1
房玄齡子:遺愛杜如晦弟:楚客叔父:淹五世孫:元穎六世孫:審權七世孫:讓能
Fang Xuanling's son, Yiai; Du Ruhui's younger brother, Chuke; their paternal uncle, Yan; fifth-generation descendant, Yuanying; sixth-generation descendant, Shenquan; seventh-generation descendant, Rangneng.
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房玄齡
Fang Xuanling
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房玄齡，字喬，齊州臨淄人。 父彥謙，仕隋，曆司隸刺史。 玄齡幼警敏，貫綜墳籍，善屬文，書兼草隸。 開皇中，天下混壹，皆謂隋祚方永，玄齡密白父曰：「上無功德，徒以周近親，妄誅殺，攘神器有之，不為子孫立長久計，淆置嫡庶，競侈僭，相傾鬩，終當內相誅夷。 視今雖平，其亡，跬可須也。」 彥謙驚曰：無妄言！」 年十八，舉進士。 授羽騎尉，校仇秘書省。 吏部侍郎高孝基名知人，謂裴矩曰：「僕觀人多矣，未有如此郎者，當為國器，但恨不見其聳壑昂霄雲。」 補隰城尉。 漢王諒反，坐累，徙上郡。 顧中原方亂，慨然有憂天下志。 會父疾，綿十旬，不解衣； 及喪，勺飲不入口五日。
Fang Xuanling, styled Qiao, came from Linzi in Qizhou. His father Yanzhi served under the Sui and rose to serve as inspector of the Directorate of Convicts. As a boy, Xuanling was exceptionally bright. He mastered the classical canon, wrote with ease, and was accomplished in both cursive and clerical calligraphy. In the Kaihuang reign, when the empire had been reunified, everyone assumed the Sui dynasty would last forever. Xuanling quietly told his father, "The throne has no true merit behind it. The emperor merely seized the Mandate because he was Zhou's nearest kin. He kills at whim, makes no lasting provision for his heirs, muddles the line between legitimate and illegitimate sons, and encourages rivalry in luxury and presumption until the court turns on itself. In the end the dynasty will devour its own. The realm may look settled now, but its collapse is only a step away. Yanzhi was startled. "Do not speak such reckless words!" At eighteen he passed the jinshi examination. He was made a captain of the Feathered Cavalry and set to collating texts in the Secretariat. Gao Xiaoji, vice director of the Ministry of Personnel, was renowned for judging men. He told Pei Ju, "I have seen countless people, but never anyone like this young man. He will be a pillar of the state. I only regret that I shall not live to see him rise like a dragon above the gorges and into the sky. He was then appointed assistant magistrate of Yicheng. When Prince Liang of Han rebelled, Xuanling was implicated and banished to Shang Commandery. Seeing chaos spread across the Central Plains, he was filled with concern for the fate of the empire. When his father fell ill, he tended him for a hundred days without changing his clothes. After his father's death, he took no food or drink for five days.
4
太宗以燉煌公徇渭北，杖策上謁軍門，一見如舊，署渭北道行軍記室參軍。 公為秦王，即授府記室，封臨淄侯。 征伐未嘗不從，眾爭取怪珍，玄齡獨收人物致幕府，與諸將密相申結，人人願盡死力。 王嘗曰：「漢光武得鄧禹，門人益親。 今我有玄齡，猶禹也。」 居府出入十年，軍符府檄，或駐馬即辦，文約理盡，初不著稿。 高祖曰：「若人機識，是宜委任。 每為吾兒陳事，千里外猶對面語。」
When the future Taizong, then Duke of Dunhuang, campaigned north of the Wei, Xuanling came on foot with a staff to present himself at the camp gate. They met as though they had known each other for years, and he was appointed recorder for the Weibei campaign headquarters. Once the duke became Prince of Qin, Xuanling was made secretary of the princely household and enfeoffed as Marquis of Linzi. He never missed a campaign. While others scrambled for curios and booty, Xuanling alone recruited men of ability for the prince's staff, quietly winning over the commanders until each was ready to die for the cause. The prince once said, "When Emperor Guangwu of Han gained Deng Yu, his followers drew closer to one another than ever. Now that I have Xuanling, he is my Deng Yu. For ten years he moved in and out of the prince's headquarters. Orders and dispatches—sometimes drafted on horseback—were always terse, complete, and never required a second draft. Gaozu said, "A man of such insight deserves real trust. When he explains matters for my son, it is as if they were talking face to face though a thousand li apart."
5
隱太子與王有隙，王召玄齡與計，對曰：「國難世有，惟聖人克之。 大王功蓋天下，非特人謀，神且相之。」 乃引杜如晦協判大計。 累進陝東道大行台考功郎中、文學館學士。 故太子忌二人者，奇譖於帝，皆斥逐還第。 太子將有變，王召二人以方士服入，夜計事。 事平，王為皇太子，擢右庶子。 太子即位，為中書令。 第功班賞，與如晦、長孫無忌、尉遲敬德、侯君集功第一，進爵邗國公，食邑千三百戶，餘皆次敘封拜。 帝顧群臣曰：「朕論公等功，定封邑，恐不能盡，當無有諱，各為朕言之。」 淮安王神通曰：「義師起，臣兵最先至，今玄齡等以刀筆吏居第一，臣所未喻。」 帝曰：「叔父兵誠先至，然未嘗躬行陣勞，故建德之南，軍敗不振，討黑闥反動，望風輒奔。 今玄齡等有決勝帷幄、定社稷功，此蕭何所以先諸將也。 叔父以親，宜無愛者，顧不可緣私與功臣競先後爾。」 初，將軍丘師利等皆怙跋攘袂，或指畫自陳說，見神通愧屈，乃曰：「陛下至不私其親，吾屬可妄訴邪！」
The Hidden Crown Prince and the Prince of Qin were at odds. When the prince summoned Xuanling for counsel, he answered, "Every age knows national crisis; only a sage can overcome it. Your Highness's merit fills the world. That is not human scheming alone—the spirits themselves are on your side. He then brought in Du Ruhui to help shape the decisive plan. He rose in turn to director of merit evaluation in the Shandong Grand Commissionerate and to academician of the Literature Hall. The former crown prince resented the two men and wove odd accusations against them before the emperor. Both were expelled and sent home. When the crown prince was preparing a coup, the prince called the two men in disguised as Taoist adepts and plotted with them through the night. Once the crisis was resolved and the prince became heir apparent, Xuanling was promoted to right vice tutor of the crown prince. When the crown prince ascended the throne, Xuanling became director of the Secretariat. When achievements were ranked and rewards granted, he stood first with Ruhui, Zhangsun Wuji, Yuchi Jingde, and Hou Junji. He was raised to Duke of Han with a fief of 1,300 households; the others received titles and offices in descending order. The emperor looked at the assembled ministers and said, "In weighing your service and fixing your fiefs, I fear I may fall short. Do not hold back—each of you speak for yourselves. Prince Huai'an, Li Shentong, said, "When the founding army first marched, my troops were the first to arrive. Yet now Xuanling and the rest—mere men of the brush—rank first. I do not understand it." The emperor replied, "Uncle, your troops did arrive first, but you never shared the hardship of the front lines. That is why, south of Dou Jiande, your army broke and could not rally, and why, when Liu Heida rebelled, you fled at the first sign of trouble. Xuanling and the others won the war in the command tent and secured the realm. That is why Xiao He stood above the generals. As my uncle by blood, you deserve every consideration—but kinship cannot be used to outrank men who earned their place by merit. At first the generals Qiu Shili and the rest swaggered forward, sleeves rolled up, some pointing and arguing their own cases. When they saw Shentong humbled and silenced, they said, "Your Majesty will not even favor his own kin—what grounds have we to complain?"
6
進尚書左僕射，監修國史，更封魏。 帝曰：「公為僕射，當助朕廣耳目，訪賢材。 此聞閱牒訟日數百，豈暇求人哉？」 乃敕細務屬左右丞，大事關僕射。
He was promoted to left vice director of the Department of State Affairs, placed in charge of compiling the national history, and his fief was changed to Wei. The emperor said, "As vice director, you should help me widen my reach and find worthy men. Yet I hear you go through hundreds of petitions and lawsuits every day. When do you have time to search for talent? He therefore ordered minor business assigned to the left and right assistant directors, while major affairs remained with the vice director.
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帝嘗問：「創業、守文孰難？」 玄齡曰：「方時草昧，群雄競逐，攻破乃降，戰勝乃克，創業則難。」 魏徵曰：「王者之興，必乘衰亂，覆昏暴，殆天授人與者。 既得天下，則安於驕逸。 人欲靜，徭役毒之； 世方敝，裒刻窮之。 國繇此衰，則守文為難。」 帝曰：「玄齡從我定天下，冒百死，遇一生，見創業之難。 徵與我安天下，畏富貴則驕，驕則怠，怠則亡，見守文之不為易。 然創業之不易，既往矣； 守文之難，方與公等慎之。」
The emperor once asked, "Which is harder: founding a dynasty or preserving one? Xuanling answered, "In those days the world was still raw and every warlord was fighting for supremacy. Cities fell only after siege, enemies yielded only after defeat. Founding the dynasty was the harder task." Wei Zheng said, "The rise of a true king rides on decay and chaos, overthrowing a dark and brutal order. That is almost heaven handing the Mandate to the one the people will accept. Once the realm is won, a ruler settles into pride and ease. When the people long for peace, forced labor torments them. When the age is already worn thin, harsh exactions drive them to ruin. When the state falters for these reasons, preserving it becomes the harder task. The emperor said, "Xuanling followed me through the conquest, facing death a hundred times and life only once. He knows how hard founding was. Wei Zheng helped me settle the realm. He sees that wealth and rank breed arrogance, arrogance breeds slackness, and slackness breeds ruin. He knows preservation is not easy. The hardship of founding is behind us. The hardship of preservation is what I now ask all of you to take to heart."
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會詔大臣世襲，授宋州刺史，徙國梁，而群臣讓世襲事，故罷刺史，遂為梁國公。 未幾，加太子少師。 始詣東宮，皇太子欲拜之，玄齡讓不敢謁，乃止。 居宰相積十五年，女為王妃，男尚主，自以權寵隆極，累表辭位，詔不聽。 頃之，進司空，仍總朝政。 玄齡固辭，帝遣使謂曰：「讓，誠美德也。 然國家相眷賴久，一日去良弼，如亡左右手。 顧公筋力未衰，毋多讓！」 晉王為皇太子，改太子太傅，知門下省事。 以母喪，賜塋昭陵園。 起復其官。 會伐遼，留守京師。 詔曰：「公當蕭何之任，朕無西顧憂矣。」 凡糧械飛輸，軍伍行留，悉裁總之。 玄齡數上書勸帝，願毋輕敵，久事外夷。 固辭太子太傅，見聽。
When an edict granted hereditary succession to great ministers, he was made prefect of Songzhou and his fief was moved to Liang. Because the ministers declined hereditary office, the prefecture was withdrawn and he became Duke of Liang. Not long afterward he was also made junior tutor to the crown prince. On his first visit to the Eastern Palace, the crown prince wanted to bow to him. Xuanling refused, saying he dared not accept such honor, and the ceremony was dropped. After fifteen years as chief minister, with a daughter married to a prince and a son married to an imperial princess, he felt his power and favor had reached their height. He memorialized again and again to resign, but the throne would not allow it. Soon afterward he was promoted to minister of works, yet still oversaw the government as before. Xuanling pressed his refusal. The emperor sent word: "Modesty is a fine virtue. But the state has long depended on you as chief minister. To lose a good minister in a day is like losing both hands. Your strength is not yet spent—do not decline so often! When the Prince of Jin became crown prince, Xuanling was made grand tutor to the heir and put in charge of Secretariat affairs. During mourning for his mother, he was granted a burial plot in the Zhaoling park. He was recalled to office before the mourning period had ended. When the campaign against Liaodong began, he remained behind to guard the capital. An edict read, "You fill the role of Xiao He. I need no longer look back with worry. All grain, arms, transport, and the movement and disposition of the armies were entirely under his command." Xuanling wrote again and again urging the emperor not to underestimate the enemy and not to prolong war against foreign states. He firmly declined the post of grand tutor to the crown prince, and the request was granted.
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晚節多病，時帝幸玉華宮，詔玄齡居守，聽臥治事。 稍棘，召許肩輿入殿，帝視流涕，玄齡亦感咽不自勝。 命尚醫臨候，尚食供膳，日奏起居狀。 少損，即喜見於色。 玄齡顧諸子曰：「今天下事無不得，惟討高麗未止，上含怒意決，群臣莫敢諫，吾而不言，抱愧沒地矣！」 遂上疏曰：
In his later years he was often ill. When the emperor went to Yuhua Palace, he ordered Xuanling to remain in the capital and allowed him to conduct business from his bed. When his illness grew severe, he was summoned and allowed to enter the palace in a sedan chair. The emperor wept at the sight of him; Xuanling, too, was overcome and could not speak. The emperor ordered court physicians to attend him and the imperial kitchen to send meals, with daily reports on his condition. At the slightest sign of improvement, joy showed plainly on the emperor's face. Xuanling turned to his sons and said, "Nothing under heaven remains undone except the war against Goguryeo. The emperor is set in angry resolve, and no minister dares speak against it. If I stay silent, I shall die ashamed. He then submitted a memorial that read:
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上古所不臣者，陛下皆臣之； 所不制者，陛下皆制之矣，為中國患，無如突厥，而大小可汗相次束手，弛辮握刀，分典禁衛。 延陀、鐵勒，披置州縣； 高昌、吐渾，偏師掃除。 惟高麗歷代逋命，莫克窮討。 陛下責其弑逆，身自將六軍，徑荒裔，不旬日拔遼東，虜獲數十萬，殘眾、孽君縮氣不敢息，可謂功倍前世矣。
Peoples whom antiquity never made submit, Your Majesty has made submit. Peoples whom antiquity never controlled, Your Majesty has brought under control. Of all the threats to China, none matched the Turks—yet the great and lesser khans have surrendered one after another, cut their braids, taken up swords, and now serve in the palace guard. The Xueyantuo and Tiele were settled across prefectures and counties. Gaochang and Tuyuhun were cleared by detached columns. Only Goguryeo, defying the throne dynasty after dynasty, could never be fully brought to bay. Your Majesty, charging them with regicide and treason, personally led the six armies deep into the frontier. In less than ten days Liaodong fell; hundreds of thousands were taken captive; the survivors and the rebel king held their breath in terror. Your achievement already doubles that of any earlier reign.
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《易》曰：「知進退存亡不失其正者，其惟聖人乎！」 蓋進有退之義，存有亡之機，得有喪之理，為陛下惜者此也。 傅曰：「知足不辱，知止不殆。」 陛下威名功烈既雲足矣，拓地開疆亦可止矣。 邊夷醜種，不足待以仁義，責以常禮，古者以禽魚畜之。 必絕其類，恐獸窮則搏，苟救其死。 且陛下每決死罪，必三覆五奏，進疏食，停音樂，以人命之重為感動也。 今士無一罪，驅之行陣之間，委之鋒鏑之下，使肝腦塗地，老父孤子、寡妻慈母望槥車，抱枯骨，摧心掩泣，其所以變動陰陽，傷害和氣，實天下之痛也。 使高麗違失臣節，誅之可也； 侵擾百姓，滅之可也； 能為後世患，夷之可也。 今無是三者，而坐敝中國，為舊王雪恥，新羅報仇，非所存小、所損大乎？ 臣願下沛然之詔，許高麗自新，焚陵波之船，罷應募之眾，即臣死骨不朽。
The Book of Changes says, "Only the sage knows when to advance and when to retreat, when to survive and when to perish, and never loses the right path. Advance already holds retreat within it; survival already holds ruin within it; gain already holds loss within it. That is what I urge Your Majesty to keep in mind." Laozi says, "He who knows when he has enough will not suffer shame; he who knows when to stop will not come to harm. Your Majesty's fame and feats of arms are already more than enough. The time has come to stop opening new lands and pushing the borders further. These coarse tribes along the frontier are not men to whom one owes the full measure of benevolence and ritual propriety. The ancients regarded them as one might birds and fish—creatures to be kept, not equals to be cultivated. If you must wipe out their kind to the last, you need only fear that cornered beasts will turn and fight. Better simply to spare their lives. And yet whenever Your Majesty confirms a capital sentence, you review the case again and again, take frugal meals, and suspend the music of the court—so deeply does the weight of a human life move you. Yet now innocent men are driven into the ranks and sent under the rain of steel, their bodies torn to pieces. Old fathers and orphaned sons, widowed wives and grieving mothers watch for the wagons of the dead, clutching dry bones and weeping until their hearts break. This disturbs heaven and earth, wounds the harmony of the realm, and is a sorrow that falls upon the whole empire. If Goguryeo has violated its obligations as a subject state, it may be punished; if it plunders and harms the people, it may be destroyed; if it threatens to become a scourge to future generations, it may be eradicated. Yet none of these three conditions holds today, and still we drain the strength of the Middle Kingdom to avenge an old king's shame and settle a score for Silla. Is this not saving what is petty while ruining what is great? I beg Your Majesty to issue a generous edict of amnesty, allow Goguryeo to begin anew, burn the expedition fleet, and send the conscripts home. Then, though I die, my bones will not crumble into dust unredeemed.
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帝得疏，謂高陽公主曰：「是已危懾，尚能憂吾國事乎！」
When the Emperor read the memorial, he said to Princess Gaoyang, "The man is already at death's door, and still he troubles himself over the affairs of the realm!"
13
玄齡當國，夙夜勤強，任公竭節，不欲一物失所。 無媢忌，聞人善，若己有之。 明達吏治，而緣飾以文雅，議法處令，務為寬平。 不以己長望人，取人不求備，雖卑賤皆得盡所能。 或以事被讓，必稽顙請罪，畏惕，視若無所容。
While Xuanling directed the government, he worked from dawn till late every night, giving himself wholly to public service and allowing nothing, however small, to go neglected. He was without jealousy. When he learned of another man's excellence, he delighted in it as though it were his own. He understood the arts of administration thoroughly, yet clothed them in learning and elegance. In framing laws and issuing commands, he always sought what was generous and equitable. He did not expect others to match his own talents, nor did he require those he employed to be flawless. Even men of low rank were given room to use whatever gifts they possessed. If he was rebuked for any fault, he would always kowtow and plead guilty, stricken with fear as though he had nowhere on earth to hide.
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貞觀末年，以譴還第，黃門侍郎褚遂良言於帝曰：「玄齡事君自無所負，不可以一眚便示斥外，非天子任大臣意。」 帝悟，遽召於家。 後避位不出。 久之，會帝幸芙蓉園觀風俗，玄齡敕子弟汛掃廷堂，曰：「乘輿且臨幸。」 有頃，帝果幸其第，因載玄齡還宮。 帝在翠微宮，以司農卿李緯為民部尚書，會有自京師來者，帝曰：「玄齡聞緯為尚書謂何？」 曰：「惟稱緯好須，無它語。」 帝遽改太子詹事。 帝討遼，玄齡守京師，有男子上急變，玄齡詰狀，曰：「我乃告公。」 玄齡驛遣追帝，帝視奏已，斬男子。 下詔責曰：「公何不自信！」 其委任類如此。
Near the end of the Zhenguan era, Xuanling was censured and sent home. Yellow Gate Vice Censor Chu Suiliang said to the Emperor, "In his service to you, Xuanling has never been wanting. To dismiss him for a single lapse is not the way a Son of Heaven should treat a chief minister. The Emperor took his meaning and at once recalled him from his house. Later he avoided public office and refused to leave his home. Some time passed, and when the Emperor came to Furong Garden to observe the ways of the people, Xuanling told his sons and kinsmen to sweep the courtyard and halls, saying, "The imperial carriage is about to arrive. A little while later the Emperor did come to his house, and taking Xuanling with him in the carriage, returned to the palace. While the Emperor was at Cuiwei Palace, he made Li Wei, Director of the Directorate of Agriculture, Minister of Revenue. When a visitor arrived from the capital, the Emperor asked, "What did Xuanling say when he heard that Wei had been appointed Minister? The man answered, "He only remarked that Wei has a handsome beard—nothing more." The Emperor at once transferred Wei to the post of Grand Mentor of the Crown Prince. When the Emperor campaigned against Liaodong, Xuanling remained to guard the capital. A man brought an urgent denunciation. Xuanling questioned him, and the man said, "It is you, my lord, whom I mean to accuse. Xuanling dispatched a courier by post to overtake the Emperor. When the Emperor had read the report, he ordered the man beheaded. An edict followed rebuking him: "Why did you not trust yourself! Such was the measure of trust the Emperor placed in him.
15
治家有法度，常恐諸子驕侈，席勢淩人，乃集古今家誡，書為屏風，令各取一具，曰：「留意於此，足以保躬矣！ 漢袁氏累葉忠節，吾心所尚，爾宜師之。」 子遺直嗣。
He ran his household with strict discipline, ever fearing that his sons might grow proud and wasteful and use the family's influence to lord it over others. He gathered family admonitions old and new, had them copied onto standing screens, and gave one to each son, saying, "Keep these words before you, and they will be enough to preserve your lives and honor. The Yuan family of Han served with loyalty and integrity for generation after generation—that is the example my heart holds dear, and the one you should follow. His son Yizhi succeeded to the estate and title.
16
子遺愛
Son: Yi'ai
17
次子遺愛，誕率無學，有武力。 尚高陽公主，為右衛將軍。 公主，帝所愛，故禮與它婿絕。 主驕蹇，疾遺直任嫡，遺直懼，讓爵，帝不許。 主稍失愛，意怏怏。 與浮屠辯機亂，帝怒，斬浮屠，殺奴婢數十人，主怨望，帝崩，哭不哀。 高宗時，出遺直汴州刺史，遺愛房州刺史。 主又誣遺直罪，帝敕長孫無忌鞫治，乃得主與遺愛反狀，遺愛伏誅，主賜死。 遺直以先勳免，貶銅陵尉。 詔停配享。
The second son, Yi'ai, was reckless and unlettered, a man of coarse manners, though he had physical courage. He married Princess Gaoyang and was appointed General of the Right Guard. The princess was the Emperor's beloved daughter, and so the honors paid to her husband exceeded those given to any other imperial son-in-law. The princess was proud and imperious. She resented that Yizhi, as the eldest son, stood to inherit the family rank. Frightened, Yizhi offered to renounce his claim, but the Emperor refused. The princess slowly fell from the Emperor's favor and brooded in bitter resentment. She entered into an illicit affair with the Buddhist monk Bianji. The Emperor flew into a rage, executed the monk, and put several dozen serving women to death. The princess nursed her grievance, and when the Emperor died she showed no proper sorrow at his passing. Under Emperor Gaozong, Yizhi was appointed prefect of Bianzhou and Yi'ai prefect of Fangzhou. The princess again lodged false charges against Yizhi. The Emperor commanded Zhangsun Wuji to investigate, and the proof of her and Yi'ai's plot to rebel came to light. Yi'ai was executed, and the princess was ordered to take her own life. Yizhi was spared because of his father's old service and was demoted to assistant magistrate of Tongling. An edict removed Fang Xuanling from the roll of spirits honored at the imperial ancestral temple.
18
杜如晦
Du Ruhui
19
杜如晦，字克明，京兆杜陵人。 祖果，有名周、隋間。 如晦少英爽，喜書，以風流自命，內負大節，臨機輒斷。 隋大業中，預吏部選，侍郎高孝基異之，曰：「君當為棟樑用，願保令德。」 因補滏陽尉，棄官去。
Du Ruhui, courtesy name Keming, was a native of Duling in the capital district of Jingzhao. His grandfather Guo had been a man of note in the Northern Zhou and Sui periods. In youth Ruhui was quick and brilliant, devoted to books, and fancied himself a man of cultivated grace. Inwardly he held himself to the highest standards, and when crisis came he always acted with swift, firm decision. During the Daye era of Sui he entered the civil service examinations. Vice Minister of Personnel Gao Xiaoji marked him out and said, "You are timber fit to become a pillar of the realm—guard your virtue well. He was thereupon appointed assistant magistrate of Fuyang, but he resigned the post and departed.
20
高祖平京師，秦王引為府兵曹參軍，徙陝州總管府長史。 時府屬多外遷，王患之。 房玄齡曰：「去者雖多，不足吝，如晦王佐才也。 大王若終守籓，無所事； 必欲經營四方，舍如晦無共功者。」 王驚曰：「非公言，我幾失之！」 因表留幕府。 從征伐，常參帷幄機秘。 方多事，裁處無留，僚屬共才之，莫見所涯。 進陝東道大行台司勳郎中，封建平縣男，兼文學館學士。 天策府建，為中郎。 王為皇太子，授左庶子，遷兵部尚書，進封蔡國公，食三千戶，別食益州千三百戶。 俄檢校侍中，攝吏部尚書，總監東宮兵，進位尚書右僕射，仍領選。
When Gaozu secured the capital, the Prince of Qin took him on as a military staff officer in his household, then transferred him to serve as chief administrator of the Shaanzhou headquarters. At that time many of the prince's staff were being posted away to outside offices, and the Prince was deeply troubled by the loss. Fang Xuanling said, "However many have gone, none of them is worth grieving over—but Ruhui is a man born to assist a ruler. If Your Highness means to remain forever content within your fief, you have no use for him; but if you mean to win the empire, there is no one else with whom you can achieve it. The Prince started in alarm and said, "Had you not spoken, I would almost have let him slip away!" He thereupon submitted a memorial asking that Ruhui be kept on in his staff. He accompanied the Prince on campaign and was constantly present at the secret deliberations within the command tent. In those busy years he disposed of business without a moment's delay. His colleagues all recognized his genius, yet none could tell where his abilities ended. He was promoted to director in the Bureau of Merits of the Shandong Grand Area Command, enfeoffed as Baron of Pingyi County, and made a scholar of the Hall of Literary Studies as well. When the Celestial Stratagem Command was created, he served as its commandant. When the Prince became crown prince, Ruhui was made Left Assistant to the Heir Apparent, then transferred to Minister of War, raised to Duke of Cai with an income of three thousand households, and granted a separate estate of thirteen hundred households in Yizhou. Before long he was made acting chief counselor and acting minister of personnel, placed in overall command of the Eastern Palace troops, promoted to Vice Minister of the Right of the Department of State Affairs, and kept charge of official appointments.
21
與玄齡共筦朝政，引士賢者，下不肖，鹹得職，當時浩然歸重。 監察御史陳師合上《拔士論》，謂一人不可總數職，陰剴諷如晦等。 帝曰：「玄齡、如晦不以勳舊進，特其才可與治天下者，師合欲以此離間吾君臣邪？」 斥嶺表。
Together with Xuanling he governed the court, advancing the worthy and dismissing the unfit until every man stood in his proper place. The whole age looked to them with reverence. Supervising censor Chen Shihe submitted a memorial entitled "On Selecting Scholars," arguing that one man should not hold many offices at once—a veiled attack aimed at Ruhui and the others. The Emperor said, "Xuanling and Ruhui were not promoted merely as old companions in arms, but because their abilities qualify them to govern the realm. Does Shihe mean to use this to drive a wedge between me and my ministers? Shihe was exiled to Lingnan.
22
久之，以疾辭職，詔給常俸就第，醫候之使道相屬。 會病力，詔皇太子就問，帝親至其家，撫之梗塞。 及未亂，擢其子左千牛構兼尚舍奉禦。 薨，年四十六，帝哭為慟，贈開府儀同三司。 及葬，加司空，諡曰成。 手詔虞世南勒文於碑，使言君臣痛悼意。
After a time Ruhui resigned on grounds of illness. An edict allowed him to keep his regular salary at home, and physicians sent from court followed one after another to his door. When his illness turned grave, the crown prince was sent to visit him by imperial command. The Emperor himself came to his house, and as he stroked Ruhui's hand, grief closed his throat and he could not speak. Before the end came, the Emperor promoted his son Gou, an officer of the Left Thousand-Bull Guard, to the additional post of Palace Supply Attendant. He died at the age of forty-six. The Emperor mourned him with bitter grief and posthumously granted him the rank of Grand Master of the Palace with the privilege of an independent office. At his burial he was further honored as Minister of Works, with the posthumous name Cheng, "Accomplished." The Emperor himself commanded Yu Shinan to compose the inscription for his stele, instructing him to set down the sorrow felt between lord and minister.
23
它日，食瓜美，輟其半奠焉。 嘗賜玄齡黃銀帶，曰：「如晦與公同輔朕，今獨見公。」 泫然流淚曰：「世傅黃銀鬼神畏之。」 更取金帶，遣玄齡送其家。 後忽夢如晦若平生，明日為玄齡言之，敕所禦饌往祭。 明年之祥，遣尚宮勞問妻子，國府官佐亦不之罷，恩禮無少衰。 後詔功臣世襲，追贈密州刺史，徙國萊。
On another day, while eating melon, he found it unusually sweet and set half of it aside as an offering before Ruhui's spirit. Once he gave Xuanling a belt of yellow silver, saying, "Ruhui served me at your side, yet now I see only you. Tears running down his face, he said, "Tradition holds that ghosts and spirits fear yellow silver." He chose a gold belt instead and sent Xuanling to carry it to Ruhui's home. Later he dreamed suddenly of Ruhui as though he were still alive. The next day he told Xuanling of the dream and ordered food from the imperial kitchen sent as a sacrifice. On the first anniversary of Ruhui's death, he sent the Director of Palace Women to inquire after his wife and children. The officials and retainers of Ruhui's household were not dismissed either, and the imperial kindness shown them did not fade in the least. Later, when an edict granted hereditary honors to the founding ministers, Ruhui was posthumously made prefect of Mizhou and his noble fief was transferred to the State of Lai.
24
方為相時，天下新定，台閣制度，憲物容典，率二人討裁。 每議事帝所，玄齡必曰：「非如晦莫籌之。」 及如晦至，卒用玄齡策也。 蓋如晦長於斷，而玄齡善謀，兩人深相知，故能同心濟謀，以佐佑帝，當世語良相，必曰房、杜雲。
When they served as chief ministers, the realm had only just been settled. The structure of the central government, the forms of official business, and the standards of court ritual were largely shaped and fixed by the two of them. Whenever a question was debated before the Emperor, Xuanling would always say, "No one but Ruhui can work out the strategy for this. Yet when Ruhui came, the plan adopted in the end was always Xuanling's. Ruhui's strength lay in decisive judgment, Xuanling's in devising strategy. Knowing each other through and through, they worked as one mind to counsel and support the throne. In their time, whenever men spoke of great ministers, they said simply, "Fang and Du."
25
構位慈州刺史。 次子荷，性暴詭不循法，尚城陽公主，官至尚乘奉禦，封襄陽郡公。 承乾謀反，荷曰：「琅邪顏利仁善星數，言天有變，宜建大事，陛下當為太上皇。 請稱疾，上必臨問，可以得志。」 及敗，坐誅。 臨刑，意象軒驁。 構以累貶死嶺表。
Gou served as prefect of Cizhou. His second son, He, was violent, cunning, and scornful of the law. He married the Princess of Chengyang, rose to Groom of the Imperial Carriage, and was enfeoffed as Duke of Xiangyang. When Chengqian plotted rebellion, He said, "Yan Liren of Langye is skilled in astronomy and says Heaven's signs demand a bold stroke — Your Highness should take the throne and make the emperor Retired Emperor. Feign illness — the emperor is sure to come in person to inquire, and then you will have your chance. When the plot failed, he was executed for his role in it. At the execution, he faced death with an air of bold pride. Gou was demoted on accumulated charges and died in exile beyond the Ling mountains.
26
弟楚客
Younger brother: Chuke
27
如晦弟楚客，少尚奇節，與叔父淹皆沒于王世充。 淹與如晦有隙，譖其兄殺之，並囚楚客瀕死。 世充平，淹當誅。 楚客請於如晦，不許。 楚客曰：「叔殘兄，今兄又棄叔，門內幾盡，豈不痛哉！」 如晦感悟，請之高祖，得釋。 方建成難作，楚客遁舍嵩山。 貞觀四年，召為給事中。 太宗曰：「君居山似之矣，謂非宰相不起，渠然邪？ 夫走遠者自近，人不恤無官，患才不副。 而兄與我異支一心者，爾當如兄事吾而輔我。」 楚客頓首謝，因擢為中郎將。 每入直，盡夕不釋杖，帝知而勞之，進蒲州刺史，政有能名，徙瀛州。 後為魏王府長史，遷工部尚書，攝府事，以威肅聞。 揣帝意薄承乾，乃為王諧媚用事臣，數言王聰睿可為嗣，人或以聞，帝隱恚。 及王貶爵，暴其罪，以如晦功免死，廢於家，終虔化令。
Ruhui's younger brother Chuke admired bold integrity from youth. He and his uncle Yan both fell into Wang Shichong's hands as captives. Yan bore a grudge against Ruhui and slandered him until his elder brother was executed. He also imprisoned Chuke and left him near death. When Shichong was overthrown, Yan was condemned to death. Chuke pleaded with Ruhui to spare Yan, but Ruhui refused. Chuke said, "Our uncle destroyed our brother cruelly, and now our brother would abandon our uncle — the household is nearly wiped out. How can that not grieve us! Moved by this, Ruhui pleaded with Gaozu, and Yan was pardoned. When the crisis over Crown Prince Jiancheng erupted, Chuke took refuge on Mount Song. In Zhenguan 4, he was recalled to serve as Palace Attendant. Taizong said, "You lived on the mountain as though you would not serve unless made chancellor — was that truly the case? Those who withdraw far eventually return of their own accord. A man need not fret over lacking office; what matters is whether his talents fit the task. Your brother and I, though not kin, were of one mind. Serve me as he did, and aid me. Chuke kowtowed in thanks and was promoted to Captain of the Palace Guard. Whenever he was on overnight palace duty, he kept his staff in hand until dawn without letting go. The emperor learned of this and commended him, promoting him to prefect of Puzhou, where he earned a name for capable rule before being moved to Yingzhou. Later he served as chief administrator of the Prince of Wei's household, rose to Minister of Works while acting on the prince's behalf, and became known for his firm, stern manner. Sensing the emperor's cooling toward Chengqian, he flattered the prince's influential retainers and repeatedly praised the prince's intelligence and fitness to succeed. Word reached the emperor, who kept his anger hidden. When the prince was demoted, his crimes were made public. Because of Ruhui's past service, Chuke was spared death but cashiered to live at home, ending his days as magistrate of Qianhua.
28
叔父淹
Uncle: Yan
29
淹，字執禮，材辯多聞，有美名。 隋開皇中，與其友韋福嗣謀曰：「上好用隱民，蘇威以隱者召，得美官。」 乃共入太白山，為不仕者。 文帝惡之，謫戍江表。 赦還，高孝基為雍州司馬，薦授承奉郎，擢累御史中丞。 王世充僭號，署少吏部，頗親近用事。 洛陽平，不得調，欲往事隱太子。 時封倫領選，以諗房玄齡，玄齡恐失之，白秦王，引為天策府兵曹參軍、文學館學士。 嘗侍宴，賦詩尤工，賜銀鐘。 慶州總管楊文幹反，辭連太子，歸罪淹及王珪、韋挺，並流越巂，王知其誣，餉黃金三百兩。 及踐阼，召為御史大夫，封安吉郡公，食四百戶。 淹建言諸司文桉稽期，請以御史檢促。 太宗以問僕射封倫，倫曰：「設官各以其事治，御史劾不法，而索桉求疵，是太苛，且侵官。」 淹嘿然。 帝曰：「何不申執？」 對曰：「倫所引國大體，臣伏其議，又何言？」 帝悅，以資博練，帝敕東宮儀典簿最悉聽淹裁訂。 俄檢校吏部尚書，參豫朝政。 所薦贏四十人，後皆知名。 嘗白郅懷道可用，帝問狀。 淹曰：「懷道及隋時位吏部主事，方煬帝幸江都，群臣迎阿，獨懷道執不可。」 帝曰：「卿時何雲？」 曰：「臣與眾。」 帝折曰：「事君有犯無隱，卿直懷道者，何不讜言？」 謝曰：「臣位下，又顧諫不從，徒死無益。」 帝曰：「內以君不足諫，尚何仕？ 食隋粟忘隋事，忠乎？」 因顧群臣：「公等謂何？」 王珪曰：「比干諫而死，孔子稱仁，泄冶諫亦死，則曰：'民之多僻，無自立辟。 '祿重責深，從古則然。」 帝笑曰：「卿在隋不諫，宜置。 世充親任，胡不言？」 對曰：「固嘗言，不見用。」 帝曰：「世充愎諫飾非，卿若何而免？」 淹辭窮不得對。 帝勉曰：「今任卿已，可有諫未？」 答曰：「顧死無隱。」 貞觀二年疾，帝為臨問。 卒，贈尚書右僕射，諡曰襄。 始，淹典二職，貴重於朝矣，而亡清白名，獲譏當世。 子敬同襲爵，官至鴻臚卿。
Yan, styled Zhili, was gifted in argument and widely learned, and enjoyed an excellent reputation. During the Kaihuang reign, he schemed with his friend Wei Fusi, saying, "The emperor favors men in retirement — Su Wei was recruited as a recluse and won a fine appointment. So the two withdrew together to Mount Taibai and lived as recluses. Emperor Wen took offense and banished them for frontier service in the south. After they were pardoned and returned, Gao Xiaoji, as Yongzhou secretary, recommended him for appointment as Gentlemen for Reception, and he rose through successive promotions to Censor-in-Chief. When Wang Shichong declared himself emperor, Yan was made vice minister of the civil office and grew close to those who wielded power. When Luoyang fell, he could find no post and wished to enter the service of the Hidden Crown Prince. Feng Lun then held the appointment portfolio and tipped off Fang Xuanling, who feared losing so able a man, reported to the Prince of Qin, and secured Yan as military affairs officer of the Heavenly Strategies Office and a scholar of the Literary Institute. On one banquet occasion his verse was especially fine, and the prince rewarded him with a silver bell. When Yang Wengan, military commissioner of Qingzhou, rebelled, testimony implicated the crown prince. Yan, Wang Gui, and Wei Ting were blamed and exiled to Yuexi. The Prince of Qin knew they had been falsely implicated and sent them three hundred taels of gold. When Taizong ascended the throne, he recalled Yan as Censor-in-Chief, enfeoffed him as Duke of Anji, and granted him an income of four hundred households. Yan proposed that censors be assigned to inspect each office's files for tardiness and enforce deadlines. Taizong consulted Vice Premier Feng Lun, who replied, "Every office has its own sphere — censors should punish violations, not hunt through files for pretexts. That would be excessively harsh and an invasion of others' jurisdiction. Yan fell silent. The emperor said, "Why did you not press your point? He replied, "Lord Feng spoke to the state's larger principles; I accept his view. What further case could I make?" Pleased, the emperor judged him broadly seasoned in affairs and ordered Yan to revise all ceremonial regulations and ledgers of the Eastern Palace. Soon he was made acting Minister of the Civil Office and took part in governing. More than forty of those he recommended later rose to prominence. He once recommended Chi Huaidao as worthy of appointment, and the emperor asked for particulars. Yan said, "When Huaidao was chief clerk in the Ministry of Civil Appointments under the Sui, as Emperor Yang moved to Jiangdu the courtiers all rushed to flatter him — Huaidao alone stood firm in opposition. The emperor asked, "What did you say at the time?" He said, "I sided with the majority." The emperor reproved him: "Serving a ruler means remonstrating without hiding anything — if you truly thought Huaidao right, why did you not speak out boldly?" He apologized, "My rank was too low, and I feared remonstrance would go unheeded and my death would serve no purpose." The emperor said, "If you inwardly thought the ruler beyond remonstrance, why remain in office at all? To eat the Sui state's grain yet forget the Sui state's affairs — is that loyalty?" He turned to the assembled ministers: "What do you say?" Wang Gui said, "Confucius praised Bi Gan's humanity when he remonstrated and died. Yet when Xie Zhi remonstrated and was killed, Confucius said, 'When the people have many crooked ways, do not set yourself up as upright. Great salary carries heavy responsibility — that has been true since antiquity.' The emperor smiled and said, "Your failure to remonstrate under the Sui may be forgiven. Yet Shichong trusted you closely — why did you say nothing then?" Yan replied, "I did speak, but was not heeded." The emperor said, "Shichong was obstinate, rejected counsel, and covered his errors — if so, how did you survive?" Yan had no answer left. The emperor then pressed him: "Now that you serve in office, do you have any remonstrance to offer? He answered, "I intend to remonstrate without concealment even at the cost of my life." In Zhenguan 2 he fell ill, and the emperor visited him in person. He died and was posthumously made Right Vice Premier, with the posthumous name Xiang. Though Yan held two major posts and stood high at court, he never earned a name for integrity and was criticized in his own day. His son Jingtong inherited the title and rose to Chamberlain for Dependencies.
30
五世孫元穎
Fifth-generation descendant: Yuanying
31
敬宗驕僻不君，元穎每欲中帝意以固幸，乃巧索珍異獻之，踵相躡於道，百工造作無程，斂取苛重，至削軍食以助裒畜。 又給與不時，戎人寒饑，乃仰足蠻徼。 於是人人咨苦，反為蠻內覘，戎備不修。 大和三年，南詔乘虛襲戎、巂等州，諸屯聞賊至，輒潰，戍者為鄉導，遂入成都。 已傅城，元穎尚不知，乃率左右嬰牙城以守。 賊大掠，焚郛郭，殘之，留數日去，蜀之寶貨、工巧、子女盡矣。 初，元穎計迫，將挺身走，會救至乃止。 文宗遣使者臨撫南詔，南詔上言：「蜀人祈我誅虐帥，不能克，請陛下誅之，以謝蜀人。」 由是貶邵州刺史。 議者不厭，斥為循州司馬。 官屬崔璜、紇幹巘、盧並悉奪秩，分逐之。 元穎死於貶所，年六十四。 將終，表丐贈官，乞歸葬。 詔贈湖州刺史。 元穎與李德裕善，會昌初，德裕當國，因赦令復其官。 弟元絳，終太子賓客。 元絳子審權。
Emperor Jingzong was arrogant and ungovernable. To keep the emperor's favor, Yuanying constantly sought rare treasures to present, until tribute convoys crowded the roads one after another. Artisans worked without limit, exactions grew cruel, and he even cut army rations to feed his hoarding. Pay arrived irregularly; frontier troops went cold and hungry and scraped a living from the tribal marches. The men groaned in misery, some turned informants for the tribes, and frontier defenses fell into neglect. In Dahe 3, Nanzhao struck at a moment of weakness and raided Rong, Qian, and neighboring prefectures. Garrisons broke and fled at the first report of the enemy, local defenders served as guides, and the invaders marched into Chengdu. The enemy was already at the walls before Yuanying knew anything of it; he then gathered his personal staff and clung to the inner citadel to defend it. The invaders looted freely, burned the outer city, ravaged what remained, and withdrew after several days, leaving Shu's treasures, craftsmen, and people stripped bare. At first, desperate, Yuanying planned to flee alone, but halted when relief finally came. Emperor Wenzong sent envoys to soothe Nanzhao. Nanzhao replied, "The people of Shu asked us to kill their cruel governor; we could not do it for them. We ask Your Majesty to execute him and answer to the people of Shu. For this he was demoted to prefect of Shaozhou. Critics were still not satisfied and had him banished further as prefectural secretary of Xunzhou. His subordinates Cui Huang, Qagan Yan, and Lu Bing all lost rank and were exiled to separate places. Yuanying died in exile at sixty-four. Near death he petitioned for a posthumous title and permission to be buried at home. An edict posthumously made him Prefect of Huzhou. Yuanying had been close to Li Deyu, and when Deyu took power at the start of Huichang, an amnesty restored his office. His younger brother Yuanshuo ended his career as Prefect of the Crown Prince's Household. Yuanshuo's son was Shenquan.
32
六世孫審權
Sixth-generation descendant: Shenquan
33
審權，字殷衡，第進士，辟浙西幕府。 舉拔萃中，為右拾遺。 宣宗時，入翰林為學士，累遷兵部侍郎、學士承旨。 懿宗立，進同中書門下平章事，再遷門下侍郎，出為鎮海軍節度使、同平章事。 龐勳亂徐州，審權與令狐綯、崔鉉連師掎角，饋粟相銜，王師賴濟。 勳破，進檢校司空，入為尚書左僕射、襄陽郡公。 繼領河中、忠武節度使。 卒，贈太子太師，諡曰德。 審權清重寡言，性長厚，居翰林最久，終不漏禁近語。 在方鎮，視事有常處，要非日入未始就內寢。 坐必斂衽，常若對大賓客。 或晝日少息，則顧直將解簾； 即旁無人，自起徹鉤，手擁簾徐下，乃退。 與杜悰俱位將相，悰先進，故世謂審權為「小杜公」。
Du Shenquan, whose courtesy name was Yinheng, passed the jinshi examination and entered service on the staff of the Zhexi commandery. He passed the exceptional selection examination and was appointed Right Reminder. Under Emperor Xuanzong he entered the Hanlin Academy as an academician, rising in time to Vice Minister of War and Academician Expositor. When Emperor Yizong took the throne, Shenquan was made Associate Grand Councilor of the Secretariat-Chancellery, then Chancellery Vice Minister, and finally sent out as military commissioner of the Zhenhai Army with the same councilor title. When Pang Xun rose in rebellion at Xuzhou, Shenquan joined Linghu Tao and Cui Xuan in a coordinated pincer campaign, sending grain in an unbroken stream on which the imperial forces depended. After Pang's defeat he was promoted to Acting Minister of Works, recalled to serve as Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, and enfeoffed as Duke of Xiangyang. He later served in succession as military commissioner of Hezhong and of Zhongwu. When he died he was posthumously honored as Grand Preceptor of the Heir Apparent and given the posthumous title De. Shenquan was grave, reserved, and taciturn, with a patient and generous disposition. He served in the Hanlin Academy longer than any of his peers and never once divulged matters of the inner court. As a regional commissioner he always received petitioners in the same hall and as a rule never withdrew to his private quarters before nightfall. Whenever he sat, he kept his robes properly arranged, as if in audience before a distinguished visitor. When he took a short rest during the day, he would instruct the attendant on duty to unhook the curtain; and even when no one else was present he would rise, take down the hooks himself, and slowly draw the curtain closed before retiring. He and Du Cong both rose to the highest civil and military offices, but because Cong had entered government earlier, contemporaries nicknamed Shenquan "Little Lord Du."
34
七世孫讓能
Seventh-generation descendant: Du Rangneng
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子讓能，字群懿，擢進士第，從宣武王鐸府為推官，以長安尉為集賢校理。 喪母，以孝聞。 又辟劉鄴、牛蔚二府，稍進兵部員外郎。 蕭遘領度支，引判度支按。 僖宗狩蜀，奔謁行在，三遷中書舍人，召為翰林學士。 方關東兵興，調發綏徠，書詔叢浩，讓能思精敏，凡號令行下，處事值機，無所遺算，帝倚重之。 從還京師，再遷兵部尚書，封建平縣子。
His son Du Rangneng, courtesy name Qunyi, passed the jinshi examination, served on the staff of Prince Xuanwu Wang Bo as investigating officer, and was promoted from warden of Chang'an to collator in the Hall of Worthies. After his mother's death he won renown for filial devotion. He was later recruited to the staffs of Liu Ye and Niu Wei in turn and gradually rose to Vice Director in the Ministry of War. When Xiao Zou took charge of the Revenue Bureau, he appointed Rangneng to assist in revenue audits. When Emperor Xizong took refuge in Shu, Rangneng rushed to the mobile court, rose through three promotions to Drafting Secretary of the Secretariat, and was summoned into the Hanlin Academy. War had meanwhile erupted in the east, demanding mobilization, conciliation, and the winning over of local powers, while edicts and memorials piled up without end. Rangneng's mind was quick and penetrating; in every decree sent down and every decision taken at a critical juncture, nothing escaped his calculation, and the emperor came to depend on him deeply. After the emperor returned to the capital, Rangneng was promoted again to Minister of War and enfeoffed as Viscount of Pingping.
36
李克用兵至，帝夜出鳳翔，蒼黃無知者。 讓能方直，徒步從十餘里，得遺馬，褫紳為靮乘之。 硃玫兵逼乘輿，帝走寶雞，獨讓能從。 翌日，孔緯等乃至。 俄而進狩梁。 是時棧道為山南石君涉所毀，天子間關嶮澀，讓能未嘗暫去側。 帝勞曰：「朕失道，再遺宗廟。 方艱難時，卿不少舍朕，蓋古所謂忠於所事邪！」 讓能頓首曰：「臣世蒙國厚恩，陛下不以臣不肖，使扞牧圉，臨難苟免，臣之恥也。」 帝次褒中，擢兵部侍郎、同中書門下平章事。
When Li Keyong's forces approached, the emperor slipped out of Fengxiang by night, and in the panic almost no one knew he had gone. Rangneng happened to be on duty at the time. He followed on foot for more than ten li, found an abandoned horse, tore off his sash to serve as a bridle, and rode after the emperor. When Zhu Mei's soldiers closed in on the imperial train, the emperor fled to Baoji with only Rangneng still at his side. Not until the following day did Kong Wei and the others catch up. Soon afterward the court moved on toward Liang. The plank roads had by then been wrecked by Shi Junshe of Shannan, and the emperor's passage through the treacherous mountain routes was grueling, yet Rangneng never once left his side. The emperor comforted him, saying, "I have lost the Way and twice forsaken the ancestral temple. In our darkest hour you never once left me—is this not what the ancients meant by loyalty to one's charge? Rangneng kowtowed and replied, "My family has for generations received the deepest favor of the state. Your Majesty did not despise me for my inadequacy and entrusted me to stand guard over you as a shepherd guards his flock. To save myself in a moment of peril would be my disgrace." When the emperor reached Baozhong, he promoted Rangneng to Vice Minister of War and Associate Grand Councilor of the Secretariat-Chancellery.
37
于時，嗣襄王煴即偽位，強籓大鎮附者已十八，貢賦不輸行在，無以備賞勞，衛兵往往乏食，君臣搏手無它策。 讓能建遣大使入河中，以諭王重榮，重榮果奉詔。 已而京師平，進中書侍郎，徙封襄陽郡公。 官吏多汙偽署，有司皆欲論死，讓能以脅從不足深治，固爭之，多所全貸。 昭宗立，進尚書左僕射、晉國公，賜鐵券，累進太尉。
At that time Li Yun, the Succession Prince of Xiang, had set up a rival throne, and eighteen powerful provinces and major commanderies had already rallied to him. Tribute no longer reached the mobile court, leaving nothing with which to reward the troops; the palace guard often went hungry, and emperor and ministers could only wring their hands in helplessness. Rangneng proposed dispatching a chief envoy to Hezhong to win over Wang Chongrong, and Chongrong did in fact submit to the imperial command. Before long the capital was restored to order; he was promoted to Chancellery Vice Minister and his title was changed to Duke of Xiangyang. Many officials had held posts under the puppet regime, and the judicial offices all wanted them put to death. Rangneng insisted that those who had followed under duress should not be punished harshly; he argued the point forcefully and saved a great many lives. When Emperor Zhaozong took the throne, Rangneng was made Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and Duke of Jin, granted an iron certificate of pardon, and eventually promoted to Grand Commandant.
38
李茂貞守鳳翔，自大順後兵浸強，恃有功，不奉法，朝廷弱，弗能制。 會楊復恭走山南，茂貞欲兼有梁、漢，請以師問罪，未報而兵出，帝忿其專，然不得已從之。 山南平，詔茂貞領興元、武定，而以徐彥若為鳳翔節度使，分果、閬州隸武定軍。 茂貞怨，不赴鎮，上章語悖慢。 又詒書讓能詆責，以為助守亮為亂，抑忠臣，奪己功，其言醜肆。 京師匈懼，日數千人守闕下，候中尉西門重遂出，請與茂貞鳳翔地，為百姓計。 答曰：「事出宰相，我無預。」 茂貞益怨。 帝怒，詔讓能計議，且趣調發，經月不就第。
Li Maozhen held Fengxiang. After the Da Shun era his military power steadily increased; trusting in his past service, he ignored the law, and the enfeebled court could not bring him to heel. When Yang Fugong fled into Shannan, Maozhen sought to annex both Liang and Han and asked leave to march against him. Before any answer came his troops were already moving; the emperor was furious at his arrogance but had no choice but to go along. After Shannan was pacified, Maozhen was ordered to take Xingyuan and Wuding, Xu Yanruo was appointed military commissioner of Fengxiang, and the prefectures of Guo and Lang were transferred to the Wuding command. Maozhen resented the arrangement, refused to take up his new command, and submitted a memorial filled with insolent and disrespectful language. He also wrote Rangneng a letter of abuse, charging that he had abetted Li Shouliang's rebellion, suppressed loyal officials, and robbed Maozhen of his due credit—language as foul as it was unrestrained. Panic spread through the capital. Every day thousands gathered beneath the palace gates, waiting for Palace Commandant Xi Gate Chongsui to emerge and beg that Fengxiang be ceded to Maozhen for the people's sake. Chongsui replied, "This is the chief minister's decision; it has nothing to do with me. Maozhen's resentment only deepened. The emperor, enraged, ordered Rangneng to devise a strategy and pressed urgently for troop mobilization; for a full month Rangneng did not leave the palace.
39
時宰相崔昭緯陰結茂貞及王行瑜，讓能所言悉漏之，茂貞乃以健兒數百雜市人，候昭緯與鄭延昌歸第，擁肩輿噪曰：「鳳翔無罪，幸公不加討以震驚都輦！」 昭緯曰：「上委杜太尉，吾等何知？」 市人不識孰為太尉，即投瓦石妄擊，昭緯等走而免，遂喪其印。 帝愈怒，捕首惡誅之。 京師爭避亂，逃山谷間。 讓能諫帝曰：「茂貞固宜誅，然大盜適去，鳳翔國西門，又陛下新即位，願少寬假，以貞元故事姑息之，不可使怨望。」 帝曰：「今詔令不出城門，國制橈弱，賈生慟哭時也。 朕顧奄奄度日，坐觀此邪！ 卿為我圖之，朕自以兵屬諸王。」 讓能曰：「陛下欲削滌僭嫚，剛主威，隆王室，此中外大臣所宜共成之，不宜專任臣。」 帝曰：「卿，元輔，休戚與我均，何所避？」 泣曰：「臣位宰相，所以未乞骸骨者，思有以報陛下，敢計身乎！ 且陛下之心，憲祖心也，但時有所未便。 它日臣蒙晁錯之誅，顧不足弭七國患，然敢不奉詔！」
The chief minister Cui Zhaowei was at that time secretly in league with Maozhen and Wang Xingyu, and Rangneng's every word was leaked to them. Maozhen then sent several hundred tough soldiers disguised among the townspeople to intercept Zhaowei and Zheng Yanchang on their way home. Surrounding their sedan chairs, they shouted, "Fengxiang is innocent—we beg you, sir, not to launch a punitive expedition and throw the capital into alarm! Zhaowei said, "The emperor has entrusted this to Grand Commandant Du—what do we know about it?" The crowd did not know which man was the Grand Commandant and began hurling tiles and stones indiscriminately. Zhaowei and the others fled for their lives and escaped, but lost their official seals. The emperor's fury only increased; the ringleaders were arrested and put to death. Throughout the capital people scrambled to escape the chaos, fleeing into the hills and ravines. Rangneng remonstrated with the emperor, saying, "Maozhen certainly deserves punishment, but the great rebels have only just been driven off, and Fengxiang is the empire's western gate. Your Majesty has moreover only lately taken the throne; I beg you to show a little restraint and, following the Zhenyuan precedent, treat Maozhen with forbearance rather than feed his resentment. The emperor replied, "Today our edicts cannot even pass beyond the city gates; the state's institutions are crippled and weak. This is the hour of Jia Yi's lament. Am I to drag out my days and sit idle while this goes on! Devise a plan for me; I myself will commit the army to the princes. Rangneng said, "Your Majesty wishes to purge insolence and overreach, restore imperial authority, and elevate the royal house. That is a task for all the great ministers together—it should not fall on me alone." The emperor said, "You are the chief minister; your fortunes are bound to mine—what is there to shrink from?" Rangneng wept and said, "I remain in the post of chief minister only because I hope to repay Your Majesty—how could I count the cost to myself! Your Majesty's heart is the heart of Emperor Xianzong; only the times are not yet ripe. One day I may suffer the fate of Chao Cuo, and even that would scarcely still the disaster of the Seven Kingdoms—yet how could I refuse your command?"
40
景福二年，以嗣覃王為招討使，神策將李钅歲副之，率師三萬送彥若趙鎮。 昭緯內畏有功，密語茂貞曰：「上不喜兵，一出太尉。」 茂貞乃悉兵迎戰盩厔，覃王敗，乘勝至三橋。 讓能曰：「臣固豫言之，臣請歸死以紓難。」 帝涕下不能已，曰：「與卿決矣！」 再貶雷州司戶參軍。 茂貞尚駐兵請必殺之，乃賜死，年五十三。
In the second year of Jingfu the Succession Prince of Tan was appointed punitive commissioner, with Shence General Li Huai as his deputy, and they led thirty thousand men to escort Xu Yanruo to his command. Zhaowei, inwardly fearful of men with military credit, secretly told Maozhen, "The emperor dislikes war—as soon as the army marches, the Grand Commandant will be dismissed. Maozhen then marched out his entire force to give battle at Zhouzhi. The Prince of Tan was defeated, and Maozhen drove his victory as far as Sanqiao. Rangneng said, "I warned of this in advance. Let me go back and accept death to ease the crisis. The emperor wept without stopping and said, "My mind is made up with you." Rangneng was again demoted, this time to registrar of Leizhou. Maozhen kept his army encamped and demanded that Rangneng be put to death; the emperor then ordered him to commit suicide. He was fifty-three.
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弟彥林，官御史中丞； 弘徽，戶部侍郎，皆及誅。 帝痛之，後贈太師。
His younger brother Yanlin served as Censor-in-Chief; and Honghui was Vice Minister of Revenue; both were executed with him. The emperor mourned them deeply and later posthumously honored Rangneng as Grand Preceptor.
42
子光乂，次子曉，不復仕。 曉入梁，貴顯於世。
His sons were Guangyi and, second, Xiao, who never again entered government service. Xiao entered the service of Liang and rose to wealth and high standing.
43
贊曰：太宗以上聖之才，取孤隋，攘群盜，天下已平，用玄齡、如晦輔政。 興大亂之余，紀綱雕弛，而能興僕植僵，使號令典刑粲然罔不完，雖數百年猶蒙其功，可謂名宰相。 然求所以致之之跡，逮不可見，何哉？ 唐柳芳有言：「帝定禍亂，而房、杜不言功； 王、魏善諫，而房、杜讓其直； 英、衛善兵，而房、杜濟以文。 持眾美效之君。 是後，新進更用事，玄齡身處要地，不吝權，善始以終，此其成令名者。」 諒其然乎！ 如晦雖任事日淺，觀玄齡許與及帝所親款，則謨謀果有大過人者。 方君臣明良，志葉議從，相資以成，固千載之遇，蕭、曹之勳，不足進焉。 雖然，宰相所以代天者也，輔贊彌縫而藏諸用，使斯人由而不知，非明哲曷臻是哉？ 彼揚己取名，了然使戶曉者，蓋房、杜之細邪！
The encomium reads: Emperor Taizong, possessed of the highest sage talent, overthrew the tottering Sui, swept away the bandit armies, and once the realm was at peace put Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui at the head of his government. In the wreckage of great upheaval, when law and order lay in ruins, they raised the fallen and restored the withered until commands and punishments shone forth complete in every detail; centuries later the realm still reaped their benefit—they were truly great chief ministers. Yet when one tries to trace how they accomplished it, the trail vanishes altogether—why should that be? Liu Fang of Tang once observed, "When the emperor quelled chaos and disaster, Fang and Du did not speak of their own merit; Wang and Wei were skilled at remonstrance, yet Fang and Du yielded them the frank word; the Ying and Wei dukes were skilled at warfare, yet Fang and Du complemented them with civil culture. They held every excellence up before the ruler. Afterward, as newer men rose to power in turn, Xuanling occupied the highest place yet did not hoard authority, and from first to last conducted himself with integrity—this is how he earned a lasting reputation. Who can doubt that this is so! Though Ruhui served only briefly, judging from Xuanling's esteem for him and the emperor's intimate regard, his counsel and decisiveness were truly far above ordinary men. When ruler and minister are enlightened and in harmony, wills aligned and counsel agreed, and they strengthen one another to completion—that is a rendezvous of a millennium; the achievements of Xiao He and Cao Shen scarcely bear comparison. Even so, the chief minister stands in Heaven's place: he assists, harmonizes, and mends, hiding his work in the very fabric of government so that men benefit without knowing how—without wisdom and clarity, how could anyone attain this? As for those who parade themselves to win fame and make their deeds plain to every household—that is precisely what Fang and Du held in contempt!