1
蕭瑀瑀從子:鈞鈞兄子:嗣業瓘子:嵩嵩子:華嵩孫:復華孫:俛華孫:倣倣子:廩復曾孫:遘瑀曾孫:定
Xiao Yu; his nephew's son Jun; Jun's elder brother's son Siye; Guan's son Song; Song's son Hua; Song's grandson Fu; Hua's grandsons Mian and Fang; Fang's son Lin; Fu's great-grandson Gou; and Yu's great-grandson Ding.
2
蕭瑀，字時文，後樑明帝子也。 九歲，封新安王。 國除，以女兄為隋晉王妃，故入長安。 瑀愛經術，善屬文。 性鯁急，鄙遠浮華。 嘗以劉孝標《辯命論》詭悖不經，乃著論非之，以為：「人稟天地而生而謂之命，至吉凶禍福則系諸人。 今一於命，非先王所以教人者。」 通儒柳顧言、諸葛潁歎曰：「是足針孝標膏肓矣！」
Xiao Yu, whose style name was Shiwen, was a son of Emperor Ming of the Later Liang. At the age of nine he was enfeoffed as Prince of Xin'an. After his principality was abolished, his elder sister having become consort to the Sui Prince of Jin, he went to live in Chang'an. Yu was devoted to the classics and excelled at literary composition. He was blunt and quick-tempered by nature, and held empty display in contempt. He once judged Liu Xiaobiao's Discourse on Fate perverse and unorthodox, and wrote a refutation arguing that while life received from Heaven and Earth may be called fate, fortune and misfortune depend on the person. To reduce everything to fate is not how the ancient kings taught their subjects. The eminent scholars Liu Guyuan and Zhuge Ying marveled, "This strikes at the very heart of Xiaobiao's argument!"
3
晉王為太子，授右千牛。 即帝位，妃為後，而瑀浸親寵，頻遷尚衣奉禦、檢校左翊衛鷹揚郎將。 感末疾，不呼醫，曰：「天若假吾餘年，因得為遁階矣！」 後聞，責謂曰：「爾亡國後不安小官，而高為怪語，罪不測。」 瑀復治疾，良已。 拜內史侍郎，數言事忤旨，稍見忌。
When the Prince of Jin was made crown prince, Yu was appointed Right Thousand-Bull. On his accession the consort became empress, and Yu grew ever closer in the emperor's favor, rising in turn to Attendant of the Imperial Wardrobe and acting Eagle-Brand commandant of the Left Wing Guard. When he fell ill with a chronic disease he refused to call a doctor, saying, "If Heaven grants me a few more years, I may yet take the path of withdrawal from the world! When the empress heard of it she rebuked him: "After your kingdom fell you were discontent with a modest office, and now you speak in lofty and strange terms—your offense is beyond reckoning." Yu then resumed medical treatment and made a full recovery. Appointed vice minister of the Secretariat, he often spoke against the emperor's wishes and gradually fell under suspicion.
4
帝至雁門，為突厥所圍，瑀謀曰：「夷俗，可賀敦與兵馬事，況義成公主以帝女為之。 若走一介使鐫喻，宜不戰而解。 又眾商陛下已平突厥，方復事遼東，故怠不肯戰。 願下詔赦高麗，專討突厥，則人自奮矣。」 帝從之。 既而主詭辭謂突厥，果解圍去。 然帝素意伐遼，又銜瑀以謀擫其機，謂群臣曰：「突厥何能為，瑀乘未解時乃紿恐我！」 遂出瑀為河池郡守。 部有鈔賊萬人，吏不制，瑀募勇敢士擊降之，悉捐貲畜賜有功。 又擊走薛舉眾數萬。
When the emperor reached Yanmen and was besieged by the Turks, Yu advised, "By nomad custom the khatun shares authority over troops and horses—and Princess Yicheng, the emperor's own daughter, holds that title. If we send a lone envoy to persuade her, the siege ought to lift without a battle. The troops also believe Your Majesty has already pacified the Turks and will next turn to Liaodong, so they are slack and unwilling to fight. Issue an edict pardoning Goguryeo and concentrating on the Turks alone, and the men will rouse themselves. The emperor followed his advice. The princess then spoke to the Turks in misleading terms, and the siege was indeed lifted. Yet the emperor had long meant to campaign against Liaodong, and he resented Yu for thwarting his plans; he told the ministers, "What could the Turks do? Yu deceived and frightened me while the siege was still on! He then sent Yu out as prefect of Hechi. Ten thousand bandits in his district defied the officials; Yu recruited brave men, defeated and pacified them, and gave all his wealth and livestock to reward the meritorious. He also routed tens of thousands of men under Xue Ju.
5
是歲，州置七職，秦王為雍州牧，以瑀為州都督。 詔嘗下中書，未即行，帝讓其稽，瑀曰：「隋季內史詔敕多違舛，百司不知所承。 今朝廷初基，所以安危者系號令。 比承一詔，必覆審，使先後不謬，始得下，此所以稽留也。」 帝曰：「若爾，朕何憂乎？」 初，瑀關內田宅悉賜勳家，至是，還給之。 瑀盡以分宗族，獨留廟室奉祠。 王世充平，進尚書右僕射。 七年，以熒惑犯右執法，避位，不許。 久之，遷左僕射。
That year the prefecture was given seven offices; the Prince of Qin became governor of Yongzhou and Yu was made regional commander. When an edict reached the Secretariat but was not promptly issued, the emperor reproached the delay; Yu replied, "Under the Sui the Secretariat's edicts were often wrong, and the offices did not know which to follow. Now that the court is newly established, safety and peril hang on the clarity of commands. Whenever we receive an edict we review it again so that nothing is out of order before it is issued—that is why there is delay. The emperor said, "If that is so, what have I to worry about?" Earlier all of Yu's lands and houses within the passes had been granted to meritorious families; now they were restored to him. Yu distributed it all among his clansmen, keeping only the ancestral hall for sacrifice. After Wang Shichong was defeated he was promoted to right vice director of the Department of State Affairs. In the seventh year, when Mars crossed the Right Enforcer, he asked to resign; the emperor would not allow it. After some time he was transferred to left vice director.
6
貞觀初，房玄齡、杜如晦新得君，事任稍分，瑀不能無少望，乘罅切詆，辭旨疏躁。 太宗怒，廢於家。 俄拜特進、太子少師，復為左僕射，實封六百戶。 帝問瑀：「朕欲長保社稷，奈何？」 瑀曰：「三代有天下所以能長久者，類封建諸侯以為籓屏。 秦置守令，二世而絕。 漢分王子弟，享國四百年。 魏、晉廢之，亡不旋跬。 此封建之有明效也。」 帝納之，始議封建。 坐與陳叔達忿爭御前不恭，免。 歲餘，起為晉州都督。 入拜太常卿，遷御史大夫，參預朝政。 瑀諭議明辯，然不能容人短，意或偏駁不通，而向法深，房玄齡、魏征、溫彥博頗裁正之，其言多黜，瑀亦不平。 會玄齡等小過失，瑀即痛劾，不報，由是自失，罷為太子少傅，加特進，復為太常卿。 拜河南道巡省大使。 九年，復參預政事。
Early in the Zhenguan reign Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui had newly won the emperor's trust and their duties were divided; Yu could not help some disappointment, and seizing every opening he attacked them in harsh and rash language. Taizong was angry and dismissed him to his home. Shortly afterward he was appointed special advancement and junior tutor to the heir apparent, again made left vice director, with a substantive fief of six hundred households. The emperor asked Yu, "I wish to preserve the realm for the long term—how should I do it? Yu replied, "The Three Dynasties endured because they broadly enfeoffed feudal lords as a protective screen around the throne. Qin appointed prefects and magistrates and fell in the second generation. Han divided fiefs among the imperial princes and held the realm for four hundred years. Wei and Jin abolished enfeoffment and fell almost at once. This shows how clearly enfeoffment served its purpose." The emperor accepted this and began to debate enfeoffment. He quarreled angrily with Chen Shuda before the throne in disrespect and was dismissed. After more than a year he was recalled as regional commander of Jin. Recalled to court he was made minister of rites, then censor-in-chief, and took part in government deliberations. Yu was lucid and forceful in debate, yet could not abide others' faults; his views were sometimes partial and he inclined toward harsh law; Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, and Wen Yanbo often overruled him, and Yu grew resentful. When Fang Xuanling and others committed minor faults Yu impeached them harshly; the emperor did not act, and Yu thereby lost standing; he was made junior tutor to the heir apparent with special advancement, then again minister of rites. He was appointed touring commissioner of the Henan circuit. In the ninth year he again took part in government affairs.
7
帝嘗曰：「武德季，太上皇有廢立議，顧朕挾不賞之功，于昆弟弗見容，瑀于爾時不可以利怵死懼，社稷臣也。」 因賜詩曰：「疾風知勁草，版蕩識誠臣。」 又曰：「公守道耿介，古無以過，然善惡太明，或有時而失。」 瑀頓首謝曰：「既蒙教，又許以忠亮，雖死日，猶生年也。」 魏征曰：「臣有逆眾持法，主恕之以公； 孤特守節，主恕之以介。 昔聞其言，乃今見之。 使瑀不遇陛下，庸能自保邪？」 晉王為皇太子，拜太子太保、同中書門下三品。 帝曰：「三師，以德導太子者也，禮不尊，則無所取法。」 乃詔：「師入謁，太子出門迎拜，師答拜； 每門，讓乃入； 師坐，然後坐； 書前後著名，稱惶恐。」 瑀素貴，但中狹。 每燕見，輒言：「玄齡輩朋黨盜權，若膠固然，特未反耳。 帝曰：「知臣莫若君。 朕雖不明，甯頓懵臧否？」 因為瑀曉解，瑀以帝有所偏信，帝積久亦不平。 瑀好浮屠法，間請舍家為桑門，帝許之矣，復奏自度不能為，又足疾不入謁，帝曰：「瑀豈不得其所邪？」 乃詔奪爵，下除商州刺史。 未幾，復其封，加特進。 卒，年七十四。 遺命斂以單衣，無卜日。 詔贈司空、荊州都督，陪葬昭陵。 太常諡曰肅，帝以其性忌，改諡貞褊。
The emperor once said, "Late in the Wude era the retired emperor debated deposing and establishing heirs; though I held unmatched merit my brothers would not tolerate me—yet Yu then could not be bought by profit or cowed by fear of death. He was a true minister of the realm. He bestowed a poem: "Only in a fierce wind do we know the tough grass; only in turmoil do we know the loyal minister." He also said, "You uphold the Way with unbending integrity unmatched since antiquity, yet you distinguish good and evil too sharply and sometimes err thereby." Yu bowed and thanked him: "Having received your instruction and been acknowledged as loyal and upright, even the day of my death is as a year of life." Wei Zheng said, "A subject who opposes the multitude to uphold the law—the ruler forgives him for his impartiality; one who stands alone guarding integrity—the ruler forgives him for his uprightness. I had heard these words before; now I see them realized. Had Yu not met Your Majesty, how could he have preserved himself? When the Prince of Jin became crown prince, Yu was appointed grand tutor to the heir apparent and associate grand councilor of the third rank. The emperor said, "The three tutors guide the heir by virtue; if ritual does not honor them, the heir has no model to follow. An edict was issued: "When the tutor arrives, the heir shall go out to welcome him and bow; the tutor shall return the bow; at each gate the heir shall yield before the tutor enters; the heir may sit only after the tutor is seated; in correspondence he shall sign his name and style himself 'in trepidation.' Yu had long been eminent, but was petty at heart. At every informal audience he would say, "Fang Xuanling and his clique form a faction and steal power—they stick like glue and have only not yet rebelled. The emperor said, "No one knows his ministers like the ruler. Though I am not enlightened, would I suddenly be confused about who is worthy and who is not?" He then explained this to enlighten Yu, but Yu believed the emperor was partial; over time the emperor grew resentful as well. Yu loved Buddhism and from time to time asked to leave his household and become a monk; the emperor consented, but Yu then said he could not; he also had a foot ailment and stopped attending court; the emperor said, "Has Yu not found his proper place?" An edict stripped his noble rank and demoted him to prefect of Shang. Before long his fief was restored and he was given special advancement. He died at the age of seventy-four. He left instructions to be buried in a single garment without choosing an auspicious day. An edict posthumously granted him minister of works and regional commander of Jing, with burial at Zhaoling. The Ministry of Rites proposed the posthumous name Su; because of his jealous nature the emperor changed it to Zhenbian (Upright but Narrow).
8
子銳，尚襄城公主，為太常少卿。
His son Rui married Princess Xiangcheng and served as vice minister of rites.
9
瑀從子鈞
Yu's nephew's son Jun
10
鈞，瑀從子，有才譽。 永徽中，累遷諫議大夫、弘文館學士。 左武候屬盧文操跳堞盜庫財，高宗以其職主干，當自盜罪死。 鈞曰：「囚罪誠死，然恐天下聞，謂陛下重貸輕法，任喜怒殺人。」 帝曰：「真諫議也。」 詔原死。 太常工為宮人通訊遺，詔殺之，且附律。 鈞言：「禁當有漸，雖附律，工不應死。」 帝曰：「如姬竊符，朕以為戒，今不濫工死，然喜得忠言。」 即宥工，徙遠裔。 終太子率更令。
Jun, Yu's nephew's son, was talented and well regarded. During the Yonghui era he rose to remonstrating censor and academician of the Hongwen Hall. Lu Wencao, an attendant of the Left Martial Guard, scaled the wall and stole from the treasury; Gaozong held that because his office was in charge he was guilty of self-theft and should die. Jun said, "The prisoner indeed deserves death, yet I fear the realm will say Your Majesty values goods over law and kills according to whim. The emperor said, "A true remonstrating censor!" An edict pardoned him from death. A craftsman of the Ministry of Rites carried messages and gifts for palace women; an edict ordered his execution under the applicable statute. Jun said, "Prohibitions should be introduced gradually; though the statute applies, the craftsman should not die. The emperor said, "When Ruji stole the tally I took it as a warning; I will not put the craftsman to death without cause, yet I am glad to receive loyal counsel." He at once pardoned the craftsman and exiled him to a distant region. He ended his career as director of the heir apparent's directorate of palace supplies.
11
子瓘，為渝州長史，居母喪，以毀卒。
His son Guan served as secretary-general of Yu; while mourning his mother he died from grief-induced exhaustion.
12
鈞兄子嗣業
Jun's elder brother's son Siye
13
鈞兄子嗣業，少從煬帝后入突厥，貞觀九年歸，以其知虜曲折，詔領突厥眾。 擢累鴻臚卿，兼單于都護府長史。 調露中，突厥叛，嗣業與戰，敗績。 高宗責曰：「我不殺薛仁貴、郭待封，故使爾至此。 然爾門與我家有雅舊，故貸死。」 乃流桂州。
Jun's elder brother's son Siye had followed Empress Xiao of Emperor Yang into the Turks in his youth; he returned in the ninth year of Zhenguan, and because he knew the nomads' ways was ordered to lead the Turkic peoples. He rose to minister of ceremonies and concurrently secretary-general of the Chanyu Protectorate. In the Tiaolu era the Turks rebelled; Siye fought them and was defeated. Gaozong reproached him: "Had I not spared Xue Rengui and Guo Daifeng, you would not have come to this. Yet your clan and my house have long-standing ties, so I spare you from death. He was then exiled to Gui.
14
瓘子嵩
Guan's son Song
15
嵩，瓘子，貌偉秀，美須髯。 始，娶會稽賀晦女，僚婿陸象先，宰相子，時為洛陽尉，已有名，士爭往交，而嵩汩汩未仕，人不之異。 夏榮者善相，謂象先曰：「君後十年，貴冠人臣，然不若蕭郎位高年艾，舉門蕃熾。」 時人不許。
Song, son of Guan, was imposing and handsome, with a splendid beard. Early on he married the daughter of He Hui of Kuaiji. His colleague by marriage Lu Xiangxian, son of a chief minister and then magistrate of Luoyang, was already famous, and men rushed to befriend him; Song, obscure and still without office, drew no special notice. A man named Xia Rong was skilled in physiognomy. He told Xiangxian, "In ten years you will stand at the head of the ministers, but you will not match the Xiao gentleman for rank, longevity, and a house in full flower. People at the time did not believe him.
16
十四年，以兵部尚書領朔方節度使。 既赴軍，有詔供帳餞定鼎門外，玄宗賦詩勞行。 會吐蕃大將悉諸邏恭祿及燭龍莽布支陷瓜州，執刺史田元獻； 回紇又殺涼州守將王君㚟，河、隴大震。 帝擇堪任邊者，徙嵩河西節度使，判涼州事，封蘭陵縣子。 嵩表裴寬、郭虛己、牛仙客置幕府，以建康軍使張守珪為瓜州刺史，完樹陴塢，懷保邊人。 于時悉諸邏恭祿威詹諸部，吐蕃倚其健噬邊，嵩乃縱反間，示疑端，贊普果誅之。 使悉末明攻瓜州，守珪拒甚力，虜引卻。 會鄯州都督張志亮破賊青海西，嵩又遣副將杜賓客率強弩四千與吐蕃戰祁連城下，自晨鬥迄晡，乃大潰，斬一將，虜哭震山谷。 露布至，帝大悅，授嵩同中書門下三品，又官一子，恩顧第一。
In the fourteenth year (726) he was made Minister of War and concurrent military commissioner of Shuofang. After he took up his command, the court ordered supplies and a send-off feast outside the Dingding Gate, and Xuanzong wrote a poem to honor his departure. About then the Tibetan generals Sinolucigonglu and Zhulong Mangbuzhi captured Guazhou and took the prefect Tian Yuanxian prisoner; The Uyghurs also killed Wang Junzuo, the garrison commander of Liangzhou, throwing the He and Long regions into alarm. The emperor chose someone capable on the frontier, moved Song to military commissioner of Hexi with concurrent charge of Liangzhou, and enfeoffed him as Viscount of Lanling. Song recommended Pei Kuan, Guo Xuji, and Niu Xianke for his staff, made Zhang Shougui of the Jian'ang army prefect of Guazhou, rebuilt walls and forts, and looked after the frontier population. Sinolucigonglu then dominated the tribal confederations, and Tibet used his prowess to harry the frontier. Song sowed discord and planted doubts until the Tibetan king had him put to death. When Ximo Ming was sent against Guazhou, Shougui resisted fiercely and drove the enemy back. When Zhang Zhiliang, governor of Zheng, routed the enemy west of Qinghai, Song sent his deputy Du Binke with four thousand crossbowmen to fight the Tibetans at Qilian City. From dawn until evening they battled; the Tibetans broke utterly, a general was killed, and their laments echoed through the ravines. When news of victory arrived, the emperor was delighted, made Song a participant in policy at the third rank, granted office to a son, and favored him above all others.
17
十七年，進兼中書令。 自張說罷宰相，令缺四年，嵩得之，然常遙領河西節度。 在公慎密，人莫見其際。 子衡，尚新昌公主。 嵩妻入謁，帝呼為親家，儀物貴甚。 俄封徐國公。
In the seventeenth year he was further appointed chief of the Secretariat. Since Zhang Yue had left office, the chief ministership had stood empty for four years; Song finally held it, but continued to hold the Hexi command remotely. In office he was cautious and impenetrable; none could discern his purpose. His son Heng married Princess Xinchang. When Song's wife came to court, the emperor called her his kin by marriage, and the ceremonial gifts were magnificent. Soon he was made Duke of Xu.
18
初，裴光庭與嵩數不協，光庭卒，帝委嵩擇相，嵩推韓休。 及休同位，峭正不相假，至校曲直帝前。 嵩慚，乞骸骨。 帝慰之曰：「朕未厭卿，何庸去乎？」 嵩伏曰：「臣待罪宰相，爵位既極，幸陛下未厭，得以乞身。 有如厭臣，首領且不保，又安得自遂？」 因流涕。 帝為改容曰：「卿言切矣，朕未能決。 弟歸，夕當有詔。」 俄遣高力士詔嵩曰：「朕將爾留，而君臣誼當有始有卒者。」 乃授尚書右丞相，與休皆罷。 是日，荊州進黃甘，帝以紫帉包賜之。 擢子華給事中。
Pei Guangting and Song had long been at odds. When Guangting died, the emperor asked Song to name a successor; Song proposed Han Xiu. Once Xiu shared power, the two clashed—each unyielding and upright—and even disputed right and wrong before the throne. Ashamed, Song asked to retire. The emperor reassured him: "I am not yet weary of you—why would you go? Song prostrated himself and said, "Your servant has served as chief minister and reached the summit of rank. Fortunate that Your Majesty is not yet weary of me, I beg leave to withdraw. If you should tire of me, I could not keep my head—how then could I go my own way?" He wept as he spoke. The emperor's face changed. "Your words cut deep; I cannot decide yet. Go home, brother—tonight you will receive an edict. Soon Gao Lishi came with the emperor's words: "I wished to keep you, but the bond between ruler and minister ought to have a beginning and an end." Song was made Right Chief of the Department of State Affairs, and both he and Xiu left the chief ministry. That day Jingzhou sent golden oranges; the emperor wrapped them in purple silk and gave them to him. He promoted his son Hua to Drafting Attendant.
19
久之，進太子太師。 而幽州節度使張守珪坐賂中人牛仙童得罪，李林甫素忌嵩，因言嵩嘗以城南墅遺仙童，貶青州刺史。 尋復拜太子太師。 固請老，見許。 嵩退，脩蒔園區，優遊自怡。 家饒財，而華為工部侍郎，衡以尚主位三品，就養，年逾八十，士豔其榮。 天寶八載卒，贈開府儀同三司。
In time he was made Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent. Zhang Shougui of Youzhou was punished for bribing the eunuch Niu Xiantong. Li Linfu, who had long envied Song, claimed Song had once given his south-city villa to Xiantong, and Song was demoted to prefect of Qingzhou. He was soon restored as Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent. He pressed for retirement and was allowed to withdraw. In retirement Song tended his gardens and passed his days in ease. The family was wealthy; Hua was Vice Minister of Works, Heng of third rank through his imperial marriage—they supported him in his old age past eighty, and scholars marveled at his good fortune. He died in Tianbao 8 (749) and was posthumously honored as Grand Master of Splendid Happiness with parity to the Three Excellencies.
20
嵩子華
Song's son Hua
21
華，謹重方雅，有家法，嗣爵。 天寶末，為兵部侍郎。 祿山亂，陷賊，逼守魏州。 郭子儀攻安慶緒於相州，華間道奉表，欲舉魏以應，為賊所執。 會崔光遠得魏州，破械出之。 魏人德華庇免，爭來詣光遠乞留，有詔即授刺史。 思明反，子儀懼復失華，乃表崔光遠代之，而召置軍中。 相州兵潰，華還朝，猶以汙賊降試秘書少監。 稍遷尚書右丞，擢河中晉、絳節度使。 上元初，以中書侍郎同中書門下平章事。 李輔國用事，求宰相，華拒之，輔國怨。 會肅宗大漸，矯詔罷華為禮部尚書，引元載以代。 方代宗諒暗，載助輔國，貶華為峽州司馬，卒。 二子：恒、悟。
Hua was careful, dignified, and refined; he maintained the family discipline and inherited the title. At the end of the Tianbao era he was Vice Minister of War. When An Lushan rose, Hua fell into rebel hands and was forced to hold Wei Prefecture for them. When Guo Ziyi besieged An Qingxu at Xiang, Hua sent a secret memorial offering to surrender Wei to the loyal cause; the rebels seized him. When Cui Guangyuan captured Wei, he broke Hua's chains and freed him. The people of Wei remembered how Hua had protected them and thronged to Cui Guangyuan begging that he remain; the court at once named him prefect. When Shi Siming rebelled, Guo Ziyi, fearing to lose Hua again, had Cui Guangyuan replace him and summoned Hua to his headquarters. After the rout at Xiang, Hua returned to court but, tainted by his surrender to the rebels, was provisionally made Junior Mentor of the Secretariat. He rose to Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, then to military commissioner of Hedong over Jin and Jiang. In early Shangyuan (760) he became Vice Director of the Secretariat and participant in policy deliberation. Li Fuguo, who held real power, sought the chief ministership; Hua refused, and Fuguo resented it. As Suzong lay dying, a forged edict removed Hua to Minister of Rites and installed Yuan Zai in his place. Daizong was then in mourning; Yuan Zai aided Fuguo, demoted Hua to militia-commander of Xia, and Hua died. He had two sons, Heng and Wu.
22
嵩孫復
Song's grandson Fu
23
復，字履初，衡子。 生戚裏，姻從豪汰，以服禦輿馬相誇，復常衣垢弊，居一室，學自力，非名士夙儒不與遊，以清操顯。 華每歎曰：「此子當興吾宗！」 推主廕為宮門郎。 廣德中，歲大饑，家百口，不自振，議鬻昭應墅。 宰相王縉欲得之，使弟紘說曰：「以君才宜在左右，胡不以墅奉丞相取右職？」 復曰：「鬻先人墅以濟孀單，吾何用美官，使門內餒且寒乎？」 縉憾之，由是廢。 數歲，乃曆歙、池二州刺史，治狀應條。 遷湖南觀察使。 改同州刺史，歲歉，州有京畿觀察使儲粟，復輒發以貸人，有司劾治，詔削階，停刺史。 或吊之，復曰：「苟利於人，胡責之辭！」 久乃拜兵部侍郎。
Fu, styled Lüchu, was son of Heng. Though born among the imperial kin, whose relatives paraded in fine dress and carriages, Fu wore shabby clothes, lived in a single room, studied alone, kept company only with men of learning and principle, and became known for his integrity. Hua would often sigh, "This boy will revive our house! He secured for him the yin privilege appointment as palace gate officer. During Guangde (763–764), when famine struck, the household of a hundred mouths could not sustain itself and debated selling the Zhaoying villa. Chief Minister Wang Jin wanted the estate and sent his brother Hong to say, "A man of your ability belongs at the emperor's side. Why not give the villa to the chief minister and win a post at court? Fu replied, "I would sell my ancestors' estate to feed widows and orphans—why should I take a glittering title and leave my household hungry and cold?" Jin resented the refusal and had him removed from office. Some years later he governed She and Chi in succession, his records meeting every standard. He was made observation commissioner of Hunan. As prefect of Tong in a lean year, he opened grain stored for the capital region and lent it to the people. The authorities prosecuted him; he was reduced in rank and relieved of the prefecture. When someone condoled with him, Fu said, "If it helped the people, what matter the reproach? In time he was made Vice Minister of War.
24
普王為襄漢元帥，進復戶部尚書、統軍長史。 舊制謂「行軍長史」，德宗以復父諱更之。 未行，扈狩奉天。 帝惡庳隘，欲西如鳳翔依張鎰。 復曰：「鳳翔乃泚舊兵，今泚悖亂，當有同惡者。 雖鎰，臣畏不免。」 帝曰：「朕業行，留一日以驗爾言！」 俄而鎰為李楚琳所害，於是拜吏部尚書、同中書門下平章事。
When the Prince of Pu was made grand marshal of Xiang-Han, Fu was promoted to Minister of Revenue and chief of staff for the unified command. The old title had been "campaign chief of staff"; Dezong changed it to avoid Fu's father's name (Heng). Before he could depart, the court fled to Fengtian. The emperor found Fengtian cramped and wished to move west to Fengxiang and Zhang Yi. Fu said, "Fengxiang was Zhu Ci's old command. Now that Zhu Ci has rebelled, there will be men who share his cause. Even with Zhang Yi, I fear we would not be safe. The emperor said, "We are already on the march—stay one day and we shall see if you are right." Within a day Zhang Yi was murdered by Li Chulin, and Fu was made Minister of Personnel and participant in policy deliberation.
25
復嘗言：「艱難以來，始用宦者監軍，權望太重，是曹正可委宮掖事，兵要政機，叵使參領。」 帝不聽。 又言：「陛下厥初清明，自楊炎、盧杞妨命穢盛德，播越及茲。 今阽于危，當懲乂前敗。」 因述君臣大端，即自言：「若使臣依阿偷免，不敢當宰相。」 杞對上或諂諛阿匼，復厲言：「杞詞不正！」 帝色眙，謂左右曰：「復慢我。」 因詔復充山南、江淮、湖南、嶺南等道宣撫、安慰使。
Fu once said, "Since the troubles began, eunuchs have supervised armies and grown too powerful. They should manage palace affairs alone; they must not touch military and governmental power. The emperor would not listen. He added, "Your Majesty began his reign enlightened, but Yang Yan and Lu Qi obstructed your orders and stained your virtue until exile brought us here. Now at the brink of ruin, you must learn from past failures. He laid out the bond between ruler and minister, then said, "If you wish me to fawn and scheme for safety, I cannot serve as chief minister." When Lu Qi flattered the emperor, Fu said sharply, "Qi's words are crooked!" The emperor's face changed. He told his attendants, "Fu is treating me with disrespect." He was therefore sent out as commissioner to proclaim and comfort the circuits of Shannan, Jiang-Huai, Hunan, Lingnan, and the rest.
26
興元初，進門下侍郎。 初，淮南陳少游左附李希烈，而張鎰判官韋皋殺邠、隴叛卒，不應楚琳。 復還執政，建言：「陛下反正，功臣已貴矣，唯甄善汰惡為未明。 少遊位將相，首臣賊，皋名淺官下，獨挺挺抗忠。 如以皋代少遊，則天下嘹然知逆順之理。」 帝許之。 復出，中官馬欽緒揖宰相劉從一，附耳語，既而從一密諗復曰：「有詔與公議向所奏，不欲李勉、盧翰聞知。」 復曰：「堯、舜有'僉曰'之言，朝廷大事尚當謀及公卿。 如勉等非其人，當罷去。 既曰宰相，而謀議可獨避之乎？ 今與公行此或可，第恐浸以生常，政由是敝。」 從一以聞，帝不悅。 復辭疾上政事，許之。
In early Xingyuan (784) he was promoted to Vice Director of the Chancellery. Chen Shaoyou of Huainan had sided with Li Xilie, while Wei Gao, aide to Zhang Yi, executed the Bin-Long mutineers and refused to follow Li Chulin. Back in power, Fu said, "Your Majesty has restored order and rewarded the loyal, but you have not yet distinguished the worthy from the wicked. Shaoyou holds high rank yet led the way in serving the rebel; Gao is obscure in rank yet stood alone in loyalty. If Gao replaced Shaoyou, all the realm would clearly see the difference between loyal and traitor. The emperor agreed. As Fu left, the eunuch Ma Qinxu bowed to Chief Minister Liu Congyi and whispered. Congyi then told Fu privately, "The emperor wishes to discuss your proposal with you alone; Li Mian and Lu Han are not to know. Fu replied, "Even Yao and Shun said 'the multitude proposes.' Great matters of state should be discussed with the chief ministers. If Li Mian and the others are unfit, dismiss them. But if they are chief ministers, how can state business be kept from them? I might yield to you this once, but I fear it will become habit—and government will suffer for it. Congyi reported Fu's words; the emperor was displeased. Fu pleaded illness and resigned from office; the request was granted.
27
弟升，尚郜國大長公主，肅宗女也。 升早卒，主以奸蠱事再得罪廢，諸子悉逐醜地，女為皇太子妃，太子請離婚，帝銜曩忮，故復坐是檢校太子左庶子，廢居饒州。 貞元四年卒，年五十七。
His younger brother Sheng had married the Grand Eldest Princess of Gao, a daughter of Suzong. Sheng died young. The princess was twice disgraced and deposed over witchcraft; her sons were sent to remote exile; her daughter married the crown prince, who sought divorce. The emperor still nursed old grievances, and Fu was demoted to acting Left Mentor of the Heir Apparent and exiled to Raozhou. He died in 788, at the age of fifty-seven.
28
復望閥高華，厲名節，不通狎流俗。 及為相，臨事嚴方，數咈帝意，故居位亟解。 然性孝友，既貶晏然，口未嘗言所累。
Fu aspired to the prestige of great houses, held fast to honor, and kept his distance from the coarse world. As chief minister he was stern and principled, often crossing the emperor, and was dismissed from office again and again. Yet he was devoted to family and friends; after demotion he remained calm and never complained of what had brought him down.
29
復子湛。 湛子寘，咸通中位宰相，無顯功，史逸其傳。
Fu's son was Zhan. Zhan's son Zhen became chief minister in the Xiantong era but accomplished nothing of note, and the histories pass over him without a full biography.
30
華孫俛
Hua's grandson Mian
31
俛，字思謙，恒子。 貞元中，及進士第，又以賢良方正對策異等，拜右拾遺。 元和六年，召為翰林學士，凡三年，進知制誥。 會張仲方以李吉甫數調發疲天下，訾其諡，憲宗怒，逐仲方，而俛坐與善，奪學士，下除太僕少卿。 皇甫鎛薦為御史中丞。 鎛與令狐楚皆善俛，兩人同輔政，數稱其善，故帝待俛厚。 襲徐國公。 穆宗立，逐鎛，議所以代者，楚薦之，授中書侍郎、同中書門下平章事，進門下侍郎。
Mian, styled Siqian, was the son of Heng. In the Zhenyuan era he took the jinshi degree and, in a special examination for men of talent, ranked at the top; he was made Right Reminder. In 811 he entered the Hanlin Academy; three years later he was promoted to draft edicts for the throne. When Zhang Zhongfang attacked Li Jifu's posthumous name—arguing that his repeated levies had worn the realm out—Xianzong banished Zhongfang and punished Mian for their friendship by removing him from the Hanlin and demoting him to Vice Minister of the Imperial Stud. Huangfu Bo had him appointed Censor-in-Chief. Bo and Linghu Chu both favored Mian; as co-regents they praised him often, and the emperor treated him with marked regard. He inherited the title Duke of Xu. After Muzong came to the throne and dismissed Bo, Chu recommended Mian as his replacement; Mian was made Vice Director of the Secretariat and chief minister, then promoted to Vice Director of the Chancellery.
32
吐蕃寇涇州，調兵護邊，帝因問：「兵法有必勝乎？」 俛曰：「兵兇器，聖人不得已用之，故武不可玩，玩則無震。 夫以仁討不仁，以義討不義，先招懷，後掩襲，故有不殺厲，不禽二毛，不犯田稼，其救人如免水火，此必勝術也。 若乃以小不忍輕任干戈，師曲而敵怨，非徒不勝，又將自危，是以聖王慎於兵。」 帝重其言。 嘗詔俛撰王承宗先銘，俛奏：「承宗比不臣，迷而後復，臣不忍稱道其先。 又辭成當有餉謝，拒之，則非朝廷撫納意； 受之，臣誼不當取。」 帝善而止。
When Tibetans attacked Jingzhou, troops were sent to the frontier, and the emperor asked, "Is there such a thing as a sure win in war? Mian replied, "Weapons are instruments of violence; a sage employs them only when he must. War must never be treated lightly—treat it lightly and its deterrent fails. Use benevolence against cruelty and justice against injustice: win hearts first, strike only afterward. Do not kill the wounded, take the aged prisoner, or trample the fields; rescue the people as you would pull them from flood or flame—that is how victory is assured. But if petty irritation leads you lightly to war, your cause is crooked and your foes enraged—you will not only lose but put yourself in peril. That is why sage rulers handle arms with the utmost care." The emperor took his counsel seriously. The emperor once ordered Mian to write an epitaph for Wang Chengzong's father. Mian replied, "Chengzong was once a rebel who strayed and only later submitted; I cannot in good conscience praise his forebears. And when the text is done, custom calls for a gift of thanks—to refuse it would slight the court's policy of reconciliation; yet to accept it would violate what a minister ought to do. The emperor approved and let the matter drop.
33
令狐楚罷執政，西川節度使王播賂權幸求宰相，俛劾播纖佞不可汙台宰，帝不許。 自請罷，冀有感寤，帝亦不省。 俄罷為尚書左僕射，用播為鹽鐵使，後卒相，俛自謂輔政淺，固辭僕射，換吏部尚書。 又避選事，徙兵部，移病求分司，不許。 授太子少保，為同州刺史。 復以少保分司東都。
After Linghu Chu left office, Wang Bo of Xichuan bribed court favorites to win the chancellorship. Mian impeached him as a sycophant unfit for the highest office; the emperor refused. Mian asked to resign, hoping the emperor would take the hint; he did not. Soon Mian was demoted to Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs while Bo was made Salt and Iron Commissioner and eventually chief minister. Mian, judging his own service insubstantial, refused the vice directorship and took the post of Minister of Civil Office instead. He then shunned personnel matters, was moved to the Ministry of War, and pleaded illness for a sinecure in Luoyang; the request was denied. He was made Junior Mentor of the Heir Apparent and prefect of Tongzhou. He later served in Luoyang in the same nominal capacity.
34
母韋，賢明，治家嚴，俛雖宰相，侍左右如褐衣時。 居喪哀毀。 既老，家於洛，歲時賓客請謝，以為煩，乃舍濟源墅，自放山野，優遊窮年。 然其居位頗介謹持法，重名器，狹於用人，每除吏，常憂不稱，鮮有簡拔。
His mother, of the Wei clan, was intelligent and ran the household with strict discipline; even as chief minister, Mian waited on her as humbly as when he wore commoner's garb. In mourning he grieved so deeply that he nearly ruined his health. In old age he settled in Luoyang but found seasonal calls from guests a burden; he gave up his estate at Jiyuan and spent his remaining years wandering freely in the hills. In office, however, he was rigid, cautious, and legalistic; he prized rank and ceremony and was timid about appointments, always fearing a poor fit and seldom promoting anyone of real merit.
35
穆宗初，兩河底定，俛與段文昌當國，謂四方無虞，遂議大平事，以為武不可黷，勸帝偃革尚文，乃密詔天下鎮兵，十之，歲限一為逃、死，不補，謂之銷兵。 既而籍卒逋亡，無生業，曹聚山林間為盜賊。 會硃克融、王廷湊亂燕、趙，一日悉收用之。 朝廷調兵不克，乃召募市人烏合，戰輒北，遂復失河朔矣。
Early in Muzong's reign, with the Hebei provinces pacified, Mian and Duan Wenchang assumed that the realm was secure and set about planning for lasting peace. Arguing that war must not be abused, they urged the emperor to disarm and promote culture. A secret order went out to garrisons nationwide: each year, one man in ten was to be struck from the rolls as deserter or dead, with no replacements—a policy called "troop reduction." Soon discharged soldiers, with no livelihood, banded together in the hills as outlaws. When Zhu Kerong and Wang Tingcou rebelled in Yan and Zhao, they recruited these men wholesale in a single day. Imperial forces failed to suppress them; the court then raised rabbles of townsfolk who were routed at every engagement, and the Hebei provinces were lost anew.
36
贊曰：俛議銷兵，寧不野哉！ 當此時，河朔雖挈地還天子，而悍卒頑夫開口仰食者故在，彼皆不能自返於本業者也。 又硃克融等客長安，餓且死，不得一官，而俛未有以措置，便欲去兵，使群臣失職，一日叫呼，其從如市，幽、魏相挺，復為賊淵，可謂見豪末而不察輿薪矣。 宰相非其人，禍可既乎！
Commentary: Mian's policy of troop reduction—how naive was that! At that time the Hebei provinces had submitted their territory to the throne, yet hardened veterans who lived by the sword and knew no other trade remained—they could not simply return to civilian life. Meanwhile Zhu Kerong and his ilk lingered in Chang'an, starving without appointment, and Mian had done nothing for them—yet he would strip away the army and leave such men idle. One day's clamor drew followers like a marketplace; You and Wei rose together and the region became a rebel stronghold again. He saw a hair's breadth but missed the cartload of firewood at his door. With the wrong man as chief minister, could disaster end there?
37
華孫倣
Hua's grandson Fang
38
仿，字思道，悟子。 大和中，擢進士第。 除累給事中。 宣宗力治，喜直言，嘗以李璲為嶺南節度使，使者已賜節，而仿封還詔書。 帝方作樂，不暇命使，遣優工趨出追之，未及璲所而還。 後以封敕脫誤，法當罰，侍講學士孔溫裕曰：「給事中駁奏，為朝廷論得失，與有司奏事不類，不應罰。」 詔可。
Fang, styled Sidao, was the son of Wu. In the Dahe era he passed the jinshi examination. He eventually rose to Supervising Censor. Xuanzong ruled energetically and welcomed frank counsel. When Li Jun was named governor of Lingnan and the envoy had already been given his commission, Fang sealed the edict and sent it back. The emperor was at his diversions and could not summon the envoy himself; he sent a court entertainer racing after him, but the man turned back before he reached Jun. Later Fang was liable to punishment because the returned edict was damaged. Kong Wenyü, a lecturer at court, argued, "A Supervising Censor's objections weigh right and wrong for the state—they are not ordinary bureaucratic papers and should not be penalized. The emperor agreed.
39
令狐綯用李琢經略安南，琢以暴遝免，俄起為壽州團練使，仿劾奏琢無所回，時推其直。 自集賢學士拜嶺南節度使。 南方珍賄叢夥，不以入門。 家人病，取槁梅於廚以和劑，仿知，趣市還之。
Linghu Tao had Li Zhuo pacify Annan; Zhuo was dismissed for brutality and sloth but soon resurfaced as commander at Shouzhou. Fang impeached him without flinching, and contemporaries admired his integrity. He went from Academician of the Hall of Assembled Worthies to military governor of Lingnan. The south overflowed with rare gifts and bribes, but none crossed his threshold. When a relative fell ill, someone took dried plum from the kitchen stores to compound medicine; Fang learned of it and rushed to market to pay for what had been taken.
40
咸通初，為左散騎常侍。 懿宗怠政事，喜佛道，引桑門入禁中為禱祠事，數幸佛廬，廣施予。 仿諫，以為：「天竺法割愛取滅，非帝王所尚慕。 今筆梵言，口佛音，不若懲謬賞濫罰，振殃祈福。 況佛者可以悟取，不可以相求。」 帝雖昏縱，猶嘉歎其言。 後官數遷，拜義成軍節度使。 滑州瀕河，累歲水壞西北防，仿徙其流遠去，樹堤自固，人得以安。 以兵部尚書再判度支，進中書侍郎、同中書門下平章事。 再遷司空、蘭陵縣侯。 時天下盜起，宦人持兵柄，仿以鯁正為權近所忌。 卒，年八十。
Early in the Xiantong era he became Left Regular Attendant. Yizong neglected government, favored Buddhism and Daoism, brought monks into the palace for rites, often visited temples, and lavished alms. Fang remonstrated: "The Indian teaching urges renunciation and extinction of the self—hardly what a monarch should emulate. Writing Sanskrit and chanting sutras are no substitute for correcting abuses, rewarding merit, restraining reckless grants and punishments, and thereby turning misfortune to blessing. Besides, enlightenment comes through understanding, not through outward display. Though muddled and self-indulgent, the emperor still praised his counsel. He was promoted through several posts and made military governor of the Yicheng Army. At Huazhou, on the Yellow River, floods had for years breached the northwestern levees; Fang redirected the channel, built new dikes, and the people lived in safety. As Minister of War he again oversaw the treasury, then became Vice Director of the Secretariat and chief minister. He was further promoted to Grand Preceptor and Marquis of Lanling. Bandits roamed the realm and eunuchs held the armies; Fang's stubborn integrity made him hated by the powerful at court. He died at the age of eighty.
41
倣子廩
Fang's son Lin
42
子廩，字富侯。 第進士，遷尚書郎。 仿領南海，解官往侍。 為人退約少合。 南海多穀紙，仿敕諸子繕補殘書。 廩諫曰：「州距京師且萬里，書成不可露齎，必貯以囊笥，貪者伺望，得無薏苡嫌乎？」 仿曰：「善，吾思不及此。」 乃止。 廣明初，以諫議大夫知制誥，請厲止夜行以備賊諜，出太倉粟賤估以濟貧民。 俄遷京兆尹。 田令孜養子有罪亡，擊捕吏，系獄，請救踵門，廩不納，杖殺之，內外畏讋。 令孜拒黃巢，以廩為糧料使，辭疾，貶賀州司戶參軍事。 會襄王竊據，挈族逃河朔，鎮冀節度使王鎔厚禮之。 光化中，以給事中召，不至，卒。
His son Lin, styled Fuhou. He passed the jinshi and was appointed a Secretariat official. When Fang took the post in the far south, Lin resigned his own office to accompany and care for him. By nature he was modest and reserved, and made few close friends. Paper was plentiful in the south, and Fang had his sons repair damaged books from his library. Lin objected: "This post is ten thousand li from the capital. Finished books cannot be carried openly—they must be packed in chests, and the greedy will take notice. Will you not invite the suspicion Ma Yuan suffered over his Job's-tears? Fang said, "You are right; I had not thought of that." He dropped the plan. Early in the Guangming era, as Remonstrating Grandee and edict drafter, he urged a strict curfew against rebel spies and the sale of imperial grain at low prices to aid the poor. He was soon made metropolitan governor of the capital district. An adopted son of Tian Lingzi committed a crime and fled; he assaulted the arresting officer and was jailed. Supplicants thronged Lin's gate, but he refused them and had the man flogged to death; court and capital alike stood in awe. When Lingzi resisted Huang Chao he named Lin grain commissioner; Lin pleaded illness and was demoted to registrar at Hezhou. When the Prince of Xiang seized power, Lin fled north with his family; Wang Rong, governor of Zhenji, received him with great honor. In the Guanghua era he was recalled as Supervising Censor but did not come; he died.
43
復曾孫遘
Fu's great-grandson Gou
44
遘，字得聖，寘子。 咸通中，擢進士第，辟節度府。 入朝，拜右拾遺。 與韋保衡聯第，而遘姿宇秀偉，氣孤峻，嘗慕李德裕為人。 保衡才下，諸儒靳薄之，不甚齒，獨呼遘太尉，保衡憾焉。 於是保衡已為相，摭遘罪，繇起居舍人斥播州司馬。 道三峽，方迫畏不瞑，若有人謂曰：「公無恐，予為公呵禦。」 遘悅悟。 俄謁白帝祠，見帝貌類向所睹，異之。 未幾，保衡死，召為禮部員外郎。 乾符中，累擢戶部侍郎、翰林學士承旨。
Gou, styled Desheng, was the son of Zhen. In the Xiantong era he passed the jinshi and entered a governor's staff. He came to court and was made Right Reminder. He graduated alongside Wei Baoheng, but Gou was tall and striking, aloof and severe, and had long admired Li Deyu. Baoheng was mediocre, and the literati held him in low regard, yet they alone addressed Gou as Grand Marshal—a slight Baoheng resented. By then Baoheng was chief minister; he dredged up charges against Gou and banished him from his post as Palace Diary Attendant to military adjutant at distant Bozhou. Traversing the Three Gorges, he was too terrified to sleep when a voice seemed to say, "Do not be afraid, sir—I will guard you. Gou was comforted and at ease. Soon after he visited the White Emperor shrine and found the deity's image matched what he had seen in his vision; he was astonished. Before long Baoheng died, and Gou was recalled as Vice Director of the Ministry of Rites. In the Qianfu era he rose to Vice Director of Revenue and Expositor of the Hanlin Academy.
45
僖宗入蜀，以兵部判度支，次綿州，拜同中書門下平章事。 始，王鐸主貢舉而得遘，及是，與鐸並位。 鐸年老，嘗入對踣殿中，遘掖起之。 帝喜曰：「遘善事長，大臣和，予之幸也！」 遘曰：「不止以長，乃鐸門生。」 帝笑曰：「鐸選士，朕選宰相，卿無負我！」 遘頓首謝。 從還京師，累拜司空，封楚國公。
When Xizong fled to Shu, Gou—as Minister of War overseeing the treasury—was made chief minister at Mianzhou on the march. Wang Duo had once placed Gou through the examinations; now they served as colleagues. Duo was elderly; once he collapsed during audience in the hall, and Gou helped him to his feet. The emperor said gladly, "Gou honors his elder well; harmony among ministers is my good fortune! Gou replied, "It is not only as my elder—he is my teacher." The emperor laughed and said, "Duo chose scholars; I chose chief ministers—do not disappoint me!" Gou kowtowed in thanks. Returning to the capital, he was successively made Minister of Works and enfeoffed as Duke of Chu.
46
遘負大節，以王佐自任。 既當國，風采峭整，天子器之。 時籓鎮多興于盜賊，橫放莫能制，權綱漼弛。 支詳在徐州，引散騎常侍李損子凝吉為佐，會牙將時溥逐詳而取節度，溥為饔幹所毒，不死，或讒凝吉為詳報仇者，溥怒殺之。 損時在朝，溥即上言損連謀，請並誅。 田令孜受溥金，劾損，付御史獄，中丞盧渥傅成其罪。 御史王華嫉惡甚，表損不知狀。 令孜請移神策獄，華不奉詔，奏言：「損近臣，法當死即死，獨不宜取辱於宦人手。」 遘即時叩延英爭曰：「凝吉以冤就屠，已不可言。 損與子音問不接且數期，安得謂同謀哉？ 溥恃功壞天子法，請案近臣，卑侮王室，有無將之萌。 今損可無罪誅，禍且及臣輩。」 帝寤，止免官。 當此時，令孜持禁軍，權寵可炙，公卿無不附順，唯遘未嘗少下。
Gou held himself to the highest standards and regarded himself as a counselor to the throne. Once in charge of the government, he was stern and commanding in manner, and the emperor held him in high esteem. Military governors at the time were often men who had risen from banditry; they ran unchecked, and central authority had all but collapsed. At Xuzhou, Governor Zhi Xiang had taken on Li Sun's son Ningji as his aide. A junior officer, Shi Bo, drove Xiang out and seized the command. Bo was poisoned by a kitchen steward but survived; someone then accused Ningji of plotting revenge on Xiang's behalf, and Bo had him killed in a fury. Sun was at court at the time. Bo immediately reported that Sun had been party to the plot and asked that father and son both be put to death. Tian Lingzi, who had taken bribes from Bo, impeached Sun and had him thrown into the censorate's prison; Vice Censor-in-Chief Lu Wo built the case against him. Censor Wang Hua, outraged, submitted a memorial stating that Sun had no knowledge of the affair. Lingzi asked that Sun be transferred to the Shence Guard prison. Hua refused and memorialized: "Sun is a close minister of the throne. If the law requires his death, let him die—but not at the hands of eunuchs." Gou went at once to the Yan Ying Gate and protested: "Ningji has been butchered on false charges—that alone is beyond words. Sun and his son had not exchanged a word in months—how could they have conspired? Bo, trading on his military laurels, would trample imperial law, drag a palace minister into his vendetta, and humiliate the throne itself—the seeds of treason are already showing. If Sun can be killed without cause, none of us is safe." The emperor saw reason and halted at stripping Sun of his posts. Tian Lingzi then commanded the palace armies and burned with power; not one senior official failed to curry favor—only Gou never bowed.
47
後令孜取安邑池鹽給衛軍，王重榮固爭，乃徙重榮它鎮，不受詔。 令孜以兵討之，重榮引沙陀拒王師。 王師敗，逐而西，帝驚，幸鳳翔。 諸節度共劾令孜生事，離間大臣。 遘素惡之，與裴澈計，共召硃玫於邠。 玫起邠兵五千奉迎，與沙陀等連和。 令孜迫帝幸陳倉，夜出，百官不及從。 玫怒令孜，並望帝不諒其心，謂遘曰：「上奔播六年，中原之人，與賊肝髓流野，得復宗廟，遺老殘民聞輿馬音，流涕相歡。 上曾不念，以諸侯勤王功為敕使之寵。 今奸臣為國產怨，我奉命而來，返以為脅君。 群臣報國極矣，戰力殫矣，尚能垂頭塌翅求生于黃門哉！ 喪君有君，公其圖之。」 遘曰：「上無負天下，顧為令孜掣制，每言必涕數行下。 陳倉之行，又劫於兵。 公誠有憂王室意，宜還籓奉表，請天子復國，策無宜此。」 玫曰：「諸王才可任天下者不乏。」 遘曰：「人非伊、霍，欲為禍首，未或利也。」 玫退曰：「我擇一王為帝，違者斬，尚何事？」 乃立嗣襄王煴，而召遘作冊，遘苦辭，玫更委鄭昌圖，滋恨遘。 及還長安，使昌圖相煴，罷遘為太子太保。 移疾不出。 方其弟蘧為永樂令，往從之。 帝還宮，宰相孔緯與遘雅隙，乃劾嘗為偽臣，即賜死其所，實光啟三年。
Later Lingzi seized the Anyi salt pools for the guard troops. Wang Chongrong objected fiercely; Lingzi then tried to transfer him to another command, but Chongrong refused the order. Lingzi sent troops against him. Chongrong called in the Shatuo Turks to hold off the imperial forces. The imperial army was routed and driven west. In alarm, the emperor fled to Fengxiang. The regional commanders jointly impeached Lingzi for stirring up trouble and driving a wedge among the court's leaders. Gou had long despised Lingzi. He and Pei Che agreed to summon Zhu Mei from Bin. Mei marched from Bin with five thousand men to escort the emperor, allying with the Shatuo and other forces. Lingzi pressed the emperor to flee to Chencang by night, leaving most of the court behind. Furious at Lingzi and believing the emperor did not grasp his intentions, Mei said to Gou: "For six years the Son of Heaven wandered in exile. The heartland ran with blood and the fields lay wasted. When we at last restored the ancestral shrines, old survivors wept for joy at the sound of the imperial train. Yet the throne thinks nothing of it, rewarding a eunuch envoy for the loyalty of the regional lords. Wicked men at court have made the realm despise us. We came at imperial summons—and they call us rebels threatening the throne. We have given everything for the dynasty. Our armies are spent. Must we now crawl before eunuchs to save our skins? When one ruler falls, another may rise. You must decide." Gou replied: "The emperor has done no wrong by the realm. He is merely Lingzi's prisoner. He weeps whenever he speaks. The flight to Chencang was another forced march at swordpoint. If you truly care for the dynasty, return to your command, submit loyal memorials, and ask the emperor to come home. No course is wiser." Mei said, "There is no shortage of princes fit to rule." Gou said, "Unless you are Yi Yin or Huo Guang, leading a coup will profit no one." Mei left saying, "I will choose a prince and declare him emperor. Disobey and you die. What more is there to discuss?" He then enthroned Li Yun, Heir Apparent Prince of Xiang, and ordered Gou to draft the proclamation of accession. Gou refused firmly. Mei turned to Zheng Changtu instead and came to despise Gou. On returning to Chang'an, Mei made Changtu chief minister to the new emperor and stripped Gou of his rank, making him Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent. Gou pleaded illness and refused to leave his house. His younger brother Qu was magistrate of Yongle; Gou went to live with him. After the emperor's return, Chief Minister Kong Wei, who bore Gou an old enmity, impeached him for having served the puppet regime and had him executed on the spot. It was Guangqi 3.
48
遘見柄任凡五期，行完而材，逢世多故，召愎臣以濟亂，身汙偽署，不得其死，人為哀之。
Gou held power five times in all—a man of integrity and ability born into chaos. He had turned to hard men to restore order, yet was tainted by service under a puppet emperor and died a shameful death. Many mourned him.
49
瑀曾孫定
Yu's great-grandson Ding
50
定，字梅臣，瑀曾孫。 以廕起家陝州參軍事、金城丞。 蒞事清挺。 選補黜陟使裴遵慶表為判官，還調萬年主簿。 曆左右司郎中。 為元載所惡，外遷袁、潤等六州刺史。 大曆中，有司差天下刺史治最，定與常州蕭復、豪州張鎰為第一，而劭桑稼，均賦稅，業徠遊口，在鎰、復右。 遷戶部侍郎、太常卿。 硃泚泚反，詭姓名為張誕，匿裏中，與蔣沇不浼於賊。 事平，擢太子少師。 卒，年七十七，贈太子太師。
Ding, styled Meichen, was Yu's great-grandson. He entered service through hereditary privilege as adjutant at Shanzhou and magistrate of Jincheng. In office he was incorruptible and stern. Pei Zunqing, commissioner for personnel review, recommended him as aide; he was later posted as chief clerk of Wannian County. He rose to director in the Left and Right Secretariats. Yuan Zai disliked him and had him sent out to serve as prefect of six prefectures, including Yuan and Run. In the Dali era, when the ministry ranked governors for outstanding administration, Ding stood first alongside Xiao Fu of Changzhou and Zhang Yi of Haozhou. Yet in promoting agriculture, equalizing taxes, and settling displaced people, he outranked both. He was promoted to Vice Minister of Revenue and Minister of Ceremonies. When Zhu Ci rebelled, Ding assumed the false name Zhang Yan, hid among the people, and—along with Jiang Yan—kept himself unstained by the rebels. After order was restored, he was made Junior Mentor of the Heir Apparent. He died at seventy-seven and was posthumously honored as Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent.
51
贊曰：梁蕭氏興江左，實有功在民，厥終無大惡，以浸微而亡，故余祉及其後裔。 自瑀逮遘，凡八葉宰相，名德相望，與唐盛衰。 世家之盛，古未有也。
The historian comments: The Liang Xiao clan rose in the south and truly served the people well. Its end brought no great crime—it faded slowly into oblivion—so fortune lingered on in its descendants. From Yu to Gou, eight generations produced chief ministers; their renown and virtue tracked the Tang dynasty's rise and fall. No great family in history ever matched their splendor.