬年道為參旗軍，長安道為鼓旗軍，富平道為玄戈軍，醴泉道為井鉞軍，同州道為羽林軍，華州道為騎官軍，寧州道為折威軍，岐州道為平道軍，豳州道為招搖軍，西麟州道為苑游軍，涇州道為天紀軍，宜州道為天節軍； 軍置將、副各一人，以督耕戰，以車騎府統之。 六年，以天下既定，遂廢十二軍，改驃騎曰統軍，車騎曰別將。 居歲餘，十二軍復，而軍置將軍一人，軍有坊，置主一人，以檢察戶口，勸課農桑。
When Gaozu first raised his banners, he established a grand headquarters: Jiancheng commanded the left three armies as Left Commander-in-Chief, the Duke of Dunhuang the right three as Right Commander-in-Chief, and Yuanji the center force. Marching out of Taiyuan, he fielded thirty thousand men. As allied rebellions rallied to his cause and bandit bands submitted, his force swelled to two hundred thousand. Early in the Wude era, army headquarters were first organized under the Fast Cavalry and Chariot Cavalry general offices. The Guanzhong region was split into twelve circuits—Wannian, Chang'an, Fuping, Liquan, Tong, Hua, Ning, Qi, Bin, West Lin, Jing, and Yi—and a militia district was placed in each. In the third year the circuits received army names: Wannian became Banner of Orion, Chang'an Drum-and-Banner, Fuping Dark Halberd, Liquan Well-Axe, Tong Feathered Forest, Hua Cavalry Officer, Ning Breaker of Might, Qi Level Road, Bin Swaying Banner, West Lin Park Excursion, Jing Heavenly Record, and Yi Heavenly Node; Each army received a commander and deputy to supervise both farming and warfare, all under the Chariot Cavalry headquarters. In the sixth year, with the realm pacified, the twelve armies were dissolved; Fast Cavalry posts became Army Commanders and Chariot Cavalry posts Separate Commanders. A year later the twelve armies were restored; each army gained a general, and within each army wards were established with chiefs to inspect households and promote agriculture.
6
太宗貞觀十年，更號統軍為折衝都尉，別將為果毅都尉，諸府總曰折衝府。 凡天下十道，置府六百三十四，皆有名號，而關內二百六十有一，皆以隸諸衞。 凡府三等：兵千二百人為上，千人為中，八百人為下。 府置折衝都尉一人，左右果毅都尉各一人，長史、兵曹、別將各一人，校尉六人。 士以三百人為團，團有校尉； 五十人為隊，隊有正； 十人為火，火有長。 火備六馱馬。 凡火具烏布幕、鐵馬盂、布槽、鍤、钁、鑿、碓、筐、斧、鉗、鋸皆一，甲牀二，鎌二。 隊具火鑽一，胸馬繩一，首羈、足絆皆三。 人具弓一，矢三十，胡祿、橫刀、礪石、大觿、氈帽、氈裝、行縢皆一，麥飯九斗，米二斗，皆自備，幷其介冑、戎具藏於庫。 有所征行，則視其入而出給之。 其番上宿衞者，惟給弓矢、橫刀而已。
In Zhenguan 10, Taizong renamed Army Commander to Strike Commandant and Separate Commander to Resolute Commandant; all militia districts thereafter fell under the Strike Commandant system. Across the ten circuits of the empire, 634 named militia districts were established; 261 within the Interior answered to the guard offices. Districts ranked in three tiers: upper at 1,200 men, middle at 1,000, and lower at 800. Each district was staffed by a Strike Commandant, left and right Resolute Commandants, a chief clerk, a military registrar, a separate commander, and six company captains. Three hundred soldiers formed a regiment under a company captain; fifty to a platoon led by a squad chief; ten to a fire-team with its own chief. Each fire-team maintained six pack horses. Every fire-team carried one of each: black-cloth tent, iron feed basin, cloth manger, spade, hoe, chisel, mortar, basket, axe, pincers, and saw, plus two armor racks and two sickles. Each platoon held one fire-drill, one chest tether, and three head halters and leg hobbles apiece. Each soldier personally maintained a bow, thirty arrows, quiver, waist saber, whetstone, awl, felt cap and kit, and leg wraps, plus nine pecks of wheat and two of rice; armor and campaign gear were kept in the district storehouse. On campaign, gear was drawn from store according to the men who mustered. Men on rotating capital guard duty received only bow, arrows, and waist saber.
7
凡民年二十為兵，六十而免。 其能騎而射者為越騎，其餘為步兵、武騎、排䂎手、步射。
Commoners entered the rolls at twenty and were discharged at sixty. Men who could ride and shoot were enrolled as Kuaiji recruits; the rest served as foot soldiers, martial cavalry, crossbowmen, or foot archers.
8
每歲季冬，折衝都尉率五校兵馬之在府者，置左右二校尉，位相距百步。 每校為步隊十，騎隊一，皆卷矟幡，展刃旗，散立以俟。 角手吹大角一通，諸校皆斂人騎為隊； 二通，偃旗矟，解幡； 三通，旗矟舉。 左右校擊鼓，二校之人合譟而進。 右校擊鉦，隊少却，左校進逐至右校立所； 左校擊鉦，少却，右校進逐至左校立所； 右校復擊鉦，隊還，左校復薄戰； 皆擊鉦，隊各還。 大角復鳴一通，皆卷幡、攝矢、弛弓、匣刃； 二通，旗矟舉，隊皆進； 三通，左右校皆引還。 是日也，因縱獵，獲各入其人。
Each late winter the Strike Commandant mustered the district's five company captains and available troops, posting left and right captains a hundred paces apart. Each wing fielded ten foot platoons and one cavalry platoon, spear banners furled and bladed flags spread, standing at loose order. At one blast of the great horn, every wing formed its men and horses into platoons; at the second, lowered flags and spears and stripped the banner wrappings; at the third, raised flags and spears aloft. Left and right wings beat the drums and advanced together with a battle cry. The right wing sounded the gong and fell back a step; the left pressed forward to the right wing's former line; the left wing then sounded the gong and withdrew; the right surged forward to the left wing's line; the right gong sounded again, platoons wheeled back, and the left closed once more for mock combat; both wings sounded the gong and each platoon returned to order. One more blast of the great horn: banners were furled, arrows collected, bows unstrung, and blades sheathed; at the second, flags and spears rose and every platoon marched forward; at the third, both wings marched back. That day ended with a hunt, and each man kept his own quarry.
9
其隸於衞也，左、右衞皆領六十府，諸衞領五十至四十，其餘以隸東宮六率。
Under the guard system, Left and Right Guard each oversaw sixty districts, the other guards between forty and fifty, and the remainder reported to the crown prince's six commanders.
10
凡發府兵，皆下符契，州刺史與折衝勘契乃發。 若全府發，則折衝都尉以下皆行； 不盡，則果毅行； 少則別將行。 當給馬者，官予其直市之，每匹予錢二萬五千。 刺史、折衝、果毅歲閱不任戰事者鬻之，以其錢更市，不足則一府共足之。
Mobilizing fubing militia required tally tokens; the prefect and Strike Commandant had to match them before men could march. If the entire district mobilized, the Strike Commandant and all subordinates took the field; for a partial call-up, the Resolute Commandant led; for smaller detachments, the separate commander went. Men owed government horses received cash to buy them—twenty-five thousand coins per mount. Each year prefect, Strike Commandant, and Resolute Commandant culled unfit horses, sold them, and bought replacements; shortfalls were covered district-wide.
11
凡當宿衞者番上，兵部以遠近給番，五百里為五番，千里七番，一千五百里八番，二千里十番，外為十二番，皆一月上。 若簡留直衞者，五百里為七番，千里八番，二千里十番，外為十二番，亦月上。
Capital guard duty rotated by distance set by the Ministry of War: five turns within five hundred li, seven within a thousand, eight within fifteen hundred, ten within two thousand, and twelve beyond—each turn lasting one month. Men selected for extended palace guard served seven turns within five hundred li, eight within a thousand, ten within two thousand, and twelve beyond—again one month each.
12
先天二年誥曰：「往者分建府衞，計戶充兵，裁足周事，二十一入募，六十一出軍，多憚勞以規避匿。 今宜取年二十五以上，五十而免。 屢征鎮者，十年免之。」 雖有其言，而事不克行。 玄宗開元六年，始詔折衝府兵每六歲一簡。 自高宗、武后時，天下久不用兵，府兵之法寖壞，番役更代多不以時，衞士稍稍亡匿，至是益耗散，宿衞不能給。 宰相張說乃請一切募士宿衞。 十一年，取京兆、蒲、同、岐、華府兵及白丁，而益以潞州長從兵，共十二萬，號「長從宿衞」，歲二番，命尚書左丞蕭嵩與州吏共選之。 明年，更號曰「彍騎」。 又詔：「諸州府馬闕，官私共補之。 今兵貧難致，乃給以監牧馬。」 然自是諸府士益多不補，折衝將又積歲不得遷，士人皆恥為之。
An Xiantian 2 edict declared: "When militia districts and guard offices were first divided and households counted to fill the ranks, the numbers barely sufficed. Entry at twenty-one and release at sixty-one bred evasion—too many men feared the burden and hid from service. Henceforth enrollment should begin at twenty-five, with discharge at fifty. Men repeatedly dispatched to the frontier should be released after ten years. The decree was issued, but never put into effect. In Kaiyuan 6, Xuanzong ordered the fubing militia inspected every six years. Since Gaozong and Empress Wu, long peace had rotted the fubing militia system: rotations fell out of schedule, guardsmen drifted away, and by now the rolls were so depleted that capital guard duty could no longer be filled. Chief Minister Zhang Yue then proposed recruiting paid soldiers for all palace guard duty. In the eleventh year, fubing militia and common levies from Jingzhao, Pu, Tong, Qi, and Hua were combined with long-service troops from Luzhou into a force of 120,000 called the Long-Service Palace Guard, serving two rotations a year under selection by Vice Director Xiao Song and local officials. The following year the force was renamed the Expanded Cavalry. Another edict ordered: "Where district horses ran short, public and private resources should together make up the deficit. Because soldiers were too poor to buy their own, stud horses from the imperial pastures would be issued instead. From then on, district soldiers neglected their equipment, Strike Commandants languished without promotion for years, and educated men came to regard the service as beneath them.
13
十三年，始以彍騎分隸十二衞，總十二萬，為六番，每衞萬人。 京兆彍騎六萬六千，華州六千，同州九千，蒲州萬二千三百，絳州三千六百，晉州千五百，岐州六千，河南府三千，陝、虢、汝、鄭、懷、汴六州各六百，內弩手六千。 其制：皆擇下戶白丁、宗丁、品子彊壯五尺七寸以上，不足則兼以戶八等五尺以上，皆免征鎮、賦役。 為四籍，兵部及州、縣、衞分掌之。 十人為火，五火為團，皆有首長。 又擇材勇者為番頭，頗習弩射。 又有羽林軍飛騎，亦習弩。 凡伏遠弩自能施張，縱矢三百步，四發而二中； 擘張弩二百三十步，四發而二中； 角弓弩二百步，四發而三中； 單弓弩百六十步，四發而二中：皆為及第。 諸軍皆近營為堋，士有便習者，教試之，及第者有賞。
In the thirteenth year the Expanded Cavalry were assigned to the twelve guards: 120,000 men in six rotations, ten thousand per guard. Quotas ran: Jingzhao 66,000; Hua 6,000; Tong 9,000; Pu 12,300; Jiang 3,600; Jin 1,500; Qi 6,000; Henan 3,000; Shan, Guo, Ru, Zheng, Huai, and Bian 600 each; plus 6,000 palace crossbowmen. Recruits were drawn from lower-household commoners, clan youths, and sons of ranked families at least five feet seven inches tall; if numbers fell short, men from eighth-rank households at least five feet were included—all exempt from frontier duty, taxes, and corvée. Four registers were maintained, shared among the Ministry of War, prefectures, counties, and guard offices. Ten men made a fire-team, five fire-teams a regiment, each with its own chief. The bravest and most capable were made rotation chiefs, drilled especially in crossbow work. The Feathered Forest Flying Cavalry were also trained in crossbow drill. With the long-range crossbow, a man had to draw it alone, shoot three hundred paces, and hit twice in four shots; with the foot-drawn crossbow, two hundred thirty paces and two hits in four; with the horn-bow crossbow, two hundred paces and three hits in four; with the single-bow crossbow, one hundred sixty paces and two hits in four—all counted as passing the test. Every army maintained a practice range near camp; skilled soldiers were drilled and tested, and those who passed received rewards.
14
自天寶以後，彍騎之法又稍變廢，士皆失拊循。 八載，折衝諸府至無兵可交，李林甫遂請停上下魚書。 其後徒有兵額、官吏，而戎器、馱馬、鍋幕、糗糧幷廢矣。 故時府人目番上宿衞者曰侍官，言侍衞天子； 至是，衞佐悉以假人為童奴，京師人恥之，至相罵辱必曰侍官。 而六軍宿衞皆市人，富者販繒綵、食粱肉，壯者為角觝、拔河、翹木、扛鐵之戲，及祿山反，皆不能受甲矣。
After the Tianbao era the Expanded Cavalry system slipped further into decay, and soldiers lost the discipline that had once bound them. In the eighth year the Strike Commandant districts could muster no men for transfer; Li Linfu then moved to abolish the fish-tally mobilization system. Afterward only paper quotas and empty offices remained; weapons, pack horses, kettles, tents, and rations were all allowed to lapse. Once, militia men called capital guard duty "attendant service"—service at the emperor's side; now guard posts were filled with hired hands and child servants; capital folk held the role in contempt, and "attendant officer" became a term of abuse. The six palace armies were staffed by townsfolk: the wealthy traded in silks and feasted on fine food; the strong amused themselves with wrestling, tug-of-war, pole-climbing, and iron-lifting—and when Lushan rose, none could bear armor.
15
初，府兵之置，居無事時耕於野，其番上者，宿衞京師而已。 若四方有事，則命將以出，事解輒罷，兵散于府，將歸于朝。 故士不失業，而將帥無握兵之重，所以防微漸、絕禍亂之萌也。 及府兵法壞而方鎮盛，武夫悍將雖無事時，據要險，專方面，既有其土地，又有其人民，又有其甲兵，又有其財賦，以布列天下。 然則方鎮不得不彊，京師不得不弱，故曰措置之勢使然者，以此也。
Originally the fubing militia farmed in peacetime; only those on rotation stood guard in the capital. When trouble flared, a general marched out; once it ended, the army dissolved—soldiers back to their districts, commanders back to court. Soldiers kept their livelihoods; commanders never held standing armies in their grasp—the design checked small abuses before they could seed rebellion. Once the fubing militia failed and regional commands rose, hard generals—even in peace—held the passes, ruled their sectors, and commanded land, people, arms, and revenue across the empire. Regional commands had to grow strong and the capital had to grow weak—this, then, is what was meant when the chronicle said the arrangement of power made Tang's fall inevitable.
16
夫所謂方鎮者，節度使之兵也。 原其始，起於邊將之屯防者。 唐初，兵之戍邊者，大曰軍，小曰守捉，曰城，曰鎮，而總之者曰道。 若盧龍軍一，東軍等守捉十一，曰平盧道。 橫海、北平、高陽、經略、安塞、納降、唐興、渤海、懷柔、威武、鎮遠、靜塞、雄武、鎮安、懷遠、保定軍十六，曰范陽道。 天兵、大同、天安、橫野軍四，岢嵐等守捉五，曰河東道。 朔方經略、豐安、定遠、新昌、天柱、宥州經略、橫塞、天德、天安軍九，三受降、豐寧、保寧、烏延等六城，新泉守捉一，曰關內道。 赤水、大斗、白亭、豆盧、墨離、建康、寧寇、玉門、伊吾、天山軍十，烏城等守捉十四，曰河西道。 瀚海、清海、靜塞軍三，沙鉢等守捉十，曰北庭道。 保大軍一，鷹娑都督一，蘭城等守捉八，曰安西道。 鎮西、天成、振威、安人、綏戎、河源、白水、天威、榆林、臨洮、莫門、神策、寧邊、威勝、金天、武寧、曜武、積石軍十八，平夷、綏和、合川守捉三，曰隴右道。 威戎、安夷、昆明、寧遠、洪源、通化、松當、平戎、天保、威遠軍十，，羊灌田等守捉十五，新安等城三十二，犍為等鎮三十八，曰劍南道。 嶺南、安南、桂管、邕管、容管經略、清海軍六，曰嶺南道。 福州經略軍一，曰江南道。 平海軍一，東牟、東萊守捉二，蓬萊鎮一，曰河南道。 此自武德至天寶以前邊防之制。
The regional commands, in essence, were the armies of the frontier commissioners. In origin, it arose from the garrison defenses of frontier generals. In early Tang, frontier garrisons were graded: large posts were armies, smaller ones guard posts, forts, or garrisons—and the circuits that oversaw them were called dao. The Pinglu Circuit, for instance, comprised one Lulong Army and eleven guard posts such as Dongjun. The Fanyang Circuit counted sixteen armies: Henghai, Beiping, Gaoyang, Jinglue, Ansa, Najiang, Tangxing, Bohai, Huairen, Weiwu, Zhenyuan, Jingsai, Xiongwu, Zhen'an, Huaiyuan, and Baoding. The Hedong Circuit had four armies—Tianbing, Datong, Tian'an, and Hengye—and five guard posts including Kelan. The Guannei Circuit comprised nine armies—Shuofang Jinglue, Feng'an, Dingyuan, Xinchang, Tianzhu, Youzhou Jinglue, Hengsai, Tiande, and Tian'an—six forts including Sanshouxiang, Fengning, Baoning, and Wuyan, and one guard post at Xinquan. The Hexi Circuit fielded ten armies—Chishui, Dadou, Baiting, Doulu, Moli, Jiankang, Ningkou, Yumen, Yiwu, and Tianshan—and fourteen guard posts including Wucheng. The Beiting Circuit had three armies—Hanhai, Qinghai, and Jingsai—and ten guard posts including Shabo. The Anxi Circuit comprised one Baoda Army, one Yingsuo Protectorate, and eight guard posts including Lancheng. The Longyou Circuit mustered eighteen armies—from Zhenxi and Tiancheng through Shence and Jishi—and three guard posts at Pingyi, Suihe, and Hechuan. The Jiannan Circuit counted ten armies, fifteen guard posts such as Yangguantian, thirty-two forts including Xin'an, and thirty-eight garrisons including Jianwei—from Weirong and Anyi through Tianbao and Weiyuan. The Lingnan Circuit comprised six commands: Lingnan, Annan, Guiguan, Yongguan, Rongguan Jinglue, and the Qinghai Army. The Jiangnan Circuit consisted of a single Fuzhou Jinglue Army. The Henan Circuit comprised one Pinghai Army, guard posts at Dongmou and Donglai, and a garrison at Penglai. Such was the frontier defense system from Wude down to the eve of Tianbao.
17
其軍、城、鎮、守捉皆有使，而道有大將一人，曰大總管，已而更曰大都督。 至太宗時，行軍征討曰大總管，在其本道曰大都督。 自高宗永徽以後，都督帶使持節者，始謂之節度使，然猶未以名官。 景雲二年，以賀拔延嗣為涼州都督、河西節度使。 自此而後，接乎開元，朔方、隴右、河東、河西諸鎮，皆置節度使。
Every army, fort, garrison, and guard post had its commissioner; each circuit was headed by one great general, first styled Grand Commander-in-Chief and later Grand Protector-General. Under Taizong, a general marching on campaign bore the title Grand Commander-in-Chief; one remaining in his home circuit was styled Grand Protector-General. After Gaozong's Yonghui reign, protector-generals invested with full discretionary credentials came to be called military commissioners—though the title was not yet a formal office. In Jingyun 2, Heluo Yansi was appointed Protector-General of Liangzhou and military commissioner of Hexi. From that point through Kaiyuan, the garrisons of Shuofang, Longyou, Hedong, and Hexi all received military commissioners.
18
及范陽節度使安祿山反，犯京師，天子之兵弱不能抗，遂陷兩京。 肅宗起靈武，而諸鎮之兵共起誅賊。 其後祿山子慶緒及史思明父子繼起，中國大亂，肅宗命李光弼等討之，號「九節度之師」。 久之，大盜既滅，而武夫戰卒以功起行陣，列為侯王者，皆除節度使。 由是方鎮相望於內地，大者連州十餘，小者猶兼三四。 故兵驕則逐帥，帥彊則叛上。 或父死子握其兵而不肯代； 或取捨由於士卒，往往自擇將吏，號為「留後」，以邀命於朝。 天子顧力不能制，則忍恥含垢，因而撫之，謂之姑息之政。 蓋姑息起於兵驕，兵驕由於方鎮，姑息愈甚，而兵將愈俱驕。 由是號令自出，以相侵擊，虜其將帥，幷其土地，天子熟視不知所為，反為和解之，莫肯聽命。
When An Lushan, military commissioner of Fanyang, rebelled and struck the capital, the emperor's own forces proved too weak to resist, and both capitals fell. Emperor Suzong rallied at Lingwu, and the garrison armies of the realm rose together to destroy the rebels. Then Lushan's son Qingxu and Shi Siming and his son rose in turn, plunging the heartland into chaos; Suzong dispatched Li Guangbi and others against them in what was styled "the Army of Nine Military Commissioners." Years later, with the great rebellion crushed, hard fighters who had risen from the ranks by merit and been enfeoffed as marquises and kings were all appointed military commissioners. Regional commands now stretched across the interior: the largest linked more than ten prefectures, the smallest still held three or four. When troops grew arrogant they drove out their commanders; when commanders grew strong they rebelled against the throne. Sometimes a son seized his father's troops at death and refused to step aside; sometimes the soldiers themselves decided who would lead, choosing their own officers and generals as "acting successors" and then petitioning the court for confirmation. Seeing he lacked the strength to restrain them, the emperor swallowed humiliation and placated them instead—what came to be called the policy of indulgence. Indulgence bred arrogant troops; arrogant troops arose from the regional commands; the deeper the indulgence, the more arrogant both soldiers and generals became. Orders then issued from the garrisons themselves; they raided one another, seized rival commanders, and annexed one another's lands—while the emperor looked on helplessly and played mediator rather than sovereign, and none would obey.
19
始時為朝廷患者，號「河朔三鎮」。 及其末，朱全忠以梁兵、李克用以晉兵更犯京師，而李茂貞、韓建近據岐、華，妄一喜怒，兵已至於國門，天子為殺大臣、罪己悔過，然後去。 及昭宗用崔胤召梁兵以誅宦官，劫天子奔岐，梁兵圍之逾年。 當此之時，天下之兵無復勤王者。 嚮之所謂三鎮者，徒能始禍而已。 其他大鎮，南則吳、浙、荊、湖、閩、廣，西則岐、蜀，北則燕、晉，而梁盜據其中，自國門以外，皆分裂於方鎮矣。
At first the court's chief troublemakers were known as "the Three Garrisons of Heshuo." By the end, Zhu Quanzhong's Liang armies and Li Keyong's Jin armies alternately struck the capital, while Li Maozhen and Han Jian held Qishan and Huazhou nearby—one fit of temper and troops were at the palace gates; the emperor had to execute great ministers and confess his sins before they would withdraw. When Emperor Zhaozong, through Cui Yin, summoned Liang troops to destroy the eunuchs, they seized the emperor and fled to Qishan, where Liang forces besieged them for more than a year. By then no army in the realm still marched loyally for the throne. The Three Garrisons of old had done no more than start the calamity. Other great garrisons held the south—Wu, Zhe, Jing, Hu, Min, and Guang—the west in Qi and Shu, the north in Yan and Jin, while the Liang usurper occupied the center; beyond the palace gates the realm was carved up among regional commands.
20
故兵之始重於外也，土地、民賦非天子有； 既其盛也，號令、征伐非其有； 又其甚也，至無尺土，而不能庇其妻子宗族，遂以亡滅。 語曰：「兵猶火也，弗戢將自焚。」 夫惡危亂而欲安全者，庸君常主之能知，至於措置之失，則所謂困天下以養亂也。 唐之置兵，既外柄以授人，而末大本小，方區區自為捍衞之計，可不哀哉！
When military power first shifted to the frontier, land and tax revenue ceased to belong to the emperor; when it peaked, command and campaign were no longer his to give; at the worst he held not a foot of soil and could not shelter wife, children, or clan—and so the dynasty perished. A proverb says: "Arms are like fire—leave them unchecked and they burn the hand that holds them." Any mediocre ruler knows to dread chaos and crave safety—but to fail in how power is arranged is to exhaust the realm feeding rebellion. Tang had surrendered outward authority with its armies, leaving branches swollen and the trunk withered—yet it could manage only petty schemes of self-defense; how lamentable!
21
夫所謂天子禁軍者，南、北衙兵也。 南衙，諸衞兵是也； 北衙者，禁軍也。
The emperor's Forbidden Army, properly speaking, comprised the troops of the Southern and Northern Offices. The Southern Office was the guard armies; the Northern Office was the Forbidden Army.
22
初，高祖以義兵起太原，已定天下，悉罷遣歸，其願留宿衞者三萬人。 高祖以渭北白渠旁民棄腴田分給之，號「元從禁軍」。 後老不任事，以其子弟代，謂之「父子軍」。 及貞觀初，太宗擇善射者百人，為二番於北門長上，曰「百騎」，以從田獵。 又置北衙七營，選材力驍壯，月以一營番上。 十二年，始置左右屯營於玄武門，領以諸衞將軍，號「飛騎」。 其法：取戶二等以上、長六尺闊壯者，試弓馬四次上、翹關舉五、負米五斛行三十步者。 復擇馬射為百騎，衣五色袍，乘六閑駁馬，虎皮韉，為游幸翊衞。
When Gaozu first raised righteous troops at Taiyuan and had pacified the realm, he disbanded the army and sent men home; thirty thousand chose to remain on palace guard. Gaozu granted them fertile abandoned fields along the White Canal north of the Wei, styling them the "Original Followers Forbidden Army." When the veterans grew too old to serve, their sons and younger kin took their places—the "Father-and-Son Army." Early in Zhenguan, Taizong chose a hundred expert archers, split into two shifts on standing duty north of the gate—the "Hundred Riders"—to accompany him on the hunt. He also established seven Northern Office camps, drafting the strong and bold; each month one camp rotated to palace duty. In the twelfth year he first established Left and Right Garrison Camps at the Xuanwu Gate under guard generals, styled the "Flying Riders." The standard: households of the second rank and above, men six feet tall and broad-shouldered, who scored fourth class or better in bow and horsemanship, could lift the gate bar five times, and carry five hu of grain thirty paces. From these he chose mounted archers for the Hundred Riders, clad in robes of five colors, riding piebald horses from the imperial studs with tiger-skin saddles, to escort the emperor on progress.
23
高宗龍朔二年，始取府兵越騎、步射置左右羽林軍，大朝會則執仗以衞階陛，行幸則夾馳道為內仗。 武后改百騎曰「千騎」。 中宗又改千騎曰「萬騎」，分左、右營。 及玄宗以萬騎平韋氏，改為左右龍武軍，皆用唐元功臣子弟，制若宿衞兵。 是時，良家子避征戍者，亦皆納資隸軍，分日更上如羽林。 開元十二年，詔左右羽林軍、飛騎闕，取京旁州府士，以戶部印印其臂，為二籍，羽林、兵部分掌之。 末年，禁兵寖耗，及祿山反，天子西駕，禁軍從者裁千人，肅宗赴靈武，士不滿百，及即位，稍復調補北軍。 至德二載，置左右神武軍，補元從、扈從官子弟，不足則取它色，帶品者同四軍，亦曰「神武天騎」，制如羽林。 總曰「北衙六軍」。 又擇便騎射者置衙前射生手千人，亦曰「供奉射生官」，又曰「殿前射生」，分左、右廂，總號曰「左右英武軍」。 乾元元年，李輔國用事，請選羽林騎士五百人徼巡。 李揆曰：「漢以南、北軍相制，故周勃以北軍安劉氏。 朝廷置南、北衙，文武區列，以相察伺。 今用羽林代金吾警，忽有非常，何以制之？」 遂罷。
In Gaozong's Longshuo 2, fubing crossbow cavalry and foot archers were formed into the Left and Right Feathered Forest Armies; at great court assemblies they bore arms to guard the steps, and on imperial progress they flanked the roadway as the inner guard. Empress Wu renamed the Hundred Riders the "Thousand Riders." Zhongzong renamed them again—the "Ten Thousand Riders"—split into Left and Right camps. When Xuanzong used the Ten Thousand Riders to crush the Wei clan, he reorganized them as the Left and Right Dragon Martial Armies, staffed with sons and younger kin of Tang's founding meritorious officials under the same rules as palace guards. Then sons of good families seeking to evade frontier service paid fees to enroll, rotating on duty day by day like the Feathered Forest. In Kaiyuan 12, when the Left and Right Feathered Forest Armies and Flying Riders had vacancies, men were drawn from prefectures near the capital; the Revenue Ministry stamped their arms with its seal, and two registers were kept, one held by the Feathered Forest and one by the War Ministry. In the dynasty's late years the Forbidden Army dwindled; when Lushan rebelled the emperor fled west with fewer than a thousand guards, and Suzong reached Lingwu with fewer than a hundred men—only after enthronement did he gradually restore and replenish the Northern Armies. In Zhide 2 the Left and Right Divine Martial Armies were established, filled first with sons of original followers and escort officials, then with others if need be—ranked men treated like the four armies; also called the "Divine Martial Heavenly Riders," under Feathered Forest regulations. Together they were called the "Six Armies of the Northern Office." A thousand skilled mounted archers were also chosen as bowmen before the office—styled "Palace Service Bowmen" or "Hall Bowmen," split into Left and Right wings and collectively called the "Left and Right Heroic Martial Armies." In Qianyuan 1, Li Fuguo, then dominant at court, requested five hundred Feathered Forest cavalry for patrol duty. Li Kui objected: "Han balanced Southern and Northern Armies against each other—thus Zhou Bo saved the Liu house through the Northern Army. Our court set up Southern and Northern Offices, civil and military kept apart, to watch one another. If Feathered Forest replaces the Jinwu guard, what check remains when sudden crisis strikes?" The proposal was dropped.
24
上元中，以北衙軍使衞伯玉為神策軍節度使，鎮陝州，中使魚朝恩為觀軍容使，監其軍。 初，哥舒翰破吐蕃臨洮西之磨環川，即其地置神策軍，以成如璆為軍使。 及祿山反，如璆以伯玉將兵千人赴難，伯玉與朝恩皆屯于陝。 時邊土陷蹙，神策故地淪沒，即詔伯玉所部兵，號「神策軍」，以伯玉為節度使，與陝州節度使郭英乂皆鎮陝。 其後伯玉罷，以英乂兼神策軍節度。 英乂入為僕射，軍遂統於觀軍容使。
During the Shangyuan era, Northern Office commander Wei Boyu was made military commissioner of the Shence Army at Shaanzhou, while palace envoy Yu Chao'en was appointed army-inspection commissioner to supervise it. Originally, after Geshu Han defeated the Tibetans at Mohuan River west of Lintao, he established the Shence Army there under Cheng Ruyou as army commander. When Lushan rebelled, Ruyou marched a thousand men under Boyu to the throne's aid; Boyu and Chao'en both encamped at Shaan. As the frontier collapsed and the Shence Army's original territory was lost, Boyu's command was decreed the "Shence Army," with Boyu as military commissioner; he and Shaanzhou commissioner Guo Yingyi both garrisoned Shaan. Later Boyu was dismissed, and Yingyi additionally took command of the Shence Army. When Yingyi entered court as Vice Director, the army passed to the army-inspection commissioner.
25
代宗即位，以射生軍入禁中清難，皆賜名「寶應功臣」，故射生軍又號「寶應軍」。 廣德元年，代宗避吐蕃幸陝，朝恩舉在陝兵與神策軍迎扈，悉號「神策軍」。 天子幸其營。 及京師平，朝恩遂以軍歸禁中，自將之，然尚未與北軍齒也。 永泰元年，吐蕃復入寇，朝恩又以神策軍屯苑中，自是寖盛，分為左、右廂，勢居北軍右，遂為天子禁軍，非它軍比。 朝恩乃以觀軍容宣慰處置使知神策軍兵馬使。 大曆四年，請以京兆之好畤，鳳翔之麟游、普潤，皆隸神策軍。 明年，復以興平、武功、扶風、天興隸之，朝廷不能遏。 又用愛將劉希暹為神策虞候，主不法，遂置北軍獄，募坊市不逞，誣捕大姓，沒產為賞，至有選舉旅寓而挾厚貲多橫死者。 朝恩得罪死，以希暹代為神策軍使。 是歲，希暹復得罪，以朝恩舊校王駕鶴代將。 十數歲，德宗即位，以白志貞代之。 是時，神策兵雖處內，而多以裨將將兵征伐，往往有功。
When Daizong ascended, bowmen entered the inner palace to quell disorder and were all granted the title "Baoying Meritorious Officials"—hence the bowmen were also called the "Baoying Army." In Guangde 1, Daizong fled the Tibetans to Shaan; Chao'en led all troops there and the Shence Army to receive and escort him—all styled "Shence Army." The emperor visited their camp. When the capital was restored, Chao'en brought the army into the inner palace and commanded it himself—yet it was not yet ranked with the Northern Armies. In Yongtai 1 the Tibetans invaded again; Chao'en garrisoned the Shence Army in the imperial park—from then it grew steadily, split into Left and Right wings, outranked the Northern Armies, and became the emperor's own Forbidden Army, unlike any other force. Chao'en then combined the posts of army-inspection, pacification, and disposal commissioner with command of Shence Army troops. In Dali 4 he requested that Hao in Jingzhao and Linyou and Purun in Fengxiang all be placed under the Shence Army. The next year Xingping, Wugong, Fufeng, and Tianxing were added as well—and the court could not stop him. He also placed his favorite Liu Xixuan in charge of Shence law enforcement, set up a Northern Army prison, recruited market ruffians, falsely arrested great clans, and confiscated property as reward—until examination candidates lodging abroad with large fortunes were often murdered. When Chao'en was condemned and executed, Xixuan replaced him as Shence Army commander. That year Xixuan was condemned in turn; Chao'en's former subordinate Wang Jiahe took command. More than a decade later, when Dezong ascended, Bai Zhibei replaced him. Though the Shence Army was stationed within the capital, many of its deputy commanders led troops on campaign and often won distinction.
26
及李希烈反，河北盜且起，數出禁軍征伐，神策之士多鬬死者。 建中四年下詔募兵，以志貞為使，蒐補峻切。 郭子儀之婿端王傅吳仲孺殖貲累巨萬，以國家有急不自安，請以子率奴馬從軍。 德宗喜甚，為官其子五品。 志貞乃請節度、都團練、觀察使與世嘗任者家，皆出子弟馬奴裝鎧助征，授官如仲孺子。 於是豪富者緣為幸，而貧者苦之。 神策兵既發殆盡，志貞陰以市人補之，名隸籍而身居市肆。 及涇卒潰變，皆戢伏不出，帝遂出奔。 初，段秀實見禁兵寡弱，不足備非常，上疏曰：「天子萬乘，諸侯千，大夫百，蓋以大制小，十制一也，尊君卑臣彊幹弱支之道。 今外有不廷之虜，內有梗命之臣，而禁兵不精，其數削少，後有猝故，何以待之？ 猛虎所以百獸畏者，爪牙也，爪牙廢，則孤豚特犬悉能為敵。 願少留意。」 至是方以秀實言為然。
When Li Xilie rebelled and banditry flared in Hebei, the Forbidden Army was sent out again and again, and many Shence soldiers fell in battle. In Jianzhong 4 an edict called for recruits; Zhibei was made commissioner, and recruitment was harsh and relentless. Guo Ziyi's son-in-law Wu Zhongru, tutor to the Prince of Duan, had amassed wealth in the tens of thousands; troubled by the national emergency, he offered his son with slaves and horses for service. Dezong was delighted and granted his son a fifth-rank office. Zhibei then requested that families of military commissioners, regimental trainers, and inspection commissioners who had once held office send sons, horses, slaves, armor, and equipment to aid the campaign—offices granted as with Zhongru's son. The wealthy seized the opportunity for gain; the poor bore the burden. Once Shence troops were nearly all deployed, Zhibei secretly filled the rolls with townsfolk—listed on the registers but living in their shops. When the Jingzhou garrison mutinied, all cowered and refused to emerge—and the emperor fled. Earlier Duan Xiushi, seeing the Forbidden Army weak and too few for sudden crisis, memorialized: "The Son of Heaven commands ten thousand chariots, feudal lords a thousand, grand masters a hundred—using the large to govern the small, ten to govern one: the way of honoring the ruler, humbling ministers, strengthening the trunk, and weakening the branches. Now unsubmissive barbarians press from without and defiant ministers from within—yet the Forbidden Army is unskilled and dwindling; if sudden crisis strikes, how will we meet it? The tiger is feared because of its claws and fangs—ruin those, and even a lone piglet or stray dog can stand against it. I beg Your Majesty to give this some heed. Only then did the court finally concede that Xiushi had been right.
27
及志貞等流貶，神策都虞候李晟與其軍之它將，皆自飛狐道西兵赴難，遂為神策行營節度，屯渭北，軍遂振。 貞元二年，改神策左右廂為左右神策軍，特置監句當左右神策軍，以寵中官，而益置大將軍以下。 又改殿前射生左右廂曰殿前左右射生軍，亦置大將軍以下。 三年，詔射生、神策、六軍將士，府縣以事辦治，先奏乃移軍，勿輒逮捕。 京兆尹鄭叔則建言：「京劇輕猾所聚，慝作不常，俟奏報，將失罪人，請非昏田，皆以時捕。」 乃可之。 俄改殿前左右射生軍曰左右神策威軍，置監左右神威軍使。 左右神策軍皆加將軍二員，左右龍武軍加將軍一員，以待諸道大將有功者。
When Zhibei and his allies were exiled, Shence acting commandant Li Sheng and other Shence generals marched west through Flying Fox Pass to save the throne. Li Sheng was made commander of the Shence field army, encamped north of the Wei, and the army regained its vigor. In Zhenyuan 2 the Left and Right Shence wings became the Left and Right Shence Armies. Supervisors were specially appointed to run them—a favor to eunuchs—and more ranks were added below Great General. The Left and Right Hall Archer wings were renamed the Left and Right Hall Archer Armies, with Great General and lower ranks likewise established. In the third year an edict ruled that when prefectures and counties dealt with archer, Shence, or Six Armies personnel, they must report first and only then refer the case to the army—not arrest on their own authority. Jingzhao governor Zheng Shuzhe proposed: "The capital is thick with rogues and tricksters, and villainy never rests. If we wait for memorial and reply, offenders will escape. I ask that arrests be made promptly on every day save that of the royal plowing rite. The proposal was approved. Soon the Left and Right Hall Archer Armies were renamed the Left and Right Divine Prestige Armies, with supervisors appointed for each. Two generalships were added to each Shence Army and one to each Dragon Martial Army, reserved for meritorious generals from the provinces.
28
自肅宗以後，北軍增置威武、長興等軍，名類頗多，而廢置不一。 惟羽林、龍武、神武、神策、神威最盛，總曰左右十軍矣。 其後京畿之西，多以神策軍鎮之，皆有屯營。 軍司之人，散處甸內，皆恃勢凌暴，民間苦之。 自德宗幸梁還，以神策兵有勞，皆號「興元元從奉天定難功臣」，恕死罪。 中書、御史府、兵部乃不能歲比其籍，京兆又不敢總舉名實。 三輔人假比於軍，一牒至十數。 長安姦人多寓占兩軍，身不宿衞，以錢代行，謂之納課戶。 益肆為暴，吏稍禁之，輒先得罪，故當時京尹、赤令皆為之斂屈。 十年，京兆尹楊於陵請置挾名敕，五丁許二丁居軍，餘差以條限，繇是豪彊少畏。
After Suzong the Northern Armies proliferated—Martial Prestige, Everlasting Prosperity, and many other names—created and abolished without fixed pattern. Only Feathered Forest, Dragon Martial, Divine Martial, Shence, and Divine Prestige remained strongest—the Left and Right Ten Armies in all. Thereafter Shence troops garrisoned much of the western capital region, each post with its own camp. Shence officials posted across the capital districts bullied the populace by force, to the people's great distress. After Dezong's return from Fengtian, every Shence soldier who had marched with him was styled "Original Follower from Xingyuan Who Settled the Crisis at Fengtian," with capital crimes remitted. The Secretariat, Censorate, and War Ministry could no longer keep annual rosters current, and the Jingzhao governor did not dare reconcile names with actual men. Men of the Three Adjuncts took false army enrollment—one person might hold as many as ten or more certificates. Many Chang'an rascals held nominal slots in both armies without ever standing guard, paying cash for substitutes—these were called "fee-paying households." They grew bolder still in violence; any official who curbed them was punished first—so capital governors and magistrates learned to hold their tongues. In the tenth year Jingzhao governor Yang Yuling secured an edict against false enrollment: of every five men only two might remain in the army, the rest reassigned by statute—and the great clans grew somewhat wary.
29
十二年，以監句當左神策軍、左監門衞大將軍、知內侍省事竇文場為左神策軍護軍中尉，監句當右神策軍、右監門衞將軍、知內侍省事霍仙鳴為右神策軍護軍中尉，監右神威軍使、內侍兼內謁者監張尚進為右神威軍中護軍，監左神威軍使、內侍兼內謁者監焦希望為左神威軍中護軍。 護軍中尉、中護軍皆古官，帝既以禁衞假宦官，又以此寵之。 十四年，又詔左右神策置統軍，以崇親衞，如六軍。 時邊兵衣饟多不贍，而戍卒屯防，藥茗蔬醬之給最厚。 諸將務為詭辭，請遙隸神策軍，稟賜遂贏舊三倍，繇是塞上往往稱神策行營，皆內統於中人矣，其軍乃至十五萬。 故事，京城諸司、諸使、府、縣，皆季以御史巡囚。 後以北軍地密，未嘗至。 十九年，監察御史崔薳不知近事，遂入右神策，中尉奏之，帝怒，杖薳四十，流崖州。
In the twelfth year Dou Wenchang—supervisor of the Left Shence Army, Left Gate Guard Great General, and head of the Palace Domestic Service—was made Left Shence protecting-army vice-commander; Huo Xianming, his counterpart on the right, became Right Shence protecting-army vice-commander; Zhang Shangjin, supervisor of the Right Divine Prestige Army, became its mid-protector; and Jiao Xiwang, supervisor of the Left Divine Prestige Army, became its mid-protector. Protecting-army vice-commander and mid-protector were ancient titles; having put the Forbidden Guard in eunuch hands, the emperor now lavished these honors on them as well. In the fourteenth year the Left and Right Shence Armies were ordered to establish supreme commanders, elevating them to match the Six Armies as imperial guards. Frontier troops often lacked clothing and rations, yet static garrison soldiers received the richest supplies of medicine, tea, vegetables, and condiments. Generals contrived to have their units nominally placed under the Shence Army; pay and gifts then tripled. Border commands began calling themselves Shence field armies, all answerable inward to eunuchs—and the Shence rolls swelled to 150,000 men. By custom censors quarterly inspected prisoners held by every capital office, agency, prefecture, and county. Later the Northern Army quarters were deemed too sensitive, and censors never entered. In the nineteenth year supervising censor Cui Wan, unaware of the new rules, entered the Right Shence camp. The vice-commander reported it; the emperor had Wan beaten forty strokes and exiled to Yazhou.
30
順宗即位，王叔文用事，欲取神策兵柄，乃用故將范希朝為左右神策、京西諸城鎮行營兵馬節度使，以奪宦者權而不克。 元和二年，省神武軍。 明年，又廢左右神威軍，合為一，曰「天威軍」。 八年，廢天威軍，以其兵騎分隸左右神策軍。 及僖宗幸蜀，田令孜募神策新軍為五十四都，離為十軍，令孜自為左右神策十軍兼十二衞觀軍容使，以左右神策大將軍為左右神策諸都指揮使，諸都又領以都將，亦曰「都頭」。
When Shunzong ascended, Wang Shuwen tried to seize the Shence command and named the veteran Fan Xichao commander of the Left and Right Shence and the western capital garrisons—but could not pry power from the eunuchs. In Yuanhe 2 the Divine Martial Army was abolished. The next year the Left and Right Divine Prestige Armies were merged into a single Heavenly Prestige Army. In the eighth year Heavenly Prestige was abolished and its troops divided between the Left and Right Shence Armies. When Xizong fled to Shu, Tian Lingze raised new Shence forces in fifty-four companies under ten armies. Lingze became commander of the Left and Right Shence Ten Armies and commissioner over the Twelve Guards; Shence great generals became supreme commanders of the companies, each company led by a company chief—the "company heads."
31
景福二年，昭宗以藩臣跋扈、天子孤弱，議以宗室典禁兵。 及伐李茂貞，乃用嗣覃王允為京西招討使，神策諸都指揮使李鐬副之，悉發五十四軍屯興平，已而兵自潰，茂貞逼京師，昭宗為斬神策中尉西門重遂、李周𧬤，乃引去。 乾寧元年，王行瑜、韓建及茂貞連兵犯闕，天子又殺宰相韋昭度、李磎，乃去。 太原李克用以其兵伐行瑜等，同州節度使王行實入迫神策中尉駱全瓘、劉景宣請天子幸邠州，全瓘、景宣及子繼晟與行實縱火東市，帝御承天門，敕諸王率禁軍扞之。 捧日都頭李筠以其軍衞樓下，茂貞將閻圭攻筠，矢及樓扉，帝乃與親王、公主幸筠軍，扈蹕都頭李君實亦以兵至，侍帝出幸莎城、石門。 詔嗣薛王知柔入長安收禁軍、清宮室，月餘乃還。 又詔諸王閱親軍，收拾神策亡散，得數萬。 益置安聖、捧宸、保寧、安化軍，曰「殿後四軍」，嗣覃王允與嗣延王戒丕將之。 三年，茂貞再犯闕，嗣覃王戰敗，昭宗幸華州。 明年，韓建畏諸王有兵，請皆歸十六宅，留殿後兵三十人，為控鶴排馬官，隸飛龍坊，餘悉散之，且列甲圍行宮，於是四軍二萬餘人皆罷。 又請誅都頭李筠，帝恐，為斬於大雲橋。 俄遂殺十一王。
In Jingfu 2, with warlords defiant and the throne isolated, Zhaozong considered placing princes of the blood over the Forbidden Army. Campaigning against Li Maozhen, he named Prince Yun, the Situ Prince, western-capital pacification commissioner, with Shence supreme commander Li Wei as deputy, and sent all fifty-four armies to Xingping—but they soon melted away. Maozhen pressed the capital; Zhaozong executed Shence vice-commanders Ximen Zhongsui and Li Zhoubian; only then did Maozhen withdraw. In Qianning 1, Wang Xingyu, Han Jian, and Maozhen marched on the capital together; the emperor executed chancellors Wei Zhaodu and Li Jiao; only then did they withdraw. Li Keyong of Taiyuan marched against Xingyu and his allies. Tongzhou governor Wang Xingshi entered the capital and, with Shence vice-commanders Luo Quanhong and Liu Jingxuan, pressed the emperor to flee to Binzhou. Quanhong, Jingxuan, Jingxuan's son Jicheng, and Xingshi torched the Eastern Market. The emperor took the Chengtian Gate and ordered the princes to lead the Forbidden Army against them. Holding-the-Sun company head Li Yun posted his men below the gate tower. Maozhen's general Yan Gui attacked him; arrows struck the tower doors. The emperor fled with princes and princesses to Yun's camp; escort company head Li Junshi arrived with troops and accompanied the emperor to Shacheng and Shimen. Zhaozong ordered Prince Zhirou into Chang'an to rally the Forbidden Army and restore the palace—a month passed before he returned. The princes were ordered to review the imperial guard and gather scattered Shence soldiers—recovering tens of thousands. Four new armies were raised—Tranquil Sage, Upholding the Throne, Guarding Tranquility, and Pacifying the Realm—the "Four Rear Hall Armies," under Princes Yun and Jiepi. In the third year Maozhen attacked the capital again; Prince Yun was beaten; Zhaozong fled to Huazhou. The next year Han Jian, fearing armed princes, had them all confined to the Sixteen Mansions. Thirty Rear Hall soldiers remained as crane handlers and horse stewards under Flying Dragon Ward; the rest were disbanded, and armored columns ringed the mobile palace—more than twenty thousand men of the Four Armies were gone. Han Jian also demanded the death of company head Li Yun; terrified, the emperor had him executed at Dayun Bridge. Soon eleven princes were murdered.
32
及還長安，左右神策軍復稍置之，以六千人為定。 是歲，左右神策中尉劉季述、王仲先以其兵千人廢帝，幽之。 季述等誅。 已而昭宗召朱全忠兵入誅宦官，宦官覺，劫天子幸鳳翔。 全忠圍之歲餘，天子乃誅中尉韓全誨、張弘彥等二十餘人，以解梁兵，乃還長安。 於是悉誅宦官，而神策左右軍繇此廢矣。 諸司悉歸尚書省郎官，兩軍兵皆隸六軍，而以崔胤判六軍十二衞事。 六軍者，左右龍武、神武、羽林，其名存而已。 自是軍司以宰相領。
Back in Chang'an the Left and Right Shence Armies were slowly rebuilt—a fixed strength of six thousand. That year Shence vice-commanders Liu Jishu and Wang Zhongxian used a thousand troops to depose the emperor and confine him. Jishu and his conspirators were executed. Zhaozong then summoned Zhu Quanzhong's army to slaughter the eunuchs; the eunuchs caught wind, seized the emperor, and fled with him to Fengxiang. Quanzhong besieged Fengxiang for over a year until the emperor executed vice-commanders Han Quanhui, Zhang Hongyan, and twenty-odd others to appease the Liang forces—then returned to Chang'an. Every eunuch was killed, and with them the Left and Right Shence Armies were abolished for good. All offices reverted to Secretariat officials; both armies' troops passed to the Six Armies, with Cui Yin overseeing the Six Armies and Twelve Guards. The Six Armies—Dragon Martial, Divine Martial, and Feathered Forest, left and right—survived in name alone. Henceforth a chancellor headed the army administration.
33
及全忠歸，留步騎萬人屯故兩軍，以子友倫為左右軍宿衞都指揮使，禁衞皆汴卒。 崔胤乃奏：「六軍名存而兵亡，非所以壯京師。 軍皆置步軍四將，騎軍一將。 步將皆兵二百五十人，騎將皆百人，總六千六百人。 番上如故事。」 乃令六軍諸衞副使京兆尹鄭元規立格募兵於市，而全忠陰以汴人應之。 胤死，以宰相裴樞判左三軍，獨孤損判右三軍，向所募士悉散去。 全忠亦兼判左右六軍十二衞。 及東遷，唯小黃門打毬供奉十數人、內園小兒五百人從。 至穀水，又盡屠之，易以汴人，於是天子無一人之衞。 昭宗遇弒，唐乃亡。
When Quanzhong left, he stationed ten thousand infantry and cavalry in the old Shence barracks and made his son Youlun supreme commander of the palace guard—all Bianzhou men now. Cui Yin memorialized: "The Six Armies are names without soldiers—hardly a strong capital defense. Each army should have four infantry commanders and one cavalry commander. Each infantry commander would hold 250 men, each cavalry commander 100—6,600 in all. Palace rotation would follow the old schedule. The Six Armies deputy and Jingzhao governor Zheng Yuangui were ordered to recruit in the markets—but Quanzhong quietly filled the rolls with men from Bian. After Yin's death Pei Shu took the Left Three Armies and Dugu Sun the Right Three; every recruit melted away. Quanzhong himself assumed control of the Six Armies and Twelve Guards. On the forced move east, only a dozen junior polo eunuchs and five hundred Inner Garden pages accompanied the court. At Gushui they were massacred and swapped for Bianzhou soldiers—the emperor left without a single guardsman of his own. Zhaozong was murdered—and Tang fell.
34
馬者，兵之用也； 監牧，所以蕃馬也，其制起於近世。 唐之初起，得突厥馬二千匹，又得隋馬三千於赤岸澤，徙之隴右，監牧之制始於此。 其官領以太僕； 其屬有牧監、副監； 監有丞，有主簿、直司、團官、牧尉、排馬、牧長、羣頭，有正，有副； 凡羣置長一人，十五長置尉一人，歲課功，進排馬。 又有掌閑，調馬習上。
Horses are the instruments of war; Pasturage supervision exists to breed horses—a system of relatively recent origin. At its founding Tang acquired 2,000 Göktürk horses and 3,000 Sui horses from Red Bank Marsh, moved them to Longyou, and the pasturage system began. The Court of the Imperial Stud headed it; beneath it were pasturage directors and deputy directors; Each directorate had aides, registrars, clerks, herd officers, pasturage captains, horse-rankers, herd chiefs, and group heads—principal and deputy for each; Every herd had one chief; one captain for every fifteen chiefs; yearly assessments determined promotions to horse-ranker. Stable masters trained horses for imperial riding.
35
又以尚乘掌天子之御。 左右六閑：一曰飛黃，二曰吉良，三曰龍媒，四曰騊駼，五曰駃騠，六曰天苑。 總十有二閑為二廄，一曰祥驎，二曰鳳苑，以繫飼之。 其後禁中又增置飛龍廄。
The Office of the Imperial Mount managed the emperor's personal horses. Six stables on left and right: Flying Yellow, Auspicious Fine, Dragon Matchmaker, Taotu, Jueti, and Heavenly Park. All twelve were grouped into two imperial studs—Auspicious Unicorn and Phoenix Park—where horses were stabled and fed. Later the inner palace added the Flying Dragon Stud.
36
初，用太僕少卿張萬歲領羣牧。 自貞觀至麟德四十年間，馬七十萬六千，置八坊岐、豳、涇、寧間，地廣千里，一曰保樂，二曰甘露，三曰南普閏，四曰北普閏，五曰岐陽，六曰太平，七曰宜祿，八曰安定。 八坊之田，千二百三十頃，募民耕之，以給芻秣。 八坊之馬為四十八監，而馬多地狹不能容，又析八監列布河西豐曠之野。 凡馬五千為上監，三千為中監，餘為下監。 監皆有左、右，因地為之名。 方其時，天下以一縑易一馬。 萬歲掌馬久，恩信行於隴右。
Initially Vice Minister Zhang Wansui of the Imperial Stud oversaw the herd pasturages. From Zhenguan through Linde—forty years—the herds reached 706,000 horses. Eight pastures were laid out across Qi, Bin, Jing, and Ning, a thousand li of land: Protecting Joy, Sweet Dew, South Puchang, North Puchang, Qiyang, Great Peace, Yilu, and Anding. 1,230 qing of pasture land were farmed by hired peasants to supply fodder. The eight pastures supported forty-eight directorates, but land grew scarce; eight more were split off across the broad pastures west of the Yellow River. 5,000 horses marked a superior directorate, 3,000 a middle one, fewer a subordinate one. Each directorate had left and right branches, named for their terrain. Horses were so plentiful that one bolt of silk bought a horse empire-wide. Wansui's long stewardship won loyalty throughout Longyou.
37
後以太僕少卿鮮于匡俗檢校隴右牧監。 儀鳳中，以太僕少卿李思文檢校隴右諸牧監使，監牧有使自是始。 後又有羣牧都使，有閑廄使，使皆置副，有判官。 又立四使：南使十五，西使十六，北使七，東使九。 諸坊若涇川、亭川、闕水、洛、赤城，南使統之； 清泉、溫泉，西使統之； 烏氏，北使統之； 木硤、萬福，東使統之。 它皆失傳。 其後益置八監於鹽州，三監於嵐州。 鹽州使八，統白馬等坊； 嵐州使三，統樓煩、玄池、天池之監。
Later Vice Minister Xianyu Kuangsuh was made acting director of Longyou pasturage. In the Yifeng era Li Siwen became acting commissioner over Longyou pasturage—creating the pasturage commissioner post. Later came a supreme herd commissioner and an imperial stud commissioner, each with deputies and adjudicators. Four regional commissioners were added—Southern (15), Western (16), Northern (7), Eastern (9). Pastures such as Jingchuan, Tingchuan, Queshui, Luo, and Chicheng fell under the Southern commissioner; Qingquan and Wenquan fell under the Western commissioner; Wushi fell under the Northern commissioner; Muqia and Wanfu fell under the Eastern commissioner. Other details have been lost. Later eight directorates were added at Yan and three at Lan. Eight Yan commissioners oversaw pastures including White Horse; three Lan commissioners oversaw Loufan, Dark Pool, and Heaven Pool.
38
凡征伐而發牧馬，先盡彊壯，不足則取其次。 錄色、歲、膚第印記、主名送軍，以帳馱之，數上於省。
Campaign requisitions took the strongest stallions first, then lesser stock if needed. Each horse's color, age, hide grade, brand, and owner were logged, ledgered for dispatch, and tallies sent to the ministry.
39
自萬歲失職，馬政頗廢，永隆中，夏州牧馬之死失者十八萬四千九百九十。 景雲二年，詔羣牧歲出高品，御史按察之。 開元初，國馬益耗，太常少卿姜晦乃請以空名告身市馬於六胡州，率三十匹讎一游擊將軍。 命王毛仲領內外閑廄。 九年又詔：「天下之有馬者，州縣皆先以郵遞軍旅之役，定戶復緣以升之。 百姓畏苦，乃多不畜馬，故騎射之士減曩時。 自今諸州民勿限有無蔭，能家畜十馬以上，免帖驛郵遞征行，定戶無以馬為貲。」 毛仲既領閑廄，馬稍稍復，始二十四萬，至十三年乃四十三萬。 其後突厥款塞，玄宗厚撫之，歲許朔方軍西受降城為互市，以金帛市馬，於河東、朔方、隴右牧之。 既雜胡種，馬乃益壯。
After Wansui fell from power horse policy collapsed; in Yonglong Xiazhou pasturage reported 184,990 horses dead or missing. In Jingyun 2 herds were ordered to deliver top-grade horses yearly, with censor inspection. Early in the Kaiyuan reign state horse stocks dwindled further. Vice Minister of Ceremonies Jiang Hui proposed buying horses from the Six Hu Prefectures with blank rank commissions—thirty horses for one Guerrilla General appointment. Wang Maozhong was put in charge of the inner and outer imperial studs. In the ninth year another edict declared: "Anyone in the empire who kept horses found prefectures and counties assigning them first to postal relay and military service, while registered households were also moved up in category because of it. Commoners dreaded the burden and largely stopped raising horses, and cavalrymen became far fewer than before. Henceforth commoners in every prefecture, regardless of inherited privilege, who kept ten or more horses at home would be exempt from relay and courier requisitions, and horses would no longer count as household wealth for registration. Once Maozhong took over the studs, horse numbers slowly recovered: 240,000 at first, and 430,000 by the thirteenth year. Later the Turks came in submission; Xuanzong treated them generously and each year opened West Shouxiang City of the Shuo Fang Army as a horse market, buying mounts with gold and silk and grazing them across Hedong, Shuo Fang, and Longyou. Crossbred with foreign stock, the horses grew notably stronger.
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天寶後，諸軍戰馬動以萬計。 王侯、將相、外戚牛駝羊馬之牧布諸道，百倍於縣官，皆以封邑號名為印自別； 將校亦備私馬。 議謂秦、漢以來，唐馬最盛，天子又銳志武事，遂弱西北蕃。 十一載，詔二京旁五百里勿置私牧。 十三載，隴右羣牧都使奏：馬牛駝羊總六十萬五千六百，而馬三十二萬五千七百。
After Tianbao, each army's war horses routinely ran into the tens of thousands. Princes, generals, ministers, and imperial in-laws pastured cattle, camels, sheep, and horses across the circuits in numbers a hundred times the government's, each branding herds with their fief names; officers and commanders kept private mounts as well. Observers said that since Qin and Han no dynasty had matched Tang horse power; the emperor's keen martial ambition had in turn weakened the northwestern tribes. In the eleventh year an edict banned private pasturage within five hundred li of the two capitals. In the thirteenth year the Longyou Herd Commissioner General reported 605,600 head of horses, cattle, camels, and sheep altogether, including 325,700 horses.
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安祿山以內外閑廄都使兼知樓煩監，陰選勝甲馬歸范陽，故其兵力傾天下而卒反。 肅宗收兵至彭原，率官吏馬抵平涼，蒐監牧及私羣，得馬數萬，軍遂振。 至鳳翔，又詔公卿百寮以後乘助軍。 其後邊無重兵，吐蕃乘隙陷隴右，苑牧畜馬皆沒矣。 乾元後，回紇恃功，歲入馬取繒，馬皆病弱不可用。 永泰元年，代宗欲親擊虜，魚朝恩乃請大搜城中百官、士庶馬輸官，曰「團練馬」。 下制禁馬出城者，已而復罷。 德宗建中元年，市關輔馬三萬實內廄。 貞元三年，吐蕃、羌、渾犯塞，詔禁大馬出潼、蒲、武關者。 元和十一年伐蔡，命中使以絹二萬市馬河曲。 其始置四十八監也，據隴西、金城、平涼、天水，員廣千里，繇京度隴，置八坊為會計都領，其間善水草腴田皆隸之。 後監牧使與坊皆廢，故地存者一歸閑廄，旋以給貧民及軍吏，間又賜佛寺、道館幾千頃。 十二年，閑廄使張茂宗舉故事，盡收岐陽坊地，民失業者甚衆。 十三年，以蔡州牧地為龍陂監。 十四年，置臨漢監於襄州，牧馬三千二百，費田四百頃。 穆宗即位，岐人叩闕訟茂宗所奪田，事下御史按治，悉予民。
An Lushan held the post of Commissioner of the Inner and Outer Studs while also overseeing Loufan Directorate; he secretly funneled the best armored horses to Fanyang, building a force that overshadowed the empire until he rose in rebellion. Emperor Suzong rallied troops at Pengyuan, drove official and civilian horses to Pingliang, and scoured stud farms and private herds for tens of thousands of mounts, reviving the army. At Fengxiang he ordered ministers and officials to donate their spare horses to the war effort. Later, with no strong frontier garrison, Tibet seized the opening and overran Longyou, and every stud and pasture horse was lost. After Qianyuan the Uighurs, trading on their wartime service, brought horses yearly for silk tribute—but the animals were sickly and useless. In Yongtai 1, when Daizong planned to lead a personal strike against the enemy, Yu Chaoen proposed a citywide sweep to seize horses from officials and commoners for the state as "drill-training mounts." An order banning horses from leaving the city was issued, then quickly withdrawn. In Dezong's first Jianzhong year, thirty thousand horses were bought in the capital region to restock the inner stud. In Zhenyuan 3, with Tibetans, Qiang, and Hun raiding the frontier, an edict barred large horses from leaving through Tong, Pu, and Wu passes. During the Yuanhe 11 campaign against Cai, a palace envoy was sent to buy horses at Hequ with twenty thousand bolts of silk. When the forty-eight directorates were first established they sprawled across Longxi, Jincheng, Pingliang, and Tianshui for more than a thousand li; eight pastures west of the capital beyond Long served as accounting hubs, and every tract of good pasture and fertile land fell under them. Later the herd commissioners and pastures were abolished; remaining land briefly reverted to the studs, then passed to poor commoners and army clerks, with thousands of qing also granted to temples and Daoist abbeys. In the twelfth year Stud Commissioner Zhang Maozong invoked precedent and reclaimed all Qiyang pasture land, leaving large numbers of people without livelihood. In the thirteenth year Caizhou pasture land became the Longpo Directorate. In the fourteenth year the Linhan Directorate was set up at Xiangzhou with 3,200 horses, consuming four hundred qing of land. When Muzong acceded, Qi residents petitioned at court over land Maozong had seized; censors investigated and returned it all to the people.
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大和七年，度支鹽鐵使言：「銀州水甘草豐，請詔刺史劉源市馬三千，河西置銀川監，以源為使。」 襄陽節度使裴度奏停臨漢監。 開成二年，劉源奏：「銀川馬已七千，若水草乏，則徙牧綏州境。 今綏南二百里，四隅險絕，寇路不能通，以數十人守要，畜牧無它患。」 乃以隸銀川監。
In Dahe 7 the Salt and Iron Commissioner reported: "Yinzhou has plentiful water and grass; we ask that Prefect Liu Yuan be ordered to buy three thousand horses, that a Yinchuan Directorate be established west of the river, and that Yuan be made its commissioner. Xiangyang Jiedushi Pei Du memorialized to abolish the Linhan Directorate. In Kaicheng 2 Liu Yuan reported: "Yinchuan already holds seven thousand horses; if pasture runs short, they should be moved to graze in Suizhou. Two hundred li south of Suizhou the terrain is enclosed on every side; no enemy route can reach it, and a few dozen men at the passes would suffice to herd without further risk. The area was then placed under the Yinchuan Directorate.
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其後闕，不復可紀。
After that the record breaks off and can no longer be traced.
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校勘記0.85em|columns=2
Collation notes for this chapter.