1
李靖弟:客師孫:令問五代孫:彥芳李勣孫:敬業
Li Jing — brother: Keshe; grandson: Lingwen; fifth-generation descendant: Yanfang; Li Ji — grandson: Jingye.
2
李靖，字藥師，京兆三原人。 姿貌魁秀，通書史。 嘗謂所親曰：「丈夫遭遇，要當以功名取富貴，何至作章句儒！」 其舅韓擒虎每與論兵，輒歎曰：「可與語孫、吳者，非斯人尚誰哉！」 仕隋為殿內直長，吏部尚書牛弘見之曰：「王佐才也！」 左僕射楊素拊其床謂曰：「卿終當坐此！」
Li Jing, whose style name was Yaoshi, came from Sanyuan in Jingzhao. Tall and striking in appearance, he was well read in the classics and history. He once told those close to him, "When a man finds his moment, he should win wealth and standing through deeds and renown—why settle for being a bookish scholar of classical lines?" His uncle Han Qinhu, whenever they talked of war, would sigh and say, "If there is anyone worth discussing Sunzi and Wuzi with, who else could it be but this man?" He served the Sui as a director in the palace service. Niu Hong, Minister of Personnel, met him and declared, "Here is talent fit to assist a sovereign!" Yang Su, Left Vice Premier, slapped his own seat and told him, "You will one day sit in this very chair!"
3
大業末，為馬邑丞。 高祖擊突厥，靖察有非常志，自囚上急變，傳送江都，至長安，道梗。 高祖已定京師，將斬之，靖呼曰：「公起兵為天下除暴亂，欲就大事，以私怨殺誼士乎？」 秦王亦為請，得釋，引為三衛。 從平王世充，以功授開府。
Near the end of Emperor Yang's Daye era, he served as magistrate of Mayi. When Gaozu struck the Turks, Jing sensed his exceptional ambition, had himself bound, and sent word of an urgent crisis to be forwarded to Jiangdu; he reached Chang'an, but the routes were cut. Once Gaozu held the capital, he was about to put Jing to death. Jing called out, "You took up arms to purge the realm of violence and chaos and mean to finish the great work—will you kill a man of principle over a private grievance?" The Prince of Qin pleaded as well; Jing was spared and brought into the Three Guards. He followed the campaign that pacified Wang Shichong and, for his service, received an Opening Office commission.
4
蕭銑據江陵，詔靖安輯，從數輕騎道金州，會蠻賊鄧世洛兵數萬屯山谷間，廬江王瑗討不勝，靖為瑗謀，擊卻之。 進至峽州，阻銑兵不得前。 帝謂逗留，詔都督許紹斬靖，紹為請而免。 開州蠻冉肇則寇夔州，趙郡王孝恭戰未利，靖率兵八百破其屯，要險設伏，斬肇則，俘禽五千。 帝謂左右曰：「使功不如使過，靖果然。」 因手敕勞曰：「既往不咎，向事吾久已忘之。」 靖遂陳圖銑十策。 有詔拜靖行軍總管，兼攝孝恭行軍長史，軍政一委焉。
Xiao Xun held Jiangling, and Jing was ordered to pacify the region. He rode ahead with a handful of light cavalry by way of Jinzhou, ran into the rebel Deng Shiluo and tens of thousands of men camped in the valleys, and when Prince Yuan of Lujiang could not prevail, Jing planned the attack for him and beat the enemy back. He advanced to Xiazhou but was held up by Xun's forces and could not move forward. The emperor took this for delay; an edict told Area Commander Xu Shao to behead Jing, but Shao interceded and he was spared. Ran Zhaoze of the Kaizhou tribes raided Kuizhou; Prince Xiaogong of Zhao command fought without success until Jing led eight hundred men, broke their camp, took a choke point for an ambush, killed Zhaoze, and took five thousand prisoners. The emperor told his attendants, "Using a man's fault works better than using his merit—and Jing proves it." He followed with a personal edict of praise: "What is past is not held against you; I have long since forgotten the earlier affair." Jing then laid out ten plans for subduing Xiao Xun. An edict made Jing Campaign Commander-in-Chief and acting chief of staff on Xiaogong's staff, with full charge of military and civil affairs.
5
武德四年八月，大閱兵夔州。 時秋潦，濤瀨漲惡，銑以靖未能下，不設備。 諸將亦請江平乃進。 靖曰：「兵機事，以速為神。 今士始集，銑不及知，若乘水傅壘，是震霆不及塞耳，有能倉卒召兵，無以禦我，此必禽也。」 孝恭從之。
In the eighth month of Wude 4, he held a grand troop review at Kuizhou. Autumn floods had swollen the currents and shoals; Xun assumed Jing could not come downriver and left his defenses slack. The other generals too urged waiting until the river subsided before advancing. Jing said, "In war, timing is everything—and speed is its soul. Our men have only just gathered; Xun cannot know in time. If we ride the flood to strike their walls, it will be like thunder before anyone can cover his ears. Even a hurried call-up could not stop us—he is ours for the taking." Xiaogong took his counsel.
6
九月，舟師叩夷陵，銑將文士弘以卒數萬屯清江，孝恭欲擊之，靖曰：「不可。 士弘健將，下皆勇士，今新失荊門，悉銳拒我，此救敗之師，不可當。 宜駐南岸，待其氣衰乃取之。」 孝恭不聽，留靖守屯，自往與戰，大敗還。 賊委舟散掠，靖視其亂，縱兵擊破之，取四百餘艘，溺死者萬人。 即率輕兵五千為先鋒，趨江陵，薄城而營。 破其將楊君茂、鄭文秀，俘甲士四千。 孝恭軍繼進，銑大懼，檄召江南兵，不及到，明日降。 靖入其都，號令靜嚴，軍無私焉。 或請靖籍銑將拒戰者家貲以賞軍，靖曰：「王者之兵，弔人而取有罪，彼其脅驅以來，藉以拒師，本非所情，不容以叛逆比之。 今新定荊、郢，宜示寬大，以慰其心，若降而籍之，恐自荊而南，堅城劇屯，驅之死守，非計之善也。」 止不籍。 由是江、漢列城爭下。 以功封永康縣公，檢校荊州刺史。 乃度嶺至桂州，分道招慰。 酋領馮盎等皆以子弟來謁，南方悉定。 裁量款效，承制補官。 得郡凡九十六，戶六十余萬。 詔書勞勉，授嶺南撫慰大使、檢校桂州總管。 以嶺海陋遠，久不見德，非震威武、示禮義，則無以變風。 即率兵南巡，所過問疾苦，延見長老，宣佈天子恩意，遠近歡服。
In the ninth month the fleet reached Yiling. Xun's general Wen Shihong held the Qing River with tens of thousands of men. Xiaogong wanted to attack at once, but Jing said, "No. Shihong is a strong commander and his troops are all seasoned fighters. Fresh from the loss of Jingmen, they will meet us with everything they have—an army fighting to redeem a defeat, and not to be met head-on. Hold the south bank and wait until their ardor fades, then take them." Xiaogong refused to listen, left Jing to hold the camp, went to fight himself, and came back in rout. The enemy abandoned their boats and scattered to loot. Jing saw the disorder, sent his men in, and broke them, seizing more than four hundred craft while ten thousand drowned. He at once led five thousand light troops as vanguard, raced to Jiangling, and camped under the walls. He defeated Xun's generals Yang Junmao and Zheng Wenxiu and took four thousand armored men prisoner. Xiaogong's main force came up. Xun was terrified, called the Jiangnan armies by urgent dispatch, but they could not arrive in time, and he surrendered the next day. Jing entered the rebel capital. His orders were calm and strict, and the army took no private plunder. Some urged Jing to seize the estates of Xun's commanders who had fought on and use them to reward the troops. Jing said, "A king's army succors the people and punishes only the guilty. Those men were pressed into service and fought because they had to—not because they chose rebellion—and must not be treated as traitors. Jing and Ying have only just been secured; we should show mercy to reassure them. If we seize property from men who surrender, every stronghold south of Jing may be driven to fight to the death—not sound policy." He forbade any such registration. Thereafter the cities along the Yangzi and Han submitted one after another. For his service he was enfeoffed as Duke of Yongkang and named acting governor of Jingzhou. He then crossed the mountains into Guizhou and sent detachments on separate routes to win submission. Chieftains such as Feng Ang came in person with sons and younger kin to pay homage, and the south was fully pacified. He judged each group's degree of loyalty and, under imperial authority, appointed officials accordingly. Ninety-six commanderies came in, with more than six hundred thousand households. An edict praised his work and named him Commissioner to Pacify Lingnan and acting area commander of Guizhou. The Lingnan coast was remote and had long gone without imperial favor; without a show of might and of ritual propriety, there was no changing local ways. He led his troops south on tour, inquiring into hardships wherever he went, receiving local elders, and proclaiming the emperor's grace; near and far, all submitted gladly.
7
輔公祏據丹陽反，詔孝恭為帥，召靖入朝受方略，副孝恭東討，李世勣等七總管皆受節度。 公祏遣馮惠亮以舟師三萬屯當塗，陳正通步騎二萬屯青林，自梁山連鎖以斷江道。 築卻月城，延袤十餘里，為犄角。 諸將議曰：「彼勁兵連柵，將不戰疲老我師。 若直取丹陽，空其巢窟，惠亮等自降。」 靖曰：「不然。 二軍雖精，而公祏所自將亦銳卒也，既保石頭，則牢未可拔。 我留不得志，退有所忌，腹背蒙患，非百全計。 且惠亮、正通百戰餘賊，非怯野鬥，今方持重，特公祏立計爾。 若出不意，挑攻其城，必破之。 惠亮拔，公祏禽矣。」 孝恭聽之。 靖率黃君漢等水陸皆進，苦戰，殺傷萬余人，惠亮等亡去。 靖將輕兵至丹陽，公祏懼，眾尚多，不能戰，乃出走，禽之，江南平。 置東南道行台，以為行台兵部尚書。 賜物千段、奴婢百口、馬百匹。 行台廢，檢校揚州大都督府長史。 帝歎曰：「靖乃銑、公祏之膏肓也，古韓、白、衛、霍何以加！」
Fu Gongshi rebelled from Danyang. Xiaogong was named supreme commander; Jing was called to court for the plan, made Xiaogong's deputy in the eastern campaign, and seven area commanders including Li Shiji were placed under his direction. Gongshi sent Feng Huiliang with thirty thousand sailors to hold Dangtu and Chen Zhengtong with twenty thousand foot and horse to hold Qinglin, while from Liangshan they chained the river to block the waterway. They built the Crescent Fort, stretching more than ten li, as a supporting bastion. The generals argued, "Their best men are behind chained palisades—they mean to avoid battle and wear our army down. Strike straight for Danyang and empty their lair, and Huiliang and the rest will yield on their own." Jing said, "No. Those two armies are strong, but Gongshi's personal force is elite too. Once he holds Shitou, the fortress cannot be cracked. If we linger we accomplish nothing; if we withdraw we expose our rear. Trouble on both flanks is no sure plan. Huiliang and Zhengtong are veterans, not men afraid of open battle. They hold back now only because Gongshi has set the plan. Take them by surprise and strike their fort—they will break. Uproot Huiliang, and Gongshi is ours." Xiaogong agreed. Jing led Huang Junhan and others forward by land and water, fought bitterly, killed or wounded more than ten thousand, and drove Huiliang and his men off. Jing took light troops to Danyang. Gongshi was afraid; though his men were still many, he could not fight and fled. He was captured, and Jiangnan was pacified. A Southeast Circuit executive agency was set up, and he was made its Minister of War. He received a thousand bolts of goods, a hundred slaves, and a hundred horses. When the executive agency was abolished, he became acting chief administrator of the Yangzhou superior command. The emperor sighed and said, "Jing was the fatal sickness of Xiao Xun and Fu Gongshi—what could the ancient Han Xin, Bai Qi, Wei Qing, or Huo Qubing add to that?"
8
八年，突厥寇太原，為行軍總管，以江淮兵萬人屯太谷。 時諸將多敗，獨靖以完軍歸。 俄權檢校安州大都督。 太宗踐阼，授刑部尚書，錄功，賜實封四百戶，兼檢校中書令。 突厥部種離畔，帝方圖進取，以兵部尚書為定襄道行軍總管，率勁騎三千繇馬邑趨惡陽嶺。 頡利可汗大驚，曰：「兵不傾國來，靖敢提孤軍至此？」 於是帳部數恐。 靖縱諜者離其腹心，夜襲定襄，破之，可汗脫身遁磧口。 進封代國公。 帝曰：「李陵以步卒五千絕漠，然卒降匈奴，其功尚得書竹帛。 靖以騎三千，蹀血虜庭，遂取定襄，古未有輩，足澡吾渭水之恥矣！」
In the eighth year, when the Turks raided Taiyuan, he was made campaign commander and posted ten thousand Jiang-Huai troops at Taigu. Most commanders were defeated; only Jing brought his army back whole. Soon he was named acting superior governor of Anzhou. When Taizong took the throne, Jing became Minister of Justice, was entered on the merit rolls, received four hundred taxable households in substantive enfeoffment, and was also named acting director of the Secretariat. Turkic tribes were breaking away, and the emperor planned an advance. As Minister of War, Jing was made campaign commander on the Dingxiang circuit and led three thousand elite horsemen from Mayi toward the Wuyang Range. Jieli Khan was stunned. "If they did not send the whole empire's army," he said, "how dare Jing bring a lone force this far?" At that, fear spread through the camp clans. Jing sent agents to split their inner circle, struck Dingxiang by night, broke them, and the khan fled alone toward the desert pass. He was raised to Duke of Dai. The emperor said, "Li Ling took five thousand foot soldiers across the desert, yet in the end surrendered to the Xiongnu—and still his deed was written into the histories. Jing with three thousand horsemen trampled the enemy court in blood and took Dingxiang—unmatched since antiquity—enough to wash away my shame at the Wei River!"
9
頡利走保鐵山，遣使者謝罪，請舉國內附。 以靖為定襄道總管往迎之。 又遣鴻臚卿唐儉、將軍安修仁慰撫。 靖謂副將張公謹曰：「詔使到，虜必自安，若萬騎齎二十日糧，自白道襲之，必得所欲。」 公謹曰：「上已與約降，行人在彼，奈何？」 靖曰：「機不可失，韓信所以破齊也。 如唐儉輩何足惜哉！」 督兵疾進，行遇候邏，皆俘以從，去其牙七里乃覺，部眾震潰，斬萬餘級，俘男女十萬，禽其子疊羅施，殺義成公主。 頡利亡去，為大同道行軍總管張寶相禽以獻。 於是斥地自陰山北至大漠矣。 帝因大赦天下，賜民五日酺。
Jieli withdrew to Tieshan, sent envoys to apologize, and asked to bring the whole nation under Tang rule. Jing was made area commander on the Dingxiang circuit to go receive him. The court also sent Director of Guests Tang Jian and General An Xiuren to reassure them. Jing told his deputy Zhang Gongjin, "Once the imperial envoy arrives, the Turks will relax. Ten thousand horsemen with twenty days' rations, striking by the White Route—we will get what we want." Gongjin said, "The emperor has already agreed to their surrender. Our envoys are there—what then?" Jing said, "Opportunity cannot be lost—that is how Han Xin broke Qi. What is a man like Tang Jian worth regretting?" He drove the army forward fast. Every scout they met was taken along. Seven li from the royal camp the enemy realized what was happening; the tribes broke and fled. More than ten thousand were killed, a hundred thousand men and women captured, Jieli's son Die Luoshi taken, and Princess Yicheng killed. Jieli fled and was captured and presented by Zhang Baoxiang, campaign commander on the Datong circuit. The frontier now ran from the Yin Mountains north to the great desert. The emperor proclaimed a general amnesty and granted the people five days of public celebration.
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御史大夫蕭瑀劾靖持軍無律，縱士大掠，散失奇寶。 帝召讓之，靖無所辯，頓首謝。 帝徐曰：「隋史萬歲破達頭可汗，不賞而誅，朕不然，赦公之罪，錄公之功。」 乃進左光祿大夫，賜絹千匹，增戶至五百。 既而曰：「向人譖短公，朕今悟矣。」 加賜帛一千匹，遷尚書右僕射。
Censor-in-Chief Xiao Yu accused Jing of lax discipline, allowing great plunder, and the loss of rare treasures. The emperor summoned and rebuked him. Jing offered no defense and kowtowed in apology. The emperor said slowly, "Under the Sui, Shi Wansui defeated Khan Datou and was not rewarded but executed. I am not like that. I pardon your fault and record your merit." He was promoted to Left Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, given a thousand bolts of silk, and his enfeoffment raised to five hundred households. He then said, "Someone slandered you before—I see it now." He added another thousand bolts of silk and made him Right Vice Premier.
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靖每參議，恂恂似不能言，以沈厚稱。 時遣使十六道巡察風俗，以靖為畿內道大使，會足疾，懇乞骸骨。 帝遣中書侍郎岑文本諭旨曰：「自古富貴而知止者蓋少，雖疾頓憊，猶力於進。 公今引大體，朕深嘉之。 欲成公美，為一代法，不可不聽。」 乃授檢校特進，就第，賜物段千，尚乘馬二，祿賜、國官、府佐皆勿廢。 若疾少間，三日一至門下中書平章政事。 加賜靈壽杖。
In council Jing was deferential, almost as if he could not speak, and was praised for depth and steadiness. Envoys were then sent on sixteen circuits to inspect local customs, and Jing was named envoy for the metropolitan circuit. When foot ailment struck, he earnestly asked to retire. The emperor sent Secretariat Vice Director Cen Wende with his message: "Since antiquity, few who have known wealth and rank have also known when to stop. Though ill and worn out, most still push on. You now appeal to the larger principle, and I deeply commend it. I wish to complete your honor and make you a model for the age—I cannot refuse." He was named acting Special Advancement and sent to his estate, with a thousand bolts of goods and two imperial riding horses; salary, gifts, household staff, and estate officers were all left in place. If his illness eased, he was to attend the Secretariat and Chancellery every third day to deliberate on state affairs. He was also given a lingzhi staff.
12
頃之，吐谷渾寇邊。 帝謂侍臣曰：「靖能復起為帥乎？」 靖往見房玄齡，曰：「吾雖老，尚堪一行。」 帝喜，以為西海道行軍大總管，任城王道宗、侯君集、李大亮、李道彥、高甑生五總管兵皆屬。 軍次伏俟城，吐谷渾盡火其莽，退保大非川。 諸將議，春草未芽，馬弱不可戰。 靖決策深入，遂逾積石山。 大戰數十，多所殺獲，殘其國，國人多降，吐谷渾伏允愁蹙自經死。 靖更立大寧王慕容順而還。 甑生軍繇鹽澤道後期，靖簿責之。 既歸而憾，與廣州長史唐奉義告靖謀反，有司按驗無狀，甑生等以誣罔論。 靖乃闔門自守，賓客親戚一謝遣。 改衛國公。 其妻卒，詔墳制如衛、霍故事，築闕象鐵山、積石山，以旌其功，進開府儀同三司。
Before long the Tuyuhun raided the border. The emperor asked his attendants, "Can Jing take the field again as commander?" Jing went to Fang Xuanling and said, "I am old, but I can still manage one campaign." The emperor was pleased and named him grand campaign commander on the Xihai circuit. The Prince of Rencheng Li Daozong, Hou Junji, Li Daliang, Li Daoyan, and Gao Zaosheng—all five area commanders and their troops—were placed under his command. The army halted at Fuxi City. The Tuyuhun burned their pasturelands and withdrew to the Dafei River. The generals argued that spring grass had not yet sprouted and the horses were too weak to fight. Jing decided to push deep inland and crossed the Jishi Mountains. After dozens of major engagements, with heavy kills and captures, their state was broken. Many submitted. The Tuyuhun ruler Fuyun, in despair, hanged himself. Jing installed the Prince of Daning Murong Shun as ruler and returned. Zaosheng's column, on the Salt Marsh route, arrived late. Jing recorded the fault and rebuked him. On returning he nursed a grudge and, with Guangzhou chief administrator Tang Fengyi, accused Jing of treason. The investigation found nothing. Zaosheng and his allies were punished for false accusation. Jing shut his gates and kept to himself, politely dismissing every guest and kinsman. His title was changed to Duke of Wei. When his wife died, an edict ordered a tomb like those of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, with gate-towers shaped like Tieshan and the Jishi Mountains to honor his deeds. He was promoted to Opening Office with protocol equal to the Three Excellencies.
13
帝將伐遼，召靖入，謂曰：「公南平吳，北破突厥，西定吐谷渾，惟高麗未服，亦有意乎？」 對曰：「往憑天威，得效尺寸功。 今疾雖衰，陛下誠不棄，病且瘳矣。」 帝憫其老，不許。 二十三年，病甚，帝幸其第，流涕曰：「公乃朕生平故人，于國有勞。 今疾若此，為公憂之。」 薨，年七十九，贈司徒、并州都督，給班劍、羽葆、鼓吹，陪葬昭陵，諡日景武。 子德謇嗣，官至將作少匠，坐善太子承乾，流嶺南，以靖故徙吳郡。
When the emperor prepared to campaign against Liaodong, he summoned Jing and said, "You pacified Wu in the south, broke the Turks in the north, and settled the Tuyuhun in the west. Only Goguryeo remains. Are you willing?" He replied, "In the past I relied on your majesty and was able to do a little. My illness has weakened me, but if Your Majesty will not cast me aside, I may yet recover." The emperor pitied his age and refused. In the twenty-third year his illness grew grave. The emperor visited his home and wept, saying, "You are a friend of my whole life, and you have served the state long and well. To see you so ill grieves me." He died at seventy-nine. He was posthumously made Minister of Education and area commander of Bingzhou, granted court swords, feathered parasols, and martial music, buried beside Zhaoling, and given the posthumous title Jingwu. His son Deqian succeeded him, rose to assistant director of palace construction, was punished for befriending Crown Prince Chengan and exiled to Lingnan, then moved to Wu commandery on account of Jing.
14
靖兄端，字藥王，以靖功襲永康公，梓州刺史。
Jing's elder brother Duan, styled Yaowang, inherited the title Duke of Yongkang through Jing's merit and served as governor of Zizhou.
15
弟客師
Younger brother: Keshe.
16
弟客師，右武衛將軍，累戰功封丹陽郡公。 致仕，居昆明池南。 善騎射，喜馳獵，雖老猶未衰。 自京南屬山，西際澧水，鳥鵲皆識之，每出，從之翔噪，人謂之「鳥賊」。 卒，年九十，贈幽州都督。
The younger brother Keshe served as general of the Right Martial Guard and, through repeated battle honors, was enfeoffed as Duke of Danyang. He retired and lived south of Kunming Pond. Skilled in riding and archery, he loved the chase, and even in old age his vigor had not faded. From the hills south of the capital west to the Li River, birds and magpies knew him. Whenever he went out they followed him, wheeling and crying, and people called him the "Bird Bandit." He died at ninety and was posthumously named area commander of Youzhou.
17
孫令問
Grandson: Lingwen.
18
五代孫彥芳
Fifth-generation descendant: Yanfang.
19
靖五代孫彥芳，大和中，為鳳翔司錄參軍。 家故藏高祖、太宗賜靖詔書數函，上之。 一曰：「兵事節度皆付公，吾不從中治也。」 一曰：「有晝夜視公疾大老嫗遣來，吾欲熟知公起居狀。」 皆太宗手墨，它大略如此。 文宗愛之不廢手。 其舊物有佩筆，以木為管弢，刻金其上，別為環以限其間，筆尚可用也。 靖破蕭銑時，所賜於闐玉帶十三胯，七方六刓，胯各附環，以金固之，所以佩物者。 又有火鑒、大觿、算囊等物，常佩於帶者。 天子悉留禁中。 又敕摸詔本，還賜彥芳，並束帛衣服。 權德輿嘗讀太宗手詔，至流涕曰：「君臣之際乃爾邪！」
Jing's fifth-generation descendant Yanfang served as registrar of Fengxiang during the Dahe era. His family had long kept several cases of edicts Gaozu and Taizong had bestowed on Jing, and he presented them to the throne. One read, "All military affairs and command are entrusted to you. I will not intervene from the center." Another read, "I have sent an old woman to watch your illness day and night. I wish to know your daily condition in detail." All were in Taizong's own hand; the others were much the same. Emperor Wenzong loved them and could not put them down. Among his relics was a belt pen in a wooden sheath with gold inlay and a separate ring to mark its place—the pen still worked. When Jing defeated Xiao Xun he received a Khotan jade belt of thirteen plaques—seven square and six round—each with a ring, set in gold: the fittings of his belt. There were also a fire-striker, a large belt pick, an abacus pouch, and other objects he habitually wore on his belt. The emperor kept them all in the inner palace. He also ordered copies of the edicts made and returned to Yanfang, together with bolts of silk and garments. Quan Deyu once read Taizong's handwritten edicts and wept, saying, "Can relations between ruler and minister truly be like this!"
20
李勣，字懋功，曹州離狐人。 本姓徐氏，客衛南。 家富，多僮僕，積粟常數千鐘。 與其父蓋皆喜施貸，所周給無親疏之間。
Li Ji, whose style name was Maogong, came from Lihu in Caozhou. His original surname was Xu; his family had been guest-retainers in Weinan. The family was wealthy, with many servants and grain stores often running to several thousand piculs. He and his father Gai both delighted in giving and lending, helping near and distant kin alike.
21
隋大業末，韋城翟讓為盜，勣年十七，往從之。 說曰：「公鄉壤不宜自剽殘，宋、鄭商旅之會，禦河在中，舟艦相屬，往邀取之，可以自資。」 讓然之。 劫公私船取財，繇是兵大振。 李密亡命雍丘，勣與浚儀王伯當共說讓，推密為主。 以奇計破王世充。 密署勣右武候大將軍、東海郡公。 當是時，河南、山東大水，隋帝令饑人就食黎陽倉，吏不時發，死者日數萬。 勣說密曰：「天下之亂本於饑，今若取黎陽粟以募兵，大事濟矣。」 密以麾下兵五千付勣，與郝孝德等濟河，襲黎陽，守之。 開倉縱食，旬日，勝兵至二十萬。 宇文化及擁兵北上，密使勣守倉，周掘塹以自環。 化及攻之，勣為地道出鬥，化及敗，引去。
Near the end of the Sui Daye era, Zhai Rang of Weicheng turned bandit. Ji was seventeen and joined him. He urged, "Your home ground is no place for plundering your own people. Song and Zheng are hubs of merchant traffic—the Imperial River runs between them and boats pass in endless train. Intercept them and you can supply yourselves." Rang agreed. They robbed merchant and official vessels for plunder, and the army swelled greatly. Li Mi was in hiding at Yongqiu. Ji and Wang Bodang of Junyi together urged Rang to make Mi their leader. With a stratagem he defeated Wang Shichong. Mi appointed Ji grand general of the Right Martial Guard and Duke of Donghai. Henan and Shandong were then ravaged by flood. The Sui emperor ordered the hungry to the Liyang granary, but officials failed to issue grain in time, and tens of thousands died each day. Ji urged Mi, "The root of the realm's disorder is hunger. If we take the grain at Liyang to raise troops, the great enterprise will succeed." Mi gave Ji five thousand men. With Hao Xiaode and others he crossed the river, seized Liyang, and held it. They opened the granaries. Within ten days their effective force reached two hundred thousand. Yuwen Huaji marched north with his army. Mi left Ji to guard the granary and had trenches dug all around. Huaji attacked. Ji tunneled out to fight, defeated him, and drove him off.
22
武德二年，密歸朝廷，其地東屬海，南至江，西直汝，北抵魏郡，勣統之，未有所屬。 謂長史郭孝恪曰：「人眾土宇，皆魏公有也。 吾若獻之，是利主之敗為己功，吾所羞也。」 乃錄郡縣戶口以啟密，請自上之。 使至，高祖訝無表，使者以意聞。 帝喜曰：「純臣也。」 詔授黎州總管，封萊國公。 賜姓，附宗正屬籍，徙封曹，給田五十頃，甲第一區。 封蓋濟陰王，固辭，改舒國公。 詔勣總河南、山東兵以拒王世充。 及密以謀反誅，帝遣使示密反狀。 勣請收葬，詔從之。 勣為密服縗絰，葬訖乃釋。
In Wude 2, Mi submitted to the Tang. His territory ran east to the sea, south to the Yangzi, west to Ru, and north to Weijun. Ji still commanded it, but it had not yet been assigned to anyone. He told chief administrator Guo Xiaoke, "The people and the territory all belong to the Duke of Wei. If I presented them myself, I would be profiting from my lord's defeat—that is what I would be ashamed to do." He recorded the commandery and county household registers and reported to Mi, asking Mi to present them himself. When the envoy arrived, Gaozu was surprised there was no memorial. The envoy explained Ji's intent. The emperor said with pleasure, "A loyal minister." An edict made him area commander of Lizhou and enfeoffed him as Duke of Lai. He received the imperial surname, was entered on the clan registry, transferred his enfeoffment to Cao, and received fifty qing of land and a first-rank residence. His father Gai was offered the title Prince of Jiyin but firmly declined and was made Duke of Shu instead. An edict ordered Ji to command Henan and Shandong troops against Wang Shichong. When Mi was executed for treason, the emperor sent an envoy to show Ji the evidence. Ji asked to bury Mi properly, and the edict consented. Ji wore full mourning for Mi and only laid it aside after the burial was complete.
23
俄為竇建德所陷，質其父，使復守黎陽。 三年，自拔來歸。 從秦王伐東都，戰有功。 東略地至虎牢，降鄭州司兵沈悅。 平建德，俘世充，乃振旅還，秦王為上將，勣為下將，皆服金甲，乘戎輅，告捷於廟。 蓋亦自洺州與裴矩入朝，詔復其官。
Soon Dou Jiande captured him, took his father hostage, and made him guard Liyang again. In the third year he broke free and returned to the Tang. He followed the Prince of Qin against the Eastern Capital and distinguished himself in battle. Advancing east he reached Hulao and received the surrender of Shen Yue, registrar of Bingzhou. After pacifying Jiande and capturing Shichong, they led the army home in triumph. The Prince of Qin was upper commander and Ji lower commander; both wore golden armor, rode war chariots, and reported victory at the ancestral temple. Gai also came to court from Mingzhou with Pei Ju, and an edict restored his office.
24
又從破劉黑闥、徐圓朗，累遷左監門大將軍。 圓朗復反，詔勣為河南大總管，討平之。 趙郡王孝恭討輔公祏也，遣勣以步卒一萬度淮，拔壽陽，攻江西賊壁，馮惠亮、陳正通相次潰，公祏平。
He again followed campaigns that defeated Liu Heita and Xu Yuanlang and rose to grand general of the Left Gate Guards. Yuanlang rebelled again. Ji was made grand area commander of Henan and pacified him. When Prince Xiaogong of Zhao attacked Fu Gongshi, he sent Ji with ten thousand foot soldiers across the Huai. Ji took Shouyang, stormed the rebel camps west of the river, and after Feng Huiliang and Chen Zhengtong collapsed in turn, Gongshi was pacified.
25
太宗即位，拜并州都督，賜實封九百戶。 貞觀三年，為通漠道行軍總管，出雲中，與突厥戰，走之。 引兵與李靖合。 因曰：「頡利若度磧，保於九姓，果不可得，我若約齎薄之，不戰縛虜矣。」 靖大喜，以與己合，於是意決。 靖率眾夜發，勣勒兵從之。 頡利欲走磧，勣前屯磧口，不得度，由是酋長率部落五萬降於勣。 詔拜光祿大夫，行并州大都督府長史。 父喪解，奪哀還官，徙封英，治并州十六年，以威肅聞。 帝嘗曰：「煬帝不擇人守邊，勞中國築長城以備虜。 今我用勣守並，突厥不敢南，賢長城遠矣！」 召為兵部尚書，未至，會薛延陀子大度設以八萬騎侵李思摩。 詔勣為朔方道行軍總管，將輕騎六千，擊度設青山，斬名王一，俘口五萬。 以功封一子為縣公。
When Taizong took the throne, Ji became area commander of Bingzhou with nine hundred taxable households in substantive enfeoffment. In Zhenguan 3 he was made campaign commander on the Tongmo circuit, marched from Yunzhong, fought the Turks, and drove them off. He brought his troops to join Li Jing. He said, "If Jieli crosses the desert and shelters among the Nine Surnames, he cannot be taken—but if we travel light with little baggage, we can take him without a battle." Jing was delighted that this matched his own thinking, and his mind was made up. Jing led the army out by night; Ji drove the troops after him. Jieli tried to flee across the desert. Ji camped at the pass and blocked him. Fifty thousand tribesmen then surrendered to Ji. An edict made him Grand Master of Splendid Happiness and acting chief administrator of the Bingzhou superior command. He left office for his father's mourning, was recalled before mourning ended, was transferred to the Ying enfeoffment, governed Bingzhou for sixteen years, and was known for stern discipline. The emperor once said, "Emperor Yang did not choose the right men to guard the frontier and exhausted China building the Long Wall against the barbarians. Now I use Ji to guard Bingzhou, and the Turks dare not come south—far better than any wall!" He was summoned as Minister of War but had not yet arrived when Dadushe, son of the Xueyantuo khan, invaded Li Simo with eighty thousand horsemen. An edict made Ji campaign commander on the Shuofang circuit. He led six thousand light cavalry, struck Dadushe at Qingshan, killed a royal prince, and took fifty thousand prisoners. For his service one son was enfeoffed as a county duke.
26
晉王為皇太子，授詹事，兼左衛率，俄同中書門下三品。 帝曰：「吾兒方位東宮，公舊長史，以宮事相委，勿以資屈為嫌也。」 後帝自將征高麗，以勣為遼東道行軍大總管。 破蓋牟、遼東、白崖等城，從戰駐蹕山，功多，封一子為郡公。 延陀部落亂，詔將二百騎發突厥兵討之，大戰烏德鞬山，破之，降其首領梯真達幹，而可汁咄摩支遁入荒穀，磧北遂定。 改太常卿，仍同中書門下三品，復為詹事。
When the Prince of Jin became crown prince, Ji was made chamberlain and concurrently commander of the Left Guard; soon he joined the chief ministers at the third rank. The emperor said, "My son is now in the Eastern Palace. You were his former chief administrator—I entrust palace affairs to you. Do not take lower rank as an insult." Later, when the emperor led the campaign against Goguryeo in person, Ji was made grand campaign commander on the Liaodong circuit. He took Gaimou, Liaodong, Baiya, and other cities, fought at Zhujianshan with great credit, and one son was enfeoffed as a commandery duke. When the Yanluo tribes rebelled, he led two hundred horsemen to raise Turkic allies and crushed them at Wudejian Mountain. Their chieftain Tizhen Dagan surrendered; Khan Tudu Mozhi fled into the wilds, and the northern desert was settled. He became director of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, remained a chief minister at the third rank, and was again made chamberlain.
27
勣既忠力，帝謂可托大事。 嘗暴疾，毉曰：「用須灰可治。」 帝乃自翦須以和藥。 及愈，入謝，頓首流血。 帝曰：「吾為社稷計，何謝為！」 後留宴，顧曰：「朕思屬幼孤，無易公者。 公昔不遺李密，豈負朕哉？」 勣感涕，因齧指流血。 俄大醉，帝親解衣覆之。 帝疾，謂太子曰：「爾於勣無恩，今以事出之，我死，宜即授以僕射，彼必致死力矣！」 乃授疊州都督。
Ji was loyal and capable; the emperor believed great affairs could be entrusted to him. He once fell gravely ill. The physician said ash was needed for the cure." The emperor cut his own beard to mix into the medicine. When he recovered he came to give thanks and kowtowed until his forehead bled. The emperor said, "I did it for the realm—why thank me?" Later at a banquet he said, "I mean to entrust my young heir to you—there is no one I would prefer. You did not abandon Li Mi—would you fail me?" Ji wept and bit his finger until it bled. Soon he was deeply drunk, and the emperor removed his own robe to cover him. When the emperor fell ill he told the crown prince, "You have shown Ji no favor. Send him away on some mission now. When I die, appoint him vice premier at once—he will serve you to the death!" He was then appointed area commander of Diezhou.
28
高宗立，召授檢校洛州刺史、洛陽宮留守，進開府儀同三司、同中書門下，參掌機密，遂為尚書左僕射。 永徽元年，求解僕射，聽之，仍以開府儀同三司知政事。 四年，冊進司空。 始太宗時，勣已畫象淩煙閣，至是，帝復命圖其形，自序之。 又詔得乘小馬出入東、西台，卑官日一人迎送。
When Gaozong took the throne, Ji was summoned as acting governor of Luozhou and keeper of the Luoyang palace, promoted to opening office with protocol equal to the Three Excellencies and coequal with the chief ministers, given a share in confidential affairs, and made left vice premier. In Yonghui 1 he asked to resign as vice premier and was allowed to do so, but retained opening office rank and continued to manage state affairs. In the fourth year he was advanced to Minister of Works. Taizong had already placed Ji's portrait in the Lingyan Pavilion; now the emperor ordered it painted again and wrote the inscription himself. An edict also allowed him to ride a pony in and out of the eastern and western offices, with one low official each day to escort him.
29
帝欲立武昭儀為皇后，畏大臣異議，未決。 李義府、許敬宗又請廢王皇后。 帝召勣與長孫無忌、于志甯、褚遂良計之，勣稱疾不至。 帝曰：「皇后無子。 罪莫大於絕嗣，將廢之。」 遂良等持不可，志甯顧望不對。 帝后密訪勣，曰：「將立昭儀，而顧命之臣皆以為不可，今止矣！」 答曰：「此陛下家事，無須問外人。」 帝意遂定，而王后廢。 詔勣、志寧奉冊立武氏。 帝東封泰山，為封禪大使。 嘗墜馬傷足，帝以所乘馬賜之。
The emperor wished to make Consort Wu empress but feared opposition from the great ministers and had not decided. Li Yifu and Xu Jingzong also urged deposing Queen Wang. The emperor summoned Ji, Zhangsun Wuji, Yu Zhining, and Chu Suiliang to deliberate; Ji claimed illness and stayed away. The emperor said, "The queen has no son. No fault is greater than leaving the line without an heir. She will be deposed." Suiliang and others objected; Zhining looked away and said nothing. The emperor and empress secretly consulted Ji: "I mean to make Zhaoyi empress, but the ministers I entrusted at my deathbed all oppose it—so it stops!" He answered, "This is Your Majesty's family affair. There is no need to ask outsiders." The emperor's mind was made up, and Queen Wang was deposed. An edict ordered Ji and Zhining to present the documents investing Lady Wu as empress. When the emperor performed the feng and shan rites at Mount Tai, Ji was made ambassador for the ceremony. He once fell from a horse and injured his foot; the emperor gave him the horse he had been riding.
30
高麗莫離支男生為其弟所逐，遣子乞師。 詔勣為遼東道行軍大總管，率兵二萬討之。 破其國，執高藏、男建等，裂其地州縣之。 詔勣獻俘昭陵，明先帝意，具軍容告於廟。 進位太子太師，增食千一百戶。
Goguryeo's Molich Zhi Nan-sheng was driven out by his younger brother and sent his son to beg for aid. An edict made Ji grand campaign commander on the Liaodong circuit with twenty thousand troops. He broke their state, seized Gao Zang and Nan Jian, and carved their territory into prefectures and counties. An edict ordered Ji to present captives at Zhaoling, explain the late emperor's intent, and report in full military array at the temple. He was made grand preceptor of the crown prince and his food allotment increased by eleven hundred households.
31
總章二年，卒，年八十六。 帝曰：「勣奉上忠，事親孝，曆三朝未嘗有過，性廉慎，不立產業。 今亡，當無贏貲。 有司其厚賵恤之。」 因泣下。 舉哀光順門，七日不視朝。 贈太尉、揚州大都督，諡貞武。 給秘器，陪葬昭陵。 起塚象陰、鐵、烏德鞬山，以旌功烈。 葬日，帝與皇太子幸未央古城，哭送，百官送古城西北。
In Zongzhang 2 he died at eighty-six. The emperor said, "Ji was loyal to his superiors and filial to his kin. Through three reigns he never erred. He was incorrupt and cautious and built no estates. Now that he is gone, he should leave no surplus wealth. Let the authorities give a generous funeral grant." He wept. Mourning was raised at Guangshun Gate, and for seven days the emperor did not hold court. He was posthumously made grand preceptor and superior area commander of Yangzhou, with the posthumous title Zhenwu. Secret burial vessels were granted and he was buried beside Zhaoling. His tomb was built to resemble the Yin Mountains, Tieshan, and Wudejian Mountain to honor his achievements. On the burial day the emperor and crown prince went to the old Weiyang city to weep and send him off; officials escorted the procession northwest of the old city.
32
初，勣拔黎陽倉，就食者眾，高季輔、杜正倫往客焉，及平虎牢，獲戴胄，鹹引見臥內，推禮之，後皆為名臣，世以勣知人。 平洛陽，得單雄信，故人也。 表其材武，且言：「若貸死，必有以報，請納官爵以贖。」 不許。 乃號慟，割股肉啗之曰：「生死永訣，此肉同歸於土！」 為收養其子焉。 性友愛，其姊病，嘗自為粥而燎其須。 姊戒止。 答曰：「姊多疾，而勣且老，雖欲數進粥，尚幾何？」
When Ji opened the Liyang granary, Gao Jifu and Du Zhenglun were among those who came to eat. After Hulao fell he obtained Dai Zhou. He received them all in his inner quarters with honor; each later became a famous minister, and the age praised Ji for knowing men. When Luoyang was pacified he captured Shan Xiongxin, an old friend. He memorialized Xiongxin's martial talent and said, "If his life is spared he will surely repay the favor—let me yield my office and rank to redeem him." The request was denied. He wailed, cut flesh from his thigh, and fed it to him, saying, "We part forever—this flesh goes with you to the earth! He then raised his son. He was deeply affectionate. When his elder sister fell ill he made porridge himself and singed his beard. His sister told him to stop. He answered, "Sister, you are often ill and I am already old. Even if I brought you porridge often, how much time is left?"
33
其用兵多籌算，料敵應變，皆契事機。 聞人善，抵掌嗟歎。 及戰勝，必推功於下。 得金帛，盡散之士卒，無私貯。 然持法嚴，故人為之用。 臨事選將，必訾相其奇厖福艾者遣之。 或問故，答曰：「薄命之人，不足與成功名。」 既沒，士皆為流涕。
In war he relied on calculation; in reading the enemy and adapting he always matched the moment. When he heard of someone's excellence he clapped his hands and sighed in admiration. After victory he always gave the credit to his subordinates. Gold and silk he distributed entirely to the soldiers, keeping nothing for himself. Yet he held the law strictly, and men served him willingly. When choosing generals he always picked men with striking features and the marks of fortune and long life. Asked why, he said, "Men of thin fate cannot win achievement and fame. After his death the soldiers all wept for him.
34
自屬疾，帝及皇太子賜藥即服，家欲呼毉巫，不許。 諸子固以藥進，輒曰：「我山東田夫耳，位三公，年逾八十，非命乎！ 生死系天，寧就毉求活耶？」 弟弼，始為晉州刺史。 以勣疾，召為司衛卿，使省視。 忽語曰：「我似少愈，可置酒相樂。」 於是奏樂宴飲，列子孫於下。 將罷，謂弼曰：「我即死，欲有言，恐悲哭不得盡，故一訣耳！ 我見房玄齡、杜如晦、高季輔皆辛苦立門戶，亦望詒後，悉為不肖子敗之。 我子孫今以付汝，汝可慎察，有不厲言行、交非類者，急榜殺以聞，毋令後人笑吾，猶吾笑房、杜也。 我死，布裝露車載柩，斂以常服，加朝服其中，儻死有知，庶著此奉見先帝。 明器惟作五六寓馬，下帳施幔，為皁頂白紗裙，中列十偶人，它不得以從。 眾妾願留養子者聽，餘出之。 葬已，徙居我堂，善視小弱。 苟違我言，同戮屍矣！」 乃不復語。 弼等遵焉。 勣本二名，至高宗時，避太宗偏諱，故但名勣。 後配享高宗廟廷。
Once he fell ill, the emperor and crown prince sent medicine which he took at once. When the household wished to call physicians he refused. When his sons pressed medicine on him he said, "I am but a farmer from Shandong who rose to the Three Excellencies and passed eighty—is that not fate? Life and death depend on Heaven. Why seek life from physicians? His younger brother Bi had first been governor of Jinzhou. Because of Ji's illness he was summoned as director of the palace guards to oversee his care. Suddenly he said, "I seem a little better. Set out wine for a gathering." Music was played and they feasted, with sons and grandsons below. As the feast ended he told Bi, "I am about to die and have words to leave, but I fear weeping will cut them short—so this one farewell! I saw Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Gao Jifu toil to raise their houses and hope to benefit posterity, yet unworthy sons ruined them all. I entrust my sons and grandsons to you. Watch carefully. Any whose conduct is not stern or who keeps bad company—beat them to death at once and report it. Do not let later men laugh at me as I laughed at Fang and Du. When I die, carry the coffin in a plain cart with exposed bier, dress me in ordinary clothes with court robes inside—if the dead have awareness, perhaps I may meet the late emperor thus. Funerary figures: only five or six clay horses. Hang a canopy below the pall, black cap and white gauze skirt, ten figurines within—nothing else may follow. Concubines who wish to stay and raise sons may do so; the rest must leave. After burial move into my hall and care for the young and weak. If you disobey my words, you will share the corpse's fate!" He spoke no more. Bi and the others followed his instructions. Ji originally had two characters in his name; under Gaozong, to avoid Taizong's partial taboo, he was called only Ji. Later he was granted a place in Gaozong's temple hall.
35
季弟感，年十五，有奇操。 李密敗，陷於世充。 世充令作書召勣，對曰：「兄尚節義，今巳事主，昆弟不能移也。」 固不從，殺之。 勣子震嗣，終桂州刺史。 震子敬業、敬猷。
His youngest brother Gan, at fifteen, had extraordinary resolve. When Li Mi was defeated he was trapped by Wang Shichong. Shichong ordered him to write summoning Ji. He replied, "My brother still holds to integrity and now serves a lord. We brothers cannot be moved." He refused and was killed. Ji's son Zhen succeeded him and ended as governor of Guizhou. Zhen's sons: Jingye and Jingyou.
36
孫敬業
Grandson: Jingye.
37
敬業，少從勣征伐，有勇名。 曆太僕少卿，襲英國公，為眉州刺史。 嗣聖元年，坐贓，貶柳州司馬。 會給事中唐之奇貶括蒼令，詹事府司直杜求仁貶黝令，長安主簿駱賓王貶臨海丞，敬猷自盩厔令坐事免，俱客揚州，失職怏怏。
Jingye, from youth following Ji in campaigns, had a reputation for valor. He served as vice director of the imperial stud, inherited the title Duke of Ying, and was made governor of Meizhou. In the first year of Sisheng he was punished for corruption and demoted to vice magistrate of Liuzhou. Remonstrance officer Tang Zhiqi was demoted to Kuocang, court gentleman Du Qiuren to You, chief clerk Luo Binwang to Linhai, and Jingyou dismissed from Zhouzhi—all lodged in Yangzhou, bitter over lost office.
38
時武后既廢中宗，又立睿宗，實亦囚之。 諸武擅命，唐子孫誅戮，天下憤之。 敬業等乘人怨，謀起兵，先諭其党監察御史薛璋，求使江都。 及至，令雍人韋超告州長史陳敬之反，璋乃收系之。 敬業即矯制殺敬之，自稱州司馬，且言奉密詔募兵，討高州叛酋。 即開府庫，令參軍李宗臣釋系囚、役工數百人，授甲，斬錄事參軍孫處行以徇。 乃開三府，一曰匡復府，二曰英公府，三曰揚州大都督府。 自稱匡復府上將，領揚州大都督，以子奇為左長史，求仁右長史，宗臣左司馬，璋右司馬，江都令韋知止為英公府長史，賓王為藝文令，前盩厔尉魏思溫為軍師。 旬日，兵十余萬。 傳檄州縣，疏武氏過惡，復廬陵王天子位。 又索狀類太子賢者奉之，詭眾曰：「賢實不死。」 楚州司馬李崇福率所部三縣應之。
By then Empress Wu had deposed Zhongzong and installed Ruizong, who was also a prisoner in fact. The Wu clan acted by their own authority; Tang princes were slaughtered, and the realm was enraged. Jingye and the others seized on popular resentment and plotted rebellion, first persuading their comrade investigative censor Xue Zhang to seek assignment to Jiangdu. On arrival he had a Yong native, Wei Chao, accuse prefectural chief administrator Chen Jingzhi of rebellion; Zhang arrested him. Jingye forged an edict executing Jingzhi, styled himself prefectural vice magistrate, and claimed a secret order to raise troops against a Gaozhou rebel chieftain. He opened the treasury, had staff officer Li Zongchen release hundreds of prisoners and laborers, arm them, and behead registrar Sun Chuxing as a warning. He then opened three offices: the Restoration Office, the Duke of Ying Office, and the Yangzhou Superior Command Office. He styled himself supreme commander of the Restoration Office and superior area commander of Yangzhou, made Ziqi left chief administrator, Qiuren right chief administrator, Zongchen left vice magistrate, Zhang right vice magistrate, Jiangdu magistrate Wei Zhizhi chief administrator of the Duke of Ying office, Binwang director of literary arts, and former Zhouzhi magistrate Wei Siwen military adviser. Within ten days his army exceeded a hundred thousand. He sent proclamations to prefectures and counties denouncing the Wu clan and restoring Prince Luling to the throne. He also sought someone resembling the deposed Crown Prince Xian to install, telling the crowd, "Xian is not dead. Chuzhou vice magistrate Li Chongfu led his three counties in response.
39
武后遣左玉鈐衛大將軍李孝逸兵三十萬往擊之，削其祖父官爵，毀塚藏，除屬籍，赦揚、楚民脅從者。 購得敬業首，授官三品，賞帛五千； 得之奇等首，官五品，帛三千。
Empress Wu sent Left Jade-Ornamented Guard General Li Xiaoyi with three hundred thousand troops, stripped Jingye's grandfather of office and rank, destroyed the family tombs, removed them from the clan registry, and pardoned coerced followers in Yang and Chu. A reward was posted for Jingye's head: third-rank office and five thousand bolts of silk; for Ziqi and the others' heads, fifth-rank office and three thousand bolts.
40
敬業問計于思溫，對曰：「公既以太后幽縶天子，宜身自將兵直趨洛陽。 山東、韓、魏知公勤王，附者必眾，天下指日定矣！」 璋曰：「不然。 金陵負江，其地足以為固。 且王氣尚在，宜先並常、潤為霸基，然後鼓行而北。」 思溫曰：「鄭、汴、徐、亳士皆豪傑，不願武后居上，蒸麥為飯，以待我師。 奈何欲守金陵，投死地乎？」 敬業不從。 使敬猷屯淮陰，韋超屯都梁山，自引兵擊潤州，下之。 署宗臣為刺史。 始回兵屯高郵，下阿溪。 思溫歎曰：「兵忌分，今敬業不知掃地度淮，率山東士先襲東都，吾知無能為也！」
Jingye asked Siwen for counsel. He answered, "You say the empress dowager has imprisoned the emperor. Lead the army yourself straight for Luoyang. Shandong and the old heartlands will know you march to rescue the throne. Supporters will flock to you, and the realm will be settled within days!" Zhang said, "No. Jinling lies on the Yangzi; its terrain is strong enough for a base. The royal aura still lingers there. Seize Chang and Run as your base, then march north." Siwen said, "The gentry of the central plains are heroes who reject Empress Wu. They steam wheat and await our army. Why hold Jinling and throw yourselves into a dead end?" Jingye would not listen. He sent Jingyou to Huaiyin and Wei Chao to Duliang Mountain, then led the main force against Runzhou and took it. He appointed Zongchen governor. He then turned back to camp at Gaoyou and took Axi. Siwen sighed, "Armies dread division. Jingye will not cross the Huai and strike the eastern capital first—I know he will accomplish nothing!"
41
武后又使黑齒常之將江南兵為孝逸援，進擊，淮陰、都梁兵皆敗。 後軍總管蘇孝祥率奇兵五千夜度擊敬業，孝祥死，兵溺者過半，孝逸軍退守石樑。 有鳥群噪敬業營上，監軍御史魏真宰曰：「賊其敗乎！ 風順荻乾，火攻之利也。」 固請戰，遂度溪擊之。 敬業置陣久，士疲，皆顧望不正列，孝逸乘風縱火逼其軍，軍稍卻。 敬業麾精兵居前，弱者在後，陣亂不能制，乃敗，斬七千餘級。 敬業與敬猷、之奇、求仁、賓王輕騎遁江都，悉焚其圖籍，攜妻子奔潤州，潛蒜山下，將入海逃高麗，抵海陵，阻風遺山江中，其將王那相斬之，凡二十五首，傳東都，皆夷其家。 中宗反正，詔還勣官封屬籍，葺完塋塚焉。
The empress also sent Heichi Changzhi with Jiangnan troops to reinforce Xiaoyi. Both Huaiyin and Duliang fell. Rear army commander Su Xiaoxiang led five thousand elite troops in a night attack. Xiaoxiang was killed and more than half drowned. Xiaoyi withdrew to Shiliang. Birds clamored above Jingye's camp. Supervisory censor Wei Zhenzai said, "The rebels are about to break! The wind favors us and the reeds are dry—fire is the weapon to use." He pressed for battle and crossed the stream to attack. Jingye's men had stood in formation too long. They were weary and their ranks wavered. Xiaoyi used the wind to set fire to the reeds and press them back. Jingye put elites in front and weak men behind, but the formation collapsed. They were routed; more than seven thousand were killed. Jingye, Jingyou, Zhiqi, Qiuren, and Binwang fled to Jiangdu, burned their records, took families to Runzhou, hid at Mount Suanshan, and meant to flee by sea to Goguryeo. At Hailing, wind blocked them. Officer Wang Naxiang beheaded Jingye. Twenty-five heads were sent to Luoyang, and all their families were exterminated. When Zhongzong was restored, an edict returned Ji's offices, enfeoffments, and clan registry and repaired the tombs.
42
初，敬業之叔思文為潤州刺史。 敬業兵起，以使間道聞，固守逾月。 城陷，敬業責曰：「廬陵王繼天下，無罪見廢，今兵以義動，何過拒邪？ 若太后是助，宜即姓武。」 思溫等欲殺之，敬業不許。 及揚、楚平，乃獨免。 後遂賜武姓，曆春官尚書。 或言本與敬業謀者，乃復徐氏，卒。 子欽憲，開元中，仕至國子祭酒。
Jingye's uncle Siwen had been governor of Runzhou. When Jingye rebelled, word came by secret envoy, and Siwen held the city for more than a month. When the city fell Jingye reproached him: "Prince Luling was deposed without crime. Our army moves in righteousness—why resist? If you aid the empress dowager, take the surname Wu at once." Siwen and others wished to kill him, but Jingye refused. Only when Yang and Chu were pacified was he alone spared. Later he was granted the surname Wu and served as Minister of the Spring Office. Some said he had plotted with Jingye from the start; he was restored to the surname Xu and died. His son Qinxian rose to director of the imperial university in the Kaiyuan era.
43
贊曰：「唐興，其名將曰英、衛，皆擢罪亡之餘，遂能依乘風雲，勒功帝籍。 蓋君臣之際，固有以感之，獨推期運，非也。 若靖闔門稱疾，畏遠權逼，功大而主不疑，雖古哲人，何以尚茲？ 勣之節，見於黎陽，故太宗勤勤於托孤，誠有為也。 至以老臣輔少主，會房帷易奪，天子畏大臣，依違不專，委誠取決，惟議是聽。 勣乃私己畏禍，從而導之，武氏奮而唐之宗屬幾殲焉。 及其孫，因民不忍，舉兵覆宗，至掘塚而暴其骨。 嗚呼，不幾一言而喪邦乎？ 惜其不通學術，昧夫臨大節不可奪之誼，反與許、李同科，可不戒哉！ 世言靖精風角、鳥占、雲祲、孤虛之術，為善用兵。 是不然，特以臨機果，料敵明，根于忠智而已。 俗人傅著怪詭禨祥，皆不足信。 故列靖所設施如此。
The commentator says: "When Tang rose, its famous generals were Ying and Wei—men raised from guilt and exile who rode the wind and clouds and inscribed their merit on the imperial registers. Surely something moves between ruler and minister—it is not merely fate. That view is wrong. Jing shut his gates and claimed illness, kept away from coercive power, achieved greatly yet was not doubted—even ancient sages could hardly surpass this. Ji's integrity showed at Liyang; Taizong earnestly entrusted him with the orphan, and with good reason. Yet when an old minister assisted a young sovereign, the inner chambers changed hands, the emperor feared great ministers, wavered, and took counsel only from deliberation. Ji feared calamity for himself, followed and guided it—and the Wu clan rose while Tang imperial kin were nearly wiped out. His grandson, because the people could not bear it, raised troops and ruined the clan; they dug up the tombs and exposed the bones. Alas—did he not nearly lose the state in a single sentence? Pity that he lacked learning and did not grasp that great crises test integrity—instead he shares Xu and Li's judgment. Let that be a warning! The age says Jing mastered wind angles, bird augury, cloud signs, and guxu arts, and therefore used troops well. That is not so. He was decisive in the moment, clear about the enemy, rooted in loyalty and wisdom—that is all. Strange omens spread by common people are not to be believed. Therefore Jing's measures are listed thus.