1
宇文、韋、楊、王
The Yuwen, Wei, Yang, and Wang [clans].
2
宇文融
Yuwen Rong
3
宇文融，京兆萬年人，隋平昌公弼裔孫。 祖節，明法令，貞觀中，為尚書右丞，謹幹自將。 江夏王道宗以事請節，節以聞，太宗喜，賚絹二百，勞之曰：「朕比不置左右僕射，正以公在省耳。 永徽初，遷黃門侍郎、同中書門下三品，代於誌寧為侍中。 坐房遺愛友善，貶桂州，卒。
Yuwen Rong was a native of Wannian in Jingzhao, a descendant of Bi, Duke of Pingchang of the Sui dynasty. His grandfather Jie was learned in laws and statutes. During the Zhenguan era he served as Vice Director of the Imperial Secretariat and conducted himself with scrupulous diligence. Prince Daizong of Jiangxia sought Jie's help in a matter; Jie reported it to the throne, and Emperor Taizong was pleased. He bestowed two hundred bolts of silk and comforted him, saying, "Of late I have not appointed left and right vice directors precisely because you are still in office. In the early Yonghui era he was promoted to Vice Director of the Chancery and concurrently Third Rank at the Secretariat-Chancery, replacing Yu Zhining as Grand Counselor. Because of his friendship with Fang Yi'ai he was demoted to Guizhou, where he died.
4
融明辯，長於吏治。 開元初，調富平主簿。 源乾曜、孟溫繼為京兆，賢其人，厚為禮。 時天下戶版刓隱，人多去本籍，浮食閭里，詭脫繇賦，豪弱相並，州縣莫能制。 融由監察御史陳便宜，請校天下籍，收匿戶羨田佐用度。 玄宗以融為覆田勸農使，鉤檢帳符，得偽勛亡丁甚眾。 擢兵部員外郎，兼侍御史。 融乃奏慕容琦、韋洽、裴寬、班景倩、庫狄履溫、賈晉等二十九人為勸農判官，假御史，分按州縣，括正丘畝，招徠戶口而分業之。 又兼租地安輯戶口使。 於是諸道收沒戶八十萬，田亦稱是。 歲終，羨錢數百萬緡。 帝悅，引拜御史中丞。 然吏下希望融旨，不能無擾，張空最，務多其獲，而流客頗脫不止。 初，議者以生事，沮詰百端，而帝意向之，宰相源乾曜等佐其舉。 又集群臣大議，公卿雷同不敢異，唯戶部侍郎楊玚以為籍外取稅，百姓困弊，得不酬失。 玚坐左遷。 融乃自請馳傳行天下，事無巨細，先上勸農使，而後上臺省，臺省須其意，乃行下。 融所過，見高年，宣天子恩旨，百姓至有感涕者。 使還言狀，帝乃下詔：「以客賦所在，並建常平倉，益貯九谷，權發斂； 官司勸作農社，使貧富相恤。 凡農月，州縣常務一切罷省，使趨刈獲。 流亡新歸，十道各分官屬存撫，使遂厥功。 復業已定，州縣季一申牒，不須挾名。」
Rong was eloquent and excelled in administrative affairs. In the early Kaiyuan era he was appointed main registrar of Fuping. Yuan Qianyao and Meng Wen served successively as Jingzhao intendant; both admired him and treated him with great courtesy. At that time household registers throughout the empire were falsified and concealed. Many people abandoned their native registration, drifted idle through villages and wards, and evaded corvée and taxes by artifice, while the powerful swallowed the weak—prefectures and counties could not control the situation. While serving as Investigating Censor, Rong submitted a memorial on practical measures, asking that household registers be audited empire-wide and that hidden households and surplus land be recovered to help cover government costs. Emperor Xuanzong made Rong Commissioner for Reclaiming Fields and Encouraging Agriculture. He audited the registers and uncovered a vast number of spurious honors and unregistered adult males. He was promoted to Vice Director in the Ministry of War while also serving as Attendant Censor. Rong then recommended twenty-nine men—including Murong Qi, Wei Qia, Pei Kuan, Ban Jingqian, Kudi Lüwen, and Jia Jin—as agriculture-assisting magistrates with temporary censorial powers. They were dispatched to inspect prefectures and counties, correct land measurements, register missing households, and assign them to livelihoods. He was also made Commissioner for Rent Lands and the Pacification of Household Registers. In the end the circuits registered eight hundred thousand previously hidden households, and reclaimed land rose proportionally. By year's end the surplus in cash ran to several million strings. The emperor was delighted and personally summoned him to appoint him Vice Censor-in-Chief. But lower officials, eager to please Rong, could not help causing trouble—they padded their quotas and chased ever-larger yields, even as many transient residents continued to slip through the net. Initially critics warned that the scheme would create unrest and obstructed it from every angle, yet the emperor was inclined toward it, and Grand Counselor Yuan Qianyao and others supported the effort. The emperor convened the ministers for a full debate; the high officials chimed in agreement and none dared object, except Vice Director of the Treasury Yang Chang, who argued that levying taxes beyond the registers would exhaust the people and that the costs would outweigh the benefits. Yang was demoted as a result. Rong then asked to tour the empire by imperial courier. Every matter, large or small, went first to the Agriculture Commissioner and only afterward to the central offices, which had to assent to his wishes before anything could be implemented. Wherever Rong traveled, he would address the aged and announce the emperor's benevolent intentions, and some among the people were moved to tears. When the commissioner returned and made his report, the emperor issued an edict: "In every place where migrant taxes are collected, Ever-Normal Granaries shall be established to store more grain and regulate its release and collection; local offices shall promote agricultural mutual-aid societies so that the wealthy and the poor may support each other. During the harvest season, all ordinary prefectural and county duties shall be set aside so that people can devote themselves to reaping. For refugees newly returned to their homes, each circuit shall dispatch officials to settle and support them until their resettlement is complete. When resettlement is finished, prefectures and counties need only file quarterly reports without naming individuals."
5
中書令張說素惡融，融每建白，說輒引大體廷爭。 融揣說不善，欲先事中傷之。 張九齡謂說曰：「融新用事，辯給多詐，公不可以忽。」 說曰：「狗鼠何能為！」 會帝封太山還，融以選限薄冬，請分吏部為十銓。 有詔融與禮部尚書蘇颋、刑部尚書韋抗、工部尚書盧從願、右散騎常侍徐堅、薄州刺史崔琳、魏州刺史崔沔、荊州長史韋虛心、鄭州刺史賈曾、懷州刺史王丘分總，而不得參事，一決於上。 融奏選事，說屢卻之，融怒，乃與御史大夫崔隱甫等廷劾說引術士解禱及受賕，說由是罷宰相。 融畏說且復用，訾詆不已。 帝疾其黨，詔說致仕，放隱甫於家，出融為魏州刺史。
Chief Minister Zhang Shuo had always despised Rong. Whenever Rong put forward a proposal, Shuo would invoke larger principles and argue against it in open court. Rong perceived Shuo's vulnerability and sought to get the jump on him and damage him in the process. Zhang Jiuling told Shuo, "Rong has just risen to influence. He is glib and deceitful—you must not underestimate him." Shuo replied, "What harm can vermin do!" Soon afterward the emperor returned from the Mount Tai feng ceremony. With the appointment season pressing into deep winter, Rong asked that the Ministry of Personnel be split into ten selection boards. An edict appointed Rong, Minister of Rites Su Ting, Minister of Justice Wei Kang, Minister of Works Lu Congyuan, Right Regular Attendant Xu Jian, and the prefectural inspectors Cui Lin, Cui Mian, Wei Xuxin, Jia Zeng, and Wang Qiu to oversee the process in separate groups, but they were denied any real say in the matter; every decision rested with the emperor alone. Rong submitted reports on the selection process, but Shuo repeatedly turned them back. Enraged, Rong joined Vice Censor-in-Chief Cui Yinpu and others in a court impeachment, charging Shuo with employing shamans for ritual prayer and taking bribes. Shuo was stripped of the chancellorship. Fearing that Shuo might return to power, Rong kept up a relentless campaign of denigration. Weary of their factional fighting, the emperor ordered Shuo to retire, dismissed Yinpu to his home, and sent Rong away as inspector of Wei Prefecture.
6
方河北大水，即詔領宣撫使，俄兼檢校汴州刺史、河南北溝渠堤堰決九河使。 又建請墾九河故地為稻田，權陸運本錢，收其子入官。 興役紛然，而卒無成功。 入為鴻臚卿，兼戶部侍郎。 明年，進黃門侍郎、同中書門下平章事。 融曰：「使吾執政得數月久，天下定矣。」 乃薦宋璟為右丞相，裴耀卿為戶部侍郎，許景先為工部侍郎，當時長其知人。 而性卞急，少所推下。 既居位，日引賓客故人與酣飲。 然而神用警敏，應對如響，雖天子不能屈。 信安王祎節度朔方，融畏其權，諷侍御史李宙劾奏之。 祎密知，因玉真公主、高力士自歸。 翌日，宙通奏，帝怒，罷融為汝州刺史。 居宰相凡百日去，而錢谷亦自此不治。 帝思之，讓宰相曰：「公等暴融惡，朕既罪之矣，國用不足，將奈何？」 裴光庭等不能對，即使有司劾融交不逞，作威福，其息受贓饋狼藉，乃貶融平樂尉。 歲餘，司農發融在汴州紿隱官息錢巨萬，給事中馮紹烈深文推證，詔流於巖州。 道廣州。 遷延不行，為都督耿仁忠所讓，惶恐上道，卒。
When Hebei was struck by severe flooding, he was at once appointed Pacification Commissioner and soon afterward also made acting inspector of Bian Prefecture and commissioner over the dikes, canals, and nine rivers of north and south Henan. He further proposed converting the former lands of the nine rivers into rice fields, borrowing funds for overland transport, and turning the profits over to the government. Corvée projects multiplied, but in the end none of them succeeded. He was recalled to the capital as Minister of State Ceremonial while also serving as Vice Director of the Treasury. The following year he was promoted to Vice Director of the Chancery and appointed Grand Counselor of the Secretariat-Chancery. Rong declared, "If I could govern for just a few months more, the realm would be put in order." He then recommended Song Jing for Right Chancellor, Pei Yaojing for Vice Director of the Treasury, and Xu Xianxian for Vice Director of Works. People at the time praised his eye for talent. But his temperament was brusque and impatient, and he seldom showed deference to others. Once he took office, he spent his days entertaining guests and old friends in long drinking sessions. Yet his wit remained razor-sharp—he answered as swiftly as an echo, and not even the emperor could get the better of him. Prince Xin'an Yi held military command over Shuofang. Rong feared his authority and induced Attendant Censor Li Zhou to memorialize against him. Yi discovered the plot in secret and, through Princess Yuzhen and the eunuch Gao Lishi, surrendered himself to the emperor's mercy. The following day Li Zhou presented the full impeachment. The emperor flew into a rage and dismissed Rong, sending him to serve as inspector of Ru Prefecture. He had been Grand Counselor for barely a hundred days when he was removed, and from that point the state's finances were never again brought under control. The emperor still thought of him and rebuked the Grand Counselors: "You exposed Rong's wrongdoing, and I have already punished him. But the treasury is short—what is to be done?" Pei Guangting and the others had no answer. Before long the relevant offices impeached Rong for consorting with violent men and wielding power arbitrarily; his son had taken bribes on a scandalous scale, and Rong was demoted to sheriff of Pingle. A year later the Directorate of Agriculture uncovered that Rong had hidden millions in official interest money while serving in Bian Prefecture. Supervising Secretary Feng Shaolie pressed the case with relentless legal argument, and an edict banished him to Yan Prefecture. His route of exile passed through Guang Prefecture. He lingered and refused to proceed. Military Governor Geng Renzhong upbraided him; terrified, he finally set out on the road and died en route.
7
初，融廣置使額以侈上心，百姓愁恐。 有司浸失職，自融始。 帝猶思其舊功，贈臺州刺史。 其後言利得幸者踵相躡，皆本於融雲。
From the start Rong had proliferated special commissioner posts to gratify the emperor's ambitions, leaving the people anxious and afraid. The progressive erosion of the regular bureaucracy's authority began with Rong. The emperor still recalled his earlier achievements and posthumously granted him the title of inspector of Tai Prefecture. After his time, officials who won imperial favor through schemes for revenue followed in unbroken succession—all of them, it was said, took Rong as their model.
8
子審，字審。 融之貶也，審與兄弟侍母京師。 及聞融再貶，不告其家，徒步號泣省父，使者憐之，以車共載達於嚴州。 後擢進士第，累遷大理評事。 以夏楚大小無制，始創杖架，以高庳度杖長短，又鑄銅為規，齊其巨細。 楊國忠專政，殺嶺南流人，以中使傳口敕行刑，畏議者嫉其酷，乃以審為嶺南監決處置等使，活者甚眾。 後終永、和二州刺史。
His son Shen, whose courtesy name was also Shen. When Rong was demoted, Shen and his brothers stayed in the capital to care for their mother. Learning that Rong had been demoted a second time, he told no one at home but set out on foot, weeping as he went to see his father. The escort official took pity on him and let him ride along until they reached Yan Prefecture. He later passed the jinshi examination and rose through successive appointments to reviewing secretary in the Court of Judicial Review. Finding that the rods used for summer and autumn beatings had no uniform standard, he invented a flogging frame to measure their length by height and depth, and cast bronze gauges to regulate their thickness. When Yang Guozhong dominated the government and began killing exiles in Lingnan by sending palace eunuchs with oral edicts to carry out executions, he feared public outrage at the brutality and appointed Shen commissioner for supervising executions in Lingnan, thereby saving a great many lives. He later served to the end of his life as inspector of Yong and He prefectures.
9
韋堅，字子全，京兆萬年人。 姊為惠宣太子妃，妹為皇太子妃，中表貴盛，故仕最早。 由秘書丞歷奉先、長安令，有幹名。 見宇文融、楊慎矜父子以聚斂進，乃運江、淮租賦，所在置吏督察，以佐國稟，歲終增鉅萬。 玄宗咨其才，擢為陜郡太守、水陸運使。
Wei Jian, courtesy name Ziquan, was a native of Wannian in Jingzhao. His elder sister was consort to Prince Huixuan and his younger sister to the crown prince. With such powerful connections on both sides of the family, he entered official service earlier than most. Starting as Secretary Director, he served in turn as magistrate of Fengxian and Chang'an and earned a name for administrative ability. Observing how Yuwen Rong and Yang Shenjin and his son had risen through fiscal exploitation, he took charge of transporting rent and tax goods from the Jiang and Huai regions, posting supervisory officials along the route to bolster the state's grain supply. By year's end revenues had swelled by tens of thousands. Emperor Xuanzong recognized his ability and promoted him to governor of Shaan Commandery and Commissioner for Water and Land Transport.
10
漢有運渠，起關門，西抵長安，引山東租賦，汔隋常治之。 堅為使，乃占咸陽，壅渭為堰，絕灞、浐而東，註永豐倉下，復與渭合。 初，浐水銜苑左，有望春樓，堅於下鑿為潭以通漕，二年而成。 帝為升樓，詔群臣臨觀。 堅豫取洛、汴、宋山東小斛舟三百首貯之潭，篙工柁師皆大笠、侈袖、芒屨，為吳、楚服。 每舟署某郡，以所產暴陳其上。 若廣陵則錦、銅器、官端綾繡； 會稽則羅、吳綾、絳紗； 南海玳瑁、象齒、珠琲、沈香； 豫章力士瓷飲器、茗鐺、釜； 宣城空青、石綠； 始安蕉葛、蚺膽、翠羽； 吳郡方文綾。 船皆尾相銜進，數十里不絕。 關中不識連檣挾櫓，觀者駭異。 先是，人間唱《得體紇那歌》，有「揚州銅器」語。 開元末，得寶符於桃林，而陜尉崔成甫以堅大輸南方物與歌語葉，更變為《得寶歌》，自造曲十餘解，召吏唱習。 至是，衣缺胯衫、錦半臂、絳冒額，立艫前，倡人數百，皆巾軿鮮冶，齊聲應和，鼓吹合作。 船次樓下，堅跪取諸郡輕貨上於帝，以給貴戚、近臣。 上百牙盤食，府縣教坊音樂叠進，惠宣妃亦出寶物供具。 帝大悅，擢堅左散騎常侍，官屬賞有差，蠲役人一年賦，舟工賜錢二百萬，名潭曰廣運。 堅進兼江淮南租庸、轉運、處置等使，又兼御史中丞，封韋城縣男。
Since Han times a transport canal had run from Hangu Pass west to Chang'an, carrying the rents and taxes of the eastern provinces; the Sui dynasty had kept it in regular repair. As transport commissioner, Jian worked from Xianyang, damming the Wei to create a barrage, diverting the Ba and Chan rivers eastward, channeling the flow beneath Yongfeng Granary, and reuniting it with the Wei. The Chan River originally ran along the western edge of the imperial park, where the Wangchun Tower stood. Jian dug a basin beneath the tower to link the canal, and the project took two years to complete. The emperor climbed the tower and summoned the court to witness the spectacle. Jian had collected three hundred small grain boats from Luoyang, Bian, Song, and the eastern provinces and moored them in the basin. The boatmen and helmsmen all wore broad hats, flowing sleeves, and straw sandals in the style of Wu and Chu. Each vessel was marked with a prefecture's name, and its regional products were displayed openly on deck. From Guangling came brocades, bronze ware, and official-patterned silks and embroideries; from Kuaiji, gauze, Wu silks, and crimson gauze; from Nanhai, tortoiseshell, ivory, pearls, and agarwood; from Yuzhang, Lishi porcelain cups, tea pots, and cauldrons; from Xuancheng, azurite and malachite; from Shi'an, plantain-fiber cloth, python gall, and kingfisher feathers; from Wu Commandery, figured damask. The boats advanced in an unbroken line, stern linked to bow, stretching for dozens of li. The people of the Guanzhong region had never seen convoys of linked masts and paired oars, and the onlookers were astonished. Some time before, a popular song called "Deti Henna Song" had circulated, with a line about "Yangzhou bronze vessels." Near the end of the Kaiyuan era a treasure talisman was discovered at Taolin. Shaan Assistant Magistrate Cui Chengfu, seeing that Jian's massive shipment of southern goods matched the song's prophecy, reworked it into the "Treasure Song," writing more than ten new verses himself and training clerks to perform them. On this day he stood at the bow of the lead vessel dressed in a split-skirt tunic, brocade half-sleeves, and a crimson forehead cloth. Several hundred performers, all in bright kerchiefs and fresh attire, sang in chorus to the accompaniment of drums and wind instruments. As the fleet passed below the tower, Jian knelt and offered up the choicest goods from each prefecture for the emperor to distribute among the imperial clan and his closest ministers. Feasts on jade platters were laid out, music from the prefectures, counties, and the Directorate of Entertainment poured forth in waves, and Consort Huixuan contributed precious vessels for the banquet as well. The emperor was delighted. He promoted Jian to Left Regular Attendant, gave graded rewards to his staff, exempted corvée laborers from one year's taxes, granted the boatmen two million cash, and named the basin Broad Transport. Jian was further appointed concurrent commissioner for Jiang-Huai southern rent, transport, and disposition, also serving as Vice Censor-in-Chief, and was enfeoffed as Baron of Weicheng County.
11
堅妻，姜皎女，李林甫舅子也。 初甚昵比，既見其寵，惡之。 堅亦自以得天子意，銳於進，又與左相李適之善，故林甫授堅刑部尚書，奪諸使，以楊慎矜代之。 堅失職，稍怨望。 河西、隴右節度使皇甫惟明數於帝前短林甫，稱堅才，林甫知之。 惟明故為忠王友，王時為皇太子矣。 正月望夜，惟明與堅宴集，林甫奏堅外戚與邊將私，且謀立太子。 有詔訊鞫，林甫使楊慎矜、楊國忠、王鉷、吉溫等文致其獄，帝惑之，貶堅縉雲太守，惟明播川太守，籍其家。 堅諸弟訴枉，帝大怒。 太子懼，表與妃絕。 復貶堅江夏別駕。 未幾，長流臨封郡。 弟蘭，為將作少匠，冰鄠令，芝，兵部員外郎，子諒，河南府戶曹，皆謫去。 歲中，遣監察御史羅希奭就殺之，殺惟明於黔中，惟堅妻得原。 從坐十餘人，倉部員外郎鄭章、右補闕內供奉鄭欽說、監察御史豆盧友楊惠、嗣薛王肙皆免官被竄。
Jian's wife was Jiang Jiao's daughter and Li Linfu's nephew by marriage. At first Li Linfu and Jian were on intimate terms, but when he saw how favored Jian had become, he turned against him. Jian, confident that he had the emperor's favor, pressed hard for advancement and was allied with Left Chancellor Li Shizhi. Linfu therefore made Jian Minister of Justice, removed all his transport commissions, and put Yang Shenjin in his place. Stripped of his commissions, Jian gradually gave way to bitterness. Huangfu Weiming, military commissioner of Hexi and Longyou, repeatedly denigrated Li Linfu at court and praised Wei Jian's abilities. Li Linfu found out. Weiming had once served as companion to the Prince of Zhong, who had since become crown prince. On the night of the Lantern Festival, Weiming and Jian held a banquet together. Li Linfu reported that Wei Jian, as an imperial connection by marriage, was colluding privately with a border commander and scheming to put the crown prince on the throne. The emperor ordered an investigation. Li Linfu set Yang Shenjin, Yang Guozhong, Wang Hong, Ji Wen, and others to fabricate the case. Misled, the emperor demoted Wei Jian to prefect of Jinyun and Huangfu Weiming to prefect of Bochuan, and had their families' property seized. Wei Jian's brothers appealed against the injustice, and the emperor flew into a rage. Fearing implication, the crown prince memorialized the throne to sever ties with his wife. Wei Jian was demoted again to vice-prefect of Jiangxia. Soon afterward he was banished for life to Linfeng. His brother Lan served as vice director of palace construction; Bing was magistrate of Hu; Zhi was a vice director in the Ministry of War; and his son Liang served as registrar of Henan prefecture — all were removed and exiled. Within the year the court dispatched investigating censor Luo Xiyao to execute Wei Jian on the spot; Huangfu Weiming was killed in Qianzhong. Only Wei Jian's wife was spared. Over a dozen associates were punished: Zheng Zhang, vice director in the Ministry of Revenue; Zheng Qinshuo, right remonstrance palace attendant; investigating censors Dou Lu You and Yang Hui; and Jun, heir to the Prince of Xue — all lost their posts and were sent into exile.
12
堅始鑿潭，多壞民冢墓，起江、淮，至長安，公私騷然。 及得罪，林甫遣使江、淮，鉤索堅罪，捕治舟夫漕史，所在獄皆滿。 郡縣剝斂償輸，責及鄰伍，多裸死牢戶。 林甫死，乃止。
Wei Jian's initial canal project had desecrated countless commoners' graves. From the Jiang and Huai region all the way to Chang'an, the undertaking threw public and private affairs into turmoil. After Wei Jian's disgrace, Li Linfu sent agents to the Jiang and Huai regions to dredge up every charge against him, arresting boatmen and transport clerks for prosecution until local prisons overflowed. Commanderies and counties squeezed their populations to meet restitution quotas, extending liability even to neighbors; many perished destitute within prison walls. Only when Li Linfu died did the persecution stop.
13
楊慎矜
On Yang Shenjin.
14
楊慎矜，隋齊王柬曾孫。 祖正道，從蕭後入突厥，及破頡利可汗，乃得歸，為尚衣奉御。 父隆禮，歷州刺史，善檢督吏，以嚴辯自名。 開元初，為太府卿，封弘農郡公。 時禦府財物羨積如丘山，隆禮性詳密，出納雖尋尺皆自按省，凡物經楊卿者，號無不精麗，歲常愛省數百萬。 任職二十年，年九十餘，以戶部尚書致仕，卒。
Yang Shenjin was a great-grandson of Prince Jian of Qi of the Sui dynasty. His grandfather Zhengdao had followed Empress Xiao into Türkic lands; after Tang forces defeated Khan Jieli, he was able to return home and was appointed master of robes in the imperial wardrobe. His father Longli had served as prefect of Lizhou, was skilled at keeping officials in line, and was known for his stern and incisive manner. In the early Kaiyuan reign he was appointed minister of the palace storehouse and enfeoffed as Duke of Hongnong. Imperial storehouse goods had piled up like hills. Longli was painstaking by nature and personally checked every transaction, however small. Goods that passed through Director Yang's hands were said to be invariably exquisite, and he routinely saved the treasury several million each year. After twenty years in office, well past ninety, he retired as minister of revenue and died.
15
慎矜沈毅任氣，健而才。 初為汝陽令，有治稱。 隆禮罷太府，玄宗訪其子可代父任者，宰相以慎餘、慎矜、慎名皆得父清白。 帝喜，擢慎矜監察御史，知太府出納，慎餘太子舍人，主長安倉，慎名大理評事，為含嘉倉出納使，被眷尤渥。
Shenjin was reserved and resolute, bold in temperament, physically strong, and gifted. He first served as magistrate of Ruyang and earned renown for his administration. When Longli stepped down from the palace storehouse, Xuanzong asked which son might succeed him. The chancellors replied that Shenyu, Shenjin, and Shenming had all inherited their father's spotless reputation. The emperor was delighted. He promoted Shenjin to investigating censor with charge of palace storehouse receipts and disbursements, appointed Shenyu crown prince attendant to manage the Chang'an granary, and made Shenming a court reviewer and intake officer for the Hanjia granary. All three enjoyed exceptional favor.
16
慎矜遷侍御史，知雜事，高置風格。 始議輸物有汙傷，責州縣償所直，轉輕賫入京師，自是天下調發始煩。 天寶二年，權判御史中丞、京畿采訪使，太府出納如故。 於時李林甫用事，慎矜進非其意，固讓不敢拜，乃授諫議大夫、兼侍御史，更以蕭諒為中丞。 諒爭輕重不平，罷為陜郡太守。 林甫知慎矜為己屈，卒授御史中丞，兼諸道鑄錢使。
Shenjin rose to attendant censor with charge of assorted business and carried himself with conspicuous dignity. He first proposed that damaged tribute goods be compensated at full value by the local commanderies and counties, with lighter loads sent on to the capital. From that point empire-wide levies grew increasingly onerous. In Tianbao year 2 he was provisionally made vice censor-in-chief and transport commissioner for the capital region, while continuing to oversee palace storehouse receipts and disbursements. Li Linfu was then in power, and Shenjin's promotion did not suit him. Shenjin firmly declined the appointment, and was given the post of remonstrance advisor with concurrent attendant censor instead, while Xiao Liang was made censor-in-chief. Liang protested that the ranking was unfair and was removed to serve as prefect of Shan. Once Li Linfu saw that Shenjin had yielded to him, he finally appointed Shenjin censor-in-chief and commissioner of coinage for all circuits.
17
韋堅之獄，王鉷等方文致，而慎矜依違不甚力，鉷恨之，雖林甫亦不悅。 鉷父與慎矜外兄弟也，故與鉷狎。 及為侍御史，繇慎矜所引，後遷中丞，同列，慎矜猶以子姓畜之，鉷負林甫勢，滋不平。 會慎矜擢戶部侍郎，仍兼中丞，林甫疾其得君，且逼己，乃與鉷謀陷之。
During Wei Jian's prosecution, Wang Hong and others were busy fabricating the case, but Shenjin hedged and did not throw himself into it. Hong bore a grudge, and even Li Linfu was displeased. Hong's father was Shenjin's cousin by marriage, so the two had long been on familiar terms. Hong had entered service as attendant censor on Shenjin's recommendation and later rose to censor-in-chief as his equal, yet Shenjin still treated him like a junior relative. Backed by Li Linfu's power, Hong's resentment only deepened. When Shenjin was promoted to vice minister of revenue while retaining the censor-in-chief post, Li Linfu resented his closeness to the emperor and the threat he posed, and conspired with Wang Hong to destroy him.
18
明年，慎矜父冢草木皆流血，懼，以問所善胡人史敬忠。 敬忠使身桎梏，裸而坐林中厭之。 又言天下且亂，勸慎矜居臨汝，置田為後計。 會婢春草有罪，將殺之，敬忠曰：「勿殺，賣之可市十牛，歲耕田十頃。」 慎矜從之。 婢入貴妃姊家，因得見帝。 帝愛其辯惠，留宮中，浸侍左右。 帝常問所從來，婢奏為慎矜家所賣。 帝曰：「彼乏錢邪？」 對曰：「固將死，賴史敬忠以免。」 帝素聞敬忠挾術，間質其然。 婢具言敬忠夜過慎矜，坐廷中，步星變，夜分乃去； 又白厭勝事。 帝怒。 而婢漏言於楊國忠，國忠、鉷方睦，陰相語。 始，慎矜奪鉷職田，辱詬其母，又嘗私語讖書，鉷銜之，未有發也。 至聞國忠語，乃喜，且欲嘗帝以取驗。 異時奏事，數稱引慎矜，帝悖然曰：「爾親邪，毋相往來！」 鉷知帝惡甚，後見慎矜，輒慢侮不為禮，慎矜怒。 鉷乃與林甫作飛牒，告慎矜本隋後，蓄讖緯妖言，與妄人交，規復隋室。 帝方在華清宮，聞之震怒，收慎矜尚書省，詔刑部尚書蕭炅、大理卿李道邃、殿中侍御史盧鉉、楊國忠雜訊。 馳遣京兆士曹參軍吉溫系慎餘、慎名於洛陽獄考治。 捕太府少卿張瑄致會昌傳舍，劾瑄與慎矜共解圖讖，搒掠不服。 鉉遣御史崔器索讖書，於慎矜小妻臥內得之，詬曰：「逆賊所寘固密，今得矣！」 以示慎矜，慎矜曰：「它日無是，今得之，吾死，命矣夫！」 溫又誘敬忠首服詰言，慎矜不能對。 有詔杖敬忠，賜慎矜、瑄死，籍其家，子女悉置嶺南。 姻黨通事舍人辛景湊、天馬副監万俟承暉、閑廄使殿中監韋衢等坐竄徙者十餘族，所在部送，近親不得仕京師。 遣御史顏真卿馳洛陽決獄。 慎餘、慎名聞兄死，皆哭，既讀詔，輟哭。 慎名曰：「奉詔不敢稽死，但寡姊垂白，作數行書與別。」 真卿許之。 索筆，曰：「拙於謀己，兄弟並命，姊老孤煢，何以堪此！」 遂縊，手指天而絕。 慎矜兄弟友愛，事姊如母，儀幹皆秀偉，愛賓客，標置不凡，著稱於時。 慎名嘗視鑒嘆曰：「兄弟皆六尺餘，此貌此才，欲見容當世，難矣！ 胡不使我少體弱邪？」 世哀其言。 寶應初，慎矜、王琚、韋堅皆復官爵。
The following year, plants and trees at Shenjin's father's tomb seemed to bleed. Alarmed, he consulted the foreigner Shi Jingzhong, a man he trusted. Jingzhong had himself shackled, stripped naked, and sat in the woods performing counter-sorcery. He also declared that the realm would soon be thrown into chaos and urged Shenjin to retire to Linru and buy land against the days ahead. When the maid Chuncao was found guilty and about to be executed, Jingzhong said, "Do not kill her. Sell her and you can buy ten oxen — enough to farm ten qing of land each year." Shenjin took his advice. The maid was sold into the household of the consort's elder sister and thus came before the emperor. The emperor was taken with her quick wit and kept her in the palace, where she gradually came to wait on him. When the emperor asked where she came from, the maid said she had been sold by Shenjin's household. The emperor asked, "Was he so hard up for money?" She answered, "She was about to be killed, but Shi Jingzhong persuaded him to spare her." The emperor had long heard that Jingzhong dabbled in occult arts and now pressed her on the point. The maid described how Jingzhong had visited Shenjin at night, sat in the courtyard performing star-walking rites, and did not leave until midnight; she also told him about the counter-sorcery at the tomb. The emperor flew into a rage. The maid also let word of this reach Yang Guozhong. Guozhong and Wang Hong were then on good terms and conferred in secret. Shenjin had long ago seized Hong's official fields and publicly insulted his mother; he had also privately discussed prophetic texts. Hong had brooded on these grievances but found no opening — until now. When he heard what Guozhong had learned, he was delighted and decided to probe the emperor's mood for confirmation. On another occasion, while reporting to the throne, Hong repeatedly praised Shenjin. The emperor snapped, "Are you his kinsman? Stay away from him!" Hong knew how deep the emperor's hatred ran. Thereafter he treated Shenjin with open contempt whenever they met, and Shenjin was furious. Hong then conspired with Li Linfu to draft a secret denunciation, charging that Shenjin was a Sui descendant who hoarded prophetic texts, consorted with charlatans, and plotted to restore the Sui dynasty. The emperor was then at Huaqing Palace. Enraged, he had Shenjin arrested at the Ministry of Revenue and ordered Minister of Justice Xiao Jiong, chief judge Li Daosui, palace censor Lu Xuan, and Yang Guozhong to conduct a joint interrogation. He urgently sent Ji Wen, a staff officer of the capital prefecture, to arrest Shenyu and Shenming in Luoyang and interrogate them under torture. They arrested Vice Minister of the Palace Storehouse Zhang Xuan and brought him to the Huichang post station, charging that he and Shenjin had together decoded prophetic charts. Under torture he refused to confess. Lu Xuan sent censor Cui Qi to search for the prophetic texts and found them in the bedchamber of Shenjin's younger wife. Cui Qi exclaimed, "The rebel hid them well enough — but we have them now!" When the books were shown to Shenjin, he said, "These did not exist before. Now that they have been 'found,' my death is sealed." Ji Wen then coerced Jingzhong into confessing and testifying against him, and Shenjin had no answer. An edict ordered Jingzhong beaten, condemned Shenjin and Zhang Xuan to death, confiscated their families' property, and sent all their children to Lingnan. More than ten clans of in-laws and associates — including palace liaison Xin Jingcou, deputy director of the Heavenly Horse Office Moqi Chenghui, and director of the privy stables Wei Qu — were exiled and escorted under guard. Close relatives were barred from holding office in the capital. He sent censor Yan Zhenqing posthaste to Luoyang to carry out the sentences. When Shenyu and Shenming learned of their brother's death, they wept; but once the edict was read aloud, they fell silent. Shenming said, "We dare not delay our deaths under the edict, but our widowed elder sister is white-haired — permit us a few lines to bid her farewell." Yan Zhenqing consented. He asked for a brush and wrote, "I was poor at saving myself — now both brothers must die together, leaving our sister old and utterly alone. How can she endure this!" Then he hanged himself, pointing a finger toward heaven as he died. The brothers were devoted to one another and treated their elder sister as a mother. All were tall and striking in appearance, loved to entertain guests, and carried themselves with uncommon distinction — they were celebrated figures of their age. Shenming once gazed into a mirror and sighed, "All of us brothers stand over six chi tall — with looks and talent like these, winning favor in this age is no easy thing! Why could Heaven not have made me a little shorter and frailer?" People of the age mourned his words. In the early Baoying reign, the court posthumously restored the offices and titles of Shenjin, Wang Ju, and Wei Jian.
19
王鉷，中書舍人晉側出子也。 初為鄠尉，遷監察御史，擢累戶部郎中。 數按獄深文，玄宗以為才，進兼和市和糴、長春宮、戶口色役使，拜御史中丞、京畿關內采訪黜陟使。
Wang Hong was an illegitimate son of Secretariat drafter Wang Jin. He first served as assistant magistrate of Hu, then rose to investigating censor and was promoted step by step to director in the Ministry of Revenue. He repeatedly prosecuted cases with fabricated charges of the gravest kind. Xuanzong took this for talent and promoted him to concurrent commissioner of market purchase, grain purchase, Changchun Palace, and household corvée and special labor, appointing him censor-in-chief and transport commissioner for the capital region and Guannei with authority over promotions and demotions.
20
林甫方興大獄，撼東宮，誅不附己者，以鉷險刻，可動以利，故倚之，使鷙擊狼噬。 鉷所摧陷，多抵不道。 又厚誅斂，向天子意，人雖被蠲貸，鉷更奏取腳直，轉異貨，百姓間關輸送，乃倍所賦。 又取諸郡高戶為租庸腳士，大抵貲業皆破，督責連年，人不賴生。 帝在位久，妃御服玩脂澤之費日侈，而橫與別賜不絕於時，重取於左右藏。 故鉷迎帝旨，歲進錢鉅億萬，儲禁中，以為歲租外物，供天子私帑。 帝以鉷有富國術，寵遇益厚，以戶部侍郎仍御史中丞，加檢察內作、閑廄使，苑內、營田、五坊、宮苑等使，隴右群牧、支度營田使。
Li Linfu was then launching major prosecutions, undermining the crown prince, and destroying those who would not join him. Wang Hong was ruthless and could be bought, so Linfu relied on him as a weapon — set loose to strike and tear. Most of those Wang Hong destroyed were charged with capital crimes. He also levied crushing taxes to please the emperor. Even when the people had been granted tax relief or loans, Hong would memorialize to collect transport fees, converting goods into exotic commodities. Commoners struggled along the roads to deliver them and often paid double the original levy. He also conscripted wealthy households from the commanderies as transport laborers for rent and corvée duties. Most were ruined, and under relentless collection year after year people could barely survive. The emperor had reigned long. Consorts' and attendants' clothing, ornaments, and cosmetics grew ever more extravagant, special grants never ceased, and the left and right treasuries were drained repeatedly. Wang Hong therefore catered to the emperor's wishes, each year presenting hundreds of millions in coin, stored within the palace as revenue beyond the annual rent, to fill the emperor's private purse. Believing Wang Hong possessed the art of enriching the state, the emperor favored him ever more lavishly. He remained vice minister of revenue and censor-in-chief while also holding posts as inspector of inner construction, commissioner of the privy stables, commissioner of the inner park, military colonies, the Five Wards, palace parks, Longyou herd commissioner, and supply and military colony commissioner.
21
天寶八載，方士李渾上言見太白老人告玉版秘記事，帝詔鉷按其地求得之，因是群臣奉上帝號。 明年，鉷為御史大夫，兼京兆尹，加知總監、栽接使。 於是領二十餘使，中外畏其權。 鉷於第左建大院，文書叢委，吏爭入求署一字，累數日不得者。 天子使者賜遺相望，聲焰薰灼。 帝寵任鉷亞林甫，而楊國忠不如也。 然鉷畏林甫，謹事之。 安祿山怙寵，見林甫白事，稍自怠，林甫欲示之威，托以事召王大夫，俄而鉷至，趨進俯伏，祿山不覺自失，鉷語久，祿山益恭。 故林甫雖忌其盛，亦以附己親之。
In Tianbao year 8, the adept Li Hun reported that the Old Man of Taibai had revealed the secret chronicle inscribed on a jade tablet. The emperor ordered Wang Hong to search the spot and recover it, whereupon the officials presented the emperor with a superior honorific title. The following year Wang Hong was made chief censor and concurrently capital prefect, with added posts as commissioner of general supervision and grafting. He now held more than twenty commissioner posts, and court and country alike feared his power. Hong built a large compound beside his residence where documents piled up in heaps. Clerks fought to get in for a single signature; some waited days without success. Imperial envoys bearing gifts arrived in an unbroken stream; his prestige blazed. The emperor favored Wang Hong second only to Li Linfu — Yang Guozhong did not compare. Yet Wang Hong feared Li Linfu and attended him with scrupulous deference. An Lushan, secure in imperial favor, had grown somewhat casual when reporting to Li Linfu. Linfu wanted to show him who held power and, on some pretext, summoned Chief Censor Wang. Hong arrived at once, hurried forward, and prostrated himself. An Lushan was visibly unsettled; as Hong spoke on, An Lushan grew ever more deferential. So although Li Linfu resented Wang Hong's towering power, he also treated him warmly because Hong was firmly attached to him.
22
子準，為衛尉少卿，以鬥雞供奉禁中，林甫子岫，亦親近，準驕甚，淩岫出其上。 過駙馬都尉王繇，以彈彈其巾，折玉簪為樂，既置酒，永穆公主親視供具。 萬年尉韋黃裳、長安尉賈季鄰等候準經過，饌具倡樂必素辦，無敢迕意。
His son Zhun served as vice director of the Court of the Imperial Stud and entertained at cockfighting within the palace. Li Linfu's son You was also a favorite, but Zhun was wildly arrogant and treated You with open contempt. Passing imperial son-in-law Wang Yao's house, he flicked pellets at his headcloth and snapped a jade hairpin for sport. When wine was served, Princess Yongmu personally supervised the feast. Wannian assistant magistrate Wei Huangshang and Chang'an assistant magistrate Jia Jilin waited on Zhun's passage; feasts and entertainment had to be ready in advance, and none dared defy him.
23
鉷事嫡母孝，而與弟銲友愛。 銲疾鉷宦達，常忿慢不弟，鉷終不異情。 銲歷戶部郎中。 鉷與銲召術士語不軌，術士驚，引去。 鉷畏事泄，托它事捕殺之以絕口。 王府司馬定安公主子韋會竊語於家，左右往白鉷，鉷遣季鄰收會長安獄，夜縊死，以屍還家。 會姻屬權近，而惕息不敢言。
Wang Hong was filial toward his principal mother and deeply affectionate with his younger brother Hua. Hua resented his brother's rise and often treated him with anger and disrespect, failing in brotherly duty — yet Hong's affection for him never changed. Hua rose to serve as director in the Ministry of Revenue. Wang Hong and his brother Hua summoned a diviner and spoke of treasonous designs; the man was frightened and left. Hong feared exposure and, on some other pretext, had the man arrested and killed to seal his lips. Wei Hui, son of Princess Ding'an and marshal of a princely household, held private talks at home. Servants reported this to Hong, who sent Jia Jilin to take Hui into the Chang'an jail, strangle him by night, and send the body back to his family. Hui's relatives by marriage were powerful and well connected at court, yet they lived in fear and dared say nothing.
24
鉷封太原縣公，兼殿中監。 為中丞也，與楊國忠同列，用林甫薦為大夫，故國忠不悅。 銲與邢縡善，縡，鴻臚少卿璹子也，以功名相期，鉷因銲亦交縡。 十一載四月，縡與銲謀引右龍武軍萬騎燒都門、誅執政作難。 先二日事覺，帝召鉷付告牒。 鉷意銲與縡連，故緩其事，但督兩縣尉捕賊。 賈季鄰逢銲於路，銲謂曰：「我與縡有舊，今反，恐妄相引，君勿受。」 既至，縡與其黨持弓刃突出格鬥，鉷與國忠繼至，縡黨相語曰：「勿鬥大夫。」 或白國忠曰：「賊語陰相謂不可戰。」 會高力士以飛龍小兒甲騎四百至，斬縡，盡禽其黨。 國忠奏鉷與謀，帝不信，林甫亦為鉷言，故帝原銲不問。 然欲鉷請銲罪，使國忠諷之，鉷良久曰：「弟為先人所愛，義不欲舍而謀存。」 帝聞頗怒，而陳希烈固爭當以大逆。 鉷未知，方上表自解，有詔希烈訊鉷矣，有司不肯通奏。 鉷見林甫，林甫曰：「事後矣。」 俄而銲至，國忠問曰：「大夫與否？」 未及應，侍御史裴冕叱銲曰：「上以大夫故官君五品，君為臣不忠，為弟不誼。 大夫豈與反事乎？」 國忠愕然曰：「與，固不可隱； 不與，不可妄。」 銲乃曰：「兄不與。」 獄具，詔銲杖死，鉷賜死三衛廚。 冕請國忠，以其屍歸斂葬之。 諸子悉誅，家屬徙遠方。 有司籍第舍，數日不能遍，至以寶鈿為井幹，引泉激霤，號「自雨亭」，其奢侈類如此。 鉷兄錫，見諸弟貴盛，不肯仕，鉷強之，為太子仆。 至是，貶東區尉，死於道，時人傷焉。
Hong was enfeoffed as Duke of Taiyuan County and also made director of the palace directorate. While serving as censor-in-chief he sat alongside Yang Guozhong, but when Li Linfu's recommendation made him chief censor, Guozhong took offense. Hua was close to Xing Yi, the son of vice minister of guest affairs Shuo; the two expected great things of each other, and through Hua, Hong came to know Yi as well. In the fourth month of Tianbao year 11, Yi and Hua plotted to summon the Right Dragon Martial Army's ten-thousand cavalry to burn the capital gate, kill the chief ministers, and launch a revolt. Two days before, the plot was discovered; the emperor summoned Hong and gave him the denunciation. Hong thought Hua was implicated with Yi, so he dragged his feet and only pressed the assistant magistrates of the two counties to catch the rebels. Jia Jilin met Hua on the road. Hua told him: "Yi and I go back a long way. Now that he has rebelled, he may falsely drag me in — do not believe it. When they got there, Yi and his men rushed out with bows and blades to fight. Hong and Guozhong arrived soon after, and Yi's followers whispered to one another: "Do not fight the chief censor." Someone told Guozhong: "The rebels are whispering among themselves that they must not fight." At that moment Gao Lishi arrived with four hundred armored cavalry of the Flying Dragon guard, beheaded Yi, and captured all his followers. Guozhong reported that Hong had joined the plot, but the emperor refused to believe it. Li Linfu spoke up for Hong as well, so the emperor pardoned Hua and dropped the matter. The emperor still wanted Hong to accuse Hua and had Guozhong drop hints. After a long pause Hong said: "My younger brother was beloved by our ancestors; I cannot in conscience abandon him and plot to save myself. The emperor was greatly angered when he heard this, and Chen Xilie insisted the crime should be charged as great treason. Hong knew nothing of this and was submitting a memorial to clear himself when an edict had already ordered Chen Xilie to interrogate him; the offices would not even forward his petition. Hong went to see Li Linfu, who told him: "It is too late. Hua was brought in shortly afterward, and Guozhong asked: "Was the chief censor part of it or not?" Before Hua could reply, attendant censor Pei Mian shouted at him: "The emperor gave you a fifth-rank post for the chief censor's sake, yet as a subject you are disloyal and as a brother you are faithless. Would the chief censor ever have joined a rebellion?" Guozhong started in surprise and said: "If he was involved, that cannot be hidden; if he was not, it must not be falsely claimed. Hua then said: "My elder brother had no part in it." When the case was closed, an edict ordered Hua beaten to death; Hong was granted the privilege of death by strangulation in the Three Guard kitchens. Pei Mian asked Guozhong to allow Hong's body to be taken home for proper burial. All his sons were put to death and his household was exiled to distant regions. Officials inventoried his mansion and could not finish in days. He had used jeweled inlay for well-curb frames and channeled springs to cascade from the eaves in a structure called the "Self-Raining Pavilion" — his luxury was everywhere of this sort. Hong's elder brother Xi, seeing his younger brothers rise to wealth and rank, refused office; Hong pressed him until he accepted the post of palace attendant to the heir apparent. Now he was demoted to assistant magistrate of the Eastern District and died on the road; people of the time grieved for him.
25
初，鉷附楊慎矜以貴，已而佐林甫陷慎矜，覆其家。 凡五年，而鉷亦族矣。
At first Wang Hong had climbed to power by attaching himself to Yang Shenjin; later he helped Li Linfu destroy Shenjin and wipe out his family. Within five years Hong's entire clan was destroyed as well.
26
盧鉉者，本以御史事韋堅為判官，堅被劾，鉉發其私以結林甫。 又善張瑄，及按慎矜，則誣瑄死。 至鉷得罪，方為閑廄判官，妄曰：「大夫以牒索馬五百，我不與。」 眾疾其反覆，貶廬江長史。 它日，見瑄如平生，乃曰：「公何得來此？ 願假須臾。」 卒死。
Lu Xuan had first served as investigating censor and case officer under Wei Jian; when Jian was impeached, Xuan exposed his private wrongdoing to win favor with Li Linfu. He was also on good terms with Zhang Xuan, but when he investigated Shenjin he framed Xuan and had him put to death. When Hong fell from power, Xuan was serving as case officer of the privy stables and falsely claimed: "The chief censor sent a document demanding five hundred horses, and I refused. Everyone despised his turnabout, and he was demoted to chief administrator of Lujiang. One day he saw Xuan as if he were still alive and said: "My lord, how did you come here? Give me but a moment. He died on the spot.
27
贊曰：開元中，宇文融始以言利得幸。 於時天子見海內完治，偃然有攘卻四夷之心，融度帝方調兵食，故議取隱戶剩田，以中主欲。 利說一開，天子恨得之晚，不十年而取宰相。 雖後得罪，而追恨融才有所未盡也。 孟子所謂「上下征利而國危」者，可不信哉！ 天寶以來，外奉軍興，內蠱艷妃，所費愈不貲計。 於是韋堅、楊慎矜、王鉷、楊國忠各以裒刻進，剝下益上，歲進羨緡百億萬為天子私藏，以濟橫賜，而天下經費自如，帝以為能，故重官累使，尊顯烜赫。 然天下流亡日多於前，有司備員不復事。 而堅等所欲既充，還用權冒以相屠脅，四族皆覆，為天下笑。 夫民可安而不可擾，利可通而不可竭。 觀數子乃欲擾而竭之，斂怨基亡，則向所謂利者，顧不反哉！ 鉷、國忠後出，橫虐最甚，當方毒，天下復思融雲。
The commentary says: In the Kaiyuan era, Yuwen Rong first won the emperor's favor by preaching profit. The emperor then saw the realm fully at peace and complacently turned his mind to pushing back the four barbarians. Rong judged that he was just then marshaling troops and supplies, so he proposed uncovering hidden households and surplus land to satisfy the ruler's desire. Once the gospel of profit was opened, the emperor regretted not having heard it sooner; within ten years Rong had risen to the chancellorship. Though Rong later fell from grace, the emperor still regretted that his talent had never been fully exhausted. Was Mencius not right when he said, "When above and below strive for profit, the state is in danger" — can one disbelieve it! From the Tianbao era onward, the court met rising military costs abroad while the beautiful consort beguiled it at home, and spending grew beyond reckoning. Then Wei Jian, Yang Shenjin, Wang Hong, and Yang Guozhong each rose by ruthless extraction, squeezing the people to enrich the throne. Each year they forwarded tens of billions in surplus coin into the emperor's private hoard to fund lavish gifts, while ordinary state expenses seemed untouched. The emperor took this for competence and heaped offices and commissioner posts on them until they blazed with rank and power. Yet refugees in the land grew daily more numerous than before, and officials held empty titles and no longer did their work. Once Jian and the others had gotten what they wanted, they turned power and intrigue against one another; all four families were destroyed and became a laughingstock to the realm. The people may be kept at peace but must not be harassed; profit may flow but must not be drained dry. These men sought to harass the people and drain them dry, amassing resentment and laying the groundwork for ruin — would not the profit they preached turn back upon them! Hong and Guozhong came later and their oppression was worst of all; when their cruelty peaked, the whole realm again looked back with longing to Yuwen Rong.