1
25%
Twenty-five percent.
2
◎列傳第三十六郭二張三王蘇薛程唐
Biographies 36: Guo Xiaoke, two members of the Zhang family, three Wangs, Su Dingfang, Xue Rengui, Cheng Mingzhen, and Tang Xiujing.
3
=郭孝恪=
Guo Xiaoke
4
郭孝恪,許州陽翟人。 少有奇節,不治貲產,父兄以爲無賴。 隋亂,率少年數百附李密。 密喜,謂曰:「世言汝、潁多奇士,不謬也。」 使與李勣守黎陽。 密敗,勣遣孝恪送款,封陽翟郡公,拜宋州刺史。 詔與勣經略武牢以東,所定州縣,委以選補。
Guo Xiaoke was from Yangzhai in Xu Prefecture. As a young man he showed uncommon spirit and paid no heed to the family estate; his father and brothers took him for a good-for-nothing. During the turmoil at the end of the Sui, he gathered several hundred young men and attached himself to Li Mi. Li Mi was delighted and told him, "People say the Ru and Ying region breeds remarkable men, and they are not wrong." He assigned him, together with Li Ji, to hold Liyang. After Li Mi's defeat, Li Ji sent Xiaoke to submit to the Tang court; he was created Duke of Yangzhai and made prefect of Song Prefecture. He was ordered to campaign with Li Ji east of Wulao, and for every prefecture and county they brought under control he was given authority to appoint officials.
5
竇建德之援洛也,孝恪上謁秦王,進計曰:「王世充力竭計窮,其面縛可跂足待。 建德悉眾遠來,糧餉阻絶,殆天亡時也。 若固守武牢,以軍汜水,逐機應變,擒殄必矣!」 王然之。 賊平,置酒大會洛陽宮,語諸將曰:「孝恪策擒賊,王長先下漕,功固在諸君右。」 遷上柱國。 歷貝、趙、江、涇四州刺史,所至有能名。 改左驍衛將軍,累加金紫光祿大夫。
When Dou Jiande marched to relieve Luoyang, Xiaoke presented himself to the Prince of Qin and advised, "Wang Shichong is at the end of his strength and his wits; we can wait at our ease for him to be brought in with hands bound. Jiande has marched his entire army from far away with his supply lines severed; Heaven itself seems ready to destroy him. If we stand firm at Wulao and post our army at Sishui, responding to each turn of events, we are sure to take and destroy him!" The prince agreed. After the rebels were defeated, he held a grand banquet in the Luoyang palace and told his generals, "It was Xiaoke's strategy that brought the enemy down, and Wang Chang was first on the canal route—his achievement is plainly above yours." He was promoted to the rank of Pillar of State. He served in turn as prefect of Bei, Zhao, Jiang, and Jing, and everywhere he went he earned a name for capable administration. He was made general of the Left Majestic Tiger Guard and rose by stages to Grand Master of the Palace with Golden Seal and Purple Ribbon.
6
貞觀十六年,拜涼州都督,改安西都護、西州刺史。 其地高昌舊都,流徙罪人與鎮兵雜,限以沙磧,隔絶中國,孝恪推誠撫禦,盡得其歡心。 初,王師滅高昌,詔以所虜焉耆生口七百還焉耆王。 王叛歸欲谷設可汗,孝恪請擊之,即拜西州道行軍總管,率步騎三千出銀山道,夜襲其王龍突騎支,虜之。 帝悅,降璽書褒勞。
In 642 he was named military governor of Liangzhou, then Protector-General of the Pacified West and prefect of Xizhou. The region was the former capital of Gaochang, where exiled convicts lived among frontier garrisons, separated from the heartland by desert wastes. Xiaoke ruled with open sincerity and kindness and won the people's complete trust. When the imperial forces had earlier destroyed Gaochang, the court had ordered seven hundred Kuchean captives to be returned to the king of Kucha. The king rebelled and fled to the Yehu She Khan. Xiaoke asked leave to strike him, was immediately made commander on the Xizhou campaign route, led three thousand foot and horse out along the Yinshan road, and in a night assault seized King Long Tuqizhi. The emperor was delighted and sent a sealed edict commending him.
7
俄拜昆丘道副大總管,進討龜茲,破其國城,乃自留守,遣餘軍分道進。 龜茲國相那利遁去。 孝恪以餘部未平,出營於外。 國人有謂孝恪曰:「那利素得士心,今亡在外,勢必爲變,城中頗有異志,願公備之。」 孝恪忽其言,不設備。 那利果率眾陰與城內胡爲應,薄城鼓噪,始覺之,乃率千餘人合戰,城中舉應那利,孝恪殊死鬥,中流矢卒,子待詔亦歿。 將軍曹繼叔進兵,復拔其城。 太宗責孝恪斥候不明,至顛覆,奪其官。 後湣死戰,更爲舉哀。 高宗即位,追還官爵,贈待詔遊擊將軍,賻物三百段。
Shortly afterward he was made deputy supreme commander on the Kunqiu route and marched against Kucha. After breaking the capital he stayed behind as garrison commander while the rest of the army advanced along several routes. Nali, the Kuchean chief minister, had escaped. Because the remaining enemy forces were not yet subdued, Xiaoke moved his camp outside the city. A local man warned Xiaoke, "Nali has always commanded the loyalty of the troops. Now that he is free outside the walls he is certain to make trouble, and many inside the city are of doubtful mind. I beg you to be on your guard." Xiaoke ignored the warning and took no precautions. Nali did in fact rally his men and secretly coordinated with the non-Chinese inside the city. They stormed the walls with drums and clamor before Xiaoke understood what was happening. He led a little over a thousand men into a desperate fight while the city rose for Nali. Xiaoke battled to the last and was killed by an arrow; his son Daizhao died as well. General Cao Jishu marched up and recaptured the city. Taizong held Xiaoke responsible for poor intelligence that had led to disaster and posthumously stripped him of rank. Later, moved by pity for his death in battle, the emperor ordered mourning rites held for him again. When Gaozong came to the throne he restored Xiaoke's offices and titles, posthumously made Daizhao General on Campaign of the Palace Attendant, and granted three hundred rolls of burial goods.
8
次子待封,官左豹韜衛將軍。 咸亨初,副薛仁貴討吐番,戰大非川,敗績,貸死爲民。
His second son Daifeng served as general of the Left Leopard Bow Guard. Early in the Xianheng era he served under Xue Rengui against the Tibetans, was defeated at the battle of Dafeichuan, and was spared execution only to be reduced to commoner status.
9
=張儉=
Zhang Jian
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張儉,字師約,京兆新豐人。 隋相州刺史、皖城郡公威孫。 父植,車騎將軍、連城縣公。
Zhang Jian, styled Shiyue, was from Xinfeng in the capital district. He was the grandson of Wei, who had been Sui prefect of Xiangzhou and Duke of Wancheng. His father Zhi was General of Chariots and Cavalry and Duke of Liancheng.
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儉,高祖從外孫也。 高祖起,儉以功除右衛郎將,遷朔州刺史。 時頡利可汗方強,每有求取,所遣書輒稱詔敕,邊吏奉承不敢卻。 及儉,獨拒不受。 大教民營田,歳收谷數十萬斛。 雖霜旱,勸百姓相振贍,免饑殍,州以完安。 李靖既平突厥,有思結部者,窮歸於儉,儉受而安輯之。 其在磧北者,親戚私相過省,儉不禁,示羈縻而已。 儉徙勝州,後將不察其然,遽奏思結叛,朝廷議進討,時儉以母喪,奪服爲使者撫納之。 儉單騎入其部,召酋帥慰諭,推腹心,咸匍匐歸命,因舉徙代州,遂檢校代州都督。 儉勸墾田力耕,歳數稔,私蓄富實。 儉恐虜易驕,乃建平糴法,入之官,虜悅喜,由是儲斛流贏。
Jian was a maternal grandson of a cousin of Gaozu. When Gaozu raised his banner, Jian was made Right Guard commandant for his service and later became prefect of Shuozhou. At that time Khan Jieli was at the height of his power. Every demand arrived in documents styled as imperial edicts, and border officials obeyed them without daring to refuse. Jian alone refused to comply. He vigorously promoted military farming among the people, and each year the harvest ran to several hundred thousand bushels. Even in years of frost and drought he urged mutual relief among the people, kept starvation at bay, and left the prefecture whole and at peace. After Li Jing had defeated the Turks, members of the Sinie tribe, brought to ruin, came to Jian, and he received and pacified them. Those who lived north of the desert crossed back and forth to visit kin; Jian did not stop them, merely signaling a policy of loose control. When Jian was transferred to Shengzhou, a later commander, failing to understand the situation, hastily reported that the Sinie had rebelled and the court debated a punitive campaign. Jian was then in mourning for his mother but set mourning aside to go as envoy and win them back. Jian rode alone into their camps, summoned the chiefs, spoke to them with complete frankness, and won them all to submission on their knees. He then moved the whole tribe to Daizhou and was made acting military governor there. He urged the people to open new land and farm diligently. For several years the harvests were rich and private granaries overflowed. Fearing the tribes would grow arrogant from easy plenty, he instituted a grain-purchase system that channeled surplus into government stores. The tribes were pleased, and government reserves swelled.
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遷營州都督,兼護東夷校尉。 坐事免,詔白衣領職。 營州部與契丹、奚、霫、靺鞨諸蕃切畛,高麗引眾入寇,儉率兵破之,俘斬略盡。 復拜營州都督。 太宗將征遼東,遣儉率蕃兵先進,略地至遼西,川漲,久未度。 帝以爲畏懦,召還。 見洛陽宮,陳水草美惡、山川險易,並久不進狀。 帝悅,拜行軍總管,使領諸蕃騎,爲六軍前鋒。 時高麗候者言莫離支且至,帝詔儉自新城路邀擊,虜不敢出。 儉進度遼,趨建安城,破賊,斬數千級。 累封皖城郡公。 後改東夷校尉官爲都護府,即以儉爲都護。 永徽初,加金紫光祿大夫。 卒,年六十,謚曰密。
He was transferred to military governor of Yingzhou and concurrently Colonel Protecting the Eastern Yi. He was removed from office for an offense but ordered to continue his duties as a commoner in official service. Yingzhou lay cheek by jowl with the Khitan, Xi, Hui, Mohe, and other frontier peoples. When Goguryeo invaded with a large force, Jian met them in battle and all but annihilated them, taking captives and heads in great number. He was again appointed military governor of Yingzhou. When Taizong prepared to campaign against Liaodong he sent Jian ahead with tribal auxiliaries to seize ground as far as western Liaodong, but flooded rivers long kept the army from crossing. The emperor took this for cowardice and recalled him. Received at the Luoyang palace, he explained in a memorial the quality of pastures and waterways, the lay of the land, and why the advance had taken so long. The emperor was pleased, made him commander on campaign, and set him at the head of all tribal cavalry as vanguard of the six armies. When Goguryeo scouts reported that Yeon Gaesomun was approaching, the emperor ordered Jian to ambush him on the Xincheng road, and the enemy did not dare show themselves. Jian crossed the Liao, pushed on to Jian'an, routed the enemy, and took several thousand heads. He was enfeoffed as Duke of Wancheng. Later the office of Colonel of the Eastern Yi was converted into a protectorate, and Jian was made its protector. Early in the Yonghui era he was promoted to Grand Master of the Palace with Golden Seal and Purple Ribbon. He died at the age of sixty and was given the posthumous name Mi.
13
儉兄大師,太僕卿、華州刺史、武功縣男。
Jian's elder brother Dash was Minister of the Imperial Stud, prefect of Hua, and Baron of Wugong.
14
弟延師,左衛大將軍、范陽郡公。 性謹畏,黃羽林兵三十年,未嘗有過。 卒,贈荊州都督,謚曰敬,陪葬昭陵。
His younger brother Yanshi was General-in-Chief of the Left Guard and Duke of Fanyang. He was cautious by nature and served thirty years in the Feathered Forest guard without a single blemish on his record. When he died he was posthumously made military governor of Jingzhou, given the posthumous name Jing, and buried beside Zhaoling.
15
儉兄弟三人門皆立戟,時號「三戟張家」。
All three Zhang brothers kept ceremonial halberds at their gates, and people called them "the house of three halberds."
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=王方翼=
Wang Fangyi
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王方翼,字仲翔,并州祁人。 祖裕,隨州刺史,尚同安大長公主,官開府儀同三司,卒,謚曰文。
Wang Fangyi, styled Zhongxiang, was from Qi in Bing Prefecture. His grandfather Yu was prefect of Suizhou, married the Princess of Tong'an the Greater, rose to the rank of Grand Master with ceremonial privileges equal to the Three Dukes, and after his death received the posthumous name Wen.
18
方翼早孤,哀毀如成人,時號孝童。 母李,爲主所斥,居鳳泉墅。 方翼尚幼,雜庸保,執苦不棄日,墾田植樹,治林垠,既完墻屋,燎松丸墨,爲富家。 主薨,還京師。 嘗夜行,見長人丈餘,引弓射仆之,乃配木也。 太宗聞,擢右千牛。 高宗立,而從祖女弟爲皇后,調安定令,誅滅大姓,奸豪脅息。 徙瀚海都護司馬,坐事下遷朔州尚德府果毅,歳餘代還。 居母喪,哀瘠甚,帝遣侍醫療視。 其友趙持滿誅死,屍諸道,親戚莫敢視,方翼曰:「欒布哭彭越,義也; 周文王掩骼,仁也。 絶友義,蔽主仁,何以事君?」 遂往哭其屍,具禮收葬。 金吾劾繫,帝嘉之,不罪。
Fangyi lost his father early and mourned with the gravity of a grown man; people called him the Filial Child. His mother, Lady Li, had been cast out by the princess and lived at the Fengquan villa. Though still a boy, Fangyi worked alongside hired hands and bondservants, toiling every day without rest. He cleared fields, planted trees, tended the woods, rebuilt the walls and roofs, even made ink from pine soot, and turned the household into a prosperous one. When the princess died he returned to the capital. Once on a night walk he saw a figure more than ten feet tall, drew his bow and felled it, only to find it was a wooden post. When Taizong heard the story he appointed him to the Right Thousand-Ox guard. When Gaozong came to the throne a cousin on his father's side became empress. Fangyi was made magistrate of Anding, where he broke the great clans and cowed the local bullies into silence. He was transferred to be marshal of the Hanhai Protectorate, then demoted for an offense to captain of a company in Shangde, Shuozhou. After a little more than a year he was relieved and recalled. During mourning for his mother he grew dangerously thin with grief, and the emperor sent court physicians to care for him. His friend Zhao Chiman was executed and his body left on the road; none of his kin dared approach. Fangyi said, "When Luan Bu mourned Peng Yue he acted in the name of righteousness; when King Wen of Zhou buried the unburied dead he acted in the name of benevolence. If one cuts off the righteousness owed a friend and hides a ruler's benevolence, how can one serve one's lord?" He went to weep over the body and buried it with full ceremony. The Golden Crow guard arrested him, but the emperor commended him and imposed no punishment.
19
再遷肅州刺史。 州無隍塹,寇易以攻,方翼乃發卒建樓堞,廝多樂水自環,烽邏精明。 儀鳳間,河西蝗,獨不至方翼境,而它郡民或餒死,皆重繭走方翼治下。 乃出私錢作水硙,簿其贏,以濟饑瘵,構舍數十百楹居之,全活甚眾,芝產其地。
He was again promoted to prefect of Suzhou. The prefecture had no walls or moat and was easy prey for raiders. Fangyi drafted laborers to build towers and battlements, diverted the Duoled River to ring the city, and organized beacons and patrols with exceptional care. During the Yifeng era locusts ravaged the Hexi region but did not touch Fangyi's jurisdiction. In neighboring prefectures people starved, and refugees in ragged layers of clothing flocked to his domain. He spent his own money to build water mills, recorded their profits, and used the proceeds to relieve famine and disease. He put up hundreds of rooms to shelter the destitute and saved a great multitude; miraculous fungus even appeared in his territory.
20
裴行儉討遮匐,奏爲副,兼檢校安西都護,徙故都護杜懷寶爲庭州刺史。 方翼築碎葉城,面三門,紆還多趣以詭出入,五旬畢。 西域胡縱觀,莫測其方略,悉獻珍貨。 未幾,徙方翼庭州刺史,而懷寶自金山都護更鎮安西,遂失蕃戎之和。
When Pei Xingjian campaigned against Zhefu he asked for Fangyi as his deputy and acting Protector-General of the Pacified West, while the former protector Du Huaibao was moved to prefect of Tingzhou. Fangyi built the city of Suyab with three gates and a maze of winding approaches designed to confuse attackers, and finished it in fifty days. Western peoples came in crowds to watch and, unable to guess his design, all brought him tribute of rare goods. Before long Fangyi was moved to Tingzhou while Huaibao was shifted from the Golden Mountain protectorate back to the Pacified West, and harmony with the frontier peoples was lost.
21
永淳初,十姓阿史那車簿啜叛,圍弓月城,方翼引軍戰伊麗河。 敗之,斬首千級。 俄而三姓咽面兵十萬踵至,方翼次熱海,進戰,矢著臂,引佩刀斷去,左右莫知。 所部雜虜謀執方翼爲內應,方翼悉召會軍中,厚賜,以次出壁外,縛之。 會大風,雜金鼓,而號呼無聞者,殺七千人。 即遣騎分道襲咽面等,皆驚潰,烏鶻引兵遁去,擒首領突騎施等三百人,西戎震服。 初,方翼次葛水,暴漲,師不可度,沈祭以禱,師涉而濟。 又七月次葉河,無舟,而冰一昔合。 時以爲祥。
Early in the Yongchun era Chebochuo of the Ashina of the Ten Surnames rebelled and besieged Gongyue. Fangyi led his army to battle on the Yili River. He defeated them and took a thousand heads. Soon a hundred thousand warriors of the Three Surnames of Yanmian came up behind him. Fangyi made camp at the Hot Sea and gave battle. An arrow struck his arm; he cut it off with his belt knife without those around him noticing. Some of the mixed tribesmen in his command plotted to seize him as a hostage for the enemy. Fangyi summoned them all into camp, lavished gifts on them, then had them led out beyond the walls one by one and bound. A great wind arose just then. He mingled the clash of gongs and drums with the storm so that his men's cries could not be heard, and put seven thousand to death. He immediately sent cavalry along separate routes against the Yanmian and others, who broke in panic. Wugu fled with his army, and three hundred chieftains including those of the Turgesh were taken. The western peoples submitted in awe. Earlier, when Fangyi halted at the Ge River, a sudden flood made crossing impossible. He cast offerings into the water in prayer, and the army forded the river and reached the far bank. In the seventh month he camped at the Ye River without boats, yet overnight the ice formed a solid bridge. People took this as a sign of Heaven's favor.
22
西域平,以功遷夏州都督。 屬牛疫,民廢田作,方翼爲耦耕法,張機鍵,力省而見功多,百姓順賴。 明年,召方翼議西域事,引見奉天宮,賜食帝前,帝見衣有汙濯處,問其故,具對熱海苦戰狀。 視其創,帝咨嗟久之,賜賚良厚。
After the Western Regions were pacified he was promoted to military governor of Xia Prefecture for his achievements. When a cattle plague left the fields untilled, Fangyi introduced paired-plow farming with mechanical rigging that saved labor while increasing yield, and the people came to depend on him. The following year Fangyi was summoned to discuss affairs in the west and received at Fengtian Palace, where the emperor fed him at table. Seeing stains on his robes, the emperor asked the cause, and Fangyi told in full of the hard fighting at the Hot Sea. The emperor examined his wounds, sighed long in admiration, and gave him lavish rewards.
23
俄而妖賊白鐵餘以綏州反,詔方翼與程務挺討之。 飛■擊賊,火其柵,平之,封太原郡公。 阿史那元珍入寇,被詔進擊。 時庫無完鎧,方翼斷六板,畫虎文,鉤聯解合,賊馬忽見,奔駭,遂敗,獲大將二,因降桑乾、舍利二部。
Soon the rebel Bai Tieyu rose at Suizhou, and Fangyi was ordered with Cheng Wuting to put him down. He battered the rebels with catapult stones, burned their stockades, and crushed the revolt, for which he was created Duke of Taiyuan. When Ashina Yuanzhen invaded he was ordered to take the field against him. The armory had no whole suits of armor, so Fangyi cut six boards, painted them with tigers, and hinged them together. Enemy horses took fright at the sight and bolted. He routed the foe, took two senior generals, and won the submission of the Sanggan and Sheli tribes.
24
武后時,王后屬無在者,方翼自視功多,冀不坐,而後內欲因罪除之,未得也。 及務挺被殺,即並坐方翼,追入朝,捕送獄,流崖州,卒於道,年六十三。 神龍初,復官爵。 方翼善書,與魏叔琬齊名。 方翼子珣子珣,字伯玉,與兄璵、弟瑨以文學稱,時號「三王」。 天授初,珣及進士第,應制科,遷藍田尉。 以拔萃擢長安尉,因進見,武后召問刑政,嘉之。 詢其族氏,對曰:「廢後,臣之姑也。」 後不悅,左遷亳州司法參軍。 神龍初,爲河南丞,武三思矯制貶臨川令。 宋璟輔政,召授侍御史。 出許州長史。 歳旱,珣時假刺史事,開廩振民,即自劾,玄宗赦之。 累遷工部侍郎。 而瑨至中書舍人。 珣嘗爲秘書少監,數年而瑨繼職。 終右散騎常侍,卒。 贈戸部尚書,謚曰孝。
Under Empress Wu none of the Wang clan still survived. Fangyi, counting his many services, hoped to escape punishment, while the empress within the palace sought a pretext to destroy him but had not yet found one. When Wuting was executed Fangyi was implicated, summoned to court, imprisoned, and exiled to Yazhou. He died on the road at the age of sixty-three. Early in the Shenlong era his offices and titles were restored. Fangyi was an accomplished calligrapher, ranked with Wei Shuyan. Fangyi's son Xun, styled Boyu, with his elder brother Yu and younger brother Jin were known for literary talent and were called "the three Wangs." Early in the Tianshou era Xun passed the jinshi and special imperial examinations and was made assistant magistrate of Lantian. Promoted for exceptional merit to assistant magistrate of Chang'an, he was presented at court. Empress Wu questioned him on criminal law and commended him. She asked his lineage. He replied, "The deposed empress was my aunt." The empress was displeased and demoted him to legal adjutant at Bozhou. Early in the Shenlong era he was vice-prefect of Henan until Wu Sansi forged an edict demoting him to magistrate of Linchuan. When Song Jing took power he was recalled and made attendant censor. He was sent out as chief administrator of Xu Prefecture. During a drought, while acting prefect he opened the granaries to feed the people, then impeached himself. Xuanzong pardoned him. He rose by stages to Vice Minister of Works. His brother Jin rose to drafting secretary in the Secretariat. Xun had once been vice director of the Palace Library; several years later Jin succeeded him in that office. He ended his career as Right Regular Attendant of the Cavalry and died. He was posthumously made Minister of Revenue and given the posthumous name Xiao.
25
子鋗,天寶中歷右補闕、殿中侍御史。 瑨子鉷,自有傳。
His son Tao served in the Tianbao era as Right Remonstrator and palace censor. Jin's son Hong has a separate biography.
26
=蘇烈=
Su Dingfang
27
蘇烈,字定方,以字行,冀州武邑人,後徙始平。 父邕,當隋季,率里中數千人爲本郡討賊。 定方驍悍有氣決,年十五,從父戰,數先登陷陣。 邕卒,代領其眾,破劇賊張金稱、楊公卿,追北數十里,自是賊不舍境,鄕黨賴之。
Su Lie, styled Dingfang and known by that name, was from Wuyi in Ji Prefecture and later moved to Shiping. His father Yong, in the closing years of the Sui, led several thousand local men in the commandery's campaigns against bandits. Dingfang was fierce and resolute. At fifteen he fought under his father and many times was first over the wall and into the enemy ranks. After Yong's death he took command, defeated the major bandits Zhang Jincheng and Yang Gongqing, and pursued them north for miles. From then on bandits did not dare cross the border, and the countryside owed him its safety.
28
貞觀初,爲匡道府折衝,從李靖襲突厥頡利於磧口,率彀馬二百爲前鋒,乘霧行,去賊一里許,霧霽,見牙帳,馳殺數十百人,頡利及隋公主惶窘各遁去,靖亦尋至,餘黨悉降。 再遷左衛中郎將。 與程名振討高麗,破之。 拜右屯衛將軍、臨清縣公。
Early in the Zhenguan era he was a garrison colonel at Kuangdao and followed Li Jing's raid on the Turk khan Jieli at Qikou. Leading two hundred armored horsemen as vanguard through the fog, he emerged a li from the enemy camp, saw the royal tent, and charged, killing hundreds. Jieli and the Sui princess fled in panic. Li Jing arrived soon after and the rest surrendered. He was promoted again to commandant of the Left Guard. He campaigned against Goguryeo with Cheng Mingzhen and defeated them. He was made general of the Right Garrison Guard and Duke of Linqing.
29
從蔥山道大總管程知節征賀魯,至鷹娑川,賀魯率二萬騎來拒,總管蘇海政連戰未決,鼠尼施等復引二萬騎爲援。 定方始休士,見塵起,率精騎五百,逾嶺馳搗賊營,賊眾大潰,殺千餘人,所棄鎧仗、牛馬藉藉山野不可計。 副總管王文度疾其功,謬謂知節曰:「賊雖走,軍死傷者眾。 今當結輜重陣間,被甲而趨,賊來即戰,是謂萬全。」 又矯制收軍不深入。 於是馬癯卒勞,無鬥志。 定方説知節曰:「天子詔討賊,今反自守,何功之立哉? 且公爲大將,而閫外之事不得專,顧副將乃得專之,理不其然! 胡不囚文度待天子命?」 不從。 至怛篤城,有胡人降,文度猥曰:「師還而降,且爲賊,不如殺之,取其貲。」 定方曰:「此乃自作賊耳,寧曰伐叛!」 及分財,定方一不取。 高宗知之,比知節等還,悉下吏,當死,貸爲民。
He followed supreme commander Cheng Zhijie on the Congshan route against Helu. At the Yingsuo River, Helu met them with twenty thousand horsemen. Su Haizheng fought repeated engagements without a clear outcome while Shunishi brought another twenty thousand horsemen in support. Dingfang had just let the men rest when he saw dust on the horizon. He led five hundred elite horsemen over the ridge in a dash on the enemy camp. The rebels broke in rout; more than a thousand were killed, and armor, weapons, cattle, and horses lay strewn across the hills beyond count. Deputy commander Wang Wendu, jealous of his success, falsely told Zhijie, "The enemy may have fled, but our casualties are heavy. We should march with the baggage train in the center of the formation, fully armored, and fight only when the enemy comes—that is the safe course." He also forged an order halting the advance. The horses grew thin, the men exhausted, and fighting spirit collapsed. Dingfang urged Zhijie, "The emperor ordered us to destroy the rebels. If we merely defend ourselves, what achievement can we claim? You are the supreme commander, yet a deputy decides what happens beyond the frontier while you may not—that cannot be right! Why not arrest Wendu and await the emperor's orders?" Zhijie would not listen. At Tandu city some non-Chinese submitted. Wendu said roughly, "They surrender only because we are turning back and will rebel again. Better kill them and seize their goods." Dingfang said, "That would make us the rebels ourselves. We came to punish rebellion!" When the spoils were divided, Dingfang took nothing. When Gaozong learned of this and Zhijie and the others returned, all were arrested, condemned to death, and spared only by reduction to commoner status.
30
擢定方伊麗道行軍大總管,復徵賀魯,以任雅相、回紇婆潤爲副。 出金山北,先擊處木昆部,破之,俟斤嬾獨祿擁眾萬帳降,定方撫之,發其千騎並回紇萬人,進至曳咥河。 賀魯率十姓兵十萬拒戰,輕定方兵少,舒左右翼包之。 定方令步卒據高,攢槊外向,親引勁騎陣北原。 賊三突步陣,不能入,定方因其亂擊之,鏖戰三十里,斬首數萬級,賊大奔。 明日,振兵復進,五弩失畢舉眾降,賀魯獨與處木昆屈律啜數百騎西走。 定方令副將蕭嗣業、回紇婆潤率雜虜兵趨邪羅斯川追北,定方與雅相領新附兵絶其後。 會大雪,吏請少休,定方曰:「虜恃雪,方止舍,謂我不能進,若縱使遠遁,則莫能擒。」 遂勒兵進至雙河,與彌射、步真合,距賀魯所百里,下令陣而行,薄金牙山。 方賀魯將畋,定方縱擊,破其牙下數萬人,悉歸所部。 賀魯走石國,彌射子元爽以兵與嗣業會,縛賀魯以還。 由是脩亭障,列蹊隧,定疆畛,問疾收胔,唐之州縣極西海矣。 高宗臨軒,定方戎服奉賀魯以獻。 策功拜左驍衛大將軍、邢國公,別封子慶節爲武邑縣公。
Dingfang was made supreme commander on the Yili route and again marched against Helu, with Ren Yaxiang and the Uyghur Boporun as his deputies. Marching north of the Golden Mountain, he first defeated the Chumukun tribe. The yagbu Nandulu submitted with ten thousand tents. Dingfang won them over, took a thousand of their horsemen with ten thousand Uyghurs, and advanced to the Yeqi River. Helu met him with a hundred thousand warriors of the Ten Surnames, thinking Dingfang's force too small and spreading both wings to envelop him. Dingfang posted his infantry on high ground with spears leveled outward and personally led his best cavalry onto the plain to the north. The enemy charged the infantry line three times without breaking through. Dingfang struck them in the confusion, fought for thirty li, took tens of thousands of heads, and put the enemy to rout. The next day he advanced again. The five Nuoshi tribes all submitted. Helu fled west with only a few hundred horsemen of the Chumukun Quelü tribe. Dingfang sent deputies Xiao Siye and the Uyghur Boporun with tribal auxiliaries in pursuit along the Yaluo River while he and Yaxiang cut off the rear with newly submitted troops. Heavy snow fell and his officers asked to rest. Dingfang said, "The enemy trusts the snow and thinks we cannot advance. If we let them escape far away we shall never take them." He pressed on to Shuanghe, joined Mizhe and Buzhen, came within a hundred li of Helu, ordered the army to advance in battle order, and closed on Golden Tooth Mountain. Helu was out hunting when Dingfang struck, routed the tens of thousands at his royal camp, and brought them all back under imperial authority. Helu fled to the kingdom of Shi. Mizhe's son Yuanshuang joined Siye, bound Helu, and brought him back. They repaired frontier posts, opened roads and passes, fixed boundaries, tended the sick and gathered the dead, and Tang administration reached to the Western Sea. Gaozong received him at the palace steps as Dingfang, in armor, presented Helu as a captive. For his merit he was made General-in-Chief of the Left Majestic Tiger Guard and Duke of Xing, and his son Qingjie was separately enfeoffed as Duke of Wuyi.
31
會思結闕俟斤都曼先鎮諸胡,劫所部及疏勒、硃俱波、喝般陀三國復叛,詔定方還爲安撫大使。 率兵至葉葉水,而賊堞馬頭川。 定方選精卒萬、騎三千襲之,晝夜馳三百里,至其所。 都曼驚,戰無素,遂大敗,走馬保城。 師進攻之,都曼計窮,遂面縛降。 俘獻於乾陽殿,有司請論如法。 定方頓首請曰:「臣向諭陛下意,許以不死,願丐其命。」 帝曰:「朕爲卿全信。」 乃宥之。 蔥嶺以西遂定。 加食邢州鉅鹿三百戸,遷左武衛大將軍。
Duman, yagbu of the Sinie, who had once governed the western peoples, led his followers and the states of Shule, Zhujubo, and Hepantuo in rebellion. Dingfang was ordered back as Pacification Commissioner. He led his army to the Yeya River while the rebels fortified at Matou River. Dingfang chose ten thousand elite foot soldiers and three thousand horsemen, rode day and night three hundred li, and fell on them. Duman was taken by surprise, his men fought without discipline, and he was routed. He fled on horseback into his walled camp. The army pressed the siege until Duman, at his wits' end, came out with hands bound to surrender. The captive was presented at Qianyang Hall, and the judicial offices asked that he be punished according to law. Dingfang kowtowed and said, "I had already conveyed Your Majesty's promise that he would not die. I beg that his life be spared." The emperor said, "For your sake I will keep that promise intact." And he pardoned Duman. The lands west of the Pamirs were thus secured. He received an additional three hundred households at Julu in Xing Prefecture and was made General-in-Chief of the Left Martial Guard.
32
出爲神丘道大總管,率師討百濟。 自城山濟海至熊津口,賊瀕江屯兵,定方出左涯,乘山而陣,與之戰,賊敗,死者數千。 王師乘潮而上,舳艫銜尾進,鼓而噪,定方將步騎夾引,直趨真都城。 賊傾國來,酣戰,破之,殺虜萬人,乘勝入其郛,王義慈及太子隆北走。 定方進圍其城,義慈子泰自立爲王,率眾固守。 義慈之孫文思曰:「王與太子出,而叔豈得擅爲王? 若王師還,我父子安得全?」 遂率左右縋城下,人多從之,泰不能止。 定方使士登城,建唐旗幟。 於是泰開門請命,其將禰植與義慈降,隆及諸城送款,百濟平,俘義慈、隆、泰等獻東都。
He was sent out as supreme commander on the Shenqiu route to campaign against Baekje. From Chenshan he crossed the sea to Ungjin, where the enemy lined the riverbank. Dingfang came out on the left flank, drew up on the heights, routed them, and left several thousand dead. The imperial fleet rode the tide upstream, ships stem to stern, drums and shouts rolling. Dingfang led foot and horse on both flanks straight for the capital at Sabi. The enemy met them with the whole kingdom, fought a bitter battle, and were broken. Ten thousand were killed or captured. Pressing the victory into the outer city, King Uija and Crown Prince Yung fled north. Dingfang besieged the city while Uija's son Tae declared himself king and held out with the remaining forces. Uija's grandson Mun-ui said, "The king and crown prince have fled. How can an uncle make himself king? If the Tang army withdraws, how will my father and I survive?" He led his followers down the wall by rope. Many followed, and Tae could not stop them. Dingfang sent men onto the walls to raise the banners of Tang. Tae then opened the gates and submitted. His general Miruk surrendered with Uija, Yung and the other cities sent pledges of loyalty, Baekje was pacified, and Uija, Yung, Tae, and the rest were sent as captives to the Eastern Capital.
33
定方所滅三國,皆生執其王,賞賚珍寶不勝計,加慶節尚輦奉御。 未幾,定方爲遼東道行軍大總管,俄徙平壤道。 破高麗之眾於浿江,奪馬邑山爲營,遂圍平壤。 會大雪,解圍還。 拜涼州安集大使,以定吐蕃、吐谷渾。 乾封二年卒,年七十六。 帝悼之,責謂侍臣曰:「定方於國有功,當褒贈,若等不言,何邪?」 乃贈左驍衛大將軍、幽州都督,謚曰莊。
In the three kingdoms Dingfang destroyed he took every king alive. Rewards of treasure were beyond count, and Qingjie was made chief of the imperial carriage service. Soon he was made supreme commander on the Liaodong route, then transferred to the Pyongyang route. He defeated the Goguryeo army at the Pae River, seized Mayi Mountain for his camp, and besieged Pyongyang. Heavy snow forced him to lift the siege and withdraw. He was made Pacification Commissioner of Liangzhou to settle relations with Tibet and Tuyuhun. He died in 667 at the age of seventy-six. The emperor mourned him and rebuked his ministers: "Dingfang served the state with distinction and deserved posthumous honors. Why did none of you speak?" He then posthumously made him General-in-Chief of the Left Majestic Tiger Guard and military governor of Youzhou, with the posthumous name Zhuang.
34
=薛仁貴=
Xue Rengui
35
薛仁貴,絳州龍門人。 少貧賤,以田爲業。 將改葬其先,妻柳曰:「夫有高世之材,要須遇時乃發。 今天子自征遼東,求猛將,此難得之時,君盍圖功名以自顯? 富貴還鄕,葬未晩。」 仁貴乃往見將軍張士貴應募。
Xue Rengui was from Longmen in Jiang Prefecture. In his youth he was poor and obscure, earning his living as a farmer. As he was preparing to rebury his forebears, his wife Liu said, "You have gifts that outshine your generation—you need only the right moment for them to flourish. The emperor is leading the campaign in Liaodong himself and searching for bold commanders. Such a moment does not come twice. Why not win honor and make your name known? Return home in wealth and high station—the dead can wait for their tomb. Rengui took her counsel and went to General Zhang Shigui to enlist.
36
至安地,會郎將劉君邛爲賊所圍,仁貴馳救之,斬賊將,系首馬鞍,賊皆懾伏,由是知名。 王師攻安市城,高麗莫離支遣將高延壽等率兵二十萬拒戰,倚山結屯,太宗命諸將分擊之。 仁貴恃驍悍,欲立奇功,乃著白衣自標顯,持戟,腰鞬兩弓,呼而馳,所向披靡; 軍乘之,賊遂奔潰。 帝望見,遣使馳問:「先鋒白衣者誰?」 曰:「薛仁貴。」 帝召見,嗟異,賜金帛、口馬甚眾,授遊擊將軍、雲泉府果毅,令北門長上。 師還,帝謂曰:「朕舊將皆老,欲擢驍勇付閫外事,莫如卿者。 朕不喜得遼東,喜得皦將。」 遷右領軍中郎將。
At Andi he found Langjiang Liu Junqiong surrounded by enemy troops. Rengui rode to his relief, cut down the rebel leader, and tied the severed head to his saddle until every foe shrank back in terror. His fame dates from that day. When the imperial forces besieged Ancheng, Yeon Gaesomun of Goguryeo dispatched Gao Yanshou and others with two hundred thousand men to meet them, camping with the mountains at their backs. Emperor Taizong ordered his commanders to strike from several directions. Confident in his ferocity, Rengui meant to win an unheard-of victory. He donned white so all could see him, took up a halberd, slung two bows at his belt, and with a battle cry spurred forward—every line he hit gave way before him. The main force swept up behind him, and the enemy broke and ran. The emperor saw it from afar and sent a mounted courier to ask, "Who is that white-clad man leading the charge? The answer came: "Xue Rengui. The emperor received him in audience, expressed astonishment, and lavished gold, silk, and horses upon him. He was made General of Guerrilla Warfare and Guoyi of the Yunquan Guard, and assigned to permanent duty at the North Gate. On the army's return the emperor told him, "My old commanders are aging. I mean to raise up a fierce champion and give him charge of campaigns abroad—and no one suits that role better than you. I do not rejoice over winning Liaodong—I rejoice over winning a shining general. He was promoted to Right Colonel of the Imperial Guard.
37
高宗幸萬年宮,山水暴至,夜突玄武門,宿衛皆散走,仁貴曰:「當天子緩急,安可懼死?」 遂登門大呼,以警宮內,帝遽出乘高。 俄而水入帝寢,帝曰:「賴卿以免,始知有忠臣也。」 賜以御馬。
When Emperor Gaozong was staying at Wannian Palace, a flash flood struck and in the night burst through the Xuanwu Gate. The palace guards fled in every direction. Rengui cried, "When the emperor's life hangs in the balance, who may shrink from death? He climbed the gate and shouted to rouse the palace. The emperor hastened out and scaled the heights. Soon the flood reached the imperial bedchamber. The emperor said, "I owe my life to you. Now at last I know what a loyal servant is. He was given one of the emperor's own horses.
38
蘇定方討賀魯,仁貴上疏曰:「臣聞兵出無名,事故不成,明其爲賊,敵乃可服。 今泥熟不事賀魯,爲其所破,虜系妻子。 王師有於賀魯部落轉得其家口者,宜悉取以還,厚加賚遣,使百姓知賀魯爲暴而陛下至德也。」 帝納之,遂還其家屬,泥熟請隨軍效死。
During Su Dingfang's campaign against Helu, Rengui memorialized the throne: "I have heard that armies sent forth without a righteous name cannot prevail. Only when the wicked are clearly marked out will the foe acknowledge defeat. The Nishu tribes refuse Helu's rule and were crushed by him; their families are held captive. Wherever our forces have recovered such families from Helu's camps, they should all be restored to their people with generous gifts. Let the folk learn that Helu is a tyrant and Your Majesty a ruler of supreme virtue. The emperor approved the plan. Their families were sent home, and the Nishu begged to march with the army and die in its ranks.
39
顯慶三年,詔副程名振經略遼東,破高麗於貴端城,斬首三千級。 明年,與梁建方、契苾何力遇高麗大將溫沙多門,戰橫山,仁貴獨馳入,所射皆應弦仆。 又戰石城,有善射者,殺官軍十餘人,仁貴怒,單騎突擊,賊弓矢俱廢,遂生擒之。 俄與辛文陵破契丹於黑山,執其王阿卜固獻東都。 拜左武衛將軍,封河東縣男。
In 658 he was appointed deputy to Cheng Mingzhen for operations in Liaodong. They routed Goguryeo at Guiduan City and counted three thousand enemy dead. The following year, with Liang Jianfang and Qibi Heli, he met the Goguryeo commander Wen Shadumen at Hengshan. Rengui galloped deep into the enemy alone—every shaft he let fly struck home. At Shicheng an enemy marksman had killed more than a dozen imperial troops. Rengui, enraged, rode out alone. The man's bow failed him, and Rengui took him alive. Soon he and Xin Wenling smashed the Khitan at Black Mountain, captured their king Abu'gu, and brought him before the court at Luoyang. He was made General of the Left Martial Guard and created Baron of Hedong County.
40
詔副鄭仁泰爲鐵勒道行軍總管。 將行,宴內殿,帝曰:「古善射有穿七劄者,卿試以五甲射焉。」 仁貴一發洞貫,帝大驚,更取堅甲賜之。 時九姓眾十餘萬,令驍騎數十來挑戰,仁貴發三矢,輒殺三人,於是虜氣懾,皆降。 仁貴慮爲後患,悉坑之。 轉討磧北餘眾,擒偽葉護兄弟三人以歸。 軍中歌曰:「將軍三箭定天山,壯士長歌入漢關。」 九姓遂衰。
He was appointed deputy to Zheng Rentai, commander of the Tiele campaign route. On the eve of departure the emperor entertained him in the inner hall. "Ancient masters pierced seven thicknesses of felt," he said. "Show me what you can do against five suits of armor. With a single arrow Rengui drove clean through them. The emperor, astonished, ordered heavier armor brought and bestowed it on him. The Nine Surname confederation mustered more than a hundred thousand men. They sent a few dozen of their fiercest riders to offer combat. Rengui fired three arrows and brought down three men. The enemy's courage broke, and they submitted. Fearing they would rise again, Rengui had every one of them executed by burial alive. He then campaigned against the remnants north of the desert and brought back the three brothers of the rebel yabghu. A camp song ran: "Three arrows from the general settled the Tian Mountains; bold men marched home in triumph through the frontier passes of Han. From that day the Nine Surname confederation waned.
41
鐵勒有思結、多覽葛等部,先保天山,及仁泰至,懼而降,仁泰不納,虜其家以賞軍,賊相率遁去。 有候騎言:「虜輜重畜牧被野,可往取。」 仁泰選騎萬四千卷甲馳,絶大漠,至仙萼河,不見虜,糧盡還。 人饑相食,比入塞,餘兵纔二十之一。 仁貴亦取所部爲妾,多納賕遣,爲有司劾奏,以功見原。
The Tiele tribes of Sijie, Dolangege, and others had sheltered on the Tian Mountains. When Rentai arrived they submitted in fear, but he refused them. He took their families as booty to reward the troops, and the enemy bands slipped away in succession. A patrol rider reported, "Enemy baggage and livestock cover the plain—we can ride out and seize them. Rentai chose fourteen thousand armored riders and raced across the desert to the Xian'e River. They found no foe and turned back when their grain was spent. Starvation drove them to cannibalism. By the time they reached the frontier, barely one soldier in twenty remained. Rengui too had taken women from his ranks as concubines and accepted numerous bribes. Officials impeached him, but his past service won him pardon.
42
乾封初,高麗泉男生內附,遣將軍龐同善、高偘往慰納,弟男建率國人拒弗納,乃詔仁貴率師援送同善。 至新城,夜爲虜襲,仁貴擊之,斬數百級。 同善進次金山,衄虜不敢前,高麗乘勝進,仁貴擊虜斷爲二,眾即潰,斬馘五千,拔南蘇、木底、蒼巖三城,遂會男生軍。 手詔勞勉。 仁貴負銳,提卒二千進攻扶餘城,諸將以兵寡勸止。 仁貴曰:「在善用,不在眾。」 身帥士,遇賊輒破,殺萬餘人,拔其城,因旁海略地,與李勣軍合。 扶餘既降,它四十城相率送款,威震遼海。 有詔仁貴率兵二萬與劉仁軌鎮平壤,拜本衛大將軍,封平陽郡公,檢校安東都護,移治新城。 撫孤存老,檢制盜賊,隨才任職,褒崇節義,高麗士眾皆欣然忘亡。
Early in the Qianfeng era, Ch'ŏn Namsan of Goguryeo came over to the Tang. The court sent Generals Pang Tongshan and Gao Kan to welcome him. His brother Namgeon rallied the kingdom to block them, and Rengui was ordered to march to Tongshan's aid. At Xincheng the enemy struck by night. Rengui counterattacked and took several hundred heads. Tongshan pushed on to Jinshan, where the enemy was checked and held back. Goguryeo pressed the advantage, but Rengui split their force in two and the army broke at once. Five thousand heads were counted, the cities of Nansu, Mudi, and Cangyan were taken, and he joined Namsan's force. The emperor sent a letter in his own hand to praise and encourage him. Trusting his crack troops, Rengui led two thousand men against Fuyu City. The other commanders, citing their small numbers, urged him to hold back. Rengui replied, "Victory depends on how troops are used, not on how many there are. He led the men himself. Every clash ended in victory. More than ten thousand were killed, the city fell, and he swept the coast before linking up with Li Ji's army. After Fuyu submitted, forty other cities followed suit. His fame thundered across the Liaohai coast. An edict placed Rengui, with twenty thousand men, under Liu Ren'gui to garrison Pyongyang. He was made Grand General of his guard, created Duke of Pingyang, named provisional Protector-General of Andong, and moved his seat to Xincheng. He cared for orphans and the elderly, checked banditry, appointed men by merit, and honored loyalty and righteousness. The people of Goguryeo took heart and almost forgot their kingdom was gone.
43
咸亨元年,吐蕃入寇,命爲邏娑道行軍大總管,率將軍阿史那道真、郭待封擊之,以援吐谷渾。 侍封嘗爲鄯城鎮守,與仁貴等夷,及是,恥居其下,頗違節度。 初,軍次大非川,將趨烏海,仁貴曰:「烏海地險而瘴,吾入死地,可謂危道,然速則有功,遲則敗。 今大非嶺寬平,可置二柵,悉內輜重,留萬人守之,吾倍道掩賊不整,滅之矣。」 乃約賫,至河口,遇賊,破之,多所殺掠,獲牛羊萬計。 進至烏海城,以待後援。 待封初不從,領輜重踵進,吐蕃率眾二十萬邀擊取之,糧仗盡沒,待封保險。 仁貴退軍大非川,吐蕃益兵四十萬來戰,王師大敗。 仁貴與吐蕃將論欽陵約和,乃得還,吐谷渾遂沒。 仁貴嘆曰:「今歳在庚午,星在降婁,不應有事西方,鄧艾所以死於蜀,吾固知必敗。」 有詔原死,除名爲庶人。
In 670 Tibet invaded. Rengui was made Grand General of the Luosuo campaign route and, with Generals Ashina Daozhen and Guo Daifeng, marched to strike the Tibetans and relieve Tuyuhun. Daifeng had once been garrison commander at Zhan City and had stood equal with Rengui. Now he resented serving beneath him and often defied his orders. When the army halted at Danaichuan, bound for Wuhai, Rengui said, "Wuhai is treacherous ground, thick with miasma—we are marching into a death trap. Still, speed will bring victory; delay will bring ruin. The Danaichuan ridge is broad and open. Set up two stockades there, put all baggage inside, leave ten thousand men to guard it, and we can double our march and catch the enemy unprepared. They agreed on the plan and pressed to the river mouth, where they routed the enemy, slaughtered and plundered freely, and took cattle and sheep by the tens of thousands. They pushed on to Wuhai City and waited for the rear guard. Daifeng at first refused. He trailed behind with the baggage, and two hundred thousand Tibetans intercepted him. Provisions and arms were lost entirely, and Daifeng held a defensible position. Rengui fell back to Danaichuan. Tibet reinforced to four hundred thousand men and gave battle. The imperial army was routed. Rengui negotiated peace with the Tibetan general Lun Qinling and only then got his army out. Tuyuhun was lost. Rengui sighed, "This is the year gengwu, with the stars in Jianglou—there should be no business in the west. Deng Ai died in Shu for just such a reason. I knew from the first we were doomed. An edict spared his life but stripped his rank and reduced him to commoner status.
44
未幾,高麗餘眾叛,起爲雞林道總管。 復坐事貶象州,會赦還。 帝思其功,乃召見曰:「疇歳萬年宮,微卿,我且爲魚。 前日殄九姓,破高麗,爾功居多。 人有言向在烏海城下縱虜不擊,以至失利,此朕所恨而疑也。 今遼西不寧,瓜、沙路絶,卿安得高枕不爲朕指麾邪? 於是拜瓜州長史、右領軍衛將軍、檢校代州都督,率兵擊突厥元珍於雲州。 突厥問曰:「唐將爲誰?」 曰:「薛仁貴。」 突厥曰:「吾聞薛將軍流象州死矣,安得復生?」 仁貴脫兜鍪見之,突厥相視失色,下馬羅拜,稍稍遁去。 仁貴因進擊,大破之,斬首萬級,獲生口三萬,牛馬稱是。
Before long the Goguryeo remnant forces rebelled, and he was raised up as Commander of the Jilin route. He was again demoted to Xiang Prefecture for another offense, then restored when an amnesty was declared. The emperor remembered his service and summoned him. "Years ago at Wannian Palace," he said, "but for you I would have drowned like a fish. When you crushed the Nine Surnames and broke Goguryeo, no one did more than you. Some say that below Wuhai City you let the enemy go without striking, and that is why we lost. That is what I resent—and what I doubt. Liaoxi is unsettled now, and the roads to Guazhou and Shazhou are cut. How can you sleep easy and refuse to fight for me? He was then made Prefect of Guazhou, General of the Right Imperial Guard, and provisional Governor of Daizhou, and sent to strike the Turk Yuan Zhen at Yun Prefecture. The Turks asked, "Who commands the Tang army? The answer came: "Xue Rengui. The Turks said, "We heard General Xue was exiled to Xiang Prefecture and died there. How can he be alive again? Rengui removed his helmet and showed his face. The Turks stared at one another, paled, dismounted, and bowed low before drifting away. Rengui pressed the attack and routed them utterly. Ten thousand heads were taken, thirty thousand captives seized, and cattle and horses beyond count.
45
永淳二年卒,年七十。 贈左驍衛大將軍、幽州都督,官給輿,護喪還鄕里。 仁貴子訥子訥,字慎言,起家城門郎,遷藍田令。 富人倪氏訟息錢於肅政臺,中丞來俊臣受賕,發義倉粟數千斛償之。 訥曰:「義倉本備水旱,安可絶眾人之仰私一家?」 報上不與。 會俊臣得罪,亦止。
He died in 683, at the age of seventy. He was posthumously honored as Grand General of the Left Martial Cavalry Guard and Governor of Youzhou. The state provided a funeral carriage and escorted his body home. Rengui's son Ne, styled Shenyan, began his career as a Gate Guard Officer and was promoted to magistrate of Lantian. A wealthy Ni clansman brought suit at the Suizheng Office over interest on a loan. Censor-in-Chief Lai Junchen took a bribe and ordered several thousand bushels from the Public Granary paid to settle the claim. Ne said, "The Public Granary exists to guard against flood and drought. How can we cut off the people's food to enrich one family? He reported to the throne, and the grain was not issued. When Junchen fell from power, the matter was dropped as well.
46
後突厥擾河北,武后以訥世將,詔攝左威衛將軍、安東道經略使。 對同明殿,具言:「醜虜馮暴,以廬陵王藉言,今雖還東宮,議不堅信。 若太子無動,賊不討而解。」 後納其言。 俄遷幽州都督、安東都護。 改并州長史,檢校左衛大將軍。 訥久處邊,有戰功。 開元初,玄宗講武新豐,詔訥爲左軍節度。 時諸部頗失序,唯訥與解琬軍不動。 帝令輕騎召之,至軍門,不得入。 禮成,尤見慰勞。
Later, when the Turks raided Hebei, Empress Wu, noting Ne's lineage of generals, ordered him to serve provisionally as General of the Left Martial Guard and Commissioner for the Eastern Campaign route. At Tongming Hall he explained in full: "The barbarians are brutal and cite the Prince of Luling as their pretext. Though he has returned to the Eastern Palace, the court still doubts his loyalty. If the Crown Prince is seen to stand firm, the raiders will melt away without a fight. The empress later took his advice. Soon he was transferred to Governor of Youzhou and Protector-General of Andong. He was reassigned as Prefect of Bingzhou and made provisional Grand General of the Left Guard. Ne had long served on the frontier and won distinction in battle. Early in the Kaiyuan era, Emperor Xuanzong held military exercises at Xinfeng and appointed Ne commander of the Left Army. The other units fell into disorder, but Ne and Jie Wan kept their armies in perfect formation. The emperor sent light cavalry to summon them, but when the riders reached the camp gate they were turned away. When the exercises ended, the emperor singled him out for praise and reward.
47
明年,契丹、奚、突厥連和,數入邊,訥建議請討,詔監門將軍杜賓客、定州刺史崔宣道與訥帥眾二萬出檀州。 賓各議「方暑,士負戈贏糧深討,慮恐無功」,姚元崇亦持不可,訥獨曰:「夏草薦茂,羔犢方息,不費饋饟因盜資,振國威靈,不可失也。」 天子方欲誇威四夷,喜奇功,乃聽訥言,而授紫微黃門三品以重之。 師至灤河,與賊遇,諸將不如約,爲虜覆,盡亡其軍。 訥脫身走,而罪宣道及大將李思敬等八人,有詔斬以徇,獨賓客免,盡奪訥官爵。
The next year the Khitan, Xi, and Turks allied and raided the frontier repeatedly. Ne urged a punitive campaign. Du Binke, General of the Gate Guards, and Cui Xuandao, Prefect of Dingzhou, were ordered to join him with twenty thousand men marching from Tan Prefecture. Binke and the others argued that in midsummer, troops laden with arms and extra grain on a deep strike would likely fail. Yao Yuanchong agreed. Ne alone said, "Summer grass is thick, lambs and calves are resting—we need little supply and can live off the raiders' stores. To show the empire's might, this chance must not be lost. The emperor wished to awe the four quarters and loved bold strokes of victory. He accepted Ne's plan and granted him Third Rank at the Ziwei and Huangmen to lend weight to his command. The army reached the Luan River and met the enemy. The commanders failed to keep their plan, were overrun, and the whole force was destroyed. Ne escaped alive. Cui Xuandao, the great general Li Sijing, and six others were held accountable and beheaded by edict as a warning. Only Binke was spared. All of Ne's offices and titles were stripped away.
48
俄而吐蕃大酋坌達延、乞力徐等眾十萬寇臨洮,入蘭州,剽牧馬,詔訥白衣攝羽林將軍,爲隴右防禦使,與王晙擊之。 追及賊,戰武階驛,犄角劫之,破其眾; 尾北至洮水,又戰長城堡,殺鹵數萬,擒其酋六指鄕彌洪,悉收所掠及仗械不貲。 時帝欲自將北伐,及訥大克,乃止行。 命紫微舍人倪若水即軍陟功狀,拜訥左羽林大將軍,復封平陽郡公,以子暢爲朝散大夫。 又授涼州鎮軍大總管,赤水、建康、河源邊州皆隸節度。 俄爲朔方行軍大總管。 久之,以老致仕。 卒,年七十二,贈太常卿,謚曰昭定。
Soon the great Tibetan chieftains Ben Dayan and Qili Xu led a hundred thousand men against Lintao, entered Lan Prefecture, and drove off the pastured horses. Ne was ordered to serve in plain clothes as provisional General of the Feathered Forest and Defender of Longyou, and marched with Wang Jun to strike them. They overtook the enemy and fought at Wujie Post, attacking from two sides and breaking their force; Pursuing north to the Tao River, they fought again at Changcheng Fort, killed tens of thousands of the enemy, captured the chieftain Liuzhi Xiangmihong, and recovered all the plunder together with weapons and gear beyond reckoning. The emperor had been planning to lead the northern campaign himself, but when Ne won a great victory, he abandoned the idea. He ordered Palace Secretariat Attendant Ni Ruoshui to the camp to register achievements. Ne was made General of the Left Feathered Forest, restored as Duke of Pingyang, and his son Chang was appointed Grand Master of Palace Attendance. He was also made Grand General Pacifying the Army of Liang Prefecture, with the frontier prefectures Chishui, Jiankang, and Heyuan placed under his authority. Before long he was made Grand Commander on Campaign of the Shuofang route. After many years he retired on account of old age. He died at seventy-two. He was posthumously made Minister of Ceremonies and given the posthumous name Zhaoding.
49
訥性沈勇寡言,其用兵,臨大敵益壯。 訥弟楚玉弟楚玉,開元中爲范陽節度使,以不職廢。 生子嵩。 楚玉子嵩嵩生燕、薊間,氣豪邁,不肯事產利,以膂力騎射自將。 豫安祿山亂,晩爲史朝義守相州。 仆固懷恩破朝義,長驅河朔,嵩震懼,迎拜軍門,懷恩釋之,奏爲檢校刑部尚書、相衛洺邢等州節度使。 方大亂後,人亦厭禍,嵩謹奉職,頗有治名。 大歷初,封高平郡王,實封二百戸,號其軍爲昭義。 遷檢校尚書右僕射,更封平陽。 七年卒,贈太保。
Ne was deep-spirited and brave, sparing of speech. In battle he grew bolder still when facing a formidable foe. Ne's younger brother Chuyu served as military governor of Fanyang in the Kaiyuan era and was removed for dereliction of duty. He had a son, Song. Chuyu's son Song was born in the Yan and Ji region. Bold and high-spirited, he scorned trade and profit and lived by his strength, horsemanship, and archery. He joined An Lushan's rebellion and later defended Xiang Prefecture for Shi Chaoyi. When Pugu Huai'en defeated Chaoyi and swept through Heshuo, Song was terrified. He went out to submit at the camp gate, and Huai'en spared him and recommended him as Acting Minister of Justice and military governor of Xiang, Wei, Ming, Xing, and neighboring prefectures. In the aftermath of the great rebellion, when the people had had their fill of disaster, Song served conscientiously and earned a name for capable administration. Early in the Dali era he was made Prince of Gaoping with a fief of two hundred households, and his army was named the Zhaoyi command. He was promoted to Acting Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and re-enfeoffed as Duke of Pingyang. He died in the seventh year and was posthumously made Grand Mentor.
50
詔其弟㟧知留後事,累加檢校太子少師。 十年,爲其將裴誌清所逐,以兵歸田承嗣。 㟧奔洺州。 請入朝,降服待罪銀臺門,赦之。 乃分其地,以蒿族子擇爲相州刺史,雄衛州刺史,堅洺州刺史。 承嗣誘雄亂,不從,遣客刺殺之。
An edict appointed his younger brother Yi to handle affairs in his stead, and Yi was repeatedly promoted to Acting Junior Tutor of the Heir Apparent. In the tenth year his general Pei Zhicheng expelled him, and he took his troops over to Tian Chengsi. He fled to Ming Prefecture. He asked to come to court, appeared in mourning dress to await judgment at the Silver Terrace Gate, and was pardoned. His territory was then divided. Song's clansman Ze was made prefect of Xiang, Xiong prefect of Wei, and Jian prefect of Ming. Chengsi tried to incite Xiong to rebel. When Xiong refused, Chengsi sent an assassin to kill him.
51
初,嵩好蹴踘,隱士劉鋼勸止曰:「爲樂甚眾,何必乘危邀晷刻歡?」 嵩悅,圖其形坐右。 嵩子平。 嵩子平平字坦途,年十二,爲磁州刺史。 父喪,軍吏以故事脅知留務,偽許之,已而讓㟧,夕以喪歸。 累授右衛將軍,宿衛三十年。 宰相杜黃掌擢爲汝州刺史,治有風績。 王師討蔡,繇左龍武大將軍授鄭滑節度使,數戰有功。 始,河溢瓠子,東泛滑,距城才二里所。 平按求故道出黎陽西南,因命其佐裴弘泰往請魏博節度使田弘正,弘正許之。 乃籍民田所當者易以它地,疏道二十里,以釃水悍,還壖田七百頃於河南,自是滑人無患。 入爲左金吾衛大將軍。 未幾,復帥鄭滑。
At first Song was fond of cuju. The recluse Liu Gang urged him to stop, saying, "There are many pleasures in life. Why risk yourself for a moment's sport?" Song was pleased and had Liu's portrait painted and kept at his side. Song had a son, Ping. Song's son Ping, styled Tantu, became prefect of Ci Prefecture at the age of twelve. When his father died, the army officers pressed him by precedent to take charge of affairs. He pretended to agree, then yielded to Yi and returned home that evening to observe mourning. He rose to General of the Right Guard and served in palace guard duty for thirty years. Chief Minister Du Huangshang promoted him to prefect of Ru Prefecture, where he governed with distinction. When the imperial army marched against Cai, he was made military governor of Zheng and Hua from his post as General of the Left Dragon Martial and won merit in several battles. At first the Yellow River burst its banks at Huzi and flooded east toward Hua, coming within two li of the city walls. Ping traced the old channel southwest of Liyang and sent his aide Pei Hongtai to ask Weibo military governor Tian Hongzheng for permission. Hongzheng agreed. He registered the fields that would be affected and compensated the owners with other land, dredged a channel twenty li long, and because the river remained fierce, restored seven hundred qing of embankment land south of the river. After that the people of Hua were free from further trouble. He was recalled to court as General of the Left Golden Guard. Before long he was again put in command of Zheng and Hua.
52
李師道平,詔分淄、青、齊、登、萊五州爲平盧軍,徙平爲節度使。 王庭湊圍牛元翼,棣州危,詔平出援。 平遣將李叔佐率兵二千往,刺史王稷饋餉陋狹,眾潰而歸,推突將馬士端爲帥,劫屯士萬人,薄州堞。 城中兵寡,平悉公帑家貲募銳卒二千迎戰,以奇兵掩賊輜重,賊狼顧,遂大敗,降,餘黨平。 引謀亂者二千人斬堂皇下,脅從皆縱還田里,威震一方。 詔遷檢校尚書右僕射,封魏國公。 在鎮六年,兵鎧完礪,徭賦均一。 寶歷初,入朝,民鄣路願留,數日得出。 拜檢校司空、河中降隰節度使,復得隸晉、慈二州,益兵三千。 進檢校司徒,更封韓召拜太子太保。 以司徒致仕。 卒,年八十,贈太傅。 平子從子從,字順之,以廕授左清道率府兵曹參軍,累遷汾州刺史,隄文谷、濾河二水,引溉公私田,汾人利之。 徙濮州,儲粟二萬斛以備凶災。 於是山東大水,詔右司郎中趙傑爲賑恤使,傑表其才,擢將作監。 終左領軍衛上將軍。 贈工部尚書。
After Li Shidao was defeated, an edict divided Zi, Qing, Qi, Deng, and Lai into the Pinglu command and made Ping its military governor. When Wang Tingcou besieged Niu Yuanyi and Di Prefecture was in danger, Ping was ordered to march to its relief. Ping sent his general Li Shuzuo with two thousand men. Prefect Wang Ji supplied provisions that were meager and poor, and the troops broke and fled. They chose the vanguard soldier Ma Shiduan as leader, rallied ten thousand mutineers, and pressed against the city walls. With few troops in the city, Ping spent the public treasury and his own fortune to raise two thousand elite soldiers and met the enemy in battle. A flanking force struck the rebels' baggage train, and the rebels broke in panic. They surrendered, and the remaining mutineers were pacified. He executed two thousand ringleaders beneath the main hall and released those who had been coerced, sending them back to their farms. His authority shook the whole region. He was promoted to Acting Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs and enfeoffed as Duke of Wei. During six years in command he kept armor and weapons in perfect order and levies and taxes fair and uniform. Early in the Baoli era he came to court. The people blocked the road begging him to stay, and several days passed before he could leave. He was made Acting Minister of Works and military governor of Hezhong, Jiang, and Xi, regained authority over Jin and Ci prefectures, and was given three thousand additional troops. He was promoted to Acting Minister of Education, re-enfeoffed as Duke of Han, and appointed Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent. He retired as Minister of Education. He died at eighty and was posthumously made Grand Preceptor. Ping's nephew Cong, styled Shunzhi, entered service by inherited privilege as Army Staff Officer of the Left Clear Way Guard Command and rose to prefect of Fen Prefecture. He built dikes on the Wen Valley and Lu Rivers and irrigated public and private fields, to the great benefit of the people of Fen. Transferred to Pu Prefecture, he stored twenty thousand hu of grain against famine. When Shandong was struck by severe flooding, Zhao Jie of the Right Department was made relief commissioner. Jie recommended Cong's abilities, and Cong was promoted to Director of Palace Construction. He ended his career as Senior General of the Left Army Guard. He was posthumously made Minister of Works.
53
=程務挺=
Cheng Wuting
54
程務挺,洺州平恩人。 父名振,隋大業末,仕竇建德爲普樂令,盜不跡境。 俄棄賊自歸,高祖詔授永寧令,使率兵經略河北,即夜襲鄴縣,俘男女千餘人以歸,去數舍,閱婦人方乳者九十餘人,還之,鄴人感其仁。 劉黑闥陷洺州,名振與刺史陳君賓自拔歸,母妻爲賊所得。 名振率眾千餘,掠冀、貝、滄、瀛等州,邀擊糧道,悉毀賊水陸餉具。 黑闥怒,殺其母妻。 賊平,請手斬黑闥,以其首祭母。 拜營州長史,封東平郡公,賜物二千段、黃金三百兩。 轉洺州刺史。 太宗征遼東,召問方略,不合旨,帝勃然詰之,名振辯對益詳,帝意解,謂左右曰:「房玄齡常在朕前,見朕嗔餘人,色不能主。 名振生平未識我,一旦誚讓,而辭吐不屈,奇士哉!」 拜右驍衛將軍,平壤道行軍總管。 攻沙卑城,破獨山陣,皆以少擊眾,號爲名將。 遷營州都督,兼東夷都護。 擊高麗於貴端水,焚其新城。 歷晉、蒲二州刺史,鏤方道總管。 卒,贈右衛大將軍,謚曰烈。
Cheng Wuting was from Ping'en in Ming Prefecture. His father Mingzhen served Dou Jiande as magistrate of Pule in the final years of the Sui. Under his rule thieves vanished from the district. He soon abandoned the rebels and surrendered to Tang. Emperor Gaozu appointed him magistrate of Yongning and sent him to pacify Hebei. That same night he raided Ye County and brought back more than a thousand captives. Several stops later he found more than ninety nursing mothers among them and sent them home. The people of Ye were deeply moved by his kindness. When Liu Heita captured Ming Prefecture, Mingzhen and Prefect Chen Junbin fought their way out to rejoin the Tang. His mother and wife were captured by the rebels. Mingzhen led more than a thousand men in raids across Ji, Bei, Cang, Ying, and neighboring prefectures, cutting supply lines and destroying the rebels' provisions and transport by land and water. Enraged, Heita executed his mother and wife. After the rebels were defeated, he asked to behead Heita with his own hand and offer the head in sacrifice to his mother. He was made Chief Administrator of Ying Prefecture and Duke of Dongping, and granted two thousand bolts of goods and three hundred liang of gold. He was then made prefect of Ming Prefecture. When Emperor Taizong campaigned against Liaodong, he summoned Mingzhen to discuss strategy. The answers displeased him, and he questioned Mingzhen angrily. Mingzhen replied in ever greater detail until the emperor's mood softened. He said to those around him, "Fang Xuanling is always at my side, yet when he sees me angry at others he cannot hide his fear. Mingzhen had never met me before, yet when I rebuked him his words never faltered. What a remarkable man!" He was made General of the Right Valiant Cavalry Guard and Commander on Campaign of the Pyongyang route. He took Shabei City and broke the Dushan formation, each time defeating larger forces with smaller ones, and was acclaimed as a famous general. He was made Area Commander of Ying Prefecture and Protector-General of the Eastern Barbarians. He attacked Goguryeo at Guiduan River and burned their new city. He served as prefect of Jin and Pu prefectures and as Commander of the Lufang route. He died and was posthumously made General of the Right Guard, with the posthumous name Lie.
55
務挺少從父征討,以勇力聞,拜右領軍衛中郎將。 破突厥六萬騎於雲州。 會偽可汗阿史那伏念叛,總管李文暕等三將以次奔敗。 詔裴行儉討之,以務挺副,檢校豐州都督。 時伏念屯金牙山,務挺與副總管唐玄表引兵赴之,伏念懼,乃間道降於行儉,故裴炎以爲非行儉功,遷務挺右武衛將軍,封平原郡公。
Wuting followed his father on campaign from youth and won fame for courage and strength. He was appointed Captain of the Right Army Guard. At Yun Prefecture he routed sixty thousand Turkic horsemen. When the false khan Ashina Funian rebelled, three commanders including Li Wenliang were defeated in turn and fled. Pei Xingjian was ordered to suppress the rebellion, with Wuting as his deputy and Acting Area Commander of Feng Prefecture. Funian was encamped at Golden Tooth Mountain. Wuting and Vice Commander Tang Xuanbiao marched against him, and Funian, afraid, surrendered by a hidden route to Xingjian. Pei Yan therefore argued that the credit belonged not to Xingjian but to Wuting, who was promoted to General of the Right Martial Guard and enfeoffed as Duke of Pingyuan.
56
綏州部落稽白鐵餘據城平叛,建偽號,署置百官,進攻綏德、大斌,殺官吏,火區舍。 詔務挺與夏州都督王方翼討之,務挺生擒白鐵餘。 進左驍衛大將軍,檢校左羽林軍。 嗣聖初,與右領軍大將軍張虔勖等豫廢中宗、立豫王爲皇帝,累被褒賚。 以左武衛大將軍爲單于道安撫大使,禦突厥。 務挺善綏禦,士服其威愛,突厥憚之,不敢盜邊。
The Suizhou tribesman Ji Baitieyu seized a city and rebelled, proclaimed himself ruler, appointed officials, attacked Suide and Dabin, killed officials, and burned dwellings throughout the region. Wuting and Wang Fangyi, Area Commander of Xia Prefecture, were ordered to suppress the rebellion, and Wuting captured Baitieyu alive. He was promoted to General of the Left Valiant Cavalry Guard and Acting Commander of the Left Feathered Forest Army. Early in the Sisheng era he joined Senior General of the Right Army Guard Zhang Qianxu and others in deposing Emperor Zhongzong and enthroning the Prince of Yu. He was repeatedly rewarded for his role. As General of the Left Martial Guard he was made Pacification Commissioner of the Chanyu route to guard against the Turks. Wuting excelled at frontier pacification. His soldiers respected both his authority and his kindness, the Turks feared him, and border raids ceased.
57
裴炎下獄,務挺密表申治,又素與唐之奇、杜求仁善,或言務挺與炎及徐敬業潛相援結,後遣左鷹揚將軍裴紹業即軍中斬之,籍其家。 突厥聞務挺死,率相慶,爲立祠,每出師,輒禱焉。
When Pei Yan was imprisoned, Wuting secretly memorialized in his defense. He had long been friendly with Tang Zhiqi and Du Qiuren, and some claimed he was secretly allied with Yan and Xu Jingye. The empress sent General of the Left Hawkish Yang Pei Shaoye to the camp to execute him and confiscate his property. When the Turks heard of Wuting's death they celebrated together, built a shrine in his honor, and prayed there whenever they took the field.
58
=王孝傑=
Wang Xiaojie
59
王孝傑,京兆新豐人。 少以軍功進。 儀鳳中,劉審禮討吐蕃,孝傑以副總管戰大非川,爲虜執,贊普見之,曰「貌類吾父」,故不死,歸之。 武后時,爲右鷹揚衛將軍。 孝傑居虜中久,悉其虛實。 長壽元年,爲武威道總管,與阿史那忠節討吐蕃,克龜茲、于闐、疏勒、碎葉等城。 武后曰:「貞觀中,西境在四鎮,其後不善守,棄之吐蕃。 今故土盡復,孝傑功也。」 乃遷左衛大將軍。 進夏官尚書、同鳳閣鸞臺三品,清源縣男。 證聖初,復爲朔方道總管,與吐蕃戰不利,免。
Wang Xiaojie was from Xinfeng in Jingzhao. He rose early through military merit. During the Yifeng era Liu Shenli campaigned against Tibet. Xiaojie fought as vice commander at Dafei River and was captured. The Tibetan emperor saw him and said, "You look like my father," and spared his life and sent him home. Under Empress Wu he served as General of the Right Hawkish Yang Guard. Having lived long among the Tibetans, Xiaojie knew their strengths and weaknesses intimately. In 692 he was made Commander of the Wuwei route and, with Ashina Zhongjie, campaigned against Tibet and recaptured Kucha, Khotan, Kashgar, Suyab, and other cities. Empress Wu said, "In the Zhenguan era the western frontier was held by the Four Garrisons, but later they were poorly defended and lost to Tibet. Now the old territory has been fully recovered. That is Xiaojie's achievement." She then promoted him to General of the Left Guard. He was promoted to Minister of the Summer Office with Third Rank at court and made Baron of Qingyuan County. Early in the Zhengsheng era he was again made Commander of the Shuofang route, but after an unsuccessful battle with Tibet he was removed from office.
60
會契丹李盡忠等叛,有詔起白衣爲清邊道總管,將兵十八萬討之。 軍至東硤石谷,與賊接。 道隘虜眾,孝傑率銳兵先驅,出谷整陣,與賊戰,而後軍總管蘇宏暉以其軍退,援不至,爲虜所乘,軍潰,孝傑墮谷死,士相蹂且盡。 初,進軍平州,白鼠晝入營屯伏。 皆謂「鼠坎精,胡象也,白質歸命,天亡之兆」。 及戰,乃孝傑覆焉。 時張説以管記還白狀,後問之,説具陳:「孝傑乃心國家,敢深入,以少當眾,雖敗,功可録也。」 乃贈夏官尚書、耿國公,以其子無擇爲朝散大夫。 遣使者斬宏暉,使未至而宏暉已立功,遂贖罪。
When the Khitan Li Jinzhong and others rebelled, an edict recalled him from civilian life as Commander of the Qingbian route at the head of one hundred eighty thousand men. The army reached East Xiashi Valley and met the enemy. The pass was narrow and the enemy numerous. Xiaojie led elite troops as vanguard, marched out of the valley, formed ranks, and gave battle. But Rear Commander Su Honghui withdrew his forces, reinforcements never came, and the enemy seized the advantage. The army collapsed. Xiaojie fell into the valley and died, and the soldiers trampled one another until nearly all were lost. Earlier, as the army marched on Ping Prefecture, white rats entered the camp in broad daylight and hid there. All said, "The rat is the spirit of the kan trigram and the image of the northern barbarians. White creatures submitting by day is an omen that Heaven will destroy them." When battle was joined, the omen was fulfilled and Xiaojie was destroyed. At the time Zhang Yue had returned as recorder to report what had happened. The Empress later questioned him, and Yue set it all forth: "Xiaojie was utterly loyal to the state. He dared to drive deep, matched many with few, and though he was defeated, his merit deserves to be recorded." She then posthumously appointed him Minister of the Summer Office and Duke of Geng, and made his son Wuzhe Grand Master of Palace Leisure. An envoy was dispatched to execute Honghui, but before the envoy arrived Honghui had already won distinction in battle, and his punishment was therefore remitted.
61
=唐璿=
Tang Xiujing
62
唐璿,字休璟,以字行,京兆始平人。 曾祖規,爲後周驃騎大將軍。 休璟少孤,授《易》於馬嘉運,傳《禮》於賈公彥,舉明經高第。 爲呉王府典簽,改營州戸曹參軍。 會突厥誘奚、契丹叛,都督周道務以兵授休璟,破之於獨護山,數馘多,遷朔州長史。
Tang Xiujing, courtesy name Xiujing, styled himself by his courtesy name. He was from Shiping in Jingzhao. His great-grandfather Gui had served as Grand General of Cavalry under the Later Zhou. Xiujing lost his father while still young. He studied the Book of Changes under Ma Jiayun and the Rites under Jia Gongyan, and passed the Mingjing examination with highest honors. He served as recorder in the household of the Prince of Wu, then was transferred to Assistant Magistrate for Households in Ying Prefecture. When the Turks incited the Xi and Khitan to rebel, Area Commander Zhou Daowu gave Xiujing command of troops, and he defeated them at Mount Duhu. He took many heads and was promoted to Chief Administrator of Shuozhou.
63
永淳中,突厥圍豐州,都督崔智辯戰死,朝廷議棄豐保靈、夏。 休璟以爲不可,上疏曰:「豐州控河遏寇,號爲襟帶,自秦、漢以來,常郡縣之。 土田良美,宜耕牧。 隋季喪亂,不能堅守,乃遷就寧、慶,戎羯得以乘利而交侵,始以靈、夏爲邊。 唐初,募人以實之,西北一隅得以完固。 今而廢之,則河傍地復爲賊有,而靈、夏亦不足自安,非國家利也。」 高宗從其言。 垂拱中,遷安西副都護。 會吐蕃破焉耆,安息道大總管韋待價等敗,休璟收其潰亡,以定西土,授靈州都督。 乃陳方略,請復四鎮。 武后遣王孝傑拔龜茲等城,自休璟倡之。
During the Yongchun era the Turks besieged Feng Prefecture. Area Commander Cui Zhibian fell in battle, and the court debated abandoning Feng and holding only Ling and Xia. Xiujing held that this must not be done and memorialized: "Feng Prefecture commands the river and blocks invaders. It is called the collar and belt of the frontier. Since Qin and Han it has regularly been administered as commandery and county. Its soil and fields are excellent and suited to farming and grazing. At the end of the Sui, in the turmoil of collapse, it could not be held firm, so the seat was moved to Ning and Qing. The Rong and Jie were then able to exploit the opening and raid one another, and Ling and Xia became the frontier. Early in the Tang, men were recruited to settle it, and the northwest corner was thereby made secure. If it is abandoned now, the lands along the river will again fall to the enemy, and Ling and Xia will no longer be secure in themselves. That would not serve the state." Emperor Gaozong accepted his view. During the Chuigong era he was transferred to Vice Protector-General of Anxi. When Tibet destroyed Yanqi and Grand Commander Wei Daijia and others on the Anxi route were defeated, Xiujing gathered the scattered survivors, stabilized the western territories, and was appointed Area Commander of Ling Prefecture. He then laid out a plan and petitioned for the recovery of the Four Garrisons. Empress Wu sent Wang Xiaojie to recover Kucha and the other cities—an initiative that had begun with Xiujing.
64
聖歷中,授涼州都督、右肅政御史大夫、持節隴右諸軍副大使。 吐蕃大將曲莽布支率騎數萬寇涼州,入洪源谷,休璟以兵數千臨高望之,見賊旗鎧鮮明,謂麾下曰:「吐蕃自欽陵死,贊婆降,莽布支新將兵,欲以示武,且其下皆貴臣酋豪子弟,騎雖精,不習戰,吾爲諸君取之。」 乃被甲先登,六戰皆克,斬二將,獲首二千五百,築京觀而還。 吐蕃來請和,既宴,使者屢覘休璟,後問焉,對曰:「洪源之戰,是將軍多殺臣士卒,其勇無比,今願識之。」 後嗟異,擢爲右武威、金吾二衛大將軍。
In the Shenli era he was appointed Area Commander of Liang Prefecture, Right Censorate Grand Censor, and Vice Commissioner of the Longyou armies with plenipotentiary powers. The Tibetan general Qu Mangbuzhi led tens of thousands of horsemen against Liang Prefecture and entered Hongyuan Valley. Xiujing, with several thousand men, took the high ground and looked down on them. He saw the enemy banners and armor gleaming bright and said to his officers, "Since Qinling's death and Zhanpo's surrender, Mangbuzhi has newly taken command and means to show off his martial prowess. Moreover, those under him are all sons of great ministers and tribal chiefs. Their horses may be fine, but they are unused to battle. I will win them for you." He then donned armor and led the charge. Six battles, six victories. Two generals were beheaded and 2,500 heads taken. He built a victory mound and returned. Tibet came to sue for peace. After the banquet the envoy kept studying Xiujing from afar. The Empress later asked why, and the reply was, "At the battle of Hongyuan that general killed many of our soldiers. His bravery has no equal. We wished now to know him by sight." The Empress marveled and promoted him to Grand General of the Right Martial Wei and Golden Guard.
65
西突厥烏質勒失諸蕃和,舉兵相攻,安西道閉。 武后詔休璟與宰相計議,不少選,畫所當施行者。 既而邊州建請屯置,盡如休璟策。 後曰:「恨用卿晩。」 進拜夏官尚書、同鳳閣鸞臺三品。 後誚楊再思、李嶠、姚元崇等曰:「休璟諫知邊事,卿輩十不當一。」 改太子右庶子,仍知政事。
The Western Turk Wuzhile fell out with the various frontier peoples and raised troops to attack one another, and the Anxi route was closed. Empress Wu ordered Xiujing to consult with the chief ministers. He made no hasty choices and mapped out what should be carried out. Before long the frontier prefectures submitted plans for garrison settlements, all exactly as Xiujing had proposed. The Empress said, "I regret having used you so late." He was promoted to Minister of the Summer Office with Third Rank at court. The Empress mocked Yang Zaisi, Li Jiao, Yao Yuanchong, and the others, saying, "When Xiujing advises on frontier affairs, not one of you is worth ten of him." He was made Right Vice Grand Master of the Heir Apparent but continued to handle affairs of state.
66
會契丹入塞,復以夏官尚書檢校幽營等州都督、安東都護。 時中宗爲皇太子,休璟將行,進啟曰:「易之兄弟恩寵過幸,數入禁閫,非人臣所宜,願加防察。」 帝復位,召授輔國大將軍、同中書門下三品、酒泉郡公。 謂曰:「初欲召公計事,以有北狄憂,前日直言,今未忘也。」 加特進、尚書右僕射,賜邑戸三百,封宋國公。
When the Khitan raided across the border, he was again made Minister of the Summer Office with acting authority as Area Commander of You, Ying, and other prefectures and Protector-General of Andong. At the time Zhongzong was crown prince. As Xiujing was about to depart, he submitted a memorial: "The Zhang brothers enjoy favor beyond what is proper. They enter the forbidden inner quarters again and again—conduct unbecoming a subject. I beg that they be watched closely." When the Emperor was restored to the throne, Xiujing was summoned and appointed Grand General Assisting the State, Third Rank at the Secretariat and Chancellery, and Duke of Jiuquan. The Emperor said to him, "At first I wished to summon you to discuss affairs, but there was trouble with the northern barbarians. Your frank words the other day—I have not forgotten them." He was granted special advance rank, made Right Vice Minister of the Department of State Affairs, given three hundred fief households, and enfeoffed as Duke of Song.
67
是歳大水,上疏自劾免,不許。 累遷檢校吏部尚書。 景龍二年致仕。 未幾,復起爲太子少師、同中書門下三品,監脩國史。 景雲初,以特進爲朔方行軍大總管,備突厥; 停舊封,別賜百戸。 明年,復請老,給一品全祿。 延和元年卒,年八十六,贈荊州大都督,謚曰忠。
That year there was severe flooding. He memorialized asking to be dismissed and take the blame, but the request was refused. He was successively promoted to Acting Minister of Personnel. In the second year of Jinglong he retired from office. Before long he was recalled as Junior Master of the Heir Apparent, Third Rank at the Secretariat and Chancellery, and Superintendent of the compilation of the National History. Early in the Jingyun era he was made Grand Master with special standing and Grand Commander of the Shuofang field army to guard against the Turks; his old fief was suspended and he was separately granted one hundred households. The next year he again asked to retire and was granted the full salary of the first rank. In the first year of Yanhe he died at eighty-six. He was posthumously made Grand Area Commander of Jing Prefecture, with the posthumous title Loyal.
68
休璟以儒者號知兵,自碣石逾四鎮,其間綿地幾萬里,山川夷坦,障塞之要,皆能言之,故行師料敵未嘗敗。 初得封,以賦絹數千散赒其族,又出財數十萬大爲塋墓,盡葬其五服親,當時稱重。 惟張仁愿議築受降城,而休璟獨謂不可,卒就之,而漠南無虜患。 始老,已逾八十,猶托倚權近求復用。 於是賀婁尚宮方用事,附者輒榮赫,休璟乃爲子娶其義女,故復起宰相,頗爲時譏訾。 其當國,亦無它毘益云。
Though a Confucian scholar, Xiujing was famed for knowing warfare. From Jieshi to beyond the Four Garrisons, across nearly ten thousand li of continuous territory—mountains and rivers, level plains, and the vital points of barriers and passes—he could speak of them all. Therefore in campaigns and in sizing up the enemy he never failed. When he first received his fief he distributed several thousand bolts of silk tribute among his clan, and spent several hundred thousand in cash to build a great tomb and bury all his relatives within the five degrees of mourning. Contemporaries praised his weight of character. Only when Zhang Renyuan proposed building the Accept Surrender cities did Xiujing alone say it should not be done. In the end the cities were built, and south of the desert there was no further trouble from the barbarians. When he first grew old—already past eighty—he still leaned on those close to power in seeking to be restored to office. At that time the Palace Attendant Helou held power, and those who attached themselves to her rose swiftly in glory. Xiujing had his son marry her adopted daughter and was therefore recalled as chief minister—a move much criticized by his contemporaries. When he held power, he brought no other benefit to speak of.
69
子先慎至陳州刺史,先擇爲右金吾衛將軍。
His son Xianshen rose to Prefect of Chen, and Xianze became General of the Right Golden Guard.
70
=張仁愿=
Zhang Renyuan
71
張仁愿,華州下邽人。 本名仁亶,以睿宗諱音近避之。 有文武材。 武后時,累遷殿中侍御史。 御史郭弘霸者,稱後乃彌勒佛身,又鳳閣舍人張嘉福、王慶之請以武承嗣爲皇太子,邀仁愿聯章,仁愿正色拒之。 後王孝傑爲吐刺軍總管,與吐蕃戰不利,仁愿監其軍,因入言狀,孝傑坐免,擢仁愿侍御史。
Zhang Renyuan was from Xia Gui in Hua Prefecture. His original name was Renyan; he changed it to avoid a sound too close to Ruizong's taboo name. He possessed both civil and military talent. Under Empress Wu he was successively promoted to Attending Censor of the Palace. The censor Guo Hongba declared that the Empress was the earthly body of Maitreya Buddha. Phoenix Pavilion Attendants Zhang Jiafu and Wang Qingzhi also petitioned that Wu Chengsi be made crown prince and invited Renyuan to join their memorial. Renyuan sternly refused. Later Wang Xiaojie served as Commander of the Tuci Army and fought Tibet with poor results. Renyuan supervised his army, entered court to report what had happened, Xiaojie was dismissed, and Renyuan was promoted to Attending Censor.
72
萬歳通天中,監察御史孫承景監清邊軍,戰還,自圖先鋒當矢石狀。 武后嘆曰:「御史乃能如是乎!」 擢爲右肅政臺中丞,詔仁愿即敘其麾下功。 仁愿先問承景破敵曲折,承景實不行,所問皆窮。 仁愿劾奏承景罔上,虛列虜級。 貶爲崇仁令,以仁愿代爲中丞,檢校幽州都督。
In the Wansui Tongtian era Supervising Censor Sun Chengjing supervised the Qingbian Army. Returning from battle, he himself drew a picture of himself in the vanguard facing arrows and stones. Empress Wu sighed and said, "Can a censor truly be like this!" Chengjing was promoted to Censor-in-Chief of the Right Censorate, and the Empress ordered Renyuan to register at once the merit of those under his command. Renyuan first questioned Chengjing about the details of the victory over the enemy. Chengjing had not actually been there and could answer none of his questions. Renyuan impeached Chengjing for deceiving the throne and fabricating enemy head counts. Chengjing was demoted to Magistrate of Chongren. Renyuan replaced him as Censor-in-Chief and Acting Area Commander of You Prefecture.
73
默啜寇趙、定,還出塞,仁愿以兵邀之,賊引去,矢著其手,武后遣使勞問,賜藥註傅。 遷并州都督長史。 神龍中,進左屯衛大將軍,兼檢校洛州長史。 會谷貴多盜,仁愿一切捕殺,胔積府門,畿甸震懾,無敢犯。 先是,賈敦頤嘗爲長史,有政績,時人爲之語曰:「洛有前賈后張,敵京兆三王。」
Mochuo raided Zhao and Ding and withdrew beyond the passes. Renyuan intercepted him with troops, and the enemy withdrew, but an arrow struck his hand. Empress Wu sent an envoy to comfort him and bestowed medicine and poultice. He was transferred to Chief Administrator of Bing Prefecture. In the Shenlong era he was promoted to Grand General of the Left Tunwei Guard and concurrently Acting Chief Administrator of Luo Prefecture. As grain was costly and thieves numerous, Renyuan captured and killed them all. Corpses piled before the prefectural gate, the capital region trembled in awe, and none dared offend. Earlier Jia Dunyi had served as chief administrator with notable achievements, and people made a saying: "In Luo there is first Jia, then Zhang—they rival the three Wangs of Jingzhao."
74
三年,朔方軍總管沙咤忠義爲突厥所敗,詔仁愿攝御史大夫代之。 既至,賊已去,引兵踵擊,夜掩其營,破之。 始,朔方軍與突厥以河爲界,北崖有拂雲祠,突厥每犯邊,必先謁祠禱解,然後料兵度而南。 時默啜悉兵西擊突騎施,仁愿請乘虛取漠南地,於河北築三受降城,絶虜南寇路。 唐休璟以爲「兩漢以來皆北守河,今築城虜腹中,終爲所有」。 仁愿固請,中宗從之。 表留歳滿兵以助功,咸陽兵二百人逃歸,仁愿擒之,盡斬城下,軍中股栗,役者盡力,六旬而三城就。 以拂雲爲中城,南直朔方,西城南直靈武,東城南直榆林,三壘相距各四百餘里,其北皆大磧也,斥地三百里而遠。 又於牛頭朝那山北置烽候千八百所。 自是突厥不敢逾山牧馬,朔方益無寇,歳損費億計,減鎮兵數萬。 初建三城也,不置壅門、曲敵、戰格。 或曰:「邊城無守備,可乎?」 仁愿曰:「兵貴攻取,賤退守。 寇至,當並力出拒,敢回望城者斬,何事守備,退忸其心哉!」 後常元楷代爲總管,始築壅門,議者益重仁愿而輕元楷。
In the third year the Shuofang army commander Shatuo Zhongyi was defeated by the Turks. Renyuan was ordered to serve as Acting Censor Grandee and replace him. When he arrived the enemy had already withdrawn. He led troops in pursuit, struck their camp by night, and routed them. At first the Shuofang army and the Turks took the river as their boundary. On the north bank stood the Fuyun Shrine. Whenever the Turks raided the border they always first visited the shrine to pray and sacrifice, then mustered troops and crossed south. At that time Mochuo had moved all his troops west to attack the Turgesh. Renyuan requested to seize the vacant lands south of the desert and build three Accept Surrender cities north of the river, cutting off the barbarians' southern route of invasion. Tang Xiujing argued, "Since the two Han dynasties the frontier has been held on the north bank of the river. If we now build cities deep in barbarian territory, in the end they will fall into enemy hands." Renyuan pressed his case, and Zhongzong accepted it. He memorialized to retain troops whose terms had expired to assist the work. Two hundred soldiers from Xianyang fled home, but Renyuan captured them and beheaded them all below the wall. The army trembled with fear, the laborers exerted themselves to the utmost, and in sixty days the three cities were complete. Fuyun became the middle city, facing due south toward Shuofang. The western city's south gate faced due south toward Lingwu, and the eastern city's south gate toward Yulin. The three fortresses stood more than four hundred li apart. To their north lay only great desert, extending the frontier three hundred li outward. North of Mount Niutou Chaona he also established eight hundred beacon towers. From then on the Turks dared not cross the mountains to pasture their horses. Shuofang grew ever freer of raiders, annual expenses fell by hundreds of millions, and garrison troops were reduced by tens of thousands. When the three cities were first built, no barrier gates, curved enemy screens, or battle frameworks were installed. Someone said, "A frontier city without defenses—is that acceptable?" Renyuan said, "In warfare offense is prized and retreat despised. When the enemy comes, all forces should sally forth together to resist. Whoever dares look back toward the city will be beheaded. Why install defenses? That would only weaken their will to fight!" Later Chang Yuankai replaced him as commander and was the first to build barrier gates. Commentators increasingly respected Renyuan and looked down on Yuankai.
75
景龍二年,拜左衛大將軍、同中書門下三品,封韓國公。 春還朝,秋復督軍備邊,帝爲賦詩祖道,賞賚不貲。 遷鎮軍大將軍。 睿宗立,乃致仕。 加兵部尚書,稟祿全給。 開元二年卒,贈太子少保。
In the second year of Jinglong he was made Grand General of the Left Guard, Third Rank at the Secretariat and Chancellery, and Duke of Han. In spring he returned to court; in autumn he again took command to guard the frontier. The Emperor composed a farewell poem for him and bestowed rewards beyond measure. He was transferred to Grand General of the Garrison Army. When Ruizong ascended the throne, he retired. He was additionally made Minister of War, and his full salary was granted. In the second year of Kaiyuan he died and was posthumously made Junior Protector of the Heir Apparent.
76
仁愿爲將,號令嚴,將吏信伏,按邊撫師,賞罰必直功罪。 後人思之,爲立祠受降城,出師輒享焉。 宰相文武兼者,當時稱李靖、郭元振、唐休璟、仁愿云。 在朔方,奏用御史張敬忠、何鸞、長安尉寇泚、鄠尉王易從、始平主簿劉體微分總軍事,太子文學柳彥昭爲管記,義烏尉晁良貞爲隨機,皆著稱,後至大官,世名仁愿知人。 子之輔,至趙州刺史。
As a general Renyuan's orders were strict, and officers and men trusted and obeyed him. On the frontier he comforted the armies, and rewards and punishments matched merit and fault. Later generations remembered him and built a shrine to him at Accept Surrender City. Whenever troops marched out, they would offer sacrifice there. Of chief ministers who combined civil and military gifts, the age named Li Jing, Guo Yuanzhen, Tang Xiujing, and Renyuan. At Shuofang he memorialized to employ Supervising Censor Zhang Jingzhong, He Luan, Chang'an Prefect Kou Ci, E Prefect Wang Yicong, and Shiping Assistant Magistrate Liu Tiwei to divide military affairs; Palace Scholar Liu Yanzhuo as recorder; and Yiwu Prefect Chao Liangzhen as adjutant. All won renown and later reached high office, and the world named Renyuan a knower of men. His son Zhifu rose to Prefect of Zhao.
77
張敬忠,自監察御史累遷吏部郎中,開元七年拜平盧節度使。
Zhang Jingzhong, starting from Supervising Censor, was successively promoted to Bureau Director of Personnel. In the seventh year of Kaiyuan he was made Military Commissioner of Pinglu.
78
=王晙=
Wang Jun
79
王晙,滄州景城人,後徙洛陽。 父行果,爲長安尉,知名。 晙少孤,好學。 祖有方奇之,曰:「是子當興吾宗。」 長豪曠,不樂爲銜檢事。 擢明經第,始調清苑尉,歷除殿中侍御史。 會朔方元帥魏元忠討賊不利,劾奏副將韓思忠敗,律當誅。 晙以「思忠偏裨,權不己制,且其人勇智可惜,不宜獨誅」,固爭,得釋,晙亦出爲渭南令。
Wang Jun was a native of Jingcheng in Cangzhou and later moved to Luoyang. His father Xingguo served as Warden of Chang'an and was well known. Jun lost his father while still young and loved learning. His grandfather Youfang thought him extraordinary and said, "This boy will revive our clan." He grew bold and free-spirited and disliked work hemmed in by petty formalities. He passed the Mingjing examination, was first appointed Warden of Qingyuan, and was successively promoted to Palace Attendant Censor. When Shuofang Commander-in-Chief Wei Yuanzhong's campaign against bandits went badly, he memorialized that Deputy General Han Sizhong had been defeated and, by law, ought to be executed. Jun argued that "Sizhong was a subordinate whose authority was not his own to command, and a man of such courage and wit was too valuable to lose—he should not die alone." After heated protest he secured Sizhong's release, but Jun himself was transferred out to serve as Magistrate of Weinan.
80
景龍末,授桂州都督。 州有兵,舊常仰餉衡、永。 晙始築羅郛,罷戍卒; 埭江,開屯田數千頃,以息轉漕,百姓賴之。 後求歸上冢,州人詣闕留。 有詔:「桂往罹寇暴,戸口雕{疒齊},宜即留,以須政成。」 在桂逾期年,人丐刻石頌德。 初,劉幽求放封州,廣州都督周利貞必欲殺之,道出晙所,晙知其故,留不遣。 利貞移書督趣,幽求懼曰:「勢且難全,正恐累君,奈何?」 晙曰:「公之坐,非朋友所絶。 晙在,終不忍公無罪就死。 俄崔湜等誅,幽求復執政,故詔幽求爲刻石辭。 遷鴻臚少卿,充朔方軍副大總管、安北大都護,豐安、安遠等城並授節度。 進太僕少卿、隴右群牧使。
At the end of the Jinglong era he was appointed Military Commissioner of Guizhou. The prefecture maintained troops who had long depended on grain shipped from Hengzhou and Yongzhou. Jun first built the outer wall at Luo and dismissed the garrison troops; dammed the river, opened thousands of qing of military colonies, and thereby ended the need for transported grain; the people came to rely on him. Later he asked to return home to tend his parents' tombs, and the people of the prefecture went to the capital to petition that he remain. An edict said, "Guizhou has lately suffered bandit raids and its population is withered and depleted. He should remain at once and wait until his administration succeeds." He remained in Guizhou more than a year beyond his term, and the people begged to carve stone in praise of his virtue. Earlier Liu Youqiu was exiled to Fengzhou, and Guangzhou Commissioner Zhou Lizhen was determined to kill him. When his route passed through Jun's jurisdiction, Jun understood why and detained him, refusing to let him proceed. Lizhen sent letters pressing him onward. Youqiu grew afraid and said, "The situation will be hard to survive, and I fear I will implicate you. What can be done?" Jun said, "Your offense is not one for which friends should abandon you. While I live, I cannot bear to see you die innocent. Soon Cui Shi and others were executed, Youqiu returned to power, and Youqiu was ordered to compose the inscription for the stone monument. He was transferred to Vice Director of the Court of State Ceremonial and appointed Deputy Grand Commander of the Shuofang Army and Grand Protector of Andong, with Feng'an, Anyuan, and other cities all placed under his command. He was promoted to Vice Director of the Stud and Commissioner of the Pasturelands of Longyou.
81
開元二年,吐蕃以精甲十萬寇臨洮,次大來谷,其酋坌達延以兵踵而前。 晙率所部二千與臨洮軍合,料奇兵七百,易胡服,夜襲,去賊五里,令曰:「前是寇,士大呼,鼓角應之。」 賊驚,疑伏在旁,自相鬥死者萬計。 俄而薛訥至武階,距大來二十里,賊陣兩軍間,互一舍而近。 晙往迎訥,夜使壯士銜枚鏖突,虜駭引去,追至洮水,敗之,俘獲如積。 以功加銀青光祿大夫、清源縣男,兼原州都督; 以子珽爲朝散大夫。 又進并州都督長史。
In the second year of Kaiyuan, Tibet sent a hundred thousand elite troops to raid Lintao and halted at Dalai Valley; their chieftain Banchi Dayan advanced with troops following close behind. Jun led his two thousand men to join the Lintao garrison, selected seven hundred elite troops, changed into barbarian dress, and attacked by night. Five li from the enemy he ordered, "When you reach the bandits, shout loudly, and let drums and horns answer." The enemy panicked, suspecting ambush nearby, and killed one another by the tens of thousands. Soon Xue Ne reached Wujie, twenty li from Dalai. The enemy camped between the two armies, about one day's march from each and dangerously close. Jun went to meet Ne and, by night, sent strong men with gags in their mouths to charge fiercely. The barbarians fled in alarm; they pursued them to the Tao River, defeated them, and captured booty heaped high. For his merit he was given the Silver Blue-Glittering Grand Master of Splendid Happiness and made Baron of Qingyuan, concurrently serving as Prefect of Yuanzhou; and his son Ting was made Grand Master for Miscellaneous Uses. He was further promoted to Chief Secretary to the Prefect of Bingzhou.
82
明年,突厥默啜爲拔曳固所殺,其下多降,分置河曲。 既而小殺繼降,降者稍稍叛去。 晙上言:
The next year the Turk Mo-chuo was killed by the Bayegu; many of his followers surrendered and were distributed and settled along the bends of the Yellow River. Soon after Xiao Sha also surrendered in turn, and the surrendered people gradually rebelled and departed. Jun submitted a memorial:
83
突厥向以國亂,故款塞,與部落無間也。 延素北風,何嘗忘之? 今徙處河曲,使內伺邊罅,久必爲患。 比者不受要約,兵已屢動,擅作烽區,閉障行李。 虜脫南牧,降帳必與連衡,以相應接,表裏有敵,雖韓、彭、孫、呉,無所就功。 請至農隙,令朔方軍大陳兵,召酋豪,告以禍福,啗以金繒,且言南方麋鹿魚米之饒,並遷置淮右、河南寬鄕,給之程糧。 雖一時之勞,然不二十年,漸服諸華,料以充兵,則皆勁卒。 議者若謂降狄不可以南處,則高麗舊俘置沙漠之西,城傍編夷居青、徐之右,何獨降胡不可徙歟?
The Turks formerly came in friendship to the frontier because their state was in turmoil, and they lived at peace with their tribes. Their longing for the north wind—how could they ever forget it? Now resettled in the river bends, they can watch the frontier's weak points from within; in time they will surely become a threat. Recently they have refused treaty terms, troops have already been mobilized repeatedly, they have set up beacon zones on their own, and they have blocked frontier passes to travelers. If the barbarians break south to pasture, the surrendered camps will surely join in alliance and coordinate with them. With enemies inside and out, even Han Xin, Peng Yue, Sun Wu, and Wu Qi could achieve nothing. I ask that at the farming interval the Shuofang army mass its troops, summon tribal chiefs, explain fortune and disaster, entice them with gold and silk, and speak of the abundance of deer, fish, and rice in the south. Resettle them all in broad townships south of the Huai and in Henan, and provide them travel grain. Though it would be labor for a time, within twenty years they would gradually accept Chinese ways, and if assessed for military service they would all become crack troops. If critics say surrendered Di cannot be placed in the south, then former Goguryeo captives were settled west of the desert and barbarians from the frontier cities were placed east of Qing and Xu. Why alone should the surrendered Turks not be moved?
84
臣復料議者必曰:「故事,置於河曲,前日已寧,今無獨異。」 且往者頡利破亡,邊鄙安定,故降戸得以久安。 今虜未殄滅,此降人皆戚屬,固不與往年同已。 臣請以三策料之:悉其部落置內地,獲精兵之實,閉黠虜之患,此上策也; 亭障之下,蕃華參處,廣屯戍,爲備擬,費甚人勞,下策也; 置之胡塞,滋成禍萌,此無策也。 不然,前至河冰,且必有變。
I further expect critics will say, "By precedent they were placed in the river bends; the frontier was already settled before, and there is no need for a separate exception now." Moreover, in the past when Jieli was destroyed the frontier was secure, so the surrendered households could live in long peace. Now the barbarians are not yet exterminated, and these surrendered people are all kin of the enemy—they surely are not the same as in former years. I ask to assess this with three strategies: move all their tribes into the interior, gain the substance of crack troops, and shut out cunning barbarian trouble—this is the best strategy; beneath the watchtowers, barbarians and Chinese mixed together, greatly expanding garrison colonies as a precaution—costly and laborious—this is the worst strategy; leave them on the barbarian frontier, nourishing the seeds of disaster—this is no strategy at all. Otherwise, before the river freezes there will surely be trouble.
85
書未報,而虜已叛,乃敕晙將并州兵濟河以討。 晙間行,卷甲舍幕趨山谷,夜遇雪,恐失期,誓於神曰:「晙事君不以忠,不討有罪,天所殛者,當自蒙罰,士眾無罪。 心誠忠,而天監之,則止雪反風,以獎成功。」 俄而和霽。 時叛胡分二道走,晙自東道追及之,獲級三千。 以功遷左散騎常侍、朔方行軍大總管。 改御史大夫。 趯跌部及仆固都督勺磨等散保受降城之鄙,潛引突厥內擾,晙密言上,盡誘而誅之。 拜兵部尚書,復爲朔方軍大總管。
Before the memorial was answered, the barbarians had already rebelled, and an edict ordered Jun to lead Bingzhou troops across the river to suppress them. Jun traveled by hidden routes, rolled up his armor and abandoned his tents to rush through the valleys. At night they met snow, and fearing he would miss the deadline he swore to the spirits, "If Jun serves his lord without loyalty and does not punish the guilty, let Heaven strike me alone—the troops are innocent. If the heart is truly loyal and Heaven watches it, then let the snow stop and the wind reverse to reward success." Soon the weather cleared. The rebel Turks fled in two directions; Jun pursued along the eastern route, caught them, and took three thousand heads. For his merit he was transferred to Left Regular Attendant-in-Ordinary and Grand Commander on Campaign in Shuofang. He was made Censor-in-Chief. The Tuyue tribe and Pugu Governor Shaomo and others scattered to hold the outskirts of Accept Surrender City and secretly brought Turks in to raid within. Jun secretly reported to the Emperor, lured them all in, and executed them. He was appointed Minister of War and again made Grand Commander of the Shuofang Army.
86
九年,蘭池胡康待賓據長泉反,陷六州,詔郭知運與晙討平之。 封清源公,官一子。 玄宗以宮人賜知運等,晙獨不敢取,曰:「臣之事君,猶子事父,詎有常近圍掖而臣子敢當乎? 誓死以免。」 見聽。 初,晙奏:「朔方兵力有餘,願罷知運,獨當戍。」 未報,而知運至,故不協。 晙所降附,知運輒縱擊,賊意晙賣己,乃復叛。 晙坐貶梓州刺史。 改太了詹事、中山郡公。 進吏部尚書、太原尹。 代張説爲兵部尚書、同中書門下三品,充朔方軍節度大使,河北、河西、隴右、河東之軍盡屬。 是冬,帝親郊,追會大禮,晙以冰壯,請留將兵待邊,手敕慰勉。 會有人告許州刺史王喬謀反,辭逮晙,詔源乾曜、張説雜訊,無狀,以黨與貶蘄州刺史。 遷定州。 復以戸部尚書爲朔方軍節度使。 卒,贈尚書左丞相,謚曰忠烈。
In the ninth year the Lanzhou Hu Kang Daibin seized Changquan and rebelled, capturing six prefectures. An edict ordered Guo Zhiyun and Jun to suppress and pacify them. He was enfeoffed as Duke of Qingyuan, and one son was given office. Emperor Xuanzong bestowed palace women on Zhiyun and the others, but Jun alone dared not accept. He said, "In serving my lord I am like a son serving a father—how could a subject who constantly nears the inner quarters dare accept such a gift? I would rather die than accept." His plea was granted. Earlier Jun had memorialized, "Shuofang's military strength is more than sufficient; I wish to dismiss Zhiyun and guard the frontier alone." Before an answer came, Zhiyun arrived, so they did not cooperate. Those whom Jun had persuaded to surrender, Zhiyun repeatedly let his men attack freely. The bandits thought Jun had sold them out and rebelled again. Jun was demoted for the offense to Prefect of Zizhou. He was changed to Junior Tutor of the Heir Apparent and Duke of Zhongshan. He was promoted to Minister of Personnel and Governor of Taiyuan. Replacing Zhang Yue, he became Minister of War, Third Rank at the Secretariat and Chancellery, and Military Commissioner of the Shuofang Army; all armies of Hebei, Hexi, Longyou, and Hedong came under his command. That winter the Emperor personally performed the suburban sacrifice. To meet the great rite Jun, citing thick ice, asked to remain with troops guarding the frontier, and an autograph edict comforted and encouraged him. Someone reported that Wang Qiao, Prefect of Xuzhou, was plotting rebellion, and the testimony implicated Jun. An edict ordered Yuan Qianyao and Zhang Yue to conduct a joint inquiry. No case was found, but he was demoted to Prefect of Qizhou as an associate. He was transferred to Dingzhou. He was again made Military Commissioner of the Shuofang Army with the title Minister of Revenue. He died and was posthumously made Left Grand Chancellor, with the posthumous title Loyal and Stern.
87
晙氣貌偉特,時謂爲熊虎相。 感慕節義,有古人風。 其操下肅壹,吏人畏愛。 始,二張之誣魏元忠,晙獨上疏申治。 宋璟曰:「魏公全矣,子再觸逆鱗,其殆乎!」 晙曰:「魏公以忠獲罪,茍得辨,雖死弗悔。」
Jun's bearing was exceptionally imposing; men of the time said he had the countenance of bear and tiger. He admired and pursued integrity and righteousness and had the manners of the ancients. In his conduct toward subordinates he was stern and orderly, and officials and common people both feared and loved him. When the Two Zhangs framed Wei Yuanzhong, Jun alone submitted a memorial to plead his case. Song Jing said, "Lord Wei is already safe—you touch the dragon's scales again. Are you not in danger?" Jun said, "Lord Wei was punished for loyalty. If I can vindicate him, I will not regret death."
88
晙卒後,信安王祎討奚於幽州,各捷,且言「戰時,士咸見晙與部將高昭麾兵赴敵」,天子嗟異。 戸部郎中陽伯成上疏,請封晙墓,表異之,優其子孫。 帝乃遣使祭晙廟,進諸子官。
After Jun died, Prince Xin'an Li Yi campaigned against the Xi in Youzhou with successive victories and reported, "In battle the soldiers all saw Jun and his subordinate general Gao Zhao waving troops to join the fight." The Son of Heaven marveled. Bureau Director of Revenue Yang Bocheng submitted a memorial asking to ennoble Jun's tomb, mark him as extraordinary, and show favor to his descendants. The Emperor then sent an envoy to sacrifice at Jun's shrine and promoted his sons in office.
89
=史評=
Historical Commentary
90
贊曰:「唐所以能威振夷荒、斥大封域者,亦有虎臣爲之牙距也。 至師行數千萬里,窮討殊鬥,獵取其國由鹿豕然,可謂選值其才歟! 夫宰相代天秩物,燮化人神,惟有德者宜之。 若休璟、仁愿,用以丞弼,非強所不能邪? 據功名之地,則綽綽矣。
The encomium says, "That Tang could awe the wild frontiers and expand its territory owed also to tiger ministers who served as fangs and claws. Campaigns stretched tens of millions of li; they pursued enemies to exhaustion in desperate fighting and hunted their kingdoms as if they were deer and pigs. One may say the right men were chosen for the task! A chief minister stands for Heaven in ordering all things and harmonizing men and spirits—only the virtuous are fit for this. If Xiujing and Renyuan were used as chief assistants—is that not forcing what cannot be forced? In the ground of merit and fame—they were more than adequate.