1
劉仁軌裴行儉子:光庭稹玄孫:均婁師德
Liu Rengui; Pei Xingjian, with his sons Guangting and Zhen; his great-great-grandson Jun; and Lou Shide.
2
劉仁軌
Liu Rengui.
3
劉仁軌，字正則，汴州尉氏人。 少貧賤，好學。 值亂，不能安業，每動止，畫地書空，寓所習，卒以通博聞。 武德初，河南道安撫大使任瑰上疏有所論奏，仁軌見其稿，為竄定數言。 瑰驚異，赤牒補息州參軍。 轉陳倉尉。 部人折沖都尉魯寧者，豪縱犯法，縣莫敢屈。 仁軌約不再犯，而甯暴橫自如，仁軌搒殺之。 州以聞，太宗曰：「尉而殺吾折沖，可乎？」 召詰讓。 仁軌對曰：「寧辱臣，臣故殺之。」 帝以為剛正，更擢咸陽丞。
Liu Rengui, courtesy name Zhengze, came from Weishi County in Bianzhou. As a young man he was poor and of humble status, yet devoted to study. Turmoil made steady work impossible; wherever he went he traced characters on the ground or wrote in the air, rehearsing what he had studied until his wide learning became renowned. Early in the Wude reign, Ren Gui, commissioner for pacifying Henan Circuit, was drafting a memorial on state affairs; Rengui read it and corrected several passages. Ren Gui was impressed and used an informal red-ink appointment to make him a staff officer in Xi Prefecture. He was next posted as sheriff of Chencang County. His jurisdiction included Zhechong colonel Lu Ning, a man so arrogant and lawless that the county authorities dared not bring him to heel. Rengui made Lu Ning promise not to offend again, yet Ning continued his tyrannical ways; Rengui had him beaten to death. When the prefecture reported the matter, Emperor Taizong asked, "May a county sheriff kill one of my Zhechong colonels? He had Rengui summoned and upbraided him. Rengui answered, "He insulted me, and that is why I killed him. The emperor admired his firm integrity and promoted him to assistant magistrate of Xianyang.
4
貞觀十四年，校獵同州。 時秋斂未訖，仁軌諫曰：「今茲澍澤沾足，百穀熾茂，收才十二。 常日贅調，已有所妨。 又供獵事，繕橋治道，役雖簡省，猶不損數萬。 少延一旬，使場圃畢勞，陛下六飛徐驅，公私交泰。」 璽書褒納。 拜新安令。 累遷給事中。 為李義府所惡，出為青州刺史。 顯慶五年，伐遼，義府欲斥以罪，使督漕，而船果覆沒。 坐免官，白衣隨軍。
In 640, the emperor went hunting in Tongzhou. With the autumn harvest still unfinished, Rengui admonished the emperor: "This year's rains have been abundant and the crops are luxuriant, yet only a tenth or two has been reaped. Even routine corvée levies already burden the farmers. Hunting preparations—repairing bridges and roads—will require tens of thousands of laborers even if kept to a minimum. Delay ten days until harvesting is complete, and Your Majesty may advance at leisure with public and private interests alike secure. The emperor replied with a sealed edict commending and accepting his counsel. He was appointed magistrate of Xin'an County. He rose through successive posts to supervising secretary in the palace secretariat. Li Yifu turned against him, and he was transferred to serve as prefect of Qingzhou. In 660, during the Liaodong campaign, Li Yifu sought to ruin him by assigning him to oversee shipping; the convoy duly foundered. Stripped of rank, he accompanied the army as a civilian appointee.
5
初，蘇定方既平百濟，留郎將劉仁願守其城，左衛中郎將王文度為熊津都督，撫納殘黨。 文度死，百濟故將福信及浮屠道琛迎故王子扶余豐立之，引兵圍仁願。 詔仁軌檢校帶方州刺史，統文度之眾，併發新羅兵為援，仁軌將兵嚴整，轉鬥陷陣，所向無前。 信等釋仁願圍，退保任存城。 既而福信殺道琛，並其眾，招還叛亡，勢張甚。 仁軌與仁願合，則解甲休士。 時定方伐高麗，圍平壤不克。 高宗詔仁軌拔軍就新羅與金法敏議去留計。 將士鹹欲還，仁軌曰：「《春秋》之義，大夫出強，有可以安社稷、便國家者，得專之。 今天子欲滅高麗，先誅百濟，留兵鎮守，制其心腹。 雖孽豎跳樑，士力未完，宜厲兵粟馬，乘無備，擊不意，百不百全。 戰勝之日，開張形勢，騰檄濟師，聲援接，虜亡矣。 今平壤不勝，熊津又拔，則百濟之燼復炎，高麗之滅無期。 吾等雖入新羅，正似坐客，有不如志，悔可得邪？ 扶余豐猜貳，表合內攜，熱不支久。 宜堅守伺變以圖之，不可輕動。」 眾從其議，乃請益兵。
When Su Dingfang first conquered Baekje, he left regimental commander Liu Renyuan to hold the capital and assigned Left Guard general Wang Wendu as Xiongjin commissioner to pacify the surviving loyalists. After Wang Wendu died, the former Baekje general Fuxin and the monk Daochen restored Buyeo Pung as king and laid siege to Liu Renyuan. Rengui was ordered to serve as acting Daifang prefect, take over Wang Wendu's command, and march with Silla reinforcements; his troops fought in tight order and broke every line they faced. Fuxin's forces abandoned the siege and fell back to Rencun Fort. Fuxin then killed Daochen, absorbed his men, rallied deserters, and swelled his power considerably. Rengui and Renyuan united their forces and gave the men rest. Meanwhile Su Dingfang besieged Pyongyang in his Goguryeo campaign but failed to take it. Emperor Gaozong instructed Rengui to pull back to Silla and consult Kim Beopmin on whether to remain or withdraw. The troops wanted to go home, but Rengui argued: "Spring and Autumn teaches that a minister abroad may act on his own authority when the altars of state and national interest require it. His Majesty intends to destroy Goguryeo by first crushing Baekje and garrisoning its heartland. Though rebel chieftains are still active and our strength incomplete, we should arm and provision the army, catch them off guard, and strike—even if victory is not absolutely guaranteed. After victory we can expand our position, send urgent appeals for reinforcements, and when relief arrives the enemy will be finished. If Pyongyang fails while we abandon Xiongjin, Baekje's embers will flare up again and Goguryeo will never be conquered. Withdraw into Silla and we become mere guests; if things go wrong, regret will come too late. Buyeo Pung is suspicious and duplicitous; their outward alliance hides inner quarrels and cannot endure. We should hold fast, watch for openings, and strike only when the moment is right—not act rashly. The assembly agreed and petitioned for reinforcements.
6
時賊守真峴城，仁軌夜督新羅兵薄城扳堞，比明，入之，遂通新羅饟道。 而豐果襲殺福信，遣使至高麗、倭丐援。 會詔遣右威衛將軍孫仁師率軍浮海而至，士氣振。 於是，諸將議所向，或曰：「加林城水陸之沖，盍先擊之？」 仁軌曰：「兵法避實擊虛。 加林險而固，攻則傷士，守則曠日。 周留城，賊巢穴，群凶聚焉。 若克之，諸城自下。」 於是仁師、仁願及法敏帥陸軍以進，仁軌與杜爽、扶余隆繇熊津白江會之。 遇倭人白江口，四戰皆克，焚四百艘，海水為丹。 扶余豐脫身走，獲其寶劍。 偽王子扶余忠勝、忠志等率其眾與倭人降，獨酋帥遲受信據任存城未下。 始，定方破百濟，酋領沙吒相如、黑齒常之嘯亡散，據險以應福信，至是皆降。 仁軌以赤心示之，畀取任存自效，即給鎧仗糧Я。 仁師曰：「夷狄野心難信，若受甲濟粟，資寇便也。」 仁軌曰：「吾觀相如、常之忠而謀，因機立功，尚何疑？」 二人訖拔其城。 遲受信委妻子奔高麗，百濟餘黨悉平。 仁師等振旅還，詔留仁軌統兵鎮守。
The rebels held Zhenxian Fort; Rengui led Silla troops in a night assault up the walls and took it by dawn, securing the Silla supply line. Buyeo Pung duly ambushed and killed Fuxin, then sent envoys to Goguryeo and Japan begging for help. An imperial order then brought Right Might Guard general Sun Renshi across the sea with reinforcements, and spirits soared. The commanders debated their next target; some urged striking Jialin Fort first, the junction of land and sea routes. Rengui replied, "Strategy teaches us to avoid the strong point and strike the weak. Jialin is steep and fortified—assault would cost men, siege would waste time. Zhouliu is the rebel stronghold where their leaders have assembled. Capture Zhouliu and the rest will fall of their own accord." Sun Renshi, Liu Renyuan, and Kim Beopmin advanced overland while Rengui, Du Shuang, and Buyeo Yung sailed from Xiongjin up the Ba River to rendezvous. At the mouth of the Ba River they met the Japanese fleet, won four engagements, burned four hundred ships, and turned the sea crimson. Buyeo Pung fled for his life, leaving his jeweled sword behind as spoils. The princes Buyeo Zhongsheng and Zhongzhi surrendered with their followers and the Japanese; only the chieftain Chi Shouxin still held out at Rencun Fort. After Su Dingfang's conquest, the chieftains Shazha Xiangru and Heichi Changzhi had rallied scattered rebels in the hills to support Fuxin; now they all submitted. Rengui pledged his trust, sent them to retake Rencun Fort on their own merit, and promptly furnished them with armor, weapons, and rations. Sun Renshi objected: "These frontier peoples are treacherous—give them arms and grain and we merely arm our enemies. Rengui answered, "Xiangru and Changzhi are loyal and capable; this is their chance to distinguish themselves—why hesitate?" The two men duly captured the fort. Chi Shouxin abandoned his family and fled to Goguryeo, and the last Baekje resistance was eliminated. Sun Renshi departed with his army while Rengui was ordered to stay behind in command.
7
百濟再被亂，僵屍如莽，仁軌始命瘞埋弔祭焉。 葺復戶版，署官吏，開道路，營聚落，復防堰，賑貧貸乏，勸課耕種，為立官社，民皆安其所。 遂營屯田，以經略高麗。 仁願至京師，帝勞曰：「若本武將，軍中奏請，皆有文理，何道而然？」 對曰：「仁軌之辭，非臣所能。」 帝歎賞之，超進仁軌六階，真拜帶方州刺史，賜第一區，厚賚妻子，璽書褒勉。
After two rounds of upheaval, Baekje was littered with unburied dead; Rengui ordered their proper burial and memorial rites. He restored census records and local administration, rebuilt roads and villages, repaired dikes, aided the poor, promoted agriculture, and established official altars—the people at last had secure livelihoods. He then organized garrison farms to prepare for operations against Goguryeo. When Liu Renyuan reached the capital, the emperor asked how a career soldier could write such polished memorials from the field. Renyuan replied that the words were Liu Rengui's, not his own. Deeply impressed, the emperor promoted Rengui six steps above the norm, confirmed him as Daifang prefect, granted a capital residence and generous rewards for his family, and sent a sealed letter of praise.
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先是，貞觀、永徽中，士戰歿者皆詔使弔祭，或以贈官推授子弟。 顯慶後，討伐恩賞殆絕； 及破百濟、平壤，有功者皆不甄敘。 州縣購募，不願行，身壯家富者，以財參逐，率得避免。 所募皆佇劣寒憊，無鬥志。 仁軌具論其弊，請加慰賚，以鼓士心。 又表用扶餘隆，使綏定餘眾。 帝乃以隆為熊津都督。
During the Zhenguan and Yonghui reigns, soldiers killed in action were mourned by imperial envoys and their sons often received posthumous honors. After the Xianqing era, campaign rewards all but disappeared. Veterans of the Baekje and Pyongyang campaigns received no recognition of their service. Conscription notices met widespread reluctance; young, wealthy men bribed their way out and usually escaped service. Those who were pressed into service were the weak, the poor, and the dispirited—men with no stomach for battle. Rengui catalogued these abuses and petitioned for better rewards to restore military morale. He also recommended Buyeo Yung to pacify the remaining Baekje population. The emperor appointed Buyeo Yung Xiongjin commissioner.
9
時劉仁願為卑列道總管，詔率兵度海，使代舊屯，與仁軌俱還。 仁軌曰：「上巡狩方嶽，又經略高麗。 方農時，而吏與兵悉被代，新至者未習，萬一蠻夷生變，誰與捍之？ 不如留舊兵畢獲，等級遣還。 仁軌當留，未可去。」 仁願不可，曰：「吾但知准詔耳。」 仁軌曰：「不然。 苟利國家，知無不為，臣之節也。」 因陳便宜，願留屯。 詔可。 由是以仁願為不忠。
Liu Renyuan, overall commander of the Beilie Circuit, was ordered to cross the sea with fresh troops, relieve the garrison, and bring Rengui home. Rengui objected: "The emperor is touring the sacred mountains while still planning war against Goguryeo. It is planting season, yet every officer and soldier is being rotated out; the replacements are untrained—who will hold the line if the frontier erupts? Better to let the veterans finish the harvest and send them home in orderly rotation. As for Rengui, he should stay—not leave now. Renyuan refused: "I have only to obey the edict." Rengui insisted otherwise. A loyal minister does whatever serves the realm without waiting to be told. He laid out a practical alternative and petitioned to remain with the garrison. The emperor granted his request. Rengui thereafter judged Renyuan disloyal to the state's interests.
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始，仁軌任帶方州，謂人曰：「天將富貴此翁邪！」 乃請所頒曆及宗廟諱，或問其故，答曰：「當削平遼海，頒示本朝正朔。」 卒皆如言。 及封泰山，仁軌乃率新羅、百濟、儋羅、倭四國酋長赴會。 天子大悅，擢為大司憲。 遷右相，兼檢校太子左中護。 累功封樂城縣男。
When Rengui first took office in Daifang, he told an associate, "Heaven means to make this old man rich and honored! He requested the official calendar and the imperial taboo names; asked why, he said he intended to pacify Liaodong and impose the Tang calendar there. In the end everything happened exactly as he had predicted. When the emperor performed the Fengshan rites at Mount Tai, Rengui brought chieftains from Silla, Baekje, Tamna, and Japan to attend. The emperor was delighted and promoted him to grand censor-in-chief. He was made chief minister of the right and acting protector of the crown prince's left guard. For accumulated merits he was ennobled as Baron of Lecheng.
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總章元年，為熊津道安撫大使，兼浿江道總管，副李勣討高麗，平之。 以疾辭位，進金紫光祿大夫，聽致仕。 俄召為隴州刺史，拜太子左庶子、同中書門下三品，監脩國史。 咸亨五年，為雞林道大總管，東伐新羅。 仁軌率兵絕瓠蘆河，攻大鎮七重城，破之。 進爵為公，子及兄子授上柱國者三人，州党榮之，號所居為「樂城鄉三柱裏」。 俄拜尚書左僕射兼太子賓客，仍知政事。
In 668 he served as Xiongjin pacification commissioner and Peijiang military governor, assisting Li Ji in the conquest of Goguryeo. Ill health forced his resignation; he was granted the rank of Grand Master of the Golden Girdle and allowed to retire. He was soon recalled as Longzhou prefect, then appointed left tutor to the crown prince with third-rank ministerial status and oversight of the national history project. In 674 he became overall commander of the Jilin Circuit and marched east against Silla. Rengui crossed the Hulu River, assaulted the major stronghold of Qichong, and took it. He was elevated to duke; three of his sons and nephews received the supreme merit rank; neighbors honored his household as "Three-Pillar Lane" in Lecheng Township. Shortly afterward he was named left vice minister of the Secretariat, also serving as adviser to the crown prince, and remained in active governance.
12
吐蕃入寇，命為洮河道行軍鎮守大使。 永隆二年，加太子少傅。 數乞骸骨，聽解左僕射。 帝幸東都，太子監國，詔仁軌與裴炎、薛元超留輔。 及太子赴東都，又詔太孫重照留守，仁軌副之。 武后臨朝，復拜左僕射。 太孫廢，仁軌專知留守事。 上疏辭疾，因陳呂後、祿、產禍敗事以規後，後遣武承嗣齎璽書慰勉。 改文昌左相、同鳳閣鸞台三品。 卒年八十五。 詔百官赴哭，冊贈開府儀同三司、并州大都督，陪葬乾陵。 賜其家實封三百戶。
When the Tibetans raided the frontier, he was named mobile defense commissioner of the Taohu Circuit. In 681 he was also made junior tutor to the crown prince. He repeatedly petitioned to retire; the emperor allowed him to step down as left vice minister of the Secretariat. When the emperor went to Luoyang and the crown prince remained in Chang'an as regent, Rengui was ordered to stay behind with Pei Yan and Xue Yuanchao to assist him. When the crown prince later joined the emperor at Luoyang, the edict left the emperor's grandson Chongzhao in charge of Chang'an, with Rengui as his deputy. After Empress Wu took control of government, he was reappointed left vice minister of the Secretariat. After Chongzhao was deposed, Rengui alone directed affairs in the capital. He memorialized claiming illness and, pointing to how Empress Lü and her kin Lü Lu and Lü Chan had brought ruin upon themselves, cautioned Empress Wu; she sent Wu Chengsi with an imperial letter of reassurance. He was renamed left chief minister of Wenchang, with third-rank standing equal to the Phoenix Pavilion and Crane Platform offices. He died at eighty-five. Officials were ordered to attend the funeral rites; posthumously he received the titles of Grand Master of the Palace and governor-general of Bingzhou, and was buried beside the emperor at Qianling. His household received a permanent fief of three hundred taxpaying households.
13
仁軌雖貴顯，不自矜踞，接舊故如布衣時。 嘗為御史袁異式所劾，慢辱之，肋使引決。 及拜大司憲，異式尚在台，不自安，因醉以情自解。 仁軌持觴曰：「所不與公者，有如此觴。」 後既執政，薦為司元大夫。 然宦由州縣至宰輔，善致聲譽，得吏下歡心。 及鎮洮河，奏請機急，多為中書令李敬玄抑卻，仁軌乃表敬玄為帥以代己，果覆其眾。 裴炎下獄，仁軌方留守京師，郎將姜嗣宗以使來，因語炎事，且曰：「炎異于常久矣。」 仁軌曰：「使人知邪？」 曰：「知。」 及還，表嗣宗知炎反狀不告。 武后怒，拉殺之。
Though he had risen to the highest rank, Rengui never put on airs; he treated old friends exactly as he had when he was a common clerk. A censor named Yuan Yishi once impeached him, humiliated him, and tried to drive him to take his own life. When Rengui became grand censor-in-chief, Yishi still served on the censorate staff and could not feel secure; one night, drunk, he poured out his fears. Rengui raised his goblet and said, "There is only one thing I would deny you—and it is this cup itself. Later, once he held real power, he recommended Yishi for promotion to grand master of the directorate of seasons. From county magistrate to chief minister, he had always known how to win a good name and keep subordinates devoted to him. While commanding on the Taohu frontier, his urgent petitions were often blocked by chief minister Li Jingxuan; Rengui then recommended that Jingxuan replace him as commander—and Jingxuan's army was duly crushed. While Pei Yan languished in prison and Rengui was holding Chang'an, commandant Jiang Sizong arrived on embassy business and spoke of the case, remarking, "Yan has been acting strangely for some time. Rengui asked, "So the envoy knew?" I did," Sizong replied. When Sizong departed, Rengui memorialized that he had known of Yan's treason and kept silent. Empress Wu flew into a rage and had him strangled.
14
子浚，官太子舍人。 垂拱中，為酷吏所殺。 中宗即位，以仁軌有東宮舊，再贈司空。 浚子晃，開元中，為給事中，表請立碑，追諡曰文獻。
His son Jun held the post of attendant in the crown prince's household. During the Chuigong years he was murdered by the empress's inquisitors. When Emperor Zhongzong came to the throne, he posthumously honored Rengui again as minister of works, remembering his service to the crown prince. Jun's grandson Huang, a memorial drafter during the Kaiyuan reign, petitioned for a commemorative stele; Rengui was given the posthumous title Duke of Literary Merit.
15
裴行儉
Pei Xingjian
16
裴行儉，字守約，絳州聞喜人。 父仁基，隋光祿大夫，自王世充所謀歸國，被害。 贈原州都督，諡曰忠。 行儉幼引廕補弘文生。 貞觀中，舉明經，調左屯衛倉曹參軍。 時蘇定方為大將軍，謂曰：「吾用兵，世無可教者，今子也賢。」 乃盡畀以術。 遷長安令。 高宗將立武昭儀，行儉以為國家憂從此始，與長孫無忌、褚遂良秘議，大理袁公瑜擿語昭儀母，左除西州都督府長史。 麟德二年，擢累安西都護，西域諸國多慕義歸附。 召為司文少卿。 遷吏部侍郎，與李敬玄、馬載同典選，有能名，時號「裴馬」。 行儉始設長名榜、銓注等法，又定州縣升降、資擬高下為故事。
Pei Xingjian, courtesy name Shouyue, came from Wenxi in Jiangzhou. His father Renji, a Sui grand master of splendid provisions, had plotted to defect from Wang Shichong to the Tang and was executed for it. Posthumously Renji was made governor of Yuanzhou and given the posthumous name Loyal. As a youth Xingjian entered imperial service by inherited privilege as a student of the Palace Academy. During the Zhenguan reign he passed the classics examination and became warehouse secretary of the Left Garrison Guard. Su Dingfang, then grand general, told him, "In all my campaigns I have found no one worth teaching—until now. You alone are worthy of my methods. And he taught Xingjian everything he knew. He was promoted to magistrate of Chang'an. When Emperor Gaozong prepared to elevate Lady Wu as empress, Xingjian warned that national misfortune would begin there; he conferred secretly with Zhangsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang until Yuan Gongyu of the judicial review court betrayed the plot to Lady Wu's mother, and Xingjian was banished to serve as chief secretary in the Protectorate General of Xizhou. By 665 he had risen to protector-general of Anxi; most of the Western Region states willingly submitted to Tang rule. He was recalled to court as vice minister of the directorate of literary works. Promoted to vice minister of personnel, he shared control of appointments with Li Jingxuan and Ma Zai; their competence was so renowned that people called them "Pei and Ma." Xingjian introduced the long-name roster and review-and-posting procedures, and codified rules for ranking prefectures and counties and matching qualifications to office.
17
上元三年，吐蕃叛，出為洮州道左二軍總管，改秦州右軍，並受周王節度。 儀鳳二年，十姓可汗阿史那都支及李遮匐誘蕃落以動安西，與吐蕃連和，朝廷欲討之。 行儉議曰：「吐蕃叛皛方熾，敬玄失律，審禮喪元，安可更為西方生事？ 今波斯王死，其子泥涅師質京師，有如遣使立之，即路出二蕃，若權以制事，可不勞而功也。」 帝因詔行儉冊送波斯王，且為安撫大食使。 徑莫賀延磧，風礫晝冥，導者迷，將士饑乏。 行儉止營致祭，令曰：「水泉非遠。」 眾少安。 俄而雲徹風恬，行數百步，水草豐美，後來者莫識其處。 眾皆驚，以方漢貳師將軍。 至西州，諸蕃郊迎，行儉召豪亻桀千餘人自隨。 揚言「大熱，未可以進，宜駐軍須秋」。 都支覘知之，不設備。 行儉徐召四鎮酋長，偽約畋，謂曰：「吾念此樂未始忘，孰能從吾獵者？」 於是子弟願從者萬人，乃陰勒部伍。 數日，倍道而進，去都支帳十餘里，先遣其所親問安否，外若閒暇，非討襲者。 又使入趣召都支。 都支本與遮匐計，及秋拒使者，已而聞軍至，倉卒不知所出，率子弟五百余人詣營謁，遂擒之。 是日，傳契箭，召諸部酋長悉來請命，並執送碎葉城。 簡精騎，約齎，襲遮匐。 道獲遮匐使者，釋之，俾前往諭其主，並言都支已擒狀，遮匐乃降，悉俘至京師。 將吏為刻石碎葉城以紀功。 帝親勞宴，曰：「行儉提孤軍，深入萬里，兵不血刃而叛黨擒夷，可謂文武兼備矣，其兼授二職。」 即拜禮部尚書兼檢校右衛大將軍。
In 676, when Tibet rebelled, he was sent out as commander of the left second army on the Taozhou front, then of the right army at Qinzhou, both under the Prince of Zhou. In 677 the Ten-Clans khan Ashina Duzhi and Li Zhefu stirred up the border tribes against Anxi and allied with Tibet; the court prepared to strike. Xingjian argued, "Tibetan revolt is raging on the Bing frontier, Li Jingxuan has already been routed, and Liu Shenli is dead—why stir up more trouble in the west? The King of Persia is dead and his son Nipuoshi is held at court. Send an envoy to restore him, and the route runs straight through our two foes. Handle the moment shrewdly and we may win without a pitched battle. The emperor appointed Xingjian to invest the Persian prince and escort him home, with additional authority as commissioner for relations with the Arabs. Marching straight across the Mohe-yan desert, they were blinded by sandstorms, their guides lost their bearings, and officers and men grew hungry and exhausted. Xingjian halted the march, performed a rite of invocation, and announced, "Water is near. The troops took heart. Soon the sky cleared and the wind fell still; a few hundred paces on they found lush grass and water—and those who followed could never find the spot again. The army was awestruck, likening him to Li Guangli of Han. At Xizhou the border peoples came out to greet him in the suburbs, and Xingjian took more than a thousand local chieftains into his retinue. He announced publicly that the heat was too severe for campaigning and that the army would remain encamped until autumn. Duzhi's spies reported this, and he relaxed his defenses. Xingjian then summoned the chieftains of the Four Garrisons under the pretense of a hunting party and said, "I have never forgotten the joys of the hunt—who will join me? Ten thousand of their young men volunteered to follow, and under cover of the hunt he drilled his forces. Several days later he doubled the pace of march. Still a dozen li from Duzhi's camp, he sent trusted envoys ahead with courteous greetings, as though on a social visit rather than a raid. He sent another messenger to summon Duzhi to his camp. Duzhi had planned with Zhefu to put off the Tang envoy until autumn; when news of the army's arrival reached him, he panicked, gathered five hundred kinsmen, and came to pay his respects—and was seized on the spot. That same day he passed the tally arrow and summoned every tribal chieftain to submit; all were taken and sent to Suyab under guard. He picked a force of crack cavalry, traveled light, and raced to attack Zhefu. On the road they captured one of Zhefu's envoys, freed him, and sent him ahead to tell his master that Duzhi was already a prisoner; Zhefu surrendered and was brought to the capital with his followers. His officers carved a commemorative stele at Suyab to mark the victory. The emperor feasted him in person and said, "Xingjian led a lone force ten thousand li into enemy country and brought the rebels to heel without a bloody battle—a man of both literary and martial gifts. Grant him two offices at once. He was immediately named minister of rites and acting grand general of the right guard.
18
詔露元年，突厥阿史德溫傅反，單于管二十四州叛應之，眾數十萬。 都護蕭嗣業討賊不克，死敗系踵。 詔行儉為定襄道行軍大總管討之。 率太僕少卿李思文、營州都督周道務部兵十八萬，合西軍程務挺、東軍李文暕等，總三十余萬，旗幟亙千里，行儉鹹節制之。
In 679 the Turk Ashide Wenfu rebelled; twenty-four prefectures under the Chanyu Protectorate joined him, gathering several hundred thousand men. Protector-general Xiao Siye failed to suppress them; defeat followed defeat and the dead piled up. Xingjian was appointed grand overall commander of the Dingxiang Circuit to destroy them. He led one hundred eighty thousand troops under Li Siwen and Zhou Daowu of Yingzhou, joined Cheng Wuting's western force and Li Wenhan's eastern force for more than three hundred thousand men; their banners stretched for a thousand li—and all came under Xingjian's command.
19
先是，嗣業饋糧，數為虜鈔，軍餒死。 行儉曰：「以謀制敵可也。」 因詐為糧車三百乘，車伏壯士五輩，齎齏陌刀、勁弩，以羸兵挽進，又伏精兵踵其後。 虜果掠車，羸兵走險。 賊驅就水草，解鞍牧馬。 方取糧車中，而壯士突出，伏兵至，殺獲幾盡。 自是糧車無敢近者。
Earlier Siye's grain convoys had been repeatedly ambushed; men starved to death in camp. Xingjian said, "We can beat them with a ruse. He deployed three hundred decoy grain carts, each concealing five strongmen armed with dry rations, long-handled infantry blades, and heavy crossbows; sickly troops hauled them forward while elite soldiers lurked behind. The raiders took the bait and swarmed the carts; the decoy troops fled into the ravines. The Turks drove the carts to pasture, unsaddled their horses, and let them graze. As they rummaged through the carts, the hidden soldiers leaped out; the ambush closed in and killed or captured nearly every man. After that no raider dared come near a Tang grain convoy.
20
大軍次單于北，暮，已立營，塹壕既周，行儉更命徙營高岡。 吏白：「士安堵，不可攏。」 不聽，促徙之。 比夜，風雨暴至，前占營所，水深丈餘，眾莫不駭歎，問何以知之，行儉曰：「自今第如我節制，毋問我所以知也。」
The main army camped north of the Chanyu Protectorate. At dusk, with trenches dug and tents pitched, Xingjian suddenly ordered the camp moved to higher ground. His staff protested that the men were finally settled and should not be disturbed. He refused to listen and drove them to break camp immediately. That night a violent storm flooded their former campsite waist-deep in water. The army was thunderstruck and asked how he had known; Xingjian said only, "Hereafter do as I command—and do not ask how I know."
21
賊拒黑山，數戰皆敗，行儉縱兵，前後殺虜不勝計。 偽可汗泥熟匐為其下所殺，持首來降； 又擒大首領奉職而還，餘黨走狼山。 行儉既還，阿史那伏念偽稱可汗，復與溫傅合。 明年，行儉還總諸軍，屯代州之陘口，縱反間，說伏念，令與溫傅相貳。 伏念懼，密送款，且請縛傅自效。 行儉秘不布，密以聞。 後數日，煙塵漲天而南，斥候惶駭，行儉曰：「此伏念執溫傅來降，非他也。 且受降如受敵。」 乃敕嚴備，遣單使往勞。 既而果然。 於是，突厥餘黨悉平。 帝悅，遣戶部尚書崔知悌勞軍。
The rebels made their stand at Black Mountain and were beaten in battle after battle; Xingjian pressed the attack and the enemy dead mounted beyond counting. The self-proclaimed khan Nishoufu was killed by his own followers, who brought his head to surrender; Xingjian captured the chief leader Fengzhi and marched home; the remaining rebels fled to Lang Mountain. Hardly had Xingjian returned when Ashina Funician declared himself khan and reunited with Wenfu. The next year he resumed overall command, encamped at the Daizhou pass, and sowed discord between Funician and Wenfu. Funician grew fearful, sent secret overtures of surrender, and offered to bind Wenfu to prove his good faith. Xingjian kept this secret from the army and reported privately to the throne. Days later a dust cloud rolled in from the south and scouts panicked; Xingjian said, "That is Funician bringing Wenfu in bonds—not an attack. Accepting a surrender is as perilous as accepting battle. He ordered the camp on full alert and sent a single envoy to welcome them. And so it proved. With that the remaining Turkic rebels were finally crushed. The emperor was delighted and sent Cui Zhidie, minister of revenue, to congratulate the army.
22
初，行儉許伏念以不死，侍中裴炎害其功，建言：「伏念為程務挺、張虔勖肋逐，又磧北回紇逼之，計窮而降。」 卒斬伏念及溫傅於都市。 行儉之功不錄。 封聞喜縣公。 行儉歎曰：「渾、浚之事，古今恥之。 但恐殺降則後無復來矣！」 遂稱疾不出。 永淳元年，十姓突厥車薄叛，復為金牙道大總管，未行卒，年六十四，贈幽州都督，諡曰獻。 詔皇太子遣官護視家事，子孫能自立乃停。 中宗即位，再贈揚州大都督。
Xingjian had promised Funician his life; but Chief Minister Pei Yan, jealous of his triumph, memorialized that Funician had been hounded into submission by Cheng Wuting and Zhang Qianxu and by the Tiele north of the desert, and had surrendered only in desperation. In the end Funician and Wenfu were beheaded in the capital marketplace. Xingjian's victory went entirely unrecorded in the official accounts. He received only the title of Duke of Wenxi County. Xingjian sighed and said, "The affair of Hun and Jun has been despised through the ages. But I fear that if we kill those who surrender, none will ever come again! After that he pleaded illness and refused to appear at court. In 682, when Che Bo of the Ten-Clan Turks rebelled, Xingjian was again named grand commander of the Jinya front—but he died before he could take the field, at sixty-four. Posthumously he was made governor-general of Youzhou and given the posthumous title Xian. An edict directed the crown prince to assign officials to manage the household until the descendants could fend for themselves. When Emperor Zhongzong came to the throne, Xingjian was posthumously honored again as governor-general of Yangzhou.
23
行儉工草隸，名家。 帝嘗以絹素詔寫《文選》，覽之，秘愛其法，賚物良厚。 行儉每曰：「褚遂良非精筆佳墨，未嘗輒書，不擇筆墨而妍捷者，余與虞世南耳。」 所譔《選譜》、《草字雜體》數萬言。 又為營陣、部伍、料勝負、別器能等四十六訣，武后詔武承嗣就第取去，不復傳。
Xingjian was a celebrated master of cursive and clerical calligraphy. The emperor once had him copy the Wen Xuan on silk; delighted with the hand, he heaped rich gifts upon him. Xingjian often said, "Chu Suiliang would not put brush to paper unless the ink and brush were perfect; as for those who write beautifully and swiftly no matter what they use—there are only Yu Shinan and myself. He wrote the Selection Criticism and Miscellany of Cursive Characters—works of tens of thousands of words. He also composed forty-six treatises on encampments, formations, judging battles, and appraising talent; Empress Wu had Wu Chengsi collect them from his home, and they were never circulated again.
24
行儉通陰陽、曆術，每戰，豫道勝日。 善知人，在吏部時，見蘇味道、王抃，謂曰：「二君後皆掌銓衡。」 李敬玄盛稱王勃、楊炯、盧照鄰、駱賓王之才，引示行儉，行儉曰：「士之致遠，先器識，後文藝。 如勃等，雖有才，而浮躁衒露，豈享爵祿者哉？ 炯頗沉嘿，可至令長，餘皆不得其死。」 所引偏裨，若程務挺、張虔勖、崔智睟、王方翼、党金毘、劉敬同、郭待封、李多祚、黑齒常之，類為世名將，傔奏至刺史將軍者數十人。
Xingjian mastered yin-yang lore and calendrical science and, before every battle, divined the day of victory. He had a gift for reading men. While serving in the Ministry of Personnel he met Su Weidao and Wang Bian and told them, "You will both one day control the scales of appointment. Li Jingxuan lavishly praised the talents of Wang Bo, Yang Jiong, Lu Zhaolin, and Luo Binwang and brought them before Xingjian, who said, "A man who would go far must have judgment and breadth of mind before he has literary brilliance. Men like Bo may be clever, but they are restless and showy—how could such men long enjoy rank and emolument? Jiong is comparatively reserved and might rise to county magistrate; the rest would all die before their time." The junior officers he singled out—Cheng Wuting, Zhang Qianxu, Cui Zhicui, Wang Fangyi, Dang Jinbi, Liu Jingtong, Guo Daifeng, Li Duozuo, Heichi Changzhi, and others—became the age's most celebrated commanders; dozens reached prefect or general on his recommendation alone.
25
嘗賜馬及珍鞍，令史私馳馬，馬蹶鞍壞，懼而逃。 行儉招還之，不加罪。 初，平都支、遮匐，獲瑰寶不貲，蕃酋將士願觀焉，行儉因宴，遍出示坐者。 有瑪瑙盤廣二尺，文彩粲然，軍吏趨跌盤，碎，惶怖，叩頭流血。 行儉笑曰：「爾非故也，何至是？」 色不少吝。 帝賜都支資產皿金三千餘物，橐駝馬牛稱是，行儉分給親故洎麾下，數日輒盡。
Once, after he was given a horse and an exquisite saddle, a clerk took the horse out on his own; the horse stumbled, the saddle was ruined, and the clerk fled in terror. Xingjian had him brought back and imposed no punishment. After his first campaigns against Duzhi and Zhefu he had taken treasures beyond price; when tribal chiefs and officers asked to see them, he spread a feast and showed everything to his guests. Among them was a two-foot agate dish of dazzling color; an army clerk hurried forward, stumbled against it, and smashed it to pieces. Terrified, he kowtowed until his forehead bled. Xingjian laughed and said, "You did not break it on purpose—why carry on like this? Not a trace of regret crossed his face. The emperor granted him more than three thousand objects from Duzhi's estate—vessels, gold, and the like, with camels, horses, and cattle to match—and Xingjian distributed the whole lot among friends, relatives, and his command within days.
26
子光庭
His son Guangting
27
子光庭。 光庭字連城，早孤。 母厙狄氏，有婦德，武后召入宮，為禦正，甚見親寵，光庭由是累遷太常丞。 以武三思婿，坐貶郢州司馬。 開元中，擢兵部郎中、鴻臚少卿。 性靜默，寡交遊，雖驟曆台省，人未之許，既而以職業稱，議者更推之。
His son was Guangting. Guangting, courtesy name Liancheng, lost his father while still young. His mother, Lady Kudi, was a woman of exemplary conduct; Empress Wu brought her into the palace as director of moral instruction and treated her with great affection, and Guangting rose steadily until he became vice director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. As Wu Sansi's son-in-law, he was implicated and demoted to military aide at Ezhou. During the Kaiyuan reign he was promoted to director in the Ministry of War and vice minister of court ceremonials. Quiet by nature and sparing in his friendships, he rose quickly through the capital ministries yet won little esteem at first; only when his competence became plain did opinion turn in his favor.
28
玄宗有事岱宗，中書令張說以天子東巡，京師空虛，恐夷狄乘間竊發，議欲加兵守邊，召光庭與謀，對曰：「封禪者，所以告成功也。 夫成功者，德無不被，人無不安，萬國無不懷。 今將告成而懼夷狄，非昭德也； 大興力役，用備不虞，非安人也； 方謀會同，而阻戎心，非懷遠也。 此三者，名實乖矣。 且諸蕃，突厥為大，贄幣往來，願修和好有年矣，若遣一使，召其大臣使赴行在，必欣然應命。 突厥受詔，則諸蕃君長必相率而來，我偃旗息鼓，不復事矣。」 說曰：「善，吾所不及。」 因奏用其策，突厥果遣使來朝。
When Xuanzong prepared to perform the fengshan rites at Mount Tai, Chief Minister Zhang Yue worried that with the emperor touring east Chang'an would lie empty and barbarians might exploit the moment; he proposed reinforcing the frontier and asked Guangting's counsel. Guangting answered, "The fengshan ceremony exists to proclaim success. Success means virtue that reaches every corner, people living in peace, and all nations looking to the throne. To proclaim success while fearing the barbarians is not to display virtue; to mobilize vast labor in case of surprise is not to settle the people; and to seek the gathering of all nations while blocking barbarian goodwill is not to win the distant realms. In all three respects, word and deed would part company. Among the frontier peoples the Turks are paramount; tribute has flowed both ways and they have sought peace for years. Send a single envoy to summon their ministers to the emperor's camp, and they will come gladly. Once the Turks accept the imperial summons, every tribal leader will follow in their train; we can lower our banners and still our drums, and the matter will be settled. Yue said, "Well said—better counsel than I could offer." He memorialized the throne to adopt the plan, and the Turks duly sent envoys to court.
29
東封還，遷兵部侍郎。 久之，拜中書侍郎、同中書門下平章事，兼御史大夫。 遷黃門侍郎，拜侍中，兼吏部尚書、弘文館學士。 撰《搖山往則》、《維城前軌》二篇獻之。 手制褒美，詔皇太子、諸王於光順門見光庭，謝所以規諷意。 光庭又引壽安丞李融、拾遺張琪、著作佐郎司馬利賓直弘文館，撰《續春秋經傳》，自戰國訖隋，表請天子修經，光庭等作傳。 書久不就。 時有建言唐應為金德者，中書令蕭嵩請百官普議。 光庭以唐符命表著天下久矣，不可改，亟奏罷之。 二十年，封正平縣男。 初，知星者言，上象變，不利大臣，請禳之。 光庭曰：「使禍可禳而去，則福可祝而來也！」 論者以為知命。 卒，年五十八，贈太師。
After the eastern fengshan rites he was promoted to vice minister of war. In time he was made vice chief minister of the Secretariat, associate chief minister, and censor-in-chief. He rose to vice minister of the Chancellery, was appointed chief minister, and also served as minister of personnel and Hanlin scholar. He composed two essays, Lessons Drawn from Mount Yao and Former Tracks of the City Wall, and presented them to the throne. The emperor answered in his own hand with warm praise and ordered the crown prince and the princes to receive Guangting at Guangshun Gate and thank him for his counsel. Guangting also brought Li Rong, assistant magistrate of Shou'an, remonstrance official Zhang Qi, and archive assistant Sima Libin into the Hanlin Academy to compile a Continuation of the Spring and Autumn Classic and Commentary from the Warring States through Sui, proposing that the emperor compose the classic while he and his colleagues wrote the commentary. The work was never completed. Some then argued that the Tang should adopt the virtue of Metal; Chief Minister Xiao Song called for a general discussion among the officials. Guangting held that the Tang mandate had been plain to the world for generations and could not be altered; he memorialized at once to quash the proposal. In the twentieth year of Kaiyuan he was enfeoffed as Baron of Zhengping. Earlier, an astrologer reported that a change in the heavens boded ill for high ministers and asked that rites of expiation be performed. Guangting said, "If misfortune can be driven off by ritual, then fortune can be summoned by prayer! Commentators took this as proof that he understood destiny. He died at fifty-eight and was posthumously honored as Grand Preceptor.
30
初，吏部求人不以資考為限，所獎拔惟其才，往往得俊乂任之，士亦自奮。 其後士人猥眾，專務趨競，銓品枉橈。 光庭懲之，因行儉長名榜，乃為循資格，無賢不肖，一據資考配擬； 又促選限盡正月。 任門下省主事閻麟之專主過官，凡麟之裁定，光庭輒然可，時語曰：「麟之口，光庭手。」 素與蕭嵩輕重不平，及卒，嵩奏一切罷之，光庭所引，盡斥外官。 博士孫琬以其用循資格，非獎勸之誼，諡曰克平，時以為希嵩意。 帝聞，特賜諡曰忠憲，詔中書令張九齡文其碑。
At first the Ministry of Personnel recruited without strict regard for seniority or service records, promoting men for talent alone; outstanding candidates were often placed in office, and scholars strove accordingly. Later the ranks of candidates swelled, competition became the sole obsession, and appointments grew corrupt. Guangting moved to curb the abuse. Drawing on Xingjian's long-name roster, he instituted the seniority qualification system: worthy or worthless alike, every posting followed service records alone; he also moved the selection deadline forward to the end of the first month. He put Yan Linzhi, a chief clerk of the Chancellery, in sole charge of clearing appointments; whatever Yan ruled, Guangting stamped approved. People said, "Yan's mouth, Guangting's hand. He and Xiao Song had long been rivals in influence. When Guangting died, Song memorialized to abolish the whole system and had every man Guangting had promoted driven out to provincial posts. Erudite Sun Wan, judging that the seniority system was no way to reward merit, proposed the posthumous title Ke Ping; contemporaries saw this as currying favor with Xiao Song. When the emperor learned of this, he personally granted the posthumous title Loyal and Lawful and ordered Chief Minister Zhang Jiuling to write the epitaph.
31
子稹
His son Zhi
32
子稹，以廕仕，累遷起居郎。 開元末，壽王瑁以母寵，欲立為太子，稹陳申生、戾園禍以諫，玄宗改容謝之，詔授給事中。 稹曰：「陛下絕招諫之路，為日滋久，今臣一言而荷殊寵，則言者將眾，何以錫之？」 帝善其讓，止不拜。 俄授祠部員外郎，卒。 子倩，字容卿，曆信刺史我。 勸民墾田二萬畝，以治行賜金紫服，代第五琦為度支郎中。 卒，諡曰節。 子均。
His son Zhi entered service by inherited privilege and rose to diarist of the imperial bedchamber. Late in the Kaiyuan reign, Prince Shou Li Mao, favored through his mother, was nearly named crown prince; Zhi remonstrated by citing the fates of Shen Sheng and Prince Li. Xuanzong's face changed and he thanked him, then ordered him appointed remonstrance officer. Zhi said, "Your Majesty has shut the door to counsel for too long. If a single word from me wins extraordinary favor, remonstrators will multiply—how will you reward them all? The emperor admired his restraint and did not confer the post. Soon afterward he was made outer official in the sacrificial rites bureau, and then died. His son Qian, courtesy name Rongqing, served as prefect of Xin. He urged the people to open twenty thousand mu of farmland; for his record in office he received gold-and-purple robes and replaced Di Wuqi as director of the finance branch. He died and was given the posthumous title Jie. His son was Jun.
33
玄孫均
His great-great-grandson Jun
34
均字君齊，以明經為諸暨尉。 數從使府辟，硜硜以才顯。 張建封鎮濠、壽，表團練判官。 時李希烈以淮、蔡叛，建封扞賊，均參贊之。 以勞加上柱國，襲正平縣男。 遷累膳部郎中，擢荊南節度行軍司馬，就拜荊南節度使。 劉辟叛，先騷黔、巫，脅荊、楚，以固首尾，均發精甲三千，逆擊之，賊望風奔卻。 加檢校吏部尚書。
Jun, courtesy name Junqi, passed the classics examination and became assistant magistrate of Zhuji. Commissioners' staffs recruited him again and again, and he steadily made a name for himself by ability. When Zhang Jianfeng governed Hao and Shou, he recommended Jun as regimental training judge. When Li Xilie rebelled in Huai and Cai, Jianfeng held the rebels at bay and Jun served on his staff. For his service he was made superior pillar of state and inherited the barony of Zhengping. He rose to director in the Ministry of Rites, was promoted to military adjutant of Jingnan, and then appointed military commissioner of Jingnan. When Liu Pi rebelled, he first stirred unrest in Qian and Wu and threatened Jing and Chu to secure his position; Jun sent three thousand elite troops against him, and the rebels broke and fled. He was given the additional title of acting minister of personnel.
35
初，均與崔太素俱事中人竇文場，太素嘗晨省文場，入臥內，自謂待己至厚，徐觀後榻有頻伸者，乃均也。 德宗以均任方鎮，欲遂相之，諫官李約上疏斥均為文場養子，不可汙台輔，乃止。
Jun and Cui Taisu had both served the eunuch Dou Wenchang. Once Taisu called on Wenchang early in the morning and was admitted to the inner chamber, believing himself uniquely favored—until he noticed someone stretching on the couch behind him. It was Jun. Because Jun held a frontier command, Dezong meant to make him chief minister; but remonstrance official Li Yue memorialized that Jun was Wenchang's adopted son and unfit for the highest office, and the appointment was dropped.
36
元和三年，入為尚書右僕射，判度支。 旨唱、授桉、送印，皆尚書郎為之，文武四品五品、郎官、御史拜廷下，御史中丞、左右丞升階答拜，時以為禮太重。 俄檢校左僕射、同中書門下平章事，為山南東道節度使，累封郇國公。 以財交權幸，任將相凡十餘年，荒縱無法度。 卒，年六十二，贈司空。
In 808 he entered the capital as right vice minister of the Secretariat and took charge of the finance branch. Directors performed every step of the appointment ceremony—reading the edict, presenting the document desk, delivering the seal. Civil and military officials of the fourth and fifth ranks, directors, and censors bowed below the hall while the vice censor-in-chief and the left and right assistants mounted the steps to return the bows; many thought the ritual excessive. Soon he was made acting left vice minister, associate chief minister, and military commissioner of eastern Shannan, and was cumulatively enfeoffed as Duke of Xun. He bought favor with the powerful and held high civil and military office for more than a decade, living dissolutely and without restraint. He died at sixty-two and was posthumously honored as minister of works.
37
婁師德
Lou Shide
38
婁師德，字宗仁，鄭州原武人。 第進士，調江都尉。 揚州長史盧承業異之，曰：「子，台輔器也，當以子孫相諉，詎論僚吏哉？」
Lou Shide, courtesy name Zongren, came from Yuanwu in Zhengzhou. He passed the jinshi examination and was appointed assistant magistrate of Jiangdu. Lu Chengye, chief administrator of Yangzhou, was struck by him and said, "You, sir, are destined for the highest office; one should commend you to one's descendants—not speak of you as a mere colleague."
39
上元初，為監察御史。 會吐蕃盜邊，劉審禮戰沒，師德奉使收敗亡於洮河，因使吐蕃。 其首領論贊婆等自赤嶺操牛酒迎勞，師德喻國威信，開陳利害，虜為畏悅。 後募猛士討吐蕃，乃自奮，戴紅抹額來應詔，高宗假朝散大夫，使從軍。 有功，遷殿中侍御史，兼河源軍司馬，並知營田事。 與虜戰白水潤，八遇八克。
Early in the Shangyuan reign he was appointed supervising censor. When Tibet raided the frontier and Liu Shenli fell in battle, Shide was dispatched to gather the scattered survivors on the Taohu front and then sent as envoy to Tibet. Their chieftain Lun Zanpo and others came from Chiling with oxen and wine to welcome him; Shide set forth the empire's majesty and good faith and explained what was to be gained and lost. The Tibetans were awed and won over. When the court later recruited fierce warriors for a campaign against Tibet, he volunteered, bound a red headband, and answered the call. Gaozong temporarily made him a palace gentleman and sent him with the army. For his service he was promoted to palace censor, made vice commander of the Heyuan Army, and put in charge of military colonies as well. He fought the enemy at Baishui Stream and won eight battles in eight engagements.
40
天授初，為左金吾將軍，檢校豐州都督。 衣皮袴，率士屯田，積谷數百萬，兵以饒給，無轉餉和糴之費。 武后降書勞之。 長壽元年，召授夏官侍郎，判尚書事，進同鳳閣鸞台平章事。 後嘗謂師德：「師在邊，必待營田，公不可以劬勞憚也。」 乃復以為河源、積石、懷遠軍及河、蘭、鄯、廓州檢校營田大使。 入遷秋官尚書、原武縣男，改左肅政御史大夫，並知政事。 證聖中，與王孝傑拒吐蕃於洮州，戰素羅汗山，敗績，貶原州員外司馬。 萬歲通天二年，入為鳳閣侍郎、同鳳閣鸞台平章事。 後與武懿宗、狄仁傑分道撫定河北，進納言，更封譙縣子、隴右諸軍大使，復領營田。
Early in the Tianshou reign he was made left Gold Crow general and acting protector-general of Fengzhou. Wearing leather breeches, he led his men in colony farming and stored millions of measures of grain; the army was abundantly supplied without the cost of transport or market purchase. Empress Wu sent an imperial letter commending his achievement. In 692 he was summoned to court, made Vice Minister of Summer Affairs with charge of the Secretariat, and promoted to chief minister. Later the empress told him: "On the frontier you must depend on colony farming—you must not shy from hard labor. He was then sent back out as acting commissioner of military colonies for the Heyuan, Jishi, and Huaiyuan Armies and for He, Lan, Shan, and Kuo prefectures. Recalled to court, he was made Minister of Justice and Baron of Yuanwu, then Left Censor-in-Chief, handling affairs of state throughout. During the Zhengsheng era, he and Wang Xiaojie held Tibet at Taozhou and fought at Mount Siluo Khan; defeated, he was demoted to outside assistant commander of Yuan Prefecture. In 696 he returned to court as Vice Minister of Fengge and chief minister. He then joined Wu Yizong and Di Renjie in separate columns to pacify Hebei, rose to Court Counselor, was re-enfeoffed as Viscount of Qiao, made commissioner of the Longyou armies, and again took charge of military colonies.
41
聖曆三年，突厥入寇，詔檢校并州長史、天兵軍大總管。 九月，卒於會州，年七十。 贈幽州都督，諡曰貞，葬給往還儀仗。
In 699, when the Turks raided, he was ordered to serve as acting chief administrator of Bingzhou and grand commander of the Tianbing Army. In the ninth month he died at Huizhou, aged seventy. Posthumously he was made governor-general of Youzhou and given the posthumous name Zhen; an honor guard was supplied for his funeral procession.
42
師德長八尺，方口博脣。 深沉有度量，人有忤己，輒遜以自免，不見容色。 嘗與李昭德偕行，師德素豐碩，不能遽步，昭德遲之，恚曰：「為田舍子所留。」 師德笑曰：「吾不田舍，復在何人？」 其弟守代州，辭之官，教之耐事。 弟曰：「人有唾面，潔之乃已。」 師德曰：「未也。 潔之，是違其怒，正使自幹耳。」 在夏官注選，選者就按閱簿。 師德曰：「容我擇之可乎？」 選者不去，乃灑筆曰：「墨汙爾！」
Shide stood eight chi tall, with a square mouth and heavy lips. Deep and even-tempered, he bore great forbearance: when anyone slighted him he would yield to avoid offense and never let it show on his face. Once when walking with Li Zhaode, Shide—naturally heavyset—could not keep pace. Zhaode, made to wait, snapped in irritation: "Delayed by some country lout. Shide smiled and said: "If I'm not the country lout, who is?" When his younger brother was leaving to take up the prefecture of Daizhou, Shide counseled him on forbearance. The brother said: "If someone spits in your face, wipe it off and let the matter end. Shide said: "That won't do. To wipe it is to defy their anger—better to let it dry of itself." While serving in the Ministry of War assigning posts, candidates would come up to inspect the roster. Shide would say: "May I choose one for you? If a candidate would not budge, he would flick ink and say: "Look—it's stained you!"
43
狄仁傑未輔政，師德薦之，及同列，數擠令外使。 武后覺，問仁傑曰：「師德賢乎？」 對曰：「為將謹守，賢則不知也。」 又問：「知人乎？」 對曰：「臣嘗同僚，未聞其知人也。」 後曰：「朕用卿，師德薦也，誠知人矣。」 出其奏，仁傑慚，已而歎曰：「婁公盛德，我為所容乃不知，吾不逮遠矣！」 總邊要、為將相者三十年，恭勤樸忠，心無適莫，方酷吏殘鷙，人多不免，獨能以功名始終，與郝處俊相亞，世之言長者，稱婁、郝。
Before Di Renjie entered the chancellery, Shide had recommended him; once they sat together at court, Shide repeatedly maneuvered to send him on missions abroad. Empress Wu noticed and asked Renjie: "Is Shide a worthy man? He answered: "As a general he is cautious and reliable—as to virtue, I cannot say." She asked again: "Does he know men?" He replied: "We served together once, but I never heard that he knew men." She said: "I put you in office on Shide's recommendation. He knows men indeed." She produced the memorial; Renjie was mortified, then sighed: "Lord Lou's magnanimity—I was protected by him and never knew it. I fall far short of him!" For thirty years he commanded the frontier and held civil and military rank, plain-spirited, dutiful, and loyal, favoring none. When cruel officials held sway and few men escaped unscathed, he alone finished his career with honors intact—on a par with Hao Chujun; those who spoke of true elders in that age named Lou and Hao.
44
贊曰：「仁軌等以兵開定四夷，其勇無前，至奉上則瞿瞿若不及，行儉臨下以恕，師德寬厚，其能以功名始終者，蓋近乎勇於敢則殺，勇於不敢則活者邪！
The appraisal reads: "Rengui and his peers opened the four frontiers by arms—their valor unmatched—yet before the throne they were watchful as men barely equal to the task. Xingjian was lenient toward those below; Shide was broad-minded. That they could preserve rank and reputation to the end perhaps comes close to Laozi's saying: to dare in courage is to kill; to dare in not daring is to live.